Elrianthe descended into the dungeons and stood in front of the cell where Matt and Duncan were staying. They instantly announced that they wanted to come over to her side. Without thinking long, Elrianthe used the < Domination > ability on them at once.
The recent advancement of this ability allowed her to take such an action, and this was the perfect time to test its effect on multiple targets.
[ Magic points: 0/200 ]
[ Exhaustion: 20/100 ]
A sudden headache came along with new messages.
'I probably shouldn't use up all the magic at once...' She thought, grabbing her head.
[ Using < Domination > successfully completed ]
“Are you all right, your prettiness?” Matt asked
“Yes, I'm fine... What did you say?!”
[ Successful acquisition of 2 new puppets ]
[ Matt Naln Level 7 ]
[ Control: 45% ]
[ Duncan Zienn Level 7 ]
[ Control: 45% ]
[ Difficult takeover bonus received ]
[ +210xp ]
'I received three times the usual amount?' She thought, somewhat surprised.
“Is everything...”
“Be quiet for a moment.” She said, silencing Duncan.
[ Promoted to level 4 ] [ 25/800 xp ]
[ Received 1 development point ]
[ Reach the maximum number of puppets for your current class: 8/10 ]
'I need to gain almost 800 XP to advance to the next level... With each new level, the required number of points doubles. Hmm. I'll get an instant promotion for completing the mission. It would be a shame to waste it at such a low level, but on the other hand, I don't recall gaining any XP except through domination and missions. I guess I won't have it any other way.'
Elrianthe realized that she had to gain as much advantage as possible over their leader before he returned from the city and put an end to her rebellion. She would not miss out on wasting her prize.
“Let's go take over that last slave.” She said, heading toward his cell.
“Miss Elrianthe...” Alison accosted her.
“Yes?”
“He died tonight.”
“Seriously?”
Alison nodded in confirmation.
'This messes up my plans.' She thought, recalling the task description box. 'Actually... They don't have to be people, do they?'
[ Achieve the maximum number of puppets for your current class: 8/10 ]
After confirmation, she returned to the cell, where Matt and Duncan were waiting.
“Okay, this will be your first task. You will carry out the corpse of that dead man Alison mentioned, and then you will catch two pets and bring them to me. It doesn't matter what kind.” She ordered.
“Yes, your prettiness!” They shouted simultaneously.
“Your... what?” Elrianthe asked, but the men had already set about pulling the corpse out of the cell.
When Elrianthe was left alone for a moment, she summoned the window and selected the Development Tree. It was time to decide what to spend the point she had received on.
[ Development Tree ]
[ Choose one of the available options. available choices: 1 ]
[ +10 points of life ]
[ +30 points of magic ]
[ -10 points of magic when using < Silent Suggestion > ]
[ Random effect from the available pool ]
'Damn, I wanted to raise the magic limit, but -10 mana per word is too good an opportunity. Normally each word of < Silent Suggestion > consumes 60 mana, which limits me to just three words. I don't know when I'll get such a chance again.'
Without thinking long, Elrianthe chose the third option.
Several minutes later, the elf sat at the table with the rest of the team. Duncan and Matt returned with the captured animals. Matt brought a squirrel that was stuck in a snare, and Duncan held an injured raven with a broken wing that could not fly.
'A raven? They are said to be smart birds. Maybe it will become my mascot. Once, on Earth, I had a parrot, but my father kicked it out of the house because it was too noisy.'
They set the bound prey down on a table in front of Elrianthe. After a long enough recuperation break, she used < Dominance >, taking control of the animals.
[ Raven of the Crow Forest Level 3 ]
[ Control: 100% ]
[ Squirrel Level 1 ]
[ Control: 100% ]
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
[ +20xp ]
Once resolved, the raven immediately stood up and, hopping, approached Elrianthe. The woman, with a smile on her face, began stroking the bird.
“Are you hungry?” She asked.
*KRAA, KRAA*.
“'Well, come on. Here you go. Enjoy.” Said Elrianthe, slipping the raven a bowl of food. “Alison.”
“I understand.” The priestess replied, proceeding to treat the starved bird, which busied itself as never before.
Most importantly, Elrianthe completed her task, and another set of notifications appeared before her eyes.
[ Task accomplished: Achieve the maximum number of puppets for your current class 10/10 ]
[ Promoted to level 5 ] [ 0/1600 xp ]
[ Received +10 HP and +20 PM ]
[ Unlocked a new feature ]
[ Daily challenges - three random tasks are assigned each day based on user activity. The tasks reset at midnight. ]
[ First challenge: Perform 50 jumps ]
[ Reward: 20xp ]
'What the fuck? I'm supposed to do jumping jacks like a kid in gym class?' Elrianthe was outraged, reviewing the content of the challenge.
After thinking about it for a while, she moved slightly away from the table and jumped up, still staring at the challenge window.
[ First challenge: 1/50 jumps ]
Seeing that the jump was registered, she performed another one, but half as big.
[ First challenge: 2/50 jumps ]
'So it's enough to have both legs in the air for it to pass.' She thought.
With not much to lose, she started hopping, trying to complete the task as quickly as possible and move on to the next one. In addition to creating puppets and missions, this was her next source of experience.
[ First challenge: 3/50 jumps ]
*
[ First challenge: 9/50 jumps ]
*
[ First challenge: 16/50 jumps ]
The whole show was watched by Matt, Duncan, Carl and Alison, as they had no idea why Elrianthe suddenly started hopping. Even Raven moved her head up and down, following the movements of her new mistress.
