Combat Healer Ch. 19 (Patreon)

August 21, 2022

ARTWORK: In case you missed it, I posted the Artwork for Mel.

My plan is to make this image of Mel available to the Demigod Tier in about two weeks after I post the image for Miriam at the beginning of September.

(So everyone currently reading this should be able to see Mel -- although, additional outfits will only be for the Ascended Demigod tier, since that's the main and kind of only perk for that tier.)

NOTE: Next week will most likely be the next chapter of IDH.

<< Chapter 18 | Ch 1 (Book 1) | Ch 15 (Book 2)

- CHAPTER 19: Assault -

Present Day

A creature with black hair, midnight skin, and a gray face, having a body resembling a thin but mature elf girl, chewed anxiously on one of her large black claws as she crouched on another perch. All while staring with unblinking slitted crimson eyes, focused far below at where the ‘others’ had been when they were unexpectedly attacked by a group of ‘Bite-painful-and-burns.’

Her heart was racing, pounding violently in her small chest, realizing this wasn’t fun at all.

Because it had been too close.

Far too close.

She’d been so focused on the hope of enjoying herself that she hadn’t considered what would happen if all the ‘Bite-painful-and-burns’ decided they didn’t like the ‘others’ coming so close to their nest. Nor had she considered that the ‘others’ would be stupid enough to seek out a nest.

So stupid of her.

So stupid of them.

For her, it was no problem, and she loved eating ‘Small-biters-taste-really-good.’

But for them, it was a problem.

A big ‘Rock-too-heavy-to-lift’ kind of problem.

Especially since…

She couldn’t play with her new toys if the ‘Bite-painful-and-burns’ got to them first!

Bad.

This was bad.

Unexpectedly, her gray pointy ears twitched when she heard the almost silent movements of the ‘Bite-painful-and-burns,’ her heart beginning to race all over again when she realized that she’d never heard so many before.

Not in her entire life.

Not this many at once, with it sounding like as if most of the tunnels far up were full of them.

Which meant, clearly, they knew.

They all knew one of their nests was being attacked.

And so, they were coming, from above.

All of them.

Her slitted crimson eyes widened in alarm, abruptly standing and leaping without hesitation to descend to the ‘Fall-from-here-not-so-bad’ far below, her black hair whipping up wildly for a long few seconds, before she finally slammed into the rocky ground far below on all fours, the surface fracturing beneath her feet, her claws rapidly growing larger and larger…

Only to immediately begin bolting forward at her fastest speed.

Because this was bad.

This was very bad.

Not fun.

This was not fun!

* * *

What should have been a simple task at this point, turned into an almost instant nightmare in so many ways possible.

We’d stumbled upon an enormous room with thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Arakna’cabra eggs, and with almost no hesitation, Mel invoked her new spell ‘Flame Eruption.’ Of course, we knew the fluid in the Arakna’cabra eggs was flammable, but what we didn’t realize was that it was also combustible, like ale fumes.

Instantly, in the blink of an eye, I was suddenly on my side amongst bioluminescent fungi, my ears ringing and head spinning, feeling disoriented as I tried to understand what just happened, only to realize a massive heat threatening to burn my body was rapidly beginning to quell…

But not from a fire going out.

No, a literal inferno was raging in just the other room, the loud repeating booming beginning to oscillate and increase in cascading intensity, as more and more eggs erupted, sounding like never-ending thunderclaps were occurring again and again…

All of it hidden…behind a rapidly thickening barrier of ice.

Focusing up above me, I finally saw a pair of piercing icy eyes in the dim green and orange lights, half her face looking charred, lying on the ground with her hand sticking straight out toward the opening to the other room, layer upon layer of ice appearing, thickening, until she verbally invoked a spell I’d never heard before.

I knew of Ice Barrier.

This was something more.

“Impenetrable Ice Barrier.”

Instantly, there was a loud cracking as the ice plugging up the tunnel suddenly turned completely translucent, only to rapidly begin darkening into what appeared to be a midnight crystal, still semi-translucent but now having a black hue, an orange glow visible deep within.

Fuck.

Fuck!

As my Regeneration took hold, and I was finally able to think clearly, I realized everyone must be injured, prompting me to begin casting my spells indiscriminately.

‘Greater Healing! Greater Healing!’

Unexpectedly, a bolt of lightning shot out from my left, followed immediately by another, and then another, with me focusing on Eliza in alarm, watching as she rose to her feet from one knee, more strikes of lightning igniting the darkness again and again from her hands, filling the room with booming thunderclaps.

Urgently focusing behind me, I watched in horror as a literal flood of Arakna’cabra silently poured into the room from where we’d come, dozens replacing each one slain, there already being well over fifty demons descending upon us at impossible speeds. Each one larger than a full-grown Oni man.

‘Greater Healing! Greater Healing!’ I thought urgently, casting my spells toward where I saw Mel, and then Val, the former’s rosy skin, and the latter’s thick figure, allowing me to spot them in my peripheral vision with ease.

