Chapter 30: An invitation from a sexy teacher.

The air in the new apartment smelled of expensive wood polish and fresh linen. It was a scent that still caught Karl slightly off guard every time he walked through the heavy front doors.

He had moved them to Barton City, placing them right in the beating heart of the district where his university was located.

The new residence was a sprawling, high-class penthouse that sat above the chaotic noise of the streets, costing him an eye-watering five thousand dollars a month. The building featured maximum security, private elevators, and thick glass windows that overlooked the glittering skyline.

When Karl first brought his mother to the empty living room and explained the rent, she had frozen completely. She did not like the sheer scale of the expense, nor did she understand how a video game could translate into this kind of physical luxury. But she looked at his face, saw the quiet certainty in his eyes, and chose to trust her son.

Dori had been living with them for the past week.

Her arrival had initially caused a brief, complicated silence in the household, but Karl’s mother was not the type to turn away a girl who looked like she had spent her entire life expecting to be hit. Dori spent most of her time inside the expansive guest room or sitting silently on the balcony, watching the city with her knees pulled up to her chest.

She stayed off the streets, just as she had promised, adapting to the quiet safety of the house.

With his family’s living situation finally settled, Karl turned his attention to the pressing issue of maintaining this new lifestyle. The system had given him a starting capital, but five thousand dollars a month required a steady, reliable income.

Stepping out of a crowded lecture hall, Karl walked down the quietest corridor of the campus, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He found a small, empty classroom tucked away near the back of the building.

It was a space he usually used to escape the noise of the students. He locked the door, pulled a chair to the center of the room, and closed his eyes.

’Initialize.’

The physical world melted away instantly, replaced by the towering, shadowed architecture of his Personal Domain. The cold, unyielding stone of the throne met his back.

The World of the King stretched out before him, vast and echoing.

A swirl of pale light gathered near the base of the dais, forming into the familiar, hooded silhouette of his first bonded hero. Carlotta dropped to one knee against the polished black floor, her twin blades resting at her sides.

"Master," Carlotta said, her voice echoing softly in the cavernous hall. "You have returned."

"Stand up, Carlotta. Give me the report on the hamlet."

She rose gracefully, her eyes completely focused on him.

"The twelve villagers have been working exactly as you commanded. They have spent the past several days harvesting the timber from the eastern slope. A substantial pile of wood has been collected and stacked neatly at the edge of the settlement. They await your next directive."

Karl brought up the translucent system panel with a thought. He navigated to the infrastructure tab, his eyes scanning the numbers.

’I see. So the system doesn’t just passively hand over the experience and funds. The settlement produces the goods, but I have to manually process the trade to see any actual return.’

He selected the collected timber from the hamlet’s inventory and initiated a sale to the system exchange.

[Transaction complete.]

[Goods sold: Raw Timber.]

[Revenue: 400 EXP. 300 Dollars.]

[Notice: Trade cooldown active. The next transaction window will open in exactly one week.]

Karl watched the numbers tick upward in his balance. Three hundred dollars a week from twelve people chopping wood was a decent start, but it was not going to cover his rent or Dori’s living expenses. He needed to scale up.

"Carlotta," Karl said, leaning forward on the throne. "I am going to expand their capabilities."

He spent a portion of his newly acquired EXP, navigating the glowing blue menus. He purchased an expansion for the small hamlet, increasing the housing capacity and pushing the boundaries of the settlement closer to the winding river he could see in the distance.

’Purchase blessing: Fishing.’

A subtle hum vibrated through the stone floor of the domain.

"I have assigned the new workers to the river," Karl explained, watching Carlotta’s reaction. "They will begin fishing immediately. This should increase our maximum experience yield and generate a higher financial return by our next trade window."

Carlotta nodded, her gaze lingering on his shadowed face. "You build quickly, Master. The world feels slightly less empty today."

"It will get bigger. But for now, I have to leave. My next class is starting soon."

Her shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch, a subtle shift that betrayed her stoic exterior. She looked down at the black floor, her gloved hands tightening slightly.

"I understand," Carlotta said quietly. "I will monitor the river until you return."

Karl severed the connection.

The cavernous hall vanished, and the ambient noise of the university campus slowly filtered back into his ears. Karl opened his eyes, expecting to see the empty rows of wooden desks.

Instead, he found himself staring directly at a pair of long, perfectly toned legs covered in sheer black tights.

Miss Vera was sitting casually on the edge of the small desk situated directly in front of him.

One leg was crossed over the other, the slit of her fitted pencil skirt parting just enough to reveal a generous expanse of her thigh.

She leaned back slightly, resting her weight on her hands, which pushed her chest forward and highlighted the deep plunge of her silk blouse.

The subtle, intoxicating scent of expensive perfume filled the narrow space between them.

She watched him with a highly amused, seductive glint in her eyes, her lips curved into a knowing smile.

"You were awfully silent just now, Karl," Miss Vera purred, her voice low and smooth. "I was starting to wonder if you had fallen asleep with your eyes open."

Karl kept his face completely blank, though he forced his gaze to remain fixed on her eyes rather than wandering downward.

"I was meditating, ma’am. It helps me focus before the afternoon lectures."

"Meditating." She uncrossed her legs and leaned in a fraction closer. "In an empty classroom, behind a locked door. You have been missing quite a few of your classes lately. The other faculty members are starting to talk."

"I recently moved," Karl said smoothly. "I relocated to a new apartment right here in the city. The transition took up most of my schedule, but being closer to the campus means I will be showing up much more often."

Miss Vera’s eyebrows rose in genuine surprise. "You moved to the city? Well, isn’t that a coincidence. I live just a few blocks away from the central plaza myself."

She reached into the pocket of her blazer and retrieved a sleek, black hotel-style room card with a set of numbers elegantly printed across the top.

She reached forward, her fingers lightly brushing against his chest as she slipped the card directly into the front pocket of his shirt.

The heat of her touch lingered through the fabric.

"I know how stressful moving can be," Miss Vera murmured, her gaze dropping to his lips for a fleeting second before returning to his eyes.

"If you find yourself free this weekend, you should come over for dinner. We could talk about your attendance, or anything else you might have on your mind. Just call the number on the card when you reach the lobby."

She slid off the desk, smoothing her skirt down her thighs in a slow, deliberate motion.

"Do try to stay awake for the rest of the day, Karl. It would be a shame to waste that focus of yours."

Karl sat alone in the classroom, the faint smell of her perfume still hanging in the air, and slowly pulled the smooth card out of his pocket.