It was already late noon by the time the carriage had passed through the dangerous forest area and reached the general's manor.
"Whao!" exclaimed Xuan in astonishment as he looked at the general's manor from the carriage while they entered through the huge wooden gates.
The whole manor was as big as a football field, but it was divided into structured sections. One seemed to be where the horses roamed; another section was a practice area where two wolf-kin slightly older than Xuan were practicing swordsmanship while getting scolded by a much bulkier and older wolf-kin.
There were also gardens full of fruit trees and flowers; their scent permeated the whole manor. At the far back, like a throne in a king's court, stood the giant three-storey mansion, entirely made of white marble, with a large majestic balcony at the center of the second floor.
After the attendant parked the carriage, Xuan got off. As the attendant guided him toward where the other two wolf-kin were practicing, they immediately came up to the attendant and bowed, including the bulky wolf-kin.
The attendant addressed the bulky wolf-kin as she said, "Liu Hao, this here is your new brother who's going to be working together with you guys from today onward. Teach him all that's necessary."
As the attendant looked at Feng Xuan, he caught the cue and immediately bowed to the three wolf-kin seniors, introducing himself. "My name is Feng Xuan. I'll try my best not to get in the way of my senior brothers."
"Hahaha, good, good, you have manners it seems. Guess I won't have to teach you any, unlike these other two, hahaha," laughed the bulky wolf-kin Liu Hao as he patted Xuan's back with his large hand.
Xuan could already speculate what kind of guy this was; it was obvious from how the other two wolf-kin looked at him with gazes full of contempt and hatred.
Xuan sighed internally as he straightened from his bow. The attendant, whose name was Chen Mei, didn't stay long; she immediately went back inside the house to the second floor. The bulky Liu Hao told Xuan to go make some tea and bring it to the attendant on the second floor, then strolled off with the other two beastmen.
"Sigh, it's not unexpected, but I didn't think they'd try to avoid buttering up the attendant by serving her. Anyway, more chances for me to get close to her."
Xuan made some tea, which he was very much used to; before transmigrating to this world he had lived alone and done all his cooking and cleaning by himself. Carrying the tea pots and kettle to the attendant residing on the second floor (which was specifically for the subordinates of the general), Xuan overheard the other three wolfmen talking.
They insulted the attendant while scoffing, "Hmph! Who does that trash raccoon think she is? Just because she's the master's subordinate doesn't make her above us wolf-kin! If I had my way I would've torn her apart for trying to order us proud wolf-kin around," said Liu Hao as he roared with anger. The other two wolfmen immediately followed up by mocking Chen Mei while praising Liu Hao for his courage.
Xuan, hearing this, gave an exasperated sigh as he climbed the stairs straight toward the attendant's room. "In every world there is racism. Anyway, good for me. With this skill of mine I should be able to make a good relationship with her given enough time."
As he walked toward the attendant's room, a thought crossed his mind and he asked the system, "Say, system, do the skills' activation and use cost energy?" The system responded without delay.
[Skills in general cost mana points, which you can check by opening your 'status'. As for your particular skill, Beastly Aura, that one costs zero mana.]
"Huh, why though? Isn't that also a skill, an extremely rare one at that? Shouldn't it cost more mana instead of less?" Xuan felt puzzled.
[Normally yes, if that skill was of the supreme rank or below, but Exclusive-ranked skills never cost any mana. It is a trait that only Exclusive-ranked skills possess.]
Xuan felt relieved; otherwise, considering how the system had previously told him that Exclusive skills were the only ones in existence, he had been worrying that he might be draining his life energy or something every time he activated it.
As he stood just outside the door, about to knock and call the attendant to receive the tea and snacks, a realization dawned on him.
"Wait, did you mention 'status' just now?" Xuan asked the system. It responded with its usual mechanical voice.
[Yes, you can check information about yourself by 'opening' your 'status'.]
"..."
Why hadn't this thing told him he even had a hologram panel like a status? It had given him a whole tutorial about skills but zero mention of status.
[Well, I did mention it just now…]
"You…" Xuan heaved a sigh, calming himself. "Okay, quickly open the status. I gotta give this tea and snacks to Mei after I'm done inspecting my status."
[Opening 'Status']
Name: Feng Xuan
Race: Wolf-kin
Race Rank: Warrior
Level: 1
Mana: (180/180)
Attributes:
Strength: 10
Intelligence: 9
Stamina: 15
Vitality: 20
Perception: 13
Abilities: Beastly Aura (Exclusive), Beastly Essence (Common)
"Huh, this is awesome, just like a character stats sheet in an MMO game," Xuan thought as he leaned in, clicking at places and finding explanations for the race rank and so on. "There are too many explanation windows. I also don't know what 'Beastly Essence (Common)' does. I'll check them out after I deliver this tea to the attendant," thought Xuan as he knocked on the door.
"Mam, I've brought you some tea and snacks!" said Xuan in an enthusiastic tone, unable to contain and hide his excitement from being able to level up like the MCs in all those mangas he had read. "Ah, I almost forgot." Xuan mentally commanded the activation of his exclusive skill, Beastly Aura, and the system followed.
