Something clicked when I saw the teleportation circle out of the corner of my eyes. “Let’s see if we can find something for you to wear. It’s not like corpses need their clothes anymore.” 

“As you wish, Master. Would it be prudent to ask for your input?” She blinked and softly smiled. 

“I don’t know the first thing about fashion, but I’ll have my comments if you want them. The final choice is yours, though.” Sekh nodded at my words while I stood up. I extended a hand for her, and we walked over to Beccy’s corpse. We weren’t in a dark room, but I wondered if she could see in the dark. I asked her, and she held up a delicate hand and faced her nails outward. They shimmered a deep black flame, and not much light was emitted. 

“It probably isn’t as good as your night vision, but Lionfolk can also see in the dark.” 

I then remembered something important and asked her about chimeras. 

“Chimeras are created when many corpses are gathered in one spot for a long time. The surrounding mana takes the bodies and combines them into a being capable of growing in strength by devouring others. They're powerful, but they don’t start with sentience. That’s something they must develop on their own. Back when I roamed around, I fought with and against my fair share of them,” she academically answered. I wasn’t expecting something so concise and to the point. “Most start off as Lesser Chimera, the rank you are now. They rise in rank and gain new abilities by assimilating corpses.” 

“But you don’t know how to make them?” 

“I do not. The most I could do was create a body to house a soul. That’s what I used after summoning your soul to my prison. I was able to do that because it shined so brightly in the void that I saw it from my seal. As for your soul becoming capable of sustaining chimerism? I don’t know any more than you.” 

“I think…” I sighed and forced my brain to think back. “I think…something asked me if I wanted to live. While I was in the void, I think? Yeah, I remember seeing words, but I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me.” 

“Sending words to the void?” Sekh asked. She whispered in a quiet voice before shaking her head. “That’s a powerful feat. But if someone can do that, it doesn’t mean they could turn you into a chimera.” 

After Sekh’s answer, we both thought on it a little bit. When a sigh escaped from our lips at the same time, I changed the subject over to her choice of body parts for me. Sekh elegantly explained that Amos’s chosen warriors suffered from defects, wounds, or maladies, so she chose the best from each. 

Beccy had a robust ribcage and spine, so her torso was picked for that reason. Susize’s head was for [Eyes of the Huntress] and her bright mind. Reina was a sharpshooter with [Deadeye]. Yaekira’s legs were the best part of her body because they were strong and sturdy. That just left Murag, the Ashen Orc historian. He suffered from a minor disease that weakened his bones, but he had the exceptionally sought-after [Scholar’s Tongue].  

“I knew you were male, but the four women were stronger in nearly every way. I needed to give you [Scholar’s Tongue], so his penis was the last option. If I were stronger, I could have given you more of their skills. But after summoning you, I was nearly tapped out. I apologize if your body isn’t to your liking, but—” 

“You did fine,” I told her, staring at Beccy’s corpse. I poked my chest and swiveled my hips a bit to swing my dick. “I don’t really care what kind of body I have, but… Thank you, Sekh, for doing that. Even if you didn’t turn me into a chimera, you’re the reason I’m here right now." Sekh wrapped her hands around my back and gave me an incredible hug, then she rubbed her arms because she knew I loved how soft her fur felt. I looked down and kissed her forehead. Perhaps she figured she didn’t have to say anything because the furious beating of her heart said it all. 

We may be master and slave, but it doesn’t feel like it. That’s good, though... I don’t want to be a slave owner. And we only just met, but I’ve never felt more safe or comfortable in all my life. 

Sekh tossed the rest of Beccy’s clothes to me, but her eyes lingered on the still body. Her hands formed into fists. The anger coming off her trembling shoulders made it clear she had unfinished business. I figured she was over it because I had destroyed their spirits, but I was wrong. 

“I’ll give you your privacy but do it away from the other corpses. I don’t want her blood to dirty their clothes.” After being imprisoned for a millennium, on top of them stopping her from destroying the world, Sekh had more grievances against them than I did. 

When Sekh had dragged the body far enough, I nodded and turned around.  A primal screech followed as I heard a hard fist impacting against dead flesh. 

