Chapter 3 Physical Contact

Every game should have come with some kind of beginner's guide. Yet somehow, after spending three years in this world, Rena still hadn't figured out even the most basic mechanics. She hadn't seen an experience bar, a level indicator, or anything remotely useful.

Instead, she'd spent nearly every day marching into the wilderness with bargain-bin equipment and throwing herself at dangerous beasts. Three exhausting years of failed attempts had ended the same way again and again: bruises, blood, and not a single victory to show for it.

Things were different now. Kade had been assigned as one of her matched males, and surely the Commander of the Empire's First Legion could help her finally break out of this miserable tutorial stage.

Once she entered the legion, she could prove herself, rise through the ranks, and eventually become powerful enough to bring the entire beastfolk civilization under one rule.

The fantasy only grew more exciting the longer she entertained it. Rena swung her legs happily from the edge of the chair until the reception room door opened and a striking silver-haired male walked in.

Her attention immediately locked onto him.

Broad shoulders filled out his uniform, and powerful arms framed a narrow waist beneath a sharply defined V-shaped torso. The belt around his middle only emphasized the difference.

One glance was enough to understand how he'd earned command of the Empire's First Legion. The man looked built for battle.

Rena couldn't help wondering what she'd look like with muscles like that.

Just imagining it made her swallow.

Kade frowned when he spotted the simply dressed female sitting in the middle of the room and staring at him with far too much enthusiasm. "You're Rena Chapman?"

"That's me!" Rena replied eagerly, flashing him the friendliest smile she could manage.

His expression only hardened.

Everyone in the Empire knew the Commander of the First Legion.

Kade's appearance and exceptional genes had attracted more female attention than he ever wanted, and he'd dealt with relentless advances in both public and private for years. The constant harassment had left him with very little patience for females in general.

Until now, he'd assumed Rena had come because of Dominick. After seeing the way she looked at him, he started to suspect she was simply another admirer trying to get close.

Kade's mouth tightened with irritation. "You told my officers you had something important to discuss with me?"

"Exactly." Rena nodded several times.

"This is Combat Command, not somewhere people can visit whenever they feel like it," Kade said coldly. "If you don't have legitimate military business here, you need to go."

"No problem there. What I came for is absolutely military business," Rena answered without missing a beat.

That made Kade hesitate. Perhaps he'd judged her too quickly.

"All right. What do you want?" he asked, looking at her.

Rena straightened in her seat and looked at him with unmistakable excitement. "I want to enlist in the legion!"

Her confidence wasn't baseless, at least in her own mind. Before coming to this world, she'd worked as an esports content creator, so strategy was familiar territory. Supply distribution, battlefield positioning, troop deployment—give her the situation, and she could usually spot the most efficient solution almost immediately.

The only thing holding her back was her pathetic physical condition. If she'd been stronger, who knew which one of them would've ended up commanding the First Legion?

For now, she might not have much strength to offer, but she still had her brain. Turning away someone with her strategic talent would practically be a loss for the legion.

Once she got in, she could train properly, improve little by little, and eventually become a powerful general herself.

As far as Rena was concerned, that couldn't possibly count as anything other than official business.

The room fell completely silent.

Kade stared at her for several seconds, waiting for the punch line.

None came. The conviction in her eyes made the truth impossible to miss. She was serious.

But why would any female willingly choose military life? Then another possibility occurred to him.

Maybe she'd heard about his habit of avoiding females and decided joining the legion was the easiest excuse to stay close to him.

Kade gave a short, dismissive laugh. "Sorry, but I can't bend the rules for you. Anyone who wants to enter the legion has to join a mercenary company first and work their way up. There's nothing I can do about that."

Rena's excitement vanished almost instantly. "If I'd managed to pass the mercenary recruitment trials sometime in the last three years, I wouldn't have needed to request a match in the first place..."

Her answer caught Kade completely off guard. So she'd actually tried to become a mercenary for three years straight.

A vague memory surfaced in his mind. Every year, rumors circulated about some female who kept showing up at the annual mercenary trials despite failing again and again.

Could that have been Rena all along?

Had she really spent that much time trying to find a way into his world?

Kade studied her quietly, and the strange look on his face left Rena unsure what he was thinking.

"Kade's affection score increased by one point."

The sudden notification rang through her mind and made her freeze for a second. Still, that single point gave her enough encouragement to keep going.

"If joining the legion isn't possible, then I have another favor to ask." Rena hesitated briefly before continuing, "Could you train me instead? I want you to teach me how to fight properly."

No one reached Commander of the First Legion without extraordinary combat skill. If Kade personally trained her, Rena was convinced she could eventually become the most powerful female ruler the beastfolk civilization had ever seen.

Kade looked at her seriously. "Military life isn't easy, neither is the training. It'll hurt, and you'll be exhausted most of the time. You still want that?"

"Absolutely," Rena answered without hesitation. "If suffering through it makes me stronger, then I can handle it."

For the first time, Kade's attitude toward her eased slightly.

Most females with matched males lived comfortably and avoided anything strenuous whenever possible.

He'd even heard stories about females who refused to walk and expected their males to carry them everywhere.

Rena, however, was willing to put herself through brutal training just so she could stay near him.

She really had to be hopelessly in love with him.

Suddenly, the Beast God System's decision seemed far more understandable. Perhaps it had matched them because Rena had spent years longing for him without ever giving up.

Kade normally hated taking responsibility for other people's problems, yet before he could talk himself out of it, he gave a small nod. "Fine. I'll train you."

"Yes! That's exactly what I needed!" Rena sprang to her feet, barely able to contain her excitement. Her enthusiasm was so obvious that even Kade found himself affected by it.

Was staying close to him really enough to make her this happy?

Another system message sounded in Rena's mind. "Kade's affection score increased by one point. New timed quest: make physical contact with Kade within one hour. Reward: ten stamina points."

Ten stamina points?

Rena wanted those badly.

Her problem wasn't that she was unusually frail by normal standards. This world was simply designed on an absurdly massive scale. Her current villa covered more than ten thousand square meters, and even walking from her bedroom to the bathroom left her struggling to catch her breath.

Traveling outside was just far worse.

An increase in stamina would make almost every part of her daily life easier.

And really, touching Kade couldn't be that hard, could it?

Kade's face was still unreadable, though the coldness in his eyes had faded a little.

Rena watched him for a moment before closing the distance between them and looking up to meet his gaze.

For the first time, Kade seemed caught off guard.

Then Rena punched him squarely in the chest.

He simply stared at her. Even the system went completely silent.

Rena, meanwhile, looked entirely satisfied with herself. As far as she was concerned, she'd fulfilled the requirement. All that remained was collecting the reward promised to her.

A moment later, the system finally objected. "That doesn't count as physical contact."

Rena immediately argued back in her head. "How does it not count? I touched him, didn't I?"

"The quest clearly implied romantic physical contact. Punching him is not romantic!"

"That's not my problem. You told me to make physical contact, and I did. Now give me my reward!"

While Rena continued bickering with the system, Kade eventually found his voice. "Why did you just hit me?"

Rena grabbed the first explanation that came to mind. "Because the best way to win a fight is to strike when your opponent least expects it."

Kade went still for a second, and some of the remaining distance in his expression disappeared.

He knew those words. Years ago, during an interview, he'd given almost the exact same answer when asked about his approach to combat.

He hadn't expected Rena to remember something so trivial.

"Kade's affection score increased by five points."

That left the system with very little room to complain.

Whatever strange method Rena had chosen, it had clearly worked.

"Fine. Quest completed. Stamina increased by ten points."