Strongest Mage with the Lust system

Chapter 857: Recruitment – Shapeshifter

“Hey, stop!”

The girl hastily called out when she noticed Rima leave and tried to follow her. But she was just a peak Three Star Mage and therefore was way too slow compared to Rima. So, she soon lost sight of her, causing her to stamp the ground in frustration and fear.

“How heartless! How could she abandon me like this?” She grumbled in anger, but as she looked around and noticed the silence of the forest, she shivered and muttered in regret,

“Big sister was right. I shouldn’t speak too much in front of others and annoy them. Mm, maybe I can still find her. If I apologize, she might be willing to protect me until my big sister find me.”

Just as she was about to continue moving in the direction Rima had left, a soft sighed sounded behind her followed by a voice, “It’s alright, little sister. I have already found you.”

The girl froze for a moment before her expression grew ecstatic and she turned around. Seeing a girl who looked similar to her standing there, she cried out ’sister’ and jumped toward her, wanting to embrace her and vent the fear and frustration she felt earlier to her.

However…

Crack!

Before she could embrace her, her sister raised her hand, grabbed her neck and twisted it.

The girl looked at her sister with a confused look in her rapidly dimming eyes, not able to understand why her beloved sister would harm her.

Her ’sister’ smiled and before she died, she transformed into a white-skinned, long-limbed and hunched-back humanoid beast with a wolfish head. It had mutli-coloured pupils and triangular eyes which seemed to suck in the soul of people.

“Now go in peace, little lamb.” The beast grinned. Seeing it, a glint of relaxation and relief flashed in the girl’s eyes.

As long as her killer wasn’t her sister, everything was alright to her.

’Sorry, big sister. I was too stupid. If there is another life and I once again become your younger sister, I’ll make sure to listen to you and not cause you… so much… trouble.’ With this final thought, her body went limp and light in her eyes completely disappeared.

“Keke, if everyone who came this time is an easy prey like her, it would be a great feast.” The beast chuckled before it opened its mouth wide, revealing sharp teeth and started devouring the girl’s corpse.

Once it was done, it smacked its lips, “This lamb, although delicious, didn’t have much energy, but..”

It looked in the direction Rima had left and grinned, “I’m sure that one is more nutritious and will help me cross the threshold to the next realm.”

…

Swoosh! Swoosh!

In a far away place in the minor realm, a girl dressed in green holding a long sword was standing atop her flying mount which was rapidly rushing away.

If Rima saw her, she would feel she looked familiar because she resembled the girl she saved and who unfortunately died to the strange beast.

Suddenly, a bad feeling arose in her heart and almost at the same time, a faint crack echoed in her spatial ring.

Her heart fell.

“Cloud, stop.” She said, causing the bird beneath her to slow down and stop.

Then taking a deep breath, she accessed her spatial ring and took out a cracked jade pendant.

Staring at it, her eyes turned cloudy with tears and grief, “Little Amy…”

After a while, she gathered herself, slit her thumb with her sword, dropping her blood on the pendant before making a few magic hand seals.

Shua!

When the last seal was imprinted onto the pendant, it shone with a brilliant light and the last few scenes her younger sister saw replayed in front of her.

“Illusion demon beast…” Looking at the grinning face of the white-skinned humanoid beast, a chill flashed in her eyes.

“You’ll pay for this.” She muttered, her voice low. Then Rima’s image she saw just now flashed in her mind and her gaze darkened further. “And you too.”

…

Rima, unaware that just a few moments after she left the girl was killed and her elder sister had marked her as an enemy just because she refused to protect her further, continued to concentrate, wanting to feel Max’s presence.

But after a while, she failed to sense anything and furrowed her brows.

During the past three days, they talked about many things. During conversation, Max had revealed to her that he could sense their presences as long as they weren’t too far away and even if they were, he could still tell whether they were alive or not.

She had asked him how he could do it and after he truthfully told her it was related to his bloodline, she had experimented to sense his presence through the Nascent Energy in her body.

Though she wasn’t sure, since the Nascent Energy she absorbed all this while contained Max’s mark, she should be able to sense him. So, she tried and indeed, she sensed him.

Then she moved several miles away from him and tried again. This time, while she once again succeeded, the feeling wasn’t as clear as before. She could only vaguely feel out the direction he was in, but it was already a win.

Now, she wasn’t sure how far the rift had sent him away from her, but she entertained the hope that she might be able to feel his rough direction and then she could track him down.

However… she was unable to sense him, which disappointed her greatly. Knowing Max wasn’t at his peak, she couldn’t rest easy.

’What do I do now?’ She thought, opening her eyes.

Suddenly, she felt someone approaching her and looked to her left.

Rustle!

A moment later, the leaves rustled and a figure appeared in her sight. Her pupils constricted and a look of surprise appeared on her face because this figure was none other than… Max.

“I finally found you.” Max smiled, looking relieved.

Rima stood up, also smiled and asked, “Why were we separated?”

Max shook his head, walking over, “I’m not sure, but it must because they don’t want us to stay in groups.”

“Heh, I can’t understand what is going on in their minds. They can separate us via rift but what’s stopping us from forming a group in here? Completely useless.”

As she spoke, she had arrived in front of Max and opened her arms for a hug.

Max smiled indulgently and took a step forward to embrace her, “Let’s not bother with them. We should—ahhhhhh!”

Mid-sentence, he let out a blood-curdling cry and looked at Rima, who was barely half a foot away, in horror and disbelief because before he knew it, she had stabbed a dagger in his heart and executed a sonic spell, shaking his mind.

’Max’ stared at her, wide-eyed and as his mind became muddled, he transformed into the white-skinned humanoid beast.

“How did you… see through my illusion?” It asked even as its mind became hazy and its life started slipping away.

Rima didn’t answer. Instead, she infused mana into the dagger, shattering its demon core. Then, she pulled the dagger out and stabbed it into its forehead, completely ending its life.

“You deserve to die ten thousand times for daring to take on my beloved’s appearance.” She coldly said, rage burning in her eyes.

Then as she stared at its corpse, her expression turned grim. This minor realm was turning out to be much more dangerous than she expected.

’Max… please don’t die.’ She looked up at the clear sky through the canopy of the trees, clenching the dagger in her hand.