She Demon

by A P Gore

  “Why would I? You’ll just kill me again.” Noah could hear the hopelessness in his own voice.

  “Are you a child, human? Or do you lack intelligence? If I wanted to kill you, why would I help you?” Roderich’s voice turned serious. “Or do you want me to drag you to my house?”

  Noah stared at hostile Mathial, who had his hands wrapped around the dark brown hammer he used in the smithy. The afternoon sunlight bathed the smithy and the backyard, painting them a cheerful yellow. The scent of jasmine danced on the wind, but it had no affect on Noah. It couldn’t. Not until he got the pain of dying out of his mind.

  “How’s Thia?”

  “She is a pain in my ass!” Mathial growled. “She didn’t let me sleep last night and kept shouting your name in my ear. I put a sleeping herb in her morning tea. She is sleeping right now and won’t wake up for a few more hours.”

  “Thanks for taking care of her.” Noah realized he needed to speed up his herbalism training rather than messing around with zombies in the forest. Even though he’d gotten around 500 experience for killing rats and the goblin yesterday, he was far away from the next level. He should focus on making coffee. He was getting closer, because he’d smelled coffee from his killer’s pocket. Now he just had to find the demon—or if Roderich was the demon he suspected, he might be leading Noah into the demon’s den itself. Time would tell.

  Roderich took him to his house, and then to a room illuminated with a faint light. The washed-out light wasn’t enough for Noah to make shapes out of the contours, but he spotted weird objects hanging all over the room. In particular, a basin placed in the middle of the room with silver water inside it. There was also a softly glowing round orb sitting on a monkey skull cut in half. The darkness and death in the air made him quite uneasy. He looked over his shoulder, wondering if he should just run. What if Roderich decided to pull out his heart and put it in the monkey skull and drink the blood dripping out of the monkey’s mouth?

  Damn! Fear crawled inside his skin.

  “Can you place your hand on the dark crystal orb and think about the event that lead to your death?” Roderich asked.

  “Hmm…” Noah whispered and looked around, trying to figure out what was really going on here.

  Roderich grabbed his hand. “I said put your hand...” He tried to drag Noah’s hand to the orb.

  Noah stepped back, tugging his hand out of Roderich’s strong grip. “Okay, I get it. Give me a second please.”

  Roderich ignored him, grabbed his hand again, and dragged it toward the crystal. With every forceful step, Noah’s heart raced faster and faster and faster, so faster that he feared it would jump out, tearing open his rib cage at any moment. Roderich placed Noah’s hand on the crystal orb. Noah expected the light to suck him inside the orb, but nothing happened.

  “Now, don’t shiver. Just imagine the start of the event.”

  Noah closed his eyes, picturing the magnificent goblin zombie he had raised. A shock coursed through him as soon as he saw the zombie goblin in his mind. He opened his eyes and found a white pulse moving from his hand inside the crystal orb. The orb flared to life. The zombie goblin appeared in the orb. Yesterday’s scene unfolded in the crystal orb. A tail appearing near Noah’s neck. Noah’s zombie attacking something behind him. Noah loosening the tail. The tail piercing him. Him opening his eyes at the altar. The demon pulling out his eyes. Then everything went black.

  Noah’s body shuddered with fear as the whole event refolded in front of his eyes once again. To his agony, Roderich replayed the whole scene again, stopping it at the part where Noah spotted the scar on the demon’s forehead.

  “Now, let’s study this carefully.” Roderich waved his hand, and the picture zoomed in. “See the mark? It’s in a zig-zag shape. And now see my scar? It’s straight.” The high mage pointed to his own scar, which was indeed in a straight line.

  Noah nodded in agreement, but his insides were in complete disagreement.

  “Now, look at his walk. Did you notice he favored his right foot? Maybe an injury. I don’t limp like him. I walk normally.”

  “Maybe you’re right, high mage. I apologize for my mistake and rude behavior.” Noah bowed deeply, but he wasn’t convinced.

  “Good. I have the second dose of antidote prepared for Thia.” Roderich handed him a glass vial filled with a brown, muddy colored liquid.

