Rupegia Ch. 06: Expedition

What kind of girl gets so excited when talking about killing giant spiders and a giant half-spider, half-humans? No, not even the average adventurer likes spiders.

I smile warmly and shrug as I say, "Well, I was going to share the info with you anyway, but I guess this is fine since now I don't have to explain things to you."

* * * * *

Just as we finish eating our dinner at the inn, Selina comes to talk to us.

"Hello, Mr. Ryder," she greets with her usual bright smile.

I motion her to the free chair, then Alissa and I both greet her back in kind.

She delicately sits down like a lady and asks with barely contained curiosity, "Father said you're going to leave on an expedition again, is that true?"

I nod and explain, "I'll meet with the employer tomorrow to negotiate the terms, but we're likely to depart immediately."

Alissa adds on, mirroring Selina's excitement, "Miss Selina, we're going to the Spiral Springs at the Ant Hill. We're going to meet arachnes and Spriggans!" She exclaims as her fox ears twitch and her tail wag. Selina and she shared a few conversations these last few days and have become quite friendly to each other.

"Oh! Bring me a Spriggan head with a nice haircut, I want one for my room," she innocently asks and lets out the sweetest smile.

Girl, just...What in the fuck.

Alissa turns to me and gives me expectant eyes.

"Uh... sure, you pick the one we bring back. I'll just store it in my [Item Box]," I respond coolly, trying not to show my disgust.

I don't want to be the one to give to a girl the head of a humanoid monster as a gift.

Alissa gives a quick bow. "Thank you, master." Then she turns to the cute blonde waitress. "I'll surely bring you a great one, Selina. I heard that Arachne eyes are also red and shiny, so maybe we'd encounter a nice pair."

What is this conversation, I'm glad I already finished eating.

Selina giggles girlishly, and hides her mouth with her hand. "Thank you, Miss Alissa. I'll be waiting eagerly. I'll also prepare something sweet for you two once you come back," she kindly offers.

Alissa becomes uncomfortable when Selina calls her "Miss," but I already told her it's okay to be treated as an equal if her master is also doing it, so it only lasts for a second.

Then Alissa starts telling Selina of the preparations we're doing, and I just watch with a warm smile, consciously ignoring the contents of the gruesome conversation. They talk so innocently they seem like two friends talking about toys or action movies.

After that, we retire to our room and lay on our bed.

* * * * *

Alissa cuddles up with me and I wrap an arm around her, landing my hand on one of her black-tipped fox ears, then I immediately start playing with it.

"You have a good relationship with Selina," I comment amusedly.

She closes her eyes in delight and smiles cutely. "She's always so eager to hear our stories, so I like talking to her," she explains with a whispery voice then sighs as she lets her body relax on mine. "She's also a good girl, and it's exactly for people like her that someone like me is trained to fight."

I guess they just have perfectly compatible personalities. The girl who's eager to fight and protect, and the girl who's eager to hear and cherish those who do.

I pull out the bag with the clothes she bought and inspect it. There's a frilly, flowing yellow dress that goes to her knees. Its color and design fit her well, so I just need to buy her some cute boots to make it perfect.

Before I can inspect the other set of clothes, she nabs the bag and tells me to close my eyes while she changes. When she tells me to open them again, I start salivating like a hungry dog.

She's wearing the one piece from the slave trader shop, barely covering her delicious curves; a pair of semi-transparent white thigh highs, teasing me by only partially showing their sexy, athletic shape; and on her arms she's wearing long-sleeved white gloves of the same material, like the ribbon on a gift, making it seem cute and special.

It's just so sexy my brain restarts to load the "fuck.exe" program, making me freeze for a moment.

The gloves and thigh highs are simple, they have no frills or special design, but they mix well with the simple silky one piece. It's the beauty of simplicity, and it makes her look angelical. The ears and the slowly swinging tail are just the cherries on top of this foxy cake.

Like a starving wolf lunging for a slab of roasted meat, I grab her and throw her on the bed. Tonight, I won't be gentle.

I kiss and grope her aggressively, but that's not enough, so I quickly shift my caresses downwards until my head is between her legs. She needs to be rewarded for bringing back such a precious gift.

She lets a moan mixed with surprise that shifts into one of pure pleasure midway. It's good to know that I still got it in my tongue.

