Combat Healer Ch. 07

Combat Healer Ch. 07 -- Monster Girl Harem - solved mystery.

Submitted: November 17, 2022 to Literotica (Copyright 2021 Kaizer Wolf)

Tags: harem, male lead, LitRPG, monster girls, mystery, femdom, group sex, threesome, big tits, dark fantasy, nonhuman, oni, elf, minotaur, holstaur, cowgirl, magic

*****

This fantasy story is a 'LitRPG' (also called GameLit), which is a genre that involves some stats, much like a videogame. The overall concept of stats is introduced right away, but you can certainly enjoy the story even if you're not overall familiar with the genre, simply because most of the focus is on the story itself.

Like all my stories, there will be lots of hot sex once the main characters have had time to develop their relationships.

Hope you enjoy.

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- CHAPTER 7: Anxiety -

Many Years Ago

A young elf girl with black hair slowly opened her purple eyes, her irises immediately flashing silver as they adjusted to the darkness, feeling confused as to where she was or how she'd gotten there. Her nose inhaled a gust of fresh air, starkly contrasted to the stale breath in her lungs, and she groggily sat up to stare at the bizarre sight in the near distance.

She was in an enormous cavern...or was it a stone room?

She wasn't sure, but a pair of massive stone doors were currently open wide, revealing a brilliant blue sky and grassy fields in the distance. The sight was so bright that her eyes transitioned to purple again, the rest of the room now feeling dark.

She stared at the sight in confusion, unable to understand where she was, unable to recall what had led to her coming to exist there. Her mouth tasted of blood, and yet she felt no pain. As far as she knew, there were no injuries on her body.

Feeling in a daze, she slowly stood up, her bare foot coming to rest against something hard, only for her purple eyes to widen in alarm.

Unexpectedly, with a loud creak, the stone doors began closing of their own volition.

Panicked, she immediately made a dash for it, running as fast as her thin emaciated legs could carry her, bolting for what she knew was her only chance to escape.

Her only chance to flee from a living hell.

Just as the doors began to come fully together, she used the last of her energy to urgently slip between the stone walls that would crush her, only to trip on a loose rock and begin tumbling down a set of stone steps, rolling to the bottom gasping for breath.

Now she felt pain.

Now she was injured, her ankle twisted, a rib feeling broken.

A loud crack, like the sound of thunder, filled her ears and caused her to flinch as she stared up at the blue sky, only for chunks of rock to begin rolling down the steps as the entire massive doorway fell apart. Urgently, she rolled and began crawling away, attempting to avoid being crushed by the stones, but they didn't travel far, remaining in a tall pile, where there had once been a solitary doorway to another world only moments ago.

Finally sitting up, she held her aching ribs as she stared at the small stone hill, no building in sight, her thoughts slowly clearing...her memories slowly returning...

And then her world fell apart.

"Allie?!" she said urgently, quickly looking around, only to focus again on the pile of rubble.

No.

No, this couldn't be happening.

She lurched forward on all fours, desperately reaching out toward the closed gate, her tone desperate and defeated.

"ALLISTER!" she screamed so loud, her voice gave out.

* * *

I had to admit, I was sincerely nervous about the possibility that Sylvia had figured out which Scourge I was talking about, and gone to snitch to the Elf Queen. But then, I thought more about what I'd actually shared with Mel, realizing I really hadn't said anything that should tip her off that I was talking about the one in the Atacama Valley.

Like, I was confident I hadn't mentioned that at all while we were there.

That was information I'd shared with Mel while we were still on our way, and if Sylvia had heard that I was talking about a Scourge at that location, she would have reacted sooner. Assuming that she even cared.

But no, Sylvia didn't really seem to react until the end of my story...

Again, assuming she was even listening in.

I was probably just being paranoid.

Still, I kept an eye out for the rest of the morning, enjoying my date with Mel in the market, but looking over my shoulder occasionally. However, I didn't notice anyone suspicious, and felt a little more relaxed as the sun rose in the sky.

