City

Aki didn't wake up slowly like it would be expected, he actually lunged forward and tried to strangle the succubus.

His hand was broken before he could touch her neck tough. His legs didn't respond.

-We have to talk first, then you can do whatever you want with this carcass. You calm? She asked without change of tone.

-I think. That was messed up. Giving me everything I wanted and them taking it from me is basic, but it was well done. He said while trying to calm down.

-Thank you. She politely said.

-Did you get anything out of it? He asked, hoping it wasn't all in vain and seeking the smallest consolations.

-My quota has reached itself twice, so I get a perfect grade on my grade sheet from uni and have an easier time getting into sis' company, so yeah, it did help. She said with an undertone of joy.

-Demons go to university?! Guilda shouted in surprise.

-If you want a good job on the civilized part of the beyond, they do. The succubus said, matter of factly

-Just so I know, how old are you? Aki asked, his face losing color.

-I am 183 years old. Skipped some years. She said with pride.

-Barely passing by some standards. He punched the earth, looking like he dodged something very dangerous by a hair's breadth.

-Ah, you were worrying that you had tried to flirt with an underaged girl? She said with a little smile.

-Uh? Flirt? Underaged? Guilda was scratching her head trying to follow the conversation.

-I entered his dreams to inform about your eminent demise in this test and made an agreement that he would pass the test in your instead. By the way, I am your sponsor here, so yeah, I have plenty of benefits in keeping you alive. The succubus said to her.

-While on a dream there are some rules, to make it simpler to you, I was in an superior position over her and started making advances. We couldn't do sex, there's a whole other type of rules for that, so we kind of did a vampire mating ritual. He finished explaining.

-So earlier when you went to the river… Guilda said while blushing.

-Really!? That's what you want to ask? He exclaimed before she finished it.

-It's the most I got out of the conversation! She pouted.

-Ok! Anyway, what's your nickname? Aki ignored the shame and directed a question to the succubus.

-My first name is Aranei, so I never got one. She said.

-Really? He raised a brown.

-You were flirting with a woman you didn't even knew the name?! Guilda was shocked.

-Like you never flirted with a cute guy while drunk! He countered.

-Well, certainly, he is a total virgin, while you can't keep it in your pants while drunk, so I imagine it would've ended the same way were you there.

DOUBLE K.O!

We will be back after a short break.

…

-Even though she is a demon it still hurts when "you" say it. Aki explained.

-That is part of my dark past and hurts. Guilda explained.

-Humans are strange. Aranei said.

-At least I had friends. Aki rebuked.

-At least I had people to be with me that didn't just wanted my body. Guilda rebuked.

K.O

…

-Being a genius is hard. Said the succubus.

-True. Agreed Aki.

-You know, I've been standing here for half an hour and we've got nowhere. Even though there's so much treasure there we can't do shit. So, what's the next step? Said Guilda, interrupting the circle of depression.

-Uh? Oh, those. It's fake. Even I can't take a coin out. The true treasure is a job. Answered Aranei.

-I Already have two jobs. There's another option right? Aki said worryingly. Demons weren't known for being generous.

-There is. You will get the ability to summon a demon at the cost of your mana. The more mana spent the more power the demon will be able to show. She explained.

-Thank whoever decided that is important . Aki sighed.

-You welcome. She said.

-You trying to flirt with me or is it just you being you? As you said, I have zero field experience. He asked

-You are certainly interesting, but I am trying to focus on my career. She answered.

-Then you are trying to get favor for your carrier, that is certainly better to know right now. He smiled.

-Going on. The reward please. Guilda hurried.

-You need to sign this contract first.

A little skimming over the ten clauses proved the contract to not be so bad.

-Just a little doubt here about the number nine, if I can kill my owner, I will be free again, right?

-In case you are able to survive the mental backlash and do so under the rules stated, them yes. She said after checking what he was talking about.

-Wanna make a contract? The bet kind. He proposed.

…

After another fifteen minutes of secret conversations, Aki got himself a contract and the first phone number of a girl on his life. It's a soul number and he got it because of a business reason which made it so he couldn't call her for no reason, but it is still the number of a hottie. He told himself so at least.

-So, what will it be? Asked the succubus

-The five basic or is there more I can get? He asked out of precaution.

