Dungeons and Dalliances Ch. 140-149

The storage size was impressive even at the plug's base tier, too: almost half of Ana's entire pool. That was a phenomenal boon to take into any given fight. A fifty percent bonus to her mana was genuinely an unbelievable level-two tool, and it more than made up for the distracting sensations associated with equipping it. And while the plug didn't provide a means to regenerate mana faster, and so over the course of a long dungeon run, its usefulness waned, being able to recharge fully and enter a boss fight—or any other important encounter—with so much more starting mana was incredible.

Ana intended to make good use of the [Expanding Nexus Gem]. Inserting it had been challenging to begin with, though, and so progress might not come quickly. She wasn't sure just how large the accessory would grow, but if Ana had to guess, fairly large. The good news was that walking around with it stretching out her ass out all day ought to be good training—it shouldn't be too long before she was accustomed to taking an impressive amount of metal up her ass.

Which wasn't a delving proficiency Ana had ever thought she would acquire, but these were strange times.

Perhaps, even, she should wear it around campus. She would have to come up with explanations for where her weapon had gone, and learning to not walk suspiciously could be a problem too. But she would handle that when she got to it. Plus, the requirement to have a teammate insert the gem was its own roadblock. It was only fair such an amazing piece of equipment came with burdensome downsides. Ana was still quite pleased with the item.

Before swinging open the door and entering the next hallway, Natalie glanced back at her. Her eyes flicked down to Ana's cock, though quickly, like she hadn't meant to. Her cheeks colored, and she looked back forward. Ana didn't comment, though her skin tingled at being so obviously admired.

Despite all the absurdity of the past hour, Natalie stayed aware of the potential for danger. She peeked through the door cautiously, scouting for enemies or traps. Ana had expected the upcoming hallway to be the same as the previous two, but by how Natalie paused, Ana knew something was up.

"What is it?"

"There's a mirror."

"There is?"

"Near the ladder." Natalie frowned at whatever she could see inside the hallway—Ana kept a safe distance. "It doesn't look dangerous, but we should be ready for something."

Ana pushed aside her previous musings, and the awkwardness and excitement of her and Natalie's lewd adventures and loot. Once again, they were dealing with the dungeon proper, and a lack of focus could mean injury or death. It was more than a bit jarring having to swap between the two vastly different contexts, but they didn't have much choice. And in an odd way, the contrast highlighted the events, made them more potent for their strangeness.

Ana followed after Natalie. As Natalie had said, there was a mirror to the right of the exit ladder, though the joining hallway was otherwise the same as the earlier ones. Ana scanned the walls, floor, and ceiling, looking for traps, but found nothing.

They approached the mirror cautiously. After their last encounter with a mirror throwing them into this trap to begin with, and the boss utilizing them as a key mechanic, Ana chose to have an abundance of wariness—as did Natalie.

"It's ... not a mirror?" Natalie said. "Just glass. It's not reflecting anything. I can see through it."

Natalie held her hammer up, prepping herself for something that might fling itself through—since that was how the last boss fight had gone. Ana didn't find that likely, though. The hallways seemed to be safe zones. Something else was up.

They finished approaching the suspicious furnishing. Natalie's muscles tensed, being the first to arrive, with Ana keeping a safe distance, as any mage should. Natalie got a full vantage of what was inside the mirror, and her eyes widened. Ana, out of curiosity, edged in too, wanting to see.

Inside the mirror, a form became visible. White-haired, in full delving gear, and with a rapier at her hip, the sight was familiar, though highly unexpected.

"Sofia?" Natalie exclaimed.

"Ana?" Sofia's reply came, just as surprised. More so, even, probably because they were naked—not something Sofia had expected to see.

Ana finished coming to Natalie's side, assuming by this point that a monster wouldn't come hurling through the mirror. Their team's white-haired rapier-wielding fighter stood there—staring at them with wide eyes, a blush quickly growing on her cheeks. Sofia looked relieved despite her embarrassment, though. Ana covered herself up with her arms and hands, following Natalie's lead. She wasn't nearly as perturbed by nakedness as most people—whether it was her own or others'—but that didn't mean she wouldn't follow basic rules for modesty. Even if it felt like it was becoming rather pointless, considering Natalie's class.

"And Nat," Sofia said, eyes turning to her next. "You're fine too. That's good." She sounded relieved—Ana supposed disappearing into a trap was something worth worrying about.

