[130] Mixed Signals, About Sage, and…

Chapter 130: Mixed Signals, About Sage, and…

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“Phew,” the door clicked behind us as we entered our hotel room.

We lodged here with appearances faked since otherwise, it'd be bothersome to get a scandal titled: Japan's Greatest Star Ai was seen getting into a hotel with the teen star of a dating show.

So Ai used a basic spell to change her hair color, and I did the same by calling forth the Tiger Icon over me. That brought us into our rooms, where Ai walked over to the bed and slumped onto her back and I put our helmets on the hanger.

“Haah,” she let out a breath of relaxation. “Finally, it’s warm here.”

“You should get rid of your clothes first.” I said as I tapped my clothes, one by one, to deposit them into my Void Storage.

That left me in my underwear, and I felt her gaze flicker on my near-naked body for the briefest second before she looked up and met my gaze.

She gave me a jealous look, “You should teach me a spell to do that too.”

“Didn't you tell Ruby last time that retaining some human limits is better? Such as cleaning her own room, as you said.” I crossed my arms and looked at her. “You can already change your clothes with a thought, at least get them off yourself by hand.”

“Haah,” she sighed and closed her eyes. A moment later, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at me. “Then… help me take them off, I'm tired.”

“....”

At this point, I'm not sure what she wanted.

First, she refused to answer my confession, then she pulled me to a hotel— which is fine, a mother and son sharing a hotel room isn't that weird, but her excuse for that was too weak. How could she say ‘I’m feeling cold and chilly’ when her powers are a supergirl template? Now she's asking me to help her get naked.

Does she like leading me on only to leave me hanging on a cliff?

I didn't say anything and walked over to her. My hand reached out to grab the chain near her collar, as I pulled it down. As the chain parted, her white tank top peeked out, as did her round, firm breasts under it.

“Uh,” she blushed a little. “Just teleport it into your storage, why are you taking it off by hand…”

“Raise your arms,” I ignored her words and said. She looked at me and waited, and then raised her arms in the air. I pulled the jacket out of her arms, one after the other, and then pulled the entire thing off.

Then I grabbed the belt in her pants and unhooked it. Then I began to pull it down. She blushed, but her words fell on deaf ears as I helped her get naked slowly.

Now she remained in a white panty and a tank top.

I stared down at her as she looked at me, barely, before looking away to the side with a blush on her face.

That made me frown.

I leaned my weight into one hand, placing it beside her, as my face loomed inches above her. “Just what do you want from me, mom?”

“Uh…”

“Don't pretend. It's not very son-like to undress their mother, yet you asked me for it. You know the way I see you, yet you asked me this—what are you implying?” I stared into her eyes, even as she looked away, and stayed silent until she found the courage to look right into my eyes. “Yes?”

“I thought you'd just… teleport them… I didn't expect you to take them off in such an intimate way…” she said slowly and I sighed, standing back up.

“I see, sorry for the misunderstanding,” I knew it wasn't a misunderstanding, but I’m not going to play her games if she wasn't planning to be honest. “I'll go take a shower, then. You can go in after.”

Ignoring her sheepish nod, I turned around and walked into the washroom.

* * *

Cold water hit my face as I faced the shower faucet, my eyes unblinking as I stared in silence. Water rinsed my hair, trailing down my body, and clearing the dirt I’ve been through during daytime. It felt nice to clean, but my mind didn’t feel like resting.

‘Just what is she doing?’ I let out a sigh and wondered.

I didn’t mind chasing her for years or decades, I’ve done longer in the past, but what I did mind was dishonesty. It’s not as if she didn’t have feelings for me, then why? Why must she act this way? Is she truly scared of committing to me?

Showers usually helped people get through problems, but that didn’t seem to be true for this particular case. I finished cleaning up soon and walked back into the bedroom with only a towel wrapped around my waist.

“You should go now,” I looked at Ai and said. She refused to meet my eyes and just nodded before she quickly slipped into the washroom.

I looked at the door for a moment before shaking my head and walking over to the bed. I came to a pause in front of the mirror, where my reflection looked back at me as majestic as always.

“Hmm,” I turned to properly face it and looked at my defined shoulders, chest, and abs. The shredded muscles looked like bones, they were hard and strong like that, and the general V-shape went great with me.

“Body’s perfect now,” I noted with a comprehensive look. “Then guess it’s time I hit Archlord.” Which will instantly promote me to Sage.

Like its predecessors, Overlord and Underlord, Archlord too had a revelation waiting to be met. While Underlord was about the past, and Overlord the present, Archlord’s revelation was about the future—my future goal, my vision, etc.

Where am I going, who will I become, as a martial artist?

Since I’m ready and have nothing else to do tonight, I decided it was the perfect moment to try pushing for Archlord. The interior of the hotel room, cozy and warm with its invitation to rest, suddenly felt constricting. In the storm of advancement, it’ll be left to cinders. I needed to be outside for this.

I glanced at the bathroom door, behind which the water ran, and made my decision.

Silently, I slipped out of the room, the towel was the only thing I bothered to wear. The storm outside, rumbling with thunder and flashes of lightning, called to me; the weather was perfect for an advancement of my Path.

I took the stairs two at a time, eventually choosing to fly through as I headed for the rooftop, where nature and I could stand face to face. The door to the rooftop gave way with a push, revealing the chaos of the storm in full glory.

