Ahko looks around inside the tents and the cabin, searching for any survivors. Her mist didn't scatter through all the crevices of the base, she purposefully avoided doing so. She wanted some slaves for herself, though it's harder to control all the mist herself, she couldn't see that well when she's in her mist form. She found a couple of survivor slaves, though most of them are humans and useless to her, some are sleeping, unaware of what had happened, some look around in terror and hopefulness in their eyes.
Until she found one particular tent, the tent looked a little bigger than the others, meaning the bandit who lived there was probably one of the higher roles in the base. She goes inside and finds 1 slave, yellow scales covering her lower jaw down to her neck, golden eyes with slit pupils, and wearing a ragged cloth that is half torn on the lower half because her lower half is a massive serpent tail covered in the same color scales as her lower jaw. The textures look very rough, as if it would hurt to even try to glide your finger over them.
Her tail coil loosely around her until, at the end, she hugged the end of her tail like a pillow. She seems very distressed, even though she's sleeping, likely because she didn't accept her being a slave. Even though there was a commotion outside, she's still sleeping.
"Analyze her."
[Status] Abilities
Name: Sytha
Level: 4
Exp: 0/40
Hp: 270/270
Mp: 26/26
Stamina: 100/100
Rank: C-- [In terms of Exp: E--]
Species: Vipercrest
STR: 16 [D] VIT: 27 [C--]
SPD: 38 [C-] STA: 25 [C--]
DEF: 5 [E] AGL: 43 [C]
INT: 24 [D++] MPC: 26 [C--]
Status [Abilities]
Abilities
- Neurotoxin Bite [Common/Uniquely Vipercrest]
When biting an opponent, it delivers a fast neurotoxin that causes paralysis in seconds. If left untreated, it will cause permanent paralysis. [Effect becomes less efficient towards an opponent of a similar or higher rank.] [Poison Resistance does not work]
Skills
- Coil Bind [Common/Uniquely Vipercrest]
The tail coils around an opponent and squeezes them until they pass out from lack of breathing or are crushed from the inside. It can also be used for restriction.
Spells
-
Passive Abilities
- Vipercrest Enchantment [Uniquely Vipercrest]
Gained 40 AGL, 30 SPD, 20 INT, 20 VIT, 20 STA, 20 MPC, 10 STR
- Immunity to All Poison [Common/Uniquely Vipercrest]
Complete immune to all natural poison and most non-transcendent poison/venom spell/ability/skill
"Hm... Not bad... I'll buy her."
"I'll have to register the humans and beastkins you have killed.
You have killed 43 bandits from level 15 to level 50, killed 87 beastkins from level 2 to level 9, and the bandit leader at level 175 with the total exp 29520.
Shop coins gained are 59040."
"That's so little..."
"The bandit base is situated in the middle of the forest, so it'll cost more to build than an existing abandoned mine."
"I guess... So, how much is the girl?"
"30000 coins"
"Done."
"Ahko, you have gained the following abilities from buying slaves:
- Passive Abilities
Vipercrest Enchantment [Uniquely Vipercrest]
Gained 40 AGL, 30 SPD, 20 INT, 20 VIT, 20 STA, 20 MPC, 10 STR."
"I only got the enchantment?"
"Yes, it would be too powerful if you obtained the other passive ability."
"Isn't that what you or the system is supposed to do?"
"Yes, but you have to work for it. If the system gives you whatever you want, it wouldn't be so fun isn't it?"
"Fun? What are you talking about?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Whatever..."
Ahko bent down and gently tapped Sytha on the shoulder. Sytha's body instantly reacted and hugged her tail more tightly.
"P-Please... N-Not now..."
"Hey, hey... It's fine... He's dead, they all dead."
She slowly opened her eyes, seeing a gorgeous looking girl she had ever seen.
"W-What am I seeing..? An angel..?"
"Far off. Hey."
Ahko gently slapped her to bring her back to the real world.
"H-Huh?"
"Hello."
"W-Who are you?"
"I'm the one who killed your captor."
"What..?"
"You will not be tortured anymore."
"W-What do you mean..?"
"... Come look outside yourself."
She slowly stands up, supported by her tail, slithers to the outside, and is shocked to see that everybody is lying on the ground, lifeless. There is no bloodbath. Ahko's Dark spikes were very thin and slender, and the pierce only left a wound similar to that of a needle. There is still blood, but it's very unnoticeable.
"S-So I'm free..?"
"Not really, more like under a new owner."
"H-Huh..? I-I'm not... Free..?"
"No, but don't worry, you'll be fine under my care."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you won't be treated like shit like with these assholes."
"So... I will be taken care of like a real being?"
