《Terror of Tiffany Day》 Chapter 1 / Boredom I¡¯m in a state of incredible concentration. Each beat comes and goes with fluidity. My hands have gone completely numb from the vibrations. Despite that I slam the drums with the same violence and speed as before. My drums sound like an immaculate car crash. Maybe we should rename the band to ¡°10 car pile up.¡± I grin at the idea, but sigh shortly afterward. This is boring. Every note is being hit perfectly and the satisfaction that comes from that just isn¡¯t there anymore. There¡¯s just not anything more for me to keep drumming. I think the others would be pretty upset at me leaving though, so I kinda just kept sticking around. ¡°Tiffany!¡± My eyes snap open and I look over at our bass player, Daryl. ¡°You ight Tiff? You kept playin¡¯ after we stopped.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah I¡¯m good. Just got lost in thought for a bit.¡± Our vocalist, Jack, speaks up much to my annoyance ¡°She¡¯s bored. She doesn¡¯t even want to be here right now.¡± ¡°Nuh- uh! I fucking love drumming! I was just concentrating, alright.¡± He sighs ¡°yeah, alright, our studio times up anyway. Let¡¯s just get outta here.¡± Jack leaves immediately without even helping us pack up. ¡°Asshole.¡± I mumble to myself. ¡°He''s just gonna leave after an accusation like that?¡± ¡°Yeah, but he¡¯s our asshole.¡± Marie pokes me in the side hard enough for it to hurt. ¡°He¡¯s just jealous because people come to hear you play over hearing him sing.¡± I snorted, ¡°You¡¯re just tryin¡¯ to make me feel better.¡± ¡°Yep, but it¡¯s working right?¡± A grin betrays my face, ¡°Maybe.¡± The guitarist pokes me again before turning to start putting her stuff up. Me and Daryl follow suit. As we finish putting our things up, Marie heads out first. ¡°Cya, tomorrow Marie.¡± ¡°Buh- by!¡± She waves and then she¡¯s gone. As I¡¯m about to get the hell out of here next, Daryl stops me. ¡°Hey, um, Tiff? Can we talk for a second?¡± I cringe inwardly. Asking someone to talk is the biggest red flag for a serious conversation. Some idea¡¯s pass through my mind of what he wants to talk about. Please don¡¯t be a confession. Please don¡¯t be a confession. ¡°Uh, sure.¡± ¡°Um, were you really bored during practice?¡± ¡°Oh thank god.¡± I say in one relieved breath. ¡°What?¡± Oh shit, I said that out loud. ¡°Um no, I wasn¡¯t bored. I was just thinking about stuff. Anyway, cya.¡± And I quickly abandon him while speed walking out of the studio. I thought he might come after me, but luckily he did not. I feel bad about leaving him like that, but I didn¡¯t want to go through a whole conversation about how my passion for drumming is gone. Not right now anyway. I¡¯m gonna have to talk to everyone eventually. I sigh again and begin to look around me. The big apple. I didn¡¯t grow up here. I grew up in a suburban hellscape. Where every house is exactly the same as the last, and everyone did the same thing. Go to school, get a job, have a family, repeat. It was so boring. There was no adventure. So, I moved out as soon as I was 18 and left for New York. And god, this place is a shit hole. I didn¡¯t think that at first. I enjoyed it and it was fun, but then I got bored of it. What I thought was charming became annoying.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. I start to walk around aimlessly for a few hour¡¯s just looking around. I stop to marvel at the engineering feet known as an anti-homeless bench. Truly, a work of art. I don¡¯t know how people can be so evil. As I turn a corner, someone rams me and I slam into a wall. My head rebounds off the brickwork, but before I could fall over they pin me to the wall. I regain my senses as the initial shock wears off. I open my eyes to see a knife hovering in front of my face. His left forearm pressed against my neck. ¡°Empty your pockets, or I¡¯ll cut your fucking eye out!¡± Interesting, I¡¯m getting mugged. That¡¯s never happened before. I guess it makes sense. It was getting pretty late. ¡°Did you hear what I fuc-¡± I knee him in the crotch and grab the knife from his hand. He stammers backward and I stab him in the throat. I twist the blade and yank it to the left, partially decapitating him. Blood and viscera flows out of him like a fountain. He grabs his neck, eyes wide in shock. He reaches out to me and I simply side step out of the way. He hits the brickwork, splattering his gore onto the wall. He slides down the wall and slumps face first on the asphalt. I watch for a moment as blood pools around what''s left of his neck. He stops moving. That was disappointing. It wasn''t like the first time I¡¯ve killed someone, but like everything else, murder isn¡¯t really that fun anymore. This isn¡¯t good though. I killed this guy out in the open in the middle of the city. If the police aren¡¯t on the way, they will be soon. I really should have beaten this guy up instead of killing him. I don¡¯t think I can run from this. My other murders were planned out very carefully, and performed after months of work so they don¡¯t lead back to me. This was too ¡®spur of the moment.¡¯ Oh, wait, I have an idea. I use the knife to create a gash on my cheek and throw the knife on the ground next to the body. I pull out my phone and call 911. After a single ring the operator picks up ¡°911, what¡¯s your emergency.¡± I put on my best shaky voice ¡°Um- eh- I- I got attacked and um- oh god!¡± I start crying ¡°I- I was trying to run, but he attacked me, b- but.¡± ¡°Miss, calm down, tell me what happened.¡± Good, He¡¯s buying it ¡°I- I think I ki- killed him. O- oh no.¡± ¡°Okay miss, can you tell me where you are?¡± I give him my location and wait as the operator tries to console me. I feel a little bad for tricking this man. He seems nice. ¡°What¡¯s your name miss?¡± I manage a sniffle ¡°T- Tiffany.¡± ¡°Okay Tiffany, you got someone coming to get you. Just sit tight, alright.¡± ¡°Okay¡± I let out a deep breath as I pretend attempting to control my emotions. I fail and keep crying. This certainly Isn¡¯t ideal. I would prefer my name not be connected to any murder, even in self defense. Fortunately, this guy was trying to mug me, so if he has a criminal record my self defense story will be much more believable. Well, it was self defense, but if I don¡¯t sell it my chances of getting convicted of manslaughter go way up. If I get arrested they¡¯ll get my DNA, which will connect me to other crime scenes. I just have to pray they take one look at this and say it was self defense and everyone can move on with their lives. I look over at the corpse. Except for that guy. I stop myself from laughing at my own joke into the phone. Still though, this entire situation is gonna be a royal pain in the ass. I can already see everyone I know trying to console me about killing a guy I don¡¯t care about. I dropped the whole serial killer thing before I even got out of high school. It got boring pretty fast. Everyone I¡¯ve killed died the same way, scared. It was also too easy. Both the process of doing it, and getting away with it. I feel my phone vibrate against my cheek. Pulling away to look at it I see it was a message from my mom. ¡®Happy birthday Tiff!!!¡¯ I see the time is just past midnight. Man, I completely forgot my birthday was coming up. I guess that makes me 23 now. I refrain from responding because it would seem weird right after I just killed someone. I have a feeling this is gonna be one of the most annoying birthdays ever. I wonder. What do I want for my birthday? I don¡¯t think I want anything in particular. If I do wish for something, I would wish to not be bored anymore. I just noticed that the operator stopped talking a minute ago. ¡°Um, hello? Are you still there?¡± There is nothing but silence in response. That¡¯s weird. Also, the police should have been here by now. ¡°Huh.¡± I feel the ground I¡¯m sitting on start to tremor slightly. A massive red circle expands from beneath my feet, followed by a pentagram forming. Pitch black hands rise out of the ground and grip onto my body and start pulling me down. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± is all I manage to say before another hand covers my mouth, pulling me further. I try to muffle out a cry for help, but the hands grip tighter to the point of crushing me into the ground. The world starts melting away. Like actually melting as stars fill my vision. The stars swirl around me as I feel inertia pull me in every direction. I vomit from motion sickness, but the hand is keeping my mouth closed, so I¡¯m forced to swallow it. This happens several times as the stars keep spinning. Eventually the stars slow and then they are replaced by a rocky surface. The hands finally let go, letting me vomit my guts out onto the now fading red circle. I gain my bearings and look around what seems like a cave of sorts. There are three figures wearing brown robes. The one in the middle starts walking to me. His face is covered by some mask. The man tilts his head ¡°You¡¯re not a demon?¡± Chapter 2 / Entertainment The person in front of me is much larger on second glance. He must be almost a foot taller than me. The mask he¡¯s wearing is completely black with a red hexagon engraved on its center. The other two men aren¡¯t wearing masks and haven¡¯t moved yet. I swallow a mixture of saliva and vomit coating my throat and mouth. ¡°Uh, who are you? What the hell is going on?¡± The man with the mask is unresponsive. His head is still resting in a halfway tilt. I tilt my head back at him in confusion. ¡°Hello?¡± I decide to get up and walk out of the circle of candles that surround me. They look to be the only source of light in this cave. I walk to the right of the person with the mask. He is completely non-reactive to my movements. I wave my hand in front of his face, but he refuses to move. The other two are the same way. Even their faces are still like statues. I furrow my brows ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I¡¯m what¡¯s going on!¡± I swerve my head to look at where I was once standing to find a.. Uh, ¡®person¡¯ standing there. This thing is in the shape of a human child and they''re not wearing any clothes. Its entire body is the same matte gray color, but its eyes are pitch black throughout. A big goofy smile rests on its face opposing its terrifying form. ¡°What are you?¡± It responds with the voice of a massive crowd all whispering the same thing at once. ¡°I was going to ask you the same thing, mystery woman!¡± It vanishes and reappears right in front of me an instant causing me to fall back in shock. My mind reels trying to make sense of what¡¯s going on. It stands over me. Its face is covered in shadow as the only source of light is behind it. It snaps its fingers as hundreds of little balls of light fill the room. ¡°Wh- what are you doing?¡± It frowns at my question ¡°I was just giving us a little more light to see. Say, you ask a lot of questions, but I have questions too. So, how about this. You answer one of my questions, then I answer one of your questions!¡± ¡°Uh, okay.¡± It gives me a big goofy smile it did previously and puts me at ease slightly. ¡°Great! I¡¯ll go first. Who are you?¡± ¡°Tiffany, Tiffany Day.¡± It closes its eyes and nods for a bit like it¡¯s savoring the answer. It opens its eyes and speaks. ¡°Hi there Tiffany Day. It¡¯s your turn now!¡± It sits down in front of me, cross legged. It has the body of a child and wearing a slight grin and wide eyes, I could almost say it¡¯s cute. That, if not for it having voids for eyes. I sit up to meet its mystical gaze ¡°Who are you then?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a loaded question, so for starters, I¡¯m just gonna say my name is Ydri.¡± It nods while saying this before perking up again. ¡°Okay! My turn! Tiffany, are you human?¡± I tilt my head at it ¡°Uh, yeah. Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± It immediately jumps up, but before I can make a break for it, Ydri squeaks ¡°Yes! I knew it! And to answer your question, It is really unclear looking at you.¡± I stop for a moment. ¡®Unclear?¡¯ I look down at my body, but I look and feel pretty normal. I look back up at Ydri ¡°What do mean ¡®unclear?¡¯¡± It wags a finger at me ¡°nuh- uh -ah. It¡¯s my turn to ask a question.¡± I roll my eyes at it. Ydri¡¯s demeanor completely diffuses any tension that was left. ¡°Okay, whatever. Ask away.¡± Ydri grins ¡°So, I was going to ask, where are you from?¡± I think for a moment. I¡¯m not sure if I''m on earth anymore. Judging from the magic circle dragging me here and the mention of demons. And don¡¯t forget whatever the hell Ydri is. I can guess I¡¯m in some sort of weird isekai situation. ¡°I¡¯m from earth.¡± Ydri¡¯s jaw drops, but not out of shock. It looks very confused. ¡°Like- like the- dirt? Wait, is there a place called earth? Why would someone name their home after dirt? You¡¯re not lying, are you?¡± I raise an eyebrow at Ydri. ¡°It¡¯s actually my turn to ask a question.¡± It looks at me dead faced for a moment before pouting. It walks back over to me before sitting down again grumbling. ¡°Better not be lying.¡± I give Ydri a mischievous smile before collecting myself. ¡°So, what did you mean by ¡®Unclear?¡¯¡± Ydri¡¯s face turns contemplative and it puts a finger on its chin. ¡°My perception, or field of view, is extremely large. Infinite actually. So, for the first time in my life there was something I couldn¡¯t see. Saying you''re unclear is a bit of an understatement. You''re more like a gap to me.¡± It grin¡¯s again. ¡°And the best part is, I have no idea what you¡¯re going to say or do next because of it.¡± I let the Implications of that sink in for a minute. It can see everything? ¡°Are you God?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna answer that!¡± Ydri stands up again and sighs ¡°It¡¯s my turn anyway. And I don¡¯t feel like asking a question right now.¡± It walks over in front of the masked cultist and looks up at him. ¡°What I would like to know is how this one summoned you. Ehh, I can already hear what she has to say.¡± Ydri throws up its hands and puts on a mocking tone ¡°I was just trying to summon a demon! I don¡¯t know who this chick is! Please spare me! Ahh- plsh- Splat.¡± I walk over behind Ydri and we look at the frozen cultist for a moment. Ydri has a strange presence, but the way it acts is oddly disarming. I¡¯m still contemplating the fact it just casually mentions that it can see everything and then brush it off in the same breath. I mean, if Ydri¡¯s telling the truth then that would mean he¡¯s a god, right? Also, look at what he did to these cultists! ¡°Um, Ydri? What did you do to these guys?¡± Ydri turns and gives me a blank stare for a solid 10 seconds. Finally it decides to break the tension with a lite smile. ¡°Hey, I wanna try something. I don¡¯t know if it will work, but sit still, okay!¡± ¡°Huh!¡± I feel something twist within me. Followed by the feeling you get when you''re right about to fall asleep only to have your body jolt you awake. Every muscle in my body mildly starts to ache. A blue window appears in front of me. Attempting System integration 13% 39% 78% 94% 99% 100% Integration successful - Past feats detected / Evaluating now You have slain a (Human/level 0) - Moderate experience rewarded You have slain a (Human/level 0) - Moderate experience rewarded ----- You have slain a (Human/level 0) - Less experience rewarded You have leveled up! (0 ¡ú 1) - You have earned (5) stat points ----- You have leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) - You have earned (5) stat points Congratulations, you have received a trait - (Serial Killer) Congratulations, you have received a trait - (Interloper) Congratulations, you have unlocked a skill - (Obscene Presence) Congratulations, for reaching level (5) - (6) classes are available ¡°What the fuck!?¡± ¡°The fuck indeed. You did not give off the impression of a Serial Killer!¡± Ydri chuckles to itself, then looks back up at me ¡°Your other trait ¡®Interloper¡¯ is interesting as well.¡± Its eyes widened ¡°Surprising actually.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. I continue to stare at the screen full of notifications. Oh man, this is an isekai situation. It was kinda obvious from the beginning, but seeing a screen full of game-like notifications just hammers it home. I¡¯m also fully convinced that Ydri is some sort of god, seeing how it integrated me into this System or whatever. After the initial shock subsides I find myself smiling. An idea sets itself into my mind as I look at the notifications. I could have a lot of fun with this. ¡°Status.¡± The notifications disappear and are replaced by a larger window. ¡°This is so cool.¡± Name (Tiffany Day) / Age (23) / Race (Human) Alignment (Chaotic Neutral) Class (N/A) / Level (6) Stats / Stat Points (30) Strength (5) Durability (5) Agility (5) Endurance (5) Intellect (5) Soul (5) Intrinsic Status Vitality (100%) Stamina (100%) Sanity (78%) Mana (100%) Traits (Interloper) (Serial Killer) Skills (Obscene Presence) Level 1 [Class Selection Available] Looks like I took a hit to my sanity. Makes sense, I did pick up and drop the whole serial killer thing like a phase. I¡¯m going through a lot right now too I guess. The second thing I take note of is that I have an alignment. Chaotic neutral, seems kinda fitting. I wonder why the system keeps track of something like that. Also, soul stat? Maybe it has something to do with magic. I look down at my new traits. As soon as I focus on the Interloper trait, a new screen pops up. Interloper / Rarity (Unique) (You are an intruder from outside of creation itself. An unknown variable hailing from outside the machinations of the gods. What the hell are you?) Any attempt to read your mind or predict your actions will fail. Grants the skill (Obscene Presence) I raise an eyebrow. That has to be very strong, because even the system is confused by me. Is this why Ydri said I look like a gap? And it also gave me this skill. What does Obscene Presence do? Obscene Presence / Level (1) (You''re able to change your aura to appear malignant. When activated, your aura will make you appear as if you''re a parasite festering in an open wound of reality, causing confusion. This will affect both friend and foe.) Deals moderate (Psychic) damage That last bit sounds like a warning. I gotta be careful when I use this if I don¡¯t wanna hurt any allies I might have. Although I have a feeling this won¡¯t affect Ydri. All that¡¯s left to look at is Serial Killer and then figure out this whole class selection thing. Serial Killer / Rarity (Uncommon) (You have slaughtered over at least a dozen people of the same race for no other reason than for your own sick enjoyment. You are disgusting. That said, you have gotten very good at it.) You are 25% more effective at dealing damage against humans I was not really looking forward to reading this description. When I first saw that I got it I wanted to ignore it. I don¡¯t feel bad for doing what I did, but it feels like my mom just walked in on me doing something I''m not supposed to. When I did read it I did not expect it to outright insult me though. I think that makes me feel a little worse. Actually, no, this does make me upset. I sigh, it''s not like I can do anything about the description though. I¡¯m just gonna drop it and take the 25% more damage. I was never good at rationalizing my actions anyway. That¡¯s probably why my alignment is Chaotic Neutral. I wonder if I develop morals at some point, will my alignment change? Before I could move on and find out what the class selection is all about, I hear a voice coming from behind the screen. ¡°Yooo! Ydri too Tiff! You there?¡± The screen vanishes to reveal Ydri pouting at me with its arms crossed. It sighs when I meet its gaze. ¡°There you are, you completely zoned out when you pulled your system up!¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry about that. I just got a bit excited. That''s all.¡± A grin breaks my face. ¡°I have a few questions about the system, actu-¡± Ydri cuts me off ¡°Nope, you''re gonna have to figure it out yourself!¡± A smile forms on its face as my smile slips off mine. ¡°It¡¯s more fun this way.¡± I frown at it for a moment before shaking my head ¡°I guess I can sympathize with that.¡± ¡°Good!¡± Ydri teleports to my side and slaps my back. ¡°I had an idea of what to do next, but if you wanna have a moment to figure out the system, I can wait.¡± It teleports back to the cultist with the mask and looks up at him. Ydri seems to be planning something. The fact that a being like it is plotting sends shivers down my spine. I shake my head again. No point in worrying about powers completely out of your control. I''m just going to focus on the task at hand. I pull up my system and look at the message near the bottom. [Class Selection Available] ¡°I would like to select a class.¡± All the text on the screen vanishes and the usually blue screen fades to an inky blackness. The dark screen rapidly expands, completely filling my field of vision. For a moment I¡¯m left in total darkness. Six blue screens appear surrounding me. ¡°Narly.¡± I cringe inwardly. I hope Ydri didn¡¯t hear that. I look ahead at the first screen directly in front of me. [Blacksmi- ¡°Nope.¡± I am vehemently against having a non-combat class. Unfortunately the next two are also non-combat, Cook and uh¡­ Whore? Who the fuck would pick that? Why is that even an option in the first place? I scoff at the option and move to the next one. This time the class caught my interest. [Assassin] Requirements - Kill at least 3 of the same race as yourself Have a (Chaotic) alignment (You have already proven your efficacy at taking the lives of others. This class specializes in that very task. You will use stealth to ambush your opponents and you will fight to kill as quickly as possible.) +1 to Intellect, Agility, and Strength every level Ah, I see now why my alignment is displayed in the system. It seems that your alignment determines what kind of classes are offered. The other requirement unnerves me slightly. Not for the reasons you might think but, what it implies. My eyes widen as I shift my gaze to a previous class I glossed over. Requirements - Sleep with at least 3 diff--- ¡°You gotta be fucking kidding me.¡± I groan wildly. Note to self, the system is an asshole. I focus my sight back onto the assassin class. I can still feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment. I wait a few moments in silence as I wrestle my emotions back under control. This is a big decision and I won¡¯t let my thoughts be clouded by¡­ That. I take a few deep breaths and reread the class description a few times. I kinda wish it gave me more information. The ambush style of fighting is familiar to me. It¡¯s kinda nostalgic looking back on it. I also remember it¡¯s an extremely boring way to fight. Planning weeks on end to find the perfect opportunity to strike is exhausting and is not worth the satisfaction of pulling off a murder. I¡¯m not really satisfied with this class, but I¡¯m gonna put a pin in it and see what the other classes have to offer. [Bard] Requirements - Have the ability to play at least 1 instrument Have an innate desire to explore Have a (Neutral) or (Good) alignment (You have already proven your ability to inspire others with your music. This class specializes in that very task. While playing music, your allies will become empowered upon hearing it. Different music will provide different effects and some sounds will even be able to damage opponents.) +1 to Soul, Intellect, and Agility every level This class makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. This is basically confirmation that I am a good musician. ¡®You have already proven your ability to inspire others with your music.¡¯ It gives me goosebumps every time I read it. The ability it gives is very interesting as well. I get an image in my mind of me sitting in a massive battle field. I¡¯m just there playing my drums as hard as I can as war rages around me. The idea is very appealing to me, but there is one small problem. I don¡¯t have an instrument. That- that is unfortunate. Even if I did have my drums, moving around with them is not exactly convenient. That puts a bit of a dour sauce on my mood. I let out a very audible sigh and went ahead on checking my last class. This one, however, was very surprising. [Monk] Requirements - Have a competent understanding of hand-to-hand combat Have the ability to create an aura Have a (Neutral) alignment (You have already proven your ability to manifest your aura. This class specializes in that very task. You will be able to fight more effectively with your aura. Use your aura to strengthen yourself, heal yourself, or in your case, drive others into insanity.) +1 to soul, durability, and strength every level Monk? That¡¯s weird. All the other classes, Including that one, made sense on some level. It was like I got these classes because of the accomplishments I¡¯ve had in life. But I got this class because ¡®I have the ability to manifest my aura.¡¯ whatever that means. It¡¯s confusing. It¡¯s a requirement to get this class, but I never created an aura. Wait.. or did I? Rereading the description it clearly says that my aura drives others into insanity. It clicks. It¡¯s my Obscene Presence. That has to be it. I have already been itching to try out that skill and seeing a class that synergizes with it? It makes me very excited. This is also an overtly magical class which is, obviously, very intriguing. I like this class a lot. Thinking of myself as a monk is kinda weird, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. ¡°Sounds like fun.¡± You have chosen the [Monk] class - I felt something surge within me. A power explodes from my chest and coats my whole body. Just as soon as it comes it dissipates. Congratulations, you have unlocked a class skill - (Magical Aura Perception) As I receive the notification the world fades back into reality. However, I was too distracted by the sudden power that flowed inside me. It felt amazing. The closest thing I can think of to describe it would be relaxing in a hot tub. Before I can try to bring my power back out, my eye catches it. And that ¡®it¡¯ is Ydri. its sprawled out on the floor and its face is completely expressionless. ¡°Uhh. Ydri?¡± Its eyes light up as it turns to me. ¡°Finally! You¡¯re back!¡± Ydri shuffles its way to its feet. ¡°Alright, you ready?¡± I furrow my brows ¡°Wh- Ready for what?¡± It gives me a terrifying smile ¡°A gift and a favor!¡± Ydri outstretched both its arms ¡°Entertain me!¡± It claps its hands and in the same instant disappears. The cave went dark and a notification followed. Congratulations, you have received a trait - (Ydri¡¯s Jester) Before I can process what''s happening a different voice interrupts my thoughts. ¡°H-How did you?!¡± I lift my head to see all the cultists staring directly at me and I receive yet another notification. New Objective / Entertain me! - Cultists slain (0/3) - Reward / You get to live! Duh! Chapter 3 / Confusion Kret was an average person. Well, he considered himself as such. He grew up poor, struggled to survive, and did things he wasn¡¯t proud of. Kret never knew his father, and his mom died of starvation trying to keep him and his sister alive when they were around 10. His sister caught a plague a few years later and she was ¡®put down¡¯ to prevent its spread. He didn¡¯t consider himself as unlucky despite all that¡¯s happened though. Kret had seen how bad things could really get. He just does what needs to be done to survive in this terrifying world. So, when Kret was invited to join a cultist group he didn¡¯t hesitate. They had provided food and shelter, so he could turn a blind eye to the morally dubious deeds they performed. He was even taught dark magics and basic demon summonings. Kret even managed to summon a few low leveled fledgling imps. Kret considered this to be a high point in his life. He went from level 21 to 13 when he switched his class to cultist, but in his opinion, it was worth it. This was his first mission and it was a big one. Kret first thought the group numbered in the dozens, but apparently there were over one thousand members. And the mission they were on was no small task. Travel into a previously undiscovered dungeon and retrieve a demonic artifact. That was all he was briefed on. The expedition team had about 30 cultists traversing into the dungeon, and they had been here for weeks. The monsters were quite weak, but this place was massive. Things had been smooth sailing for most of their time here until recently. Just as they set up camp for the night, a small furry creature approached them. It was a ball of fur just about a foot in diameter and had a row of teeth sticking out the front. It had two chicken-like legs. Kret had never seen a monster like this before and at first he wasn¡¯t worried. It looked kinda harmless, but when he looked at the main fighters in their group, who were around level 40, they were running away. This confused Kret and it scared him. He turned back to see this monster, which was essentially a ball with a mouth and legs, ripping through people like an arrow. When a few of us tried to attack it, it used earth magic to grab their feet and pull them into the ground. Only the hole they were pulled into was too small, so their insides were pushed upward and blasted out of their eyes and mouths. They became horrifying fountains of entrails. This was enough to make Kret run for it. He ran as fast as he could, hearing the slaughter of his comrades in the background. Kret¡¯s heart was pounding, he really didn¡¯t want to die. So, he kept running until he was exhausted. Kret collapsed on the ground. He prayed to the Devils that he got away. He lay there waiting, hoping that the monster wouldn¡¯t find him. He laid there until he heard footsteps approaching. He got up quickly and readied his wand only to see that they were two other cultists, and one of them was the vice captain of the expedition. He expected to be scolded for running, but the vice captain didn¡¯t say anything about him running. He simply acknowledged his existence and Kret joined the pair. The vice captain explained that the expedition was a failure and they were going to leave as fast as possible. The vice captain was going to summon a demon to lead them out of the dungeon. Apparently it''s the same kind of demon that was leading them to this demonic artifact, but it was killed in the attack. So, we need a new one to get us out of here. The vice captain was a level 46 Demonic Summoner and it was fascinating watching him work. The summoning circle he was carving into the ground glowed red wherever he went over it with his staff. It was enthralling to Kret. The vice captain stepped back and pointed his staff at the circle. As he began chanting, the circle started to glow brighter and brighter. As Kret watched on in delight he noticed something. The summoning circle shifted slightly. It was extremely subtle and Kret was lucky he caught it. Kret had no idea what it meant, but he knew it wasn¡¯t normal. The vice captain didn¡¯t stop or even react so he didn¡¯t dare to interrupt the summon. He decided to watch on as the black hands of the first devil finally started to form. He watched in excitement as a new demon he had never seen before started to materialize. The demon was more humanoid than he expected, and on second glance he realized that it was a lot more humanoid. In fact, it was clearly a human woman. She was thrashing around under black hands as she came into existence. I could hear the vice captain gasp under his mask as he stopped chanting. When the black hands released her she immediately turned over and vomited all over the once beautiful magic circle. The woman had blonde hair and was wearing clothing he had never seen before. She looked around and she seemed completely dumbfounded about what happened. The girl eventually locked eyes with our group and her eyes widened. Kret realized that they were all confused. The summoning had very obviously gone wrong and picked up some poor random woman. Kret wanted to face palm at the failure. The vice captain had decided to step forward and state the obvious. But as soon as he said that the woman vanished. No, she didn¡¯t vanish, but she teleported right next to the vice captain. Kret decided to immediately use Observe, but what he saw only confused him more. (Monk / Level 6) Monk is a rare class. He actually had never seen anyone with it before. Too add to the confusion of the situation. The woman swung at the vice captain¡¯s head and Kret heard a snap. ¡°AHH, Fuck!¡± The woman reeled back and revealed that she broke her wrist hitting the vice captain. Kret¡¯s mind was racing at this point, but came up with nothing. How could she teleport at such a low level? Why did she attack someone 40 levels above her? Why did she get summoned instead of a demon? Unfortunately for Kret, he wasn¡¯t gonna get any answers. --- OH MY GOD IT HURTS!!! As soon as I punched him my wrist snapped like a twig. The cultist with the mask didn¡¯t even budge, and I would feel kinda awkward if I wasn¡¯t in so much pain right now. I immediately started backpedaling away from them and luckily they didn¡¯t react just yet. It seems that the whole situation is so strange to them that they¡¯re stunned. This gives me a few moments to process the situation. It felt like punching steel. Is he that higher level than me? When I looked at the masked cultist again a new notification appeared. Congratulations, you have Learned a skill - (Observe) Oh, that¡¯s good! This must be a skill that lets me see the stats and stuff of other people. I focus on the masked cultist and think about the new skill.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. (??? / ???) Oh, that¡¯s not good! That means he¡¯s way stronger than me right? How am I supposed to kill these guys? Unfortunately, my thinking time has run out because the guy with the mask raised his staff at me. ¡°Who are you!? How did you intercept the summoning!?¡± This is it! An opportunity to talk out of the situation. Just as I was about to play the part of a scared, confused girl, I stopped myself. Was I going to do that? It felt wrong for some reason. No, saying it felt wrong wasn¡¯t right either. It was something worse than being wrong. It would be boring. I think back to the last thing Ydri said to me. ¡®Entertain me!¡¯ I can¡¯t help but feel irritated. I hope it knows I¡¯m not doing this for it. The masked guy speaks up again. ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me! Tell me who you are!¡± I force a smile through my pained expression and put on a cutesy voice. ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Tiffany! I¡¯m going to kill you now!¡± I know this is a terrible idea, but in this world I¡¯m sure I can get away with it. The masked cultist points his staff at me and an orange circle appears in front of it. I¡¯m almost distracted by the actual magic happening in front of me, but I figure it¡¯s bad news. I duck out of the way as a massive streak of fire blasts by where my head was. I look back at the cultist to see the other two pulling out what I assume are wands. This would be bad if I didn¡¯t have a plan. Unfortunately for them, I have an awesome skill! I focus on the Obscene Presence skill the same way I did with Observe and¡­ Nothing happens. Why didn¡¯t it work? I wasn¡¯t able to figure out what was going on before a rock slammed into my abdomen. I feel a few ribs crack and blood spills from my mouth. I have never been in this much pain before. I collapse onto the ground. My vision goes blurry as I try to hold back tears. This isn¡¯t the time to succumb to pain! I pull myself back to my feet and refocus my gaze on the cultist. I find a red, metallic looking ball bouncing in front of me. ¡°Essence grenade!¡± My eyes widen and the world around me slows. Am I going to die here? That¡¯s a stupid question. I should ask, what can I do to survive? I can¡¯t dodge this so I have to withstand it. How can I withstand this? I need higher durability. That¡¯s right! I haven¡¯t spent any of my stat points. I dump every single stat point into durability as light fills my eyes. I¡¯m sent flying into a wall and I feel more bones break. I got a new notification, but I¡¯m in so much pain I can¡¯t read it. I look down to see the burns covering my body. I get another notification and the pain lessens slightly. It¡¯s enough for me to gain my bearings again. I¡¯m slouched against the wall I crashed into and smoke fills the cave. I can¡¯t see any of the cultists through the smoke and I don¡¯t think they can see me yet either, on the account I''m not dead. I need to figure out how to use Obscene Presence or I¡¯m done. I haven¡¯t used Magical Aura Perception yet so maybe that gives the insight I need. I focus on the class skill and my vision shifts. The world blurs, and three red glowing fires appear in front of me. The one in the middle is slightly bigger than the others. Are those the cultists? I finally notice the bigger one is getting closer to me. I need to think fast. I look down at my broken body and I find another fire. This one is black in color and it sits in the center of my chest. My instincts tell me to grab it and I try with my one functioning hand. My own body gets in the way and I grab onto my smoldering clothes. I focus on the fire the same way I would focus on a skill to activate it. I give all my attention to the flames until I feel the fire flicker. As if it were a que, I pulled as hard as I can and the fire in my chest grew. The fire morphed into the shape of a person and it enveloped my whole body. I got a new notification and now I was present enough I could read it. Congratulations, you have unlocked a class skill - (Magical Aura Manifestation) It felt amazing. The pain was still there, but the black fire was soothing. I couldn''t revel in my power for too long as the larger red flame was now just a few feet away. The masked cultist. He snorts ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re going to give answers, are you?¡± I give him a smile, juxtaposed to my mageled body ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just as confused as you are!¡± and I activate Obscene Presence. I can almost hear his eyes widen as he falls backward. The cultist grabs onto his mask and he starts screaming. I¡¯m hit with several notifications. You have slain a (Cultist/level 13) - More experience rewarded You have slain a (Cultist/level 17) - More experience rewarded You have leveled up! (6 ¡ú 7) - You have earned (5) stat points You have leveled up! (7 ¡ú 8) - You have earned (5) stat points You have leveled up! (8 ¡ú 9) - You have earned (5) stat points They died? That was enough to kill them nearly instantly! My shock is then replaced by a sudden exhaustion I¡¯ve never felt before. The flames covering my body recede back into my chest. I¡¯m tired to a profound degree. I was about to use the screams of the masked cultist to lull me to sleep, but he suddenly stopped. I didn¡¯t get a notification, so he¡¯s not dead yet. I force my eyes back open. The cultist is laid out on the floor and they¡¯re holding on to their head. I should probably end his suffering. I force myself back onto my feet. Thank god my legs are mostly uninjured. I limp over to the cultist and notice his mask fell off. And he is actually a she. That¡¯s weird. Why did I assume that this was a guy even though they¡¯re obviously a woman? They looked and sounded like a girl the whole time, but I took one look at her and thought ¡®that¡¯s a guy.¡¯ She even seems smaller now too. Was it an illusion? As I¡¯m hesitating she eventually comes to, and as soon as she sees me, she locks up. ¡°Wha- No, please don¡¯t kill me. Okay, I¡¯m sorry. I wh-¡± I raise an eyebrow at her pleading. She¡¯s terrified, however I¡¯m surprised at how potent Obscene Presence is. She¡¯s way stronger than me, but she¡¯s asking me to spare her. I almost laugh at the absurdity of it. I think she saw my amusement because she started crying. Ah, now I kinda feel bad. ¡°Calm down, I''m not gonna kill ya.¡± She opens her eyes and her face immediately softens. She raises her head to look back up at me. ¡°What?¡± At the same time a system screen pops up, but it¡¯s different than usual. It¡¯s grey instead of blue and the text is black. It asks the same question. WHAT!? It is it, isn¡¯t it. Ydri. It¡¯s probably pissed I''m not gonna go along with it. I don¡¯t give a shit though. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you, because I don¡¯t want to. Simple as.¡± The once scary masked cultist falls silent at this, but Ydri? It¡¯s anything but silent. HUH!? What do you mean!? You just gonna stop now? WHY!? I don¡¯t understand! ¡­ No ¡­ No no no. Are you saying you got bored!? ¡°I mean, yeah. Killing her now would be boring.¡± To be honest, seeing her now reminds me of my past victims. So, I already know killing her now won¡¯t do anything for me. Ydri though¡­ I think it¡¯s having a mental breakdown. hAHAHAHAH hahAHAhahahAHAHA I don¡¯t hear it laughing. It¡¯s just screen after screen of text implying laughter. I think I broke it. As soon as I think that, the screens disappear. After a moment two new screens appear. Your even more unpredictable than I thought You have completed the objective (Entertain me!) - Applying rewards A golden light envelopes me. It¡¯s sort of like my aura but different. A lot more powerful. My bones shift back into place and all my cuts and bruises vanish in seconds. The burn scars flake off and are replaced by new skin. This horrifies the cultist. ¡°Wh- what are you?¡± I can¡¯t help but shake my head and sigh. ¡°You misspelt you¡¯re.