ã€ŠAdventure King (R-18)ã€‹


 Ch 1. Keaton

    The Stromgar Kingdom, 113 C.E.

    A kingdom built on the supremacy of humans over all other races, and the bulwark of humanity fending off wave after wave of encroaching wilderness. The thing about the wilderness here is that it¡¯s a living hell, not at all like how things were on Earth. Think of all the stories about evil and mystical creatures in the forests, lakes, in the dark, we had so many when they weren¡¯t even real¡­ here they ARE real, and they are worse than any story I remember.

    At least that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been told, I¡¯ve never left the safety of home. I¡¯m the youngest of twelve sons, Keaton, of the Pel family. My father, Lauel Pel, is a minor noble in the kingdom. Mother was one of his wives, but she passed away shortly after I was born. I have no memories of her. Having no living mother, not to mention being the youngest, I was in no position to inherit. Am I unhappy? Not particularly, I have no interest in these mud and monster infested lands that my father lords over while my brothers openly covet, if only it didn¡¯t mean that I¡¯d hav¡­ ¡°Tsk¡ª¡°

    While I was lost in my thoughts, the warm and wet sensation moving below the blankets came to a peak. I forced it deeper, fully encompassing my member inside the pleasurable mouth while steadying her head under the thick down blankets as I filled her throat.

    The early morning light shone through a small window, the frost patterns decorating the glass sending light scattering across the room. The room was small but tidy, mostly thanks my personal maid Belle who my father had given to me as a child. She has served me for as long as I have had memories, memories of this world I mean. This world is foreign to me, terrifying, especially from the perspective of someone who grew up with modern western sensibilities. I grew up in the city and was modestly successful in my time, at least I think I was¡­ I don¡¯t think I died, but something happened. I am not entirely clear on the matter myself, I didn¡¯t know I was from another world originally, but memories started coming to me when I was younger here. Bits and pieces at first, but enough that it truly changed my character. It¡¯s gotten to the point that I¡¯m not sure which one is the real me anymore. The memories stopped coming a few years ago, even if I sympathize more with the utopian-like ¡°Earth¡± that I catch glimpses of from this alter-ego, the process of it terrified me to no end. Every time the memories came, I¡¯d feel myself dying inside, changing, and becoming one with another being who WAS NOT ME. The years of calm had finally allowed me some stability to gather myself and my thoughts into a coherent being. ¡ª¡°Nhgh¡±

    I shivered in pleasure as the wet, lovely sensation continued even as my sensitivity was at its peak.

    ¡°¡­How long are you going to be down there?¡±

    With a hint of annoyance, I threw off the heavy covers. Unveiling a pretty petite face with silky black hair, and a lithe pale hairless body, perfect in every way other than the small black ears jutting out like a cat¡¯s, and a black silky tail to match.

    I¡¯m not sure what part of me it bothered, or why it didn¡¯t bother me more. By the sensibilities of this era, beast-like features like the one¡¯s Belle had were revolting, it was only by my father¡¯s grace and status that she keeps her head. Most prisoners of subjugation, like the ones regularly exercised upon the beast-lands to the west, would only be so lucky. Barbarian kingdoms with barbarian kings, full of uncivilized and thoroughly unfriendly inhuman-folk, who would do much worse to us in a heartbeart. The thought alone had me boiling in rage.

    ¡°Enough. Dress me. I¡¯m meeting with father today.¡±

    I commanded, the gleam fading from my eyes, replaced instead with resignation and a hint of fear. I knew perfectly well what was going to happen today, I even accepted why, but the cowardly part of me still welled up in dread.

    ¡ª¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    Belle squeaked and she scurried up from the bed, digging through my wardrobe and emerging with fine linen undergarments that she helped me into. The reflection cast from the wall-hanging mirror was handsome. A skinny body, toned only through light training and not a day of labor, a pure face with boyish features, well trimmed matte black hair, and dull blue eyes. I watched as she brought me my boiled leather armor off of its stand near the room¡¯s corner, laying the armor over my clothes and lacing it up with deft fingers. Once the boots were on, she tied my sword scabbard to my waist as I gave myself one last appraisal.

    Name: Keaton Pel

    Status:

    STR: 5

    DEX: 7

    CON: 5

    INT: 10

    WIS: 9

    CHA: 13

    Class: (None | None)

    Status Points: 0

    Skills: None

    The wall of glowing green-blue text greeted me as always. This secret was both my greatest pride and my greatest frustration. I am no scholar but such phenomenon are unheard of, and a more religiously devoted man would have me dead for describing such ill-omened things. Dark gods and their practitioners had strange powers that manifested in odd-ways, unknown phenomenon is not looked on favorably as a result.

    It did frighten me somewhat, but I felt strongly this was something unique to myself. Never once have I read any accounts resembling this, even the dark worshipers had nothing similar, and because of it I took great pride. I am a unique existence, this was my calling to greatness. And yet, I look around me and see only¡­ mediocrity. I look at these words, and feel only bitterness. What rotten system like this brings no benefits. My eyes swung to the side, with renewed focus as Belle finished arranging a sleek fur cloak around my shoulders.

    ¡°Make sure my things are packed, and don¡¯t forget a mirror.¡±

    I warned her, as she squeaked again affirmatively.

    It would be an embarrassment if we had to come back here again. She was generally acceptable as far as servants went, but given circumstances she never had formal education and was somewhat dependent on me for reminders such as these. It was a kindness that I remind her in private now, and spare her from the consequences should she embarrass me like that in public.

    Alright then¡­ I steeled myself one last time before pushing out the door.

    The cold winds buffeted my face as I exited the small cabin, situated away from my father¡¯s manor it made for a brisk walk in these winter months. No snow falls in these lands, we aren¡¯t North enough for that, even so it¡¯s cold enough to bother me with my delicate constitution.

    Father¡¯s estate is not particularly large, he lives with his wives in the main household while the sons in separately built accommodations around the outskirts. A few minutes of marching over partially frozen mud later I was there. The house decorated plainly except for the occasional war trinkets and ornamental weapons, a reminder of my father¡¯s occupation as a Stromgarian knight. A noble position, albeit the lowest of them. Entering my fathers room, I let him know I was here.

    ¡°¡ªFather¡±

    ¡°Keaton, it¡¯s good you¡¯ve come. I really want to congratulate you.¡±

    I nodded. Today was my birthday, however this fact did not particularly please me as I looked on nervously. I was now old enough to be counted as a man, and that meant I would be leaving. I held many expectations, but even more apprehensions.

    Later that morning I met up with Belle and the luggage. My father had arranged a carriage ride for us into town and enough coins for a month of living arrangements. My plans were to register as an adventurer and strike it on my own.

 Ch 2. Tromwell (R-18)

    Tromwell was a decently sized city of 50,000, well fortified and with all the amenities of the citadels but with less of the crowds. Concentric walls, twice the height of an average man, arranged to cover the city and surrounding farmlands and provide a certain level of protection against monsters. An interesting city design from the perspective of Earth, but a logical one here.  Father¡¯s house is located in the outermost sections, given his strength we rarely feared for safety.

    Our carriage pulled up to the inn later in the day, a somewhat middling one that was known for its price and reasonable accommodations.

    ¡°Welcome!¡±

    The aging innkeeper greeted me with a big smile, before dimming slightly upon seeing Belle¡¯s ears behind me.

    It was quick but I noticed, as did Belle.

    ¡°What can I do for you, young adventurer?¡±

    The innkeeper guessed at my occupation from my armor.

    ¡°A room for myself and my slave, the largest you have with a large bed. Meals included. I plan on staying for a while.¡±

    I placed a large silver coin on the counter and the woman¡¯s smile was even brighter than before.

    ¡°Certainly, young master! Big spenders like yerself is always appreciated. Not as many customers these days, specially, adventurers, like yerselves with all these foul creatures about and nary a coin to pay fer it¡ª mean no offense tee yer lady friend, not her kind I be referring to.¡±

    The old woman grinned as she spoke.

    She gave us our keys and beckoned us to follow before hobbling off. Turning around at the door as we arrived.

    ¡°Practically mornin¡¯, yous be the only customers so far. You youngins better enjoy yerselves.¡± She said with a knowing smile before hobbling away again.

    I was slightly annoyed by her attitude. My intentions for checking in so early must have been plainly obvious, but I will be going through with it all the same. I¡¯ve just been kicked out of my home, a little stress relief is in order.

    I let Belle carry in our things and arrange them in the room¡¯s corner, before my attention fully settled on her shapely ass. Her tail swayed back and forth, mesmerizing me as she bent over oblivious of my intentions.

    I walked over before whispering sweetly in her ear to get her attention, ¡°¡­Belle.¡±

    Her ears perked up, as she turned to face me. A questioning look on her face. How could she not know my intentions after all these years?

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    I kissed her juicy pink lips without warning before she could react, forcing my tongue onto hers I savored the flavor before pulling away.

    ¡°Bed, now.¡±

    I commanded, noticing her brown eyes showed resignation and a hint of excitement.

    Belle¡¯s tail wagged heavily as she bounced over to the bed, removing her dress before climbing onto her knees, ass facing me. Her wet exposed pussy tempted me over invitingly as I began to quickly undress.

    Leaning over her, I positioned myself before entering in one motion. Her sweet honey-pot fully swallowed my member, wet, hot, and somewhat tight I felt her walls move as if guiding me in. My patience gave out as I began humping savagely, pushing her down further onto the bed. Each wild thrust brought out a sweet pleasured moan.

    ¡°Naaa ¡ª- Nyaaaa ¡ª¡ª nyaaaaaa¡±

    She cooed out, gripping me with her pussy as her breasts swayed back and forth rhythmically from the pounding, her gentle arms struggling to support herself under the fierce attack driving her into the bed covers.

    The bed shook from our wild mating, and the new environment stimulating me further. I leaned even more onto her, forcing her prone onto her stomach and spreading apart her legs so that she was forced completely flat on the bed. Then, gripping the bed for support I entered her again with greater and deeper thrusts, aking use of her cunt fully as she let out continuous low guttural purrings like the kitten she was.

    ¡°Prrrrrrrrr¡­.prrrrrrrr¡±

    She trembled from the pleasure, legs shaking with each thrust as her sex moved around my member. Belle¡¯s pussy shook and contracted, sucking eagerly for its reward.

    ¡°¡­master, pleeease cum inside me. Give Belle a child.¡±

    She pleaded with me to impregnate her, as she often did. A catkin like her naturally had no chance of this with a human, owing to our different biologies, but Belle was not educated in this matter and had little interaction with others of her species having been separated since before she was too young to speak. She came to this misunderstanding on her own, and it has since amused me to no end as I took advantage of it.

    ¡°If you want it, then put in more effort.¡±

    I chided her, prompting her to buck her hips back against me every time I thrust. Her insides squeezed tighter than ever, trying to milk me for everything I had.

    ¡°Please master¡±

    Almost in tears, she begged me. Her breathing heavy with lust and desperation.

    I felt myself cumming and grabbed her hair, pulling hard. Driving myself as deep as possible as I planted my seeds inside her womb, much to her appreciation. Her pussy milked me rhythmically, gulping down my semen and holding it inside. I lay exhausted over her, as she writhed under me basking in the sensation of being filled by her beloved master, and continuing to inch back and forth slowly to savor my cock planted firmly inside her as I continued to release my last spurts.

    ¡°Ahhn¡­ ahhn¡­ thank you master.¡±

    She panted, somewhat tired, but not nearly as much as I. Her beastly stamina was far greater than my own. I kissed her cheek and continued to stroke her hair as a drifted off to a light sleep, my member still resting comfortably inside her.

    __________

    *lick*

    *lick*

    *lick*

    I opened my eyes again to the sensation of Belle cleaning my lower-half. She made happy sounds while fully engrossed in her work. I laid back appreciating the service for a while longer, before Belle spoke up and reminded me of my intended schedule.

    ¡°Master, should we register with the guild today¡ª? Or should we continue on in bed?¡±

    Her lashes fluttered as she made eyes at me while stroking my member softly.

    ¡°..I¡¯m truly reluctant to leave, but we really should get things done at the guild today.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The streets were somewhat quiet despite being the peak the the day, townsfolk could be seen haggling at the streetside. Arriving at our destination, the adventurers guild stood out. It was an impressive wooden structure at least twice the size of our inn with large double-doors decorated with the lion and shield, the sigil of Stromgar. The surrounding buildings were clearly catering to the presence of adventurers, as was apparent from the signs indicating the nature of the shops lining the road. Blacksmiths, tailors, alchemists, bars, inns, and all other manner of amenities to help unburden the pockets of our city¡¯s adventurers.

    I entered with Belle trailing behind me. The interior was lined with tables, despite being mostly vacant there were still a number of parties sitting together. Small groups of three to five, mostly men but occasionally women as well. Well armed with the exception of one woman, clearly a mage from her attire and choice of a staff instead of conventional weapons. Mages were an exceptionally rare sight, especially in a small border town like Tromwell. It¡¯s exceptionally difficult to raise affinity with any magic, with even a novice commanding thousands of gold for their training. Thanks to that, it¡¯s a skill limited almost entirely to the high nobility. As the son of a knight, there is simply no opportunity to learn such talents.

    Noticing I had been staring a little too long, I focused back on the counters where a lone guild employee sat staring at me with a bored expression, her head propped up by a hand on her cheek and blonde hair listing to the side. Clearing my throat, I walked up to her counter.

    ¡°Hello, Tammy¡±

    I introduced myself.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to actually register this time.¡± I said, fishing into my pockets for some coins while promising to her.

    ¡°My dad gave me some money before I left, so I have enough to register now.¡±

    This is a town that I grew up in, and I¡¯d long had plans to try adventuring after going independent, so naturally I had already acquainted myself with the guild staff.

    ¡°Hello Keaton, that¡¯s good to hear.¡± Tammy replied, sitting up a little bit but only so much as to show basic courtesy, as she collected the small pile of copper coins.

    ¡°You might be aware of it already, but you¡¯ll be starting out with a copper plate. We don¡¯t charge anything more than we need to, and the coins are just the bare minimum to cover the costs of your plate. Special perks exist in all of the towns with a guild arrangement, you might not expect much from a bronze plate but you¡¯ll be exempted from most city tolls and you are exempt from tax on the sale of monster parts hunted by your party.¡±

    Tammy played with her hair absentmindedly while listing off what was clearly a memorized speech.

    ¡°If you do well rank promotions exist, and you¡¯ll receive additional benefits at any of our branches and cooperating cities. Beginners start with a copper plate like yourself, but we have bronze, silver, gold, and mithril plates available for you to look forward to.¡±

    Looking over my frail countenance with a quick scan she grinned somewhat, clearly expressing  some doubt before continuing on.

    ¡°The basis for our guild is the extermination of monsters and safety of our contracting city. Guild commissions are listed on that wall over there and the details are listed on the paper, most of these are subjugation requests from the city but other entities like merchant organizations can also pay to commission our members. The missions you can accept are limited to the plate you hold, you are a copper plate so look for a plate symbol on the paper with a ¡°C¡± stamped on it. Those are the only ones you can take right now. Now aside from commissions, you can always hunt for monsters on your own. Monster bodies are not only valuable, their deaths make the city safer. We will pay according to the difficulty and value of the monsters you bring back¡­¡±

    She trailed off for a second, before catching herself.

    ¡ª¡°Lastly, the guild recommends joining a party, especially for you Keaton¡ª¡± Giving me a hard stare.

    ¡°You¡¯ve never hunted monsters before. Anytime you¡¯re outside the walls, you should expect to find monsters and they don¡¯t fight fair. Don¡¯t overestimate yourself just because your father is a knight. You¡¯re not your father and even knights die to monsters.¡±

    My face fell hearing her criticize me so directly.

    Narrowing my eyes accusingly, ¡°don¡¯t you think I know that already Tammy? I don¡¯t need your reminders¡ª¡±

    ¡­

    *Cough*

    After a decent pause, I cleared my throat uncomfortably. Somewhat embarrassed after getting over my short-lived indignation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t actually know any adventurer parties here. How do I join one?¡±

    Tammy¡¯s eyes drifted to Belle who had been standing timidly behind me the entire time with her eyes down, and a flash of understanding came over me. Most adventurers here would be unwilling to venture outside the walls with a beast in tow, even a small female one like Belle had more physical prowess than a grown man and a well earned reputation.

    ¡°Of course, I will be the only one attending such an arrangement¡± I said, waving my hand out dismissively behind me.

    ¡°She may be my slave, but she¡¯s a maid, no reason to bring her along.¡±

    ¡°Hmmph..¡±

    Tammy¡¯s eyes stayed on Belle for a second longer before moving on.

    ¡°There¡¯s actually something coming up tomorrow that you might be interested in. We like to organize opportunities for newbie adventurers like you to get together and build some experience and connections. It¡¯s a field outing to go experience monsters up close, we have one of our silver plates that¡¯s going to be leading it. It¡¯s safer than you¡¯ll ever get in this occupation and it¡¯ll be good for you, you know.¡±

    It really did sound like a good opportunity.

    ¡°¡­and there¡¯s no catch?¡±, I asked while leaning in.

    ¡°Keaton, I¡¯m saying this for your own good you know? We¡¯re not going to make things difficult for you. We¡¯re practically coworkers now.¡± Tammy said while looking a little hurt, knowing her penchant for exaggeration she clearly didn¡¯t mind and was just playing it up.

    ¡°Hmm. Do you have any more information for me¡ª How do I join?¡±

    ¡°Come here again in the morning, we¡¯re meeting up at eight. You should expect to be out there the whole day and pack accordingly.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll plan on it.¡±

    Kaguro

 Ch 3. Tromwell Part 2

    Leaving the guild Belle and I went browsing nearby, looking for things I might need tomorrow. Potions were first on my mind, and maybe a small belt knife that I could use for processing some valuable parts from any monsters I came across. The alchemist shop is somewhat as I remembered it, a dusty single showroom with dull red vials almost the color of mud lining the shelves. The only surprising thing was the lack of personnel considering the expensive wares displayed in front of us, as we found the room completely empty aside from our presence. The counter was messy, with pages and books strewn across it, and equipment fallen on the floor further behind it. If I didn¡¯t know any better I¡¯d have thought the store ransacked, instead I looked to the small corridor to the side of the counter that led to the back of the store.

    ¡°¡­Hello?¡±

    I called out somewhat softly.

    Peeking around to see if I could see a hint of someone, before sighing.

    ¡°Stay here Belle.¡±

    I said before venturing tepidly to the back of the store, walking a few steps down the hall before coming to another door. Muffled sounds came out intermittently, demonstrating that the store was indeed not abandoned.

    ¡°Master Cal?¡± I asked while knocking lightly against the door.

    Stepping somewhat to the side.

    The sounds stopped for a short while, before low voices and the rustling of clothes and sheets could be heard again. Bare feet pattered on wood floors.

    The door opened a crack and out stepped a young servant girl with flaxen hair, her simple dress somewhat askew. Her face flushed red as I looked at her knowingly.

    ¡°Hello Ashley¡±

    I started

    ¡°Is your master in?¡±

    She nodded meekly before rushing off, too flustered to realize she still hadn¡¯t put shoes on.

    Pushing open the askew door with one finger, I let the it drift open, revealing a handsomely dressed young man sitting relaxedly at a cabinet-desk situated next to a large bed. His eyes as bright as his expression.

    ¡°She¡¯s a cute girl isn¡¯t she, don''t you like her?¡± Cal asked teasingly.

    Not to be put-off by his flippant attitude, I replied seriously to his question. Knowing Cal, indulging any further would only make the conversation impossible. Cal was a womanizer beyond any other, and he loved nothing more than to show off his women.

    ¡°Enough of this Cal, I did come for a reason you know?¡±

    Cal stared at me for a second before responding. Smiling the whole time.

    ¡°The young lord Keaton has come to me for something? To what do I owe the honor.¡±

    ¡°Please Cal, enough with the titles. Compared to you I may as well be a peasant. ¡± I replied somewhat bitterly at the sarcasm.

    Having grown up together as one of my closer friends, naturally Cal knew about my situation but continued to poke at my sore spot. His position was certainly better than mine, his father the local lord, a baron, and he was the second son ¡ªheir to a sizable estate and a number of businesses. Owing to his passion in alchemy, his father had even rewarded him with this small shop that he could pursue his interests more fully.

    Cal tapped his fingers against the desk.

    ¡°And aren¡¯t I always saying you shouldn''t mind it so much? What''s a few words between friends¡±

    If that was true, why does he keep reminding me of it, I thought to myself, a bit peeved at his back-handed good nature.

    ¡°¡ªPlease have a seat, if you¡¯ve come to talk you may as well make yourself comfortable¡±, he motioned the bed, the covers still messy from his previous ¡®exercise¡¯ with the servant girl.

    I grit my teeth, seeing as this conversation was going nowhere fast.

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer to stand.¡±

    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± He said still tapping his finger.

    This was another habit of Cal¡¯s, and he knew well how much I hated it. Annoying me seems to be something of a pastime for him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to talk¡±

    ¡°¡ªhow cold. No time for an old friend?¡±

    Ignoring him I continued on¡ª

    ¡°I want to buy one of your potions. You are supposed to be running a business here aren¡¯t you?¡±

    I knew the shop was mostly for pretenses, Cal much preferred researching various alchemical oddities over producing anything useful or valuable. He already stood to inherit more gold than he could ever spend in a lifetime.

    ¡°Ha. Buy? We both know how much¡ª or perhaps I should say how little gold you have. You have no income. ¡± Cal replied provocatively while raising an eyebrow.

    Having no more patience for where this conversation was headed, I fished through my pockets before flipping a silver coin at him. He made no motion to catch it as it fell and rolled to the ground. My eyes twitched a little seeing such blatant disregard for what represented over half of my remaining funds.

    ¡°I¡¯m taking one of your health potions, alright? You can have Ashley look for that coin later, I think I saw it roll under the bed.¡±

    I said while making a speedy exit, not wanting to get caught up in anymore nonsense.

    Ashley and Belle were talking together in the showroom when I came up on them. I picked out one of the potions from the display, and wrapped it in cloth before securing it to my belt. The thick glass protected the small amount of murky liquid contained inside, but somehow I still felt a little anxious about leaving such an expensive item exposed to accidental breakage or wayward fingers.

    Setting out at a leisurely pace, we headed back onto the cold street with our eye on the anvil sign in the distance. The occasional passerby looked at Belle curiously, beastkin slaves weren''t particularly uncommon here in the kingdom, but ones traveling the streets openly and unbound certainly were. Feeling the eyes of passerbys, Belle clung to my arm more tightly as we walked.

    The smithy was a large open-air structure, with no door, or even ''front'' to speak of, with side facing towards the road being entirely walk-in, allowing us to see everything going on inside as we came closer. The building was otherwise a tall stone construction, several times taller than the average height, and a basic thatch cover to keep the weather off. The air grew warmer and smelled distinctly of iron as we drew near, and we could hear the loud clanging of men hammering away at hot metal. Finished goods filled buckets near the front, weapons, armor pieces, cooking utensils, and everyday works of all kinds.

    There was a stout man with a thick leather apron standing near the goods and surveying the men at work, who I recognized and approached.

    "--Good to see you today Vel, how are you?"

    The master smith was a good friend of my father''s, although I knew he liked my other brothers far more than I, perhaps owing to their more frequent patronage... or better personalities, we were still at very least acquainted with each other. At least least I hoped he still remembered me.

    "----"

    Vel eyed me stonily, completely impassive to my presence.

    "Vel, it''s me... Keaton... my father is Lauel... I''m the youngest"

    Vel stared at me a while longer before finally replying.

    "...Aye, I know who you be. State your business or be off with you."

    Grimacing at the unfriendly reaction, I quickly got on with my task before he could shoo me away. Clearly my miserly reputation preceded me.

    "--I just want to buy a knife, one sturdy enough for dismantling work."

    Vel looked at me before gesturing over towards a specific wooden bucket, one with with blades spilling out handle first.

    I walked over interested in what I could find, and after a short while I came up with a plain but thick looking knife with a wooden handle that fit into its sheath.

    "Five coppers" I heard from Vel, even before I had the opportunity to ask.

    Practically the last of my month''s living expenses gone in a day, not much but a copper left. I paid enough for at least a week''s worth of time at the inn, but looking back on it I should have been less intent on flashing my newfound wealth and taken more mind to clarify the exact duration of our stay before paying. Considering the money-loving attitude shown by our inn-keep, I doubt she''d give us a favorable rate after such a blunder. If I''m not able to scrape together something soon then we''ll be in some truly dire straits.

    Back at the inn I was more intent on keeping the noise down. Seeing how the other patrons had started to trickle in by the time we returned, I felt myself feeling somehow more aware of my environment as Belle took care of me. I wanted to get a good rest for the morning, so I had her finish up quickly and let the drowsiness take me as I felt the warmth from her naked body against me. Her tail kept swishing under the blanket and brushing against me as I drifted off.

    Kaguro

 Ch 4. Outside the Gates

    Stretching out his legs in bed, Keaton remained in bed a while longer. The morning light had yet to peak through the window, but the sky was already starting to brighten. Belle¡¯s chest rose and fell rhythmically while she slept nestled against his chest, the only warmth in the room coming from the heat of their bodies under the blankets.

    Judging from the time of sunrise, I probably had about an hour before I needed to be at the guild. I killed some time rubbing her soft tail before I decided to get her up so she could dress me. As a beastkin she couldn¡¯t be out on her own in the town, so she would have to watch the room today.

    We ate quickly downstairs, the meals thankfully provided as part of our stay. Kissing Belle once for good luck, I set out into the town.

    ______

    The adventurers guild was pretty quiet at this time of day. Most guilders didn¡¯t take commissions every day, and they would accept quests far in advance of the day they actually worked on, not to mention the actual work was usually not quick and could leave them in the field for weeks. Killing monsters was rarely an easy affair, nor a safe one. It paid well, but what¡¯s money to a dead man? But for those from a common background, seeking riches and fame, there was no better method.

    The lack of people made it easy to see who was here for the event. Four other boys of similar age to myself, and a handsome blonde man who couldn¡¯t be older than thirty, who judging from the quality of his gear must be our guide. He wore some very high quality leather armor, almost shining golden in color, despite being a non-metallic surface and had a spear with bone instead of metal for a tip, the air somehow distorting around the edge. Top tier monster materials could have some very eye-catching effects like this, but the properties were often even more impressive. They could be harder than steel while still being as light as cloth, and some could even contain remnants of their source¡¯s soul, enhancing the wearer with a part of the monster¡¯s power. This is the main reason why adventurers commanded such hefty salaries, monsters were not just a threat that needed to be culled, they were walking treasure troves.

    Tammy who was with the group, waved me over.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you could make it Keaton! We were just doing introductions.¡± She greeted me and as she brought me into the conversation they all seemed to be having.

    ¡°This is Nate, our silver plate who will be leading your field expedition, you can learn a lot from him so be sure to listen to what he says. Okay?¡ª

    And Nate this is Keaton, he joined the guild yesterday.¡±

    Shaking his outstretched hand, I exchanged greetings and was ushered into the group to meet the others.

    They were all new like me, the two with plain spears and inexpensive cloth armor were Art and Sebast, brothers apparently. The other two who had brought bows were Orion, and Kalm. Apparently Nate thought this was a rather good composition for our group, one of the best methods for beginners was to use longer reaching weapons like spears and bows, killing any threats before they could deal any serious damage to us.

    Seeing as we had everyone, Nate decided for us to head out a little early and Tammy saw us off.

    We passed through the streets at a good pace, making it out of the city limits after only ten or so minutes as we passed through the city¡¯s gates. The scenery changed quickly to farmland, and eventually we came upon the outer gates, which prompted Nate to warn us again of the dangers that existed beyond those walls.

    Tromwell was situated at the edge of the wilderness, which wasn''t a location exactly, but rather an expanse of unmanaged and unmitigated forests at the edge of civilization spanning a huge territory that was the Eastern edge of the human kingdoms.  Supposedly, we''ve been steadily pushing back the border for over a millennium but it was something of a Sisyphean task. Any ordinary forest can become wilderness if left alone long enough, supposedly it had something to do with the presence of monsters. While magic aptitude might be an extraordinarily rare talent for humans, all monsters seem to just naturally produce, emit, and utilize mana to continuously strengthen themselves. In unmanaged lands, the monsters keep growing stronger and stronger, and the mana they emit becomes increasingly fierce. The theory that I''ve read is that this mana never dissipates, and the concentrations grow to such levels that it can even affect the very land itself. Even the ordinary plant life becomes supernatural under these effects and creatures of unimaginable and ancient power begin to emerge. No one knows whats beyond the wilderness, or if there is anything beyond it. Looking at a map you''d essentially see a bubble, containing the known world, and at perpetual war with the unknown surrounding us.

    Passing by several guards, we exited through the unusually small gate entrance, only large enough for us to walk single-file. Coming out the other side, the first thing noticeable was how the road had completely disappeared. In its place grew a thick grass running up to our knees, and seemed to be growing increasingly taller the farther off into distance I looked. Beyond that a sea of trees could be seen, barely a line from this distance, but I knew well enough that those trees represented the border of the so called true wilderness.

    We continued walking while following Nate. He seemed to know where he was going, even though everything looked the same to me. Soon enough we came to a short break in the grass, where a deep and sizable pond took its place. Nate stopped us while pointing towards the water, where I saw nothing.

    "Slimes-" he said, still pointing at the water.

    Still not seeing what he meant, Nate walked closer to the water himself while motioning for us the remain where we stood. When he got close enough to touch the water, something stirred out from the pool. The water itself seemed extend up from the surface, reaching out to grab him. He paced back before instantly spearing it in the center, piercing an area where a spongey transparent ball seemed to be floating while suspended in the water-like substance of its body.

    "Slimes all have a core, and that core is the weakness. It''s also the easiest way to spot them. Always make sure to look well for slimes before approaching a body of water like this. It''s much easier to spot them in the daylight, their cores catch the sunlight. Be much more vigilant at night, better to just not approach any water at all during that time or assume there are always slimes in there."

    Once he pointed this out, I looked closely again at the ''water'', and began to see the hundreds of transparent globes catching the light under the surface.

 Ch 5. Slime Hunt

    It dawned on me that the ''water'' here was actually the coalescence of hundreds of slimes, their transparent cores glinting subtly in the strong morning sunlight. Of course I knew about slimes, but even so I never fully appreciating just how convincing their camouflage could be, or just how quick they moved.

    Nate picked up the core of the one he had slain, before pointing towards Art, one of the twins who had brought spears.

    "We''re going to try clearing out this pond here. Let''s see if we can do it before sundown. Art come here, you have a spear so you''ll be the first to try it. " Motioning for him to come closer.

    "Aim your spear at the core while you approach, slimes are simple-minded and will always follow when you get too close. Move back when it attacks and jab it."

    Art nodded before stepping forward, seeming eager to hunt his first monster.

    He readied his spear and inched closer to the pool, waiting for the slime to react.

    The water rippled up like a fountain, trying to grab at the spear and impaling itself in the process. The water-like goo dissolving into actual water the moment its core was pierced. Nate let Art keep the core of the slime he had killed, seemingly not all that interested in the item despite knowing its value.

    Next he called up the other twin, Sebast, having him repeat the earlier demonstration. Luring a slime up from the water and killing it in a bout of repeated stabbing.

    Nate motioned to me, it looks like I was was next up.

    I began to unsheathe the sword I had brought, before he stopped me.

    "You have a weapon, but it''s not the best for the task. The reach is too short for a beginner and puts you in greater danger, try using this and see how you do. If you feel more comfortable with a sword and want to switch afterwards, that''s fine as well."

    Nate handed me his spear, and urged me towards the slime-pond.

    I felt more comfortable with a sword than a spear, but I was somewhat excited at the prospect of trying out such an expensive weapon.

    Focusing in on a single slime-core, I moved towards the water anticipating the moment it tried to lunge at me. The water seemed to erupt like an explosion as the slime shot out at me with its formless body. I almost couldn''t react in time, even though I was ready for it. The wall of slime-water rose up around me and impaled itself on the spear, stopping its momentum and allowing me the opportunity to pull the spear again and stab at the core. The core was truly like jelly inside a shell of more jelly and moved ever so slightly from the application of force, even so my fear started to abate quickly, the force exerted by the slime onto the spear was surprisingly little and it seemed these creatures likely posed minimal threat outside of surprise attacks.

    Regaining my composure, I found the core with the spear and pierced through it. A bright light washing over me with the voice of an old man echoing directly in my mind with a cheerful voice.

    "Congratulations, summoned hero. You have taken your first step in the world, and are now level one."

    I froze in place, trying to comprehend what exactly had just occurred. What was that light, what is that voice?

    Looking back at the group, they seemed incredibly nonchalant about the whole thing. Could they not see what happened? Did they not hear the voice?

    Seeing my shocked state Nate looked at me with sympathy, patting me on the shoulder for reassurance.

    "Don''t feel too down, it''s fairly common for new adventurers to freeze up like this. All in all, you did pretty well, just take it slow and you''ll get used to it in no time. We''ll have multiple opportunities today to practice."

    They thought I was afraid from fighting the slime.

    Okay. This confirms it, they really didn''t notice what happened. But what exactly was that? I thought to myself while pulling the core off the spear and thanking Nate for his consideration.

    The archers went next, Nate lent them his spear to use like he did for me and I watched them struggle as I pondered over the current situation.

    This probably had something to do with the letters I could see in mirrors. Some part of me seemed to understand this intuitively, though I wasn''t exactly sure why.

    The slime killing process repeated until it my turn came up again, I killed a slime collected my core, sat back down and made small talk with the other boys. We continued this until lunch, which by then I had five cores in my bag, considering they were a common alchemical good and would fetch a copper each, this was indeed a good outing for me. Munching on some jerky I had brought along, I was feeling pretty happy about the way today was going.

    The four boy were wanting to form up a team and continue these types of outings in the future together, and seeing how well we seemed to be doing I agreed that it was a good idea. The guild encouraged cooperation and my intention for coming to this event in the first place was to find a party to join. We continued our slime hunt after lunch, which was starting to become tedious once we got a hang of how to deal with the slimes efficiently. Nate still made us hunt one at a time, so that he could intervene should anything happen.

    Later in the afternoon, on my tenth or so slime, the phenomenon from earlier happened again. A rush of light filled my vision and the voice of the mysterious elderly man spoke into my mind again.

 Ch 6. Welcome to the System

    "Congratulations hero, level two already! And to think, here I was getting concerned about your lack of motivation. It may have taken you a while to start, but seeing you now I''m very impressed with your newfound diligence."

    It happened again, the light and the voice. And again, nobody seemed to notice but me. The old-sounding voice seemed almost like it was speaking to me.

    "Hello hero, really glad that you''ve decided to start hunting monsters."

    Now this was strange. He''s definitely speaking to me.

    *snort* "Of course I''m speaking to you, who else would I be speaking to if not you?"

    I can think of some options. I thought to myself, while glancing over at Nate and the others. Catching enough to see one of the archers, Kalm I think his name was, struggling to death with a slime while the others cheered him on.

    "Bah. You think I would lower myself to speaking with empty vessels like those? Don''t take me for a fool."

    An odd choice of words... not to mention, he really is reading my thoughts, isn''t he? I quickly became more guarded after coming belatedly to this realization.

    "Enough with the drama. You should know about me already? I''m the system... "

    The voice seemed somewhat taken aback at the thought that I didn''t know who he was. I didn''t know what to say so I just waited while an awkwardly long silence passed between us.

    *Ahem* The voice cleared his throat loudly, which I thought somewhat odd considering the medium of communication.

    "Truly, do you not know who I am?"

    The voice asked, sounding somewhat curious before devolving into frustrated mutterings.

    "But... how can this be? You should have gotten the explanation from the Goddess... right? Can you recall the time when you were summoned?"

    "Summoning? Goddess? I have no idea who you are or what you''re talking about."

    "Oh, dear. This is worse than I imagined... I''ve only heard stories of this happening before, but to think it actually happened to me. Just my rotten luck."

    "I don''t get what you''re saying, at all, can I get an explanation?" Keaton thought, getting the sense he was being insulted. He wasn''t sure if the voice could read his emotions as well, but he was starting to get quite annoyed.

    "Hero, I do have some good news for you. I believe I''m beginning to understand the situation now and I suppose an explanation is in order. Make the best of bad circumstance, am I right? --- Now where was I... yes,

    *Ahem*

    You don''t remember about being summoned. You''ve been in a terrible accident.  You''ve lost all or most of your memories. --Does that sound about right?"

    No. No it does not. My memories are perfectly intact, I''ve just gained a few along the way. Keaton knew, but tried to remain as impassive and unthinking as possible, with some difficulty.

    "Since that''s the case. We have some catching up to do. Let''s start with the basics."

    "You''ve been summoned here. We summoned you. Well, not me exactly, but I work for the lady who summoned you. She''s a Goddess. I''m the system, you can just call me System. I''ve been assigned here to work for you and assist you as I am able... and after all you''re supposed to be working for us as well, so in a sense we''re something like co-workers."

    "And so to begin with, let me explain why we''re here..."

    ''System'', or so he called himself, quickly dove into some very strange topics. From the familiarity I felt at his words, it seems like this is something more related to my other self. Although it worried me this might act as a catalyst for my other half, this was still very beneficial information for me to have.

    ...if things continue on our presence here may be eradicated entirely in the next few thousand years... "

    Wait what? Who is getting eradicated and why? Trying to process what was happening without letting thoughts slip to inner-monologue proved to be exceedingly difficult and I found myself zoning out for most of what he had just said.

    "Our followers. Well... the Goddess'' followers really. We have been trying to establish a hold here for a very long time but most of our influence is concentrated in the beast kingdoms. We invested on them big, but the human kingdoms seem to be a bit more aggressive than we were first expecting and they''ve been wiping out our followers in droves. But really, the biggest threat here has always been the monsters. Our intelligence capability is not omniscient, we only know as much as our followers can find out... and so far we have very little idea what''s out there. Speaking of it, do you know how long I''ve been trying to get in contact with you? We''re gonna need you to put in some extra work."

    Hearing this guy go on really seemed to piss me off. You seem to have a lot of expectations of me. All I hear is you asking for a favors but I''m not running a charity here.

    "Charity?! Are you mad? --Don''t you know how good you have it? You have me already and you dare asking for more!"

    I want my part.

    "Hmph. The nerve. You''ll get exactly as much as you earn, and no more. Go check your status out further and you''ll know what I mean. I''m running out of time, so I''ll have to make this short. You need to kill things and level up. I use their energy to power myself as well as empowering you, your level is a reflection of that. You''ll find these levels to be rewarding enough. Level up again, and I''ll speak with you."

    By the time I finished with the the conversation it was practically my turn fighting the slimes again. We continued this well into the day, to the point that our bags practically overflowed with cores. By this time only a few dozen slimes remained, hiding away in the deeper parts of the pond before Nate decided to call it a day. I was very impressed by his generosity, giving us instruction the whole time and not taking any spoils for himself.

    Including me, the group was all pretty excited about returning, the items we had were truly a rare prize by our standards. Worth more than a months salary by any other trade. Between the other new guilders and I, we came to an agreement about continuing our relationship and forming a party. After a good rest of course, we decided three days off would do us well and allow us to spend our newly gotten gains.

    But I had another reason to be excited.

    The levels and the man who introduced himself as ''the system'', I had high hopes for the rewards he promised.

 Ch 7. Path of Stats

    It was almost dark by the time I returned to the inn.

    Belle was alone in the room waiting for me. Always seeming so sad when I left and so happy to see me back, I smiled to myself somewhat while deciding in what ways I could make it up to her tonight.

    Looking into the mirror I smiled even wider while expectations grew for what power would soon be mine.

    It looked like the status points were able to be distributed into the attributes of my choosing. I fumbled around in the mirror, waving my hand around like an idiot due to the reversed image. Belle looked on passively, but she was already used to my habits around mirrors, even though she didn''t understand the reasoning behind it. To others this must look really strange.

    Whenever I hovered over an individual stat I received a prompt asking me whether I wanted to invest in it, which I held off for now while further exploring the changes. I had twenty points to spend, which seemed astronomically high if I correctly understood what each point represented. From what I could tell my status'' attributes represented my overall current capabilities, physical and otherwise. From my intuition and the partial familiarity originating from my other''s memory I seemed to be able to deduce vaguely what each attribute represented.

    The other things that caught my eye were class, and skills. The skills section didn''t respond no matter how I tried to interact with it, but class part seemed to have something there to it. Steadying my fingers over to the class, each empty section popped up with a new display that seemed to require my input.

    Adventurer, Fighter, Spearman, Commoner

    I had four options to choose from, strangely enough I was given the option of spearman despite only having borrowed the weapon today and being trained almost exclusively with swords. It seems that the effects of what I did in combat were a great influence. Perhaps the manner in which I killed monsters was what determined my class... but then the last two confused me a great deal. It seemed like social status and my actual occupation had some effect on things, seeing as how I had a commoner and adventurer option. It made me wonder, if I killed monsters while being a noble would I get a noble class?

    It looked like I had the ability to choose two classes which seemed odd enough, and the prompt to confirm a class for each slot made it seem like the classes could be changed at any time. To be on the safe side I wanted to confirm my theory with the safest choice, and one that I would regret the least, adventurer.

    Once I confirmed my class, a skill appeared in my status for the first time.

    Physical boost. There was no description but I could tell roughly what it did. I tested removing my class and adding it back before moving on to the next classes. Fighter gave the skill fighting sense, spearman granted spear mastery, and commoner gave me the lesser stamina skill. All passive skills. Fighter and spearman had passive skills specialized towards fighting so I couldn''t immediately test their effects, I played around with the settings before settling on adventurer and Commoner. With these set, my attention turned back to the status points and attributes.

    After battling the slimes I could roughly grasp where I most needed to approve. I had struggled with killing what were largely considered the weakest of monster types, even though I did about as well as the others. Intellect, charm, wisdom, these were attractive options but to me they were luxuries. From now on I would be going outside the wall regularly to hunt monsters, the key to my survival would be maximizing my physical attributes for now and synergizing with my classes for maximum effect.

    First, I shored up the most glaring weaknesses by investing five points into strength and constitution each. Pressing down on the illusory confirmation window, instantly I felt my body flow with the power of life. It felt as if the air itself had lightened, my spine filled with strength while I watched my posture improving visibly. I now stood tall with ease, my body light and the dull aches and soreness from today''s hardships now gone and replaced with newfound vitality. Experimenting a little with the passive skills, I switched over to fighter/spearman and back again so that I could test the effects. It was only the slightest change, but I could still notice the smallest fluctuation of energy leaving and returning in that moment. My feelings now solidified that I had made the right choice, as I poured the remaining ten points evenly into dexterity and constitution both.  Lighter and quicker, I stretched out to confirm my increased nimbleness and agility. Constitution was perhaps the most pleasurable, and addicting of the attributes tested so far, it felt as if I grew younger and more alive with each point invested. Almost as if the very power of life itself was being added to myself. A dull euphoric feeling, originating in my chest and spreading out as rich life-ladden blood pumped through my veins, circulating and spreading thinner each time as the effects were absorbed into flesh.

    Looking into the mirror I saw that I was much like before, still somewhat skinny, but looking closer I could see there was definition added where previously there was none. The soft lines of muscle sculpted in idyllic fashion added substance to my form. I was really no bigger than before, but I did somehow seem healthier. My skin looked smooth with the previous blemishes and marks common for young men of my age having been healed entirely.

    Belle who had been watching from the side quietly had a somewhat frightened expression as the effects of my transformation became apparent. Her tail no straight and no longer swishing relaxedly. I turned to her, whispering.

    "This will be our little secret."

    Bending down to take her off guard I swept her off her feet and into my arms, she tumbled into my grasp with a squeak.

    "Master, Belle loves master. Belle won''t betray, won''t tell anyone." She promises, somewhat desperate while thinking I had doubts of her loyalty. Having grown up with her and knowing her character well, I of course had none.

    "Mmm. I don''t believe you." I teased, while holding her in a carry position. My arms supporting her legs and back.

    Almost at tears, she started in a panic. "I swear master, please don''t abandon Belle. Belle only has master. "

    I grinned at how fun she was tease.

    "There are ways to test your loyalty." I said while glancing towards the bed. "Let''s have you prove that you''re mine."

    I said while carrying her to the bed, preparing for the fun ahead of me.

 Ch 8. Long Night (R-18)

    Belle was clinging as I carried her over to the bed. Questioning her loyalty, even as a joke, had her shaking like a leaf. She had very little options aside from serving me. In Stromgar, as in all of the human kingdoms, beastkin were not allowed to live other than as slaves. Given that we''d been at war as a species for centuries, perhaps it was only natural. She was entirely dependent on me and my protection to live, not to mention that I could feel she had a devotion and love for me that bordered on fanatic.

    As before, I had lingering concerns about the noise level and the thinness of the inn''s walls, being in no way interested in exhibition.  But this time I had an idea on how to deal with that problem. Throwing her onto the bed, fully clothed, I began to undress myself out of the armor still grimy from today''s expedition. Normally I''d make Belle do it, but I was too excited at the moment to wait any longer.

    Understanding my intentions, Belle no longer looked frightened but rather eager. Looking at me with a hungry expression, her ears perked and tail curling as she lay on her side stroking her hips invitingly.

    "Strip."

    She complied, taking off her blouse and revealing a pair of shapely breasts and erect nipples hiding beneath before wiggling out of her skirt as well. She was about to toss her panties, now noticeably damp, to the floor when I interrupted her.

    "Throw those here," I told her. Catching the delicately thrown panties midair. They were a plain grey, showing the undyed natural color of the fabric. I looked at the sheet covers of the bed for a second before beginning to pull at them, forcing Belle to move up from her resting position momentarily as I gathered it up. Spreading the sheet length-wise, I began to rip it into several long pieces. I''d have to compensate the inn, but with today''s small windfall I wasn''t particularly concerned about money for the time-being.

    Belle looked on interestedly, unsure now of what I was doing.

    Finished with my task I took the strips in one hand and her soiled panties in another.

    "Open your mouth."

    I commanded her, while she peered suspiciously at my hand holding the panties. A hint of disgust in her eyes.

    "Master please... those are dirty."

    "And who''s fault is that?"

    "Master..." She looked at me pleadingly, clearly still unwilling.

    "Belle. This isn''t a request. Open." I looked at her sternly as she whimpered pathetically.

    She opened her mouth slowly, revealing her pink tongue and canines. I wadded the panties up into a ball and pushed it in fully as she took it uncomfortably with her mouth. Taking a folded cloth strip with both hands, I pressed the cloth gag into her mouth before tying it off firmly behind her head, ensuring she couldn''t spit out the bundle I had gifted her.

    Next I took the time to line up several strips, taking Belle''s hands and binding them together in front of her, placing her bound arms around my neck while I took position beside her on the bed. Still mulling what we should do in my mind, I had come up with the perfect idea.

    "Belle, you''re going to ride me tonight... and don''t stop until I cum." It was going to be a long night, but she didn''t know that yet. Usually one time was my maximum, and she would pace herself with that expectation. But tonight was going to be different. I planned to wear her out early while conserving my own stamina, then to give her a real taste of what I was now capable of.

    Belle nodded, her voice muffled. She seemed to be getting back to excitement again as she positioned herself over my erection with great difficulty. Her movements awkward without the use of her hands as she missed me several times while trying to impale her sex on my member. I guided her in, letting Belle slide herself down while she breathed roughly through her gag.

    Spanking her once, hard, I encouraged her to start while I settled back relaxedly. Belle began shaking her hips roughly, up and down, bringing herself to the tip of my cock before slamming down in one great motion. She was moving hard, but it wasn''t fast enough to my liking. I wanted to wear her out, and she had a long ways more to go for that.

    "Not fast enough." I chided her, starting the play with her nipples softly while she continued to rock back and forth. She moved a little faster, but clearly wasn''t getting the message so I pinched her nipples strongly between my fingers.

    "..!" Belle squirmed, squeezing up on my cock while she made muffled noises. I pinched her again, twisting this time and causing her to shake.

    "Get moving faster, unless you want more."

    She began to move faster and harder, her tied arms pulling on the back of my neck for support while she rode me hard. I began to move slightly, timing my thrusts for the moment she slammed down. Belle''s breasts swayed in front of me enticingly, her nipples inviting my mouth to try a taste. Being so close to her I could taste and smell her womanly scent, supposedly something unique to female beastkin in heat, musky and beast-like but decidedly feminine and faintly floral. She continued thrusting her hips onto me while I teased her nipples with my tongue.

    I could tell she was feeling it now. Her breath was getting harder, and her mechanical movements became more passionate over time as she sought out the pleasure shared between us. Belle moved faster and faster, gyrating her hips while also trying to bob herself up and down. Her sex was wet and hot, every time she moved up her pussy sucked at my cock refusing to let go, and every time she thrust down it welcomed me firmly into its embrace.

    "Belle, do it harder." I told her, encouraging even more wild movements as she bounced up and down. Leaning into me, she raised herself on the tips of her feet, giving her more leverage as she pumped her hips furiously. Harder and faster than before.

    "I''m getting near." I whispered, even though I could go on for a while longer I needed her tired and the exercise would do her good. Watching on as she bobbed up and down in a wild heat, her beastly instincts kicking in as she sought to milk my seed by force, squeezing her pussy tightly each time.

    She kept at it for a long minute, fruitlessly sweating while working me with her vagina. She was breathing hard now, tiring as her breasts bounced up and down. Belle started to slow down, either having realized I was not close, or just simply feeling too tired to continue on at this pace. But this is what I was waiting for, giving her ass another slap as I spoke.

    "Belle, don''t you dare slow down now. Keep this pace up until I cum." Ordering her to continue with a subtle threat for motivation.

    She once again picked up speed, slamming down into me with renewed vigor. She was panting heavily now, struggling through the gag as she pleasured my cock with her body. Closing my eyes, I savored the moment. The sensation of her vagina gripping me warmly. The erotic panting coming through her gag as her body sought my own. I let it go on, the lust and desire I felt for this woman making me even harder than before as I conquered her totally. I felt myself lost in the moment, unsure of even how much time passed, the only thing bringing me back to the present was that I had noticed Belle once again slowing her movements.

    Opening my eyes, I noticed Belle''s eyes wet with a pitiable look as she moved with labored breath. I was feeling close now, so she had to keep up. "Don''t stop now, I''m close." I told her, in a softer tone this time. She looked at me hesitantly, unsure of whether what I said was true. "I''m telling the truth, you''ve earned it so come get your reward." Admittedly it had been a mean trick, but one that I enjoyed very much.

    She nodded before resuming back to her previous pace, hips rocking furiously back and forth. Grabbing her hips to steady her, I began to thrust upwards again, helping her complete the motions onto my cock. The pleasure was building in me, moving faster into her as she responded in kind, moving in tandem. Belle''s walls pulled at me each time we retreated apart, holding onto me with all she had. The feelings peaked as I released inside her. Pulse after pulse poured into her sex, her walls continuing to massage me, coaxing out more of the liquid she so earnestly coveted. The sensation sent Belle over the edge as she collapsed into my chest, arms still wrapped around me. Had she not been gagged right now she''d undoubtedly be purring in delight as she lay with a warm expression, tail moving happily.

    She lay exhausted, still moving herself in small bursts to wring me out fully as we lay together for a good minute, simply enjoying each other''s company while our nethers stayed connected intimately. Her pussy twitched occasionally as it savored the milk bath I had just given it.

    "That was fantastic." I told Belle, stroking her lovely black hair. Her skin was now sheen with sweat and she continued panting heavily from her hard labor.

    "..Mmmn..." She mumbled, seemingly in agreement. Brown eyes looking at me, imploring to release her gag now that she thought we were done.

    I sat up, lifting Belle''s arms off of me and pushing her over to her side.  Quickly taking position beside her, I kissed her neck sweetly before inserting myself again...

    She wouldn''t be getting a wink of sleep tonight.

    Kaguro

 Ch 9. A Request

    It was morning again, possibly noon by the time I woke up, the sun being far higher in the sky than my usual waking time gave me a pretty good idea how much I had slept in. I was still laying naked ontop of Belle, only having bothered to throw some covers over us before passing out after the third successive copulation. She was still gagged and tied, having forgotten to undo it after we exhausted ourselves by the end. Withdrawing from her, I untied the makeshift ropes on her hands and mouth, waking her up so she could spit out the bundle she had been holding the entire night.

    She was clearly sore, moving gingerly while attempting to dress herself. I watched her move around while fetching new clothes for herself and I.

    "Belle, is there anything you want to do today?" I asked her while she busied herself.

    We were staying in the city today so she brought over some of my more comfort-styled clothes. We didn''t have an exceptionally large repertoire to choose from, but given my background we certainly had more to choose from than an average family would. Belle settled on a padded jacket for me with matching pants, while choosing a simple two-piece blouse and long skirt. The clothes were wool, some of the warmer we had and appropriate for the season.

    "Belle will do whatever master wants." She replied flatly.

    I was slightly disappointed by her lack of initiative. In some ways her dependence on me was endearing, tickling the part of me that wanted to care for her like a prized pet, but ultimately that was not what I wanted from her. We no longer lived in a mansion, fully provided for. I was an adventurer of no status and could not afford the time or money to shelter her in such a way.

    "Isn''t there anything?" I asked, prompting her again.

    She thought a bit while dressing herself, having already finished helping me into my own clothes.

    "Belle needs things for washing clothes. A bucket, washer, lye. Those things" She said, somewhat hesitantly.

    She must have been worried about our finances, I realized. Belle wasn''t aware of how much if anything I had earned from yesterday, and was hesitant to ask me for something when she knew we had hardly any money. Smiling a bit, I moved over to my bag near the door, throwing the pouch I normally kept on my belt over to Belle to look inside. She peaked inside curiously before gasping softly.

    "...Master what are these, they''re all wet and slimy... and there are so many in here."  She poked the inside of the bag gingerly, probably knowing these were from a monster.

    "They''re slime cores. May as well be copper coins. We''re in luck because I know someone that will buy it." The guild bought monster parts, but they took a very large portion of the earnings, more than a fifth. They would guarantee a sale, but it was generally better to sell directly whenever you could. Luckily I knew just the buyer.

    "Bring that with us, we''re going to go see Cal today.

    Eating leisurely downstairs, I explained the bed situation to the inn-keeper and settled it with our remaining coin.

    We walked into Cal''s shop a few minutes later.

    Ashley was manning the counter, with Cal most likely holed in up his room busy with some experiment or busy with some old arcane tome.

    "Is he back there? I asked her, motioning to the back to which she nodded in agreement.

    "Master''s working on a new recipe. You can go in." motioning to the back.

    Belle, stayed back while I continued down the corridor, giving them an opportunity to catch up. Belle and Ashley were something like friends, even though Ashley was more of a servant than a slave, serving Cal for money rather than obligation.

    Knocking on the door once, I entered the room.

    Cal was at his desk, books covering the table fully, opened to pages with diagrams of plants and anatomical structures of various animals and monsters.

    "Cal?" I called out to get his attention.

    He was caught up in whatever it was he was doing, seemingly not having realized someone was in the room until I said his name.

    "Keaton." He started, still at his books and not bothering to turn around. "You caught me at a busy time. What brings you here today?"

    I looked over his shoulder while he continued to read the various reference texts.

    "You know that I''m an adventurer now, I have something to sell you. You''ll buy monster parts right?"

    "Not all monster parts." He interrupted me. "Just the ones I need."

    Putting the pouch I took from Belle on the counter, I untied the bag''s seal revealing the transparent slime cores within.

    "Ahh. Slimes I see, very good. I''ll pay for them, but don''t expect me to buy everything you bring in. Slimes are an exception."

    I knew that slime cores were a popular item with alchemists, the liquid in the potion was almost always based on extract made from these cores, making it always in demand.

    "Say Cal, if these are always in shortage why haven''t people just started to grow slimes themselves? Don''t they appear in water? Surely there''s some way to industrialize this," exposing my thoughts out loud. It seemed very inefficient to rely on adventurers for something so fundamental.

    "It''s not the water that makes a slime, Keaton. It''s the mana. They''re a natural phenomena, the most basic of types of monsters.  Slimes don''t reproduce, but rather simply appear over time, given enough mana. Hardly the only type like this, but given the abundance of water they''re certainly the most common type. " Cal finished his explanation, acting as if his answer fully explained the matter.

    "... so why can''t you grow them?" I asked, unsure of whether he really answered my question or not.

    Cal began tapping his finger, seemingly annoyed that I still wasn''t getting it. "You know how mana replenishes right? Monsters. Nobody''s going to grow slimes around monsters, when they have those conditions already perfectly replicated in nature. It may be possible in certain areas of course. Ley lines, the bones of particularly powerful monsters, continue to generate mana perpetually, even after death. But any owner of a ley line wouldn''t be caught dead using it to farm slimes, the things are priceless treasures." He said while chuckling to himself.

    "Slimes are monsters though, aren''t they? Can''t you carry a slime back somewhere and wait for it to make enough mana for more slimes?"

    Cal began to think more seriously about my proposal, which was really just a curious speculation on my part.

    "A fascinating question you pose here. Not very lucrative from a business perspective, but perhaps one that has a certain value to researchers such as myself. Consider the following, a study on the magical emittance and doubling time of slimes. I''d be interested to know how long it takes to emit its own body worth in magic." He said, now leaning back in his chair.

    "Yes, that''s very good." I said brushing away his newfound interest, wanting to refocus our conversation on the topic I had originally wanted to bring up. "I have another request, aside from the matter of the cores." Starting again now that I had his attention.

    "You know that I''m an adventurer, and as an adventurer I have a need to spend a certain amount of time in dangerous places. Away from town. You also know that I have a companion, Belle, who I can''t bring with me during these times. I want you to let her stay here while I''m not in town." I looked at him hopefully, trying to crack his impassive expression.

 Ch 10. Junior alchemist

    "This is a big request, Keaton. I''m not looking to baby-sit your slaves." Cal spoke, looking back unconcernedly.

    "Can you do this for a friend?" Not one to take no for an answer, I pressed him.

    "Give me a good reason why I should. An actual reason." Cal replied, not giving me the time of day. He was always like this, he might do a favor, but he''d never do one for free. I had come with some ideas to pitch him on this front.

    "You''re working on new recipes. How do you think you''ll be getting your ingredients?"

    "From the guild. I can get whatever ingredients I like, and as many as I like." Cal replied simply.

    "That''s my point, you need to advertise the ingredients of every potion you make. What''s the point of inventing anything new if you give the recipe away for free. I''ll be your personal procurer for alchemical goods, and all you need to do is keep Belle safe while I''m away, let Ashley look after her." I appealed to him as convincingly as I could muster.

    Cal leaned back, now considering my offer.

    "She can help out around the shop. I''d feel better leaving her here than keeping in locked up in an inn all day."

    "Fine, fine. It''s a good enough reason as any, I suppose. She can work here while you''re out, but I do have some expectations for that idea of yours... come by later, I''ll have something for you. "

    I nodded, somewhat relieved that he accepted my proposal. This was probably the best option possible in this situation, and left me with much more peace of mind.

    Belle and I spent the day on the town, enjoying fancier foods, buying the miscellaneous things that she needed for chores, extending our stay at the inn, all funded in thanks to Cal''s generous exchange rate on the slime cores. It turned out that what Cal had to give me was something of a reference guide he had cobbled together in a hurry, tearing out diagrams from various texts that detailed all the plants and monster parts he was interested in. I continued to visit Cal''s shop for the next two days, Cal continuously adding to the small leather binder I now kept with me. Belle had learned she was going to be working there intermittently and was somewhat pleased with the arrangement, having the chance to now spend more time with her longtime friend Ashley.

    I had begun studying the pictures and descriptions in the tome, and sometime along the way noticed a new class available to me, alchemist. Whatever criteria the system was using to determine classes, it appears I had now met it. Equipping the class, the skill showed up as Identification, another passive that seemed to assist me in intuitively recognizing an item. Testing it out in Cal''s shop, I had an easier time remembering the names of the various collections of herbs and monster parts, the names coming to me more naturally than without the skill. Ever since I learned I had the ability to change into classes as I pleased, I developed the habit of bringing a hand-mirror with me everywhere, tucking it into my belt for safekeeping. Cal didn''t seem to pay my new habit much mind, ignoring my strange actions as I periodically took out the mirror and waved my hand towards the mirror as I adjusted my equipped classes.

    Before long the promised day was upon me, when I would reunite with the other copper-plates and plan out a new expedition. I saw Belle off to the shop, before assembling at the guild entrance. The twins, Art and Sebast, still armed with their spears seemed to have acquired some better armor, now equipped in full leather like myself. The archers, Orion, and Kalm, both brought spears with them, along with their bows and quivers, seemingly more prepared for any melee encounters than last time. In comparison, I had done relatively little preparations for my gear. Still bringing just the short-sword and knife with me. I had spent too long learning to fight with a sword as a child to switch weapons so easily, I would see if I could acquire a related class and take that, the mirror secured to my belt showed that conviction.

    We talked with Tammy first and checked the board for any requests. Apparently mud-men had been causing issues recently, and bounties were out for their cores beyond the normal sale value. Mud-men weren''t actually men, but rather constructs made of mud in the shape of men. They were fairly similar to slimes in that they had cores, and like a slime injuring their core was the only true way to kill them. The rest of their body was just a prop they used to move around, and any external injuries inflicted would only be superficial.  They weren''t considered extraordinarily dangerous, perhaps only slightly more than a slime, but here in the muddy winter season of Stromgar they were very common common to see. The rains of the past two days bringing life to the latent mana of the surrounding soil and gave birth to these annoyances... giving us a job to do.

    We headed out the gates, the same way we had gone before on our earlier expedition. The ground in the grassland surrounding the town still muddy from the rains. I led the formation with Art, and Sebast following to my sides and the archers close behind, all holding their spears. Normally the vanguard position was unpopular due to the increased risk in encounters, but given my hidden incentives for personally killing monsters, I happily volunteered myself for this role, much to the relief of the others.

    We looked for any movement across the grass as we walked, the cold morning a bit chillier due to the damp rains.

    Coming up to slime pond we trained at last time, I took out my mirror to readjust classes one last time. The group looking at me oddly, but saying nothing.

 Ch 11. Mud-men bounties

    Taking a short break at the pond to survey our surrounding, we looked out across the grass to find any roaming mud-men. Thankfully, unlike the slimes hiding in this pond here, mud-men were not ambush predators and instead preferred to roam openly.

    The wind and light rain on the grass made things difficult to spot, but far off in the distance we could see the bending of grass that looked more like wading of an animal than that the rhythmic patterns made by the blowing of wind on the field.

    We set off marching in that direction, Orion drawing his bow and nocking it while taking a position next to me. We came up, stopping perhaps only 50 meters away, now able to see the head poking out from the tall grass. The mud-man stood barely four foot, coming up to our waist in height, its mud body completely featureless except for the dull earth colored core positioned squarely on its face, looking a bit like a cyclops'' eye.

    When we were ready, Orion drew, aimed, and fired one shot. Hitting it squarely in the chest and drawing its attention. The mud-man ambled towards us through the grass, slowly at first, then picking up speed over time until Art stopped its momentum with a spear through the gut. I walked up and stabbed it in the ''eye'', spearing the core on my blade as it struggled briefly to free itself. I pried the core out with my knife before handing it off. We''d split the earnings evenly at the end.

    "Strong little bugger", Art remarked. He seemed to be having some difficult in stopping it when it charged us. They were essentially a wall of mud running at us, so the amount of force contained in their charge was no doubt substantial, requiring him to fully brace for the impact. We agreed with him while scanning the area for more prey, zoning in on the same area we saw the first before finding three mud-men in close proximity.

    We used the same strategy as before, with Orion trying to pull just one with his arrow, but the other mud-men nearby seemed to have noticed and began stumbling in our direction before morphing into a run.

    "Art you take the left one, Sebast take the right one, I''ll take center." I said while drawing my sword in one hand.

    The archers put away their bows and took up position behind us, holding spears.

    I positioned myself between the group and the first mud-man, positioning my sword towards its eye as it charged closer. The charging wall of mud ran straight into the point, instantly killing the beast but bowling my arm with a great force. Had I not enhanced my strength I might have dropped my sword just now and been plowed over, but with the system''s enhancements I held firm as the the sword edge cut through the top of the mud-man''s clay-like head while momentum carried it forward.

    The two brothers intercepted the charge of the other two beasts, catching them in the chest with braced spears while the two archers in the back approached with spears and struck the eye. This was the basic strategy we had adapted from our experience with the slimes, and it seemed to be working out well.

    I wiped the mud from my sword with a rag, before taking out my mirror. Noticing that I had picked up the ''swordsman'' class that I wanted, swiping over to select it in favor of ''fighter''.

    Adventurer lvl 2, Fighter lvl 2, Alchemist, lvl 1, Commoner lvl 1, Swordsman lvl 1, Spearman lvl 1

    Equiped Skills: Physical Boost lvl 1, Sword Mastery lvl 1

    It seemed that each class had a level status seperate to my own level, these class levels didn''t give me any benefit as far as I could tell aside from a skill point. Given that I was getting points, it might be the case that skills didn''t enhance on their own, or perhaps leveling it that way was exceptionally difficult.

    Given the way this system worked, it seemed like collecting a variety of different classes and leveling them more or less equally had some benefit. Given that I was planning to make the sword my primary weapon, I invested my two points into sword mastery.

    Our short break over, we started our process again. Scouting the area, pulling individuals over to us and dispatching them as a unit. Seeing the others begin to grow tired, I proposed switching over to a new system where I would take care of any individuals alone and they step in only when additional mud-men came at us.

    The others were concerned I was being too reckless, but this was a good opportunity for me to practice and gain experience.

    Going based on instinct, I now stood with my body pointing towards the charging foe, making my exposed area as small a target as possible. Once contact was made I stepped to the side as the mud-man''s own momentum carried the blade through its head and out the other side. The sword somehow moving more naturally in my hand.

    Killing a few more before coming to a clearing a few hundred meters off with something that was clearly not mud-men. We had a slight vantage point on the sloping plain, allowing us to see.

    Small grey rats, bipedal, naked, about the size of a dog with a hunched posture. These were muck rats, no doubt about it. Something that Cal wanted me to look for and bring him their gall-bladders. Not to mention their pelts were good money, warm and good insulation while being harder and tougher than regular leather. There were a dozen or more rooting around in the mud, while one stood at attention its nose in the air sniffing occasionally as it looked around.

 Ch 12. Muck Rats

    It seemed like there was a full pack of them down there, muck rats. Not very strong but they were much smarter than slimes and mud-men, capable of using rudimentary tools and organized themselves in basic tribes.

    Speaking with the others, I tried to convince them it was a good idea to attack.  I was confident about my new powers and wanted to test it out in more active combat while gathering as much experience as possible. We were fairly new, but we''d eventually face monsters like these and these types were much more valuable than what we had been hunting previously, not to mention there looked to be only about a dozen muck-rats, not totally overwhelming given their small stature. Even without me this shouldn''t be exceptionally dangerous.

    I would lead the charge in, with the two front-liners Art and Sebast backing me up, while we''d let the archers try out their primary weapons in battle for a change. We didn''t need to aim for cores on these, so scoring body-hits with arrows was enough to kill.

    We crept as close as possible, through the tall grass. The guard rat seemed to sense something, letting out a shrill cry before two arrows shot him through, the signal for me to start.

    I burst out from the grass with a speed akin to some of the best sprinters, pumping my arms with my sword drawn in one hand, the two brothers falling behind as I rushed the rats. The overgrown bipedal rats scurried, letting out panicked cries as they dropping the roots and insects they had been foraging just seconds ago. I managed to kill one, running it through with my sword, before a whizzing sound rushed past my face.

    Rocks. They were hurling rocks at me, with a speed that was surprising given their small frame. It seems some of them had fashioned rudimentary slings out of reeds and leather scraps, they tried to spread out as best as they could before scrambling for rocks to load their slings. I guarded my face while rocks hurled at me, most landing against my leather armor harmlessly but the ones that struck my hand hurt badly, feeling my fingers smashed by the fist sized projectiles. Had I not enhanced my constitution it may have even broken them. I focused in on the nearest rat, covering the distance quickly and ripping through its body in one swing. The movement helping me avoid the latest round of projectiles, as the rats chattered hideously in frustration.

    I could hear Sebast and Art arrive with a yell behind me, charging in and impaling two of the rats that had focused on me while friendly arrows fell another two. Seeing their lines broken so easily, the rats panicked fiercely. Abandoning their ineffectual slings while they fled, jumping to all fours as they tried to run. We killed as many as we could, being faster on two than they were on fours. Muck rats were smart, but they weren''t particularly strong or fast, and they cried out in terror as we and hunted them now with relative ease.

    Killing the last one bathed me in light and congratulatory music.

    "Congratulations on reaching level three." The now familiar voice resounding in my head.

    "Mmm." I replied, mentally agreeing. Taking out my hand-mirror from learned habit.

    Seeing the meteoric gains in adventurer and swordsman I could tell the class level rose much faster than my general level, it was also easier to see that these rats gave better experience than mud-men or slimes.

    "Say System, we were talking about some things last time before we got cut off. Something about your followers being in trouble and me needing help... not that I''m agreeing to anything, but what exactly did you have in mind?"

    "Yes, we would like for you to help them but it''s much too early for that. Most of what I do in fact is coordinating our Goddess'' followers. When I''m not here that''s what I''m doing, actually. When you hadn''t leveled up for so long, I''ll have you know I did try looking for you... but the human kingdoms are a bit difficult for us and we really had no leads. When the time comes I can have them get in touch with you."

    "So, I take it when you''re not here, you can''t see what I''m doing?" This was good information to have.

    "Mn that''s the case, we wouldn''t be in this situation otherwise."

    It seems he truly had a time limit every time I leveled.

    "System, you''re here to help me... give me recommendations. What should I spend my points in?"

    "Why I would love to council you on this! That is... for certain privacy reasons I can''t see your status by default, I need you to share that information... *ahem*, that is... could you describe it to me?"

    His abilities were more limited than I first assumed. System had claimed previously that he was what allowed my special status to exist, but hearing all of his limitations I now seriously doubted that. The system probably exists independent of him otherwise wouldn''t he have more control? He''s just a sentience added on.

    "I have multiple classes to choose from, what are the benefits of each?" I explained each one to him and heard his thoughts, roughly lining up with my guesses as to what each class provided. He did let me know some interesting information, the first skills were always passive abilities that lined up with the nature of the class. Alchemy for example provided Identification, allowing me to passively understand the nature of the things around me and how to use the natural environment for benefit. I would also receive additional skills every ten levels in a class. System, recommended I get to level ten in Adventurer first, seeming that there was a useful skill for me there.  From the way he spoke of each class, he seemed under the impression I could only choose one at a time, oblivious to my actual situation. Likewise it seemed the attributes received for each general level were always a standard five points each time, making it abundantly clear something was amiss.

    It had to do with my memories, I somehow knew instinctually. The summoning, the persona from another world, the flashes of memories. I''m pretty sure I was supposed to die when that happened. The other me would take over, the one who knew exactly what was going on. Somehow by living I broke the limits of the system that he brought with him.

 Ch 13. Broken System

    So I have a broken system working heavily in my favor. Unable to contain my grin for any longer, I burst into laughter at what I had just heard.

    Double the points, double the classes. I could even look forward to choosing a subclass at general level ten, meaning two-subclasses, in my case. My lips curling in the mirror as I thought of how out of control things would get. It was like the start of an ever-growing avalanche. The surface barely moving while an unstoppable current grew underneath. After it took off, there was no bottom to stop it. All of this, and the system was none the wiser. He told me the energy to power the system came from the killing of monsters, but clearly that wasn''t the entire truth. I was living proof, getting twice the intended benefits the energy had to be coming from somewhere.

    Looking back at my left-hand, a badly bruised and bleeding sight greeted me, torn up from blocking those rocks meant for my head. It stung, but wasn''t nearly as bad as I imagined thanks to my fifteen points in constitution, which I now had more appreciation for after hearing a more detailed explanation of how each point of attribute worked.

    Ten points represented the average capabilities of sentient lifeforms, including humans, beastkin, and others races that I did not recognize the names of. From hearing the description of who we were being thrown in with, it seems ten was probably above the attribute values an average human would possess. Not to mention that the attribute system didn''t function based on a simple linear increase in power as I had assumed but was rather exponential in nature. Each ten point increment in an attribute represented a doubling of the effectiveness. In other words, twenty points in strength was twice as powerful as ten, but one-hundred points was over five-hundreds times as powerful.

    I could become as monstrous as a behemoth by level ten if I invested only in strength, but the attribute that attracted my attention the most was constitution. Fifty points would make me as tough and unkillable as a troll, stopping blades with my skin and regenerating wounds within a day. I decided this would be my main attribute, but still I couldn''t neglect other stats completely. Becoming as tough as a troll was useless if I found myself helpless as the enemy immobilizes and kills me at their leisure.

    Distributing half of my points into constitution and another half into dexterity, I moved onto the next decisions I needed to make: skills points. I had gained four points from leveling adventurer and swordsman twice, and opted to use these to bring [physical boost] up to level five to optimize synergy with my main attributes.

    Once I had finished my business with the status menu I put away my mirror into my belt.

    Art, Sebast, Orion, and Kalm were all picking through the rat bodies, getting ready to skin them. Sebast was nursing his arm, and I could make out a large nasty looking bruise growing on his wrist. It didn''t look nearly as bad as my hand, but I now had quite an advantage when it came to recovery. If all things went well I could probably expect to be healed up by next week.

    When it came time to skin the beasts, I helped out with my knife, learning much from the two archers who were experienced in such matters. Finding it easy enough thanks to my now even more nimble hands. The others seemed to wince as I handled the blade with my still smashed hand, the fingers raw. Thanks in part to my attribute choice, my fingers were only dimly painful, hurting more from the damp cold, than the the actual wounds. This only served to make me look even crazier in their eyes, not that my habit of mirror-gazing in the field and enthusiasm for front-line work were doing anything to help in that department.

    It turns out we had fourteen muck-rats, now all skinned. I needed their gall-bladders for Cal and I knew the others had no interest given the rest of the body held little monetary value. I was not about to disclose my secret arrangements about supplying alchemical goods, but I felt bad about one-sidely taking advantage of their ignorance given they were my comrades. Ultimately deciding to forgo one pelt so I could ''purchase'' sole rights to the corpses they had left for done.

    I finished securing the extracted gall-bladders in a pouch, blanching at the grizzly task I had just committed, while the others wrapped the furs into bundles. We had quite a haul today, even though it was barely past noon, we were now encumbered with goods and the others insisted on returning from the field after seeing the state of my hand.

    The goods were exchanged and counted by Tammy, who seemed shocked and apologetic despite being in no way responsible and her concerns waved away. She insisted on helping bandage it, before letting me off with the money earned from our bounties. The pile of mud-men ''eyes'' and muck rat pelts got us a bit more than two gold in total, splitting five ways to leave us with four silvers each and a few spare copper split between the other four. The others sitting with a few extra copper extra thanks to my ''purchase'' of the gall-bladders, and thanks to which I was going to come out with another two silver from Cal for the transaction.

    We split ways after deciding a time for future adventures. The four unanimously agreed to a weeks rest after some discussion. I would have preferred to set out sooner, but the others were insistent on rest... and the weight of their pockets quenched any thoughts of further bravery for the time being. Ultimately I didn''t contest their wishes, thinking it best that Sebast looked after his injured wrist, as I would look after my own.

    Thinking of how I would spend my time... the system had given me some pretty good ideas. I needed as many classes unlocked as possible to power my skill points.

    Kaguro

    The power-stat progression goes roughly by this formula 2^((n/10)-1), so you end up with something similar to this.

    10 stat points = 1x as powerful as the average

    20 stat points = 2x as powerful as the average

    30 stat points = 4x as powerful as the average

    40 stat points = 8x as powerful as the average

    50 stat points = 16x as powerful as the average

    60 stat points = 32x as powerful as the average

    70 stat points = 64x as powerful as the average

    80 stat points = 128x as powerful as the average

    90 stat points = 256x as powerful as the average

    100 stat points = 512x as powerful as the average

 Ch 14. Trading Favors

    Lounging in one of Cal''s comfortable and expensive chairs, I made sure to lean back just far enough on the legs, like I knew he hated. He was somewhat surprised about the quickness I had gotten some of his requested items to him, but I suppose this isn''t too far outside expectations. Muck rats weren''t exactly difficult prey.

    "You want what now?"  Cal replied dismissively.

    I inspected one of the still bloody muck rat gall bladders on the table using my alchemist skill, able to tell it had some sort of beneficial effect on constitution, somewhat amazed that Cal had deduced on his own that these otherwise unwanted parts of the monster could be useful in some way. I heard that rich folk in the capital liked to eat monsters, but looking at the effects from these maybe there was something to that.

    "A house, and a few small things." I replied, imitating Cal''s usual disinterested mannerisms, as I took to picking the fingernails of my unbandaged hand clean with my crude dagger. Perhaps this was a little too forward, but I was growing sick of seeing that disgusting inn-keeper''s face and I wanted a place of my own. Especially now that I had the skill to afford it, "I''ll grant you a favor. Surely the second son of the Marcet family has some ambitions? Pick something, and I''ll do it. " I followed up crassly.

    Cal paused for a second, his eyebrows bunched together in thought.

    "What''s gotten into you lately, Keaton? I''ve heard some strange rumors and I don''t know what to think about them. Have you been doing alright away from home?" He asked somewhat lightly, concern showing in his voice. It seems word of my ''strange'' behavior was now making it back to my friend''s ears, possibly from the guild, more probably from Belle. Clearly he thought I was losing it.

    "Rumors are rumors. Hiring me to dig through rat bodies isn''t helping my reputation on that front." As I motioned to the bloody parts on the table.

    Cal''s eyebrows were furrowed less out of concern now and more in anger, "Didn''t you beg me for the opportunity? " He responded somewhat defensively.

    ...

    "I''m not complaining. I''m proposing we expand our cooperation. " Still leaning back in my seat, unconcerned. "I told you what I want, now name your price and I''ll see it done. "

    "Fine. Just bring me more monster parts. I''ll give you your house. Father gave me some abandoned property near the outer walls, you''ll need to furnish it yourself. Let Ashley guide you there, she knows where it is." Cal seemed somewhat disgusted now. Given that I was practically a beggar in his eyes, it seemed he didn''t particularly believe me.

    "You''re already paying me for the parts." I said exaggeratedly, rolling my eyes. "I''ll take the house as payment. I''m good for one favor, so think about it."

    Cal seemed to think he was doing this out of pity, but I didn''t feel too bad about pressuring him for it. My worth wasn''t yet readily known, and I''d make sure he got far more than its value back in return. Considering what a few months more of preparations would do for me, he bought my favor rather cheaply.

    Getting Belle and Ashley, we fetched our things from the inn which mostly consisted of trunks of clothes and everyday supplies. I carried as many as I could, but without hiring a coach or a horse I needed the girls both to take a case each.

    We walked through the town the way out the inner gate and into the farmland beyond. The property itself was abandoned farmland and a small single-story home. No neighbors, I thought to myself wickedly.

    The door creaked when we opened it, worn with disrepair. The floor was bare wood and coated in a layer of dust. No furniture anywhere. There was a fireplace and chimney in the main room, but no wood to burn. I thanked Ashley for her help, Belle and I bidding her farewell as the sun started to get late in the sky. It wasn''t that late yet, but the winter months had less daylight for us to work in.

    It was still quite cold, the sunlight not doing anything to burn off the accumulated moisture left over from multiple days of rain. I looked for some firewood while Belle got to work dusting the floors.

    Standing outside the home it was easy to see how isolated it was, being positioned a ways off from the main road that ran the circumference of the exterior gate. There were no other buildings nearby, only open fields that lay fallow. Weeds creeping in place over the tilled and abandoned rows. It wasn''t the planting season yet, but this field looked to have been abandoned for far longer than a winter. There were few trees on this land, only a handful dotting the field''s exterior. Given how wet it was currently, I was hesitant to collect anything. There was a small stable next to our new home, which I decided to push open and check for anything burnable. It was relatively dry inside, raising my hopes.

    There I found plenty of straw covering every inch of the ground, and to my joy a small stack of split logs assembled in a far corner of the room, which I took several trips carrying into our new home. I decided to bring in some of the straw too, given that it was the best alternative I could find to using actual tinder. Setting up the straw as a base, and neatly arranging the wood into the common room fireplace as Belle continued to wipe the floors down in the room with a wet cloth. The water having been drawn from a nearby well on the property.

    Straw wasn''t the most burnable substance as a starter, but I had a good quality striker and flint rock that I could keep trying for a long time. The sparks eventually finding a place as the straw took and before long spread to the dry logs. Just in time to offset the ambient darkness that was starting to settle our new home as the sun began setting beyond the horizon. Warmth finally filling the room as I laid out a blanket on the floor. We''d need to buy a bed soon, but for now this would have to do.

 Ch 15. Enjoying Belle (R-18)

    Belle continued to work wiping down the floors of our new home while I had finished laying out the blanket in front of fire.

    She bent down, her hips bobbing back and forth while scrubbing. Her dress was too long to peek, but I could see the impression of her tail underneath, moving mesmerizingly while she continued on oblivious to my stares.

    I undressed and lay down on the blanket, still watching her work. I could see her ears perk and twitch while she listened to the sounds of clothes dropping, but she pretended to not notice while trying to finish her task before bed.

    "Belle." I called out. "Your dress seems uncomfortable. Take it off while you work."

    She stood up straight, still with her back turned to me. I could tell she was excited by the way her ears were pointed straight up, twitching every so often. She took off her long winter dress, unveiling her pair of perky breasts still hiding behind the small of her back, her cute butt with wool panties, and her tail swishing back and forth invitingly.

    Belle bent back down sensually, giving me a good look at what was between her legs. Opening her hips wide while she scrubbed, rocking back and forth suggestively.

    This little minx is seducing me. I thought to myself, smiling some.

    She let me get as good a view as was possible, arching her back and raising her butt in the air while her tail beckoned.

    It seemed she was no longer in the mood for work either, as she crawled towards me on all fours, snuggling up besides the fire.

    My arms wrapped around her hips, and my uninjured hand slipped under her underwear to the wet reward hidden beneath. I pulled her closer, sealing her lips with a kiss while our tongues entwined hotly. She sucked at my tongue, her sharp canines poking occasionally, reminding me of her different origins. Belle seemed to like what my hand was doing down below, as she gyrated to force more pleasure into herself.

    "Master..." she panted, taking a breath after a long kissing session. "...Belle can''t wait anymore." She said while bucking onto my hand below.

    I kissed her again before answering, both with words and action. "We can be as loud as we want tonight, I want to hear your sweet voice." I told her while running my fingers up her walls.

    She was beyond ready, her pussy dripping and dampening her fluffy panties. Retracting my hand from her entrance, I pulled the panties aside while steadying myself towards her lower-lips, her "mouth" sucking on me delightfully as I entered. Going slowly at first, she responded by pushing herself deeper on each thrust, demanding more. I began to speed up, thrusting deeply into her pussy and retreating halfway while she rewarded my movement with wet moaning.

    Beginining softly at first, she called out louder and louder, raising her voice each time I thrust. I would make her moan like a beast tonight.

    I began pumping harder while she screamed out. Her pussy accepting me entirely while I made love to it. Lifting her leg up with one hand to get a better angle while we lay on our sides. Loud wet sounds filled the air as I went furiously into her, feeling the urge begin to build below as the pleasure of her firmness overwhelmed me.  My grip on her ankle, I began to pull her towards me each time I thrust in. Pulling hard while I hit the deepest parts of her body. Her head arched back in pleasure, long silky black hair pushed against my chest as she screamed encouragingly.

    Her voice cut out as I poured my cum into her, filling her pussy as it gulped it all down greedily, not letting even a single drop. She was overwhelmed with the feeling, her brown feline eyes vacant with the heat of the moment while she began cooing out unconsciously.

    Grabbing Belle''s hips, I repositioned ontop of her. Not letting myself slip out for even a second, only taking a moment''s rest before starting again. Thrusting in at full speed while her pussy squeezed on my cock unconsciously before the renewed movements woke her from her bliss-filled daze.

    "Aoooh... master... I love you..." She pledged her soul while her body accepted me readily. I leaned into her more, positioning so that I could thrust faster and answer her enthusiasm with my own. Belle''s body shook with pleasure, her knees no longer able to support our combined weight as she collapsed onto her belly while I struck her womb repeatedly. Even as she lay collapsed, arms weakly at her side, legs flat on the ground, her pussy alone held on. Gripping at me each time I entered, holding onto my member with all the power it could muster. Wrapping her long hair in a bunch, I wound it around my hand to use as leverage, forcing her head up weakly each time I entered. Her body remained pinned under mine while only I did the work now, her only movements now caused by my own.

    She uttered out a low guttural purring that encouraged me to go harder. I''d give this little minx everything she wanted. Feeling my member enveloped and squeezed by her walls, which seemed to have a life of its own, as it massaged and sucked with reckless abandon. Her body truly wanted mine, and did everything possible to prove it.

    After thrusting on my own for a short while, it was apparent that Belle was beginning to recover as she started to respond faithfully to every movement. Rocking her hips upward while her pussy milked on my cock, taking it in eagerly while hoping for a second dose. Belle now managed to lift her knees up again, as she put even more effort into accepting me further inward, deeper to the point I could now feel the entrance of her womb kissing the tip of my cock when I thrust in fully. Her sex shuddered in pleasure each time I struck there, traveling all the way to her legs while she cried out with beastly and womanly noises. I felt myself coming again, and picked up even more speed, planning to give her all that I had as we joined wildly.

    I kept thrusting, her panting breaths encouraging me as I grew closer by the second. Her wet pussy stretching and gripping every inch of me as I slid into her deepest portions, her womb letting me in a little more each time. Desperate for release, I pumped furiously to the end.

    Belle cried out at the intense pressure.

    Her womb opened just enough to accept me as cum burst forth, filling her innermost regions. I lay unmoving on her, feeling her womb close down around my tip as it drank deeply from my release. Her womb tried to close each time but my penis stopped it, feeling it try to push me out of somewhere it thought my penis shouldn''t be. But every time Belle''s womb tried to expel me, I pushed back each time with greater force, ensuring my penis remained firmly inside it, keeping it open while I fed it my hot cum. Belle was going crazy with pleasure while her womb rebelled,  she continued to force herself deeper onto me. Together, we made sure her womb took every last drop of seed I had, the closing walls prompting me to give it more each time. Her pussy squeezed on me encouragingly as it tried its best to take me deeper, while her womb struggled futilely to push me out.

    We both panted while enjoying the moment together, I savored the feeling of being inside her while she savored my presence inside her. The winter''s chill kept at bay by our combined efforts and the warm lull of the fire. Before long we were back to lying on the blanket, kissing lovingly.

    "Master... do you think I''ll get pregnant?" Belle spoke up after a long pause, her concern about not being pregnant after so much effort starting to show.

    "Mmm, eventually." I replied softly, no longer feeling so guilty about hiding the truth about our differing biologies from her. Perhaps it started as a lie of omission, but I would make it the truth.

    I couldn''t help thinking about the stories of how dragons were renowned for their habit of sowing seed among monsters of various size and shape, seemingly able to impregnate everything regardless of species. With my system I could possess vitality akin to or even greater than a dragon, given enough time. Why then should I not expect Belle to be able to conceive? The biological differences between beastkin and human paled in comparison to the differences between dragon and slime, and yet there were such things as dragon slimes on this earth.

    Letting thoughts fade, we held each other as sleep took hold. The fire crackling besides us.

    Kaguro

 Ch 16. Branching out

    It was another cold morning, perhaps colder due to the fact we were sleeping on the floor. The fire had gone out during night, leaving the room chilly, but not cold enough to freeze water, as was apparent from the still-wet ground outside.

    My left-hand didn''t hurt anymore, despite the wounds only being a day old the broken skin was already starting to scab, although the hand itself was bruising terribly. I decided to rub a few drops of potion onto it to help somewhat with the healing, which caused a pleasant tingling sensation over the wounds but no other noticeable effects.  Rewrapping my hand once that was done.

    I had plans this week, thanks part of my arrangement with Cal. I would be visiting some craftsmen to study under for a brief time. Supposedly he had introduced me as an acquaintance struggling to choose a career path. Allowing me to observe the daily life of each to see if I could find some spark of inspiration. Normally apprenticeships weren''t treated so casually, and doing something like what I intended was considered somewhat rude, and only through Cal''s influence as the lord''s son was such a thing possible.

    First off was the tailor. Ameliah, a middle-aged blonde unmarried woman in her fourties with large breasts and a kind demeanor. She was a very unassuming woman, but I knew from speaking with Cal that he had bedded her several times. I didn''t get that impression from her, but maybe that''s because he was the lord''s son and I was a nobody for all she knew. To some women, social status was the best aphrodisiac.

    The shop was full of spindles, wool and linen cloth of various colors wrapped around them, along with large sheets of cloth. There were other employees, mostly women, but some elderly looking men as well. This was Ameliah''s shop, but given that it was the only tailoring shop in the city, she alone could never be enough to supply the textiles for a city of 50,000 souls like Tromwell. Everyone seemed busy, some were twining raw fibers into string, while others were at work sewing cloth into clothes.

    Ameliah had me observe their activity for a while, before having another woman take over to show me how to make stitches on a practice cloth. It took me a while to understand what she was doing, but once I knew what to do my hands moved flawlessly with superhuman dexterity like I had been doing it for years.

    I kept checking the mirrors situated in the shop to see if I had acquired a new class, somewhat disappointed that I hadn''t gotten it yet. It wasn''t until they let me work on actual clothes, repairing tears with the stitch she had just taught me, that I was able to acquire [Tailor].

    The associating skill looked to be [Tailoring], which by the name seemed to just be a passive enhancement ability related to crafting skill. I wasn''t disappointed though, my main purpose was just to create fodder classes that I could level for skill points. Even if the skills generated were junk it didn''t matter much. I finished up the rest of the day at the shop, just putting on airs, but no where near as interested as I had been earlier.

    Next up on my list was blacksmithing. I had my doubts at first but when I showed up the next day at Vel''s smithy, he showed me everything I needed to know and didn''t say a word of complaint. It seemed status really did make a world of difference, as I marveled at how effective name dropping had been.

    I slaved away at the furnace for hours, smelting ingots down into liquid metal. Helping to pour into casts. Watching the men hammer away at molten iron, I tried to learn what they did as diligently as I could manage. In part because the sooner I learned, the sooner I would be able to leave. It might be a rotten way of thinking, but it was the most efficient one. I had no interest in their profession, but this experience would serve to make me more powerful. Perhaps sensing my rotten attiude, Vel gave me the most grueling tasks available and worked me to the bone. Had this not been exactly what I wanted, I would have resented him for this. Being around hardened men I was too self-conscious to bring out my mirror while working, but at the end of the day I was pleased to see the [Blacksmith] class and [Blacksmithing] skill showing up in my status list.

    I had many other similar days during my week off, spending time at the tannery learning to cure hides and sew leather got me the [Leatherworker] and [Leatherworking] traits, working the fields near my home earned me [Farmer] and [Farming], learning clay-making from the local pottery got me [Potter] and [Sculpting], and time in the kitchens of Cal''s father''s manor got me [Cook] and [Cooking].

    By the end my hand had completely healed, looking as pristine as it had ever been before. This whole experience had been a great lesson to me. Had I not blocked those rocks with my hand, I could have lost an eye or worse. My vitality helped prevent a worst case scenario by making my bones more resilient to breaking, but even with that the damage still put me out of commission for a week. I needed more protection out there, and for that I would need to visit Vel''s again.

    I was somewhat hesitant, given Vel''s increasing suspicion and dislike of me. It was only natural I suppose, given that I had basically disrespected his profession by trying it out for one day before leaving. Blacksmithing apprenticeships were usually treated as quite valuable here, and the job payed quite well compared to most. It was usually a selective process, but I had skipped that entirely with Cal''s influence and proceeded to leave just as easily as I came into it.

    And as I thought, Vel was glowering at me while I browsed his goods. Bringing him my selection of goods, a small metal round-shield, and a helm, I tried to inquire how much it would be.

    "Don''t wanna be a blacksmith, e'' boy? Not good enough for you?" He said while towering over me, intimidatingly.

    It seems like he was taking it harder than expected. I thought to myself while grimacing.

    "Hello, Vel. Lovely weather isn''t it? Just looking for these two today." I said while gesturing to the items in my hand.

    Vel leaned down to my height, even though I wasn''t particularly short the man was basically a giant.

    "I don''t like that little stunt you pulled earlier. This here''s a proper profession, and I know when I''m being disrespected."

    The blood drained from my face somewhat. The man actually thought I was mocking him. This was even worse than people thinking I was crazy.

    "Yer friend might be the lord''s family, but you ain''t. If you think we''re goin'' ta bow and scrape to yer every whim you got another thing coming." He said, quite angrily.

    "T-that''s... I''m sorry Vel. There''s been something of a misunderstanding here. I didn''t mean any disrespect earlier. " Somewhat flustered by the unexpectedly brunt confrontation. "I just want to purchase these..."

    He seemed suspicious of me, but still took my money. Charging me five silver for the two, which seemed a bit overly expensive but I didn''t think haggling was much of an option right now. I just wanted to get out of there for the time being.

    It seems like some of the craftsmen weren''t too pleased with me trying out and rejecting every profession I went to, a good thing to keep in mind for next time. I thought to myself wryly, although I didn''t entirely regret it given what I had gained.

 Ch 17. Third Outing

    It seems that Belle had been having quite the productive week as well. I heard that she had been helping out in Cal''s shop helping with his experiments, apparently she had even been getting reading lessons from Ashley for which she was ecstatic.

    I listened to her describe the week''s work somewhat disinterestedly... categorizing herbs and monster ingredients, tidying the laboratory, sweeping the shop. My eyes instead focused on her swinging tail, and bouncing butt while she bobbed up and down on my lap.

