Rupegia 43 Departure

The traditional waking is left for later as we wake up in a small hurry. The paintings, the plants, the decorations, the furniture, the drapes, the cutlery, the ceramics, the clothes and finally our "picture" at the Tree of Mana, all of that is taken into my "Items".

The house looks empty, cold, and gloomy. The place we all met and lived for a few months, my first real "home" ever since I changed. The tea time at the balcony, the calming training sessions in the living room with the fireplace on, the physical training outside in the backyard, the meals we shared at the wide table, the s.e.xy times in the bath, the comfort of the bed, it is time to abandon it all and hit the road.

In front of the fireplace we make another "picture" with the gnomic magic tool, a closer one of our face and with the fireplace in the background.

"Well..." I start to think of a speech but the words get stuck on my throat.

"We will have another home one day," Alissa says and drops her head on my shoulder.

We spend a few minutes in calm silence until the landlord comes for the inspection. The old man and his son look at us weirdly for a moment but quickly move on and inspect the house.

"All done, no damage. You are one of the best tenants we ever had," the old landlord says.

I give him he key and we take one last look to the house before moving on.

The air is full of mist and still dark, the people are just starting to stir from their homes.

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We quickly pa.s.s by the Quizzical Emporium just as it opens. It's a place full of ridiculous objects that are being used as flying vehicles. Brooms, plates, chairs, beds, staves, carpets, cloaks, drapes, wagons, saddles, wooden carved horses, wooden carved humanoids, shoes, boots, high heels, golden shoes, shields, scabbards, a wooden d.i.l.d.o, even a sword itself, but the most popular are bathtubs, for some reason.

A thin and long man with hair styled and colored like a peac.o.c.k comes out of the entrance carrying a rocking horse. He slid on the ground as if he were wearing roller skates, his golden high heels shines when the light hits the jewel embedded on them just at the right angle.

He stops near us and lets the rocking horse on an empty spot, then he turns to us and strikes a pose, one hand on the hips and another up in the air. "Welco~ome to the Quizzical Emporium! We have a wide variety of magical vehicles but don't fret, we also have all kinds of other enchanted items or useful magic tools!" He says in a slightly high pitched voice.

"Y-yes, uh, we want a reinforced sh.e.l.l for our flying dinghy," I say and pull it out.

"Hm, yes, just replacing the sh.e.l.l or do you want another [Fly] tool too?" He asks.

"Replacing only."

He nods and motions to us to come but I prefer to let Lina take charge, she knows more about the structure of a dinghy than I do.

Inside the store there's more enchanted items, I see all kinds of cooking equipment, power tools, house utilities, and cleaning tools. I feel like buying the auto-fryer and the pressure cooker but they are not necessary for now so I'll leave it for later. On an only slightly conspicuous corner are plenty of s.e.x toys.

Ciel looks around warily but Hana and Alissa look with interest. Roxanne simply turns around and leaves, a little pale, she knows who will suffer if these toys are used.

Lina comes back and calls for us, she found a rather sleek looking boat with a metal frame and a windshield. The husk is actually cheap, only 20 gold coins to trade for the old husk. If we wanted the magic tool too it would cost much more than a single rose coin. Our dinghy's magic tool is not the best but it's serviceable, though not the most manefficient but we aren't going to start racing with our flying boat anyway.

"Thank you for your purcha~ase!" The vendor adds tremolo to his voice.

We wasted enough time, now with a much safer and wider boat we fly to the west gate.

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The sun rises and the mist slowly disperses. Multiple caravans stir and start the preparations to leave town. Customs officers do final checks on wagons and quickly review s.p.a.ce mages [Item Box]'s contents. You can make a pre-check the day before to make things faster.

Rather close to the exit Hana finds our caravan, a significantly smaller one in comparison to the others.

A small bundle of brown fur comes out of a wagon and immediately dashes towards us. She tackles Hana square in the gut but she takes it without a flinch. I can finally see who exactly she is. A long and furry tail that seems as long as her body, round cute furry ears peeking from under brown hair on a bob cut just like Alissa's, toned, long and very lean arms and legs, a toned midriff showing from below the short shirt, small patches of fur all over her body and cute round face. A weremonkey, brown monkey, I don't know the proper name for her type. All her skin and fur is a cute chocolate brown, even her wide eyes are brown.

"h.e.l.lo again, Klein," Hana says in a warm tone.

"Hanaa! We are finally back together!" Klein hugs Hana's waist and rubs her head on her belly.

"Yes, yes. Now, introductions, show your courtesy to my master."

"Oh, right!" Klein releases Hana and stands straight, giving me a military salute. She's just slightly smaller than me. "Klein, wereape archer, reporting for duty!"

"Uh, Wolf Ryder, leader of Helios," I say and extend a hand for her to shake.

She stares at my hand, still in salute, and tilts her head. Then she smiles, stops the salute and shakes my hand repeatedly. "Heard a lot about you, both from Hana and the hunters guild files." Then she releases my hand and looks at Alissa. "And you too, Miss Alissa of the Blinding Arrows, I think it will be hard to compete with you." She bites her tongue in a mischievous smile.

Alissa answers with a smile of her own, "I've been trained ever since I was a child, plenty of people would easily be able to compete with me if they had the same training."

"Modest, hm-hm?"

We continue the introductions, though the other three girls look at her a bit suspiciously.

"Oh! Your choker is so cute, I love it!" Klein exclaims as she greets Lina.

"T-thank you," Lina says, fl.u.s.tered.

After this Ciel and Lina softened a bit.

"C-can I pet you!?" Klein asks Gify with eyes open wide like a maniac.

"Gih."

I grab GIfy and she smothers him on her modest chest. He rubs his head on her and I see a flicker of a smug smile get sent towards me.

I have 6 women for me, I'm not jealous, you cheeky little s.h.i.t.

As Klein fawns over Gify I see movement from the caravan, a duo comes towards us. A tall, muscular, and slightly tanned silver elf man and very curvy brown-skinned silver elf woman.

The man has a rather soft and youthful face, on par for the elves, his lips and nose are thin, and his face has long dimples formed by his wide smile, his glacial blue eyes stare not at me. He walks forward with confidence and arms that don't fully touch his sides due to his wide muscles. He wears tight pants and a sleeveless shirt that exposes his arms and sticks to his pecs.

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Soul Info

Name: Rande Parado Race: Silver Elf Level: 30
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MP: 132 Magic Power: 20

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Stats of a spell warrior.

The woman looks to be on the beginning of her forties, not much older than the man, but since she's an elf and level 44, I think she's much older. Her lips and nose are also thin but her mouth is much smaller and pouty, the pupil of her eyes are red, their shape is slightly droopy like Lina's, her face is very angular, she walks with a sway on her wide hips and a visible jiggle on her large b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She wears traditional elven clothing, basically a bikini with multiple pieces of cloth dangling, her midriff, thighs, calves, arms, and cleavage are uncovered by the thin clothing.

If I could search "dark elf milf" on google I bet I would find her.

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Soul Info

Name: Osaria Parado Race: Silver Elf Level: 44

MP: 810 Magic Power: 190

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Stats of a mage, though her level is quite high, must be from when she was a n.o.ble.

The man suddenly shifts his eyes to me and his smile hardens. "Mr. Ryder, I suppose?" He asks, his voice is youthful but low pitched.

"Correct," I answer with a small nod.

A sultry voice softly whispers in my ears, "Pleasure to meet you, I am Osaria," says the dark elven woman.

Ugh, another one with high "Charisma".

She extends her hand towards me, her long fingers have beautiful ornate nails, the first I have seen in this world. I grab her hand and give it a slow and soft kiss, the elven standard.

"This is my son Rande, Este company's owner," she adds.

They didn't mention their last name, they must have really became fallen n.o.bles then.