I penetrate her with my finger and curl it upwards in search of my favorite spot on the whole body of a woman. I give it a rub, and Alissa squirms in a way she's never squirmed before.

With the way her waist shakes, I have to hold her in place so that I may continue the stimulation, and her moans only become louder. Her high-pitched moans reach the highest level tonight. Thankfully, our room is sound padded. I would pity the neighbors if it weren't because there's no amount of complaining that would make me stop.

I maintain the steady and constant rubbing and she quickly orgasms. Her whole body locks up and her eyes roll up as she almost passes out, making me smirk.

I still got it.

I stop to let her recover, and she doesn't even have the voice to ask me what I did, she just looks at me with slightly vacant and surprised eyes. Perhaps a bit of fear, too.

I go back to kissing her slowly until she catches her breath again because I'm not done yet.

"It's not over yet," I whisper in her ear. She twitches and looks at me with slightly worried eyes.

I make her turn around, then I grab the back of her neck and press it down on the bed. I lift her waist up with the other hand, then I easily slide inside her.

I do her with fast pounding at a low cadence so she can feel every thrust. She moans in sync with my movements, and the night goes on as I pound, and pound, and pound, and pound, and pound.

I change the rhythm every so often, and I add some flair. I pull her hair, her arm, I put her on a chokehold, I put all my power, all my anger on my thrusts, I grip her tail and give it a tug. She takes it all without complaining, and she even perks her ass up to get me to tug her tail again once I stop.

When I'm near the peak, I turn her around, look into her eyes, then I raise her dress and finish all over her body.

This is your punishment for overly stimulating me.

* * * * *

Today, the wake-up kiss is twice as long, followed by her giving me a wide smile. She's still wearing her clothes as she was too tired to take them off yesterday, though at least we cleaned ourselves before collapsing

I wonder where she found this sexy lingerie, but I'll definitely have her go there again for more. The texture is just too amazing. It feels almost like a synthetic cloth from Earth, but it seems like it's way weaker, and it might only last a few more nights considering how aggressive it made me.

"Did you enjoy last night?" I teasingly ask with a big grin.

"Yes... but my back hurts a little," she shyly admits.

I frown worriedly. "Oh, sorry, you should've told me it hurts."

She blushes and assures me, "I know, it's just that I wasn't paying attention to the pain at the time."

How can you still blush after what we did?

I cast [Regeneration] on her, and she sighs in pleasure, "Oh... that feels better. Thank you, master." -Her ears twitch cutely- "Ah... Now that I think about it, you never chant, do you?"

Ah, shit, now what do I say...? I guess it's time for another lie.

"I was taught magic in a way that I don't need to chant, but it's like I said: my magic is weaker than the usual spell precisely because I don't chant," I come up with an excuse that would make sense if we were talking about the balance of a game. "But why do people chant, specifically?"

I see no hint of suspicion as she answers, "It's to help with the mana flow. The words and the voice resonate with the mana, and it also helps the mind align with spell, improving its efficiency. Casting without chanting requires a lot of familiarity with the spell, but it's definitely less mana-efficient."

Now that I think about it, chanting is the same as singing. Perhaps it's related to harmony, or something like that, I'm not too knowledgeable about sound physics.

* * * * *

The Clothes of the Berserker are safely stored in my "Items," and we reluctantly get out of our bed to eat breakfast. The Clothes will be forever with me so I can always pull them out when Alissa requires a savage punishment.

Selina gives us her blessing for the expedition, making Alissa even happier, then we set off for the hunters guild. Once there, the attendant guides us to the meeting room because the requester isn't here yet, so we wait.

The room has multiple cushioned chairs surrounding a round table with a tea set, a magical heating stone, and a bunch of cookies all waiting for us. On one of the walls, there's a blackboard with plenty of chalk, and on the opposite wall, there's a large comfy sofa.

I lay down on the sofa and put my head on Alissa's lap, then she runs her fingers through my hair, and I almost fall asleep.

* * * * *

The door opens, and a woman walks in, so I immediately sit up.