  Noah was instantly notified of a reputation increase, but he knew it was crap. It didn’t tell him if the person really helped him or not. The proof shown by Roderich was eye opening, but he’d flinched when he noticed the limp. And how in the world had he spotted the differences so easily without practicing ahead of time? Something was fishy, and Noah needed to find out what.

  14. New Quest

  Noah peered at the extra bright afternoon sunlight in confusion. He thought he’d spent hours inside Roderich’s house, but in reality, he had spent only one hour. The sun was on top of the town, providing unnecessary heat to the residents. In just two minutes of walking toward the inn, Noah’s gray tunic was drenched in sweat. An itching shirt and a dusty path made his journey super boring. There were no trees to offer any shade, nor was there anything to catch his attention for the twenty-minute walk. Even the air smelled stale and unyielding, and the sun was sucking the life out of everything around.

  Noah stopped after five minutes of walking and glanced at the path going toward the north gate of the town. He checked his map, and the cave looked closer from this location. It was an easy decision for him; he needed to gain 2 levels quickly and learn more about herbalism, and nothing was going to happen by sitting around the inn, scratching own ass. He was known for his efficient use of time in real life, and he’d better put those principles to work in this life too.

  This side of the forest was thicker than the one he visited from the south gate. The main difference was the denseness of the trees. There were so many different trees present on this side; pine, nut, palm, and many others he didn’t recognize—nor could his minimal herbalism skill give him any information about. There were vines present too, but thankfully they weren’t deadly and alive like the ones he’d seen near the goblin town.

  Noah walked through the thick mush of trees and vines, slicing his way with his knife. It was much easier now than it had been when he started the game. By the time he reached the cave, he had killed multiple rats and a pack of griffins on the way. Unfortunately, there was no worthy monster to raise a good zombie, nor did he get good experience. Because the rats and griffins were under-leveled, he only received 100 points of experience combined. At least the constant use of spirit orb and a couple of curses of fire ball pushed those spells to the next level. His spirit orb reached level 6, dealing 39.6 damage, and curse of fireball reached level 2, dealing 79.2 damage. It was a good boost to both spells. When he got bored, he raised two rats as his zombies just to keep practicing that spell.

  Noah paused when he spotted three rats, thinking about the next spell to use. But before he could decide, three back-to-back arrows flew through the air, killing the rats with a critical hit. The next set of arrows pierced his zombie rats.

  “Come on, those are my pets,” he shouted and readied his poison orb.

  Rihala jumped out of the bushes, landing in a stumble and pinwheeling her arms. She wore a sunshine smile as she regained her balance, but it vanished as soon as she took the first step and tripped over a stone. Noah zipped forward with his spirit run and caught her. His biceps were pressed against her soft breasts, and his cock pressed against the thin fabric of his starter pants.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so clumsy.” Rihala grabbed his hand and stabilized herself. “I didn’t know you knew necromancy. Raising the dead and all that! Wow! Is it great? My mom says necromancer is a poor choice of class. Can you change it?”

  “It’s okay. I'm fine with my choice.” Noah returned the smile, staring at her red striped waist-length dress matching her polished tail head. She looked ravishing, downright edible in that
red dress. “I’m a Cursemancer, and a Zombimancer too.”

  “It’s true then…”

  “What’s true?”

  “You travelers can have multiple classes and come back from dead. That’s so amazing.” She went into a dreamy state.

  “Rihala…” He tapped on her shoulder. “You literally killed me a couple of days ago, and I came back. Didn’t I?”

  She bit her lower lip. “I’m so sorry for that, human friend. I didn’t mean to kill you. Please tell me how I can repay my debt. I didn’t think I would trip like that and kill you. I’m so clumsy most of the time. My mom always shouts at me for this.” Her beautiful eyes dropped to the ground. “I was so afraid. Even your demon friend told me that you’d come back. I couldn’t sleep that night. I’m so clumsy.”

  “I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have asked you about...” He stared at her neck, but if the collar was still there, it was hidden by her high-necked dress.

