Lust System: Conquering the World Beauties

Chapter 571: Chapter 571 The Aetherial Race

Liam read through the entire interface once.

Then again.

And then a third time.

He leaned back against the wooden chair on the balcony, rubbing his forehead as countless thoughts ran through his mind.

"My stats definitely increased..."

That much was obvious.

Every single attribute had shot up tremendously compared to before. He had expected some improvement after nearly dying and evolving, but this?

This wasn’t an improvement.

It was an explosion.

He quietly compared everything with what he remembered.

Then something suddenly clicked.

"...Hold on."

His eyebrows knitted together.

The system...

It had changed again.

Not just the numbers.

The stats themselves.

His gaze landed on two unfamiliar words.

Mana.

Luck.

He blinked.

"...Since when?"

He was almost certain they weren’t there before.

Mana...

He could understand.

This world revolved around magic.

People cultivated.

Magic existed.

Beasts radiated mana.

It made sense for the system to eventually acknowledge magical energy.

"But Luck?"

He frowned.

"What the fuck does luck have to do with anything?"

He scratched the back of his head.

"Am I supposed to trip over treasures now?"

"Or accidentally punch someone into another dimension?"

"The hell does Luck even do?"

He couldn’t make sense of it.

Maybe it affected random encounters.

Maybe treasure drops.

Maybe critical moments during battle.

Or maybe...

"It does absolutely nothing."

He sighed.

"I’ll figure it out eventually."

His eyes drifted further down the page.

Then they froze.

Available Skill Points : 132

...

Liam stared.

Then stared again.

"...One hundred and thirty-two?"

He instinctively sat upright.

"What?"

His heart skipped.

He almost thought the system had glitched.

One hundred and thirty-two free points.

That wasn’t a small number.

That wasn’t even a big number.

That was ridiculous.

His mind immediately began calculating.

"If I dump everything into Strength..."

His breathing slowed.

"...I’d become a monster."

Or Agility.

Nobody would even touch him.

Endurance.

He’d become almost impossible to kill.

Intelligence.

His thinking speed alone would probably become terrifying.

"...This is fucking crazy."

He rubbed the back of his neck, unable to stop grinning.

For the first time since getting the system...

He truly felt like the system had started treating him fairly.

No.

More than fairly.

It felt overpowered.

Then...

His smile slowly faded.

"...Wait."

Something wasn’t right.

He scanned the screen again.

Then again.

"...Where’s Charm?"

He frowned.

"I’m sure Charm used to be here."

It wasn’t hidden.

It wasn’t renamed.

It wasn’t merged.

It was simply...

Gone.

Like it had never existed.

Liam leaned back in the chair.

His thoughts wandered.

His very first days with the system...

His first ridiculous mission.

He suddenly burst into laughter.

"Grab a butt..."

He covered his face.

"I can’t believe that was my first mission."

Back then everything had been so simple.

Grab someone’s butt.

Get rewarded.

Life moved on.

Now...

He was fighting monsters.

Crossing worlds.

Unlocking mythical races.

Growing wings.

"...Sometimes I miss when grabbing somebody’s butt was considered peak difficulty."

Almost as though the system had been silently listening to every word...

A familiar sound echoed inside his mind.

Ding!

The floating interface vanished.

Another one appeared instantly.

Its blue glow was deeper than before.

The text formed line after line.

══════════════════════

[New Main Mission Initiated]

Objective:

Investigate the origin of the Aetherial Race.

Uncover the truth behind your evolution.

Progress: 0%

Failure Condition:

None.

Time Limit:

None.

══════════════════════

Mission Reward

◈ Aetherial Evolution

Current Class:

Aetherial-Class (Level 1)

Reward upon completion:

Advance to Aetherial-Class (Level 2)

══════════════════════

Liam stared.

"...For fuck’s sake."

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So now I’m supposed to investigate my own race?"

He had barely accepted the fact that he wasn’t fully human anymore.

Now the system wanted him to solve an ancient mystery.

"...Fantastic."

His annoyance lasted all of three seconds.

Because...

His eyes slowly drifted downward.

They stopped on the reward.

Aetherial Evolution.

"..."

His expression changed.

He immediately reopened his status window.

His eyes moved straight to the bottom.

◈ Triple Attribute Growth

All base attributes receive ×3 growth upon Aetherial evolution.

"..."

Silence.

His pupils slowly widened.

"...Hold on."

He reread it.

Again.

And again.

Then his breathing stopped for a moment.

"...Does..."

His voice came out as little more than a whisper.

"...Does this mean..."

He looked back at the reward.

Then at the trait.

Then back again.

"...Every time I evolve..."

His heartbeat accelerated.

"...My attributes..."

He swallowed.

"...Triple?"

Strength.

Agility.

Endurance.

Intelligence.

Mana.

Everything.

Not ten percent.

Not twenty percent.

Three times.

His current Strength alone sat at nearly three hundred.

