The Escape

The ‘Beast Common Language’ was a special language used only by beast-kin races.
It was an exclusive skill that only the <Tamer> class could learn, and since it was a ‘class skill,’ it couldn’t even be plundered with Stigma Theory.

‘…But, why did I suddenly acquire this skill?’
Could it be that this man’s class was a Tamer, and it was plundered along with the others?
I tried hard to figure it out but eventually gave up.

That wasn’t the problem right now.

[<Stigma Theory> skill condition has been met. (Condition: Valta’s Imprint) You can now use the skills plundered from <Karvan Baharga>.]

Ding, my heart began to react to the list of plundered skills that appeared before my eyes.

Finally!
I can escape this damn prison!

I cheered silently, then flinched when I noticed the word ‘Debuff’ marked in red.

[This is a skill that affects the Awakener’s body. The <Weakness Exposure> debuff will persist on the stigma target.]

The ‘Stigma Theory’ skill had an unusually high number of debuffs.

It was a kind of inhibitor to prevent the game balance from collapsing if you just plundered and used any skill you wanted.

[※Weakness Exposure: All skills except buffs are nullified on the stigma target, and your location is permanently exposed.]

The most annoying debuff among them was ‘Weakness Exposure.’

The target under the stigma would continuously know the location of the ‘Plunderer’s’ main body.
It was like having a GPS tracker attached.

That’s why it was the unwritten rule to kill the stigma target after plundering their skills.

It was annoying if they held a grudge and chased you.
Since skills didn’t work on the stigmatized target, you couldn’t kill them alone, so you usually killed them with the help of guild members or party members.

‘…No way. He won’t chase me, right?’

I looked suspiciously at the pink, sparkling cherry blossom pattern on the man’s neck, then shrugged my shoulders.

It was pointless for him to chase me with skills that got him captured by mere Nemea.
It would be great if he died in the process of escaping the prison, and even if he survived, it didn’t seem difficult to run away.

Right now I’m weak because I have no equipment and can’t use skills, but it will be a different story once I get out of here.

“Berserk.”

[Awakener ‘Shinbi’ casts the <Stigma Theory: Berserk> skill.]

As soon as I clearly enunciated the skill name, poof!
A pink mist exploded.
I could never get used to the effect of this transformation skill.

“Cough, cough.”

I looked reluctantly at the pile of cherry blossom petals at my feet, then stumbled after stepping on a clump of fur.
If the man hadn’t quickly approached and caught me, I probably would have cracked the back of my head.

“Thanks.”

“…You.”

Spit, spit.
As I was spitting out the petals that had gotten into my mouth, I saw a horrified face through the fluttering leaves.

We had only been together for a few hours, but it was the first time I had seen such a clear expression of emotion from him, so it was a little strange.

‘…Why is he so surprised? Is this the first time he’s seen someone use a skill?’

I met the man’s confused gaze blankly, then went ‘ah’ and fumbled with the top of my head.

Twitch, twitch.
I thought I heard the sound from above, and it turned out that two pointed ears had sprouted on my head.
The clump of fur I almost tripped over was none other than my thick tail.

“The fur color follows the hair color, huh?”

I had transformed into a wolf beast-kin with pink ears and a tail.

‘…So, this man was a wolf.’
I tried hard not to think of his reddish glans and looked down at my body.
The fluffy pink fur that had grown out cleverly covered my private parts, so I didn’t even need clothes anymore.

Wow, long live the beast form!
‘Berserk’ is the best!
I whipped off the man’s clothes, handed them back, and confidently walked towards the prison door.

“Wait. That is…”

It seemed like the man behind me was about to say something, but I just grabbed the iron bars.

Hyaap!
I even let out a yell and put my strength into it, but I soon had to snatch my hands away as if I had touched a hot pot.

“Ouch, hot!”

Ow, ow.
I whimpered as I shook my stinging palms.
Strange.
In my imagination, the prison bars should have bent like taffy, but in reality, all I had were bright red palms.

“…Those bars are made of pure silver.”

A cool voice flew from behind me, as if in reproach.

“I was about to warn you that you would get burned if you touched it in berserk state. You are quite impatient.”

Only then did the wrist of the man, who was rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache, catch my eye.

Looking closely, the skin around the handcuffs was bright red.
I thought it was slightly different from the black handcuffs I was wearing, so was that also pure silver?

Only then did I realize why this man, with such a good skill, hadn’t even tried to escape.

[Deactivating <Stigma Theory: Berserk> state.]

