A quick talk with McDunkin before Huny returns

Somehow your quivering legs muster enough strength to pull you out of the cellar. Making your way back to the front room of the house, you find McDunkin sitting in a rocking chair with a... stringed instrument(?) in his lap. It's a box with strings tied over the top, and whenever he plucks one it makes a squawky twang--though that out-of-tune sound probably matches his voice quite well if he were to attempt to sing(?).

"How'd it go? ...is what I would ask, but I'm guessin' by yer quakin' knees that he did ya good."

"Yep," is all you can say. You sink into the wooden chair opposite the hermit.

"Sounds like a job well done! Fer helpin' the boy out, thank ya!"

At his words, a white light suddenly wraps itself around you. Slowly it permeates your body, soaking in, and all of a sudden...

*ding*

...you leveled up.

You look at yourself in confusion, and then at McDunkin. He guffaws, slapping his knee and hootin' in amusement. "First time ya ever completed a quest, I betcha!"

"I... Um... What?" you ask, flabbergasted.

"A quest. I gave ya a quest to let the bull-man diddle ya, and ya completed it spectacularly! That there glow's the xp soakin' in fer completin' the job."

"I... I can do quests? How..."

"I don't see no reason not to. Y'aint got many who'll give 'em, but y'aint got any rule says they can't."

That is mind-blowing. Unfortunately, you don't have time to repair your mind and process that idea as Huny and Karen pull up on a wagon loaded with hay, Beans and Louie riding atop it. McDunkin is already hobbling out the door to greet them, so you push yourself to your feet and follow.

“We’ve got hay! Sixty bushels, a wagon-full, just for your bull.”

“Well, whoop my shins and bang my mule! You missuns do some fine work!” McDunkin cackles. You look at him oddly; after that interlude where he talked almost normal, seeing him back at full hermit feels strange. “Just leave ‘er there. I’ll wheel it back m’self. Can use the wood, too, if yer willin’ to part with the wagon.”

“Sure. What’ll you give us for it?” Huny asks.

“Well, let me see here…” McDunking reaches one hand into his coveralls and starts digging around. “Ah-ha! I gots one o’ these I can give the young miss there!” His hand comes out with a surprisingly sludge-free pendant, which he tosses to Karen. It’s shaped like the head of a bull, with a chain attached to the tips of its horns. “There! Now, fer completin’ the request three times over, and fer the extra wood, too, thank ya!”

A shimmer of white light settles over Karen and Huny, soaking into them. Beans and Louie stare in amazement as the two heroes receive their quest xp. You’re interested to see what it looks like from the outside. This is definitely something monsters haven’t had the chance to experience before.

"Wait... why didn't Beans or Louie get the xp?" you ask.

Huny looks at you like you're stupid. "They're monsters, Shelia. Let alone quest xp, there's no way I can invite them into my party."

Oooooh. Because they weren't in the party, they didn't get the xp. Since it was Huny's party that accepted the quest.

"But we got some levels!" Louie shouted from atop the hay. "There were dogs that are like trees that gave us xp, so I'm level six!"

"And I reached five," Beans added. He also, you noticed, was throwing and summoning a small knife.

"See? Good times all around. And you? Anything happen?"

"Um..." you start, hesitating on whether you should tell. Then you shake your head; of course you should tell. These are your companions now. "Yeah, actually. I finished a quest and leveled up from the quest xp."

Huny's jaw dropped. Karen looked surprised, too. Beans was intrigued and Louie... was still standing proudly and reveling in his new level.

"That makes you..." Beans started.

"Level 13," you confirm with a smug smile.

And that's when an urgent notification makes its presence forcibly known, appearing in front of you without you so much as thinking about it.

*Level 13 reached. Please choose your aura.*

Aura of the Temptress: An aura of lust especially effective against women. Any female not protected from your aura will gain 2 Lust every second. If her Lust reaches the maximum, she orgasms and is rendered immobile until removed from your aura.* Also affects men, but at one fourth the rate.
*Mature Content Filter must be set to off. If Mature Content Filter is on, target is only rendered immobile until Lust points reduced.

Aura of the Seductress: An aura of lust especially effective against men. Any male not protected from your aura will gain 2 Lust every second. If his Lust reaches the maximum, he orgasms and is rendered immobile until removed from your aura.* Also affects women, but at one fourth the rate.
*Mature Content Filter must be set to off. If Mature Content Filter is on, target is only rendered immobile until Lust points reduced.

Aura of the Nymphomaniac: An aura of lust that affects men and women equally. Any living creature not protected from your aura will gain 1 Lust every second. If a target's Lust reaches the maximum, he or she orgasms and is rendered immobile until removed from your aura.*
*Mature Content Filter must be set to off. If Mature Content Filter is on, target is only rendered immobile until Lust points reduced.

"Oh." You look over the choices, then look up at your companions. Huny and Karen; and Louie and Beans. No matter what, this will make traveling together... interesting.