A small horde of Corpse Stealers wanders too close to our camp, so I wake up to deal with it. Pocket-sized Aoi is sleeping on my chest, so I end up waking her when I get up from the bed. We are sleeping in light armor, so fortunately/unfortunately I don't have to get dressed.
Not wanting to scare Alissa again, I nudge her awake with the [Bind] and also use it to put Aoi back to sleep.
Alissa gets up and hugs my arm, then we go outside together.
"Shouldn't we wake up the others?" She asks, lowly.
"Nah, the summons can take care of this," I answer.
We walk towards the nearest gigantic tree and away from the bored eyes of two caravan guards standing watch. They didn't even notice us.
It seems like the night watch is getting more and more lax each day. With Holly always around, they haven't been useful even once, so I can understand their behavior.
We get behind the tree and I summon an Uspidor.
"Spit acid at the Corpse Stealers," I order.
The summon hisses and climbs up the tree.
Once it starts swinging from the branches, its vision becomes confusing and blurry as it spins around and tumbles through the air as it jumps from branch to branch.
"Ugh…" I groan and Alissa holds me tighter. My own balance is starting to get affected from sharing my view with the Uspidor.
Eventually, the summon reaches the Corpse Stealers and it perches itself on a branch, waiting patiently for the monsters to enter its range.
Apparently, it's smart enough to wait until they are all well inside its range instead of firing as soon as the first Stealer crosses into its spitting range.
The Uspidor has perfect accuracy and hits all of its shots in their chests. The Corpse Stealers quickly abandon the melting bodies and run away, but the Uspidor easily chases the slimes down and melts them to death.
"You are now level 25," says the female announcer.
Aoi wakes up a little annoyed. Lina suddenly sat up and nearly awoke the rest of the girls. Smoke escapes Aoi's nostrils as she stares at Lina.
"Wolfy said he killed some, monsters and leveled up. Go back to sleep," Aoi says at my request.
"Oh… okay…" Lina mutters and falls back on the bed. Ciel grumbles and hugs Lina again.
Alissa lays her head against my shoulder and sighs. "Perfect shots."
I rub my cheek against the top of her head and her fox ears tickle my face.
"Do you want to go back or stay like this for a little longer?" I ask.
"Both. But let's go back, we need our sleep." She gives me a light kiss on my neck that almost makes me want to stay.
When we are back in our bed, Aoi crawls up onto my chest and I use [Bind] on her to make her go back to sleep.
Alissa's tail tickles my side and Ciel's hand grabs my other arm.
The sound of their calm and light breathing is like a lullaby for me.
Today is the 26th.
Alissa, Roxanne, and Aoi manage to get their shares. Lina and Hana aren't so delicate, though, so they end up waking me up, then they quickly complete their business.
I wake up a little more groggily than usual due to my disrupted sleep. Certainly not because I orgasmed five times before breakfast was even served. Seriously, it's not that, my body doesn't even feel tired. After some hot tea, I'll feel as refreshed as ever.
Lina's "Charisma" increased by 1 (now 11) and she also leveled up to 25. I put my newly gained 4 points into [Mana Recovery] (now 6+0). Alissa is now 17 years old.
"Congratulations, let this year be better than the last," we all say in unison.
"Gih gih."
I'm the first one to give her a tongue kiss, then Hana, Aoi, Ciel, Klein, Lina, and finally Roxanne.
"You should've told us your birthday, we would've bought you a gift," I say and squeeze her hand.
"I don't care about gifts. We're all too busy with our own problems to have any of you roaming around searching for something to gift to me," she says and squeezes my hand with her other hand.
I pull her back onto the bed and fill the back of her neck with kisses.
"I'll definitely get you something," I whisper in her fox ear.
She makes herself more comfortable in my arms. "I don't need anything. Not now and very likely not even in the future."
"Just something with sentimental value, then."
"Then you'll have to give us hundreds of sentimental gifts throughout our lives."
"I'll do it."
Her tail wags and tickles my waist. "That would cheapen the sentimentality of the gifts."
"Why are you so against it?" I nibble her ear.
"Kyah! Wolfy, you…" I can imagine her pout. "They are just objects, I prefer having you at my side."
"How about a date, then?"
"Just me and you?" She turns her head and gives me a sideways glance.
"Not sure if that's a good precedent to set," Ciel says and smiles wryly.
"We are supposed to share," Roxanne adds.
"I had a date with Wolfy, it was really good," Aoi says.
"Maybe turn this into a tradition so that no one feels left out?" Lina questions.
