Chapter 11: 11 - Waking up to an unpleasant surprise
During the day, the forest pulsed with life, and at night, that vitality took on a different form, less exuberant, more delicate, like the fluorescent glow of millions of fireflies that spread through the forest, transformed into something unique amidst the roar of the nocturnal animals that emerged in search of food.
Ethan's body did not escape this metamorphosis. His tightly closed eyes opened slightly as a system message appeared in his vision.
[Skill: Dragon Lust has been automatically activated, affecting all females within a 10-meter radius].
Ethan struggled to make sense of the information, but his mind was too foggy to react. Suddenly, his body heated up, and a viscous substance began to slowly crawl up his legs, sticking to his clothes, before he lost consciousness.
***
Once again, Ethan found himself waking up at dawn, completely naked, as the morning sun bathed his face.
"What the hell?" Ethan grabbed his head with both hands as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. He could feel that not only had his body fully recovered, but that he looked much better than before.
[The system sounded in Ethan's head.
"A slime?" Ethan's eyes fluttered.
[System: Yes, you have been raped by a slime] The system sounded again.
"What the... Shit... Blergh" Arthur vomited as the thought of that sticky, gooey creature taking over his body spread through his head.
[System: Don't worry, slimes can change shape freely. This slime has taken human form].
"Very comforting... I didn't know you had a damn sense of humor." Ethan gritted his teeth with anger and disgust in his voice.
[System: I don't. But if it cheers you up, you got 5000 corruption store points tonight].
"5000? Why so much?" Ethan's eyes widened.
[There are many things that go into calculating your reward, but the power difference is certainly one of the most important, and that slime was much more powerful than you. Besides, that little creature didn't do a single round with you; she...]
"I don't need to know the damn details!" Ethan roared, interrupting the system's words and standing up. He was in a bad mood, and his pride was hurt, but he couldn't deny that the 5000 points from the corruption shop were something to celebrate.
"Ugh, is there an easier way to get corruption points?" Ethan wondered, wanting to increase the level of his bloodline as quickly as possible so that he could activate Dragon Lust whenever he wanted. Although he appreciated the rewards, he would rather not go through this again.
[System: There are a few ways, the most efficient of which is to complete various quests and sleep with women whose power is much greater than yours].
" Quests? The system has quests? Why the hell didn't you say so before?"
[System: You never asked].
"Ah, fair enough." Ethan sighed. "Can I see my list of current missions?"
[Missions:
{The Request of a Primordial Being.
Description: In exchange for being resurrected, you made a deal with Seraphar, the primordial being of corruption, and one day you must fulfill your part of the bargain and conquer the spirit of Elrilith's spear.
Difficulty: SSS
Rewards: ???}]
"Ah, I still have that," the young man sighed, remembering the terrifying sensation he had felt standing next to that weapon, even though he was protected by Seraphar.
"Things to worry about in the future..." Ethan muttered before looking away from the mission. He couldn't deny that it was daunting to know that he would have to face something on that level to fulfill his part of the bargain, but he also knew that it was foolish, to say the least, to take on a challenge that was many years away.
"And how do I get these missions?" Ethan asked, clearing his mind of all useless thoughts and focusing on what was important.
[System: Don't worry, I'll activate the mission module, and you'll know when there's a new mission].
"Ah, all right." Ethan shook his head before he started looking for his clothes, praying that the creature hadn't destroyed them completely.
With a little effort, he found them lying next to his sword, a few meters away from the tree where he had fallen asleep. Strangely, though they were extremely dirty, they weren't damaged in the slightest.
After getting dressed and making sure he still had the gold coins in his pants pocket, Ethan set off in the direction of Stormerga.
He was about seventy kilometers from his destination, and despite the rough terrain, the journey was smooth and fast. Using all the vitality in his new body, Ethan ran without stopping, and before nightfall, he saw a sea of wooden houses clustered around a large wall that separated the central region of the city, inhabited by the nobility and the wealthy, from the region inhabited by the commoners.
Ethan stopped his steps and studied the city carefully.
