Cheat Awakening

"Okay, you can hate me as much as you want after we get out of this, but now tell me how much MANA do you have?" Myne, after dressing Velvet in a pink one-piece dress with black leggings, nodded in satisfaction before speaking.

"MANA? What... cough, what is that?" Velvet, hearing this strange name for the first time, couldn't help but ask in confusion. Because she was too weak to speak, her voice, once so vibrant, was now a raspy whisper.

"Easy, don't be too excited. MANA is just another name for magical energy. I have a special skill that can heal any kind of injury a person has, no matter what it is. Of course, it also has a price, but the price is very cheap—only a sufficient amount of Mana. That's why I ask, how much Mana do you have? Got it?"

Listening to Myne's explanation, Velvet weakly nodded her head, a spark of understanding in her eyes. She then closed her eyes to focus a bit. After a few seconds, she opened them again and spoke with an uneasy expression.

"I...only have enough Mana so I won't pass out on the spot right now. But if I use any kind of skill, then I will surely become a pure burden on you," Velvet sighed helplessly.

"Ohh, worry not. I already expected this outcome. Here, drink this." Myne materialized a shimmering glass bottle filled with a sky-blue liquid. "Pure magic water. Not only will it ease your fatigue, but it'll also boost your own mana reserves pretty quickly."

"You might not believe me, but in my dream, at the start when we just entered the town, the fake version of you, while saving me, became injured and fell into a coma. In order to save her, I had to feed her this magic water from mouth to mouth for the next three entire days. If you were there, you would surely laugh to death seeing my salve-covered lips at that time.

But thank God, that was the fake you, who was a good girl and didn't laugh at me at all," Myne said emotionally, recalling the challenging days when he had to feed the magic water to Velvet while battling the evil desire of his little brother. These wonderful days he never wanted to experience again.

However, Velvet clearly didn't think so. She, who was about to drink the magic water, immediately dropped the bottle and lay down on Myne's lap again like a half-dead patient.

"Sorry, Master. I couldn't drink that. My hands also stopped working as well as my mouth. Seems like I can only trouble you to do the same thing you had done with my fake version..."

"Are you serious?" Myne asked with a poker face, watching Velvet's third-class acting, which even a little child could see was fake. "You know we don't have much time to play around, right? The more time we waste here, the more complicated the situation outside will become if anyone finds out about us."

"If that is the case, then what are we waiting for? Instead of wasting time on that nonsense, wouldn't it be better if you quickly start feeding me this magic water, Mother Myne?" Velvet spoke playfully, although she was too weak to move her body. This also gave her an advantage, since Myne couldn't be angry or forceful with her as well.

After all, she is ill, and ill people always get better treatment from everyone in the family; this is a simple fact.

"Just you wait. Once you've fully recovered, I will surely take revenge for this," Myne said irritably while picking up the magic water bottle from the ground and pouring a mouthful of water into his mouth.

"Hehehe, sure. I am waiting for your revenge, my cute Master..."

Velvet continued her teasing, but Myne who was now tired of her nonsense, grabbed the back of her head and sealed her lips with his.

"Haa..."

"How is it? Do you feel anything?" Myne, initially intending to transfer the magic water into Velvet's mouth, after their lips touched and tongues collided, Both of them lost in passion, their simple water-transferring kiss turned into a real, intense one that lasted until they couldn't hold back their breath anymore.

"Yes, I felt a heat inside me rising, which I hadn't felt for months, and it was so wonderful..." Velvet began speaking until she stopped, staring at Myne with a fiery gaze, and Myne reciprocated.

As if they could read each other's minds, Myne once again filled his mouth with magic water, and another round of intense kissing sessions commenced in a horrific room filled with rows of experimental dead bodies.

"I miss you so much. I thought I had lost you forever when I found that the one beside me was a fake," Myne rasped, tears glinting in his eyes as he pulled away. His voice was raw, the emotion he'd held back bursting forth in a torrent. He held her close, the warmth of his embrace a stark contrast to the cold ground under them.

"Don't worry. Now I am with you, don't I? Also, a man shouldn't cry. Otherwise, if even you start crying, then what am I going to do? Grow a little brother between my legs and take your place? Hehehe, that would surely scare the hell out of you, right?" Velvet joked to lighten up Myne's mood.

The joke seemed to work well as Myne imagined Velvet with a 7-inch little brother hanging in front of her cave, causing him to shiver a bit and immediately let go of Velvet.

"Okay, joke aside... Never mention such a creepy thing again... So did you recover your Mana?" Myne replied with a dead serious face.

Velvet shrugged, a playful pout adorning her lips. "Thirty percent, maybe? Enough for you to try your fancy healing trick, I think."

Nodding at Velvet's suggestion, Myne hurriedly transferred the Regeneration skill to her, since the Ultra version was a bit too powerful for Velvet. Soon, white steam started gushing out from her body, which only lasted for a few seconds before it stopped.

"What happened? Why did it stop? I was feeling quite better when that steam was coming out from me," Velvet asked confusedly to Myne who was rubbing his chin and pondering seriously.

"I think my skill stopped working because you are already fully healed. Look at yourself. Do you see any kind of wound on your body? No, right? It means you are not injured, but your energy, or more specifically, your vitality got sucked away from you during the time you were in this pod.

If my estimate is right, then what we need is not a healing skill but something that can restore your lost vitality or something like life energy. If it was outside, it would only be a matter of a few scolds, and I could surely make you stand on your feet in minutes.

But here, it seems like you need someone else's feet from now on until I find something else." Saying this, Myne gently lifted Velvet up and placed her on his back tightly. He then took out a rope and tied her to himself in an X and = shape, so even if he did some difficult movements like running and jumping, she wouldn't fall off accidentally.

"Ready for a piggyback ride, princess?" Myne asked, a playful smirk playing on his lips.

Velvet chuckled weakly before moving her face near Myne's ear and whispered, Always, my knight, just don't make me fall, otherwise, this princess might have to find another knight."

"Ohh, sure, let's me see in this life who dares to steal you from me. Anyway, now, remember, hold me tightly the entire time. Don't speak too loud in my ears, and open your eyes to see anything uniquely good-looking.

Then, inform me so we can see if there is anything in this shitty place that can help you recover," Myne instructed Velvet and was about to walk toward the exit wall, when he suddenly stopped, recalling the unsettling feeling he had when entering the Main Hub.

Hesitantly looking back at it, his good conscience urged him to stay away from the demonic objects that could ruin his life or other's life, while his evil side suggested they were just objects, their impact dependent on how they were used.

Just as Velvet was about to ask what was wrong, Myne made up his mind, turning around and walking toward the real Main Hub behind the fake one he created for safety.

Upon reaching the Main Hub, Myne placed his hand on it and directly transferred it into his Inventory. Almost at the same time, all of the pods, deeply connected to the Main Hub by various pipes thin as legs, also transferred into his Inventory, causing the entire chamber to appear less cluttered.

"WTF! Why did you destroy all of them for no reason? Won't this make us more easily noticeable?" Velvet cried out in surprise, observing Myne's peculiar behaviour. She couldn't understand what was going on in his mind.

"But those things give us so much trouble. How can I let them stay here and ruin someone else's life as well? Those evil things shouldn't exist in this world in the first place. And as for getting noticed without them, don't worry about it. I already have a plan for this. Just give me a minute..." Myne explained.

After saying that, he snapped his fingers and used the Realize skill to create fake replicas of 25 Dreamstucker pods, placing them back in their original positions. He didn't forget to create a fake Velvet and a real special note as well.

"What did you write in that note?" Velvet asked curiously, resting her chin on Myne's shoulder.

"A small experiment. If it works, then maybe we'll get a few more hours to explore and get out of this place. Otherwise, we better find a good hiding spot, as Alban is surely going to be pissed off a lot," Myne chuckled evilly before walking toward the exit wall.