¡± Judging by her expression, I think the cultist is confused. Chapter 4 / Pals? That was a fun fight. Except for all the pain I was in. That really sucked, but I think that made it all the more satisfying when I finally won. I can¡¯t help but grin from ear to ear. Though my glee seems to only upset the cultist I spared even further. She has stopped speaking entirely and is just staring in abject terror. I thought her scared and confused demeanor was funny at first, but now I just feel bad. I should try and calm her down. Getting a second look at her, she has quite the elegant face. She has silver hair and her eyes are gold. Not only are her eyes gold, but they also seem to be glowing slightly. That detail distracts me to the point I almost missed her long pointed ears. Wait a minute ¡°Are you an elf?¡± She jolts at the question. Her eyes widen when she reaches for her face. ¡°My mask!¡± Her eyes darted around the room. When she sees the mask I yoink it off the ground before she can even reach for it. She squeaks when she sees me playfully hold the mask above my head. ¡°Please oh great demon. Will you return my mask to me?¡± Oh? She thinks I''m a demon? That¡¯s hilarious. That gives me a glee that''s impossible to hide. I involuntarily smiled a big wide smile as I looked down at her. ¡°And why should I do that? Tell me. Why should I humor someone with arrogance to summon the devil''s daughter herself!¡± Her mouth drops as her wide eyes widen even further, almost being pushed out from their sockets. I can¡¯t help myself, I really can¡¯t. I wanted to calm her, but when she said I was a demon I had to run with it. It was too good of an opportunity. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry your highness! I was merely trying to summon a lowly Nav Imp! I had no intention to bring your greatness to the realm of mortals!¡± ¡°No matter. I have already taken the lives of your comrades as punishment. Now then, are you going to answer my question?¡± She stammers for a moment ¡°Q- Question?¡± My face grows cold and I stare at her with dead eyes ¡°Do you intend to make me repeat myself?¡± Earlier she referred to me as ¡®your highness¡¯ so I think I can sell my act more by being a spoiled princess. I guess being the devil''s daughter would make me royalty in some way. The cultist starts shaking her head as she searches her mind for what I asked previously. Her eyebrows spring upward ¡°uh- uh. Yes! I¡¯m an elf!¡± ¡°Cool! Uh, I mean. I¡¯ve never seen one of your kind before. Tell me your name.¡± I¡¯m glad she told me what I actually wanted to know instead of trying to answer one of the rhetorical questions I asked for show. ¡°Eva Le¡¯tain your highness.¡± Eva Le¡¯tain, very fantasy. This is so cool! A real, honest to god, elf is in front of me. Oh man, I¡¯m so glad I didn¡¯t kill her. ¡°Alright Eva, where are we?¡± ¡°Oh. Yes, we are in a dungeon right now.¡± Oh shit. I thought this was some sort of cultist cave. When I asked, I meant what country or state we were in. So this is a dungeon, huh. Aren¡¯t dungeons supposed to be monster lairs or something? ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s obvious. I meant what country or kingdom or whatever. Hell, I don¡¯t even know what continent I¡¯m on.¡± Eva furrows her brows ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± Uh-oh. Not knowing where I am is apparently suspicious. I don¡¯t want the lie to fall apart so quickly. I should be more assertive. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t! I¡¯m not supposed to be here, remember. Because you fucked up your summoning.¡± ¡°Ah. I-I¡¯m sorry. Yes um. We are on the continent of Soteria, but we aren¡¯t in any state. This is undisputed territory.¡± Undisputed territory? Why? ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Uh- um. What do you mean, why?¡± Ugh. Elves. ¡°I meant why is the territory undisputed. Surely some nation would claim it, even if the land is completely useless.¡± Eva takes a moment, like she is digesting what she just heard. ¡°Yes, um. Yes. The reason this area is undisputed is a long story, your highness. Um, can I ask? Why does such things matter to you?¡± Crap. My roaming curiosity got the better of me. I¡¯m supposed to be a demon. Welp, I guess I¡¯m a curious demon. ¡°You ask why I want to know?¡± I walk over to Eva who is still sitting on the floor. I lean over her, getting a few inches from her face. I break into an unhinged smile. ¡°Because.¡± Eva starts sweating and trembling. I think she¡¯s trying to speak, but she can¡¯t get a word out. Eva looks like she is about to pee herself. Oh. She did pee herself. Eva¡¯s eyes flutter shut and she falls backward. It seems I completely knocked her out. ¡°Whoops.¡± I didn¡¯t mean to do that. I just wanted to reinforce the idea I was a demon. I guess I went too far. I step over her body, and puddle, and get another look around the cave. Well, I say cave, but this is a dungeon. I¡¯m standing in a large open cavity with only one exit. I can only see a few feet into that path before it fades into complete darkness. I¡¯m tempted to just go for it. Just head out into the dungeon and go explore. As I step forward a wave of exhaustion hit¡¯s me. It nearly brings me to my knees. I almost forgot I got summoned in the middle of the night. Then I had a conversation with who I think is a god. Then I got into a fight I almost died in. If I just wander into the dungeon, I¡¯m gonna get myself killed. Aren¡¯t I? I let out a big animated sigh. Turning around, I see Eva collapsed on the floor. I would also be a dick if I left her here too. She would also be a very helpful ally in a dungeon. My Observe only gives me question marks, but I know she is strong. Maybe it was a bad idea to antagonize her so much. Alright, I made up my mind. I won¡¯t leave her. I walk over to a nearby wall and sit against it. I relax and release the tension from my body. I would say I get comfortable, but I''m not. The rocky surface is anything but comfortable. You¡¯d think it would be impossible to rest here, but as soon as I sat down the fatigue just kept rolling in. The adrenalin must be wearing off. My eyes are heavy, but I feel something is keeping me up. I look around the cave-like dungeon and a tired smile rests on my face. I¡¯m so excited. This is a completely new world. This is actually happening. My smile grows larger. This is real. ¡°Status.¡± Name (Tiffany Day) / Age (23) / Race (Human) Alignment (Chaotic Neutral) Class (Monk) / Level (9) Stats / Stat Points (15) Strength (8) Durability (38) Agility (5) Endurance (5) Intellect (5) Soul (8) Intrinsic Status Vitality (100%) Stamina (28%) Sanity (78%) Mana (3%) Traits (Interloper) (Serial Killer) (Ydri¡¯s Jester) Skills (Quick Thinking) level 1 (Pain Tolerance) level 1 (Observe) level 1This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Class Skills (Obscene Presence) level 1 (Magical Aura Perception) level 1 (Magical Aura Manifestation) level 1 ¡°So¡­ Cool¡­¡± My eyes close and darkness takes me. --- I wake up to a large man with a black mask standing over me. His face is a few inches away from mine. I punch reflexively. Eva¡¯s mask flies off her head, but she barely flinches from my strike. A moment later I process what just happened. I stood up ready to snap at Eva, but something else distracted me. Punching her didn''t hurt, at all. Last time I punched her at full force my wrist snapped like a twig. I stare at my hand for a moment before Eva finally breaks from her stupor. ¡°Ah, yes. I¡¯m sorry your highness for disturbing you. It¡¯s just I''ve never seen a demon sleep before.¡± Last night''s events finally return to memory. Oh shit, I¡¯m supposed to be a demon and guess demons don¡¯t need to sleep apparently. And Eva just saw me sleeping and there''s no getting around that. Welp, I guess I¡¯m the enigmatic curious demon that needs to sleep. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not like most demon¡¯s.¡± ¡°Yes, I know. You''re the daughter of one of the Devils. It¡¯s natural that your physiology is beyond the comprehension of a mere cultist.¡± Huh. she made an excuse all on her own. I shoot her a grin which visibly unnerves her. She¡¯s still completely terrified by me too. I wonder¡­ ¡°Hey, Eva Le¡¯tain.¡± Her gaze darkens at the use of her full name. ¡°Yes uhh. Yes, your highness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just curious, what''s your Sanity at?¡± For the first time, she doesn¡¯t look completely scared by my questions. ¡°My Sanity? Um, yes. I¡¯ll check now.¡± Her gaze drops down, probably looking at her status screen. Eva¡¯s eyes widen and shock covers her face. ¡°Impossible.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s at 82 percent. I¡¯ve never seen someone''s Sanity that low before, let alone my own. How did that even happen?¡± Ah, there it is. It was my Obscene Presence that did damage to her sanity. That''s probably why she¡¯s so amenable to the idea that I''m a demon. Wait, did she say the 82 percent is low. Jeez, I wonder what that says about me. ¡°Hey Eva, what happens when your sanity gets too low?¡± Her gaze shifts the two corpses on the ground. ¡°Short answer, that.¡± She looks very distressed again for some reason. Ahh¡­ The last thing I want is her to piss herself again. ¡°Long answer?¡± Eva looks back at me almost confused. I try to make myself not look threatening, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s working. She¡¯s sweating bullets. I sigh and start walking towards her, which she predictably flinches at. I go to her side and wrap an arm around her shoulder. Confusion finally over powers her fear for her life. ¡°Look Eva. I¡¯m not trying to kill you, I¡¯m not trying to threaten you, and I¡¯m not trying to sleep with you.¡± Eva snaps her head to face me and her brows are furrowed. The joke obviously flew over her head. I let go of her and raised my hands defensively. ¡°That was a joke. I¡¯m just trying to get you to relax a little. I really don¡¯t mean to hurt you anymore.¡± Eva frowns at me. ¡°Tiffany, What do you want from me?¡± Oooh. That''s the million dollar question isn¡¯t it. Well, I let her live on whim, but I can¡¯t say that. Hmm, let¡¯s see. What do I want? I rub my chin thoughtfully. Eva is becoming more uncomfortable by the minute. I snap my fingers. ¡°A teacher! Wait, no.¡± I rub my temples. ¡°A comrade? Nah, that sounds too serious.¡± I look back at Eva who looks confused again. I swear that girl only has two emotions. ¡°A friend?¡± Eva freezes. I can almost hear the gears in her head screeching to a halt. ¡°A- a friend?¡± ¡°Yeah, a friend. Truth be told, I¡¯m very much lost and have lots of questions. So, I need a friend. Wanna be friends?¡± Eva blinks and opens and closes her mouth a few times. She closes her eyes to think of an answer. After a moment she finally opens them. ¡°Yes- um, yes. We can be friends.¡± I smile, not a sadistic smile to scare her, but a real genuine smile. ¡°Yay! My first elf friend!¡± I jump at Eva and give her a hug that causes her to flinch. She doesn¡¯t hug back of course. After a moment I push myself off her. ¡°Now that we¡¯re friends, will you explain how Sanity works?¡± Eva blinks for a moment and finally gets on with her explanation. ¡°Sanity is an intrinsic status that all beings with a mind have. Unlike Vitality, Stamina, and Mana, Sanity is unaffected by the increase of stats. The only way Sanity is affected is through psychic damage.¡± If that¡¯s the case, how the hell did my Sanity get so damaged? I thought my Sanity was damaged because I was stressed, but I guess that wasn¡¯t it. Eva continues. ¡°Anything above 70 percent is considered safe. 70-50 percent, you will start hallucinating. 50-30 percent is a full disconnect from reality, and anything below 30 percent is lethal.¡± Well that¡¯s terrifying. That means that the two other cultists Sanity dropped below 30 percent in an instant, because of Obscene Presence. Moderate psychic damage, my ass. ¡°Not many people know how Sanity works. The only reason I know this much is because I¡¯m a cultist.¡± ¡°What does being a cultist have to do with that?¡± Eva stares for a moment. ¡°Because demons are the only thing capable of dealing psychic damage.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The implications finally hit like a truck sending me to another world. The reason Eva thinks I¡¯m a demon, isn¡¯t because of her damaged Sanity. It¡¯s because I dealt psychic damage. I grin. It¡¯s the perfect setup to the perfect lie. Amazing. ¡°That¡¯s good to know. I¡¯m glad we¡¯re friends now Eva.¡± She shifts uncomfortably, but at least she isn¡¯t peeing herself anymore. ¡°Yes um. Me too?¡± --- Eva Le¡¯tain had made a terrible mistake. She had done something she can¡¯t take back anymore. What she did would be considered an achievement by her peers, if she had meant to do it. And if she had done it in a controlled environment, she would be proud of this accomplishment. But she did not. Eva had summoned the offspring of one of the Devils of Hell, and now it is loose in the mortal realm. At first when Eva had performed the summoning, she had thought some sort of cleric intercepted it. That this woman somehow detected the summoning and forced the target of the summoning to herself then came to destroy us all. Eva had heard of such horror stories happening from her superiors. This is evidently not the case. If that was what happened, she would easily be over level 100 if not more to pull something like that off. This woman was barely level 9! She was even lower leveled when they had fought! It didn¡¯t make any sense, but Eva knew that she was hostile. But right when Eva was about to finish this woman off, the demon finally revealed itself. What Eva saw at that moment was horrifying. It was as if space itself inverted. Reality and reason split. The impossible wore a coat of broken logic. Its glare forced the incomprehensible into Eva''s mind. And Eva was fortunate. The mask she wore covered most of the horrific form from her eyes. She immediately forced her hands to her face and closed her eyes. It was already too late. Information of the inconceivable had entered Eva¡¯s mind. Her mind acted violently. She involuntarily, on instinct, tore her own mind apart to rid herself of that cancerous logic. It was extremely painful for Eva. Then she had to speak with this demon. Eva then realized that they were completely insane. Eva eventually realized something. She could send this demon back to hell. Eva was a Demonic Summoner, and her class skill Minor Demonic Regent had the ability to send her summon back to their origin by force, if they were lower leveled than herself. It didn¡¯t work. Eva started to panic. As Eva quickly searched her mind for another solution while maintaining a conversation with this demon, the demon started to approach her. Eva wanted to run, but her legs gave out from fear. The demon smiled in a way that didn¡¯t fit its human face. Eva fainted. --- When Eva came too, after an unknown amount of time, she immediately felt gross. Still dazed from being unconscious, it took her a second to realize that she had made another terrible mistake. But before the embarrassment could completely overwhelm Eva a thought interrupted her. Where did that demon go? Eva immediately stood up and swung her head around until she found the collapsed figure of a woman. She was propped up against a wall and was¡­ Sleeping? No, she couldn¡¯t forget. That¡¯s a demon. It was probably some trick to get her to lower her guard. Eva wasn¡¯t going to be fool- ¡°Eng-g-g-gh¡± Eva paused ¡°what.¡± No, NO. That just confirms that this is an act. That snore was too perfect to be real. She can kill Eva at any time. She is being toyed with. Eva then used this opportunity to think of a plan. There was actually one more class skill she could apply in this situation. This demon was still technically her summon, so Eva decided to use Summoner''s Insight. Summon(Tiffany Day) Race(Human) Level(9) Last Ability Used(Trait/Ydri¡¯s Jester) Eva¡¯s mind broke. NO! She couldn¡¯t accept it! Eva had seen her true form. She is disguising herself to look human. The demon said it herself. She was- The devil''s daughter. But which Devil. A few possibilities run through Eva¡¯s mind. It clicks. There can only be one possible Devil that she is the offspring of. Only one being that can create such a perfect human form. Nyarlathotep, The King of Shapes. Tiffany Day must be an Infant Eldritch Horror. Chapter 5 / Dungeon I decided how I want to distribute my stat points. First I added 2 to Intellect, Endurance, and Agility. I did this to see how it would affect my body and the results were- Interesting? Intellect had no effect. I couldn¡¯t tell at all what happened when it increased. Endurance didn¡¯t make me feel different whatsoever, but my intrinsic stat Stamina dipped about 15% before slowly increasing back to full. Agility had the most profound effect. Moving became strait up easier and more importantly I became lighter, literally! I could swear I just lost a few pounds. Next I put 2 points into Soul, bringing it up to 10. Similarly to Endurance, My Mana dropped before slowly rising again. I also noticed something else, using Magical Aura Perception I saw the flames in my chest grow slightly. It was barely noticeable but it made me realize something. The black flames in my chest are my soul. That means when I manifest my aura I¡¯m literally coating my body with my soul¡­ Neat. Next up I didn¡¯t need to add any points because it already has plenty. Durability, and there is no other word to describe this than hard. I dumped 30 stat points into this stat and it shows. I bet I can jump off a 10 story building and get away with a few bruises. And last up, Strength. I put the last 7 points into this and like Agility the effects were immediate. My body felt lighter again, but not actually this time. And surprise, increasing Strength made me stronger. I picked up a random rock and squeezed. After a few seconds it cracked then crumbled away. ¡°Woah.¡± Is all I could say. My giddiness only rises by the second. I looted one of the dead cultists I killed. Eva told me his name was Curt or Kret or whatever. Took his cloak and wand. My clothes have holes from being burned by that essence grenade thing. I¡¯m wearing a white T and overalls. Now with the cloak over them I look more like a cultist. The wand on the other hand feels kinda useless. My instincts tell me I can¡¯t do anything with it, like it doesn¡¯t match my class or something. Anyway, I told Eva I wanted to explore the dungeon which she didn¡¯t like. Apparently they were on an expedition and they were attacked by something. Now she just wants to get out of this place. Buuut, since I¡¯m royalty and all, guess who is accompanying me to explore this cool ass cave! ¡°I wanna go home.¡± I look over at Eva. She¡¯s wearing her mask again that makes you think she¡¯s a guy. It¡¯s very strange since looking at her, she is very clearly a woman. Even now I almost keep referring to her as him. I used Observe on the mask, but all I get is Enchanted Mask and nothing else. I responded indifferently ¡°That¡¯s nice. Anyway, when do you think we¡¯ll run into monsters?¡± Eva sighs ¡°We should encounter monsters every hour or so of walking.¡± I frown ¡°Just how big is this dungeon?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, estimates put it at over 200 miles across easily.¡± My frown deepens. That''s big, very big. Still though, that just makes me more curious about what this place is. The dungeon is mostly cave-like with stalagmites and stalactites and crap. But there are some parts where it¡¯s smooth like it¡¯s been dug by heavy machinery. There are cavities big and small with passageways connecting them. Splitting paths everywhere. It reminds me of an indoor playground. We walk together a little while longer and eventually the silence gets a little too awkward for me. ¡°Soooo, you came here on an expedition right?¡± Eva looks at me and blinks loud enough for me to hear ¡°Yes um, yes.¡± ¡°What was the expedition for? Just curious about the dungeon or were you looking for something?¡± ¡°Yes um. Both I suppose. We did want to know more about this dungeon and we found this dungeon because of a Nav Imp.¡± I furrow my brows. ¡°What¡¯s a Nav Imp?¡± She tilts her head at me ¡°Uh, a Nav Imp is a demon with tracking capabilities. They¡¯re only a foot tall and have grey skin. Anyway, a Nav Imp was summoned and they said that they knew the location of a demonic artifact.¡± I nodded along and added ¡°And the Nav Imp led you to this dungeon?¡± She lets out a sigh ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So, what is this demonic artifact? Like, what''s it do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a collar-¡± and a nearby wall explodes, cutting her off. Two strange creatures crawl out, covered in dozens of claws encircling their bodies. At their front are pig-like noses. (Abominable Mole/Level 11) (Abominable Mole/Level 12) I¡¯m both terrified and excited at the same time. ¡°Remember what I said?¡± Eva sighs again ¡°Yes, don¡¯t interfere if the monsters are near your level.¡± I give her a deranged grin and Eva grimaces. I turn back to the creatures to see them already crawling towards me. I charge back at them and jump over to land behind one of them. I raise a fist and my soul shifts. It moves through my body and coats my right arm. I slam my fist down as fast as I can and the mole''s spine snaps. --- Earlier Obscene Presence is too strong. Weird problem to have, but it¡¯s still a problem. 1.) Using it is extremely exhausting. That''s probably because it¡¯s a skill that someone my level isn¡¯t supposed to have. 2.) I have Eva with me now and I can¡¯t just bring it out willy nilly less I end up killing her. 3.) It¡¯s lame as fuck. Obscene Presence is pretty much an instant win button and that¡¯s boring as hell. But, I don¡¯t have any other offensive skills at the moment. So, I asked for my favorite walking textbook. ¡°Hey, Eva.¡± She flinches behind her mask ¡°Um yes? Your highness.¡± ¡°How do I go about getting new skills?¡± She tilts her head at me. I can¡¯t see what kind of face she is making, but I¡¯m betting she is confused at my lack of knowledge. I almost completely stopped trying to pretend I''m a demon, simply because I don¡¯t need to. She said it herself that only demons can do psychic damage, and I did psychic damage. The lie supports itself and now I can just act and ask whatever and she won¡¯t question my nature. Besides, her treating me like royalty while I act like an idiot is really funny. Eva clears her throat ¡°Yes, It¡¯s simple. You simply have to do things you haven¡¯t done before.¡± I raise an eyebrow ¡°Meaning?¡± Eva sighs ¡°Your highness, when you selected your class it gave you examples of what you could do with it right? Just do what it says you can do and you should get its corresponding skill.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. My eyes widened at that. If I remember correctly, other than driving others into insanity, it will let me strengthen and heal myself. I look down at my chest, specifically at the ball of black flames. I use Magical Aura Manifestation and instead of it growing to cover my whole body- it splits. OH FUCK! Did I just cut my soul in half?! Am I gonna die?! No, wait. I¡¯m not in any pain and this doesn¡¯t feel wrong. After a moment of pause I continue to pull apart the halves of my soul. Each half travels down my arms before expanding. As soon as my aura coats my arms a notification rings. Congratulations, you have evolved a class skill - (Magical Aura Manifestation) becomes (Magical Aura Manipulation) ¡°Huh. I evolved a class skill.¡± Eva¡¯s head snaps towards me ¡°What?!¡± I frown as I turn towards her ¡°Is that not supposed to happen?¡± She quickly shakes her head ¡°No, class skills only evolve during class advancements, or if the skill is maxed and pushed to the limit.¡± My frown deepens. How the hell did I evolve this class skill then? Just when I thought this, a familiar grey screen appeared. Okay, I may have tilted the scales a bit to give you a head start. You''re welcome! I scowl at the notification. Are you fucking kidding me. A fucking booster. Eva speaks up again ¡°How did you even do that?¡± My frustration blows over and I snap at her ¡°Nepotism! You pull that shit again and I¡¯ll kill myself! Got it!¡± This is bullshit. It¡¯s cheating and it practically sucks all the fun out of it. Obscene Presence is already OP enough. That threat is genuine too. If Ydri is going to get in the way of me having fun then I¡¯ll take away his enjoyment too. I know I¡¯m petty enough to go through with it. Okay! Damn, I won¡¯t do it again. ¡°Good.¡± Eva is staring at me with her head tilted ¡°Um, W- Who were you talking to?¡± I sigh ¡°An asshole. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± To be honest, I like the skill. It lets me manipulate my aura to only cover parts of my body, instead of having my aura covering my whole body at once. It¡¯s so I can be more efficient. The way I got it though absolutely blows. When I get something I want it to be my accomplishment, not a handout. I groan. Whatever, I got it now and might as well use it. Alright, time to get a new offensive skill. I focus on the aura coating my arms, but to be honest I have no idea what I¡¯m doing. ¡°Um Eva. Do you have any tips for getting a new skill?¡± Eva nods ¡°Is the skill you¡¯re trying to get magical?¡± ¡°Uhh, yeah? I think.¡± ¡°Yes. So, you simply need to visualize the effect of the magic when it is cast. I can¡¯t stress enough how important visualization is.¡± I nod at her and look back at my arms. So, I just need to imagine being stronger to strengthen my arms and that''s it. I furrow my brows and focus on my aura. This might take a while. Eva confirms ¡°This could take a few hours.¡± I nod ¡°Figures.¡± But after a few hours of trying to strengthen my arms, something in my mind finally clicked and a notification rang. --- I slam my fist into the Abominable Mole as blood explodes out of its nose and I hear a loud snap coming from its back. It¡¯s not dead yet so I raise my fist again to finish it off, but before I can the second mole dashed to my left side to try and get behind me. Before it can get past, I use Magical Aura Manipulation and my soul rapidly shifts to my left arm. I grab the mole by its snout and slam it into a nearby wall. I pull the mole and fling it at another wall. It squeals as it flies through the air. I watch the mole as it crashes into a nearby stalagmite, then my Magical Aura Perception senses a change at my feet. I look down to see the broken Abominable Mole turn its snout to me. Looking down Its nose, I notice an orange glow building towards me. I shift my soul to my right leg and bring my foot over it to stomp on its head. Flames shoot out of its snout as I bring my boot down. My clothing gets charred, but my leg goes down unimpeded and- Crunch- As my boot slams, its nose and most of its head crumples inward and explodes. My foot goes through and imbeds itself into the rock. Cracks form along the ground and I start to cackle maniacally. My new class skill Aura of Strength is awesome. Let us take stock, shall we? Class skills - Magical Aura Manipulation / Level (1) (You have mastered the ability to manifest your aura. Now you may manipulate your aura however you see fit. The less area the aura covers the more effective the auras power.) Sorwy - Ydri Full aura coverage (x1) 3 limbs covered (x1.5) 2 limbs covered (x2) 1 limb covered (x4) Magical Aura Perception / Level (1) (You have begun to sense the very soul itself. This is usually the first step in becoming a monk. But you''re a special snowflake, aren¡¯t you?) You can now see the souls of others and yourself Aura of Strength / Level (1) (Through focus, you have changed the structure of your aura. Your aura now commands your body to be stronger than it actually is.) Expend Mana to increase your Strength stat by (25%) Obscene Presence / Level (1) (You''re able to change your aura to appear malignant. When activated, your aura will make you appear as if you''re a parasite festering in an open wound of reality, causing confusion. This will affect both friend and foe.) Deals moderate (Psychic) damage Skills - Observe / Level (1) (You see what is already evident.) Basic observation Quick thinking / Level (1) (Under extreme stress, you have found a way to forcefully speed your rate of thought.) Expend Mana or Stamina to increase your rate of thought by (50%) Pain Tolerance / Level (1) (You have learned to ignore your pain. Whether or not this is healthy is subjective.) Pain doesn¡¯t bother you I feel amazing! I look around to see where the other Abominable Mole went only to not see it anywhere. Weird, I could have sworn it was- My head snaps downward towards the floor as Magical Aura Perception picks up a soul directly beneath me. I throw myself out of the way as the ground where I was standing explodes upward. The mole shoots straight up into the ceiling and continues digging out of sight again. I suppress a laugh as a grin breaks my face. ¡°Holy shit.¡± I backpedal towards a wall as I watch the mole¡¯s soul as it digs through the ground. Its soul twists and turns through the ground and eventually reaches the wall I¡¯m standing next to. My soul splits to cover my right arm and left leg. My face portrays a sadistic glee. The mole explodes out of the wall and I side step it. I grab onto one of its dozen claws and I slam it into the ground. I use my left foot to step on its neck, still holding on to one of its claws I- Pull- The Abominable Mole starts thrashing. I hear the claw pop from its socket and see flesh tearing as I fully rip off its limb. I throw the amputated claw to my side and- Reach for another, and another, and another. I start laughing maniacally as I continue pulling claws off the mole like I¡¯m pulling petals off a flower. I wish Eva wasn¡¯t wearing a mask so I could see her reaction. I continue to enjoy myself ¡°HE LOVES ME! HE LOVES ME NOT! HE LOVES ME! HE LOVES ME NOT!¡± Eventually I run out of limbs to pull and the mole stops moving. I got a notification. I turn towards Eva ¡°He loves me!¡± She falls backward and goes unconscious. ¡°Whoops.¡± You have slain a (Abominable Mole/level 11) - Moderate experience rewarded You have slain a (Abominable Mole/level 12) - Moderate experience rewarded You have leveled up! (9 ¡ú 10) - You have earned (5) stat points (Magical Aura Manipulation) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) (Magical Aura Perception) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) (Aura of Strength) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) Chapter 6 / Campfire Incident I can¡¯t believe she fainted again. I mean, it is completely my fault, but still. I walk over to Eva and take off her mask. I pull one of her eyelids open and she is entirely unresponsive. It¡¯s like she fell asleep standing up. You¡¯d think a cultist wouldn¡¯t be prone to fainting, but here we are. I guess we¡¯re taking a break... ¡°Breakfast! Ha!¡± Nobody laughs at my amazing pun, if someone did, it would scare the crap out of me. In all seriousness I¡¯m very hungry. I wonder if those monster moles are edible? Well, only one way to find out! I make sure to properly drain the blood out of one of the Abominable Moles before skinning and butchering it. The problem now is how I''m gonna Cook it. It sure would be convenient If we had someone here that could make fire out of nothing. I look down at the unconscious Eva expectantly. It took half an hour to prep the mole to be cooked and I half Expected her to be up now. It looks like I have to make a fire myself. I need some sort of fuel for it, but I already know what to use. I grab the extra cloak we got from Eva¡¯s dead buddies. I break a wand in half and rubbed one end of the wand against the other, creating friction. Once I have a small flame going I place it into the cloak. The fire eventually sticks and there! One fire! Who needs magic. The strange physiology of the Abominable Mole gets weirder, because ribs are just placed haphazardly around its body. They''re the perfect size and shape to be used as skewers though. I make about 10 mole kebabs and place them around the now large fire, creating a tipi of meat sticks. I use my own cloak as cushioning to sit in front of the fire. Doing that made me realize, wouldn''t Eva be uncomfortable sprawled out like that? I move Eva closer to the fire and prop her head on top of her mask. She''s not dead, I checked. Just asleep. I turn back to the fire to make sure I don''t burn the mole meat. After a few more minutes I hear Eva stirring. ¡°Ugh, my head¡­ What''s that smell?¡± ¡°That, my friend, is breakfast.¡± Eva raises her head and slowly cranes her eyes open towards the fire. ¡°Breakfast? Wait, you made food?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± I grab one of the kebabs ¡°I present to you, ambiguous mole meat!¡± She stares uncomprehendingly at the meat I¡¯m waving in front of her face. ¡°Y- y-you know how to cook?! How?¡± I grin at her confusion ¡°What Eva? Did you think I wouldn¡¯t know how to cook?¡± I pull the kebab away from her and bite into the cooked meat. It¡¯s very chewy as expected, but surprisingly it¡¯s flavor is incredibly close to that of salmon. That does not make any sense. ¡°You know Eva, I nearly went to culinary school, but I decided that it wasn¡¯t for me. Even still, one of the classes I was offered was Cook! Ha! Could you imagine me, a Cook! Hehe.¡± Eva looks on, unable to process what was just said. A silence hangs between us for an awkward amount of time. I look over to see her eyes glazed. I sigh ¡°Eva, you fainted again. That¡¯s twice now. Don¡¯t make it a third.¡± Eva''s eyes widen again as an all too familiar fear takes her. I shake my head ¡°That wasn¡¯t a threat! Listen, I was just playing around with you. I just don¡¯t want you to faint again.¡± She furrowed her brows ¡°I- I can¡¯t understand you.¡± I nod ¡°That¡¯s because I like it that way. You shouldn¡¯t let it affect you to the point of fainting. Just accept you won¡¯t understand and move on.¡± ¡°You''re an Eldritch Horror, aren¡¯t you?¡± I pause ¡°What?¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I figured it out! Your father is Nyarlathotep, King of Shapes! You''re feeding off my confusion! That¡¯s why you haven¡¯t killed me yet and returned to hell!¡± She stands up and points at me ¡°You¡¯re a demon of great power, even if you pretend to be lower leveled than me!¡± She raises her arms above her head as red magical lines flow down from her eyes like tears. Eva¡¯s hands become ashen black and claws grow out of her fingertips. I blink at her ¡°What are you doing?¡± The whites of her eyes turn black and her glowing gold iris burns red ¡°I call upon the amputated hands of the first devil to send this horrid creature back to hell! I beseech thee supreme dark one! Return your descendant from whence it came!¡± I stupidly stare at her ¡°Uhhh.¡± ¡°FORCED DEMONIC BANISHMENT!¡± Eva claps her clawed hands together and a strange wave of energy washes over me. Eva¡¯s form reverts back to normal instantly. She drops to her knees and starts panting. Eva start¡¯s to chuckle. ¡°I did it. I actu-¡± Only to be cut off by me bursting out laughing. It was too good. I knew pretending to be a demon was gonna be fun, but from what looks to be an extremely powerful spell being wasted in such a manner was absolutely amazing. That speech too, oh man! I control myself just enough to look at her horrified face which only makes me laugh harder. ¡°H- how is this possible? Any demon under level 146 would have no chance of resisting.¡± I want to laugh even harder, but manage out a few words ¡°You idiot! I''m not feeding off your confusion, I just think it''s funny!¡± After a few moments I finally managed to control myself. I let out a strained sigh ¡°Anyway, if you''re wondering. I''m not mad that you tried to send me to hell. So, get over here and grab some food.¡± I started eating the salmon tasting meat. I look over at her a few times as Eva just stands there and stares at me. ¡°Come on, already! Before your food gets cold.¡± Eva blinks a few times before finally sitting back down. She slowly grabs one of the kebabs and silently nibbles at the end of it. I slowly reach over and poke her shoulder. Eva doesn¡¯t react at first so I poke her again harder. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You okay? That spell or skill or whatever looked very strong.¡± Eva frowns at me ¡°That spell took two centuries off my lifespan. I¡¯m not doing- ok. And it didn¡¯t even affect you! That was my last shot at getting out of this situation alive and now¡­ All I can do is wait for you to kill me.¡± I stare at Eva with my mouth open, and after a second my kebab slips out of my hand. As soon as the kebab hits the ground I jump out at her. Eva¡¯s eyes widen for a second before she closes them and raises her head. I sense relife wash over her and her soul dims. I grab her shoulders and shake Eva until her eyes open. ¡°Oh my god! I¡¯m so sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you!¡± I notice Eva¡¯s soul lights back up again ¡°What?¡± ¡°I- I¡¯m! How long do elves live?!¡± Eva blinks ¡°Um uhh- yes, a thousand years or so?¡± ¡°And how old are you?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m 78 years old.¡± I want to feel relieved hearing that, but I can¡¯t ¡°that¡¯s 20 percent of your life.¡± My heart drops. I feel genuinely awful for pushing Eva to do that to herself. Despite how much I antagonized her, I still very much wanted to be her friend. I don¡¯t think we can anymore. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Eva, I really am. And I¡¯m not saying that to trick you or confuse you. I¡¯m just¡­ sorry.¡± Eva stammers for a moment, but falls silent when she realizes that I¡¯m hugging her. ¡°I- I don¡¯t know anything about this world and I know things that I shouldn¡¯t. So, I thought it would be funny if- but now you¡¯re-¡± I feel tears run down my face. Real, actual tears. Huh, I thought I was better at controlling my emotions. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± After a few moments I pushed myself away from her, now slightly embarrassed I just bawled all over her shoulder ¡°ahh- anyway. I- If you want to leave me, that¡¯s fine. I won¡¯t stop you.¡± I see Eva¡¯s soul light up again before returning to normal. I realized I got a notification. I was too distracted to notice. (Magical Aura Perception) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) Huh, that doesn¡¯t make me feel better. ¡°Okay.¡± I look back at her from my screen ¡°huh?¡± Eva doesn¡¯t say anything else. She goes to pick up her mask and puts it on. Then she turns to where we came from and starts walking away. ¡°Uh- wait!¡± Eva stops to look at me. ¡°Um, shouldn¡¯t at least take some food.¡± I gesture at the now smoldering campfire. ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± Eva looks down at the roasted mole and then back at me. ¡°Elves don¡¯t eat meat.¡± She continues to walk away until the darkness takes her. ¡°Oh.¡± Chapter 7 / Making Magic I sigh. I fucked it up, huh. I walk back to the campfire and finish eating. I was still hungry even if I just lost my appetite. I made too much food, how was I supposed to know elves don¡¯t eat meat? I remember her taking a bite of the cooked meat. A pit forms in my stomach. ¡°Oh no, did she think I was forcing her to eat meat? I didn¡¯t know!¡± I want to roll on the ground and scream. I desperately want something to distract me. Oh, I haven¡¯t distributed my stat points for getting to level 10. ¡°Status.¡± Class (Monk) / Level (10) Stats / Stat Points (5) Strength (16) Durability (39) Agility (7) Endurance (7) Intellect (7) Soul (11) ¡°Okay so, what do I want?¡± I stare at the screen for a few minutes without a thought going through my head. I wait even longer until I¡¯m not sure how much time has passed. The muscles in my forehead are sore. ¡°Magic! I wanna learn magic!¡± I decided to put 4 into Soul and 1 into Intellect. I feel my soul grow slightly. It¡¯s hard to notice the amount, but I can see it clearly. I still don¡¯t know what Intellect does, but I intuit that it¡¯s important for magic. I think. I frown and look down the cave. The problem is that I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing. I look down the path where Eva left. To my surprise I can still sense her soul. Usually there is a range on how far my Magical Aura Perception can see and she is way farther out than it¡¯s limit. That¡¯s odd. Is this a function of my class skill I didn¡¯t know about? I pull up my status again and look at my intrinsic stats. Confirming my suspicions, my mana is flickering between 100 and 99 percent. I¡¯m expending mana to keep track of Eva subconsciously, and luckily I¡¯m recovering more mana than I¡¯m spending. I sigh. It¡¯s good that I can find her now if need be, but that still doesn¡¯t solve my problem. I wish Eva was here so she could give me guidance. I think back to what Eva said about getting new skills. ¡°I just have to focus on what I want and make it happen.¡± I look over at the other dead mole. There¡¯s no way I can eat all that meat before it goes bad. If I had some sort of magical ability to freeze it? That seems like a good place to start, but my instincts tell me otherwise. I¡¯ve been having a feeling ever since I got this class. I called them instincts since that¡¯s the closest comparison I could make. For some reason I can just tell what¡¯s possible with my class and what isn¡¯t. I start to ruminate over this feeling I have. I do this for what I think is an hour and I manage to come to a few conclusions. I can¡¯t cast magic the same way Eva and the other cultists do. I don¡¯t know the process of how they''re casting magic, but I can tell that their mana flows outward and mine flows inward. ¡°Whatever the hell that means.