Ten minutes later, I turned around and saw Sekh covered from head to toe in glorious, striking crimson while carrying Beccy’s head. Her eyes had been gouged out by something hot, and there were thick, black burnt marks trailing down her cheeks.  

Behind her sat a corpse that was, honest to God, unrecognizable as anything more than a chunk of disemboweled collection of meat and bone.  

After Sekh flung the head against the wall as hard as she could, I watched this paradise become slightly bloodier. Sekh looked downtrodden, but then she flashed me a bloodstained smile and remarked it felt good venting a grudge a thousand years in the making. 

“Make sure you get it all out of your system," I said.

“I will. Thank you, Master. I haven’t killed or fought in a long time. It’ll be good to get my body used to being bloody again.” 

Even while covered in blood...she’s still beautiful... 

---

Three decapitations later, Sekh was covered from head to toe in thick, dried blood. She made way for the waterfall and jumped into the pond. Within seconds, it looked like a whale had been butchered underwater. Sekh dipped down under the water and shook herself around a bit. When she resurfaced, she looked like death incarnate, surrounded by a thousand liters of blood. It was a haunting, beautiful sight, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. 

I dropped the armful of clothes and sat down, staring while Sekh floated around the pond on her back. Her bloody breasts poked above the water, but I was staring at the blissful expression on her face.  

“Master,” she said. 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m going to ask you something. Can you answer it honestly?” Sekh stopped floating and stood up, acting like a beacon of beauty in a pool full of death. Since everything here was created by Susize’s magical seeds, it didn’t take long for the water to purify itself and become palatable. 

“I will.” 

“As a chimera, you’re going to have to eat and devour to take full advantage of it. That includes people. Master, do you think you can eat a Catfolk? A Lionfolk? What about a spider? Do you think you can end the life of a human and watch them die before your eyes?” Sekh approached the end of the pond and rested her soaking tits on the grass. Her drenched tail swam like a lethargic shark. 

Before replying, I stood up and entered the pond, taking a seat right beside the Dark Lord of Tyranny. All I did was plop down, but Sekh found it suitable to sit between my legs and leaned her weight against my chest. Then she took my hands and placed them on her tits. Murag’s instinct channeled through my arms, and I started to give my loyal Dark Lord a tender breast massage.  

"I can, and I will. I’m living for my revenge, Sekh. I won’t have an ounce of hesitation when it comes to me and my power. Animals, people, royalty, nobility, the rich, the poor... I don’t care. I’ll say this now, but I will not murder indiscriminately. I won’t walk up to some random man and put a bullet in his brain just so I can devour him. But if someone is actively preventing us from accomplishing my objective? I’ll bite their neck and drink their goddamn blood. If I want to stick Meruria’s head on a spike, I can’t be bothered with worrying about bullshit like possible cannibalism. Besides, I’m not human anymore, am I? Not really a High Elf, Dark Elf, or any other race that’s part of my new body. That goes for any race that I might assimilate in the future.” 

“Hmm... That’s a good answer. Before we leave here, do you have any questions about the world? How much did Meruria tell you?” 

“Just the bare minimum.” 

 “I’ve never been an instructor, but I’ll do my best.” 

“While that would be nice, it would probably make more sense to give me a lecture about things later.” 

“Of course,” Sekh replied. I continued to squeeze her breasts for another minute or so before we emerged from the pond. They were just so soft and inviting, and my dark hands sank into them when I squeezed them. What was even better were her moans. Each time Sekh licked her lips and panted sent a thrill right through my body. I grabbed my dick and rubbed it against her sexy back, but it refused to get hard. Even when Sekh pushed back to sandwich it between our bodies, it remained in a deep slumber. I was feeling sexual attraction to her, yet my body refused to listen to me.  

Sekh stood out of the water, turned around, and kneeled. She deeply kissed me while stroking my cock between her two hands. When she announced she was getting out, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her bare stomach. The seal was right there, so I kissed it as well while she softly stroked my head. 

Thanks to the warm, bright, yellow artificial sun floating just overhead, it didn’t take long for us to dry. But now it was time to pick out Sekh’s outfit, so I took a seat on the grass and offered my comments after getting dressed. 

