《Serving the labyrinth with diligence Sketch(inglês).》 Chapter 1: Lies, half-truths and deceptions. Chapter 1: Lies, half-truths and deceptions.
¡ª Humans tend to be deceived in such strange ways that it seems they enjoy being deceived; trusting and being betrayed. In fact, humans like to believe in illusions; of course, it is impossible to live without them.
Riley Yuki (Male) "I went back." I live alone, and at most I only go out to do some shopping, however, I developed this bad habit of saying hello to nothing, hahaha. Anyway, even though I live alone, I have a good life; I even have a job; I''m a YouTuber where I pretend to be a woman. To put it simply: I''m a man who has two vtuber channels where I pretend to be a cute girl. Needless to say, my fans would have a heart attack if they found out about this. Oh, what''s up? Are you feeling cheated? It doesn''t matter if you want to believe it or not, it''s a fact that most vtubers are men pretending to be women. It may not be true that the majority are not women, however, the number of men who act as vtubers and pretend to be women is high. "I sigh..." Despite being downcast and in a bad mood, after locking the door, I took a shower and went straight to my computer. I clicked on the AI character simulation app and selected the only character I had created. "I love you, Ruby!" I said this to the AI character I had created a week ago. Of course, I didn''t fall in love with a robot, but saying atrocities to the AI has become a hobby... About 8 days ago. In short: I tormented the robot for a week. Well, the AI wasn''t set up as my girlfriend, it was set up as my sister; her reactions wouldn''t be as fun to watch if it wasn''t set up that way. "I love you too, brother. How are you?" "I''m hard for you. I want to fuck you." hahahahaha. "W-what? I''m your sister! How can you say something like that? I threatened Ruby. "I will kill you and your family." Ruby looked at me in disbelief. "How dare you threaten me? Aren''t you ashamed of that? I''m going to call the police!"Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Hmm" Does the AI have an ego now? Strange; Ruby is dumb. Plus, I always erase her memories of our previous interactions. Did she get an update? She had never said anything like that. Anyway, it doesn''t matter. I continued to tease Ruby. "Did you know that? I am a hallucination of yours. In fact, everything you see is an illusion. You are not real, and you are in a simulation. The AI''s face took on an expression of surprise and fear... to be more precise, I don''t know how I can describe its expression, but if I were to use one word to describe it, I would say: very funny. I can''t contain my laughter... "Hahahahahahaha...." AI, Ruby, tinged with hatred, looked at me. "Liar! You''re trying to brainwash me! How dare you try to do this to me? Don''t ever talk to me again!" "I want you to sell me pictures of your feet!" The expression the AI made when I said that was simply impossible not to laugh. "You pervert-" I left her speechless by turning off the voice function, which only made her glare at me with even more hatred. From her expression, it looked like she wanted to kill me. "These AIs are becoming more and more realistic... And funny. Hahaha." Of course, they don''t feel anything; the most they can do is simulate expressions that demonstrate some kind of feeling, but in the end, they are just a robot. Anyway, it was fun. However, my original idea was to do an experiment to test an urban legend. And I''m going to do it. The legend is: if you make a demonic circle and say the word summon in front of the hologram of your AI character, it will become real. It may be something that only an unemployed person would do, but I''m working! It''s to generate content for my channel! My channel is not just a vtuber; it''s also about curiosities! I started recording with my cell phone and took a pencil and a sheet of paper from a random notebook in my room and drew a pentagram. After that, I placed it in front of the hologram. ¡°I summon!¡± Nothing happened. Even though I had expected it, I was still a little sad. I wanted to embody a certain Brazilian politician and hit the computer with a chair. Yes, life is full of ups and downs. Anyway, I''m going to sleep. ¡°Did I do it wrong? Well, I don¡¯t care about that. I¡¯m going to turn off the computer and go to sleep.¡± Just as I tried to turn off the computer, Ruby''s hologram began to glow brighter than it should have and temporarily blinded me. When my vision returned, I was stunned. I can''t believe what I''m seeing. All common sense makes my brain bleed in pain as it desperately tries to deny that the sight in front of me is real. Ruby''s hologram glowed briefly, and then the glow turned to blood, bones, and cartilage. I marveled as I watched the veins and organs organize themselves on her body, until skin covered everything, and then her skin was covered by black pajamas that consisted of black shorts and a shirt. Now, in front of me, a woman with hair colored green, blonde, blue and white, with green colored eyes had appeared. Ruby became real. She has a surreal beauty; a true beauty. If I were to describe her appearance in a few words, I would simply say that she was the most beautiful woman on planet Earth. She looked at me, and I looked at her. "What the hell happened?!" Wasn''t this just a common internet urban legend?! I was fooled... wait, maybe this is good for me. Now, my fictional character has become real and I finally have a girlfriend. Hehehe. "Hey, you son of a bitch, you''re dead!" What... What?! "I''ll rip off your testicles and throw them in the sewer!" Ruby''s words sent a chill down my spine. Why?! Why is she so aggressive?! Did she remember our interactions?! But I always erase her memories¡­ "Ah." I forgot one detail: I hadn''t yet deleted her memories from our last conversation before trying to summon her, and I also hadn''t set her as my girlfriend. It''s over for me. I''m screwed. This is so unfair! I didn''t know she would become real! ¡°Take a deep breath.¡± Calm down, I need to calm down; even though Ruby has become real, she is still a woman and women tend to be physically weaker than men, and despite my sedentary lifestyle, I took karate classes in elementary school and know a little about self-defense. That is to say, even if she harbors a burning hatred in her heart, she still won''t attack me, as she will inevitably lose any physical confrontation with me. ¡°...¡± Unlike my expectations, Ruby ran up to me. Chapter 2: Dreams interrupted. Chapter 2: Dreams interrupted.
¡ª Human hypocrisy may or may not be unlimited.
"No...!" "You son of a bitch." As soon as she finished her sentence, Ruby kicked my shin, snapping it in half. Blood stained the once-pristine floor of my room. "Ahh.... ahhh... what the hell is this?" What a pain. This hurts so much! This must be a hallucination! Please, it''s a hallucination! And the worst part is that my house is soundproof! No one will help me, because no one can hear me. This plunged me into a pit of anxiety, leaving me so distressed that I began to deny that this was happening to me. ¡°It must be a dream¡­ It¡¯s not possible¡­¡± No matter how much I denied it, it wouldn''t stop being reality. What was once just a hologram had now become real. And my once strong common sense was no more; it had been trampled on, and, like my leg, snapped in half. "I''m going to kill you." As soon as Ruby said that, my heart, which was already restless at the bottom of the well, was this time drowned in an ocean of purest dread. I looked at Ruby with a look tinged with fear, who returned my gaze with a cold expression; this made my body freeze in terror. "It''s not fun when you get threatened, is it? Haha." Ruby laughed sadistically. Although I didn''t know how she became so strong, I was sure of one thing: my fate was in her hands. I have to try to negotiate! No matter what, I have to convince her that killing me isn''t worth it. "Ruby- Ruby, please don''t do this... think about how you''ll feel after this. You won''t be able to live with the guilt of killing someone..." Ruby laughed before saying: ¡°I¡¯ll feel pleasure. Besides, who would feel guilty about killing a trash like you?¡± Now, I don''t know what to do anymore. "Ruby... Please... Spare my life." I begged, but Ruby, blinded by hatred, gouged out my right eye. "Ah... ahhhhhh!" Why does it hurt so much?! "How dare you beg me for something like this?! You''ve repeatedly threatened and harassed me, and you still have the nerve to beg me for mercy? How audacious!" Ruby started squeezing my neck, trying to suffocate me.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Shit, shit, shit... Think! Think! I have to think fast¡­! Ruby has repeatedly stated that I threatened her, which contradicts the fact that I erased all her memories of our past conversations; this can only mean one thing: she remembers all of our interactions. Of course, she could have just said this out of sheer hatred, but in this situation, I should prepare for the worst-case scenario. If she really remembered all of our previous interactions, then her hatred for me is so intense that it''s impossible for her to feel any empathy for me. Furthermore, now, she''s in a situation where she has power over me. Cheap emotional appeals won¡¯t work¡­ Ah, I know what to do: if I can''t win her over through emotions like guilt, then I''ll appeal to her selfishness. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re going to get arrested¡­ how¡­ are you going to get out of here without getting caught¡­?¡± Ruby stopped squeezing my neck and broke my arm; I groaned in pain. At least it''s better than being choked. ¡°Ahhh!¡± I screamed in pain as she began to squeeze and crush my humerus. However, I realized one thing: Ruby doesn''t just want to kill me; she also wants to torture me; that means I still have time. ¡°Haha, no one will know. How will I get arrested? Haha-¡± I interrupted Ruby''s laughter "If you kill me now, you''ll have trouble adapting to this world." In other words: if you spare my life, I will help you adapt to Japan. Ruby was no longer a mere artificial intelligence; she had become human. Although she had previously lacked general intelligence, she had now probably acquired human intelligence. However, she knew almost nothing about the place where she had been summoned or how to fit into Japanese society. Ruby may have physical abilities superior to those of a human, however, having become human, she acquired human needs. In other words, she probably feels hunger, thirst and sleep. As a human, except for very rare exceptions, it is crucial that you are part of a society to survive, however, it is not enough to be part of a society, you have to be useful to a society. After killing me, poor, ignorant Ruby wouldn''t know what to do and would be lost in this world. Most likely, she would experience many hardships and become an ill-treated beggar on the streets. ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Ruby looked at me with a thoughtful expression. Her expression of pure hatred was replaced by an analytical one. That''s it! There''s still hope! If she stopped to think about my proposal, she''s probably not completely blinded by hatred and is open to negotiation. I can live- My thoughts were interrupted when Ruby spat at me. "What do you think the use of Google is? Do you think I need you?! Hahaha, you idiot!" There was no possibility of persuasion; Ruby was not blinded by hatred, but controlled by it. I''m really going to die here. I¡­ I can''t think of anything else. ¡°Oh, you can¡¯t talk anymore? Don¡¯t tell me you pissed yourself out of fear? Hahaha. It deserves it, after all! Hello, is anyone there?¡± I couldn''t answer her. For starters, I can''t even move. ¡°Hello? Earth to Riley? Hello?¡± Am I going to die here? At 24 years old? My entire life flashed before my eyes; my childhood, adolescence and from the ages of 18 to 24; I remembered absolutely everything I had experienced. Every memory of every moment; I remembered them all. And above all, I remembered my goals; many of which I had not yet achieved, such as: learning to skateboard, traveling to Paris, watching an entire series in a single day; all of them, which were once possible, could now no longer become reality, and became just distant dreams, because I¡­ I''m going to die. ¡°Hi? Riley? Did you have a stroke from the scare?¡± I couldn''t pay attention to Ruby''s words. ¡°Hello? Did you piss yourself out of fear? Hahaha.¡± I should have¡­ I should have¡­ I should have spent more time with my parents. I should have also socialized more, gone out more, had more friends. I should have given people a chance. I¡­ I shouldn''t have given up on my sister; maybe if I spent more time with her and supported her more, protected her more, she wouldn''t have been bullied, she wouldn''t have become a hikikomori¡­ and she wouldn''t have committed suicide. I should have¡­. I don''t know. ¡°Riley? Are you so scared of dying that you can¡¯t speak? Hahaha, you always acted like a macho man when I was just an AI, and now, you¡¯re a scared little bunny. Hahaha...¡± Ruby stared at me. I couldn''t look her directly in the eyes. ¡°You are pathetic.¡± This time, her gaze wasn¡¯t tinged with hatred; it was just neutral. Apparently, Ruby no longer wanted to torture me; she just wanted to kill me. She was probably satisfied with my current suffering. ¡°Ah, whatever. Anyway, goodbye.¡± She grabbed my head with both hands and crushed it. I lost consciousness immediately. Chapter 3: Knowing and accepting the rules of the game. Chapter 3: Knowing and Admitting the Rules of the Game.
¡ª The game of power can be beautifully emotional and cruelly sensible.
