First Quests and Sticky Problems

I entered the Adventurer’s Guild, staff in hand. A few adventurers looked up, but most quickly looked away upon noticing my silver skin and purple eyes. I calmly approached the main reception desk, humming softly to myself, steeling my nerves. My boots made gentle sounds on the floorboards as I tried to keep my shoulders relaxed and my smile steady. The tall man behind the desk wore a perfectly tailored coat and a polished monocle. He watched me approach like I had tracked mud inside. “Name?” he asked, already sounding bored. His faint French accent made every word sound more elegant and snobby. “Clover,” I responded. He wrote with a flourish. “Clovère , then. Non-human applicants are… uncommon. Constructs even more so. We prefer real flesh and blood here.” He peered over the monocle. “You will need a vouching party of good standing. Otherwise I cannot process this registration.” He said as he smiled. I shifted my weight, fingers tightening around the staff. “I’m a good android,” I said, maybe a little too quickly. “I helped stop Bandit raid of the group called the Fog Cutter, attack on the southern road. I can heal. I can take hits. I even have an an—” I bit my lip hard (can't believe I'm going to say this ). “I have an angel who follows me around. That… that has to mean something, right?” The monocle man looked deeply unimpressed.

The door opened behind me before he could refuse. Ty, the younger of the merchant brothers, sauntered in, still dusty from the road. The moment he spotted me, his face split into a wide, familiar grin. “ Well, well. Silver boy.” He leaned against the doorframe, looking me over. “Already causing trouble, are you?” He came over, placed a hand on my shoulder, and glanced at the forms spread across the desk. His expression shifted into something more serious as he read the refusal notes the receptionist had already started writing. "I know what this is,” Ty said. He pulled the paper toward himself, took the pen, and signed in clean, confident strokes as co-signer. “We need more people like this. He’s with me.”The reception looked sour, but he stamped the papers with a sharp thunk. A moment later, a simple metal badge was pushed across the desk.

[Adventurer Rank: F] [Guild Badge Acquired] [Guild Perks Unlocked: Basic Quest Access | Shared Board Notices | Emergency Healing Discount (10%)]

I picked the badge up and smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. “Thank you! Both of you!” Ty ruffled my hair. “Don’t make me regret it. And try not to die on your first quest.” He left with a wave. I turned to the quest board. Several notices glowed softly when my eyes passed over them.

Acid Slime Core Collection
Quest Giver: Alchemist Hilda
Collect 8 Acid Slime cores from the western forest clearings.
Warning: a larger morphling specimen has been reported. It can take the form of people it has consumed and mimic speech. Extremely dangerous for low ranks.
Reward: 180 gold + 320 EXP
Fog Cutter Sightings
Quest Giver: Captain of the Guard
Locate or gather information on active Fog Cutter hideouts near the southern road.
Reward: 250 gold + 400 EXP
I accepted both. The HUD chimed twice and updated with map markers.

(Two quests on day one. Not bad.)A woman with short gray-streaked hair and a heavy alchemist’s satchel stood near the side counter, sorting vials. The name plate on her station read Hilda. I walked over. “Excuse me. You’re the one who posted the slime core quest?' She looked up. Her eyes were sharp and cold. “I am. You’re the construct who just registered. I just heard of ” She studied the badge I'm holding up. “F-rank. Fine. Bring me eight clean cores, and I’ll pay. But listen carefully.” Her voice dropped. “A friend of mine went into those clearings last month. She was a witch. An alchemist, too. She went looking for rare herbs and wanted to test a new transformation spell.” I tilted my head. “Transformation spell?” “Something experimental. She wouldn't tell me exactly what she was attempting. ”She did not come back. The scouts searched the area. They found her bag in burnt clearings and parts of her... there's but now slime out there that casts spells, wears a scorched hat. If you see it, do not engage alone. Am I clear?” I nodded quickly. “Clear. I’ll be careful.” Hilda turned back to her vials without another word.

