Chapter 318 – Using others
Mei was away for some time and Aiko was quite bored.
'Maybe I should explore again...' Since Mei was getting more Tails, Aiko had free reign over her time.
The Grandpa Dragon did keep an eye on her, but he would not hinder her movements.
This was a good thing for Aiko as she would not get bored if she could explore.
Aiko rubbed her hands together, maybe she would be able to find something interesting.
"I will take a walk outside~" Aiko said to the Dragon and he just nodded at her.
This way, he knew that Aiko would go explore and could help her in need, but Aiko would also be able to locate the Blood Fox if she was too bored.
It was a win-win situation.
Aiko left safety of the camp, the first thing she would explore would be the holes in the ground. Yes, those spider holes.
Aiko wondered if maybe something had washed up with her dumping of the impurities or if she could find something else intriguing.
She also hated spiders, so it would be easy to rob them blind if they attacked her.
Aiko arrived at the site where the spider holes were located. The stench was truly incredible and she really wanted to turn around, but a strange feeling nudged her forward.
Would she be able to locate something nice if she followed this feeling? Aiko didn't know, but she really wanted to find out.
Walking around the perimeter of the spider holes, Aiko realised that it was coming from the middle of this place.
That was bad news for Aiko. The whole area was slowly decaying from the impurities. The trees were rotting and the ground turned into a mushy, disgusting soil. She really didn't want to approach the middle, but that's where her senses guided her.
She also noticed a few other Beasts who were staring at the middle spider hole of this place, yet they did not dare to approach it, due to the fear of the impurities and the putrid stench.
This meant that Aiko would be the first one to approach it if she so wished.
From the corner of her eye, she also noticed a few Human Cultivator groups. They were likewise staring at the Beast surrounding this place with puzzled expressions. It seemed like only Beasts could feel that temptation, but not the Humans.
Aiko didn't want to dive into the ground for obvious reasons, but she also didn't want to step on it.
And even if she used the [Lightness Technique] she hadn't mastered it to the point where she could use falling leaves as stepping stones, so she would have to figure out something else.
She could also go in there through [Shadow Walk], but Aiko didn't know if it would feel the same as the [Earthen Walk]. The [Earthen Walk] made it so you would feel the surrounding earth vividly in order to navigate through it, but the [Shadow Walk] made it so you 'merged' with the Shadows and traversed through them.
Was the feeling the same? Somewhat, but Aiko didn't know how it would interact with the feeling of this mushed earth.
Another thing she had was the [Quick Double Jump], which allowed her to cross greater distances, and jump in the middle of the air, neither of those were useful at the distances she had to cross.
For the double jump to reset you need something 'firm', but since the trees are decaying and the ground is mushy, there is no 'firm' place to stand on. That was the only demerit of that Skill.
Aiko also didn't want to spend her System Points on anything as she was saving it for her Evolution, so that it would go smoother.
She was hoping for something much rarer than what Yuxi had, but at the same time something similar, so she could have those cool Shadow Tails that munched on Souls!
Aiko chuckled darkly, but the question remained. Was she brave enough to walk into that muddy swamp, or would she chicken out and use the system to buy something that might be useful only here?
She did not know the answer to that question and she did not need to know it.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed a particular group of humans that had an enlarged leaf in front of them.
Aiko perked her ears, so she could listen to them.
"Are you sure it would work, Junior Brother?" One female Cultivator asked shyly.
"Of course! I can guarantee it!" The male Cultivator snobbishly said, making every other male frown, while the females were squealing at him.
'Fumu, a means of transportation.' Aiko nodded gently and she suddenly paused.
Why did she need to work hard, when there were plenty of useful Humans around?
Aiko smacked her forehead. 'I should make use of all humans that I come across, that way I won't need to work as hard or come up with ideas.' She chuckled darkly and for some reason the group of Cultivators shivered.
Aiko assimilated with the shadows and approached them.
The feeling was not bad, but she could still feel everything that was around her, so it would not be a good idea to do this when she was in the middle of the hole.
"But how do we approach those places, they feel sinister?" Another female Cultivator asked the snobbish male Cultivator.
"Simple, I have these special boots that would allow me to freeze anything surrounding it, but they are not in the best condition, so it would be better if you kept close to me." The snobbish male Cultivator smiled lewdly.
