"Why are you yelling? You're also a thief. Humph!" Black Fox's beautiful eyes narrowed as she snorted, clearly offended by Ace's reaction. She wasn't acting like her usual cold self.
Ace took a deep breath and calmed down. From the start, he knew this girl wasn't ordinary, but he had never thought she was crazy.
Who wants to be a thief if they have a second choice?
Initially, he didn't want to be a thief, but with this system, he had no option but to choose this path. Now, things have changed, and Ace doesn't dislike being a thief. On the contrary, he was grateful to the system for giving him this chance to become someone extraordinary.
"Why?" Ace wanted to know just why she wanted to be a thief.
"My mother was a thief and from the Shadow Devil clan. One of the top ten clans of All-Devil Continent." Black Fox replied with some pride in her voice, but her eyes also hinted at deep sorrow.
"Y-you're a... DEVIL?" Ace thought this world was going crazy.
A real devil was right in front of him! How could he not think it was crazy?
First, Ace discovered someone from the number three race of this world, a Hunter who happened to be his adopted Lil' Sis, and now he met someone from the Devil Race—the Number One Race of this world.
"No, silly, let me finish first. My mother was a shadow devil, but my father was a human. I'm a half-shadow devil and half-human." Black Fox cleared Ace's misunderstanding.
"And why are you telling me this?" Ace was startled. It was probably a great secret, but she was telling him like it was nothing.
"I think, for working together, we should trust each other. Since I know about you, you should also know about me." Black Fox nodded thoughtfully as she wrapped her hands around her ample chest, looking even more attractive.
"So you're a half-devil and half-human. Wait! What does this have to do with forming a partnership with me?" Ace was perplexed.
"You're so silly! Just let me explain first." Black Fox told annoyingly.
'She's unmistakably a crazy girl.' Ace thought in frustration but didn't say or show it to his face. Because he was afraid, she would start repeating something meaningless.
"So my father was a human, and my mother was a devil. He saved her from human cultivators when she was being chased by them. After that incident, they fell in love." She started her story again from the start.
Ace didn't speak this time. He also found it quite interesting because it was rare for a devil to fall for a human. Devils never mate with other races. It was unheard of.
"After they made their decision to stay together forever. They settled in a 1-Star city because they thought that they would be safe and live peacefully, and no one would be able to find out about my mother's identity and my father's past.
"However, two years later, after I was born. A group of cultivators came. They were not from the lands of cities. They were searching for my father because before he met my mother, he was a high-ranking official of some great power, but he betrayed them and ran away with my mom.
"But they still find him with some strange treasure in the end, even in this barren place. My mom had no choice but to reveal her origin as a Shadow Devil Clan member, and they found out about my mother's secret.
"There were four of them, and they were all as strong as my father. After bitterly fighting, one of them was killed by my father. Seeing my father killing one of their men, the two who were fighting with my mother used a treasure to sneak attack my father. But my mom saw it first and used her body to block it. That treasure was poisonous, and my mother died after getting hit by it.
"My father saw my mom getting hit by the poisonous attack and died and madly fought to avenge her, and he killed the one who used that poison attack. But another one sneak attacked him from behind.
"My father fought an intense battle against both of them, but in the end, those two men had some strange ability, and they escaped from my father with their lives. But my father was also gravely injured and fell into deep despair after losing my mother.
"He quickly took me here to the River Flower City to seek shelter with his friend. After some time, my father's wounds were healed. But he was afraid that those two men would come back again. He also wanted to avenge my mother by seeking revenge on the power behind them. So he left me behind with his friend and said he would return after a year.
"After my father's departure, I was left alone here. But my father's friend took care of me for over a year. But sadly, he was not a kind-hearted person and had ulterior motives.
"When he assumed my father died while seeking revenge, he was not afraid anymore and showed his true colors. He sold me to Grant Family, young Miss, for some Ruby coins." Shadow Fox finished her story and became extremely distressed while talking about her parents, especially her mother's unfortunate death.
Ace has a thoughtful expression on his face after hearing her tragic story.