Pure silver is a fatal weakness for the wolf race.
That’s why, before the wolf-type monster Varg was deleted, silver-plated weapons were top-tier.
Now they’re dirt cheap, of course.

I looked back and forth between my burned hands and the man’s cuffed wrist.

“…So you were trapped here because you couldn’t get out, all this time?”

“For about two days.”

He answered indifferently and brought my hand to his mouth.

Lick, lick.
Every time his soft tongue touched me, it felt cool.
What should I say.
It was like a disinfectant.
An alcohol disinfectant that evaporates as soon as it touches, leaving no dampness.

Healing wounds by licking them.
It’s a bit dirty, but not bad?
It doesn’t seem to use mana either.
For a moment, I looked up at the man with greedy eyes.

“……”

The man also met my gaze, as if he understood my look.
As if he were a different person from the wall-gazer a few hours ago.
Steadily, intently, piercingly.

‘…What’s with that deep gaze?’
I felt a sense of foreboding as I looked at the strangely softened golden eyes.

Surely he’s not one of those cliché characters who falls in love after having s*x, right?
No matter how much of an NPC he is, that can’t be.

“…Ahem, thanks for the treatment.”

I ignored the man’s hot gaze and started planning our escape.

In human form, it’s fine to touch the silver bars, but I can’t bend them without using skills.
On the other hand, in ‘Berserk’ state, my physical strength is enhanced, but I can’t touch the bars.

Hmmmm.
Then that means we need the prison key after all.

“…Listen carefully.”

After much thought, I explained my plan.
I expected him to say it was crude, but the man just listened silently.

“Did you really understand?”

“Karvan.”

“Right, Karvan. Did you understand?”

The man, Karvan, finally nodded.
Then he added in a thoughtful voice.

“Don’t kill the other wolf beast-kin in the prison.”

“Why?”

“They are my subordinates.”

‘…He even has subordinates and still got caught here?’
I looked at him pathetically, but Karvan just lowered his head, lost in thought, and became silent again.

The man’s expression was strangely odd, and I had a bad feeling, but there was no time.

“Aaaaaah! He’s dead!”

I immediately screamed to gather the guards.

“Over here! There’s a corpse! It appeared!”

Clang, clang!
I screamed until my throat tasted of blood and shook the bars wildly.

At my fuss, lights began to turn on one by one, and with a rattle, the shutter went up.
Annoyed gazes shot at me from beyond the bars.

“You’re a human, but you have a loud voice. What’s the matter?”

“He’s dead! Get rid of the body quickly!”

I pointed at the limp man.

Karvan, leaning against the wall with his head lolled, really looked like a corpse.
To the point where it was momentarily chilling even though I knew it was an act.

“Dead? That stubborn bastard?”

I could hear the Nemean guards who were peeking from outside murmuring, as if they had been completely fooled.

“Get rid of it quickly! What if it rots!”

“Don’t be a nuisance and just stay there. You’ll end up like that too when the chief comes anyway.”

“I’m scared! How can I be with a corpse! I want to be comfortable until I die! Waaah!”

As I burst into loud sobs, the Nemean guards frowned.
They looked so annoyed that the fluffy mane on their chins quivered.

“You…”

“Or I’ll curse you even after I die! You’ll be plagued by nightmares too! I’ll become a grim reaper and chase you for the rest of your life!”

The beings here feared the Observers, calling them ‘grim reapers.’
Observers were usually summoned due to system problems, and solving the bug would mean death for them.

“That human bastard is so unlucky…”

It seemed they were reluctant to be cursed by such a being who held a grudge.
One of the guards with the bushiest mane, who was glaring at me annoyed, waved his hand.

“It’s noisy, so just get rid of it.”

“Hey, stick to the wall. If you don’t want to die.”

I obediently followed his words.
I raised my hands and backed up against the wall.
The Nemean guard, who was looking me over with a displeased expression, took a key from his waist and fitted it into the lock.

Kreeek.
The silver bars moved, and two guards entered the prison.

One of them was checking Karvan’s condition by tapping his cheek, and the other was about to turn to me.

“Berserk.”

Poof!
The effect exploded once more, and a pile of pink petals covered the prison floor.

[Awakener ‘Shinbi’ casts the <Stigma Theory: Berserk> skill. (※ Melee attack damage and mobility are greatly increased.)]

I spit out the cherry blossom petal that had gotten into my mouth and muttered ominously.

“If you have any last words, say them now.”