No one noticed her leaving... and no one noticed either the thin, glassy layer of tears silently welling up in her eyes.

After Seraphina fled the chamber and seeing how possessively Elira was clinging to Lucian, Aria hesitated to step forward, and the class simply concluded like that...

The subsequent lectures passed quietly. Seeing Sera back in her seat brought Lucian a small sense of relief; he had already decided that giving her space was the best move for now.

Ugh, women and their mood swings...

And the rest of the day passed.. Just like that..

That night, after finishing dinner, he finally collapsed onto his dorm bed. But barely five minutes had passed before he bolted upright again.

Ah, right...

Ever since the Goblin March ended, Lucian hadn’t checked his rewards... and now that everything was quiet, this was the perfect time to see the fruits of his labor.

He glanced around the entire room once, making sure Elira wasn’t hiding somewhere watching him...

Tch... knowing her, she’s bound to sneak in here somehow.

If she was there and saw him talking to thin air, she’d find him even weirder...

"Hah... alright then. System... now tell me about my rewards and how much FP I got," he muttered in a low voice.

[Light Affinity Scroll]

[Wish to absorb...]

[FP Balance: 20,510]

Alert: You are now eligible to purchase and acquire Basic Resistances.

[Some pending fate correction missions]

[to defy fate and stop your demise]

[Low-Tier Information Unlock — 500 FP]

Reward: Fate Correction extended for 3 days.

[Mid-Tier Information Unlock — 5,000 FP]

Reward: Fate Correction extended for 30 days.

[High-Tier Information Unlock — 10,000 FP]

Reward: Fate Correction extended for 60 days.

Alert: You may now purchase Stat Missions (Note: These missions refresh every 24 hours).

[Category: Physical Strength Missions]

[Low-Tier Mission Info Unlock — 500 FP]

Reward: Stat Increase (B → B+)

Pain Level: Very Low

[Mid-Tier Mission Info Unlock — 5,000 FP] 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Reward: Stat Increase (B → B+)

Pain Level: Moderate

[High-Tier Mission Info Unlock — 10,000 FP]

Reward: Stat Increase (B → A)

Pain Level: Extremely High

Time Consumption: Low

[Unique-Tier Mission Info Unlock — 50,000 FP]

Reward: Stat Increase (B → S)

Pain Level: Life-and-Death Threat

Alert: You may now purchase unique artifacts from the System Shop:

[Item: Lightning Baseball Bat]

Tier: Low | Cost: 1,000 FP

[Item: Concealment Mask]

Tier: Extremely Low Durability (Max 5 hours) | Cost: 200 FP

[Item: Air Pen]

Tier: Moderate | Cost: 5,000 FP

For about ten solid minutes, Lucian sat on his bed, lost in deep thought as he analyzed the menu.

Even with the protection of two high-tier heroines now acting as his shields, he knew better than to lean solely on their strength. If he truly sought absolute domination, then raw magical power alone would never be enough.

Finally, he made up his mind.

"System..." What is the most critical mission right now? And currently, how many days do I have left on my baseline Fate Correction?"

[Exactly one week remaining.]

"So, that means I can just relax and pass the time comfortably for an entire week without any fatal disasters knocking on my door?"

[Correct.]

A faint, satisfied smile crept onto Lucian’s lips.

"Alright then. First things first... absorb the Affinity Scroll."

[Consuming Affinity Scroll...]

[New Elemental Affinity Unlocked: LIGHT]

[Grade: MYTHIC]

Lucian frowned.

"So, does this mean I can heal people like Aria now?"

[Correct, but nowhere near her level. You are currently at the Newbie rank. To evolve this skill, you must upgrade your overall mana stage. For now, you can act as a basic flashlight in the dark or heal your own minor scratches.]

His eyebrow twitched.

You asshole system whenever I try to become more calm you just stab me in my brian... he cursed internally.

Forcing a strained smile onto his face, he asked,

"Then can you give me some actual, useful advice? Like about boosting stats... what exactly are the pros and cons of taking the cheaper missions versus the heavy ones?"

[Cheaper missions will consume a massive amount of time, but the distinct advantage is that the pain level will be virtually non-existent...]

[Conversely, the higher the tier you choose, the more time you will save... but the pain will be excruciatingly high.]

Lucian knew better than anyone that time was the absolute most valuable currency in his life right now... and this damn System was fully exploiting that fact to screw him over.

He clearly understood the System’s unspoken threat: if he took the cheap, painless mission, he wouldn’t be able to grow his stats before his one-week Fate Correction period ended. And the exact moment that correction expired... his demise was guaranteed.

He had no other choice. The System was brilliantly weaponizing his 20,000 FP and his desperate lack of time just to subject him to immense physical agony.

After pondering for a moment, Lucian made up his mind.

"Alright, can you at least tell me the exact time consumption for the mid-tier and high-tier Physical Strength missions?"

[No... I cannot disclose that. Perhaps you should drop your greed and simply purchase the high-tier mission. I can suggest that it might boost you from B to A rank in a single night.]

[However, if you take the mid-tier, it could take at least one week...]

[Disclaimer: This is not perfectly accurate; the outcome depends entirely on you. Unlock the mission for full details. Since this is your first time, I gave you a free hint. Do not expect such charity from me ever again.]

Lucian’s jaw twitched furiously. Taking a couple of deep, grounding breaths, he finally reached a conclusion.

"Wait, wait... what about these artifacts in the shop? Tell me what they do before I accept the mission..."

[If you want the information, you have to buy the artifacts first, you absolute blockhead!]

He scowled, his face scrunching up in pure annoyance. Completely fed up with the sassy AI, he reached out and directly tapped on the High-Tier Mission.

[-10,000 FP]

[High-Tier Physical Strength Mission Purchased.]

[Brace yourself, dumbass... you’re being teleported now...]