《Deadly Zero HP》 Chapter 1 - The way Karma works My head hurts. I remember being sent flying by a truck, there was heavy pain at first, but when it became numbness, my consciousness faded away pretty quickly. And after that¡­ I can¡¯t remember. Who am I? Hmm¡­ah! Something came to my mind. Ichijou Haru True Name: Diablo LV.1 HP: 0 Charge: 0 [Harbinger of Karma] Huh? What the hell is this? What¡¯s with the level and HP thing¡­ And on top of that¡­0 HP¡­ I¡¯m so confused right now¡­ I tried to open my eyes. They were heavy, as if I only got to sleep 2 hours last night¡­ I lifted my hand and massage my nose bridge but¡­ ¡°Where¡¯s my nose??¡± I touched all the places around my face. ¡°¡­not there¡± My face was just¡­technically not there. Huge eye sockets, no nose, no lips, just teeth. And extremely solid hard¡­ ¡°¡­seriously?¡± I immediately checked my body. I was still in the jersey and jeans of that time before getting kissed by that truck. There was normal flesh on all other places of my body. Except for the face¡­ ¡°Is this what they call¡­Skull Face?¡± I was terrifyingly calm, realizing the fact that my body changed drastically and yet, still calmly express my knowledge of the term Skull Face¡­ Since my mind was really calm, I decided to not sit in one place and whine anymore. Let¡¯s just go around and find out what the hell¡¯s going on¡­ So I stood up. Around me was a forest. There were strange plants and fruits. Even the trees had weird leaves I¡¯ve never seen before. I thought about myself for a moment¡­ Ichijou Haru True Name: Diablo LV.1 HP: 0 Charge: 0 [Harbinger of Karma] Information came into my mind again. This time I inspected it closely. Level 1. So, some kind of game? Virtual Reality? Probably¡­ Now this is the headache. HP: 0 In my knowledge of gaming, 0 HP means death. Why the hell am I still living and kicking right now? Is it because of me being a Skull Face? I remember Skull Face is a being that is called ¡°Demi-Undead¡±. It¡¯s something with a half-dead soul¡­ Then I truly did die after getting hit by that truck. But the fact that I am still here proves that part of me is still living. Hmm¡­ Some kind of world traveling? Reincarnation of some sort? That might be the case. No, let¡¯s assume that it went that way. It¡¯d be easier to think with a headstart direction. And then, [Harbinger of Karma]. What is this? I thought it was some kind of title. [Harbinger of Karma] Return what is done back to the source. Information came again. I don¡¯t get this system of information being written into my mind¡­ But since it¡¯s answering my inquiries, let¡¯s say thank you. Return what is done back to the source? I mean, that¡¯s exactly the definition of karma¡­ But what do you mean by to return ¡°what is done¡±? Like¡­what is ¡°what¡±¡­ Alright I¡¯m completely going in circle now. Let¡¯s drop the matter and move on. I walked into the forest, for no reason at all. Just wanted to explore and find out what is going on. My mind was too calm to be afraid of going blindly into a forest. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.It was rather convenient to a certain extent¡­ I removed a strange fruit from a strange tree. Looking at it with curiosity, information came to my mind. [Ejur Peach] Recovers 2HP Nice. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s wrong with my HP. I bit the blue peach on my hand with the skull mouth. When the piece was in my mouth, it strangely disappeared without any taste. HP: 0 Ehh¡­ I give up. [Achievement Unlocked] Harvesting Fruit +1 Bonus Charge[100] Now what¡­ I don¡¯t understand this one. No, the achievement thing I do¡­ But the charge thing I don¡¯t get at all¡­ What¡¯s a Charge[100]?? What¡¯s a Charge in itself actually¡­ What can I do with it? All kinds of questions popped up in my mind. But this time, strangely, no information came. What a troublesome thing¡­ I continued striding through the forest. My mental state: Extraordinary Calm. A normal person would become fearful of me right now if they saw me like this. Well, the skull face aside¡­ No human being would be this extremely calm striding through an unknown forest. I¡¯m not even human anymore, actually¡­ Then I encountered a thing. It was ugly, green and kind of stink¡­ It had a dagger on its left hand and a stout shield on its right. I assume the rag cloth around its hip was the pants of some sort¡­ Right. You guessed it, a goblin. Again, my curiosity on this thing brought information to my mind. Green Goblin LV.5 [Dagger] [Stout Shield] It glared at me and bared the tiny tusks. I felt neither fear nor threatened. My head was still strangely calm. It jumped at me. With the shield in front, the Green Goblin charged towards me and slashed at my chest. I was calm, but was also taken by surprised. It was faster than I thought it would be. The dagger pierced really deep. I thought I was done for sure. My second life is too short¡­ But. I was completely fine. The huge wound was there, but no blood came out. It also didn¡¯t regenerate¡­ My HP¡­ Still Zero. [50 DMG] A number popped up in my field of vision. I recognized its meaning. ¡°So you just slashed me with 50 DMG huh¡­¡± Charge: 1[100]; 1[50] That line popped up in my mind. What? I don¡¯t understand¡­ Anyway, let¡¯s take care of this thing first. It¡¯s so noisy and stinky¡­ I dashed forward and punched its head. [+50 DMG] Charge: 1[100]; 1[50] Oh? The goblin died instantly. And the 1[50] thing disappeared from that line of information. OH! I get it. I fucking get it. Karma isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s karma!!! It hit me with 50 DMG. I charged it into me. Then returned the exact same amount to the owner. The other 1[100] came from the achievement. So I¡¯ll be able to use it offensively on someone without a karma with me¡­ And for HP: 0¡­ I think¡­I¡¯m immortal¡­ Chapter 2 - Myella After a few more hours of striding through this forest, I found a poorly paved road. I also thought about the forest itself and my whereabouts... [Ashtelle Woods] LV.1~LV.10 Monsters LV.1~LV.3 Ingredients and Materials ...and that was what I got. I thought about the road, but nothing came. Really, what a weird system... Since I wasn''t particularly heading anywhere, I strode down the road I just found. The scene was rather refreshing. The leaves all looked strange and twisted. Is this a dying forest? [Ashtelle Woods] Condition: 43% Health Yeah, it''s not in good health. I wonder why... I stopped here and there to "harvest" some fruits. All of them were recovery fruits. But the most they would give was 5 HP. I gulped down one like that. The wound from the earlier fight half-healed. Hmm? What''s the meaning of this? My HP was still 0 and yet my not-even-painful wound healed? What a weird body... I ate a few more and let the wound completely healed. Even more surprisingly, my jersey also returned to its original state before the slash. Everything about this situation is strange... I encountered a abnormally big black rabbit on my way. It was way faster than the Goblin in attacking me. Demon Hare LV.7 HP: 48/50 [Poisonous Fangs] I just stared at it while it charged forward and bit the purple teeth into my neck. Normally, even if I knew I''m OK, I won''t be this indifferent about getting bitten with poisonous teeth. It''s just...everything about me now isn''t normal in anyway... I want to know even more about myself... Ichijou Haru True Name: Diablo LV.1 [Demigod of Undead] HP: 0/0 Charge: DMG[100], Poison[52] [Harbinger of Karma] Unique Title LV.1 More detailed information about me popped up in my mind. Demigod huh... Not bad at all. I probably thought so because I was so calm about the situation. It''s "Demigod of Undead" after all... Well... That explains my strange behavior. Undead don''t have brains and emotions. Oh yeah, the black rabbit... I removed it from my neck then checked my Charge again. Charge: DMG[100], Poison[86] It was 52 just now, seems like this will be enough anyway... I put my finger into its mouth. After 1 minute the thing twitched a few times and became completely loose and defenseless. [Poison -84 HP] Charge: DMG[100]; Poison[84] Could I save a bit of poison? I should research more about how to hold back... But then again, will it be effective to others if I hold back a part of Karma from something else? Given that the owner of that Karma is dead, can I still use the unused portion to dump it on someone else? I should experiment. After having another bite on a fruit to heal the bite''s marks, I continued my little trip. "Hmm? What is that?" Something was sitting right in the middle of the road. It was quite big with only 2 back wheels... "Ah...a carriage is it?" The horse was dead on the spot. I came closer to have a clearer look on it. A group of 3 people were standing in front of the wreckage. Before them was a blue bear, standing gloriously on two legs. Ashtelle Bear LV.12 [Sharp Claws] [Sharp Teeth] [Greater-Strength] [Blue Breath] This thing is special. Compared to the rabbit and the goblin, it''s in a league of its own. A field boss or something like that? I used to play MMORPGs a lot back in my high school and college days so I can recognize these things. Mostly thanks to this Undead body. Had it been the other "me", I would''ve run like an idiot while apologizing to the people over there in coward tears... There was one woman in that group of three. And she was being...hmm? Offered to the bear? I am confused. I got even closer to listen to their conversation. "******! **********!!!" "***********!!!!" Can''t understand. No idea what the hell are they saying... Hmm... Can I charge this? Charge: DMG[100], Language[Human] Nice. This system is convenient. "Just kill it, you whore!!!" "I-I-I can''t...You saw my magic not being able t-t-to pierce it!" The girl was beautiful, but so timid. With that kind of beauty, she should''ve been a Miss or a popular figure... "Hmm? That thing..." Yep. A black collar. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.In other words, a slave. But... Myella LV.325 Succubus Princess [Natural Charm] [Seduction] [Brainwash] So that how it is... She technically lost herself. Brainwash...so she''s not really a slave, but a remodeled tool... That explained why she''s scared of these two men. Compared to her... Franc LV.21 [Adventurer] [Iron Sword +2] [Breast Plate +3] Bont LV.22 [Adventurer] [Apprentice Staff +1] [Robe +3] ...these two are only fries... The plus things must be enchantment. Why are they acting so high and almighty? +1 +2 +3 aren''t that great... And compared to the one you''re bullying... Damn, I have nothing more to comment. I calmly watched over the situation. I had no obligation to interfere. But if possible, I want to free that girl. Affecting the world? Please...what does that have anything to do with me... Even if the world crumbles, it''s not like I care, nor can I die from that. And if I actually die, then so be it, I''m technically not living either... Back to the group. Kicking the girl to one side, literally, the two men charged forward. With their heroic aura, sword slashes and magic hit the monster. And as expected, they both became its lunch. RIP. I clasped my hands for a quick prayer and started to move out of the bush. The bear closed its distance to the girl by slowly walking on 4 limbs. It was playing around with the prey. Yes, the girl was strong, but when you''re brainwashed, you don''t know you''re strong. Without knowing of you own powers, you can''t use it... Thus, she''s helpless against that thing. "Yo, you seem to like women...we can be friends..." I stood in the middle of the girl and the bear. I greeted the bear with a friendly tone. It felt