I gave a shuddering breath as Wu-chan's arms finally left my body. Well, my human body, really. I still don't know what to think about the fact that I now have a human body and a monster body that are only bound together by a thick vine.

Definitely the strangest sensation I had, without taking the wave of embarrassment and awkwardness I had since I got, ahem, totally not cockblocked by that bee. Still pretty pissed about that, by the way.

Though, at the moment, I was feeling more discomfort and shame at what happened afterwards. The fact that I was also acted like... ugh... a petulant child, wasn't giving me a lot of confidence, really.

To think I acted that way... But, at least the hug was nice, ignoring the fact that it made me tingle and all warm and fuzzy. Even if I had to ignore how nice she just smelled, and how delicious her Qi seemed to my senses, and do my best to focus on the fact that she's there for me. It surprisingly works really well to focus on one's emotions in some cases.

But, trying to discard these thoughts from my mind, especially since Wu-chan was looking at me concern on her face, I did my best to calm myself down.

"Are you alright?"

I gave a nod at that worried question.

"I... I'm alright... at least, as alright as I can be at the moment."

And that was really the truth. I was a lot calmer than I was minutes ago, but I wasn't exactly thrilled. After all, my body, with this evolution...

I resisted the urge to shudder. I was not exactly happy about this upcoming conversation.

With that, I took a deep breath, taking a moment to check if everything is completely alright.

Okay, my breasts are hidden by vines, and so are my privates, so no embarrassment about that anymore... maybe. The nectar that is filling this lily flower of mine is very much not active and inert, and it would stay that way for the time being, unless I am either really desperate or really out of my mind.

Looking at Wu-chan who was sitting in front of me, I nodded to her to ask what she wanted.

"Are... you sure? I can feel your reluctance about this... whole thing."

'Please, don't make me have second thoughts right now...' I thought to myself as I nodded in affirmation.

Wu-chan took a moment to steel her nerves before looking right into my eyes with a small smile, and I resisted the urge to gulp at that gaze. Even with her being clearly trying to look happy, I could feel the tension and seriousness in her. She was just trying to make me more comfortable, but I didn't think it would be possible, but I tried to smile as well, though it was obviously insincere and strained.

Sighing at that, she decided to just talk. I was glad for that. The tension was becoming too much for my liking.

"Then, let's begin now. First thing first, I, um... I want to congratulate you, Ai'er. You, you evolved in rank. It's... a truly great achievement. I'm really happy for you."

I immediately realized that she was trying to calm me and help me relax, and despite the awkwardness I could hear in her tone, the praise was really genuine and sincere, and I just couldn't help but calm down just a bit more.

I had some pride of my new power, even if what my instincts tell me about it wasn't as comforting to me right now. Wu-chan though just saw through that, huh?

"Thanks..." I muttered, honestly thankful for that calming tone.

She just shook her head at that. "It's nothing, Ai'er. Are you more comfortable right now? You seem to be more relaxed now, arent you?"

I felt my lips curling into a smile at that. Saying that I 'seem' to be, when you know for certain that I am more comfortable, how nice of you. I guess I was not aware you had some way with words, Wu-chan.

"But, as happy as I am, we should be serious now. Let's begin with your evolution. Or do you want to talk about our, uh, experience first?"

I almost stiffened at that, but managed to relax my muscles immediately. Still, I was a lot calmer than I would have been without her congratulating me just a few seconds ago, even if my face reddened at the mention of our... experience. Yeah, that's one way to describe it.

But, as much as I would love to pick the emotional subject first, talking about the one that was bothering me the most is the better option. I can get embarrassed with her later about our near-sex experience, and I'd like our day to end on a positive note, if possible.

Thus, it was a simple choice for me.

"We'll talk about my... new rank-up first." I gave a recultant sigh. I was so not happy about this, but I have to do it.

I shifted uncomfortably, ignoring the ripples in the inert liquid and averting my eyes from her figure.

