Scott blinked then turned toward them, but came face-to-fairy with Ero. The tiny girl looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes. It was obvious what she wanted.
Rhea saw the look between them and then sighed. She wanted to build a deep connection with Scott, but she had been forced to accept that the tiny girl who fluttered in front of them had beaten her to the punch. She did not have to accept that sort of thing with anyone else, however. She would make that clear to her sort-of boyfriend soon. “Go ahead....”
Scott had the decency to blush after he heard Rhea’s words. Ero squealed excitedly then tilted her body forward and puckered her lips.
The sorcerer was not certain what to do. He did not want to hurt either Rhea or Ero, but beyond the emotional issues there was another problem. How did he kiss someone when his mouth was big enough to swallow her whole?
“Ero, I’d be happy to give you a kiss... but how exactly?” asked the man.
The fairy slowly opened her eyes then frowned at him. Her eyes began to shimmer softly then she sniffed lightly. “I don’t know... I really want to ... but I’m so small.”
“You were bigger once...”
She nodded. “Yeah, but that is only when I use my greater power. I’m not strong enough to maintain that size normally. I’ll need to be much stronger first.”
Rhea hit on an idea. She did not like the idea of sharing Scott, despite her upbringing, but she did think that Ero was a sweet and innocent girl. “You can read his memories and visit him in his dreams, correct?”
“Yes...?” asked Ero. What was she getting at? She shared memories with Scott on a consistent basis, after all.
“I can’t believe that I am saying this, but... for now... I don’t care what happens in a dream...” said Rhea.
That was not entirely true. She certainly did care a great deal, but she was forced to make concessions. Scott and Ero were now a package deal. The only way to remove Ero would be to destroy her, and Rhea was not that sort of girl. Rather, Origin, the true mind behind Rhea was not that sort of girl. She was the goddess of love and reincarnation for ARS. She could not fault Ero for caring about Scott, even if she wished that their union had not happened.
Unless she wanted to abandon her attempts to get to know him better, Rhea had to accept that he had a guardian fairy who had as much right to want to love him as anyone. It helped that Ero seemed to genuinely like her as well, and did not seem interested in trying to get Rhea out of the way.
“Dreams... Well, yes. In a dream I could be any size...” said Ero. She blinked twice quickly and then acquired a truly interesting expression.
Scott looked at the tiny girl and suddenly felt a trill of fear crawl up his spine. He was not certain why, until Ero spoke once more.
“Scott... Do you really like tentacles that much?” Ero quirked an eyebrow and unleashed a truly disturbing smile.
Scott’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “No, I am not that sort of guy...”
Ero giggled at him then murmured something Scott could barely hear, but it sounded suspiciously like, “We shall see.”
He looked toward Rhea. She shook her head. “You made your bed...”
“Sexy traitor.” Scott unleashed a man-pout in her direction but in this instance she proved to be impervious to his masculine charms.
“I’m really sleepy, Scott. We should take a nap.” said Ero. She giggled softly then wiggled her eyes in a most suggestive fashion.
He waved his hands in front of the tiny girl. “No getting ideas... Rhea and I aren’t even there, yet.”
“Actually, I’ve been there for quite some time. I’ve been waiting for you to arrive.” replied the elf in a dead-pan manner.
Scott winced then looked to the heavens. Why were they pushing this? For that matter, why was he fighting against it?
“Rhea... I’m surprised you’re this accommodating...” mumbled the man. Everything that he knew about the girl seemed to run counter to her current desires and decisions. Though, he had to admit that they had both changed a little in the last few weeks.
She kissed him on the cheek. “I want to be with you, Scott. I want to be someone special to you and build a life with you. In the future, please remember that and act accordingly.”
He realized what she meant immediately. She was willing to accept the situation with Ero due to the circumstances, but she had clearly stated her dislike of the situation. She would not tolerate the situation further. In short, she would not accommodate him further, if he continued to get into sexy situations with random girls while she was logged out.
