Celeste immediately tried to push Lucien away, but her strength was the same as nothing compared to his.
Then, before she could react, Lucien kissed her.
Her heart skipped a beat, her breathing became erratic, and her cheeks flushed crimson. Lucien's presence was cold, but strangely reassuring. His hands gently encircled her waist, pulling her closer.
"You...you..." she stammered, trying to push him away, but found her hands bound by an invisible force, unable to move.
Lucien whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."
The problem is, even if you wanted to do something to me, there's nothing I could do about it. Celeste thought to herself, her heart tired.
The cold tip of the snake slithered into Celeste's mouth, tasting the sweetness there. A thin silver thread traced from the corner of his lips.
Just as Celeste felt himself nearly suffocating, Lucien let go of her. She saw him licking the corner of his mouth, utterly tempting…
She felt terrible right now; she had given her first kiss to a snake!
My first kiss!!!
She immediately took a few steps back, looking at Lucien cautiously.
DING!
Before she could even argue with Lucien about him stealing her first kiss (though she didn't know if arguing with a snake would make any difference), a blue screen suddenly popped up in front of her.
[System Initializing…]
[Verifying Identity… Verification Complete!]
[WELCOME TO THE LAND OF VORGRATHEN SURVIVAL SYSTEM!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have been selected as our 999th host to have the honor of surviving in the Beast World!]
[Thank you for my generosity! Oh ho ho ho!◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜]
Celeste clenched her fists, unable to control her anger. "Who would want this honor?! Send me back to my world! I still need to finish writing that review! (¬_¬")💢"
"And how is it possible for me to survive in a world full of beasts?!!" She continued.
[They're beastmen, not beasts, my host. Also, once the transmigration process begins, there's no going back. So you either complete my quest or get eaten by the beasts. The choice is yours~]
[Side Quest Unlocked: SURVIVE UNDER THE POISON FANGS OF THE FIRST BEASTMAN YOU ENCOUNTER!]
[Reward: +20 Survival Points!]
[Tip: Don't Die Too Ugly! Good Luck! ദ്ദി◝ ⩊ ◜.ᐟ]
Then, as if sensing that its host's anger had reached its peak, it continued.
[Would the host like to unlock the information of the beastman?]
Celeste wanted to appear strong and say that she doesn't need anything the system offers, but reality is cruel. She cannot deny… she probably couldn't even beat a rabbit.
"Give it to me," she said.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: New Character Detected!]
[Name: Lucien]
[Species: Green Mamba Beastman (you are so lucky with your first blind box~)]
[Level: 5 (10 is the highest)]
[Tip: Host, no need to be so scared. As long as you can survive through this, you will definitely survive. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡]
Celeste rolled her eyes. "That's a useful suggestion, thank you."
[I'm happy to be helpful to the host.]
Having understood how the system worked, she looked around and found that time had stopped. Lucian remained facing her, motionless.
Celeste was somewhat surprised and asked the system, "You can stop time? Then can you stop time when I'm in danger, too? That way I can survive."
Her imagination was wonderful, but reality was cruel.
[Nope! This is the only time time will be stopped. Because I just teleported you here, the timeline is a bit messed up, so it will stop for 5 minutes and then return to normal. Just a reminder, there are only 3 seconds left in the 5-minute countdown.]
[3… 2… 1…]
After the system countdown ended, everything returned to normal.
Lucian led her into the cave. "This is my temporary dwelling. I'll go hunting now, and once you have finished eating, I will take you back to my real home."
He then transformed into a snake and swam out of the cave, also lifting up a huge rock to block the entrance, as if he's scared that she'll run away.
…Where in the world can she possibly run to? According to the system, if she appears alone in the forest, she will be immediately claimed by other beastmen. Who knows if they are any better than Lucien?
[System Warning! Be careful, host, I detected another beastman around.]
Celeste looked around cautiously, but saw nothing. However, the system shouldn't be malfunctioning.
[Host, the back of you!]
Celeste heard its words and immediately rolled away on the spot.
She was no longer in that spot; in her place appeared a large spider's leg.
She remembered that Lucien looked around the cave to make sure there was no danger before leaving. Where did this spider come from?
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: New Character Detected!]
[Name: Draven]
[Species: Trapdoor Spider Beastman]
[Level: 5 (10 is the highest)]
[WARNING: Host, you must immediately run this time, or else you'll definitely die! ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!]
[New Side Quest Unlocked: Survive from Your Second Beastman Encounter!]
[Reward: +20 Survival Points]
Of course I know that I have to run, but where the hell can I run?
Despair washed over her in an instant. Now she regrets it. Rather than being killed by this spider, she'd much rather be eaten by Lucien; at least Lucien was handsome…
When the spider saw its first strike fail, it immediately charged at her again, its legs looking as sharp as ever.
Celeste barely dodged it and tried to run outside the cave.
In the forest, with the trees providing cover, perhaps she could escape it.
[Host, careful! It's on your left side! ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!]
She tried to dodge the attack, but Draven was way too fast.
The next second, her left hand was a bloody mess, and the bone underneath was visible.
"Aaaahhh—!" she let out a piercing, agonized scream.
[Host! Don't die! I don't want to find another host again!]
The system paced around in circles because of panic.
Driven by her survival instinct, Celeste tried to ignore her injured arm and said, "Don't panic. Tell me, is there any way for me to survive?"
[Host! Try spinning the lucky wheel!]
"Then spin it for me."
Celeste didn't ask what the lucky wheel was; her arm felt numb, and the spider was already preparing for its next attack.