Of course, even with this in mind, there was still one problem. The deal to exchange Serena for salt had already been made. Old Mary had come to tell the original Serena that, slapping her when Serena refused to cooperate.
The force of the slap had made Serena stumble backwards, hitting her head on a rock. It killed the original owner, allowing Serena to be reborn into her body.
Thus she needed to find a way to end the deal or at least change it so she could bring Kiro with her to the Forest City. Possibly screw over the tribe too for everything they had done to the siblings.
But first there was one thing she wanted to check before she started making plans.
"System, is there a way to go back home?" Serena asked, her tone low in case Kiro came back soon.
[Host can buy Soul Transfer Ticket in System Shop for 100 000 000 coins]
Her jaw went slack at the words, shocked at how many coins she'd need just to return home. Perhaps it was better to live a perfect life here instead of getting revenge.
No.
As much as Serena didn't want to admit it, her heart still yearned for revenge. And knowing that there was a way to go back home, she had to do whatever it took to get back. Her soul wouldn't rest until she destroyed Mark.
Make him feel the shock and betrayal she had upon learning his true intentions.
"How does one gain coins?" Serena finally asked with a sigh.
[Exchanging crystals or completing system quests]
Serena pursed her lips. Crystals were basically money in this world, but with actual uses besides just being a value system. They contained different powers and could only be obtained by killing a mutant monster or by trading goods.
Hunting monsters normally wouldn't be a problem for Serena, having been trained in the military academy since she was ten. However, this new body of hers was likely weaker than her former one.
Not to mention she'd need to adjust to it and didn't have any of her usual weapons. She could use traps, but she'd still need to figure out a method of combat that worked for her.
A thought then struck her. Beastmen could shift into a beast form and considering she was technically now a snow leopard beastwoman, that meant she could shift into a snow leopard and use her claws and teeth.
The only thing was females rarely shifted back into the beast form once they came of age and it usually took a beastman with five stripes to take down a mutant monster alone.
Those facts alone made Serena unsure if females were able to gain stripes. It seemed for now she was stuck with doing system quests until she found a better way to collect crystals.
Before she could think much more about what to do, Kiro came back and yelled, "I got you water!"
Serena glanced over at the cave entrance, afternoon sunlight pouring into the cave and warming it up slightly. Kiro was carefully walking over with the clay jar, a strange red mark on his face making Serena frown.
The kid may have some dirt on him, but Serena could still recognize when someone was beaten up or had gotten into a fight. And Kiro had definitely gotten into a fight with someone.
"Who hit you?" Serena asked, her eyes going dark.
Perhaps it was because of the original Serena's memories or maybe her own feelings of when she once had a brother that drove her to become protective of Kiro despite only knowing him for a few minutes.
Whatever the case was, Serena wasn't going to let her new brother be so easily bullied. She'd protect him and make sure he had a good childhood. That was the least she could do to repay the original owner for her new body.
"I-it's nothing!" Kiro chuckled nervously, instinctively placing a hand over his red cheek. He then held up the clay jar with his other hand. "Here have some water!"
Serena took the jar and set it on the ground before carefully getting up. Her body was still sore from the fall, but she ignored the pain, having been trained to deal with worse conditions.
"Take me to them." Serena stated coldly, giving no room for arguments. "And don't try to argue with me. I won't take no for an answer."
Kiro gulped, thinking his sister looked so scary, before he bobbed his head. "O-okay."
He quietly led Serena out of the cave that lay on the base of a small, rocky mountain. Around them were a few more similar caves dug into the mountain with beastmen roaming about.
A few wooden huts were crudely built in front of the caves in a clearing and beyond that lay a dense forest. Serena was quick to take in her surroundings noting there were around a hundred beastmen about.
Very few compared to what she read, but that was to be expected considering that the tribe had their homes washed away by the recent natural disaster and had to move to the mountain for shelter.
Everyone was trying to rebuild before the cold season came.
As they walked towards the river where Kiro had gone to get water, they passed a few leopard beastmen whose eyes lingered on Serena longer than necessary.
She felt a chill go down her spine and had to resist the urge to shiver in disgust. It was best if she just dealt with Kiro's bully without causing more trouble.
"Sister… You don't have to do this." Kiro suddenly murmured, grabbing her hand with his tiny one. "L-let's go back."
Serena tightened her grip on his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "No. We're going to deal with them. No one is allowed to bully my brother!"
She said the last part slightly louder than the rest, wanting the beastmen to hear her words. Perhaps one of them would get offended and show her who was fighting with her brother.
And just like she had hoped, someone called out, "Who says anyone was bullying him?"