Chapter 18: 18. Debt I

[Misc:

[25% effectivity healing potion: 10,000 SP

Heals 25% of your original health. It does not matter how much heath you have, it is always 25%, so shut up and accept it, this is elixir level kind of shit.] 

[50% effectivity healing potion: 50,000 SP

Read the one above and replace the 25% with 50, you're welcome.] 

[75% effectivity healing potion: 250,000 SP

You know what to do.]

[100% effectivity healing potion: 750,000 SP

You're healed but also broke.]

Low-Tier Magic Bombs: 20,000 SP

Mid-Tier Magic Bombs: 70,000 SP

High-Tier Magic Bombs: 150,000 SP

Dragon Heart: 1,000,000 SP

Low-Tier Spatial Transportation Scroll: 50,000

【Funds: 1,400 SP】

'These things are a complete rip-off. A single 25% effectivity healing potion is 10,000 SP? I only have 1,400 SP. And who made those descriptions? It's—'

[Concise — please don't ask.]

'Okay... I have something I have to worry about anyway. What do I have to kill to get all of those Cores? I didn’t it was possible as I am now a daemon, but with where thing stands, I am currently, and officially broke.'

Lilith sighed, she had harvested seven rare-tier Mana Cores and actually reached LVL 21, but still, it was not something she particularly liked.

Although Lilith was not one to enjoy buying things, she particularly liked the items in the Shop. They have good effects; considering the potions that cost 10,000 credits have a 25% effectivity rate, it was actually a pretty good deal.

But considering how hard it was to kill a rare-tier daemon, Lilith found it unbelievable, still.

As a Rare-Tier daemon, she would need to kill 50 daemons of the same level just to buy something. It was a bloody nightmare.

'If this is the past era, living would be so much easier.'

The earth of the past, believe it or not was unbelievably pretty easy to live in. Though there were admittedly a lot of problems economic wise and the lives at the bottom were as hard as a penis that wants to fuck you harder the more you struggle, at least no there were no monsters roaming the world trying to kill you for food and EXP.

Also, it had been said that the world was a lot smaller than it was today making it easier to travel and even manage. It was at least 20 to 30 times smaller.

'I could still remember the documentary. Before hundreds of floating islands appeared, the world was much simpler. They didn't even have to monitor the changes in the flow of information from the different planets then.'

The solar system itself changed dramatically soon after the change of the earth's size and ecosystem. The distance of the sun, the distance of the other planets, and the discovery of the life forms in these said planets began happening one after the other.

It was as if the whole galaxy mutated.

'Welp, the world was dying then so I guess it's a fair share of salvation and destruction. I wouldn't be walking here now if the world got fucked by my ancestors anyway.' she laughed.

BOOM!

Adjacent to Lilith, Dhampy helped Sylva hunt down daemons one after another. They were moving quickly, and despite the targets being Common-Tiers, they were still slaughtering them unbelievably quick.

[Sylva: Lv. 19]

"Boss head, I leveled up!"

"Good job."

Lilith praised the lass.

Sylva was enthusiastic about leveling, so much so that she jumped around after reaching LVL 19. But who could blame her? The chance of evolving was in front of her, she was fired up to reach LVL 20 today.

Lilith turned to Dhampy beside her, who was observing Sylva's. After much deliberation, Lilith made the decision…

"Dhampy, I leave her up to you."

"Where are you headed, to, boss?"

"Finding my own prey. I need to at least reach LVL 26 in two days so we can hunt the daemon you need."

Dhampy only nodded her head, not saying anything that's not necessary was her virtue. Lilith turned into a yellow feline and moved out. She touched the ground and streaks of lightning trailed off with every step.

[Lightning Feet (500 MP/per minute) (B)]

Lightning Feet was a low-cost skill she uses to get from one point to the next. She had it when she was but an Ash Leopard and it was nothing more than a pretty light show then, but it proved to be stronger now that she's a Thunder Clap Leopard.

With a more potent lightning, she could now channel devastating strikes and exhibit ridiculous speed.