Both were immediately woken with a startle at the claps of thunder, alarmed by the literal army of red-eyed spider demons upon us.

But it was too late! There wasn’t enough time to react!

Eliza was standing before us now, nearly fifty Arakna’cabra overwhelming her at once, her lightning strikes no longer a hindrance to their assault due to sheer numbers…

She was going to die.

My love was going to be slaughtered right before my eyes, even before anyone else had a chance to react. Even before anyone had the chance to cast even a single spell.

And I instantly did the only thing I knew to do, having long since fully understood the meaning of my most unique skill.

‘Soulmate.’

Instantly, I felt half my strength leave my body, as the ground began barreling toward my head, an intense cry of rage filling my ears, coming for Eliza as she was filled with overwhelming power, as the world around me erupted in blinding light.

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SKILL: Soulmate

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DESCRIPTION

Level: 1/1

Type: Innate Active

Effect: Bind another’s soul to oneself and share ONE LIFE. Attributes, Skills, Spells, Essence, and even Life itself may be shared between the pair. Attributes are shared at half value. Skills are shared at half potency. Spells are shared at double the cost. Essence and Life may be shared fully, which may result in death.

ONE LIFE: Unknown

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I gave her half my Strength. Half my Dexterity and Fortitude. Half my Wisdom and Intelligence.

Half of everything.

And I gave her all my remaining Essence.

A normal person without Essence Affinity was limited by the universe, never to exceed 20 points in any attribute of their existence. And never to achieve 20 in more than one attribute, even after a lifetime of hard work and determination.

But for a person with Essence Affinity…those boundaries were higher.

A maximum of 25 points was possible for each attribute, along with the capability of exceeding 20 points in up to two attributes.

Only two, at most.

A seemingly small difference.

And yet that small difference, made all the difference.

But…

But what if someone achieved values higher than 20 in more than two attributes? What if someone achieved values higher than the maximum limitation of 25 points?

What kind of monster would that individual become?

What kind of POWER…would that individual wield?

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Eliza Ashryn Nylanthria (ENHANCED)

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STATUS

Race: Elf

Gender: Female

Age: 120

Class: Mage

Focus: Electric Specialist

State: Bound (Allister Rosengard)

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ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 23 (Lv. 10)

Dexterity: 25 (Lv. 10)

Fortitude: 21 (Lv. 9)

Wisdom: 37 (Lv. 14)

Intelligence: 37 (Lv. 14)

Charisma: 27 (Lv. 11)

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Total: 170

Rank: SSS+ Tier ENHANCED (Soulmate)

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Level: 68/55

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“AHHHHH!” Eliza roared as she began to simultaneously cast spells without hindrance, one after another, after another.

‘LIGHTNING BOLT.’

‘ACCELERATION.’

‘SHOCK ERUPTION.’

‘SMITE.’

Four spells at once, one to enhance, the rest cast instantaneously, again and again.

‘LIGHTNING BOLT.’

‘SHOCK ERUPTION.’

‘SMITE.’

‘LIGHTNING BOLT.’

‘SHOCK ERUPTION.’

‘SMITE.’

Cast repeatedly, until she finally ran out of essence.

Her body sped up by Acceleration, her vibrant purple eyes glowing brightly, she abruptly bolted forward, arcs of electricity trailing after her as she slammed her fist toward the nearest Arakna’cabra, the carapace cracking loudly, even as she thrust her other arm out to smash right into the face of another coming upon them.

So many were already dead, and yet so many more were taking their places.

The others finally had time to react.

“Tempest!” Val cried out, instantly filling the entire room with a violent storm that began raining down arrows of lightning, wind suddenly whipping at my clothes like we were in the middle of a hurricane.

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SPELL: Tempest

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DESCRIPTION

Level: 1/5

Element: Air/Electric (Hybrid)

Cost: 60 Essence

Effect: Manifest a violent storm to strike down nearby enemies.

Attack: 3,000 (Splash), 8,000 (Piercing)

Cast Time: Instant

Use Time: 2 minutes

Cooldown: 6 hours

Limitation: Increased Cooldown time if Intelligence is under 20 (Intelligence: 19)

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Mel was unexpectedly leaping over my body, a vibrant orange translucent scythe radiating ethereal flames in her grasp, her entire body looking like it was glowing with otherworldly light…

It was Berserk.

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SKILL: Berserk

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DESCRIPTION

Level: 1/5

Type: Combat Active

Effect: Exceed limitations and obtain temporary boost to Strength, Dexterity, and Fortitude, depending on Skill level.

Cast Time: Instant

Stamina Use: 5 stamina per 1 second

Limitation: Inflicted with Fatigue (moderate) upon deactivation, and increased Stamina requirement if the combined total of Strength and Fortitude is under 35 (Strength: 15, Fortitude: 18, Total: 33)

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A seemingly small difference in her Attributes, with Strength, Dexterity, and Fortitude only increasing by 2 points each, but overall bumping her up to S Tier with a 102 total, if only temporarily.

