Lone had realised his mistake fairly quickly when Sophie refused to stop hugging him. He’d just gotten swept up in the moment. For her, it seemed the moment had lasted a lot longer than it did for him.

It took a lot of coaxing and a fair amount of bribing with his tails as the prize, for her to accept that she could live while not literally being attached to him.

Now slouching in the bathtub, Lone ran his fingers through his wet golden shoulder-length hair and took another look at his brand-new skill. Well, subskill to be specific.

Unique Subskill: Bone Armour

A subskill unique to the host, Lone Immortus.

Allows the host to use the unique skill [Basic Regeneration] to push the host's bones outside of their own body and use them as a weightless shield.

The strength of the bones will increase with mastery. The strength of the bones will also increase the more that they're broken and damaged.

The host can only create a set of gauntlets currently.

Cost: None to invoke (30-minute cooldown). Drains MP to recreate rapidly or to heal at varying speeds depending on the speed of the recreation or the severity of the damage being healed. Mastery: Beginner Level 1

Lone tapped the side of the porcelain bathtub thoughtfully. "Subskills, huh? That opens a whole wealth of options... Do I have a limit of total subskills? Can all of my unique skills have subskills? Can Soph make subskills too, or am I special due to my Growth Accelerator?"

There were no answers that immediately jumped out at him. He would be alone in finding out these truths, sadly.

Another thought was flooding Lone's mind though. "Can I use my Creation Magic or maybe my Basic Regen to heal other people? I wonder... what colour are Soph's eyes?"

Recently, all he could think of when he wasn't messing around with his experiments or training his skills was Sophie’s adult form.

It was no exaggeration that she was exactly his type. She was short yet feminine, mature and curvy where it mattered. Her hair was a bit long but it still oozed a certain natural elegance.

Of course, she was also stunning. Sophie’s adult form was easily way out of his league. At least, way out of Darren McCullen’s league.

He dropped his head off the edge of the tub as he lounged in the hot waters. “It hardly helps that beneath her stuttering and love of fluff, she’s actually very smart and mature…”

Lone chuckled. "Not hard to see what these complicated feelings are. They’re certainly more than just physical attraction."

He laughed even harder. "I never cared about girls back home... I guess living alone with one for a couple months changes things, huh?"

Lone, or more accurately, Darren, was never popular with the fairer sex. Sure, he'd had a girlfriend or two before, but that was all during his ‘edgier’ phase. After the incident.

He treated it more as an ego thing back then, something to confirm his worth. Hell, he’d never even kissed any of his exes. ‘Maybe that’s why they’re exes…’

He summoned a spare pauldron and stared at his reflection in it. “I am pretty handsome… Shame I never took care of myself back home. I guess Basic Regen does that for me here though.”

Lone let his body sink further into the large tub. "Is this what it feels like to have confidence? Would Soph even accept me?"

He found himself chuckling again. "Would she even consider rejecting me? I'm struggling to picture that... My tails hold too much power over her... Hahaha..."

Even if he hated his current circumstances and the gods for throwing him and Sophie into them, he'd be a liar if he didn't say that the new opportunities and experiences hadn’t pumped life into him.

As for his time with Sophie, while brief objectively, it had led to a lot of unexpected self-reflection. He enjoyed spending time with her.

He smiled and shook his head. “Probably just the suspension bridge effect. First girl I spend an extended period of time with is the one I want to open up to and maybe start a relationship with? Fucking textbook bridge shit.”

A rapidly beating heart just outside of the door to the bathroom was struggling immensely to keep its symphony of pounding to itself.

"He’s muttering about love, isn’t he?” Sophie whispered almost inaudibly to herself.

She had no idea what a suspension bridge was nor what its effects were. None of that mattered.

She stumbled her way back to the bedroom and flopped down on the bed. Her head was in a mess though she couldn’t help but grin to herself.

"He feels the same…” Sophie muttered in disbelief.

After all, what was there to like about her? She knew as well as anyone how useless she was.

Every day she worried about how much of a burden she was to Lone. How much she was leeching off of his kindness.

It almost felt unfair. As if she didn’t deserve for him to return her newly budding feelings. She liked depending on him even if it pained her too.

But if he enjoyed having her depend on him… that changed things a bit. “It’s crazy… He… Why does he feel the same?”

She looked down at herself and wore a confused expression. “He treats me like a kid most of the time… Why would he ever like a cripple like me…”

Sophie's rapidly forming bubble of pinkness was ruthlessly popped by her own lacking self-worth.

A few tears spilt out of her eyes. She was truly happy but also filled with fear and endless doubts.

In that moment of mental weakness, Sophie's eyes grew heavy as if being forcefully closed by the warm hand of a caring mother.

Sleep called to her and its voice was powerful. It took no more than a few seconds for her to pass out completely.

A moment later, her torso rose from the bed and a cold look clouded her blind eyes. “It’s obviously just because of our older body, you foolish girl. Now, to prove how little he truly cares for you beyond your looks…”

Lone left the bathroom in an ultimately good mood. His hair was dry and his body was clean.

He was only dressed in a pair of casual and slightly baggy trousers since it was late and he wanted to sleep.

While he wasn’t wholly sure of the origin of his newly-discovered feelings, whether true or false, he still felt happy.

