She shifted slightly, sensing the tone.
“Is this about your abilities?”
Isaac raised a brow.
Of course she knew he was hiding something, or at least suspected.
A smile tugged at his lips.
She and Emily had probably pieced it together long ago, yet neither had pressed him, not once. That trust, it meant more to him than he could say.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s about that.”
Alice stood up in the water and turned to face him. “Then let’s talk to Emily too. It wouldn’t be fair if I knew and she didn’t.”
Isaac smiled.
Alice had changed a lot. From someone who hated Emily, to accepting Emily, and now taking care of Emily like she was her younger sister. Her emotional growth was clear.
His heart was warmed to see how much she took care of Emily…. expect for the part where she taught her perverted things.
They dried off and changed into fresh clothes before they stepped out of the bathroom.
Isaac glanced at her. “Can you cook dinner? I’m feeling hungry. The ingredients are already in the kitchen. They’re the ones I grew from my farm, so Emily should be able to eat them too.”
Alice nodded, and left downstairs.
Isaac turned toward the bed. “Emily, could you help Alice?”
There was no response, except the soft sound of breathing.
Isaac smirked. He already knew she wasn’t asleep.
Thanks to Mind Echo, he remembered how exactly Emily acted when she was asleep. She had been pretending for a while now.
He sat beside her, leaning close.
“What are you acting asleep for? Too embarrassed to show your face after what you did?”
One of her ears twitched, but she didn’t move.
Isaac whispered again, this time gently. “It’s fine, Emily. I like the way you are. I like you when you act cute, when you’re sweet, even when you’re being stubborn and defiant. You don’t need to be embarrassed about how you acted. If you won’t show me your true self, then who else would you show it to?”
There was a short silence before Her eyes opened slowly, looking up at him. Their faces were close, almost touching.
She blinked. “You don’t hate how I was?”
“Of course not. Though, don’t think I’ve forgotten how you left me frustrated twice and then fell asleep. Just be ready for tonight after dinner.” Isaac gave an innocent smile as he pinched her cheeks.
Emily blinked again, realization dawning on her face. He’d tricked her.
He knew she was faking sleep, and he still played along, said sweet things, and baited her into reacting.
He was not angry? So what, he was still planning on punishing her!
She huffed and floated away toward the door.
Before leaving, she turned and stuck out her tongue. “I should have left you even more frustrated. That’s what you deserve for always teasing me.”
Isaac chuckled.
After she left for the kitchen, Isaac gathered the dirty clothes and sheets. He loaded them into the washing machine and got it running. While waiting, he opened the system.
“System, show me my Affection Points, and how much they increased since the last time I checked this morning.”
AP Balance: 657.82 → 8001.17
Isaac raised his eyebrows. Nearly 7,500 points in less than a day. He leaned back, letting his Mind Echo ability pull up the exact memories and events.
“Let’s see… I got 6,804 from passive gain just from Emily and Alice today.”
He recalled complimenting their dresses before the banquet. That had given him 20 AP from each.
“Then there was 300 in a slow trickle from Alice during the banquet.”
He paused, then snorted.
“And 100 from Emily for what she did to me in the car. Another 100 from Alice during our time together.”
He shook his head with a faint laugh.
Drunk Emily had revealed far more than he expected. Her behavior might’ve seemed innocent on the surface, but underneath… well, she clearly had some hidden sides.
“People really weren’t kidding when they said it’s always the innocent ones who have the darkest fetishes.”
With the AP balance sitting high, Isaac opened the shop.
Phantom Core Extractor – Purchased
Celestial Spirit Pact Token – Purchased
AP Balance: 8001.17 → 4127.17
Two items materialized in his hands.
The first was a swirling sphere, about the size of a lemon. It pulsed with a green mist that coiled and writhed like smoke trapped in glass.
The energy inside felt dead, yet alive.
The second was a slip of parchment. It was old and delicate, glowing faintly with silver light. It looked like a ceremonial token of some kind.
Isaac whistled.
As he looked at them intently, his Inspect skill triggered on its own.
Phantom Core Extractor
Mystic Grade
Allows the user to extract the soul of a being they have slain. Extraction chance decreases by 10% for every level the target is above the user.
Cooldown: 1 day
Note: Raised spirits may or may not obey the user, and it is capable of harming the user.
Isaac blinked.
“So Inspect works on shop items too. I guess that makes sense. I used it on the Hoe I got as a gift from the system before.”
He tilted the sphere in his hand, watching the mist swirl.
“This is borderline necromancy.”
The limitations were fair, but the fact that the spirit might not obey and could harm the user was a serious risk. Though, they made sense, since the raised spirits weren’t bonded beasts.
Still, it had potential.
He turned to the other item.
Celestial Spirit Pact Token
Mystic Grade
Allows the formation of a Beast Bond with any spirit-type being, even if they cannot form a bond.
Cooldown: 1 day
Note: Doesn’t work on beings already bound to someone else.
“It’s quite powerful but…” Isaac raised a brow. “These two items are clearly meant to be used together.”
Used separately, they’d be good. Together? They would be overpowered.
He leaned back against the wall.
The Beast Bond didn’t affect free will. It didn’t create loyalty or alter feelings. It just made sure the bonded spirit couldn’t harm the owner.
This negated the biggest weakness of the Phantom Core Extractor.
He stored the items in his spatial ring and looked at the remaining AP.
There was still one more thing he wanted to buy.
Life Support Pod – Purchased
AP Balance: 4127.17 → 128.56
A smooth, capsule-shaped pod appeared in the corner of the room.
It resembled a medical chamber, but sleeker, and it looked more advanced.
The outside was a matte silver with smooth, rounded edges. A transparent cover could slide open to reveal the inside, which was padded and infused with nutrient conduits and bio-gel systems.
The system called it a “Life Support Pod,” but that name barely did justice to what it could do.
It would provide a controlled, nutrient-rich environment tailored to awaken someone’s dormant physique, assuming they had one to awaken.
“Emily can awaken a Physique, but it’s not a guarantee. After all, not all High-Rank species awaken a physique,” Isaac muttered. “But I’d rather prepare for the chance than wait and regret it.”
With Emily due to consume a bloodline upgrade potion soon, there wouldn’t be time to contact Professor Catherine or anyone else for something like this.
Besides, if they asked how he knew Emily’s was about to awaken the Physique, things could get messy.
No. Better to keep it in the house.
As for the Life Support Pod, he could just say he discovered a hidden basement within the Soulbind Pendant’s spatial subspace, and found the pod there.
Since normal spatial tools didn’t allow entry for living beings, it was already clear that the Soulbind Pendant was special.
It’d be believable that the pendant had unique resources inside it.
With that decided, Isaac left the pod where it was, in the corner of the room, and headed downstairs.
In the kitchen, Alice was rinsing the last of the dishes while Emily floated through the air, placing utensils and bowls on the table.
The moment Emily noticed him entering, she looked away with a soft hmph and crossed her arms, pretending to be annoyed.
Isaac blinked in surprise. Had he really crossed the line?
He used Inspect.