Chapter 235: Sponsoring The Black Fox
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I looked at what Ying Shen “Status” looked like:
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[Player Name]: [Ying Shen]
[Title]: [Shen Family Youngest Genius Assassin]
[Sponsor]: [None]
[Potential Innate Skills (4)]: [Black Shadow Domain (S)] [Absolute Stealth: Surprise Attack (S)] [Abyssal Shadow Fox Assassination Arts (S)] [Divine Nine Tailed Abyssal Fox Embodiment (SS)]
[Overall Description]: [Ying Shen is a young servant of the Heavenly Demon but was originally raised as an Assassin by the Shen Family. He was born and raised with the purpose of becoming the family’s strongest assassin.]
[Because of this, he had gone through excruciating training, cultivation, and the imparting of countless deadly and assassination techniques. All for the purpose of eventually trying to kill the Heavenly Demon, a tradition he himself started as he asked the Shen Family that if they wanted their freedom, they would have to raise an assassin and send him to serve him.]
[This assassin would then serve them, looking for the perfect opportunity to strike. Ying Shen is only the youngest of a family of assassins that have been killed by the Heavenly Demon every time they failed their attempt.]
[However, unlike his ancestors, after witnessing his strength, charisma, and power, despite being weakened and wounded, Yin Shen has never attempted to assassinate the Heavenly Demon.]
[Despite all the pressure from his family, he has learned that the strength he has gained should be used for something better, not to go by the whims of an old and insane man.]
[Deep down… He wants to go to the outside world, outside of the inner realm’s shelter, and help people with the gifts he has been given.]
[However, his shy and fearful demeanor makes him someone who cannot do most things by himself, and since then, such thoughts are only fleeting dreams as he sees his lifespan slowly fly away as the years pass.]
[Skill Copy Conditions]: [Ying Shen is conflicted in many ways. He has lost his true purpose, and what his family wants of him is not what he wants for his own life. Despite that, his skills as an assassin cannot be denied; he wants to use these powers to help people, not to hurt others or simply jump into suicide by attempting to kill the Heavenly Demon.]
[To copy one of his Skills, help Yin Shen find his true purpose in life and accomplish his goal of saving those in need using the skills he was imparted to take another’s life.]
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Pretty interesting backstory he got there. I guess it complements what I heard from their words. It seems he got it very tough. And that damned crow old man wants this young fox to just try to kill him?! Just what the fuck is wrong with him!
Now that I am his disciple and I beat him, things will be changing around here. First of all, I’ll make him apologize to the whole Shen family for treating them like this all this time. Second, I’ll tell him to leave Ying Shen alone!
And third… Hmm, maybe I’ll tell him to let me grab his fox servant as my companion for now; his talents are just what I need for my little party.
Coupled with the tigress on the other island, we got a perfect party of three; each one possesses special abilities that’ll complement mine.
I mean, well, they’re developing them.
For some reason, whatever that blue eye I saw in my dream was, I don’t think that thing’s dead. And I am afraid we’ll have to fight that tremendously powerful entity eventually.
For that moment, I need to be more than prepared and have reliable companions if possible.
Anyway, as for his Potential Innate Skills:
[Potential Innate Skills (4)]: [Black Shadow Domain (S)] [Absolute Stealth: Surprise Attack (S)] [Abyssal Shadow Fox Assassination Arts (S)] [Divine Nine Tailed Abyssal Fox Embodiment (SS)]
They were pretty damn good! Shadow Domain to control and summon shadows and darkness, materialize the darkness into solid form, use it to shroud himself, teleport between shadows, and even create shadow minions, a bit similar to my brother’s elemental powers.
Second, a combo type of skill? It is an active skill that might allow him to move stealthily and undetected and then release a mighty strike against a foe to deal a lot of damage. And then, the third, the arts of his family, most likely.
And lastly, an embodiment similar to the tigress! With this, you already know they’re special. If they can eventually become some sort of mythical beast, they’re bound to be amazing future companions.