"Jordan?" a new voice interjected. "Did you found something?"

Ana paused. It was Jordan's voice who had asked the question—something that made Ana instantly suspicious of what was going on.

"Who are you talking to?" Jordan's voice continued from out of sight. The dark-haired rogue arrived at Sofia's shoulder a moment later. Liz, the last unaccounted-for member of their party, also joined them, crowding around the mirror.

"It's them," Sofia answered Jordan. "The mirrors are linked, I guess?" Sofia frowned at Natalie and Ana. "And why are you two naked?" The white-haired girl studied Ana, as if sensing something was off. If Ana had to guess, she and Natalie were easy to tell apart, even if they were in each other's bodies. Natalie was much more expressive than Ana, and she looked plainly relieved to see the rest of the party. Ana, on her part, kept her usual neutral mask, which had to look out of place while wearing Natalie's face.

"Actually, that's a dumb question," Sofia said. "Let me guess, something to do with Natalie's class."

Ana could also sense that something was off with the three women crowded around the mirror. Sofia, Jordan, and Liz's mannerisms were all wrong, in a hard-to-place but nonetheless obvious way. Joined with the earlier hint—Jordan calling Sofia by her own name—Ana suspected what was going on. And Sofia confirmed the theory in short order.

"Oh, and I'm not Sofia," Sofia said. "She is." Sofia—or, correctly put, Jordan in Sofia's body—gestured at Liz. "And that's Liz." She pointed at Jordan. Sofia frowned, her eyes flicking between Ana and Natalie. "You two also swapped, didn't you?"

4.41 - Ana II

"We did," Natalie confirmed. "I didn't think you three would, though. And why aren't you naked, then?"

"Why would we be?" Jordan asked. "That's your class."

Ana tilted her head. It was a fair point. The three seemed to have been caught up in the same trap, seeing how they had swapped bodies, but since they weren't with Natalie, the dungeon had given them a less sex-oriented debacle.

"But what's the point, then?" Natalie asked, confused. "What's even the challenge?"

"What's the challenge?" Jordan asked, eyebrows going up. "Our classes and bodies are swapped. What do you mean, what's the challenge?"

Ah. Ana and Natalie had gotten to keep their classes, but that was because they had lewder activities to undergo—the combat was peripheral. Not so for the rest of the party, who had been split off into a similar, but different, adventure.

Ana had only just gotten used to seeing Natalie talk in a different body. The rest of her team also having been scrambled was difficult to adjust to. She needed to constantly remind herself who was speaking. Not Sofia, but Jordan wearing Sofia's body.

"You didn't keep your classes?"

"You did?"

"Yeah."

Jordan's brow scrunched down. "Well, then, what's the point for you? What's the trap?" She paused, and her lips curled up mischievously. "Actually, another dumb question. Let me guess. You two are handling some other difficulties from swapping bodies." Her eyes flicked to Ana—wearing Natalie's body—who was covering herself with both hands.

Natalie was more embarrassed by the implication than Ana, like usual. Her face went red, and she shifted side to side as she struggled to come up with a deflection. Ana sympathized with her plight, even if she wasn't as embarrassed.

"No, there's been plenty of fighting, too," Natalie said. "I'm not sure what you're implying."

Jordan's smirk deepened, and she opened her mouth, ready to press Natalie's obvious lie. Ana interjected before she could. Half for Natalie's sake, and half because there were more important things to be talking about. Jordan could tease Natalie on her own time.

"You three followed in after us?" Ana asked. "Or did the dungeon force you to?"

Jordan paused, then turned to her, her teasing remark drying up. She gave Ana an odd look. "Of course we followed. It's not like we'd sit around and wait." She frowned at Natalie. "Though, just rushing in like you did was nothing short of idiotic, Nat."

"That's putting it politely," Liz muttered—and Ana had to remind herself it was Sofia in her body. The blatant insult had taken Ana aback, coming from the persistently friendly girl.

"Yeah, yeah," Natalie said, brushing it off. "I just kinda acted. I know I shouldn't have. But how are you three holding up?" Her brow furrowed. "And what's up with this mirror? Why is the dungeon letting us talk to each other?"

