[Laertes Withergaiden has been slain]

[+1 Aether]

Vale quietly stared at the blade he held as it got lodged in the man's face, killing him instantly.

Vale's face contorted into an unsettled grimace as he watched the blood flow from the wound onto his blade and down the rock he'd been enclosed in.

'Come on, Lust! Muddle my feelings! Trample on them! Hide my humanity!'

Vale stared as the river of blood continued to flow.

He waited and waited for the proof of his carnage to be erased and swallowed by the dungeon. But it seemed this sin was here to stay. The boy's body did not disappear. It only had an Aether core at most; while bits of the man's body contained rogue Aether, it was by no means an Aether construct.

Laertes' corpse remained motionless with its dark brown eyes open, as if still staring at Vale.

'Come on!'

'Why do I feel bad, now!'

'I haven't felt like this before!'

Vale could have let Salome, Ximena, Stacy, or even Toy deal the final blow; however, he knew killing a human, one of his own kind, was a hurdle he needed to jump over one day. So, he decided today would be the day.

He wasn't expecting to feel anything… as he hadn't before… Well, he didn't. Not until he started talking about the girl he so desperately wanted Vale to have 'mercy' on…

It was a misguided mercy, as Vale currently did not possess the capabilities to take on a village nor the ability to enthrall a multitude of people. Still, Vale understood the sentiment — he understood it well.

All too well.

Vale looked toward the nearest Workers and gave them an order, and walked away.

"Dig him out…"

Ximena, observing him, walked up and stood nearby.

"Something wrong, Master Vale?"

Vale stopped and stared at Ximena, seeing his pitiful expression reflected in her gemstone eyes. His pink eyes were glittering dimmer than ever before. As he stared at her, he couldn't help but study the delicate yet firm and icy owl's face…

A face nearly identical to Fleur's.

"Nothing… nothing at all."

***

It didn't take long for the Workers to free the corpse from its prison. And, as Vale expected, the body remained. Perhaps it was also only the beings summoned by the system. Maybe not. All he knew was what was in front of him.

Vale ordered the Workers to cart off the body and leave it somewhere outside of the dungeon, outside of his sight, but not after stripping it of all the valuables.

They have real clothes now! And some iron links!

'Yay… Tch.'

Vale wasn't in the state of mind to celebrate, but that didn't mean his mind was in pure turmoil. No, at worst, he was just in a bad mood.

Lust would make him forget these throes in due time, but that time needed to come quicker…

***

The following two days passed without many events happening.

The details of Vale's days had become pretty quotidian, but that's not to say it was boring for him.

He'd wake up, train while his Workers mined, Salome and Toy would collect materials, bringing home the occasional shard for Vale to absorb, Ximena would guard the entrance, and then, when night fell, Toy, Salome, and Vale would farm some Satisfaction points.

Ximena had yet to join them in such an endeavor, but Vale didn't really want her to. Not that he wasn't attracted to her… But he saw Fleur when he looked at her. He couldn't bring himself to…

And, as for her relations to the others… Ximena couldn't even get close to them, or they'd kill each other. Plus, rather than grow closer and forgive past grudges, the two's hatred for each other seemed to neither rise nor decrease.

They interacted as little as possible, and Ximena stowed herself away when the group did anything intimate.

While statistics would dictate Ximena's reaction as abnormal, she was probably the only normal inhabitant of the Dungeon of Lust — aside from her inability to change her expression. Still, it was her normalcy — the other novelty — Vale didn't want to tarnish.

Well, the girl was by no means normal.

Her hubris when interacting with anyone other than Vale was a little hard to tolerate. The owl was bullying poor Toy at every opportunity. Not that Salome ever let Ximena get those chances.

Four days had passed, and not a single time had Toy and Salome left each other's side for more than a minute or two.

As for their progress on the dungeon… it was going swell.

Every imp except one had become an Emergent Miner, and there were a few more Emergent Builders. Neither Larry nor Sizzy had upgraded yet, but they were definitely close to doing so.

As for Stacy, she'd taken a weird following to Salome and started calling her mother, but other than that, she's made some minor improvements in her swordplay. But the biggest thing she contributed was constantly sparring with Vale while Salome was gone.

Vale's own competency in battle had improved quite a bit, and he was starting to grasp the concept of the golden mean Salome alluded to. He made fewer mistakes and actually made use of the strength a Vice-class should have.

As for Ximena… she hadn't been doing much but watching. Of course, that was her job. She was the gate guardian. It wasn't like Vale or anyone could spar with her; the woman didn't know how to fight with a tool. With her abilities, she didn't need to. She was a walking calamity.

However, that came with its own issues.

She couldn't collect materials or touch anything.

So, watching was literally the only helpful thing she could do; at least until an enemy emerged.

As for attempting Level 2…

The time was coming.

After the Workers put the finishing touches on the initial maze, they would attempt it. And, if possible, Vale would finally use his ability… He'd try to charm an attacker.

Mainly… his target would be the 'Nascent Monster…'

Assuming relations with it were possible… And if they fit his taste.

Not that Lust had a taste for anything other than unbridled pleasure.

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