NOVGO.NET Chapter 4: First Reward
Chapter 4: First Reward
"Our marriage stays a secret," Victoria said. "For now."
Daemon blinked.
"A secret?"
"From the public. From the guilds. From anyone outside the family." Her voice was calm, but firm — the kind of tone that didn’t leave much room for negotiation. "When things are... settled, we’ll tell people. Not before."
Daemon studied her for a moment.
*She doesn’t want this getting out.*
He didn’t need her to explain why. It wasn’t hard to guess.
---
Victoria watched him carefully, waiting for his reaction, though her thoughts were somewhere else entirely.
*Three years.*
*That’s all I have left, and I dragged him into it anyway.*
She hadn’t married Daemon out of kindness. She hadn’t married him because she cared what happened to him. She had married him because she was drowning, and his bloodline was the only thing that looked like a rope.
*Selfish.*
*I know it’s selfish.*
An ordinary E-Rank Hunter, pulled out of his entire life and bound to a dying stranger, just because an old family record said his blood might save hers.
*He didn’t ask for any of this.*
*Neither did I. But he especially didn’t.*
She kept her expression neutral, the way she always did. But underneath it, something uncomfortable sat heavy in her chest.
*I hope he doesn’t end up hating me for this.*
---
"That’s fine with me," Daemon said, breaking the silence.
Victoria looked at him.
"If this gets out," he continued, "reporters, guilds, the entire Hunter world knowing I’m suddenly married to Victoria Hale — that’s a headache I don’t need. I just want to keep working as a Hunter. Normal jobs. Normal dungeons. If people find out who my wife is before I’ve actually figured out anything about myself..."
He shrugged.
"It’ll just get complicated. For both of us."
Victoria hadn’t expected that answer.
She’d expected hesitation. Maybe disappointment, hidden behind politeness. Instead, he sounded almost relieved at the idea of staying invisible.
*He’s not trying to use this. Any of this.*
That surprised her more than it should have.
"Good," she said simply. "We’re on the same page, then."
---
They walked toward the car together, the morning sun cutting sharp angles across the quiet street.
Then—
Ding!
Daemon froze mid-step.
[Congratulations, Host!]
[First System Reward Unlocked.]
His eyes went wide. Victoria was already a few steps ahead, not noticing his sudden stillness.
*A reward? For what?*
More text scrolled into view.
[Condition Met: Genuine Care for Bonded Wife]
[Your actions — preparing a home-cooked meal, restoring order to a chaotic household — provided your wife with comfort and emotional relief for the first time in a long period. This memory resembles maternal care, triggering a deep sense of safety and warmth.]
[Bloodline Growth +0.5%]
[Reward Granted.]
Daemon’s breath caught.
*It was tracking that? The cooking, the cleaning...*
He stood there for a second, stunned, as the system continued.
---
[Status Update — Daemon Miles]
[Rank: E]
[Bloodline: Nameless]
[Bloodline Growth: 0.6%]
[Strength: Slight increase]
[Vitality: Slight increase]
[Reflexes: Slight increase]
[Skills: None]
Small numbers. Barely noticeable changes.
But they were changes. Real ones. The first proof that something inside him was actually shifting, instead of staying permanently, hopelessly Nameless.
*It’s not much.*
*But it’s something.*
Then a second notification appeared, this one different from the first.
[Bonded Wife Effect — Victoria Hale]
[Skill Granted: Nourishing Touch (Passive)]
[Description: Meals prepared by the Host now carry minor restorative properties when consumed by his Bonded Wife. Aids in gradual bloodline stabilization.]
Daemon stared at that line for a long moment.
*So it’s not just about me.*
*Every time I cook for her... it actually helps her.*
Something settled in his chest. Not excitement, exactly. Something steadier than that.
*Purpose.*
---
"Are you coming, or are you planning to stand there all day?"
Victoria’s voice snapped him back to reality. She was already in the driver’s seat, door open, watching him with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry," Daemon said quickly, sliding into the passenger seat. "Got distracted."
"Where am I dropping you?"
He gave her the address — a modest job placement office near the city’s outer district, the kind of place E-Rank Hunters lined up outside of every morning, hoping for scraps.
The drive was quiet again, though it didn’t feel as heavy as the silence from the night before.
When the car finally stopped, Daemon stepped out.
"I’ll see you tonight," Victoria said. "At home."
Daemon paused at that word.
*Home.*
It had been a long time since anyone had said that to him and meant it.
"See you tonight," he said, and meant it too.
