First Steps into the Mist

The moment the door shut behind me, the clean air of my domain vanished. Cold, wet fog wrapped around my silver skin like a living thing. The Weeping Forest smelled of damp earth, sap, and something faintly metallic. Every tree dripped slow, clear tears that tapped against the undergrowth. (This is real) No hospital ceiling. No beeping machines. No weak human body that couldn’t even sit up without help. I flexed my metallic fingers. The short cyan skirt swayed against my thighs with every step.

My HUD flickered to life in the corner of my vision, clear and clean:

HP: 40/40
MP: 28/28
Level: Priest 5 / Knight 5

Ariel floated next to me, already looking annoyed and bored. “Ugh, this is boring. I'm off to scout ahead—stay on the road, Clover. And try not to die within the first ten minutes I'm gone.” Before I could even respond, he was gone, and I was alone, watching him fly above the tree line and go on ahead. I gave myself a bright little smile as I looked around the foggy forest and continued walking further. Suddenly heard a rustling nearby. I stopped and slowly turned toward the sound, holding my staff out towards the noise. A small fox cautiously stepped out of the fog, its fur covered in droplets of water. We stared at each other. Slowly, I gave it a little wave. “Hi there.” The fox tilted its head, then ran back into the forest.

(I used to fantasize about this. Mecha bodies. Power. Freedom. All the things a bedridden man could only dream about. Now I have the machine body… and the dark goddesses Aphroditism. On the Light side, an oath and one very whining angel.)

As I'm walking, a distant, loud shout cuts through the mist. “Get the beastkin! Kill the rest !” I start running off the path towards the noise to see what's happening. Therefor i ran until I saw an opening in the trees, but then I saw three wagons. Human merchants and a fox-eared beastkin woman were fighting eight attackers and a pack of forest wolves. One merchant was down and bleeding badly from a deep cut across his ribs. The beastkin’s spear flashed in tight, desperate arcs, but three of the bandits were deliberately trying to lead her away from the wagons, trying to isolate her. One of what I would think is a bandit swung his sword, kept feinting high strikes while another swung his dagger low at her legs. A third held a set of heavy iron manacles ready in his off-hand, waiting for an opening. The rest of the bandit group focused on the merchants and the wolves, trying to clean them up so they can main prize.

My eyes glowed soft gold as I activated God’s Eye on the nearest bandit.- - - - - -

God Eye

*Fog Cutter Thug – Human l*evel 11 Status: Focused on the beastkin, slightly winded Opinion of Clover: “What the hell is that silver thing?” Notes: Local Fog Cutter cell. Orders are to capture the beastkin alive, for the Buyer is paying heavily for clean deliveries this month.

(Oh… so that’s what they’re called. Fog Cutters. Someone sold the caravan’s route. How mysterious.)- - - - - -

New Quest: Protect the Caravan
Defeat or drive off the attackers
Reward: 1,200 EXP
Bonus: Keep all merchants alive – +400 EXP
Love Humanity oath warmed under my plating. I raised my staff. The first attacker who spun toward me wasn’t human — pointed ears, sharp features, an elf with a curved blade and cold eyes. He had been the one directing the wolves with short, sharp whistles.

(Good. No conflict with the oath.)- - - - - -

I slammed the butt of my staff hard into the ground.

Divine Electro Smite

The crystal flared white-gold. A thick bolt of holy lightning tore down from the foggy sky with a deafening crack and slammed into the elf and the wolf beside him. The impact blew a shallow crater in the dirt, sent sparks skittering across wet leaves, and dropped both targets in a twitching, smoking heap.

+45 EXP
+38 EXP
My HUD updated instantly.
HP: 40/40
MP: 22/28

The remaining bandits turned. I saw the exact moment they registered the short silver android in the tiny skirt. One of them, a scarred man with a notched axe, clicked his tongue in irritation and immediately barked new orders, redirecting two of the wolf-handlers toward me while the manacle-carrier still tried to close on the beastkin. One of them laughed. “The fuck is that? Some noble’s runaway toy?” I activated the Knight taunt, voice bright and clear. "Eyes on me, please!” I shouted. Four bandits and the remaining wolves charged. A sword bounced off my forearm with a sharp clang. Prime Directive turned the blow into little more than a scratch. HP: 37/40 I stepped in, smashed the staff into a knee-on bandit drooping bandit with a wet crunch, then spun and fired a second Electro Smite point-blank into a wolf’" +41 EXP +33 EXP MP: 16/28

Aphroditism stirred the instant the injured bandit looked up at me — his eyes going hazy with sudden, unwanted hunger. He still tried to raise his weapon, but the swing was slow and unfocused. Ariel appeared above the fight in a burst of white light and pure indignation. “I leave you alone for like thirty seconds! Thirty! And you’re already in the middle of a bandit ambush looking like a lost.... idiot!” He flung lances of pure light through the air at remaining attackers. “I am a high-ranking angel, not a babysitter for an Android!” A wolf latched onto my calf; its teeth scraped uselessly across the leggings and silver plating. I smashed the crystal end of the staff down onto its spine until it stopped moving. +29 EXP HP: 35/40

We finished it together. I tanked and taunted, keeping every blade and claw on me. Ariel sniped and complained. The beastkin finished the last wolf with a sharp thrust through the throat. When the final bandit tried to crawl away, I stepped on his back and pressed the staff to his neck.

“Yield, okay? No more fighting.”

