Villain: 10x Rewards Begins With The Protagonist's Mother

"Does he... have those kinds of feelings for me?"

Natasha sat up immediately after asking herself that question. Instead of spiraling again, she tried to be as rational as possible and analyzed Dante’s actions one by one.

"Was that really the Dante I know?" She recalled the way he looked at her. It wasn’t the usual respectful gaze he had. It definitely wasn’t the way a student looks at his master.

"He’s seeing me as a woman. Just... just like how I see him as a man." She struggled to get the words out with her heart beating dangerously fast. "But since when?"

She then asked herself the most important question.

"What should I do if he confesses to me?" As she spoke, she couldn’t help but imagine Dante asking her out.

"Can I really refuse him?" A wave of reluctance washed over her heart.

As a master, it was her duty to not let him go astray and guide him on the right path. But as a woman who had never been in love before, giving him up would be incredibly hard.

She had always pretended to have no interest in these things, but at her age, there were more than a few times she had fantasized about them.

After all, she was a woman. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

And ever since the accident with the body wiping, the number of times she found herself fantasizing had only gotten worse.

Before she could think any further, a mechanical voice sounded in her head and a blue panel appeared in front of her.

[You have successfully completed the mission "Just For Today"!]

[You have obtained Ascension Essence (Super Rare)!]

[Ascension Essence]

[Grade: Super Rare]

[Description: An essence so rare that most cultivators have never heard of it. It contains no mana. Instead, it carries the essence of ascension itself, the fundamental force that separates one realm from the next.]

Natasha looked at the description and nodded.

This was exactly what she thought it was. It was known as Breakthrough Essence in the awakener world, so seeing a different name threw her off.

"So its real name is Ascension Essence?" She said with a thoughtful expression. She had only gotten her hands on this a few times in her life, and that was purely because of her background and luck.

[Do you wish to collect the reward?]

"Yes." She said almost instantly.

She was currently at Circuit Expansion Peak Stage. With this, she would return to Mana Core Formation. She decided to absorb it first and deal with the Dante problem later.

***

On the other side, Dante was looking at the feed with a speechless smile. "So she was awake the whole time?"

Thinking back on everything he did, he couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. "I guess this is how she felt facing me after that dream."

He then looked at the purple orb in his hand, no bigger than a marble. It was completely transparent with a faint swirl of light pulsing inside like a tiny heartbeat.

It was the Epic Grade Ascension Essence.

He closed the feed and checked the notifications. He was excited to see how much the favorability had gone up after this mission since it was sitting at 55.

Just 5 points away from reaching the Affection stage!

[Natasha is jealous of other women approaching you!]

[+1,000 Villain Points!]

[You impressed the protagonist’s mother with your consideration and attentiveness. She is envious of the woman you are going to marry!]

[+1,000 Villain Points!]

[Natasha imagined herself in a maid costume and serving you breakfast!]

[+1,000 Villain Points!]

[Natasha had the best day of her life and hasn’t laughed this much in years!]

[+2,000 Villain Points!]

[You slipped up and Natasha has noticed you have feelings for her. She is actually reluctant to reject you if you confess!]

[+3,000 Villain Points!]

[Current Balance: 30,000 Villain Points]

[Natasha’s favorability has increased by 4]

[Total Favorability: 59 (Crush)]

’59?! Are you kidding me?’ Dante tapped his forehead after seeing the favorability. "Is this some kind of ragebait?"

If it was a few points short, he wouldn’t have cared. But 59 made his heart physically ache.

Other than that, he was happy to see his villain points climbing steadily.

After getting over the one point thing, Dante started thinking about what to do next. He was going over strategies and ideas for the next phase when a notification sound came from his phone.

He lazily picked it up while still thinking. But his eyes widened after seeing who sent it.

"Wait. It’s her."

[Future Wifey]

An ominous feeling crept into his chest, and when he opened the message, it came true.

[Emma: I’ll be home in two days.]

[Emma: I heard you haven’t been going to work lately? Are you still not feeling well? *Cute Girl Worried GIF*]

[Emma: Or are you just lazing around? *Suspicious Gaze GIF*]

"Why is she coming back so soon?" Dante was a bit caught off guard, wondering if the business trip didn’t go well.

