[Congrats!]
[Daily Quest Completed]
[Pending Quest 1: Save the Priestess]
[Pending Quest 2: Conquer the Priestess]
My system notified me as I dragged myself back to that violent demon's lair.
I pushed open the door quickly, making sure to avoid her hound, and slipped inside. She was sleeping—doing absolutely nothing.
When she saw me, her eyes widened slightly before she relaxed again.
"You're back so quickly, human?"
I threw the rabbit onto the floor.
"This is bullshit! This training is not what I need," I snapped, raising my voice.
She ignored my outburst, picked up the rabbit, and examined it for a moment.
"What did you use to crush its head?" she asked.
"My fists, of course. You knew damn well this thing was tough as hell, yet you gave me a useless dagger to kill it! That thing snapped to pieces!"
"Really now?"
I hated that cocky attitude of hers.
"Tch." I looked away, scowling.
She picked up a log from the floor and gestured at me.
"Watch this, kiddo."
I lazily darted my eyes over to her, pouting.
She gripped the log, infused it with her mana, and—without effort—sliced the rabbit's skin off as if it were butter. The same rabbit I had failed to stab with a sharp dagger.
"See? It's not about how sharp the tool is. It's about how efficiently you use it," she said.
Then, she gouged the rabbit's eyeballs out, tossed them into a pot over the fire, and threw the rest of the meat outside to her hound.
"I—how is that even possible?" I stammered.
She sighed. "Figure it out on your own."
I stood up abruptly and slammed my hand onto the table. "Listen up, demon! I don't have time to waste figuring out how to cut a rabbit! I have a mission at stake. Just tell me how to do it, and I'll learn it fast. That way, we can both stop wasting time and focus on hunting the Demon Lord."
Her expression shifted. She looked at me seriously, her pale crimson eyes gleaming with danger.
"If we do that, you'll DIE."
A drop of sweat trickled down my forehead. But still...
"Have some lunch, kiddo, then get back to training."
She pulled the pot from the fire and dished out the two eyeballs onto a plate.
"Here's your food."
"WHAT?!" I yelled. "You've gotta be kidding me. How dare you feed me eyeballs while giving all the meat to your damn dog?!"
"They're good for you. They'll heighten your sense of fight. Trust me." She giggled.
Something in her tone made me doubt her words. But I had no choice.
I tossed the first eyeball into my mouth and chewed. It exploded with an inedible, disgusting juice, squishing around my mouth. I nearly puked.
"The hell is this poison?!"
She burst out laughing, pointing at me. "Oh, I knew living with you wouldn't be boring! Dude, you're hilarious."
"Nghhh." I groaned. "You're doing this for fun, huh? You think this is a game? I should've known. I'm out of here. I'm going straight to the Demon Lord's domain. Give me the directions."
"Fool," she muttered. "You'll die. Don't say I didn't warn you."
"GIVE ME THE DAMN DIRECTIONS!" I practically roared.
With a sigh, she finally told me. She said I'd see the place from afar, deep beyond these forests.
A castle, I guessed.
I was done playing around with Rose. Tossing the remaining eyeball aside, I stormed out. Her hound whined as I left, as if the hideous beast was sad to see me go.
I had no weapons. No plan. Nothing.
But I didn't care.
All I had to do was study the Demon Lord's terrain using my system, sneak in, and steal the Priestess. Simple as that.
The deeper I went into the forest, the thicker the trees became. Eerie branches twisted around me, and sudden rustling in the bushes gave me jump-scares.
Then, I saw those damn beast rabbits.
Dozens of them.
They were feasting on dead trees, sucking the little mana they had left. Considering how strong they were, I figured it was best to avoid them.
But they didn't feel the same.
The creatures rushed at me. With the little PP I had left, I blasted them with a fireball—
It disappeared into thin air.
I tried again, this time using most of my PP to conjure a larger fireball.
I fired!
And just like before, the attack vanished. That's when I realized—
They were absorbing my magic through their horns.
No wonder Rose told me not to use magic against these rabbits.
Then—
All hundred-something of them launched my own magic back at me, but stronger.
I barely had time to react before a barrage of fireballs blasted me away. My body spun through the air before crashing into the ground with a sickening force.
The Priestess's robe—the only thing I was wearing—burned and barely clung to me, just enough to keep me from being completely naked.
I tried to stand, but my body wouldn't move.
I was weak.
No PP left. No way to heal.
Nothing.
Just me.
Just the pathetic me.
I jolted awake, gasping for air.
I was alive. Somehow.
My eyes darted around.
I was lying on a familiar, creepy couch.
Again.
"Yo, you're awake, human. Thought you were a goner there."
My head ached. My muscles screamed in pain. I still felt weak.
"W-what happened to me?"
"Hah!" Rose scoffed. "You got put in your place by rabbits! You were unconscious for six days!"
My heart pounded.
"Six days?!"
"Yeah. Pathetic, Right? Now you've only got two weeks left before the Crimson Full Moon. If you had listened to me, you wouldn't have wasted an entire week in bed."
"But I—"
She handed me a bowl.
Full of eyeballs.
"Eat up. You need strength to get back to training."
"I—"
"No excuses, human," she said sharply.
My fingers trembled. She was right.
I was weak.
I couldn't even defeat rabbits.
What hope did I have against the Demon Lord himself?
I clenched my fists. "Rose," I muttered. "Thank you for saving me."
She smirked. "Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't do it out of remorse. You're just my pawn to getting revenge on that bastard. NOW EAT UP!"
I glanced down at the eyeballs, then out the window—
Her damn hound was eating meat while l had the eyeballs.
I groaned, but my stomach rumbled. Suppressing the urge to run outside and fight the dog for its meal—a fight I'd probably lose—I grabbed an eyeball, gulped it down, and forced myself not to chew.
Surprisingly, it wasn't as awful this time.
Maybe because I didn't chew.
Or maybe because I was starting to lose my humanity.
And my sanity, too.
TBC