Mostly because he didn’t plan to do anything. Nothing had changed. He had no ideas of asking Sophie for something stupid like to date him.

He didn’t suddenly want to protect her any more than he already did. The status quo was the status quo and would remain unaffected.

It was almost cathartic to realise all of this. If nothing else, perhaps he would think less of Sophie’s adult body now that he’d concluded all of this.

Lone yawned and scratched one of his fluffy fox ears before he casually made his way to the bedroom.

"I'm kinda surprised Soph never just barged in. Weird for her to have manners," he muttered aloud.

He really had to get out of the habit of talking to himself soon, he felt. It was something he'd picked up to keep himself entertained when he played video games and was at a grindy or particularly boring part.

Such as reading dialogue out loud or muttering curses if he died by mistake. Nothing serious, but it was slowly becoming a more and more problematic habit of his as the days ticked by.

When he entered the bedroom, Lone saw the shape of a person hiding under the sheets and his ears were treated with the sound of soft breathing.

"And she says she isn't lazy... I'm the one who used up all of my mana today, not her." He couldn't help but smile wryly despite his words.

"Still, I guess that's one of the better things about her, huh? Her relaxed nature reminds me of a cat kind of. No, wait, maybe a domesticated fox? Hah," he laughed.

Lone blew out the candle that was keeping the room lit before he got into the king-sized bed. Two thin and delicate arms immediately wrapped around him and held his back tightly.

He could feel Sophie's soft and youthful skin touching his exposed chest, and he sighed.

Whispering, he said, "That makes it three times now she’s forgotten to put on her PJs. I swear, she’s smart but she can be real dumb too at times.”

Sophie's warm and calm breath tickled Lone's nape as she fumbled about in her sleep. When she stopped moving, her and his face were a few inches apart.

It was hard to see in the dark though so Lone just sighed. "Seriously..."

He brushed the girl's hair behind her ear and muttered, "No self-awareness... Wait… Is she a bit bigger than normal?"

Usually, her legs only reached down to his thighs if her head was level with his, but tonight, he could feel her slender calves coiling around his own.

As if to answer his mumblings, Sophie gently pushed Lone onto his back and affixed herself on top of him.

With the sheets now moved out of the way, the moonlight dripping in through the window exposed him to the sight of her adult form in all of its beauty.

Lone could almost feel his heart leaping out of his throat as he took in every curve, every line, every lock of hair, every bit of her glistening body.

His body had an almost immediate reaction and he couldn’t help but curse himself for being such a virgin.

It didn't help that he was now starting to realise his feelings for the girl straddling him, which only amplified his attraction to her.

Grinning coyly and a bit shyly, Sophie lowered her body until it was once again plastered to Lone's.

She slowly took her tongue out and licked his neck, sending shivers up his spine. Seemingly enjoying his reaction, she twirled her fingers around his thin and ever-so-slightly muscled chest playfully while her mouth moved upwards.

Lone was confused, in more ways than one. He didn't know what to do. As if on instinct, he put his arms around Sophie's lower back and pressed her closer to himself.

That was his body’s reaction though his mind’s differed. He was puzzled beyond belief. He wanted to know where this sudden carnal outburst had come from.

Maybe a skill was at play? He didn’t know.

He was going to say something but found his lips being blocked by hers. The kiss was wet, it was sloppy, and it was full of inexperience, however, Lone knew that it was overflowing with passion.

He almost lost himself in the sensation when she forced his mouth open carelessly with her tongue and began to explore a bit roughly, brushing past every tooth as if to create a mental map of the insides of his mouth for future use.

Several long seconds passed by before Sophie finally released Lone's mouth from her invasion.

A silver string of saliva connected the both of them as they breathed heavily in unison. Things were being stirred deep inside of both of them.

Lone stared into those lifeless eyes of Sophie's and brought one of his hands up to her face. He caressed it gently before he suddenly flipped her over, putting her on the bottom and him on the top.

"Lone..." Sophie's bell-like voice rung in his mind, trying its best to seduce him and make him hers.

Lone wanted this moment to never end, but in the far reaches of his mind, something was screaming at him that this wasn't right. 'Why is she acting like this? Is she drunk? Is it a skill? This makes no fuckin' sense!'

As he was thinking of these issues, the little minx underneath him had grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down.

Once again, she wormed her way into his mouth with her untrained and unskilled tongue.

Lone struggled to think as he enjoyed the raw pleasure being afforded to him. He’d never kissed a girl before, let alone a 10/10 perfect girl.

His mind was practically melting. However, he managed to eke out a few more thoughts. 'Is she ill, maybe? I don't know anything about an almost 1,000-year-old girl, so maybe she's just really horny or something? She could have found an aphrodisiac mushroom or something and ate it foolishly…'

Sophie rolled over since Lone wasn't paying attention to her, putting her in the dominant position again.

She then brought one of her dainty hands down and let it slip into Lone's trousers. That was the final nail in the coffin for him.

As much as he was enjoying himself, he wouldn't let this go any further without answers. Lone almost shoved Sophie away from him, so much force did he use.

He was so confused by her shift from a charming girl who tried her best and fumbled her words often to a seductive beast that wanted to bed him.

He gasped for air as he sat cross-legged on the messy sheets. "Soph, what's wrong with you tonight?"