We continue the greetings and Hana also grabs her hand to kiss. Rande grabs Hana's for a kiss and he lingers more than me. Rande grabs Roxanne's hand for a kiss and makes her fl.u.s.ter. The others merely touch the forehead with the hand.

Lina's Trivia: Elves still hold on some older traditions, kissing someone's hand has some connotations on admiration or romantic interest, depending on the context. Mine and Hana's was merely respect, Rande's was romantic, Roxanne's was ambiguous.

"You are what I expected but it's still very hard to believe your file," Rande says and his thin silver eyebrows knit. His youthful face distorts into worry and a hint of anger.

"You want me to prove it? What would you prefer? Magic? Summoning Duel? Sword sparring?" I ask with a wide grin. I'm getting tired of people acting like this even though they have seen my file in the hunters guild.

He looks back at the line of caravans, there's still people in the way, the animals are getting fed and the warriors are putting on their armor. We have some time.

"Sure, what about a spar with me," he turns back and grins maliciously.

Intimidation failed.

"I am a magic swordsman, remember that I don't spar without magic."

"Fine, I will use my enchanted sword then, let's make it a duel."

I look back and see Ciel roll her eyes, the others have more encouraging expressions with a variety of intensity, Lina and Alissa show a hint of anger too. Klein looks calm and interested in the duel, Gify shows no interest.

"Squash, him," Aoi says and I rub below her chin.

I glance at Osaria and she seems amused, her lips curved in a faint smile.

We move to an alley where n.o.body is moving through. With a *poof* his mother pulls out a gambeson and some chainmail that he quickly puts on.

He draws his longsword, there's a gem in the pommel and silver engravings along the blade. I draw my fang sword.

"Not going to use armor?" Rande asks.

"Don't need," I say flatly.

"Suit yourself," he shrugs.

"Rules!" Ciel yells and stand by the side. "I'll say when it ends and you will obey me or I will smack you until you are unconscious, this goes for both of you, understand!?"

"Yes, Miss," Rande says with a confident smile.

"Yes, my love," I smirk and his expression twitches.

Ciel sighs deeply. "Ready? Fight!"

His sword catches fire and I fake chant a shortened [Gravity Crush]. He swings the sword and a blade of flaming oil oozes out of the silver engravings, it flies in a crescent towards me. It's much smaller than the Lord's own flaming oil sword, Rande's is not an artifact.

I sidestep the first blade and the oil splashes on the ground near me, the oil burns for long seconds. Well I guess that parrying him is useless.

He launches two more horizontal ones in different angles. I contort myself and [Dodge], maybe I should add [Acrobatics] to my style too.

He huffs and dashes forward, throwing more blades of flaming oil. I step back and finish my spell, he immediately stops in the spot and nearly tumbles. His movements slow as I increase the pressure, veins start to appear in his face and he grunts in effort.

CrushcrushCRUSH! CRUSH!

I dash forward.

I dodge another blade with some difficulty and reach him. He grunts harder in effort as he finds the strength to slash with his sword towards my chest. I flicker a [Rush] and twist my body to dodge, pain flares in my head as I dual-cast.

I feel the heat of the oil pa.s.s near my face painfully close. He tries to raise his sword but fails, I flash mine towards his neck.

"STOP!" Ciel yells and rushes forward. My sword is a centimeter inside his neck, blood drips profusely.

I end my spell and he falls on his knees, coughing blood.

Ciel fakes a [Heal] chant and touches his neck, then she casts two more on his chest and his mother gives him an HP potion.

He chuckles and rises, "d.a.m.n boy, what's your 'Magic Power'?"

"High," I say and store back my sword in my "Items".

"Suffered enough?" Osaria asks her son with a slight amus.e.m.e.nt in her sultry voice.

"Yes, mother," Rande pushes away both and removes his armor. He looks at his b.l.o.o.d.y shirt and gambeson and sighs.

"Give it to Oura, she's slacked enough," Osaria says and they start walking back to the caravan. She turns to us, "Mr. Ryder, come with us, we will deliver you your horses. I know you have a town pa.s.s so you can wait outside."

"Actually we are waiting on some acquaintances so we will leave town right behind you," Ciel says.

"Suit yourself."

We return to wait near the caravan and Klein seems very happy, her tail is high up and the point keeps twitching.

"Wow, Mr. Ryder, that was amazing, you crushed him in an instant!"

"Most magic and spell warrior duels are like that," Hana says.

Lina's Trivia: magic swordsman/warrior is someone who fights with magic, like me; spell swordsman/warrior is someone who fights with offensive enchantments, like Rande.

"Still, he couldn't even move due to the pressure you put on him! And was that a double-cast!?"

"Say, Klein, did you see Rande duel with others often?" Ciel asks, distracting the monkey-girl.

"Oh, hardly, he likes to show off but only if someone interesting comes he challenges them. Oura is very grumpy and tired of healing people due to his duels so he has been trying to contain himself but I guess Mr. Ryder's fame got him interested. He's got a bit of fame at Goldcross so people just surrender once they see his flaming sword, it's quite nasty and painful to duel him."

The girls spend a good 10 minutes talking to Klein. Roxanne is the "I don't care" type of airhead, Klein is the ditzy type of airhead. Lina shuffles to my side and I sling a hand over her shoulder, she's not that comfortable with extroverts and neither am I.

I nearly jump out of my skin when suddenly Silvane and Nononya appear out of a corner.

"Ryder, Alissa, Lina, I came to see you one last time," Silvane says with a beautiful bright smile.

"H-h.e.l.lo, Silvane," I say and bow respectfully.

"Please, no need to bow."

"h.e.l.lo, Wolf," Nonoia says with a shy smile.

"h.e.l.lo, Nono, glad you came," I say and we shake hands, hers is so delicate it's just like Lina's.

We say our greetings and Silvane gives Alissa a tight hug.

"It's a shame that Rabanara would lose your fellowship but I hope for your success in the future," Silvane says with soft voice.

"Thank you Silvane, I appreciate your concern and I consider you a friend. We will definitely miss you," Alissa says, her voice is calm but her tail sways rapidly.

Silvane turns to me and Lina, "I wish to see the name of both of you in the cover of a book in the future, don't disappoint me." And she giggles twice.

"Y-yes, we won't!" Lina exclaims and lowers her head, blushing.

I pull out a stack of notes out of my "Items".

"Here's all my notes related to Summoning." I offer them to Nononya.

She opens her eyes wide and take them slowly.

"W-w-wolf! T-thank you!" She wraps her hands on my neck and gives me a tight hug. Her hair touches the side of my head, she's just as fluffy as I thought and her perfume is very sweet. I feel the squash of her perky b.r.e.a.s.t.s and bad premonition coming from behind me.

Nono releases me after a few seconds and I try not to look behind. She gushes with happiness and starts to flip through them quickly. She stops in a page and starts reading intently. "[Monster Summoning]...?" She raises her eyes to me in complete disbelief.

I hold a finger over my mouth, asking for silence and Nono nods repeatedly. She starts to flicker through the pages again until she finds another even more interesting, [Bind]. Though I didn't develop chants for those two the notes will still be useful in helping her increase her [Summoning Magic] level.

A minute after Bitar, Arantos, a plump woman, and a few other priestess appear.

"Bitar!" Ciel exclaims with happiness. She walks over to him and stops awkwardly, Bitar's face is rather somber.

He looks up at her and smiles painfully, "I... I couldn't let you leave like this. I'm sorry for what I said," he says in a weak voice.

She matches his smile and grabs his shoulder, "I understand, I know what you feel and what you think, but I have made my choice, I have someone I love and I have my path to take. Live or die, I am sure now that I have made the choice that I wanted, not necessarily the one who will let me live the longest but the one who will let me live the happiest."

d.a.m.n, those words pull on my heart strings. I won't disappoint you, Ciel, we will live long!

He throws his arm over her and pulls her on a tight hug. This time he doesn't seem to be trying to push her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to him, only her head.

