dirk_grey

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Immortal Freeloader 52

I swung by the palace grounds before leaving the capital. The Spring Palace was under tight guard, but these security measures didn’t apply to the rest of the palace, allowing me to sneak in. After making sure Aisnam was not in immediate danger, I left the capital and started to run toward Markas.The trip from Markas to the capital required three days of intense effort from me.I expected the return trip to last about a full day. It was partially about my cultivation. Now that I was at the Second Realm of Qi Gathering, my body improved signifi...

Immortal Freeloader 51

“ … Incredible training session, madam,” I said as we collapsed as a sweaty mess once again.It had truly been an incredible session, as attested by my System, as a flood of familiar writing appeared in my view.[Cultivation Difference Bonus - 50; Pampering Bonus - 75 (Capped)][125x Return - 2 Qi Strands]It had been a month since that fateful day when she had decided to escalate things to a stage that was wholly inappropriate for a Queen, particularly considering the King was still alive, but once she learned about just how fun … physical...

Immortal Freeloader 50B

I didn’t say anything as I let myself enjoy the beauty of the Queen under me.“I … I didn’t expect you to be a wild young man, sating your lust on a poor maid,” she whispered throatily as I touched her chin gently. “But … if that’s what I needed to do protect my Queen.”“Well, I’m sure she would have appreciated it if she heard it,” I said with a playful smirk. I couldn’t help it, the fact that she was so committed to acting like she was her own maid was too funny … but in a way that didn’t detract even a bit from he...

Immortal Freeloader 50

I thought about going to the Queen and informing her about what had just happened, but I stayed below. Ultimately, I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t supposed to go out, and the events happened reasonably away that I shouldn’t have seen anything with my abilities.Instead, I stayed in the garden, testing the limits of the Second Realm of Qi Gathering stage. The passive improvement alone had been fascinating enough. I was faster, stronger, with sharper senses. More importantly, in a manner similar to Muscle Reinforcement, I had the ability...

Immortal Freeloader 49

As I noticed a movement outside the window in the dark of the night, I realized that, once again, my little comfortable bubble was about to be destroyed.Again.Two more weeks passed since the Queen decided that a little closeness was helpful when it came to training. It was as fun as it was torturous, particularly since the Queen was satisfied with teasing me while receiving my endless massages while faking incompetence.Our schedule was settled. We spent most of the day in the training room, and the nights, she spent alone upstairs, resting and ...

Accidental Villainy 45

“I’m pretty boring, I’m afraid,” she said with a flirty tone as she threw her hair back, leaning forward to further enhance her cleavage. She took another sip of her drink.I made a point of looking into her cleavage. “Oh, I sincerely doubt that,” I answered, and she shivered. It was an exaggerated, obvious move, which was also fake. I had to struggle to hold my chuckle. The irony was beautiful.I wished that I still didn’t have a horrible headache and could afford to push my power without delaying my recovery further, but I did not...

Accidental Villainy 44

That night, the bar was crowded.It was not the usual bar crowd, not even by the usual standards of it. My customers were silent as they consumed their fare, paid, and left. Their tips were generous, usually in the range of ten thousand. However, even with the bar suddenly raking in more money than I could imagine earning through a legitimate business, I wanted nothing more than to close it early and deal with my horrible headache.Unfortunately, that was not an option. It looked like people had already concluded that I was behind what had happen...

Dominating the Boss 54

“Since we agreed about my help, why don’t we start talking about how you’ll pay for my great assistance?” I offered, enjoying the way she shivered with anticipation. Comfort turned into something else. “Well, it’s not good business practice to pay before goods are delivered.”I smirked at her coy attitude. “How about a little advance, then?” I offered.“Well, it’s tempting—” she started, but at that moment, her phone pinged. “It’s the HQ,” she whispered, suddenly tense again. “They are asking me for an emergency ...

