Mistress Of The Evil Forest

Case 9: Smile.jpg

Okay, what even are these skills-

''Lady Aurora! Please be careful!'' Skeleton suddenly catches my wrist and blinks us to the entrance of the room.

''What? What's going on-''

My sentence is instantly cut off by a deafening sound that pierces through my ears, accompanied by a blinding white light and a shockwave so powerful it blows my entire robe backward, making me an exhibitionist again.

The whole cave trembles for a while, and when the explosion dies down, I can see a large crater in the place where the golem's body was.

I completely forgot about the self-destruction skill or whatever it had. Why are there so many things to keep track of when playing RPGs...?  

''...''

''Are you alright, Lady Aurora?''

''No. I mean, yes. Wait a second.''

[Horror Lord: Summon horror the way you want. CD: 240 hours. (0/2)] [Unique]

[Monarch: Reign supreme over all things.] [Unique]

Summon horror...?

...Okay. Now I know that someone intentionally threw me here and I can't do anything about it yet. But aside from that...

''Yes...!'' I clench my fists in the air.

''??''

Horror summoning?! How exciting is that? Really? Can I really do it? Anything I want? No limit? They won't hurt me? Can I command them? How can I-

-okay, let's calm down first.

I'm also curious about this [Monarch] skill, the description is way too short and vague, I don't know what it does. Let's just say, I want to activate [Monarch]!

...Another panel, just as expected.

----------------------------------------------------------

Territories: None.

Followers: 0.

Allies: 0.

Progression: 0%.

----------------------------------------------------------

So assuming that this is supposed to be a skill to aid me in building a kingdom or something along that line, and I'm supposed to claim territories and recruit followers for myself, what is the 'progression' part, then? Progression of what?

Oh, wait, can I press them for more information?

[Territories: Friendly forces staying within claimed territories will have their status slightly improved]

[Followers: Followers will gain a slight status buff under the Monarchy. Followers cannot harm the Monarch]

[Allies: Allies cannot harm each other]

Hmm... Hm? I can't press 'progression'. So they won't tell me anything about it.

Anyway, the skill as a whole is pretty nice. I suppose.

''Hu~!''

''Oh, you're here, Ariel. It's over already.''

Ariel... Can I make her my follower?

[Follower request sent]

Ariel tilts her head and begins to ponder. After just a few seconds, she presses something in the air, and then-

[Ariel has become your follower]

[Automatically linked a skill of Ariel: Cuteness]

[Linked: Cuteness (Ariel). (1/5)]

Wait, what?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Aurora              

Race: Owl-kin                    Title: Brute Force

Level: 12

HP: 35/35                    MP: 44/44

STR: 3.4                     INT: 8.2

AGI: 3.7                    STA: 3.2

Skill: [Cuteness Lv.6], [Sharp Claw Lv.4],
[Domination Lv.3], [Stealth Lv.2], [Inspect Lv.1],
[Night Vision Lv.1], [Enhanced Hearing Lv.1],
[Pain Tolerance Lv.1].

State: Normal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Wait, where are the unique skills that I just got...?

Okay, let's not worry about that for now, but can I at least get another skill, please? Like [Incorporeal State] for example, I would love to be able to go through solid objects.

[Skill incompatible] 

''...''

Fine, the other one is definitely not available, then, since I'm not a banshee.

''Hm? Did your stats just go up a bit?'' Skeleton puts his fingers under his chin and looks at Ariel curiously.

''Hu!'' Ariel points at me.

''I just got a unique skill.'' I say nonchalantly.

''What?!'' Skeleton exclaims. ''That would be extremely rare, Lady Aurora. My intuition wasn't deceiving me, you really are an incredible person!''

''Is that so? Want to be my follower then? It'll give you bonus stats, just like what Ariel got.'' I rise to my feet slowly and reply.

[Follower request sent]

''Follower... Cannot harm the Monarch, obey the orders...'' Skeleton mutters, reading something in the air.

'''' ... ''''

''Hmm... Alright, Lady Aurora. I trust you and my intuition. Above all, you are my savior.'' He nods intently.

[-- has become your follower]

[Automatically linked a skill of --: Language]

[Linked: Cuteness (Ariel), Language (--). (2/5)]

No, can I have [Teleportation] instead?

[Successfully linked --'s skill: Teleportation]

[Linked: Cuteness (Ariel), Teleportation (--). (2/5)]

[Teleportation: Enable the user to instantly move to a known location. Cost: 10 MP, CD: 30 seconds] [Legendary]

The cost is a bit too high, but alright.

''Plus 0.2 to all stats... This is amazing, Lady Aurora.'' 

''That's good for you.'' I reply. ''Now then, I need to test out my new skill first.''

''You mean [Teleportation]?''

''No, another unique skill that I got.''

