3 III
"I'm… not a…"
"Perverted fiend! Shameless, perverted, devilish fiend!"
"I…"
Rokas scratched his black hair, not knowing what to say. He was getting violated by a thirteen year old beauty who also specialised as a killing machine… while being completely naked. To say that this was the most awkward moment in his life was an understatement.
Jasmine looked away, covering her eyes.
"What kind of man… walks around completely naked in the wild!? Were you raised alongside profound beasts? Are you a caveman? Are you preying on passing by, powerless, women!? No matter the reason… you… you've forever tainted this princess' eyes!"
"I'm sorry…"
"You're sorry? No amount of apologising will make me forgive you! The moment that I regain my power… you are… dead!"
Rokas took a deep breath, trying to come up with a valid excuse. If he had never left that damn mountain… he would have never ripped his clothes. Then again, he wouldn't have discovered his consume ability either.
"I'm a demon… so… I lost my clothes when I… transformed earlier."
'Why am I stuttering so damn much?' Rokas felt like crying as he heard his own voice. "And that… was my last set."
"So… you're telling me that you have no clothes whatsoever?"
"I'd be wearing some if I did."
Jasmine sighed, shaking her head. "To think that someone as hopeless as you is the owner of the Sky Poison Pearl."
"I mean… who are you, anyway?" Rokas inquired like he didn't know exactly who she was. "Sky Poison Pearl? What is that?"
'I hate acting dumb.'
[System: The pains of a reader not wanting to give everyone an existential crisis.]
'Not only are you a shameless and perverted fiend, you are clueless of your own treasures. Not that they belonged to you… but they do now." Jasmine sighed once again, hiding her contempt and sorrow as she continued looking away. "Earlier, you feasted on the previous owner of the Sky Poison Pearl, a heavenly treasure, and miraculously merged it with your own body. As a result, this princess is now tethered to you for the near future."
"... Why?"
'I hate acting dumb x2.'
"During an incident… this princess contracted a deadly poison which only the Sky Poison Pearl can suppress and cure overtime. However, that is not all. This princess will also require a multitude of resources to rebuild my body once the poison is cured."
"You're… uhh… needy." Rokas remarked, gathering the courage to stand up from the ground. Still, his hands covered his crotch. The saddest thing is… that the bastard was rising! 'Please, don't do this, I'm NOT a lolicon.'
"You…" Sensing his movements, Jasmine grew flustered and did not dare look back. "You dare… prey on this princess?!"
"No… that's not… it's just… what's in it for… me?"
"Alright… here is the deal! In thirty years, you must find three items; a stalk of Netherworld Udumbara Flower, three Profound Beast Cores no lower than that of the Tyrant Profound Realm and… at-least thirty-five kilos of Purple Veined God Crystal! That is not all, you must also reach the Sovereign Profound Realm!"
"... Thirty years for all of that." Rokas nodded slightly. "I think I can manage. What's… in it for me, though?"
'Wouldn't the ceremony be long-done by thirty years? Not only that, but the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor and her goon squad would have raped Primal Chaos. By consuming Yun Che… I've also inadvertently strained myself with the task of saving the universe! Fuck me-'
"This princess can clearly see that you, despite being quite respectably strong in this region, are completely clueless in the Profound Way. Therefore, I offer to lend my wisdom and guide you as your master! Of course, to solidify this pact, you must first kneel down before me."
'Is it THAT obvious that I'm trash??'
"I'm not sure if you want to see me kneel…"
"When you find a set of clothes."
"That's going to take a while… but… I agree. Although… what wisdom can a little girl like you have?" Rokas questioned, once again acting like he didn't know.
'I hate acting dumb x3… but it's the logical question in this situation!'
"... Hmph, first you dared to sully this princess' eyes and now you dare to question my wisdom!" Jasmine snapped back, her killing intent rushing over Rokas like an ocean.
"Sorry… alright, how about this… if I find your 'wisdom' helpful, I'll get you all the things you're asking for?"