A Gamer Adventure 326

The battle raged outside as I walked toward Cornelia, still trying to decide what to do. The decision would have been easy if the thing that was invading her soul was anything but Elemental Spark. My experience with Titania showed just how difficult it was to handle.And, that was just a sliver of energy instead of the flood Cornelia was dealing with. A flood that was being consciously driven by intelligence. The flames that surrounded her didn’t burn her, but I had a feeling that it could be changed at any moment.The smart thing to do was to ...

The Stay 8

The Stay 7

Immortal Freeloader 48

“Y-you want me to teach you Forest Dance,” I asked, blushing hard.“Yes, is there a problem,” she asked, not bothering to hide her amusement. In that moment, I finally felt like I was dealing with another bored housewife, teasing her young personal trainer, rather than the impassive and proud Queen.I didn’t answer immediately and avoided her gaze. “F-forest dance requires me to see your movements clearly…” I said, exaggerating my shyness.“So?” she asked, deliberately acting obtuse like she didn’t understand what I was drivi...

Immortal Freeloader 47

In the morning, another servant visited the Spring Palace, carrying a tray of food. It was another blue robe, who looked smug and proud as he talked with the Queen, once again disguised as the maidservant.He received no protective talismans.Admittedly, now that I knew how it was made, I found myself questioning how actually received one. Drawing a talisman was a dangerous affair, requiring focus and strength … and most importantly, some sacrifice.Its structure had to be stabilized, which required Qi that was subdued by the creator to act as a...

Immortal Freeloader 46

When the Queen woke up, she was showing signs of distress. “Are you alright, madam?” I said the moment she opened her eyes, but I lay on the bed, acting like I was in excruciating pain which I tried to keep suppressed bravely.A tricky balance to maintain, but if her expression of concern was any indicator, I was successful.“Don’t worry about me. How do you feel?” she asked.“Nothing I can’t handle,” I said, but used every non-verbal clue I had to convince her that I was actually in distress.“Very well,” she said, but her acti...

Immortal Freeloader 45

The trick Queen pulled was clearly not simple, as when she dragged me to her Spring Palace, she was visibly staggering. It was especially serious considering I could feel that she was using her essence to support herself.Not the nicest thing, but it would be a lie to say that I was suddenly filled with guilt. I had already helped her a lot.The moment we were inside, she put me on the bed … and collapsed to the nearest chair, already unconscious. Slightly frustrating, as it meant I couldn’t simply explore the house. And, her current state of...

Immortal Freeloader 44

Two weeks passed after my first visit to the new Apothecary.Pearyin’s arrival meant that my previous routine had changed a bit, but considering the benefits, I wasn’t exactly complaining. Every night, I visited the apothecary, my time split between refining pills and helping her train more. She was coming along well. Not only she was already at the Peak of the Bone Forging realm, but also her combat techniques were coming along nicely. At this point, I actually expected her to be able to last against other Bone Forging masters.Naturally, wi...

Immortal Freeloader 43B

“Let’s make sure your body is in tip-top shape,” I said as I poured some massage oil which I refined with the pills. It was still helpful to her cultivation, but not enough to make it worthy of the materials it consumed.Yet, it wasn’t useless.“It’s … warm,” she murmured as she sank her face to the pillow, her naked body under my control. I climbed to the bed, hovering above her after I got rid of my clothes as well. There was no ambiguity about what would happen.Yet, I didn’t hurry up. No matter how much I felt pent up, she ha...

Immortal Freeloader 43

I expected not to be allowed to access the palace for a few days at a minimum, considering there had been an assassination attempt against the Queen. To my surprise, everything continued without the slightest change.Other than a completely new set of guards. A cover-up.I acted unaware as I brought her breakfast once more. The Queen answered, once again in disguise, looking exactly like she always did. It took everything I had to cover up my shock, as I could sense no sign of essence on her.“Good morning, madam,” I said as I passed the tray,...

Immortal Freeloader 42

“Well, that’s interesting,” I murmured as I once again walked away from the Cursed Palace, noticing something unusual with the guards.Another week passed since I convinced the Queen to add lectures on the cultivation techniques to the mix, but there was little benefit.I had received a long lesson every day, which then had been improved by the System. Yet, the classes were still at the beginner level, showing that cultivation was far more sublime and complicated than I had assumed.If I tried to study it alone, I would have died of old age ...

