But first, a few promises to and of monsters.

[NOTE: There will be a link to a poll at the bottom of this page, as well as photos used in that poll. The poll will remain open until I reach the chapter where its results will become relevant.]

A cacophonous series of scratchy beeps outpaced the rising of the sun by over an hour. The twilight of the morning tinted the bedroom curtains of one John Newman, and this became the soft glow by which he blinked away the drowsiness of waking too soon.

The exhaustion of so many nights without slumber had been no greater than a single weekend of binging an MMORPG, but it had knocked him out cold the moment he temporarily suppressed his immunity to sleep. Even now, his mind ached; it demanded more slumber, more dreams lost on waking... more time away from the uncertainty of the new world.

But John was awake, and with that waking came the new world. Days of wonder, guilt, love, sex and **** spun in his mind like a kaleidoscope of sensation; he remembered enough to switch on his immunity. His UI came alive, and the heavy streamers of fatigue that hung from his brain became mere ideas. He was revitalized in full.

5:00AM, sharp, read his interface and his clock; he had been asleep for 10 hours. His mother seemed happy to see him hitting the bed early after a full Sunday out, and those simple Sunday memories-of Ophelia’s smirk, of hours wasted lounging on the grass in a park, of visiting an arcade he hadn’t touched in years-put a smile on his face.

But you have to get back to work. The Gamer sprung from the bed in a way he never did when he needed sleep and, verifying that his mom remained asleep, hearthed to the Temple.

“Arf! Arf!”

The world had fallen away as it always had: in a rushing blur through space and reality. The glossy alabaster walls and sunlit halls of the structure in his mind replaced his bedroom in the space of a heartbeat, and Captain Woofroot was already by the arrival platform, his eyes glowing bright as he ran eager circles around his Master. John sat on the edge of the platform and let the sentient shrub tackle him, laughing gaily as its cartoonish tongue lapped at his face. "Haha- d-down, Woofroot, down-!"

His loyal summon planted his soft, wood-like feet onto the ground and looked up at John, eager for more attention.

Captain Woofroot
Level 1 Plant
HP: 10/10
MP: 0/0
XP: 0/100 (TP: 17,803)
Stats: Str 7, Agi 10, End 10, Int 3, Wis 6, Cha 12, Lib 1
Skills: fetch lvl1, rollover lvl1
Status Effects: Life Sense
Qualities: Plant

John's smile shrunk as he contemplated the shrub. What if I had ever underestimated one of the enemies? There were close shaves... but what if one had actually killed Woofroot? Could I even bring him back with restore...? It remained a hypothesis that John dared not test. "Alright boy... let's go level you up."

"Like Hell!"

John froze... and, with a nervous giggle, tossed a sarcastic glance up at the furious creature hovering above.

Fairy
Level 12 Greater Fae Daemonica
HP: 250/250
MP: 556/556
XP: 0/4,750 (TP: 90,843)
Stats: Str 8, Agi 20, End 10, Int 27, Wis 16, Cha 25, Lib 16
Skills: blink lvl2, charm person lvl3, disguise self, faerie fire lvl4, hellfireball lvl3, instant dungeon lvl10, invisibility lvl6, mana blast lvl5, mana bolt lvl12, meditation lvl7, mirror image lvl3, move lvl5, sandman's slumber lvl3, theft lvl6
Qualities: alluring, flight, fey, noble, tainted

She was gone even before I slept... I... I didn't want to be awake waiting for her, and I was worried... but she looks fine. Hell, she even looks pissed. Thank God... "I'll level you up too," John offered.

Fairy crossed her arms over her leather and devilish fur while glaring down at the owner of the Temple. With her head in the path of the sun, the illusion of a halo could be seen- "Too?! Listen now, fuck-boy: you had me out when you called a god-cock-sucking angel without giving me a proper head's up!" The illusion of a halo was quickly dismissed from John's mind. "I thought that whole guardian angel bit was a euphemism, not a literal fucking nightmare idea! Far as I see? You owe me every spare drop of this 'experience' you've got, or so help you-"

"You were missed," John offered simply.

Fairy's mouth hung open... and slowly closed as her brow furrowed. "You trying to be charming, you little cock-shit?"

"Fairy, go wait by the training pit... quietly." With her cheeks reddening, Fairy zoomed down the entrance hall. John followed, nodding to those summons visible as he walked... and giving Vok, the Flamescale bundled in the far corner of the longest hall, his desired solitude. The Almiraj, as beaten and wounded as two of them were, seemed healthy now as they playfully wrestled with (or bullied) Greenpaw. Kazex continued to lounge in the same pool as Tita, both of them seemingly naked. Only one of them seemed happy about that.