He watched the car pull away, and for reasons he couldn’t entirely explain, felt something warm settle in his chest.
*Someone’s waiting for me. Somewhere to go back to.*
*Weird.*
*I forgot what that felt like.*
---
Once the car disappeared around the corner, Daemon muttered under his breath.
"System. Full status."
The translucent screen bloomed into view.
[Status Window]
[Name: Daemon Miles]
[Rank: E]
[Bloodline: Nameless]
[Bloodline Growth: 0.6%]
[Bonded Wives: 1]
[Skills: None]
[Passive Effects: Nourishing Touch (affects Bonded Wife)]
*Bonded Wives: 1.*
He stared at that line the longest.
*Right. That’s Victoria.*
He didn’t know what it meant for the number to eventually go higher — didn’t even want to think about that yet. One thing at a time.
Right now, all that mattered was the small percentage sitting quietly beneath his name.
*0.6%.*
*It’s a start.*
He pulled out his phone.
---
The Hunter job board app loaded slowly, same as always, cycling through a graveyard of listings nobody wanted.
Daemon scrolled without much hope, the way he always did.
Then something caught his eye.
**[C-Rank Dungeon Gate — Support Role Needed]**
**Requirements: Any rank. Equipment provided.**
**Pay: High.**
He stopped scrolling.
*C-Rank.*
That was well above anything he’d ever been cleared for. E-Rank Hunters didn’t get invited into C-Rank dungeons — not as fighters, not usually even as support.
But the listing was open. No rank restriction. Equipment provided. And the pay was more than double what he usually scraped together in a week of E-Rank grunt work.
*Probably desperate for bodies.*
*Or nobody else wanted it.*
Either reason worked for him.
*I need to know what I can actually do now.*
Not just for the money.
He wanted to see, with his own eyes, whether that small percentage sitting under his name actually meant anything in a real fight.
He tapped the listing, sent his application, and started walking.
---
Across the city, inside the World Hunter Association’s central tower, Victoria stepped out of the elevator.
Every head in the hallway turned.
It happened everywhere she went — Hunters straightening their posture, junior staff whispering behind clipboards, a few unconsciously stepping aside to let her pass. Respect. Admiration. The occasional flicker of intimidation.
Victoria Hale didn’t just walk into a room.
She commanded it, whether she meant to or not.
She made her way toward the Guild Master’s office without acknowledging any of it, too used to the attention to think much about it anymore.
The doors opened before she even reached for the handle.
---
Rosalind Hale sat behind a wide desk, papers stacked with military precision, reading glasses perched low on her nose.
She looked up the moment Victoria stepped inside — and immediately set the papers down.
"Well," Rosalind said, leaning back in her chair, studying her niece with sharp, assessing eyes. "This is unexpected."
"What is?"
"You," Rosalind said simply. "I expected you to walk in here looking like someone who just signed away her freedom. Gloomy. Exhausted. Maybe a little furious at the world."
She tilted her head.
"Instead, you look..." A pause. "Relaxed. Rested, even. That’s new."
Victoria hesitated.
Rosalind’s eyes narrowed slightly, the sharp intelligence behind them already piecing something together.
"Sit down," Rosalind said, gesturing to the chair across from her desk. "Tell me what happened."
---
Victoria sat.
She explained it plainly — the wedding, the safehouse, the mess of a house, Daemon’s cooking, the clean living room she’d walked into that morning, the food that had tasted like something out of childhood.
She left out the daemon staring, though her cheeks warmed slightly at the memory of it.
Rosalind listened without interrupting, her expression unreadable — until Victoria finished, and a slow, knowing smile spread across her aunt’s face.
"So the Nameless boy cooks," Rosalind said. "And cleans. And apparently made the great Victoria Hale blush before ten in the morning."
"I’m not blushing."
"You absolutely are."
Victoria opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again.
Rosalind chuckled, low and satisfied, clearly enjoying this far more than she should have been.
"I’ll have to come see this for myself," she said. "Dinner, sometime soon. I want to meet the man who managed to put color back in your face after everything that’s happened to this family."
"Aunt Rosalind—"
"I’m not asking."
Victoria sighed, but there was no real protest behind it.
---
The office door opened without a knock.
Victoria turned.
A young man stepped inside — tall, broad-shouldered, the kind of effortless good looks that came paired with confidence he’d clearly never had to question. His WHA insignia gleamed at his collar, marking him S-Rank, same as her.
His eyes found Victoria immediately, and he crossed the room in a few long strides, ignoring Rosalind entirely.
"Victoria," he said. "I heard something. Tell me it isn’t true."