    When we were done, I had her dress me for the occasion. Strapping down my leather armor over warm clothes, and carrying my helm and shield in one hand before I set out. Today was the third outing of our fledging party, and one which I was quite eager for.

    It seems my reputation had taken something of a hit among the craftsmen of the town due to my ''class gathering'' idea. Even Cal seemed somewhat cold, thinking I had taken too much advantage of his goodwill. My pride was somewhat hurt by this and I felt the need to prove myself.

    The others were assembled at the guild, ready as usual. Fully armed and better armored than before.

    Greeting them as I looked about. Tammy was over by the counter, more attentive than usual as she stood talking with another woman. I recognized her from when I first registered, she was the mage-looking one. Milky white skin and long raven black hair with faint streaks of dark red, extremely subtle but the way it caught the early light made her black hair shimmer like it was burning. An extremely unusual coloring, and one that I hadn''t noticed before at a glance. Like before she was wearing expensive looking dresses rather than armor, and she carried an intricately carved staff with a gemstone set atop it.

    Even though I was talking with the others about our plans, Tammy seemed to have noticed my staring as she glanced at me before continuing on. The beauty in elaborate dress soon saying her part before leaving.

    Our conversation continued on for a while longer, the others talking about which monsters we might run into, before I split off to approach Tammy.

    "Who was that?" I asked her, mostly interested in what a mage would be doing out here.

    Tammy looked at me, grinning slightly while she sat down behind the counter, resting her head on her arms.

    "Interested in her?" She teased me, seeming to imply I had ulterior motives.

    *ahem* I cleared my throat.

    "How do we have a mage in the guild? This isn''t the kind of place that would attract one..." Mages were almost entirely royalty or at the very least nobility. Given that the academy only admitted those of nobility, not to mention the cost of raising mages was prohibitively expensive.

    "She''s a Marcet." She replied as if that was the end of the explanation.

    Cal''s sister? I''ve never heard she was a mage. Just another thing I would need to ask him about, but it certainly did explain things. Only the Marcets had the ability to raise a mage, and given that this was their territory it wouldn''t be unusual for the daughter to be around, mage or not.

    I nodded and continued the conversation to its end. Asking about what other parties had seen around here lately, which seemed to be more muck rats and less mud-men, the lack of rain for the last week drying out the terrain substantially. She did ask about my hand, and was surprised to see it had fully healed already.

    Art, Sebast, Orion, and Kalm were waiting at the door for me to end my conversation.

    We went out into the bright winter morning, walking along the near empty streets. Once we were past the inner wall I could see the farmhouse that Cal had lent me, the fields looking as dead as always whereas most of the other fields had winter crops planted, the bright green a stark contrast to the dull grey of the soil.

    We passed the guards with a nod as they let us through, heading outside the small gate at the end of the road and into the expansive prairie beyond. We could see the tree-line far off in the distance, but didn''t dare go that far. We could try for slimes or mud-men again, but given what we had heard the lack of rain was making them harder to come by, making muck rats the most likely target, albeit a much more dangerous one.

    I took the vanguard position as usual, but given we had no enemies yet our formation was closer together than usual, helping us to respond to any direction of attack. No matter how far we walked to the treeline it didn''t seem to get much closer, making me wonder just how large those trees had to be exactly. We made it to a local high-point, the tallest hill we could find in the distance that let us look over the tallgrass from a vantage point. From here we could see several groups of rats, walking in formations eerily similar to our own as they passed through the grass that stood taller than themselves. From what we had heard, it was somewhat easier to fight the rats in the fields than in the open. Muck rats could coordinate better in the poor visibility, given their sense of smell, but the rats were physically weak and poor in close combat given their reliance on tools and projectiles. The grass itself made an effective buffer against their slings, reducing the effective range greatly and preventing accuracy. Our strategy would revolve around that.

    Orion and Kalm held their spears, abandoning their primary weapons. We would charge as a unit, and take as much of an advantage as we could.

 Ch 18. Rat Charge

    We focused in on the nearest group to us, three hundred or so meters away. Exact counts were difficult but it must have been twenty or so rats by the impressions we could see wading through the grass. It looked like they could smell us, because their group was heading towards ours, which suited us just fine. Like before, I lead the group down the sloping hill as we neared the muck rat pack, we were still walking observing our surroundings carefully while we grew closer.

    We could hear the rats chattering and squeaking excitedly to themselves, more than we first expectedly, but they too close now to back out. Stones began whizzing towards us out of the grass near the bottom of the hill, falling short of our position. We could only see a few of them, but there were far more than that from the sound of it.

    When the stones started getting close enough to hit us, I broke out into a run, charging the remaining distance with my small round-shield blocking my vision and the occasional errant rocks as they deflected harmlessly. I had some head protection this time, but I wasn''t about to put it to the test.

    I came onto the first rat, who''s squeals quickly turned from excitement to terror as I chopped it through the neck with a low swing. I couldn''t tell where to go next, with the rest hidden among the reeds but before I could make a judgement four rats burst out towards me, running on their hind legs with rocks in hand. They hit my legs furiously, and chewed where they could, but they weren''t able to get through my boots or the thick leather plating on my leg-armor despite their best efforts. I wasn''t really in danger but their swarming presence alarmed me, stabbing down in a panic as my sword found a target each time, sometimes only wounding them superficially but more often than not killing one outright.

    Art and Sebast joined up with me in close formation, with the two archers inexperienced with close combat positioned at the edges so that we formed a V-shaped wedge. Most of the rats funneling towards me as they tried to overwhelm our smaller group with sheer numbers. Dozens swarmed out from the grass, while some threw at us from behind the thicket, most of the stones flying harmlessly away from us as the thick vegetation obscured their vision. Some of the rats tried throwing from even further back, their projectiles making noise as it cut down thick grass stalks but failing to even make it out of the cover.

    My panic faded as we moved into methodical efficiency, killing the waist high muck rats as they screamed towards us, pushing them away with my shield and stabbing downward. Dozens dead around us, while most of our injuries were mere scratches to the hand, the occasional rat managing to bite or chew while we killed them. I leveled in the midst of it, but the fury of combat kept my attention. The wave broke before long, those hiding behind the reeds retreating with shrill and angry cries.

    My armor had small gashes and cuts in the leather, but I was relatively unharmed. Some bites and scratches on my sword-hand bleeding slightly, but otherwise I was fine. The others were safe, but seemed exhausted after the short battle. Flopping on the ground while breathing heavily.

    I frowned somewhat looking at their demeanor, this would probably be the end of today''s expedition, which disappointed me but their thought process was in line that of a normal adventurer. They didn''t gain strength by killing things, they only got money for it. The main way adventurers gained strength was by accumulating wealth, and buying new gear. Armor and weapons made from monster material would grant supernatural powers the wearer, making them stronger, faster, or able to use part of the original monster''s power.

    By the looks of it we had over three dozen bodies here, more than enough for a day by their standard. We almost had too much to bring back as it stood, so there was no incentive for them to stay longer.

    Taking out my hand-mirror, I pulled up my status window in the image and split the new attribute points evenly into strength and vitality both. Enhancing my physical attributes each time, like I had now grown accustomed to doing.

    My [Fighter] class had risen dramatically, as I put into action my plan to raise all my level 1 classes for additional points. Dumping these extra points into [Physical Boost], having estimated this was in fact my most powerful passive skill as far as I could tell. Curiously, I found that the skill only went up to level 10, after which I could no longer invest any further. This had a certain logic to it, from what the system told me I would be getting another skill every ten class levels, which meant if I only earned points from one class I would max out each skill by the time I got a new one. Leaving me with one extra point that I decided to keep for later.

    Speaking of the system... where was he?

    "Are you there?" I called out into the void of my mind, waiting for a response.

 Ch 19. Problems?

    "Are you there?" I called out into the void of my mind, waiting for a response.

    "Hmm..?" The familiar voice responded when prompted.

    "Is everything alright? You normally say something when I level up..."  I posed the question I had been thinking of, the entire time while fighting and updating my status system had stayed silent. Somewhat unusual for the talkative personality.

    ...

    "Mmm, yes well I suppose there is something wrong, but the oddest thing is I haven''t the faintest idea what is wrong."

    I had no idea what he was talking about, but then again I''m not very familiar with what kind of troubles a disembodied system could possibly have.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Do you remember how I told you that I could use gathered energy to enhance your powers? Well the issue seems to be stemming from there, I''m running out of energy for some reason. I would have thought with you killing monsters more actively we''d be seeing the opposite. Truly perplexing."

    His words alarmed me. Running out of power? It couldn''t possibly be that I''d lose my system just days after getting it.

    "What happens when you run out of power, will I lose access?" I posed my only concern to him.

    "No, I''m afraid that''s not possible" This sounded like good news, but for some reason he seemed bitter. "Just like how I can''t access your status, I can''t interfere with your operation of the system either. Normally systems like me operate on an individual realm basis, gathering energy and staying within self-sufficiency, only at the very beginning or in exceptional cases do we ever have a need to take energy from elsewhere.  Once we starting running deficits, we''ll be taking energy from the other realms and I dare not imagine the Goddess will be too happy about it."

    "When will that happen?"

    "It should happen by the time you hit level fourteen, but I would ask you to put a hold on leveling while I figure this out. " The system spoke grimly while making a ridiculous request.

    I scoffed at the idea, this was my power and he wanted me to ignore it.

    The system seemed very concerned, but from what I understood this didn''t seem like my problem. Although I understood enough about the situation to know that my doubled rewards were pretty much the culprit. System could tell it was linked to my leveling, but it seems like he still didn''t know why it was linked. And I wasn''t about to divulge that information quite yet.

    I hummed to myself while thinking, skinning the overgrown muck rats one by one, and skillfully extracting the gall-bladders like Cal wanted. Sebast, Art, Kalm, and Orion did similarly to the hides, but weren''t interested in the organs like I was. Taking about an hour even with all of us working in tandem. The over three dozen bodies proving to be quite a bit of work even with five people.

    We each took a stack of the grey hides, rolling them up like rugs and carrying some in each arm as we trekked through the grassy fields back to the gate and then through the farmland and city, carrying our goods to sell at the adventurer''s guild. The ample rolls of tough leather earned us roughly six gold this time in all, a gold two silver each which tracked pretty much onto what we had made per hide last time. Similarly I estimated that with Cal, the bloody bag of rat organs I was bringing to him would probably earn me an additional six silver. This would be enough to start furnishing our home, getting us a nice bed at the very least.

    The party again agreed to a week''s break before hunting again, something that made me frown. We waited a week to do an hour''s worth of hunting, and now we were going to wait another week? I brought this up, but the votes were unanimous against me, they wanted a break and they had earned more than enough to justify a week''s time off...

    Something clicked in my mind, a flash of realization. This party wasn''t something that was going to work long-term. Their goals were too fundamentally different from my own. We had mutual interests currently, yes, but I got stronger continuously while they were entirely reliant on wealth to buy better gear. They didn''t benefit as much from hunting repeatedly like I did, since it was just an unnecessary risk and they were in no rush. Most of them probably didn''t intend to become powerful adventurers, being content to make a good living as safely as they could in a dangerous profession.

    I was on their level less than a month ago, now I was more than twice as fast, and twice as strong. From what I heard copper ranks stayed that way for a year, advancing slowly based on reputation and a record built up over time, gearing themselves safely before moving onto stronger foes... the state of it making me upset. There was no way I could put up with this slow pace for over a year. Slowly my eyes drifted away from the town and back towards the gate lingering in the distance.

    I was going to need to start moving alone more often. Perhaps I could also join them when they hunted, but that didn''t mean I needed to go back when they did, or that I couldn''t hunt on the days they didn''t. Resolving myself to become more independent.

    Feeling the extra coins in my pocket I picked Belle up from the apothecary, intending to do a little shopping while the day remained young. We needed a bed after all, even though I was starting to grow accustomed to snuggling with Belle up next to the fire.

    At the bedmaker''s shop, we had an option to custom-order something or picking out one of those on display. The prospect of designing a bed ourselves was tempting to me, but many of the ones they had here were perfectly good looking. Belle tested each of them out, climbing onto one before sprawling out comfortably as I pressed down with my hand on the different wool, feather, and cotton packed mattresses to test their firmness. The mattresses were each built to the shape of the bed, so the type they had was the type you got.

    We came upon one of the largest beds they have, able to fit the both of us with room to spare, and complete with a sturdy wooden frame, posts, and headboard. The mattress itself was soft at first, but unusually springy. The salesman explaining that only the top was filled with cotton, while the base of the mattress was manufactured separately and stuffed with Doa feathers. A type of marine bird monster with gigantic feathers, which apparently were what gave the bed its unusual feeling.

    It cost an entire gold piece, more than twice the list price of the other beds. At first I was reluctant but seeing Belle lying on it, happily bouncing on the mattress while testing the elasticity, I became happy for another reason. Imagining all the things we could do together on a bed this sized.

    Placing the order in with the salesman, we waited while they arranged shipment, loading the frame and mattress separately into a cart before offering us a ride to our home. The coachman talking to us about different types of beds while we sat alongside him near the front.

    I decided to put the bed in the living room. We weren''t expecting guests anyway, and the side rooms were cold at night, while this let us stay near the fire and made the house no longer look so empty. Seeing the cart driver off while taking Belle by the hand inside, we were going to try this bed out immediately.

 Ch 20. New bed (R-18)

    Lighting the fireplace, I looked back to our new bed positioned practically in the center of the room, given we had no furniture yet it was the only idea I had on where to put it.

    Belle leaned her head back over the edge of the side while she lounged on the bed, enjoying the fact that we no longer needed to sleep on the floor. Brown eyes staring at me, upside down.

    Belle asked about my day and told me what she was learning in the shop. Reciting letters that she picked up from Ashley, excitedly in her gentle and femine voice, clearly proud of what she could now do. It was amusing hearing a topic like this from a woman the same age but somehow she still managed to be cute while doing it. She asked about how my hunting had gone and was concerned about my idea about going out by myself tomorrow, although given her position she understood she couldn''t stop me. Belle was certain to notice what changes had come over me, given that she paid the most attention out of anyone else, but even she couldn''t tell exactly how much I had grown.

    I watched Belle pout, her pink lips looking delectable.

    "Belle, what do you think we should be doing right now?" I started to tease her, while stripping out of my clothes.

    "Master..." She replied shyly, not wanting to say it.

    Walking to the edge of the bed, now naked.

    "I want to hear you say it." I said, bending to kiss Belle''s mouth, with her head still lying over the side her mouth was positioned in reverse of mine. Invading her mouth as she responded with enthusiasm, nipping and my tongue with her own as we entwined deeply, the sensation of kissing with our mouths reversed being fresh and exciting. She tried moving her arms away, intending to reposition herself so we could kiss normally, but I grabbed her wrists, pinning them over the bed in front of her while I continued the kiss, only pulling apart after a long passionate session.

    Both of us panting while we caught our breath.

    "Say it out loud." I prompted her again, making sure her arms remained pinned.

    "... to Belle"

    She said softly, much too soft to hear.

    Even with us alone, intimately sharing the privacy of our home she was this timid. And that just wouldn''t do. Either she speaks her desires or I''ll make sure she serves my own. Feeling the need to ''encourage'' her to speak up in my own way.

    "If you can''t say it, then I guess we''ll just have to do this... open your mouth Belle."

    She frowned but opened any way, exposing her cute canines resting in the corner of her mouth. Still pinned over the side of the bed by me, the new bed making her lay at just the right height for what I had in store. Feeling very aroused as I lined her vulnerable mouth up with my penis.

    Slowly inserting it into her mouth and feeling her rough tongue rub against the length as I slid it all the way down, reaching part way into her throat before she began to gag uncomfortably as it went even deeper. Even if she was experienced servicing me with her mouth, she certainly didn''t have experience serving with her throat.

    Having reached the root, I held it there for a few seconds, watching her squirm while her tongue licked uncontrollably at the foreign object.

    "This must be what you wanted, right?" I smirked, while taking her tongue''s enthusiasm as a reply.

    Taking it out enough that she could breathe, but not enough that she could speak, before sliding back in completely. The warm lapping sensation on my cock was irresistible, the roughness of her cat-like tongue adding an extra flavor to the act. No longer able to control myself as I began thrusting in with more vigor, letting her feel the length of my cock with her throat. Holding her arms firm as she gagged every time I reached in fully. Her ears twitching, perking, and drooping in a cycle.

    She soon stopped struggling and accepted her situation, leaning back to take my member in fully with her throat. Still gagging at the act.

    Belle''s tongue raced, trying to massage my member as it passed, drool falling from the edge of her mouth.

    I let her arms go back to her side, while she tilted her head back and bobbed upward responding to my movements. My cock sliding into her mouth and throat, feeling the intense attack of her small tongue from underneath.

    Before long she grabbed at my hips, not pushing me away, but rather helping to guide me in while steadying herself over the edge of the bed.

    I let myself lean over the bed, crawling ontop of Belle and finding myself face to face with her crotch. Finding the dress in the way, I pulled the ends aside to give me a good view of her belly and nethers before pulling her panties down her legs, her cute pussy greeting me. Belle was mostly hairless, but her navel and pubic region had the faintest bit of short fur, adding an exotic allure to her figure.

    Giving her a taste before licking between her legs, needing to keep her open as she tried to buck with her hips, clearly feeling it. Belle began to retaliate, sucking on me with fervor. Forcing her mouth to the root of my shaft and back, all the while continuing her tongue''s worship, gliding over every inch of my penis, caressing the tip whenever she could.

    I couldn''t take it anymore, no longer able to lay passively ontop of her while her mouth such intense and irresistable pleasure. Beginning to pump my hips, she was trying to milk my dick on her own, but she just couldn''t move fast enough for me, as I began humping into the bed. My penis forcing deep into her throat each time, no longer eliciting a gag as she accepted me entirely. Unlike her pussy, her throat was bottomless. Allowing me to go all the way in without hitting the womb, the vacuuming from her mouth almost making me moan as I used her throat roughly, my balls slapping onto her face degradingly while she took it.

    A burning passion stirred within my loins, letting me know I was about to cum. Taking the signal, I unplugged my dick from her throat allowing her to speak.

    "Where do you want it?" I demanded of Belle.

    "Pussy! Cum in my pussy master!" She cried out, now without hesitation.

    Belle crawled around before lying down missionary pose. Legs opened, presenting me with her wet glistening pussy that was ripe for the taking.

    Planting myself in her garden, I began thrusting in aggressively. I was making such wide movements my penis nearly pulled out every time, prompting Belle to wrap her legs and arms around me, ensuring I would fulfill my task to the end. Pumping furiously while being pulled in by Belle''s legs as she clung to my body, I felt myself once again nearing.

    Cumming into her with force. Belle swung her hips, using her legs around me as leverage to keep moving herself onto me while I came, continuing to squeeze out every drop. Seconds passed, eventually becoming a minute while she continued to swing her waist, using her pussy to milk me. Even long after I stopped releasing, my penis in its most sensitive state, Belle continued riding herself onto me as she tried tempting me into another round, something she already knew I would give her.

    Enjoying our new bed for the remainder of the day, we worked at it for hours, laying sweaty and exhausted by the end. Belle purring contentedly after receiving so many consecutive releases into her deepest parts. Having worked off any remaining anxieties about tomorrow, I slept very well that night.

    Kaguro

 Ch 21. Individual Action

    The guards looked at me strangely, given that practically no one ventured out alone, not to mention they had seen me yesterday with a group of newbie adventurers and I certainly looked the part. They tried to persuade me but ultimately their job wasn''t to keep people in, it was to keep monsters out, letting me pass after some insistence.

    I stood outside the walls, looking over the tall grasslands. A little more intimidated now that I was here without support, but I wasn''t about to turn back yet.

    I ran through scenarios in my head, thinking of how I could deal with swarms of muck rats by myself. From what I had experienced before, the muck rats were mostly helpless in close combat. No matter how many came, as long as I didn''t expose my face I would be relatively safe. I was even stronger now than I was before, having leveled yesterday.

    Whatever doubts I had pushed me to put on my strongest class combination, [Adventurer] and [Swordsman], putting my leftover skill point into [Sword Mastery] to squeeze out every advantage I could get.

    Steadily I made my way to the hill we surveyed from last time, walking with my sword and shield ready in hand, straining my ears for anything amiss.

    The hill let me look get a good look of the surroundings, I could see the muck rat packs in the distance, but the thing that caught my attention were the blood stained and skinless bodies resting at the bottom of the hill where we had left them last time. There were two grey wolves tearing into the corpses, these were by far larger and more powerful than any muck rat. I was tempted to ignore them and move on to easier prey, but these two had certainly noticed me by now. If I ignored them and went after rats they could very well follow me and attack me while I was at a disadvantage.

    Thinking about it logically to calm myself, I was now more than twice as fast and powerful as the average man, and I had every advantage over these wolves. These were enemies I should be able to beat.

    Walking down the hill steadily, I approached cautiously not lowering my shield and weapon as two wolves began snarling at me with teeth exposed. The tension rose every step I took as the wolves realized I wasn''t going to be intimidated, they spread out somewhat so they would be attacking from different angles as I kept playing over possible scenarios in my head, trying to psyche myself up for combat.

    I stopped when I was at the bottom of the hill, the two wolves barely five meters away while I tried to goad them into attacking first by creeping closer. They backed away slowly, taking a wider angle apart from each other before I soon realized the wolf that was breaking away from my target intended to get behind me. I decided to break forward towards the closest one, jumping back at the last moment to avoid the jaws snapping at my midsection and moving sideways to avoid the other wolf lunging in from behind.

    The two were back in front of me now, as I rounded towards them again, holding my shield in front of me and my sword pointed down off to the side.

    This was certainly a different type of fighting than I was used to, forcing me to move actively rather than waiting around for the enemy and relying on armor for protection. I didn''t want to have to trust this armor to keep me safe from those teeth, the wolves being at least three times heavier than the scrawny muck rats.

    I was hesitant now to charge in, with how the other would react immediately. These truly were monsters better dealt with in groups.

    Trying again to goad one into attacking, this time successfully. The wolf rushing me once I got too close, allowing me to deflect its mouth away with my shield while I stabbed deep into the exposed neck from the side. The other wolf took advantage of the situation, coming at me from the side before I could escape and catching my left leg with its jaws. Biting through the leather, but the teeth only going barely through. Sparks racing through my mind as it shook my leg back and forth, pulling me off balance and to the ground, dazed. It came for my face but I was able to hold it in place with my shield before stabbing at it wildly with my sword.

    I could feel my heart beating in my ears, blood pumping furiously from the adrenaline as I sat down, still a little dazed at what had just happened. I was alright, the armor did its job. I thought to myself, trying to feel around the wound and inspecting the teeth marks on the leather seeing that it didn''t look too deep. Taking out my potion from the belt that I''d kept all this time and pouring it onto the punctures, stopping the blood near immediately as it foamed on contact. There were more expensive versions of health potions, but all of them essentially served as hemostatics, designed to close up wounds and prevent injuries from bleeding out. If you were injured too badly, they wouldn''t help much, but in a situation like this it was perfect. The wound itched, but being mostly superficial, only a quarter inch deep or so, with help from the potion it no longer bled any more.

    I took out my mirror briefly, seeing that I had gained two more levels in [Adventurer] and three in [Swordsman], surprising me with how much higher the experience gains were than from muck rats. Two wolves gave even more class levels than the thirty rats had earlier in the day, good news in a way, but given that I haven''t level up yet it seemed to forebode the amount I would need for each of my general levels as the requirements became increasingly harsh. I dumped the five points into [Sword Mastery] going for the immediate benefit. From what I could tell and what I had heard from the system, these mastery skills didn''t suddenly make you an expert, but they did greatly improve your existing skills. I would still benefit from experience and techniques, but my basic proficiency had increased dramatically and would continue to amplify my abilities as they grew from training.

    Leaving the corpses where they lay, I dusted myself off, struggling to regain balance for a moment before finding my footing. I climbed back up the hill to look for the nearest pack of muck rats. Burning with a conviction that I would be getting level five today.

 Ch 22. Fruits of Labor

    I found a small group of rats on a nearby stretch, no more than a dozen, just the right number to test out.

    The muck rats were especially vicious, seeming to think they had found easy prey in a lone traveler as they squealed and chattered loudly. I charged in while guarding my face, avoiding some of the rocks but mainly letting them deflect off of my shield or strike against my armor harmlessly.

    The rats somewhat less confident while I closed in quickly, all while ignoring their attacks completely, cutting the first one down the middle before moving on to the next. The others seemed to realize the slings weren¡¯t doing anything, squealing as they ran in to surround me while I moved back, cutting them down and moving in the direction of the fallen to prevent an enclosure. The rats knew they had failed, half of them dead while I was unharmed. Seeing the muck rats turn to flee I gave chase killing another two before they split off in separate directions. Six dead, and it wasn¡¯t even that difficult.

    Fighting in a group had dulled my talents somewhat, I now realized. My speed and power greatly exceeded that of the rats, and moving around more actively in a fight was an approach that emphasized this advantage more.

    After a short break to catch my breath, I set off in the last direction I had seen one of the bigger packs. Twenty minutes of walking bringing me close enough that I could hear their grunting and high pitched squealing, even if my vision remained obscured by the increasingly tall grass that now came up to my chest. The ambient mana in the wilderness aiding its growth the further out I got.

    The rats clearly noticed me. The grass bending and snapping around me cuing me in to the fact that the pack was moving in to surround me.

    I kept my shield up around my face, but was not as worried about their slings with the tall thicket of grass acting as a damper. I split off to one side, going off of experience prior experience to prevent an attack from behind. I couldn''t see anything until I was right upon them, relying entirely on reaction to stab while running past. I was able to kill several like this, but this pack was at least as big as the one we had killed in the morning as a group. The rats were simply too many to prevent them from surrounding me, dealing with increasing numbers by the second despite killing one every time I took a breath. All I had to do was stab down, barely taking the time to aim as my legs were increasingly weighed down by the frenzied numbers, unable to move forward any further.

    The lanky muck rats scratched and bit, but despite the rabid ferocity they showed they were simply too short and weak to get through the leather plating my legs. The bigger threat now were the slings, as the rats in the surrounding clammered in, those at the edge of the swarm had an open shot which they took repeatedly. The rocks rung off my helmet from behind me, not hurting all that much but still managing to be terribly distracting.

    The rush of experience bathed me in light, indicating I had reached my goal but the muck rats still poured in obliviously, offering themselves up to my sword.

    "Didn''t I tell you to stop leveling!?" An angry and confused voice shouted into my mind, rambling on before I quickly tuned him out.

    With the bodies stacking around me the rats were now beginning to leap and climb, desperate to get at my exposed neck and face, which soon had me doubting whether I''d accurately judged their numbers. I''d already killed two dozen, and they just kept coming. The muck rats were starting to organize lines now, throwers lining the perimeter, while bulkier rats were sent into the fray. The grass around the perimeter was now completely flattened, stamped down by the passage of dozens of rats. They hadn''t managed to injure me yet, but my head and neck hurt from the constant barrage off my helmet and by now my hands felt numb. Blocking rocks constantly with my shield, and having to deal with the occasional stray that rung off my sword uncomfortably.

    Seeing how many there were this was at least a proto-colony consisting of several packs. By now the mass of rats had stopped throwing themselves so suicidely into my range, somewhat afraid now as they tried to let the rock throwers do most of the work. No longer pressed from all sides I began moving forward steadily while maintaining a guarded stance to protect my exposed face from rocks, careful as to not to trip on the pile of bodies that had sprung up around me.

    The ring of bulky muck rats tried backing up, getting only so far as the line of throwers before they were forced to respond, lashing out as a group. The others behind me took this as a signal as they begun to pour in again clawing and bashing at my legs. No matter what they did these were beings that were fundamentally incapable of getting through armor, their small and weak stature giving them pitiful leverage over the primitive tools they wielded, only the one''s with slings seemed to pose me any real threat. A well placed rock to my unshielded face being my primary concern.

    I cut down the defenders before tearing into the backlines, killing the slingers who had been attacking with impunity until now. The lines were broken now, the ring collapsing as I tore through the now helpless rats, each one turning to flee as I approached, cleaving and stabbing any of the rats that weren''t fast enough.

    Soon I was all alone among the clearing, the reeds cut down from the presence of our battle and the mass of bodies. Fifty, sixty... at least seventy rats by the time I finished counting. Now exhausted from the long battle, I sat down amongst the filth, no longer minding it as much now that I was covered in it. My leg aching the most out of anywhere, the bite starting to bleed again after the intense combat.

    Taking out my mirror, my face and hair were covered in blood and my armor was covered in worse, bits of gore clinging to it. I pondered my attributes longer this time, still undecided on how I should spend them and looking instead at what had happened with my classes.

    [Inventory]

    It appears this is the skill that System was trying to recommend, seeing as it appeared after [adventurer] hit level 10 this was supposed to an activated skill. The pattern alternating every 10 levels according to his explanation. I mentally willed myself to use the skill, not quite knowing what to expect for my first activation-based ability.

    It was as if images were being projected into my mind, ten rooms of solid stone, each no bigger than a closet, and each appearing brightly illuminated despite the lack of light, allowing me to see the room''s walls with perfect clarity. Somehow I felt like I knew what to do, laying my hand on a muck rat corpse next to me while willing it into the room my mind had just inspected.

    The corpse dissapearing instantaneously as I stayed crouched over the empty space where the body had been just moments before, in mild disbelief.

    The rat body now filling much of the first room''s floor. Looking to the multitudes of bodies littering the ground, I quickly invested points in the skill, stopping after the second as I watched the number of rooms increase from ten to twenty to fourty while the rooms themselves were now larger than even my home, mentally scanning through the massive rooms almost seeming like walking great empty halls.

    Every time I placed or withdrew an item required me to have an exact mental grasp or where I wanted to put it, gauranteeing this task would be something of a headache at the higher levels and indicating to me that without sufficient acuity I should not invest further. Thinking to myself while eyeing the intelligence attribute thay would almost certainly aid in tasks like these.

    Walking amongst the bodies, storing them one by one while I practiced my new skill.

    I certainly hadn''t forgotten the other gain, [sword edge]. Mentally willing it to activate but seeing no effect as I frowned subtly.

    It did have the name sword in it, so perhaps the skill needed one to work. Taking out my sword from its place on my hip.

    [Sword Edge]

    I activated the skill, focused on the blade trying to discern what had happened. It was faint, but there certainly had been something there. A spark of transparent ghostly blue color flashed out from the tip and extending into the air a few inches before dissapearing in a flash, gone just as fast as it had appeared.

    Looking to one of the unstored rat bodies, I steadied my sword just above the skin. A mental timer of 1 minute appearing above the skill when I tried to activate it again, somewhat irritated at the revelation.

    Waiting for the timer to finish before trying again. The blade flashed blue, but nothing else happened. Moving the blade away only to notice a blade sized wound oozing out blood where there previously had been none.

    It cut through instantly and I didn''t even notice. Both alarmed and pleased at the realization as I dump my remaining skill points in without hesitation, bringing the skill up to level five. The cooldown time now being a very manageable ten seconds and the range exceeding a meter. Already an incredibly useful skill, and whose full potential excited me.

    Suddenly feeling a bit more tired despite having rested after combat. Trying it out against another body, the phantom blade materialized again but shattered to pieces midway through, shards spraying through the air and disappearing. I felt tremendously weak now, nauseous and dizzy. My head spinning as I let myself to the ground unsteadily. Having to rest for a few minutes before I could even think again.

 Ch 23. Taste of Power

    It seems like I wasn''t able to use it more than twice before experiencing some sort of rebound, peering at my attributes to discern which one exactly was governing the feedback I was now feeling.

    From the basic descriptions I received it was either intelligence or oddly enough, charisma. Intelligence governed the mind and ability to process mana, while charisma governed the power of the soul and largely determined how much mana my soul could hold. It was entirely possible I had messed things up while trying to activate my ability, but somehow it felt like that was wrong. I activated it twice without many issues, and the type of pain I felt was more like a kind of mental, whole-body exhaustion, than any injury.

    It was enticing to invest points into charisma, given how powerful this ability could be. But doing so was not what I really needed right now, even two uses would be a powerful trump-card, but such an ability could never be my main-stay method of attack unless I had endless mana to use.

    I was powerful enough as it stood to kill the multitudes of monsters here in the grasslands surrounding the town, I could arm myself with better gear like a normal adventurer but I wanted to be able to go out day after day without having to spend time recuperating like the others did. Looking down at my leg wound, such a thing would put an ordinary man out for a month, while I could probably recover in less than a week as it stood, but even that was too long for efficiency sake. If I could do this every day, and thanks in part to my new inventory I would be seeing a massive profit along with steady levels allowing me to progress smoothly. The logistics of bringing back spoils after each hunt being solved entirely.

    It was decided then, as I invested fully into constitution. The muscles around my leg wound knitting together as my body became sturdier, not completely healed but shallower than earlier. Inspecting my full status page one last time.

    Even after a grueling battle, my body felt much more comfortable. More so than it had ever felt before. Like I was at the peak of my form, the physical exhaustion fading while the mental fatigue and headache remained, albeit somewhat alleviated.

    Next came the task of storing these bodies, something that was still less than half done. Walking along while placing each within the illusory rooms of my inventory space before heading back to where I had left the two wolves, storing those as well.

    Walking back through the gates, the guards let me in while looking on bemusedly. Solo adventurers were exceedingly rare, and in their eyes my scuffed armor and blood countenance only reinforced why that was. It was easy to come to a certain conclusion: I had been in a fight, I brought back no spoils, and I really looked like hell. This wasn''t the usual appearance of a triumphant adventurer, but that wasn''t quite the issue I was facing.

    The bodies I carried were worth a lot of money... but they were in my inventory. And that was precisely the problem. If I sold a lot of monsters the guild would want to know how I got them, and if I told them I hunted them all by myself they''d probably ask those guards. The guards knew my face, and they knew how much I brought back. Most of the times they didn''t care what adventurers did but if the guild started asking questions about how I could bring back so many bodies at once, then they weren''t going to lie for me. They''d say I brought back nothing.

    This was beginning to become something of a headache for me.

    It might be a little bit too much of an issue to deal with this alone, but thankfully I knew just the person that might be able to help.

    Walking through the doors of the apothecary shop, I was greeted by the usual acrid medicinal smell that hung in the air and the sight of potions lining the countertop and shelves. Behind the counter sat Ashley and Belle, manning the store. Belle appeared to have been reading a small book, which was highly unusual considering her illiteracy. Thinking to myself that I may have underestimated her boasting about learning to read. On closer inspection it appeared to be a children''s story, but nonetheless, I remained impressed.

    Their attention was already drawn to the open door and ''guest'', but I hummed my voice a bit before addressing them.

    "Hello girls, how have you been?"

    "--Master! Y-your leg, you''re bleeding. This is terrible!"

    "Keaton... are you alright?"

    They both replied at once. It seems that Belle had told Ashley about my solo adventure today, so she was aware of it. I didn''t want to get too far into it so I assured them I was alright and hurried past after saying that I needed to speak with Cal. Not bothering to knock on his door before bursting in...

 Ch 24. Business Partners

    Inviting myself in to Cal''s study, I observed him busily flipping through reference manuscripts, dried plants lining the table.

    Seeing how Cal made no mention of my entering, either he remained oblivious or was choosing to intentionally ignore my presence. I smiled a bit before walking up to his desk confidently, watching over his shoulder in as obnoxious manner as possible, ensuring he was aware of me.

    "I see you''ve returned triumphantly" He remarked sardonically, noticing my seemingly horrific appearance, blood and gut caked armor, a bitten leg, and no spoils to see.

    "Well said my friend, it went better than I could have ever imagined." I replied truthfully, still in a celebratory mood. Meeting his sarcasm with gloating.

    Cal turned to me, somewhat confused. Probably wondering if I haven''t finally gone insane like the rumors.

    "Now that I have your attention." I stated, waving my hand to the side as I materialized one of the large grey wolf bodies from my inventory directly onto his floor.

    "..!"

    He stared completely shocked at what I had just done. Aside from my own method, there was only one way to do what I had just done.

    "...mage, you''re a MAGE?!" He looked at me in stupor,

    I wasn''t one in the traditional sense, but he didn''t need to know that.

    "You''re even a space mage, Keaton. How is this possible? There aren''t any space mages in all of Stromgar. Even the Southern Imperial Kingdoms don''t have that many of them." He was now shaking in disbelief.

    Space mages were exceptionally valuable to any kingdom, given how their abilities naturally lended themselves to logistics and were invaluable to large-scale troop deployment, simplifying the complicated supply chains involved in wars. Mages were all quite valuable, but ones that could have such a wide effect on battle strategy were exceedingly rare, even if space mages only served in a support capacity they were still highly sought after due to how large an effect this support could have. The only kingdoms with any significant number of them would be the triumvirate Imperial kingdoms to the south, given their constant wars with the beast kingdoms and significant holdings they went to painstaking extents to attract and nurture space mages.

    "Cal my friend, I seem to have recently awoken as a mage. It happened suddenly and without warning... " I started off an a prepared spiel, explaining to him the fake origins of my new power.

    "You''re a natural mage, Keaton. Do you know how ridiculous this all sounds? Do you know how rare it is for someone to be a natural born mage? And it happened to you?" Cal had an ugly look on his face, looking like he was about to slap himself.

    Of course I knew, but that was pretty much the perfect cover right now for my abilities. The chances that someone would develop the ability to use magic naturally, with no instruction at all was astronomically low, one-in-a-million. You had to be a talent among talents, where magic was entirely second nature to be able to do that. Almost everyone had the potential to use magic, but their affinities were, with few exceptions, utter dog crap. Requiring the most expensive of elixirs and rare medicines to enhance the bodies natural affinities to certain magic. Space magic was something of an exception, it was not a power that normally existed in nature, very few herbs or monsters developed attributes of this kind, so extracting their power through alchemical means to raise space affinity was extremely difficult.

    "And you my friend have the good fortune of knowing me, a natural born space mage." I gloated over him, finally able to surpass him in some way. Even if it was made up.

    "..."

    Cal had a few moments to calm himself, returning to the usual collected and care-free attitude I had come to know from him. Only the excited tapping of his finger against the desk surface giving any indication of his mood.

    "You''re right about that, this is a good thing. A very good thing. For you at least... do you have any plans? If you''re at all thinking about staying here I believe some very favorable arrangements can be made with my father. " Cal again broke character, speaking excitedly.

    I remembered a little something I had learned from Tammy that I was intending to ask about, Cal''s sister was a mage. If Cal''s family was raising one mage, they could very well be interested in recruiting another. Especially one like me, who''s powers had already manifested and didn''t require such expensive and uncertain nurturing.

    Initially I had some ideas about hiding my identity, surreptitiously selling my kills off through Cal''s network, but if I had the full backing of the Marcets then it might not be a bad idea to make this my public debut. Coming out as a space mage would leave the entire Kingdom clamoring for me, as long as they could give me a good offer and greater degree of freedom, throwing it in with Cal''s family actually seemed rather attractive.

    "Consider me interested, Cal. I would like to hear what your father has to say. Although I do have some conditions that you might consider unorthodox."

    Cal seemed pleased I would agree so easily to meet his father, bringing me, a presumed space mage into the fold would boost his family''s prestige to new heights, and the primary beneficiary would be Cal himself. Likely seeing his position in the family greatly enhanced. Perhaps even finding himself a larger inheritance.

    Seemingly in a hurry to get things finalized, he wanted us to immediately head out to meet his father, but given my current attire it would hardly be appropriate. Still in my shoddy quality leather armor that reeked of blood and guts from today''s adventures. So we arranged for us to meet up tomorrow outside his family''s mansion, letting me know I should wear my best. Normally a Baron would have a castle than a mansion, but given that the main threat on this side of the kingdom came from monsters rather than armies, the Marcet residence was far more geared towards luxury over defensibility.

    Before parting, one last thing caught on my mind...

    "Cal... I''d like to know more about your sister."

 Ch 25. Meet the Marcets

    I had bathed properly and dressed my leg wound, which was already mostly healed by now. Having Belle choose the most formal clothes we had before setting out.

    Belle and I arrived at the impressive mansion, located a little outside the town. Cal stood outside, waiting with an entourage of maids lined up outside the gate. Two knights by his side. The maids bowing as we approached.

    "You really brought out all the stops, Cal. Thank you for the welcome." I said while gripping his hand in a firm shake as he welcomed me to his home.

    "Please Keaton, you''re an esteemed guest. This much is only natural." He said, smilingly pristinely. Ushering me through the iron gates surrounding the property, entourage in tow.

    While we walked through the elaborately decorated double doors he whispered slyly to me, "about what we talked about yesterday... father gave the okay." giving me a knowing wink. His demeanor letting me know this was about his sister.

    I smiled a little bit, taking Belle by the waist as we followed our escorts through the halls, ascending a flight of stairs and passing several rooms before coming to the audience hall. A large room with a grand table laid out, with a feast of a breakfast prepared. Cal''s father, Jagen Marcet seated at the head of the table with his two wives at his side, I knew the blonde busty one was Cal''s mother, while the other was someone I had never seen in person. A busty beauty with fiery dark red hair. What an assortment of colors I thought to myself, the wives with a striking blonde and red hair, and the lord with his decently lengthed jet black hair and beard.

    Cal sat on his mother''s side of the table, next to his younger sibling, a girl no older than ten who shared Cal''s luscious blonde locks and curls, and was pretty in a childish sort of way. Seeming to have a curious look on her face, probably wondering what the occasion was.

    Opposite them sat the children of the other wife, the eldest son and daughter who shared portions of their mother''s red black hair, the son having pure blazingly red hair, while the daughter took more after her father, raven black with muted flames of red. This was the one I was familiar with, she was a few years older than me but I guessed she was no older than twenty. She was wearing a low-cut dress of fine silk, with an elaborate golden clip keeping her hair organized. Her breasts were full enough that they seemed to pop out of the revealing dress, to which  I couldn''t help but look, but the thing I noticed most was that she seemed somewhat unhappy. Particularly unhappy at me, grimacing while she stared at me with arms crossed.

    Their father must have seen my face because he grinned widely.

    Maids ushered me to my seat, alone at the far side of the table, opposite to Jagen, while Belle sat next to me. Seemingly unsure whether she should sit or stand until I motioned to her.

    Wine, dried fruits, meats, cheeses, and breads were brought out and arranged in front of us while I looked at the host for guidance. Jagen took time before ringing the edge of his glass with a fork.

    "Welcome to my home, Keaton Pel. I hear that you have been a great friend to my son, and more than that you have come upon a great and rare talent. And I have to say, seeing you in person I can tell you are a person capable of great thing." The father laid on praise while welcoming me before getting to the main point.

    "We have been told of your exceptionally rare power, especially rare for it to happen under such circumstances and to someone from such a background. We are all terribly interested... and I hope you are not offended by my request. Would you care to perform something of a demonstration?"

    Cal''s father obviously wanted proof. Hearing that a space mage suddenly popped up from within his demense, and that the mage was a commoner with no previous talents is something I would imagine is pretty unbelievable after all.

    "Of course, lord Marcet. I would be happy to oblige." Smiling as I answered.

    Looking at the feast in front of me I swiped my hand to each in turn, storing them into my inventory in quick succession. Earning an audible gasp from everyone present, while Cal looked on with the widest grin I''ve ever seen him with. The most shocked was probably Belle, being the first time she''s ever seen me use this power despite serving me intimately for my entire life.

    The task complete, I began materializing each item out of my inventory and back onto the table, somewhat enjoying the reaction I was getting.

    "Perfect. Absolutely wonderful mister Keaton. A genuine space mage, right under my nose the entire time. Please help yourself, we have much to discuss..." Jagen bid me to eat heartily.

    After a bit of breakfast was in us, he began discussing terms. Jagen wanted me to work for his house, bannering under them should a new campaign be announced, but mainly just offering my name to the Marcets so that the royal family knew who was responsible for bringing such a talent to light.

    As far as what I would be getting... they would sponsor me with a hundred gold a month for the duration of my time, not to mention a thousand up front. An astronomical sum to myself, but one which the lord Marcet didn''t even blink at. The second item was one which I had some expectations for after collaborating with Cal. I was to be bethrothed to the eldest daughter, Marcella. Who still seemed somewhat unhappy at the sudden arrangements, albeit less so after seeing my abilities.

    Next were my ''conditions'' so to speak. I didn''t want to stop being an adventurer, which perplexed Jagen to no end. Why would a mage ever want to venture outside the walls, especially a non-combat specialist like those with the space attribute. Though seeing as his eldest daughter seemed to be doing the same, it appears that this wasn''t entirely out of question. Hearing from Cal that Marcella''s mother, the second wife, was a former silver-plate adventurer herself. He did demand that I not venture out alone, seeming to know about my stunt from yesterday. The lord Marcet wasn''t too keen on losing his future son-in-law to some accident with measly muck rats, asking that I took with me some of his knights whenever I left.

    And lastly that I wouldn''t be excessively tied to the territory here, I would banner under them but I didn''t want to commit to living here forever. This was not particularly to Jagen''s liking, but seeing as he was getting a space mage so cheaply perhaps he wasn''t too stung about the arrangement.

    Everything taken care of, he bid Cal and Marcella, my new fiancee to see me out of the mansion. Cal looking absolutely radiant, Marcella still looking grim behind a feigned smile, and Belle trailing behind with a look of jealousy hidden poorly behind a look of impassivity.

 Ch 26. Nouveau Rich

    Belle and I strolled into the Tailor''s, a bag of coins jingling at my side. A small amount compared the 1000 gold that I had in my inventory.

    Ameliah came up to greet us, her D cup breasts accentuated by the curves of her well fitted dress.

    "I want to get both of us fitted. Give me the best looking ones you have, and don''t worry about cost. "

    From our experience last time I doubt she''d have expected to see me as customer, let alone as a big spender. Seeing the skepticism in her eyes, I opened my bag enough to expose the solid gold coins hiding inside, seeing the realization flash upon her face.

    She sent multiple employees to the back, bringing out cloth and fabric of all kind as well as already made clothes. Most were too plain for my taste, I wanted at least one set that wouldn''t put me to shame next to the Marcets.

    I needed to make a public debut in the capital soon, something we were planning for next month. It would be a good chance to associate with royalty, and to formalize my status as a mage. Something that brought its own perks, such as being considered a form of nobility, and granted me access to the royal magic academy. Given that most students enrolled there had not yet manifested magic of some kind, they would embarass themselves if actual mages weren''t allowed entrance.

    Ameliah, finally brought some materials that looked monster in origin. Exotic colors and finely embroidered. I ended up settling for a muted green colored material for a jacket, arachne silk apparently. On closer inspection the fabric seemed faintly irridescent like oil on water. The color was especially striking when Ameliah paired it with a traditional white undershirt, one that was fine enough to find nobles wearing, and had frills coming out the neck. A style popular in the capital.

    Paying 4 gold coins for the entirety of it, and handing it back to Ameliah so that she could fit it more properly for me overnight. Turning my attention to Belle now that my part was done. In fact most of my intention today had been to dress her and put in some custom dress orders. Taking Ameliah aside and discussing it in secret, surprisingly enough she had some very interesting ideas of her own.

    I wanted several dresses for Belle, each more elaborate than the last, and each somewhat on the revealing side. The other items I ended up getting had a more special meaning... leaving those as a surprise for Belle. I had heard good things about this Ameliah from Cal, not only was she a tiger in bed she was good at making custom orders to accomodate special purposes and tastes, and so far she did not dissapoint. Finishing my order before calling over Belle.

    Ameliah walked over with me, eyeing me as if to ask if this was really okay, to which I just smiled.

    "We''re going to take your measurements for the dresses." Ameliah said.

    Belle''s ears perked up at hearing this.

    "Dresses? Master you''re buying Belle a dress?" Her cat''s tail wagging like a dog from the unexpected affection.

    Ameliah took out a measurement tape, but not starting yet as she looked expectantly at me.

    "Belle your clothes are in way. The nice lady needs to take your measurements."

    Belle looked over to the private fitting rooms next to us, starting to wander over before I corrected her.

    "Where are you going?" I asked, enjoying her confusion as she pointed to the rooms.

    "Belle was going to get changed in there master."

    "There''s no need to do that Belle, Ameliah can measure you out here. Isn''t that right?" I was no exhibitionist, but that only extended as far as myself. For Belle, she didn''t need things like shame.

    The middle-aged owner of the tailoring shop nodding her head in assent, the curls of her hair bobbing. While she smiled a little bit.

    "That''s right, there''s no issue measuring you here." Looking around, only employees were here, most of them women. Perhaps because Belle was a beastkin slave, none of them were particularly shocked by the bullying Ameliah and I were doing.

    Belle seemed reluctant, clearly embarrassed, but even so she began stripping off her dress in plain view of everyone present.

    Ameliah started measuring once Belle was entirely naked, who was still trying the best she could to cover up. Holding one arm over her breasts and her other hand over her privates.  Soon Ameliah moved to Belle''s breasts, finding her hands in the way.

    "Arms up" Ameliah told her, while Belle complied. Her entire figure exposed before us. Walking around inspecting her, while Belle trembled from the attention.

    Such treatment was the norm for beastkin slaves, but Belle was raised as my personal slave almost from birth, she was relatively young and had no memory of being kept and sold. From a certain perspective she was fairly sheltered.

    "You have such nice breasts, I''m even jealous. " Ameliah said. Circling around all-the-while running her hand along Belle''s smooth skin, stopping in front with her hand on Belle''s nipple, feeling it between her fingers.

    "You treat her very well" She said, now addressing me. "Not a mark or bruise on her."

    It''s true that beastkin had no rights here, the males were impossible to keep given their stature and untameable nature, if they were kept at all it was only as fodder for fighting pits, but the women were meeker and treated like something of an exotic pet. A favored pastime of nobles and the wealthy alike.

    Beating or killing slaves as you wanted never appealed to me. Although I didn''t consider myself soft I did feel something of a guttural abhorration to the act, reminded somewhat of my special affliction, the memories that plagued me from time to time.

    Ameliah was now having a bit of fun, done with measurements as far as I could tell. She certainly hadn''t spent this much time taking my measurements.

    Leading Belle over to a counter, and placing her arms in front of her on the surface and putting her into embarrassing poses. Bending her over and spreading her legs, even holding her tail up so that her pussy was completely exposed to the entire shop.

    Belle was trembling in embarrassment but she was also apparently very aroused, love juices running down her legs and dripping onto the wooden floor for all of us to see. I had always thought Belle something unusual for this aspect of her personality, but apparently after talking with Ameliah all beastkin girls shared this trait. They were very easy to go into heat and could feel pleasure even from abuse. Generating an unnatural amount of juices compared to human women.

    I decided this was enough fun for the day, the novelty of such a play wearing off on me as I now just wanted to wrap things up. Bidding Ameliah to hurry things up, to which she complied professionally. Bringing out a few pre-made dresses that fit to my taste.

    Belle soon found herself dressed up like a doll, made to wear the various outfits. Donning a frilly white dress like a noble woman might wear, a tight fitting blue silk dress, a two-piece outfit and skirt that left her midriff exposed, and various others. There would need to be alterations made of course, to accommodate Belle''s tail, but these all looked fantastic on her.

    We would need to pick up the clothes at the end of the week, to allow time for the customization, and special orders, but we did leave with something. Pairs of elaborate silk strips of various colors. I chose one pair, vibrant pink, and tied one in a bowtie around the end of Belle''s tail, fashioning a second one in her hair next to her right ear.

    Returning back to our old clothes before we set out to do more shopping, Belle clinging onto my arm like a lover. Afraid that I would subject her again to such embarrassment if she ever let go.

 Ch 27. Gearing Up

    I strolled into the blacksmith''s shop with a swagger. Not bothered by Vel''s ever present rage that I could feel simmering just below his eyes, as he stared at me angrily.

    Immediately going to the expensive area of the display, eliciting some very skeptical looks.

    Seeing Vel approaching, I beckoned over to him like I was calling a shop attendant.

    "What''cher doin'' here boy, I know these are too expensive for you." He said while trying to shoo me off with his eyes.

    *Ahem*

    "Well Vel, this boy here wants to purchase some armor, the best you have." I said, the gold in my inventory giving me courage.

    Vel spat on the ground. His previous impression of me as a pauper was winning through right now, as he lowered himself to my face. Not interested in playing make-believe with some poor fools delusions.

    "Fuck off boy, these ''er are all worth over 100 gold. Only''ne who can afford that round ''ere is the lord, and you don''t look ''em."

    I was embarrassed but my new gold and status gave me a face thicker than iron.

    "Why Vel, you''re lucky enough to be looking at the lord''s new son-in-law." Hastily digging out my bag coins off of my waist before tossing it to him, to which he took the time to open. Still taking sidelong glances at me skeptically, but each piece of gold seeming to bolster my side of the argument. The look in his eyes softening a bit each time.

    "This isn''t 100 gold" He said, throwing the pouch back to me. "Haven''t heard about no weddin'', but I''ll take your word for now. Come back when you got the gold but I ain''t selling cheaper than it''s worth."

    *Ahem* I cleared my throat a second time.

    "Aren''t you interested in why *I*, of all people, would be marrying in lord''s daughter?" I continued on resolutely.

    He certainly was, even if he didn''t ask.

    Holding out my hand palm opened, I waved the other hand over it like some common street magician or trickster, materializing more coins into my hand with [Inventory] the moment his vision was obscured.

    Vel''s eyes popped open, looking at the extra gold I was now holding.

    "I''m a mage now. And right now you''re looking at the only space mage in the kingdom... now which one of these sets of armor is the best? And I''d like a new sword... and new shield too."

    Vel''s attitude almost did a 180 as the gears began turning. Realizing that a once in a year opportunity had just shown up at his door. Normally only the lord training up a new knight would inspire such a purchase, which is the only reason they kept such quality gear on hand in the first place.

    I was soon dressed in a flexible scale set, thick leather underneath with ashy dark grey scales on the exterior. The ore obtained from a steel golem apparently, the mana enhanced metal being stronger and lighter than any regular metal. I found myself covered from head to toe, a new helmet with a visor and face-guard, the inside lined with fur from a were-beast to absorb shock. Similarly the scale armor I had was fitted with thick fur on the inside and a plentiful amount around the neck-guard, not only making it plenty warm during these winter months, but offering additional protection by filling the gap between the bodyplate and helm that would have otherwise been left exposed.

    The sword and shield I had was likewise golem steel, being one of the most easily procured high quality metals. The edge was sharp and the blade flexible, but the dull grey of the golem material made the items striking to behold because they did not shine like regular metal despite being impeccably polished.

    "Amazing!"

    Belle who had stood patiently outside the shop until this moment was now beaming at my new look, clapping excitedly after seeing that I was dressed very much like an actual knight. Her tail wagged, showing off the pink bowtie now affixed to the end of her cat-tail.

    I stored the items before we headed off.

    There weren''t a whole lot of other purchases that could be made with our new gold. I thought about upgrading our house, but given that there weren''t really many vacant houses, to begin with it''s not like we could move into one easily. We would need to contract out some builders to expand our house, while furnishing the rooms we had already. The only one that could be done in the near term was the furniture, which we shopped for at our leisure. I let Belle pick out her favorites, while only speaking up every once in a while, and before long we had a train of carts loaded with furniture headed off for the farmhouse we called home.

    I would need to reintroduce myself at the guild, and maybe look at getting a rank promotion. As the soon to be son-in-law of the lord, there was no way I would be venturing solo very often, more than likely having a few knights lent to me whenever I went out. Knights here did like to train on monsters so it was actually not a very obtrusive request, they''d be getting actual fighting experience while earning a bit of riches on the side, though they probably wouldn''t bring a team to collect bodies if I was there.

    All along the wagon ride Belle was burying herself in my chest, letting out suggestive purrs as she rubbed her cheek against me, clearly doing her best to seduce me. Belle had been sticking closely to me since this morning, perhaps feeling the pressure over having to now compete with my new fiancee. A human woman with a beautiful figure, noble lineage, not to mention also being a mage. I even teased her at the Tailor''s shop, getting plenty of reaction. Of course she would never fall out of favor with me, but her jealousy was just too cute, and her personality was like that of a small animal. Being so vulnerable and pure that I just couldn''t help myself. Smiling again as I let her show off her affection.

 Ch 28. Jealous Belle

    Our home was finally completely furnished, and rather lavishly I may add. At least compared to anything I had ever had for myself before.

    Our excessively large living room was no longer empty aside from our bed.

    Off to the side of the room we put down a leather-made sofa, placing a small reading table just in front of it.

    On the opposite section sat a desk and a cushioned leather chair, like the one''s I had seen from Cal''s study.

    Given that this was a farmhouse there was no kitchen area, with most cooking being expected to be done over the fireplace using iron castware. Seeing that our bed was too close to the fire for this, we moved it back a little bit to add some room for activities, placing a dining table along one of the exterior walls, the nearest vacant area next to the fireplace. Finally, we had layed down rugs and furs over any extra space we had which did wonders to keep our feet off the cold wood.

    The only curious item was a sturdy iron post, fixed to the floor, and in the center of the living room. Something that Ameliah had proxured for me and I had the furniture craftsmen install. The post extended from the floor about a foot up, and the metal was fashioned into a loop on the end, seeming as if it was designed to tie something to it. Belle had no idea what it was for, but would soon find out. As soon as the rest of the ''special order'' from Ameliah was finished, that is.

    Belle was too preoccupied with trying to solidify her position in the household to pay it much attention. Seeing as she was getting increasingly agitated at the prospect of my new fiancee, who was neither a slave nor a beastkin like herself.

    As soon as the craftsmen had left, she tried to make her move, enticing me with her feminine wills. Making seductive poses on the bed while she stripped nude... all the while I ignored her advances, content to sit at my desk, reading some new purchases I had acquired.

    Books were fairly rare in a frontier town like Tromwell, but I was at least literate thanks to my privileged upbringing. Doing some reflecting about the system I was fairly sure that I could acquire new classes from directed reading. Given that how I had earned the alchemist class was essentially by browsing through Cal''s collection of tomes, there was a very good chance I could do the same for professions like medicine, stewardship, navigation, and any other technical study that I could think of.

    Passing my time while Belle meowled at me from the bed, frustrated by her failure to catch my attention.

    The days went by much the same. I brought Belle over to the lord''s mansion, giving her every opportunity to see my new and beautiful fiancee Marcella as I tried my best to appeal to her. Inquiring about her hobbies, likes and dislikes, and making small talk when possible. It was clear she was unhappy about her parent''s sudden declaration that she was to be in an arranged marriage with me, but I was determined to play the part of a dutiful suitor. Treating her as sweetly as I could muster, somewhat clumsy at first given how oppositr the role was to my usual personality. But for seem reason I seemed to take to it naturally, almost as if drawing from experience...

    Marcella was very standoff-ish to begin with, making her attitude towards me clear, but for some reason her presence was very calming to me. her smile, even a feigned one, inspired me to win her affection. We took long walks around the estate, even with the weather as it was, we dressed for the cold and spent as much time together as possible, something my new father-in-law greatly appreciated. Belle trailed behind us from a distance as we walked, like a cat stalking its prey.

    "Why did you decide to become an adventurer? I''m sure there is quite the story." I asked to her, showing genuine interest.

    Marcella paused for a moment, looking back at the mansion.

    "Mother was an adventurer before she settled down. That''s actually how she met Dad. "

    "Your father was an adventurer?"

    She smiled a bit trying to picture her father.

    "No. Dad was a general in the army, he served for a long time on the western front fighting the beastkin. He made quite a name for himself there. "

    I was still trying to put together the two pieces, not quite clear on how the two met.

    "Mom was a mage, she''s from a noble house too. The Ocel family, they''re bigger on the west of the kingdom. There aren''t as many monsters over there so she was fighting against the beastkin attacks. Dad was helping coordinate the defenses, and because she was a mage she got to spend a lot of time in the backlines with the officers. That''s where she met him. Father was rewarded with a title after the war, and he asked Mom''s family for her hand in marriage... that''s why I wanted to be an adventurer, I guess I wanted something like that. " She looked down.

    It made my stomach clench, hearing that I had basically ruined her dreams.

    "I... Marcella, you may not believe me but I do care for you... I don''t want to tie you down. I''m not going to ask you to quit being an adventurer, as I''m not going to quit being one either. I think that love will take time between us, but as your fiance I want to do everything I can to make you happy. Our marriage date hasn''t been decided yet, I love you now, and I will wait until you love me back."

    Taking the back of her hand and kissing it. From what I could tell, she seemed like a woman that very much wanted me to earn her love rather than giving it freely. I had no qualms about playing it that way.

    "Thank you Keaton, that is very sweet of you." Marcella smiling at me genuinely for the first time.

    A ways behind us, Belle stood solemnly. Her eyes red as she tried her best to stifle back tears.

 Ch 29. Pet Belle (R-18)

    The long week of studies had paid off, reading various textbooks studiously had netted me the [Physician], [Steward], and [Pathfinder]. I was certainly satisfied with the reward, but these days I had become more interested in another kind of satisfaction. Perhaps as a result of my enhanced constitution, my libido had grown far above the usual, and this one week of abstinence had pushed me to my absolute limits of resolve. I felt myself aching for a release, lusting after Belle every time I saw her despite my decision to not touch her until Ameliah''s ''special order'' was finished, and today was that day.

    This wasn''t originally my idea, it was Ameliah''s. She had a lot of experience working in the capital before she came her, and I have to say her expertise in these matters was absolutely fascinating to me. She dealt with a lot of Beastkin owners before, and this was something of a special play she had developed especially for this situation. A play that was now developing exactly as she told me it would. Much to my own delight.

    Belle had begun following me much more than usual, displaying herself to me, making her seductive beastial purring noises, masturbating openly in my presence, and every day she grew more desperate to seduce me. It was only to be expected afterall, just as Ameliah had foretold, my cold treatment of Belle combined with my fawning over Marcella, my promised to be, had convinced Belle that I was planning to abandon her.

    Everyday I made sure to take her over to the mansion, making her watch me dote on my beautiful wife-to-be, showing Marcella a type of pure affection that Belle never got to see. Marcella''s status was everything that Belle wasn''t. Noble, mage, human. Things Belle could never be, things that made her feel inferior. Enhancing every bit of Belle''s insecurities, just for today.

    I set out early in the morning to pick up my order from Ameliah''s shop, making Belle stay home so it wouldn''t ruin the surprise. Storing the items in my inventory, and returning within the hour, already excited for what was to come.

    Belle was lounging on the bed in her underwear, masturbating herself out of frustration. Our routine before had included me fucking her every morning and every night, but I hadn''t been so much as looking at her for a week now. Her beastly libido which almost rivaled my own was driving her to constant heat. Returning so soon it seems that I surprised her, as she gave a yelp at being discovered, but she quickly gained the courage to resume her act, hoping that her clear arousal would spark my interest.

    "Belle." I called out to her. Seeing her ears peek up hopefully. She was wanting to mate with me, giving her the opportunity to prove her worth.

    "You''re not in trouble. I want to discuss our future." I said, sitting on the bed next to her. Not yet showing any sexual interest.

    Her ears drooped down. My comforting voice doing nothing to ease her suspicions.

    She knew well that noble ladies didn''t particularly like their husbands sleeping around with beastkin slaves, many young aristocrats in my position were forced to sell their childhood playthings when it was time to marry. I of course had no thoughts of ever selling her, I loved Belle... but not in a pure way. Belle was mine and the complete authority over her was incredibly tempting to me in many ways.

    Keeping Belle was actually something of a deal-breaker for me and was something I specifically brought up to Marcella. Thankfully, Marcella was actually quite open to me having Belle on the side. In fact, I found that she had a rather strong curiosity about beastkins on the whole. Her father and mother abhorred them, owing much to their experience fighting on the western front, and because this Marcella didn''t have much experience interacting with their species. Surprisingly though, Marcella didn''t inherit her mother and father''s views and she absolutely loved the idea of one or two of the little scamps running around. Nobles always did have a fetish for the exotic, so I suppose it wasn''t that surprising.

    My thoughts wandered too far as I reminisced, snapping my attention back to the act I needed to maintain.

    "Belle. You know that I''m getting married soon to Marcella. She''s a very sweet girl and I love her dearly." I could see Belle''s face dropping even further.

    "I also love you very much Belle, you are a very precious slave to me, but the thing about marriage Belle, is that when I''m married, I can''t think just about myself. I need to consider the feelings of my partner. Do you understand what I''m saying?"

    Belle''s eyes had risen at the first part, but now she just looked down at the floor, not meeting my own. Her tail still with nervousness.

    "Marcella is just a girl, she''s a very delicate noble girl that isn''t used to being around beastkin. You know why I''m saying this right, Belle? She''s afraid that you''re dangerous."

    The idea that Marcella would be scared of Belle was absolutely laughable to me. She was a mage and a silver ranked adventurer, fully capable of kicking the ass of any knight in her father''s service, let alone the tiny and timid looking Belle. But Belle right now was absolutely terrified, not parsing my words logically to see through the deception.

    "I know you''re not dangerous so I pleaded with her... but there''s only one chance for you to stay, Belle. You have to be absolutely obedient, okay? You have to do whatever Marcella or I say."

    Belle seemed like she was going to cry, but she sniffed and shook her head in understanding. Somewhat hopeful that there was still a chance for her to stay.

    "Belle isn''t dangerous. Belle will do anything for master, and for mistress. Please don''t throw Belle away."

    "Good girl" I stroked Belle''s hair soothingly, going on for a minute while I waited for her to calm down.

    "Belle, keeping beastkin slaves is dangerous. Right?"

    She hesitated, trying to guess which answer I wanted before nodding slowly.

    "But what''s something that''s not dangerous that people keep?"

    "..."

    "A pet." I said to her.

    She stared at me without understanding.

    "Pets are safe to be around, aren''t they Belle? Marcella wouldn''t be scared around a pet, now would she?"

    Belle nodded again somewhat, still not seeing where I was taking the conversation.

    "If you want to stay with us Belle, you can''t be a slave anymore. You have to be a pet."

    "A... pet? Master? But, h-how does Belle become a pet?"

    Breaking out in a grin, I materialized what had been hiding in my inventory. An fancy looking leather collar with fuzzy fur lining the inside. On the front a silver bell was attached to it, like one you would see on a noble''s pet cat. On the back, a hollow metal ring lay flush with the collar, existing solely to be attached to a leash, like one you would see around the neck of a noble''s pet dog.

    "Become my pet Belle. Prove that you can do it."

    She stared at the collar, still sniffing, but soon nodded beginning to put it on gingerly. Shaking tears out of her eyes. She looked despondent, but also happy at the fact that she wasn''t being openly discarded. This was the thread of hope that she needed to grab onto.

    Seeing that she accepted, I took out the second item. A corded leash, the fibers small and intricate and smooth to the touch. Very much unlike the crude ropes used for mooring or anchoring ships, this one was built for walking a beloved pet. This one was especially made for its strength, corded using arachne silk, and build in with two locking mechanisms at each end. At each side was a clip that snapped into place, a small keyhole allowing the clip to the locked in place securely. The key resting safely in my inventory.

    I attached the leash to the back of her collar with a click, before dragging the other end towards the center of the room, over to the metal post protruding out from the floor that I had previously installed. This was a post one would chain a dog to, with the only exception being this one was affixed to the floor inside rather than to the ground outside. The end of the leash snapped shut with the clip mechanism, a small keyhole visible just like the one before. There was enough length on the rope that Belle could wander the entirety of the room without issue, having measured the dimensions of the room exactly, but she would be unable to leave the premise until I allowed her to do so. Just like a pet.

    "Now you''re my pet Belle. We will always be together." I smiled while stroking her hair, a much different smile than the one I had shown Marcella.

    "Let''s practice being a pet. You need to do whatever I say, okay? You can''t say no."

    By now Belle knew this was going to be a sexual thing, which was half what she wanted in the first place, but she still had no idea what she was in for.

    "I''m going to test whether you''re obedient or not, Belle. Think of this as your first trial as a pet. " Taking out a slime core from my inventory and rolling it around with my fingers while I examined it. I had heard of a very interesting application for these from Ameliah, thinking to myself how I was starting to really like that woman''s way of doing things.

    Belle was resolute now, determination filling her eyes as she steeled herself to be my pet. She was going to prove herself to me. She no longer had to be afraid of abandonment, she didn''t have to worry about anything, she just needed to obey.

    Belle stripped herself, throwing her panties to the floor before presenting me with her pussy.

    "Belle is your pet, Master. Belle won''t ever betray Master or Mistress. Please let me prove it." She was already heavily aroused when I began but now that her anxiety had faded somewhat her beastly instincts were beginning to take over. Pushing her to accept any and all conditions as long as it allowed her to have to sex.

    I ran my fingers through her wet slit before fingering the wet sticky excretions between my index and thumb, seeing the love juices stretch between. She was very aroused, but she was expecting the wrong thing.

    Taking one finger I teased her other hole, rubbing back and forth softly, before turning inward. Forcing my finger in just a fraction. Belle''s spine straightened, and tail instantly shot up in distress.

    "Master.... Belle can''t make a baby there." She whined unhappily.

    "Belle you''re my pet now. Are you sure that''s what you should be saying to me? Won''t Marcella be scared to live together with such a disobedient pet?" I teased her, continuing to push my finger in deeper while she squirmed uncomfortably.

    "I understand master... Belle is a pet..."

    The implied threat shutting her up, and focusing her attention back to trying to please me.

    I moved my finger deeper, wiggling it in despite her hole''s extreme tightness and unwillingness to be penetrated.

    Fitting my finger fully in, I took out the slime core. Pulling my finger out of her and popping the gooey marble in as deeply as possible, already seeing it start to dissolve inside her, releasing slime, while the concentrated mana inside acted like an aphrodisiac. Exciting her insides.

    "This should help somewhat with your first time."

    Seeing the water-like jelly begin to run out of her hole, I decided she was ready enough, taking out my cock and lining it with her quivering asshole.

    Even with the lubricant it was a tight fit, her small asshole fighting my cock at every turn. Her toes squirming as she took it in, not even an inch in. Squealing out madly.

    "Ow! Master... please go slower!" She cried out.

    "Belle, I''m not going to say it again. Good pets don''t complain. You don''t want to be a bad pet, do you?"

    "...I understand." She resigned herself again. Belle was ready for sex, but she had no experience at all with anal. Seeing that she had no way out of it she could only prepare herself. Sucking in air.

    Granting her request, I placed more force in. Struggling a few more inches and feeling the tension break away bit by bit, forcing my way through her back hole''s desperate resistance.

    "Agh, gyaaaaa, gyiiiaaaaa"

    Belle was no longer complaining, but she cried out in discomfort. Her voice like a small injured animal only serving to inflame my desires as I began to thrust in without mercy. Not yet fully in, my repeated thrusting made every thrust easier than the last. Her asshole accepting more and more of me as I violated it.

    Belle spit out air, trying to catch her breath but ending up just forcing more air from her lungs in response to my merciless attack. Shedding tears with her mouth agape. The feeling of her intestines wet with lubricant driving me on, making a wet sucking sound every time I pumped my waist. Feeling every bit of her hole now on the full length of my cock.

    Her hips and legs were trembling, a different kind of pleasure cutting the strength from her limbs as she struggled like a newborn fawn. Falling flat to the bed. I let her fall out of me, not chasing her.

    "Get back up Belle. Same position." I demanded of her ruthlessly.

    Watching her try to raise her ass up so I could fuck it again. Her thighs shaky now, barely able to support her weight.

    Once her ass was raised far enough, I began again. Plugging her up and using her asshole like before, pumping as if I was using her pussy. The bell on her collar rang out each time, forming a rhythm to our act. It became something that I was aware, trying to keep the same pace up to hear the bell ringing from our movements. Each time I thrust into her she spit out more air, wiggling her toes as the bell on her neck rang once more.

    Every time she fell over I would spank her, making her raise her ass up again so that the cycle could begin again.

    Her erotic panting beginning to match the rhythm of her collar''s bell.

    "What an erotic body you have Belle. You''re even feeling it in the ass." I said while mounting her from above, pistoning as deeply and fast as was possible. Her consciousness questionable at this point as she just rocked her hips back and forth, meeting my movements with robotic muscle memory, now entirely slave to desire. Both my desires and her own.

    She shook her ass as it devoured my penis, her body now moving on its own, propelling herself to ecstasy as she was reduced to nothing more than a beast. A pet.

    The muscles in her asshole wriggled unwillingly, unused to the sex, pushing me closer to orgasm each time I felt it massage my penis. Looking at Belle''s face, her cheeks were flushed red with heat, her hips driving into mine as she sought out more.

    No more. I was going to cum. Painting her intestines with a shot of hot cum, then another, continuing to pulse more each second. A week''s worth saved up and generously given to Belle''s needy second hole. Staying in until I felt I had fully deposited my load before unplugging her.

    Belle''s asshole gulping air for a moment as it puckered and closed, her pussy twitching seductively the whole while. Her hips still trying to move longingly despite my absence.

    I crawled up the bed, placing my dick on her lips but she refused to open... her eyes vacant. Only by plugging her nose did she open her mouth, allowing me to insert myself for her. Feeling the lap of her tongue moving instinctively, cleaning me up and encouraging my dick to harden again for another round.

    If she insists...

    We had an entire week to make up for, and I wasn''t letting her go until I was done.

    Kaguro

 Ch 30. Renewed Adventures

    Belle was lying down panting, her face buried in the pillow. We had gone another three rounds since this morning, and it was now almost noon. I could continue, but Belle was at her limit by now. This was her first time with anal, and going at it so roughly from the start had exhausted her.

    I got up to fetch some water myself because Belle was still tethered to the post inside, pulling it up from the well outside. Pouring the water from the bucket into two large waterskins and filling up a large cast-iron tea kettle. I had purchased a lot of luxury goods recently, fine teas, sugars, honey, spices. Filling a small section of one room in my inventory. One of the things I had learned recently was that food didn''t spoil when stored in [inventory], which made my life incredibly convenient. Bottles of milk which usually had to be collected and consumed the day of, could now be stored timelessly and used at my leisure. This was something that Belle especially enjoyed, she always did like milk, but it was usually something of a rare treat for her. Beastkin always had to have an escort so she couldn''t go herself, and I wasn''t usually one to make daily trips to the market.

    I summoned a cold bottle, pressing it to the small of her back. Eliciting a groan of complaint at the cold sensation, until she realized what I was holding, taking it before sipping at it gladly. A layer of it coating her upper lip cutely, while she sat oblivious.

    The tea water was beginning to boil, as I took it off the fireplace. Bringing the kettle over to the wooden dining table with two fine porcelain cups laid out. Putting the leaves directly into the kettle, before sauntering back to the bed. Angling Belle''s leg up before unlocking the leash with a click.

    Belle and I sipped the tea when it was ready, she didn''t particularly like the flavor, but she did like it when it had lots of milk and sugar, of which we now had plenty. Seeing that Belle was still in the nude, I decided to surprise her. Her new dresses were picked up this morning when I visited the tailors to pick up the ''special order''.

    Taking out several of the dresses, and laying them onto the table. Each lavishly made, and expensive enough to be a noble''s gown. Still unused to such styles, she picked the plainest of them, a one-piece dress that only went down to her knees. Milky white and green material that was extremely eye catching. To help with the cold she wore long knee-high socks. Fashioning her now signature ribbons in her hair and on her tail, today''s was green. Finally she moved to take her collar off, before I stopped her. She was my pet, not only in the confines of our home but outside it as well. I wanted her to wear it at all times.

    I myself was dressed in the new suit of armor I had purchased from Vel''s, the armor was not overly restrictive like some of the cheaper suits, the grey-scales of magical iron being somewhat small enough to be form fitting, and the joints were open, only padded with were-beast fur and leather for extra flexibility. Underneath I had my chain undershirt, similarly made with magical iron. The only thing I had to complain about was how heavy such a suit was, even if it was lighter than regular iron, it was somewhat burdensome to carry around multiple layers of protection. I was taking her to the apothecary today, which hadn''t been done in a while. I had been rather relaxed lately and I wanted to get all the hunting in as possible before my trip to the capital. I wouldn''t have much opportunity there, so these next three weeks were all the only time I would have for a while.

    Dropping off Belle before swinging by the mansion and picking up a pair of knights for guards. The Marcet family had nearly a hundred knights, given this was a town of 50,000 he had to maintain the peace as well as fending against monsters. Ultimately the goal of these frontier towns was to expand the range of habitable areas and to do that they needed to not only protect against monsters but actively clear them out.

    We headed out the gate, the guards now saluting me. Seeming to recognize that I was now related to the lord. Rumors of my marriage to Marcella had begun to spread, especially the ones about me being a mage. My abilities would be a massive boon for the territory, so the Marcet family was doing all they could to as widely publicize them as possible.

    The tallgrass greeted us, no longer as imposing to me as it once was.

 Ch 31. Hunting with a Silver Spoon

    Things were like day and night, having two experienced knights made hunting ridiculously easy compared to a beginner party or hunting by myself.

    The two knights shrugged off the muckrat attacks entirely, their expensive armor making them neigh impervious to near mere. Likewise mine did the same. We didn''t bother picking targets at all, just killing everything we spotted. Mowing down muck rats was entertaining but it wasn''t getting me levels like before, not to mention only a third of the kills were going to me. The one thing that did shock my guards was the ''space magic'' of [inventory]. Seeing was different to hearing rumors after all.

    We neared closer to the forest than I had ever been before. Allowing me to appreciate the sheer size of the trees that I had until now just treated as background. Quickly I realized that most of the trees we had been seeing were in fact not the closest ones at all, the trees at the entrance to the forest were actually fairly normal sized. It was just that the forest stretched endlessly for as far as we could see, and the trees appeared increasingly taller the further off they were, the tallest of those we could see must be thirty or more miles away but they were so large they should be over a thousand foot or so for us to see them.

    The muck rats became increasingly organized the further we pushed on, encountering massive bands of hundreds. Some appearing to ride overly large rats like steeds as they charged into battle. Muck rats were the dominant species in this area on the plains, but they weren''t terribly fearsome as far as monsters went. They had limited strength and intelligence, their only competitive factor being their extremely quick reproduction. Any decently strong monster could dominate entire colonies and kill them in a night, which is why they didn''t dare venture too close to the forest region. The beasts here wanted to move farther out, but Tromwell acted like a wall, killing most of them that came too close, so they were wedged between the forest and the city. In fact many frontier cities like Tromwell existed, dotting the entirety of the Eastern side of the kingdom and keeping monsters like the muck rats at bay. Not to mention the land here was attractive, being extremely fertile due to the influence of magic, and the idea of opening new lands was an attractive proposal for dealing with the excessive crowding in the capital.

    We were barely five miles out from the forest now, the rats had more access to wood and could now be seen carrying clubs and sharpened sticks. Charging in on giant rats and jousting with their stick-spears, while throwers assaulted us from a distance. But the technology they wielded was all too primitive, breaking easily on our defenses as we slaughtered them with impunity. The guards were fairly adept with their swords, which I supposed was expected of a knight, but it was something that I couldn''t help but try to imitate. Turning off my sword mastery to ensure to highest effectiveness from this lesson. I was not worried at all for my safety in these battles, so it was a great opportunity now to watch experienced fighters while simultaneously power leveling my unused classes. Switching each out for a time to ensure an even spread of experience between them, maximizing the skill points I received.

    Pretty soon the now familiar light bathed over me, accompanied with the system''s voice.

    "Why are you doing this!?" He called out angrily and confused. He knew something was wrong with the way I was getting energy and had pleaded with me before to stop so he could figure things out. But I knew exactly what was causing it, and even if he could fix it, I wouldn''t want him to.

    "System. I''m going to keep leveling, so why don''t you shut up about it." Starting to get annoyed at the constant mental screaming whenever I leveled up.

    "Y-you rude man! Barbarian! I''ve never so insulted in my life!" The system ranted on, while I ignored him.

    "Look, I know this is going to get you in trouble, but I''m not going to give up on leveling. What''s even the point of a system if I don''t make use of it?"  The system was silent for a moment before responding.

    "It''s not just me that''s going to get in trouble. You will too, there''s no way around that fact."

    This suddenly sounded a lot different than what I had heard.

    "How does that happen? Surely I can''t be punished for your mistakes, that doesn''t make sense."

    "You fool. Who''s body do you think I''m inhabiting right now. I''m your system, how do you think they''re going to get to me. Through you. "

    "What kind of punishment are we talking about here?"

    "Torture probably, and if that doesn''t work. Death."

    The consequences were suddenly a lot more personal, but I still wasn''t going to throw away my benefits. This was the only thing separating me from a life of mediocrity. I decided to face the conversation with more seriousness.

    "Even so. I''m not going to stop."

    "Then we are doomed." System said solemnly.

    This guy''s negativity was starting to get on my nerves.

    "So, how is it going to happen. This certain doom thing."

    "They will try to deal with it through the followers here I expect. Even though we aren''t in a dominant position on this planet, almost all the leadership among beastkin are devout followers. "

    Something that''s good to know. If beastkin were all I needed to be careful of then my situation wasn''t all that bad.

    "If that fails, then I believe they''ll move onto more direct methods. They''ll send others like you. It''s too expensive to send powerful beings across worlds, but they can certainly send experienced ones. Resetting the levels of elites and sending them towards us."

    I clicked my tongue. That part really did sound like trouble.

    "Well System, looks like you and me are in this together. Let''s do our best."

    "Didn''t you hear what I just told you?! This is all completely avoidable, for Goddess'' sake just stop leveling!" The system wailed out despairing.

 Ch 32. Incremental Power

    Looking in my hand-mirror caused a smile to break out across my face. System''s warning about the threats to come was concerning but I wasn''t going to abandon this power. After witnessing this, it was easy to see why.

    Today had been an astounding haul for experience, one that I had decided to spend on raising up my ''fodder'' professions. Having two knights doing the frontlines work, not to mention the impervious nature of my armor versus mere rocks, sticks, and waist high rodents made leveling this time quite a safe endeavor. The safety of which allowed me to focus more on raising the lowest leveled classes rather than using my combat based ones, giving me a good mix of experience in each. Even the larger muck rat colonies weren''t much of a problem for us, although it may have seemed like an unnecessary risk from the knight''s perspective, these large groups were especially lucrative to me. But because of how lucrative it turned out to be, I was actually running into something of a conundrum. That is, where I should be spending the twenty-nine or so skill points that were staring back at me from the mirror''s reflection.

    [Sword edge] and [inventory] were already becoming too difficult to use properly as it stood.

    Increasing any levels in [Inventory] only gave it more space and more rooms to store things, which wasn''t really something I needed right now, not to mention the mental complexity of having to track of the exact placement of items among the small number of relatively small storage rooms was difficult enough already. If I were to increase the size and number of rooms any further, I couldn''t imagine the complexity that would entail. It was pretty much certain that I needed more intellect if I wanted to invest any further in that skill.

    Then there was [Sword Edge] where the issue seemed to be a lack of charisma. My soul was simply too weak to use the skill repeatedly, lacking the mana for it. Making the skill any more powerful would only exacerbate this issue, making the skill unusable.

    Furthermore, I was only able to use two classes at once for the time being, at least until level 10 or so when I would be getting ''subclasses'' according to System. Considering my current restrictions until then investing in fighting based classes seemed useless at the moment, given that I already had the strongest combination in [Swordsman] [Adventurer]. This made me turn to my support and production classes. Frowning a little as I looked at them. They wouldn''t be much help in combat, but perhaps they weren''t totally useless. [Identify] seemed somewhat useful, it at least would let me know if I was drinking poison or if an ingredient had a beneficial effect, which would help me not overlook something valuable or dangerous by accident. [Navigation] also seemed somewhat valuable. In the deep wilderness you can''t see the sky because of the trees and getting lost is pretty easy. It seemed valuable to have this as a tool in the future, especially in the case that I lose my compass. From what I could tell the skill gave a basic sense of where I was, orienting me relative to places that I knew. While equipping the skill I could feel a vague sense of how far we were from town and what direction I needed to go to get there, the only thing was, I didn''t really need it right now.

    Settling this, I spent one point in [Sword mastery] finally bringing it to max, before subsequently maxing out [Identify] with a full nine point investment. As far as what the difference this would have, that was something I''d have to test out over time. I couldn''t figure out a use for the remaining 19 skill points, leaving those for later.

    As far as attributes went, I was considering putting points into strength to make moving around in armor more comfortable, but so far it hadn''t posed large enough an issue to warrant correcting. I was already stronger than what peak human condition would allow, and most knights without magically enhanced equipment were running into the same issue I was, yet they managed it well enough, and my enhanced constitution allowed me to deal with the strain for prolonged periods without much issue. I had put enough points into constitution at this point that now I was having fairly large returns for each additional point.

    Considering my new position and likely continued status as a valued member of the kingdom, my biggest worries was probably dying to a lucky blow from some monster. I would have my own core of knights in the future, protecting myself should be the utmost priority, so long as I can survive the others will take care of it for now. I didn''t need to necessarily be the most powerful person right now, but I needed to avoid dying while I put on more levels.

    The beastkin were one thing, but from what the System told me, I''d eventually be dealing with others with a system like me, even if they weren''t getting the same benefits from it as I was. Seemingly I had a bit of time. From our even earlier conversations, System seemed like had already banked a lot of energy from this planet, the Goddess'' forces wouldn''t put up too much of a fuss until the point that we started going negative. Given that this was linked to my leveling, I could more or less choose when it would occur. Giving me the edge when it came to preparations. I could build up my advantages in preparation for time we come into conflict.

    Investing the full ten points into constitution, I felt my body strengthen tremendously. I was somewhat curious about the exact effects, 45 points now had me on track to something akin to a lesser magical beast, somewhere around 12 times the vital force of an average person. Taking off my iron-scaled gauntlet inlaid with fur, I examined my hand, flexing the fingers back and forth.

    Taking my skinning knife from its sheath, I tested the sharpness out on my exposed skin. The skin stretched but didn''t break, even under considerable force and the edge sharpened as it was, it was almost like I was dealing with a butter knife rather than a dagger. Withdrawing the knife, the skin itself was smooth and unblemished, and even softer than it was a day earlier despite showing such durability.

    Wrapping things up I signaled to the two knights, ready to retire our outing for the day. I had probably three-hundred additional rat carcasses, not to mention the others I was still hoarding from previous week''s solo adventure. Seeing how well the rumors of my space magic and my engagement had spread it should be about time to check in with the guild. Glancing at the two knights who had dutifully guarded me today, I figured it was only appropriate to share some of the spoils. Always a good idea to get along with those charged with protecting your life. Whistling the whole way back as we marched back triumphant.

 Ch 33. Guild Matters Part 1

    Nearly two rooms in my inventory had now been filled with the bodies of muck rats, not to mention the two wolves.

    Enough that I would need to pay a visit to the guild sooner or later. It was unsettling to me, keeping a graveyard''s worth of bodies within the recess of my mind, and the sooner I was rid of them the better.

    The two knights and I marched back through the fields, the sun now high in the sky beginning its descent towards the west, letting us know that we only had a few more hours left of daylight. Soon enough we were back through the gates. The soldiers manning the gate shooting off a crisp salute to the two knights and myself as we passed through. Smiling to myself at the special treatment I was receiving.

    I thanked the two for their help before beelining to the adventurer''s guild. Bursting through the door with my head held high, not bothering to stow my newly christened armor just quite yet. Enjoying the looks of envy, even coming from silver rankers, noticing a familiar face among them. Nate, the spearman who had just weeks ago instructed me on my first excursion as a newbie adventurer.

    Tammy was there, winding her blonde curls around her finger, manning the desk with a bored look as usual, her eyes opening more at the sight of me.

    "K-keaton! I didn''t expect you to come back. Your party was talking about how you didn''t show up yesterday... a-and we all heard the rumors!"

    She was clearly nervous about how to address me, our stations were suddenly so different.

    "It''s alright Tammy, aren''t we friends? Let the others know I''m sorry about that, some other things have come up, as I''m sure you''ve heard."

    She bobbed her head, still somewhat nervous. Leaning forward to whisper in my ear, the small gap in her blouse gave me a peek at her nipples and disappointingly flat chest.

    "...is it true?" She tickled my ear with her hot breath.

    "Is what true?"

    "That you''re a mage?"

    I smiled genuinely, showing off my perfect teeth.

    "Do you want to see?"

    She gulped. Licking her pink lips briefly.

    I wasn''t sure if she was trying to seduce me, or was just this careless, but I was turned on.

    "Let''s speak in private. I have a big transaction for the guild."

    We passed through the employee entrance out towards the back. The back of the guild was basically a big fenced in lot, with several wooden carts resting unused. Bigger teams would rent these out, hiring supporters to drive them and dress the carcasses, bringing back only what they needed. The collected loot would be counted here and transactions made.

    We were alone now, surrounded by tall wooden fencing, with the only entrances being the wooden gate with a latch that could swing open, and the door we had just come through. The yard was dirt, but there was something of a porch and cover set up along the building. An outdoor fireplace, table and chairs arranged for people to relax in.

    Tammy began trying to make tea, but I stopped her. Pulling out two cups of tea made the morning prior, still fresh and piping hot, just as they had been when I stored them using [inventory].

    *gasp* "So it is true!" She beamed excitedly, huddling over the table where I had just materialized the refreshments. I proceeded to summon out snacks, pushing them towards her.

    She excitedly chowed in on the fresh bread, jerky slices, and cheese, probably not having had dinner yet. I realized both how early and late she worked until each day.

    "It''s so amazing *chew* to think you''re actually *chew chew* a mage now Keaton *swallow* how''d it end up happening?" She was furiously tearing into the food, burping embarrassedly afterwards. A sight that somewhat astounded me. Although I''ll admit I was somewhat hungry by now, I didn''t touch the food, letting her eat as much as she wanted. Was she getting enough at home? How much did a guild clerk make anyway?

    "So, Tammy. I mentioned I had a big purchase for the guild. So I suppose I''ll start with that." Pulling out a single muck rat body and laying it onto the dirt outside. It bled like a fresh kill would, given that this body was only stored a few minutes after death.

    "I have about three hundred more of these. They aren''t dressed, so I''ll need you to hire labor for that. Think you can do it?"

    She grinned.

    "Shouldn''t be a problem. We can hire local laborers to dress the bodies, that''s not a problem. Seeing how fresh this is, even if we just allowed them to take the meat instead of wages, we''d still get volunteers." I knew how valuable meat was now in the winter months, even if our winters weren''t particularly harsh here. The cattle and sheep wouldn''t breed until spring, so this was towards the end of cycle with the fewest animals. They wouldn''t want to thin the numbers of any viable livestock just yet, since they needed them to grow the herds as much as possible.

    "That sounds good to me, should I wait for you to hire them, or should I just lay them all out right now."

    "You can go ahead, its cold enough that the bodies should keep for a night. We can get some people together tonight, and I would guess they''ll be done by morning if that''s how many you have. We''ll have to get the exact worth of everything you have appraised at that time."

    I nodded, starting to unload my inventory. Lying the bodies in rows all across the entire yard. Thankfully I didn''t need to actually touch the bodies when retrieving them, unlike how it was with storing them, which saved me from getting any more blood on me.

 Ch 34. Guild Matters part 2

    About twenty minutes later I was all finished unloading my inventory, looking back at Tammy who was shivering a bit from the cold, despite standing directly in-front of the roaring fire next to her. She had on that summer styled loose-fitting dress, something I was curious about since earlier. Having spent enough time in Ameliah''s shop, I could tell it was made with fairly expensive materials. It was only that the cloth was so thin I could even see that her nipples were erect from the cold, her tiny twin peaks pressing against the dress.

    "Say, Tammy, why are you wearing that? You look a little cold there." I said to her.

    She grinned, clearly having been waiting for someone to ask about it.

    "Do you like it?" She said, twirling about. It was certainly much short and thinner than anything that should be worn at this season, spring was just around the corner, but it was still somewhat cold out.

    "It''s very pretty on you." I said, sounding impressed, before continuing on.

    "It also looks fairly expensive. Did you buy that?"

    She still grinned while holding the ends of her dress with her hands, showing off her legs as she played with the hem.

    "I was saving up for it. Isn''t it pretty? I was so excited to wear it today but nobody commented on it. You''re the first to notice." She said, pouting a little bit playfully.

    "Well I''m flattered to be the first..." I commented, a question popping into my head.

    "Say Tammy, you''re not an adventurer are you? How did you ever become a clerk?"

    Guild clerks were usually injured adventurers who still needed to make a living, it was typically a form of welfare the guild to people that could no longer venture out. But Tammy was never an adventurer to my knowledge, she was probably my age, and to my knowledge had been working since she was even younger.

    Tammy was around the same age as me from what I could tell, when I first visited the guild a few years earlier she had already been the clerk,  several years having passed since then. She always seemed so stand-offish before that I never really felt I should ask. But today she was really opening up to me.

    She hesitated at my question. Considering it before answering.

    "My family''s from here, nobody in my family''s an adventurer."

    I looked at her some more, examining her face.

    "Then how?"

    "My father''s a farmer. We''ve always had a really hard time. But when I heard that the adventurers guild was opening in town I went to see. I ended up catching the guild master''s eye when he was in town and he gave me this position as a reward."

    I understood now, she seduced the guild master. This was such a personal revelation that I didn''t expect to hear it.

    "I- I see." I said, not sure what to say about it.

    "..."

    We stood around awkwardly for a moment.

    "Are you doing alright? I know you were saving up for that dress, but you seemed really hungry earlier... you''re doing okay now, aren''t you?"

    I asked somewhat concernedly.  No matter how you look at it, guild clerks weren''t making much money. Even skilled labor wouldn''t be making more than a few silver a month, a clerk certainly earned more than a peasant farmer, but it couldn''t be any more than a few silver a month. That dress was at least worth a few gold. Did she scrimp on food to save up for it? Only to have nobody notice...

    I did feel somewhat bad for her.

    "..."

    Her eyes were watering before she turned around, looking a little shy. I heard a few sniffles like she was crying.