Lilith was practically flying as her every leap would take her ten meters forward. She had 83 points in PER granting her very clear eyes, at least in this form.

PER (perception) Stats was a mystery to Lilith, depending on what species the PER stats actually changed. When used by the Two Horn that's more of a Mage than anything else, the PER Stats was used to better sense mana flow to increase her ability to cast magic.

But for a Hunter like the Thunder Clap Leopard, PER was a very useful thing for sensing objects. This includes the body and her surroundings.

[Silver Wolves LVL 23]

Attribute/s: Wind

HP: 1500/1500

MP: 500/500

Lilith saw a pack of Silver Wolves up ahead. Their lives plastered with a red panel granting Lilith the ability to see their [Attribute], [HP], and [MP]. The effects of the [Eyes of Akashic] was pretty good.

Lilith first determined their numbers and then observed their physical status she could take advantage of.

'Three Silver Wolves, they seem hungry, they are weakened by hunger.'

They were skin and bones they were weakened beyond help. Should she leave the poor souls alone? Screw them, that was too much of a waste!

"Kill them all!" she said as her eyes burned with a vengeance, Lilith had yet to forget how they stole her Goblin Meat when she was weak! 

She wanted vengeance, and vengeance she would get.

However, "valiant" tactics must be applied as she was weaker than these beasts level-wise.

Lilith jumped high then turned to a black Nightmare Dragonkin.

Soaring through the skies, she reached thirty-meter high before releasing a dark smoke out of her body, the poisonous miasma paralyzed the already weakened daemons.

The spread of Miasmic Expulsion was not that fast, but from above it was like a heavy shower that spread without being hindered.

The weakened daemons who got poison would die, that's a done deal, but Lilith followed-up with a Poison Spit for good measure. The wolves died, unable to poisoned, and unable breath.

Lilith's smiled in joy.

Her confidence grew and in a moment of euphoric pleasure, Lilith went on a spree, hunting anything that was weakened and had low HP and MP.

Killing both low-leveled and injured daemons she could find, Lilith was in bliss.

Before long, she cleaned everything and everyone in the area, her level, reached 22. The Eyes of Akashic was indeed useful.

She harvested their Mana Cores and before long, Lilith earned 4,600 SP.

Lilith targeted only the weak. She would not get herself in a sticky situation unless the return was a highly enticing.

But every good thing eventually comes to an end, the number of low-leveled daemons were decreasing by the minute. As for the injured daemons, Lilith had hunted them all down.

Running and running she finally stopped after coming across an opening in a desolate area where she found a crevice between two large stones.

The crevice was about as big as the entrance of her previous Den. It was quite large for a normal crevice. Lilith was quite apprehensive, but she decided to take a step forward.

[You found the entrance to a D-tier Dungeon]

Her brows shot up. A dungeon, it was one of the changes that appeared after the Great Upheaval. It appeared in various forms, there were [Gates] that directs a Hunter to a different world, and there were naturally formed dungeon like this.

[Gate Dungeons] could easily be understood, but naturally formed dungeons was not. After all, naturally formed Dungeons was the aftermath of a successful Dungeon break and it was quite hard to know how big its territory was.

It could even be located in an open plain.

An opening in the world where a Dungeon Core naturally formed, that's what a dungeon was. If there's a core, there's a dungeon.

The tiers of Dungeons range from D–A tiers. D tiers have Rare-tier monsters inside and C-tier have Epics, the higher the rank, the stronger the enemies.

Lilith was unsure just how strong the enemies were inside this dungeon, but the only way she could know was by going in herself.

Through the crevice, she found a path leading underground. It was damp and dark, she was hesitant at first, but in the end, she decided to head deeper.

She was currently in her Nightmare Dragonkin form, which was a being of the night. It had better eyesight in the dark instead of day.

It was not a passive ability. Why? Because it was a simple biological aspect of this species. Just like how walking was no skill, or how looking around was nothing more than a natural feature of a human, night vision for a Nightmare Dragonkin was no more than a natural aspect.