weird talking without moving your lips. Actually, I felt like I was moving my lips. But on my skull face nothing happened. The bear seemed to tilt its head staring at me. After a few seconds it raised an arm and attacked me. *** After who-knows-how-much time has passed. The bear ran out of stamina and stopped tearing my flesh while panting. The girl named Myella was still dead frozen on the spot with terrors in her eyes. "Alright, you done now?" I just leisurely got up and looked at myself. Bones were visible everywhere. Flesh was literally ragged... But there were no blood. On top of that, neither fear nor threat was available in my mind. "Ah...so this is why I was given this body..." Unable to feel fear - the only way to make me fully utilize this goddamn title. "Alright, let''s test this out..." Charge: DMG[100], Ashtell-Bear[2,489] Nice. "Rapid Attack!" I jumped onto the exhausted bear and released a series of stupid attacks like kids fighting. Kicks, punches, scratches, headbutts...everything. Until... Charge: DMG[100], Ashtelle-Bear[0] ...the bear collapsed right on the spot with blood gushing out from its mouth. Its eyes rolled back into the skull, several spots on the body was twisted pretty strangely... [Achievement Unlocked] Defeat first Mini-boss Charge: DMG[100]; Heal[100] Good. I gained something useful. Now back on the girl. I crouched down and looked into her eyes. She...fainted. Ahh...the skull face and the injuries with no blood... Damn, am I the dense type? I went around to eat fruit. Really want to save the Healing charge, so... After recovering my body to its finest form, I woke the girl up. "HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!! Please don''t kill me!!!" "Oi...you''re hurting my self-esteem..." Of course that was a lie, I felt nothing at all. Charge: DMG[100]; Heal[100]; Myella[Fear] ...what the hell? Why did you charge that one, idiot... "E-Eh? Y-You don''t seem to be scary..." "Um...''cause I''m not...I kicked that bear''s ass, you''re free to go..." "I...technically don''t know where to go...the people transporting me to a certain place were dead..." According to her, she was recently captured. She has zero memory about who she was. Myella only knows her name and has been being moved around quite a lot. She doesn''t know the way, in terms of streets and roads, either... Ehh...did I raise a flag? Anyway, we should do something about her memories. I really don''t want her to stick with someone like me and take trouble in for herself. People with strange powers always carry with them a bunch of hassles... I put a hand on her forehead and began thinking... Hmm...[Brainwash] huh... I can''t charge it if it wasn''t pointed at me... Can I break it? Can I use the stray DMG without any Karma to destroy it? Let''s try then... I was really calm, so it was easy to focus. I imagined releasing a part of that charge into the [Brainwash] thing. Charge: DMG[80]¡ú[Brainwash] Nice. I successfully spent 20 DMG on that spell and broke it. Was it an overkill? I have no way to know that... "Eh?...HEH? EH?..!!!" "Remember everything now?" "Y-Yeah...my realm was attacked...and destroyed..." Great...now she''s a homeless... "Um...then...where are you going to go now?" "No idea~" Why are you smiling playfully? Does my skull have a weird feature? "Well then, good luck" I got up and started walking away like no one cares. But... "Why are you following me?" "I have nowhere to go and I happened to see you upon getting my memories back~" "Why are you clinging to my arm?" "Succusbus'' instinct~" "Again, why are you following me, seriously" "You''re so mean, I already said it was something like imprinting..." "Sighhh..." Of course that sigh was just a lie, a gesture. I didn''t feel any discomfort having her following me. Nor did I get excited having a woman holding my arm... Well...I don''t care. Don''t blame me if you run into troubles following me. Charge: DMG[80]; Myella[L**e] Hmm? Chapter 3 - Holy Knights "Hurry up, Haru-kun!!!" "Hey!! Wait for me..." A boy and a girl of about 8 years of age are now playing around in a local park. They seem very happy being together during summer. Every time the girl fell to the ground and had teary eyes, the boy came to her side and pat her on the head. Then she would wipe her tears and look at him timidly. Every time this happens, the boy''s heart skips a beat, but he''s too young to identify this. To the current "him", the girl gives him the feeling of a small animal he wants to protect. Ana existence that makes him feel rather calm being together with... "Haru-kun...***************!!!" The words carved deep into his memories as the scene turns scarlet, the girl disappeared in front of him... *** "Oh. That dream again..." I woke up feeling rather...well, normal. In the past, it used to be different. Dreams like this make me jump up from bed sweating with unconscious tears... I guess this current body just doesn''t allow that to happen anymore. Which I''m...might or might not be thankful for. It makes me feel less human, less myself... Hmm... How idiotic, I''m not even human to begin with. "Morning~ Meanie-san~" "Oh...morning" The road we were walking along was in fact pretty damn long. It might feel really fast inside a carriage or riding a horse. But to walk on foot leisurely like us...though not tiring, it was too boring after we ran out of topic to chat. Thus, we found a cave back inside the forest and sheltered there since yesterday''s dusk. I must say though, talking to Myella gives me a familiar vibe. I just couldn''t identify it really well... "Such cold tone...you called out another woman''s name in your dream with a way more sweet voice" Hmm... A blond beauty pouting at me huh... Not bad. Myella''s hair isn''t completely blond. It was a lighter shade of white-ish blond. Which looks perfectly