Mimou
patreon
Chapter 172 : It's me... Soso
🕑 Added 2025-01-04 15:09:39 +0000 UTC« Chapter-171 | Index | Chapter-173 »
As the guild leader laughed to her joke and turned to address the others, Rachel struck without hesitation, driving her blade through his neck. He collapsed to the ground, dying instantly.
[You have killed an ally.]
[Skill Option Activated: Betrayer’s Gift.]
[Ally’s trust level: Absolute, 10/10.]
[Talent level multiplied by 10.]
[Demon God Bloodline Purity: +0.02%. (Opponent level 78)]
'She gained 0,02% of bloodline purity. It's the highest level player she's killed after all.' Sora understood.
Her three stunned allies backed away, their faces pale as they stared at her. Threatening them in order for them to keep everything about her secret, Rachel left the scene and packed all her belongings.
Without looking back, she left France, heading toward foreign regions where her strength could grow further.
With a talent level of 3000, reaching level 70 came quickly. The monsters she hunted fell with in a few blows and the rewards generous.
Slowing down the display speed, he waited for Rachel to open her innate skill description to understand what effect she had unlocked. Not having to wait for long, he read the second option's effect.
[Skill Option 2: Fake Alien. Create an alternate identity from the race of your choice. Allocate experience to your alternate identities freely.]
Reading her strange skill, Rachel was surprised. 'How am I supposed to use such a stupid skill? If I used the identity of someone from another race, won't I be hunted like a dog?'
Sora who heard her thought also frowned, 'What is this skill for? Wouldn't she be kicked out of the kingdom if she used an identity from another race?'
Impatient to know what the next option would be, he skipped many scenes, including her schemes to betray and kill more players.
When she reached level 90, he read the third skill option.
[Skill Option 3: Traveler. Gain the power to travel to other kingdoms through your [Portal Palace].]
When she accessed her [Portal Palace], Rachel found herself in a vast, desolate expanse. In the center of the space stood a small hut similar to what Sora had seen in his own [Soul Palace].
When she stepped inside the hut, however, the memory blurred. Sora couldn’t make out what she was seeing, but he didn’t need to. 'She probably found her real body,' he thought.
Rachel’s thoughts changed drastically after this revelation. Overjoyed by the discovery, she began to justify everything she had done. 'They weren’t real,' she thought, her mind racing at the realization. 'None of them were real. The notification mentioned characters... If I'm a character, what I’ve done… doesn’t matter. I’m not a monster. I’m just in fake world or a game, and this is the way it’s meant to be played.'
Leaving the hut, she saw ten portals standing in a wide semicircle. Above a dark portal at the center, she could read [Demon Kingdom].
He watched in shock as she created another identity that looked similar to her original appearance. Using a customization panel, that Sora was familiar with, to create a new identity, Rachel found herself in the body of a level 1 demon.
Sora watched as she reached level 10 instantly by simply allocating a bit of her experience to her new identity.
Taking a few steps forward, she entered through the portal, and appeared in a place Sora had never seen.
'Don't tell me this is the Demon Kingdom?' Sora was in shock as he read the series of notifications in front of Rachel, 'What the hell?'
As the news sank in, Sora understood something, 'She can go anywhere! She just has to enter her [Portal Palace] and enter another kingdom from there. She can go anywhere she wants, any time!'
A shiver ran down his spine as he realized a key element, 'According to the information I've collected from players' memories, people can't enter their [Palace] if they're in combat or in a duel. I need to make sure she never gets the opportunity to run!'
Glad he found something that made digging through her memories worth it, he focused even more to find out any ace she might have under her sleeve.
She soon reached level 100.
[Skill Option 4: Charm. You can release an aura that makes people with weaker mental power than you have a good impression of you. These people's trust in you will increase proportionally to the gap in mental power.
Restriction: These persons can not reach the absolute trust level towards you through this skill effect.]
Rachel frowned at the restriction but still enjoyed the skill effect. 'With this, it'll be easier to make a good impression. I just need to understand what mental power is, and my strength will soar.'
From that point forward, Rachel’s betrayals grew colder and more calculated. Her initial hints of remorse were long gone, replaced by satisfaction as she watched her victims quickly fall to her [Charm]. She convinced herself that their pain wasn’t real, that their sacrifices were necessary since they were weaker and naive.
Her bloodline purity increased steadily with every kill, unlocking the second tier of her [Demon God Bloodline] after years of struggle.
Before entering the Ascension Tower, Rachel reviewed her stats, her lips curling into a smile of pure satisfaction.
[Status Update]
Profile: Rachel Claude
Status: Alive
Talent Level: 36'450'000
Growth Factor: 5
Class: Blood Sword King (Level 138)
Body Level: Omega 29
Energy Level: Omega 30
Mental Power : Omega 29
innate Skill:
• [Two-Faced] (Click to see effects)
[Supreme Bloodline : Demon God]
Bloodline Purity : 2% (Common Demon)
Skills: (...see more...)
