Hotel Val-Ciel, Paris — 37th floor, Private Room at Le Mirage Restaurant.
The world outside was pure chaos, but inside there was a welcoming silence, broken only by the sound of wine being poured and forks gently touching fine china. The panoramic view of the city reflected in the restaurant windows as if Paris were kneeling before them.
Seth Chambers leaned back in his chair, his black shirt fitted to his new body that seemed to have been carved from living steel. His attentive but relaxed gaze wandered between the buildings and the lights of the city that tried to decipher him. Across the table, Connie crossed her legs elegantly, her hair tied back in a practical bun and a discreet smile dancing on her lips.
She was control and precision, but even that was beginning to unravel in Seth's presence.
"Impressive," she commented, swirling the wine in her glass. "We're only seven blocks from the media center, and there's not a single camera following us."
Seth raised an eyebrow. "I thought you liked an audience."
Connie chuckled softly. "When I'm the star. Today it's you. And new stars are unstable... they need protection."
Seth took a slow bite of his perfectly cooked steak. "I'm fine with an audience. I just prefer not to be filmed while I'm chewing."
She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, her face more serious now. "Have you thought about what you're going to do with your 'new life'?"
He wiped his mouth with his napkin and shrugged. "Buy a suit. Or two."
"Funny, but I'm serious. You're Rank-S now. That changes everything." Connie flicked her fingers and a small magical panel appeared in the air. Graphs, mana status, a financial assessment. She stared at him.
"You'll need new equipment. Enchanted weapons, dimensional shields, defensive spells. And all that costs money. So..."
She pushed a gold card toward him. "Here. 300,000 credits. Consider it an investment."
Seth looked at the card, then at her. He smiled crookedly. "Hmm. A sugar mommy? How kind."
Connie blinked in surprise. Then she laughed—not the cold laugh of someone who knows what they're doing, but a genuine, almost adolescent laugh.
"Me? A sugar mommy?" She looked up at the ceiling as if evaluating the concept. "Look... I'd love to be. But I don't even know if I qualify. Like... I need to be a MILF for that, right?"
Seth couldn't hold back his laughter. "Oh, so that's the criterion?"
"Of course! There's a whole protocol. You need to have charisma, money, and children. I only have two of those." She smiled mischievously. "Guess which one is missing?"
"...Are you inviting me to fill the vacancy?"
"Maybe," she said, with a look that burned hotter than the wine.
For a second, they were both silent, the tension between them oscillating between charm and danger.
But then Connie sighed, leaving the card on the table as she closed the floating panel.
"All joking aside... we need to have a serious talk. About what comes next."
Seth leaned back again. "You tell me. I just... became Rank-S. I didn't get an instruction manual along with my superpowers."
Connie nodded. "And that's why you have me."
She pulled up another screen with the global map of dungeons, highlighted by rating marks. The red zones—Rank-S—were rare. Three in all of Europe. Ten in the entire world.
"You want to enter a Rank-S dungeon. I imagine the adrenaline is screaming inside you right now. But it doesn't work that way."
Seth frowned. "No?"
"No. You may be Rank-S, but the exploration system still follows international guidelines. Every Rank-S dungeon requires prior analysis, validation from five guilds or two sovereign states, and at least three confirmed S-Rank Awakened. Not to mention the authorization time from the World Association."
"What if I go alone?"
Connie tilted her head. "Then you die. Or worse, you disappear without a trace. S-rank dungeons are chaotic, unstable, and often have time distortion fields. The chance of being sealed inside is higher than your post-ascension libido."
Seth snorted, amused. "So what's left for me? Advertising magic soap?"
"No. What's left is what makes sense." Connie zoomed in on a dungeon marked in dark blue in northern Spain.
"Rank-A dungeon. Confirmed. Stable. Above-average rewards. There's an unexplored sector, and we need someone with your new mana level to break through the internal pressure barrier. You would have support, supervision, and complete freedom of action inside."
Seth looked at the map, thoughtful. "So it's like... training before the coliseum."
"Exactly. It's where you test your new limits. You learn what you can and can't do yet." Connie pointed at him with her fork, a gesture that was both authoritative and playful.
"Don't make the classic mistake of the newly ascended: thinking that indestructible is the same as invincible. You're still human, Seth. You're just a little closer to being a monster."
Seth took a deep breath. His body still vibrated with an energy that felt strange, as if it were still adapting to the new internal reality. It was like having a rocket engine inside a street car.
"Rank-A, then."
Connie smiled, satisfied. "That's right. And don't worry..." She picked up a potato from his plate with the tip of her fork. "I'll accompany you. I need to see up close what the world's first 'Ascended' can do."
Seth raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "You stalk me, give me money, and now you want to go to a dungeon with me. Is this dating or kidnapping?"
"A little of both," she replied, winking. "But only if you let me."
Seth stared at her for a few seconds and... "Have you learned to control yourself, or are you trying to play the charm card that you're not crazy? You've been pretty... rational for a while now." Seth said suddenly, making her look up to face him...
"Let's just say I'm... controlling myself," she said, looking at him with demonic eyes. "After all, you've been through a lot, right?" She said and continued.
"It's not that I've changed, I'm just saving everything I've accumulated for when we... well, you know," she said with a mischievous smile.
"Unfortunately, because of you, I have to control myself. More because of Vixen, actually. If I don't control what I'm feeling, I'll kill her." Connie said, smiling with her eyes closed.