Chapter 20: Advancement Quest! Xu Yan Returns!
“?”
Bai Xuan listened to Serene’s explanation, his brow arching in mild surprise.
He thought back to that morning—ever since that little succubus tail had sprouted behind Serene, her sleep had grown noticeably deeper and longer.
“Is it because your environment’s changed?” Bai Xuan pressed gently.
After all, Serene had always lived within the Holy See; this world was worlds apart from her old home.
“Maybe.” Serene’s beautiful eyes narrowed, though even she seemed uncertain.
“Well, take it easy today,” Bai Xuan said. “Even heroes need to rest before they can save the world.”
“Mmm…” Serene nodded, though a flicker of complicated emotion lingered in her gaze.
She soon closed her eyes again, quietly folding her hands in prayer.
Bai Xuan, meanwhile, turned his attention to the extraordinary dragon egg.
【Dragon Egg: Incubation in progress, 45 hours remaining…】
“Forty-five hours left.”
He muttered to himself, then glanced at the Book of Worlds.
After several missions, his Attributes had improved by leaps and bounds—yet his Level stubbornly remained at F.
In this world, Attributes and Level were bound together by a unique system: the higher your Level, the more powerful your Attributes became. S-rank Strength at Level E was an entirely different league compared to S-rank at Level F.
And Bai Xuan’s ability to level up was tied directly to the Book of Worlds.
He reached out and tapped the “Level” section.
A prompt appeared before his eyes:
【Advancement Mission】
【Mission Difficulty: F+】
【Would you like to begin the Advancement Mission?】
【Note: This mission is solo only. You may retry as many times as needed. You cannot die during the mission, but failure will reset your progress.】
“An F+ difficulty Advancement Mission, huh…”
Bai Xuan weighed his options.
With his current strength, regular F-grade missions were no challenge—but F+ was a step above. Attempting it alone could be risky.
“Eh, why not give it a shot? Maybe I’ll get lucky and pass.”
On that impulse, he selected 【Yes】.
If he could attempt it as many times as needed and death wasn’t on the table, what did he have to lose?
【Advancement Mission: Ghoul of the Devoured Heart】
【Mission Difficulty: F+】
【Mission Location: World Mirage】
【Mission Description: None】
【Mission Note: None】
【Mission Reward: +1 Combat Setting】
“No mission description or hints?”
Bai Xuan frowned at the sparse details.
After a brief hesitation, he decisively activated Teleportation.
This time, the process was unlike before. There was no glowing magic circle—just a sudden, violent thump in his chest, as if his heart had stopped. His consciousness plunged into darkness.
When his vision returned, he found himself standing in the corridor of an unfamiliar hotel.
“Where…?”
He glanced around warily. His eyes landed on the door in front of him—Room 1001.
“The mission target… is inside?”
Bai Xuan muttered, reaching for the knob. But before he could touch it, a woman’s silvery laughter drifted through the door, interspersed with breathless, seductive whispers:
“Oh~ you’re amazing~”
“I love you so much~”
“Merge with me~”
“…?”
Bai Xuan froze at the sounds coming from inside.
The tone was suggestive, but he was certain—there was definitely nothing “romantic” happening in there!
He took a deep breath, then kicked the door open. “FBI! Room inspection!”
The moment the door slammed open, his gaze met the woman’s on the bed. For a heartbeat, the two stared at each other in stunned silence.
“You…”
Bai Xuan’s expression sharpened. The scene before him was enough to make his skin crawl—
Xu Yan, the ghoul, was straddling another woman, beaming radiantly. The woman beneath her… had been utterly hollowed out.
Blood soaked the pristine white sheets. The room was a scene of carnage.
“Oh~ so you were just having dinner.”
Bai Xuan nodded as if enlightened and said, “I thought you two were getting frisky—my mistake. Carry on.”
With that, he began to close the door.
It wasn’t polite to interrupt someone’s meal, after all…
Truthfully, the scene inside was too nauseating. And neither of them was wearing a stitch of clothing.
“Since you’re here…” Xu Yan rose gracefully, her lips curling into a cold smile. “You’re not leaving.”
No sooner had she spoken than the space around them shimmered and twisted.
By the time Bai Xuan regained his senses, he found himself already inside the room. The door behind him was tightly shut—no matter how he tugged, it wouldn’t budge.
“Shit.”
A chill ran down Bai Xuan’s spine. An uneasy dread welled up inside him.
He hadn’t expected the Advancement Mission to pit him solo against Xu Yan, the ghoul!
But Xu Yan was only rated F in the last mission. Why F+ now?
Where did things go wrong?
While he struggled to piece it together, Xu Yan had already stood up.
She licked the blood from her fingertips, her smile growing colder.
“I hate being interrupted while I eat~”
“But~”
“There’s something about you I find irresistibly alluring~”
“Come here~ Let me take a closer look~”
“…?”
Irresistible? Because I have Xu Yan’s Heart with me?
But with no way out, all he could do was brace for a fight.
Bai Xuan drew a deep breath. The Scorpion’s Sting on his back stirred to life, ready for battle.
“What’s that…?”
Xu Yan’s eyes landed on the Scorpion’s Sting. Surprise flickered across her face, then she burst into uncontrollable laughter, clutching her cheeks.
“Hahaha! So that’s it! No wonder I’m so drawn to you… Turns out—”
Her laughter cut off abruptly.
Her expression twisted, a wild grin spreading across her lips.
“You’re carrying my power, aren’t you~”
Even as she spoke, four scorpion-tail Kagune erupted from her back!
“…?!”
Bai Xuan’s feelings were mixed.
He distinctly remembered Xu Yan only having two scorpion tails when she fought Serene.
Now she had four?
Did she suffer a major injury before coming to Ninghang City?
As Bai Xuan’s mind raced, Xu Yan sauntered closer.
She spoke with fevered excitement: “Do you know why I only eat women? Because I adore myself~”
“But I can’t eat myself~ So I devour women who resemble me~”
“And you~”
“You carry my scent—what an utterly delicious temptation~”
“I can’t wait to taste you~”
“…?”
Bai Xuan finally understood why Xu Yan only preyed on women.
She was a complete narcissist.
What a lunatic.
Wait—if this was the real Xu Yan, maybe he could pry some information out of her?
But first, he had to survive.
“Come~”
Xu Yan had already closed the distance, her cheeks flushed as she caressed them with both hands, voice trembling with anticipation.
“Become one with me!”