Marked by Freya!

This was Tsubaki—the cornerstone of your "ambitions"—and you just gave her away like that?

If this were one of those stories about his "transmigrator predecessors," wouldn't there have been an intense conflict, perhaps even a War Game? In the end, the "predecessor" would have gained both a beauty and fame amid all the showing off and face-slapping.

So why was it that, in his case, everything was settled the moment his goddess stepped in?

"Lady Freya, this..."

"Didn't you see? She has already been brought over, and her 'conversion' has been completed. She is now a member of the Freya Familia."

"I—you—this—"

For a moment, Cao Ye had no idea what to say. Other than giving a thumbs-up and saying, "That's awesome," what else could he say?

It also made Cao Ye understand something: when a faction was powerful enough, it really could do whatever it wanted.

In the original story, Tsubaki's arc could have been a whole mini-story. It had led to a string of events, yet here, it was like a mere transition scene—over in the blink of an eye.

"Oh, right. There's one more thing. Ottar—"

At her call, the door opened, and the broad, powerfully built Ottar entered.

"Lady Freya!"

The moment he entered, Ottar spoke with utmost respect.

"Tsubaki, use your magic on Ottar."

Seeing Ottar enter, Freya addressed Tsubaki. Although she had seen the magic called [Myriad Treasure Hammer] during the "conversion," she still wanted to witness it for herself.

More importantly, she wanted to see whether Tsubaki's magic, at Lv. 1, could affect Ottar at Lv. 7. That was extremely important.

"Yes, Lady Freya."

Upon hearing Freya's order, Tsubaki naturally did not dare delay. She knew that even Lady Ishtar did not dare provoke this goddess. Though Ishtar cursed her every day, when something actually happened, she did not dare utter a word.

The difference in status was immediately apparent, making Tsubaki extremely cautious, afraid that she might unknowingly anger Freya.

[Grow—]

[May its power and deeds bring countless treasures and countless wishes. When the bell rings, pray for prosperity and illusion.]

[Grow—]

[This body that has swallowed divine food, grant the golden light bestowed by the gods. Return the hammer to the earth and bestow blessings.]

[Grow—]

A layer of golden light slowly emerged over Ottar's body.

That was not the crucial part. The crucial part was that Ottar felt his strength rise by an entire level in an instant, leaving him utterly incredulous.

After all, when he had risen from Lv. 6 to Lv. 7, he had endured countless hardships before barely managing to level up.

Now, a single spell had raised his power by one level. He simply could not believe it.

"Lady Freya, this—"

"How does it feel?"

"Very powerful. The current me could easily defeat the me from just now."

Freya smiled. Tsubaki's magic could affect Ottar, which meant she now barely possessed Lv. 8 combat power. That made Freya extremely pleased!

Tsubaki's Delusions, Total Social Death!

Knock—knock—

"Lord Cao Ye—"

A knock sounded at the door, but after a long while, there was still no response.

Creak—

The golden-haired fox girl pushed open the door. Familiar with the routine, she placed the meal on the table before heading toward the workroom inside. The entire process was perfectly natural.

When she pushed open the door, she found a man asleep with his head resting on the desk, surrounded by gemstones of every kind.

Not only that, but there were many shattered gem fragments scattered across the desktop, leaving one to wonder what exactly had happened here.

Seeing this, Tsubaki sighed softly. It was like this again.

Joining the Freya Familia had brought major changes to Tsubaki's life. Because of her special nature, Freya valued her greatly and had even granted her permission to live in Babel Tower.

Her duties involved handling some miscellaneous matters. Most of the time, she followed Freya around, and she had now become Freya's little attendant.

As for Cao Ye, Tsubaki had always held a sense of "gratitude" toward him.

She had learned from the goddess that it was Cao Ye's plan that had brought her into the Freya Familia. Tsubaki, who had long despaired over her own life, became infinitely grateful to him.

She had taken the initiative to handle all of Cao Ye's affairs, taking care of everything from washing clothes to cleaning the floors.

"Lord Cao Ye, wake up. It's already morning~~~"

Seeing Cao Ye sleeping soundly, Tsubaki stepped forward and called to him with incomparable gentleness, like a wife waking her husband.

Cao Ye had always been a light sleeper, so he woke quickly. However, since he had not slept well, he was still somewhat groggy.

"Tsubaki, what time is it?"

"It's already morning. Did Lord Cao Ye stay up late again last night?"

"I was just a little short of finishing, so I stayed up a bit later."

"Breakfast is ready."

"Mmm."

He stood and stretched. Sleeping at the worktable really was not very comfortable.

Cao Ye got up to wash, while Tsubaki began tidying the chaotic desk for him. It was covered in all kinds of tools, metals, gems, fragments, and scraps.

However, Tsubaki spotted an exquisite ring on the desk, and the moment she saw it, she could not take her eyes off it.

The silver-white band was set with an orange gemstone. Under the refracted rays of morning light, it gave off a uniquely beautiful glow.

"So pretty~"

Unable to resist, Tsubaki picked up the ring and carefully examined it in her palm.

A fantasy even arose in her mind: a man and woman deeply in love, the man taking out such a ring and giving it to the woman. The woman, blushing shyly, accepted the ring, and the two gradually moved closer...

An R-rated scene began unfolding, and the faces of the man and woman slowly changed until they eventually became herself and Cao Ye.

