Volume 2: Rebellion

A new world

Elena, Dred, Audrey, and Jake, appeared a few meters above an ocean. They barely had time to look around, before they fell into the water. Mixing the water and the wind element, Elena created a small land of ice. Jumping onto it, she helped up Audrey.

Instead of shaking his body, Dred used Water Magic to dry himself. Looking around, they saw nothing but water. “Ugh… Why is this happening to us? How does this teleporting even work?” Frowning, Audrey whined with a dissatisfied face.

“I don’t know. Normally you don’t get to these worlds in this manner. People are born…” Elena replied, pointing out the obvious.

“I should have been born here in that case!” Audrey exclaimed her hands on her hips.

“But then you wouldn’t have had the chance to have me leeching on you,” Elena remarked with a grin on her face, adding, “But fear not. Now that I reached the hundredth level, I can start my real training. My kind tends to do nothing but steal in our childhood.”

“I’ve seen that,” tying her red hair into a ponytail, Audrey remarked.

“This is such a wonderful sight!” Jake shouted out of nowhere, surprising them. He was looking at Elena and Audrey, one after the other. Looking down, they realized that their clothes were see-through. Elena kicked him in the stomach, making him fall back into the water. Using Water Magic, the girls dried themselves.

A hand shot out of the water, grabbing the side of the land of ice. “Haaah- Damn it, Elena! Is this how you treat your familiars?” Jake shouted, trying to catch his breath. Looking around, Elena sat down and allowed her notifications.

Lv

Class: ShadowMoor (Exclusive, Legendary)

Devourer

Stealth

Demonology

10

...

...

...

100

Devour Skill Upgrade: Increases your devouring speed by 50% and the stats you gain by 20%.

Poison: Poison will flow in your veins, turning you toxic. All of your attacks will have a dreadful effect. This is a passive skill.

Demon: Allows you to transform into a demon. It increases your control over minions and summoned beings. Summoning related experiments will have a higher chance to succeed.

Without any thinking, Elena selected Demon, while Dred selected Poison. A black light shone on their bodies, as they started transforming. Elena grew wings on her back and horns on her forehead, with long claws on her hands. Pulling them back, she looked like before. She didn’t find it necessary to change her looks when she just came here.

Dred made a painful face as the toxic energy rushed through his veins. Tints of green appeared on his claws, adding to his ferocity, and the tip of his black fur turned green at a few places. As his transformation finished, he coughed out a dark green cloud.

Grabbing his jaws, opening his mouth, Elena said, “Oh, look at your teeth,” as she formed a water screen in front of him, showing the green color in his teeth. Releasing his jaws, Elena looked at Audrey and Jake with inquiring eyes, asking, “What kind of specializations do you have?”

“I didn’t get anything,” both of them said at the same time, shrugging their shoulders.

“Oh, it’s fine. You’ll surely get something soon,” Elena soothed them with a smile on her face. Since her race and class was a legendary one, she could pick an additional bonus to her class more often.

Clapping her hands, “Alright. Let’s get out of here,” she said as she activated her Demon form. Cutting her hand, she used her blood to draw a simple circle on the ice, with two triangles in them. If she wanted to know more, she had to learn more. This was just the most basic one.

Sitting down, her legs crossed, she imagined a big fish in her mind. Pouring her Mana into the summoning circle, it started shining and soon took the shape of a rather big shark. It slipped into the water and circled around the Iceland. “Great, now we won’t have to use Wind Magic for who knows how long to reach the ground. Take us to a populated land,” Elena commanded. Since it had her blood, it had similar traits.

After devouring a few fishes, it came back with knowledge in its mind. Using Nature Magic, Elena conjured a vine. The summoned shark bit on it, while Elena tied its other end on a few centimeters tall tower of ice. The shark swam towards their destination. “That’s really handy,” Audrey remarked with an envious look on her face.

“I’m sure that you can learn it as well. You saw the basic circle. The specialization I picked on this level only increased the chance of my success. It was nothing new. With your class, I’m sure that you have a high chance of succeeding,” Elena explained as she sat down and closed her eyes.

It’s time to use this brain of mine. If I can devour corpses and steal their strength, then why can’t I do the same with the living? And if I can steal their genes, then why can’t I take up their forms? There should be something blocking me from devouring the genes of living creatures. Which should be none other than the immune system.

In that case, I should do something about that, Elena started pondering on her Devour, to upgrade it by herself. Opening her eyes, she used Sense to find a few fishes. Using her Devour, she started experimenting on them by creating tiny lifeforms of shadows, which entered the fishes’ bodies and fought against their immune system.

After hours of trying, she finally had a breakthrough and beat down a fish. She didn’t make the fish rot. Instead, she stole away its strength, even though it was alive. As its strength faded, its lungs stopped moving, along with its whole body. Using Water Magic, Elena beheaded the fish and pulled it towards herself. Handing over the fish to Dred, “Here, some food,” she said.

