Rhea slapped herself on the side of the face in a gentle manner. “You... That... I can’t leave you alone for even a few days can I?”
Scott laughed softly then shook his head. “Did I ever tell you that I’m an impatient moron?”
“I am well aware of this fact, but still...” replied Rhea.
“So, that was how the battle started. I assume that you killed enough of those goblins to frustrate them?”
“Yeah. I was stuck on the platform near that mine office that we found in the mine. You know the one?”
“I do. Yes. I recall that you shared a scene of what was happening and the ramp leading to the third platform was out?” said Rhea.
Ero fluttered over and sat on Scott’s shoulder. Rhea looked at her and the winged girl waved at her expectantly. The elf nodded at her and the fairy clapped her hands twice before she smiled happily.
Scott nodded at her. “Yes, the ramp was broken down. I blew it up to buy some time. I used the boomerangs to kill a lot of the monsters from a distance. When Karsh showed up, however, he brought about two hundred higher level goblins with him.”
“Karsh? Was that a boss monster? I don’t recognize the name.” said Rhea.
“Yeah, but it was strange. After I managed to beat him his body did not disappear. He had his name above him in glowing red letters and he was cited as a known murderer.”
Rhea’s jaw dropped open. She stared at Scott for a few brief seconds then said, “That was no boss monster! That was a player who was under the player-killing penalty.”
“I killed another player?” asked Scott. He had not even thought of that. Of course, he did not know about this world actually being designed as a real-life divine massive multiplayer online game, either.
“Yes, it seems so. It’s good to know that you can handle yourself in such a situation. How did you manage it though?” asked Rhea.
“Well, the player killer guy caught me off-guard. Without Ero I would have died.”
“Really?” asked the high elf.
Ero nodded then warmly hugged Scott’s neck. Rhea’s left eyelid twitched a little but she said nothing.
“She used her greater power to restore my health while driving back the army. Her storm of emotion ability greatly weakened the entire army, Karsh included. Most of the goblins only needed one or two hits to drop them.”
Rhea stared at Scott then looked at Ero. “That shouldn’t be possible. Even the usage of a greater power implies a strong and intimate bond. Your synchronization rate must be incredibly high.”
“I really like him. He is very nice to me.” Ero snuggled against Scott and sighed happily.
“I don’t get her attachment... but I have enjoyed having her around. She’s a really sweet girl.” said Scott.
“I see.” Rhea’s lower lip slipped forward a little and she looked down at her hands.
“Yeah, we are total BFFs.” said Ero.
Rhea blinked. “BFFs?”
“Uh huh. We’re best friends forever and ever and ever and... I hope we can be good friends too. Scott really likes you!” exclaimed the fairy excitedly.
Scott’s face turned bright red and he reached up to pluck the fairy from his shoulder. “Ero...”
“No, no... Let the dear little thing speak.” said Rhea. Suddenly, the man-stealing fairy was speaking great wisdom.
“Wha...?” asked Scott. What was with this sudden turn in the conversation?
“Scott likes me you say?” Rhea looked at the fairy curiously. She reached out her hand.
Ero fluttered over to the beautiful elf maiden. She landed in Rhea’s palm and looked up at her. “Oh yes! You should see the dreams he has had. They’re really interesting.”
“By all means, tell me about them.” replied Rhea.
“Hey now....” said Scott. The conversation had suddenly taken an embarrassing turn.
Rhea looked at him and then spoke bluntly. “I’m a little mad at you. This could help.”
“You just want to hear about my dreams.” muttered Scott.
“Would you rather reenact them?” she asked with a smirk upon her lips.
Ero giggled. “I don’t think he has tentacles, but he might be able to find heated massage oil.”
“Oh my!” exclaimed Rhea. Tentacles and hot massage oil? Just what were these dreams that Scott had been having?
“Geeze, don’t say it out loud.” mumbled Scott.
“OK!” Ero fluttered up to Rhea’s shoulder and started to whisper into her ear. The elf’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She stayed that way for a full minute while Ero described Scott’s dreams in detail.
After the fairy finished relating her master’s fantasies to his sort-of girlfriend, Rhea closed her mouth then unleashed a silly little grin.
Scott snorted at her then pulled a bit of the bed sheet up to dab at a bit of drool coming out of the corner of Rhea’s mouth. “Perverts, I’m surrounded by estrogen powered perverts. Did I do something in a former life to deserve this?”
“Probably, no one man should be this lucky.” replied Rhea.
Ero sat down on Rhea’s shoulder then leaned against her neck. “Yeah, how did you get so lucky that you have two beautiful women who want to spend their time with you?”
Rhea nodded her agreement at the statement, though her lip quirked slightly. She was not exactly interested in sharing her somewhat boyfriend, but she wanted to show a unified front of solidarity. It was girl power and sisterhood at its finest.
Scott rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I’m out numbered. Great.”
“Isn’t it?” asked Ero. She giggled at him then hugged Rhea.