The rest were in their usual configurations and, by John waving them away, left the Gamer to his devices as he neared and then entered the pit. Obediently, Woofroot tailed him inside until both were standing in the enchanted circle. "Alright..." Inhaling deeply, John eyed his XP bar, chock-full as it was... and focused on the pit's power. The plant looked up expectantly at John, clearly intrigued but perhaps not quite prepared for what was about to overcome him.

Captain Woofroot is now level 2!
Captain Woofroot is now level 3!
...
Captain Woofroot is now level 12!

The leaves on the beast trembled and shook. The wood of his root-like appendages creaked. His bulbous tongue salivated. His eyes alternated in light intensities. The entire being of Captain Woofroot slowly trembled and shook, and John's eyes grew wide with worry as the the creature's spasms intensified-!

Captain Woofroot is evolving! Captain Woofroot is going into a temporary dormant state!

"What-"

"Awwooooooooo-!" howled the creature as he dashed out of the pit and, on the tapping legs of his traitorous flight, leaped and bounded towards the garden.

"Woofroot, wait-!" But the creature did not wait and could not wait. John blinked into the garden in Woofroot's path only to watch the bundle of energy, with a deftness John had never seen before, dive around his legs and, with a final, triumphant yelp, dive headfirst into one of the empty planters. "Woofroot-!" John stared in disbelief at the planter, now a small crater of soil wrapped around the back-half of Woofroot, and the wiggling butt of his minion. The Captain’s back legs wiggled and ran against nothing, his tail twitched and shook... and with a speed that startled John, the entire body compressed, shrunk, and twisted as two halves of a nut shell grew out from the planter to consume the hapless pet. "WOOFROOT-!"

CLAMP.

Captain Woofroot has entered his dormant state!

Alarmed, John analyzed the massive, oak-colored seed.

??????? Woofroot (Dormant)
Level 12 ??????
HP: 9999/????
MP: ???/???
XP: 0/4,750 (TP: 3,603)
Stats: End 500
Skills: hibernate lvl1
Status Effects: Hibernation
Qualities: Plant

What the Hell...? The nut was far from indestructible but tougher than he'd ever have guessed. He tapped the Hibernation status.

Hibernation, passive
This plant creature has entered a state of hibernation to reconfigure its primal essence and awaken more apt to control its newfound growth and power. The hibernation form, a seed, is extremely tough but cannot move or do anything aside from eventually open again when the creature within is ready. It does not require nurturing, care, or even water or nutrients, but providing any of these things may give the resulting product a bonus and/or speed up the process. It is impossible to estimate when the result will emerge beyond being within hours or days.

John stopped to contemplate this new status... and sighed with relief. "Tita," he called out before blinking near the pool. "I- ugh." Kazex, as naked as he appeared, was far less pleasant to look at now that John stood above the pool. That his erect goblin cock bobbed in the water like a disproportionately fat log was difficult to let pass. "Kazex, go get dressed."

"Ah, hey there, my dear, negligent alchemy student! Well, my clothes are in the armory, so it's not like I can go run across the temple drippinaaiie!" The tunnel opened under the goblin and took him, and enough water to keep the cleric spirits busy, right before Thumalk back at the entrance hall. The elf, who had been quietly masturbating at the doorway, stared down at the knotty body of the naughty goblin... and the two could not have come to more different conclusions as the portal closed.

"Tita," John resumed, "can you do me a favor in the garden?"

"Anything for you, my love," she eagerly reported, hoping he meant to spirit her away into the garden of life, to embrace her as his wife, to make love to her gravid body and drink from her sore, desperately full breasts-

Two minutes later...

"... and you want me to pet it," the moon elf had flatly asked, her smile no longer reaching her eyes. She stared down at the massive nut, far afield from the nut she was hoping for, as John fawned over it.

"Just a bit, while you water it," John clarified. "I just need you to protect it until he's, uh... hatched. If you treat it frequently, I think it'll grow faster, too.”

"O-Of course, my dearest husband... I will care for this... creature..."

John eyed the moon elf, noting her disdain. He had been neglecting her, he realized. He soaked in her naked form as he had a dozen times... and decided a bit of motivation was in order. Without warning, he leaned forward to take her left nipple into his mouth. The breast had a droplet of milk trembling at its tip before he managed to put his lips around it and, with the softest press of his face against her chest, filled his mouth with the sweet warmth of the anxious mother. Tita trembled at the sudden stimulation; the irritation of her duty melted away, and her body bucked as John teased his fingers across her hairless slit in a single, torturous pass. Satisfied, he pulled away from her engorged tit to whisper into her left ear as he gently prodded the tip of the right.

"O-Oh... Oh, John... Oh, Master...!"

