“I’ve had imagined the [Flesh] shard you inherited is probably a high tier, and now I can feel it,” she said as her hand caressed his stomach. “This is very good as I know that you have suffered enough.”
“But?” Ake asked, sensing it was coming.
“But its essence is too intense for a beginner. I’m glad you haven’t shown any sign during your fights, or haven’t pushed me down at this moment if you know what I mean,” Liara smiled and pulled her hand away.
Ake almost could feel what she meant. There were these echoes of whispers tempting him to let himself go and it spoke to him like nothing before.
Of course, he had already experienced being young and hot-blooded, but it was nothing like those primal urges. The not-really-inner-voices came from the [Flesh] shard, he knew this for some reason.
It had demanded him to let himself go and it gave him goosebumps when he realized it.
And to be honest with himself, Ake was only able to shove it down when he recalled almost vividly what had happened the last time he had let himself loose. He had almost lost his life if not his entire future from one single mistake.
It was when he had decided to never touch intoxicating drinks ever again. He would probably be jailed if not for the fact he was also the victim in that one huge mess.
“I- I see,” Ake replied.
“No, you don’t, Ake,” she said. “If you haven’t noticed, you can’t even get it hard.”
“What you-” Ake stopped when he realized it.
Of course, she could tell as Liara’s thigh was pressing on it all this time.
But what she said reminded him of the curse Taluna had warned him about. Liara might not know what exactly had transpired in that room that night, but there was no other explanation inside his mind.
Ake didn’t doubt Liara but the issue should not be as simple as it appeared to be.
“You fought down that urge during your fight and even while we kissed,” Liara continued as she stirred on his lap. “Not many men can do that even if it isn’t truly their fault. As one might expect, inheriting in high-tier monster shards has its ramifications,” she paused.
Ake nodded. Something was telling him that Liara was not telling the whole story, but whatever it was, he would rather take such a thing slowly.
“And just like the [Flesh], the [Ether] and other elemental shards essences affect almost every aspect of life. For example, women with higher tier [Flesh] or any other essence in general can easily crush men’s pride. If any fools had tried would regret it as it would only take a small emotional lapse,” Liara chuckled.
“So you could have done the same to me?”
“Don’t worry, my [Flesh] essence is not at that tier yet,” she replied. “But as I’ve promised back then in the dark cell, I won’t let anything happen to you, well, even if you can’t help yourself,” Liara blushed as her hand caressed his cheek.
Ake was stunned.
He didn’t know what to think or say as he had never met someone like her in his life. Liara said he could’ve given in and pushed her down, and she would have accepted him anyway.
The guilt in her voice made him realize that Liara was willing to go all the way just because of her self-imposed fault. He didn’t know why she felt such strong guilt but it couldn’t have been that bad considering everything.
But if she had somehow wronged him, she still had stayed by his side. This proved that he could trust her to be accountable without any external pressure and this was more than enough for him.
What he knew for a fact though, no one he knew or heard had gone this far for somebody they had just met. The small lady was a precious existence compared to anyone he had ever met or heard stories about.
Regardless, what she said about the shard’s essence was very interesting. What she had mentioned to him implied that no crime could ever be committed towards ladies and men with a higher tier of essence.
Unlike in the old world, anyone who sat above others only had to worry about those who were above them. It made him assume that a stab from the dark or perhaps even poisons would not work for someone weaker.
But how did that actually work? Would a powerful poison become weaker if a weak person applied or presented it? Then how about his essence? Did his powerful essences offer such benefits or would he need to get them under control first?
“Then how can I get these essences in me, let’s say, under control?”
“You level up, what else?” Liara smiled and gently kissed his forehead before she separated herself from him.
Ake decided at that moment, that his Senpai was the best woman who had ever lived.
Well, the answer was also kind of obvious, but if anyone had asked him, it sounded kind of fallacious at the same time. He got a feeling that there was more to it than what the girl thought she knew for a fact.
It was the same icky feeling whenever the news told only half-truths as it was trying to hide something from the populace. He had heard enough to easily tell them apart.
But what in the world had the red-skinned demoness had done to him? Five hundred HP was not something to scoff at. He couldn’t decide if he was lucky or not when he got a near plot-armor device in exchange for a limp dick.
He could get the men’s pride bone-hard if he let the cursed [Flesh] shard take control, but that would be the last thing he would remember doing. Who could guarantee he wouldn’t wake up with others' blood in his hands?
He might not even wake up and forever be a prisoner inside his own body.
This fits the demoness modus operandi quite well.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“I’m sorry for leading you,” Liara said, she shook her head and sighed. “We simply can’t take the risk for everyone’s sake, but you are smart and thoughtful. I’m sure you can understand.”
Ake could sort of understand it after he put some thought into it. Whatever this was, a similar situation must have caused a lot of deaths before.
No one’s life would be on the line if something really bad had happened in the past.
His only fear now was he wouldn’t even realize it before it was too late.
He worried that he would lose control without even realizing it.
“I know what you have in mind, but I’ve seen you fight. You’ve bled and in all kinds of pain but not once your essence flared. I’m already sure that you won’t give in. That is why I’ve brought you home today, and not later. It is to confirm my judgment.”