She takes the hug for a few seconds but pushes him away, still not comfortable getting close to him.

The other priestesses and the plump woman give Ciel a short hug and a few words. Arantos gives her a quick hug and a kiss in the forehead.

As Bitar approaches me I see Lyle and Nour appear at the same time.

Bitar stops in front of me, his eyes tired and his expressive eyebrows lifeless. "Well, Ryder, I only have one thing to ask, keep her safe."

I extend my hand to him, "I will."

He takes it and after a limp shake he gains some confidence and gives me a proper one. He nods and we release, then he turns and sighs deeply, seemingly in relief.

Arantos comes next along with his wife. She has short blonde hair, the pixie cut, her face seems to be stuck on a smile, which fills her round face with little curves and dimples.

"Wolf Ryder, I relinquish my responsibility over Ciel, she's all yours," his soft voice rings in my ears and we shake hands.

"I will take it with pride."

"Anyway this is my wife, Alana," he points to the bubbly woman.

"Keep her happy and well fed," she says with a giggle. Arantos shrugs with a wry smile.

I merely nod and they go back to Ciel.

Nour and Lyle seem to recognize the target destination of each other and slow down. Toroo comes out from behind them and approaches first.

"Have a safe journey, Wolf, make sure to come back," she says and gives me a quick hug. "Gimbo sends his farewell to Lina, he's quite tired and couldn't make it."

"I understand," Lina says with a happy nod.

I notice the very small b.u.mp on Toroo's belly.

Lyle comes after. "I'm sure you will be fine," he smiles mischievously, "You got more card on your sleeves than there is on the deck."

I smile back and he moves on to give a tight handshake to Lina. She smiles adorably and this time I don't feel so much jealousy, progress.

"Hope you write a book one day, you have the right mindset for a historian," He says to Lina.

"Thank you, I hope people would enjoy reading something written by a slave," she answers meekly.

"I think you won't be a slave for that much longer, so you don't need to concern yourself with this," he smiles warmly at her and she nods shyly.

Garanae gives me an awkward goodbye.

"You are... a good person, Wolf," he says.

"And so are you, I'm sure you are taking good care of Hatara." He chuckles once and nods.

Then it gets even more awkward when he goes to Alissa. Hatara pinches his b.u.m and he gets completely fl.u.s.tered, we have another s.a.d.i.s.t in the making here.

"Thanks for your help, Alissa, I will never forget it," Hatara says with cheeky grin.

"Don't mention it," Alissa answers and they share a hug.

Nour recognizes Silvane and takes some time before finally coming to greet us.

"Quite the crowd you have here, Wolf," he says mid-handshake.

"I guess I made a variety of friends, a rather mixed variety of friends," I say with a wry smile.

"Keep yourself safe, Mr. 'Good Luck', you have a thing for danger."

"Keep your wits about you, you also don't have the best of luck, eh?"

He chuckles and moves on.

Midori fawns one last time over Aoi, her confident demeanor crumbles when she thinks she won't be able to see Aoi so soon again.

Safiya and Lina share a few quiet words and a giggle, then she gives a respectful and confident handshake to Roxanne.

Iana is just as bubbly as ever and greets us all happily. Bellatrix is still acting as the androgynous butler and give a strong handshake to Alissa, Hana, and Lina.

Selina comes running, flanked by Thomas.

"Hah, good! We made it in time!" She laughs and catches her breath.

She gives me a hug, then Alissa, then Roxanne, then Hana, then Ciel, then Lina, and a pat in the head of Aoi and Gify.

"Make me that journal, Alissa," Selina demands. "I already know you will all be fine so I want to hear all about the goodies," then she turns to Hana and Roxanne, "specially you two. Bring me a piece of the biggest thing you kill, if anything remains, though. The way your spells are going you are just going to make things turn to dust one day."

"Ohohohoh!" Roxanne laughs evilly, "Now that's a good idea for a spell, one that even Wolfy won't feel sick when I use it. Poof, just make things disappear."

Thomas gives me a firm handshake.

"Take care, your fellowship is strong, you should live long," he says with a confident smile and I nod back.

Lyle and Nour turn to talk to one another, seems like they are making a connection through me.

I look at the caravan and they are crossing customs, finally.

Silvane and Arantos come to my side.

"You have some good friends, Wolf," Arantos says, "Your roots here will last for quite some time but Rabanara will always be a home for you. I will wait your return."

Silvane winks at me and says, "Indeed, Mr. Ryder, your connections are quite broad," she glances at Arantos and he gives her an odd neutral look. "There will always be someone willing to help."

"Thank you," I lower my head to them, "but now we must leave, the caravan is departing."

I call over the girls and some last goodbyes are said.

Feels bittersweet, now I don't want to leave anymore. I give a slap to my face and move on.

We show our ID's to the guards and cross the moat, one last look, one last wave, and we depart.

Klein comes running and catches up to us, she didn't have a town pa.s.s too so she wasted a few seconds with customs.

The caravan is just outside, a few wagons with "horses" pulling them and a crowd of people following.

As far as I know, horses aren't supposed to look so... muscular and threatening. I can see blood dripping out of the mouth of a horse as he chews on something. Another horse neighs and I see sharp teeth below his lips. They stare at anyone who gets too close with hungry eyes and huff in annoyance.

The f.u.c.k are they feeding these monsters?

A short silver elf boy with long hair comes towards us with 7 horses behind him on leashes. His face is very feminine and if it weren't for the sleeveless loose shirt I think I would mistake him for a cute girl like Silvane.

"Here's the horses for the Helios fellowship," he says as he approaches us, his voice is high pitched and crystal clear. "My name is Nito and I take care of the horses." He bows lightly to us.

We introduce ourselves and he distributes the leashes, Lina's the smallest while mine is the largest. I look at Nito but his face is solid like stone.

I sigh internally and put on 10 points into [Riding], masking it as we pull out our armor and put it on except the helmets.

"So, be careful with the horses, please, consider them as rentals so you will pay for any wounds on them," Nito starts once he deems us ready to mount. "They like to eat goblins and orcs but please don't put them in battle, only let them eat the bodies not live ones. Keep your dragon with you, they might mistake it for a Dragolite and try to eat it too."

From Hana's shoulder Aoi puffs smoke in the air and the horses huff in response. "They, won't, try," she says with a glare towards the horses.

Through [Animal Tongue] I see that they are quite nervous about Aoi.

Nito turns to the horses and speaks in Dioma, the high elven language. I feel he's using [Animal Tongue] too and trying to calm the horses, he's saying Aoi is friend, not food.

The horses calm down and Nito motions for Hana to approach, she obeys and the horses don't become more nervous to see Aoi approach.

"Seems fine. Right, continuing, I will follow you with my own horse so in case you need to drop the horses to battle don't worry, they will obey me and not get scared at the sounds of battle. In case I'm not present once you dismount, the horse will try to return to me so don't go too deep or too far from the caravan so the horse doesn't get lost. Also don't stay too long inside the Sea of Trees, they don't like it in there."

We nod in understanding and approach the horses to mount, the beasts remain still and barely respond. Once I approach, through [Animal Tongue], I feel amus.e.m.e.nt coming out of my horse, the other horses seem curious about me.

I put the left foot on a stirrup, grab the mane and reins with the left hand, and with the right I grab the saddle's cantle. With all my leg strength, and with the help of [Telekinesis], I spring up and swing my right leg over the horse in one smooth movement, allowing me to sit perfectly on the saddle. I grab the reins properly and try to look for the right stirrup, with a little fiddling I find it and put my right foot on it. Perfect mounting, I'm very proud of myself.

My horse's amus.e.m.e.nt increases and the others lose interest.

Lina has the most difficulty and requires Hana to pull her up, her horse is small but it's still a little too big for her. Roxanne awkwardly mounts on hers but succeeds, Ciel does it slowly and gracefully, the other two are naturals and do it effortlessly. Klein mounts the same horse as Hana and I get suggestive situations in my head with the two of them together.

