"Just come," Isaac said.
Celia followed him without question, ducking through the flap of a tent that had been set up near the dungeon exit.
The faint scent of mana stones hung in the air, and a few crystal lamps flickered on the corners.
Inside, Isaac turned and held out his hand.
She blinked but placed hers in his palm.
A faint glow flickered between them as the coins he had earned transferred to her.
"Why did you give me Coins? Oh, wait, don’t tell me. Let me guess!"
She closed her eyes and tapped her chin.
"You want me to hand them to Emily?"
"Yeah," Isaac said with a small nod. "You know she keeps everything organized."
"That she does," Celia said with a grin. "Fine, I’ll drop them off later."
Then he said in his mind, ’System, share the Coins Celia has!’
A notification appeared.
5 Gold and 1100 Silver Coins gained.
"Take this too," Isaac said, handing her a small black bag.
She peered inside.
It was full of materials.
Aether Glass, Binding Crystals, Titan Metal, and several other items they had gathered during the dungeon run.
"These are—"
"Dungeon rewards. The extra ones we got from the First Clear."
She nodded, carefully placing the bag in her inventory.
Isaac turned his thoughts inward again.
’System, share the dungeon rewards Celia has.’
Nothing happened.
His brows furrowed.
’So I can’t share items?’
He had expected that outcome, but it still annoyed him.
He couldn’t share weapons either, so maybe it was the same limitation.
Still, this was a problem.
’I feel like I should be able to share dungeon rewards. Maybe I need to increase my system level to do that?’
’But how do I increase the System’s level?’
As if the System had been waiting for that thought, a new message appeared before his eyes.
[Detected that Isaac Hargraves has three wives. Condition for System Upgrade can be revealed.]
[Upgrade Condition: Have five wives, each with 100+ Affection.]
[Upgrading System to Level 3 will allow you to share dungeon rewards, and stack shared Titles.]
Isaac blinked at the glowing text.
’So it is possible.’
Then he looked again at the condition and frowned. "Five wives?"
Celia tilted her head. "What?"
"Nothing," Isaac said quickly. "Just talking to myself."
When she shrugged and looked away, he sighed inwardly.
Currently, the System had only listed two Wife Candidates.
Avery, the Water Element Spirit, and Leora, the Sword Empress.
Avery was still asleep, fusing with his farm, and when she woke up, seducing her to make his wife would take time—if that was possible.
Leora was worse.
She respected him, maybe even trusted him, but there wasn’t a trace of romantic affection there.
She treated him like a kid she had to look after.
’Though considering how she "relieves" herself by listening to me and Alice... maybe not a complete lost cause.’
Isaac chuckled as he recalled the incident.
It had been quite awkward for him when it happened, but not it was a funny memory.
Still, even if things somehow worked out between him and the Sword Empress, he’d only have four wives.
He would be one short of what he needed.
’Selene?’
Her System rating was still below ninety-five.
The System didn’t recognize her as a Wife candidate yet. Just a Potential Wife Candidate.
He rubbed his chin.
’I did give her that bloodline evolution potion to raise her species rank... but she hasn’t used it.’
Maybe she was waiting for something.
Even if she did evolve, she wouldn’t reach Apex rank, so there was no guarantee her System rating would rise enough for her to become a Wife Candidate.
Isaac groaned softly. "This is going to be annoying."
Celia blinked at him. "What?"
"Nothing," he said again.
She pouted, showing her displeasure about him ignoring her.
But his thoughts didn’t stop.
Another possibility crossed his mind.
’What about Professor Catherine?’
The moment he thought about her, his expression froze.
A strange chill crept down his spine.
Professor Catherine was a high-rank species, a Celestial Kitsune, and a Conqueror Candidate.
Her rating should have been high enough to appear in his System, at least as a Potential Wife Candidate.
So why...
’Why haven’t I used Inspect on her yet?’
The realization hit him like a slap.
He hadn’t forgotten to check her.
He had been unable to think about it until now.
’A mind skill.’
It had to be.
Professor Catherine must have used some sort of mental ability to make sure he never examined her too deeply.
’But why? What is she hiding?’
He could sense the faint residue of the skill now, probably because his Spirit Power had recently reached two thousand.
His mental resistance was far stronger than before, which might have weakened her influence.
That meant other things could have been affected too.
’How many things have I forgotten like this?’
His thoughts sped up, and his pulse quickened.
For the first time, Isaac felt genuinely uneasy.
Fortunately, her mind’s skills effect had weakened.
But...
’Dammit, I messed up.’
’Professor Catherine is going to evolve in Apex rank species soon. That will strengthen her mind skills.’
’If she uses the skill on me again, I will forget everything I’ve recalled now.’
He sat down at the small desk inside the tent and quickly pulled out a notepad and a pen from his spatial ring.
Celia frowned. "Isaac, what’s wrong? Wait, what are you writing?"
"It’s something important," he said quietly. "You should go meet Emily and the others. I’ll return later."
She looked at him with concern.
"Are you sure? You don’t look fine."
"I’m fine," he said. "Go on."
Celia hesitated, but after a moment she nodded. "Alright. Don’t overdo it."
When she left, Isaac was finally alone.
The tent felt too quiet.
He started writing down the things that came to mind.
[I never tried to check Professor Catherine’s status.]
[I forgot about the person I met during the Calloway banquet. I was kidnapped by this person that night.]
He stopped and frowned.
"How could I forget something like that?"
The memory was still foggy.
He could remember a dark dimension, and the feeling of having no sense of direction. Then... nothing.
He pressed his pen harder into the paper.
’What else?’
Then it came, the flashes of dreams.
They had been normal dreams, or so he’d thought.
But now, for the first time, fragments resurfaced.
A voice calling his name. A gentle laugh. The warmth of sunlight through stained glass and a close hug.
But every time he tried to focus, the images slipped away.
He tried again, digging deeper, pushing through the haze that clung to the edges of his memory.
Then—
"Urgh!"
Pain shot through his skull like a spear.
He grabbed his head, breathing hard.
The memories twisted.
His childhood flashed before him.
The orphanage, the scorn from other kids, the endless loneliness.
But this time, there was someone else there.
A girl.
She wasn’t part of his current memories, but she was there. Smiling, walking beside him, sharing food, caring for him when others mocked him.
His hand trembled.
"Sis...?"
He could hear his own voice echoing faintly in the memory. The small, childish tone calling her "sister."
He tried to see her face, but it blurred every time he focused on it.
The headache grew worse until he had to stop.
"Damn it, it feels like my head’s splitting," he muttered, pressing a hand against his temple.
He exhaled slowly and leaned back, letting the throbbing subside.
When the pain dulled, he tried again, but the moment he reached for that memory, it dissolved into nothing.
"Seems like Professor Catherine put a lot more effort into sealing my childhood memories," he murmured.
Why would she do that?
He massaged his brow and looked at the notepad again.
Every line of writing stared back at him like pieces of a puzzle that didn’t fit.
After a moment, he opened his Lord Profile and checked the Subjects tab.
[Subject: Catherine Lorraine]
[Level: 50]
[Race: Celestial Kitsune (High rank) (Undergoing evolution)]
[Loyalty: 100%]
Loyalty, unlike affection, capped at a hundred.
100% signified complete devotion.
According to what Leora had told him, anyone with 100% Loyalty would die for their master without question.
Isaac stared at the screen.
"If she’s that loyal. then why did she seal my memories?"
No answer came.
The tent was still, the only sound the faint hum of the mana lamps. He looked down at his notes again, rereading each line.
A faint unease spread through him.
It was the cold awareness that something deeper was at play.