Reincarnated Hero System

Crim gave them a skeptical look, clearly unconvinced but too puzzled to argue. Then, glancing down at her still-restrained hands, she spoke with a mixture of confusion and mild exasperation.

“Right… well, now that you’ve got your answer, can you let go of my hands?”

Arthur blinked, as though just realising he was still holding her wrists. “Oh! Right, sorry about that.”

He immediately released her, stepping back with an awkward smile, and Crim, still recovering from the sudden ambush, took a step back and eyed the two boys with a mixture of wariness and curiosity.

Her hands were free now, but they still tingled from their firm grip.

“So… you two just guessed my name based on the fact that I’m a blonde vampire with a katana? How many people like that have you met?”

“We haven’t exactly ‘met’ any since they’re in different dimensions and all, but we’ve seen enough that it’s kind of a trope at this point.”

“Yeah, it’s not like you’re the only one, but I doubt we’ve seen any that’s a cultivator, though,” Evan added after Arthur’s initial response to her question.

Crim’s frown eased slightly, though confusion still clouded her expression.

“Right… so, what exactly do you two want now you got your answer?”

Arthur and Evan exchanged glances, then shrugged and spoke in unison.

“Nothing actually.”

“Yeah, we just came over because of our bet. You did put on quite the show back there.”

Evan paused, glancing down at her sheathed katana before continuing.

“Those blood magic techniques were pretty impressive. You’ve got serious skills.”

Crim tilted her head, a glimmer of pride flashing in her eyes.

“Thanks… I guess. But next time, maybe don’t sneak up on someone who just finished a fight. I could’ve sliced you both before realising what was going on.”

Arthur simply laughed at her warning and waved her off, entirely unbothered.

“Don’t worry, it’s not like you’d deal any damage anyway.”

His words made it clear he believed her attacks wouldn’t leave so much as a scratch, and Crim narrowed her eyes at the remark.

Noticing her reaction, Evan chuckled lightly. There was no way Crim could possibly know that the boy standing in front of her was a Semi-Transcendent existence capable of beating Superior Sovereigns into the ground using nothing but raw physical strength.

Still, he made no effort to explain, and neither did Arthur.

Instead, Arthur turned his gaze toward the sect members still sprawled across the ground and groaning in pain, and asked,

“What about your sect members? They left you alone to deal with this lot?”

He was making a casual assumption since they hadn’t witnessed the beginning of the fight, but Crim shook her head in response.

“No. I was actually on my way somewhere after separating from them.”

Her eyes then drifted to their clothes, which clearly bore no markings or insignias from any known sect, and she asked with a hint of curiosity,

“I’m guessing you’re not with any of the other sects here?”

“Nope,” Evan replied while instinctively ducking just in time to avoid the hand that reached for the back of his collar.

Turning around, he found Beatrix standing there with one brow arched as she stared at him.

“What for?” he asked, puzzled by her sudden grab.

In response, Beatrix tilted her head toward Crim, who was still watching the two of them with clear wariness, and replied,

“Come on, you two scared the poor girl.”

Now it was Arthur’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Excuse me, we just wanted to find out her name for our bet.”

The light of remembrance flashed in his eyes, and he turned back to Crim with a sudden shift to a more serious demeanour.

“I noticed you did something interesting with your blood magic earlier. I don’t use blood magic myself, but I think I have an idea of how you could improve that technique.”

Though still uncertain and slightly on edge, Crim found herself listening with growing interest. Arthur’s suggestion, while unexpected, had a logic to it that quickly began to reshape her perspective.

As she considered his words, her mind rapidly pieced together the implications, and before long, it was clear that applying what he described would indeed refine her magic control.

The realisation had her exclaiming.

“Wait, that actually makes sense!”

Catching the look on her face, Arthur gave a light shrug.

“Don’t thank me. Your name being Crim just helped me win five million credits.”

Evan, who had been subtly edging away, froze mid-step and clicked his tongue in frustration.

“I thought you’d forgotten that.”

“Dude, I literally just won the bet a minute ago. There’s no way I would have forgotten it.”

Arthur replied, and without delay, the two of them fell back into their usual back-and-forth bickering.

Beatrix, clearly all too familiar with their antics, let out a sigh before grabbing both of them by their collars and yanking them back with surprising ease.

She turned to Crim, offering an apologetic smile that softened the mood.

“Sorry about these two idiots who do not know how to properly treat people when meeting them for the first time.”

Crim felt her earlier tension fading, especially in the presence of Beatrix’s relaxed and approachable demeanour.

“Oh, no problem. Actually, he did help me out just now,” she said, casting a quick glance toward Arthur in reference to the advice he had given.

Beatrix responded with a resigned roll of her eyes and a sigh.

“Yeah, well, even though he can be a pain, whatever he told you probably made sense.”

Crim chuckled softly, the last of her unease dissolving as she caught Beatrix’s mildly exasperated look.

As the conversation continued, Crim became more at ease while chatting with Beatrix and Artemisia. Light banter and shared smiles helped her relax as they grew more familiar with each other.