"Take good care of him," John whispered, "and I'll reward you."

"O-Of course, Master! I-...ooooh, goddess above-! I promise!"

John smiled and, with a gentle kiss on his second wife's lips, left her to care for his hibernating Captain.

Five minutes later...

Fairy is now level 13!
Fairy is now level 14!
Fairy is now level 15!
Fairy is now level 16!

He had sat Fairy down in the training circle, doing his best to ignore her diminutive body as she purposefully sat with her thighs parted and her twat, barely contained by a strip of leather, pointed at him. Sheathed in a brief, pink glow, Fairy closed her eyes... and when the warmth passed, she opened them to stare down at herself as if hoping for another dramatic change. As disappointed as her scowl seemed to suggest she was, John's Eye revealed a stronger, more adept Fairy:

Fairy
Level 16 Greater Fae Daemonica
HP: 550/750
MP: 956/956
XP: 0/10,150 (TP: 65,143)
Stats: Str 12, Agi 22, End 14, Int 31, Wis 21, Cha 38, Lib 26
Skills: arouse lvl8, blink lvl7, charm person lvl12, detect humans, disguise self, enfeebling kiss lvl3, faerie fire lvl8, hellfireball lvl6, instant dungeon lvl14, invisibility lvl10, mana blast lvl8, mana bolt lvl14, meditation lvl8, mirror image lvl6, move lvl10, sandman's slumber lvl7, shape the flesh lvl1, theft lvl12
Qualities: alluring, flight, fey, noble, tainted

Shape the flesh...?

Shape the Flesh Level 1, 125mp
Shape the Flesh: touch the desired target either gently or violently. If performed gently, the target's outermost flesh can be molded softly, like clay, by a combination of the caster's will and shaping appendages. If performed violently, the attack instead deals [50 x skill lvl] damage and, at the caster's option, lowers the target’s Strength or Endurance by [skill lvl]. Further, the target’s appearance is morphed and warped slightly based on where they’re struck.

That's a pretty scary new spell...

"Interesting..." Fairy resumed her pout even as she grew excited. "Well, Master, I suppose I shall be-"

"Stop," he commanded just as she lifted off from the ground. Cursing under her breath, she stopped mid-air. "Sit back down. We've got to talk about these new spells of yours and where you won’t be using them... especially 'arouse'...”

One hour later...

Tricia had only just sent her response via text when the tunnel opened and put her lab and John’s bedroom next to one another.

John could taste that the air of Tricia's lab had filtered back to its clinical dryness, which was perhaps a welcome change now that Lily wasn’t present to... humidify the room. Tricia stood in her suppression suit, blackened in every detail save her head, and showed no outward sign of getting dressed for school. Her drones continued to probe the portal as John arrived and dejectedly flew off once he closed it.

“Good morning... honey,” Tricia awkwardly declared. A cold wind swept through the lab as the teenagers looked at one another. The Eye on her forehead cycled. “... No, that one won’t do.”

“Yeah, no,” John agreed.

“That was terrible.”

“But it was sweet!”

“It was not... sweet- are you making fun of-“

John blinked up to her to plant a surprise kiss, ever soft, on her moving lips. He pressed firmly as her lips locked up and then parted with breathed words. “Good morning.”

Tricia’s suit emulated her very real blush. “Y-You cannot escape inquiries forever that way... and... good morning...”

“Are you coming to school?” John glanced up; she had told him of her Eye dilemma and the rather suspicious cover-up it would entail.

“I will attend... eventually. I’ve added a surgery to the queue of excuses following this near-fatal head injury, and so I’ll be in ‘recovery’ with doctor’s notes for the whole of the week.”

John frowned, but it made no sense to chide her; it wasn’t like the Academy could teach her much, or so he guessed. “So... I guess you’ll want something to keep you busy.” Tricia nodded with a smirk... and reached behind John to grab his ass with both hands and almost launching him to his toes. “I-I meant the summons-“

“Oh-“

She stepped away... and he grabbed her hands to return them. “But this is fine too...”

59 minutes later...

“Then you can leave almost all of them with me?” Tricia asked from the shower.

“Well,” John replied, still toweling himself dry as he eyed her silhouette, “two of them can’t leave the Temple, and one of those is Tita-“

“The ‘moon elf,’ correct?”

“Right...”

“What of the dark elf?”

“She’s... well, I just need her back periodically, y’know, when I go grinding and stuff... she kind of ‘lends’ me her shooting ability from the Temple, but it only works from a certain room in there-“

The glass door slid open, and the water-dripping head of Tricia Gorbachev peeked out from the steam. “Did you attempt, as I requested,” she quickly asked as drones flew in to clean up the drippings from her hair, “any other methods to take me or my drones into the Temple?”

