[You have received a new quest—Villain Hunt(E)]
[Get the villains hunted down. The more you are engaged in the Villain Hunt, the more chances you will awaken various traits of Black Cat Bloodline and other cat lineages from Cat Lineage Evolution System.]
[Count: 0]
Leona glanced at the new prompt and made a mental note. Being engaged in the Villain Hunt means I don't have to actually hunt villains myself, just be part of their defeat. The more villains fall, the more benefits I get.
She ran on all fours toward the closest villains, her spine stretching and coiling like a spring, letting her close the distance at inhuman speed. Leona saw her enemies rounding the corner, running with no idea she was on their tails. Countless thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to come up with a way to ambush them.
In the end, Leona pounced and headbutted one villain in the back. The attack might have looked childish, but it was deadly. Leona heard the villain's mechanical spine snap before he was sent flying by the impact. If he'd been human, he would have been paralyzed for life.
The other villains saw their friend get launched by the cat rocket and skidded to a halt. Turning around, they saw no one. A heartbeat later, one of them noticed Leona crouched at his feet, rising for a strike.
"Below you!"
The man only managed a single step back before Leona's outstretched hand flew past him in a diagonal arc. She didn't touch him, but her phantom nails did, tearing through his clothes and mechanical body, scraping loudly. Fake blood fountained out of him, splashing her face and chest.
In response, the man gritted his teeth and thrust his broad dagger at Leona. She slipped away from it at close range, but he relentlessly chased her with more slashes. While her attention was on him, another villain ran at Leona from the side.
He thrust at her but hit nothing as he made a seemingly careless misstep.
[Your bloodline of a Black Cat has unlocked a new trait—Misfortune Incarnation(F)]
[Misfortune Incarnation(Black Cat Bloodline)(F): You bring misfortune to everyone and anyone around you except you, benefiting yourself(5% chance to trigger misfortune). Each time misfortune happens because of you, you gain a stack of Omen(F).]
[Omen(F): an energy created from misfortune which you can use to temporarily boost your attributes or skills.]
[Omen(F): 1]
Meow.
Leona instinctively knew how to use Omen and could feel it lodged deep inside her. With a single thought, she used it on her Dexterity stat, doubling it with a single stack of Omen!
[You have increased your dexterity for fifteen seconds.]
[Dexterity: 64]
Thrusting her hand forward, Leona easily caught the villain's wrist and snatched his dagger. It happened so fast the man didn't even register that he'd lost his weapon. Only when he thrust an empty hand did he realize he was now weaponless.
"Huh?" he muttered.
Leona drove his dagger into his chest and shoved him back into his group so she could use the remaining eleven seconds of doubled dexterity to her advantage. She leaped at the rest and engaged them in close combat, stealing their weapons with ease and driving the blades into their bodies. One took a knife through his hand, another through his arm, another in the chest, and so on. Those attacks were more than enough to overwhelm them. Then Leona drove her phantom paws' nails into their temples with all her might, knocking them unconscious—or perhaps killing a few unlucky ones.
[Count: 6]
She deadpanned.
It's easier to snatch their weapons than to steal snacks from my father.
She'd spent her whole childhood chasing after him for chips and other snacks; she'd had plenty of practice.
As the doubled dexterity Omen evaporated from her, a sudden weight settled over Leona's hands, making her hunch.
Eh, it feels uncomfortable.
Omens were fun and strong, but unreliable. The rule for harvesting them was simple—bring misfortune—but with such a low chance to trigger, Leona couldn't rely on it. It disappointed her. And while she didn't mind leaving things to fate, she had more opportunities and powers lined up ahead of her. She only had to engage in the Villain Hunt and awaken more traits—and treat Misfortune and Omens as a trump card whenever she got them.
She looked ahead.
By now, at least a few villains must have reached their goal. Stopping them was impossible. Leona also knew how to throw a punch and a kick thanks to James's training. There was only so much she could awaken by fighting minor villains.
I must notify others and find the boss myself then.
