Arthur sat on the edge of the bed, with his elbows resting on his thighs, as a holographic panel floating in front of him.

His Status sheet had changed a lot, and not just the usual small tweaks that happen most of the time. It was like his full-on system had been overhauled.

Selene was in the bathroom behind a sliding glass door, steam faintly drifting out. He could hear the sound of water running coming from the bathroom as she rinsed her hair. Every now and then something inside clattered, probably her poking at the futuristic controls again.

He focused on the panel in front of him again, to familiarize himself with the changes and additions to it.

//——————–//

[STATUS]

Name: Arthur Sully

Designation: ECHO Commander

Power Tier: 6-B –

Age: 28

Height: 6’3″

Aether Capacity: 1.55 M Units 

(A/N: Aether is ~20 times potent and denser than Mana/Chi.)

Strength: 6-B (A/N: Country Level)

Speed: Massively Hypersonic+ (Mach 3720)

Durability: High 6-C 

(A/N: Arthur can easily withstand attacks that can destroy a large island.)

[ABILITIES]

[Reactive Evolution] [Superior Regeneration] [Toxin Immunity] [Gene Lock] [Aether Manipulation (Lv1)] [Pain Tolerance] [Lightning Manipulation (Lv6)] [Mana Manipulation (Lv5)] [Chi Manipulation (Lv6)] [Technopathy (Lv4)] [Energy Absorption (Lv7)] 

[Elemental Manipulation (Lv2): Host can create, shape and manipulate all the fundamental elements of the universe using only his will.] 

[Matter Manipulation (Lv1): Host can manipulate, create, shape and control matter at the molecular level.] 

[Spatial Manipulation (Lv1): Host can manipulate the space around him.]

[Aether Energy Reactor (Lv1): Host can generate Aether by absorbing and converting other forms of energy into it.]

(A/N: As he gains more control over Aether he will unlock more abilities in the future.)

[SPELLS]

[Telekinesis] [Telepathy]

[TECHNIQUES]

[Domain: Density Manipulation] 

//——————–//

Arthur dragged his hand down his face.

“… This is a lot.”

The first thing he personally changed was the way his strength, durability and speed was shown in the status panel. Instead of numbers, he now categorized them to a tire system he had seen in fandoms in his previous life, mostly because he was tired of seeing numbers. Anyone in the tier he was currently at, could easily destroy a country sized mass with their strongest attack.

He scrolled through the panel again, and noticed all his energies, Mana, Chi and the unknown energy he absorbed from the Chimerian Champion were broken down and converted into Aether. 

Although at first look the amount of Aether he now possess was far less than the capacity he had for all the energies before. But he sensed Aether was much denser and potent than the other forms of energy he used earlier. 

His strength and speed had also massively improved, but the most important changes were in his Abilities section. He had gained five new extremely powerful abilities, and even leveled up some of his previous ones. 

But the three major ones were Elemental Manipulation, Matter Manipulation and Aether energy reactor.

Elemental Manipulation alone was ridiculous. He felt they had an intrinsic relationship with Aether, maybe that was why he gained this power in the first place.

He could now bend the fundamental elements of the universe with only his will. 

And most of the spells that were previously shown in his status panel were no longer there. It was not that he forgot how to use them, but rather now he doesn’t need to follow the calculations and way of circulating his energy to cast them due to Elemental Manipulation. Now he can just will them into existence, making spell casting almost instantaneous. 

He snapped his fingers experimentally, and a thin arc of electricity crackled across his fingers. Then, with a thought, he willed it into a breeze instead, then fire, then a sphere of water condensed from nothing before evaporating it back into mist.

Everything responded with unnervingly little delay. “Okay… that’s insane.” He felt he could not only manipulate the ambient elements, but he could also directly convert Aether into various elements.

Matter Manipulation was even scarier. He somehow felt it was due to him possessing Telekinesis, as when one develops the micro aspect of Telekinesis and masters it they could manipulate matter using it.

And at its current level, he could alter matter at the molecular scale. Although it was nothing world-ending, it meant he could strengthen various materials, for example turn a chunk of steel into something way denser/stronger. He could now repair machinery instantly without the help of nanobots, and restructure materials.

Basically, he was inching toward becoming a walking fabrication lab.

And the most ridiculous ability he gained due to the Aether storm was the Aether Energy Reactor. His body had literally become a generator, his cells after evolving could absorb any form of energy and turn it into Aether.

Now with Aether Energy Reactor along with Energy Absorption, he wouldn’t have to fear for lack of energy. He was excited to use this new energy in his attacks to see exactly how much stronger it was compared to Mana and Chi. 

Another thing he noticed was that he had missed his birthday while he was inside the Ancient realm, Arthur just shrugged at that, ‘Whatever.’

He was distracted by a soft click which echoed from behind him.

He turned around, and instantly held his breath due to the sight in front of him.

Selene stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a white towel, while drying her hair with a second one. Her long hair tumbled over her shoulders, a few water droplets sliding down her collarbone. She crossed the room with that natural, elegant stride of hers.

