The Laws of Abilities

The next day.

The morning sunlight spilled into the room through the window.

The air was filled with a fresh scent, and the faint sound of footsteps could occasionally be heard in the hallway.

A new day had begun.

"..."

Xu Nuo lay in bed, slowly opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling for a few seconds. A bit of morning light fell upon his face, warm and incredibly comfortable.

He was in no rush to get up.

After all.

Today was the weekend.

There were no classes to attend, so he could afford to be lazy for a while.

This was his eighth day at Advanced Nurturing High School. The day he had introduced himself in class was a Sunday, not an official school day.

Therefore.

"Time's up, then..."

Feeling his skills fading away, Xu Nuo finally shook off his sleepiness. He sat up in bed and scratched his slightly messy hair.

He blinked, feeling a bit surprised.

"Still."

"To think the one that remained this time is voice mimicry?"

"I suppose it'll do."

That was right.

Although his abilities expired every week, they would more or less leave behind some proof of their existence.

For instance, this voice mimicry.

It had become permanently solidified and would no longer disappear.

In other words.

As long as he was given enough time, he could even become a truly omnipotent superman.

It was a pity.

He had wasted quite a bit of time in the past trying to explore the scope and limits of his abilities.

But even so, Xu Nuo had already mastered dozens of abilities, both major and minor.

For example, writer, pianist, Go Saint...

And so on.

These abilities he had frequently used were all completely solidified, and he could now wield them as easily as his own limbs.

Of course, it had cost him a significant amount of time.

Take the writer ability alone.

Xu Nuo had spent several months on it; after all, a broad category contained countless sub-branches. At first, he had only solidified the basics like descriptive techniques and typing speed.

To the point that.

Later on, even top-tier Russian melancholic prose appeared.

These abilities, which were not initially included in the "writer" identity, had emerged as time passed.

It was completely conceptual.

So...

As the lonely gaze of a certain little princess leaning on her cane surfaced in his mind, Xu Nuo fell into deep thought.

Should he start with an Ultimate healer?

He wouldn't claim he could cure her directly.

But improving her condition certainly wouldn't be a problem, and given enough time, perhaps he could even cure her.

A moment later.

Xu Nuo shook his head.

Forget it.

If the emotional connection wasn't there, even if he had the ability, she might not necessarily agree to let him treat her.

Then...

The figure of Miss Phantom Thief appeared in his mind.

Xu Nuo sighed. He had promised to be her master, so what kind of person would he be to pull out after only teaching her for a few days?

Let's continue with the process.

Thinking of this.

He made his decision, picked up his phone from the side, and opened the group chat he had created while in the outside world.

What!

You say the closed university cannot contact the outside world?

The school firewall was upgraded by Xu Nuo himself, so a trivial matter like this was naturally not worth mentioning.

Opening the group chat.

[Black Cat]: So bored, anyone want to play games together...

[Fish Cat of Moon Sea]: I'm just about bored to sleep, hurry up and log on, this young lady will carry you!

[Black Cat]: You? Forget it, you're too trash.

[Fish Cat of Moon Sea]: What is that supposed to mean! This young lady... (one hundred words omitted below)

[Mr. Pan]: If you two want to argue, take it to private messages.

[Lamp Filial Son (Note)]: You have no self-awareness about disturbing others, can you two shut up?

[Black Cat]: @#＆#...

Seeing this scene.

Xu Nuo sighed; this little group was as lively as ever, so he sent a greeting.

[Ultimate]: You're really acting high and mighty, dear.

[Lamp Filial Son]: Ha! When did you come back to life? Did hell finally reach full capacity?

[Black Cat]: You came at the right time, hurry up and log on.

[Ultimate]: I'm very busy, go play by yourself. Today's identity is the Ultimate Phantom Thief.

[Fish Cat of Moon Sea]: ...

[Mr. Pan]: ...

[Shiro]: ...

[Lamp Filial Son]: Heh, your chuunibyou is acting up again, right? I'm the ultimate trainee, then.

Following the group owner's appearance.

Some lurking members also began to surface.

However.

Xu Nuo had no time to pay attention to them. He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the return of his phantom thief skills.

"The power seems to be gradually coming back..."

That's right.

Even declaring it on the internet was effective.

These were all rules he had explored bit by bit over many years; talking about it only brings tears.

"Knock, knock, knock--"

Suddenly.

A chaotic knocking sounded at the door, neither light nor heavy, but inexplicably carrying a sense of impatience.

Immediately after.

A slightly stiff female voice came from outside the door.

"Hey, get up."

The voice was cold, carrying a hint of reluctance, as if she were completing some task she had no choice but to do.

"I won't wait forever."

"Open the door quickly, or I'm just going to leave."

"Tsk..."

Lazily rolling out of bed, Xu Nuo rubbed his messy hair and walked to the door barefoot.

"Click--"

The door opened.

What came into view was an exquisite face.

Kamuro Masumi.

Her long, purplish-red hair was tied into a high side ponytail. She was wearing neat casual clothes, holding a bento bag in one hand with her other hand on her hip.

Her purplish-red eyes were glaring at him with dissatisfaction.

"...You really are slow."

Kamuro Masumi frowned, her tone full of disdain, yet her gaze still swept over Xu Nuo involuntarily, her heart rate inexplicably quickening.

Although.

His pajamas were loose and baggy, his hair was as messy as a bird's nest, and he looked like he had just woken up.

But thanks to that face.

He had somehow managed to turn into a lazy, beautiful youth.

"Morning."

Xu Nuo yawned, leaning lazily against the doorframe, and then issued an invitation with a casual expression.

"Want to come in and sit for a bit?"

"..."

Kamuro Masumi bit her lower lip.

He actually dared to invite her.

And this casual demeanor made it seem as if a girl entering his room was the most natural thing in the world.

"Fine, I'll come in."

The young girl held her fair neck high, keeping a straight face as she spoke with feigned indifference, "Don't get any ideas; I just don't want to be seen standing in the hallway."

"And—"

She glared at Xu Nuo, her eyes full of vigilance.

"You aren't allowed to do anything weird."

"I'll scream!"

Having said that.

Kamuro Masumi took a deep breath, as if summoning her courage, and stepped into the room with a tense expression.

The moment she entered, she froze.

The scene before her was completely different from what she had imagined.

There were no messy clothes strewn about, no socks emitting strange odors, and certainly no trash-covered desk or floor.

The entire room was unexpectedly... clean.

Minimalist.

It even possessed a sort of ascetic aesthetic.

A few open books could be seen resting on the desk, the bed was slightly unkempt but not dirty, and the window was half-open, allowing the morning light to pour in, while a faint, exotic fragrance drifted through the air.

It wasn't the scent of perfume.

It was more like... the fresh fragrance of some plant?

It was a little familiar.

Wait.

Could this be... the scent on that guy...?

"Huu~~"

Kamuro Masumi unconsciously softened her breathing, letting that pleasant scent slowly flow into her lungs.

Inexplicably.

Her body began to feel warm.