Chapter 56: Upgraded Inspect, Date With Emily
At this rate, he’d get 86.4 AP in a day. He needed 100,000 for a single catalyst. Even the cheapest weapon was out of his reach.
He leaned back against the wall, sighing.
"This greedy system..."
He closed the item tabs, and opened the Time-Limited Item tab.
The time-limited section in the system shop made Isaac blink twice.
Tier 1 Sun Dragon-type Genetic Catalyst – 1,000 AP
Bloodline Upgrading Elixir (from mid-rank to high-rank species) – 2,500 AP
Phantom Core Extractor – 1,800 AP
Celestial Spirit Pact Token – 2,200 AP
*All items in this shop section are under 90% discount for 7 days. Items will refresh after one week and may or may not reappear.
*Items in both shop sections can be used only by host, his wives, and his bonds.
"So I’ve got one week to grab whatever I need."
He rubbed his chin, already forming plans.
Then, he thought about testing out the upgraded Inspect, but there was no one around.
The bathroom door opened. Emily stepped out, drying her hair with a towel.
"I’m done," she said.
She was wearing a white blouse tucked into soft blue high-waisted jeans. Her silver-white hair complemented her style.
"You look good."
"Thank you."
Emily smiled at his praise.
+0.1 AP
Isaac blinked. ’Wait... did that just...?’
He tried again. "That color really suits you. It makes your eyes stand out."
Emily blushed faintly, still smiling. "Thanks, Isaac."
+0.3 AP
He narrowed his eyes slightly. So that was it. AP gained at once could be increased.
The happier she was, the more AP he earned.
’Happiness-to-AP conversion... it wants me to make my wives happy, huh?’
They all left for the market shortly after. Isaac, Emily, Leora, Professor Catherine, and Alice.
Isaac noticed Alice was quieter than usual. She was keeping a bit of distance. He didn’t need to guess why.
At the market, they tried looking for a carpenter or builder. No one agreed to help despite Isaac offering them twice the market price.
Isaac sighed. "I knew this would happen."
"We’ll just look through the rubble near the house," he said.
Leora nodded. "We can scavenge something for now. It won’t be pretty, but it’s enough, and it should be easy to find too."
Since they were already in the market, Isaac figured they could at least enjoy themselves.
"Let’s go shopping," he said, holding Emily’s hand gently.
Emily smiled. "Are you asking me on a date?"
"Yup."
He bought her a casual summer dress at a roadside clothing stall. It was light green with floral accents.
Then they hit a small café where Emily ordered a strawberry shake. They walked a bit, and stopped to watch a street performance. They got a couple of local snacks down the road.
+0.2 AP
+0.3 AP
+0.4 AP
The AP gains kept trickling in.
As they spent time together, Isaac tried using Inspect on various random women in the crowd.
It did not work. He frowned. What changed in the skill if it wasn’t showing him status of others when asked?
He checked Emily’s status. There was no extra detail.
The skill finally triggered when he regrouped with others and used it on Alice.
Alice Calloway
Rating: 84 (To be a wife candidate, 95 rating or above is required)
Personality: Short-tempered, slightly introverted, overthinks a lot, closet pervert
Likes: Smashing things, Isaac, fighting, sweaty Isaac, family, cool Isaac
Dislikes: Bitches who thirst after Isaac’s handsome face and body, Isaac when he flirts with other girls, people who badmouth her family or friends, cheap coffee, overly flirty guys, talking to strangers
Status 1: Currently wondering if she had proposed back at the academy, would she be Isaac’s girlfriend instead of Emily.
Status 2: Thinks Isaac’s a cheating bastard for flirting with her for three years and then dating someone else the day he left the academy. Debating whether to punch Isaac’s face or look for a hidden corner where no one will see her crying.
Isaac blinked.
’That’s... a lot to take in.’
He, being the gentleman he was, respectfully ignored the more chaotic entries. Then another screen popped up.
Alice Calloway’s rating is low.
Rating is based on current strength, future potential, emotional alignment, and compatibility factors.
Awakening conditions for Alice Calloway:
Absorb Tier 1 Fire Dragon-type Genetic Catalyst (awakens bloodline)
Absorb Tier 1 Life Dragon-type Genetic Catalyst (awakens Talent)
Absorb Tier 1 Sun Dragon-type Genetic Catalyst (awakens potential)
Estimated rating after awakening bloodline: 95
Estimated rating after awakening Talent: 95
Estimated rating after awakening Talent and Bloodline: 96
’Alice can awaken?’
Isaac felt a rush of excitement as if it was him who could awaken not Alice.
He quickly decided to do whatever it took to help her awaken her bloodline and Talent. It was the least he could do for her.
’All three Genetic Catalysts are in the shop,’ he thought. ’And the Sun Dragon one is in the time-limited section.’
He pieced it together fast.
’The system is pushing me to support Alice. Probably because of her dragon bloodline. If she becomes my wife, I can share that bloodline, and remove my stat limit. Makes sense, considering the system’s job should be to support me, it’s host.’
He checked his AP again.
49.031 AP
’I earned nearly 29 AP from just a two hour date with Emily. If I keep this up, I can gather 1,000 AP before the item in time-limited shop refreshes.’
The problem wasn’t the AP though.
It was Alice.
’If I ask Alice to be in a relationship now, she’ll either cry and refuse or break my jaw. Since I never saw her cry except one time, I guess it will be my jaw.’
He sighed.
When they returned home, Isaac started the farm work again.
He harvested the grains.
1600 Tier 0 Vitality Grain Crops harvested. Mana +144 Constitution +144.
You have obtained 8,000 Tier 0 Vitality Grains.
Constitution: 100 [653 → 797]
Mana: 100 [696 → 840]
He whistled when he saw the numbers. Buying more land had been the perfect choice.
...
A few hours ago
If Alice still had been clinging to the hope that Emily and Isaac were just friends, that hour they spent together in his room crushed it.
Alice hadn’t seen what happened inside. But she didn’t need to.
They stayed in there. Alone. For that long. There was no denying it anymore.
Emily wasn’t just just a friend.
That bitch... she had taken him. Just like that.
Alice clenched her fists at the memory.
She wasn’t even sure if she was angry at Emily, for taking Isaac so easily, or herself.
She and Isaac had spent years together. He always looked at her. Talked to her like she mattered.
Back in the academy, she’d convinced herself it was just friendship. But somewhere deep inside, she knew.
Isaac had liked her.
Even now, he was helping her. Going to bat against the Calloway Conglomerate. Facing off against her own family. If that wasn’t proof, what was?
But as soon as that thought came, another followed.
’I sound pathetic.’
She hadn’t confessed. She never made a move. All she did was wait, assuming he’d always be there.
Now he wasn’t.
She sat quietly in the jeep while they returned from the market. Her head lowered just enough to hide her face.
She didn’t want them to see the tears she was barely holding back.
Emily was smiling beside Isaac.
That soft, happy smile that made Alice feel like she’d lost a battle before she even began. Isaac gave her all his attention, gentle words, small glances, casual touches.
Emily was everything Alice wasn’t. Sweet, cheerful, and cute in that effortless way.
Alice knew she was beautiful, but her face was always cold. Her voice was always firm. She barely smiled.
And worst of all, she had waited too long.
It was easy to understand why Isaac preferred Emily over her.
They got back home.
Isaac started working on the farm again.
Normally, Alice would’ve watched him with amoral gaze. She liked seeing him like that. Sweaty, focused, working hard.
It made her heart flutter.