Screwed Over by My Race
I was waiting for a letter to arrive while resting at the hotel. Money wasn't an issue—I still had more than enough to spare.
"Hey, what do you think? Does it suit me~?"
Riko looked stunning in high heels or pretty dresses. It was all a disguise to keep her witch identity under wraps. Levitfoots drew massive attention wherever they went, but with that adorable tail, hips and thighs that could rival any woman's... I had no idea if the race itself just had thicker thighs by nature. Men were swarming around her, utterly tempted. As long as you ignored the Deinous and the fact that she was a guy, pretty much any race was fair game.
I scooped up a spoonful of mint choco ice cream. I hadn't used a Constellation Ticket—too precious for that. My overall stats were sitting at 42 right now. And during this day of rest, I'd produced one more fruit I'd named the Radamu Fruit.
It brimmed with world tree energy, an awe-inspiring golden fruit infused with the essence of nature itself. Riko's eyes sparkled as she called it an elixir of legendary value, one of the rarest in the world. If I pushed myself, I could probably make one a week. A complex blend of factors made it safe to eat raw, but Riko recommended brewing it into a potion for best results.
Crossing her legs smoothly, propping her elbow on the table, those slender eyes with their long lashes... Today alone, we'd gotten 17 confessions from guys while just sitting here. Watching it all, Hyacinth had this utterly detached look, munching on raw cucumber with a gloomy expression, not giving a damn.
Me? A person's identity matters, so as long as it didn't cause us any harm, I honestly didn't care.
"I wanna drain some essence, but I can't bring it to Lady Circe... such a shame...."
"How about just playing around lightly?"
Her expression screamed little devil who couldn't resist toying with men. But she shook her head, saying she actually enjoyed the attention but it wasn't her thing.
"You know witches are born with talent, right?"
Riko wiped the ice cream from my mouth with a handkerchief, smiling. Back in the day, she'd been caught by a noble's lust and turned into a night slave. Despairing in her wretched life where even death wouldn't come, Circe had saved her because of her rare talent. It had been 50 years since then, she said with a nostalgic reminiscence. She swore she'd never forget that night—the Circe silhouetted against the full moon looked just like a Levitfoot princess, and the praise just kept pouring out nonstop.
"Nobles who turn other races into sex slaves, huh?"
"You're the most dangerous, Radamu~? There are beasts out there who don't care if it's a guy—they just love breaking them. So be careful, extra careful, okay?"
She deftly sliced the cake, speared a piece with a fork, and fed it to me. Hyacinth stared with eyes full of admiration, thinking, Bro's adapting like a champ.
What, if I sweated every little thing like this, I'd just wear myself out mentally. I nodded as I ate the cake—Larirure had told me the same thing.
"To me, you're like a Levitfoot princess? There's this awe from your race, something that makes my heart race?"
"Ever think about becoming a woman?"
I realized the Gender Swap skill existed for moments like this. The constellations truly knew what they were doing. When I mentioned my blessing that let me change genders, she propped her chin, smirked, and pouted her lips. No joke—if there was such a thing as a fox-like woman, this was it. Was this what witches were like? Spend 50 years with a woman and you turn out like this? The one and only male witch declined with a polite pass.
"Even Lady Circe freaked out when she found out I used to be a guy. Ahaha."
"But aren't there... rumors about Levitfoots?"
"What rumors?"
"You don't know, bro? The Kinflesh Devourer. They say she has epithets like Kingdom Slayer too."
I just tilted my head, clueless. Riko, on the other hand, looked seriously pissed. She scowled, baring her teeth. "Don't talk nonsense!"
"Ah, sorry..."
"Haaah... Levitfoots suffer a ton of environmental stress. They do communal parenting among kin, and if things get bad, they even eat their own young?"
Riko explained that even when they ventured out, most Levitfoots returned to the forest once married or with kids. But sometimes, things didn't go as planned—like war, or abducted slaves enduring sexual abuse. Either way, shattering a Levitfoot's mind was easy. And they had one skill shared among kin.
"Right here in these ears—they can talk telepathically with each other. Especially easy under the moon. I don't have any kin I know, so I never learned it."
Bitterly, she slid over the ice cream bowl I'd ordered for her. She brightened instantly, accepting it with both hands and a smile. "Thank you."
"Under extreme stress, they emit psychic waves. Super painful for the receiver. Their wide mating compatibility made them prime targets for slave hunters raiding forests. That was until 80 years ago. Then we had an irregular second princess, born at the pinnacle of our race with a unique skill."
"..."
"She snapped from the stress. A genius with insane talent, she fully awakened as an Overlord. She'd rush to wherever those agonizing waves came from, shred every living thing to pieces, ease her kin's pain on the spot, and eat the young that couldn't survive anymore."
Gruesome tale. Riko shook her head—it was over 80 years old now. Born at Master level strength was her poison. Talent mixed with madness turned her into a monster, she said. Pinnacle races above upper tier are strong from birth, on another trajectory entirely.