Without hesitation, her scythe began slicing through everything indiscriminately, putrid yellow fluid flying everywhere as she began a dance from hell, ethereal flames of an inferno twirling and licking, but not igniting as she spun and thrashed in every direction, orange ethereal spikes appearing on the back end of her weapon, the entire thing becoming lethal on both primary sides.

“Eliza!” Val then called out, an object flying over my head, only for the Elf Queen to catch the Essence Crystal in her grasp, just as she thrust her other arm backwards, smashing into the face of another demonic spider, only for vibrant arcs of electricity to begin radiating from her entire body again.

‘ACCELERATION,’ she invoked a second time, her body glowing in azure hues.

‘LIGHTNING BOLT.’

‘SHOCK ERUPTION.’

‘SMITE.’

“Ice Barrier!” I heard Sylvia call out in the distance, sounding like she was on the far side of the room somehow, likely having restrictions on the more powerful version of the spell she’d used to seal the room of fire.

A loud crunch then came from behind me, as it sounded like Val bit into an Essence Crystal, chewing loudly, as if on shards of glass, even as the ‘Tempest’ continued, only for arrows to begin raining down from the heavens in the midst of the ongoing storm.

“Barrage!”

But then, the seemingly endless onslaught of massive midnight Flesh Collectors seemed to slow down…

And then, after another handful of seconds, the storm finally began to die down as well.

Followed by the booming claps of thunder and lightning beginning to slow.

And then, the only sounds left were shrieks and slicing, the sound of an ethereal blade dancing amongst midnight carapaces, until finally it sounded as if someone collapsed in exhaustion.

Silence.

Complete silence.

I felt my strength begin to return to me.

A youthful concerned voice was suddenly hovering over me. “Master. Master, are you alright? Please take this. It’s an Essence Crystal.”

Accepting the Crystal as Val placed it in my hands, I drained it instantly, even as my self-imposed weakness from ‘Soulmate’ recovered altogether.

On the other side of the room, Sylvia knelt panting next to a massive wall of ice covering the entire passageway opening that led into the much larger entrance. And beyond that ice, the distant-sounding shrieks of a literal horde of Arakna’cabra lie just beyond that barrier, stabbing and clawing at the blockade that had been set before them.

There were more of them.

So many more of them.

From me to Sylvia, a literal massacre of hundreds of carcasses, each twice as large as me, and yet there were still so many more.

But how?

I knew how.

There was only one logical conclusion.

For us, there had been no alternative routes. No alternative passageways, as we walked deeper and deeper into the Dungeon.

For, we were forced to walk the ground.

But higher up?

Higher up, out of sight?

There must be hundreds of tunnel entrances, all of them far too high for people to get to.

It was the only explanation for how so many could appear out of nowhere.

And yet, what did that say about their nests?

For, there must be dozens of more rooms like the one we’d lit on fire.

Dozens more!

Fuck.

We weren’t even close to done, even if we were done for now.

At the very least, we should be safe in this room for a while, since we could see the ceiling in here, and there were no other entrances, aside from the two that were currently plugged with ice.

Ice Barriers that would last at least half a day, if not longer than a full day. For one was Impenetrable, the fire on the other side incapable of melting it, and the other would likely melt very slowly.

Likely slow enough that we would have to cut through it when we were ready to finally leave.

Realizing that Mel and Eliza were both fine, only exhausted at this point, panting heavily like Sylvia, with the blonde elf having clearly used her ice magic to also defend herself as she tried to sneak around the edge of the room, I shifted my gaze behind me, only to find…

Astaer and Celestine!

Fuck!

‘Greater Healing! Greater Healing!’

Celestine had at least been conscious, but badly burnt and injured, whereas Astaer almost looked like a charred husk, looking as if she was barely hanging onto life. But I knew she would have at least survived, considering that Greater Healing was enough to bring her back to full health on its own.

The older sister gasped in alarm, her blue eyes flying open, even as her skin healed to its normal tan supple complexion, her modest chest partially exposed from her charred shirt, only to become alarmed when she witnessed the massacre before her.

Staring in horror and disbelief.

She had no words.

Neither of them did.

Finally, it was Mel who spoke up to end the lingering silence, spitting loudly as she supported her weight on her midnight staff.

“Ugh, it’s in my mouth. Oh God, this is so gross. I’m completely covered in it.”

Eliza spoke up then, sounding out of breath. “Is everyone alright?”

“I’m fine,” Sylvia gasped from across the room. “Though I could use an Essence Crystal. I need to reinforce this Ice Barrier.”

“Val,” I said simply, beginning to rise to my feet, planning on healing Mel of her fatigue.

“Oh, umm, of course, master,” the busty Holstaur replied, beginning to run over with two Essence Crystals, handing one to Eliza and then continuing through the yellow gunky gore everywhere to deliver the other to Sylvia. The half-Holstaur’s ass was tense in those dark brown leather shorts as she moved, her massive tits bouncing despite how tight her leather top was, threatening to snap the leather strings with each step.

