Amazon Apocalypse 2: Chapter 37 (Patreon)

Myrina stayed cuddled up to me all the way back to her room. The healer followed us, tending to the two of us until we were both as close to fully healed as we could be without time to rest.

"So... did you have any plans today, Myrina?" I asked when it was apparent she had no intentions of climbing out of my arms. "More training? More quests to complete?"

"Not anymore." Myrina rubbed the top of her head against my chin and her cheek against my chest.

"Any reason why?" I asked.

"We don't need them anymore. You're strong, Carter! Maybe not high leveled, but that can be fixed. Quite easily, from what I heard during our visit with Marol."

Her hand went for the hem of my shirt. Her hand slipped beneath it and she pressed her palms against my bare skin. She held them there a moment, fingers stroking the hard muscles of my stomach and chest.

"I... I know what you said before. But I think today changed this. You got the title... I know you did. I received a notification, saying so. I could hardly believe it when I saw it myself," Myrina gushed, cheeks red and eyes as wide as saucers.

"Myrina..." I held up a hand to cup her cheek.

"I never stopped thinking about you," Myrina continued. "You were my best friend. My only real friend. When I came back here to Themyscira, I was all alone doing nothing but training and practicing. All the other kids got to have fun, but I was stuck in the castle. And everyone told me I'd never see my only friend again..."

"Myrina stop."

"You're the one for me, Carter. I knew that years ago. I won't be like my mother, watching over the family fief for years on end. Nor like Cyra who wants to stay true to the Amazonian ways. Right from the start, I was ready to run away with you back to Earth. You've gained everything you can here. Let's just run away together..."

I reached down and pulled her hands from under my shirt. I took her wrists in my grip and pushed them back down to her side.

She froze like a deer in headlights, eyes wide and on the verge of tears. I'd never seen her so vulnerable before. It scared me, seeing the brash and confident smile she normally wore gone—even for a moment. Without it, she almost felt like a different person.

"I...Is this another rejection?" Myrina sounded like her heart was already sinking, and a pair of tears started rolling from either eye.

"No, Myrina. It isn't a rejection. I care about you… more than you care about yourself, it seems." I cupped her chin and tilted her head up so she could look me in the eyes despite the wetness in them. "Just listen to yourself. Running away from your family? Cutting ties with your mother? With your big sister? You shouldn't do that. It's not like you don't get along with both of them just fine."

"I... but... you... us…" Myrina choked out.

"We just need to take our time," I replied. "I won't allow you to choose between me and your family. You'll have both. That'll be good for me, and good for you as well."

Myrina wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "System above, look at me. One defeat in the arena and I'm tearing up like some sort of human woman..." Myrina let out a sad laugh.

I ran my fingers through her hair. "It’s not so bad. It just means that beneath my tough best friend there's a sweet girl who needs to be taken care of sometimes."

Myrina poked me in the stomach. "You're going to drive me crazy one of these days, Carter. I've been fending of a Hysteria debuff ever since I saw you again through your patronage token!"

"Hysteria... I keep hearing that word. What does it mean?" I asked curiously.

Myrina's cheeks flushed and she looked to the side, still dabbing at her cheeks. "Well... it's... uh... it’s an affliction that plagues Amazonians. It's characterized by a quickened pulse, even when sitting still. Blood rushes to the lips, as well as... other places. And we... um..."

"And what?" I prodded.

"I guess you could say we get really, really horny." Myrina’s eyes shied away from mine, too embarrassed to meet my gaze.

I let out a short incredulous laugh. "You mean that's what this hysteria thing every Amazonian has been telling me about is? They're all just too horny for their own good? Wow..."

"It's a serious debuff!" Myrina insisted. "It lowers the effectiveness of our Intelligence stat by twenty percent. Many a proud warrior woman has fallen victim to Hysteria and done something stupid and reckless. We work very hard to suppress it."

I waved her off, still chuckling. "You know, there was a wand from Earth before the System. Hitachi Magic Wands, they're called. I suspect they'd do a damn fine job of treating Hysteria among you Amazonians."

Myrina frowned. "I didn't think there were any wizards on Earth before the System. Not real ones, at any rate."

"Hitachi isn't a wizard,” I snickered, “but that doesn't mean they can't make magic wands."

Myrina looked confused by this, which was a definite improvement from crying.

I shifted her closer to me, one arm around her waist holding her close. I hesitated for a moment. I'd been hiding things from Myrina nearly since the time I'd first arrived. That was because I'd always considered her and the Samhain Clan one and the same.

