Rennia bared her teeth with every step she took. Behind her, inside her backpack, was a heavy stash of gold coins—enough to weigh several kilograms. Even with the perks of her enhanced body, the weight wasn't physically challenging, but it was annoying and irritating. Every few meters, the bag seemed to get heavier, her back would sag, and the clinking of coins would get inside her head. She half wanted to slam the coins over the head of the hopping immortal in front of her, though that would be a very unproductive start to their relationship.
Ishmere remained unbothered, walking as if the earth had been showered with golden leaves. She seemed terribly unconcerned about Rennia's struggle and occupied herself with irrelevant things like examining the flowers growing near the tavern, kicking over rocks to find bugs. Speaking in tongues and singing in languages Rennia didn't understand a sliver of only made Rennia more and more furious.
"Can't you see I'm struggling here? I'm pulling my weight and my ass!" she shouted at the immortal, throwing the backpack on the ground. A few coins fell out, and Ishmere was quick to pick them up. "You greedy little munchkin hag, split the load! Did you bring that bag for no reason?"
"Rennia, in my current state, I'm too frail to risk injuring myself." She stretched forward, touching the tips of her toes through her sandals. Her pale and delicate skin was untouched by the dirt that sat on Rennia's boots. "If I hurt my shoulders, for example, I can't cast magic—and if I can't cast magic, I'm powerless. Then this venture will have meant nothing." She hop-skipped to Rennia and put the coin back in the bag. "Look, we're almost beyond the mountain overpass. A few more minutes and we'll be on the road. Traffic to Ivarcant is affluent—we'll hitch a ride there, and you won't need to carry this all day."
Rennia clicked her tongue. Throwing the gold down here would be a better use of her time, and it would piss off Ishmere—that sounded like a more than worthy goal. But for the sake of mutual cooperation, she relented, standing up again and moving forward. "I don't care what you think you are. When we get back, you're going to be undergoing the appropriate suffering you deserve, Witch of broken taverns."
Ishmere held her hand over her mouth and whispered something to herself. Rennia couldn't hear it, but it was definitely of the mocking sort. It sounded awfully crass and grotesque.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing at all."
Rennia narrowed her eyes, then put her legs forward again. "Don't you know some kind of blessing spell? Strengthen, heighten, high tension?"
"I'm not going to repeat myself. I know more spells than days you've been alive. When I say I'm low on internal mana, I mean it, Rennia." Ishmere flicked her fingers and a small torchlight appeared in front of her finger. It was a basic spell she had seen among the guild members, and usually it would be massive, even for beginners. Ishmere's was small in comparison.
"I get it, no need to make it abundantly clear. I just need a moment to rest, that's all." A moment of respite and maybe a place to sleep for a while as well. The city was within walking distance, just obscured by the mountain and the pass. There would be no reason to camp any further.
The two continued traveling. The road did eventually show up, and it was neither far out nor unmaintained. This explained how she even had customers in the first place—of course, where would Ishmere have gotten them from? Had she known this earlier, she would have run there straight away.
The roads were mostly clear of traffic. They saw one person, possibly a hermit or homeless wanderer, passing them. He paid them no heed, nor was Ishmere interested in engaging with him. But Rennia felt he may have had important information.
After much bickering and pestering, they had agreed to detour slightly off-road and out of sight, just so Rennia could rest her legs.
Rennia slammed her back against the tree, under the shade the leaves offered. Ishmere stood over the gushing river that passed by them. Rennia admired the woman from afar—or rather, scrutinized her. In her current state, she looked no younger than Rennia but was twice as fair and pretty. It was hard to believe such a being was immortal, much less someone she had engaged in sex with. Once this errand was done, she was going to make sure to take a day for herself and disappear into the woods again if she needed to. There, no one would bother her "destressing" session.
[Sixth thread]—the skill hovered in the back of her mind. Something was wrong. She was immediately put on edge.
Why? Her skin started shivering with goosebumps, and hairs stood on end all over her body. There was something around them, something heavy. Ishmere turned to her, frowning. She opened her mouth, but didn't have a chance to speak.
