The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!

It was such a large number that it even took the Outriders by surprise. Korvo floated the incredible sum of gold like the amount was nothing to him. Everyone stood stock still and silent, waiting for Kanae's answer. The powerful elven mage had both hands behind his back and was smiling, seemingly assured of his triumph.

"What's so important about Edina and Ingrid, and the mine behind you, that you're willing to throw that much money away for?" Kanae asked.

"The Outriders have—" Korvo stopped short of finishing the sentence and wagged his finger at them. "Oh, you minx. I almost gave away the answer! The tongue just slips when you're speaking with a succubus, doesn't it? Tsk-tsk. You need not know. You need only know that 200 million gold is yours if you turn the other way. I can tell you, however, that having Edina and Ingrid back is a matter of principle. The executives, and certainly not Bardell, can afford to allow turncoats to simply leave without punishment. Rest assured though, the vast amount we are willing to offer is due in large part to how much we've underestimated Edina."

"Underestimated me? Screw you guys! You did more than just that!" Edina, who was lying flat on the ground and recovered from the blast, lifted her face from the dirt to meet Korvo's eyes. The fur on her tail and ears were standing from anger. She was furious more so for this elf than the syndicate grunts.

Korvo flashed a patronizing grin. "Indeed. What is your level now? In a few months time, you have reached possibly your mid 30s? Quite frankly, I am impressed! We thought you were all chatter and no action. Come back to us, Edina. You have the potential to become an executive among the Outriders. Bardell will welcome you back with open arms."

"I don't want your friendship! I have Arenade and Kanae now, so you can shove your money back up your scrawny elf ass!" she screamed.

"That isn't your decision to make, is it? The offer has been extended to Kanae Toyomi. What do you say? 200 million in exchange for them," he reiterated, returning his attention back to Kanae.

When Kanae met Edina's gaze, her confidence splintered just a bit because he had yet to outright refuse the offer. In fact, Kanae was also ashamed of himself. He clutched the side of his arm and wondered why. Shoving simmering greed aside, he turned to the elf to finally give his answer.

"Not interested," Kanae finally said.

"You're casting away 200 million? For people you barely know?" Korvo scoffed.

"That's not the point. Edina is mine, you hear me? Ingrid is also working for me. What kind of succubus would I be to give them away like that? Not to mention, you bastards lost your chance to negotiate with me when you sent thugs after us in Orturic!" he shouted.

Edina was so on the verge of tears that even her remaining skeletons hovered over to comfort her. Arenade and Thedia dug their heels into the dirt, seeing Korvo, hand pressed to his glasses and shaking his head. Even Takumi picked up a discarded sword on the ground expecting a fight.

"I see. You leave me with no other choice then." Korvo pulled from his pocket a mana potion, but an arrow shattered it in his hands, leaving him only the neck of the vial and the contents splashed on the ground.

From atop a branch, Mitty was holding the bow in which he had nailed Korvo's potion with.

Everyone's jaws dropped.

Korvo spent a few seconds gazing at his broken potion, then reached into the pouch to fish out another. The outlines of his hand within the leather pouch moved frantically. Eventually, he brought his other hand up to his mouth and coughed.

He sucked in a deep breath and said, "I'm getting the three hells out of here!"

The elven mage chucked a rune down, creating a magic circle with strange symbols at his feet. The bright light consumed enveloped him, and in the next moment— Korvo was nowhere to be seen.

Ingrid fell face-first to the ground. The magical bindings vanished from her arms and legs. Takumi raced over to help her up. Meanwhile, everyone— including the Outriders that Korvo left behind— were left confused.

"Eh?" Kanae uttered.

"Korvo's all bluffs!" Ingrid yelled after ripping the gag away. "He's a Jester class! All spells are a feint!"

Right then, Edina's bone brute and skeletal warriors that were supposedly destroyed by the blast, reappeared and were perfectly fine, if not a little . Kanae saw the track prints in the ground where Korvo had been standing earlier were leaving the mining encampment in a hurry.

"I-I'll help you track him!" Mitty leapt from the trees and took off running.

