Finally Cutting Loose

After a short journey away from the house to avoid any awkward jumpscares when a Barrier faded out, the group was nearly ready. A few quick menu settings for the Dungeon Barrier were all that stood between the party and their first dungeon of the day. Given that it was a bit of a warm-up, and that Maera and Mithra were still a bit behind in levels, John started them off low, with a level 20 dungeon, with a particular tabletop itch hitting him when he selected Bugbears as their enemies. The rest of the settings hardly mattered; with John’s maximum level at 70, it had been a long time since he dared to select a random dungeon, and the rest of the drop-downs were to be more about aesthetics than proper mechanics.

He did spend some time glancing over a few enemy categories, though. John had intended to ask Yvara what kind of supplies she would need to work on her temple further, but with her already gone, the best he could do was make assumptions. Between the “Flora Nightmare”, “Forest Frenzy”, “Living Library”, and “Tailor’s Menagerie” categories, he was fairly sure at least one of the dungeons he was planning to run that day would result in some dyes and building materials for Yvara so that she could color and build the temple to her heart’s desire.

Though he’d be lying if the names of some of those categories didn’t fill him with a mixture of curiosity and dread. He missed the days when his lower levels allowed him to select a single variety of enemy, rather than an entire category.

As the first waves of mana washed over them and they were pulled into the plant-laden world of “Flora Nightmare”, Shishun and Sophia took a forward position while Maera and Mithra both stood at John’s sides. By the time the first greenery had faded into view, leaves were already rustling with malicious intent – and John’s blade was already arcing through the air, free of his grip and spinning into the brushes with malicious intent.

The Treants, Dryads, and living flowers that tore their way out of the foliage were a bit slow to John’s perception, but still far faster than the hellhounds he’d let the kittens train against. They were rapid enough to **** John to focus a bit to cull their numbers, and Shishun’s daggers had to catch a pair of dryads that hopped a little too quickly.

“Lots of enemies for a first wave,” John mused as the XP notifications poured in.

“Seems they aren’t content to wait around for us, Father,” Sophia noted, still standing protectively over the group in case anyone managed to break through their ranged assaults.

“Maera, Mithra, you two need to ready up. This Barrier must have some kind of a rush modifier. Didn’t even know that was a thing.”

Achievement Unlocked: Good Idea!
Description: See, this is why you’re the brains of this operation. I’ll be sure to add Random Dungeon Modifiers to your abilities when we hit Gamer 2.0. Busy dreaming up some fun ideas for that one, so I’m going back to sleep.
Reward: +10,000 Creation XP for finishing this Dungeon

“Wait, what’s with that writing style? That’s so casual. I guess they were all like that, but- I haven’t gotten an achievement in so long...”

“Seriously? That’s what gets your attention?! Hey, are you listening to this?!” John called out, above the empty sounds of the forest. His voice echoed, unanswered, while Sophia, Shishun, and the Nekos cast slight glances back toward him. As the silence continued while the pressure on him only grew, John eventually offered a half-hearted shrug for a dismissal of the others’ focus on him.

“Sorry. Let my frustrations get the better of me for a moment there,” John said, breathing a long sigh of annoyance. He didn’t bother explaining further – not only did it make him feel silly talking about achievements and goddesses that seemed fully determined to ignore him except in the silliest of messages, but it accomplished nothing other than furthering his frustration.

“Let’s just stay focused on the task at hand. Maera, Mithra, are you two ready?”

The brush ahead of them was already rustling with threatening activity, so John did his best to put aside his doubts and the alertness that rose with that strange achievement. For their parts, Maera and Mithra were already nodding furiously, their bodies glowing in similar hues but entirely different forms.

“Ready, Myaster,” Maera acknowledged, nodding her head firmly as her armor and the skin around her joints began to glisten with mana and holy light. “Not gonna let ‘em even touch you, nyah!”

“All set, Myaster,” Mithra confirmed, her entire body tensing as a crimson glow surrounded her knuckles and the joints of her legs. Like magical manifestations of her claws themselves, sharp crimson curves surrounded those flexible extremities, providing her with weapons even as she clenched her fists. Everywhere she moved the mana followed, just as sharp as ever, as if it thought it could tear the air itself into shreds.

“Go on then. Show us what you can do,” John encouraged, slapping both of them on the ass for a little extra encouragement as they bounded forward.

“I’ll show you everything I can do later tonight, Myaster!”

John couldn’t actually tell which of them called that out. Given the slight echo in his ears, it was entirely possible that both of the twins had had the same reaction. John just shook his head and did his best to keep a level eye on the battlefield as the Nekos tore their way into the new wave of foes emerging from the brush, making sure the Nekos didn’t get in over their heads.

It wasn’t even close to a fair fight. Despite being lower level compared to Sophia and Shishun, the Nekos were still well above the level of this dungeon. The rough and durable bark of Treants crackled and shattered as Maera launched a flurry of blows against the foremost of their enemies. The golden light surrounding her joints never left her body, but each time she struck it flared up and shot along her muscles and tendons like lightning bolts, some kind of holy-based magic she had picked up from training with the Order. John wasn’t entirely sure if she had done so under instruction or simply picked it up instinctively, but the results were certainly effective – her blows rained with far more **** than her level or Strength stat would imply.

