Jason knew that the major reason why his family hadn’t been spotted by any of his enemies yet was because they were just regular humans and they didn’t have any mana to attract attention. But once someone noticed that Jason’s family members had mana, it would draw in a lot of enemies. This was the same way Earth became exposed to the Primordial Expanse once humans gained mana. Possessing that sort of power would immediately attract the worst people towards you.
But Jason didn’t think he had a choice. He needed to protect his family, so he decided that he would start giving his sister Magic Crystals from tomorrow, and he would talk to his mother about keeping some artifacts with her. That way, they’d be even more protected in an emergency.
’Well, I don’t know if Janet is going to stay with us or not. I’ll wait and see what she does before giving her the crystals. And I need to start looking for mana masking artifacts. If I can give them artifacts that prevent others from sensing their mana, then it’ll be even safer for them. I need to go into more Gates.’
Jason released another calm sigh as he allowed those thoughts to roll around his head subconsciously, and he refocused his conscious mind on the runes in front of him. The [Ryonga’s Shield] that Jason was working on was one of the simpler runes that Azrael had introduced to him. It was a Fourth Grade Rune that had been developed by the Runecaster known as Ryonga to help him travel across some of the dangerous Rank III worlds in the Primordial Expanse. The rune worked by absorbing mana from its wearer, and that mana would allow the rune to activate a layer of magical protection around the wearer like a second skin. This magical protection would block attacks from any direction, and it was so powerful that it could even handle attacks from low-level SS Ranks! But the only downside to the rune was the fact that it would need an insane amount of mana to remain active for long periods. And if it took any attack, it needed to absorb even more mana so it didn’t immediately disintegrate.
There were other runes that were stronger than this one, but Jason wasn’t skilled enough to think of drawing those yet. He needed to slowly work his way up from this before he finally got to the runes that could handle even SSS Rank attacks.
’Hm... Riyala?’
Jason hummed as he felt a familiar presence enter the house. Jason spread his senses a little further to see if Gina was there as well, but he was even more surprised when he didn’t feel her presence in the house. What was going on? Jason twirled the Runebrush in his hand and waited patiently for Riyala to come upstairs. She was moving slowly, almost like she was nervous about something, and it took almost two minutes before Jason heard a knock on the door.
Knock. Knock.
"Jason... are you in there?"
Jason hummed in response to Riyala, and he watched as the door slowly opened to reveal her. The bedroom was very dimly lit, and there was no way anyone would be able to stay in that room with how dark it was. But Jason’s advanced eyesight allowed him to see everything, and so Jason was shocked when he saw what Riyala entered with. Riyala was wearing a long robe that came all the way down to the floor. Her hair had been loosened so it fell across her shoulder like a dark river, and there was a very shy aura around her as she stared at the floor. Riyala slowly leaned back against the door until it closed with a click, and Jason raised a brow at her action. Riyala looked up at Jason, and Jason could feel a strange heat spread from his heart when he saw the huge blush that had grown on her face. She was biting her bottom lip shyly, and Jason opened his Alternate Dimension and allowed the brush and paper to fall inside so he could give her his full attention.
"Riyala. What are you doing here?"
Jason spoke in a calm voice that sent a jolt through Riyala’s body, and Riyala pressed her legs together as she tried to get some confidence! She had to do this! She couldn’t remain shy forever! Riyala looked up at Jason, and she felt the blush on her face growing even more, but she gathered her confidence and stepped forward before she reached for the rope holding her robe together. She gently opened the robe, and Jason’s eyes widened as the robe fell off her shoulders and exposed her upper body to him. Riyala was naked, and Jason couldn’t take his eyes off her.
The scales on Riyala’s cheeks extended down towards her chest and shoulder, and they formed a diamond shape that stopped between her breasts. Her breasts were perky, and they moved up and down as Riyala took in deep breaths to try to calm herself. Jason’s eyes moved down, and he saw how Riyala crossed her legs slightly to try and hide her core from him. The heat that had been pooling in Jason’s heart suddenly moved down towards his stomach, and Jason slowly stood from the bed and began walking over to Riyala. Riyala took a step back in shock when she saw Jason approaching her, and when Jason got close enough to look down at her, she couldn’t even look him in the eye anymore. Riyala looked down at Jason’s feet as her heart raced even faster, and she felt a shiver go through her body as Jason’s hand came up and held her cheek softly. Riyala finally looked up at Jason, and Jason felt that sadistic side of him rearing its head once again when he saw Riyala’s wet eyes. She was so shy that she had been brought to the brink of fucking tears. Riyala spoke in a low voice.
"I... I want to be with you, Jason. Please don’t turn me away."
Jason showed no reaction to her words, and for a moment, Riyala was terrified that Jason would tell her to leave. If that happened, then her life would be over as far as she was concerned! If she couldn’t be with Jason, then she would be as good as dead! But Jason spoke up in a calm voice that sent a shiver through her body.
"Are you sure about this, Riyala? I don’t know if I can ever love anyone the way I love Gina. She’ll always hold a special place in my heart. So if you’re going to be with me, then you’ll have to accept being second to her. Are you okay with that?"
Riyala’s mouth split into a wide smile as she cried even harder, and she nodded immediately! Of course, she was okay with it! If she could be with Jason, she didn’t mind being the second, third, or even the fourth! As long as he cared for her and allowed her to stand by his side, she would be the happiest in the world!
Once Jason saw the happiness on Riyala’s face, he felt himself smiling as well, and he leaned down gently and kissed Riyala. Her lips were soft, and they tasted like pure fire that sent a heat through Jason’s body. Jason wrapped his hand around Riyala’s back when he felt her knees go out from under her, and he helped her to stay on her feet!