Before they knew it, the sun had already climbed high into the sky—it was ten in the morning.
The battle inside the room had come to an end, and this was a battle with no losers.
Nicole picked up the glass on the nightstand, wanting to take a sip of water to moisten her throat.
Crack!
The cup shattered into fine powder, scattering all over the floor.
"What kind of lousy glass is this? I've only used it for three years!" Nicole looked at the fragments with distress and muttered, "Do you think 141 will let me return it like this?"
"I don't think they'll take it back." Sol Mercer, sitting up with the dazed Anby in his arms, smiled and said, "But Nicole, isn't there a possibility that the cup's fine—and you've just gotten stronger?"
Being able to crush a glass so casually proved that the [Life Link] effect worked quite well.
Through electromagnetic sensing, Sol constructed an electromagnetic model for Nicole and instantly calculated that her current strength had reached around three to five tons.
He couldn't help but marvel—compared to when he'd drawn a purple card that merely gave him the strength of a dump truck, Nicole's improvement was smooth, effortless, and immensely satisfying.
"I've gotten stronger?" Nicole clenched her fists in disbelief, glancing skeptically at Sol. "Don't tell me my strength increased because the three of us did that together?"
Sol paused for a moment, then replied casually, "Actually… four or five people could work too."
"Get out!"
Flustered and furious, Nicole snatched up a pillow and smacked Sol with all her might.
Thud!
The soft, cotton-filled pillow burst apart in her hand—pure white stuffing scattered through the air like snow.
Nicole froze, staring at her hand in disbelief.
She wasn't stupid—she instantly realized that she had really gotten stronger.
At that moment, the noise woke Anby as well. She blinked at the mess of cotton around her, completely bewildered.
But within seconds, she too sensed her change and murmured, "That's strange… my strength just doubled?"
Nicole's eyes widened in shock as she turned to Sol. "Sol, you really can make people stronger?!"
"That's right. It's a new ability," Sol admitted openly, then added with a smirk, "After all, desire is the first drive toward power."
"Then let's try again—see if we can get even stronger!"
Nicole eagerly grabbed his hand.
She was quite pleased with her current strength, but who wouldn't want to grow even stronger?
After all, the stronger you are, the longer you live—and the more Denny you earn.
"No," Sol said, brushing off Nicole's hand. "It's already past ten. Nekomata's probably awake, and Billy should be back soon."
"You're right." Nicole quickly reined herself in, her face flushed as she said with bright excitement, "Then we'll try again tonight!"
Even though her relationship with Sol was already public, it would be way too embarrassing if Nekomata or Billy overheard anything.
"What's this? Didn't you say you were all going to boycott me yesterday?"
Sol chuckled teasingly as he got dressed.
"That's different!" Nicole argued fiercely, refusing to back down. "I'm doing this to get stronger! A boycott is a boycott—but I'll still deal with you tonight! Anby's not coming."
"You're so selfish!" Sol fastened his belt, then pointed at her in mock righteousness. "Anby's the Cunning Hares' number-one poster girl! As the leader, how can you only think about yourself? Of course she has to come—power growth is a team effort!"
"Huh?"
Nicole was stunned—she hadn't expected Sol to say something so shameless with such moral confidence.
After a pause, she gritted her teeth and retorted, "Then what—to improve the strength of all citizens of New Eridu, are you planning to go out and 'help' everyone?"
"Hey now, you said that, not me!"
Sol waved his hands in denial, looking every bit the picture of innocence.
He couldn't help thinking that Nicole was a genius—he'd definitely use that excuse in the future.
At that moment, Anby tugged on Nicole's hand and said seriously, "Nicole, I want to get stronger too."
"Alright, alright. Then tonight, we'll do it together."
What else could Nicole say? Of course, she agreed.
When there's a perfectly justifiable reason, everything else can take a back seat!
But then it hit her—even before gaining this ability, Sol already attracted attention everywhere he went. Now that he had the power to make others stronger, wouldn't all those fox-like women come swarming to him?
Her sense of crisis spiked immediately.
She needed to change her strategy—to join forces with Anby and keep Sol tightly leashed, never giving him the chance to pick wildflowers elsewhere.
"Life's just too easy," Sol hummed lightly as he noticed Nicole's thoughtful expression.
As he spoke, he had already finished dressing and left Nicole's room, heading to prepare breakfast.
Sol sat leisurely on the sofa, scrolling through cooking videos on his phone for inspiration.
[Golden Skill—Reality Marble]
As long as he understood an object's essence, he could use energy to materialize it directly. Combined with the [Type-III Perpetual Motion Engine], the possibilities were limitless.
That was why he said the purple-tier card pool no longer held any value.
Among his most recent purple skills was a culinary ability identical to that of Little Chef—his understanding of food had reached the realm of perfection.
Sol swiped through videos at lightning speed, instantly recreating dishes that caught his eye.
A twelve-inch basil shrimp pizza, five-flavor hamburger platter, beef bone ramen in black broth, grilled mackerel steak, fresh blueberry juice, steamed shumai trio, royal Buddha Jumps Over the Wall…
Since everyone had worked hard yesterday, breakfast needed to be luxurious.
Being able to conjure up any dish he wanted filled Sol with a heady, intoxicating sense of freedom. He couldn't help but hum again in satisfaction.
"Mama, am I dreaming? The mackerel just appeared out of nowhere!"
Nekomata appeared with Baal from the next room, staring blankly at Sol's creation.
She'd slept through the night—so why did it still feel like she was hallucinating?
Around that time, Billy also returned from the Outer Ring. He figured this was a good hour to head home. Sure, hanging out outside was fun, but nothing beat catching up on the house gossip.
Sol noticed Billy's arrival and snapped his fingers lightly, conjuring the final dish. "Assorted Battery Platter with Premium Repair Oil—done!"
"Oh my god! Th-this is awesome!"
Billy was so shocked he almost leaked oil, unable to hold back his excitement.
Before long, the entire Cunning Hares crew had gathered, diving into an unprecedented feast—every single one of them completely satisfied.