There was silence for a while. Skye's little brain took a while to process the words Kyle was saying. She knew her father's voice; she might not have heard it in a couple of thousand years, but she was sure the voice in her head wasn't his. Yet, she couldn't deny the familiar, comforting feeling the voice provoked.
It wasn't much, but because of that feeling, she was sure he wasn't lying. After all, apart from her mother and her two sisters, her father was the only other person she felt this comfortable talking to.
"Papa... is that really you?" Skye asked, tears gathering in her eyes as she voiced the only question that came to mind.
"Mmhmm," Kyle replied. "How is my little princess doing?" he asked. It seemed that Enric, although cold to others, was really affectionate to his immediate family—a characteristic that took over Kyle's mind the moment he heard the little girl's voice.
"sniff.. I'm fine," she said, barely holding back her tears. "Papa, are you coming back home soon?" she asked hopefully, waiting for his reply as she sat on the edge of her bed.
"Hmmmmm, does my daughter miss me that much?" Kyle teased.
"Mmhmm," she nodded, "everybody misses Papa so much," she said, falling back onto her bed.
"I mi....ss y....ou a—" Kyle's voice seemed to break up before stopping completely.
"Hello?" Skye called out, but no response came. After saying "hello" a few more times and pouting for a minute or two, she decided to go tell her mother about the whole episode.
---
"Is he okay?" a voice echoed in Kyle's ear.
"I don't know; he was smiling just a minute ago," another voice said as he slowly regained consciousness.
"Oh... He's waking up," the first voice said again.
Kyle finally opened his eyes to see two faces right above his own.
"What are you girls doing?" Kyle asked as he gazed at the two beauties in front of him.
"We should be asking you that. You looked like you were having so much fun with... whatever it was you were doing," Rea retorted, lightly poking his cheeks.
"Oh, you see..." he explained everything that had just happened, making them feel a little left out.
"Kyle, aren't you going to get up? You've been lying there for a while now," Fiona said, looking at him. He was still in the same position as before, flat on his back.
"Ah... you see... the thing is, I might have exhausted my mana, and now I can't move," Kyle said, laughing awkwardly at the end.
Fiona and Rea looked at him before looking at each other.
"Well, good night," they said in unison, climbing onto the bed to sleep.
"Huh? You guys are just going to leave me here?" Kyle was shocked. Were his wives really this wicked?
"Kyle, why can't you move?" Fiona asked as she sat on the bed with her arms folded.
"Well, it's because I was talking to Skye and—"
"Alone?" Rea interrupted, making Kyle pause.
"Huh?"
"You talked to her alone, so you can sleep on the floor alone. That's your punishment for leaving us out," Rea continued.
"Wait, that wasn't m—"
"Goodnight, Kyle," they said, interrupting him again.
The lights in the room went off with a snap of Fiona's fingers. The two girls laid down and soon fell asleep, the cheeky smiles on their faces hidden from Kyle.
Kyle didn't like the idea of sleeping on the floor, but maybe it was for the best right now. So many thoughts were swirling around his head; the memories he had gained from merging with Enric were overwhelming. But at least he was aware of something now: their enemy was not dead and would return. Although he didn't know when or how, he knew he had to get stronger, much stronger. Well, once he could move, at least.
"Status," he called out, summoning the translucent screen with words written on it.
"Everything looks the same?" He stared at the screen for a while as if hoping it would refresh. 'I thought I got Enric's stats. Why isn't it showing here?' he questioned.
[The host's stats are being sealed as your body is not strong enough to contain that amount of power.]
"Then how do I get 'stronger'?" Kyle asked. He wasn't expecting this situation, but nonetheless, he remained as calm as could be.
[The host needs to train his physical body.]
As soon as the system said those words, Kyle's first-ever quest appeared.
[DING!]
[QUEST - Reach Your Limit.]
[Description - Only by surpassing your limits can you grow stronger.]
Looking at the screen, Kyle only had one thought: 'Exercise?!!' His worst enemy. In his past life, he never really did it unless he noticed he was gaining weight, and when he did, he hated every moment. But this wasn't the time or place to let his dislikes stop him.
'But first, I have to get up,' he thought.