“You said I had talent? Well, I don’t think it’s talent, Lady Anna. You see, I was imparted many things in my childhood; I went through excruciating training and modification of my body to reach a high level of power and-”
“I know, I get it.” I nodded. “You had it rough, didn’t you? Don’t worry; as long as I am here, I won’t let your family dictate what you must do.” I patted his fluffy head.
“E-Eh?” He suddenly blushed adorably, wagging his tail even faster. “No, wait, what are you talking about, young lady?!”
He quickly stepped back in horror.
“I mean what I said!” I smiled. “Don’t you want to see the outside world, Ying Shen? Or don’t you want to… Maybe help people? I bet you would want that with your strength, right? By merely looking at you, I can tell you are not a bloodthirsty assassin.”
“A-Ah…” He sighed. “Am I that obvious to see through?”
“Yep.” I nodded.
I was lying; I actually just peeked at his whole life history from that one window.
“Ugh… You said you could help me? I… Well, that’ll depend on the Heavenly Demon’s whims. But he’s not well right now either. I am worried.” He sighed.
Despite being assigned as an assassin, instead of being happy that this was an opportunity to kill him, he was actually rather worried. He was really not fit for being an assassin! Despite all the harsh training, the Shen Family still ended up raising a soft-hearted person.
“Okay, fine…” I sighed. “I’ll let you awaken your innate Skills first, though; you got a bunch. I think they could complement your cultivation, and you already learned martial arts well!”
“Huh?”
Ding!
[You have exchanged 30.000 Plot Points! You have awakened [Character: Ying Shen] Innate Talents and Abilities!]
[You have officially become his Sponsor! His Stats have increased.]
[Character: Ying Shen] has unlocked the following Innate Skills: [Black Shadow Domain (S)] [Absolute Stealth: Surprise Attack (S)] [Abyssal Shadow Fox Assassination Arts (S)] [Divine Nine Tailed Abyssal Fox Embodiment (SS)]!]
FLASH!
In that very moment, a shroud of darkness enveloped Ying Shen completely, his aura surging endlessly from his body, absorbing the darkness. A domain of shadows expanded everywhere as his eyes glowed bright red.
The powers he possessed slowly began to awaken one after another; almighty Skills he had no idea were dormant within him until now.
For a moment, even I was slightly intimidated by his aura of shadows, his silhouette barely visible behind the endless darkness enveloping it all, his sharp red eyes staring directly into my soul.
“Ying Shen? Do you feel alright?”
“Uwaaagh! What is this darkness?! Did I produce this myself?! H-Help! I can’t see!”
Nevermind…
“It’s fine; it’s fine. Just concentrate on the Skills you have and simply think of deactivating them, like when you sheathe a sword.” I explained it to him.
“Like sheathing… a sword?” He closed his eyes, the dark fog quickly coming back into his shadows, everything finally going back to normal.
“See? Easy peasy lemon squeezy.” I smiled.
“Easy wha…? What in the world just happened to me? Lady Anna, did you do this to me?” He asked fearfully.
“Maaaybe.” I shrugged. “It is my sponsorship for you! I possess the special ability to awaken the innate talent of others by utilizing a unique resource. It not only allows them to access Skills, but also increases their Stats, making them several times stronger than usual, for example.”
“W-Wow…” He looked into his hands. “I always thought I was pretty weak. My body was smaller amongst my family members, and despite them calling me the assassin of this generation, I could never believe it myself…”
“Well, you can begin believing it. We can start practicing your Skills later. What do you think?” I asked. “I want to help you get stronger!”
“B-But why are you interested in such an ant as me, Lady Anna?” Ying Shen asked timidly.
“Ying Shen! You’re not an ant; you’re a talented and promising warrior.” I said. “My time in Bestia is limited. I can only spend 15 days here. And my mission is only one: to free your world from the invaders left behind. And also destroy that damned tower that drowned the Continent of Pangea, the tree-shaped one.”