Beatrix asked about her fighting style, and Artemisia showed interest in her blood magic, even contemplating acquiring related techniques herself. Crim, flattered by their genuine interest and praise, opened up more easily with them than she had with the boys.

The discussion gradually shifted to lighter topics like favourite foods, recent travels, and how Crim came to be on Denerth Prime.

Meanwhile, Arthur had just finished extorting Evan, his grin stretching wider as Evan reluctantly handed over the five million credits.

He then literally poked his head into the ongoing conversation between the girls and casually tossed out a question.

“But anyway, Crim. Why were you fighting those guys, though?”

Crim’s smile faltered at the question, her expression shifting ever so slightly. Beatrix immediately picked up on the change and, sensing her discomfort, intervened.

“Maybe it’s something she doesn’t want to talk about?”

Before Crim could respond, a loud voice rang out across the area.

“Crim!!”

They all turned at once to see someone rushing toward them, quickly closing the distance before grabbing Crim and pulling her away from the group.

“Someone said you got attacked! Was it them?”

The girl demanded, glaring at Arthur, Evan, Beatrix, and Artemisia with open hostility.

Arthur blinked, his mouth parting slightly in surprise, while Evan’s eyebrows shot up—not out of shock at the sudden accusation, but because of the string of notifications only he could see.

|Adaptive Evolution has been triggered.|

|Charm Resistance has increased.|

‘Huh?’

|Charm Resistance has increased greatly.|

‘Huuuh?’

|Charm Resistance has increased immensely.|

‘Huuuuuuuuuh??!!’

|Charm Resistance is exponentially increasing.|

At that, Evan turned to look at the newcomer with wide eyes, his gaze posing an unspoken question.

‘Girl, what the fuck are you?’

Promptly answering that question was his Full Appraisal skill, and a single line in the result made everything make sense.

|Race: Greater Succubus|

‘Understandable. Have a nice day.’

Evan immediately turned around and walked away—is not what happened as Crim quickly cleared up the misunderstanding.

“Um… I wouldn’t be talking with them if they attacked me. The ones who attacked me are unconscious over there….”

She gestured toward the five unconscious figures on the ground nearby, and at the sight, the newcomer let out a relieved sigh, her shoulders dropping as she relaxed.

“Oh… okay.”

She gave an awkward laugh before turning to the group, offering a slight bow.

“Sorry about that.”

As she spoke, Artemisia’s expression abruptly darkened, and she instinctively stepped back, pulling Beatrix with her.

Meanwhile, the two boys raised their eyebrows again, though for entirely different reasons.

|Adaptive Evolution has been triggered.|

|Mental Resistance has increased slightly.|

‘Et tu, mental?’

Evan was starting to seriously contemplate walking away, as the girl’s passive charm was a bit too strong for his liking.

Her presence was almost intoxicating, not in an overt way, but enough to subtly draw those around her in.

With slightly curved horns protruding from the sides of her head, the black-haired beauty was undeniably striking, her figure perfectly balanced and alluring without being overly voluptuous.

She wore tight robes that clung to her form, revealing no skin except for her face, yet somehow radiated an undeniable ‘sexy’ vibe that attracted admiring glances from the crowd.

Although he was encountering one for the first time, Arthur’s Progenitor perk allowed him to easily identify her race.

“Succubus?”

The passive charm she radiated explained why both Artemisia and Beatrix had recoiled at her presence, and why Evan’s Adaptive Evolution was receiving so much stimuli.

The succubus noticed the way everyone responded to her charm, her shoulders sagging slightly in exasperation. It was clear this wasn’t the first time she had dealt with such reactions.

Crossing her arms with a sigh, she spoke in a slightly frustrated tone.

“I’m not trying to charm you or anything, okay?”

She seemed ready to suggest to Crim that they leave when Arthur suddenly closed the gap between them. His eyes locked onto hers, and he grasped her hands as he spoke, his tone challenging.

“I’d actually like you to try.”

Before she could respond, Beatrix teleported in and smacked the back of Arthur’s head.

“Why the heck would you make such a request?!”

Arthur, rubbing the back of his head, looked at Beatrix with indignation.

“What?! I’m supposed to be immune to all forms of charm and status effects cast by mortals. The strongest I’ve experienced is a dryad’s charm, but I’ve never been hit by a real succubus’ charm before. I wanna test it out!”

The succubus blinked at him, her incredulous expression speaking volumes. Crim, noticing her friend’s confusion, gently patted her shoulder.

“I’ve not known him long, but from what I can tell, he’s the ‘crazy one’ of their group.”

She then pointed to Evan, adding with a small smile, “He’s Crazy Number 2.”

“Oi! I take offence with that!”

Evan retorted, though his tone suggested he wasn’t truly upset.

Crim chuckled softly, and the atmosphere relaxed slightly. But just then, another group approached from a distance, and once again, Artemisia grabbed Beatrix by the arm and pulled her a few steps back, eyeing the newcomers warily.