It happened so fast that I only noticed once it was over. In one moment, Daphne was right in front of us, and in the next, she was done swinging her sword.
The giant toad, sliced in half, fell to the ground with a wet squish. I watched in stunned awe as the long ponytail fluttered down in gentle curves, settling behind the girl's graceful figure.
[
You have received:
3 Soul Essence.
]
The notification snapped me back to the real world. I gave it a quick glance, then shifted my gaze to Daphne's figure. She was standing still, her eyes a little wide as she looked at the palm of her right hand. She met my gaze a moment later, and as if by reflex, I smiled at her and said a single word.
"Impressive."
My voice should have reached her with how silent the tunnel was, but her expression remained unchanged, and her lips never parted.
"Daphne, how is it?" Liliana asked as we approached.
"It's… I don't know…" Daphne said. "I think… I think I need to try again. "
"I see…"
Blood Pact gave the three a 20% exp boost. I got 5% of that, so technically, they only receive a 15% boost. I did some calculations and found that, instead of 50 Soul Essence, Daphne should have received 57. The difference wasn't huge, but it should still be noticeable.
'50 Soul Essence was enough for me to level up, so…'
Come to think of it, I hadn't checked my stats after finishing that quest earlier.
"Let us keep going, then," Said Liliana.
Once again, we moved in the same formation. I took the chance to open my status screen and see what had changed.
[
Name:
Sex: Male.
Race: Incubus.
Level: 03
Stats:
Strength 6
Durability 5
Agility 6
Dexterity 4
Charisma 17
Mind Power 7
Mana:
260/260
Soul Essence:
03/90
Skill Points:
30
Titles:
World Traveler.
He Who Answers Her Call
Attributes:
Incubus.
Skills:
Blood Pact. lvl 1
Charm. lvl 2
Essence Injection. lvl 1
Magic:
]
From the looks of it, my stats increase by only one point with each level up. I thought that was a bit weird. Isn't leveling up supposed to give you a greater stat boost?
'It doesn't look like I get stat points to distribute either…'
Don't tell me I'm not getting much because I didn't work for the exp. I just hope that there is a way to fix that, or I might be stuck with low stats even as my level rises.
'The girls will keep giving me exp whether I like it or not…'
From the looks of it, Soul Essence seems to have a lot more to it than just being an alternative to Soul Essence. It would have been really helpful if this system had a tutorial or something.
'Oh, right…'
I focused on the words "Soul Essence", and an instant later, a small screen popped up.
[
Soul Essence:
The element from which Souls are created.
]
When I learned how to access my status screen, I realized that I could find out more about its content by focusing on the words, though I only checked the description of my skills. Still…
'That… doesn't tell me much…'
I have already figured out that much on my own. Would it hurt to give a more in-depth explanation?
'Forget it…'
Sensing the kind of headache I would be getting, I decided to turn my attention to something else. Though I managed to level up Charm, it seems like I have yet to receive other skills or magic.
'Come to think of it…'
Those Skill Points. It seems like I get some each time something levels up, but I still have no idea what they do.
[
Skill Points:
Can be exchanged for Skills.
]
'Can be exchanged for skills? How?'
We ran into another giant toad while I was deep in thought, and I only noticed when I got the notification that I had received 4 Soul Essence. That made me realize that this might not be the right time to be messing with the system.
I decided to go back to watching my heroines fight, once again taking in their beautiful sight. The three wore the battle uniform of the Rose of Valor knight order—a blue skirt and tunic on top of which a breast plate and shoulder guards were equipped.
The gray breast plate wasn't shaped like the infamous boob armor, but you can tell which of the girls had the bigger assets based on the roundness of the metal. From what I'm seeing, Liliana was in the lead, with Daphne following, and Rosalia closely behind.
The skirts they wore reached halfway down to their knees, so I got to enjoy a nice view of their legs. As a fan of pantyhose, I made it mandatory for the uniforms of female knights. I was happy to see that it carried over from the game.