...Of course, since I got zero racial bonuses from my species appraisal, it meant nothing to me.
"Kingdoms, cities, nations that enslaved or abused Levitfoots? Vanished into the dustbin of history. Abuse them, and the Moon Rabbit Princess shows up to kill you. She's probably still out there, rationality gone, driven purely by killing intent toward her kin's abusers."
"An Overlord? And that's supposed to be fine?"
Beings too strong to handle, right? Riko shrugged—even she and everyone else were helpless. As long as you didn't mess with them, she was supposedly lurking quietly somewhere... that was the extent of the rumors she'd heard.
"That's the truth behind why no one abuses Levitfoots anymore. Normal Overlords you can count on one hand? Excluding that S-rank adventurer Ban Griffin from the papers... the Moon Rabbit Princess, the Parricide Prince... and the rumored surviving Three Elf Overlords?"
Not that many, but their power defied the natural order. Immortal beings who'd cast off even the cycle of life. The continent was vast, but cosmic horrors like them weren't one-offs.
"So, any letter from your lover?"
Riko sidled up naturally, plopping down and pressing against me. Larirure was with Po'runga in the Trust Union, and Nex seemed to be with Noksu in the Mongrel Kingdom. Noksu had politely asked us to consult her before acting, wondering how we'd ended up pacting with the Sea Witch.
With just three of us, it felt uneasy. The serial killer Hands Collector would be tough even with the Dullahan around. I'd prepped a bunch of stuff, but she was S-rank level. S-ranks were basically Master equivalents, they said. And she might even have Circe's arms. Meeting her meant certain death.
Better to hire adventurer mercenaries and travel together.
Guess I should hit up the guilds in Trust Union too.
I had tons of questions for the human-friendly elves there.
"The Black Cat Rune works like this. You're doing great~ You have real talent!"
We finished our light meal and hopped on a carriage headed for the nearest city connected to Trust Union by gate. During the ride, she took time to teach me how to use runes. Her only flaw was the backhugs and whispering right in my ear, but as a teacher, she was top-notch.
She was puzzled that I could only use the Black Cat Rune and nothing else, but when I said it was a divine gift, her eyes lit up like, Witch potential? Comrade!
"Bro, you're popular with guys too...."
"Not really paying attention."
Just think of her as a touchy-feely friend. Hyacinth got serious, saying normal people can't handle that.
On the carriage ride, I practiced runes and summoned Metal Mimics to Recycle and stockpile. Clatter clatter—the trip would take days, huh.
I treated my comrades to tasty chicken from our rank-up Chicken Summon. Just as dusk started falling, the carriage veered onto an unpaved road through the forest. I didn't know the way, but was this normal? Riko and Hyacinth sensed the bad vibes too—their faces hardened.
Both knew Hands Collector might target me. But this soon? I pulled back the curtain to ask the coachman if this was the right path.
There sat a headless coachman, silently. In his place, a cat-eared girl gripped the reins over her long sleeves. She turned at the presence.
"Hi—☆ I suck at driving the carriage, so did I wake you?"
She grinned, sleeve flapping. Faster than she could react, a massive Brachiosaurus head engulfed the girl. A gigantic glowing dinosaur with a 9.5-meter neck smashed her skyward—the Hands Collector.
I instantly Recycled the dino and flipped open my memorized spellbook toward her distant form.
"Hyacinth! Grab the reins!"
Hyacinth clutched the panicking, bucking reins. The runaway carriage barreled noisily down the forest path.
The killer just stared blankly, blown back—no pursuit. Maybe she lacked speed skills? ...But that illusion shattered quick.
With a light thud off the ground, she was right in front of me.
"A glowing dino from your arm? Gimme that."
With those words, a blade shot from her sleeve, stabbing my shoulder. I'd thought it was a sword before, but up close... it was a mantis arm.
Clang— Sparks flew as the mantis arm bounced off. Beneath the torn guard, metallic skin gleamed pointlessly.
'Recycle—Metal Mimic—...!'
32kg prepped—two more times ahead, then stats drop to 75%!
Surprised her attack bounced, Hands Collector smirked in delight. She reached out, and a bear paw burst from her sleeve, clamping my hand.
Cat tail swished, ears perked. She giggled at the sudden anomaly.
Etched on the gripped hand: the Black Cat Rune.
Black Cat Rune
Swaps luck values with the target!
Ominous curse runes flowed up my arm. She blinked in confusion—"What the—?"—then the primary blast hit.
A life-sized Tyrannosaurus erupted from her palm, jaws wide, swallowing her whole before elastic recoil launched her skyward.
I held my breath, confirming the secondary blast's boom.
No need to check how she'd tracked us—a human-Levitfoot party stood out like a sore thumb. Shake her and flee to the nearest city, fast.
"Like dinosaurs?"
She'd leaped up already, bounding along treetops in pursuit. Flapping sleeves descended—from one emerged a dragon arm clutching a massive fireball.
"Not satisfied with toys?"
The blaze lit the dark night, hurtling toward us.