Authorâs Note: Do Not Unlock Yet. Chapter is incomplete and unedited.
----------------
He selected YES and immediately, another notification appeared.
---
[BRANCH EXPANSION AVAILABLE]
Current Branch Count: 2
New Branch Count: 3
Cost: 1000 Cuck Points
Proceed?
YES / NO
---
Westâs expression stiffened.
"1000..."
That was absurd.
That was double the cost of a three-branch awakening voucher and this was only increasing by one branch.
But he understood why.
He was already awakened.
This wasnât creating something new... he was technically rewriting something permanent...
Breaking the limits of his existence.
Defying natural law...
And the cost reflected that.
He swallowed slowly. West had 2,876 CP earlier and he had already spent some.
His remaining balance displayed:
[Cuck Points: 1826]
If he did this, he would be back to lower than 1000 CP.
He hesitated.
Then he remembered the gangs.
Iron Chain.
Black Furnace.
Dragon Fang.
Zu Li.
They were already circling him like predators.
He needed power.
He needed superiority.
He needed an advantage no one else could match.
He pressed YES.
Immediatelyâ
[SYSTEM CONFIRMATION]
1000 Cuck Points Deducted.
Remaining Balance: 826 CP
Branch Expansion Initiated.
Host entering Coma State.
Duration: 24 hours.
---
Westâs eyes widened.
"Waitâcoma?!"
But it was too late... he already clicked yes.
A wave of overwhelming drowsiness enveloped him instantly.
His vision blurred as his body collapsed backward onto his bed.
He barely had time to pull himself onto the mattress before everything went dark.
â
Inside his body...
The transformation had begun...
His veins glowed faintly...
His blood heated unnaturally and then froze... before burning up again.
His muscles twitched violently as his nervous system rewired itself.
Invisible pathways formed.
Energy channels expanded.
His skin flickered between normal tone...
Darker...
Then faint green...
Then normal again.
Sweat soaked his body.
His breathing alternated between rapid and shallow.
His heart rate spiked... then slowed and then spiked again.
At one point, his fingers clenched so tightly the bedsheets tore slightly.
His entire body trembled.
Inside him...
Something new was being created.
A new branch.
A new pathway.
A new possibility.
â
Outside...
The sun moved across the sky as time passed normally while West remained unconscious.
â
Later that afternoon...
Knock knock knock.
West didnât move.
Knock knock knock knock.
Still nothing.
Outside his apartment door stood Nina.
She wore a simple white top and green skirt with her long auburn hair falling over her shoulders.
In her hands was a wrapped canvas... her drawing.
She smiled nervously.
"West?"
She knocked again but there was no response.
She frowned slightly.
"...West?"
She knocked harder.
Knock knock knock knock knock.
Still nothing.
Her smile faded slightly.
She took out her phone.
Called him.
Inside the apartment...
Westâs phone vibrated on his desk but he didnât answer.
He couldnât.
He was in a system-induced coma.
Outside, Nina listened carefully but she could hear nothing.
No footsteps coming from inside the house... just silence.
Her grip tightened around the canvas.
"...Maybe he went out... again..."
She whispered quietly and waited.
Five minutes went by...
Ten minutes...
Twenty minutes...
She knocked again.
Knock knock knock.
Still nothing.
Her expression softened slightly as disappointment flickered in her eyes.
"...I guess heâs busy..."
She hugged the canvas gently.
She had spent days finishing and perfecting it, thinking about how heâd react...
Thinking about his smile.
Thinking about his praise.
She lowered her head slightly.
"...Iâll come back later..."
She turned slowly and walked away down the hallway hesitantly.
Then she paused briefly and glanced back once before leaving completely.
â
~ The Next Day ~
West woke up slowly, feeling a gentle, steady warmth beneath his head.
The first thing that reached him was scent.
It wasnât the sterile smell of his room or the faint detergent scent of bedsheets...
This was... different.
It smelled earthy and fresh like rain-soaked soil mixed with blooming flowers after a storm.
It was intoxicating in a quiet way.
Westâs eyelids fluttered open and his vision was immediately filled by green...
Smooth, toned green.
He realized, a second later, that his head was resting directly on Gorâthalaâs thighs.
They were massiveâeasily wider than his torsoâbut unbelievably soft. Firm where they needed to be, yielding just enough to be comfortable. He could feel the steady rhythm of her breathing through them.
Before he could even react, a shadow fell over his face.
Something... substantial.
He looked up and was greeted by Gorâthalaâs chest, rising and falling calmly, occupying a ridiculous amount of his field of vision.
"Theyâre... huge..." Pervy words subconsciously slipped from Westâs lips while her golden eyes lowered to meet his as awareness fully returned to him.
"Master has awakened," she said solemnly.
Her voice was low and melodic, carrying a strange reverence like a knight announcing the return of her king.
West blinked twice confounded.
"...Why am I on your thighs?"
Gorâthala didnât even hesitate.
"I was protecting Master," she replied. "A strange woman came."
Westâs brain immediately rebooted.
"A strange woman?" He sat up abruptly, sliding off her lap. "Describe her."
Gorâthala tilted her head slightly, recalling.
"She was human. Smaller than Master. Long earthly hair. Carried something flat. Her scent was... anxious. She knocked many times."
West froze.
"...Nina."
He dragged a hand down his face.
"...Of course it was Nina."
The timing was immaculate...
Absolutely cruel.
"Twenty-four hours," he muttered. "Out cold. Perfect."
The system really had set him up.
He let out a breath and stood.
The moment he did, he noticed that his body felt... different.
Like every movement had more intention behind it.
He clenched his fist taking in the feeling and then he focused inward.
He could clearly feel three distinct currents...
Three branches with one directly anchored to the mighty green woman beside him and two streaming with untapped energy.
"...It worked," West murmured.
Gorâthala watched him closely.
"Master has changed," she said. "Your presence is heavier."
West smiled faintly understanding that he had just achieved something terrifying.
Even as a Tier 1 awakened, he could now contract two more entities.
That alone shattered conventional understanding.
Summoners with one branch could only reach this level after surpassing Tier 2 and yet he already possessed such boon at tier 1.
He was already breaking rules but he wasnât done yet.
"Iâll need to go back to the industrial site soon," he muttered. "To summon another entity. I need to form more contracts."
Gorâthala nodded. "I will assist."