'Her past is more painful than mine.' Ace thought morosely,
"So why did you find me?" Ace softly asked. He didn't look at her with hostility like before.
"After that hateful man sold me to Lyla Grant, who's also Asher's mother. She first wanted me to become Asher's maid after she saw my appearance and gave me training.
"I was just four years old, but I'm a haft-devil, and I had extremely high awareness since I was young. That is how I remember those events clearly. However, I was afraid of others abandoning me after my mother's death and my father's disappearance; moreover, that man sold me afterward. Therefore, I did what Lyla told me and learned how to be a good maid.
"But when I turned seven years old, my shadow devil clan 'Blood Memory Heritage' awakened. Although I gained memories of some skills and cultivation techniques from my shadow devil lineage, I was confused at that time and told Lyla about those memories.
"She didn't believe me at first, but when I showed her one of the lineage skills, she immediately took me to her family head and told him everything. That old man was extremely knowledgeable and immediately guessed that I was a devil because, in this world, only the devil possessed the blood memories heritage.
"He wanted my lineage memories, and I was naïve, so I told him everything. But my memories were incomplete, and he discovered he couldn't cultivate my devil clan skills or technique. He did some tests and discovered I'm not a pure-blooded devil and lost interest in me." Black Fox's eyes turned cold as she continued.
"Later, I found out that when a devil turned seven years old, it started to inherit memories from its ancestors through blood. This is what they all called Blood Memory Heritage. As for precisely what kind of memories they awakened, it solely depends on their devil's blood density.
"That's why devils are the No.1 Race of this world. They don't need any techniques or skills. They need the density of their bloodline to be high, and they can awaken their ancestor's full memories of cultivation. But I was only half-devil, so my skills and techniques were incomplete." Black Fox became depressed in the end.
Ace didn't know what to say after hearing the Black Fox story. He felt pain in his heart for this girl and an unknown feeling he had never experienced.
"Grant Family's Head lost interest in me after confirming that I'm only half devil. But he didn't let me roam around freely. After I showed him my skills, he knew I was a natural-born Assassin and very dangerous because I was a shadow devil.
"Hence, he planted this black mask on my face. It is like a slave mark but much more advanced. Slave marks can control a person with force, but if that person were to become too powerful, the slave mark would be erased.
"But this mask is like a high-level slave mark, a Slave Item. It can't be undone by normal means, so I am joining you to form a partnership. Only you can help me!" Black fox touched her mask.
It was a vicious curse, and she always wanted to escape from these people's clutches but was powerless to do so.
"So, you want me to find out a method to undo this slave mask?" Ace now has some idea why she wanted to partner with him. He was still a little confused 'why him' though?
"I don't want you to find a method... Because I already know how to undo it. I only want you to get it for me." Black Fox mysteriously answered.
"Where is it then, and what will I get in return? Since it's an equal deal, you have to give me something, right?" Ace sympathized with her, but it didn't mean he would risk his life for sympathy.
"I prepare MYSELF!" Black Fox giggled as she performed a more seductive posture to show her delicate curves.
"Stop joking around and tell me seriously, or I can't help you." Ace retorted while breathing hard.
He nearly fell from his chair after hearing 'Myself' and seeing her sexy posture. His heart was beating fast for some reason. He had never felt this kind of feeling before.
"NO! I'm serious! Didn't I say before I always wanted to be a thief like you? After you free me from this hell hole, I'll be your partner in crime and join you to become a great thief." Declared Black Fox, and it seemed she was dead serious about becoming a thief.
"You know what? You are crazy! Why would you want to be a thief? Even if you want to be one, you can be one alone!" Ace barked in frustration. He simply can't deal with this crazy girl anymore.
"The reason is very simple: my mom was also a great thief. She was escaping after failing a theft, and that's how my father found her. She used to tell me stories of her adventures and how she stole from bad guys who bullied innocent people. Her stories fascinated me, and I always wanted to be like her."
Black Fox's foxlike eyes shimmered when she told Ace her grand dream, "I want to become a Great Thief who steals from bad guys!"
Ace nearly swore out loud after hearing her childish words!