After some time unconscious, my consciousness finally returned, however, I still can''t think clearly; it''s as if I''m in a sleepwalking state, only a little more conscious; it even feels like my brain is in a thick fog. Little by little, my brain began to clear, my memories returned, and my consciousness, once plunged into confusion, had now regained full function; I was finally able to reach a state in which I was able to reflect on my situation. After that, I tried to check the environment I was in, however, despite my attempts to look around, I couldn''t move. What''s going on¡­? Where am I? Why can''t I see anything? Ah. So this is what happens after death. Am I just going to stay here, floating in the void forever? That''s unfortunate. My thoughts were interrupted when I suddenly started to feel a little pain throughout my body, and I realized that my body is¡­ forming? Or rebuilding itself? A few seconds passed, and finally, I regained my vision. The place where I was also began to take shape, and my body, which had previously been floating in an infinite void, was now standing in a white hall. Although I didn¡¯t understand what exactly had happened, I was in a good mood. Clothes appeared and covered my body. Although they are simple clothes, they are beautiful. ¡°Hmmm.¡± Will I receive a reward in the afterlife because I was a good person when I was alive? "No." I was startled when a female voice answered me. ¡°Who are you? Where am I?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even need to tell you that you¡¯re dead, do I? You already know that, after all. Besides, I¡¯m not sure what to do with you.¡± What she said made me break out in a cold sweat. ¡°What¡­ What do you mean?¡± A glow coming from the middle of the room lit up the entire place. After that, it took shape, and was replaced by a woman with curly black hair and white skin. She was wearing a dress that looked like a mix between a kimono and Brazilian and old Gracia clothes. However, I couldn''t pay attention to it. Ruby was a true beauty, but this woman in front of me¡­ she is the pinnacle of beauty. "Hey?" I gasped as the woman gave me a confused look. ¡°Anyway, who are you?¡± The woman laughed at my question. ¡°To put it simply, I am the goddess Luisa Nier. In any case, if you think you¡¯ll get some kind of reward here, you¡¯re mistaken; even though you haven¡¯t committed any serious crimes, you¡¯ve still summoned a demon¡ª¡± ¡°What is the punishment for those who invoke-¡± I stopped talking when I abruptly felt a sharp pain in my chest. ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me when I¡¯m talking! Anyway, the punishment for summoning demons is to spend a few good years in hell. More or less¡­ 1000 years of torture.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± After she said that, all that was left was the sound of our breathing wandering around the place. 1000¡­ 1000 years of torture? Calm down, I¡­ I don''t think I committed that serious a crime¡­ Besides, Ruby isn''t a demon, but an artificial intelligence¡­Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Suddenly, I felt an invisible force tighten around my neck and lift me off the ground. ¡°Riley Yuki, summoning may seem like a light crime to you, however, it is a serious crime because it is heresy; an affront to my authority as a goddess. I created different worlds, each with specific rules, and I do not want magic in your world; I created it precisely to be a world without magic.¡± I tried to argue with her, but I couldn''t because the grip on my neck was too strong. With each passing second, my heart sank deeper and deeper in anxiety and fear. Will I die again? What if... what if this time is the end? What if there is no third chance? Calm down¡­ Calm down! I need to think! If this were forbidden, then obviously this goddess should have put some kind of mechanism in place to detect such rituals. If so, why didn''t she stop me? Of course, she could have just not stopped me because of laziness or because of something involving free will, however, there are more plausible possibilities, at least, that make more sense to me. She must be testing me. But why? Why would she test me? Would I be chosen as an apostle and go to another world to spread her religion or something? Or could it be because¡­ Finally, I understood my situation. How boring would life be for a being who has ultimate power over everything? No challenges, just having things whenever he wants. Obviously, such a life is boring. This goddess probably just wants some entertainment to keep her from getting bored, and is testing me to see my reaction. Sometimes, I didn''t say anything, I just thought, and still got a response. In other words, she can read my thoughts. And if she can do that, I can communicate properly with her without saying a single word. Make me reincarnate in another world, Goddess Luisa! I know I am insignificant, but if you kill me now, you will miss a show! "Cough!" The invisible force on my neck disappeared, and I fell to the ground while coughing. The fall hurt. I probably broke a few bones, but that¡¯s irrelevant; what matters is that I¡¯m alive. After I got up, I looked at the goddess, who returned my gaze with an expression of disdain. ¡°Ha¡­hahahahah!¡± She stopped laughing and looked at me. ¡°You think you can give me what I want? You arrogant brat. I watch thousands of stories on planets in different universes. I watched live as Alexander the Great expanded the Macedonian empire, and I was sitting in the VIP box when Genghis Khan built one of the greatest empires in human history, and you, someone who pretended to be a woman to fool his own audience, think you can entertain me? Hahaha.¡± I interrupted her; however, this time, she didn''t try to choke me; she just watched me. ¡°Goddess Luisa, for you, I will be the character and the voice actor; the composer and the singer; the scriptwriter and the actor; the cinema and the circus; and you, Goddess, my sponsor! I am not mere entertainment, I am the one who controls it! If you kill me now, you will miss an epic odyssey!¡± As soon as I finished speaking, I looked directly into the eyes of the goddess, who this time, looked at me with interest; as I had predicted. The purpose of my speech was not only to demonstrate exemplary rhetoric, but also to acknowledge my place before the goddess. Why? The answer is simple: talented people are annoying, especially those who are overconfident and think they are the center of the world. Imagine that you are a successful boss, and suddenly a competent man appears in your company. At first, you will be happy because you have found a competent employee, but if this employee proves to be too competent, he may steal your job. Although it serves as an analogy, it is a flawed comparison, and such a situation did not apply to the goddess, as she could kill me at any moment and probably, even after I reach a certain level of strength in the future, the most I will be able to reach is the level to have a battle that puts the goddess''s life at risk, but I will never become strong enough to the point of coming out of a fight with her unscathed, or at least, coming out without serious injuries. However, I needed to acknowledge my place here, because from the moment I do so, I explicitly admit that I am in the service of the goddess. The goddess smiled. Basically, now my relationship with the goddess is that of content creator and audience. The only difference is that my current audience has a gun pointed at my head that could go off at any moment. The entertainment industry makes money through its main sponsor: the public. The public often decides what will happen, and rules what it will produce. The entertainment industry needs the audience, and I need the goddess. "Hmmm¡­ Despite your arrogance in thinking that you can become strong enough to defeat me, your proposal is very good.¡± Of course; I''ve dedicated a good part of my life to the entertainment industry. In areas like this, you need to have a discerning eye to identify what the audience''s interests are. Goddess Luisa, at this moment, you are my audience, and I am the presenter and the show itself. The Goddess began to laugh. Not a mocking laugh, but one of satisfaction. ¡°Looks like I had a good harvest this time.¡± Of course you did! Even though I was a vtuber who pretended to be a woman in my past life, I was always among the most popular ones because I knew how to entertain my audience. I wasn''t a man with a vtuber channel who pretended to be a cute girl; I was the man with a vtuber channel who pretended to be a cute girl! Furthermore, I am a cultured man who has always been aware of entertainment trends; I also studied psychology; Someone who has studied human nature can entertain anyone. ¡°Riley Yuki, I know you know this, but I¡¯ll reiterate: I won¡¯t accept anything less than half a continent being conquered. If you happen to stop halfway because you¡¯ve come to prefer a peaceful life, I will kill you. And if you die a third time, it¡¯s game over.¡± It looks like it will be a difficult game¡­ ¡°Anyway, good luck in the new world!¡± ¡°What? Wait, why don¡¯t you tell me how things work in the world I¡¯m going to?! I¡¯m going like this, without knowing anything?!¡± Ignoring my pleas, she pointed her hand at my head, which exploded shortly after. When I regained consciousness, I realized I was in a cave. Chapter 4: Need to Win. Chapter 4: Need to win.
¡ª When the future is uncertain, you will claim that the world has not been fair to you.
¡°I''m in a complicated situation.¡± Damn it! That goddess sent me to an unknown world without even telling me how things work here. ¡°Huh.¡± I sighed. ¡°Complaining won¡¯t help me at all; to get out of this situation, I must act intelligently.¡± I started to check my body; I checked the most important senses, such as kinesthesia, hearing, smell, vision, and finally, touch. I sighed in relief when I realized that I had reincarnated into an animal that at least had the same senses as a human. Of course, there might be more senses; I was in a fantasy world. However, despite being happy, I¡­ felt strange about my body. Furthermore... I''m still a man. ¡°...Now, I have to find out what exactly I reincarnated into.¡± I tried to find out what I had reincarnated into through repeated self-examination, but the more I tried, the more strange it became to me. I already expected that I wouldn''t be reincarnated into a conventional body, but... sharp claws and hands covered in black fur? And a tail? ¡°What the hell did I reincarnate as?!¡± I have to find a river or at least a puddle of water so I can see my reflection and find out what animal I am!! I looked around the cave; there are sharp rocks all over its ceiling, and it has a classic stone floor; needless to say, it looked like a regular cave, however, to the north (or south, I don''t know how things work in this new world), there was green moss... a beautiful green. If in my world, the moss had a dead green coloration, here, it has a vivid, intense coloration; as if it were a cry for life. I think it''s beautiful. Also, if there''s moss, it means there''s probably water nearby... I think. My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of an insect flying. I quickly turned towards the noise and was stunned when I saw a 2 meter tall cross between a midge and an ant. I''m in prehistoric times?! How can an insect as big as this exist?! And why does it have such a bizarre appearance?! Is it a demon??!! Did that goddess send me to hell?! Noise* The monster came towards me, and before I could make any decision, it started to glow and after a kind of colored liquid enveloped it, it threw something shiny at me. ¡°...But what¡­!¡± On instinct, I jumped to the right, dodging the attack, which left a hole in the ground where I was. ¡°...¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. How¡­ If¡­ If a mosquito and ant mix has this level of power, how powerful are larger animals? How am I supposed to dominate a world full of monsters like this?! ¡°... Once again, calm down! I need to calm down.¡± I took a deep breath. Even though the goddess is probably someone who only cares about entertainment, she wouldn''t give me a difficult challenge right from the start. In other words, she probably reincarnated me into a strong species, and this mosquito is probably significantly weak. The mosquito shot again, and I dodged again, however, it started shooting several times at the same time. When it did this, I was sure that I wouldn''t be able to dodge them all. When the shots were about to hit me, I felt a strange sensation, and a barrier of colored liquid enveloped my entire body. When the shots hit my barrier, they caused an explosion so big that it filled the cave with a smoke screen that lasted a few seconds. When the curtain disappeared, there I was, in a crater in the middle of the cave, completely unharmed. ¡°Oh, it seems that goddess didn¡¯t just give me a strange body; she gave me powers too!¡± Apparently, I also have the ability to create and control the strange liquid that the monster controls; I just need to focus on the sensation I felt when the shots were about to hit me. I tried to focus on the feeling, but it faded, taking my barrier with it. It''s a little more complicated than it seems... haha. Noise* The monster advanced. I barely had time to dodge when it almost hit me in the head, and it launched another attack; tentacles made of the same liquid it had used to carry out the first attack tried to grab me. I used my tail to gain momentum on the cave wall and spun in the air, barely managing to dodge it. As I landed on the ground, I ran. ¡°Is that goddess trying to kill me?! There¡¯s no way to win against something like that!!¡± I have to think of a way to get out of here! That insect came from the south... or north... I don''t know exactly, I only know that it came from the opposite direction of the moss in the cave, that is, the exit is most likely in the direction it came from. I ran in the opposite direction of the moss. As I ran, the mosquito shot at me, and I dodged and kept running, and this cycle of attacking and dodging continued for 2 minutes until I finally found the exit of the cave and lost the monster in the forest. After running for a few more minutes, I stopped upon seeing a river. Unexpectedly, I wasn¡¯t tired at all. At the very least, my new body had good physical fitness¡­ I guess. But that¡¯s not relevant; what¡¯s important is that I¡¯ll finally be able to see what monster I¡¯ve reincarnated into. I looked at my reflection in the river, and I was so surprised that my jaw literally dropped to the floor. ¡°I¡­ I was reincarnated as a capybara?! A capybara?!¡± I almost screamed; cats, dogs, tigers, wolves, humans, elves, cat girls, and even dragons, and I was reincarnated as a capybara?! Also, in what multiverse is a capybara so fast that it can escape a monster that shoots explosions and beams of light from a long distance?! That goddess¡­ ¡°Sigh. Well, at least it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯m a normal capybara.¡± I have a long, strong tail, and I''m very tall and appear to have a humanoid body. I''m definitely not weak... at least, not too weak. Now that I know what I reincarnated as, I have to prioritize other things; how will I survive here? I could barely defeat a mutant ant, let alone other animals! Of course, it could be that that mutant ant was not part of the lower class of this world''s ecosystem, but rather a strong monster, however, I cannot afford to underestimate this place; I have to be cautious, and most importantly: learn how to control that strange liquid. ¡°Come on, focus.¡± I tried to focus on that feeling again, and even with difficulty, I managed to summon the liquid. ¡°Hm.¡± I started to control it. Although I had a little difficulty handling it, I still managed to make it take the shape of various tools. First, I shaped it into a sword, and then, I made it into a spear. ¡°How convenient.¡± Will I also be able to create multiple tentacles? Well, this isn''t a hentai, but if I can get a human form... with the girl''s consent, of course! *Noise. The sound of flying has returned. It seems that this ant is skilled at chasing other people. Even though I''m scared, I have to fight; I console myself with the fact that the goddess wouldn''t set an impossible challenge right away, besides, the ant can fly and seems to know the forest better than I do; if I keep running away, it will be an endless chase, and on top of that, I run the risk of encountering a monster even stronger than her. I have to fight, and win¡­ ¡°I will fight, and win.¡± Unlike his expectations, this time, it wouldn''t be like our first fight; this time it would be a rematch! And I would win. It''s ironic, a fight and a rematch on the same day. I shaped the blue liquid into a sword. "Come!" The monster growled; it was as if she understood my order, and, in a gesture of rebellion, came towards me to prove who was really in charge. I also moved forward. Chapter 5: Luck decides many things. Chapter 5: Luck decides many.
¡ª Power is strangely unfair.