    That shouldn''t have made her cry, I frowned to myself, thinking I had done something wrong. This was somewhat awkward for me as I wasn''t particularly sure what I should do for her. I wasn''t the closest to Tammy, but I at least thought of her as something like a friend.

    "...Tammy."

    I moved towards her, resting my hands around her waist. Not knowing what to say, I ended up not saying anything at all, just staying like this while she sniffled quietly. Looking back at me every once in a while.

    After a while, she spoke up in a soft voice.

    "Keaton, do you like me?"

    The question surprised me somewhat. Before today I''d only spoken to her casually, never interacting much outside the guild. She never expressed any interest in me and as a result neither did I of her.

    "Do you want me to like you?" I whispered back into her ear, pressing my body directly to hers.

    She put placed her own hands over mine, still resting at her hips. Guiding my hands up to where her breasts were. She didn''t have much there, but I could feel an impression under the thin dress, her nipples erect from the cold.

    "I could be yours..."

    Glancing to the side, I was reminded at how unromantic a location this was. Literal hundreds of freshly deceased muckrats lying bleeding only a few paces away. Killing my erection before it even began. Still, she had earned my attention.

    I was perfectly clear now about what she was doing, and her intentions. Never before had she expressed interest in me, speaking with her dozens of times, but the week that I come out as a mage, a particularly valuable one even, she is grabbing all over me. Tammy basically said so herself, she seduced the guildmaster for her current position. A ruthless social climber. born into a poor family but not content with her station in life.

    I could grant her wish, I could even make her a mistress of mine. It''s not as if I was completely uninterested in her after all.

    Still holding my hands to her breasts with one hand, she used her other to grope behind herself. Feeling for my crotch as I pressed up against her.

    "I would like that... but not now." I broke away, stopping her there.

    I talked it over with Tammy, making arrangements so that I could pick her up when she got off work and I would follow her back home. She worked until dark usually, so we had well over two hours left to burn. Which was good I supposed, because she needed to find some people to deal with processing the goods I had just delivered and I needed to escort Belle back home. Apparently it would be normal for Tammy to stay overnight for something like this, ensuring that the work was done properly. But there really wasn''t a risk of theft and I didn''t mind too much even if there was. Given that the guild was practically the only buyer of these materials, it would be foolish for anybody to try to steal, especially given that the punishments for theft were either slavery or death. Not to mention with dozens of people working together they would self-police on these matters.

    Tammy was excited to seal this deal, as was I.

    I kissed her on the mouth before heading out to find Belle and bring her home early.

 Ch 35. Tammy part 1

    I was waiting in the guild by myself, sitting at a table by the door, having already taken care of everything that needed doing.

    Tammy was eyeing me constantly, watching the remaining members trickle out for the day. There were already ten men in the back lot, working away at processing the furs from my haul. Dozens of torches lighting their work in the failing evening light, seeing as they would be working through the night they would be needing it.

    By the time the last patron left, it was barely light out. The sun having already passed beyond the horizon.

    Tammy and I walked hand in hand down the road. Shopkeepers closing everywhere for the day, while the last customers left. Seemingly the only shops still open were those of the ''night'' variety. The town''s few brothels and their girls trying to attract customers before they disappeared for the evening. I''d never needed to visit such establishments, always having the luxury of Belle for comfort.

    Soon we passed outside of the town inner gates and into the farmland beyond. This was in a different sector than my home, the outer walls being sectioned to minimize the risk if monsters were somehow able to get through.

    The grass was trampled down around the dirt road, overgrown to the sides, and moonligh reflected off the rows of leafy winter crops as we passed. Although it was dark out, the stars and moon above us shone brightly, illuminating the path.

    Seeing we were the only ones around, I began getting a bit bolder. Letting go of Tammy''s hand and reaching for her ass. She was quite skinny so there wasn''t much there, certainly not as much to grab onto as with Belle. I continued to massage her on the way, comparing the two women mentally the whole while.

    Tammy''s blonde curls bobbed up and down while we walked, a smile on her face. I wondered if she was happy about being with me, or whether she was imagining how her life would change from today forward... which farmer''s daughter didn''t dream a life of nobility after all.

    We came to an unassuming farm house surrounded by fields, just like the countless others we had passed before. It was light inside the home, dim candles illuminating the window pane.

    Knocking on the door, Tammy announced herself somewhat softly.

    "I''m home..."

    There were sounds from inside as someone got up from a chair to unlock the door.

    The wooden door opened and a frail looking middle aged woman appeared, bright blonde hair with petite breasts, one who looked a lot like an older version of Tammy.

    "Tammy!" She cried out happily, before noticing me at her daughter''s side.

    Only then did I regain awareness of where I had left my hand, and the impropriety of it all. Tammy hadn''t said a thing so I had continued on absentmindedly, but now my first impression with her mother was that of me fondling her daughter''s ass. I hoped she didn''t notice, but she definitely did...

    She focused her attention back on Tammy, now sounding angry and worried.

    "Tammy what''s going on? Who''s this boy?" She asked while narrowing her eyes at me. A man they''ve never met was bringing their daughter home so late at night. Scandalous to say the least, jeopardizing her chances for marriage.

    "I''m okay mother. Can we talk inside?" Tammy rubbed her arms, indicating her coldness. The temperature having dropped a bit further since sundown.

    Tammy stepped through and I followed, much to the distress of her mother. Who was looking worriedly at me, a strange boy showing up so suddenly with her daughter.

    "What''s going on out there?" An older male voice sounded out warningly, hearing his family''s conversation.

    Soon a man appeared, probably in his late fourties, but haggard looking with sallow cheeks. After dealing with Vel, a weak looking man like this was hardly intimidating to me.

    "Who are you?" He asked me suspiciously.

    Tammy stepped in front of me, hesitating before speaking up.

    "Mom, Dad, this is Keaton. He is my... t-that is, I-I''m going to be his lover!"

    I raised my eyebrow. That didn''t seem like the right way to lead in.

    Her parents faces instantly grew a shade darker as they started lecturing her angrily. Her mother screaming about how she''d ruined her future, eloping with some unknown man, shooting angry eyes at me as Tammy tried desperately to get a word in.

    "He''s a mage!" She finally shouted out.

    The two finally quieted down, looking again at me.

    "Tammy, enough of this nonsense. You''ve worried your mother sick... And you--" The father turned to me accusingly.

    "What non-sense did you put in my daughters head!" He tried his best to intimidate me, while Tammy tried to stop him.

    "It''s true!" Tammy shouted.

    They were on the verge of arguing again when Tammy turned to me pleadingly. Seeing that I so far remained passive throughout the whole affair.

    "Keaton, please! Show them your magic. They don''t believe me at all."

    To which I complied, not feeling very much like getting kicked out at this hour.

    Materializing myself into armor, waiting a few seconds for the impact to set in before storing it again. A neat trick I had picked up recently from practice, and one that was pretty mentally exhausting to use.

    Her parent''s were shocked to say the least. Staring with mouths agape like fish out of water. A few seconds passing before the father finally took action.

    "M-mage sir, please beg my family''s pardon! We didn''t know it, I swear sir. "

    The father ducked his head and took his wife along to do the same. Both of them trembling at the idea they had just been so rude to mage.

    Mages were all unequivocally nobility after all.

    "Relax." I told them, holding my palms out disarmingly.

    "What your daughter said is true. And not just the part about me being a mage."

    "He''s here for me." Tammy spoke up, grabbing onto my arm lovingly.

    "He loves me." She added again for emphasis, taking peeks at me hopefully.

    Seeing that I wasn''t angry, the two began to calm down. Offering me a seat at their table.

    From what I could tell. Her mother had been in the middle of serving a stew, bowls of it laid out, with one already set for Tammy. A thin broth, all vegetables and no meat.

    Looking around I didn''t see many luxuries, the bare house being the very image of a peasant farmer.

    Tammy''s mother looked embarrassed by their means, not having a proper meal to offer me. To which I materialized out a set of fully cooked steaks, and wineglasses, and appetizers. I wasn''t sure whether they would be offended by the show of wealth, but both of them accepted it gratefully. Soon the four of us were seated, myself eating quietly next to Tammy while her parents were gushing over us ecstatically. Tammy was embarrassed by her parents excitement but acted proudly, cuddling up to me and showing me off like I was a prized catch.

    Her parents were not only okay with what I was here to do, but fully supported Tammy''s decision. Being a noble''s mistress was like a golden ticket for a poor family like theirs. Doubly so when they heard that I was a ''natural born'' mage. They didn''t know what that was exactly, but Tammy made it seem like a good thing.

 Ch 36. Tammy Part 2 (R-18)

    There was a festive atmosphere in Tammy''s home while we finished our meal. Her parents were maybe even more excited than the two of us were.

    Seeing as Tammy''s bedroom was so small, they even offered use of their room up for the night, encouraging us to enter and consummate our relationship. Partly afraid that I might be put off by the small bed and leave without doing the deed with their daughter.

    "G-good luck!" Her mother squeaked out nervously, ushering both of us in before closing the door on us. Whispers still audible beyond the thin walls and loosely fitted door.

    I heard a shuffling of feet outside, but it didn''t seem like they were planning on going to bed either. Making it somewhat awkward for Tammy and I inside.

    Thinking about it clearly, I should have known she''d still be living with her parents. Only really men of family''s with abundant children became independent at my age, while most women, especially in a frontier town like this, waited until they were married to leave. And sometimes they''d stay with their parents even after marriage, quite often being that the newlyweds didn''t have a place of their own. In hindsight I should have brought Tammy back to my place, where we could have all the privacy we needed, but I was here now, and much too excited to stop. From Tammy''s rough breathing I could tell she was excited as well.

    There was only one lit candle in the room, illuminating just enough that we could make out the room and find our way to the bed. Shedding clothes all the way. Despite being marriageable as she was, one year older than me in fact, Tammy was remarkably flat. Her small A cup sized breasts leaving little for the hand, and not much more on her ass.

    Although she was much smaller than Belle, I wasn''t put off in the least as I played with her nipples, both of which stood erect from the somewhat chilly room. We''d need to work hard together to warm up.

    Creeping one hand down slowly, I massaged at her entrance while she moaned softly from my touch.

    When I tried to move in deeper with my fingers, she stopped me suddenly.

    "Don''t do it with your hands. I''m still a virgin." She pleaded.

    I stopped my hand''s movements, looking somewhat confused.

    "But didn''t you do it with the guild master?" I asked.

    "--I''ve only ever done it with my mouth." She said, red faced as she tried to hide her embarrassment.

    Pointing her hand down at my erect cock shyly.

    "Keaton... make me your woman."

    I positioned over her, preparing to do her missionary style, pausing after thinking of something.

    "How many times do you want to do it?"

    Now it was her turn to be confused.

    "As many times as possible?... but can''t men only do it once?"

    I just smiled, leaving that for her to find out. Just as she requested, I''d do her as many times as I could tonight.

    Easing my member into her pussy before hitting her virginity.

    "Ready?" I asked her, making sure. To which she just nodded.

    Forcing in a little bit I felt a snapping, having broken the seal to her special place.

    She just grimaced a little, but kept smiling so I continued entering her. Fitting myself snuggly inside while she embraced me. Tammy wrapped her arms around my back for support. Cringing in pain at every slow thrust.

    I went as slow as possible as to not hurt her, moving rhythmically and with care. Her pussy stiff but nonetheless accepting me with inexperienced movements.

    Her face was relaxing, but now she was biting her lip to suppress a moan. Only letting out a heated whimper.

    "It''s okay to let it out. I want to hear your voice." I whispered to her.

    Seeing her unbite her lip in response, but only letting out the weakest of moans each time, only barely audible.

    I moved sensually inside her, savoring her warmth each time. Watching the pain on her face slip, slowly replaced with a look of pleasure.

    "Tammy, I''m cumming" I whispered to her, keeping up my movements.

    "Cum in me." She spoke softly as well, spreading her knees wider as she opened herself.

    Letting myself melt away inside her as I burst forth.

    We lay still for a minute. Tammy rubbing my back with her delicate hand, smiling contentedly to herself while I continued lying on top of her.

    "That was great Keaton... Wa-!" Her words being interrupted by my renewed movements, slightly faster than before.

    "Didn''t you just cum?" She wondered.

    "Don''t tell me you thought I could only do it once?" I said grinning devilishly. To which she just gasped in growing ecstasy.

    I began moving harder now, Tammy''s pussy having had a chance to get used to sex, it accepted my vigorous movements without issues.

    She was calling out louder with pleasure as the bed creaked back and forth. Tammy''s knees moved up, wrapping her legs around my waist, her arms still wrapped around my back. Her vagina pulling on me each time I moved my hips, as she tried to cling onto me with her body.

    Tammy had only lost her virginity minutes earlier but was completely feeling it now. Being pinned under me, she could only move her hips the slightest bit. Most of her strength being placed into wrapping her arms and legs as she took me in.

    She was such a delicate looking girl, but she was taking me in with such a voracious appetite. Humping into her while her pussy milked with lust around my cock. Fitting nicely around my size, squeezing down occasionally.

    I could tell when she came, her body shook. Especially her pussy as it clenched and unclenched around my member, tempting me to release again.

    Her orgasm continued as I sped up, going as fast as I could to match my orgasm with hers. Finally releasing a second shot within her before it was over. Tammy''s lithe body still wracked with pleasure, giving off an uncontrollable twitch every now and then. Her pussy convulsing on my penis, licking at the shaft gratefully.

    Before long I started again, humping into her while she clung to me covetously, wanting to never let go. Going at her with all I could give before releasing once again. Starting a cycle that never seemed to end. Tammy''s cries becoming more and more unrestrained. Calling out loudly, crying my name, moaning in pleasure as I fucked her. Giving her body more of what it craved.

    Hours later, we both lay panting, Tammy far more tired than I, even despite me being the one doing all the moving. She was exhausted but her spirit was still just as willing, eager to take as much as I could give. All the better to ensure her own pregnancy.

    She wanted to go on, but I could tell she needed a break and something to drink. Looking into my inventory for some water but finding only empty cups in need of refilling. To which I let her know.

    We got out of bed, both of us covered in sweat. Tammy was walking bowlegged, her hips reminded of the pleasure every time she tried to take a step. Barely managing to get to the door with my assistance. Opening it we were greeted by an unusual sight.

    Her parents both trying to listen in at the door intently. Surprised by our unexpected emergence.

    Had they been there listening all night? I thought it somewhat comical, but without paying it much mind.

    After listening in on our activities all these hours, they now saw their daughter''s figure. Sweaty, exhausted, and naked, her pussy dripping with semen. The result of having been ravaged so thoroughly. And all I could see on their faces were genuine smiles of happiness. Perhaps it was a difference in views on sex. Their daughter would be well provided for, and their own days of poverty were over. So naturally this was a happy event? I supposed.

    If I stared any longer it looked like they were going to start thanking me, so I started walking us towards the table. She was just a virgin a few hours ago, but now she couldn''t even walk straight without help. Holding my arm while she moved unsteadily, so worn out that even if she was capable of shame right now, she certainly didn''t show it. Either unaware of her own parents presence or unminding of it, as her pussy continued to drip proof of my love onto the floor below.

    We finally made it to the dining table, where I let her sit down. Both of us still nude but not minding the cold in the slightest. It felt nice in fact, cooling off our heated bodies as it dried away the sweat.

    I went outside to fetch water, not minding the dirt crunching beneath my feet. Pulling up a bucket from the well, and filling several water skins before bringing those inside. Pouring a glass for Tammy and myself at the table.

    She drank eagerly, showing just how thirsty she was. All the while, Tammy''s mother was sitting next to her asking questions and talking excitedly about her future grandchildren. Her father standing quietly at the side, smiling dumbly.

    When a few minutes had passed, I took Tammy by the hand. Asking her if she wanted to continue, to which see just nodded meekly as I led her back into the room. Soon the sounds of sex could be heard again. The bed creaking rhythmically, accompanied by Tammy''s now hoarse cries of pleasure.

    Kaguro

 Ch 37. The Morning After

    We continued all through the night. Despite Tammy being exhausted, I felt completely fine at having not slept. With 45 constitution I was somewhat curious whether I even needed to sleep at all. Surely I would have to eventually, but right now I felt like I could go for days without sleep.

    Perhaps it way a tad mean, but despite being a willing participant, Tammy had begun dozing off in the later half, whenever that happened I would increase my pace. Working away at her relentlessly until I came, making sure she was awake for every moment. The bed soaked from our activities, and only stopping to give her water and snacks at regular intervals, ensuring she could go on.

    Noticing the first few rays of morning light illuminate the darkened sky outside, marking the end of our session. Tammy had to get ready for work. She already agreed to quit and come follow me to the Capital, but it would take time for the guild to find a replacement, and she needed to let them know today.

    It wouldn''t be such a problem if not for the fact she could hardly stand, let alone walk. Her legs completely jelly under her, and her arms feeble from exhaustion. I looked at her lie weakly in bed, straining to get up, it seemed that I was going to have to hang out around the guild today... ensuring she was okay.

    Picking her off the bed I carried her out of the room and into the view of her awaiting parents. Apparent enough that they had also stayed up the entire night, but looking in a terrific mood for it. Ultimately they just wanted to support and encourage their daughter, even if the manner seemed a little strange to me. Considering some of the traditions regarding the consummation of marriage, I suppose I should just count myself lucky they didn''t demand to be in the same room the whole time. Although in a sense, this wasn''t a proper marriage, just me using Tammy on the side as a mistress.

    With her mothers help we scrubbed her down outside, eliciting some shivers of protest from Tammy, the combination of cold water and cold air not a pleasant one for her. But it was something necessary, because quite honestly she smelled like sex. I had marked her so thoroughly, that it wasn''t something that was going to come out easily. Her mother sniffed at Tammy while she was scrubbing, maybe half in amazement, half in curiosity. We had gone at it for so long and so vigorously, I''m sure the poor mother was thinking it had to be something to do with my ''magic''.

    Seeing how open and supportive of our sex her parents had been, I had no qualms taking advantage of the moment, teasing Tammy when I could while she just resigned herself to fate. With the excuse of ''cleaning'' I would cup my hands in cold water, bringing it to Tammy''s vagina before fingering her with it. Enjoying the sensation of her pussy clamping down on my fingers angrily, while she just shuddered and let out moans, too tired to protest.

    Her mother beaming at my ''affection'', kidding that we were already getting along so well.

    Before long Tammy was cleaned and presentable, her cheeks seeming to glow with a sensual and womanly aura. If we weren''t rushed for time I''d take her again. Lamenting that we were in such a hurry, so much so that we didn''t even have time for a breakfast. I could only promise her parents that I would get Tammy some food. My inventory making this a very easy task.

    Carrying Tammy in my arms. I walked back to town. Ignoring the stares of the few lone passerby''s while she laid flat with embarrassment. Doing nothing aside from developing a healthy blush on her cheeks.

    By the time we were at the guild the sun was finally beginning to peak over the horizon, sending its first direct rays onto the ground. Birds chirping as we headed inside. I let her sit down inside at her usual spot, behind the guild clerk counter. Walking through the way Tammy had showed me last time to get to the back. Seeing the dozens of men, organizing and packing up the chunks of muckrat and wolf meat they had processed. Their ''payment'' for a nights hard work.

    All of the furs were stripped off, and stacked in a pile. The remains of the carcasses loaded into wagons for disposal.

    I looked at one of the men who seemed to be something of a leader for this group, seeing him direct the others. Of course being such temporary work they had no actual leader, but it made things convenient for me to only address one person.

    "Hello! I''m Keaton, the one who commissioned your work here. Are you finished here?" I asked curiously.

    "Yep. We''re just packing up now, but you can go ahead and log those furs in with the guild. Normally Tammy would be here to count them, but I haven''t seen her around."

    Smiling at his comment.

    "You don''t have to worry. She''s back. I''ll take these over to her and collect payment. So you guys are fine for now?"

    To which he just nodded.

    Leaning in I whispered to him.

    "A bit of curiosity. How good is this stuff anyway?" Motioning to the cuts of muckrat steaks he had. Muckrats were generally considered trash food, but something recently had caught my eye. The expanded effects of level 10 [Identification] now indicating to me that these cubes of meat had a weak effect on enhancing constitution over time. The lucky few who had wolf meat, seemed to be getting the better bargain though as I could tell its effect on constitution was even more profound.

    "It tastes better than you''d expect." He said to me while shrugging.

    I looked at the pile of stripped carcasses a bit wistfully before moving on. Three hundred gall bladders was a lot to miss out on, I could get a few gold from Cal for that... my miserly attitude coming through.

 Ch 38. Tammy Watching

    Having settled things with men doing the processing, taking the bundles of fur to Tammy, and additionally fetching her some breakfast from my inventory. I decided there was time enough to make a quick stop back home to pick up Belle. Given that I was gone all last night, she would probably be worried if I was gone for all of today as well.

    Walking through the door, I could hear faint snoring, seemingly Belle was fast asleep. Curled up in a ball surrounded by pillows and blankets on the bed, nude aside from her underwear. Belle''s tail resting carelessly across her face, twitching her nose at the sensation of the silky tail hairs tickling her in her dreams. Her collar''s leash securely tied to the post, but the comfortable design not obstructing her sleep in the slightest.

    Her cat ears perked up at the sound of me opening the door, but despite that she remained sleeping.

    I brought out some of the pre-cooked steaks I had bought the other day, already served on a plate and still sizzling as if they were freshly cooked. Their time frozen by [inventory].

    Her nose twitched cutely, wiggling about, before eliciting a greedy lick around her mouth. Her tongue running around while drooling. Smacking her lips.

    Before long Belle''s eyes shot open, as she looked up.

    "Master!"

    She cried out, realizing my presence, and running over to my embrace. Hugging me intently, while stealing glances at the table. Sniffing occasionally, first at the steaks, but then at me.

    "Uuuuww... master. You smell like a woman." She said wrinkling her nose.

    "And it''s not Marcella... Master..." She added.

    "Mm, you have a good nose Belle." Sniffing myself, I did stink like sex, but to think she could even identify the person.

    "Help me clean up. You can have one of those afterwards." I said motioning to the steaks.

    Her tail started wagging.

    "Yes master!"

    After unlocking her leash, we got out a bucket of water from the well, and now it was my turn to brave the cold water in the brisk morning air. My constitution doing wonders to stave off the worst of it, but still cringing at the cold sensation.

    Belle tried soaping up her breasts and washing my back and front with them, but I had done so much with Tammy earlier I wasn''t particularly in the mood, not giving her the response she wanted. But given the steak reward waiting for her inside, she wasn''t upset at all.

    She ate heartedly alongside me, trying to guess why I was watching her so interestedly. Her cat-like mannerisms so charming to me.

    Before long we were dressed up and headed back to the guild. Heading to watch over the woman I was with last night, I told her.

    Sliding into a corner seat, Belle and I sat together in an area that allowed us a good view of the counter. I looked on unconcernedly as Belle sniffed the air, honing in on Tammy as the likely home-wrecker. Well to be honest, she was the only culprit possible. Everyone currently here was a guy aside from Tammy and Belle. Belle''s cat ears and tail standing straight up as she confirmed her ''suspicions''.

    Waiting for an hour or so, the guild entered a bit of a lull. Nobody in line for the counter anymore, allowing us the opportunity I had been waiting for with Tammy. This would be the second time the two would meet, although this time I hoped that they be getting along better.

    Tammy brought us to a private room, allowing us some privacy for re-introductions and getting a few of our tasks for the day done. She had taken account of the furs, handing me a sack of coins. An astounding sum of forty or so gold, proving to me how much more lucrative it was to hunt with such excellent equipment and well trained knights. I''d set up for a portion to be divided to my two helpers from that time, but that was a situation for later.

    Tammy right now had to draft her resignation letter and send that off, which I helped with in parts. Belle just watched in curiosity as Tammy wrote in cursive, mesmerized by the pretty looking swirls falling onto the page. Ever since beginning to read, the world of words seemed to fascinate Belle. Soon becoming her favorite hobby, second only to sex. Even if she could only make out basic sounds and incomplete words, she was improving at a rapid rate, constantly reading the few books we had at home.

    When she was done, she took a red seal of wax, holding it a lit candle for a minute before slicing off a thick glob from the end. Smearing the wax on onto the folded envelope containing her letter and stamping down with the official guild insignia, a lion and shield. The sigil of the kingdom, and the sign of the royal family of Stromgar. She would send this off to the guild master with haste. I did think it a bit odd though that the Guild Master was always away for so long, irresponsibly leaving most of the affairs to be handled by Tammy. Even if she did it fairly well, it was well beyond what a clerk should be expected to do.

    I had some other matters to attend to for a little while after this, but we would check back in with Tammy afterwards. Catching her arm before she left the room and kissing her on the mouth as she turned. At first shock, and then love painting over her face. Drilling her tongue into mine while we kissed passionately. Belle pouting at the display. When Tammy had left I turned and kissed her as well, letting her tongue run around mine.

    Belle in tow, I headed out of the guild for the second time. This time venturing to the Marcet mansion, intent on finding my fiancee.

 Ch 39. Making Plans

    The servants called Marcella down to the lobby for me. Walking down the steps wearing a fur gown, dressed for outside already. Her hair stunning as usual, the red sheen in her jet black hair giving her an alluring mystique. I embraced her in a hug, kissing her cheeks in greeting.

    "You''re looking very good today Marcella" I told her.

    She just smiled and looked at me carefully.

    "Thank you Keaton. Shall we?" Holding her arm up, elbow crooked for me to grab, a proper lady asking for a proper escort on her walk around the premises.

    We walked as usual, making our round. Arm in arm, and Belle in tow.

    "I was thinking Marcella... we''re both adventurers. Instead of doing these walks here, wouldn''t you much rather like to have an outing outside the walls? You know how I have been training outside, we could turn that into a picnic. How about it?"

    She stopped to consider it, looking around the exterior of the mansion as if carefully examining each aspect of it.

    "You know what Keaton that sounds like a lot of fun! I would love to do that. We can have the cooks make something wonderful up, and you can bring it with you!"

    She started thinking about all the uniquely convenient aspects of my ''space magic'', as well as seeming eager to get back to adventuring. I knew that her father had cooped her up at home after our engagement.

    To be honest I was also quite curious to see what her magic was like in person. She was the only actual mage that I''ve ever seen before, and this was a perfect chance for a demonstration.

    Asking her if she could have the staff put something together for it for tomorrow.

    Marcella had been staring at something for a while and I finally realized what it was, seeing Belle a good ways away from us, busy looking at a bird on the fence interestedly. Her tail swishing back and forth mesmerizingly.

    "-cute." I heard Marcella whisper softly to herself.

    I smiled knowingly, intending to let her get a better look. "Belle!" I yelled out. Startling the distracted catgirl.

    "Come over here." I said waving to her.

    She trotted over, the bell on her collar ringing out every step she took. Before long she was standing in front of us, at attention.

    "Belle is here master." She said matter of fact.

    Marcella studied her with great interest.

    I leaned towards Marcella''s ear, whispering to her, "Is this the closest you''ve been to a beastkin?"

    She nodded.

    "Do you want to touch her?"

    She nodded again, more eagerly.

    "Belle, come say hello to Marcella."

    Belle looked over to Marcella, staring into her eyes. Approaching closer.

    "Belle greets Mistress", she curtsied. Giving the greeting I had taught her.

    "Come let her feel your ears." I told her, watching Belle bow her head down for Marcella to touch.

    She rubbed her hand through Belle''s hair before coming to her ears. Rubbing each tenderly, feeling the warm fuzz on her fingertips as the ears twitched sensitively, ticklish from the soft touch.

    "Do you want to feel her tail next?" I asked her.

    She just gulped.

    Taking that as a yes, I bid Belle to turn around and bend over slightly. She had a hole on the base of her dress where Ameliah had designed to allow the tail to poke through seamlessly. Fitting perfectly.

    Belle''s tail moved like a snake, tempting Marcella to reach out and touch. To which I openly encouraged her.

    She held the silky tail as it moved around in her hand, petting it gingerly. Moving her hands closer and closer to the base of the tail, before she reached the dress. Somewhat disappointed.

    "Can I see where it connects?" She asked me with a pure intentions.

    Nodding to her, I motioned to Belle.

    "Show her Belle."

    She showed some hesitation, but remembered my training earlier.

    Taking off her dress carefully so as to not get it dirty from the ground. I took the dress storing it temporarily.

    Now in only her underwear Belle again faced away from Marcella, showing her tail in greater detail.

    Marcella was very interested, breathing heavier with innocent excitement. Looking at the bare figure of Belle. Marcella moved her hands, feeling up the spot where tail met skin, just above Belle''s panty line. Belle bit her lip, stifling back a moan at sensitive location. She had always been a vocal one, but she didn''t want to embarrass herself in front of the new Mistress.

    Having her fill, Marcella stepped back.

    "Thank you Keaton, Belle is a wonderful girl."

    Turning next to Belle.

    "And thank you Belle, you have a very cute tail. Thank you for letting me touch it." She added sweetly.

    "N-not at all Mistress! Belle thanks Mistress for touching Belle''s tail."

    I returned Belle her dress, as we got ready to head back to the guild for the day. Checking in on Tammy again to make sure her exhausted and vulnerable state didn''t land her in any trouble.

 Ch 40. Getting Along (R-18)

    We watched Tammy for the remainder of the day. I could tell she was still somewhat tired but it seems like the day of mostly sitting down had recovered her somewhat. She was still in somewhat of a daze, smiling to herself every now and then, lost in her own world. Every time our eyes met she would look away shyly.

    Although Tammy never said it, it was pretty clear to any observer here that there was something going on between us. And I had no intention of hiding our relationship. When the last patron left, I approached Tammy again. Pulling her into a kiss.

    "Keaton we can''t! Wait until we get home at least..." She protested, but I just sealed her lips again.

    Invading her mouth with my tongue.

    Belle continued to watch, pouting from the side. She was somewhat confused still about who Tammy was to me. She knew from smell that I was sleeping with her, but she didn''t know yet that Tammy would be a more permanent addition to the home. I was somewhat worried about how the two would get along. Belle was easily jealous, but she wouldn''t raise a fuss, so my real worry was how to get Tammy to accept Belle. Remembering when I had first registered at the guild, Tammy was the one who asked I exclude Belle. It was a reasonable request, but I could feel that even now she was uncomfortable having Belle around her.

    I picked Tammy up into a carry position, not intending to let her walk, even though she insisted she could. I had seen her try earlier today, and she had no issues with it to be honest, but I felt like this was something that I wanted to do. Carrying her through the town on the way home somehow tickled my sense of pride as a man.

    Tammy had noticed partway through that we weren''t heading to her home but mine. Only naturally given that I talked with her mother and let her know that Tammy would be staying with me from now on. She seemed to take it well enough, happy enough with the arrangement given that it was such a good deal for her daughter. Encouraging me to give her daughter a child at the soonest opportunity, and from what she had seen the night before, there would be no worries about that.

    Walking into our farm home, Tammy was immediately greeted by the sight of a large room entirely centered around a massive bed.

    All of the furniture was arranged to accompany it, and not too long ago it was our only item here. From one look of it she could tell this was a room designed around sex.

    I could tell she was tired from not sleeping at all yesterday, but her face now had a look of expectation. She knew she was in for another memorable night.

    Luckily for us, tomorrow was Sunday, the state religion in Stromgar as in all of the human kingdoms, had laid out edicts long ago about doing work on this day. If she actually needed to work again tomorrow I''d let her rest, not being cruel enough to make a woman work without sleep for two nights in a row.

    I laid Tammy down on the sofa, before ordering Belle over to the bed. Her silky black tail waving in the air expectantly as she crawled onto the bed and onto her back, spreading her legs widely, eagerly waiting to receive me. She''d have to learn some patience, because it wasn''t her turn yet. I had some bonding exercises in mind aimed at warming Tammy up to the idea of having Belle around.

    I began stripping Tammy, lifting her up again and over to the massive bed. But instead of laying her down next to Belle, instead I laid her directly ontop, much to the surprise of both of them. Positioning Tammy''s pussy right in front of Belle''s face, so as to be easily lickable.  Tammy''s head resting past Belle''s opened legs, bringing in pillows to support the back of her head. Both of them on their back, and with Belle on the bottom.

    I looked at my handiwork satisfied with the result, deciding to hook the back of Belle''s collar to its tether for good measure, leashing her to her post.

    "Keaton... what is this? She''s a beastkin..." Tammy asked confused, unsure whether she wanted Belle so close.

    "A little something extra for tonight. You''ll like it." I promised her.

    She just nodded, tiredly. Somewhat hesitant but clearly still suffering from sleep deprivation.

    Belle wasn''t sure what to do... she just stared at Tammy''s pussy in front of her while I positioned myself over the two of them, entering into Tammy''s waiting hole, our flesh connecting directly over Belle''s mouth.

    "Belle... lick Tammy." I ordered her. This was her first time being so close to another girl''s sex, and now she was going to lick it.

    She whined, unwilling to lick another girl, only running her rough cat tongue daintily along the bottom of my penis and barely getting to Tammy''s clinging pussy.

    I wanted Tammy to come to appreciate Belle, and for that I needed Belle''s cooperation. Even if I forced her, it would be a forced enthusiasm. I needed some sort of incentive to give her the proper motivation.

    "Belle, I''ll get you something if you do a good job."

    Her ears twitched up, I could feel their ends tickling me from below.

    "...Like what?"

    "Mmm, you know how we''re going to the capital soon right? You can pick something out there that you want. If you wanted to go somewhere, or do something, or buy something. As long as its something that I can do, or afford, I''ll do it for you Belle."

    Her ears twitched again.

    "Really?"

    "Really really... just make sure that Tammy has a good time tonight. Okay?"

    "..."

    "Belle will do a good job master." She said, getting back to licking. This time with much more enthusiasm.

    Her rough tongue running all over the part where Tammy and I were connected, sticking her tongue into the gaps and lapping as deeply as she could into Tammy''s vagina, to which Tammy just gasped with pleasure. I continued to lay motionless, enjoying the hot tongue bath as Belle dutifully cleaned every bit of our connected genitals.

    Before long, Tammy moved to lock her legs and arms around me just as we did last time, raising herself up. I noticed the licking stopped.

    "What''s wrong Belle? Why did you stop?"

    "...master. I can''t reach."

    I thought for a moment, realizing Tammy clinging to me must have lifted her ass somewhat, making her pussy hard for Belle to get at. Considering the issue for a moment before grinning again.

    "Doesn''t she have somewhere else you could lick?"

    She considered it for a moment and started licking again. This time not in a place that I could feel, but the *lick* *lick* *lick* sounds happening below me indicated she was doing her job, as were the pleasured squirms of Tammy.

    "Keaton... that''s a dirty place... make her stop!" Tammy squirmed in my arms, protesting, but I just sealed her lips with mine and begun to move.

    I continued pistoning in, moving my hips back and forth while her pussy gripped onto me. It had its first taste yesterday, and now it demanded more. Stretching willingly to accept my vigorous movements. Panting out, gasping for breath whenever I took my mouth off of hers, continuing to invade her mouth with my tongue while Belle licked at her from below. My enhanced constitution allowed me to hold my breath for a very long time, able to keep chasing her tongue passionately and without relent, testing Tammy''s limits. Only stopping for brief moments to let her take in a gulp of air.

    She bucked into me suddenly, to which I unsealed her mouth.

    *gasp* "Oh God... Keaton. She''s going into my ass!" She said while bucking again. Belle apparently putting her long feline tongue to good use.

    I smirked and cut Tammy off before she could say any more, sealing her lips again with a kiss, and digging in with my tongue. Her body told me she was loving it.

    Tammy''s pussy squeezed down in protest as she continued to cling to me, moving her hips to enhance the pleasure she was feeling. Belle continued, licking Tammy''s insides with fervor. Seeing that she was feeling it, I picked up the pace, my mouth sealed around hers, no longer giving her a chance to take in air as I pumped furiously into her pussy, driving her tongue wild the whole time. Feeling my lust boil below, I was going as fast as I could, feeling my muscles burn from the last sprint, but driven on by her pussy''s desperate contractions as it screamed for me to give her air. It was finally here!

    Cumming deeply as her walls shivered and squeezed around my cock, her arms and legs still locked around me, keeping me in, but her body wiggling as she strained. Releasing her tongue at last, she coughed and panted heavily.

    Not saying a word as we enjoyed the moment. The only thing breaking the silence being Tammy''s rough breathing and the continued *lick* *lick* *lick* sounding out below us. Belle continuing on, forcing her tongue into Tammy, intent on doing a ''good job'' like I had asked. Something that Tammy surely appreciated as her pussy continued to shiver with pleasure. A look of post coital satisfaction filling her face.

    I let her enjoy it a moment longer, before whispering to her asking to let go of me with her limbs. The final touches on their bonding experience soon coming to fruition.

    Belle was looking at me, still licking at Tammy''s ass, asking with her eyes whether it was her turn yet. Seeing me get off of Tammy, her hopes were raised.

    "Tammy''s gotten dirty just now Belle, could you clean her up?" Motioning to the dribble of semen coming out of Tammy''s pussy. Belle nodded vigorously. It was apparent from the start that Belle didn''t like licking women. But she very much like being rewarded. Having such clearly established rewards for licking pussy, there was nothing that Belle wanted more right now than to please Tammy with her utmost effort.

    She began by licking up all of the parts that had spilled, lapping up any stray semen. Once that was completed, she started licking the entrance, cleaning that up while eliciting moans of pleasure from Tammy. Before long she was digging her tongue in, lapping any cum she could find into her mouth and continuing to dig deeper with her rough and long catkin tongue, causing Tammy to squirm from the excessive stimulation.

    Tammy was probably ''clean'' by now, but she was clearly loving it, so I just let it go on for as long as she wanted. A lovely bonding moment.

    Tammy was now sitting up, holding down Belle''s head with her hands while she bucked with uncontrollable jerks. Belle''s tongue digging deep inside her with eager movements.

    Belle continued happily, lapping Tammy''s insides, scraping her walls with her tongue. Tammy whimpered, her pink slit squeezing down as she orgasmed again, arching her back and leaning onto Belle''s head, her legs squirming. Belle only bothered to look up briefly, grabbing onto Tammy''s ankles to steady herself under her sex, not slowing her licking in the slightest. By now Tammy was directly ontop of Belle, moaning and panting, her knees and hips given out around her so that her pussy was directly against Belle''s mouth. Allowing Belle to make full use of her tongue.

    I smiled at the display. It may be a good idea to let Belle handle Tammy tonight. Positioning myself on the other side, intent on using Belle''s pussy this time. This was going to be a good night.

 Ch 41. Lunch Arrangements

    I had a nice sleep, or at least the little bit that I could get was nice. Over time I began noticing the physical changes I was undergoing as a result of the systems enhancements, things like this. I was now to the point now where I couldn''t physically sleep for a long time, it seems three hours was close to my limit. Beyond that I''d simply pretend to be asleep, or spend my time like I was now. Letting me wondering if I would eventually lose the need to sleep entirely if my constitution got any higher.

    Sitting on the couch, I watched Tammy and Belle sleeping peacefully. The two of them snuggled up for warmth under the covers, our fireplace having died down to coals over the night. Tammy it seems had a very clingy nature, just like she did during sex with me, she had managed to wrap herself around Belle with her arms and legs, using her like an oversized pillow. The two of them completely oblivious to the fact that their faces were close enough to be kissing, exhausted after a long night. The blanket rising and falling peacefully which each breath they took.

    I didn''t minding spending time like this, but I was waiting for something. As soon as it was light out, I was to head over to the mansion to get ready for the ''picnic'' Marcella and I had planned. I decided it was time to introduce Tammy to Marcella as well, but I would leave that for the actual event. Giving Tammy and Belle some opportunity to catch up on much needed sleep.

    After a quick washing in the brisk morning air, I summoned my clothes from the inventory and headed off.

    The guards at the mansion greeted me and let me pass as usual, now well accustomed to my visits.

    Maids and servants scurried about the grounds busily, seemingly in a rush to meet Marcella and I''s sudden demands. Making it inside, I found a happy looking Marcella, eager to be going on an ''adventure'' today, even if the stated reason was for something different. She led me to the kitchen, allowing me to see that the cooks had done a fantastic job preparing the lunch set early, everything laid out for me. Marcella watching with amusement as I carefully stored a small wooden table, chairs, silverware, and each plated meal.

    "You''re so convenient Keaton! I love having you around." She said from the side, giggling a bit and eliciting a grimace from me. The only parts of me she seemed to like were my abilities.

    "Thanks Marcella." I said, kissing her on the cheek. "Is everything ready for today?"

    She nodded excitedly.

    "Daddy thought it was a great idea. A picnic outside the wall, that''s so exciting." She said happily.

    I suppose it''s a good thing she''s in a good mood, I thought. Knowing that I''d be introducing my new woman today. She really couldn''t say anything about it, given that this was fairly normal for any man of renown. My father had a dozen for goodness sakes, and he was only a knight. I had to say that Jagen was quite unusual himself, only taking two wives for a man of his position was very strange. Even so, Marcella showed quite an open hostility to the second side of her family, her relationship with Cal and his younger sister being quite strained.

    I could only imagine how she''d react to Tammy. Perhaps I was lucky with Belle''s situation, Marcella''s affinity for beastkin being an unexpected boon, but twice in a row might be too much to ask for. Regardless, I had already claimed Tammy in my heart, and no matter how Marcella reacted I wouldn''t be easily swayed.

    Marcella and I walked around, while discussing arrangements. Apparently her father though it was prudent for the rest of the family to exclude themselves from the adventure, allowing Marcella and I some time together. That certainly didn''t mean we were going alone though.

    A row of knights were marshaling outside the house, dressed in various fine armor, much like my own. Perhaps in a larger estate they''d have more uniform styles, but given that we were on a frontier town nobody was very particular about the looks. Next to them were more than three times their number in soldiers, much less well dressed, but still seemingly well trained. Holding rank even if all they were doing was standing around. I could tell Jagen was a protective father, but the difference here just seemed a little extreme to me. He only gave me two knights when I went outside while she gets this many? Perhaps he just had a lot of confidence in his son in law.

    I wasted time together with Marcella until it seemed like we were almost ready to go, prompting me to break off early. Letting Marcella know I needed to get something from my house.

    It was just before noon now, which had allowed the two girls to sleep in a few more hours, but maybe not as much as they had wanted. Only stirring somewhat from the noise I made when entering, but not fully awake.

    I poured them some tea and breakfast, something extra I had picked up from the mansion''s cooks just an hour ago. The two groggily eating the lavishly prepared meal before washing and dressing, Tammy blushing shyly the whole time while sneaking peaks at Belle, but no longer as uncomfortable in her presence. All the while Belle just ate happily, oblivious to it all, but stopping suddenly as if she remembered something looking at me inquisitively.

    "Master, did Belle do a good job? Belle wants her reward." She asked unprompted, twitching her ears at me. Somewhat worried that I would tease her by retracting my promises. I suppose I used to do that when I was younger, but her fears were unfounded. I really did mean what I said.

    I looked at the two of them, amused at Tammy''s reddening face.

    "Why don''t we ask Tammy? Tammy, did Belle do a good job?" Watching Tammy squirm in her chair uncomfortably while receiving our stares.

    She just nodded, ashamed to look either me or Belle in the eye. A smile beginning peeking through on her face.

    "Isn''t that great Belle. I''ll make sure to get you your reward."

    She purred happily while finishing her meal. Her tail unconsciously drifting over to Tammy''s seat.

    Afterwards I watched the two bath and dress, letting them know about the picnic while they readied themselves.

    Tammy seemed somewhat nervous about meeting Marcella for the first time, wanting to make a good impression with the girl who was to be my ''proper'' wife.

    Setting out again, my arms around both women''s waists as we walked together.

 Ch 42. Happy Picnic part 1

    Marcella eyed our approach skeptically. Her eyes especially frosty towards Tammy, seeing my hand on her waist and the familiarity with which she allowed me to touch her.

    "Who is this woman, Keaton?"

    The knights looking on with amusement, enjoying the spectacle they thought was about to unfold.

    "Ah, Marcella. I have someone I''d like for you to meet." Pushing Tammy forward.

    "Marcella, this is Tammy. She''s the clerk from the adventurer guild."

    She kept staring at me, crossing her arms around her abundant breasts unhappily. The red streaks in her hair accentuating how upset she looked. If looks could kill...

    "And from now on she''s my concubine. *cough* I hope you two can get along together." I said somewhat awkwardly, not sure how I should approach the subject. I knew Marcella wasn''t going to like it, but what could I do? I wanted to be with Tammy, so obviously Marcella needed to meet her.

    "...Anyways. Are we all ready?" I asked Marcella, trying to change the subject.

    "We were ready before you left *hmph* " she turned, walking off steamedly.

    The guards, realizing that she was leaving, began to march as well. Following her lead.

    I could only sigh, and bring Tammy and Belle along.

    Our procession must have looked unusually intimidating to the gate guards such a large force going outside the wall. Seeing me, the ''space-mage'' and the mage-daughter of the duke, accompanied by so many soldiers, they must have thought we were out to subjugate some fearsome beast. Little did they know we were just out for a picnic.

    Even if Tammy and Belle were within the center of the formation, along with Marcella and I. It wasn''t as if they couldn''t be targeted by stray stones, or the like. Handing out some very lightweight armor pieces I had picked up beforehand, helping them equip each. Making sure they were both well protected.

    Having such a big force out was certainly a different experience. Most of the muck rats left us entirely alone, and we were able to get quite far into the grasslands without any engagements. Only when we started coming across the bigger colonies did they have the guts to face our large group. The rats charging stupidly to their doom.

    Coming to the obvious conclusion of such a battle, I began my task of storing the bodies.

    "You''re not putting those in the same place as the food, are you?" Marcella chimed in from behind me, laughing shrilly to herself as she kidded me. Incredibly pleased with herself about her own joke. She had asked earlier this morning about what it was like to use space magic, and I could only let her know about the ''rooms'' and how I had to visualize the items within. Obviously I had no idea whether real space magic was like this or not, but I could only go off my own experiences.

    Before long I came upon a muckrat that was still breathing, sputtering blood from an arrow in its neck. A young soldier with a bow walked up, offering to dispatch it for me... but seeing the arrow I had something of an idea.

    "I''d like to do it myself. Can you lend me your bow?" I asked of him. Seeing the confusion in his face.

    "Yes, sir. Of course." He complied, handing me his weapon and quiver before saluting. He was very polite. Much more polite than one of the knights would have been. Knights were after all, nobility of a kind. Even if they were the lowest rung and nothing compared to the status of mages, they still had the stubborn pride that nobility brought.

    I stood a few feet away from the muck rat, ''aiming'' the bow at it while it heaved its chest sluggishly. Fear reflecting in its eyes. No matter how inexperienced I was with a bow, I wouldn''t miss from this distance. Letting the arrow go with a twang, piercing it through.

    I handed back the bow to the young soldier and thanked him. The few other soldiers and knights watching the ordeal with confusion, not understanding the meaning behind what I had just done as I took out my hand-mirror and confirmed the new addition.

    [Archer lvl 1]

    [Aim lvl 1]

    Grinning as I put my mirror away. The good amount of the guards staring at me, only looking away after I''d caught them. It''s not as if I was unaware of just how strange this looked, admiring myself every time I killed an enemy. It was embarrassing to me too, but what could I do about it? I couldn''t see or change my status without the mirror.

    Finishing up storing the bodies before we moved on, the number of muckrats starting to drop again now that we were getting nearer to the treeline. The massive trees from deeper in the forest looming the distance as we waded through the chest high grass.

    A low booming sound, the bellowing voice of a massive animal sounded out in the distance, while our guard escort seemed to react instantly.

    "Aurochs!"  I heard the soldiers around me shouting, while they closed ranks around us, protecting us with their bodies.

    The knights clamored to the front, shield and spears in hand.

    I could see horns popping over the tallgrass from a distance, the beating of hooves racing towards us and the grass being cut down in their path.

    "Looks like it''s my turn!" Marcella spoke up behind me, walking excitedly towards the front of the line. A purple aura starting to glow around her, small transparent orbs of mana dribbling out from her hand. The orbs growing redder over time as they floated further away from our line, towards the encroaching beasts.

    The herd stampeded towards us, closer, and closer, until they ran right past the orbs.

    **Crack**

    It sounded like thunder. A huge booming sound and blinding light filled my senses... and then it was gone.

    The grass in front of us entirely flattened and smoldering, chunks of cow meat just now falling to the ground with a sickening plop.

    A few of the surviving Aurochs, lying stunned or attempting to limp away injuredly, which caused the soldiers to go wild from the scene.

    "Fire magic." I said outloud, surely just as stunned as the Aurochs were at this display. How absolutely powerful it was.

 Ch 43. Happy Picnic part 2

    Marcella turned back towards us, grinning as she approached with her head held high. I suppose she does have the right to be a little smug after a display like that.

    "How did you like that?" She asked to me impishly, before directing her cold eyes at Tammy, who was clearly intimidated by the earlier display.

    "Very impressive! As expected of my wife." I said to her, clapping. My appreciation for her power was genuine. Not showing my irritation at her subtle digs against my newest love.

    "This is the first time I''ve seen your magic, and I have to say... you were absolutely stunning!"

    Leaning in to whisper in her ear. "I''d love to hear about it over lunch." From what I''d learned, appealing to Marcella''s ego seemed to be the quickest way to her heart.

    She returned to her gloating demeanor, no longer staring daggers. Poor Tammy was just a farmer''s daughter, even without the explosion for intimidation, facing the ire of someone like Marcella had scared her to death. Rubbing her back, while my other hand was around Belle''s waist. Who despite her sensitivity to loud sounds, was not scared in the slightest. On the contrary, her reaction was even starting to scare me a little.

    She had initially been holding her ears, while they twitched delicately, but now she was more interested in the dead Aurochs, absolutely terrible looking to me, many of the oversized cows torn in half. She looked at the bloody scene with a hungry curiosity. Her eyes those of a predator looking at a meal, not put off in the slightest by the sight or by the smell of blood and fire in the air.

    It was time for me to clean up, storing the bodies. Not to mention cleaning up the surviving aurochs, who the soldiers were circling, ready to put them out of their misery before I waved them off. I had figured out that I needed the killing blow to get credit for it, and helpless enemies like this were the perfect meal for me.

    Marcella watched me impatiently, tapping her foot. Her adventurer''s spirit impatient to enter the forest.

    We soon set off, the massive trees beginning to cast shadows over the land. The tall grass receding, increasingly replaced by a shorter more vibrant variety. One that looked extremely healthy despite being the cold season, spongy green moss covering the gaps between stalks. The ground itself becoming softer, our feet sinking in with each step, but leaving few tracks as the plants showed such resilience. Rebounding like coiled springs.

    The soldiers tensed up as we passed this invisible barrier between the two biomes.

    "On guard!" One of the knights shouted, seemingly a commander of some kind judging by the different color of his cloak. "Escort Formation."

    The soldiers moving to form a series of diamonds around us. Squads of ten, nine soldiers to a knight, spreading out in a circle around the four of us.

    The atmosphere much more serious than before, but Marcella looking happier than ever.

    We came to a clearing between several massive trees, Marcella deciding unilaterally that this was the right area for a picnic.

    I nodded in agreement, figuring that we''d be hard pressed to find anything better. Beginning to unload my inventory. I had stocked several wooden logs sharpened at one end, along with digging tools. These items being an idea from the knight captain originally. Managing to turn this ''picnic'' of ours into something wasn''t entirely useless for the troops. Getting them used to incorporating space magic into their strategies, and giving them an idea about what could be done with it. The knights handing out equipment and directing soldiers to begin erecting a perimeter.

    With that out of the way, it was finally time for the table and meals, while the girls waited around, more interested in the food than the magic now that the novelty had all but worn off on them.

    It was a slightly rectangular table that could fit six, but I excluded the head of the table on both sides, so we would be sitting in pairs across from each other.

    Given Marcella''s earlier attitude, I arranged the seats strategically, sitting her next to Belle, while I sat across from her with Tammy at my side. This seemed to work somewhat, her smile noticeably brighter at having Belle by her side, she really did have an unexpected soft spot for beastkin.

    We began to eat unceremoniously, both Tammy and I eating rather quietly while Marcella was busy treating Belle like a baby, insisting on feeding her fork-fulls of meat rather than allow her to eat on her own. Belle succumbing easily to her spoiling, purring happily at the special treatment, which just drove Marcella even more wild out of the cuteness of it all.

    "Belle''s such a good girl, Keaton. Just look at her." She said. Petting Belle''s silky hair, and fiddling with her ribbon.

    "Mmm." I agreed.

    She was looking at Tammy again now.

    "And haven''t I been a good fiancee?" She asked, a bit more pointedly.

    I eyed her suspiciously. To be honest she had been a handful for me, much more demanding of my time than either Belle or Tammy.

    "...Yes, Marcella. You are pretty. You are kind. You have a good family. And you''re an excellent adventurer and mage. There isn''t anything that I have to complain about."

    She looked again at Tammy, which made irritated. Was she really doing this again?

    "Then why, Keaton? Didn''t you say that you loved me? You said you were going to win my affection... then why do you need her?" Clearly angry. I knew about her ideas of romance, but she was far more serious than I expected. Her emotions seeming to have been simmering since this morning.

    This wasn''t going out quite as I had expected. Marcella was really starting to be something of a headache for me. Rubbing my brows while I tried to turn the situation around.

    ''''I do love you, Marcella. I''ve told you that before. Tammy has nothing to do with that."

    Tammy was shrinking down in her seat, intimidated at the unfolding argument about her.

    "How can you say that she has nothing to do with this, isn''t she your woman?" Marcella was making a scene, as the knights and guards listened in, working a bit slower so they could watch. Couldn''t she have waited for a bit more privacy?

    "Can''t I love both of you? Besides it''s not like I''m marrying her... and even if I was...," I started off not quite finding the right words.

    "My father had eight wives, do you think he didn''t love each of them? Your father even has another wife, do you think that means he doesn''t love your mother?" Asking her a personal question just seemed to make her angrier.

    "If Father really loved Mother, he wouldn''t have taken a second wife!" She snapped angrily. Some of her inner thoughts coming out. I looked briefly at the knights around us, there was no way this wasn''t making it back to the ears of the lord.

    Is that why she always seemed so hostile around Cal and his sister? I thought to myself before responding.

    "Do you really expect me to never touch another woman? You wouldn''t find a man like that in the entire kingdom, let alone a one of a kind mage like me. Who would actually make such a ridiculous promise." I scoffed at her unreasonableness.

    Wives were a status symbol, even among commoners, and especially among nobility. Having multiple women was the absolute norm, and the Stromgardian royal family had taken it to such extremes that the King had hundreds of women in his harem. Providing him hundreds of sons and hundreds of daughters. Marcella seemed to think living like a peasant was a virtue, the incongruity of it all being impossible for me to understand. And yet... something in me did resonate with her ideology.

    When Marcella''s anger had faded, she knew she had messed up. Sitting down in her seat shakily.

 Ch 44. Happy Picnic part 3

    Marcella sat down unsteadily, shaking from adrenaline once she realized how badly she had messed up.

    I took out a cup of hot tea, taking a sip while I enjoyed the newfound silence. Taking a look at Tammy''s dismayed figure, before summoning a set for her and getting up. Walking over to the other side of the table leisurely, and setting down another two cups in front of Belle and Marcella.

    "Aren''t you angry at me?" She asked, still breathing heavily.

    "Why would I be angry?" I asked her calmly. This situation is entirely in my favor.

    There''s nothing she can do to object to Tammy''s presence. Tammy wasn''t a slave, she was a proper concubine. Marcella might have had a foot to stand on if I wanted to make Tammy a wife.

    After all, her father might interpret that as a slight against his family. Marrying a lowborn woman even while engaged to his daughter, but the way I had done things shouldn''t have any issues...

    "I said things that I shouldn''t have said... " The ever proud Marcella was now less confident than I''d ever seen her before, clearly starting to regret her outburst.

    Indeed. She probably shouldn''t have said those things, even while her father was trying to bring me into the fold she goes and says something like that. Even more-so, she dishonored her father.

    "Do you still object to Tammy being with me?"

    She cringed, trying to suppress her emotions. I was essentially blackmailing her with the situation.

    "She can stay... " She sighed, resigned to her fate.

    Her expectations from romance were too high to begin with from my point of view.

    "Mm, that''s good to hear. I hope you can get along with her in the future."

    A pall settled over the table during an uncomfortable silence.

    *clap*

    I clapped once, to get their attention.

    "Enough with all of that. Let''s enjoy our picnic, shall we?" Raising my cup of tea and taking a sip. Doing my best to restore some cheer.

    Though Belle seemed to be the only one taking things in stride. Digging into her meal without reservation, unminding of the bitter atmosphere between Tammy and Marcella.

    I took the opportunity to ask all about Marcella''s experiences as a mage, her time at the academy. She went there as a young girl when it her familu discovered she had some aptitude. She wasn''t particularly in the mood for talking, but she was more open enough to answering questions at least.

    The academy only cost something around fifty-gold a year for what she could remember, but she was always drinking rare elixirs and taking pills developed by the alchemists guild, apparently each one costing her family hundreds of gold every time. I see why mages were said to ''eat'' gold.

    Cal was an alchemist, maybe he had an idea why these potions were so expensive...

    Continuing on with our conversation I was happy to learn that the mental tiredness I felt after using ''magic'' was just a what she called mana exhaustion, confirming my earlier hypothesis. I did try asking about how it felt for her to cast magic but apparently the question was too abstract, and she had a great deal of trouble articulating it. Something that I''d just have to find out myself.

    Finishing our meal up, it looked like the soldiers had just about done with their work on the trenches and fortifications. A good effort overall, considering we were going to be packing up and leaving in the next few minutes... but that''s what training was I suppose.

    It was still fairly young in the day, but we agreed it was a better idea to head back now. Not to mention the somewhat unsettling atmosphere, the massive trees around us and shadow of the forest seemed to warp the space around us with an aura of intimidation. It was Winter but the forest was still evergreen with moss and seemed to glow with the aura of life... while the air stank of death.

    I was curious in a morbid sort of way about what kind of things we''d run into, but deliberately seeking trouble when Tammy and Belle were here was not in my plans, and this was as far as we promised Jagen to go. My better judgement winning through for now.

    As I began storing our things, Belle tugged on the back of my shirt. Her ears twitching while she looked back worriedly.

    "Master... there''s something there."

    I peered out past the clearing, trying to look in the darker areas of the woods. Not seeing much with the large trees interspersed, the thick foliage at the top filtering out most of the light and making our surroundings hard to see.

    "Where?" I asked her.

    She pointed towards a direction as I tried to focus my attention on it. Looking at one of the massive trees in the distance as I tried to discern what she was pointing at, seeing the air around the trunk blur slightly ever few seconds before returning to normal.

    Something was definitely wrong there.

    "Marcella. Come take a look, there''s something over by that tree."

    Beckoning Marcella over to look, seeing if our most experienced adventurer would have something to say about it.

    She watched where we were pointing, focusing intently.

    "...Chameleon Snake." She said matter of fact. "Or at least it should be one but from the area that''s warped that really has to be a big one...."

    Thinking about it was actually quite frightening. That was supposed to be a snake? It wasn''t like the animal was camouflaged, it was entirely invisible. The only tell was the air blurring occasionally around its location.

    "How dangerous is it?" I asked her, but she just shook her head.

    "Somewhat, but as long as you don''t get close they aren''t too bad, they are ambush predators. It looks like this one was watching us the whole time we were here... we''re just lucky enough nobody got close before you noticed it." Giving Belle an appreciative look.

    Well, if it''s hoping to eat one of us then it can''t very well complain if we do the same to it. "Can we kill it?" I asked her. Eager for the chunk of experience delivering itself to us. Anything that big had to be worth a lot.

    "Should be easy enough. I could kill it from here." She said confidently.

    Letting the soldiers know before we began, who were equally unsettled by the idea that a giant snake had been watching us unnoticed until now. She began floating out another slow moving orb, glowing purple and becoming increasingly red as it traveled, giving off more and more light. I was amazed at the destructive power from last time, but seeing it again, such a slow moving projectile definitely had a lot of drawbacks.

    It was going no more than a walking pace, not to mention how easy it was to notice from the light it gave off and eerie pulsing sound it made. Most impprtantly, the explosion was so large you couldn''t use it in close range without killing yourself. Watching with bated breath for the minute that it took to travel over to the tree. The snake not moving at all despite being targeted by the orb.

    When the mana orb touched whatever was hiding there, the air split with a crack of thunder. A huge fireball erupting from the ground, scorching the base of the tree, and revealing a fountain of gore as it split the serpent coiled around the trunk.

    My eyes jumped. It was absolutely massive, the head by itself was even bigger than a person, and the body was thick like an ox. That was supposed to be an ambush predator? It could eat a man in one bite.

    Watching the severed body wriggle desperately while the head piece tried to bite the air. Like I thought, a snake that big wouldn''t die easily. Smiling wickedly to myself that the beast was still alive.

    I wandered casually up to our defenses, putting one hand on the wooden barrier and hopping the spikes and ditch in one movement. Summoning my sword and shield in hand.

    "Keaton?!", "Where are you going? It''s not safe, wait until it''s dead!" Marcella and Tammy cried out concernedly while I ignored them.

    Walking carefully towards the tree with the severed snake head and body. Watching its eyes track my movement. It couldn''t move well, but it still struggled towards me with the small bit of neck it had left, snapping its jaw in anger. Seeming oblivious to the horrible state it was in.

    I circled behind it, not needing to do much against an immobilized enemy. Placing my sword to the base of the skull, the hard scales being cut through with just a slight push as I eased the blade in until I hit bone. Activating [sword edge] with a flash of mana, materializing a phantom blade straight through the brain.

    The snake thrashed as it tried to flip around, blood and brain fluid oozing out through the wound. Finally ceasing in its struggle as I was rewarded with bath of light and celebratory music.

 Ch 45. Chat with System

    "Hello again, System." I called out, happy to see the familiar light. The sweetest reminder of my growing powers.

    He was still somewhat depressed it seems, as he just stayed quiet for a few seconds while I basked in the moment.

    "You''re putting me in a very difficult situation, you know that right?" System replied despondently.

    "Mm. You do know though, that was never my intention. I''m just using my powers."

    It wasn''t as if I hated System, rather I should be thanking him. Even if he had limited control, he was the reason for my powers. And because he was related to my powers, I had always born a curiosity about the nature of his being.

    "I suppose I can''t change your mind?" System sighed.

    I''ve made abundantly clear to him already, I am not giving up my pursuit of greater powers.

    "No, I suppose you can''t..." I trailed off. I always had a lot of questions about the system, one of these questions coming to mind at the moment.

    "But maybe we can find something that works for both of us... but to do that I need to know more about your nature, and our situation in general. Let''s start out with the major issues. Why do you only speak up after I level? You''ve mentioned something like a time-limit before. Explain this to me."

    It really was inconvenient, to be honest. Sometimes I wanted to ask him things, but I''d never come up with a way to speak with him outside of leveling.

    "Well, that''s simple... it''s not as if I don''t like talking, I like talking very much in fact! But I''m not designed to be able to initiate contact on my own. Everything that I do takes energy, even now speaking with you is using a certain portion of your energy, energy that would otherwise be used for your own benefit." He paused, perhaps seeing if I was going to ask any questions, but I just waited for him to continue on.

    "As far as why there''s an exception made for leveling, most of the energy loss is caused from opening and maintaining the connection between the two of us. I need to form a mental connection with you at the start of every conversation. When you level up, the connection between us is already opened for the purpose of allocating the energy needed for applying any level up benefits. Attributes in particular take up most of the energy needed, since these are permanent enhancements they require large amounts of external energy to augment. You may have noticed this already, but the more powerful you become, the more energy it takes to create these attribute points."

    It''s true that I was initially intending to hear about forming a mental connection, but something he said caught my attention.

    "Why does it take more energy the further I level up?"

    I asked him, curious about why I was needing to constantly seek out stronger and stronger foes.

    "Attributes are a summary of your entire being, your soul. Your soul is analyzed at every level automatically, to determine how much energy is needed to upgrade it by the minimum amount possible for us, one attribute point. As for wh..."

    There''s something about that didn''t make sense to me, so I cut him off before he could continue.

    "One attribute point is the smallest possible increase? Then why do I get more than that per level?" Still being careful not to mention the exact number of points I was receiving, given that I was certainly getting more than he expected.

    "I don''t actually know the exact answer... but it has something to do with balancing efficiency and the safety of the user. It''s most efficient for us to create these attribute points in large batches, but if we took that too far then the user would be left unassisted for extreme amounts of time. As a compromise, we set the number for a level up at five. Those are my assumptions."

    Assumptions. So there are things about the design of the system that even System doesn''t know? Somewhat worrying to hear.

    "Back to my previous question. Why does it take more energy per level?"

    "I was getting to that before you interrupted!" System yelled out, sounding frustrated.

    "Changing someone''s soul artificially leads to incredible effects, as I''m sure you are aware. But it also causes the soul to become more resistant to change, each attribute point requiring more energy than the last. A lot of our chosen ones start off with natural training methods, raising each aspect of their soul to the maximum extent before enhancement, making the most of each point. You had a very late start, but you can still benefit somewhat from this method."

    It made sense to me, but the part about training and natural methods made me feel sick, hearing about how I had wasted my start. I had gotten some clues from [Identification], seeing things that could enhance attributes naturally, but looking at my constitution, strength, and agility which were all at well above average human levels, those three were probably a lost cause. It really hurt to think about.

    "And by using some of the excess energy from this leveling process I am also allowed to have a bit of a conversation. Normally you would have known all of this already, which is why we''re certainly at a disadvantage. I am mainly just here as a support role. When we send chosen ones like you to a planet, generally they function as the centerpiece of our force''s strategy. If there hadn''t been an issue, you would have been coordinating our faction through me."

    The system had continued on speaking, oblivious to the inner turmoil his words were causing me.

    "I''m running out of time. Do you have anything else to ask?" He chimed in again, bringing me out of my languor.

    My mind focused on the last burning question I had.

    "Can I contact you outside of leveling? You said you couldn''t do it because it used energy without my permission, but if you had my permission there a way?"

    "Well... yes. But that takes a lot of energy you know. We''re restricted from doing this for a reason."

    Neither of us had time for this.

    "But it is possible, right?"

    "Yes... I suppose it is possible, but do you really want to talk with me that badly?" System asked, genuinely interested in my response.

    "Why wouldn''t I?" I asked, very impatient now that he told me we were at the end of our time limit.

    "You like talking with me?" He asked again hopefully, his voice shaking.

    "Yes?" I replied, even more confused by his disbelief. System had been perfectly fine to talk with, he knew a lot of very useful things after all.

    "That''s the nicest thing anybody has every said to me." System cried out, fighting sobs of happiness as he sniffled to himself.

    I was out of patience. I needed an answer.

    "...So? How do I do it?." As I hurried him to calm down.

    "Just mentally picture it. Picture the connection between us like a thread, it doesn''t necessarily have to be a thread, but just picture something strongly and form a strong desire to speak with me. Do it with enough intention and the connection will be established by the system." Seeming quite happy with himself now.

    I''ll keep that in mind... but this system was seriously pathetic sounding with how emotional he got. "What do you even do all day?" I asked, accidentally letting the thought rise to the surface.

    "...I don''t really do anything. Sometimes worshippers try to make contact, and give them directions. Sometimes I coordinate their actions with the next follower that comes along, but for the most part there isn''t anything that I do. I''m just by myself."

    "You mention worshippers, how do they contact you exactly? I thought you said this took a lot of energy to do." I was very interested to get my questions out of the way while I still had time.

    "There are several ways to do this, this applies to you as well. You just need to use a powerful energy source and form a proper mental focus. Just as you can use your own mana, or the system''s accumulated power, it''s also possible to use crystalized mana. That''s the most popular option for adherents since they neither have systems nor enough mana to support the task."

    "Crystalized mana?"

    "Slime cores. Golem cores. Beast cores. Most powerful monsters form some sort of crystalized mana core that powers their abilities, but the easiest options for you are elementally inclined monsters like slimes. Cheaper and more widely available."

    "Mm, I''ll keep that in mind." I said, not getting a response back this time.

    The guards approached me, Marcella in tow. Looking oddly at my crouched figure as I sat observing myself with a hand mirror, hunched besides the giant snake head and bloody sections of snake severed by Marcella''s explosion fire magic.

    "Honestly, what are you doing Keaton?!" Marcella was looking angry and embarrassed. Looking at me like I was crazy.

    It was somewhat embarrassing for me as well, but I just played it cool. Coughing to hide my discomfort at their stares.

    Storing all the bloody giant snake pieces around me before joining up with the group. Everyone was ready to go, they were just waiting for me.

    "Shall, we go?" I asked. The relief on Marcella''s face apparent.

 Ch 46. Spending Points?

    We returned as a group, although I was trying to be cautious while leaving the forest, I was still somewhat distracted when thinking about my points.

    Now that I was considering methods to improve my abilities naturally, I was hesitant to put points into anything for fear of sacrificing future growth any more than I already had.

    Marcella seemed really embarrassed by my mirror-gazing earlier, so I decided to spare her any further shame. Choosing to put that off until I was home. She seemed quite nervous as well, which I wasn''t surprised by, she was probably in for something of a scolding once her father found out what she had said earlier. Jagen seemed quite the doting father so I''m sure she''d be fine.

    We split off from the group when we got into town. Tammy, Belle, and I heading home, while Marcella and her escort continued on into town, over to her father''s mansion.

    Getting back to my own home, the first thing I did was to step in front of my mirror. Studying the changes now that I had a good amount of time to myself. Tammy watching me with a pout from the bed, before Belle jumped on alongside her. The two of them whispering too faintly for me to make out. Ignoring the two while they giggled and talked, while I turned my attention back to the mirror.

    I had equipped Adventurer and Alchemist during the ''picnic'', having not been particularly worried about my safety, I had put on the classes that most interested me. I had yet to see a third tier skill yet, so I was putting experience into Adventurer to find out what I would get. So far Adventurer had given me the best returns out of any class, I was betting on its continued returns.

    My second class had been Alchemist. [Identification] had proven to be rather versatile, allowing me to know the inherent beneficial or deleterious effects of various herbs and monster parts. It was something that I could probably work out some collaboration with Cal over, maybe make some money on the side or even develop some methods of enhancing my attributes naturally. Now that I knew just how important this method of enhancement was, I was eager to try finding ingredients with effects on wisdom, charisma, or intelligence.

    I was fortunate enough that [alchemist] had reached level 10 off of the leftover aurochs and the gigantic chameleon snake, but the active skill that I received was leaving me increasingly confused. [Cultivation] was the skill I had gotten, but I had absolutely no idea as to how I should be using it. Every time I tried to activate it, nothing seemed different. Leaving me scratching my head while I pondered the issue.

    This was a level 10 ability, unless System was wrong, then this should definitely be an activated skill and not a passive.

    Thinking of the class it was associated with, it should have something to do with alchemy. What was the purpose of alchemy? Cultivation of medicinal? Somehow that didn''t sound right to me, but I couldn''t think of any other situations that might fit the context of ''cultivation''. I would probably need to make a visit to Cal''s place, see if an actual alchemist would have any ideas.

    On the attribute front... I didn''t really feel like I should make a choice right now. If I used any points on any of three types I had yet to invest in, I would be spoiling my future potential. Constitution was probably safe to invest in, but I wasn''t sure if I needed any further points there at the moment. My body was already extremely durable, and none of the hunts so far had felt particularly threatening to me. Even from the giant snake I faced today, with my armor and the toughness of my skin, muscles, and bones, I didn''t feel like I would die even if I took a bite straight on.

    With that settled I wouldn''t touch my attributes just yet, leaving me on my quest to explore my new skill.

    "Girls. I''m going to pay Cal a visit, would either of you care to join me?" I said while turning around.

    Only to be hit by a pair of wadded up pink panties.

    "Boo!" Tammy yelled out unhappily.

    In my contemplation I missed that the two of them had stripped down, readying themselves for a round of our favorite activity.

    "You see the two of us like this, and you want to go to man''s place?" She said provocatively. Cupping Belle''s breasts while she demonstrated them to me. I saw with amusement that she chose to do this with Belle''s rather than her own, noting her deficiency in this aspect.

    "Mm. There''s time for that later. Are you coming or not?" I was not going to be so easily provoked, owing much to my excitement over testing my new ability.

    The two of them simply dressed dejectedly. Answering my question nonverbally. Before long we were headed out the door, giving both of their butts a pinch for good measure. Eliciting a pair of surprised yelps. I would indeed make time for them later.

 Ch 47. Alchemical Knowledge

    We came up to Cal''s shop but the lights were off, and a ''closed'' sign hung over the door.

    Rapping on the door, we received no answer. Confirming that nobody was inside.

    "Doesn''t seem he''s here. Let''s check the mansion." I spoke to the girls besides me.

    Tammy and Belle looked hopeful when they saw the empty show, but were soon disappointed.

    "What''s so important with Cal?" Tammy asked, curious as to why I was in such a hurry to find him.

    "I have something I want to ask him about. I want to do it while it''s fresh in my mind."

    Everything related to my powers were important to me, not to mention my own personal curiosity.

    When we got to the mansion, the guards all looked surprised to see us, given it had only been about an hour since we split up.

    "Is Cal home?" I asked of them, to which they pointed us along.

    I''d never seen where Cal''s room was, so I had one of the servant girls that we came across in the halls guide us, where she brought us through the east wing of the mansion. Coming to the end of a hallway in a secluded area, leading us to the door to a large bedroom. The servant girl was about to knock for us but a series of embarrassing sounds flustered her.

    "Cal! Oh Cal! Give it to me!" We heard a girl''s voice from behind the door, the sound muffled by the barrier between us.

    The sounds of sex going on behind closed doors had stopped the servant girl in her tracks. Not having the courage to interrupt her employer.

    "Oh for goodness'' sake." I muttered. Knowing Cal I should have known it would be like this.

    Walking up to the door and knocking loudly. Waiting a few seconds before entering.

    Cal was covered only by sheets, with two women warming him. Ashley, and another servant girl I couldn''t recognize. The two girls crying out in surprise.

    "Pardon my interruption."

    I walked into the room, acting oblivious to the state of things.

    Belle and Tammy covered their eyes, embarrassed by what they were seeing.

    "You really do like to pick bad times, Keaton" Cal said annoyed at the intrusion.

    "Knowing you, it would always be a bad time... I have some burning questions for you. And I need answers."

    "Fine. But wait until I''m dressed, at least spare me that dignity."

    "I''ll wait outside." I said closing the door.

    Before long I heard his voice chime out, bidding us in.

    Ashley and the other servant girl weren''t dressed, but rather hiding under the covers. While Cal had put on some clothes in a hurry, and was greeting us by the door.

    "Now what business did you have?" Cal sounded a little annoyed at the interruption. Understandably.

    I met his eyes seriously, asking with sincerity.

    "What does the word cultivation mean to an alchemist?" I asked him seriously.

    ....

    "--What?" Cal looked at me like I was joking.

    "I''ve been pondering the meaning, recently. And you''re the only alchemist I know. " I added.

    Maybe he just chalked it up to another one of my eccentricities, shaking his head in resignation before beginning to contemplate the question seriously.

    "Well, the word doesn''t really mean anything in particular to me... what leads you to think it has something to do with alchemy?"

    Because the class name is [alchemist] I thought to myself snarkily.

    "You''re sure there''s no connection? Nobody''s tried to cultivate those herbs I always see on your desk for example?"

    Cal just scoffed at that.

    "Sure, they''ve tried. But it''s just not worth it. Takes an extremely long time, and you just can''t beat nature. Pay a few adventurers to go into the forest, and they''ll have a bag of herbs that would take a hundred years to grow. Things just grow faster in the wilderness, and nobody is crazy enough to try growing things there... now what''s your point?"

    I frowned. Not getting any good leads.

    "So there''s nothing there? No connection you can think of?"  My concern showing in my voice.

    "What''s the big deal? Doesn''t seem like that important of a question to me. Did you really interrupt me just for that?" Cal was both confused and annoyed.

    "Think more broadly, more about alchemy in general. Do you have any overarching themes that fit the word?"

    "Not really... seems like something that''s too normal sounding to catch an alchemist''s attention. Go to the capital and you''ll see, they''re all crazy. Most of them are trying to focus on ridiculous things like transmuting gold, pursuing immortality, or eternal power."

    "Immortality?" I asked him curiously.

    "You know how old some of the royalty are? Some of the elder alchemists in those bigger guilds are even older."

    "How old?"

    "Over two-hundred. At least."

    I let out a whistle, impressed. They more than doubled the human limit. I had seen there were ways to enhance constitution naturally, perhaps they were using that, but to think they had raised constitution up into the twenties was truly amazing. Nothing compared to what I had of course, my natural lifespan was probably in the thousands by now...

    Well, time to go with plan B. I''m going to look for some reagents of his, and see if any of them do anything. If that doesn''t do anything then I''ll try talking with the system. I was a bit curious as to how that would work after all.

    I walked over to the far end of the room, looking through his things. Books laid out with dried herbs on top of them, some in jars. Inspecting each of them.

    Grass of sages: enhances intelligence over time

    Arrowroot: enhances strength over time

    ...

    Agonizing mushroom: contact with spores causes extreme pain

    "You researching this stuff?" I asked while picking up some of the less deadly specimens he had. Trying to activate [cultivation] with no results.

    Cal was getting extremely irritated by my poking around.

    "Stop that! Some of those are dangerous." He sounded a tad worried.

    "I know what I''m doing" I added, which did nothing to calm his nerves.

    I saw a pile of slime cores in a jar, naturally one of the core ingredients for any fledgling alchemist. Taking one out and putting it onto my hand, I tried activating [cultivation] again. Feeling a warm sensation flowing up my arm and down into my navel.

    It was doing something... but I wasn''t really sure what. Deactivating the skill stopped the flow. Turning it on and off again.

    I seem to have found out something it works on, but I had no clue why. Identifying it didn''t offer any further clues.

    Slime core: the central body of a slime. Made up of crystalized mana.

    Seems I might need contact System after all. He said I could use my own mana right?

    Picturing a mental connection between System and myself. Visualizing the idea and wishing for it strongly. Willing myself to use mana. I felt the familiar System''s friendly voice chime out.

    "Keaton?"

    It worked... but somehow I didn''t feel very good. The world swam around me, while my head lightened. Finding myself crashing to the ground.

    Tammy and Belle cried out, rushing to my side, while Cal looked frantic. I just closed my eyes, unable to stay awake any further.

 Ch 48. Phantasmal Dream

    It felt like I was floating. There were no physical sensations, but behind my closed eyelids I could tell it was bright out, extraordinarily so. Two voices having a conversation, a man and a woman, neither of which whose voice I recognized.

    My memory was a bit hazy, my mind fuddled. For a moment I couldn''t even remember who I was, or what I was doing previously, but then I remembered... I was in the mansion. I tried contacting the System... that was a bad idea. System did caution me, but I still severely underestimated how much mana it took, even for just a split second of conversation.

    I opened my eyes, but that just made me more confused. This was definitely not the mansion. I was in a world of light.

    I was on what looked like an ocean, flat, completely transparent, and stretching out infinitely. Below me was a glowing void. Millions of tiny lights of all colors, lit up like stars in the night sky as far as my eye could see. But all of them arranged, as if drawn by some force as a whirlpool towards some central point. A vast glowing core which emanated a great power, despite the expansive distance between us. The surface on which I stood acting like a barrier between worlds.

    On the sea, stood twelve marbled pillars, stretching above me. And which looked neither near nor far, but supported a palace of golden light. Illuminating the sky with the light of day, sending waves of light skittering off the sea we were standing on.

    Next to me stood two persons.

    A man, handsome looking but supremely confident. Dressed in unusual clothes that I had only seen glimpses of in memories. And facing him was a woman. Beautiful and perfect in every way. Clad only in light, unashamed of her nakedness, her hair shining golden. Wings of white stretched out wide, her feathers glimmering with pure rays of energy.

    The two conversed while standing over a particularly bright star. All without taking notice of my presence, as if I were simply an observer.

    "All has been explained to you, I hope? " She motioned to the radiant palace, before continuing.

    "It is an honor to meet a gifted mortal like yourself. Be proud because you are chosen, your upstanding personality, bravery, and skills place you above all others." The Goddess smiled radiantly, causing the man to shake.

    "No my lady... this is a dream come true for me, to meet one such as beautiful as you. Perfection incarnate... oh Goddess!" He moaned out pathetically.

    Goddess? The same one that the System mentioned? Who are these two... and who is this... man? I thought to myself.

    "You are granting me power, but you do so for the good of the world. I swear it to you that I''ll save your beastkin from their plight, they are so pitiful and so cute. I cry to think they suffer even one more day in cruelty." The man kissed her hand, repeatedly, moving up her arm. Clearly infatuated.

    Disgust briefly flashed onto her face, before hiding behind a facade of light.

    "I''m touched that you are so devoted to our cause, for you are righteous indeed. I do not care what methods you use, just save our people. Our followers are all children of the light, it pains me to see their suffering. Punish those responsible, you can do that for me right? Kill those that reject us, do this for me and you will be greatly rewarded for your meritorious deeds. " She lifted his chin with her hand, gazing into his eyes hypnotically.

    He''s human but he sides with beastkin over humans? Doesn''t he know what they would do to us? I thought in disbelief.

    "Yes, Goddess. I swear to you I will punish those who oppose the light. Those who would reject someone as beautiful, and kind, and righteous as you... can only be demons!" He yelled out fanatically while staring vacantly into her eyes, no more than a willing puppet.

    Her countenance was beautiful, but terrifying. Her radiant nude form towering over the man as he stayed frozen. Staring deeper and deeper into eyes, as if peering into his very soul until he could no longer take it any more. Collapsing on his knees to heap praise and worship upon her.

    She was clearly pleased by what she saw, grinning unnaturally with the widest smile I had ever seen. The wretched and spineless man groveling at her feet. Showing no dignity at all while he licked at her feet. I could only watch on in disgust.

    "Rise my champion, you are my chosen. Accept your quest and the children of the light will give unto you untold and immeasurable pleasure. They are yours to command, and do as you please. It''s only natural, for you are their savior. Isn''t that right?" She asked while stroking his face tenderly.

    He grinned lewdly, nodding excitedly in agreement.

    "Then off you go." She snapped her fingers.

    A moving image appearing onto the ocean of stars that they stood on. And it was one that greatly disturbed me.

    It was me as a child, playing with my brothers outside. I remembered the moment... it was when I first began with the headaches, and the memories.

    "A vessel has been prepared for you, and you will soon be reincarnated into this world. I dare say it is one you will find rather... enjoyable. You may do whatever you like, so long as you remember the precepts I have told you. Now go." She waved and the man shattered away in agony, leaving only a glowing soul.

    "Now to deal with the vessel." She waved towards the image of my childhood and I watched myself fall, convulsing on the grass as my brothers clambered around me worriedly.

    The man''s soul floated up, smiling to himself while he swam towards the image. Entering with a ripple, like a rock thrown into a lake. The image undulating and stretching, before fading away entirely.

    My own conscious beginning to fade as well, but still capable of perceiving what was happening.

    "It is done." The Goddess sighed out.

    "How many more?!" She called out suddenly, in a voice that reverberated across the realm. Shaking the pillars.

    One of the pillars began to shake, shrinking in size, down to the size of a person, coiling onto itself like a snake, before emerging in the shape of a woman.

    "You have two-hundred and thirty-one more to do for today." She just sighed.

    "Send in the next one."

    The light she stood over dimming, and another appearing in its place. Just another realm in her sights.

    And for a second time now, I felt my consciousness slip away.

 Ch 49. Stay for the night

    This time I could feel myself again. The comfortable support of the softness of a bed.

    Letting my tension flow from me, I tried to calm down from what I had just seen.

    That woman terrified me, and yet despite that lingering fear I felt a smoldering anger growing deep in the core of my being. What she had done to that man, whether it was willingly or not... what she had done to me...

    The scene I had just witnessed was so striking and unusual, but the memory was growing hazier by the moment. Scrambling to commit the parts that I could to memory before it faded completely. Left with only bits and pieces of diluted scenes, but the emotions lingered.

    I heard voices, from outside the room. Some familiar. Marcella, Jagen, Cal, Tammy... one seemed to be a doctor, explaining how it was just mana exhaustion I was experiencing, despite the skepticism put forward by Cal. Who appeared concerned I may have touched one of his poison jars inadvertently by digging through his things.

    Seems I really did worry them, feeling a bit of regret at my thoughtless actions. I shouldn''t have tried that... I just didn''t expect for a simple message to cost that much mana.

    Sitting up in my bed. I looked around the room to orient myself. I was still in Cal''s room.

    Making my way over to the door, unsteadily. Opening it to the surprise of everyone.

    "Keaton, are you alright?" Tammy asked me hesitantly.

    "See, good as new." The doctor said confidently. To the relief of everyone present.

    "Sorry to worry you..." I said, apologetically. Regretting my own thoughtlessness.

    Belle buried herself in my chest, purring affectionately.

    Jagen noticed his daughter''s lack of reaction, and nudged her with his arm.

    "I''m glad you''re okay." Marcella said to me, hesitantly. Unsure of her words.

    "Now that that''s done, why don''t we have dinner together as a family? I don''t know what brought you over Keaton, but it''s a great opportunity. I''d love to hear all about your adventures today. I''m sure you and Marcella have a great story to tell. I''ll make sure the cooks make you something with a lot of mana in it." He smiled genuinely, while Marcella looked on nervously.

    One of the knights in the background seemed to be waiting for a moment to talk with Jagen alone. Something that was causing Marcella no lack of discomfort, as she shifted her gaze and adjusted her dress.

    "I''d love to." I answered him, genuinely.

    I thought about food, and realized how hungry I was now. Remembering the aurochs I had in my inventory, perhaps it wouldn''t be too bad of an idea to give a few to the cooks. I knew they were something of a delicacy after all. And it might be good to let a professional handle the cooking for what would be my first time eating a monster.

    We chatted together with Jagen letting him know about the day''s events, while he had maids come in to bring us refreshments. Tammy overwhelmed by the treatment she was receiving, having never in her life been spoiled so. Jagen was curious about her, who I introduced as my concubine. He certainly didn''t seem to mind it as much as Marcella did, being the man of high society that he was he naturally knew about such matters.

    Jagen excused himself for a second, to which the knight hovering the background took as a cue. Meeting with Jagen as he exited the room, beginning to speak with him, the contents of which I could probably guess. And Marcella looking absolutely pale because of it.

    Before long the maids brought us in for dinner, but the head of the table remained empty, as we all waited for the return of the lord Marcet.

    After a few minutes he came in, a look of cold fury on his eyes. As I looked cautiously at Marcella, the focus of his attention, who was cowering in her chair. Jagen always seemed such a doting father, he couldn''t be that angry with her, could he?

    He took his seat, while the maids brought in food and arranged it in front of us.

    I was extremely hungry by this point, my fatigue, and the smell of mana rich meat stimulating my body''s extraordinary appetite.

    We all waited in the tense atmosphere before Jagen bid us to eat. The maids helping portions onto our plates.

    I inspected the auroch dishes with interest, noting the constitution enhancement effect seemed to survive the cooking process.

    As I dug into the tender auroch roast, a strange warmth filled my mouth and didn''t disappear when I had eaten. It was a flavor beyond flavors, a bite full of life, but it reminded me of something. It was like a watered down version of what I felt every time I enhanced my constitution with the system, only to a far lesser degree. Like a drop in the ocean.

    Tammy seemed to almost choke on her food, the first time she had eaten such a delicacy, while Belle ate voraciously, unbecoming of a lady.

    Jagen held his attention on his daughter, but put on a collected facade for the remainder of the dinner.

    When we were finished with our meal, I got up to leave. Saying my goodbyes.

    "Why don''t you stay the night, Keaton?" Jagen, asked as I was preparing to go.

    I looked at him curiously, then between Belle and Tammy.

    "That''s fine I suppose. Right girls?"

    They just nodded.

    As we left, Marcella got up to leave as well before Jagen stopped her.

    "Marcella, you stay. I need to have a word with you." He said sternly, his face losing its composure once again.

    She hung her head.

 Ch 50. Compromising Marcella (R-18)

    Kaguro

    A maid led us to a guest room. A large room, lavishly furnished. Fresh cut flowers in vases, even despite the season. The logistics involved in managing such luxuries I could only imagine.

    A large bed, at least as large as my own. Able to accommodate many many people, for obvious reasons. I pulled Tammy and Belle over, starting to tease them before we heard a knock on the door, interrupting me before I could even start. A tinge of annoyance striking me, and perhaps a little bit of sympathy for Cal over his earlier plight.

    "Who is it?" I yelled at the door.

    "It''s me." A timid sounding Marcella called out weakly.

    "Can I come in?"

    I walked over to the door, planning to open it for her, but she opened it herself.

    She wasn''t alone. A group of maids were escorting her.

    They nudged her forward into the room, the red streaks in her hair not seeming to have their usual flame.

    "Good luck, lady Marcella. Please enjoy yourself master Keaton." Speaking and bowing in unison before. Closing the door on us, and leaving me with so many questions.

    A silent Marcella stood looking at the floor.

    "What''s this about?" I asked her a bit curious.

    She finally looked up, letting me see that her eyes were red.

    "Can you talk with daddy Keaton? Please..." She said while trying not to cry.

    "Are you okay Marcella?" I took her in a hug, petting her long black hair to soothe her.

    She cried into my shoulder while I waited for her to calm down.

    "There there. Shhhhh. It''s alright."

    Bella and Tammy were concerned about the whole ordeal, and even Tammy who had gotten to a rough start with Marcella just this morning looked like she was worried for the girl.

    Once she had quieted she began to explain.

    "Daddy wants us to move up the marriage... he wants us to seal it tonight."

    My eyes lit up with interest.

    "Well, that sounds good to me."

    "Keaton... you can''t... you promised me..." She looked at me, fear in her eyes.

    "Well. I did say I would wait until you''re ready, but if we have your father''s blessing what''s the big deal? Besides, aren''t the maids just going to check for your purity tomorrow? They''ll know if we didn''t sleep together."

    "Keaton... please. You can talk with father, he''ll listen to you. Tell him to push the marriage back, tell him you''re not upset about earlier."

    I felt a little sorry for how shaken up she was, but there was a limit. She had always been awfully reserved when it came to showing any interest in me.

    "Why are you so insistent on putting off the marriage in the first place? You aren''t getting cold-feet are you?" I was somewhat suspicious over whether she even intended to marry. She told me what her expectations of romance were, and she never made much of an effort to appeal to me despite knowing what her duties were.

    "You know you''ll have to marry me eventually, right? You are the bond tying me to your family. I can''t support your house without us being together."

    She stayed silent, thinking of something but hesitating to say it.

    "-I have a sister... Kaya. You could marry her instead." She looked at me desperately.

    So she did want to back out. I was never introduced, but I knew she was speaking of Cal''s younger sister, and my eyes narrowed disapprovingly.

    "Cal''s sister? She''s so young..."

    "She''s pretty though! You think so too right? You can marry her instead."

    Making me frown deeply.

    Even if I could, Cal would hardly appreciate it. I knew how protective he was of his only true sister, and the rivalry that seemed to exist between the children of the two wives. Marcella seemed to despise Cal, and apparently that extended to his sister Kaya as well. Although to be fair, I suppose part of her current marriage predicament was brought about by Cal, so maybe she felt it was justified retaliation.

    "That''s enough Marcella, I''m not cancelling our engagement."

    Her look of desperation grew more frantic.

    "But you said!"

    "Enough, it''s not up for discussion."

    Marcella cried and stormed out of the room. Surprising me that a grown woman could act this way. She was certainly spoiled.

    Before long another knock came from the door.

    A very displeased head maid, along with one nervous and fraught Marcella.

    "I''m terribly sorry for the rudeness you have been shown tonight, master Keaton. I believe our Marcella just hasn''t been herself, isn''t that right?" She elbowed Marcella who was crying in self-pity.

    "Isn''t there something you want to tell Keaton?" The maid lectured her strictly, as if disciplining a child. But Marcella was not just an adult, she was a proper lady.

    "I''m sorry Keaton... I shouldn''t have left..." She looked to the side for guidance, but the head maid''s cold gaze offered no reassurance.

    "-please, think of me as your wife from now on... " She said while choking up. "I am yours now, please use me tonight for whatever you would like..."

    The head maid, took me aside. "I am sorry for the earlier disgrace. Lady Marcella knows what her duty is, but she has been sheltered from the way of the world. If it pleases you master Keaton, the lord Jagen has offered my presence to help ensure his daughter shows the proper enthusiasm to her new husband during the bedding ceremony." She offered.

    Well... I suppose. I didn''t see how Marcella was supposed to make love in the state she was in currently. Inviting both of them in.

    "Please, do not mind me. I will just observe unless you need me."

    I brought Marcella over to the bed and pushed her down. She complied meekly, such a change from the usual confidant and cocky attitude she showed. The thought of conquering such a proud girl was greatly arousing.

    "Girls, undress her for me."

    Meanwhile I myself undressed and crawled on top of her.

    "Marcella, tell me you love me." I wanted to hear her say it for the first time.

    "I love you Keaton..." She called out defeatedly, almost too soft to hear.

    "Well then, let''s have you show me your love. Spread your legs for me."

    She didn''t comply, lying quietly. Her hands over her breasts, and legs closed.

    "Keaton... please. I don''t want to get pregnant yet..." She started again, trying to whisper so that the maid couldn''t hear.

    "Why not? We''re man and wife now."

    "My heart isn''t ready..."

    "This is your punishment Marcella, but it''s good for both of us."

    Kissing her on the cheek, before turning her face to mine. Kissing her lips. Moving my tongue to meet hers. She was completely passive, not willing to respond.

    "I love you Marcella... and I want you to love me too." Not getting anything back.

    "I''m starting now."

    Marcella simply covered her face.

