Divine Milking System-Chapter 41 | The Midnight Foxes’ First Meeting

I followed Belle and the rest of the newly minted Midnight Foxes into the dining hall, my morning high from essence still going strong. The system timer now read just over six days, which felt like an eternity compared to the desperate scramble of the past forty-eight hours.

"Grab your food fast," Belle commanded, pointing toward the buffet. "I want a full strategy session before next class."

"Yes, ma’am," Jordan mumbled, giving her a lazy salute that made Belle’s left eye twitch.

I loaded my tray with grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, and a mountain of pasta. My body was starving after this morning’s workout, and if Silver-tier essence was going to keep boosting my gains, I needed fuel to match.

When I turned around, I caught Naomi watching me from the salad bar. Her plate held a sad little pile of lettuce and half a chicken breast. I gestured toward her tray with a questioning look, and she shrugged apologetically.

"Still not hungry?"

"I’ll be fine," she said, her voice soft enough that only I could hear. "Last night was... intense."

I leaned closer, making sure no one else could hear us. "The extraction tax hits hardest the first time. Next time won’t drain you as much."

Her cheeks flushed pink at the words "next time."

"There will definitely be a next time... right?"

Naomi tucked a strand of pink-striped hair behind her ear. "If you need me, I’ll be there."

Something in my chest twisted. This girl was too damn good for me and my perverted milk system. And yet... I needed her.

A notification pinged in my peripheral vision as we walked to the table. I ignored it, focusing on balancing my overloaded tray through the crowded dining hall.

When we all settled at the Midnight Foxes’ first official lunch meeting, I finally checked the system alert.

◆ STORY QUEST UNLOCKED ◆

"TOP OF THE PACK"

Objective: Finish among the top five squads in the semester rankings.

Reward:

+1 Active Ability Slot

25,000 Points

Upgrade: Private Sanctum → Bronze Rank

Time Limit: End of Fall Semester (10 weeks)

Failure Consequences: None.

Well, shit. The Divine Milking System was offering me actual gameplay quests now? The reward made my pulse spike. Ten thousand points was... a hundred days of life. Over three months of survival from a single quest. And a Private Sanctum upgrade would give me more extraction time and capacity.

"Yo, Space Cadet." Belle snapped her fingers right in front of my nose, close enough that I flinched back. "You go somewhere? You’ve been staring at nothing for like thirty seconds." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Sorry," I muttered, pulling my attention back to the table and the four people looking at me with varying degrees of annoyance. "Just caught a system notification. Rankings."

"Which," Belle said, sliding her tablet from her bag and planting it flat in the center of the table like she was calling a board meeting to order, "is exactly why we’re having this little chat. First order of business: full ability disclosure. Everyone puts their cards face up."

Misato’s arms crossed over her chest immediately. Her lime green hair caught the warm overhead lights of the dining hall and practically glowed. "You’re serious? You want us to just open up about everything right now, over lunch?"

"You’d rather we run our first gate together not knowing what anyone can actually do?" Belle shot back, and there was real steel under the flirty surface. She tilted forward over the table, her light blue hair swinging past her shoulder. "I’ve seen squads collapse in the first two weeks because nobody talked. We need to know what each person brings before we need it."

Jordan contributed a long, theatrical yawn, wrapping both hands around his third coffee of the day. He’d been working on that cup since before I sat down. "Makes sense to me. We’re stuck with each other regardless of whether we like the arrangement, so we might as well figure out if anyone here is secretly useless."

Nobody argued. Belle had been angling for a leadership role since the second we all walked in together, and apparently no one felt strongly enough to push back. Including me.

"I’ll go first," Belle said, straightening in her seat. "My ability is Treasure Sense. Passive detection of valuable items within roughly fifteen meters. I get impressions of quality, general location, the difference between trash and something worth actual money. In gates, I can steer the whole group toward the best loot and cut the time we waste wandering dead-end paths in half." She paused. "In a direct fight, I’m completely useless. Zero combat application."

"That’s actually perfect for resource gathering," Naomi said, perking up. "Gates are all about the extraction value."

Belle looked pleased by Naomi’s assessment. "Exactly. I can tell which paths will lead to the best rewards. My downsides: I’m purely support, and I have zero combat skills."

"You saying you need protection?" Misato asked, her eyes narrowing.

"I’m saying I know my value and my limitations." Belle’s voice was firm. "I’ll make us rich if you keep me alive."

Misato nodded, seemingly satisfied with Belle’s honesty. "Fair. I’m next then." She cracked her knuckles. "Legion Split. I can create up to five autonomous clones of myself. Each has independent thought but reduced physical capabilities."

Jordan whistled. "That’s A-rank territory."

"Silver-rank at the academy scale," Misato corrected. "But yeah, it’s decent. The catch is durability. Six bodies means each has only one-sixth my natural toughness. In a prolonged fight, I’m vulnerable to area attacks."

Silver-rank extraction target sitting right across from me, and she just handed me her weakness on a silver platter. Though getting past Blair to access Misato would be its own special hell.

"My turn," Jordan sighed, looking like he’d rather be napping. "Shadow Bind. I manipulate shadows to immobilize targets. Range is twenty meters, and I can hold five people max before my concentration breaks."

"Restraint specialist," I noted. "Perfect for crowd control."

"If I’m awake enough to use it," Jordan muttered. "Heavy mental strain."

"I’ll go next," Naomi said quietly. "Wave Motion. I convert my stamina into spiral energy blasts. Good range, high damage, but..." She hesitated. "I burn out fast. Three big attacks and I’m done."

"Glass cannon," Belle summarized. "High output, low endurance."

Naomi nodded, looking embarrassed. "Pretty much. After a minute of combat, I’m useless."

"Not useless," I said automatically, earning curious looks from Belle and Misato. I cleared my throat. "Just need the right combat positioning."

"And that leaves you," Misato said, her eyes locking onto mine. "What’s your deal, Monroe?"