He spat dirt and let his forehead drop against the ground. “Yield… damn it. Boss is gonna have our heads for this. He specifically ordered us to bring the beast folk in alive. Said the buyer paying 15 times the normal rate for this clean capture…”

Aphroditism had already begun its work behind his eyes. His voice lost some of its edge even as he spoke.

+52 EXP Quest Complete. +1,200 EXP Bonus achieved: +400 EXP Priest Level 5 → 6 (+2 HP, +4 MP) Knight Level 5 → 6 (+5 HP, +1 MP) HP: 42/47 MP: 21/33- - - - - -

The surviving merchants stared. The fox-eared woman lowered her spear, ears twitching.

“You’re… not human,” she said carefully.

I offered her my brightest smile, purple eyes soft, hands folding behind my back. “Android! Name’s Clover. This is Ariel. Are you all okay? Anyone else hurt?”

Ariel landed with a dramatic flutter. “Guardian angel. Temporary. Extremely temporary. And very underappreciated.”

While the merchants began checking the wounded man, Ariel sighed loudly and floated over to the fallen bandits. With obvious distaste, he hauled them one by one into a pile, using strips of rope and belts from the wagons to bind their wrists and ankles tightly.

“There. Tied up like proper garbage. ,” he muttered, wiping his hands on a spare cloth. “I am far too kind, aren't I?”

One of the bound men — the same one still glassy-eyed from Aphroditism — lifted his head and stared straight at me with an almost dreamy expression.

“I’ll tell you everything,” he said suddenly, voice soft and eager. “Names, routes, where the boss keeps the safe houses, how they move the capture slaves… just don’t look away from me. Please.”

An older merchant glanced at the man, then at me, then back at the bandit. Without a word, he stepped forward and drove a solid fist into the side of the man’s head. The bandit slumped, out cold.

“We’ll let the Hollowbrook town guard sort that one out in the jail,” the merchant said flatly. “No need for him talking sweet right now; probably mostly lies.”

Ariel gave a tiny, approving nod. “Finally. Someone with sense.”

While the merchants finished securing the rest of the prisoners. Then Ariel's hand locked around my wrist and pulled me hard around the far side of the rear cart. The moment we were hidden, he shoved me against the wood, one hand clamping over my mouth, the other yanking my skirt up and shoving the panties aside.“You absolute disaster,” he hissed, stroking me fast and tight. “One simple order—stay on the road—and you charge straight into an ambush. Do you have any idea how stressful it is keeping an idiot like you alive? I am an angel, not your personal bodyguard!” You could have gotten hurt, idiot.” I made a muffled sound against his palm as his fist worked me harder. Pre-cum smeared across his fingers. His thumb rubbed punishing circles under the head while two fingers pushed between my cheeks and sank inside, thrusting in time with every stroke. My hips jerked helplessly.

(Why does he always do that…? This body feels everything too much. And I still haven’t been allowed to finish once today. I’m getting pent-up…)

Ariel held me right at the edge, hand sealed over my mouth, then squeezed the base hard enough to stop the orgasm cold. “Don’t you dare cum,” he whispered. “Not yet. You’re going to walk back out there with this pre cum soaked panties and that ruined expression and pretend nothing happened. Understand?” I nodded quickly. He wiped his hand on the inside of my skirt, straightened it with a sharp tug, and stepped back. I stood there breathing hard, face burning under silver skin, panties ruined. I forced the embarrassment down, smoothed the skirt as best I could, and walked back into view on slightly unsteady legs.

The injured merchant was still bleeding. I knelt beside him without hesitation, staff glowing with soft light. Hold still, okay? I’ve got you.”Weak healing magic poured into the wound. The Love Humanity oath doubled the effect. Torn flesh knit. Color returned to the man’s face. He stared up at me in disbelief. (He looks about the age I was when I first got confined to that bed. Different world, same fragile human body… At least I can do something about it this time.)

MP: 15/33

“Thank you… truly. We don’t have much, but if there’s any reward we can offer—”I rocked back on my heels, smiling wide and genuine, purple eyes bright.“I’m fine, really! But if you wouldn’t mind… could I ride with you to Hollowbrook? That’s payment enough. I’d love the company, and I can help watch the road!”

One of the merchants chuckled and reached out, giving my head a light, friendly pat.

“Aww, you’re just the cutest little thing, aren’t you?”

My smile froze.

For a split second, the purple in my eyes flickered — a dangerous crimson bleeding through before I blinked it away. My hands, still folded behind my back, curled into fists so tight the metal knuckles creaked. The sweet tone in my voice sharpened just barely, like honey laced with broken glass.

“…Cute?” I forced a laugh, but it came out strained. “Haha! That’s—that’s so funny. I’m definitely not cute. Or girly. Right? Right.” My eye twitched. The plating along my jaw tensed. I took a slow breath, steadying myself, and the warmth slowly crept back into my expression — forced, but believable if you weren’t watching closely. I rocked on my heels, smiling too wide, teeth just slightly too sharp at the edges. Ariel made a tiny choking sound behind me as he tried to hold back his laugh.

The merchants exchanged glances, then nodded.

“Hollowbrook it is, then. Climb on when you’re ready.”

I beamed again, the crimson gone, sunshine firmly back in place.

“Thank you! I’ll keep everyone safe, promise!”

(First day out of the domain. Fog Cutter ambush. Aphroditism already working. Two levels gained. My guardian angel still treats me like his personal stress toy. And people keep calling me cute. Also… I’m really starting to need a proper release soon.)

I climbed onto the wagon anyway, short skirt and fluttering, heart (or whatever I had now) feeling lighter than it had in years.

HP: 42/47
MP: 15/33