At the dining table in the Labyrinth Villa, from time to time, Roel would feed a spoonful of soup into Alicia’s cherry lips, and her throat would quiver ever so slightly as she swallowed it down. At the end of which, she would even lick her lips slightly to clean off the soup around her mouth.

  (Affection Points +100!)

  Is this heaven? This must be heaven, right?

  Roel felt like a part of his soul was drifting toward paradise just by looking at Alicia. The smile had barely left his face for even an instant.

  The heart-to-heart talk on the bed in the afternoon had led to a complete reconciliation between Roel and Alicia. In fact, their relationship had only grown closer after the slight crisis they faced. Their feelings were manifested in how they could barely stay away from one another at all.

  Roel wanted to make up for a week’s worth of missed doses of Aliciatonin, and Alicia was releasing all of the feelings she had suppressed over the week. If not because Roel thought that it was inappropriate, Alicia would have even wanted to join him in bed tonight.

  However, there was one thing that had left Roel feeling a little down, and that was Alicia had already turned 8. After overcoming her mental trauma, she was in the phase where she felt that she ought to be more independent. As a result, the thrice a day feeding sessions had been reduced to once a day.

  Roel was gladdened by Alicia’s desire to improve herself and mature, but he couldn’t help but feel a little lonely about it. The three times daily healing sessions might have been reduced to one, but that was precisely why he treasured it even more than before.

  As a result, there was a very contrasting sight at the Ascarts’ dining table. While Roel and Alicia were being lovey-dovey, the oldest one was left all alone in the corner, munching on his ham sandwich. Carter was honestly a little surprised to see how the two siblings were closer than ever, which left him at a loss as to how he should announce the deal he had made with the Xeclydes earlier in the day.

  What’s going on? Weren’t they still avoiding each other earlier in the morning? How in the world did they manage to reconcile so quickly? There wasn’t any warning beforehand! How am I to approach that subject now?!?!

  Carter was all stressed out.

  In terms of his stance, he was more supportive of Alicia, who was almost a half-pupil of his by now, but Nora’s presence complicated matters. Only a fool would think that Roel could shirk his responsibility after kissing a daughter of the Xeclydes! Furthermore, the rumor that had been making its rounds……

  Why must matters be so complicated? Argh, my stomach is starting to hurt. Is there anything that’s lighter? I should get the chefs to prepare some soup for me……

  Just thinking about his son’s future was more than enough to give Carter indigestion, so he ordered for a bowl of rich soup to be brought out.

  In view of Roel’s previous incompetence, his initial plan was to have his son live a peaceful and stable life. He would marry a few daughters of minor noble houses and work hard every night to expand the family tree. However, the plans he had made were all overturned when Roel awakened the Ascart Bloodline.

  Of course, Carter was more than delighted to see Roel becoming stronger, but at the same time, he was worried about the troubles his son would encounter along the way. Putting everything else aside, neither Nora nor Alicia were pushovers. Nora was one thing, but even Alicia, in Carter’s eyes, was a little monster too. The greatest evidence of that was the fact that Alicia was already on the verge of reaching Origin Level 5.

  In just a single month’s time, Alicia had grown at a ridiculous speed, climbing from Origin Level 7 all the way to the peak of Origin Level 6.

  Quoting her words, ‘ Every time I think of big brother Roel, I can feel energy filling up my body. ’


  Carter found himself rendered speechless by that explanation. To normal transcendents, mana had to be slowly accumulated over time like a stream flowing into a sea. When it came to Alicia though, it was as if a fountain would gush out from the lands wherever she tilled.

  Given Alicia’s current speed, it shouldn’t be long before she acquired an Origin Attribute. One must know that even the pride of the Theocracy, Nora, had only reached Origin Level 5 at 9 years old.

  It was completely understandable why Carter was so dumbfounded by how fast Alicia was growing. He had never thought that the girl he had adopted out of kindness would actually be a prodigy far exceeding common sense. If given sufficient time, she could become a world-class expert.

  And most importantly of all, she was dedicated to his son.

  It would be a lie if Carter were to say that he wasn’t excited by this notion. However, once the initial hype died down, he began seeing a whole lot of troubles that could appear on their way. He could tell that both Alicia and Nora had a tenacious streak in them. If a day came where the two began fighting one another, probably not even Roel would be able to mediate between them.

  Just thinking about the endless precedents in history, where female transcendents dumped by the men they were devoted to ended up murdering their former lovers in cold blood, left Carter with goosebumps rising all over his body.

  Of course, Carter didn’t think that his son would be that kind of philandering scum, but rationality in romance was nearly a non-existent concept.

  Carter recalled his limited experiences in romance and felt that this was a tough nut to crack. Furthermore, thinking about the tactics that Roel had employed to date……

  Huh? It doesn’t seem like Roel has really done anything at all……? Could it be that he has transcended mere tactics?

  Carter sipped on his soup as he eyed the two children sitting before him doubtfully. He hesitated for a long while, but he still couldn’t bring himself to inform them that Nora was going to become Roel’s guardian under such an atmosphere……

  After dinner, Carter headed back to his room with a brooding look on his face. On the other hand, Roel and Alicia headed to the study and enjoyed some quality time together before finally parting ways for the night.

