Second Attribute Core

After Little One helped Sofia Johnson up the stairs to the second floor, she carefully inspected the room again. Confirming there were no signs of any inhabitants, she shut the door and took out her game console.

She hadn't planned on sending Little One off to hunt or search for that black fruit yet, even though time was tight. She understood the urgency of the situation but also knew when to prioritize. At the moment, in an unfamiliar place, it was better to keep Little One close for a while longer.

Moreover, she had an appointment later.

"Go search the building and see if there are any other people around."

Sofia Johnson didn't let Little One stray too far. With her current speed, even if any danger arose, she could easily get there in time.

While Little One was clearing the building and the dog was hunting during the intervals, Sofia didn't bother with tidying the room. She simply took out her console and began controlling the dog's hunt.

The hunting was surprisingly smooth. The prey, one after another, was either already asleep or had no chance to resist. Within half an hour, Sofia had controlled the dog to kill four prey animals.

Just then, Little One returned to the room.

Sofia Johnson pressed the button to continue hunting and looked up at Little One. "Are there others here?"

The humanoid snake shook its head in a human-like gesture.

"Alright, stay here."

After saying that, Sofia Johnson returned her attention to the console. Another round of hunting had just ended.

What caught her attention was the faint glow of an item among the prey's remains on the pixelated screen. Soon, a line of text appeared in the center of the screen.

"Your vassal has hunted a sleeping prey beyond its usual level and has gained an unexpected reward."

"Remarkable! Your luck seems to be beyond the ordinary."

With the appearance of this line, another message popped up in the bottom-left corner of the screen, as if something had been picked up, like in other games.

"Energy Core +1"

Seeing this, Sofia's expression shifted to one of surprise.

Had she just… gotten another one?

She quickly opened her backpack. Sure enough, in addition to the gray Moth attribute core, there was now a light yellow one.

She selected the new core, and a word appeared beside it: Blade.

"Ah... this isn't just me attracting it, is it?"

Sofia immediately thought of her two vassals, both of whom had the Blade attribute.

"Attributes are interrelated, often with complementary or opposing forces. Most of the time, creatures can only awaken the attribute most suited to them."

"However, this doesn't mean every creature can only possess one attribute. In general, a creature can hold up to three attributes, though awakening a second attribute is quite challenging."

"This core wasn't drawn to you specifically, but not entirely the opposite either."

"It was drawn to your vassals. But, in a way, since your vassals are one with you, isn't that the same as being drawn to you?"

"Would you like to learn about the Blade attribute now?"

"Of course."

Sofia couldn't help but feel like the narrator should just skip the choice prompts next time.

Blade: The Code of War and Struggle

"It encompasses brute force, betrayal, cunning, and pain. Its elements include conquest and domination, conflict and resistance. Its characteristic is deception and bloodlust, with a touch of sophistication in its violence."

"You've gained a basic understanding of the Blade attribute. Other attributes will unlock once you possess their corresponding cores. As for the specific effects of the attribute core, you will need to explore them yourself."

This attribute seemed to align well with her vassals...

But the ideas of conquest and domination left her a bit puzzled.

Still, this was quite timely—she had a rough idea for an experiment with the cores.

This Blade attribute core was perfect for that, but she would have to wait until after her meeting with that lady.

Sofia immediately took the core out and placed it into her pocket in the real world, then continued controlling the dog to hunt. About an hour passed, and thanks to most of the prey not having time to resist, the dog quickly leveled up to level 8.

Seeing the refreshed evolution progress bar, Sofia sighed. She still needed to manually level up twice before unlocking the idle mode.

Looking at the screen, she noticed the gray dog, now close to the size of a Tibetan Mastiff, and thought for a moment, "Might as well give you a name early."

After a brief pause, she decided on a name for her second vassal.

"You're going to be called... Dogzi."

The large dog on the pixelated screen didn't hear her. It simply stood still, lazily wagging its tail, unaware of the rather dismissive name it had been given.

Sofia checked the time. Two hours had passed. It was time to meet with that lady.

"Let's go, Little One. Let's see if that sister is back yet."

She didn't sit in the wheelchair this time—it was inconvenient without an elevator.

As she climbed the stairs, she thought about Dogzi, whose size was almost that of a Tibetan Mastiff. She mused that if it grew any bigger, it might even be able to serve as a mount. In that case, she wouldn't need the wheelchair for her outings anymore.

Her broken body, though, had her out of breath after just one flight of stairs. She stood outside the door, took a moment to catch her breath, and then raised her hand to knock.

Soon, a reply came from inside. "Who's there?"

Sofia realized that her ears were working perfectly fine now. Through the door, she could tell that it was the same voice she'd heard two hours ago.

"It's me, Sister. I'm here as we agreed."

She answered sweetly, sounding like a well-behaved child.

After a moment of silence, Sofia heard footsteps approaching the door. She took a step back, and Little One, standing beside her, stared intently at the door, its mouth slightly agape.

The door opened, and the lady she had met earlier appeared, wearing the same look as before. However, her sportswear was now stained with blood, probably from coming back home without having the time to change before the doorbell rang.

The amount of blood loss seemed severe. If it were her own blood, the woman probably wouldn't even be standing.

"Did you go hunting earlier, Sister?" Sofia asked with a smile.

The lady didn't hide anything and nodded, her gaze flickering briefly toward Little One. Her expression tightened, still wary of this strange girl and the giant serpent.

However, since she hadn't fled, she opened the door as agreed. Although her wariness remained, she didn't want to cause any conflict. The woman stepped aside, allowing Sofia to enter.

"Come in. Sit down for a bit. I'll go change my clothes."

She gestured to the bloodstains, which were indeed heavy. Sofia also noticed the woman's hands—calloused, strong, unlike her own delicate fingers. They looked like the hands of someone who could wield a knife.

"Thank you."

Sofia said with a soft, warm tone. If one didn't notice the python coiled at her feet, she would seem almost harmless.

Yet, despite her sweet demeanor, she didn't reach for the glass of water the woman had offered.