¡± The way I do magic is actually similar to what the Abominable Mole did before I stomped on its head. It is not the same thing though. Its magic was more ¡®natural¡¯ while my magic is ¡®demanding¡¯ or¡­ commanding? I think harder. The moles could perform that magic because their soul was already in the shape that lets them do that. I can alter my soul to different shapes to let me do different things. I think. The moles'' mana flow was inward, like me. But they couldn¡¯t change their soul like I can. If I can manipulate my soul to be like the moles, could I breathe fire? I look over at the dead mole and search my feelings. A grin breaks my face ¡°I can. And that¡¯s not all, is it?¡± I walk over to the mole to get a closer look at its dead body. Its soul is already gone. It didn¡¯t dissipate. Its soul was whisked away by something the moment it died. I wonder where it went. ¡°Maybe it went to the afterlife. I can see something like that existing in this world.¡± I wanted to see a mole soul again because I think it would help me get breath magic. That¡¯s what I¡¯m calling it. I sit cross legged in front of the mole. I¡¯ll just have to make do with my memory with its soul. I think back to the moment when I stomped on the moles head. I felt it with my perception. I close my eyes and manifest my aura completely. The mole''s soul shifted. No, it grew and then deflated when the fire came out. What the hell did it do? I focus on that moment as hard as I can. It breathed in. It¡¯s soul inflated. It exhaled fire. It¡¯s soul deflated. It clicks. It¡¯s where the soul was located. The mole soul wasn¡¯t just in its chest, the soul was in its lungs. Or actually lung. I only found one large lung when I butchered the other mole. Wait, it didn¡¯t have a diaphragm. Was it using its fucking soul to breath?! That¡¯s badass! ¡°Ha! What a weird ass creature.¡± From what I can tell, the mole was drawing air into its soul. Then used its inward flow of mana to ignite the air. Then it exhaled fire. I crack a single eyelid open to look at the monster and I think back to Eva¡¯s advice again. Think of what I want and make it happen. I close my eyes and breathe in through my nose, deeply. The aura coating my body flares. I exhale out my mouth and my aura shudders¡­ nothing comes out. I furrow my brows ¡°This is gonna take a while like last time, huh?¡± I sigh and tilt my head to the side. I decide to get up and take off my cloak to use it as a cushion to sit on again. I get comfortable and take a few quick breaths. I look down at the mole then close my eyes. I whisper ¡°What I want is-¡± I breathe in sharply and exhale deeply and I feel my mana- Drop. I open my eyes to see the mole, and everything else in a cone in front of me, covered in frost. I feel the temperature of the air in the room fall several degrees. I get a notification ¡°Holy shit.¡± Congratulations, you have unlocked a class skill - (Frost Breath) I did it! ¡°I¡¯m like a fucking dragon!¡± That was so cool! I reach over to the dead mole and touch it. My finger sinks into its fat. ¡°It¡¯s not cold enough yet.¡± I smile and breathe in once more. This time instead of manifesting my aura completely, I try to manipulate my aura to cover only my lungs. I blow and a cone of frozen air flies out of my mouth. It is far colder than before and the mole freezes all the way through. After I empty my lungs I immediately fall backwards and gasp for air. A profound exhaustion holds me down, similar to when I used Obscene Presence. I pull up my status to see that my mana is at 2 percent. It seems that making Frost Breath stronger makes it expend more mana. I roll my eyes at myself, duh! Anyway! I managed to preserve this mole by freezing it. I¡¯ll probably have to keep using Frost Breath to keep its temperature down though. Well, it¡¯ll be good practice to level the skill. I immediately want to learn fire breathing next. If I breathe fire and ice, will it come out all swirled or will I just exhale mana dense, room temperature air. I wanna find out, but I hope it¡¯s the former! It takes about 10 minutes for my mana to get to 30 percent. In that time, I used the skin of the mole I butchered to make some straps. I tie the straps around the icy mole and sling it over my shoulder. My Strength is high enough that I barely feel the large creature pulling me down. My cloak serves as a nice border between me and the mole so I don¡¯t get frostbite. By now I realize something, it¡¯s completely dark. The campfire is extinguished and now there is only absolute darkness. All the more reason to learn fire breathing as fast as possible. I start walking in spite of my lack of sight. I actually go in the same direction Eva went. It''s not to try and make up with her or anything. I don¡¯t even think that''s possible. I am following her because she is trying to get out of the dungeon. I wanted to explore the dungeon because I assumed we could leave in a short amount of time. But after finding out how big this place is? Leaving this place alone would take months, maybe even years. So, I¡¯m gonna follow Eva and when we get out of here, we¡¯ll go our separate ways. I find myself frowning. Whatever, I need to figure out fire breathing now. I close my eyes. It¡¯s not like I can see anyway. I¡¯m holding onto the left wall and I¡¯m testing every step. Last thing I want is to find a drop off and fall to my death. I manifest my aura and I start focusing on my breathing. It¡¯s taking way longer than it took to get Frost Breath. Probably I¡¯m not putting every ounce of my being into learning it. Do I not want it enough? I accidentally triggered Frost Breath for the 3rd time. ¡°Uugh!¡± My frustration slowly builds as time goes on. I have to keep focusing on Eva¡¯s soul so I can keep track of her. The darkness around only fuels my annoyance as I almost trip over a rock for the 50th time. The irritation gets to a point where my breathing becomes erratic. Eventually I lost my temper completely and let go of the wall. I uncaringly walk forward at a fast pace and focus even harder on my breathing. I breathe in sharply and finally I feel my mana begin to drop. Before I¡¯m able to exhale I dumbly trip over a random stalagmite and the magic in my lungs dissipates as I land face first into the floor. I drop the frozen mole onto the ground and roll over on my back. I open my eyes and I stare at the pitch dark ceiling. I slowly process what just happened and disappointment starts filling my whole body. That disappointment turns into annoyance as I start thinking about everything that has happened to this point. I begin beating the back of my head into the ground. My aura slowly recedes back into my body. The annoyance starts turning into self loathing. I think about everything I did wrong. How much I was an asshole to Eva cause though it was funny. I start slamming my head into the ground harder as cracks begin to form in the rock. My soul begins shrinking further as I subconsciously start squeezing it with Magical Aura Manipulation. The self loathing turns to hatred toward the world. Why the fuck am I in this place. Did I leave to entertain myself? To entertain Ydri? Fuck that! I slam my head even harder as rock shatters around me. My soul constricts even tighter and starts glowing brighter. My spiraling emotions reach a new low and finally- My soul breaks through my manipulation to crush it and explodes. It rushes to fill every corner of my being and my aura rips itself from my body. Black fire is flung in every direction, setting the entire cavern ablaze. I got new notifications. Congratulations, you have unlocked a class skill - (SoulFire) (Magical Aura Manipulation) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) ¡°Huh, my mana hit 0 percent.¡± I passed out. --- I woke up in pain. It¡¯s like I just did a full body workout the night before. I groan and pull open my eyelids. I see the ceiling of the dungeon illuminated by a pale fluorescent-like light. I blink and turn my head to the side. I see dozens of small black fires floating around me. They¡¯re outlined by a silver shimmer. ¡°Woah.¡± I remember the skill I got right before I passed out. SoulFire was it? Suddenly I felt something was wrong with my body, aside from the aching. I look down and see nothing particularly bad. I mean, apart from all the dried mole blood. It hits me. I look down at my chest, ¡°No soul.¡± I look back up at the small embers burning around me. ¡°Oh.¡± Oh man. I attempt to pull the flames back together. They lazily float through the air and slowly gather in front of me. The fire melts back into each other until it''s one solid black flame. There it is. I pull my soul closer to me. It drifts through the air and then collides into my chest. As soon as it enters my body, the pain immediately recedes and the room goes dark. Having your soul removed from your body is painful, who knew? I¡¯m about to relax for a moment, but I immediately panic. I swivel my head around to find Eva¡¯s soul. My eyes land on a small speck in the distance. I sigh in relief, I thought that I had lost track of her soul when I completely depleted my mana. I sit up and bury my face into my knees. The exhaustion I¡¯m feeling is more mental than anything right now. I decide to manifest my aura and my entire body lights ablaze. The cave lights up and I can see around me again. The dungeon is scarred from what I did to it, scorch marks everywhere. I take note that my clothing wasn¡¯t affected by the fire, so that¡¯s a plus. But the mole and part of the strap I made is kaput. Turned to ash. I look over at Eva¡¯s soul once more and I notice that it¡¯s no longer moving. She must be resting. Wait, if she can¡¯t eat meat, how is she gonna get food? She didn¡¯t have any rations on her, I checked. Well, whatever. I bet she¡¯ll figure something out. If Eva¡¯s now resting, I¡¯ll rest as well. I need to recover more mana. Magical Aura Perception will let me know if anything gets close. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. --- After about 30 minutes I realized something. I¡¯m bored as hell! I get up and start walking in Eva¡¯s direction again. She hasn¡¯t started moving, but I think I should get closer. I¡¯m not sure how far away I can track Eva and I don¡¯t intend to find out. I have my aura fully manifested. My body is covered by glowing black flames and I¡¯m using my SoulFire to light the way. Using SoulFire like this surprisingly doesn¡¯t expend any mana. I think that¡¯s because I¡¯m not using it to burn stuff. I¡¯m pretty sure this also means that my aura is now visible to other people now. I tried showing Eva previously, but she couldn¡¯t see anything. That¡¯s because she doesn¡¯t have Magical Aura Perception. Now though my soul is emitting light, others should be able to see it. Oh, I haven¡¯t checked the description of my new skills yet! As I¡¯m about to pull my status, Magical Aura Perception picks something up to my right. I turn my head to look at it. It¡¯s a soul with a dark green flame about a hundred feet away. It¡¯s on the other side of the dungeon wall and isn¡¯t moving. I gauge the size of the soul to be only slightly bigger than my own. ¡°Thank god for wall hacks.¡± My face breaks into a grin. I start running down the dungeon to try and find a path to what I presume is a monster. I turn a corner to see if I can see it from this angle. As soon as I see them my heart drops and my aura dims. Massive cockroaches, hundreds of them. (Roach Legion) (Roach Legion) (Roach Legion) (Roach Legion) ----- (Roach Legion) (Roach Brood Queen / ???) The Roach Legion¡¯s are basically cockroaches the size of my forearm. I also see that the roaches don¡¯t have souls. All except for that thing. It has a body in the shape of a snake, but is definitely not a snake. Its head is dark and has dozens of eyes. The only legs it has are clustered around its neck and 4 long mandibles hang loosely around its mouth. The rest of the body is translucent, showing off the pulsating organs within. They¡¯re holes that run along its back and I see a Roach Legion pull themselves out of one of them. (Observe) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) (Roach Brood Queen / level 27) ¡°Gross.¡± As soon as I speak the shuffling roaches stop and their queen shifts its whole body and cranes its head towards me. Its legs dangle like decorations, completely unaiding its movements. The monster''s soul dims slightly as we hold each other''s gaze. Is it¡­ waiting to see what I¡¯ll do- The Roach Brood Queen screeches and its legion starts rushing to me. I immediately use Frost Breath to blow frozen air into the swarm of roaches. I killed several of them and dozens of them slowed down at best. The rest of the Roach Legions trample over their injured comrades to get me. I grimace at the disturbing sight ¡°fuck it.¡± My aura grows brighter as SoulFire flares. I charge back at the swarm and grab onto the first roach that reaches me. I crush it in my fist and green viscera splatters all over my arm and face. The corpse lights ablaze with black flame and I throw it back into the swarm. It manages to burn a couple other roaches. I kick the next one, setting it on fire and flying through the air. The rest get to me and start crawling up my legs. They ignore my SoulFire and cut through my overalls to bite into me. A few die to the fire and a few more die to my stomps as I run through the ocean of Roach Legions. You have slain a (Roach Legion/level 0) - Very little experience rewarded You have slain a (Roach Legion/level 0) - Very little experience rewarded You have slain a (Roach Legion/level 0) - Very little experience rewarded ----- You have slain a (Roach Legion/level 0) - Very little experience rewarded You have leveled up! (10 ¡ú 11) - You have earned (5) stat points I ignore the flood of notifications. I continue to slaughter the roaches by crushing them and setting them on fire. I let out another Frost Breath at a cluster of bugs. I look back at the Roach Brood Queen as it just sits there, watching me massacre its children. ¡°What?! Are you just gonna let your subjects die?!¡± It doesn¡¯t react to my taunt. A roach reaches my shoulder and bites my ear. ¡°Damnit!¡± I activate Aura of Strength out of spite and flick the insect. It explodes and covers me further in roach guts and slime. Much to my annoyance the Roach Legions are starting to do some real damage. It¡¯s gonna be a death of a thousand cuts if I don¡¯t do something. I decide to ignore the swarm completely and run directly to the queen. I hear a click come from its mandibles and its legs start swinging. The legs carve blue lines into the air. Is that- magic? I quickly decide I need to reach it before it does whatever it''s doing. I manipulate my aura to my legs and activate Aura of Strength to jump at it. Right before I land on top of it, the roach queen vanishes. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± I look around to find it, but I remember to just use Magical Aura Perception. I found it behind me, where I was standing when I first entered its lair. ¡°Did you just teleport?¡± The Roach Brood Queens mandibles start rapidly clicking and its dark green soul glows bright. I have a strong feeling that it¡¯s laughing at me. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m gonna make you regret that.¡± The queen screeches and the legion¡¯s restart their assault. I fully manifest my aura again and run back into the fray. I don¡¯t pay too much mind to the canon fodder. Stomping on them when I can and letting SoulFire take care of any that crawl up my legs. When I get halfway to the queen, it starts scratching blue lines into the air again. As soon as it does I stop running. The legs of the queen halt and I can tell all its eyes are focused on me. I raise a hand at it and the Roach Brood Queens soul dims. I can tell it¡¯s trying to parse what I''m doing. I¡¯m gonna use that fact against it. I activate Obscene Presence. Its form pulls back for a moment as I hear a screech that I think is the bug equivalent of a gasp. I deactivate Obscene Presence before it consumes too much mana and the queen closes its many eyes and starts thrashing around violently. It squishes many of its own children as it swings its massive body around. Surprisingly the other roaches simply stop moving. I think they don¡¯t think for themselves and that''s why they didn¡¯t die, or even react to Obscene Presence. I drop to my knees as exhaustion fills me. I check my mana and see it¡¯s at 9 percent. Shit, I had spent too much mana. The Roach Brood Queen uprights itself and turns its rage filled eyes at me. Its soul shines brightly and the carapace on the back of the creature breaks open, revealing massive insect wings. It charges directly at me. It¡¯s so fast I barely have time to fall backwards. But at the last moment it swerves out of the way and slams into a nearby wall. I¡¯m slightly shaken from almost dying. There was nothing I could have done and I would have died. The queen pulls its head from the rock and its eyes start rapidly glancing around the room. I furrow my brows as the monster completely ignores me right in front of it. It lets out another blood curtailing screech and I prepare myself for the Roach Legions. To my surprise the legions start shuffling around randomly, attacking at nothing. The queen blows past me again and slams into another wall. Oh, it''s hallucinating. The queen''s sanity must have dropped below 70 percent at least. I need to take this time to recover my mana. I also have a hunch about something and I decided I¡¯m gonna take the risk. I dump all 5 of my stat points into Intellect. My hunch is that intellect affects the recovery rate of mana. And I was right. My mana was at 10 percent and jumps up all the way to 33 and slowly ticks up to 34. I grin as I manifest my aura once again. It comes at me again and I step out of the way. It keeps slamming its body into the wall, ceiling, and floor. It''s trying desperately to find me and it accidentally kills many of its own. I bide my time as my mana slowly recovers. When it hits 50 percent I decide to make my move. I wait for the Roach Brood Queen to come near me again. My aura shifts to my legs and I activate Aura of Strength. The queen flies past and I jump at it. I rapidly manipulate my aura to my arms and grab onto one of its wings. It immediately falls and crashes into the ground. I pull myself onto its back and grab its other wing as well. The queen starts thrashing around and screeching. I, however- pull. Aura of Strength lets me easily rip the wings off the back of the queen. I let go of the amputated wings and grab onto the two new open wounds. I let SoulFire seep into its back. It cries out in pain and slams into another wall. My grip strength with aura is too strong to throw me off though. I reach forward with my right and grab into another piece of exoskeleton. My fingers sink deep into its body and I start crawling toward its head. When I reach the front I start pulling off mandibles one by one. I grin ear to ear as I pull off the last mandible and look at its mouth. The Roach Brood Queens soul dims as it screeches at me for the final time. I give it an innocent smile ¡°Night Night!¡± My soul shifts into my lungs and I blow frozen air down its throat. The queen shudders in place as its insides are annihilated. The entire length of the body freezes and cracks start forming along its neck. I finish exhaling and fall off the brood queen''s head. I roll over, exhausted. I look up at the frozen monster and I see more cracks forming around its neck. The head finally falls off and bounces along the ground. It rolls next to me, its beady eyes still open and I meet its gaze. I burst out laughing. That was so much fun! I wanna do it again! You have slain a (Roach Legion/level 0) - Very little experience rewarded ----- You have slain a (Roach Legion/level 0) - Very little experience rewarded You have slain a (Roach Brood Queen/level 27) - Massive experience rewarded You have leveled up! (11 ¡ú 12) - You have earned (5) stat points ----- You have leveled up! (14 ¡ú 15) - You have earned (5) stat points (Quick Thinking) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) (Pain Tolerance) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) (Magical Aura Perception) has leveled up! (3 ¡ú 4) (Aura of Strength) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) (Frost Breath) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) (Frost Breath) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) (SoulFire) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) I let out a satisfied sigh then wince when I try to get back up. Though I¡¯m pretty lucky I didn¡¯t get hurt more, but my body is still not in good shape. I don¡¯t have any major injuries, but I¡¯m covered in hundreds of cuts and bruises from the Roach Legions. It makes me wanna laugh that the level 0 monsters did way more damage than the level 27 monster. Still, the next skill I need to try and get next should be a healing one. I tilt my head to the side. It''s the most amount of movement I can do right now. The rest of the roaches seemed to have died when the Roach Brood Queen died. If they were still kicking they probably could kill me with the state I¡¯m in. I rest my head back down and look up at the ceiling. A grin breaks my face. ¡°Status.¡± Name (Tiffany Day) / Age (23) / Race (Human) Alignment (Chaotic Neutral) Class (Monk) / Level (15) Stats / Stat Points (20) Strength (21) Durability (44) Agility (7) Endurance (7) Intellect (13) Soul (20) Intrinsic Status Vitality (62%) Stamina (8%) Sanity (78%) Mana (1%) Traits (Interloper) (Serial Killer) (Ydri¡¯s Jester) Skills (Quick Thinking) level 2 (Pain Tolerance) level 2 (Observe) level 2 Class Skills (Obscene Presence) level 1 (Magical Aura Perception) level 4 (Magical Aura Manipulation) level 3 (Aura of Strength) level 3 (Frost Breath) level 3 (SoulFire) level 2 ¡°Now, what should I spend my points on-¡± A new notification interrupts me. New Objective / Earn Trust! - Gain the favor of Eva Le¡¯tain (0/1) - Reward / New Skill I stare blankly at the notification. After a solid 10 seconds, I scowl ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Chapter 8 / Ydris Jester New Objective / Earn Trust! - Gain the favor of Eva Le¡¯tain (0/1) - Reward / New Skill I don¡¯t even, I don¡¯t understand. I force myself to sit up despite my exhausted body. Looking into the notification, I start thinking about what I should do. Ydri, that bastard. I know what this is and I hate it. It¡¯s the trait I got a while ago, Ydri¡¯s Jester. I honestly tried to pretend it didn¡¯t exist because I¡¯m not his fucking clown. I let out a tired sigh and rub my temples. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll check what it is.¡± Ydri¡¯s Jester / Rarity (Exotic) (Your existence somehow brings entertainment to the entirety of Ydri itself. Only 3 other beings have ever achieved this feat.) Ydri will send you objectives to be completed for its entertainment Upon completion of objectives you will be rewarded Cool, cool¡­ Except it¡¯s fucking not! Is it saying that me becoming friends with Eva is funny to it! I palm my face ¡°oh god¡­ Fine, whatever! I wanted to be friends with Eva anyway.¡± A grey screen pops into existence next to me. Yay! I scowl and flick my wrist to dismiss it. I fall on my back and relax. I feel gross. I¡¯m caked in mole and roach blood. With all the cuts I have, I¡¯m probably gonna catch some sort of disease. I consider burning it off with SoulFire, but I think I¡¯ll accidentally burn myself alive. I decide to ignore my current filthy state and do something more productive while my body recovers. I need to get a healing skill. When I acquired the Monk class, it said healing yourself was a basic skill like Aura of Strength. I put 5 points into Soul and Intellect respectively. I hope that them being higher will make getting the skill faster. Increasing Intellect also bumped my mana up and I¡¯m hit by a sudden relief. I manifest my aura and get to work feeling out my body¡­ That sounded weird, but it¡¯s what I¡¯m doing. I imagine in my head my wounds closing and healing over. It is just like Aura of Strength. I focus on what I want the aura to do. And like before, it takes hours. Congratulations, you have unlocked a class skill - (Aura of Vitality) Alert / (3) Class Skill slots remaining The joy of creation is unfortunately overshadowed by massive disappointment. ¡°What the fuck do you meeeaan, 3 class skill slots remaining! Why was there not something like a class skill limit mentioned earlier!¡± You never asked My rage is so indescribable that it only comes out as a deadpan expression. I sigh as I repress my emotions so I may release them in an extremely unhealthy manner later. Returning my attention to my new class skill, I fully manifest my aura and activate Aura of Vitality. I feel a tightening all over my body and the aching pain starts to fade. I notice that the healing is very slow. It takes 5 minutes for all my cuts to close and 10 more minutes for the bruises and skin to heal over. When I was done it had taken over 40 percent of my mana and given that it replenishes over time, my skill probably took even more than that. Aura of Vitality feels kinda weak right now compared to my other skills. But, it is my only healing skill so I¡¯m not complaining. Aura of Vitality / Level (1) (Through focus, you have changed the structure of your aura. Your aura now commands your body to rebuild itself.) Expend Mana to increase your vitality over time I decided to look at my other class skills while I¡¯m at it. Frost Breath / Level (3) (You have manipulated your soul to be similar to that of the Abominable Mole. Doing this you gained the elemental breath of frost.) Expend Mana to exhale frozen air SoulFire / Level (2) (Through great emotion you manipulated your soul into physical form. ) Expend Mana to bring your soul into reality That note, I¡¯ve seen something like it before. Back when I first got the Monk class it said something about this being just the beginning or whatever. I didn¡¯t have time to process it then. I wonder who it is. It¡¯s not Ydri for sure. It doesn¡¯t have that sarcastic asshole tone to it. Whatever, I¡¯ll give it some more thought later. I stand up and let SoulFire illuminate the room. I turn to leave, but Magical Aura Perception picks up a faint nearby soul. A tiny dark green flame sits inside one of the dead Roach Legions. Except it¡¯s not dead, is it? (Roachling / level 0) I think it¡¯s trying to play dead. Aww, it¡¯s cute in a gross way. I decided to leave it alone. There¡¯s no reason for me to kill it and it¡¯s not like I¡¯m a murder hungry monster. I leave the brood queen''s nest and start heading toward Eva again. She hasn¡¯t moved yet so she¡¯s definitely asleep or something. As I¡¯m walking I let my mind wander a bit. I have some random thoughts about the past, but I eventually start replaying the fight I just had in my head. I keep coming to the same conclusion. ¡°I had no business winning that fight.¡± That monster could have killed me at any time before I used Obscene Presence. The only reason I¡¯m not dead right now is that it underestimated me, and rightly so! It was nearly 3 times my level at the time. I shake my head. I really should be more careful. I think I¡¯m subconsciously thinking that this is a game, but it¡¯s real life. There aren¡¯t gonna be any respawns. As I think this I run into two massive roaches. They are big, if standing on end they would reach my shoulders. I quickly prepare myself and use observe. If they are higher than level 20, I¡¯m gonna play it safe and run away. (Roach Centurion / Deceased) (Roach Centurion / Deceased) ¡°Oh. they¡¯re dead.¡± I mean, they didn¡¯t have souls, so it should have been obvious. Well, the Roach Legions didn¡¯t have souls either. I furrow my brows. ¡°Wait. If some monsters don¡¯t have souls, that means I can¡¯t use Magical Aura Perception to detect them.¡± I really should be more careful. This is a dungeon full of dangerous monsters. I need to be on guard at all times. I nod my head affirmatively. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I know nothing about this world, let alone this dungeon. I need to be ready for anything. In the corner of my eye I see one of the dead Roach Centurions shift slightly. My head snaps to it. I watch it not moving for an uncomfortable amount of time. My shoulders start to relax. ¡°Maybe¡­ Maybe I¡¯m getting a little too para-¡± Both of the dead roaches rapidly deflate and green ooze seeps between the cracks of their exoskeletons. As soon as they deflate, they expand right after. They grow far larger than they were originally. I can hear their insides squelching and their carapace groans until finally- Burst- Their backs explode outward, sending a cloud of green and grey smoke into the air. Strange white stalks extend out of the roaches backs and they extend across their bodies. Their beady eyes fall out of their heads and mushrooms grow rapidly out of their now empty gaze. My nose is immediately assaulted by a horrific stench. There is no parallel that could be drawn to adequately describe this smell, other than saying it smells like death. I cover my mouth and nose as I watch these monsters stand back up. (Zombified Roach Centurion / level 9) (Zombified Roach Centurion / level 8) I want to vomit right now so bad. I don¡¯t want anything to do with this. I turn to run away even though they are far weaker than me. As I take my first step, I¡¯m stopped by a sudden notification. My face displays pure horror as I read what it says. New Objective / Have Dinner! - Consume the reanimating mushroom (0/1) - Reward / Much Needed Advice ¡°NOPE!!¡± I take off running away from this entire situation. Eat them! Are you kidding me! I look behind me to see the zombie monster chasing after me. They are fast. One of them is crawling on the ground and the other is speeding on the fucking ceiling. A new grey screen appears next to me while I¡¯m running. Come on! It¡¯d be totally worth it! Trust me After a few moments I turn a corner and look back once more to see them gaining on me. I grimace as they are close enough for me to smell them again. I am NOT going to let them touch me! I turn on the spot and slide to a stop and inhale as much air as I can. I use Magical Aura Manipulation on my lungs and with Frost Breath I freeze everything in the direction of the roaches. Much to my relief the smell dies down considerably. I turn to continue running but stop when I get new notifications. You have slain a (Zombified Roach Centurion/level 8) - Less experience rewarded You have slain a (Zombified Roach Centurion/level 9) - Less experience rewarded ¡°Oh thank god.¡± I grab onto my knees to catch my breath. The grey screen appears once again. Alright! Now go pick one of those mushrooms and eat it! I start nodding my head and grinning sarcastically ¡°Yeah Yeah! I¡¯ll go ahead and absolutely not fucking do that!¡± Suddenly I hear the ethereal voice of a child coming from right next to me ¡°But why not.¡± it says with a pout. I jump back from it ¡°Jesus Christ man! Don¡¯t do that!¡± It stares at me for a moment before grinning its big goofy grin from before. It doesn¡¯t wear any clothing and its skin is grey throughout. Its eyes are filled with a dark abyss that seems to pull me in. An interesting note is that I don¡¯t see its soul. ¡°I¡¯m not going to eat it, Ydri, because it¡¯s disgusting.¡± Ydri shakes its head ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to eat the entire Zombified Roach Centurion. Just the mushroom part.¡± It''s smiling and nodding eagerly. I frown at it ¡°And for what? Just for some random piece of advice. Nope, that¡¯s nowhere near worth it.¡± It pouts again ¡°It''s not ¡®random advice.¡¯ It¡¯s ¡®much needed advice!¡¯¡± ¡°Nuh-uh. Not doing it.¡± I start walking away. Ydri stammers and starts looking between the dead roaches and me. ¡°Wh- wait!¡± I turn to the frowning Ydri, who is now scratching the back of its head. ¡°What if I-¡± It turns to the roaches for a moment before looking back at me smiling ¡°What if I grab the mushroom myself so you don¡¯t have to go anywhere near the gross roach bit!¡± I pause and look at Ydri for a moment. Wait, am I actually considering this? Ydri¡¯s grin deepens ¡°And- and I¡¯ll make sure that there is no gross roach juice on it or anything! Just the mushroom. Will you eat it then?¡± I want to say no. I really do, but¡­ I groan ¡°Okay, fine. But I want no roach on it, not a single roach! Got it?¡± It nods eagerly and smiles like a little kid. Ydri runs over to the Zombified Roach Centurion and grabs onto one of the mushrooms that are protruding from its eye socket. It yanks the mushroom out and breaks off the end that was connected to the roach. Ydri runs back at me giggling and waving the mushroom over its head. I end up chuckling at the utterly ridiculous sight. Isn¡¯t Ydri supposed to be a god? Ydri reaches me and hands over the mushroom. ¡°It¡¯s a little frozen so you should warm it up before you eat it.¡± ¡°Yeah, figured.¡± I shift my aura to my left hand and use SoulFire. I use my other hand to bring the mushroom close to the fire to thaw it. Ydri stands next to me and watches the entire process with anticipation. After about 5 minutes the mushroom was thawed enough for consumption. I look at the mushroom with a worried face and look back at Ydri, who is innocently grinning ear to ear. ¡°Fuck it.¡± I eat the mushroom and it''s surprisingly sweet. ¡°Huh. Not as bad as I thought it was gonna be.¡± You have completed the objective (Have Dinner!) ¡°Alright, so what¡¯s that advice you want to tell me?¡± Ydri nods ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll tell you as soon as it¡¯s over.¡± ¡°Wait, what do you mean by-¡± I pause and then my eyes start to widen. Not once- Not once have I considered why Ydri wants me to eat this mushroom. I¡¯m such an idiot. I just declared that I was gonna be more careful from here on. Surrounding the corners of my eyes the walls start shifting slightly. ¡°Oh no.¡± Ydri¡¯s smile turns malicious ¡°What is it? Oh, did I forget to tell you?¡± Ydri scratches the back of its head as it pretends to be apologetic. Its smile deepens further than what''s possible with a human face. ¡°The reanimating mushroom is an extremely powerful psychedelic.¡± I let out an exasperated ¡°you bitch!¡± but Ydri disappears before I can get it out. The walls of the cave start to shift more rapidly. Slowly the walls and floor take on blue and pinkish colors and the ceiling starts peeling away. Overhead is a perfect blue sky without a single cloud in sight. The sun burns brightly, brighter than it was ever before. I gaze into it and the sun smiles back with eternal malice. My gaze falls back down toward the zombie roaches. One is now standing on their hind legs and walks to a nearby closet. The roach pulls a suit from the closet and starts putting it on. Suddenly the roach turns its mushroom filled eyes towards me. Its leg is halfway into a pair of pants that can¡¯t possibly fit him. He speaks with a British accent. ¡°Ahh. My apologies. I¡¯m not yet ready for our date tonight, but I must say. Your face is gross- but in a cute way.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± My eyes swing over to the other roach. She¡¯s sitting on a bean bag chair and wearing a green, red, and black beanie. She lights a blunt between her mandibles. She takes out the blunt and blows out a cloud of smoke. She coughs a few times and takes a look at me. ¡°Ya ass ain''t in Kansas anymore Tiffany! Hehe.¡± ¡°Oh no.¡± --- I wake up with an earth shattering headache. I start rubbing my eyes, but I suddenly hear Ydri¡¯s voice right in my ear. ¡°Wakey wakey, sleepy head!¡± ¡°Jesus! What did I just say about doing that!¡± Ydri swings Its head back and laughs ¡°I don¡¯t know who this ¡®Jesus¡¯ is, but he must be important. Given that you call out to him when you''re scared. Is he a god in your world?¡± I scowl at Ydri and stand up so I can yell at it. I pause for a moment as I replay the words it said in my head. I grin ¡°Yes, he is a god. That means it¡¯s my turn to ask a question.¡± Ydri stops laughing and its eyes widen ¡°Oh shit.¡± I smile victoriously ¡°Didn¡¯t see that coming, did ya!¡± ¡°I did not¡­ Anyway, it''s my turn again.¡± I scoff ¡°What do mea-¡± my eyes widen ¡°Oh shit.¡± Ydri falls on its back laughing. I seriously consider sucker punching it but I hold back given that it''s a god and all. I was actually extremely pissed at Ydri for drugging me and I was definitely going to cuss it out at least, but Ydri¡¯s strange presence just diffuses all tension. I sigh defeated ¡°Whatever, just tell me the advice already and go away.¡± Ydri feigns hurt ¡°Aww, how cold!¡± It hops to its feet ¡°Very well! First, I want you to check your status.¡± It points at me. I raise an eyebrow at it. ¡°Um- okay.¡± I bring up my status screen ¡°Status¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to say ¡®status¡¯ every time you know.¡± ¡°I know, but it¡¯s more fun that way.¡± Ydri nods ¡°I guess I can sympathize with that.¡± ¡°Anyway, what I¡¯m trying to see- Oh.¡± Intrinsic Status Vitality (100%) Stamina (100%) Sanity (85%) Mana (100%) ¡°My sanity went up.¡± Ydri pretends to be surprised ¡°Oh really, you must have found a way to repair one¡¯s sanity. I wonder, who else has a damaged sanity and would benefit greatly from this knowledge?¡± Ydri looks expectantly at me. My eyes widened. ¡°Oh.¡± Ydri in response smiles, winks, and disappears. I smile with real genuine joy. I think I was wrong about Ydri. ¡°It¡¯s my turn by the way.¡± Chapter 9 / Raging Soul I¡¯m sprinting through the dungeon. I¡¯ve distributed the rest of my points. 3 went into Agility and Endurance respectively and I put 2 into Strength and Soul. I put extra into Agility and Endurance because while I was tripping balls, Eva managed to put a large distance between us. I look down at the bundle of large mushrooms I¡¯m carrying. I really wish I had a bag to carry these in. I didn¡¯t have anything on me when I got summoned. I started to get into minimalism so I got rid of most of my things. I thought the idea was interesting so I was trying it out. I didn¡¯t even bring my purse or phone to the studio because I thought that ¡®Oh! I¡¯m just going to the studio and back to my apartment, I don¡¯t need these distractions on me!¡¯ ¡°Stupid Hipster lifestyle!¡± I sigh. I need to focus on what to say when I reach Eva ¡°Hey Eva! I got some medicine that will repair your sanity. A warning though, it will make you see some shit. So¡­ Have fun, I guess.¡± I frown. This isn¡¯t going to work, is it? There is no way she would trust me enough to eat these. As I think this, a welcome distraction blocks my path. It looks to be a small ball of fur sitting stationary in front of me. It doesn¡¯t look to have a soul and doesn¡¯t have any other features whatsoever. (???/???) I step back as a chill runs down my spine. The ball of fur shudders slightly and two chicken-like legs stretch out of its side and relaxes to the ground. Is it sleeping? Good. I take another slow step back with my eyes trained on it. Suddenly a large sphere of transparent brown rock appears surrounding the monster. (Magical Aura Perception) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) That¡¯s its soul? It¡¯s huge! It¡¯s over 5 times the size of mine. It''s so big it overlaps the entire monster''s body. Instead of being made of fire, like all other souls I¡¯ve seen so far, it''s like a bundle of rocks forced together. My instincts are screaming at me to run, but in spite of that I continue to slowly back away. I step behind a corner and start stepping away to put as much distance between me and the monster as possible. As I see its soul near the edge of my perception, I pick up the pace until I¡¯m in a full sprint. I run for a long while until I finally feel a modicum of safety. It was only then I realized how much I was sweating. ¡°What the hell was that thing?¡± Using Magical Aura Perception I triple checked that I couldn¡¯t sense that monster''s presence. That was intense! if that thing was awake, I think I would have died instantly. I look around to find Eva¡¯s soul once more. I see it off to the distance still moving at a steady rate away from me. The problem is that I can¡¯t run directly to her. This dungeon is basically a giant maze with intersecting paths everywhere so I can¡¯t just go straight to her. I sigh as I start walking to find a path that goes roughly in Eva¡¯s direction. As I walk, I focus on Magical Aura Perception and feel around me. From what I can tell, the range goes to about 400-500 feet out from me now. A thing I also noticed is that this skill lets me vaguely sense the emotions of others. I can see two souls to my left through the walls. I think I recognize them as Abominable Moles. I wonder if the moles always come in pairs? I see another to my right and its soul is a deep blue flame. It¡¯s about the same size as mine, but I¡¯m still very wary of it. I remember with the Roach Brood Queen that soul size does not equate to how many levels it has. I¡¯m about to make a detour towards the Abominable Moles, but I stop myself. I look back at the blue flame. I shouldn¡¯t, it¡¯s far too dangerous with the limited knowledge I have. ¡°I wanna though.¡± Against all better judgment and reason I find a path towards the blue flame and start jogging towards it. My smile deepens as I draw closer to it. ¡°This is such a bad idea.¡± My pace slows as I get to the edge of a corner. I quietly peak around the corner to get a glimpse at the creature. I find a large snake-like monster, covered in fur. It has two heads and at the other end it splits into five tails. I would say it¡¯s a little bit smaller than the roach queen. (Abominable Serpent / level 19) I break into a grin. I whisper ¡°I could take it.