Aelion woke up refreshed and full of energy compared to the day before. Sitting on the soft bed that had maintained his sleep, a heavy yawn escaped his lips. He then proceeded to lazy stretches while sweeping the room with his gaze when suddenly:
[ Ding! Ding! Ding! ]
[ The primordial goddess of magic and night is satisfied with your first interaction with the villainess - Seraphina Duskbane ]
"Huh?" he said, surprised.
[ You received a skill as a reward ]
[ The skill Eye of Compassion has been acquired! ]
"Let's forget the skill for now, does that mean she's been watching us from the start?" retorted Aelion, shocked by the implication of what that meant. That would mean she had watched him pleasuring himself.
He didn't like at all the fact of being watched in such a way, especially without knowing it.
[ Calm down. I cut off the broadcast when it came to that part, you have nothing to fear. ]
"Is that you, System?"
The interface had always used formal speech until now; the sudden change of tone and the way it addressed him personally was suspicious.
[ Of course not. I'm using it as an intermediary to speak directly to you. ]
"I didn't know that was possible… anyway, I don't agree with the fact that you're watching me."
[ Oh? What are you afraid of? I told you, your carnal tasks are not my center of interest. I am above all that. ]
"Even so," insisted the young man, almost irritated.
[ Don't worry, it's not as if I'm watching in real time. I have many other things to do; I only watch the replay when I have free time. ]
"So it's a show for you, isn't it? I thought I was supposed to help your daughters, and by the way, one of them almost killed me! No, she did kill me! Luckily I became the administrator of this manor."
[ In a way, yes. Listen, I wouldn't have given you these skills if I thought it would be easy, but I have confidence in you. You have a heart of gold and a contagious empathy in many ways. You can help them; I'm deeply convinced of it. ]
Aelion sighed, letting himself fall back onto the bed, arms spread, staring at the translucent panel that transcribed the words of the goddess.
"I feel like you're different from the first time we talked. Speaking of skills, why do I even need a taming skill, actually?"
[ You think so? I rather believe it's because we're starting to know each other… The name may be exaggerated, though he told me you'd be a little too kind, which would be to your disadvantage. They're villainesses, they won't let themselves be handled easily. In truth, one of my peers helped me in designing it when I explained the situation to him. He tends to have a different idea of the help I want to provide. He knows his subject well. With the description of its usage and the hidden functionalities, you'll be able to reach your goals. ]
A sudden curiosity took hold of him when the hidden functionalities of the skill were mentioned. He wondered if it was linked to the path he would have to choose when he reached 100% acceptance. On the other hand, the fact that she had received help from another god to create the skill seemed rather contradictory to him, since she had told him her peers had ruined the lives of her daughters — so why ask for the help of one of them? That's what he was going to find out.
"I thought your peers were the cause of your daughters' misfortunes, so why ask for their help? I thought you were doing everything possible so they wouldn't intervene?" questioned Aelion, waiting for an answer.
[ That's true; however, that one is a being of neutral alignment. He is not one of them. ]
Nodding in understanding, he looked through one of the windows of his room. Nothing had changed since he had fallen asleep. The outside was still plunged into darkness, without light or any celestial body to illuminate it. The most shocking thing was that he could see nothing on the horizon — no shapes, no trees, no structures — everything was black and empty. He felt a subtle presence pass in front of the window. It was somewhat frightening.
According to his internal clock and sleeping habits, it should have been morning — unless he had woken up in the middle of the night. However, that wasn't possible because he had completely drained his energy. So what did that mean? Luckily, he could always ask the goddess through the system.
"I'd like to know, about the outside — isn't the sun supposed to have risen by now?"
No response. His question echoed into the void with no one to answer. She had already left. The realization that he might be in the middle of nowhere made him shiver for a brief moment. Yet that didn't stop him from thinking more seriously about the matter. He had already thought about reversing the deployment process, but he couldn't know what that would cause.
If Ira's manor was currently deployed and still listed in the inventory, wouldn't that mean that he, Seraphina, and the manor itself were inside the system's inventory? Because normally, if a weapon is removed from the inventory to be used, it shouldn't appear on the status. That probably meant he was in a pocket dimension — most likely an empty one.
"I have to find a way to get out of here."
He thought he had the advantage, not only over Seraphina but also over the control of the manor. However, he was just as trapped as she was if he didn't know how to reach the outside world. It was time to truly explore the manor — but before that, he needed to check his new skill.
[ Eye of Compassion ]
Rank: Unique
Type: Active
Description: Isn't the sense of observation and detail the best skill to make girls fall into your arms? A perfect skill for a gentleman!!
Effect:
Allows you to visualize the available information of the target in the form of a status window.
The more you interact with the target, the more the status window adds and completes new information.
"Why do I feel like the description is mocking me? Whatever."
It was a good skill, just like Universality. If he wanted to have the chance to use it, he had to find Seraphina — hopefully, she'd be in a gentle mood. That was one of the reasons he had opted for the construction of a mixed bath: to force interactions between him and her.
"System, show me Seraphina's current position in the manor."
The 2D map of the manor appeared before his eyes, a red dot indicating her position. So she was on the third floor.
[ Congratulations! The target's resistance gauge has decreased by 35%! ]
[ The target's acceptance gauge has increased by 20%! ]
"Wow? I wonder what happened."
[ Ding! Ding! Ding! ]
---
Exclusive Quest #1: The Throne of Ira
Description: Claim the right to the Throne of Ira and become the Lord of Ira's Manor.
Conditions for success:
Defeat the residual spirit of the current Lord.
Complete the inheritance and coronation ceremony.
Duration: No time limit
Reward: ?????
----
Side Quest #1
Description: You, the administrator of Ira's Manor, are far from knowing all its truths! Explore and discover every corner and the many hidden secrets!
Conditions for success: Complete mapping of Ira's Manor.
Duration: No time limit
Reward: Esoteric and Logical Automated Management Unit
---
The first quest seemed the most dangerous, since currently none of his skills would allow him to defeat anyone if he was being objective. Furthermore, the reward was unknown, though he suspected it would be incredible. The second one was more reliable and safer — and he would take the opportunity to get closer to Seraphina. Also, the reward intrigued him, so his next objective: complete the side quest.