He thanked whatever God here that Nusia had taken in better than he had expected. She was really surprised until her body turned stiff, but at least, she didn't take off the moment she had recovered. The lady only asked him to share his Status while she also would do the same.

She just can't believe it without looking with her own two eyes. Rather than expressing fear, she was more concerned about him as she hugged him from behind.

"Just the three attributes and nothing else?" he asked the woman to confirm.

"Yes, love,” the woman purred. “The less I know about each other's [Status], the less the others could use it against each other. These are my three base attributes," she used a finger to trace a square in empty air before a box appeared before it.

[Name: Nusia]
[Body: 35]
[Mind: 18]
[Spirit: 24]

"Go on, try it. Just will it come forth," Nusia said. "It should be easy if your Spirit is that high."

He nodded and copied her movements. Artus was surprised when the box appeared despite knowing that it would.

[Name: Artus III]
[Body: 1]
[Mind: 5]
[Spirit: 31]

The woman gasped at the sight. "This explains everything," she mumbled.

"Explains what?"

The water swooshed as Nusia stood up leaving his far too short legs dangling in the air. The fact his head was in between the best pair of jugs he had seen in his entire life had made it tolerable.

"Your random knowledge, odd way of speaking, your demeanor, everything," said the woman while walking.

"You, my lucky boy, have been somehow blessed by an ancient Spirit. A tolerable spirit nevertheless. How is that possible, I don't know, but at least, it has given us something good out of this."

Nusia set the little boy down before she began to wipe him almost in autopilot as her eyes darted around, looking past him. The very naked lady then wiped herself in a similar way before hanging the makeshift towel along with his much cleaner but wet clothes.

He didn't bother to ask because she was too distracted. Artus himself was also a little distracted by the excellent curves dangled in front of him. Nusia had laid down on her side on top of a piece of fabric and she patted the spot in front of her.

He sat in front of her before she pulled him closer until his back felt her warmth. Nusia then pulled the rest of the cloth over them. His eyes are barely out in the open.

"We used to sleep like this all the time, remember?"

"Yes, I know," Artus groaned.

"Is it uncomfortable now?"

"No, it's too comfortable," he yawned.

"The fire in the pit won't last forever, sleeping like this will keep partners warm throughout the night."

"But... what happens if... you know."

"You are still too small for that," Nusia chuckled, reading his mind perfectly.

Artus groaned in protest.

"Sex might be addictive, but you should see it as nothing more than what it is,” she paused for the dramatic effect.

“A physical activity that benefits both sides, nothing more. I tell you this because women will use it against you if they sense weakness. Mark my word, Artus."

-

"Understood, ma'am," said Artus in his weird way but she wasn't convinced. "Have you used it before," another yawn escaped the small boy in her arms. "I mean against men?"

"Yes, that's how I've kept you alive for years, but as you already know, even that wasn't good enough," she sighed. "Promise me you'll get used to a woman's body, one way or another."

"Yes, ma'am," the boy said as he turned around to cuddle in her bosom.

In his half-asleep, his hand groped her chest out of the force of habit, and it tickled her heart.

Artus is slowly becoming hers again as it should be. She was glad that he was but a child even if he acted like he was not. The implanted or merged Spirit had done a number on him.

Others might have gone crazy fighting over control or even when only trying to figure things out. Obviously, the spirit was a gentle one or it would be a lot worse. She didn't know if skinship could have helped the boy to calm down and return to being himself if the awakened spirit was something not as it was.

She also realized another obvious thing. The boy grew tired quickly but recovered just as fast, a clear sign of an imbalance in his attribute. She might be getting rusty as she should have noticed it a lot sooner. Her original plan for him is useless now.

It was known that the Body needed to keep up with the Spirit or it would empty its stamina reserve too quickly. She had her own doubt in the fact until she saw it happened to Artus. He's sleeping like a baby even though he had slept for hours not so long ago.

She still had a lot of things to tell him like the human body is just a shell, a mix of flesh and bone used to host and nurture the Core. A very precious shell she rather not loose, but nonetheless not more important than him.

"You can use my body if that would fix your weakness," she whispered into the sleeping boy's ear as if she was casting a spell, but of course, she would never do that to him.

She will never be one of those vixens.

"First we'll fix your constant lethargy, but that is for tomorrow."

She realized that it was given to using this shell of flesh to prepare the boy. This body could at least be of use in that way. She knew she had to do something about it or he would never make it far.

Nusia felt guilty even if she knew that it wasn't her fault. The last thing she wanted was him to be pulled by the nose by other women like his lord-father.

She, as a woman herself, knows this very well that women will use sex against men either they realize it or not. Lord Bashker might be rich and among the most influential men in this part of the world, but even that man couldn't think with his head.

"Whatever it takes," she promised herself.

She just loved him too much to let him fall into that honey trap.

-

There was nothing better than waking up in the warm embrace of a beautiful woman. The fact is true even if she was closer to his adopted mother than real flesh and blood-related females. He felt guilty because of that, thanks to the world he had been living for many years.

It felt like it was a lot easier back then. He could see the dividing line that he should never cross, but to be honest, him back then would argue that the line was blurry at best.

The truth is, he didn't know what he should do about this odd relationship. Should he reject her, stand by his old principle or should he go with the new flow?

The facts revealed to him had thrown the old common sense out of the window. She had explicitly said that he, or his Core, had grown on his own while it was in his birth mother's womb.

There was no doubt in her voice. That could only mean that the mother had only provided the protection but not the needed nutrients to build a body.

But still, being in her womb for who knew how long should have some meaning, right?

And apparently, that's the only way the people could procreate. By creating a fusion and nurturing a new Core. There were many reasons why humans in the old world had their own common senses, but he didn't think any of it would apply to this world because of this.

'But that does mean I should just do whatever I want. It's fine if he isn't forcing anyone, right? Nusia was clearly comfortable and wanted me to be in her arms without any clothes on.'

Artus sighed inside. It felt like he was arguing with himself.

'Let's just see where this goes, shall we?'

He agreed with himself, well, if that makes any sense.

Artus shifted his body out from the comfortable warmth that had accompanied during his sleep. He had been sleeping more than he should, that was for sure. He sat on the spread thick cloth before her warmth met his back again arms around him.

The action made him think that it was she who couldn't get enough of him like mothers who couldn't help it but love to hug their children. A thing that even made their husbands jealous while he watched them from further away.

The only difference was Nusia loved to feel his bare skin rather than through the safety of a layer of fabric. He didn’t know, maybe this is the norm for people in this world.

He couldn't say if it was normal or not in this world as he had just learned that he knew nothing about it. Their human bodies grew from a Core that could move throughout the created flesh and bone. Could he still call them or himself human as in Earth's human?

"Nusia," he called the woman and she hummed to acknowledge him.

"Does someone die if his neck is cut or broken?"

"Yes, but if only he doesn't receive immediate help," she quipped. "The Core will be starved off without the support of a functional body and it will be the end of the unfortunate person."

"How much time is immediate?"

"Like right away, a few tens of minutes to maybe half an hour? What is this about?"

"Nothing, just curious about things," he shrugged. "But what if the Core is shattered?"

"It is almost impossible to point where other's Core is, but you will die. The body can live without a Core, but no one will call it living. Bodies without a Core are what we call zombies."

"Zombies?" he muttered after her.

"Or the living dead, some others liked to call," she added. "Let's get dressed, we need to build your body to an acceptable level or you'll be sleeping most of the time, all the time."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Using the Essence, of course," the woman smiled brightly as she threw his clothes to him.