My Idle System

Chapter 382 382: Eternal Life Physique

After he finished the tenth plate of steak, Christian finally slowed down, and only then did he notice something.

The meat was delicious, there was no doubt about that. But… it tasted better than usual.

From the flavor alone, he could tell it was still beef. Yet there was something more to it, a richer, deeper flavor hidden beneath. A subtle, almost intoxicating quality that normal beef had never possessed.

"You noticed?" Annabelle asked, tilting her head slightly. She had barely eaten a few bites herself, spending more time watching him than touching her food.

"Yes… what's the difference?"

"It's from one of the mutated cattle," she replied with a soft, affectionate smile.

And Christian immediately understood.

After The First Sign, it wasn't just humans and the world that had changed, everything had. Animals included.

Some had grown far more aggressive, making them difficult to raise or breed. But when money was involved… difficulties had a way of disappearing.

And they had more than enough of that.

With renewed interest, Christian returned to his meal, savoring every bite. The dining table was filled with warmth and comfortable silence, occasionally broken by light conversation and the sound of cutlery. The rich aroma of perfectly cooked meat and subtle spices lingered in the air.

Once he was finally full, he spent some relaxed time with Eva and Annabelle. They didn't talk about anything important, just casual, meaningless chatter that felt surprisingly pleasant. Eventually, both women went off to handle their own matters.

Now alone with Anastasia once again, though this time in the living room instead of the garden, Christian held her petite body comfortably in his arms. He remained silent for a while, lost in thought, before suddenly asking.

"You know… what do you think of the talents of those around me? How would you rate them?"

He was thinking about how both Olivia and Nina had recently broken through to the second mastery stage.

Olivia's progress made sense. She had started training in essence long before him. But Nina… she had begun even later than he had, and without the help of an Idle System.

Even so, she had already overtaken him.

For a moment, Christian was genuinely amazed by her talent. Still, he wasn't worried. He knew he could surpass her whenever he wanted. Not to mention, at this point, her loyalty was already confirmed, and if he ever needed further reassurance, he had Lie Detection now.

So, what occupied his mind was something else entirely.

And Anastasia's next words confirmed it.

"Eva is the most naturally gifted among them," she said. The words could almost be taken as praise, if not for how casually she delivered them.

"After her comes that little mage assassin of yours. Then your sister and Eva's daughter. And lastly… your maid."

Her ranking matched almost perfectly with what Christian had already tested for himself. Nothing about it surprised him. He hadn't tested Olivia's talent directly, but he had already estimated it, and it was roughly around his sister's level.

Still… there was one person she had left out.

"And what about me?" Christian asked. His tone remained casual.

Anastasia fell silent for a moment. Then her gaze turned teasing and playful.

"You should already know the answer," she said with a faint smile. "Your talent is only slightly above that of your maid. It falls quite short compared to the others."

So be it. I already have the Idle System.

Christian accepted it calmly. Besides, with the help of Flawless Body, his talent was steadily improving anyway. Rather than dwelling on it, he quickly moved on to what actually mattered more to him.

"Well then… what's wrong with Eva?"

"With her talent, she should at least be capable of training in essence techniques. But she can't even do that."

Anastasia didn't answer right away. Instead, she held his gaze for several seconds before finally speaking.

"So all this talk about talent was only an excuse to ask about your lover?"

Christian met her teasing smile with one of his own, not bothering to deny it. Since she had already seen through him, there was no point pretending otherwise.

Before, he had avoided asking because of the faint possibility that Anastasia might have ulterior motives. But now, after confirming things through Lie Detection, there was no reason to delay the matter any longer.

"Yes, it's about her. I already know her talent is exceptional, and she seems to possess some kind of special physique tied to a certain attribute. But what attribute it is, why her physique turned out like this, and how to solve her problem… I couldn't figure any of that out."

"Hm."

Anastasia hummed thoughtfully as she looked at the unusually attentive Christian. This time, she didn't tease him further before answering.

"Her physique is called the Eternal Life Physique. It's actually quite famous, one of the top hundred physiques known throughout the universe."

She continued, "The problem is that hers is incomplete. It's not unfixable, but someone born in a backward world like this, with almost no strength, would normally die of old age long before they could solve it."

Though Anastasia spoke casually, Christian already had enough understanding of just how vast the universe was to realize that being ranked among the top hundred physiques was far more terrifying than she made it sound.

Even the name alone said enough.

Eternal Life Physique.

Eternal.

Just the word itself carried an almost absurd sense of grandeur.

But still…

"Someone with a physique called Eternal Life would die of old age? Does that make sense?" he asked.

"Like I said, it's incomplete." Anastasia sounded completely unconcerned.

"She first needs to interact properly with Essence before she can benefit from the physique itself… including the supposed eternal life it offers."

Christian understood the logic, yet he still wasn't entirely convinced. In the end, though, he chose not to dwell on it further.

He simply smiled and let out a faint hum.

"Well, regardless, she happened to get herself an amazing man, so solving her problem should obviously be easy."

"Oh? Is that so?" Anastasia's voice turned more playful, clearly amused by his proud tone and smug expression.

"Then sorry to disappoint you, but even for you, fixing her physique won't be that simple. And once again… your biggest problem is time."