Along with Elrianthe, her large breasts and glutes began bouncing, creating an interesting spectacle for the male part of the audience, who mesmerized, stared at her chest.
“What are you looking at?” She growled.
[ First challenge: 34/50 jumps ]
[ First challenge: 35/50 jumps ]
“We were admiring your physical condition.” Duncan replied, panicked.
[ First challenge: 36/50 jumps ]
“Yeah, right. Turn around. Immediately.” She commanded.
[ First challenge: 37/50 jumps ]
“Yes, ma'am.” All the men responded simultaneously.
[ First challenge: 38/50 jumps ]
*
[ First challenge: 50/50 jumps ]
[ +20xp ]
'Okay. What's next?
[ Second challenge: Run 1000 meters ]
[ Reward: 100xp ]
“Fuck, well I guess not!” Shouted Elrianthe.
Moments later, in front of the fortress...
A woman with long blonde hair runs back and forth in front of the ruins of the old keep. Her forehead is damp with sweat, and there are clear signs of fatigue painted on her face, interspersed with dissatisfaction.
[ Second challenge: 780/1000 meters run ]
'Even this body is not made for running... Maybe it has lost its fitness over the past six months?' Thought Elrianthe, panting as if she had run at least a few kilometers.
[ Second challenge: ran 890/1000 meters ]
“I swear I'm doing this one last time...” She said to herself, gasping.
[ Second challenge: ran 970/1000 meters ]
“Just a little more...”
[ Second challenge: ran 1001/1000 meters ]
[ +100xp ]
Passing the task, Elrianthe slid to her knees. Supporting herself with her hands on the ground, she began breathing heavily. Her moment of rest was interrupted by an announcement as she tried to regain her strength.
[ Exhaustion: 10/100 ]
“Damn, I've just reduced exhaustion...”
“Your prettiness, are you all right?” Duncan called out, noticing the elf on his knees.
Worried, he ran up to Elrianthe, ready to help her, but before he could do so, she raised her hand to stop him.
“I'm fine. I'm just a little out of breath.” She replied, standing up slowly.
'I was so close...' Lamented Duncan in his mind.
Elrianthe stood up and, after calming her breathing, looked around. She was on an elevated mountain chain that stretched across much of the continent. The four highest peaks in the world belonged to this particular band.
She recalled that earlier Alison had told her about the area. She mentioned that four ancient dragons lived on the tops of the mountains, which had not yet been reached by humans. The fifth has settled in the south, on the border of the Burbotian Theocracy and the Salnian Holy Kingdom.
'The Salnian Holy Kingdom is the equivalent of our Vatican City.' Elrianthe thought. 'But I'm more interested in these dragons.'
They stood at the foot of the mountain where one of them lived. Elrianthe gazed intently at the peak. Another of the hills could be seen to the west, but due to the great distance, only the tip of the mountain was visible.
“I'd like to meet them someday.” She muttered under her breath.
The entire hill on which the keep was located was surrounded by a dense forest, hiding numerous dangers. Although the forest covered most of the terrain, from the tower of the fortress one could see the road to it twist and turn like a river. Its slope was smooth enough to allow a cart to pass through. Unfortunately, for the same reason, the road to the nearest town lengthened by tens of kilometers.
*Wrrrrrrrr*
The distinct sound of a growling wolf attracted the attention of everyone present.
“Attention!” Shouted Matt, running out in front of Elrianthe to shield her from the incoming attack.
A whole pack of brown wolves jumped out of the nearby bushes. Elrianthe retreated, and Taygeer, Matt, and Duncan, who had accompanied her as protection, came to her defense.
Duncan instantly drew his bow and began shooting at the flanking wolves with extreme precision. Together, Matt and Taygeer moved to attack, decimating the pack. Suddenly, one of the wolves squeezed between them and ran straight toward Elrianthe.
“You underestimate me!” She shouted in his direction.
< Daze >
The wolf fell to the ground, paralyzed, and Duncan pierced its head straight through with a deadly shot, enhanced by his < Mighty Draw > skill.
[ Taygeer Breezetail promoted to Level 5 ]
“Damn wolves, it's been a long time since...”
“Taygeer! Did you just raise your level?” Exclaimed a surprised Elrianthe, interrupting Duncan, who was commenting on the sudden attack of the wolves.
“I think so, boss. I feel a little stronger.” Taygeer replied.
“Is it from killing the wolves?” She asked.
“I think so. I killed three.” He replied.
Suddenly one of the most obvious mechanics came to Elrianthe's mind.
'Fucking hell. Of course! You can gain experience by killing animals, monsters, and other creatures. Since we need to raise levels as quickly as possible, we should go to the forest and eliminate everything we encounter.' She thought, catching herself in disbelief that she could have forgotten such an obvious strategy.
“Forgive me Duncan, what did you say?” She asked, coming back to reality.
“Gaz often organized wolf hunts with us. It's quite a problem in the area, and their population needs to be thinned out now and then. Please forgive us for our laziness.” Duncan said.
Elrianthe delved into her thoughts again, but one thing was clear to her.
“No problem. We'll do it together.” She assured Elrianthe.
“Boss, the evening is approaching. Maybe it's better to delay it until the next day? Just to be safe.” Taygeer suggested.
Elrianthe looked around at the sky and noticed that the sun was slowly hiding behind the mountains. Soon it might be completely dark here.
“We'll wait until tomorrow, but we're leaving very early in the morning. Get ready now.” She announced enthusiastically.