{You absorb [Tutorial Boon Core]; Tier 1}
{You absorb [Archfiend Pluto Core]; Tier 1}
{Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! You gain 4 levels. You are now level 52.}
"Ding!" Ashtoreth said. "52. I've still got an advancent from level 48, too. And since we're technically invincible, I can finally clear so of these upgrades I've been keeping forever—let's start by trying for the second rank of [Daywalker]. I'll take [Drain], please!"
Dazel yawned. "Should I ask why you chose the wrong path?"
"I'm going to clear out [Blood mory] before I take [Vampiric Archfiend], since it's in both."
"You got [Blood mory]?"
"Uh-huh!"
"That one's nice. You can really get a sense of who sobody was, deep down, as you devour their heart."
"I thought so," Ashtoreth said. "And technically, I consu hearts."
She looked at the system-text:
{Advance [Drain]}
{Choose an upgrade to gain, then choose to retain or replace all other options}
Upgrade [Blood Drain] with [Blood mory]:
You can glimpse so of a creature's mories when you consu their blood.
Upgrade [Devour Flesh] with [Satiated]:
Buffs from [Devour Flesh] last 18 hours, not 12, and no longer fade in intensity before they expire.
Upgrade [Energy Drain] with [Theft of Power]:
When you affect a target with your [Energy Drain] debuff, you may choose to gain bonus stats equal to the stats you drain rather than gaining [Bloodfire].
Gained stats are limited to 50% of your target's total stats. Gained stats expire when the [Energy Drained] debuff expires on your target, but will last 1 minute longer if your target dies with this debuff on.
"So good stuff," Ashtoreth said. "I'm really gonna juice myself up with these buffs, once I get rolling. I'll take [Blood mory], please!"
{You upgrade your [Energy Drain] ability with [Blood mory]}
{Reaching level 51 has granted advancent. Choose one of your progression paths other than [Drain].}
"[Vampiric Archfiend], please!"
{Advance [Vampiric Archfiend]}
{Choose an upgrade to gain, then choose to retain or replace all other options}
Upgrade [Command Infernal] with [Command Undead]:
[Command Infernal] will beco [Command Profane], which can briefly dominate fiends, demons, devils, and undead.
Upgrade [Daywalker] with [Daywalker II]:
[Daywalker] now reduces the weakening effect of being in sunlight.
Upgrade [Aura] with [Aura: Obedience]
Add 6m to the radius of your [Aura].
Enemies in your aura who you can affect with your [Command Infernal] ability have their [Psyche] reduced by five tis your level.
"Well then," Ashtoreth said. "Taking control of soone for a little bit longer sounds pretty handy dandy to ." She chose to retain both of the psychic abilities. "I'll take [Daywalker], if you please!"
{You upgrade your [Daywalker] ability with [Daywalker II]}
"Who knows where we'll end up next," said Ashtoreth. "It could be sunny!"
"It's probably Hell again."
"It's probably Hell again," she said, hanging her head. "But I've got to take Daywalker just in case. Anyway, on to loot."
"Good news there," said Dazel. "That's also based on performance. You should get sothing fairly handy, given the fact that you soloed… uh, how many bosses?"
"Um. The hulk, the huntsman, the construct, the dragon, that guy, and Pluto."
"'That guy?'"
"Yeah, he was a commander or sothing, rember? He wanted to talk about what his castle was for, but I just killed him."
"Oh yeah," Dazel said. "That guy. He seed pretty stoked to fight, too."
She shrugged. "I skipped the loot. I just wanted to set fire to the enchantnts holding the citadel up. Plus there could have been more in the forest that I burned down."
"I don't know how much the system will reward you for those," said Dazel. "They were probably level 20s, and you killed them after the tutorial finished."
"Yeah…." she said. "Oh well—loot ti!"
{You open [Tutorial Loot Parcel]}
Two objects materialized before her in the air. The first was a tiny, circular object made of glass. The second was a key hanging on a fine silver chain.
She caught them both before they fell to the ground, examining each.
The first was a small compass.
{Ashtoreth's Heartfelt Wayfinder}
This compass points to the nearest boss's heart.
A creature with strong enough psychic defenses or anti-detection abilities can resist being located by this compass. This compass has a maximum range of 5 miles.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
You may speak a creature's na to the compass, at which point it will attempt to point to their heart instead of that of the nearest boss.
"Why hello," she said, grinning. "The system knows my style, that's for sure!"
{Ashtoreth's Hidden Housekey}
Turning this key at a waist-high point in the air will conjure your hidden house, provided there is enough space—40 feet by 40 feet with 20 feet of vertical clearance.
It takes 1 minute and costs a very high amount of [Bloodfire] to conjure your hidden house. You may spend additional [Bloodfire] when you conjure the house to heal any damage that it has sustained.
Items stored in the house when it is dismissed will remain there when it is re-conjured. You may touch this key to an item and spend a moderate amount of [Bloodfire] to send it to your house.
Ashtoreth gasped, and her smile broadened as she read the ability. "Dazel," she said. "I own magical property!"
"Great," he said. "Tell Officer Frost. It'll increase your relationship score."
"It'll act as storage space for all the stuff we get!" she said. "Dazel, this is great!"
"Definitely," said Dazel. "The system's a pretty generous DM, I gotta say."
"I bet it's because I'm so polite," she said, hanging the key around her neck. She started heading back toward the forest. "You think the others will be bothered that I've got a house now? They just spent quite a while setting up camp."
She found the others in a small section of the forest that they'd partially cleared. Kylie's minions were positioned around them in the bushes to keep watch, and they had cover from the branches above.