I stepped away from the counter, badge in my bag, both quests active on the HUD. The Fog Cutter notice kept pulling at my attention. I still remembered the bandit sitting in the town jail—the one who had looked at me desperately. (Maybe he still has more to say.) I adjusted the strap of my bag, checked the map markers one last time, and headed for the door. The jail was only a few streets away. I followed the glowing path on the HUD through the afternoon crowd, staff tapping lightly against the cobblestones. ((My first day as an adventurer, and I've already got two quests) Halfway down the main road, I noticed a cluster of white-and-gold uniforms gathered near the church steps. Paladins and a few sharper-eyed inquisitors stood in a tight group, speaking in low voices. One of them glanced in my direction for a second, then looked away. I paid it almost no mind. (Church business. Nothing to do with me.) The jail was a low stone building with barred windows and a heavy wooden door. A single town guard leaned against the frame, arms crossed. His eyes looked me up and down as I approached silver skin, short skirt, stockings and his expression hardened. “No non-humans,” he said flatly. “Policy.” I stopped a polite distance away and offered my brightest, most harmless smile. “Hello! I’m Clover. I’m an F-rank adventurer. I helped stop a Fog Cutter attack on the southern road. I just want to ask one of the prisoners a few questions about hideouts. I’m a good android. I help people.” The guard’s jaw tightened. “I said no. Turn around and leave before I remove you by force.”I opened my mouth, then closed it again. The threat was clear. My shoulders sagged a little. (Okay. Maybe this was a bad idea. I can always try the forest without extra information…) I had already started to turn away when the heavy door behind the guard swung open. Rye stepped out, a folder of papers tucked under one arm. He took one look at me, one look at the guard’s posture, and straightened to his full height. “This android saved my life and my brother’s and my caravan,” Rye said. “He is with me. Let him in.” The guard hesitated, then stepped aside with a reluctant grunt. Rye gave me a short nod and turned back to the other officers inside, already explaining the details of the forest attack and the Fog Cutter involvement. I walked past him into the stone hallway.

The bandit from the clearing sat on a thin bunk behind iron bars. The moment he saw me, his whole face lit up, soft and eager from Aphroditism.

Fog Cutter Prisoner – Human Status: Captive, Aphroditism , hopeful *Opinion of Clover: “ he came too see me, how M**erciful* he is . ”

“You came,” he said, almost breathless. I crouched outside the bars, staff resting across my knees. “I need information. Hideouts. Where your people keep the ones they capture.” He told me everything without hesitation—two minor camps along the southern ridges, a temporary holding cave deeper in the forest, even the rough schedule the runners used when moving “merchandise.” When he finished, I gave him a small, gentle smile. “If you ever get out one day… I’d be happy to be friends.” It was a soft lie. I knew he was not getting out soon. Still, the words made his eyes go white and distant, like he was already imagining a different future. He never said what he was thinking, but the look on his face was enough. I stood, bowed my head, thanked him quietly, and walked back. Rye was still speaking with the officers. I paused long enough to say, “Thank you again, Rye. For vouching.” He gave a short nod and returned to his reports. I had just stepped past him into the doorway when a different guard—younger, with a bored expression—held up a hand. “Policy. Exit search for non-humans.” Before I could protest, he stepped in close, hands moving over my sides, down my hips, and deliberately under the short hem of the skirt. Fingers dig into the curve of my ass, then slid around to the front, checking for concealed items. My face heated up with embarrassment. (He’s doing that on purpose.) The guard smirked, gave one last lingering squeeze, and finally stepped back. “Clean. Move along.” I fixed the skirt with as much dignity as I could manage and walked out into the late-afternoon light. The HUD map marker for the western slime clearings glowed steadily.

(Still have time before it gets really dark. Slime Cores first. Then I can think about everything else.)I adjusted the empty bag at my side, checked the quest details one more time, and started walking toward the town gate that led to the forest. The guard at the gate took my quest paper, glanced at the F-rank badge, and actually smiled. (Finally! someone normal)“Western clearings, huh? Watch the acid slimes. My wife makes me lunch and brings it to me every time I'm on patrol. Best woman in town.” He stamped the paper and handed it back. “Stay safe, kid. You’re one of the good travelers.” I thanked him and followed the HUD map under the trees.

A half mile down the path, I look back at Hollowbrook. Suddenly, a soft pulse of white-gold light flickered once over the rooftops of Hollowbrook; it was so brief I doubt anyone really noticed. The first clearing held a cluster of ordinary green Acid Simes,twelve of them jiggle-bounced between the roots. I planted my feet, raised the staff, and started the slowly cast twelve-second wind smite. Air pressure built, shoving the slimes into a tight group. The moment the cast finished, I switched to Electro Smite. Lightning cracked down. The entire cluster burst in a spray of acidic gel and small glowing cores.