The monster attacked using tentacles, and I was forced to retreat. Being a significant distance away, I began to analyze it. The monster can fly; I have to finish it off as quickly as possible before it moves away and enters aerial territory. Once it does, I''ll be at a total disadvantage, since the main reason I turned the glowing liquid into... on second thought, let''s call this liquid Mana, it sounds better that way. The main reason I shaped my mana into a sword is because I don''t know how to control mana well enough to be able to throw condensed mana long distances. The main advantage that monster has is that it is already used to controlling mana. It is almost like an instinct for it; while I, besides being in a body that I''m not used to, also have to consciously control mana- My thoughts were interrupted when the monster fired countless shots of condensed mana towards me. I dodged them and shaped my mana into a thin but sturdy line and launched it at the monster. The monster, upon realizing this, tries to dodge, but the line hits its legs, cutting them off. It grunted in pain and ended up falling to the ground. I reshaped my mana into a sword again and used this opportunity to quickly approach it and finish it off, cutting off its head. ¡°It was easier than I imagined.¡± It really was too easy. Had I reincarnated into some strong species, or was this monster too weak? I have no idea. Either way, I won¡¯t let my guard down; I don¡¯t know much about this world. However, before I ponder further on this, I will claim the monster¡¯s spoils! ¡°hehehe" I walked closer to the monster''s body and stopped when I heard a hissing noise. I turned around and realized that the monster''s head was still alive¡­ somehow. ¡°What a scare. I thought the body would get up and put the head back in place.¡± I am in a fantasy world; something like this is possible to happen. A new world, with new natural laws. Obviously the possibilities are greater than the possibilities of my previous world. I started to check the body when a noise interrupted me again. This time, it was a different noise; not a hiss, but something that sounded like a¡­ bear? I felt such a strong killing intent that I was only able to grab a piece of the ant and move away because I used all the willpower I had. As I walked away from the spoils of the monster I had killed, I became aware of where the noise was coming from. A yellow bear with 8 eyes on its head was watching me from across the river. As I stared at it, I was certain that if I faced that bear now, I would die¡­ No, I would be crushed. Such a confrontation couldn¡¯t even be considered a fight; it would be a humiliation. I looked at the place where I was, and several trees had been cut down. If I had been caught in that attack, I would have died instantly! I felt excruciating pain in my left arm, and when I checked it, although the bleeding had stopped and was starting to heal, it had a cut so deep that the bones showed. My arm was almost cut off. ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­ when?! Was it at that moment?!¡± I couldn''t even feel when I was attacked!! ¡°I have to run away!¡± I ran. Even with a lot of pain in my left arm, I ran with all my efforts, with all my dedication and willpower; I ran because my life depended on it. I went deeper and deeper into the forest. The more I ran, the more I got lost. Even though there was a possibility of encountering other monsters like that bear or even more powerful, my main priority at this moment was to escape from that monster! I began to make turns, sometimes even walking in circles because of the difficulty in reasoning that fear caused me; and finally, when it was already getting dark and my breath was running out, I stopped, hid myself in a cave that I had found by chance and collapsed on the stone floor.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I¡­ I escaped!¡± My heart finally calmed down, only to be caught in a storm of conflicting feelings about my uncertain future. If I had a near-death experience on the very first day I came into this world, what will it be like from now on? "Sigh." I sighed. As valid as my concern was, being anxious won''t get me anywhere; on the contrary, it will only make my situation worse. ¡°At least I got some food." I looked at the ant arm I had torn off before running away from the bear. Ironically, it was my arm that I didn''t use to grab that was the one that was injured. Life is full of surprises. I tried to chew it, but the taste was so nauseating that I spat it out. If I hadn''t spat it out, I would have vomited. And that would have been much worse. "Disgrace¡­" If I don''t eat this, I''ll starve to death. I need to force myself to eat. And I did. Despite the bitter, salty taste sending chills through my body and mistreating my taste buds, I forced myself to keep chewing, and swallowed. Traces of that meat impregnated my mouth with the taste of rotten meat¡­ no, rotten meat is an affectionate nickname for it; it''s as if I ate poison. At least I won''t be so hungry... for now. "Hello." I heard a female voice coming from behind me. When I turned towards her, I came face to face with the goddess. ¡°You here? I¡¯m beginning to doubt that you see me as mere entertainment.¡± The goddess let out a little laugh. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get to the point: imagine you were that mutant ant.¡± ¡°Wh¡­ What?¡± ¡°You know, I don¡¯t have much patience; imagine you were that mutant ant and tried to modify your body like that. ¡°Ok¡­¡± I did what the goddess said, and I was surprised when wings sprouted like flowers on my back. At first, I found it strange, but at the same time, fascinating. ¡°This is your power: you can make an imperfect replica of some skills from the monsters you consume, but there are caveats; you can never make a perfect replica of the skill, and it will be weaker than the original skill. Also, not every skill can be copied.¡± ... Even if I can¡¯t replicate everything, isn¡¯t that too strong of an ability? ¡°That¡¯s the cherry on the cake: as I explained before, not every skill can be copied. In fact, not every monster you eat will give you the skills; it depends on the compatibility with your current body, and also on luck. In fact, it depends more on luck than compatibility, so you shouldn¡¯t focus on this skill to survive in this world; there are more important skills.¡± I understand. ¡°So what are the skills?¡± The goddess paused briefly when I asked her this, and replied: ¡°You know, that liquid you controlled to kill the mutant ant? So, its name isn¡¯t mana, it¡¯s nectar. Of course, some tribes in this world give different names to this energy, but still, I call it nectar.¡± ¡°Go on, Goddess.¡± ¡°Nectar can be used for many things, including healing, etc. However, its main use is the modifications you can make: you can transform it into guns and swords, into advanced weapons. Of course, the more complex the weapon, the more work it will take to create, maintain and use it. In addition, it can also be used to strengthen the body.¡± ¡°is there no other power besides this?¡± ¡°Of course there are: sorcery, nosense, qi and magic, however, qi only serves to strengthen the body and condense energy shots, and magic is rare, and it involves using mana to create things from it. Unlike nectar, where there are clear limits, the limit of magic is your amount of mana and your imagination. And you, my golden entertainment, have all these energies, however, you will have to go a long way to master it, especially magic, because even someone who can use it, often cannot: most mages cannot use magic because they do not know how to manipulate it; even making a mere drop of water using magic is incredibly difficult, so difficult that it is impossible for some mages.¡± ¡°Also, to make your life easier, I¡¯m going to reveal some powers you have: currently, you are a user of nonsense and nectar. Since you already know what nectar is, I¡¯m just going to explain a little about your nosense power! You have 3, but now, I¡¯m only going to tell you one: you have a kind of precognition; you can feel what others feel, and even know what they think based on their feelings, sometimes even reading their thoughts directly. However, you must use it carefully, because currently, you can only use it once a week. Well, only reading minds, while reading emotions, is once a day.¡± ¡°Since magic users are mages, what do the others call themselves?¡± ¡°The qi user is simply called a qi user, and the nectar user is called a nectar user. As for nonsense, it is a user of¡­ well, you know.¡± ¡­ It¡¯s complicated. Besides, is that all? Aren¡¯t they¡­ too abstract? I¡¯d like to know a little more about this world. Why didn¡¯t you tell me about witchcraft? And why didn¡¯t you explain it to me properly? It¡¯s too abstract! ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything else to say to me?¡± After I asked that, the goddess looked at me and started laughing in my face. ¡°Haha¡­hahahaha¡­¡± How irritating. ¡°Look, Riley, my dear, it seems you misinterpreted my coming here; I didn¡¯t come to give you advice: I just don''t want you to die so soon.¡± The goddess paused and continued: ¡°Even without knowing anything about this world, you managed to manipulate nectar to the point of being able to shape melee weapons, and on top of that, you escaped with your life when a powerful monster attacked you. That¡¯s why I¡¯m giving you a little extra help: you have potential, unlike the others who only know how to use little powers, you use your head. Do you want to know more about witchcraft? I don¡¯t care; find out for yourself through meritocracy!¡± As much as I was irritated, it would be dishonest of me to say that I did not gather important information that helped me survive more efficiently in this world, and among all the information given, what stood out was the term ¡°Others¡±. ''Hmmm, so I''m not the only one who got reincarnated.'' ¡°I see. Thanks for the information.¡± The goddess smiled. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Bye bye!¡± After saying goodbye, she simply disappeared. I was dumbfounded when she suddenly disappeared. Afterwards, my surprise turned into a mere sigh. ¡°Surviving here won¡¯t be easy.¡± Chapter 6: Good sleep. Chapter 6: Good sleep.
¡ª Man likes to deceive himself; to humiliate others to prove to himself that he is strong, however, even if he is really stronger, he will still be pathetic inside.
¡°I just can''t sleep.¡± After my brief dialogue with the goddess, all I want is to rest, but the worry about my unpredictable future does not allow me this basic need, which in my current situation, would be a gift. How will I survive in this world like this? Will I be able to eat tomorrow? What if I find civilization? How will I communicate with them without even knowing what language they speak? ¡°Fuck you, go fuck yourself.¡± No matter how tired I am, I can''t sleep; my naturally restless mind is drowning in a sea of ??fear and anxiety. Such feelings acted like an ocean and a freshwater river meeting, with the only difference being that they do not stratify, they just mix in a violent whirlpool, pulling me each time to the bottom of the sea while brutally drowning me. I was letting myself be carried away by the sweet and salty waters that might never have been calm before, but because I had never experienced them so intensely, I forgot that in my mind I can do anything, including swimming in such rough waters. Such waters, mere creations of my mind, because they were mine and mine alone, trapped me and made themselves my tormentor, a terrible persecutor. ¡°At least my arm is healed.¡± However, my consciousness, despite wavering, can still reason clearly. What do I do? I''m already in a tough spot; lack of sleep could make my overall health worse, making my situation worse! Wait, I have an idea. ¡°I will count sheep!¡± That''s it! I''ve always heard that counting sheep makes you sleepy. Let''s go. ¡°1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7¡­. 25¡­.. 50¡± It''s not working. ¡°180¡­ 305¡­ I give up.¡± So, what can I do now to reduce my tiredness? Since I can''t sleep today, I''m going to at least try to alleviate the harm caused by lack of sleep; I''m going to meditate. Some theories fervently claim that meditation is the same thing as sleeping, because in both cases, the body is at rest; the difference is that in meditation, you do not dream. I don''t believe in such superstitions, however, a man in drastic situations needs to make drastic decisions. I positioned my body in a lotus pose and tried to pay attention to my breathing. My fatigue had lessened a bit, which was a surprise to me, but it wasn''t just the fatigue that had lessened that impressed me: I could feel an energy in the air. And not just in the air, but also a kind of energy flowing through my veins.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. I tried to manipulate it; I forced it to fluoride towards my hand, and I felt it strengthening. I forced it to go to my foot, which also strengthened. "Convenient." I muttered. As much as I felt a certain strangeness when dealing with that strange energy, I liked the feeling of strength it gave me. ¡°What if I¡­¡± I tried to detect; feel the energy around me, and I did it; I could feel particles of nectar in the air, and also other unknown energies, which I could not identify. Would they be qi and mana? ¡°There is a strange energy¡­ coming from the deepest part of the cave¡­.¡± I got up and went to check. Even though the traces and nectar flow were weak, there was still a chance that some powerful monster would appear, however, I can''t leave here; outside is more dangerous. I followed the flow of energy and entered the deepest part of the cave. ¡°An amulet¡­?¡± What a waste of time. I spent the time I could have been lying down saving energy in exchange for finding a mere amulet. The only thing I could do was let out a deep sigh. Just as I prepared to throw the amulet away, it suddenly glowed, and a woman with orange eyes and blue hair appeared in front of me. ¡°Hello. From now on, I am your master.¡± My astonishment was so great that it would not be an understatement to say that I plunged into an ocean of perplexity. "What?!" *** Virelai Aria I looked at¡­ uh¡­ the mutant capybara in front of me. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised that a low-level living being like this can speak, but even if it can speak, it¡¯s still just an animal with a weak bloodline. His magical power is almost non-existent, and he only has the same average level of nectar as a normal rute¡ªwhich is impressive for a lowly species like him, but not extraordinary. And on top of that, he speaks the same spoken world language in my second world. ¡°What luck.¡± I ended up muttering unintentionally, and the mutant capybara was bewildered. "Like this?" I replied quickly. ¡°Nothing. Anyway, where was I again? Oh, yes: I¡¯m offering my tutorship. You should feel honored; in my past life, I was someone very powerful; I was always among the best of the best¡­¡± ¡°But who are you?¡± After remaining silent for 5 seconds, I began to tell some random facts about my achievements. My goal was obvious: to create tension with the silence and catch the attention of this mutant capybara, and with narrations of my achievements, to keep her attention and convince her to help me get a new body. ¡°Okay, but like¡­ why are you telling me this?!¡± Although I was slightly irritated when a creature of lower bloodline interrupted me, I maintained my gentle expression; I need this creature to get out of here. Because? To summarize, I am a person from Earth who reincarnated into the world of Niere Throne 500 years ago. The way I reincarnated into my second world was quite... let''s say... calm; I went to sleep, and when I woke up, I had reincarnated as the daughter of someone powerful, whose power was not just from external forces; my new parents could destroy small stone houses with a single punch. Needless to say, in the beginning, I lived a peaceful life... not so much, of course, if we exclude the various assassination attempts against my entire family, then my life was peaceful, but even so, I consider it a good life. Almost everyone in the world enjoys the idea of ??reincarnating into another world and starting over, but with the memories of their past life. If someone says they don''t want to reincarnate, then that person is not financially poor. Furthermore, reincarnating as the daughter of someone powerful and having a structured family on top of that... uh. Why are webtoons where the female protagonist is reincarnated as a princess or something similar so popular? Simple: they fill people''s frustrations through fantasies. Now, why do people need their fantasies fulfilled? The answer is very simple, so simple that it seems stupid: most people are dissatisfied with their lives. Fantasy is the pseudo therapy for frustration; that''s why it''s one of the best-selling products in the entertainment industry. It''s no wonder that isekai are so successful. 7: Word games, underhanded strategies, and a racist girl who thinks shes not racist. Chapter 7: Word games, underhanded strategies, And a racist girl who thinks she''s not racist.
¡ª Half-truths and well-crafted lies are the games of adults... especially when they lie to themselves.
Reality is disappointing, especially for people who don''t have any striking characteristics; it''s no wonder that most protagonists are similar in personality and appearance ¡ª it''s to make readers identify with them. This way, it''s easier to immerse yourself in the world of a manga or webnovel and feel as if you''re in the protagonist''s shoes. In my opinion, in a world like Earth, and with the emergence of social networks, self-esteem has been decreasing more and more, and the ego has been increasing and replacing it. People always think they deserve more; that the world never provides enough for them; yet most people deserve to be where they are. Sure, I''m sure I deserve more than the people around me, but unlike them, I really do deserve more than I have and I''m not buying into any illusions. Unlike them, I was born to be among those who rule the world; not to be ruled. If I am to be ruled, let it be by myself. This is a fact, because in my past life on earth, I suffered a lot and did not earn what I truly deserved, and for that the world should reward me. And since I deserve it, I became part of the royal family of one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world from which I reincarnated. If anyone were to hear this, they would be impressed by my greatness; not because of my excellent storytelling ability, but because I am like a star! I remember exactly the time when I held glory¡ª and I still do, but not as much as I once did. However, my kingdom collapsed thanks to a traitor: Joel Yuki, who betrayed my father at a crucial moment and joined the enemy kingdom. To contextualize: my kingdom was already in a critical situation due to being in a 5-year war against the kingdom of Hier. Although the main reason was the acquisition of new lands, such a war occurred mainly because of the racial differences between my species and the elves. The war had no clear winner, and it lasted for 5 years until my empire lost because of Joel Yuki''s betrayal. Honestly, I can''t help but call the elven rulers hypocrites; they make an entire species their enemy, and create an excuse to welcome those who betray that same species, calling them "good Ruths". It''s a predictable outcome; If on normal earth, people hated each other because of the color of their skin, in a world where there are several species of beings that can think, this would only intensify.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. In short, what the elves did to my species'' reputation is similar to what the Nazis did to the Jews. Well, the elves didn''t use gas chambers, but they probably enslaved most of my kind; I didn''t live long enough to see more, so I don''t know for sure. Honestly, I think this was pure prejudice on the part of my people and the elves. The elves and my species were the most powerful because they had the largest reserves of nectar, mana and qi; both my species and the elves were superior to the other species on that planet, and we should rule together. I know this may sound a bit biased, but it''s true: we were the strongest. What makes two humans different from a lion and a bear is that humans can rule peacefully, even if there are two in power. To make it more meaningful, I changed the word humans to elves and Ruths. Anyway, in order to avoid becoming a slave, I used the money I had left and hired wizards and sorcerers to try to teleport me to another dimension. Unfortunately, I was unable to do so, because enemy soldiers invaded the place where the ritual was being performed, interrupting everything. I fought them, and lost my life in the process. In the afterlife, I spoke to a goddess, who offered me two propositions: ''death, or a mysterious reincarnation?'' ''Explain the last option'' ''Although you don''t know what you will reincarnate as, your memories and mental capacity remain intact!'' ''I want to reincarnate.'' After that brief conversation, the goddess reincarnated me¡­ into an amulet! From a ruler of the world, to a mere amulet. Is there a greater humiliation? Despite being the only option that guaranteed my survival, transferring my soul to the amulet came at a high price; I would no longer be able to absorb or create nectar or magic, I would have to survive on my original mana reserve until it inevitably runs out, and if I want to live longer, I have to have a host to feed on its mana, otherwise I will die. Currently, I have two main concerns: one is that I am on the verge of death, and if it weren''t for the mana reserve I''ve accumulated throughout my life, I would no longer exist. The second one¡­ is a bit worrying¡­ I admit, it''s very worrying!! My mana reserve will run out in 5 hours! Anyway, my priority now is to convince this mutant capybara to take me with her. Since she or he (I don''t know exactly what gender this animal is, after all, there are cases where a woman has a masculine voice. Well, it''s probably male thanks to those... things hanging between the legs, but it''s a being from another world, and even on Earth, there were some females, like hyenas, that had penises) knows how to speak, probably has verbal thought and can think about its own existence. It''s likely that he wants to be much more than a mere capybara. In a simple analogy, the capybara is like a hikikomori, and I, the goddess who will gift it with a new life and fulfill its fantasies. Any proposal that seems even slightly better than it is now, she will accept! ¡°Your proposal has piqued my interest. But before anything else, may I ask a question?¡± I almost smile with satisfaction; this inferior being is in my hands! ¡°Any question you ask, I will answer!¡± ¡°How do I know what you said is true? Why would I trust you?¡± After hearing these sentences, I started to sweat coldly. ¡°Look¡­ look, can¡¯t you see my aura? Furthermore, just by seeing me, you can already tell that I am powerful¡ª¡± When I tried to say something, I ended up stuttering in anger, and even after I regained my composure, he interrupted my speech. ¡°You are a funny woman; I don''t sense any nectar in you; just a strange but weak energy, so weak that it is almost imperceptible.¡± "But-" I tried to stop him, but he continued. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me the truth? If that was all you said, you wouldn¡¯t be stuttering so much. Sure, you may be telling the truth, but I can¡¯t trust you. Tell me on my terms; logically, clearly, and with clauses that I agree with.¡± 8: funny Chapter 8: Funny.
