Chapter 66: Milestone

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Milestone

[Investment detected: Novaria Agnello]

[Host achieved a significant romantic milestone with target: First kiss]

[Host has strengthened emotional bond with target]

[Reward: Refined Essence Grade increased — 12% → 15%]

Jason read the notification quietly in his own mind and grinned as he tucked the blanket around Novaria’s shoulders, something warm and private settling behind his ribs that had nothing to do with the system reward at all.

She’d gone quiet after the kiss, the teasing energy softening into something gentler, and he’d carried her to bed without either of them needing to say much more about it.

He settled onto the floor beside her afterward, cross-legged, and began circulating the Heretical God Law the same way he had nearly every night for months.

Tonight felt different.

His mind moved faster than usual, thoughts flowing clean and uncluttered in a way that made the whole process feel almost effortless.

The ambient mana drawing in and refining into essence in his Core with a smoothness he hadn’t experienced even on his best nights.

Cultivation was supposed to go better when the mind and body are both in good spirits.

Jason’s mind hadn’t been in such good spirits in forever.

He kept at it for hours, the familiar discipline carrying him well past midnight, past one, past two, the progress steady enough that he could feel himself edging toward the boundary of the Late Stage of the Second Level by the time exhaustion finally caught up to him around four in the morning.

Instead of collapsing where he sat, he climbed into bed beside her.

She shifted in her sleep, curling against him without waking, and he wrapped an arm around her before his own eyes finally closed.

---

He woke two hours later feeling more rested than he had in a while, the exhaustion of the past few days finally burned off completely.

He checked the Hunter Association’s listings on his phone while Novaria still slept against his shoulder.

Quiet day. Anything that had spawned recently was already booked, and nothing new had come through yet.

’Fine by me.’

He eased his arm free carefully, and she stirred a moment later, blinking up at him.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning." She studied him for a second, something soft still lingering from the night before.

"No work today?"

"Doesn’t look like it. There’s nothing available."

"What will you do with yourself, then?"

He considered the question properly. "Can’t really think of anything else except spend it with you, probably."

Something flickered across her face, a faint color rising in her cheeks that she clearly wasn’t fully prepared for.

"What do you want for breakfast?" he asked, before she could comment on it.

"Still thinking about that rice from last night."

"I can make that again."

"Please."

---

They worked through the morning together.

He carried her to the shower first, gently scrubbing her body down with water he’d heated up slightly using his own essence.

They brushed their teeth, and Jason put her into a fresh change of clothes.

Once she was settled, he cleaned himself up and headed down to the kitchen, Novaria wheeling in after him to watch.

He measured out extra rice without being asked, enough for a portion to set aside for Judith whenever she next came by.

"She feeds us gossip and good sense for free most days. It’s the least I can do."

While the rice cooked, he told her about the raid, starting with the crack he’d noticed in his mask and working through everything else, the swarm of ogres, the two boys, the unexpected strength of the Gate itself.

"Jon and Stark," he said, somewhere in the middle of it.

Novaria went still.

"Those names," she said slowly. "Describe them."

He did, the ages, the rivalry, the matching sword styles.

"I know them," she said. "Or knew of them, properly. They’ve been at each other’s throats since they were children. I had to pull them apart more than a few times myself, back when I still trained with their generation." A small, fond smile crossed her face. "I’m glad to hear they’re doing well."

Jason paused, something clicking into place. "They never mentioned that they were Agnello clansmen."

She said it plainly, no weight attached.

"You fought alongside two of my own without realizing it."

’Great Clan kids huh. I should’ve guessed from the cultivation alone.’

He finished the story anyway, the coaching, the payout, the boys’ reluctant respect by the end of it, and by the time he wrapped it up, the rice had finished and the kitchen smelled almost exactly like the night before.

They ate in comfortable silence after that, both of them too absorbed in the food to bother with conversation, the meal disappearing almost as fast as it had the first time.

---

His phone buzzed partway through cleanup.

Reeve.

"Was about to call you myself," Jason said, picking up.

Reeve’s voice carried the confidence of someone with good news. "A D-Rank Gate spawning tomorrow. Already got the slot reserved."

"Spawning tomorrow? How do you already know the rank?"

"The hunter association has quite a few prediction systems. Sometimes they can call a Gate’s approximate location and rank days in advance, depending on the readings.

Usually classified information, even for something low-rank like this."

Jason considered the implications carefully.

Just how well connected was Reeve to get access to information like that.

He set the thought aside for later and agreed readily enough, the details settling into place for tomorrow’s schedule.

---

The rest of the day passed quietly, an ordinary stretch that felt earned after everything the past week had thrown at him.

He spent the afternoon in the yard with the sword, working through the Thunderfire Sword Art’s early forms for the first time, the new technique manual settling into his muscle memory slower than the spear version had, but settling nonetheless.

Novaria watched from her usual spot, mostly just being present.

Occasionally commenting on something small enough to matter without needing much discussion.

Evening came gently, dinner simpler than the night before, the two of them trading easy conversation that drifted without any particular direction, comfortable in a way that didn’t need to prove anything.

By the time the house had gone quiet and she was settled for the night, Jason sat down on the floor beside her bed one more time, mana drawing in slow and steady once again, his Soul Core answering readily after a day of rest and good company.