After a bit of back and forth, she decided on Reina’s tunic and pants. The red and gold accents really brought out the craftsmanship, especially around the bust. However, Sekh was too well-endowed for it to fit comfortably. Beccy’s dress was perhaps better, but Sekh was averse to wearing it. She also disliked underwear and chose to go commando. It was her choice, and I was fine with it. After that, we divided the leftover clothes evenly after realizing we could sell them to get some quick money. Sekh mentioned that items created by a Lord sold for a lot. For someone like Amos, Sekh said it would be nearly impossible to get the full value from it. 

I was fine getting even 10%. I was sure we would need money but getting started with a massive fortune would only cause problems and attract undue attention. We weren’t strong enough to handle any unwanted trouble that might come with that. 

“I take it chimeras aren’t that popular? You’d hinted that they were rare, but I get the feeling they’re outright hated.” I looked down at my Dark Elf hands and compared them to the skin tone of my tits. If someone saw me naked, they’d know something was up. 

“They’re actively hunted and slaughtered because people fear their power. They have no true limit to their potential. I do not know if they still exist, but there was a guild called Bellerophon a thousand years ago. They prided themselves on being the very bane of chimeras, and I crossed paths with them a few times... But we don’t have anything to worry about. I recommend using [Status Cloak] to masquerade as a High Elf.” 

“That’s a good idea,” I said, doing just that. 

“As long as you hide the mismatched skin tones and not transfigure or assimilate in front of anyone, we’ll be safe.” 

After Sekh said that, she spoke about [Nature’s Workshop] and wondered what all I could make since we were surrounded by grass, trees, rocks, leaves, and vines.  

I evoked the skill by vocalizing it. A window appeared in my vision. At the top, there were the number of leaves, branches, blades of grass, and other items relating to nature located in my general area. Below that? A list of craftable products with how many resources it would take to create them.  

Sekh said that for most crafting skills, the overall general knowledge related to the skill increased when it leveled up. As an example, she chose [Weapon Creation]. When making a spear without the skill, it would look like it would fall apart after a single stab. But with the skill at Lv. 5 or 6, recreating the same spear with the same materials would result in a sturdy, strong, and impressive weapon.  

To truly make a special spear, different skills like [Lumbering], to more efficiently cut down a tree, [Carpentry], to better shave that tree’s wood into a perfect shaft, [Mining], to properly extract ore, and [Blacksmith], to guide my hammer strikes in making the perfect spearhead from an ingot, would be needed. And [Weapon Creation] would work to tie everything together.  

And that was all because of the new knowledge gained by those skills. It sounded easier said than done. Just get the skills and make a weapon, but SP was rare. You weren’t always guaranteed to get a lot when you level up, and some skills required more SP than others.  

But [Nature’s Workshop] was special because I was part High Elf. I didn’t understand it that much, but some skills provided certain boons for those of a certain race. For myself, [Nature’s Workshop] took care of everything. I just had to select an item, indicate how many I wanted, and pressed the craft button.  

Like magic, the chosen items would materialize in front of me while the overall count of raw materials in the area decreased, and I didn’t have to do anything manually except give it some mana. But when I stared out at the slice of nature in front of me, instinctual knowledge of its properties and how I could best use the leaves, vines, tree sap, and grass just appeared in my mind. 

“Woah…” I whispered, my voice unable to be free of awe and excitement as two wooden, leaf-wrapped canteens lightly fell into my outstretched hands. They were about eight inches tall, five inches wide, and about an inch thick. It came with a wooden clip to attach to a belt loop or d-ring. I twisted off the cap and stuck a finger inside, not expecting the innards to be as smooth as metal. I handed one to Sekh, and we moved to the pond to fill them.  

During this, I went back into [Nature’s Workshop] and created two cloaks and two backpacks.  

The cloaks were made of leaves with little holes that had vines snaked through in an intercrossing pattern. It was held together by sap, but due to the design, the pressure of one leaf pressed against another, forming a natural bond fueled by gravity.  