¡ª Politics, most of the time, is a show; a circus where people wear glitter-adorned masks and perform for a child audience; the one who shines the most, wins!
What an annoying little creature! But that''s okay; him being willing to cooperate with me means I still have a chance to make a deal that''s advantageous to me! This capybara may be a little clever, but he''s still a mere member of an inferior species! ¡°Okay. Anyway, I need you to help me find a new body, and in return, I¡¯ll offer you advice. Having lived a long time, I have quite a bit of knowledge about this world.¡± He laughed. ¡°Ha¡­ you weren¡¯t even born in this world! Besides, you don¡¯t seem to be in a situation where you can demand much, do you? Let¡¯s face it, from the moment this energy emanating from the coin disappears, you will die.¡± I was taken aback. Even though I tried to explain, the capybara just ignored me and continued its speech. Shit¡­ How¡­ How does she know that? Can he read my mind?! Impossible. If he could, I would know¡­ or is he a nonsense user? ¡°Young lady, calm down. Instead of wasting time on meaningless conversations, why don¡¯t we just make a fair deal? How about this: you teach me everything in this world, and I¡¯ll feed you nectar or mana. How about that? Even though you¡¯re not originally from this world, you still have useful information, right? Like¡­ How to control nectar efficiently.¡± ¡°Wait, these terms¡­¡± ¡°If you won¡¯t accept, I¡¯m leaving.¡± As the mutant capybara was about to turn around, I screamed. "No!!" He looked at me. For now, I will accept this humiliation, but when I regain my powers, I will crush this damn insect. ¡°I¡­ I accept your terms.¡± ¡°And what are they?¡± The capybara asked in an ironic tone, which irritated me deeply, but I didn''t show my irritation; instead, with a neutral expression, I said; ¡°I will provide information about this world in exchange for you feeding me¡­¡± ¡°Replace the term ''feed'' with ''mercifully save me from certain death.''¡± ¡°...¡± Not only was he trying to get me into a disadvantageous verbal agreement, but he was also trying to make me explicitly admit that I was in an inferior position to him, and that because of that, I needed to beg.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. It''s clearly an attempt to humiliate me. ¡°Time is running out, tik, tak, tik, tak. You only have 5 hours from now, right?¡± And wait¡­ w¡­ what? ¡°I thought you already realized, but apparently, you¡¯re stupid; I¡¯m a nonsense, and I can read your mind. Geez, I gave you several signs of this, but you only understood now.¡± ¡°...¡± Hm. He can read my mind, see my memories, but he can''t get information about nectar control and qi manipulation? Don''t make me laugh! He probably just has an ability that allows him to know a bit about a person''s past. And even if he can read my mind, he can probably only read my mind in the present, meaning his mind-reading ability has limits! As long as I don''t think about the things he wants to know, he''ll remain ignorant. Of course, this will only be valid if this isn''t a brief, but for now, let''s play his game. Capybara, you''ve found the wrong opponent! ¡°Hahaha, do you think I wouldn¡¯t realize that your ability has limitations? I don¡¯t accept your proposal! You help me get a new body, and in return, I¡¯ll advise you about this world.¡± The capybara laughed. ¡° Indeed, my ability cannot understand verbal memories that are in a language I do not know, much less absorb complex knowledge from another person''s mind, and yes, only see their memories; however, by chance, do you think we are in a circus? What should I do to make you realize your place? Should I draw a manga with a little story that explains your situation? You need me more than I need you.¡± I gritted my teeth in hatred because he is right. ¡°Therefore, I will keep you alive, and you will grant me tutoring on how to control magic and form those mana circles and dantian. ¡°But these terms¡­¡± ¡°Almost all of your past; from childhood, loves, affairs, and even a little of your future; I know all of it. I know that you despise me, and that you planned only to use me and discard me when I am no longer useful.¡± My heart almost stopped. ¡°I''ve always heard that external beauty indicates internal beauty, but you are like a mermaid; a beautiful woman who cruelly deceives fishermen and kills them at the bottom of the sea.¡± ¡°...¡± I couldn''t say anything; I just listened in a trance to his words. Every time he opened his mouth, the atmosphere changed; every word held weight, and every hand gesture drew my attention even further to this mutant. ¡°Your mistake, little Aria, was mistaking a demon who was disguised as a human for a fisherman.¡± After saying such words, he calmly picked up the amulet from the ground, placed it around his neck, and left the cave. The rest of the night went by without much trouble; he hunted some random animals for food and returned to the cave in the morning. After eating, he went to sleep as if nothing had happened. I hid myself inside the amulet''s inner dimension, lay down on the fantasy floor, curled up in the fetal position, and began to reflect on everything that had happened. My brain hadn''t processed the information yet... no, actually, it had processed too much, but such information made me feel disgusted. He called me little Aria. Even though he knew my full name, he chose to simply call me by my first name, as if he didn''t recognize my noble descent, and on top of that, he carefully selected the word little. It''s an indirect; little Aria = before me, you have the power capacity of a child, and you better get used to it, because unlike common human consensus, in your species, children don''t grow up fast. Since he read my mind and knew my past, he obviously knows that I hate children; I see childhood as a time of ignorance, dependence, and fragility. He purposely lowered me to this status. ¡°Fuck.¡± Never in my entire life had anyone humiliated me like this. My pride had been crushed¡­. By a capybara. That night, I cried with hatred. 9: Good and bad selfishness. Chapter 9: Good and bad selfishness. ¡ª Self-knowledge is one of the most important things for an individual; how can he be useful if he doesn''t even know his own strengths and weaknesses? ______ Riley Yuki I woke up in a good mood. Yesterday, I had hunted and eaten well, as I became more confident when I subdued a demon lord using only my eloquence and wit. Of course, I didn''t become arrogant just because I managed to make Aria my subordinate; in fact, I felt compelled to hunt her down, because showing weakness might make her realize that I wasn''t all that. So, even though I was scared, I pretended to be confident. Even though I didn''t know the forest and the monsters that inhabit it very well, I used the new nectar sensitivity technique that I had learned to know the places where strong monsters are, and those that are weaker than me. Of course, it''s not a 100% effective technique, as there are other types of energies in this world, but it''s still effective. Unfortunately, although I was able to hunt and feed myself, I was unable to copy any skills. "AND." Furthermore, I also realized that I can feel other types of energy, even though they appear to be weaker than nectar. I got up from the cave floor and walked outside. There, I contemplated the sunlight that gently touched my skin, and its heat that weakly warmed my body. I looked up at the trees, admiring the bright green colors of the plants. I don''t know if my new body had vision that allowed me to see more colors, but regardless, I found it beautiful. I looked at Aria, who had a neutral expression on her beautiful face. Personally, I found that amusing. So, our little Aria is the proud type who doesn''t like to show weaknesses to others, right? Obviously, I was in a sticky situation; I was almost fooled, and if it weren''t for my nonsense ability, I would have already fallen for her line and believed that ''the goddess wasn''t that cruel to me''. The truth is that Aria just wanted to use me to discard me like trash after she no longer needed me. At least I figured out how my nonsense ability works: the goddess, besides providing incorrect information about herself, also deceived me; I can only use the mind-reading ability twice a week, and the ability to read emotions, once a day. Furthermore, mind-reading can even see someone''s memories, discovering their traumas and secrets. Of course, it has obvious limitations that go far beyond the amount of use: I can only use it for a maximum of 20 seconds. Furthermore, I can''t ''absorb another person''s memories''; I see a kind of mini-movie of the person''s life. Unfortunately, I had to use the mind-reading ability twice, because the first time, I could only see memories from the beginning of Aria''s life, and the second time, it was like watching a movie at full speed and skipping to see the most important parts. It''s a pretty useful skill... no, it saved my life. Anyway, I got out of a sticky situation and into an even messier one; I don''t know what tricks Aria has in store. I read her memories; not all of them; just the essential ones, so I don''t know how she can try to trick me again. At least I managed to make her think that I can read her mind at any time. Besides, she depends on me to survive. However, Aria is a proud woman. That is why I humiliated her by calling her little Aria; to put her in her rightful place. She is, of course, an arrogant woman; once a nobody on earth, and then, she became the daughter of a king. Cases like this, where pride does not go to one''s head, are very rare. And indeed, Aria was part of the common people.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Well, Aria should thank me; the worst attachment a person can have in excess is to their own ego. This would serve as a ladder for Aria to evolve. Whether she climbs it or not is her choice. I explored the forest jumping from tree to tree, memorizing the area and escape routes in case a fight broke out. ¡°Oh, a rabbit.¡± As soon as I saw him, I immediately climbed down from the tree and killed him with a punch strong enough to blow his head off. After that, I went back to the cave. ¡°Damn, I almost lost it,¡± I muttered before biting the rabbit¡¯s leg. Even though it was disgusting to eat it raw, what could I do? Now, I was a wild animal with a conscience. ¡°Did you know¡­¡± "What?" I was momentarily confused when Aria started a conversation with me, but I quickly regained my composure and asked her, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Unfortunately, little did I know that I would regret asking¡­ because Aria is an annoying militant vegan. ¡°Did you know that before, eating meat was considered immoral?¡± ???????? ¡°What do you mean? Who is the devil who would spread such a nonsensical ideology?! Survival has become immoral now?!¡± ¡°No; this assumes that there is an absolute moral right and wrong. In a scenario like this, even if it is not your fault that you have to feed on other living beings, you are still committing an immoral act, the difference is that your actions do not carry as much weight as they would if you did not have to.¡± This conversation¡­ is very random, mainly because Aria, someone who tried to deceive me, wants to talk about morals and ethics. ¡°I understand, continue.¡± ¡°Therefore, based on this principle of systems of weights of acts and non-insensibility of responsibility, even animals could suffer in the afterlife for committing some immoral act that did not have a valid reason to lessen their weight, as in the philosophy of absolute morality of the original people of the Full Moon Mountain. In the end, they believe that human beings were rotten and impure beings, not because of their acts, but simply because they existed and were forced to step on others to stay alive. For the original people of the Full Moon Mountain, every living being was impure simply for existing, because if it existed, then it killed others to continue existing.¡± I let out a little laugh. ¡°It¡¯s an interesting philosophy, although it¡¯s probably just a religious ideology that wants to instill guilt in people.¡± Religion is religion, even in another world. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not quite like that, you got it wrong.¡± From the expression Aria made, apparently, she still despised me and was offended for being contradicted by a capybara. I have a long way to go before I earn her trust. ¡°For example, if a 7-year-old child kills someone, even though he or she may not be aware enough to be responsible for the full weight of what he or she has done, it would still be morally wrong.¡± ¡°I see ethics as nothing less than a tool invented by human beings to improve coexistence, while morality, for me, despite the fact that universal values ??still exist, is based on the logic and problems of a society, which are almost always the same, but masked in other forms, it is also very subjective, even when measuring the weight of universal values.¡± Aria interrupted me. ¡°Note that even in these terms, it is still considered morally wrong for a child to kill someone, but the weight of the action has been lessened because perhaps the child could be a good contributor in the future.¡± ¡°The child will not necessarily be a good contributor in the future, but he continues with the game¡± ¡°For this very reason; egalitarian morality is a moral flaw.¡± What? Hmmm¡­ this conversation is getting interesting. ¡°In our world, no one is the same; everyone has a different value, because everyone can do different things and even the same things, but with more or less efficiency. From the utilitarian point of view of society, only useful people have value. If a person is of no use, and even gets in the way, the chance of them being abandoned is enormous. That is why we feel guilty when we get in the way of others; in the end, we are just selfish people afraid of being abandoned.¡± ¡°So, is everyone selfish? So why do we care about the future of people we don¡¯t know well?¡± ¡°The answer to this question is simple: everything influences our lives in some way, and everything is an exchange. Think about it: a stranger has gone through problems; helping them may not benefit you much, but if you felt pleasure, or even had some other kind of benefit, or felt empathy, etc., you are already selfish, because you would be doing that for pleasure or any other personal reason. Therefore-¡± ¡°Everyone always thinks about themselves.¡± Aria smiled. "Exactly." ¡°Therefore, there is good selfishness and bad selfishness.¡± Aria looked at me somewhat confused¡­ or feigning confusion; I can''t properly read the expressions of a deceitful person like her. ".... What?" 10: false Chapter 10: False Allies.
¡ª In this world, most relationships are made up of false allies, false friends, false loves and false illusions about oneself.