But how could Emma, the business queen, fail at anything related to business? He had no idea he was the reason she was rushing back to Tempest Bay.

"Two days. I only have two days to push Master’s favorability to 60." Dante said with a tense expression. It was just one point but he knew better than anyone that it wouldn’t come easy.

After reading through the rest of her messages, something else hit him.

"WAIT. I HAVE A JOB?!" He grabbed his chest as a different kind of pain struck him. His face twisted at the realization that he had to work even in this life.

Then he recalled his position as a director and his expression slowly returned to normal. He patted his chest and calmed down.

Still, there was one thing he couldn’t wrap his head around.

"Why do I have to work when we’re filthy rich?" Dante had a genuinely confused look on his face.

He understood that wealth doesn’t last if you keep spending, but the sheer scale of the Raven Group was on a completely different level.

He shook his head with a smile and started typing.

[Dante: I’m still feeling a little under the weather. But what’s going on? Weren’t you supposed to come back next week?]

[Emma: Everything wrapped up way easier than I expected. What, you don’t want me back?]

[Dante: No way. I was just surprised. I miss you.]

[Emma: Miss me? Liar! You didn’t call me once this entire time.]

[Dante: I would have picked up if you called.]

He wasn’t lying when he said he missed her.

The feelings he inherited from the original Dante were still there, lingering in a corner of his heart that refused to go away. But it also felt strange to feel this way about someone he hadn’t even met once.

[Emma: Whatever. Just make sure you’re alive when I get back.]

[Emma: Good night, idiot. Angry Cat GIF]

[Dante: Okay. See you in two days.]

Dante closed the app after sending the message, a complicated look settling on his face.

’In two days, I need to raise Master’s favorability to 60 and figure out my feelings for Emma.’ He clenched the phone before placing it on the table.

He didn’t mind using the relationships the original Dante had built. That was part of his leverage and he would be stupid not to use it. But when it came to Emma, he felt conflicted.

Her feelings were for the original Dante. Not him.

He didn’t want her to fall deeper thinking she was still talking to the same person she grew up with.

He wanted her to fall for the Dante from Earth.

’Let me absorb this thing first and reach Peak Stage. I’ll figure everything else out after.’ He thought as the pink orb materialized in his palm again.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes.

The orb began to shrink in his palm as a warm energy poured out of it and seeped into his body, flowing through his mana circuits.

A strange sensation spread through him.

It was a different feeling from mana. It was something else entirely, working its way through his body.

His lips curled into a smile as he sank deeper into cultivation.

It was going to be a long night again.

***

In a land across the seas, inside the presidential suite of a five-star hotel, a woman sat on the edge of the bed in an oversized t-shirt that hung off one shoulder.

Her ice blue hair was still damp from a shower and a pair of reading glasses sat on her nose. Stacks of documents and an open laptop covered the other half of the bed.

Emma was looking at her phone screen with a confused look on her face.

"Did something happen to him after he found out about his condition?" She spoke softly as she scrolled through the previous messages.

Half a month ago, the most she would get from him in a reply was "okay" or "done." Normally, she would be over the moon about him actually talking to her like this, but it was starting to scare her.

"With his personality, he should be depressed to death right now." She tapped her chin with her finger. "Maybe that’s why he’s still sick."

She picked up her laptop and opened the BlackBird app, an AI developed by Raven Group.

She typed out the question.

[A person who usually replies with one word answers is suddenly being warm and saying things like ’I miss you.’ They also recently found out about a serious health condition. What are the possible reasons for this change in behavior?]

BlackBird processed for a second.

[Madam, based on the information provided, I regret to inform you that the most likely explanation is that this person has come to terms with their situation and is expressing feelings they may believe they won’t have the chance to express later.]

[In simpler terms, they may have given up on their life.]

"Wha.. what?" Emma stared at the screen, her face going pale. She didn’t want to trust a stupid AI with something like this. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

"Dante, you idiot..." Her voice trembled.

"Please don’t do anything stupid before I get there."