“I mean... there just isn’t any other way.” They had already tried having John take a drone into the temple on their day of experimentation; it had arrived dead and, like his phone or old digital camera, refused to work until it returned to the regular world.

Her head slipped back into the standing shower and the glass door slid to a close. “The ‘temple’ remains a cornerstone of the mystery surrounding you, John... but so be it. Until then, I would request the dark elf for the obvious question regarding her alleged pregnancy by you... and certainly whatever... whoever else you may spare.”

“What about language? Fairy and Kazex are the only ones who speaks English... I think... and they both know Elven, but the rest...”

The shower shut off, and the glass door slid open completely, releasing a steaming image of Tricia's true, pale nudity. His eyes devoured her; her original shame, at her unhealthy pallor being exposed, still made the Eye cycle twice to keep her from running into the towel held up by two drones. Said drones didn't wait for her command and flew in to envelop her, their tiny digital eyes shooting judging glares at their creator's ogling husband. "Your ‘Fairy’ I am familiar with... as well as her dangerous bodily chemistry. Kazex... you said he's a goblin and an alchemist? Given he also speaks English, I'm sure he'll make for an interesting and welcome specimen."

Don't count on that. "So Fairy, Kazex, and Alysha?"

"And... the Almiraj," Tricia coughed as the drones worked to dry her.

John raised an eyebrow at that. "What, all of them?"

"Yes," she too eagerly stated.

John shook his head, his eyes narrowing at her eager words. "Why...?" He had to **** down the urge to peek into her mind; trust issues were hard to betray when one could freely peer into the hearts of loved ones.

"They're not an Abyssal manifestation documented in our database..." Her eyes wandered as she mumbled, "and they’re... -fy..."

"What?"

"And... they're fluffy," she mumbled, louder this time as the drones peeled away the towel and readied to apply the choker.

"... Fluffy."

"It's an important property to study... for me.”

John exhaled slowly. I can't believe the things I was thinking... I mean, Hell, is she serious? "Alright... but they're a plotting trio, barely loyal to me when I'm not there to command them directly."

"... Trio?"

"So I'll be sending the third one by himself, so he doesn't get any ideas. He's also the weakest one." John prepared his summon spell.

The choker nearly encircled her throat when she stepped out of the drone's range, her objection plain in her movements towards John. "That's absurd! Leafdie was integral to the little research I was able to commit on the field, and at least Skythumper would be a better candidate, with his additional combat data, than a completely undocumented-"

Greenpaw has been summoned.

She had not realized that John was already calling them in... or that he would start with the Almiraj. Greenpaw, who had been squatting in the usual hunch with his brothers (as they discussed strategies to kill the others when, not if, necessary), was suddenly squatting alone in a sunless, alien room. His position was fair for combat, though he was brought without arms or armor; he had only his loincloth and the tiny earband at the base of his right, slightly smaller ear. Both ears, unusually large for his race, were as the rest of the thin coat that covered his torso and gathered more thickly on his legs and pelvis: a beautiful, almost shining white. The pink of the inside of each ear almost appeared velvety.

Humanesque eyes, alert and alarmed, suddenly stopped on Tricia... and almost audibly snapped between her face, her neck, her breasts, her crotch, and her sturdy, pale legs. His eyes continued to take snapshots of her as she, suddenly stunned and unsure of what to do or say, stood paralyzed as he watched.

The drones, unaware of Tricia's brain freeze as the rabbit-man ogled her, swooped in with the choker with their gently-beeped complaints at her moving. The suppression suit swiftly rolled over her flesh, and her eyes finally began to snap around the Almiraj's body parts in turn: his fluffy, floppy ears with one that was just an inch longer than the other and threatening to bend cutely; his powerful, furry legs with enough puff to suggest an almost pillow-like sensation from hugging one of those powerful thighs; a fit warrior's torso sheathed in ever more of that fluffy white goodness... and his curious nose twitch, a cute and obvious habit that seemed to continue so long as he kept those tiny, adorable eyes on her.

The Juuvak-Almiraj off-shoots and the proper racial name for Greenpaw’s people, despite their Master's constant misnomers-seldom thought of humans in any positive light... but Greenpaw had never known how similar human females had been to those of the Juuvak. Not even his pride could keep his honest assessment at bay.

She's... so... beautiful...

He's... so... fluffy...!

"Will he be alright?"

"YES- ahem, sorry... yes, but, in the future, please wait until I'm properly dressed before summoning anything else in my room..."

John nodded his apology. "I'll bring the other three, and you can start with them." John stood up and stretch, failing to note how his summon continued to ogle Tricia's thighs. "That alright?"