Lion’s Roar LV. 45
A skill that lets the user emit a terrifying roar. It plunges those who hear the caster’s voice into confusion and fear. Currently, the intensity of the fear-inducing effect can be controlled.
‘This one’s pretty good too. Making enemies feel fear can lower their morale, make them flee, intimidate them into surrendering easily— there are lots of useful effects. They might even become combat-ineffective.’
After checking the detailed descriptions of the two skills, Iris decided to look over the mental-type skills as well.
Murderous Smile LV.20
A mental skill that clouds the target’s judgment and makes them develop unconditional affection toward the caster. The weaker the target, the stronger the effect. The judgment-clouding effect lasts for 24 hours, and the high affection toward the caster remains even afterward. However, the affection decreases if new situations or news arise, or if the caster behaves unfavorably.
Complete Delusion LV.15
A skill that manipulates the target’s short-term memory. The weaker the opponent, the stronger the effect. The caster can issue commands to the mentally dazed target. The skill’s effect lasts 24 hours, but even after it fades, the target’s original memories do not return.
‘These are tempting too. Which one would make people say I chose well?’
Wouldn’t having one mental-type skill be pretty cool? Although she couldn’t immediately think of practical uses. ‘Laika, you bastard, thanks a lot,’ she muttered silently, deciding to choose <Complete Delusion>. Then, a message appeared in midair.
Not compatible. Skills from <Ancient Chastity Belt> and <Ancient Bracelet> cannot be acquired. Please choose a different skill.
‘What? Give me back my mental skill. Why isn’t this working, damn it…’
If this isn’t compatible, then <Murderous Smileo> bviously wouldn’t be either. Iris slumped her shoulders and let out a heavy sigh.
The thought that she might never get Laika’s mental-type skills, which she had been eyeing all along, brought a faint despair.
But since it wasn’t possible, what else could she do? After much deliberation, she finally chose a skill. <Doppelganger>.
With this, like Laika’s Black Lion, she could create clones to approach enemies and perform close-range attacks.
Then she might finally be able to use close-combat skills she had avoided due to the danger—through clones.
Not only that, but attacking distant enemies via clones could also be very useful.
‘I’ll choose <Doppelganger>.’
As soon as the message popped up, Iris’s face brightened. This time, it was a good result.
You can learn the Lion King’s Skill. This skill belongs to the <Ancient Chastity Belt>. Would you like to learn <Doppelganger>?
‘Ah, so it’s also affiliated with the Chastity Belt. Hmm, maybe because the Chastity Belt is located at the center of the body? Well, no matter where it is. I’m making my clone after all. Fine, I’ll learn it!’
Iris clenched her fist and rustled beneath the blanket. Soon after, a message confirming the result appeared.
Learning <Doppelganger> skill. Although originally incompatible, permission has been granted, so the skill will adapt to the <Ancient Chastity Belt>. You can use <Chastity Belt Clone> LV.1. Practice before you forget to make it truly yours.
‘Hehe, going smoothly. But why does the skill name have Chastity Belt attached if it’s a clone skill? Oh well, probably nothing. Anyway, I got it!’
Iris buried herself under the blanket, silently rejoicing. Then, suddenly, her smile froze coldly. <Doppelganger>, not just any clone but a <Chastity Belt Clone>.
Something about that felt off, sending chills down her spine. Probably just her imagination, right? Clones are nothing special— it should just be a clone that resembles her and attacks.
Since she had just acquired the skill, she could sleep soundly now. But once the thought stuck, sleep wouldn’t come. Tossing and turning, she couldn’t hold back and suddenly sat up.
‘Let’s check it out. I’m too curious to sleep.’
Iris got out of bed and paced with her hands behind her back. Trying to use skills at Laika’s house made her cowardly instincts shrink back inside her.
But she didn’t dwell long on it. Laika was probably asleep, and just summoning the skill shouldn’t be a big deal.
“<Chastity Belt Clone>, come out!”
As she muttered silently, the space between her legs felt heavy.
Lifting her robe, she saw the Chastity Belt, which had disappeared earlier, now hanging over her panties.
‘This freak hid itself perfectly during sex. I hope it didn’t watch everything.’
She had already confirmed before leaving the house that the Chastity Belt vanished at crucial moments, but seeing it for real made her feel like she was wearing some cursed antique.
It was like a demon’s doll, Chucky, and it made her uneasy.
Just then, something astonishing happened. Like when Teresa’s skill overlapped her body with an illusion, it looked as if two Chastity Belts were layered.
More precisely, it seemed like two lower halves were overlapped. Seeing the shimmering illusion, she touched her head.
‘Huh? Am I drunk? I didn’t drink much, so why does it look like… What the—?’
What followed was even more shocking and despairing. The illusion gradually became clearer and stepped forward with a swish. Startled, thinking the lower half had detached, Iris swallowed a scream.
“Ugh… What the hell?”
Not a magician’s detached lower half trick, so what was this? Her brown eyes shook wildly like a boat caught in a storm.
She couldn’t believe her eyes and had to slap her cheek. A figure that looked exactly like the lower half of her own body was standing right in front of her.
Fortunately, the neatly cut edge was faintly blurred, making it less grotesque.
Iris looked at it with a serious expression and cautiously gave a command.
“Walk forward.”
It obediently stepped forward. Wow, this Chastity Belt thing wasn’t just ugly—it had crossed into horror territory.
Covering her mouth in shock, Iris reluctantly gave the next command to confirm properly.
“Lift the skirt… Ugh. Yep, that’s definitely my lower half.”
The clone immediately obeyed. She had no hands, so Iris had no idea how it did it, but the skirt was lifted, revealing the lower half wearing the Chastity Belt.
Even the panties she had just put on after showering were visible.
Suppressing a deep anger, she motioned for it to come back. The lower half clone moved toward her, left a faint afterimage, and disappeared.
What did <Chastity Belt Clone> even mean? This was the kind of monster it had spawned—a truly wicked hybrid. Her brown eyes blurred like dead fish’s, wanting to deny reality.
‘Damn it. It’s good to have a clone, but why only a lower half? Who wants to star in a horror movie at midnight?’
The new skill <Chastity Belt Clone> brought not shock, but fear. Anyone seeing their own lower half moving around in the dead of night would be scared.
Trying to calm her pounding heart, Iris’s eyes suddenly shone brightly. Upon reconsideration, it actually had many potential uses.
‘Wait. This isn’t bad at all. If even I’m startled and scared by summoning this, anyone facing it will be terrified. Not to mention monsters with lower intelligence. Since most skills come from the Chastity Belt anyway, it’s pretty practical, and without a face, no one can guess who it is.’
Thanks to the transformation suit’s function, it was already hard to identify the user, but as someone always worried about being discovered, a lower half clone wasn’t a bad idea.
Plus, the fear and confusion effect of the <Lion’s Roar> skill she had given up on was basically built into this skill by default.
How well it would perform in actual combat remained to be seen, but for now, it seemed pretty decent.
Running her infinite positive loop, Iris forced a smile and lay back down.
After turning off the bedroom light, she secretly shivered for quite a while, feeling as if the lower half clone was roaming around in the dark room.