Chapter 60

~ The Spoken Truth ~

SW/SW/SW

His eyes fluttered open to see a ceiling made of wood, dirty and covered in web. He sneezed when some dust got into his nostrils. Propping on his elbow, his gaze was met by a familiar woman sitting on the edge of a plush bed. Her expression was pensive with a hint of submission.

Now he remembered. He needed more useful toys to keep him alive in this world and that was why he was here.

The woman gave him a look full of contempt, lips set in a tight line. It definitely had something to do with a curious collar on her neck, which he had forced her to wear. As long as she wore that thing, she’d never be able to lay a finger on him.

Kail stretched out a hand to touch her, but she flinched, instinctively pulling back. The rebellious act earned her a disapproving look.

“Do not touch me,” she spat. “Do not touch me with your dirty hand.”

He did not have the time for idle chatter, so he reached to grab her by the collar, yanking it roughly. He had to go home as quickly as possible. Unimportant as she might be, she was still a boss and finding her being dragged by someone against her will would surely cause nothing but trouble. Plus, he needed her alchemical formulas for his survival.

She shrieked in pain, struggling to break free. Her snake legs hissed at her captor in attempt to eat him alive. The collar sensed the dangerous intention and zapped her, ignorant to her painful scream.

He flashed her a cruel smile before once again pulled her by the collar. Finding herself be dragged on the floor like trash, her cheeks reddened in shame. Tears that were formed on the corner of her eyes were now falling; wetting her cheeks as she gave her home a long, last look. The burned tree gradually became smaller until the fog covered it completely.

“Unhand me, you brute!” she demanded angrily. She whined when pebbles and other hard things came in contact with her lower body. It hurt.

“That would definitely defeat the purpose of me coming here, now wouldn’t it?” his over-one-shoulder sneer made her blood boiling in unspoken fury.

“I swear… I swear to God; once I am free, I will definitely kill y—aaah!” again, the collar zapped her until she was unconscious, making her look like the very definition of a helpless toy.

He arched a fine brow at that, “Hoo… what a nice little thing,” before dragging her to the teleport portal. As he interacted with it, several menus appeared.

Return to Dragonis Return to previously visited Teleport Portal Manage Items (will connect inventory and home box)

No, he didn’t need to store his items, so he tapped the second choice. The interface changed.

Vandarius (first continent) Hefpestra (second continent) Difterion (third continent)

If he remembered it correctly, his home was in Difterion. He tapped the last choice.

“Home sweet home,” he murmured to himself as he read the only teleport portal in the screen.

Floating Castle

Before he was able to tap it, however, several players appeared around the portal.

“Haha, I know, right?” a familiar pink-haired elf chirped, “QueeN really should change her language opt—oh.”

She stopped mid-sentence as soon as she saw him and her eyes widened.

“You!” he swung his head to his left to find a furious Maria. “What in blazes do you think you are doing?!”

She must be referring to the toy lying on the ground beside him.

“It is strictly forbidden for a player character to enslave any boss NPCs in this game! A crime worse than player killing! You cheated that armor and shamed us, and now this! What is it do you want now?!”

He chuckled, finding her funny. She behaved as if she knew what was going on with him—no, what was going on around him; the pain, the ever-present madness, the fear of being killed. An ignorant like her… how dare she say something she knew nothing about?!

“There’s no point in telling you people. You won’t understand, anyway. Now if you excuse me…” he bowed to gather his toy, only to feel a cold steel on his neck. It wasn’t a lance. Instead, it was a sword.

“…let the NPC go,” a weak but commanding voice behind him demanded. “Or I’ll cut your head off.”

He hated women…

…and now he had reasons to hate elves…

“Take off the collar, cheater,” Maria hissed, summoning her lance in one swift movement. “Or you will be killed right here. I wonder why the game master hasn’t removed you yet, but I bet it’s only a matter of time. You’d better enjoy your last game while it last.”

He did not respond, merely glaring.

Maria frowned in disgust, “I said remove the damn collar and revoke your ownership of her!”

“Do you think I’d do that?”

0000

Before Maria could lash out more threats, the cheater shift behind Elvaria so fast and slammed her to the ground. To her horror, the elf’s HP bar was almost empty. Barehanded and wearing armor seemingly for low-level, Maria couldn’t tell whether he cheated his ATK point or he was in fact a high-level player.

Maybe it was both.

She evaded his hand as soon as she saw it reaching out to her and jumped backwards, giving them some space. Looking at how he carried out his attack, Maria assumed that he was after critical hit—meaning the neck and head.

This was bad. She was fighting a high-leveled player. On top of that, a cheater. She really needed to call DPS…

0000

“…what are you, BloodAce?” she queried, keeping her eyes locked on to his figure. “An Assassin? A Mage?”

