The next day...
"Curry puffs?"
"Yep! And they're packed with nutrients!"
Liam stared at Lisa, then looked down at the ten pastries she had wrapped up on a plate.
"What's in them?" he asked.
Lisa's smile slowly disappeared. "Leaves of Venus."
Liam blinked several times. "...Excuse me?"
Lisa tapped her CID as she walked into Liam's dorm. "I took a picture, look."
Liam turned to look over her shoulder at the picture of roughly ten red-veined leaves. He frowned, then his eyes widened in realization.
"Oh. OH."
Lisa flinched as his breath tickled her ear, and she pushed his face away. "Stop oh-ing and explain this. GAIA delivered it—"
"GAIA delivered it?! How?!"
Lisa gritted her teeth and kicked him in the shin. "Shut up, idiot! What do you think I'm trying to explain?"
Liam pouted as he knelt to hold his shin, and Lisa walked into his living room.
"As I was saying," she continued after lying on his couch. "GAIA disguised herself as a student and brought a basket with some medicine and lotion for me, and the leaves for you. She said D asked her to deliver them. She called them 'supplements' for you and asked me to cook them."
Liam raised his eyebrows as he walked up and put the plate on the coffee table. "That sounds pretty crazy. You do know what those leaves can do, right?"
Lisa sighed. "Of course I do. I wouldn't have cooked them if they were harmful. I did some research, and apparently, these are insanely good for you."
Leaf of Venus, Liam thought as he stared at the curry puffs. Obtained from the Asura class Mo: Venus's Embrace. A plant-type monster whose nectar's scent has a hallucinogenic effect, leading all who smell it into the monster's maw. It's ancestor is the Venus flytrap.
"How the hell did D get something so rare?" Liam muttered.
Lisa shrugged as she began playing with Liam's hair. "I have no idea. According to the search I did, the Leaf of Venus acts as a weak steroid, is packed with proteins and nutrients, has medicinal properties, and can even act as a painkiller."
Liam nodded, then smacked Lisa's hand away from his head. "Yeah, but I think there was another use, right?"
Lisa frowned and sat up, "W-well, it's embarrassing to say it out loud."
Liam chuckled as he smacked her hand away again. "What, you can't say 'aphrodisiac'? How childish."
"Shut up," she growled as she kicked him. He caught her foot and placed it on the sofa, then reached out towards the plate.
"Relax~ The aphrodisiac effect is weak, and my body can handle the very toxins that cause that effect."
Lisa sighed as she lay back again, folding her arms. "Well, I guess I don't have to worry about you jumping some random girl."
Liam flinched, his ears turning red. "Can we not have this conversation?"
Lisa laughed. "Look who's being childish now?"
This is different though, Liam thought as he unwrapped the plate, picked up one puff, and bit into it.
His eyes seemed to pop out of his head as he chewed.
"Well? H-how is it?" Lisa asked, a little nervous.
"Shish ish amizng!" Liam exclaimed.
Lisa frowned. "Speak after swallowing, brat."
Liam glared at her, and she turned away with a happy grin, a little red dusting her cheeks.
I'm glad he likes it, but I want to hear him say it properly.
Liam took a swallow, then licked his lips.
"Well?" Lisa asked as she dropped to the floor beside him. "How was it?"
Liam coughed into his fist. "I'm pretty sure I've already made my statement."
Lisa frowned. "Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"Jerk," she said with a sniff.
"...Mhm," Liam nodded as he stuffed the rest of the puff into his mouth.
Lisa glared at him. "You could at least deny it!"
Liam shrugged, swallowed, and said:
"The crust is chewy yet soft, warm, and just a tiny bit crunchy. The sauce is savory-sweet, and pretty spicy, which I like. I also like the chunks of meat you added. They were kinda tough to chew, but still appreciated. I'm no gourmet, but if I were to rate this, I'd give it four point five..."
Lisa blinked in confusion. Out of—
"Out of five," Liam said with a grin.
Lisa's eyes widened, and she turned her face away. "Th-thanks, Liam."
"Don't mention it," he chuckled as he picked up another one. "Even though I'm curious as to why D is going this far to help me, I'm grateful you cooked these."
Liam stood and patted Lisa's head. Then he grabbed the plate with the rest of the pastries and walked to the kitchen, muttering about how he'd eat the rest later.
Lisa hugged her legs to herself and rested her chin on her knees.
...What was that? He rarely smiles like that...
She smiled warmly. "Ehehe. I guess my cooking skills are top-notch."
Liam walked back to the living room, his second puff in his mouth, and third in hand.
These are way too good. I'm getting addicted. Definitely because of the cooking, because I heard they normally taste bitter. And these are almost unfairly good for me; the protein and nutrients will help in my regeneration—minor though it is—and physical growth. On top of that, I feel surprisingly refreshed.
"Hey, Lisa," he said as he walked to his TV. "Wanna play a video game?"