"They look old but they are perfectly trained," Hana says while patting her horse tenderly, I feel it is quite content with its rider.

"Well... they served n.o.bles once," Nito says and scratches the back of his long ears uncomfortably.

He looks at me while I try to handle my horse, making me sweat a little. I have very little idea how to do it, even with the skill. What the skill does give me is "intuition", so I follow it, without any idea of what is going to happen next.

"Click for walk, squeeze for speed, smack the rump lightly for a canter, and add a 'yah!' for a gallop," Nito says.

I pull the rein to the side and turn, I b.u.mp my heels on the horse's body and click my tongue, the horse obeys and starts to walk. My body sways along with the horse's, uncomfortable and a little nauseating.

Alissa quickly comes to my side and says, "Doing good for a first time."

Ciel comes on the other, "Doing good for a fake."

I feel a little too tense to respond, this is a beast I'm riding. I feel small on top of the mean-looking monster, smaller than normal at least.

The horse huffs and I got the feeling that I'm not in full control.

Gihihih.

What are you laughing at? I'm doing perfectly fine, Rande's attempt to embarra.s.s me didn't work.

Gih.

No, that just makes me look more manly, a small man on top of a large beast is like a short man surrounded by many tall women. You get curious at which member of him is magical.

We continue forward towards the caravan. The crowd following the wagons is being herded by men with spears and flimsy-looking armor. There are many families in there, few look like they are polygamists. There are a lot of children, though, this makes me quite uncomfortable.

They look at us curiously, confused, or surprised. I think they know we are responsible for keeping the monsters away and our composition brings smirks to many men.

We pa.s.s by the four wagons, inside is packed with things and a few people sitting in very comfortable-looking chairs. Those are the s.p.a.ce mages, they get treated well because they are transporting the perishable goods.

At the front are a few more guards and Rande. He's on a horse beside a carriage. On the window of the carriage I see Osaria, a tired-looking gold elf woman wearing mage's clothes, and a lean weredog archer. He looks like a husky, white face, black fur and hair, glacial blue eyes, and a perpetual frown.

"Mr. Ryder," Rande says with a wide smile once he sees us. Osaria looks out of the window satisfied while the other barely look interested.

"Rande," I greet back.

"I see you are doing fine with your horse, a fine beast, is it not?"

"It is a magnificent beast," I say and caress the side of the neck of my horse.

It neighs happily.

Rande raises an eyebrow, "I see, so you are using [Animal Tongue]?"

"Indeed, I'm the one who tamed the nature spirit after all."

Gih.

Yeah, but he doesn't need to know that.

He looks at Alissa, who's holding Gify and enters deep thought. He must have believed that Alissa did it, this is why he thought he could embarra.s.s me by giving me the biggest horse.

"Anyway," -Osaria starts, bringing attention to her- "these are Oura and Laertes," she points to the two on the carriage. "We are enough to keep the caravan safe from goblins and such if you need to move away to deal with something else."

Oura is a baggy-eyed woman with long, slightly unkempt hair and a delicate, round face. Laertes is serious and rugged but young man with an oval face, his permanent frown makes him look older than he is. They give us a short greeting.

Laertes leans over Oura and speaks out of the window of the carriage, "Klein, how long are you going to keep out there?"

"Aaaall the time, I have a lot to catch up!" She answers with a satisfied smile.

Laertes looks at Hana and then to me and his frown becomes slightly deeper. "Your job is with the caravan, not them, understood?" He asks sternly.

"Yeees, daddy."

He cringes and returns to his position, Oura already fell asleep.

"He's not my actual daddy, but he acts like it," Klein says lowly.

"Mr. Rande," Hana says and approaches him.

"Just Rande, please," he says with a grin.

"What are the combat capabilities of the other guards?"

"Meat shields," he says flatly.

I share a concerned look with Ciel.

"Can we rely on them for something?"

"We can rely on them as bait, they are only there to keep the commoners from doing something stupid, don't expect them to show much loyalty."

"Talking about the commoners, you brought more commoners than we had agreed," Hana says and narrows her eyes at him threateningly.

"Last minute changes and a few desperate poor commoners were in need of help. Shouldn't make things much more difficult for you," he calmly says.

"It's not your name that gets dragged in the mud when people die," Hana hisses at him.

He hardens his expression and swallows nervously.

Hana moves past him and we follow.

"You told me he would do that but it's still annoying, the more commoners following the more monsters that will come to us. If they remain until the High Forest then it will make things harder for us," she says.

Klein smiles wryly, "That's his biggest fault, I guess, the easy money always charms him."

"Does he even know you are a Blood Slave?" Ciel asks.

"Don't think so, at least, I didn't show the mark to him," Hana answers.

"Keep it that way," I say, me and Hana share a knowing smirk.

"Wolfy, your horse is big enough, can I go with you?" Lina asks.

"Getting spoiled, aren't you?" Ciel asks with smirk.

"Yes," Lina answers and shyly lowers her head.

"I'll miss giving you two a ride," Alissa says.

"We can still scout ahead once in a while, just us three," I say.

"I would highly prefer that you didn't do this often," Ciel says with a worried look.

"I know, I know, just something to pa.s.s the inevitable boredom," Alissa says.

"Have you ever ridden Alissa?" I ask Ciel.

"Oh! If we are doing this then I want a ride too!" Roxanne exclaims.

"Me too!" Klein lifts her hand high in the air.

"Same," Hana says with fearsome smile that leave Alissa concerned.

She looks Hana up and down then says, "You might be a bit too heavy for me, so I won't last long."

"Sure, just like always."

We smile at each other but Alissa pouts.

I lean over to my horse and softly whisper on his ears, "Can you handle one more person?"

It huffs in disinterest.

I will take that as an "eh, sure".

I stop my horse and Lina drops from hers, with help of [Telekinesis] I pull her up to my saddle. Her horse immediately turns back to Nito, who's following us from a distance. Lina leans over my chest and closes her eyes in satisfaction when I hug her tight.

I summon two birds, a Holly, and a Shad and spread them out except the Shad.

"Oooh, [Summoning Magic]?" Klein asks curiously, she takes the reins and pulls her horse beside mine. I nod to her. "How is it? Having more eyes and senses than normal?"

"Straining and nauseating, specially if you have too many senses coming all at once," I answer.

"How did you learn it?"

"Secret," I smile wryly.

She immediately pouts cutely.

"Really?"

"Really, can't tell."

"Muuh..." She groans like Aoi.

"Curiosity got the monkey eaten," Hana says and Klein pouts harder.

"Say, Klein, do you have any stories about Hana?" Roxanne asks with a smirk.

Hana's face hardens and she keeps looking forward.

"Girl, do I have." She smiles evilly, "There's plenty but I think it's hard to beat the time she p.i.s.sed on a n.o.ble's mouth."

She what?

"Klein! You weren't even there when it happened!" Hana complains, her hands grip Klein's shoulders strongly.

"But I heard all the details from Mimi," she grins evilly.

"N-not that one, please, I was too stupid at that age," Hana pleads with a frown.

"Too late, I want to hear that one," Roxanne says. Ciel comes beside Hana and nods repeatedly.

"What about that time that you ate some 'shrooms and tongue kissed your Da?"

Hana facepalms and speaks, "Oh G.o.ds! I'm already regretting coming!"

"Okay, now, what?" Ciel leans closer with a smirk.

"It's exactly like that, she got some weird 'shrooms from Betoverd Bos and we shared them and boy, did I trip hard on that, I still remember it vividly how I could see sounds. But for Hana it was worse, she got all h.o.r.n.y and m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed, I think, I don't remember, Mimi told me what happened. But then she was so h.o.r.n.y she kissed the first man she saw, which was her Dad."

Now that is an awkward memory.

Hana blushes and starts laughing. She shakes her head and then covers her face with her hands. "That was a tongue kiss! My first real kiss!"