What was she planning to do? He mused, studying her closely. She was still the same as the day he first met her. Dressed in a black gown that hugged her body and sleeve-like collar, also black in color, she was the very epitome of the angel of death. It was still a wonder to see her eyes closed in close quarter combat. Was that done on purpose or was she mocking him?

Kail gritted his teeth. He was at a disadvantage. With his trait, there was no way to tell how much he’d last. The longer he dallied, the quicker he’d lost all reasoning and went berserk, attacking anything be that foes or friends. His newly acquired slave would likely vanish due to his insanity.

He lifted a hand for her to see, “Wait. I’d like to talk.”

“What is there to talk about after you’ve sullied Travonka’s name, cheater?! Our guild… DPS’ guild… his dream. All those hard work are for naught! It was all thanks to you! A cheater like you should’ve just died!”

What the…? It was his first time to see Maria like this, screaming in hatred. This woman was normally kind and motherly, someone that would never raise her voice. Why did she get so overly emotional when it came to DPS?

Who was he to her?

He smirked. Interesting…

“I’d like to request a momentary truce,” he continued.

“Truce? Are you out of your mind?”

I am crazy to begin with, woman. He scorned inwardly, but kept his composure. “Do you want to kill me, right? Now it’s not the time to do that. We both have… inconveniences that should not be here.”

Kail saw her brows furred, catching on.

“You have that elf girl to protect. She’s greatly underleveled and I’m sure you’d rather not let her die. On the other hand, I have that snake whom I want the most. Her presence distracts me from fighting you at full force. So that’s why I’m proposing you this,” he elaborated while observing her reaction. “We hold ceasefire and return, but the next time we meet we’ll settle this once and for all.”

Maria’s grip on her lance tightened, “And why should I comply when I just could kill you right here for a reward?”

Crap, he reached a dead end. What should he do…? Was there no chance to convince her?

“Look, I’d rather not complicate things, but let’s be realistic. You accused me of chea—”

She interrupted him, “Which you did. Full set Dark Lord’s aegis. That thing you wore during the war was a solid proof.”

Kail clenched his fists and inhaled. Let’s hope this reason suffice, “If that’s true, then you should really be wary of me. I could hack the database and got myself unobtainable equipment. To be honest here, I’m a greedy person. Do you really think my armor was the only thing I hacked? Care to look at my status screen?”

His (false) confession made her jaw drop, “Y-You bastard! You hacked your attributes, too? How much Attack do you have? Did you also hack the damage calculation?!”

She took his bait. Great!

Smirking in triumph, Kail shrugged, “Think of this ceasefire a mercy, Maria. What would happen if I decided to end you right here? How much experience you’d lost? Do you think I’d just leave you alone? I most certainly will take a peek at your inventory and… borrow some stuff. To tell you the truth, I’m in love with those wings of yours.”

Maria gritted her teeth. Anger was bubbling inside her veins, threatening to burst at any given moment. Several moments later she exhaled, nodding in agreement albeit begrudgingly, “Alright. You win. I’ll leave you alone with your reward. Remember that the next time we meet it’ll be your end.”

Kail gave her a triumphant smirk, crossing his arms over his chest as Maria exited the area.

Once they were truly alone, Kail returned to his newly-acquired slave and once again interacted with the teleporting device.

0000

The queen was currently attending to the most important needs; staying perfect. She was lying face down on her bed, wearing no article of clothing except her panties, with a pillow underneath her head. Once a while a satisfied moan escaped her lips as her trusted beauticians massaged her body. Her personal guards stood close with eyes as sharp as a hawk. Ever aware, ever cautious.

She gazed lazily at her nails and extended her arm towards a beautician, “Change the color. I’m not in the mood for purple.”

“Would Queen Sister like red?” asked the lowly succubus. Hathor considered it for a bit but shook her head.

“Too much red these days. Make them black for a change.”

“Very good, Queen Sister.”

The way she called her would probably be funny to outsiders, but it was a tradition among succubi to refer to each other as sister even if they weren’t biologically related. ‘Sister’ with addition of the succubus’ name was normally used to refer to another within the same caste; the ‘sister’ part was frequently omitted if talking to a lower class succubus. Interacting with a higher level of succubus, however, one should be very careful not to call her name. It was seen as blasphemy; a greater insult.

Hathor threw her head towards her right shoulder and her eyes fell onto a heavily armored succubus, “Any news about the king?”

“Apologize, Queen Sister. His Majesty’s whereabouts disappeared as soon as he stepped in the teleportation gate. Even with our connections in Dragonis we could not track him.”

