Chapter 361 Ten... ten days?
Alice lay in bed, her mind in turmoil, feeling too embarrassed to step out now.
She wasn't even sure how to face William.
Should she call him 'Master' as before?
Or had their relationship progressed significantly after what just happened?
Half an hour later, William approached the bedroom door, knocked, and asked with composure, "Are you hungry? I'll make some late-night snacks."
Alice had just calmed down, but William's question made her face flush red again.
It sounded like something a male lead would ask in a movie after being intimate with the female lead. n--o-(V)/e(-L()b-.I-/n
But what they did today...
It was only halfway, wasn't it?
"Yes," Alice replied, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
Lucky for her, William, with his keen hearing, could catch the soft response.
"Why are you still lying there? Get up if you want to eat." William behaved as if nothing had happened, like those men who act indifferent after getting close.
"Okay!" Tears welled up in Alice's eyes. Though she verbally agreed, she didn't move, completely unsure of how to face William now.
Especially since she couldn't decipher his current attitude. She didn't know how to interact with him anymore.
If they had truly been intimate, it would be different,William would be considered her boyfriend, right?
But what did today's events amount to?
It all hinged on William's attitude.
William, likely aware of Alice's complex emotions, didn't rush her and silently headed to the kitchen.
For the late-night snack, he prepared some vegetable salad and meat from a fierce beast left over from a couple of days ago.
Although Alice's powers were strong, her foundation was unstable.
Unlike other Soulmanncers who usually train their bodies first before harnessing their soul energy, Alice, due to William's influence, had skipped the physical training phase entirely.
The fierce beast meat, meticulously cooked by William, had cosmic energy infused into it, which combined with the rich life essence inherent in the meat, which is greatly beneficial for the conditioning and strengthening of the body.
Alice emerged from the bedroom a few minutes later. William had already served the cooked dishes on the stone table.
"Try this; it tastes quite good," William said, sitting on a stone bench with a barrel of wine also on the table.
Alice, red-faced and clutching her clothes, sat down but didn't touch the cutlery.
In the past, she would have been eating heartily by now, but today, she was unusually reserved.
Seeing her act like a bashful young girl, William hesitated for a moment and then said, "Actually, today was about teaching you how to enlarge that part of yours..."
"Huh?" Alice was initially stunned, not comprehending for a moment, but after three seconds, her realization dawned, turning her face even redder.
"You... you... is this your secret technique?" Alice stammered, her eyes wide in disbelief.
What did he mean by that?
What was William trying to convey?
"What else did you think?" William replied. "Eat up, or the meat will get cold."
Alice, with her head down and avoiding William's gaze, picked up some meat with her cutlery. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, as William's words sounded more like flirtatious banter between a couple.
"That... Master... today..." Alice started, still not sure what she wanted to say.
But William suddenly interrupted her: "You can call me 'Master' if you want, or you can call me by my name."
"Huh?" Alice looked up at William, bewildered again.
William didn't explain further. He poured two glasses of wine and asked, "Want to drink?"
"Let's have a little," replied Alice, feeling nervous. Drinking some wine might help, she thought.
"After drinking, let's go enhance your abilities," said William, pouring the wine.
Alice gazed at the wine on the stone table, her mind wandering again.
William ate quietly, showing no signs of awkwardness.
Yet his inner world was not as calm as it appeared on the surface.
While he didn't harbor any perverse intentions of seducing a young girl, claiming his mind was completely unaffected would be a stretch.
William, experienced with people, could tell from Alice's daily behavior that she had developed feelings for him.
But in such matters, one must let things take their natural course.
Even though William wasn't opposed to it, he certainly couldn't just establish a romantic relationship with Alice because of what happened today.
Another crucial point was that if Alice really became involved with him, the Law of Cause and Effect they'd attract would be substantial. Given Alice's current strength, it could lead to trouble.
However, after what happened today, William couldn't really pretend as if nothing had happened.
The best thing to do now was to help Alice increase her strength as much as possible.
After eating a few pieces of meat and drinking a glass of wine, Alice felt an indescribable power accumulate and then burst from her lower abdomen, spreading throughout her body.
This force compelled her to follow the secret technique William had taught her.
Unconsciously, she lost track of time.
William glanced at her, acknowledging that from the moment Alice became his disciple, she was destined to be affected by the great Law of Cause and Effect, so eating this meal wasn't a big deal.
In any case, the Law of Cause and Effect was inevitable. Her only option was to become stronger.
As time passed, every cell in Alice's body underwent significant changes, as if she had experienced a profound physical and spiritual baptism.
For an ordinary Soulmancer, such transformation might take decades, but Alice achieved it in mere minutes.
Alice seemed to enter a wondrous meditative state. With a casual wave of energy from William, she became invisible.
She had an epiphany!
After spending so much time with William and absorbing so much of his residual soul energy, even a pig would have gained some insight. Yet, Alice required the consumption of Nectar and beast meat to have her realization.
William felt a bit helpless about her slow understanding.
If it wasn't for him, with her initial aptitude, probably no Guild would have accepted her.
Time flew by quickly. Alice sat on the stone bench for a full ten days and nights. When she opened her eyes, she took a deep breath and exhaled a breath of turbid air.
William was sitting beside her, with the stone table tidied up and clean.
"Go take a bath," William suggested, noticing the dust covering her. Anyone sitting in one place for ten days would inevitably get dirty.
"Is it daytime already?" Alice, now sober but still a bit dazed, thought she had just sat till dawn.
"You've been sitting here for ten days," William informed her, having watched over her during this time. Otherwise, she might have been covered in bugs.
"Ten... ten days?" Alice was utterly stunned.