After an intimate moment shared between the two, Noah and Sophia now found themselves in his room.
The soft twilight glow filtered through the half-drawn curtains, casting golden beams over the silent room. Noah lay on his bed, his body still relaxed from the warmth of that special instant. In his arms rested Sophia, asleep, her breathing calm and steady.
They were wrapped around each other as if the world outside had ceased to exist — as if, in that moment, nothing else mattered besides the warmth of one another. Sophia's face was buried against Noah's chest, and her long blonde hair spread out like a golden curtain over the sheets. A faint, peaceful smile touched her lips, as if she had finally found peace.
Noah slowly ran his fingers through her soft hair, with no intention of waking her. He only wanted to feel… that moment. A strange, comforting feeling filled his chest — something he barely knew how to name, but that felt like a quiet kind of possession, protection, and belonging.
"Ah… my precious aunt… how I love you…" — he murmured softly, his lips nearly brushing her skin.
Leaning in gently, Noah pressed a delicate kiss to Sophia's cheek. The gesture was as light as a feather on skin but seemed to carry all the affection held within his heart.
Sophia snuggled even closer against him, as if even in sleep she heard those words and kept them with her. A soft sigh escaped her lips, and her fingers lightly clutched Noah's shirt, as if afraid he might leave.
He stayed there a few more minutes, stroking her hair, watching her sleep — admiring the serene way she breathed, the way her lashes cast soft shadows across her face. The room was quiet, almost sacred, cloaked in an atmosphere that only genuine moments could create.
Finally, with care, Noah began to get up. He moved slowly, trying not to make any noise that might wake her. He gently withdrew his arm, as if releasing something precious, and quietly left the bed, casting one last glance at the woman who slept under the covers.
"Now, let's see what this is…"
[
{! Attention: Daily Quest Issued }
A Level D Dungeon has awakened. Your duty is to seal it.Eliminate all the monsters within and receive your rewards.After confirmation, say KEY, and a key will appear in your hands, granting you entry into the dungeon.
Punishment: You will become a eunuch
Reward: *******]
While talking to his aunt, a translucent screen appeared right in front of him. Noah, however, ignored it — his attention completely absorbed in the conversation.But, a few hours later, the screen began to flash incessantly, grabbing his attention in an irritating way.
"Alter, what is this?" — he asked, frowning.
Alter was the name Noah had given to his alter ego. After a few seconds of silence, a voice much like his own echoed in his mind:
["A quest...?"]
"Yeah… I can see it's a quest, but why did it appear out of nowhere? What exactly is this?"
["This quest was generated to help you evolve as quickly as possible. And know this won't be the first… nor the last. Good luck."]
"What do you mean, Alter…?
["You possess a power even the Akashic System cannot comprehend. Do you really think your future enemies will be ordinary? No. They won't wait for you to grow. You need to get stronger as soon as possible — to protect yourself… and, above all, what's important to you."]
Noah kept his eyes fixed on the screen for a few more seconds, until a specific part of the message caught his attention in a rather… uncomfortable way.
"Hold on… 'Punishment: castration'? Is this serious?" — he exclaimed, his expression a mix of disbelief and dread.
"Is this really necessary?"
Alter's voice returned, as calm as ever, though there was a faint hint of irony within:
["Unfortunately, I don't decide the punishments. The quests are issued by a standard… automated protocol. Even I can't change them."]
"And what about the reward? It's just a string of asterisks..."
["I don't have access to that information either. The details are hidden until the quest is completed. It could be something incredible… or a complete letdown."]
Noah ran a hand through his hair, letting out a heavy sigh. He leaned back against a chair's backrest, staring at the floating screen with a distant look.
"Castration if I fail… and a mystery reward if I win. It's practically a gamble — he muttered, thoughtful."
Silence lingered for a few moments. He then broke it with a direct question:
"How much time do I have to accept this?"
After a few seconds, Alter's voice echoed in his mind once again:
["Daily quests have a twenty-four-hour time limit to be accepted. After that, the system registers it as a refusal… and the punishment is applied automatically."]
"So if I just ignore it, I'll wake up tomorrow missing… parts?"
["Technically… yes."]
"That's insane…" — he grumbled.
Adjusting in the chair, he began to reflect. Level D dungeons were among the lowest tiers. To clear a Level D dungeon, one would typically need either five C-ranks or fifteen D-ranks…
After Awakening, an ordinary human generally had around 10 points in each basic attribute. However, a Desperado's rank wasn't defined solely by their starting attributes, but primarily by the skills awakened at activation.
