Kai swung his legs over the edge of the bed and looked down at his dirty clothes.
He was fully charged and ready to go after his little session with the maid, but he was still covered in dried monster blood and weird forest dirt. Also, he smelled terrible, and there was absolutely no way he was going to try his luck with Sheila looking like a totally fresh zombie.
He needed to find a bathroom and clean himself up before she came back from her meeting.
So he moved over to the bedroom door and peeked out into the wide hallway.
The giant ice mansion was completely quiet since Maria probably ran to the very other side of the building to avoid him after their little chat.
Kai stepped out barefoot onto the smooth stone floor and started walking down the hall to explore his new surroundings.
The place was absolutely incredible, with high ceilings and glowing blue crystals floating in the air to light up the way.
He felt exactly like a level one player wandering through a late-game castle just hoping he didn't trigger any high-level traps or run into angry guards.
After taking a few random turns and checking a few empty guest rooms, he found a set of heavy wooden doors that actually felt warm when he touched the ornate metal handle.
He pushed them open, and his jaw basically hit the floor.
This was definitely not a normal bathroom at all.
It was a hot spring-style bath built right inside the ice mansion.
The pool itself was huge and carved out of some beautiful white stone, and clear hot water was bubbling up from a small vent in the centre.
Sweet-smelling steam filled the room, making it look relaxing and way too expensive for a guy like him.
'This is definitely a high-tier recovery zone,' Kai thought with a big smile on his face.
'The developers really went all out on the luxury assets for this boss.'
But before he just stripped down and jumped right into the water, his instincts kicked in hard.
He was still carrying a broken piece of wood as his main weapon, and he desperately needed some real gear if he wanted to survive another day in this crazy world, so he sneakily decided to snoop around the room and explore every single inch to see what kind of loot he could find.
Moving past the hot pool, he found a fancy dressing area in the back corner behind a folding screen.
There were tall wooden wardrobes and wide shelves lined with folded white towels and strange glowing bottles of soap.
Kai started opening drawers like a seasoned RPG player looting a fresh village and pushed aside some folded silk robes and finally hit the jackpot in the very bottom drawer.
He pulled out a simple but sturdy-looking black tunic and a pair of dark pants.
They were not heavy armour, but the fabric felt tough and magical when he rubbed it between his fingers.
He pulled up his system screen to check the item details.
[Basic Magic Tunic: +2 Defence. Self-cleaning.]
'Self-cleaning is probably the most broken stat a guy can have,' Kai laughed to himself as he tossed the new clothes onto a nearby bench.
He kept digging through the shelves and spotted something shiny sitting on top of a small stone table.
It was a short hunting dagger with a wrapped leather grip and a very sharp, curved blade.
He picked it up and gave it a few practice swings in the empty air.
It felt perfectly balanced in his hand, and the system immediately popped up with the new weapon stats.
[Iron Hunting Dagger: +5 Attack.]
[Good for cutting meat and low-level monsters.]
It was an upgrade from a broken tree branch, so he set the dagger right next to his new clothes so he wouldn't forget it.
'I hope Sheila won't mind.'
Now that his loot run was totally successful, he was finally ready to wash the grime off his skin.
Kai pulled his ruined t-shirt over his head and tossed his dirty jeans right onto the floor.
He didn't even care about making a mess since he knew Maria would probably clean it up later anyway.
'I will repay her of course.'
He walked over to the edge of the white stone pool and stepped right down into the hot water.
A loud sigh escaped his lips as the intense heat soaked straight into his tired bones.
It instantly washed away the gross layer of dirt and monster blood, leaving him feeling clean and totally relaxed for the first time all day.
He waded out to the middle of the pool and sat down on a smooth stone bench hidden just under the water. The water level came right up to his chest, and he just closed his eyes to enjoy the peace.
He was probably sitting there for about twenty minutes, just letting his brain shut off and thinking about how to handle the vampire queen situation, when he heard a loud click.
The heavy wooden doors swung wide open.
Kai froze completely.
He opened his eyes and looked through the thick steam just as Sheila walked right into the bathroom.
She looked tired and stressed out, was wearing her elegant blue and green boss robes, but her silver hair was a little messy from dealing with the annoying village elders all morning.
She let out a heavy sigh and started rubbing her temples like she had a massive headache.
'Oh shit, I am completely naked in her personal tub,' Kai thought as his heart started beating super fast.
He didn't know if he should say something or just try to sink under the water like a submarine.
Before he could decide on a strategy, Sheila reached up and started unbuttoning the front of her robe, slipping the blue fabric right off her shoulders, revealing her pale skin and her big chest wrapped in white silk.
Kai completely forgot how to breathe.
He was just staring at her from the middle of the pool, totally captivated by the amazing view.
Sheila tossed her robe onto a bench and finally turned around to face the water.
She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a human guy sitting right in the middle of her private hot spring.