[A wife’s affection for you has reached 100.]
[All Affection points received from Emily Warren will be hereon increased by ten times.]
[You can now see a hint to help Emily Warren increase her rating.]
Emily Warren
Rating: 96
Status: Happy that Isaac didn’t have to hold himself back with her this time. Satisfied by Isaac’s marital prowess and can’t help but keep thinking about your dominant nature which was quite different from your usual gentle demeanor. The difference is making her blush.
Rating Increase Hint: Feed her Bloodline Upgrade Potion (Middle-rank to High-rank), and Bloodline Upgrade Potion (High-rank to Apex-rank) to repair her bloodline and unlock the true potential of her bloodline.
Isaac looked down at Emily, who was still asleep beside him. Her breathing was soft, even, and her face held a faint, lingering blush.
It seemed like being honest with her—being open—was the key.
Last night, he had held back, and it made her vulnerable. But this morning, he did not do that, and that allowed her to let go of the burden in her heart.
’So that’s what it took,’ Isaac muttered under his breath, brushing a strand of hair from her face. ’To help her feel adequate again.’
He glanced at the system affection rating. It was a perfect 100.
She no longer felt inadequate.
’I suppose reaching 100 affection needs us to overcome some kind of barrier in our relationship.’
His thoughts drifted to someone else.
“I wonder why Alice’s affection is stuck at 99…”
Quietly, he slipped out of bed and stepped outside.
The morning air was cool. A light breeze carried the scent of soil and crops. He made his way to the field, but not before pulling up his system screen.
AP Balance: 875.91 → 3155.22
Isaac’s eyebrows lifted. He hadn’t checked the numbers in nearly two days, and the growth was more than he expected.
“That’s a lot more than usual,” he murmured.
He mentally tallied the sources.
“About a thousand from Emily and Alice’s passive affection.”
“Another 400 must have come from Alice after she awakened her physique.”
“100 should be from Emily tasting food for the first time.”
“Maybe 300 total came from last night and another 300 from this morning. Then the last 100 must be from helping Emily release her emotional burden.”
His math might be off by a bit, but it lined up well enough.
Emily’s passive AP had increased, now giving 0.1 AP per second. Combined with Alice’s 0.005, the steady trickle was decent. Better than decent, actually.
“Not bad,” Isaac nodded.
He opened the shop menu and purchased the first item on his list.
Bloodline Upgrade Potion (Middle rank to High rank species) – Purchased.
A vial appeared in his hand. The liquid inside shimmered faintly, glowing with a dull blue hue.
He studied it for a few seconds before sending it into the Soulbind Pendant for later.
“Now I just need a reason to give this to Emily.”
He checked his balance again.
AP Balance: 3155.22 → 657.82
That one potion had taken a huge chunk of his total. He eyed the remaining items in the time-limited shop.
Phantom Core Extractor – 1,800 AP
Celestial Spirit Pact Token – 2,200 AP
“I still have no idea what either of these does,” Isaac muttered.
The shop didn’t list their functions, and there were no item explanations, or descriptions. It made choosing them a gamble.
“I don’t know what they do. Still these items should be useful. If I manage to gather enough AP before the shop resets tomorrow, I’ll pick one.”
Closing the shop interface, he stepped out into the sunlight.
Just then, Leora appeared next to him. Her expression wasn’t unreadable this time. In fact, it was quite clear—mild irritation, mixed with fatigue.
“Is there a problem?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
But her narrowed eyes and clenched jaw said otherwise.
Isaac used Inspect.
[Status: Wondering if you really had to be so loud? She could barely sleep, and the few minutes she did sleep, her dreams were filled with obscene moans. Angry that you had to start again in the morning, and that it was even louder than last night.]
Isaac froze.
’She could hear everything beyond the wall? But I was told these walls block out high-rank senses too.’
Embarrassment pricked at his skin.
’I guess next time we will do it inside Soulbind Pendant,’ he sighed.
“Why’d you stop walking?” Leora asked.
“It’s nothing. Just lost in thought.”
He picked up pace and got to work on harvesting.
After the task was done, he noticed Leora staring at her device with a furrowed brow. She looked up at him.
“There is good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?”
“Good,” Isaac said, wiping his hands.
“You’re getting the Seed Tree of Vitality Grain by tomorrow.”
Isaac blinked. “That early? I thought it would take weeks, if not months.”
“They are doing it because of you,” Leora said then explained. “The Florathi race has spies in human cities, just like we have spies in theirs.
“Someone among them must’ve sent intel back about your Talent. Since they’re a race that values nature and supports those with strong affinity to it, they probably want to get on your good side.”
Isaac folded his arms, nodded. “That makes sense.”
Spying between races wasn’t uncommon from what he heard. It helped keep track of rising threats and allies.
Still, the speed of the delivery surprised him.
“Alright. What’s the bad news?”
Leora frowned.
“The Seed Tree needs at least 0.5 hectares to grow. If you want it to thrive, you’ll have to make space.”
“So… I either cut back on the current crops or buy more land?” Isaac felt his brow crease.
Leora nodded. “And you can’t buy more land right now.”
“…Why not?”
“Because the Economic Council isn’t allowing you to.”
Isaac blinked. “They can do that?”
“They can,” Leora replied. “Technically, the Sanctum of Masters owns the land within the stronghold. But we made compromises when building this place. To bring in other organizations, to encourage them to invest in the stronghold’s growth, we granted certain rights.”
She glanced back at him. “One of those rights was given to the Economic Council. It’s made up of various business-related organizations we invited here. In exchange for contributing to infrastructure and development, they were allowed to control and oversee the economic flow within the stronghold.”
Isaac frowned. “So they’re saying if I buy more land, it’ll… what, ruin the economy?”
“They’re claiming it’ll lead to a monopoly,” Leora said with a trace of irritation. “From their perspective, you’re rapidly gaining control over a significant share of the explorer market—especially food. And now that your grains give potion-like effects… you’re hurting the potion industry too.”
Isaac leaned back against the wall, arms folded. “Hurting? Really?”
“There are always people like them in the world,” Leora sighed.
Isaac’s thoughts churned.
He hadn’t intended to affect other businesses sales, but his Talent gave him an edge that was simply too large to ignore.
“Can’t the Sanctum of Masters override this?” he asked after a pause. “Surely someone up there can make an exception.”
“We’re trying,” Leora said, sounding frustrated. “But the rights were signed into their charter. As long as it falls under their jurisdiction, we can’t force the issue. Not without creating internal tension with every group we invited here.”
Isaac let out a short breath. “I see… Can I meet them? Or join this Economic Council?”