Sacrifices To Jupiter XII

She coughs awkwardly, puffing her flat chest and beating at it. "As for strength, the Great Demons all start from zero, their strength rising with the level of their dungeon."

"So, the stronger this crimson orb gets," she points at the orb, "the stronger you get," then she gestures toward me.

"You don't have to chew down your explanations to me like I'm some kindergartener," I tell her, my eyes closed and smiling.

"Onto the attributes!" she declares.

Does she think that whenever she gets in trouble she can just divert the discussion?

She's damn right.

"Demons and monsters don't have souls, so there are no mana and life attributes. Instead, demons use murk to cast magic. We call it black magic." Mari thrusts a finger at my chest, where my third heart lies. Or was it fourth? No, still the third.

"The soul lies here, in one's heart."

"What's the difference between murk and mana?" I stack one hand over the other and lift it to my chin. "What sets black magic apart from magic?"

"While we have souls, you, demons, have essence. To put it bluntly, essence is a primitive form of a soul. Instead of formulaic magic, what you demons use is raw magic," she explains, forming a blue glow in her hand.

"You see this? It's a pure form of my mana. It detracts a certain amount of particles from the air, and won't work unless the said requirements are met. Particularly, aqua, or well, water particles. The raw magic, or, well, the black magic, on the other hand, works differently. Murk doesn't attract particles to work, instead, it exhausts one's essence to transform the particles in the air."

Yeah, awesome. I don't understand shit.

"You don't get it, do you?" she asks, looking at me with a dubious expression.

"Of course I do!" I lie shamelessly, smiling with shining teeth.

She sighs theatrically, slumping forward, shaking her head. "Soul is like a magnet. It attracts particles. Essence is like fuel. It transforms particles. Just like how fire from coal doesn't pull in steel, instead, tempers and reshapes it into a blade."

I nod repeatedly. That makes much more sense.

No. I still don't understand shit. But whatever. It probably does make sense, just not for me.

I am the type who learns based on examples, not boring and lengthy explanations. That's some nerdy shit right there.

"Now onto the life attribute," she continues, snapping her fingers to scatter the clouds shrouding my mind. "All people cultivate life. They absorb monster cores to improve on their life attribute. Basically, they devour other's lives to enhance theirs. Monsters, on the other hand, cultivate various things. For you, it's luck. You are a luck cultivator."

Ahh, is it not over yet? I feel like my brain is gonna explode.

"This is your core, by the way." Mari extends her finger toward the orb. "Monsters and demons alike usually have cores in their hearts, the Great Demons yet have dungeon cores as their cores. This is where your essence lies."

"But…" She fidgets her finger around, circling her hair. "What's up with your luck attribute? It's weird. All your attributes are E-rank, except luck. It's very weird."

"Ah, about that…" I whisper.

I'm suddenly reminded of the rainbowhead's smug expression. His condescending sunny eyes and his clever face.

If the pimp guy doesn't find and fuck him, I'll personally arrange them a night.

I clench my fists. "My luck is fucked."

I show her my 'gifts'.

The Hero's Curse |A|

Damage against the players with |Hero| Title -50%

Reverse Plot Armor |S|

Luck Attribute -50%

Experience Gain -90%

Divinity Resistance -90%

More like curses.

Mari gapes, her lips shaking.

"Wha…"

"What kind of cursed luck is this?!"

"This is unthinkable!" She brings her hand up her forehead, ahhing theatrically. "Do you even realize what this means?!"

What a drama queen.

Do I realize, she asks? Of course I do.

I'm full well aware that I'm fucked in every way. I don't know what that everyway is, though.

"You have one of your four primary attributes crippled! Fifty percent! That basically means that if you were to have C-rank luck without the gift, now you'd have D-rank, and if you were to have S-rank—an A-rank! From here on out, you'll always have your luck one rank lower!" Mari shoots me a barrage of useless nagging, shouting, her saliva falling all over my impeccable, beautifully handsome robe.

What a fucking bitch.

I push her away. "Who cares? I presume other Archdemons got the same two gifts too."

Mari stammers, flapping her hands like a newborn bird, one leg waving and the other holding on to the ground.

She barely refrains from falling. Regaining her balance, she shoots me a glance an underpaid prostitute would make.

"That's different! Luck is your primary cultivation path!"

Cultivation this, cultivation that. I keep hearing it.

"What's the deal about cultivation?" I ask, adjusting my supersexy hat.

The three horns I have are a real annoyance. At least they're almost horizontal.

If they were to be vertical, I'd have to cut my horns so that I could wear my dear hat.

"I already explained it, no?!" Mari scratches her head, biting her lip. "Mana, Aura, Wise, Life. Aura and wise work the same for both people and demons."

"Mana, I've explained," she says. "Also, the higher your mana attribute, the bigger reservoir of mana you have. For you, Murk, to be exact."

"Aura is what you coat your body with to strengthen it, to pierce through the rocks with your palm and cut through the trees with your fingers," Mari explains, punching through the air. If there were to be a boxing machine, she'd score a hundred. Out of a thousand.

"Wise is to better connect with the elementals, or well, particles. Not only does it help to regenerate your mana faster, but also better establish a connection with the spirits," Mari states, stepping right and left and left and right to warm herself from the cold and humid air. "Basically, to better connect with the world as a whole. To become one with it."

"Finally!" She thrusts a finger through the light fog. "The fourth attribute is what you cultivate! For us, people, it's life. For demons, it varies, as I've already told a million times!"

"For you!" Mari approaches, fingering my chest, back and forth. "It's luck! In your case, the lack thereof!"

I grab her hand, pressing it so hard that the crack of her bones resounds.