So here was a thing—if a male wanted to terminate a match, the system punished him brutally.
Five million star coins vanished instantly, plus a blacklist that prevented him from matching again for a full century. No do-overs. No fresh pairings.
For females? None of those rules applied. That was why most males ended up begging, praying the female would be the one to end things instead. Rory recalled something Gina had once cautioned her about—some males simply couldn't afford the fine.
When that happened, they'd pull every trick imaginable, draining the female's money first.
Once they scraped together their five million star coins, they'd cancel the match without blinking. Was Dax one of the males Gina warned her about?
It sure felt that way. No chance a Rank 5—or higher—was actually broke. Even on death's door, they could still kill a mid-tier beast and walk off wealthy. Hundreds of thousands of star coins in minutes.
Broke? Yeah, right. I'm not buying it.
Rory refused to fall for the bait. She kept her tone casual, pretending not to notice the implication.
"It's fine, Dax. I'm not in a hurry. Just focus on building up your star coins and catching the star rail. As long as you arrive within three months, we're fine."
Every star coin Rory owned, she nearly died to earn. That wasn't just numbers in an account—it was her life. If she handed it over and he dumped me right after? That would be the end. She didn't mind spending on a male, but only if he truly belonged to her. These matches? Right now, they were just names—no promises, no guarantees.
Even Gina—stunning, kind, the type every male dreamed of—still had matches who decided she wasn't worth it and forced her to end things.
If it happened to her, what chance did Rory have? She wasn't delusional. She wasn't as pretty as Gina, and her rank wasn't as high. It made sense that some males wouldn't want her. She accepted that.
Across the chatroom, Dax's fiery eyes widened as he read her reply.
Seriously? What kind of female was this? Tighter than a sealed vault, and that was saying something. Couldn't even spare a lousy 500,000? Pathetic. His jaw clenched hard.
He was on the verge of snapping.
Dax begged, "Master, I really want to see you soon!" He added a pitiful sticker—huge eyes shimmering with fake desperation.
Rory sighed, her lips twitching slightly as she typed back, "Yeah, I want to see you too. I'll wait for you."
Still no mention of money. Dax stared at the screen in silence, jaw tightening.
Emma was just about to put the lightcore away for the night when her doorbell chimed.
Her smart robot rolled forward, activated the security feed, and projected the image into the room.
A man in his twenties stood outside her gate—short blond hair, sharp features, dressed in a black suit. Her breath caught for a brief moment. That golden hair… Just like the man she pulled out of Star Road Forest and dumped at the hospital days ago.
Had he already recovered? She shook the thought away. It didn't matter. She had saved him, dropped him off, and got paid—end of story.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Rory kept her voice cool as she leaned toward the feed.
A spark of curiosity surfaced. Could he be one of her suitors?
Joel lifted his eyes to the camera and answered politely, "Ms. Roanna Smith, I'm Joel Krow, assistant to Sylas Ruan—the one you were matched with."
Rory blinked. She tapped a command on the robot. "Open the gate."
By the time she reached the living room, Joel had already stepped inside. He bowed respectfully.
"Ms. Smith, thank you for seeing me. Mr. Ruan asked me to speak with you regarding the match." He chose his words carefully, omitting Sylas's title and any hint of his status.
If she found out who Mr. Ruan really was, she'd start asking for the impossible, he thought grimly.
Sure, Mr. Ruan said she could name her price, but there was no way he would encourage that. Star coins didn't grow on trees.
Rory raised an eyebrow slightly. So, Sylas couldn't be bothered to come himself. Sent an envoy instead, huh? Yeah, that screamed one thing—he wanted her to be the one who dissolved the match.
"Why didn't he come himself?" she asked calmly. "Why send someone else?"
Joel remained composed, his tone respectful. "Mr. Ruan wanted me to inform you that he doesn't wish to continue the match at this time. He hopes you'll submit the dissolution request."
Rory's lips parted slightly, though her expression stayed neutral. Joel quickly added, "He understands this places you in an awkward position, so he's willing to compensate you. Name what you believe is fair. He won't refuse if it's within his means."