The Flame That Burns the Temptress
The Alraune was an elite plant-type monster that inhabited the western region of Durigarda. It had bewitched not only men but women as well, driving countless dark elves to their deaths. And now, that very creature stood before Ian with its arms spread wide open.
“Aah… what a beautiful child. Come here, quickly.”
The creature’s bare upper body was fully exposed. Its lower half, covered in swaying petals, rustled gently. The seductive voice echoed directly inside Ian’s head, paralyzing her thoughts.
Ian’s brow furrowed deeply. The moment she heard that voice, an overwhelming urge to run into the Alraune’s arms had surged through her. She wanted to bury herself in those massive breasts.
To keep her mind from slipping, she bit down hard on her lip until she tasted blood.
“S-shut up.”
Ian raised her staff toward the creature with trembling hands.
Basic magic skill, first circle support magic. Status ailment removal.
Cure
A small orb of light emerged from the staff and settled over Ian’s body. The heavy fog in her mind gradually began to clear.
Ian let out the breath she had been holding.
Thank god this female body has at least some resistance.
If she had still been in her original male body—if she had been the same hopeless gamer from reality—she might already be dying in the Alraune’s embrace by now. But Ian could endure it. The terrible convenience settings forced her to see her own body every time she changed clothes. For once, she was genuinely grateful for that awful feature.
“What a pointless struggle.”
Even so, the voice still rang directly in her head, but the overwhelming desire to surrender her body had vanished. That meant she was ready to fight.
Ian pointed her staff at the Alraune.
“Eat this.”
Basic magic skill, first circle fire magic—Fireball. A sphere of flame shot from the staff toward the creature.
“How adorable.”
But her magic never reached the Alraune. A dark elf who had been completely turned into a puppet stepped into the fireball’s path. Even as his body burned to ash, he stubbornly protected his master.
“I suppose there’s no choice.”
Countless bundles of tentacles burst from behind the Alraune.
“It would have been better if you had quietly become one of my children. I suppose I’ll have to punish you a little.”
The tentacles spread out in every direction. Wherever the slender tendrils touched the ground, more dark elf puppets appeared.
Ian glared at the Alraune.
“Just how many have you killed?”
“Oh my, are you worried? Don’t be. You’ll offer me your love soon enough. Now, children—bring her to me.”
The dark elves that had sprouted from the Alraune’s tentacles began closing in on Ian.
Ten of them in total. Can I win this?
Or should she run?
After a brief moment of hesitation, Ian drew her sword.
The first to reach her were two dark elves—one with a sword, the other with an axe. They swung their weapons in simple, unrefined attacks without any skill prelude.
Ian dodged them easily and swung her blade horizontally.
-Slice!
The dark elves were cut apart like sheets of paper. Once again, no blood came out.
In that moment, arrows flew at her. A shield charged from the side while a spear thrust forward.
As Ian calmly evaded the dark elves’ attacks, she noticed one key detail.
They can’t use skills.
In Arcadia, there were three conditions required to use a skill: possessing the appropriate weapon, having accumulated enough proficiency, and verbally calling out the skill’s name.
But the dark elves controlled by the Alraune could not speak. That was why none of their weapons, including the gauntlet-wielding dark elf who had first attacked her, ever glowed with skill light.
Then I have a chance.
The dark elves rushed toward her. Ian’s eyes flashed.
Her contracted body spun violently.
Top Blade
The dark elves who charged mindlessly were torn to shreds by the spinning blue blades of light.
Yet their advance did not stop. Even with severed arms, missing legs, or even decapitated heads, they continued moving solely according to the Alraune’s commands.
Ian clicked her tongue.
It’s impossible to cut all those tentacles.
She didn’t even know where they were rooted. Trying to locate and sever each one was nearly impossible.
That left only one option.
Ian swung her staff.
Ice Spear
Ice lances formed above her head and shot toward the Alraune.
At the same time, she cast another spell.
Fireball
Flame orbs followed the trajectory of the ice spears. The colliding fire and ice created a massive amount of steam.
“What an amusing little trick.”
The thick cloud of steam completely obscured the Alraune’s surroundings. Taking advantage of the lost visibility, Ian slipped behind her enemy.
This ends now.
Her target was the main body—the Alraune itself. Her staff flared with fire once more as wind swirled around her.
Wind Cutter
The fiery storm created by the fusion of fire and wind surged toward the Alraune. The steam cage dispersed, and the surroundings erupted in scorching flames.
After casting so many spells in succession, Ian’s mana was completely drained.
But the sight before her made the expenditure worth it.
“Haa… haa… Did I get it?”
At that moment, the flames parted, revealing the completely unharmed Alraune.
It had used all the dark elves it controlled as living shields, so its main body had taken no damage from the fire.
“Not a bad struggle. But is that all you have?”
Ian’s brow furrowed. She hadn’t expected to deal zero damage.
Still, she gripped her sword again.
Fine. Let’s look on the bright side. Nothing is protecting it anymore.
And in close combat, she was confident she could win.
However—
“I’m sorry, but I have plenty more children.”
As if it had read her mind, the Alraune smiled leisurely and spread its tentacles wide once again. More dark elf puppets emerged and gathered around Ian.
Cold sweat trickled down her cheek.
Just how many are there?
Even if she burned these ones, there was no guarantee more wouldn’t appear. No—judging by the creature’s composure, it was safe to assume there were others.
Ian slowly took a step back. It was time to retreat and come up with a new plan.