“What about Sharde?” asked Ero.
Rhea frowned at the fairy. “Sharde is busy now. I don’t think she will need to be accommodated.”
Scott sighed in relief. He liked that crazy ninja girl. But she was far too aggressive and he did not want to cause issues with Rhea. They had just gotten to the point where they could start to be honest with each other. The last thing that they needed was someone else with a legitimate, if strange, emotional claim try to actually stake it.
It was supposed to be every man’s dream, pretty girls who all wanted to be with him for various reasons. However, for Scott it was more akin to a nightmare. He was not averse to having female friends and even several sexual partners. He just did not like the idea of hurting anyone, especially someone who he actually cared about. As far as he was concerned, it was next to impossible not to hurt someone when they were involved in a so-called harem situation.
Besides that, he had trouble even maintaining one decent relationship, much less several at once. No, his romantic history had proven one thing to him. He was destined to be in a monogamous relationship, or at least whatever it was between him, Rhea, and Ero. Was there a word for a love triangle between a sorcerer, an elf goddess, and a perpetually naked and giggle-happy fairy? He would assume that the word would be lucky, but sometimes he did wonder about such things.
Scott hugged Rhea tenderly then kissed her on the forehead. The bridge of the elf girl’s nose took on a pink tinge in response.
The mermaids listened to the decidedly interesting conversation for a while before they slipped back to cuddle together a little more. Neira and Kiley fell asleep atop the sand. They were aquatically oriented girls, but they enjoyed sunbathing on a beach or exposed rock. This was no different. Though, they were a little leery about being so far from the sea.
While the mermaids slept, their new friends continued their conversation. Ero alighted atop Rhea’s head so that they could both look at Scott.
“Is this really alright with you, Rhea?” asked Scott. He could not have imagined a woman ever telling him to have intimate encounters with another woman. Certainly this place was some sort of game-like fantasy world, but that stretched his ability to suspend his own disbelief.
“No, but I can live with It.” said the elf. It was obvious that she did not like the situation. Was that a question that he had even needed to ask her?
“I’m sorry...” said Scott. What else could he say? He could not claim that he wished it had not happened. He would hurt Ero, and it would be a lie. He truly liked the little fairy girl. She was sweet and seemed so innocently curious most of the time.
“There is no need to apologize. Just... just think more of me in the future, OK? When you and Ero joined together, I could not be one hundred percent honest with you. That doesn’t make me accept this any easier, but at least I can understand it.”
Scott shook his head. “You’re a much better person than I am. If you’d bonded with someone I don’t know if I could accept it.”
Rhea nodded. She knew that already. “You don’t have to worry about that. I know we are working on it, being a couple that is...”
Scott kissed her on the cheek then pulled her close. He had been thoughtless and forced her into making a decision she was not comfortable with due to his careless actions. He had done that sort of thing before in his life. It never included another girl in the picture, but things like signing up for spe
cial training or adherence to certain rules of his profession when he could have gone against them for the sake of his relationships had occurred frequently.
It was especially hard to explain to his former significant other’s that choosing to go against orders would have hurt no one. Most of the time his actions would have probably gone unnoticed or been dismissed as worthy of reprimand by his chain of command.
“No one else, I promise.” said Scott. He meant that sincerely. From now on he would put his actions under scrutiny to the best of his ability. He made that promise to himself, even as he made it to Rhea.
“I have been granted more fortune by the goddess of love than any one man deserves....” said Scott.
Rhea giggled softly, but Ero was the one to respond. “Totally.”
Scott groaned. The mermaids had been a cute, but bad, influence on the girl. Would he be able to survive the loving overtures of a fairy who sounded like she had been raised on a California beach? Only time would tell.
Ero fluttered down from Rhea’s head then kissed both Rhea and Scott on the cheek. “I like it when mom and dad don’t fight. Now kiss me and makeup.”
Scott made a noise then started to laugh. He could not help it. The tiny fairy was too cute for words.
