"I got the system that very night when I was beaten up by Lloyd, and have been leveling up ever since," he explained further, laying out the true timeline of his sudden, explosive growth.
Evangeline's eyes widened slightly in genuine surprise at the sudden correction, and for the next few seconds, there was absolutely nothing but a heavy, suffocating silence stretching between them.
She then let out a long, slow sigh, the tension gradually leaving her shoulders as she looked back at him with a soft, forgiving expression.
"It's fine… I understand," she said gently, waving away his embarrassment with a reassuring nod of her head.
She recognized that his initial instinct to lie had likely stemmed from a desire to protect her from worrying about the bizarre nature of his power, and she couldn't find it in her heart to stay angry at him after everything he had endured.