New Passive Skill Acquired: Shadow Bacteria

This is a newly invented skill, used alongside Devour. As this skill levels up, you can draw out more and more strength from living creatures, balancing your evolution speed, and decreasing the burden on your body.

Nodding, she fell back into her thoughts. If she was able to steal genes, then what made her stop from stealing spells? Although controlling other people’s Mana is impossible, as it has their consciousness, I should be able to steal it. This will need a lot of control… but I should be able to dismantle a spell and then propel it backward.

But since I can’t control it, I can’t dismantle it… Ugh, I’ll have to give a consciousness for my shadow, otherwise, it won’t work. This will take lots of experimentation, she thought as she stood up, sighing loudly.

“What’s up? Did you learn something new?” Audrey asked, hugging Elena from behind, her chin on Elena’s shoulder.

“I did, but Spellsteal won’t work for the time being. I’ll need to play with intelligent beings for that,” she replied, looking at the land in front of them.

“Damn it, Dred! How can you bear with this? Look at them!” Jake shouted, pointing at Audrey and Elena. They looked rather erotic…

“I don’t have those kinds of feelings, but touch Elena if you dare,” Dred replied, showing his teeth, growling.

Holding up his arms, his eyes opened widely in surprise, “Eh? I wouldn’t dare to,” Jake remarked. “They are just a nice sight. If only I’d be as old as I was… I wouldn’t have to mind these kinds of things,” he mumbled silently, pouting.

---

Fifteen minutes later, their little Iceland was stuck on the sand-covered beach. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was clear of clouds. There were quite a lot of people, sunbathing and playing in the water, taking it easy and enjoying their lives. The arrival of these four was weird, to say the least. Many people were looking at them with raised brows as if they were seeing clowns.

Not bothering with the strange looks, the four of them left the beach and took their ways towards the city in front of them. There were clean roads, white buildings, and twenty meters tall, white walls were surrounding the city. The walls were made up of three cubic meters stones, stuck together with an unknown material.

Arriving in front of the gate, they found a long line of people, who were waiting patiently. The guards were asking for identity cards, making Elena realize that they had nothing of the sort. “What do you say? Should we just sneak in?” Leaning closer to Dred, Elena whispered into his right ear.

Chuckling, “if you want to stay here for a longer time, then no,” he replied.

“Hmm, you are right. We should gather some information and this city is really big. We should enter for now. I might just find some experiment material as well,” she said, eyeing the people in front of her.

Spotting a pair of hooded people, she inspected them. Seeing that they weren’t too powerful, her shadow snuck forward, until reaching the pair’s shadow. I’ll plant some bacteria into you and leave them dividing silently. I’ll find you later, she thought with a grin on her face. Ten minutes later, she sighed loudly, seeing that only a few people were left in front of her.

“I’m new here. I don’t have an Identification Card”, a young boy said, catching Elena’s ears.

“In that case, follow me,” one of the guards said with a smile on his face. Seeing the kind treatment, Elena eased up a little. When it was their turn, the same happened. Following behind the same guard as the boy did, Elena found herself in a circular room.

The boy was standing in the middle, sucking on his finger. “Are you new too? What’s up? So many of you have come today. Come here and let me prick your finger,” the guard standing beside the boy, mumbled silently, and then called the four of them over.

The boy stepped back, looking curiously at Elena. He had short, black hair, with brown eyes and a fit body. Feeling his gaze, Elena inspected him. He too was at the hundredth level and his class was a hunter. He looked over Audrey’s body as well, not minding his surroundings. Elena held out her finger and watched as the needle penetrated her skin. As her blood flowed out, she held it above a card. Upon contact, her blood spread through the card, showing her name and a small image of her.

Interesting. The person doing these must be strong, she thought with a smile on her face. When it was Dred’s turn, he held up his paw.

“Hahaha, are you kidding me? ID card for monsters? You can take in your pet, as long as you can control it,” the guard explained, laughing loudly.

Dred isn’t just a monster… Elena thought with a grin on her face, nodding. “El-en-a~ So you are called Elena,” the boy said, leaning a little closer to read the text on her card.

“You better not do this again. It is not only rude but many would kill you for it,” the guard said, looking at the boy with his brows raised. Turning on her heel, Elena kicked him in the stomach with a sudden move. His eyes bulged out as he fell to the ground, coughing. Taking away his ID card, she read his name aloud.

“Shaw Derrel, the hunter,” she said with a smirk on her face, throwing back Derrel's ID card.

Rubbing his stomach, standing up, “Ugh… you are strong and quick. I just wanted to be friendly! Why did you kick me?” he asked.

“I too asked for your name kindly,” she replied with a smile on her face, her head tilted to the side. Audrey and Jake sighed at the same time, shaking their heads sideways. Before the Derrel could refute, the guard present talked.

“Alright. Enough of playing around. You are filling up this room… Also, make sure that you will behave in the city unless you want to be punished.”

“What kind of punishment?” Audrey asked in her curiosity, her brows raised.