Meanwhile Mithra was quite literally tearing through their weaker sections, carving up dryads and creeper vines and what appeared to be a living tangle of poison ivy all in one long, sweeping series of cleaves. The glistening crimson claws hovering over her clenched knuckles tore into them more than anything, brutally rending plant matter as if it was mere paper. The few times Mithra went up against someone who was tough enough to stand the first swipe, there was a quick secondary uppercut that made even John wince. Maera’s off-hand bore the same magical claws, so as her fist connected, whatever part of her foe she targeted was first pierced by claws and then tossed free by the **** of her impressive might.

Despite it being little more than a warm-up dungeon, John couldn’t help but feel some pride and admiration for his lovers as they effortlessly cleared away the hordes before them. He didn’t have to lift a finger, and yet his creations were clearing out a Barrier that would’ve been a genuine challenge a year ago, however minor. It wasn’t just their strength he appreciated, of course; it was deeper than that. A sense of fulfillment and an underlying knowledge that, for as scarred as they were, their wounds had healed back in ways that made them tougher, stronger as both warriors and people.

Thoughts of wasted time and how much more progress he could have made by pushing them harder pressed at the edges of his conscience, and beyond that vague notions of the future and the war ahead, but he suppressed those for the moment. Worry, fear, and anxiety had their place, and he couldn’t afford to become lax in his efforts.

But for now, for this moment at least, John let himself feel a tide of happiness and optimism at how far they had come. It was a glorious moment of revelry.

Though, in the end, it was just a moment. As it had always been for over a year, that moment ended when John realized his fingers had wrapped their way around the hilt of his sword without him even noticing. His body was so tense his knees were shaking slightly, and the sounds of battle brought unwelcome memories on tides of adrenaline. The reality of what they were doing, and why, crashed over his moment in an unwelcome rush.

With one final sigh to release the last of his naivety, John gripped the blade a little tighter and threw himself into combat behind his family.

Three dungeons later, John had upped the difficulty to level thirty, enough to give them a workout and keep the Nekos on constant alert while the rest of their party still had enough of an edge in levels and stats to ensure they were always protected. Still, after finishing their initial runs, HP bars were getting a bit low, and John didn’t have the mana to Heal everyone up every time they got hurt. Not for very long, at any rate.

“Alright, everyone, let’s take a quick meal break,” John noted, quickly glancing at his phone. Though he wasn’t capable of feeling true hunger thanks to the improvements to Gamer’s Body, he knew his creations weren’t so fortunate. Besides, it wasn’t as if he didn’t enjoy a good meal.

“Oooh, did we get anything tasty from our dungeon runs?” Maera asked, grabbing John’s arm so she could bend down to lean on upper arm, giving him a needy look that almost rivaled her bedroom eyes in intensity.

“Not exactly…” John murmured. They had gotten a few fruits and other such items that would probably taste quite good – some of them even had descriptions that implied they would give buffs – but Maere and Mithra weren’t particularly thrilled with fruits and veggies.

John let Maera pout for as long as he could stand her adorableness. When it became too much to bear, John wrapped his free arm around the needy catgirl, gently patting her head and stroking along where her ears met her skull.

“Don’t worry, Maera. I have a secret stash of that Minotaur Steak you loved so much hidden away; I’ve been saving it for an occasion worth celebrating.”

“Nyah, celebrating the war?” Mithra asked, quirking an eyebrow and giving John the look she gave him whenever she felt like she wasn’t understanding his line of thought.

“No, not that,” John said, effortlessly pulling Mithra into the hug as well. “It’s a celebration of being back home! I might not always be the most direct about it… but I hope you all know how much I missed you. I’ve never gone that long without being able to see the loves of my life. We’re celebrating being back together.”

“Nyah, we can do that!” Maera cooed. Mithra made a low grunt of agreement as she snuggled further into John’s grip; even Sophia joined in, softly but firmly wrapping her arms around the entire group, her Amazonian stature giving her the height required to lean in and embrace all of them easily. The only one to hesitate was Shishun – though John could read by the smile on her face and the slight look of envy that it wasn’t due to a lack of will.

“Shishun, I order you to join in this hug right now,” John said, offering a wry grin that he wasn’t even sure Shishun had time to see before she slithered forward and joined in. Her shorter arms failed to wrap all the way around the now five-person ball of affection, but her enthusiasm was hard to match, no matter how much she tried to mask it.

By the time they all parted, no further words needed to be spoken. The five of them set off toward the house in unison, walking barely far enough apart to avoid collisions. A comfortable warmth settled over them, a joyous silence that John had dearly missed during their trip to the west.

A silence that was broken not by a member of the group, but by a distant and distinctly pained yowl, a long one that hung in the air. The noise rose and fell in pitch and volume, but no more than three seconds had passed before Maera, Mithra, and John had all split from the group. A surge of adrenaline carried them forward before Sophia and Shishun had even fully processed the sound, instinct driving something deeper than thought.

All the same, John did manage one shout behind him, even as he barreled furiously toward their home.