Kanae traded glances with the Outriders, who now found themselves leaderless.

"I would feel sorry, but I think I need to teach you all a lesson to not mess with a succubus." He released the charm on the goblins and turned his control on the Outriders instead.

In addition to Edina's undead army and the goblins, 20 syndicate members now vastly outnumbered the remaining ones.

"Arenade, Edina, Thedia— I'm leaving it to you three!" Kanae left them to chase after Mitty who was hot on Korvo's trail.

"I'm coming with you!" Edina exclaimed, catching up thanks to her nimbleness. "The others should be able to finish the rest of them off, and I have a score to settle with Korvo."

Together, they went after the Outriders executive, jumping over fallen trees gradually being eaten by moss and mushrooms, ducking under low-hanging vines, and avoiding the thick roots that would easily trip a giant. The forest was dark, and it was hard to see without Arenade's Blinding Light spell. The only light afforded to them was the moonlight casting down a gentle glow.

They entered a deep ravine where the ground split into two sheer walls of earth, tree roots protruded out from the packed dirt. Mitty was wrestling something invisible on the ground, splashing water from the shallow creek and rolling over animal bones.

"Get off, you filthy goblin!" Korvo's voice could be heard, then a hard kick sent Mitty rolling.

"Mitty!" Kanae helped the goblin up, who had blue and purple bruises all over his body.

"I tried… to stop him for you…" Mitty murmured, wincing from the pain.

The invisibility dropped, and they were met with Korvo sneering at them with the same triumphant grin.

"It's over, Korvo! You have nowhere to run, and we know you're just all tricks!" Edina growled, and raised the many bones of various animals in the ravine to surround the elf.

"Just give up," Kanae urged. "We might even go easy on you if you answer a few questions: like what are you out here mining for? And how did Bardell get a candidacy for the Knights of Colors?"

Korvo threw out his arms. "Knights of Colors… Ha! They are such a malleable organization. Flash enough money around and watch them fold like a deck of cards. When Bardell is finally Knighted, it will legitimize the Outriders and clear his past crimes. The Knights of Colors protect their own. They have to nurture the next generation of heroes. After all, what is turning a blind eye to a few wrongdoings compared to facing the demon threats?"

"I don't get it, why would they let someone like a crime lord in?" Kanae asked.

"Tch… It's because the demons have been winning ground lately. Everyone's desperate to raise a hero strong enough to fight them. If Bardell pledges to the Knights of Colors, then they grant him immunity from facing justice on the promise that he stands against the demons. But I know he could care less…" Edina spat on the ground, causing the risen animals to growl at Korvo.

For Korvo not to correct her in any way must mean Edina was right. Then Bardell had free reign to continue hurting people. Even worse, there would be nothing Kanae and his party could do to be free of the Outriders.

Snarling drew their attention to the top of the ravine, where many wolves and a large poison fang was staring from the edge of the cliffs. The animal bones weren't because animals had died falling in, but because they were all prey that had been dragged into the wolf's den.

"Ah! Just in time. This is where I bid you farewell. Thank you for following me into my trap, it has not been a pleasure doing business with you. Ta-ta!" Korvo threw another rune at his feet again and disappeared, leaving Edina, Mitty, and Kanae to face the wolves alone.

"Kanae, you have to go invisible!" Edina yelled.

"We can't just leave you and Mitty!"

The pack of wolves leapt into the ravine, and the poison fang crushed the risen animals on landing. Bones were sent flying and cracked under its weight. The beasts' lips were curled back, revealing sharp fangs.

"Arise, Bone Brute!" 

The skeletal monstrosity emerged from the ground. A heavy swing of its arm knocked three pouncing wolves away, but the poison fang tackled it to the ground and gnawed on the shoulder like a chew toy. Limb after limb being ripped away, Edina's bone brute was made short work of.

"Turn Horny!" Kanae casted at the poison fang. Instead of incapacitating it, the dire beast let loose a piercing howl into the night. "It didn't work— Run!"

They ran for their lives, but the poison fang was gaining on them. It weaved through obstacles in the forest like a ghost. Suddenly, it was gone. The forest was quiet. They stopped to catch their breaths, legs about to fall off from exhaustion.