nice on her waist-reaching hair. She''s only dressing in a simple short-sleeved t-shirt and a mini-skirt... But it''s rather refreshing when you combine it with her well proportioned body. Well...she''s a Succubus Princess after all... "Hmm? I called out to a woman in my sleep?" "Yup~ Aoi-chan something..." Still pouting, she turned away and "Hmph!" at me. Yeah, cute. "That''s just my childhood friend" "Liar" "Why do you think so?" "A skull face is always born out of nowhere...you can''t possibly have a childhood friend" "Well...I don''t lie to women, it''s ok to not believe me" I don''t particularly want to say that I got reincarnated. It sounds just a little bit too outrageous... "Then you''re not lying?" "I have never been...at least since we met..." "Truly?" "Truly" "Then it''s okay~" Clapping her hands before her chest, Myella showed a brimming smile. I don''t really think she''s a succubus. Are all succubuses this adorable? Well...as succubuses...I guess they better be cute. They have one job after all, to seduce men. Not that it works on me though. I can feel nothing from a woman, even if she strips naked in front of me. But the previous "me" would jump up and die instantly from a heart attack... Hmm...well. Let''s cast that aside. Grieving about the past isn''t good either. "Myella, did you gather the fruits?" We looted a few things from the dead humans escorting Myella earlier. One of the things was a small backpack. I asked her to fill that bag up with recovery fruits in the forest. Don''t get me wrong. It''s not that I make women do labor work. It''s just that... If I held onto those fruits. And got myself destroyed during a fight to charge up damage... Then the fruits would also be destroyed... What''s the point of that??? So instead, I had Myella carry the fruits. She''s not human, she''s absurdly strong to begin with... So...that''s that. "Yup~ I woke up early~" "Nice, thanks. Now let''s go" "Where are we going?" "Hmm..." I have no idea how to answer that one. I mean I''m a skull face who wears jersey with jeans. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.And this is some kind of fantasy world. I don''t know any place to go... I''m not heading anywhere specifically. Nor do I want to visit any specific place... "Let''s just...go" "Pfffff..." "We''ll go everywhere, if you want to keep going with me, I can only take you to a world tour" "Haha~ okay then...I''ll be in your care..." Why was that funny? Is it just me or there''s a reason for her chuckles? Probably it''s because of this body that I don''t feel amused. We headed out of the cave with Myella carrying a backpack stuffed full of fruits. Returning to the road earlier, we continued our sightseeing trip. Though the forest was dying with trees withering away... "Say, Myella..." "Hmm~?" "I''ll ask again, I promise this is the last time, why did you follow me?" "Hmm.......................I feel an over-familiarity from you...dunno why though" "Is that so...?" Along the way, we encountered a few monsters. Just common types you''d see in fantasy games. Of course, I let them have their way with me. Then returned the damage and destroyed them instead. We continued to chat away along the road. Many topics were brought up. From how she became a Succubus Princess... ...to various kinds of mythical monsters. She gives off this vibe of a close friend you''d chat endlessly without the need to stop. We continued like that for another day and found another smaller cave to shelter. *** I let my guard down. Yesterday, Myella went to sleep earlier than me. I liked girls'' sleeping face, so I came closer to take a look. I poked her cheek. But she thought it was a mosquito or something and scratched lightly. Cute. But at the same time, I felt helpless. She was shivering slightly because it was night time in a forest. I guess Succubus or not, a woman is still a woman... This undead body has zero body heat. It''s just a lump of cold meat and bones. I didn''t feel any pity. But it did rub me the wrong way thinking that I could only leave a woman sleep in coldness. So I just remove my jersey and wrapped it over her to make do as a pseudo-blanket and went to sleep. Then I had an extremely "WET" dream about my previous human self and Myella in my old room. What the hell... I woke up seeing this: Charge: DMG[80]; Heal[100]; Myella[L**e]; Myella[Sexual Pleasure] ... That morning when I turned around and looked at her... She was hanging her head with this expression of "Oopsie...I didn''t mean to do that" on her face while blushing... I guess this is why you shouldn''t sleep next to a Succubus. Well...I can only say this is pure luck that I happened to be an Undead. Had it been my old human body...I don''t even know where could I find another jeans to change... That aside, we headed out again. This time, we actually went out of the forest and caught little glimpses of a nearby town. Just another half an hour of walking, we ran into a group of humans. All armed to the teeth with uniformed armor sets. Knights indeed. And the one that seemed to be their leader: Alord Franc Human LV.30 HP: 600/620 [Rare-Holy Armor Set] [Rare-Holy Sword] Not bad. He''s stronger than the blue bear. They seemed very hostile. But it felt off. They weren''t looking at me. But they were actually glaring at Myella. And she also seemed to trembled... "What''s wrong, Myella?" "T-T-They''re from the Church..." "Why are you being scared of them? You''re way stronger?" "I''m not scared of them...b-but their most basic skill [Purification]..." Ah that... I guess that''s just natural. Well then... I doubt I''d feel any grudge even if they killed Myella. But I actually don''t want to lose my only companion. She''s cute after all. Not that it''d be boring traveling alone or anything... But I have this tiny little urge to keep her around. I