Lewd skill in a filthy world

Right after stepping into the second-tier safezone-gate back then, Yuki and Ayaka received their trial missions. And lucky for them, unlike Shin and his squadmates who got scattered the moment they arrived, the two weren't separated. They stayed together, though cruelly, the system gave them separate tasks.

[Yuki: Defeat the Stone Tsukuma and proceed to the Safezone!]

[Ayaka: Defeat the Glass Tsukuma and proceed to the Safezone!]

The screens had flashed before their eyes, and back then, the two had agreed to face the trials together, one at a time, helping each other take down their enemies.

But that was before they realized just how impossible that would be.

They couldn't even scratch the Stone Tsukuma.

Just like Shin, they were forced to retreat bleeding, drained, and confused. They'd stumbled into the Titanomyrma Territory, clashed with the terrifying King Feline, and ran again. Again and again. Their journey became a nightmare of near-death escapes, monsters chasing them through rotting landscapes, and no real place to hide. No place to rest.

And when they finally reached the Glass Tsukuma, they were barely even standing. Its territory wasn't like the rest of the dungeon. No moss. No dirt. Just layers upon layers of glass—some of it clear and beautiful, some thick and bulletproof, shielding the creature behind it like an indestructible god while razor-thin sheets hovered in the air, slicing at anything that dared to enter, spinning like circular saws. Just stepping into the terrain was a death sentence.

That's when they realized—they were completely outmatched. These weren't just monsters. They were something far worse. And these "trial missions"? They weren't trials.

They were slaughterhouses dressed as quests.

Since then, the two had abandoned the idea of victory. Survival became the mission. Running from Tsukuma territories, scavenging mana and hope, they fought beasts in the in-between zones (territories), feeding on raw monster meat just to keep breathing.

The air wasn't fresh. It was heavy. Thick with the stench of blood and rotting corpses of other players who hadn't even lasted a day in here. The stink clung to their skin, their hair. And the longer they stayed, the more the rot began to feel like part of them too.

Yuki's limbs shook every time she moved. Ayaka coughed blood more than she spoke. Monster meat wasn't nourishing—it made them sick. Their mana was barely there anymore. Their willpower thinning out with every hour.

They were dying.

And they both knew it.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Ayaka's eyes snapped wide open, glowing with a golden shimmer. The True Sight Domain, her only skill, activated on its own—triggered perhaps by a moment of desperation, or fate.

A map unfolded in her vision. And there, pulsing like a heartbeat among red warning markers, was him.

A sharp gasp escaped her lips.

"...Onii-chan!"

Her voice broke, breath catching in her throat. Yuki jolted up from the shadowy nook of the cave they'd been hiding in, her body barely covered by makeshift skirts fashioned from monster leaves—her real clothes long torn to shreds in a failed battle days ago.

"What? You aren't kidding, are you? Where is he?" Yuki's voice cracked, urgency creeping in fast.

Ayaka closed her eyes, trembling. "He's surrounded. The Titanomyrma Ants... and King Feline."

Yuki didn't wait. Her instincts overrode her fatigue. She stood, swaying like a broken tower in the wind, her knees cracking from strain.

"Race-based skill," she whispered, a fire lighting up in her dull red eyes.

Ayaka's eyes widened in horror. "Wait—Sensei! You're out of mana. If you activate that now—!"

"DEMONIC SURGE!!" Yuki roared.

Her body cracked and screamed as flesh warped, bones shifted, and veins pulsed with unholy power. Her skin deepened to crimson. Horns sprouted from her skull like the crown of a wrathful queen. Her muscles swelled. Her voice dropped into something monstrous.

"I won't use Abyssal Flames," she growled, more to herself than Ayaka.

Ayaka clenched her fists, biting her lip. "There are over five hundred frog fiends between here and that terrain... Be careful..." She hated how powerless she felt—useless in a moment that mattered most.

Yuki turned, her demon wings starting to materialize. "Stay here. Watch me with your skill. If I don't make it back... get Master to safety."

"If you don't make it—?!"

But Yuki didn't answer. She shot forward, wind howling behind her as her body blurred into a dark red streak.

Every muscle in her body screamed, her mana barely holding up the transformation. But she didn't care.

The Frog Fiend Swamp Terrain loomed ahead.

They were twisted creatures, amphibians from a nightmare. Huge, demonic frogs, some with boils dripping venom, others with long tongues that stretched like whips. Their spit alone could kill in seconds. Their croaks made the ground vibrate.

But Yuki didn't stop. Couldn't stop.

She didn't even fight. No mana to waste. No time. Her body moved like a phantom. The wings on her back stretched out, forming mid-flight, sharp as blades and sliced through any monsters foolish enough to get in her way.

She flew a little distance off the sticky swamp below her until she reached the end of the terrain and jumped straight into the Titanomyrma territory.

Right as King Feline unleashed a massive fire blast toward Shin.

Yuki dropped between them, wings wide, protecting her master as the flames hit her.

The flames were absorbed into her wings and then, with a furious scream, she reflected them, firing the heat back toward the enemy, causing a thunderous bang that blasted her and the enemy away in different directions.

The Demonic Surge faded. Her red skin peeled back into normal flesh. Her horns cracked. Her wings shattered like glass. Her mana was gone and now the skill was feeding on her insides. She coughed violently. Blood spilled from her lips.

But still... she smiled.

She'd made it in time. She'd protected her master.

For once... she felt like she was worth something.

Shin's eyes widened. His hand trembled as he clutched his dagger, frozen in shock.

Yuki's voice trembled too. "No time... go... the ants are tunneling again... you need to move—now."

He gritted his teeth.

Move? And leave her behind? This woman who just risked her life for him? Her loyalty level had already reached 80 and was still rising. How could he leave such a useful servant behind?

He clenched his fists, then summoned two clones.

"Pick her up. We're not leaving her."

The clones obeyed immediately. One slung Yuki's limp body over its shoulder, the other taking her opposite side. Her blood smeared on their arms as they moved, her head lolling between them.

Shin pushed himself forward, dragging his own broken body. Together, they limped across the broken battlefield.

This world didn't care who lived or died.

But he did.

And that made all the difference.

TBC