In Terra, a Hunter and a Bad Woman

In Terra, a Hunter and a Bad Woman by lumom

Having broken free from the endless night of the hunt, Maria had already endured countless slaughters.

After realizing that the Umbilical Cord she had lost would bring danger to this world, she unhesitatingly accepted the power of the system, preparing to reclaim those forces.

However... while reclaiming that power, it seemed some strange things happened...

Silly Dog: "Hehehe~ Maria~ Maria~"

Specter: "Do you still enjoy dancing? I recently learned a lovely dance piece, and I would like to dance it with you alone..."

Skadi: "Maria... I cannot sleep. May I sleep with you?"

Gladiia: "Surface dweller, you make me feel restless."

Maria: "At the very least, I am not like you, only capable of lying on the ground and crying when I run out of stamina."

Chapter 1: The Useless System and the Strong Hunter

"A strange place..."

Above the desolate earth, a woman in form-fitting hunter's attire muttered to herself.

Though it was called hunter's attire, it actually resembled a modified ceremonial dress.

Elegant leather draped over her body, the delicate patterns complex and exquisite, yet they only occupied small corners of the garment.

Her skin, white to the point of being uncanny, revealed her breathtaking features, and beneath a unique tricorne hat, her gray hair was tied back.

She looked like a cold yet stunning woman.

"Have I... left that dream?"

Continuing to ponder, the woman lowered her head and looked at her palms.

Fair, frail, and covered in calluses from long-term weapon use.

This was the proof of her life as a hunter.

From some unknown point in time, Maria had begun to forget her past.

She had simply spent day after day in Yharnam, hunting those humans who relied too heavily on Blood Ministration and had succumbed to beast-hood.

The so-called Blood Ministration was a miraculous technique comparable to alchemy.

Those mad scholars, driven by a thirst for the power of gods, frantically researched the strange forces that did not belong to humanity, eventually developing the byproduct known as Blood Ministration.

With just a small bag of refined blood, any wound could be easily healed.

It could be said that as long as it was not a fatal blow, Blood Ministration was invincible!

But... this miraculous power came with a price.

While Blood Ministration could heal wounds, greedy use inevitably caused the human body to fall into the process of beast-hood.

To cover up this fact, Maria and other hunters were invited to conduct the hunt.

And the Outer Gods began to stir at this time as well.

Several Outer Gods used their authority in Yharnam, and the entire city fell into a terrifying, endlessly repeating dream.

Maria, too, had repeated life and death within it.

However, unlike other hunters who had fallen into despair, Maria never stopped searching for a way to break the cycle.

Death after death, dream after dream, she finally seized the only opportunity amidst countless slaughters and partings.

Using the item known as the Umbilical Cord, she successfully slaughtered all the Outer Gods of Yharnam and swallowed their power into her own body.

Finally... she burned all of Yharnam to the ground.

In the final second of her memory, what she saw was the entire world consumed by flames...

"Logically speaking, since I have broken free from the dream, I should have returned to reality, but here..." Maria lowered her head, her gray-black eyes sweeping across her surroundings.

Desolate...

The yellowish-brown earth was unbearably dry.

A scorching sun hung high in the sky, the shimmering air distorting her vision, and the dust-filled atmosphere made her uncomfortable.

Without a doubt.

This was not Yharnam.

Furthermore, this was not the world she was familiar with.

"My weapons... are gone, the Umbilical Cord is gone, and my Blood Vial... there is only one left."

Maria checked the items she still carried, her brow furrowing.

The weapons she trusted most, which had accompanied her through one night of the hunt after another, were nowhere to be found, and the Umbilical Cords she had used to restrain the power of the Outer Gods had also vanished.

This was not good news.

"Although I have now swallowed all the power, because I did not swallow the Umbilical Cords along with it, I cannot yet use those powers freely."

Maria murmured.

Now, her body contained the power of many Outer Gods.

It was as if she were a collection of treasure chests filled with riches, all bound tight.

And those Umbilical Cords were the keys to these chests.

As long as she swallowed those Umbilical Cords, she could easily seize that power and make it her own.

