He stood up slow, his legs stiff, his eyes blank like nothing inside them anymore.
Blood dripped from his ears. His soul? Nah. Gone already. What was left walking there was just a hollow puppet called Liu Yang.
"..."
Not a word came out. He was too tired to speak, too tired to even roll his eyes. Even his tongue refused to move.
He thought about it, the stupid Sex Silence skill, Eternal Silence Pact, whatever the System named it. Three hours of peace in exchange for one hour of… suffering. He groaned inside. Not worth it.
But his mind groaned.
"No. Just no. Not worth it. I don't have enough strength in the world for that."
So he just walked. Quiet. Broken.
A dead man moving, step by step, one foot in front of the other.
His face blank, eyes empty, nothing left inside.
Only his legs still worked, dragging him forward like even death didn't want him yet.
Behind him she followed, her hands waving up in the air as she talked and talked, words spilling like water, never-ending, never pausing.
His ears were bleeding inside, his soul crying, but his legs just kept moving.
"System… show me my stats," he muttered inside his head, his voice dry like dust.
If he couldn't shut her mouth, at least he could see how much his numbers had gone up.
[System Status Window]
Name: Liu Yang
Race: Demon
Level: 7
HP: 220 / 220
MP: 780 / 780
Strength: 30
Stamina: 25
Agility: 25
Defense: 20
Unused Stat Points: 0
[Innate Skill: Night Vision, Blood Sense]
[Skills]
- Demonic Overdrive (Active)
- Second Wind (Passive)
- Harem Resonance (Passive)
- Demon's Grasp (Active)
- Daydreaming (Active)
- Charm Morph (Female) (Active)
- Charm Morph (Male) (Active — Locked)
- Eternal Silence Pact (Passive)
- Abyssal Dread Resistance (Passive)
Liu Yang's lips curled just a little, the first real smile in a while. His eyes scanned the glowing screen, and he felt something stir in his chest.
So much mana. A pool five times bigger than before. His body almost hummed just seeing the number. And not just that — another passive skill, solid, useful, not some dumb joke.
"Finally," he muttered, his voice low but with a little spark in it. "Something that actually helps."
Inside, he was happy. Really happy. Even if he didn't show it on his face, the joy buzzed in his veins.
The sound in the forest became louder and louder. The wind was howling, the leaves were shaking, the owls were crying, and somewhere far the wolves were howling again and again.
The moon was there too, following him, but he could only see it sometimes.
Only when there was a gap between the long trees, when the branches opened for a moment. Then the moonlight slipped down. Then gone again.
Most of the time it was just dark. Pitch black darkness.
He kept walking. Step by step. And behind him she kept talking, her voice was sharp in his ears.
Talking about this, about that, about everything and nothing. His ears hurt so much it felt like they would bleed.
Hours passed like that. The night kept dragging. He felt like he would die just from her words.
But then, when the sky started to turn faint gray, when the sun was about to rise, he pushed the last bush away with his hand.
And there it was. A town. Fences. Small smoke rising from chimneys. A light here and there. Real houses. Real people.
His chest warmed up, his eyes almost popped. He wanted to drop to his knees and kiss the dirt like some starving beggar who finally found bread.
Inside his head, he almost dropped to his knees and kissed the dirt.
"Finally… finally… after all this… a town."
But next second his smile broke. It slid right off his face like it was never there.
The joy in his chest turned cold. His eyes stayed locked on the walls of the town.
A town. Humans. Guards. People everywhere. And him? A demon. White hair, horns sticking out, red eyes glowing.
He gulped hard. His jaw tight. "Shit… I can't just walk in like this."
The thought hit him fast—Charm Morph. Female DLC. His body shivered just from the memory.
"No. No no no. Never again. Not the skirt. Not the bouncing melons. Not the forbidden fruit. My heart… my poor heart can't take that ride again."
His chest beat faster, like it was remembering on its own. His lips twitched, his spine tingled, and he shook his head, muttering, "Nope. Nope. Demon Hunters? Fine. Death? Fine. But that? Hell no."
[Host, stop acting like you don't secretly enjoy it.]
Liu Yang's head snapped up, his eyes round. "What the fuck?! I do not!"
[Oh really? Because the System log shows thirty-eight seconds of "moaning while squeezing self" before collapse.]
His face burned red. His hands waved like crazy in front of him. "Delete that! Delete the damn log!"
[Apologies. Logs are permanent. Data is eternal.]
"…System, I swear, one day I'll uninstall you."
[Good luck, Host. I came pre-installed.]
Liu Yang froze in place, his eyes wide, his jaw dropping like he just solved some ancient riddle.
"Wait… wait wait wait… for mother god's sake…" he muttered, his voice shaky.
His hand slapped his forehead, fingers dragging down his face. His eyes lit up like someone just handed him the last piece of fried chicken.
"My new passive skill… Abyssal Dread Resistance. It blocks dark spells… it blocks mind spells… so what if… what if it blocks my own dirty thoughts too?"
He gasped loud, clutching his chest like he was stabbed by the truth itself.
"That means—no more losing control! No more grabbing melons on instinct! No more forbidden fruit disasters!"
The System dinged.
[For the first time in recorded history, Host, you have successfully used your brain.]
[Applause. Standing ovation. Confetti raining. Trumpets blaring. Nobel Prize incoming.]
Liu Yang's mouth twitched. His fists clenched. "You… bastard…"
[What? Sarcasm? No no no, this is genuine praise. Truly. Deep from the System's circuits.]
Liu Yang's lips twitched, his teeth grinding. "System… I swear to god… I'll uninstall you one day."
[Go ahead, Host. Try it. But don't come crying when you forget how to walk without me.]