"Oof," the girls, including Aoi, all groan in sympathy.

"Now that we are talking about it, who was the first kiss of everybody?" Klein asks with suggestive grin.

They all start by staring at me and I suddenly awake from my blissful trance induced by their pretty voices.

"I think I was 10, I don't remember the name of the girl anymore, she was the maid's daughter," I say.

"Maid? So you do come from a wealthy family," Klein says.

"Kinda," I smile wryly.

Alissa frowns at me, and the others look disappointed.

"Men," Ciel says lowly and they nod.

"Oh come on, I was 10, I barely remember the name of anybody when I was that age," I protest.

Ciel's tone turns colder, "It was your first kiss, possibly for both of you, you should at least memorize her name due to how important that is."

"Thirty years," I say with a shrug.

"What?" Klein asks.

"Nothing, internal reference," I say.

Ciel sighs, "Fine you get a pa.s.s, this time."

We turn to Alissa.

"Nen, Nenvieu, oh wait, no, it was Ofilia," she says and blushes.

Oh wow.

"The Blood Slave your family had? A woman?" I ask, impressed.

"Yeah but it didn't count, it was for my slave training."

"So it was Nen then?" Ciel asks.

Alissa nods and blushes harder.

"How did you do it? Was he your first love? Did you really ever think about another man before Wolfy?" Roxanne asks with a smirk.

"Well..." Alissa's mouth moves silently a little, she's getting really fl.u.s.tered. "Ofilia told me to lose my virginity before I met my master so it wouldn't hurt so much..." Alissa finds difficult to continue talking.

"Ohohoh, so you did love him?"

"No! Not in that way, not in the way I love Wolfy..." She releases the reins and slaps her cheeks repeatedly.

"Awn..." I grab her hand and squeeze, she giggles once.

"But I got close to doing it with him..." She cringes and keeps her head down.

"Oh my," Roxanne smiles. "How big was him?"

"Not very..."

The girls all giggle girlishly.

"You all size queens, eh?" I ask.

"Size queen?" Lina ask innocently.

"I think over here we say size lady," Hana says.

"I'm firmly on the 'it's what you do with it that counts side'. I had a big and smalls and the best I ever had was you with Hana on the side to help," Roxanne says casually. The others look uncomfortable but Klein looks very interested. I am morbidly curious about Roxanne's past s.e.x-life. "Nothing is better than doing it with the ones you love, though."

"Awn..."

"Do the big ones hurt?" She asks.

Roxanne smiles smugly at me and turns to Klein. "They do but it's a good way of hurt, though I don't think it's something you want all the time. One that fits perfectly is the best, not too big, not too small."

"And where do I fit on that scale?" I ask.

"On the almost too thick side, perfect in everything else."

Lina nods shyly.

I chuckle and smile. I had a talk like that with Lily once, I'm not insecure about my size, only height.

"Did your first times hurt?" Klein asks.

Hana nods and says, "I'm a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t so for me it was good."

"Hurt a little but Wolfy healed me so I was fine," Alissa says with a little embarra.s.sment.

"Same," Lina says shyly.

"I didn't even feel it," Ciel says.

"Mine was with the biggest d.i.c.k I ever had so... A lot? But my experience is warped," Roxanne says with a shrug.

"W-what about your first kiss, Roxanne?" Ciel asks, a little uncomfortable.

"We have the tradition of kissing our parents on the lips so the first time that counts was my instructor. She was a b.i.t.c.h but by the G.o.ds, she was hot," Roxanne says with a silly smile followed by a sad sigh.

"Oh, so you like men and women?" Klein asks innocently.

"Everyone here does," Hana answers.

Klein chokes on her spit and looks around warily, she's the little virgin among wolves. Suddenly she turns to me and lifts an eyebrow. "Even you?"

"Wait, not like that," -I chuckle- "I only like women."

"Well watch out when you enter the High Forest, you are really cute and they like to hide boys among the girls," she says and snickers.

Seeing how Nito is and how much gayness there is in elven history, I believe that wholeheartedly.

"So you find my husband really cute?" Hana asks in a low sultry tone in Klein's monkey ear. She puts her hand over Klein's exposed brown mid-riff and hugs her tight. Klein remembers her position as sheep and shivers.

"Not you too," Ciel says with an eye-roll.

"It's not cheating until Wolfy says so," Hana answers matter-of-factly.

They turn to me and I remain quiet with my expression frozen in slight content. Beneath that I have a raging hard-on while I'm heavily considering my options, everyone's position, and trying to ignore Alissa's intense smug stare.

"ny-waays..." Ciel starts and looks at Lina, "you?"

"Wolfy," she answers with a small amount of pride.

"Awn... you are so precious," Klein says and gushes at Lina's cuteness.

"That one is a filthy pervert, don't be deceived by her innocent appearance," Roxanne says and Ciel nods.

Lina looks hurt and stare at both of them in disbelief.

"You are my pervert and we are filthy together, don't forget that," I say.

Lina sighs and hangs her head, "Fine, I'm a pervert too."

"I may not be the most experienced person but I'm certain you all are very weird," Klein says, with a slightly amused smile.

"You are G.o.dsd.a.m.n right," Hana says in a low growl.

Put on some gla.s.ses and shave your head.

"What about you?" Alissa asks Klein.

"My brother," Hana says flatly.

Klein smiles and giggles happily. "He's soo cute!"

Hana scoffs and tickles Klein's rib from below her shirt, "He was 12 and you were 18, you stole his heart and then broke it. It's because of you that he got obsessed with being a knight."

Oh my.

Klein pouts and sounds slightly offended, "I didn't break it, he still has a chance."

"Your father doesn't really like my family so I'm not sure how high that chance is."

"Well, I'm not listening to Dad anymore so his chance is pretty high!"

Hana cringes hard and looks at us, desperately asking for help.

"Did you, uh, have a fight or something?" Ciel asks cautiously.

"Not yet but we will have one when we reach Goldcross. I waited long enough, I want either a husband or to be able to choose one," she says with bitterness.

"Why would your father wait so long?"

Klein shrugs and throws her hands in the air, "I don't know! I think he just doesn't have the b.a.l.l.s to do it, he's too soft on me and Mom. I would rather do what I want instead of waiting for a stupid opportunity to be someone's pet."

Hana's frown deepens, she remains quiet to not provoke Klein further.

"You should talk to him, don't go to Goldcross looking for a fight. You need to talk things calmly not blow off your anger on him," Ciel rides closer to them and puts a hand on Klein's shoulder. "Don't let something like this ruin your relationship with your family, I saw too many get disowned for being hasty on things like this."

"Muuh," Klein puckers her lips and cutely and groans. "Okay," she says lowly.

We stay quiet for a while and then Klein suddenly turns to Aoi. "What about you? You kissed a monster?"

Oh boy.

"Kwah!" Aoi shows her tongue in disgust, "I, kissed, Wolfy!"

Klein's tail slows down until it's completely still, her pupils open wide and she slowly turns to stare at me.

"You what!?"

I smile wryly and keep quiet, it makes her reaction even funnier the longer time pa.s.ses.

"Aoi is a breeder type," Ciel says in a tired tone.

"Wolfy is going to f.u.c.k a dragon one day," Hana starts.

"And create a new race of intelligent, talking, friendly dragons," Roxanne continues.

"Maybe we could even convert them to the side of the Humanoid G.o.ds, he will literally be a father of a new race," Alissa says excitedly.

"WHAT!?" Klein yells, getting the attention from the caravan behind.

"Klein, please," Hana covers Klein's mouth with her hand.

Alissa chuckles nostalgically and says with a happy sigh, "Dragon f.u.c.ker."

"Please don't say it like that, I don't want that t.i.tle," I plead.

­

Klein takes some time to recover, Hana pats her head repeatedly until she's back to smiling freely. She gives me and Aoi one last weird look and chuckles.

