Martial Era: Starting With The Strongest Talent-Chapter 151: I Am Me

During the team meeting, Remedy had looked perfectly composed.

Her voice was measured and she made clear deductions with no hesitation.

But that wasn’t the full truth.

Beneath that calm exterior, something had been gnawing at her.

And it had to do with Adam.

Despite being a regressor and having seen fragments of the future....

She hadn’t been able to warn him about William and Reliance.

It had been a potential threat to his life.

And she hadn’t seen it coming.

That fact sat like a splinter in her chest and it made her feel useless.

The word echoed louder the more she tried to ignore it.

She hated that feeling.

So she came here.

Adam looked at her evenly.

"But is there really a need to apologize?" he asked. "It wasn’t your fault."

"I know."

She walked past him and sat on the edge of his bed.

The dampness from her hair slowly soaked into the sheets but Adam seeing this chose not to comment.

She slouched slightly, shoulders lowered.

"But it still stings," she admitted quietly. "Knowing I could have lost someone I cared about."

Adam blinked.

Isn’t that something the guy is supposed to say?

The thought surfaced briefly although it wasn’t a serious thought it was observational.

The roles felt slightly inverted.

But that didn’t matter.

He stepped closer.

"But this isn’t the first time."

Remedy looked up.

"Excuse me?"

"Have you forgotten about your talent already?"

Her expression shifted, as understanding dawned.

Adam continued calmly.

"You’ve experienced countless regressions. Even if you didn’t retain every memory, the fact remains."

He met her eyes directly.

"If you’ve reset that many times... it means I failed in those timelines."

"It means I died."

Remedy opened her mouth but Adam cut her off gently.

"But those Adams from your memories aren’t me."

"Don’t let trauma from timelines that no longer exist dictate how you see me."

His voice didn’t rise, rather it remained grounded as if stating a cold truth.

"Because I am me."

He held her gaze for a moment.

"And the Adams from your memories are different."

Remedy looked at Adam for a long moment.

Then she chuckled softly.

"What a strange way to comfort a girl."

Adam shrugged.

"At least it worked."

She nodded once.

"It did."

The tension in her shoulders eased. The heaviness in her soul flame stabilized, and it was no longer flickering with that dull weight of guilt, as she stood up.

"Thank you."

She walked toward the door, then paused and before Adam could react, she leaned in and gave him a small, brief peck against his lips.

"This acts as an apology," she said quietly, "and thanks."

Adam didn’t overreact or flinch; he was fine with that. Remedy unlocked the door and stepped out.

Adam watched it close.

For a moment, he simply stared at it.

Then Connect flickered back on briefly.

He watched her soul flame move down the corridor and return to her room.

He didn’t focus on it long, as the perception soon dissolved and he exhaled slowly.

She’s getting more and more confident.

Adam wasn’t dense.

He knew she had feelings for him.

He just hadn’t decided what to do with that yet. The timing wasn’t right and there were too many variables.

He pushed the thought aside for later.

Essence stirred as he activated his storage ring.

The corpse dropped onto the floor again and the air in the room shifted subtly.

Adam crouched beside it, as his eyes analyzed the full corpse.

The twisted veins, faint residual negative pulse and incomplete decay.

If Vanta could invert star power and reliance induce secondary affinity awakening...

Then theoretically...

His gaze sharpened.

Let’s hope this works.

****

Remedy stood still in front of her own door.

Her fingers hovered slightly at her side.

Soon enough.

A knock interrupted her thoughts, as she straightened and opened the door to see Ivy standing outside, laptop in hand.

"Hyper and Herbal X will be hosting a launching gala tomorrow," Ivy said immediately. "The details aren’t public, but it’s for the release of a new drug."

Remedy’s eyes sharpened.

"Good job, Ivy."

Ivy nodded once and left without another word.

The hallway grew quiet again.

Remedy closed the door slowly.

Her expression hardened.

I can’t afford distractions right now.

Her fist clenched.

Tomorrow.

Her mind began assembling the infiltration framework piece by piece.

****

Scott stood alone in the manor’s training ground.

Heat rolled off his body in waves, as his skin cracked before liquefing into magma, as two molten horns curved from his temples.

Behind him, a four-star Heavenly Spirit manifested, its form a massive dragon with four blazing wings, each flap distorting the air around it.

The dragon opened its maw and a dense fireball condensed instantly, layers of compressed flame spiraling inward.

Scott extended his hand.

"Release."

The fireball shot forward and slammed into the reinforced training dummy.

BOOM!

The dummy shattered into splinters and scorched fragments.

Heat rippled across the arena walls and Scott exhaled slowly, as the magma receded, the horns dissolved, the dragon spirit faded behind him like embers carried by wind and his body returned to normal.

"Take it easy," a lazy voice called out. "Someone might think the dummy killed your clan."

Scott didn’t turn immediately.

He knew that voice.

Felecia leaned against the wall with her arms folded and a faint smirk on her lips.

"What are you doing here?"

"You’re not the only one who wants to get some training in."

Scott studied her for a few seconds.

"What are you really here for?"

Felecia’s brows lifted in mock offense.

"You kids really think less of me."

Scott didn’t respond.

He just stared, as the silence stretched.

Felecia sighed.

"Fine."

She stepped away from the wall.

"Like you, I’m also feeling threatened by that kid."

Her voice lost its teasing edge.

"And I need to put in some actual work before the only thing I’m good for gets taken from me by him."

Scott’s gaze hardened slightly.

"I’m not feeling threatened."

Felecia smirked.

"Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Before he could reply, she walked to the opposite end of the training ground.

Essence flared around her.

The temperature in the room shifted, becoming denser and heavier.

Scott looked at her back for a moment. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Then he clenched his fist.

A slow exhale escaped him.

Heat began to build again beneath his skin.

The dragon spirit’s outline flickered faintly behind him and he resumed training.

****

A/N: What is ’I am me’ even supposed to mean? Adam really out here saying anything just to impress the huz.