"As you can see, I had now evolved into the Gold-rank," I mumbled, but she could hear me regardless. "I... I am, from what I could understand from my instincts, what is called a Predator Rainblossom Alraune, a Gold-ranked, Level 1 existence."

I gave her a rather worried smile. "An existence born when an alraune that had fulfilled multiple requirements, one of which, was tasting what some might call the forbidden fruit. In other words, sex. Or, in its absence, something just as similar and pleasurable."

Wu-chan sucked in a breath at that. She understood it immediately.

"Our- our dual cultivation then..." she trailed off, eyes widening. I could see shock and guilt on her face. She clearly didn't expect that at all. Neither did I, though.

My smile tightened at that, "Yes, and before anything else, I want you to... not feel guilty about this, okay? It's not your fault that this happened. I don't want you to apologize for... this, alright?" I genuinely didn't want her to feel hurt because of this. She couldn't have known this...

"Ai'er..." she attempted to move closer to me, but I simply shook my head.

I looked down, seeing my reflection in the nectar, as I continued to speak, "Remember when you said to me how people in the Soaring Dragon Continent treat plant beasts like trash? Well, they're not wrong about it when it comes to lower levels. Plant beasts are rather weaker than most at the start, and they arguably need more resources and skills to evolve and grow stronger. But, I can't really talk about all of them and how they evolve. Instead, I will talk about the case of my... family and my race, when it comes to plant beasts."

She tensed at that, as I was smiling rather strangely. I was certain that it wasn't a really nice smile.

"Alraunes are... a special breed, you can say. We are actually some strange mutation or upgraded version of the Thorny Flowers. Another plant beast that I'm pretty sure is treated as garbage by most idiots on this continent." I sighed at that, yet my smile stayed.

"I don't really know how alraunes are naturally born, but regardless, we are a stronger version of the typical Thorny Flower, and most of us has the 'humanoid' characteristic right off the bat from the moment we are born. Even so, we are usually still rather weaker than most beasts at that time, and like my relatives, the dear Thorny Flowers, we Alraunes evolve the same way... Eating whatever prey we can fine, whether they were already dead, nothing more than corpses, or alive."

I unvoluntarily gave a sardonic chuckle at that. "Most don't survive until they can evolve, by the way, they are mostly born in areas where their food is either too weak to truly do more than sustain them, or too strong to be eaten, and they die instead. I was, arguably, a rather lucky one, born with high intelligence that helped me greatly to evolve. But that aside, I believe I didn't tell you what these lucky Alraunes and Thorny Flowers qualify as, didn't I?"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"No, you did not." Wu-chan said, and I noticed the hint of fear in her voice, as she picked up my mood with her senses.

Despite my attempts, I found myself grinning at that. "Predators, Wu-chan. We are predators."

She shuddered at my tone, and for a second, I almost heard her heart beating rapidly for a moment. "Predators..."

"Yes, we are creatures that grow in power by eating our prey. Honestly, it feels a bit strange to say that's our primary method to evolve and grow, but then again, beasts eat other beasts, and you told me that humans usually feed the cores of powerful beasts to evolve theirs, so maybe it's not that strange, all things considered." I shrugged at that. Honestly, despite my previous anxiety, I felt rather excited about talking about my race, it seemed. Almost creepy, I think.

"But the point is, we are an existence that only grows stronger by feeding on the corpses of our enemies, in the very literal sense, too. And we are built to be able to do just that from birth, even if our power was lacking at that stage."

I found myself playing with my hair to distract myself from the strange sensation of joy that I was having, "We are, from the start, born to be able to digest nearly anything with time. Human, demon, elf, angel, beastman, other beasts... all of them would be digested and turned into nutrients, and if it was high enough and from a different race or type, we evolve into a variant. And by the way, we find demonic bodies and Qi to be the best source of energy, since we are practically their hard counter when we reach a certain amount of power. And at that point, as long as the difference in levels wasn't too much... then it wouldn't matter at all."

