Rowan stood frozen.
There was no mistaking it his first clear sensation was that his body felt lighter.
Whether it was the motion of lifting the blanket or simply getting out of bed, everything felt strangely effortless. Like he'd been training for weeks with dozens of pounds in weighted gear and had suddenly taken it all off.
"Could it be...?"
Eyes wide, Rowan looked down at his hands. Visually, there was no dramatic difference.
He frowned and stood up.
Then he bent his knees and jumped.
Whoosh—Bang!
His entire body shot upward like a basketball player executing a slam dunk, his head slamming squarely into the ceiling.
Thud.
Staggering back down, Rowan rubbed the top of his head, slightly dazed.
The ceiling in this motel room was around 2.8 meters high. With Rowan's height at 1.9 meters, that left roughly 90 centimeters to cover and he'd reached it almost effortlessly.
He was certain he had been mid-ascent when he struck the ceiling. That meant his vertical leap wasn't just good it had massively improved.
"My strength and jumping power... they're enhanced?"
The thought popped into his head unbidden.
He had never jumped like that before.
A glimmer of joy danced across Rowan's face.
But a part of him still couldn't quite believe it.
He threw a few shadow punches.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The muffled sound of his fists tearing through the air filled the room.
His grin widened.
His punches were significantly faster than before, and his stamina felt noticeably improved too.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
On impulse, Rowan slipped into the familiar rhythm of training, transitioning into a fluid series of shadow strikes.
Sharp footwork combined with piercing strikes created a powerful and aesthetically pleasing spectacle.
He kept going for a full ten minutes before finally stopping, his chest heaving, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
He had definitely grown stronger.
Ten minutes of intense shadowboxing, and he had only broken a mild sweat. He still had plenty of energy to spare.
Before, ten minutes of such training would have left him completely wiped out. Now, he was barely winded.
He could clearly feel the transformation his strength, speed, explosive power, stamina, and even neural response time had all seen remarkable improvement.
This overwhelming sensation of power made him feel slightly intoxicated.
No wonder, in the world of Swallowed Star, Earthlings could ascend the evolutionary path through infection by the RR virus.
"I need to run some proper diagnostics on my current body metrics once I get back," Rowan mused.
He glanced instinctively at the clock.
19:12.
"Maria's probably heading home around now..."
He eyed the time glowing softly on the wall.
He had to get back before Maria returned.
If she came home and couldn't find him, she'd definitely worry.
And if she checked the surveillance feed and saw him vanish into thin air yeah, that would be bad.
"But wait, if I go back now, could I carry the RR virus with me?"
A chill passed through Rowan's chest.
"No, that can't be it. If the virus could cling to clothes or air, I would've brought it back yesterday."
He suddenly remembered the tests he ran yesterday after crossing between worlds and let out a half-laugh.
"Still, I should double-check. This time, I'm definitely infected."
Scanning the room, he noticed a computer on the desk and walked over to power it on.
Once the browser loaded, he searched:
"Is RR virus contagious after infection?"
Soon, a popular science article popped up on the screen.
After infection, once the fever subsides and body temperature returns to normal, the immune system produces antibodies, and the virus is no longer contagious.
Rowan exhaled deeply in relief.
As long as he wasn't contagious anymore, that was all that mattered.
He couldn't say for sure whether particles of the RR virus clung to his clothes or lingered in the air.
For now, all he could do was hope the portal's spatial vortex acted as a natural filter. There was no way to fully sterilize the air he breathed, after all.
And he couldn't just give up on using the gate out of fear.
He skimmed a few more pages of related info, then closed the browser.
"Time to head back."
Raising his hand to activate the ring, Rowan paused as his eyes caught something strange about the gem on it.
"Wait... why are there only six stones lit up?"
His brows drew together.
He counted again, slowly, just to be sure.
"One, two, three, four, five, six."
Only six softly glowing blue stones remained.
Rowan's frown deepened.
Yesterday, he'd activated the ring for the first time, traveled once, returned, and then crossed again. That meant he'd used up three stones.