“The least you get is fine, then there is the prison for one day, one week, or you can get closed up for years. The worst is death, obviously. See this?” Showing his card to them, he pointed in the bottom right corner. “This is the date of creation. This shows that you are new here. You better behave or else you can get in trouble more easily. And most importantly, respect the nobles,” he explained in a serious manner.

“Now leave. Nobles have golden cards, while you have iron cards. Make sure to remember that,” he added, pointing towards the door on his left. Turning the handle, pushing on the old wooden door, the five of them entered the city.

“Why are you following us?” Elena asked with an unbothered face, patting Dred’s side.

“You too are new here. I just thought about tagging along,” he replied with a smile on his face. Tilting his head to the side, “Should I leave?” he asked.

Looking at the bag on his back, Elena saw that it had a bow in it. Shrugging her shoulders, she didn’t say anything. “Great! But aren’t you too silent? Are you the cool beauty type?” Derrel asked with a grin on his face. Stopping beside Elena, he was about to put his elbow on her shoulder when Dred slapped him on the back, growling angrily.

Derrel flew through the air, crashing into a wall. Sliding down on it, he stood up and looked at Dred with teary eyes, rubbing his nose. “Damn it! What the hell? My nose might have broken,” he shouted, hearing the cracking sounds.

“You shouldn’t try to touch my master~” Audrey said with a smile on her face, hugging Elena from behind.

“I’m not your master. We are friends,” Elena corrected her, flicking her forehead as she turned around.

“But you are my master… Am I not your friend?” Jake said in a low voice, feeling down.

Waving her hand, “you are, you are,” Elena said with a tired face, sighing loudly. Turning to look at the building on her right, she nodded saying, “I’ll ask for information here. You shall stay and wait.”

“Okay~” Audrey said with a bright smile, her hands behind her back.

“Her fingers are crossed,” Jake pointed out, betraying Audrey.

“Whatever, I just don’t want all of you to come in,” Elena said, closing the door behind her. Derrel and Audrey rushed after her and found themselves in a nice inn. The interior was decorated with shiny, dark brown wooden planks, mixing well with the white stone. There were well-organised tables and chairs, and a bar on the other side of the building.

Stopping in front of the counter, Elena sat down on the chair in front of it, placing her hand on the bar. “What can I help you with?” A petite girl with short brown hair asked her with a slightly tired looking smile.

Audrey and Derrel sat down beside Elena, who said, “I need information. We are new here, as you can see,” showing the date on her ID card. “Could you help?” She asked, her head tilted to the side. Seeing the girl’s nod, she talked. “Firstly, how can we earn money here? Secondly, how much is a night here. Thirdly, the leading powers here or something that I should watch out for?”

After thinking about it for a few seconds, the girl replied, “To your first question, you can do hard labor, run errands, or hunt monsters for ingredients. To your second question, one night is two silver coins per person in the common rooms. It’s a little expensive, but the food and stay we provide is superb! The rooms are clean and we have baths.”

Seeing that she was getting out of hand, Elena raised her hand, stopping her. “Ah, sorry. Work habit,” the girl said, scratching the back of her head. To your last question, the villa in the middle of the city is the Mayor’s house. He is the one, managing the taxes and the main leader of the city. You better not be impolite or disrespectful to him or the least of your worries will be the prison. He isn’t a bad man, but he doesn’t like unruly people.”

“Once he stayed here for a night and sent a guy to the prison, for eating like a pig… To be honest, I agreed with him on that… But the major rarely leaves his villa, except when he goes to the forest to fight against powerful monsters. Who you should be more careful of is a rich merchant, called Rhoderick. He owns thirty percent of the stores in the city and he is really greedy.”

“He came even here to buy this Inn. But the owner sent him away. He blackmailed many stores and bribed many guards before. Be careful with him, or you might end in a prison for a few weeks or years,” she explained, whispering towards the end.

“Thank you. I’ll pay you back for the information,” Elena replied with a smile, standing up to leave.

“No need. Just come here to sleep!” She said, waving her hand. Leaving the inn, Elena looked at Dred and Jake. They were sitting in a straight posture, at the corner of the building, looking at the ground.

“Ah! You are out. You should hide Dred. People keep looking at him fearfully. His body is too big for any person to handle his presence as normal,” Jake said, standing up. Dred went into the alleyway and crept back into Elena’s shadow.

Seeing that he wasn’t coming back, Derrel scratched the back of his head. “Did you just send him away?” He asked, his head tilted to the side.

“No, he is with me,” Elena said with a smirk on her face, looking at Derrel.

“But I can’t see it anywhere… Now that I think about it, you don’t have presences either! Just who are you?” he asked, dying of curiosity. Not saying anything, Elena jumped onto the nearest rooftop, rushing through the city like a shadow. Seeing it, Audrey and Jake sighed loudly, knowing that they had to catch up now.

“If only we could have used our ShadowForm,” Jake mumbled silently. “This is your fault!” He shouted, pointing at Derrel.

“Eh? What? Me? Why?” He asked, pointing at himself, not understanding anything. Seeing Jake and Audrey leave as well, he ran after them.

Leaving the city behind, Dred raised up between her legs. Sitting on his back, she waited for Audrey and Jake to catch up. “Boing, boing, boing,” Elena ridiculed Audrey, looking at her chest. Showing her middle finger, she entered Dred’s shadow, along with Jake, who sneaked glances at Audrey every so often.

Dred ran towards the forest, leaving even sportscars in shame. As Dred’s paws touched the ground, Elena looked around. The forest was tremendous, dark, and thriving. The canopy was demanded by Oak trees, with barely any openings left. There wasn’t much grass on the ground, and only the roars of the animals far away could be heard.

They didn’t stop until feeling numerous presences. Pulling out her spear, Elena stood ready to one shot her opponents. Seeing a few green skinned, humanoid monsters, Elena used Inspect.

Name: None

Race: Goblin

Level: 103

Threat Level: 1

Feeling confident of their strength and their abilities, Dred jumped into the middle of the group of goblins. He landed right on top of a goblin, which was about to use some kind of magical attack. Tearing off its head, he turned towards the two on his left. Thrusting her spear forward, Elena killed one of them instantly, while her shadow started devouring the other one.

Not wishing to leave the fun to her, Jake jumped out of Dred’s shadow, punching the goblin in the face. His huge strength broke its skull, turning it into a bloody mist. Rising out of the ground, Audrey snapped her fingers, as two huge fireballs flew towards the goblins on the right. Quickly turning around, they jumped to the side. Waiting for them on both sides, Elena and Dred swung their spear and paw, killing the remaining goblins.

Spinning her spear to shake off the blood, Elena looked at Audrey with a smirk on her face, saying, “Were you not too flashy? Haha.”

“Uh. You are such a bully,” she replied with a pout, squatting down beside the goblin, poking its rotten skin. Devouring their bodies, they barely gained anything. Sensing a presence behind them and hearing the rustling leaves, they pointed their weapons towards the incoming person. Derrel rushed through the thicket, a short sword in hand.

“God!” He shouted in his surprise, feeling the tip of Elena’s spear on his face.

“How did you find us?” Elena asked, pointing her spear on his throat.

“A-Although you don’t have presences, you have tracks and smell,” he replied, leaning backward to get further away from the spear.

Sniffing herself, “A-Are you saying that we smell?” Audrey asked with a despaired face. Elena raised a brow, seeing Audrey’s behavior, before she started chuckling, and then broke out in a laughter.

Raising his hands, waving them, “N-No! I didn’t mean it that way. I meant that you have a nice smell! Especially you girls! I can’t help but sniff you! Right!” he shouted with an anxious face.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, “Now, that is weird,” Jake said with a smirk on his face. “Audrey, please don’t bully random people. Look at his anxious face, he might just die of embarrassment,” Elena said, sighing loudly. Sticking out her tongue, Audrey hugged Elena from behind. Seeing Audrey’s nape with the tight-fitting clothes on the girls, Derrel gulped loudly.

“Haha, now there is someone who understands my pain!” Jake laughed with a blissful face, pointing at Derrel.

“Let’s go,” Elena said, separating from Audrey. Sitting on top of Dred, they moved forward. “Ah, wait!” Realizing that he was being left behind, Derrel shouted after them.

Raising out of Elena’s shadow, “What do you want to do with him?” Audrey asked.

“If he keeps following us, he will pay the price. Death or servitude,” Dred replied in a low growl, surprising both of the girls. “Yeah, I thought the same,” Elena added.

“You are so cruel. He is just a boy~ Hahaha. Seriously though, do you want to devour the city?” Audrey asked with a curious face, tilting her head to the side. Grabbing her red hair, tied into a ponytail, pulling her head closer, “I might do. I’m not sure about it yet,” Elena whispered into her ears silently.

“Alright. There is a monster in front of us, be careful,” Audrey warned with a serious face, ready to attack anytime.

Seeing a lion in front of them, they killed it in a few moves. Considering that it was a stronger monster, they watched out for its fur. Looking at its corpse, Elena smirked as she said, “Now look at the power of the shadows!” As the corpse of the lion was covered in her shadow, it separated the skin from the muscles and fat. She skinned the two meters tall lion in no more than two seconds.

Followed by this, she devoured its muscles, leaving the whole skin of the lion in one piece. After using Water Magic to clean it, she folded it and put it into her storage space. Derrel caught up, only to see them leaving. Running after them, he was left dumbfounded upon seeing the next scene.

Elena and Audrey were using all kinds of elements to attack the hordes of goblins. Even if the goblins used some kind of Magic, those two were destroying them. Meanwhile, Jake and Dred were piling up the corpses in melee combat, combined with their enchanted bodies and quick elemental magic. The hobgoblin in the middle stood up. Roaring, it charged towards Elena and Audrey. But before it could do anything, Dred appeared behind it.

