"Kai!" I shouted, then soon realized that the bug wasn't aiming for her, but for its other half. Could it be itching for a fusion? It was weak, so the possibility did make sense. So I fixed my knife to toss it at the fleeing creature. I exhaled, gauged the distance, and called out to it with a taunt, hoping it'd be bitter enough to fall for my bait.
And after the damage I'd dealt, it was.
As soon as it turned around to look down at me, I launched my knife and watched it disappear into the sky. For a moment, there was silence. Then came a piercing screech, followed by the demon insect crashing down to the earth a few yards away.
Kai dealt fatal damage to her bug pal as well, impaling it with a thunder arrow right through its cranium.
When it dropped on the ground, Kai landed. "Decapitate it," she said to me, and I turned around to my bug creature, who'd been still a second ago, and was now twitching. "Demons are confirmed dead when you decapitate them."
It was a messy job, but I terminated the pest for good, and then walked over to Kai's demon and did the same. At the end of it, I had guts all over my hands, but Kai was ready with a bucket of water from the stream, hosing down my blade and my fingers.
"A level 5 human defeating a category B demon with a simple knife," she sang, "Surely, you are a demigod."
I chuckled. "You're being modest. I did have some help."
She set the bucket aside and walked over to the demon as it began to decompose. "We categorize these demons in grades. Since they cannot be inspected, and we cannot know what level they are in, or see their HP when we fight them. They don't follow the same principles as our codices, seeing as they aren't from our dungeon core."
"Dungeon core?"
"The core of our planet." She smiled. "Soon, you will learn everything there is to know about how it works, and where to find the dungeons it creates."
"Well, I'm definitely looking forward to that. With dungeons come leveling."
She giggled. "So much leveling."
"So this nasty bug was a category B, huh?"
"Yes. We rate them by how many skills they have, and how strong they are. While this one had enough skills to be a category A, it wasn't as strong as one."
"Shit. It had over five, didn't it? Some type of power absorption, maybe, the ability to summon, regeneration, multiplication, and acid spit."
"And don't forget teleport."
"Right, so six."
"Higher grades are more deadly. I guarantee you that."
"Hell, I'm taking your word for it. It's just a crazy thought."
"But you handled yourself quite well." She smirked. "Speaking of, how did you detect it?"
I turned back to her from my distraction of slimy body parts desecrating holy ground. "Huh?"
"You sensed it before it presented itself. Usually demons are undetectable."
"Not… sure," I said, lightly running my fingers over my chest. "I just felt this weird tingling in my chest, followed by some heat. I looked down on the ground, and then saw that weird black pool start to form. My codex called it an innate skill that I discovered, [Undead Sense]. I did nothing to activate it. Pretty much triggered on its own."
"Innate skill. Does it have a level?"
"Yeah, one. Much like most of my skills."
"The more you use it, the better the detection would be. I suspect either you'll become more proficient in early detection, or the radius of detection may increase. This will become very useful."
"How frequently do these things pop up in the village?"
"Too frequently," she said, and when she pulled her hand back from her arm, I noticed that she was burned."
"Hey, you're hurt."
"It's nothing a healing potion cannot fix," she reassured me.
"Can I?" I said, tilting my head as I offered her my services.
She was floored, with no idea what I was implying. Even so, she stretched her arm out to me and I summoned my healing.
In the blink of an eye, the soft glow from my palms met her wounds, my fingers tracing the blisters and scars that were left by the demon's acid. The injuries on her arm began to fade, the skin restructuring itself under my touch until it was as flawless as ever. Once I was sure every blemish had been eradicated, I retracted my hand.
Her fingers stroked her skin, Kai at a loss for words.
She looked up to me and asked, "You... you have healing powers?"
"I do, actually."
"But you..." She paused, her fingers still brushing over her unblemished skin. "You used magic... healing magic."
"Eh, is that so surprising?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It is, in fact. You are human, and are not magically affirmed. Unlike dragons, drow and elves, you need a skill scroll to utilize magic. Skill scrolls usually require summoning mana, and I didn't see a rune or sigil when you healed me."
