Read from chapter 1 here!

Liliana took a deep breath, walking down a well-traveled road with Vera at her side. Both women carried hefty rucksacks upon their backs, proving to harbor a great deal of stamina within their bodies. The sun lowered on the eastern horizon, illuminating the grassy plains that surrounded them on all sides while the city of Auria faded away in the distance.

"Mmmm…" Liliana took a deep breath and back toward Astraea, who lagged an good fifteen meters behind them. She found the small size of Astraea's bag to be rather concerning; it would be a good five-day journey to reach the town of Redrock, which would serve as a good base of operations for their trip to the excavation site. When adding in the additional danger that came with traveling around territory outside of Auria, it was generally a good idea to bring many supplies.

Vera kept a warm smile as she glanced over at Liliana. "I meant to ask, but why can't we take a carriage to Redrock? Not that I'm complaining. I was so excited to go on an adventure with you that I forgot to ask." She grinned and let out a soft laugh.

Liliana couldn't help but smile. Vera's cheerful optimism was infectious and helped lift her spirit. "You've lived in Auria for a while now, right? Do you know the situation surrounding its founding?"

"I-- hmm…" Vera shifted her eyes away and thought for a moment. "My master suggested I would have a happy life in Auria. He helped me settle here. I think he explained some of it to me, but I don't always retain information well when I'm excited." She felt a little embarrassed but saw no reason to lie. "I would love to learn more! Would you please teach me?" She hopefully asked, nearly hopping up and down in anticipation.

Liliana would never pass judgment on someone who showed her so much care and respect. "It was about twenty years ago when rifts started opening here in the country of Mirowyn. Demonic entities and powerful creatures from other planes started to appear and wreak havoc on the countryside." She looked over and saw a puzzled look on her friend's face. "Is something wrong?"

"I remember my master telling me I should move to Auria, a city-state within the country of Mirowyn. I never thought about it that hard, but Auria and Mirowyn are both independent nations, right? They exist in the same space but have their own governments?" Vera asked, putting a hand on her cheek.

Liliana adjusted the straps of her rucksack to relieve some of the uncomfortable pressure on her shoulders. "Mirowyn's army and strongest fighters couldn't keep up with the influx of danger. To keep a long story short, the Queen of Mirowyn made a deal with Archwizard Yarlund. He was allowed to establish Auria as an autonomous city-state within Mirowyn's borders and form a symbiotic relationship with one another." She was happy to be helpful to Vera, even if it was just filling in information gaps for her.

"Oh-- I see!" Vera responded as the chirping of crickets gradually intensified with the receding sun. The sky quickly transformed into an unending sheet of darkness while cool breeze wafted through, providing much needed comfort after a day of traveling in the stagnant, summer heat.l"So Auria helps keep Mirowyn safe from these rifts and the influx of danger over the last couple of decades."

"Basically, yeah," responded Liliana as the path led them from grassy plains into the mouth of a forest. "Real quick-- keep your guard up," she added, scanning from left to right as she peered through the trees. The sun had mostly set by this point, meaning the stars and moon would soon be their only natural light source. "The plains were calm because a raiding party went through yesterday. But wooded areas like this are a different beast altogether."

Vera hesitantly paused and took in her surroundings. "Yes, I understand. I will stay alert," she promised. She then turned back and looked at Astraea, who kept her distance and remained antisocial. "Did you hear that, Lady Astraea? Please keep your guard up!"

"You don't need to tell me that!" Astraea huffed in response. "I am always at full alert; I would never let some monster or highwayman get the better of me. Let's just find somewhere to set up camp already. It's getting late."

"Okay! I was just making sure," cheerfully responded Vera.

Liliana winced and let out a sigh. "I guess it's good that she's confident," she muttered, questioning whether it was a good idea to bring her or not. She was already annoyed that Astraea packed so lightly; she could have helped alleviate the burden of carrying so much.