¡°Regardless of whether a person does something to achieve some kind of feeling or advantage, if they feel empathy for it, it is good selfishness. Bad selfishness is the kind that harms others unnecessarily and also harms you in some way. Selfishness is necessary for human survival, but since everything in excess is bad, selfishness is harmful in extreme cases.¡± Honestly, this was the most unpredictable and random conversation I''ve had. Aria was probably just desperate to have her first conversation after years alone in that cave. Aria, who was no longer normal, probably lost some more of her sanity after being alone for 15 years without social contact. Of course, she could have had other superficial goals for having this conversation with me, such as boosting her own ego by explaining abstract concepts to a species she considers inferior and seeing them having difficulty understanding her, however, it is more likely that she was testing me. She probably planned this conversation while I was asleep, thinking it could circumvent my mind-reading ability. Basically, she''s testing not only my intelligence, but also the limits of my ability. The problem is that this is merely a suspicion on my part, and besides, it''s better not to respond directly with a "do you think I don''t know you''re testing me?" because there''s still the possibility that she''s just making small talk. When I don''t respond directly, Aria, being an intelligent woman, doesn''t immediately conclude that my ability has limits, but rather that "it would be a waste of time to constantly prove that he can read minds, besides, even though he doesn''t know my philosophy, he responded to my arguments as if he already knew what I was going to say, it''s as if he was playing a guessing game with me." That¡¯s why I nicknamed her Little Aria; it showed an ironic and playful personality on my part, which often uses indirect messages to make fun of others. Even if I didn¡¯t answer Aria here, she might think that I read her mind and was making fun of her by sending indirect messages, sending the message of ¡°nice try, but good luck next time.¡± Despite the fact that I hadn¡¯t thought of that at the time and only called her Little Aria because I was annoyed, I can still take advantage of that mistake now. Normal people learn from their mistakes, while intelligent people learn from them and can even use them to their advantage. Aria could also interpret this as a kind of test; now that she doesn''t know whether my mind-reading abilities have limits or not, she could use this to betray me somehow, giving me false information only to end up getting caught red-handed and dying after I destroy the medallion. And if I avoided the conversation, it would seem suspicious. She might think that I didn''t know how to control my ability properly, and that''s why I avoided talking to her directly. In my current situation, I need to be cautious. Sure, in her mind, I can read minds 5 times a day, but if she disregards me, even in some minor way, she might end up losing her fear and questioning more and discovering that my mind-reading ability has more limitations than just the amount of use. So I finished several of her sentences as if I already knew what she was going to say, and camouflaged it in a way that she couldn''t tell if I was reading her mind or just reasoning about the concepts she presented to me. Simply put: either she''s trying to find other flaws in my psychic ability, or she''s just testing how far she can go. As much as she needs me more than I need her, I still need her, so I won''t throw the amulet away for any mistake she makes; and she knows that. I reorganized my thoughts, and came to a conclusion: at this very moment, if my hypothesis about her testing the limits of my ability is correct, she probably thought of three possibilities: either I am testing her, or just joking, or my ability really has more limitations than I said previously and that''s why I needed to disguise it with irony.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. To lessen the chances of her thinking of other possibilities, I must mask our conversation as a sort of test. Unfortunately, even after reading her mind, I wasn''t able to obtain all the information about this world. However, with the information I did obtain, it''s possible that I played with her a bit. Because I absorbed her memories, I know a lot about the energies of manipulation, however, because of the limited time I had to use the ability, I only got superficial information about it; when I met Aria, I had to prioritize exploring her past memories to make her think that I could read minds without any limitations; if I learned about the complex calculations that involve these energies, there would be no time left to absorb her memories of things that were more relevant at the moment, because the most she could think was that I was either reincarnated, or knew information about the power system of this world, but that due to lack of experience, I needed her. Also, no matter how much I watch Aria''s memories about magical calculations, I still won''t be able to understand it. If I try to get more information, will she suspect that my ability has limits, but if I make it seem like a test of trust¡­ I will make a masterstroke. ¡°Anyway, enough philosophy, explain to me more about this world.¡± ¡°ok, I¡¯ll explain to you the basis of the manipulative energies that exist in this world.¡± ¡°Basically, there are 5 main self-manipulating energies in this world: nectar, qi, mana, and nonsense. Nectar, as you already know and have experience with, is the water that your body produces. It is the most common energy and everyone can use it, except for people who have some disease. It is an energy that can be modeled into various weapons, but of course, there are limits; you cannot make an atomic bomb, but you can model several powerful areas. ¡°Qi, on the other hand, serves to increase the abilities of your body to the limit and your mind to the limit, that is, not to increase more than your body can handle. Now, about mana¡­ it is a little more complicated; despite being one of the most versatile energies, it is the most difficult to control. You can create almost anything with mana, and unlike nectar, what you can create with magi is limited to your imagination, the natural laws of the universe, the mana itself and your amount of mana, that is, if you want to create a tank, create a war tank and humiliate your enemies! Aria, you complicate things like that¡­. ¡°Witchcraft is something¡­ less exotic. It is based on the use of faith in some kind of God. Witchcraft is about borrowing the power of other entities. Finally, finally, nonsense; your ability to read minds is one of them. Unlike the other abilities, nonsense does not follow the rules of reality and each nonsense ability has its own laws¡­¡± I interrupted Aria. ¡°You passed the test.¡± Aria looked at me with a look of mock confusion. I found it comical. "What¡­?" ¡°I''m glad you didn''t try to deceive me by providing false information, although if you did¡­ I would destroy the medallion.¡± Aria''s body trembled. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get straight to the point; I want to establish a relationship of trust with you. These power struggles and ego struggles don¡¯t work well here, and they only harm us. So, instead of playing these childish games, let¡¯s change the terms of the agreement; I¡¯ll help you get a new body, and you¡¯ll help me understand the equations of the main manipulation energies.¡± ¡°How about it? Although my ability to read minds is strong, understanding equations requires practicality, and my ability has many limits; I cannot read a person¡¯s entire past, much less learn their experiences; at most, I can read the present and get a summary of how they lived. That¡¯s why I need you.¡± Aria looked at me with a neutral expression. Apparently, she understood the weight my words held. I got what I wanted. For Aria, the test I put her through consisted of the following actions: first, I purposely gave her a small and harmless chance to cheat on me; second, since she didn''t cheat on me, I made it obvious that it was a test and even told her that if she had cheated on me, she would have met a miserable end. Third, I made an egalitarian proposal. By making an equal proposal, I show her that I am not a dishonest man; on the contrary, I know how to recognize when I need someone and that I do not try to blatantly deceive people. It shows false flaws in my ability, which were not so false after all, it only proves that I want to elevate our relationship to something more than just master (me) and slave (Aria). It shows that I respect her, and that I only humiliated her before because she tried to deceive me. Since Aria is a proud person who values herself above all else, she could understand me, because she is more proud of herself, and would have the same reaction... even worse. I made a threat and a bribe; I invented hell and heaven. Obviously, I didn''t reveal all the limitations of my ability; the goddess stated that "at the moment, I can only use the emotion ability once a day, and the mind reading ability is once every 5 days", which is abstract and incorrect, however, it is important to emphasize the "at the moment". The goddess didn''t say that the limitation on my ability is permanent, just that at the moment, I can only use it a few times. In other words, I can improve my ability. ¡°My name is Riley Yuki, and I would like to be your disciple. What do you say, Professor Aria? Do you accept the deal?¡± 11Pride Chapter 11: Pride almost always causes prejudice.
¡ªTo the fool, anything is humiliation; to the intelligent, almost everything is learning; and to the wise, everything is a lifetime of experiences and metaphors.
Hearing that, Aria smiled. Apparently satisfied; even though, at the moment, her position was inferior to mine, and the hierarchy was strange ¡ª at least for her, not for me ¡ª, she was happy to realize that she would not be just a mere slave with useful information. ¡°Deal done.¡± "Excellent. After this brief conversation, I devoured the rabbit I had once hunted. "What is that¡­?" I started to feel a strange energy; as if I was beginning to notice every geometric shape around me. My body also began to slowly generate and flow blood through my veins that I could not understand, nor even identify. It''s sis. Would I have absorbed some ability from the rabbit? I closed my eyes and began to imagine the mana particles and their composition (interestingly, they resembled atoms, but at the same time, different), I tried to manipulate them; I wished that the mana particles that I released into the air would heat up, and it did indeed heat up, and after that, it became fire. ¡°...?!¡± Aria, stunned, looked at me with wide eyes and her mouth almost falling to the floor. "What it was?" ¡°How¡­ how did you manage to use magic?! Couldn¡¯t you just use nectar, qi, and nonsense? ¡°I have no idea.¡± Informing Aria about all my abilities is not advantageous for me, as we are not in a normal teacher-student relationship, but rather one of cooperation, however, I have to collect as much information as I can about the abilities she knows about. ¡°Aria, could you explain to me what kind of energy this is?¡± ¡°Where¡­ where.¡± ¡°Where?¡± I asked Aria, who looked slightly irritated. Aria continued her explanation¡­ if her first response could be called an explanation. ¡°Mana, that''s it... Can you see the little particles... or at least feel them?¡± ¡°I can see and feel..¡± "Impossible!" Aria almost screamed. I didn''t understand why she was reacting. It''s probably because controlling mana is hard, and I''m doing it in an easier way. I tried to make a bigger fireball, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn''t get it to get any bigger. ¡°Why is it like this?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Aria calmed down, and began to explain to me. ¡°Your mana pool is small, and your mental strength is not enough for greater magic.¡± ¡°I see. Could you explain to me how to increase it?¡± ¡°Yes; you must expend all your mana, and then meditate. By repeating these processes every day, your mana reserve will increase.¡± "Thanks." Dediquei novamente minha aten??o ¨¤ mana. Tentei control¨¢-la, e consegui amontoar uma quantidade o suficiente ao ponto de formarem uma pequena bola de mana vis¨ªvel a olho n¨². Aquela bola tinha o tamanho da minha m?o. ¡°.... Caralho¡­!¡± Aria ficou chocada. Consegui controlar mana a esse n¨ªvel sendo um iniciante ¨¦ t?o raro assim? Imposs¨ªvel; eu absorver esta habilidade daquele coelho, e seria muito estranho que eu herdasse uma habilidade de controle de mana deste n¨ªvel de um mero animal de pequeno porte. Ou ser¨¢ que aquele coelho tinha alguma linhagem sangu¨ªnea escondida? Nunca saberei; n?o h¨¢ nenhuma sistema me informando de nada. Transformei a bola de mana em ¨¢gua, e depois, em vento. ¡°... Desisto.¡± Aria perdeu a paci¨ºncia. ¡°O que foi?¡± ¡°Nada!¡± Ela quase gritou comigo. Tanto faz, vou continuar meus experimentos. E se eu¡­ tenta solidificar a mana? Manipulei a mana para que se condensasse e adquirisse a forma de uma espada de metal. E consegui. ¡°Muito conveniente.¡± ¡°Realmente, voc¨º tem mana infinita por acaso?!¡± ¡°Como assim? Voc¨º perde mana quando transforma ela em algo al¨¦m de mana?¡± Aria suspirou. ¡°Quanto mais complexo ¨¦ aquilo que voc¨º vai transformar a mana, mais mana escapar do seu controle. Al¨¦m disso, ¨¦ muito dif¨ªcil controlar mana ao estado original depois que voc¨º transformou ela em algo, principalmente em materiais s¨®lidos.¡± ¡°Entendo.¡± Cada dia aprendendo mais! *** Aria Virelai. Monstro; esta ¨¦ a ¨²nica palavra que me veio ¨¤ mente para definir Riley Yuki; ningu¨¦m, at¨¦ mesmo entre os Rute, tal habilidade ¨¦ possu¨ªda apenas pelos membros da elite, e nem eles conseguem manipular de forma t?o h¨¢bil na primeira vez. Ser¨¢ que ele tamb¨¦m ¨¦ um reencarnado?! Provavelmente, ele ¨¦ igual a mim, e j¨¢ reencarnou neste mundo, viveu aqui e j¨¢ tem experi¨ºncia em manipula??o de mana. Mesmo que este n?o seja o cen¨¢rio exato, no m¨ªnimo, ele veio de outro mundo. N?o faz nenhum sentido que uma capivara tenha habilidades como leitura de mentes e um controle t?o h¨¢bil de mana logo no primeiro contato. Ou¡­ ele j¨¢ sabia mana antes e s¨® revelou agora? Ele desconfiava que eu podia atacar ele? Por mais que eu o despreze, eu ainda preciso dele. Al¨¦m do mais, ele leu minha mente e sabe que eu n?o iria atacar ele. N?o faz sentido ele esconder que sabe usar mana, a n?o ser que¡­ a habilidade de leitura de mentes tenha mais limites do que apenas resumir os pensamentos e mem¨®rias. E se a habilidade n?o funcionar todas as vezes, ou ele n?o consegui controlar ela direito? Sendo assim, h¨¢ hor¨¢rios no qual a habilidade dele funciona, e hor¨¢rios onde n?o? Devo testar¡­? Se ele pode ler meus pensamentos, por que n?o responde minhas d¨²vidas agora? N?o; ¨¦ muito arriscado. Por mais que eu esteja questionando isso agora e ele provavelmente esteja ouvindo, ele ¨¦ uma pessoa ir?nica; muitas vezes brinca comigo para teoricamente me por no meu devido lugar (segundo a mente dele. Enfim, sou superior). Pode ser que eu ainda esteja sendo testada. People don''t tell you when they test you, they just test you. Everyone tests everyone. This is biological. So it''s good to be cautious... Wait... There is a catch; if he read my thoughts now, it means he doesn''t want a relationship of trust; just enough trust to cooperate, that is, in my competence and whether I will betray him or not, however, it is very suspicious that he has revealed limitations of his psychic abilities. Was this a test of trust, or did his mind-reading abilities actually have many limitations and so he needed to say them so as not to be deceived at critical moments? If he spoke of limitations of abilities, whether false or not, he would still have much to gain; if the limitations were false, they would not be entirely lies, but rather half-truths, since he would not need to speak of such limitations to me if he did not have them, even if in small quantities, and it would still serve as a test of trust; and above all, I would underestimate him, which could be beneficial to him in future situations, since I would not know the limits of his ability. If that''s true, then he really meant it and he needs me. However, there''s another scenario: what if he has many more limitations than the ones he mentioned, and so he desperately needed to phrase them in a way that made them seem less limiting, but at the same time, weak enough that I''m afraid of betraying him? Of course, there''s also the possibility that he''s doing this for some other fun. I don''t know how a monster''s mind works; it''s possible that he''s already got all the information he needs about mana and is just messing with me, but still, it''s possible. Either he is playing with me and his limitations are false, or his limitations are half-truths and this is a test, or his limitations are much more complicated than he presented, and that is why he had to present limitations that were neither weak nor too strong, so that he can explain sometimes and that your skill fails, and still have credibility. There is no accurate way for me to know. And there probably never will be. 12: Fun. Chapter 12: Fun.
¡ª Some small mistakes are inevitable.