"Good question," Jordan said. "I've got no idea. And we're doing fine. Sort of. We're surviving. Swapping classes is kind of rough. Liz isn't the greatest with bladed weapons, and Sofia is ..." Jordan hesitated, searching for a way to put it politely.

"Not a mage," Sofia grumbled, wearing a dark expression that was odd to see on Liz's face. "It's given me a newfound respect for your situation. Having a casting class just dumped onto my lap and being forced to cope."

"It was a struggle," Natalie agreed. "So, you three are having to learn each other's skills?"

That was an interesting concept, but also violating. Being forced to share the details of their classes with each other just so that they could survive. Honestly, Ana would have been more upset by that situation than the one she and Natalie had ended up in. Sharing the details of one's class was highly intimate, much more so than being naked, in Ana's frank opinion. Her class was written into her soul, but being stuck naked, or even encouraged into intimacy—well, it was just smashing genitals together. Ana didn't get what the big deal was.

The other three didn't seem too upset by the swap, though. Then again, they'd already had time to adjust to their situation, and even more to the point, Ana was hardly the best at reading people. Maybe they were uncomfortable with it, and she just couldn't tell.

"But yeah, we're doing fine. Jordan's carrying us," Liz piped in, her tone sounding too cheerful for using Sofia's voice. "She barely had to adjust, since Sofia's class is nearly rogue-like as it stands."

"And lucky for her," Sofia said sourly. It was rather clear the competitive girl didn't like being the deadweight of the team, having to struggle with spell-casting for the first time.

"The dungeon adjusted its difficulty with the swap in mind," Jordan said. "It's not throwing anything impossible at us. It's seriously weird, though. And definitely not easy. What about you two? It's not looking bad?"

"We're pushing through."

"Having a good bonding experience?" Jordan asked slyly. "You still didn't tell me what you've been up to."

Again, Natalie's face reddened at the obvious implication. And at how easily Natalie was reacting, Jordan's delight grew.

Before she could get something out, though, Ana again came to Natalie's rescue. Natalie wasn't typically a girl who needed to be rescued, but it was clear she was embarrassed by the situation—and especially by the details. She probably didn't want the details of their misadventures getting out. How she'd so eagerly sucked Ana's—or her own—cock.

"How are the rewards for you three?" Ana cut in.

Jordan paused, her teasing cut off for a second time, then narrowed her eyes at Ana. Ana knew the other girl was socially insightful—certainly ten times more so than Ana—and Ana wasn't particularly subtle even when she was trying her hardest. Seeing how Ana had done it twice now, Jordan had probably picked up how Ana was intervening for Natalie's sake. Added with how quickly Natalie was blushing, Jordan could tell something was up.

"Good, but nothing special," Jordan said after a brief pause. She studied Ana, then nodded at her—though Ana hadn't a clue what the gesture implied. "Let me guess. You two have been getting crazy loot."

"Some of the most interesting yet, even accounting for Elizabeth's wand."

Liz's eyes widened at that, for good reason. Her wand had already been one of the strangest—and strongest—items Ana had heard of, considering its low level.

"Oh, wow," Liz said. "I don't know if I even wanna guess."

"It's best we save explanations for our reunion," Ana said. "It'll take time to go through it all." There was the stat-boosting potions, and Ana's new weapon as well. Probably more to come.

"Can't wait to see the haul," Jordan said, her lips curling up—and with a sparkle in her eye that said she meant the words. She knew that loot coming from a challenge that was forcing her and Natalie into nakedness would involve something lewd, and she was excited to see what. Amusingly, Jordan seemed to be the most at ease with Natalie's class than anyone besides possibly Ana herself.

Sofia, unsurprisingly, just shook her head in disapproval, incredulity, or something similar.

"But really," Jordan said. "Stop deflecting. What challenges are you two getting, if you weren't forced to swap classes? Have you—"

A sudden crashing made all five of them jump. Jordan's head snapped to the side, looking at something Ana and Natalie couldn't see. Her eyes widened, hand shooting to her belt and drawing Sofia's rapier in an instant. Then, just as suddenly as the interruption had come, the mirror shattered, spraying Ana and Natalie with a shower of glass shards.

Which was, Ana would admit, a convenient way to cut Jordan's interrogation off.

After spinning side to side, scanning to clear the room and look for any threats on their end, Natalie turned to Ana.

"Shit. What was that?"