But just now she'd offered to run away from home and return to Earth with me. She'd been willing to cast her family away just to stay at my side. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a tempting thought. With someone like her, clearing out the ogres and the trolls would be a breeze.

It was time to see if I could trust my old friend with all my secrets. If this went wrong, I'd have to cut ties with this world completely and lose access to all the unique resources Sakura, Bridget, and I were gathering through the Mana Bomb trade.

But if it went right? We'd gain one Myrina.

"Myrina, do you trust me?" I asked.

"Of course," she replied without hesitation.

"What if I told you I was keeping secrets from your family?" I asked.

"You wouldn't be the first. While I'd like to think of my family as virtuous, there's a lot of politics involved. And during a war like this one, some members of my family are willing to do things they wouldn't in other circumstances. The Elders especially, now that the Clan is divided," Myrina replied.

I looked at her pointedly. "And what if I was keeping secrets from you?"

She frowned, dabbing at her cheeks one last time before sitting up to regard me. "What are you getting at, Carter?"

I let out a long breath. "I've been keeping some things close to my vest. I wasn't going to tell you until I was ready, but I'll share them with you now. Only if you can promise to keep a secret, though."

Myrina's eyes widened. "You're actually a vampire!"

I blinked. "What? No!"

"A werewolf?"

"I'm not a werewolf, either."

"The descendant of an ancient clan of powerful cultivators from before the System!" Myrina guessed.

I chuckled. "I’m none of those things. I'm an Artificer."

I waited for Myrina's shocked expression, only to be greeted by one of confusion.

"A what?" Myrina asked.

"I can make things… magic items, mostly. Honestly, I picked up the job on your advice."

"Oh? That's pretty neat. I remember recommending you pick up Enchanter. It was just an off-chance that you'd get it, though, but Enchanters are always handy to know. Is an Artificer some sort of variant of that?" Myrina asked, eyes glittering with hope.

I shrugged. "Maybe? Enchanter was actually one of two jobs I picked up. The other one was Runesmith. When I had them both, the System combined the two of them into the Artificer Job and increased the job’s rarity to Epic.

Myrina punched me in the shoulder. "An epic class and an epic job? You really are a forerunner. I don't see why you'd keep it secret, though. It sounds pretty nice. And with my mother's support, it might just maybe—"

I pulled a Mana Bomb into my palm and held it out to her.

"That's a Mana Bomb! Those things are worth a fortune. Where'd you get it?" Myrina asked.

I took a deep breath and stared into her eyes. "I made it."

Myrina's eyes narrowed as she took the Mana Bomb in her hand, then they slowly widened as she realized the implications of what I’d just admitted to her. "You're the one who's been making the Mana Bombs?! To think Cyra and I ran all over the city searching for you. All the while you were standing right there next to us!"

I chuckled. "You know, when you put it like that, it is kind of funny. I even remember giving the two of you advice on where to look."

"We greatly underestimated the craftiness of our quarry, it seems..." Myrina smiled as she wrapped her fingers around mine. "But if you've been making and selling the Mana Bombs, how...?"

"I'll show you everything, Myrina. But only if you promise to keep it a secret. This is important. You can't tell anyone unless I explicitly say otherwise. Understood?" I stared intently at her, and her blush deepened.

"...understood."

"Come on, let's go for a walk." I pulled Myrina to her feet, and she followed me out the door.

We left the confines of the Samhain castle, though for the first time I was leading her instead of the other way around. The guards paid us no mind either way, and soon we were out on the city streets.

We walked all the way to the inn where Bridget and Sakura were staying, and I went straight up to the second floor to their room. I briefly worried that the two of them would be out exploring the city, but I heard voices behind the door. It was the two of them, talking quietly.

I knocked twice. "Bridget! Sakura! It's me."

The door swung open immediately, and two pairs of hands dragged me inside, only stopping for a moment when they realized I was holding hands with Myrina. In the process, dragged her along with me.

Bridget shut the door behind us, and soon it was just the four of us alone in one bedroom.

Sakura was the first to react. "Well well well... going to stick your tongue at me again?"

"It's you two!" Myrina's eyebrows rose. "Carter's concubines! How'd you get to Themyscara? Oh! I get it, you've been selling the Mana Bombs for Carter."

"You’re smarter than you look," Bridget said from behind her.

Sakura grinned from ear to ear. "You know what? I'm not even mad that you called us concubines. Because I know what you are, miss little Amazonian virgin! Have you even had a kiss before?"

Myrina's look of surprise turned into a blushing scowl. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sakura tilted her chin up in the air and scoffed. "Ha! I knew it! Maybe if you get down on your knees and beg me, I'll teach you a few tricks so you aren't a disappointment when Carter takes your first kiss."