Daphne went on to kill another eight Mossback Toads, and with me getting some Soul Essence each time, I had 30 by the end. Liliana hadn't repeated her earlier question, leaving her ponytailed friend to go at it until we reached the entrance to the next level.
As they were about to switch places, Liliana was going to experience things for herself. Despite that, she still waited for Daphne to give her opinion. After a long silence, the girl in question turned in my direction, piercing me with her sharp red eyes.
"It's… it is true. There is no doubt about it." She said, her gaze wandering down. "The amount of Soul Essence I'm absorbing has increased."
You would think that would be a reason to celebrate, but she looked a bit troubled as she spoke. Liliana, on the other hand, turned to me with her beaming smile.
"Great Spirit!"
"Yes?" I replied, smiling back at her.
"Thank you!"
Thinking for a moment, I reached out and brushed a few strands of her hair.
"Your smile is all the thanks I need."
Liliana's excitement seemed to grow even more as her cheeks turned pink, and for a moment there, I thought she was going to jump into my arms. Instead, she turned around and drew her weapon.
"Let us proceed to the next Level!" She said before moving to the vanguard.
Daphne moved back to take her place, standing in front of me. She looked over her shoulder, and I smiled at her, but she said nothing, and her face didn't as much as twitch. When she turned forward, I was left to wonder if she was truly bothered by something, or if that was just her trsundere side acting up.
Though it was full of twists and turns, the first level of the Mossback Den was in truth a single line. We encountered the first side passage soon after we went down the slope to the second level. Hearing the loud croaking coming from it, Liliana pointed inside and said we would take that path first.
The side passage led to a small cavern about five meters across. Weeds of some kind grew at the edge, and the walls were covered in patches of green moss. At the center was a small puddle where water dripping from the ceiling gathered.
Three Mossback Toads met us inside that small cavern—one near the puddle, while the other two stuck to different spots on the wall. They seemed to have been busy hunting the insects floating around until we appeared, after which they immediately attacked.
I have to admit that I had looked down on the tongue attack, which looked like to be the Mossback Toad's basic attack. The clang Liliana's sword made each time she deflected one of them told me they packed quite the punch.
Giant or not, the toads were no challenge for the blonde swordswoman. Liliana's weapon of choice was a long sword with a cross handle. She gripped it with both hands, holding it at shoulder level with its point aimed at one of the monsters as she walked in.
The toad on the floor seemed to recognize the danger it was in and quickly retreated to a corner, leaving its friends to handle the fight. The two on the wall leaped at Liliana when she got close, ready to shoot their tongues, but Lilian ducked, letting the first fly past her and thrusting her blade forward, impaling the second toad.
Spinning on her heel, she angled her weapon to let the stabbed monster fall, then slashed the first toad just as it was about to turn.
[
You have received:
3 Soul Essence.
4 Soul Essence.
]
As the corpses fell to the ground, Liliana remained still for a moment, then she looked up with a start, her big blue eyes sparkling as her smile spread broadened once more.
"Focus," I told her, and she seemed to remember the remaining toad.
With a confident smile on her face, she gripped her long sword and moved to finish the last monster. Something seemed odd about that toad, and though I couldn't tell what it was, I warned Liliana anyway.
"Be careful. Something is off about that one!"
No sooner had I said that than the monster opened its mouth, but instead of its tongue, what shot out was a translucent blob. Caught off guard, Liliana froze in place. It seemed like she was about to get hit, but then the blob slammed into something, scattering in a splash.
Out of nowhere, a translucent white shield appeared just in time to block what I now realize was a ball of spit. As the disgusting fluid spilled to the ground, the giant toad spat twice more. This time, it never even had the chance of hitting its target.
Side-stepping the projectiles, Liliana arrived in front of the monster, crossing the distance between them in only two steps. Her sword shot forward and pierced the toad's round body, entering through its open maw and exiting from its moss covered back.