240. Eat

“Six, Eight, Nine, Ten…” Rakna muttered as he drew the cards of his deck one by one. “It seems that it’s possible to order it to ‘furnish the house’. But it’s even more expensive than building it.”

“Well, technically, considering the size of this mansion, the furniture that would be needed to fill it properly is somewhat significant,” Higure commented. “There are finer details about it.”

“True. Wait,” he closed one eye as he thought of something. He reiterated his order and this time; the minimum required card became the Eight. “Good enough, I guess. Eight of Clubs,” he intoned and tossed the card.

He stepped out of the building, Higure and Nyx with him, and a light shone through every window before simmering down. After it was gone, when they looked back inside, there were already all sorts of furnishings, couches, cabinets, tables, chairs, etcetera.

“There you go,” Rakna nodded to himself as he checked the softness of the sofas and the pillows that came with it. He let himself fall on it and exhaled. “Comfortable enough…”

Higure snickered and grew to a slightly bigger size. She jumped next to him and patted the pillow with her paw. “The wonders of a Red Rarity Utility Item,” she said. “What did you do to reduce the cost in the end?”

“I stopped it from including electronic devices. It’s better to buy those from Black Steel. The quality will most likely be much better than what I can efficiently make with the Trickster’s Sleeve.”

“I see you decorated the place,” Flavia commented as she entered through the front door with the others in tow. “So, this is what that glow was?”

Rakna nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. “[Tail Clone,]” he muttered and one of his tails quite literally flew out of his back. It landed on the floor where it turned into a sort of puddle which then rose and took its creator’s shape.

Just like that, a clone was made. “I guess you want me to go shopping?” The one-tailed Rakna asked his original with an unperturbed voice.

“Yes. Also, don’t go there as ‘us’, just for the sake of it.”

“Sure,” the clone replied and under everyone’s eyes, his appearance began to change along with the buzzing noise of nanobots. His clothes, being an imitation of Allegro, were replaced by a more normal attire. The horizontal scar across his left eye vanished and his hair grew to the middle of his back before turning blond. His purple eyes flickered to green and his facial features changed.

Allan gaped at the transformation. “Wha-? You can do that too?”

“Of course. This body is basically like a big clay doll to me,” the clone said as he produced a hair clip from his own physique and used it to tie his hair into a ponytail. He then turned toward his friends and cracked his neck. “How is it? You wouldn’t be able to tell it’s me, huh?”

“Definitely,” Marie agreed as she looked at both the clone and original. “You look nothing alike if not for your physical build.”

“Oh, good point,” the clone exclaimed, a fist on his palm. He smiled faintly and then grew taller by several inches and even made himself look slightly buffier and older.

“Okay, you’re a totally different person at this point,” Allan deadpanned.

The clone snorted in amusement and extended his hand to his original self, who gave him a spatial ring that he put around his finger. “All right. I’ll be back in a jiffy,” he uttered and disappeared in a matter of seconds; having initiated the system transfer earlier.

“Well, that happened,” Flavia kidded and took a seat along with everyone else. “So, what was that thing you wanted to test?”

“Be patient, I sent my wolves to make the preparations,” Rakna said. “While we wait, I wanted to ask you something. Your Path Quests; what did they make you do exactly?”

“Ah? Didn’t I tell you? Personally, it was simple things like maintaining Chaos Magic under control within a small volume for a certain amount of time. In total, I received two Quests and three skills from them. I also got a bit of experience and a few free points.”

“Same thing for me,” Allan followed up. “To be exact, I only got one Quest but the Path Skill I got is one that requires me to unlock more ‘fists’ by performing specific actions to perfection.”

“As for me, it was mainly related to ‘faith’, if you can call it that. I had to shape my Aeter in precise manners whilst praying at the Basilica of Eternal Night,” Nyx explained.

Rakna hummed and turned to Evelyn. “What about you?”

“Well, I have to raise my… charm?” The succubus said with a wry smile. “I was quested to tame a specific species of Wilden or animals. That partly involved charming them with my mana; which has the natural effect of charming targets thanks to my succubus heritage.”

“I’m the last one then?” Marie raised her voice. “For me, it was quite interesting. Firstly, when I got to choose my Path after becoming a Host, I received Illusion Magic. And with it, I was tasked to use it on myself to evaluate my qualifications.”

