Why Is Lucien Chasing Me?

Sue Terin, jumping from one tree to another, stopped in her tracks when a transparent box appeared.

The rich, familiar sound of the system's alert tone finally made her remember that she got a reward to claim after using her precious Healing Booster Pill just to save pain in the ass.

Ping!

[CONGRATULATIONS FOR COMPLETING THE HIDDEN QUEST: SAVE THE RED WOLF!]

The Lord System, sitting again atop Sue's head, patted Sue's forehead with its tiny paw.

"Congratulations on your gains! I am sure you will not regret using your second-grade pill for your harem candidate number one."

A knot lodged between Sue's perfectly carved brows after hearing Lord System's slip of a tongue. "My what candidate?"

"Opsies!" The cute Lord System covered its tiny mouth with its equally small paws before it curled and covered itself with its tails. "Claim your reward so we can get moving!"

The Lord System's lame attempt to navigate the direction of the conversation succeeded upon the mention of rewards. After all, Sue's non-existent 'heart' bled while remembering how she used her beloved Healing Booster Pill for that red mutt.

"Show me the rewards," said Sue. Her eyes gleamed with the mere thought of pills and other possible new skills!

Ping!

[COLLECTING THE AWARDS…]

Ping!

[GAINS 1 SECOND-GRADE BONE MARROW PILL! DO YOU WANT TO ACCESS THE BONE MARROW PILL NOW?]

Ping!

[YES] [NO]

"Of course not! I have wasted the Healing Booster Pill today." Sue's voice sharpened before she calmed down after reminding herself she had earned a new second-grade pill. Drawing a deep breath, she continued. "Store the Bone Marrow Pill for later. Next?"

Sue knew the importance of the Bone Marrow Pill. Who would not? Bone Marrow Pill, even though it got the same grade as the Healing Booster Pill she got, was a lot helpful.

It could restructure the lacking parts of her body composition, like strengthening her weak body's constitution as a human, or it could cleanse the impurities stuck in her body as she grew up without opening her spiritual core.

With this pill, she could make up for those years when she could not use her spiritual core.

Ping!

[ACTIVATES NEW SKILL: CHARM SKILL! DO YOU LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT CHARM SKILL?]

Ping!

[YES] [NO]

'Charm Skill, huh? I hadn't heard of that skill in my past life!' Sue could fly to the moons due to her excitement.

Nodding her head as she stared at the two words on the screen before, Sue grinned. "Explain it to me then, system."

[CHARM SKILL IS A UNIQUE SKILL FOR THE HOST, SUE TERIN. IT WILL AMPLIFY THE HOST'S CHARM TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANY SITUATION AGAINST THE OPPOSITE SEX. DEPENDING ON THE HOST'S LEVEL, THE DAMAGE AND SCOPE OF THE CHARM SKILL AMPLIFIES.

A SUPERIOR CHARM SKILL LEVEL CAN MAKE OR BREAK DYNASTIES. IF THE HOST EARNS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THE CHARM SKILL, HOST SUE TERIN WILL GAIN THE TITLE OF A 'FEMME FATALE'.]

"See? You will not regret doing the hidden quest," the yawning Lord System piped in after hearing the explanation of the system in his hazy state of mind.

Sue hummed.

Ever since she was defiled in her past life, the mere thought of touching a man would make her skin crawl while her head would buzz until she was nauseous enough to vomit her guts out. Her fear for a man's touch ran deep in her bones – the kiss with Lucien Lupine was sufficient evidence.

"Next? So far, I love the awards. And just thinking about the reward for the first mission? Ooh, I am dying to get my hands on them." Sue caressed Lord System's fist-sized head.

But the anticipation that had built up crashed upon hearing what the next reward was all about.

Ping!

[GAINS 10% FAVORABILITY FROM THE TARGET, LUCIEN LUPINE, FOR THE HOST'S PHYSICAL LOOKS! DO YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR DATA CENTER AND SEE THE STATISTICS?]

Ping!

[YES] [NO]

Sue read the words on the screen before her. Once. Twice. Thrice. She waited for the screen to move, but nothing happened. "That is it? The award is a percentage of how much he likes my looks? Is this how shallow the hidden feature of the system is?"

"Hmm. Why don't you see the data center and see if there are benefits?" The Lord System could not possibly tell Sue that this Favorability feature was vital to conquer the world more efficiently.

The previous hosts always jumped with joy upon learning this feature. It was only Sue Terin who thought of it otherwise.

Rolling her eyes, Sue listened to the Lord System. What else could she do? The system was still a foreign entity for her, and knowing every nook and cranny of it was the best way for her!

"Fine. I will see the data center 'and' its benefits." Sue emphasized the important thing for her, which was the benefits.

On cue, a much larger transparent screen appeared before Sue. It was double the size of the screen she used to see and divided into three columns. The first column caught her attention immediately since it was the only column with accurate data.

The other columns only got a series of question marks and blanks.

The first column showed a smirking red-haired man that she was oh-so-familiar with, Lucien Lupine. All his information, from birth date to favorites, was shown below his image! Even his traumatic experiences were offered in accordance with dates!

Sue could not bring herself to read the information about Lucien's sad past, even when she did not particularly like him. It was as if she felt offended for him for prying on his privacy which did not make sense.

Waving her hand, Sue spoke nonchalantly. "And where is my benefit? Yes, there is information for Lucien Lupine and… two more empty columns. But I cannot see any second-grade pills next to it!"

The Lord System could not stand Sue's ignorance anymore, so it pointed its paw to the number beside Lucien's name on the screen.

"Look! There's a number! That is the benefit you got. As long as the percentage grows higher, your control over this man will become exponentially higher as well. Imagine it, Sue. Lucien Lupine is the likely new king of the beastmen! With him by your side, getting resources to level up like beast cores and high-grade pills will be easy as pie."

Sue's frown deepened. "I won't fuck him just for that damn percent!"

"I am not saying anything about that! Okay, okay, fine! Let us forget about this feature and move!"

"What? That's it? Those are the rewards for the hidden quest? I –" Sue's words were cut off when a series of familiar howls rang around her.

"World View Skill, I need you to work again for me."

Ping!

[WORLD VIEW SKILL RETRIEVING DATA...]

Ping!

[WORLD VIEW SKILL RESUMES!]

"Now, where were we?"

The red arrow appeared when the transparent bluish window disappeared before her and the Lord System. A map on her side that showed her location and the surrounding beastmen around her spot also showed up the next second.

But what caught her off guard was the pink dot on the map. It was not there earlier!

And it was fast approaching her location! Much faster than the red ones!

"World View Skill, check this weird pink dot." Sue wondered if having a new color meant it was more potent than the red ones. But the following words shown on the transparent screen now displayed in front of her almost made her stumble.

Ping!

[RECOGNIZING THE PINPOINTED TARGET…]