Trevor held on, kissing her with a desperate, bone-deep intensity, as though if he let go for even a fraction of a second, she might crumble into dust right before his eyes.
The air in the small apartnt was thick, charged with an unspoken energy joltimg through them.
But then, the cold weight of reality crashed back into the room. Mia gasped against his lips, her eyes snapping open as clarity returned.
She pulled away, placing her hands firmly but subtly against his chest to create a protective distance.
She didn’t look at him; instead, she bowed her head, her neck and ears turning a deep, shaful shade of pink.
"Can we... can we just eat now, please?" Mia whispered.
Her voice was steady, but the tremor in her hands told a different story.
"Yes. We can. I’m so sorry for that... I don’t know what ca over ," Trevor replied, his voice thick with an apology that felt hollow even to his own ears.
He retreated to the wooden chair opposite her, the legs scraping loudly against the floor in the sudden silence.
As he began to munch on the delicacy she had prepared, a cold, calculated logic settled into his mind.
If preparing these als gave her a sense of purpose and peace, how could he stop her? It would be counter-productive to her spirit.
He knew the grim truth his system had revealed: she had only one more year to live.
Every mont now was a countdown, and if he had to please her everyti to make her final days bearable, he would do it without hesitation.
Suddenly, just as he was savoring the rich flavor of the food a series of translucent blue windows erupted into his field of vision, accompanied by the familiar, high-pitched chi of the System.
> [Congratulations! You have successfully added a new Harem mber: Caroline Roseman.]
> [Attention Host: New Primary and Secondary Missions have been generated. Check your Mission Tab imdiately.]
> [Alert: You have accumulated enough System Points to improve your cards or Unlock a new Card from your Deck.]
The ssages hit Trevor like a physical barrage. After witnessing the terrifying, world-bending power of those Tyrant-level guards on the road today, his hunger for strength had reached a fever pitch.
Initially, he had thought about further upgrading the Eye of Hades, but now he realized he needed a true combat-oriented card—sothing that could turn him into a weapon before he stepped into a real dungeon.
Since the System had moved away from the unpredictable "Lucky Draw" format, he knew he could finally choose his path.
While his jaw worked chanically on the food, his mind was racing through the interface. He ntally swiped open the Mission Tab, a section he had been too busy to check lately. What he saw there made his blood run cold.
MISSION LOG
Objective: Engage in sexual intercourse with your stepmother, Mia.
Reward: 20 System Points.
HIDDEN BENEFIT: The exchange of essence will ease her chronic pain and significantly prolong her remaining lifespan.
Objective: Successfully pass the official Hunter Guild entrance trials.
Reward: 10 System Points.
Objective: Enter and successfully conquer your first Dungeon.
Reward: 12 System Points.
Trevor froze. If Mia hadn’t been so focused on her own sha, she would have seen the sheer, unadulterated shock written across his face.
His fingers hovered over the holographic screen for a micro-second, his moral compass spinning wildly.
He wanted to delete the "Forbidden" mission, to wipe it from his mory—but the text at the bottom held him hostage.
Ease her pain... prolong her ti.
It felt like a temptation whispered directly by the devil. To confirm if the System was lying or if his own eyes were deceiving him, Trevor surreptitiously activated the Eye of Hades.
The dining room transford. Mia’s figure was suddenly overlaid with pulsating markers of heat and essence. The red markers of deep-seated arousal flared widely across her fra, clashing violently with the flickering green and orange lines.
Her deepest, most subconscious craving was illuminated in bright, shimring text. It was all about him.
Trevor bowed his head, unable to speak. The confusion was a physical weight in his chest.
He silently tapped the "Accept" icons for the other two missions and closed the panel, his appetite completely vanished.
"Thank you, Ma. That was... it was great. I’m done," Trevor said, standing up and grabbing his bag.
"I’ll co back for the plates in a bit. If you’re tired, please just go to your room and rest."
Mia stared silently at his half-finished plate, her gaze flickering with a hint of understanding before she nodded, barely raising her head.
Trevor didn’t wait. He sighed and proceeded up the stairs to his room, his mind a whirlwind of questions that only the System could answer.
The mont he stepped inside, he tossed his bag onto the bed and began roaring questions into his ntal link with the interface.
"Answer ! How can I actually cure her? Who is responsible for this condition? How long exactly does she have left down to the second?"
> [I am sorry, Host. I cannot provide that specific data at this ti. My current database does not contain information on the root cause of her ailnt. However, more data may be unlocked as your Rank increases.]
Trevor’s temper flared. "What do you an you have no idea? You’re the one who gave the mission in the first place! If you weren’t a bunch of code, I’d beat the living daylight out of you!" he hissed through clenched teeth.
> [I apologize for the frustration. I am designed to generate missions based on the Host’s current environnt and the subconscious desires of those around him. I do not have access to the dical records of the universe. I can only provide the path; you must walk it.]
>
Trevor collapsed onto the edge of his bed, finally calming down as the futility of his anger set in.
He had a choice to make. He knew Mia’s morality was high, regardless of the awkward monts they had shared. She was his stepmother, the woman who had raised him, but she was also the woman the System was telling him to "save" through the most taboo thod possible.
To distract himself, he reached into his bag and pulled out his book on dungeon theory.
He was already halfway through, and the concepts were far more complex than the public was led to believe.
There were approximately five distinct types of dungeons It was a shocker to him.
Based on what he had been reading, it was entirely possible that even their current world was enclosed in a massive, high-tier dungeon without anyone realizing it.
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