  She rubbed her neck awkwardly. “Was it painful? Your death?”

  “I’ve had worse.” A sweet sensation shot up as he remembered the way he’d died that day. Rihala was turning into a serious attraction point for him. He doubted he felt this way even for Serena when they first started dating. Too bad Rihala was a demon.

  Her face reddened when she spotted his gaze lingering on her breasts. Noah looked away. He wasn’t here for dating girls. He needed to focus on his goal. “Did you see any game around? I’ve got to level up for the cave dungeon.”

  Her eyes lit with a glint. “Are you aiming for the dungeon too?”

  “Yes, I have a quest there.”

  “Okay. We can head there together.”

  “Shall we team up then?”

  “Party with a human? Willingly? My mom always tells me not to trust anyone, but you have saved my life once, and she says we should trust someone who saves our life,” Rihala said with a smile that touched Noah’s heart. At least there was one other innocent demon who acted like a real person and not a shitty piece of code. He hadn’t known her for long, but whenever they met, he found her chirping enthusiastically about her mother, the world, and everything around her. Why would a piece of code do that?

  Noah sent her a party invitation. He was a kind of afraid she would change her mind if he waited longer, and he didn’t want to miss a chance to work with her. They worked well together, as proven in their battle with the orc.

  She didn’t accept the invitation right away. She reached for her neck, rubbing it. “But my human friend, I can’t be seen roaming around with you. We have to travel a few feet apart, and I’ll break our party once we reach level 7.” She sounded sad, but there was firmness in her eyes. She meant what she said.

  It hurt. The colorful surroundings turned into a monochrome display. The melodious chirping of birds on the pine trees turned into an annoyance.

  “Fair enough. Lead the way, as your tracking skills are better than mine.” He sounded rude, even to his own ears. But she was right. Maybe. He knew what demons thought about humans. Why would she think differently? He should focus on the advantages he would get out of this partnership.

  “Do you have that skill? It’s not a class-specific skill. My mom taught me when I was a child. I used it for years to track runaway chickens.”

  “No.”

  “I can teach you. It’s a nice skill to have.” She bent down, staring at a track on the ground. “See, these are hind leg tracks. As these are small, they seem to belong to a rat. But look at these big tracks.”

  The importance of learning a new skill took supplanted his sad mood, and he kneeled next to her, looking at the tracks she indicated. His vision illuminated with a green light when he studied the large tracks that looked like foot prints of a large animal with three fingers. “Are these goblin tracks?” He only knew of no other animal with three fingers.

  “Correct. See? The way my mom taught is the best way.”

  A skill notification appeared.

  Congratulations! Your patience and dedication (which is non-existent based on your history) have demonstrated your ability to wait, analyze, and identify creatures’ footprints. +1 to tracking skill. This skill can’t be increased by putting points in it. 10% chance to track a creature with a level equal to yours.

  “Thanks, I got it.” Noah's mood lifted a bit with the new skill gain. He knew the skill would come in handy down the road. Before, he was running in blindly, but now he would be able to identify some tracks. If only someone had taught him this skill before, like Mathial. A bitter taste covered his mouth as he thought about the greedy blacksmith. That man never told him anything useful, for gods’ sake.

  “Keep using it, and you will get better at it. Let’s go. The tracks are fresh, and the goblin won’t be much farther.” Rihala sped up and vanished behind the large bushes interspersed with the trees.

  Noah infused his legs with spirit and activated spirit run. In ten to fifteen seconds, he caught up with Rihala who was jumping from branch to branch.

  She suddenly dropped to the ground like a stone. Her tail jumped up and touched his lips like a finger telling him to shut up.

  He nodded.

  She jumped. Her tail wrapped around a low hanging branch, and she pulled herself up gracefully. In a few seconds, she was sitting on the topmost branch.

  Her dexterity must be quite high. But why is she so clumsy then?

  Her intense gaze was focused somewhere far. When she found whatever she was searching for, she jumped down, balancing herself on the branches with her tail.