¡± Fortune favors the bold I presume. I start plotting on how I want to engage the monster as the serpent rolls over in its sleep like a cat. I think I can get the jump on it and crush one of its heads before it wakes up. I think about doing this for about half a second before deciding otherwise. I drop the bundle of mushrooms to the side. ¡°Nah!¡± I jump out behind the corner ¡°Wakey wakey, big boy!¡± I think it would be way more fun if I did this! It immediately uncoils itself and both of its heads snap towards me. Its soul brightens considerably and it lets out a battle cry that sounds like a mix of a hiss and a howl. I charge at it and reciprocates in kind. I feel a change in its soul and I manipulate my aura to my leg and kick off the ground with Aura of Strength. I fly over the beast as a large cone of frozen air blasts where I was just standing. Huh, so like the mole, it also has elemental breath. I guess I should have seen it, considering that they are both ¡®abominable.¡¯ As soon as I land behind the Abominable Serpent, it slaps me with one of its tails. I block it, but I¡¯m still catapulted at a wall. I crash into it and get the wind knocked out of me. I take in a deep breath and pull myself out of the wall. ¡°Ow.¡± I can¡¯t believe that just happened and I only got a couple bruises on me. I think I want to increase my durability even further when I get new points. I kinda like the idea of being a tank. An idea crosses my mind as the serpent charges at me again. Using my aura on my legs I jump out of the way as one of its heads crashes into the wall. Its other head swings towards me and its soul- Changes color- Its soul burns a bright orange as flames shoot out of its mouth. I try to move out of the way but I¡¯m still partly caught in the fire breath. I let out a scream as flames ravage my left arm and part of my chest. The clothing burns away almost immediately and I feel my skin peeling. I use Frost Breath on my own body to put out the fire. I wince as my left arm becomes completely useless now. For a brief moment I¡¯m overcome with fear, my mind is filled with doubt. This hurts so goddamn much. But as I look at the serpent, at the Abominable Serpents soul, now burning blue again. My fear is washed away by something far more potent. Pure rage- My body bursts into black flames. That bastard snake pauses as it studies me for a moment. I split a piece of my soul and manipulated it into my right hand. I force the soul fragment through my palm and out of my body. An aching pain bursts into my right arm and my total mana reserves drop by a few percent. A ball of black flames hovers in my right hand and I turn my attention back at the Abominable Serpent. ¡°Alright fucker, lets dance.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I start sprinting at it and it howls/hisses back at me. One of its heads releases a blast of frozen air at me. I avoid it entirely and when its Frost Breath ends, it finds me standing right in front of it. I throw the SoulFire fragment into its still open mouth and I use Magical Aura Manipulation to force it down its throat. Its other head slams into me, sending me flying at another wall. When I crash into the wall I feel a few ribs break. I look back at the serpent to see the head I threw the fire into thrashing around and the other staring at me with hate filled eyes. I don¡¯t think it realizes I¡¯m not done yet. I reach my hand out towards my soul fragment and with Magical Aura Manipulation- I ball my fist and crush it. The SoulFire fragment shrinks to a point then detonates. One of its necks explodes in blood and black fire. Its head is sent flying in a random direction. Its other head shrieks in pain as blood and embers splash onto its face. I¡¯m not in any better condition either. As soon as the soul fragment exploded, it felt- wrong. My intense emotions don¡¯t let me dwell on it though as I look back at the monster. I want to kill it. I jump off the wall and start running at it. I want to kill it. It fires a cone of fire at me and I meet it with a cone of frost. The attacks cancel each other out and it slaps me with its tail again. I want to kill it. I¡¯m sent skidding across the ground. I dig my feet in the rock and upright myself. As soon as I look up, it¡¯s in front of me and then its tail sends me to another wall. I want to kill it. I pull myself out of the wall and cough up blood. The Abominable Serpent charges at me again. It swings its body around as it intends to crush me into the ground. I want ¡°you to stop fucking hurting me!¡± I raise my charred arm into the air and my aura rushes to cover it. The serpent''s tail crashes into my forearm and its tail- Snaps- Congratulations, you have unlocked a class skill - (Aura of Durability) Alert / (2) Class Skill slots remaining The Abominable Serpent squeaks in pain as I shift my aura to both of my arms. I grab onto the broken tail and I twist and pull. I rip the tail off with ease. It tries to squirm away, but I use Frost Breath on its unprotected back. Its remaining head snaps towards me and a cone of fire blasts to me. My heart jumps as my aura shifts to my legs and I launch myself into the ceiling. In the brief moment my momentum pushes me into the roof of the dungeon I decide what I want to do next. I kick off the ceiling and let gravity do the rest. I fully manifest my Aura of Durability and crash into the back of the Abominable Serpent. Its back crunches and explodes in a shower of viscera. As the serpent''s body splits in half, my body imbeds itself into the rocky floor. You have slain a (Abominable Serpent/level 19) - More experience rewarded You have leveled up! (15 ¡ú 16) - You have earned (5) stat points (Quick Thinking) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) (Pain Tolerance) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) (Pain Tolerance) has leveled up! (3 ¡ú 4) (Magical Aura Manipulation) has leveled up! (3 ¡ú 4) (Aura of Strength) has leveled up! (3 ¡ú 4) (SoulFire) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) (SoulFire) has leveled up! (3 ¡ú 4) (Aura of Durability) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) I pull myself out of the crevice I created. ¡°Ouch.¡± I rub my temples as my headache slowly subsides. I look around at the carnage I created. There are broken rocks everywhere. Puddles of fire and frost are spotted around everywhere. Blood is sprawled out in every direction. I¡¯m covered head to toe in the stuff. Literally ankle deep in pooling monster blood. I manifest my aura and activate Aura of Vitality. I¡¯m hit by an immediate sense of relief, but I think it¡¯ll take hours to fully recover. I slowly limp over to retrieve my mushrooms and look back at the work of art I created. Did I have fun? ¡°Humph.. Some low points, but enjoyable nonetheless.¡± I smile to myself as I replay the fight in my head. I pause and my eyes widen as I make a realization. My eyes darted around the room, but I couldn''t find it. My voice is slightly shaky ¡°Status!¡± Name (Tiffany Day) / Age (23) / Race (Human) Alignment (Chaotic Neutral) Class (Monk) / Level (16) Stats / Stat Points (5) Strength (24) Durability (45) Agility (10) Endurance (10) Intellect (18) Soul (28) (-2) Intrinsic Status Vitality (34%) Stamina (48%) Sanity (85%) Mana (18%) (max 93%) Traits (Interloper) (Serial Killer) (Ydri¡¯s Jester) Skills (Quick Thinking) level 3 (Pain Tolerance) level 4 (Observe) level 2 Class Skills (Obscene Presence) level 1 (Magical Aura Perception) level 5 (Magical Aura Manipulation) level 4 (Aura of Strength) level 4 (Frost Breath) level 3 (SoulFire) level 4 (Aura of Vitality) level 1 (Aura of Durability) level 2 My eyes are trained on my Soul stat. ¡°Fuck, I hope that''s not permanent.¡± I sigh and look at my mana. its new max is stuck at 93%. I can¡¯t help, but think of that mysterious note in the SoulFire description. Is this what it was warning me about? Who even is that? ¡°Rage really is dangerous.¡± I gulp dried saliva. To shake me from my worries, I look at the new class skill I got. Aura of Durability, I thought about trying to get something like this part way through this fight, but I didn¡¯t expect to get it mid battle. Aura of Durability / Level (2) (Through spite, you have forced the structure of your aura to change. You looked upon your failing body and demanded ¡®No More¡¯) Expend Mana to increase your Durability stat by (27%) ¡°Through spite?¡± The other ¡®Aura of¡¯ skills always started with ¡®Through focus.¡¯ The description of this skill is a bit unique¡­ I like it! I dump my 5 new stat points into Durability bringing it to 50. I decided I want to go all in on the tank build. I feel my gamer brain squeal with joy! This gets me to start thinking about the nature of the system. Why is it built like a video game? I mean, I¡¯m not complaining. I¡¯m having a lot of fun with it. Do the people in this world even know what video games are? As I get distracted by speculation, my Magical Aura Perception picks something up. My head snaps to their direction. I found five deep red souls. I instantly connect that they are very similar to Eva¡¯s and the other cultists before I killed them. That isn¡¯t what gets my attention though. There is a sixth soul leading them and it¡¯s colored completely black. (Aura of Vitality) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) Chapter 10 / New Friends! A man, a cultist, wearing a black mask with a green triangle engraved onto its center stands inside of an empty tent. He is chanting to himself as a summoning circle glows a deep red at his feet. He isn¡¯t a Demonic Summoner though, his class is a Dark Warrior. Despite his non-corresponding class, summoning a lowly Nav Imp is still within his capabilities. As it is for most with the class of Cultist. The magic circle glows brightly as pitch black hands sprout from the ground. Within the hand''s grasp is a small creature with grey skin. His head is slightly taller than would be considered natural and he sits staring at the man, waiting for the summoning to complete. Soon enough the hands release the demon and he stands on his two small feet. (Nav Imp / level 21) The demon stares into the man and he shifts uncomfortably. He has done this process many times before but he is still unnerved by it. The demon is using some sort of analysis skill on him. He''s judging if he can easily kill the summoner. If the demon decides to fight, the man will have to kill him and try to summon a new demon. If the demon manages to kill him, the first devils failsafe will activate and send the demon back to hell. The demon can¡¯t leave the summoning circle until he decides on what to do. Either to fight, or- The demon grimaces ¡°Let''s make a deal.¡± The man sighs as the demon finally makes his choice. The cultist clears his throat. ¡°I need you to find someone for me.¡± The demon chuckles to himself ¡°Of course! It''s always to find something or someone! Just tell me, who is it I need to find, huh?¡± The man frowns behind his mask ¡°Nav Imps don¡¯t usually ask who they''re looking for. They just do the job to return to hell.¡± The demon scoffs ¡°Yeah, my brothers and sisters don¡¯t really take pride in their work. But I¡¯m a curious one you see. And the fact you''re hiding your race from those humans outback piqued my interest. Yeah, I know you¡¯re an elf. Don¡¯t think that mask will hide you from demons.¡± The elf hesitates for a moment, it seems he summoned a rather annoying demon. He contemplates just sending the demon back to hell or killing it, but at this point he can¡¯t honestly be bothered. ¡°Don¡¯t let my secrets slip with your loose tongue, demon.¡± The Nav Imp raises his hands ¡°I know, I know. We can include that stipulation with our bargain.¡± The elf studies the demon for a moment before sighing ¡°I need you to find my sister, Eva Le¡¯tain.¡± The demon''s ears perk up from the name and smiles ¡°Le¡¯tain you say? The Le¡¯tain? Of the Zeta Empire? And she¡¯s your sister.¡± The demon¡¯s long tongue licks its teeth ¡°We must be on the Continent of Soteria then.¡± The elf¡¯s frown deepens and he takes off his mask. He has a large scar running across his entire face and has a single glowing golden eye. His right eye is completely missing. His left ear is clipped in half and a cap rests on the end of the ear stump. He presents the mask to the demon. ¡°My sister has a similar mask. Is that enough information to start tracking?¡± The demon hurumphs ¡°Yeah, yeah, that¡¯s plenty!¡± The elf puts his mask back on. ¡°So I¡¯ll take it you have accepted the bargain?¡± The demon spits at the ground ¡°Yeah, I did! If I didn¡¯t, I¡¯d be eating your entrails right now! Just hurry up and finish the damn ritual!¡± The elf scoffs ¡°Very well. Seeing that we''ll be working together, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°What? Eh, whatever. It¡¯s Geltor. What yours then.¡± ¡°Toulif Le¡¯tain.¡± The demon blinks at the elf for a moment then busts out laughing. ¡°Haha. Your name is Toulif! That sounds like tool! Ha! You''re a tool, Le¡¯tain!¡± Toulif groans at the chuckling demon and finishes the summoning. --- 38 hours later ¡°What¡¯s taking so long, demon?¡± Geltor looks back at the party of cultists. Toulif stands over the demon with irritation in his voice. Behind Toulif are 4 lowered leveled humans following closely behind and are carrying their supplies. The demon shakes his head ¡°Evan is moving away from us. We¡¯ll reach him eventually, but we need to be moving faster.¡± Toulif looks back at the humans. ¡°You heard Geltor! Pick up the pace!¡± The human nearest to Toulif speaks up with a shaky voice ¡°Yes, captain!¡± The humans shuffle as they retighten their grips. They start moving faster, but a few minutes later, Geltor stops. ¡°Wait!¡± Toulif also comes to a stop and looks down at the demon. He tilts his head in confusion ¡°What is it-¡± Geltor''s head snaps towards the wall and starts straining his eyes. ¡°Is that?¡± He slowly steps towards the wall and furrows his brows. After a moment he steps back and almost sounds shocked. ¡°That¡¯s a demon?¡± Toulif straightens ¡°There¡¯s another demon in the dungeon?!¡± The group of humans start glancing at each other nervously. Toulif glances back at the shuffling humans. ¡°Calm down, we don¡¯t know if it''s hostile. Geltor, could this be the vice captain''s summon?¡± Geltor frowns and looks back at Toulif ¡°Unlikely, Evan is still far out from us. And this demon is strange. How is it channeling its essence so freely? I¡¯ve never seen anything like it.¡± Toulif looks at the wall Geltor was staring at ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s a demon?¡± Geltor nods his head quickly ¡°I know demonic essence when I-¡± Geltor looks back at the wall and his eyes widen ¡°It comes to us.¡± Toulif grips his sword tightly and looks back at the humans ¡°Prepare yourselves, there is a good chance that the demon is hostile. Gent!¡± A level 37 human perks up to attention ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be with me, the others might be too low level to deal with it. So, it¡¯ll be just us engaging the demon.¡± The human sets the supplies he¡¯s carrying down and readies his wand ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The human Gent joins Toulif¡¯s side. Toulif glances back at Geltor ¡°How strong do you think this demon is?¡± Toulif for the first time sees the demon almost look¡­ uncomfortable. ¡°Hard to say, the way it manipulates its essence makes it hard to get a good read. If I had to guess, maybe levels 30-60.¡± Toulif nods gravely. It seems that this is going to be a hard fight. Having such a large range of how strong the demon is, makes this troublesome. They can handle it fine if it¡¯s on the low end, but if it''s level 60 or higher, they would need to retreat. Gent speaks up to his captain ¡°Uhh, do you think we should leave?¡± Toulif frowns back at the human behind his mask. Gent looks visibly worried and this causes Toulif to think one thing. Typical human coward. ¡°No, we will not. We are not going to abandon the vice captain.¡± Gent looks appalled ¡°That¡¯s not-¡± but he stops himself. Gent shakes his head and readies his wand again. ¡°Yes, captain.¡± Toulif nods back at Gent ¡°Good.¡± Geltor speaks up and looks like he¡¯s about to sweat ¡°Guys, it''s almost here.¡± Toulif draws his sword and points it at the open passage in front of them. Gent casts a spell and dark energy flows into himself and Toulif. The other humans prepare to run or fight. A glowing white light begins shining around the corner. It seems the demon has stopped just out of view. Toulif looks down at Geltor and whispers ¡°What¡¯s it doing?¡± Geltor in response just shakes his head ¡°How should I know?¡± Toulif looks back down the corridor to find a woman''s head peeking around the corner. Her face is covered in blood and her hair is disheveled. What¡¯s most shocking is that her entire body seems to be ignited in black flames. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. She seems to be completely unbothered by the state of her body as she looks at each member of our group one by one. Finally her dead eyes connect with Toulif and he readies his sword once more. The woman breaks into a deranged grin that sends shivers down Toulif¡¯s spine. She steps out from behind the corner revealing the rest of her mangled body. Her left arm seems to be completely burned all over and the clothing she is wearing is damaged to the point that they¡¯re practically rags. The most disturbing detail to Toulif is that she is covered head to toe in red and green blood. But what she says sends terror into his soul. In a strange and cheery voice, she speaks ¡°You must be Eva¡¯s friends!¡± (Monk / level 16) Toulif pauses ¡°What?¡± --- (Cultist / level 14) (Cultist / level 18) (Nav Imp / level 21) (Cultist / level 17) (Cultist / ???) (Cultist / ???) ¡°You must be Eva¡¯s friends!¡± I found more cultists! What luck! If I bring them to Eva, I think it would help to get her to trust me. That mask too, I wonder if they are a she too. He, or maybe she, says ¡°What?¡± I frown and glance around the group again. Everyone looks thoroughly confused. I notice the demon looking back and forth between me and the masked cultist. His soul is completely black, like mine. I look down at my aura. Do I have the soul of a demon?... Neat! The real demon suddenly speaks up. ¡°You must mean their vice captain, Evan. Are you his summon?¡± I blink at the strange grey demon. Evan? Oh, right. That mask makes her seem like a guy! ¡°Yyyes! I am his summon. Although our relationship is a little complicated right now.¡± The cultist with the mask looks directly at me, seemingly breaking out of their stupor ¡°Where is he?! Did you kill him?!¡± Before I can answer the Nav Imp answers for me ¡°Calm down, Toulif. If she killed him, she would have been sent back to hell.¡± Toulif seems to relax immediately ¡°Right.¡± I however, freeze. Toulif? My gaze darkens and my body starts shuddering. I mustn''t. It¡¯s way too easy. My face starts to strain as I hold myself back. I need to at least try to maintain my cover. The Nav Imp seems to notice ¡°You aight?¡± I speak with a shaky breath ¡°Sounds. Like. Tool.¡± The Nav Imp explodes in laughter and that gives me the que to let the dam break. I fall on my back laughing. It''s not even that funny, but trying to hold back and the demon instantly thinking it''s funny as well! Even a few of the other cultists are snickering. Toulif however is less than amused. ¡°Fucking, demons.¡± (Pain Tolerance) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) I let out a sigh as I looked at the notification. Man, my body is seriously messed up. I have multiple broken bones and severe bruising everywhere. Let alone the state of my arm. I look over at the masked cultist. ¡°Hey Toulif, I want to bring you guys to Evan, but I¡¯m pretty banged up right now. Can we rest for a few hours, maybe?¡± Toulif looks down at me, I¡¯m sitting at this point, and says ¡°No, that''s far too long a break. 20 minutes and we start moving again.¡± Toulif looks down at my body and something churns in his soul. Is it disdain? No, it¡¯s something more primal than that. Toulif turns his head to another cultist. ¡°Err- Whatsyourname- Charlie! Produce a bucket of water, and a change of clothes for the demon. Gent, set up the tent. I need to ask it a few questions after it''s cleaned up.¡± I raise an eyebrow. A change of clothes? I look down at the state I¡¯m in and realize that I¡¯m almost completely exposed right now. I would very much like to squeal in embarrassment, but I stop myself. That Nav Imp isn¡¯t wearing any clothes, so being embarrassed by a lack of clothing is probably unnatural. I say this with a dead expression ¡°Thanks, Toulif.¡± The cultist that I assume is Charlie comes up to me with an empty bucket. ¡°Um, could you?¡± He points at my aura. ¡°Oh, right.¡± I deactivate SoulFire, but I still have my aura manifested for Aura of Vitality. He places the bucket in front of me and pulls out a wand. He points it into the bucket and chants something under his breath. A blue magic circle appears at the base of the bucket and then it is suddenly filled with water. There was no gradual filling of water or splashing. The bucket was empty one moment and filled with water the next. ¡°Huh.¡± I quickly picked up the bucket and without a word I speed walked behind the corner that I came from. After I finish washing myself off I find some cultist robes at the edge of the corner. I put them on and now I really look like a cultist. I look back at my ripped up T and overalls. That¡¯s the only stuff I brought with me to this world. I decided to at least take the white T with me. Maybe I can get it repaired somehow. I walk out from behind the corner wearing a whole set of cultist robes that are slightly too big for me. I¡¯m holding a ripped up shirt in one hand and a bunch of psychedelic mushrooms in the other. I look ridiculous. ¡°I¡¯m really starting to wish I had a bag.¡± ¡°It¡¯s strange to see one of us care so much about material possessions you know.¡± The demon suddenly speaks up from my side. I wasn¡¯t able to sense his soul until the very moment he spoke up. I nearly jump back, but I manage to keep a neutral expression. The demon licks his teeth and smiles ¡°Was that fear? I could have sworn I sensed embarrassment earlier as well. What kind of demon are you?¡± Shouldn¡¯t reading my mind be Impossible? I scowl at the Nav Imp ¡°And why would you like to know?¡± The demon raises his hands ¡°Don¡¯t mean to make you uncomfortable by prying. The name¡¯s Geltor.¡± he raises his small hand for a handshake. I decided to take it. ¡°My name is Tiffany.¡± Geltor pauses and his soul dims for a moment. Then it ignites brighter than before and he grins ¡°The thing that named you has an excellent sense of humour.¡± I furrow my brows at him ¡°What do you mean-¡± I¡¯m cut off by Toulif ¡°Alright, demons! Get over here.¡± He is standing by a newly set up tent. I look back down at Geltor and he shrugs ¡°You still have a lot of explaining to do.¡± I sigh and follow Toulif and Geltor into the tent. It¡¯s completely empty on the inside and a little cramped for my liking. I notice Geltor smirking at me. Is he an empath or something? Toulif, to my surprise, takes off his mask ¡°So, what do you mean by your relationship with my sister being complicated.¡± I stare at the elfs scarred face. Sister? Huh ¡°Uhh¡­ should you have taken that mask off?¡± I whisper ¡°What if the humans see?¡± Toulif frowns at me ¡°The tent is enchanted. They can¡¯t hear us and they know better than to come in without alerting me. Now answer the question, what¡¯s going on between you and Eva?¡± ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m her humble summon!¡± The demon scoffs and Toulif face twists in irritation ¡°Humble summon, bullshit! Tell me why Eva summoned you and what task she gave you. I doubt that it was just for you to find us and if it was, why didn¡¯t she summon a Nav Imp? What kind of a demon is a Monk anyway?¡± I try to work my jaw, but I¡¯m kinda panicking at the assault of questions. Luckily, Geltor speaks for me ¡°Her race isn¡¯t Monk. That¡¯s her class and her race shows as human. Probably because she is taking a human form.¡± Toulif raises his single eyebrow at Geltor ¡°Then what¡¯s her race then?¡± Shit. I¡¯m using Quick Thinking to the limit to see how I can lie out of this and get what I want. I remember what Eva said back when she tried to send me to hell. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m an Eldritch Horror.¡± Toulif and Geltor snap their heads to me and their souls dim by a large amount. Geltor blinks a few times ¡°Are you serious? How is that possible? Eldritch Horror are not included in the first devil''s pact.¡± First rule of improv, yes and. ¡°I know! Eva did it anyway. She tried to summon a different demon I think and got me instead. She tried to send me back to hell, but whatever she did, didn¡¯t work.¡± I shrug. Geltor looks at me with a new look I haven¡¯t seen before. Looking at his soul I think it¡¯s¡­ Respect? Reverence? From Toulif however is something else, something dangerous. Toulif grabs the hilt of his sword ¡°If she couldn¡¯t send you back to hell she should have killed you.¡± I guess I tried ¡°Go ahead and fucking try it!¡± I grin manically and explode into black flames. I can¡¯t see his level, so if things get dangerous I¡¯ll use Obscene Presence and run. Geltor yells out before it could get good ¡°WAIT! Toulif! Your ear please?¡± I let my SoulFire die out as Geltor jumps onto Toulif''s shoulder and starts whispering into his ear. I can¡¯t hear what they are saying but Toulifs eye widens and darts toward me. He then squints suspiciously. Geltor jumps off his shoulder and Toulif clears his throat ¡°Is my sister safe?¡± ¡°Of course! I would never hurt her.¡± on purpose. It seems he had calmed down a bit from whatever Geltor told him. I start to relax and then realize something. ¡°Oh shit. You¡¯re her brother! If I killed you, Eva would have been pissed at me!¡± Toulif seems to tense at that and he shares a look with Geltor. Geltor nods back at him for some reason. Well, whatever. ¡°Any more questions? Cause I sense that those Abominable Moles are almost here.¡± Toulif glances at me ¡°What?¡± Before I can elaborate, yelling is heard outside of the tent. ¡°Captain! We have monsters incoming!¡± Toulif quickly puts on his mask and steps out of the tent. I decide to leave my stuff inside and follow him. I look out to see the hoard of monsters approaching. (Abominable Mole / level 13) (Abominable Mole / level 14) (Abominable Mole / level 12) --- (Abominable Mole / level 18) (Star-Nosed Abomination / level 32) ¡°Huh, I guess they don¡¯t always come in pairs.¡± I feel another rib finally pop back into place as I stretch ¡°Ooogh, this is gonna be good!¡± (Aura of Vitality) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) Chapter 11 / Disappointment Posse I¡¯m low on mana. (Abominable Mole / level 13) (Abominable Mole / level 14) (Abominable Mole / level 12) --- (Abominable Mole / level 18) (Star-Nosed Abomination / level 32) Its body is that of a massive ball of red fur at least 10 feet in diameter. It has dozens of human-like limbs haphazardly placed around its giant form. At its center sits a large pink nose in the shape of a star. Surrounding it are over a dozen Abominable Moles, but my attention is focused on the Star-Nosed Abominations soul. There are no flames to it. It¡¯s like a purple metal sphere, twice the size of my own soul. Its soul suddenly shrinks to a point and a flash of light strikes right next to me. Thunder echoes throughout the entire dungeon and I look out at what it just hit. Toulif stands there with his sword drawn and smoke lofting off it. ¡°The star nose is mine! Gent! Clean up the fodder!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Gent waves his wand in the air and a black magic circle appears at his feat. He flicks his wand down and over a hundred grey rocky hands shoot out of the ground grabbing at the moles. Toulif quickly reverses the grip of his sword and stabs it into the ground. A massive black spike blasts out of the ceiling right above the Star-Nosed Abomination and pins it to the ground. A massive maw filled with teeth opens up under the abomination''s nose as it screams in pain. My heart is racing. I run into the fight ignoring my critically low mana. I shut off Aura of Vitality to conserve. I have a plan of course. I look for the highest leveled mole in the group. (Abominable Mole / level 21) The Mole is held down by several rock hands. I know I¡¯m close to my next level and this is likely overkill, but I need to make sure I level up from this. Let¡¯s kill it in one shot. Using the same method I used to kill the Abominable Serpent, I use Aura of Strength on my legs to launch myself into the ceiling and back down. I aim directly at the Abominable Mole. I wait for the last possible second to activate Aura of Durability. The mole blooms into a visceral red flower as chunks of meat and bone fragments fly in every direction. It hurts to slam myself into the ground like that, but it''s also just so god damn fun. You have slain a (Abominable Mole / level 21) - More experience rewarded You have leveled up! (16 ¡ú 17) - You have earned (5) stat points You have leveled up! (17 ¡ú 18) - You have earned (5) stat points (Aura of Durability) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) I quickly distribute 6 points into Intellect. I then sent 2 into Soul and 1 into both Strength and Durability. I instantly feel relief as my mana goes from 1% to 40%. I¡¯m so glad I got two levels from that. I reactivated Aura of Vitality. Loud screeching starts coming from the Star-Nosed Abomination as a large cross section of the spherical beast falls off it. Toulif appears standing on top of the monster and nonchalantly swipes his sword down. The entire monster is violently ripped in half from the strike and rock beneath it breaks apart. Huh. ¡°He¡¯s strong. I could take him.¡± I could not, I¡¯m not delusional. I said it for the effect! I notice something with my Magical Aura Perception coming from Gent. The fringes of his soul for whatever reason, just turned black. The magic circle at his feet grows twice as big and he flicks his wand upward. He chants ¡°Grip¡± All the rock hands around me start turning black and their fingers get longer. The Abominable Moles scream all at once like a chorus as they are all torn apart. Huh, I guess I wasn¡¯t really needed. I furrow my brows as disappointment starts to settle in. I wanted to fight some more! I start walking back to the camp when Geltor Jumps onto my shoulder snickering ¡°That was brutal! Hehe.¡± I frown and look down to see I¡¯m covered in blood once again. ¡°Whoops, I just cleaned myself too.¡± At least the cultist robes proved to be durable. They aren¡¯t even slightly ripped. Toulif jumps to my side and looks me up and down. He scoffs and gives me a wide berth as he points his thumb at me. ¡°Charlie!¡± ¡°Uh-oh.¡± Geltor quickly jumps off my shoulder and a large jet of water suddenly slams into me. I¡¯m sent flipping over backward and falling on my ass. I gasp for air when the water jet finally dies down. I look dumbfounded at Charlie as he stands there pointing his wand at me. Geltor is rolling around in circles, laughing his sides out. I¡¯m about to snap at Charlie, but I stop myself. Between being soaked in blood or soaked in water, I¡¯d rather the latter. I give Charlie a goofy grin and a thumbs up ¡°Thanks Charlie!¡± Geltor stops laughing and looks surprised. He gets up and walks over to me. ¡°I was honestly hoping for a better reaction.¡± He shrugs ¡°Eh!¡± ¡°I¡¯d much rather yell at you for laughing at me¡­ Bitch.¡± He scoffs and jumps back onto my shoulder as I wring out my robes. Toulif approaches me once more. ¡°I still have a lot of questions, but they will have to wait. For now, we need to regroup with the vice captain.¡± He turns to the rest of the group. ¡°Break over! Pack up!¡± The cultist immediately starts taking apart the tent, but! ¡°Wait! My stuff is still in there!¡± Toulif gives me a confused glance, but I ignore him and retrieve my torn shirt and mushrooms. When I leave the tent, Toulif takes note of what I¡¯m holding. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°This is my shirt. Which I have decided has sentimental value, and these!¡± I give Toulif a smirk ¡°These are for if you wanna have a good time.¡± Geltor leans over my head ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I look up at him with furrowed brows. Looking over at Toulif I also see he didn¡¯t get what a meant. I sigh ¡°They¡¯re psychedelics. But that''s not the reason I¡¯m carrying them. I have them because they can also repair sanity!¡± Geltor sputters out ¡°W- what?!¡± Spitting all over my face. Now annoyed, I grab him by the head and throw him off me. ¡°You¡¯re spitting!¡± Toulif is now staring at my hand. ¡°Reanimating mushrooms.¡± He tilts his head as he thinks deeply ¡°Can they really repair sanity?¡± I nod ¡°Yep! I tested them myself. I got them so I can repair Eva¡¯s sanity.¡± ¡°Why would Evan- need his sanity repaired?¡± My eyes widened as I realized what just slipped my mouth. I activate Quick Thinking as anger lofts off Toulif¡¯s soul. The only thing that fills my mind at the moment is one thing. ¡°Whoops.¡± The other cultists that just finished putting up the tent, start backing up in dramatic fashion. ¡°Explain yourself, demon! What happened to the vice captain!¡± ¡°Uhh- er- I- It was an accident?¡± Toulif¡¯s soul dims instead of exploding as I thought it would. He stares silently for a moment before snatching one of the mushrooms out of my hand. He turns to Charlie ¡°Your sanity is at 93 right?¡± ¡°Y- Yes!¡± He tosses the mushroom to him ¡°Eat this and prove what she is saying is true.¡± I watch in horror as Charlie catches it and goes to put it in his mouth without a second thought. I rush to tackle him to the ground and wrestle the mushroom from his hand. ¡°You idiot! I just told you these were psychedelics!¡± I see Toulifs soul radiating with anger. For some reason, he is using great restraint to stop himself from attacking me. He sighs as some of the tension is released ¡°I don¡¯t- What is a psychedelic?¡± I blink ¡°You don¡¯t know what a psychedelic is?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± I went on to explain that if Charlie had eaten the mushroom that he would have been out of commission for several hours at least. While it would have been fun to see him be knee deep in nirvana, we needed to keep moving if we wanted to catch up with Eva. The mushrooms and my shirt got stored away with the rest of their supplies. Apparently Toulif is gonna have Charlie eat the mushroom before Eva to make sure it¡¯s safe. He¡¯s still planning on it, but only after we regroup with her. So, me and my new party set out to reunite with the vice captain! The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ----- I¡¯m not in a good mood. I¡¯m currently walking behind Toulif with a duffel bag-like bag, except without all the useful straps, hoisted over my shoulder. Geltor is chilling peacefully on top of the bag I¡¯m holding while giving directions. ¡°Take a right here.¡± I grumble to myself ¡°Why the hell am I on luggage duty?¡± Geltor hangs off the side of the bag and sways in front of my face ¡°Hey, we needed more hands so we could move faster anyway. If you didn¡¯t help, it would take longer to reach Evan.¡± He turns back to Toulif. ¡°Keep going straight.¡± I frown ¡°You know, I can track Evan too.¡± ¡°Nope! This is my job, and I need to do it to go back home.¡± I raise an eyebrow. Does that mean he wants to go back to hell? ¡°You want to go back to hell? Why? Wait, how do summoning''s work in the first place?¡± He smiles and pulls himself on top of the bag again ¡°Ah, you being an Eldritch Horror. Makes sense you don¡¯t know given your layer of hell isn¡¯t included in the pact.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± Gletor sits on top of my head ¡°Alright Tiffany, time for a history lesson!¡± Before Geltor can continue, I feel something from Toulifs soul. He looks back for a moment before shaking his head. ¡°And you made fun of my name.¡± ¡°Uh- wait-¡± Geltor talks over me ¡°So, the first devil, bless his greatness, made a deal with the god of earth. What the god of earth got out of the deal is unknown, but that''s not important. The god of earth filled the first 5 layers of hell with sand and soil. Doing this somehow made those layers of hell much safer, but the first devil didn¡¯t ask this out of the goodness of his heart.¡± Geltor snickers, ¡°In order for any demon to live in the first 5 layers of hell, they must agree to the first devils terms.¡± I dart my eyes around as I process the info dump ¡°Uh- what are the terms?¡± ¡°You must be on standby to be summoned by cultists at all times. When summoned, you are given 2 choices. Kill the summoner and get immediately sent back to hell. Or, Complete the task you are given and be returned. The summoner may release you at any time, at their own discretion.¡± I nod slowly ¡°I don¡¯t think killing the vice captain would have sent me to hell.¡± ¡°Makes sense, given summoning you should have been impossible in the first place. Eldritch Horrors live in the 8th layer of hell.¡± ¡°What layer are you from?¡± ¡°The 2nd. It¡¯s a boring place, but it''s home. What about the 8th layer? What¡¯s it like?¡± Uh- oh. Alright kids, lying is 80 percent confidence and 20 percent creativity! ¡°To describe the 8th layer is literally impossible. A place where reality and reason end. I give it a 4 out of 10.¡± Geltor blinks at me for a moment and then starts laughing ¡°Heha- I wanna see it even more now! What about your true form? Can I see it?¡± I smirk ¡°Not without killing all the humans around us. My true form does massive psychic damage to anyone who sees it.¡± As soon as I say that, the other cultists'' souls waver slightly. I think that was fear? (Magical Aura Perception) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) Ehh, I don¡¯t really care about them. I¡¯m having fun with my conversation with Geltor anyway. But I notice Geltor¡¯s soul starts glowing brighter and his smile becomes malicious. He whispers into my ear ¡°Then why not kill everyone here? I can¡¯t attack my summoner, that window has already passed. But you can slaughter everyone here and get the experience you so desperately want, and I can go home early when my summoner dies. How about it?¡± I¡¯m caught off guard by the sudden offer. I want to reject it immediately but it¡¯s like my mind is forced to consider the offer seriously. Was that magic? Or a skill? I mull it over in my head. But ultimately, that magic only made me consider his offer and wasn¡¯t forcing me to do anything. ¡°No, hurting the captain would hurt the vice captain, and I want to be friends with them.¡± Geltor stares for a moment before shrugging. He raises his voice once more ¡°Eh. Had to try. Take a left here.¡± I frown. That was intense. Can I learn magic like that? No, wait! Did anyone hear us? I look around and I see no one visibly reacting to the conversation I just had. I don¡¯t think we were talking quietly enough for them to not hear. Did Geltor do something? (Aura of Vitality) has leveled up! (3 ¡ú 4) I look down from the notification and at my body. I smile. ¡°I¡¯m completely healed now.¡± I throw the worried thoughts out of my head as I deactivate my aura and take a look at my status. ¡°Status.