I rest my head on Lina's shoulder and give her the occasional kiss in her neck and behind her ear.

The traffic is a bit heavy at the beginning, farmers, adventurers, patrols, transports, and a few fast caravans pa.s.s by us. Then things get calmer and we ride more attentive in case a monster comes.

We can keep feeding the anti-monster crystals and most of the smaller ones will avoid us. The problem is that with this large number of people there's no amount of anti-scent that will keep all monsters away, little by little our scent seeps out and sooner or later a frenzied monster will appear.

The older monsters can get resistance to the anti-monster crystals and attack concentrations of humanoids, mostly towns but since we are in the open their target becomes us.

I summon an earth elemental and send it to the middle of the caravan. The commoners gawk openly at the nearly 3 meters tall ma.s.s of stone with long black hair and bangs.

For the fire elemental I concentrate so it looks less lewd than usual.

"Don't change the fire one, Wolfy," Hana asks.

"What?"

"Let them stare," she gives me a fearsome smile.

"Not sure how I feel about that," I say and frown.

"I like to look beautiful so others can look, but looking is all they are going to get."

"You didn't really change much," Klein says.

Hana shrugs and I sigh. When I think depravity has reached the peak we just find a new way to push further.

I summon a fire elemental without changing it. The fire woman sensually runs her hand through her curves and squeezes her own b.r.e.a.s.t.s, then she sends me a kiss and goes back to stand beside the earth elemental. Mothers cover the eyes of their children as they gawk at the shapely a.s.s and b.r.e.a.s.t.s of my fire elemental.

"Are they all like that?" Klein asks with an eyebrow raised at the fire elemental.

"So far the fire one has the strongest personality," I answer.

Through Holly I see an Orc Striker is moving towards our direction from the Sea of Trees.

"Alissa, change into fox form, me and Lina will ride you to meet an Orc Striker," I say. Alissa looks puzzled but obeys. I go back to Nito and we dismount in front of him. "We are just taking a quick dip in the Sea of Trees."

"Sure," he answers.

I see that Lina's horse was sent back for an old woman commoner and a child to ride on.

­

Once inside the Sea of Trees I dismiss the birds I summoned and call two more Holly's. I can comfortably call up to 8 summons now that my mana has increased but I won't summon two more just so I can have more flexibility.

A minute later we find our mark. A tall, lean, and bald green orc is jogging through the trees, he's coming directly towards the caravan. His pig snout is quite small for an orc and he has tusks coming out of his lower jaw, he has a long spear in hand but nothing more. Seeing naked monsters is something I will never get used to.

The orc suddenly stops and smells the air, the forest turns eerily quiet. Alissa fires an arrow and the sound of the bow was enough to alert him, the arrow hits his cheek and goes down his throat.

The orc chokes on the arrow and pulls it out, "GROO...!" The orc roars at us but cuts it short when he sees Alissa drawing another arrow.

At the long distance we are the orc dodges the second arrow easily, then he charges towards us with impressive speed.

His spear couched like a lance, he comes towards us with loud stomps. He's crouched forward as he rushes, his free hand is used to to help his charge.

He stares at Alissa dead in the eye, she fires an arrow and he throws his head to the side, dodging the arrow with incredible speed. The arrow then sinks in his right shoulder quite deeply, with a face distorted in pain he maintains his spear couched.

"Now!" I order to Lina and we both fire an [Earth Bullet] at the same time towards his shoulders.

He dodges one instinctively but because he's moved to the side the other hits him square in the chest. The air leaves his lungs and he slows down. Alissa fires another arrow that lodges itself in the roof of his mouth.

"Grrah..." The orc gurgles and I cast a [Lightning Bolt]. He freezes and the next arrow pierces his skull.

We quickly move towards the dead monster. I cut his snout and Alissa recovers all the arrows, then I store him inside my "Items".

"Now, the reason I called you two here... Alissa, transform back into fox and lets take a calming walk through the Sea of Trees," I say with a suggestive grin.

Lina looks at me with antic.i.p.ation, she wets her lips with her little tongue and Alissa smiles.

We mount her again and I hug Lina tight. I kiss her cute neck and run my hand through her pet.i.te body under her armor. She moans softly and turns her head to me, taking my lips.

Her tongue greedily takes me in and searches for mine. One hand drifts up towards her little mounds and the other moves down to her little lips.

Alissa sniffs the air and says, "This might attract monsters."

I break off from Lina's mouth, "So be it."

Alissa chuckles, showing us her fangs, and continues walking forward.

I softly rub my fingers along Lina's little slit, teasing it while slowly increasing the intensity. Soon my hand starts making wet sounds and even I can smell her l.u.s.t coming out.

I break our kiss and I see her eyes already lost focus. "Aren't you lewd, Lina? You are already wet."

She wakes up and squeezes my hand between her legs. "Y-you kept kissing me and your hand was the one who was lewd first," she says with a cute pout.

I smile and plunge my fingers deep inside her.

"Ah!" She moans loudly in surprise.

"Wolfy, I can't touch myself like this!" Alissa protests with a very anxious tone.

"Endure, wh.o.r.e," I say in a stern tone.

"Nooo... Wolfy~y, how cruel!"

"Endure," I repeat.

Alissa groans and her legs tremble, I smell her own wetness coming out of her.

I push Lina forward and lower her pants, her cute little b.u.t.t peeks out and I smile s.a.d.i.s.tically. I pull out my c.o.c.k and slap it between her cheeks. "There's no room for me to enter your p.u.s.s.y, Lina. You a.s.s will have to do."

"W-what!? Wolfy, n-n-nooo...!" Lina looks back, her gloomy eyes have changed into pure fear.

"Punish her!" Alissa eggs me on. "f.u.c.k the little wh.o.r.e!"

I pull out some lube and rub it on my c.o.c.k. Alissa sways very little in comparison with a horse but she still does, which makes our situation a little awkward.

I push my finger inside Lina's a.s.shole and cast [Clean]. She's definitely way too tight for a.n.a.l, she will bleed a lot.

Shaking, Lina turns forward and closes her eyes, with one hand she spreads her cheeks and pushes her a.s.s up towards me.

"You want this, don't you? Your virgin a.s.shole is the last place untainted by me, this is why you are spreading your cheeks, aren't you? Tell me the truth."

I push my c.o.c.k on her entrance and she shivers. Alissa's sway makes my pressure on her to fluctuate with her steps, little by little the pressure increases.

Alissa jumps and Lina yells in surprise, her teeth gritted, waiting for the pain. Alissa looks at me again with a toothy grin and I nod.

She prepares for the jump and I remove my c.o.c.k, aiming it lower. She jumps and lands, forcing me in, my aim is true and I enter Lina's tight p.u.s.s.y in one smooth movement.

"AH!" Lina yells, both in pleasure and surprise.

She opens her eyes and looks back at me, I just show a smug smile and start to move. She groans and moans, the tension in her body is released and she relaxes. She starts to move her thin hips up and down, matching my rhythm which is also a match of Alissa's.

I grab Lina's little b.u.t.t and spread it, then I slowly pressure my thumb inside her a.s.shole. She shivers again but moans louder, I let Alissa's sway control how much I pressure her.

Suddenly Alissa sprints, my c.o.c.k slams hard on Lina, my thumb enters her a.s.shole completely, and Lina yells loudly again in surprise. My b.a.l.l.s feel a little of pressure, they nearly got squished.

"This was a little too dangerous, Alissa."

"Hm?" She turns to look at me.

"Lina almost smashed my b.a.l.l.s."

Both girls cringe and Alissa doesn't try to sprint again, though she still jumps once in a while.

Doubly dangerous free s.e.x in the wild, the last thing necessary to make it perfect would be to be doing it naked.

Slowly and patiently we f.u.c.k with love, I let it rise in me without restraint. Then I pull out of Lina and shoot towards a tree.

