The Golem roared, stumbling, its foundation cracking. Jaden, scrambling to his feet, looked utterly humiliated.

His knights were injured, and my "filthy" commoner guild team was clinically dismantling a C-Rank monster in front of his eyes.

"Maria!" I shouted, seeing our chance. "The chest! It's resisting your ice, so hit it with pure, concussive mana! Force, not frost! Aim for the center!"

Maria didn't hesitate. Her shock and frustration at Jaden's incompetence were channeled into cold, clear focus.

She recognized the logic. She raised her staff, but this time, no ice formed. Instead, a sphere of pure, blue, non-elemental mana coalesced at the tip.

While she charged, Marcus was silently watching us. His eyes flickered from my command to Maria's instant, trusting execution.

'He's not just a leader,' Marcus thought, his analytical mind dissecting the scene.

'He's a strategist. And she... she trusts his commands over her own cousin's noble rank. Their synergy is too practiced. This isn't the first time they've fought. What is their real relationship?'

"Now, Maria!"

"Hold!" Maria commanded. A wave of pure mana, a C-Rank [Force Blast], slammed into the Golem's chest.

THWACK!

The concussive blast hit the Golem like an invisible battering ram. The granite, already stressed by Garth's defense and Marcus's strikes, cracked wide open.

A massive, glowing blue mana core was exposed for a fraction of a second.

It was the only opening I needed. I didn't waste time on a flashy Heaven Splitter. My new affinity, my trump card, was already charged.

"Judgment Chain!"

I thrust my palm forward. The arcs of blue-white lightning leaped from my hand. They bypassed the stone hide and dove straight for the exposed, conductive mana core.

KRRR-CRACK-KSSSSSH!

The Golem froze.

Its single, cracked eye-light sputtered. The grinding roar died in its throat.

The massive stone arms, raised to smash, stopped mid-air. It stood paralyzed, a statue of smoking granite, its internal mana system completely short-circuited.

The cavern fell silent.

"...Boss?" Riker whispered from its back, dagger still raised.

"It's paralyzed," I stated, my voice echoing. "The core is fried. Finish it. All of you."

It was a free-for-all. My team and Maria's two knights, seeing their chance, surged forward.

Garth used his warhammer. Marcus and the twins used their blades. Sila shot arrows into the cracked eye.

Even Maria, her face set in a mask of determination, launched a final, massive Ice Lance that buried itself deep in the creature's chest.

KRA-BOOM!

Under the combined assault, the paralyzed Golem didn't just fall; it exploded, detonating into a cloud of shattered granite, pulverized quartz, and dust.

The battle was over. The silence that returned was absolute, broken only by the heavy panting of the eight fighters.

[C-Rank Rock Golem Defeated.]

[Quest Item Acquired: Heart of a Rock Golem]

A notification pinged silently in my mind as I walked forward into the settling dust, spotting the Golem's core—a fist-sized, C-Rank earth-elemental crystal—lying where the beast had fallen.

I picked it up and discreetly pocketed it. My dragon would eat well.

Marcus approached, his gaze sharp. "That was... shockingly effective, Michael. Your synergy with the Frostheart Lady was... timely."

I knew what he was really asking. 'Your relationship with her seems... complicated.' Before I could formulate a reply, Sila called out from the rubble.

"Boss! There's something else here! Another crystal... it's... different."

I walked over. There, nestled in the largest chunk of the Golem's torso, was a second stone. It wasn't a blue mana core.

This was a fist-sized crystal of a deep, perfect rose-quartz, pulsing with a faint, warm, and distinctly paired energy. It radiated 'Life' and 'Ice' mana.

My gamer-brain, a repository of useless and invaluable lore, supplied the answer instantly.

'[Heart-Stone of the Mountain]. Rare-grade Attunement Item.

A symbiotic crystal formed when a Golem's earth core fuses with a powerful elemental sprite (in this case, Ice).

Requires two users with compatible affinities (Ice/Ice, or Ice/Earth) to channel mana simultaneously to bond. Permanently links their mana signatures, granting a +10% boost to all shared-affinity skills and a low-level telepathic link.

Attunement must be done within five minutes of the host-creature's death, while the residual mana is still fresh.'

An... attunement item. A permanent +10% buff to my Ice skills. It was an incredible, lottery-level find.

But it required a partner.

