"Good, it's increasing bit by bit."

Lilith's Life Essence was gradually increasing as she and her familia kill more daemons. Her level had reached 18, a little more and she'll be able to become a LVL 20 daemon and evolve.

She observed her surroundings and found a ma.s.sacre of Lower-Orcs. These Lower Orcs averaged at LVL 15 to 18. There were over 13 of them on the ground. Their original pinkish skin was nearing black.

It was a sight to behold, and Lilith was not expecting it to be like so. She had tried to kill them swiftly and used Miasmic Expulsion in order to weaken these daemons. Luckily, it worked, and Dhamphy managed to kill them swiftly.

Lilith found Dhampy's ability to wield the sword exemplar. It was strong and swift It will either gravely injure a daemon or directly kill it.

Such a thing made Lilith doubt who Dhampy truly was. She was too good at handling the sword to be a common-tier daemon.

"As long as she doesn't do anything bad, I can make sure she will not become a problem."

She was a.s.sured at Dhampy's loyalty; it was 35, at least she will not get killed in the near future.

Right now, the only problem is Sylva.

"Get back here... oh no, ahhhh." Sylva, who was hunting an injured Orc, managed to turn the situation against herself.

Lilith could not understand why Sylva was so weak, but it was not something Lilith approved of.

She was too weak, too clumsy, and most important of all, she was too tense. Lilith was no professional in combat, but she at least knew how everything goes to the barest minimum.

'Quite frankly, she's useless...but she's also trying her hardest..." Struggling to survive, clinging to what little skill she has, she was going after enemies she could not beat to still be a part of the familia.

She had a smile on her face, 'This is not going to work.'

Lilith knew that Sylva was too weak. Not that she failed to handle the sword in her hands, it was just that her movements were uncoordinated and useless against her opponents. She moves like a newbie, a noob at wielding a sword.

She was too green in terms of swordsmans.h.i.+p.

'Even I can do better than her if I try.'

Even still, Lilith did not stop her. She can see the sweat trickling down her temples to the lashes of her eyes. It bounced off of her lashes, and with both hands, she swung her sword against the pig-like Orc that towers over her.

s.h.i.+cckkkk!

"Puhiii!"

Blood flowed out to the air, gus.h.i.+ng out of its body. The green one-piece dress of Sylva was bathed with the red blood of the Orcs. Lilith could see the terror flash in the eyes of Sylva. He froze up, listening to the final wails of dying pig she herself cut down.

Her knees buckled and were forced to her knees. She was unable to stand up after killing a single Orc. Her hands, which held the sword was now trembling; blood was now on her hands.

The shriek of an Orc originated from behind her. She turned around in horror seeing an Orc had sneaked up behind her. She wished to stand to pick up her weapon and fight against it, but the shock and fear of killing were still present.

The Orc swung the wooden club that was on its hand its intention clear, and Sylva was all too aware of it. She flinched, seeing that her end was about to come. But just like before, she struggled in the face of death, she screamed, signifying her defiance of traveling to the other side.

"I won't die!"

Rolling to the side, she dodged the club of the Orc. Feeling the sword in her hands, she dashed towards the Orc and plunged the cold steel of her sword to its side.

"Puhii!"

Once again, it wailed in pain before dying. Sylva killed for a second time, it filled her with great fear and anxiety.

Barfff!

She vomited the contents of her stomach upon showering with blood for a second time.

[Sylva: Level up.]

Lilith nodded her head in the struggles of the weak Sylva. It was admirable, but she didn't show it to her feline face. When Lilith was about to run once again to kill some more Orcs, a club flew to Sylva.

It came from one of Dhampy's opponents. The club flew after it had been parried by the sword on Dhampy's hands.

Sylva wished to dodge, but this time she could not. Her strength had been drained, and she found it hard to move, the club got closer to her, she was prepared to take the hit despite her fear.

But a figure rushed to her side, a furry figure running with all her might. Jumping in front of harm's way, Lilith's mind began to work. Calculating the time it would need to change form and cast a protective spell would be impossible, so she did the next best thing.

"Boss head!"

Bam!

[HP: -300]

Lilith's body flew from one side to the other. Her dark scales took the full brunt of the club's force. Even with her DEF stats, it still took 300 HP from her.

"That was pretty strong," she commented.

If that had hit Sylva instead, with her DEF stats at a measly 10, she would have croaked on the ground. But it wasn't over as she landed on a sharp and pointed stone that was adjacent to the two of them.

