Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

The butcher had a smile on his face when he saw his progress that had happened over just a few minutes:

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Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified)

Organization- Lionhearts Adventurers' Academy

Academic Status- Class 1/C

Ranked Status:

Intra-class individual- 13th Place Holder

Intra-class team-based- 4th Place Holder

Inter-class individual- 21st Place Holder

Inter-class team-based- 12th Place Holder

Inter-year individual- 27th Place Holder

Inter-year team-based- 33rd Place Holder

Merit Points- 107,497

Base Stats:

HP- 7.4 / 7.4

MP- 5.9 / 5.9

STR- 4.8

AGI- 7.9

INT- 3.8

BTP~ 30

BTP Visibility- Private

******

Ranking Technique- Five-star, lightning element, Indra's Levin

F-Rank Spells:

Lightning Element, Four-star, movement type: Blitz Steps

Lightning Element, Four-star, defence type: Blitz Shield

Lightning Element, Four-star, attack type: Blitz Bolt

Lightning Element, Four-star, Area of Effect: Blitz Storm

Lightning Element, Four-star, healing type: Blitz Heal

Time Element, Four-star(?), miscellaneous: Sedated Perception

Time Element, Three-star, miscellaneous: Ingredient Age Expedite

Time Element, Two-star, miscellaneous: Ingredient Age Reverse

Time Element, Three-star, movement type: Stunning Speed

Fire Element, Four-star, attack type: Fire Snake

Fire Element, Four-star, attack type: Fireball

Fire Element, Four-star, attack type: Firebreath

Transcendent Spells:

Non-elemental, miscellaneous: Beast Contract Spell (?)

Non-elemental, miscellaneous: ??? (?)

Apprenticeship: Verified

Daily Training Regime: Complete

Run: 5KM / 5KM

Pullup: 500/500

Situp: 500/500

Pushups: 500 /500

Planks: 30 minutes / 30 minutes

Stretching Position 1: 5 minutes / 5 minutes

Stretching Position 2: 5 minutes / 5 minutes

Stretching Position 3: 5 minutes / 5 minutes

******

Eren noted that his inherent spell was listed under the transcendent spell. The ID Stone had limited functionality after all. It wasn't designed to keep track of the kind of spells humans shouldn't have in the first place. A question mark was also attached to the beast contract spell since he was accustomed to casting the fake spell instead of the real deal.

BTP of 30 units. Eren had reached the bottleneck of the F-Rank. That too when he wasn't even done with the first year of his academic journey. Although it wasn't much when compared to other authentic geniuses, it was mind-boggling for Eren who had used the progress of his previous timeline as a frame of reference.

Eren pondered over what triggered the rise in his ranking status. He could only guess that it was the combined effect of all his efforts so far, the use of his inherent spell, and mid-battle breakthrough.

*********

"White Raven's first week wasn't very profitable. But it was also not a total disappointment either. You did good, Agatha."

Eren was on the top floor of the White Raven shop where Agatha was staying. He was reviewing the progress Agatha had made over the past few days.

The White Raven shop has been open for a week now. Eren had used Levine's channels and her contacts along with the ones offered by Jack Sullivan to streamline his first-ever official business endeavour in this timeline.

He had made full use of his status as Levine's disciple to start his business. He also got an official license from the kingdom that allowed him to produce and distribute F-Rank potions.

The business he did with Jack also grew along with his official one. He had already produced plenty of potion bombs and other controversial products that he couldn't officially sell in his shop. These products found their buyers in the underground community through Jack.

Agatha had been governing the whole process. She was a newbie at everything when she first started. But she quickly adapted to her role after consulting with Jack and learning the art of making more money from him.

"Um… thanks, boss. Are you also planning to carry out your plan to open a shop in the city of Laurel?"

Eren nodded before confirming what was asked to him:

"That's right. You'll leave within a few days and personally watch over the progress there. Here's some dough for the same."

Eren retrieved another load of Extols and gave it to Agatha along with a hefty amount of Eddies. The latter had stopped being surprised by the butcher's wealth long ago. What she didn't know was the fact that Eren's reserves had almost dried up after sending this instalment her way.

She quickly stored the money in her ID stone before asking something she had been meaning to do for so long now:

"Boss, you are not an anthrope, are you?"

Eren raised his eyebrows after hearing the question. He pondered for a few moments before answering:

"You can say that. Let's just say it's a different branch of being an anthrope. Why did you ask that though? Do you notice any difference?"

Agatha looked keenly at Eren. Then she closed her eyes and let her mana sense scan her master. She opened her eyes only after confirming what was on her mind:

My status as an anthrope and my opportunity to closely observe you over these past days have made me realize something significant. Even though it doesn't seem as though much has changed in you except for the upward trend in your rankings, I can sense that you are becoming unique.

Boss, I think you need to start looking over your shoulders. You are playing it cool now. And everything seems under your control. But troubles can come knocking on your doors if you grab any more attention than you already have."

Eren was surprised. Not because of the content of Agatha's warning. But over the fact that she was concerned about her master. Maybe she cared about him because she had her stakes in the equation. But that didn't make her care any less caring:

"Hmm. Don't worry. I'm waiting for a breakthrough into E-Rank. When that happens, I'll take up on-field assignments from LA and start staying away from all the prying eyes."

Eren said this and got closer to Agatha on a whim. He placed both his hands on either side of her waist, brought his mouth closer to her left ear, and whispered his words:

"Thanks for caring about me."

Eren said slowly before kissing the young anthrope on her left cheek. The latter was frozen the whole time. She didn't know what to do or how to act in the situation.

Agatha wasn't expecting the sudden turn of events. And in Eren's defence, neither did he. He merely felt that he should get closer to Agatha and acted on it.

'Some change has occurred within me. And it is not only physical but psychological as well.'

Eren quickly linked up his sudden behaviour with his non-human status. He had first thought that the change was only limited to his progressions in ranking status and enhanced body stat values. But it turned out that it had also changed some wires in his brain.

'Hmph! So what? I'll embrace the change if it can give me the power I need.'

Eren didn't shy away from adapting to the changes. He had suffered too much being weak in his previous life to care about such things. If having more power alters his psyche a bit, so be it.

Thinking this, Eren cupped Agatha's face with his hands and planted a kiss on her luscious lips. Agatha opened her eyes wide in surprise when that happened. She first tried to gently push her master away. But that didn't work out as the kiss progressed into Eren inserting his tongue into her mouth.

'I think this should be enough. It's one thing to embrace the changes, but quite another to allow those changes to control you.'

Eren ended his kiss after thinking about it. He withdrew from his position and allowed Agatha to catch her breath. He smiled and shook his head when he saw the girl was still in a zone of her own.

"I'll be going ahead, Agatha. Keep in touch."

Eren said this and left the White Raven shop. His previous timeline's experiences had tempered Eren's mind sufficiently enough not to get swept over by the changes brought out by his non-human status.

It held true for now at least.