“Oh? Trying to run? That won’t do.”
But before she could move, tentacles passed over her head. Like fruit ripening, more dark elf puppets appeared behind her, cutting off her escape.
She had to break through. Ian bit down on a mana potion and ran.
The puppet dark elves blocked her path.
Sword Rush
A blue streak cut through the dark elves. But their interference did not stop.
Top Blade
Even after sweeping them away with her area attack, more dark elves sprouted from the tentacles to block her.
She set them on fire. She laid down ice. She sliced them with wind.
Countless dark elves fell.
But—
-Crash!
Another empty mana potion shattered.
“Haa… haa…”
Ian gasped for breath. Yet the number of dark elves showed no sign of decreasing.
That was my last mana potion. Still…
Her escape route remained completely blocked.
It was time to make a decision. Looking at her mana bar that was about half full, she steeled herself.
“Hehe… Still resisting, are you?”
“No.”
Wind began to swirl around Ian.
“I’m going to catch you.”
Her final trump card—the wind-type support magic, Haste.
“No matter what you try, it’s all—!”
-BOOM!
Ian’s figure shot forward like a gale. The sudden increase in speed made the Alraune’s expression twist in shock.
The distance closed in an instant. Before another puppet could appear, Ian’s sword slashed at the creature.
Slash
Her target was the Alraune’s neck. Ian’s sword sliced in sharply.
The Alraune hurriedly raised its arm to block. In exchange, its arm flew through the air.
“KYAAAAAAAAAK! How dare a mere human—!”
The enraged Alraune screamed. Ignoring the shriek echoing in her mind, Ian raised her sword over her shoulder once more.
Basic sword skill, fourth form. Single thrust.
Linear
The sword pierced the Alraune’s shoulder.
“KYAAAAAAAAAK! No, nooooo!”
The Alraune screamed in agony once again. To cut its throat, Ian twisted the sword embedded in its shoulder.
“It’s over!”
But in that instant, the Alraune’s puppets caught up. The dark elves grabbed her arms.
“UAAAAAAAH!”
An arrow buried itself in her back. Weapons from the dark elves pierced her arms and legs, trying to tear them off. Her vision turned crimson as a dizzying electric shock ran down her spine.
Yet Ian refused to let go of her sword.
“S-Sl…”
If she could just use the skill, victory would be hers. Gathering every last ounce of strength, she shouted.
Slash
-Splat!
Blood sprayed into the air. Bright red blood drenched the Alraune’s body.
But what flew away wasn’t the Alraune’s head—it was Ian’s arm. At the same time, an axe buried in her abdomen sent her flying through the air.
Ian tumbled across the ground with a heavy thud. Overwhelmed by the impact that exceeded her limits, her body collapsed powerlessly.
The Alraune approached her.
Its leisurely expression was gone. Consumed by rage, it glared at Ian with terrifying eyes and extended its tentacles.
The tentacles wrapped around her. Her body, barely clinging to life, was lifted into the air.
“You bitch… I’ll make sure you die in agony. I’ll tear your body to shreds, drain every drop of your blood, stitch you back together, and make sure you can’t even die properly!”
The furious Alraune’s tentacles tightened viciously around Ian’s neck.
In that moment—
Ian’s eyes snapped open. She shouted.
Fireball
Her flame magic pierced through her cloak and struck the Alraune.
“KYAAAAAAAAK! My—my body!”
Scorching heat engulfed the Alraune.
But—
“I will never forgive you. A mere human daring to do this to me… I will never forgive you!”
Even as it burned, the Alraune’s tentacles continued crushing Ian’s neck with relentless force.
I-I can’t… breathe…
Her blood was running out. Oxygen was no longer reaching her brain.
In her fading consciousness, she had only one last chance to cast a spell.
She had to end the Alraune’s life with this single opportunity.
But how?
There was no guarantee she could successfully combine fire and wind in her current state. She didn’t have any stronger spells available either. With a sword, maybe—but having lost one arm and her weapon, she couldn’t use it.
Was she really going to die like this? Her eyes began to slowly close.
[Notification: Magic Proficiency has reached 150!]
[You have learned the 2nd Circle Fire Magic ‘Flame’!]
A notification window appeared before Ian’s eyes.
Second circle fire magic?
She had no idea what the skill did. There was no time to leisurely read the description in a situation like this.
But one thing was certain—her fate now depended on this newly acquired skill.
Then there was no time to hesitate. She was supposed to be dead already. At this point, there was nothing left to lose by gambling.
Clinging desperately to her fading mind, Ian shouted.
Basic magic skill, second circle fire magic. Continuous discharge type.
Flame
Flames erupted from her staff. Unlike the previous orbs, an endless stream of fire poured out, engulfing the Alraune’s body in flames.
“KYAAAAAAAAAK! It’s hot! Nooooooo!”
The flames did not stop. The spell called Flame would continue burning its target for as long as mana allowed. The stream of fire kept wrapping around the Alraune until Ian’s mana ran completely dry.
“Grrrrrraaaaaaaaah!”
“How dare you! My body… No! Nooooooooo!”
Finally—
Ian’s eyes lost focus. Her body fell to the ground.
And then—
The green skin had burned pitch black. The tentacles and the fully bloomed petals all crumbled into ash.
Like that—
-Thud. Thud…
The Alraune scattered away as ashes.
In her blurring vision, a window appeared before Ian’s eyes.
[Notification: Level up!]