A light brightened behind me then, and I realized Celestine had grabbed my dropped Light Crystal to illuminate it to its fullest, also grabbing my dropped slingshot. Astaer followed suit, seeming completely recovered now, not bothering to hide her tan perky tits as she brightened the Light Crystal that Eliza must have dropped.

Unexpectedly, an Essence Arrow shot down from the ceiling then, smashing into a bulbous midnight body with violent intensity and force, prompting me to focus on Val in surprise to witness her purple eyes glow briefly, before she continued making her way to Sylvia. No doubt, one of them had still been alive, probably one hit by Eliza’s electricity, though it certainly wasn’t any more.

But shit, even just one of her arrows was so ridiculously powerful.

Once I was close enough to heal Mel of her fatigue, she began spitting more violently, trying to get the nasty yellow fluid out of her mouth, her entire rosy body being practically drenched in it.

“Oh God, this is so nasty, I think I’m going to vomit. Oh fuck, I’m about to light myself on fire just to get it off me. Oh shit, it’s between my tits even! And how did it get in my pants? Ugh!” She focused up at me pleadingly, her white hair slimy and matted with yellow fluid. “Allie, you can heal me, right? If I light myself on fire?”

I honestly wasn’t sure if she was even serious right now, or kidding, but decided to answer as if it were the former.

“Umm, let’s not go to that extreme. I’m not sure if you fully understand just how horrible that would be. Getting burned by fire is no joke. I’d rather have all my bones broken.”

Sylvia finally stood up then across the room, Val helping her rise to her feet. “Find an indent in the ground, and I’ll create some ice for you to melt.”

Fully recovered with no ailments, Mel jumped to her feet at that, urgently looking around, only for her ethereal orange scythe to activate again. “I don’t see any lower areas, but I can make some,” she said firmly, running off to the far corner of the room to do just that.

“Fuck,” Astaer unexpectedly hissed.

“What’s wrong?” I asked seriously, focusing back at her as she held up the strap of one of the packs – the actual pack gone.

“Our rations. I think they got trapped in the ice wall. Assuming they didn’t just get burned.”

My eyes widened in alarm, realizing that only two of the four packs we’d brought were present, both of them being the ones filled with Essence Crystals.

Plenty of stored essence available, but no food.

Fuck.

But then I focused on the glowing green luminescence all around us.

“We can eat the mushrooms,” I said seriously. “I’ve eaten this kind before. Probably best if we cook them first, but they’re safe. And there’s plenty.”

She simply nodded, looking like she was aware, but possibly wishing she didn’t have to resort to that. And I could understand why. These particular mushrooms weren’t very tasty, especially without any kind of seasoning, and they could be slimy when cooked. Edible, certainly, but not nearly as pleasant as the rations we’d brought – things like cheese, dried meat, and spices.

Sylvia spoke up again, with me realizing she was staring at the massive barrier of ice she’d reinforced. “Umm, something is happening on the other side.”

“What?” Eliza said in alarm, beginning to head over that way, her leather boots splashing in the yellow gunk, her leather pants and the rest of her outfit surprisingly clean.

I did as well, hurrying through the gunk and massive carcasses, all of the dead Arakna’cabra bodies chest-high, my leather boots splashing in the thick yellow puddles oozing from the slain corpses.

However, when I reached Sylvia, Val, and Eliza, I didn’t hear or see anything that would indicate anything was wrong. At the very least, there was no sounds of clawing at the ice wall as before when it was initially formed.

However, clearly Eliza could hear something with her sharp ears.

“Are they killing each other?” she wondered in disbelief.

“I do not know, my Queen,” Sylvia said seriously. “But it does sound like another fight is raging on the other side.”

“Oh my God,” Eliza then exclaimed. “Is that…am I hearing…is someone laughing?”

“You hear a laugh?” I said in alarm.

She focused on me, just as shocked. “You don’t hear it?”

“No, I don’t hear anything,” I said seriously. “What does it sound like?”

Sylvia chimed in. “I think it is a bit…maniacal, is it not? And quite disturbing.”

Eliza just nodded, finally reaching up to cup her pointy ears, all of us falling silent as they listened. “It’s quiet now,” she finally whispered.

“I don’t hear anything either,” Sylvia agreed, only to frown. “Let me reinforce this Ice Barrier again.”

We all immediately backed away so she could do so, only for Mel to speak up from across the room.

“Hey, can I get some ice over here!” she yelled, holding up a massive chunk of stone above her head. “I’m dying over here!”

Sylvia rolled her icy blue eyes, finishing up what she was doing, and then began heading over with surprising grace, her own white leather dress fairly clean, the blue silk robe only having a little bit of yellow gunk on it, even despite the gory mess everywhere.

Focusing on some of the nearby Arakna’cabra corpses, it appeared she’d actually managed to impale a few through the eyes with her Icicle Daggers spell, something that required an impressive amount of control. Very obviously, Sylvia was a true badass in her own right, and was a huge reason for us even surviving.