[HP: -700]

It was a pretty bad fall, and with the sharp stone adding to the pain, it was pretty terrible.

The pain was only second to stabbing one's toes to a corner.

She coughed up some blood because of her bad luck, and Sylva panicked, instantly screaming out!

"Boss head! Are you alright?"

But Lilith was preoccupied with her own little world. However, her act of saving Sylva was worth it. Not because it was the right thing to do, but for something else.

'I didn't want to do it, but...the penalty would be too troublesome.'

Currently, she had yet to reach the next Chain Quest of Sylva. If she let her die here, then the Chain Quest might disappear, and from what Alpha had said a few seconds ago, 'if the Chain Quest disappears and ends in a failure, the rewards would go poof!'

'I can't have the store disappear...that thing is too useful!'

The convenience of a store was too good to disappear. Lilith's eyes were filled with determination, and so, she saved the weak Sylva.

Lilith cursed Sylva but cursed Alpha even more. Curing her why she didn't warn her earlier.

'I could have let this girl stay at the mansion.'

It was a bother. Dhampy saw it all happen, and her eyes widen after seeing the indifferent Lilith sacrifice herself to protect a member of the familia.

A sliver of her pa.s.sive Dark Heart activates as she saw the ugly pig-like mug of the Orc.

"Die."

She casually said as the Dark attribute wrapped around her and killed the Orc in a very leisurely manner. The last of the Orcs had been dealt with, and Sylva held Lilith in her arms.

"Boss head, are you alright?"

"I am fine."

But Sylva was still panicking as Lilith stood up. Sylva's arms were as flimsy as a noodle, and she failed to gather strength. Lilith saw this and shook her head.

Seeing Sylva like that, Lilith could not help it but inwardly shake her head. Dhampy returned her side and immediately asked if she was alright.

"Boss Head, are you alright?"

"I am fine. Dhampy, we are returning back home, carry Sylva home."

"Okay."

"...Yes."

Lilith gave the command, and Dhampy answered quickly whilst Sylva's answer was somewhat dejected. They returned home the same way they left, but the overall atmosphere was different.

Lilith sat on the highest steps and looked down upon her two followers. Having experienced group combat with all three of them, Lilith came to a simple conclusion.

"Sylva, you will be staying at the mansion while Dhampy and I go hunt for daemons. End of discussion, Dhampy, go and prepare me a warm bath."

"Boss head, please give me another shot. I can be useful at combat; I wished to fight al—"

"Enough."

Lilith cut her off.

"You are weak; therefore, you will become a liability. If you wish to become of use, become stronger, But you are useless weak even with a sword. I don't wish for your death, stay down...but if you wish to be of use and grow stronger, go find a way for you to get stronger.

"But if you can't, go and clean this place for the time being. You are now the maid of the Qurenara."

Lilith then entered the mansion. Dhampy looked over at Sylva but said nothing.

Inside the mansion, Lilith stared at the Chain Mission.

[Chain Mission (2): Sylva's Determination.]

Conditions:

[] Sylva LVL 20

[] Help Sylva evolve to a higher tier

[] Increase Sylva's loyalty up to 50%: current loyalty 30/50

Time Limit: 30 days

This is the reason why her att.i.tude turned a complete 180. She sighed, but she didn't say anything. Keeping her alive was important, but completing the mission is also important.

Lilith could only complete it in order to keep the rewards.

Night came, and Lilith closed her eyes to sleep.

In the next few days, Lilith left with Dhampy. They were seen off by Sylva whose fatigue was oddly at 30%. It was weird, but she ignored it in its entirety and left to hunt for daemons to kill.

While they were killing daemons, Lilith made sure to think about the future and the Chain Quest.

'Should I take home some daemons to kill?'

And just like that, five days eventually pa.s.sed. Lilith and Dhampy once again returned from their hunt and were welcomed by Sylva, who had a wide smile on her face.

But Lilith was aware that Sylva's fatigue was already at 80%.

Ordering to have Dhampy draw her a warm bath, Lilith sent Sylva away. When night finally fell, Lilith decided to stand up and take a walk.

Even at this time of the night, Sylva's fatigue was still increasing and nearing 100%.

Getting up, she went to check Sylva's room. But upon entry, no one was there.

'Just I have thought.'

She went to the back of the mansion and found a Sylva drenched in sweat swinging her sword. With her was Dhampy watching over her every movement. The sword in her hand was broken, its length was similar to that of a dagger's.

Lilith chose to keep herself hidden.

"Sylva, I am going to fetch you some drinking water."

"Thank you, big sis Dhampy."