Swiping with his paw, his claws bore their ways into the hobgoblin’s back, leaving five, deep wounds in its back. A green liquid spread through its wound as it fell forward. Standing up, it was met with a ball of Dark Magic. Its body rotted in just two seconds.

“W-What the hell?! You can use so many elements?!” Derrel shouted with a flabbergasted face.

Leaning closer to Elena’s ears, Audrey whispered, “What does he mean? Is it not normal to know all of them?”

Doing the same, “No. People shouldn’t know anything about the elements. It was supposed to be an advantage of mine. Many people don’t know more than one or two elements for a long time and learn about their secrets only later on. Usually, only people with powerful masters have the luck to know how to use every element,” she replied with a smile.

“Do you have a master or what?” Derrel pushed on, not sparing effort to learn about the truth.

“No, this is a common thing in the world we came from,” Audrey replied with a proud face, her chest stuck out. Blushing, Derrel turned away, looking at her only from the corners of his eyes.

“Damn it! I can’t believe this! I was working hard to learn Dark Magic and Nature Magic. I thought that I was really good… yet you can control all of them at this level!” Derrel mumbled silently, turning around, kicking into a small rock. It bounced back from the tree in front of him, hitting his forehead. Falling on his back, he looked up, only to see the part between Audrey’s legs.

“Black,” he muttered, rubbing his forehead, looking at her long, slim and well-toned legs.

“LET ME KILL HIM!” Jake shouted at Elena, almost begging. Raising her right leg, Audrey stomped on Derrel’s face, knocking him out. Although she didn’t show it on her face, she felt even more annoyed. With higher wisdom, people had better control over their emotions and they showed less of it. They turned more and more introverted as they grew and shut out new relationships.

Opening her red lips, “Hmph, you won’t remember anything after this,” she said with a snort. Long and thick vines grew out of the ground under her control, coiling around his body, pulling him towards a tree. Tying it around the trunk, they sat down and started meditating.

“This is your fault… I wanted to talk to him and now you knocked him off,” Elena said, sitting down with an unhappy face. Twenty minutes later, Derrel started regaining his consciousness. Slowly raising his head, he looked around, his eyes hazy. Seeing Elena squatting in front of him, his eyes opened wide in his surprise.

“Yo~ It seems like you woke up,” she remarked, waving her hand in front of him.

Trying to touch his aching head, he realized that he couldn’t move. “What are you doing? Release me!” he shouted with an angry face. Elena put her finger on his chin, turning his head towards her.

“You’ll reply to a few of my questions, else I’ll let Audrey take out her wrath on you,” she said, pointing at Audrey, who was cracking her fingers. In fact, she wasn’t even angry with him. They were just playing a game with him.

Feeling the hot flames coming from Audrey’s palms, only a few centimeters away from his face, “Eh? I’m sorry! It was just an accident! What do you want to know?” he said with a hurried face, trying to back away as much as possible.

“I’m glad that you want to talk~ You see, you too are new to the city. At your age, that is really weird. Do we have to register every time we go into a city?” Releasing his chin, she asked with a smile on her face.

Making a surprised face, “What? How would I know? I came from another planet! I wasn’t born at this place,” he replied.

Furrowing her brows, Elena made a thoughtful face. Not being able to hold his mouth, “Did you come from Kriton by any chance? But that shouldn’t be possible. You can’t be that quick unless…” Jake inquired, making the same face as Elena.

“Kriton? What is that place? Another planet?” Seeing them nod, he continued, “No. Where I came from, I count as a normal person. After being born, my parents brought me up and tutored me. My father was proficient at Dark Magic, while my mother taught me how to use Nature Magic. I learned a little of this and that since then… Anyway, I just reached the hundredth level and was teleported here. Just like how it had to be.”

Hearing Derrel’s words, Elena mumbled silently, “It seems like there are different planets connected to this one. Hmm~ Interesting,” looking at Derrel, she asked, “What about technology?”

“Technology? What about it? Do you mean Magic?” Seeing his confused face, Elena was clear of doubts. He didn’t even know what did it mean. She was curious if the other planet was like Kriton, but it wasn’t like that.

Tilting her head to the side, “Do you want strength? The kind of strength we have? If you do, then sell me your soul,” Elena said with a smirk on her face.

His eyes passionate, “Strength… Can you really make me that strong?” he asked with a serious face. Seeing Elena nod, he gulped loudly, but he still felt wrong to accept the deal. “No. I won’t do it. Even if I’m young and wild, I’m not as stupid as you think.”

Smiling, Elena stood up saying, “Oh, well. Although it is a little sad, it is your choice. But you will have to stop following us in that case unless you want to die~”

Without him even noticing how or when did it appear, he felt the tip of Elena’s dagger on his throat. Gulping loudly, he said, “I wouldn’t dare to.”

“That’s good then,” she replied, her dagger disappearing just as mysteriously as it appeared. Elena swung her palm towards Derrel’s face, who closed his eyes reflexively. Not feeling anything, he opened his right eye, only to see nothing but the gloomy forest. Gulping loudly, he raised his hands.