“I’ve only heard about it from the Heavenly Demon… So there was such a huge war outside! Yet our family… It was saved, only for being sheltered here.” He sighed. “I don’t know why, but after hearing all of that, I simply couldn’t feel happy. I felt offended and dishonored. Others had the privilege of fighting for their world, while we were denied that fact, living idly here for generations…”
“I can bring you outside if you want.” I said. “How about it?”
“I-I… I’ll have to think about it first.” He sighed. “But thank you for… investing so much in someone like me, so pathetic that I couldn’t even complete the purpose assigned to me by my family…”
“That’s not really a purpose; that was simply a stupid tradition.” I explained. “But we can talk more about this over the next couple of days anyway. So where’s the Heavenly Demon?”
“A-Ah, right! He’s very bad right now! Through here!” He quickly led me through the vast corridors of the Dark Palace until we reached the summit, where the room of the Heavenly Demon was located.
He wasn’t resting on his bed, though; that would be dishonorable for him or something. He was sitting over his throne, half-unconscious, gasping for air, his red eyes looking even more red than usual.
“Hahh… Hahah… M-My disciple has come. How do you feel, Anna? You’re the first person in this world to defeat me. How does it feel to… Cough…” He vomited blood. “To defeat a supreme being such as… m-myself?”
After seeing him look so miserable, I couldn’t help but feel a bit bad now.
He looked so terrible! Even his feathers were falling.
He was vomiting blood.
And his eyes were spinning constantly.
“M-Master!” I ran towards him.
Despite everything he has done, he still helped me find myself, to find my own strength, and to gain a new power.
He invested so much in me for no reason at all. I want to think he did it out of goodwill, even if there might have been other motives behind it.
And right now, I feel bad…
I felt bad because I saw him being so miserable.
“Are you okay? Are those nanomachines infecting you further?!”
“N-No… I keep them at bay, but that… causes extreme fatigue and exhaustion. My Dantian are slowly beginning to gain cracks…” He sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have fought so intensively, but if I had done that, your victory wouldn’t have been a true one, my disciple. You make me so proud. We’ve met only for a few days, but you’re everything I could have ever asked a disciple to be… Anna… I’m… sorry for being mean… or bad with you. I am… I am just… like that.”
“Ugh, that doesn’t really justify anything! You might as well just not say you’re sorry.” I sighed. “Just stay still for now! Here, drink these Ki Potions, this Panacea, and this Elixir. Quickly! Chug it down, crow face!”
“Ugh… Gulp, gulp…! What are these bizarre wines you’re feeding me- CRAAGH!” He groaned as I forced them down his throat. “S-Shtop- GUH!”
After giving him half of my emergency potions, some even gifted by Constellations, his health improved a bit more. He didn’t look like he was about to die! Though he was very weak,.
“Hahh… Thank you, those elixirs worked well. I think I might be good enough for-”
“Nope, not good enough, not at all. A sponsorship improved the Heavenly Empress' health, but would that be enough? Hey, kitty, can you come here?”
“Meow?”
The kitty walked towards us, and I asked her to share her energies with the crow.
It worked only a bit, but the energies weren’t as compatible; the Heavenly Demon didn’t cultivate the bright side of Yang that much.
He was more of a Yin type of guy, all about darkness.
I know for some that might sound weird, as it is often identified that Yang represents males and Yin females, but in Solo Player that was never addressed.
Yin and Yang represented something more, mostly related to the elemental spectrums.
This is why I didn’t suddenly turn into a man for getting a Yang Physique, for example!
But anyway, maybe this could work?
The second [Primordial Martial Beast Heart Fragment (??? Rank)] x1 I got from the previous quest.
“Okay, let’s try this.” I injected Ki into the black crystal.
FLASH!
“W-What the…?!”
The Heavenly Demon’s red eyes opened wide as he saw the crystal transform.
Slowly, it turned into a small wolf pup, made of black and purple crystal.
And overflowing with Primordial Yin Spirit Ki Energies!
“Woof!”
“Oh, it’s a puppy!”
As I caressed the puppy, I saw the Heavenly Demon and Ying Shen looking at me dumbfounded.
“W-What is Lady Anna even doing right now?”
“Agh… I have no idea; she’s insane, just like me.”
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