Hale was staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out how to escape this hellhole, when he remembered the Cock. Not the useful one, but the utterly useless one that had followed him into this world.
His lips twitched. He closed his eyes and slipped into Soulspace. The white soul projection of himself floated toward the soul projection of Cockless.
"How does this even work?" he muttered. His hand passed through the projection…and suddenly, a memory surged into his mind.
Hale's eyes shot open. "What the hell was that?"
It was a vision of what Cockless was seeing; tetrachromatic, about 330° vision. Fascinating, really. But Hale's nerves twitched when he saw that the damn rooster was still alive, perched on a tree somewhere in the forest, seemingly enjoying itself.
"Holy f*ck… that shit's chilling while its master is about to get violated."
He tried sending some kind of message to Cockless to rescue him. He had no idea how a rooster was supposed to save him from the Drakthar tribe—maybe as a distraction, or by eating some poison, getting fried, and being devoured by the barbarians? His imagination stopped there when he couldn't send anything.
He could only see what Cockless was seeing, like a distant memory whenever his soul projection touched it.
"Sigh… at least I know where it is," Hale muttered.
Hale then checked his skills to see if there was anything he could use right now. The first skill was Pacify—and from the name, it sounded like something better suited for Gandhi.
— ✦ —
[ Pacify ]
Tier: 0
Level: 1 / 5
Classification: Active
Effects :
◆ When the host touches a living being or any creature with a mind and activates the skill, the target is instantly forced to calm down from aggressive, confused, or similar states.
◆ Works only on beings in the same tier or lower.
Cooldown: 10 minutes
[ Note : The effect of the skill increases with the skill level and host's WIL stat. ]
— ✦ —
"Oh, looks good. I could probably slap someone and trigger the skill along with it…would be fun to see their reaction. Hehehe." A laugh, sharp and jittery like a deranged squirrel, escaped him.
Hale then moved on to check the details of his second skill, Analyze.
— ✦ —
[ Analyze ]
Tier: 0
Level: 1 / 5
Classification: Active
Effects :
◆ When the host activates the skill through their eyes, the first being they focus on reveals its strength, displayed according to this world's tier system.
◆ Works only on beings in the same tier or lower. If used on a being of higher tier, the target may be alerted.
Cooldown: 10 minutes
[ Note : The skill's effect and alert mitigation increases with the skill level and host's WIL stat. ]
— ✦ —
Hale immediately perked up. This skill was useful. He even had a live target to practice on. Glancing down at his lap, he saw the back of Sely's head; she was still asleep, her face turned the other way.
With his bound hands, Hale gently combed through her hair and tried activating the skill.
He closed his eyes, focusing his intent on triggering it. When he opened them, his black irises glowed faintly as he looked at Sely. Well, nothing happened.
Hale frowned and shifted his intent toward checking her strength.
Something flickered inside his soulspace…and then a sharp migraine stabbed through his skull.
"Oww…" Hale let out a soft whimper.
Well, it worked, but not the way he intended.
[ ?? ]
—That was all that showed when he tried to read Sely's strength. Which could only mean one thing: she was either a tier above him… or many tiers above. Nahh, no way. That couldn't be.
As Hale looked down, he froze. Sely was now staring up at him, puzzled.
"What did you do, Hale?"
Cold sweat prickled his forehead. He forced a casual tone. "What do you mean? I was just combing your hair."
"Hmm… yaaawn… I don't know. It felt like you were looking deeper into me or something." Still groggy, Sely rubbed her eyes with her cuffed hands.
It was bullshittery time for Hale, his skills at bullshitting were about to be tested.
"Well, I was just looking at how beautiful you are," Hale said with a straight face that would put professional actors to shame.
"Hehehe… then tell me, how beautiful do you think I am?" Sely laughed, looking up from his lap.
"I'd say you're a solid 9 out of 10."
Sely tilted her head, puzzled. "What does that mean?"
"Oh, it's just how we rate things. 10 out of 10 means perfection. 9 out of 10 means you're just one point away from it," he explained smoothly.
"Ehhh… that's not fair! Why am I not a 10 out of 10, then?" Sely protested playfully.
Hale smirked. "Because only one woman is a 10 out of 10 for me—my mom. You've still got a long way to reach that level."
"Oh… fair enough," Sely muttered softly, her expression turning thoughtful, as if reminiscing.
"Why don't you get some more sleep? I'm pretty sure you've barely slept." Hale said.
"Yeah." This time, she turned her face toward him, a small smile tugging her lips. "I'll face your side, so you can look at me easily. Be thankful, commoner—for I'm granting you my presence."
"Yeah, yeah, princess. Go to sleep. I've got to figure out a way to escape before this 'Blood Daughter' or whatever shows up."
"Mhm… mhm…" Sely hummed as she closed her eyes.
Hale smiled faintly, watching her peaceful face. He didn't understand how she could stay so cheerful even in this situation. She really was a brave girl.
He continued combing her hair and was just about to check the rest of his skills when Sely's voice cut through the silence…this time stripped of playfulness, serious in a way he hadn't heard from her before.
"Hale…whatever happens, don't let the Blood Daughter drag you into a union. That's not pleasure—it's a grave. If you wish to live, stall her for as long as you can," Sely said, her eyes locked on his.
"Wha–" Before he could ask what she meant, she rose from her lying position, moved to the corner of the cage, and sat far away from him, her head lowered. The cheerful girl suddenly looked like someone who had already given up on life.
Hale was about to ask what was going on when the sound of the wooden door opening echoed through the room. He whipped his head toward it, still trying to process Sely's ominous warning.
"Is that Blood-Daughter really a canni—Aaackkkkk!" Before he could finish his muttering, his breath caught. An overwhelming pressure slammed into him, not just on him but making the entire wooden house creak under the weight of the woman entering. Hale couldn't even lift his head.
Thud… thud…
—the sound of heavy boots striking the wooden floor was heard across the room.
Someone strode straight to the cage and stopped outside, eyes fixed on the two inside like a predator surveying its prey.
Immediately, the crushing pressure lifted.
"Haaa… haaa…" Hale gasped, gulping in air.
He slowly lifted his head, shivering, blood trickling from his nose, and froze. The figure outside the cage commanded the entire room without a word. She wasn't as massive as the bald barbarian he'd seen before, yet the sheer authority radiating from her was impossible to ignore. Hale's instincts screamed—this was the Blood-Daughter.
She stood with lethal grace, every inch of her radiating power, heavy enough to make the wooden floor groan beneath her. White hair fell in thick braids around a face streaked with dark war tattoos, her piercing eyes locking onto him like a predator. A fur cloak draped over her shoulders, leather arm guards hugged her arms, and metal gauntlets glinted in the dim light. A round shield and massive two-handed sword were strapped to her back, ready for carnage.
The air seemed to thrum with her presence, and Hale realized with a chill that this was no ordinary captor—this was a Beast Incarnate.
"Hello there, little lamb." The Blood-Daughter's voice rolled through the room like distant thunder. Her piercing green eyes drilled into Hale's trembling black ones, every inch of her radiating control and lethal intent. In the corner of the cage, Sely's cold amber gaze took in the whole spectacle, calm and unflinching, like a predator watching from the shadows.