¡± Name (Tiffany Day) / Age (23) / Race (Human) Alignment (Chaotic Neutral) Class (Monk) / Level (18) Stats / Stat Points (0) Strength (27) Durability (53) Agility (10) Endurance (10) Intellect (24) Soul (32) (-2) Intrinsic Status Vitality (100%) Stamina (38%) Sanity (85%) Mana (9%) (max 93.8%) Traits (Interloper) (Serial Killer) (Ydri¡¯s Jester) Skills (Quick Thinking) level 3 (Pain Tolerance) level 4 (Observe) level 2 Class Skills (Obscene Presence) level 1 (Magical Aura Perception) level 6 (Magical Aura Manipulation) level 4 (Aura of Strength) level 4 (Frost Breath) level 3 (SoulFire) level 4 (Aura of Vitality) level 4 (Aura of Durability) level 3 I look through my stats and skills and feel a wave of satisfaction wash over me. This really is built like a game given how freaking fun this is. I frown when I look over at my intrinsic status. My mana pool looks to be permanently lower now and it doesn¡¯t recover as fast as I would like. I think over the conundrum in my head. Maybe there¡¯s a skill that will let me recover mana faster? With my current Intellect, I think it would take about 2 and half hours to fully refill. Though that sounds fast, with me being in a dungeon, it is not fast enough. Does a skill that recovers mana even exist? With nothing else to do at the moment, I decided to give it a shot. I look inward using Magical Aura Perception. I start studying my soul''s structure. At a cursory glance it looks like a ball of black fire. I furrow my brows as I close my eyes and look closer with my perception. My soul has a boundary to it. The flames wisp off randomly from the boundary. It is in the shape of a perfect sphere and I see that they¡¯re cracks running through it. I frown as I realize what I already know. My soul is damaged. I shake the thought from my head as I continue observing it to figure out a method to recover mana faster. After mulling over the boundary with my perception, I find some things. It¡¯s more accurate to call the boundary a container. As in, the soul is where mana is stored. The container is covered in these very minute engravings all across its surface. I¡¯m not sure what they are, but I take note of it. The most interesting thing I have found is that my soul has bridges. Or, that''s the closest word I can think of to describe it. I have two of them to be exact. One goes towards Eva¡¯s direction. This bridge is small and weak compared to the other one. It¡¯s like every edge of my soul is facing it. What is it? I have no fucking idea! But it is strong, and it goes off in some random direction into the ground. It is also where my mana is flowing in from. What the fuck is that? I never really question where mana comes from, but now I have nothing but questions! I sigh as I let go of my speculation. That isn¡¯t what is important right now. Focus. I feel how the mana is flowing into me. It would be wrong to describe it as a liquid, but it¡¯s like a liquid. It''s like, someone heard the concept of a liquid but didn¡¯t have a visual reference so this is what they think a liquid should flow like. It is very strange to say the least. As I watch the ¡®we have liquid at home¡¯ flow from the ¡®concept of a bridge¡¯ I have a very important thought. Magic is fucking weird. Nope! Stop! Bad thoughts! I start manipulating my soul with Magical Aura Manipulation. Not to move my soul anywhere, but to do something else. I start rotating it. I spin my soul perpendicular from the direction the mana is flowing in. The idea is to create a whirlpool of ¡®not liquid¡¯ to siphon more mana from wherever it is coming from. Kinda like swirling a bottle to get it to empty faster. My soul slowly starts to rotate. Mana starts to slosh inside my soul. That''s something I usually wouldn¡¯t notice, but I¡¯m paying very close attention at the moment. My soul is now spinning a bit more. I¡¯m not used to messing with my soul this way, so progress is slow. The mana becomes more turbulent as the spin gains more speed. Eventually, after a few more minutes, the mana starts sticking to the sides of the container and spinning with it. The mana is still turbulent, but after I put some more effort into it. A large vortex is created within me. I feel mana pouring in from elsewhere at a surprising degree. I continue to spin my soul faster and more mana keeps flowing in even faster. The mana spins faster and the spin stretches into the bridge itself. Over the course of about 5 minutes, my mana reaches capacity. A grin breaks my face as I get a new notification. Congratulations, you have unlocked a skill - (Mana Cycling) (Magical Aura Perception) has leveled up! (6 ¡ú 7) (Magical Aura Manipulation) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) I pause my excitement as I look at the notification. It¡¯s not a class skill? Why is that? Mana Cycling / Level (1) (You have found that creating a vortex within your being has increased the flow of mana into yourself. ) Cycle mana to increase mana recovery That''s a lot to unpack. First, I forced my mana to cycle with Magical Aura Manipulation? Is that why it¡¯s not a class skill? Because even though I used my manipulation of my soul to get it, it¡¯s still a normal skill that anyone can get. That must mean that there is another method in getting this skill then. Second, if I spin my soul too fast, then it will break from mana slamming into it. That¡¯s fucking ominous. I have an inkling that if I have a higher level of Magical Aura Manipulation, that I can safely spin my soul faster. Still though, I¡¯m very grateful for the warning mystery man! Glee starts to fill my body as I think about my new skill. I stop as a thought crosses my mind. There is a gap in my logic. I used the analogy of spinning a bottle to create a whirlpool to drain water faster, but that is wrong. That method is used for emptying a container, not filling one. I look upon my skill with a newfound horror. It shouldn¡¯t have worked, but it did. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± Literally a second later ¡°Eh- fuck it, its magic!¡± I refocus my perception outward and immediately pick something up. My head snaps to the right as I recognize what kind of soul it is. ¡°Toulif, an Abominable Serpent is right around that corner.¡± Toulif stops and turns to look at me. I can hear him squint behind his mask. ¡°You knew about the moles too. Do you have a way of tracking them?¡± I walk straight past him without answering and put my bag down by the corner. I peek around and see it. (Abominable Serpent / Level 22) I smile deeply as I prepare myself for a fight, but Toulif walks past me. He swings- A large black arc flies off his sword and slams into the serpent. It is violently ripped in half and sent flying into the distance. It died so fast it didn¡¯t even scream. My mouth hangs open as Toulif walks past me and keeps heading towards Eva. ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving.¡± I take a few more seconds to process what happened. I frown as I realize what traveling with them is going to entail. Every corner of my being is filled with raging amounts of disappointment. Chapter 12 / Gladiator How the fuck is Eva moving so fast? We have been traveling for the past 6 hours and finally Toulif relented from me constantly annoying him. He¡¯s finally letting us rest. Geltor sits on my shoulder ¡°Tired huh? I heard unrefined mortal forms come with drawbacks. I bet you need to eat and sleep too, right?.¡± ¡°You hit the nail on the head, Geltor. That means you need to share your rations Toulif!¡± Toulif remains stoic, but I can tell by his soul that he¡¯s screaming eternally. It¡¯s really funny, so I¡¯ve been irritating him. There is nothing else interesting going on since any monster we come across, Toulif can pretty much instantly dispatch them. This is just a small way I can get back at him. Still, I¡¯m really itching to fight more monsters. I sense something near the edge of my perception. A green ball of flames is slowly approaching us. ¡°Hmmm-¡± Geltor, who is now swinging on my hair, notices me looking into the distance. ¡°What? Another beast?¡± Him hanging from my hair like that doesn¡¯t hurt. My durability is too high for it. I blink ¡°Nope! Anyway, get off me. I wanna go do something.¡± Geltor drops to the ground and frowns ¡°I thought you were tired?¡± ¡°Yeah! Tired of being bored!¡± I run off to the middle distance and Toulif scoffs. I thought he might try to stop me, but he ultimately doesn¡¯t give a shit about what I¡¯m doing. I sprint around several corners, trying to find a path to the monster. Its soul is a bit similar to the Roach Brood Queen, but I can start to sense the minute differences that tell me otherwise. I find my way and peek around a corner to take a look at it. I see a bug in the shape of a knight. The roach is standing on its insect hind legs and its body is thin. The exoskeleton is structured to look like medieval armour. Its arms are similar to a human, but its hands are replaced with scythe-like blades. Its bulbous bug eyes are staring right at me. (Roach Gladiator / level 25) Two large insect wings sprout from its back and it flies directly at me. ¡°Making the first move I see!¡± I grin uncontrollably. My aura shifts to my left arm and I go to block its strike with Aura of Durability. This skill currently gives me a 29% increase to my durability at level 3. That is applied with a full body manifestation of aura. However, with Magical Aura Manipulation, I can focus my aura to my arm. Having my aura localized on one limb gives me a 4x multiplier to any skill that affects my aura. That brings the durability increase to 116%, but only for that limb. With my durability at 53, that puts the effective durability around 115. The Roach Gladiators blade slices into my forearm and digs into the bone. I guess that gives context on how fucked I am. The Roach Gladiator continues its swing and sends me flying into a nearby wall. I reorient myself in air to land feet first as I crash into the rock with my aura now coating my legs. With my feet now lodged in the wall I look up to see the monster coming for me again. Its fast- I duck out of the way as the blade cuts where my neck once was. With Aura of Strength I kick out of the wall to tackle the roach. It dodges by flying into the air. I tumble for a brief second and I pick myself up to prepare for the next attack. It doesn¡¯t come. I look up and meet the insect''s gaze. I think it''s studying me. Intelligence? I take a deep breath and hold it. The Roach Gladiator bolts at me once again. It swings with its left and with my aura shifting to my right, I catch it. The blade cuts down between my middle and index finger, bisecting my hand before getting stuck at my wrist. It hurts like a bitch. It tries to pull away, but I grin and grip the blade with my broken hand. Keeping it stuck in my hand. Its antenna twitches and its soul dims for a moment before swinging with its free blade. My aura splits to my left and the blade glides along the length of my forearm, taking a large amount of skin and flesh with it. I ignore the pain and grab its other blade before it can pull away. Its soul dims again and I can feel shock run through it. I let out Frost Breath at its head and it immediately ducks out of the way. I wasn¡¯t aiming at its head though. Its unprotected wings are hit by a wave of frost and freeze through. I throw the Roach Gladiator off me and its wings shatter as it rolls along the ground. I smile sadistically. It''s like the Roach Brood Queen. High strength and agility, but low durability. A glass cannon. I don¡¯t know how the system works for monsters, but I bet it gets +1 to strength and agility every level. I pause as I watch the roach get back up. If its system is like mine, wouldn¡¯t it get a +1 to some other stat too? Its eyes stare at me with pure hatred as my premonition is proven accurate. Its antenna flicks rapidly in the air and blue lines start forming. Shit- Before I can even dash at it, it disappears. A sharp pain explodes into my back. I look down to see its blade sticking through my abdomen. ¡°Fuck.¡± I grab onto the blade. In a panic, I fully manifest my aura and activate three skills at once. Aura of Durability, Aura of Vitality, and SoulFire. I feel my mana start dropping significantly as my body bursts into black flames. The roach screeches as its arm starts blistering and searing away, but I refuse to let go of its arm. It swings again with its other blade. I push my Quick Thinking as I force myself to have an idea that can save my life. For some reason a memory starts playing in my head. It was a video that scared the shit out of me when I was a kid. It was about how crocodiles catch and kill their prey. They hunt with their mouths open and once their prey is close they ambush them and bite down. But that isn¡¯t where it ends- The roaches blade swings at my head but misses. My entire body is at a 90 degree angle and its free blade flies over me. I reach at the roaches head behind me with my right and my left hand is holding onto the blade that¡¯s impaling me. I manipulate my aura to the area where I¡¯m stabbed through and leave only Aura of Durability activated. I smile through the pain as I push off the Roach Gladiator and the ground to give myself as much angular momentum as possible. My entire body starts spinning rapidly- The roaches arm, that''s still embedded in my body, starts twisting on itself violently. The exoskeleton bursts open and green blood starts splashing everywhere. After four full rotations, I¡¯m back on my feet again and its arm is still somehow attached to its body. I turn to face the monster and its mangled arm wraps around my torso. Its other arm is still unmoved from its post swung position. Its bug face is filled with what I assume is horror. I take it in for a moment, but the bug snaps out of it. It swings the back end of its blade at me, but I catch it. ¡°You look like you need a hug!¡± I wrap my right arm around its neck and pull it close. The blade that''s impaled in me stabs into its chest. The Roach Gladiator starts thrashing around as it tries to push itself free. Eventually, with its higher strength it succeeds. The roach pulls one of its insect legs up and kicks me off it. I¡¯m sent somersaulting backwards, but I take its mangled arm with me. I look back up at the monster to see it panting. I start to smile, but I grunt in pain. I look down to see the blade still lodged in me. I reach back and wince as I pull the blade out. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. I rip the blade from the rest of the arm and hold it by its stump. I point its own bladed hand at the Roach Gladiator and ask it a question. ¡°How about a duel?¡± I see the roach''s soul dims before exploding into a brilliant green. So it is intelligent. It dashes at me, but isn¡¯t nearly as fast as before losing its wings. I go to block it with its own blade and use Aura of Strength on my arms. It swings and the impact makes me step back a few times. It goes to kick me, but I grab its insect leg with my hand. ¡°Ya shouldn¡¯t had done that!¡± I pull and rip its leg off immediately. I knock its blade out of the way and go to swing at it, but it jumps out of my reach. I look down at it and it has three remaining legs and look back up to lock eyes with it. It is staring with a focus I hadn¡¯t seen before this moment. I smile wildly at it. I wonder if it¡¯s having as much fun as I am. Its antenna starts flicking around with blue lines forming once more. It¡¯s gonna teleport! I fully manifest my aura and activate Aura of Durability. The Roach Gladiator vanishes and I spin on my heel to counter it. Only to see it didn¡¯t appear behind me. My Magical Aura Perception screams at me and my arm swings upward, blocking a strike from above. My feet sink into the rock and the ground cracks beneath me. It teleported above me? I look up at it and pause. The Roach Gladiator regrew its wings- It kicked me in the face and sent me into another wall. I cough up blood as I ready myself for another attack. I take a breath as the monster appears in front of me again. I parry its swing upward and rock explodes behind me as its arm arcs over my head. I blow Frost Breath at it, but its antenna swings at an unbelievable speed and the roach vanishes before it could reach. Shit- I use Magical Aura Perception to find it immediately. I block another swing and I¡¯m sent to slide across the ground. It took so much to get rid of its wings and I don¡¯t think I can use the same method twice. I frown. Should I use Obscene Presence? For some reason, using it now would feel cheap to me. I did just challenged it to a duel. No, I won¡¯t use it. I¡¯m having so much fun after all. Another swing comes up from underneath me. I barely manage to move my head out of the way and the blade cuts through my face. My left eye is destroyed. I laugh maniacally and suddenly drop my blade. This causes the roach to hesitate for the briefest of seconds, but it¡¯s enough for me to act. With Aura of Strength coating only my right arm, I bitch slap it in the face. It rockets to a wall and slams into it with a splat. I look over at it with my remaining eye. All of its remaining limbs are broken and one of its wings is bent at an odd angle. The other wing is completely detached and laid in front of it. A perfect indent of the back of my hand is engraved into its skull. In the end it was a glass canon and a single good hit was all it took. I feel a sense of pride wash over me. Not only for myself but for the monster- No, this warrior, as well. ¡°That was great, Roach Gladiator. That was the best, most fun fight I had so far.¡± I see its body relax and its soul is whisked away. I got a notification. You have slain a (Roach Gladiator / level 25) - Immense experience rewarded You have leveled up! (18 ¡ú 19) - You have earned (5) stat points You have leveled up! (19 ¡ú 20) - You have earned (5) stat points You have leveled up! (20 ¡ú 21) - You have earned (5) stat points (Quick Thinking) has leveled up! (3 ¡ú 4) (Quick Thinking) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) (Pain Tolerance) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) (Pain Tolerance) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) (Magical Aura Manipulation) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) (Aura of Strength) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) (Aura of Strength) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) (Frost Breath) has leveled up! (3 ¡ú 4) (Aura of Durability) has leveled up! (3 ¡ú 4) (Aura of Durability) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) (Aura of Durability) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) Congratulations, you have received a trait - (Sadistic) I sigh wistfully as I activate Aura of Vitality and Mana Cycling. Interestingly, Mana Cycling doesn¡¯t require my soul to be spinning. With the skill, the mana itself will start spinning on its own. I look around at the carnage around me with a lite smile on my face. ¡°Man¡­ I fuckin¡¯ love it here!¡± My mood starts spiraling, but in a positive direction. I walk over to the dead Roach Gladiator. I start to chuckle as I kick one of its limp legs playfully. I¡¯m hit with a sudden sense of longing for my old world. Not for anyone, for my friends or family, but for something else. ¡°I wish I had some music!¡± I look down at the roach as I think about the problem. I raise an eyebrow, then smile. I started singing. ¡°I¡¯m all dressed up with nowhere to go! Walkin¡¯ with a dead man over my shoulder!¡± I grab onto the Roach Gladiators leg and start dragging it behind me. ¡°I¡¯m all dressed up with nowhere to go! Walkin¡¯ with a dead man over my shoulder!¡± --- Toulif watches the humans eat their food. Disgusting. The demon, Geltor, sits next to him with the same expression. Geltor then looks up at Toulif with an unreadable expression. Toulif scoffs. ¡°What is it?¡± Geltor shakes his head ¡°I was just wondering what the plan is. For Tiffany, I mean.¡± Toulif frowns behind his mask ¡°You were the one to warn me to not attack her.¡± ¡°Yeah, and for good reason. That human form is way too advanced for her level. She should be level 50 Minimum. The way she is able manipulate her essence as well! It''s just not possible.¡± Toulif grunts ¡°Why is she hiding her level though. If she is high enough, why didn¡¯t she just kill everyone.¡± Geltor looks down at the campfire that was made and places a finger on his chin. He starts to slowly nod ¡°I heard a rumour 50 odd years ago. It was about how different Eldritch Horrors are to regular demons. Myself and most demons don¡¯t need anything to survive. We can subsist off our own mana. Eldritch Horrors though, they need¡­ sustenance.¡± Toulif glances at the humans scarfing down their rations. Geltor grimaces ¡°Not like how mortals need food and water. It''s something else.¡± ¡°And that is?¡± ¡°They eat confusion.¡± Toulif frowns as he takes in the implication. She was hiding her level as bait. If someone with a higher level like Toulif attacked her, then she would match someone that''s over 30 levels above her. It would generate a massive amount of confusion. A shiver goes down Toulifs spine as he remembers their interaction in the tent. She wasn¡¯t just ready to fight, she was excited. Geltor looks over at Toulif ¡°Ya get it now?¡± Toulif nods ¡°Yes.¡± Toulif suddenly hears echoing down in the dungeon. Is that¡­ Singing? Geltor turns his head in the direction of the noise ¡°That¡¯s Tiffany.¡± ¡°Waiting for an invitation to arrive! Goin¡¯ to a party, where no one¡¯s still alive!¡± ¡°Waiting for an invitation to arrive! Goin¡¯ to a party, where no one¡¯s still alive!¡± Loud scuffling is also heard by the group of cultists. Everyone was at attention as they started to listen to the ominous song. ¡°I was struck by lightning, walkin¡¯ down the street! I was hit by something, IN! MY! SLEEP!¡± The last part of the verse was accompanied by three very loud slamming noises. It was like something wet and soft crashing into something, hard. ¡°It¡¯s a dead man''s party! Who could ask for more!¡± ¡°Everybody¡¯s comin¡¯, leave your body at the door!¡± The corpse of what¡¯s left of a roach-like monster flies into view as it explodes onto a gory mess on a wall. The figure of a woman walks around the corner. Her body is almost completely torn apart. The most notable injury is a massive vertical scar on the left side of her face, and a missing eye. ¡°Leave your body and soul at the door! Hey guys, I¡¯m back!¡± Toulif makes a declaration in his mind. We need to be very careful around her if we want to live. Chapter 13 / Bad Person (Part 1) Losing an eye doesn¡¯t bother me as much as I expected. My body is almost completely healed at this point. I manipulated my aura to cover only my injuries to speed up the healing process and it worked. I found that Aura of Vitality isn¡¯t perfect though. (Aura of Vitality) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) (Aura of Vitality) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) (Mana Cycling) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) My body is scarred. I have only been in this world for about two days, I think, and already my body looks like it has been through a hundred battles. I nod gratefully that Aura of Vitality auto aligns bones so they heal right. Healing a destroyed eye is outside what''s possible to heal with Aura of Vitality. I would be lying if I said it didn¡¯t bother me, but not by much. It¡¯s annoying at most. I did manage to get a few hours of sleep. I caught Toulif looking at me as I was about to pass out. I thought he might try to attack me while I was asleep, but after throwing him a glance he tensed up and his soul dimmed. I smiled at that. It reminded me of Eva. So, I betted that nothing would happen and I was right. I woke up with Geltor curled up on my lap like a cat. I thought he didn¡¯t need to sleep? ¡°Yo! Wake up!¡± Geltor pounces on all fours in a panic, before slowly standing to look at me. ¡°Oh, hey.¡± He yawns. ¡°Were you¡­ Asleep?¡± Geltor blinks at me. ¡°Yeah. Everyone was doin¡¯ it.¡± I scoff and push him off me. I stand up and he immediately jumps back up on my shoulder. The party quickly packed up the camp and we set out once more. I noticed that Eva¡¯s soul had stopped moving again, so we should close the distance in maybe 3-4 hours if she stays still. I told Toulif this and I felt relief throughout his soul. With Magical Aura Perception at this level, I¡¯m practically an empath at this point. In the meantime, I had some new things to look at! ¡°Status.¡± Name (Tiffany Day) / Age (23) / Race (Human) Alignment (Chaotic Neutral) Class (Monk) / Level (21) Stats / Stat Points (15) Strength (30) Durability (56) Agility (10) Endurance (10) Intellect (24) Soul (35) (-2) Intrinsic Status Vitality (100%) Stamina (94%) Sanity (85%) Mana (100%) (max 94.3%) Traits (Interloper) (Serial Killer) (Ydri¡¯s Jester) (Sadistic) Skills (Quick Thinking) level 5 (Pain Tolerance) level 6 (Observe) level 2 (Mana Cycling) level 2 Class Skills (Obscene Presence) level 1 (Magical Aura Perception) level 7 (Magical Aura Manipulation) level 6 (Aura of Strength) level 6 (Frost Breath) level 4 (SoulFire) level 4 (Aura of Vitality) level 6 (Aura of Durability) level 6 The first thing that I check is my new trait I got in the fight against the Roach Gladiator. Like when I got Serial Killer I was kinda hesitant to acknowledge its existence, but if it has some kind of effect, I want to know about it. Sadistic / Rarity (Rare) (Time and time again, you have inflicted great pain onto others for nothing other than your own sick enjoyment. You are abhorrent. That said, you have gotten very good at it.) The more pain your target is in, the more effective you are at damaging them. The system insulted me again¡­ Why does it do that? I shake my head as I feel a small sense of shame. I sigh, at least the effect it has is fucking broken. I don¡¯t know how much more effective I will be, or what the rate of more pain to more damage is. I think this is something I¡¯m going to have to test out. Up next is distributing stat points. I put 4 into Durability, and 5 into Strength. I then put the remaining 6 into Agility. I wanted more agility because I was really wishing I had invested more into it in my last fight. If my agility was just a little better, I probably would have both my eyes right now. I think back on that fight fondly. It was so fun. My mind wanders as I remember its soul. I have been taking mental notes on how souls work in this world. That Roach Gladiators soul had an outward flow of mana, like the cultists. The Abominable Moles and Abominable Serpents had an inward flow of mana, like my soul. I didn¡¯t really understand what that difference meant until I started to deeply study my own soul. This is what I found. Having an inward flow of mana and having an outward flow of mana depends on only one thing. Where the bridge of where mana flows from is located. For those that have an inward flow of mana like me, the bridge connects to every edge of the soul. For those that have an outward flow of mana like the cultists, the bridge connects to the center of the soul. So for me, the mana literally flows from the outside in, and for them, the mana flows from the inside out. The two ¡®configurations¡¯ of the soul each have their drawbacks and advantages. Having an inward flow of mana lets you cast magic within your own body very easily, but casting magic on the outside world becomes hard. Having an outward flow lets you cast magic outside of your body easily, but casting magic on your own body becomes hard. This is true for almost all the fights I had except for the exceptions. When the roaches teleported. They had outward flow, but they teleported their bodies. This is the current conundrum that has been invading my mind for the past 30 minutes. They were casting their magic onto the world too, I could see with the blue lines that they carved into the air. But their bodies were the ones affected by the magic. The reason I¡¯m thinking about this so hard is pretty obvious. I wanna learn how to teleport too. I think back to the magic they casted to teleport. I try to remember every minute detail I can. There has to be some secret I''m missing. I need to fight more roaches. This is starting to become an obsession. I watch Toulif take out another group of Abominable Moles. They were around level 20 and they were simply massacred. If I sense another roach, I''ll intercept it before he can interfere. Sure enough, after a little while longer I sense something. A dark green flame all the way at the edge of my perception. ¡°Toulif, I¡¯m gonna break away from the group for a bit.¡± I take a hard left and Geltor falls off me as I start walking down a seemingly random path. ¡°You¡¯re about an hour walk away from Evan, so don¡¯t wait up! Just give him the mushrooms and tell him they were from me!¡± Toulif looks at me, but I don¡¯t gauge his reaction as I start sprinting towards another fight. As I start to get closer, I see a few more souls pop into view. Oh, this is gonna be a group battle? That¡¯d be interesting. I get even closer and even more souls start to show themselves. And more, and more, until they¡¯re dozens of them. My pace starts to slow as I start to get second thoughts. A giant green metallic ball glints brightly as I stop myself. This seems more and more like a bad idea to fight them. I think back on what I¡¯m trying to achieve. I really wanna learn how to teleport. I start slowly walking around another corner. Around the next turn I should be able to see them. I have no plans for fighting them now, I just want to see them. I hear the chorus of thousands of bugs and the clashing of mandibles as I inch closer to the path leading into this massive nest of monsters. I slowly poke my head around the corner and see a massive cavern. The biggest open space I¡¯ve seen so far. There is a ravine in the ceiling letting daylight seep into the dungeon. Looking down I see an ocean of insects- (Roach Legion) (Roach Legion) This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. (Roach Legion) ¡­ (Roachling / level 3) (Roachling / level 2) (Roachling / level 4) ¡­ (Roach Centurion / level 9) (Roach Centurion / level 6) (Roach Centurion / level 7) ¡­ (Roach Ambassador / level 18) ¡­ (Roach Gladiator / level 27) (Roach Gladiator / level 29) ¡­ (Roach Brood Queen / level 26) (Roach Brood Queen / level 25) ¡­ (Observe) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) (Roach Empress / level 50) This is definitely too much for me. I turn around and start walking away silently. My adrenaline is spiking, but I keep a calm demeanor. I place a hand on my chest and look back at the corner. That¡¯s terrifying. I turn back around and face a new notification waiting for me. New Objective / Extermination! - Kill the Roach Empress(0/1) - Reward / New Gear! I bite my lip. You bitch! How am I supposed to kill that thing! It¡¯s 30 levels above me! You notice yourself subconsciously start putting together a plan to slaughter the roaches and I stop myself. No! I¡¯m not insane! I look back up at the notification and I ask it in a whisper ¡°Can I really kill that thing?¡± Yes, I think you can I stare at the notification and my one eye goes wide. My heart rate starts to climb and my body feels warm inside. I shouldn¡¯t do this. This is suicide. You''re insane. They were right. You¡¯re going to die¡­ You¡¯re a bad person- I spin on my heel and start walking back towards certain death. You¡¯re grinning ear to ear. My aura shifts to my legs and I activate Aura of Strength. A piece of my soul shifts to my hand and I activate SoulFire. The SoulFire is changed. It isn¡¯t a raging black fire, but it¡¯s now like a sharp dark blowtorch. As soon as I turn the corner, I crouch as low as I can. I find the nearest Roach Gladiator I can see. It hasn¡¯t noticed me yet. I launch myself off the ground and the rock beneath my feet explodes. The roach turns around at the noise, but doesn¡¯t react fast enough. My flaming hand stabs through its skull and I grip. I grab onto its shoulder and pull back, ripping its head from its neck. You have slain a (Roach Gladiator / level 26) - More experience rewarded You have leveled up! (21 ¡ú 22) - You have earned (5) stat points (SoulFire) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) I throw the flaming head to my side. I¡¯m knee deep in Roach Legions, but they haven¡¯t reacted yet. A few of the roach souls are dimmed with shock, others are bright with rage. My perspective shifts to my own soul. Your emotions are unreadable. I look up at the Roach Empress. Its body is massive, like a giant translucent sack of organs. A long protrusion sticks out of its side that extends for over a hundred feet. At the end is a torso of a human woman with 6 insect limbs sticking out where its arms should be. She has mandibles hanging out of her mouth and her hair is black. She is wrapped around her own sack-like body. Unlike the rest of her roach brethren, she isn¡¯t angry or shocked. She stares at me with indifference. I smile ¡°Obscene Presence!¡± You have slain a (Roach Centurion / level 9) - Little experience rewarded --- You have slain a (Roachling / level 2) - Little experience rewarded (Obscene Presence) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) I keep Obscene Presence up long enough for my mana to drop to 50%. I receive dozens of notifications, all of them are Roach Centurions or Roachlings. Most of the Roach Brood Queens and Roach Gladiators are screeching to themselves as chaos breaks out all around me. I let out a powerful Frost Breath boosted by Magical Aura Manipulation. I swing my head around me as thousands of Roach Legions die. You have slain a (Roach Legion / level 0) - Very little experience rewarded --- You have slain a (Roach Legion / level 0) - Very little experience rewarded (Frost Breath) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) I have Magical Aura Perception focused in a 30 foot sphere around myself. Everything except for the Roach Empress, I completely ignore. I sense the soul of a Roach Gladiator appear right above me. My aura coats my right arm and with Aura of Durability I block it. I quickly wrap my arm around the swung blade to hold the roach in place. My aura shifts to my left and with Aura of Strength and SoulFire I stab through its chest. The Roach Gladiator explodes in green blood and black flames. You have slain a (Roach Gladiator / level 27) - More experience rewarded You have leveled up! (22 ¡ú 23) - You have earned (5) stat points I split my aura between my arms as a Roach Brood Queen flies directly for me. I throw the flaming carcass at its face. As soon as the queen shakes the dead Roach Gladiator off its head, a ball of black fire flies into its mouth. I jump onto the top of the Roach Brood Queen to run along its back and I use Magical Aura Manipulation to pull the soul fragment with me. The queen''s insides are torn apart as SoulFire rips through the entire length of the monster. Its back end explodes open in a shower of organs and green slime. I rejoin with the soul fragment as I start tearing apart more Roach Legions. You have slain a (Roach Brood Queen / level 27) - More experience rewarded You have leveled up! (23 ¡ú 24) - You have earned (5) stat points (Magical Aura Manipulation) has leveled up! (6 ¡ú 7) (SoulFire) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) (Quick Thinking) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) My mana starts to get low, so I split a piece of my soul and start spinning it with Magical Aura Manipulation and Mana Cycling combined. I drop all my current stat points between Strength, Durability and Soul. That''s 5 each. I rip apart another Roach Brood Queen that has completely lost its mind with my bare hands. You¡¯re awful, It couldn¡¯t even fight back. You have slain a (Roach Brood Queen / level 25) - Moderate experience rewarded (Aura of Strength) has leveled up! (6 ¡ú 7) I feel my mind fold in on itself as two Roach Gladiators appear on either side of me. (Quick Thinking) has leveled up! (6 ¡ú 7) (Quick Thinking) has leveled up! (7 ¡ú 8) (Quick Thinking) has leveled up! (8 ¡ú 9) Teleportation! That spell isn¡¯t teleportation! It is not just one spell, but two. It casts the magic, not on its body, but on its soul. It inverts the direction of the flow of mana for a split second and then it activates its skill! I know what that feels like- And I know what I want- The Roach Gladiators blades clash into each other and they blink at themselves. Confusion fills their souls. My flaming hand bursts out the chest of one of them. Green blood splatters onto the other as it stares in horror. I bisect the roach completely and blow Frost Breath at the other. It tries to dodge, but it''s still halfway caught in the blast. It tumbles as one of its wings breaks apart. I jump at it and with Aura of Strength coating my leg I kick it. The Roach Gladiator is sent flying apart in a gory spectacle. You have slain a (Roach Gladiator / level 27) - Moderate experience rewarded You have slain a (Roach Gladiator / level 29) - More experience rewarded You have leveled up! (24 ¡ú 25) - You have earned (5) stat points You have leveled up! (25 ¡ú 26) - You have earned (5) stat points (Frost Breath) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) Congratulations, you have unlocked a class skill - (Instant Position) Alert / (1) Class Skill slots remaining Congratulations, for reaching level (25) - Strength (+20) Durability (+20) Agility (+15) Endurance (+15) Intellect (+15) Soul (+20) Oh, so that''s why they are so strong. You''re dangerous. I¡¯m amazing. The Roach Empress watches on with an complete lack of interest to the continuing slaughter- Chapter 14 / Bad Person (Part 2) The Roach Empress watches her children be slaughtered by the intruder. Weak- They are all weak. They were supposed to be stronger than the intruder, but the children died by the hundreds. They are not worthy to be called her children. She sees yet another one of her gladiators be emancipated from the inside out. The body of the gladiator is used as a club to smash thousands of the legion fodder. The intruder is dangerous. The attack the intruder did at the start of this battle hurt her. She doesn¡¯t understand how the intruder accomplished this, but they did. The empress also is completely unable to hear any of the intruder''s thoughts, so she decided to be careful. The Roach Empress will use her worthless children to wear this inconvenience down, and when she sees a moment of weakness. The intruder will die- --- Eva is tired. She vomits against the cave wall once more. She had gotten incredibly sick from consuming the Abominable Mole meat. Elves are herbivores and can go weeks without food if needed. But that demon, Tiffany, forced her to eat it. Eva puts the mask over head and goes to rest against a different wall. Eva looks over at her new summons and activates Summoners Insight. Summon(Beatzuly) Race(Nav Imp) Level(14) Last Ability Used(Skill/Observe) Summon(Herldren) Race(Jinn Warrior) Level(32) Last Ability Used(Class Skill/Unravel) That wasn¡¯t the only notifications she got from the skill. Summon(Tiffany Day) Race(Human) Level(27) Last Ability Used(Class Skill/SoulFire) How is she leveling so fast? No, Tiffany is most likely hiding her real level. She seems to be fighting too. The Last Ability Used identifier is constantly changing between skills. Aura of Durability, Instant Position, SoulFire, Magical Aura Manipulation, Aura of Durability, Aura of Strength, and so on. She remembered Tiffany talking about aura and souls at one point, but she didn¡¯t understand. For the other abilities, Eva can only speculate what they even do. Tiffanys class skill Obscene Presence sends shivers down Eva¡¯s spine. Definitely something that comes with being an Eldritch Horror. She also remembers a trait she saw. Ydri¡¯s Jester. It¡¯s just¡­ it doesn¡¯t make any sense given that Ydri is- ¡°Are you okay?¡± Eva is interrupted from her thoughts as she looks up at the Nav Imp. Eva blinks ¡°Yeah, Beatzuly, I just got a little food poisoning.¡± The Jinn Warrior, Herldren, grunts ¡°If I knew ya were sick, I woulda killed ya.¡± Eva grins at the demon behind her mask ¡°You¡¯re too late, you accepted the contract.¡± Herldren scoffs ¡°Ya! Ya! I knew dat already.¡± Herldren is a beast of a demon. Over seven feet tall, he has four arms and holds a small hammer in each hand. His skin is a baby blue color and is completely bald. When he was summoned, he was actually wearing armour as well. Beatzuly jumps off Herldrens shoulder and she lands in front of Eva ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be rude to your summoner, Herldren. She could still easily kill you if she wanted, and it''s good to have a positive working relationship while we are in the mortal realm.¡± Beatzuly is small, even for a Nav Imp. She has the hallmark grey skin, but her hair is a hot pink. She also has a long pointed tail, which is rare for Nav Imps. Eva shakes her head ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m used to disgruntled demons.¡± Beatzuly huffs ¡°You''re not helping!¡± The Jinn Warrior snaps his head to the side. He grins wildly, and Eva picks up on this. He probably sensed a monster approaching. ¡°Dats a Demon init¡­ Right betzy?¡± Beatzuly raises an eyebrow and looks in the same direction. ¡°Huh, so it is.¡± Eva freezes. A demon? It isn¡¯t Tiffany, is it? ¡°Beatzuly, what kind of demon is it?!¡± She turns her head back at Eva ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s Nav Imp, like me. Herldren, is there anyone with the demon?¡± Eva immediately relaxes at the answer before turning to Herldren for his reply. He strokes his chin thoughtfully ¡°Lookin to be a few hummi culties. Oh, and a sprigin like you.¡± He points at Eva. Eva frowns. Her brother- To be honest, she had hoped he died in the attack. She shakes her head. Of course it wouldn¡¯t be that simple. Eva sighs ¡°Don¡¯t mention to the humans that we are elves, and refer to me as Evan from now on.¡± Beatzuly grins ¡°You got it boss!¡± However Herldren grumbles to himself ¡°Stoopid contact.¡± Eva grabs her stomach as it churns and after a moment the discomfort passes. She sighs, and waits for her ¡®guardian¡¯ to reunite with her. --- My muscles are burning. I¡¯m panting for air. I block a Roach Gladiators blade as it swings wildly in its madness. I grab onto the confused roach and rip it in half then throw the burning pieces of roach into the endless Roach Legions. You have slain a (Roach Gladiator / level 26) - Moderate experience rewarded --- You have slain a (Roach Gladiator / level 28) - Moderate experience rewarded You have slain a (Roach Brood Queen / level 29) - Moderate experience rewarded --- You have slain a (Roach Brood Queen / level 26) - Moderate experience rewarded You have leveled up! (26 ¡ú 29) - You have earned (15) stat points (Pain Tolerance) has leveled up! (6 ¡ú 7) (Mana Cycling) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 4) (Magical Aura Perception) has leveled up! (7 ¡ú 8) (Magical Aura Manipulation) has leveled up! (7 ¡ú 8) (Aura of Strength) has leveled up! (7 ¡ú 9) (Frost Breath) has leveled up! (6 ¡ú 9) (SoulFire) has leveled up! (6 ¡ú 9) (Aura of Vitality) has leveled up! (6 ¡ú 8) (Aura of Durability) has leveled up! (6 ¡ú 9) (Instant Position) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 4) I vomit a mouthful of blood as I¡¯m hit by the thrashing tail of a raging Roach Brood Queen sending me across the room into a different roach queen. I grab onto it and tear one of the holes on its back wide and blow Frost Breath into it, boosted by my Magical Aura Manipulation. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. A very surprised Roach Legion gets obliterated as the Roach Brood Queen screeches in pain and expires shortly after. I force Mana Cycling with Magical Aura Manipulation past what could be considered safe. I feel the edges of my soul erode slightly as a massive amount of mana flows through it. I stand on top of the roach queens corpse and look around. After all that it looks like I¡¯ve only killed about a third of the whole hoard. My mana refills rapidly, but my stamina is reaching its limit. You¡¯re tired- ¡°No! I¡¯m not fucking done!