Liliana then remembered she wasn't finished with educating Vera. "Oh yeah-- I was almost done." She cleared her throat and continued. "Auria protects Mirowyn while relying on the abundance of food and goods Mirowyn produces with its fertile farmland and skilled artisans. Auria then utlilizes the powerful magical materials and artifacts they gather from-- well, whatever dangerous beings come out of the rift. The Archwizards use them for research and to advance Auria's technology. Over time, Auria's technology has been increasingly used to improve Mirowyn's crops, health care, and just about everything else." By this point, she felt like she was rambling. "Basically, it's a mutually beneficial arrangement for everyone involved."

Vera nodded. "I'm starting to think I should pay more attention." She weakly laughed, scratching her head. "I guess I have been living my life rather impulsively until now. But I love hearing you talk, so learning is easy and fun when you're the teacher," she insisted while brightly grinning.

Liliana's cheeks turned faintly red. She wasn't sure why she felt such a strong sense of kinship. Ever since the slime show, she felt even closer to Vera; it was as if she could feel her new friend's excitement and giddiness just from standing near her. "Well, I'm happy to hear that I'm good for something," she innocently responded. Liliana felt grateful that the sun had set despite the inherent danger of nightfall. By this point, her body was covered entirely in a thin layer of sweat. Am I stickier than usual? She pondered, assuming she must have sweated more than usual. Liliana wiped the perspiration from her brow before looking at her hand. The decrease in light made it difficult to see anything, but she felt a sticky sensation. With a frown, she pushed her finger and thumb together before pulling them apart. A small, sticky strand connected the two digits and broke after separating too far. "Huh?..." She raised an eyebrow. Her whole body felt fuzzy, and honestly, kind of good. After traveling with a heavy bag for so long, she expected to be more fatigued and have sore muscles. Instead, a pleasant, prickly warmth uniformly enveloped her whole body. There was a slight pang of physical discomfort but less than she would have anticipated based on prior experience with similar situations.

She snapped back to reality when she suddenly realized there was a clearing in the forest to their left. "Hey! There's a clearing off the trail right here. Maybe thirty meters out; why don't we set up camp? It's getting l--," Liliana's words were abruptly cut off by a sudden snapping sound from the trees above.

Crrracck!

The sound of breaking wood abruptly sounded through the forest. Liliana's eyes widened, looking toward a tree on her left as a surge of adrenaline put her on immediate high alert. "Look out! There's something in the trees!" She yelled out, reaching for her blade.

A large, lengthy feline lept from the tree, letting out a deep, guttural growl. It was hard to make out much other than the beast's large size, long limbs, and dark fur color. It landed roughly ten meters before Vera and Liliana, blocking the path.

The two women in front readied themselves; Liliana with her blade and Vera with tendrils of slime that grew out from the cracks of her doll body. Both of them were on high alert.

Vera cautiously took a step back. "My master taught me about these. It's a void panther; I can feel its mana."

I'm surprised she knows that when she already has so many knowledge gaps, Liliana mused to herself, nodding in agreement and stepping back with Vera as they kept their distance. She held a long, silver-bladed dagger with a black hilt in her hand, clenching hard enough for the whites of her knuckles to show. "It likely didn't mean to break that branch up in the tree; otherwise, it would have attempted a sneak attack." Being calm and logical when determining the best path forward was essential. "They're intelligent, so it won't just charge in mindlessly. There's a chance it will decide it's not worth attacking us without the advantage of an ambush, so stay on guard." There was still enough distance for their party to react if the beast charged forward.

"Grrrrrrr…." The panther growled, creating more distance between them as it slowly backed away toward some thick brush and shrubbery. Wisps of dark energy radiated from it like smoke, obscuring the pale light provided by the stars and waning moon above.

Liliana's eyes narrowed as she muttered a few obscenities under her breath. The panther backing away could only mean one thing. "This isn't good. It's going to retreat and stalk us at its leisure. It will force us to stay on guard and attack when it deems fit." Her voice grew panicked as she broke out into a cold sweat. Void panthers varied in power and could sometimes prove difficult for gold-ranked adventurers. There was also a chance it would retreat and return with one or two of its friends.