    I opened her legs and slid myself in, eliciting a gasp from her. Belle and Tammy both looked on, wanting to trade places.

    Her sex quivered on mine while I began to move, pleasuring myself while she lay motionless.

    Getting no response but an occasional moan.

    Sliding in and out of her pussy roughly, trying to warm her up to no effect.

    This wasn''t fun at all for me, she was completely passive.

    I kept going until I felt myself nearing for the first time. Stopping my movements.

    "You said you didn''t want to get pregnant yet, so I''ll give you one chance. Swallow it when I cum."

    "...how?" She asked me naively.

    What did she mean how? Does she not know what a blowjob was?

    "Put in your mouth, and swallow when I cum."

    She seemed disgusted by the idea, but glancing at the maid in the corner, simply nodded in agreement.

    The both of us sitting up to change positions.

    I had her kneel down on the ground near the bed, making her lick my penis and glands, which she could only do daintily. When she took my dick with her mouth, she only put the very tip in, even trying to use her teeth with a bit of clumsy movements.

    "What are you doing?" I pulled out, somewhat shocked at how bad she was at this. "You don''t use teeth."

    "Belle, show her an example."

    Belle who had been watching from the bed, crawled off. Getting down on Marcella''s level and positioning herself in front of my penis.

    Opening her mouth, she took me deep in one movement. All the way to the base, my dick reaching her throat. Her tongue moved on the bottom of my cock, and even poked out a little. After holding for a few seconds, she began to move vigorously with movements she had practiced many times on me, worshiping my cock with her tongue while sucking.

    Tammy watched on, trying to learn for herself how to do the things Belle was doing, but Marcella seemed hesitant. She was the type that needed to learn with her body.

    When I felt myself nearing again I stopped her, letting Marcella take over.

    "Swallow it" I said to her.

    Moving her head with my hands, forcing her onto my cock as I felt myself cum in her mouth. She tried to move away, but I held her still, only letting up when I was finished spurting out my last drop.

    She pulled away, coughing. Spitting up the sperm she was holding in her mouth. Gagging with her tongue out, disgusted by what she had just done.

    I was disappointed, true, but not really upset... this was her choice. She couldn''t blame me for what would come next.

    I bent down to whisper into her ear.

    "If you won''t drink it with your mouth, I''ll make sure you drink it somewhere else."

    Picking her up with ease and tossing her back onto the bed.

    Lying down myself, finding a comfortable spot.

    "You''re going to be doing it by yourself. Ride me Marcella, and don''t stop until I cum inside you."

    She looked pale, in complete disbelief at what was happening to her.

    "Show her how Belle."

    Who eagerly complied, climbing on and inserting me into her sex. Beginning to hump up and down at full speed from the start, the bell on her collar ringing out frantically while she rode me with beastial intensity.

    I made her stop and get off, not about to spoil Marcella''s fun.

    Marcella climbed up reluctantly, trying to fit herself in and insert my penis all the way. Even so, she hardly had the will to move. Barely rocking herself. Her well-shaped breasts barely jiggling.

    I looked towards the head maid standing in the corner silently, waving her over to the bed with one hand.

    "Yes, master Keaton?" She asked.

    "Marcella isn''t showing me the enthusiasm I''ve come to expect in bed. Is there anything you can do about this?"

    She looked apologetic and embarrassed, while Marcella looked even worse.

    "I''m terribly sorry to hear that. I will let the lord know about this so it never happens again. For tonight, please feel free to discipline her yourself as needed. You have every right as her husband, if you need any help with this let me assist you."

    "That should be fine, thank you."

    Marcella looked wronged, not understanding why I had just done that.

    "But I was moving..." She protested, despite knowing how far off her movements were from Belle''s who she was supposed to be mimicking.

    "We both know you weren''t putting your heart into it... Belle, I need you to help motivate Marcella here."

    If she liked beastkin so much, let''s let allow her to love one a bit more intimately.

    "If she ever moves slower than you were just going, put this into her and do what you need to make her comply."

    Handing Belle a few slime cores that I had snagged from Cal''s room before I passed out.

    Whispering to her quietly enough that only a beastkin could hear. "Be as rough as you can... I''ll get you some more of those steaks in exchange" Appealing to her simple-minded nature.

    Belle nodded while positioning behind her, starting to put one of the core''s into Marcella''s ass, to which Marcella squirmed to escape but couldn''t while I kept her in place on top of me.

    "You heard me Marcella, this is going to be worse the longer you resist, so get moving."

    She started riding me harder, but not nearly to the extreme pace that Belle had shown earlier, so the wicked Belle behind her looked on mischievously and began to work a finger in, which only caused Marcella to slow down more from the strange and uncomfortable sensation entering her ass.

    Belle now had two fingers in the entrance, moving them back and forth, but not going very deep yet.

    "Better start going now..." I warned her.

    Marcella just groaned and cried in self-pity, trying to hump but entirely distracted. Her pussy heating around my cock.

    Belle''s fingers slid deeper and deeper, massaging her insides and trying to coax the intended response out of her but meeting such resistance from Marcella''s inexperienced holes.

    The proud Marcella reduced to such a state. Barely able to move at all as Belle moved her fingers back and forth, trying to fit a third finger in while Marcella could do nothing to prevent it.

    "Please stop... I''ll move. I swear I''ll move!" She pleaded with me.

    I nodded to Belle. Who stopped wriggling her fingers further in, but didn''t pull out either. There was only one way those fingers would go, and that was further in.

    "She''ll pull out when we''re finished. Now get moving."

    Marcella started riding again, but again she was distracted by the state of her ass. Whenever she moved, she not only milked my cock, but had her ass squeeze down on the three fingers that Belle had managed to fit so far.

    Belle knew what to do, beginning to fit a fourth in, pushing in despite the fierce resistance.

    "Iiiiiigh--- Stop! I''m moving! I''m moving..." She cried out, protesting the unfair punishment.

    "You saw how fast Belle was going. Anything slower than that is no good."

    "It''s not possible... I can''t do it." She cried.

    Then she''s just going to have to deal with it. I thought while grinning.

    Beginning to thrust up into her pussy by myself, while Belle moved her hand back and forth. Trying to wiggle her fingers relentlessly, going as deep as she could.

    Marcella tried to move as much as she could but as a first-timer in both holes she was doing a pitiful job of it, which gave Belle the go-ahead to be as merciless as she could.

    The head maid watched it all impassively. She did say I could discipline my wife as needed... and apparently this fell within those parameters.

    I felt her pussy tighten up from the attacks on her ass, every time belle moved her hand it caused her walls to contract, running across the length of my cock. Giving me the most pleasurable massage I had ever felt.

    I felt the heat coming, nearing completion.

    Plastering Marcella''s insides with hot cum.

    She felt it pulsing out inside of her, stopping her movements, but Belle kept pushing in without regard, moving her hand vigorously. Forcing Marcella to move again or face worse.

    The sensitivity I was experiencing was too much after peaking, but she kept going. Continuing to ride me hard, pumping her hips to milk me even more with her pussy, driven on by Belle''s fisting. Her breasts swaying up and down, as she panted and cried. The pleasure she gave me was overwhelming, causing me to tremble and cease my own thrusting. A virgin woman who could do this much on her first night, and take so much abuse... maybe she had a bit of potential in this area.

    I noticed Tammy on the side, rubbing her pussy to the scene.

    Feeling a bit bad at having excluded her so far, I decided to take things up another notch.

    "Tammy, you don''t need to do that yourself. There''s a perfectly good mouth for you to use here, you liked that last time right?"

    Tammy looked worried. Unwilling to push a girl that was so far above her own station.

    "My disobedient wife spat out my cum earlier, as her husband I think she needs some instruction." I tried to persuade Tammy with twisted reasoning, but she was still not sure about the whole idea, worried about retribution.

    I would need to take the onus off of her by making Marcella the one to request it.

    "Marcella, we need to punish your mouth for earlier. How would you like to do that?"

    She whimpered while unable to stop riding, Belle moving relentlessly whenever she slowed down, now fully up to her wrist.

    "You have a choice. Let the Tammy help you with your discipline now, or I can personally attend to it later in much further detail."

    "This isn''t fair..." She whined, while humping into me. A spark of disobedience starting to kindle in her eyes.

    Looking at the head maid for support. "Anya, don''t you see what he''s doing to me! Make him stop!"

    But this just seemed to make the head maid angry.

    "Don''t make any of this worse on yourself Marcella... I''ve known you since you were a child, but I heard what you said about master Jagen today. He''s always given you the best in life and you''ve always had only one duty to perform in exchange. Marry a man in the interests of your family. And when it comes time to perform that duty, you insulted your father, and disobeyed your husband. Jeopardizing one of the biggest opportunities in this family''s history. If master Keaton wishes to be a little rough with his new wife, that is perfectly within his rights."

    Marcella''s eyes reflected the despair she was in.

    Seeing my opportunity I piled on, driving her further.

    "Now Marcella. Pleasure Tammy with your mouth. Or you''re in for something much worse."

    She looked like she was about to cry, but I didn''t care at this point. She had disrespected me enough, and at this point I needed to put my foot down.

    "You can''t threaten me like this!" Her eyes glinting hatefully for a second.

    "Can''t I?" I responded while glancing at the head maid in the corner, who simply nodded to reassure me.

    Slapping Tammy''s ass encouragingly as she got up to stand.

    Tammy stood over Marcella''s head, forcing it back so that she could run her pussy over her mouth.

    "Is she doing a good job Tammy?" Probably not I thought, Marcella is such a naive girl, and she''s a virgin. If she had a talent for licking it would be unusual.

    "Could you use more tongue, Marcella?" Tammy asked politely, while I decided to translate into language that she would understand better.

    "Lick her more, or you''re in for an even worse punishment tomorrow Marcella."

    She picked up the pace, licking as fast as she could into Tammy''s pussy, while Tammy steadied Marcella''s head in the right areas. It seems Marcella really didn''t want to find out what could be worse than this. Afterall, this was the worst experience in her life.

    Marcella kept riding as hard as she could, trying to escape the relentless punishment from Belle''s hand in her ass. I could feel the movements coming from the walls of her vagina, as her pussy milked over my cock roughly.

    With her mouth occupied she could only express frustration through her tears.

    "I''m coming again Marcella, take it!"

    She rode even harder now, her inner walls clinging to me, begging me desperately to end her suffering. I came hard, causing her pussy to shiver in relief as it drank in my cum. The hot liquid in her womb causing her to lose control, her pussy convulsing uncontrollably while she came. Breaking down as she sobbed and climaxed at the same time.

    Belle pulled her wrist out slowly, and Tammy even seemed to have cum along with us from the stimulation of Marcella''s tongue.

    As for myself, I was relaxing with Marcella collapsed on top of me, still connected and moving her hips slightly, perhaps unconscious of it.

    Seeing the mess we had made on the sheets, it seemed like a good time for us all to take a bath... letting the maids have some time to replace the sheets with fresh ones.

    Kaguro

 Ch 51. Cleaning off.

    The girls and I were soaking in the bathing room. A dozen young maids, nude around us, washing us all as we relaxed.

    A pool-sized heated bath, set into the floor and inlaid in marble. Polished wooden flooring treated with water-repellent properties surrounded us, with decorative diamond lattice stone material set into the wood that ensured the floor was never slippery.

    Marcella seemed the most relaxed of all of us, ready to fall asleep in the maid''s arms as they soaped her up and washed her hair. Enjoying the moment now that she was away from my grasp for the moment.

    Belle also seemed quite happy for the attention, purring with delight as they petted her ears and washed her hair. Having maids attend to her so intimately was a totally new experience for her, just as it was for Tammy. But Tammy was clearly the shyer one of the two. Sinking her head down to the water level in embarrassment while the maids pampered her.

    Around me the maids were being a little more adventurous. Jagen might not have any interest outside his two wives, but a young man like me was a perfect target for their seduction. Washing me with their soaped up breasts, one in front of me, rubbing my cock with her fingers trying to ''wash'' me, hoping for a reaction. Each of them aiming to take their place alongside the three girls they were currently attending to in the bath.

    Eventually they got the reaction they wanted, as they each in turn looked greedily at my erection, but I had no intention of sharing right now.

    None of them had the confidence to go for it and cross the line, just continuing to seduce without any concrete actions. Marcella was in the bath with me after all, and the one thing I had picked up in my time here was that the servants were all equally terrified of her.

    The Marcet family, like all noble houses was hierarchical, and Marcella made sure the servants all knew their place. Beyond that, she was strictly monogamous and highly aggressive to anyone she thought was jeopardizing her position or the position of her mother. She was already so antagonistic towards the second wife and her children and they were her family. Who knew what she would do to a servant who crossed the line?

    Well I had heard some rumors at least. If they made a move and failed to earn my favor, she''d probably have them pressed into prostitution service in the local brothels. A common punishment here for adulterous women, and something in-particular that I''d heard she''s ordered done to the occasional maid who stepped out of line. If it wasn''t for Cal''s interference she probably would have sentenced a lot more women to that fate.

    In frontier towns like this the ruling lord''s family could act like absolute tyrants if they wanted to. They made the laws, and they executed the laws. The only thing they had to bind them were royal decrees, but out here so far away from the capital there were no royalty.  The only ones with any authority over Marcella here would be her father, her mothers, her two brothers, and now... me.

    I swam over to Marcella''s spot, hugging her nude form in the water.

    "What do you want?" She said tired and upset at my presence.

    "Can''t I be with my wife?" I teased her, rubbing her breasts and down below.

    She didn''t resist me this time.

    "Why do you do this to me... do you hate me?" She asked me quietly with resignation. I was her husband now, and there was very little she could do to change that.

    "I thought I told you, I like you. If I didn''t I wouldn''t have asked for your hand in the first place..."

    She relaxed her head on my chest, the both of us leaning back in the water.

    "Then... why?"

    I didn''t say much in response. I was ''disciplining'' her, but even so, I had definitely taken it farther than was appropriate. It''s true she was out of line, but my reaction had been intense... to say the least.

    She reflected silently, while I continued to play with her in plain view of the others. Belle and Tammy not saying a word having gotten used to my antics, choosing instead to focus on enjoy the luxurious bath and massage.

    "Say Marcella, what do you think about doing another adventure sometime soon? Would you like to do that?"

    I did enjoy being in the forest, although there was always an aspect of danger there, to me it was a treasure trove.

    Her eyes lit up again, the usual fire reviving somewhat after hearing she could go out again.

    "I thought you were still angry with me..." She looked at me warily.

    Well, it''s true I did want to reconcile with her somewhat, but my intentions were never so pure and that wasn''t my sole reason. She really was a big help with hunting the bigger prey, when it came to things like the giant snake or the aurochs, I wasn''t entirely confident in killing so easily on my own, even with the knights it still had a bit of danger involved.

    "Sometime in the next week then?"

    She went quiet for a minute, like she was contemplating the proposal. A little strange to me considering I didn''t particularly think it required that much thought.

    Suddenly smiling with one of the widest smiles I had ever seen her give, her usual confident appearance restoring itself.

    "I''d like that..." She added, laughing a little strangely.

    When we were done with our bath, we retired again to the room that had been prepared for us. Bringing Marcella in along with the girls to enjoy the rest of her bedding ceremony.

 Ch 52. Re-education

    After a refreshing night, I was feeling great.

    Tammy was the first to wake up aside from me, given she had her job to get to. I understood the dilemma somewhat. She wanted to leave but the guild was operating on minimal staff at the moment. With the guild master out of town, she was practically the only one keeping it together. Her resignation should be reaching the capital soon, being sent by dove, and the response should take a similar number of days.

    I was a little apprehensive, I''ve never personally met the guild master, but I probably knew the type. And I wasn''t looking forward to butting heads, unsure how exactly he would react when he got the news.

    He basically dumped all his responsibilities off on Tammy who was just a clerk, while he was living it up in the capital. The overall impression I had was already negative.

    Seeing the morning light peer in through the windows, I got ready with Tammy. Escorting her on the way to the guild, I brought up something I had been contemplating.

    Asking her to elevate my status up from a copper plate. The perks from a bronze plate didn''t mean much to me at this point, being exempt from city tolls not being quite as exciting when I was now counting gold by the hundreds.

    But still, the commissions and missions board was something that certainly appealed to me. Maybe not for the money, but definitely for the information on valuable monster locations.

    I honestly should be capable of promoting to silver rank, but given that this was supposed to be the discretion of the guild master, Tammy was concerned it might look bad if she were to do this for me. Every time an adventurer moves up in rank, it''s announced on the board, and objections can be lodged. In the worst case you can end up receiving challenges to the promotion, although that rarely ever happens since nobody wants to rock the boat with people who might be watching your back at some point.

    I understood the worry, but I doubted anything would come of it. I was confident for the same reason anybody would suspect foul-play in the first place. If they thought I was influential enough to pressure for an unwarranted silver plate promotion, then I doubted someone would be brave or dumb enough to raise an objection.

    With the silver plate I would get access to more rewarding commissions, and also the qualification to attend guild auctions, something that I was potentially interested in participating in at the capital now that I had some ''capital'' of my own.

    After some begging and cajoling, I was soon walking back to the mansion with a silver plate in hand. Whistling to myself in a great mood.

    Having scanned the board, I even picked up a mission that seemed rewarding enough.

    A living grove had been discovered in the forest and reported to the guild. Meaning magical plants, even if they were of the man-eating variety. I was somewhat interested in inspecting them for any undiscovered uses, not to mention the experience.

    A look through some of Cal''s items yesterday and the ''monster'' meal of auroch steaks had given me some ideas. Realizing that I wasn''t utilizing identification to the best of its potential.

    I especially wanted to raise my non-physical stats, given I hadn''t invested anything in those yet, I should still have a lot of potential points I could get through non-system based methods.

    When I was back at the mansion, I chose to rouse the two other girls. Giving Marcella another round as her new wake-up routine before leading her and Belle to the dining room for breakfast.

    Belle supporting Marcella as she walked gingerly.

    It seems my father in law was already up early, sharing a meal with his two wives.

    "Is it alright for us to join you?" I asked tentatively, not to presume too much around the one man who I had to respect here.

    He just simply waved us in.

    "Come in, come in. Not a bother at all. In fact you''re the very man I was hoping to talk with." He spoke in between bites, his wives competing to feed him forkfuls of eggs and bacon as they doted on him.

    We all took our seats. Marcella, sitting on her side painfully to avoid the delicate regions. Belle''s actions especially having done a number on her.

    "Keaton, I heard from Anya... Marcella gave you some trouble again last night?"

    The head maid, I recalled.

    Marcella shot me an evil glare, gone in a second when I looked her way.

    "I''ve been good..." She said quietly, complaining to no one in particular.

    Jagen looked at his daughter Marcella with sympathy, seeing her so upset after her first night. He was definitely a doting father, but he also seemed to be a pragmatist above all else. And given that I seemed to be a real catch for this family, he was willing to make some sacrifices.

    "I''ll see that it doesn''t happen again." He said after a pause.

    Marcella looked at me with doe eyes pleadingly, but I was more or less aware that her feelings wouldn''t have changed that quickly.  Seeing as she tried to abandon the marriage up until the last moment, any feelings she had towards me would be shallow at best.

    Seeing that I didn''t stick up for her, Marcella''s face soured immediately. Not bothering with pretense.

    It was obvious enough that even Jagen realized the problem immediately. Calling over a maid to get Anya and ushering Marcella out of the room, sending her to receive more ''instructions'' on how to become more wife-like.

    "I apologize for that." He said finally. Letting out a deep sigh. Promising to me that she''d behave soon enough.

    Cal walking in for breakfast just late enough to catch the last of Marcella fuming unhappily while being led away by bevy of maids.

    Grinning his widest grin after seeing the spectacle.

    Kaguro

 Ch 53. Alchemical Means

    We finished up breakfast while Cal gloated over the fate of his arch-enemy sister. Amazing me with how bad their relationship was... to think that he would actually be glad about it.

    Walking down the hallway to Cal''s room, he patted me on the back excitedly. Belle trailing just behind, in a good mood after such a grand breakfast, her ribboned tail swishing happily. The only remaining girl after dropping off Tammy, and sending Marcella for guidance.

    "To think I''d live to see the day! You saw Marcella''s face right?" He was beaming.

    Did this really make him that happy?

    "Introducing you to Marcella was the best decision I''ve ever made."

    What an exaggeration, rolling my eyes.

    "I actually had something I wanted to talk with you about, Cal."

    "I''m all ears. I owe you one for this"

    "Well... technically I still owe you one. I did make a promise when you put Belle up in your store."

    "You were serious back then?" He paused, contemplating.

    "Anyways. I wanted to ask you, did you ever make anything for Marcella for enhancing magical talent?"

    "You knew? I didn''t think Marcella would tell you..." He looked surprised.

    "Well, she didn''t but it''s not exactly hard to guess. You''re an alchemist, she''s a mage. If you were at all capable of making those things for your family, you would be... so how do you make them? Can I have them?"

    "Hmm... it might be a tough call to show you how to make them. But we probably could give a few to you. These normally go to Marcella, but since you''re her husband what''s her''s is your''s. Am I right?" Elbowing me in the ribs.

    Cal wasn''t kidding earlier, he really does hate Marcella doesn''t he?

    "Well that''s fine with me. Just let me see them."

    When we got to his room, he started digging through the closet. Coming up with a locked chest which he fiddled with to open, unveiling a number of vials of various colors.

    "Careful with these, they''re all extremely expensive."

    I picked up the first bottle.

    Elixir of Sages: Enhances Intelligence

    "You had some grass on the table that looks a lot like this..."

    He narrowed his eyes at me.

    "How would you know that just from looking?"

    "I''m pretty perceptive about these things. Is this okay to drink?" Emulating a drinking motion with the corked contents.

    "Go for it... it may have some mild side effects. Some people complain about strange sensations." He said to me.

    I downed it in one go. Faintly jelly-like texture, just as all potions made from a slime-base tasted, but the flavor was bitter and tasted like lawn clippings. I supposed it made a certain sense... even magical grass is probably still going to taste like grass.

    My head felt weird suddenly. A slight pressure building in my ears, feeling like my mind was expanding out of my head. It wasn''t particularly unpleasant, rather it felt like enlightenment. Like I had been stuck in a mental fog my entire life, and only now was I aware of it. The fog wasn''t lifted, but now I knew it existed. Before long the sensation faded, leaving me just as I had been.

    "Strange indeed."

    Picking up another vial.

    "Woah, slow down there. Better to not drink so many so fast. I heard it''s pretty hard on your body." He cautioned me.

    Somehow with fourty-five constitution, I think I should be fine. If it was bad enough to hurt me, normal mages would be dropping like flies.

    Still, I put down the second elixir of sages and picked up another.

    An unnamed brew: increases charisma, mild necrotoxic poison.

    "Don''t drink that one, that''s a failed recipe. I tried using ambrosia moss for that, much cheaper material that I suspected had the effects I wanted... but ultimately I could never get rid of the poison aspect."

    "So you could mass produce these?" I asked him, more than curiously.

    "Like I said, there''s no point. Even if I could."

    I uncorked the potion smelling it, walking out in into the main part of his room, over to a wall with large mirror hung up. Eyeing my free attribute points so that I could use them at any point if needed.

    Spilling a drop onto my tongue, which greatly alarmed Cal, who tried to grab the vial from with no success as I kept him at bay with one arm. I was twice as powerful as a grown man, arguably in better form than even the best trained knights, while Cal was a playboy bookworm.

    I felt a tingling sensation on my tongue, but within seconds it was gone. No noticeable effects aside from that.

    Seeing it seemed to be alright, I downed the whole vial. Relying on my enhanced constitution to keep me safe.

    My whole mouth and throat tingled, feeling a slight burning sensation all the way down. If someone drank this they''d definitely die. I''m pretty sure this was almost like drinking acid.

    I felt myself grow more confident, feeling larger, but not in the physical sense. So this is what it felt like to grow your mana capacity? Strange indeed. Slightly disappointed that neither of the potions lead to an increase in a point, but not surprised. The feeling I got from both was not particularly that of a profound change. I''d need to drink a lot of these to make any difference. It was actually somewhat reassuring to me in a way, at least this way I knew there weren''t thousands of mages out there running around with tremendously attributes attained from a life of endless potion-drinking.

    "Keaton... how on earth are you okay? That''s poison you just drank... right?" He was trying to take a drop to try for himself before I stopped him.

    "Let''s just say I''m an exception. So, can you make more?"

    Cal looking at me with hesitation, unsure if he should comply.

 Ch 54. A Strange Knight

    I somehow managed to convince Cal to mass produce those poison elixirs. He was shocked at my resistance to poisons at first, unsure of whether I was involved in something nefarious. What I showed him was something that no human should be capable of. Poisoners and assassins would sometimes be capable of this, spending years ingesting their own wares to build a tolerance, but Cal knew me well enough to know that was not the case.

    I assured him that I wasn''t doing anything bad, relying on our long standing friendship and the trust we had built up between us. Maybe Cal did think I was involved in some sort of dark magic, with my strange actions and bizarre behavior, but I knew he wasn''t particularly the religious type either. He did what was in his own best interest, and if that meant supporting someone involved in the occult, then so be it.

    I of course was less concerned, having the knowledge that I had no connection with black magic. So long as I didn''t make my powers too flashy, nobody would dare question someone of my station. Perhaps in the capital I might need to show more restraint, but that shouldn''t be a problem at all with how subtle enhanced constitution normally was.

    Equally important, my constitution allowed me to take full advantage of Cal''s cheap alternative to the other elixirs, something I could capitalize on with Cal''s support.

    In the meantime, I commandeered the entire chest that was intended for nurturing Marcella''s talent. Drinking a handful more in a few minutes, it occurred to me just how inefficient this was. Feeling some sympathy for the mages of the world who could only rely on such methods. But if it could save me a few points from the system, any amount of investment was worth it for me.

    I had no real plans for the day, only that I knew I wanted to go exploring outside again. I found a maid that was willing to help her learn how to read, allowing me to leave Belle in her care for the time being.

    Afterwards, heading on my way to the family barracks, slightly away from the mansion but not far. The grounds were busy, but nobody barred my way as I made for the front door, opening it to find what was essentially an oversized parlor room. Dozens of knights conversing with themselves, relaxing, and wasting time while off-duty.

    Cringing as I noticed one of my older brothers, Tristan. Hoping he didn''t notice me... but it looked like I didn''t have any such luck. In the last few years I really haven''t gotten along with my family very well, especially my brothers. I was always something of a black sheep, far skinnier and scrawnier than the rest. I''m not sure if it was a consequence of the merged-soul situation, but I suspected as much. If I didn''t have the system, it would have always remained a curse instead of a blessing.

    He saw me, but just smiled and returned to his previous conversation with another young man who was holding a flowery letter in his hands as they stood about the fireplace, tossing the letter in to burn. I thought things were going great until he pointed me out, wrapping his arm around my brother''s neck and walking up to me with a swagger in his step.

    "We were just talking about you, Keaton. Gawn here has been dying to meet you since this morning."

    Triston introduced his friend, who stepped up confidently, sticking out a hand for me to shake, which I obliged.

    The man was trying to crush my hand with his grip, leaving me confused as to whether he was trying to show off... he had a pleasant enough face, smiling, but his gaze was really intense gaze and he maintained direct eye contact the entire time. His eyes never leaving mine.

    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Keaton. I''ve heard a lot of things about you." He said while continuing the grip.

    "Like what?" I asked, somewhat interested.

    "Things." He replied cryptically.

    Good things, I hoped. Looking at my brother suspiciously.

    "You''re a knight I assume?" I asked him, trying to probe why he was so interested in me.

    "And only the most talented swordsman in the entire city." My brother bragged for him, seeming to hold this Gawn character in high regard.

    Amazingly young for such a boast, he looked my age...

    Well that''s good I supposed, I could use some muscle for where I was going.

    "I was actually coming here to pick up some guards, I''m headed out to the forest today. There was a commission I wanted to take a look at for the guild." I explained to him.

    "Do you care if I join you?" He seemed a little forceful with his words, but there really wasn''t a reason not to have him. I''ll take as many as I can get.

    "I don''t mind particularly, but I''m curious what you find so interesting about me?" He was honestly being a little creepy.

    "You''re too humble. A space mage like yourself is plenty interesting. Not to mention you have such a beautiful wife. You''re a very lucky man." He said to me with an earnest glint, finally letting go of my hand.

    "How many men would you like to bring? I''ll find them for you." He offered.

    "About twenty or so should be good, but I want them to avoid killing when possible. A policy of mine."

    "I didn''t take you for a pacifist." He let out a brief chuckle.

    "Well... not exactly a pacifist per-say, just maim them instead of killing and it should be good. I''ll take care of the rest."

    "An interesting man, didn''t I say?" He responded.

    I averted my gaze, a little uncomfortable that another man was finding such interest in me.

    Gawn did find the men though, and quite quickly I might add. Not even an hour later we were headed out the city gates, eight knights and twelve soldiers leading the way. My brother joining, but only really to tag along with this Gawn character.

    I wasn''t really sure how to ever bring up the becoming a mage thing with my family, and my interactions with Tristan were just reaffirming to myself why I had such hesitation in meeting them. Trying to talk with him was so awkward, and in the end we just ended up marching in silence.

    Making our way through the grasslands, killing the occasional muck-rat enclave on our way.

    Kaguro

 Ch 55. Living Grove part 1

    The guards were doing their job, stopping any muck-rats that came our way, maiming them, but leaving the kills for me.

    Even so, I was seriously on edge about this Gawn fellow, and my initial impression was the worst. All he did was stand around posing with his cloak while he watched the others do all the work. It reminded me a little of myself... but I had all the excuse to do that. This jerk was supposed to be a knight.

    While I studied him, he was similarly studying me. Neither of us doing anything to help with the battle.

    I was the first one to break off, doing my rounds killing the disabled and injured rats. Even if they weren''t worth a lot, the little bits would add up over time.

    A shadow passed over my work, letting me know there was someone behind me.  Gawn looking over my shoulder as I stooped over a freshly dispatched muck rat slinger. Instantly irritating me.

    This guy was really getting on my nerves.

    "Can I help you?" I asked him.

    "Is there a reason you do that?" He asked me curiously.

    "What?"

    "The killing." He said, motioning to the entire field of alive but maimed muck-rats, crying and squealing in terror.

    I looked over the scene, unable to really come up with a good explanation. It really did look like the work of a madman. Things were easier when nobody dared to ask.

    "Don''t ask." I ended the conversation and narrowed my eyes at him, using my authority to avoid unwanted questions.

    Packing up again we were headed towards the forest, soon nearing the edge of the grasslands. But instead of heading directly in, we walked parallel to it as I read my commission page. A crude map and directions drawn, depicting the location of the living grove that an adventurers group had recently discovered. The guild undoubtedly paid them for this information, given that the city had an interest in paying for the extermination, and that the guild would be the initial purchaser of the monster parts, they were no doubt turning a profit.

    I was looking for a landmark, supposedly the group had flagged the area.

    I managed to take a bit of distance from that weird knight, heading over to my brother Tristan.

    "What''s that guy''s deal? Seriously." I whispered to him.

    Tristan just shrugged, "He''s always been a bit weird... but people really respect him around here. He''s more than proved himself as a knight."

    Continuing to walk while asking questions.

    Sure enough we came across a tree spike with an orange flag on it, nailed to the base. Looking back at the crude map, "This is our spot." I let the guards know. Heading straight in.

    Tristan seemed to take issue with me leading the way, insisting I stayed in the back given my new status. It was a bit awkward at first, having my brother act like guard, but it seems like he was wasn''t particularly jealous about it. Apparently my marriage had done a lot for my other brothers, allowing them to rise the ranks far quicker than normal.

    We followed the markers, the orange flags easy enough to spot with their contrast against the moss covered bark of the oversized mana-fed trees. The undergrowth, which had previously been just short grass and moss, was beginning to give way to thicker underbrush. Brambles and vines, mainly concentrated around the trees themselves, but still requiring those at the front to clear the way. Using their swords like glorified machetes.

    One of the soldiers raising a cry suddenly, slipping to the ground while a vine coiled around his ankle, trying to drag him. The rest cutting off the crawling vine before it could go any further.

    "Well, that''s new to me..." I muttered to myself, mildly alarmed as I observed the situation.

    "Never seen a treant before?" Gawn asked me, whispering in my ear as he managed to sneak up behind me. Finding my reaction amusing as I jumped forward, already on edge from the situation.

    He wrapped his arm around me chummily, pointing with his sword up the tree to direct my attention to one of the dozen branches high above us, all of them covered in vines. The vine that was just severed retracting upwards as if in pain. One branch in particular started to shake, previously hidden roots plucking up from the side of the tree that held it in place.

    Gawn took a position next to me, looking like he was guarding me against the threat. I watched as the treant fanned its branch-limbs, each of the ends sharpened to a point like a spear, a mouth appearing on its side, letting out a creaking groan like that of a cut tree as it dropped down towards us, shrieking the whole way.

    Gawn suddenly yelled for me to dodge out of the way at the last possible moment, preemptively rolling to the ground himself. The treants branch tips now aiming solely at me as it descended, knocking me to the ground with a thud.

    It was like I had been hit by stack of iron, the sheer force knocking the wind out of me, but the pointed limbs breaking uselessly as they failed to pierce my armor. One of the soldiers next to me having his leg caught alongside me, echoing in my ears with a sickening crunch. The treants flailing its limbs as it scratched and beat at us.

    I stabbed wildly, trying to fend off the blows. None of them harmful, but still managing to panic me.

    Each strike feeling like I was hacking at wood, going a few inches in each time with a hollow sound. It tried to grab me with the vines, but I was strong enough to rip my arm free and kept going. The other soldiers hacking away as well, hewing off the flailing limbs, and making my job easier. Only when the mouth opened to try to bite at me did I have any real success, stabbing in with the same arm it was trying to chew on. The sword finding soft flesh on the interior while the treant shrieked in frenzy.

    Blood-colored sap pouring over me as it struggled its last.

    Panting with adrenaline, I hugged the fallen tree lying on top of me. Trying to catch my breath as I heard my heart beating in my ears.

    I really wasn''t ready for that...

    Seeing Gawn standing over me now that the beast was dead, my temper flared. That guy almost got me killed.

    I was pretty much pinned under the treant body, able to lift it up a little bit, but not enough to free myself. Fortunate enough to have access to the inventory, managing store the fallen tree ontop of me. Rolling to my side now that I could breath easier, steadying myself as I stood.

    "You''re alright?" Gawn remarked flatly, almost in disbelief, sneaking an eye at the poor soldier who got crushed alongside me, the man''s leg probably broken.

    His armor did its job, not letting any of the spear-points through, but there was not much that could be done to mitigate what was essentially a falling log. Some armor might be able to do that if they had magical effects, but those would be extremely expensive.

    "No thanks to you." I spat out spitefully, still shaken up. I don''t know what this guy''s problem was but I''d never be taking him along again. If he was a real knight he''d be sacrificing his own life for my safety, not rolling out of the way. I''d have to have a chat with Jagen about punishing him later.

    I wasn''t hurt in the slightest but my combat experience was not particularly rich, and even then getting jumped on like that was going to take some getting used to. I had a rather durable body, but it''s not like I wasn''t still afraid of getting hurt.

    Kaguro

 Ch 56. Living Grove Part 2

    It''s true that the treant''s initial drop was quite terrifying... if I was a normal person I''d probably be dead right now, even with the armor. It hit me straight on after all, the sheer force it could exert after falling that far was demonstrated by our one casualty. A poor soldier near me getting his leg crushed, even despite moving mostly out of the way.

    It knocked the wind out of me but aside from that I was fine, my body now being sturdy enough to take such a blow without much issue. Honestly, the most dangerous thing to me were those spears. My face was completely unguarded earlier when it attacked and despite my skin becoming quite durable, having personally verified that with my dismantling knife, I really didn''t want to test that out with my eyes or other exposed areas of my face.

    Seeing me on the ground, trying to raise myself unsteadily, my brother came over to help me up. A little fearful that I could have died that easily.

    "You alright?" he asked me anxiously. "We''d all be in trouble if something were to happen to you... to be honest Keaton... this isn''t a very safe place."

    I knew it wasn''t safe, but I had little desire to shelter myself like how most nobility lived. I had a power that could grow as much as I fed it, feeling the greed for power and authority driving me on.

    The guards were all eager to leave, unsettled by the incident that could very well have killed me, but I waved off their concern. I was fine, even if I was somewhat shaken by the sudden attack. Starting to pay a little more attention to what was overhead, and more than a little animosity towards one knight in particular.

    Two soldiers and a knight broke off from our group, taking their injured comrade out of the forest.  He would be normally be safest with the group, but with his leg looking as it did, that was impossible if I wanted to continue. He couldn''t stay here either, anybody or any group we left by themselves were at risk as long as they stayed in the forest. Leaving us with our best option, sending the injured man off with a small escort so that they could return with him to town. Given that we weren''t very deep yet, as long as they could make it to the grasslands they''d probably be fine.

    It was unnerving to not know where the next monster would pop out from, probably more so for these ordinary soldiers. Get a bit unlucky and they''d end up like their friend or worse. But soldiers were cheap, with the amount we''d get from this expedition we could arm, armor, and train dozens to take their place.

    Knights were a bit more difficult to replace, but even then they were nothing compared to a mage. Which brought my attention back to a certain someone. Even now I couldn''t discern what his intentions were, but that was a stunt that could have very well killed me. It looked like he was just selfishly prioritizing his own life over mine in a moment of danger, but I had some suspicions. He said he was interested in me, but he abandoned his basic duty at the first sign of danger. I couldn''t tell if he was just a coward, or if he had more sinister aims. And that was something that I was determined to suss out.

    New soldiers took their place at the front, ready to clear the way before I stopped them. I had enough of this supposedly skilled knight hanging back with me like he was a VIP, ordering him to the front to see how he would react. Gawn didn''t complain like I thought he might, just shrugging nonchalantly as he took up the vanguard position nobody else wanted. Other soldiers following his lead.

    The treants blending in to their environment in the tree tops. Near identical to the thick upper branches, and hard for us to tell them apart at this distance. Making the only way for us to detect them being for us to manually trigger their vine traps. Cutting their vines apart and jumping out of the way to avoid being killed.

    Gawn''s attitude wasn''t great, but it seems like he indeed had the skills to back it up. I studied with interest as he triggered the vines intentionally, dancing around to avoid entanglement from the snaking attacks, and avoiding the treants fall without an issue as he just rolled to the side unharmed. With the treants back on the ground, it allowed the rest of us hack the beast to death with relative safety.

    The group began to proceed again, wary of the vine ridden path, but confident in the process we were using. Letting Gawn take most of the danger as we cleared through the forest.

    There weren''t any more accidents now that we had someone experienced leading the way. Each treant wailing in pain with a deep creaking voice as we hacked their sharpened limbs off, leaving it defenseless as we dismantled it alive. Blood-like sap leaking out of the hewn lumber-like wounds.

    I was curious about what these treants had to offer, given the size of their body, they had a lot to inspect, and being out in the field like this there wasn''t an opportunity to dig too deeply. But from the first time I inspected these monsters I was already intrigued by the possibilities they contained. Their blood seeming to have some sort of wisdom enhancing effect, but I wasn''t sure how widely known this was. If I could find uses for previously unknown monster parts I could get quite a good profit from it. Clearly the bodies were known to be valuable, the guild wouldn''t buy them otherwise, but did they know every useful part about them? Just another reason for me to collaborate with Cal.

    Picking up one of the hewn off branches, I tried chewing at the end, tasting the red-sap coming out of the severed limb. Floral and slightly sweet, but very mild overall. Spitting out the bark, and tossing the branch into my inventory for later.

    Cutting through another path of vines and lurking treants, we came upon another change in the flora. The jungle of vines hanging between trees gave way, with another sight taking their place. Rows of large pitcher plants affixed to the trunks of trees, almost at ground level.

    Kaguro

    https://www.patreon.com/kaguro

 Ch 57. Living Grove Part 3

    Seeing the ominous looking pitcher plants and their large fang like lids, I could more or less imagine what could happen if you got too close.

    A glint in my eyes as I ordered Gawn towards the new monsters, not letting him off just yet. He knew I was singling him out, and knew exactly why. That stunt he pulled earlier crossed my line, I couldn''t tell what his intentions were, but if anyone would be risking their life this mission, I''d make sure it was him.

    Even so, Gawn looked unperturbed, his eyes cold and unmoving. If he was scared to take this position he was doing a good job hiding it.

    All I had to do was reap the benefits, watching as he dealt with everything. Like the treants, the pitcher plants had moveable vines that they used as appendages, but were overall low-mobility once on the ground.

    The one thing that set them apart seemed to be the liquid they had in their body. Spilling out acidic juices whenever injured, covering their vines in it, seemingly impervious to their own body fluid, but probably able to apply a nasty burn to others. Watching Gawn finally struggle with something as he needed to completely avoid the multitudes of swinging acid-drenched vines.

    The other soldiers and knights moving to assist, seeing my brother try to go as well.

    "Not you." I grabbed Tristan, holding him back.

    He looked at me, then at the group. Seeing that they were managing to hold their own.

    I led him a few paces back, crouching in a huddle, whispering in a low voice.

    "You saw what happened earlier, with the treant."

    Tristan looked nervous.

    "I think he tried to kill me." I said cynically. I still wasn''t sure what Gawn''s intentions were, but I''d seen enough to know he didn''t mean well. Enough to know that he wasn''t an ordinary knight. He could have very well saved me if he wanted.

    "That''s not true Keaton. You saw how he tried..."

    "You don''t really believe that do you?" I snapped, seeing his hesitation.

    In a more hushed voice, he whispered. Barely audible.

    "He really tried to kill you?" Looking worriedly at me first, then sneaking a glance at the ongoing battle.

    I raised my eyebrows, did he not believe me?

    "You seem to respect this Gawn fellow. So I''ll ask, why? He seems to have a lousy attitude."

    "He is respected... but people are also somewhat afraid of him. He''s a bit of a loose cannon."

    "What''s that supposed to mean?"

    "He picks duels with people he doesn''t like, he always makes it to the death, and you can guess how those went. "

    "Why on earth did you introduce a guy like that to me?" Nearly hissing at my brother.

    "Don''t get me wrong, he was already interested in you... he was insisting on meeting you this morning and I know he''s been talking about you ever since your engagement. But, honestly I didn''t see the harm. He would owe me favor and you would get another skilled bodyguard."

    "Well... that plan already went wrong. So fess up, why''s this guy after me?"

    "I swear I don''t know, all I saw was that he got a note and he approached me after that... I didn''t get to see it, but it looked like a woman''s. You don''t think it could be..."

    Marcella''s? I thought coldly.

    "That''s enough. Thanks." Patting him on the back.

    Moving on to claim my prize. Seeing the dismembered pitcher plants lying on their side. A puddle of syrupy acid spilling around them, but still very much alive.

    Gawn leaning against a tree, feigning disinterest. Somehow making me even angrier than before.

    "Had a nice chat?" He mocked sarcastically.

    I didn''t get it. Even if he liked Marcella, what did he expect to do here? I wasn''t going to get myself killed, and he didn''t look like he was about to try outright killing me. As soon as we got back to town, I''d be isolating him and depriving him of any positions he previously held. He was a knight, so I maybe I couldn''t outright strip him of titles, but I could damn well make him a knight in name only. Whatever his intent was, I was confident enough that he''d failed his one shot back with the treant. If I was a normal guy, it would have worked, but this guy was no threat to me in my current state. Putting some confidence in my own ability after weighing what I had seen from him.

    I could feel myself getting close to the next level. After experiencing it so many times, it seemed I had begun to develop a sort of sixth sense. A strange tingling in the back of my skull, a cognition of how far I was progressing towards the next step in my soul''s evolution.

    I stored the rest of the bodies while ordering around Gawn and the rest of the guards, keeping my brother close just in case. Taking a bit of an interest in the changing vegetation. A green-blue moss of a different variety than anything I had seen previously, each patch growing in concentrations around where the pitcher plants lived. Whenever my identification was used, the entire area lit up. The moss seemed to have a much greater effect on intelligence than anything I had seen previously.

    Handing out digging tools, starting with Gawn, who finally balked for the first time at an order. Looking humiliated as he dug up the precious moss with an unhappy expression, much to my own delight. Progress was slow, but I''d stay here as long as needed.

    Time was difficult to track during the day here, the sun was completely obstructed by the thick canopy above us, only allowing a trickle of light through. I couldn''t tell how long it had been, but if they didn''t hurry up it would be dark out soon. A prospect that scared even Gawn.

    But even after collecting the moss, I wasn''t prepared to go. I was so close to leveling that it''d be a shame if we left now.

    Kaguro

 Ch 58. A chat in the dark

    The idea that we weren''t turning around yet had unnerved everyone, including Gawn. I took their warnings in mind, but I needed just a few more monsters for the next level, having no intention in dawdling around waiting for the sun to set.

    Even so the area was just so large, and on the interior of the grove none of the oversized plants seemed to be of the monster variety. There were plenty of valuable herbs here, probably thousands of gold worth, but it was more than I could take in one outing. Making a mental note to myself to come back for these later. No longer looking to harvest herbs for the time being, instead focusing on finding more monsters to hunt.

    Walking along deeper into the grove, we looked for prey but found none.

    "We shouldn''t go any further..." Gawn spoke up again, seeming to have the support of the rest of the group, and I had enough common sense to accept he was right, despite our apparently mutual antagonism.

    That said, I made sure we wouldn''t be taking the same route back. Sensible enough to me, given there wouldn''t be monsters if we retraced our steps, and seemingly insane to the men for exactly the same reason.

    A decision that led to no shortage of grumbles. To them, this was just another expression of my eccentricities. Usually my ''strange'' habits were only amusing, but this was something that directly put their lives at risk. Killing monsters might be a normal part of their job, but to them I was intentionally going out of my way to make their job more dangerous. Not knowing about my incentives, the system, or levels, they wouldn''t be capable of understanding.

    I equipped my [pathfinder] class along with [adventurer], seeing as we were forging an uncharted path back. The [navigation] skill allowing me to ensure we were going the right way, feeling a mental pull towards the town of Tromwell, guiding me through the winding forest of trees. Gawn was still in the lead, my previous orders still standing for him to take the vanguard as we cleared through the forest. Using him to set off the traps laid by the waiting treants and engage the pitcher plants while the other men helped him hack apart the plant-type monsters. Saving the monster''s last rites for me of course.

    It was beginning to grow increasingly hard to see our way in the failing light, even giving Gawn a bit of trouble, who despite his skills and bravado was growing increasingly flustered. Not a superhuman after all, I thought smugly.

    "I don''t think we can make it out tonight... we should find a place to camp..." Gawn was losing his nerve now that the light was fading, the hues in the forest beginning to stretch into twilight. He was making more mistakes now as he struggled with the beasts in the dimming light, seeing the vines wrap around his legs occasionally almost causing him an untimely death by falling treant. It would be a rather fitting end for someone who tried to do the same to me, I thought while chuckling to myself.

    Even so, I wasn''t stupid enough to make him fight in the dark unassisted. The men would revolt if I gave them suicidal orders like that.

    Not to mention that I had my own way of solving things. It''s true we could camp here, but to me that seemed like an even more dangerous proposal than trying to fight in the dark. I''ve heard enough about the forest at night to know we shouldn''t stay here needlessly, some adventurer or subjugation groups could do that, but they usually had a far larger parties than we were fielding currently. Besides, we were almost out of the forest already. With a little calculation, and some help from my [navigation] skill, I could guess we only had thirty or so minutes until we would be out of the forest.

    I pulled out lit torches from my inventory, distributing them out to a few of the troops. I had been experimenting with the properties of [inventory], when I found this particularly useful application. The state of an object like temperature and even combustion were preserved during the storage process, so I could transfer a lit torch to provide fire on demand. Making their lives a little easier for the time being, but meaning they wouldn''t be allowed to stop just yet.

    Finally with the fall of another treant came the familiar flash of light and celebratory tone that I had been anticipating.

    "Good to see you again." The System''s cheery old voice rang out again in my mind.

    "And you as well." Returning the basic courtesy.

    "I noticed you tried to contact me earlier... was everything alright?" Remembering my fainting spell after I had been stupid enough not to heed his warnings, he asked the question that had been on his mind ever since. Given he didn''t really have anything else going on, it''s understandable that System would still be curious about it.

    "Mm, well. Nothing too serious. A bit of mana depletion was all... I suppose I underestimated how much mana even a simple conversation would require."

    Which reminds me what I was trying to ask him in the first place when I tried to contact him last time.

    "The second skill for alchemists, [cultivation]. It isn''t very intuitive, how do I use it and what does it do?" I decided to use his time for this, clarifying one of the things that still puzzled me. Being the first time I couldn''t discern a skill''s use on my own, it was something that still caught my interest. I had discovered that the skill reacted to mana cores, but beyond that, the exact mechanism and effect were still just mysteries to me.

    "Ah, yes. Cultivation. An excellent skill, in my opinion. You''ll like that one... it allows you to convert mana into experience for the system. Not the most efficient process, but one with a lot of promise."

    Mana, as in the crystalized kind as well? Not in a hurry to try powering random skills with my own mana.

    "So I can get experience just from slime cores?"

    "Well, yes. But not as much as if you were killing them."

    Watching passively as the men struggled with another treant, hewing its limbs off for my final kill. Walking up and stabbing repeatedly at the defenseless tree shaped monster, now that it had been stripped of limbs and immobilized, it was just fodder to me.

    Stopping for a moment to ponder.

    "System. Why do I need to be the one to kill a monster? Why do I get the credit when all I''ve done is sit back for the entire fight? But if I do all the work, and someone takes the kill from me, I get nothing..." It seemed arbitrary to me.

    "Have you considered why you need to be killing things in the first place? It''ll make sense once you do." The system responded, not giving me a straight answer.

    "I don''t like riddles." I responded flatly, not particularly in the mood for games.

    "It''s their souls."

 Ch 59. A consumer of fine souls

    I wanted System to explain himself since this was a more confusing revelation for me than it appeared to be for him.

    Whenever I killed monsters, I was eating their souls? That was where the energy came from? To think that the soul itself could be used as fuel.

    "Well doesn''t it make sense? To empower your soul what better way than with other souls?" System chimed in helpfully.

    I felt like I needed to sit down. Maybe I wasn''t the most ethical person, but to think that I was actually eating the souls whenever I killed something...

    "It''s not like you''re the one doing the eating...  does that help?" System continued somewhat delicately. Somehow picking up on my sensitivity around the topic.

    "It doesn''t bother you?" I asked the system. Contemplating to myself whether or not I should finish off the treant in front of me, receiving strange looks from the men for wasting time with my weird ''hobby''.

    "Not at all... If I had to say, then I''m rather proud to be doing this. It''s for your sake afterall. If I didn''t eat the souls, you''d be up to your neck with the whole curse situation."

    "Curses?" I reacted to the word.

    "Monsters, humans, anything with a soul reacts negatively to being killed. The soul instinctively seeks out the one that killed its body, trying to enact retribution in any way they can. ''Karma'', I''ve heard it called before. Obviously quite an issue for us, and especially nasty business back in the day. But luckily for you we''ve made improvements to the system. Nowadays, bengeful spirits are another source of energy."

    It still seemed somehow wrong to me, but looking at the monstrous treant in front of me, I didn''t feel much sympathy. Dispatching it with learned efficiency.

    "I''ve heard of soul eating monsters before, but I may be the only soul eating human in the entire world." I joked to myself grimly.

    "Like I said, I''m the one doing the eating. And it''s not entirely accurate to call it ''eating'', think about it more as ''reprocessing''." The system replied seriously, not picking up on my sarcasm.

    Even with the jokes, the subject was just as unnerving as the situation we were in. The only light now being that of our own torches. Creating a wall of darkness around our group as we moved through the forest. It seems we had exited the living grove, no more treants or pitcher plants blocking the way. Even so, I was more on edge than earlier. At least before we had something to fight.

    The forest at night was disorienting, but rather than growing used to it, I felt myself feeling more and more uncomfortable. Sensing in my mind a bizarre repulsion towards what I knew to be the way out. My [navigation] ability pointing me towards town, but nausea occuring whenever I moved in that direction. To that end, I felt the need to invest more points into navigation, fumbling around in the unreliable dim light of the torches as I interacted with the mirror.

    Feeling the fog in my mind lift somewhat with each point spent, I decided to max out the skill. But the anxiety I felt was still there.

    I wasn''t the only one apparently, the knights and soldiers seemed especially shook, not having the benefit of a skill to ease their nerves. Finally the group stopped, unwilling to take even a single step forward. Disregarding my urging and assurance that this was the correct way, and refusing even under direct orders. In the darkness it felt like I could see countless eyes watching us as paranoia set into our group.

    "System, something''s wrong here. We''re under attack."

    "How so?" He could see what I saw during this time, but with the darkness that didn''t help much. Plus, it seems like his mind-reading only worked on surface level thoughts. Not aware of the intricacies of my thoughts.

    "My head feels weird, I can''t explain it well, but it''s trying to keep us in the forest."

    The system suddenly got serious, trying to help me in any way he could.

    "Is it a mental or soul attack?"

    "How should I know?"

    "Hmm... that''s right. You wouldn''t remember how, would you? It''s really about feeling it for yourself, but there''s a very big difference between how the two types of monsters act."

    I tried explaining the symptoms, the nausea, the mental fog, the loss of direction. Not to mention the overall panic setting onto our the group, something that wasn''t helped by the more undisciplined of the common soldiers, who were on the verge of mental breakdown.

    The weakest of our group seemed to already be having a breakdown, dropping his torch onto the forest floor and desperately scratching himself, trying to remove his own armor before fleeing into the dark to his almost certain death. An action that set a fire off in the minds of our group. This was farther out of my depths than I ever wanted to get.

    I tried calming the group down to no effect, all the while increasingly nervous as the situation continued to spiral out of control.

    More of our group panicked, fleeing off into night. Stripping their armor off and throwing down their weapons as they ran off. It looked like an action out of terror, but when I thought of it from a monster''s perspective it made perfect sense. They were disarming us for an easy meal.

    I myself felt no compulsion to do so for the time being. After becoming aware it was the actions of a hostile force and not the workings of my own mind I was able to exert some limited control over myself and prevent total panic.

    Seeing how even the knights were looking like they wanted to bolt, I felt rushed towards action.

    "Listen up, I know the way out of the forest. Put your trust in me and I swear I''ll do everything I can to get you back alive. All you need to do is follow me, I''ll guide us out."

    Gawn spoke up, seeming to act as a proxy for the men.

    "I don''t think so... we followed your orders this far and look where it''s gotten us. We''re clearly going the wrong way. I say we backtrack back to the grove, find the path we came in from, and leave through that." Gawn''s mind being subtly warped. He was feeling the same repulsion towards the direction of the town that I was, whatever monsters were responsible clearly not intending for us to leave.

    "In case you haven''t noticed, there''s something out there. I''m not about to send us back into the depths of the forest, when we''re almost at the edge already."

    Gawn simply stared at me with contempt, not dignifying a response.

    Seeing the unsettled attitudes of the knights, and the total unwillingness to leave, I made a final ultimatum.

    "I''m leaving the forest. With or without you. This is an order, follow me. Follow me, you live. Disobey my order, and you die."

    Gawn looked amused. Looking into his eyes I could tell he was scheming, even in this dire situation.

    "You heard the man... clearly he''s lost more than his sense of direction.  To think you threaten to kill the ones guarding your life so thanklessly. We''re just trying to help." He smirked, throwing out words meant to incite the men even more against me.

    "I''m not threatening to kill you." I replied angrily, my emotions getting out of control.

    Their confusion convinced them the only safe direction was wrong. Looking at me with pity as I intended to split off from the group.

    "You''ve made your decision." I spoke coldly.

    Even my brother was rooted in place, the compulsion of the monsters making him unwilling to go in the direction of town. I was beyond frustrated by this group but I couldn''t leave my brother to his death. A compulsion to leave him and save myself flickered across my mind, before I was disgusted by the thought. Unsure whether it was the effect of the monsters or my own weakness at this point.

    I steeled myself for what needed to be done. Not paying any mind that I was leaving the rest of them to their almost certain deaths.

    Walking up to my brother, I summoned my sword. The rest of the men reacting with surprise, while Tristan flinched, unable to respond in time as I raised my arm like a whip, bashing the pommel as hard as I could against the temple of his head. His helmet ringing with a crack and dent as I struck him with force, beyond twice the strength and speed that any knight my age could muster. Knocking him out cold to ground with a thud.

    The rest of the group aghast at what I had just done.

    "He''s gone mad! I knew it, he''s led us to our deaths." One of the soldiers hissed accusingly, their warped minds making them easy to assume the worst. Even so, I could only feel disgust towards this group who would surely die.

    Gawn again demonstrated his natural leadership, organizing the group against me. His own biases more exposed now that he was under the influence of whatever fiend was attacking us. But I had no intention of fighting, picking up my brother and turning towards the direction of town.

    "Wait." Gawn stopped me, throwing up his hands as he approached me. A smile on his face.

    Whispering in my ear.

    "I never thought you''d do the work for me. This day will be the happiest day in Marcella''s life, second only to the day we promise ourselves." Gawn was chuckling to himself, corrupted by whatever force was here, but clearly not a fan of mine from the start.

    So it was about Marcella, I almost felt like joining in with his laughing at this point. Someone who''s going to die tonight wanted to steal my woman?

    I didn''t even bother to respond, not needing words for a dead man. Dashing off into the forest, carrying my brother over one shoulder, my sword ready in the other. Devoid of the light from the group''s torches, I relied entirely on the pull of my skill to guide me back to safety.

    Kaguro

 Ch 60. Flee the Dark

    I was rushing through the forest, avoiding trees, but sometimes running directly into them. Shrugging off the pain with my superhuman constitution. Carrying my unconscious brother on one shoulder, while holding my sword in front of me with my other hand. Using it like a cane to feel my way forward.

    Kicking myself for not apprehending a torch for myself, having given the rest away and not expecting that I''d need to navigate the forest alone. My mind had been growing increasingly hazy during the confrontation, and whatever was causing the other men to go mad was having some effect on me.

    Completely shut off from the sense of sight, I could only rely on the [navigation] ability to guide me towards the town. Straining my ears for any movement around me, and relying on touch to avoid obstacles to the best of my ability. Now regretting that we took a different path back through the forest than the way we entered, my greed exceeding my reason as I now waded through the darkness because of it. Struggling to find my way through an unfamiliar stretch of the forest.

    Every time I ran into a tree I slowed down unconsciously. Even with the desperation I was feeling, running blindly at full speed was an unnerving experience, but the rustling sounds behind us pushed me to press forward.

    "Any advice?" I begged the system.

    "I''m afraid I''m useless here. I''m as blind as you are right now."

    Hearing the rustling get nearer to me, I felt fear rising up in my chest.

    "Why the FUCK are they after me?" I screamed at the system in my head.

    I had fully expected them to go after the group in the forest.

    "Well... whatever creatures these are, I would assume they''re going after the group with fewer numbers. You saw how they peeled off your weaker members before. Maybe they think you are the easier prey."

    My temper flaring again, but anxiety tamping down the flames of emotion.

    Again regretting my decision to not steal back a torch before leaving... having already distributed the entire stash from my inventory. If I had, I would be able to invest some attribute points if things got too bad, but in the pitch black of the forest like this, there was no way for me to see anything in my mirror. Feeling my way forward roughly, running into another tree, and having to grope around it while scrambling away from whatever was chasing me.

    I could hear rustling behind me, but with how soft the moss-padded forest floor was, I struggled to hear much at all. Tripping on a root that caused me to tumble forward, splaying out on the ground and dropping my brother. Trying to feel my way around as I tried to pick up where I was.

    High pitched chatter echoed around me, with shrill, grating voices. My gut sinking at the realization that I was completely surrounded.

    Frozen in fear for a second before I recognized something almost human in their calls. They were... laughing?

    Tightening my grip around my sword as I rose. Summoning a shield in my now free arm, while I stood guarding the spot where I dropped my brother.

    I felt the urge to throw down my weapons, nauseated at the idea of holding onto them any longer. Remembering how the soldiers had acted previously, I suddenly understood why.

    Trying to clear my head and ignore the compulsion as I strained my ears, trying to sense what was out there. I didn''t know what these things were but it looked like I wasn''t entirely at their mercy, seeming to having some sort of resistance as I wasn''t offering myself up as a free meal.

    However I noticed the compulsion to surrender my weapons growing with my flaring emotions, fear especially seemed to be bad. Forcibly calming myself to avoid a total collapse. Realizing how close I was getting to death.

    The circle of voices chittering away in the dark, hungry and frustrated that their ''meal'' wasn''t bending to their will.

    "Still no advice for me?" I asked the System again hopefully.

    "They always say knowledge is power... but to be honest I''m not sure that is the case here. I would guess these creatures have soul powers of some variety, and if that''s true you''re in a pretty tough spot regardless unless you''ve made some pretty significant investments into charisma since we last talked... but that''s not to say it''s completely hopeless."

    "Just hurry it up", I thought with annoyance. The system''s circuitous nature not doing me any favors in a pinch like this.

    "Let''s start out with the positives. First, soul powers get stronger based on proximity. These creatures are already fairly close by and yet you can still resist their influence, undoubtedly a good thing."

    He paused for emphasis, using precious seconds that I didn''t have.

    "Second. These creatures haven''t attacked yet, that indicates to me that they aren''t very powerful. A single human with armor and weapons is enough to scare them..." Pausing again.

    "Now for the bad part. Like I said their powers grow more effective with proximity so they might be intimidated by seeing your resistance so far, but the more likely response for a magical beast would of course be to...

    "Attack?" I finished his sentence for him.

    As if right on cue, the monsters shrieked and skittered in the darkness towards me.

 Ch 61. Fight in the Dark

    The soul creatures scratched against my armor, causing my mind to roil from the contact. Their powers swaying my will, forgetting myself for the briefest of moments before I awoke, cleaving whatever beast held me in the dark with a strike that left a sickening sound in my ears.

    Hearing a shriek of fear in the dark as the rest of the group recoiled, surprised to see my retaliation. The mark of a predator that relies on the cooperation of their willing prey.

    Having a bit of space to breath, I fumbling down on the ground. Searching for the slain creature with my hands in the absence of light. Using [inventory] to retrieve the corpse, finally seeing its figure illuminated by the mental space of my skill.

    The creature was short and ugly, almost goblin-like in appearance, but with a far more skinnier frame and dull black skin. Long fingers that turned to needle-like nails at the end. The head was large with virtually no neck to speak of, and it had eyes as large as saucers almost entirely black with oversized pupils. Apparently well adapted to living in the dark.

    At least I knew what I was dealing with... fighting completely blind as I listened to the howling of the enraged pack in the dark as they circled.

    The compulsion to surrender began anew, gritting my teeth while I waited for their magic to fade.

    Hearing a shuffling as the monsters closed towards me again, straining my ears to their limit. Waiting for the first strike. One that never came.

    *ruffle*

    The sound of a dragging body from behind me. Confusion and complacency filling my mind for a split second before my eyes lit up in anger at the realization that they were going for Tristan. Swinging blindly in the dark cutting through another one of the soul disturbing beast.

    They weren''t trying to fight me... they wanted to take the easy meal and run.

    Trying to feel on the ground for where I had left his body, but finding nothing. Panic setting in when I realized they must be carrying him. Straining my ears to the max, honing in on the nearest sounds of movement. Moving as fast as I could and slashing my blade through where I expected it to be. Cutting through another of the creatures, much slower than I was, but having the advantage of the cover of darkness.

    Grabbing at the ground trying to find Tristan, but realizing this wasn''t the one carrying him. Listening to the angry chatter around me, my own anger rushing into my ears as they tried to flee. Honing in on the largest cluster that I could pick up. They were too small, they couldn''t easily carry him away like that without collaborating.

    Dashing forward, and meeting enraged screeches. The creatures had terrifying abilities, but they mitigated their own natural abilities with their low intelligence. Giving away their own positions so easily.

    Even so, I overshot their positions. Tripping over one directly before I even began to swing, falling flat on my face with all of my force behind it. My helmet smashing into my mouth, an iron taste on my tongue.

    The creatures went into a frenzy, stabbing and breaking their needle-like claws against my armor as I lay on the ground. Rolling over and grabbing one of the beasts before pulling it onto my blade. Needle like hands scratching against the visor on my helmet, as one tried to get through what was my biggest weak point. My mental state vanishing for long enough that when I awoke I could feel the claws prickling on my skin, just below the eye. Reacting with a panic as I swung my arm with a sweep from the small round shield I had strapped to my forearm, snapping off its thin fingers caught in the visor.  Grappling with the monster as it tried to recoil away in pain. Grabbing what felt like its neck, I squeezed as hard as I could manage, stabbing with my sword-hand repeatedly until the beast''s gurgling stopped.

    The other monsters retreating again with chatter.

    I searched the ground desperately, only after finding Tristan did I relax enough to breathe. Hearing the creatures take their distance once more, upset that their second attempt had similarly failed, their foot steps retreating further into the night, turning their focus back towards the other group we had left behind.

    The influence of the creature''s magic disappearing along with their presence. A sinking feeling forming in my gut now that I realized what fate I had abandoned those men to. Hearing the monsters shrieks in the distance.

    Picking up Tristan over my shoulder, I continued through the forest as fast as I could in the pitch black night. The darkness was unnatural... or rather supernatural. There should have been at least some light making it through from the stars and moon above, but looking above me I couldn''t see anything but darkness. The canopy that I remembered from the day time wasn''t nearly dense enough to account for this.

    It unnerved me so much that I picked up speed again, stumbling blind through the dark, running into trees but shrugging off the pain, afraid that the monsters would decide to come back, or something worse finding me.

    To my relief, the forest in front of me broke.

    The path opening in what revealed an ocean of tallgrass. After spending time inside the dark of the forest, it was like entering a world of light. The normally golden colored strands of grass glowing pale in the moonlight, my emotions bursting forward like a damn, enough that I felt tears wetting my cheeks.

    Just glad to be alive for the time being, finding a bit of peace in the light of the moon and stars above.

    Taking off through the grass now that I had my vision restored, no obstacles to worry about. Weighed down slightly by having to carry dead weight of a heavily armored body, but feeling as light as I ever had in my life. Adrenaline still pumping in my ears.

    Passing through a colony of sleeping muck rats, scaring them half to death as they scurried about, fleeing and squealing. Running on, their voices faded in the distance.

    The wall of the city visible in the distance, torches illuminating the small gateway.

    I gave a shout when I was near, seeing the two guards peek their heads over the wall from behind their turret.

    Kaguro

 Ch 62. Return of Shame

    The two guards peered over the wall, trying to see who was outside.

    "The young lord?" They called out. Surprised to see anyone traveling by night.

    "Where''s the rest of your group?"

    ...

    "It''s just me... and him." Motioning to my brother''s body slung over my shoulder.

    The small gate creaked open, allowing me to step through.

    The guards staring down at me from their posts. A touch of concern showing on their faces as they climbed down to inspect me. Snapping a quick salute, even if they were only soldiers they knew perfectly well who I was.

    "Are you injured?" One of them asked, looking at the blood on my armor and the blood on Tristan.

    I shook my head, and they seemed somewhat relieved to hear it.

    The two stood around unsure of what to say, given I was technically their superior.

    After some explaining the situation to them, I had them help carry my brother. Bringing a torch from the wall along as we made our way to the mansion.

    A set of knights at the entrance, recognizing who I was near immediately despite my helmet and armor, our torch illuminating us perfectly in the night. Seeing our state they understood that something had happened. Ushering us in so that we could give a report to Jagen, while a pair of soldiers came up to take over care of Tristan, hopefully bringing him to a doctor while I took care of business in the mansion.

    The blood from the monsters still fresh on my armor, tracking in some on the floor as I was led through by the knights, maids appearing with cleaning equipment, somehow already aware that there was a mess needing to be cleaned. Passing through several corridors, familiar enough with the layout by now to know we were headed to the dining area. Sensible enough given the time, Jagen must be having his meal.

    A maid at the door, offered to help me out of my armor, which I agreed. Letting her take off my helmet, she gasped a little in surprise. I did get stabbed through the visor after all, still feeling a bit of a throbbing right under my eye as the maid used a handkerchief to wipe down the blood. Thanking my enhanced constitution for saving me from anything worse.

    With my armor gone, the clothes I wore underneath were relatively clean, only stained by my own sweat and the occasional spot of blood. Enough to be presentable at least. Heading in now that I was ready.

    The entire family was there, including Marcella.

    Belle and Tammy as well, sitting by themselves on one side of the table. Their positions clearly arranged with my presence in mind. Seeing that there was already a place laid out for me. Belle sniffing in the air slightly, seeming to be interested in the blood on me, but frowning when she realized some of it was my own. The small scar on my cheek proof enough.

    While Tammy was quiet, seeming happy to see me but somewhat reserved. Realizing I wasn''t there to escort her back from the guild tonight due to staying out later than I should have, she seemed to have made it back alright. Given that she''d been working a job with such high responsibilities since she was young, she had to have a fairly independent mindset, but for some reason I always felt an urge to protect and shelter her. Looking at her thin frame that she clearly inherited from her mother.

    I stood awkwardly, trying to figure out a way to break the news to Jagen that I''d doomed so many of his precious knights.

    "Take a seat, Keaton." Jagen offered with hospitality.

    "Uh, the truth is..." I started.

    "Oh! I just remembered. That''s right, I have something to show you. So sit, sit." Jagen interrupted again, imploring me to sit.

    I settled down in my chair reluctantly, trying to figure out the best way to explain what had happened to all of the guards.

    "I have a surprise for you, Keaton." Jagen was the first to speak as he motioned to Marcella, who was still sitting next to her elder brother, looking at her plate quietly. An unusual sight to see her so timid.

    "She''s been training to be a wife. Right, Marcella? Why don''t you show your husband what you''ve learned?" He looked genuinely excited.

    She got up from her chair, seemingly humiliated while she walked over to where I was sitting. Positioned as I was between Tammy and Belle, there wasn''t any chair, nor any space for her to sit while her face became even more beet red out of embarrassment. Looking at me with her eyes like she was expecting me to do something.

    "Can I sit?" She finally managed to stammer.

    "There''s no chair though?" Not seeing what she was getting at.

    She pointed to my lap, and I finally realized her intentions. Seeing how Jagen''s wives doted on him during meals, she was trying to do the same.

    Offering my lap, she sat down awkwardly. Before long a maid came and served me a my meal, carving up the meat into bite sized pieces.

    Once the maid was done, Marcella took over, spearing a piece with a fork, and holding it in front of my face clumsily. Opening my mouth to oblige her, but feeling a tinge of guilt at enjoying myself so much like this after leaving so many of Jagen''s men to die.

    Seeing how things were getting, the opportunity to speak up was slipping away from me. Feeling like I shouldn''t say anything that would ruin the meal...

    "We were expecting you sooner, did you encounter any problems?" Jagen inquired finally, saving me from my conundrum.

    Taking the time to chew while I mulled over the best way to explain.

    "That''s one way you could put it... I''d rather explain it in private." I was ashamed at having lost his men, not to mention the issue of Gawn conspiring with Marcella.

    Marcella preparing another forkful as I let her feed me a second bite. Taking it, I chewed thoughtfully.

    "No need for the formalities Keaton, you know we''re all family here." Jagen added disarmingly, putting me on the spot with his good nature.

    "We ran into some really strange monsters." I finally said with hesitation.

    "I wager there were some casualties? Don''t worry about it... how bad was it?" Jagen raised an eye, but didn''t seem overly concerned. Entirely used to losing men on these types of excursions.

    "Pretty much everyone aside from me is dead." I said abruptly.

    Jagen who was sipping on his wine spit out suddenly, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head.

    Marcella stopped her hand with the fork, forgetting what she had been doing as she turned her head to look at me.

    "Everyone?" Jagen asked, afraid he had misheard.

    "I''m afraid so... " I continued.

    "Everyone?" Marcella spoke up this time, sounding even more shocked than her father.

    Kaguro

 Ch 63. Breaking Bad News

    "Dead? All of them?" Jagen seemed to doubt his ears.

    Marcella was perhaps even more shocked, still seated in my lap, but leaning to the side and turning her neck so that she could look at me. Seeing perfectly well that I wasn''t joking. Seeing her face as pale as a ghost, not ready to accept the situation.

    "I''m sorry, but that''s most likely the case... we encountered monsters that had some form of special powers."

    Explaining the events of the night while simultaneously smoothing over the most unflattering of my own actions. Careful to not intentionally lie, but seeing a need to paint myself in an unnecessarily negative light. Given that the only other living witness was my brother, he had no reason to contradict me.

    Jagen was upset, but also burning with interest over what these creatures were that had power over the minds of an entire group. Focusing his anger on these monsters, rather than on me. Which luckily enough, I even had a specimen to show him.

    Materializing the small goblin-like creature onto the floor, no longer worried about derailing the meal given how the atmosphere had already taken a turn for the worse.

    Jagen had no idea what it was, but both Marcella and her mother seemed to recognize it, being the veteran adventurers of our dinner table.

    "Dream eaters." Marcella''s mother spoke up, apparently familiar with what these were. Marcella too emotional right now to speak, collapsing into my chest tiredly as her mother continued to explain about the creatures.

    A type of monster that had an awful reputation among adventurers. Difficult to deal with, requiring very specialized equipment that practically nobody had the ability to bring along for general expeditions. Given how difficult it was to mount a defense, most groups would be wiped out without any chance at all.

    "I suppose it''s good that you''re safe. I would hate for my new son-in-law to die just after his wedding night... we haven''t even held the ceremony yet." Having moved up the bedding before the actual ceremony itself.

    Even saying that, Jagen looked understandably upset as I extended my sympathies. His face casting a frown as he contemplated to himself.

    Five knights, eleven soldiers. A tremendous loss for a frontier town like this. Maybe not so much for the loss of life, but the weapons and armor of the knights were all as expensive as my own. Training knights up was a lengthy process, but the real loss to the territory was that their gear was irrecoverable. A knight might be more skilled than a soldier, but the difference between a knight and soldier was mainly made up by their gear.

    Today''s loss must have been over a thousand gold, truly feeling sorry for him.

    "I''ve been doing this for twenty years, and it never gets any easier. Always hurts to lose good men." Jagen finally spoke, breaking his moment of silence. A hint of tears in his eyes.

    Jagen tried inquiring the identities of which knights were the ones who went with me, while I just stared dumbly at him. He really expected me to know all of their names? I suppose with his experience leading troops he really had a firm attachment to them.

    A little flustered at being put on the spot, since I honestly had no clue who most of them were. To me they were just soldiers.

    This seemed to irk Jagen somewhat but he didn''t particularly pursue it. It wouldn''t be hard to figure out their names from a little bit of asking around with the troops.

    But actually there was one name that I remembered. Thinking of the incident with the treant, the man''s obvious hostilities, and the letter he received.

    "Gawn. One of the knights, had that name. You''ll have to ask about the others."

    Jagen seemed to perk his ears up at that, while Marcella looked like her strings were cut.

    "He was there?" Jagen seemed a little disappointed once again.

    "Gawn was one of our best... Keaton, I''m sorry to say, but don''t go exploring like that anymore. There''s always a risk when I send my men out those gates, I can accept that. But you''re a mage Keaton, and a space mage at that. There''s no reason to send you out there as well. I believe it''s important that you can defend yourself... but that''s not your role." He said sternly, not particularly upset with me, but lecturing me sternly about accepting the reality of my new role.

    My face sank, those expeditions were my ticket to greater power.

    "You know that I''m an adventurer too. I have my own pride." I argued weakly. Realistically speaking he was right. No real space mage had a reason to be doing the things I did, to him it just looked like I was thrill seeking. And after today''s consequences that just looked suicidal.

    "Keaton, enough. Consider things from my perspective. This is for your own good." Jagen was starting to get angry at me, something I wanted to avoid. Accepting his terms with a grit of my teeth, irritated at how things had turned out for me. Even if I knew I had pushed my luck too much.

    I did feel some responsibility for what had happened, but losing the support of the guards wasn''t ideal. I''d be stuck in stagnation. Maybe I couldn''t get back in his good graces, but I didn''t have to be the only one getting chewed out. Remembering the day''s events with a hint of irritation.

    Marcella who had been completely lost in her own world finally seemed to regain her senses. Trying to sit up, but failing. Everyone was aware of her odd reactions, but nobody was sure what exactly this issue was yet. More interested in my own story than hers.

    Seeing her act like this just increased my irritation. That letter. Gawn trying to kill me. Losing all the knights. Losing the right to leave the safety of town. Nothing today was going right.

    My gaze shifting towards Marcella who was still on my lap. Originally I had planned to confront her in private, but my feelings had changed.

    "Are you crying over Gawn?" I asked her, loud enough for everyone to hear. My patience for this had long passed.

    She just cried, hearing his name.

    "He told me he loved you," I decided to push her a step further.

    At this point she was unconsolable. Being told her crush had died by the very person she hated most. Perhaps if I didn''t come along they really did have a chance of being together, but with my being a ''space mage'', there was no reason for her father to hesitate. Marrying his high-born mage daughter off to a mere knight would be practically an insult to his family. But if Gawn could accrue merits with his abilities he did have the opportunity to earn territory for himself.

    Jagen himself looked like he knew about this, seeing the dark and furious look below a feigned veil of politeness.

    "Do you still love him?" I asked again.

    At this point I was speaking only for the benefit of those present, not particularly caring for how she reacted. Trying to think of the most damaging things that I could to prove her guilt. Deciding to expose it all.

 Ch 64. Consequences

    "Do you still love him?" I asked.

    The truth apparent enough even without her answer.

    "Did you ask him to kill me? He tried you know."

    Marcella was too emotional to answer, but by now Jagen was demanding answers. I decided to lay everything bare, explaining what I knew before leaving the rest up to them to figure out.

    Getting up with a sneer on my face, signaling for Tammy and Belle to follow my lead. All of us leaving the table as one, leaving the family to sort things out. Consequences be damned.

    Jagen''s booming voice audible from outside the hall.

    Retiring to our guest room as I felt the exhaustion sink in from the day''s events. Making it over to a wall mirror.

    My relations with the Marcets might be up to fate, but my fate was in my own hands. Looking at my reflection in the mirror with a smirk.

    I finally had my first tier three ability, but it was one that didn''t particularly catch my attention. [Soft Steps] looked like some sort of stealth or mobility skill, not something that particularly fit in with my normal way of fighting, but given it was third tier it should be a passive skill if the System was right about the alternating pattern that skills followed. He was right so far, so there was no reason to doubt him.

    Meanwhile I had a second skill, [Quick Steps], which sounded like another mobility type ability, but this time it was an active skill.

    I wasn''t entirely disappointed, even if I was hoping for ones that were more suited for combat, mobility skills still allowed me more options than before.

    Moving onto the character window, with another level under my belt I was now sitting on twenty free points to spend on attributes. After tonight''s harrowing experience, I really wanted to invest points into charisma and intelligence. Having tasted the fear that manipulation type abilities could impart, I needed some way to counteract their effects. Higher charisma would apparently give me more defense against soul type abilities, while intelligence would help against mental attacks. Of course I was still interested in wisdom, for the memory and enhancements to sensing and detection, something that would probably help against illusion type attacks.

    I may have a good base for constitution, but today taught me that things were never that simple.

    ...

    Putting away my mirror, I let out a sigh. I needed to raise those three as far as I could on my own before investing any points, anything less would be a waste of my potential. With my constitution I could be living for hundreds, if not thousands of years. I needed to have a mentality for growth that matched that outlook.

    Maybe it wouldn''t be such a bad thing to do as Jagen said, enjoy the slow life a little more. I could raise my power without jeopardizing my life, and if I slowed leveling I would have more time to prepare for facing against the Goddess'' followers before they realized anything was wrong. Besides, I did have that new alchemist ability [Cultivation], and now that I had an explanation from the system I felt confident that even if I couldn''t hunt, I''d still be able to gain a steady stream of experience.

    My tension too high until now to even notice that both Belle and Tammy were competing for my attention. Belle had stripped down to her lingerie, white laced bra and garter belt with transparent pink panties. Purring seductively on the bed. While Tammy was completely nude, finished stripping. Her small breasts visible in the wall mirror as she approached. Hugging me from behind.

    "Don''t worry Keaton. We''re still here for you."

    Her words just reminded me more of what had happened. Did Marcella really hate me enough to have Gawn try to kill me? She did seem to act rather impulsively, even more than myself...

    What Marcella did had upset me, but she''d always been so cold to me that it was hard for any attachment to take root.

    Suddenly there was a knock on the door. A few seconds passing before someone opened it on their own. Not waiting for our response.

    In walked Cal, a surprisingly concerned look on his face. I expected him to be rather happy with all the trouble Marcella was getting into.

    "My bad. Am I interrupting anything?" He remarked, somewhat half-heartedly. Enjoying paying me back for the last time I barged in on his fun, but something clearly on his mind.

    "Not really..." Materializing a sheet and passing it to Tammy behind me. Belle already having covered herself with blankets on the bed.

    "So. What did you want? Passing some information from your dad?"

    "I do have some news... but more than that I have something to ask of you." Cal sounded unusually earnest.

 Ch 65. Negotiations

    "Keaton you said you would do me a favor, right? Were you being serious, when you said it could be anything?" Cal seemed nervous saying this.

    "Yeah, I meant it. I haven''t forgotten either. You''re here to ask for a favor?" I studied his face inquisitively.

    The normally cool and collected playboy fidgeting anxiously.

    "You could say that. Look... Father is really upset about what Marcella did. Normally that would make me happy..."

    I suppose that means he isn''t happy. A little curious as to why, I willingly bit the hook.

    "And..?" I prompted him to continue.

    "He wants to make amends..."

    "Well, that much should be obvious." I said with a bit of ridicule, even if he was my friend I wouldn''t let myself be shorted out of a fair deal. Their daughter tried to have me killed by her secret ''admirer''.

    As it stood, this marriage was a mess. Consummating the marriage had made things a little complicated from my end, but they''d done more than enough for me to justify walking away. I would have some bitterness, given I was planning to rely on their family for my introduction to high life in the capital, but if I needed to find backers on my own, I probably wouldn''t have too much trouble.

    "Marcella hasn''t been the ideal wife, he can acknowledge that much, but this is too serious of an issue... even if she maintained her virginity for you, it''s true that she wasn''t entirely faithful either. Everyone saw how she reacted and we can acknowledge that much... but the issue about the attempt on your life is even more serious..."

    Cal took a breath, leaning in to whisper in my ear. Seeming to be something sensitive that he didn''t want any maids outside the door to hear, or even my girls, maybe thinking they would possibly gossip.

    "Under more normal circumstances, Marcella would be punished severely for this."

    "I take it these aren''t normal circumstances?" A little annoyed at the idea that nothing would happen to her for plotting to have me killed.

    "We''ve already tried the normal approach. But things are rather complicated because she''s a mage. I assume you''ve seen a demonstration of her power? She''s a fire mage, so right now we''ve already pushed her as much as we''re willing. To be honest any further and we''d have to seal her ability to use magic."

    Seal her power? My ears rung at the words, that was even possible? Unfamiliar as I was with the world of mages. Meanwhile, Cal continued on.

    "If we were to do that, we''d need your absolute commitment to the family. Father promised her to you with the expectation that she''d still be a resource for the family. If we need to cut off her contribution we''re putting ourselves at far more risk in this marriage. A space mage is worth far more than a fire mage, that much is true, but a fire mage is worth far more to us than nothing."

    "You can''t be serious, Cal. After all of that, it sounds like I''m the one being punished. You want me to make those kinds of promises... what if I just refuse? What benefit is there for me to go along with this, friendship alone is not going to cut it."

    "I''m getting to that... the things that she''s done has damaged our relationship, so we need another way to tie you in." he said rather annoyed.

    "Father wants you to marry Kaya, you''ll be taking her as a second wife."

    My eyes lit up in surprise.

    "I''d have both of them?" A bit of greed showing in my tone of voice.

    This really seem to set him off.

    "No. And that reaction is precisely why I wanted to talk with you before father. You made a promise, and now I want to know how much your word is worth. Keaton, you can''t marry Kaya... and I swear if you do." His vaguely threatening tone showing just how much he cared about his true sister.

    It wasn''t particularly a big deal to me. Kaya was a pretty girl, but she didn''t mean anything to me. Up until Marcella tried to sacrifice her as a replacement, the idea of having her as a spouse hadn''t even crossed my mind.

    "Fine, but I''m not making any promises about Marcella." I replied with ambivalence. I didn''t care about Kaya, and dealing with Marcella had become something of a headache. Feeling a bit resentful about the attempted murder, but having half the mind to just walk away.

    His face finally eased.

    "I have to ask why you''re asking me to refuse though? There''s really not much to tie our families together now. Marcella made it clear she doesn''t like me, her companion tried to kill me, you''re unwilling to punish her anymore severely. This would normally annul the marriage. I suppose you could just hire me, but I doubt you could give a competitive rate."

    "I''m going to be the one to marry Kaya." He said as a matter of fact.

    Marry his own sister? Raising my eyes in surprise. It was a dying trend among nobility, but one that still existed for sure. Living proof in front of me.

    Trying to think of it from Cal''s perspective, he''s tasted countless women, but always seemed protective of Kaya, maybe he could only feel intimate with her?

    Giving a shrug as I stopped thinking about it any further. Not my problem after all.

    Worse comes to worst, I could find some influential family in the capital to marry into. The main advantage from the Marcet family had been the easy access to hunting grounds, and perhaps my lingering sentimental attachments to the town that I had grown up in. With the loss of the troop''s support during hunts there really was no real merit anymore for me, and my responsibilities towards the Marcets had become somewhat murky due to Marcella''s actions. I had a choice to leave or stay laid out before me.

    Deciding that I would play it by ear, extracting whatever benefits I could for the time being. I was Cal''s friend, but it should always be a two way street between us.

    "If you accept these terms I can make a few promises. First, if it''s to your liking, we can seal her magic. You need to keep the fact that we''re even considering this quiet from Marcella for the time being, for obvious reasons." He kept mentioning this method, but I was honestly quite interested in how you could seal a magic users powers.

    "How on earth do you seal a magic user''s powers? This is the first time I''m even hearing of it."

    "Lazuli Stone. It disrupts magical source. Grind it up and feed it to them and it seals their powers for a few days. Make them wear the stone directly on their skin, it will seal their powers for as long as the contact remains. Graft the stone to their skin and practically speaking they''ll never be free of it. A tattoo if you will."

    Fascinated by what he was saying, I would need to experiment with this on my own. I was curious whether it was possible to use skills even when exposed to this stone. Maybe I could use this as something of a special weapon against mages.

    "Second, I can make you those potions. Not just the poison elixirs, but even all of the ones you saw earlier. If you help me marry Kaya, I will dedicate myself to this task. Consider this me sweetening the pot. I think even the big families in the capital wouldn''t offer something crazy like a dedicated personal alchemist. I swear I''ll do this for a five year term, this should be worth at least a few thousands of gold to you, if not more."

    Seeing my interest already hooked somewhat, he pressed on. A hint of desperation in his voice.

    Cal was really willing to do all of that just to be able to marry her? I thought it was a little much but he seemed extremely serious about it.

    "Third... I won''t say anything about whatever it is you''re up to. You know what I mean." His voice becoming much more serious.

    I narrowed my eyes. That sounded an awful lot like a threat.

    Kaguro

 Ch 66. Pawns on the Table

    "Third... I won''t say anything about whatever it is you''re doing. You know what I mean." Cal''s voice becoming much more serious.

    Hearing something that sounded an awfully lot like a threat.

    "Is that a threat?" Focusing in on his face as I watched beads of cold sweat appear.

    He looked nervous before steeling himself, conviction filling his eyes.

    "You drank those poison elixirs like water. I don''t know what you''re involved in, black magic, rituals. Hell, Keaton, I don''t care if you''re an actual demon. Help me marry Kaya and I''ll do anything. Don''t and I''ll... I''ll..."

    Cal said while trailing off. His expression hardening, trying to intimidate me while I couldn''t hardy believe what he was doing. His nerve faltering as he noticed I remained unconvinced.

    Dropping to his hands and knees without warning, bowing his head, and resorting to begging at my feet. The normally handsome, cool, and collected Cal nowhere to be seen.

    "Please Keaton. I only have one chance for this. I never thought it was possible before but then you came along and everything keeps changing. Father would never allow it under normal circumstances, but if you make it a condition right now then he''ll consider it. Please do this for me. I can''t bear the thought of her marrying another man!"

    He was speaking at a million words a minute while he begged in the most humiliating way possible.

    A little disgusted by the lack of dignity. But it wasn''t as if I was completely unsympathetic. He''d never really asked anything of me before, and I did make him a promise.

    "Cal." I tried stopping him, not able to bear seeing my friend in this state.

    "Keaton... please..."

    "Cal. It''s fine. I''ll do it."

    "I''ll-- wait, you will?"

    "Yeah, it''s fine. Relax. I''ll talk to your father."

    He raised his head, tears running down his face while he looked at me.

    "Keaton!"

    Grabbing me in a hug, he sobbed on my shoulder. Tears and snot getting on my clothes, while I felt a mix of discomfort and disgust.

    "It''s fine." I said, pushing him away again, materializing a towel, and throwing it to him. Letting him wipe the snot off his face off and collect some of the dignity he had lost. His normally handsome figure somewhat of a mess.

    Waiting while he wiped his face of tears and blew his nose into the towel, trying to hand it back to me, which I just stared at in disbelief.

    Seeing something of a grin forming on his face, I was a bit annoyed at how quickly he shifted back to his usual self.

    "Keaton. I''ll remember this debt all my life."

    Feeling a bit embarrassed by how sincere he was being I just waved it off.

    Finally getting him to leave before another knock rang out from the door. Hearing Jagen''s voice asking for permission to enter.

    Letting out a sigh as I bid him to enter.

    The mood in the room had just started to return too, Belle and Tammy both hiding under the covers, completely nude. Was this a common occurrence in this mansion? Starting to pine for the old converted farmhouse where we at least had some privacy.

    Jagen was the first to bring up Kaya''s marriage. Offering her to me in addition to Marcella, as part of an apology for her behavior so far. His idea was that Kaya would serve the role of a proper wife, while Marcella would be a wife in name only. That way he could preserve her usefulness as a mage, and the dignity of the family along with it. All while keeping me as a son-in-law. Marcella would be free to do as she liked. She would still need to bear me children, but they would let her live in relative freedom.

    Like Cal said, Marcella being a mage really had complicated things. It seems like Jagen had fully expected his daughter to do her duty as a wife, our match-making would have made him an extremely influential figure in the kingdom''s political landscape, but Marcella proved to be just too free spirited. Her way of rebelling had crossed a line at trying to threaten my life, but unless I fully committed to the family, they were uncomfortable with the idea of crippling her magical talent, and Jagen''s word here was law, if he wanted to preserve Marcella then there was practically nothing I could do in the matter. Unless royalty got involved, he was the judge, jury, executioner.

    I rejected his offer, something that clearly upset him. Probably thinking in his mind that I was seeking to annul the wedding just a day after bedding the gemstone of his family. Relieved instead to hear that I had terms, which meant to him that I was still willing to talk things out. Laying out the bargain Cal and I had struck earlier.

    If they sealed Marcella''s magical talent, she''d be somewhat more manageable, but a large part of the reason I married her in the first place was precisely that magic of hers. She was the first mage I had ever laid eyes on, plus she was even an adventurer. Our talents and ambitions were mutually compatible, if only we saw things the same.

    Letting out a bit of a sigh.

    Cal assured me they were already in discussions for sealing her powers, unknown pretty much only to Marcella herself. But in the end I didn''t get any promises, neither of us particularly pushing hard for such an option.

    Even so, he promised that he would make things right and I fully expect him to do so. And if not... well, there wouldn''t be too much tying me down to the Marcet family in that case. I simply needed to find another family to back me.

    Finally, I laid out setting up an arrangement between Kaya and Cal. Something that immediately tipped Jagen off to the fact that these terms had already been pre-arranged between Cal and I. Something that didn''t particularly surprise him, especially after I revealed what Cal had offered, the five year term as my exclusive potion-maker.

    Apparently Cal had discussed marrying Kaya before with him, something that Jagen shot down with prejudice. Marrying inward didn''t benefit their family at all politically, so it hadn''t been a serious point of consideration in the first place.

    But if I really wanted that as a term, then he wouldn''t particularly object. On the other hand, he didn''t outright agree either. Saying he would consider the matter. Leaving Marcella and Kaya as pawns on the negotiating table, while we left deadlocked. Both of their fates left with a great deal of uncertainty.

    Jagen departing for the evening and finally leaving us with a bit of peace and quiet for us to relax for the night. Looking at Tammy and Belle smiling coyly from the blankets while I just sighed.

    It was going to be pretty tough to restore the mood after all the things that had happened.

    Kaguro

 Ch 67. Belle and Tammy

    Things finally started to calm down. Expecting no more guests for the night, I tried to get my mind off of Marcella.

    Having to consider what she really meant to me, I was feeling increasingly conflicted inside. At first I thought I loved her, something inside of me telling me that if I just tried to woo her she would be mine. But she kept rejecting me at every turn.

    To be honest, I really did want to stay with the Marcets. It was comfortable here, far more than anything that I have ever experienced before. But this marriage had also been stressful for me, moreso than I had ever imagined. Thinking of the things that could have been different, and what I could have done differently.

    Maybe I wasn''t her ideal man, but wasn''t I better than some ridiculous knight? My pride hurt a little bit, and bubbles of malice rising up as I brooded.

    Still having some lingering attachments and desire towards Marcella.  I wanted her, but her father was rather obstinate against anything that would cripple her direct contributions to the family without appropriate assurances. What those assurances were had yet to be seen, given that Jagen was still undecided on the whole matter, and without knowing his own terms I had no way to pass judgement. Leaving me in a state of uncertainty.

