Abyss 16th floor.
In the distance, a small tribe camp could be seen, while a group of humanoid creatures with small stature was busy doing their things there. Some of them were sparring, babysitting their offspring, cooking food, and even flirting with each other. They just looked like a normal primitive society.
"Can you tell me how many they are?"
[33 individuals are detected, and 1 of them is stronger than the rest.]
There, I hid myself behind a small boulder. Those creatures had the same characteristics as mine, silky red hair and the body of a child. Yep, they should belong to the same species as me, the Blood Nymphs. I moved my body a little bit closer to the edge of the boulder to get a better vision of their location and I spotted something unusual.
"Is it just me going blind or are there really no male ones?"
I kept scanning the whole area, trying to spot if there was any male nymph at all. But it all came to no fruition.
[Allow me to explain something.]
"I can guess what you're about to say but in case I'm wrong, just continue.", I sneered as I kept looking for male nymphs.
[Your race does not have males.]
After hearing that, I stopped for a moment to scratch my butt and continued turning my head around.
"I guessed it right… How do they, err… I mean, how do we reproduce then?"
[Your race does not need to have a sexual intercourse with males to reproduce.]
"Then what? We smash our p*****s together and bam! Pregnancy?"
[... Do you have to spell it like that?]
"I'm tryna make it easier for myself to understand."
[...]
I shrugged my shoulders and waited for her answer. Although she had no physical body, she had her own consciousness. And I knew Dea was something like a maiden herself, so having a conversation like this perhaps made her feel uncomfortable. Me? Nah, I used to be a man so it was fine.
[Wipe that nasty smile off of your face.]
Huh? Was I smiling the whole time?
[Your dirty mind is reflected in your smile. Filthy animal.]
"Hey, do you have to say that much?!", I shouted loudly, completely forgetting the fact that I was hiding from my pre… My race.
"Who's there!?"
A single nymph with distinctive features stared at the boulder I was hiding at while moving closer slowly. That nymph had a wavy chiffon-layer haircut and held a short sword in her left hand. She was also wearing some clothes made of leathers and some ornamental accessories made of bones and fangs. Tribal was the most suitable word to describe her appearance.
"Damn! She's coming closer!", I peeped and mumbled to myself.
She must be kind of a guard or something since she was aware that something was behind the boulder.
"What should I do!?", I whispered in panic.
[Just act usual.]
"Huh!? How 'usual' is usual!?"
[Think of it yourself. Use your brain a bit.]
Damn. She was mad at me. Was it because of the p*****s talk before?
[Tsk.]
Damn straight. She clicked her tongue again.
"Appraisal.", I peeped again and silently used [Appraisal] on her.
[Gia (Blood Nymph/Alive)
Level: 27
Habitat: Abyss 16th-24th floor
HP: 342/350 MP: 50/50
SP: 163/200]
"What the fuck are those numbers!?"
I jumped out from behind the boulder and shouted as loud as I could. Well, I leveled up my [Appraisal] a little bit before so I could see more information.
"Who are you!?", the named Blood Nymph, Gia, pointed her short sword at me, who was still confused after seeing those ridiculous numbers.
[She is the one I mentioned before. The strongest one of the group.]
"You don't fucking need to tell me!", I yelled at Dea.
"Err… What are you talking about?", Gia tilted her head a little while still keeping her guard.
She was strong, ridiculously so. Was that the fruit of being a battle junkie of a race? Were all Blood Nymphs this strong? If so, I fucked up. With the fear of blowing my real intention, I came up with a cliche idea.
"N-No, nothing!", I stuttered a bit. "Where is this place?"
If you were asking for an art of pretending, you came to the right person. I pretended to have been lost. A cute little creature plus being lost equaled empathy from others. Sometimes my genius scared me. But at that time I still didn't know that it would bring misfortune to myself in the future.
[That is why you have that 'Rotten to the Bone' title.]