The elf smiled triumphantly at the sorcerer. Let him squirm a little. That’ll teach him to survive impossible battles and bond with busty naked fairies. Still, there was one question she wanted answered. “Anyway, what’s with that whole fairygasm business?”
“Oh, that? Ero acts weird when I give her experience and her level increases.”
The Fairy whimpered a little then scissored her legs together. “It just feels so good having Scott’s passionate experience burning inside me.”
“Does it now?” asked Rhea, her left eyelid twitching slightly. Otherwise her face was cold and impassive, like a beautiful statue sculpted from ice.
“Mhmm... Oh yes. Just the memory of it makes me... Oh... does it make me!” Ero gasped loudly and fell backwards on Rhea’s shoulder. She slowly slid off and landed on the bed, but did not stop gasping loudly.
“Rhea... I...” Scott started to say something but she shook her head.
“I understand. I’m not thrilled, but I get it. You have a powerful synchronization rate with her. A little too powerful, considering what that is supposed to mean.”
“Huh? What’s it supposed to mean?” asked Scott.
“You don’t know?” she asked.
Ero gasped again and made a soft moaning sound. “Oh my goodness... Ohhh my goodness....”
Scott rolled his eyes and shook his head. She was faking it, she had to be.
“You’ve forged an unbreakable and intimate bond with her, somehow. That should take a long time. Whatever happened at that spring caused her to desire your company so much that she views you as far more than just a best friend.”
“My BFF is so good to me.” whispered Ero, before she giggled and moaned once more.
“Right...” said Rhea. She frowned at Scott then crossed her arms angrily.
“Nothing happened down there but a little discussion.” said Scott.
“That’s not possible. She would not be fairygasming like that if she wasn’t pretty much the guardian spirit equivalent of your wife at this point.” accused Rhea.
“Wife?” Scott stared at Rhea in confusion. He was just friends with the fairy!
Rhea sighed loudly. “Yes, even if what you say is true... It is obvious that she has deep feelings for you. At this point she’s closer to you than I am...”
Scott reached out and took Rh
ea’s hand. She looked away from him and sniffed a little.
The sorcerer had a choice to make. He could either say something or do something. Scott had issues with intimacy and relationships, but he did not want to hurt her. He was a moron, but he was a moron of action. He made a choice. Scott pulled Rhea towards him and wrapped her in his arms.
The surprised elf stared at him with wide and confused eyes. “Scott...?”
He smiled at her. “Who’s closer to me?”
“I...” She could not look away from him. What was he saying? What was he doing!
Scott slid one hand up to cup the side of her face. Her cheeks turned bright red as he began to caress her with his thumb. He did not speak at that moment. Instead he leaned in and softly kissed her on the lips.
Rhea’s eyes began to sparkle due to the tears that rapidly began to form. Her softly shimmering eyes closed gently and she slipped her arms around him.
Scott clasped her lips gently between his and drew them softly back while caressing her face. His other hand massaged her just below her armored breastplate.
Ero looked up at them then smiled. It was nice to see them together. She did not know how Rhea felt about Scott, but the sorcerer had been struggling with his feelings for the elf. Of course, what she really wanted to know was when the fairy was going to get a little of that sweet action.
***
Breakfast was long over by the time the trio made their way down stairs. Lunch was just being served, so they ate quickly. Rhea needed to go do her family business related elf stuff later that evening and they wanted to do a little hunting before she left. Ero decided that she was full and chose to take a nap inside Scott’s mind.
After lunch they left town and began to slow, but pleasant, walk south. Their target was the boars that hung out in the plains south of town. They were low level monsters, it was doubtful that Scott would gain any experience at all from. That did not matter, however. It was time spent together that did matter.
While they walked along they spoke of simple things. They talked of the past and considered plans for the future. After about ten minutes they passed by a small farm similar to the one that they had visited a few days ago. They waved at the farmer and his wife in passing, and the happy rural couple waved back. It seemed that the farmers in the area were friendly in general.
“They seem happy.” said Rhea.
“Yeah, they do.” said Scott.
The elf flexed her fingers while they walked along. After a few minutes passed she casually bumped his hand with hers. The bridge of her nose took on a soft pink glow in the process.
Another few minutes passed and her hand bumped his again. This time, however, he instinctively clasped her wayward fingers. Rhea’s blush spread quickly from her nose and down to her entire face. For the remainder of their short walk to the fields south of town they spent their time with their fingers intertwined.
It took around an hour before they saw the first thunder boar. Scott was quite surprised by what he saw. The thunder boar was more like a pot-bellied pig than a raging slab of bacon. The small pig grunted at him then stomped its tiny hoof.
“It... It’s adorable.” said Scott. Sure, that was not the most traditionally masculine response that he could have made. However, what did you call a small pig with a pot-belly, large anime style eyes and a pink ribbon on its tail?
“Buqueeee!” cried the kawaii pig, as Scott thought of it. That thing was so adorable that it had to be called cute in multiple languages!
Of course, just as with the rabbits from earlier, the thunder boar proved to be more dangerous than it appeared. The thunder boar raced toward Rhea, the one who its senses claimed was less dangerous. Just before it reached her it leapt into the air to try for a hard tackle.
