The system prompt faded just as fast as it came.
But Damien's smile lingered.
Subtle. Lopsided. Almost smug.
He had been waiting for this. Not for the rewards—though those were generous. Not for the title, or the evolution, or even the experience points.
He wanted the challenge.
He wanted her.
To best the kuudere maid who had stood as an impenetrable wall since the day he began training. The woman who moved with cold perfection, whose strikes were as measured as her words. The one who never flinched, never stumbled, never let herself get pulled into his rhythm.
Elysia had become his ceiling.
And the system had just told him to shatter it.
A pulse of anticipation buzzed in his blood, faint and electric. He flexed his fingers again, just to feel them move.
Across from him, Elysia shifted—not visibly, not overtly—but enough that he knew she'd caught something. The uptick in his focus. The subtle tension in his shoulders. The gleam behind his eyes.
She said nothing.