    The whole ordeal seeming rather backwards and unfair to me, she can try to kill me in some secret plot and nothing happens? If it wasn''t for Cal''s plea, and owing him a favor, I had half a mind to walk away entirely.

    "Keaton?" Tammy called from the bed. Concern showing in her voice.

    "Are you alright?" She asked softly.

    "Mm." I replied. Still lost in my thoughts.

    "Come to bed." She patted the soft cushions, beckoning me over to where Belle and her were waiting. Trying to set the mood.

    "Sorry Tammy, not today... I need some time to sort out my thoughts."

    She looked a little disappointed, not complaining but whispering to Belle. The two of them giggling.

    I looked at them curiously, the two of them seemed to be getting along well lately.

    "You all know how my day went, I hope yours went better?"

    It turns out, Tammy had gotten a letter reply from the guild master giving her the authority to appoint a replacement. She even knew who she would pick. Following the standard procedure of appointing a crippled adventurer. Happy at the news, but frowning a bit at the guild master''s complete lack of interest in the management of this city''s branch.

    "Does he care at all about his job? He still makes you do everything, even now."

    Tammy quieted down at that remark, looking at me seriously. Handing me the letter he sent her.

    Taking a few moments to read the folded parchment.

    He wanted to come here? To meet me? But why?

    Frowning at the revelation.

    "He couldn''t be objecting to our relationship, could he?"

    I don''t care if we was the guild master, I wouldn''t stand for it. I''d see him dead if he tried, consequences be damned. My temper starting to rise again just after settling down.

    "It''s going to be alright Keaton, I''m your''s forever." She said while stroking my arm as she tried to reassure me.

    This wasn''t doing any good for my nerves.

    But now that Tammy''s job was over, and now that I had lost the troop support, we would probably have a lot more time to spend together. Smiling a bit when I thought of the possibilities.

    "How about you Belle?" I finally turned to her.

    She looked pouty, unhappy that I had asked her second.

    "Belle learned to read a story," she said boastfully. Incredibly proud of herself, her tail swishing back and forth energetically. A pink ribbon tied neatly at the end, reminding me of the time I bought that for her.

    It was nice to see her so happy, but I did sneer a bit in my mind. It''s true she was doing pretty well learning to read, she''d only been learning for what... two weeks? And in that time she learned her letters well enough to read children''s stories. Impressive, but seeing her get so happy about reading children''s stories was still somewhat comical to me.

    "That''s nice Belle..." I said while stroking her hair, scratching behind her ears while they twitched in pleasure.

    "What story did you read?"

    Trying to encourage her in my own way.

    "Nnya. Belle thinks it was..." she said while pausing cutely, posing with a finger on her cheek.

    "Southern Kingdoms: History of the Triumvirate"

    I looked at her a bit confused. That sounded more like an administrative text than a children''s story.

    "Are you sure, Belle?"

    "Belle thinks so, they had those three brothers who fought even though they were brothers and split the country up. Belle thinks that''s so sad."

    She really read that? I thought with some incredulity.

    "Did the maid read that for you?"

    She pouted after hearing that, puffing up her cheeks angrily. Narrowing her eyes at me accusingly.

    "Master rude. Belle said Belle read on her own... Master doesn''t believe Belle?"

    She was being serious?

    It had only been two weeks since I let her see the book on the letters and the common tongue, how is this supposed to be even remotely possible?

    Summoning out the medical and anatomy textbook I had read for myself about a week prior.

    "If you''re not lying, try reading this." Flipping to a random spot in the book before handing it off to her.

    "It says... humans do not have a nyana... nn... nnana core, and are not capable of forming a one..." Seeing her struggle to pronounce the word but reading it well enough.

    "This is the main difference between magical beasts and humans..."

    "Nnana cores are thought to be capable of generating... m...mana" Getting the pronunciation of the word right this time with great difficulty, not due to her unfamiliarity, but rather due to her trying to hide her catkin accent.

    "Although this has not been proven."

    "Mana cores are fragile and cannot maintain themselves in a completely mana devoid environment. Which is why powerful magic beasts naturally avoid... mana poor regions."

    "In place of a... mana core.... humans have... mana organs. This organ is roughly the size of a pea, and is located around the navel region, it believed to be what allows humans the ability absorb... mana from the environment." She finally finished, closing the book proudly. Puffing out her chest; breasts jiggling due to her nudity.

    Despite struggling on that one particular word, she really did read the passage flawlessly.

    Staring at her with a bit of shock, as I tried to comprehend how this was possible.

    Kaguro

 Ch 68. An unexpected talent

    "How did you do that Belle?"

    "Belle looked at the page and read the words, how does master not know that?" She eyed me suspiciously. Looking at me like she was looking at an idiot.

    "You''ve only been learning for two weeks, Belle."

    "Two weeks?" Tammy finally chimed in, picking up on why I was nearly having a fit.

    No matter how I thought about it Belle shouldn''t be able to do that, no offense to her, but she wasn''t anywhere near that intelligent.

    She couldn''t be a secret genius, could she?

    Getting some suspicions based on what I knew about attributes and my system. Her perception was incredible, she spotted an actively camouflaged monster from a hundred meters away. Perception and sensory abilities fell under the effects wisdom, which also had an effect on memory enhancement. She was already a native speaker... could it be that she was just able to memorize the words?

    Even so, how high would her wisdom have to be? Mid twenties possibly? Higher? An unexpected talent to be sure.

    Beastkin all had pretty good senses, which by the system''s logic should mean they all had good memory as well? A little unclear on how the same attribute could cover so many different aspects at the same time. Even so, this was beyond anything I had heard about beastkin, Belle''s aptitude being clearly beyond the norm.

    Belle seemed to be having an especially good time after showing me up, sighing while I let Belle have her moment before tucking in for the night.

    With things calmed down, the three of us snuggled together comfortably. Just their presence alone reassuring to me as I closed my eyes, forgetting my worries from the day. Listening to their soft breathing as I drifted away into slumber.

    By now I had grown used to only sleeping for two to three hours a night. Having naturally woken up far earlier than the two girls who were still sound asleep. They shifted around some from my absence, but didn''t seem to wake. Belle sleep-wiggling towards Tammy''s side of the bed now that she no longer had me to lay next to.

    Taking out a pile of slime mana cores, and beginning to cultivate silently. Now that I knew what the skill did, I had no problems maxing the skill level out with another nine point investment. Focusing in on the warm flow of energy traveling up my arm, through my heart, feeling it spreading throughout, before finally gathering to rest at my navel. The process calming and therapeutic to me; a needed distraction from my worries.

    When the first bits of morning light started to brighten up the room, Tammy was the first to stir. Her body''s natural alarm clock having been set to a consistent time due to her regular work hours. Seeing her realize that she had glued herself to Belle during the night, her arms and legs wrapped around her like Belle was a living kitty-pillow.

    Embarrassed by the revelation at first, with her face turning even more red when she realized that I had been watching her the whole time. Responding to embarrassment with a simple smirk.

    Tammy finally rolled out of the bed and woke up the clueless Belle in the process. Which was what we needed to do anyway, all of us getting ready for the day before heading off to the dining room. Enjoying a meal in relative solitude, leaving me to wonder where all of the Marcets had gone.

    One of the maids finally explaining to me that they were keeping Marcella locked in her room for the time being, while Jagen and his wives were busy discussing what to do with her. Meaning the only people up and about should be Cal, Kaya, and Marcella''s older brother.

    Thinking about it, maybe they were even trying to see if they could validate any parts of my story to see if I was indeed telling the truth. I''ll admit my evidence was rather flimsy, seeing it was mostly testimony based, and my only living witness to the actual event was my brother. Even so, Marcella''s reaction last night had made my job much easier, making it clear that Gawn had been someone special to her. Most importantly, the letter Gawn received yesterday was witnessed by several members. Dozens of knights could probably testify to seeing him with it, something that would help my side of the story a lot.

    Circumstantial evidence at best, but my side was clearly more convincing.

    Sighing and putting it out of my mind for the time being.  With things still up in the air, it was difficult to commit to anything, forcing me to adopt a wait and see attitude.

    With our meal finished the three of us headed off together to fill the vacancy left by Tammy''s resignation.

    Now that we had the go-ahead from the guild master, it was just a matter of tracking down this crippled adventurer. A man by the name of Emmet, a former silver rank who had lost his leg a number of years ago and fallen on rough times because of it. Had the guild master not been playing favorites, he probably would have been the clerk all this time. Even so, when we found him he showed nothing but gratitude to Tammy for choosing him to be her successor.

    The whole exchange seemed to put a warm feeling in my belly, like we had just done a good deed for the day.

    Now we were left with an entire day to spend. No schedule, and no responsibilities to speak of. All of our minds in sync as we decided to pay a visit to our proper home, the renovated farmhouse Cal had lent me before.

    Opening the door with a bit of a creak, the room was a tad cold compared to the lively and lived-in Marcet family mansion. Even so, Spring was in the air. Not having had any morning frosts for a number of days, the temperature didn''t seem so cold to me anymore. And in a few moments we had a newly lit fire roaring in the fireplace, the room quickly rising to a comfortable temperature.

    Tammy whispering in my ear that she wanted to do something for me. Heading to the bedside and allowing her undo my belt buckle while her fingers moved excitedly.

 Ch 69. Tammy and Belleâ€™s Service (R-18)

    Tammy undid my belt as I sat on the bed, revealing to her my excitement once she succeeded with unfastening it. She smiled coyly before continuing on until I was undressed fully, taking time with each article of clothing.

    She was wearing that out of season sun-dress she liked so much.

    "Tammy, you really seem to like that dress, right?"

    She nodded happily.

    "I already liked it before... but this is what I wore when you decided to have me. It has a special meaning now so of course it''s my favorite."

    "I can buy you some new clothes, you know? We can visit Ameliah''s shop sometime. I wanted to pickup some new clothes anyway."

    My wardrobe still being far too little for being the most anticipated debutant in at least a decade.

    "If you want to see me out of this dress, all you needed to do was ask." She leaned forward devilishly, giving me a good look at her braless nipples and disappointing breast size under the loose fitting sun dress.

    Standing back straight and taking the dress straps off her shoulders, lifting her arms up and letting it fall off of her and onto the floor. Her hips small enough from her lithe figure that she could do this.

    Sliding off her panties, and leaving them with the other pile of clothes. Standing completely nude before the bed.

    "You just stay right there." She warned, as I sat at the edge.

    Getting down on her knees, using the clothes as a pad against the rough wooden floor. We had furs and rugs laid out in places, but not directly under the bed itself.

    Tammy started with licking me daintily, my penis reacting in pleasure while she twirled her tongue around the head. Using her utmost attention as she attempted to please me. Warming me up with her tongue while she licked everything.

    She sucked on the tip while her tongue moved around, lowering her mouth on her own so that she could lick every bit of me while her lips applied applied a faint pressure. Her tongue sliding up-and-down, and side-to-side. Each lick eliciting a jolt of pleasure. Slowly, slowly, slowly lowering her mouth down to the base, licking like she was polishing my dick with her tongue all the while sucking gently. Trying her best to coax a favorable reaction.

    Tammy''s eyes glancing up at me every so often to see if I was liking it. My reactions clearly telling her yes.

    Taking a few strands of her hair and parting them out of her way with my hand, letting her suck freely.

    She started bobbing her head between my knees. Sucking harder and harder, working her tongue, encompassing me in the warm embrace of her mouth, as she continued to pick up pace. Sucking greedily, and demanding a dose of milk to drink. Certainly doing her part to earn it.

    Taking my length in entirely, she put her mouth down to the root, licking the shaft while she held herself down. Gagging slightly, but holding strong while she kept a single-minded focus on pleasuring my cock. Looking up at me again with her blue eyes.

    Pulling up again to breath, while I closed my eyes for a minute to enjoy the sensation. Feeling a wet kiss on my tip, and feeling her begin to lick again before taking me back into her mouth.

    Bobbing her head more vigorously than before as she slid up and down. Working her tongue along the shaft and up to the tip as she angled her head to accommodate my full length.

    Noticing my enjoyment, she struck while the iron was hot.

    Sucking and licking on her own while she fit my cock all the way into her throat. My cock twitching with pleasure from wet warmth of her relentless assault.

    Tammy''s every move emitting the love and lust contained in her petite body.

    Her tongue running wild while she shook her head, pleading with her eyes for me to give her mouth a treat.

    My lower half agreeing with her, feeling a burning desire welling up as she coaxed it out of me.

    The pleasure building with every bob of her head as she suckled between my legs.

    She could tell I was getting closer with each lick, increasing her pace to match. Trying her best to push me over the edge of release.

    A burning passion welling up. Starting to cum as Tammy continued to speed up, tasting the cum in her mouth as she bobbed up, bringing the tip of my penis to the tip of her tongue. Rolling it around as she massaged my member in her mouth with lustful movements, not yet swallowing as she tried to get as much as she could. Bringing her delicate fingers below my balls as she tried to encourage more cum out of me.

    Tammy moving her head to suck me from the source, gulping deeply after she had fit all of me in her throat. Feeling the contractions in her throat as she swallowed and sucked. The seductive mink trying to wring me for all I had.

    Pulling herself free only after she was sure she had gotten my last.

    "Thanks for the meal," she said seductively. Smiling brightly at me.

    Tammy looked unbelievably sexy to me right now.

    Reaching my hand out to stroke her hair as she stayed sitting between my knees, kissing and licking my member lovingly.

    Only awoken from our passionate trance by the sound of a frustrated meowling.

    "It''s Belle''s turn now."

    An impatient looking Belle standing in the nude, hands on her hips.

    Tammy not seeming to mind the demanding tone of Belle was giving her, seeing that the two of them got along so well despite being akin to rivals competing for my attention.

    Belle''s competitive spirit had been ignited after watching Tammy''s devoted efforts, following me with a hungry gaze as I moved from the edge of the bed to the center.

    Moving her tail in a carefree manner while climbing up the bed. Her breasts jiggling mesmerizingly while she crawled towards me on her hands and knees.

    Stopping suddenly like she was considering something, turning herself around. Her tail temporarily blocking the view of her privates, raising it upwards intentionally to give me a full view of her glistening sex.

    Backing herself over my erection, starting to lower herself before stopping once again, deciding to back up further. Going back until she was face-to-face with my cock, while her dripping pussy laid out in front of me. Giving off her usual scent of beastly desire, something that was decidedly feminine, and lightly floral. I hadn''t much appreciated this aspect of her until I had something to compare it to; Tammy and Marcella being the first human women I had ever laid with.

    Belle continued to stare obsessively at my cock while licking her lips.

    "Tammy did like this, so Belle will do as well."

    Seeing that that was the case, I decided to lay back comfortably with my hands crossed behind my head. Getting ready to fully enjoy the service.

    Before long I could feel her begin to lick with her hot tongue, several degrees warmer than Tammy''s mouth. Her rough tongue tasting me as she used it like a sponge to clean me up before going the whole way, plunging my dick into the depths of her throat. Using the full length of her tongue to run it along my shaft, while also sucking gently and rhythmically to create a wonderful sensation on my tip. Her tail waving excitedly above me the whole time, while her pussy dripped in front of me.

    Feeling every bit of her tongue as it leaped up and down.

    With my cock still in her mouth, Belle started to back herself up once again. Splaying her hips to the side and arching her back to bring her sex closer to my face. Her tail winding to the back of my neck, giving a tickle as she tried to entice me forward.

    Seeing the not so subtle invitation of her wet pussy in front me, and her whining plea, I smiled a bit at how shameless she could be sometimes.

    Belle, despite her lot in life, had figured out ways to constantly push the boundaries of what she could do without being punished for it. While it would be entirely improper for her to outright demand me to lick her, she could create a situation that revealed her intentions without ever needing her to speak at all.

    I had rarely ever done this for her, but seeing her beg so cutely, even I was tempted to give it a try.

    Giving a test lick, feeling her sex quiver in delight at the touch of my tongue.

    Her strong catkin scent, the proof of her race''s notorious sex drive was almost like perfume that stuck to my tongue, and while it wasn''t entirely unpleasant, the flavor that I could only describe as ''womanly'' faded with time, but the floral undertones stayed persistent.

    Belle noticed I wasn''t continuing, inching herself further back, appealing to me hopefully. Trying to sell me on her pussy. But her body language drooping one she realized I wasn''t interested in going further.

    Having never actually tasted a real human woman''s before, I bid Tammy over to compare, licking her once, purely out of curiosity.

    The taste far more ''normal'' compared to Belle''s, matching closely to what I had imagined, but for me I was still equally uninterested.

    But perhaps luckily for Belle, there was someone here who appeared to be extremely interested. Tammy starting to show a general interest in other women, no matter if it was being licked or doing the licking.

    "Belle, can I lick you?" Tammy asked somewhat hopefully.

    Belle''s ears perking up, before laying flat again. Her tail swishing mischievously.

    "Belle wants master to do it," She replied stubbornly, dashing Tammy''s hopes.

    "Don''t say that Belle, I''m sure you''d like it. Why does it matter if it''s me or Tammy that does it?" I asked.

    Something that really seemed to make her mad, not able to see her face, but able to tell clearly that she was pouting from the angry swishing of her tail.

    "Tammy girl, master boy. How master not know difference between boy and girl?"

    I almost laughed at her response. So it was that... though I suppose I could understand where she was coming from.

    Glancing at Tammy who was clearly disappointed. I could make Belle do it, but Tammy didn''t seem like would like that, seeing that the two were getting along so well normally.

    "Well... that''s fine I guess, Belle. But I''m not going to lick you. So you can either have Tammy lick you or nobody at all." Laying out the situation truthfully for her to consider.

    She whined again, clearly upset that I wasn''t interested in licking her. But Tammy was upset too.

    A long silence passing while Belle considered her options.

    "Tammy Belle''s friend... Belle make exception for Tammy," Belle finally said. Seeming to have picked up on how Tammy was feeling about her presumed rejection. Also noticing that Tammy had become interested in her in a sexual manner, entirely independent of my own involvement.

    All of us shifting positions to accommodate the third person in our act.

    Belle on me with her mouth and tongue, lying down on the bed only propped by her elbows, moving her head with precision while Tammy laid down behind her, her mouth glued to Belle''s pussy as she licked furiously. Doing her best to elicit positive responses from Belle, all in order to prove to Belle that she had made the right decision.

    Belle purring in a low guttural tone that was audible even with her mouth occupied, showing just how much she seemed to like whatever it was Tammy was up to. Feeling the vibrations transmitted throughout her mouth as she licked and sucked on me while purred at the same time.

    The ''purr-job'' feeling insanely good to me, her tongue and mouth vibrating as she moved enthusiastically. Cumming again in no time after being subjected to such other-worldly pleasure. Feeling her lap her tongue at the hot milk, continuing to purr while she took more and more out of me.

    But instead of stopping she began attacking my sensitive spots with intensity, sucking the tip, bobbing up and down to relentlessly with her head, chasing me to the base where she could stick some of her tongue out with her insane tongue''s length, feeling a warm lapping on my ball''s from her efforts.

    Somehow she could vibrate her tongue her in this situation, the purring sound completely muted while her tongue was outside her mouth, but the vibrations were transmitted along my shaft, to my tip, and every time she licked it was like I was being massaged and melted at the same time. Her hot mouth giving me a dirty bath.

    Feeling myself rising up quicker than ever before from this new wonderful sensation.

    Grabbing her head as I came, thrusting as deep as I could while she swallowed my entire length with ease, not letting up on the vibrating tongue bath that was sucking and coaxing my penis even now.

    Bypassing her mouth entirely as I deposited her throat with an amount that seemed almost inhuman, letting out release after release, and watching her throat undulate each time as she swallowed each shot. Going until I was well and truly drained.

    Belle still firmly attached as she continued to chase me after giving her all I had. Even with my enhanced constitution it was too much, the sensitivity to pleasure that I was feeling now at an overwhelming level. Having to fall back and collapse, struggling to recover from such beastial ferocity.

    Belle continuing to purr, much louder now that her mouth was unoccupied. Her predator eyes staring at me with focus while she laid out with her legs spread behind her, simply enjoying Tammy''s treatment for the time being.

    That was the most amazing thing I had ever felt, feeling thankful to Tammy for making this possible in the first place. Previously unaware that Belle could even do something like that with her mouth.

 Ch 70. The Knight Returns

    Somehow or other we had wasted... or should I say enjoyed the entire day cooped up inside.

    Indulging myself in Tammy and Belle''s presence while they reveled in mine. The two of them panting contentedly on the bed as I lay next to them, fully satisfied. Managing to tire out the both of them before succumbing to my own limits. Even for me as I was now, going at it like rabbits for an entire day was as exhausting and gratifying as you would expect.

    The three of us only stopping occasionally to eat, rest, and clean up after ourselves. Ending the day as something that could have probably been spent more productively elsewhere, but leaving none of us with any regrets.

    A satisfying daytime activity that led us all to a particularly restful night and the next morning being spent in leisure, none of us in any hurry. Tammy and I both celebrating our newfound ''freedom'' by lounging around, enjoying our breakfast with nothing to hurry us, appreciating the newfound lack of responsibilities.

    The biggest issue was now trying to figure out what to do with all of our time. We had to make plans or else we''d just end up spending every moment like newly-weds. And without a clear schedule for what to do for the day, Tammy suggested checking back in on how things were going back at the mansion.

    She really wanted us to get a clear commitment or resolution from the Marcet family. The current circumstances put Marcella and I''s relationship under a great deal of uncertainty, not knowing how to even respond because Jagen hadn''t given any clear intentions yet. And for Tammy, as someone who was used to managing to complexities of a guild and organizing hundreds of people, having such a big relationship left up in the air was a major concern.

    One that she intended for me to push to settle instead of leaving it entirely up to the Marcets.

    She didn''t particularly push me in a direction. Somewhat surprising me that she didn''t speak out against Marcella, given that it would be in her own interest to do so. Leaving the decision entirely up to me.

    I knew Tammy was right, but to be honest I was still conflicted about how to resolve the matter. I could understand Jagen''s situation because ultimately I didn''t know a good way handle Marcella either. None of the solutions were going to make both of us happy, but I did feel a degree of obligation already... not to mention the favor called in by Cal.

    Finally agreeing with some reluctance to pay them a visit.

    The mansion appeared to be in an unexpectedly chaotic state. Most of the time soldiers and knights would only hang out around the outside, or were constrained to the barracks, but now the grounds seemed abuzz with them.

    "What''s going on?" I asked one group of guards who were just standing around, half at-attention, despite being on mansion grounds.

    "There were survivors from yesterday''s excursion, two of the knights made it back." One of them explained helpfully. Maybe trying to curry a bit of favor.

    Frowning a little bit to myself as I remembered the slight embellishments I had made in my story to Jagen. The overall story should be solid, but I might be in for a bit of embarrassment. Sighing again in resignation.

    I suppose it was a good thing that anybody survived, not being so callous that I could wish ill on them for finding their way out of that situation alive. It was commendable really.

    I was mostly just surprised that anybody could survive. From the state that the men had been in when I split from the group, they seemed almost certain to die. If I didn''t have some sort of unexplained resistance to the monster''s powers, something I still didn''t understand, I would have been just as dead.

    As for why these survivors returning warranted having so many soldiers milling about, I had a few suspicions, with a certain knight coming to mind. I did tell Jagen that Gawn tried for my life. And if he really was alive then that complicated things well beyond what was currently happening. My word meant more than his, but again his fate was up to Jagen to decide.

    I learned that Jagen had ordered the guards to bar any escape from the two, making my suspicions seem like it was on the mark. Trying to have the knights lead me in, but none of them knowing where exactly in the mansion Jagen and the rest were. Leaving us with no choice but to question every passing guard and maid we came across while wandering the mansion. Eventually being pointed to a room that was guarded by several knights at the door. One of them disappearing inside after spotting us, coming out immediately with Jagen in tow.

    I greeted him cheerfully, but he didn''t seem much in the mood. Not giving me much response while I could tell he had an unusually serious look on his face.

    "Gawn came back this morning... we''re getting his side of the story. And that of the other survivor."

    So it was Gawn, my face sinking now that my suspicions were realized.

    "Well, that''s something." I said with a bit of irritation. The situation with the Marcets suddenly getting a whole lot more complicated.

    "I assume you''ve taken him into custody? He did try to kill me you know" Watching his eyes for any indication of what his decision may be.

    "Keaton, you have my assurance that we''ve taken the appropriate measures. He''ll remain under supervision until I have the full story."

    Something about the look in his eyes bothered me. Tipping me off to the probability that he''d already heard a slightly different story than what I had told him.

    Not necessarily a big problem given the alterations I had made were largely superficial. I didn''t have much to hide after all. Mainly just things that would embarrass my position, like having made them stay out too long, but that was something that may have very well caused the entire unfortunate encounter in the first place. A little bit irritated that someone like Gawn had shown better judgement than me.

    I could already see in Jagen''s eye this was going to be a mess. He obviously cared about his troops opinions on things, so the biggest wildcard was which side the other survivor would pick. Given that he had just went through hell together with Gawn... I could already tell that didn''t bode well.

    Even so, I should have more clout. And if I didn''t leverage my status in these types of situations, then what was the point of having influence?

    Spotting Cal hovering in the background, I decided to leave Jagen to his devices. If he had questions for me then I''d like to at least have some time to collect myself.

    "If all is well then I''ll excuse myself for the time being," bidding Jagen farewell and making a hasty retreat.

    Turning away from the brewing conflict to catch up with my friend.

    Kaguro

 Ch 71. Distractions

    I was relieved to be able to get out of that conversation, thankful to Cal for wandering by.

    Not only was Gawn still alive, he had another witness...

    Of all the people to survive it had to be Gawn of all people, lamenting how complicated this was making things for me.

    "What''s gotten you so worked up?" Cal slapped me on the back hard, trying to cheer me up.

    "My attempted murderer returns safe and sound from the forest, shouldn''t it be obvious why I''m concerned?"

    Seeing me react so seriously, he started getting a little bit concerned himself.

    "You don''t actually think father''s going to side with him do you? You''re overthinking things here."

    From my perspective Cal had an overly positive outlook on this whole thing, but I guess he was seeing what he wanted to. If this falls through Cal''s got the most to lose anyway. He wouldn''t be able to marry Kaya after all, and he seemed to care about that quite a bit.

    "I can think of more than enough he could say to weasel out of responsibility. Not to mention he''s got a witness that probably owes him their life..." The implications of that clear enough. This was undoubtedly a bad thing for the both of us.

    The only good news was that Cal had begun crafting some of those cheap elixirs I had asked him about earlier. Once I had the few he made in his room, I proceeded to downing them in one go, feeling the poison numb my throat all the way down. My constitution taking a few seconds before kicking in fully, working to remove the poison and restore me to normal. As for the effectiveness, there could be no doubt.

    I felt a faint euphoria from the consecutive elixir consumption, similar to how it was spending attribute points. Feeling that I was close to achieving my first natural attribute growth.

    The taste of elixir in my mouth reminding me to offload some of the material I had collected from the living grove. Verifying they were all usable with my identification ability. In the worst case I could just eat the raw material myself, but the huge amount I would need to consume was discouraging.

    With the treant and other monster bodies, not to mention to countless medicinal herbs, the whole lot was probably several hundred gold at the least. Maybe not enough to be worth the deaths of so many knights, but the idea of converting these into a more usable form was something that appealed greatly to me.

    Sighing a bit, being in the mansion was a near constantly reminder of my current predicament.

    "I''m a bit envious of you Cal..." I stated out of the blue, half-jokingly.

    For the longest time he had been my ideal of what I wanted in my life. The power and influence enough to spend life in leisure, doing what you wanted without a care in the world.

    "How so?" He suddenly seemed interested, the closest thing to a complement that I''d given him.

    "I bet this murder scheme business with Marcella and Gawn is the most exciting thing you''ve heard in a long while, right?"

    "That''s not really true, Keaton. I have a lot going on..." He seemed a bit hesitant to share.

    "Like what?" I asked with some skepticism. He''d never shared anything even remotely interesting with me, it was always his glorious conquests of the town''s women.

    He shifted uncomfortably letting his usual serious look return while he elaborated.

    "Murders aren''t anything rare, it happens often in politics... even for people like us. Mother''s family''s almost been wiped out from those kinds of plots."

    Struggling to remember what house she came from, given I never received any education in politics I was basically clueless as to who all these houses were and their histories. Seeming to notice my problem, Cal decided to be helpful.

    "House Orcello. Mother''s from a branch family." Cal added, his guess scarily accurate to what I was thinking.

    "Thanks... I really hope these murders aren''t too common within your own family."

    This whole topic was unexpectedly serious, I mostly was just trying to break the tension when I brought it up, but I didn''t expect Cal would have had those kinds of concerns in his life.

    Cal just shrugged.

    "One of the reasons why father moved all the way out here was to get away from all of it. He used to be fairly influential back when we were still involved in politics back in the capital."

    A second of awkward silence settling between us.

    "Sorry... that was rude of me." Seeing that I had brought up something distasteful I was starting to regret asking. I never expected for such a serious answer.

    With no clear resolution in sight for the continuing problems with Marcella and Gawn, I could only retire with the girls for the day. Hoping that Jagen dealt with the situation judiciously.

    With yet another unplanned day to spend, Tammy and I tried to come up with some ideas. She really wouldn''t mind spending every day like we had yesterday, following her parent''s wishes for a child at the soonest opportunity.  Something that would be a strong tie between us, and pretty much the only thing that would solidify her uncertain status as a concubine. She was watching the deterioration of one of my relationships before her very eyes after all, so it was natural for her to think like this...

    Belle was in favor of that idea too, still not aware of the biological differences between beastkin and humans. She desperately wanted kittens of her own, something that was endearing but also heartbreaking.

    Even so I didn''t want to spend all of my time doing that when I had so much on my mind, eventually the three of us settling on going to see Ameliah''s place. Both girls interested in the idea of me buying them clothes.

    Kaguro

 Ch 72. Not-so-secret Admirer

    Ameliah''s shop never seemed busy but by the number of employees, constantly busying themselves with tailoring work, they didn''t seem to be hurting for money either.

    They seemed to focus more on fashionable and expensive clothes over those wore by commoners. Appealing more to the knights, the lord''s family and the masses of servants. The actual peasants who made up the large portion of the population didn''t buy many clothes, using what they had until holes wore through. It wasn''t that Ameliah wouldn''t accommodate them, but they weren''t her primary customer.

    The exclusivity of the high class fashion from the capital was something that appealed to many of the frontier population, even if it wasn''t something affordable to them. Tammy being all the example needed, her choice of a high quality sundress being well beyond her means at the time. Given that it was still her nicest dress, I thought it was time to change that.

    Relying on Ameliah''s eye and expertise to screen the two girls for new clothes, having them try out various dresses that looked more like they were the kind intended for fancy ladies. Having no real reservations about money, I pampered my two women.

    Throwing in a few options for private enjoyment, having Tammy fitted for lingerie, given she would need custom work to match her modest figure.

    Noticing the shop women looking in envy at the two, and some particularly hard looks being sent Belle''s way.

    Belle was a beastkin slave who was being treated far better than they''d ever get. I couldn''t imagine many of the women working here could afford the clothes they made.

    With the two girls being attended to, Ameliah approached me, placing her hands on my arm intimately.

    "You take great care of your women..." She remarked.

    Raising an eyebrow at her actions. The tone of her voice fairly sensual.

    I''d heard about her reputation from Cal, but she had never come on to me like that before.

    "Mmm, I try to." I replied curtly not giving her anything to go off of, testing just how interested she was in pursuing this. Now that I had some experience under my belt, I wasn''t nearly as excited when women approached me like this. Reminded a bit of how I had met Tammy.

    I didn''t really blame her at all for what she had done. I was actually rather pleased with how things had turned out... but even so, recent events had left me far more apprehensive with women, and I didn''t want too many complicating factors when my life was already so stressed trying to manage three. Most of my stress coming from just one of them.

    Having experienced a girl like Tammy, I realized that I could afford to be selective with which women. And that the dynamic I had always been dealing with no longer applied. They wanted me now more than I wanted them.

    Maybe Tammy was a bit ordinary, but she''d been a good girl. Maybe her intentions were never all that pure, but neither were mine at the time. Reflecting on how much she had benefitted from her timing. She was the first woman to ever approach me after coming into my power. Having wised up a bit, second-comers like Ameliah would never be so lucky...

    Appraising her looks honestly and without any shame at looking. Despite being in her thirties, her figure was great. Long blonde hair, a fit body, and an unmatchable bust. One of the largest pairs I''ve seen. Ameliah definitely wasn''t hard to look at, but she''d need more than that.

    "You''ve been a big help to the store... I think I''d like to show my appreciation."

    She was being pretty aggressive. If she was this assertive it left me wondering why she didn''t have a husband by now. Were her standards too high? Though thinking about it, there weren''t many bachelors wealthier than herself in the town. The number of rich young men was pretty much limited to Cal and I... and maybe Marcella''s older brother too, but I had no idea about his personality was like.

    "What did you have in mind?" I asked her bluntly, enjoying her reaction as she tried to dance around the subject, somehow still not wanting to outright say it. Finally getting her to invite me to her house with clear implications.

    Something for me to consider, but I didn''t really feel like getting myself into another relationship so soon after having one fall apart on me. Ameliah did assure me she had no ulterior motives, like aiming for a concubine spot as Tammy had done, but I had my doubts.

    Belle giving me a weary look, seeing how I was openly flirting with yet another woman, while Tammy looked impassive, not reacting in the slightest. I don''t think she liked it very much, but it was hard for her to complain given how we had met.

    I ended up packing away a number of the purchased goods, storing the clothes in my inventory. Enjoying the amazed reactions of the employees who had never seen my ''magic'' before. Learning after some discussion with an excited store woman that I was becoming something of a folk hero to the more humble townsfolk. By now practically everybody in town had heard about my marriage and extraordinary abilities. I may not have been a peasant, having grown up in a knight household was far better than most, but I was technically a commoner. And even now, until I was conferred a title, I remained a commoner.

    To the masses in Tromwell, mine was the ultimate success story. It invoked the desperate desire that one day their sons would awaken to a latent magical ability and become wealthy nobility overnight.

    For me, it was a bit embarrassing to be admired so openly for something I didn''t really feel I should take full credit for. My powers were artificial, and only existed because of the system''s existence. Even so, it was a nice change of pace to know that there were people who admired me rather than always being looked at with disdain. A small thing that brought a smile to my face.

    Heading out with my two girls hand in hand, walking through town back to our farm home.

    Tammy just happy to receive something from me, while Belle was in a far more mischievous mood. Catching her sneaking glances at me from time to time.

    "Is something the matter Belle?"

    "She likes you master, " Belle said while smiling wickedly while referring to Ameliah in the shop.

    "Was it that obvious?" I asked.

    "Belle could smell it." She replied, wiggling her nose confidently.

    Ah, that explains it.

    Even after all this time together, Belle still somehow managed to surprise me from time to time.

 Ch 73. Gathering Storm

    Despite the lack of any responsibilities I felt more stressed than ever before.

    With both Marcella and Gawn on trial I was undergoing a constant stream of questioning and secret negotiations from Jagen. His often pointed questions making me almost feel like I was the one on trial.

    The politics of the situation giving me a growing headache. Politics and deal-making were something I had no talent or desire for, but with my new position and the situation I found myself in it seemed like it was inescapable. Had it not been for the obligation I felt to my friend, I would have considered leaving it all for a better deal.

    A week passing under the constant stress while I drowned myself in elixirs like they were liquor. A small silver lining with Cal making use of the various monster parts and precious herbs I had brought him. After so many days of consumption of regular and poison elixirs alike, I had managed to bring up my intelligence, wisdom, and charisma enough that the change was registered in the system.

    Looking at my three gained points in wistfully. It felt nice to improve myself without total reliance on the system, but the frustration I had with the Marcets was eating at me.

    Cal''s father learned about how my poor leadership decisions led to the deaths of his men. The other knight that Gawn saved was now acting as his lifeline, making his side of the story weigh more heavily. The two of them exaggerating my actions, making it sound like I had intentionally killed those men. Turning my simple oversight into an act of malice.

    The two used my ''eccentricities'' to argue that I was mad. That Gawn''s baiting of the treant and subsequent failures to rescue me were simply inventions of my own warped mind. That I punished the men for my imaginary slight by forcing them to stay well beyond the safe activity period in the forest. Exaggerating the tendencies I showed because of the system to make me out to be some crazed lunatic.

    Jagen might not have been entirely convinced, but a good deal of the troops were. Somehow or another word had gotten out, and my receptions had become colder as of late. I was no longer an interesting eccentric to them, but rather a madman who would kill his soldiers over imaginary slights.

    I almost had to applaud him for how well he played it... if only it weren''t so sickening as the receiving end.

    Cal realizing how bad my predicament was, still clung to hope as he delivered shipment after shipment of elixir to me, mostly the cheaper stuff, given he was making it on such short notice. This was his one chance to get what he truly wanted, and he could see it slipping away in front of his very eyes.

    I would try to make this work for him, but there was little I could do at this point. I didn''t have any magic words I could promise Jagen to have him execute his best knight, seal away his mage daughter, and give his youngest to his own son. The bargain was becoming steeper by the day for him. And while a space mage might be an incredible pawn to play in the capital, if he thought I was more trouble than it was worth, then what could I do?

    Sighing as I took another slime core out to cultivate on. Feeling the warm rush of experience as I drained the core of its life energy.

    I still had my talents. I still had my women. Looking at Tammy and Belle, reading to themselves on the bed. Having bought them a few things to amuse themselves.

    Belle turned out to be like a walking encyclopedia, having near perfect memory. Seeing her able to recite verses by heart after reading it once, I started to doubt my own initial appraisal of her talents. She wasn''t just in the mid twenties for wisdom. Very much wanting to speak with someone more familiar with beastkin, but being so far from the western front there weren''t many people familiar with the subject.

    Meanwhile Tammy had revealed something of her own talents. Maybe not as striking as Belle''s talent, but she had proven to be something of a natural when it came to politics. Providing sound advice for how I should navigate the tricky situation I had found myself in.

    Gawn had the letter. He had the motive. He was the one to approach me. All the knights who died that day came of their own initiative, they were volunteers. I never once forced them to follow me into that forest. Most importantly, I was unaware of the feelings between Gawn and Marcella. Something that Jagen had failed to mention to me, so he bore some responsibility for the dangerous situation I encountered. A useful bargaining chip. With all of the circumstances it was unthinkable that I was the one who was plotting against Gawn instead of the reverse being true.

    I think Jagen was clever enough to have realized these factors, but Tammy thought he was planning to take an even more advantageous position for his family. Something that again soured me on politics. I was supposed to be his son-in-law.

    Shaking my head to myself. These noble families were too vicious for power.

    But today, there was another source of anxiety that was bothering me, and that was the guild master. Apparently he had made his way to the city from the capital. Having finally made the week''s journey.

 Ch 74. Guild Master

    I headed out to meet the guild master at noon, leaving Tammy behind.

    Without knowing his intentions, I didn''t feel comfortable letting him anywhere near her. He said in the letter that he wanted to see me and I wanted to know why that was, the unknown aspect being a constant weight on my mind.

    If it weren''t for my inhuman constitution I feared the stress from everything that was happening would have long since burned a hole in my stomach.

    Walking through the town at a quick pace, not bothering to take in the brisk Spring air. The sound of my boots echoing over the dirt and pavement all the way to the guild office.

    Walking the doors and looking around with purpose, seeing the massive crowds I scanned for someone who looked like a guild master. Easy enough to spot, but with a mass of people between the two of us. Making my way through the sea.

    The guild was packed, unlike usual. Seemingly every adventurer in town had heard the news and were lining up to meet the returned guild master.

    As I made my way through I noticed a few familiar faces.

    Emmet, the new clerk sitting behind the clerk counter that Tammy used to be in.

    My old party... Art, Sebast, Orion, and Kalm. I felt like waving, but seeing their cold looks I stopped midway through. A little disappointed and at being treated so coldly by the people I thought of for a time as friends. Sure I left the group, but didn''t we have something going on for a time?

    Looking around and seeing Nate, the silver ranked adventurer who had trained us during our party''s first outing. Apparent that he was with his own party this time, standing around with several other men with equipment on par with a knight''s, the only major difference being the level of wear on their equipment far exceeded that of Jagen''s men.

    Our eyes meeting, I decided to wave at him instead. Eliciting a wry smile from him before he resumed talking with his group, ignoring my greeting.

    A frown creeping up on my face in response to the cold reception.

    Shifting my gaze to the new guild master, the center of attention in the room. A person who looked like he had never fought a day in his life. A true politician. A thin figure, tall, black hair, and handsomely dressed. No weapons at all, but the furs draped over his fancy clothes bore the striking emblem of the country and guild.

    Surrounded as he was by the premier adventurers in the guild who were all looking to meet the influential and rarely involved individual, the man still seemed to spot me out of the crowd. Already seeming somewhat aware of who I was despite us never having met in person.

    Greeting me like I was an old friend.

    "You must be Keaton, I take it?"

    "And you are?" Despite knowing who he was, at least what role he served, I didn''t know much about him. And if possible I would like to never see him again.

    The man was shrouded in such mystery, and despite my previous misgivings about his intentions in coming here, and his general abandonment of his duties as guild master, he seemed to have a strange presence that drew one''s attention.

    "Call me Bael." The man''s face said with a plastic smile.

    "I have to say, you''re the talk of the capital," he continued on. "You''re truly a space mage with no previous training? A natural born? None of us could believe it when we heard it. Truly, none of us believed it at all. May I see a demonstration?"

    Simply nodding in agreement to what he was saying, showing him a small trick and a little embarrassed by the lavish praise before stopping to consider what he had said.

    Who exactly is ''we?'' I thought the phrasing was a little odd, but it seemed he had a knack for flourish. Easily distracting me with a hand signal to the new clerk, Emmet. Who rang a small hand bell to get everyone''s attention. Waving a piece of paper in front of the crowd. Pausing before shooting an apologetic look my way.

    "Some light entertainment." Bael explained while the guild clerk cleared his throat and began to read.

    "Regarding the advancement of adventurer Keaton Pel to silver rank, we have received a formal challenge. Challenging party has been registered by one silver rank adventurer, Nathaniel Siward. Writ of challenge has been approved and signed by guild master Bael. All parties are confirmed to be present at the time of issuing the challenge."

    The room seemed to spin around me, almost feeling sick to my stomach with shame. I was being challenged for the advancement? Looking at the massive crowd that had gathered to meet the guild master. The timing of it was obviously chosen for this, looking at Nate now with a far colder eyes than before.

    Humiliate me in front of all these people. And for what? I couldn''t see how I''d ever done anything to slight him before.

    The blood pounding to my ears and my eyes tunneling from the humiliation and anger. My vision shrinking around me.

    "Just a little bit of entertainment for the hour, I don''t think it should be too much for you though mister Keaton?" Bael added cheerfully. No discernible malice in his words. I wasn''t sure what his angle was, but if he pulls this the first time we meet, then he couldn''t mean anything well for me.

    Nate and I both venturing outside with the crowd following close behind.

    Kaguro

 Ch 75. Catharsis

    The entire guild hall had rapidly emptied into the back of the property. The large fenced in dirt lot of the processing area making it a choice location for duels.

    "No hard feelings Keaton." Nate said to me as he stretched, limbering himself up.

    Too fucking late for that. I thought to myself angrily.

    Humiliation and rage building inside as I glanced around at the hostile crowd.

    "This is for your own good... you''re not ready for silver rank," the confident looking adventurer warning me to abandon the duel and accept my demotion.

    Playing up for the crowd the fact that he was giving me multiple opportunities to surrender.

    "That''s none of your business. "

    "It is my business... I know about your relationship with Tammy. Everybody does. Space mage or not, that''s an abuse of authority. It took us years to get where we are, and if you think you can just show up and..."

    Stopping after seeing me materialize my armor around me, proceeding on to grab my shield and sword out of thin air using inventory.

    "I was hoping we could use practice weapons for this. No reason for anybody to get hurt."

    I was through with his good guy act. Looking at the swell of adventurers around me, I knew he had picked the busiest time possible so as to humiliate me in front of them.

    Not getting any response from me as I just stared at him like I was looking at a piece of trash.

    "It was just a few weeks ago that you were struggling to kill a slime... I remember training you. Just accept that you''re not ready for this Keaton. Nobody needs to get hurt. I heard about what happened in the forest. That''s a result of your own inexperience. Silver ranks don''t make those mistakes."

    "I don''t want to hear another word out of your mouth."

    He just shrugged.

    "Fine. Have it your way, I''ll embarrass you for everyone to see. Some people need to learn the hard way." He said while putting on his leather armor, the golden colored monster material shimmering in the sun. Taking a cautious look at the lightweight armor that gave the impression he prioritized speed and maneuverability over defense.

    A party member throwing him his spear, the nasty looking spear tip glimmering blue. I''d used that spear before, so I knew just how sharp it was.

    I had some degree of confidence in my own armor, but I wasn''t eager to test it out against that spear-tip.

    Nate may have battle experience, but I had the overwhelming advantage of stats. Ignoring the jeering of the crowd while I focused in on him as he got ready.

    The crowd parting eventually to form a natural ring, the two of us isolated among the sea of onlookers. Clear enough to me who they were rooting for, and who they were rooting against.

    My heart sinking into my stomach with anticipation, watching him carefully as he seemed to be casually fiddling with his gear.

    My irritation rising as I saw him looking as unconcerned as he could about the match as he played to the crowd.

    Raising my small round-shield up to chin level, and sword angled off the side. Trying to keep an appropriate distance while he approached with a relaxed gait, exchanging the spear between hands playfully. Seeming to enjoy what he was doing.

    Finally taking a firm grip on his spear as he neared me, thrusting out to my midsection but the spear drifting up at the last moment. Catching me off-guard, but managing to catch it in time with my shield, stepping back as the spear sparked and screamed off to the side. The scratch it made on the metal of my shield visible enough to be immediately noticeable.

    I swung at him in retaliation, but Nate had already turned back to do a lap, facing away from me and waving to the crowd as he walked back to a corner.

    The arrogance of it all making me want to not just win normally, but humiliate him completely.

    If I could get in close he was finished, getting a wicked idea in my mind.

    Materializing a mirror in my hand while I switched out [swordsman] for [pathfinder], maxing out my new [quick steps] for good measure. I had been given enough time in the last week to experiment, and even at level one the instant acceleration it provided was amazing, not to mention relatively mana efficient compared to my attack skills like sword edge. I figured even at maximum level I could use the skill dozens of times consecutively. For this time I''d only need it once.

    Nate turned back after hearing the crowd''s clamor, his own showmanship backfiring now that he turned around to see me wasting time with a mirror, seemingly mocking him in return.

    Laughing after seeing the anger on his face. His frustration proving to be the perfect cure for my own.

    "Seems I messed around too much." Nate said, sounding like he finally wanted to get serious.

    Retracting my mirror once I noticed him approaching. Storing even my sword, and replacing it with my simple knife. Mocking him further.

    When he was a few feet outside his attack distance, I struck. Hurling the knife at his face, which he ducked away from, allowing me to activate quick steps as I exploded forward with thundering power in my legs, covering the spear''s length in a single step.

    Nate''s panic obvious as he tried to sweep his spear, but seeing as I was already inside his guard, it was far too late.

    Latching on with both arms to his spear. Applying a vice-like grip with my physical boosted strength, stronger by a good margin than anything he could exert. Seeing he was losing the battle over his weapon, I could see desperation creeping into his eyes.

    Sending a knee into my side, which felt like nothing, but did give me a good idea.

    Cranking my head back like a spring and cracking Nate directly on the nose, a satisfying crunch resounding over my forehead.

    The impact sending Nate reeling to the ground, clutching his bloodied and broken nose while the jeering crowd was stunned into silence. Not believing their eyes.

    Admiring my new spear, I decided to take a lap like Nate had done earlier. Waving victoriously to the gloomy faces in the crowd. Looking at their horrified expression melted my heart, a warm fuzzy feeling of satisfaction working its way into the biggest smile I could muster. Feeling better now than I had for weeks.

    Kaguro

 Ch 76. Second Challenger

    Looking down at Nate bleeding in dirt from his broken nose, I felt as if all the stress I had been under for the past week was a lie.

    Testing out my new spear with a few jabs in the air. I doubt I''d be able to keep it, but just showing it off to the hostile crowd was a great feeling.

    "Call the match, it''s over," directing my statement to guild master Bael, who remained unfazed by my win, smiling just like before. Puzzling me even more about what his motive could be.

    "I believe we have a winner. Congratulations Mr. Keaton on your advancement," Bael said while applauding politely.

    The crowd completely silent, while some of Nate''s party looked unsatisfied with the result. Glaring angrily as they helped the rattled adventurer to his unsteady feet.

    Looks like I didn''t have any fans here.

    "That was a dirty way of fighting, how can someone like you be the son of a knight?" A big burly man in full plate armor asked me, the great axe strapped to his back emphasizing just how large he was.  He was standing around near Nate''s side, so it was easy enough to make the connection.

    It seems they were more upset about my fight than impressed. A little annoyed that they had the gal to complain after losing. I wasn''t really even supposed to be a combatant by their standards yet I wiped the floor with their friend.

    "It was a fair fight, and I was the better. That''s all there is to it," My confidence restored after beating down my challenger so decisively.

    "Guild master, I request a duel!" The large man asked Bael, unwilling to let things go. The two of them sharing a knowing look, tipping me off again to the connection. What poor acting.

    "I already won my advancement. I have no reason to fight you," I interrupted. They couldn''t force me to duel, I knew the rules.

    Ignoring me completely the big man tried appealing to the guild master instead.

    "I can''t let things stand as they are, Nate''s my friend and this fight was a stain on his honor. Guild master, please approve this fight."

    The guild master just smiled wider, giving me an innocent look.

    "Approved, but what Keaton says is also correct. If he doesn''t want to fight, there''s no helping it." The guild master shrugging indifferently, not really doing anything to stop the fight.

    "I have no reason to fight you. I won. He lost. Get over it."

    "No honor!" The man bellowed out, taking a second to spit. "That''s what you are, worse than scum."

    My face dropping again, I had no grudge with them yet here they are going out their way to offend. It was like every termite in the city was crawling out of their woodworks to rise up against me. Gawn, Nate, and now whoever the hell this guy was. Sometimes you just needed to set an example.

    "I tell you what. You make this worth my time and I''ll accept... I win and I get to keep this."

    Pointing to the spear in my hands. This thing was probably even more expensive than my sword, the metal on the tip was higher grade for sure. Seeing how it had left such a deep gash in my shield from just one blow.

    The man seemed a little bit hesitant now that he heard his friend''s weapon was on the line, glancing at the guild master who just nodded in agreement. The little exchange letting me know exactly what was going on with this whole situation, as if it wasn''t obvious enough. But even if this was a trap, I didn''t care at this point. The entire audience had gotten on my nerves and I felt good dealing with Nate.

    With a smile the man put on his helm, learning from Nate''s example to not leave his face unguarded. Doing the same, I equipped my helmet and shut the visor.

    This was going to be trickier, looking at the club-like axe he was wielding with both arms like a bat. The nasty edge and sheer weight of it giving me some trepidations over taking a hit.

    Switching my classes back to [Swordsman] and [Adventurer], seeing his massive size and plated armor I really wasn''t interested in grappling with him. My fifteen strength was a lot for a human, probably even stronger than he was, but if I was wrong about that then the match was over if that''s the way I played it. Not to mention his size gave him plenty of advantages in that area, even if it did turn out he was weaker.

    "Well... it seems we have another match on our hands. The duel between Balder and Keaton begins," Bael announced much to the enjoyment of the crowd. This guy should be another silver rank, but he looked a lot more intimidating than the scrawny looking Nate.

    The crowd''s jeers returning with force causing me to frown. What did I ever to do them? I was the lord''s son-in-law, I was a space mage even... I should be someone they envy and respect. But here they are calling for my blood.

    Feeling nothing but contempt for the other adventurers at this point, my cold eyes settling on the mountain of a man in front of me.

    What had started out as a game to humiliate me was beginning to turn into something much more savage. Looking at the ferocity of the crowd, and the man in front of me egged on by the hostility of the crowd, I wasn''t feeling nearly so playful.

    Gripping my sword with intensity as he charged forward in a rush.

    That weapon of his that would absolutely be fatal for anyone else, and even with armor on I felt a little exposed. The force behind a swing would probably punch right through what I had on.

    Watching him thunder up to me with his axe heaved for a swing, escaping to the side as he hit only air. He was strong, but he wasn''t very nimble. Not able to maneuver well with the full weight of his plate armor and heavy weapon. Even so, I felt a little helpless. Stabbing at his side, near the armpit, but the blade just scraping off to the side like his whole body was a shield. With that armor on it practically was. I had no blunt weapons to use against him, and his only true weak point was the gap in his visor... or being able to hammer him in the head with my pommel. But from the size of him, I would practically need to leap up to hit him there.

    Steeling myself to use a skill. It was tough with the crowd, but sword edge wasn''t the flashiest of skills. If I used it directly against his armor, then it shouldn''t be too obvious.

    Watching out for another swing of the axe, staying just out of range, stepping lightly as he charged by me again, the dirt trampling under his feet.

    To onlookers it was a perfect stalemate. I couldn''t hurt him, and he couldn''t hit me.

    But I was ready, waiting for him to make the next move. As soon as there was an opportunity I would take him out with my skill. Moving around the enclosure while Balder yelled for me stop running. Knowing full well that I wasn''t going to listen as he continued to cuss me out, chasing me around the lot while waving around his giant axe menacingly.

    Rounding one of the corners I started to turn again, preparing to dodge another swing, but surprised at what I saw next.

    Balder, knowing he could never catch me had taken inspiration from my previous match. Hoisting his axe and throwing it from close range. The edge slapping across my shield and cutting the scales protecting my wrist and forearm, the force of the projectile battering me and nearly knocking me to the ground. Feeling a burning sting where I had been hit as the axe continued on embedding itself into the ground nearby.

    I glanced at my arm, seeing some blood. I didn''t feel hurt, but the attack had shaken me. Only just managing to not lose my sword as he rushed in to grab me.

    The sword shouldn''t be threatening to him with the armor on, Balder totally ignoring the weapon when he tried to grab at me preparing to take me to the ground. My swordarm whipping forth in retaliation, stabbing at him from the side perfectly in sync with the sword edge skill. The metal evaporating before my blade ever made contact, the immaterial skill punching through the heavy armor like butter and leaving the weapon embedded to the hilt by the time the skill faded.

    Balder''s grip on me weakening as he felt the blow, slumping over onto me. Coughing up blood from his visor.

    Bael watching in keen interest as the giant of a man collapsed so suddenly. Clapping excitedly for me while the rest of the crowd tried to comprehend what had happened.

 Ch 77. Exposed? Undercover.

    The crowd''s reaction was muted, stunned at the sudden turn around. Numb at having their expectations overturned twice in a row, and in such short order.

    Only Bael had the presence of mind to congratulate me on the victory, but he seemed far more concerned about the scratch on my arm than the dead adventurer at my feet.

    As for myself I just stood over the soon to be dead Balder, who was still gasping his last. My sword still impaled through his armor from the waist. I wasn''t sure what to feel, but the biggest thing that occurred to me was that I didn''t feel anything. Eliciting a pained gasp as I took my sword out, wiping it with a cloth.

    It wasn''t unusual that someone would die in a duel, but it was never looked upon well. Though glancing at the officiator here, he didn''t seem to be having any problems with what I had done. Rather, he actually seemed to be the only one happy with the situation. I was sure Bael had put them up to it, but now that I won he basically treated them like air. And was strangely enough, happy that I had won. Upending my initial assumptions about what his motives were.

    "I''m not dueling anymore today. If any of you want revenge come back some other time." I warned the remnants of Nate''s party not to cause any more trouble.

    The killing itself didn''t give me pleasure, but the silence of the crowd was worth a thousand words. The previous looks of hostility replaced with horror, and their image of me as a helpless mage hiding behind status fully supplanted.

    Discarding the bloody rag over Balder''s body once I was done.

    Nate looked at me hatefully, but he was the one who initiated this.

    A shower of light hitting me once Balder had breathed his last, with the system appearing once again in a cheery tone completely at odds with the mood of the moment.

    The crowds eventually funneling out, ushered by the guild master and a few soldiers who had come by to check out the commotion.

    Taking a look at my hand from the aftermath of the second fight, flexing the fingers individually. The scales of my armor were split and cracked. A huge gash running across my forearm where the axe had slid off. The blade had made it to the bone, but strangely enough it didn''t hurt all that much. The blood had stopped flowing, but the wound was still open. I''d need to get a healing potion on this later to help it heal.

    Watching Bael approach me like he was looking at an object of worship, utterly confused by the difference in his attitude now and actions from earlier.

    The guild master bowed apologetically.

    "I hope you enjoyed the entertainment, and... um, apologies about the arm. I didn''t think they''d be capable of hurting you. Usually your kind are much more enthusiastic about killing."  Bael said, seeming to look at me with sincere regret.

    I frowned at his odd mannerisms and even stranger words. Sorry about the arm... was he mocking me? He was the one who put Nate and Balder up to it.

    "Keaton I don''t like this guy. Something''s off about him."

    "You and me both."

    "Is something the matter?" Bael asked me, looking at me with interest as I stood quietly.

    He has the gall to ask that?

    Letting out a deep sigh.

    "You''ve wasted your time Bael, I''m not giving up on Tammy. It doesn''t matter what you do."

    He looked alarmed at my accusation and waved his hands disarmingly.

    "No, no, no. You do me wrong, Keaton. I''m not here about that, not about that at all... I''m here on behalf of the church. You should know what I mean right?"

    "System, you know what he''s talking about?"

    "I''m afraid not, you know far more about human society here than I do. I only know that they''re becoming ubiquitous throughout the human areas, but you should understand just how hard it is for beastkin to operate in human society. Most of what I get tidbits from escaped slaves, or the interrogations of prisoners. Investigating the happenings within the human kingdoms of the realm was a large reason a human was picked for your vessel."

    Meeting Bael''s gaze with utter confusion. He seemed to think I should understand from just that, but his goals and actions were utterly incomprehensible to me. He''s the guild master, why would he be with the church? And what would the church want with me?

    Seeing the lack of understanding in my eyes, Bael narrowed his eyes. Exposing open hostility for the first time since I''ve met him.

    "You are a one of those, right? A chosen one. Or was I mistaken?" Staring at me intently while a frightening fanaticism reflected in the gleam of his eye.

    His words sank in on me slowly. My face turning into a frown as realization hit me.

    "System, it kind of sounds like he''s talking about us. Doesn''t it? How''s that possible?"

    The system didn''t respond, digesting his every word with dread. Anxiety flooded through the mental line like white noise, apparent enough that there was something wrong.

    "Keaton... he''s a goddess-damned heretic. We''re both in a lot of trouble."

    "Heretics?"

    "We''re hardly the only force in the universe. Sometimes there are forces hostile to our own... you understand right?"

    Enemy gods, then. So there were others like me here and they wouldn''t be friendly. Even so, system was always too quick to fly into a depression. He had no faith at all.

    "There''s no need to act so surprised, like I said, you can think of me as an unofficial delegate of the church. They heard about the letter you sent me and figured I would be the best candidate to recover you. I''m actually rather grateful for the opportunity." Bael said quite cheerfully after confirming I understood his words, it seemed he was interested in ingratiating himself with me.

    "Keaton... I''m saying this now. You need to kill him. Kill him and run. If any heretics find out who we are then we''re finished."

    The resigned tone in system''s voice made it clear he didn''t have a lot of hope left. It''s true I may be a novice with the system, but system didn''t know that the ''broken'' system I had was really an advantage of mine. More than that I was curious, why did they show up now, and how did they know? And more than that...

    Looking at Bael he didn''t seem all that hostile. Did he not consider the possibility that I wasn''t one of his own? Did the church not know about the goddesses forces here?

    "It''s been several years now since one of your Godlinesses'' kind has blessed us with your presence, we''ve been waiting ever since for your arrival. Once the others heard about your awakening they were excited for me to come and collect you."

    I was prepared to kill him, but so long as the misunderstanding stood, I''d be happy to play along. Asking Bael how he knew about me and the system. Bael appearing to react as if the answer should be completely obvious.

    "Apologies, but was it not your intention to announce your arrival to the world? The whole capital knows by now that a ''natural born'' mage has appeared in Tromwell."

    Ah, I get it. Natural born mages were all system users, then. No wonder they legendarily rare, they didn''t actually exist in the first place.

    "Thats... I never intended for him to send it out so early, I''ve only just arrived." trying to think up some plausible excuse on the spot.

    Bael''s gaze finally relaxed.

    "Ah, so that''s what it was. I did think it odd you struggled so much against those mere vessels. A shame you let one of them go though, I intended for them to be your sacrifices. The least I could do on such short notice." The guild master said while scoffing.

    My own temper flaring a bit after basically being called weak. Settling down enough to catch on to his terminology.

    I''d heard system using that ''vessel'' term before, but only now did I truly understand the meaning. We were all just livestock to them. Either side. This wasn''t their home, they didn''t even think of us as human. Or maybe they thought of themselves as something other than human... a little frightened by the idea that I was sharing a soul with a being so evil in origin.

 Ch 78. Dark Pact

    Bael and I were talking in his office, the upstairs part of the guild that I''ve never seen used before. Dust covering everything, the furniture only usable because of the cloth coverings that could be removed. A reminder of just how long it had been since the man had visited our city, and readily apparent that he didn''t care much for doing his job.

    Much to my relief, my original worry turned out to be unwarranted. Bael wasn''t here for Tammy, he was here for me. But that just led to more questions, and the more I spoke with him the more I was given a disturbing look into his mind. Apparent that Bael cared nothing for the people of this world, even Tammy. Shocking me when he offered to kill her himself to prove the truth of his words.

    The man was completely abnormal, and the only thing that was on his mind was his devotion to the faith. Thinking of normal people as nothing but cattle, even when it turned out that he was ''normal'' as well. With how warped his viewpoint was, I was on edge that he was possibly a system user as well, but with how little regard he showed for his own life, I started to doubt that possibility as well. It was almost like the man was suicidal, offering to harm or kill himself to prove his loyalty just as easily as he offered up the lives of others. Readily apparent that the fanaticism in his eyes was the real deal.

    System in the meanwhile kept repeating over and over about how the heretical forces were not supposed to be here. The universe was composed of many realms just like the one we lived in now, and each god or goddess had their own territory. This wasn''t supposed to be a contested sector, and yet here the enemy was, speaking to me while I sat in their office.

    It wasn''t that system intentionally withheld this information from me. These guys were just so far outside of their sector that their presence was already an act of war. And from what I could pick up from Bael''s conversation, there weren''t just a few of their kind roaming around. There were at least several system users like myself on their side, and they were expecting more by the year.

    The only thing good about the situation was perhaps that Bael and the rest appeared to have no idea about the beastkin being factioned with a rival force. The beastkin were being swept up so easily given the lack of any dedicated users like myself. And given how fortunate that little misconception was for my own wellbeing, I was not going to be the one to bring it up. Time was on my side; the longer they thought I was one of them, the less of a threat to me they became.

    Besides, I didn''t envy the position of anyone going against these fanatics. It''s not that killing Bael would particularly upset them, as far as I could tell he wasn''t an influential person. But the major problem was that the church was a front for an enemy god. If that was true then possibly all of humanity was already under their grasp. There wouldn''t be any places left for me and I was loathe to live the life of an outlaw unless I absolutely had to.

    True to his word, Bael had an escort ready for the capital and intended for me to come with him at the soonest opportunity. Something that did trouble me a little now. My impression of the capital was now something akin to an enemy fortress, but weighing my options this was still the best choice.

    System only knew half the picture, and when it came to my double attributes he had no idea. No matter how strong these people were, I had the potential to surpass them.

    I had until now been saving up points like my retirement, wanting to squeeze out as much potential from natural means as possible before investing further, the most recent level-up leaving me with thirty points to spare in that regard.

    The only thing that made me budge in the current situation was the aching of the wound on my arm. Convincing me to splurge a little bit and put five points down in constitution. Not wanting to deal with this pain for a whole week while the flesh and bones mended. Feeling the muscles knit together once infused with the additional surge of lifeforce. Additionally pouring out a healing potion that Bael had given to me to clean the wound, feeling the sting as the liquid flowed in. I didn''t regret it; constitution at this point couldn''t be considered a bad investment. I was well passed the point of any natural methods of enhancement. Given how quickly I was healing, I almost felt like a troll.

    Sighing as I put down my hand mirror. For once not being judged for it, the man already knew I was a system user after all.

    "I can''t leave just yet,"  I said while putting my feet up on the desk, not minding the coat of dust covering the surface.

    Bael frowned once more, "It can''t wait? I don''t mean to rush you, but the church is waiting for your arrival."

    I looked at him a bit questioningly, with what he believed my status to be I didn''t think he would raise any objections but apparently that wasn''t true. His fanaticism was like a switch when it flipped, but otherwise the way he acted towards me was shockingly normal.

    Finally deciding to explain my circumstances with Marcella and her knightly admirer to Bael, who just shook his head like my worries were something that should be below a man of my station. Producing a black coin with the kingdom''s seal on it, tossing it to me like that would solve everything.

    "Money?"

    "Much better than that. There''s a great deal of authority in that coin, having one means you''re an agent of the royal family. I''d never get my hands on one normally, but thanks to you showing up... well, let''s just say I feel a bit thankful for that. So I tell you what, I''ll let you borrow it for a little while. You settle this, and we''ll be on our way."

    The coin was apparently made of aerite. A kind of malleable metal that oxidizes over time, turning completely transparent in a matter of weeks. Only when reforged and re-minted would the coin look as it did now, a smokey coal black.

    Anyone with one of these coins, especially a freshly minted coin like this one could basically run rampant, acting as if they were a member of royalty themselves for the duration of the coin. One of the perks for the king''s most trusted retainers who acted in the interests of the crown. Creating something of a pseudo-meritocracy, where those who proved themselves invaluable to the country could enjoy greater authority so long as they continued to steadily contribute.

    I looked at the coin under the window''s light, turning it over before pocketing it. Knowing exactly what needed to be done.

 Ch 79. Black Coin

    It felt odd to borrow influence from an enemy. Everything about Bael made me uncomfortable, from his morals, to the very way he acted. But I had to admit, his help had conveniently solved every headache I was dealing with at the moment. With the black coin in hand everything seemed to fall into place.

    Gawn''s execution was set, that particular problem going to be dealt with in a matter of days, while the situation with Marcella was dealt with more agreeably.

    Jagen knew it was over from the first moment he laid eyes on the coin. The man looking like he had aged ten years within the blink of an eye. From his perspective, this must have the absolute worst case possible. I could choose to take the situation in whatever direction I wanted, I could have all of their heads on a whim, and leave him with nothing. Staring intently at the black coin in my hands, something that represented the very worst of the country''s politics, and something he had tried his best to escape from, leaving his life in the capital behind for a more subdued life on the frontier.

    For Jagen the only thing he could ask for was to save his family some face, letting Marcella''s involvement in the incident stay mostly under wraps, and as his luck would have it I didn''t feel much animosity towards his daughter. The attempt against me by Gawn had been like child''s play, trying to kill me with such lukewarm attempts was almost laughable. The monsters we encountered afterwards turned out to be far more trouble for me, and I did feel some lingering responsibility over that whole incident.

    Besides, I didn''t have the heart nor the desire to force Jagen''s family into a desperate situation. After some reflection, I knew well enough that deep down I still wanted Marcella. If not, I wouldn''t have approached Cal''s family in the first place.

    She was both beautiful and powerful. A symbol for just how much things had changed for me after my activation of the system. Just a few months ago marrying her would have been an unthinkable dream, and yet here I was. Her murder scheme had certainly made me more cautious, but that was what the lazuli was for.

    Shipments were already being ordered from the nearest source, allowing us to seal her powers for as long as was necessary. I would have her coming around to me eventually, and when she was mine her powers would be put to use for my benefit. Until then, she would remain here under house arrest. Made completely ignorant of the world around her, for the safety of all of us.

    Having settled my business, I walked through the mansion with a cheerful mood. Whistling a tune as I passed maid and guard alike, paying no mind to their stares. Leaving the estate in triumph. Ordering around Jagen had me feeling like the entire town was my own plaything,  something that made me look forward to the day when I would receive my own title and domain to go along with it. It might not be a town like this at first, but being a mage entitled me to property in the capital, enough for a house. And with the war in the west raging just a fiercely as before, there were no shortages of opportunities to earn myself ranks. A barony of my own should be no problem with my system.

    Cal following along closely as we made our way out of the mansion grounds. More curious than anyone about his father''s uncharacteristic turn-about, and the crumbling equilibrium. Most of all, he wanted to know what this meant for his wish.

    Fishing the dull black coin out of my jacket''s inner breast pocket and holding it up for Cal to see. His eyes popping in recognition.

    "Look''s like you''re more informed than I was. Does everyone know what this is?"

    I was skeptical about the coin at first, given that I''d never even heard of a coin like this before, and if I didn''t know what it was then most lay-folk here probably had no idea either.

    But seeing Cal just now, not to mention Jagen, it really seems that the coin was everything Bael said it was. Recalling a scene from just an hour ago when I first showed Jagen it, the man nearly spitting out the wine he was sipping before scratching at it skeptically with a dagger to test the validity.

    Cal''s amusing reaction bringing me back to the present.

    "Keaton... is that real?" A hint of fear filling his eyes as he looked at me, terrified that his formerly normal friend was becoming more unbelievable by the day.

    "Don''t lose your head over it. I''m just borrowing it."

    Something that just left him with more questions as he continued following me all the way to my destination.

    Cal could hardly contain himself, apparently in shock that his greatest wish was about to become true, while I was just enjoying the moment of freedom, no longer bound by pointless worrying and a lack of direction. I would have my debut in the capital, savor what life had to offer me there and take things slow while I enjoyed myself. Building my power, influence, and wealth before trying my luck on the western front.

    When I made the choice to go to the capital, it wasn''t as if the threat posed by the church didn''t bother me, but putting up with them was better than going on the run over some indeterminate risk. I had a lot to gain in the capital, and after learning there were multiple gods targeting this realm, I knew conflict was no longer avoidable. It was only a matter of when.

    And to that end, I needed to grow as much as possible while they still thought I was one of them. I had twice the points, and twice the skills. It''s true that I still hadn''t spent all of my points yet, but on a technical level as a level 9 right now I should at least be on par with one of their level 18''s and that gap would only grow in time. Seeing how leveling grew progressively more difficult, I would hit my bottlenecks far later than they would.

    I felt confident that so long as I could cultivate and grow in peace, I would be able to overcome any challenge. Killing Bael now and tipping them off would end my life as I knew it, with the church''s influence all of humanity would turn against me.

    Which... speaking of Bael, I had begun to get to know him from the little we interacted. The man was deeply off-putting, his attitude being far worse than mine could ever be. He had a charismatic attraction to him that was uncanny. Despite his continual poor treatment of everyone he came across, nobody seemed to dislike him. Bordering on being a supernatural trait and leading me to believe he was a system user, something he strongly denied when asked. To him, people like me were revered almost as much as the god they served, my suggestion that he was one of them would be blasphemous if I wasn''t one of those revered existences.

    Making our way down the dirt road, the farmhouse Cal rented to us was finally beginning to come into view. Tammy and Belle outside hanging up laundry, airing out sheets while the weather was nice. The Spring air making outside activities much more tolerable than before.

    Kaguro

 Ch 80. Liar

    Tammy and Belle were doing laundry in the sun. With a warm Spring breeze in the air it was finally nice enough to be doing some outside activities. A perfect opportunity for the girls to hang laundry and air the house out, not to mention a pleasant change of pace from always being cooped up inside from the cold.

    Tammy kept folding the washed linens over a clothesline while Belle looked on lazily, laying on the porch while she stretched herself out. Belle was supposed to be washing the lingerie, but she was content to let Tammy do the work as long as she could get away with it. Belle had picked up on how Tammy liked to spoil her, and she very much liked being spoiled. Without master present there was nobody to get mad at her.

    As for Tammy, this was still like a dream come true. Here she was living so well she could hardly believe it.

    She was afraid at first that Keaton would abuse the fact that she had impure motives when she approached him. He wasn''t bad in the looks department, but she had never seriously considered him before he became a mage. Because of that, she had always worried that he would treat her like a common whore, paying her for a night and throwing her away afterwards, but it turned out Keaton had really taken a liking to her, and with how sweet he was treating her she found herself liking him more than she ever thought possible.

    The three of them, Belle included, lived like passionate newly-weds every night. And even with the difference in status, Keaton didn''t shy away from committing to her, treating her even better than his rightful wife Marcella. And with everything that happened since, she had hopes that she may actually end up as Mrs. Tammy Pel. Liking the ring of that, a mage''s actual wife.

    He would rise to unimaginable heights and she would be there by his side.

    So long as the guild master didn''t screw things up for her... tightening her fingers with anxiety around the washed blanket she was hanging up on the clothesline. Keaton was understandably on guard about the guild master''s return given their past relations, something she was anxious to clear the air on. She thought Keaton was only going for a brief visit to the adventurers guild at first, but with how long Keaton had been gone it was starting to bother her.

    While Tammy was distracted by worries, Belle''s ears twitched up like she was focusing on something. The sleepy catgirl sitting up with a start, waking from her half-nap state and shuffling to start on her task. Acting nonchalant, like she had been working the whole time.

    Tammy smiled wryly. Looking down the road to see Keaton and Cal approaching from the distance.

    Tammy and Belle were doing laundry diligently when they came into view, while Cal continued to nag on me to share how I got the coin. Even after I told him that I was just borrowing it from the guild master, that just raised more questions for him.

    How did a guild master get a coin like that? And why on earth would he lend away something so precious to someone like me who he had presumably never met before.

    It''s obvious why he was suspicious about it, which was why I was at such a loss on how I could possibly explain it. I couldn''t exactly tell Cal the truth after all.

    The church is an invading army by an evil deity and that they think I''m one of them, all the while I am actually a rogue agent from another deity''s faction. At this point any random lie I could think up would be easier for him to believe than that particular truth.

    Choosing to just ignore Cal for the time being. After all I''ve done for him recently I didn''t feel too bad about not explaining things. And given how this coin had in large part given Cal his dream, he didn''t seem too offended. Getting the message eventually that he should just stop asking.

    The girls waving from the yard after they noticed us on the road; I waved back while we made our way over, Tammy running up to hug me when we were close.

    "Did you miss me?" I asked, giving her a kiss.

    "I was worried... you were gone so long," She pouted. Pulling me in for another kiss.

    My eyes drifting to Belle during the act, who watching from the sidelines. Waiting in line for her kiss.

    Turning to give her a peck on the cheeks, which from the twitching of her ears I could tell wasn''t enough. Belle closing her eyes and leaning in to make it more obvious that she wanted a real kiss. Obliging her, only to get slipped the tongue as Belle took advantage of the situation. Licking her lips after she was done.

    Tammy looked awkwardly, clearly wanting to ask something but waiting for the right time to ask.

    "How did it go?"

    Ah, I realized what she was worried about. Today had been so eventful that I had almost completely forgotten how it all started as a simple visit with the guild master, seeing how late it was getting it''s no wonder she''d be worried.

    Letting her know the good news: Bael wouldn''t be trouble for us, at least not in the way we initially expected; and things with Marcella and Gawn were dealt with, thanks to him.

    Tammy didn''t know about the coin, making me feel better about my ignorance. It wasn''t as if this was something I should have been aware about, but rather this was truly an unprecedented and rare item, something that would almost certainly never make its way out to a frontier town like this, least of all to the ordinary towns-folk. But with the results it garnered from Jagen''s side, and the reaction it elicited from Cal, there could be no doubting the veracity.

    Feeling the odd coin in my hand while I explained the day''s events. Surprising everyone that I was taking duels, much less that I had won them. These were seasoned silver rank adventurers after all.

    Tammy was at first furious at Nate for challenging me, even if it was within the rules. Then gloomy, after she realized her act of promoting me had brought on that trouble, having to reassure her that I was completely fine... something that wasn''t as convincing once Belle managed to suss out my bandaged arm under the clothes. Her uncanny sense of smell rooting out the injury even after I had done so much to hide it.

    Finally, Tammy settle on just being happy. Happy that I was safe, that our troubles were behind us, and maybe a little pleased by my feats in combat. She''s dealt with adventurers all her life, so she knew just how difficult it was to face those two, consecutively no less. The fact that I was a non-combatant type mage, just made it all the more impressive. Having a man that was capable man seemed to make her quite happy.

    "Well, I suppose we will need to prepare ourselves for the journey. As soon as this is all wrapped up here, we''re going to the capital."

    Both girls seemed interested in visiting the capital, for both of them this small frontier town had been their life. Tammy having been born and raised here, and Belle having been bought by my father and brought here from before she was too young to remember.

    When we were getting ready to settle in for the day, Cal bid farewell. Offering to return the coin to Bael, apparently wanting to make a connection with someone he viewed as influential, and given that it was convenient for me as well. I trusted him enough to get it done. Even if he used it for one or two things, I wouldn''t really care. He had sense enough to not cause trouble unnecessarily and it cost me nothing.

    Tammy had been frowning on and off throughout the conversation, looking like she was waiting for Cal to say goodbye before moving up to my ear once he disappeared down the road.

    Tugging at my shirt while she whispered.

    "Keaton, you keep saying the name ''Bael''... you don''t mean the guild master when you say that do you?"

    I looked at her curiously. I thought it was obvious, and she should know better than anyone here.

    "Keaton, that''s not his name."

    I looked at her curiously. Fairly sure that''s the name he had given me. Why would he even lie about that?

    Kaguro

    Still working on finding a permanent release schedule that works, but for this week I will be releasing chapters on M-T-TH-F-S.

 Ch 81. Training

    Bael''s not his real name? An alias possibly? I couldn''t understand the reason why he would do that. He knew about my relation with Tammy, I was bound to find out about it eventually... which is exactly what happened anyways.

    Apparently when she had known the guild master he went by ''Renout'', a fairly unremarkable man by her account. A useless man who had gotten his job purely based on his lineage, being a distant line from the royal family. Not influential or talented enough to earn a name for himself, but his family having enough sway to find him some easy job like a guild master position in a remote frontier town. A job which he promptly abandoned.

    That was the profile of someone who was an envoy of the church? It sounded ridiculous but that was the situation. Having a hard time matching up the irresponsible and inept sounding ''Renout'', with the intensely unsettling ''Bael'' that I had met earlier. Bael didn''t seem incompetent in the slightest, rather he was such a smooth talker that it seemed he could get his way with anything.

    Pondering just what it was about him that bothered me so much while I trained skills, practicing my movement abilities to gain more familiarity. Finally settling on confronting him about his fake name tomorrow when I found the time. That particular subject seemed harmless enough, and with how little I knew about these people every bit of information mattered.

    With my mind resolved, I sped around the outside of the house with bursts of [quick steps], no longer bothering with subtlety now that my system was already known to pretty much everyone that was a potential enemy at this point. It wasn''t that I was thinking of telling Belle and Tammy everything, that''d only make them bigger targets in the future, but showing off like this in front of them was not a problem in my eyes.

    Magic made for a convenient excuse after all.

    Running around the house while the two girls watched, occasionally bursting forth with a brief unnatural speed many times that of a human. Belle''s eyes lighting up as she abandoned the laundry in favor of chasing after me, the bell on her collar ringing like crazy while she chased me around like it was a game of tag. With how monstrous my constitution had become, I could probably run like this for an entire day without rest, practically at a dead sprint. I could go faster, but I was having a hard time balancing when I added quick steps on top of that top speed. The sudden acceleration difficult to deal with when I was already straining.

    As far as the other ''movement'' ability, [soft steps]. I had thought it was useless at first but the more I got used to it, the more I realized the kind of utility it could have. It didn''t just make my footsteps quieter, it made them ''softer''. My weight and any other force was actually neutralized against surfaces on the ground.

    The way I found out was really once by coincidence, walking around with Tammy and Belle after a morning''s rain, happening through a patch of mud where both of their footprints came through while mine barely left any mark at all in the soil, despite our differences in weight. With some focused testing I found that the force I could exert through my feet was greatly reduced, while simultaneously the force exerted from the ground or other surface onto my foot was less. If my constitution was lower, I probably would have noticed it earlier, but walking normally exerted so little effort that it was basically just like breathing, and a rank 1 reduction was only a small fraction of that.

    Maxing out the skill as soon as I picked up on the practical applications of such an ability. Feeling much lighter than before as I stood still, but the sensation of walking now unfamiliar and surprisingly challenging, the feedback of feeling the ground underneath me with my feet was apparently more important than I initially thought.

    With slight modifications, I ended up with something that felt more like I was falling through the air instead of walking on properly solid ground. Putting most of my weight on my back leg, which gave me a sickening feeling in my gut like I was falling weightlessly, not feeling the proper feedback of standing on ground that I was used to. Turning off the passive for a second to regain my balance.

    The two girls watching my abnormal and awkward movements with amusement while they finished up the laundry.

    I was initially planning to use the skill for falling or climbing, but even with walking it seems like there were some useful applications. Starting to get the feeling down now, precariously moving each foot forward at an incline. Leaning far more than gravity would normally allow, but still able to support myself as normal. So long as my foot was touching the ground, it practically neutralized all of my force, feeling nearly weightless and able to support myself with just a slight push from my toes. It could barely be described as ''walking'' at this point. I was basically just falling forward and letting the skill on my feet catch me, noticing that I could walk faster by leaning forward at an increased angle, feeling almost like I was being held up by cables.

    Naturally accelerating as I leaned forward even more, taking bigger and quicker steps as I flew through the field effortlessly, feeling the wind rush through my hair. I at such an incline at this point though, that the only way to keep balanced was to keep running forward, otherwise I would fall. My face getting closer and closer to the ground before I finally lost my balance, tripping up from the unnatural and unbalanced movements. Skidding through the loose dirt with my face.

    Recovering as I spit out clumps from my mouth, grinning from ear to ear like a kid. This was a funner skill than I imagined.

    Belle jumping on my back as she finally caught up to me, Tammy running over shortly after. Concerned about my fall, not to mention how my movements just now had scared her. ''Magic'' was something completely strange to her. Not wanting to cause her any more worries for one day, I threw in the towel early.

    Giving up skill training so that the three of us could continue in bed. Satisfying the two into a deep sleep, while I needed even less sleep now that I had five more points in constitution. Barely sleeping an hour before I was wide awake again, almost feeling like I had slept ten hours and couldn''t physically sleep another wink.

    Itching to get out of bed, I slipped outside. Taking a breath of the Spring air, feeling like it was going to rain again tonight.  Fishing out some low quality crystalized mana cores from my inventory, taking one in each hand, before I began cultivating on them. The warm energy offsetting any discomfort from the night''s cold air. Closing my eyes before going into a meditative state.

    Kaguro

 Ch 82. Casual Detective

    I spent the morning together with Bael, much to my own displeasure; the two of us sitting in the guild hall.

    I needed to figure out if Bael was hiding anything, but he wasn''t exactly good company; being beyond sycophantic he was constantly trying to ingratiate himself with me. I wouldn''t normally mind that kind of behavior, but his idea of ''favors'' was incredibly disturbing to me, pointing out random passerby''s from the guild and asking how much I liked them, in what way he meant I could only take a few dark guesses, afraid what he might do if I actually reacted. Not to mention his fake smile and the clammy looking skin that hung from his face, almost like he was wearing another person''s face as a mask. Just looking at him gave me the creeps.

    Ignoring his strange mannerisms, I got to the point. Posing him the question I had been meaning to ask.

    "Bael, I''ve got a name for you. Tell me if it sounds at all familiar."

    The fake-looking guild master just smiled, watching me indifferently with his dead looking eyes.

    "Renout. Ring any bells?"

    His smile instantly replaced with a hostile and disgusted look, reviled at the mention of his own name.

    "I heard that was your name? Am I right about that?"

    The man taking a sip from his wine-skin as if he needed to cleanse a bad taste from his mouth, pausing before answering me.

    "I''d prefer you not call me that, my name now is Bael," the guild master replied, his demeanor slowly returning to a calm.

    "Call it my curiosity, but why are you using an alias? I can''t see any reason why you would hide your name from me? It''s not a difficult thing for me to verify, you know."

    "Mr. Keaton, I truly meant no offense. The name Bael was given to me when I joined the church, you can think of it as a sign of my religious devotion. I much prefer that name over who I was before my initiation... there are no fond memories from before I found salvation," Bael looking unruffled by my probing questions as he settled back to his plastic fake smile.

    So it was a religious name? I didn''t really know much about the church, but it sounded as plausible as anything. My suspicions satisfied for the time being.

    Just based on appearance and mannerisms, he wasn''t exactly an easy person to trust, but I hadn''t caught him any outright lies yet. The only thing I couldn''t figure out was why everyone treated him so well.

    The adventurers should have all been rather annoyed with him, seeing how he had all but abandoned this office for the past years, but within hours of being in town he managed to convince two people he had never met before to stake their life on a duel with me. One that he knew for sure they would lose. It was a suicidal deal that they didn''t benefit from in the slightest. But even so, those that suffered from his actions held no animosity and were basically eating out of his hands. Even the spurned Nate, who looked like he had swallowed nails after I stole his spear and killed his party member, became obedient and docile when approached by Bael. The man managing to reconcile Nate''s blood enmity with me just as easily as he had created it.

    It was like the towns-folk were falling over themselves, desperate to do anything they could to gain his favor. Something that I could explain through the existence of a skill.

    Bael did fit the profile of a system user, his personality was confirmed to have changed. Tammy never remembered him being even remotely like how he was now, and if another soul had taken his place then they were completely different people after all. The only thing that bothered me with this assumption was his total lack of regard for his own life. No system user would offer to kill themselves to prove their loyalty, they were far too valuable to do so. Maybe there was a skill he could use to fake it, but I was skeptical even if that were the case. There was just too little I knew about system users in general.

    Content with his answer for the time being, I let him know about the current situation. Making him wait a few days for the execution for Gawn and lazuli shipments for Marcella. He wasn''t happy that we weren''t leaving immediately, but I was supposed to be the important figure here. As far as I could tell, he expected people like me to act somewhat tyrannically, and if I was too considerate of his situation it even be somewhat suspicious.

    Remembering one last thing before taking my leave, asking about the coin just in case. I trusted Cal, but I wanted to be sure that coin made it back safely. It had of course, leaving me to wonder what he had actually used it for.

    Heading out of the guild office, I started making my way back home passing the city gates into the protected farmland beyond, almost reaching my destination before stopping cold. If I went home now, there really wouldn''t be much to do. While I enjoyed spending time with the girls, this could be the last time I would be on the frontier for months. The uncertainty of it all, leaving me with a strong desire to hunt while I still could.

    Breaking out in a grin as I decided to just ''wander off'' for the afternoon, doing a little bit of secret exercise before the trip couldn''t hurt.

    Eyeing the outer walls in the distance before breaking away from the road, cutting through fields at a dead sprint, making it to the wooden palisades in under a minute, the ones that surrounded the entirety of the farming area. Surveying the wall to assess a path up, feeling the wood with my hand.

    They weren''t terribly tall as far as walls went, the point wasn''t to make them defensible against humans after all. Just enough that they could deter most of the weaker monsters. After all, if anything stronger came along wooden walls wouldn''t deter them no matter how tall you made them. Deciding to test out my [soft steps] ability that I had been practicing yesterday, taking some enjoyment in the challenge.

    Finding a groove between two posts of the lined timber to place a foot. Not exactly a secure foothold, but with the passive in effect it was like I wasn''t putting any weight on it at all. Able to crawl up the wall easily enough, so long as my feet were touching the wall it was like I didn''t weigh anything at all.

    The skill was certainly a strange sensation, especially now that I wedging my feet between the logs, no matter how much force I put into my legs the feedback of touching something was barely there. The force I could exert through the soles of my feet seemed to be capped at a certain threshold, so long as I my feet were touching something then no matter how much force I applied downward, it was neutralized and felt only like I was applying the most gentle of force.

    Shimmying up to the top of the logs and pulling myself over, dropping down the force of the fall was neutralized all the same. Feeling almost nothing when I hit the ground, but even so, I couldn''t help but reacting when I hit. My body expecting the impact and reacting accordingly, even if I knew it wouldn''t happen.

    Looking across the grasslands with a grin. No witnesses, need to hold back.

    Kaguro

    Feel free to send me any scenes or developments you would like to see. Can''t guarantee it will always be written, but I do appreciate another perspective and sometimes incorporate it in some way to the story.

 Ch 83. A Quick Excursion

    Without any witnesses around, I felt I could be more experimental in my approach.

    Taking out a few things I had collected over the past weeks.

    A battle hammer, battle axe, staff, throwing in my crude dagger for good measures... and last of all a bag of poison, the dense liquid contained within the leather pouch. I got the idea from looking around Cal''s place. He had poisonous materials everywhere, and even if I wasn''t particularly keen on using poison, getting another class could never be a bad thing.

    Materializing my full armor, and picking the two-handed hammer out from among my options, storing the rest for later. It wasn''t exactly light, but given my strength I should have no problems swinging it freely. Clicking my tongue when I noticed the mangled scales around the sleeve of my armor again. The wound was already mostly healed, the scar beginning to recede, but the armor remained and I would need to get this fixed. Something that we didn''t really have the time for at the moment given our impending trip to the capital.

    Searching for the easiest to kill muck rats. Never a hard task with the little critters skittering all around the plains, and before long spotting a small colony of them rustling through the grass, likely foraging for food and searching for prey. The rats chattering away between themselves.

    One... two... five... the perfect number of them for my purposes.

    Rushing in with a charge, the rats immediately noticing my presence and scrambling to load their slings and loose their rocks in my direction. The harmless projectiles falling flat while I closed the distance, the first muck rat''s face turning to panic just before the hammer met its face.

    Setting down the warhammer, deciding what to do while the rocks bounced off my visor harmlessly. It''d be trouble if they ran, unsummoning the hammer and bringing out my sword.

    Within a few moments I was standing over the moaning legless bodies of four muckrats, piling them next to each other, allowing me to deal with them with the appropriate weapon type at my leisure. Putting the monsters out of their suffering in turn, left with only the poison and one remaining rat.

    Looking at my mirror once the deed was done to confirm that the classes had been successfully obtained.

    For [Poisoner] was it was obvious enough which weapon was responsible, examining the skill [Poison Constitution] which appeared like it probably gave me some resistances to handling poisons. Useful for most people, but given I was already a constitution main I already had a great deal of resistance to things like poison. Unless I was submerged in poisons, or there were some incredibly potent ones I doubted I would need it anytime soon.

    [Rogue] was definitely for using daggers; the skill it gave out was [Dagger Mastery]. Given the similarity between my existing skills I already knew how it would work. The other classes were much less obvious though.

    [Barbarian] was for using an axe... or was it the hammer? The skill didn''t tell me much either, [Instinct]. My most similar skill so far was fighting sense, but that only pertained to actual combat as far as I could tell, while this seemed more generalist in nature.

    [Brutalist] was for the staff I suppose. I had never even heard of the word, but it made a degree of sense. I basically clubbed the thing to death, and there certainly was a degree of brutality to that act. The corresponding skill was [Crushing Blows], seeming like it helped out with amplifying the effects of blunt weaponry.

    In the end I only gained four classes, so there was an overlap somewhere. Either between the two-handed axe and war-hammer, or between the hammer and the staff. I wasn''t quite sure where the logic was in these classes, but I didn''t have much choice other than to feel it out over time.

    Reminded of a sore spot of mine regarding the class system, that despite my near constant use of a shield I had no defensive class to show for it. This was extremely frustrating to me because constitution was my primary stat focus and I had no class that could really complement it. To be honest this may even necessitate me contacting system to figure it out.

    Bael and the church would certainly know better, but I didn''t dare ask. It was hard to tell what knowledge was considered common sense to them, and I was afraid that asking too many questions would set off flags.

    The morning was young, and there were plenty of monsters to kill without needing to venture too far out. I didn''t feel like trying the forest again after how disastrously it had went last time, but I didn''t want to go back just yet.. sweeping through the muck rat colonies like a plague, the experience they gave was rather paltry at this point, but through numbers alone I could make up for quality. Heaping up corpses in my inventory as I decimated the plains.

    Stopping to rest when I had filled up one of my spatial inventory rooms, hundreds of bodies contained within. When I didn''t have a group with me, I could actually hunt a lot more efficiently. Moving around with a group basically ensured we could move no quicker than a walking pace after all. With my new pace, it really had only been about two hours, not enough time that Tammy and Belle would get suspicious.

    Running back to the wall, only stopping at the base to store all of my gear. A quick look was all I needed to know that I looked absolutely filthy, the blood caked onto my clothes underneath, needing a quick wash before getting back into town. The inventory saving me once again as I tried to get as clean as I could before wiping myself dry with a towel; summoning out a fresh change of clothes from my inventory and climbing over the wall just as I had done before.

    Kaguro

 Ch 84. Happy News

    Dropping down to the inside of the wall, I started making my way back to the road. Walking across the fields and seeing a strange flashing of lights from the wall. I knew that the guards had scouting lenses, letting them keep track of what was happening on the plains, but there was little reason for them to be pointing it at the city. Though I suppose with all the time they spent up there all day, who could blame them for goofing off for a moment.

    I was in a good mood, to the point that their lack of caution didn''t bother me, making it back to the farm house while following the road.

    Nobody was out in the yard, so the girls must both be inside. Getting an idea for a bit of a prank, I walked carefully up to the door with [soft steps] skill activated, eliminating the sound of my footsteps as I approached. Planning to give the girls a surprise.

    Placing my hand on the door, pausing to wonder if I could get through without them noticing me. Movement by the window indicating that the plan had already failed, the door swinging open suddenly before I even had the opportunity.

    "Nyaa, master. Belle thought she smelled you." Belle peered at me curiously through the open door, her tail swishing through the air.

