CHAPTER 41: I AM THE SMOOTHEST MAN ALIVE BWAHAHHAHAHHA

[You have slain Tier 4 Spirit Beast: Blizzard Maulers]

[You have slain Tier 4 Spirit Beast: Blizzard Mauler]

As we descended into the cave, we encountered more of the ice gorillas. Taking care of them was relatively easier this time—the narrow confines worked in our favor. The beasts were limited by the cramped airspace, and Kassie...

Well. Kassie was overwhelming.

In fact, watching her work had me wondering if she’d been holding back earlier.

’Maybe she didn’t want to finish things too quickly because of me.’

Or perhaps the team had been slowing her down.

’Probably both.’

Whenever the Blizzard Maulers lunged, she simply flowed forward with a movement that would make water jealous. Her sword could reduce and increase in length at will—she’d clearly mastered a battle style built entirely around this unique ability. The weapon and technique complemented each other perfectly, like they’d been designed as a matched set.

She would shatter the ice crystals growing on their shoulders and backs first, slowing their movements. Then came the finishing blow.

It was always swift. Precise. And lethal.

Watching her battle while dragging the deadweight behind me was actually... educational. Kassie’s method of fighting was insanely complicated—nothing like what Tristan had shown me. Tristan’s style was digestible. It bore a crude resemblance to kickboxing from Earth, maybe with some flowing combat arts like tai chi mixed in. I could break down what he was doing, understand the logic behind each movement.

But Kassie’s...

I tried so hard to glimpse the underlying principles. Couldn’t see a damn thing. It was beautiful, sharp, deadly, and way beyond my comprehension. Her burst movements, the force behind her attacks, even the way she kicked—

[You have slain a Tier 4 Spirit Beast: Blizzard Mauler]

[You have gained Blizzard Mauler Pelt]

’Trying to understand it is just giving me a headache.’

Still, I absorbed what I could. Her kicks, for example—the kick itself was easy enough to follow. The footwork that led to the force generation? That was the mystery. Like watching a magic trick where you see the result but miss the sleight of hand entirely.

She dispersed the last of the Blizzard Maulers, and we reached a wider space covered by overlapping rock formations. Frozen stalactites hung down like crystalline teeth. The area was cramped—about as large as the prison cell I’d stayed in the first night I arrived in this world.

’It’s been three weeks...’

Indeed.

I exhaled, my breath misting in the frigid air, and looked around. There were absolutely no materials for fire.

’Was it even possible to make fire in a snow cave?’

The walls were ice, the floor was ice, everything was...

Kassie was already moving while I pondered the logistics. I watched her bend down, her rear and hips curving down. Her rear filled my vision in an eye-magnifying display that threatened to derail my entire train of thought.

She stayed there for a few moments, then stood up. Watching her rise, the movement of her body as she straightened, filled me with a hunger that sat exactly one impulsive action away from complete insanity.

I turned away as she approached, desperate to avoid being called a pervert again.

When I glanced back, she had several rocks in her hands. Which was... surprising.

’I never imagined the Blood Conqueror, in all her beauty and might, would be gathering stones.’

It seemed beneath someone of her station. Then again, what did I know about her station?

She set them down and arranged them into a fire pit with practiced efficiency. Then she raised her head and caught me staring.

She glared.

"What?"

I shook my head immediately. "Nothing. Just—" I gestured vaguely at the stones. "Who would’ve thought you could pick stones. You’re an Empress, a Conqueror. What business does a mighty warlord like you have with... rocks?"

The words came out wrong.

’They always do.’

Her glare persisted, though it seemed slightly less murderous than a second ago. Progress.

"Before I was an Empress, I was a Conqueror," she said flatly. "Before I was a Conqueror, I was a slave. And slave people did slave things. Such as picking stones."

I froze.

Immediately, a hundred questions bubbled up in my throat, fighting to escape all at once.

’Slave? Kassie was a slave?’

"You... you were a slave?"

’There are slaves in this world? Of course there are. Why wouldn’t there be?’

She looked at me with that mean light flickering in her eyes. "Have you never been enslaved in your world?"

My mouth opened... and closed.

’How do I even answer that?’

"Me? A slave?" I chuckled—a nervous, slightly manic sound. My ego swelled at that moment, and I found myself explaining with perhaps too much precision: "Actually, Kassie, you could say I used to be a child of the slavers."

The words left my mouth.

’Oh no.’

I realized, too late, exactly how insensitive they sounded.

’Oops. Should’ve thought that one through better.’

I grinned, attempting damage control. "I mean—I did hate being born that way, though. My father treated us like investments..."

’Please let this salvage the situation.’

"So, you know, not exactly a great childhood either?"

She fell silent, looking down at the pit of stones. Lost in thought. When she looked up a moment later, her delicate red brows knitted together in confusion rather than anger.

"Investments? What are investments?"

I blinked.

’R—right...’

"You know how I want to fuck you more so you don’t have to return to my soul plane?"

Her frown transitioned from delicate confusion to outright hostility.

’Smooth, Cade. Very smooth.’

"Yeah, that’s investment. Putting your resources and effort into something in expectation of a better yield."

She nodded slowly, processing. "I see." She paused. "What’s bad about that?"

I stared at her for a few moments, asking myself the same question.

’Yeah... what is bad about that?’

"Well," I started, choosing my words more carefully this time, "when you consider that regardless of being someone’s offspring, we’re still human. We’re our own people. We should be granted the liberty to make our own decisions and live our own lives—without the weight of the expectations of those who brought us into this world."

My words met absolute silence.

Kassie looked down at the fire pit with sudden intensity. So intense that alarm bells started going off in my head.

"What’s wrong?"

She hesitated, then said quietly:

"There’s no wood around."