A clear example of this was Ana, one of his friends.
She had awakened an extremely rare skill: Teleportation, classified as SS-Rank. With it, Ana could instantly move to any location — a skill considered "broken" by many.
But there was a catch.
To use this skill, it required an enormous amount of mana, proportional to the distance traveled. Furthermore, Ana could only teleport to places she had already visited before. Meaning, despite its insane potential, the ability had important limitations.
Thus, even with an SS-Rank skill, Ana's current rank as an Awakened was only Rank A.Her potential, however, was clearly SS-Rank — and with effort, she could reach it.
Like any other Awakened, Ana needed to train, hunt monsters, and gain attribute points — granted by the Akashic System whenever a monster was defeated or a rank increased.
All Awakeneds started at Rank E, the lowest on the scale. From there, their growth depended solely on their effort and potential.
Ana, for example, possessed an affinity for Space, one of the rarest elements of all. It was estimated that less than 0.001% of the world's population awakened with this affinity. In other words… it was practically impossible to find someone like her.That alone made her extremely special.
The affinity with an element determined the kind of abilities an Awakened could develop and enhance more easily. While most people awakened with common affinities — like Fire, Water, Earth, or Wind — Ana had received something bordering on statistical impossibility.
Her potential as an Awakened was immense.
But potential alone wasn't a guarantee of survival.
She still needed to fight. She needed to grow.
Like any other Awakened, she needed to:
Hunt monsters, Defeat enemies, Accumulate attribute points, And climb the ranks.
Even with an SS-classified skill, her body, her stamina, and her mana control were still far from ideal.The road to the top demanded more than just innate talent — it required willpower, effort, and blood.
"Status" — Noah murmured.
[
Name: Noah Maxwell
Race: Arkhon
Age: 19
Titles: Anomaly
Strength (STR): 15
Stamina (STA): 20
Constitution (CON): 16
Intelligence (INT): 19
Charm (CHA): 30
Mana: 25 (+100%)
Luck: 100 (+100)
Partners: 0
Affection Points: 7000
Skills: [Appraisal], [Extraction], [Dual Cultivation]
]
Even after Awakening, Noah still had no defined rank. That alone was odd.Even his skills… had no classification assigned.
"The system I use isn't the same as the Akashic System… it's my own power."
"What would happen if I awakened with the Akashic as well…? Would I have two status screens?"
Noah let out a low laugh, the soft sound filling the silent room. He leaned back in the chair, letting the backrest creak slightly under his weight. The idea of having two different systems — one personal, one universal — was too absurd to ignore. And, in some way, it amused him.
"So… how much time do I have left to accept this quest, Alter?"
The reply came almost instantly
["17 hours 23 minutes and 42 seconds"]
Noah crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling, thoughtful. The words echoed within him like an invisible countdown, an hourglass turned upside down.
"Still time…"
"I want to see Ana before I leave. And I need to get a weapon…"
He raised an eyebrow, as if remembering something.
"Is the shop available yet?"
["No, you need 10,000 points to unlock the shop."]
"Of course it does." — he grumbled, rolling his eyes.
Noah stood from the chair in a fluid motion, cracking his shoulders in the process. With a gesture, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. The screen lit up, briefly illuminating his face with a glow.
Noah's eyes scrolled through his contacts, sliding his finger down the screen until he found her name.
"Ana ♡"
The heart symbol was still there. A silly little detail Ana had added months ago… and Noah never had the nerve to remove.
With a soft sigh, Noah tapped the call button. The ringtone began to sound, echoing in the quiet room. Barely halfway through the first ring, her voice already cut through the silence:
"Noah?" — Ana said, in that soft, slightly surprised tone.
"Did something happen?"
He smiled faintly at the sound of her voice. There was always something comforting in the way she spoke — as if everything got lighter just by existing near her.
"Hey, Ana. No, everything's fine. I just… wanted to know if you're free tonight."
There was a brief pause on the other end.
+1000 Affection
"Freeee? I am, yes~. Why?"
"I was thinking… we could pick up where we left off last time. Dinner, what do you say?"
+2000 Affection
This time, the silence was thicker. Noah could almost visualize the slow, predatory smile stretching across her lips. The sound of Ana's breathing filled the line, damp and intentional, as though she was leaning her lips close to the microphone.
"I'll be waiting ~~"