-You need to pass some requirements for other species. She confirmed.

-Then I want a female hellhound that is big enough for me to ride around, who I can have a conversation with through our mental link and has a lot of resistances. She also needs to have an easy to say nickname. For this minute if you still have time around. He asked.

-I have three, five, ten matches. I will put it to random, now, I need you to answer some random questions and we will be done. She affirmed.

There's that much demons on hell, yes.

-If a horse goes 37 km/h, how long will it take for it to catch up to a horse going 34 km/h if the original distance between them is 500m meters?

-Really? I got a math one from the start? He rebuked

-You don't have to get it right. She said.

-Them just write 500÷(3x6÷100). He hurriedly said.

-That's actually close enough to consider it right. Next. Bare or thigh high?

-Thigh high.

-How many children do you want to have?

-If you weren't just thinking of using me… *Sigh* Three, all adopted.

-What's your favorite animal?

-Cat.

-Favorite color?

-White. No racism.

-Not offended. Two more questions. Would you prefer to A) freeze to death B) Burn to death or C) Explode.

-Yeah, you're actually going to use this to tease me later, aren't you? A.

-Yes, I will. Last question. What is your favorite deity?

-Write down yours.

-Done. You will be able to summon your hellhound after getting out of the forest. She said, storing the pen and paper she summoned with magic.

-Couldn't you have used an IPad for that? He asked.

-Technology we can't bring here. Paperwork problems and shit. She said, missing her games already.

-I will buy one when I go to hell them. By the way, can we keep that gear on the vegetative guy? He asked, hopefull.

-Sure, we were just gonna let him die here anyway. We've already got the soul. The succubus shrugged.

-Them Guilda got herself a new shield and I got new shiny things to trade for gold. The small things anyway. How close is the nearest city anyway? He asked with a smile.

-Two kilometers to the east. You're going to spawn on a rode curve. She said, guessing his next question.

-So, how much time do I have to strip that guy? He questioned, other plans already forming on his mind.

-Twenty minutes or so. She said, curious about what gave him such smile while searching a corpse.

-Them please, sit down and watch. He noticed her curiosity and started doing his magic.

A chair made out of rock appeared for the succubus and some lights shone over him. Heat forming.

He took out his shirt and offered her some iced water in a glass cup with a bright smile. Thank magic.

With his arms stretched and hands on shoulder level, he started taking all the small metal objects from the man's body.

A stream of gold coins came to him, collapsing at his feet as two golden rings stood on his hand. Kneeling, he offered her one.

-No. She instantly said.

-Do you really not want a friendship ring? And I thought we were doing well together. A shame, I shall need to seek another liaison for my future dealing with the beyond. He shook his head, but stood there.

-Give me that ring. She ordered.

-So, how would you rate my glamour? He asked.

-8 out of 10. Another immediate response.

-That coming from a dream walker is the best I could ask for now. I will wake Guilda and you can teleport us. He said while putting back his shirt.

…

A band of merchants who was passing through noticed two traveler on the road with a very big dog being rode by the woman.

They were not very far away from their destination,  so nothing happened. Just a bard that got his nuts cracked from a kick when trying to flirt with Guilda and some backpacks were bought by Aki.

At the entrance of the city they just registered Jade as a tamed beast and told a lie about  losing their bags on the way to the city while running. Aki was that useful.

Now, at the Inn…

-So we can pay for two rooms for a whole month in this middle class inn, while having a lot of privileges we wouldn't at other places. Why aren't we renting rooms on a high class in them? Guilda asked with confusion all over her face.

-Because bad things happen there. We're not prepared to kill the people who would attack us there. He answered, like he was telling her the color of her hair.

-Them we could just pay those people and… yeah, I will stop with the bath thing. She said while looking down in defeat.

-Look, we can always go looking for a bath house. He said, happy that he was not the one who freaked over a proper bath first.

They did clean themselves in rivers or with water magic, but it was just hard to stop feeling dirty, all blood and guts considered. A good scrubbing could definitely help.

"I like bathing" said Jade in her husky voice through her mental link with her master.

-See, even Jade said she likes bathing. Said Aki while intimidating the guy that came to get his hellhound to the stables, succeeding in saying that he will kill if his dog isn't satisfied.