¡± With the stat points I¡¯ve received so far, I put 10 into Endurance and 5 into Strength, Durability, and Soul. My stamina goes from 3% to 35% and I jump back into the endless hordes of monsters. It¡¯s not enough, you can¡¯t kill her like this. I grit my teeth and glance at the Roach Empress. It¡¯s that same condescending look of indifference. ¡°Just you fucking watch me!¡± The Roach Empress mandibles slightly twitch as a small smile forms on her face- Name (Tiffany Day) / Age (23) / Race (Human) Alignment (Chaotic Neutral) Class (Monk) / Level (29) Stats / Stat Points (0) Strength (73) Durability (98) Agility (31) Endurance (35) Intellect (39) Soul (73) (-2) Intrinsic Status Vitality (72%) Stamina (33%) Sanity (85%) Mana (67%) (max 99%) Traits (Interloper) (Serial Killer) (Ydri¡¯s Jester) (Sadistic) Skills (Quick Thinking) level 9 (Pain Tolerance) level 7 (Observe) level 3 (Mana Cycling) level 4 Class Skills (Obscene Presence) level 2 (Magical Aura Perception) level 8 (Magical Aura Manipulation) level 8 (Aura of Strength) level 9 (Frost Breath) level 9 (SoulFire) level 9 (Aura of Vitality) level 8 (Aura of Durability) level 9 (Instant Position) level 4 --- Toulif walks around the corner to see two demons standing over his sister. He glances at the pink hair Nav Imp. Toulif grimaces, as he feels a sense of rage and shame. ¡°Hello captain-¡± Toulif cuts the vice captain off. ¡°Trent, Charlie. Set up the tent. I need to speak with the vice captain and his summoned Nav Imp in private.¡± The vice captain hangs her head for a moment before standing up and nodding. Geltor jumps onto Eva¡¯s shoulder and pats her head ¡°Welp, with this, the contract is complete!¡± Toulif looks at the Nav Imp. ¡°So it is.¡± Geltor jumps down and smiles as a red pentagram suddenly forms at his feet. Black clawed hands sprout out of the ground and grip onto the Nav Imp. ¡°I hope I never see any of you idiots again!¡± The hands pull Geltor into a seated position and he slowly fades from existence. After a few awkward moments of silence of Toulif staring at his sister without saying a word, the tent is finally set up. Beatzuly jumps onto Eva¡¯s shoulder as they enter the tent with Toulif. They take off their masks and stare at each other for a moment. Toulif glances at Nav Imp ¡°What is your task?¡± Beatzuly frowns, and looks at Eva. Eva nods and she turns back to Toulif ¡°To lead the way out of this dungeon.¡± Toulif scoffs, expecting that answer ¡°Of course it is. I knew you were a coward, but this is ridiculous. Did you not even try to look for others, or were you too focused on running away to care?¡± Eva grits her teeth ¡°The expedition was a complete failure! everyone was either dead or missing, so I was trying to keep myself alive long enough to report back to the cult!¡± Toulif chuckles at the response she gave ¡°Right, right, because you were going to go back to the cult, right? Not run from your responsibilities and let everyone think you had died in this mysterious dungeon?¡± Eva bites her lip at the sudden accusation. A deafening silence fills the room. Beatzuly¡¯s gaze keeps darting between the siblings, visibly uncomfortable at the interaction. Eva speaks ¡°I¡¯m not fit to be-¡± Toulif cuts her off with vitriol in his voice ¡°No, I don¡¯t think you are either. But I don¡¯t get to make that decision, and neither do you.¡± Toulif starts to shake his head as anger starts to build on his face. ¡°You really piss me off, you know. If I was in your position, I could do so much! You¡¯re a fucking coward Eva!¡± Eva grabs onto her clothes as she fights back tears. Beatzuly notices this and clicks her tongue. ¡°Hey! That''s going too far!¡± ¡°Shut up! Demon! In fact, Eva, alter the contract with this demon to track the demonic sealing collar. I¡¯d be fucking damned if I let you ruin this expedition!¡± Eva¡¯s gaze goes cold and her voice is quiet ¡°Yes, brother-¡± Eva stops herself as she looks at her brother. He doesn¡¯t have the usual spite filled gaze on his face. For the first time in a long time, he looks at her with concern. Toulif points at his own nose ¡°Eva.¡± Eva wipes at her nose and sees blood. A lot of blood- Blood is streaming out of Eva¡¯s nose and ears as Toulif and Beatzuly look on in shock. Eva¡¯s mind is suddenly filled with a voice she doesn¡¯t recognize. You¡¯re a murderer! Psychopath! You''re insane! Are you really bored right now?! They were right about you! I think you¡¯re getting tired! You¡¯re a bad person- Eva screams. --- I grab onto another, still living, Roach Gladiator and swing it into the head of a Roach Brood Queen. The gladiator explodes on impact and the roach queen recoils. The queen goes to bite down on me, but I vanish. I reappear inside one of the organs of the Roach Brood Queen with Aura of Durability fully manifested. I swap to Aura of Strength and my body bursts into black flames with SoulFire as I tear myself out of the monster. I pull myself out with a crazed smile on my lips. ¡°I didn''t think that would work!¡± You¡¯re disgusting- My smile deepens at the thought. ¡°Yes I am!¡± I shloch a handful of roach slime from my shoulder. You have leveled up! (29 ¡ú 30) - You have earned (5) stat points (Magical Aura Manipulation) has leveled up! (8 ¡ú 9) (Aura of Vitality) has leveled up! (8 ¡ú 9) (Instant Position) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) I jump off the monster and stomp onto a group of Roach Legions. Their insides burst out as they get squished at my feet. I look around to see most of my enemies around are ones that have gone completely insane. They are very easy to kill at this point. It¡¯s not that I have killed all the sane ones first. It''s the opposite actually. The ones that have kept their minds intact have started to run away in terror- With those that can effectively counter me running away and those insane roaches randomly attacking at nothing. I glance at the Roach Empress. She tilts her head at me as we both study each other. A grin breaks my face. ¡°You¡¯re a bitch aren¡¯t you! Trying to wear me down! The first brood queen I fought did the same thing, ya know!¡± I dump my 5 points in Endurance for more stamina. Aura of Strength shifts to my legs and I jump. I reorient myself as I crash into the roof of the dungeon. I glare at the empress with my one eye and she flinches. I launch myself at the Roach Empress and massive cracks form all across the ceiling from the impact. My soul coats my right arm with Aura of Strength and SoulFire. I go to punch the empress directly in the face. One of her insect arms flings upward and catches my fist. A shockwave reverberates across the empress¡¯s entire body. I stare in shock as the Roach Empress ignores her own burning hand to stare at me. My one eye widens as my own thoughts speak to me. You are too weak to kill her- One of the empress¡¯s arms slams into my ribs. My arm wasn¡¯t fast enough to block it, but my aura was. I reinforced the area with Aura of Durability and my ribs shatter. My body became a bullet as I hurtled through the room. Thousands of Roach Legions and one very unlucky Roach Brood Queen are caught in my trajectory. They are all completely annihilated as my limp body flies through them. I manage to fully manifest Aura of Durability before I crash into the far wall, but I still feel multiple bones break. I use Aura of Vitality boosted with Magical Aura Manipulation by covering the most injured areas first. I gasp for air as my ribs pull themselves out of my lungs and snap back into place. My right arm untwists itself and my left arm pops back into its socket. I grit my teeth as a shattered femur fuses back together. All the while the Roach Empress watches me. I finally get a read on its soul and all I feel is pity and amusement. You underestimate her. My eye widened. ¡°It''s you! Thats your fucking voice!¡± I see her soul dim for a brief moment as her mandible clicks. The Roach Empress soul brightens to an insane degree. The metallic soul literally catches fire and burns like a green sun. I feel my mind strain and blood starts flowing out of my eye, nose, and ears. The Empress¡¯s mandibles stretch open and they rip through her own cheeks. Her jaw unhinges, revealing rows of shark-like teeth. The voice booms and my skull shakes WE¡¯RE GRINNING EAR TO EAR!! I steal myself as I break into a grin. ¡°Yes we are!¡± The large sack-like body of the Roach Empress starts to fold into its torso. Her chitin hair extends downward and forms a black dress. Two translucent human-like legs extend out of her lower half. Her forehead bursts open as two massive antennas unfurl outward. You wait for you death to come- Chapter 15 / Bad Person (Part 3) The Roach Empress is incredibly excited for this coming fight. She wasn¡¯t sure if her mind magic was working until the intruder had confirmed it herself. The empress clicks her mandibles in glee as blood spills out of the orifices of the intruder''s face. The empress was greatly impressed by the intruder''s performance, despite their level. She suspected the intruder''s main ability was the temporary increase of base stats, but she didn¡¯t know if it came with some drawback. The Roach Empress had taken careful attention to the intruder¡¯s slaughtering of her children to get a read on their abilities. Roaches are far more intelligent than most give them credit for. The empress was not foolish enough to underestimate her opponent. Despite their level difference, the intruder was dangerous, and more importantly- Creative- Every kill the intruder performed was executed differently than the last. It is if they are unable to kill in the same way twice. The Roach Empress didn¡¯t think that this was an actual limit to the intruder''s abilities, but this represents something else to her. The intruder is like herself. They love to entertain themselves in the slaughter of their enemies. Before the empress knew it, she had entered a stare down with the intruder. (Monk / level 31) The Roach Empress didn¡¯t know what kind of creature a Monk was, but she was so excited to lock combat with such a dangerous opponent. The stare down continued as the tension between the two great warriors grew. Eventually the empress''s eyes had started to strain and she involuntarily blinked. As soon as she opened her eyes once more, the intruder had disappeared. The Roach Empress¡¯s danger sense screamed in her head- --- Toulif flaps the tent open and all the cultists immediately notice the intense screaming happening inside. ¡°Jammie! We need healing now!¡± Jammie, a cultist with his cheeks full of food, spits it out ¡°pft- Y- Yes!¡± He stumbles over himself as he runs into the tent. Inside he finds the vice captain clawing at his mask and screaming. Jammie is slightly shaken and confused at the sudden state of the vice captain, but steals himself long enough to not let his vice captain die. ¡°Vitali-!¡± Toulif grabs Jammie by the cheeks. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you to check his condition! I said, heal him!¡± Toulif throws the cultist in front of Evan. Jammie blinks, why can¡¯t he diagnose what is wrong with the vice captain? The vice captain''s screams stopped him from thinking about it too long though. Jammie pulls out his wand and waves it over the vice captain. ¡°Health Projection!¡± A large green magic circle appears along the length of Evan. Jammie instantly picks up that most of the healing magic is being drained into the vice captain''s head. He alters the magic, and the magic circle shrinks to Evans head. Jammie feels his mana start to drop rapidly. The Nav Imp squeaked out. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her!¡± Toulif shakes his head ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Jammie cuts in ¡°It¡¯s like his brain is being torn apart at a slow constant rate! I¡¯ve actually seen this before!¡± Toulif''s head snaps to Jammie ¡°You know what this is?!¡± Jammie scoffs ¡°Remember when we first entered this dungeon. We immediately encountered a level 58 Roach Empress. Its main attack was mind magic, remember!¡± ¡°Then there is a Roach Empress nearby!¡± The vice captain grabs the captain''s ankle ¡°Toulif!¡± Evan gasps for air ¡°Herldren, he should have sensed it!¡± As soon as the vice captain says this, a large pale blue demon with four arms, pulls open the tent flap and looks inside the crowded space. ¡°Da, fuck.¡± The demon looks at the vice captain with confusion. Toulif snaps at the demon and grabs the hilt of his sword. ¡°Demon! Tell me where the Roach Empress is!¡± Herldren freezes up at the warrior that''s 20 levels above him. He admits that he isn¡¯t the smartest, but he isn''t so idiotic to against someone with such a high level difference. ¡°I- uh- Don¡¯t knew! My sense telld me dat diss tent is where da bug is.¡± Toulif grips his sword tighter as his face contorts behind his mask. Eva grunts as she turns towards the Nav Imp ¡°Beatzuly, I¡¯m altering the contract.¡± Beatzuly eyes widened ¡°You can only do that once, alright.¡± Eva winces ¡°I know, I know! Amendment, the contract shall be completed upon the finding of the Roach Empress that''s attacking me.¡± ¡°These conditions are acceptable.¡± Beatzuly stares into the magic that affects Eva. Her eyes shine with an unknown kind of tracking magic. ¡°I found it!¡± Toulif picks up Beatzuly and places her on his shoulder. ¡°Show the way and I¡¯ll kill the empress. The vice captain is in no state to take charge, so Gent will take the lead in my absence!¡± Toulif looks down at his sister ¡°Don¡¯t you dare die.¡± Eva frowns behind her mask as Toulif runs off with the direction of Beatzuly. --- I stare down the Roach Empress and she stares back. The tension in the air is palpable. We smile at each other. Your hate is showing- I didn¡¯t notice when I started hearing voices, but they do say some pretty hurtful stuff, don¡¯t they. It kinda reminds me of when I was a kid. How nostalgic! I take note of all the notifications I received since I last checked. You have slain a (Roach Legion / level 0) - Very little experience rewarded --- You have slain a (Roach Brood Queen / level 29) - Moderate experience rewarded You have leveled up! (30 ¡ú 31) - You have earned (5) stat points (Magical Aura Manipulation) has leveled up! (9 ¡ú 10) (Aura of Strength) has leveled up! (9 ¡ú 10) (Aura of Durability) has leveled up! (9 ¡ú 10) (Aura of Vitality) has leveled up! (9 ¡ú 10) (SoulFire) has leveled up! (9 ¡ú 10) (Pain Tolerance) has leveled up! (7 ¡ú 8) (Mana Cycling) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) Something felt final about those level ups, but I can''t really place my finger on it. Maybe class skills can''t pass level 10? Well, whatever. I¡¯m too focused to care anyway. I¡¯m pushing everything- I use Aura of Vitality on my brain to counteract the Roach Empress¡¯s magic. Aura of Strength coats my legs as the tip of my foot digs into the rock. Aura of Durability is fully manifested across my entire body. My SoulFire instantly incinerates any legions that get too close. Mana Cycling and Magical Aura Manipulation are working together to increase the flow of mana as much as possible. My body and soul strain from the sheer force of the skills at play. I stare at the Roach Empress as giddiness fills my body. You''re going to die from this. I¡¯m probably going to die from this, but I don¡¯t care. This excitement, it¡¯s intoxicating. I keep watching, waiting for the perfect moment. My face strains from my ear to ear grin and I hold back a chuckle. The empress blinks- NOW! I hear a deafening shattering noise. My mana spikes and the world darkens and slows. Pain fills every inch of my body as fragments of my soul fly out in every direction. Oh no, I¡¯m going to die. I see a notification as the world goes black- [Starting Class Advancement] --- I wake up in a shallow pool of black water. Water splashes everywhere as I sit up at inhuman speeds. I¡¯m inside a massive black void with the only light source sitting in my blind spot. I snap my head towards it and- ¡°What the fuck?¡± A massive glowing golden statue of a muscular man sits to my left. If it were standing it would easily be over 30 feet tall. It¡¯s wearing a sleeveless tunic made of a white silk material. Its hair is pure white and its eyes are emeralds. Not as in they are green, but actual emerald jewels for eyes. A massive bright white halo floats behind its head. The statue blinks at me and frowns. ¡°Watch your language, my child.¡± His voice booms with authority. He wasn¡¯t loud, but firm. Like it was the most sure thing he had said in his entire life. It was how a father would talk to a child if they had done something wrong. It filled me with an overwhelming sense of- Submission- ¡°Okay.¡± I say it in almost a whimper. The massive gold man nods affirmatively. ¡°Good, now. Do you know who I am? Child.¡± I try to parse for an answer, any answer other than ¡®I don¡¯t know.¡¯ I think of his cadence and recognize it. It was him! ¡°No but, you were the one that left those helpful notes, right?¡± He nods, evidently pleased with my answer. ¡°Yes, my child. That was me. And it seems that you have stumbled upon the Monk class without any guidance, since you don¡¯t recognize me.¡± I blink as the golden man shifts his seated position from cross legged to resting the side of his head on his knee. He stares at me for a moment with a lite smile. ¡°My name is Bogodhan. The first Monk and the God of Patience. And this, my child.¡± he pauses for dramatic effect and waves his massive arm around him ¡°Is your first class advancement.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. (??? / ???) ¡°I have to say that I¡¯m glad you¡¯re still alive, child. When you appeared, your soul was in the midst of disintegrating!¡± It¡¯s like each thing he says causes me more panic than the last! I look down to see nothing there. ¡°Ahh F- I mean, h- how am I not dead? Where is it?¡± Bogodhan chuckles and raises his head. He extends his left hand and opens his fist revealing a small black flame ¡°Worry not, child. I took the liberty of reconstructing your soul while you were asleep.¡± I sigh in relief as my soul floats back to me. The reunion is short lived as I recall what he just said. Asleep? ¡°How long have I been asleep? No, what happened to the Roach Empress?¡± ¡°Ah. You were in a battle when the advancement started? Be at ease, child. Class advancements are instantaneous. Well, so fast that they might as well be instant.¡± ¡°But, this is a critical moment. How fast is Instant?¡± Bogodhan smirks, ¡°Unless the opponent is a god, child, it won¡¯t matter.¡± I furrow my brows, but I nod at that. I guess if a god says it¡¯s okay, then it¡¯s okay. ¡°So, what now?¡± ¡°We will take a look at the possible paths that have opened up to you. I will offer advice, but the choice is ultimately yours. Before we begin, may you introduce yourself, child.¡± I tilt my head in confusion ¡°You don¡¯t know who I am? What about those notes?¡± Bogodhan shakes his head ¡°I could go through your status and find out myself, but I find it more enjoyable to have my children introduce themselves. As for the notes, as you call them, they are for anyone with the Monk class and not tailored to you specifically.¡± I think back on those notes. I guess they were just vague warnings and never directly spoke to me. ¡°So, are you just some sort of guide then?¡± ¡°Yes, I guide all my children. At least until their first class advancement. It¡¯s my responsibility as a god, after all. Now then, your name?¡± I nod as I take in his confirmation. ¡°Alright, my name is Tiffany Day.¡± Bogodhan¡¯s jewel eyes widen and then his face softens ¡°A human with a soul of a demon and the name of an angel. You are truly a remarkable individual.¡± ¡°I have the name of an angel?¡± ¡°And ignorant to the world around them, despite what you might think of someone with a surname. Tell me, who are you, Tiffany Day?¡± Bogodhan scratches his chin and tilts his head in thought. Who am I? I find the question more disturbing than anything. I¡¯m a musician, an engineer. I¡¯m a hunter and a cook! And I¡¯ve done- I¡¯m a- My soul goes cold. Bogodhan stares at me with concern in his sparkling eyes. ¡°I apologize for upsetting you Tiffany. Shall we begin your advancement?¡± I nod my head gratefully ¡°Yes please.¡± Bogodhan smiles and he snaps his massive fingers. A massive crackling sound reverberates throughout the void as a rocky golden obelisk rises out of the water to my right. Once it finishes rising, a golden system screen appears in front of it with glowing white letters. [The Way of The Unbroken] (Time and time again, you have weathered against any challenge that has befallen you with great enthusiasm. You have taken your enemies'' attacks with stride and they have broken their frail bodies on your unbreakable form. The Way of The Unbroken is a pledge, I shall hone my body to become unceasing and undamaged. The world shall break before my body.) Every Level / Strength (+2) Durability (+3) Agility (+1) Endurance (+1) Intellect (+1) Soul (+2) ¡°This is¡­¡± I don¡¯t know what to say. It looks good and the stat increases every level is insane. If the Roach Empress had something like this, and assuming that there is another stat bump at level 50 as there was one for level 25. This fight is going to be dangerous. ¡°A common path, but this is not your only option. For your accomplishments are wide, child.¡± He snaps his fingers once again and a golden flame appears next to the monolith. The gold fire expands to a monolith of its own and a new system screen appears. [The Way of The FrostFire] (Time and time again, you have manifested and manipulated your own soul to fit your needs. Whether your enemies are turned to ash or frozen solid, you have found that they all die the same. You have changed your soul to create magic with pride. The Way of The FrostFire is an idea, the world and its ways are all to blame, I shall burn it away with frozen flames.) Every Level / Strength (+2) Durability (+2) Agility (+1) Endurance (+1) Intellect (+1) Soul (+3) I feel power emanates from this option. It feels strong. ¡°Woah.¡± ¡°Ah, quite the uncommon path. A FrostFire Monk comes around about once a decade, and to think you have two more options to go. It will only get better from here, my child.¡± Bogodhan snaps his fingers once more and suddenly and without warning, I hear a loud pop and splashing water. I turn to see a perfectly smooth and shiny gold obelisk with sharp right angles. It seems slightly bigger than the others. [The Way of The Space] (Although it was for a short time, you have gained the ability to move through space unimpeded. Despite your short experience, you have killed hundreds with your unpredictable movements through space. The Way of The Space is a theory. If I control the space between myself and my opponents, Would I need to fight to begin with?) Every Level / Strength (+1) Durability (+1) Agility (+2) Endurance (+1) Intellect (+2) Soul (+3) ¡°Huh.¡± Like the way of frostfire, this seems powerful, but at the same time, it feels weak? ¡°Ha! A truly rare advancement indeed, but be warned, child. If you¡¯re not confident in your ability to manipulate space. This path could end up making you weaker in the end.¡± I furrow my brows as I look at Bogodhan. ¡°An advancement can make me weaker?¡± He nods affirmatively ¡°Hm, how many skills do you have related to space magic and what are their levels?¡± I frown at his point ¡°I only have one, and it¡¯s only level 5.¡± ¡°Yes, I would advise against taking this path then. No worries, you still have one more.¡± Bogodhan snaps his fingers for the final time and it is met with silence. After a moment I hear a slight whistling. I raise an eyebrow as I look up. A star? My one eye widens as I notice the star gets slightly bigger and the whistling gets louder. I throw myself out of the way as an object slams into the ground sending a tidal wave of water splashing everywhere. Bogodhan lets out an amused ¡®Oh my!¡¯ I pull myself out of the water to look at the monolith. The gold monolith is rough and ragged, with spikes jutting out everywhere. The obelisk is covered in mud and blood. [The Way of The Excessive] (Time and time again you have pushed your body, mind, and soul far past than was considered possible or reasonable. Through a mixture of creativity and cruelty, you have dismantled your opponents for none other than your own amusement. For the first time in history, this new path for Monks has been forged by you. The Way of The Excessive is a promise, I shall take delight in whatever I do, to be the death of boredom itself.) Every Level / Strength (+3) Durability (+2) Agility (+1) Endurance (+1) Intellect (+1) Soul (+3) I blink at the system screen. It radiates with a power that has never been felt before, but I recognize it, because It is my power. Bogodhan grins at the monolith. ¡°A new path has been forged. Congratulations Tiffany Day, my child. You were unique enough to create something new. If you select this path you will expand on what it means to be a Monk in this world. However, this comes with risk. The power you receive from this path shall be determined from your own potential.¡± I stare at the god. A unique path made just for me? ¡°How is this even an option anymore?¡± Bogodhan breaks into a belly laugh ¡°You¡¯re right, child! When something as special as this presents itself, it doesn¡¯t even become a decision, does it!?¡± I scoff, but soon break into a grin of my own. The Way of The Excessive, huh. It really is made just for me. The god breathes a sigh of relief ¡°So, I take it you have made your decision?¡± I nod with a wide smile ¡°Yes, but before I go, can I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Of course, my child.¡± ¡°Do you know who Ydri is?¡± Bogodhan pauses, all amusement slips away from his face. ¡°What did you say?¡± Seeing the jovial god suddenly get serious unnerves me slightly. ¡°Um, Ydri? Are they a god too or something? I thought you might know something since you were a god.¡± Bogodhan frowns as he stares at me for an uncomfortable amount of time. ¡°I can¡¯t see two of your traits. Have you met Ydri itself, child? Is one of those traits Ydri¡¯s Jester?¡± I frown at the surprising amount of concern in Bogodhans voice. What about Ydri that makes him so worried. ¡°What if I do have that trait?¡± ¡°Then I can¡¯t speak of it. It¡¯s rude to speak of someone whilst they are listening. However, if you do have said trait, child.¡± He leans in, ¡°Good luck.¡± He snaps his fingers once more and vanishes from the void. The only light left comes from the four obelisks. A chill goes down my spine as silence fills the space. What the fuck is Ydri? Why was the actual god worried? I shake my head. The stress of everything is starting to get to my head. I look over to the bloody and spikey monolith. Why does my path have to look so savage? I remember everything I did to the monsters I killed. ¡°Ah, that¡¯d do it.¡± I walk over to the The Way of The Excessive monolith and place my hand on it. I feel power rush into me as my aura fully manifests and starts glowing gold. A large notification appears in front of me. Class [Monk] becomes [Excessive Monk] - Class skills (Aura of Strength) (Aura of Durability) (Aura of Vitality) consolidates and becomes (Aura of Constitution) - Class skill (SoulFire) evolves and becomes (Soul Conjuration) - Every Level / Strength (+3) Durability (+2) Agility (+1) Endurance (+1) Intellect (+1) Soul (+3) Congratulations, you have unlocked a class skill - (Excessive Momentum) Alert / (2) Class Skill slots remaining I blink as the world slowly starts to return around me. My face explodes with sadistic glee. I feel stronger. I am stronger! I use Instant Position as soon as I¡¯m able and appear behind the Roach Empress. A massive two handed sledgehammer made of black flame forms in my hands. Where did you go? I playfully whisper ¡°Right behind you.¡± And I swing. Name (Tiffany Day) / Age (23) / Race (Human) Alignment (Chaotic Neutral) Class (Excessive Monk) / Level (31) Stats / Stat Points (5) Strength (75) Durability (100) Agility (31) Endurance (40) Intellect (39) Soul (75) Intrinsic Status Vitality (100%) Stamina (100%) Sanity (85%) Mana (99%) Traits (Interloper) (Serial Killer) (Ydri¡¯s Jester) (Sadistic) Skills (Quick Thinking) level 9 (Pain Tolerance) level 8 (Observe) level 3 (Mana Cycling) level 5 Class Skills (Obscene Presence) level 2 (Magical Aura Perception) level 8 (Magical Aura Manipulation) level 10 (Frost Breath) level 9 (Instant Position) level 5 (Aura of Constitution) level 1 (Soul Conjuration) level 1 (Excessive Momentum) level 1 Chapter 16 / Bad Person (Finale) I swing at the Roach Empress from the right. One of her insect-like arms flings up to catch it. Cracks form throughout her arm as the soul-sledgeTM crashes into it. She uses the arm directly below the one I just injured to strike at my gut. I drop the soul-sledge as the soul returns to me and I grab onto her arm mid strike. I see her soul dim. Oh, she already knows! With one fluid pull, I rip her arm off. The Roach Empress screams, and it sounds more human than I expected. Her antenna flicks and blue lines form. She disappears before I can grab at her again. With Magical Aura Perception, I find her at the edge of this massive cavern. The look of indifference is finally replaced with hate and spite. I look at her with glee. I take this moment to take stock of my new abilities. Soul Conjuration / Level (1) (You have come to master the fire within your soul. Through your great understanding, you have learned how to create more of your own soul. You also gained the ability to repair your own soul once it becomes damaged.) At no cost bring your soul into reality Expend Mana to temporarily create more soul Expend Mana to repair your soul Aura of Constitution / Level (1) (You have mastered the enhancement and reconstruction of your own body. Your aura now passively remembers how to treat your body.) At no cost increase Durability and Strength by (50%) Expend Mana to repair your body Instant Position / Level (5) (Through great focus, you have changed the value of your position. The fact of your position has become an opinion, and your opinion is fact.) Expend Mana to realize your position Excessive Momentum / Level (1) (You¡¯re a bad person. You bring fear and death wherever you go. You come at the cost of everyone around you.) At the cost of your enemies increase all stats by (50%) over time I stare at the description for Excessive Momentum. All the fun I was having is ripped away at such a simple insult. A pit is formed in my stomach. Why does it have to insult me? Wasn¡¯t this new skill made just for me? Aura of Constitution coats my right arm as I catch a kick from behind me. I glare back at the Roach Empress with my one eye. Its face is filled with panic as its antenna swings around again. I blow Frost Breath at its head and the antenna freezes to a stop. I grab at its neck and slam the roach into the ground. It squeaks out as I tighten my grip on its throat. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you now.¡± Its soul brightens and the Roach Empress lets out an ear piercing screech. I let go of the roach and grab at my ears as my head fills with voices. You¡¯re a psychopath! What have you done?! Because you were bored?! You¡¯re a ba- Aura of Constitution shifts to my leg and I kick the bitch. She is sent flying, but stops mid-air. Two ornate butterfly-like wings sprout from her back and she looks down at me. The gash that''s in her side from the kick, regenerates rapidly. I glared back at her, ¡°Please, just stop saying that.¡± She tilts her head at me. Her soul tells me that she is confused. She doesn¡¯t understand what I mean. I frown, is she not in control of the voices? I grit my teeth as Aura of Constitution is fully manifested. I use Soul Conjuration to create a sledgehammer made of soul. The Roach Empress points one of its arms at me and lets out a human scream. Suddenly I¡¯m surrounded. (Roach Gladiator / level 27) (Roach Gladiator / level 25) ¡­ (Roach Brood Queen / level 28) (Roach Brood Queen / level 25) ¡­ Dozens of roaches appear out of thin air all around me. The Roach Empress is a fucking idiot. Spikes of black fire stick out of every inch of my body. I break them off and with Magical Aura Manipulation, I launch the spikes out in every direction. A tidal wave of soul fragments wash over the hoard of roaches. They are completely unimpeded by the projectiles sticking into them as they continue to rush me. The Roach Empress clicks her mandibles in amusement at the attempt. I simply snap my fingers as I glare at her. The soul fragments detonate as they get crushed by Magical Aura Manipulation. I black inferno erupts all around me as they all instantly die. Legs and heads and bits of roach flesh are flung out in every direction. The entire cavern is lit up by white fluorescent light so bright it washes out all color. You have slain a (Roach Gladiator / level 27) - less experience rewarded --- You have slain a (Roach Brood Queen / level 26) - less experience rewarded You have leveled up! (31 ¡ú 32) - You have earned (5) stat points (Soul Conjuration) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) The Roach Empress stares at me with horror. I raise the soul-sledge and with Aura of Constitution on my arms I swing. I appear directly in front of the empress mid-swing with Instant Position. She moves her head just enough to dodge it, but her right antenna is ripped clean off. I click my tongue as she clicks her mandibles. Suddenly a spray of bright green fluid shoots out her mouth. I block it from getting to my face with my arms, but the fluid immediately starts eating through my robes and skin. Acid! The empress kicks me as soon as I get distracted. I¡¯m flung towards the ground. I manage to reorient myself and land on my feet with aura on my legs. I look up and move out of the way to narrowly dodge a swing. The Roach Empress swings again with a separate arm and I block it with aura coating only my arm. My eye widens as a blade digs into my flesh. Scythe-like blades, similar to the Roach Gladiator, extend out of her six arms. Six? Didn¡¯t I- I block another swing with my arm, but this time I conjure a soul-dagger and lop off the blade before she could pull it back. I jump back as she whiffs another swing. This time I watch closely and she regrows her Scythe-like blade on her arm. That¡¯s some powerful regeneration. That¡¯s fine, it just means I need to kill her in one hit. You¡¯re- I appear behind her with Instant position and throw a punch at the back of her head with Aura of Constitution. Her head explodes into a green spectacle of viscera. I grin as the Roach Empress stops moving. You¡¯re a bad person- ¡°What?¡± The back end of a blade slams into my ribs. Blood spills out my mouth as my ribs shatter and my organs rupture. I didn¡¯t manage to block it with my aura in time. My limp body is flung across the room. I focus everything into repairing my organs as I fly through the air. I ignore slamming into the wall as I piece together my insides. It takes about 30 seconds to no longer be on the edge of death. I pry my eye open to find the Roach Empress. I find her rapidly flying around randomly and attacking everything. The roach obliterates the rocky floor as she swings at nothing. A few of her own children are caught in the rampage and torn apart. You¡¯re a bad person- ¡°Fucking hell!¡± After I heal myself to an acceptable degree I stand up just in time for the headless Roach Empress to fly directly at me. Its head is halfway reformed. I blow Frost Breath at it and it doesn¡¯t think to dodge. I side step the frozen roach and grab onto its wing and rip it off. Its other frozen wing breaks away as it rolls along the ground. You¡¯re- ¡°Shut the hell up!¡± I appear standing on top of its back. I pull whatever it regenerated of its head off its shoulders. An arm swings back at me, but I catch it and rip it off as well. A grab another arm and twist it from the body. Then a leg, then an arm, then another regenerated wing. Its head starts to reform again, so I stomp on it. I keep my foot dug into its neck so its head can¡¯t come back again. I keep pulling limbs off and they keep coming back. I will keep pulling limbs off until this insect is fucking dead. --- Toulif is sprinting at full speed. Well, as fast as he could with the multiple turns and the demon''s direction. Beatzuly hangs on tight to Toulif¡¯s shoulder ¡°Take a right there, then go left!¡± Toulif bolts through the cavities of the dungeon. He can¡¯t let his sister die. He will not let this become his failure. Toulif turns another corner and finds a monster blocking his path. (Roach Gladiator / level 27) Toulif grips his sword as the monster shows signs that it¡¯s about to teleport. The monster vanishes and Toulif swings behind him to only find that the monster isn¡¯t attacking him. The monster slinks away behind the corner they came from. Beatzuly frowns ¡°Is it running away?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter! Where to next?¡± The demon blinks at Toulif ¡°Right! That way!¡± Toulif continues to run only to find more roach monsters. All of them completely ignore Toulif and the demon as they run past them. Toulif doesn¡¯t have a skill that lets him sense the emotions of others like some demons do, but he can tell. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. All of these monsters are running in terror- Toulif furrows his brows, ¡°What in the dark supreme one?¡± Beatzuly¡¯s eyes widened ¡°Toulif, we are almost there but¡­¡± Toulif frowns as he thinks of why these monsters are running. He has an idea ¡°What is it, demon?¡± Beatzuly confirms his suspicions ¡°There¡¯s a demon with the Roach Empress.¡± Toulif grimaces ¡°It must be her.¡± Toulif turns around another corner and he sees a familiar white light shine around the next turn. The demon grabs onto Toulif¡¯s collar as she finds a better purchase. ¡°Who¡¯s her?¡± The cultist and the demon turn the corner and find a massive open cavern. What they see in that moment brings them to a loss of words. Absolute destruction- The floor, walls, and even the ceiling are all ruthlessly cracked and broken. Massive pools of black fire are scattered about haphazardly. Hundreds, no. Thousands of roach monster corpses are viscerally torn apart and scatter about everywhere. Everything from Roach Legions to Roach Gladiators and Roach Brood Queens are among the dead. The sight nearly makes Toulif vomit, and he has seen some things. He gulps saliva as his face contorts ¡°Tiffany is here.¡± He looks a Beatzuly and even the demon seems shocked ¡°The Roach Empress is dead. What sort of monster is Tiffany?¡± Toulif shakes his head as he enters the war zone ¡°A demon.¡± Toulif starts walking through the maze of black flames and destruction around him. The Roach Empress is dead, so there is no reason to rush anymore. The cultist and the demon eventually come across a still alive Roach Gladiator, except it doesn¡¯t attack them or even run away. The roach has its bladed arms wrapped around its torso and it repeatedly slams its own head into the ground. Beatzuly stares with her mouth open as Toulif walks past it. The demon is evidently shaken ¡°T- that''s psychic damage! Only an extremely powerful demon can cause psychic damage to this degree! What the fuck did you summon?!¡± Toulif grit his teeth at the accusation ¡°I didn¡¯t summon anything! This was Eva¡¯s doing. She isn¡¯t hostile¡­ For now¡­ I hope.¡± Beatzuly eyes widened at Toulif. Her lips quivering ¡°I- I don¡¯t think I want to be here anymore! Let¡¯s go back!¡± Toulif scoffs ¡°Are you stupid? You still need to find the Roach Empress if you want to go back to hell, or do you want to stay in the mortal realm forever. You know, I could just go back on my own and you can find the empress yourself. If it¡¯s already dead, then I have no reason to be here.¡± Beatzuly blinks rapidly at Toulif ¡°On second thought, lets stick together! It¡¯d be safer that way!¡± That manages to get a light chuckle out of Toulif. Despite his stoic expression, Toulif is completely terrified at this point. He really needed some relief. Beatzuly sits on Toulifs shoulder with a deep frown. She points in the direction they need to walk in and Toulif follows. To where the corpse of the Roach Empress is, and where Tiffany is. Toulif decides to ask ¡°What¡¯s the demon doing?¡± Beatzuly wraps her arms around her legs as she sits. ¡°Nothing, they are just¡­ standing over the Roach Empress. Hey, what kind of demon is Tiffany?¡± Toulif gulps ¡°It shows that she is a Monk, but that''s just her class apparently since she is in a human form.¡± Beatzuly furrows her brows ¡°Human form?¡± ¡°Yes, she claims to be an Eldritch Horror.¡± The demon''s face becomes frozen in an expression of fear ¡°I¡­ See.¡± Eventually they turn around a large boulder and find Tiffany and the Roach Empress. The empress¡¯s corpse is a sight to see. They¡¯re piles and piles of insect arms, legs, and wings surrounding the two. The eviscerated torso of the empress lays at Tiffany feet. Tiffany turns to the two arrivals and it makes them tense. She is completely covered in roach blood. Her hair is disheveled and scars coat her body. Toulif notes that she somehow had attained armour at some point as well. It¡¯s a deep red color and covered in sharp jagged edges. The most notable thing about the armour is the spikes that come out of the knuckles. A powerful magic seems to be infused with the armour. Toulif thinks, where did she get that armour? But, the Eldritch Horror''s glare stops him from asking. Toulif instinctively uses Identify on her. (Excessive Monk / level 38) Her real level- ¡°Took you two long enough, enjoy your stroll?