He remembered clearly that there were seven glowing gems left afterward.
But now, only six.
"Which means... just staying in the Swallowed Star world also consumes energy?"
"Seems like every full day I stay, another gem gets used up..."
Rowan sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly.
"Guess I'll need to approach Tony Stark sooner than planned. Without a high-level energy source, just recharging the ring the slow way won't be enough."
He snapped his fingers.
The familiar blue-black vortex shimmered into existence, wrapping around him and pulling him away from the room.
In the next second, Rowan was back in his apartment.
It was already dark outside. The room was unlit and shrouded in shadow.
Yet his vision remained almost perfectly clear.
"Looks like the RR virus enhanced my night vision too..."
If the facility weren't partially shut down, he would've headed out to run a full diagnostics test immediately.
"I just hope I didn't bring the RR virus back. If I did, Maria might be the first one exposed..."
Rowan's heart sank a little.
Still, the article said that healthy adults had only around a 10% mortality rate after infection. The fitter the body, the lower the risk. Most of the casualties during the Great Nirvana came from the elderly and sickly children.
Maria was in excellent shape, far stronger than the average adult. Even if she were infected, the risk of death would be extremely low.
"I'll know by tomorrow. For now, I'll cook her something for dinner."
Rowan flipped on the light and pushed his worries aside.
Soon, he was in the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge. He took out two tomatoes, two passion fruits, some vegetables, and a bit of green onion, ginger, and garlic.
From the freezer, he grabbed a slab of beef tenderloin.
He planned to make a tomato and passion fruit beef hotpot.
One of Maria's favorite dishes sweet, tangy, refreshing, and perfect for beating fatigue.
It was essentially a simplified version of the Guizhou-style sour soup hotpot.
While the beef defrosted in the microwave, Rowan rinsed a few cups of rice and set up the rice cooker.
Sour beef stew like this had to be paired with rice. Bread just felt... wrong.
With that ready, he began slicing and prepping the rest of the ingredients.
The kitchen soon filled with the warmth of steam and the scent of sizzling aromatics.
When Maria came home, Rowan had just finished setting the pot on the table.
Steam curled up from the bubbling broth, releasing a rich aroma that instantly softened Maria's face the moment she stepped through the door. She inhaled deeply, visibly relaxed.
"Rowan!"
"Hey, you're back."
Rowan looked up just in time to see her step inside.
"Yeah, I'm home!"
Kicking off her black heels, Maria slipped on her house slippers and skipped over to the table, nose twitching as she leaned in to smell the stew.
The sweet and sour fragrance made her mouth water. A smile crept unbidden across her face.
"Mmm... smells amazing. Looks like I got home at the perfect time."
She grinned mischievously, plucking a tender slice of beef with her fingers. After a quick blow to cool it, she popped it into her mouth.
"Mmm... so good!"
Watching her drop all her usual poise and elegance from work, Rowan chuckled helplessly. "Could you at least wait for me to hand you some chopsticks?"
"What can I say? It smells too good! And I haven't eaten since lunch. I'm starving."
She licked her fingertips clean with zero shame.
"Alright, alright, go wash your hands. I'll get the rice." Rowan gave her a gentle pat on the head, running his fingers through her soft, light brown hair.
"Don't ruffle my hair! I'm your big sister!"
Rowan's casual gesture made Maria puff up in mock outrage, her expression half-annoyed, half-defeated.
"Okay, okay," Rowan laughed, nudging her toward the bathroom. "Go already."
They weren't actually blood siblings.
Maria was his half-sister same mother, different fathers.
She was twenty-five, and he was sixteen.
After their mother passed away, Maria had taken him in and cared for him like family.
Technically, she was the responsible older sister figure.
But given Rowan's mental maturity and how he never called her "sis," it was hard for him to treat her like one. Sometimes, he even subconsciously saw her as the younger one.
Which was exactly why Maria always got so annoyed whenever he messed with her like this.