Protected by a mighty wooden wall over six meters high, and though it wasn't considered a particularly large city, Stormerga still had a population of twenty thousand and was protected by a garrison of five hundred men in addition to the personal army of the count who ruled it, making a total of fifteen hundred well-trained and equipped soldiers.
Although he was almost certain that no one would recognize him, Ethan decided to avoid the wealthier areas of the city, where there were many nobles and rich merchants he had known personally since his childhood.
The weaker ones wouldn't be a problem, but some great specialists only needed someone's eyes to recognize them.
Carefully, so as not to attract attention, Ethan made his way through the alleys and lanes of the poorer parts of the city to a crowded street, and, disguising himself as just another of the many wanderers who came in and out of the city, he entered a tavern that looked a little better than the others.
Its dark wooden facade was clean and bore the name "Six-Tusked Boar Tavern" on a huge sign. Just below the sign, beautiful waitresses called customers into the establishment, smiling seductively, squeezing their revealing cleavage, and lifting their dresses slightly, exposing their bodies to attract the interest of the many men passing by.
"Tavern? This is more like a brothel." Ethan muttered as he walked up to the counter.
There was a line to be served, but it didn't take long before Ethan's turn came.
"Good evening, young master. Welcome to the Six-Tusked Boar! What can I do for you?" The attendant smiled at Ethan as she greeted him briskly.
"I need a private suite, some food, and some good wine." Ethan replied, placing a single gold coin on the attendant's desk.
"Right!" The attendant laughed as she pulled the gold coin towards her. "What would you like to eat?"
"Chef's choice, same for the wine."
"Okay, that'll be 10 silver! Here's your change and the key to your room; it's number fourteen at the end of the third floor! Someone will leave your food there soon." The attendant handed Ethan the key and a few silver coins, not wiping the smile from his face for even a second.
"Thank you." Ethan thanked her for her service and returned the attendant's broad smile before turning and heading for his room.
It was a simple bedroom, but cozy-looking and way better than the dirty, bug-infested rooms he was forced to sleep in after becoming a cripple.
There was a round table with two chairs in the middle of the room, a large double bed, a wardrobe, a window overlooking the entire city, and a door leading to the private bathroom.
"Ah..." Ethan sighed heavily before taking off his shirt and sitting cross-legged on the bedroom floor.
He cleared his mind and began to circulate the mana in his body. This was the first time since his resurrection that he'd had time to practice his mana control, and he decided not to waste it, applying everything he'd learned from his tutors in the past as he studied and understood the power circulating in his body.
"It's... strange." Ethan muttered. He had trained this way before, just using the pure mana around him. But to do it with an affinity and a heart that was pumping powerful mana through his body non-stop was completely different, as if each stream of mana that flowed through his body was in perfect harmony with the mana outside, dancing around his body in perfect synchronicity as the mana outside was transformed into his own mana and absorbed into the pores of his skin.
Unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy this divine feeling for long and soon heard a knock at his door.
"Come in." Ethan spoke briefly, and the door opened, revealing a black-haired woman with an ordinary face, dressed in a short red waitress outfit that barely covered her large ass and breasts.
"Here is your food, young master..." She spoke in a sweet voice, giving Ethan a teasing smile, and walked over to the table in the middle of the room, leaving the food and wine before turning and walking to the door.
Her hips moved from side to side in a deliberately exaggerated motion, the flesh of her ass shaking with each step as her skirt slowly revealed more than it should to Ethan.
When she reached the door, she stopped and looked back, forcing out a lusty voice as she grabbed her own ass: "Don't you want any of our special services? I'm free all night tonight."
Hearing these words, Ethan smiled, returning the woman's provocative gaze while the dragon's lust was active. "Yes, and prepare a bath for me."
Note: Sorry for the delay! I was up all night, and after proofreading today's chapter, I decided to close my eyes for a moment. By the time I realized it, twelve hours had passed hahaha
I hope you're enjoying the read so far, and if you can leave a rating, it helps the book have more relevance and also helps me feel more motivated to keep writing!
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