The backpacks were standard, being nothing more than a sizable chunk of hollowed wood wrapped around a nest of glued leaves with two straps and a vine that closed it up. To test its strength, I placed one down and stomped. When it didn’t break, I was quite happy with the quality and durability.  

When our canteens were filled, we attached them to our backpacks and put our cloaks on. Sekh turned around and twirled, sending the makeshift cloak of leaves and grass soaring. 

She’s pretty. 

We then took a break and snacked on some of the fruit growing nearby. Our conversation turned to clothing, and after investigating [Nature’s Workshop], I found a section marked apparel. Because it was only Lv. 3, I didn’t have that many options available. But what I did have was more than enough.  

“Sekh, go ahead and strip. I know those clothes aren’t comfortable, so I’ll make you something that fits better,” I said after quickly producing my own set of clothes.  

It wasn’t anything special, really. The only underwear available was a weird loincloth thing that came with a pocket for my penis. When I carefully placed my dick in there, it didn’t feel odd. Maybe the warm leaves would have felt good on my balls and shaft if pleasured saw fit to bless me, but it was whatever. The pants were like my cloak, but I selected an option to use double leaves and sap to make sure the toughness and durability were up to par.  

At least my dick isn’t pressed against my thigh and visible when I sit down, so the loincloth is useful.  

Sekh assisted me in putting on the leaf bra, making sure my boobs were placed just right. I’d never worn women’s clothes before, so I was venturing into the unknown. And finally, with a long-sleeved shirt with more leaves and sap and vines covering my arms and chest, I only had to put on Reina’s gloves to complete the outfit.  

Almost.  

My feet were naked, but a pair of wooden boots with grassy inserts for comfort fixed that right up.  

Sekh cheerfully complimented me on my transformation when I made a basic set of wooden armor. And by basic, it was just the bare minimum of interlocking wooden rings—wooden chainmail— that went over my body to protect the more sensitive areas. 

Wooden Chainmail (0/0) 

I was curious about the ‘0/0’ so I asked Sekh, and she said that the number after the name determined how many enchantments it could hold. While I was curious about that, that information could wait for later since I had to make her something. 

For Sekh, I had more options available to me because I didn’t have to worry about hiding her body. She requested a tunic and pants after I asked what she wanted, and they appeared in front of her a moment later. I suppose it was rather dreary and basic, but it was somehow easy on the eyes. The greens and browns were intricately woven together with vines. And the built-in wooden plates meant she didn’t need anything extra for defense, but she still wanted wooden chainmail for that extra protection. To make it more comfortable, I made her an undershirt for the chainmail to sit on, and her tunic went over that. She also said no to underwear, and I didn’t press the issue because there was probably a reason behind it. And for her feet, I made a pair of boots that matched mine, though hers covered about half of her leg fur. I thought it would be uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. 

When looking through the weapon list, I found a mace for Sekh. The pommel and hilt were wrapped with leaves, and the spikes sticking out of the head were incredibly sharp for being made from wood. I didn’t really know how to fight, but I ultimately decided on a spear because I just had to stab the pointy end into something fleshy. 

I handed Sekh her gift, and she looped the handle through a belt loop, where it dangled from her waist as it waited to be used. She thanked me for the weapon, then explained that using the ceremonial weaponry recovered from Susize and the others was the quickest way of getting noticed. “Yeah, I figured that,” I replied, stashing my weapon on my backpack since it came with an appropriate spot. 

These things sure are versatile... They have hooks and rings for nearly everything. It just makes sense, though, since they’re created from the same skill.  

Then we went around to pack up the burial clothes Amos had made for his warriors. During this, I asked Sekh about her mace. 

“It is my Divine Armament, given to me along with [Tyranny Control] when I ascended to being the Dark Lord of Tyranny. It struck total fear into the hearts of my enemies.” 

“You’re saying the moniker of ‘Tyranny’ was a coincidence? It didn’t have anything to do with [Tyranny Control]?” 

“That’s correct.” Sekh’s sparkly eyes seemed overshadowed by something like doubt and regret, but I knew she wasn’t lying to me. 

“Why? Just how powerful was your mace?” 

