A Person in the League, But It's the Taiwan Server System

"Corrupting Potion... huh?" Chen Ce's first reaction was does this even count as equipment?, and his second was alright, I suppose it does.

A Corrupting Potion is worth five hundred gold coins in the Rift; it's a hundred or two hundred gold more expensive than other starting items like Long Swords, Daggers, or Cloth Armor. This haul was definitely not a loss.

If it could be used infinitely, it was certainly no worse than any other starting gear.

Not bad.

Having completed the mission and received his reward, Chen Ce was very satisfied.

Until... a strange sound pulled him back to reality:

"Mm... mmm..."

Looking down, he saw that Ahri, who had been standing there posing just a moment ago, was now sprawled on the ground.

Her willow-slender waist was arched slightly, her nine tails covering her beautiful body like a blanket, while the base of her tails was forced upward—it hurt, it hurt so much!

As a Vastaya with a long tail, she was like the vast majority of long-tailed animals: her tail was her most, most, most sensitive spot.

If her tail were to be molested, she would...

Hmm...

It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it wasn't comfortable either; in short, it was a... very strange feeling.

Her whole person had become strange.

Her breathing grew rapid and heavy, like the panting after strenuous physical labor.

As for her expression...

It was as if she had been completely broken.

Ahri: Why are you doing this~ oh my~~

Ahri's fair cheeks were flushed with an unusual crimson, and her amber eyes showed signs of rolling back.

She was numb.

She had never suffered such grievances.

As a Nine-Tailed Fox born with the ability to manipulate hearts, her earliest memories were of running with a pack of ice-foxes in the northern reaches of Shon-Xan. Although she knew she wasn't one of them, they saw her as a kindred spirit and accepted her into the pack.

During those days of wild hunting, she gradually discovered she possessed a magical ability—the Vastayan magic flowing through her veins.

Though no one taught her, she learned to use this power in her own way—most commonly to enhance her reaction speed for chasing prey. If she approached carefully, she could even soothe a startled deer, keeping it calm and peaceful even as her fangs pierced its flesh.

Gradually, she pushed this ability to its limit—the power to manipulate minds and consume memories.

Ever since mastering this, her hunting had become incredibly simple; she basically never encountered any danger.

She had never felt as aggrieved as she did today—she hadn't managed to drain any life essence, and she'd been caught and manhandled by her tail.

She felt both wronged and sad, with a hint of anger.

And so, even though she feared Chen Ce, she used a weak voice to sternly question him:

"Why are you doing this~~!"

"..." For a split second, Chen Ce thought he had transmigrated back to Blue Star.

But the slightly suggestive scene before him pulled him back to reality.

He looked at Ahri, whose red-rimmed eyes made her look like she was about to cry, and then at the small potion bottle in his hand.

A sense of guilt welled up.

It was a pity... he felt guilty, but not by much.

"You were the one with ulterior motives first; this counts as self-defense."

"This Concubine had no such motives!" Ahri was so agitated she forgot to drop her formal self-reference.

"I know you wanted to eat me—or rather, drain my life essence."

"Th-this Concubine... d-didn't...! You are slandering this Concubine...!"

"There's no point in pretending anymore." Chen Ce shook his head and made a move to pinch her tail again.

The latter immediately shrank into the corner. "Th-that doesn't mean I actually succeeded...! What right do you have to attack this Concubine...!"

"This is a standard prevention of crime, and a reasonable act of self-defense."

"It's not reasonable at all...!"

"It is."

"It's not...!"

"It is." Chen Ce insisted on his philosophy of self-defense.

But what he didn't expect was... the fox-girl before him was more fragile than he had imagined.

She clutched her growling stomach, rubbed her slightly reddened eyes, and with a sniffle, began to sob:

"You're just bullying a fox... wuu-ying-ying-ying..."

"..." The moment the whimpering started, Chen Ce suddenly realized something.

The fox-girl before him... perhaps she was not quite the Nine-Tailed Fox, Ahri, that he remembered.

In his memory, the Nine-Tailed Fox was mature, a "fully-formed" entity, but this fox-girl before him... at this point in the timeline, she had likely only recently taken on human form.

In this timeline, she had not even experienced the accidental killing of another—save for the first time she tasted a life essence. It had been a dying hunter, wounded by a stray arrow; she had ended his inescapable suffering and, in doing so, gained his memories.

Later, she must have gone on to absorb more life essence, gaining more human memories and becoming fascinated by them.

In her early stages, she could still control herself and would not kill others through excessive consumption—she could feel the pain of her victims as she acquired their memories, and feeling remorse and agony, she learned to stop in time.

But later, she gradually lost the ability to suppress her instincts as a predator and killed many—though that was in the future, the time of her "fully-formed" or "mature" self.

Yet, for now, she was still just a "juvenile Ahri."

If not for her ability to absorb the memories of others, her current store of knowledge would likely be no different from that of a child...

Of course, even with that knowledge, her mental maturity was another matter entirely...

