Under the morning light, the moss-covered Great Trees and the mist floating near the ground took on a bluish tint. This sight caused Siloque to let out a soft sigh. Following behind him were his sister and the Vampire.
“Kaka, a hunting expedition? It has been a long time. These hands are thirsting for blood as well.”
“Hey, human with hair the same color as mine, don’t steal my lines. Otherwise, I’ll put lots and lots of cilantro in your food tonight.”
Hill mimicked Inafa, which resulted in a warning. Siloque had expected Hill to stay in bed until noon, but surprisingly, she had woken up early at 10:00 AM. When he told her about farming monsters, she had readily agreed.
As for Inafa, when she saw the two siblings off at the main gate, Siloque mentioned they would only return by dinner. Inafa then said —
“It can’t be helped. I wanted to send a Blood Spirit to protect you, but I happen to be low on mana after yesterday’s battle. If my guests end up as corpses in the wilderness, what would happen to my reputation as the Guild Master? You’re lucky. I happen to want a stroll anyway, so I’ll go with you and move this body that’s been asleep for 10 years.”
‘Your mana is perfectly fine. Weren’t you able to summon Blood Spirits while cooking last night? And before, you said you didn’t care where we died. Even if we die out there, you don’t have anyone to tell besides Tiana anyway. Who cares about your reputation?’ Siloque complained internally, but in the end, he refrained from speaking up.
Regardless, after that awkward speech, Inafa joined the party.
During the journey, they fought the Booze-loving Black Ape and its superior variant, the Drunken Demon Ape, three times. They moved through the misty Forest in a formation with Siloque in the front, while Hill and Inafa followed behind.
Two more Magic Apes jumped out. Inafa walked directly up to the monsters. Before they could even react, she used one pale finger to easily pierce their hides, directly draining their blood to replenish her HP and MP. The monsters turned into something resembling dried meat and drifted to the ground.
‘Inafa is so strong. Vampire Characteristics are like a cheat code.’
Siloque unsheathed his Greatsword and didn’t hold back. “Thanks, Inafa.”
Inafa took a step back while Siloque and Hill delivered the finishing blows, the two siblings gaining Experience Points for free. Incidentally, the intelligent beings of the Dungeon were equally familiar with concepts like Experience Points. Siloque felt the current situation was somewhat similar to when he and Cass used to follow behind Myut to pick up easy kills.
Just as he was about to cut open the dried Magic Ape’s chest to retrieve the Crystal Core, Inafa seemed to remember something and clapped her hands together. “That’s right! I was wondering why we had to walk. Kaka, stupid human, don’t take out its Soul Crystal yet. I’ll show you something good.”
The blonde, golden-eyed Vampire placed her hand on the dead, withered Magic Ape. A surge of crimson mana was injected, and regular red magical patterns appeared on the ape’s body. Its hand twitched, and the once-dead Magic Ape opened its blood-red eyes.
“Whoa! It came back to life!” Hill shouted in excitement.
The Magic Ape stood up, and a translucent, blood-colored armor appeared over its body. It lowered its hand, and Inafa stepped onto its arm to sit on its shoulder. Inafa’s gaze flickered as she looked around, appearing somewhat restless.
Siloque immediately said in a gentlemanly manner, “My shoulder is an excellent and safe child seat. If you’re afraid of heights, you can sit on my shoulder. I’m much more stable than it is.”
“You’re the child! Who are you looking down on? I’m not afraid of heights. What is there to fear about 4 or 5 meters?” Inafa tightened her grip on the fur.
“I didn’t know Inafa was also a Necromancer. So cool! Brother, Hill wants to learn this! …The look of a Mage, no, a Necromancer.”
Hill looked on with sparkling eyes, appearing as if she wanted to change her class.
“You’ll have to ask Inafa. Your brother isn’t that omnipotent yet.”
Asmodi’s Sacred Tools also included items that could influence one’s mind, but they were much more complicated to operate. They weren’t as simple as Inafa’s magic, which only required a bit of blood and mana.
Inafa brushed her blonde bangs aside and said from her high vantage point (both physically and psychologically), “Sorry, Hill. This magic of mine can only be used by me. You won’t be able to learn it.”
“Is that so… That’s a shame.”
‘To be able to accept such a surreal thing so calmly, my sister is truly amazing.’
Siloque looked up, re-evaluating the 4-meter-tall, lifeless Magic Ape. Because it was encased in armor, he decided to call it the Blood-Armored Demon Ape for now.
