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She could completely eliminate her emotions, thus making herself the most unreadable. She gave Zarian nothing he could work with as they watched each other.

Before Zarian found something worth saying, Naomi smoothly stood from her seat. Something in Zarian’s brain tripped up as he watched her move.

At first, he felt alarmed because he wondered how much of his mental sabotage was from Naomi’s abilities. Then he realized Naomi’s psychic magic couldn’t breach his mind so easily.

Not in a hostile way, at least.

His brain tripping was more on him, which left him confused since he had a huge amount of Willpower. His mind should be a fortress.

But Willpower was a stat that covered more than just the mind. It also touched on the spirit, too, along with emotions.

Something inside of Zarian used his own Willpower against him. His mind wasn’t completely fortified against everything because his spirit or flesh were reacting strongly.

Naomi was dressed in her Psychic Battler Suit, which was like Hannah’s own skin tight suit. But unlike Hannah, who had only recently filled out, Naomi had always been a shapely woman.

Her insane physical training regimen hadn’t taken away from her body’s obvious femininity. It had enhanced all the best qualities if her body, in fact. When she walked around the meeting table with a sway to her hips, it made her prominent features stand out even more.

And the way she was moving was different, too.

More effective.

Zarian clearly remembered how she moved during Operation Domination months ago, which had been dynamic. But this one was more … intimate. More focused. She wasn’t walking for the attention of the crowds. She was walking for his attention alone.

Before he knew it, Naomi reached him where he remained seated. He knew then and there he had lost to her. He was at her mercy, which left him wondering what she would do.

She placed one hand softly on his shoulder before bending at the waist. She stopped and held a position above him, giving him an angle where he had a lot to see.

He hadn’t realized there was a button and flap to her suit that revealed her cleavage. It was right there in front of his eyes.

Then she went as far as removing his wizard hat and setting it on the table gently. Zarian’s eyes roved upward until he locked in on her eyes. He still couldn’t read her, but he stayed focused in the depths of her straightforward gaze.

“You have more power than you know what to do with,” Naomi said. “You hold our lives in your hands. You make the decisions we want to follow. And you say things that have a lasting impact. You are the most important man in the universe, Zarian.”

“I know,” he murmured.

“Then why did you say what you said?” Naomi asked. “Without thinking of how that’ll affect me.”

“I wasn’t thinking,” he said.

“I’m not surprised.” Somehow, her response sounded matter of fact instead of being a put down. “You do what you want regardless of the consequences.”

“I still have to own up to the consequences.” Zarian heaved a heavy breath. “I’m not free of that.”

Naomi placed her other hand on his other shoulder. “You’re right. You’re not free of the consequences.” She slid closer, one leg on his seat, her knee was between his legs, the meat of her thigh against his crotch. “Well, Marine, you know what this means.”

“I played a stupid game,” Zarian said listlessly.

“You win a stupid prize,” Naomi added in rote.

“What’s my prize, Staff Sergeant?”

“I will make you more aware. I know you’ve blocked it off. That’s been okay when things were just us and our little party. But if you’re going to make it known loudly that I’m yours, then you’re going to have to reawaken that part.”

She lowered down. Her full and shapely lips, wet with a thin film of saliva, brushed over his lips. He tasted her breath. It was sweet and warm.

He felt an urge in the pit of his stomach. His chest warmed. It became hitchy. His heart pounded very loud. He became tense. He felt like something bestial was rising from the depths.

She hadn’t even fully kissed him and she had this much of an effect.

Her lips brushed over the corner of his mouth. It traced a line across his cheek, soft, delicate, torturous, thrilling. Then her lips stopped close to his ear.

She rubbed the lobe with her upper lip. Then she flicked at the lobe with her bottom lip.

She waited and let her breath pass hotly into his ear.

She was calm. There was no psychic energy sparking off. She was not invading him. She didn’t have to.

She just let him feel her in a way he hadn’t felt before. Then she finally pulled back in reverse. Slowly, too. She only drew away bit by bit.

The meat of her thigh slid away along with the rest of her shapely leg from between his legs. Her hands trailed away. Then she stood and walked off. Zarian remained in his seat, heart hammering, his head feeling light, his body a storm.

Naomi stopped at the door.

“I want to love you like a brother or a best friend, Zarian. I shouldn’t do more than that. I have issues. And I have an impossible dream to achieve in this life of ours. I can’t be distracted,” she said.