"Sounds great," Hana says.
"Well, our boat ride was kind of a 'date,'" I say to Ciel and she holds her chin in thought.
"Eh, fine," Roxanne says and Ciel shrugs.
Alissa turns around and gives me a peck on the lips. "You owe me a date, then."
We get out and sit down to eat a breakfast that's a bit more fragrant than usual.
"Hm… smells of flowers," Alissa says as she breathes in the steam from her tea.
"Do you prefer aromatic teas?" Krysta asks.
Alissa's tail wags once. "Yes, but only the ones that smell sweet. Nothing too pungent, please."
"Then I have just the tea for you. Tomorrow I'll serve some of it."
"Thank you."
They both smile kindly at each other and my heart goes "Aww…"
The caravan starts to move again and I cast [Swift Foot] on the commoners. The older ones respond with chuckles and wide smiles.
An old ram-type demon man comes closer to us and says, "There aren't many priests in Goloria, so it's difficult for us to get these blessings. Thank you, Sir Ryder." And he bows to me.
I wave at him and say, a little flustered, "It's no problem, I have a lot of mana to spare, anyway."
He straightens up and smiles. "Even so, you're saving us from a lot of pain, so thank you."
I nod and carry on.
I continue my [Materialization] training while the girls also practice on their own; Aoi continues trying to move her soul while giving a blowjob to my finger; Ted and Suzy start trying to cast [Regeneration]; Alissa uses a nature elemental as horseback archery practice; Roxanne is trying to cast [Water Spirit], and she's nearly there; Hana abandons her horse and practices using her wings to fly while fully armored in metal gear; Ciel continues practicing [Judgment] on the blade of her glaive; Lina focuses on [Mana Control] so that she can cast [Earth Wall] on her feet faster; Klein plays around with [Fireball], discreetly testing its strength.
Laertes seems to have cast [Ignorance] on himself because after the drinking night with the caravan guards I've only noticed him once. Maybe he got laid or something and now his edge is gone.
I force my soul to come out of my temple in spirals just like Roxanne's horns. Then I cast [Materialization] on them and they become visible. Now I have faintly transparent black horns.
"Hey, Roxanne," I call her attention.
Her ball of water dissipates into mist and she looks at me. She immediately gasps and her tail stands up, completely erect.
"Wolfy, that's so hot! Can you change your skin color too?" She asks while grinning a little creepily.
"I don't know. Maybe if I blanket it with my soul. I might have to study Alissa's [Fox Transformation] to see if I can do it."
The other girls notice me and send impressed hums my way.
"Can you try fox ears next?" Alissa asks.
"That was the original idea," I answer.
Aoi takes my finger out of her mouth and her galaxy-like eyes narrow. "But I want a dragon!" She demands.
"You'll get it," I assure her and pat her scaly head, making it jingle.
My concentration slips and my soul horns become blue, though at least the spell doesn't make them glow anymore.
"I wonder why a spell to turn the spirits solid hasn't been created yet," I say.
"Spirits aren't supposed to remain in the Realm for long. Allowing them to touch things would only make them want to stay for longer," Ciel says.
"I'm sure that it must exist as a Unique Spell somewhere," Roxanne says.
The next step I have to take is to be able to maintain my soul "flex" without paying attention to it. I'll call this "flexing" soul "morphing."
It's difficult to morph my soul into anything, but maintaining the morph is not as hard. Since I've (seemingly) already mastered keeping my soul out of my body, I can visibly see progress as time passes.
The forest lights up a little and we see lights on the horizon.
"That's the end!" The joker yells.
"Tomorrow morning we should reach Goldport," Julien says.
The guards cheer and even Anton joins in.
Then we stop for lunch and eat while looking at the light at the end of the tunnel with longing.
"I kind of miss grass," I say.
Lina nods and says, "The earth is too humid and the air is a little stuffy."
"I miss the blue sky," Alissa says and most people agree with her.
"I miss the breeze touching my skin," Ciel says and Hana agrees.
We move on and the light slowly gets closer and closer to us.
The blue sky gradually becomes visible and the trees become more sparse. The canopy thins out and allows light to come in.
Ahead of us, we see the green grassland of Glorampina. The sparse normal-sized trees look a little odd to us now after spending so long with the huge "knitted" trees.
Near the horizon, we see a small stretch of the blue sea.
"Ooh!" Hana exclaims. She and Aoi seem almost like twins in the way they look ahead and from the feelings that come through their [Bind]s.
Alissa's tail sways lazily from side to side. She and Ciel seem quite content at seeing the sea for the first time.