"Wow, that flew far," Alissa says.

"Heh, you think Gecynd is watching?" I ask.

"I hope she is," Alissa answers and Lina frowns.

I cast [Clean] repeatedly on Alissa's fur so Lina's wetness doesn't transfer to Alissa's clothes when she turns back.

"Wolfy, that was hot, but you made me so d.a.m.n h.o.r.n.y!" Alissa complains.

"Endure, wh.o.r.e," I say with a grin.

"Hnnngh! Nibbling Skritters!"

­

We return to the caravan and this time Alissa rides with me, she keeps her a.s.s glued to my crotch, trying to arouse me in revenge. I take my time to practice meditation and self-control while also having my fill of playing with her cute fluffy tail.

Ciel narrows her eyes at us when we come back. "You three did something, didn't you?"

"Lina did, Wolfy is being s.a.d.i.s.tic again and left me hanging," Alissa said through gritted teeth.

Lina smiled faintly while Ciel pouted in jealousy. Lately I never did Lina without having Ciel partic.i.p.ate too in some way.

Klein watches our exchange with wide eyes.

­

Later on I see a Grey Berserker lurking about so I send Hana, Roxanne, and the elementals with them for safety. We leave Klein temporarily so they can fight without reservations.

Without even dismounting her horse Roxanne explodes the head of the Berserker and then stores it in her nearly empty [Item Box]. This one we will deliver in Goldcross for some extra coin.

­

We make the bend and start moving north. We barely cross Royd's Kerfuffle before mid-day, we are moving at a snail's pace.

We hunt a few goblins too and give them plus the Orc Striker to the commoners. They have their own food but preparing some good meat during the trip helps a lot with their mood and walking speed.

I pull out the tent and we have our private meal inside. fried Rabid Rabbit legs, bread and not-potato soup with some squishy fresh vegetables as salad.

"My hips are hurting a bit," Roxanne complains.

I squeeze her a.s.s and cast [Heal], making her moan seductively in delight.

She grabs my hand and sucks on my finger while making dirty slurping sounds so I pull her to my lap. She laughs and grabs my spoon, then she feeds me lovingly while I run my hand through her body beneath her robe.

Alissa bites her lip sensually and I see her legs tremble, her hands squeeze her own thighs but she doesn't start to m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e. Maybe we could start a new fetish with o.r.g.a.s.m denial or something like that.

"You really shouldn't invite Klein for a meal with us," Ciel says while me and Roxanne make dirty kissing sounds.

"Or maybe I really should," Hana says with a suggestive raise of her eyebrows.

"Wait until we reach Goldcross," Ciel says while ma.s.saging her eyes.

"Sounds fair."

With our bellies full we continue on, slowly the blue-grey mountain range appears on the horizon.

­

We gave another horse back to Nito while Lina rode with Ciel. Until we enter the High Forest these horses are a bit too much for us.

Slowly we reach the corner of the Sh.o.r.e of Leaves, the slope towards The Smirk marking the end of farmland and the Sea of Trees. The lone watchtower over the cliff the last building until we reach fort Erda. A small stream comes from fort Erda and pa.s.ses by our right, it enters the farms of the Sh.o.r.e of Leaves and is used for irrigation.

As we pa.s.s The Smirk the land starts to turn hilly, the trees are all cut so there's only low shrubbery and gra.s.sland ahead that slowly disappears as the hills turn rocky.

Suddenly Gify disappears from my shoulder.

"Huh..."

A minute later he pops back.

"Gih."

f.u.c.king s.h.i.t...

I dejectedly release Alissa's tail while everyone around processes Gify's words, well, word.

"Hana, go warn the watchtower. Ciel, find a good position for us to fight."

They nod and turn their horses, with a "yah!" and a slap on the rump they gallop away in different directions.

I turn mine and smack its rump. I stop beside Rande and the carriage, they are already looking at us warily.

"What's going on Mr. Ryder?" Rande asks.

"A Grim Giant is coming," I say in a serious tone.

"W-what!? How do you know!?"

The meat-shields who heard us choke on their spit while the people in the carriage start murmuring.

"My nature spirit warned me, it's coming from inside The Smirk. Some adventurers woke it and are now running from it."

"d.a.m.nit! DOUBLE TI-..."

"NO!" I interrupt, "We have to fight, the Giant is too fast for us! If he catches our trail it will strike us from behind, we have to fight with the guards at the watchtower!"

"And you want to put us all in danger!? I can't lose even a single d.a.m.n wagon before Goldcross!" He barks at me, his face quickly turning red with anger.

"You let me do my job and I'll get you there with all the wagons intact!" I shake my fist at him.

He grits his teeth and clenches his fists. He gives a look to his mother and she nods with a frown in her face.

"Fine! Do what you must!"

"Take them off the road, over there, where Ciel is!" I point to her, she's on top of the tallest hill and looking around.

I gallop to where Ciel and Lina are while Rande barks orders.

"Ciel, found a good spot?" I ask.

She shrugs, "Hardly any, Lina says that the ground over the slope seems loose so it could be used as a trap for the Giant. Roxanne, can you wet this whole side of the hill?"

"S-sure, it's going to take a lot of mana though," Roxanne answers.

"Then start, drink a potion immediately," I say and Roxanne nods, she dismounts and starts casting [Water Wall]s along the slope.

Ciel goes down to guide the wagons and the commoners to a s.p.a.ce between two hills that will keep them covered.

I dismiss everything I summoned except the earth elemental and start summoning more earth elementals, I stop at 8 so I can still have some mana to fight for a while. The elementals were made to be all 4 meters tall, thick, and heavy, couldn't make them out of metal so they are all stone.

On top of the hill they start to raise earth and create a wall around them, a line of large pillars that we can hide and walk freely inbetween.

Ciel and Lina come back with the few meat-shields that can wield a bow, the husky wereanimal, the woman golden elf mage, Rande, and Osaria, who's now wearing a mage-like elven bikini/dress.

"Uh, sorry I forgot your names," I say to the husky and the elf.

"Laertes," the husky answers immediately.

"Oura," the elf answers slowly and tiredly.

"Okay, Oura, what magic can you cast?"

"Earth, Nature," her tired eyes jolt awake as she answers.

"Healing too?"

"Yes."

"You and Laertes stay in the center pillar. Help strengthen the pillars," they nod and move on, "Osaria, what magic can you cast?"

"Fire and Water," her sultry voice ma.s.sages my ears.

"Pace your spells and focus on [Fire Arrow] your job is to annoy it the most. Aim for the eyes only if you are sure it will hit. Stay on the rightmost pillars, Rande, stay with her."

Osaria smiles beautifully and nods, Rande nods but his eyes show a little displeasure at being ordered around. He barks some orders and the meat-shields spread among the pillars.

Hana comes galloping back with a pale looking Klein in front of her. I look back and a line of guards from the watchtower are coming towards us.

We all dismount and the horses go back to Nito, who's hiding with the rest of the caravan.

"Klein, stay near the middle," I order her.

"O-okay," she says and her tail drops in dejection.

"Just be safe," Hana says and we move on to the leftmost pillars.

Roxanne comes to us looking a little tired.

"Out of mana," she says and drops on the ground, she starts meditating and using [Redirect Mana] for a quick recharge.

Then the guards reach us, I see the watch captain and wave to him.

"You in charge?" The tall devil-type demon man asks me in a very stern tone.

"Wolf Ryder, leader of Helios, Golemancer and Summoner," I point to the earth elementals that are being encased in stone.

The man flinches and look at the pillars, "You summoned all of them?"

"Yes."

"Right," his demeanor softens a little, "We have sent word, the fast-response team will arrive in a minute, how long for the Giant to come?"

"Gih."

The man grimaces, then he turns around and barks, "We fight in here! Spread along the pillars! Don't get crushed!"

"The slope is wet! The Giant will slip while he climbs!" Ciel yells.