My smile turned predatory at that, as I felt my instincts flare at the mention of demonic Qi, "after all, I'm close to reaching that level, he... he he he..."

Ahh... now, I have some craving for demonic beasts and meat... I shook my head and quickly suppressed that feeling to focus on the conversation at hand.

"Sorry, I'm getting brain-scattered with all these thoughts... so, where were we?" I asked myself before regaining my thoughts, "Oh, yeah, I guess I should tell you about Alraunes in specific, correct?"

Wu-chan hesitated, before sighing. "Despite me wanting to finish this conversation later... we might not have time because they started to sniff around, and you also really want to get this over... so let's try to cover as much as possible right now."

I could hear her worry as I was reminded not so subtly about the fact that the Xie clan members were still probably lurking in the forest, and frowned at that. If they reached this place...

I stopped my anger from growing any further, I will talk with her about it after this.

"Hah... so, Alraunes, and me specifically... The same things that I stated apply, of course. I am a predator, as I said, and I would happily admit my love to consuming my prey, dead or alive. Though if I have to explain the biggest difference between us and the thorny flowers, then it is in my opinion that we alraunes aren't just predators in the sense of just eating. We too are predators in a different area as well, and you must have known it by now, isn't this right, Wu-chan?"

My heart was beating rapidly as I looked at her shocked and crestfallen expression, as if terrified of admitting it. But we both knew what it was.

"A predator in the sense of preying on others' energy and sexual fluids... that's what it is. Of course, that makes sense."

I wanted to comfort her when I saw her shaking, fear visible. My heart stung at the sight, but I knew that I might not be able to continue if I did that.

"Yes, alraunes feed on many things, and while most of the time, their prey die, sometimes, the alraunes... want to enjoy their meal, especially the human-looking type." my lips thinned at that, and I felt my body squirming. I was practically telling her how my body and instincts worked, a side that I didn't want to expose to her at all if preferred.

"If possible, alraunes can try to... instead of just killing their prey, mostly ones with unique and powerful Qi or blood.. try to capture and ensnare them instead, and use them as the equivalent of a sex slave. And you must understand that unless you are strong enough to escape and are specifically immune to their nectars, there would be no escape for the human or human-like entities that caught an alraune's interest."

I felt my eyes getting unfocused. This subject... I was feeling strange about it. It was such a terrifying thing to tell my love about, yet it felt so natural...

"Ai'er? A-are you alright? You look dazed."

"When... when alraunes capture their prey to harvest their Qi, blood, or sexual fluids..." I found myself trying to look above her head, not willing to look at her worried face.

"The prey is then sedated with a special poisonous nectar injected into the blood along with a powerful aphrodisiac. This is to ensure that the prey would always be eager yet highly obedient and incapable of escaping. And healing nectars would be injected too, to make it so that the prey would not run on fuel or energy. It would be like an eternal source of energy for the alraune. The prey would never be freed on their own, and would lose all ability to reason as time goes."

"And if not saved soon enough, they would lose themselves, and the alraune would be the only thing in their world... there would be no care about a family the prey once had, no ability to feel anything but lust and obedience. A hellish heaven of pleasure where the only thing the prey could ever notice or care about is if the alraune that had long broken their minds is interested in taking more of their fluids and Qi... There would be no happiness anywhere else as far as they are concerned. And even if they were saved somehow, by that point, there is nothing of the former personality. They're just as blank in identity as a toddler, one who was so used to the sweetest taste of nectars that anything lower and less tasty would never compare. Ruined almost beyond all repair. Almost no hope of having a functional life, no more understanding of anything else other than pleasure. It wouldn't be strange if the freed prey decided to be used for sex or indulge in it, because that could very well be the only physical sensation they could ever comprehend at that point."

Wu-chan violently shuddered at my description, a reaction that I found myself mimicking. Alraunes, are truly monsters. They're like succubi, hungry to satisfy their carnal desires. No care about nearly any other being that isn't worthy of being used to satisfy that desire beyond turning them into literal food or as threats to run away from if they were outgunned.