They heard movement in the woods—the quiet woods. Pouncing and jumping, a black figure emerged from the edge of the treeline: a massive black cat, larger than any dog she had seen. It came running towards them. Rennia grabbed her sword by the hilt and rolled as Ishmere stood wide-eyed, running towards her, powerless.
The beast pounced on Ishmere directly and tackled her to the ground. The immortal started screaming and held her hands out, forming a small barrier of light that kept the beast from tearing her apart.
[Light divine, draw thy line—Hold the beast, halt its spine! Mana shield!]
[Mana Shield]—an intermediary spell, and not easy to pull off. Seeing the strain it caused Ishmere, Rennia bounced and rolled towards the creature, thrusting her sword at its face. The beast slapped at the blade, parrying with its bare skin. She fell backwards but didn't relent, striking out at the creature, slashing and lunging at its upper torso and arms, much to its annoyance. Her strikes were ineffective, and Ishmere's shield seemed to flicker, just barely holding.
She swung forward with a heavy blow, but the beast caught her blade, holding it there, its sharp claws ready to tear into her collarbone. The padding the gambeson offered was just barely enough, but she had been injured.
Rennia needed to think of something quick. A skill? But she wasn't a seasoned jack, and her pathfinder abilities hadn't progressed much. All she had was [Sexual Discipline]. It meant getting stronger the more aroused she got, but that was a gamble in the middle of a death battle. How would that even work? She was in fight-or-flight mode.
The beast lunged away from the blade. It seemed to have done enough to irritate it, and it scrambled for the bushes and circled them. Ishmere stood up, ready to speak, but Rennia was way ahead of her.
"Flash your tits!" she shouted to her.
"What! What are you on about?" Ishmere asked, flabbergasted at the mere suggestion.
"Trust me, just flash your tits for me. Bounce your breasts and all—undress your pants, show me your little girl cock."
"Have you lost your goddamn mind, Rennia?"
If she had, her opponent didn't care. It came lunging from a different direction, eager to claw at them.
Ishmere did so. She unbuttoned the blouse she was wearing, revealing her cleavage. The gnawing tip of the sexual idea was more than what Rennia had needed. Her breasts, bare and naked, bouncing and supple in all things, made Rennia's penis twitch, and the warmth started throbbing below it. At the back of her mind, she knew the skill was working. She felt a sudden surge in her body like she could lift anything, kill anything. It was like adrenaline, but better.
The beast brought its claw down, and she kicked it with her boots. It rolled backwards, wincing and agitated. It circled again and pounced on Rennia. With all the strength she possessed, she struck the thing across its face, scarring it with her sword. Blood splattered over the grass, and the creature reassessed its prey, stalking backwards warily.
No. If I let you go, you'll just hunt us later.
Rennia dashed forward. She grabbed the panther by the jaw as it clawed at her face, but in her state of manic arousal, she managed to block and perceive its movements. She punched it square under the chin, and it backed off entirely, slipping out of the woods, unsure of what had happened, confused by the twist.
It left. It was gone.
Rennia fell to her knees and huffed heavily. As the skill seemed to wear off with her arousal, so too did the apparent wounds she wasn't aware of. She didn't notice them much—maybe it was the thrill of the battle, or maybe it was the skill—but she didn't know the wounds she had.
She was breathing hard, but it was her dimming vision that bothered her. She scrambled to her backpack—she still had that health potion with her. It would be a waste, but it could be just enough for her.
Ishmere redressed and stood next to her, arms around her body. She grabbed her face first. "Hold still, don't move."
Rennia didn't quite stay silent, receptive to Ishmere's delicate touch. She whispered something softly—it sounded like a rhyme, a nursery rhyme, but an incantation. It was in a different language. It sounded something like "Fiat sanitas in nomine lumen aeternum."
The flesh wounds dissipated and a warm feeling, as green magical light enveloped her. The blood dried, the wounds closed, and the pain disappeared.
Ishmere dropped to the ground, eyes closed, hand on her chest, breathing heavily. "Ishmere!"
Rennia cried out and tried holding her up. Ishmere opened one eye and smiled at her. Rennia dropped next to her, on edge, breathing hard.
The living system wasn't quiet.
[Sexual Discipline (Passive) Level 3] > [Sexual Discipline (Passive) Level 4]