Were she not here, this entire situation would have been a ton different.

Likely lethal. For all of us.

Val spoke up as we walked over, sounding timid. “My Queen, I am sincerely amazed by your display of power earlier. I have never seen or heard anything like it. Truly, if anyone in the kingdom is fit to be Queen, it is you. And I am honored to have witnessed your strength.”

Eliza grimaced at that, glancing at me. “I do not dare take credit for my actions just moments ago. For my strength was not only my own.”

Sylvia and Val both seemed alarmed by that, and even Astaer and Celestine exchanged a glance on the other side of the room, clearly having heard, the sisters also heading over to Mel now that they’d collected our belongings.

Eliza continued. “My beloved activated his skill again. The one that binds us together. And the one I forbid him from using,” she chastised a bit more playfully, despite the situation.

I scoffed. “Never said I agreed to that.”

She stepped closer then, and wrapped her arms around mine. “My love, I have you to thank yet again for saving my life. For saving all our lives.”

I simply nodded, definitely feeling like I didn’t do anything, but knowing that’s how it usually was for someone in a Support role. She did all the work, but it wouldn’t have been possible without my support.

However, I did have to bring up the blonde ice queen’s role in our salvation just now.

“Honestly, Sylvia is the one who truly saved the day. We’d still be fighting right now if not for her, with an intensifying fire licking at our heels, threatening to kill us all.”

“Agreed,” Eliza replied, focusing on the tall blonde. “You have my eternal gratitude, my dear friend.”

Sylvia simply nodded, though her cheeks did grow slightly rosy.

I suspected that, while she normally would prefer to not be complimented, she did actually appreciate it coming from the right person. Or perhaps the right two people.

It wasn’t until we finally reached the section of the room that was surprisingly untouched that I realized that Mel was lugging around massive chunks of stone, having somehow cut out a fairly deep square hole that was large enough for one person to be submerged if they lay flat while it was filled with water.

All of us were stunned, even as Mel tossed out the last chunk of rock she’d sliced through. “Well?” she said expectantly. “Can you make enough ice to fill this?”

Sylvia just stared at the hole in disbelief, before raising her hands with a stunned expression. “Move please,” she said firmly, prompting Mel’s gold eyes to widen as she jumped out, only for Sylvia to continue. “Ice Barrier.”

The entire space filled with ice, and Mel wasted no time using her own fire magic to begin melting it in record time, finally stripping butt naked, her rosy body on display for all to see as she laid down in the still icy water, seeming much more concerned about getting the gunk off her, rather than the chill.

For half a second, I was concerned about her Juicy Pussy problem, but then realized that her body appeared normal when she wasn’t aroused, though there was no hiding her naturally large pussy lips that was common for all Oni women.

Eliza finally spoke up then, seeming still stunned by what Mel had done with her Ethereal Scythe. “Melantha,” she finally said once my girlfriend’s rosy face was no longer submerged. “Just what exactly is that weapon of yours? I have never known of a blade of any kind capable of slicing through solid stone like this.”

“Oh, umm. I mean, it’s obviously a magical artifact. Figured that was obvious.”

“Yes, but…” Eliza finally glanced at me as she continued. “I’ve only heard of legends of such weapons. The kind that are shrouded in mystery, and may not even truly exist.”

“A Legendary Artifact,” I commented, knowing exactly what she was talking about, since there were plenty of fables of once known weapons, and other such artifacts, that had not been seen in thousands of years – making their very existence questionable. “It’s not though. Her weapon is Epic grade. Still rare though, and obviously powerful.”

“Yes. Very,” Eliza agreed. “And I suppose that explains it. The kingdom has within its possession a few Epic grade weapons, though I have to admit that none are as powerful as this.”

“Wait,” Mel exclaimed, sitting up a little so that her large rosy tits were on full display. “What exactly is a Legendary Artifact?”

I took a deep breath. “Basically, just weapons of legend. The kind that are supposedly so powerful that they practically make the user a god walking among mortals. It’s very likely they don’t even exist though, since it’s difficult to believe that anyone would lose something so valuable.” I frowned. “Well, either that, or its because they haven’t found worthy owners. Supposedly, the weapons themselves have a consciousness of their own, and choose whom they will, or won’t, bestow their power upon, which is called their ‘blessing.’ But obviously, that’s just a fable. The kind old men share around a campfire to entertain children.”

Mel frowned at that, but didn’t respond, instead sinking back down into the water so that only her rosy face was exposed as she ran her hands along her body to get the rest of the gunk off.

In the meantime, the rest of us began to collect what we could find, both kindling and mushrooms, in order to start a fire, since at this point we clearly wouldn’t be going anywhere any time soon, being trapped on both sides by walls of ice. And with threats to our lives just beyond each.

Unfortunately, in the way of kindling, there wasn’t much to use.

However, once Mel was clean enough, she tried lighting a piece of leg from an Arakna’cabra, surprising us all when it didn’t explode, and instead began burning nicely much like one might expect from a lit oil lamp.