"Well, healing is my innate ability. Comes with the perks of being a goddess' son!" I chuckled. "Back home, I just called her Demri, or mom."
"What a beautiful gift to have, for a remarkable and humble man. Thank you Lucien," she said sincerely, her smile bright.
I couldn't tell if she was flirting with me or not, but the words of appreciation were warming. After our fight with the demon, the servants of the sect came to clean up the mess, and the High Priestess pardoned herself to make preparations to leave. Where? I only had a vague idea. We needed to raid a few dungeons to beef up my level, so I could be strong enough to defeat the horrors of that island. The Infernal Surge would be something Buliba and her warriors would have to tackle in the village without their beloved Kai, a decision that was hard for Kai. Nevertheless, she made it clear that it was her duty to come with me, and she wasn't going to hear any objections from me.
Traveling with a baby dragon and a beastkin priestess that looked like an angel seemed like the wildest fantasy I could have ever dreamt of. All my life I had been living in a small cage, oblivious to not only other countries in my own planet, but entire worlds and galaxies. But now, this strange turn of events had led me on a path filled with magic, dungeons, mythical beasts, and gorgeous ladies.
"Hmm, I wonder how well Starr will get along with Kai…" I whispered to myself. Speaking of my baby dragon, I ought to look for her. But Kai left me in the front courtyard of the monastery, where she expected me to wait for her. I shouldn't go back inside and stick my head where it didn't belong.
Honestly, I should feel right at home. The thought of sullying sacred grounds was ludicrous. I was a demigod, and after I reclaim my kingdom, their worship and praise would fall on me. The idea made me chuckle softly. The joke that kept getting funnier the more I said it. The grandeur was ironically more humorous in the moment of quiet solitude. I looked up at the sprawling monastery, the ancient architecture a testament to faith and tradition, still holding strong to its virtues and beliefs. And then I thought about being above all of that.
Though my blood was divine, I was undeniably human in my tastes. I was a simple man to please; I liked warm beds and good food. I had a thirst for knowledge and an itch for adventure that went deeper than any rational explanation. I also had plans for the future, living on a farm by the mountainside, with a beautiful wife, fathering children and taking care of livestock. Except now I was to have many wives and many kids. Same dream, just bigger.
"Ah, fuck it." I said as I stood up from the front steps. "I'll be back before Kai gets here."
I turned back around to go search for Starr. Kai said that she had Tanvi looking out for her, but as soon as my foot reached the top step, I heard someone call out to me.
"And where do you think you're going?" she said, the familiar voice making me turn around. It was Buliba standing at the foot of the stairway, giving me a sassy look.
Again, my codex gave me a suggestion. My system was impeccable for its perfect timing, asking if I wanted the general to be part of my household:
House of Barros
Add General Buliba of Grusnabi to harem?
Preliminary must be met: bond with the General to appease [Fertile Charm] level upgrade
[Y] [N]
Yeah, absolutely not.
With careful scrutinizing, I realized a pattern with my codex's suggestions. As long as I had an emotional connection with a girl, or a physical one, it would suggest that girl for my harem. Unfortunately, the sweet time I had with Buliba was only bait to have me executed in front of her entire town.
After I rejected the offer, I gave the general my undivided attention.
"Oh, ugh, hey. I'm just going to get Starr and—"
"You know, you may have gotten the priestess fooled, but I'm no idiot." Buliba interrupted, crossing her arms under her breasts and sashaying my way. The determined glint in her eyes told me everything I needed to know—she still saw me as a threat to her village. "I've seen your kind before. Trying to infiltrate our land by betraying our trust. You are not the first to try and win our women over, but I promise, you will be the last. I know how to deal with vile men like you!"
"What?"
"I might be easy on the eyes, but don't be fooled—I can snap your neck before that gullible priestess could take one sip of her morning tea, and have your body buried before she could put her cup down."
"Oh… um…" I stuttered, a bit thrown by her stubbornness. "Well, that's impressive and all, but you got me all wrong. I'm not—"
"That's what they all say. But the pride and lust of men are their biggest downfall."
