To her relief, the warm rays of the Radiant Sun slowly refilled her Radiant energy as she walked down the street. Lilibeth had more clothes than Yuriko expected, with a hanging closet, several drawers, and even a few boxes scattered around the bedroom and living room. The brasserie fitted oddly now since Yuriko’s incarnation slowly morphed Lilibeth’s natural shape to suit hers instead. She was a bit taller than Lilibeth and more slender. Well, nothing adjusting the straps wouldn’t fix. Her cup size was smaller now, but the waistband of her panties still fit snuggly.

She threw on a t-shirt that was now a crop top, showing a bit of Yuriko’s waist. She still had some of Lilibeth’s flabby tummy though. A pair of blue cotton jeans, socks, and white sneakers. Yuriko’s arms were paler than Lilibeth’s as the other girl had an enviable tan. Still, Yuriko was glad she didn’t bother wearing a cardigan since she needed the exposure.

Radiant energy trickled into her body, which guzzled it as if it were rainfall after a drought. Her skin glowed softly but wasn’t that obvious against the morning sun. The feeling of pleasure that suffused her made her a bit absentminded, so she just wandered down Clarity Lane. Whilton Apartments was the name of the building her rooms were in, and it was one of many down the street. It was a U-shaped building, four storeys, and a middle courtyard served as a parking space for vehicles. One of those was Lilibeth’s, Yuriko realised. A small motorcycle called a scooter that honestly looked slower than she could walk. It was painted light blue, looked a bit beat up, but was still clean. No, she didn’t take the scooter. She’d much rather ride her Kanegawa Bladedancer.

Speaking of bladedancers, she really should go check on the machine. She’d left it outside the mountain range and barely covered. It’s been a few weeks already and who knows how badly it’s been affected by Dragon Fall City’s weather. Her true body oriented towards the northwest and moved that way. Not that she stopped killing the antibodies as she went. She constantly shifted the type of sword she used now, changing the angle of the blades, which side was sharp, and how sharp they should be. It hasn’t been more than a week since the incident with the portal, and the true body’s Anima reach had recovered more than eight paces so far. It was a rate that was much faster than before. Either recovering from the severing of her Anima was faster, or the novelty of having two bodies helped. Probably a bit of both. Hmmm, if she ever managed to bring her incarnation body and her true body together, Heron and Gwendith could have one to themselves in bed.

As she walked away from the apartment building, one of its residents came out of the opposite wing, yawning into her hand. A middle-aged woman with a kindly face, and slightly chubby, Mrs. Campbell was the apartment common area’s custodian. The woman glanced at Yuriko, blinked, and said in forced cheer, “Lili! Good morning!”

Yuriko stared at Mrs. Campbell for a long moment, then returned a sombre greeting, “Good morning.”

“Up so early? I would’ve thought you’d prefer sleeping in,” Mrs. Campbell said as she walked down the flagstone path, towards the newspaper that had been carelessly tossed in the open. She bent over to pick it up but straightened with a pained gasp as she knuckled the small of her back. “Ah, ow!”

Yuriko glided over, picked up the paper and presented it to the older woman. “Are you alright?”

“I’ve been better. Threw my back last night.” Mrs. Campbell mumbled, “Thanks, my dear.”

“You’re welcome.”

Mrs. Campbell’s smile was a bit crooked from the pain, but she looked up at Yuriko’s eyes, then she blinked and frowned. “Huh, you look much better without those glasses. You’ve such beautiful eyes,” she gushed.

“Really?” Yuriko asked, feeling a bit self-conscious. Wait. Why would she…ah. Remnant feelings. Was Lilibeth insecure?

Yup. She was.

Why though?

“Yeah!” Mrs. Campbell cheered, “I like what you did with your hair too! What, did you dye it last night? I don’t smell anything…” She muttered the last bit.

“Nothing. I did nothing.” Yuriko insisted “Just…” She shook her head and didn’t continue.

“Ah, where are you off to, so early?” The woman was quite nosy but she reminded Yuriko of her neighbour back in Faron’s Crossing. Matron Rosie was a busybody, but well-meaning and kind at heart. Mrs. Campbell served a similar function for the residents of Whilton Apartments, most of whom were students or fresh graduates from Trinity University, which was only a few blocks away.

“Felt like taking a morning walk,” Yuriko said. Her Anima was currently hidden within her body and heavily restricting it. It was the best and most efficient way to train, providing resistance with every movement. Already, Yuriko’s back was slick with sweat, though she carefully sluiced it off with her command of Elemental Water. Later, she’d use the Cleanse spell to get rid of the mineral salts and other wastes her body excreted as she reforged her physique.

“Oh, well, have fun! Don’t forget your apartment keys, alright?”

“Oh, yeah,” Yuriko mumbled. She did not, in fact, bring her apartment keys with her. She did lock the door behind her, but it was easy enough to open the door from the wrong side with her kinesis.

Mrs. Campbell eyed her doubtfully, then giggled. “If you forgot, remember that the building manager has spares. It might take a while for him to bring them here though.” The woman gave her a head-to-toe look. “Don’t tell me you forgot your phone too!”

“I uh, left it behind,” Yuriko said awkwardly, now feeling the brunt of the woman’s nosiness. She took a half step back, but Mrs. Campbell subconsciously followed.