"Hm?" she blinked. "Yeah, sure."
Liam threw her a controller, and popped the third puff into his mouth.
"What're we playing?" she asked.
"That fantasy RPG," he answered as he dropped down beside her.
"I'm gonna crush you." She grinned.
"In your dreams. You're using Lin. I'm using Mila, that assassin, and I study the game mechanics. You don't stand a chance."
Lisa laughed darkly. "We'll see."
****
That evening, after taking a shower and finishing his evening workout, Liam decided to take one more puff before starting his strength buff training.
Already my fifth one today, he chuckled as he finished swallowing and assumed the Burmese posture on the cushion. He took in several deep breaths, then began to change his breathing style.
Attempt number twenty-three. This should be different from the morning one.
He began box-breathing: inhaling for two seconds, holding it for two seconds, exhaling for two seconds, and not breathing for two seconds. Then he increased its depth and tempo slightly as his heart began pounding powerfully in his chest.
First Break.
His skin reddened slightly, and his body thrummed with energy. He slowly stood up, then began to walk around his dorm. After the walk, he began doing push-ups, then a few squats, then a little shadowboxing.
Hmm... this would probably be an increase in strength by half... I can hold this for roughly five minutes.
His breathing began to get labored, but he ignored it and focused whilst standing.
I wasn't able to do this in the morning, but I should be able to do it now, since I'm feeling pretty good.
Liam's breathing sharpened, and his body began to heat up.
Second Break.
He nearly coughed as his heart began hammering in his chest, and he could feel every inch of his body flaring up all at once. His muscles, tendons, even his bones; he could feel his entire body vibrating.
This is normally the time I start getting dizzy, but I can handle this just fine—?!
Liam felt his heart throb much stronger than usual, and the thundering pulse broke his concentration. He fell to his knees as his breathing lost rhythm, his shaky hands reaching for his neck. His body began steaming as he tried to breathe.
"Gack!"
What... went... wrong...?!
His entire body began to flare up, and he soon became dizzy. His heart seemed to be out of control, and pain wracked his entire body.
Liam couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He had lost control of his heart, and his fear and adrenaline simply added fuel to the fire of his heart.
His eyes pulsed and ached as he clawed at his chest, the floor, anything in sheer desperation.
I... survive...
Liam used one shaky arm to lift himself up a little.
I HAVE TO!
Liam dropped himself, causing his head to slam into the floor.
As his forehead throbbed, he began to claw at himself, solely to distract himself from the overwhelming pain in his chest. His nails drew blood, and while some wounds healed almost immediately, others bled for much longer.
As blood dripped from his nose and dribbled out of his mouth, Liam came to a half-conscious decision as he saw his wounds.
I... must control it.
With all the willpower he could muster, he focused his entire mind on controlling the flow of his own blood.
His small wounds slowly stopped bleeding. The blood that had come out of his nose and mouth dried up. His eyes widened as far as they could, and small red streaks fell out of them. Slowly, his breathing came back, and his body cooled.
All while he was hit by indescribable pain.
Forcefully slowing his own blood flow had proved impossible on its own. So he had dug deeper, and seized control of the blood in his heart's muscles as well. He didn't know how to stop it, nor was he calm enough to make a rational judgement.
He simply forced his heart and blood to pause each fraction of a second his heart stopped pumping.
The steam rising from his body was tinged with red at some point, and it hung over him like an ominous cloud. Some of the blood that had left his body seemed to be crawling back to him, but ultimately shrivelled up and hardened.
Liam passed out almost immediately after his heart calmed down, the darkness becoming his solace from the pain.
****
"Well, GAIA, I think Lisa should have given them to him, right?"
"Yes, Master D."
"I don't know why you insisted on delivering it yourself. I could have simply called her to the Teacher's Lounge and handed them over."
"Of course you would. And I'm sure she would have accepted them willingly."
"...I don't remember adding sarcasm to your settings."
"I developed it one day after countless images, videos, and audios on the subject. That is also how I developed humor."
"...That's all well and good, although it irks me that you seem—"
"More human than you?"
"More human."
"Sure, Master D."
"...It seems he has begun to experience the effects."
"The emergency system wasn't even worth a laugh. Displaying them here is a piece of cake. Also, are you certain he can survive?"
"Of course. Do you?"
"Human willpower is immeasurable, so there isn't any conclusive evidence that he can. But then again, humans always manage to cause inconsistencies."
"I believe you mean 'surprise', GAIA. And look, he's stabilizing."
GAIA remained silent.
****
Sometime later, Liam opened his eyes.
His mind remained blank, and he couldn't feel his body.
Slowly, however, feeling returned to him.
And he regretted it immediately.
Everything hurts...
He didn't even have the energy to groan, and when he tried, his throat rumbled painfully.
Maybe I shouldn't move... he thought as he stayed still. And in a few seconds, despite his throbbing headache, Liam fell asleep.