Chapter 158: As Long As Nothing Exploded (Bonus)
[Shall I show the full conditions for the usage of Culling Rite?]
"No, not yet," Ethan said, choosing to wait until he was back home where he could review everything properly.
The system continued showing other rewards as intended.
[Dragon Physiology - Wyrm Stage: 100% Complete]
Ethan had kind of expected this one. Prior to visiting the Fallen Vipers’ hideout tonight, he had been sitting at 99% completion.
So this fight with Sharkteeth and his gang must have pushed him over the edge.
[Your trait Inverse has received an upgrade]
[Passive Activation Threshold Improved: The Inverse trait will now activate 3 minutes after taking damage (previously 4 minutes)]
[Damage Resistance Fortification Increased: 2% resistance per damage type and level received (previously 1%)]
Ethan nodded in approval. That was a much better boost compared to its last upgrade.
[Your body’s growth will now adjust to the next stage: Skyreaver]
He felt the familiar sensation of his body beginning to shift internally. The draconic traits embedded in his bloodline were pushing forward into the next evolutionary phase.
[You have awakened The World Dragon’s Affinity]
[Congratulations! You are the first World Dragon]
"Uh..." Ethan’s face became puzzled as he stared at the screen.
He had been waiting for something like fire, or lightning, or ice. Anything related to the classical elements most dragons were known for.
But "World Dragon"? What the hell did that even mean?
Before he could ask the system for clarification, the Arcphone sitting in the cup holder beside him buzzed with a ping. Then several more pings followed in rapid succession.
That pattern could only come from one person.
Isabella.
Ethan decided to leave the rest of the system notifications until he got home. Continuously viewing the screens here would only get him more engrossed, and he needed to drive.
He turned away from the floating interface, and it faded from view immediately. Then he picked up his Arcphone from the cup holder and looked at the screen.
His eyes widened for a moment, and a smile appeared on his face.
The first message read:
Miss Berlene❤️: For your eyes only 😘
What followed were several picture files in the chat window. They seemed to load slowly due to the bad connection in this part of the city, but Ethan knew exactly what the blurry picture contents were.
In fact, this was the second time he had received them from her.
The loading bar on each image crawled forward painfully slow, revealing just enough detail to make him very interested in getting home quickly.
By the time the sixteenth picture file was still sitting in the loading queue, a few new text messages appeared beneath them.
Miss Berlene❤️: Do you like them? 🙈
Ethan smiled and shook his head amusingly, then the next message appeared.
Miss Berlene❤️: "Oh babe, just a quick reminder about the hangout with my friends tomorrow"
"Shit," Ethan whispered.
He stared at the message for a second longer.
"Shit. Shit. Shit," he said a few more times, his voice rising slightly with each repetition.
He had totally forgotten, and it wasn’t intentional.
Bella had told him about this meetup with her friends nearly two weeks ago. And right after she’d mentioned it, Ethan had agreed without much thought.
But then he immediately returned his focus to the serious discussion he and Lucy had been having at the time about development timelines.
The entire thing with her friends had completely slipped his mind.
Ethan sighed and leaned back in the driver’s seat, staring up at the roof of the car. He wondered how he was going to fix that into Hayley’s dinner invitation
"Speaking of which..." he then glanced at the time displayed on his Arcphone. It was only two hours left before midnight, which meant Lucy had already closed for the day at the workshop in Stark Industries.
She basically always closed out last, staying behind to finish whatever project she was working on regardless of how late it got.
In that case, there was no point stopping by the company as he had originally planned to do tonight.
That left only one option.
The car’s engine rumbled up, and Ethan shifted into gear, then pulled out of the alleyway and drove home.
——
"Welcome back home, Lord Ethan."
The feminine and tiny voice of the demon girl, Ishtar, greeted him as she came forward into the living room.
She was dressed in the black and white maid outfit, complete with the frilled apron and headpiece perched between her horns.
She held a small plate in her hand with some snacks arranged neatly on it.
Ethan, who was currently resting his head backward on the couch and engrossed in scrolling through Isabella’s special jpegs with a smile on his face, waved his hand dismissively without looking up.
"Thanks," he said absently.
Ishtar nodded and turned to walk back to the kitchen with the plate still in hand.
Ethan’s attention drifted away from the screen for just a second as he watched her go. Then he sighed and shook his head before returning his gaze to the phone.
This had never gone as planned.
You see, just as Rayleigh had promised, he did come back on the third day. But he hadn’t come alone.
He brought Isabella with him, having already briefed her on the whole scenario with the demon girl per Ethan’s earlier instruction.
However, when Rayleigh arrived that third day, he had immediately pleaded for an extension of time, claiming he was still trying to figure out where Ishtar could go safely without being discovered.
And even though Bella had tried not to get involved directly, her presence there and the pitiful look she gave her brother and his demon girlfriend had only made Ethan reluctantly agree to another extension.
Moreover, nothing had gone wrong in the few days before Rayleigh’s return, so it wasn’t like Ishtar’s presence had caused any issues.
But that was how it all began.
It became one plea for extension after another. "Just a few more days, Ethan."
"I’m almost there, I promise."
"One more week, tops."
Almost two weeks in, when Ishtar had evidently figured out she wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, she had offered herself to be of some use to the household while Rayleigh kept making his arrangements.
Francesca had immediately jumped on that offer and taken Ishtar on as her assistant within the manor. The older woman seemed thrilled to have another set of hands in the kitchen.
By this point, Ethan had also gotten so busy with guild work and managing Stark Industries that he had simply stopped caring about the situation as a whole.
If the girl wanted to stay and help out, fine. As long as nothing exploded.
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A/N: Join Discord to see her maid outfit