While browsing, we ate some Sizzles for a small snack, a peppered and spiced meat cooked on a wooden skewer, and then I ended up getting her a gold ear cuff to mark the beginning of our relationship. Of course, I offered to get her a ring, bracer, necklace, or anything else she wanted, but she was pretty big on the ear cuff, saying she was less likely to accidentally break it.

Of course, refusing a normal ring wasn't too surprising, since that was mainly a human tradition, with both Oni and Minotaur getting bullring piercings in their nose for marriage, but I at least figured she'd want a necklace, wrist cuff, or circlet. Then again, she didn't really strike me as the jewelry type, so maybe the gold ear cuff felt like a big deal to her.

She wore it on her right ear, the side Oni associated with relationships, unlike humans.

When it was about noon, we actually ran into Kizmel again, just as we were getting ready to head to a nearby tavern to grab something to eat for lunch, with him acting a lot more relaxed now that he was on a break. He apologized to Mel for being rude, and admitted that Sylvia would be pissed if she overheard him being too casual with anyone.

Mel didn't have a problem with it, and admitted she liked to mess with people who clearly had an entire tree branch up their ass.

That surprisingly got a laugh out of him, and he ended up asking what we were doing, followed by requesting if he could join us for lunch.

Feeling like he had something specifically on his mind, and given that Mel and I still had all afternoon to hang out, I agreed to him eating with us.

We ended up headed to a place of his choosing, since he insisted they had the best Miltsa in the area, which was a drink favored by elves, a sort of creamy sweet beverage made of milk and honey that sometimes had a kick to it. Supposedly it was first made by the Minotaur hundreds of years ago, by mixing milk and mead together, but became a common drink in many of Delanor's city taverns.

Of course, I wasn't completely stupid, knowing it might be considered suspicious that Kizmel insisted that he decide on the location. And I was certainly keeping my eye out, since I'd seen Sylvia whispering something urgent to him right when we left. But part of me also wondered if he sought me out to tip me off about something.

Normally, I'd never think an Elf Guard would do such a thing in a thousand years, but there was one specific little detail that made me inclined to believe I could trust him.

He was Jackel's childhood friend.

Specifically, the one who'd mentioned Jackel's supposed experience with a sexy Lamia from across the western desert. The same experience Jackel had never mentioned himself.

And unsurprisingly, once we had a seat at a corner table and ordered some food from a barmaid, Kizmel immediately proceeded to inquire about how Jackel was doing.

However, I kept it vague, mainly commenting briefly about the human girl he'd made scream all night long and not saying much more. After all, I knew the two elves were acquaintances, and had known each other a long time, but I wasn't exactly sure how close they currently were, and didn't want to share too much. But then, that was when he asked something interesting.

"So," Kizmel began hesitantly. "Are there any rumors going around regarding the top team at your guild? The one with the Defense Specialist?"

I was sincerely surprised by the question, feeling like this was what he wanted to talk about, but completely blindsided by the topic. "Umm, not that I'm aware," I admitted, glancing at Mel sitting next to me. "Why do you ask?"

Kizmel hesitated again, glancing over his shoulder before leaning forward. "They were assigned a special mission by the Queen a little over a month ago, and no one has heard from them. I'm surprised you haven't noticed."

"Oh," I said hesitantly. "Well, my team has only been back at the guild for roughly four days in the last month. We took a Quest that lasted about two weeks, and then came back only for a day and a half, before taking on another Quest that kept us away for nearly three weeks. Shit, it took us two of those weeks just to clear out the Dungeon, and then another handful of days to explore the place for artifacts we missed." I glanced at Mel again. "Honestly, being out for a month isn't completely unheard of."

"Yeah, but I've never heard of the top team taking longer than two weeks to complete a Quest," he countered.

I paused as I considered that, realizing he had a point. I then focused on him again. "So any reason why you bring it up?" I wondered.

He shook his head. "Not exactly. I just know that rumors have begun spreading among the Guard, and I wondered if it had reached the guilds yet. While a loss of any kind is a big deal, losing the three most powerful Scourge Suppressors in our kingdom, especially right before the Northern Invasion, would be extremely demoralizing, to say the least."