Black hair on a ponytail with two side bangs; small oval glasses; a diamond jaw; small lips; a pointy nose; upturned eyes; and a pale white face. My first impression is that she's stunningly beautiful. Then I see spiral black horns on her temples protruding forward, and a long black tail with a dagger-like blade at the tip swinging about. She's a demon race woman.

She wears a long black robe and silk black gloves. The robe shows a few of her curves, and it has shining purple flowers embroidered all around it. I can see a pair of high-heeled black boots peeking from under it, and I believe they'd be perfect with Alissa's yellow dress.

This woman is the definition of cool and sexy, until she opens her mouth.

"Goo~d morning! I'm Roxanne, and I'm your client for today!" She happily exclaims as she clasps her hands under her chin and grins, then she tilts her head to the side and giggles girlishly.

Alissa and I share a glance. It seems we both had a similar impression of this woman.

Without waiting for an answer, Roxanne starts walking towards me with confident steps, a swaying body that tickles my heart, and a bright smile. The cool and sexy is back.

Her approach cleanses me of my dumbfounded state, so I get up and shake hands with her as I introduce myself, "I'm Wolf Ryder, and this is my companion, Alissa. Our fellowship is named Helios."

She nods energetically and responds with happiness brimming from every word, "Yes! I saw your record. Grey Berserker, Orc Headhunter, and the Oodogloo caught in a single day. That's so impressive!"

Whenever she speaks, a cool and sexy voice comes out, but that impression is quickly ruined as her tone gets increasingly high-pitched and bubbly.

I blink blankly and stumble to find words in my stunned state, "Uh... well, thank you... Should we sit and talk about the request?"

"Yes, ple~ase!"

Her hands move constantly and her body squirms whenever she speaks. While her demeanor contrasts a lot with ours, at least she's quite expressive and easy to talk to.

We move towards the table and she sits right next to me. It's so close I can perfectly smell the perfume.

It's kind of awkward to talk to her like this. She's beautiful up close, but her atmosphere burns my eyes with her bright smile.

I tell her the route I had planned and she seems satisfied. There's not really much to complain about it since whether the route is good or not is based on luck, anyway.

Then she shows me the jar she wants to fill with the moss. It's basically a small 200ml bowl. Looks small, but it's moss, it's something that doesn't have a lot of volume, to begin with, but she assures me it's doable to fill it with a dozen or so turtles.

She also tells me that in the last report from a few days ago, an adventurer saw that the Turtles had a large amount of moss growing on their backs, so there should be enough for what she needs. The moss requires special care to extract it properly, so only a few people have the knowledge to take it. Since there's no Moonlight Moss on the market yet, then that means the report is still accurate.

With that part done, I change the topic, "Now tell me about your abilities."

She shows us a grin that I'd actually describe as evil as she excitedly gives us a rundown of her abilities, "I'm a Fire and Water mage! And I have two Unique Spells that I so dearly love: the first one is [Explosion]. If you hold an enemy in place for three or so seconds, I can blow them to pieces! Ah..." -Her excitement goes away and she suddenly cringes- "But if you're going to be on the front line, I'm going to have to say I'm sorry, but you will be drenched in guts and blood..."

Hahahahaha, I can already feel my "Sanity" stat going down.

Alissa and I are speechless. Apparently, she can also imagine what [Explosion] looks like as she's as stunned as me.

Seeing that we aren't going to comment on it, Roxanne clears her throat awkwardly and continues, the happiness from before coming back in a split second, "Then the other one is [Melt Skin]! I can throw a ball of water so hot that their skin will melt! This spell doesn't do a lot of direct damage, but I haven't seen an enemy that doesn't writhe in pain when it hits, so it's perfect for support." Then she nods in satisfaction, proud of herself.

"You definitely seem like a powerful mage," Alissa comments, seemingly impressed.

Aside from the gruesome image, these are two interesting spells. Since she's a Fire and Water mage, is she using these two elements combined to create a steam explosion? That'd be actually impressive.

I haven't tried manipulating two spells at the same time, but it seems taxing. I understand that with high [Mana Control], you can do plenty of crazy things, but to do it with two different magic schools at the same time seems a level above the rest.

Roxanne giggles softly and continues, "But anyway, my second ability is [Alchemy] and [Potion Making]. Since the caves are filled with enemies that use poison or venom, I can supply us with antidotes and anti-venom. I can even make it on-site with the body of those Tarantulas."