“But?” Zarian asked.

“I’m a dog. I get hungry just like everybody else. I’ve been doing my best staying on the leash. Better than Gilbert, at least. But I can be bad if you keep tempting me. So, you better watch out, okay?” Naomi warned.

“Why am I getting warned?” Zarian asked, weary and dumbfounded.

Naomi didn’t answer. She kept steamrolling. “You need this warning. So you can think about it and be more mindful. Because If you don’t, and you keep playing stupid games like you do, I won’t be able to stop myself, Zarian. And I’m not the only one. There are other women circling in. But they’re more like starved sharks. So you better be a strong swimmer or a big fisher.”

“I have big responsibilities. I need to be focused.” Zarian groaned. “And I’m a married man.”

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“Then act like it. Or face the consequences.” Naomi left.

Zarian sat there in silence for a long time. He felt hungry suddenly. He still felt the echoes of Naomi’s body all over him.

He still felt her lips brushing over his. He remembered the taste of her breath. He remembered how her breath sounded right against his ear.

His stomach growled.

His appetite had certainly renewed.

He needed to refocus elsewhere. He couldn’t let Naomi throw him off so easily. She hadn’t given him the chance to apologize, either. Or maybe there was no point in apologizing.

The damage was done.

Things were different with Naomi now, even if only a little.

More importantly, he didn’t understand why she wanted to awaken something inside of him. He had too many other things to focus on.

Yeah, let’s get to work.

Zarian stood from his seat a little stiffly. After a few strides, he felt closer to normal. He went to a kitchen a few floors below. The tower had multiple, up and down.

Each one had high quality cooks and chefs under employment of the Floridians and their guild. Some were talented adventurers, others were people brought by the Hemlock Family.

He went straight to the meat locker and raided it for sustenance.

Once satisfied, he paid close attention to half a dozen activities in his village. The suspicious paladins were talking about conducting a holy war and causing some terrorism in the village. Bernard wasn’t part of this group of paladins. Zarian figured the terrorists were a more extreme sect of paladins.

There was no need to discriminate and hunt down all paladins. He would let the terrorists plot and move about, as if they were sneaky enough, before he struck them down in a showy fashion.

Other than that, nothing else of note reached his attention on the Spectral Spider Network +2.

Going to his spacious apartment, Zarian dragged his feet in and was relieved that there was nobody in there. He had a weird thought about Naomi before he banished it.

Zarian removed his gambeson and stripped down to shorts. He looked at himself in the mirror and marveled at the weight he’d gained in muscle from his chest alone.

Then his cloak zipped straight into his back. Zarian blinked in surprise.

Apparently, he could hold all the parts of the Parasite Cloak +2 inside of him now. It was a little weird not seeing any signs of Para while her skill was still active in the alpha section, but at least he could see his back muscles clearly.

While he did spend four months studying, that didn’t mean he hadn’t exercised. Still, the muscular growth was beyond normal. He imagined this was because of Parasite Cloak +2 getting that enormous boost in Willpower.

“What does Naomi mean there are women circling in like sharks?” Para asked, forming a talking mouth on Zarian’s shoulder. “Do they want to eat you?”

“I don’t think so. It’s a metaphor for me being attractive to them. And my attractive actions are making them want to act in a frenzy, I guess,” Zarian said.

“This is not for eating, I assume. The actions between you and Naomi aren’t about the consumption of each other. I believe you have other needs that aren’t apparent to mine,” Para said.

“Yeah, something like that. There might be times when I need you to go dormant for privacy. But I don’t want to turn you off entirely,” Zarian said.

“I can go dormant myself and awaken when you need me.” Para went silent. His shoulder returned to normal.

“I might need you as soon as we get back to studying for spells,” Zarian said. “Maybe the spectral spiders, too.”

He felt Para giving him a positive confirmation through their mental link. There were multiple ways for them to communicate.

He was glad he’d put all those points in Willpower. Para seemed way more flexible now, and that was great for her and him.

Zarian chuckled, shaking his head at his reflection in the mirror. He went over to the full bar his apartment came with. He poured himself more beer.

Then he sat on the expansive, half-crescent sofa in the sunken floor section in front of his home-theater System.

There was an entire screen made of magic glass against the wall that he could operate with an enchanted crystal ball. When activated, the screen displayed information he’d inputted himself.

No entertainment, unfortunately. This world didn’t have television shows or any such recordings.