If it tripled...

He’d be approaching nine hundred.

If the same happened to Agility...

He’d move like a ghost.

Endurance...

Nearly impossible to bring down.

Intelligence...

His mind raced just imagining it.

His palms slowly clenched.

"...Holy..."

A grin spread across his face.

"...Fuck."

His heart pounded wildly inside his chest.

This wasn’t merely a powerful class.

It was a cheat.

A terrifying, world-breaking cheat.

And for the first time...

Liam truly understood one thing.

Whatever the Aetherial Race was...

It was anything but ordinary.

Tatiana stepped quietly onto the balcony.

The wooden door creaked softly behind her, but Liam had already sensed her presence before he heard it. With a thought, the glowing system interface vanished from his sight.

He turned.

Moonlight spilled across the balcony, bathing Tatiana in a silver glow. Her crimson hair swayed gently in the cool night breeze, framing a face that seemed almost unreal beneath the pale light.

Neither of them spoke.

She simply stood there, looking at him.

Those emerald eyes held something different tonight. There was no hesitation, no uncertainty. Only quiet warmth... and a nervousness she couldn’t quite hide.

Liam tilted his head.

"What is it?"

Tatiana rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly before looking away for a second.

"...Can I sit with you?"

He smiled.

"Of course."

She hesitated.

"...On your lap?"

The question caught him slightly off guard.

He blinked once before nodding.

"Yeah."

A shy smile appeared on her lips.

She walked over carefully before lowering herself onto his lap, sitting sideways against him. Liam instinctively wrapped one arm around her waist to keep her balanced.

She was surprisingly warm.

Her body relaxed against his almost immediately, as though she’d finally found somewhere comfortable after holding herself together all day.

A faint floral scent drifted from her damp red hair, mixed with the clean smell of fresh water from the waterfall earlier. It wasn’t overpowering. It was subtle, calming... strangely addictive.

Liam found himself taking a quiet breath without realizing it.

"You smell nice."

Tatiana froze.

"...I do?"

"Mhm."

A tiny smile spread across her face.

"I’m glad."

Silence settled between them once again.

Below, the streets of the town were still alive despite the late hour. Lanterns illuminated the roads while merchants packed away their stalls, laughter and conversation drifting upward with the night breeze.

Neither of them felt any urgency to speak.

Tatiana slowly rested her head against his shoulder.

Liam didn’t move away.

Instead, he adjusted his arm slightly around her, making sure she was comfortable.

The simple gesture made her smile grow.

"I like this," she whispered.

"So do I."

Minutes passed.

Just two people enjoying a rare moment of peace.

Tatiana slowly intertwined her fingers with his.

Liam looked down at their joined hands before giving them a gentle squeeze.

She squeezed back.

Her heartbeat had become surprisingly easy for him to feel at this distance.

Fast.

Very fast.

"Nervous?" he asked softly.

"A little."

"About?"

She laughed quietly.

"Everything."

He chuckled.

"Fair enough."

She looked up.

Their eyes met.

Neither looked away.

The distance between them seemed to disappear naturally, not because either of them forced it, but because it simply felt right.

Liam brushed a loose strand of red hair away from her face.

Tatiana’s breathing hitched.

She leaned into the touch almost unconsciously.

"You’re staring again," she murmured.

"I know."

"What are you looking at?"

"You."

Her cheeks warmed instantly.

"...You’re unfair."

"So I’ve been told."

She laughed softly before shaking her head.

"I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you."

"I hope you don’t."

For a long moment they simply looked at one another, smiling without realizing it.

The world around them faded into the background.

Tatiana sat quietly on his lap, neither of them speaking for several long seconds. The lively sounds of the town below drifted up to the balcony, but they felt strangely distant, as though the world had faded away, leaving only the two of them.

Liam looked down at her, finding her already staring back. Her emerald eyes were gentle, carrying a warmth that made his heart soften without him realizing it.

"You’ve been looking at me like that a lot today," he murmured.

Tatiana smiled shyly. "Can you blame me?"

Liam chuckled before raising a hand to brush a loose strand of her red hair behind her ear. His fingertips lingered against her cheek for just a moment.

"You really are beautiful," he said quietly.

A faint blush spread across her face.

Before she could answer, Liam leaned in.

Their lips met softly.

It wasn’t rushed or desperate—just a slow, gentle kiss that carried everything neither of them had managed to put into words.

Tatiana’s eyes fluttered shut almost instantly. Her heart pounded so loudly she was convinced Liam could hear it. She relaxed against him, one hand instinctively resting against his chest as she savored the warmth of the moment.

When they finally separated, only a few inches remained between their faces.

Tatiana looked into his eyes, smiling with quiet happiness.

"...Again?" she whispered.

Liam couldn’t help smiling back.

"Again."

He closed the distance once more, their lips meeting in another lingering kiss as the night breeze swept gently across the balcony.