All of them were seated and Ankerita started speaking, as she wanted to lead this time.

"Jake will hold back this time," she said. She had seen the way he fought and thought it was better for him to reserve his energy.

"He’s spent significant mana across two floors and we have five remaining. Whatever waits at the top of this structure is going to require everything he has, and I’d rather spend what we can spend and keep what we can’t replace."

Jake opened his mouth.

"You’re the trump card," Ankerita said.

"Act like one."

He closed his mouth, frowning. He looked at others and they just shrugged.

Maudlina looked at her sister with that particular expression, as she knew her way of doing things and became used to it.

"You want me on support and you in front."

"Yes. Maureen’s men take the flanks, and your mages stay behind the line and conserve where they can."

Ankerita’s hands gripped her blade, like an assurance.

"Jake reads the floor with Mana Sight and calls out crystals and threats from behind our line. His eyes are more useful than his fists right now."

"Generous assessment," Jake said.

"Accurate assessment," Ankerita corrected.

"Your Mana Sight identified the central node on the last floor in ten seconds. That saved us significant time and probably several casualties. Keep doing that and let us handle the physical work until we reach something we genuinely cannot handle."

Maureen had been listening from the edge of the group with her arms crossed, her expression carrying the professional evaluation of someone assessing a plan against the reality it would meet.

"What’s the threshold?" she asked.

"At what point does Jake stop being the reserve and start being the response?"

"When I tell him," Ankerita said.

Maureen looked at Jake.

Jake shrugged.

Ankerita then said, "All right, we will move in ten minutes."

Then she got up and pulled Maureen and her men to the side and started talking.

Maudlina moved beside Jake and said, "She can be intimidating at times."

Jake nodded, turning towards her.

"No one will complain when she gets it done."

Maudlina tilted her head, studying him with open interest.

A small, playful smile touched her lips.

Then she nudged his shoulder.

"You know, most men would be offended by being told to stay behind."

"I was offended."

"No, you weren’t."

Jake sighed.

"I was moderately offended."

"There it is."

Her grin widened.

"You secretly liked it."

"I did not."

"You absolutely did."

Jake looked at her.

"You’re enjoying this far too much."

"Maybe."

There was something playful in her eyes now.

The conversation had drifted away from strategy without either of them noticing.

Or perhaps both of them had.

She said tilting her head, "You’ve got restraint. I like that in a man."

Jake felt the shift immediately - the way her tone softened, the way her gaze lingered a beat too long on his face before dropping briefly to his mouth and then lower, tracing the line of his shoulders.

He let his own eyes do the same, taking in the mature, full curves of her body beneath the practical garments.

The way the tunic hugged the generous swell of her breasts, the way the trousers sat low on her hips.

He had always believed women like her were the real treasure of the world - women who had lived, fought, and still carried that quiet, knowing power in every movement.

The kind of woman who didn’t need to try to be sexy; she simply was.

"Restraint isn’t always easy," he replied, keeping his voice low and easy, but letting a teasing edge creep in.

"Especially when there’s something worth charging toward. Something... substantial. The kind of thing that makes a man want to spend everything he’s been holding back."

Maudlina’s eyebrows lifted, but the smile stayed.

She stepped a little closer, close enough that he could catch the clean, herbal scent of her skin and the faint trace of mana-infused oil she used.

"Ah huh, that almost sounded like you’re not just talking about the floor ahead."

Her voice dropped into something warmer, more intimate.

"Though I suppose a young man like you has plenty of things worth spending his energy on. You’ve been very... disciplined so far. Saving us all the trouble, fighting all alone. I wonder how long that can last."

Jake chuckled, the sound low and rough.

He leaned in just enough to make the space between them feel charged.

"Disciplined is one word for it. Another might be ’frustrating.’ Especially when the view ahead is as impressive as it is right now. Some things are worth more than mana. Some... assets are worth conserving for the right moment.

The right hands. The right... pressure."

Maudlina’s cheeks colored faintly, but she didn’t look away.

Instead, she met his gaze with a knowing, playful spark of her own.

"Pressure," she repeated, tasting the word.

"You do realize I’m the one who keeps everything steady when things get intense? I’ve handled plenty of... builds. Managed more than a few... releases. I know exactly when to push and when to hold back."

Her eyes flicked down to his mouth again, then lower, lingering deliberately before returning to his face.

"But I have to admit... watching a young man try so hard to stay in control is rather entertaining. Makes a woman wonder what happens when that control finally slips."

Jake’s pulse kicked harder.

He could feel the sexual tension rising between them like heat from the lanterns—thick, undeniable, and deliciously mutual. His mind was already painting vivid pictures: those mature, full breasts freed from the tunic, her experienced hands guiding him, the way her body would move when she finally stopped holding back herself.

He could tell from the way her breathing had shifted, the slight parting of her lips, that she was thinking something similar.

The air between them crackled with it. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"You’re not making it easy to stay disciplined," he said, his voice dropping even lower, playful and rough at the same time.

"Talking about builds and releases and pressure like that.

A man could get ideas.

Dangerous ideas.

The kind that makes him want to stop conserving and start... spending. Thoroughly. Repeatedly. Until there’s nothing left to hold back."