The elf neatly side-stepped its rapid charge and slipped her sword out at precisely the right time and upward angle to bisect the leaping sausage. The boar landed in two separate locations then kicked feebly before it died. After it turned into motes of light they received a typical battle report.
<<< * >>>
Congratulations!
Your party killed a thunder boar.
EXP + 0
Fayth + 4
Ability Points + 1
Item(s) Acquired:
Pig Skin X 1 (Poor quality)
<<< * >>>
“That was great.” said Scott. He clapped his hands and Rhea took a bow.
“Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all night.” replied the girl.
Scott quipped. “Such a lucky field, it gets to spend the night with you.”
She winked at him then cocked her hips to the side. “Yep, it sure is.”
He laughed at her unabashed cockiness. Her confidence was fun to see.
She tossed her hair back, lifted her chin, and then made an imperious gesture. “Let all who oppose me, become meat for my table.”
Scott could not help but say, “Ha, and I thought the boar was the only ham here.”
Rhea snorted at him then broke down into a fit of laughter. Being full of herself for a moment had been fun.
They took off again and began to search for more boars. They fought nearly forty of the things that afternoon. They were weak but plentiful in the area. Some were a little larger, others were a bit smaller. None of them gave Scott any experience but he did earn another thirty-six ability points by the end of their trip.
The sun started to dip low on the horizon. It was time to head back. Scott had not gained much from that hunt, but he did not mind. Rhea had enjoyed herself. She had even allowed herself to show off a little, which was a reward in its own right as far as he was concerned.
The sorcerer and his elf love interest walked hand-in-hand toward town. There was little to fear in this part of the world, not at their level anyway. The strongest monsters outside of the mine were the pigs. They could do little damage to Rhea and no damage at all to Scott. Even without his weapons and armor, he was far beyond their limited powers.
They spoke of simple things along the way. Their conversation continued happily and soon they could see the farm house from earlier just up the road.
“What do you want for dinner?” asked Scott.
Rhea smiled and squeezed his hand. “Anything but pork chops.”
He laughed at her and started to respond, but his response died on his lips. The background music changed from a soft, almost romantic, travel score to a more dangerous and edgy tune.
<<< * >>>
You have entered a specialized combat zone! Special effects have been activated.
Special Effects:
No log-out
No Escape
Magic Nullification
<<< * >>>
“What the hell!” exclaimed Scott.
“A special battle zone? Scott, watch out!” Rhea dropped his hand and readied her sword.
A loud, cruel, laugh echoed from the house up ahead. They turned toward the sound and saw a large brutish looking creature walk out. The orc, as Scott suspected from the tusks and green skin, strolled casually out to the road. Above its head a bright red name appeared. That name was ‘Aen.’
“What are you doing?” called out Rhea. Why would someone set up a special zone here? Common bandits would not go so far. Special zones required zone crystals and they were expensive items to purchase.
The orc snorted at her then replied, “Don’t worry your pretty little head, girl. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Seven more guys, each with a bright red name floating above their heads, strolled out of the house in a casual manner. Two more of them were orcs. The rest were some sort of goblin.
“Scott... These people are all known murderers and they have set this zone to nullify magic. Be ready.” said Rhea.
He nodded to her and took up a fighting stance. Her warning was unnecessary. It was obvious from the change in the atmosphere and the way that these people were acting. They meant them harm. Still, he appreciated her attempt at a heads-up.
“Well, since the party guests have arrived... Let’s start the party.” said the apparent leader of the group.
The massive orc points one ham-fisted hand toward them. “Get ‘em, boys.”
Four of the goblins howled with blood lust then streaked down the road toward them. They were fast, damned fast. The goblins reached the trapped couple in only a scant few seconds.
Scott ducked under a flying leap from a green skinned goblin, only to be forced to block and redirect the strike of another. The leaping goblin quickly recovered and swung its black blade at him with precise fury. He span around the blade and tried to take advantage of the creature being off-balance, but its comrade lunged forward with its own knife. He was forced to move out of the way again.
Rhea managed to parry the strike of one incoming goblin and deflect the attack of the other. However, her excessively high agility could not save her from her opponents entirely. It was clear from the start that they were at a higher level than her. She had the agility of an elf who hunted zealously, but they had the agility that nearly matched her own.
One-on-one, either of the goblins would have been a problem for Scott and Rhea. Two-on-one made it inevitable that they would take damage. Despite the level difference, it was Scott who received the first strike.
The sorcerer performed a low sweep to try and take one of the goblins off his feet. However, the wiry creature leapt up to avoid the attack and stabbed forward with his blade while still in mid-air. Scott managed to narrowly avoid that strike, but he was out of position and could not avoid the hard downward stab of the murderer’s companion. The blade bit deeply into his thigh. A bright red number twelve floated upward from his body signifying the amount of damage that he had taken.
Scott cried out in pain, but the true horror of that attack made itself known afterward.
Origin ARS (Origin A.R.S. Book 2) Page 20