However, Maria had not done so back then, fearing that excessive use of that power might turn her into an Outer God herself.

But now, it seemed... that had been a failed choice.

"Although those things no longer possess vitality or power, their essence ultimately belongs to the Outer Gods."

"If they were to fall into the hands of someone with ill intent, perhaps... this world would also face the threat of becoming beast-ridden..."

"I must take those things back!"

Maria lowered the brim of her hat, speaking softly with her head bowed.

She had thought that after escaping the dream, she could finally get some rest, but as it stood, she was still a long way from any respite.

However, before she went to search for the Umbilical Cords... there was one more thing she had to resolve.

Maria turned her head and looked at her right hand.

From the perspective of her eyes, there was nothing there.

But as long as Maria closed her eyes to sense it, she could see a strange geometric shape in her hand that did not belong to this world.

This was something she had noticed the moment she woke up.

This strange object had attached itself to her as if it were nothing, even claiming it had come to help her.

But Maria, having just awakened, had been far too cautious; faced with an unknown entity, she had ignored its protests and ripped it directly from her body.

Even if she could not exert her power, Maria was, by her very essence, no longer human.

Maxed-out Insight! Kid!

"What... exactly is this?"

Maria murmured.

Upon hearing Maria's words, the entity became agitated.

"Big boss! You have to believe me, big boss, I'm a good person!"

A crisp female voice echoed in Maria's mind, and along with it, the geometric shape in Maria's hand began to heave rapidly.

It was clear that the entity really wanted to prove itself.

"I just want to make cute girls regret their lives and watch them squirm! I'm not a bad person! Really!"

"Your words are hardly complimentary."

Maria spoke, her cold, raspy voice carrying a unique charm, and her scrutinizing gaze made the system exceptionally nervous.

"Your origin, your identity, your purpose... I expect to hear these things."

Maria pressed the strange geometric shape, interrogating it in an attempt to extract more information.

But at this moment, the system puffed up and refused to speak.

What era is this, that you don't even know what a system is... are you some primitive person who crawled out of the mountains?

The two remained at a stalemate.

"You don't want to cooperate?" Maria narrowed her eyes, her palm slowly tightening.

When unable to tap into the power of the Outer Gods within her, Maria was merely a hunter with exceptional combat skills.

But in terms of her soul, she was a truly great existence.

As she clenched her fist, the geometric shape began to show signs of cracking.

This immediately broke the system's composure.

No way?!

Ah?!

"Wait, wait, wait! Calm down!"

"Don't be so rough, okay? I'll talk, I'll talk, alright! Really! Just calm down!"

"Wuwu, I'm sorry, I was wrong, I shouldn't have spoken in riddles, please let me go..."

"Guh... I'm suffocating..."

"Ah!!!!"

Sounds of struggle and begging continued to emerge. At the very last second, Maria relaxed her grip and stared at the entity in silence.

This made the system feel a chill run through its entire being.

What is wrong with this woman?

Not only did she tear off my connection with her bare hands, she almost crushed my core...

What kind of power was this?!

Maria had no intention of explaining anything to this guy, simply lowering the brim of her hat in silence.

She could still hear the system's soft sobbing in her ears.

Yet Maria felt not a shred of pity.

She spoke slowly, her tone stiff and ruthless.

"Now, tell me everything you know..."

Half an hour later...

"Terra?"

Maria's brows furrowed slightly, and the sobbing system beside her nodded silently.

"Yes... the land you are currently on is known as the Terra continent, and then there are the Catastrophes of this world... do you understand?"

Realizing that the host she had chosen this time was indeed quite formidable, the system's tone became polite, even carrying a hint of sycophancy.

However, Maria did not care about any of that.

"Then... do you know where my Umbilical Cords went?"

For Maria, the most important thing right now was to recover those dangerous Umbilical Cords of the Outer Gods; if handled poorly, these items could trigger world-ending disasters!

"Those things... let me see..." The system's voice rang out once more, as if it were rummaging through something.

Before long, it turned back, excited.

"Found them..."