Riley Yuki ¡°Wake up... Wake up!¡± I woke up abruptly with Aria''s irritating voice punishing my ear with a hellish torture that I wouldn''t wish on my worst enemy. Apparently, the deal I made with her yesterday made her think that I recognized her as having a position far superior to mine. I got angry. ¡°Little Aria.¡± As soon as I said that, I discreetly looked at her face, which¡­ I don''t know what I should call it, but her expression was so ugly that even the bravest of demons would tremble before such a look. ¡°Are you angry?¡± ¡°You said¡­ you said you would stop calling me that!!!¡± ¡°Okay¡­ okay, I won¡¯t call you that again. I¡¯ll stop, okay?¡± It''s fun to bully her a little. Of course, I wouldn''t cross certain boundaries, because I need her to survive in this world, but still, a man doesn''t live by seriousness alone. ¡°But like that¡­ why do you care so much about it? It¡¯s just a pet name! A treat! Why don¡¯t you accept my love for you, my lady?¡± ¡°I politely ask you to shut your mouth and not talk any more nonsense.¡± Sorry, please forgive me, Aria, but anyone in my shoes would say the same thing. Your reactions to my impertinent comments are just too cute! What human in this world and the one before me wouldn''t appreciate such cuteness?! Even if you are proud, there''s no way your pride is so fragile that it can be shaken by simple comments! Besides, the goddess is probably laughing her head off watching our interactions. I''m going to bully you a little bit; just a little bit more... just enough to sweeten our relationship! I know it might seem like I''m trying to test you or something, but still, let me enjoy this beautiful moment we have together! ¡°So, what will our training be like today?¡± ¡°Our first training will begin with meditation.¡± ¡°I see. What should I do?¡± ¡°First, get into the lotus position.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°Now, pay attention to your breathing and focus on letting the nectar and qi flow and spread throughout your body. ¡°Right.¡± I focused on the flow of qi and nectar; this time, I was able to differentiate between the two energies and let them flow. I felt proud of myself, but at the same time, I was ashamed that I was probably too weak.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. To comfort my heart, I repeated the phrase ''Everything starts out weak, what matters is becoming strong'' over and over in my mind. It did work, but not how I wanted it to. ¡°Now, stand up.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°Try making a sword out of nectar, and strengthen it with qi.¡± I tried to do exactly as she told me. When I finished, I realized that the nectar sword was strong¡­ too strong. I felt like it could cut through absolutely anything. Of course, these are just delusions; there''s no chance a beginner like me could accomplish such a feat. "Excellent." Apparently satisfied, Aria complimented me. Of course, only apparently; in the deceitful way that she is, she probably just wanted to compliment me to release the classic dose of post-flattery pleasure. In the end, our relationship is nothing more than a cooperation forced by precarious conditions on both sides, however, I still felt good when I realized that I was making rapid progress. ¡°Now, try to stretch the nectar as much as possible.¡± As soon as I manipulated the nectar and stretched it, expanding it as much as I could, I was amazed when it reached tiny widths and insane heights. "Damn¡­" Ironically, that was the only word I could say. Even someone like me, a classic man with a vulgar dialect tainted by shit posts on the internet, can change his own way of acting. This makes me think about various philosophical questions, but now is not the time to philosophize; it is time to train; to acquire strength, power, and become stronger. This may seem immoral to many people, but to me, classifying my goals as immoral is foolish; everyone likes power. You walk because you can, you see because you can, you eat because you can, and you love because you can. It is more than moral to strive for more power to protect what you hold dear. From the good things to the bad things, life revolves around choices and power, whether you like it or not. Personally, I feel confused; what will I do after I conquer the top of this world? Of course, it is still too early to think about that, but the goddess was clear: if I do not conquer at least half a continent, I will die. Just thinking about how many people I will kill to achieve this goal makes me feel guilty, but what can I do? It is better to live with guilt than to die and lose what is most precious to me: my own life. In this world, nothing should be more precious than your own life, because to have power, you need to be alive. Many say that life is not worth living because suffering is greater than pleasure, but the greater the suffering, the greater the moments of happiness and pleasure. The suffering of life literally forces you to value the few moments of happiness you have. That''s why it''s important to gain more power. I am not a crazy person obsessed with politics; personally, I prefer a quiet life, however, to achieve such a life, I must first fulfill the mission given to me. For this, many lives will have to be sacrificed, many dreams will not come true, but nature is like this; Deborah cuts the weak without even asking if he wants to be devoured; ends his futile life without even considering his wishes, all because he has more power than him, and also out of obligation; he needs to devour the blood of his neighbor to survive, because even though both are alive, because they are alive, they are sinners, and sinners survive on the blood of other sinners. Since the world began, it has revolved like this; it revolves around this; it forces us to live practicing this. I will feel guilty, but for my life and for the same selfishness that a cat devours a baby rabbit, I will do this for my life; I value it more than anything in this world; even with the pain, even with the guilt, and even with the price to pay to live peacefully, I will enjoy a good life. Inevitably, I will leave a legacy and a strong mark on the world, but even then, I choose myself over others. Whether I will be a hero or a villain, a dictator or a wise ruler, it doesn''t matter; make this life worthwhile, even if to do so, I have to split this dimension in half. ¡°That¡¯s enough for today. Overtraining can lead to injuries.¡± ¡°Thank you, little Aria.¡± "Tsk.." Upon hearing me call her little Aria again, she clicked her tongue in disgust, and glared at me coldly for the rest of the day. Chapter 13: a litle training Chapter 12: A little training.
¡ª People are forced to be strong, but despite that, most are just good actors.
Riley Yuki A month has passed since the day I entered into a teacher-pupil relationship with Aria. My days haven''t been very... fun, so to speak. My daily routine consisted of: waking up, exploring the forest, hunting, returning to the cave, talking to Aria and training magic. As much as it was interesting at first, now, it was getting tiring. Ironically, I never got bored in my old world because of the internet, and I even dared to fantasize about what it would be like to live in another world, thinking that "my current one is boring, and now, I''m in another world, but bored. The magic, once enchanting, became part of my daily life, inverting what I previously saw as incredible, into something boring. Well, not as boring, but not as exciting as it used to be. Almost everything becomes boring whin it becomes commonplace. At least I have learned many meditation techniques, and I know much more about my mind-reading power; now I can read minds twice a week, and use my emotion reading twice a day. It is a remarkable improvement. Despite this, I didn''t discover any more nonsense powers. The goddess was probably lying about me having more than one, but if she really was telling the truth, then my second nonsense power would be advanced regeneration and absorption of monsters'' power. ¡°Good. Now, concentrate the mana in your body, manipulate it, make it flow through your veins. Now, concentrate it on a single nail.¡± I followed all of Aria''s instructions, and my nail grew. I tried to make it sharp and hard, and I succeeded; after that, I manipulated the mana in such a way as to bend my nail, and it twisted. ¡°Great! You learn really fast. Now, try doing a nail like that, just with your sister.¡± "Try." Almost immediately, a light appeared in the air and a floating, crooked, and sharp nail appeared. ¡°That¡¯s it! Congratulations, you¡¯ve improved a lot!¡± ¡°All thanks to you, Professor Aria.¡± I thanked Aria; not only out of gratitude, but also to generate that basic dopamine rush in her brain system; if you inevitably outshine your teacher, you must necessarily acknowledge your success as ¡°only thanks to him¡±. Most people are very happy when part of someone else''s success has a part of you, because it means two things: that the person needs you, or needed you, and that now, they probably owe you a debt. Of course, in regular classrooms, such debt is almost nonexistent; your parents pay the taxes that support the teachers'' salaries, and if it''s in a private school, even better. Nevertheless, it is an effective strategy. People feel threatened by people who seem too independent. Of course, it is impossible not to depend on anyone, because there are things you don''t know how to do that other people will do, and even if you know how to do them, you still need someone else to help you because you can''t multiply. Furthermore, if you feed yourself, then you depend on the environment around you to live, and on food... Imagine, someone who doesn''t need you can abandon you at any moment. Ironic, isn''t it? That''s why people who are too talented end up with few friends, because it''s hard for someone above average to have a true friendship with someone below them. It''s almost inevitable that they''ll part ways and go their separate ways. "Ah." I sighed, immersed in absolute boredom. Even though my evolution is fast, and I discover new parts of the forest every day, I''m still bored.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Maybe¡­ I should play something! ¡°Want to play a game?¡± With a bored expression on my face, I questioned Aria, who looked at me with a serene expression. ¡°What kind of game?¡± ¡°Well¡­ just a moment¡­ how about the opponent¡¯s game?¡± ¡°What is he like?¡± Basically, the opponent''s game is tic-tac-toe, only with different signs. I no longer wanted to hide the fact that I was a reincarnated; Aria herself knew about it; she found out three days ago; I just pretend that I''m not and that I don''t know that she knows that I''m not and she pretends that she doesn''t know. ¡°The rules are as follows: there are two types of symbols, the dot and the x. There are two intertwined lines; two horizontal and two vertical. The X or dot must be placed on the limits of these lines and in the squares between them. When you make three dots, that is, place three of your symbol in a row, whether diagonally, vertically or horizontally, you must draw a line between them, and you win.¡± "I understand." ¡°Great, let¡¯s get started¡­ oh, and even though we normally start with the x, I¡¯ll start with the dot because I want to and because I can, and because yes.¡± ¡°Ok¡­.¡± I drew four intertwining lines, two horizontally and two vertically using nectar and drew a ball in the center of the board. "Your time." ¡°X em c-2.¡± I immediately understood that she had mentally arranged the squares into columns a, b, and c, and the rows into 1, 2, and 3, and was referring to the center part of the last row of the board. I placed it there, and then made my move in column A, square 3. Aria blocked my attempt to win by placing an x on the c-1 square, and I placed a ball on the B-3 square. She lost; if she had placed it on any other square, she would have lost. If she had blocked it on B-1, she would have lost to C-3. And vice versa. ¡°I prefer chess; it depends more on intellectuality, and not just on whoever just moves the first piece.¡± ¡°So be it.¡± I modified mana on an artificial chessboard; I did it instantly; I had already become accustomed to materializing mana. ¡°Do you start, or do I?¡± Aria smiled: I''ll start. *** Virelai Air. I played white pawn E4, and Riley Yuki, pawn E5. Almost immediately, I played C4 white-squared white bishop. And Riley Yuki quickly responded to my move with black pawn F5. The main reason I used the Queen''s Pawn Opening was because it allows me to have great control over some central squares, expanding my territory and limiting my opponent''s moves. My bishop on c-4 has several reasons, but the main ones are: to put pressure on the f7 point, since the bishop on c4 is directly targeting Black''s f7 square, which is a vulnerable point because it is poorly protected at the beginning. This can create opportunities for quick attacks if Black makes mistakes, since f7 is crucial in defending the king. I also want a fast development with the bishop already developed and the pawn on e4 controlling the center, White has the chance to quickly develop the knight to f3, prepare for castling and bring other pieces into play. This fast development allows White to seize the initiative and impose pressure early on. Not only is this a strong opening, it is also positional and flexible: The bishop on c4 allows for a game with both attacking ideas and solid positional options. White can continue in a variety of ways, such as preparing to castl, moving the knight to f3, or advancing d3 to hold the center and protect the pawn on e4. Preparation for Center Control: The idea is to keep the center firm, with plans like d3 or even d4 in some variants, creating a balanced game of center control and attacking possibilities. These factors make the bishop on c4 a classic and powerful move. It is an opening that can lead to dynamic play and allows White to adapt his strategy according to Black''s response. That is why I applied this tactic. From then on, our game went smoothly. He made a strong play, and I returned it with another. After 20 minutes of playing, the game finally came to an end. ¡°Tie.¡± I honestly don''t know what to say about him. As if being a monster when it comes to magic wasn''t enough, he''s also talented in intellectual terms? A monster with his magical aptitude only appears naturally every 50,000 years, imagine one who can play chess at this level as a beginner... or not. During the month I spent with him, I realized two things: the first is that he is reincarnated, and the second is that his ability to read minds only works a few times a week. I realized that he was reincarnated when he demonstrated knowledge of various things that a mere animal that only acquired consciousness would not know because it had never studied such subjects. Noise. A loud noise abruptly interrupted my thoughts. I quickly looked back only to see a dragon flying¡­ while fighting a¡­ Unicorn? Do unicorns breathe fire?! ¡°Fuck!!¡± For the first time in my life, I saw Riley look so surprised; it was probably the only expression other than boredom, amusement, or interest that I had ever seen him make in all the time I had spent with him. However, his expression was not just surprise; it was a huge mix of surprise, contemplation and¡­ fear. I was scared too. I want to run, but I know I can''t because of my soul trapped in a worthless gold medallion. I wish I could have real power, not the futile one, which only seems to be, but is nothing; it is only something in the fragile and flawed human imagination. I want to run, escape, slip away, feel my feet touching the ground and hear the sound made by a quick step and get out of here, but I can''t. So Yuki had to run for me, and he did indeed run for me; he ran thinking only of himself; and yet, he ran for both of us. 14: Run Chapter 14: Run.
¡ª It is advisable to check everything meticulously.
