No XP, Just Seed : My Apocalypse Cheat

005 The Deal

"Is this... real?"

The words caught in Ririsa's throat. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the translucent blue status screen floating before Elena. The blonde woman's breathing suddenly turned ragged.

Every time she drew a deep breath, her tight silk blouse strained over her ample chest, rising and falling to the rhythm of her frantic exhalations. Cold sweat began beading at her temples.

"What do you think, Sister Ririsa?" Elena replied casually. A faint, alluring smile played across her lips, completely unfazed by the blonde's shocked stare.

Ririsa moistened her parched lips. She tore her gaze away from the status screen and leveled a piercing, suspicious glare straight at me.

"You didn't cast an illusion spell on Elena, did you?" she demanded.

Hearing such a ridiculous accusation made my blood instantly boil. My brow furrowed, and my hands clenched into tight fists against the marble table.

"You're still doubting me even after seeing her status with your own eyes?" My voice rose before I could stop it, grating sharp and harsh. "You think someone can just fake a character status?"

My surging annoyance slipped my control, and a fraction of my dense aura leaked out. A bone-chilling cold swept through the room like a sudden blizzard. The ambient pressure plummeted, bearing down on the floor until an invisible groan resonated through the room.

The porcelain teacups on the table rattled in panic. Ririsa gasped, blanching as the killing intent sank deep into her skin, sending violent shudders racing from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes.

"Kael..."

A gentle touch landed on my wrist. Elena called my name in a sweet, calming voice. The warmth of her fingers instantly snapped me out of it, and I pulled every trace of my aura back inside.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to do that," I said contritely, letting out a soft sigh.

Ririsa wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Her hands gripped the sleeves of her blouse tightly, trying to shake off the lingering dread that had just clawed at her nerves. It took several seconds for her racing heart to calm down.

"I apologize as well for doubting you," she said, her voice still a little raspy. "Your strength is genuine. I'd be more than happy to invest in you."

"Really?" Elena chimed in before I could. A radiant smile bloomed across her pretty face, utterly captivating the blonde woman.

Elena's eyes sparkled with breathtaking charm—so dazzling that Ririsa sat frozen in place, her lips slightly parted, her gaze locked onto Elena's mouth without blinking once.

Staaare...

Feeling my deadpan stare questioning her preferences, Ririsa jumped. Her face instantly flushed crimson with embarrassment. She cleared her throat loudly to cover her fluster. "Now then, let's negotiate the terms."

"Thank you, Sister Ririsa!" Elena cheered, pumping her little fists in the air.

I gave a slight nod.

The negotiations went smoothly. Ririsa only asked for a twenty-five percent cut of our spoils from each hunt. For a sole investor providing all the capital, that was remarkably generous.

"I don't mind personally, but are you sure you're okay with that? At just twenty-five percent, I assumed you'd want half," I said, eyeing her skeptically.

Ririsa crossed her slender legs and offered a faint smile. "Your reasoning isn't wrong. If your classes were mid-tier, I would've demanded fifty percent without hesitation. But since you hold high-tier classes, twenty-five percent is more than enough."

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning as I failed to follow her logic.

"Because holders of high-tier classes have much more freedom to challenge high-rank dungeons, right?" Elena interjected brightly with a proud smile.

"Exactly," Ririsa agreed with a firm nod.

"I see. Since we'll be clearing high-rank dungeons more frequently, twenty-five percent still turns into a massive sum." I nodded in realization. High-level monsters dropped magic stones and rare materials that fetched astronomical prices.

"So, what do you think? Do we have a deal?" Ririsa looked at me expectantly.

Elena grasped my hand tightly, lacing her fingers snugly between mine.

"Like I said, I have no objections."

Ririsa exhaled a long sigh of relief, the tension melting from her shoulders.

Elena beamed, leaning her head against my shoulder. The sweet, delicate scent of her hair wafted over me. 'Seriously, she's way too cute.'

With the negotiations settled, she led us down to the Nexus Materials armory. The subterranean vault was vast and chilly, lined with illuminated steel racks displaying high-grade weaponry.

"Feel free to choose any weapons or armor you need. Make sure to grab some spares too, just in case your main gear breaks," Ririsa said, gesturing toward the rows of weapon lockers.

I walked down the armory aisles. After weighing several options, I picked out a mithril spear, a set of leather armor, and a few accessories that boosted attack power.

Ririsa looked at my choices in surprise. "Why not go with mithril armor?"

"I want to focus on agility and speed. Leather armor is the best fit for that," I replied, knocking on the supple yet tough leather chestplate.

"I see. What about you?" Ririsa turned to Elena.

Elena held up an elegant purple robe stitched with silver mana threading. "Since I'm a Mage Queen, I don't need armor. This robe is ideal—it doubles magic attack damage."

"Ugh, that means your attack power shoots past thirty-two thousand..."

Honestly, it was absurd. With an attack stat over thirty-two thousand, a D-rank dungeon boss wouldn't stand a chance. Any giant beast at that rank would be incinerated to ashes by a single spell from Elena.

"Thirty-two thousand attack..." Ririsa stood dumbfounded, reeling from the outrageous number. For comparison, the maximum base stat cap for a class just one tier below Mage Queen was 128,000. Elena's attack stat was already over thirty-two thousand, putting it at a quarter of that endgame ceiling.

That reality completely upended Ririsa's understanding of human limits.

Ririsa took a deep breath to steady her thoughts, then walked over to a display stand in the center of the room. "Kael, why didn't you pick that mithril spear over there? It triples your attack power."

"It's far too brittle. At full power, it'd probably shatter after just a few strikes."

"You haven't picked a backup spear yet, right? In that case, just take it," Ririsa said casually.

"Still—"

"Don't worry about breaking it. Weapons exist to be used, after all." Ririsa gave a proud smile, entirely unfazed by the thought of an expensive weapon getting ruined.

Unable to argue with that, I took the spear as a spare.

Once our gear was sorted out, Ririsa crossed her arms over her chest and looked at both of us. "Since you two don't have a place to stay yet, why don't you live at my estate?"

"Are you sure that's okay?" I asked, hesitating.

"I think it's a wonderful idea. But the choice is yours, Kael," Elena chimed in.

She looked up at me with pleading, hopeful eyes. The clear sparkle in her gaze and the imploring smile on her face melted my resolve instantly. There was no way I could say no to a look like that.

In the end, we decided to stay at Ririsa's estate for the time being.

As expected of the wealthy, her mansion was massive, filled with countless rooms. The grand, multi-story estate was packed with luxurious amenities, resembling a private palace.

Ririsa offered us separate rooms at first, but Elena shut that down immediately. She clung tightly to my arm, making it abundantly clear that we were not to be separated.

Ririsa didn't pry any further, simply assigning us a bedroom at the far end of the hallway, well away from her own.

That night, while we were going at it like animals, I sensed someone's aura lingering right outside the door. Our ragged gasps and moans filled the bedroom, yet amid the flames of wild passion, my senses caught the presence of someone standing motionless in the corridor.

The person stood eavesdropping restlessly, their body heat radiating nearly as high as ours in our state of arousal. Raspy, hurried breaths hitched faintly through the gap under the door.

I knew exactly who it was, but out of courtesy, I decided to play dumb. I let the rich woman indulge her curiosity while I turned my attention back to holding Elena tight.

Oh, and when I stepped out of the room the next morning, a robotic vacuum was frantically scrubbing the floor back and forth as if trying to wipe away evidence of something. The little machine spun around in a panic, scouring the marble tiles directly outside our door.

To be continued...