Read from chapter 1 here!

As Liliana left for the guild while wrapped securely in her cloak, she noticed that Vera lived within Viscosity itself. They had taken a hallway that led to a back entrance, and she didn’t wholly realize where they were until she turned back to stare at the building. The ambiance seemed so different during the daytime; what happened here during daylight hours?

“They treat you pretty well, don’t they,” asked Liliana as the two found a sidewalk and made their way toward the rune station.

Vera smiled and waved to a passerby she recognized before turning back to her friend. “Oh, Viscosity? I’d hope so! I’m one of their top earners, you know,” teased Vera as she let out a soft laugh.

Damn, she’s pretty incredible, isn’t she? Liliana thought to herself, feeling a mix of emotions. On the one hand, she was transfixed by Vera’s beauty and charm. On the other, she felt a pang of envy welling up within her. I’m just a mid-level adventurer who can barely make ends meet, and she’s just--  Her eyes shifted downward. So incredible and talented, isn’t she? Even if they didn’t know each other too well yet, it seemed apparent.

“Sweetheart?” Vera stopped and placed a hand on Liliana’s shoulder, noticing her friend’s sudden bout of silence. “I’m sure you have a lot on your mind, but I’m really excited to go on a quest with you. I think you’re pretty incredible, and I know we will have a good time together.” She wasn’t sure what Liliana was thinking right now but had an idea of her insecurities based on their conversation while drinking the other night. Maybe some general reassurances would help.

Liliana blinked, snapping back to reality. She hadn’t meant to get lost in her thoughts and seem mopey. “O-oh! Me, too! I am not used to people wanting to form a party with me, so I’m really looking forward to having some company.” Her voice grew coy as she spoke, causing her to faintly blush.

Too cute. Vera contained her emotions, smiling warmly. “Come on, we’re here!” She squeezed Liliana’s hand before pulling her into the rune station.

As they walked to the rune station, Liliana’s anxiety turned into feelings of confusion over the state of her body. Is it hot out here? She wiped the sweat from her brow, noting how much she had perspired. Her whole body faintly tingled while her sense of touch seemed far more sensitive than usual. As she walked, she slid her fingers over the fabric of her tunic and took in the sensation. She could feel each stitch. The texture, every little groove, and wrinkle, all of it. Now wasn’t the time to concern herself over such things, though. Liliana let go of her tunic with a deep breath and focused on the journey ahead.

When the two arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild, they were quickly greeted by a man with tanned skin, short black hair, and red eyes. “Oy, oy! Liliana! Welcome back!” He waved with a grin. “You brought a friend this time, have you?”

“It’s good to see you, Keith. This is Vera; she’s going to be in a party with me for the next quest,” smiled Liliana in response, feeling upbeat and optimistic with a new friend at her side.

“Both of you, huh?” Keith responded. His eyes scanned Vera, quickly noting her doll-like body. He had seen weirder, so no big deal. “Well then; as you can see, we’re not terribly busy right now, so I can help you right away.” He turned his attention to Vera. “Miss Vera, I’m assuming you must be registered with the Adventurer’s Guild already?”

Vera nodded. “It’s been a couple of years now, but I used to frequent the guild in Syllia. Please see for yourself.” With that, she walked forward and held her hand out.

“Syllia? You must be well-traveled! Let me have a look, then.” Keith slipped an ornate leather glove and slipped his palm over the back of Vera’s hand. A soft glow spread through her wrist as Keith closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. He then stepped back and opened a leather-bound tome before finally placing his palm upon the paper. A soft, orange light glimmered from the book as glowing words manifested from the aether, filling the pages.

Keith furrowed his brow and stared down at the pages intently. “Hmm… Let’s have a look here. Six years of experience adventuring in the region of Syllia. You’re registered as an alchemist and are in the lower ranks of high-level-- or rather, a gold-level adventurer. I see that you are more than qualified!”

Liliana blinked as a mix of awe and envy flooded her senses. Gold? Damn… Vera really is incredible, isn’t she? She thought to herself in silence, biting her lip as she gripped her wrist.

Vera blinked in response to Keith’s statements. “Oh, Gold level?” She responded with a tone of confusion, placing a hand on her cheek.

Chhhing!

The guild’s door swung open as the bell chimed to signal the new arrival. Liliana quickly turned to see who it was. A short woman wearing an intricately woven, deep purple cloak stepped in. The hood was pulled around her head, and two pale, silvery-purple eyes peered out. A silvery broach designed to resemble a butterfly lay in the middle of her chest. Snow-white locks of hair could also be seen behind the hood.

Keith looked up at the new guest. “Ah! Welcome. I will be with you momentarily, as soon as I am done with--”

“I am Astraea Nim Del’Lenora!” She suddenly shouted in an authoritative voice as she walked forward with confidence. Her boot heels striking the wooden floor reverberated through the guild office.

Keith, Liliana, and Vera were now focused on the bombastic new guest.

Liliana, in particular, felt a twinge of annoyance at the interruption. “Yeah-- okay. Miss Astraea, please wait your turn. We won’t be here long,”

Astraea let out a loud huff. “How dare you refer to me so disrespectfully! You will address me as Astraea Nim Del’Lenora or Lady Astraea!” She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. “I am of noble lineage and have traveled all the way here from Maras’uld!”

Vera beamed happily, leaving the counter and approaching Astraea. “Lady Astraea, why don’t you pick a quest first?” She asked her softly.

Astraea pursed her lips, turning faintly red. “Y-- Yes, that is an adequate level of respect. I accept your offer.” She approached the counter and looked up at Keith. “I am a powerful chronomancer, so I am sure you will find that I am capable of a great many quests all by myself!” She put her hands on her hips and offered a smug smile.

Keith laughed weakly. “R-- RIght… So, have you already registered?”

Astraea’s smirk shifted into a confused look. “Registered?”

“Yeah. If you’re not registered, we’ll need to do that first. Give me your hand, please, Lady Astrea,” insisted Keith.

“M-- My hand?” Astraea appeared to be some combination of embarrassed and offended by the request. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself and let out a deep sigh. “Fine! Do not try anything funny with me,” she barked, holding her hand out for the man.

After registration, Keith looked back up at her. “Alright, then. Here’s the deal.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “Based on the data we acquired from your registration, you absolutely don’t need to start as an apprentice. However, all adventurers must start at least novice rank.”

Astraea stared in disbelief at Keith. “Novice!? Excuse me??? I have been training as a chronomancer for twenty years! I am now more skilled than the masters who taught me!”  She stopped talking, hesitating for a moment as she gathered her thoughts.  “What rank would I need to take on quests that will potentially expose me to powerful magical artifacts?  I-- I’m not saying I need something specific, but it’s just a hypothetical question.”

A bewildered expression spread across Keith’s face before turning into a smile.  “I can explain from the ground up if you prefer.”

Astraea’s cheeks turned beet red as she crossed her arms and turned her head away with a slight huff.  “I may have forgotten a detail.  My brain must prioritize more useful information when I spend every day studying and learning magic after all,” she insisted, attempting to save face.

“Relax! I won’t judge you for not knowing, I promise,” grinned Keith. “Let me give you a crash course. Adventurer levels are broken up into the following brackets: low, mid, high, master, and legendary. Furthermore, each bracket has multiple ranks. Low-level contains the apprentice and novice ranks. An apprentice is always accompanied by their master. Once they gain experience, they become a novice and can take on very low-level missions independently or with a party. Think something like killing off angry rats in the local brawler’s guild basement. Mid-level has copper, bronze, and silver ranks, which continue escalating in regards to the quest difficulty. High-level adventurers are split into gold, platinum, and diamond. At diamond level, we start reaching the type of heroes bards make songs for. Warriors who can dispatch powerful monsters, dragons, liches-- you name it.”  He paused his speech upon noticing his guest’s look of puzzlement.

Astraea’s expression glazed over as she tried to keep up.  “O-- Okay, umm…  There are multiple brackets…  And the higher I am, the better!  Why didn’t you just say that?  I surely deserve to be at least master rank, whatever that is. How can I get there quickly?  Time is of the essence.

Keith shook his head, feeling already exasperated by Lady Astraea.  “The last two brackets are also stand-alone ranks that aren’t split into categories,” he continued. “They are more-so special ranks that are harder to define. Archwizard Yarlund and some of the council were master-rank,” Keith added, referring to Auria’s great leader and his closest advisors. “Those who hit this rank tend to change the world in profound ways. Thanks to one of them, we live in such a wondrous kingdom filled with great technology and luxuries after all. Master-rank adventurers are known to take down high-level, ancient dragons and other great beasts all on their own in many cases. They often have power that truly rivals the most powerful entities in the world!  They’re no match for legendary adventurers though, they’re in a league of their own.”

