# Chapter 3: Status Window
Eden's crimson eyes burned with fury as she waited, her chest heaving with each breath. The torn fabric of her dress clung to her sweat-slicked skin, her white hair disheveled and falling across her face. She fixed Cairo with a glare that could have melted steel.
"Well?" Her voice cracked like a whip through the silence. "I'm waiting for your goddamn explanation."
Cairo opened his mouth, then closed it again. What could he possibly say? His mind raced, searching for words that wouldn't come. The weight of what he'd done pressed down on him, suffocating in its intensity.
Then he heard it.
Ding.
The sound rang crystal clear in his mind, accompanied by a sensation like cool water washing over his consciousness. A new message materialized, the mechanical voice somehow different now, more substantial.
[STATUS SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
[GENERATING CHARACTER PROFILE]
[ANALYSIS IN PROGRESS...]
Cairo blinked, his attention torn between the furious woman before him and the information flooding his awareness. The voice continued, methodical and precise.
[PROFILE GENERATION SUCCESSFUL]
[TO ACCESS STATUS WINDOW, THINK THE WORD 'STATUS']
He hesitated for only a moment. The curiosity was too strong, the need to understand what was happening to him too overwhelming. In his mind, he formed the word.
Status.
The world seemed to shift. A translucent blue screen materialized before his eyes, hovering in the air between him and Eden. She showed no sign of seeing it, her glare never wavering, her posture still rigid with anger. The display was for him alone.
Information cascaded across the ethereal interface, organized in neat sections. Despite never having seen anything like it before, Cairo found he understood every element instinctively, as though the knowledge had been downloaded directly into his brain.
[Name: Cairo Starlight]
[STR: 9 +5]
[WIS: 7 +5]
[INT: 10 +5]
[CHA: 9 +5]
[AGI: 8 +5]
[Talent: [Absorption] [System]]
[Bond Formed: 1]
[Bond Library: [Eden Brighthelm - Descent from the Brighthelm line, a hero family with the talent of Limitbreak, a talent that allows them shatter any known limit and continue growing in power, they will never return to that weak state after breaking through. You gain +5 attribute point for having sex with her the first time and +2 for subsequent sex this applies just once a day] - [55%]]
[Skills: [Eros Sigil - Sleep with them and brand them as your slave, immediately after the deed they would become indebted to you craving you and unable to disobey you]]
[[Talent Replica - Creates a Replica of any talents from those you have fucked, the talents aren't any weaker, if anything they're stronger]]
[[Limitbreak]]
His eyes widened as he processed each section. The attributes had all increased by five points, a direct result of his encounter with Eden. His strength, wisdom, intelligence, charisma, and agility had all improved dramatically.
The Talents section caught his attention next. Absorption and System, two abilities that seemed integral to whatever transformation he was undergoing. He'd have to explore those further.
But it was the Bond Library that made his breath catch. Eden Brighthelm's entry was detailed, explaining her lineage and the incredible power of Limitbreak. The ability to shatter any limit and continue growing stronger indefinitely. No wonder she was considered one of the most powerful heroines in the story.
And now that power was partially his.
His gaze drifted to the Skills section, and a chill ran down his spine. Eros Sigil, the ability to brand those he slept with as slaves, making them crave him and unable to disobey. It was insidious, powerful, and explained the strange pull he'd felt when touching Eden moments ago.
Talent Replica was even more impressive. The ability to copy any talent from those he'd been intimate with, creating versions that were potentially even stronger than the originals. Combined with Limitbreak, which was already listed among his skills, the possibilities were staggering.
Time seemed to stretch as he absorbed every detail, his mind racing through implications and strategies. The translucent screen remained steady, patient, waiting for him to finish processing.
"Ahem."
The sharp sound cut through his concentration like a blade. Cairo's attention snapped back to reality, the status window fading from his perception though not disappearing entirely. He could still feel it there, lurking at the edge of his awareness, ready to return at a thought.
Eden sat before him, one eyebrow raised, her expression a mixture of impatience and barely contained rage. Her arms crossed over her chest, pushing her breasts up slightly despite the disheveled state of her dress.
