Analyzing what had happened when the assassin attacked, Christian sought to identify and pinpoint his shortcomings, and after some pondering, he concluded that the problem might not have been combat ability, but rather experience in the end.
The experience to deal with all kinds of situations.
Then how would he gain this kind of experience, exactly? Christian couldn't think of any way aside from using one Idle slot, as fighting strong people and the like was out of the question.
But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Christian also rejected it. Why should he waste his precious Idle slot on improving experience when he could simply have an overwhelming difference in ability? That would be far better than relying on experience, where every move had to be calculated carefully.
So, thinking along these lines, he decided that he could tackle the experience problem in fighting later, or like he would acquire it with time anyway. For now, he was heading in the right direction.
Most importantly, he still had twelve unassigned points that he had not used, keeping them reserved as an emergency.
He hadn't used them when the assassin came, as he was unprepared at that time, with no space for hesitation, and the battle, if it could even be called one, was over too quickly. So, while he didn't use them this time, the points were still there nonetheless.
Anyway, his sister and the conversation he had with her were still on Christian's mind the most, unable to shake the expression she had shown from his thoughts.
He didn't know how much his sister had noticed from the changes in him, but seeing where he had arrived, he still felt like maybe he should at least tell her something.
But what should he tell her?
There were many absurd things happening, after all, not to mention that he himself didn't know many things.
Feeling a headache coming on from thinking about the subject, Christian stopped pondering it altogether.
Before he himself knew everything properly, he felt it was hard to tell her anything.
Most importantly, he needed to think about her safety more.
Is the surrounding really safe? Can she go out alone? Many things came to his mind.
And Christian, knowing that now that he had disposed of the assassin the culprit sent, understood that things would deteriorate, like it or not, with or without his intention.
When things were still not too serious - at least that what he assuming - there had been a command to kill his sister if she were to interfere. Now that he seemed to be harder to deal with, would the idea of using her as a hostage not cross the mind of the culprit?
It was, of course, not necessarily true, as the culprit might not care about her at all, but could he really take that chance with his sister's safety? Could he really gamble with it?
Then, how could he guarantee her safety?
When the little clock in the corner of his phone indicated it had been ten minutes, he could hardly tell, as it felt much longer.
Still, finally, an unexpected flicker on his screen caught his attention.
Typing...
His heart raced, but he still couldn't feel relieved just yet, as what really mattered wasn't just her responding, but the weight of what she would say.
Luckily, he didn't need to wait much longer this time, as she sent her reply, just a single word.
"Okay."
But that one word was the most important, as with it, Christian could now focus entirely on his work, his heart finally at ease.
Then, setting his mobile phone aside, Christian couldn't help but question once again, until when should he keep things from his sister, especially with everything increasingly looking unfavorable?
In the end, all he could do was accelerate his work, hoping he would be able to solve this problem soon.
Knowing that this was all he could do for his sister's problem, Christian quickly reviewed everything once again and arrived at a realization. While all these things were important, he still felt as though he was actually going in circles. He needed to know more in order to make a proper judgment about anything, after all.
While he was leaning toward the idea that things were related to Eva, it was still all assumptions, after all, and nothing could move forward properly without understanding the situation completely. Even telling his sister anything would be impossible if he himself didn't know the situation properly.
So, before finally starting his work, Christian looked at the screen of his computer and said.
"Iris, how much have you uncovered with your work?"
[As the assassin came from outside the city, with many areas lacking surveillance cameras, it would take time to narrow down the range and pick up his traces again.]
Hearing Iris's response and confirming the progress of her work, Christian knew that he would need to put in some effort to find the answers he was seeking.
"Then, for now, switch to supporting me."
Still, he was not fazed, as after giving her the direction to work with again, knowing his skills were still better and that this way things would progress faster, Christian finally began.
His rage, which he had barely managed to suppress while still thinking about his sister, seemed to overflow. With the clicking sound of the keyboard being a lot louder than usual.
And while he had just felt angry before, he was now desperate.
After all, the ordinary life he had once taken for granted, one he hadn't thought much of, now seemed incredibly precious, and he was determined to reclaim it!