"... I suppose that is reasonable."
"Alright, that's… settled."
[Jasmine (Fortune X) Confidant Rank: 0 → 1]
After that Jasmine vanished inside of the Sky Poison Pearl and Rokas was left with the task of finding some clothes.
~
----------------
Name: Rokas / Jiufang Ke
Alias: Perverted fiend
Race: Demon
Identity: Wild mountain dweller
Age: 16
Profound Strength: Earth Profound Realm X
----------------
Grades (They take into account profound arts as well, which you completely lack).
Comprehension: F
Strength: F → C+
Endurance: F → C+
Agility: F → D+
Profound Energy Quantity: F → C+
Profound Energy Control: F
Luck: A → F-
----------------
Confidants
The System (World): 1 → 2
Jasmine (Fortune X): 1
----------------
'Only through diligence may the heavenly procrastinator grow'
Secret Ability: Consume
The ability to consume and assimilate.
Meditation/Comprehension Goal III: Dedicate three hundred hours towards cultivation (15/300).
Reward: Inner World C
Dual-Cultivation Goal II: Kiss a girl
Reward: Clothes Beam
-Cultivation resources only serve to strengthen foundations and provide additional battle strength.
Bloodline: Berserk Nine-Headed Flood Dragon A-
Description: After consuming the late true inheritor of Ni Xuan, the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon has evolved to exhibit the berserk attribute alongside immunity, absolute control and increased affinity to the fire element. Not only that but its natural attributes have skyrocketed. Due to the way that the Heretic God's legacy was assimulated, you did not gain his profound veins but instead reinforced your own. As a result, you cannot use his profound art and will have to make your own to use the berserk attribute effectively. The good thing is; you get to keep your profound strength. Hooray!
----------------
The reward for talking to a girl he liked (Jasmine) had quite an underwhelming reward… confidence! Even so, all of it was self-earned so the lousy system didn't exactly reward him. Regarding the ten-hour cultivation goal, he earned himself Energy Weapon F which allowed him to create simple blunt weapons out of profound energy. As the days passed, Rokas became more accepting of his nudist situation and his confidence naturally grew. Thankfully, profound practitioners could clean themselves with profound energy so being dirty wasn't an issue.
Besides, this deep into the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range, he was alone… except for the profound beasts and Jasmine, of course. Jasmine was asleep most of the time, however, and kept to her word that she would not teach him a thing until he got on some clothes. Given this… Rokas decided to venture out into the outer regions.
'So, care to tell me why my luck dropped to F?'
[System: Mommy ancestral goddess did not appreciate you killing her golden child.]
'So…?'
[System: The Mirror of Samsara has reversed the whole karma thing with Xia Qingyue. Essentially, she wants to shatter your destiny and all the good karma is going to her.]
'... Say what!? The Ancestral Goddess herself is on my dick now?'
[System: You heard right. She wants to fuck you… and not in the good way.]
'Rah… so, as a superior being, mr System, can you tell her to fuck off?'
[System: Killing Yun Che was your decision… and you will live with the consequences. However, I will advise you on how to break the chain of fate.]
'And that is?'
[System: Reach a high confidant rank with the Hanged Man (XII).]
'Hanged Man… I see.' Rokas chuckled, shaking his head. 'Fate itself wishes to pair me with her.'
He kept walking into the outer regions of the mountain range, where military soldiers and other 'experts' would traverse in search of goodies. Around these parts, Rokas was the silent King of the Jungle so he was left undisturbed. Soon enough… he did find a group of profound practitioners.
"Who… the fuck is that?"
"Is he naked??"
Coming out of a massive bush, Rokas revealed himself in all his glory and jumped the group without saying anything. His voice was not the most intimidating, after all… it would only serve to make things more awkward. He managed to grab hold of one guy while the rest ran away.
"Wait… what do you want with me?" The guy struggled but Rokas kept him still for quite some time.
"I need clothes," Rokas replied, finally letting go. He had grown to ignore his nakedness for the most part. "Get me over a dozen set of clothes and I will give you several Spirit Profound Realm beast cores."