The 6 other guards spread out and join the meat-shields, their confidence helps the morale of the inexperienced men.

"We have two healers!" I yell. Ciel lifts her glaive and Oura peeks up, then she quickly raises her hand. "Find them if you are wounded!"

"HEELP!" We hear a yell coming out of the Smirk.

Down on the slope at the edge of the treeline, two people are running desperately.

"HEEELP! GIAANT!" Yells the second person, a young female voice.

"GRIM GIAANT!" Yells the first person, a young male voice.

"f.u.c.k!" The watch captain mutters and goes to a pillar, he puts on his helmet and everyone draws bows.

We also put on our helmet and get ready, then Roxanne stands up.

"Mana level?" I ask.

"One third," she answers grimly.

"Don't cast spells, save for a large, quick [Explosion]."

"I can do a few things with the rest of the mana."

"Your call, don't die."

She chuckles, "Not after all we have been through."

The runners notice our fortification and start running towards us.

We feel the ground shake a little, it quickly increases in strength and the two runners cry loudly.

"Circle around! The slope is wet!" Ciel yells, Hana repeats her words, but louder.

The two runners slow down and finally understand, they circle around the large wet patch in front of the slope.

Then a huge face peeks from behind the trees, an old man with bulging eyes. His beard is ashy grey and filthy, blood drips out of his thin lips, his teeth are red and pointy like knives, his nose is crooked, his face is thin like a starving victim, his hair is thinning and missing in various parts. A very creepy look.

Then his body comes out. Like a monkey, his hand and feet look the same, his whole body is sickly pale skin and lean muscles, a shriveled p.e.n.i.s hangs from behind the bush of his p.u.b.es.

We all stare in disgust until the watch captain barks, "SHOOT!" And we fire spells and arrows repeatedly.

He ignores everything, the arrows are like small p.r.i.c.kles on his thick skin, the fireb.a.l.l.s make small scorching marks on his skin and don't even make his beard catch fire. Then an arrow hits his eye and he blinks.

With the tip of his fingers he pulls out the arrow out of his bulging eye and winces.

"UAAAAAAH!" He suddenly screams at the top of his lungs, his face distorted in anger, his hands and feet/hands smack the ground, making it rumble.

Then he charges forward out of the treeline on all fours. His body is long and curved, if he were to stand straight he would easily pa.s.s 15 meters tall, we look like rodents near him.

The small scorches and the p.r.i.c.kling quickly rise in number, he even swallows arrows and spells like nothing. Then he reaches the wet patch and slips.

The two runners reach us but don't stop, they find the caravan in hiding and tumble down the hill towards them.

The Giant's whole sickly body turns dark with mud.

"OOOOOH? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He yells again, louder, so loud it hurts our ears and our attack slows.

"Keep attacking...!" The watch captain yells but it sounded distant to my damaged hearing.

The Giant slowly crawls up, his stupid strength works against him as he lacks the finesse to carefully move his limbs, he only knows "smash" or "stop".

The spells and arrows pile up and he grimaces in pain, he repeatedly has to rub his limbs to remove the arrows that are p.r.i.c.kling him. The attacks on the eyes have the most effectiveness but are hard to hit, even though his large eyes are bulging he still keeps his head permanently moving in an odd, entrancing pattern.

With his huge hands he quickly claws all the wet mud out of the slope and finally finds support to keep moving again.

"Stay behind the pillars!" The watch captain yells.

"UOOOOH"! The Giant reaches the center pillar and slams his hand on it.

*DOOOMSH~*

The pillar resists but small cracks form.

"HANA, TAUNT!" Roxanne yells.

"COME HERE LIMP d.i.c.k, I WILL BREATH FIRE UP YOUR FILTHY a.s.sHOLE!" Hana taunts.

"UOH?" The Giant turns his head, his mouth half-open like the mouth breather he is.

Roxanne throws two flasks towards the face of the giant. They hit him on the nose and burst open in a rainbow of colored liquid, the sound of sizzling comes out of the liquid that covers the Giant's face.

"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" He yells in pain and I nearly go deaf again. He covers his face with both his huge hands.

"[Heart of Fire]!" Roxanne casts and turns into flame, she launches herself into the face of the giant. She slips between his fingers and then slips out again, from below his hand I see fire coming out, the liquid of Roxanne's potion has caught fire.

*FOOOM* Hana spews fire in a thin cone that reaches the beard of the Giant and makes it catch fire.

"IAAA...!" The Giant yells in a high pitched tone but starts to cough. He falls backwards and Roxanne flies past him, she lands on the bottom of the slope and turns back to normal.

"OVER HERE YOU LIMP d.i.c.k!" She yells as high as she can, her delicate throat nearly cracks as her soft voice is not good for yelling.

"GRAAH!" The Giant notices her and rolls down the slope towards her, with a muddy hand he taps his beard and face repeatedly to put out the fire and stop the acid.

Two more flasks are thrown by Roxanne. They are both intercepted by the Giant's hands and burst open in colored smoke, a lot of it sticks to his hand.

The Giant reaches Roxanne and raises his hand to smack her.

"[Heart of Fire]!"

His hand falls down and suddenly flies up again as the smoke explodes when it touches Roxanne's fire/body.

She flies up into the sky and lands beside us, looking nearly exhausted.

"That's it for me, only one [Explosion] left," she says and crouches beside Hana.

The Giant falls backwards and like a freaking horror movie he starts walking on all fours towards us with his belly pointing to the sky and his face upside down. I see his eyes are red and watery.

He quickly reaches us and grabs the two pillars beside the middle one.

"GRAAAAH!" He starts crushing and uprooting the pillars, his ugly face distorted in a furious and even more ugly one.

The people behind the pillars disperse and the elementals are uprooted. They discard the earth fortification and fall on top of the giant, they grab the arms of the Giant and start to pull them apart.

The Giant starts to resist and the elementals start to lose the tug-of-war. The Giant grabs the elementals and smack each others heads, crushing half of their bodies.

"FIRE!" Yells a distant voice.

Two huge stakes pierce the flank of Giant.

"AAAAAH!" It screeches in pain with a high pitched tone like nails sc.r.a.ping on a wall.

The Giant holds his right flank with one hand and uses the other to rise. He squints towards the watchtower, a large line of guards are creating their own fortifications while two floating ballistas are reloading their large stakes.

The Giant is having difficulty seeing and spends long seconds squinting towards where he thinks the ballistas could be.

"ROXANNE, BLOW HIS KNEE!" I bellow.

With only a second of preparation she casts, "[EXPLOSION]!" And right kneecap of the Giant flies off.

"UOOOH!" He falls forward in slow motion with a cry of pain.

"HIT HIS b.a.l.l.s! HIT HIS a.s.sHOLE!" Hana yells.

All arrows and spells are focused on the two targets, an image I would like to forget.

"HIAAH!" The giant yells with a girly voice and covers his genitals.

A new kneecap starts to grow out of his wound at frightening speed.

"FIRE!"

Two stakes pierce his shoulder and the other arm goes limp, sending his face down on the mud.

"EARTH MAGES, NOW!" Yells the distant voice.

The earth below the Giant trembles and starts to grow around it, like tentacles trying to grab him and push him into the earth to drown.

"STAKE!" The distant voice yells.

Floating above the Giant a thick and huge stake made of stone starts to form out of nothing. I see that inside the watchtower something glows and 8 mages chant at the same time in a circle, [Ritualism], the imperial specialty.

The Giant struggles but slowly starts to escape the earth that's trying to eat him. Then suddenly the stake floating above him shoots downwards and pierces his skull, turning his brain into mush.

The Giant goes limp and stops struggling.

­

Hall of Fame of Patrons

The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:

Oracle Maximillian Hübner.

Lord Andrew Meyers.

Lord SenilePenile.

Lord Hope.

Lord Samuel Lim.

Lord Cody Weigel.

n.o.ble Salty Panda.