I nodded, glancing up at the elf barmaid when she brought a wooden tray with our orders, quickly reaching in my pocket to pull out some coin for our meal. She accepted our payments and indicated she would return with the change.

Of course, when Kizmel said Northern Invasion, I knew he was referring to what most in our guild called the Big Dive, the yearly reappearance of the massive Scourge in the north, that almost wiped out the entire kingdom nearly half a millennium ago. The intensity of the Northern Invasion varied from year to year, with it being plenty manageable most years.

However, the elven military was always on high alert during that time, since the Scourge was primarily a 'northern' problem.

Meaning, the Elf Queen wasn't stupid, and while relations with the humans were peaceful, an opportunistic human Ruler might use the occasion to attempt a takeover.

After all, the Big Dive involved the capital being almost completely emptied of its Scourge Suppressors, all of whom would be occupied for over a month, sometimes longer, as they worked together to defend the entire continent against the onslaught of Scourge Beasts.

Of course, it would objectively be a stupid decision on Ryfle's behalf, considering that instability in the Delanor Kingdom might result in the complete destruction of all life on the continent, the humans included. However, history was not without stupid, power-hungry, opportunistic idiots.

But that was also why the Queen's military was composed of only elves.

Because while the Scourge was everyone's problem, defending the capital was technically the Queen's problem. And she would only trust an elf to remain loyal to the elven kingdom, in the event that a war broke out.

Personally, I'd probably side with her if it came down to it, not really having any ties to the Ryfle kingdom, even though that's where I grew up. But I certainly understood the wisdom of the Queen placing the safety of her own life and authority in the hands of only elves.

When I didn't say anything after we began digging into our food, Mel spoke up. "So if it turns out they really are missing, what will happen?" she wondered.

Kizmel sighed. "There's been rumor that the Queen is actually planning to form a rescue team."

My eyes widened in surprise. "A rescue team," I repeated, my tone skeptical. "For the top team in the entire capital? What kind of Quest were they even sent on? A really tough Dungeon? Or something else?"

"I don't know, and wouldn't be at liberty to say, even if I did know," he replied. "But yes, a rescue team is what I've heard. Of course, it is just a rumor, but rumors circulating in the Guard are a bit more reliable than normal, and they turn out to be true more often than not."

"That's crazy," I replied, only to lower my voice. "And I assume you're not wanting this rumor to spread in the guild prematurely, correct?"

He nodded. "Please let Jackel know in private, but otherwise yes. Don't share this information with anyone else. Not even your team."

I nodded, glancing at Mel.

She nodded too. "I won't say anything. Not big on spreading rumors anyway. They can get out of hand way too fast."

I frowned at that, wondering if she was speaking more generally, or from personal experience. Honestly, I'd told her a lot about myself thus far, but hadn't asked her much more about herself. Which kind of made me wonder if it would be fair, in her own perception, for me to begin probing more into her life now that I'd shared so much of mine.

But it would have to wait until after our meal.

We all looked up again when the barmaid returned with our change, handing out what was owed.

Mel spoke up again after the lady left, her tone casual as she directed her attention toward Kizmel. "So, how does the Queen become the Queen?" she wondered. "Did she just inherent the throne or..." Her voice trailed off when I nudged her arm with my elbow.

She looked at me in confusion, only to notice the elf's stern expression.

"You'll have to forgive her," I said seriously to Kizmel. "She's not from around here."

"What did I do?" Mel asked in complete confusion. "I wasn't trying to offend anyone."

I lowered my voice, glancing over my shoulder briefly.

"It's a forbidden topic," I explained quietly. "How the elves choose their ruler is a closely guarded secret, and they could get in big trouble for saying anything about it."

"Oh," she replied with wide gold eyes, focusing on him. "I am so sorry. I promise I didn't mean anything by it. I was just curious."

He relaxed a little, sighing as he grabbed his cup to take a swig of his Miltsa.

I continued. "I have theories though, and can share with you later," I added, intentionally deciding to probe a little since the topic had come up.

Kizmel frowned at that. "Theories, huh? And where did these theories come from?" he asked seriously.

"Just logical deductions, stemming from what I know about elven culture, as well as from some things I read."