Sekh gave me a small, playful grin. “If you’ll allow it, I’d like for that to be a secret. If you really desire to know, then I’ll tell you.” 

“I’ll be looking forward to it when we find it,” I said. 

“Master. If we find my mace..." Sekh started to say something with a lowered voice, but I interrupted her. 

“When we find it. Not if, but when. A tablet mentioned Amos was researching a way to seal it.” 

“Can that be one of our goals? I share your desire to take revenge, but my mace—” I hugged Sekh and stared into her quivering eyes. She was so afraid of disappointing me. 

“I need you at your strongest, Sekh. To make sure I can crush Meruria and her shitty warriors, I can’t leave anything to chance. I’m not so foolish to believe I can get revenge so soon after becoming a chimera.” 

“Master… I promise your enemies will fall! I swear it!” she said, her eyes shining with tears. She embraced me and reaffirmed her loyalty to me multiple times. I thought back to the tablets. Murag had emphasized Sekh’s mace. If it was that powerful to make the strongest warriors tremble with fear that they had to resort to treachery to get it away from her... It only made sense for her—the strongest Dark Lord of her time—to carry some affection for her greatest partner. Even if it was a mere weapon. 

“I know they will, Sekh. Now, it’s time for us to leave this place behind.” I wiped Sekh’s teary eyes and kissed her lovely lips. After she gave me a confident nod, we walked across the soft, warm grass. She reached out to grasp my hand. I felt her nervousness through her fingers. After being imprisoned inside a crystal for a thousand years, it only made sense she was a bit apprehensive about finally tasting that freedom she had yearned for. 

I opened my Status Menu one last time. 

Lyudmila Springfield 

High Elf 

Lv. 1 

SP: 0 

Title: Slave Master (I) 

Sub-Title: N/A 

Skill Menu [+] 

Mastery Menu [+] 

 

The information visible to Scan Stones was what I saw in my Status Menu. I didn’t see it before, but there was a button at the bottom which opened another window that contained my true Status Menu.  I was satisfied with what I had, but Sekh recommended I hide Mastery Menu from the false Status Window. That made enough sense, so I made a few changes, waited for the ok, and we stepped into the teleportation circle.  

Whiteness filled our vision, and I had no idea of where we would end up.  

---

“Where…is this?” I asked, dumbfounded. Sekh was also at a loss of words. When sight returned to my eyes, we found ourselves at what must’ve been the remains of temple ruins. Everywhere I looked I saw aged stone that had been reclaimed by nature. Green, verdant vines slithered up brown and silver rocks, curling up thick, tall posts that must’ve stretched up at least twenty feet. The ground below us was made from a crudely cut, ashen-colored stone, but weeds and grass had swallowed about 3/4ths of it. But for the area surrounding Sekh and me? 

Beautiful green forests with trunks so brown it was like I was staring at mud. 

But there was the clear blue sky... 

And there was the blinding sun... 

A pleasant breeze tickled my cheeks, sending golden strands flashing across my eyes. Sekh, who was standing still, tears in her eyes, reached a trembling hand towards the sun. 

She was locked up for over a millennium. I assumed she had hundreds of years to think about the darkness holding her captive. I couldn’t claim to share her emotional reaction to seeing the sun since I’d never been that enthusiastic about the bright bastard. 

However, now it looked wonderful. In the past, I had only cared about it in relation to how it could be used in military tactics like blinding your enemies with mirrors, but I couldn’t solely focus on my past hobbies anymore.  

I was wronged.  

I was fucked over.  

I had been abused, abandoned, and assaulted. I was literally thrown into a hellish void as a human sacrifice because of my goddamn 0-Star curse. 

The road to revenge was sure to be long and treacherous, but this new me, Lyudmila Springfield, was ready to travel down it. And I wouldn’t be alone; the Dark Lord of Tyranny would be with me every step of the way. 

I remembered an old saying I’d heard in my old world: ‘Before you embark on a journey for revenge, make sure to dig two graves. Thinking about how I’d already clawed my way out of one grave, I chuckled darkly at the thought. 

By the time I was done, I’d need to dig a lot more than two.  

And none of them would be for me.