Edina's ears twitched and went straight up. She tackled Kanae and Mitty, shoving them both to the ground. The poison fang skidded across the forest from a missed pounce— No, it didn't miss. Edina was lying on her belly, with a deep gash across her back that dripped with blood and a poisonous green substance.

"Edina, no!" Kanae cried.

The squirreling's eyes were squeezed shut. Her breath went from shallow puffs to a ragged draw made in great effort.

"Kanae!" Arenade and Thedia, along with the goblins, Takumi and Ingrid, and charmed Outriders, were coming up from behind the dire beast. They screeched to a halt at the sight of it, but having seen itself alone and outnumbered, retreated back into the forest in a mad dash.

"Is this a poison fang's doing?" Thedia asked, leaning down to inspect Edina's wound.

"It is! Can we do something about it? Arenade, can your detox skill save her?" Kanae pleaded.

"I'll try, but…" Arenade hovered her hands above the wound, first healing the nasty cut, then using her new skill to try and remove the poison. But the sweat forming on her forehead was evidenced that it was proving too much for her to handle. "The poison is too strong for my level, but I can at least keep it from spreading. We need an antidote to truly heal her!"

A goblin much older than the rest, with bushy eyebrows and missing a bunch of teeth, pushed his way to the front. He walked on a cane and, like the others, had fresh bruises and whip marks on his body, from being enslaved by the Outriders earlier.

"It's not safe here. We should get back to the village and help your friend there," he said.

With the charmed Outriders' help and equipment from the encampment, they traveled back to the goblin village as quickly as possible. Thankfully, the goblins had enough sense not to hit on any of the women. Kanae would have snapped at them otherwise.

They entered the largest cabin that supposedly belonged to the elder goblin. Compared to the others, it was slightly more furnished with cabinets filled with tomes, a cauldron with dried and fresh herbs hanging by a net above, and a large animal fur pelt on the floor. Edina was laid down on it, her face was drenched in sweat and body had grown rigid from the poison.

The elder goblin plucked various plant roots and herbs from the net. He cut them into small pieces, then used a pestle and mortar to grind up into paste. The mushy green substance was mixed with water and fed to Edina in small amounts, enough that her unconscious self would swallow and not choke on.

All the while, Kanae and Arenade, who were the only ones that remained in the cabin after the elder goblin kicked the others out, watched with bated breath.

"Will she be alright?" Kanae asked.

"The herbal mixture will ease her pain, but she's going to need an antidote that requires a special ingredient we don't have. A mushroom that grows on trees soaked in animal blood. It's a rare find even out in a forest like ours, and going back out there means…" Grint trailed off to let them come to the answer themselves.

The poison fang. Now that it had their scent, going out there would assuredly mean another encounter. That dire beast was strong, and much higher level to be able to fight Edina's bone brute and withstand the Turn Horny spell.

Even so…

"I'm going," Kanae said, heading for the door.

Arenade snatched his hand, the worry in her eyes showing. "If you end up like Edina, I…"

"I'll be fine," he assured her. "That's twice now that Edina threw herself in danger to save my life. I have to pay her back."

"Th-Then I'll come with—"

"No, you have to stay here. With your detox skill, you can slow the poison down if it gets too unbearable for Edina."

Even now, after being healed of her physical wound and given something to ease the pain, Edina's demeanor was wrinkled in anguish. She tossed and turned where she laid, quiet squeaking quips escaped her lips, and tears rolled down the corners of her eyes.

Kanae never felt more guilty.

"The succubus is right," Grint said. "Sweetcheeks stays with me and help heal the squirreling. Instead, why don't you bring a goblin who already knows the ins and outs of the forest? I know you're out there listening, Mitty!"

The door opened to the same shy goblin, Mitty. His hands were pressed together in front of him. When he glanced at Edina's poor state, a wave of guilt drew out a sigh.

"Your friend saved me, too. And you guys saved my village, so… the least I can do is help you back. It's… scary out there, b-but please let me return the favor as a Pathfinder," Mitty said.