Combat Healer Ch. 07

He frowned at that. "The gate is shut, the door is locked. I think we both know I'm only there to keep stragglers out of her hair and warn newcomers of the consequences of theft. A consequence she might very well inflict herself."

I laughed at that. "Yeah, she's threatened to freeze me to death on a number of occasions."

He grinned at that. "She's well-known for her temperament toward men, though she tolerates some."

"You included, huh?"

He sighed. "She tolerates me, yes. Probably because she knows I'm not taken with her beauty, as many others are."

I frowned at that. "I mean, she is attractive, sure. But I don't exactly try to flirt with her."

"Ah, but you're also human. The rare few she tolerates are elves."

"Ouch," I said simply, not really bothered by that fact, since I already figured as much. I knew it wasn't exactly a race thing though. She just didn't like men, no matter what they looked like, and the rare few she only tolerated were elves. Not to mention, technically his lack of interest in her was only his personal theory as to why she was more tolerant toward him. Could be a different reason entirely.

Mel was just listening now, taking a swig of her drink, only to unexpectedly belch as she set it down.

And it was the most fucking adorable sound in the world. Shit, I really liked her.

I tried not to grin as I remained focused. "So," I continued, trying to keep my tone casual. "If the gate is closed, does that mean she hasn't returned from her errand?"

He shrugged.

Dammit. I was hoping for more.

I tried again, my tone extra casual.

"Seemed like something urgent came up earlier, while we were there," I added. "She looked really concerned."

He frowned, his tone a bit more firm. "If there was something urgent, that would be none of your business."

"Ah yes, of course," I agreed.

Dammit.

Should have bought him an ale to loosen him up more, though I doubted he would have accepted it while on the job. At the very least, it was obvious he had wanted to discuss something, and that subject was more in regard to the rumors surrounding the top team possibly missing. But other than that, he didn't seem to have much to say, primarily wanting me to communicate what he'd shared with Jackel.

Mel spoke up again. "Speaking of that lovely specimen of a woman," she added playfully, her tone sarcastic. "What kind of book did you have that it cost a freaking gold coin to rent for a couple of days?"

"It's a tome on curses," I said simply.

Mel froze solid, a bite of food halfway to her mouth. "Wait, what? That huge book was completely about curses?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, and it was very insightful too. Lots of stuff in there I'd never seen before."

"L-Like...like what?" she wondered.

"What kind of curses did it talk about?" I clarified.

She grimaced. "Umm, well, just in general," she hedged.

I sighed. "Well, you know healing spells are usually more effective if they touch close to where the wound is?"

"Umm, yeah," she replied, seeming a little confused by the change of subject as she set her utensil down entirely. "I mean, that's sort of common knowledge, right?"

"Yeah, but have you ever wondered why that might be?"

She glanced uncertainly at Kizmel, who decided to chime in.

"I believe it's because healing spells affect the whole body, correct?" he replied.

I nodded. "Yes. Except, more specifically, the two most common healing spells, Heal and Greater Healing, affect the entire body. However, what I've discovered from personal experience, as well as verified in previous books I've read, is that you can localize the healing by making the spell more specific. Such as by saying Heal, arm, or something like that."

"And what would be the benefit of that?" Kizmel wondered.

"Well, for one, sometimes the spell will actually use up less essence. But also, when dealing specifically with curses, sometimes being more specific actually unlocks a new, more precise, spell that both uses less essence and also is more effective. I actually did it with the Heal spell too, learning several Heal Ailment spells."

"Wow," Kizmel said sincerely. "That's actually very interesting. I wonder if that might apply to other Classes as well."

"No idea," I admitted. "Although, while we were out on a Quest about six months ago, I'd heard rumor of someone from Ryfle who had developed a unique Fireball spell. Supposedly it was blue, and much more powerful than a normal fireball."

"Really?" Mel said in surprise, finally speaking up again.

I nodded at her, only for Kizmel to chime back in.

"And can you give an example of any more specific spells you've learned?" he wondered curiously.