That really got his attention, his mossy eyes narrow now. "Things you read where?" he demanded. Of course, keeping the secret wasn't just a passive obligation for all elves, it was also an active one, and I knew for a fact that any elf who found out there was a book somewhere describing forbidden information would be sought out and destroyed.

"About elven culture," I repeated. "There are some things I've just learned from getting to know people, and other stuff I've read." I scoffed. "Trust me, there's nothing I've seen that actually depicts how the ruler is chosen."

He nodded slowly, seeming to relax again. "So what are your theories?" he asked more calmly.

"What are you going to do if I'm right?" I asked seriously.

Of course, I actually did want to run them by him, to see how his reaction compared to Jackel, but I also didn't want to get arrested for it. Some might think I was foolish for toeing the line at all with such a forbidden topic, but I was on an endless pursuit of knowledge, almost being unable to help myself when it came to figuring out a mystery. And I was thus willing to take a little risk to figure stuff out.

Plus, I supposed there was a side of me that wanted to understand the culture of the girl I'd fallen in love with, even if I had no idea where she was or whether or not she was even alive. At the very least, I was pretty sure that the rare few humans who were married to elves were actually aware too, but I was pretty sure that them sharing with an outsider would be viewed as treason.

It was that serious.

Still, I wanted to figure it out, since I would have known had things turned out differently with my young elf companion.

Since I would have known, had she not abandoned me...

Now Kizmel scoffed. "What will I do? Nothing. I will neither confirm nor deny any assumptions you might have. But I am curious as to what a human might deduce from our culture."

I frowned at that, feeling like it was a stab at my intelligence.

Mel spoke up, her tone quiet. "You can just tell me later..." She paused. "Or not at all," she amended when Kizmel focused on her.

I could understand the concern, but I honestly didn't think that the vague theories I had were specific enough to really matter, since even if those vague ideas were correct, there was no way to have it confirmed as truth. At least, not unless an elf slipped in how they reacted, and accidentally confirmed it nonverbally.

I cleared my throat. "In very basic terms, while I have no idea who is qualified to even be considered, I think that the ruler is chosen by undergoing a series of trials. Probably to measure their intelligence, combat prowess, and I also think they have their determination evaluated through pain."

Kizmel's eyes narrowed.

Mel spoke up hesitantly. "Why pain?" she asked quietly.

I focused on her. "Because in Oni culture, physical strength is valued above all else, but for the elves, they perceive true strength as the ability to endure suffering. And when you have otherwise equal candidates, it is the one who can endure pain the longest that is chosen." I glanced at Kizmel, whose expression was neutral, before focusing on her again. "After all, who better to lead the elves than the one who is both the strongest, physically, and also so determined as to last the longest under the agony of torture?" I paused, gauging Kizmel's expression to ensure I wasn't going to far, being pretty confident that he wouldn't say or do anything, so long as it was all theoretical. I focused on Mel again. "At the very least, the elves have absolute reverence for the Queen, and I suspect it's because they know exactly what she endured to achieve her position. And..." I added, focusing on the elf again. "It's also why I hold great respect for the Queen. Assuming my theories are correct."

He didn't respond, frowning slightly.

Mel spoke up again hesitantly. "But why would that be a secret?" she asked quietly.

I shrugged. "Because other races probably wouldn't understand. They might view a ruler, who had essentially been tortured by her people, to be someone who was weak or a puppet. When in reality, she could have given up at any time, as all the other candidates did, and by not giving up, thus proved that she was the strongest through her own willpower and volition." I paused. "Plus torture is a sensitive subject," I added.

Kizmel finally spoke up. "I think you should keep your theories to yourself from now on."

I shrugged casually. "Will do. So how's the Miltsa?"

He sighed. "Best around," he replied simply.

I nodded, seeing an opportunity to attempt to carefully pry a little more, specifically in regard to what happened earlier with Sylvia, by first trying to ease into the subject. "How long do you have until you have to return to your post?" I wondered, knowing he had a very accurate perception of time, like many elves did.

He shrugged. "I'll make my way back after I'm finished with my meal."

"Not worried about Sylvia getting onto you?" I wondered.