The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism

Chapter 188: 188 | A Marriage Certificate Written in Code [PS BONUS]

〘 HEROINE BOND RESONANCE: Sloane Fitzgerald 〙

〘 Type: Permanent · Passive 〙

〘 Description: As the first Heroine to reach 100% Temptation Gauge, Sloane Fitzgerald holds a unique position in the Host’s Bond architecture. The following effects are now active and cannot be revoked through any standard means: 〙

〘 1. Emotional Bond (Permanent) — The Host and Sloane Fitzgerald share a persistent emotional connection, amplified significantly by the Resonance Enhancement bonus. Both parties will instinctively register shifts in the other’s emotional state when within approximately fifty meters of one another. This effect deepens with proximity and cannot be suppressed. 〙

〘 2. Tactical Synchronization (Combat Bonus) — When fighting alongside Sloane Fitzgerald in any combat scenario, both participants receive a cumulative 15% increase to overall combat efficiency. This manifests as improved reaction timing, unconscious positioning adjustments, and predictive awareness of the other’s movements. The effect requires no conscious coordination and scales with familiarity. 〙

〘 3. Bond Stability Floor — Sloane Fitzgerald’s Temptation Gauge is now locked at a minimum threshold of 90%. Her attachment to the Host has exceeded the point where external circumstances or temporary conflicts could meaningfully destabilize it. The bond has become structural rather than circumstantial. 〙

〘 4. Bond Integrity Defense (Scaling Resistance) — The Host has gained inherent resistance to any external Aspect, ability, or effect designed to sever, manipulate, or otherwise interfere with the connection to Sloane Fitzgerald. This resistance increases proportionally with the Host’s cumulative stat total and applies retroactively to all previously established bonds as they develop. 〙

〘 Note: Heroine Bond Resonance is the System’s acknowledgment that certain connections transcend the mission structure. Sloane Fitzgerald is no longer a target to be optimized. She is a permanent fixture in the Host’s life architecture. Plan accordingly. 〙

I read that last line three times.

The System was telling me that Sloane was locked in. Permanent. No longer subject to the usual optimization calculus because her Gauge couldn’t drop below ninety percent. She was mine, I was hers, and the System had just made that official in a way that felt less like a reward and more like a marriage certificate written in code.

〘 The Host appears to be processing significant information. I will note that the total System Point balance is now 10,432 after the 3,000 point reward. Additionally, the Defiance Point counter has been reset to zero as a bonus for achieving the first Heroine Corruption Complete milestone. 〙

Zero Defiance. Clean slate. No stat debuffs threatening me. No Penalty Quest lurking in the queue.

And a massive point balance that could fund pulls for weeks.

〘 The rewards have been distributed. The Host may now continue with his activities. I recommend rolling for new abilities in a practical context at the earliest opportunity. 〙

The interface faded.

I stood alone in the hallway of Sloane’s dormitory, staring at nothing, feeling the warm thread of her contentment pulsing at the edge of my awareness like a second heartbeat.

She was in her room. Getting dressed. Probably thinking about what we’d just done in the shower and what I’d said to her and what she’d said back. Her emotional state was a mix of satisfaction and vulnerability and something fierce underneath that felt like determination.

I could feel all of it.

And she would be able to feel me too.

The System had given me power. Real power. Defensive capabilities and offensive synergies and a stat pool that was climbing into territory that would make me competitive with actual trained combatants. But the cost was becoming increasingly clear.

Every upgrade tied me closer to the women the System wanted me to pursue. Every milestone made the bonds harder to ignore. Every reward reminded me that the Scumbag’s Path wasn’t about collecting conquests. It was about building connections so deep that they became load-bearing structures in my life.

Sloane was the first.

She wouldn’t be the last.

The System had already flagged Diane, Felicity, Rina. Each of them had Gauges. Each of them represented potential progression. Each of them would eventually reach milestones of their own if I continued down this path.

And I would continue. I didn’t have a choice. The Defiance mechanic made sure of that. The stat bonuses made sure of that. The simple fact that I was an Unmarked fraud in a school full of licensed combatants made sure of that.

But maybe.

Maybe the bonds themselves weren’t the problem.

Maybe the problem was pretending they were transactional when they’d never been transactional at all.

I started walking again. The hallway felt different now. Sharper. More real. The Resonance Amplification was doing something to my senses, making me more aware of the emotional texture of the space around me. Sloane was a warm presence behind me, stable and content. Other presences flickered at the edges of my awareness as I passed doors, fainter and less defined but still there. Students settling into their rooms. Parents saying goodbye. The low hum of a building full of powerful young people trying to figure out who they were going to become.

By the time I reached the ground floor, I’d made a decision.

I pulled out my phone.

Lukas: Hey.

The response came within seconds.

Sloane: Did you text me just to say hey?

Sloane: You literally just left.

Sloane: I can still HEAR your footsteps in the hallway.

Lukas: I know.

Sloane: Then why are you texting me?

I could feel her confusion through the bond. A flicker of uncertainty mixed with something warmer underneath. She didn’t know why I was doing this but she liked that I was doing it.

Lukas: Because I wanted you to know something.

Sloane: What?

Lukas: I love you too.

The emotional pulse that came back through the bond was so strong it nearly knocked me off my feet.

Joy. Pure and overwhelming and completely unguarded. The kind of emotion Sloane Fitzgerald would never let anyone see on her face but couldn’t hide from a psychic link she didn’t know existed.

Then, after a moment, the response came.

Sloane: I know.

Sloane: Idiot.

I smiled.

Sloane: Now stop texting me and go back to your building before I change my mind about letting you leave.

Lukas: Yes ma’am.

Sloane: DON’T CALL ME MA’AM.

I put my phone in my pocket and headed towards the 1-B house. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

It was time to go gambling.