"Yep, I only need you to do one thing and one thing only."
"W-What is it..?"
"Open the portal."
"Alright."
A blue portal appeared behind Ahko that shocked the snake. When Ahko goes inside, she follows her. The world is nothing but endless open sky stretched in all directions. The air feels warm and comfortable. It's the first time she has seen anything this beautiful in her life. Most of her life confined to a tent, being taunted at, kicked, slapped, assaulted, she wouldn't wish this on her biggest enemy, and now. She's finally free, at some level, and with the beautiful scenery she had ever laid her eyes upon, the confusing situation almost makes her laugh. She's always feels cold because of her cold-blooded serpent tail, but this? It's the first time in a while that her tail feels very comfortable, and her upper body also feels very good. Ahko doesn't feel the heat, it's like the temperature adjusted itself near them.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"It is... W-Wow... I-I never... Seen anything like this..."
"It's my first thought too..."
"H-How did you get something like this..?"
"I have my ways."
"Oh..."
"Anyways, Sytha. You will stay here indefinitely."
"Forever..? B-But... How about food? And shelter..?"
"Oh, right. I forgot about that. Well, what type of food do you eat?"
"Uhm... I eat meat..?"
"That's it?"
"Y-Yeah... I don't really have a preference..."
"Do you need it to be cooked?"
"No..."
"Alright, I'll be back with whatever I can come across."
"O-Okay.."
After Ahko left the portal and closed it. Sytha lies down on the sky, pondering whether or not her new master is being genuine or bluffing.
"Is there even any beasts in this forest?" Ahko pondered while searching for something to feed Sytha.
"We never came across one."
"Yeah... How can I find them? Oh, wait, I can see them in map mode."
"That's only monsters, beasts would not work."
"Tch, always..."
"Go to a river, maybe some beasts are sleeping near them."
"Map."
"Right."
"I assumed the purple ones are the beasts, right?"
"It's crazy how you didn't pay attention to that."
"Whatever."
Ahko leaves the base and sets out to the south until she hears a flowing river. Then she slowly creeps up on the unsuspecting family of beasts that are sleeping peacefully. It looks like a family of boars.
"[Appraisal]"
"You seriously use appraisal on beasts?"
"They could be rank A or something, you can't trust what you see."
[Status] Abilities
Hp: 200/200
Stamina: 100/100
Rank: E
Species: Mudtusk Boar
STR: 22 VIT: 20
SPD: 18 STA: 22
DEF: 14 AGL: 10
INT: 6 MPC: 0
Status [Abilities]
- Mud-crust Tusk
It coats its tusk with mud, then charges with the mud hardening mid charge, which amplifies the damage when it strikes.
"Sounds easy enough."
Ahko didn't need to use her ability and quickly vaporized the boar's head with a single punch. The boars near it woke up from the sudden sound and ran into the forest, leaving Ahko with a missing head boar. Ahko dragged its body to the blue portal that opened without her command, with Sytha calmly sleeping in the warm sky. She sets the boar aside, then steps back out to the real world.
"The next plan is to have my revenge..."
"Lydia?"
"Yes."
Ahko sprinted to the City, the time when the sun rises is coming closer. She just wants this one quick end to Lydia's life, or at least needs an explanation why she ratted her out just like that. The roads are mostly empty, mostly drunk people trying to get back home or to an inn, but half of them vomit and sleep on the roads and sidewalks.
In front of Lydia's front door, Ahko used her [Dark Mist] to slip through the gaps of doors and windows until all her mist was inside the house, and she materialized into herself. She calmly sauntered to Lydia's front door and knocked on it.
Knock Knock Knock
"H-Huh? W-Who's there?"
"..."
"M-Maybe it's all in my head..."
Knock Knock Knock
"... Who's there!?"
"It's me."
"A-Ahko!?"
"Come out, now."
"I-I thought you were dead!!"
"I was, come out now, I won't bite."
"A-Are you sure..?"
"Yes. I just want to know why you ratted me out..."
Knock Knock Knock
"Come out... I just want to talk..."
"Y-You'll kill me!!"
"Oh, I wouldn't do such a thing to my dearest friend, would I? Just open the door."
Knock Knock Knock
"How do I know that I can trust you?"
"You just have to trust me, otherwise, I broke down this door, and the situation will be worse."
"F-Fine! I'll open it."
As soon as Lydia opens the door, Ahko immediately chokes her neck and slams her against the wall.
"Argh!! A-A-Ahko!!"
"Now... Why... Did you do that..? Hm?"
"Y-Y-You were too dangerous!!"
"Was I-"
Suddenly, a sharp pain in her chest startled Ahko.
"WARNING! Your life is in danger!