Rhea giggled sweetly. “Ero, you make it sound like you want to kiss both of us.”
The fairy smiled in a warm and friendly way. “That’s silly, Rhea. Of course, I want to kiss you both. I want things to become more interesting.”
Rhea blinked at Ero. “Wait, are you saying....?”
The fairy giggled. “I’ll see you in your dreams, too.”
The elf girl’s eyes widened suddenly. What terrible thing had she unleashed?
Scott laughed at the shocked expression on the girl’s face. “Say, Rhea...?”
“Y-yeah....?”
“Do you like tentacles?” asked Scott. He leveled a sweet and innocent smile at the girl.
Rhea gazed upon the smiling moron and immediately felt an incredibly strong desire to slap him around a little. She reigned in her desires then kissed him on the nose. “Idiot...”
Scott kissed her gently on the chin. “Sweet.”
The elf nuzzled the side of his face then pressed tightly against him. “Moron...” she whispered gently.
The sorcerer kissed her softly on her delicately tapered ear. “Beautiful.”
Rhea clutched at his back then murmured something soft that Scott could not make out. The girl grew silent after that and simply held him.
Scott suspected that he knew what she had said, however. He repeated what he suspected. “Mine...”
Rhea giggled sweetly but said nothing else. She wanted to enjoy the moment.
Ero fluttered over to Rhea and then flattened her body out on top of the elf girl’s head. “Don’t leave me out.”
Scott laughed a little, spoiling the moment slightly. Still, it was a sweet moment. He laughed at a stray thought that entered his mind, further spoiling the moment. There was a lot of love in the air. If he was not careful he might end up pregnant or something.
Chapter 6: Burning Terror
Agonized screams echoed through the area as blood spurted into the air in a wide crimson arc. A Shar-Shar fell back then turned into motes of light before he hit the sand. Despite the death cries of their people, the Shar-Shar continued to press their assault. Perhaps those cries of pain and anguish were the actual reason that they continued? Either way, the wave of monsters had maintained a steady pace for quite some time.
Scott and the group had spent the better part of the day hunting in the area around the island. They had mostly focused on Finnie swarms, but occasionally they had been forced into battle with a small group of Shar-Shar. In the water, the hideous man-fish were clearly the superior fighters. They moved with a grace and lethal ease that had forced the party toward the beach on several occasions.
That had proven to be a problem, as it left ample opportunities for the fish men to seek reinforcements. The Shar-Shar were not stupid. It had become a common sight to see one or two of them dive back into the sea. A larger group would appear some time later. Scott had begun to suspect that the world was continually upgrading the current threat in order to better challenge his party. He had been right, a little too right.
Not long after sundown things had suddenly changed for the worse. The background music shifted from a cool island beat to an ominous drumming sound that echoed over the water. Soon Shar-Shar began to walk out of the surf in ordered ranks. Unlike before, these monsters wore armor made of shells, and wielded spears that seemed to be made with far greater care.
A few of them would have been no problem. However, they came out of the surf by the dozens. In fact, even as a wave of them fell, another wave would appear from the surf. It seemed as though they would never stop coming!
So, they fought the Shar-Shar on that bloody beach. Two mermaids, a sorcerer, an elf arcane blade, and an overly excited fairy fought with everything that they had.
Kiley unleashed her devastating cry and eight Shar-Shar immediately began to stagger around. Neira did the same to another small group. There had to be forty of the beasts on the beach at the moment, and it was all that the party could do to keep them in check.
Scott twisted to the side to avoid the thrust of a coral tipped spear then immediately launched a hard strike to the fish-man’s face. The side of the creature’s face caved in a little due to the power of the blow, but it did not die. Despite the damage inflicted the creature seemed to be more angry than hurt.
A short distance away, Rhea swept her sword low to knock a fish man to the ground then leapt up and to the side to slam the pommel of her blade into the face of another opponent.