"O-of course! As expected of Junior Brother, you are much better than those second and third-rate masters!" The female Cultivator praised that snob and the other females pouted that they were a step too late.
Aiko rolled her eyes, it was obvious that this guy had nice Treasures, so she would also take his storage tools when she jumped off this.
She collected as many stones as possible around her. It would come in useful when she would shatter the ice that the boots would create and thus not allow them to follow her as easily.
Aiko made a mental plan and merged with the shadow of that female prostitute. This would allow her to steal everything that he had when the time came!
...
The group of Cultivators started to gather.
Aiko wondered what took them so long, but it seems like that Junior Brother was an asshole who couldn't control his urges, or at least that's what Mei said in her stories...
Aiko shook her head. It was not time to get distracted yet, she needed to focus!
But that stench! How many times did they go at it that he smelled like his chosen prostitute and she even liked him?!
Aiko scoffed at him, but still waited patiently. She would need to bide her time to rob him and explore that place.
They boarded the leaf as it swayed.
"My apologies Senior Brothers, but it seems like this leaf reached its capacity." The snobbish Cultivator sighed, shaking his head.
His seniors were visibly angry, but did not say anything as all the females boarded that leaf.
"We will kill that bastard once he returns." They whispered among each other."If he lays his hands on my Dao Companion, I will cut off all his limbs and feed him to the Beasts!" Another whispered back.
They were already making plans and Aiko was all for it. There is a possibility that the females will be caught in the crossfire once she steals that stuff, but all that blame will fall on that male Cultivator instead of her! What a perfect plan!
Aiko nodded to herself as she waited on 'board' of the leaf. She was still hidden inside the shadows with all her skills activated, so that they would be unable to find her.
At one time she felt that the male snobbish Cultivator was looking at her, but that must've been Aiko's imagination as her [Intention Perception] did not pick up anything.
They flew above this place as most of the female Cultivators got close to the snobbish Cultivator.
He was visibly enjoying his time as they openly groped him like 'shy maidens', but considering they all smelled of blood, that was definitly not the case.
Aiko waited until the female Cultivator got close enough to the snobbish male Cultivator. That would allow her to steal everything and jump down, since they were approaching the middle of this place.
...
The female was getting closer and closer, she was even slipping her outer garment down her shoulders to reveal her 'appealing' body.
'Tch, his eyes must be rotten.' Aiko was so used to perfect bodies from Foxes that anything else looked alien to her... especially this slightly chubby female Cultivator.
'Should've picked a better hiding spot.' Aiko sighed, but since now was the time to steal his Treasures; she could not delay it!
Aiko noticed that he had two storage mediums. One was a Storage Pouch and the other was a Storage Ring, but she was unable to determine what kind it was.
Well, for Aiko that didn't matter much, as long as she got both of them either Mei or Dragon Gramps would be able to deal with the rest!
Aiko nodded to herself. She used her sharp claws with [Lacerate] to get the Storage Pouch and one more time to get the Storage Ring...
Unfortunately it felt like that snobbish male Cultivator knew about her, or at least felt her presence, since he blocked the second blow.
Aiko was unhappy with this outcome, but she still held the Storage Pouch, which had the boots inside.
In theory, that's all that Aiko needed, but she was not satisfied with this outcome. How was he able to detect her? Does he have some kind of special Cultivation Technique? Was he able to detect her because she glared at him?
Aiko had too many questions and not enough answers, it would be dangerous if she stayed up here with all of them.
The other female Cultivators were shocked and they swiftly fixed their clothes ready for a fight, but Aiko was not here for a fight, but to explore this place!
The snobbish male Cultivator was ready to grab the little thieving Fox, when she suddenly jumped off.
The snobbish male Cultivator was shocked, so much so that his whole body froze in place. He didn't know what to do with this situation which allowed Aiko to get some distance.
Aiko snorted at him unhappily. She couldn't believe that someone as simple as him was able to block her second blow.
'Next time I will go for the rings first.' Aiko nodded to herself in her mind.
She could already see the female Cultivators pulling out their weapons and aiming them at Aiko.
'The majority of the energy seemed to go through the petiole.1The stalk that joins a leaf to a stem.' Aiko grabbed one of her rocks and enhanced it with her Beast Core Energy, throwing it at the petiole.
The petiole exploded and the leaf lost a lot of its mobility.
'Nice!' Aiko smirked as she was free-falling down onto the ground...
