From his vantage point on the ceiling, the Ash Devil gazed hungrily at the elf below. Her light blonde hair, tied up in a high ponytail, swayed with each deep squat. Her face was a mask of focus and determination, completely oblivious to the devilish eyes drinking in her every move.
The elf's light brown skin glistened with a sheen of sweat, highlighting her incredibly toned body. Her crop top was just short enough to be teasing, showing off the defined six-pack abs underneath. And damn, those tight shorts clinging to her hips were enough to make anyone's head spin.
Kai's gaze trailed down to her chest. Elves were stereotyped to have large gravity-defying breasts, but hers were just right—perky and full, at least C or D cup. Not obscenely big, but definitely not small either. The kind of tits that made your mouth water.
The elf was squatting serious weight—those plates weren't just for show. But it wasn't just her body that caught Kai's attention. Her form was perfect: back straight, thighs parallel to the floor, each rep executed with precision. As a gym enthusiast himself, Kai couldn't help but admire her skill. This elf was the complete package—beautiful, sexy, and incredibly athletic. She was a fantasy come to life.
'I've finally seen Mount Tai,' Kai joked to himself, pulling his ash form back as his vision returned to darkness. 'If I'd had a bit more time, or if she hadn't used that annoying song, I'd have stuck around to watch her a little longer… but, oh well, priorities.'
The ash devil slithered forward, greedily devouring the food the spiders had left behind. Although the skill points were minimal now, he still gained a bit of HP and mana. Naturally, he had no intention of stopping.
Sometime later, Kai noticed another opening on one edge of the room and thought, 'Let's quickly get out of this place and hunt a few things.'
Just like before, he peeked through the hole and was surprised by what he saw. The walls were lined with old, worn wooden planks, and dim lanterns hung from ropes above, swaying gently, casting flickering shadows. Thick, knotted ropes coiled along the sides, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
'Why the hell does this look like a ship... a pirate ship? The previous room clearly had modern workout equipment. Never mind, I should quickly get out of this weird place.'
He surveyed his surroundings again and just let himself fall to the wooden surface below; he was ash so he wouldn't make much sound and it was faster than simply floating down.
It made sense but the experience was rather horrifying. He felt like he fell down a tall building and with a plop, his whole body scattered around. His vision disoriented, and a sense of nausea hit him, but soon everything was normal, his ash form back to original.
'Yeah, I won't do such a thing again,' he promised himself and made his way towards the wooden window.
[It's locked.]
'Oh, thanks… wait, you are omniscient?'
[Near the wooden latch, the word 'closed' is written in Celestia language. It means that a defense mechanism is activated so it's not recommended for you to use it to exit.]
Kai looked up and sure enough, some gibberish was written near the wooden latch. He turned around and started making his way through the hallway, staying near the wall but not touching it; what if some mechanism popped up?
Soon he reached a T-point, on the left came the sound of another song, again with bad lyrics. Kai decided to go right.
'Man this ship-like place is confusing.'
[Time Remaining: 00:06:36]
Kai hastened his swimming speed, he came across the control room, rest room, and finally something called 'slaf room'.
'Slaf? Don't tell me it means slave?'
[It means servant.]
'Oh.'
He was about to move away when the door of the slaf room jerked open, it was too fast for him to react.
A blue skinned short man stepped out; weird poke marks on his forehead, he grumbled a few curses. "I'll free myself soon and kill these bitches. Making me do so much labor work, man—"
He froze as he looked at the dark ash like substance in front of him and made a disgusted face. "Who the fuck shat here?"
He clicked his tongue in annoyance and shouted inside the room he came from, "Jim, clean this weird ash quickly. I ain't doing it."
"Yeah, yeah." A drowsy voice replied back.
The blue man snorted and walked away.
Kai entered the small, dimly lit room. A window appeared in his view, along with a desk and chair. Two beds, one on the left and one on the right, completed the sparse furnishings.
The ash devil noticed another blue man snoring on one of the beds. He asked the system if the window was open, and thankfully it was. But he hesitated, unsure of his next move.
'Should I use this opportunity to kill and devour him…? But what if an alarm goes off? System, what do you say?'
[The slaf's master would be notified once the slaf died.]
'Damn,' Kai thought.
But the system continued.
[It's because of the slaf mark they have; it notifies them of the time and place of death. The only way to remove the mark is to instantly annihilate it before it can notify the taskmaster.]
A red glow appeared on Kai's body. His devouring ability could easily handle that, but he hesitated.
Killing a random man for points felt too inhumane. He worried that if he started, he might continue to do it without reason.
'No, I shouldn't just think about points. I can easily get them by eating anything. The real issue is my urge to devour. I need to control it.'
Killing was fine if it was justified. Kai never liked acting on pure instinct; he wasn't like his parents.
Just as he decided to move away, the blue man snorted and shifted in his sleep, causing a small notebook to fall from his hand. Pages scattered around the floor.
Kai glanced at the pages, noting they seemed like a personal journal. He asked the system.
'Is there something valuable there?'
[Scanning… One of the pages mentions the location of the horus gate nearby.]
'Oh? What is it? Actually, no need for lore. Just tell me what can I find there.'
The system reply was concise.
[A beautiful woman and treasures.]