[You have slain your teammates. 1000 Divine Favor deducted. Current Divine Favor: -1000. Repeat offenses will double the penalty.]
[A powerful entity despises your wicked deeds. Your Abyss Plane reputation: Hated.]
[A powerful entity approves of your actions. Your Nine Hells reputation: Neutral.]
[Warning Chosen One: Negative Divine Favor at Mission's End results in Elimination.]
Anthony tsked, turning the demon heart on the spit.
Irritating, but fair. An independent existence must bear consequences for its choices. He regretted nothing.
Still, lessons learned. Next time, he'd cripple targets and let monsters finish them - technically not his doing.
Heh. Try him again.
The succubus corpse held valuable components like all demons - eyes, heart, razor claws, venomous fangs, tail spikes - perfect spellcrafting or forging materials.
Pity such arts eluded him.
Truth was, he couldn't even cast high-tier magic yet. His level and age barred him from mastering complex spells. Most spell slots went to low-tier magic or talent-fueled bluffs.
If basic magic challenged him, crafting magical items was hopeless.
Such waste. A preserved corpse like this could fetch hundreds of gold. The heart at least made decent supper. After consideration, he ripped off the demon's tail.
Could craft a supple whip. Those drow madwomen supposedly adored such toys.
The succubus granted unexpected EXP:
[High-tier Succubus slain: 2400 EXP]
[EXP pool full. Expend to level up]
[+1 Attribute Point & +1 Feat awaiting allocation]
[Sacrifice rare materials to repair Krypton Gold Wishing Machine for additional functions]
The system messages made Anthony's balls ache.
The trial's brutal difficulty finally made sense. This high-tier succubus explained everything.
This seven-person mission should've been manageable. The Overdeity designed Trial Grounds to test, not slaughter, potential Chosen Ones.
Two high-tier combatants were secretly assigned as safeguards for five newcomers. One now studied grilled demon heart; the other lay cold in death.
Their suffering stemmed from both safeguards concealing their power.
United, Anthony could've flown everyone to Menzoberranzan within a day. A high-tier succubus could've handled drow negotiations via Seduce Humanoid.
The flaw? Mortal nature.
Anthony would never let these fools ride him like some pathetic metallic dragon turned knight's mount. The only riding would happen in bed.
Even the paladin wouldn't bare his soul to strangers. The Church didn't send naive recruits on trials - too much investment to waste.
Without hesitation, Anthony invested his new level in Dreamer.
Staring at the bonus attributes from leveling up, he wavered between 29 Strength and 19 Constitution.
One would enhance his already formidable power, while the other would push him into the Extraordinary tier, granting the passive Extraordinary Ability unlocked at 20 Constitution.
A tough choice—both were incredibly useful.
After a brief pause, Anthony set it aside for now.
His immediate Combat Strength wasn't that urgent.
For Expertise, his Initial and Advanced choices had been Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration, ensuring his Spell Effects remained potent.
Now, faced with so many talents, it was hard not to feel overwhelmed.
After some thought, he picked a Special Expertise from The Book of Pink—Delightful Touch.
Delightful Touch: Your caresses become as tender as a lover's, delivering unparalleled pleasure to the recipient.
Passive Effect: When touching another, the target's mood improves.
If the area touched is a sensitive spot, it will grant the Target pleasure, temporarily reducing their Will and Fortitude by 2 points. This effect persists for Spellcaster Level × Rounds even after the touch ends.
Additionally, you gain Ki Abilities, with a quantity of 1.
Active Skill: Bliss Finger
Bliss Finger: The dreamer is so adept at delivering delight that a mere brush of their fingers can evoke the most exquisite sensations.
Details: Release range is Contact. If a sensitive area is touched, the Target must make a Fortitude check. On a successful save, they grow more hostile toward you. On a failed save, they experience Forced Climax, losing all Resistance for 3 rounds + Caster Level × Rounds.
This skill cannot deal damage and consumes 1 Ki per use.
Once Ki is depleted, it requires 1 hour of Meditation to replenish.
Prerequisite: This skill requires possession of Ki.
Upon confirmation, a surge of Ki rose from Anthony's abdomen, carrying a faint warmth.
Though this Expertise couldn't slay foes or directly enhance combat strength, its effects were remarkable—and most crucially, it granted Anthony Ki Abilities.
Ki was a mystical energy, capable of healing the body, restoring Ability Damage, increasing damage output, and more. Exceptionally versatile.
Normally, only lawful professions could attain Ki, as it demanded Meditation—something chaotic races or individuals struggled to achieve.
Fortunately, Anthony had the System, bypassing such hurdles. Yet, he wondered if issues might arise during Meditation.
Meanwhile, reaching 4th-level dreamer unlocked new hedonistic magic:
3rd-level spell: Words of Truth
After intimacy, your partner cannot lie to you for 1 hour. Duration scales with the dreamer's Spellcasting Level.
4th-level spell: Erode Will
Spell Range: 30 ft. Area of Effect: 10 ft.
On a failed save, the Target suffers Perception Score damage and loses 1d6 Perception. Effects can be reversed by Lesser Restoration or stronger Restoration Spells.
Gains and losses balanced out. Acceptable. But losing Divine Favor was urgent—he refused to complete missions without growth. Power alone dictated fate.
The Chosen One's Trial Grounds? He'd turn it into his playground someday.
For now, immediate matters took priority.
Returning to the tent, he roused the paladin and goblin. Dazed, they barely grasped his command—"Follow me"—before trailing the mage.
Enemies? Shouldn't he have alerted everyone? The paladin yawned.
At the bonfire, the grotesque succubus corpse jolted them awake.
Paladin: "Master, what happened? Is this…?" The iconic demonic wings confirmed Tegal's suspicion.
The goblin paled. This was his third adventure—but first time witnessing such horror.
The succubus wasn't the shock; her mutilation was.
Anthony: "As you see, the bard 'Big Cat' was a succubus hiding among us. During my watch, she tried to seduce me. My Will surpassed hers. One Bigby's Grasping Hand ended her.
I summoned you to prove my innocence. Left unexplained, doubts would fester."
Tegal knelt, inspecting the still-warm corpse. With a grunt, his longsword blazed with holy radiance, severing the wings. Embers clung to the cleaved flesh.
Anthony stepped back. That light bore a power he despised.
The paladin missed it, fixated on the corpse.
His Shield's Holiness lingered. This was a demon.
Paladin: "Damned Abyss filth! Had Master's Will faltered…" He spat a curse.
To any paladin, devils and demons on the Material Plane were mortal foes.
Anthony didn't care about his anger. He looked at the goblin and said, "Yoda, was there a Demon among your previous teammates?"
Goblin: "My past teammates were gnomes, aarakocra, elves—mostly humans. This is my first."
It seems that the rules are changing very frequently. Anthony suppressed his thoughts. "Okay, stand back for a moment. I will use spellcasting to completely destroy this Demon Corpse. We will then bury her ashes completely and go back to sleep."
Paladin: "As it should be."