Reincarnated Hero System

When Evan looked at Crim, his Danger Sense skill immediately sounded a low warning, prompting him to trace his gaze along the ground in front of Crim, a hint of admiration appearing in his eyes at what his Detection field picked up.

Meanwhile, Hibiki exhaled in relief, noting that Crim seemed mostly unharmed, aside from a few light scratches on her face.

She took a step forward to approach, but Arthur reached out and grabbed her shoulder to stop her. Simultaneously, Evan grabbed Beatrix, who was also stepping forward and pulled her back by the arm.

“Don’t,” Arthur warned.

Evan added, “You’ll get stabbed.”

Both Hibiki and Beatrix blinked, confused by the sudden caution. Arthur gestured toward Crim, still seated about ten metres away with her eyes shut and her body completely still.

“She’s not conscious. Her body’s on autopilot right now. If you get too close to her…”

To make his point, he picked up a stone and tossed it toward Crim. It didn’t even cross half the distance before a spear of blood burst from the ground and skewered it mid-air.

“?!”

Hibiki and Beatrix stared wide-eyed at the scene, while Evan laughed and repeated,

“You get stabbed.”

Arthur glanced at the blood spear, then back at the group.

“Let’s just wait until she’s back to normal.”

They all agreed and settled down a short distance away, snacking and chatting casually as they waited. For the next hour, they relaxed, occasionally glancing at Crim as she continued her cultivation, the negative energies still swirling around her.

Suddenly, a surge of energy burst from deeper within the cave, and Arthur turned just in time to see Crim break through to the Superior Stage of the Legendary Level. The swirling energies calmed into a gentle hum as her breakthrough was completed.

A minute later, Crim’s eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times, taking in the sight of the others watching her, her face immediately brightening when her gaze landed on Hibiki.

“Hibiki!”

She shouted excitedly before leaping up and rushing over to embrace her. The two friends hugged tightly, Crim laughing joyfully as she squeezed Hibiki.

Arthur watched the reunion, arms crossed as he said.

“That’s the last of the reunions.”

Crim finally released Hibiki and turned to the others.

“Looks like you guys found each other already.”

“Yup, all here.”

Beatrix raised her hand as if answering roll call, and Evan gave her a thumbs-up. Arthur nodded approvingly, congratulating Crim on her breakthrough.

“Congrats, Superior Legendary.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Crim replied.

Before the conversation could continue, a loud rumble interrupted them—Crim’s stomach growling.

She blinked in surprise, her mouth forming a small ‘O’ as she scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

“I may be a tad bit hungry.”

As she said this, her eyes instinctively flicked to Hibiki, and then almost as if catching herself, she shifted her gaze toward Arthur. A brief silence fell as Arthur raised an eyebrow, puzzled by her sudden change of focus.

“Arthur, do you have divinity?”

Crim asked seriously, and though he was taken aback by the unexpected question, Arthur nodded.

“Yeah, I do.”

“As I thought. It might smell sweet, but I’d probably kill myself if I tried it.”

Realization flashed in Crim’s eyes, while Hibiki frowned in confusion, glancing between Crim and Arthur. She knew Arthur was a godslayer, but divinity? That was the power of the gods. Her thoughts swirled as she tried to connect the dots.

Noticing her confusion, Evan gave Hibiki a reassuring pat on the shoulder and shook his head.

“Don’t think too hard about it.”

Crim chuckled, turning her attention back to Arthur.

“If you’ve got divinity, then you’re off-limits. Asking for a bite would be a death sentence.”

“What are you even talking about?”

Arthur asked, still bewildered and tilting his head. But Hibiki caught on right away.

“Wait… were you planning to—”

“Uh-huh. I’m starving. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”

The teen vampire nodded eagerly, and Hibiki’s brow twitched in annoyance as she folded her arms.

“Crim, you’re a higher vampire. You’re perfectly capable of eating normal food.”

At Hibiki’s statement, Crim’s expression turned sulky as she crossed her arms, clearly displeased.

“Yeah, but it’s not really nutritious for me.”

Hibiki shot her a deadpan look, while Arthur and Evan exchanged glances, both picking up on the subtle changes in Crim’s appearance.

Each time she spoke, her fangs grew just a little longer, and the red in her eyes deepened, swirling with a hunger that was becoming harder for her to ignore.

Evan silently appraised her, and judging by what he saw in the Condition Tab of her status, she was dangerously close to slipping into a Bloodlust State, where she’d likely attack anything nearby in a desperate search for blood.

Hibiki noticed it too, her brows knitting together in a mix of concern and confusion.

‘How is she this starved after just a day? She must’ve used up a lot of energy fighting those devils…’

Without another word, she took Crim’s hand and pulled her deeper into the cave, speaking in a firm but gentle tone.

“I’ll deal with this girl.”

As the two vanished into the cave shadows, Arthur and Evan shared a knowing look.

“So… could it be Yuri?” Evan asked.

Arthur shook his head.

