I stepped out of the steamy bathroom with the towel draped loosely around my neck, finding the inn room completely empty save for the lingering scent of sex and the damp, messy patch on the sheets.
[Good girl…] I thought, tossing the towel aside as I walked over to the neat pile of fresh clothes Hana had left on the corner of the mattress.
As I pulled on the crisp black shirt and fastened the dark trousers, I mentally pulled up my interface to finally deal with those six hovering stat points.
Since I was officially heading out to the Adventurer's Guild today to start testing the waters of this world, I needed a lot more fuel in the tank for my actual magic.
So, I dumped all six points directly into my MP, watching the numbers shift dynamically.
-Ding!
{MP Capacity increased: 10 -> 40}
It seemed that every single stat point invested in MP increased the overall capacity by 5. It still wasn't a massive reservoir yet, but it was a solid quadruple increase from my starting baseline.
Fastening the last heavy buckle on my belt, I raised my right index finger, deciding to finally test my primary offensive affinity.
I focused my intent squarely on the Demon Fire Manifestation Magic.
Without needing to recite some cheesy magical chant or build a convoluted mental image, a spark instantly ignited at the very tip of my finger with just a thought, blooming effortlessly into a small, flickering candle-like flame.
And it wasn't the standard orange or yellow of a normal fire. It burned a deep, solid blood-red.
I watched the crimson light dance across the tip of my finger, feeling an immediate, instinctive understanding of how to use it.
It didn't feel like a rigid, mathematical spell that I had to force into shape.
Instead, the fire felt like a physical extension of my own body, swaying and leaning as though it had a mind of its own that eagerly followed my every will.
I just had to think about it moving, and the red flame danced perfectly in sync with my thoughts.
[Hana wanted to teach me how to use this?] I smirked, admiring the crimson glow reflecting in my eyes before slowly clenching my fist to extinguish the flame. [I think my bloodline already has the basics covered.]
Fully dressed and thoroughly calibrated, I grabbed the red metal medallion Hana had left behind and slipped it into my inventory before turning my back on the messy bed and heading straight for the door.
I pushed open the heavy wooden doors of the inn, stepping out into the bustling morning streets.
The cool, crisp air carried the scent of freshly baked bread and roasting meats, while a loud mix of merchants shouting and carriages rattling over cobblestones filled my ears.
But the moment my boots hit the main thoroughfare, the entire dynamic of the street noticeably shifted.
It didn't matter if they were armored mercenaries, wealthy merchants clad in silk, or simple market vendors. The women of this city operated with the unapologetic confidence of the absolute apex.
And the second they caught sight of me, their heads snapped in my direction.
A group of tall, muscled beastkin women, leaning against a tavern wall, stopped their conversation, their slitted eyes roaming hungrily over my chest and shoulders before dropping lower, completely unbothered by the fact that I was looking right back at them.
One of them let out a low, appreciative whistle, while another bit her bottom lip with a predatory smirk.
Further down the road, a pair of elven mages unabashedly traced my jawline with their eyes, leaning in to whisper excitedly to each other behind their hands.
I kept my posture relaxed, my stride slow, allowing a lazy smirk to rest on my face.
My passive Incubus's Scent was faintly bleeding into the air around me, without me being actively aroused; it was just a very pleasant smell. But still pleasant enough to demand attention.
[This matriarchy is going to be a walk in the park,] I thought, soaking in the intense, objectifying stares that would have made a normal guy completely fold in on himself. [I spent the better part of a decade getting paid to handle this exact kind of attention. Now it's just the default setting... Though tiring eventually.]
Before I gathered a literal mob, I took a sharp right turn, slipping into a narrow, shadowed alleyway between a busy bakery and a closed tailor shop.
The moment I was out of direct eyesight, I mentally opened my System inventory.
A soft shimmer of blue light materialized in the dim alley, dropping my equipment perfectly into my waiting hands. I quickly slung the heavy leather quiver across my back, feeling the familiar weight of the thirty common broadhead arrows rattling softly inside.
Next came a sleek, black bow and a polished archer's thumb ring, which I seamlessly slid onto my right hand.
But a bow wasn't going to do me any good if a monster managed to close the distance.
So, I quickly pulled up the System's shop interface, navigating past the ridiculously priced legendary items to settle into the mid-tier weapons category. I found exactly what I needed and confirmed the purchase without a second thought.
-Ding!
{
Item: Abyssal Steel Long-Knife (Rare)
Cost: 1,000 Lusty Nibbles
Transaction Complete.
}
The blue screen dissolved into a flurry of pixels as a beautifully forged, twelve-inch blade materialized in my grip.
The dark metal practically drank the ambient light in the alley. I gave the leather-wrapped hilt a quick test spin before sheathing it and securing it to my right thigh.
Fully armed now and officially looking the part, I stepped back out of the shadows and rejoined the flow of the main street.
The addition of the weapons didn't deter the women's stares at all; if anything, the sight of the armed me only made the whispers grow more aggressive.
I ignored the catcalls, keeping my eyes locked dead ahead as a massive, sprawling stone building finally came into view at the end of the district.
Two towering statues of female warriors flanked a set of massive doors, with heavily armed parties constantly flowing in and out of the grand entrance.
I stopped at the edge of the plaza, resting my hand casually on the hilt of my new long-knife while a genuine thrill bubbled up in my chest.
[Time to officially start the isekai…] I grinned, stepping forward and into the Adventurer's Guild.