Hp: 3210/3740"
She softened her grip on Lydia, making her able to breathe again, then looked down at the sharp pain in her chest. A sword had pierced through her heart, just barely stopping at Lydia's leg. She turns her head to see who's behind her, to see a woman dressed as an imperial guard. A strange familiarity filled her mind.
"Do I know you?"
"We've met before, but no."
Then it hits her, it's the woman who put [Bind] on her when she was about to get executed. When she's about to get more meat and escape without having to resurrect. She thought that all the imperial guards had moved on to the capital after her execution, but it turns out one of them took extra precautions.
"Oh, you are that woman."
"[Stillwound]"
"WARNING! The wound couldn't be regenerated!
Hp: 3100/3740"
"What did you do..?"
Ahko released her grip on Lydia, causing her to drop and fall to the ground while she covered her neck with her hands, sighing in relief. Ahko turns around, but the sword is already pulled out by the imperial guard.
"What's your name?"
"I'm will not give you any information."
The guard charges with an insane speed that Ahko can barely react to, though she is slower than Brock's speed, but still faster than Ahko's. She had a little time to react to use [Fool] , guaranteeing that the attack will fail, she then will strike when it fails, and she will gain 50% more SPD if she hits her target and will be able to keep up with the guard. Except the guard is an S rank, far beyond her rank, she easily deflects Ahko's attack, making Ahko failed to gain 50% more SPD.
"Tch, I'll have to get out of here."
"Oh, you won't [Iron Proclamation]!"
[Iron Proclamation], a unique ability that creates a 20-meter boundary around the spot where she stood and used the ability. It freezes anyone who gets caught in it, even her. She has to declare a binding condition out loud, anyone who violate the rule, all their stats will be decreased by 50%. The rule applied will also affect her if she violates her own rule. Anyone must follow the rule for 60 seconds until the boundary fades.
"No one can exit out of this boundary."
"Tsk... You really want to fight, huh?"
"I want to know the true strength of a succubus who successfully charmed 2 S rank guards who were beyond her rank."
"[Void Crescent]"
"H-Hey... Can you guys at least do this outside..?"
"Shut up, I'll destroy your house and yo-"
"[Bind]"
Taking advantage of Ahko's distraction, the guard cast [Bind] on Ahko. Materials from Lydia's house start to come out like hands and wrap Ahko's body, but instead of last time, where she couldn't fight back, this time she could, and the bind isn't strong enough to restrain a B rank. Though it still will take time for her to restrain herself, the guard used the opportunity to use the back of her sword and smash it to Ahko's head. The force was strong enough that the bind broke instantly, and Ahko flung out from the conveniently opened window and didn't cause too much damage to Lydia's bedroom.
"T-Thank you for saving me.."
"No problem, it's my duty to protect everyone in the kingdom."
The guard calmly walks out of the house from the front door, knowing that Ahko couldn't possibly be trying to escape from the [Iron Proclamation] boundary. If she does, the guard will have more than enough time to catch her and kill her on the spot or take her somewhere worse. Ahko is already ready for the actual fight, wiping her bloodied nose.
"How did you even get in there?"
"I will not give out any information."
"Tsk, I don't have strong enough abilities to fight her like this. If I just escape right now, I will lose half of my stats, but I can use some abilities to hide myself."
Ahko smirked at her, thinking, just when she's about to start backing away.
"But that's how losers think." She suddenly changed her mind.
Ahko rushes to the guard, using [Shadow Feint] and creating 3 identical arms coming towards her, but the ability is far below the guard's rank as she's easily see it through and catch the right arm, but Ahko already anticipate this and rotate her body so that her head is on the ground and her feet that are in dark mist on the guard's face.
"[Dark Spikes]"
"[Counter Anchor]"
2 huge spikes shot out from her dark mist feet and came towards the guard. Unfortunately, the moment the spikes landed on her face, the spikes shattered instantly.
[Counter Anchor], a unique skill where, when an enemy strikes her with a melee attack, she absorbs all the blow due to her high amount of DEF, and uses the moment to plant a binding tag on the attacker's body. The tag weakens her enemy's next ability, skill, or spell activation by one full rank. This skill could only work when she has a hold of the attacker's body part, such as an arm, otherwise, the skill will work against her, and she's the one get planted with a binding tag.
It's the perfect moment for the guard to use the skill. When Ahko realized the spikes didn't work, she kicked the guard's armor breastplate, to try to make her stumbled on her feet and escape from the grasp, but the guard didn't get affected by the kick, Ahko felt her legs are like kicking against a indestructible wall, but she managed to get out of the grasp though she didn't land on her feet and quickly stand back up.
"Yue, how much time left?"
"50 seconds."