Ake was able to breathe in relief by her assurance. Liara also made it easy for him as she had always been brutally honest with him.
“But why risk it, why don’t you wait?”
Liara’s face flushed as she turned to face the other way., “Because I just can’t wait that long,” she almost whispered. “I’m sorry, but I’ll need to get this over with as soon as possible.”
“Right,” Ake replied, “of course.”
Liara didn’t say it but it was probably for her lover’s sake.
Ake could imagine walking in her shoes. Liara was one tough woman as the lady was more masculine than many men from the society he came from. He could see how another girl would fall for her.
Of course, that night he got comfortable on the leather-padded floor while the scantily dressed girl took the bed. It was reassuring when Liara didn’t even have a slight worry that he might attack her while she was defenseless. It might be another test but the girl slept easily and soundly throughout the night.
He, on the other hand, could only wish he could sleep, but the fear of losing his self-control kept him awake. It suddenly became crucial to finding a way to level up.
Ake didn’t want to betray the trust she had given to him.
But this rather unfortunate turn had given him the rare chance to finally experiment with the shards, especially the [Strand]. As he had been told, the almost ghostly [Strand] was only able to crystallize [Extract] after he activated it with the [Ether] shard.
[Strand and Ether combination detected]
[.]
[Crystallising attempt successful]
[.]
[Extract ability recorded]
When he tried to activate the ability, he figured that it was not as simple as flipping a switch inside his head. Ake knew what to do but it was almost intuitive for him.
It was like walking without learning how to stand up.
He wished he could explain much better but he would try anyway.
Activating anything magical was more like looking for something very familiar to grab on in a complete darkness that was inside his head. The more he repeated the process, the better he was at finding the right thing to hold in his metaphorical hands and activate.
The fact did make him wonder if there was a way to instantly gain knowledge, like a skill book or something. Ake smiled as he looked forward to experiencing such a thing.
If anyone had asked, the easily crystallized [Extract] was not totally useless as it almost automates the process of extracting [Ether] in the air into mana. It made the process of sensing the [Ether] take almost no effort and the ability would move on its own after a simple mental command. It would be wonderful if he was able to test its other uses but that was something he should do later.
Tonight he wanted to test the [Strand] capability and if he could improve it using the knowledge from Earth. It was a crucial step he must take as it could change everything.
As he thought, a single flimsy [Strand] was barely able to lift a tiny split stick. It couldn’t even throw it into the fire properly without stinging something inside his head.
A bunch of them working together was better but it left a huge headache behind. He had to stop for a few minutes just to recover from it.
It was still frustrating even when he already had expected it. He had to try, and after those basic ideas were proved fruitless, it was time to apply modern knowledge to it.
He had made plenty of ropes from plant fibers before and he just needed to apply the technique to the [Strand]. No one in this world should have ever tried this before simply because of the lack of a real-life version of it.
And as he had suspected it was a huge success. The appearance of the System announcement was concrete evidence.
[Absorbed Shard: Strand]
[Type: Shape] [Tier: 0] [2% to next level up]
[Governing attribute: Resolve]
[Effect: Configure the formless mana into the most basic string shape.]
[.]
[.]
[New Strand configuration detected]
[Reconfiguring…]
[.]
[.]
[The [Thread] developed]
[New configuration completed]
[Augmented physical capability detected]
[Warning, magnified data transmission detected]
[No filter found, data transmission turned off]
[Further configuration refinement advised]
After a few simple tries, the flimsy [Strand] had suddenly disappeared into his chest before the [Thread] shootout in its place. In one glance it looked almost the same even though it had a group of three bunched up [Strand] twisted together into one.
Each bunch had three [Strand] in them making it a total of nine in a single [Thread].
It might look almost the same but he could tell that the [Thread] was a whole different existence. The flexibility, maneuverability, and sturdiness were a whole other level and it didn’t cost him as much for whatever reason.
It made a whole lot of sense when the rope was originally invented to greatly strengthen the individual weak useless fibers into something vastly more useful. Each additional fiber combined in the twist would greatly add up to the strength of the whole rope.
But why such a simple but genius invention as the rope did not exist in this world was pretty obvious in hindsight. Nothing would get invented if there was no real need for it, or when there was already a better solution for the same problem.
After all, ‘necessity is the mother of invention.’
In a world where magic solves almost everyday life problems, even a mundane piece of technology could be the most powerful tool in the world. Only a fool would not take full advantage of it and he was not that stupid to share this with the world.
Ake chuckled and rubbed his hands together like the evil schemer.
Besides, he liked this world as it was when nature was mostly left undisturbed. The air was clean from exhaust and industrial pollution until every breath felt like it was a blessing. No lingering threat of nuclear apocalypse whenever world powers fought for a piece of land.
Try as he may, people would still die and be stepped on even when commoners got guns in their hands and prosperity within their reach. Why would he even introduce the concept of a gun or any other modern technology to peasants or anyone else?
Why waste his personal time with all the effort? He was no saint.