Sora sneered as he observed her self-satisfaction. She’s so busy betraying people for quick gains that she hasn’t honed a single skill. She never experiments or innovates, and she’s wasting the true potential of that bloodline.
Still, Sora couldn’t deny the terrifying truth. 'Despite all of that, she was already stronger than most level 160 players before entering the tower. That innate skill of hers is absurdly powerful. Seven betrayals turned her into a monster. And her basic talent level even increased to 5 now that her bloodline purity is at the Common Demon level.'
A chill ran down Sora’s spine as he considered what could have happened if Rachel had been given more time to develop her abilities. 'I won't let you run, trust me.'
---------------------------------------
She performed outstandingly in the tower, her power growing at a pace that surpassed everyone. Every trial pushed her higher, her talent and bloodline working in perfect synergy. By the time she reached the twelfth floor, she was confident in her ability to reach the top, convinced that no one could stop her.
Until she met him.
Sora—known to her as Ralph—appeared on the twelfth floor, and everything changed. Their encounter was brief but devastating for Rachel. Stripped of her progress and humiliated, she was forcibly ejected from the tower.
Rachel stumbled out into the world, her expression dark with fury as she remembered their expressions and words. Clenching her fists, she swore to herself, 'Ralph, Emily, Kara, Morgan, and Salim. I’ll make you pay for this humiliation. I’ll make sure you regret crossing me. And Clémence, you damn weakling. You promised you'd help me pass the trial, but failed to keep your word.'
For days after her expulsion, Rachel was consumed by rage.
She resumed her leveling with an almost fanatical determination, channeling her frustration into every monster she slaughtered.
Fed up with the players of the human kingdom, Rachel made a decision. She would stop investing her experience in her human identity and focus on her alternate identities instead. Remembering her [Portal Palace], she reviewed her options, her focus on two kingdoms: the Demon Kingdom and the Elemental Kingdom.
The Demon Kingdom offered her the best opportunity to increase her bloodline purity. She had already tasted the amount of purity each race provided, and players from that kingdom were the best.
'I can even suppress anyone with a bloodline inferior to mine. I'll become a god in not time, there.' She smiled at the thought.
The Elemental Kingdom, on the other hand, attracted her for an entirely different reason. She had observed that the elemental beings were among the most naive and trusting races, quick to form bonds and even quicker to let down their guard.
'That's the perfect place to exploit my [Two-Faced] skill.'
---------------------------------------
Sora, who had appeared with the best timing and interrupted her leveling, smiled coldly. 'So you were spreading your experience through three identities. Smart to change kingdoms, in theory. But it’s a shame you chose the human kingdom for your growth. Such a bad choice.'
Pausing, he let out a low chuckle. “Enough time spent in this demon’s mind. It’s time for you to pay for your sins.”
Deactivating the [Memory Sculpting] skill, he returned to his body, his expression hardening. He stood over Rachel’s unconscious form, his gaze cold.
His hand crackling with electricity, he canceled his mental domain and sent a tiny arc of lightning toward her.
Rachel’s body jerked violently, her eyes opening as she gasped for breath. Her disoriented gaze darted around before settling on him. The sight made her freeze.
Her eyes shook as she whispered, “Another Illusion?”
"Long time no see, Rachel. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not an illusion..." Pausing for a second and looking at the disbelief in her eyes, he added, "It's me... Soso." Sora said, with a gentle expression on his face.
--------------------
This is after the first edit. The final version will be smoother! If you feel like the quality is lacking, I can make chapters go through another round of editing in the future.
This is the first 'flashback' i've ever written, and I hope it portrayed what I wanted. Rachel's gradual transformation, and Sora browsing through her memory to discover most of her secrets and trump cards. Sorry if this was quite long, I didn't want to rush it, but at some points I wanted to answer to old questions instead of letting them unanswered. I don't know if it was the right choice!
Time to see how things go from here!
« Chapter-171 | Index | Chapter-173 »
Comments
mimou
I'm happy you like it!
Iron
It feels somewhat cathartic to see her being slowly peeled layer by layer, lie by lie, and defeated so...'easily' I know the preparation is half the battle and the road to get here wasn't simple but still. I like it.
Peter Smith
The most cruel thing sora can do to her now, is inform her that she never needed to kill the ones she loved. That plus the knowledge that they will never forgive her will hurt her deeply. I also noted that there are no new children in this false world... Which leads me to think that they can only be born in the real. If you wanted to be extra cruel you could let her find out in the real world that she was pregnant. She had an entire future ahead of her filled with endless love, and she threw it away for a false world, and not just that but she doesnt even get to keep the growth she gained. The only way she could ever earn it back, is if the her of that false world she chose never existed. I would be very entertained if nathan had a innate skill that gave sinners a chance to atone, and as the one who caused his awakening she is his first sinner, forced to atone if she ever wants to regain anything. To suffer endlessly knowing that she cannot weasel her way out, only suffer.