Selene, seeing Arthur’s expression, smiled happily and sat beside him, while crossing one of her slender and long legs over the other. Arthur was dazed, and seeing her exposed legs gulped down, even though he had seen much more of her, the view was still amazing. 

His dazed expression was broken by a question from the smiling Selene. “So,” she said, tilting her head, “do you like what you’re seeing?”

Arthur didn’t even pretend to hide his reaction, he smirked and scooped her up and pinned her to the bed with him being on top of her.

Selene let out a surprised yelp, “Kyaaa…!” which he promptly muffled with a kiss.

The rest of the next hour was… not fit for kids.

…

A Few Hours Later

Arthur and Selene walked through the metal hallways of Spectrum-I77 following a soldier guiding them toward the designated meeting room.

Both of them looked completely normal, as they were slowly becoming more comfortable with each other.

When the soldier left them at the door, Arthur looked at Selene and said. “Let’s go inside, Admiral Kane should be waiting for us…”

The door slid open with a soft hiss, and Arthur blinked in surprise. “Kael? Lira?” He hadn’t expected them to be here.

Kael didn’t wait, he approached Arthur and pulled him into a brotherly hug. 

“Haha!” Kael laughed as he said. “It looks like you are doing just fine!”

Lira followed with a far softer hug. “Thank god… We thought…”

She froze, as she felt a chill as a shiver ran down her spine while she was hugging Arthur, she had noticed the woman beside Arthur but hadn’t paid much attention to her. And now that she paid attention, she saw the woman was watching her with the coldest eyes imaginable. Her instinct warned her of extreme danger if she continued to hug Arthur, and felt she should stay away from her for her own safety.

Arthur sighed internally sensing Selene’s jealousy and reached over to pat her shoulder to calm her down. But, she just snorted and looked away.

Arthur just scratched the back of his head and laughed helplessly. Kael snickered, barely holding in his laughter seeing the scene in front of him.

Seeing Arthur shooting him a glare, he did an exaggerated gesture of zipping with his hands in front of his mouth.

Admiral Kane cleared his throat loudly, to draw their attention while trying not to smile.

“Alright. Now that everyone’s done… with the reunion,” he said, “let’s begin.”

Everyone took their seats, except Kael and Lira who stood behind Admiral Kane. Selene immediately pulled Arthur’s arm against her body and held it in place, as if to show that he belongs to her now.

Arthur sighed and looked at the others with an apologetic expression.

Kael discretely gave him a thumbs up and mouthed, “Bro… you are lucky.”

Arthur mouthed back, “Shut up.”

Admiral Kane then asked, breaking the awkward silence, “Arthur… What exactly happened to you that day? You vanished without a trace.”

Arthur let out a long sigh and decided to be honest, at least partly, he omitted the Krozonites and the Obelisk’s origins.

“I have an ability that allows me to travel to another world. A world where magic and martial arts dominate it instead of technology.”

Kane, Kael and Lira looked at him weirdly, hearing magic was real, and seeing their skeptical look Arthur raised his palm, and a small purple fireball, the size of a golf ball hovered above it.

The room went dead silent, as all three of them widened their eyes simultaneously, at the unbelievable sight before them. 

Kael’s eyes widened. “… What the hell!”

Lira took an involuntary step forward. “Is that… real?”

Arthur curled his fingers, and the fireball vanished with a faint pop.

“This is magic, and that world,” Arthur continued, “is full of a type of energy called mana that people can use to do things like this.”

Kael swallowed loudly. “So Chi… came from that world too?”

Arthur nodded. “Yes.”

He placed a hand on Selene’s back, subtly signaling her introduction.

“And Selene… she’s from that world as well.”

Kane nodded, still trying to absorb everything. Lira finally asked. “So she’s… a mage?”

Arthur shook his head. “No. She’s a dragon.”

Kane, Kael and Lira, who was just recovering from their shock, again widened their eyes and exclaimed at the same time. “WHAT?!” 

It was an entirely absurd thing for them to hear that a legendary dragon was sitting in front of them, that to a dragon who could shapeshift into a human. Till today they believed magic and dragons were only myths, but all their beliefs were being shattered today.

Selene, completely unbothered, waved politely. “Hello.”

Kael’s jaw hung open. “A…a dragon? As in… the giant mythological beings that breathe fire?!”

Selene raised an eyebrow. “I don’t breathe fire.”

Kane slumped back in his seat. “I swear to god… Arthur, you bring surprises everywhere you go.”

Arthur shrugged helplessly. “I don’t do it on purpose.”

Selene squeezed his arm affectionately. “He absolutely does.”

Kael groaned seeing the couple acting so affectionately that too in front of the admiral, and Kane stared at Arthur and Selene wondering if he’d aged ten years in one conversation.

But after a minute, he sighed deeply and settled his gaze on Arthur again.

“Well… regardless of where you were…” His voice softened. “…I’m glad you’re back.”

Arthur met his eyes and nodded. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I’m glad too.”

Kane’s eyes then turned serious as he said, “So, let’s discuss what we need to do now.”

***

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