“Damn it… these people are dangerous. I better be careful of them in the future. But this Elena is the worst. I have goosebumps on my back whenever I think about her,” he muttered silently, rubbing the goosebumps on the skin on his arms.

--------------

When Elena moved her hand, Audrey used Nature Magic to release Derrel, while all of them used their Shadow Forms to leave. Stopping a few kilometers away, Audrey asked, “What do you plan to do with him? It’s not like you to let go of your prey so easily.”

Tilting her head to the side, looking at Audrey with an amused face, she asked, “Am I not like that? Who knows~”

“Ugh… such a vile character. If I wouldn’t be on your side, I’d advise everyone to avoid you in an area of a hundred kilometers,” Jake remarked with a stiff face, shaking his head sideways.

“Eh? I’m not that bad. Also, he is the real evil,” Elena said, pointing at Dred.

“Hahaha, Dred does nothing but protect you. If not for his obsession with you, I’d say that he is normal. But you… You picked your words so nicely for me to fall into your trap. Well, I don’t mind it. I have a clear goal and a reason to live. Our lives will be long and fulfilling. I can also do many things freely and maybe have a family in the future. Anyway, do you want to make him serve you? I’d rather hug you girls to myself-” Jake started his usual bullshitting, but was interrupted by Dred’s paw.

“Hey, hey! No need to attack me, I was just kidding!” Jake replied, raising his arms to defend himself.

“He too is just joking, else you would be dead by now,” Elena remarked with a chuckle.

They hunted down numerous monsters throughout the day, storing their skins, horns, fangs, claws, or anything that seemed usable. With backpacks on their backs, they went back to the city. The sky was gray as the weather was turning for the worse. Considering that it was dawn and the clouds were coming, they didn’t have to stand in line to enter the city.

The streets were turning emptier by the minutes. Stopping a girl who looked fifteen years of age, Elena asked, “Hi. Could you tell me where can I sell these?” showing the pelts on her back.

“Follow this road and turn to the right at the first opportunity. Not the slums, obviously. If you want to sell these as luxury items, then look for the crossed needles sign. If you want to sell them as armor, then look for a shop which has armors in the show-window,” she replied with a smile. As Elena thanked the girl for her help, she ran away, holding her food-filled basket over her head.

Feeling a few drops of rain falling on her chin, Elena followed the girl's example. Finding the luxury store, all of them entered. Shaking her wet, black hair, the water drops splashed on the ground.

“What are you doing in my shop?! This isn’t a place to clean yourself!” The shopkeeper shouted with an angry face. He was about a hundred and seventy centimeters tall, wearing a white shirt and trousers, fixed with a black belt around his waist. He looked around forty years of age and he had a slim body, blue eyes, and a small mustache, with short, brown hair.

“Ah, pardon me. We came to sell these,” not wasting each other’s time, Elena replied, rolling out the intact pelts of the monsters they killed.

“T-This is! How did you do this?!” The shopkeeper asked with a flabbergasted face, his eyes bulged.

Raising a finger, Elena said with a smile, “It’s Magic!”

Smelling business, the shopkeeper turned much more polite. “Ah, pardon for my rudeness. Miss must be from a good family. You surely had a long travel and my eyes couldn’t see the truth! My name is Vetranio Urias,” he introduced himself with a bow, not forgetting to drop in another boot-licking, “Miss must be a Master of Magic.”

Audrey turned around chuckling, while Jake coughed, trying to hold back their laughter. They found Vetranio to be ridiculous. Clearing her throat, Elena acted as if she didn’t have such feelings. “Yes. I had a long travel and killed these trash monsters on the way. How much would you give for them? Don’t try to scam me, I know the prices clearly,” she replied with a threatening face.

His forehead sweaty, “I w-wouldn’t dare to,” Vetranio replied, wiping it with a white handkerchief. “Let me see them,” stepping out from behind the counter, he observed the pelts.

“Although these are weak monsters, their furs are truly soft and clean. You even managed to keep all of these in one piece. It isn’t smelling from dirt and isn’t bloody. Definitely a high-grade luxury item,” he muttered silently. Standing up, he made a thoughtful face before saying, “I’ll give you two golds for each of them.”

“Three,” Elena said with a smile on her face. As her memories told it, money was the same everywhere. A hundred bronze meant one silver and a hundred silver meant one gold.

“Two gold and twenty silver,” Vetranio said, stomping on the ground.

“Two gold and seventy-five silver.”

Stomping on the ground again, rolling his mustache, he said, “Two gold and fifty silver. No more!”

“Alright,” Elena replied with a smile, nodding her head.

After paying them, the shopkeeper quickly packed up the monster's pelts and carried them to the back of the shop with a bright smile on his face. He could sell each of them for four gold, which means that he would almost double the money he spent. Not being greedy, Elena didn’t care how much the guy just earned. She just wanted to have it easy in the inn.