But what about the Dragon Scales?

That's something that's only seen in dragons and had been categorized as something of a Unique Aspect and had been imitated numerous times.

While these explanations went on, Lilith had already passed a lot of dead bodies belonging to daemons. From the dead bodies littering the ground, she could tell that this place had already been raided.

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Humans may have done it, but she was still unsure. The daemons inhabiting the dungeons were known as Lamia. Beings that have the upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower body of a snake.

They were beautiful but had deadly venom. Lilith inwardly wished she got the body of such daemons to match her previous moniker of Venomous Snake. Alas, it was but a jest.

Lilith looked at their wounds. She was no expert in weapons, but even Lilith could tell it was done by swords and spears. Only humans have such weapons. Them and Epic-tier daemons.

The blood was still pretty fresh, it should have been happened a few hours ago or maybe a day prior. But she had no means to accurately tell.

Lilith proceeded with an alert mind. 

Three more minutes passed, she stopped once again.

"A Hunter?"

Lilith approached the Hunter's dead body; she saw its skin had already been corroded by poison and was rotting.

"Poison, and physical trauma. "

He had a shocked expression on his face and his chest plate had sunken after being hit by a blunt object, but Lilith didn't care about how he died.

She rummaged through his belongings and found something she had been wanting to have. A World Network Phone!

The phone was a pen-like item that had a slit on the side.  With a flicked her wrist a blue interactable panel came out of the slit of the WNP (World Network Phone). The panel was as thin as a cicada's wing and was similar to the system.

'It still works...dammit, it only shows what the previous owner had last seen. A map? He must be have been the scout. That explains the light equipment' 

Lilith was just about to check the map of the island when she suddenly received a System Notification.

[Area Map found... assimilating.....completed]

Lilith cursed but she had to let it go as her minimap and data from the WNP was assimilated.

'You can do that?'

[It's not that hard, if you find a working phone, I reckon I'll be able to upgrade the system with it.]

'You're actually amazing, aren't you?'

[Told you, I'm here to assist you and make things easier.]

Lilith new found respect for Alpha.

'[Forest of Beasts] ...it is close to a Stronghold.' She saw the name in the middle of the minimap and immediately recognized it.

Forest of Beasts was located in the area where the destroyed ancient country of [Korea] once stood. It was now a forestry region, and the country had already turned to rabbles and the destroyed lands had been replaced by the foreign landmass from the other worlds.

It’s sad but nothing was salvaged from said country. Even this island that was now known as Forest of Beast was a foreign land from outside this world.

But its descendant still lives in Stronghold 7, Lilith was pretty sure about this. Though after hundreds of years, they have already mixed with others and no pure-blooded Koreans or any of the other races exists.

'Well there might be some but I am not aware of any.'

Lilith threw away the World Network and continued on her way. She walked for a while before encountering another dead human. This time, it was a woman and the only thing that remained of her was her head with its widened eyes and disheveled red hair.

It was at this time that Lilith felt a dangerous smell in the area. It was something similar to poison, but too weak to have any effect.

She flew to the air so she could minimize the sound of her movements, and then, finally, after passing through some more dead bodies and cursing at them for having destroyed World Networks, Lilith saw the beast.

 

【Virulent-Serpent】(Rare) LVL 31

Attribute: Dark, Poison, Water

HP: 4317/7300

MP: 1245/5120

 

Lilith's eyes widened and she immediately ran away in order to save herself. It was an injured daemon, but she didn't think she'll be able to deal with such a beast even if she tries her best.

So, she ran away, no, she flew away with her little tail between her little tiny legs.

By the time she was at the entrance of the crevice, Lilith's mind became clear and was made to think. She once again looked at the entrance, her fear was present, but she remembered the requirements for Dhampy's evolution… and the next full moon was coming in two days.

Other than the moon, there were two more variables that must be met. A Rare-tier mana core and the blood of a daemon ten levels higher. The Serpent inside was 11 levels higher but it should fit the bill.