Vera frowned. Even if they attacked the beast before it disappeared into the shroud of night, there was a good chance they would suffer significant damage in the ensuing fight.

"Argos!" Astraea's voice yelled. A flash of violet light appeared behind Vera and Liliana as an elongated cone of similarly colored mana shot forward at high speed.

"Grrrrawwwrrr!" The panther angrily growled, turning to quickly leap into the foliage and disappear. It was too late; the shimmering cone struck the creature and completely enveloped it with a faint, purple aura.

"Don't you dare waste this opportunity! Its movement speed will be decreased by seventy-five percent for another seven seconds!"

Liliana didn't have time to question Astraea's wisdom or turn back to see how she cast that spell. She wasn't lying about the chronomancer thing, she briefly mused as she leaped forward with her blade. If she recalled correctly, void panthers had incredibly thick neck and chest muscles; cutting its throat open or stabbing it through the heart would be too risky. So then, what could she do?

Vera immediately began to summon a large quantity of glowing, pale blue slime. "Liliana! Go for its--"

"I already know!" Liliana rushed in and quickly dodged the encumbered beast's sluggish paw swipes. As the panther slowly swiveled and bared its fangs, Liliana ducked down, kicked off the ground to propel herself under one of its raised paws, and lashed out with her blade, which was now coated in a thin layer of dark blue mana. Please be enough to cut it, she internally pleaded as she gritted her teeth and slashed behind the beast's left knee. Her eyes widened as the blade cut through its flesh and severed its stifle joint. "Y-- Yes!" She cried out, her heart racing. Liliana went to work on the other three limbs as the great cat roared and reeled in pain. She deftly cut through the stifle joint of its right hind leg before maneuvering to slice through the elbow joints of the panther's front limbs.

"Liliana! You're incredible!!! Please-- move aside!" Vera yelled out. A torrent of pale blue slime shot forward when the coast was clear.

Time returned to normal for the void panther as it hopelessly staggered forward. Despite breaking free from Astraea's spell, it no longer could fight back as it growled and roared while flailing its crippled limbs. The spray of slime struck the carnivorous feline and enveloped it. In a matter of seconds, its desperate howls were stifled from the ooze covering its head. As the ooze forced its way down the beast's throat, it thrashed and let out muffled cries.

Liliana's body trembled as the initial rush of adrenaline began to wear off. She watched in awe and horror as the great beast's flailing gradually slowed. Before long, it stopped moving, lying still on the forest floor. "We-- we did it…" She muttered, cautiously walking forward as she looked down at the giant cat. Now that she wasn't fighting for her life, she could make out its fur color, a shade of midnight blue similar to her own hair.

Astraea walked forward, clutching a silver pocket watch in her left hand. The chain wrapped around her arm and gave a faint purple glow. "I told you, I am a chronomancer. As long as you have me for support, we can overcome any enemy." A prideful smile spread across her face as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Lady Astraea, you're incredible!" Vera trotted over to the purple-cloaked woman and pulled her into a hug.

"H-- Hey! I didn't say you could touch me!!" Astraea cried out, flailing her arms as she tried to pull herself away from Vera's affectionate embrace.

Vera suddenly blinked and then pulled away in embarrassment. "I-- I am sorry. I am just thrilled you're here with us." She smiled warmly.

"There are other ways to express your happiness! Try thanking me for bringing so much to the table," Astraea huffed in response as the two of them bantered.

Lilliana raised an eyebrow, watching the scene unfold before her eyes. Astraea doesn't dislike attention as much as she lets on, does she? She mused, finding how she pouted and resisted affection to be somewhat adorable. Liliana released a low sigh, realizing that her elevated heart and breath had already tapered off. A fuzzy, warm tingle enveloped her whole body and left her feeling-- refreshed? How was this possible? She was also suspicious over the fact she had so easily severed that void panther's tendons. Had she grown stronger since her last quest?

"Enough prattling! We must set up camp for the night!" Astraea demanded. "Let's bring the carcass with us. We can surely find a use for it," she added, gesturing toward the slime-coated corpse.