  Roel felt satisfied both physically and mentally. He had never felt better than he did right now. Therefore, there was no way he was going to miss this precious opportunity.

  After returning to his room, he instructed Anna not to disturb him before turning over to look at the System.

  【Scanning the user’s condition……】


  【The user is recommended to purchase the following items to attempt a breakthrough.】


  【Lobor Advancement Serum (Fifth Edition)

  Loborians are passionate about alchemy, but the serums they produce tended to work differently from how they expected them to. No one could understand why a serum intended to numb the senses of an enemy would actually aid in making breakthroughs. The person who developed the serum was beheaded under the suspicions of being a spy.

  Side Effects: Heavy intoxication

  Price: 10,000 Gold Coin】


  【Special Event: Let’s Make A Breakthrough Together!

  % off all breakthrough-related items!

  Items on discount:

  Lobor Advancement Serum (Fifth Edition) Discounted Price: 1000 Gold Coin】


  【The Origin Attribute is ready. The System advises the user to make a breakthrough as quickly as possible.】


  Roel was initially a little unhappy when he saw that there was only one item in the event shop, but when he realized that it was a 90% discount, all of his displeasure immediately melted away like frost before the summer sun.

  “This darned System is finally being humane for once!”


  The surprised Roel was indescribably moved. While he was still troubled over how he could make a breakthrough to Origin Level 5, his System took the initiative to offer him what he needed at a discounted price. It was indeed the role model for all businesses!

  The young boy, who was 500,000 gold coins in debt, wiped away his tears as he took out his personal funds—most of which was borrowed from Alicia—and offered it unhesitatingly to the System.

  One must know that there were many transcendents who failed to deal with their breakthroughs to Origin Level 5 properly and suffered some side effects. Some of the more severe cases even ended up with physical deformity.

  Roel could still remember the ‘perfect combination’ he had half a year ago that had a hell of a kick, though it did raise his Origin Level significantly. Thus, when he saw that the side effect of Lobor Advancement Serum (Fifth Edition) was only intoxication, he almost burst out laughing.

  Heh, I’ve even drunk stuff that almost killed my liver in my previous life, so what does this count as?

  Roel picked up the container he had just received from the System and examined it closely. The serum inside the container was transparent, just like water. When he tried swirling the container, the way the fluid flowed along the sides of the container felt reminiscent of wine. He uncorked the bottle and took a whiff of the serum, but there was no particular scent to it.

  Doesn’t seem like it’s anything much……

  The mild appearance of the serum emboldened Roel’s courage, and he felt that there was nothing to be afraid of. Having learned from his previous lesson, he went over to his bed and sat down there.

  Even if I get knocked out right away, at the very most, I’ll just fall asleep on my bed.

  Having made ample preparations, Roel unhesitatingly picked up the serum and drank it. As a certified foodie, he carefully savored the taste of a serum that originally cost 10,000 gold coins. There was a peculiar sourness to the taste, but the alcohol was frighteningly potent.

  It felt like a stream of flame had been ignited from his throat all the way down to his stomach, which reminded him of the 56% white wine he had drunk in his previous life. He could feel his body growing hotter and hotter. Even before swallowing the wine, he was already feeling the kick. In his slightly intoxicated state, he finally gulped down the rest of this not-too-delicious fake alcohol.

  As the world swirled around him, his consciousness gradually faded……

  The following day, Roel’s eyes fluttered open to a ceiling covered in murals.

  Oof, that darned serum still packs a punch. Lucky I was well prepared, or else I would have surely fallen to it!

  Roel was still having trouble gathering his concentration due to his head hurting from the hangover. All of a sudden, though, he suddenly realized that the murals he was staring at looked a little unfamiliar, and his expression slowly turned grim.

  Huh? Am I seeing things? Why does it look so foreign to me?

  Roel was taken aback for a moment before he hurriedly checked his surroundings. As soon as he started moving, he found himself bumping into a soft body. A soft moan, which was almost as loud as a thunderous rumbling in his ears, sounded.

  He immediately shot upright in astonishment. He stiffly turned his head sideward and found himself faced with a white pajamaed Alicia!

  Son of a banshee, what’s going on? Why is Alicia sleeping next to me? No, wait a moment…… Isn’t this Alicia’s room?!

  As the truth dawned on Roel, a shudder ran through his body and he accidentally kicked the fair legs that were peeking out from Alicia’s pajamas. Under the stimulation, the young girl slowly opened her eyes and saw the frozen Roel. A happy smile blossomed on her lips.

  “Good morning, big brother Roel. You woke up early.”


  “Ah, y-yes I did.”


  With his mind already on shutdown, it took a lot of effort for Roel to squeeze out a response. On the other hand, Alicia stared at Roel intently for a moment before pulling him back down on the bed.

  “We played till rather late yesterday night. You should sleep a little longer.”


  Alicia murmured drowsily as she leaned on Roel’s chest and closed her eyes once more. Her warm breath on Roel’s neck made him feel a little itchy. Looking at the unguarded look on Alicia’s face and her beautiful figure, Roel found his heart thumping faster and faster.

  In just a short moment, his breathing had already grown a little heavy. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva as a doubt floated into his mind.

  What did we play last night?