Ugh, shut it!
"Are you lost? Judging from your appearance, you're also a Blood Nymph…", Gia lowered her sword and sheathed it, then approached me slowly.
This dumb little shit was so easy to trick, that was what I thought at that time.
"Ugh… I can't remember anything…", I made a pitiful face. "Could you tell me where this place is?"
I used my biggest asset, my supposedly cute appearance, to haul a big catch. I tried looking at Gia, and her serious face turned soft. Cuteness for the win!
"I see… Is that spear yours?"
"Huh…?!", I turned my head and gasped.
I completely forgot about the spear I propped on the side of the boulder where I was hiding. If I lied she would definitely notice it since I came out from there, but if I didn't lie, what kind of excuse should I make to make her believe me? Fuck it, all in.
"Yes. It's mine.", I touched my cheek. "I was running from a fiery giant."
I tried to fake tears in my eyes. I kneeled down and started sobbing to make it more believable.
"Uuuuuu… It was so scary… Uwaaaaaaaa."
That was a nice act, even for me.
[... I am now questioning myself. Why would someone like you become an Apostle?]
Shut it! You didn't do jackshit about this predicament I was facing!
"Scary, huh?", Gia's voice trembled.
It was my win. I came triumphant. With this she would definitely be ta—
"A Blood Nymph ran from her opponent!?", she shouted while making a crazed smiley face. "You call yourself a Blood Nymph after that!?"
She pulled her sword from the sheath again and started swinging it wildly. What happened?
"You should be ashamed of yourself!", she walked towards my direction quickly, to the point she looked like running but she wasn't. "Come here, you coward fucker! Lemme teach you some etiquette!"
She grabbed me by my hair and started dragging me towards the camp.
"Hey! It hurts! Let go of me!", I yelled at her in pain.
It was seriously painful. She then stopped for a moment and slapped my face. I was completely dumbfounded by that and let out a confused voice.
"Eh…?"
"Not before I teach you how to be a real Blood Nymph. Just shut up and stop struggling!"
She dragged me again. I tried to retaliate but it was futile. Her strength far surpassed mine as she dragged me with ease. I kept yelling and cursing her but she paid no heed. She continued dragging me inside the camp while I was being stared at by other residents there.
"Hey, Gia! Who's that?", a Blood Nymph with a big mace approached us. "Phew! A nice cutie you got here!"
Being stared at by this thing with a mace made me shudder. I didn't know how to describe it but something told me to stay away from her, sexually. I also kinda felt her way of glancing was way too immodest. She was masculine, to the point I was almost unsure if she was a female.
[Now you know how it feels when a lady was being glanced disrespectfully by a man.]
"Ugh…", I let out a soft groan.
"I don't have time for you crap, Sue. I'm going to teach this little shit some proper manners.", Gia stopped her legs and babbled. "Seeing a coward boils my blood. Especially when she's from the same race as me."
I stared at Gia's face. Somehow it looked a bit lonely and remorseful. She then started walking again while still dragging me, but this time, she grabbed the back of my collar.
"Oh ho I see… Wait, I never saw her around here. So what's her name?", Sue voiced her question.
Hearing that question, Gia stopped her legs again. Her teeth started cluttering. What happened?
"Hey…", she looked at me with a troubled and sweaty face. "What's your name?"
"...", I stared at her blankly.
"Kuh… Kuahahahaha! As expected of Gia! Grabbing someone unknown by the neck and dragging her! Hahahaha! As expected of our Ace! Ahahaha!", Sue laughed her ass off, literally.
She was rolling on the ground as her masculine build twitched a lot.
"Urk…", Gia's face became redder and redder.
"Maaaaaan! You are definitely something, Gia! Pffffft! Hahahaha!"
Sue's voice was so loud, it almost tore my eardrums. Meanwhile, I was still being grabbed by the collar by an embarrassed girl. No, an embarrassed Blood Nymph.