+18 EXP +18 EXP +18 EXP +18 EXP +18 EXP … (the numbers ticked steadily)

(It worked. It actually worked on the first try.) I moved through the grass, picking up the eight required cores and dropping them into the cloth bag. Mana sat at roughly half.

MP: 17/33

The remaining slime matter suddenly pulsed from green to deep red. A red bolt of fire flew in the air. A large slime mass came from the forest, shifting and reforming. A wide-brimmed witch’s hat, scorched, sat on top of the slime. The body underneath was feminine, translucent pinkish-red, and clearly tired, struggling

My eyes glowed gold. Morphling Slime / Witch Levels: Morphling acid Slime 8 / Humanoid 5 / Witch 12 Status: Exhausted, hungry, residual soul conflict Notes: Witch soul partially overpowered the slime core after dying, does not have control yet.

She looked at me with half-lidded eyes and tried to form words. The voice came out wet and uneven.“…warm… stay… hungry…”I immediately started another Electro Smite. She raised one translucent arm and formed a crude barrier; the lightning splashed across it and only staggered her. Before the afterglow faded, I tried to begin the twelve-second wind cast to push her back. Twelve seconds was an eternity in a fight. She closed the distance in four. I abandoned the cast and swung the staff like a club. The crystal end sank into her side with a wet splat, but the wound sealed almost as fast as I made it. She answered with a lash of acidic gel that hissed against my forearm plating.

HP: 46/54

I jumped back, fired a quick uncharged light bolt—just enough to make her flinch—and tried to open space again. She was learning. The next time I raised the staff, she simply surged forward, cool living gel wrapping around my waist and yanking me off balance. The staff slipped from my fingers and landed in the grass. A slick tendril slid under the skirt, pushed the panties aside, and wrapped around my cock with deliberate, greedy pressure. The texture was impossible—warm and cool at the same time, silky one second then faintly rigid the next, constantly shifting. It squeezed in slow, pulsing waves that pulled outward and then sucked back in, coating me in thick, slippery gel that made every movement harder. “Mana… give…” I tried to shove her away. My hands sank into her soft body. She only pressed closer, hat tipping sideways, the tendril-mouth working me with steady, hungry rhythm.. My hips jerked helplessly into the slime.

(No—not like this, I'm not going to die like this —she’s draining my mana—) The pleasure built fast and dirty, or my lack stimana. Every time I throbbed, she tightened, the gel rippling in answer. Bite down hard on my lower lip. I cry out, as thick ropes of seed spill into the slime beneath me. The slime ripples, as it drinks down my cum and mana. My knees give way, and I collapse forward, catching myself on the slime surface just before my face hits it. The slime cushions me, pulsing softly as it digests my offering. She shivered, color brightening from dull red to a clearer pink. When she pulled back, her voice came out clearer.

“…Full. Warm. Stay, need time to rest.”

+150 Exp

Priest Level 6 → 7 (+2 HP, +4 MP)
Knight Level 6 → 7 (+5 HP, +1 MP)
HP: 46/54
MP: 6/38She looked less tired. More focused. And she immediately started following when I stepped away.(Everything is sticky. It’s on my thighs, under the skirt, dripping down the back of my legs, drying in the seams of the leggings… I can feel it every time I walk.)I opened the Domain portal right there in the clearing. Soft grass and the familiar house appeared beyond the shimmer. I guided her through, pointed to a small empty cottage near the edge of the property, and spoke slowly. “You can stay there. Rest. I’ll come back. Promise. ”She looked at the little house, then at me, and finally curled up on the doorstep with the scorched witch hat still on. then i walk up hill to my house. I went straight past the bedroom and into the indoor hot spring. The water was already warm. I stripped off the sticky skirt, leggings, and ruined panties, left them in a heap on the stone, and sank into the pool with a long, shaky breath. The heat loosened the dried gel almost immediately. I scrubbed until every trace of her was gone and the water around me ran clear again. Only then did I climb out, dry off, pull on clean clothes, and finally collapse face-first onto my bed.