Four years later.
Three years remain until the protagonist joins the team.
Four years remain until the protagonist is kicked out of the team by Star of the Morning.
And four and a half years remain until Will System is killed by a slime.
It was a bright morning, birds chirping, flowers blooming.
"How do you feel?" Will asked.
"Huff... huff... I'm fine… I can keep going… Master, please… increase the heat," Yiel gasped.
"Not bad," Will nodded, impressed. "You lasted three more minutes today."
"Yes… I can still… keep going..."
Though the exchange sounded intense, it was only Yiel training in a sauna that Will had specially designed.
Will checked the temperature on the panel outside the sauna and smiled with satisfaction before turning it off.
"Five hundred degrees. Impressive. An A3-level Holy Shield can only handle 400 degrees. Too bad Yiel isn't old enough to take the certification exam yet."
Yiel was no longer the timid, frail shield maid who hid behind others in the original story.
In fact, her current state was miles away from her initial portrayal. If he recalled correctly, her Holy Shield rating in the novel was only B3. Who knew she had this much potential?
"Master! I think… we can… make it even hotter!" Yiel exclaimed.
Will opened the sauna door, letting a rush of steam escape. His glasses fogged up instantly, but he adjusted them anyway, trying to look composed.
"That's enough for today," he said. "Small steps, day by day. Progress will come."
Through the fog, Will observed Yiel.
Wrapped only in a towel, her body was protected by her ice armor, and despite the extreme heat, her skin wasn't red—just a faint, healthy pink.
At fourteen, Yiel was already developing. Her figure was noticeably curvier than he remembered from the novel, and her damp, bare feet on the sauna floor added an almost ethereal allure.
Her wolf ears, which had drooped in the heat, perked up as she dried off, and her movements seemed almost instinctive—like a wolf shaking water off its coat.
And yet…
Will frowned. Something felt off.
Wasn't Yiel supposed to be petite and flat-chested in the original story? Why did she now have a figure that was, well, above average?
Could it be that his focus on improving her physical defense, combined with feeding her so well, had… unexpected side effects?
It made sense. Orc physiology was known for rapid development.
"Yes," Will muttered to himself, "this must be the result of proper cultivation."
"Master, your nose is bleeding!" Yiel exclaimed.
"It's just the steam," Will replied, quickly stuffing tissue into his nostril.
He glanced at his notebook, its cover boldly labeled Mission System. Inside, one task stood out:
[Task: High-temperature training. Goal: Sustain ice armor for 10 minutes in a 500-degree sauna.]
Will marked the task as complete, then looked at the reward he had written beneath it:
[Reward: Yiel's new prop x1]
The reward section had been left blank until the night before, when Will had added it himself. After all, he wasn't working with a real system interface. He had designed this entire system manually—because if no one else would give him a system, he'd make his own.
"Yiel," Will said, closing the notebook, "the mission is complete. Now it's time for your reward."
"Reward?" Yiel asked, her wolf ears twitching nervously.
"Yes. Come here."
"But Master… I haven't put my clothes on yet…"
"That's fine. It's easier this way."
"What?!"
Yiel's cheeks, already pink from the sauna, turned scarlet. Was this it? Was the young master—whom she had served and grown up with—about to…
She had heard rumors about the System family men. They were all said to be perverts, skilled at playing with women.
"Master… we're still young! And even though I'm your maid… if you… if you're going to force yourself…" Yiel stammered, clutching her towel tightly.
Before she could finish her thought, she felt something cold wrap around her neck.
"A… collar?"
Her fingers brushed the object: leather, snug but not tight, with a small metal nameplate hanging from it. The nameplate bore her name, intricately engraved and polished with a protective coating.
She looked in the mirror and saw herself, wearing nothing but the towel and the collar. It reminded her of the slaves sold in underground markets.
This… this was her reward?
"Master…" Yiel's voice trembled, not with fear but with emotion.
He… he was serious about treating her like a dog?
She was overwhelmed with gratitude.
Yiel had been abandoned as a baby and raised by the System family. Becoming Will's personal maid was already a great honor, but Will had gone above and beyond. He didn't just treat her like a servant—he trained her, prepared her for a future where she could defend herself, even survive as an adventurer.
Although she didn't fully understand why Will kept saying things like, "How will you survive a 5,000-degree flame dragon's breath if you can't do this?" she appreciated his efforts to make her stronger.
And now, he had even given her a collar, a sign of his commitment to her training.
Determined, Yiel made a vow to herself: she would be both his maid and his loyal companion—just like a dog.
"Woof… woof!" she barked.
"Why are you barking like a dog?" Will sighed. "You're a wolf!"
"Well… how does the collar feel? Take a deep breath. Can you feel the power flowing through you?"
Yiel obeyed, taking a deep breath.
To her surprise, the collar seemed to activate something. A cool sensation spread through her neck, down her bloodstream, and into her magic circuits. Her overheated body quickly cooled, leaving her feeling refreshed and clear-headed.
"This… this is amazing!" Yiel exclaimed. "My body temperature dropped, my skin feels normal again, and my thoughts aren't all over the place anymore!"