“It’s rather varied,” Rakna muttered. “Anyway, since Higure and Tyran don’t have Paths, I suppose that means only Pronos and I have yet to do those Quests. Though we got one at level 100,” he said as he recalled his clone seeing the Path Quest icon on the little guy’s status.

[I would like to add something,] Ceres spoke up. [Path Quests that are issued at level 100 are called Main Path Quests. That is because they are usually difficult to complete and their rewards are Path Skills that have their place as a Host’s main strength. I would assume that because of your irregular Path, your Path Quests are simply that much rarer.]

“I see… I guess I will see what kind of skill I get. By the way, what about you all? I don’t think I have ever seen you use all your Path Skills when hunting together.”

“Sure. Here you go; they appear separated from the rest,” Allan shared a part of his status, and in order, Flavia, Nyx, Evelyn, and Marie showed theirs as well.

❮ ◈ ❯

Path Skills:

- The Twenty Diamond Fists (5 Unlocked): 

> Red Diamond: Charges a powerful strike capable of turning boulders into dust. It is also possible to bypass a small percentage of the target’s defense. Cooldown: 3 Minutes.

> Green Diamond: Anything this attack hits will only be damaged by the base strength of the user, but a powerful compressed wind will then hurl the target away. Cooldown: 2 Minutes.

> Silver Diamond: Cloaks the fist in steel-like energy that will deal out slashing damage to whatever it hits. It is also capable of piercing through magic defenses. Cooldown: 5 Minutes.

> Shadow Diamond: A fist that cannot be followed with the naked eye. To the onlookers, the attack will duplicate and reach its target like a fleeting shadow, making it impossible to predict its trajectory. Cooldown: 2 Minutes.

> Yellow Diamond: A blow so fast it resembles a bolt of lightning. The damage dealt out is massively increased by its speed. Cooldown: 10 Minutes.

> ???

---

- Chaos Control – Chains of Turmoil: Summons chains that will coil around a target and make their magic go berserk whenever one is cast. Cooldown: 5 Hours.

- Chaos Control – Discord of Concord: Pulls out the hidden chaos within someone or something and makes them go out of control. Cooldown: 1 Hour.

- Beacon of Chaos: Reduces the luck of the target. They will be plagued with bad luck for several minutes. Cooldown: 3 Hours.

---

- Eternal Night Art – Way of Destruction – Abyssus Hortus: Conjures a sphere of Aeter that traps their target and assails them with destructive energy. Cooldown: 10 Hours.

- Eternal Night Art – Way of Darkness – Penitentia Conspiciunt: Make a target look into your eyes and peer into their soul. Their sins will burn and they will receive an equivalent amount of pain and harm. At the same time, their memories will be read by the user. Cooldown: 1 Hour.

- Eternal Night Art – Way of Darkness – Vashta Nerada: Summon a path of predatory shadows capable of melting flesh and swallowing magic. Cooldown: 5 Hours.

- Eternal Night Art – Way of Demons – Vita Messis: Better known under the name of Life Harvest, it is a mysterious ability created by the Kind Demon himself that allows anyone who possesses it to steal powers like a Life Hunter. It only works on deceased targets or creatures far below the user’s level. Cooldown: 24 Hours.

---

- Hell Evocation: Summons a beast from Hell to fight for the user for a limited duration. The better the user can subdue them; the stronger the beasts summoned will be, the more will be summoned at once, and the longer they will remain. Cooldown: 5 Hours.

- Charm of Hell’s Priestess: Raises the charm and charisma of the user to demonic beasts and summons. The effect is further increased when used on creatures summoned with Hell Evocation. Cooldown: None.

- Grace of the Purgatory: Heals a subordinate demonic beast with the Hell Flames that take their source in the deepest part of the Purgatory. Cooldown: 2 Hours.

---

- Serpentine Lullaby: Summons a flute that the user can play to create an illusion with a physical presence. Maximum Duration: 30 Minutes Cooldown: 1 Hour.

- Song of Discord: The user will be able to apply debuffs on their enemies and strengthen their allies. This skill has increased effects on reptile targets. Duration: 5 Minutes. Cooldown: 1 Hour.

