His looks, if you had to describe them, were sharp and profound—like a distant deity carved into ancient stone, cold and unapproachable, icy and impossible to get close to.
She quickly snapped out of it, and following her memory, headed to the back mountain. Here, ancient trees towered and old vines twisted about, giving off that wild, primal forest vibe.
Not far away, a little river flowed quietly, its water crystal clear, with plenty of fish and shrimp swimming around.
The fish and shrimp were way bigger than in the apocalypse days, and totally organic, no pollution at all.
Luna swallows, feeling thirsty and super hungry.
But she didn't rush over.
She closed her eyes and tried to connect with the plants nearby.
In the apocalypse, her ability was Wood Element, and she'd trained it up to Level 7.
Not only could she speed up plant growth, attack or tie things up with vines, she could also heal simple wounds and scan for movement within a certain range.
In the apocalypse, this ability let her loot a ton of supplies.
Too bad she ran into a ridiculously powerful zombie and got blown to bits, totally by accident.
Before long, a thin green vine appeared in her palm.
She lit up—her ability was still here, though for some reason, it had dropped to Level 1.
No biggie, Level 1 is still Level 1. With all the Spiritual Energy in Beastworld, she'll be leveling up again sooner or later.
Under her control, the vine in her palm shot out with a "whoosh," wrapping tightly around a nearby tree, then zoomed back just as fast.
She stared at the lush vine in her hand, secretly thrilled.
With her ability, she'd have some security in this world.
Luna tucked the vine back into her palm, then crouched by the riverbank.
First, she scooped up some water to wash her face. The icy river cooled her down a bit, but her hands felt weird—her face seemed full of pits and oily as hell.
It honestly made her want to puke.
Looking at her reflection in the water, her hair was a wild, sticky mess, with dead leaves tangled in it for some bonus horror.
She was wearing a Beast Skin Skirt that was dirty, torn, and reeked of some weird stench, nearly making her vomit right then and there.
Her face was even worse—blackish yellow, rough, greasy, acne-ridden with pus-filled spots, some still oozing yellow gunk. Disgusting didn't begin to cover it.
Tiny, cloudy eyes. A flat, squished nose. Huge, thick lips plus crooked teeth.
And her figure—fat and bloated like all her flesh had been squeezed into one lump, no waist in sight.
Luna was so shocked by her own ugliness, she couldn't help it. "Ugh…"
She instantly retched so hard, it felt like she coughed up her own guts.
"Oh my god, am I really this hideous?"
Her mental state was collapsing a bit. She wasn't a beauty queen, but at least used to look cute and fresh—when did she ever look this bad?
This level of ugly, forget about men—even she wanted to ghost herself.
No way, gotta wash up and seriously fix this train wreck of a face.
Luna wasn't obsessed with beauty, but she cared a lot about her image. She absolutely refused to be this messy.
It was honestly making her lose her appetite.
She raised a hand to touch her face, but it was so greasy and gross she snatched it right back.
Enduring the disgust, she started washing her hair—a filthy, stinky mess full of dirt and grime, knotted beyond repair.
She used her hands as a comb, struggling for ages just to get it barely untangled.
No matter what, she couldn't get it clean. The water at her feet turned black, but her hair stayed greasy.
Sigh, if only she had some shampoo.
Just then, a 'ding' sounded in her head.
"Ding! Super Charm System activated."
"Ding! Welcome to Beastworld, Host. I'm your System Assistant, happy to serve you!"
Luna blinked—Super Charm System?
As a veteran novel addict in her past life, she knew exactly what a system was.
This was like the gold finger every transmigrator needs.
So, she's awakened her gold finger, huh?
She was thrilled inside.
But… a Charm System? The heck, is she supposed to be a total heartbreaker?
"Hey, System Assistant, mind telling me what you actually do?"
She kept scrubbing her hair as she asked.
The System chuckled twice and explained, "This system aims to help the Host boost her personal charm, tackle target characters, and gain their favorability. Every time you raise their favorability, you'll get a reward."
"Tackle targets? Favorability? Rewards?"
Luna chewed over these keywords, a glint of interest in her eyes. "Can you be more specific? Who am I supposed to tackle, how do I get favorability, and what are the rewards?"
She was way more interested in rewards, though she had no clue what they were.
"The targets are the original owner's five Beast Husbands: Corbin Crowley, Rhys Blackwood, Zeke Veridian, Kian Sterling, and Malachi Arcanus. You need to interact and boost their favorability toward you. Favorability is ranked: Disgust, Indifference, Like, Love, and Deep Love. Level up a rank, bag a juicy reward. Clear all five ranks, unlock the ultimate gift pack."
The System whispered, then continued, "Rewards come in all sorts: beauty pills, weight loss pills, survival skills, daily necessities, body buff potions, rare items—and yes, even the shampoo you were just dreaming of."
Luna arched a brow. This system… seemed kinda interesting.
But it wanted her to tackle those five guys…
Just thinking about them made her head spin. Especially Corbin Crowley, so fierce—she really didn't wanna mess with him.
And there's Chloe Callahan, the player protagonist…
"So, what are their current favorability ratings toward me? Which stage am I at?"
Luna wasn't in a hurry to agree, questioning on.
"Host, see for yourself."
As soon as the System finished, an electronic screen appeared in front of her.
Target Character Favorability Dashboard.
Host: Luna Sutton.
Age: 16
Charm Value: 0
Appearance Value: 10 (ugly as hell.)
Health Value: 60 (out of 100)
Weight: Severely overweight, mobility impaired.
Skill: Wood Element Ability (Level 1)
Target & Favorability:
Corbin Crowley: Disgust (-100)
Rhys Blackwood: Disgust (-90)
Zeke Veridian: Disgust (-90)
Kian Sterling: Disgust (-85)
Malachi Arcanus: Disgust (-90)
Luna stared at that lineup of negative numbers—seriously, all minus 90 and 100—and her mouth twitched hard.
She knew the Beast Husbands hated her, but didn't realize it was at this level.
She looked super depressed.
"Uh, nope—I'm not doing your mission, go find someone else."
She had her apocalypse abilities now; she could totally survive solo in this world. Why force herself to cozy up to anyone?
Besides, there's no guarantee she could pull it off.
Sounds like nothing but trouble.
The System got flustered, "Host, don't rush to refuse! Sure, you've got an ability, but this world is dangerous, packed with ferocious monsters and even supernatural forces. With the System's help, you'll have way better odds."
Luna paused—the System had a point.
This world was dangerous, maybe even worse than the apocalypse. System support would definitely make things way easier.
But thinking about tackling five guys who all despised her…
Especially Corbin Crowley, at -100. Just thinking of his cold, murderous stare gave her the chills.
Even if she shamelessly tried to play the simp, she doubted she could pull it off.