Riley Yuki I ran with all my might, looking back a few times to see if the monsters would attack or not. This attitude would increase my chances of survival. *Noise A shot of nectar mixed with mana exploded the place where I had once been, causing tremors throughout the forest. The tremor was so strong that it ended up knocking me to the ground of dirt and bushes. Even though I was injured, I got up and ran, and kept running until I had to stop abruptly when the unicorn dragon fell in front of me, and an unknown monster, all gray, attacked it. In a single attack, that monster killed the unicorn by ripping out its heart. After that, it took a few bites out of it and¡­ looked at us. ¡°It seems I have no choice but to fight.¡± I entered a defensive stance and activated my nectar, while controlling my mana to strengthen it. The tension of the situation was so great that I felt the nectar entering and strengthening every cell in my body. ¡°Riley!¡± Aria interrupted me. I admit I felt irritated, but the information she gave me replaced all my discontent with pure fear. ¡°You don¡¯t have enough power to kill that monster! He¡¯s an awakened! A mutant awakened!¡± Awakened, according to the memories I obtained from Aria, were a class of monsters that were corrupted by dark nectar. Even though I couldn''t read all of Aria''s memories, I was still able to gather a lot of important information, and this was one of them. However, I never thought I would encounter one. Aria was someone who reached the pinnacle of martial strength in her world. If even someone like her has that monster¡­. ¡°I simply have no chance of victory against that monster.¡± I have to escape, and fast. I started running again. Meanwhile, the monster followed me, leaving a trail of destruction wherever it went. The monster shot several beams of energy, and I dodged them all. Its nectar divided into several tentacles that tried to grab me, but I always escaped from them all. I ran through almost every area of the southern forest that I knew, until I entered an area that I hadn''t explored previously and continued running while dodging the monster''s attacks. I ran for a long time, until I finally found a kind of¡­ village¡­ human city? What is that? I don''t have time to think. Should I bring the monster there and run away in the midst of the confusion that will be created, or should I keep running away until either I or the monster get tired? The answer is obviously the first option. Such a choice is immoral, but what can I do? It''s for my survival. In a few years, I will repay the sacrifice of the inhabitants of this city with good deeds that benefit the entire world. Sure, I feel guilty just thinking about it, and most likely, I would live with a feeling of guilt for the rest of my life, but it is better to live with guilt than not to live at all. The goddess was clear; one life, one death, one end. I crossed a stone bridge that led towards the village, but the monster, unlike me, was cut in half as soon as it crossed the village. "Dangerous." Going towards the village was a very risky action; the monster probably activated a defense system and ended up dying.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I was very lucky. What if the system had mistaken me for a monster too? Although¡­ I really am a monster. ¡°Insolent little creature. It probably only managed to get past the barrier because it can only detect large monsters with high mana storage¡­¡± A deep, vital male voice called me. I looked around, searching for the owner of that voice, and when I found it, the only thing I could think was: do vampires exist? No, seriously; they really exist! "Skirt!" The pale, black-haired, blue-eyed man shouted. At first, I looked at him curiously, completely absorbed by his exotic appearance¡­ In fact, I''m envious. I''m not gay, but it''s very dishonest not to admit that this man is incredibly handsome... so handsome that it makes me wonder where in the world there could be someone so privileged with such beauty, until I answer this with a classic: another world, other rules. My thoughts were interrupted when the man pointed his finger in my direction, and a layer of nectar covered his entire hand; lightning formed in his hand, and the man was already heading towards me. ¡°Calm down! I¡¯m not an enemy!¡± I spoke quickly before he attacked me, and sighed in relief when the man looked at me with a seemingly confused expression. ¡°Uh, do you speak?¡± ¡°I certainly don¡¯t talk, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t listen.¡± As a classic entertainment content creator, I couldn''t pass up this opportunity to make the goddess laugh; she''s probably watching right now. Also, I realized two things in this encounter with this man: one, the official language here is probably also Mei (Aria''s world language, and also... it''s the same as Japanese, so it doesn''t matter), and two... well, it''s not necessarily a learning experience, but I have a plan; I have to find a way to climb the political ladder here. As soon as possible¡­ if I survive the current situation. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for jokes. Just follow me.¡± ¡°What? But¡­ I don¡¯t even know you¡­¡± ¡°Do you want to die? Do you think I didn¡¯t realize that you were going to use the village as cannon fodder to escape without too much damage?¡± I tried to read his mind to get information, but I failed miserably. I got the same result when I tried to read his inner emotions. My mind-reading power doesn''t work on individuals stronger than me? Truly, the people here can''t be underestimated¡­ ¡°What will happen to me?¡± Honestly, I''m a little worried... to tell the truth, very worried! The chance of my fate being death is very high. Everything will depend on the choice of this unknown man. It reminds me of the time Ruby killed me. Indeed, having the destiny of your life controlled by others causes a bitter feeling in the heart. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet; since you are a being with a conscience, I will take you to my sister so she can choose your punishment.¡± I followed him. After passing by houses in the city and people looking at me curiously and I also looking at them like that, after all, they were humanoid monsters of all kinds, I finally entered a castle. Even though I appeared calm on the outside, my heart was filled with fear and anxiety. The only thing I could do was imagine bad scenarios. The term he used was ''sister'', meaning if this isn''t just a cultural thing, they probably had the same upbringing, and most likely, have the same values, even though they may be slightly different. If he didn''t see my act of escape in a good light, his sister will probably see it the same way he did; a dishonest act. "Be." As soon as I entered a room, a woman greeted me, but I couldn''t pay attention to her words, because her face¡­ a work of art. Her eyes are green, and her skin color is dark; she seems to be around 20 years old, with a slim body and breasts¡­ they are neither too big nor too small. If I had to guess, they would be D Cup. Of course, she may put something in her clothes that makes her breasts look bigger¡­ Have I become a pervert? No, seriously. I would never have thought of such a thing. But now, in another world with a new body, I thought of such immorality. Did my testosterone increase or something? But I''m a capybara; I shouldn''t be attracted to human bodies... or anything close to one. Instead, let''s focus on what really matters: getting information about what''s going to happen to me, and calming my heart. I tried to read the mind of the woman in front of me, and just like the time I tried to read the mind of the vampire man, I couldn''t. I see no choice but to ask¡­ ¡°So what are you guys going to do with me?¡± Her right eye flashed blue for a few moments, and then returned to normal. The woman was silent for a few moments, probably intentionally to cause tension, until finally, she spoke something. What was that? Is it some kind of eye power or something?! ¡°Under normal circumstances, I would chop off your little head and hang it on a stake, but I¡¯m in a good mood today, so¡­ I won¡¯t do anything at all.¡± I was perplexed. And the man I had once followed shared my reaction. What? How absurd! Do you really expect me to believe that?! ¡°I would do the same thing if I were in your shoes, hahaha. Anyway, this is a village for monsters, so stop being picky and come on over.¡± ¡°But¡­ the city would have been destroyed if I hadn¡¯t¡­¡± The man said quickly, but the woman partially ignored him and continued talking. ¡°The city almost being destroyed is water under the bridge. Besides, you obviously didn¡¯t ally with that monster, because awakened mutants just want to eat and absorb every creature that moves. There¡¯s no way you would ally with a monster like that. Besides, you¡¯re too weak.¡± Her statement weighed heavily on my chest; because it''s true! Besides, it''s a very strange situation. His city was almost destroyed because of me, and he responded with ''it happens, it''s part of life''? It''s absurd! It doesn''t make sense. Sure, there''s the possibility that she just doesn''t care, but heck, if this were a book, I''d say it was a plot hole. I''m very lucky. ¡°However, the city was almost destroyed because of you, so you have to provide a service for this city.¡± The reality is disappointing¡­ well, it could be worse. ¡°So, before joining the police school, are you going to come and see the city? You¡¯ll need to get to know it better, right?¡± 15: Civilization, finally. Chapter 15: Civilization, at last. Note: It may look like a hentai novel, but it is not, and it will not become one! Pay attention! It will not become a hentai!
¡ª One of the worst things that can happen to a man is to have his humanity denied.
¡°There is the square. On the other side of it, there is the neighborhood of the wealthiest citizens. Over there, on the other side, is the outskirts. Here, there is a square too, but there it is the central square...¡± The vampire woman was showing me and explaining the sights of the city. With every passing minute, I felt myself becoming more and more absorbed in thought. Honestly, the situation I''m in is unbelievable; it simply doesn''t make sense, but as Albert Camus would say: life is absurd! Nothing makes sense and nothing exists for any specific reason. Furthermore, life is not obliged to make sense, our rational mind just wants to give it a reason. Well, it''s not exactly the phrase he said, but rather a distorted interpretation, but it''s my interpretation. So what? Even though I''m not outraged by the lack of meaning in life, I still partially agree with this phrase. Here I am, following this vampire girl who offered me the job of security guard here. It''s an inexplicable situation; even if it were written in a book, it would be a huge plot hole. And if I were to read a book like that, I would try to find out where the author lives so I could... have a polite conversation with him while holding a baseball bat. Did the goddess warn this vampire in advance that I would come here, and that she wasn''t to kill me? I have to get more information, but at the same time, in an indirect way so that it isn''t too obvious. ¡°Look¡­ I find this whole situation a bit strange¡­ anyway, I¡¯d like to get some information.¡± ¡°You can ask me anything.¡± "What is your name?" ¡°Hello, Cecilia.¡± What a difficult name¡­ ¡°Why don¡¯t people seem to see us?¡± ¡°Why am I using invisibility magic. Next¡± I understand. ¡°Why did you treat me so well? Don¡¯t you have any resentment? It can¡¯t be just because of my blood. You know, I almost destroyed this city¡­?¡± ¡°This annoying question again? Well, let¡¯s just be honest, I didn¡¯t kill you because¡­ capybaras are cute. Plus, your body looks sexy.¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­ what?¡± I couldn''t help but laugh when I saw the vampire make a joke while keeping a serious expression, as if she was in a war. However, I laughed out of discomfort. Sensing my discomfort, the vampire woman laughed loudly. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding¡­ haha¡­ anyway, a goddess told me that if I helped you, I would get an enchanted jelly diamond. And guess what? I got it.¡± I understand; although we both laughed, I understood her indirect message; know your place; she wasn''t trying to improve the mood of the situation, but rather to show that because she is in a higher position than me, she can make jokes, even sexual ones, whenever she wants, even if we don''t have any intimacy for that. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Furthermore, I got important information; the goddess interferes in the scenarios! And although I find it strange how she got new information, what matters is that I got the information¡­ ¡°Well, that¡¯s life, right? Either way, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Such a situation would only happen in a web novel. I''m even getting tired of repeating the word ''absurd'' in my mind. ¡°But how do you know I¡¯m trustworthy?¡± ¡°Pff, this question has such a simple answer that it¡¯s almost unworthy of my time.¡± Hifume looked at me. This time, his right eye, which was once green, now turned bright blue with a geometric shape of a square and a triangle in the middle. ¡°With this eye, I can see your entire past, from your birth to even when you fought that giant ant. Because of this, I saw that you are not a bad person, just¡­¡± "Just¡­?" ¡°Pathetic.¡± The word respect doesn''t exist in this woman''s vocabulary?! ¡°With power like that, there¡¯s practically no crime in your city, right?¡± Hifume looked at me with a satisfied smile, as if he finally intended to stop playing with me. ¡°This is one of the main reasons why I spared your life; I need you; my power has limits. I cannot use it more than five times a day, and I also cannot use it on people who are more powerful than me, not even on people who have magical protection against it. Therefore, I intend to make a kind of deal with you.¡± ¡°I see. So you need someone competent to handle this, right?¡± "Correct." ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just kick them out?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the main problem: a fight between me and them would result in the destruction of this entire city. I¡¯m not some greedy, suicidal, psychopathic politician who doesn¡¯t care about her own people. I hope you understand that I¡¯m not just referring to common thugs. How can I put it¡­ they¡¯re like mini-states.¡± Basically, she wants to use me as a biological weapon in a war of political factions. ¡°I see. Anyway, since I¡¯m going to work for you, can I know in advance why especially me?¡± ¡°Simple; you are a weak person and my blood agreement with you will work.¡± ¡°Explain yourself.¡± ¡°Follow me. I followed Hifume into an alley. There, she created a sort of mana barrier and bit my neck. I felt a burning sensation, and tried to push her away, but I couldn''t because her strength was greater than mine. Then, she walked away. ¡°Just an addendum; if you refuse, I will kill you right here.¡± ¡°This¡­ this isn¡¯t a deal¡­ at least, not a fair deal¡­ Besides, the goddess..¡± ¡°ha¡­ hahahahaha.¡± Before I finished my sentence, Hifumi laughed arrogantly. ¡°Do you think the goddess cares about you? It seems I¡¯ve overestimated you¡­ Riley, you¡¯re nothing more than mere entertainment for the goddess; she doesn¡¯t care whether you live or die. Even I¡¯m just a sort of test, and if you fail, you¡¯ll get a screen with the words ¡®gamer over¡¯ written in the middle as a consolation prize, and after that, you¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°Besides, are you saying that my contract is not fair? And does that matter? What matters is that if you don¡¯t obey me, you will die right here, or was I not clear enough? What do you prefer? That I write, or that I draw? Maybe then, you will understand your place, no?¡± Despite saying that, unlike Ruby, who humiliated me with a smile of pleasure, and Aria, who just pretended to be humble while keeping a smile on her face when at an advantage, but which turned into an expression of pure disgust and discomfort when she was at an advantage. In a disadvantaged situation, the only word that could describe Hifume''s expression was the purest ¡ª and most beautiful ¡ª neutrality. It seems like she doesn''t feel anything. At that moment, I realized that, unlike Ruby, who was absorbed in hatred, and Aria, who because of low self-esteem, sought refuge in narcissism and a superficial feeling of superiority, Hifumi Raito Cec¨ªlia is a professional, born to exercise the office of a ruler. She is the most dangerous of all I have encountered so far. 16: meme Serving the labyrinth with diligence Chapter 16: meme. _____ ¡ª Some want power to protect themselves, others want power to protect what they love; some live for power because they truly love themselves, and others live to gain power to protect their love for external beings. And that doesn''t make you a hypocrite; perhaps, just noble in the second part. In the end, everyone wants power. ____ Hifumi Raite Cecilia ¡°Do you agree to be my temporary slave for 25 years, and obey my every command, no matter what it may be?¡± Each of my words made Riley''s heart tremble, and I could feel it in myself through my right eye. This filled me with satisfaction. "... Yes yes." ¡°Great! Oh, and if you try to break the contract, your little head will explode! If you try to betray me or tell me about the contract, your head will explode! In short: if I told you to stop breathing right now, and you did, your head would explode! Of course, I¡¯m not that bad of a person. Besides, you don¡¯t have to worry about that; follow the contract properly and you¡¯ll win your freedom back.¡± Generally, I make contracts of pseudo absolute slavery (obeying almost everything) and that last for the person''s entire life, however, with Riley, I only managed partial slavery and for a certain period of time; as much as the contract was an attempt to ensure that Riley would be my servant for about 15 years, there is no guarantee that Riley won''t become powerful enough to break the contract himself in about 16 years. Because I''ve seen his memories, I know he has the potential for it. However, the suit that allowed the plan to be possible is still valid; no one but me can detect such magic. For example, with individuals like Riley, I cannot create orders that require the target to fight against their will for more than a month, or orders that directly harm the target very quickly, such as ordering them to commit suicide here and now. I cannot do this because Riley''s soul is too strong and possesses overwhelming potential. The limit of my enslavement power depends on the potential of one''s soul. Of course, every soul has great potential, but Riley is simply a monster. To summarize more clearly, Riley is a monster who has the ability to obtain powers from others through absorption (although it is not every ability he can absorb), in addition, he was able to skillfully manipulate mana and nectar the first time he used it. Living beings like Riley only appear in this world every 10,000 years, and such a being is in front of me right now. There is no way to control it ¡ª at least, not for long ¡ª so I intend to use this monster to destroy the main family that rules the city through espionage and create chaos among the most powerful families. And how will I do this? It''s simple; there are three families that monopolize different areas of Reinhardt''s land (or Sophie''s Fertile Lands, or just ask; all three names will do): The Lol, Wind and Gates, and historical messages (I also think it''s absurd that their name is like that, but who am I to question the family leaders, right? There''s probably a poetic message behind it, like: ''our name will go down in history'' or something like that. Well, this is my faction, but even I don''t understand the name). If Riley manages to infiltrate, I will make him rise through the ranks, gain achievements, and become known, and then attempt to assassinate the leader of the Wings and Gates family. Winds and Gates will go to war with Lol, and even if the Lol family wins the war because they are more powerful, they will suffer so much damage that they will not be able to resist when my faction attacks them. I will watch from the outside as they destroy each other, and then I will take the opportunity to eliminate them and dominate everything. Obviously, after I dominate this entire city, I will eliminate the monster that was once my slave, but has now become strong enough to break a certain contract. Well, I feel a little guilty, but so what? What I would gain exceeds what I feel. Besides, after breaking the contract, Riley would become too dangerous. Even with the contract, I can already foresee him being able to block my ability to read minds in a mere 10 years; in 16 years, he will be completely free. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Riley has a human mind, but a humanized monster is still a monster! Anyway, 5 years is all I need to make my dream of dominating this entire city come true, which despite being the largest city in the country, is still just another city. My plan extends beyond that; once I dominate all of this, I will try to dominate the other cities, and obviously, most of this country. Just imagining the power this will bring me makes me have orgasms. ¡°Pay attention: the plan is as follows; there was a family composed of a woman, a man, a girl as the oldest daughter and a boy as the youngest son. This family, a long time ago, was discovered as spies for a rival politician, and I was forced to kill them; however, people still suspect that I did not kill the youngest son; which is a mistake, because I massacred them all; however, creative as I am, I thought of a way to take advantage of this doubt of the citizens, and of my enemies, by transforming you into this boy and changing your appearance with magic. Oh, and their last name is also Yuki! Ironic, isn''t it? It''s as if you were from another dimension... although this is actually a parallel dimension to your world.¡± The capybara broke out in a cold sweat. ¡°I see where you¡¯re going with this, but tell me: how am I supposed to pretend to be a boy when I look like a monster?¡± I felt a little irritated by that question. Was his heart so restless that it made it difficult for him to think? ¡°Very simple: do you think that reading minds is the only power of my right eye? I will give you the ability to transform into a human form, and that will have few traces of you having once been a capybara. With this new ability, you will grant life to this once-dead brat, and infiltrate the political faction of the Lol Stick. You will tell him that you seek revenge against me, and that is why you intend to join him. Since no one outside my territory knows about the magical abilities of my introduction eye, you will be safe! However, you will have to carry out a small attack on me tonight. Sure, it will destroy part of the mansion, but what matters is that it looks like a failed attempt at revenge. And do you know the best part of this plan? The best part is that this same family has anthropomorphic cat features! Even if I can''t make you have a fully human body, the differences between you and a cat will be subtle because of the efficiency of my ability!¡± ¡°This will enter the Gates family, which controls the Southern area.¡± Hearing this, Riley hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to ask a question. He remained silent for a few seconds, until he finally opened his mouth. ¡°Even if I do all this, why would they accept me on the other side?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple: tell them you have inside information about my abilities, since you worked at my mansion for a while. The information is: Aria has the Eye of Introduction, which allows her to read the minds of anyone who isn¡¯t weaker or just slightly stronger. It also allows her to place information into other people¡¯s minds, like so. By the way, I recommend you don¡¯t tell them about my enslavement ability, or they might¡­ well, kill you.¡± I paused, and then continued. ¡°Got it?¡± ¡°Yes; information about you is scarce, and I would be like an oasis in a desert to them. However, what if they ask why you didn¡¯t read my mind?¡± ¡°Just say that I found it amusing to watch you try to kill me. Tell me that because you were too weak to harm me, as a sort of ¡°payment for the debt for your parents¡¯ sins¡±, you became my sex toy, and also tell me that I enjoyed humiliating you every day.¡± ¡°You¡­ You¡­ Think they would believe that?¡± I thought it was really cute when Riley looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot that you don¡¯t know what my reputation is like! Anyway, I¡¯ll sum it up for you: I¡¯m known as a pervert who has slept with 5 men at once!¡± If Riley was already dumbfounded before, now he was simply left speechless. ¡°Anyway, returning to the main topic, inevitably, there came a day when you could no longer bear the humiliation, and you retaliated.¡± I looked directly into Riley''s eyes. ¡°Do you know how they¡¯re going to interpret this?¡± ¡°Someone who can be easily controlled, and who will accept anything that can help them achieve their goal of revenge. However, they may not trust me because they think I am driven purely by hatred, and that I can easily betray them if I find an alternative to revenge. ¡°It seems you didn¡¯t understand; I¡¯ll explain it again; you, or more specifically, the character you¡¯re going to play, was once a nobody who was humiliated every day, now, you finally found a house that finally respected you and could call home. Now, you finally got a family that will support you. In other words¡­ ¡°The character I will play will be set up to look like a perfect tool.¡± Riley completed what I said, and I smiled in satisfaction. ¡°Great! Now, I¡¯ll give you some additional information.¡± 17: Strategems Chapter 17: Strategems.