Instead, Zarian had pages upon pages of notes he’d uploaded into his local rune network and could display on the screen.

It helped to have a bigger view of things when dealing with the gravity spell. The graphs and symbols and magical mathematics demanded it.

Despite the difficulty, Zarian wanted to go after the gravity spell once and for all. He felt like he needed a big game changer.

Overwhelming Darkness was in his control for now, at least with One Percent Power. But that was obviously the one direct attack option he had in his magical repertoire.

Other than attacking in melee range, he needed something else to fill that direct damage hole. There would be plenty of times where he wouldn’t want to unleash his darkness. He needed more options.

“It’s about time I go all in on gravity,” Zarian said, flicking at the brim of his wizard hat while it was back on his head. “The other spells would have to wait. This is too important to set aside anymore. But before I can do that, I’ll have to decide on one of two traits to upgrade.”

Zarian had thirteen traits. But only two of them could make the biggest impact on him as a wizard. He had to choose one or the other.

One could evolve his mentality further at the risk of driving him crazier. The other could expand his magical prowess and make it harder for others to get the jump on him.

“Fractured Mind or Basic Aura Manipulation,” Zarian said. “Which one should I upgrade? Which one will benefit me the most right now and for the long term?”

Zarian looked hard at the gravity notes compiled on the large crystal screen. His heart rate picked up when echoes of Naomi’s touch revisited him.

His imagination veered toward the other ‘sharks’ in the water. He really had a lot of powerful and available women inside or around his circle, didn’t he?

He wished he remained unaware of certain aspects. He almost wanted to get angry with Naomi for triggering this so-called awakening.

The last time he’d pursued anything remotely intimate with the opposite sex, he’d been burned. He’d been burned too many times.

Friendship was easier.

Friendship was safe.

Why was it now that these women wanted him?

That’s the consequence of being overpowered.

Zarian wanted to get angry. Not at the current women around him. But at the ones who’d hurt him without realizing what they’d stepped over or stepped on. Would they have changed their approach if they knew what he was truly capable of?

He couldn’t get too angry with Naomi from how things were in the old world, because she’d done a lot for him. She’d risked her neck to get him in the Marines even though she knew he was unfit. Other than Ariana, Naomi had shown him more kindness and concern than anyone else in Zarian’s life, like a big sister.

But things had changed after the portal incident. They were different people.

“Does she know she has a lot of power over me?” Zarian asked. “More than anybody else, maybe.”

That was dangerous. Yet, he wasn’t sure if he was against it.

“We should stay friends. We need to stay strictly friends. Nothing more than that,” Zarian mumbled. “So, Fractured Mind or Basic Aura Manipulation?”

A knock on the door caught his attention.

“It’s open,” Zarian said.

Gilbert let himself in, dressed in pajamas. Without even saying another word, he raided Zarian’s fridge. Then he tossed himself onto the sofa with one arm filled with snacks and drinks, the other holding onto a few books.

He looked up at the crystal screen and blanched.

“This nerd stuff?” Gilbert complained. “Come on, man! We’ve been at this forever. Can’t we relax?”

Confused, Zarian looked at Gilbert for a long while. Why was he here? What was he doing?

Instead of asking, Zarian turned to the screen. “I have lots of studying to do. I need another big damage attack for the times I can’t use Overwhelming Darkness.”

Gilbert groaned. “Fine. Sure. Go on and study or whatever. I’ve brought some books with me written by a hilarious bard. Dude’s got some raunchy stories that will have me praying for forgiveness later.”

Zarian sighed. “You won’t get bored?”

“I probably will. But I figured I can be bored in my place or be bored here. So why not be here?”

Zarian didn’t know why, but he appreciated that. Gilbert got comfortable as he thumbed through a volume he’d brought along and enjoyed himself while eating Zarian’s snacks.

Meanwhile, Zarian kept looking up at the gravity spell notes on the screen. He set aside all distractions, which felt easier with Gilbert around for some reason. He kept debating himself on choosing Fractured Mind or Basic Aura Manipulation.

Which one should he choose?

<Fractured Mind (Uncommon): Your mind has cracks, but it is not wholly broken. Your mentality can work in strange and unique ways that may or may not require professional help. >

Or:

<Basic Aura Manipulation (Rare): You’re now able to manipulate aura inside and outside of you at the basic level. This can broaden your mystical horizons.>

Which one?