“No, it can’t be Yuri. Remember, Hibiki’s in a dual cultivation sect. Dual cultivation needs Yin and Yang, not Yin and Yin.”

Evan nodded slowly, acknowledging the logic, though he still looked thoughtful.

“True, but still, it’s possible. And honestly, that’s a pretty nice sight to see.”

They exchanged a mischievous grin, one that didn’t go unnoticed. Artemisia and Beatrix, who had been silently watching nearby, turned toward them with identical expressions of deadpan exasperation.

“There’s no context to your words, but somehow I feel like I understand exactly what you two are getting at.”

Beatrix shot them a sharp glare, eyes narrowing, and Arthur responded with a smile.

“Of course, you do.”

“Yeah, it’s perfectly normal to ship Crim and Hibiki,” Evan added casually. “Same way I’d ship you two if I didn’t know that Beatrix had the hots for Alvey.”

The moment Alvey’s name came up, Arthur nodded in agreement, his tone teasing.

“Yeah, if someone didn’t know Beatrix was straight and just saw the way she clings to Artemisia, you’d think she was—”

“Let’s STOP right there!” Beatrix cut in loudly.

She knew exactly where the conversation was headed and wanted no part of it.

“Arty is my best friend, okay? A best friend is completely different from a crush! The guy I’m in love with is Alvey. Arty is my BEST FRIEND. Are we clear on this?”

The boys chuckled, hands raised in mock surrender.

“”We clear.””

But the glances they gave her afterwards made it blatantly obvious they didn’t completely believe her. Beatrix opened her mouth to argue again, but Artemisia stepped in before she could say a word.

“When will you realize they’re just messing with you?”

Beatrix froze, eyes narrowing as Artemisia’s words sank in. Meanwhile, Arthur and Evan quietly edged backwards, clearly trying to slip away before the realization hit her.

The moment it did, a scowl crept across her face, but before she could fire back, Crim and Hibiki stepped out from the shadows.

Crim looked thoroughly satisfied, while Hibiki was just a touch paler than before.

Arthur gave them both a quick once-over, raising a brow as he asked, “You didn’t suck her dry, right?”

Crim blinked, then laughed softly.

“Huh? Oh, no, don’t worry. She’d collapse if I did that.”

Arthur’s gaze shifted to Hibiki, whose slightly pale complexion backed up Crim’s claim. Then he looked back at Crim, noticing her fangs were back to normal, and that intense hunger in her eyes was gone.

“…You still have some blood on your lips,” Hibiki said, upon noticing the bit of red on Crim’s lips.

“Where?”

When Hibiki pointed it out, Crim leaned in slightly and slowly licked the spot clean, her movements unhurried and almost deliberately teasing.

What made it worse was the way she maintained direct eye contact with Hibiki the entire time, like she was relishing the moment.

Arthur and Evan’s eyes widened in sync, their heads snapping toward each other.

“CrimBiki or HibiCrim?” Arthur asked in a hushed but excited tone.

“I was team HibiCrim before,” Evan muttered, still a little stunned by the sight, “but now? Team CrimBiki for life.”

The two girls turned toward them, puzzled by the sudden whispering, while Beatrix, immediately catching on, sighed in resignation.

She stepped forward and smacked both boys on the back of the head, clearly not in the mood for their antics.

Crim, oblivious to the subtext behind their comments, simply cleared her throat and shifted the conversation back to what she originally wanted to say before her stomach interrupted.

“Anyway, you guys must’ve noticed the energy concentration increasing the deeper you’ve come into the mountains.”

“Yeah, it was hard to miss,” Arthur replied with a nod.

As he spoke, Crim continued her explanation.

“That’s because of a volcano nearby. There were a few Infernal Devils guarding the area, but you probably saw their corpses outside. I managed to use compulsion on some of them before gouging out their eyes and I found out what they were there for.”

She mentioned gouging out their eyes as casually as if she were talking about the weather, but after what the group had seen outside, no one was surprised.

“Turns out, that volcano is a dungeon. The Infernal Devils are using it to terraform this area, making it more suitable for their kind. The dungeon’s the key to their plan.”

“What’s special about this dungeon?”

Evan asked, his curiosity piqued and Crim’s eyes lit up with excitement as she replied.

“Aside from double experience and a lump sum at the end? Completing it guarantees you’ll unlock a new skill when you step onto the magic circle in the final room.

Oh, and one more thing—it grants a temporary power surge, a boost to all your abilities for a full week. Perfect if you’re preparing for tougher fights.”

Hearing that, Arthur rubbed his chin in thought.

“How many Infernal Devils did you, uh… talk to, to get all this info?”

Crim grinned wide, throwing up two peace signs over her eyes.

“As many as the letters in my name—four.”

Arthur couldn’t help but laugh when he got the message.

“Sounds like we’re in for an interesting trip. But let’s rest for now.”

Hibiki nodded in agreement, her body language clearly showing fatigue, for rather obvious reasons.

“We’ve done enough for today. Let’s head to the dungeon in the morning.”

And so, with the group reunited, they settled in for the night as darkness gradually enveloped the land.