better hurry up before I sound any more like a Tsundere... "Hey...what business do you guys have with us?" "Hmf...just kill the skull face and take the bitch back, we''ll execute her before everyone" I was...ignored. Is skull face a very low-class monster in this world? Well...I don''t feel offended or anything like that, but you should be more careful, Knight-san... One of the 20 Knights came close and thrust his sword towards me piercing my abdomen. "Trash...I wonder what item would you drop..." Charge: DMG[80]; Heal[100]; Myella[L**e, Sexual Pleasure]; Brendy[5,000] Oh, quite a lot right there. His sword is obviously special. Probably a magic item... We stared at each other for quite some minutes. "Oi...why didn''t you die yet?" "Because it goes like this..." I put my hand on his shoulder and released the damage back. A hole appeared on the guy''s belly and blood gushed out. He coughed blood while staring at me with widened eyes and fell to the ground. Instant death. "WHA...!!!!" "What the hell?!?" "Brendy!!! OI!!! What happened?" They started to panic slightly. "CALM DOWN YOU LOT! IT''S JUST A SNEAKY TRICK!! JUST KILL HIM LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO!!!" "YESSIR!!!" They started to release a torrent of attacks towards me. I let them have their way until every single one of them runs out of stamina. It''s weird...why aren''t they taking Myella instead of trying to mow me down??? I have no idea...it''s good for me, if anything. Finally, I stood up with tons of wounds on my body. As expected, no fear, no pain, no blood. My mental health: Perfectly Calm. I then played tag with them. With a few experiences in martial arts training years ago, I touched each and every one of them while releasing damage. They all fell to the ground with blood gushing out from their body. The leader stared at me in utter terrors... "W-W-W-What the h-h-h-hell are you!!!!!!??" "The name''s Diablo, I''m sightseeing" "S...sightseeing...FUCK YOU!!! [Holy Purification]" He shouted while casting an offensive spell. Charge: DMG[80]; Heal[100]; Myella[L**e, Sexual Pleasure]; Alord[Holy Purification] Hmm...Interesting... An undead casting holy spells huh... That said...this won''t work on him. He''s not a monster...I can''t purify him. "See? You can''t kill me...please leave..." "AS IF!!!" Recovering from the shock seeing me completely fine even after the spell, the guy jumped up and released a series of slashes onto me... Charge: DMG[80]; Heal[100]; Myella[L**e, Sexual Pleasure]; Alord[Holy Purification]; Alord[6,500] Sigh... People from medieval churches are so stubborn... I put a finger on his forehead. He died, I turned towards Myella to ask for the fruits. "Hmm? What''s wrong again?" "....................I-I''m sorry..." She was hanging her head with slightly trembling shoulders. "...um...about what?" "Y-You''re full of wounds because of me..." "...ehh...you know that I don''t feel pain right?" "B-But...but I don''t wanna see you like that..." The last few words trailed off away in the wind. I couldn''t hear it...but I thought I shouldn''t ask more. I put a hand on her head and stroked her soft smooth, beautiful hair a little. She finally looked up and blushed slightly before forcing a smile... "It''s already a big help having you carrying the fruits...I think I''ll need more help on that front...after I eat a few...please refill before we leave the forest..." "H-Hmph...I got it..." Like that, we continued our little trip towards that town over there. Myella just clung to my left arm, but I didn''t mind, so I didn''t stop her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ichijou Haru True Name: Diablo LV.3 [Demigod of Undead] HP: 0/0 Charge: DMG[80], Heal[100]; Language[Human]; Myella[L**e, Sexual Pleasure]; Spell[Holy Purification] [Harbinger of Karma] Unique Title LV.1 Chapter 4 - Vlaha City "There''s the city" "It sure is big..." After a few more hours we reached that nearby town. Both of us had zero information on that town. Since Myella never really left her domain in the Nether Realm, she only knew that this town''s name is Vlaha. A free city with a somewhat high amount of traders and adventurers. And that''s the end of her knowledge. Well...not that I care, we''ll just go for a trip around the town then leave. Since I don''t know where I''m going, I decided that if we run into a town, we''ll pay it a visit then continue to walk endlessly to nowhere in particular. "I''m amazed that you actually agreed to do a global jogging with me..." Of course it''s a white lie, I felt nothing as usual. If I have to describe it, I''d say I just wanted to know why a beauty like her accepted my absurd plan of traveling the world on foot... "Eh? Not that I have anywhere to go though...my domain''s been destroyed by an Alliance of human''s Kingdoms...I doubt there''s anyone surviving..." "You don''t wanna go revenge or anything?" "No...I guess? If I go I''ll just get purified instantly before being able to do anything...so following Meanie-san would be way better~" "I have a name, and I''m not mean, I just don''t have the ability to be nice..." "Yeah~ yeah~" "You''re not even listening, are you..." We came closer to the town. The ramparts were very high. Security seemed to be tight at the gate. Guards were checking identity cards of people moving in and out. Those that didn''t have a card had to register one on the spot. Myella said that with this skull face I would only cause an uproar. So she used illusion magic to cast a fake face on top of the skull. The appearance was based on the previous human me. She knows since she sneaked into my dream once. She also camouflaged herself with a high-level illusion magic. I wonder if the jersey and jeans looked weird, but we proceeded anyway. Charge: [...]; Magic[Illusion] (Author''s Note: It''s a pain to write