Lilith was sure that the daemon would heal in two days so hunting it would be harder. She wasn't sure she'll reach LVL 26 by then, and finding a dark attributed daemon wasn't something so easily done.

Raising her head, Lilith decided to do the smartest-stupidest answer she could think of — Hunt it.

And so, she went back not inside the crevice, no, no. She went to find Dhampy and Sylva, they should have hunted common-tier daemons by now. Daemon of such tier have no mana cores, but the mana in their body amounts to at least 100 SP so they can be turned into some cash.

'Wait, can I actually do that?'

[Let me check... 50 SP, take it or leave it.]

'Deal.'

She would be needing them for something else.

A plan already appeared inside her head.

Following the minimap, Lilith confirmed that they were already back at the mansion and she arrived soon after checking. Sylva and Dhampy were at the front yard, conversing about something with a serious expression on their faces.

"Welcome back, boss head." The two greeted her.

Lilith nodded her head. But then, she noticed Sylva's expression and found it weird.

"Mm, what is wrong Sylva?" Lilith asked, seeing the young so down.

'Did an enemy attacked them? I can't have her dying on me.'

"...Don't worry about me, boss head. It is nothing."

"I asked you what is wrong, I want answers, not those half-hearted rabbles." Lilith decided to be stern.

Lilith's small voice echoed in the ears of her two followers and oddly enough they scrunched back as if they did want to say it.

"Sylva is understandable, but Dhampy as well? Tell me, what happened, I will not repeat myself." she was slowly getting irritable. The matter could be big and if not remedied, it might become a serious problem for later.

"...we encountered Low-Pixies."

That was even weirder in the perspective of Lilith.

"So? They are of common-tier, even if they are at LVL 20, it is not going to be a problem killing them, right? Even Dhampy would be able to take care of ten Low-Pixies if you properly assist her. You have already gained [Wind Steps] right? You can easily take care of them and escape if needed."

[Wind Steps: a simple Active Skill that grants Sylva light steps equating to a fast speed.]

Low-Pixie were useless unless they become High-Pixies. 

Lilith was too aware of their strength which was an oddity.

"Did you Sylva cry again when she killed a Pixie?"

This was the only logical conclusion, but Sylva immediately jumped after hearing her words.

"I—I didn't cry. I also wanted to kill them, but they were just there to deliver a message to me about my "family". She..."

'Oh shit, this is going to be troublesome. I need to put a stop to it.' Lilith was just about to say something and cut off Sylva, but too late, the arrow had already left the bow.

"...she had already been sacrificed...he used them to help his daughter evolve..."

Tears gushed out. Lilith looked at her and sighed. She motioned to Sylva to bow down and get down to her level before patting her head. She didn't know who "He" was, but the shit sounded like trouble.

Sylva was scared, she was even trembling. But more than fear, sadness was much more present.

"You don't have to say a thing. Hush, child. I'm sorry for pushing you..."

Sylva was nothing a child. From what she had said, she was born eight winters ago making her eight years old. She was young, but she clung to life, and in a way, she was just like Lilith who did anything to survive.

Lilith motioned to Dhampy and asked her about the situation.

"Did you get followed?"

"I made sure no one got to follow us, I swept the area before entering…"

Lilith nodded her head.

'This is going to be a problem. If the Pixies comes to wage war at us, I don't think we'll be able to survive. We may be strong, but their number is larger. We need to get stronger, fast.'

After Sylva's tears stopped, Lilith had her rest for the day. Though Sylva felt like she was once again becoming nothing but luggage, Lilith convinced her to stay and rest for the night.

In the end, Sylva had to lower her head.

Dhampy who sent Sylva to her room returned outside to meet with Lilith.

"Dhampy, take your sword, we are heading out." Dhampy didn't need convincing and she simply nodded her head to follow Lilith's orders.

Lilith and Dhampy then left. Lilith's fatigue was at 35, and Dhampy's at 50, but the two of them were still energetic.

While they were about to exit, Dhampy asked what they were going to do. Which Lilith responded with a smile.

"You're going to help me hunt and make some money."