I looked at my team. Garth (Earth/Defense), Sila (Earth/Wind), the Twins (Shadow/Agility), Marcus (Cultivator/Unknown, but definitely not Ice). None of them were compatible.

My gaze, almost against my will, snapped across the cavern to the only other Ice-affinity user in the room.

Maria Frostheart.

She was helping her retainers up, her face streaked with grime but her composure returning. Jaden was standing nearby, his face a mask of pale, humiliated fury.

This was... awkward.

But a 10% permanent buff. That was too good to waste. This was a simple, logical, tactical decision to maximize our loot.

I picked up the warm, pulsing Heart-Stone and walked over to her.

"Maria," I said, my voice all business.

She looked up, her expression wary. "What is it, Michael? And thank you... your team... you saved us."

"You're welcome." I held out the stone. "We found this. It's a Heart-Stone of the Mountain. A dual-attunement crystal for Ice affinities. If we channel our mana into it together, right now, we both get a permanent 10% boost to our Ice skills. It's an incredible find."

I was focused on the item, the stats, the buff. I was still thinking like a gamer.

I did not notice Sir Renly and Sir Val's faces go completely white, their jaws dropping in abject horror.

I did not notice Jaden Frostheart's pale face flush a violent, apoplectic purple.

I only noticed that Maria herself, the "Ice Princess," had turned a shade of crimson so deep it put my Ogre-Blood Rubies to shame.

"Michael," she whispered, her voice trembling, "put that down."

"What? Why? It'll lose its charge. We only have five minutes. It's just simple efficiency, we both—"

"INSOLENCE!" Jaden finally found his voice, a high-pitched shriek of pure outrage. "You... you... filthy commoner! Do you have any idea what you just did?! What you just proposed?!"

I blinked, genuinely baffled. "Proposed? What are you talking about? I'm talking about a mana buff! It's an item! You hold one side, I hold the other, we channel, we get stronger. It's just efficiency!"

"You dare speak of 'efficiency'!" Sir Renly roared, his sword leveling at my throat, his entire body shaking with fury.

"To offer a Heart-Stone! In front of witnesses! After a shared battle! That is the oldest, most binding courtship proposal in noble tradition!"

My brain screeched to a halt..

...What?.

Courtship?

Proposal?

Oh.

Oh, crap.

In the game, this was just a rare-drop 'Partner Attunement Item.' In this world, with its ancient noble traditions, it was a marriage proposal.

I had just, in the most blunt, tactical, and unromantic way possible, asked the heir of the Frostheart family to marry me. In front of her armed retainers and her furious cousin.

"I... I... that's not..." I stammered, my legendary composure shattering into a million pieces. "I just thought—"

"You didn't think! That is your entire problem!" Maria finally snapped. She looked less like an Ice Princess and more like an exploding volcano. She snatched the pulsing Heart-Stone from my hand, her own hand trembling.

"You... you absolute... moron!"

She wouldn't even look at me. She shoved the stone into the pouch at her belt, her ears glowing red.

"Sir Renly! Sir Val! Jaden! We are leaving!" she seethed.

"But, my Lady!" Jaden sputtered. "This commoner's insult! He must be taught—"

"I SAID WE ARE LEAVING!" Maria's voice cracked, echoing with C-Rank authority.

Her knights flinched. Even Jaden took a half-step back, his rage paling in comparison to her sheer, unadulterated embarrassment.

She stormed off, her retainers scrambling to follow, leaving Jaden to cast one last, murderous glare at me before following his cousin.

Maria stopped at the shattered doorway, her shoulders rigid. She didn't turn around when she spoke, her voice muffled but carrying a clear, trembling fury.

"And you, Michael Wilson! We will... we will discuss this 'partner item'... later! At the Academy! Do not... DO NOT... speak of this to anyone! Is that clear?!"

And with that, she was gone, leaving me and my completely bewildered guild team alone in the glittering, empty cavern.

The twins looked at me. Sila looked at me. Garth looked at me.

Marcus just sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face, but I could see the corner of his mouth twitching. He was fighting, hard, to keep from laughing.

"…Boss?" Riker finally asked, his voice echoing in the silence. "What... what in the hells just happened?"

I stared at the empty tunnel where she had disappeared. The final, chaotic, and utterly disastrous piece of my Homecoming Arc had just clicked into place.

"...I think," I muttered, my voice hollow, as I finally processed the social-political nightmare I had just created.

"I think I just accidentally proposed to the heir of the Frostheart family."

(To be continued )

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