- Blessing of Echidna: Turns the user into the conceptualization of an illusion. They will be impervious to all physical attacks and will be able to teleport anywhere that their target has their sight on. Duration: 1 Minute. Cooldown: 24 Hours.

❮ ◈ ❯

Higure whistled as she also got a look at everything. “As always, you Hosts’ Paths are broken. It’s the main advantage you have over Wilden actually; we don’t have Paths. To top it off, aside from being incredibly functional, Path Skills don’t have costs. Only cooldowns. But they don’t even have that as well from time to time.”

Rakna read everything within a second and processed the information. “Well, that certainly makes me more than curious about the result of my Path Quest. Also, Nyx, this ‘Life Harvest’, is it what I think it is?”

The night goddess nodded slowly. “I think so. But I’m not sure since I got it very recently, I haven’t had the time to test it. But if it’s truly the ability of Life Hunters… then it’s not wrong to assume it will allow me to steal levels or attributes as you do.”

“{As expected of the ‘Eternal Maiden’,}” Fray commented half-jokingly.

“Speaking of skills,” Rakna suddenly remembered something and pulled out two skill cards from his storage.

“Those are…” Marie blinked as she recognized the skill written on the cards. “Stone Eye?”

“Yes,” the therian nodded. “I was initially keeping these until I could learn them, but I think I have enough ocular skills for a lifetime. Does anyone want them?”

“What does it do?” Allan inquired.

Rakna snorted and simply pointed at the lamia. “Quite simple; petrification. Also, the full potential of the skill can only be used when you have a duplicate. I got the first one by completing the ‘Grit Castle’ and I bought the second at the shop for a million Talys after I destroyed the Dungeon.”

“Well, who do you think can have the best synergy with that skill?” Nyx asked back.

“The best synergy, huh?” He mused and looked at everyone. “I would be inclined to give it to Allan if anyone.”

“Eh? Why me?” The blonde exclaimed.

“You lack flexibility and speed,” Rakna instantly shot back and he grunted. “Getting this skill would help you to drag your opponents to your field; slow and heavy-hitting close combat.”

“If you put it like that… that’s true that it would be nice.”

“But, even without this skill,” Rakna continued and placed the cards on the small sculpted table in front of them. “The little experiment I talked to you about earlier might help you as well.”

“Huh?”

Rakna didn’t respond to his inquisitive tone and pointed at the front door with his chin. Everyone turned around and as if on cue, it opened and an Earth Wolf entered. It bowed and barked softly.

“It seems they’re done,” the therian said with a small smile. “Oz, bring them in,” he ordered and the wolf nodded. It left the house and they all heard it bark for a moment. Then, to their shock and confusion, dozens of wolves entered one after another with either a dead or unconscious beast in their maws.

They dropped the monsters in a corner of the spacious mansion and after a few minutes, there were close to one hundred incapacitated Wilden on the floor.

Rakna nodded satisfyingly. “You can return to your posts now,” he instructed and the Alphas he had assigned as leaders complied and left. “Now,” he faintly smiled and extended his hand at the pile of creatures. His aura escaped his body and a spell left his mouth. 

“[Star Hearth – Scale of Maat,]” he chanted and the crystal-like balance appeared like a mirage above his head. His soul power coalesced into a black feather that floated down to one of the scale’s plates. Then, just like last time, the bodies of the Wilden were sucked in. Their very flesh and bones shrunk as it got closer until their bodies were nothing more than fresh hearts.

When Rakna started lowering the balance toward the table, everyone had already gone into a daze at the gory spectacle. Meanwhile, he gave them a menacing smile, “Eat.”

““…”” Exactly five people, three beasts, an AI, a certain fabulist, and a poor fire pup who had been dragged into this mess of a group, expressed their thoughts with silence.

AhraManyu

By the way, I will take the next week off, for Christmas and the New Year, you know. And, um, how to say this... the chapter that will come Friday has probably one of the worst cliffhangers I've made. So... prepare yourself emotionally? I guess?

My bad, I'm perfectly aware of how I end my chapters, but it's not like I plan which of them I'm going to post on Fridays. I'm not that much of a five-head. Ahem.