Chapter 155: Little System Shopping
"You ravaged my body for three rounds last night and your very first request of the morning is ordering me to be a bodyguard to a shivering cat?"
"That’s right."
"Why don’t you ask Alice to handle this?" Aria demanded. "She is Violet’s closest childhood friend. That saintess practically acts like Violet’s doting mother."
Eren set his cup down, his blue eyes practically calm. "Alice is blindly overprotective. If I say that her dearest friend is slated to mutate into an abomination because of a drug, she’ll lose her mind."
"And why must it be me?" Aria pressed, taking steps toward the table.
Eren met her golden gaze with a sincere smile. "Because in matters concerning Violet’s safety, there isn’t a single soul on this entire continent I trust more than you, Aria."
Aria’s breath hitched for a second. A flush crept on her face, forcing her to look away with an affectionate curse under her breath.
’Damn this charming idiot and his silver tongue.’
Clearing her throat, Aria tapped a finger against her forearm.
"Fine. But what about her curse? Didn’t your notes state that anyone within a three-foot radius of Violet suffers severe nausea, and eventual unconsciousness?"
"Oh, that’s already taken care of," Eren replied breezily, leaning back against his chair with an easy wave of his hand.
"You don’t need to worry about her mana leak for the next few days. We had a session yesterday, and I maintained direct physical contact with her for a solid hour."
The words landed in the quiet room like a hammer striking glass.
Aria froze.
Her golden pupils widened into sharp, trembling pinpricks as her mind derailed, crashed, and exploded into a blazing jealousy.
"You... did what, Eren Volsver?" Aria whispered.
****
A few minutes later, Aria was walking down the sunny corridor of the girls’ dormitory, her perfect posture barely hiding the storm brewing beneath.
"Why in the world did I even flare up like that?" Aria muttered under her breath, pressing both hands against her burning cheeks.
The proud villainess was suffering acute post-jealousy embarrassment.
She had literally read his research notes on the Curse. She knew full well that skin contact was the method capable of neutralizing Violet’s mana leak. Yet the mere vivid imagery of that shivering, purple-haired kitten monopolizing Eren made her burn.
"Spending too much time around that idiot is completely ruining my noble composure," Aria groaned, dragging her hands down her flushed face. "Stupid Eren. Hopeless playboy."
As she approached the eastern wing leading toward her private room, a flash of red in the hallway caught her sharp eyes.
Bouncing down the path in the opposite direction was a remarkably busty red-haired girl. She was practically skipping with uncontainable joy, a bright, sunny expression adorning her face that could effortlessly brighten the darkest person. Her plentiful, jaw-dropping tits jiggled with every step, humming a cheerful tune to herself.
Aria halted her steps as the girl casually walked past her.
"Excuse me," Aria called out, her smooth, authoritative voice echoing through the quiet hallway. "Aren’t you... Mira?"
The red-haired maid stopped mid-skip and spun around, her bright green eyes blinking innocently.
Her gaze locked onto the tall, breathtaking beauty standing before her—the cascading dark-blue hair, the striking golden eyes, and the commanding, untouchable noble aura that practically screamed supreme authority.
Mira’s eyes went wide, recognizing her sugar daddy’s fiancée for the very first time.
"L-Lady Aria Reedings...?" Mira squeaked in disbelief.
***
***
***
Eren stepped out of the steamy bathroom, a towel slung around his waist while water droplets traced the lean, sculpted lines of his torso
He ran a hand through his wet dark hair, sighed as he glanced at the empty dorm room.
Well... His fiancée delivered a five-star curse at his face and stormed out minutes ago.
Eren shook his head. "Navigating the emotional minefield of gorgeous ladies is ten times more dangerous than fighting for life."
[DING!]
[That is entirely your own fault, Host, for greedily maintaining five beauties.]
The system’s sultry, smooth female voice chimed directly inside his consciousness with playful mockery.
"How on earth is this my fault?" Eren protested weakly in his mind, walking over to the wardrobe to grab a fresh uniform. "At this rate, they’re going to completely drain me by next semester."
[Which is exactly why the Goddess personally blessed you with an abnormal physique and boundless stamina, Host.]
Eren paused mid-step, his blue eyes narrowing in a suspicious brow at the glowing screen
’Wait a minute...’ he mused. ’You never once mentioned that when I asked you repeatedly.’
Ever since he transmigrated into this world, he had quietly wondered why his muscular build and physical recovery rates defied every established law of nature.
The interface hovered silently in his vision.
[...]
The sultry voice conveniently went dead silent, giving him a guilty whistle.
"Right. Very subtle," Eren muttered dryly, deciding not to interrogate the suspiciously bashful artificial intelligence.
"Alright, Open the System Shop. Let’s see what cheat codes I can spend these Fate Points on today."
Then the system interface transformed from a simple status box into a sleek, impossibly holographic marketplace that looked suspiciously like a high-end Earth e-commerce app, complete with limited-time promotional banners and glowing discount tags.
’The cosmic marketplace has fully embraced modern capitalism?’ Eren questioned with deadpan amusement.
"Well, look at that," Eren murmured, rubbing his jaw as his dark blue eyes scanned the primary navigation tabs. "Skills, Gifts, and Special Items."
Deciding that survival took priority, he tapped directly on the Skills tab.
Instantly, a sprawling directory expanded in vision. Categorized sub-menus lined the screen: Elemental Spellcraft, Physical Augmentations, Weapon Masteries, and direct Evolutions for his current ability roster.
"There are entirely too many options here," Eren whispered, idly swiping through the endless digital catalog.
He scrolled through the listings with the hesitant focus of someone doomed to doomscroll social media at two in the morning, debating whether he needed an anti-toxin passive, a barrier, or just an absurdly overpowered speed buff.
Then, right in the middle of the mid-tier recommendations, an eye icon caught his gaze.
Eren halted his thumb, his dark blue eyes widening in genuine shock as he read the title.
[Skill: Temporal Eye]
[Category: Passive/Active Perception Evolution]
______
Let’s goo, the month’s ending and we entering new arc.