I Die to Rise: Resurrection System-Chapter 97: Very Submissive!

Kurt had to admit it, being somewhat revered as an "Untouched" was the easiest con he’d run since the time he convinced a wealthy merchant he was his long-lost cousin.

Now that they all believed he was one of these Untouched, it became too easy.

They encountered a nest of sand spiders not twenty minutes later, and Kurt handled most of them in a flash. He moved like a blur, using his bare hands to tear through the D-rank insects like they were made of paper.

One spider leapt for his throat but Kurt caught it mid-air and tore it in half, then ran deeper into the horde.

He ripped the leg off one spider and flung it like a boomerang. The limb spun through the air, slicing cleanly through several others in a spray of green ichor.

Their fluids splashed everywhere, coating the sand in a gruesome display of raw strength, and in the blink of an eye, forty eight bodies evaporated into essence particles, leaving behind glowing cores.

Kurt scanned ten cores and left the rest for the others to share. While Razor and Lena scanned their cores, the three sketchy bastards gathered theirs into a makeshift sack made from torn dead prisoner’s clothing instead.

Razor stepped closer, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Why pretend to be a worthless good-for-nothing if you were this powerful?" He paused, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "You’re probably a low-tier B-rank hunter. Or a really high C."

Kurt wiped green goo from his hands, not breaking stride. "Seemed like the polite thing to do."

Razor leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Mate. You’ve got a decent chance at a prison break. Not sure the prison has ever held an—" He glanced left and right, making sure no one else was listening. "—Untouched."

Then he pointed at Kurt’s collar. "But that explosive collar’s not doing you any favors."

"What are you guys talking about?" The leopard Minari approached them, ears twitching forward. "I heard ’prison break.’"

"You heard wrong, love," Kurt said smoothly.

As nimble as a cat, she cornered him, stepping directly into his path. "I’m strong, you know. If this"—she touched her collar—"wasn’t on me, I could show you."

Her tail swished across Kurt’s arm, and she purred slightly. "So whatever you’re planning, I want in. And I’m Lena... Lena Kovira, by the way."

Kurt could tell just from watching her move. Even without the ability to cultivate or mold essence, she was fast and strong. But the plan with Cassandra only accounted for two.

"Well, Lena," Kurt said, meeting her gaze, "I’m Kurt... Kurt Manchester. And if I’m planning a break, you’d be the second I tell after Razor here." He paused. "But I do have a question for you."

"Shoot, tiger." Lena stretched her limber arms overhead, crossing them while yawning, and her mouth opened wide enough to reveal sharp canines built for tearing flesh.

"I’m looking for a Minari," Kurt said, using his hand to indicate height near his elbow. "She’s about this tall. Goes by Riley?"

"Richards?" Lena absently licked her hand like she was grooming herself. "Yeah, she’s in the Hole. She’s got some serious anger issues. What’s her deal?"

"I have no bloody idea," Kurt answered honestly as they kept moving forward.

Lena’s tail swished thoughtfully. "Well, at this rate, she’s not going to get enough market value to make it into the prisoner auction. Shame. Ten years off your sentence in one go? I’d do almost anything for that."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "So you want to be auctioned?"

She grinned, showing her sharp teeth. "To knock ten years off my sentence? I can be... very submissive."

The way she emphasized very and submissive made Kurt’s brain take a brief detour into territory he probably shouldn’t be exploring right now.

"Do I want to know what you’re in for?" Kurt asked carefully. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Assassin," Lena answered without hesitation.

Ahead of them, the three men suddenly stopped. One of them raised his hand, signaling silence, then squatted down and dug through the sand until he found a small stone.

He tossed it forward.

Immediately, a maelstrom of sand erupted, sucking the stone into its crushing depths with a sound like grinding teeth.

"Vanishing sand pit," Razor said grimly from beside Kurt. "The worst."

"Tell me about it," Lena added, ears flattening slightly. "I’ve lost three friends to those things. The monsters here may be weak, but the environment could kill even a B-rank hunter with powers."

Razor glanced at the darkening sky. "We should camp here for the night. Continue tomorrow."

Kurt looked up, surprised. They’d been walking nonstop, and he hadn’t even realized the sun was setting. The scorching heat was already being replaced by a creeping, bone-deep cold that made him wish he still had his coat.

One of the three men turned around to face Razor, expression hard. "Camp?" He grunted. "We’re three miles north from a safe zone and a secondary gate out of this godforsaken place. I’m not freezing my balls off because you lot are scared of a little sand."

Razor gestured at the sand pit. "It’s getting dark. Makes it much harder to spot a vanishing sand pit—like it wasn’t already hard enough. Plus, who knows what else is out there."

Kurt couldn’t help but wonder why they even needed convincing. It was a free country. They were free to do whatever the hell they wanted, and he immediately let them know.

"Oi, wanker," Kurt called out. "You lot are free to keep going if you want. But we’re going to camp here."

The man stalked up to Kurt, jaw tight. "The name’s Dane, you fucking brat." He jabbed a finger at Kurt’s chest. "You’re lucky I’ve got this collar on, or I’d show you what a real hunter looks like."

Dane stared at Kurt a moment longer, like he was memorizing his face. Then he turned and walked away with the other two, disappearing into the darkening desert.

Kurt watched them go. "Lovely blokes." He ran his hand through his hair. It was better this way actually. It meant less knives in his back to worry about.

And just as intended, he, Lena, and Razor stayed behind and made camp for the night.

There was no wood, no kindling, nothing to burn for fire, so they’d have to endure the cold. At least Kurt and Razor would. Lena was comfortable thanks to her fur.

They all laid on the sand, staring in different directions. Kurt looked up at the starry sky, which didn’t look so different from the sky back in their world except for the three full moons hanging overhead like silver coins.

"So, hypothetically," he started.

Lena and Razor immediately adjusted, turning toward him like they wanted to hear every word.

"If I was going to plan a prison break," Kurt continued, "how would one go about it? Hypothetically of course."

He was asking because if getting Riley’s market value up wasn’t going to be possible, he’d have to come up with a Plan B.

Razor thought for a moment before speaking. "First of all, erasing your data from their prisoner files would have to be top priority. Otherwise, you’ll just be hunted down... hypothetically."

"Right," Kurt said.

Lena chimed in. "And the Garden’s gonna be a problem. Even for an Untouched like you. Best bet is to commandeer one of their blimps, but it’s too slow. They’ll just shoot it down."

"Not if we have a hostage," Kurt said with a grin.

Lena’s eyes widened with realization. "You’re crazy."

"The only hostage worth having would have to be the Warden," Razor said slowly.

Kurt’s grin widened. "It’s all hypothetical, remember?"

He closed his eyes, settling into the sand. "Let’s get some shut-eye."

***

An hour later, Kurt opened his eyes to find Lena straddling him.

She was perched on his hips, watching him. Her weight did well to pin him gently but firmly to the sand, knees on either side of his hips, tail swishing slow and hypnotic left to right.

In one hand, she held her D-rank artifact—an energy dagger that hummed with blue light. Her other hand pressed gently against his mouth.

"Shhh..." she whispered, leaning down until her soft form pressed against his chest. "Don’t move."

Beside them, Razor was sleeping like a baby, snoring softly.

Kurt’s eyes flicked to the dagger, then back to her face. His expression stayed calm, but his muscles tensed instinctively.

Lena’s ears twitched forward, and she tilted her head slightly, golden eyes locked onto something just beyond Kurt’s field of vision.

"Stay perfectly still," she whispered, breath warm against his ear.