Villain's Odyssey: Enslaving heroines, Conquering Villainesses -
Chapter 74: DANGER
Chapter 74: Chapter 74: DANGER
"UGH," Asher groaned as consciousness dragged him back to the waking world like a reluctant fish on a hook.
"Finally awake, sleeping beauty?" came a crisp voice from across the room.
He tilted his head to find Jenny seated at the small dining table, looking quite the picture in an elegant outdoor gown of cream-colored silk that seemed to shimmer in the morning light. A wide-brimmed sun hat with delicate lace trim sat perched on her head, casting artistic shadows across her face.
"Y-yeah," he managed to croak out, though he felt anything but fine. His whole body was burning up, and a bone-deep exhaustion made even breathing feel like work. Don’t tell me I fell ill, he thought with growing alarm. Given his naturally weak constitution, he was more vulnerable to these things than most people. Maybe yesterday’s healing session had something to do with it too.
"I made something," she announced, gesturing toward a steaming bowl on the table. "And before you get all entitled about it, I did this from the goodness of my heart. I’m not obligated to make you anything, so if you don’t like it, just leave it."
He kept silent, partly because arguing felt like too much effort.
"Hmm?" She must have noticed something in his expression because she walked over to the bed, her red eyes narrowing with concern. When she placed a cool hand on his forehead, her frown deepened dramatically.
"What the hell?" She jerked her hand back as if she’d been burned. "How do you have a fever? Only etherless people get fevers."
Up close, he could see the confusion and worry flickering across her features. Her purple hair caught the morning light streaming through their window, and he noticed she’d taken extra care with her appearance. She placed her hand back on his forehead, this time sending a gentle probe of ether into his system to investigate.
"This is completely impossible," she muttered, her brow furrowing as she concentrated. Once someone possessed ether, their body becomes immune to mundane illnesses like this.
She paused, her expression shifting from confusion to something approaching alarm. "This... is weird. You obviously have ether, but it’s not coming from your ether pool..."
She stepped back, placing her index finger between her lips in that familiar gesture of deep contemplation he’d already learned to recognize.
"Why are you dressed that way?" he asked suddenly, struggling to sit up more comfortably against the bed frame. The movement sent another wave of dizziness through him, but he pushed through it.
"To go out?" she responded matter-of-factly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"But that’s not a uniform," he pointed out, and her expression shifted to one of realization.
"Oh, you don’t know," she said, settling herself on the edge of his bed with casual familiarity.
"Know what?" he asked, though he had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.
"Well, most of the academy professors and administrators are meeting today to discuss something important, so today was given as a break day," she explained, watching his expression carefully.
His frown deepened. What exactly would warrant such a reaction from the entire faculty? In the game, emergency faculty meetings usually preceded major plot developments—none of which boded well for students caught in the middle.
"Do you know why?" he asked. After all, Jenny had some rather mysterious connections that were never fully revealed in the original storyline.
"Yeah... but why should I tell you?" she folded her arms and fixed him with a challenging stare.
"I don’t know, maybe because you put me in this condition?" he said, attempting what he hoped was a guilt-inducing glare despite his weakened state.
"Hey, don’t play the guilt card on me," she shot back. "It was your fault for finding it convenient to experiment in this dorm room. Speaking of which..." She suddenly stopped, her expression turning serious.
"What was that stuff you made?" she asked, her voice losing all traces of casual banter.
"The tonic?" he asked, trying for an innocent expression that probably fell flat given his current state.
"Please, tell that to an idiot," she scoffed. "That was no healing tonic. That... that stuff did something to my ether core and my ether pool."
Now it was Asher’s turn to get serious. He sat up straighter despite the discomfort, his back resting against the bed frame as he studied her face.
"How do you feel?" he asked, his tone shifting completely.
"Huh?" The sudden change in his demeanor caught her off guard.
"How do you feel now? Did it affect your core negatively?" he pressed, leaning forward despite the wave of dizziness that threatened to knock him over.
"No, it didn’t," she said slowly, as if testing the words. "I feel... stronger. Far, far stronger." She raised her hands, and suddenly, intricate magic circles appeared hovering above her palms, glowing with a power that made the air itself seem to thrum with energy.
"Imperial level," he whispered in shock.
It was completely unheard of for someone so young to ascend to Imperial level. The power system was rigidly structured: Origin level (1-10), which barely counted since most people never advanced beyond it during their academy years. Jenny, despite her considerable talent in the game, had only reached Origin level 6—a ranking that had gotten her instant admission to Arcane Legacy without further testing. That’s how difficult advancement usually was.
After Origin came Imperial level, also with ten sub-levels, then the Ascension level—a tier so rare you could count its members on your fingers. Beyond that lay the near-mythical Demi-God level, and finally, true Godhood.
For her to reach Imperial now, before even entering Arcane Legacy proper, was beyond unprecedented. It was impossible.
"Right?" she responded, looking as confused as he felt. "I should tell the dean—"
"You can’t," he interrupted, leaning forward to grasp her hands tightly.
"Why can’t I?" she asked, genuine bewilderment coloring her voice. "I don’t know how this is possible. Something might be happening to me that could be detrimental in the future. I need to understand how this occurred."
"Look at me, Jenny," he said, and she met his gaze directly.
"I know what happened. This was the experiment I spoke about."
Her eyes widened, and for a moment, she looked very young and very scared.
"Is it really that easy to advance someone’s level with just some random concoction?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I’m not sure yet. Your case might be unique," he admitted. "But I will find out. For now, you have to keep this secret. You cannot let the authorities know."
"Why?" she asked, though something in her expression suggested she was beginning to understand.
"Because they would try to find out how I came about such knowledge. And they would try to experiment on you. Do you want that?"
She shook her head firmly.
"You can’t let anyone know about this. This could ruin your life if the wrong people get hold of this information."
"That’s right," she said suddenly, her expression turning grim as the full severity of the situation hit her. "If word got out that someone could artificially advance power levels..."
"Exactly. Wars have been fought over less."
"But what exactly was that substance?" she asked, and he sighed heavily.
"I’ll show you everything, all right? For now, I need you to avoid revealing this to anyone—not even your closest friends."
She nodded solemnly.
"So... am I safe?" she asked with an audible gulp, and he could hear the fear she was trying to hide.
Sudden jumps in power always came with risks. Magic was about balance, and they’d just thrown hers completely out of alignment.
"I can’t be certain yet," he said honestly. "But for now, you seem stable. I need you to stay close to me for a while. I need to monitor what’s happening and find out if there will be any adverse effects."
She nodded again, but her hands were trembling slightly.
"Asher... I won’t die, right?" she asked, and the vulnerable note in her voice made his chest tighten.
"You won’t," he said firmly. "I promise."
"I hope I can trust you on this. I really do," she said, biting her lip nervously.
"You can. I made this happen, so I assure you, I won’t let anything bad come from it," he said, though internally he was thinking, I need that power.
...
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A/N-Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation! Also, if you have enjoyed the story so far perhaps you can try dropping a review, the author would appreciate that, thanks!
And also, I would love powerstones!
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