Vera listened with great intrigue as Astraea was lectured.  “Oh…  So there are ranks within each bracket then and legendary rank adventurers are the most incredible,” she whispered to herself as Astraea started to argue with Keith regarding why she should be master rank.

Liliana blinked, casting an uncertain look toward Vera.  “You don’t know about guild ranks?  How is that possible with your experience?”

Vera looked away in embarrassment.  “Heh heh…  Well, I haven’t really entered a guildhall since I registered.  Ranking up and making money wasn’t why my master took me on quests after all.”

Liliana had several questions, but they would have to wait.

“Fine!”  Astraea yelled as her minor argument ended.  Her demeanor softened as she moved a hand over her arm.  “Tell me about the legendary adventurers,” she asked with a hint of genuine curiosity.  Maybe Keith’s enthusiasm wore off on her; his earlier words about legendary adventurers being in their own league intrigued her.

Keith’s eyes lit up as he looked from left to right before leaning over the counter to get closer to Astraea. “There have only been two legendary-rank adventurers in the 1200 years the guild has existed,” continued the man in a hushed whisper. “Both of them are living gods. One of them is an immortal mage who reached enlightenment after three thousand years of training and communing with the cosmos. The other is a paladin hand-picked by the sun goddess, Helia. Both are beings capable of slaying literal demi-gods.”

A look of wonder sparked in Astraea’s eyes before she shifted back to her more pouty demeanor.  “Why did you get all dramatic and quiet?  Is it taboo to discuss legendary adventurers?”

Keith’s cheeks flushed red as he scratched his head. “Umm-- I guess I just got carried away. I suppose they’re so powerful that I thought they deserve a little bit of dramatic flair.  It’s not taboo or anything.”

Liliana couldn’t help but laugh at Keith’s response.  “Now that you’ve gotten your lesson on guild ranks, why don’t you pick your novice quest? “  She asked Astaea, deliberately teasing her.

“I am not a novice!”  Astraea barked, turning toward Liliana in embarrassment.  She then tturned her focus back to Keith.  “Guild clerk!  Please show me all available mid and high rank quests!”

Keith winced, taking a deep breath to calm himself.  “I don’t doubt that you can handle high rquests, but there’s quite literally nothing I can do.” Keith raised his hands and shrugged. “If you plan to fly solo, you will need to complete three novice rank quests minimum before being evaluated for ranking up. There are also placement exams for new adventurers, who, like yourself, are new to adventuring but likely too skilled for the lower ranks. However, the next exam isn’t for a month.”

“What!?  No!  I can’t wait a month!”  Astraea cried out as she started to argue with Keith.

While Astraea pleaded and whined at Keith, Vera grabbed Liliana’s hand. “Let’s talk over here for a moment,” she whispered as the two walked to a corner of the room, facing away from the guild counter. “Now that we have a little more privacy, I think we should invite Lady Astraea to our party.” warmly stated Vera.

“Wait, what?” Liliana put a hand on her head as she processed the words of her dear friend. “Are you crazy?? Even if she really is a skilled chronomancer, she’s a complete novice! She’s also-- well…” Liliana turned back to see Astraea flailing her arms and pouting amidst her conversation with Keith. “Look at her. Do we really want to travel with someone like that?”

Vera giggled. “Maybe you haven’t noticed, but she is cursed. Honestly, Lady Astraea reminds me of you. You two even keep your bodies hidden beneath a clock after all.”

Liliana blushed in response, grumbling under her breath. “She’s-- cursed, you said?” There was definitely something odd about this woman’s aura, so that actually made sense. If Astraea was cursed, they actually had more in common than she initially thought. Liliana hadn’t been born with demon horns; rather, they formed during childhood due to what she understood to be a combination of having demon blood in her lineage and bad luck.  Since then, people would often refer to her as cursed when they saw her horns.

“Yes. The type of curse that afflicts her and only her. We wouldn’t have to worry about it affecting us.”

Liliana took a moment to think over Vera’s words. She admittedly felt a bit of kinship with Astraea now. Having a cursed body like this made it hard to find parties or even friends to spend time with. Astraea seemed rather haughty, but it was also likely she had been through a lot. “Dammit, let me think for a moment.” Liliana rubbed her temple while brushing against her obscured horn, thinking over the best course of action. She trusted Vera and her judgment but still worried about bringing in a third person. What if they butted heads and fought the whole time?

