After Amelia applied a bottle full of healing potion to Quinn's wounds and bruises, she walked up to me and stood behind me.
Meanwhile, I too applied some of the healing potion to the area where Quinn had stabbed me earlier.
It took around five minutes for the effects of Embrace Discard to die down, and all my stats returned to normal.
The duration for which one can maintain the effects of Embrace Discard is directly proportional to their mana core rank.
Someone with a stronger mana core like Nero would be able to maintain his boosted stats for a long time.
However, there was a side effect of using Embrace Discard that I experienced but wasn't mentioned in the novel - executing pain.
The pain was anguishing.
It felt like every muscle fiber in my body was being ripped asunder while every bone in my body cried out in agony.
Additionally, my head felt like it would explode at any moment, and my abdomen, where my mana core was situated, felt like it was on fire.
Despite the waves of pain assaulting my body, I maintained a poker face because I couldn't afford to show weakness. Not here, not now.
What irritated me was the fact that such a side effect of using Embrace Discard wasn't mentioned in the novel, so it came off as a surprise.
I don't like surprises. I want everything under my control, so it irked me to an extent I couldn't describe.
Nero, who used Phoenix's Embrace hundreds of times, never experienced any pain whatsoever.
This could mean one of two things:
Either the author was too lazy to describe things, which wouldn't be surprising since he really was a bad author, or Nero never experienced pain because he was broken.
Come to think of it, Nero's pain tolerance was incredibly high in the story.
I remember reading about a vampire cutting his hand off, and Nero just stood there and fought back, unfazed and displaying no pain whatsoever.
"Uh, would you mind putting on a shirt?"
"Why are you standing so close if you have a problem with me not wearing anything?"
My shirt was burnt to ashes when I used my armor. So currently, I was not wearing anything on top, causing Amelia, who was standing right behind me, to display discomfort.
"Because I don't want him to kill me first when he wakes up," Amelia shrugged.
"...So you're fine with dying after me?" I looked at her absurdly.
"Of course," she nodded. "Since that way, I would be able to see you die."
"...Amelia."
"That's my name."
"You're ruthless."
"Hmph."
Shaking my head, I took out a spare shirt from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet and began to put it on.
"And oh," Amelia coughed. "You owe me one."
"Remember when you almost fucked up and gave our victory away to Class 1-C-8 in the Mock War? Who saved you then?" I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, was it me? I think it was me. By that calculation, I owe you nothing."
"....Tsk."
Wow!! Did this chick just click her tongue at me?! The audacity of this girl!
Yes, before coming here, I asked Amelia to accompany me since I knew I would need an element of surprise while going against Quinn.
I gave her one Null Attribute Light Arrow and asked her to shoot Quinn on my signal.
Needless to say, she missed my signal on purpose and let Quinn land an extra hit or two on me.
Tsk. This girl.
"Uh…"
"What now?"
"What's that red thing on your chest? It wasn't there before. Is that the armor relic that you used earlier?"
A frown appeared on my face as I heard Amelia's question.
"How in the world do you know it wasn't there before?"
"....."
At my question, Amelia merely sealed her lips and averted her eyes. It looked like she was holding back an urge to say something.
Then I remembered. I saw it in Lucas' memories. While forcing himself on her, he took his shirt off. Before he could go any further, his father and sister broke into his room and got him off her.
Wow.
There was only one way I could've made this conversation awkward, and I just did that.
I have a talent for fucking things up.
Letting out a long sigh, I massaged my forehead. I debated whether to apologize or not but then quickly decided not to.
Though I did decide to answer her question, "Yes, it's the very same armor relic. I can summon that armor from this ruby on my chest."
"O-oh, I see," Amelia nodded back. "So I guess that massive outburst of power you displayed earlier was an application of this relic?"
"Yeah," I replied. "Once I shed the armor, I gain an increment in my stats."
"Is there a cooldown time?"
"There is not."
"Wow! This relic is broken!"
Broken? I guess you can say that.
I get nigh-impenetrable defense, and when I want, I can boost my strength. If I die, I'll be brought back to life once. As long as I don't die, I can use the armor again.
It seemed like a broken relic to me too at the start. After all, that's the reason the first thing I did after coming to this world was obtain it.
However, now that I know there's a side effect to using Embrace Discard, I don't think it's broken anymore.
Now, to some people, I might be sounding like a pussy. Being scared of little pain.
To those people, I just have one thing to say:
Come take my place. Come and fucking take my place! Experience the pain I'm currently experiencing, and then say those words!
I don't even think I can use Embrace Discard twice in a row. My body wouldn't be able to handle the strain. It will break.
Still, I guess it wouldn't be wrong to call it broken.
Amelia sighed, "I have to admit, rich young lords are on a different level."
I raised an eyebrow, barely holding back a laugh, "I'm sorry. What?"
