Chapter 102: The first night in the Bridal Chamber 3

"Okay. Let’s move on to something less worrying."

He took out the Pendant of Sacrifice.

He didn’t even have time to introduce it.

The object vanished from his hand.

Adam blinked.

Then turned his head.

Elaria was already holding it.

Still sitting on his lap.

"Elaria."

"Just a second."

"You could at least ask before stealing things directly from my hands."

"I didn’t steal it. I’m studying it."

"Of course."

She examined the pendant very closely.

Her fingers traced the white metal.

Then the heart in the center.

Her expression became more focused.

"The outer material is relatively common."

She turned the object over.

"Reinforced silver alloy, probably with a small proportion of mithril."

Then she touched the heart.

"But this..."

Vespera moved closer.

Elaria hesitated for a few seconds.

"If I’m not mistaken, this is a Mother Ant Guard’s heart."

Adam frowned.

"What is it?"

"A kind of extremely rare social monster," Elaria explained. "The guards possess a special ability linked to their queen. Under certain circumstances, they can take the fall of an event that would have been fatal to her."

Adam looked at the pendant.

"So the material itself already possesses a sacrificial property."

"Exactly."

Elaria then pointed to the tiny runes.

"But these... I don’t know them."

Vespera delicately took the pendant.

Her red eyes followed the symbols.

A faint light appeared around her fingers.

A few seconds passed.

Then she nodded.

"Me neither."

Adam was surprised.

"New runes?"

"Yes."

A flicker of interest immediately appeared in the dragon’s eyes.

"Another unknown structure."

Elaria already seemed to want to retrieve the object.

Adam raised a hand.

"No."

The two women turned to him.

"We’ll finish the other rewards first. You can transform the Chamber into a research meeting room tomorrow, when the door is open."

Elaria sighed.

Vespera remained calmer.

"Reasonable."

They finally decided not to bind the pendant for the time being.

It was better to understand its workings better before choosing its owner.

Adam put it away.

Then he took out the last mysterious reward.

The Technology Fragment.

The moment the purple crystal appeared in his hand, all conversation ceased.

Adam noticed immediately.

His gaze shifted from Vespera to Elaria.

Then to Isadora.

Even Selene had lost her smile.

"Do you know about this?"

No one answered right away.

The women exchanged several glances.

Then Vespera stood up.

"Wait."

She held out her hand.

An object appeared in her palm.

Adam froze.

A purple fragment.

Almost identical.

The patterns on its surface changed slowly.

Circuits.

Runes.

Geometric shapes.

Adam sat bolt upright.

"Do you have one?"

"For a long time."

He carefully took Vespera’s fragment and placed it next to his own.

The patterns on the two crystals immediately began to react.

Certain lines aligned.

A faint light passed between them.

Adam felt his interest explode.

"Yes..."

He turned the pieces over.

"It’s definitely the same set."

New information flashed briefly before him.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Fragment of Technology

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Fragments Reunited:

2 / 3

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Adam immediately looked up.

"Two out of three." "

Vespera nodded.

"Mine was discovered in a ruin located in ancient dragon territory."

Lyriana added:

"And there’s an almost identical object in the elven archives."

Adam looked at her.

"Seriously?"

Elaria confirmed.

"It was found in another ruin a very long time ago. We never understood its purpose."

Adam looked at the two fragments in his hands.

He had imagined having to travel the world to find the other two.

And now the people living with him already knew their location.

"According to my power, it’s called a Technology Fragment."

Vespera’s gaze intensified.

"Technology?"

"That’s all the information I have. No function. No age. No creator."

He brought the two fragments even closer together.

"But if the elven one is truly the third..."

Elaria finished:

"We can reconstruct the object."

"Exactly."

Vespera gazed for a few moments at the fragment she had kept for years.

Then she pushed it toward Adam.

"Keep it."

Adam looked up.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It hasn’t reacted to anything until now."

She indicated her fragment.

"And your power is the only element that has given us any usable information. It makes more sense for the pieces to stay together."

So Adam put the two fragments away.

"And the last one?"

Lyriana replied:

"When we arrive in the elven realms, we can ask Mother to grant us access to the one kept there."

Adam smiled slightly.

"I’m starting to enjoy this trip even before I’ve left."

Vespera added,

"Don’t get too optimistic. We still don’t know what the three fragments form."

"Exactly."

Adam smiled more broadly.

"That’s what makes it interesting."

The dragoness couldn’t really argue.

She was probably even more curious than he was.

Now there was only one reward left to explain.

Adam hesitated.

For a long time.

Selene noticed.

Her smile returned.

"You’re hiding something."

"No."

Shiora raised an eyebrow.

"Wrong answer."

Elena leaned forward slightly.

"What was the other reward?"

Adam closed his eyes.

Of course.

They remembered.

He should have known.

"That’s a different skill; it’s called the Kama Sutra."

A silence followed.

Then several smiles appeared almost simultaneously.

Adam immediately raised a hand.

"Not a word."

Selene burst out laughing.

Shiora didn’t even try to hide her amusement.

Elaria, still comfortably settled on his lap with her cookbook, simply looked up.

"Rank?"

"Orange. Unique."

This information somewhat calmed the teasing.

A Unique Orange Skill wasn’t something anyone was unaware of, regardless of its name.

So Adam simply explained how it worked in general.

A growth skill linked to sexual activity between partners.

It created a kind of statistical resonance.

The weaker partner benefited more from the power gap.

The stronger partner also progressed, but to a lesser extent.

And when both partners were at comparable levels, the effect became more balanced.

As he spoke, the amused smiles gradually faded.

Vespera was the first to grasp its true significance.

"So it’s not simply a sexual skill."

"No."

"It’s a method of shared growth."

Adam nodded.

Selene folded her arms.

"With our current difference in stats..."

"I’m the one who would benefit most from the effect."

Shiora smiled.

"Which is quite convenient."

"Yes."

Elaria temporarily closed her book.

"But as her stats get closer to ours, the benefit will gradually become more balanced."

Adam nodded again.

"That’s what the description says."

Isadora, however, looked thoughtful.

"Kamasutra..."

Vespera turned her head slightly.

"Are you thinking of Lust?"

Adam immediately looked at the two women.

"Lust what?"

This time, it was Elaria who answered.

"There are very old descriptions of theoretical skill trees."

"Theoretical?"

"Because almost no one has actually observed them directly."

Vespera continued:

"Some records mention seven extremely high-level skills named after the Seven Deadly Sins."

Adam understood immediately.

"Lust, Greed, Wrath..."

"Exactly."

Isadora added:

"They would all be Red, Mythic rank."

This information wiped what little amusement remained from Adam’s face.

Red.

Above Orange.

Even above Gold.

"And Kamasutra would be linked to Lust?"

"Probably a sub-skill," Elaria replied.

"Probably?"

"We have no certainty."

Vespera explained:

"The only relatively credible source mentioning their progression tree came from someone who once possessed the ability to observe the possible evolutions of skills."

Adam was immediately intrigued.

"She could see how the skills evolved?"

"Yes. But not their exact acquisition conditions. Nor their full effects."

Elaria added:

"So the names of several sub-skills are known. But not their function."

Adam checked his status.

"And Kamasutra is one of them."

"If the records are correct," Vespera replied.

He sighed.

"So I’ve potentially just acquired a branch of a Mythic skill."

Selene immediately smiled again.

"A particularly useful branch."

Adam narrowed his eyes.

Shiora added, with far too much innocence:

"And one that can make everyone stronger."

Elena began to smile as well.

Even Isadora looked away slightly to hide her amusement.

Adam slowly observed the seven women.

"Go away." "

Selene burst out laughing.

"We just moved in."

"Then move again."

Shiora rested her chin in her hand.

"It would be economically inefficient."

Adam turned his gaze toward her.

"I didn’t ask you for a business report."

Elaria added calmly from her lap:

"Statistically, completely ignoring a unique Orange skill designed for growth would also be inefficient."

Adam looked at her.

"You too?"

She quietly adjusted her glasses.

"I’m just stating the facts."

Selene nodded with feigned seriousness.

"Exactly. We have to respect rare skills."

Adam narrowed his eyes.

"You bunch of perverted women."

Laughter erupted immediately.

Even Vespera smiled.

Adam shook his head, but he couldn’t stop his own smile from appearing as well.

The discussion continued for a while longer.

Luckily for him, they eventually dropped the subject of his new skill.

Elaria returned to her recipe book.

Vespera brought up the technology fragments again.

Lyriana was already considering the ideal location for the future Permanent Gate at Astraea’s house.

Shiora was clearly still calculating things that Isadora would probably forbid her from turning into a business.

And Elena and Selene were discussing the next day’s plans.

Gradually, the atmosphere became calmer.

The day’s fatigue was beginning to catch up with everyone.

Adam surveyed the room.

Their things were now put away.

Not separated into seven different rooms.

But gathered here.

Clothes.

Books.

Armor.

Weapons.

Souvenirs.

Documents.

Even Elaria’s tools and Lyriana’s far too suspicious equipment now had a place.

The Bridal Chamber no longer resembled just a reward obtained through the System.

It was truly beginning to resemble their shared space.

Isadora finally checked the time.

"We should close the door."

That simple sentence was enough to end the last of the business discussions.

Elaria immediately closed her recipe book.

Vespera put down the fragments of notes she had begun to write.

Shiora put away her notebook.

Adam watched them.

"You know that as soon as we close, there’s no more work."

"We know," Elaria replied.

He looked at her suspiciously.

"I prefer to warn you."

"The book will stay here."

She placed it on a table.

The Chamber immediately made it disappear into the library.

Lyriana checked that all her dangerous substances were securely locked away in their new room.

Isadora mentally confirmed that the staff now knew about the Bell.

Then they all gradually made their way to the main room.

Adam stood up.

He looked one last time at the open door.

On the other side was the small private corridor of the manor.

The normal world.

Normal time.

Responsibilities.

Tomorrow would be devoted to preparing for the journey.

The day after tomorrow, he would leave with Lyriana and Elaria to meet Astraea.

And somewhere in the elven realms, perhaps the last piece of a forgotten technology awaited them.

Adam placed his hand on the door.

"Is everyone here?"

The answers came almost simultaneously.

He smiled slightly.

Then he closed it.

The door reached its frame.

A thin golden line immediately traced its contours.

And, for the first time since they had actually moved in together...

The bridal chamber went completely closed.

Time separated from the outside world.

The work restrictions activated.

And the mansion, on the other side of the door, simply continued its night.

While inside...

They could finally rest.