Liliana and Vera began work on setting up their rudimentary tents, the great void panther's body lying nearby after Vera dragged it over with her slime tendrils. A jar of brightly glowing slime sat on a rock, offering a light source as the party readied themselves for a night of sleep. A fire wouldn't be necessary; they had more than enough rations to make it to Redrock and were in no danger of freezing. Lighting a fire would also put them at risk of attracting unwanted guests. While the average dumb beast would fear fire, the most dangerous and intelligent creatures would understand that fire meant there would be campers. It wasn’t uncommon for inexperienced adventurers to get picked off by goblins, ogres, or worse, upon slumbering after a fire had been lit.

As Liliana finished setting up her tent, she turned back toward Astraea with a puzzled look. Astraea barely packed anything; she's not expecting us to cover everything for her, is she? Liliana sighed, wondering what Astraea was even doing right now. She had pulled some type of large scroll out of her bag and laid it out on the ground, and then used her wand to draw some kind of circle in the dirt in a large area around the scroll. The ground was left with a faint glow as Astraea did so.

"Curious, aren't you?" Astraea asked with a smug look on her face. "Do not underestimate the resources of the Del'Lenora clan!" She placed her palm upon the vellum and began a slow chant as a faint pinkish-purple glow enveloped Astraea and the scroll beneath her. A magic circle of interconnected runes suddenly lit up, covering the vellum's surface.

Before Liliana could say anything, a bright flash of light erupted within the circle, causing her to yelp in shock. Once she regained her senses, she swore under her breath and rubbed her eyes. "What-- did you do?" She asked as her vision focused once again. Her eyes widened in awe as she stared at the sight before her. Three tents, a fire pit, and a workbench for skinning and tanning appeared from nowhere. "A-- Astraea, where did you get this?" Liliana asked in bewilderment.

Vera jumped with joy. "OH!!! Is-- is that spatial magic!? You brought portal scrolls with you!? You really are a noble, aren't you!?"

Astraea turned red and grunted in frustration, turning her head away. "Are you saying you doubted me? Of course, I am! My family has allowed me access to powerful artifacts thanks to my hard work and dedication. Portal scrolls are a mere fraction of the tools I have at my disposal. As we are part of the same party, you may also enjoy the benefits. Please use one of my superior tents to ensure you get a proper night of rest." She seemed so proud of herself as she spoke.

Liliana was undoubtedly impressed as she moved a hand up and rested it on her forehead through the hood of her cloak. "This is incredibly useful, thank you." She wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Vera hopped up and down, and a look of wide-eyed excitement pasted across her face. "You are the BEST!" She cheered, pumping her hands into the air. "But-- pardon me for asking… Could you have let us know about this sooner? We have been hauling camping supplies with us this whole time." She let out a weak laugh and pushed her fingertips together.

Astraea stood silent, gradually turning red as Vera's words sunk in. She then turned her body away and crossed her arms over her chest. "D-- Do not question my kindness!!! You didn't ask!" She squeaked.

Liliana slowly shook her head and let out a dull breath. You didn't even think about it, did you? She thought to herself, noting the noble lady's obvious embarrassment.

Liliana lay on her back, staring into the darkness from the comfort of her own tent. She wore only a lightweight tunic that served as a makeshift nightgown. It took a little while for them to skin and break down the panther, but it was important not to leave a corpse laying in their campsite. After a few minutes of silence, she groaned and scratched her head. She couldn't stop the creeping feeling of unease that plagued her mind; something seemed off since the Slime Show a couple of days prior. Liliana brushed her fingertips over her forearm, noticing the sticky residue left behind after the long day of travel left her covered in a thin film of sweat. Has my sweat always been this sticky? She thought to herself, growing uneasy. It was more than that; she was pretty sure that a void panther would have been too tough for her to cut just a week ago. Past combat experience with comparable beasts generally resulted in Liliana being dead weight. As a mid-level adventurer of unordinary talent, tearing through the flesh of such powerful beings had historically been beyond her grasp.