After selling the remaining items to the armor shop, Elena had twelve gold coins and ninety silver coins in her little bag.

“We made it big with trash. Luxury is nice,” Audrey laughed at the people, who wasted their money on these kinds of things.

“Oh, well. Why would they not do it? They can afford it and these pelts look good in their houses. It’s good for everyone,” Jake remarked, disagreeing with Audrey.

“You are interesting as a retired soldier,” Dred chimed in, surprising everyone. It was a rare event for them to hear his voice.

Raising a brow, “What do you mean by that?” Jake asked. “I meant that you seem to appreciate such things like art and comfort,” Dred replied, looking at him.

Chuckling, Audrey and Elena nodded. Scratching the back of his head, he said, “After spending twenty years in the army, of course, I like comfort, though I wouldn’t say that I’m for art…”

“Alright, enough chatting. Let’s run,” Elena said, stepping out from under the terrace of the armor shop, running towards the inn. Reaching the inn in the downpour, they rushed through the door, catching the attention of the people inside.

Pulling off her hood, coated from shadows, Elena touched her hair. Feeling that it was quite dry, she nodded with a satisfied smile on her face. Stopping in front of the counter, there was another girl this time.

“Good evening. What can I help you with?” she asked with a polite smile on her face.

“Two common rooms for three nights. I’ll extend our stay if necessary,” Elena replied, leaning on the counter.

After counting in her head, “It will be thirteen silver and fifty bronze coins for the three of you,” the girl said. She didn’t know about Dred, who was lurking in Elena’s shadow.

“Eh? The girl before you said that it was two silver coins per person per night,” Elena pointed out with a surprised face, thinking that the other girl wanted to scam her.

“Yes, it is like that if you spend your nights in different rooms. But one of you will stay in the same room, so I counted only the price of the food, meaning fifty bronze coins per night.” the girl explained with a smile.

“Oh, alright. Here it is,” she said with a nod of her head, pulling out a gold coin. Giving them two keys, the innkeeper received the money and told them that they could have dinner until ten o’clock. Saying that they would come back in a moment, all three of them rushed up the stairs. Finding their rooms, Jake looked at Elena and Audrey with a dissatisfied look on his face.

“Why don’t you sleep with me? Or I could sleep on the ground as well!” he shouted after them, seeing the door being closed. Sighing loudly, he stepped into his room.

“Haah- I miss the old days. Elena should hurry up with her kingdom. I want to get laid with nice girls!” He mumbled silently, talking to himself, dreaming of the day he would be the king of Elena’s kingdom. That was his purpose since Elena wouldn’t bother with things like managing a kingdom.

Seeing a bathtub in the corner of the room, Jake decided to clean his body. “Haah- other girls… I’m interested in a single one,” he muttered to himself. Meanwhile, in the other room…

“This is too little for the two of us… get out!” Elena exclaimed, pushing Audrey, who was trying to rub her face on Elena’s body. Raising a brow, “What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

“I want your blood! I feel thirsty for some reason!” Audrey replied with a serious face.

“Oh… Is it that time already? You are the only type of the blood servants, who need to drink my blood regularly, else you will die,” Elena said with a calm face, spilling the truth about Audrey’s tattoos.

“Eh? Seriously? Why would I die?” Pulling her red hair behind her ears, she said with a surprised face.

“My blood is necessary for your type because if I give you my blood, it means that you are still favored by me. If let’s say, I’m unsatisfied with you and don’t like you anymore, then I don’t even have to do anything. If I don’t let you drink my blood, then you will die in a few months. This is because your type is usually close to the Shadow Progenitor, which means that you know most of my secrets,” Elena replied with a smile, flicking Audrey’s nose.

Pulling her hair to the side, she held her neck for Audrey. Feeling a sudden urge, she jumped at her, biting into her neck. A hot feeling filled her body as she drank Elena’s blood, refreshing the old one in her. Unless refreshed, the old blood would devour her body.

Pulling out her lengthened canine teeth, she used Cosmological Constant to make them look the same as before. Licking the sides of her lips, she smiled at Elena.

“What about Jake?” Elena asked with a smile on her face, looking at Audrey.

“What do you mean?” the latter replied as if she didn’t understand her meaning.

“It seems like girls like to keep secrets,” Dred remarked, lying on the bed, his eyes closed.

“No, it’s just that it would feel weird to talk about it. But I guess he is likable,” Audrey replied, pulling her head under the water. Chuckling at her shy reaction, Elena got out of the bathtub, drying her body with Magic.

“Hmm~ What sort of clothing should I wear?” she talked to herself. Shrugging her shoulders, her shadows turned into a black shirt and hotpants on her body.

“Are you trying to seduce someone?” Audrey questioned, standing up.

“Huh? Why? I have everything covered,” Elena replied, not really understanding.

“Dred, tell her that she is inexperienced with men!” Audrey said, looking at Dred and pointing at Elena. “She is, but I’ll bite either way,” he replied, showing his sharp teeth.