"Well," she began, "you used an Illusion relic during the mock war to change your appearance, you used two arrow relics against Quinn now, and you had this same armor relic at that time too. Those things aren't cheap."
"I'm not rich," I replied, shaking my head with a bitter smile. "I told you before. I just have connections."
"Connections to the god of this world, I'm assuming," Amelia said, rolling her eyes.
I couldn't argue with that, so I just shrugged.
I mean, I really do have something akin to a connection with the god of this world, so I guess she is right?
"But I'm not an elite young lord anymore," I said. "I just have my surname, but my noble titles were revoked. Even in the Western Continent, I don't have any authority now."
"Yeah, who's to blame for that?"
"..."
Tsk. This girl.
"Haaa," Amelia let out another short sigh. "But still, an elite must be fun, no? People bow their heads before you wherever you go. You do whatever the fuck you want with no consequences. You can have the prettiest girls, drink the fanciest wine, and have your bodyguards beat up anyone who may offend you for even bumping into you down the street. It must feel good, right?"
The frown on my face grew deeper. Where does she want this conversation to head? I mean, I think I have an idea of what she wants to talk about.
So with an arched eyebrow, I played along, "Amelia, do you hate elites?"
Amelia gave a short chuckle, noticing that I had understood her intentions. "I don't hate elites. I hate when elite young lords act entitled to everything. They think they deserve fancy treatment just because of their birthright. They act as if everyone should automatically respect or fear them, even though they have done nothing to earn it. Some nobles even discriminate against commoners just because they were born with a silver spoon."
I see.
So this is what she was trying to say.
Everything she said described the old Lucas. So that's her plan. She is trying to guilt-trip me.
Why? Does she still want me to apologize?
"Amel–" I began to respond, but Amelia interrupted me.
"I know not all elites are like that," she said, taking a deep breath as if she were preparing to unload a heavy burden off her chest. "Y-You weren't like that before."
Wait, wait, wait!
"Wha–" confused, I tried to interrupt, but she continued speaking.
"But after your awakening, you changed. Your personality flipped, and you became depressed. I heard that you were having a hard time with your brother and your family," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "I-I… uh, I wanted to help you, t-to console you, but you closed your heart to everyone. You stopped talking and started pushing people away, including me. You didn't even let me in, and that hurt!"
"Amelia–" I tried to interject again, but she kept talking, her words flowing out rapidly.
"You e-even started getting involved with the wrong kind of people and bullying commoners in our school. Y-You a-also acted as if you didn't know me, and when I tried to confront y-you, you… Hic!" Her voice trailed off, and she began to hiccup and sob.
"Amelia!" finally getting a window, I quickly interrupted her, shocked by her words. "What are you talking about?"
"If you wanted to have me that way, all you had to do was ask, Lucas!" Amelia raised her voice, her body shaking but her head still down. "I would have gladly given you everything I had. So why did you act like that?! W-Why did you force me?! Why did you break my trust?! And when I asked you to apologize, you–!"
"Amelia, calm down," I said, grabbing her by the shoulders. She took a few sharp breaths before finally calming down.
"Amelia, answer me this one thing," I said while trying so hard to not let my voice break.
In the next moment, with my tone barely above a whisper, I asked, "Did I know you before the 'incident'?"
Going from what I've read in the novel and the memories that I inherited from the owner of the body I'm currently in, Lucas did NOT know Amelia before he tried to force himself on her.
They were in the same class. However, they never interacted or knew each other prior to shortly before Lucas' little horny show.
But if that's the case, then why is the girl in front of me acting as if she had known Lucas long before that?!
To answer me, Amelia raised her head and matched my gaze.
My heart sank seeing the sight in front of me.
Tears were running down her blushing red cheeks. Her emerald green eyes, filled with tears to the brim, vulnerably looked at me.
"Did you know me?" she looked at me with a saddened look. It was as if she was mourning a time that was but long gone. "We were friends, Lucas! We were friends since our childhood!"
"....."
Blank.
My mind was blank.
Remember what I said about not liking surprises? Yeah, scratch that. I now HATE surprises.
What the fuck is this plot twist?!
Nothing like this was mentioned in the novel?! Moreover, nothing like this was in Lucas' memories!
I mean, if they really known each other since childhood, then Lucas would surely remember about it, right?!
So then why?!
Why do I not have any memories of interacting with her before the 'incident.'
As I looked at the sight of Amelia crying and sobbing, for some reason, I felt my chest tightening and twisting in pain.
Before I could even think about saying something, Amelia wiped the tears off her face and continued.
"And although you pretended to not notice, you knew that I had feel–"
"Arghh!"
Right when she was in the middle of her point, a dissatisfied groan cut her off.
Both Amelia and I instantly dropped this topic and looked over at Quinn. His limp body was finally starting to move, and he was getting up.