By the way, Jade looks somewhat like a doberman with bigger and stronger limbs about 1,60 tall, jet black fur and green eyes. Besides that she does have a sack of poison that emits a liquid very jade like.

After asking around for ten minutes, they found the adventurers guild. Anyone that cared to check would notice that they were a level 36 rogue and a level 49 warrior, so of course Aki got picked up on for being with a beauty by his side.

She was also the one riding Jade, so they thought it was her dog. Aki also wanted to ride, but Guilda was being lazy and didn't want to go down from hugging her new pillow. Jade quite liked the attention and scratching, so she just ignored the rest.

When Guilda went to fill the paperwork, still riding Jade, some men went and surrounded Aki.

-Silence.

That was a spell.

Before the first thug could say something absurd, Aki blinked through the shadow realm to behind the guy who cast the spell. He didn't know any martial arts, so he just punched the guy on the back of the neck. He did forget his strength was on the hundreds already.

Since he did not expect him to pass out from simply that, he activated Backstab. There was a light sound of bones breaking, but no kill notification.

Holding his knife on the neck of thug 2, Aki started his treats.

-Take your friend out of here before I make it so you all are permanently silenced. As the Aki had gone to a shady corner before they "ambushed" him only they had seen what truly happened.

So when Aki started screaming that the man had passed out out of nowhere, they knew that was their cue to run.

[Maximum experience reached. Persuasion is now level 3. Intimidation is now level 5.]

"It is apparently more efficient to use these in crowds." He deduced.

-Hey, Aki! What is Jade's race again? Asked Guilda while on the counter.

-Veneficus…  He tried to say.

-Forget it, I will just write cute dog as the race! Grumbled Guilda when he started talking in latin.

Truth be told, it was five words long and Jade is wagging her tongue even now, so it's fair enough.

As the guild doesn't actually ask you for your status, the paperwork was done quickly and they were entitled to buy info on the dungeons around.

Dungeons are life, so it's a given that big cities will appear around them even in a desert. If they can be cleared, of course.

Around this city there are three dungeons, one for people around level 30, one with monsters around level 60, and the last one has monster around level 100.

This time Aki went to the reception for information while Guilda went to the notice board to note down the material they should look for to make a profit.

-So, me and my friend are thinking of dungeon delving tomorrow  after some preparations, but it is just the two of us and we don't want to go carrying a ton of materials around or simply leave behind money. I came to ask if the guild could recommend a carrier service for us. Aki said, pretending to be head over heels for the cute receptionist.

-I am happy to inform this guild branch offers a carrier service and a banking service sir. And so he deposited some gold coins on the bank and got some directions. He did use the occasion to ask where the bath house of the city was.

While at the bath house he was attacked, sure, but they were just some level fifty thugs. No one else was there, since they left after the goons got in, so he just used them as experiments.

He had three hours of bath because of a promotion, so when one of the clerks entered the man's area prepared to clean the battle results, she was surprised seeing Aki on top of the five men on the brink of death by poison.

-Uh? Did my bath time end already? I am sorry for the disturbance, I shall take the trash with me so it does not pollute the water anymore. Said Aki while having a sweet smile on his face.

He took all five assailants by the hair and poisoned it. They died almost instantly, not like he would receive a level from just that though.

[Maximum experience reached. Poisoning is now level 8.]

His skills are another story entirely. He burned the corpses to ashes, gathered it with summoned water, compressed it and froze the water. As the cherry on the top he even wrote "Better luck next time" and left the ice ball on top of the lockers.

It would be funny when whoever commanded those guys got the message. To him, not so much to the messenger.

When he saw Guilda with her not so dry hair and Jade almost sparkling, he explained what he was doing for the last hour and a half, that's the thugs time for bathing, while ruffling Jade's fur.

-I will be going to the library next to see if I can get some info on more complex magic, I find you girls back at the Inn? He asked.

-Nha, I need a drink, so you take her with you. Guilda said.

-Remember to at least get an excuse before you murder someone or we will lose a lot of money. He nagged.

-I am not you. She countered with an ice tone.

-Them please keep it quiet tonight, we don't want to be evicted on the first day. He countered with a smile.

She pointed the middle finger at him and left with a blush.