The familiar salty smell slowly becomes noticeable. Be it Earth or Rupegia, the smell of the sea is still the same.
My concentration is disrupted a little as my mind goes blank from observing the endless blue.
I put points in [Hawk Eyes] and look at the small dots populating the sea. I can see a lot of sailing ships and only the smaller ones don't seem to have a sail, but they don't even have rowers, so I bet they are moving through magic.
Looking closer at the decks of the sailing ships, there seem to be some sailors punching the air. When we finally get close enough for me to see more in detail, I notice how the sail seems to "stretch" in sync with each sailor punching the air.
"Roxanne, how do those ships move?" I ask.
"Wind mages casting a non-combat version of [Wind Hammer]," she answers.
"Neat."
"I think we're close enough to the Everlasting Storm that the winds get a little unpredictable, so the only safe way to travel along the waters are with Wind or Water mages. I think that using a merfolk's submarine ship is faster, but they are much more expensive."
"Neat!" I exclaim again and Roxanne smiles wryly. "Wait, you said that the Everlasting Storm makes the winds unpredictable?"
"Yeah. It even gets more dangerous the further north you go."
"Also, the tides get much bigger in the north," Hana chimes in. "The shore of Sommerland regularly gets flooded and on some of the northern islands, the stilts they use reach over ten meters in height."
"Have any of you ever seen the Storm?" I ask.
They shake their heads.
"It's dangerous to get close, but I heard it's quite humbling to see the aftermath of the fight of the Gods," Hana says.
If Gecynd's vision was true, then one day we'll certainly see the Storm ourselves.
We finally get out of the High Forest and breathe in the fresh air. Everyone, except the wagon drivers, leaves the road and walk in the tall grass. It's not like Antano, so the earth under the grass is very solid and dry.
"I'm feeling itchy already but I sure did miss the grass," Roxanne says with a giggle.
Alissa turns into a fox and darts around. I feel her happiness about her freedom leaking over our connection.
Lina lays down on the ground and a satisfied sigh escapes her lips. Even with her gloomy eyes, she still looks very satisfied right now.
With [Animal Tongue], I take care of all of our horses and let them graze a little. They all seem to miss eating grass once in a while, even though they are mostly carnivorous. Seeing what I'm doing, Nito gives me such a cute smile that he could make a straight boy blush.
One thing we quickly notice is how harsh the sunlight is. We are all in helmets, so it doesn't affect us too much, and the elves don't cover their exposed skin, but everyone else does. I guess this is why "dark" elves like Osaria exist; they tan easily and their skin doesn't burn like ours does.
As the sun sets, we start turning towards the south. Far off in the distance, almost completely covered by the blue haze, we see the delta of a wide river. With [Hawk Eyes] I can just barely make out the other side of the river and the tall yellow walls of Goldport.
Once it gets dark, we stop by the road-side and I immediately clear the area of a few Grassland Goblins.
"Why aren't there any small towns being built in obvious resting spots like this?" I ask the girls during the bath.
Roxanne positions herself on the edge of the bath and opens her legs. Her fingers spread her pale pussy and she looks at me invitingly.
Ciel, who's the only one not doing anything lewd right now, answers me. "It's hard to maintain small towns. Even in fertile lands, if there isn't a very good reason for the town to exist, then it might end up being overrun by monsters sooner or later."
I grab Roxanne's waist and the back of her neck. I touch our foreheads and we both smirk at each other. I pierce her with my oiled member and she sensually bites her lip.
"I feel like no Lord has ever tried founding a new town even before I was born. Nothing ever changed in the trade route we used to travel along," Hana comments. Aoi tries to escape her grasp but Hana's fingers are very firmly lodged inside Aoi's two lower holes.
From what Lina and I know of history, even in the High Forest, very little has changed since the start of this age, the Age of the Sun. Maybe it's that "stagnation" that I once suspected…
My train of thought is lost because Roxanne's perfect face is many times more interesting than thinking about that.
Krysta cooks a special meal for us. A large amount of roasted sirloin caps with the fat still on them, fried not-eggplant, fried not-potatoes because they are still king, and leafy greens in a herby vinaigrette and coleslaw. She used some monster cream to make mayo for the coleslaw so that she didn't need to use raw eggs.
"Raisins…" Alissa says lowly and chuckles.
"What?"
"Nothing." She grins and looks away.
"Weirdo," I say through [Bind].
"And you love me regardless."
"Yep."
I continue the bath's special time with Roxanne and pamper her while she reads one of Oura's books.