    Sighing at the lost opportunity. Trying to surprise anyone with Belle present seemed to be out of the question.

    Tammy noticed who was by the door and came over smiling. It looked like she was cooking something on the fire, in a pot but I couldn''t tell what. She seemed really excited for some reason, it''s true I was gone since the morning, but I couldn''t think of a reason why she would be so happy.

    "Keaton, I have really good news..." She said while ushering me inside.

    Still not sure what was going on, even Belle seemed like she was in a strangely good mood.

    "I''m pregnant." Tammy whispered in my ear.

    "Really?"

    That was good news, but it was a little surprising to me. Her first time was only a month ago, and with how quickly it happened it seems like my theory about constitution having an impact on fertility had some validity to it.

    "I missed my period, and Belle... go on Belle, tell him." Tammy urged the eager cat girl forward.

    "Belle can tell, Belle knows Tammy pregnant." Wiggling her nose again.

    Again with that sense of smell, lately Belle kept exceeding my expectations of what she was capable of. Her sense of smell was far better than any hunting dog, if she said she could tell then I was somewhat inclined to believe it.

    I suppose this was the natural result of a man and woman''s relationship, being with Belle for so long had made me forget that. The idea of being a father was still a bit foreign to me, but now that it was happening I had no choice but to take responsibility for it.

    Smiling and putting my arms around Tammy''s waist, feeling her stomach tenderly.

    "That''s great news Tammy. I''m happy to hear that."

    Cuddling Tammy from behind while Belle looked on jealously, stroking her own belly longingly. Looking at me expectantly, I suppose I was going to be busy tonight.

    As far as how that changed our relationship? The immediate effect was that she was somewhat hesitant to have sex anymore, we''d all heard the wives-tales of the dangers of sex while pregnant, but she did offer to use her mouth in exchange. The woman instantly going into overprotective mode now that she knew she was carrying our child.

    Watching her with amusement as she stepped around the house carefully, already acting like an extremely pregnant woman despite being nowhere near the point of showing.

    When it came to the boiling pot on the fireplace, Tammy had another explanation. Even though I normally brought back already cooked meals, having weeks worth of food from the mansion stored within my inventory, Tammy decided she wanted to try cooking today to celebrate the news. Her motherly instincts already developing to the point that she was showing an interest in proving she could cook. It looked like a basic stew, winter vegetables and potato, a fitting meal for our farm home.

    This was something similar to what I ate when I first went to her parent''s house, feeling a bit nostalgic. When the soup was ready, I decided to add a bit of meat to the meal, summoning out a few strips of cooked auroch to plate alongside the soup. An addition that Belle much appreciated, the girl would probably eat meat every meal if she could help it.

    Belle instantly going for the meat, while I enjoyed the stew. A meal that Tammy had made for me with all of her feelings of love, seeing her watch me eat with a smile on her face.

    Licking the bowl when done, waiting for Belle to finish. She seemed more interested in making eyes at me than eating her meal. It was easy enough to tell that the baby had gotten her thinking.

    Tammy looked at Belle with a wry smile, she was happy about her own child, but like me she knew beastkin weren''t compatible with humans. We were a completely different species, after all.

    Even though I had some suspicions that the system could make things possible, that could be years away for all I knew.

    She finally got up from her chair, tugging at my hand to lead me over to the bed.

    "Master, bedtime! Belle''s turn for kitties."

    Belle was being incredibly forward, almost trying to drag me out my my chair with both of her arms. If it was anyone else as her master, they would have been quite offended by her actions, but I could tell Belle had already gone into heat at this point.

    Sighing as I got up, starting to get in the mood while Tammy cleaned up the plates, having already opted out of this session due to the baby she was trying her best to help out around the household to prove her motherly side.

 Ch 85. Belleâ€™s Turn (R-18)

    Belle was wagging her tail like a dog, the news of Tammy''s pregnancy had clearly turned her mind to mating. Though how easily she was induced, practically anything could do that.

    The black-haired catgirl panting heavily as she threw off her clothes in a hurried manner, standing naked with her tail straight up as she stood at the foot of the bed, turning to face me. Her eyes hungry with lust while she undressed me, practically tearing over my clothes before she was done.

    "Belle not leaving until Belle has kittens," Belle said, puffing up her cheeks angrily, clearly frustrated that a newcomer like Tammy had beat her to the punch.

    Pausing to think to herself, cocking her head and putting a finger to her cheek like she was trying to remember something. Belle''s eyes wandering off to where Tammy was.

    "Tammy already have baby, Tammy no need master''s white stuff. All Belle''s now."

    Belle staking her claim, warning off Tammy that it was her turn now. Tammy seemed like she already knew, giving me a hint that the girls probably discussed this beforehand. It made sense in a way, but Belle still didn''t know about the incompatibility of our races, something that Tammy and I were loathe to tell her, especially given how much importance Belle placed on having kittens. She would be devastated.

    Belle had begun busily arranging the blankets into a sort of love nest for the two of us. Watching her with interest as she crawled around unmaking the previously neat bed, the girl certainly not shy about giving me a good look at the goods. Prominently displaying her exposed pussy.

    After the bed was ''made'', Belle laid down on her back in the center of the bed, the blankets and pillows arranged messily in a heap around the edges, inviting me in with her eyes while she purred enticingly.

    Following her lead, I crawled over on top of her, taking notice of the love juices wetting the inside of her thighs. Positioning myself over Belle''s open legs and eager pussy.

    Lining up and sliding into her with ease, greeted with a hot and wet warmth that was even more intense than usual.

    A devilish look on Belle''s face, as she suddenly closed her legs around my back with quick and forceful movements, pulling me in further and snapping her legs shut around me.

    "Tammy did like this, Tammy pregnant. Belle do like this, Belle get pregnant." Speaking her simple logic with pride.

    Her hips beginning to move on their own, not even waiting for me to start, her sex swallowing my penis while she pulled herself onto me greedily. Feeling her walls slide around and grip onto as she moved.

    Not to be outdone, I began humping into her with now practiced movements. Feeling her arms wrap around my neck just as she had seen Tammy do before, but moving proactively with a force that was unlike anything else.

    Her sex wrapping and squeezing at me while she shook her hips and pulled with her legs, meeting every one of my thrusts. Pushing me deeper, allowing me to poke at her womb. Her body giving way to her innermost sanctum, as she craved more. Wiggling to push me deeper in, as she was driven mad with a lust to have me deeper within her.

    With every renewed thrust, the closure of her womb kissed my tip, contracting around it while she helped force it through. Her pussy''s aching and pleasant shivers pleading with me to go faster. Feeling myself coming after not even two minutes of Belle''s relentless assault.

    Pouring into Belle''s womb as she wound herself tighter around me, her walls clamping and tightening as she tried to squeeze me with everything she had while her hips continued to jump.

    She cried out in pleasure, feeling my warm release inside her deepest part. Not letting go in the slightest as she kept me locked in place with her legs, making sure that all of my cum was drained inside her.

    "Belle feels it, inside... inside Belle. Belle make kittens," trying to convince herself that this would be successful, forcing herself as deep as she could while I released into her womb, her whole body trembling in pleasure, orgasming from the steady flow entering her.

    Her hips still jumping sensually, milking my penis for all it had.

    Once she sensed I was done, she implored me to continue. Ready for another round just as soon as the first one had concluded.

    Her walls clearly sensitive from her orgasm, every time I thrust she was wracked with pleasure, tightening her arms, squeezing her legs and hips. The walls of her vagina responding in kind, squeezing and sticking to me lovingly as I pumped into her, my tip entering into her special place with every thrust, knocking at her womb every time as it let me in enough to insert the head. Pulling out to prepare another thrust, the walls of her womb closing firmly to ensure no drops were spilled. Her vagina gripping at me desperately as if it didn''t want me to leave.

    Her body unconsciously clinging to the precious liquid as if it were water in a desert, every fiber of her being driving her to reproduce.

    I could smell the pheromones in the air, her unique beastkin scent stronger than ever before as she took me in, her arms and legs keeping me locked in close. The two of us entwined in passionate combat, joining together in an embrace so hot I thought we would melt.

    Her base feelings being transmitted to me on the most primal level. She loved me, unconditionally, and I could feel her love with every movement, her absolute and total devotion.

    Feeling such a pure form of lust as Belle''s pussy milked out a second shot, her body quivering once more as I poured out even more than the first time. Filling her womb up with more of her favorite liquid, releasing it as if it were an unending stream.

    "More..." she cried out, pinned below me with her hips still rocking. Her teeth biting into my shoulder but not breaking the skin, as she tried to endure the overwhelming ecstasy, pushing herself to continue.

    Obliging her as I continued pistoning, churning her insides as we made love.

    Tammy watching with interest from a distance, a look of longing in her eyes. Disappointed that it wasn''t her being ravaged under me, even though she already was with child. Watching Belle be thrust into so ferociously, crying out in pleasure like a cat in heat, starting to touching herself in response.

    Pulling her dress up and holding it in her mouth while she sat on the couch, her spread and facing towards the bed while watching the show. Rubbing the outside of her panties in a circle with her fingers, focusing the pleasure on her clitoris as a damp spot appeared around her sex, wet from the stimulating scene playing out in front of her.

    Belle crying out lewdly while the wet sounds of sex echoed through the entire house, the bed creaking under their combined movements, the naughty catgirl demanding more as she was fucked, her lust for Keaton insatiable in a manner that only a kitten in her belly could soothe her.

    Rubbing faster and faster while the two passionately embraced, a heat in her body rising, rubbing faster in response, trying to bring herself over the edge. Her body wracking with pleasure as Keaton came for a third time, her legs shivering and shaking while her pussy contracted by itself while she watched Keaton fill Belle up, stuffing the kitty with cream.

    Belle meowling uncontrollably, her ears twitching, still clamped down on Keaton while her sex convulsed uncontrollably from the third massive load into her womb. Belle feeling her womb close automatically, sealing itself tightly once Keaton extracted the tip, as if it knew that it couldn''t afford to let any of that precious kitty-making-batter escape. Not a drop leaking out.

    Only now unwrapping her legs to allow Keaton to leave, petting her belly as affectionately as she had seen Tammy do earlier.

 Ch 86. Unwelcome Guests

    It was an unusually warm night tonight, Spring rain flooding the barren field that was our property.

    The storm had come in suddenly after dark, the otherwise sunny day earlier gave me no indication that it would be raining. Even so, here I was, watching the property from afar, feeling the raindrops on my skin while I burned through mana cores. Slowly converting the energy contained within each core into raw experience. The slime core in my hand turning to a gray chalky dust after a few minutes, prompting me to pull out another from my inventory.

    I would rather be inside sleeping to be honest, lying in bed sandwiched between two girls who loved you was the best feeling as far as I was concerned, but pretending to sleep had become so tedious for me by now that I couldn''t stand it even a second longer. Preferring to be out in the rain rather than forced to lie still for hours on end, losing the need to sleep turned out to have some demerits that I didn''t expect. There was no sanctuary for me in a bed after a long day, I simply never got tired in the first place, and if I was tired, a quick nap was all I needed.

    Almost slipping after losing my train of thought for a second, given that I was currently balancing in a precarious situation, taking the time to readjust myself on the slippery footing. Having largely outgrown the need to sleep, nowadays I put my newly gained insomnia towards more practical things, like training...

    Adjusting my balance once more, the rain making the foothold even more precarious. Looking down to the ground, it was quite a drop, standing as I was on the top branches of a great oak tree near the edge of our property, easy enough for me to climb now that I had begun to explore the application of my [soft steps], which thankfully made me light enough that a thin branch like this could support me.

    So while getting up here wasn''t particularly a challenge, trying to stay up was another matter entirely. Relying entirely on my agility enhanced reflexes to stay standing while the thin leafless branch swayed with the wind, slick with rain as it shifted under me.

    This had been my night up until now, that is, until a hooded group of riders appeared up the road pushing their horses through the rain. Their torches stuck out in the pitch of the night, the clouds had made tonight especially dark, where barely any moonlight existed to illuminate the landscape. I had been up here for hours in the dark, and even then my eyes had barely begun adjusting to the dark.

    Hunching down instinctively, not wanting to explain myself if they somehow managed to see me, knowing fully how odd it would seem from another''s perspective.

    Five men, six horses, one without a rider that was instead loaded with bags, as if prepared for a very long journey. By the look of the riders they were probably guards or knights, noticing the weapons by their sides, not to mention I could tell some of them even had armor on, the flickering torchlight illuminating the outline under their heavy cloaks.

    That observation putting me even more on-guard at their presence as I watched the horses approach the tree I was in. Crouching down to hide my silhouette as the strange company continued on their way towards me, the horses coming to rest almost directly under me.

    "This is the place."

    One of the riders spoke, motioning with their torch towards my farm house, but the voice was muted in the wind and rain. Barely audible to me while I crouched on my branch.

    Straining my ears while I tried to listen in on their conversation, eves-dropping on the trespassers, already aware they were likely up to no good.

    The smallest of the riders moving their head nervously, face obscured by the cloak as they tried to get the attention of their companions. Their horse reacting to its owner''s mood as the beast shifted its legs nervously.

    "We shouldn''t, we should just go..." A decidedly feminine voice protested, somehow sounding strangely familiar...

    "Sorry lady, but you''s ain''t callin'' the shots." one of the hooded men besides her shrugged, answering her in a rough sort of manner while deferring to another in the group.

    "We''re not leaving until that scumbag is dead," a hoarse sounding, but also surprisingly familiar voice responded. Either voice alone probably wouldn''t have been enough for me to make the connection, but my face fell when I put the two voices together, Marcella and Gawn. These two were definitely not supposed to be here.

    Marcella saying nothing in return.

    "You need to wake up Marcella." Gawn continued harshly. "Our old lives are already over. Two more days and my head would be on a spike while you''d be his plaything. A quick death is more than he deserves." Speaking his mind in a venomous tone, no doubt holding quite the grudge against me.

    Scoffing at his declaration while I materialized my armor, weapon and shield. He wants a fight, but he''s not going to like the one that he''ll get.

    Following the group with predatory eyes as the rain bounced with a hollow tin off the metal scaled armor that now covered my body.

    "Kill ''em or don''t kill ''em, I don''t give a fuck, just hurry it up will ya. We need to get to the gate before the next guards shift, else not all our heads''ll be on that spike next to yours." A slender man spoke up in a whiny voice, impatient at the hold-up during their supposed escape. Apparently the visit to my house had been something spontaneous, honored that they held me in such high regard.

    The men all drawing their swords as they leaped off their horses, Gawn holding back the scrawny looking one who had protested earlier.

    "Tim, you just watch the horses. We''re dead if we lose them."

    The man called Tim just nodding his cloaked head, the cloth bobbing to show his agreement.

    "Just hurry it up, s''all I mean, Gawn. No disrespect, we need to leave before they realize you two''ses''re gone."

    "I understand, my friend. I owe you my life, and I''m not going to throw that away so lightly." Gawn tightening the grip of his sword as he steeled his resolve.

    Marcella climbing down steadily as Gawn helped her, the two joining hands as they trudged through the mud towards my farm-home. The three other cloaked men following in tow, swords drawn.

    Myself still watching the scene unfold with cold eyes, focusing on the lone Tim character who was busy, holding the reins of the six horses by himself, trying to keep the beasts in line as they shifted uncomfortably in the rain.

    Falling down from my vantage point, and landing completely silently. Walking on-top of the mud like it was dry land, soundlessly approaching the oblivious man. Only the horses seemed to noticed my presence, neighing and pulling at the reins as they looked directly at me. Their peripheral vision far superior to that of humans, especially this one, who only became more focused more on the horses as I emerged from shroud of darkness surrounding Tim''s one torch.

    Reaching my hand out slowly, while my other hand with the blade was like a coiled snake, preparing to strike.

    "Hey," I blurted out.

    The man barely turning his head before his perception fell, the color draining out of his face as he was swung around unexpectedly, putting him face to face with his killer.

    "Sorry but you''re dead." I spoke briefly, holding him up by the hair as realization flashed once through his eyes before he was gone.

    Tossing the head over by the rest of him, the man''s hands still holding the reins lifelessly while the horses looked on with fear, as if they would bolt at any moment.

    Following the group headed towards my house with a leisurely pace.

    They were a good thirty paces ahead by now, only slowed by the rain as they trudged through the light mud starting to form in the field; completely oblivious of what had just happened to their friend.

    I couldn''t blame them for not noticing, even I was somewhat surprised by how quick a kill it had been. An unarmored neck might as well have been butter.

    Starting to grin at the unexpectedly busy night.

 Ch 87. Prison Break

    Several Hours Prior

    Inside the barrack''s dungeon, a set of eyes peered out from the darkness. Staring perpetually at the shadows dancing across the floor, cast by the flickering of the dim torchlight outside his cell.

    Gawn licked his chapped lips, his tongue rough and dry from the days of deprivation. Being given only a thin gruel once a day, it wasn''t enough to sate his hunger or his thirst, but just enough to sustain him until his date of execution.

    Everything in his body hurt, he didn''t think anything was broken yet, but his life had been hell these past few days. The Marcet family was in a precarious situation right now, and whether rightful or not, Jagen blamed him for everything. Gawn always thought Jagen believed in the same ideals that he did, that something was deeply wrong with the country, but here he was siding with that hateful and spoiled mage over his own people. He understood logically that Jagen had staked his neck out to save them once, the real problem was that coin. But why couldn''t he see that bringing a kid like that to the capital, someone who was already warped with the lust for power, would be the biggest mistake in his life? Most of all, why couldn''t he consider his daughter''s happiness?

    The lingering copper taste of blood in his mouth made him feel like spitting, but his mouth was too dry to attempt it. Jagen certainly wasn''t making his life easy.

    His belly growled, protesting his body''s condition, but the hunger was nothing compared to the gnawing that ate at him from inside, a dark burning hatred for the man who had ruined him and the one he loved filling his belly and giving his body the strength to endure. Focusing back on the shadows on the floor to pass the time.

    The shadows seeming to warp unnaturally before a sliver of light emerged from the floor,  radiant fire splitting the floor of his cell as a sword of molten rock emerged from the stone, moving slowly as it cut out a square shape. The floor melting like wax as it passed, falling in on itself to reveal a hidden chamber underneath.

    Marcella''s shiny black hair popping up through the hole, reflecting the red glow of the rocks around her. Completely unperturbed by the heat as she stared straight at Gawn.

    Frowning as she saw Gawn''s condition before pulling herself out of the hole, the glowing rocks not burning her skin in the slightest as it was covered in a thin layer of mana.

    "What took you so long?" He asked in a rough voice, his voice dry and raspy that made him sound harsher than he had intended.

    "Gawn... I''m sorry, I didn''t know... I was in house arrest, they told me you were in house arrest too, I would have come earlier..." She sounded apologetic, unsure whether he blamed her. Gawn was angry of course, but not at her.

    "I never thought Daddy would be so mean," Marcella said dejectedly, still apparently in denial that her father had completely sold the two of them out.

    To be honest he had been expecting her earlier, it wasn''t as if they had explicitly planned it beforehand, but the two of them had been fantasizing and planning over the idea of the running away together, and given her personality he had absolute confidence she would come to save him if he was ever in trouble.

    "It''s fine, you''re here now is all that matters." Glancing at the chains around his wrists, rattling them for exaggerated effect. The chains dropping off in short order, cut cleanly with a searing flash that melted only the smallest needed portion. The heat not injuring him in the slightest.

    Rubbing his sore wrists as he stood up, faltering when he tried to stand.

    Marcella scooping him up in a princess carry, lifting him effortlessly. A surprising amount of muscle hidden under her adventurers garb.

    "I think this is supposed to be the man''s role, " he could only say helplessly.

    "Oh, shush. I think it''s romantic." She teased him, before jumping into the tunnel entrance she had created in the floor, bracing for the short drop down.

    "They''re escape tunnels, in case we get attacked. Only my family knows about them," seeing the confused look on his face as he looked around the dusty hidden passageway, Marcella explained helpfully.

    Marcella wanted to carry him more, but his pride as a man wouldn''t allow it.

    Following her down the tunnel, his steps gaining surety as he steadily recovered from the several days of being chained up.

    "How did you know I was down there? You said you were in house arrest right?"

    She sounded pleased to be asked.

    "You''ve got some pretty good friends, Gawn. How come I''ve never met them before?"

    He almost groaned, having a rough idea about who she was talking about, he never wanted to involve her with these people but she had found it on her own.

    There was a rot in this country, and Gawn and Jagen were hardly the only ones to take notice.

    Everywhere you looked there was discontent, even out in a frontier city like Tromwell, where the population was few, and the harvests were abundant, peasants were still starving in the streets and farmers went hungry while they watched their crops shipped off to the larger cities.

    The seeds of revolt found fertile ground in places like these. Even knowing they would likely die, there were still those who chose to join him in fighting for the uncertain promise of a better world. He trusted them with his life, and that trust had now bore fruit.

    This particular tunnel coming to an end somewhere in the outer farmland, hidden by a dense thicket. The figures of three men, sheltering from the rain as they brought along twice as many horses, well packed for travel.

    "Goods ''ta see yous still alive boss," the biggest of the three said. Having been on the lookout for Gawn and Marcella''s arrival.

    "It''s been about two hours since we got Marcella out, guards will be all over the place soon, we gotta leave soon boss."

    Marcella nodding along happily, as this was exactly the kind of adventure she had wanted in her life.

    While Gawn''s focus was on another thing entirely.

    "There''s a loose end here that we need to take care of first," his expression hardening as he said it.

 Ch 88. Hunting the Hunters

    The four figures were struggling through the mud, and by this time they had made it about a third-ways across the field towards my house. It hadn''t really even been a minute, but I was starting to lose patience.

    I was trying to guess when they would notice, but they still had no idea I was behind them and by now I was practically close enough to reach out and grab one. It wasn''t as if I was trying to be stealthy, but the lack of footsteps really gave me an edge hear, not to mention these guys were just too focused in on their objective. With how focused they were on hunting me, they had no idea they were being hunted instead.

    "Are we really doing this?" Marcella asked again nervously, her legs failing her as she moved forward. She was going to kill someone for the first time tonight, and she was certainly having second thoughts.

    By now I had gotten a pretty good idea what the dynamic in the group was. Marcella wanted to skip town immediately, Gawn hated my guts, while the other two, minus their headless friend, barely even knew who I was. Condolences to them, but they should have picked better friends.

    "Stop worrying, Marcella. It''s going to be fine. Two minutes and we''ll be out of here, headed on our way. You were the one who wanted to do him in the first time, remember? What''s it matter if we finish the job. You aren''t forgiving him for what he did, are you?"

    Marcella was quiet, not knowing how to respond.

    This Gawn fellow just had the worst luck, if he was going to pick a rival, he should have picked someone else. Trying to kill me hadn''t worked out for him so far, and something told me that this time wasn''t going to be any better. Rather, I''d make sure of that. Feeling a bit tired of their antics by now.

    They still hadn''t noticed me, we were now halfway there and I was running out of patience. Letting them get any closer to the house was too dangerous, not for myself but for the two girls sleeping inside. Fighting near the house would just needlessly endanger their live.

    Pondering the question of how best to announce myself, I started the process of picking a target from out of their group. Honing in on the big man who was bringing up the rear of their group. Gawn and Marcella were in front, difficult to target, and this guy seemed like the next best choice. He was somewhat physically imposing, and getting rid of the physically strongest in the group just played to his own strengths. Not to mention the torch he was carrying made him an easy mark.

    The group had gone largely silent by now, they knew they were getting close to the house, and none of them wanted to alert the residents. Nothing but the sound of pouring rain beating against their cloaks, and the sloshing of their boots in the muddy field.

    The big man in the back letting out a strange gargle, the noising cutting through the relative silence and stopping everyone in their tracks.

    "Al?"

    Gawn said the man''s name, speaking for everyone when he questioned the man''s strange outburst.

    The man clutched at his chest, where a sword emerged from the other side. Dropping his torch as blood welled into his throat, turning every attempt at speech into a garbled mixture of bubbling viscera. Falling to the floor as dead just as soon as the blade was withdrawn.

    My figure underlit by the fallen man''s torch, casting shadows across my armor as I greeted the dwindling group of night-bound conspirators.

    "You wanted to see me?"

    Enjoying the horrified reactions, all with open mouths and uncomprehending faces. Gawn mortified at my appearance and his friend''s death, while Marcella was pale as if she had seen a ghost, the blood draining out of her face.

    Even so, the group had a veteran fighter, Gawn in particular moving the quickest. Showing the kind of meddle he had that allowed him to survive a harrowing brush with the dream eaters. Snapping into action as he charged in towards me, trying to close the gap and act as a buffer between him and Marcella. It made sense given she was mainly a midrange fighter from what I could tell, but her bombs weren''t particularly useful in cooperative combat.

    He wanted a direct fight, but I didn''t have to go along with that. Outmaneuvering him with ease as side-stepped, running along the mud with the slightest of issues, while the earth grasped at their feet, slowing their reactions.

    I had my eye on the extra, the man still too dazed to react properly. Not even realizing he was the target until it was too late, his head rolling to the ground not a second later. The two of us trading blows, the difference being he struck armor while I struck soft flesh, barely even any force behind his panicked retaliation before he died.

    "Marcella!" Gawn shouted, waking her up as she scrambled to take position. Even being a silver rank adventurer, much of that came from her status as a mage. She had plenty of experience in combat, but very little of that was ever spent on the frontlines. And such a sudden battle had caught her completely off-guard.

    "Box him in!" He commanded again, trying to chase after me, but failing miserably. The combination of enhanced agility and soft steps allowing me to avoid him with ease.

    Glowing purple mana dripped from Marcella''s hands, forming into round pustulant orbs, growing and shrinking in size as they morphed, maintaining just a vaguely spherical shape as the two orbs floated out, pulsing with an eery shrill sound every time the orbs morphed. Neither directed at me, but rather to my sides, and to sides of Gawn. Apparently intended to box me in and force a confrontation with Gawn.

    She was too far and I knew it, her mana bombs would never hit, and I wasn''t going to place myself next to them. Back-peddling and choosing to go around the long way, giving the orbs a wide berth while I tried to circle around to Marcella.

    "Gawn, he''s coming at me!"

    The two previous orbs de-stabilizing as they drifted even further away in the wrong direction, the sweat on her face and the focused expression she held made it readily apparent to me that two bombs were probably her limit, and it looked like she had to maintain control the entire time.

    Needing to summon a new pair defensively, she detonated the old ones. A massive explosion ringing out like thunder, concussing the air with a fiery burst just a short distance down the field, while night turned to day for the briefest of moments. No doubt the people of the city were going to hear that one, how long would it take them to put two and two together to realize Marcella was the culprit?

    The girl managing two coin sized orbs in a rapid manner, sending them flying towards me to intercept; suddenly the slow moving projectiles I was used to dealing with were not so slow anymore, the two orbs flying at me like a hurled rock.  Raising my shield quickly before they detonated, my shield ringing like a hammer had struck against it as the air cracked with the sound of a whip.

    My sudden anxiety alleviated by the lack of firepower behind the fast orbs. Seems there was a pretty direct trade off between speed and power, scoffing dismissively now that I knew these fast bombs weren''t even worth my time. Even without the shield or armor I could probably take these no problem.

    "Whole town must be awake after that, how long do you think it''ll take for the guards to get here. Ten minutes? Five?" I questioned confidently, already getting the feeling that I had won this battle. Ten minutes would be astoundingly fast, I''d be lucky if they came in an hour, even if they were to respond immediately, but these two here weren''t really in mental state to questions things like that.

    They were the ones with an executioner''s axe over their head after all, not me.

 Ch 89. Just Deserts

    The light from Marcella''s explosion had certainly made it easier to see, the field was set ablaze even with the pouring rain and lack of fuel, burning off Marcella''s remnant magic like it was oil.

    Tammy and Belle could be seen peering out the front door cautiously, clearly startled awake by the explosions near the house. Marcella and Gawn''s presence letting them know exactly what was going on.

    If they had any sense they''d hide, them coming out now could only be a bad thing for me. I almost felt like yelling, but bringing any more attention to them would just make them bigger targets for Marcella and Gawn. I didn''t peg those two as being ruthless enough to target defenseless women, but they had shown they were not above night-time assassinations, so it didn''t really seem like that much of a stretch.

    Unfortunately for me, Marcella seemed to have pretty good observational awareness, being a mid to long-range fighter that was part of her role after all; making eye contact with the girls for the briefest of moments. Clearly now aware of a possible weak point that would allow them to break the current stalemate.

    They were already starting to panic, given it had been several minutes since the fight began and Marcella''s magic wasn''t exactly subtle.

    Even so, after having committed so fully to their plan, bailing out now seemed inconceivable to them. Gawn openly brooding at this point over the loss of his friends, cursing me as he tried to get in range. Struggling to run on the unsteady ground while I avoided him with ease, backing away from every swing and bringing him further away from the house.

    "Stop running you bastard." Gawn uttered angrily. Looking like he was almost on the verge of crying out of frustration. No matter how good of a swordsman he claimed to be, he was only human.

    He already had a grudge against me from the start, the whole ordering his execution business and all, but after killing his friends tonight, it looked like he wasn''t going to stop until one of us was dead.

    "Gawn, I''ve always wondered, what''s your deal anyway? If you''re trying to skip town, what exactly are you doing here right now? Seem''s a bit counter-productive. Don''t tell me you just wanted to see me?" Dodging another swing with ease and stepping wide.

    The man ignoring me as I mocked him, not rising to my taunts. It''s true I was genuinely curious about what his motives were.

    Gawn proceeding to throw a ball of mud at my eyes as he charged in again. A little surprised at this unorthodox move.

    "You''re a really dirty fighter, you know that Gawn? This is our first real fight, so I was hoping you''d show me something a bit more interesting than this." Getting a bit angry at his fighting style that heavily relied on petty tricks and cheating.

    Trying to kill me with a monster, trying to kill me while I sleep, fighting with a numbers advantage, and now dirty tricks on top of that. Now that I thought of it, this guy was pretty low.

    Raising my shield in time to block a number of rapid-fire explosions, Marcella still trying to snipe at me whenever she saw an opening.

    The fight bringing us back past the bodies of his companies as I led them away.

    "Where''d you find these guys anyway, they look like criminals." Just openly speaking my mind at this point, seeming to have struck a nerve this time around.

    "They''re better men than you''ll ever be." Gawn spat testily.

    Acting as if I was considering his reply thoughtfully while I defended another round of Marcella''s mini-explosions.

    "They tried to kill me in my sleep, that makes them criminals. They died, so that means they weren''t even good criminals."

    Successfully pissing him off as he responded by faking a slash before dropping down unexpectedly to try to sweep at my legs, extending his reach as much as possible to try to deal with my superior mobility.

    Only managing to react in time due to an agility level that put my reflexes at just beyond human capability.

    "Sometimes criminals are the only ones willing to do what''s right," Gawn said while getting up.

    "What are you even getting at, you trying to say killing me is the right thing to do?" More than a little annoyed by his insinuations. He tries to kill me and I''m the bad guy in this scenario?

    "I wish you were a better person Keaton, I really do. I''ve never seen anyone as favored by the God''s as you are. Rare magical talent combined with this fighting capability; you are undoubtedly the most talented person I''ve ever seen. But talent can also be a curse, geniuses that act selfishly and cruelly will be nothing but a plague upon the people. I''ve heard how you treated Marcella, and I''ve seen how you treat others. The people of this country have enough problems already, I''m going to kill you before you grow into a disaster."

    "What a great rationalization, Gawn, but I''d appreciate it if you were a bit more straight with me here. Just admit you want to fuck Marcella."

    "You..!" Gawn exploding again in rage, letting off a series of furious stabs. My advantage in gear coming through, as the thrusts I couldn''t fend off just scraped by harmlessly against my armor.

    Trying to play a game of skill with him wasn''t working, if I tried to block his attacks he always left just enough space that he could get away before I did any harm. Even with my advantage in speed and strength, he was somehow managing to hold his own. The difference between our swordsmanship showing through even with my sword mastery skill acting as compensation. Was my base swordsmanship really that bad? I might not have been the most studious child, but I still did receive a martial education.

    Thanking myself that I had the foresight to switch out my useless alchemist class after killing the lookout they left back at the horses. If swordsmanship alone couldn''t do it, then I just had to play to my own strengths. Readying my [sword edge] skill for the killing blow, holding the blade up to my chest like a rapier as I locked my aim onto his heart.

    "Well Gawn, it''s been fun. " Saying my good-byes while giving him a genuine smile.

    Hearing a distressed shout from Marcella just as I sprung forward, lunging within range.

    Gawn raising his own sword in preparation with a focused look in his eye, and before he knew it he was already hit.

    Enjoying the confused look on his face as he stared uncomprehending at the translucent glowing blade impaling his chest. His sword snapping as if it were a twig, bisected by the ghostly blade that had already materialized cleanly through his body out of thin air.

    The ephemeral blade crumbling to dust before long, leaving a trail of blood through his body where he had been shot. The man still in disbelief as he collapsed shakily to one knee without warning.

    "What... what just happened."

    "Don''t try to steal my wife, that''s what happened."

 Ch 90. Cuts both ways

    Coughing blood through his speech, Gawn tried to figure out what I had done to him.

    "How? What did you do?" He reiterated, clinging to life stubbornly even as his heart had been pierced through.

    "I''m a mage, remember? You didn''t think I was only going to fight with a sword, did you?" If only he knew how few ''spells'' I actually had, pining wistfully for some other kind of mage class. [Sword edge] looked like magic and it even took mana so it might as well be magic, but in the end it was still technically a sword skill.

    "GET. AWAY. FROM. HIM." Hearing an enraged Marcella cry out from behind, followed up by a barrage of rapid explosions against my back.

    Ah... I suppose the fights not over just quite yet. A little annoying, but nothing more. Given that I could probably stop a hammer with my bare hands now, a few small explosions were like a nice massage.

    Sweeping my blade through Gawn''s neck as he stared vacantly before turning to face the now hysterical Marcella.

    "Don''t you have anything to say to me?" I asked somewhat rhetorically, knowing I wouldn''t be hearing an apology.

    "YOU KILLED HIM!"

    "Well, that part is obvious." Looking back to his head as it lay facedown in the rain and mud. She really seemed upset about that, huh?

    Beginning to approach her at a calm pace, ignoring the bombs that were too weak to cause any real damage. We were far too close for her to charge them with any real power, sealing her only real weapon against me. Even if she tried to take the both of us out together, I had enough confidence in my own ability to survive.

    "Just give up Marcella, turn yourself in and I''ll show some leniency."

    "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO RUIN MY LIFE?" She shouted in response, airing her grievances while tears were already streaming down her face.

    Summoning an array of her glowing ghost-like bombs, all of them charging up to a decent size before shooting like arrows towards me. Exploding one after another in a rapid chain, kicking up a constant stream of dirt and steam around me as the explosions settled.

    Guess that''s how it''s going to be then.

    Bursting through the screen of steam her explosions had created as I decided to rush the remaining distance. Planning to restrain her, seeing as she didn''t have any proper weapons aside from her own magic.

    Grabbing one of her wrists with my right while I tried to wrestle for her other, but she was obstinately keeping it near her waist, almost like she was trying to grasp something. Her righthand gripped around the air like it was a solid handle, pointing it at me. Not even a second later the air grew hot, motes of fires swirling towards the center of her hand as it formed a solid mass. A blade of molten fire materializing in her hand with me directly in its path.

    "Since when did she have that?" I could only think before it was too late.

    Feeling warmth in my stomach and back for the briefest of moments, before that warmth turned to pain. Searing pain shot through me as my body burned as one. Feeling the sword take shape within me, crying out in an inhumanly cry of anguish as I burned from within.

    A sickening pop filling my jaw as my spine gave way. Falling to the ground while acutely aware that I was no longer connected from the waist down, my legs standing on their own in front me while I dropped.

    Marcella laughing and crying at the same time as she averted her eyes, seeming in shock at what she had just done. Looking between me and Gawn with aimless eyes as her entire world crumbled around her. "What have I done..." I heard her mumble as she stumbled away dizzily, half from personal loss, half from mana exhaustion.

    You fucking cut me in half! I thought angrily. Honestly half in shock that I was still alive. I knew this kind of thing was possible from the talks I had with System, but living it was an entirely separate experience. My body shivering from experiencing first-hand such an obviously fatal wound. And while I honestly felt like vomiting, I didn''t feel like I was actually dying.

    Feeling around in the dirt after a few moments passed, my concentration only interrupted after I heard a charging cat-like screech.

    Hearing a charging cat-like screech, wailing in anger and anguish in a voice that I could instantly place as Belle''s. My anxiety stepping up a notch as the sound of a tussle ensued. Meowling, scratching, biting, and fighting.

    The sound of an explosion cutting through the night, filling me with dread. And anger. She couldn''t have. My mind instantly going to the darkest possibilities as my anxiety for Belle soared.

    Only the ringing of a bell, the bell around Belle''s collar, and the sound of Tammy''s voice soothed my sudden anxiety.

    "Belle! Please, stop it! You''re hurt..." Tammy choked out through tears.

    "Let go! Belle avenge master! Let Belle go!" Belle flailed as Tammy clung on, unwilling to let Belle go to her death, even through the scratches.

    Propping myself up enough to see that Marcella had disappeared into the night, probably headed in the direction of the horses. Most of whom I imagined were long gone by now.

    Deciding I needed to announce myself to prevent Belle from doing anything further.

    "Belle!" I tried to shout, but it was actually quite diffuclt without a diaphragm. My voice much quieter than I intended.

    Even so, her ears twitched and pacified herself for a moment, no longer struggling so fiercely.

    "Belle, I''m alive. Come help me."

    Her tail shooting straight up as her body twisted one-eighty degrees, staring straight at my direction. Noticing that I was alive and... well... alive.

    Struggling like I had never seen her do before as she broke free from Tammy''s grasp, nearly pulling her over in the process as she rushed to my side.

    Hovering over, only an inch away from my face as she stared intently.

    "Master alive?"

    "Yes, Belle. I''m alive."

    "Master not dead?"

    "As you can see."

    Belle looking between me and my pair of legs lying a few feet away, contemplating something deeply.

    "Well... if master say so."

    "Could you bring my legs over here?"

    Noticing her arm''s awful state as she busily worked to pull my legs over. Her poor arm bleeding and clearly broken.

    Tammy coming up behind me, nearly tackling me as she bawled, cradling my head in her non-existant bosom.

    "Please don''t dieee!" She wailed, seeing me cut in half must have been quite the shock.

    Noticing the scratches on her arm from holding back Belle, who by the way was similarly unaware of her own injuries as she pulled my lower half over and lined it up with my own.

    Sighing as I took out my mirror, angling it to catch some light from the nearby fires so I could see properly. Looking at the status points I had so diligently saved up to this day.

    Twenty-five points. I was hoping I could use them in something that would be more generally useful, but with the state I currently found myself there was no helping it. Moving each point over to the constitution attribute individually until they were all there, hovering my finger over the confirmation button.

    "Uh... Tammy, Belle, I know this already looks pretty weird, but it''s going to get a whole lot weirder soon. Just... don''t freak out, okay?"

    Pressing confirm as twenty-five points of pure vital essence coursed through my veins, each point more potent than the last. Feeling almost like my entire body was being swept away and carried by the tidal force of life energy. My cells drinking to the point of bursting, the energy reinvigorating and changing each as they took more.

    Gritting my teeth from the overwhelming feeling of life exuding from within, doing my best not to pass out.

    My severed midsection itching to the extreme almost like millions of invisible worms were weaving their way through my flesh, extending out as they searched for the lost flesh which they soon found. Two halves becoming whole as new life essence flowed once more through the damaged portions.

    My whole body beating now like a heart, each pump delivering fresh essence that constantly circulated and reinvigorated the old. I thought this was an effect from the initial investment of points, but seconds turned to minutes, and the effect was still there. Realizing that the reverberations were not exactly coming my body, they were not physical reverberations at all really, but rather something that came directly from my very soul.

    I did hear System say the body housed the soul, while the soul shaped and nourished the body. But this was something else. Right now, I could actually feel my soul. Vaguely, but it was there. Constantly providing life essence to me in an unending stream.

    Sitting up unsteadily, unused to the new sensations of life that I was feeling throughout. Examining the unblemished skin that poked through the melted scraps of armor around my middle.

    "Master amazing! Powerful master!" Belle cheered, clinging to me and licking my face, sandwiching me between her and Tammy as she single-mindedly demonstrated her renewed affections. Smiling wryly that Belle at least was so easily swept onboard the new reality, if only Tammy would be so understanding. Seeing the slight look of fear in her eyes.

    "Keaton... I... how? Keaton, are you human?"

    "I suppose there is no use hiding it at this point, you are aware that Bael is acting on behalf of the church? There is a reason they are interested in me, and it isn''t my ''space'' magic. I''ll explain in more detail, but there are some there who have extraordinary powers."

    She just nodded, seeing the love of her life cut in half before her eyes then proceed to piece himself back together wasn''t the easiest thing in the world to accept.

    For her own safety, I couldn''t very well expose everything, like the inner workings of my system, but I at least owed it to her to explain myself in a way she could accept. The church, an entity she was taught to trust, served that purpose rather well. Somewhat thankful for my connection to them at the moment.

    Turning my attention back to Belle, who for the moment was still acting oblivious to her own injuries. Her arm making me wince. Even so, I needed her assistance right now.

    "Belle are you feeling alright?"

    To which she just nodded inquisitively.

    "Can you tell where Marcella went?"

    Her eyes gleaming in the night, as she nodded. Somehow understanding my intentions.

    Well, then. Lead the way, my dear hunting cat.

    Kaguro

 Ch 91. Reckoning

    When Gawn died it was as if her entire world collapsed, everything she cared for was gone in an instant. Her happiness, her plans for the future. All destroyed by Keaton.

    She hated Keaton for everything he had done to her, how he had unfairly picked her and tormented her. How her father made her marry such a man, how he had kept her from her happiness. And now Keaton was dead, but what she felt wasn''t satisfaction. It was a void. When Keaton died her revenge died with it. Her anger, her hate. All her emotions drained from her, leaving her but an empty shell of what she used to feel. Completely numb as the reality of her situation sunk in.

    The horses were gone, she had desperately tried to find them but they had fled. Tim, Gawn''s acquaintance who was supposed to be watching the horses was lying in the mud with his head removed. The sight just revolted her, reminding her again of Gawn''s dying image.

    Panic setting in before she calmed herself in resignation. Even with the horses there was nothing she could do, the guides were dead. She had no destination, even if she managed to make it outside the walls she had no direction. Not even mentioning how she was supposed to escape in this situation. Gawn''s men seemed to have bought off a few guards, but in this situation with everyone else dead, there was no way they would let her leave alone.

    The reality of her situation sinking in as she realized just how bad it was. The horses were gone, the guides were dead. Gawn was dead. Keaton was dead. And all of their deaths fell on her head. She had no illusions about what would happen if she were caught and yet she had nowhere to run, falling deeper into despair as she wandered the dark aimlessly.

    Her future was gone. There was nobody left for her, she had been so enraptured by the idea of running away together with Gawn that she had never considered what she would do if he was no longer here.

    Her past was gone. The loving father she always looked up to had forced her to marry such an evil man while her family did nothing, blaming her for objecting. Where she previously saw warm memories of home, she could now only see darkness.

    She had always lived life in the moment, enjoying the ''now'', doing what she wanted to with everything provided for. But as she stood in the dark, she saw no hope.

    Resigning herself to her unfair fate as she found a spot to lie down. Crying to herself in self-pity as she ignored the rain.

    Movement in the night causing her to tense up, she knew the guards were after her but she didn''t react. Taking an attitude that whatever happened, happened.

    "Ah, there she is."  An oddly familiar voice spoke calmly in the night.

    Her world going black within the next second.

    The dungeons gave out a musty smell, being underground during the rainy season the air was especially moist, something that just further accelerated the rot.

    For a city of fifty-thousand souls, the dungeon here was surprisingly empty, only passing a few occupied cells on the top level. Having spent most of my years in this town, I knew that Jagen had a reputation for being lenient, and for most part the townspeople preferred it that way, allowing them to work out crime and punishment themselves. Most of the people who ended up in these cells were criminals whose crimes were severe enough to warrant the guards stepping in.

    Keaton glanced briefly at his prisoner, unconscious as she was, as he carried her on his shoulder like a sack of vegetables. Everyone around him knew who she was, and they knew who he was. None of them batting an eye to see their lord''s daughter treated in this way, but cold sweat appearing on their backs as they wondered what this man was intending.

    Every time he took a step, dozens echoed around him. Soldiers surrounded him on all sides, one leading and the rest following.

    "Open it." Keaton demanded, as the group came to a sturdy looking wooden door that led down further into the dungeon. One of the guards fishing keys out of their pocket and moving quickly to comply, not daring to disobey. Everyone here knew the circumstances, and from the man''s intense gaze each soldier here instinctively knew not to get on his bad side.

    Proceeding down the next flight of stairs led by the contingent of guards and knights.

    Gawn''s cell was the first we came across, the massive hole cut through the interior stone surprising all of the guards, causing them to sweat even more nervously.

    None of them knew? I thought incredulously. Scoffing to myself as I continued to the next cell. One with some privacy at the end of the hall.

    Another knight came running behind us, carrying something in his hands.

    Tristan? I thought to myself after seeing his face. Knowing they probably sent my brother after knowing full well how angry I was with them.

    Peering at the object he held in his hands. A slave''s collar, solidly constructed steel with a blueish tint.

    So they did have it, I thought coldly.

    "Is this the lazuli? It looks somewhat different from what I''ve heard."

    Tristan nodding in response.

    "It''s an alloy, the lazuli is mixed in. I''ve been told it should still be just as effective for suppressing magic."

    Motioning for him to attach it, to which he quickly complied.

    A jailor coming up behind us with wrist-irons and manacles, who was helpful enough to take the prisoner and affix her to her cell before handing me the key.

    Summoning a bucket of cold water to hand to Tristan who was standing nearby, my brother looking at me questioningly.

    "Wake the prisoner," I commanded.

    Watching the cascade of cold water being poured over Marcella''s head, who did not rouse immediately but was beginning to show some signs of life. Marcella''s body subconsciously reacting to the uncomfortable sensation.

    "Should we use another?" He asked me, expecting to be directed again, but I just shook my head.

    "That should be fine, now leave us. All of you."

    Changing my mind a second later, before stopping Tristan and the rest.

    "How much do you make?" I asked Tristan, who was looking at me uncomfortably. His eyes questioning why I would ask him that here.

    "I want to know."

    "Twenty gold a year," he said a little embarrassed by the admission.

    The knights all seemed to nod in agreement, while the soldiers looked somewhat envious. Given that was likely more than they''d make in a lifetime.

    "Work for me and I''ll double that, I need trustworthy men." Gold coins filling my fingers as they appeared from thin air.  Even if they understood the trick, it still managed to trigger the men''s greed. My brother''s eyes similarly lighting up in surprise.

    After the attack on my home, I understood that I could no longer rely on the power and authority of others. This was especially important when it came to life and safety of my women. Imagining what would have happened last night if I hadn''t been in the perfect place at the perfect time. Even with that, Belle was still injured, quite severely at that. Even if she herself was oblivious to it, her arm had been broken in several places due to that explosion magic.

    Now addressing the entire body of men.

    "I want knights, I want soldiers. As you''ve heard I''m paying well, and I''ll be retaining you for as long as I live. But if you join I expect you to earn your keep. If you die... for the honor of dying in my service your family will be awarded two years of salary as compensation. I''ll accept anyone, but Tristan here will be doing the vetting. If he doesn''t approve of you... then scram."

    The idea of compensating the dead was something that was rare, and with such generous basic salary it was even more tempting.

    Tristan who had yet to accept my proposal was stunned at having been thrust into a position where he was helping me poach guards from his current employer while the other men in earshot were unnerved that I was bold enough to show such disrespect for the lord of the domain, recruiting Jagen''s men right under his nose. I didn''t care even if he found out about it, rather I hoped he did.

    "We''re knights, and you''re not even a baron; we would lose our titles. It would be the shame of a knight to abandon his duty for money." Something the knights seemed to agree on, less tempted by money while the soldiers were a little more receptive to my offer.

    Deciding to change my tune to fit the audience.

    "Any soldiers who join me now, will be elevated to knights once I attain a suitable rank. You''ve heard of my powers, you know that it is only a matter of time. Think on it, and leave me for now. I''ll be in town a few more days, if you miss your chance you won''t get another."

    Bidding the group to leave, while bringing my brother in closer.

    "I want men that you trust. Nobody that Gawn was close with, you understand what I''m getting at? Ask our other siblings. I''ll make sure you are all appropriately compensated."

    Sending Tristan out after he finally agreed, turning to address my unfinished business.

    Now, where were we.

 Ch 92. Marcellaâ€™s Bad Dream

    Marcella was slowly coming to. Clearly disoriented from the wound on her head, taking longer to rouse than would be normal. It might have been a bit rough, but I couldn''t be picky with my methods, capturing her alive while knowing she had that sword ability left me with very few options indeed.

    I sharpened my cheap iron knife that I had kept with me from the start, brushing the edge against a small grit stone that I kept for managing the upkeep of my growing list of weapons. Having them in inventory storage really reduced the need for any maintenance, but even then a bit of polishing every now and then was never a bad thing. Blowing off the layer of metal soot that had formed across the blade with my breath before testing the sharpness a few times against my skin to examine my work, it was certainly sharp but from the response against my skin it felt no different than a butter knife. Smiling at my body''s evolution before starting once again, the metallic scraping sound echoing through the dungeon halls.

    Marcella''s eyes were beginning to open hazily, failing to immediately recognize the location, or me, for that matter. The low-light conditions of the dungeon obscuring her vision partially as I just continued on with my task.

    She tried to get up, only to realize she was in chains. That particular reality sobering her up, apparently becoming aware of the lazuli collar as it glowed faintly blue for a brief moment, absorbing her latent magic, eventually the girl chose to settle back down, resigned.

    Watching me with unease as I sharpened the knife, I wasn''t intending to use it on her, rather I had something else in mind, but I could see from her position why she would be uncomfortable. Continuing regardless.

    "Am I in the dungeons?" She asked me after a long while, apparently assuming that I was a jailor or soldier of some kind given the authoritative tone she decided to take with me. Did she think I worked for her father? Even the question seemed rhetorical, she should be able to tell well enough on her own that she was in the dungeons.

    Ignoring her question for the time being. I hadn''t been planning on hiding my identity, but it was amusing to watch her like this.

    "Can you call father? Actually, it''d be better to speak with mother first... call mother. I want to speak to her."

    She was in a prison, did she really think she could just order me like a servant?

    "You''re in a lot of trouble, you know that right?" I said, finally breaking my silence. Marcella being a mage, and a well-bred woman at that, she was probably too valuable and too desirable for the country to see her dead. Even if her magic was sealed, she could still be of great use to the country by giving birth to a new generation of magic users. Stripped of her freedoms and forced into slavery. I honestly wasn''t familiar enough with magic users to know for sure, but I had at least heard some rumors by now.

    Her face went grim after I spoke, gingerly laying her head back against the stone wall of her cell.

    "You think I don''t know that?" She muttered to herself, barely audible. Tears starting to form at the edges of her eyes.

    "That''s why I''m asking you. Can you please just get mom?" Raising her voice again in frustration as she noticed I wasn''t playing along with her whims. Was she trying to act tough, or did she really think a guard would listen to her in a situation like this? Given how entitled she acted, they probably would.

    In any case, her demand had nothing to do with me, and I''d had enough playing around.

    "I don''t like your tone," I said. Stepping out of the shadows and into view.

    My words causing her to snap back angrily before she could even see me.

    "Who do you think pays y.." her words trailing off at the end as my appearance interrupted her train of thought, her voice cracking as if it were suddenly caught in her throat.

    "?!"

    She could only manage a series of confused noises instead of words, every syllable laden with incomprehension and sheer dread. The blood draining from her face as she looked at me, looking like she would faint on the spot. Her head beginning to wobble woozily before her eyes rolled up; Marcella''s head falling back weakly against the stone wall she was lying chained to.

    She really did pass out, huh?

    I waited... but she wasn''t getting up.

    Drawing up another bucket of water from my inventory and pouring it slowly over her face, her body shaking from the cold sensation. Coughing and sputtering reactively from the running of water.

    Her eyes darting around under her eyelids, before finally coming to. Fixating on me as as she looked on with a frozen expression, completely unmoving as she watched me.

    Only moving her attention for the briefest of moments to take notice of the knife, something she had previously overlooked when she ''knew'' I was a guard. Her expression making it all too clear what was going through her mind.

    Even if I did have a grudge against her, I wasn''t going to torture her. Rather, my desire to possess her had only grown stronger after what had transpired last night.

    "What''s wrong Marcella, you look like you''ve seen a ghost?" I asked with a hint of malicious jest, barely containing my grin. It was hard for me to not enjoy the current situation at least a little bit.

    I was genuinely curious what was going on in the girl''s mind right now, but she had been scared witless ever since seeing my face and was clearly in no shape to talk.

    "Speak." I said, waving the knife to the side as I bid her to speak.

    She clearly had questions, but was simply too afraid to put voice to them.

    "Speak, I said. Don''t make me ask you again."

    Her fear of retribution eventually overcoming her hesitation as she began to form words.

    "I-I''m s-s-sorry for killing you." She managed to whisper out through chattering teeth, not daring to look away from me for a second.

    Killing me? Did she really think I was a ghost coming back to torment her?

    I squatted down to her level, staring at her face-to-face.

    "Do I look dead to you?"

    Seeing the panic run through her as she tried to figure out if I was asking her a trick question before she finally responded.

    "No??" She said while stuttering again, struggling to give me an answer that I''d like.

    "Then why''d you say that I''m a ghost?" Well, of course she''d think that, but she was just too much fun.

    Her face going even more pale as I questioned her.

    "I-i''m sorry. Please... I''m sorry. I didn''t mean it. You''re not a ghost."

    "If I''m not a ghost, then what am I?" Staring at her even closer than before.

    Marcella averted eyes from the pressure of my gaze, but I moved her chin so that she was facing me again.

    A cold sweat appearing on her brow.

    "Are you a demon?" She guessed, sounding hopeful. As if she were she was going to get a reward if she answer correctly.

    This girl... she was being earnest.

    If I''m not a ghost I''m a demon. I couldn''t help but shaking my head.

    "Well... it''s close enough." When I thought of the origins of the system and the system users, they really were close to demons. I didn''t feel I was entirely the same as them, given that I still had my original soul, but with the System and a foreign soul in my body, I certainly couldn''t be counted as a normal human anymore.

    Turning back to Marcella, I took her wall shackled wrist and brought it in front of me.

    "Open your hand."

    She looked hesitantly at the knife in my other hand, like I was going to do something bad to her, before slowly opening her hand.

    I placed the knife in her hand and folded her fingers back over it.

    "You wanted to kill me?" I asked her bluntly.

    She shook her head vigorously as if to deny it.

    Taking her hand with the dagger with my hand, I guided the tip of the blade over to my neck. Staring at her the entire time.

    Her hand shaking as she held it weakly, afraid to put any force in.

    "You wanted it, so do it." I commanded her.

    Seeing as she was too flustered to go through with it, I squeezed her hand forcefully. Making her form a tight grip on the dagger as I pushed.

    The dagger point taught against my skin, but my new and improved body rejected the dagger like it was no more than a finger pressing on skin. Not so much as a scratch even as I started putting in more force than would likely behead another man.

    Marcella''s eyes growing wider with fear and pain by the second, her hand appearing to hurt more than the pin prick sensation against my skin.

    Finally letting go, her hand instantly releasing the dagger as it clattered to the floor.

    "Do you understand now, the difference between us?"

    She nodded her head meekly.

    Glancing down at the dagger she had dropped just now, I asked her another question.

    "Do you want to live or die?"

    Marcella''s eyes following mine to the weapon.

    "You know what''s going to happen to you. Knowing that do you still want to live? I''ve given you the means, the choice is up to you."

    She looked at the dagger, moving her hand slightly towards it slightly before retreating. Tears filling her eyes as she cried.

    "I don''t want to die," she spoke weakly.

    Grinning to myself briefly before remembering my role.

    A slave with no will to live was useless to me after all, even if she was a slave it''s not like I could forcefully keep her alive against her own will. And even if I could, that''d be no fun either.

    "You''re mine then."

    Locking the cell on my way out before disappearing the key into my inventory.

    My mood brightened considerably until I remembered the poor state Belle had been left in. Marcella would need to be dealt with in due time, but Belle needed my attention more. I had already spent too much time on dealing with this. It was a good thing Belle was taking it all so cheerfully but it didn''t make me feel any less guilty. Marcella''s target had been me after all.

    Rubbing my chin thoughtfully as I left the prison.

    I really didn''t get cut from that, huh? Taking out my mirror to inspect where the dagger had poked at my neck. I had tested it beforehand, but I was still amazed. Admiring the power of my newly enhanced body that was still receiving a steady stream of vitality with every moment that passed. My focus wandering to the status windows.

    Putting away my mirror with a satisfied expression, it was time to check in with my favorite girls.

    Kaguro

 Ch 93. Shortcuts on the road to recovery

    I walked briskly through the Marcet family mansion, knowing exactly where I needed to go as I navigated the winding corridors. Coming to the guest bedroom we had used several times during our visits. My two girls were currently being hosted there, both for their safety with the added security of the soldiers, our house having been just attacked after all, and for the sake of medical treatment.

    Belle had it the worst, her arm was clearly broken the last time I saw it this morning, while Tammy simply had scratches, nearly all of them from trying to restrain Belle.

    Even before I got through the door I knew there was trouble.

    "Belle, you need to get your arm treated!" Tammy''s voice cried out.

    "HSSSSSSS!" Belle hissed back before scrambling away aggressively.

    There was clearly a struggle going on between the two girls, followed by the running of feet.

    Sighing before I entered, opening the double doors wide.

    Belle was cooped up in the far corner of the room, cradling her injured arm against her belly while she used her good hand to hold up a pillow she had swiped earlier, using it as a defensive prop between the two of them, while Tammy stretched out her arms, trying to cut off the avenues of escape for the wild eyed and uncooperative Belle.

    On my side of the room, something of a crowd had formed to watch the events unfolding. Jagen, Cal, a few of their most trusted knights, and of course the doctor, all staring helplessly at Tammy trying to coral the waywardly catgirl to see the doctor.

    It wasn''t as if I didn''t understand. One of their own had just tried to kill me, the optics of forcefully restraining Belle couldn''t be good for them, even if their actions were well intentioned.

    Realizing that I would need to be the one to do it, I raised my voice.

    "Belle, come over here please." I asked in a soft voice. Feeling guilty, as if I were somehow tricking her.

    Belle''s arm needed to be set, all of us understood just from looking at it. But being in some way responsible for her injury, it felt especially wrenching.

    Belle''s ears piqued then dropped flat, trotting past Tammy docilely and over to my side. Apprehensive, because she too knew what was going to happen.

    Stroking her hair lovingly, the only thing I could do for her is to take her mind away from the task at hand. Whispering promises in her ears, quiet enough that only Belle could hear. I already owed her one wish, indulging her more was the very least I could do to make things up to her.

    Belle''s tail started to swish, slowly at first, her face reddening as time went on. Tiptoeing on her bare toes to whisper back.

    It was always about that with her, I could only smile wryly.

    "Belle ready. Arm fix." Belle said, wandering to the edge of the bed a few steps away before flopping herself into a sitting position. Motioning to the arm she was still cradling tenderly against her belly.

    I gave a nod to the doctor, an elderly man with an authoritative aura to him, who moved in quickly after Belle became cooperative.

    ...

    Not even two minutes later Belle was licking her arm as it rested in a sling, while the doctor explained to me how she would need to keep it like that for three months.

    Three months? I could only shake my head in doubt. There was no way Belle could follow that for a week, let alone three months. She was always so energetic that wearing a sling was probably already a very unnatural feeling for the girl, if she wanted to move her arm, there''d be no stopping her.

    I motioned to Cal, approaching to seek his advice.

    "Isn''t there anything you can do about this? Like a potion to heal bones faster?"

    Based on the troubled expression he was making it probably was not so easy.

    "It''s not that it''s impossible, I have a few recipes for them myself... the main problem is finding the ingredients. Things like troll''s blood are excessively expensive and hard to find."

    "Troll''s Blood?" The monster''s name catching my interest.

    I was familiar with descriptions of that kind of beast, a large lumbering humanoid like monster, one with an excessive appetite and a startling regeneration rate. Adventurers could severely wound the beast one day, and then while tracking the fleeing monster come upon it again only to find the monster completely healed. While they were decently strong, their defining trait was undoubtedly their tough body and vitality to match. It reminded me of something, and gave me the start of an idea.

    "Does it have to be a troll''s blood?"

    "Substituting the ingredients isn''t ideal, but that''s mainly because not many creatures have more vitality than a troll. Unicorns, dragons, anything aside from that it is probably subpar, but good luck finding the blood of those. You can use herbs or weaker magical beasts, but ultimately you end up with an inferior product. The common health potion, I am sure you are familiar."

    "So the quality of the substitution is the only thing that matters, it doesn''t have to be a troll''s?"

    "Like I said, it''s the vitality in the blood that''s the important part. Magic and vital essence are two completely different things, which is why mages have still never successfully developed a healing magic, the life energy needs to come from somewhere and you can''t just convert between the two. Believe me when I say that they''ve tried, the beastkin have their ritual and sacrifice magic which is effective to a point, but all you''re doing with that is stealing vitality, it isn''t really healing."

    Cal glanced at Belle, as if to make his point that only a beastkin would do such a thing, "Such practices are naturally outlawed, which is why healing remains firmly the domain of alchemy."

    Troll''s blood? I have something much better than that.

    "I believe I have a job for you, Cal." Giving him an earnest grin.

 Ch 94. Miraculous Blood

    "Keaton... what on earth..."

    Cal mouthed the words as he watched my crazy actions from opposite the laboratory equipment, setting down the vial of blood that I had just managed to fill.

    "I''m telling you to use my blood."

    Just moments ago I had struggled with the medical syringes he had been keeping in a cupboard, the tips of each lying bent and curled, eventually forcing me to resort to drawing my sword to make the cut, dripping the blood slowly into a glass tube.

    The wound already fully healed within seconds.

    Tammy looking awkwardly from the side at my actions, still having trouble adjusting to the idea of my super-regenerative abilities, but I wanted both her and Belle to be here for this. They had injuries, and I wanted to fix them as soon as possible. The two of them standing around the table next to me.

    "First it''s the space magic, next you were drinking my poisons like they were a cheap liquor, now blades don''t work on you either? Either my eyes are deceiving me, or you''re becoming quite the monster Keaton." Cal observed, noting my growing list of superhuman abilities.

    "Your sister thinks I''m a demon." I snorted dismissively.

    "Can you deny it? I still think that''s the most likely explanation, or rather I can''t think of anything else that makes sense." He replied with some interest, all the while squeezing down on a dropper, filling it with a purplish hazy liquid that he held over the blood vial with a steady hand.

    "He''s not a demon." Tammy muttered defensively under her breath. Probably the most sensitive about the topic out of all of us. She had tentatively accepted my hasty explanations, but clearly doubts still remained in her mind.

    "What are you doing with that?" I asked, ignoring Cal''s ''demon'' comment. I was no longer timid about revealing my abilities, but disclosing the system and its origins was still something that I considered taboo.

    "It''s used for testing the purity of troll''s blood, reacts to the vitality. Some unscrupulous merchants started diluting products a few years ago, we''ve had to come up with ways to test our sources ever since." He said, added a few drops to the vial before giving it a stir.

    "Belle saw when Belle worked in shop." Belle added helpfully.

    "Yes, well it''s widely used now. I use it for all my healing herbs. Don''t want to give someone a healing potion that kills them instead."

    The mixture starting to glow, dim at first, but becoming brighter by the second, until light filled the room''s chamber briefly before returning back to a normal looking vial of blood.

    "I take it this means the blood works?"

    Cal could only brace himself against the table dizzily, nodding affirmatively.

    "I guess I shouldn''t be surprised anymore. Keaton, this is far more potent than just troll''s blood. Don''t you know how valuable this is?"

    Quite valuable, it appeared, gauging from his reaction.

    "So, can you make something that will heal a bone with this?" I asked, getting to my main point of interest. Looking at Belle as she had already begun to play around with the sling wrapped around her arm.

    "Certainly, although with how fresh the material is, I''d imagine it would even be fairly effective just on its own. I can have something ready for you right away."

    Beginning to dig through his laboratory cabinets, looking for particular herbs. Bringing out a dried out purple flower-bulb that he began to crush into a fine powder, pouring the vial of blood in directly.

    "Focuses the vitality into the bones, promotes a more targeted effect instead of the body absorbing it elsewhere." He spoke aloud, offering me an explanation without needing to be prompted as I showed an interest in his work.

    "Called gorgon bulbs, Belle knows nyaa." Belle couldn''t help but blurt out as she watched more of the petrified looking dried bulbs get ground up and added to the mix.

    "Your beastkin has a pretty good memory," Cal could only add after glancing up briefly.

    It seems that way, her eidetic memory was still something of an interest of mine. Glad I''m not the only one who thought it unusual.

    Adding slime cores to a glass beaker, before taking out a small circular disk with red runes on it. Moving the two to a small granite surface before placing the disk underneath the glass. Channeling a bit of mana through his hand, causing the disk to heat up like a burning coal.

    "Magical technology. All the rage in the capital right now."

    The cores within the beaker melting slowly into a viscous pool of liquid, adding a touch of water to thin it out before dropping the blood-herb mixture into the glass. Stirring it until the mixture was evenly dissolved and pouring the now vibrant purple-red liquid into five separate bottles, corking each in turn.

    "Have her drink one of these a day. Should be healed by the end of it." He said while handing them over as I promptly stored, leaving one for Belle to drink after it cooled.

    "Is that all alchemy is? All you did is add herbs to blood and mix it?" I asked while frowning, he barely took any time at all.

    "You have hundreds of gold worth of materials on the table, and I managed to enhance the effectiveness without ruining the ingredients. Is that not impressive enough for you?" Cal retorted with a snort, as if what I said were a foolish misunderstanding about his job.

    "I don''t see how I''m wrong though, all you did was mix a few things together. Couldn''t I just do the same thing?"

    "You now know how to make one specific potion. There are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of ingredients in common use, each with their own medicinal effect, and yet I chose to use this specific combination here. You even gave me your own blood, nobody in the world has ever used your blood as an ingredient. How did I know that applying heat wouldn''t destroy your blood''s potency? How did I know that Gorgon buds would have a favorable reaction? Some alchemists might rely on existing recipes, but none of that is real alchemy."

    Turning to me with a now empty vial of blood in his hands, giving it a small shake between his fingers. "Tammy needs one too, doesn''t she?"

    The three of us leaving the mansion for a walk while Tammy looked at her hands and arms with amazement, the scratches she had earlier were completely gone. Her skin looking even more pristine than it had before, despite being a farmer''s daughter her hands were like she had never worked a day in the fields in her life.

    Catching a glimpse of the mixed emotions showing on her face, no matter what I could say, the idea that I was no longer human was still haunting her mind.

    "Does it bother you?" I asked softly.

    Causing her to jerk uncomfortably mid-step, caught off-guard by my sudden question.

    "I- Keaton..." she could only trail off.

    Tammy stopping in her place, causing Belle and I to stop as well to wait for her.

    Feeling a sudden warm embrace as Tammy leapt onto my back. Wrapping her arms and legs around me like a koala.

    "I don''t care about that Keaton... I just want you to stay. I don''t want you to ever leave me. I don''t want to see you hurt either, I hated seeing you yesterday like that. I don''t ever want that to happen again. Can you promise me that?" Feeling the emotions in her voice, as she wrapped around me tightly.

    "Tammy, I don''t want to see you hurt either, I''ll protect you. I''ll be there for you... I can''t promise you that I''ll never be hurt, but as you can see, I''m fairly durable. I won''t be dying on you anytime soon." I said while feeling a hint of regret over the anxiety I had put her through.

    "Belle wants hug too," Belle said while joining in. Pressing her breasts against me in a not quite as innocent hug.

    I could only smile genuinely at the two girls, while I understood within me for the first time. I was truly blessed to have them.

    Kaguro

 Ch 95. Playing Doctor

    After the attack, it was apparent that things would never go back to normal. Not entirely anyways.

    Every few hours a trickle of prospective soldiers visited, shepherded by Tristan as he brought them in to get my approval. On one hand, I was satisfied with how industriously he was working on the task I had given him, but on the other it was beginning to fray my nerves. Eventually I had to chase him out, telling him to settle these matters on his own. I didn''t need to personally approve every single new member.

    Resuming where I had left off before the interruptions. Feeling Belle''s arm gingerly as she stared into my eyes with a sultry expression fluttering her eyelashes cattily at me, fidgeting her other hand with her tail while I poked around. I wasn''t trying to play doctor, rather I had actually discovered a new application of one of my skills, [Anatomy]. At first I had thought it was only something that related to knowledge, but now I could clearly tell that was only the start.

    The real intriguing part of the skill turned out to be that I could vaguely sense what was going on a person''s body when I began examining them, after I invested additional points, the new sense became more acute, my medical intuition growing to a point to the point that I probably had a better understanding of what was going on in her body than even Belle herself. Able to clearly tell where the bones were broken and how they were healing up.

    From what I knew all skills had a scaling effect with one or more attributes, given the effectiveness that I was now experiencing, there was no doubt that [Anatomy] had a strong scaling effect with constitution.

    Poking her arm softly again, Belle made a strangely erotic voice, a moan that was half pain over her arm and half panting heat, trying to draw my attention no doubt. I knew she really wasn''t in much pain at all, or at least she shouldn''t have been. She was handling it fine before the potion, it was only that there may have been some... unforeseen side-effects. Not only was it doing its job of healing her arm, it also happened to make her extremely aroused.

    Even if we happened to be in the company of others. Like we were right now.

    Clearing my throat uncomfortably as I saw Tammy from the side, looking beet red in the face as she watched Belle put on such an embarrassing and shameless display.

    "Both of you, don''t you have anything better to do?" Addressing our guests.

    "How cold, Mr. Keaton. I thought we were friends?" Bael said, flashing one of his usual inexpressive smiles. Creeping me out with how he could manage to do so without moving his facial muscles at all, aside from his lips.

    "I hardly know you." I said, narrowing my eyes.

    "I''m aware. Consider this as a wellness check, I understand you were attacked and I am glad to see you are doing well. I hope this situation will not cause any unnecessary delays."

    I simply nodded my head, weary but understanding of his situation. Knowing his connection to the church, and the church''s true origins, I didn''t want to keep them waiting too long either.

    "And you, Cal?" I asked with a tired voice.

    "Can''t I hang around here?" Cal frowned at my cold attitude. Drumming his fingers against the edge of the table before shifting uncomfortably, adjusting his position as Kaya sat in his lap, his younger sister looking up at him briefly with innocent eyes.

    "You should have warned me that this was going to happen." I said, looking back at Belle, who was in the beginning stages of attempting to lick my fingers in a suggestive manner while purring.

    "How was I to know that a beastkin would react to it like that? It''s not like they buy many of my potions you know." Cal responded defensively, before quieting down.

    "I''d rather not be at the mansion right now if I can help it. Father is in a really bad mood right now. I introduced you to the family... and I don''t feel like being a lightning rod right now."

    "Fair enough," I sighed.

    I couldn''t be too upset with him, even if I knew the side-effects I''d still have Belle drink it. Besides, I knew Cal''s situation was mostly my fault.

    Ever since I had begun my open recruitment of Jagen''s forces, Jagen knew our relationship was over. It was an open provocation. He was done playing father-in-law and I was done playing family. His daughter tried to kill me, twice, even. Not to mention that the second time was partly his fault. The security had obviously been lax, whether he was trying to give his daughter an out, or simply never expected her to attempt an escape, I still didn''t know which of those were more likely. Even if he didn''t mean me harm, there needed to be consequences. Jagen included, but especially for Marcella, and I had just the thing in mind.

    I knew Jagen had spent a great deal of money and effort advertising the fact that Marcella and I were engaged. He had even paid for a grand reception and ball to be held once we were in the capital, exhausting all his clout to invite every influential royal, noble, and businessman that he knew. This was supposed to be the grand revival of the Marcet family, their phoenix-like rise from the ashes of a self-imposed political exile. But, now that Marcella had instead ended up as a criminal and my slave it was obvious to everyone that the social debut had to be canceled. It should be canceled... but somehow a seed had grown in my mind, persistent as it was.

    What would happen if we didn''t cancel it? Who says we can''t have our introduction to high society?

    A grin slowly creeping up my face as I thought about it.

    We''d have our party, we''d have our guests. But rather than being introduced as husband and wife, we would be master and slave. Marcella cared a lot about her image, wouldn''t it be the most fitting of punishments?

    Jagen certainly wasn''t happy, that''s for sure. It was his family''s reputation that was going to be driven through the mud. Smart enough to quietly swallow his words, knowing that he was on shaky ground. And not just because of what Gawn and Marcella had done. Having after the fact discovered additional collaborators within Jagen''s own men; the two gatesmen stationed on the outer walls, the ones who I had seen flashing their spyglass towards the city instead of doing their jobs monitoring the plains. Gawn certainly had more friends than I previously expected, people who were willing to betray their lord and employer for no apparent reward.

    Bringing my thoughts back to a serious topic as I summoned out a folded parchment. Handing it over to Bael for him to examine before feeling Belle''s arm again, able to sense the bones mending at steady but noticeable speed.

    Bael''s eyebrow raising at the sight of the paper. The parchment was covered in a strange script, the runic words written so as to bend around in the shape of a circle. Lines drawn between the words, and in the center, was an oddly familiar sigil. A lion and shield, that of the church, the guild, and the Stromgarian royal family. Only this tattoo had the shield drawn in front of the lion, obscuring its face, a strange inversion on the original symbol.

    It was something related to the attack, or at least that''s what Jagen had thought, but it wasn''t obvious to me what he had meant and he refused to speak any clearer on it. Even knowing the power I held over him, leaving me no choice but to ask others.

    What this was about, I still didn''t know exactly, but I knew at least that it had to do with the dead men who had attacked my home. Who were they? Marcella was the only living witness, and neither she, nor the previously executed guards had an answer for us. I assumed at first they were soldiers, an assumption that ultimately turned out to be not true. None of them were working for Jagen, none of them were even registered as being residents of Tromwell at all. The plot only thickening with the discovery of tattoos on the lot of them, found on the soles of their feet.

    "A street gang." Bael answered disinterestedly, handing me back the paper.

    "Gawn seemed to have been talking a lot about overthrowing the government, is it possible this gang is political?"

    "Impossible." Bael smiled ever so slightly. "And even if they were, they''d be suicidal to try it. Stromgar is a much more stable country than you realize."

    I didn''t know what else to say about it. And while I didn''t like unknowns, there wasn''t anything point in worrying about it for no end.

    Eventually Bael went home, having promised that we would soon leave within a matter of days. While Cal and his younger blood sister looked awkwardly at the display of affection Belle was showering me with, rubbing her cheek intimately against the back of my hand.

    "We''ll take our leave as well." Cal spoke, nudging Kaya to show that it was time to go. Probably a wise choice, seeing where the mood of the room was headed.

    Giving Belle''s leg a knowing squeeze after they had gone.

    "Belle''s treatment is done for the day, Tammy." I spoke up loud enough for her to hear us from across the room.

    Tammy who had been somewhat nervous since the day before, had said she felt like cooking something for the three of us.

    The girl adding a bevy of spices and poking around at whatever was inside the iron pot she had cooking over our fireplace, covering the lid back up again before responding.

    "How is she?" Tammy asked.

    "Horny." I said, looking at the catgirl who was rubbing herself under her dress as she pressed against my leg. Acting even more unrestrained now that our guests had left.

    "Care to join?"

    Tammy looked back at the pot she had just hung over the fireplace, placing a finger to her chin as if she were thinking about it.

    "I think we have some time." She replied, cocking her head cutely.

    Kaguro

    Character art is free and available on my patreon.

    Tammy: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tammy-43168639

    Marcella: https://www.patreon.com/posts/marcella-43317067

    Belle & Keaton (cover): https://www.patreon.com/posts/adventure-king-40218726

 Ch 96. Lust Potion (R-18)

    "Master... Belle feels hot." Belle described the symptoms she was having from the potion. Grinding her hips against me as she tried to lead my hand down to her aching sex.

    I was still incredibly curious, what from the potion was making her this way? Perhaps some experimentation was in order. The potion was rather simple, and the main ingredient was my blood.

    Turning my attention briefly to my finger before focusing my intent. Shooting out a crescent of green-colored aura that managed to make a shallow cut, barely enough to draw blood. Shaking my head at the poor display of my new ability [sword aura]. It wasn''t that it was bad, but rather I had no true affinity for the skill. My attributes were unevenly distributed, almost all of the points falling into constitution, and it was becoming clear that the swordsman class had no synergy at all with constitution stacking.

    Watching a drop of blood form up on the tip of my index finger, holding it upright to prevent the drop from spilling. Belle had already had some, the real test would be with Tammy. How would she react?

    Watching as she was busy undressing a few feet away with her back turned, her dress slipping away to reveal her lithe nude form.

    "Tammy, I seem to have gotten a scratch. Would you lick it for me?" I asked her as she turned around.

    She looked at the blood with some apprehension before coming up to me as I sat at the foot of the bed alongside Belle. Getting to her knees, she opened her mouth. Placing her lips around my finger before licking gently, finding with her tongue that the cut had long since healed.

    Pulling her mouth away before looking up at me with bright blue eyes.

    "Like that?" She asked holding my finger with both hands.

    "How do you feel?", I asked curiously.

    "I feel... oh." Tammy spoke slowly, her pupils dilating as her breath turned hot.

    So it really was the blood? My entire body was infused with vitality, not just the blood, so I could only imagine that the effect remained present in some ''other'' types of body fluids. Was it possible that I had been getting them slowly addicted to me without even knowing? The effects had suddenly become so much more noticeable because of the additional twenty-five points spent in one night, but the effect should have been there much earlier than that.

    "Master... please don''t ignore Belle." Belle whined pathetically, looking at me with her kitten eyes, her pupils similarly enlarged, but to an even greater extent, such that they covered nearly all of her iris. A combination of the larger amount of blood ingested and her race''s lustful nature.

    Reaching to feel under her skirt to feel her her waiting sex, my hand brushed up against her tail. My [anatomy] skill triggering unexpectedly, giving me a natural sense of what felt good to her. Her tail was that sensitive? I wondered to myself, while my moved my hand lower. Feeling into the entrance of her pussy with my fingers, causing Belle''s pleasure senses to become overwhelmed. Cooing as she melted around my fingers, already cumming from just the touch.

    Pressing deeper with my fingers, I could pin-point the spots that felt best to her. Attacking Belle with relentless pleasure. Her oozing pussy, making it abundantly clear to me that she was ready for a real cock.

    Lifting her with ease over to my lap, while Belle made it easier by cooperating. Swinging her legs over so that she was now kneeling over my cock, her hips spread wide, pussy centered just above but hidden under her skirt. Having long since removed her panties and removed her blouse, she was now fully prepared. Nude other than a skirt that was kept on by the hole Ameliah had sewn in for her tail, as it poked out the back. This lusty kitten ready to take me in at any time as she faced towards me while licking her lips.

    This was an ideal position for us, because of how Belle could lean into my chest for support, even with her arm in a sling, we could go still go at it like animals. My own excitement rising to match hers, from the expectation as Belle lowered her hips even more, taking my erect member into herself. Leaning in to kiss me as I responded by pulling her into a hug, placing my arms under and through hers, supporting her back with my hands falling around her shoulders as I held her in a passionate embrace. Our tongues entwining, as we shared a hot entwining kiss.

    My skill constantly telling me how well I was doing, pushing me to improve my technique and drive Belle even further into ecstasy. Giving me an idea to include Tammy in the mix.

    "Tammy, could you take care of Belle''s tail? It seems she likes that." I suggested to Tammy after noticing her watching while biting her lip. Separating my lips from Belles just briefly enough to speak, before going back again. Chasing Belle''s tongue sweetly.

    Tammy was more than happy to do so, having been looking for an excuse to join in. Climbing up on the bed, and setting up behind Belle as she lay trapped against my chest, her erect nipples and plump peaches poking against me as she took me in; my cock moving inside of her sensually.

    Tammy continued, taking Belle''s tail in her hands and petting it slowly, the cat tail wiggling like a snake as it wrapped around her hands tenderly. Not even needing the feedback to tell me that this was something Belle really liked, as she came for a second time. Squeezing and tightening around my cock as her pussy shivered in ecstasy.

    Rather than slowing down, I began to move faster. Fully aware of the overwhelming pleasure she was now experiencing, Belle''s body still demanded more as it begged me to impregnate her, the feedback I was receiving through the skill encouraging me to not only continue, but to take it another step further.

    Another surge of pleasure racing through Belle''s back in tandem as Tammy clamped her mouth around one of Belle''s fuzzy ears, her hot breath and delicate tongue stimulating Belle''s spots that before now I didn''t even know were erogenous zones. Stilling rubbing Belle''s tail as it struggled in her hands.

    The catgirl sandwhiched between our efforts, cooed mindlessly as she melted in pleasure against my chest, her sounds of inhuman lust muted by the tongue that sealed her mouth. Her warm pussy leaking love juices like never before, even her womb opening to accept me in, allowing me to push further inside so as it swallow my seed. An invitation that I graciously accepted, pumping even faster as I drove her to utter euphoria as she stretched and shuddered to accommodate me fully.

    Belle was barely on the edge of consciousness, overwhelmed by the pleasure she sought so desperately. Moving her hips in the limited fashion that she could, seeking my seed even as she continued to be assaulted from two sides. My own pleasure building up inside my loins, preparing to release the finishing blow and push her over the edge.

    Holding on and timing myself with the feedback I was getting from the skill, waiting until Belle was approaching her third climax. Pinning Belle while subjecting her to a relentless assault, pistoning into her aching sex that glistened and smacked wetly, her tongue chasing mine, while her tail and ears tingled madly from the erotic stimulation, the combined stimuli driving her wild and forcing her into her third consecutive time.

    Belle''s twitching pussy massaging around me as I painted her womb white, releasing a torrent of blissful rapture inside of her. Her catkin mind finally overwhelmed by the crescendo of pleasure as she lost herself in a haze of sex. Her womb swallowing my load even as she lost awareness, moving her hips to fully milk my seed into her fertile grounds. Even with the barrier between human and catkin, her body continued to drink it up, as if it were a much needed spring rain falling on desert sands.

    Unsealing Belle''s mouth after she had lost consciousness, leaving her to lay against my chest as I felt another wave of pleasure; coming a second time almost immediately as her womb continued with its movements, wringing out every last drop that it could get.

    Feeling momentarily spent even with my greater stamina, having poured out so much that I had unintentionally stuffed her with my surplus cream. Enjoying the moment as the three of us lay together.

    I rubbed Belle''s back fondly, while Tammy petted the exhausted kitty with a loving expression, who purred out in pure bliss. Unconscious and fast asleep after our coordinated workout.

 Ch 97. Departure Day

    Ever since last night Belle had been rubbing her tummy with a strange smirk on her face, looking at me even more fondly than usual. Even Tammy had been acting more affectionate than usual, even if it was still just small things like trying to spoon feed me during breakfast, or following me more closely than usual.

    It was apparent their lust from last night had been sated, but the residual effect had left them in a love-struck haze. This was the first time I had slept with them after my transformational changes, and even without further study it was abundantly clear that my body could exact a desirable effect on the opposite sex.

    It was something I had an interest enough in exploring, but today was already going to be immensely busy. We needed to pack for our trip, and even if that was a relatively simple task with my inventory, there were a lot of things we needed store. Not only was I packing for the three of us, there was now Cal and his entourage that we needed to cover, not to mention all the food, water, and gear enough for the soldiers that I just recruited.

    Within minutes our small farmhouse was as empty as it had been before we moved in. One of the rooms in my inventory filled to the brim. The food and gear for the soldiers was easy enough to prepare, simply a matter of requisitioning them from Jagen''s barracks. The problem ended up being Cal, it wasn''t that I didn''t mind storing his things, he was going to be my personal alchemist after all, it was just a little troubling that he had so many things for me to deal with.

    After sweeping up the alchemy shop, he led me from warehouse to warehouse, many of them filled with mummified corpses of various monsters, distorted creatures in jars, and racks of various dried herbs.

    Letting out an impressed whistle as I stared at the bony remains of a shark-like creature, something that had to have been imported thousands of miles from the great sea. Stromgar was a landlocked country after all.

    "You''ve got quite the hobby here," commenting as I looking at the assortment of creatures, many of which I''d never even heard of before, laying my hand on each in succession, throwing it in the inventory for later. Better to take everything than miss something we might want later.

    "Hobby? You do me an insult, Keaton. I''m always serious when it comes to alchemy. The natural world is abound with mysteries, more than we could ever know, and very few people take an interest in studying them. I find odd things that may have the properties I need for my potions, I test them, I catalog them, and if things go well, I have a new recipe."

    "So why is it that I''ve only ever seen you sell health potions?" I asked with genuine curiosity, not trying to offend.

    Cal could only sigh.

    "Supply and demand," if there were a market here for my other goods I''d sell them. I still make more expensive potions of course, but everything has to be shipped off to the capital and back again. The profit is still there of course, but the margins charged for transportation and sale are exorbitant. If I were able to pursue my studies without regard to the cost that would be ideal, but nothing is ever so simple in this world."

    It seems he was always having money problems with alchemy, but I had a few ideas of my own in that regard. Money was never a bad thing, and my powers had given me quite a few ideas in that regard. Rather than having Cal spending months of time buying and studying rare goods on the off chance they were useful, I could immediately tell from just a glance. An ability that made creating new potion recipes and monopolizing the market for them seem like a pretty trivial task.

    Smiling in anticipation of our trip to the capital. I had so many plans, so many expectations, the world was a big place and for all my life I had only known the confines of this city. A walled town on the frontier of humanity.

    Everything was set.

    Tammy had visited her parents to say goodbye, the gifts I had given them were already enough for them to never work a day in their lives, and now they had a grandchild on the way.

    Belle''s treatment still had potions left for her to take, but we could just as easily do that on the road. I didn''t want to have her taking it in the morning and end up in the same condition for the whole day.

    All of our possessions were stored. The carriages were prepared, and the horses were packed. The rows of men that I had poached from Jagen''s employ were standing around nearby, nearly two dozen now, greeting the other guards who Bael had brought in from the capital and employed as private security.

    There were three carriages in all; two we had taken from Jagen, one for myself, one for Cal''s group, both of them sharing a similar design of the Marcet family, flowery designs carved into the sturdy wood frame. Fitting construction for a frontier town, sturdy enough to deal with the rough dirt roads, but still managing to display an air of elegance. Then there was Bael''s, the delicate construction of his carriage putting on display the sheer opulence and power of the church. Pure white wood, that despite having traveled over muddy and pitted roads looked spotless and radiant, as if it had been enchanted by magic, which it in fact had been. The woodwork far more intricate, showing the work of a master craftsmen.

    Bael, looked out from his open window. Peering at me from above.

    "Is everything in order, Mr. Keaton?"

    "Just waiting on one more... I think they''re just about here." I said with a pause, looking down the road for the sight of Tristan who was just beginning to round the corner.

    I had sent him on a specific task, and judging from what I was seeing, it looks like he had at least some success.

    Two riders approaching, one of them Tristan, the two of them leading a hooded prisoner down the road at a leisurely pace.

    Marcella''s hair poking out through the hood of her cloak, instantly giving away her identity as she followed closely behind the horses. Her wrists tied and wrapped in rope that stretched only a few steps behind the horses, forcing her to stumble forward to avoid being dragged.

    Kaguro

 Ch 98. Prism

    Marcella looked down, trying to avoid the stares of the crowd. Even with the hood on, it was obvious enough who she was. Led on by the two riders, Tristan side-by-side with another knight. A familiar face, one with a striking resemblance to my own, only with a much more muscular build. Even with my added strength, my frame was on the leaner side, not like that of a trained knight.

    "Hello, Tristan... hello Gerald."

    I was actually a little disappointed that it was just the two of them, I had many more brothers after all, and in the situation I found myself in, there was nobody I could trust more than family.

    Gerald gave me a bit of a silent nod, pulling the reins on his horse so we could speak.

    "Just the two of you?"

    "Just so you know, I did ask. But... you know how it is." Tristan confirmed.

    Being one of the youngest, not to mention the undeniable runt of the family, I had always had something of an inferiority complex. And it seems like even with the relative fame I had brought our family, not many of them were convinced that following me to an uncertain future was a better idea than leaving the peace and relative comfort Jagen''s employ.

    I could only grimace at the bitter memories this topic was bringing up, my thoughts only interrupted by Tristan surreptitiously handing over a vial of finely grained blue powder. The distinct coloring immediately tipping me off that it was Lazuli stone, as I quickly stashed it within my inventory.

    "The prison had some extra from the shipment. Also..." Tristan paused, searching through the saddle pack at his side before pulling out a triangular prism. One that looked like some form of glass, the insides filled with a black smoke-like gas. Handing the strange object over to me before explaining.

    "Father wanted you to have it, he said it had to do with your mother."

    I could only look at prism with mixed curiosity and confusion, the object small enough to hold upon the palm of my hand as I held it.

    Mother had died very young, pretty much immediately after I was born. As such, I had never actually seen or heard much about her. All I knew was that she had been an adventurer, and not a very good one at that. Being a young girl who had come here during the initial establishment of Tromwell, she didn''t have any particular skills to speak of... I had always heard father married her out of pity. It had always been something of a shame that my brothers were all too keen to remind me of when they were younger, only recently did these feelings start to fade as I formed my own base of confidence.

    "What is this thing?" I asked curiously, shaking the prism like a snowglobe and watching the smoke inside swirl about as it formed various shapes, dancing around the glass prison as I held it up to the light. Tapping on the glass it seemed like it wasn''t really glass at all, but rather a transparent crystal, maybe even diamond.

    "There was an expedition several years ago not too far from here, ancient ruins or so I''m told. It was a big deal at the time, but nothing much ever came from it. Aside from quite a few random trinkets like this, that is. Sell it or keep it, up to you. Father appreciates the help you''ve given to our siblings, their promotions as Jagen''s knights were due to your influence and he wanted to thank you somehow. It''s probably worth a few hundred gold to a collector."

    Shaking the prism again to watch the smoke fly around inside, forming into a ball as it slammed into the sides before dissipating. Even an object this strange was only worth a few hundred gold? It was clearly magical, which I assumed made it worth more. Was it because it didn''t have an actual use? Or were things like this actually common? I''d probably need to ask an appraiser somehow to see what it was actually worth.

    Moving to store the item, but finding myself strangely unable, frowning as I examined it for a second time before pocketing it quickly. The inventory can''t store it? I could only question the nature of such an item, being the first magical item I had ever encountered. The supposedly ''anti-magic'' lazuli stone went in easily enough, but a magical item couldn''t? Did the magic that powered this trinket interfere with my inventory skill in some way? A topic for another day, no doubt.

    "Well, thank you then. I appreciate it. I''d like to thank father, but it seems like there''s no time... I''ll send him a letter later."

    In reality I just didn''t want to speak with him. The two of us had always had a strained relationship at best. He was still my father, and I owed him that level of respect, but given the fact that I had lived most of my childhood in a small cabin outside the main residence, it was clear that he had always been keeping me at a distance. If even becoming a mage wasn''t enough for him to want to see me, then nothing would be. Taking the trinket as nothing more than a bribe for me to go away, perhaps that''s what it truly was.

    Bitter feelings rising once more before I pushed them from my mind. I am my own man now.

    "Let''s get a move on then, shall we?" I stated not just to Tristan and Gerald, but to all present within the small crowd. Bael, Cal, the soldiers, and the few other wagon drivers we had hired to transport a small amount of goods that would be used during the journey. Hay for the horses, food and water for the soldiers. I could resupply the wagons when they ran low, but handing out snacks every-time someone was hungry would grow old rather fast after all.

    Watching Bael''s face light up from within his carriage as he if he agreed greatly with my sentiment.

    My new men, all entirely soldiers aside from Tristan and Gerald, organized around each of the brothers. A structure soon being decided as the column split into two groups, both moving in tandem to protectively flank my personal carriage from the front and back.

    Seeing how everything seemed to be in order, I prepared to step up into the carriage for the journey. Pausing when I realized I had an observer.

    Marcella staring at me from behind her hooded cloak, wearing a hopeful expression, as if to ask if she could ride with us.

    "You''re walking." I could only say with a wry smile before stepping through to the compartment and closing the door. Looking around the relatively roomy box where we would be spending most of our existence for the next month. The padded leather seats and back rest feeling nice enough that it certainly couldn''t be the worst way to travel.

    A small single pane window on both sides of the box, inlaid into the door frame itself and containing a secondary extendable wooden frame that we could cover the windows with if we so choose.

    Tammy and Belle both sitting opposite to me with similarly excited faces. This would be a similarly new experience for all three of us, leaving Tromwell for the first time. An entire new world awaits.

 Ch 99. Intermission

    Antiam, Stromgar Capital

    The clacking of horseshoes echoed out across the well paved stone street as a column of mounted knights made their way through the packed and decorated streets. Each soldier adorned with heavy armor, bright white in color and polished enough so as to catch the light as they moved, the metal plates shining like polished porcelain, dazzling white broken up only by deep red of their vermillion tabards; the decorative cloth they wore over the armor to show their status as the king''s personal soldiers.

    The jostling of armor from hundreds of men moving through the wide open streets ran together like a river of sound, impressing upon the crowds of watching citizens just how powerful their kingdom really was, while young maidens in white followed the procession with baskets of colored petals that they scattered to the crowd. The air filling with flowers and the ringing of bells as churches signaled the military''s victorious return.