Which kind of surprised me, causing me to wonder if she’d never actually used any of her fire magic earlier, with the ethereal flames I saw when she was fighting possibly being energy itself, rather than actual fire. Either way, the innards of the Arakna’cabra were burning nicely now, once exposed directly to a flame.

Thus, using the large slabs of rocks Mel had carved out with her Ethereal Scythe, Val and I built a makeshift campfire oven while Eliza and Sylvia collected dismembered black bony legs full of the yellow slime, even as the elf sisters collected edible mushrooms for us to eventually cook.

Being that Mel had so much gunk on her and her clothing, no one else dared to get into the now yellow water once she’d cleaned her leather top and pants, and even she apparently didn’t dare get back in, while also seeming to want a better washing, because she started working on cutting out an even larger and deeper cavity in the gray rock. To the point that her breathing was growing heavy as she heaved the large blocks of stone out that had been sliced so easy with her unique weapon.

By the time we had mushrooms cooking on a slab of rock over a roaring fire of midnight legs, Mel was finally requesting for more ice, revealing that she’d created a depression that was nearly up to my knees deep, and large enough that one person could lay down one way, while another two could stretch head-to-toes on top of each other the other way.

Shit, it was a huge space.

Especially considering it had been cut from rock.

And apparently about to be a very large bath, potentially of hot water even, considering Mel wasn’t even hesitating to grab a couple of Essence Crystals as she prepared to melt the ice. And actually, even if she couldn’t get it that hot, we could probably use some of the stones used for the oven to toss in the water, which would undoubtedly help heat it.

Damn, as horrible as that fight had been, our little break might not be so bad after all.

We only had one little problem.

“Ugh,” Astaer exclaimed, standing over the cooking mushrooms. “Look, I live in the forest. I’ll eat just about anything. But I’m not sure if I can eat these slimy things.”

“Is it really that bad?” Eliza asked seriously, likely knowing that Astaer’s disapproval was really saying something.

“I mean, I’ll eat them. I guess. Kind of have no choice. But there honestly aren’t very many things that make me gag, and yet these are doing it for me. Might as well be eating slugs.”

Unexpectedly, Val spoke up, sounding really embarrassed. “Umm, I can probably eat them for everyone. If…if you want.”

Everyone looked at her in confusion, only for my eyes to widen when I figured it out first. “Wait, are you saying…” I focused down at her huge tan tits, held tightly in brown leather, both of which were now looking quite engorged again.

Of course, Astaer and Celestine had likely heard us in the stables, so they both figured it out as well.

“Oh shit, would you really be okay with that?” Astaer said in surprise.

“Umm, yes,” Val replied, her face deeply flushed.

“Okay with what?” Eliza asked seriously.

I took a deep breath, unable to believe we were really discussing this. “Val has Iron Stomach, and can get energy from just about anything. In addition to that, she’s been breastfeeding for a while now to help out on the farm, and is producing a lot of milk regularly. It’s why I was so full earlier this morning.”

Eliza’s purple eyes widened in sincere shock.

Val spoke up again. “And, umm, if I eat another Essence Crystal, then I can produce faster. And actually, umm, I’m sort of feeling a lot of discomfort now, from the last one I ate.”

Of course, Essence Crystals, which were refined Monster Cores – a sort of crystalized organ found in most Scourge Beasts – could be reused. Which meant, having them destroyed wasn’t ideal. However, it was a small loss compared to something like an ‘Essence Gathering Crystal.’

Largely because, Essence Gathering Crystals were unique, being as large as five or six Essence Crystals, and yet not seeming to have any upper limit to the amount of monster essence they could store. Alternatively, Essence Crystals did have a limit of roughly 150 Essence on average, and they were also much easier to replace.

But most importantly, currently having limited food options, I was only now realizing that we actually had a lot of sustenance that the busty half-Holstaur girl could consume, specifically her, which she could then turn into food for the rest of us, within her own body.

She could breastfeed us all.

“Well then,” Eliza finally managed, speaking to the blonde half-Holstaur. “If you would be so kind as to offer your, umm…services to the rest of us, then I think we would all greatly appreciate having a different kind of warm meal.”

Val’s tan face was practically red at this point, sharply contrasted against her thick blonde straw-like hair. “Y-Yes, my Queen. Of course. It would bring me great pleasure to serve all of you.”

Holy fuck.

This was really going to happen.

I mean, it was kind of necessary, but…holy fuck.

Stuck in the middle of a Dungeon, and yet we were all about to have a hot bath and warm meal, kicking our feet up as if we were back home.

Mel chimed in then. “Well, if the rest of you don’t mind, I call the left tit. I’m feeling really hungry between that fight and now all this work.”

Eliza cleared her throat. “Then, I suppose I will take the right, since I too am a bit famished after expending so much essence.”

“That’s fine with me,” Astaer said reassuringly. “My sister and I didn’t really do much, so if anyone should eat first, it’s the two of you.”

Eliza focused on the tall blonde elf. “Sylvia?” she wondered simply.