[MP: 20000/50020]
His MP was almost halfway full, so he guessed he could stand up. He got to his feet, stretching his stiff body and loosening his joints, producing the most satisfying cracking sounds. He walked over to the bed, looking down at his two beautiful wives as they slept. It was nothing short of a work of art in Kyle's eyes. He kissed them on their foreheads before stepping out of the room to head to a training hall.
He walked and walked throughout the castle before remembering a crucial detail: "I don't actually know where the training hall is." He had just been wandering aimlessly, and there weren't even any maids around to lead the way.
"Should I call Thalia or just go back to bed?" Thalia would probably know the way, but it was so late; she would definitely be asleep by now.
WOOSH
As he stood there trying to make up his mind, he caught the sound of something cutting through the air. He followed the sound down the hall to a medium-sized door a few feet taller than Kyle's six-foot frame. He pulled the door open slightly, peeking his head in to see what was going on inside.
The door opened to a wide space, a few measures bigger than a basketball court. It was circular, with a large platform almost as big as the room situated in the center, raised a few inches off the ground. Beside the door was an assortment of weapons on racks attached to the wall—swords, axes, and others of different sizes. They seemed to have it all.
"I finally found the training hall, but now there's a new problem," Kyle thought to himself as he watched the woman on the platform relentlessly swing her sword.
This woman was Milena. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail, probably to allow her to swing freely. Sweat dripped down her body, reflecting the moonlight passing through the room's large windows. She hadn't noticed Kyle yet, even though he wasn't really trying to hide as he watched from the door.
Each swing was followed by a groan, and as Kyle watched her, he realized something was wrong with her form. The old Kyle wouldn't have noticed, but now, possessing the knowledge and experience of Enric, he could see she was definitely frustrated. The way she grunted, the slight imperfections in her stance—they all screamed that her mind wasn't fully present.
He picked up a wooden sword from the rack beside him and walked up to the platform. Something in him just couldn't bear to see this woman in such a state.
---
Milena swung her sword as she battled with an unfamiliar feeling: guilt. It was a feeling that, while not new to her, was one she rarely experienced. She didn't even know why she felt like this. She knew it wasn't her fault that Richard had gone missing; she knew she couldn't have done anything to prevent it. But she still felt at fault. Richard was like an older brother to her, someone she cared for dearly, and she couldn't save him. If only I had finished my mission earlier. If only I was faster. If only I was stronger.
Her sword pushed through the air, creating small drafts, each one stronger than the last, until...
THONK
The sword was stopped.
She looked up to see a tall man with snow-white hair looking down at her with an awkward smirk.
"Um... hello," Kyle said, delivering a wave as his right hand shuddered from blocking her swing.
Milena's face turned a little red, contrasting with the two streams of tears flowing from her eyes. Her confusion turned to embarrassment before twisting into annoyance. Her teary face scrunched up in anger. Who the hell was this guy?
Milena was someone who tried to preserve her strong image. As captain of the strongest division in the Valtorian Empire and one of the strongest swordsmen the empire had ever produced, it wasn't a surprise that she tried to uphold an appearance that matched her title, especially as a woman. So she did not appreciate this random guy barging in on her during an emotional moment.
Her response to his intrusion was simple: she swung at him, hard and fast.
Kyle dodged easily, ducking under the blade. He would have blocked it, but thanks to Solis's ridiculous strength, which, although higher than normal, was only holding 10%, Kyle was outmatched. To avoid a painful hit, he dodged.
Without a second's pause, she had already rearranged her grip, drawing the sword downward in an attempt to split his skull open. But again, Kyle dodged, moving his body to the side before rolling to his feet.
She delivered another swing, and another, and another, but Kyle remained untouched, avoiding the deadly arcs drawn around him. Her failure to land a hit only served to infuriate her further.
She reeled back the sword, taking a fencing stance. The room went quiet for a second, and then her sword tore through the air.
BOOM
The shockwave was huge, pushing the air apart and heating the tip of the wooden sword. Kyle dodged, but barely. She was almost as fast as him. Almost.
She thrust again and again, but Kyle kept dodging. It was better that he did, because one misstep would have left a hole somewhere in his body.