¡± The cultist and the demon freezes- --- You have slain a (Roach Empress / level 50) - Massive experience rewarded You have leveled up! (32 ¡ú 38) - You have earned (30) stat points (Quick Thinking) has leveled up! (9 ¡ú 10) (Pain Tolerance) has leveled up! (8 ¡ú 10) (Mana Cycling) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 7) (Frost Breath) has leveled up! (9 ¡ú 10) (Instant Position) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) (Aura of Constitution) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 4) (Soul Conjuration) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) (Excessive Momentum) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 4) Congratulations, you have unlocked a class skill - (Terrifying Presence) Alert / (1) Class Skill slots remaining You have completed the objective (Extermination!) - Applying rewards A suit of armour just popped into existence the very moment I got the notification that the Roach Empress died. I didn¡¯t even need to put it on, it just appeared directly onto my body. The robes I was wearing seemed to have just vanished at the same time, however I¡¯m not particularly worried about it. They were heavily damaged at this point anyway. The armour feels special too. There''s magic lofting off it. Although when I use Observe on it. (Enchanted Armour) That¡¯s all I get. I sigh at the lack of an explanation. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to tell me what this armour can do, are you?¡± I ask in thin air. A grey notification screen appears with black letters. Nuh- uh! ¡°Yep- that¡¯s what I thought!¡± I shake my head as I go through the rest of the notifications. My eye stops at the¡­ New class skill? Terrifying Presence / Level (1) (You have changed your aura to appear terrifying. You will intimidate everyone around you. This will affect both friend and foe.) This skill is passive and cannot be deactivated This skill will become less effective against those far higher leveled than you Shit- I wasn¡¯t even trying to get a skill like this! I mean, it¡¯s cool though! But not being able to turn it off is a real problem. Wait, this will only happen when I manifest my aura, right? I can¡¯t activate Obscene Presence without manifesting my aura so, Terrifying Presence should work the same. I nod my head at the thought. Welp, it¡¯s not like I can get rid of skills, or at least, I don¡¯t think so. I snap my head to my right. That''s a demon and a cultist, no wait¡­ (Magical Aura Perception) has leveled up! (8 ¡ú 9) That¡¯s Toulif and Geltor? No, not Geltor. I think it¡¯s a Nav Imp though. I shrug. I don¡¯t care why they are here right now and I have something else I need to attend too. I have 40 unspent stat points right now. I grin as I think about what to spend them on. I put 12 into Agility, 3 into Endurance, and 4 into Intellect. That brings all of them to an even 50. I just did it for the sake of my OCD and not for any deep reason. I dump the last 21 into Durability for the hell of it. I very much like being a tank and having absurd durability is fun for me. I sigh as I pull up my status, I feel so stupid strong right now. ¡°Status.¡± Name (Tiffany Day) / Age (23) / Race (Human) Alignment (Chaotic Neutral) Class (Excessive Monk) / Level (38) Stats / Stat Points (0) Strength (96) Durability (135) Agility (50) Endurance (50) Intellect (50) Soul (96) Intrinsic Status Vitality (100%) Stamina (38%) Sanity (85%) Mana (100%) Traits (Interloper) (Serial Killer) (Ydri¡¯s Jester) (Sadistic) Skills (Quick Thinking) level 10 (Pain Tolerance) level 10 (Observe) level 3 (Mana Cycling) level 7 Class Skills (Obscene Presence) level 2 (Magical Aura Perception) level 9 (Magical Aura Manipulation) level 10 (Frost Breath) level 10 (Instant Position) level 6 (Aura of Constitution) level 4 (Soul Conjuration) level 3 (Excessive Momentum) level 4 (Terrifying Presence) level 1 I look over at Toulif and the demon''s souls, they sure are taking their sweet ass time. I frown as I look down at the Roach Empress¡¯s corpse. That voice it created is still ringing in my head. I think that this fight would have been way more fun if it weren''t for that. I¡¯m a- It is raining outside. An old man sits, relaxing inside his greenhouse. The air is humid and hot. He scratches his head as he turns his head to the other shoulder to rest on. He lays on a pool chair with his phone on his lap. The plants shift slightly from the breeze, flowing through a cracked window in the roof. The plant gently caresses my face as I stand over the sleeping man. My heart beats loudly in my ears. My breathing starts to quicken as I bite my lip. The man''s eyes crack open slightly as he turns to me. Warmth starts to fill my body. The old man blinks ¡°Who?¡± My knife glides across his throat. My heart slams into my chest as the old man falls off his chair. He knocks over a massive plant and its pot shatters beneath his body. I slowly smile as I watch the man slowly bleed out at my feet. I hear the greenhouse door open- I quickly turn around at the unexpected witness and throw my knife at them. My eyes widen as the knife sticks out of the little girl''s chest. She couldn¡¯t be older than 10 years old. She collapses to the ground- My heart slams into my chest and my breathing becomes ragged. The little girl stares at me with shock in her eyes and gasps for air. I need to put her out of her misery. I walk over to her with indifferent eyes. My heart beats even faster and my eyes twitch involuntarily. I stand over the girl and I go to grab my knife. I can¡¯t leave it here. ¡°You¡¯re a bad person.¡± I stop- I stare at the girl and my hands start to shake violently, without permission. My face contorts in ways I don¡¯t understand, without reason. I ran away, without leaving. I look at the Roach Empress with a feeling I don¡¯t really understand. A pain starts to come from my missing eye. I don¡¯t think it''s real pain, my Pain Tolerance is too high level for me to notice. But I can still feel it. My frown deepens as I whisper to myself ¡°I know.¡± Toulif and the Nav Imp finally reach me. I glare at them with my one still intact eye. What took you guys so long! I had to go through an entire emotional flashback because they decided to drag their damn feet. I grimace as I manifest my aura to fuck with them. ¡°Took you two long enough, enjoy your stroll?¡± The two idiots freeze in place. Chapter 17 / It Fucking Stacks Toulif is afraid. He has never been more scared before. Every instinct he has is telling him to run for his life. He can feel Tiffany''s bloodlust fill every inch of the dungeon. Every split second is a near death experience and all Tiffany is doing is looking at him. The Eldritch Horror tilts her head and the fear vanishes. His fear hasn¡¯t dissipated entirely, but he no longer feels like he is on the edge of death. Beatzuly and Toulif gasp for air as they realize that they are holding their breath. Toulifs heart beats rapidly as he grabs his chest. She must have decided to not kill them. Tiffany speaks with a grin ¡°Huh... level 53? Were you scared? Wait.¡± Tiffany gasps ¡°You¡¯re so cute!¡± Tiffany appears right in front of Toulif without any warning or build up to a teleport. Was that not a teleport? Is she just that fast? Toulif nearly falls backwards, but Tiffany catches him by grabbing his arm. ¡°Woah there! Sorry, I got a little excited.¡± She turns to the demon on his shoulder ¡°What¡¯s your name!¡± She asks in a cheery and almost unnatural voice. The Nav Imp peaks behind Toulif¡¯s back as she tries to squeak out her voice. ¡°B- Beatzuly.¡± Tiffany smiles in a way that they both find unnerving. ¡°Beatzuly huh, that¡¯s a pretty cool name. That reminds me, where¡¯s Geltor?¡± She turns back to Toulif with furrowed brows. Toulif can¡¯t help but think, oh no. ¡°Uh, he returned back to hell after we found the vice captain.¡± Much to Toulif¡¯s and Beatzuly¡¯s horror, Tiffany frowns at that. ¡°Aww, I didn¡¯t get to say goodbye.¡± She shrugs ¡°Welp, that''s how it goes sometimes.¡± Toulif blinks at that. That was it? No rampage? He breathes a sigh of relief. ¡°Well, it¡¯s good to meet another demon. You¡¯re like a cat. It¡¯s so cute!¡± Toulif''s mind strains at the words of the Eldritch Horror. What¡¯s a cat? He shakes his head. She must be trying to generate more confusion. Beatzuly hops off Toulif¡¯s shoulder and runs past Tiffany. The Nav Imp goes to touch the Roach Empress¡¯s corpse and she turns back to yell at Toulif. ¡°Okay, the job is finished! I¡¯m leaving now!¡± A pentagram forms at the demon''s feet and the black hands of the first devil reach up and grab Beatzuly. The Nav Imp quickly fades from existence and nothing is heard except for the crackling of fire as Toulif realizes that he is now alone with the Eldritch Horror. Toulif slowly turns to see Tiffany looking on at where the demon vanished. He is unable to see her expression, but his soul fills with dread as her silence continues. Toulif finches when Tiffany suddenly deflates and clicks her tongue ¡°Awww, man.¡± --- Why did the cute Nav Imp run away?! I mean, I did use Terrifying Presence. Maybe it¡¯s way more effective than I thought. I shake my head at the short interaction. Beatzuly is a badass name too, I kinda wanted to befriend her. I turn back to look at the cultist. Much better than Toulif. I grin at the thought of the dumb name which, obviously, disturbs Toulif. Toulifs soul is filled with fear and doubt. I think I should try to calm him down, but how? I scratch my chin as I stare at him in silence. He only gets more uneasy by the second. I decide that I need to say something ¡°So, how''s Eva doing? Is she alright?¡± Toulif fear suddenly dissipates, only to be replaced with anger. He looks at the dead Roach Empress and sighs. ¡°She¡¯s fine now.¡± I blink at Toulif ¡°Now? What does that mean?¡± Toulif hesitates, but elaborates ¡°Eh- She was affected by the Roach Empress¡¯s mind magic, but now that it¡¯s dead she will be okay.¡± My eye widens as I look in the direction of Eva¡¯s soul. It¡¯s dimmed slightly, but she is alive. I sigh at that, but how was she affected by the roaches magic? Then I remembered the ¡®bridges.¡¯ My soul has two bridges. One goes to some unknown place where my mana comes from. The other is connected to Eva¡¯s soul. I don¡¯t know when we were connected, but all that matters is that we are. Did the Roach Empress somehow send her magic through that bridge? I blink as I shift my perspective deep within my soul. I¡¯m suddenly confused. ¡°What?¡± Toulif gathers enough courage to speak ¡°What is it?¡± I blink at Toulif and shake my head ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Let¡¯s return to the party, yeah. I¡¯ll lead the way since I know where Eva is.¡± Toulif scratches the back of his head ¡°Sure?¡± His fear dissipates a bit more which is good. I would say he¡¯s confused and wary now. I think I should be direct with him. I speak casually as I walk past Toulif ¡°I have no intention to hurt anyone related to Eva. I don¡¯t really have a way to prove my words, so¡­¡± I turn and give him a shrug. I can see Toulif having trouble processing my words, but he snaps out of it as I start walking away. He starts to follow me in silence. I can tell he doesn¡¯t trust me at all, but now his soul seems slightly reassured regardless. I guess that¡¯s enough for now. Onto more important things. I shift my perspective to my soul once more. That''s so weird¡­ The bridge that mana flows from has changed. It¡¯s no longer coming from beneath my feet, but directly above me. Did the source of mana move at some point? I focus on my soul as I think on what this could mean. I blink as I get an idea. Maybe magic comes from space¡­ Mana comes from some celestial object and the world just rotates? My eye widens as I realize something. I could just ask Toulif. I glance back at him and he doesn¡¯t react, but his soul is tense. A weird question shouldn¡¯t scare him right? It wouldn¡¯t scare me, but if it came from someone I was already scared of?... Eh, fuck it. ¡°Hey Toulif, do you know where mana comes from?¡± Toulif¡¯s soul goes dim for a moment ¡°Er- uh.¡± He doesn¡¯t know what to say. I sigh ¡°It¡¯s not a trick question, cause I genuinely don¡¯t know.¡± Toulif looks at me for a moment as we walk and his soul brightens slightly ¡°Mana comes from the source.¡± So it has a name. I smile at his response ¡°What¡¯s the source?¡± ¡°The source is where everything comes from. As for what it is, I don¡¯t know.¡± He shakes his head. I grin as I think of something funny ¡°So that¡¯s why it''s called sorcery!¡± I hold back a snicker and Toulif stops walking for a moment to stare at me. Surprisingly I¡¯m unable to tell what he is feeling. Maybe it¡¯s too complex an emotion, I don¡¯t know. We continue walking in silence. For now I have some introspection to do. My skills have changed and I don¡¯t really understand them right now. I want to change that. The first class skill I meditate on is Instant Position. I found that this is not teleportation in the traditional sense. It¡¯s way weirder- I''m sure that this is the same thing the roaches use. I take the ¡®data¡¯ that¡¯s my current position and rewrite it to be somewhere else. That changed data is then forced to become reality with mana and I effectively teleport. Space itself isn¡¯t even affected in the process. I can¡¯t distort space with an inward flow of mana after all. That would be magic that affects the world, not the body. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I wouldn¡¯t even call it space magic! It¡¯s like I¡¯m manipulating the concept of my position. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t go with The Way of The Space when I had the option. It was completely incompatible with my soul''s structure. Well, maybe it would have changed my soul so it would be possible. I guess I¡¯ll never know. Next I move onto Aura of Constitution, and I don¡¯t find anything that exciting. Though the aura is far stronger and way more efficient. Also, every level seems to add 5% to the strength and durability increase. At level 4 it''s 65% more strength and durability. The efficiency of the healing is also increased, but it doesn¡¯t state by how much in the description of the skill. This in conjunction with Magical Aura Manipulation¡­ Holy shit dude. It¡¯s a 260% increase if the aura coats one limb. That¡¯s an effective durability of around 480 and an effective strength of around 350. At the same time! I¡¯m so grateful to Ydri for giving Magical Aura Manipulation. I didn¡¯t realize at the time and was super pissy about it, but if it didn¡¯t give me that, I would be 100% dead right now. I tried to increase the multiplication of the modifier, but trying to condense my whole soul to just my hand for increased efficiency was dangerous. My soul started to crack and if I didn¡¯t let go, it would have detonated in my body and it would not be pretty. I think I should be happy with just the x4 multiplier. Next it¡¯s time to play with Soul Conjuration. It can basically do everything SoulFire could do and more. Soul Conjuration wouldn¡¯t be possible without Magical Aura Manipulation. I create a new section of soul and push it out of my body. A ball of black fire floats in my hand. It doesn¡¯t hurt from being outside of my body, because it¡¯s not part of my original soul. Toulif flinches at the sight of the black fire, but doesn¡¯t say anything. He averts his gaze and that seems to calm him down somewhat. I knew it- I had a feeling that the ¡®presence¡¯ skills are affected by line of sight. The less of the aura someone sees, the less effective Terrifying Presence and Obscene Presence would be. Having confirmation is nice. I turn my attention to the ball of SoulFire. With Magical Aura Manipulation, I can freely move the ball of fire around my body. I can also send the fire away from me, about 20 feet before I lose control over it. The ball of soul retains its shape past that point, but can no longer freely manipulate it. I can feel that I can still crush it to make it explode if I wanted to though. I pull the ball of black fire back to my hand with Magical Aura Manipulation, with Soul Conjuration however¡­ The fire rapidly shifts into a soul-dagger and I grab the handle. That¡¯s so cool- I can make weapons out of my own God. Damn. Soul. I mess around with it, making several weapons that come to mind. A soul-sword, a soul-sledgehammer, a soul-scythe, and others. I would say these weapons are about as durable as my base durability, maybe a bit stronger. I think their durability scales with the skills level and not my own durability. I let the conjured fragment of soul return and the mana lost creating it returns to me. I make a mental note of the trade off. Manipulating the soul with Magical Aura Manipulation doesn¡¯t cost any mana. So, creating a conjured soul fragment and flinging it around the room and having it return to me, makes the effective mana cost zero. Shifting the soul fragment into a soul-whatever does cost mana however. Something to keep in mind. I saved the most upsetting for last. Excessive Momentum. This skill is strong, but unfortunately, it¡¯s not a magical skill. It¡¯s completely unaffected by my aura, so no focusing the skill to make it stronger. At level 4 it has the potential to increase all my stats up to 65% and it stacks with Aura of Constitution. It fucking stacks- That¡¯s an effective durability of 800 and an effective strength of 570 at full momentum. That¡¯s disgusting. I think because the skill affects the stats directly, Aura of Constitution applies on top of it and isn¡¯t additive. I want to test this as soon as possible but- How do I increase momentum? During the fight with the Roach Empress the momentum was completely maxed out the moment I got the skill. Right now though, it¡¯s hovering around 3%. I think I know why, ¡°Toulif!¡± His soul flashes bright and he grips his sword. The momentum increases to about 5%. I knew it- I give him a smile and wave ¡°Hi!¡± I continue walking like nothing happened and Toulif reluctantly follows. The momentum is now sitting at 4%. The description of Excessive Momentum literally says I come at the cost of others. So, the more I negatively affect those around me, the more momentum I receive. Anything negative, from damage, I glance at Toulif, to fear. I sigh, this sucks. It¡¯s a really powerful skill, but doubles as a constant reminder. I decided to punch the wall. I wanted to see if damaging the environment also increased the momentum. My fist crashed into the dungeon wall and digs into the rock. Cracks explode outward and my momentum goes up to 7%. My hope rises slightly, but I immediately frown. I look over at Toulif as I pull my hand out of the wall. ¡°Sorry, I was testing something.¡± The momentum drops to 5% as Toulif stares at me. I ignore him and keep walking. My eye widens as I remember a certain trait- My head snaps to the left as Magical Aura Perception picks something up. ¡°Toulif, we¡¯re taking a detour.¡± I can almost feel Toulif frown behind his mask ¡°Why?¡± I grin at him ¡°I want to test something, you¡¯re welcome to watch of course!¡± I expected him to protest, but to my surprise ¡°Alright, then.¡± My smile deepens ¡°Sweet, follow me!¡± --- Toulif is disturbed. The presence of the Eldritch Horror is completely erratic in every way. Before she revealed her level she mostly talked to the other demon. She was mostly passive if anything until the incident with that Roach Gladiator. But now she says things at random. She punched a wall without warning to ¡®test something.¡¯ Tiffany even set him up to make a fucking pun. Toulif knows that this is all just to confuse him, but even so, it bends his mind. And now he is following Tiffany for her to once again ¡®test something.¡¯ He felt like he couldn¡¯t say no so he didn¡¯t upset the dangerous demon. Eventually after a few minutes of walking they came across a monster. (Abominable Serpent / level 24) Tiffany immediately speaks up ¡°This monster is mine. Do. Not. Interfere.¡± Toulif shakes at the threat. Does she want to test her abilities on the monster? Is that why they are here? The serpent roars/hisses at them as Tiffany creates two daggers made from black fire. The black fire unnerves Toulif. It feels like the fire is about to jump at him to attack him at any moment. Even the monster suddenly goes quiet. She¡¯s intimidating it? Those kinds of monsters aren¡¯t intelligent enough to avoid fights with those higher leveled, but even they aren¡¯t immune to the sheer fear the Eldritch Horror emanates. Tiffany appears right in between the two heads of the serpent and stabs her daggers into each neck. Toulif catches a glimpse of her face and it¡¯s filled with joy. It sends shivers down his spine. Tiffany starts laughing as she runs down the length of the monster. The two daggers have formed into a scythe and she drags it through the creature. Once she reaches its end the serpent goes to hit her with its tail. As the tail almost reaches her, Toulif notices white air come from Tiffany¡¯s mouth. She flicks her hand at the tail as it reaches her and the tail shatters like glass. The Abominable Serpent roars in pain as Tiffany jumps off the trashing creature. The creature stares at the Eldritch Horror with hate in its eyes. Tiffany madly grins back at the monster as her right arm erupts into black flames. As she raises her fist, Toulif starts sweeting. It¡¯s like he¡¯s looking at a devil. One of the serpents heads starts to whimper, but the other head steals itself. The serpent blows fire at the demon and she vanishes. Toulif immediately catches her at the base of the large serpent with her flaming fist pulled back. Tiffany throws the punch and the serpent evaporates- A shockwave blasts Toulifs ears as the bloodied gore of the serpent slams the back wall and the dungeon quakes. In the direction she threw the punch rocks exploded outward and an adjacent path collapsed. Tiffany¡¯s laughter over takes the rumbling of the dungeon as rocks start to fall from the ceiling. Toulif watches the spectacle in horror. For some reason, without thinking, he asks Tiffany a question. ¡°Why are you laughing?¡± Toulif immediately regrets his actions as Tiffany¡¯s head snaps to him, her face filled with a sadistic glee. ¡°Because it fucking stacks!¡± Toulif is confused- Chapter 18 / Reunion Eva isn¡¯t in pain anymore. She sits up inside the tent with Jammie, the last surviving healer in the expedition team. She doesn¡¯t attempt to converse, nor does she want to. Eva¡¯s too focused on her class skill Summoners Insight. Summon(Tiffany Day) Race(Human) Level(38) Last Ability Used(Class Skill/Aura of Constitution) Eva is sweating. She wants to think that Tiffany has simply revealed her true level, but deep down she knows that isn¡¯t true. She saw it, or more precisely felt it. A class advancement- It was a familiar feeling when she underwent hers. Being ripped away from the world itself. Receiving the honor of speaking with The First Cultist, the Devil of Worship. The overwhelming feeling of inferiority. Eva wasn¡¯t sure why she felt it at first, but she knows that it came from Tiffany. She really was level 6 when they first met. Eva replays memories of their conversations. The questions she had were all something that someone who had no idea of how the system worked would ask. Tiffany really had leveled up 32 times in little over three days. That¡¯s insane, it shouldn''t be possible, but that¡¯s what happened. Eva needs to speak with her brother about this. With him, they can slay her before she gets too powerful. Eva hears a grumbling outside of the tent ¡°Uh Ev- ugh, Evan. Da captain'' back and what not.¡± Eva gives a sigh of relief. She wants to go out and greet her brother, but she is so tired that it just isn¡¯t possible. Not like such a gesture would matter to him anyway. The tent flap flips open and Toulif walks in. Eva stares at her brother as he looks down at her in silence. The captain¡¯s gaze switches to Jammie ¡°Leave.¡± The healer blinks for a moment ¡°Yes.¡± and exits the tent. As soon as he leaves, Toulif takes off his mask and Eva¡¯s eyes widen at his expression. He looks tired, to say the least. It must have been a very exhausting fight. Eva speaks formally ¡°I take it you have slain the Roach Empress.¡± Toulif grabs the bridge of his nose and winces ¡°Eva.¡± Eva frowns at his reaction ¡°Yes?¡± He lowers his hand and stares at her with a dreadful seriousness ¡°What have you done?¡± Eva is stunned. --- I¡¯m standing right outside of the tent that Eva¡¯s in. Toulif walked in to talk to her, but I didn¡¯t follow. I¡¯m biting my nails out of nervousness and not because of the massive four armed blue demon standing next to me. How do I go about this? What do I even say? Sorry for killing your cultist friends and forcing you to do what I want. Don¡¯t worry, I got you hard drugs to make up for it! I frown. There is no way this works. The blue demon taps my shoulder and I look up at him. He looks at me with a concerned face, but his soul says he¡¯s confused. He speaks with a voice that''s hard to understand clearly ¡°Ya a demon, or a hummi?¡± I blink at the demon. I¡¯m honestly kinda surprised. I got used to everyone just assuming that I¡¯m a demon, that it throws me off when someone expects me out of nowhere. ¡°I¡¯m a demon.¡± The blue demon tilts his head at me with a frown ¡°Ya sure?¡± I frown back and cross my arms ¡°Of course I¡¯m sure! Why wouldn¡¯t I be sure?!¡± The demon grins ¡°Nah! Nah! That¡¯s somthin a hummi would say!¡± I blink rapidly as I try to work my jaw ¡°What?! How did-!¡± The big blue bastard starts laughing and the other cultists start looking our way. I start to sweat slightly. There is no way this is how I¡¯m found out. The real demon looks at me while scratching his cheek and a smile on his face ¡°Yas a hummi for sure, sure. Ya had magic of a demon, ya a hummi tho-¡± He blinks for a moment ¡°How¡¯d a hummi get demon magic?¡± My one eye darts around to see that all the cultists outside the tent are now watching the conversation. Shit. ¡°Cause I am a demon! A human can¡¯t use demon magic!¡± The blue demon blinks again ¡°But ya can?¡± My eye twitches as my earlier nervousness starts shifting into rage. My face starts to contort, but my rage suddenly disappears. Huh, do I need to keep pretending to be a demon? I blink with my one eye, then sigh. ¡°Ya got me! The jig is up! I was a human the whole time! Ya happy.¡± I feel shock and surprise come from all around me. Fuck, this is how it goes huh. I furrow my brows as I realize I¡¯m feeling surprise come from right in front of me. I look up at the demon and his face is dumbfounded ¡°I¡¯s was right?!¡± He was right? Wait, he didn¡¯t know? ARE YOU FU- I punch him in the gut and he is sent flying into a nearby wall. I manifested Aura of Constitution, but I didn¡¯t focus it. I wasn¡¯t trying to kill him. ¡°No! You¡¯re a dumbass!¡± The cultists shrieked back from my aura. I drop it as fast as I can, but the damage is already done. Terrifying Presence has filled them with a newfound fear of me. I sigh, this gonna be a pain in the ass. Toulif runs out of the tent and looks at me. He grabs the hilt of his sword as he stares. Whatever he¡¯s feeling is too complex for me to make out, but I can guess. My eye widens as Eva walks out behind him. I lock eyes with her. Well, I can¡¯t see her eyes behind her mask, but the effect is the same. ¡°Hey, uh, Evan. You look good.¡± Why the fuck did I compliment her? Shit! Her soul is also unreadable. The blue demon pulls himself off the ground. Surprisingly looking not that hurt. He wipes a drop of blood from his mouth as our attention is drawn to him ¡°Nah worries, peps. I was askin for it.¡± A small smile forms on my face. Yes, he¡¯s gonna cover for me! ¡°Yep, it was his fault I punched him!¡± I smile at Eva but she flinches. I pause at that and look around me. Everyone is still scared. It¡¯s getting kind of annoying to be honest. I look down at my body and I¡¯m covered in filth. My new armour is mostly clean, save for a few splashes of Abominable Serpent blood. The armour design itself may be a little disturbing though. I grin as I think of a way to break the tension and clean myself. ¡°Charlie!¡± I swerve my head to him and he flinches. ¡°Water me!¡± I spread my arms wide and smirk. He stares at me for a moment before slowly retrieving a bucket and placing it at my feet. I stare at him with a deadpan expression and lower my arms. No one is saying anything and is just staring in silence. A magic circle forms at the base of the bucket and it¡¯s suddenly filled with water. My eye widens as I look into my reflection in the water. I don¡¯t look well. My face is covered in scars, splashed in red and green blood. A massive vertical scar on the left side of my face, where my eye used to be. My other eye is bloodshot and tired. My once blond hair is blackened and matted and haphazard. What happened to me? I bring my hand to my face and wipe grime off my brow. I look back at Charlie and he looks back with a fear I understand. ¡°Sorry. Thanks for the water Charlie.¡± He blinks and nods. I grab the bucket without talking to anyone else and bring it away from the camp to wash myself. That could have gone better. I bring myself a few turns away from the camp and take off my armour. I look down at my body to see all the scars from past battles I had. A large mark on my abdomen where the Roach Gladiator had impaled me from behind. Large gashes around my ribs where compound fractures had occurred. My left arm and part of my chest are covered in burn marks from the Abominable Serpent. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. All over are small scars from the thousands of Roach Legions that bit me. I grab my ear and feel a gash from one of those bites. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s only been three days.¡± Fighting has been extremely fun at times, but this is the consequence of doing that. I wonder how long I¡¯ll live if I keep going at this rate. How many times can I jump into the deep end without my floaties? I think about the esoteric question as I stare into my reflection. Probably until I get sick of swimming¡­ Or I drown. I start to wash myself. It¡¯s quite difficult to do without a cloth or anything, but I manage. It takes about twenty minutes, or I think twenty minutes has passed. I run into a problem though. My hair is far too notted. I can¡¯t get it loose without pulling long chunks out. With my current strength I could accidentally pull out a lot of hair. I frown as I realize that I¡¯m going to have to cut it. I raise my brow as I use Soul Conjuration to make a soul-knife. I bring the knife to my hair and the flames don¡¯t set my hair ablaze. Friendly fire will not be tolerated. I look down at the now murky water. My hair now doesn¡¯t go past my shoulders. In fact, my hair is only a few inches long now. Still very much haphazard, but not much I can do about that without a comb. I feel much better though. The new look will take some getting used to, but I don¡¯t mind it too much. I also notice that my muscles are noticeably bigger. I think I¡¯m taller too! I¡¯m just glad that I look more like a warrior now, than some murder hobo. I frown as I put my armour back on. What should I do when I get back? I need to somehow get Eva to trust me. That seems like an impossible task right now. I furrow my brows as I think of possible solutions, but nothing seems right. The only way that I¡¯ve found that would work is the most difficult. I¡¯m gonna have to tell the truth. I¡¯ll tell her that I¡¯m human. The hard part is if she will even believe that in the first place. Me being a demon just fits so well, that it was incredibly easy to lie about it. And she knows I can do psychic damage. Something only demons can do apparently. Will saying I¡¯m a human, only make Eva trust me less? I will tell the truth eventually, but now isn¡¯t a good time. They are too scared of me, so I¡¯ll start with reassuring them that I¡¯m not a threat to them¡­ Somehow. I walk back as I think of ways to do just that. I make it back to the camp and as I turn the corner- Two hands made of rock grab my ankles. I¡¯m suddenly hit with an oppressive feeling throughout my body. I use Instant Position to move just a few feet back reactively. A blade swings where my neck used to be and I tumble backwards from the sudden attack. Toulif appears above me and swings down mercilessly. I use Magical Aura Manipulation to coat just my arm with aura and block it. My eye widens as the blade digs into my bone. I kick Toulif in the leg and he barely stumbles. He lowers just enough for me to headbutt him and that gets him to pull away. I manage to pull myself up back to my feet, but from behind Toulif the blue demon from earlier swings. He strikes me right in the gut with his small hammer. The attack was weak so I- ¡°Unravel!¡± I vomit up blood as my insides convulse and rip. I grit my teeth as another rock hand grabs my ankle. I grab Toulifs sword to stop it from piercing my head. I don¡¯t have time to think- Fuck it. ¡°Obscene Presence!¡± I activated it for the shortest amount of time possible. I wasn¡¯t trying to kill them after all. Toulif and the demon immediately recoil. The rock hand stays firm, but it doesn¡¯t matter. I Instant Position to the other side of the camp to catch my breath. I don¡¯t even think about why this is happening because it¡¯s obvious. They want to get rid of me- I should have paid more attention to their souls when I returned. I cough up more blood as I slowly put my insides back together. It¡¯s even worse than when I got hit by the Roach Empress. I look back at the camp. Toulif and the blue demon stand in front of me. Gent is laying on the ground. (Cultist / level 53) (Cultist / level 38) (Jinn Warrior / level 32) Everyone else is currently crammed inside the tent. They must have figured if they left, I would notice. Toulif speaks without breaking eye contact with me. ¡°Gent, what¡¯s your sanity at?¡± Gent groans as he grabs his head. ¡°I- It¡¯s¡± He bites his lip ¡°73¡­ how?¡± Damn that¡¯s fast. The trait Serial Killer probably has something to do with that. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let her heal!¡± Toulif stabs the ground and a black spike launches out of the wall. I block it with Aura of Constitution and it still stabs straight through my arm, but it is enough to stop it from reaching my head. I feel that same oppressive feeling from before. I conjure a soul-sword and block an attack from behind. How the fuck did the Jinn Warrior get behind me?! I yank my arm out of the spike and the spike dissipates. The demon tries to pull back but I grab his wrist on his lower right arm. He tries to pull back farther anyway but he blinks at me as he realizes that he instantly lost the contest of strength. With aura coating my arms I swing the demon as soon as Toulif reaches me. They are both sent flying as the massive demon slams into him. A pillar of rock shoots out of the ceiling and I catch it before it slams into my head. A massive slab breaks from the ground in front of me and wacks me, sending me careening backwards. Gent is getting annoying- Toulif launches himself at me and sends a black arc from his sword at me. The crescent shape of black energy slams into rock as I disappear. I Instant Position directly in front of Gent with my aura fully manifested. Terrifying Presence causes him to freeze, he gasps and his eyes go wide. I grab his wand and crush it in my hand, then headbutt him into the ground. He grunts as his skull cracks and the rocks beneath him break. Looks like I held back enough to not kill him- ¡°Dark March!¡± I vanish and the spot where I was once standing explodes as Toulif swings his sword into the ground. I feel exhaustion fill me as my mana hits 3% from my constant abuse of Instant Position. I use Magical Aura Manipulation to push Mana Cycling past the safe limit. I grit my teeth as my soul groans from the strain. My Excessive Momentum is sitting at 46% increase in stats currently. Toulif sprints at me with an unbelievable speed. With Quick Thinking I blow Frost Breath on the ground in front of me and as soon as he reaches me- Toulif slips- Toulifs soul dims as shock fills him. I kick him in the gut and he is sent flying. My momentum increased to 60% and the blue demon somehow appeared behind me once again. I catch his hammer in my hand and his eyes go wide. ¡°Unra-¡± His hammer explodes as I crush it with my aura. I slam my fist into his chest and he is flung into another wall. I raise my brow as I see him almost completely uninjured from the hit. How is he so fucking durable- Toulifs sword stabs into my left side and it burns- A black corrosive liquid drips from his sword. I focus my aura on the wound as he pulls the sword out and kicks me in my other side. Rocks crack and crumble as I ricochet off the ceiling and sent tumbling along the ground. The stab wound is incredibly painful despite my high leveled Pain Tolerance. I try to heal it, but the black acid is slowing it considerably. ¡°Fuck!¡± Toulif rushes me again and I decide to ignore the stab wound. I coat my Aura of Constitution on my legs and wait for him to get closer. Toulif reaches me and screams ¡°Dark March!¡± I launch myself into the ceiling as he swings his sword down. The dungeon shakes from the impact of Toulifs sword slamming into the ground. I grit my teeth at the display of power. I kick off the ceiling, but I don¡¯t go for Toulif- I rocket through the tent and it rips apart. I grab Charlie by the collar and pull him with my momentum. I wrap my arm around his neck as I dig my feet into the ground to slow myself to a stop. ¡°Stop fighting! Or I¡¯ll rip his fucking head off!¡± The other two cultists freeze from seeing my aura and Eva flinches. Toulif walks over to Eva¡¯s side and starts whispering something. The blue demon that¡¯s somehow unscathed also regroups. I use this time to heal the stab wound in my side and refill my mana. I scoff as I realize just how bad the situation has devolved. I whisper ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not gonna actually kill you. Just hold on, and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± I start to think how I can calm everyone down, but I honestly have no idea what to do at this point. When my mana reaches about 89%, Eva suddenly yells out to me. ¡°Amendment!¡± For some reason my entire body locks up at the word and Toulif stabs his sword into the ground. My eye darts around to find where the spike is going to come from. I gasp as Charlie¡¯s back explodes open as a black spike pushes through him and severs my right arm at the shoulder. My arm falls to the ground and Charlie slumps forward as the spike dissipates. What?- You have slain a (Cultist / level 17) - Very little experience rewarded (Instant Position) has leveled up! (6 ¡ú 7) (Terrifying Presence) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) Congratulations, you have evolved a skill - (Quick Thinking) becomes¡­ Chapter 19 / Toulifs Lament ¡°How were you able to summon an Eldritch Horror?¡± Toulif stares at Eva with a gaze full of contempt. She isn¡¯t aware how she accomplished summoning Tiffany, but that isn¡¯t an answer Toulif wants. No answer would satisfy him. The question itself is a trap constructed out of petty spite. Eva has to answer anyway. ¡°I don¡¯t-¡± The trap is sprung ¡°Of course you don¡¯t know! But this is still your fuck up! How are you going to fix it?!¡± A trap is laid- Eva grimaces ¡°I don¡¯t-¡± ¡°Of fucking course you don¡¯t know! You know why?!¡± He doesn¡¯t even give her a chance to answer ¡°Because it¡¯s my problem now! I have to fix it for you! It¡¯s not like that the princess needs to do fucking anything!¡± Toulif fuse burns out and he shakes his head as he turns away. The rage he feels towards his sister is unwarranted, irrational even. The world had been unfair to him, unfair to them both- ¡°You know, when you joined the Cult of Deighngon, I thought, ¡®Finally, the useless sister of the Zeta Empire will finally have a purpose!¡¯ Then I got injured¡­¡± He gestures to his face. A massive scar with a missing eye and a clipped ear. ¡°And that was it- It was over, just like that¡­ The ugly can¡¯t become emperor. Did you know, father said that to me?¡± Eva stares at her brother with a complicated expression. This wasn¡¯t the first time her brother had ranted at her, nor did she think it would be the last time it happened. She doesn¡¯t answer him, she doesn¡¯t need to. ¡°And now I¡¯m here.¡± Toulif raises his hands and slowly clenches them ¡°Protecting you-¡± His voice is filled with disdain ¡°You useless excuse for an elf! Let alone royalty!¡± Toulif approaches his sister as a dangerous intent surrounds him. ¡°Why do you-¡± He scowls at his own words ¡°You- get to be in the line for succession. You-¡± Toulif is interrupted by a commotion from outside of the tent. He immediately puts his mask back on and his sister follows suit. He flinches at the sight of Tiffany. Her face is full of rage and her presence makes Toulif grab the hilt of his sword reflexively. Eva comes out behind him and freezes at the sight of the Eldritch Horror. Her mind is sent into a panic at Tiffany¡¯s gaze. When she gets complimented, her thoughts only spiral further. What does she want? Is it a trick? Is she planning something from this? Toulif¡¯s gaze turns to the blue demon that Eva summoned. His thoughts are more clear. It¡¯s only a matter of time until she kills us all- Tiffany suddenly calls out to Charlie for water. This makes the siblings pause. They watch the interaction in silence until Tiffany has left. The siblings'' thoughts have now aligned. It¡¯s impossible to predict what the demon will do next. Toulif glances at his sister, who is now wearing her mask. ¡°Evan. We¡¯re going to kill that demon.