She shrugged. “I am not opposed to receiving sustenance from this cowgirl. Perhaps your love and I will go next, after Valshia has had the opportunity to eat an Essence Crystal and replenish her volume.”

Eliza nodded. “Very well.” She focused on the busty nineteen-year-old. “Then my dear Valshia, would you be so kind as to have a seat over here with me,” she asked politely, beginning to move toward the makeshift bath full of ice that Mel was still melting.

Needless to say, Val obeyed immediately, sitting down at the edge of the shallow pool of cold water, taking off her leather footwear and then sticking her feet in, only to yelp in an adorable tone when Eliza began to undo the leather strings holding the pieces of dark brown leather together.

“I…I can do it,” she stammered, only to immediately reach her small hands down underneath her tits as they fell out of the restraint from the center string being undone.

“Thank you, my dear girl,” Eliza said politely. “But I am quite famished,” she commented, before reaching out for the right tit to hold it still as she leaned down to wrap her lips around the massive brown nipple.

Val swallowed loudly, but didn’t respond, still holding her own massive tan tits slightly with her small hands underneath.

Mel finally took a deep breath. “Okay yeah, I’ll finish this in a minute. I need something on my stomach first.”

Val’s face flushed all over again as Mel plopped down on her other side, completely naked still, and grabbed the left tit, not even hesitating to suck the half-Holstaurs large nipple into her mouth.

“Mmm,” my girlfriend moaned, only to mumble briefly, the act causing some of the white milk to wet her lips. “This is so much better than I expected,” she groaned, sucking extremely hard on Val’s nipple this time.

The busty blonde yelped again, her entire body tense, before slowly relaxing as the two women drank. Honestly, despite how arousing I found the sight, I realized none of them were trying to be sexual about it.

And in particular, I knew Mel probably wouldn’t allow herself to get aroused around the others yet, since she was still self-conscious about her Juicy Pussy problem. Which meant, my beloved Eliza and my girlfriend Mel were sincerely just feeding on the tits of my betrothed Val, for the sake of a meal and nothing more.

Still, it was hot as fuck. And definitely very intimate.

There was absolutely some serious bonding going on here.

I knew that for a fact when I began to see how affectionate Val looked, as she tenderly focused down on the two women sucking on her tits.

When I heard Celestine and Astaer whispering to each other, I realized they were grinning at my rock-hard erection, and then quickly discovered that giving them my attention sealed my fate the moment we made eye contact.

Both immediately closed the gap in sync, as if they were on the exact same page.

Alarmed and a little confused, I stiffened when they both grabbed onto one of my arms and began tugging me toward the nearby cave wall, with me glancing at Sylvia as she just looked at us with raised blonde eyebrows, only for both tall women to go to work on my clothes at the same time.

Astaer began tugging down my pants, even as Celestine was tugging up on my shirt, the two of them communicating in short one-word sentences.

“First?” Astaer wondered.

“Second,” Celestine agreed.

“Lap?” Astaer then asked.

“Back,” Celestine replied in the affirmative.

They were both working so quickly that I felt like my head was spinning as Celestine began gently tugging on my torso from behind, her hands grasping on my sides underneath my arms, even as Astaer gently pushed me downward on my shoulders. Until suddenly my bare ass was against the cold stone ground, with Celestine’s long leather-clad legs on either side of my hips, her arms wrapping around my chest as she pulled me against her while leaning into the wall, her full lips suddenly at the nape of my neck, planting tender kisses without hesitation.

Feeling like I needed to grab onto something, my hands gripped Celestine's thighs firmly as I felt the dark brown leather covering her long legs, feeling sincerely overwhelmed when I realized Astaer was already mostly naked, shoving her own leather pants down and stepping out of them to reveal her tall, skinny, sinewy body in all its glory.

Her blue eyes were full of lust and confidence as she got closer to position her feet on either side of mine and Celestine’s legs, only to carefully begin lowering herself down to my throbbing cock. Her pussy was hidden slightly by a light layer of brown hair, her lips bright pink and already looking swollen, there otherwise being no visible hair above her snatch.

However, she didn’t sink right down on me, instead carefully positioning her juicy folds against the shaft of my cock as she held onto my shoulders, carefully pushing her weight downward until the head of my cock was resting against my lower stomach. She then moved her hands from my shoulders up my neck tenderly, holding my gaze with an intense expression, before finally grasping my jawline and planting her lips passionately on mine.

Moving my hands from Celestine’s leather-clad legs to Astaer’s silky smooth thighs, I moved up to her hips as she thrust her tongue in my mouth, overwhelmed by how warm and soft she felt, even now smelling strongly of the forest in a really amazing way.

She was the epitome of sexiness, and knew exactly how to work her charm, slowly beginning to slide her wetted folds along my shaft, even as Celestine’s hot breath and face continued to send shivers down my spine while she tenderly kissed the back of my neck, her hands beginning to roam my chest more intently.

Oh fuck, I wanted to get my cock in her so bad!

