Chapter 241: 241 | The Professor’s Hidden Test
I leaned against my apartment door after Misato disappeared down the hallway. My hands still shook from the adrenaline dump of almost destroying my entire future for a fake crystal.
Jordan had gone back to his room looking green around the edges. Belle was probably stress-eating chips while Naomi tried to convince her the world wasn’t ending. And me? I was standing in my apartment at two in the morning, processing the fact that Vale had known about our heist from day one and still let us walk straight into his trap.
The guy was either a genius or legitimately insane.
Hikaru’s door sat closed and dark. Her absence felt like a small mercy. I couldn’t handle explaining tonight to anyone else, least of all my terrifyingly competent roommate who already suspected I was hiding something.
I dropped the backpack by my desk and collapsed onto my bed fully clothed. The new jeans Aurora bought fit better than anything I’d owned in either life. Funny how clothes mattered more now that I looked like someone who belonged in them.
My phone buzzed. Text from Belle.
You alive?
Barely.
Vale didn’t murder you?
Worse. He gave me life advice.
Gross. Get some sleep milk vampire.
I tossed the phone onto my nightstand and stared at the ceiling. The exhaustion felt different tonight. Deeper. Like I’d been running on fumes for three weeks and finally hit empty.
The System notification flashed in my peripheral vision. I’d been ignoring it since leaving the vault, too tired to deal with whatever passive-aggressive achievement the Divine Milking System wanted to throw at me.
But curiosity always wins against common sense.
I pulled up the interface.
◆ QUEST UPDATE ◆
THE MIDNIGHT HEIST
Status: INCOMPLETE
Result: No rewards. No penalties.
Note: Objectives were not met under authorized parameters.
Well that was anticlimactic. No Master Thief title. No ability slot. No ten thousand points for my trouble. Just a big fat nothing for nearly getting expelled and arrested.
Great. Fantastic. My favorite outcome.
I started to close the interface when another notification popped up, this one glowing different. Gold instead of purple. The text practically vibrated with importance.
◆ HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETE ◆
THE STRONGEST PROTÉGÉ
Objective: Attract the attention and approval of Dominic Vale through exceptional performance and noteworthy decision-making.
Status: COMPLETE
REWARDS UNLOCKED:
├─ Title Gained: [Vale’s Heir Apparent]
├─ Access Granted: Elite Ten Training Protocols
├─ Bonus: +5,000 Points
└─ Special: Personal Mentorship (Professor Vale)
TITLE EFFECTS:
[Vale’s Heir Apparent]
├─ +10% to all stat gains from training
├─ Guild recruiters view you as premium prospect
├─ IHC officials recognize Vale’s endorsement
└─ Rival students identify you as serious threat
Note: This title marks you as Vale’s chosen successor. Use it wisely.
I sat up so fast the room spun.
Five thousand points. Access to Elite Ten training. Personal mentorship from the most dangerous teacher on campus. And a title that basically screamed "this lottery kid is different" to everyone who could run an analysis.
My brain tried to process what this actually meant.
Vale hadn’t stopped us because he was testing whether we could pull off the heist. He’d been testing whether I was worth his time. Whether I had the guts to commit, the brains to plan, and the awareness to realize when I’d walked into a trap.
The fact that I’d convinced the squad to abort counted for something. The fact that I’d come back to return the crystal probably counted for more.
But the kicker? Vale had set up the whole thing himself. The fake crystal. The conveniently accessible vault. The timing that lined up too perfectly with Belle’s schedule.
He’d dangled bait and waited to see who was hungry enough and stupid enough to bite.
And I’d chomped down like a starving idiot.
The scary part? He’d approved anyway.
I pulled up my full status screen.
◆ DIVINE MILKING SYSTEM ◆
JACE MONROE
Level: 6 (450/6000 XP)
Lifespan: 13D 10H
Points: 6,680
PHYSICAL STATS
Strength [C] ▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ (1/10)
Endurance [D] ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ (10/10) READY TO RANK UP
Agility [D] ▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ (1/10)
Perception [D] ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱ (9/10)
Magic [D] ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱ (7/10)
SOCIAL STATS
Charisma [C] ▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ (1/10)
Technique [B] ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ (10/10) READY TO RANK UP
TITLES
├─ First Blood
├─ Reckless Gambler
└─ Vale’s Heir Apparent (NEW)
ACTIVE ABILITIES
├─ Wave Motion [Bronze]
├─ Treasure Sense [Bronze]
└─ Sensory Hijack - Dual-Stream [Bronze]
STORED ESSENCE
└─ 4/6 Cups (Silver-tier)
Six thousand six hundred eighty points. Nearly two full weeks of breathing room. Stats climbing faster than they had any right to. Three Bronze abilities that actually worked in combat. And now a title that marked me as special to everyone who bothered looking.
The ten percent training bonus would stack with the sexual multiplier from Limit Breaker. My morning workouts with Hikaru would suddenly yield better returns. Misato’s torture sessions would become legitimate stat factories.
And guild recruiters viewing me as a premium prospect? That opened doors I hadn’t even considered yet. Real sponsorships. Equipment deals. Job offers that came with signing bonuses instead of poverty wages.
The System had a twisted sense of humor. My entire life hinged on making the right calls with incomplete information. One wrong move and the clock ran out. But every correct choice compounded into something bigger. Something that looked less like survival and more like actual power.
I tabbed over to my Stored Essence. Four Silver-tier cups sitting in reserve. Each one worth fifty points normally, or a potential Overclock if I needed to punch above my weight class. I’d been hoarding them like a doomsday prepper stockpiling canned goods. Smart? Probably. But I was also sitting on resources I wasn’t using.
But the real prize was the mentorship.
Vale had essentially adopted me as his personal project. The guy who could probably kill S-rank hunters before breakfast wanted to train me specifically.
I should have been terrified. Vale was dangerous in ways I couldn’t fully comprehend yet. His Limitless ability meant he was functionally untouchable in combat. Nobody could hit him. Nobody could even get close unless he allowed it.
And he’d chosen me.
A text interrupted my spiral.
Aurora. So you had an interesting night. Want to tell me about it over breakfast?
Breakfast sounds good. When?
Six. My place. Bring coffee.
Deal.
I dropped the phone and closed my eyes. Tomorrow I’d deal with Vale’s mentorship and whatever fresh hell that would bring. Tomorrow I’d explain to Belle and Naomi that their heist had been a setup from the start. Tomorrow I’d face Misato’s wrath for dragging her into federal crimes.
But tonight? Tonight I was too tired to care.
Sleep came fast and heavy. The kind that dragged you under before you could argue.