“Oh, I see. But, you really aren’t this careless, Lili,” Mrs. Campbell said worriedly. “Are you alright? You seem distracted. I…you seem off lately.”

“I’m fine. Really,” Yuriko insisted.

“If you say so. Well, you’re welcome to the office whenever you like,” Mrs. Campbell said as she reached up to pat Yuriko’s shoulder. She paused and tilted her head, mumbling to herself, “Growth spurt?”

“Thanks,” Yuriko said hastily, “but I’d like to take my walk now.”

“Of course! Don’t let me keep you!”

Yuriko heaved a sigh of relief as she turned to walk away. Whilton Apartments was only a couple of buildings from the corner of Clarity Lane and Patience Street, which would then lead to Greyham Circle, a roundabout that had a park in the middle, bearing the same name. Trinity Avenue was on the east side of the roundabout, which would lead to the rest of the campus.

Well, she was planning on walking around the park. It was early yet, but there were people jogging the track, so she wouldn’t be alone or stand out too much. Of course, her outfit wasn’t meant for physical exercise, huh?

It was comfy enough, and Yuriko fought off Lilibeth’s urge to always wear activity-appropriate clothing. It was fine, it was fine.

“Oh!” Mrs. Campbell gasped. Yuriko turned back and saw the older woman holding the newspaper and staring at the front page.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh dear. A robbery at the Bank of Astoria. 2nd Avenue Branch, in Neo Prism.” Mrs. Campbell turned the paper to show a picture.

Yuriko blinked at the black and white print. It was of a room, a captured footage from a security camera, she assumed, that had been pointed at a wall with a circular, steel door. A vault? The strange thing was that there was a masked figure walking out of it. While the door was still closed, the figure was sticking right through it. The headline read: Phantom Cat Strikes Again! Altered Human Crimes on the Rise!

“Altered Human?” Yuriko muttered.

“Those filthy freaks of nature!” Mrs. Campbell’s voice was so full of unnatural vitriol that Yuriko couldn’t help but stare. A chill ran down her spine at the woman’s scowl, though she dismissed the feeling soon after. Mrs. Campbell grunted, scowled, and muttered to herself for a few moments before her expression returned to its normal pleasant state. “I’m sorry, Lili, they just get a rise out of me.”

“I understand,” Yuriko said, and she did, somewhat. She used a couple of her strands of consciousness to review Lilibeth’s memories and found mention of the Altered Humans. What she saw was somewhat familiar, but also strange. She also wasn’t sure if it was biased information…no, it was certainly biased since Lilibeth had not met any Altered in her life, at least not those who revealed themselves to her. “If you’re alright, I’ll go ahead.”

“Oh, sure, sure.”

This time, Yuriko didn’t slow. She eased up on her restrictions enough so that she could walk easily even as she cycled Recovery to repair her torn muscles, and cracked bones. Organ and nerve damage, too, from the strain, and at the moment, her body was held together by the ten percent of the true body’s physique that she had spread out like a network of roots throughout Lilibeth’s body. That and her Animakinesis. But she had to be careful here. It seems like those with obvious power were reviled and singled out.

Whereas Clarity Lane was made out of black gravel and asphalt, and had white lines painted on it that divided the road into three equal parts, Patience Street was a bit wider at five lanes. Both sides of the road were pavement for people walking, while the middle was for cars and motorbikes. This early, there were only a couple of odd cars running down the street, and they looked decidedly different from the ones she saw in Dragon Fall City. Cleaner, sleeker, and slower, that’s for sure. More than a few people were walking the pavement too, most headed towards the roundabout that was half a longstride away. In the middle of that roundabout was Greyham Park, which was ironically wider than the distance from Clarity Lane to the roundabout at a longstride. There was a slice of the park that was filled with commercial buildings, and Yuriko remembered that in one of those cafes was where Lilibeth worked one of her part-time jobs during Earthsday, which had been yesterday. The Bean and Coffee Cafe.

She arrived at the strip mall, but it was too early for most of the shops to open. Except for the cafe, actually, and a couple of others, too. Yuriko didn’t approach, however, since she was a bit wary of people who knew Lilibeth would feel something different about her.

Well, who was she kidding? Mrs. Campbell probably noticed something but was too polite to mention it. But then again, Lilibeth’s ritual was all about changing herself, perhaps those who knew her would think it worked? That brought a new can of worms though.

She went past the strip mall and went along the walking path. Her initial round of Recovery was done, and her Animus reserves had plummeted. Not that she had much to begin with, less than ten lumens at the moment. She was more efficient in its use now, however, and it was more than enough to cycle. She drew in a deep breath, taking in all the ambient energies she could and fed it into her core. She also wove Radiant energy she absorbed from the Sun into Animus, and it took less than a minute to fill her small reserves. That simple cycle already increased the limit by a single lumen, and it shouldn’t take the rest of the day to expand to maximum capacity. She couldn’t create an external reserve, however, otherwise, she’d have to keep her Anima slightly expanded. As it were, she was keeping everything underneath her skin.

That’s what she did for the rest of the morning. Walk under extreme pressure, Recovery, then regenerate Animus. Close to midday, she was seated on a park bench, respiring Animus when someone yelled Lilibeth’s name.

She’d been so preoccupied with training, and quite unused to being called by another name, and she also didn’t have her perception aura out, that she was quite surprised when someone kissed her thoroughly. Along with one hand squeezing her bosom, and the other on her bottom.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep