‘At least 50 affection points.’
Over the past week, I’d run all sorts of experiments with the Eye of the Transcendent trait.
Even with women, the detailed profiles never appeared for grandmothers or little girls.
Through careful testing, I discovered that the information only showed up in the status window—and only triggered the Eye—when the woman was within the right age range and held a certain level of affection toward me.
That threshold was none other than 50/100 or higher.
My Thousand-Mile Insight and Casanova traits confirmed it when Nadia showered me with praise for my intellect and looks.
So I activated the Eye without hesitation.
Race: Human
Kingdom: Grace Kingdom
Title: Princess
Age: 23
Height: 170 cm
Weight: 56 kg
Bust: 70H Cup
Three Sizes: 98/58/102 cm (39/23/40 in)
Virgin: Yes
Affection toward Me: 60/100
Affection Type: Conqueror — She sees Geum Taeyang as trustworthy and charming.
Love Level: ???
Fetish: ???
Erogenous Zones: ???
Libido: Average
‘Oh-ho…’ I’d uncovered the profile of the desert’s deadly crimson flower.
‘So my peerless good looks even make a first-time princess of peerless beauty find me attractive.’
60/100 affection.
Crossing the 50 mark meant she trusted me—and, more importantly, that she was already drawn to my appearance.
‘She went the Gastmancer route.’
After skimming Nadia’s profile, I checked her stats.
The most striking thing was her class: Gastmancer.
A Gastmancer was a type of mental manipulator, but her targets weren’t people—they were beasts and monsters.
The Summoning skill called forth monsters, while Beast Spirit Control let her dominate their minds.
Even though her base stats weren’t all A+, her combat rating reached A+ because the skills themselves were on an entirely different level.
For a mage of her caliber, True Mana Sense was passive.
‘Still only A+… probably because she keeps poking at everything instead of focusing.
Classic her.’
As the chieftain had said, A+ was an enormous realm.
Especially at twenty-three, it would make her the top graduate of the Imperial Academy.
But Nadia was a genius who made even that title look trivial.
If she’d concentrated on one path, she’d already be S-rank.
‘Anyway, Gastmancer was never my preference.
For world conquest, alchemy from the Grace Kingdom route is far superior.’
When I played Otherworld Conquest in Grace Kingdom mode, I always steered the magically talented Nadia toward alchemy.
Easy modes were for speed-clearing so I could move on to harder ones.
Of course, I’d dabbled in the Gastmancer route during spare moments.
“It was a meaningful conversation.
I hope we can discuss proper collaboration next time.”
The talk ended.
Athena and I saw Nadia’s party off.
Nadia Jasmine offered us an elegant smile and promised a future meeting.
After contacting the barbarian tribes for collaboration, she’d found that most weren’t easy to trust in business matters.
The Gaia Tribe, however, was a rare crop-focused group among barbarians, so its people were diligent and honest.
The only problem was their lack of familiarity with civilization and trade—until my arrival solved it.
“Will you be coming in person, Guild Master?”
“Of course.
I only feel satisfied when I control the field directly.”
Nadia presented herself as a workaholic, but to my ears it sounded like she was saying she’d come back to see me again.
“You two said you were childhood friends…”
Nadia climbed into the Lucilka carriage and glanced back at us.
“The vice-guild master seems quite interested in Lord Tessadar.”
With that cryptic remark and an enigmatic smile, the Jasmine caravan departed from the Gaia Tribe.
‘I’m not sure about the face part, but how did Athena take that last comment?’
The day I met Nadia, Athena skipped the chieftain’s tent dinner again.
The first time I thought she was genuinely unwell, but three days ago it looked like a protest against me.
“My schedule ended early today, so we can train together.”
After hearing the disaster-management ritual schedule from Grandpa Gandalf and finishing every mandatory task as the new vice-chieftain over the past fortnight, Athena immediately brought up training—as if she’d been waiting for this moment.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to rest?
You’ve been working harder than me helping with my duties.”
“Showing you the Gaia Shield is also part of my job.
Inspecting the Gaia Shield is a vice-chieftain’s duty too.”
“That’s true, but let’s rest today and do it tomorrow.”
“You told me to pull out the teeth of the Siakan while we’re at it.”
No matter how I looked at it, she wanted to vent the sharp tension that had built up over the past two weeks through a sparring match with me.
“You’d better be careful.
Like I said last time, the reason I got beaten so badly on the first day was because of the bracelets from the Great Mother and my mom.”
I wasn’t the generous type who would endlessly soothe someone’s bad temper just because they were female.
When the opponent came at me hard, I hit back even harder—half barbarian blood, after all.
After the bare minimum refusal, I coolly accepted Athena’s request.
The two of us headed to the Gaia Shield training ground outside the village.
After donning the minimal fist guards, I pointed a finger at Athena.
From another perspective, it was also an apology for having been too busy over the past fortnight to even ask how my childhood friend felt, and accepting her request as compensation.
“That’s what I wanted to say.
Unlike you, I knew from the start that my opponent was Geum Taeyang, so I held back.
This is a place where warriors test their strength.
To uphold that value, I’ll defeat you in proper Tessadar fashion.”
“Hoo-hoo.
I’ll be looking forward to it, Athena.”
Athena’s words were no empty boast.
On the first day she hadn’t used Mana Step or Tyrant’s Fist against me.
And the Gaia Shield training ground wasn’t a place where simple martial artists tempered their bodies—it was where warriors who risked their lives to protect the tribe sharpened bone and flesh.
Even if they didn’t take real lives, everyone stepped onto it carrying enough killing intent to make it feel that way.
“Come at me.”
Unlike Athena, I had no secret techniques.
So I took the stance of a martial artist I’d watched endlessly on the internet in my previous life.
“You look like a weak herbivore!”
—Fwoooosh!!!
With a ground-splitting charge effect, Athena rushed me.
—Boom!
Boom!
Athena’s full-speed charge was truly worthy of her reputation.
My agility was B+, hers was A.
So instead of dodging, I focused on the most efficient guard to absorb her attacks.
‘She’s activating a special skill already.’
Realizing my guard was solid, Athena immediately shifted gears shortly after the fight began.
She understood that I was reading her attack routes by watching her preparatory movements and center of gravity.
To compensate, she used—
Character illustrations & later chapters: