The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism novel Chapter 83

Chapter 83: 83 | Side Quest Accepted: The Second Pillar

The call ended. I took a long drink of my pineapple soda, hoping the cold would douse the heat Diane had kindled.

"You okay?" Sloane asked, eyeing me suspiciously. "Your face is all red."

"Just tired," I lied. "The exam took more out of me than I thought."

Sloane nodded, seemingly satisfied with my explanation. She took a sip of her cola and leaned back against the couch.

"Two weeks of waiting is going to kill me," she groaned.

"It’ll go by fast." I set my glass down on the coffee table. "We’ll keep training. If we both get in, we need to be ready for whatever they throw at us."

"When we both get in," Sloane corrected. She stretched her arms above her head, causing her tank top to ride up and expose a sliver of her stomach. I tried not to stare. "Speaking of training, we should take tomorrow off. Let our bodies recover."

"Agreed."

An awkward silence stretched between us. My phone buzzed with a notification—probably Felicity texting again—but I ignored it.

"So..." Sloane turned toward me, tucking one leg underneath her on the couch. "My mom’s not coming back until tomorrow night."

"Yeah?"

"And we have the house to ourselves." Her voice dropped lower, her blue eyes fixed on mine with uncharacteristic uncertainty.

Oh shit.

The System pinged another notification: Sloane Fitzgerald’s Temptation Gauge has increased to 77%. Current stage: DEVOTED.

"We do," I replied cautiously.

Sloane’s cheeks flushed pink. She looked down at her hands. "I was thinking... we’ve been training really hard. And we both did well on the exam. Maybe we should... celebrate?"

Her meaning couldn’t have been clearer if she’d skywritten it. My heart rate doubled instantly.

"Celebrate how?" I asked, because apparently I enjoyed torturing myself.

Sloane punched my arm. Hard. "Don’t make me spell it out, idiot."

"I just want to be sure we’re on the same page."

"We are." She met my eyes again, determination replacing uncertainty. "I want you. Tonight."

Well, fuck.

My mind flashed with an image of Diane. The promise of a ’proper welcome home’ tomorrow. Sloane’s mother. This was a landmine. A clean, simple ’no’ was the only sane response.

But the System pinged in my vision, the reward for the Side Quest a glittering promise. And Sloane was right here, her hand warm in mine, looking at me with an honesty that cut through the noise. Sanity felt very far away. My principles could wait.

"Are you sure?" I asked, because some tiny part of me still wanted to pretend I had principles.

Sloane rolled her eyes. "No, I just said that for fun." She shifted closer, her hand finding mine on the couch. "I’ve wanted this for... a while. And I’m tired of waiting."

She leaned in and kissed me, her lips soft but insistent against mine. I kissed her back, my hand moving to cup her face. She tasted like cola and something distinctly Sloane—fierce and sweet at once.

The Oracle Feed helpfully informed me that my Sexercise passive trait had activated, tracking potential attribute gains based on duration, intensity, and partner satisfaction. I ignored it, focusing instead on the way Sloane’s breath hitched when I slid my hand to the back of her neck.

She pulled back, her blue eyes dark with desire. "My room or yours?"

"Yours is further from the front door," I pointed out. "If someone comes home early..."

Sloane nodded, apparently satisfied with my tactical thinking. She stood up and offered me her hand. I took it, allowing her to pull me to my feet.

📋 MAIN QUEST

Quest: The Second Pillar

Description: The first pillar was earned through audacity. A boundary crossed in thirty seconds with no preparation and no warning. This one is different. This one she is offering you. Freely. Completely. With full knowledge of what she wants and exactly who she wants it from.

The question is not whether you deserve this. The question is whether you are the kind of man who can look someone in the eye when they hand you something real and actually take it.

Stop overthinking. She has waited long enough.

Primary Objective: Fully satisfy Sloane Fitzgerald sexually.

Bonus Objective: Make her scream your name loud enough to be heard from the hallway.

Time Limit: Tonight

Rewards:

Permanent Gauge notation: First

Bonus Reward:

Temporary buff applied to Sloane Fitzgerald: Claimed Duration: 72 hours

Failure Penalty:

Permanent notation added to host file: Hesitated when it mattered

System notation: She offered. You declined. She will not forget that. Neither will I.

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