everything out, so I''ll just use the [...] icon for irrelevant Charges based on the situation) Surprisingly, we passed through the registration without any problem at all. I also found out that, buffs will be charged and effective at the same time. That illusion magic just now, it worked and at the same time got charged. But I can only return it back on Myella. If she''s dead then I don''t know yet, I haven''t test that out. Since this spell was but an easy task for her, the Charge became useless. So I focused my mind and discharged it, too many of them makes me confused. We stopped at a general merchant stall near the gate. There was actually a guide book, sort of. It''s just a lump of paper stacked together by some thin fabric ropes. But at least there was relevant information inside, along with a general map of the city. Pretty typical of a fantasy town I''d say. There were 4 main districts, the Merchant, Resident, Noble, and Adventurers. The Guild is of course, in the Adventurers district. I don''t have any need to meddle with the Guild, so let''s just head to the Merchant district. I want to see what kind of food and "toys" they sell there... Not that we have that much money though... We looted 10 silver coins and 35 copper coins from the Blue Bear''s lunch, meaning Myella''s former escorts. But the Knights carried zero money on them...how poor is their church...? I put some thoughts into the shopping matter while we were walking. I don''t know, should I buy a few cute things for Myella? My clothes would eventually get destroyed during battles... Though it would return to its original state after eating some fruits, there isn''t anything to guarantee that it''d work on something other than my jersey and jeans... I don''t know how I feel about buying something for Myella, she seems pretty into those hair clips... If a normal person have my feelings right now, I think it would be irritation. I''m OK to spend money and buy her stuffs, I don''t need anything. But at the same time I wouldn''t bat an eyelid about not buying her anything either... How should I proceed? I can''t even get irritated at myself and want to go mad. I''m just pretty bad when it comes to pleasing women... So, I made a decision. Since it''s OK either way, let''s choose the way that would make everyone happy. "Sir, how much is this one?" "OOOH...young man, you have quite the eyes for women right there...this thing would suit your lover perfectly" "L-L-L-Lover?!?" Myella suddenly blushed and cast her eyes down fidgeting... I didn''t really understand it, except for judging her actions as cute. I guess I''ll eventually become the dense type protagonist with this undead body... Not that there''s anything to guarantee my role as the protagonist of a story though... "...1 silver coin...here you go...thank you!" "Thank you for shopping at my stall!!" I got Myella a hair clip with a small rose made from iron on it. Apparently they also have paints here, the rose is actually red with carvings as the main details making it take shape of a rose. [Achievement Unlocked] First Shopping Charge: DMG[80 +100] I put it on her hair myself, put a fist on my chin and nodded in...satisfaction? No, I don''t think so, I just viewed her as "cute" with that thing on. Especially when she blushed more violently and looked around in embarrassment. "Hmp...nice...let''s go" "O-O-Okay..." The next moment, she clung to my arm again and smiled brimmingly while walking. But...no damns were given. I just couldn''t feel any excitement from the soft swelling pressing against my arm. I guess I''ll just make a quick judgement that she has very nice proportions. Next, we ran into a few food stalls. I had the same problem in thinking about the situation again. Eventually I used the same way of thinking and bought Myella a stick of grilled meat. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Pork Meat LV.2 Quality: 82% Charge: [...]; Ian[Over-pricing] You motherfucker... 30 copper coins for a stick of meat... Well...I''m not angry...I''ll remember his face and come back to sell him something with his own Karma later... Ehh...that wasn''t a grudge. I had zero motivation to revenge. What I want is to test out the charge, and earn a bit of money so I can buy some more things for Myella in the future. Next, clothing shops. I''m not going for tailors... I don''t know why, but I rationally judged that tailors would touch Myella all over the place if I were to order new clothes for her... And what the hell is wrong with my head? Is there only the word Myella in there? I guess it''s just natural when she''s my only companion. I myself want to buy nothing. So the money would just pile up in waste, given that we''ll earn more, thus I''ll use it for her. Done. Anyways, she wasn''t really interested in the clothes so we just walked by and arrived at a magic shop. According to the pseudo-guidebook, shops with weapons, gears, potions, and such can be found either here or in the adventurer district. If we go deeper inside, there''ll be the high class shops for rich guys. Which we are not, so let''s see around the Equipment shops and leave. Myella was even more disinterested in the magic shop... "Ehh...you don''t like these things?" "Hmm? No, it''s not like that...I can make better things so I just don''t really care about LV.2 items..." "You can identify the level?" "I have [Analyze] skill, you know?? You just really don''t care about me that much, do you~?" And why are you puffing your cheek? I don''t really know how do I feel about that... Is she complaining? Damn...I''m really turning into a dense character... "Um...sorry about that then..." "Hmph!" Ehh...she turns away with a that sound again... Let''s make a mental note to talk more about herself, that''s the only way I know to show some care towards her... [Mental Note Recorded] Talk