Chapter 188

I couldn’t help but smirk despite the pain as I realized I had been beaten black and blue by the same woman that had been moaning under the steady assault of my fingers after trying to get me drunk just hours ago.

The fact that her display of anger following her obedience in the morning gave an even more beautiful angle to it, especially since it suggested that the reason for her absurd reaction was less about the physical aspects of our adventure, and more about making my payback for her composure, thoroughly destroyed.

Of course, I had no evidence for the last aspect, but after the great number of encounters I had shared with several strong ladies with similar powerful backgrounds, I trusted my instincts to identify the exact nature of her feminine fury.

Pity that the sudden realization didn’t prevent me from rolling to the side, panicked as she charged toward me, no doubt not appreciating the slowness I displayed as I stood up, still leaning against the wall to make it look like I was exhausted.

This time, I had been — mostly — successful in dodging despite the limits I was trying to display, because this time, her charge was deliberately slow, giving me the time to roll away. Yet, even as I got away, she continued to swing her weapon with her full strength.

Her staff hit the wall with a great crash, leaving a big crack in the wall despite all the enchantments woven into the structure to prevent that exact outcome.

“Maybe we should take a break for a health potion if you’re going to swing your stick that hard,” I said, pushing an expression of fear to my face as I looked at the dent it left, the presence enough to break some of the enchantments through brute force.

Someone was really angry about their earlier defeat.

“If you are not man enough to handle my strength,” she said, followed by spitting on the floor, showing just how little she thought about me.

Admittedly, her attitude would have made me furious if it was the full extent of my capabilities she was insulting. Even now, it earned another big notch in the column that was keeping track of her eventual punishment. “Hey, don’t insult my manhood,” I fake-growled as I raised my hand, and a gesture later, one of the healing potions floated toward me.

I gulped it down. Its power started to stir — a particularly unpleasant mixture of fire and numbness — through my body, ready to cure my body. Their greater potential wasn’t the only reason that people preferred healers over healing potions. The nasty after-effect it left was certainly a part of it.

I turned my magic inward, making sure there was no surprise addition to the healing potion.

[+143 HP]

There was no surprise hidden, showing me that not-Delia was determined to teach me a direct lesson rather than relying on trickery, confidence that her new skills.

Though, just because the healing potion was clean didn’t mean the mana I gathered to check its content had nothing to do. Their short shelf life and their relatively limited impact compared to the healing spells wasn’t the only reason for their rare usage. They also carried a lot of little impurities that could build up unless destroyed, though destroying them without any damage required a significant precision that most healers lacked.

[-9 Mana]

“Why shouldn’t I?” she answered as I processed the healing potion, her smirk getting wider as she fell under the impression that she had gained the upper hand on our little competition.

An impression I was about to destroy with great enthusiasm.

“Because I’m exhausted,” I said, my smirk getting wider. “You can blame your slutty friend if you want to blame someone. She really exhausted me during breakfast. She’s truly insatiable, always asking for more—“ I started, only to be interrupted as I threw myself to the side once more, forcing myself to avoid a thrown staff, one that buried itself on the wall.

My eyes widened in shock, this time genuine. Her move wasn’t really dangerous for me.

For the fake level and capability I had been displaying, however...

“Come on, sweetie,” I said as I rolled away, creating a ward around me, just in time to intercept her kick, one that held back her attack. “Just because your friend has loose morals doesn’t mean you have the right to treat me with such aggression.”

[-291 Mana]

That hardly helped her anger, delivering several rapid kicks that drained the strength of the ward significantly — even though I cheated by casting the ward with a robustness that my fake identity shouldn’t be able to display.

Luckily, the same anger prevented her from noticing that little detail, especially with the current skill configuration she had been sporting.

A chill suddenly hit me, though, this time, it was less about her sudden fit of anger, and more about her complete lack of ability to recognize the irregularity in my shield. She was a living example of just how much I had been depending on the System for power.

I needed to cut my dependency on my skills, and there was no better time to do that than now. As she swung her fist against the shield once more, I roused my mana and blocked my own skill temporarily — choosing elemental magic as my target.

Then, I tried to hit her back with a gust of wind to push her back, trying to force a distance between us.

Luckily, there was a way to resolve both problems simultaneously. “Not like this,” I said with a shrug and continued walking, enjoying her surprise. “I’m going to take the rest of the day off, and tomorrow morning, I’m going to visit Delia for another breakfast. Either you be there as well, and both of you apologize, properly, or I stop working with the princess.”

I didn’t ask that just because I wanted a fun threesome where both girls worked hard to earn my forgiveness. It was just a nice bonus. I wanted someone else other than not-Delia to visit, so that I could work on deciphering their tricks with the assistance of a second person.

I smirked at her sudden silence, giving her a second to realize just how badly she had fucked up, before adding one last sentence. “And, feel free to go and complain to the headmistress if you want. I’m sure she’ll be very helpful.”

With that, I left her behind, confident that she would accept my request, my mind already on the best ways to handle the surprising freedom I had found myself enjoying.

[Level: 32 Experience: 499160 / 528000

Strength: 46 Charisma: 63

Precision: 40 Perception: 42

Agility: 40 Manipulation: 45

Speed: 39 Intelligence: 49

Endurance: 39 Wisdom: 51

HP: 4891 / 6528 Mana: 4910 / 8000 ]

SKILLS

Master Melee [100/100]

Master Tantric [100/100]

Master Biomancy [100/100]

Master Elemental [100/100]

Master Arcana [100/100]

Master Subterfuge [100/100]

Master Craft [84/100]

Expert Speech [75/75]

PERKS

Mana Regeneration

Skill Share

Empowerment (0/1)

Teleportation

COMPANIONS

[Cornelia - Level 22/26]

[Helga - Level 22/26]