Immortal Freeloader 41

I was excited when the darkness finally arrived. Once I reached my room, I checked a dozen times to make sure there was no one around before I finally pulled it off, trying to read the scrap parchment.It was an interesting experience. It looked like a bunch of meaningless scribbles that nonetheless hurt me just by looking at it. I might have even treated it as a practical joke if I didn’t receive the System return, confirming it as a genuine article.Then, I noticed that every time I looked, I saw a different pattern. Like it wasn’t confusin...

Immortal Freeloader 40

Once I received the necessary supplies, I returned to the garden and started working. It was challenging, not because of the difficulty of the work. But because the Queen was checking me from the windows from time to time.And, to maintain her interest, I was trying to maintain an interesting balance. I needed to work hard, yet I needed to look like an elite warrior attending to his gardening hobby rather than a peasant on his farm.My apothecary abilities proved useful in that. While I was with Elsana, I had learned a lot about tending to expens...

Immortal Freeloader 39

I said nothing as I waited my turn in a sea of gray-robed servants, while an old man wearing a black uniform pointed to each servant one by one, assigning them to their task. The majority had been assigned to keeping the gardens and outer perimeter clean.I was one of the few blue-robed servants, wearing a deliberately smug expression like it was an achievement. I wouldn’t have been assigned to anything remotely important, but the other blue robes were assigned to better locations. I was doing my best to show off a cultivation at the Peak of I...

Accidental Villainy 43

It didn’t take long for them to arrive. A few minutes, barely enough for me to get used to the idea of cold-blooded murder. The Commander and the Wall-Breaker retreated, surrounded by a small army of henchmen, while the King Shadow followed, still surrounded by his attacks.I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heartbeat even as I drew a gun, trying to aim. Observation helped with the aim, but not when my hands were trembling badly. As they approached, I tried to decide what to do. My initial objective was to shoot King Shadow first. With hi...

Accidental Villainy 42

When I woke up, the first thing I did was text Emily. I spent a long time flirting with her, but as much as the pictures I received in response were beautiful, they were not my primary objective. Instead, I spent half an hour, slowly putting several leading questions until she offered to compile profiles for every hero and villain active in the city.I wanted her to offer, as I didn’t want her to realize just how desperately I needed her help. I appreciated her assistance, but no need to give her an overinflated sense of ego.The other benefit ...

The Stay 6

Immortal Freeloader 38

Leaving Markas behind has been easy. Lord Eirto’s army retreated, the city lord’s forces were too busy to stay on the walls, creating a lot of gaps. I didn’t even stop by the hiding spot, leaving the Black Tiger Onslaught book buried for the moment.I was still not comfortable practicing it, not after the last attempt left me with a lust for mortal combat. And, the other books weren’t particularly valuable.Ultimately, I was planning to return once things calmed down. Part of that desire was certainly selfish. I still wanted the Volcano H...

Immortal Freeloader 37

It was fascinating just how routine life could be when the city was going through a civil war. Another week passed without anything noteworthy. The siege stalled, and even under curfew, the city fell into a weird, comfortable monotony.I woke up, I ate, I practiced. Marana always stopped by when she was going out, and I used the opportunity to get a quick lesson about Muscle Reinforcement Tiger Fist, which finally pushed it to Minor Immersion as well, far faster than I could do on my own. I managed to get a few more Calligraphy lessons, allowing...

Immortal Freeloader 36

I didn’t try to find Marana when I returned. Instead, I immediately went to sleep, finally relaxing since the traitor servant of Elsana tried to drug me.Elsana and Lannayin were safe under the barrier, and Marana didn’t need any help after her breakthrough. With Pearyin gone, I didn’t have anyone I actually cared about in the city who still needed my help. Technically, I still had the medicine workshop I set up in the rental house, but I wasn’t planning to return there. With most valuable herbs and other material already used for the pi...