[Activating Beastly Aura (Exclusive)]
"You can come in."
Xuan immediately opened the door to find Chen Mei lying lazily on the couch, her white tender cleavage exposed. She was reading a book as she hummed a tune.
Xuan saw two tables, one beside her legs and one beside her head. He quietly walked toward the table at her head and rested the tray there, but suddenly Xuan collapsed on the floor.
Thump!
The sound of his body hitting the wooden floor immediately jolted Chen Mei to awareness as she saw Xuan's body lying just beside her couch.
"H-hey, what's happening to you?" Chen Mei panicked as she stood up, checking Xuan's condition. "He's breathing so heavily while clenching his throat, and from the looks of it he was strangled pretty hard by the general. Don't tell me he's having breathing issues?"
"I-I'm f-fine…" said Xuan as he tried to stand up using the table beside Chen Mei's couch, but as his hand's strength gave way the tea tray he had placed there fell over the couch. "S-sorry, cough, cough."
Xuan soon started to choke and before long fell unconscious as he hyperventilated, trying his best to breathe subconsciously.
Chen Mei panicked and immediately went outside her room, calling for Liu Hao, but as expected the racist Liu Hao and his lackeys didn't respond.
"Damn it, those bastards never respond to my call. I'll beat them to shit again after I deal with this situation."
Chen Mei contemplated for a bit before putting Xuan atop her bed. At this point Xuan was breathing heavily, as if unable to take in air.
Chen Mei rubbed her temples in worry and slight annoyance. "Nobody except those three is here at this point in the manor since most able bodies were recruited for the war with the Fang tribe, and those three probably went to the forest to avoid having to respond to my call."
Chen Mei analyzed her situation: since she was personally instructed by the general herself to bring Xuan to her manor, this clearly meant the general valued Xuan. This was the first time she had personally chosen to bring any slave to her mansion; even the three other slaves were gifts from elders of the Claw tribe.
"Ah, whatever, let's deal with this. The general might just kick me out if the only slave she ever wanted to keep dies because of my negligence," said Chen Mei as she suddenly felt a tinge of sympathy toward Xuan, this weak little wolf. "It's not an issue. I can help stabilize his breath. He's a good boy who brought snacks for me with such enthusiasm, unlike those other three. It's the least I can do."
"Ugh, don't tell me I have to do that disgusting thing called C.P.R. that the doctor of this manor once mentioned to me," said Chen Mei as she glanced at Xuan's lips. She was a virgin who had never kissed even a cat, much less joined her lips with another man—a slave whom her mistress had chosen for herself. She felt horribly disgusted with herself. "Sigh, no choice but to do this."
Chen Mei lowered her body; her plump breasts pressed against Xuan's chest, her mouth mere inches away from his. She breathed out, her breath brushing over Xuan's mouth. Her body felt unbearably hot.
"So this is what a man's presence feels like up close," said Chen Mei as she touched Xuan's lips, her own lips trembling from the sheer novelty of such a new experience. "To think I'd have to join my mouth with the mouth of a man my mistress chose for herself, stealing his first kiss," said Chen Mei as her mouth hovered inches above Xuan's, her excited female pheromone-filled breath washing over his face.
"Please forgive me, dear Mistress Yulin. I'm only doing this to save your treasured slave," said Chen Mei, making up her mind.
She pinched Xuan's nose shut, tilted his chin back, and sealed her plump, glossy soft lips over his.
**Mmmph—**
Chen Mei's breath soon rushed into him, hot, forceful, and mint-sweet. Her full breasts squished against his with every push, soft mounds flattening and bouncing back to their full perky form each time Chen Mei pulled her mouth away from Xuan's for breath before plunging her plush lips back into Xuan's mouth, breathing into him.
**Mmmph—**
**Mmmph—**
**Puah~**
Chen Mei pulled her mouth away, breathing in air, panting as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. As she looked down on Xuan's mouth, his lips glossy with her spit, her cheeks flushed, her heart racing…
"Don't worry, little puppy, your big sister will save you. It's my responsibility!" said Chen Mei while breathing heavily.
The place between her legs, her little sister, ached as she clenched her thighs together before slamming her mouth onto his, pouring her warm breath inside him. But unlike the first time, this time she subconsciously pressed her plush lips against his extra hard, as if wanting to merge them together into one. She began repeating the pattern of taking in air and breathing into Xuan, but each time she got more fierce, her actions turning from gentle to forceful and intimate.
And before she noticed, she had begun inserting her tongue deeper into Xuan's mouth little by little, eventually pushing past his teeth. And as their wet tongues met each other, Chen Mei began encircling his tongue with her own, twirling it around his.
And Unbeknownst to Chen Mei, the weak unconscious puppy she was trying so hard to 'save' was making 'Peace Sign' with his right hand, just behind her gaze. While she immersed herself in C.P.R, devouring his mouth with pleasure.