    "Glory to the king! Our great leader, vanquisher of beasts, savior of the people, and first of the realm, has today duly declared today, this evening as the King''s day! In celebration of his majesty''s conquest of the Antalushian beastlands a feast will be held in his honor!" A crier declared to the curious crowd, only for the same message to be echoed further down the street by a man with an identical job, spreading the good news to the people about the military''s success.

    Of course, their success had already been a foregone conclusion. Under their king, Stromgar had seen nothing but victory after victory against the beast kingdoms. But even if such celebrations had become commonplace, for the citizens it hadn''t grown old at all. They led tough lives, and these parades and celebrations were a source of great pride for those who had none. Commoners filled the streets, filled the alleyways, and dozens climbed the buildings to catch a view as the procession thundered by in perfect unison.

    A roar coming over the crowd as their King came into view, surrounded by knights in white armor and crimson tabards who peered silently out at the crowd, surveying with a cold and unfeeling gaze that remained hidden behind their mask-like helmets, each shaped so as to appear as if they had the head of a lion; drawing inspiration from the royal symbol.

    Their beloved king sitting behind them upon a great golden throne, the throne centered upon a massive yet still ornately decorated marble platform. The platform itself lurched forward unsteadily, as rather than being drawn about like a carriage, it was instead being carried by great lumbering beasts. Four lion-headed ''were-beasts'', struggling below with labored breaths as they struggled to bear the massive weight above them. Great irons, like those used to anchor a ship, wrapped their arms, legs, and neck. The massive lion-headed monsters demonstrating the power contained in their bodies with each step that shook the earth. The eyes of these once proud beasts showing nothing but humiliation and defeat, the heads of their men being proudly displayed behind them alongside the women of their lands, beastkin of all sorts forming a massive line stretching through the city, and even out the gates as they were shown for all to see.

    The king looking out upon his subjects with the same cold eyes as his knights, unmoved in the slightest. Beastkin, human, it made no difference to him, they all existed solely for his own enjoyment. And enjoy them he did. You would never be able to do things like this in the real world, but here? What difference did it make. This wasn''t Earth, and none of these people were real. When he selected his God, he specifically did so because of the dark theme, and it seems the others sent to this world alongside him were also having the same idea.

    A bird above watching the king from thousands of feet up, suddenly dove, screeching to a halt and landing besides the king with grace. Revealing the bird was actually a man, dressed in black feathers, and wearing the mask of a raven. Vials of ominously glowing liquid corked into vials and secured around his waist, but no real weapons in sight, aside from his overly long nails, twisted and black that extended from his fingertips.

    Despite the man''s sudden appearance and threatening visage, the king looked no different from before.

    "You''ve metsss the newcomer, so what''ssss your impression?" The crow-like man asked, his voice coming out in a strange hiss.

    "I won''t say he''s useless... but he''s undeniably going with an enhancement build. Unimaginative." The king said, speaking with a tinge of boredom. As if neither the flying man, nor the crowd of millions were enough to catch his attention.

    "That''ssss too bad." The crow said, shaking his beak-like mask, before digging through a pouch at his side.

    "At leastsss he can help with finding these," handing over a transparent crystalline dagger that the king simply held for a few moments, examining it to confirm the genuine nature of the item.

    Beckoning over one of his guards, who dismounted his horse and obediently climbed up the platform, standing deathly still as the king plunged the knife into the knight. The dagger slipping through his armor like butter, and drinking the blood thirstily as the knight stood by passively, letting it happen as his body shriveled and dried. Eventually falling over into the former husk of a man.

    The dagger in the king''s hand glowing with an ominous scarlet liquid that filled it like it was a bottle, not a drop of blood to be seen on the outside.

    "Well, that makes eight now. Just the phylactery and the shield remaining now. I''d love to see what the quest reward is."

    "Hatessss this quest, I do."

    The king just nodded in agreement, "Raiding ancient ruins is fine and all, but the problem is we don''t even know where these ruins are, or which ones have what we''re looking for. thirty years, thirty long years spent looking for these damn items." Letting out a tired sigh.

    "Kingdom building is fine and all, but it starts to grow old after a while. I want to see some new areas." Looking at the birdman with a hint of envy.

    "Sometimes I wish I had your abilities, flying wherever you want. Being a king is no fun."

    "Liarsssss, you''ve seen more than any of us. With that ability of yourssss." A long slippery tongue flickering out of the beak-like mask for a brief moment.

    "Living vicariously is not the same as experiencing it yourself, I want to see things for myself." The king shot back.

    "I wouldn''tssss know... I''ll be leaving now, have fun, Bael." The crow-like man finished talking, hunching over and unfurling his wings before leaping off the platform as if he had somewhere to go.

    Leaving the king, Bael, on his own to enjoy the rest of the parade and feast in his honor.

    Keaton''s status window:

    Kaguro

    https://www.patreon.com/kaguro

    This is the Arc 2 intermission chapter, I will add an additional page today for character artwork.

 High Res Cover Art, Keaton & Belle (Not a Chapter)

Cover:

 Tammy Artwork (Not a Chapter)

Tammy:

 Marcella Artwork (Not a chapter)

Marcella:

 Ch 100. Arc 2: On the Road

    Kaguro

    The grass was overgrown on the side of the roads, but not nearly as tall as what I had seen near the edge of the true wilderness, even here well outside of Tromwell, the mana was not nearly as thick, meaning the frontier cities really were doing their job of taming the unlivable wilderness. The kingdom''s strategy for finding enough land and food for its people had been one of leapfrogging cities outward, continually pushing the bounds of habitable regions and slowly acclimating the land to a lower mana density, terraforming the world into an  environment more suitable for human life and less fit for monsters.

    Peering out from the window alongside Tammy, and Belle, who had their faces nearly pressed against the glass as the carriage continued rolling down the winding dirt road. This was the furthest any of them had been from home and all of their hearts were filled with a strange sense of adventure for having crossed into the unknown. And now that they were a few hours out, the tall grass had finally receded enough to allow sight across the vast and rolling lush plains.

    Every now and then our carriage would stop, a wayward muck rat, or earth golem finding their way across our caravan''s path, the soldiers we had hired alongside Bael''s own guards making quick work of the poor monsters before we continued on.

    Seeing that we were in for a long journey, I took out several dozen slime and elemental cores, arranging them in a pile on the seat next to me. Intent on contacting the system for questions, trying something that had once ended in failure, I activated them simultaneously and watched as five instantly withered away to dust before stabilizing. Every few seconds another stone losing its luster before turning to dust, indicating to me I probably had no more than two minutes to get my questions in.

    "Hello System." I communicated mentally.

    "Oh?! Keaton, what a pleasant surprise!" The grandfatherly voice echoed back in my mind.

    "I''m on a time-limit here, so I need to be quick."

    Listing out the incongruities with the system that I had encountered. The main source that had troubled me was the lack of any kind of defensive class, pretty much every weapon I had used so far had given me a separate class, and yet I always used a shield, so why didn''t I have anything to show for it?

    The system pondered, as if it had to think deeply about my question, irritating me as if I watched the stones in my pile deplete over time, one disappearing after the other.

    "Hard to say, to be honest..."

    "Aren''t you the one granting me the skills, how could you possibly not know?!" Furrowing my brow unhappily. I was about to snap, this was at least five gold I had just eaten up to speak with him. After hiring the soldiers, money was starting to look a bit tight. Not to mention that I still needed to fix my armor and possibly supply the men for all their future gear. It wasn''t as if I couldn''t earn more, but seeing my stack of coins dwindle down in my inventory made me slightly more conscious about spending money for no gain.

    "Calm down, it''s not like I don''t have any ideas, it''s just a little more complicated than what you''re thinking."

    "Explain." I prompted.

    "The System is intelligent, it interprets your will automatically--"

    "Aren''t you the System, why do you speak like you''re not the one doing it?"

    "That''s--" System paused, chewing his words. Pausing as if he were trying to find a way to explain. Each second causing me heartache as I watched the pile shrink before my eyes, already half-way gone.

    "Nevermind, just continue where you were."

    "Ahem... that''s, alright. Classes are rewarded based on your intention. There are other minimum requirements specific to each class, think of it as pre-requisite knowledge or physical characteristics, but ultimately its up to the System to award classes based on what it thinks you are trying to accomplish. If you steal from a shop you become a thief, but take that same item with the intent to eventually give it back or take it by accident, no thief class is awarded. Just having a shield doesn''t do anything, it''s hard to say what classes exist and which ones don''t, but if you don''t have any intention when you do something you may never get a class at all."

    I looked out the window vacantly, trying to digest what he had just told me.

    "Make it simple for me, how do I get defensive abilities."

    "Start thinking defensively, and it should reward you appropriately. Classes are collective information, pulled from across billions of users. If it''s something that anyone has done before, it should exist."

    "Think defensively..." I muttered, trying to envision just exactly what that would entail.

    "I''ve enjoyed our conversations. Thank you, Keaton." The system said before winking out of existence as the last stone burned its energy, leaving nothing put a pile of dust.

    Once the system had gone quiet, I was left alone to my thoughts; staring wistfully out the window. The terrain changing, the tall grass disappearing over time, replaced by a shorter and greener variety, wildflowers taking over now the sunlight was allowed to reach closer to the ground. Time passing by as Tammy, Belle and I watched the landscape peacefully from our carriage compartment, the sun taking its place high in the sky, indicating it was already past noon.

    Tammy fidgeted with her dress uncomfortably, looking like she had something to say, eventually gathering the courage to ask me.

    "Keaton... I need to pick some flowers... can we stop here?" Looking somewhat embarrassed to have to say it.

    It took me a second to realize what she meant, smiling politely before sliding a wood panel behind me to peer out to the front of the carriage, looking at the driver.

    "Stop the cart. We''re taking a break." I told him, having to raise my voice a little to prevent my voice being lost in the rumbling of the carriage''s wheels and the trotting of horses. The cab driver nodding his head in acknowledgment before giving a shout to the hired soldiers who were riding alongside us.

    Further shouts echoing down the caravan chain, and our carriage slowing before coming to a halt. Unlatching the door, and stepping out, stretching my legs as I watched Tammy look for a secluded area away from the caravan. We had no women guards, so ultimately I decided to follow her out, even if it was embarrassing for her. Turning my back and busying myself by actually picking flowers in the meantime, coming back with a small bouquet.

    Keaton''s Stat Window

 Ch 101. Thinking Differently

    After taking a break for rest and food, and a chance to rest the horses, we were soon on our way again. The soothing smell of wildflowers filling the cabin as Tammy held onto my spontaneous gift, Belle sniffing the new scents curiously but quickly losing interest as we settled back into our places. The day mostly passing in peace, the three of us watching the scenery roll by, flirting occasionally as our interests eventually turned to other things. Belle flushing with expectation as she realized she still had another potion to take, and the ''side-effects'' that would entail. The three of us passing the time enjoyably, albeit somewhat quietly as we tried to mind our surroundings. The hours passing  before the fading of sunlight slowed our caravan to a stop, indicating the need for all of us set up for the night.

    Given that I had everyone''s gear in my inventory, or most of it anyways, I had quite a bit of things I needed to do during this time. Unloading a great deal of material that my newly hired men would need to set up a perimeter. Precut logs that we could organize neatly into palisades, tents and blankets for the men, food for the dinners. My inventory skill had made things so easy that there was really not much they needed to be doing, but even so the relative inexperience of the men was easy enough to see.

    Most of them wandering about somewhat uncoordinated, each trying to figure out where they should be arranging the wooden barriers at, and each looking with expectation not only at my brothers, but at me as well. They were all relatively green recruits, the older ones all had some form of loyalty to Jagen after all, and even Tristan and Gerald were not much better, being freshly promoted knights. Neither having led before, and far more used to following orders than giving them.

    Seeing the men struggle to coordinate themselves forced a grim smile to my face, things were never so easy. I suppose this is good enough for a first try. Cutting them some slack due to the fact that a perimeter like this was not typically a job for a frontier soldier. Most of the time they were inside the walls or patrolling the streets, and in some cases they were out fighting monsters; there was simply never a need for them to build a defensive perimeter like this.

    But even if we weren''t in a mana rich area like the forest, we were still in an area that was still at least somewhat dangerous. This was still the first day, and Tromwell was not far behind, at most twenty miles by how far we had traveled. Monsters were still very much a thing we should worry about.

    Feeling a bit awkward to have so many expecting eyes on me, I cleared my throat before wandering off a few steps. Thankfully seeing Cal step out of his carriage as a needed distraction, one arm on Ashley''s waist and the other hand on Kaya''s back. Our eyes mutually affirming each other''s presence, and briefly comparing our choice of companions to each other''s.

    "How was the carriage ride?" Cal asked in a rather upbeat mood.

    "It''s a little hard to be cooped up all day long," I complained, not at all used to that method of transportation. After the initial excitement had faded I quickly realized carriages weren''t really special after all, more comfortable with walking than with sitting for prolonged periods. My body''s excess life energy just made that preference even more clear, as I began feeling restless after being constrained to inactivity for too long.

    "Well, you''ll get used to it." Cal smiled, knowing that we had a long trip ahead I practically had no choice but to get used to it. Otherwise I''d be doing a whole lot of walking, with how long we had to go it would probably be no less than a month of this. Sitting in a box all day wasn''t interesting to me, but it would be a lie to say I didn''t enjoy the sense of adventure being out on a trip like this gave me. If I could explore a little bit from time to time that would be ideal.

    The six of us sitting down on a set of spare timbers that had yet to be incorporated into the defenses as men worked busily around us, putting up tents and digging holes to secure the logs into as we built up a temporary encampment while the light still held. Noticing a particular person who was watching us from the background, standing out because they were the only one neither working nor eating. Still tied to Tristan''s horse with a weary look on their face as they watched us eat.

    Finishing up with our meal before I decided to approach her, the words the system left me with giving me something of an idea.

    The classes I receive have to do with the mentality I have at the moment, it has to do with my intentions. Holding a shield while fighting wasn''t enough for a defensive class, rather some of my classes like [fighter] were already generic enough to cover such a fighting style. If I wanted to get a defensive class, I need to be thinking about protecting something, or at least that''s the way I interpreted it. It was just that protecting someone wasn''t a thing that I encountered very often, and even if some of the events I had encountered had some relation to ''protection'', probably most directly was the time I saved Tristan, but even so I still lacked any explicit class.

    This was something I needed to experiment with, and I knew the perfect test subject.

    "Hello, Marcella." I greeted her while she peered up at me suspiciously.

    Keaton''s stat window

 Ch 102. Live Bait

    "Hello Marcella."

    Marcella just looked at me wearily, ever since she had come to believe I was a ''demon'' it seems that I couldn''t even greet her without being viewed with suspicion.

    "Have you eaten?" I asked, putting a plate of food down in front of her. Some real food after a week in the dungeons surely must be tempting for her, looking at the hunger in her eyes.

    "Not since yesterday..." She shook her head to indicate she hadn''t, still eyeing the food.

    I frowned a little after hearing that, someone should have at least given her something. Being my slave she was technically my responsibility, but I didn''t expect that nobody else would help her. Were the men afraid that by doing so they might somehow offend me?

    "You can have it, but there''s something I need your help with." I said while squatting down to her level, untying the ropes on her hands.

    Seeing her still hesitant to eat, as if by doing so she would have willingly sold her soul to a demon, I decided to explain further.

    "I''m not going to do anything bad... I just need your help with exploring my powers a little bit. What I''m proposing is of mutual benefit to the both of us. I have powers that you might find are rather unnatural. You fought with me, you should be able to tell by now that. I didn''t always have these powers, and I still don''t entirely understand how they work, but this is information that I need to know. I need to know how these powers work, and I need to know that as quickly as possible... You help me with this and I will make your life bearable, understand? You can either live the life of a slave, or you can agree to help from time to time, and I will make sure your living standards are suitably improved."

    Scanning across her dirty dress and messy hair which clearly hadn''t been washed in the past week as the dungeon took its toll both on her body and mental state.

    For Marcella, she had little left of her old life to cling to as a dark road laid stretched out in front of her.  No matter what she did, that fate would not change, or at least that was the impression she had after being consigned to a lifetime as a criminal slave. She had essentially lost hope at that point, her powers were completely sealed and she expected to be treated as nothing but a trophy, but somehow my words indicated to her that the fate she expected was not entirely set in stone. I was at least willing to bargain. Offering her a deal that was in some ways a kind of wages, or the closest thing to wages that a slave could expect. In effect allowing her to work of her ''debt'', and by doing so allow some normalcy back into her life.

    "It''s not dangerous is it?"

    "I''m not going to lie and say it isn''t... but hurting you or punishing you isn''t the goal. Otherwise, why would I even be asking you? You''re a slave you know."

    "That''s... can I at least eat first?" Her eyes showing that the terms were indeed acceptable as she scarfed down the food and drink I had offered up. Licking the plate after she was done like the food I had given her was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten, surely a ''home-cooked'' meal by her standards, being one of the many fanciful meals prepared for us by her father''s chefs and stored in my inventory in great quantities so as to hold us over on this trip.

    The two of us finally leaving the encampment, Marcella armed only with a torch as she followed behind me closely.

    "Why are we going outside... I can''t use my magic you know?" A hint of fear in her voice as she sped up, nearly clinging to my back as she looked around.

    "Monsters are more active at night, and I need monsters for the tests we''re going to be conducting."

    The two of us walking for minutes straight out into the grasslands as the light conditions continued to deteriorate, the sun shining its last bits for the day.

    If there were any monsters in the vicinity they should be well aware of us by now, the two of us having been conversing loudly, and walking openly through their territory. Two lone humans is a pretty appetizing treat for most monster varieties, having learned from experience that they could kill humans with ease and eat them. The mana in our flesh, supposedly due to the function of our mana organ, acted as an attractive nutritional supplement to their normal diet.

    A few more minutes of walking finally rewarding our patience, activity stirring in the surroundings. A pair of monsters emerging from their hiding, two beady-eyed lizards whose bellies dragged along the ground like an overweight snake, teeth clack in anticipation of a meal as they dragged themselves from the grass, each at least as big as a dog, their green skins and previously unmoving state doing well to camouflage them amongst the vegetation, only visible now that they had revealed themselves to us.

    I watched them calmly with a smile on my face as I took out only my shield, putting my other arm around Marcella''s waist as I brought her forward with me to meet our guests. The strange actions frightening Marcella as she was dragged forward along with me.

    "Keaton... what kind of experiment is this? Why do you need me here?" Panic setting into her voice as she finally started to catch on about what her role was supposed to be.

    "You''re the bait." I said while grinning even wider.

    Keaton''s stat window

 Ch 103. Guardian

    "Keep it away!" Marcella screamed, nearly losing her mind.

    "It''s fine, just calm down." I let her know I had the situation covered. Having already strangled to death one of the lizards, I kept the other restrained while putting a good bit of distance between her and the beast. Even without armor, the lizard was mostly incapable of breaking my toughened skin, the sharp claws and teeth barely drawing blood with its frenzied struggle as I held on.

    Checking my attributes after the lizard stopped struggling so much, clicking my tongue in disappointment that no class was being awarded. Well, I suppose that in order to be ''protecting'' her, she needs to be in danger in the first place.

    "Marcella, come over here. You''re too far back!" I yelled while keeping up the headlock I had on the dog-sized lizard.

    "N-no!"

    Frowning as I wrapped my legs around the lizards hind claws to adjust my leverage.

    "It''s perfectly safe, just look." I replied as the green-scaled monster chewed down on my arm like it was biting on tough rubber, shaking my arm a bit to demonstrate how the beast was subdued, the beast refusing to let go as it repeatedly tried to sink its teeth in. A little frustrated that she was still hesitating, even after the deal we had made.

    "If you want better treatment, you need to hold up your side of the bargain. You''re a former adventurer for godsakes, so stop moping around back there and do your job." Chastising her for being so afraid of a damn lizard, her face flushing in embarrassment as she slowly approached, until she was right next to me, the lizard struggling even more after it realized a second human had approached it while it was in such a compromising position.

    Still not working? What more could the system want? I had a man-eating lizard subdued here, and I wasn''t getting any credit for it.

    "Marcella. I''m protecting you right now, am I not?"

    She just looked at me like I was crazy.

    "I-is this a trick question?"

    My temper flaring up at her unhelpful response.

    "Should I let this lizard go so that you can find out?" Loosening my grip on the lizard, causing it to thrash and claw at the earth.

    "Hiiiiii--" Marcella let out a scream, backing up away from the beast again as a notification popped up on my stat window, visible in hand mirror I had positioned next to me.

    Class: [Tormenter]

    Skill: [Intimidation Aura]

    Frowning at the unexpected gain, more classes were never a bad thing but this was not what I was trying for. At the very least this gave me another clue as to why my tactics weren''t working.

    "Marcella, speak honestly. Am I scaring you right now?" My instincts telling me that the reason it wasn''t working had nothing to do with my own mindset, but rather the mindset of the one I was trying to ''protect''. It could be that both of our intentions had to be synced up for this to work. Becoming annoyed at how intricate some of these class conditions were becoming.

    She looked hesitant to answer, as she picked up on my own irritation, misconstruing that irritation as being directed towards herself.

    "I''m not going to get mad, or do anything to you... so just answer the question. You can consider this is as part of the experiment."

    She nodded her head somewhat timidly, still unsure if it was a trick.

    "Y-you do scare me."

    "More than the lizard?" I asked, turning the beast''s head so that she could see it.

    Seeing her nod again, I realized that this probably was the problem.

    "I''m not the one trying to eat you right now... you realize that, yes? I''m trying to protect you right now."

    Seeing her watch silently from the side I had no choice but to explain to her what I needed her to be doing.

    "Marcella, I don''t know what you''re thinking right now, but I need you to visualize for a second. Think of the most safe and comfortable place you can think of. Now imagine me as your knight, or your guard, or as anyone that you trust. Picture me as a person that you trust, and as someone who is there to protect you. Can you do that?"

    It might sound like a strange request, but Marcella nodded again, closing her eyes like she was trying to picture what I was saying in her head.

    "Now pretend that this lizard is a threat, that it''s coming to eat you, well... actually it is trying to eat you, but just visualize that part too. And I''m fighting this lizard right now as a means of protecting you."

    She closed her eyes tight, like she was thinking of what I had just told her, as I watched my mirror in anticipation. Finally a new class appearing on the class window.

    Class: [Guardian]

    Skill: [Protective Instincts]

    Snapping the lizards neck now that I had no more use for it before brushing myself off as Marcella looked on in a dazed and confused manner.

    "Thanks for your help Marcella. I''ll make sure you get three meals a day from now on." I said while smiling genuinely.

    The two of us returning to camp, as if nothing had happened. My clothes a bit dusty from being on the ground, but my skin practically unblemished. The teeth and scratch marks having been minor from the start, were rapidly disappearing as we walked.

    Out of curiosity, I activated my Guardian class, testing out my newly acquired skill. Overwhelmed with a new sensation, like the air was on fire. Feeling a strong pull around Marcella like an ocean tide, and a weaker pull from what felt like two people who were in the direction of the encampment, almost certainly being Belle and Tammy.

    The skill was greatly unsettling, feeling like I was being screamed at constantly, the skill urging me to pick up the pace and run towards my loved ones as fast as possible. But the strange thing was that it prioritized Marcella over Belle and Tammy, who I certainly valued more than Marcella.

    It felt like the skill was telling me there was danger, and that the danger was around us, but as far as I could tell I had already killed all the monsters and yet it was still giving me these signals. I looked around and saw nothing but grassland, even if the light was almost gone, there was still enough that I should know if a monster was close enough to threaten us.

    What was even more unsettling was that this feeling of unease was happening with just a level one skill, the intensity with which it was broadcasting danger didn''t make sense to me and I didn''t want to find out. Hurrying Marcella along as we made the short return back to safety.

    Keaton''s Stat Window

 Ch 104. Bird of Prey

    Despite the constant warning signals I was receiving from my new skill, as far as I could tell there was nothing out there. However, rather than put me at ease, this observation just made me more nervous.

    Long after the others had gone to sleep, tucked away safe in their tents, I stayed up, watching out in the darkness surrounding us. The torchlights illuminating our camp as a few other guards who had drawn the short shift played cards to pass the time. Despite the light-hearted atmosphere, I could tell that nearly everyone in the camp was in danger, those still awake most of all. Over time I had realized that [protective instincts] could be applied to anyone I was interested in monitoring, but dealing with too many became an overwhelming task. The feelings of heightened danger and anxiety appearing all around me did nothing to help, and only put me in a bad mood.

    After a while of testing out my new skill, investing additional points into it as needed, I came to the realization that whatever it was that was threatening us was in some way fixated on me. Whoever drew near me was marked with an increasingly dangerous aura, something that forced me to an isolated area of the camp away from as many people I could, while still able to monitor the situation.

    That was my plan at least, but a certain girl seemed intent on foiling my plan by unwittingly putting herself in harms way. At some point in the night, after shivering on the ground, Marcella had drawn up the courage to look for me herself. Knowing that I had been willing to barter with her rights earlier today, she seemed intent on pushing her luck for more.

    "Keaton, could I have a blanket?"

    Both the danger that she was in and the banality of her concerns were something that annoyed me to no end, watching her half-heartedly as I paid far more attention towards catching whatever was out there than dealing with a stuck-up prisoner who had already forgotten that this treatment was part of her punishment.

    Her puppy-dog eyes watching me like I would have to be the cruelest of persons to refuse her such a simple request.

    "Just a few days ago you cut me in half," I spoke sharply, snapping her out of whatever delusions she was holding onto. Seeing her stumble over her words as she tried to justify herself, as much to me as to herself.

    "I only want a blanket." She finally collected herself, putting on a stern expression as she turned the accusation back on me, some of her adventurous spirit already beginning to as revive as she gathered her courage, apparently already having forgotten what her current situation was.

    I could tell the danger she was in was increasing by the second, whatever it was that was out there was oddly fixated on me, and here Marcella was, making herself into the biggest target possible while demanding things of me, her master. My eyes sharpening to a point as I decided on giving her a bit of scare, both for her own good, and as a way of reminding her of her position.

    "I told you before, I''m not giving you anything for free. If you want something, you''ll have to earn it. Coming here so late at night and asking for favor, it couldn''t be that you intend to seduce me for it?" I asked mean-spiritedly, grabbing her wrist and pulling her next to me. Intentionally misreading her intentions as an excuse to tease her, somewhat enjoying the panic my actions had caused.

    Marcella''s face was now rigid with fear, the blood draining visibly as she watched me take her actions in a direction she clearly didn''t intend, frightening her even more when she realized that if I truly wanted her she had no way to refuse me.

    "Keaton..! T-that''s not what I meant, I''m sorry. I won''t ask for a blanket. I-I''ll leave now." Struggling in vain to pry my iron like fingers from her wrist.

    "What else could you possibly have had in mind?" I said while closing around her in an embrace, whispering into her ear like the devil she thought I was.

    "I-I only meant to do some work for you."

    "So late at night?" My breath running down her neck.

    "No! N-Not like that, I only meant the kind of work you had me do this evening. I wanted to see if you could let me do something else... anything else. Please... anything else but this. " Marcella was now almost at the verge of a breakdown, stifling her tears as she spoke. The reality that she was a slave was beginning to set in, forcing her to realize just how vulnerable she truly was.

    Seeing her get to this point, I felt satisfied enough. Even if I wanted to teach her a lesson, I didn''t want her spirit totally collapsing on me. I liked that part of her after all.

    "Willing to do anything?" I asked her, letting out something of a chuckle, loosening my grip on her arm.

    She nodded gratefully, taking my cue to escape the current situation.

    "If you have anything that is... otherwise I don''t mind sleeping on the ground, i-it''s really no problem."

    Bidding her to wait, I retrieved a small vial of my blood that I had stored within my inventory, a dilute solution that I had Cal help with, mixing it with herbs to preserve the vitality. Of course I already knew what the ''side-effects'' were, but it would be endlessly entertaining to watch Marcella struggle with it.

    "I may have something for you... there''s a new potion Cal and I have developed. Drink this nightly, describe the effects to me... and something can be done about your sleeping arrangements."

    "What kind of potion?" She eyed it wearily, hesitating somewhat about drinking something she didn''t know.

    "If we told you what it was then that would defeat the point, the effects need to be clear and obvious, otherwise who would buy it just off the words of a slave? If you''re worried about the effects, I''m told it''s quite beneficial to the body." Urging her to drink as I passed along the vial.

    Her cheeks flushing shortly after.

    "Anything yet?"

    She shook her head, flustered. But her pride preventing her from admitting the state her body was in after having just imbibed a rather potent aphrodisiac.

    Summoning out a blanket, I threw it over to her. "You''ve earned it, so go find somewhere to sleep and leave me be."

    Wanting to be alone for the moment, at least until I could discover what was causing my skill to scream danger at me. Still on the look out in case anything popped up at the last second, I watched as Marcella disappeared back into the camp, heading in the direction of Tammy and Belle''s tent. The danger she was in waning with every step she took away from me. All of the collective danger I was feeling in the camp disappearing the moment I was alone as the faint touch of wind and feathers soundlessly caressed my back.

    I couldn''t help but feeling that I was no longer alone, and my suspicions confirmed not a second later as a long tongue flickered over my shoulder before coming to rest there, the slimy cold touch feeling somewhat disgusting against my neck. A rancid smell like a corpse emanating from the appendage, like whatever''s creature this was had just feasted on rotting flesh.

    My response slowed by the unexpected sequence of events, I couldn''t help but turning my head reluctantly, afraid of what I would see.

    My eyes greeted by an unbelievable sight; beady eyes peering out from a crow-headed mask made of stitched leather, a long tongue like an ant-eaters retracting back through an opening in the beak.

    "I was wondering when she''d leave... too bad I didn''tssssss have to eat her." The crow-like abomination said with lisp. It''s body covered by black feathers.

    Keaton''s stat window

 Ch 105. Crowâ€™s Forbidden Candy

    The lumbering abomination towered over me, staring at me curiously through the stitched mask on its face as it scratched its stitched leather beak with one of the many long claws that adorned its fingers, its vaguely human form only served to make it more intimidating.

    Panic rushing through my mind as I witnessed the monster that had snuck up on me, materializing a sword into my hand mid-swing. The sword screaming through the air with all of might colliding with what felt like a steel wall, the blade catching into the dense black feathers covering its body; the creature laughing in turn as if it found my attempts to hurt it as funny.

    The crow beast leaning in to reveal a shark-like grin, its pointed set of teeth gleaming beneath the crow mask as it spoke to me.

    "What... level... are you... little one?" The crow monster crouched down to my height, speaking in labored breaths and displaying its hands disarmingly as if it were trying to show it was not a threat. Reaching out to pat my head like it would an infant, causing me to flinch in instinctive fear, as if I was encountering a predator. It''s true the creature had no weapons, but the blade-like claws were threatening enough on its own.

    Level? This... this thing a person? I could hardly believe it, but the realization was dawning on me. This monster was a user.

    Looking over the crow monster with disproportioned limbs, black wings, and a bird shaped mask that seemed to be hiding completely monstrous features, I had some trepidation with connecting this sight back to a human. I knew classes made me stronger and attributes could change my physique, but this thing before me was something completely bizarre. Could the system really turn someone into something like this?

    The crow looked at me expectantly, patiently waiting for my answer.

    "Why do you want to know? That''s... why should I give you that information." I asked him, somewhat intimidated but unwilling to give out such sensitive information out so easily. Seeing how powerful the monster was, I was on high alert about what its intentions might be. But on the other-hand, I didn''t want to upset the monster with an outright refusal, unsure of how it would react, seeing as it could probably tear me apart without breaking so much as a sweat.

    The creature''s shoulders, moving and heaving silently, almost as if it were trying to laugh like my question to it were a joke. But while I couldn''t hear the sound it emitted in its throat, clearly one was produced. The horses in the camp neighing and shifting uncomfortably, as they pulled at their tethers.

    "That''ssss right. Apologies... Mr. Keaton isssssss it? I''ve gotten ahead of myself. My name is Crow, nicccccce to meet you." It held out its clawed index finger like it wanted to shake hands with me, the single claw large enough to fill my entire hand. Grabbing on with some hesitation the two of us shook in greeting.

    "*Ahem* I like... new players. You... new player. I like. I help. Others would be disappointed, but Crow helpful." Crow struggled to express himself, trying as best as he could to suppress a lisp. Possibly a side-effect of his inhuman mouth. Covering his mouth with a claw like the lisp was embarrassing.

    "Player...  you''re a user aren''t you? Why would you want to know my level?" I asked Crow for confirmation, seeing it nod its head in response.

    "I level... 34....ssss. *cough* Told you my level, know many things... share many things." The crow beat his wings excitedly as he watched me expectantly, like it couldn''t wait to help me. Licking its lips behind the mask to wet its dry mouth.

    "You just want to know my level?"

    It nodded again.

    Hesitating still... but fearing what would happen if I upset the creature. If it was just my level, I could answer truthfully without revealing my big secrets.

    "I''m level 9 right now, I haven''t been here very long." I spoke finally, trying to give an excuse since Bael seemed to think I was rather weak as well.

    "Not level 10 yet... not good... should get second class soon. Will helpssss much. Crow help, Crow have just the thing." It said while digging through the bag tied around its waist, ignoring the numerous potions before it dug out a hard looking glassy rock that was colored like flesh, looking at the stone fondly like it was invaluable before beckoning me to hold out my hand.

    "Candy... eat. Very tasty." It said while licking its lips, drool beginning to pour down the beak of its mask.

    "What is it?" I eyed the stone, studying the features that were carved in, seeing that the stone had what looked like faces embedded deeply within, twisted in a pained expression. This was candy?

    "Others would be jealousssss. Very precious, very tasty." The crow looked like it was physically pained to be parting with the stone, like it had just done me a great favor by handing it over.

    "I eat this?" I couldn''t help but ask a second time, using my [identification] skill just to be sure.

    Getting a ping that pulled up the information in return.

    [Crow''s Candy]

    Crow''s speciality candy, provides a tremendous amount of experience when eaten.

    This thing really was candy... and it certainly didn''t seem to be anything harmful... scrunching my nose as I popped the ominous looking hard-candy into my mouth. Expecting a terrible taste, but instead being greeted by an intense and deep sweetness. One that penetrated through my mouth and seemed to seep into my very soul, followed by a warmth, like that of what I experienced when using [cultivation]. Confirmation enough for me that the candy really did provide experience when eaten.

    My senses overwhelmed with flavor as the celebratory tune and halo of light surrounded me, indicating I had just leveled up.

    "We friends now... right?" It slurped its tongue out happily, celebrating my level up for me. Perhaps even more pleased with the situation than I was, but watching the activity in the camp with a weary eye as a few guards began to emerge from their tents in the distance to check out the unsettled horses, who had yet to stop their panic.

    Seeing the Crow act so happy about my own success, I couldn''t help but feel awkward about judging it from appearance. In truth, even now I was terrified of what the creature might do to me or the others here.

    "Well... I appreciate the help, Crow. You''re the first other user I''ve ever met, and I have to say that I honestly didn''t know what to expect..."

    "Friendssss then..." It gave a toothy grin as it watched the increasingly busy camp. "Crow should probably go... not good if seen. Otherwise must feed."

    The camp lighting up in a flash of danger as my [protective instincts] triggered briefly before fading entirely again as Crow took off into the night, disappearing as silently as he had once appeared. Leaving me with a cold sweat, breathing out a sigh of relief to see the creature gone.

    Bringing out a mirror as I walked back to my tent unsteadily, my eyes coming across words that unsettled me more than anything I had ever experienced.

    [Cannibal] [Blood Lust]

    [Gross Eater] [Unstable Genes]

    Two classes that I never expected to see, nor ever intended to get greeted me. My world span as I read the words. What did that thing just make me eat?

    Keaton''s stat window

 Ch 106. Foodsick

    I felt sick immediately after I read the description, disgusted with what it was I had just been made to eat. Purging the contents my stomach as I tried to spit it up in vain. Washing my mouth out with wine, which helped somewhat but did nothing to help with the knowledge.

    "What''s the matter? Eat something bad?" The system asked me in a jovial manner as I hunched over miserably. Wordlessly passing the class information along to him only to hear a whistle in response, both at the classes I had acquired and the fact that I had reached level 10, which was according to everything I had heard, quite an important milestone. I would normally be getting access to my second class at this point, but given that I had ''two'' souls I should theoretically be able to equip four at a time. Uninterested at testing it for the moment.

    "I didn''t mean to get the class... but why is there even a class for that?" I asked, referring to the newly acquired [Cannibal] class that stared back at me in the mirror.

    "There''s a class for nearly everything. If it''s possible in the natural world then the system encompasses it. Limiting the paths without good reason would only weaken our warriors and put them at a disadvantage. As soon as a user develops a new path, one with sufficient abilities that are deemed worthwhile by the system, then their efforts are added and incorporated to the system. In practice, over the many years and countless realms that have been brought within our grasp, the sheer number of users has created a near limitless number of classes for you to pull from. This is why I told you, trying to go against the goddess is not wise... the gods who created this system are more powerful than you could possibly imagine..."

    "Eating humans isn''t normal... I would expect anything calling itself a god to be against that. How can people worship a god like that?"

    "This is awfully philosophical of you, you''re a user, what''s the point worrying about whether you eat a few of the natives? It''s not like your body is the one doing the eating, neither are the ones being eaten truly the same as you... if things go wrong, you''ll be back on Earth safe and sound.

    "Back to Earth? You mean users won''t die when killed?"

    "As long as it''s by something from this world, then no, it''s generally impossible to be truly killed by anything here. There may have been some accidents every once in a while, but we really do have a good safety record. That''s why you scared me half to death when you said you''d be going against the goddess, with how the system runs on souls, killing another user is murder in the truest sense."

    "And that''s why wars between these factions of gods aren''t common... they aren''t used to the threat of a real death."

    "Most just think of it all as just a much more realistic ''game'', and given what we know that''s probably the most accurate way of thinking of it."

    "You don''t think the natives to this world have rights?" I asked him, a glint in my eye as I kept hearing that these beings treated us as nothing more than sheep to the slaughter.

    "Why would they? In a sense, everything in this dimension is simply an artificial 3D construct, the gods made these worlds for the purpose of extracting resources. True humans like yourself were never created, who''s to say these replicas can even think or feel pain?"

    Being one of those replicas he was talking about so dismissively, I didn''t understand how he could say such things so confidently.

    "They all have souls, you told me that yourself."

    "And yet their souls might as well be empty, able to be taken over at any moment by a passing user."

    Then why did I survive?

    These users were completely immoral, from my memories I could tell they came from a world largely without war, something that still seemed like a utopia in my eyes, and yet when they came here they walked among us and acted as if they themselves were gods, but in my eyes people like Crow were no better than actual monsters. Letting the conversation drop after falling into a brooding mood, ignoring any prompts being sent through by the system. Staring out across the night sky as time passed, eventually turning to morning.

    Walking through the camp as if I were in a trance, looking at everyone through hollowed eyes. If Crow wanted he probably could have killed all of us last night, and he probably wouldn''t have even cared. Looking at the familiar faces that emerged from my tent and feeling thankful they were still okay.

    Belle letting out a big yawn as she emerged, showing her canines unintentionally. Covering her mouth up after she caught me staring, before smiling again. Tammy emerging afterwards, her eyes going wide after seeing me. Worry showing through, probably because I hadn''t come to bed at all last night.

    Next to the tent, besides them, was Marcella. Looking even more haggard than when I had last seen her. Looking like she was still trying to fall asleep, despite the morning sun having already risen. Her face was flushed and she shifted uncomfortably after seeing me, the potion clearly doing its job. Looking at me with an upset expression, one born out of sleep deprivation after a long days walk, and a dawning realization that she would have to do it all again today.

 Ch 107. Marcellaâ€™s addiction

    While I pondered how long it would take to reach something like Crow''s power level, Marcella was struggling to wake herself after a rough night of no sleep. The stimulation of the potion having clearly kept her wide awake, although she was both too embarrassed and too strong-headed to admit to it.

    When asked if she could describe the side-effects of what she had taken last night, something she had promised to do, she was both unwilling and unable. Choosing to tough it out alone, as if nothing were bothering her.

    Sitting back in the carriage alongside the two girls, I started preparing an especially strong dose for tonight as I filled more vials full of blood.

    How much time would take for her to break? Sitting back comfortably as I prepared for the day.

    Watching grassland turn to isolated pockets of forest, the road veering off in multiple directions as we began to see the signs of civilization. Former frontier cities that had once been the furthest reaches of humanity''s domain just a few decades ago. Unlike Tromwell though, these cities had not yet reached the extent of the true ''wilderness'' yet. The discovery of which had drastically slowed down the policy of border expansion. Massive forests with increasingly vicious monsters, but with our kingdom''s issues with overpopulation and crowding, especially in the major cities, there was seemingly an unlimited resource through which they could throw towards the problem, and just like that, cities dotted the outward bounds of the wilderness, chipping away at the great forests and the monsters that lived within.

    The further we got from the edge of civilization, the more we found that we were often no longer the only ones on the road. Traffic picking up now that there were other cities within visible range of another. The security more lax than anything I had ever seen, especially so given that I had spent my entire life within the walls of Tromwell. Living surrounded by monsters had always been the norm, and seeing people out and about, and also with far less guards than we had expected, was an eye opening experience to say the least.

    Looking out the window every once in a while to catch the other wagons wait on the side of the road as we passed, the merchants and guards marveled at our procession as if we were royalty. Marcella who was still being brought along the back tried to hide her face in shame as onlookers gossiped to themselves, her collar making her appear as nothing but a criminal slave. Few men, and even fewer women were ever sentenced to such treatment, as slavery was mostly reserved for beastkin it was an especially humiliating punishment for a human to be treated that way.

    Later at camp, when the time came, I once again presented the vial of diluted blood towards Marcella as I gave her an option. Take the comforts that came along with it, or accept her lifestyle as a normal slave. Unknown to her, the addictive properties of my blood had already taken hold of her. Pure vitality was like the essence of life itself, after tasting such pure lifeforce, she would subconsciously crave and seek out the source, as would any living creature according to their nature. I had experienced this myself every time I invested points into constitution, and I knew better than anyone how powerful and blissful the feeling of life truly was. I was constantly being infused with its presence through the pool of attributes I had invested so far, but if I should ever lose those points it would be like I had been cut off from the realm of the living.

    Belle and Tammy always appeared fine, given they had a constant supply through our nightly intimate contact it never seemed to rise to the level of an overpowering instinct for them, but for Marcella who had just received her first taste and could at any time lose access, how would she react?

    Watching her face contort in contemplation, she knew the side-effects, and how they made her feel, it may be an aphrodisiac, but if that was all it was she wouldn''t be so tempted to accept it a second time. Greed showing fully in her eyes as she almost salivated to take it again, against her better judgement. If she knew this was my blood all along, how would she react?

    Watching her hesitantly drink the vial I had given her. Licking her lips afterwards, ensuring not even a drop was wasted. Her cheeks flushing again as she tried to take the blanket and hurry off to the tent. Too ashamed to look me in the eye as her sensitivity heightened. Even if she had no place to herself, sleeping by our tent was still the safest place for her in a camp filled with strange men.

    The sounds of love-making emerging from our tent as I spent the night together with Belle and Tammy, acting out the carnal pleasures that acted as promises of what Marcella might enjoy if she were to give in, as she spent the night listening in on our passionate activities, rubbing herself in a futile attempt to alleviate the symptoms but feeling no satisfaction as she was unable to climax without a man''s touch. The potion she had just drank kept putting strange ideas in her head. Ideas of embracing even someone like Keaton who had ruined her life. Her cheeks burning in shame after she realized she felt lust towards a man like that. Letting a moan slip out as she tried to rub herself faster to drown out the errant thoughts.

 Ch 108. Canâ€™t always get what you want

    Marcella roused again in the morning, still trying to act the same as usual despite the fact that she had been masturbating fruitlessly throughout the night and had continued to do so until moments before I went to ''wake'' her. The heightened sexual appetite still burning away at her nethers and bringing a bright glow to her cheeks as she was forced to put up a tough facade to face the day. The potent vitality in the potion doing wonders to stave off the worst of sleep-deprivation, but that part was just one more aspect that made the blood potions more addictive.

    I watched as Marcella went about her ''normal'' day. Walking all day alongside the caravan and coming back for her potion at night, a cycle of punishment and reward forming where she endured the long day''s travel, an exhausting ordeal for a spoiled noblewoman like herself, only to be given her reward at night, an intoxicating potion that filled her with vitality and the insatiable feelings of lust.

    Repeating this over the course of a week as taking the potion became her routine. Each day I increased the amount of my blood in her potion, the potency of the life essence doubling from the night before. Delivering a flavor as if she were drinking life itself. Her feelings of ''aliveness'' heightened during that time, the closest semblance to happiness that she had in this world... but the thoughts of lust, especially those that she felt towards me were nothing but shameful for her. Her rosy complexion turning a shade redder at the idea, still refusing to break in the face of such temptations.

    If pushing wouldn''t work, I''d need to retreat back a step and allow her to follow. Waiting for Marcella to approach me for her usual dose of potion.

    "Hello, Marcella. Come for the potion again?" I smiled at her knowingly, already apparent what she wanted from the first time that I noticed her.

    She nodded timidly, still not trusting me, but now that I had something that she very much wanted, I was once again in a position where she had no choice but to come to me to ask.

    "There won''t be any more I''m afraid... we already know the effects now, there''s no longer a use to having you test it out. The potions are something of a pain to make as well." And I meant it in the most literal sense, as I had to use my own blood as the primary ingredient.

    Her eyes widening in alarm at my words. So far she had hidden away the secondary effects, namely the aphrodisiac portion. Only describing it to me as a general ''good'' feeling that she felt when she drank it. If I truly didn''t already know what it did then I would have been troubled by her vague and unhelpful descriptions.

    "That''s... you''re not making it anymore?" She looked taken aback, given she had lost the one thing that she currently looked forward to in her life I suppose her shock was understandable.

    "It''s a product. We know the effects, now all that''s left is to sell it. You''d need to buy it like anybody else." I said giving her the cold treatment. What I said made sense. Now that she had done her job, her help was no longer needed.

    Panic filling her eyes after I had totally upended her now ''normal'' routine.

    "So suddenly! C-can''t we talk this over?" She protested in vain, trying to come up with a solution that would work for the both of us, but most importantly something that would allow her to continue drinking these potions. Asking if she could do my laundry or other miscellaneous chores, as if she were some sort of maid instead of a slave who would be expected to do all of those already for free. But even a maid, one who received a proper salary, would never be able to afford potions like these. Even she had to realize that. Each of these vials was equivalent to the blood of an extremely high-grade magical beast, worth hundreds of gold at the very least.

    When I told her this, I expected her to back down, at least temporarily, but as it turned out revealing the price to her didn''t even seem to phase Marcella. She had always had everything provided by her father, to the point she couldn''t even realize that hundreds of gold was more than a typical maid would make in a liftetime of work, and yet she as a slave was asking for that much in product every night.

    Letting her know that I expected just compensation, refusing her outright as if there were nothing she could offer me that would satisfy the price. But in her eyes I could see that she understood what I was asking for, even without saying the words. She could tell I was after her body, but her pride kept her actions in check. Her words catching in her throat as she struggled to say anything, truly at a loss with how she could obtain what she wanted without compromising herself.

    "Let me know if you change your mind." I smiled and patted her on the shoulder. Heading off to my tent as if I truly cared nothing about her decision either way. She would either beg me to have her, or she would feel loss once again and I would need to reevaluate my methods. Either was fine in my book, I was just curious to see which path she would take. Leaving Marcella to contemplate her future with tears in her eye.

 Ch 109. Breaking Point (R-18)

    It wasn''t that night that Marcella visited my tent, but the next. Having gone through a full day without the comforts she had grown used to, most of all without the ''potion'' that she had grown to so desire.

    It wasn''t that my blood had ''withdrawal'' symptoms to be exact, as far as I could tell there was nothing bad that would happen to the consumer. Rather such pure vitality could never be a bad thing for the body, the body immediately recognized it as such a powerfully beneficial force that it was constantly demanding more. After experiencing a higher concentration of life essence, the state she had lived her life was now akin to a state of malaise. The potion made her practically immune to disease, healing injuries old and new alike, and rejuvenating cells so that they became younger over time rather than being subjected to the forces of aging. Without that state of blissful revitalization, it was like her body was slowly being killed the longer she went without drinking it. Although this had always been the state her body was in, normally a human would never be aware of it.

    Belle and Tammy so far had yet to realize what it was that made them feel this way, having never separated contact from me since the start. My constitution wasn''t always this overwhelming, so for them it had been a gradual acclimation, one that had always been shared with the experience of love-making and climax, their bodies rejoicing ever time we laid together. Forming a bond that made us more than lovers.

    As we shared in that experience again, Marcella waited outside the tent, hesitant to go in or not. Listening to the heated sounds coming from within and knowing full well that was what she would have to do in order to get what she wanted.

    Finally gathering her courage before entering, the first thing that greeted her was the sight of Belle splayed out on all fours, her breasts jiggling back and forth rhythmically as she took Keaton deeply within her. Panting with a greedy expression before moaning uncontrollably, her legs shaking with orgasm as she felt herself filling with hot cream. Toes curling and pointing inwards with her minor claws digging the ground. Her feet essentially that of a human''s except for the tips of the toes, which had the beginning of what looked like subtly cat-like pads on the bottoms of her toes and nails that resembled that of a feline''s claws.

    A pleasured and content look on Belle''s face as she basked in the warmth that filled her belly. Her legs stretching back as they shook, and her tail stretching upwards as she arched her back, savoring the orgasm that wracked her body.

    Tammy was on her knees, fondling with Belle''s breasts as she rubbed herself, having already received one load and looking forward to another. The entrance of the ''intruder'' waking her up out of her lustful state of concentration, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Marcella. Neither Tammy nor Belle had any warm feelings left for Marcella, who as they saw it was an enemy who deserved the worst. Given she had harmed and almost killed their man, not to mention plotted against him on several occasions, there was little that could be done to reconcile the relationship between the three of them.

    "I-I''m here..." Marcella announced, red in the face, embarrassed and looking like she would cry at any moment in the face of Belle and Tammy''s hostile stares.

    Pulling myself out of Belle before taking a seat in the corner of our oversized tent, one that was practically the size of a large room, lantern lights illuminating the interior that was stocked with furniture. ''Space magic'' had made making camp such an easy task that that we could make something like this in only a few minutes, even a king with hundreds of retainers would struggle to travel more lavishly.

    "I was wondering when you would come in...  take a seat." I took out a throw pillow and allowed it to fall a short ways in front of my chair. Beckoning Marcella over as she came forward hesitantly.

    "I-I''m willing to do... that is... if you wanted... whatever you wanted..." Marcella seemed to have had some practiced words she had in mind before she came in, but in the actual moment she was flustered and couldn''t speak the words as she wanted, her tongue feeling like sandpaper in her mouth as she was come over with anxiety.

    "I understand... just take a seat." I said while smiling gently, the only one with a light mood in the tent as Belle and Tammy stared daggers at the spoiled noblewoman-turned-slave.

    "You want this, I presume?" Retrieving a vial of my blood after she had taken her place, sitting awkwardly as she looked up at me in my chair. Holding the vial prominently for her to see, her mouth watered at the sight, audibly swallowing in anticipation. A reaction that amused me to no end, to think that someone as proud as Marcella could covet something of mine so desperately.

    "I reckon at the very least, this amount is worth two hundred fifty gold. At auction it could go for as much as five-hundred. These are exceptionally expensive items that use the blood of a powerful and rare magical beast. We are the sole possessors of this item, and depending on initial market interest that price could rise even higher." Finding some amusement at describing my own blood in that way, but enjoying the reaction Marcella was having at hearing such figures.

    She didn''t have a firm understanding of what the rate of labor was, nor the worth of gold, to her gold was always a cheap commodity so I had to take the time to explain to her. Her naive idea of acting as a personal maid would take her nearly hundred years of service, even at a generous rate, before she could afford one of these potions.

    "A prostitute''s wages are a silver per act. A noble''s daughter is certainly exotic, but even if you were still a virgin you''d hardly command more than a gold per go. If you think you could get a better rate elsewhere, you could try raising money amongst the men." I meant it as a joke, mainly to demonstrate how little her body was worth compared to her own self-estimation, but Marcella was frightened to death by the words, the very idea revolting her. Even if she managed to prostitute herself for a generous one gold a-piece, she''d need to do it well over two hundred times. This was impossible to her, and what I was telling her was that these potions were more than she could ever afford, but that fit with my goal.

    I didn''t want her to buy the potions, I wanted her to ''buy'' something else. Much like how Tammy and Belle''s received their''s, there was a perfectly acceptable alternative to these bottled and sale-ready potions.

    "Belle come over here, share some of your treasure with Marcella here. I''ll give you more later." Belle still looking hesitant to share anything with Marcella, especially something she valued so much, but the promise of receiving another helping as a reward perked her ears up in interest.

    Obediently following my words as she covered her pussy, trying to prevent any drops of the precious liquid from spilling out. Only allowing a small amount to pool in her cupped hands as an offering. Looking at Marcella like she expected her to take it, who was simply stunned at the unexpected turn of events.

    "Try it." I ordered Marcella, who despite her disgust dipped a finger into the milky liquid and licked it with her tongue. The hesitation on her face soon replaced with confusion.

    "Feel familiar?" I asked. Knowing fully from Belle and Tammy that the effect should have been very similar to the potions made from my blood.

    "Do you understand now? The reason why only I can ever produce such a potion?"

    Marcella knew now, but the fact that she desired it was still engraved in her face. The sudden rush of lust brought on by the consumption of ''potion'' removing her last inhibitions as she turned back towards the offered prize still cupped in Belle''s hands. Licking at it slowly, timidly at first, but then with gluttony as she gave in to her body''s cravings. Cleaning Belle''s hands and looking disappointed once it was gone. Her face flushing with shame after she realized what she had just done. She had become nothing more than a beast in heat, an existence even lower than a beastkin, who she had only ever seen as exotic and interesting pets, and despite the shame it brought her, her body still craved more.  Wet juices leaked from her sex while her mouth watered, as if she had just eaten the most delicious thing in her life.

    "Would you like more?" I offered another temptation to her, focusing her eyes back on my waiting member. Which she crawled towards on all fours from her spot on the floor, coming face to face with my cock before giving it a kiss sweetly. Tasting and cleaning it as she licked it addictively. Too enraptured by getting what she craved that she didn''t pay any mind to the ''flavor'' of it having been inside Belle just minutes earlier.

    Bringing her pink lips around the head of my cock, her tongue licking timidly, then with increasingly furor as she acclimated to the act, switching to rough broad licks that elicited pleasure across the length.

    Marcella''s tongue polishing my glands as she worked her way across, continuing the act as she began lowering her head by herself, her raven black hair with its subtle red sheen blocking the view as she bobbed downwards, gagging because of her naivety and lack of skill but forcing herself lower despite the suffering it caused her. Allowing all of me into her throat before she gagged again, her reaction much stronger this time, forcing her to withdraw as she panted to catch her breath, coughing occasionally.

    "Do you want to stop?" I asked, already knowing the answer as Marcella shook her head, her body shuddering in pleasure as if it looked like she had cum just from her throat alone, much to my amusement. She had been in a forced heat for a week''s time and denied climax, but even so I had done nothing tonight to pleasure her. Did the abuse alone send her over the edge?

    Looking at Marcella with novelty as if I had just found a new toy.

    "Lay down." I ordered her after she had recovered enough to try again, stopping her after she tried to begin again.

    She obliged and took off her blouse and skirt before obediently laid down on the rug that covered the floor of our tent, brushing her hair back as she did so, most of the length laying out in a halo around her head as it flattened against the ground, opening her mouth as she prepared to accept me.

    Taking her arms, I pinned them above her head. Her wrists positioned over her flowing hair, the red glow catching the lamp-light in a brilliant manner. Her larger breasts were perfectly firm and toned, and her more active lifestyle was obvious when looking at her naked body. Taking the view in with my eyes, from her smooth armpits that led to perky round breasts, down to her ever so slightly toned stomach and well-defined valley between her legs where her pussy dripped expectantly.

    Positioning myself over her waiting mouth, I lowered my cock into the warm embrace of her mouth and tongue, driving deeper and eliciting another gag but continuing onwards regardless. She moved her head reflexively in retreat but the floor pinned her in place, and her arms remained firmly in my grasp above her head. Only her legs could move as she arched her back upwards while kicking. As much as she wanted to take me in, she was completely unused to the act, and she gagged whenever taking anything deeply.

    Taking my cock out I allowed her a moment of reprieve, watching her chest heave up in down in deep panting breaths and the occasional wracking cough. Struggling to catch her breath and recover from the gagging reflex she had just endured.

    "Tammy, Belle, dears. Could I ask your help in holding Marcella''s legs down?"

    Marcella whimpered in response but didn''t protest. She didn''t like what she had to do to get the reward, but she still wanted this to continue. Her pussy dripped even more in expectation, squeezing down tightly as she nearly orgasmed again at the thought.

    Neither of the girls showed any mercy, holding Marcella down firmly with glints in their eyes, neither having any warm feelings for Marcella and intent on giving her no leeway to squirm.

    Putting myself back into Marcella''s open mouth after she was fully secured, feeling her gag against my cock but continuing deeper regardless. The undulations and struggle of her throat as it revolted gave me the most wonderful massage. Pinning her head flat with my hips and keeping her arms flat above her against the ground. Her belly rising as she tried to squirm, only her back was able to move as she lay constrained and subdued, unable to close her mouth or force away in the slightest as I moved my hips. Driving myself as far down her throat as she could humanly manage.

    Her eyes watering up from the abuse as her sex tingled and oozed pleasantly, trying to kick reflexively as her body screamed but finding her legs pinned, which only stimulated her pussy further, peeing herself in the struggle as she suckled my cock willingly. Submitting her throat to me as I pleasured myself inside her. Using her as if she were a toy. Paying no heed to her bucking hips as she tried to free herself.

    Pulling out once more to let her breath.

    "Would you like to stop?" I asked her, seeing as she how fiercely she had been fighting until up to a second ago. Sending her into another coughing fit as she desperately caught her breath. Her eyes teared up, trying to speak, but seeming to be incapable of doing so do to her heightened emotions. Ultimately nodding her head to indicate she wanted to go on, opening her mouth wider yet as she prepared again to take me.

    Smiling wickedly in response, Marcella was turning out better than I had possibly imagined. Readying myself over her, I slid back into her waiting mouth and began the last spurt.

    Hammering away without any regard for the discomfort it caused, the wet slapping of flesh and the sounds of gagging echoing throughout the tent. Her eyes were shut tight in anguish, but the pleasure her body remembered and the promise of the soon to be delivered ''potion'' tingled her body to no end, beginning to lick alongside my wild thrusts, the end of her tongue catching the deepest portions of my cock and adding a wonderful texture to the already pleasurable activity as she began syncing the timing of her licks alongside my actions, trying her best to make me cum even a second sooner. Her body shaking from the lack of oxygen as I sped up even faster.

    Soon.

    I felt myself rising in a desirous heat.

    Her throat squeezed and sucked, her lips forming a vacuum on the shaft squeezing up to my balls as I plunged as deep as possible. Withdrawing myself to the tip and doing it all again, locking Marcella''s head in place with my knees and hips as I used her. The struggling she had tried at first was soon turning into a cooperative agreement between the two of us. The tingling of her pussy had somehow suppressed her gag reflex, if only temporarily as she shut her eyes tight in anticipation. Knowing that the desired liquid would soon be in her.

    An explosion of warmth filling her mouth first then being shoved to the deepest portions of her throat as I deposited it directly.

    Marcella moaned as she felt an unbelievable ecstasy wash over her. Her hips bucking against her restraints as her pussy squeezed, gulping the air as it opened and closed repeatedly as her whole body shook. Suckling eagerly at my cock as she tried to encourage me to cum into her throat, adding in her tongue as if she were trying to drain me entirely. Swallowing and gulping each time I poured into her, but greedily continuing to work me and coax out more.

    Seconds passing, stretching on as if it were an eternity, until I felt like I had released my very soul into this fallen vixen who was willing to take all that I could give and more. Staying down there without breath, so long as I was releasing, Marcella was content to stay. Still swallowing long after I had shot my last. As if by sucking so desperately she could get even a drop more.

    "That was great..." I said while panting. Pulling myself out reluctantly, looking at her mouth and tongue that were still sucking, even as I pulled out she continued. Her eyes half-vacant as if she were doing it all subconsciously, her mind still in a haze from the pleasure she was basking in.

    I looked over Marcella''s corrupted and fallen form, her chest rising and falling in peaceful rhythm, her eyes watching me with a lustful intent contained within. Smiling with the knowledge that she was mine now.

 Ch 110. A Slave to Three

    The day after Marcella had surrendered herself to me, I looked at her with a fond expression as she ate breakfast solemnly, her face downcast and regretful. Not only regretting last night but rather her entire life''s choices. How had she fallen this far? She used to have everything she could ever want... and yet here she had practically begged a man to have sex with her. She had actually coveted a man''s... and worse she couldn''t even think about quiting him, even now still desiring more. Her body heating up as she imagined it, shaking her head to snap herself out of her temporary daze before taking another bite of her food. The carefully prepared meal in her lap only reminded her more of home, and what she had lost. Fighting back tears as she ate.

    When it came time to depart, I felt eyes on my back as Marcella watched me board the carriage. Pausing just short of closing the door on her when I saw her worn and weary look. Even if she consumed my ''potion'' daily and the vitality it brought, walking twenty to twenty-five miles every day would wear on anyone, especially for a girl unused to any manual labor, and after yesterday I did feel she had earned some form of reward, even as minor as this would be.

    Beckoning her over and watching as her grimace vanished, replaced by a look of unexpected confusion, as if she couldn''t believe that I was being kind to her. Collecting herself and trotting over before I decided to change my mind, climbing into the cabin before I shut the door.

    I sat down alongside her as Tammy and Belle sat opposite, staring coldly at the woman who had previously hurt their beloved man. An awkward silence filling the cabin between us.

    "She''ll be traveling with us from now on." I simply stated, not bothering to justify myself, mostly because I knew there really wasn''t a good reason for it. Keeping Marcella around had simply been a selfish whim of mine, even if I had the right to do it, it certainly had been an abuse of our relationship.

    Minutes passed before we got on our way and I began tapping away at the sides of the door panel, adopting Cal''s tic to pass the time before pulling out the strange pyramid I had received earlier, taking interest in the smokey substance contained within, finding amusement with the contents as they seemed to react to my presence and touch. Looking up every now and then to monitor the staredown that was unfolding.

    Their animosity bothered me at first, but seeing Marcella becoming unnerved after the first few minutes I started coming around to another way of thinking. Why should they get along in the first place?

    Rather than smoothing things over between the three of them, the current dynamic wasn''t all that bad for me, was it? It solidified the relationship between Belle and Tammy while simultaneously isolating Marcella. Dreaming up what would become of her if I was her sole source of affection while the rest of the world scorned and disdained her. After having so many wrongs committed against me, any guilt I felt about manipulating her emotions had vanished.

    Feeling mainly that I should be bringing Belle and Tammy onboard with her training, I cared for both of them, and most of all I didn''t want the re-addition of Marcella to bring anything between us.

    On one hand Tammy had always had an inferiority complex when it came to Marcella; I keenly remembered their first awkward meeting. Tammy was so timid around her back then, while Marcella had no qualms about abusing her authority to try to force her out. I could tell Tammy still had some insecurities around this, and even if she knew Marcella would never replace her, having someone who you never got along with joining back as part of the harem certainly did appear as threatening. Belle was similarly even more keenly aware of pecking orders, especially between herself and any other women that liked me, but given her race she always assumed herself to be on the bottom of said hierarchies. As a beastkin slave it was quite difficult to imagine being above in status to anyone else, especially never to a human.

    Rather than being something that drove us apart, I felt this could be an opportunity for the three of us to bond over a common goal. All three of our gazes focusing in on Marcella.

    "Marcella." I spoke up suddenly, with an unexpected note of sternness in my voice that startled the girl, who had been absent-minded until now as she pretended to look out the window, attempting to ignoring the dagger-like stares of her fellow women.

    "You do understand why Belle and Tammy would be upset with you, yes?" Waiting for her to turn to me, her eyes downcast. Looking quite pitiful if I had to say, but given what she had done I really couldn''t be too lenient.

    "You did a terrible thing, you know? I should have had you executed, and yet by my grace here you are, not only alive and well but traveling leisurely in one of the most expensive vehicles this side of the kingdom." She flinched at my words but I continued. I wasn''t being cruel, what I spoke was entirely the truth.

    "I may have given you a path to redemption, but that''s only as far as your wellbeing and material status. I can give you an appropriate compensation for the ''work'' that you do, but the relationships damaged by your actions need to be mended by you yourself. You must make amends to Tammy and Belle here, for the harm your actions caused them. From now on it will be as if you had three masters, follow their words and do as they say. My orders take precedence, but I fully expect you to obey them. This will continue until a period arrives where they are both satisfied with your attitude and believe that you have truly reformed, but til then you will follow and respect these two just as you do myself."

    Tammy''s eyes opened in surprise that I had essentially entrusted Marcella to her, while Belle seemed to not yet realize what had just happened. Cocking her head in confusion as she gauged all of our reactions.

 Ch 111. Obedience Training (R-18)

    It took a while for the idea of having power over Marcella to sink in, but Belle was actually the first one on the uptake, making Marcella massage her feet during the carriage ride, thrilled with a kind of simple-minded glee that only Belle was capable of.

    She didn''t really even have punishing Marcella in mind but was simply doing as she pleased. If Belle wasn''t allowed to do something then she was the type that really wanted to do it, and bossing around Marcella seemed to really scratch an itch for her that she always wanted to scratch.

    Exhibiting happiness from little things like having another slave that was below her in status, her tail swishing in delight, curling out in front of Marcella like a snake as Marcella rubbed the catkin''s faintly feline feet reluctantly. Belle purring loudly as she proudly lorded over the fallen noble.

    "Nyaats the spot. Right there." She pointed Marcella in the right direction every time she strayed from a spot she liked. Sprawling out in her seat as she appeared to be enjoying the massage very much.

    While the two of them were busy, I leaned over to Tammy''s side, whispering to her secretly. Feeding her ideas that were in line with what I had in mind for Marcella''s development. Her face flushing with anticipation. I knew she enjoyed some of the time she shared with Belle, but Belle was someone with clear likes and dislikes.

    No matter what, Belle would never be the willing female partner that Tammy was looking for. Bribing Belle worked fine enough for the few times we did it, but it was never something that I took lightly. Even if she seemed simple-minded at first, Belle always had a knack for choosing the most expensive and time-consuming rewards possible, and if she thought you were short-changing her for something she felt she was owed then she would remember that. Pouting for months on end until you made up with her. Now that I owed her two promises, any further favors would probably be increasingly steep. And while I enjoyed spoiling her to an extent, I wanted to keep it within reasonable limits.

    "Belle, why are you doing this? Wasn''t I always good to you?" Marcella finally spoke up, obviously her feelings hurt at being treated like this. Belle''s straight forward and direct reprimanding, along with her repeated micro-management of the foot massage made it seem to Marcella like she was being bullied in the most petty manner, but I knew... this was just how Belle was. Even if she despised Marcella she probably had no ill-will at all.

    Belle put her finger to her cheek like she needed to think on it, remembering the times Marcella had pet her ears, or fed her scraps of meat from the table, her expression brightening somewhat as she nodded happily in agreement.

    "Marcella do bad things, but old Marcella do good things too. Belle not hate Marcella, Belle listen to master, Belle also be good master to Marcella." Speaking proudly about how great of a master she would be to her, immediately proceeding to point out more spots on her foot for Marcella to rub.

    "...Belle, aren''t we both slaves? Can''t we both just get along?" Marcella spoke up after a few more minutes of Belle''s ''bullying''.

    Belle just looked at her in incomprehension, as if none of Marcella''s words made sense at all.

    "Belle not slave nyaa, Belle is pet." Puffing out her chest proudly as she fingered the pet collar around her neck, causing the bells on it to jingle with a pleasant sound.

    Ah, there was that. I remembered it now that she brought it up again. I had almost forgotten about it after the novelty of that ''sex-play'' had worn off, but Belle had taken me quite literally it appeared, and in her mind she was no longer a slave but rather my exclusive pet, which was apparently a promotion in her eyes, judging by how proud she was acting about it.

    Marcella had no way to retort, her mouth open as if in total awe or utter confusion, resigning herself back to foot rubbing for the remainder of the trip.

    Both Tammy and I putting on lewd smiles as we looked forward to tonight.

    When camp was made and done, and everyone had settled in for the night. Our action started early and strong, as I repeatedly chose to engage with Belle, leaving her panting, filled, and fulfilled. Stuffing her kitty with cream many times over as Tammy and Marcella sat on the side. Marcella still acted like an embarrassed a virgin, covering her face with her hands and catching glimpses through the gaps in her fingers. She still couldn''t believe how she burned with lust towards a man that she hated, and even now looking at him made her heart race, the feelings bringing shame to her face. Her body tingling, and breath quickening as she anticipated receiving that wonderful dose in front of her eyes, the one and only thing she had to look forward to in this life. The daily conditioning turning her into no more than a dog in heat.

    Why was it I wondered, did Marcella have such a strong reaction to my blood... or to my ''source of life''. I could tell the other girls went into heat with it, but never with the intensity Marcella had shown. Her body was certainly outrageously sensual, and I enjoyed playing around with her greatly, but could there really be such a gap between women? Even down to the way she could orgasm from receiving abuse, it was almost like she was built for sex. Even if what she was after right now was just the substance rather than the act.

    Marcella was clearly impatient, bothered by the slow pace and my doting focus on Belle. She would probably only get her share after both Tammy and Belle had went, and since I had stayed with Belle so long already, she might not get a chance tonight.

    "Tammy would you care for a turn yet?" To which she just shook her head politely, acting like I could continue on my own.

    She did pass on sex from time to time, so it wasn''t entirely unexpected that she might decline, but the two of us had something of a knowing agreement. Smirking subtly without betraying the plot to Marcella, who seemed to take Tammy''s decline as an invitation of her own. Stepping up eagerly to take Belle''s place, who was already filled beyond capacity and beyond reason.

    "Sorry Marcella, it wouldn''t be right if I skipped Tammy. She has precedence." I smiled wryly before explaining to her. Subconsciously reminding her that a pecking order existed between her and the other two. It wasn''t as if this something that Marcella couldn''t understand either, as a noblewoman surely she understood that the amount of time spent with a wife largely determined their influence in the household, a rule that was especially true the more wives there were. However if this analogy were applied here, then Belle would be the clear ''head-wife'', given how often she wrung me dry of semen.

    Marcella looked again at Tammy, who again shook her head. Causing a sense of panic to set in for Marcella, who was clearly addicted to my blood potion or the stand-in substitute I allowed her to indulge in straight from the source.

    "You could ask Belle, she has plenty that I''m sure she would share if you asked nicely?" Knowing Belle there was no pretty much no way this would happen.

    Marcella was starting to go red in the face over how unexpectedly hard it was to get a share of my semen. Even if she had use her body, that at least involved a direct transaction between herself and me. But here she was now being forced to ask Belle to share a creampie with her.

    Gulping as she watched drop after drop of the precious white dribble running down Belle''s swollen pussy.

    "Belle... em... Belle... this may sound odd... but could I ask of you something?" Marcella sounded humiliated, dying of shame as she asked a beastkin pet for something so debauched.

    Fluffy ears perked up in response, moving to target the sound as they listened intently. Curious as to what Marcella would ask of them.

    "Could you let me... let me have some of what Keaton gave y-you... you know... down there..."

    Belle finally sat up from her resting position, huffing angrily with puffed cheeks, some of the cream I had shared with her overflowing out from the sudden movement.

    "No. Mine." She said defensively, guarding her belly swollen with seed as if she were a fat goblin protecting its hoard. Her silky tail acting on its own to cover her privates.

    Marcella almost couldn''t believe her ears... not only had she begged Belle to share something so dirty, she was actually even turned down for it? Looking back to me with tears beginning to dot her eyes, to which I just shrugged and directed her eyes back to Tammy, as if to say ''ask her instead of me''.

    "Tammy... um... do you think you could sleep with Keaton?" For her turn to come up, she needed Tammy to go first.

    To which Tammy just lifted her dress, revealing a pantieless smooth and glistening mound. Clearly having come prepared.

    "That depends... could you put me in the mood?" Tammy said while leaning back into the fur wrappings of some gigantic beast, something I had picked up on a whim that almost acted like something between a cushion and a chair with how massive it was. A small smirk appearing on her face.

    "She likes women almost as much as she likes men." I explained to Marcella, who was still not understanding the situation. Tammy''s preference had become even stronger recently, along with the knowledge she was pregnant. Whether it was superstitious or not, having sex while pregnant was somewhat frowned upon, perhaps out of fear of what it would do for the baby, and although she did still make love on occasional, it clearly worried her.

    Marcella''s lip quivered, face hot with embarrassment. Even though she had lowered herself to this point Keaton didn''t even want to sleep with her... and now she needed to pleasure another woman just to get the chance? Wanting to turn it down but feeling her tongue dry in her mouth at the thought of going through the night without what Belle had in her. That feeling of ''aliveness'' was so attractive to her, especially at a time when she felt so down.

    Getting down on her hands and knees before crawling over to Tammy''s open legs and lifted skirt, getting a good view of Tammy''s pale and flushed lower lips. Beginning to lick timidly around the outside, causing Tammy to arch her back in pleasure, resting her hands onto Marcella''s head as she worked her tongue.

    "Oh... ohhh. There... keep going." Tammy gasped, pushing down a little to encourage Marcella''s activity.

    Aroused again by the sight, I enticed Belle over with sweet words, who despite being tired out from our repeated love-making was always willing to try for more. Her maternal instinct for kittens overpowering any feelings of exhaustion. Plodding over before stretching out like a cat, her tail lifting up to offer me a look at her cream filled pussy.

    A tight sensation embracing me as her entrance clamped down around my member, as if Belle were trying to suck all of me in from the start. The two of us entwined, bodies melting together hotly as we shared the moment, her heat enticing me to speed up... eventually the two of us going at it like wild animals.

    Looking to the side on occasion only to see that Tammy to the side had wrapped her legs around Marcella''s neck, pulling her directly in contact with her dripping pussy and grinding herself as Marcella''s tongue worked deeper inside. Tears dripping down her cheeks out of a burning sense of shame for what she was doing, just as love nectar flowed from behind her panties, soaking them through. The humiliation just arousing her more, which did nothing to help the shame she felt.

    Tammy''s legs shaking in orgasm as she bucked her hips in sync with Marcella''s tongue, nodding over to me with a satisfied expression after she had finished. The signal for me to pull out of Belle, who cried out quietly in a hazy voice, so overdrafted on lust that she could hardly tell I hadn''t actually finished inside her.

    Bringing myself over to Tammy''s side, who only now let Marcella go with her legs, pushing her out of the way to allow me access. Her vagina walls still dripping and convulsing from Marcella''s deep tongue massage parted easily as I slid inside. Losing myself almost instantly as her insides milked me continuously. Pouring into her the culmination of every movement and every thrust Belle and I had done together in our workout routine. Knowing what it would be used for, I needed to give her an extra large helping. Enough to give Marcella something to eat.

    Slowly pulling out of Tammy''s spread legs after the throbbing had stopped, taking a step back to watch the scene unfold.

    Marcella looked up from her spot on the floor, panting from a lack of breath. The forceful and deep licking she had just performed on Tammy having tested how long she could hold her breath.

    "Keaton... can... can I have my turn now?" She asked between breaths, seeing that I had came inside Tammy, this should have counted as her having a turn now... right? She was next now... right?

    "I never said we''d be doing it tonight... but you have another option don''t you? Belle wasn''t willing to share, but maybe Tammy will? Why don''t you try asking her?"

    Marcella reddened again. It wasn''t that she was above that... she had already fallen so low to beg Belle for it, but being forced to do it all over was enough for even her to know when she was being bullied. It wasn''t that she didn''t care, but that she was already broken. She hated Keaton, but she loved what Keaton had... her body heating up with an excruciating lust now that she knew what she wanted was just a short ways away. All she had to do was humiliate herself, throw away her pride as a noble, her pride as a human. She hated how her body reacted like this, over time, even the abuse was beginning to feel good.

    Putting her head down, she began to grovel at Tammy''s heels. "Please... Tammy. Please let me..."

    Tammy lifted her feet, putting her toes under Marcella''s chin and pushing her face up so she could look her in the eyes. Clearly enjoying the power she had over the little former tyrant.

    "You know what you need to do, right?" Tammy asked as she opened her legs again, wide enough to expose her perfectly creampied pussy.

    Offering Marcella salvation and hell simultaneously. The dripping white liquid too tempting for Marcella to resist as she crawled forward. Putting herself between Tammy''s thighs, which snapped shut around her like a venus flytrap. Legs wrapping back around to lock her in place, forcing her mouth back in direct contact.

    It was clear what she needed to do, and she let her body fall into depravity willingly. The rich vitality and feeling of life from Keaton filling her mouth and bringing her ecstasy as she worked her tongue deeper. Cleaning the deep recesses of Tammy''s cute pink walls, licking up every drop she could find even as she cried. What was happening to her? She couldn''t even recognize what she had become, and she had no way to stop. Her mind accepting the whims of her captors as she pleasured Tammy in every manner conceivable, and only when Tammy was completely satisfied, well after she had licked everything clean, was she allowed to stop. Tammy''s eyes now following hers like she was no longer looking at a human, but rather just looking at a convenient toy.

    I watched from a chair I had brought up, petting Belle''s hair silky hair and furry ears as I witnessed both Marcella and Tammy''s transformation in real time. Pleased beyond words at the result.

 Ch 112. Antiam

    With the changes in Marcella''s behavior, the rest of the trip had become far more interesting.

    Not only did Tammy play with Marcella''s body at night, she had taken to using her openly in the carriage as well. Going so far one day as to have Marcella sit between her legs the entire time we were traveling, putting her mouth to work for hours on end. But no matter how extreme Tammy made it, Marcella''s body still reacted lewdly, shivering in anticipation the whole time. So long as she was ''rewarded'' at the end, she would seemingly endure anything. But over time the ''punishments'' she had to endure stretched on longer and longer, and the rewards were pushed back further and further.

    And at the end of every hard day, I slept alongside her. Not even in a sexual manner, just acting just as intimately and just as lovingly with her as I did with Belle or Tammy, offering her a brief reprieve from the day''s weariness as she fell asleep in my arms. Stroking her raven hair and unblemished back to calm her as her breath turned softer into sleep.

    The days passed and the scenery changed. The roads began improving, turning from little more than winding muddy paths into fully paved stone construction. The grasslands that I had grown up in, had now fully transformed into woodlands that surrounded all but the path itself, and even despite this, the wayward attacks by monsters had drastically plummeted. The men were still somewhat unnerved by the lack of visibility, but compared to the imposing and towering nature of the mana-fed trees in the wilderness the small domestic trees like this were only like cute imitations.

    Mounted knight battalions could even be seen on occasion, passing us by and ensuring the peace was kept in the King''s land, their signature white armor and red cloaks giving them away from even miles before we approached them. Given the obvious wealth of our procession, they were especially courteous to us and let us pass without hassle, only warning us to be on the look out for brigands.

    Which as our luck would have it, we encountered later that day. Actually it really wasn''t really bad luck at all, my [protective instincts] skill triggered as soon as we came into their view. Allowing us plenty of warning.

    Taking a step out of the carriage, I took a deep breath of the forest air. The short pines that surrounded us gave a wonderful freshness to the atmosphere that I had never encountered before, the feeling invigorating my senses before battle. Having the cart stop dead center in the middle of the path while I alone approached a rocky outcropping from which I could imagine several bandits were hiding. Stretching and adjusting my classes beforehand. This was actually the first time I had fought since receiving Crow''s treat, also the first time fighting since reaching level 10, which happened to offer an additional class equip option. Thanks to my unique circumstances I already had two classes from the start, so now it was as if I had four, and the range of skills I could use at one time in battle had advanced by leaps and bounds. Putting on everything that seemed useful and leaping off the carriage.

    Each stride I took covered what would take a normal man dozens, bringing me to the outcropping within seconds, climbing what appeared as a sheer rockface within a single powerful bound. Peering over at the pack of waiting and armed men who panicked at the sudden turn-about. Screaming about a monster while scrambling backwards away from my spot on the top of their hiding spot.

    "Let''s just get this over with quick... alright? Don''t make me chase you." I spoke to them all calmly, the only one with any poise in the situation as my words sent even more waves of panic as they all realized their lives were over.

    Grinning devilishly at the feeling of superiority my powers gave me. It was like playing with ants.

    ...

    Not even a minute later my hired soldiers were picking through the remains, scavenging anything worth value. I wasn''t petty enough to take that from them for myself, but I did have them collect the bodies as proof of my subjection. Finding that these brigands had the same mark on their soles as Gawn and his thugs, and hearing these were likely a known criminal gang, I hoped for a little bit of compensation for my good deeds once we reached our destination, or at least enough to ease our current financial troubles, before we could offload our speciality ''Keaton vitality potions'' that was. Storing the piled bodies whole in one of my inventory rooms, throwing them in haphazardly like they were sacks of vegetables.

    Seeing Marcella shudder with fear as I returned, my armor bloodied with that of the criminals, I asked her clean the armor for me with a bucket of water. The fate of those killed today much too close to that of her own miserable experience for her to be comfortable with as she reluctantly wiped the metal clean with a kind of dark reminiscence. Even so, she had become much more obedient recently, not saying a word as she complied with my orders. The only hint of her true feelings revealed in the briefest of facial twitches.

    It was two days later when we finally broke out of the forests, coming to a great clearing that appeared as if spanned miles, arcing in a circular pattern around and down into a minor valley that seemed to be our destination. Shining walls and minarets piercing the cloudless sky in the most grand manner that I had ever gave witness to and a massive city more sprawling than I had imagined possible, town blocks stretching for miles in the distance as we looked down from our local vantage point. A river of grand blue water flowing through the center of the city, splitting in two as the walls seemed to rise and incorporate the watery terrain into its construction, a maze of bridges connected the two sides.

    This was Antiam.

    Keaton''s stat window

    Kaguro

 Ch 113. Welcome to the Capital

    Coming into the basin that Antiam was positioned in, all the forest for miles around seemed to have been cut down in a ring around the city. In its place were similar trees, all in varying stages of growth, as if the entire basin was being farmed for lumber.

    Laborers were working on planting new trees for miles, equal parts free human men and equal parts female beastkin slaves. Despite being women, beastkin were still almost always equal to a human male if not above them in strength, so they weren''t terrible workers from what I had heard. Finding interest in seeing so many beastkin together in one place.

    Belle certainly had her interest piqued as well, looking at all the women in the fields of various beast origin curiously. She had rarely seen another beastkin, and yet here they were gathered in droves. A few mammal types every once in a while, dogs or wolves judging from the ears but most of them appeared to be the more sexually undesirable ones, while the rest were lizards, lamia, or other reptile types. The lizardkin still looked mostly human, but their scales covered a good portion of their skin, and their tails were often thick and unappealing like an alligators, very unlike the mammal types who were nearly all indistinguishable from humans aside from their ears and tail. Only a few ever had tufts over fur covering their hands and feet, seeming like this was either an uncommon trait or something that was selected against by their human captors.

    For the humans here, these type of manual labor jobs weren''t all too terrible. They did the same work as the beastkin, but the ''perks'' more than made up for that. They had free rein amongst the women here, and for a manual labor job that was a pretty good deal since they saved on brothels. The beastkin''s owners didn''t mind the interactions and actually seemed to encourage it even, as I heard the couplings tended to have a domesticating effect on the female slaves, making them more cooperative and less likely to revolt. Even if they were all unarmed females, their natural claws and fangs made them more than a match for the workers and overseers here to handle, so any beastkin slave revolt was always a bloody affair and to be avoided at all costs.

    Belle cracked the window so she could bring her head outside, getting a closer look at the beastkin laborers who were planting saplings along the roadside. Most of them ignored us, but those that took notice of Belle clearly had jealous looks, pausing their work and staring as we went by. A catkin with such silky shampoo''d hair and expensive satin dresses, riding along in a carriage like ours was clearly the pet of some noble or rich man.

    "Keaton, I''ve never seen so many different Beastkin together. How do they all live here? Doesn''t this cause issues?" Tammy asked from her seat, now that we were within sight of the Capital''s walls she was less interested playing around with Marcella and was taking more interest in our surroundings. Subsequently letting Marcella get up from her spot and return to her seat, wiping her mouth hurriedly with a silken handkerchief of mine before looking outside as well, following along with our conversation.

    Everyone knew the bloody history between us and the beastkin, and yet here the beastkin were, working peacefully under human control. I truly did understand her confusion, and I could only marvel at the accomplishment of humanity. Humans over the past decades were well aware they were the ones winning this war, but it wasn''t always like that.

    Although this was something from well before I was born, the beastkin used to be seen a major threat on the survival of humanity as a whole, much of the hostility they faced in subjugation was simply a reflection of that instinctual fear we felt towards them. Now the situation had almost completely reversed, I knew that unless I fulfilled the purpose for which I had been ''granted'' a system, that is, in effect becoming the beastkin''s savior, the beastkin would eventually become a completely servile race. One that existed only in slavery.

    Despite this knowledge, I was somewhat hesitant to lend a hand, not only would it be a perilous treason that could later jeopardize my own species, it was impossibly convoluted by the fact that the goddess who tasked me with this would almost certainly become an enemy in the future. I had no way of turning off my double-reward advantages, and the higher leveled I became the more energy I stole from them. Not only that, but the humans now turned out to have a multitude of system users of their own who appeared far more powerful than myself. Sighing helplessly at the sight before me, I couldn''t help feeling as if they were destined to be this way.

    Belle sniffed at her kindred workers, smelling all the different scents she had never encountered before.

    "Interested in your own kind, Belle?" I asked her, seeing her obvious enthusiasm. "There''s more slaves here than anywhere else in the kingdom, maybe it''s worth attending one of those slave auctions I''ve heard about." I had no intention of buying, but it had always piqued my curiosity. Musing over the thought as our carriage began to slow down. Running into more traffic the nearer we got to the gate as our road merged into larger one that contained a constant inflow of traders coming in from other directions.

    Closer to the city, the cultivated timber forests disappeared and were replaced with a throng of bustling shanty towns, clearly kept a good ways from the road by a few steely eyed guardsmen, but nonetheless forming a dense network that surrounded the entire outer city walls, which from circumference alone made it probably more than sixty miles round. Even so, these temporary slums were but a drop in the ocean to the total population here. The capital being a true metropolis, the shining jewel of the kingdom, it housed over ten million souls, and the people came from afar for good reason; the amount of wealth present within these marbled white walls was immense, and even in the slums outside the walls, the money generated through beastkin slaving was a major attraction.

    Our caravan and lack of cargo made us interesting subjects to the other parties, but local nobilities weren''t terribly uncommon, and in a city like this it must be a daily sight. Traffic continued, mostly unimpeded, and we drew closer to the massive gate which opened like a mouth to swallow up the line of eager travelers.

    When it was our turn, a pair of ordinary looking guards on horseback came up to inspect our carriage. The two of them saying some words briefly to Tristan and Gerald, who had my de-facto heads of security, the four of them motioning towards Bael''s church carriage before the guards waved us through. Having an official church emblem seemed to have some uses when it came to skipping the entrance tax, even though we probably could have just had him use that coin if all else failed.

    The fee wasn''t much for a single person only five silver or so, just enough to keep most of those from the slums out, but having to pay for the thirty or so subordinates would end up being a mighty sting, to my now lacking pocketbook. And without having yet sold off any of my ''vitality'' or ''lust-potions'' that I had bottled over the duration of our trip, I was feeling a bit conscientious about any spending for the moment. Thankful that we could save on costs here.

    Once we passed the checkpoint, the streets of the city opened up before us, giving us a spectacular view of Antiam''s metropolis.

    Unlike Tromwell, everything here was a stone construction. From the buildings down the road, everything used a uniformly and expertly cut white granite. The reflection of which left me momentarily dazed from its splendor. If it weren''t for the carefully planted shade trees lining the sides of the roads, the heat during the summers surely would have been staggering, but even that aspect seemed to have been attended to.

    "Nyaaa... look! Master, she looks like Belle. Look!" Belle tugged on my shirt excitedly in a bid to get my attention, pointing out a particularly young girl who was hurrying between the trees.

    Following her finger, I watched from the window of my carriage as a young looking catkin struggled with a bucket of water over to the rows of planted trees and flowerboxes that lined the sides of the roads. Tending to each before she scampered off into a nearby building with the empty bucket in hand.

    Belle''s pure-hearted excitement pulled at my heartstrings, causing me to rustle her hair before I continued watching our surroundings, beginning to feel a tinge of excitement myself over this new and exciting place.

    Observing the overarching stone structures that passed over the building the beastkin girl had entered earlier, I soon realized they were aqueducts. The stone ducts supported by a series of massive pillars that seemed to be tasked with pulling water up from the direction of the river, towering a good ways above the skyline of the stone-built shops and houses, distributing water down through shoots as brightly painted red hieroglyphs lit up the sides of the otherwise pure stone, emitting off a radiant glow that was obviously powered my magic of a kind, perhaps the magic aided in the water''s transmission.

    We weren''t yet at our destination, but seeing the bustle on the street and the awe inspiring sights, I couldn''t help but get out and walk. Helping the ladies out of their carriage before stretching my legs. The four of us admiring the immaculate beauty of the riverside city as we walked along our carriage''s caravan. The pedestrians giving us some space to walk after seeing the number of guards we had with us.

 Ch 114. Fishing for trouble

    Our destination was supposed to be the church district, that is, Bael and the church were the ones sponsoring our stay in the capital and given that they wanted us here so quickly in the first place, of course they had made some arrangements... it''s just that... how big was this city exactly?

    At first we were amazed at the size of the streets and the sheer number of people, but after walking for two hours and still not seeing the end of the commercial and citizen''s district, our amazement grew another fold. This wasn''t the entire town, only a single quadrant, and yet we still couldn''t see the end in sight. Passing by shop after shop, which included everything from exotic imported spices and textiles brought in from the southern kingdoms, to local specialities and ordinary commodities. Not only was there a larger range of goods than I had ever seen before, or even imagined existed, some of the items looked truly bizarre or magical in nature. Seeing one particular store that had an old pointed hat carved into its signboard, the wood-engraved hat leaping about, carving and mending its shape on the wooden board as it tried to catch the eye of any prospective customers. If it wasn''t for my financial situation right now I''d even be tempted to pay a visit.

    Every twenty or so shops seemed to be organized into an almost evenly spaced block that allowed for a crossroads to pass by for more pedestrian and carriage traffic. Small alleyways weaving through through the spaces between shops, where it looked like the beastkin slaves liked the spend their time from how it was the only place I had seen them.

    Beastkin weren''t allowed to walk the main streets alone, but most shops had beastkin attendants or workers for the cheap manual labor they could provide and these alleyways seemed to be the only spot they could go during the day when they weren''t needed. Even so, they were still clearly on edge at being seen by us. The few beastkin women quickly vanishing back into their owner''s shops after noticing my gaze. Perhaps the fact that we had a church carriage along with us made them more apprehensive, but it was still an odd feeling to see them so afraid of being seen.

    Every so often the bustle of the trading-blocks would give way to an open plaza, containing larger junctures with a main road like the one we were following along. The center of the plazas were often recreational park in their own right, complete with ponds of overly fat fish, ones that had more than caught Belle''s attention.

    "Belle, no! Put that back!" Tammy cried while she tugged on Belle''s tail and dress. Trying to keep the girl from falling in completely as she wrestled with the overgrown meals, the fatty blobs with tiny fins swimming around before her eyes were just the right size for a snack, and too tempting to resist.

    I couldn''t help but feel a headache coming on as I watched the two pulling out the fish, Belle''s fangs sunk deeply in the fatty blob as she refused to let go of her new prize. Comparatively, Marcella was aghast, the most shocked out of any of us and looking like she wanted to run away in shame if she could, but the slave''s collar around her neck kept her in place.

    "Keaton! Make Belle put that down... right now!" Her voice somewhere between a whisper and a yell, a sense of urgency present. "Those aren''t for the public... nobody eats those because they''re owned by the king! She needs to put it down now!"

    My eyes widening as well, suddenly a bit more conscious of the the disapproving looks from the passerby''s.

    "Can you let go of the fish, Belle?" I pleaded with Belle, trying to get her to put it down so we could go, but she only clamped her fangs harder as the fish wriggled in her mouth. I''d never taken food from her mouth before, and even if I was her master... for Belle that was a line too far. Becoming obstinate over the oddest of things but perfectly obedient otherwise.

    I wasn''t particularly worried about the sentiment of the citizens, I probably didn''t need to follow the common rules after all, but there really wasn''t a reason to cause a big scene on our first day here, and the reaction of the crowd was starting to make it seem like we were committing murder in broad daylight.

    Deciding the scene had played out enough, I put an end to the fish with a flicker of sword aura from my finger, sending a spark like needle through its brain and turning it into an ''item'' rather than a ''living-thing'' so it could be stored. Snatching the fish straight from Belle''s mouth with a bit of spatial trickery.

    "Mmmu! Master stole Belle''s fish!" Belle pouted angrily once she realize I had succeeded in taking it from her, tail standing up straight in distress as she began positioned to catch another of those fattened fish before I stopped her again.

    "Wouldn''t you rather have a nice cooked lunch somewhere here Belle? I''m sure they have food you''ve never tried before." I offered, knowing her outbursts were more than likely just a way of saying she was hungry.

    Belle mulled the idea, her previously flattened ears perking back up slowly and tail resuming its normal wiggling posture. "Nn! Belle wants." Finally acceding to reason, but totally shameless in the face of a disapproving crowd.