Ana shrugged. "They'll be fine." She didn't have a clue, but she also had faith in her teammates. Danger was a given in the dungeon, and she wasn't going to panic every time something unexpected happened. Jordan, Sofia, and Liz knew how to handle themselves. Even Natalie, the more emotional—and certainly more attached—wasn't too bothered, though she did send several concerned looks at the broken mirror, chewing her lip as if trying to puzzle out a way to help them.

"I wanted to ask if they had optional ways out, like we do," Natalie said, gesturing at the ladder. "And what's up with the dungeon letting the five of us talk in the first place? What's the point? Was there something we should have told them?"

"Maybe," Ana said. It hadn't crossed her mind that there was anything urgent they needed to convey. "Maybe the dungeon just wanted to let us know they were fine. Unharmed."

Natalie gave her a doubtful look.

"More likely, though, it just wanted to embarrass us further," Ana said. "By showing off our circumstances."

"Why would it want to do that?"

"Why would it want me to shove my cock down your throat?" Ana countered. Clearly, the theme of the challenge was to mortify Natalie—to push her boundaries. So her explanation for the mirror made some sense, in that context.

And, apparently, Ana had just helped the dungeon with that goal. Because the question was too direct; Natalie flushed and turned away.

She hadn't been trying to tease Natalie. That was part of the reason why she was oftentimes absurdly direct, to the point of obviously messing with people. To mask when she was doing so accidentally. Ana was entirely aware she could be clueless. Thus, the practical solution was to mask that weakness behind a cool face and dry humor—it made it less obvious when she was floundering unintentionally.

"Questioning the dungeon is pointless," Ana said, brushing past Natalie's reaction. "It does what it does. In the best of cases, an entity like it will behave enigmatically. So, we worry about ourselves, not its indecipherable motives. As for the mirror—what happened, happened. No point in fretting. They'll be fine."

"Right."

Natalie glanced at the next door, the entrance into the next challenge room. If following the same pattern, it would be combat, not a lewd encounter. They still had a brief reprieve before their next event, whatever it would turn out to be.

Ana hesitated. They 'needed to worry about themselves', as she'd just said, but maybe not just in the sense of danger. By Natalie's continued blushing, Ana was honestly worried whether Natalie was okay with all of this. Perhaps the excellent rewards were coercing her into things she didn't want.

Then again, Ana doubted that was the case. Natalie had been too enthusiastic to get her mouth around Ana's cock. At the same time, this series of encounters wasn't the most organic of situations. In Ana's opinion, that was even what made it so exciting—or at least so titillating. Certainly, they weren't being forced into anything, but they were being encouraged into plenty.

Regardless, Natalie's constant blushing and less-than-typical non-confidence made it clear she had been put on the back foot. Uncomfortable, in a way, despite her enthusiasm when the sticky situation had started. And despite Natalie's insistent that they shouldn't talk about it, Ana thought they should.

Just, how to go about it? Ana wasn't exactly a social savant. She didn't know how to navigate a conversation that obviously required tact.

But better to talk than to not, Ana decided. It was time to put her foot down.

For both of their sakes, she needed Natalie to admit that she wanted more of her cock.

4.42 - Ana III

It was unfortunate that she, of all people, had to initiate a genuine conversation. Of her talents, heart-to-heart discussions were most definitely not a specialty. Ana knew she thought, acted, and perceived things differently than most people—and so, naturally, social matters had always been a weak point. In fact, she suspected Natalie's awkwardness and uncomfortableness stemmed, at least in part, from Ana herself.

Though, maybe uncomfortable was too strong of a word. Natalie didn't seem to dislike her, or feel ill at ease around her. Ana didn't think Natalie wanted to exit the challenge but couldn't work up the nerve—it wasn't that extreme. But their unfamiliarity, and her aloof and analytical behavior, certainly didn't mesh with Natalie's passionate and direct nature.

That had been part of the reason Ana had taken up a dominating personality, earlier. It had been an intuitive response to Natalie's reactions, an attempt to give the woman some stability. Maybe if Ana acted confident, then Natalie would find comfort in that—Ana could be her anchor.

And it had worked, so she kept on with it. She considered herself practical above all else. She could be a leader, or a follower, or whoever else was needed for any given situation, so long as it worked toward her current goal. Hence, she had been fine with taking a dominant role over Natalie—with the intent Natalie drew strength from her.