Uncontrollably tugging on Astaer’s hips, causing her pussy to slide over the head, she made an amused noise.

“No patience,” she giggled, her tone sultry. “Oh alright. Just this one time, I won’t make you wait.”

My body was literally trembling, feeling like I was burning up, as she reached down with one hand to grab my thick cock, even while carefully lifting up her hips in order to get the head positioned correctly. She then immediately began moaning as she started to sink down.

“Oh fuck,” she groaned. “He’s so big.”

“Really?” Celestine said in sincere surprise, her hot breath tickling my neck as she grabbed my muscled chest firmly in her thin tan hands.

“Not the longest I’ve ever had, but definitely one of the thickest. Oh shit, this is so much better than I imagined. Uhhhh, it feels so good,” she groaned, only now sinking down all the way, and pulling my face against her small perky tits. “Oh God, I’ve never felt so full.”

I immediately sucked one of her nipples in my mouth as I wrapped my arms tightly around her thin long waist, with her wrapping her own arms around my head tightly.

Of course, I could only assume that meant they’d previously had sex with mainly elf men, and maybe the occasional rare human, because even the smallest of Oni was going to outmatch both in at least girth. But then again, I knew even Jackel didn’t fancy Oni women, despite the fact he was willing to try with any kind of female at least one time, and likewise I’d never known a single elf woman to fancy an Oni man. For them, there usually just wasn’t any attraction toward their bulky forms.

“Oh wow,” Celestine moaned. “Okay yeah, I want to do as the Queen asked.”

“Me too,” Astaer whimpered as she slowly pulled up just a little, before sinking back down. “After he saved you, I wanted to anyway, but clearly we won’t be missing out on anything. Length only matters to a certain point, and after that, it’s girth that feels so good.”

“So true,” Celestine groaned, tensing her hidden cunt into my lower back, her brown leather pants creaking from the effort. “Thick is best.”

“He’s long too,” Astaer gasped. “More than long enough.”

“I can’t wait to feel for myself,” Celestine whimpered in anticipation, tensing her warmth into me a second time, her pants again creaking from the strain.

Astaer paused then, even as I sucked on her tit. “Here, I know I always go first, but perhaps you should be the first he cums in.”

“Are you sure?” Celestine whimpered, her tone hopeful. “You’re always first.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Astaer agreed, beginning to pull up off me, the two of them clearly not caring if I had an opinion or not.

Though I had to admit, that even as Astaer pulled me forward a little, and Celestine slipped out from behind me, only for the two of them to work together in sync to switch places, I truly realized I was more than fine with this.

I barely got the smallest glance of the others, seeing that Val, Eliza, and Sylvia were all watching, even while Mel focused on heating up the water with her spells, before Celestine was holding my head against her bare tits, even as she began sinking right down on my throbbing cock.

Astaer was then pulling me against her bare chest, her cunt wet against my lower back as she began grinding into me without reservation, even while Celestine whimpered loudly as she sank all the way down.

“So good,” she whimpered, almost sounding like she was going to cry. “I intended to service him for as long and often as he desired, and yet never did I imagine I too would enjoy fulfilling my obligation so much.”

“We will fulfill our obligation as often as possible,” Astaer agreed firmly, grinding roughly into me now, her hands tense on my chest as she held me against her tightly. She then began kissing me on the neck, finally talking to me directly after all this time. “Are you ready to cum?” she asked innocently. “Please fill her up with your seed, so that I might have the opportunity to resume my turn.” She then moved Celestine’s arm a little and slipped her lips closer to my ear, beginning to turn my head slightly as she gently nibbled on my ear, only to continue. “We both have obligations to the kingdom, but I have known many scouts who were able to perform their duties while being ‘with child’ just fine. Perhaps when you are ready to start a family, we will both become swollen with child and give you heirs.”

Oh fuck, I was already about to explode, and that just sent me over the edge.

I immediately began pulsing my thick load deep within the younger woman.

“Uhhh!” Celestine moaned. “So warm! Oh fuck, I’m going to–”

Her entire body tensed as she jutted her chin straight up, being shockingly quiet as she got there, though the intense wave of ecstasy was obvious, her blue eyes looking like they were swimming when she finally relaxed into me.

Astaer was still grinding into my lower back, not saying anything for almost a minute, before she kissed me tenderly on the temple, and spoke again.

“Okay, now it’s my turn.”

Celestine obediently pulled right off, moving to switch places once again, the younger one tenderly holding onto me now as she thanked me with her body while the older resumed impaling herself on my thick shaft.

Truly, this was a slice of heaven.

And I hadn’t even had my warm lunch yet!

FEEDBACK: Well, a LOT happened in this chapter. What did you think?

1) Why do you think of the creature being described at the beginning?

2) Was the attack intense? (Was the fight scene exciting?)

3) Any other thoughts?

Also, please rate this chapter.

1) It's okay,

2) Really like it a lot,

3) Super Engaging (love it),

4) I am so obsessed with this story, and can't get enough.

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