"Ah—"

In an instant, Tsubaki's face turned burning red. Covering her flushed cheeks, she wore an expression full of shyness and anticipation.

"Lord Cao Ye... darling..."

In her murmur, Tsubaki spoke those words.

By sheer coincidence, Cao Ye returned just then, wiping his face with a towel. Naturally, he saw the blushing, bashful fox girl clearly.

"Uh, Tsubaki, what's wrong?"

"Ah, Lord Cao Ye!"

Caught in the middle of fantasizing about him, Tsubaki froze. It felt like she had suffered total social death right in front of him.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah, I was just looking at this ring. Did you make it, Lord Cao Ye?"

"Yeah. It's the final result of my research, though it still has many flaws. It can only be considered a semi-finished product."

Looking at the ring in Tsubaki's hand, Cao Ye said this.

With all kinds of buffs and skill enhancements, Cao Ye had finally developed a spatial ring.

He used gemstones to store his magic power, then used them as the foundation to open an ultra-miniature Imaginary Space. After ruining a pile of gems and wasting a massive amount of magic power, he had finally succeeded.

However, this spatial ring only had a space of 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm—just 0.001 m³.

Though he had succeeded, it was too small to hold much. It could only be considered a success, not a finished product.

"A flawed product? I think it's very beautiful!"

"If you like it, I'll give it to you~"

Cao Ye said it generously. Though it was his first finished product, he was not satisfied with it, so he did not care much. Since Tsubaki liked it, she could have it.

"Huh? You're giving it to me?"

In an instant, Tsubaki blanked out. Then the "fantasy plot" from her mind began replaying.

"Yeah. If it weren't for you these past few days, I don't even know what state I'd be in. Consider it my thanks."

That was what Cao Ye said, but Tsubaki, already caught in a "brainstorm," saw something entirely different in her mind.

["This is proof of my love for you. Will you accept it?" "Cao Ye" gazed tenderly at Tsubaki, holding the ring in his hand as he spoke to her with utmost sincerity.]

"I do—"

The words slipped out of Tsubaki's mouth unconsciously, but the instant she spoke, everything shattered.

Everything just now had been an illusion. Cao Ye listened to Tsubaki's words with a face full of question marks. What did she mean, she did? What had he even said?

"Ah—!!!"

Under Cao Ye's "confused" gaze, Tsubaki let out a scream, covered her face, and ran out.

Earlier, she had nearly suffered social death. Now, she had fully suffered it.

"She said she did, and she was blushing just now, who knows what she was thinking... Could she have been fantasizing about me?"

Cao Ye had experienced the information explosion of the new era. Though he had been completely confused at first, once he thought it over, he could more or less guess what was going on.

And it was not because Cao Ye was narcissistic. The current Cao Ye considered himself far more handsome than those "Kun Kuns" and "Hua Huas" from before his transmigration. It was normal for him to have a couple of little admirers.

"I remember that in the original story, Tsubaki was a fox girl with 'lecherous tendencies.' After all, she came from the Ishtar Familia—a girl who combined 'shyness' and 'lust.'"

Thinking of this, Cao Ye began having some ideas as well. He had accumulated who knew how much "pent-up fire" with Freya. Wasn't a lustful fox girl exactly like being handed a pillow when he was sleepy?

(P.S. Tsubaki was still pure. Whenever Haruhime received customers, she fainted upon seeing a man half-naked, causing the male customers to lose interest. Aisha replaced her every time, and Haruhime herself remained completely unaware, so she was still a virgin.)

A New Mission—Did the Missions Upgrade Too?

After tidying everything up, Cao Ye prepared to head to the Dungeon.

He still had not completed today's [Daily Mission]. This was the foundation of his life. A person could not forget their roots; those daily missions were Cao Ye's lifeline.

[Daily Mission: Create 3 magic items!]

[Completion Progress: 0/3]

[Mission Reward: Diamond ×20]

Seeing this new mission, Cao Ye froze.

Creating three magic items was a type of mission Cao Ye had never encountered before. Moreover, the mission reward was no longer 10 Diamonds, but a full 20.

What was going on? Had he leveled up to Lv. 2, causing the system to upgrade as well, allowing him to receive Level 2 missions?

However, no one could answer him. This system had no "user manual" and no "customer service." He could only explore it on his own.

"Still, since it's this kind of mission, I'll keep going—"

Cao Ye looked toward the worktable. Tsubaki had already organized it. The materials and miscellaneous items were stored separately, the trash had been thrown out, and the table had been wiped clean.

Walking to the desk, Cao Ye picked up a ruby and injected magic power into it.

Through Jewel Magecraft, Cao Ye had mastered the method of using gems to store magic power. The resulting gemstone was somewhat similar to Orario's magic stones, though also different.

Cao Ye had considered using magic stones for his creations, but he eventually gave up.

They were simply too expensive. Even inferior ones cost more than a million. He would wait until he had fully mastered the method of making spatial rings before experimenting with magic stones.

He poured magic power into the gemstone, turning it into a magic gemstone.

Then, using the skill Item Construction along with the boost from "Mystery," Cao Ye began trying to use this gemstone as a foundation to create an ultra-miniature Imaginary Space.

With the success of his previous attempt, Cao Ye found this attempt somewhat easier.

Bang—