Chapter 70: Lifespan Spell
"Eh, Mother and Father, what happened to my brother?" Ava asked, finally taking her eyes off the TV and noticing that Aur had already left.
"Nothing, he just needed some alone time," Evelyn smiled.
"Well, I will go too—" Ava began to stand up from the sofa, but Evelyn pulled her back.
"Huh, Mother?" Ava frowned.
"He needs some alone time," Evelyn said, looking at her deeply.
"Fine." Ava's face inflated like a balloon, her cheeks entirely red with anger. She jumped back to sit on the sofa, making a 'hmph' sound while sticking out her tongue.
Evelyn shook her head, speechless. "Maybe I have spoiled her too much," she thought with a frown. Although Ava had similarities to Aur, their behaviours were vastly different.
Just now, Ava threw fits of anger, whereas Aur never did, and though he initially showed a cold shoulder, he was still disciplined and well mannered.
Even after Aur started to open up to them, he remained intelligent and didn't show any signs of rage, while Ava was exactly the opposite—lacking discipline and intelligence.
Thinking of this, Evelyn sighed. "Maybe I need to be stricter with her. After we leave this world, she will have to rely on her brother and I don't want this girl to bring trouble to Aur." She looked at Ava with a determined glint in her eyes.
Ava suddenly felt a chill as she sneezed.
"Huh, how come I'm feeling so cold? Isn't it summer?" She thought with a frown.
…
Aur gazed at his familiar room, where a neatly arranged bed and a study table with a bulb hanging from the ceiling greeted him. It was as simple as it could get, and he appreciated the simplicity, tidiness, and cleanliness.
Although he wasn't a clean freak, he preferred everything to be simple and well-organized.
However, he wasn't in the mood for reminiscing as he looked at the ground and lightly punched it.
Bang!
Aur's hand directly penetrated the floor, and he retrieved a bag.
Examining the bag filled with middle-grade mana crystals, Aur sighed with relief. This was the reward he had received for playing with Nina and babysitting her.
Considering the trouble he had to go through to manage this troublesome girl, the reward seemed quite appropriate.
Still remembering her fits of rage, even more annoying than his bratty little sister Ava, Aur felt annoyed even thinking about it. His face morphed into a frown.
"Luckily, from now on, I don't have to hide it in such a place..." Aur looked at the broken hole in the floor with a bitter expression.
"Muscle system," he muttered, and a blue panel flickered before materialising in front of him.
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[Muscle System]
[Name: Aur Cromwell/ Auriel
Talent: Future Seer (Major: 0; Minor: 0)
-Muscle mass: 1.80 (+)
-Intelligence: 1.40 (+)
Stat Points: 0
Storage space: 0.12/1 cubic metre
Quest: Daily (on going)]
–––––
Aur looked at his unchanged stats with a sigh.
With a mere act of will, the big bag in his hand disappeared.
The panel in front of him flickered and stabilised once again.
–––––
[Muscle System]
[Name: Aur Cromwell/ Auriel
Talent: Future Seer (Major: 0; Minor: 0)
-Muscle mass: 1.80 (+)
-Intelligence: 1.40 (+)
Stat Points: 0
Storage space: 0.62/1 cubic metre
Quest: Daily (completed)]
–––––
Aur nodded his head upon seeing this. There were approximately fifty middle-grade mana crystals in the bag, and it filled the space with every increment of the middle-grade mana crystal.
Actually, even with low-grade mana crystals, it would increase the same because they were the same size and weight; the only difference was their purity of mana.
"Sigh, initially I only came for this, but it looks like I have to spend more time with my family now." Aur shook his head. However, he had one thing to confirm: that the beast tide would happen within the time limit of ten years, which greatly relieved him to some extent.
"Still, five years is a long time. I might be able to come up with a solution by that time." His crimson eyes glinted with determination. "First, I need to take care of the beast tide."
Aur lay on the ground, engaging in a series of push-ups.
Hearing about the impending danger and the possibility of death from his father and mother, he needed to relieve his stress somehow, and this was his chosen method—a way to blow off steam.
No matter where Aur was or what he was doing, improving his body was always his top priority, almost like an addiction.
As he immersed himself in physical exercises, his mind became calm, and his expression turned blissful with countless thoughts swirling, which soon died down, making him forget about all things.
His blood boiled, and Aur forgot about all distractions, experiencing complete inner peace.
Even when he wasn't consciously controlling his body, he continued the training almost automatically, as if his body had been trained to do so, like an instinct that fueled his blood.
As the day turned to night, Aur continued his training as if there were no tomorrow, without taking any breaks.
His face glistened with sweat, and his entire wizard robes were already soaked from his training. Aur's crimson eyes were dull as he blankly stared.
"Aur."
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from outside his room, waking him up from his reverie.
His red pupils moved again, as if he had gained clarity.
Aur hurriedly stopped his training. The moment he did, every fibre of his being seemed to pulsate with excitement, and he closed his eyes with a blissful expression, revelling in the moment.
"Aur?" Evelyn voiced again with confusion.
"I am here, Mother," Aur said in a calm expression. "Give me a minute." He quickly cleaned the place up and opened the door.
Evelyn and Adam's noses twitched as they came inside, wearing a strange expression on their faces as they looked at Aur.
"Cough, I was training here," Aur said as he rubbed his head in embarrassment.
"Alright," Evelyn replied with a smile on her face.
"You have been training your physical body since you were young and have honed it masterfully, but only training the physical body isn't enough. You must have hit a bottleneck already. Remember not to forget your wizard training and make it your first agenda," Adam spoke in a serious tone.
"I understand, Father," Aur nodded his head in understanding.
"Good."
"So, Aur, what were your questions previously?" Evelyn's expression turned serious as she asked.
"Has Ava already slept?" Aur inquired instead of replying.
"Yes, she has already slept," she nodded her head.
"Can't you guys use a lifespan-prolonging spell to increase your lifespan?" Aur finally spoke.
"You know how hard it is to find lifespan-prolonging spells, and once you imprint it, the same spell won't work twice," Adam said with a sigh. "We have only used one lifespan spell that the village leader rewarded us for our bravery in accomplishing the village mission, which increased our lifespan by two years. However, in that same mission, we had actually lost five years of our life."
"Huh," Aur was stunned when he heard this. "How did you guys lose your lifespan?" he asked with a frown on his face.