more about Myella Oh shit...there''s this feature, too?!? OK, let''s use this to the utmost potential. I''ll just have to take notes so I don''t walk down the path of dense characters... That makes me a tiny bit curious about Myella... Myella, 165 years old Succubus Princess LV.325 HP: 200,486 MP: 192,678 [LV.5 Natural Charm] [LV.10 Seduction] LV.5 Witchcraft LV.5 Battle Mage [Queen of Lust] Unique Title LV.3 Great. Fuck you, system... You just stole everything I need to ask Myella. Well...not that I''m mad at you anyway. I guess I''ll ask about her daily life... *THUMP* Hmm? What was that sound? "Oi!!! Young lady, are you OK?!?" The shout of the shop owner caught my attention. When I turned towards Myella, she''s already on the ground unconscious. What the hell... Hmm... I''m not panicking, that''s good. What should I do now... I need to know her condition first. Hey, information-out-of-nowhere-sensei, you mind lending me a hand? Myella Condition: Stress Overloaded, no danger found. Good. Let''s just find an inn and let her rest a little. Then we''ll talk. Of course I have Heal with me in my Charges. But I don''t think it''d work on mental health... "Sir...do you know any good nearby inn?" *** "Feeling better now?" "Eh?!? Why am I here??" This is unbelievable... She got overloaded because of sexual stress. When I told her everything, she blushed and reluctantly told me about Succubuses. They live off of sexual desire from others. She did charge up by sneaking into my dream last time. But it ran out, since this udnead body is a gentleman without any desires... "You should have said so earlier..." "H-H-How can I spit that out that easily!!!?!?!" I mean, I also charged your "energy" within me, I could''ve just given you some... She said that it would work even better if it''s not just desire but real pleasure. Apparently, the desire from the "human me" within my dream wasn''t that much. Well...I was grieving over a trauma in the past...so not having any desire would be just natural... "Sighhh...then let''s do this then..." Again, white lie...I didn''t really sigh. It was only a gesture. "EH?!? W-W-What are we d-d-doing??????" I suddenly pushed her down to the bed. Then... Well, I don''t think I''ll go into details. With a few certain "actions", I released the Charge [Sexual Pleasure] back into her. And then...ehh...no...that''s it, I''m not an eroge fanatic, I won''t just spit those things out. I myself felt no shame in telling, not that I can anyway... But I''ll reserve Myella''s face, that''s all. Myella Stress Level: 2% Good. She''ll have enough for a few more days. But really though...what kind of succubus are you?!? You''re too pure, innocent and defenseless before these things... Turns out that most succubuses have only been acting tough in men''s dreams. In real life...they''re just virgins. Ironic, isn''t it...? By the time I was done with the "energy business", the Sun already came down. Myella was somewhat exhausted so she fell asleep right away. I wasn''t tired, but let''s just close my eyes and sleep til morning. I also told her to jump into my dream when needs energy, I don''t particularly mind anyway... So I guess everything''s alright for now. Goodnight... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ichijou Haru True Name: Diablo LV.3 [Demigod of Undead] HP: 0/0 Charge: DMG[180], Heal[100]; Language[Human]; Myella[L**e]; Spell[Holy Purification]; Ian[Over-pricing] [Harbinger of Karma] Unique Title LV.1 Chapter 5 - Earning pocket money I''m an absolute idiot. Yeah, this morning when I woke up I suddenly realized that, about the "energy" business, I didn''t have to all that stuff to Myella... I could''ve just hugged her and release the Charge gradually. I didn''t really know how I felt about the solution, resulting in misjudging the way of doing it. That''s why, I was made to seiza first thing in the morning. Myella''s giving me a lecture on how to be gentle with women. And yes, I am taking mental notes with that feature I recently found. I''ve always been bad in handling women. Now with a body that doesn''t have any emotion, it just kind of became worse. For example, I''d feel pretty pissed if I directed an insult I had given others back right at me. But in this body, even if I thought about how people would feel about my actions, I just couldn''t sympathize and understand the emotions at all... Anyways, we''ll just be more careful next time doing a battery recharge for Myella... If you asked me, I''d say I still feel...no not feel...judge that Myella is pretty strange. That''s just a rational thought running through my mind whenever I think about the reason why would she follow me around... She grew attached to me too fast, one wouldn''t help but think it is rather strange. Well, that aside, I gave the matter of traveling some thoughts and decided that we''d need more money. Striding through the lands and countries without a good amount of money would be pretty stupid. Then what should we do? We use the pseudo-guide book and found out something pretty interesting. "Free Requests" at the Adventurers Guild. Free Requests aren''t requests that you don''t get paid and do it for free. It basically means that anyone can take it and receive rewards. One does not have to register as an adventurer to take on these requests. Why are there requests like those? Well...they''re all shady requests that the Guild couldn''t determine the difficulty. So they were left behind for people who would risk their life for a gamble. Of course the Guild won''t bear any responsibility for these kinds of requests. But that''s OK with me, Myella also does not disagree. Let''s go then. We strode through the shopping district and made a few turns before entering the Adventurers District. The amount of weapon shops and armor shops, as well as utility item