I grab her sexy feet and…
Well, I guess I did develop a foot fetish, thanks Ciel.
Anyway, I remove the nail polish and reapply the glossy purple, then I get a smaller brush and paint a white flower on her toenail.
"You need to learn how to paint something else, Wolfy," Roxanne demands from me.
I merely narrow my eyes at her and continue painting her nails.
Once done, I kiss the top of her foot and continue my journey upwards until I reach her lips, though I take a little stop at her small canyon and the twin pale hills.
Once I've had enough of her lips, I pull her into a hug and read the book along with her, Radomir the Ravager. A lionfolk conqueror who is kind of this world's version of Conan the Barbarian.
Fun stuff, the writer knows how to write good action scenes and mix them with interesting sex scenes.
Meanwhile, Hana ties up Alissa on the bed and we all take at least one turn making her orgasm. We didn't give her a gift for her birthday, so we gave her this. Hopefully, she felt enough pleasure to compensate for that.
Today is the 27th.
I don't know what order the girls went in, I just know that the last one was Hana.
My [Enhanced Semen Recharge] increased by 1 (now 0+10). Lina's [Mana Control] increased by 1 (now 6).
I feel refreshed, but aside from waking up with a wet crotch and a bigger appetite than normal, I don't feel anything different.
We have a lively breakfast since everyone is happy to end this journey. Krysta's new tea lets off a thick sweet scent and Alissa feels delighted, almost like a cat on catnip.
Rande seems very pleased when he says, "Three days before the Turn of the Wheel is a good time. Without [Swift Foot] we might have come right at the time limit since we stopped at Goloria for a little while." He eyes Goldport in the distance with a gaze filled with greed.
"It might be a good idea to actually hire a Blessing mage," Osaria comments.
"Indeed."
"Even for the day-to-day, [Swift Foot] is really useful," Hana joins in.
Rande nods and his wide smile creates dimples on his face. "Hopefully, the new Lord will allow the temple to have more influence. The priests at Rabanara are always for hire, but they don't come all the way over here," he says.
The road joins with another one that comes from Glorampina to the north, so now there's too much traffic to let Aoi give my finger blowjobs or to practice my [Materialization]. Because of that, I focus on using [Regeneration] on the golems while they practice on their own.
I discreetly guide my horse away from the road and put down a [Gate] "coordinate" behind a tree and some bushes. Better safe than sorry.
The tall yellow walls of Goldport reflect the harsh sunlight, giving them a natural glow that makes it seem like the walls are made of gold.
Far behind the walls, we can see the white stone houses clumped up on the hill that Goldport is built upon.
On our side of the river, there's a smaller version of the town. There are only business and inns on this side, so we'll have to take a ferry to enter Goldport proper.
The morning passes without any events and we slowly make our way to Goldport's gates.
The view is worthy of a painting. The High Forest to our right; the sea to our left; and the delta and the golden town in front of us, hugging the end of the Drakotoicho mountain range.
This mountain range is the eastern version of the Rakontagne. It's a huge vertical wall of gray rock with snowy peaks. It dwarfs Goldport and adds a picturesque air to the landscape.
Endless blue sea, a fantastical forest of gigantic trees, a golden city, snowy peaks, and a river full of ships. Perfection.
The hours pass us by and we are filled with wonder at the humbling view. Roxanne is the least affected since she's been here before.
The walls of West Goldport become bigger and bigger, then suddenly we stop, finally reaching our destination.
Rande guides his horses to the commoners and announces, "As of now my contract has been fulfilled and you are safe, you can leave and go wherever you want."
We dismount our horses for the last time and stretch.
Journey's end…
Nah, the journey's still ongoing. This is just a milestone. One of many.
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.
Prince Bradly.
Prince PreownedFIN.
Lord Andrew Meyers.
Lord Hope.
Lord Samuel Lim.
Lord Cody Weigel.
Lord Bill.
Lord Novgarod.
Lord DJ.
Lord Ashadun.
Lord D4rk Sheep.
Lord Michale Erwin.
Lord Cidant.
Lord Joxsan Herrera.
Lord Enrique Peña Gomez.
Noble Salty Panda.
Manasong
Leave a rating or a review to help me rise to the top or fix my shameful understanding of prose.
Take a look over my blog where all information of the world of Rupegia will be posted.
Join the Discord and discuss, or rant, or meme, or try and fight me so your waifu gets more screentime.
Become a Patron and read chapters in advance, or read the side-stories, or leave your mark on the story, or help choose the next artwork or the next side-story.