[Collecting the target's information…]
[Natasha Raven's status panel has been created.]
"Huh, we're not giving her the system right away?" Dante was a little confused, but he wasn't in a rush. "Actually, forget it. Checking her information first will help me come up with a better plan."
With that, he didn't waste a second and pulled up her status panel.
[Target Panel]
[Name: Natasha Raven]
[Realm: Circuit Expansion (Falling) (Previously Law Perception)]
[Bloodline: None]
[Talents: Aptitude(SS), Sword(SS), Comprehension(SS), Teacher's Eye(A), Cooking(A), Gentle Authority(B), Business Sense(B)]
[Luck: Legendary]
[Favorability: 24(Tap to view more information)]
"Whoa… what else would you expect from the woman who gave birth to a protagonist," Dante murmured, envy written all over his face.
"Even without a bloodline, she's completely busted."
Compared to her, his own status panel was honestly pathetic.
As he kept looking, two things stood out to him in particular.
Teacher's Eye(A) and Gentle Authority(B).
And obviously, the whole favourability thing.
The rest was pretty easy to figure out on its own.
"Let me check what these talents actually do first," he said as he tapped on them.
[Gentle Authority(B): The softer she speaks, the harder it becomes to disobey.]
[Teacher's Eye(A): She can instantly spot flaws in techniques, skills, and people. She has a special eye for talent.]
"Oh… those are pretty solid," Dante said, nodding approvingly. "And they really fit my master."
Then he moved on.
When he tapped to see more about favourability, a pink panel appeared in front of him.
[Favourability Stages]
[0 → Stranger]
[1–20 → Familiar]
[21–40 → Good Impression]
[41–60 → Interest and Crush]
[61–80 → Affection]
[81–99 → Deeply In Love]
[100 → Fated]
[As the target's favourability increases, you will have more freedom with the missions. More importantly, you can give a high-level reward for reaching new stages starting from 20.]
"Ah, so that's why her favourability is kind of low," Dante said, the pieces falling into place.
Natasha's feelings toward him were mostly what any teacher would feel for a student, with a little bit of sympathy and pity mixed in.
"Wait a minute…!" He stopped as something suddenly clicked in his head.
"Her favourability is already at 24. That means I can hand out a high-level reward right now and get ten times the return on it!" Dante said with an eager grin. "Am I right, system?"
[That is correct!]
[However, please note that it is only a high-level reward, not a high-level mission.]
"Hehe, you don't understand how greedy people can be," Dante said with a sly smile.
As someone living his second life, he understood one basic truth.
With the right bait, you could get people to do just about anything.
And in his case, if he played his cards right…
He was confident he could steal every single heroine.
"Master only sees me as her youngest student with a rough hand in life. I doubt she even thinks of me as a man," Dante said, thinking it over carefully. Then he added with a dangerous smile, "I need to use those feelings to my advantage."
"As for what to name the system…" He thought about it briefly before nodding.
"I'll go with the Master-Student Bond System."
He grinned without a shred of shame.
"As master and student, there's nothing wrong with a little 'bonding,' right?"
With that settled, Dante grabbed a towel and headed for the shower while putting together a plan.
A solid plan.
A glorious plan.
The very first step on the road to becoming Ryan's father.
****
An hour later, inside the master bedroom of the mansion, Natasha sat cross-legged on the large bed with her eyes closed, quietly meditating. Her long jet-black hair cascaded down her back like smooth silk, brushing against her flawless pale skin. Even while sitting still, her figure was impossible to miss.
The short white nightgown she had on was doing absolutely nothing to hide anything.
It clung tight around her tiny waist before spreading out over those wide hips. The thin fabric strained over her massive breasts. The hem barely reached the tops of her thick thighs, teasing that soft gap between them every time she took a breath.
Suddenly, her brows tightened and sweat started forming on her face. 'No… please don't…!'
A few minutes went by before Natasha finally opened her eyes, her expression heavy and worn down.
"Sigh… what am I supposed to do?" she whispered.
"Everything I try feels completely useless."
She dropped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.
No matter how hard she pushed herself, she couldn't stop her realm from falling, and she couldn't find any way to repair her mana circuits.
"At this rate… I'll lose all my cultivation within a year or two…" she said softly, and the thought alone sent a chill through her body.
She was already well over a hundred years old.
Mana Cultivation was the only reason she still looked this young.
Over the last twenty years, her power had been slowly slipping away, and if she lost her cultivation completely, she could kiss this body goodbye.
She would shrivel into an old hag before she knew it.
"If I hadn't kept absorbing mana just to slow things down… would I even still be breathing right now?" she murmured, uncertain of the answer herself.
Awakeners lived longer than ordinary people, but her actual age was already terrifyingly high.
And she could only imagine what would happen once it all finally gave out.
"In this condition, how am I supposed to keep my promise to rebuild Eden's Gate? And then there are those two troublemaking students of mine…!" Natasha grumbled with a helpless look on her face.
She added as the faces of two women surfaced in her mind. "So much for being my first two students…"
She hated feeling this powerless, and even more than that, she hated waking up in such a rotten mood.
"This is all because of that disgusting lizard."
She stood up gracefully and swept her hair into a ponytail, cursing as calmly as if she were commenting on the weather. Her eyes were narrowed and her lips formed a faint smile, yet she gave off a murderous pressure.
'I wish I could cut his head off a second time.'
She was obviously talking about Ryan's father, and her tone made it very clear she meant every word.
Right then, a cold mechanical voice rang out inside her mind, catching her completely off guard.
[Congratulations!]
[You have awakened the Master-Student Bond System!]
[Do you wish to bind?]