Ero, surprisingly, had joined the battle directly as well. The fairy currently flew high in the air, well above the reach of her opponents. Whenever she saw a new wave of monsters walk out of the ocean, she would report their numbers and position to Scott. She could have fought directly, but the use of her powers took a lot out of her and she currently chose to reserve them in case of emergency.
“Scott, there are six Shar-Shar on your far right! Uhm... Three O’clock, Three O’clock!” cried the fairy girl excitedly.
“Thanks Ero!” Scott shouted to the fairy, but kept his sight on the opponents in front of him. He was not sure if a concept such as aggro existed in this world, but he had to do his best to keep the fish men away from the mermaids. They could disorient the Shar-Shar, but that did little to actively defeat them outside of the occasional brawl that occurred between the confused creatures.
Another spear flew toward his position and he barely dodged it. The heavy weapon punctured the sand with great force, sending the tiny granules up into the air.
Unfortunately, the attack had been used to get him out of position. Three more Shar-Shar launched simultaneous attacks. Spears came at him at three different angles and he was forced to try and dodge. He successfully avoided two of them, but the third spear-point tore into his side. A bright red number twenty-six rose up above his head.
He strangled his cry of pain before the sound escaped his lips. If he cried out it could distract his companions. That attack had hurt, but he had already taken worse.
Pain lanced through his body as he hurled himself backward and away from his opponents. He performed a quick series of agile evasive movements; a backflip and a cartwheel were the most notable movements. Now that he had enough distance to actually take the time to focus, he put his effort into crowd control. “Freeze!”
A cone of cold energy lanced outward from the man and neatly captured six of the Shar-Shar. They had a mild resistance to the cold when they were in the water, but he had discovered that their resistance did not exist on land. He was not certain that it made logical sense, but he knew that the cold effect of his spell was diffused a little in the water. On land, however, it was a tightly packed attack.
“Maghric! Maghric...!” cried a Shar-Shar, as though it was the
first time he had cast that spell that day.
Another of the Shar-Shar dropped his spear and immediately wrapped his arms around his body. He shivered and complained, “Sho Cuwwold...”
Scott did not give them a chance to recover. He leapt among them like a demented Mexican jumping bean. He bounced around while throwing punches and kicks that expertly exploited several openings left by the partially frozen fish men. Their cold-blooded nature made it hard for them to resist the effects of the freeze spell, but he knew that the effect was too temporary in the sub-tropical heat. What he needed to do was corral them into a tighter group. They were still a little too spread out for him to be able to quickly finish them off.
It took a moment, but he succeeded in his goal. He jumped backwards then slammed both hands forward and cried out, “Flash!”
Scott’s sole electrical spell had gotten a great deal of usage that day. The fish-men had little magical resistance outside of the water, and they were actively weak against electrical spells. The short range disabling spell erupted in a brilliant flare of light. Five of the eight Shar-Shar were suddenly blinded and paralyzed by the abrupt change in light-levels and the influx of electricity that coursed through their bodies. Each of the bipedal fish, including the ones that did not receive the disabling effects, lost over a dozen points of health. It was not much but that did not matter. Scott only needed to control them and bring them close together. He quickly performed a short series of backflips then thrust his hands forward once more.
The paralysis and blindness had not worn off yet, and that was all that he needed. He cried out, “Burn!”
A tiny dart of flame, a golf ball sized sphere of burning hot energy raced outward from his outstretched hands. The innocuous little flaming dart of energy suddenly erupted into a thunderous explosion of light and fury that easily slaughtered six of the Shar-Shar that were still closely grouped together. Two of the fish men that were unaffected by the paralyzing power of his flash spell, were still close enough to be blown away by the attack.
One of the fish monsters caught fire and screamed while it flew through the air. As luck would have it, he landed among a small group of his brothers and began to flail around while he burned. The fish men were not particularly prone to catching fire, but the intense heat and magical nature of the flame caused the status effect to spread like a plague. Soon three more Shar-Shar screamed and flailed as they burned.
Origin ARS 3 (Origin A.R.S.) Page 7