Kylie was lying on a pile of leaves and small branches and staring at the sky. Hunter was eating out of a cardboard food box with a pair of chopsticks—he must have gotten food from his loot parcel. Frost sat next to him.
"Great news," Kylie rasped. "Hunter was sweet enough a pile of sticks and leaves just for you." She pointed, and Ashtoreth looked down at the ground to see a long, haphazard tangle on the ground. "Make yourself comfortable."
"Actually," Ashtoreth said. "The system just gave a house. You guys want to see if we can sleep there, instead?"
Kylie shot an uncaring glance around their primitive camp. "But they worked so hard," she said tonelessly.
"A house?" Frost said. "Where?"
"Right here!" she said, holding up the key around her neck. "It's a conjurable house! Let's try it out."
She led them out of the forest, then conjured the house by standing with the key out in the sa place for a minute. A lock ford around the key, then a door, then walls: soon a square building of dark stone stood in front of them.
"Wow!" Ashtoreth said, pushing the door open. "Isn't this great? I won't need to make us feel a false sense of comfort with glamours—it's all right here!"
Past the tiny entranceway was a small common room filled with plush purple chairs and a round table. Past this were rooms: one that looked like it was for storage, and four bedrooms for sleeping in.
There was problem with the latter. One was larger than the others, and dominated by a beautiful four-poster bed. The others rooms were little more than closets containing steel-fra cots.
"Gee," Kylie said. "You think the house mirrors its owner's psychology?"
"Yes, okay," Ashtoreth said, looking into what was clearly the master bedroom. "Clearly the system, which is hierarchical, intends for to—"
"I call this one," Kylie said, moving past them to throw herself onto the bed.
"What?" Ashtoreth said. "Hold on. We should roll a dice or sothing."
"Nah," said Kylie. "You threw in here against my will, rember? You've got to make this concession as a gesture of goodwill."
"But—"
"You're generous!" Kylie said, shrugging. "You're charitable. A princess of the people."
"Look, I don't care about the bed," said Frost. "But flip a coin with Hunter about it or sothing."
"She can have it," said Hunter. "I don't mind."
"You don't?" Frost asked.
"It's important not to grow soft, now. I have to harden my body and mind for the ordeal to co."
Dazel laughed. "Man's in his training arc, Officer Frost. You can't break his focus." To Ashtoreth, he added: "Say, is there a gravity setting next to the thermostat? Asking for Hunter."
Hunter rolled his eyes and took a room.
"But shouldn't she have to flip with… ?" Ashtoreth asked.
"I need the space," said Kylie.
"I have wings! I need the space."
"I'm going to need to put my phylactery sowhere," said Kylie. "Those things are huge."
"What?" Ashtoreth asked. "No they're not. The most famous phylactery in human lore is a needle."
"Oh, is it?" Kylie said. She shrugged. "Yeah, I had no idea what those were."
"Oh," said Ashtoreth, smiling as she realized she could help Kylie out. "Well have you read Harry Potter?"
Kylie glared at Ashtoreth. "I am aware of Harry Potter, Ashtoreth."
"It's like the Horcruxes in Harry Potter. If you die, your soul goes back to your phylactery." She frowned. "Actually, it's pretty exactly like those. Were those just phylacteries?"
"I see," Kylie rasped. She looked from Ashtoreth to the four poster bed. Then she narrowed her eyes, suddenly seeming more angry.
"Uh, so the bed—"
"Nope," Kylie said. "After all, I'm a guest. In your ho. You wouldn't let sleep in a cot while you live in luxury—you're pretty much the only one who for sure can't get the good bed."
Ashtoreth scowled.
Then she smiled. "Right you are, Kylie! Fortunately, I have glamours. Everybody let know if you want to give your room a makeover."
"Put so shurikens on the walls, maybe," Dazel said to Hunter. "So other decorative blades, maybe. Magical girl character minis—"
"Let's not start," Frost said. "Let's just level and get to bed. I'd like to wake up before the tir expires and we get thrown into a new tutorial. Or scenario, now—I don't know the difference."
"I don't really think there is one," said Dazel. "Tutorials are for starting levels. Scenarios will be balanced against your current level."
"This barely felt like a tutorial already," said Hunter. "We just got a minimum of instructions before being attacked by demonic dogs. Where's the elderly NPC with a fu man chu who's going to teach how to cook my fish?"
A silence followed this.
"What?" Kylie asked.
But Hunter stared doing a voice. "'Ahhh, young one. Open the materials tab of your inventory and select the raw cod with the A button.'"
"Oh, that reminds ," Ashtoreth said. "I've got cores for you from when I burned down that forest."
"Great," said Frost. "Let's pass those out and then get to bed. We can figure out how to approach the new scenario when we're not exhausted. Kylie, are your minions in position?"
"Yes."
"Good," he said. "And good night, everyone."
"It's not."
"Thank you, Kylie."
"Night," she said, shutting her door.
Ashtoreth wove a claw through the air to create herself a pair of striped pajamas. "Good night, Sir Frost! See you in the morning!"
She shut the door to her tiny room and then yawned, stretched, and threw herself into bed on her belly. "This isn't bad," she said, reaching out to touch the wall opposite the bed. "It's… cosy."
"Yeah," said Dazel. "It's fun to cosplay the poors!"
"You better get all your jokes out fast," said Ashtoreth, yawning again as she folder her arms under her face. "I won't be conscious much longer."
"Aww," Dazel said. "Boss is all tuckered out. All that murder, treachery, and heart gobbling really wore you out, huh champ?"
"Mmm," Ashtoreth said.
She was vaguely aware that Dazel continued, but his voice was like a blur in the back of her mind. The cot below her was too cosy, and her eyelids had fallen shut.
All she managed to think before she fell asleep was: tomorrow I get to do it all again.
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