As Audrey finished, they left the room and knocked on Jake’s door. Opening it, he gulped loudly upon seeing Audrey wearing the same set as Elena. “Damn it, you are making it hard for me on purpose,” he cursed while looking at the girls.

Laughing at him, they turned around saying,“Let’s go and eat.” Looking at their backs, he gulped once again before closing the door behind him, following them. As they entered the first floor, they caught the attention of the hungry wolves. Dred stayed in the room to meditate and improve Shadow Bacteria.

Sitting down at an empty table, they waited for the serving girl to come. But instead of the girl, a teenager guy who looked the age of twenty came out. Stopping beside the table, “What can I serve you with, ladies?” he asked with a smile.

His brows twitching, “Am I not going to get food?” Jake asked with a smirk on his face. Realizing that there was someone else as well, the guy bowed saying, “I apologize for my mistake.”

Clicking his tongue, Meh, I could have bullied you if you would have reacted differently. But look at your drooling face, though I understand your feelings, Jake thought.

After ordering their food, everyone ate and went back to their rooms. Dred filled himself with the monsters they hunted, so he wasn’t in need of nutrients either. As usual, Elena put her legs on Dred’s back, using him as a soft and furry pillow, while Audrey hugged her from behind.

“Wait, how come Dred isn’t too big?” Realizing something strange, Audrey questioned him.

“I can change my shape. Rebuilding my whole body would be risky, but decreasing the size is child’s play,” he replied, closing his eyes to sleep. Not caring about the matter anymore, everyone fell asleep.

The next day they turned their shadows into their usual clothes. Black leggings with boots, a vest over their shirts and a black cape over all of these. Jake left his room, almost at the same times as Elena and Audrey. “Yo!” He said, raising his hand.

“Morning~” they greeted him in a sweet tone.

As they were having breakfast, a few people gulped loudly from those who have seen what were those capes hiding.

“Hey, why don’t you try to talk to them?”

“No, you go.”

“Like hell, I’d get destroyed. I’m shy.” Such whisperings resounded in the room.

In the middle of everything, the doors were swung open as a boy came in. He seemed to be really beat down as there was dirt in his short black hair and his clothes were dirty. With long steps, he walked towards the counter. “One cheap room for one night please,” he said in a tired voice, dropping a few silver coins in front of the innkeeper. She was the same who Elena asked for information.

“Isn’t that Derrel?” Audrey whispered into Elena’s right ear, gulping down her food. Although it was nothing fancy, it was tasty and fulfilling. Nodding her head, Elena didn’t say anything. But the evil smile that appeared at the corners of her mouth didn’t escape Audrey’s eyes. Audrey shook her head sideways, continuing with her meal.

Elena looked at Derrel from the corners of her eyes as she pulled off her hood. I’ll make you face your weakness. I bet that he worked hard to earn that much money, while we had it really easy. He made the mistake of looking at us like rivals. Anyone doing such a thing is doomed to end as my servant or a corpse. After he keeps losing in comparison to us for a long time, he will lose hope and fall into my hands. It’s only a question of time. I’ll see if three days are enough, she thought, not showing anything on her face.

Turning around, Derrel noticed them. They were clean and fresh-looking and the bag of coins on the table didn’t escape his eyes either. Elena intentionally placed it there when nobody was looking.

His lips quivering, he waved at them. Smiling back, Elena did the same. As they finished, they took their plates to the counter. “Hi~ How was your day?” Audrey asked him with a smile, leaning slightly forward. Even if Elena didn’t tell her plans, she wasn’t stupid and understood it after the events this morning.

“Ahh, good morning. It was… tiring. But I made quite a lot. And you?” he asked, looking at the bag of coins on Elena’s hips. “I guess you have more silver than me, hehe. Well, I was alone,” he said with an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head.

“Silver? No. We have gold,” Audrey said with a bright smile, crushing Derrel’s confidence.

“Ugh… it must be good to be strong. Now I’ll go and sleep if you don’t mind,” Derrel remarked with an envious face, turning around to go towards his room. Looking at Elena one last time, her words resounded in his ears. “Do you want strength? The kind of strength we have? If you do, then sell me your soul.” Shaking his head sideways, he fought against the idea.

“Mhh~ Let’s go,” Elena said, stretching her body. Leaving the inn, they went towards the slums. “What do you want in such a creepy place?” Audrey asked, feeling goosebumps on her skin as the wind rushed through between the buildings, blowing against them.

Dred raised out of Elena’s shadow, replying to her question with a growl, “We will take over the underworld. So we shall find the gangs.”

“Eh? Why do you want to control these gangs?” Audrey asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Why, you ask? To devour them all of course.” Elena replied with a smile, licking her cherry lips.

“You are worse than a snake…” Jake remarked, earning a sudden slap on the back of his head. Turning around, there was nobody but Dred…

Her eyes turning into slits, Elena looked at Jake with a savage smile.

“Of course I am~”