"I'll have you know I've already stolen a kiss from Carter!" Myrina insisted.

"What, a peck on the cheek?" Bridget raised an eyebrow, arms crossed.

I held up my hands. "Ladies, I didn't bring Myrina here for you to taunt and tease her. I want to bring Myrina into the fold. She's been a good friend, and I hope that someday we’ll be something more than friends.”

Myrina beamed at me.

“But for that someday to ever come to pass,” I continued, “we need to make the most of what we have. God knows it'll be a hell of a lot easier to do what we're trying to do with Myrina working with us rather than against us."

"And what exactly is it that you're trying to do?" Myrina asked, suddenly skeptical.

"Empower ourselves, first and foremost," I replied. "And then afterwards, empower the entire settlement of Crownhill. We're going to do that by selling Mana Bombs. And later, by selling raw materials."

Myrina fiddled with her hair, nodding slowly. "I get it. If you'd come right out and told my family that you were the ones who made these Mana Bombs, they probably would have locked you away in the dungeon and had you waste your entire tutorial making them. And they certainly wouldn't have paid you full market value for your work."

"My thoughts exactly," I replied. "Your Clan is at war, and by your own admission they will do whatever it takes to win. I'm not in a position to negotiate with them—not in the slightest—and partnering with them fully would lose me any bargaining power I could gain by operating independently. So, that's exactly what I've been doing. And what I plan to continue doing going forward. I'd like you to be a part of it, too, Myrina. If you're willing."

Myrina nodded slowly as she understood what I was getting at. "You want me to help you funnel resources back to Earth. Really, that's what a proper Patron should do."

"Exactly." I grinned. "You're the only one of us who gets to stay on this world full time. The rest of us have to return to Earth after a few days. But you can remain here, buying what we need to buy. Meanwhile, we'll make sure to ship over a constant supply of goods you can sell to earn the funds to buy what we need."

"Okay." Myrina gave me another slow nod that turned more vigorous at my stare. "Okay! Yeah. I'd love to be able to help you like that, Carter. I'm good at buying things!"

"Good. Now, there's one more business partner of mine I want you to meet. Her name is Misa. She's the one responsible for making the Mana Bomb sales anonymous at the Auction House. Let's go meet up with her now, so that she knows you're in on this, too."

We met up with Misa a short time later.

“Oh, I know you! You’re… uh… the auction house girl,” Myrina shifted awkwardly. She clearly recognized Misa’s face, but hadn’t bothered to remember her name.

“I’m Misa. You’ve probably seen my cousins; their family owns the auction house. I’m just a distant relative. It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Myrina.”

“Misa. Right. Okay. Hi, I’m Myrina!” Myrina held out her hand to shake.

Misa did so delicately and politely, grasping little more than the tips of Myrina’s fingers. She had a deep flush to her cheeks, clearly overwhelmed by the fact that she was in the presence of the Samhain Clan Matriarch’s daughter.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. The Samhain Clan were both powerful and respected here in Valkyrie’s Watch. No wonder Misa was overwhelmed. The Samhain Clan probably seemed larger than life.

I had no doubt that Myrina would disabuse Misa of any odd notions she might have picked up living on Valkyrie’s Watch. It was sometimes hard to remember that Myrina came from a powerful and respected family when in her presence.

Myrina grabbed the rest of Misa’s hand and gave it a good, firm shake with both hands, much to the mousier woman’s growing embarrassment.

“The two of you will be working together quite a bit,” I laid my hands on either women’s shoulders. “Misa, you’ll be in charge of selling, and inventory... same as usual, really. And Myrina, you’ll oversee… uh…”

Truth be told, the whole system was working rather well already. Myrina wasn’t here because she’d improve the efficiency of our operations. She was here because I didn’t want to exclude her. Suddenly I realized it would be awkward if I didn’t have anything for her to do.

“I’ll be in charge of buying stuff!” Myrina suggested. “I’m good at buying stuff.”

I shrugged. “Okay, Myrina, you’ll be in charge of buying stuff. Misa already has a list of everything I need based on my visit with Marol. What about you two?” I turned to the two women behind me. “Bridget? Sakura?”

“I’ve got a list, too.” Sakura reached into her pocket and withdrew a folded sheet of parchment.

“We did as you suggested and consulted with Marol. She wants me to become a really top-of-the-line brawler, focusing on charging into battle, shrugging off damage, and making myself as big a threat as possible. She said that’s usually the best role for an Oni Berserker like me—though if I get lucky with titles and work hard with proficiencies, I might be able to increase my damage output, too. I need items and skills related to strength, survivability, and increasing my general threat level!”