I shrugged. "Well, here's the thing. The only way I can actually learn a new spell is if I'm trying to fix something in particular. For example, about a year ago there was a Holstaur who was sick during labor, and while trying to heal her with my Greater Healing spell, I learned the spell Cure Disease."

His dark eyebrows shot up.

Mel chimed back in. "And what about curses?" she wondered hesitantly.

Truly suspecting at this point that she needed some kind of curse healed, I chose my words carefully. "Well, thus far, I've tried to modify my spells when dealing with the two most common curses of Plague and Decay. And I ended up learning two versions of Dispel Curse and Dispel Advanced Curse for both of them."

Kizmel chimed back in. "What's the difference between those two?"

"Mainly essence cost, and severity of the condition," I replied. "If someone has the Plague, and they just have a few boils, then I'd use the former. But if someone is almost unrecognizable and on death's door, then I'd use the latter."

He nodded. "Truly, this is very interesting," he admitted. "I've always thought Healers were very boring, only having their two or three spells to use on everything, but this is actually quite fascinating."

I grinned, keeping in mind that Mel was paying close attention. "Yep, and what I also learned from that book is that it's easier to learn a more specific spell if I understand the nature of the curse. Which was why I was going through and memorizing all the types of known curses, as well as how to identify them based on their symptoms. That way, if I ever come across a new curse, I have a higher chance of learning a new spell when I try to heal it."

"Very noble of you," the elf commented. "That's a large book."

Mel unexpectedly spoke up. "Can we go back and get it?" she blurted out.

Kizmel laughed at that. "What, are you cursed or something?" he chuckled.

Mel grimaced. "I, umm, just didn't realize how valuable it was, and feel really bad that Allie didn't get to study it more."

"That's alright," I said gently, feeling confident about the real reason she wanted me to retrieve it. "I've actually looked through the whole thing at least once, to get an idea of all the types of curses it had listed. I was just going back through to memorize all their symptoms, but I remember a lot. If I came across something new, there's a good chance I'd be able to help."

Mel was averting her gaze. "I...I see," she said quietly.

Kizmel sighed, taking his last gulp of his Miltsa. "Well, I should be getting back. It was a pleasure sharing lunch with you."

"Same here," I agreed. "Hope the rest of your day is alright."

"You too," he replied, standing up, only to nod at Mel. "Nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you too," she echoed, giving him a nod as he turned around to leave.

I waited until he was out the door, before glancing at Mel, who was decisively not looking at me now, instead just staring at what remained of her meal.

I sighed heavily. "So," I began slowly. "Do you want to check around the other guilds after we're done eating..." I paused. "Or...do you want to return to my room and talk a little?"

She winced.

"Mel, I really like you. A lot."

"I really like you too," she agreed quietly.

I waited for a few seconds to see if she was going to answer before responding.

"So then?" I finally prompted.

She sighed heavily. "Okay," she whispered.

"Room?" I assumed.

She nodded once.

I sighed and then went back to eating what remained of my meal, silently hoping she didn't change her mind, but also not wanting to cause her to pull on the reins by trying to rush her back to my room. However, surprisingly, she picked up her utensil after a second and resumed eating as well, causing us both to finish our meals in silence.

Though it was far from silent, the other patrons quite boisterous.

Still, neither one of us spoke.

Just as I finished my food, I decided to broach the subject.

"So, if I can help you, then what?" I wondered. "Are you still going to want to date me?"

She looked at me in surprise, her gold eyes wide...only for her to grimace and focus down on her food.

I frowned. "I'll still try to help if that's the case, but if this ends between us the moment that you're all better, I'd like to be mentally prepared for it."

She took a deep breath. "Allie, I really like you. A lot. And not just because you remind me of home. You're very handsome and are absolutely my preferred type of guy." She paused, grimacing slightly. "But I've been hurt before. Not physically," she clarified. "But in other ways. And I guess I'm just afraid."

"What is there to be afraid of though?" I asked seriously.

She sighed. "What if you can't help?" she replied. "Then what? What if you find out what's wrong with me and can't live with it?"

I scoffed. "Why wouldn't I be able to live with it?"

She grimaced.

