[Familiar Skill: Rose Brambles (Advanced 1)]
[Skill Description: Within a 20-meter radius, can generate and manipulate thorny vines. The vines carry a toxin that can paralyze affected targets.]
Lin Shu stared at the subtitles popping up on the system panel, her heartbeat quickening.
Her Wish Value and skills had both updated—proof that her efforts had achieved a milestone.
And with Daphne deciding to join the collaboration, the Drago Family would have a powerful new ally, which happened to further Seffina’s Wish Value growth.
As for the skill…
Lin Shu’s gaze settled on the word “toxin.”
Hmm, the new evolution skill was poison, taking her control abilities up another notch. But this poison’s effect…
Was it just a coincidence? Back in the underground jungle, when she touched the Crimson Bloom and was trapped in the flower bud, the Crimson Bloom also released a poisonous mist that paralyzed her entire body.
And at that time, the key emitted a strong light.
“Meow~”
A crisp cat’s meow interrupted Lin Shu’s train of thought.
Just as she came back to her senses, a fuzzy cat head poked up right next to her face.
Laicai was standing on the table, stretching its neck toward Lin Shu, its freshly restored tail standing straight up.
“Yoshi yoshi.” Lin Shu patted its head.
“Why did it suddenly run over to you? And looking so happy.” Daphne noticed Laicai’s change. “Do familiars attract each other?”
“But Laicai already liked you to begin with.”
Laicai hopped onto Lin Shu’s lap, its nose sniffing at her chest. Suddenly, it reared up and stretched out its front paws.
Both paws pressed against Lin Shu’s rising and falling chest, the softness beneath causing the flesh to gently cave in.
“Eh?!”
Lin Shu’s face turned red as she hurriedly picked up its two front paws, lifting the cat away.
Daphne quickly put down her snack, picking Laicai up by the scruff. “Bad cat! Come back! What’s gotten into you today?”
“Maybe our little cutie has a catnip constitution?” Seffina joked, her gaze landing on the spot Laicai’s paws had just pressed.
Lin Shu touched that spot herself.
The key hanging from her neck had just been resting between her breasts.
And that was exactly where Laicai’s front paws had pressed.
Daphne had mentioned that Laicai could sense precious goods and had a taste for rare things.
This key… The Crimson Bloom rejected it, yet it had a strong attraction for Laicai.
Maybe it wasn’t as simple as it seemed.
Lin Shu let her hand fall, pretending nothing had happened, and started nibbling on the snacks on her plate.
Now that she was by Seffina’s side, she could truly help the Drago Family through their troubles while improving her own abilities.
Her desire to return to her original world wasn’t as strong as before.
Still, the recent incidents involving the key kept Lin Shu uneasy.
Even if it had saved her in a crisis, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t attract other dangers.
She still needed to find out more, just to be safe.
Oh, right—the book in the library!
Lin Shu remembered the old book related to the Holy Race she’d looked at before leaving.
*****
Drago Manor, Library.
While Seffina stayed in her room to handle family affairs, Lin Shu returned here once again.
“Cough, cough…” Lin Shu accidentally inhaled a mouthful of dust and coughed violently. “Maybe this place should be cleaned…”
Seffina had said she used to lock herself in the library to read—so why was the room now abandoned and covered in dust?
Relying on her memory, she found the spot where she’d put the book back last time.
“I think it was here… Ah, got it!” Lin Shu pulled out the book with the peeling cover.
Opening it, she found the yellowed pages filled with dense characters and symbols.
Lin Shu was dumbfounded.
She couldn’t read it! These were the unique script of the Holy Race.
But that was fine. She could look for illustrations and try to deduce things from the pictures.
Carefully, Lin Shu flipped through the book page by page. In the quiet library, only the sound of rustling paper could be heard.
There were some drawings interspersed among the text, but none matched the carving on Lin Shu’s key.
She’d gotten halfway through and still hadn’t found her goal.
Her initial tension gradually turned into disappointment—until she reached the final page…
“This is…!”
Lin Shu’s heart began to race.
It was the pattern on her key!
The illustration took up an entire page, but beneath it, there wasn’t a single symbol or note.
No wonder Seffina didn’t know what it meant. Yet, to have it printed alone on the last page, taking up the whole sheet—didn’t that mean it was important?
“Little cutie.”
A gentle voice called from behind. The next moment, a pair of arms wrapped around her neck.
“Wah!!”
Lin Shu, deep in thought, jumped in fright, her body tensing.
“Did I scare you?” Seffina laughed softly. “You were so focused. I came in through the back door and you didn’t even notice.”
Her body pressed against Lin Shu’s back, so close that Lin Shu could feel the soft sensation behind her.
Seffina glanced at the open page in Lin Shu’s hands and spotted the familiar design.
“Little cutie, are you looking for clues about your key?”
“Yes, Master.” Lin Shu decided to tell Seffina about what happened with the Crimson Bloom. “In the underground jungle, the Crimson Bloom was going to eat us, but at that moment, the key gave off a flash of light and made it stop.”
“So the key protected you.” Seffina’s eyes flashed with surprise.
She paused, then continued,
“Can you tell me about what I asked last time?”
Seffina hooked her finger around the fine string of the key hanging from Lin Shu’s neck.
“What does this key mean? And where did you get it, little cutie?”
Lin Shu’s heart skipped a beat.
Should she tell the truth?
She’d already decided to stay with the Drago Family and at Seffina’s side—she couldn’t keep dodging the question.
“This key appeared on me when I was summoned by Leah to become a Familiar.”
“I think it’s connected to me becoming a Familiar, so I want to find out what it does,” Lin Shu answered.
She glossed over the “system”—something Seffina would never understand—but everything she said was related to her Familiar system.
After all, the key was given by the system. If it had anything to do with returning to her original world, it was probably linked to her transmigration, too.
Seffina fell into thought.
Humans were under the protection of the Holy Race, and the key was connected to them.
Little cutie was human. When she was in danger, the key saved her, so that made sense.
Since her little cutie was now a Familiar for a demon, perhaps this key was the Holy Race’s blessing?
But then why was the Holy Race offering such a high reward for the key?
Seeing Seffina lost in thought, Lin Shu raised another question: “Master, have there been any results in your investigation about the key?”