"... Spirit Profound Realm beast cores?? Are you serious?"
"I… need… clothes…!" Rokas repeated, starting to feel irritated as his eyes turned red,
"Alright… alright… I'll get you some clothes. Just stay right here and I'll be back in a day at the most. I promise!"
"..."
Rokas breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the man's figure fade away into the distance.
"Why did I lash out like that?"
[System: Reliance on your beastly instincts, the Sigma Male Grindset and berserk attribute have made you a little wild.]
'I… see.'
…
As promised, Rokas went on to hunt several Spirit Profound Realm beasts with his Energy Weapon. The most complicated thing he could create was a very flimsy club. However, even with that, he was easily able to outrun all of the Spirit Profound Realm beasts and hunt quite a few down. Their remains were, naturally, stored in the Sky Poison Pearl.
However, when Rokas returned to the spot to retrieve his clothes, the guy never came. Even after two days, there was nothing.
'... Is this my bad luck coming into play or did I spook out the guy?'
[System: Yes.]
'I swear to fucking God if I have to go into the damn city myself…'
As the idea came to mind, he smiled slightly.
'You know what, I fucking will!'
Rokas grit his teeth, transforming into his true form.
…
Cyan Forest Town.
"ROAAAAR!!!"
A nine-headed flood dragon stormed the Cyan Forest Town, terrifying all of its inhabitants and forcing them to leave the city. However, some fools thought they could be the heroes of the day and slay it… irritating the beast. Its heads jumped forward and murdered a few of them.
Later, Rokas woke from his true form and realised what he had done as he saw blood on the streets.
'I… killed… those people too. Innocent people…'
[System: Innocent how? You killed idiots… nothing of value in the world was lost. They tried to slay you and you fought back. What is the wrong in that, Mr Rocky?]
'... Nothing.' Rokas replied, taking a deep breath as he made an attempt to consolidate himself. 'Nothing at all.'
'However… I need more control of my true form or worse things will happen. Almighty System, how can I accomplish that?'
[System: Practice.]
'I thought as much.'
Rokas sighed, taking a look around the ghost town. After the nine-headed flood dragon had occupied it, no one dared come in so Rokas could walk around naked freely without shame.
'I might as well acquire what I was looking for.'
Indeed, this time bad luck did not screw him up. He found plenty of decent clothes… they were a size or two too large but more than good enough. He looted a few other things of interest before leaving the Cyan Forest Town an accomplished young man.
~
After gaining some clothes, Rokas returned to the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range to breakthrough into the Sky Profound Realm and learn some moves from Jasmine. She, however, continued her nap and ignored him. So… he was left to his own devices. While meeting Cang Yue in the New Moon Profound Palace was enticing, he decided not to go through with it and focus on his profound strength instead. That and learning to control his beastly instincts.
Knowing that the universe itself was against him, he didn't want to risk accidentally getting tangled up in any conflicts either.
The nine-headed flood dragon proceeded to dominate the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range, effectively making it the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon Mountain Range. With each transformation, Rokas tried to reign in his instincts and take complete control. It took a while… but he made solid progress within three weeks.
During that time, he would also meditate a modest five hours per day, leading to a total of 98 and a grand total of 120 hours.
"Phew…"
After a meditation session, Rokas went over to cool off at the waterfall where Yun Che had trained. Unlike the latter, he was not hurt at all by the waterfall's collapsing water and actually felt quite comfortable under it. It was like that nice cold rain dripping onto you after a hot summer day.
"... You're awake," Rokas remarked as he felt Jasmine's presence behind him. He went over and put on his oversized, baggy, shirt and turned to her. "Well… are you going to teach me anything?"
"Hmph, it seems that you've finally found some clothes. A bit too large… but it is a vast improvement from before. As promised, this princess will indulge you with a worthy movement profound skill."
'The Star God's Broken Shadow?'
Rokas couldn't hide his excitement.