Even if Vastaya matured faster than humans, her current mental age was likely only equivalent to a fourteen or fifteen-year-old...

"Hey... my bad, my bad, stop crying..." Chen Ce felt a genuine twinge of guilt this time—the Nine-Tailed Fox before him was still just a child, and she hadn't yet committed the heinous act of taking a life; acting like this made him look like the villain.

"Whimper..." Ahri pouted slightly, her eyes and cheeks flushed red, looking as if she had suffered some great injustice.

Well, to her, having her tail rua'd certainly counted as a great injustice—such a sensitive area, being handled like that was enough to break her.

But... she only dared to argue back with a whimper, not daring to offer any physical resistance, let alone get tough.

Chen Ce's terror had already been deeply branded into her mind.

How could she dare to resist? She only dared to slink away in defeat...

"It was This Concubine's fault for wanting to eat you, but you did that to This Concubine as well... we're even...! This Concubine is leaving...!"

With that, she struggled to climb up from the ground and immediately headed for the door.

But just as she was about to leave, a large hand grabbed her once more—thankfully, not by the tail.

"Don't go just yet." Chen Ce's voice came from behind.

Ahri panicked instantly.

She recalled the terrifying way he had threatened Samira earlier...

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...!"

The moment Ahri turned around, she bowed repeatedly, her beautiful eyes filled with the fear of a pervert.

"It is This Concubine's fault... This Concubine should not have harbored ill intentions toward you... beat me or scold me as you please... you may even do other things if you wish... just please spare This Concubine's life...!"

"...?" Chen Ce froze, the Corrupting Potion still in his hand, stunned. "What are you talking about?"

"Are... are you not trying to threaten This Concubine...?" Ahri cautiously lifted her head, her panicked expression making her look like a startled little white fox. "Like telling This Concubine to do some evil deed... or else you'll kill This Concubine..."

"...You saw all of that?"

"Mm... no, wait...! No, I didn't! This Concubine saw nothing at all!"

"..."

"Please, I beg you to spare This Concubine... whimper..."

"I never said I was going to do anything to you..." Chen Ce shook his head helplessly. "I just wanted to give you some compensation."

"Compensation...?" Ahri looked cautiously at the bottle in his hand.

She could smell a strange... fragrance.

But that was not what attracted her the most.

What drew her most was the pendant on Chen Ce's neck—that blue, teardrop-shaped gem.

The reason she had set her sights on Chen Ce was partly because she smelled that his life essence was far sweeter and fuller than an ordinary person's, and partly because of this.

"Hm? You want this?" Chen Ce noticed her staring at the Tear of the Goddess on his neck.

"Want..." Ahri replied weakly.

"This? No, this I cannot give you."

"Oh..."

"But I assume the energy contained within it is what attracts you?"

"Mm..."

"Then I have something else that can serve as a substitute." Chen Ce shook the Corrupting Potion in his hand again. "You can drink this."

Theoretically, the "life essence" this fox-girl consumed was "Blue" + "Blood," or in other words, "Life Force" + "Magic Power," which was why she was interested in the Tear of the Goddess, which contained high levels of magic.

But clearly, the Corrupting Potion, which could replenish both "Mana" and "Health," would be even more suitable for her—it was just that the potion itself didn't contain as much, so at first glance, it didn't seem as alluring as the Tear of the Goddess.

"This...?" Ahri tilted her head in confusion, looking at the strange pink potion.

Fortunately, she didn't know much about the... illicit drugs of the human world, otherwise, she would surely have been terrified enough to run away on the spot.

"I think this can replace my life essence to satisfy your hunger." Chen Ce handed the bottle over. He did want to compensate her, but he didn't want his own body to suffer any damage—who knew, he might end up with amnesia or something.

If it were the Corrupting Potion, he wouldn't have to worry about that.

It would automatically refill by the next day anyway.

Besides... the wool comes from the sheep's own back.

"Drink up. You can have as much as you want."

"Oh..." Ah Li took the bottle gingerly, her eyes filled with a trace of suspicion.

But soon, she was captivated by that strange, alluring fragrance.

She was simply too hungry.

If not quite at the point of eating anything she could get her hands on, she was at least three seconds away from starving to death.

"Then... this concubine will drink...?"

"Drink, take big gulps." Chen Ce waved his hand generously.

Seeing this, Ah Li hesitated no longer and quickly popped the cap.

She then tilted the bottle and poured it straight into her mouth.

As the strange pink liquid flowed down her throat, her eyes widened in shock.

This taste... it was weird, but... it was delicious!

She went from being cautious at the start to gulping it down greedily.

In no time at all, four or five hundred milliliters of the Corrupting Potion were gone, leaving only an empty bottle.

"Puh-ha!" Ah Li couldn't help but let out the sound of a drunkard finishing a large mug of ale.

She shook the empty bottle, then opened her small mouth slightly toward Chen Ce.

Her nimble pink tongue swirled inside her mouth, a hint of saliva and warmth lingering between her pearly teeth.

"All of it... this concubine drank every last drop..."