BXBX NOVEL Chapter 29: (1)
Henry nodded,
"Yes. And probably a few times too."
'He said yes!' Yelena thought with wide eyes, 'And he wants it a few times too. He's nuts!'
Straightening her back with her eyes filled with the haughty look of someone looking down at a moron, Yelena asked in a cold tone,
"Would you like me to do you in right now? Put you out of your misery?"
Henry furrowed his brows at her expression. It was the first time he had ever seen her make such an expression both since he had been in this world and even in the Old Henry's memories.
It was the first time Yelena didn't look kind. She was still as beautiful as ever but her appearance right now was more like that of a scowling frosty beauty than that of an angel that she always used to have. Her emerald green eyes seemed to be shooting daggers.
It was slightly off-putting but Henry pushed through.
"Well, not right this second. I've had enough of people trying to kill me for one day, I think." He said and added a chuckle in an attempt to alleviate the tension that was settling into the room.
Yelena's right eye twitched like she was doing her best not to blow up and ask him point-blank if he was insane. Instead, she retained that cold look and asked,
"What, you want to die but you don't want to die right now? Why wait? If you're that tired of life, why not end it quickly."
"Wait," Henry said, "You're saying it like I want it to be definite."
That broke through Yelena's cold expression. If only slightly.
"Is that not what you want?" She asked.
"What? No. I want to live." Henry said with his eyes wide at what she was insinuating.
"But you just asked me to kill you!" Yelena said with her voice raised slightly in outrage.
"Well, yes, but you'll bring me back to life… Immediately too, I'll prefer." Henry said, standing to his feet.
"You mean like the last time?" Yelena asked.
"Yes."
"But, I assumed that experience must have been painful," Yelena said.
"A little," Henry admitted.
"Even if it was a little, there was still pain. And you died! Why would you want to go through it again?" Yelena asked and then her perfect mouth formed into an 'O' shape as understanding seemed to bloom in her eyes,
"Is this a kink thing? You get off on pain, don't you?"
"What? No!" Henry let out but Yelena wasn't listening.
She turned away from him slightly while mumbling in contemplation. Henry heard every word.
"It all makes sense now. It makes sense that you said you didn't feel much pain from a gunshot wound… you must have caused yourself so many injuries to 'get off' that you've grown a tolerance.
My gods! That day— that 'mistake' must not have been a mistake at all. You shot yourself just to feel something! When I think about it, It's a bit sad really…"
Henry held the bridge of his nose as Yelena kept going and it soon got worse;
"All that time you were getting 'bullied' by Devon, you must have been secretly enjoying it. I wonder if he was in on it.
But then, why did you stand up to him even though you liked it? Hmm, maybe he went too far… I wonder."
Henry reached out and grabbed Yelena's shoulders to turn her around so she was facing him again and he pulled her closer to stare into her eyes while saying in a pleading tone,
"Please. Please, stop."
"Henry, you look hurt," Yelena let out in surprise.
That was true.
Henry looked anguished and why would he not?
This was the second time someone would misunderstand him for a masochist. The first time was on the train with Tony who came up with an explanation for why Henry endured all that humiliation to only now stand up for himself.
'I just thought I'd get some Exp for dying and coming back to life. Where is all this 'kink' talk coming from?'
"I'm not a masochist."
"Oh, you're not?" Yelena asked.
"I'm not."
"But you still want me to kill you?"
"Yes."
"And bring you back to life?"
"Yes."
"More than once?"
"Preferably, yes."
"Okay, so you're just insane then."
Henry paused and then nodded while rubbing her shoulder slightly with a small smile,
"Yes, let's go with that," he said, " Will you do it? Will you help me?"
Yelena searched his eyes and then shook her head,
"Fine, I'll— *sigh* I'll think about it."
•••
Henry didn't delight at the thought of death but if repeated resurrections were going to reward him with a massive amount of Exp which in turn would make him stronger, he saw no reason not to take advantage.
Before he left the Medical ward though, Henry remembered Nyx had been shot and asked Yelena to help heal her. She agreed. Almost like she was glad to have put the topic of killing him to bed.
The eventful day eventually ended…
… And the next morning, Henry crossed his legs for what was likely the final day of his Meditative Exercises.
He had gotten so used to the activity and enjoyed the effects it had on his Perception and he decided that once it was over, he'd make sure to find time to keep on doing it. To immerse himself in the serenity.
[Quest Completed]
[You have received 5 Exp]
[You have successfully Completed 7 Mental Perception Quests]
[Perception +1]
[Perception: 7 ———> 8]
Henry smiled to himself. The stat he had probably ignored the most finally got an update but the System's notifications were far from over.
[Your patience in Meditation has been acknowledged and a new power grows within you…]
"Ah," Henry let out not due to pain but rather due to magical energy within his body flowing toward his eyes and giving them a subtle glow as every nerve in his ocular socket received some supernatural boost to synchronize together and perform much more than simple eyesight.
[You have unlocked the Perceptive Skill <Insight>]
[<Insight Lv.1>
Description: With the combination of your Magical energy and your extendable Perception, you have gained the ability to observe the details of the Physical, Mental, and Magical abilities (stats) of the creatures around you.
Costs: 1 Mana Point per 1 minute of continuous activation.
*Note: This Skill levels up exclusively with your Perception Stat.]
Henry remained cross-legged and read the description of his new skill over and over and as the subtle glow in his eyes began to dim, he stood to his feet, walked to his door, pulled it open, and walked out of his room, ready to test it out.
Out in the Hadron Mansion's courtyard, where the majority of the Gang spent their time performing various activities, the first person Henry laid his eyes on was Good Ol' Joe who was directing a few members of the gang through daily chores.
The Dionisio Gang was not large by any means, but they did have more members than the main force that went out for their most dangerous jobs. These members took care of duties higher rated members of the Gang could not be bothered with. They were called the 'Chore group'.
By matter of Hierarchy, the old Henry should have been much higher up but his lack of any useful skills besides the occasional pickpocketing relegated him to the chore group.
With his eyes on Good 'ol Joe, Henry called magical energy to his eyes and they gained a subtle glow as he activated his newly acquired skill;
[Activating <Insight Lv.1>]
——————
[Name: 'Good 'ol' Joe]
[Race: Human]
[Job: Taskmaster]
[Health: 60]
[Strength: 17]
[Agility: 6]
[Stamina: 7]
*[Remarks: A Man so far past his physical peak and with so little care for his body that his physical stats, as well as Health, have deteriorated. A bullet will not be needed to kill him.]
"…"
Henry watched the screen, speechless. He had not expected the remarks and yet, as he read it, he felt as though they were his own words. He had certainly thought that about Joe in the days he worked his chores under the man's supervision.
"Moving on," Henry mumbled.
With his eyes still glowing with <Insight>, he roamed the courtyard until he had his sights on Devon just across the courtyard.
What better target could there be to use <Insight> on?