Hathor’s facial expression changed dramatically and she spat, “Useless.”

“Our deepest apologies, Queen Sister.”

“How about you do your job properly instead of apologizing like a fool? It hurts my ears.”

The damn girl should’ve known that she hated apologizes more than anything. If she had the time to say sorry, it’d be better if she worked twice as hard to make up for her stupidity. She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about her husband. He claimed to be amnesiac yet there was something bugging her whenever they met. She did not know what it was, but it was clearly there and she felt it in her bones.

What could it be…?

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by the appearance of a black-haired succubus. She served as her messenger, bringing back information about the noblemen’s state of affairs, or whether her husband was cheating, and much more. What piqued Hathor’s interest was her fearful expression. The beauty attendants then swiftly stepped back, allowing her to unload whatever it was that had been scaring her so.

“…the king brought with him a slave and is currently resting...”

Hathor quickly bolted towards the door, as naked as a babe. Her anger had made her ignorant to the servants’ stare. She gritted her teeth as she marched to her husband’s room.

0000

Kail rested atop a lounge chair, gazing outside the window. The scenery bewitched him and he hardly could take his eyes off it. This place was amazing. Elevated and overlooking the great city, lake, and forest beyond, he felt like he owned the topmost floor of a condo.

His eyes darted swiftly from the window to a nearby table, where a servant had put a bowl of tasty fruits. Apples, pears, banans, pomegs. The beautiful sight made his throat dry, but he wouldn’t let himself swayed. Those fruits were all tasteless. Everything in this world was tasteless. He wouldn’t fall for that cheap trick.

All of a sudden the door was kicked open and he nearly jumped in surprise. Storming into the room was Hathor, wearing nothing but her lacy, black panties.

“You foolish, disgusting virgin!” she seethed, her huge breasts jingling sensually as she closed the distance between them.

“W-Wait just a moment. Aren’t you aware that you are naked?”

“How do I look is not important! I thought you were recruiting some useless meathead, but why did you bring home a slave?! Are you out of your mind?!”

“Now why are you being so angry for? Forcing her to be my slave simplifies many things.”

“Simplifies many things? Oh, please enlighten me!” she taunted, plopping into a nearby sofa. The succubus crossed her arms under her breasts, making the hefty lumps of meat even more desirable than ever. It might not be her intention to flaunt her udders, but those pink, luscious nipples distracted him.

“Stop staring at my breasts and just answer the damn question!”

He brought his attention back to her eyes. The red slits amidst of black pool met his eyes. He begun, “I wasn’t confident in my persuasion, so I came to Etherios for a slave collar. She had one with her so I took it and tested it on the girl. Isn’t it efficient when you have a slave instead of an underling? With a slave, you’ll never ever worry about being backstabbed.”

“Am I your slave now?”

“…what?” her question caught him off guard.

“Tell me. Am I your slave? Is that white bitch your slave, too?”

“If this white bitch is Etherios, then no. And no, you’re not my slave.”

“Dearest husband, do you know the true power of your trait? That so-called evil charisma or whatnot,” she murmured but her eyes hostile. “That damn trait is there for you to exploit so you can charm her your fucking way, to make her instantly obey you! But instead you went and destroyed the chance god gave you by enslaving her! How stupid can you be?”

To be honest her reasoning was sound, but Kail was too long gone to be thinking clearly.

“Shut your mouth, you useless cunt! It’s sickening when you act as if you knew me!”

“Oh, please!” she rolled her eyes. “I had been changing your diaper even before you lost your mind!”

“I wear no diaper, you brainless hag!”

“I didn’t mean it that way!” she groaned, lifting her hands in frustration. The two spent the last thirty minutes glaring daggers at each other before Hathor threw her hair behind her shoulder, breaking eye contact. In a moment she was back to her usual calm and apathetic manner, “Oh well, whatever. I suggest you free that slave of yours. It’d be disastrous to… whatever it is you are planning if she learns the truth about her slaver’s identity.”

“I’ll think about it, but I can’t promise you anything,” he didn’t want to let her go. The slave collar reassured him of her complete obedience, just in case. Food poisoning was clearly a bad idea to die.

To make the matter worse, Hathor saw through him and asked, “Why are you being so paranoid of? I know you’ve lost your memories, but you are showing extreme fear of dying and betrayal. You have literally hundreds of men to protect you, me and white bitch included.”

“You don’t understand! The pain is real even though this isn’t the real world!” Kail slapped his mouth shut, realizing the grave mistake he had done. He stole a glance to the succubus before him. Her face was a mixture of disbelief and cautious.

“…what did you just say?”

How Kail wished the ground swallow him whole.