Judas stepped out of the house with a contented smile tugging at the corners of his lips, the kind of smile that came from a night of victory over his cold, beautiful wife.
The morning sun spilled across the rough ground outside his home, warming his bare chest and cooling the fading heat still lingering in his body.
For a moment, he just breathed, letting the air fill his lungs, letting his muscles loosen.
Then his eyes drifted… and promptly widened.
Ezra was in the courtyard.
She moved with the disciplined grace of a warrior sculpted by hardship.
Sweat glistened on her bronze skin, sliding down her abdomen in thin trails until it gathered along the ridges of her six-pack.
Each muscle from her shoulders down to her thighs rippled with every twist of her torso.
Her breasts, bound only by a thin cloth, bounced lightly with her movements, the sweat-darkened fabric clinging to her curves in a way that made Judas's throat tighten involuntarily.
She was beautiful in an entirely different way from Luna and Nina.
Hard-edged. Fierce. Pure strength in the shape of a woman.
Her knife flashed in her hand, catching sunlight as she spun it, flipped it, and slashed at invisible foes.
The blade cut sharp arcs in the air, and her footwork… oh, her footwork. Balanced and refined, almost like swordsmanship distilled into a short blade.
Judas leaned against the doorframe, swallowing a lump in his throat as he watched her.
He could not help the thought that crossed his mind:
I am blessed… but also doomed.
He checked her affection instinctively.
[Affection: 50%]
It had not moved an inch.
Not even after she spent the whole night listening to Luna cry, gasp, and moan into his arms.
Not after she heard Judas himself whisper all sorts of sinful things into Luna's ear. Not after Luna screamed his name enough times to echo off the walls.
He made sure of that.
And yet—Ezra's affection remained exactly the same.
A disappointment settled on Judas's chest, though only briefly.
The sight of her toned muscles flexing as she pivoted, sweat flying off the edge of her knife, quickly distracted him again.
How can someone look this breathtaking while training? What kind of demon goddess am I married to?
Ezra had her hair tied up in a messy knot, a few strands sticking to her damp cheeks.
Her breathing was heavy but steady, controlled like everything else she did. The woman was a fortress of muscle.
Even so… Judas noticed something.
Whenever Luna moaned last night—whenever Luna cried out his name in a trembling voice—Ezra's inner voice quivered.
Just a little. A faint tremor in her normally calm thoughts. A crack in her stoic facade.
But she never acted. Never let herself show it.
Ezra was too disciplined. Too proud. Too guarded.
So she needs something else… something different.
He leaned forward slightly, watching as her arm snapped upward and the knife carved through the air with a sound sharp enough to split silence in half.
Through Observation, he could see her emotions simmering under her stoic expression.
Ezra's affection did not increase from lust or shameless teasing. Nor from food. Nor from acting cute. Nor from jealousy.
Her heart moved only when she saw someone strong. Someone reliable. Someone who could protect her.
Judas remembered the moment last night—when he held all three women tightly during the thunderstorm—the way her affection spiked from 38 to 45 just because she felt safe in his arms.
Then again when she heard he had unlocked an attribute.
That was the key.
Ezra did not want a clown, a flirt, or even a lover first.
She wanted a protector.
A man capable of standing between her and danger, even if she thinks otherwise.
Someone she could entrust her life to.
Nina feels love from kindness.
Luna feels love from boldness.
Ezra feels love from strength.
Judas rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"It seems to raise her affection… I need to show her strength. Real strength."
He watched her again. She was practicing knife movements, but the precision… the footwork… the body mechanics… they all belonged to a swordsman.
"No. She is practicing swordsmanship with a knife," Judas murmured.
Ezra lunged forward, slashing in a diagonal arc, pivoting with perfect balance, then spinning backward to reset her stance. It was elegant and predictable in a beautiful way.
Judas grinned slowly.
An idea bloomed.
"System," he muttered under his breath. "Open a Common Lucky Draw."
A small glimmer of light formed in front of him.
[Common Lucky Draw – Used]
[Obtained Item: Iron Sword]
A simple but sturdy iron sword materialized in his palm.
The grip felt solid, heavier than he expected—perfect for his current Strength attribute.
Ezra paused mid-swing.
Her head turned slightly, curiosity flickering in her eyes before she quickly hid it. But Judas caught it. Every drop of it.
He did not stop.
"Now… a Rare Lucky Draw," he whispered.
This time, the light was brighter.
[Rare Lucky Draw – Used]
[Obtained Skill: Sword Slash (Rare)]
[You have learned skill: Sword Slash 1 (Rare - Initiate).]
A jolt ran through his body, a pulse of pure knowledge flooding his muscles, nerves, and instincts.
His arm twitched involuntarily as the skill integrated itself—a river of memories that were not his own pouring into his mind.
In this world, to learn a new skill, there were only two ways: either comprehend it yourself or transfer the structure from another.
Even if one transferred a skill from someone else, they might never grasp the whole properties, because everyone's comprehension was unique in its own way.
So, after the structure of the skill passed into his mind, it was comprehended by him in his own unique way.
Stances. Footwork. Angles. Balance. Intent. Execution.
He suddenly knew how to cut the air in fourteen different ways with a single sword stroke.
Judas exhaled, eyes widening for a moment. Then he smiled.
Ezra noticed the change. Her gaze sharpened.
A warrior's instinct could smell another.
'Something is strange about him,' she thought silently, watching him from the corner of her vision.
'How does he still have energy after doing that all night and morning?'
Judas's perfect facade almost broke. Then, ignoring her last words, he gave the sword a lazy flourish, testing its weight, pretending like he had always known how to use it.
But the air around him shifted—the faint aura of someone who understood swordsmanship, even if only at the beginner level.
Ezra's eyes widened.
'This aura. His Strength attribute must be above 5.'
He stepped forward, letting the sunlight hit his body, letting the new sword skill flow through his veins, letting Ezra's curiosity rise.
If he wanted her affection, he had to become someone she could admire. Someone she could trust with her back on a battlefield.
So he lifted the sword slowly, planting one foot behind the other.
Then he slashed it, an arc escaping from the blade and striking the wooden board in the distance. The board was evenly cut in half.
"How…" Ezra shouted in disbelief. "You have comprehended a sword skill!"
[Affection: 50 -> 75]
[Ezra's affection for you has reached three-fourths of absolute devotion. You have obtained five random Uncommon lucky draws.]