Leaving her side, Dhampy now stood adjacent to Lilith.

"She's working hard, she had what kind of weapon suits herself and is improving quickly."

"How long has she been doing this?"

Dhampy excused herself after noticing Lilith's presence. She spoke of Sylva's ardent pursuit of improvement that she had seen for the past few days.

Lilith, however, did not care about it that much, or so it seems. Dhampy swallowed her saliva and before answering.

"The night after you had her stop coming with us."

"Is that so. I am returning back to my room and sleep." Lilith prepared to leave, but right before she left, Lilith turned to Dhampy, asking, "She now calls you, big sis, how close you have become. That is good."

Dhampy nodded her head, not mentioning the fact of the compensation for her teachings would be for Sylva to call her as such. Thus, Dhampy's secret was kept a secret.

That night, Sylva received a new pa.s.sive as a result of her hard work.

"Big sis Dhampy, I received a new pa.s.sive skill, [Dagger Mastery (F)]. With this, the boss head will find me useful in the field, right?"

Dhampy only nodded her head.

The next morning, Lilith appeared before the two, just like any other day.

Sylva was there with her usual one-piece dress; she looked at Lilith with antic.i.p.ation waiting for her to tell what she had achieved.

"Boss head, I finally mastered the way of the dagger. It is merely at F-tier, but I am sure I can be of use to you now."

But Lilith did not listen.

"Dhampy, you are with me today. Sylva, you will stay here like any other day. Sylva stay here and guard the mansion, let's go!"

Lilith took a step forward and got ready to leave, but she was stopped by Sylva, who protested about what is happening.

Sylva had a desperate smile on her face. As if she was advertising herself to Lilith, she began to speak...

"Boss head, I know I messed up before, but now I am sure I can be of use to you more. I was scared then because it was my first time experiencing combat. Please, I can be of use, do not cast me aside, please, give me another chance."

"No, you will stay here for today.,."

Lilith's answer came like a hammer. Sylva's smile began to fade, replaced by despair as her thoughts began to turn.

"Are you going to throw me away?"

Dhampy wished to take a step forward after hearing Sylva's words. But then, Lilith threw a dagger to Sylva. Dhampy stopped her attempts to get in between them.

"Boss head...this is. "

"This is a dagger, I already know you have trained hard and gained a new skill, I know of your uses, and even if you didn't train to such an extent, I wouldn't have abandoned you. But just like I have said before, I cannot take you with me... though I know of your current use, I also know that you are tired, making your uses limited. Stay here and rest, tomorrow, I shall take you with me."

Lilith walked past Sylva without waiting for her answer. Seeing her back, Dhampy and Sylva were left speechless, unable to say anything.

'I didn't know the boss head cared for me that much.'

A single tear escaped her eyes, but she wiped it away, making sure none will show in the presence of Lilith.

While Sylva revered the Lilith, Dhampy had a smile on her face that says, 'I should've expected.'.

Lilith began to walk away from them, and with her back turned to them, a devilish smile appeared on her visage.

[Sylva's Loyalty + 20]

[] Increase Sylva's loyalty up to 50%: current loyalty 50/50 (complete)

'That is one down, hehehehe.'

The boss head was happy that her words paid off. Alpha watched and could not help but comment.

===

[You're trash, you know that?]

===

'Oh shut up.'

[Dhampy's Loyalty +10]

'It also increased, lucky!'

The next day, Lilith did what she was told and brought Sylva with them to hunt some Giwa running around the area.

And she had got to say; Sylva had indeed become stronger, at least enough that she was not going to be baggage.

With an extra hand, Lilith finally reached the next stage of her endeavor.

[One Horn: LVL 20]

[Ash Leopard: LVL 20]

[Ravager Salamander: LVL 20]

[] Life Essence: 999/100

Lilith's life essence, and her level and reached an appropriate amount.

She smiled, and according to Alpha, she was increasing quite fast. Her seniors were even surprised about it.

"What? Lilith's evolving?"

Is what she apparently blurted out before leaving Alpha in the air. A couple of hours later, Lilith received a list of potential evolutions.

—One Horn—

Two Horns

Ogre Shaman

Druid

—Ash Leopard—

Lacerating Leopard

Scorching Leopard

Wereleopard

Thunder Clap Leopard

Armored Hunter Leopard

—Ravager Salamander—

Dark Dragonkin

Poison Dragonkin

Nightmare Dragonkin

Evil Dragonkin

Cursed Ancient Dragonkin

'Those are some nice choices.'