¡± Eva frowns behind her mask, but nods ¡°I agree. She is too dangerous.¡± Eva hangs her head as she pulls up her Summoners Insight. ¡°I have some idea on what her abilities are.¡± Toulif nods at the vice captain ¡°I saw her fight, so I have a few ideas on how to counter her. I assume she has a self healing skill?¡± ¡°Yes, Aura of Vitality, but after her class advancement, I think it was consolidated into Aura of Constitution.¡± Toulif blinks at his sister ¡°Class Advancement? But I thought-¡± Surprisingly for the first time in a while, Eva was the one to cut Toulif off ¡°That she was hiding her level? I thought so too. But the truth is far more terrifying.¡± Toulif frowns at the implication ¡°Are you saying she was actually leveling this entire time? That rate of growth is impossible! She would need to be constantly fighting monsters that are far higher level than herself!¡± Eva glances back at her brother and Toulif pauses. He remembers the thousands of dead roaches. The walls of black fire surrounding Tiffany and the emancipated Roach Empress. She had only been fighting those that are higher level than her. The true terror of Tiffany settles in Toulif¡¯s mind. She wasn¡¯t hiding her level. She was simply stronger than her level suggests- Toulif asks his sister a question ¡°What level was she when you summoned her?¡± Eva grimaces, not knowing what her brother''s reaction might be. She answers him regardless ¡°She was level 6 when she was first summoned, three days ago.¡± Toulif¡¯s mind stops. Level 6? Tiffany reached level 38 in only three days? He thinks back to when Tiffany split from the group, when she suddenly went off on her own. She was really level 21 at the time. Toulif posture stiffen as he zones out in his thoughts. Tiffany left to challenge the Roach Empress and an entire army of roach monsters, by herself¡­ At level 21- And won- Toulif breaks from his stupor, it was far too ridiculous, he couldn¡¯t believe it, and he didn¡¯t. ¡°That healing ability is going to be a problem. We¡¯ll need to kill her as fast as possible. Gent, you will use your earth magic to hold her down. Me and Eva¡¯s summon will go for the kill. Everyone else evacuate before she returns.¡± Eva sighs at her brother¡¯s complete dismissal of the issue ¡°She has a class skill called Magical Aura Perception. She might notice that something is wrong if the non-combatants start leaving camp.¡± Toulif frowns as he is reminded about Tiffany¡¯s perception abilities. Something that they actually used to great effect when they were traveling together. Now they were going to have to plan around it. Toulif gives more orders to the cultists ¡°Everyone will help fight then. She is a dangerous enough opponent that we will need the extra assistance anyway.¡± Eva furrows her brows. ¡°That is not a good idea.¡± Toulif turns back to his sister and speaks with vitriol. ¡°What?¡± Eva scoffs ¡°Tiffany is a demon capable of psychic damage, and powerful psychic damage at that. She instantly killed two cultists when she was first summoned in a matter of seconds. Anyone below level 30 doesn¡¯t stand a chance.¡± Everyone paused at that. Even the demon was staring with wide eyes. Eva starts sweating at the sudden attention and silence. ¡°Uh, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something she can abuse. I very rarely seen it used, but it¡¯s still something we need to consider. I suggest that everyone below level 30 stay in the tent.¡± Toulif stays silent while he stares at his sister, but relents and sighs ¡°Very well.¡± With that, the group of cultists start constructing their plan to slay an Eldritch Horror. --- I grit my teeth as my eyes are locked staring down at Charlie''s body, frozen in a half fallen over position. The black particles from the dissipated dark spike stick to the air. My right arm is cleanly cut off from my shoulder and slightly pushed to the side, but stationary mid-air. My mind strains and I can¡¯t move- Congratulations, you have evolved a skill - The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. (Quick Thinking) becomes (Instant Thought) Instant Thought / Level (1) (You have grown remarkably adept at pushing your mind to save yourself in extraordinarily dangerous situations. You pushed your wits to the limit and now you may think instantaneously. At great cost.) Expend mana or stamina to increase your rate of thought by (200%) Expend sanity to condense your thoughts into a single instant Quick Thinking has evolved into Instant Thought. I would celebrate if it didn¡¯t feel like my head was about to explode. I can¡¯t believe Toulif just killed Charlie to attack me! I can¡¯t have such thoughts right now. Not when my sanity is being drained. I start thinking of a plan on what to do next, but my anger towards Toulif keeps building. My eyes are locked on Charlie''s collapsing body. In a way, it was my fault Charlie died. I took him hostage, even if Toulif was the one that killed him. By the time I figured out what to do next, I¡¯m fucking pissed- A hand of black fire explodes out of my amputated stump and grabs onto my severed arm. Charlie¡¯s body finishes collapsing to the ground and Toulif launches himself at me. My arm is pulled back to me and reconnects at my shoulder and I start pushing Aura of Constitution to heal it as fast as possible. Muscles tie themselves to each other and the skin melts together. My arm explodes in pain as the nerves reconnect. ¡°Dark March!¡± Toulif swings down at me and I catch it with my newly reconnected arm. A shockwave explodes outward as the blade digs into my palm, but I stop the blade and grip it. ¡°I¡¯m done holding back.¡± The blade explodes as I crush it in my hand. I take my right hand and slam it across Toulif¡¯s jaw as he falls towards me. His mask cracks from the impact and slightly slips off. I grab his mask and push it back into his head. I push forward and slam his skull into the ground- The ground erupts and the dungeon tremors once again. Cracks break across the rock, exploding outwards from Toulif¡¯s head. Charlie¡¯s lifeless body is flung across the room from the pressure. I look down at Toulif, who is now non-responsive and slowly raise my hand. His mask has a heavy crack running through it and chipped at the base. There is blood leaking from behind it, but his head is still intact. I didn¡¯t get a notification so he isn¡¯t dead yet. I think about just killing him right now, but I decide against it. I sigh as I look up at the rest of the cultists with my aura fully manifested. The amount of fear they are feeling right now is enormous. (Terrifying Presence) has leveled up! (2 ¡ú 3) (Excessive Momentum) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) (Aura of Constitution) has leveled up! (4 ¡ú 5) I grimace as I think of what to say and I step forward. I suddenly feel someone grab my ankle. My head snaps down to see Toulif with ashen black hands griping my leg. He gains black flames around the fringes of his soul. He tightens his grip and my ankle snaps from the pressure. ¡°Demonic March!¡± I¡¯m lifted into the air then slammed face first into the ground. My teeth crack and my nose breaks. I¡¯m lifted once again and thrown across the room at incredible speeds. I cough blood as my back crashes into the wall. Before I can fall to the ground he reaches me and drives his fist into my gut. I ignore the fountain of blood spilling out of my mouth and I grab his head and headbutt him. He recoils and his mask cracks further. With aura coating my leg, I knee him in the gut in return. A shockwave blasts outward from his back and I feel a few of his ribs break. He slams his blackened fist across my face just in time for me to reinforce it with aura. My blood splatters across the wall behind me as another shockwave is created from the impact. I throw a punch at his face with my left, but he defects it with his forearm. My right fist gets through and strikes his chest. I feel more of his ribs break as another deafening blast is created. --- An awe inspiring exchange of blows follows in the span of about six seconds. The sound of rolling thunder reverberates through the dungeon as two individuals with skills that greatly increase their own stats trade blows. Wind blows through the spectators from the pressure that is created from the battle. In this period of time, 151 hits were exchanged. 64 were landed by Tiffany Day. 87 were landed by Toulif Le¡¯tain. After the seventh second, it finally stops. --- ¡°How the fuck are you so strong?!¡± Toulif says to me with disbelief. I stare at him with my tired eye. We are both completely bloodied, our arms are broken and our ribs are shattered. I think Toulif might be down one lung. His mask is crumbling off his face, but he brings his mangled hand up to touch it and it instantly repairs itself. The area around us has been absolutely annihilated. We are practically standing inside a crater at this point. Splashes of blood, ripped robes, and broken armour are scattered all around us. I would heal myself to kick his ass until he is unconscious but my stamina has reached its limit. My exhaustion is indescribable, but if I pass out, they will definitely kill me. I force myself to stay awake and answer his question. ¡°Cause my strength is out of this world!¡± I laugh out blood at my own stupid joke that no one but me would get. Maybe it¡¯s because my brain is concussed, but I¡¯m in a pretty good mood. I speak deliriously with my mouth full of blood. ¡°Hey, Toulif, what kind of demon am I?¡± Toulif grits his teeth ¡°You¡¯re an Eldritch Horror.¡± The world swirls around me as my eye drifts to the group of cultists. ¡°That¡¯s right! That is what I said I was¡­ Hey you!¡± The blue demon blinks out of the stupor he was in and points to himself ¡°Me¡¯s?¡± ¡°Yeah you. What your name, you big blue bastard.¡± He grins ¡°I¡¯m Herldren!¡± ¡°Herldren! That''s really hard to say- anyway. Do you know what an Eldritch Horror is?¡± My mouth droops as I force my fading mind to stay. Herldren frown at me. ¡°I don¡¯t knew much about em.¡± I chuckle painfully, I don¡¯t want to lie about what I am anymore, it wasn¡¯t even that fun to begin with. ¡°Well apparently, Eldritch Horrors are very good at dealing psychic damage!¡± Everyone predictably finches at that. ¡°I could! If I wanted to, kill everyone here! Right now! ¡­ Toulif! Why am I not going to do that?¡± Toulif blinks at me and his soul is filled with confusion ¡°Why haven''t you killed everyone?¡± I point at Eva ¡°Because of- of the vice captain! They are my friend. And I have hurt them. And I feel terrible about it, so I promised I would never hurt them again!¡± I collapse to the ground as my legs finally give out. I curse as my broken bones shift inside my body. Darkness starts to overtake my eye. Fuck, I might actually die here. ¡°Ya- wanna hear a secret Toulif.¡± Toulif stands over me as some cultist runs over to him and casts a green magic circle. Is it healing him? It feels weird for a cultist to be a healer. I dismiss the thought. ¡°I¡¯m not an Eldritch Horror at all! I¡¯m not even a demon, I just thought it was funny when Eva called me one. Herldren saw through me right away and that''s why I hit him in the first place.¡± Toulif looks down at me with disbelief. Of course he wasn¡¯t going to believe me, why would he? ¡°The vice captain didn¡¯t summon a demon, but a human with a demonic soul. Ha! Did you know that having a demon''s soul didn¡¯t even bother me. Not in the slightest!¡± Toulif finishes healing and the other cultists start to gather around me. Eva is there, but I¡¯m having a hard time seeing her. Man, I¡¯m really about to die. I close my eyes and wait for it to come. I¡¯d thought I would be more upset to be honest¡­ My hairs stand on end as I force myself to jolt awake. I force my aura to manifest to repair myself and all the cultists surrounding jolt back. Toulif raises his hand to kill me, but I blurt out before he can swing. ¡°You need to run! Something¡¯s coming!¡± Toulif pauses, but goes to kill me anyway. Herldren speaks up ¡°What da fuck it dat?!¡± That stops Toulif completely as he looks towards the blue demon. I grit my teeth as I force my exhausted body to stand and heal. Toulif looks back to me and back to Herldren. ¡°What is it!¡± ¡°I¡¯s don¡¯t fucking knew!¡± My Magical Aura Perception has picked up a soul coming straight for us. Its mere presence fills me with dread. ¡°Just fucking run or we¡¯ll all die!¡± I say it, but it¡¯s far too late. I snap my head to the side to see a monster just inside a path further into the dungeon. The entire group stares at the monster in silence. It¡¯s a small ball of fur about a foot in diameter. It has two chicken-like legs sticking out of the bottom. Its soul is a massive swarm of brown rocks surrounding it. The ball splits to reveal a mouth full of shark-like teeth as it grins. (Fledgling Atrocity / ???) Toulif and I speak at the same time- ¡°Oh fuck.¡± Chapter 20 / Fledgling Atrocity I feel an odd energy flowing into my soul from an awkward direction. It¡¯s something I don¡¯t understand, but I use this energy to heal myself anyway. I focus on repairing my arms and internal organs first. Usually I would be curious about something unknown happening to my body, but I don¡¯t have time to think. (Fledgling Atrocity / ???) Everyone is staring at the Fledgling Atrocity in complete silence. It feels like I¡¯m standing on the edge of a cliff. The camp was set up inside of a dead end, so the monster is currently blocking the only exit. The small ball of a creature launches itself, causing the ground from beneath it to explode. I Instant Position myself and grab it by its leg as it¡¯s mere inches from reaching Eva¡¯s head. The bone in my forearm cracks from not healing enough and the sheer momentum of the monster. Eva falls backwards from the shock and I fling the Fledgling Atrocity back from whence it came. Toulif intercepts it and slams his still darkened fist downward, sending it plummeting into the ground. ¡°Ack!¡± Toulif grimaces and pulls his right hand up- No, his hand is gone. Cleanly cut off at the wrist. I scowl as I start to conjure something with Soul Conjuration. Herldren appears next to the monster with the three hammers he has left. He swings them down at the monster, and at the same time the healer runs to Gents side to try and heal him. The hammers strike the ground and the Fledgling Atrocity is nowhere to be seen. With Magical Aura Perception I see it move, but I¡¯m not fast enough to stop it. The monster rips through one of the unnamed cultists and his insides burst from his back. I never even got his name. The monster turns to the next weakest cultist, the healer. ¡°Shit!¡± I launch the two soul-circular saw blades that I¡¯ve spun to great speeds with Magical Aura Manipulation, at the Fledgling Atrocity. The monster immediately senses them and pivots to dodge out of the way. Toulif stabs his one still intact hand into the ground and a black spike shoots from right underneath the monster. It casually moves out of the way from the attack as well. It¡¯s too fast- The Jinn Warrior appears on top of the monster with some sort of teleporting ability. He tries to swing at the monster, but he is suddenly pulled into the ground. A disturbing display of black entrails and bone fragments are flung upward. You have slain a (Jinn Warrior / level 32) - Very little experience rewarded He died instantly- I take note of his failures with Quick Thinking. I appear mid-air, above the Fledgling Atrocity with Instant Position. I don¡¯t want to be pulled into the ground, so just don¡¯t touch the ground. I create a dome barrier with Soul Conjuration and throw it on top of the small monster. I keep the dome held down with Magical Aura Manipulation. ¡°Spike it, Toulif!¡± I hope, I pray- that Toulif realizes how desperate the situation is and just does it. And thank Ydri because my prayers were answered. A black spike explodes out of my soul-barrier with the monster impaled on it. I blink at the ball of fur. It worked? The Fledgling Atrocity starts rapidly spinning and the black spike is ripped apart before it could dissipate. The monster''s chicken legs land on the decimated spike and launches itself at me. It slams into my abdomen and I¡¯m rocketed into the ceiling. To my surprise it barely hurts at all. A small notification appears. Summon¡¯s Respite (2 / 3) Eva- The monster slowly starts to fall mid-air, and my eye widens as I come up with a theory. Maybe the Fledgling Atrocity can¡¯t use whatever magic it has without being in contact with the ground. I think it¡¯s earth magic so the possibility is there. I launch myself from the ceiling at the monster. I go to punch it and it reorients itself so it can bite my hand off. I grinned because my bait had successfully worked. I send a soul-fragment into its mouth and I feel surprise come from its soul for the first time. I fall past the Fledgling Atrocity as I hold it in place in the air with Magical Aura Manipulation. I land on my feet and look up at the monster squirming in place. I smile in glee, it work- A massive grey and brown magic circle appears shining brightly behind the small furry monster. The rock all around us starts to ripple like it¡¯s turned into a liquid. I grit my teeth as I realize it didn¡¯t work. I slam the Fledgling Atrocity into the floor and the ground ripples outward from the impact like slapping a waterbed. I lose my footing slightly as the ground becomes unstable. Toulif yells out ¡°It¡¯s pinned! Hit it with everything!¡± I grab the soul-circular saw blades I made earlier and send it at the monster. Gent, who now has regained consciousness, sends pillars of rock out of the ceiling to slam into the monster. Even Eva sends a ball of fire at it. Toulif swings his one intact hand and a black crescent shaped energy is sent through the air. He then stabs his hand into the ground to create another spike. All the attacks land at the same time. The Fledgling Atrocity shrieks and I take that as a que to detonate the saw blades and the soul fragment at the same time with Magical Aura Manipulation. A brilliant ball of black flames explodes outward. Soul fire is flung everywhere and the Fledgling Atrocity goes silent. The small lake of fire I just created burns brightly as a stressful silence engulfs me. I still didn¡¯t get a notification and the ground is still rippling like water. Toulif screams ¡°It¡¯s not dead yet! Keep attacking!¡± but it¡¯s to late- An ethereal voice echoes throughout the dungeon coming from every direction. A single word shakes the foundation of my soul from the massive amount of ambient magical power suddenly drained from the air around me. I¡¯m reminded of a nightmare I had. A common nightmare that most people have. The fear of being buried alive- ¡°Entomb!¡± The only exit from the camp starts to twist onto itself and implodes, closing off our only means of escape. The cavity we are in starts to violently shake and constrict. I¡¯m so horrified that I almost want to laugh. The Fledgling Atrocity appears within the black flames as they start to extinguish. Its fur is burning and patchy. The shark-like teeth in its maw are now cracked and broken. It¡¯s injured! I create a soul-sledgehammer and coat my legs in Aura of Constitution to launch myself at the monster. I swing the hammer down at it, but the Fledgling Atrocity appears already biting down into my thigh. Its broken teeth still dig deep into my leg despite me focusing my whole aura on the one leg. Toulif starts to chant ¡°I call upon the amputated hands of the first devil-¡± My aura folds outward from my leg surrounding the atrocity. I grit my teeth as I rip the creature from my leg with Magical Aura Manipulation and Soul Conjuration. I feel Eva¡¯s soul waver as the same odd energy continues to flow into me. ¡°I beseech thee, supreme dark one!-¡± Toulif stabs his one hand into his own chest and red blood pours out. I send the Fledgling Atrocity encased within a piece of my soul flying into the far wall. I hold it there as Toulifs blood turns an inky black. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Annihilate the foul creature before me!-¡± Toulif pulls his hand out of his chest with a sword formed out of his own blackened blood. The room continues to crack and rumble as the entire cavern constricts. He raises the dark sword above his head- ¡°Dark Demonic Departure!¡± He swings- and the dungeon vertically splits in two. A solid wall of black is thrusted forward at the Fledgling Atrocity faster than the speed of sound. The cave crumples as the constriction is suddenly pushed back from the pressure of the attack. The black energy hits where I¡¯m holding the monster in place. I don¡¯t need to detonate the soul fragment as the weight of Toulif¡¯s attack crushes the Soul Conjuration for me. A massive ball of dark energy and black flames expands outward from ground zero of the attack. Everyone in the room is sent careening backward from the detonation. I Instant position to grab Eva and the healer cultist before slamming into the wall. I vomit a mouthful of blood as I use my body as a cushion to protect them. I feel something crack inside me as I suddenly lose control over my aura. Summon¡¯s Respite (1 / 3) I collapsed to the ground as the two I grabbed fall to my side. The flow of odd energy has suddenly stopped and my soul is reacting violently. I vomit more blood as my soul convulses and cracks. ¡°I- I need mana-¡± Soul Conjuration has a repair function. I need mana to repair my soul. I push Mana Cycling and scream out in pain as my soul is strained even further. But I manage to slowly piece it back together. I attempt to breathe deeply, but it only comes out as ragged. My vision has become blurry, but I blink a few times and gradually it becomes more clear. My eye widens and I give a guttural sigh of relief as I read a notification. You have slain a (Fledgling Atrocity / level 84) - Massive experience rewarded You have leveled up! (38 ¡ú 45) - You have earned (35) stat points (Instant Thought) has leveled up! (1 ¡ú 2) (Mana Cycling) has leveled up! (7 ¡ú 9) (Instant Position) has leveled up! (7 ¡ú 8) (Aura of Constitution) has leveled up! (5 ¡ú 6) (Soul Conjuration) has leveled up! (3 ¡ú 5) I blink at the grey screen beneath all the level ups- Good job! Ydri? I stare at the notification with an unprocessing expression. I did a good job? I think back to my entire day, no, my entire time in this world. Battle after battle, question after question, level after level. Am I doing a good job? How many have died because of me at this point. An odd thought to have, but I think about it nonetheless. Charlie is dead. The blue demon, Herldren, is dead. That one cultist whose name I never got, is dead. Toulif¡¯s right hand is gone. The overflow of information, the constant fighting¡­ Managing relationships with cultists in a fucking dungeon?! Why am I so bad at that?... I lost my left eye, and I nearly lost my right arm! Everything around me wants to kill me, but I¡¯m still alive! I grin wide revealing my bloody and cracked teeth. It doesn¡¯t last long as I start having a coughing fit. When it¡¯s over a sigh wistfully as I stare at the ceiling with my one remaining eye. Darkness slowly starts to overtake me. It doesn¡¯t feel like dying this time however. I wonder. In this world, how fast does someone normally level? Certainly not as fast as I¡¯ve been going, right? I mean, Toulif¡¯s an elf and they live for a very long time. He¡¯s only level 53 last I checked. I wonder how old he is. I bet I¡¯m leveling thousands of times faster than a normal person. My body slowly starts to go numb and my mind drifts further into sleep. I think I did a very good job indeed! My last thought before my consciousness slips away is the memory of the murder of that one guy. The mugger that I killed before I got isekaied. It was so boring. I felt nothing. No pleasure or pain was derived. A question slips out of my lips ¡°Are you having fun yet?¡± Pfft- yeah! --- A dream- A memory- I¡¯m at my grandma¡¯s house! My mom and dad are going out to do something! I don¡¯t really remember what it was they needed to do though! They are going to be gone for about a week. So, I get to hangout with grandma until they get back! She sits and does nothing as she watches the TV all day, so I get to play around without anyone stopping me! I just turned 7 last month, mom said seven¡¯s a lucky number! On the first day I just explored the new house and saw all the new stuff! Nothing happened on the second day- On the third day I played with a box of strange toys I found! I can¡¯t remember what they were though. On the fourth day I watched TV with grandma! She was quiet today- On the fifth day I found the keys to the basement. There was a washer and dryer and a lot of space for storage! It was fun to hide stuff in there! On the sixth day- On the seventh day my parents returned. They were saying something about how they were confused. Grandma was missing? Where did she go? --- I woke up with an extremely painful headache. Didn¡¯t I have Pain Tolerance? I try to open my eyes then freeze when only one of them opens. What happened, what''s wrong with my eye?! The sudden panic jolts me fully awake. My one eye blinks as a hand slowly pushes me back down. My memories slowly start to return. Oh yeah, I only have one eye now. Wait, who are you? I turn my head to the person in my blind spot. I recognize him as the healer cultist, I never got his name ethier. ¡°You need to rest, you¡¯re low on blood.¡± I blink at the average looking man. Or, kid I guess. He looks like he¡¯s 17. ¡°I¡¯m low on blood?¡± ¡°You are very low on blood, if your level and durability wasn¡¯t so high you¡¯d be dead right now.¡± He looks at me with furrowed brows. I take a moment to process what he said with my tired mind. I guess it makes sense. My healing ability only puts me back together and doesn¡¯t actually regrow anything. It wouldn¡¯t just magically make more blood either. Maybe I could work on a better healing skill? I¡¯m not sure how to go about that though. Should I try to manipulate my body the same way I manipulate my soul? That doesn¡¯t sound right. My soul manipulates my body and I manipulate my soul. Could I create more body the same way I can create more soul? My train of thought is interrupted by the healer cultist ¡°Thank you.¡± What? I turned to him ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said, Thank you. If you didn¡¯t catch me, I would have died. Instead I got away with a few broken ribs.¡± He smirks at me. What? What?! I thought everyone was terrified of me! Wait, how am I alive? ¡°You¡­ Don¡¯t want to kill me?¡± I asked him dubiously. He frowned at me. I take the moment to actually look around me properly. We are still where the camp used to be. Everything was annihilated. The tent, the food, any supplies that they had left, all gone. Toulif is sitting alone at the far wall in front of me. His soul is¡­ annoyed, enraged, apathetic, all at once? His upper robes have been torn to shreds and he¡¯s very muscular for an elf. His right hand is still missing and the stump has been bandaged. (Cultist / level 58) I turn my head to my right to see Eva next to Gent. Gent seems to be moving rocks with magic. I think he is digging a tunnel to get out of this cave-in caused by the Fledgling Atrocity. (Cultist / level 50) (Cultist / level 43) ¡°You have Eva to thank for that. They helped you.¡± I look back at the cultist. Eva helped me? ¡°She did?¡± For some reason I feel a massive amount of surprise coming from the cultist next to me. He quickly shushes me. What the fuck is going on?! He backs away and scratches the back of his head. ¡°Anyway, Evan, our vice-captain, convinced the captain to not kill you. My name''s Jammie by the way.¡± (Cultist / level 24) I pause. Oh, I just fucked up. I speak with my eye glazed over at my own stupidity ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Tiffany.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Jammie quickly glances between Eva and Toulif before looking back at me. He whispers ¡°I wanna talk to you later.¡± Fuck- He wants me to spill the beans! I groan loudly and slap my forehead. I¡¯m such an idiot, I can¡¯t believe I let that slip! Jammie calls out across the room. ¡°Vice captain, she¡¯s awake!¡± My shame instantly turns into worry. Did he just call her over! I¡¯m not ready! Eva turns around and immediately starts walking towards us. Uhhh- It''s fine, the healer is here and he can help mediate- Jammie stands up and brushes off his knees. ¡°I¡¯m just gonna let you two- uh, yeah.¡± And he starts walking away. What. What?... Oh! He¡¯s just gonna leave¡­ Fuck. Eva reaches my side and looks down at me through her mask. I can¡¯t tell what she¡¯s feeling through her soul. I give her a wry smile ¡°Hi?¡± Her voice comes out firm, a kind of voice I hadn¡¯t heard from her before. ¡°Tiffany. What are you?¡± ¡°Uhhh..¡± Chapter 21 / The Truth Eva, Toulif, Gent, and Jammie stand over the unconscious body of Tiffany Day. Even while Tiffany is asleep, her presence sends fear into everyone around her. She has instinctually manifested her aura while she is unconscious in order to heal her body. Toulif grits his teeth and raises his only hand left with murderous intent. His demonic transformation now reverted back after the skill had run its course. He swings downward at Tiffany¡¯s neck only to be caught by Eva¡¯s hand. I shockwave blasts outward from the impact. The force of Toulif¡¯s swing was enough to easily kill Tiffany, but Eva caught it without issue. Toulif pulls back as he looks at his sister in shock. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?! This demon, this thing! Needs to die!¡± Eva looks back at her brother. Her mask blocks her expression, but it reaches Toulif. ¡°No.¡± Toulif is surprised by this. No? ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°It means, no. I will not let you kill Tiffany.¡± Toulif steps back. Is she really going to stop him? ¡°What?! Don¡¯t you realize that all of this!¡± He frantically gestures around at the destruction with his hand ¡°Was all to kill this demon!¡± Eva raises her head defiantly, ¡°Is she a demon?¡± Toulif scoffs, ¡°Are you referring to that nonsense she spouted. Of course she is a demon! An Eldritch Horror! It¡¯s all part of its disgusting scheme! It was pretending to be a human! You summoned this demon yourself!¡± Eva thinks back. Every interaction she had with Tiffany. She took note of every action. The way she talked, and the questions she had. She remembered her ¡®true form.¡¯ Something about it wasn¡¯t right. It didn¡¯t make sense. She had that terrifying form, but when she was summoned, Tiffany had already been transformed into a human. Why? If she was in hell, why did she disguise herself as a human? That wasn¡¯t enough to convince Eva, but during Tiffany¡¯s rant when she was about to be killed, something stood out to her. The vice captain didn¡¯t summon a demon, but a human with a demonic soul- It almost made sense. If Tiffany was really a level 6 demon when summoned, she couldn¡¯t possibly have a human form so perfect it could trick Summoner¡¯s Insight. Still- ¡°Jammie.¡± Toulif snaps his head between the healer and his sister. Jammie stands at attention. Eva continues ¡°Check her vitals. You can confirm if she¡¯s human, can¡¯t you?¡± Jammie blinks for a moment, then nods. ¡°I can.¡± Jammie starts to cast a green magic circle over Tiffany. Toulif simply shakes his head. ¡°Even if she is a human. She is still a threat to the expedition!¡± Toulif grabs Jammie''s shoulder and pushes him out of the way. He reaches for Tiffany''s neck, only for Eva to grab his wrist. He snaps at her. ¡°You forget your place, vice captain!¡± ¡°No! You forget your place.¡± She leans in and whispers into his clipped ear with a certain spite. ¡°Brother.¡± Toulif immediately stops at the uncomfortable truth. Yes, Toulif is the captain of this expedition. He technically outranks his sister within the cult. But Toulif is still less valued than his sister, as much as he tries to deny it. Eva¡¯s position within the royal family is placed firmly above his own. As someone who has been ejected from the succession race, Toulif must answer to anyone with the potential to become the next emperor¡­ or empress- Eva knows this fact. It¡¯s the same fact that Toulif hates his sister for. Toulif has become completely expendable in the eyes of the Zeta Empire. He doesn¡¯t even hold the title of prince anymore. Toulif slaps Eva¡¯s hand away. ¡°You-¡± He shakes his head, ¡°Do what you want.¡± He then turns to leave in complete silence. Eva watches her brother slowly leave the group. She then breathes a shaken sigh of relief. Eva doesn¡¯t know if she could have done that if they weren''t wearing masks. She nods to Jammie ¡°Do it.¡± Jammie nods back and turns to Tiffany on the ground. ¡°Vitalis.¡± A green magic circle appears above Tiffany. Green wisps of magical power start to grow off the edges of her body. Her right eye is pulled open and a faint light shines out. Jammie furrows his brows ¡°Huh.¡± Eva probes him for answers ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s her mana pool. It''s¡­ I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s like it has been inverted and warped beyond recognition. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. Not in mortals anyway.¡± Eva frowns at that ¡°So, she is a demon?¡± He shakes his head ¡°Not necessarily, I¡¯ve healed demons before. Their mana pools are like ours, save for Nav Imps, but her however¡­ I¡¯ve only seen pools of mana that have been inverted in such a way in monsters.¡± Gent interjects ¡°What kind of monsters?¡± Jammie glances over at the crater left behind in the wake of the attack that destroyed the Fledgling Atrocity. He frowns ¡°The abominations.¡± A silence grips the air around them as they take in this fact. Jammie glances back to the green magic circle floating above Tiffany and nods. ¡°Other than that, she is completely human.¡± The circle vanishes and Tiffany¡¯s glowing eye shuts. Eva eyes widen as she looks at their last healer ¡°A- are you sure? What about her mana pool?¡± Jammie blinks, as if he wasn¡¯t expecting the vice captain to be surprised ¡°No, her pool of mana is weird, but her biology is definitely that of a human. Unless she is a demon with a human form that is completely perfect in every way, that is. But I find that unlikely at her level.¡± Eva doesn¡¯t know how to respond. She had been basically given confirmation that she was right, just like that. Some part of her still wanted to believe that this person wasn¡¯t mortal. Tiffany¡¯s actions had been so erratic and deranged that the truth that she really is human is unnerving. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Eva pauses and looks down at Tiffany¡¯s unconscious body. A small rage takes hold of her as she grits her teeth. A human- --- ¡°What are you?¡± ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± I stare up at Eva as she stands over me. I¡¯m at complete loss on what to say as my jaw opens and closes and nothing comes out. I decided to be stupid with a fake ass smile. ¡°Fooled ya. Haha.¡± I can¡¯t tell what she is feeling at all with Magical Aura Perception. I strain the skill and hope it levels so I can get something, anything to work off of. Since she is wearing a mask, I can¡¯t gauge her reactions either. I grimace as she tilts her head and sighs ¡°A human with a demonic soul. That¡¯s what you said right?¡± I blink as I slowly remember what I said after my fight with Toulif. I really thought I was about to die and kinda just started ranting. ¡°Ahh. Yes, that is what I am. Not a demon.¡± I bite my lip and attempt to gauge her reaction again, only to still find vagueness. Eva says ¡°How? How do you have true demonic essence?¡± I pause at that. How do I have the soul of a demon? I never really thought too hard about it. ¡°I¡­ Don¡¯t know.¡± I give Eva a shrug. I finally found something through Eva¡¯s soul. Unfortunately it¡¯s contempt- ¡°You don¡¯t know.¡± I try to give her an apologetic look, ¡°I don¡¯t. I¡¯ve always been like this I guess?¡± Eva hangs her head over me. ¡°Was it something you were born with?¡± ¡°Not sure. Ever since I was able to perceive my own aura, it¡¯s color was black. I didn¡¯t even know that meant my soul was demonic until I met a real demon for the first time.¡± Eva raises her head at that and her soul becomes unreadable once again. It¡¯s starting to get annoying. I think I got used to being able to tell what others are feeling that not being able to see them is starting to become stressful. ¡°I see. Then why did you say you were a demon?¡± I blink at her. This is an easy one! ¡°Because it was funny!¡± Eva¡¯s soul is immediately filled with confusion. Wait, was it a good idea to say that? ¡°What?!¡± Uhhh¡­ It¡¯s too late now I guess, ¡°Uhh yeah, If I¡¯m remembering right. You begged me not to kill you and called me a demon. I thought that was funny at the time. Looking back on it now though-¡± I sucked air though gritted teeth ¡°Not the most empathetic thing to do.¡± ¡°That is-¡± she slowly starts to shake her head, ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡± ¡°Not gonna deny that, I definitely got some screws loose. But look at it from my perspective! I got ripped away from my home to a dark cave surrounded by cultists. Forgive me for being a little sadistic?¡± Eva blinks through her mask loud enough for me to hear, ¡°No!¡± I break into a grin and start chuckling. Eva quickly starts shaking her head in exasperation, ¡°Why are you laughing?!¡± ¡°Because I just realized how absolutely ridiculous this situation is!¡± I continue to laugh as she just stares at me. Eventually I come to a stop and look at her with an amused expression. Why was I nervous? My face turns into a frown. I decided to tell her my real feelings. ¡°Do you remember what I looked like when you summoned me?¡± Eva''s soul goes quiet, her rage slowly subsiding. ¡°I think I was cute, don¡¯t you think?¡± Eva takes a step back, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± I grin at her fear, so I tell her the truth- ¡°My life was nice and easy, but you took that away from me. Pulled away to a far off land and deep beneath the earth. A terrible dungeon full of monsters that could easily kill me. I think I¡¯ve broken every bone in my body multiple times, in the span of only three days. I lost my left eye, I almost lost my arm. I¡¯ve almost died more times than I can count.¡± Eva starts to stammer ¡°I didn¡¯t-¡± I wasn¡¯t finished, so I cut her off. ¡°It was the most fun I¡¯ve had in my entire life! I feel nothing but gratitude towards you, so thank you! Thank you so much for bringing me here! You saved me from living an empty life!¡± Eva stares at me, her soul is unreadable once again, but I don''t care anymore. I never want to lie to her again. She saved my life after all. I grimace ¡°I¡¯m also sorry.¡± I start to lightly slap the back of my head into the ground ¡°I¡¯ve lied to you and hurt you. About being a demon,¡± I scoff at myself, ¡°About being the daughter of the devil.¡± That was such a dumb thing to say- ¡°So let me make it up to you!¡± I smile at her and she looks back at me. I don¡¯t attempt to read her soul, I want to see what she says. Eva stands there in silence for a moment. I wait patiently for her response. Eva finally speaks ¡°I see.¡± I gasp and slap my forehead in shock ¡°I forgot!¡± Eva tilts her head at me ¡°F- forgot what?¡± ¡°The mushrooms! I got mushrooms! Did the mushrooms survive the fight with that monster?¡± I look over at Toulif to see him staring at me. Everyone is staring at me. Huh, were they watching me? Whatever, ¡°Toulif, do you guys still have the mushrooms?¡± Toulif sighs the exasperated sigh I¡¯ve ever heard ¡°No. We don¡¯t have your mushrooms, we don''t have anything. It was all destroyed and nothing could be recovered.¡± Eva throws her arms to her sides ¡°What mushrooms?!¡± I sigh as I rub my temples ¡°They were reanimating mushrooms. I got those mushrooms to repair your sanity.¡± Eva snaps back towards me. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± I grit my teeth. ¡°And now they¡¯re gone.¡± Oh man, that means my shirt is gone too. Ughhh. I look back at Eva. I look at her soul. I could probably try to see what she is feeling, but I decided against it. For some reason, that doesn¡¯t feel right anymore. I scoff as Eva looks down at me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can probably find some more-¡± --- Elsewhere- Deep within the dungeon, a massive cavern lies. Moonlight seeps in through the ravine embedded into the ceiling. A massive scorched battle-ground sits below. Thousands of rotting carcasses of decimated roaches litter the landscape. The black fires of war from an unrelenting intruder smolders from lingering spite. The moonlight illuminates the thousands of spores that blanket the fallen army. A broken empress sits alongside her failed progeny. The spores enter every crevice and crack the exoskeleton that they can find. Far away from this graveyard of roaches, at the center of this dungeon, sits a being that notices this coming storm. A dark and powerful being. A demonic abomination- It grins as it sees something that gives it an impossible glee and it flicks one of its many wrists. A soul, as Tiffany would call it, is ripped from purgatory and pulled back to the realm of mortals. A massive ball of green metallic flames appears within the Roach Empresses core. The hundreds of amputated limbs start pulling themselves together. The empress opens her eyes and finds a notification waiting- Welcome back / Reevaluating level¡­