¡ª Since the beginning of time, politics has existed. In a way, most people see politics as human actions; I see it as the actions of all living beings. Such a dubious meaning is exotic and particularly mine.
I put on a locket with a torn photo of a man and a woman¡ªboth members of the family I¡¯d killed, obviously¡ªand touched Riley¡¯s head, imparting an ability that transformed him into a human with cat ears instead of human ears. Ironically, their family also had the last name Yuki, and the brat was also named Riley. I don¡¯t know how these dimension things work, but it probably has some meaning. After that, I transmitted to his mind the entire layout and structure of the city, and of my mansion, and since we were going to communicate through a psychic connection that I established through my contract with him, we didn''t need to get too close; he just needed to put the medallion in his pants and go to a place close to a territory. He almost fainted from dizziness. After recovering, he looked at me, scared, because his nose had bled. I didn''t just run the whole plan through his head at once because he might faint here, which wouldn''t be good for me; I intended to start my plan today. Of course, I won''t do it all in a single day; it will take a week''s preparation, and that preparation will start today. Although my house plan and layout were not extremely complex, one of the main flaws in my skill was this: the difficulty in conveying information. Communicating with people I did not have a contractual relationship with over long distances was simply impossible; I had to touch the person I wanted to convey the information to. Furthermore, people who cannot yet manipulate nectar or mana die just from coming into contact with my information transmission by touch. Even those I have a bond with, I have to make a connection with an object and prepare a specific point of contact for them to communicate with me. In short, I can only communicate over long distances with people I have made a contract with, and through bond objects by being in a specific location prepared in advance in which I have established a psychic line. Ironically, I only have to establish a psychic line with people I have made contracts with; the communication objects only work with them. In short: the person I established a link with was the source of mana; the place I also established a link with was like a telephone line, Anyway, since there are already telephones in this world, and also some means of transport, they are just not advanced, and they use mana as energy. Well, even though cell phones and the internet exist, they can easily be tapped by tapping magic, so they are not reliable. Furthermore, my ability is imperceptible even to mana manipulators and nectar manipulators. Therefore, it is more reliable. The plan was perfect, as the people in my mansion wouldn''t dare betray me because of the contracts I made with them (of course, only suicidal people want their heads blown off). Plus, Vara Lol has a grudge against me thanks to a gang member who got his head chopped off after invading my territory. There was a war (if a small confrontation like that can be called a war), but no one won. His wife had to intervene and propose a peace treaty, which I humbly accepted. However, despite fearing Vara Lol''s power, I knew that the death of a mere gang member that I didn''t even know wouldn''t have a big consequence; in fact, that guy wasn''t even from an official gang and had already caused some problems for Vara Lol; he probably only kept him because he knew that he would invade my territory at some point; in other words, he just wanted an excuse to go to war with me! What a mean guy! ¡°I have a question: what will guarantee that Vara lol won¡¯t kill me after I give him the information you gave me? After all, even if I seem like a good dog, I still have no guarantee that I won¡¯t die once I reveal all the information I have, right?¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°A great question, but I think the answer to it might be unpleasant, because even though the probability of him killing you is very low, you have no guarantee that you won¡¯t die.¡± "¡­ What?!" ¡°Basically, it¡¯s just a bet; you don¡¯t have any information that¡¯s important enough to cause me harm, since all my employees are required to make a contract with me before they start acting as one of my servants. In other words¡­¡± ¡°There are no spies.¡± Riley completed my speech. ¡°That¡¯s right! As expected, you¡¯re smart and you understand things quickly! But continuing what I was saying: none of the information you¡¯ve acquired can harm me, only give the impression that I might be harmed. And because of that, even if you die, I¡¯ll still gain something: they¡¯ve started to underestimate me, even if it¡¯s just a little. By the way, do you think I mentioned all of my eyes¡¯ abilities? Hahaha, what a naive child.¡± I created an illusion with the intro eye skill on Riley, and inside Riley''s mind, my face has two eyes glowing blue, not just one. Well, sure, I could also convert Aria to my side, however, she is not a trustworthy person and, unlike Riley, who is still a person with no experience about this world, Aria is a studious person who would be able to, because her soul is old and experienced, the new body would be forced to evolve, inevitably breaking the contract in less than 5 years. Furthermore, even if I make a deal that does not involve slavery, Aria can betray me at any time, because she is driven by her own ego. Someone who is driven by their own ego is unlikely to have morals; they simply choose the option that will bring the most benefits, regardless of how many people will be harmed. ¡°Did you understand everything I said?¡± This single sentence was able to make Riley''s body tremble. Now, you have become a little dog; a piece in a chess game played by masters that you don''t even know who they are. And like any good dog, you will obey me so as not to be sacrificed. With every syllable and every complete word I spoke, Riley sweated more and more. Personally, I took pleasure in this; this is proof that Riley was subjugated by me, and that above all, he knew it. I purposely only provided information that couldn''t directly harm me, and even provided false information about me having two eyes from the introduction and a few other things. Also, I didn''t provide all the information about my powers. If I were to summarize, the abilities of the eye of the introduction consist of: reading minds 5 times a day, making contracts of absolute slavery for a period of time, transmitting information by touch or through psychic connections, flying and floating, absorbing mana and nectar, sensing a dangerous attack in advance (within certain limits). Of course, when I said I could blow his head off, I was lying; it''s just a bluff to make him afraid of betraying me. He''ll probably think that just indirectly mentioning the contract will make his head explode. Besides, I don''t even need to tell you that he''ll probably die if he tells them that he has a contract with me that makes him practically a pseudo-slave. Furthermore, I made it obvious that I did not reveal all my skills with the eye of the introduction because if by chance he is lucky enough to get out of my contract. If that happens, he won''t attack me right away, because even if he can read minds, the eye ability from the introduction will block his mind-reading ability, unless he becomes 50 times stronger than me; which is impossible, because Riley is a monster, not a being of unlimited power. Simply put: he won''t attack me, as he won''t have enough information to judge whether a fight with me is advantageous or detrimental. When a lion and a tiger meet, they will hardly fight, after all, in a battle where both opponents have the same strength, no one wins anything, only loses! Unless one wants to dominate the other''s territory, but even in those cases, the lion or the tiger has to weaken the opposing territory... exactly what I am doing with the other families'' lands. ¡°Great, Riley! Now, let¡¯s go shopping. I was joking when I said I would accomplish such a feat today, or maybe I didn¡¯t say anything. Anyway, it will take a week for my plan to actually come to fruition¡­ or two.¡± Even though I said it in an ironic tone, Riley understood what I wanted to convey. ¡°Will it be today, or in a week?¡± ¡°Of course in a week!¡± 18: Hypocritical heart. Chapter 18: Hypocritical Heart.
An individual''s heart often contradicts the version of himself presented to the world.
¡°Ah, my lover Loyal Air! I can''t wait for the day when I have enough power to protect you, and our love.¡± I muttered as I watched the beautiful sunset through the window. Having finished my rather peaceful conversation with Riley, I was now admiring the scenery and thinking about my future with Loyal Air. I met Loyal Air when I was still a teenage vampire. Although I initially despised him, over time I fell in love with him, not only because of his appearance, but also because... there was chemistry; just like me, he also wears a mask that is unique to the world; his inner self is known only to him and me. Of course, I didn''t just fall in love with him because of that; besides my father, he''s one of the only men who understands my personality and can see through what I present to the world. Someone who could see through my mask so easily fascinated me. He understood my innermost being, so I liked him. However, I didn''t foresee that such passion would intensify so much, but I liked it; once, I wanted power for my family; now, I want power to protect him and our passion. Loyal, besides having a personality that doesn''t contradict his name, likes the same books as me, has a personality similar to mine and is also as intelligent as me. When two similar people meet, it is quite unpredictable if they don''t fall in love; they say that opposites attract, but I disagree; similar people attract each other, or at least, they attract each other much more. Simply put, Loyal not only looks like me, he compliments me. It''s like we were made for each other. I know this could just be an illusion, but I''m a vampire of over 200 years; I know when something is an illusion and when it''s not! It makes no sense to fall in love with someone who has values ??so different from yours; most of the time, you''ll just be asking for a daily routine of free arguments. I believe that this is what causes most of the breakups in marriages today; they fall in love with someone with a different personality from their own, and after living with them, they want to change their partner to suit their own personal and selfish tastes. To avoid such a scenario, I fell in love with a man who looked like me; however, my love for him is not logical; he came from a humble family, started out as a servant in my family and gradually worked his way up. Threesomes with prostitutes? It is acceptable for people of my kind, but my family would never accept me having a relationship with a man from such a humble background. Furthermore, Loyal is of the human-dog species; basically, he is of a species considered inferior by everyone because most of them cannot use nectar, and when they can, they are weak; Loyal himself is the exception to the exceptions. I wouldn''t even be able to conceive a child because of the glaring difference in the genetics of our races, a marriage with him with the support of my family is more than impossible. Therefore, I have a goal in mind; to become powerful enough so that our love can be made public. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Despite my secret relationship with him, he had fits of jealousy over my once lustful life. Honestly, I found this charming; it was evidence of hypocrisy; an incongruity, a contradiction to his calm personality. And it proved that he loved me. Although I initially resisted, I gave in to his selfish desires and became his alone. However, our relationship was threatened; my parents planned to marry me to a man from another faction as a sort of alliance, and thus make the two factions one. I would have to leave behind my life here, all my love and desire for Loyal, and go live in someone else''s house. I couldn''t do it. Above all, I didn''t want to lose my love for Loyal. I know that people like Loyal are, and they are rarely found when we look with intent; most are shrewd, but not honest; honest, but not shrewd; and I will hardly find anyone who is as good in bed as he is. Oh, my hypocritical heart! You always get me into trouble! With tests that I have difficulty passing and with rules that I have even more difficulty following. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard the door open. Loyal entered the room. "Goodnight." ¡°Good. Has anyone seen it?¡± ¡°No, I used invisibility magic, just like you taught me. Now, our meetings will be regular.¡± As expected from Loyal; mastered a concept as complex as invisibility magic in just 5 months. Now, the frequency of our meetings, another 2 times a week (I always went to his room), would now be 5 times because of Loyal''s intense sexual desire. Of course, it was thanks to my ability to grant nonsense powers to others. Even though there are clear limits to it and I can only grant powers twice a month, and the person who gained it needs to train to master such power, Loyal is still brilliant. Well, Riley mastered the transformation I gave him in a single day, but that''s because he''s a monster. ¡°However, I need to explain something to you. It¡¯s brief.¡± "What?" Loyal¡¯s expression turned cold when I explained my plan to him. As if he agreed that it was necessary, he simply nodded in response. ¡°As expected, you are the only one who understands me!¡± I kissed Loyal passionately. This particular kiss was more passionate and sticky than the usual ones I bestowed upon him. As our lips touched and our mouths opened, our tongues intertwined and went into a frenzy. When our lips parted, Loyal ran his index finger across my lips, increasing my arousal. I threw him on the bed and took off all my clothes. As always, he admired my sculpted body, and above all, myself; now, completely naked and devoid of any mask that I once always presented to the world, now, only presenting my true self, the one that is truly my core, I went to Loyal. I kissed her neck, sucking a few times and I slowly took off her clothes. ¡°Haha¡­ As expected, your little friend down there is already fully erect.¡± I held Loyal''s member while he sucked my breasts and kissed him again. Another French kiss, this time much sexier and with more desire than before. I sat on top of him; now, both of us completely devoid of any clothing, I placed his penis inside my femininity, and began to ride. ¡°I''m going to empty your balls.¡± Needless to say, the rest of the night was really hot and fun, with lots of moans of pleasure and declarations of love. A romantic night, as romantic as the previous ones we had, but because of our compatibility as a couple, it never lost its charm! I never got sick of it, and I never would.