Rain lashed at me, driven by the wind into fierce, stinging whips. Lightning carved the sky into jagged fragments of light and shadow. “Damn,” Undeterred, I walked to the edge, facing the storm, my eyes reflecting the tumultuous dance of nature.

“Let’s see now…” I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, as I sought my revelation.

The future, my future, lay spread before me, a canvas awaiting its defining stroke. A single line, I needed to think of a perfect line. What vision of the future could propel me to Archlord, solidify my will, and chart my course?

The air around me grew ionized, and my hair began to stand in the air. A strong wind circled me as if I were the center of a to-be-born tornado. The world, reality itself, was ready to hear my confessions of the future. I looked forward to reaching an answer, but even after minutes, the revelation eluded me.

My thoughts circled, touching upon desires, ambitions, the faces of those I cared for, the worlds I wished to protect and conquer. Yet none of it was right, I could see myself going down a hundred different versions of myself achieving my goals, yet none of them felt… right. A rumble of thunder, closer now, mocked my efforts.

"The world exists for me to mold and reshape." I tried, and reality didn’t respond.

"...My path is to stand alone at the summit," I said, and that too didn’t register.

"Embracing the darkness within will light my path to supremacy," I said.

"Destruction of all others paves the way for my greatness," I said and sighed, as this too failed to achieve any result. I had to have a clear vision of the future, and also have faith in it. In some other life, the three lines would have worked, but not in this—this wasn’t the life where I’d embrace the darkness within myself and grow edgier. I was lucky with the Underlord and Overlord lines, they fell into place right away—but the Archlord revelation was looking tough.

In frustration, I grunted and opened my eyes, the circle of wind around me going away, just in time to see a bolt of lightning fork down from the heavens, striking me squarely. Of course, I failed to advance, the heaven can’t go without mocking me.

The impact sent a jolt through me, more invigorating than harmful, as my body absorbed the energy with a hunger born of my unique constitution, granting me a bit more Qi in my dantian. The Grandmist Body was useful like this.

The strike failed to harm me but succeeded in clearing my mind of all but one glaring fact: my revelation was incorrect. I needed to think of a correct one first, fast.

“Goddamit,” I sighed. With a shot toward the sky, I turned back to the door, while the elements in the atmosphere seemed to roar in laughter or encouragement; I couldn't decide which.

The night was no longer young, and the failed attempt at advancement left me with more questions than answers. It didn’t help that my mood wasn’t fine from the get-go.

“I’m back,” walking back to the hotel room, I said as I opened the door. My mind was busy but I regained clarity in an instant as I paused at the scene before me.

All thoughts of revelations and advancements were grounded as I stared at Ai, who stood, frozen in place, her glistening naked form caught in the act of reaching for a towel on the shelf. The towel dangled just out of her reach and her movements halted by my sudden return.

“Uhhhhh….!” She recovered and quickly covered her chest with the towel. “I- I was calling you earlier! To hand me a towel, but you weren’t here-!”

My mind, heavy from failure, felt as if all its weight had been lifted as I let out a laugh. The palpable tension a second ago broke with my laughter, a stark contrast to the chaos I had just faced outside, as Ai blushed and glared at me.

“K-knock when you enter!” she yapped out before she rushed back inside the bath to dry herself.

…..

“I need clothes,” A while later, Ai walked back into the room with a towel wrapped around her body. “Do you have some?”

She could easily use her spell to change her towel into something else, but I guess there's a sense of security in real clothes.

“I have some. But come here first,” I said and got up from the bed. She looked at me for a bit and walked over.

I reached out my hands and ruffled her hair as warm wind came out of my hands. She closed her eyes and moaned softly as I worked as her hairdryer.

“It's alright now,” I stopped half a minute later. Ai opened her eyes, looking up at me with her messy dry hair giving her a look irresistible.

I resisted though.

“Thanks, Aqua.” she said with a smile but it dropped when I backed off to give her space.

“It's alright,” I said as I brought out a pair of clothes from my Void Storage. “Here.”

She looked at my outstretched hand, my backsteps, as she opened her mouth with a frustrated frown. But no words came out. Her lips trembled before she looked away to the side. I stood silent with my hand still outstretched.

A minute later, she looked up at my face. Her eyes were filled with fury even as her cheeks were flushed in embarrassment, “Help me…” she said, “Wear the clothes.”

…I'm not sure why she didn't accept my proposal earlier. However, I'm sure what she wanted at this very moment, and no, it didn't help with wearing clothes.

I dropped the clothes on the bed, followed by her back that gently fell on the softness of the mattress. I loomed over her, with my hand gently tugging on her towel to pull it free, as my face rested inches over hers.

She breathed heavily as my hand groped her breast, feeling the soft firmness, while my lips neared her. She closed her eyes and parted her lips, accepting my embrace as I kissed her deeply.

I ended the kiss short to look at her, as our breaths let out foggy breaths in this cool weather. “You should learn to be,” I said, “more honest with yourself like this.”

“....” Ai blushed and looked to the side, and I leaned over to kiss her nape.

“Your night is going to be the best out of all women on this planet,” I told her. “And also… I'll make you say it back to me.”

She parted her lips to ask what, but they were sealed as I kissed her again. For a moment, Ai struggled under me, but her arms soon wrapped around my neck while my hands wandered her perfect body.

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