I sighed. "Look, just give me a chance to help you, okay?" I paused, examining her reserved expression, deciding to try lightening the mood. "And besides, even if I didn't want to be your boyfriend anymore, I'm still your pet, right?"

She cracked a small smile at that, only to sigh again. "Okay, well, I guess let's do this then."

I nodded, standing up and offering my hand.

She hesitated briefly, before accepting it, the two of us walking out of the tavern with our fingers intertwined, with her at first remaining determined. However, as we moved through the streets and alleyways, I could see her anxiety increase, until she was reaching over to cling to my arm again, her firm tits squished against me as we walked.

I tried to fill the time with more details about how I met my teammates, starting from where I'd left off, and also shared with her what I'd been up to in the last couple of years. But she was still obviously anxious.

Thankfully, when we reached the guild, we didn't stumble across anyone who would stop to bother me, allowing the two of us to get up to my room and behind a locked door.

Figuring it would be easier on her if we sat at a distance, I dropped off my empty leather bag and took the chair in front of the desk, prompting her to hesitantly sit down on my bed. We were then both silent for a few seconds, only for her to let out an exacerbated sigh.

"You know what? Fuck it."

She abruptly stood up and began undoing her leather pants, only to push them down to below her knees, her boots still on. She then grabbed the glossy leather underwear, and did the same, revealing a little bit of white fuzz above her perfect pussy.

Of course, I'd never seen an Oni's pussy before, but I had a basic idea of what it looked like from comments made by Turg and Dagru. Unlike human women, who had very modest proportions down there, female Oni usually had much larger proportions. Their clit was often the size of a button, a little squishy mound that was very visible when exposed, and their pussy lips were usually big enough to hang a little between their thighs.

Which was exactly what I saw.

And holy fuck was it hot as hell.

I swallowed hard as my cock rapidly began straining against my pants.

"Okay, umm, so you're ridiculously hot and sexy," I commented, almost beginning to feel lightheaded. "But what exactly is the problem?" I wondered, finally looking up at her grimace.

She was standing with her hands balled into fists at her sides, her rosy hips completely bare, all of her being naked from her stomach to her knees.

"It swells," she blurted out.

"It swells?" I repeated in surprise, focusing on her snatch again. "Like, when you get aroused?" I assumed.

She nodded. "Everything gets bigger. Way bigger." She abruptly held up her balled fingers. "My clit gets as big as my fist. And the rest of my cunt swells so much that it practically reaches the middle of my thighs."

My eyes were wide as I absorbed that, beginning to understand why she was clearly so embarrassed about it, but not fully comprehending why it was such a horrible thing. Because whether it be human, Oni, Minotaur, or even elf, I was sure there were few men who wouldn't be at least a little curious about discovering what it would be like to fuck a huge pussy.

Maybe there was more to it?

"Does it hurt?" I asked seriously.

She grimaced. "Umm, no. The bigger everything gets, the more sensitive it becomes."

"And how long does it take to go back to normal?" I wondered.

She sighed. "I don't know. Maybe ten minutes? I've done everything in my power to avoid getting aroused since this happened, especially when I'm around others." She took a deep breath. "Like, fuck. If it happens while I'm wearing pants, it looks like I'm suddenly growing a cock or something. All anyone can see is a huge bulge between my legs."

I nodded. "But it's just your lips getting so big," I commented, just pointing out the obvious.

"Umm, yeah," she replied hesitantly, only to frown. "Does it...does it not bother you?"

I shook my head. "No, it doesn't really bother me. Kind of hot, actually."

Her gold eyes widened in shock. "Hot? You're kidding, right?"

I shrugged. "I mean, I haven't seen how it looks, but yeah. Kind of hot. But how did this even happen?"

She sighed, finally sitting her naked red ass down on the bed. She then began to tug off her boots as she responded, followed by getting her leather pants and panties off the rest of the way. "So back in the capital in Ryfle, I was kind of known for having a thing for humans. But the thing was, I honestly didn't fuck around a lot. Some bitch had an issue with me and started spreading rumors that I'd fuck anyone, so long as they were human."

"Damn, that sucks," I replied, my cock still straining against my pants.