    The bystanders continuing to watch our caravan and guards moving on as if we were criminals fleeing the scene. Marking us in their mind as just another stuck-up rural nobleman and his pet too ignorant of the way the world works, simultaneously jealous of our wealth and angered at the thought that we would so blatantly flout the royal laws. I could see some of them running off somewhere while a few were even following us, probably to alert the guards no doubt.

    More annoyed at the hostile crowd than anything, I picked a nearby tavern that looked large enough to accommodate all of us. Acting the part of the carefree arrogant noble as we settled in for a meal. Crying a little inside when I realized how empty my pocketbooks would be after all of this, especially seeing as our party had taken up enough tables to fill half the pub.

    An excited owner ran over to greet us, seeing as we had turned a normally off-hour for them into an enormous opportunity, this wasn''t a group he wanted to lose. Bringing with him four beastkin bunny waitresses, rabbit ears flopping timidly, and each wearing a revealing enough outfit that clearly embarrassed them. Strange that slaves would be so easily embarrassed, but none-the-less they tried taking our orders anyways.

    "Hello sirs, are you visiting the capital?" The owner tried to make small talk with me as the waitresses bobbed around, their short fluffy bunny tails exposed and visible, plain against their bare back. Each wearing a skirt that was essentially just frills decorating their waistline, leaving them in nothing more than panties and a decorative bra that emphasized their bountiful breasts. Their only other clothing being a garter-belt hooked to the skirt and secured around their legs. Given this was a tavern with rooms available, clearly the implication was that they offered another kind of nightly room-service.

    "How would you know that we''re from out of town?" I asked curiously, before stopping to consider our own getup, dirty and straight from a month''s travel. I didn''t think we looked all that different from what I normally saw in Tromwell, but thinking of what clothes everyone else in the capital was wearing, it was certainly out of place. Clearing my throat to excuse my previous question, "anyways, a drink and a meal for each of the men here. Only one drink. They''re still on duty."

    "Certainly! And would you happen to need rooms for the night? You won''t find better rooms for the price than here, and... should you or your men feel the need..." his eyes wandering over to the bunnies, who appeared to tremble at their owner''s words. For slaves they really didn''t seem used to their work... as if reading the question on my mind the owner replied.

    "They''re brand new, less than week in from the Antalushia''s, courtesy of the king." He said with a smile at the mention of the king and his successful campaign, "If you''re looking for slaves now''s the time for buying, got these four lasses for less than a gold each I did. Still need training so I''m letting the customers have ''em. Good thing for your men, good for morale. You rent some rooms and I''ll throw in these rabbits for free."

    The rabbits in question shuddered at the thought.

    Smiling wryly I could only decline. "Just the meals, thank you. We already have our rooms for the night." Motioning to the church carriage that was visible through the tavern''s windows. Letting him know we were with the church.

    "Didn''t take you for holy men, but my offer stands if you ever change your mind, even if it''s just for the rabbits. I''ll throw in a discount, out of respect for the church." He offered matter of factly, and I raised an eyebrow in response. He would offer beastkin prostitutes to clergymen? Having grown up in the sticks, my knowledge of church matters was relatively limited, but even that seemed to be something I never expected to be commonplace.

    "We''re not all with the church, just Bael here." Motioning to the man with the fake smile who had taken a seat for himself.

    "Ah, ''tis a good name. Bless you sir and bless the king''s soul." The owner nodded his head slightly in deference, to which Bael just looked indifferent.

    "Baelwyn is the name of the royal line, but the word is the king himself just goes by Bael. It''s a name with great honor attached, and a lot of people here in the capital are taking it up." Bael explained, noticing my interest in the tavern owner''s reaction. I could only nod, taking up a cup of sweet-mead that one of the bunnygirls had just set down in front of me.

    There were still a few onlookers from our earlier incident that I could see through the window, all of whom appeared to be waiting around across the street.

    Feeling a jab in my side that woke me up from my thoughts. "We just got here and already making trouble? You seem to have a knack for it, I''ll give you that." Cal laughed as he passed by, his hands wrapped leisurely around Ashley and Kaya''s waist''s as he ushered them to their seats. His hands taking advantage of their position as he rubbed openly, exposing his playboy nature for all to see. Ashley reacting as if this was only normal while Kaya''s face reddened at being teased so publicly by her brother, while Marcella looked on in disgust over her half-siblings actions.

    Clearly Cal wasn''t feeling too worried about the situation: knowing my own capabilities and the fact that Bael had a black coin with him, we could probably get away with open murder at this point. Sighing and letting my own thoughts go as I decided to just enjoy the moment as well. Pulling in Tammy and Belle closer, while Marcella looked awkwardly from her seat next to Tammy''s. Kissing each deeply and not letting any of my passion go. Giving a special teasing to Belle, who had caused our current predicament.

 Ch 115. Bar Fight

    Sipping my mead and stabbing my fork into the tavern fair, I started relaxing my mind, enjoying the bunnies shy and crude attempts to entertain our group. One of them knew how to play a strange flute-like instrument, fashioned out of a form of hollowed reeds it was a primitive looking thing, but that bunny had it the best out of any of them. The rest had no choice but to use their body to entertain... and while that didn''t mean sex, it was transparently an attempt to entice us some of us towards that. Clearly the owner''s plot to have us reconsider and spend more time and money here than we already had. The rabbits reluctantly offering their unguarded breasts and butts for the men to fondle as they served them their meals and filled their cups, the owner watching to ensure they did their jobs properly.

    It seemed this kind of thing was pretty common around here, having beastkin as the hostesses that is. Seeing as they weren''t actual human waitresses, the owner didn''t seem overly concerned with their welfare... only that they brought in more money than they cost.

    As the bunnies served Belle her meal, they stayed reluctantly. Looking at her a second longer than they maybe should have, jealousy written on their faces. Seeing as she was being treated essentially the same as any other of their human customers, it was the first time they had seen it since being captured. Humans often had beastkin slaves, but they seldom treated them as an equal, or as close to an equal as Belle was.

    Belle taking their admiration with a sense of pride and superiority, snuggling up to me to emphasize that I was hers just as much as she was mine.

    As if right on cue, a flash of red passed by the windows. Five armored knights with fluttering red capes walking calmly and slowly into the space left by the open tavern door. As the knights surveyed the room for the suspects, the bunnies at our table shrunk back in fear, clearly thinking their lives were in imminent danger and scrambling out of the way, back to the safety of the kitchen. The onlookers who followed us earlier were still visible from through the window, across the street with faces lit up in expectations. Soon to be sorely disappointed.

    Remaining seated as I watched the special guard block the exit with their bodies, their finally eyes settling on Belle and I, probably mentally connecting us the descriptions they had been given. Four of them approaching while one remained at the door, as if they expected a struggle. Not showing any concern to the fact we had more than thirty armed men sitting around. Brave if anything.

    "How can I help you gentlemen?" I asked with an air of unconcealed arrogance, like I didn''t care what they had to say. Not bothering to put down my drink, I took a sip and sunk back further in my chair.

    If they thought I was some spoiled young master, then I might as well play the part.

    The lead knight cleared his throat, "We had reports about a theft from the public garden, you wouldn''t happen to know anything about that would you?"

    "Do we look like thieves?" I scoffed, smiling as if his actions were a joke and his words were of no consequence to me. Truly from what Marcella told us, we were somewhat in the wrong, but this all seemed ridiculous to me. All of this over a single fish?

    "We have witnesses." The knight remained stone-faced, unphased. "First time in the capital I take it?" The knight asked me, putting on a more authoritative tone. "Everything in the public gardens are the king''s domain. Stealing from the king is a capital offense... but, given that it was your pet''s actions and not your own, we can settle this with just her and let you off with a warning. Be more careful next time." Speaking as if he was he were doing me a favor.

    My [protective instincts] skill warning me they more than likely intended to kill her, which subsequently killed any thoughts I had about playing nicely.

    "You saw the carriage out front, we''re with the church." I explained, motioning to Bael who was watching expressionlessly as usual. I hoped they would let us off with that, but apparently we had no such luck.

    The knights'' eyes softened, but they still didn''t appear like they were leaving any time soon. "Even the church isn''t exempt from the law. As a member of the church you should understand, beastkin can''t be allowed to flout the public order. Without a stern hand they''re no better than monsters."

    I understood their reasoning, but I wasn''t about to let them have Belle, narrowing my eyes at their insistence. They were making this hard for us.

    "We have a black coin, does that mean anything to you? Overlook this incident and leave us." Maintaining my arrogance even the face of their armed threat, I ordered them to leave as I imagined anybody with actual authority would act.

    The knight''s attitude did a temporary turn for the better, with the leader taking a step back and grimacing before bowing his head somewhat respectfully. Opening his mouth to speak, "My apologies... but I must... insist on ascertaining the coin for myself. Even if you are an esteemed agent of the king I can''t take your word''s alone. I''m sure you understand why." Still somewhat shocked that people like us would have a coin, but proving the effectiveness. Nonetheless.

    I nodded, glad that we could resolve it this way, "Bael, show them your coin." I motioned again to Bael, demonstrating that he was the one with the coin... and who just looked at me curiously with a face lacking in emotion, as if he had no idea what I could be talking about.

    "Have you ever heard that you should accept the gifts that are offered before you?" Bael asked me, the words sounding incomprehensible to my ears. Getting a little irritated that he was playing around instead of producing the coin to settle this issue.

    The knights all tensing up over the fact that none of us were complying.

    "Stop playing around Bael, show them the coin. You know what''s going to happen if you don''t, right?" I asked again, somewhat nervous because of the escalating tension in the air.

    "I fail to see how that''s a bad thing... you need the experience after all." He just smiled before turning to the officers.

    "I''m afraid I have no idea what he''s talking about... I don''t have any such coins..." A fake smile plastering his face as he pulled the trigger on the looming confrontation. As if the whole situation was a joke, but the knights here clearly had no room for being played around with.

    "Imposters and thieves, you steal from the king and impersonate a royal agent... you must think the royal laws a joke; kill the cat, arrest the others for this blasphemy!" The red-cloaked captain roared out to his men, drawing a sword as if he had heard enough.

    Five against thirty and they thought they could win? Either they''re that confident or they didn''t expect us to resist, but they fact remained; they crossed a line. Whether they''re royal knights or not, I''ll have them dead for this.

    Standing up in a hurry and kicking my chair in-between the incoming captain. Not doing any damage but temporarily blocking his path to Belle and I, buying me time to retrieve my sword.

    Flourishing a blade from thin air turned the red-cloak''s eyes from anger to alarm. Given my lack of armor and attitude earlier, he must have thought this would be an easy win. Get to me and my men would fold.

    "I''m not paying you lot for nothing! We''re in for a fight, get the one on at the door and let none escape!" If they had just tried dealing with me I might have spared their lives, but their intentions for Belle had crossed the line. I''d deal with Bael''s mischief next, but first we had to deal with these knights.

    My hired men went wide-eyed, but eventually took up their arms. Fighting the city watch was probably the last thing on their mind after reaching the capital, but now that we were in a scrap and I had thrown their lot in, they had no choice! Pulling out blades and arranging to fight more than seven to one with the remaining four knights. The one at the door admirably diving back into the fray to help his comrades rather than running.

    My women ducked down under the table as did Cal and his women, while the tavern owner who was already cowed from the disturbance dove for cover as blades flashed and chairs flew; Bael sat unmoving, observing it all.

    Even so, it wasn''t turning out like I had hoped. The knight''s swords cut through ours like butter, killing a few of my men right off the bat before they adjusted to the discrepancy in gear. Threatening to stab at the knight''s faces every time they went in for an attack, forcing a kind of stalemate situation. What on earth were they using that was that sharp?

    Clashing my own blade against the captain''s, my sword didn''t melt through immediately like the others, but it still rang with inferior quality, the edge chipping audibly. Sighing that I''d need to use my skills here fully to settle what was supposed to be a peaceful meal.

    Settling to test some of the new abilities gained from the rush of experience the bandits had brought me earlier. A round-shield appearing around my left arm just as suddenly as the sword had, beginning to shine with a brilliant light as [shield bash] activated and my arm snapped forward like a viper''s strike, smashing the captain''s face before he even knew what hit him, the blade in my right following before his body hit the floor with a dead thump that echoed through the tavern.

    "Good skill." I commented, before turning my attention to another. Testing out each newly gained skill with innocent excitement like a child unwrapping a present. The remaining knights panicking at the realization their leader had just fallen.

    Utilizing guardian''s [trade places] I switched locations with an otherwise unlucky soldier of mine, taking a sword in the stomach in his place and returning a blade through the neck to the offending knight. The red-cloaked survivors panicking at the open display of magic and continued killings, making them easy prey in their outnumbered state. Each taking no less than a dozen stab wounds as my men surrounded them and poured in from all sides.

    Red stained the noble''s garb where I had been stabbed, but on closer inspection the belly wound had closed up already, and the blood-spray from those I had just killed made the rest of my outfit indistinguishable.

    Using the fallen knight''s red cloak as a rag, I wiped the blood off my sword, cleaning it enough that it could be stored again.

    Digging through the captain''s possessions, I found a small pouch of gold which I tossed over to the terrified tavern owner, who shrunk back in fear, thinking we were about to kill him like we did the knights.

    "Relax, we''re not criminals." I simply stated, shaking my head in disappointment over the senseless slaughter. Turning my attention to Bael who had intentionally escalated the conflict, seeing that he coincidently produced the black coin he had been withholding earlier. Turning it over between his fingers.

    "Ah, I seem to have found the coin you were talking about," he smiled innocently, like the death around him was of no consequence to his own actions.

    "Explain yourself," I demanded.

    Keaton''s stat window

    Kaguro

 Ch 116. Peace is Best

    "Explain yourself, Bael." Threatening him with the end of my blade. If it wasn''t for him this would have been settled peacefully. These were just knights doing their jobs, true they threatened my women, but it should have been an easy situation to diffuse... I really had nothing against them, but Bael just shrugged indifferently, even with a sword pointed at his neck it was like he was emotionally detached from the situation. Simply an observer watching from on high.

    "I fail to see the problem, you''re now two kills closer to leveling than you were before."

    My face tic''d in anger, holding back the urge to just kill him on the spot and be done with him. He wasn''t even a user and he dared act like this to me? Bael was like this from the start, the incident at the guild office was entirely the same. Like he was intentionally trying to turn me against otherwise innocent people.

    "We just killed the city watch and you don''t think this is a big deal?" I don''t know why the church ever picked Bael for this job, couldn''t they have sent someone more normal as a guide?

    "It''s like I thought, this is no good... your thinking is too constrained, too normal... is it because you''re new? You''re just not at all like the others." Bael wondered aloud, talking mostly to himself.

    "Start making sense or I''m going to do it." I warned him again, the tip of my sword drawing blood along his neck, but he stared at me with his vacant eyes. An expression not unlike that of a dead fish left too many days in the sun, completely oblivious to the threat on his life. "We''ve got five dead guards here... I don''t know what you''re thinking but cut it out." Looking down at the bloody scene, I felt another wave of contempt for Bael, two of the dead were even my own men. And over what? He did it so I could get more experience?

    "Ah, I see the issue." Bael''s eyes lit up as he looked at my dead men, as if he suddenly understood what I was so angry about. "It won''t happen again." He replied, grinning like a demon.

    "Fix. This." I told him again, leaving a faint scar on his neck where my blade had been.

    He just nodded, seeming finally to get the message but still remaining far more calm than I felt comfortable with.

    Sitting down and downing my drink to calm my nerves, I pulled a terrified Cal up and let him know where we stood.

    "Don''t let yourself or anyone you care about leave my sight if he''s ever around. Keep that in mind." I should be able to get out of most situations, but Bael had been such a wildcard up til now that I never wanted anyone alone with him.

    And so we waited, waited for the reinforcements from the slain red-cloaks to arrive. The bystanders outside the tavern, who had previously been cheering for our arrests ran off in fear their beloved peacekeepers died so disgracefully, to call more no doubt, so all we had to do was wait.

    And when the city watch reinforcements did come, as we predicted, we were all calmly sitting with weapons drawn. Ready to meet them if it came to that.

    Thankfully this time, Bael decided he wanted to cooperate. Glibly talking his way out of a tense situation before showing the infuriated guardsmen a black coin between his fingers. Their anger fading away only to be replaced by resignation. Bael stood gloatingly over the slain red-cloaks, giddy at the opportunity to show the other guards that we had killed them. Even so, they swallowed whatever words they had for us and let us pass. The end result was a surreal scene, one with red-cloaked knights forming a sort of protective honor guard as we walked out over the bodies of their fallen, I couldn''t help but feel a touch guilty.

    Given what had just happened, Cal and I agreed it was best for everyone to share a carriage until we got to the destination, even if was a little cramped, we still did manage to fit all seven of us. Given that the benches were wide enough to sit three a side if you squeezed people in, one of us had to share, which ended up as Belle sitting on my lap.

    Most of us silent as we sat around trying to digest what had just occurred. "Are all the people in the church like that?" Tammy finally asked, speaking for all of us, but we could only hope that wasn''t the case.

    Time passed and our nerves settled, the walls of the next district appearing now at a distance. We were all interested in spending some time resting from our long travels, and the sooner we got to the church district, the sooner Bael would become someone else''s problem instead of ours. Bael and Crow might have both been a bit odd, but for such a highly respected institution they couldn''t all be such weirdos, right?

    Curiously the shops and civilian oriented things disappeared more and more the closer we got to the church district as ''pleasure'' establishments and slave oriented activities cropped up to take their place. Slave houses designed for the buying, selling, trading, and housing of the chattel along with other industries of the flesh, beastkin brothels and other indulgent activities.

    "What a strange looking building... what could it be for?" I asked as our horses pulled passed a series of stacked concave walls that towered over the rest of the surrounding buildings, the stone-built complex supported by a network of equally towering pillars. The structure as a whole formed a gigantic ring and excited crowds clambered to push their ways into the multi-storied openings that led into it like a gaping mouth swallowing them up; roaring cheers thundered out of the open-aired structure, audible to us even from such a distance.

    Marcella snorted, her noble pride still so ingrained that she couldn''t help but look down on me for making such an uncultured comment. "That''s the colosseum, isn''t it obvious?" She answered haughtily, triggering a hostile glance from Tammy. The sharp look from eyes like daggers sent a shudder down Marcella''s spine, knowing she would probably have her mouth retrained all over again.

    Cal couldn''t help but chuckle at the sight of his troublesome half-sister being whipped into submission, before continuing with a proper explanation from where Marcella''s explanation had left off.

    "It''s an arena for fighting and public entertainment. The city puts rewards for mercenaries to battle for sport, or be pitted against slaves and monsters. From what I know King Baelywn introduced it and it''s been a massive hit with the public ever since... as you can see for yourself."

    And indeed I could, watching the crowds line up for a spot only to be turned away by red-cloaked guards, seeming like they had just now determined that the venue was at maximum capacity for the day.

    As our carriage continued, my attention turned to wayside as we passed the rather stimulating sight of some nude beastkin with placards around their necks. Breasts and pussy exposed for all to see as they wore expressions of embarrassment and shame, standing outside what appeared to be specialized brothels. The signs hanging from their necks advertised exotic services and acts, the manner of which I had never heard of before.

    "Chicken and egg?" I couldn''t help but read the text aloud, some of signs didn''t even sound sexual in nature, my confusion causing Cal to double over with laughter, eliciting another unhappy look from Tammy before he explained again. "Mother and daughter slaves that were captured together," he finally elaborated, causing the women in our carriage to wrinkle their nose at his crude description and the implications behind it, but clearly our subject matter expert wasn''t phased in the slightest, shrugging his shoulders without a care.

    These brothels seemed like they had something to satisfy every taste imaginable, and for such astoundingly low costs. No wonder I hadn''t seen any traditional brothels around here, how could they possibly compete? Unless someone had an exclusive preference for humans, they wouldn''t bother, and no free women would be willing to sell themselves so cheaply. Silently comparing the rates to what I had seen in Tromwell, not that I had ever frequented such a store... but still, frontier towns were normally considered as relatively poor, but this here was something else.

    Belle tugged my shoulder after we passed another building that appeared to be a slave trading house and auction block, her pupils enlarging and narrowing as she watched the variety of races to which she bore some resemblance.

    "Something catch your interest?" To which she nodded in agreement, focusing on the catkins she picked out of a crowd. It was unexpected that a slave wanted to visit a place like this of her own volition, but given that she was sold so early in life she had no negative feelings towards it like a normal slave would. Her simple curiosity weighing far heavier as she burned with a desire to meet more of her kind.

 Ch 117. The Nobleâ€™s District

No content

 Ch 118. The King

    Kaguro

    "This is it, I''m afraid we must part ways here, but I assure you that you''ll be in great hands." Bael approached us with a flattering, but ultimately fake smile on his face as he ushered us over to meet the group of four before pointing out the tiara''d woman in white.

    "The lovely lady you see here is Cardinal Palantia, she''s in charge of church affairs in the capital and she''ll be taking care of any needs you might have during your stay."

    The woman curtsied politely along with a slight nod of her head, showing she agreed with what Bael was saying.

    "It''s nice to finally meet you Keaton, we are all honored to be in the presence of a fledgling of god," her brown eyes shining like pearls as she spoke. Clearly interested in me, and maybe in more ways than one. "If you need anything for your development... or pleasure, please let me know," hanging onto the last part for emphasis.

    Ah, so she really was coming onto me? Somewhat awestruck at the situation, appraising her curiously while Tammy clung tighter to my arm, putting on a slightly possessive air.

    Not that I had any complaints about this welcoming, but seeing how extravagant and unorthodox our arrangements appeared to be, not to mention how forward in ''that'' manner that our host seemed to be, it really clashed with my mental image of what the church was like.

    "Is it okay for you to say things like that, you know, from a religious perspective?" I couldn''t help but speak my mind to the sultry cardinal.

    Tia''s eyes shone with a hungry light, biting her lip seductively before explaining.

    "Keaton, you were chosen by god. And being chosen means that no matter how dirty you want us to be together that''s all god''s will. So, do you want me to prove just how dirty this girl here can be? I wouldn''t mind warming your bed tonight."

    I was shocked, for any woman, much less a cardinal of the church to be this vulgar and this open with her propositioning.

    The man at her side coughed once to interject, "That''s enough Tia, besides... I do believe Selkerah would mind what you''re doing here, and you do know how poorly this would go over later." leaning in towards me as if he were telling a secret, "Don''t fall for this vixen''s honey trap, even if she likes to brag about her prowess I''d hardly imagine it''s worth the trouble."

    "Selkerah is her husband I take it?" I asked, curious who this other name was supposed to be.

    "Wife." They both replied almost simultaneously, I''d never even heard of two women marrying before, causing me to doubt my ears. Coughing to hide my surprise. "If you can even call that ogre she''s married to a woman that is," the young man added before laughing boisterously, receiving a frustrated stare from the woman in white.

    Palantia sighed, feeling that her opportunity had possibly slipped her by. "No men ever approach me after they know that," she said while pouting. "I haven''t felt a man''s touch in so long..." her words drifting off as the young man by her side chimed in again.

    "Selkerah''s one of us, you know what I mean?" Gesturing between the two of us like we were a pair, before leaning in with a whisper, "and is very possessive over Tia here."

    Tia acted like his words were the finishing blow for her chances, almost cringing in pain.

    "Us?" I asked, somewhat confused at what he meant.

    "A chosen one, he means. I''m not one by the way." Tia added, pushing up her assets as she folded her arms unhappily at the young man.

    "She''s Selkerah''s plaything, as much as it irks me to have such a disgusting woman as part of my organization, I have no choice but to tolerate this lewd being''s existence."

    "How can you of all people call me disgusting!" The woman set off on a tirade, but something the both of them said had caught my attention. This man was a chosen? Someone like Crow and I?

    "...and who are you?" I finally asked the golden haired youth, not wanting to be rude, but I was still confused as to who exactly this young was supposed to be.

    He grinned playfully in response, looking like he had been waiting to be asked that.

    "I''m the king."

    I couldn''t tell it was a joke or the man was being serious... giving him a second appraisal as I tried to figure it out. Truly I hadn''t ever seen the King before, Honestly when I thought about it, nobody in our group had ever seen him before either, but why would the king be here of all places?

    "I''m being serious you know?" The purple-robed monarch waved his hand in front of me, the golden bangles around his wrists jingling as he tried to my attention."King Baelywn, at your service." He said while giving an exaggerated bow, mocking the deference people showed to him.

    "--Y-your majesty!" Marcella squeaked up from the back, as the eldest daughter of the Marcets, one who had been groomed for high-society, she was the quickest to act. Darting into a practiced bow before Cal followed along and did the same. Everyone following suit other than Belle who had to be elbowed to do so. I didn''t know what was the proper etiquette, but I still tried my best, but something felt off as the young king stared at me.

    "What are you, a role-player? Cut that out." Staring at me like I was weird for doing it, even if though he didn''t seem to care about the others who were doing the same, treating them as air.

    "But... aren''t you the king?" I asked hesitantly.

    "You think I''m a king back on Earth? So stop it, you''re weirding me out."

    I didn''t exactly get it, but it seemed like I had made some kind of social faux-pas that existed among the chosen ones, and while I tried searching the fragmented memories inherited from my failed body-snatcher, I didn''t have a full enough picture to understand why.

    "Anyway, come on in and we''ll show you around. I think you''re really going to like this place, we''ve all put in our little touches." The king said while motioning to the door.

    "Not coming in? Tia asked of Bael, who was staying behind while looking towards me and my group who had shunned him earlier, but Bael shook his head with regret.

    "That''s... I do believe I may have offended our guests earlier, my continued presence would be unwanted."

    "Oh my... that''s terrible, offending our guest like that. What a bad boy you are." Tia gasped in an exaggerated manner, covering her mouth with a hand as her eyes went round like a pair of iridescent saucers. I don''t think she was trying to make herself sound sexy, but everything she did seemed to exude a certain sexual frustration.

    Coming to a stop, the king cleared his throat apologetically, as if he himself were the one who had offended me. Slowly breaking into a devilish grin as he looked at Bael with an expression that resembled how a snake would view a frog.

    "Amends need to be made then. Isn''t that right? The most important rule our church follows is to follow the chosen: please the chosen, and worship the chosen. Offending one of us is exactly the opposite of that. Since Bael is part of my church, and the sins of the son are the sins of the father''s I''d like to make things right with you. Keaton, you''re the wronged party, so you should decide how we deal with him. Would you like to kill him now for the experience? Or would you prefer letting him suffer a while longer?" He asked while motioning to the silently standing Bael.

    I looked at his majesty with a confused expression, not quite understanding. Kill him? It''s true Bael had offended me earlier by inciting a fight needlessly, to tell the truth I was even planning on killing him myself if things went wrong, but it still all seemed a bit extreme. Wasn''t Bael still part of the church? He was someone they trusted enough to handle personal missions, how could they kill him off so easily?

    "Do you not have a preference? Still, I''d like for us to start with a clean slate." Baelwyn said while cocking his head at an angle, as if deep in thought. "Ah, I''ve got it, how about you be the one to decide." Turning now to Bael himself, who seemed to just take in a breath of resignation while steeling his expression behind that mask-like face of his.

    "If possible... I would like to become food for the Gods." Bael said through gritted teeth, as if he were fighting every word. Begin to lick his lips now as if he was now suddenly terribly thirsty, beads of sweat flowing down his temple which he proceeded to wipe away with a handkerchief from his coat pocket.

    "Excellent! Crow it is then... but ''Bael'', how to do you reaaally feel about it? He asked playfully and the ''mask'' on Bael''s face slipped away for the briefest of moments as he let out a terrified scream.

    "Why! That''s the worst one, why would you send me there of all places! Haven''t I done everything just as you wanted!" Bael cried out desperately before instantly snapping his mouth shut, his facial expression slowly returning back to its normal poise if not for the copious sweat that poured down from his brow.

    "A bit too much information, thank you." The king smiled malevolently at Bael. "Now how about you get nice and compact for us then?"

    The second crack in Bael''s expression broke through as he grimaced again before complying. Crouching down at first, but then to our horror twisting his own arms, legs, fingers, and toes into horrible directions with the most sickening of cracking sounds. The mass of flesh writhing around in agony as it tried to force itself into the most compact shape possible for the human form. In a short few seconds it had turned into a near perfect cube that shuddered with every breath it took, no longer resembling anything close to its former shape.

    Clapping his hands once, the king got the attention of the two veiled maids who watched the scene without blinking. "Bring this to Crow, would you? Some nice new materials for him to work with."  The two maids proceeded to struggle with the cube shaped abomination, their delicate arms and legs shaking under weight of lifting an adult man, but still managing with the both of them working in coordination as they carried it off with unsteady steps to who knows where.

    "Well, now that that''s taken care of, shall we go?"

    All of us looked at the king with a mix of terror and disgust while Tia held her nose as she watched the maids carry off the disgusting living flesh, somewhat angry at the king for what he had just done. "You''re terrible. Do that disgusting deed somewhere else. Look how grossed out Keaton is."

    The king just shrugged off the woman''s complaint, grinning arrogantly. "You don''t understand because you''re not one of us Tia, Keaton wouldn''t have picked us if he had a weak stomach, would he? So many other gods for those of fairer preference." All the while looking at me like I was a kindred spirit.

    "I would prefer if you didn''t show such things to my women." I said with a hostile tone, glancing at Tammy who had fainted in my arms from witnessing such a horrifying sight, then to Marcella who was already in the throws of retching up everything she had eaten earlier. Strangely enough, only Belle was oddly calm, only on-guard against a possible threat with claws extended and tail alert, but otherwise not bothered by the violence. I myself felt more than a bit nauseated, but it seemed like the man or monster in front of me thought of us as equals, and I could use that for the time being.

    "Ah, right. I suppose this all was a bit too stimulating a sight for the average vessel. Allow me to fix them for you. " Snapping his fingers again before I could react, and as if by magic the horrified reactions from our side ceased immediately as everyone became disoriented and aimless, but otherwise unharmed.

    "I''m sorry, who are these people Keaton?" Embarrassing really, but I just can''t seem to put my finger on it." Cal stumbled forward with his usual bravado, asking me in a dazed state.

    "Memory manipulation?" Even more alarmed now. "Don''t do that again." I warned Baelwyn a second time. My skin crawling with danger as I saw more and more powers being put on display.

    "Catch your interest? It''s a fun skill. And relax, I''d never use it on you. We''re all friends here aren''t we? Could you imagine if users on the same side fought openly, it would be pandemonium. Now let''s have that look around the place, shall we?"

    But I didn''t budge an inch, letting my displeasure be known. If he was going to attack my comrades this openly, we couldn''t coexist.

    "Not just me, I don''t want you using skills on any of my people." I clarified my position, trying to set boundaries in the hopes that he would respect my position.

    His enthusiasm faltering for a second, as if I had just poured cold water on is mood. "Didn''t realize we had another Selkerah on our hands... fine. I won''t touch your toys if that''s what you want."

    "He really is like Selkerah isn''t he? And male..., are you sure you don''t want me in your arms tonight? " Tia asked as she fluttered her eyelashes at me, but I shot her an angered look. I was in no mood for her games right now.

    Swallowing my pride as our group began to follow along, hired mercenaries in tow, as we toured the estate. The king walking the halls openly with a swagger, acting as our guide while pointed out all the parts of the mansion he thought I would like. Which to be honest was not exactly my taste. Halls leading down to dungeons or torture chambers made his eyes go bright, while pretty maids and elaborate wall hangings were nothing special. I had to admit it was a very nice place, if not for the strange company we were sharing.

    "Your majesty-- or rather, Baelwyn was it?" Remembering that he seemed to hate me calling him a king.

    "Please, just call me Bael." He said while giving off a genuine smile. After seeing such a brutal scene earlier I couldn''t help but think of that smile as anything more than a cheap mask.

    "Could you just lead us to our rooms? I believe we''re all tired fro the trip." Motioning to my companions, who were all still feeling the effects of having some of their memories wiped.

    He frowned before nodding, leading us deeper down into the maze of hallways, before we finally arrived at a set of double iron doors, a stone tele inlaid within the metal.

    "This will be your section of the property, do with it as you see fit. All of the chosen have their own branches like-wise. Use it for your research, or your relaxation; I won''t infringe. I''ve stocked the area with maids that will attend to your needs, let me know if you run out." Winking at me as if I were going to be killing them off.

    ''Bael'' as he had requested to be called, dug into his pockets to produce a small mage badge and black coin from his pocket. Like the one the previous ''Bael'' had held onto. Handing the two objects to me before patting me on my shoulder. "A mage''s seal and my coin, I''m sure you''ll find good uses for these. Go on and have some fun every once in a while, there''s a lot that my city has to offer." He said while winking again.

 Ch 119. The Golden Pavilion

    The chambers were just like a normal mansions, thankfully. Given that this was supposed to be my own wing, none of them had made their own special changes. The only odd thing was that of the maids, if I had to put words to it was how docile the staff was.

    Bael''s powers were undeniably manipulation focused, from memories to physical control, and it was clear that these people were victims of his, much like the unfortunate previous Bael had been.

    Due to the memory wipes, nobody but me was aware of how dangerous the church truly was. Only Palantia''s parting words gave me comfort, "Don''t worry too much about the others. I''ve lasted this long here, haven''t I?". Which was true. If a native as confrontational as herself could avoid being killed by the other chosen, it meant that at least they had some boundaries they kept to when it came to killing another chosen''s followers.

    For that end I decided that marking all my followers as my own was something that needed to be done at the soonest opportunity. Given that my father was a small-time knight with no men under his command, we had no crest to speak of, so it was up to me to create one.

    Sitting in the open-aired courtyard of my room I reflected on my options.

    "Something feels wrong Master," Belle sat lightly next to me, having caught me unaware with her light feet. "Like Belle''s forgotten something."

    Raising my eyebrows in surprise. She could tell her memories had been cut? In truth the kind of power that Bael had shown was entirely frightening to me and I had no countermeasures. It would be very much of use to me Belle were naturally resistant to its effects, even if it just meant noticing when it had been cast upon her.

    "Go to sleep Belle," I whispered while patting her head, sending her into the bedroom with the others. We had many things to do here, and I wouldn''t sleep until they were done.

    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

    "We''ve come to sell our wares." I spoke as Cal and I stood in front of the premier auction site, it was so early that there was not a single other soul around. Just the staff who looked like they had yet to properly wake up for the day, and now they were dealing with what looked like two rural bumpkin nobles who didn''t know what they were getting into.

    "Ah, I''m sorry young masters, but this is the Golden Pavilion, we have a one-hundred gold minimum transaction value for non members. Unless you have goods worth more than that we aren''t interested." Given that the young man who was acting as a greeter was act this arrogantly towards two supposed nobles, the backing behind him was no doubt impressive.

    "We know. That''s why we''ve come. We''re alchemists."

    Eliciting a skeptical look from the greeter, "I suppose you have an alchemists license for that?" To which it was Cal''s turn to flash an emblem from his coat pocket.

    The young man studying the design for a moment. "Marcet family? I barely recognize the symbol. If you''ve brought whatever it is you''ve come to sell, we''ll at least appraise whatever it is you''ve come to sell. I can''t make any guarantees though." Still clearly suspicious of us.

    Bidding us entrance into the building, the woman beside him led us to a side room.

    "We''ll have our appraiser in within five minutes, I hope you can wait that long." She said while closing the door to private room before fetching a pair of tea-cups, pouring us each a drink from a silver teapot and offering us the bare minimum level of respect so as not to embarass their own reputation.

    We both sipped politely, clearly they weren''t treating us a esteemed guests just yet.

    "We''re fine with that, thank you." I said. Studying the interior room as we waited. It was somewhat plain in comparison to the palatial estate we stayed in yesterday, but nonetheless the wealth of the institution could be felt. Noticing the magic seals on the walls and the door which caught my interests.

    "To prevent surveilence. We have many wealthy clients who are afraid of being targeted for what objects they bring in." The show-woman explained. Magic was still a complete mystery to me, and one I would need to pursue while here in the capital.

    Beforelong a knock echoed on the door, and in stepped an elderly gentleman dressed in a long and comfortably decorated robe.

    "This is Gamlin, our in-house alchemist. Gamlin, these two are..."

    "Keaton Pel"

    "Cal Marcet"

    We both answered in turn with a small nod of our heads. "And we''ve come with a vitality reagent stronger than Troll''s blood."

    His aged brow rising in expectation as I left a single vial on the table with a wave of my hand.

    "Marcet... I thought that name sounded familiar. There''s been a rumour of a space mage being found in the countryside, though I haven''t heard much about it recently now I see the rumours were true." His eyes returning now with a gentle look, "Ah yes, the potion you''ve brought me. A vitality reagent is it? Better than a troll''s? A bold claim, bold but easy to test. Anette, could you go and fetch me my testing kit? And the troll''s blood samples if you would, thank you."

    Addressing the female attendant, who bowed curteousily before running off, coming back not a minute later with a small leather pouch.

    Making quick work, Gamlin fished out a vial of troll''s blood before laying it side-by-side with the vial we had provided. Uncorking both temporarily to add a small droplet of reacting reagent before corking it again and swirling the mixtures around. The troll''s blood giving off a healthy glow while mine lit up like the sun, clearly the superior option.

    "What manner of creature could provide such a thing... have you actually brought me a dragon''s blood?"

    "Not a dragon''s but rather a new creature, a rare magical beast previously uncatalogued, and one that we do not wish to expose. We can arrange sale of more if the price is agreeable."

    Stroking his beard, the appraiser examined the bottle once more with eyes like a fox. "Three-fifty, no four hundred gold, a vial that is. We will buy it outright at that price, otherwise it goes to auction."

    Cal turned to me before whispering. "Troll''s blood would go for half that... but we most likely will get more from an auction." Raising his voice now for Gamlin to hear, "It has another function, that of a powerful aphrodesiac."

    Gamlin lifted his brow again in surprise, "Truly this sounds more like Dragon''s blood the more I hear. Very well, Annette would you try a little to confirm?"

    Bidding the greeter woman to do another task for him, which she complied by dipping her pinky in and licking a small portion. "It''s effective." She said after a few seconds, sounding a bit more shy.

    "Four hundred and fifty." Gamlin pronounced again, an air of finality sounding out into his voice, like nothing could budge him from this number.

    Cal and I whispered again to ourselves, seeing that this was lower than what Cal expected, it was still not too far off. In the end we agreed to sell half of our stock upfront and let the other half go to auction, given that we were in somewhat dire financial straits, this was a much needed injection of cash. Investment money. It wasn''t as if our entire strategy hinged on selling my blood, after all.

    "We''re holding an auction in three days time, your potions will be auctioned off. If you feel at all inclined, please pay us a visit, I''ll have your names added to a special guest list."

    "Thank you, we intend to do so." Both of us smiled.

 Ch 120. Business in the Capital

    Fifty units of blood had netted us quite a bit of gold, twenty thousand to be exact, but for what we had planned there wasn''t enough gold in the world. We needed a sustainable income, and spending my days exhausted from draining what blood I could was not the way to do it.

    Cal and I walked briskly, having many stops planned today. One more walking closely behind us energetically, a particularly upbeat catkin who was swinging her tail happily after being told that we needed her help.

    "Belle be useful to master, Belle remember all the prices. Master praise Belle."

    "Yes, yes. Prices and the names of the product. Descriptions also if you can, they should have those listed too."

    We soon came up upon a row of alchemical shops, all marked with the same family''s seal. "The Noroma family, I know of them from being in the same business, influential and closely allied with the king. When we left the capital they were already rising fast, it seems now that the years have been kind to them." Cal explained to satisfy my look of curiosity.

    Hearing that they were tied with the king, ''Bael'', I suddenly felt a lot better about our objective. We were going to chart the prices for every single alchemical good in circulation, all in order to find the most profitable markets to cut into. We may not have their recipes, but with my identification skill and Cal''s expertise we had a good shot at replicating anything we saw.

    Entering the first alchemy shop, we turned Belle loose, much to the attendent''s dismay as she hopped excitedly from one display to the next like a wild animal.

    "Terribly sorry sirs, no beastkin are allowed inside. I''m afraid you''ll have to leave your girl outside if you''d like to shop here."

    Seeing the store manager approach us unhappily I decided to act first, walking up to meet him with a swagger in my step, "It''s fine, we won''t be long." I said while flashing the black coin that everyone seemed to either love or fear in this country.

    "Er- my apologies, I didn''t realize you were agents of the king." The man said while shrinking back abruptly, afraid he had offended us.

    "Let her do her thing while we go about our business, what we really need is some help for my friend here. He has..." Thinking for a second before a grin came to my face. "Spent too much time in the brothels across the river if you catch my meaning, do you have anything that can help for that?"

    Cal''s face souring at the implication that he was suffering from some sort of sexual disease while the attendant''s eyes lit up in understanding. "Ah! Yes, why in fact we do. No need to be embarassed, it''s a common issue really. You don''t know how many nobles suffer after giving those beastkin strumpets a tussle, but I suppose I don''t have to tell you that." The attendant suddenly becoming a whole lot more talkative now that he knew Cal shared his love for beastkin brothels.

    Leaving a few minutes later after spending ten gold on some overpriced cure-all for syphilitic symptoms, tossing it into my inventory before letting out a hearty laugh.

    "Couldn''t you think up a better excuse?" Cal eyed me with daggers.

    "Come now Cal, everyone knows you love the ladies, this one is perfectly believable as far as excuses go."

    Cal only grimaced more after hearing my words. "That''s precisely the issue... it''s too believable. What''s going to happen with my reputation?" Letting out a resigned sigh before turning his attention. "So did your pet succeed in what we set out to do?" Focusing onto Belle who was humming happily to herself with quite a smug attitude.

    "Come now, Belle. Can you remember everything you saw?" I asked to her, to which she nodded enthusiastically. Beginning to list each in turn before I cut her off, knowing she would really list off everything she saw in the shop if I didn''t do so.

    "Well... there you go Cal. Perfectly memorized. Where''s the next shop to visit?" Asking our resident expert on alchemy to guide us to our next destination. Eliciting another sigh when he realized I would probably be using the same excuse there too. His reputation would undoubtedly be taking a hit today.

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________

    At the end of the day we had a leather binder full of every shop''s inventory and list prices. Having manually transcribed each from Belle''s description. It was now just a matter of replicating their wares.

    Cal claimed he had enough knowledge to make a recipe if we could just find him the raw ingredients to use for it. Something that my identification ability was supremely suited for. Unlike actual alchemists who had to devise up clever tests for a myriad of possible effects and painstakingly test every single possible herb or ingredient, I could simply tell by looking at something what it would be useful for.

    Seeing as we were going to be tracking down every herbalist shop and monster market in town tomorrow, I felt like heading home, but one person in our party seemed to be very vocally against that.

    Pointing in the direction of the slave auction we had passed yesterday, Belle pleaded with me. "Please master, can we go see. Go see. Belle wants to go see." Looking at me with the sweetest kitty-cat eyes she could muster.

    "The slave market? Why would a slave want to go there of all places?" Cal asked with a confused look.

    I just rubbed my temple, contemplating my choices. "I did make some promises to her Cal, she''s even helped us out today. You can go back for the day if you''d like, I''ll hire a cab for you."

    "It''s fine, even I have some curiosity about these places. I''ve never bought slaves before, you know? Our family was never fond of beastkin."

    His comment reminding me somewhat of Marcella, both of the siblings showing something of an honest curiosity towards beastkin that most people lacked.

    "Well, I suppose that decides it then. To the slave blocks it is."

 Ch 121. Slave Blocks

    Coming upon the slave blocks, we looked around inquisitively. There were pens for the slaves prepared everywhere, and even at this time, late in the day as it was, there were many prospective merchants or townsfolk visiting to buy slaves for themselves.

    Passing by one particular cage after another, I couldn''t help but notice that most weren''t even going for more than a gold.

    "How could they sell slaves so cheaply?" The economics of it escaped me, surely the logistics involved warranted more than this?

    "It''s the sheer number of them they''re bringing in, tens of thousands a month, sometimes more. If they didn''t sell them off constantly to be sent to foreign soil the capital would be overrun by now."

    As if making his point, a line of beastkin women all shakled together were led out from the massive tent complex in the center of the slave blocks. The mercenaries leading them were dressed in armor that I had never quite seen before, the jagged edges and rune inscriptions were not something an ordinary blacksmith could make, looking almost dwarven in appearance.

    Sure as I thought, a stout looking fellow, no more than waist-tall pushed his way out of the tent. Dressed in such richly embroidered cloth that gave him an almost princely air. It actually was a dwarf. Watching enraptured as the dwarf treated the human mercenaries like air, moving with practiced arrogance despite needing to walk at a brisk pace just to keep up.

    "I didn''t realize the dwarves were interested in slave trading." The line of slaves continuing to grow.

    "More than anything else we have to offer, that''s for sure. They don''t keep human slaves by law, part of their peace accords with the northerners from what I''ve heard. Though I''ll admit my knowledge on the subject is rather shallow." Cal commented as the caravan passed us by.

    The dwarf shot us an irritated look, unhappy to be talked about so openly but used to it by now. Tolerating us with an air of generosity.

    "Well, what are we waiting for then?" Cal asked, after the line of slaves finally passed. "let''s go in and see."

    The three of us pushing the curtains aside in the main tent, entering into the massive structure. The man behind a desk counter perked up as he saw two perspective customers, and giving Belle an appraising look as if she was a potential product. Stepping out to greet.

    "Hello young masters? Coming to buy? Or maybe to sell?" Grinning toothily at Belle, who glared back fiercely in reply.

    "Just here to look, maybe buy. It''s our first time in a venue this large after all." Taking in the sights with a hint of awe. The tent here was obviously more for exhibition than for holding, but there were nonetheless hundreds lining both the exterior and arranged throughout the center.

    "Then I welcome you to our humble shop. Any particular slaves you would be interested in today?"

    Glancing at Belle again, I figured she was probably more interested in those of her own kind. "Could you show us where you keep the catkins? For a start. I am curious about all the kinds though, to be honest. I''ve never seen such a variety before."

    "Certainly, we can have that done." The man stated before calling out abruptly. "Tommy! Customers!"

    A few moments later a lanky and sallow looking youth popped his head in from the outside.

    "We''ve got customers. Show them to the catkins, would you? And anything else they want to see too."

    The youth sighed, before beckoning us to follow. The small stick in his hands clanking against the bars of every beastkin''s cage as we walked, causing them to shrink back in fear.

    We exited the tent and followed along, taking in the rows of tents each of which seemed to contain a different species of beastkin. It seemed that for ease of sale, they had already sorted them out and held them amongst others of the same kind.

    We stopped briefly to allow a half-woman half-horse creature be led into a stable across our path, all of except for the guide enraptured by the sight. "Centaurs. Never seen one before?" The sallow youth asked, sounding experienced beyond his years.

    "Can''t say I have... do they use them for work?" I suppose I could see the advantages of a sentient horse.

    "Among other things." He nodded, not bothering to explain. Knowing what he meant my eyebrows lifted somewhat in surprise, I didn''t expect that people would have an interest in women with the lower-half of a horse, but it seems the capital served all.

    Passing by another tent, Belle perked up unexpectedly. Stopping in place while facing the tent''s entrance, sniffing in the air excitedly.

    "Smelled it, has she?"

    "What''s in there? Other catkin?" I asked, seeing Belle''s alert tail, ears, and dilated eyes she was clearly fascinated by whatever she smelled. I''d never seen anything like it.

    "Not catkin, no. But this kind of reaction is pretty typical of the catkin we see. There''s mice in there. Want to take a look."

    Beyond Belle''s own interest, my own had be piqued. Mice? Why would they keep mice? Parting the tent''s entrance and sticking my head through. Belle coming in after me, trotting along with her tail curling in the air.

    The tent was dark and dimly lit, with cages filling every corner. And from the cages fearful chatter and mice-like squeaks greeted us, especially so after Belle''s appearance became clearer to them. Just as easily as Belle could smell them, they could smell her.

    "What are they?" I asked again, crouching down to see into the small cages.

    Small half human creatures filled each one, fairly similar in proportions to Belle, other than their small stature that is, with each of them standing no taller than my shins. All of them adorned with small mouse ears and tails that poked out from underneath their skirts.

    "Mousekins. Naturally they''re everywhere in the beastlands."

    Kaguro

 Ch 122. Apex Beastkin

    I peered at the small shin-high mousekin with interest, albeit less interest than Belle was showing.

    "Why are catkin interested in these?" Asking our young guide who seemed to think Belle''s reaction was nothing special.

    "They''re prey to them, you don''t think all the beastkin get along with each other do you? It''s in their nature to hunt or be hunted. Most folk don''t know but they all have a social hierarchy of their own, mostly determined by what type of beast they most resemble, the predator species are at the top... while these ones here are at the bottom. Not much weaker than a mouse after all."

    Nodding as if it made sense, the beast kingdoms weren''t like our society at all from what I knew. It was more a law of the jungle there. Even if we called them kingdoms, the ''king'' was simply the strongest reigning beast in a given territory.

    Taking a moment to study Belle as she shook her tail mesmerizingly. The girl now pawing at the edge of the micegirl cage, rattling it each time and scaring the inhabitants half to death.

    "Say, I''ve a question about my beastkin and I don''t know anyone better to ask about it. Is it typical for them to have so keen a memory? As in picture perfect memorization ability, her senses are all quite good in general too. I know that beastkin have enhanced senses in general but sometimes it seems a bit much."

    The youth''s eyes lit up a bit more after hearing my story, looking now like he wanted to speak.

    "Can''t tell for sure, but sounds like you''ve got yourself a hunter. That''s what they call them." Appraising Belle with a new sense of appreciation.

    "Just like it sounds, they''re gifted for one thing. Hunting. Most of the time that ends up as them hunting us, not terribly uncommon in the catkins, just like all the apex predator species out there, ''bout one every hundred I''d reckon, but mostly in the males, it''s a bit rarer to see it in a female one like this."

    "Master!" Belle barked abruptly, with intensity to her voice. "This one. I want this one." Drool dripping down her chin as she spoke while her ears twitched excitedly. Her words sending the caged mice shivering back in fear.

    All of the mousekin looked a bit fat if I had to say, but the one she picked was clearly the largest and fattest of the bunch, looking more like a rotund doll than an actual living creature.

    Frowning a bit at her words, I glanced down at the mousegirl shivering in the cage under her.

    "Belle, I''m not going to buy something just so you can kill it." My words clearly distressing her.

    "Master, please." Looking at me with the biggest kitty eyes she could manage. "You promised..." Her tail drooping sadly.

    I did owe Belle a favor, two really, but looking at the chubby mousekin girl so fearful while trying to hide under its own dress, I simply couldn''t subject it to a fate like that.

    "No harming it. No eating it. No killing it. If we buy it, it''s your responsibility. Do you promise?"

    Belle nodded happily, pleased I had given her what she wanted, "Belle promises. Belle take good care of mousey." Purring with innocent anticipation.

    "I''m holding you to that, you know? No harming it."

    Turning to our guide and motioning that we wanted to make a purchase, seeing from the sign that each of them were only fifty-silver it was a relatively trivial purchase. The sallow youth acted with practiced precision, fishing out the one we wanted from the crowded cage before handing it off to Belle. Seeing how pleased he was, there was almost certainly some sort of commission on the sale.

    "Anywhere else you''d like to see? Oh yes, catkins was it?" Leading the way with something of a spring in his step.

    I was fairly sure I wouldn''t be making any other purchases, but I didn''t have the heart to tell him.

    Following along, our group passed by an iron structure with a door thicker than my arm. Large scratch marks indented in the metal along with the smell of blood.

    "Werebeasts," was all he had to say. The male beastkins were large, aggressive, and generally unsocializable. Permanently hostile and constantly thinking of killing their captors. Their sale was illegal in the country, owing mostly to how dangerous they were, but Tom let me in on a secret.

    These ones here were destined for the coliseum, that''s why they were allowed to keep them here. Looking at the scars on the door, I was a little curious how it would be to fight such a beast.

    Our group meandered to the next tent before long, the one housing catkins. Belle who was now holding her prize, the mini mousekin girl, like it was some sort of stuffed animal, stepping excitedly through the entrance with the doll-like creature nestled snugly between her chest.

    "Look Master... they look like Belle." Belle noted while pointing out the obvious. Pointing rudely to each of the cages like they were an exhibit from a zoo. But unlike the reactions of the mice, these ones stood tall looking fiercely back at Belle, a hint of disgust in their eyes. If it weren''t for the bars separating us, I figured they would attack immediately.

    These were supposed to be for sale? Looking at our guide for explanation, who gave a defeated look.

    "Catkin are a bit trickier to deal with, especially the ones we just recently acquired. Very strong willed. Suppose I don''t need to tell you that though. Tough nuts to crack, only the most docile of them are useable for domestic stock. The rest we sell over to foreigners or use in the coliseum. Most don''t bend to a master, they think of humans as all inferior, and physically speaking they''d be right."

    Hearing those words, it seems that Belle of all people was the most upset. She didn''t like the idea that they were looking down on us, and looking down on me in particular. Frowning at the hostile stares from her own species.

    "Don''t look down on master. Master strong! Stronger than any of you!" Her tail standing up as if she were ready for a fight as she defended me.

    One of the catkins in the back of the cage rose to the front, short messy hair, and a shallow scar from a blade that split across her face, looking somewhat fresh. The rest of the captives parted out of the way as if they respected her, or feared her.

    "Leave us little nyaa. We all see how you shake your tail willingly for your master, for as long as we live none of us would do the same. If that means we die... then so be it. Proud catkin would die of shame for having to serve such weak bodied humans." Speaking oddly fluently for a beastkin. Most of the time they weren''t fluent in human tongue, and even now Belle struggled with it, having been raised in human society.

    "Who is that one? The other slaves seem to respect it." I couldn''t help but ask to our guide, curious that a slave would dare speak so arrogantly from such a precarious situation.

    "That right there is a hunter."

 Ch 123. Homewrecker

    Belle was pouting after being rejected by her kin, but was overall still in a good mood. Squeezing the living mousetoy I had gotten her with unrestrained joy.

    "Mousey, your name is Mousey."

    "Um... I have a name already." The doll-sized mousekin girl squeaked up hesitantly, timidly speaking its first words since the time we had gotten it.

    "No, Belle says Mousey''s name is Mousey." Pulling out her finger claws threateningly, and drawing a look of ire from me in the process.

    "No threatening the poor thing. Take better care of it, Belle."

    The shoddily dressed mousekin in turn looked at me with an earnest and thankful expression, staring with admiring eyes the whole trip.

    "So Belle here is quite special," Cal hummed with half interest.

    "It has to be that way, otherwise if all beastkin could do that how would we ever compete? They''re already far more powerful than us physically, just imagine what would happen if they could marshal organized armies and supply fully fledged magicians... they reproduce and mature at ten times our rate, the world of humans would simply be overrun."

    If I was to fulfill my original purpose, or rather the other Keaton''s purpose, it wasn''t just that I was afraid of going against the united power of the church, all of the chosen seeming far more powerful than myself, there was also the question of what would happen to the world if I ever did such a thing.

    My thoughts taking us back to the present as we rolled up to the mansion, our carriage doors opening by themselves as if by magic, actually it was magic. I still found it surprising despite witnessing this earlier in the day, having borrowed a church vehicle.

    The mouse-pet in Belle''s lap saw the open door as its ticket to freedom, bolting out as soon as the opening was wide enough. Startling Belle and leading to a chase around the garden as she followed along quickly after.

    "Bring those two back when they''re done, would you?" I motioned to a small gaggle of maids waiting for us at the entrance, directing them to supervise Belle''s chasing exercise.

    Splitting ways with Cal as he reunited with Ashley and Kaya, I found Tammy waiting for me with similarly suggestive eyes.

    "To the bedroom? Ah... where''s Marcella? No, nevermind, let''s just go." My mind''s interest drifting before settling back to Tammy again, who was seemingly eager to have a spend a hot evening indoors.

    Opening the doors to our bedroom while Tammy''s hands held mine, fingers entwined, both of us looking forward to the love session we would have. We looked into each others eyes.

    A foreign voice chiming up unexpectedly from within the room.

    "Oh great, Keaton you brought... what was her name, Tammy was it? We can have a threesome!"

    Looking for the source of the noise I turned my head to the bed, only to be greeted by an unusual sight.

    Palantia was completely nude, exposed on the bed, turned so as to give anyone who entered a full view of her perky breasts and fit body, lifting one leg up suggestively.

    "How''d you get in?" Speaking with a harsher tone than I had intended, but nothing seemed to phase this woman who was already this shameless.

    "I know my way around," Tia replied flatly, "now come to bed dear, let Tia here take care of you." Patting the area beside her invitingly.

    Rolling my eyes at her antics. I could admit she was beautiful, with her spotless pale skin, supple perky breasts, and cute butt, but knowing her connections to the church and to another chosen no less, I had no intention to make our relationship more complicated than it already was. Shaking my head to snap out of any wayward thoughts, halfway in the mood already it was somewhat hard to resist.

    "You''ve had your fun, now leave. I won''t take offense this time, but please learn to control yourself. I was told my living quarters would be private, your intrusions here are not welcome."

    "But we haven''t had fun at all... not yet anyway. Don''t be such a killjoy Keaton, even Tammy there looks like she wants a piece of this, how could you resist?" Tracing a finger across her hips for emphasis.

    Tammy shook her head uncomfortably as if to deny Tia''s loaded accusation, relationships between women were extremely scandalous and yet Tia openly spoke of such things, wooing Tammy for a fling.

    "That didn''t seem like much of a denial to me, I know you both want it." She purred, leading the both of us on.

    "Last I heard you''re married. To a chosen no less. I don''t want trouble with Selkerah, so leave. Before I make you leave."

    "You wouldn''t throw a girl out naked would you?" Biting her lip in a seductive pout.

    ...

    "Keaton, I was being nice, but I don''t have to be so nice. I came here in secret but that doesn''t mean I have to leave in secret. Leaving your room naked, giving a good view for the maids, what rumors do you think they''ll make? You wouldn''t want those rumors making it back to my dear Selky now would you? Now we can do this the easy way... the enjoyable way... or we can do this the hard way."

    "You''re blackmailing me to have sex with you? And what exactly would your ''dear'' Selky think about that?"

    "She''d forgive me of course, but she''d never forgive you. But what she doesn''t know won''t hurt her, so what''s it going to be?"

    Letting out a sigh, and here I was trying so hard to resist.

    "I don''t really have a choice now do I?"

    Letting the door shut behind me.

 Ch 124. Palantia (R-18)

    The door closed behind me, leaving us all alone. Locking the door to prevent any unwanted intrusions. I was still quite paranoid about being seen alone with Palantia.

    "You win, Tia. We''ll do it your way." Pulling off my clothes one article at a time, an audible gulp could be heard from Tammy who was looking at me with the same expectation that Tia had.

    "And you too, Tammy."

    Picking her up in one fell motion with superhuman strength before tossing her onto the oversized bed next to Tia. The airborne girl letting out a yelp as her clothes disappeared the moment I touched her, leaving her exposed as I stored them away in my inventory.

    "Keaton, I didn''t know you could do that... you should have warned me!" Both embarrassed and turned on by the roughness of my actions.

    Ignoring her comment I turned my attention to the woman of the evening.

    "Tia, pushing me so far... you better be as good as you''ve boasted. You know how much trouble you''re putting me in, I''ll make sure I get my worth."

    Pushing her down abruptly, I pinned Tia with my arms before crawling onto the bed myself. Positioning over her and breathing down her neck hotly.

    She looked up at me with a smug expression, licking her lips excitedly. "You won''t regret it."

    She let out a slight gasp once I entered Tia, her entrance sticking to me like honey as it gripped tightly to my member, trying to pull me in. Pleasurable but unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

    "How does it feel? Different? My body is special you know."

    "Special how?"

    It was my turn to gasp now, her entrance pulling me deeper with each moment, the walls of her sex moving independently as if it had a mind of its own.

    "My body''s been changed, modified, enhanced. All in pursuit of the peak of pleasure."

    Her words made me frown, "Modified? By Crow?"

    "Oh come now, you don''t think Crow''s the only one who can change his shape? No silly, you don''t think my dear Selky would let that creep touch me? She does that herself..." Pausing after she noticed my concerned expression. "Stop making that look, it''s not a bad thing. Just watch." Her sex undulated around me, gripping and moving, massaging my member inside her.

    "Ah..!" Letting out another cry, I felt my own lust surge like I needed to ravage her this instant. My vision turning red for a brief moment before the pyramid shaped gift I had placed on my dresser vibrated subtly and my mind cleared up on its own, only pure lust remaining.

    "Feels good doesn''t it?" Tia teased, incensing my pride. I couldn''t let her lead me around, it was time to fight back.

    Sealing her lips with a kiss, I took out a bottled oil from my inventory that I had yet to use. An untested product Cal and I had worked on, distilling the most potent aphrodisiac effects of my blood and putting it into a medium that could be absorbed through simple skin contact.

    Her tongue shuddered as if she wanted to speak, but I held it firm with my own. Pouring more of the oil so as to cover both of her breasts completely, and even more to coat her sex.

    Recruiting Tammy''s help to spread the oil inside of Tia, she rubbed Tia''s entrance and lower lips where we were intimately connected. Tia''s body shuddering in ecstasy at the slightest of touches, cumming from the excessive stimulation from inside and out.

    "What is that?" Tia spoke between heated panting after I allowed her tongue a brief reprieve.

    "You''re not the only one with a few tricks."

    Sealing her words again with a kiss, only to be met with a stronger reaction down below. Her body beginning to fight back on its own, unwilling to be dominated so one sidedly it swallowed me down to the balls, unwilling to give an inch. I came inside her as her sex melted around me, injecting Tia with rich vitality and warmth that sent her into another round of wracking orgasms.

    Instantly I felt some concern, if I had just impregnated another chosen''s wife, there would be no small fallout. Moving to pull out of Tia, but her spindly legs wrapped around me in an unexpectedly motion, bringing me back deeply inside of her.

    "Where do you think you''re going?" She asked haughtily, taunting my sudden lack of nerve.

    "What if you get pregnant?"

    "Say, that''s actually a great idea. We should do that."

    "I thought you said you''d keep this a secret, how would you possibly keep a pregnancy secret?" Raising my voice with a hint of anger but not wanting to yell.

    "I can always blame it on some bumbling noble, it''s not impossible for me to seduce one anytime I feel like it." Her legs wrapping tighter as I again moved to extract myself. "but that''s only if you play along... that felt so rich just now I could be pregnant already, are you sure you want to leave now? If I get pregnant from that poor little old me will have no choice but to come clean."

    "Unreasonable woman, what could you possibly want now?" I hissed. Seeing as she had changed the terms of her blackmail midway through, I could only narrow my eyes accusingly.

    "Get me pregnant. Fuck me until we''re sure." Squeezing her legs around me like she was trying to wring me dry, Tia forced me back deeper into her already creamed pussy.

    Her words caused an unnatural lust to fill my loins, making me more aroused than I had been from the start, and again a red haze filled my vision only to fade again with a dull glint from the smokey pyramid I had kept nearby.

    "Fine but you''ve got two to pleasure. Tammy, put her mouth to use."

    Tammy''s eyes lit up, finally having a role after waiting this long. Unhappy at having to pose as a third wheel while a stranger she had met just yesterday had sex with her man.

    Putting her delicate sex up to Tia''s lips for her to lick at, finding that Tia was unexpectedly aggressive in her oral stimulation. Being married to another woman I suppose that would only come as natural. Tammy moaned from the intense licking, somehow appearing to be the submissive one despite being positioned on top.

    Noticing that Tammy was becoming enraptured with her at some point, Tia was doing something, she was just too unnaturally irresistible. The only problem was I didn''t know **what** she was doing. Was it her own doing, or a result of her ''modifications'' that she spoke of?

    Thrusting with abandon as I let out a second load inside of her, her insides feeling like the licking of many tongues all at once, sticking to me with intense heat as it tried to melt me down in a furnace of passion. My vision faded red more time than I could remember, but being the target of whatever spell this was, I had become uniquely aware that the strange pyramid shaped gift I had received was doing something to counteract its effects. Bringing me back moments after I lost myself in the lust, repeating the cycle so many times that I had lost track of time entirely.

    Finding myself one moment with an unexpected clarity as if awakening from a dream, surrounded by torn, ripped, and sex stained sheets. Palantia''s skin covered with a glossy sheen while more poured out from her womb like a never-ending torrent.

    Instead of feeling my usual source of vitality, I felt sore, drained, and completely spent. As if everything I had and more had been wrung out inside of Tia. Even Tammy looked like she had been attacked by me sometime during the night, her ravaged and conquered form looking all the more beautiful to me. The two of them sleeping peacefully, their bare chests rising with a soft rhythm, like two angels who had been caught and forcefully despoiled by some ravenous beast. Feeling some guilt and more than a little pride that I had taken two beautiful women like that.

    "What time... what time is it?" I looked around, still in a somewhat confused state, unclear whether it was night or day I looked at the ornate grandfather clock which ticked away in the corner only to be more confused." Only two hours had passed from when we started, I could hardly believe my eyes. It was late but not too late, probably not yet sundown, slipping out of the room while carrying Tammy''s unconscious form with the intent to find the two of us a bath. Locking the doors behind me only for a strange sensation to tingle at the hairs on the back of my neck. Suddenly getting the feeling that I was being watched I spun around abruptly, finding the source of the sensation in a far corner of the extended bedroom corridor.

    Belle was sitting unhappily in a corner of the chamber, her eyes red and tired like she had been crying while her fat mousekin pet nestled into her lap with a resigned look on its face.

    "Belle? You scared me, what are you doing here so early. It''s not time for bed yet."

    "Master mean... lock Belle from room. Belle has nowhere to go but master. Two days... Belle wait here two days... Belle think master don''t want Belle anymore!"

    Two days? I was in there two days? I was more shocked than anymore, but suddenly the aches I felt made more sense.

    Kaguro

 Ch 125. Waking

    I felt a headache coming on, despite the fact that such a thing should have been physically impossible for me at this stage. "Two days? You aren''t kidding me now, are you Belle?"

    Belle''s already distraught face soured even more, tears staining her cheeks.

    "Belle not lie! Master hate Belle now... call Belle liar." Her ears laid flat while her tail drooped despondently, hugging the plush-sized mousekin in her arms like a teddybear.

    "Calm down and come here Belle." Coaxing her over from her corner with some difficulty. "I wasn''t ignoring you Belle, I was only a bit... indisposed. You''ve always been my favorite little cat, and you always will be, so come here now." Her nose sniffed now that she was closer, examining me more closely after she had calmed down some. Timidly allowing my hand to stroke her hair and trace my finger under her chin.

    "You smell like a woman." She stated plainly, eyeing Tammy who I had tucked under my arm. She hadn''t come to yet, but two days without sleep and without rest would do that. I would be worried if not for the fact that I had supplied her with vitality throughout it, my fluids were high-potion quality ingredients now and she had more than her share. If anything, she should be the healthiest she''s ever been.

    "A different woman." She wondered now, her eyes drying up now that she knew she was not abandonded. In truth I never expected to have such anxiety over being seperated, even if it was only for two days, we had never been apart for so long before.

    "Is that a problem?" Genuinely interested in how she viewed my infidelity, I couldn''t help but feel a small bit of regret. Truly I never intended for it to end up the way it did, in fact... I still wondered why I even did it in the first place. And those feelings that came over me. The lust, the cravings, it was like something primal had come over me. And father''s gift... the object mother found. I knew it had done something, it was easy enough to tell. Whenever those feelings came over me it seemed to bring me back to the edge of rationality.

    Belle shook her head with conflicted with emotion, trying to find the words.

    "Master strong, too strong for just Belle." She said while her tail swished with a forlorn passion.

    Me being strong matters that much to her? "Why does it matter if I''m strong? Didn''t you still love me when I was weak?"

    Belle''s eyes glinted with an uncomfortable truth.

    "Belle liked master, but Belle like master more now. Strong male. Strong male give Belle strong kittens. Master strong now, needs mark many women, make territory."

    The inner workings of a beastkin''s mind was a mystery to me, but it seemed like she respected personal strength above all else. Their society was the rule of the jungle, and even Belle who had been raised entirely among humans still had that instinct hardwired. Certainly not what I was expecting. Remembering now the catkin who had mocked Belle earlier for serving a human willingly, would they ''shake their tails'' for me if I could shatter their concept of who was strong and who was weak? I knew I didn''t exactly look all that strong physically, but I was about average height and I had been slacking on physique training before the system. Unlike my brothers who weighed probably twice as much as me from muscle alone, my power came exclusively from the system''s influence.

    A topic for another time. "Come along Belle, I need a bath." Scooping her up in my other arm as walked the halls. There certainly was no lack of maids to guide us along to the bath. Having not had the chance yet to acclimate to my new home I had no clue yet where anything was.

    Feeling a touch of familiarity for the feeling of being washed by multitudes of nude and willing women. It was like I was back at the Marcet mansion all over again, except for one major difference. Looking into the eyes of these maids was like staring into a vacuum, what it was exactly was something I couldn''t place, but I knew they were under Bael''s mental influence. No matter Belle''s inquisitive looks, seeming to be asking me whether I would take them there or not, I wasn''t interested in these brainwashed robots. No matter how good their figure might be.

    Dressed and cleaned, smelling of the floral bath I had just taken, I roamed the interior of my chamber. Stopping at an odd sight. Marcella dressed in her underwear, seated very comfortably, eating what looked like a meal of honeyed oats and milk as maids fanned her obediently. Freezing up once our eyes met. Her mouth still full she chewed quickly but the words stuck in her throat.

    "Comfortable?" I asked her, watching her shift uncomfortably. "That''s my influence you''re dining on." Her chewing stopped, like a deer in the headlights. We had a deal, Marcella would get what she earned, but taking it too far would cost her. I''ve never allowed her to order around maids like servants. She was getting much too close to her original personality, these two days on her own hadn''t been good for her development.

    Regardless, I had bigger fish to fry. Returning back to my bedroom in a hurry, intent on confronting Palantia once and for all. She used something on me, I just knew it. And I couldn''t let it stand, opening the locked double doors in a hurry, only to be greeted with an empty room. Nothing on the bed, nothing in the room. Searching for an instant before giving up.

    Spying the crystalline pyramid on my dresser I snatched it up quickly, the smokey substance within swirling around excitedly, like it was trying to tell me something. I knew by now this was no ordinary thing, it would be wiser to keep this close from now on, shifting into from my hand into my pocket. Inconvenienced by the fact that it would not go into an ordinary inventory.

    Where exactly had Tia gone I wondered. She came here... nude, into a locked room, and escaped just the same. Not wanting to tip off the maids I tried to ask if they had seen anyone, as inconspicuously as I could. Only to hear back that nobody had been sighted, aside from Belle, Tammy, and myself of course.

    This Palantia... for being an ordinary human she sure had a lot of tricks.

 Ch 126. Auction

    I would need to have my discussion with Tia later. Whenever I could find her that was. Her lust was a problem, but the jealousy of her scorned lover bothered me. I needed to clear things up before then.

    Seeing the time now again I realized there was something I was missing. Wasn''t the auction today?

    "Where''s Cal?" I stopped one of the maids in the hallway.

    The maid regarded me as if looking at a god, the reverence they instilled towards ''chosen'' like myself. "If you''re looking for your friend, he wanted to let you know he''s already left."

    Must be at the auction already, and I''m late. "Can Belle come?" I heard a voice from the side, her eyes pleading for me to take her along. She must have been awfully lonely by herself for two days, feeling I should bring her along every once in a while. Letting out a yip as I picked her up unexpectedly, carrying her over my shoulder like a barbarian would for his trophy.

    "Too late to go by carriage, so we''ll head there on foot."

    Her tail started to wag excitedly, ready for the adventure.

    Minutes later we were soaring from the rooftops of the noble''s district, empowering each step with my utmost I leapt from building to building, barely managing to cross the distance. It was good practice not to mention undeniably faster than traveling on the streets. The structure of the city was like that of a labyrinth once you got off the main roads, and being able to view the city from above and travel to a destination in a straight line made navigating much simpler. My [navigation] skill could point me in the right direction and all I needed to do was get us there.

    Jumping over some sort of crowd below gathered together in an alleyway, I was thankful for the cover of darkness. What they were doing was none of my business.

    Scaling up the back of the auction venue, I crept along the rooftop until I was right in front of the entrance. The same greeters we had seen last time were there along with showgirls for the patrons. Waiting for a carriage to pass by for cover I dropped down behind it, setting Belle down besides me. Straightening her hair briefly from the ride over, thankfully it was silky enough that it laid flat. Not looking too odd despite our rooftop travels.

    Stepping around the carriage as Belle held my hand tightly, I waited for the pair in front of us to enter before approaching. The greeter''s perplexed at the sight of customers who had seemingly emerged from thin air rather than from a carriage, and my date for the night was a beastkin no less. Well dressed as she was and looking more like a noble lady than a slave, only making it more strange.

    A few seconds passed before their eyes lit up in recognition, finally connecting who I was.

    "Mr. Keaton, we weren''t sure if you would make it. Your friend came earlier by himself, I can send you up if you would like, the auction just started a few minutes ago."

    "I''d appreciate that, thank you." Giving a smile, and watching as the young man beckoned over one of the showgirls before handing them a token. "Room 16"

    The girl had us follow her, her bunny outfit and perky ass seemed to be inviting me to stare as we followed along behind, walking through winding hallways before ascending up a set of stairs. Eliciting a gulp from me as I could swear I could see the outline of her pussy through the tight-fitting costume she had on. Clearly nothing underneath but her bare skin.

    Honestly, what had come over me. Ever since Tia, I felt my lust had been out of control. I had held back in the bath earlier, but it felt like I was barely able to contain myself from jumping on this girl now.

    Shaking off the thought as I clutched at the pyramid in my coat pocket, something about it managed to soothe my thoughts.

    When we reached our room, the showgirl handed me the stone tablet she had been given. The one with the number 16 engravened into it with glowing runes.

    "Use this to place any bids, just write your number with this chalk and the order will be recorded." She bowed again before heading off, giving me a good view of her breasts down the costume''s open collar.

    Stepping through the door to our suite with a sigh, as Belle followed along. Noting with passive approval my budding interest in other girls. She really didn''t mind? So long as I kept her by my side she seemed to even be encouraging my infidelity. Was it a beastkin status thing? Having a strong male with many women seemed to be a big deal from what I could tell.

    Our room was essentially a box, one outfitted with one-sided glass that allowed us to look over the gallery without our identities being visible from the outside. The room was furnished with the usual luxurious furniture I had come to expect, and Cal was seated in the corner watching the bidding in a semi-interested manner.

    "Did I miss anything?" I asked, seeing his eyes drift over to our arrival.

    "Nothing much at all. They''re starting out with items only a wastrel would buy. Jade serpent bone jewelery, Snow mink pelt coats. Fashion items, essentially."

    I watched as the auctioneers wheeled off the snow mink pelts wardrobe to their designated purchaser, they looked quite good if I had to say myself, but each of them was going for 25 gold. More than I had paid for my entire wardrobe, clearly this was a rare and limited luxury item. Identification showing that the item appeared to have magical influence which increased resistance to cold weather, beyond what a normal coat would provide. Some of the monster''s magic had been preserved even in death.

    "For our next item, we have a speciality brought up from the triumvirate. Not from the swamps of Dabora, nor from the jungles of Birama, but from the glistening white shores of Jumaya. Always a popular item, always in demand, I give to you... a mermaid''s heart. Any water mages in the audience must be salivating by now but you won''t have an easy time, everyone''s heard the old saying after all. The key to immortality is through a mermaid''s heart. Anyone with money is going to want this one. These slippery fish are as hard to catch as they are dangerous, and this here is the freshest material you''ll get aside from catching one off the beaches yourself. Starting bid, 500 gold."

    I nearly choked when I heard this was as expensive as my own items, giving it an appraisal to see why. Increased lifespan by one year and a permanent increased affinity with water magic. No wonder. I only knew the basics about magic, but I knew enough that affinity was the major factor behind what magic you were capable of using. Most commoners didn''t have an affinity above 1 or 2%, but the baseline for mages started at about 10%. Anything under that and you were basically magically inept, only by consuming expensive reagents like these and through longterm study was it possible to raise your own affinity.

    I was tempted by the description, mostly out of curiosity, but seeing it quickly rise in price to over three thousand, my thoughts of competing quickly faded.

 Ch 127. A certain nosy showgirl

    I nearly choked when I heard this was as expensive as my own items, giving it an appraisal to see why. Increased lifespan by one year and a permanent increased affinity with water magic. No wonder. I only knew the basics about magic, but I knew enough that affinity was the major factor behind what magic you were capable of using. Most commoners didn''t have an affinity above 1 or 2%, but the baseline for mages started at about 10%. Anything under that and you were basically magically inept, only by consuming expensive reagents like these and through longterm study was it possible to raise your own affinity.

    I was tempted by the description, mostly out of curiosity, but seeing it quickly rise in price to over three thousand, my thoughts of competing quickly faded.

    "Mermaid heart, sold to room 21 for 3200 gold."

    I let out an impressed whistle, looking out across the venue hall to the tinted viewing box with the number 21 on it. The auction was setup like an orchestra hall. All of the bidding rooms were positioned on terraces positioned around the edges of the room and elevated above the actual bidding stage, giving us an all round good view of any items.

    Longevity items seemed to be the most popular, garnering a good amount of bids with consumables for magical aptitude coming a close second. Most noble families were mage families after all.

    I watched again with interest as a fire attribute molten golem core was put up for sale and ended up going for over a thousand gold. After watching several such items I had learned a bit of the price trends.

    Affinity increasing items were universally expensive, but fire and earth seemed to be the cheapest of all the attributes. I knew from Marcella that fire and earth were also the most common affinities people had, making these the most popular. Most monsters that manifested magic had one of these types. Water was rarer among humans, but happened more in populations that lived around major water bodies. The capital seemed to meet that threshold with the presence of x river and water affinities were still quite common among the mage geneologies here, albeit rarer than the first two types but the affinity items being all from aquatic monsters made these items universally more expensive. Air was the next most common, extremely rare, extremely valuable.

    Air affinity monsters were a nightmare to hunt, they were essentially immune to any projectile weapons while also living primarily in an environment far away from humans. Hunting them was considered futile and any items that appeared at auction seemed to all be a product of sheer luck. Even if there weren''t a terribly high amount of wind affinity magicians, 1-2% of the mages at most, the total lack of affinity items made for an astoundingly fierce bidding war.

    That''s why when the magic core was from a giant bird species was wheeled out, the atmosphere in the hall changed immediately. Placing bids back and forth until the price quickly heated up over over 8000 gold. At that point most of the families seemed to have hit their price ceiling, the younger generation was valuable, but 8000 gold was a lot of money for something that basically had the same effect as a 1000g earth affinity core. Wind elementalists could only curse their poor luck for having such an inconvenient affinity.

    There were other affinities of course, life, death, and void were the other main types, but these were generally not practiced for a multitude of reasons. Nearly everyone had some amount of life affinity, technically it would be the most common mage type out there if not for the fact that it had some nasty connotations to it. Life practioners mainly dealt with vitality and bodily function, but vitality was something that couldn''t be replicated easily. Not using mana at least. You either needed to use your own lifeforce to power a spell, or more commonly, the lifeforce of others. This is where the beastkin''s ritual magic came in. Blood magic. Probably the best known application of life affinity.

    Death magic on the other hand was quite rare, much rarer than air but just as banned. Given that it even a beginner acolyte could accidently turn a city into a raving undead horde it was not the type of magic that society could allow.

    And then there was void... my space magic. Supposedly this should be my best affinity, but given that all my magic was generated using the system, I somewhat doubted that I had any aptitude at all. Extraordinarily rare but also a national asset to any kingdom.

    Cal elbowed me, waking me from my ruminations. "They''re selling our items."

    The stage now had small crates, each stocked with five vials of blood. Seperated out into bidding blocks. It appeared that people would be bidding on each of the crates, and the bidding would be sequential. The announcer introduced it mainly as we had described it, an ''unknown'' magical beast''s blood, but played up its effects and rarity, not that I was complaining. The first crate went for 6k gold, but quickly dropped afterwards. The last one going for half that. It turned out to be a far more profitable method than direct sale, even after factoring in the cut they would take off an auction.

    No sooner than the auctioneers had finalized the sale did a knock sound out on the door to our suite.

    Opening to reveal the same bunny-outfitted showgirl that had led us in the first time, along with another colleague of hers who was busy adjusting the fabric between her thigh gap, reacting with surprise that we had opened the door sooner than she had been expecting.

    "Um... esteemed sirs, we have your money prepared from tonight''s auction." The dark-blonde haired girl held out a black metalic card as if urging for me to take it.

    "What is this?" I asked while examining the matt black surface.

    "It''s our members card. You can take these to any bank in the city, it''s registered to your names with a balance of 33,250 gold." She said while pausing to check the card''s surface, somehow able to distinguish how much money was on it.

    "Why can''t we just receive our gold directly? We did that last time..."

    She looked at a loss, trying her best to explain her employers policies. Apparently the auction venue didn''t like having to distribute so much gold all in one night. Dealing with one person''s money was fine, but dealing with such large quantities for hundreds was a lot of risk.

    "Um... sir, you''re a space mage right? I heard you were... and well, you''re just really young for a mage. Are you enrolled in the academy by chance?"

    I stared at her, trying to discern what she wanted.

 Ch 128. Lily Leylei

    The showgirl looked nervous fidgeting with her outfit. Why the auction had them dress as bunny beastkin I had no idea, but their uniforms left almost nothing to the imagination.

    "I''m, um. My name is Lily. I''m from the Leylei family." Seeing that I had no idea who that was her ego deflated visibly. "We''re not a very big family... but we''re a mage family. Um, actually when I asked whether you were attending the academy, that is, I''m actually a student there."

    Somehow I got the feeling like she wasn''t doing this as part of her job, a personal request then?

    "It seems unusual for a mage to be working as a showgirl Ms. Lily, is there a reason you''re telling me this?"

    She looked even more embarrassed than before, fidgeting in front of my eyes.

    "Uh, Mr. Keaton, I''m not actually supposed to be saying this to a customer, but I was hoping you could give me some pointers. I heard you were a natural mage, and I know that''s kind of amazing, but I was kind of hoping that you could give me some advice. To be honest I''m not doing so well, if I got kicked out I don''t know what I''d do."

    She leaned forward innocently, seeming to have forgotten how immodest her dress really was, her breasts drawing my attention briefly as I felt more insatiable lust swell up inside me. Increasing my constitution had already pushed me to the limit of my control, but I had somehow grown used to it and managed it through regular coitus with Tammy, Belle, and Marcella. But ever since Tia had run her magic it was like a beast within me had been unleashed. My eye''s glinted cold as I steeled my resolve, snapping out of my daze, I decided to end things now before I made another mistake.

    "I suppose that''s a terrible thing, but I''m afraid I can''t help you. Ms. Lily, you''d be better off not placing your hopes in me. Good night."

    Abruptly closing the door in their face, Cal looked shocked that I would do so.

    "Keaton my friend I can''t believe you would turn them down." A know-it-all expression written across his face, "two girls coming up to our room asking for a private lesson, if that isn''t an invitation for sex then I don''t know what is."

    "You should know full well that I can''t help her. I know nothing about magic other than what I''ve heard second hand and I''d feel bad tricking a girl like that." Not to mention that I was on the verge of losing control.

    "Suit yourself." He shrugged nonchalantly, turning his attention back to the auction as if nothing of value was lost.

    I went to sit back in my chair, but Belle''s obsessed staring from her spot in the corner was somewhat unnerving. Did she really want me to start claiming women left and right?

    Settling in while I watched the rest of the auction play out. Distracted by my own thoughts, I would have to tussle with Belle later tonight to calm myself, but for now I tried to put my attention on other things.

    The auction for now... but even that wasn''t enough to occupy me. Magic, then. I should pay the academy a visit one of these days. Magic was always out of my grasp until it suddenly wasn''t. I was more than curious about it ever since the day Marcella nearly blew me to pieces with it. Surely learning the secrets of the arcane world would be good for a distraction.

    When the auction was finally over we proceeded down the hall, Belle and I locking fingers as I led her by the hand down the hall, I could only be thankful we didn''t come across the two showgirls I turned down earlier. Whatever Tia did to me was slowly eating away my rationality, infecting me with a passion that made my intentions to leave to somewhere more private stronger than ever.

    Unfortunately for me, a familiar face popped up at the door. Gamlin, the appraiser. The old man had a bittersweet expression on, looking at us like he was looking at a bag of gold; one that had grown legs and was walking out the door.

    "Mr. Pel, Mr. Marcet, I have to congratulate you on your success. I''ve already received dozens of inquiries about purchasing more of those blood reagents, and even more on your identities. If you''d like I could introduce you, these are connections you may find quite valuable in your line of work. There''s an afterparty for our members, buyers and sellers alike and I believe you both have more than the qualifications to enter."

    Of course it would be like that, we just generated fifty thousand gold in revenue for them in a matter of days, but to be honest I didn''t have time for any of that. Glancing at Belle with a fiery passion, her tail curled up along my waist to show that the interest was mutual.

    Cal cleared his throat, before stepping up. "You go on ahead, Keaton. I''ll take care of this." Seeming to sense that I had no patience left, he decided to be helpful. Saving face for the both of us by going to the party. He always had a better business sense, so why not leave it to him.

    "I''ll leave it up to you then," giving Belle''s hand a squeeze, the two of us decided to return the same manner we had come. Disappearing into the night no sooner than we were out the door.

    A night of passion had cleared my mind, but I could already feel it was a just a matter of time. Whatever curse had been laid on me was not easily broken. Pacing the chambers with determination in my step, I chewed the dried remnants of a clear-mind fern frond. We had a decent variety of herbs brought over from Tromwell, all of Cal''s existing stock, and whether he assented to my casual raiding of his stores or not I needed whatever I could get to counteract the encroachment on my mind.

    It didn''t exactly eliminate my problem, but the fern seemed to offer a certain clarity which helped me identify and resist the urges this affliction sent me. Damn that Tia, if I knew how to find her I would make her undo this the moment we met, but ever since our night of passion she had been conspicuously avoiding me.

    Coming across Marcella in my extended chamber, I noticed that she was alone this time, eating a much more modest breakfast with a wary expression on her face. Not having the gall to order the maids as I had caught her doing earlier.

    My mind clicked in place, knowing there was a place we needed to visit.

    "Come along Marcella, let''s go for a walk."

 Ch 129. Magic Academy

    "Where are we going?" Marcella asked curiously, noticing that we were already now past the palatial estate''s gardens and exiting onto the main streets. Walking leisurely arm-in-arm, I enjoyed the fresh spring air with a deep breath, letting the scent of freshly fallen rain fully fill my lungs I took my time before responding.

    This was the first time in several days that I felt some amount of clarity from the spell of lust I had been under.

    "To the academy..."

    "Eep!" Marcella let out a strange half-yelp, my words apparently making her suddenly a lot more aware of her surroundings, not to mention more aware of her own appearance.

    "Is there a problem with us going to the academy?" I asked, seeing her sudden reluctance made me curious. Watching as Marcella gestured down at her slave collar. The conspicuous blue color of lazuli alloy made it apparent to anyone knowledgeable enough in the matter that she was a mage-slave.

    I see...

    Not only was she known to others in the academy, she must also care a great deal about what they thought of her.

    "Keaton, could we, you know... get rid of this?" Marcella asked me in quiet pleading voice.

    "You almost killed me last time." I reminded while giving her a quick look of suspicion. Remembering the feel of her magic-driven sword of fire cutting through flesh. My own flesh. I might not die from it, but it sure as hell still hurt.

    "I, I know that... but that was a long time ago. I''m not going to do it again."

    I was skeptical, but still pulled out the small vial of the crushed lazuli powder I had been given, having not seen the need for it yet, I decided to try it out for once. Somewhat curious how well this method of application worked on a mage.

    "If you want your collar off then take a bite of this." I held a spoonful of powder out for her, which she stared hesitantly at.

    "I''m being considerate Marcella. I don''t need to take the collar off, you know?"

    She closed her eyes once again and took the spoonful in one bite, chewing the powder with a pained expression. I didn''t hear anything about what it tasted like, but judging from her reaction, it couldn''t be that good. Like chalk perhaps?

    Inserting the key with a clink I unlocked the metallic circlet around her neck, pulling it off and into my inventory for safekeeping. Only then did Marcella start looking more at ease, her biggest worry now gone and confidence partially restored.

    A few minutes walk took us to the gates of the academy, our mansion being conveniently located made it not a terribly long trip.

    Other students in front of us dropped off for the day by carriage at the front gates. Most appeared my age or older, but there were a few younger students who were likely the prodigies of some rich noble or royal line. All wearing a rich velvet purple cloak over their usual clothes, held together by a small bear''s head broach.

    Seems like that''s the school uniform.

    The feathering around the broach which held together their cloaks ranged from a basic metal clip to a more intricate work, designating the class of the student, making it easy to distinguish who was a senior magician versus who was an absolute beginner. There weren''t even guards at the entrance so people just walked right in, although we were the only ones without an outfit on, so we did elicit a few strange stares.

    "Why aren''t there guards?" I asked Marcella quietly as we passed through. Trying to act as inconspicuous as I could, even if we had the right to be here it felt a bit like trespassing when we stuck out so much.

    "Please Keaton, nobody would be stupid enough to cause trouble here. Everyone''s a mage. Not to mention we''re in the noble district so commoners already aren''t allowed in. We should be able to just go where we need to... the only thing we need to worry about are the teachers."

    Crossing onto the school grounds I felt a familiar sensation, similar to the one we had when we were on the estate. Like we had crossed some kind of invisible barrier, the air felt richer, more sustaining. The concentration of mana itself was noticeable even to a ''non-mage'' like me.

    I followed Marcella, letting her take the lead seeing as she was a former student. Walking along with the crowd of students as we made our way to the administrative building.

    "Excuse me! You two. Are you students here?"

    A grey-haired woman appeared from seemingly nowhere, suddenly standing before us wearing a pointed hat and dressed in a purple silk cloak pinned together by a violet glowing broach.

    "Keaton, can you handle this? I''m not very good with her." Marcella''s whispered in my ear before hiding behind my back, her old fiery fading back as quickly as it had come.

    Seeing the woman focus her attention on me, I cleared my throat to explain. I''d never been the most eloquent speaker but it wasn''t like they could kick us out either.

    "I''m a new student and mage." I said while producing the sigil and coin Bael had given to me. The mage woman''s eyebrows perked up at the sight, amused by the trick I had just pulled.

    "Space magic... I see. I know who you are. Keaton, I''ve been told."

    I nodded. Glad that at least somebody had done their research, it certainly made things easy for me. I didn''t expect to be known everywhere I went, but as it turned out very few people recognized me even when I was the only ''space mage'' in the kingdom.

    "Is your friend here a new student too?"

    "No, she''s a graduate."

    The woman looked at me strangely while Marcella looked like she wanted to crawl in a hole. **Could it be that I said something odd?**

    "The world of magic has no graduates, Mr. Keaton. I think you''ll find there''s always something more to learn. No matter how talented you may think you are. Sometimes you''ll find that even talented people will fall one day if they never try their best." Sending a stare directly at Marcella as she was speaking.

    Apparently that last part was directed at Marcella, who was now looking red as a beet. This woman''s remarks unknowingly cutting deeper than she perhaps intended.

    "Now that I get a better look at you, you do look like a student of mine. Marcella Marcet, I remember you now. You were a trouble maker. What have you been up to and what brings you back to school? Couldn''t be that you''re enrolling again, I remember you hated school. Too good for my lessons."

    "I''ve gotten married." Marcella blurted out quicker than I could speak. Giving me pleading eyes that told me not to expose her shame. "To Keaton here," she added. Sticking close to me while holding my arm with the sweetest expression she could manage. Acting as if we were newly-weds, for a time in fact we had been.

    "Well, I have to say you''ve done better for yourself than I expected." Giving me an appraising look that almost made me shudder. Her face wasn''t bad and her skin still looked supple at least, making her look like she wasn''t too far past 40 but with how much these old monsters spent on staying young she could easily be over a hundred and I''d be none the wiser.

    "I''m afraid that''ll have to be all for the introductions, I have a lecture to give." She finally added while sending a stern glance to some of the other students who were pausing in interest at the two strangers on campus. "And get yourselves a cloak, you stand out far too much."

    I fully agreed, finding the stares of the students equally bothersome.

    The magewoman turned abruptly before walking off at a brisk pace, dismissing herself from the conversation without another word.

    "Who was that?" I whispered to Marcella, who looked to be sweating nervously. Was that woman really that intimidating to her?

    "Mrs. Woderly, the magic theory professor." She said with a shudder.

    "She didn''t seem that bad." I said while looking at Marcella curiously, earning a harsh look for even suggesting it. Clearly something must have happened for them to be at such odds.

    We continued on towards the administrative building, with Marcella walking a bit more briskly now. Apparently there were others around that she''d rather not run into.

 End of Novel

    Sorry to inform everyone but I think this will be the last of the adventure king novel. I have pretty much lost any creative spark I had towards this novel, one of the biggest reasons is that I think I made a lot of mistakes in the development of the story and its piled up too high to be worth salvaging. Most new readers just read the first parts so its tough to see repeated criticism that I agree with and still continue writing on.

    I''ve come to dislike writing an evil/petty main character, even if it was interesting for me initially I think the characters should be generally likeable in some way.

    I don''t think I will stop writing, but I''m also not sure whether this means I continue on with world arena or start something else. I don''t think I want to write any NSFW stories anymore, since that really restricts where I feel I can post my content and it kind of makes me have to keep my writing hobby somewhat secret.

    I do have some additional artwork that I will create new chapter updates for and link to once it''s done, but new chapters won''t be coming.

    Thank you all for following and reading my story up to here.