''You got two?!''

I simply shrug and turn around. Okay, let's think about what to summon first. If I were able to summon whatever I wanted, what would it be? Godzilla? Cloverfield? Or number 169 - aka Leviathan?

...Come to me, Godzilla!

[Entity not available]

...Leviathan!

[Entity not available]

...Siren Head!

[Entity not available]

''Tch...!''

---

''Hah...'' I let out a big sigh, massaging my temples.

''It is not going well, Lady Aurora?''

''Yeah, wait me some more seconds...''

I've been trying for a few minutes already, and every single one of my requests got rejected. The reason is probably because of their 'brokenness', as Chloe would say, they're so powerful to the point of breaking the whole game. So I guess only the relatively normal ones are allowed.

''...''

Smile.jpg.

"!!''

Suddenly, the 'reality' around us... Fluctuates. There's not much visual, just subtle warping of random points or areas that can be seen. Gradually, those distortions become more and more noticeable, until everything looks like a noodle mess of everything.

''W-What?'' Skeleton exclaims, even Ariel is panicking, flying around in a circle restlessly.

[Entity: Smile.jpg successfully summoned]

''...It stopped.''

Behind the red message panel, I can clearly see the fluffy legs sitting there. I quickly swipe the message away to reveal a husky dog, no, a husky puppy, looking at me with its round blue eyes, tongue out, and tail wagging uncontrollably. The only difference between this one and a normal husky is that it has human teeth instead of dog teeth.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name: --                   

Race: Smile.jpg                    Title: --

Level: 1

HP: 15/15                    MP: 17/17

STR: 2.5                    INT: 4.5

AGI: 2.6                    STA: 2.1

Skill: [Induce Madness Lv.1], [Dream Invasion Lv.1].

State: Happy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Induce Madness: Cause extreme mental devastation to the target] [Unique]

[Dream Invasion: Able to take over the target's dream] [Unique]

gulp

I slowly kneel, hands outstretching to the fluffy ball of fur.

auf

The dog immediately pounces on me, jumping straight into my embrace, licking my cheek with its small tongue repeatedly. 

''You're so cute...!'' I exclaim, spinning around the place with my newfound friend.

''...Lady Aurora, is this your new summoning?'' Skeleton asks.

''Yes. From the unique skill.'' I reply.

''How curious... I can't perceive its status screen at all.'' Skeleton ponders. ''And it's not like it has [Inspect Evasion], right?''

''I can see it though. What did the system say for you?''

''Nothing. Nothing at all.''

''Hmm...'' I turn back to my new friend, who's tilting its head cutely with a stupid smile on its face.

[Would you like to name Smile.jpg?]

''Oh, I can name it?''

''It seems like there is a naming feature in your [Monarch] skill.'' Skeleton interjects. ''Ah, would you mind giving me a name as well?''

''Alright...'' I ponder. ''Because you're always smiling, I will call you 'Smiley'...!''

[Name registered]

''Wait, Lady Aurora-''

''And because you're a skeleton, your name from now on will be 'Skely'!''

[Name registered]

'''' ... ''''

Silence falls, Skely looks speechless, probably because he is amazed at his new name, while Ariel seems genuinely happy for her friend, patting Skely's shoulder gently.

''Good. I'm feeling better again.'' I put Smiley down and stretch out lazily. ''I'll probably rest for now. It's been a hectic day.''

auf auf

Suddenly, Smiley runs off in the direction of the earlier explosion.

''Ah, wait, where are you going?!''

Not wanting to lose him, I quickly follow the curious puppy, along with Skely and Ariel.

Stepping onto the scattered rock shards, I strangely don't feel any pain. Just a bit numb, and that's it. I guess I'm a superhuman, or, super owl now.

While I'm admiring that, Smiley has already sat down, looking at me intently.

''Wait, is that a door?'' 

''Indeed...''

Beneath the rocks is a dark metal door, it seems quite damaged by the golem's self-destruction, and I can clearly see a staircase through the holes in it.

''Do we try to go down?'' I ask.

''Hm... I don't feel any mana traps down there, though I think we should let Ariel go scout first. What do you think?'' Skely turns to Ariel, who immediately nods and flies into the pathway.

After a bit, she comes up and gives us a thumbs-up, which means that it is probably safe.

Skely's eyes and mine meet for a second before both of us nod at the same time. We lift the tattered door and begin to descend the staircase, with Smiley and Ariel leading the way.

About a minute of descending guides us to a simple and small room with only a single stand in the middle of it. On the stand is an old notebook of sorts, with some bloodstains on the brown cover.

"Hmm... Let me try it out first.'' Skely walks calmly towards the stand and grabs the notebook.

'''' !!! ''''

At that moment, a blinding light bursts out of the book, engulfing all four of us at the same time.

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