Thala, who had been focused on the books spread across her desk, looked to the side, staring at a strange man lying on her bed.
It took a few seconds for her to process what was happening.
"Mother, what is this?" Thala asked, her gaze shifting between Knox and Elowen several times.
She even stopped focusing on her books, her mind curious about what was happening inside her room on what had been, up until that moment, a calm night.
Elowen gestured for the two of them to sit on the edge of the bed for a moment. "Quite a lot to explain. Let me tell you what happened today at the ritual..."
Thala listened attentively to every detail. And she also became extremely curious about Knox.
"This Knox... he's unique, isn't he? Could our family finally have gotten lucky? After generations of suffering?" Thala asked, her eyes nearly tearing up for an instant.
She wanted so badly to believe that everything happening in that moment was something good. To her, Knox needed to be a savior—a summon capable of changing the cruel destiny her family had been suffering for centuries.
The two talked about important matters for several minutes, and during that time, Knox kept snoring in the room, as if he'd just collapsed onto a five-star hotel bed.
Thala sighed. "Am I asking for too much? Looking at a snoring human like this, he doesn't seem capable of saving our family."
Elowen was starting to think differently—especially after seeing Knox's unique classification and his mysterious abilities.
"He'll accompany you to the academy," Elowen explained. "He's rank C, which isn't that low, and he has very special abilities. I believe he'll be a good ally on your adventure."
"Are you sure? From what I know, people judge those with humanoid summons pretty harshly. If he were some other creature, maybe... but a human?" Thala said, worry plastered across her face.
"Relax, there are laws to prevent that kind of thing," Elowen tried to calm her daughter. "Nowadays things are better than in the past. Apparently, for some reason, it's becoming more common for humanoids to be summoned. They're even conducting studies on the Dream Realm, since something might be happening there."
"Really?" Thala was curious to know more about that, but she knew it wasn't something a beginner like her should be researching. Her focus at that moment was passing the academy test.
"Everything will be fine, my daughter," Elowen ran her fingers through Thala's hair. "You'll pass the test, grow stronger, and help our family recover. And I'm certain Knox will be important in this journey."
The two were sharing a tender family moment when Knox woke up out of nowhere.
"I was sleeping but I can hear everything," Knox explained. "You can relax, young lady, I'll help you with your mission and help your family. But like, could you free up this bed so I can nap a bit more? If you could talk outside or something?"
Knox barely finished that sentence before falling into a deep sleep again, leaving both of them in disbelief at the personality of the summon they'd obtained.
Elowen stood up and called to her daughter. "Let's go have dinner. That's enough studying for today. If you want, you can sleep in my room if he keeps snoring in here."
"Thank you, mother."
Alone in the room, Knox was resting deeply, but at the same time, he was tuned in to everything happening around him. It was one of his many special abilities.
[Lazy Senses of the Legendary Lazy Knight (Rank S): Even while sleeping, you're able to stay half-awake and hear everything happening around you, thus guaranteeing you'll be safe even during your well-deserved rests.]
[This skill can be upgraded.]
Even with his eyes closed, Knox could see the effects appearing before him—benefits of his system.
The first ability that granted him 10 points to each attribute every 10 seconds was in full swing.
According to the system, Knox's body wasn't exactly super strong initially, but this skill was already making an absurd difference.
*
[Name: Knox]
[Summon Class: Legendary Lazy Knight (Unknown Rank)]
[Magical Core Level: C]
[Body Level: C]
[Total Mana: 120/120]
[Attributes:]
[Strength: 14]
[Agility: 23]
[Vigor: 9]
[Intelligence: 9]
[Wisdom: 7]
*
Judging by his initial attributes, when fully stacking his first passive, Knox could increase his power nearly sixfold.
That was already spectacular!
"If I activate the bonus from sleeping 12 hours a night, I'll get even stronger. Ahh, what else will this system bring me? And how can I increase my power in other ways? Of course, ways that aren't exhausting, hehe."
Just looking at all the books scattered across Thala's room... well, that made Knox even less interested in studying to try and get stronger that way. He wanted more satisfying methods, exactly like what his system was doing for him...
Anyway, Knox kept snoring, thinking while smelling the aroma drifting from downstairs, "Hope they save some dinner for me. I'm starving..."
*
Knox thought he'd be woken up eventually during the night, probably after dinner, but he wasn't. Thala slept in her mother's room, leaving him snoring all night.
Or rather, all morning. Knox needed his 12 hours of sleep to function properly, waking up quite late in the morning, well past breakfast time.
This was completely different from elves, since they functioned perfectly fine with just 4 hours of sleep per day. Thala, productive as ever with her day, couldn't believe Knox could sleep so much without worrying about anything.
As soon as he left the bedroom, Knox went straight to the dining room. His hair was a complete mess, just like his clothes. The elven sword was strapped to his back in a sheath.
"Finally awake," Thala said as soon as she saw him.
She was sitting at the table with her books, studying. Elowen wasn't around.
For the first time, Knox focused properly on Thala's face, and sure enough, his intuition had been right.
She was beautiful, just like Elowen. Long blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders, and moss-green eyes that made anyone stop and stare.
Her skin didn't have a single mark, as if elven magic was keeping her more youthful than she was supposed to be.
Knox was dying to say something inappropriate, but he remembered what Elowen had said, and also remembered that no one had woken him up, letting him sleep in the matriarch's daughter's room like that. That was a huge consideration for him.
So he simply sat in the chair and spoke normally with her.
"Knox's my name, I guess you already know that, and you're Thala, right? Hope we can have some good times at the academy. I'm sure you'll pass the test," Knox said with a smile on his face.
A few seconds later, Elowen entered the dining room.
"I'm almost certain you only said that because you heard me coming," Elowen said, sighing after all the meetings she'd had that morning.
"Me? No, never. Look at what you think of me," Knox replied.
It was impossible to hide his guilty face. He really had heard her arrive. His temporarily boosted attributes had saved his skin from saying something stupid to Thala so early...