"Yeah, it did suck. Because I had a ton of guys trying to get me to fuck them. All the freaking time. It was so fucking annoying." She grimaced then. "But then there was this one guy who wouldn't take no for an answer. And when I denied him, he got really pissed." She sighed. "I guess he bought some kind of artifact or something, probably came from a Dungeon, and he used it on me."

"And now your pussy gets huge when you're aroused," I finished for her.

She focused on me in disbelief. "It really doesn't bother you?"

"Is there a reason it should?" I wondered.

She frowned at that. "I mean, I don't know. It's super embarrassing. Just imagine if everyone found out! I'd have everyone whispering behind my back. And, I mean, if I got horny when we were around people, they might think you were dating a dude! That I just look female!"

I shrugged. "Who gives a fuck what they think?" I paused. "I mean, yeah, I get how much that would suck for you if people found out, but I personally wouldn't care what they'd say about me. All that matters to me is you, Mel."

Her gold eyes turned affectionate as she absorbed that.

She then sighed. "Oh Allie, how did I get so lucky?"

I grinned.

She immediately frowned. "But I really would like for you to try to fix me. Please."

I nodded. "I'll try, Mel. I really will. But I'm not sure if this thing is a curse."

"What is it, then?" she asked seriously.

"Not sure," I admitted. "But let me focus for a few minutes, and I'll see if I can figure it out."

She nodded, taking a deep breath and spreading her thighs a little, as if that was supposed to help.

Oh fuck, I was so turned on right now.

Seeing her rosy cunt from this angle was so fucking hot.

I tried to swallow as I used my skill, Eye of the Goddess.

----------------------------------------

Melantha Murta'rahg

----------------------------------------

STATUS

Race: Re'ju

Gender: Female

Age: 24

Class: Mage

Focus: Battlemage

Ailments: None

----------------------------------------

ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 15 (Lv. 7)

Dexterity: 13 (Lv. 7)

Fortitude: 18 (Lv. 9)

Wisdom: 18 (Lv. 8)

Intelligence: 19 (Lv. 8)

Charisma: 13 (Lv. 8)

----------------------------------------

Total: 96

Rank: A Tier

----------------------------------------

Level: 47/50

----------------------------------------

Well, shit.

She definitely didn't have any ailments, that was certain. And normally a curse would appear under ailments. So then, maybe I could try to look at her Skills and Spells again. Previously, I wasn't able to see her Skills, but maybe if I focused really hard I could finally see them.

----------------------------------------

Melantha Murta'rahg

----------------------------------------

ABILITIES

Skills: Essence Extraction, Battle Instinct, Two-Handed Proficiency, Hammer Strike, Berserk, Juicy Pussy

Spells: Fireball, Flame Daggers, Flame Whip, Ignition, Rising Phoenix

----------------------------------------

Juicy...

Juicy Pussy?!

What the fuck!

She had a skill called Juicy Pussy?!

Oh shit, I absolutely had to figure out what this was, because I'd never heard of something so ridiculous in my life.

Focusing really hard, I tried to see the details of this absurd skill.

----------------------------------------

SKILL: Juicy Pussy

----------------------------------------

DESCRIPTION

Type: Body Modification

Effect: Permanent modification to physical body that results in the excessive swelling and increased sensitivity of female genitals, triggered by arousal.

----------------------------------------

Body modification?

Huh, normally skills were either Innate Passive, Innate Active, Combat Passive, or Combat Active. But this was a modification, and even worse, it appeared to be permanent.

Fuck.

I mean, a part of me was seriously turned on by this entire situation, but I knew she wasn't going to be happy with the bad news.

That she was just going to have to live with this condition.

I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

"It's bad, isn't it?" she assumed.

"It's not a curse," I admitted. "It seems to be a body modification."

"A body modification?" she repeated.

I nodded. "Yeah, and I think it might be permanent."

She grimaced. "Fuck."

"I'm really sorry," I said sincerely. "And for what it's worth, I still like you and want to be with you."

Her expression was really complicated, being a mixture of sorrow and defeat, with a tiny bit of appreciation and maybe even a little bit of hope.