  She was so graceful that he couldn't take his eyes off her, but all the grace vanished when she landed next to him. She stumbled forward, and Noah tried to stop her, but her speed was too great. They both tumbled to the ground. Noah broke her fall, but ended up beneath her again, his lips a mere inch away from hers.

  All the sadness in his heart melted as her warm breath brushed over his lips. He fought the urge to lift his head and suck on those cherry red lips.

  His heart rate increased when he spotted her eyes focused on his lips.

  “I might start tripping you on purpose if I keep getting you this close.” Noah winked, teasing her. Thanks to the stupid hooded demon for taking his armor away, he could enjoy the softness of her breasts fully.

  Her face turned red, and she slapped his shoulder and pulled herself up.

  +1000 to reputation with Rihala because she thinks that you have a good wit and sense of humor. Which I found none.

  Noah frowned at the game message, then got up and stood next to Rihala, who was now looking at the road ahead.

  A couple of goblins had emerged out of the brush, one with a brown tunic and pants held a spear, and other one with a slender body, a fat nose, and blue pants, holding a mana source. He looked like an intergalactic hippy wearing colorful clothes. One of them was a warrior and other one was a mage, a good combination.

  A fight loomed, and Noah wanted to be the hunter rather than the prey.

  A quick perception check notified him that the goblins were each level six, so they would get 2x bonus experience upon killing them. Adrenaline surged through Noah’s body at the thought of more experience and good zombies for the next adventure.

  “Take care of the mage, and I’ll focus on the melee one.” Noah activated his poison shield and charged forward.

  The goblin warrior charged Noah in a blur and hurled his spear. The spear hit Noah’s spirit shield, dealing 30 damage to him. If he’d had his armor, it would have mitigated some of the damage. He ignored the pain and hit the passing goblin with a poison orb, but surprisingly it only dealt 20 damage.

  Something was wrong.

  The goblin warrior charged him again. The same thing happened. Noah took 30 damage, and his poison orb did 30 damage, even though it hit the goblin warrior’s head.

  “Rihala, do you know why I can’t damage this one with my poison orb?” He glanced her way. She was shooting back-to-back arrows at the goblin mage, but failing to hit because some unknow
n shield encapsulated him completely. Her arrows were piercing the shield, but they were losing their momentum in the process. They dropped to the ground as soon as they entered the shield radius, and the shield was self-healing, closing itself when the arrow dropped.

  “Maybe he has strong poison resistance,” she said.

  “Ahh!” That made sense.

  Why didn’t I think it myself? Stupid Noah!

  How could he forget about his passive skill?

  The goblin warrior charged at him again, but this time Noah crouched and hit the warrior with a fire ball curse. A black circle ringed the warrior and zapped into a fire ball. The fire ball hit goblin's face for 172 damage. It was a crit.

  The goblin warrior stilled, and his body started vibrating. Noah knew this state; he had encountered it before.

  Noah hit the goblin with another fire ball.

  The goblin froze. His transformation stopped, and his life reduced to 90 points.

  Noah only had 90 spirit left. He would have saved it if there was another choice, but the choice was taken for him when the goblin warrior charged him again with his spear.

  Noah used the remaining bits of his spirit and finished the warrior off with a single fire ball curse cast.

  Noah’s body suddenly spasmed. It was like someone was pulling at his muscles from inside. His spirit bar flashed at 0 before it started filling once again. This was the first time he’d reached absolute zero, and it wasn't a good thing to feel, not even for a couple of seconds.

  Noah ignored the pain and the debuff icon that appeared next to his spirit bar and turned to check on Rihala, who was now in defensive mode. Her bow was tucked at her back, and she was doing all sort of acrobatics to avoid a constant barrage of fireballs from the goblin mage.

  A quick glance at his party screen told him Rihala was losing her stamina and health too. The pace was slow, but the reduction was visible.

  Noah glanced at his spirit. It was filling up slowly, but it had only reached 50. Enough for a poison orb, but the mage had a shield, and he knew his poison orb wouldn’t cut through it. He needed to do something else, something crazy.