The cavern floor shuddered beneath Vance's boots. A massive stalactite groaned above him, vibrating against the sheer force of a dark energy wave. It tore loose, plunging downward like a stone spear.
Vance lunged. He scrambled across the uneven rock, gravel biting into his palms and knees, and scrambled frantically behind a fractured stalagmite just as tons of rock exploded onto the spot where he'd stood seconds ago.
Above the dust and roaring debris, the Seduction System's glowing blue interface hung perfectly steady in his vision.
[Seduce the Demon Princess.]
Vance coughed, his chest burning as he sucked in dry, dusty air.
'How exactly does the system expect me to do that?' he wondered frantically. 'Drop my pants and show her my dick while she's trying to rip my head off? '
A sudden, horrifying realization struck him mid-panic. He hadn't even checked his new equipment. What if Vance Von Frost was completely lacking down there? But this was not the time to realize his new body might have a serious anatomical deficiency.
Across the cavern, Asmodeus let out a shriek that rattled the remaining stone pillars. A sphere of violent black mana imploded wildly around her right fist. Her immense thirty-sixth-floor power completely rebelled against the twenty-first-floor limitations, leaving her devastating spells entirely unpredictable.
She abandoned the volatile magic entirely. Folding her leathery wings, the Demon Princess landed heavily on the rocky ground. She extended ten razor-sharp, ink-black claws and dug them into the gravel, launching herself toward Vance's hiding spot to tear him apart with pure physical strength.
A glint of crimson light caught his eye through the swirling dust.
Jaxon's sealed cubic box lay abandoned in the rubble near the teleportation scorch marks.
'The coward dropped it.'
Jaxon had explicitly bragged that the cargo belonged to an S-rank Vanguard hero. An item commissioned by someone at the absolute peak of the Awakener hierarchy guaranteed an overpowered artifact.
Vance didn't think twice. He scrambled out from cover, diving directly into the open as Asmodeus closed the distance in a blurring arc.
He snatched the box and smashed it hard against the uneven cavern floor. The glowing red seals shattered with a sharp snap, and he ripped the wooden lid away.
A sleek platinum band rested inside the black velvet casing.
[Item Discovered: Void Sovereign Spatial Ring]
[Rank: SSS]
[Description: A dimensional artifact granting infinite storage capacity.
Unique Ability: 'Spatial Severance' — The user can instantly teleport any incoming physical or magical attack directly into the void space once per day, completely nullifying the damage.]
Asmodeus lunged over the shattered stalagmite, her claws descending in a vicious sweep aimed directly at his throat. Vance jammed the ring onto his left index finger and thrust his hand toward the descending strike.
The platinum ring flared with blinding white light just as the ink-black claws reached Vance's neck. A swirling vortex of spatial energy ripped open in the space between them, swallowing the kinetic force of the strike entirely into the void.
Asmodeus stumbled forward, her glowing violet eyes widening as her momentum carried her through empty air.
Vance seized the immediate opening. He scooped up a handful of loose gravel and hurled it directly at her face to blind her. The debris froze mid-air inches from her eyes, caught in a sudden telekinetic grip.
"A pathetic trick for a dying insect," Asmodeus purred, her voice echoing like grinding stones through the cavern.
The flying dirt served purely as a distraction. Vance possessed a rusted iron dagger he had scavenged from the rubble moments earlier. He surged upward beneath the suspended wall of gravel and thrust the corroded blade straight toward her exposed chest.
He stabbed her in the chest and killed her, or so he wanted to happen.
However, Asmodeus simply raised two fingers, catching the rusted metal tip effortlessly before it could pierce her skin.
She clamped her other hand around Vance's throat and hoisted him completely off the ground. His legs kicked wildly as she tightened her grip, crushing his windpipe while a cruel smirk stretched across her flawless lips.
The glowing blue interface of the Seduction System hovered right beside her perfectly sculpted face.
Vance stared at the impossible quest floating in his peripheral vision. Seducing a lethally beautiful demon actively choking the life out of him defied all logic. He needed a miracle to survive this encounter, and begging clearly held no power over a thirty-sixth-floor boss.
Acting on pure desperation, Vance raised his free hand and grabbed her exposed breast, and squeezed the yielding flesh forcefully.
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly, breaking her sadistic smirk instantly in the wake of the bizarre assault. The texture felt utterly otherworldly against his calloused palm, prompting him to squeeze two more times in rapid succession.
Her upper lip curled back to bare a set of razor-sharp fangs. Asmodeus shrieked and hurled Vance across the cavern with a violent flick of her wrist.
He slammed back-first into the uneven stone wall and crumpled to the dirt floor, gasping desperately for breath.
The demon princess immediately dragged the edges of her crimson silk bodice upward, wrapping the dark leather straps tightly to conceal her cleavage completely from his view. She stalked toward his struggling form, her violet eyes narrowing into glowing slits.
"I have changed my mind," Asmodeus hissed, looming over him.
Vance let out a strained cough and forced a painful smile, desperately hoping his bizarre tactic had somehow triggered a success condition in the system. He looked up at her flawless face and immediately recognized the deep scowl twisting her features.
His idiotic gamble had failed spectacularly.
"I intended to grant you a quick end," the demon princess snarled, crouching down to meet his gaze. "Now, I will make your demise wonderfully prolonged and agonizing."
DING!
[ Warning: The target Demon Princess is extremely pissed off. ]
Vance clutched his bruised throat and glared at the floating text. "I can see that, you useless piece of garbage!"
Vance looked at her, completely helpless and unable to fight against her.
'Man, her boob was so soft. If I am going to die anyway, I will try to get a squeeze or two once more.'