Meanwhile, tears streamed from Astraea’s face as she withdrew from the counter. “I-- I see I am not getting anywhere with this!” She tried to yell with abrasive confidence but found it difficult to repress her emotions. “I… I will… Find everything I need on my own then. I don’t need a guild.” Her words grew weak as she turned and walked toward the door. When Astraea entered, she carried herself with an air of confidence. Now she looked more like a child who had just been heavily scolded, walking toward the door as she trembled.

“Wait! Lady Astraea!” Lilliana called out to her. “How would you like to join our party? I am a skilled rogue, and my friend here is, apparently, an incredibly talented alchemist. I know we don’t have a warrior or a brawler or anything, but I am sure we would still be much stronger as a team than we would be separately.”

Astraea’s eyes widened as she stared at Liliana in awe. After a few seconds, she stepped away from the door and approached her advocate. “You would accept me in your party?” She asked in a softer, less confident tone. “I-- I would be fine without a guild and on my own!” She added suddenly, realizing she wasn’t acting sassy or self-assured. “But, you are wise to want Astraea Nim Del’Lenora in your party! If you can bring me on a higher level quest, I will accept.” She crossed her arms and turned her head away, unable to maintain eye contact while her cheeks flushed.

Liliana analyzed how Astraea held herself and reacted, surprised at how quickly she accepted the offer. As prideful as Astraea was, she likely must have been in a desperate situation. “Vera!” She turned toward the doll-like companion. “After you reach the high-rank bracket, you can sponsor groups and take lower-level adventurers with you on missions that would normally fall beyond their level. You will need to be our leader for this quest.”

Vera beamed, feeling a great sense of pride. I can really do something nice for these girls! I have to do it! She told herself, getting pumped up. “Lady Astraea!” She bolted over to the purple-cloaked woman and took her hands with a bright smile. “You have been through a lot, haven’t you? I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I am happy to have you aboard. I hope we can all become friends. The jungles of Maras’uld border the Great Syllian Desert, so we’re practically sisters!”

Astraea slightly gasped as Vera clutched her hands and said such kind and bubby words. “D-- Don’t get the wrong idea… I am not looking to make friends. I will do my best to support the party. This-- this is just a business arrangement,” huffed Astraea as her hips swayed back and forth slowly.

“People rarely plan on making friends. Friendship happens naturally whether you like it or not after all,” innocently responded Vera.

“Just make sure you get the hardest quest you can take!” A visibly flustered Astraea demanded, pulling away from Vera.

Liliana watched in silence as Vera walked to the counter, and Astraea sat down near the fireplace in the corner. We’re really doing this, huh? If she’s as skilled as she says she is, this may be for the best.   She thought to herself.

Liliana also started to notice just how much she had been sweating. Since the slime show, her body had been feeling off, but she assumed those were just after-effects. She recalled just how powerful her orgasms during that night had been. They consumed her whole body, giving her the most intense pleasure of her life. Would it be wrong of her to want to feel that again? A combination of money worries and their impending quest kept her distracted from how peculiar she felt, but it was impossible to completely ignore. She shifted awkwardly, grabbing the hem of her tunic as she adjusted her sweat-dampened body. The fabric already snuggly clung to her soft, pale curves. I wonder if Vera could make me feel that good-- she is a Luma, after all, right? She knew it was wrong to have dirty thoughts about her new friend but found it impossible to stop her mind from wandering.

“Great news!” Vera stepped back from the counter. “We have a quest! Golem hunting at the Kyellian Excavation Site!”

Liliana’s eyes widened. That was the excavation site for those newly unearthed ruins, right? The archwizards of Auria had been discussing how to approach the situation. Eliminating the ancient defenses so the Aurian scholars and archwizards could satiate their thirst for knowledge must have been the first phase of whatever plan the archwizards put into place.

Astraea’s eyes widened in awe. “Excavation site?? These-- these are ancient ruins??” She nearly hopped up and down. “Y-- Yes, that is acceptable! Lady Astraea can abide by these terms!” She chimed.

Read chapter 5 two months early for $5 on Patreon!  You can also read "Under the Full Moon" one month early for $2.50!  This is a short story containing both slime and cow TF!



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