When I opened my eyes, the bitter smell of damp stone and rusted iron filled my nose.
I was lying on a cold, filthy stone floor inside an underground dungeon cell. Pale moonlight filtered through a small, barred window near the ceiling.
[System Notice: Aether Fully Recovered (100/100)]
[Body Status: Rib Fractures Repaired via [Endless Resilience Lv. 1]]
I sat up, wincing as my chest throbbed. "Great. I got summoned, humiliated a trust-fund noble, and now I’m in a dungeon," I muttered, dusting off my clothes. "Classic fantasy speedrun."
"You finally awake, insect?"
A cold, arrogant voice echoed through the cell.
Standing in the shadow of the stone corner was Valeska, the Ashen Monarch. Her six-foot-two obsidian frame blotted out what little light was in the room, her curved horns almost touching the ceiling.
She crossed her arms over her voluptuous chest, her featureless helmet staring down at me with pure, unadulterated contempt.
"I have burned cities to ash," Valeska said, her voice echoing in my mind like grinding metal. "I have watched emperors beg for mercy on their knees. And yet I am bound to a weakling who collapses after ten seconds of holding my presence."
She took a step toward me.
BOOM!
A crushing wave of dark spiritual pressure exploded from her body. The sheer weight of it slammed into me, forcing me straight onto my knees on the hard stone.
CRACK!
My knee joints cracked loudly under the pressure. Pain shot through my legs like liquid fire, making me gasp for air.
Valeska stepped over me, raising her armored boot and planting it squarely on my chest. She pressed down, forcing my back flat onto the freezing floor.
"You should be on the ground where you belong, mortal," she said coldly, pressing her heel into my ribs.
CRACK!
I felt two of my ribs fracture under her weight.
’Damnit... she really is breaking my bones for fun!’
[Innate Trait: [Endless Resilience Lv. 1] Activated!]
[Automatic Regeneration Engaged...]
[Bone Fractures Knitting (10%... 40%... 100%)]
As fast as she cracked my bones, my glitched trait forcibly repaired the damage. The pain was excruciating, but my body stubbornly refused to break.
Instead of screaming or begging, I looked up into her glowing crimson visor and spat a mouthful of blood onto the stone.
"Is that... all you got, Empress?" I wheezed, forcing a strained, bloody smirk onto my face. "You’re gonna have to press harder than that if you want to kill me."
Valeska’s visor flickered. For a split second, she looked genuinely surprised that an F-Rank peasant wasn’t crying for mercy.
"Insolent worm," she growled, preparing to put her full weight onto my chest.
I didn’t wait for her to crush my lungs.
I reached up with my right hand, grabbed the exposed, pale skin of her waist right above her hip-guard, and activated my first trait.
[Innate Trait: [Somatic Overload Lv. 1] Activated!]
A pulse of purple Aether shot from my palm directly into her skin.
Valeska froze.
"W-What—" Her voice suddenly cracked, losing all of its terrifying dominance.
A violent shudder ran through her entire six-foot-two frame. The crushing, dark pressure pinning me to the floor vanished instantly. Her visor flared from a dark, menacing red into a bright, flustered pink.
Her armored boot slipped off my chest, and she stumbled backward, slamming her back against the stone wall of the cell.
"Ah... Hah..." Valeska’s breath came out in ragged, shallow gasps. She clutched her waist where I had touched her, her body shivering uncontrollably. "Y-You... what kind of filthy, degenerate spell did you just cast on me?!"
I sat up, rubbing my chest as my ribs finished knitting themselves back together.
"It’s not a spell," I said, leaning back against my cot with a lazy smirk. "It’s my Innate Attribute. Every time I touch you, it overloads your senses. How does it feel, Ashen Monarch?"
Valeska’s visor glowed a deep, furious pink. Through the translucent visor, I could see her pale cheeks flushed a bright, burning red. She looked like she wanted to tear my head off, but her legs were shaking so hard she could barely stay upright.
[Entity ’Valeska’ Experienced High Sensory Overload!]
[Affection/Receptivity: +5%]
[Max Aether Capacity Increased: 100 -> 150!]
’Nice. My Aether pool increased just from touching her once!’
Before Valeska could recover her breath and incinerate me, heavy footsteps echoed down the stone corridor outside my cell.
Victor Sterling walked up to the iron bars, flanked by two paladins in full plate armor. He had a triumphant, arrogant smirk on his face.
"Well, well, if it isn’t the F-Rank trash," Victor mocked through the bars. "Enjoying your new home, buddy?"
I looked at Victor, then glanced back at Valeska, who was still leaning against the far wall, breathing heavily and trying to hide how flustered she was.
Victor didn’t notice her state. He just assumed she was standing in the corner out of disgust for me.
"High Inquisitor Theron has already made his decision," Victor continued, crossing his arms. "Tomorrow at dawn, you’re going to be publicly executed in the palace square as a Heretic."
I stood up from my cot, brushing the dust off my jeans, and walked slowly toward the iron bars.
"Tomorrow at dawn, huh?" I asked, looking Victor straight in the eyes.
"That’s right. So get on your knees and start praying for forgiveness, loser," Victor sneered.
I leaned against the iron bars and let out a short, amused laugh.
"Bro, if I were you, I’d worry less about my execution tomorrow morning..."
I tilted my head, indicating Valeska, whose visor was slowly shifting from pink back to a dangerous, deadly crimson.
"...and worry more about whether you’ll even survive the night."