"Hey, I was minding my own business. You were the one who interrupted my bath and—"
"You mean, your swamp bath?" she tittered.
"Yeah, laugh it up all you want. I'm not the one who is bent on seeing a level 5 human as a threat."
"That's because I've seen all types of tricks, some more impressive than my own. Illusion charms aren't easy to come by, and potent ones even harder than that. But that doesn't mean that they cannot be accessible to scum like you."
I rolled my eyes. "Do you usually make out like that with scum men like me?"
She glared.
"Because you seem to have enjoyed our time together in that swamp water, too."
"Oh, shut up," she hissed, summoning a light blue sigil in the air. Unlike Kai's, hers was triangle shaped, the inlays growing brighter as it grew. Before I knew it, she had two water blades in her fists, General Buliba squaring up to fight me.
"Hey, hold on," I tried to reason with her, holding my hands up to convince her that I wasn't filled with all of that trickery she was blaming me for. "I just want to find my dragon! She's probably scared without me. The last thing I want to do is pick a fight with you."
"A fight?" she cackled. "No, this isn't a fight. This is a murder!"
With a battle cry, she lunged at me, her water blades charging my way.
"Wait—" My words were cut off as she slashed, her water blades cutting through the air when I dodged. Buliba was quick to reposition herself, the confidence in her fighting style making me falter a bit. Water droplets splashed on my skin, the cold liquid shocking me into a reaction.
I ducked under her first thrust and rolled to the side. "Wait, Buliba!" I shouted, scrambling to my feet and backing away from her. "Hey, get a grip, would you?!"
But she wasn't listening. She was too enraptured by the thrill of this forced fight. I had to put her in the ring with me, figuratively speaking. I could pull my blade at her, but that might not be necessary with the way she was moving. She was overzealous, eager to put me down in this wild flight of rage she was promoting. So naturally, I played the patient game, watching her foot placement and her swinging arms.
There was a fluidity to her movements as I continued to dodge, duck, and shamelessly hide behind stone statues around the monastery. Studying her pattern wasn't too hard—I had a feeling this wasn't how she normally fought. Seeing as I was a low leveled human, she underestimated me, susceptible to mistakes and more importantly, handouts.
She was fast, and her water blades were deadly in her hands, but she was so focused on overpowering me that she left openings. And I was ready to exploit them.
Her last strike slashed the poor statue of a mother holding a child. At a quick glance, it almost looked like mom. When the statue crashed on the ground, clouds of dust coughed in the air. The temporary blindness didn't stop me from dodging Buliba's next move as she slashed vertically. As soon as I step-dodged the attack, I spun, aligning my back against her. I grabbed her arm and rammed my elbow into her, then I flung her over my shoulder.
She landed with a thud and a grunt, her water blades disintegrating on impact. I didn't waste a moment to press my advantage. In a swift move, I pinned her down, with my knees to her hips and my hands pinning her wrists against the ground.
"You have no respect for sacred ground," I hissed. "Making a mess out of a temple just because you're too thick headed to notice an ally when you see one."
She giggled. "I'm not the only one with a thick head." She grabbed my arms with her tail, and before I could pull back, Buliba swung me over her head like I weighed nothing!
She body slammed me hard. I swear she gave me a concussion. The blackout was temporary, but this dent in my pride wasn't. She got me twice, and my side of the scoreboard wasn't looking too impressive right now. I didn't know she could stretch her tails out like that, using them as an edge in a fight.
This psycho was full of surprises.
With another tail, she slapped me in my face. Shockingly enough, it was a playful slap, not enough to knock me out, but enough to send the message. Buliba was giving dom vibes the way she looked at me upside down, her tails continuing to pin me. She had five tails all together, using four of them to pin my limbs and one to taunt me.
"Clever boy, I'll give you that." She smirked. "But your smarts would only get you so far." She summoned something else from her skill locker of secrets—a big water ball. Before I could plead with her, she stuffed my head in it, the general trying to drown me!