"Maybe I've finally left that plateau," Liliana mused as her lips curled up into a smile. While she found her body's peculiar perspiration and lack of soreness odd, her mind wandered back to her impressive feat during today's battle. As a rogue, she focused on utilizing her body's mana to bolster her combat ability as most melee combatants did. If her magically-enhanced dagger cut through the void panther, maybe that meant her mana had grown more potent. But how?

 Liliana stretched her arms and legs out, laying flat on her back as she closed her eyes. Her thought train took a left turn as the image of Vera's cheerful, doll-like face appeared. Her body immediately began to tingle, a wave of buttery warmth washing through her body as she thought about her dear friend. They had known each other for a few days, but Liliana already felt a strong kinship with her.

She hesitated and moved a hand down to the hem of her tunic as she recalled the Slime Show. Liliana would have never expected to enjoy participating in such an event, but she was getting hot and bothered as she remembered the nimble slime tendrils wrapping her body up and pleasuring her until she passed out. Her trembling hand slid under the fabric and brushed her outer thigh.

"Ahhh…" Liliana let out a small gasp as her cheeks flushed red. Even that light touch was enough to generate a pleasurable pulse that flowed through her leg and pelvis. Her vulva twitched and spasmed in response, growing hot and wet from the stimulation. "Damn-- I'm not that pent up, am I?" Liliana muttered as a dull throb manifested within her labia. She felt her clitoris ache as her body began to sweat once more. Despite this, she didn't feel overheated or dehydrated in any capacity; the heat that permeated every cell of her body was nothing but enjoyable. Even being covered in sticky body fluid didn't feel awful or off-putting.

She remembered the slime sucking on her clitoris as it enveloped her whole body. Every cell in her body exploded into orgasmic bliss at that time; it was the best sexual experience of her life. It's good to unwind after a long day, right? Liliana mused, carefully tracing her fingers up her inner thigh and toward her twitching vulva. A pang of excitement shot through Liliana as her nipples spasmed, growing rock hard as her chest began to tingle in a fashion similar to her lower body. She couldn't recall the last time she felt so horny.

A few dissenting thoughts swirled in her head, prodding her to question how odd this situation was. They were abruptly dismissed as Liliana peeled the tunic from her body and tossed it into the corner of her tent. With that out of the way, she pushed her fingers to her sensitive, feminine crevice and let out a squeal of delight. "Ooooh!" She purred as a faint, orgasmic ripple shot through her engorged sex. Her insides churned and gradually mimicked the incredible sensation between her legs. "Yes-- I need this…." Liliana shakily arched her hips forward as she cupped her throbbing pussy, applying some pressure as she pushed her palm and fingers up and down.

"Mmmm-- ahhhh!" Liliana purred, sweating even more profusely as a more powerful orgasm wracked her lithe frame. As Liliana found her clitoris and began to rub in slow circles, she moved her free hand up to her breast and gave her nipple a pinch. Euphoric bursts traveled through her chest and merged with the torrent of lovely sensations erupting between her legs.

This isn't natural-- orgasming shouldn't feel this good, a small voice in her head pleaded to no avail. Did something happen to her after the slime show? She pondered for the briefest moment before the throws of ecstasy again consumed her. As she pinched the tiny nerve bundle between her legs, her entire pelvis seemed to contract and light up with pure pleasure. "Mmmmmm-- ooooh…" Liliana tilted her head to the side, trying to retain her sanity. She rubbed her nipple, pinching and gently rubbing it between her finger and thumb. It started to mirror the sensation in her clitoris in a way that didn't seem possible. "How?-- I--" She muttered in confusion, unable to stop.

Liliana was unceremoniously ejected from the throes of pleasure by a sudden scream from outside.

"N-- Noo!!" A feminine voice yelled out from somewhere close to the tent.

Panicked, Liliana cursed under her breath and pulled her tunic on at breakneck speed. She burst out of the tent, clutching her dagger, and turned toward the voice. "What's going on!?"









CHAPTER END

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