That fit largely with the direction Sakura had been going already. I was glad our fumbling in the dark hadn’t steered her build too far off track.

“And I’m supposed to be a high-damage, nimble but strong fighter,” Bridget added. “I’ll deal a lot of damage up close and personal, but stay maneuverable enough to keep out of danger. I need to add stealth and agility to my arsenal, with a hefty dose of strength to help my damage scale.”

My eyebrows rose. “Like a rogue?”

Bridget blushed. “Well, I do use a pair of daggers.”

I chuckled. I couldn’t help it. Bridget was one of the nicest, most wholesome girls I’d ever met. The fact that Marol classified her as a rogue was almost funny. I tried to imagine her dressed in black trying to pick someone’s pocket—but all I could picture was the blonde clad in tight black leathers walking up to someone and handing them a donut.

Bridget shrugged her shoulders. “Actually, Marol called me something more along the lines of a huntress. It’s similar to a rogue class, but with more of a focus on wilderness than urban environments. Less breaking and entering, and more stalking and tracking.”

“Did you do much hunting before the integration?” I asked.

“My dad took me out once or twice to get a deer,” Bridget replied, a touch of defensiveness in her voice.

I ran my hand along her shoulders. “I’m sure you’ll make an admirable hunter-type fighter.” She pulled out her list and handed it to Myrina.

Misa looked both lists over and quickly jotted down a copy. The girls’ lists were just like mine—filled with the items and skills Marol had recommended.

“Don’t you worry, all three of you! The moment any these things show up on the auction house, I’ll bid so fast and so hard everyone else will weep with envy!” Myrina grinned.

“We’ll be counting on you, Myrina,” Sakura replied with surprising sincerity. Perhaps the three women in my life would get along, after all.

Myrina seemed pleased as well, as she clapped her hands together. “I know! How about the three of us go monster hunting! The two of you could use some levels. Carter and I have done it, but it’s a bit disappointing when he can’t gain levels from it.”

Bridget shrugged. “Okay. Let’s see what kind of monsters you’ve got here on Themyscira.”

“We’ll take on whatever you’ve got.” Sakura stood proud, hands on her hips. “The two of us are more powerful than our levels would suggest.”

Despite sacrificing their levels to me, Sakura and Bridget had retained their proficiencies, as well as all the combat experience they’d gained. I would pit the two of them up against anyone at their same level with confidence.

“Great! Bye Misa. We’re going monster hunting!”

Myrina and I took a brief detour back to the castle to fetch an official quest from Myrina’s mother. This time, we didn’t need to see her in person. Myrina found a quest tacked to a board outside her mother’s office—and not a bulletin board, but an actual board.

Kyrina probably figured the two of us would come by, hoping for another new quest. We’d been doing it often enough, after all. As soon as we pulled the paper free from the board, we received a quest to slay some monsters in the wilderness just over the bridge.

“Looks like big spider things, this time. They’re not particularly high-level, but they should be good experience for Bridget and Sakura. Let’s head out!”

***

We didn’t head out until Myrina secured some camping supplies. She’d stopped dead in her tracks when I’d wondered out loud about logistics. The tall redhead had just blinked at me when I’d asked about a tent, and a cast-iron skillet, and a firestarter set. I rolled my eyes and sent her to talk to one of the servants.

It wouldn't be strange for us to camp out overnight on a monster hunting quest like this. Which worked out, because it would be the only way the two of us could stay with Bridget and Sakura without drawing suspicion. We couldn’t bring them into the castle to train in the arena, and someone was going to get suspicious if Myrina and I visited the inn too often. The last thing I wanted was to face Myrina in the arena again for real—this time with all her levels.

We ended up camping in the woods that night. Bridget, Sakura, and I shared a tent while Myrina took first watch by the fire. Camping with me was a bit tedious because I was such a monster magnet. There was no end to the monsters coming for me thanks to my Death Curse.

It made what would have otherwise been a relatively empty night a tedious process of fending off whatever monster had caught my scent over the past hour. Whoever was on guard duty got a steady supply of experience points. And from the sound of her hacking at whatever it was, it seemed Myrina had some aggression to work out.

"Mhm... can't sleep?" Sakura whispered in my ear. "I know a way to put you right under..."

I stroked my finger against the side of her red horn. "Let's not distract Myrina any more than you promised."

I felt a hand reach down my trousers, as Bridget whispered in my other ear, "I didn't promise her anything."