Giving up on her original goal, Leona adapted to the situation at hand. Her quest and possible evolutions sounded more enjoyable than beating the same small-fry villains over and over again.
Leona clenched and unclenched her heavy hands a few times before hopping onto the nearest rooftop and sprinting from roof to roof toward downtown.
***
Cats have an unnatural sense of direction.
Leona felt it as she remembered the entire route she'd taken from the fake town's outskirts to the edge of downtown. She also spotted minor villains hiding in ambush and mentally marked them for future reference. None of that information slipped away from her.
In the center of town, the hero candidates worked in groups, helping as many civilians as they could. The thoroughfare had been completely razed by explosives, and the villains didn't seem very interested in this place. The main threats were deeper downtown, and a wave of the strongest hero candidates had been deployed there. Naturally, they selfishly took that route and didn't listen to anyone.
Leona searched for someone familiar. Soon enough, she saw her fellow troublemakers along with Aron. It was surprising to see them working together, and even more surprising to see Aron staying behind.
With his high intelligence stat, he could be on the front lines, having fun fighting villains and racking up points.
Aron was a mage type with a gravity innate skill, using it to lift heavy boulders and poles from the devastated buildings. Civilians were trapped inside. Now that they had a way out of the predicament, they hurried to escape. However, some civilians suffered wounds that left them immobilized.
"A grandma and her granddaughter are inside! They can't move! Get in!" Aron shouted, his face red and drenched in sweat as though he were holding the debris with his own muscles.
The others answered his call and slipped in.
Leona watched this teamwork and wanted no part of it. Not reading the mood, she jumped off the roof and casually approached Aron.
"Couldn't you use this skill on the pull-up bar?" she asked.
Aron bit his lip for a few seconds before replying. "That would be cheating!"
Leona deadpanned at him. "So what?"
"So what?! Anyway, what are you doing here?! Help others!" Aron asked.
He had no clue who Leona was and just saw her as one of the hero candidates. Leona didn't feel any need to introduce herself, either. She trusted Aron because of his skills and the fact that he remained behind to save others.
"Villains will flank everyone on the way to the fake town's outskirts," Leona said.
Aron gasped. "Seriously?! This is bad news! We must tell everyone so that we're prepared to fend them off!"
He believed in her.
Leona nodded. "They're weak, so you can defeat them easily. Just ambush them first. Most of them are heading into the houses. Good luck."
"Thanks—wait, what?! Help us too! Where are you going?!" Aron craned his neck around in search of Leona, but he couldn't locate her at all.
She was already on the other side of the main street, speaking to another hero candidate.
After hearing her out, he scoffed. "Yeah, and you'll take care of the civilians I saved, yeah? Not by a long shot, weirdo."
Leona deadpanned. This time, her gaze turned much more menacing, making the young man flinch. Goosebumps ran down his spine. He looked away from her.
Turning around, Leona ignored everyone and went down the razed street to where the strongest hero candidates fought.
Speaking to others is a waste of time. It won't get me points or make my quest easier. I've got Aron on my side, so that should be enough. He's strong.
Defeating villains seemed less exhausting and more lucrative. Leona was so sure of it that she ignored everything and everyone and leaped straight into the heart of downtown. Here, average villains and the strongest hero candidates were trading blows like in an amateur boxing match—except everyone was in the ring at the same time, and the ring stretched for miles.
Leona parted her lips and drew in the auras of various exam takers and their opponents.
Their stats made her eyes widen. These average villains' stats are close to mine… I don't have much of an advantage unless I pick up a few Omens.
Just then, Leona instinctively felt someone's presence far ahead of her. On the far side of the ravaged street, she saw an intact company building with huge windows. Behind one of those windows stood a bulky man. His face said it all.
Boss Villain! I recall his face from the hologram!
He was worth two hundred points—a tempting offer.
Leona, however, didn't move from her spot.
I can't defeat him right meow. I need Omens.
Tearing her gaze away, Leona looked at the flood of enemies and hero candidates. Her dark eyes gleamed with… mischief.
***
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