"Are you done spacing out?" she demanded. "Or do I need to slap some sense into you before you answer my question?"
Cairo's mind raced. He couldn't tell her the truth. How would that conversation even go? Hey, I was bleeding out and my mysterious system told me that having sex with you would save my life, so I did it. She'd think him insane. Or worse, she'd think he was making excuses.
His gaze drifted over her again, taking in the full picture. Eden Brighthelm, one of the strongest heroines in the academy, now sitting before him disheveled and furious. He remembered the web novel, remembered how she'd treated those she considered beneath her. The casual cruelty she'd shown to weaker students, the dismissive way she'd spoken to anyone who couldn't match her power.
She'd never done it to him specifically, not in this life. But she'd done it to others. Characters he'd cared about while reading, people who'd struggled and suffered under the weight of her disdain.
A thought crystallized in his mind, cold and sharp.
He'd already crossed the line. Already become the villain in her eyes. The system had given him power, given him skills that could reshape reality itself. Why should he apologize? Why should he grovel?
He was done being weak.
A laugh bubbled up from deep in his chest, starting low and building in intensity. It spilled out into the alley, echoing off the brick walls, carrying a manic edge that surprised even him.
Eden's eyes widened slightly, uncertainty flickering across her features for the first time.
"You want to know why?" Cairo's voice came out steady, confident in a way it had never been before. He met her gaze directly, unflinching. "Because I wanted to. Because I could. Because you were there, and I needed you."
Her mouth opened, shock replacing anger for a brief moment.
"And if you're not careful," he continued, leaning forward slightly, "I'll do it again."
The words hung in the air between them, heavy with implication. Eden's shock transformed back into fury, her face flushing crimson as she prepared to unleash a verbal assault.
"You sick, twisted piece of—"
But Cairo wasn't listening anymore. The rage washing over him was background noise, meaningless sound. His mind had already moved forward, calculating, planning. The system had given him tools. Now he needed to use them.
His eyes fixed on her again, really seeing her this time. Not just as Eden Brighthelm, heroine and descendant of legends. But as an asset. A resource. The first piece in something larger.
"You know," he interrupted her tirade, his voice calm and measured, "I'm going to need connections in the academy. Someone to smooth the way, make introductions. Handle the social aspects I've always been terrible at."
Eden's rant died mid sentence, confusion replacing fury. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Cairo reached out, his fingers catching her chin and tilting her face up to meet his gaze. She tensed at the contact but didn't pull away, whether from shock or something else, he couldn't tell.
"I need a dog," he said simply. "Someone to follow orders, play the good little helper. And you're the only one around." His thumb traced along her jawline, feeling the rapid pulse beneath her skin. "How about you be my bitch? I promise you won't regret it."
The sound that escaped Eden's throat was unlike anything he'd expected. Not a growl of rage or a scream of indignation. It was softer, breathier, carrying an unmistakable note of arousal that made her eyes widen in horror at her own reaction.
"N-no..." she stammered, trying to jerk away from his touch. But her body wouldn't cooperate fully, movements sluggish and uncertain. "I won't... I refuse to..."
Her words trailed off as she struggled against invisible chains. Cairo could see it in her eyes, the war between her conscious will and something deeper, more primal. The Eros Sigil was already at work, weaving its influence through her mind and body.
She opened her mouth again, surely to deliver a scathing rejection, to tell him exactly where he could shove his demands. But the words wouldn't form. Her lips moved soundlessly, frustration and confusion warring across her beautiful features.
"Can't say no?" Cairo asked softly, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Interesting."
Eden's breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she fought against the compulsion. Sweat beaded on her forehead, testament to the effort she was expending. But nothing changed. The rejection she desperately wanted to voice remained locked behind her teeth.
Cairo released her chin, leaning back slightly to observe his handiwork. The bond percentage in his status window pulsed at fifty five percent, stable for now but with room to grow. Eden Brighthelm, proud heroine and powerful descendant, sat before him unable to refuse his commands.
His first candidate. His first conquest.
The beginning of something that would reshape everything.