“Heart-Capturing Blood. By injecting a bit of my own mana and blood, I can manipulate it. If the target is a beast without reason, I can control it without even killing it first.”
Although he had seen it many times in the game, actually seeing a creature that had died not long ago crawl back up still caused a bit of — a bit of physical discomfort. If killing the target and eating its meat could be called part of nature’s cycle, then this act felt somewhat like a desecration of the corpse.
‘No, no, no, why am I worrying about such things in a fantasy world? Not long ago, I was beheading Wild Dragons on the mountain one by one.’ Siloque shook his head slightly, shaking off his unnecessary timidness.
“Kaka, you’re right, stupid human. As long as a monster is touched by this magic of mine, it becomes my Slave. Furthermore, unlike a Blood Spirit, this doesn’t require as much mana to maintain. It even retains the intelligence it had while alive. I could even order it from a distance to go fishing for me.”
Inafa explained her magic, which defied the laws of life and ethics, as if showing off a favorite toy. This was the very magic that Andre and the others wanted to seize most. After all, if Inafa had the inclination — everything from Wild Dragons, Magic Apes, to Hexagonal Elks and other unintelligent lower creatures could become her servants. A situation that was originally 5v1 would eventually become 5v100.
His strongest memory was from the game, where Inafa turned a chicken into a servant. Andre tied a special magic bomb to its leg, and the chicken walked into a crowded area. Following a loud bang, the air became thick with the metallic scent of blood.
‘It’s a good thing we were able to bring Inafa to our side, or at least make her a neutral power.’
Inafa had the Blood-Armored Demon Ape reach out its other hand. “You two get on. Using this as a means of transport in the forest is much more effective than a carriage. The fur is slippery, so be careful.”
The Magic Ape’s muscle blocks served as natural steps, and Siloque climbed up easily. Hill followed closely behind, sitting directly on the ape’s head to reach the highest point.
Siloque pointed out the direction to Inafa. With two blonde girls on its shoulders and head, the Magic Ape sprinted through the forest. Heavy thuds echoed as it hit the ground, and the monsters along the way saw nothing but gold and black shadows flashing past them.
“Kaka, since you’re in such a hurry to Upgrade, I’ll tell you about a special spot. At the far southwest end of the First Floor, there is a large cave. Near the Cliff, there is an invisible bridge…”
“I know that one. After crossing it, you’ll see a Goblin spawn point, right? Unfortunately, the Experience Points provided there aren’t enough to be worth it anymore.”
Inafa froze, her eyes showing her dissatisfaction. “This is a secret location recorded in ancient books. How do you know about it? Stupid human, is there anything you don’t know? You knew about Heart-Capturing Blood before, and yesterday you knew about my cat. Are you peeking at my memories?”
“I’m not all-knowing. I just know what I know.”
“Tongue twisters? If you don’t want to say, then don’t.”
“Brother, is this the Captain’s perspective?” The scenery changed rapidly. Siloque gripped the Magic Ape’s white mane to keep from falling off.
“Hill, the Captain literally beheaded the Beast Titan. They are archenemies; he wouldn’t be sitting like this.”
“Titan? Where is something that short? This monkey is at most the height of an Ogre,” Inafa said in confusion.
“We’re talking about something from a manga,” Siloque answered while holding down his wind-blown bangs.
“Manga? What’s that? Can you eat it?”
‘Why do you have the same reaction as Tiana? Or did you just raise her that way?’
“It’s a type of story where the drawings are divided into many frames. As you read, it progresses like the movement of a camera, with the perspective constantly changing, almost like watching a movie.”
“Camera… Movie…” After hearing Siloque’s explanation, even more question marks appeared over Inafa’s head.
“I’ll let you see some tonight, and you’ll understand immediately. We’ll start with the complete collection of Doraemon. Something like Titan might be too difficult for Inafa to understand or find interesting.”
“In that case, Inafa should come play games with Hill tonight! Hill has Metal Slug, which three people can play together!”
“Although I don’t understand what this Metal Slug you’re talking about is… is that an invitation for two?” Inafa smiled happily. “Kaka, fine then. I’ll give it some thought and decide who I’ll favor tonight.”
‘Do you think you’re an emperor or something?’
With a sudden brake from the Blood-Armored Demon Ape, a journey that was expected to take 30 minutes was completed in 3 minutes.