Yeah, she's special. Aside from the obnoxiously high level of happiness, she seems very useful. It's not going to be an escort job, it's gonna be a temporary fellowship kind of job.

We discuss battle tactics for a bit, with Alissa taking the lead since she seems the most experienced in fighting alongside others.

Roxanne easily agrees with everything, bringing us to the last question of this meeting. "Then, do you want to leave right now?" I ask.

She nods vigorously. "Ah, yes! Just let me gather a few last things and close down my house, then I'll meet you at the east gate. Is that all?"

I smile gracefully. "Yes, that's all."

I haven't tried to bargain too hard on the pay. I don't think I can improve the situation since the reward is already high, and the spoils will be split fairly since she's going to be an active fighter. I'm also a terrible negotiator, to be honest. I have no heart for making a deal that isn't fair or that gives me the most benefits.

Roxanne bows and leaves, then I turn to Alissa.

"Alissa, there's something I have to tell you. It's going to be another secret." It's actually going to be another lie.

Let's see how this lie goes, I'll gauge her reactions from this.

She looks at me curiously and asks, "Oh, what is it, master?" She tilts her head cutely.

I cringe for a moment before I steel my heart and start, "Well, on my homeland, there's a tale. It says that there's a special person who's born every few generations or so. This person has the ability to read the souls of people and guide them so they may fulfill their desires."

"Hmm..." Alissa hums in thought and narrows her eyes suspiciously.

Did she get where I'm going?

I grab her hand and lie earnestly, "You see... I think I'm one of those people, someone who's called a 'Guider.'"

"But what do you mean by 'guide them to fulfill their desires'?" She asks skeptically.

I think for a moment and decide to confess, "Well, you know that skill you got, the [Enhanced Stamina]? I gave it to you. I can see you have some sort of 'unlearned skill points,' which I can turn into actual skills and then back to 'unlearned skills' again at will."

Alissa opens her eyes wide and lets her mouth hanging in surprise. Oof, that's a little bit off from the reaction that I wanted, maybe I should have left it vaguer.

"I can't give or take any skill, just the ones that belong to these 'unlearned skill points.' Their number increases with levels and decreases with each skill you actually 'learn,' but I can only take away skills that I gave," I add hurriedly.

Her mouth moves wordlessly for a few seconds, then she suddenly grabs my hand and stares at my eyes with wonder as her tail wags wildly. "Th-th-that's amazing, master! I-imagine the things we can do with this!" She shouts excitedly.

Shit... It's nice that you accepted it so easily, but you're a little too excited about it.

"I-I can only do it to you though, so I think it only works with people close to me," I hurriedly add again, already regretting telling her anything.

She stops and thinks for a second then resumes her wide smile. "Still, that's a powerful ability. You really are blessed!"

I sigh and mumble, "Perhaps..."

I don't feel that blessed though, more like cursed and then sent a consolation prize.

I decide to reveal another secret and just be done with it, "My magic works the same way, I can move my own potential into different magic types."

"Ooh, I understand," she nods as she coos in wonder.

I smile wryly at her cute reactions. "So, you have six unused points that I can assign to skills. If I'm riding you, I'll put them into [Enhanced Stamina], but you'll need to tell me where to put them for when we're in combat. Though, for this expedition, I'll put them in [Mental Resistance] so we can resist the illusions of the Arachne."

She nods again. "Yes yes, I concur. But for the average battle, I think you can put it all on [Bow Use] since there's no other skill that'll benefit me as much. I need to focus on my strong points... Ah, can you put them into [Fox Transformation]?"

I check quickly, but I don't find it on the list. "No, I don't know why. Maybe because it's specific to your race." I shrug.

She puckers her lips in thought. "Hmm... that's a shame. At higher levels, I could use the Transformation to fight in melee or to easily run away. I also think that if I increase it just one or two levels, I might be able to absorb my weapons inside myself, too, and that would be quite useful."

I feel a little uncomfortable putting you into melee range. Wait, is this the same feeling you get when I'm fighting in melee? I think I understand you a little better now.

I reassign her extra points and she grins when she notices it, then I wrap things up, "Well then, I think things will be fine the way they are for now, but keep in mind your extra points because they're a trump card for you."