"W-W-What is this monstrous Skill?" Ruvva was stunned as she collated the details of the Skill in her mind. The Bone Slip she gained the Skill from turned into dust and sprinkled on the floor.
"Would I really need something like this?" Ruvva shrieked in a fluster.
"Do you think you're a better judge of character than me?" Granny Oyo glared, "Foolish brat, don't you understand why I am giving you such a Skill?"
"I do, but this feels…diabolical." Ruvva felt dejected, "Using this on someone I love is…"
"Virala isn't someone simple. You can even say he's…dangerous." Granny Oyo expressed her thoughts.
"If he's like that, then why did you accept him as your disciple?" Ruvva asked, "Just because I love him isn't a reason enough to move your heart, right?"
"You're right," Granny Oyo nodded, "Even if he becomes your husband, I could care less. My Skills are too valuable to be passed down to just the lover of one of my countless grandkids."
"If you put it that way, I truly feel insignificant." Ruvva was depressed.
"That's the truth," Granny Oyo said without a change in expression, "I have fourteen children. Every one of them has at least six kids. Even after many deaths, the number of my relations is still significant. Two sons and three daughters. That's how many of my children died a month ago."
"I didn't even shed a tear for them." She stared at Ruvva calmly, causing the latter to shudder.
It made Ruvva realise the truth, shattering her delusion, 'Grandma is only allowing me to stay with her to relieve her boredom. She could care less if I died.'
A glance at Granny Oyo's unflinching expression even after recounting the death of five of her children, Ruvva was shocked. Only then did he understand that the woman before her was a monster that had been alive for more than a century.
As someone affected by the Fragment Disease, she started her life as a Death Row student. The amount of things she had to endure to survive until now was incomparable. She had slaughtered her way through countless Pranic Beasts to suppress her disease and try to find a cure.
Along the way, she lost her humanity. To her, having another child was merely a way to experiment with another method to suppress her disease. She was a maniac, her only desire other than becoming strong was to cure her disease.
For that reality, anything was fair game. If Ruvva didn't give Granny Oyo any entertainment value, she would be abandoned without hesitation.
A student without a backing; even if she were to become an Elite, it was just a matter of time before a Pranic Beast chomps upon her head. Realisation struck her hard, shattering the net of safety Ruvva had been wrapped under.
It forced her to think using all her wits, for the first time in her life focused on survival. Surprisingly, she was able to think and conclude most of Granny Oyo's intentions, feeling her mind functioning unrestricted.
'See, you can do it if you try.' Granny Oyo smiled internally. She was originally pissed about the damsel-in-distress aura Ruvva was exhibiting. 'Now, she's gradually becoming a proper Mammoth Clansmen.'
"Does Virala have enough potential to contribute immensely to the Clan?" Ruvva asked upon consolidating her thoughts. "What are the benefits and risks?"
"Let's see," Granny Oyo trailed off before speaking softly, "He's a variable that might show us a way out of certain doom. That's the benefit."
"And what is the risk?" Ruvva asked.
"He can result in our doom." Granny Oyo laughed, "He's an insanely high-risk high-reward case."
"So, the Skill you gave me is to combat that high-risk scenario, right?" Ruvva could finally make sense of Granny Oyo's thought process.
"Pretty much," Granny Oyo nodded, "Then, you know what to do next, right?"
"Yes, I'll wrap my fingers firmly around him. I'll be the only woman he ever thinks about." Ruvva nodded, "I'll succeed, no matter what."
"That's good." Granny Oyo nodded and threw her a Bone Slip, "In it contains the knowledge I gathered about taming a guy. It's a compilation from countless women from our Clan."
"We had something like this?" Ruvva was shocked as she absorbed all the knowledge, "Why is this even a thing?"
"Why do you think?" Granny Oyo snorted, "We're a merchant Clan. We visit various kingdoms all the time. And plenty of women in these kingdoms are gorgeous beauties."
"We Mammoth Clansmen value battle strength above all. So, even our women are robust looking. But, that's not the case in those kingdoms on the ground." She huffed in disdain, "There are women there that go their entire lives prettying themselves up. Even their Cultivation Techniques are geared to make them more alluring to a man."
"For those women, bagging a Mammoth Clansman is a sign of victory." She stared, her eyes cold, "Oftentimes, they succeed, since they are trained to charm men. Of course, once those women board our Settlement, we'll kill them using the various opportunities present. But it's still annoying to lose our men to some weak trash."
"So, that resulted in the birth of these techniques." Ruvva nodded, "We're basically brainwashing our men into worshipping us as the perfect wives, huh?"
"It's not guaranteed to work." Granny Oyo nodded, "After all, it's not a Skill but merely a collection of mind games."
"I'm not talking about that," Ruvva said and stared at the bone powder on the floor, "I'm talking about the Primary Extortion Skill, grandma."
"How…did you create such a diabolical Skill?"
'I extracted a lot of information from a certain reincarnate that inspired me to create it.' Granny Oyo thought of Inala and smirked, 'He's truly a treasure trove of inspiration.'
"You don't need to know, Ruvva." Granny Oyo calmly tapped Ruvva's forehead, "I made sure you'll forget the Skill after using it once. Moreover, you'll be unable to divulge this information to anyone else. It also cannot be extracted from your memory by any cultivator, even by a master stronger than me."
"I understand," Ruvva bowed in response, "Virala was looking for you just now. What should I say to him?"
"I'll be in closed doors meditation for the next ten months." Granny Oyo said curtly, "I'm preparing to break through. I'll leave Virala to you, Ruvva. You can make use of the wealth I left in my house out there."
"This is my test to you." She said, "If you succeed, I'll consider nurturing you in seriousness. If all you did is squander my wealth…"
"I will successfully inherit your business." Ruvva's eyes turned cold and calculating, "And I'll make Virala submit to me."
"Be assured of it, grandma."