shops rose drastically compared to the shopping district. I guess that''s just natural for a place containing people who constantly fight. We finally arrived at the Free Request Board. There were a bunch of memo notes-like papers pinned on it. Ranging from subjugating an unknown monster to assassinating a shady criminal. All kinds of things were present. "What should we take?" "Hmm...how about this?" ¡ºSubjugation of an unknown monster deep inside Ashtelle Woods that is killing the forest¡» Oh? Interesting, it''s true that the forest was dying very slowly. But it was because of a monster? I think I want to know about that monster. I can''t say that I''m interested, but I do have a tiny bit of curiosity. That said, we informed the Guild and left towards the Ashtelle Woods again. On the way, we chopped down a few low level monsters and collected the drops for more money. Everything''s going just as planned, except for one thing. Myella''s not clinging to me anymore. Ehh... she really is mad isn''t she... I can''t say that I suddenly felt lonely, because I didn''t mind at all. But I judged that it was strange of her to distant from me after a few days of constant clinging. Well... I don''t know. Let''s ask her then... my nonexistent face skin is pretty damn thick with this undead body... "W-what kind of woman do you think I am?" "Succubus..." "Kuu!... uuu... such a meanie... a sadist!!! Hmf!!" ... Um... that again? The reminds me of a goddamn familiar person. But I guess it''s only a coincidence. This is a different world after all... Hmm... I wonder how would Aoi-chan react if she sees me again in this appearance... What a convenient body, I can now think about Aoi without getting a panic attack. In the past I used to break down onto my knees in the middle of the streets if I accidentally think about her... You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.I guess God gave me a chance to move on from that trauma... Anyways... Here''s the entrance to the forest. "Where should we start looking?" "I... don''t know..." Did her voice just become a bit colder? Nah, probably just my imagination, I can''t feel anything from her even if those words were piercing my heart... Wait, isn''t that actually bad...? Please... the God who took me here, I don''t really care, but I don''t judge being a dense protagonist is good either... Back on topic. We searched around everywhere before I noticed something strange. Charge: [...]; Corrosive Damage[10... 20... 30... 40...] I was receiving damage over time... What? Why? "Did you notice, Myella?" "Yes, I''m coating myself in a barrier..." "Can you find the source?" "I think it''s... over there..." "Alright, let''s go" We headed towards the direction Myella pointed out. The more I got close, the more damage I received every second. My flesh and clothes slowly got torn. This creature is troublesome. I mean, monsters that damage you just by standing next to them are the most annoying ones in RPG''s right? No? Well, it''s just me then. Not that I care at all in this situation though. I get more stray damage to release on people without Karma if anything... "We''re getting closer" Yep. I can feel the damage. No not feel, the hell am I saying... I saw the numbers going up quite drastically. Charge: [...]; Corrosive Damage[4,000... 4,300...] Wen enter a cave where the magical corrosion came from and entered it. "Eh?" "Interesting..." A child was lying inside. I looked at the child and asked myself, but no information came. So I woke him/her up because I''m not scared of anything. "Hey..." "Hu...? Hiiiii! ! You look so scary!!! Bad guy!! You''re definitely a bad guy!!!" Please... I don''t feel hurt, but I''m a little curious of how that kind of stereotype is also available in this world... "If I was bad I already murdered you while you were sleeping..." "*grasp*... No! Please don''t kill me! I didn''t mean to do it!!!" "Um... we are supposed to kill you according to the request... but let''s hear the details from you then..." Apparently, that child was a little girl, a tomboyish one. She''s the youngest daughter of Demigod of Dragons... surprised!!(monotone) Well... that was surely absurd, but somehow I felt like it was as expected. Anyways, she was born as a Time Dragon, and she couldn''t control the powers. Thus anything coming close to her would degenerate over time. And the kid was exiled from the Holy land of Dragons as she damaged other kids when she was at school. Being the Time Dragon, her body requires no nutrition or any kind of basic necessities. She can just froze her own time and become immortal, quite a dangerous fellow... But in my eyes now, where no pity could be found, there was a flash of opportunism. "Kid. Follow me, I''ll take you everywhere and protect you if you''re obedient, how does that sound?" "Eh?? M-Meanie-san!!" I dropped the bombshell right in front of Myella. The kid stared at me for a while and just nodded blankly. "Well... I know I can''t hurt you... and you definitely can''t hurt me either, physically... so I''ll take up your offer" Nice. Being with this girl, I can soak up damage all the time and is always prepared to dish it back out on anyone. She never meant to damage me, that''s why it isn''t her Karma. The corrosive damage became stray damage without any limits on Karma. With this, I''ll hide her from being hunted, and I get to soak in more damage. It''s a win-win situation so everything should be fine. "Now I need to chop off your horns as proof that I killed you, you can grow them back right?" "U-Um... yeah I can..." I told the girl to stay exactly where she is while we go back and complete this request. We got ourselves 200 gold coins for that, wow(monotone). Now that we''re back at the cave of the Time Dragon Child, let''s think of a way to temporarily suppress her corrosive AoE...