Of course, that was the case for the non-sapient ones that only could follow their instincts with no critical thinking. I, being a reincarnated woman who got to keep her mind relatively intact, was much better. I had not only intelligence, but sapience to fully reign in that sadistic side of my being.

Had I not been able to do so... if I was unable to think critically about my position back then, being able to think as a human but having no restraint whatsoever... then if I had won against Xie Li, then I wouldn't have made the choice to befriend Wu-chan... I would have not cared about company. I would have only craved to satisfy myself, and I would have happily enslaved and broken her.

The mere thought made my stomach churn violently at that.

To think that I could have been that kind of monster, and knowing that I would have had no regret whatsoever about it, and that even if I did care about her in that case, it would be only as one loves an obedient pet...

I viscerally hated that thought. I couldn't imagine myself doing that to her, because I cared about her as an actual friend, and now lover. And even then, I could feel how I would absolutely have no moral quandary or hesitance about inflicting that very same fate to someone who I want to just break. I would have had no problems doing such a thing to anyone who harmed me and her, if I wanted to make them suffer instead of just killing them.

I was truly a beast and a monster, through and through. Only my sapience, my past life as a human, along with my desire to connect with and to respect for Wu-chan that made it possible for me to bond with her like I did.

My body trembled, and I found myself lying down in the fetal position, my head down. I felt like sobbing. Wu-chan... she was the first friend I've actually had in this world.... I just didn't want to think that any alraune version of me would have done that to her...

I flinched, feeling the touch of a hand on my body. Wu-chan had crossed the rather short distance, and gently hugged me. I curled around myself further, but I didn't find it in myself to break the contact.

Instead, I found myself sobbing. What a great Gold-ranked beast I was! Crying and taking something that did not happen because I cared so much about how I could have hurt my friend in a painfully plausible 'What If' scenario.

I wondered, in the depths of my mind, if this is a part of being an alraune. That my emotions are so out of what I was used to because alraunes, being such lustful creatures, treasure genuine love and bonds that much more? Was that what was happening? I... I didn't know...

But, I know that I loved it as Wu-chan embrace comforted me.

"Ai'er... let's stop here, please." I heard the hurt tone in her voice. She was hurt, because I was trying to force myself to talk about something I wasn't fully prepared to discuss...

"This, this is fine, okay? Take your time to prepare yourself for it. It's fine if you don't tell me when you're not ready." how I loved that soothing tone. You really...

"Thank you, Wu-chan... I- I appreciate it..." I couldn't have tried to be more sincere if I tried. I felt the warmth of her body encompassing mine.

"No problem, love. Do you need me to stay with you?" I felt some of my fears vanishing at that gentle question.

... I love you even more now...

"If you want to." I gave a reluctant smile. I wanted her to be with me right now, but I wasn't going to demand it. "I'm... tired, right now. I would go to sleep soon. But, in my current state, I might..."

I might hurt you with my lust...

My Qi seemed almost reluctant as I asserted my will over my instincts. I will never harm Wu-chan for as long as I am aware and have a sense of reason in me.

You hear me, aphrodisiac nectar? Stay inert and allow us to be safe and secure.

"You're worried that you might harm me, Ai'er...? I appreciate the sentiment, but I guess I'm a bit too stubborn at the moment."

A strange feeling engulfed me at that soft yet steely declaration, and my Qi calmed down as a power that seemed to just nullify all supernatural phenomena embraced me, and I felt myself calm down.

"You comforted me to sleep already, you silly flower. Now it's my turn."

Her smile seemed to glow brighter than the sun at that moment. "Let me take care of you now, Ai'er."

I felt myself giving a happy smile at that.

"As you wish, Wu-chan. I have complete trust in you."

With that, my petals closed, surrounding both of us in a world of gentle darkness, and I soon felt myself accepting the sweet touch of sleep.