Portal Grinding Volume 3 Part 3

John Meditated until his mana was full again without major incident. Elora tugged at him warningly a few times, but the Lizardmen continued through the corner of the tower completely unaware of the infiltrator right above them, and seemingly not the least bit worried by the now four guards missing. He stretched and looked questioningly at Elora. Or at least, attempted to. It’s awkward to look directly at one’s own shoulder. Thankfully, she understood his intent. Her visor glowed for a few seconds before she spoke.

“The tower guards aren’t in optimal position for you to sneak across the walls in either direction yet,” she began, “and the wall guards seem to be gathered in the shortest tower. None have left in the past three minutes, and there has been no other movement on the walls. Which tower do you want to take next, Chief? Forty or Thirty?”

“Forty. I don’t want a tower guard to have the height advantage on us.”

“Understood.” She pointed at one of the doors leading out of the tower and onto the walls. “That way on my mark.”

John dropped to the ground from the rafters and positioned himself by the door Elora pointed out. Elora tugged on his ear, and he crept out into the open. He had three minutes to get from one tower to the next before the patrol changed to a direction where a Lizardman might spot him. He made it across with time to spare, and the room he snuck into was as empty as Elora said it would be.

“Aerial Squad,” John began to order in a hushed tone, “fly outside and peek through a window upstairs. I need to know if there’s guards in there or not before I decide whether to sneak in from the stairs or from the outside.”

The pixies saluted quickly before darting off. John settled into the rafters again to wait for their report. He didn’t even have time to settle into an internal monologue before the pixies returned.

“Empty, sir!”

“Alright, sweet. Follow me up, then.”

John dropped down to the ground and casually opened yet another well-oiled door. He closed it carefully before making his way up the stairs and into the room below the guard post atop the tower. He confidently swung open the door at the top of the stairs only to find, to his horror, that the door at the top was, in fact, horrifically creaky. The guard at the top of the tower chittered questioningly as John scrambled to place himself in a blind spot for when the Lizardman descended to investigate. The optimal spot would have really been hovering near the ceiling in the center of the room, so that the guard’s back would be turned to him as they used the ladder. The best John could do was balance on top of the open door and hope the Lizardman didn’t look up.

After a few tense seconds of waiting, the guard chittered questioningly again, louder this time. Then they growled and began to climb down the ladder. John watched them as they got off and started looking around. They took two steps towards the door and began to tilt their head upwards.

You’ve gotta be kidding me, he thought as he launched himself towards the Lizardman, red lightning crackling in his hands.

[****!] 200 dmg

He slammed two Bolts into the guard’s head and fell with them to the ground.

“Okay. Good. Good good good. Two towers cleared. Elora?”

“Chief! The thirty foot tower is directly across from this one, and the twenty foot tower would be next in rotation. But I advise backtracking and taking the thirty foot tower first.”

“Right, you said most of the wall guards are in the twenty foot one?”

“Affirmative.”

John began to descend the tower to wall level.

“Well… My mana should regenerate to full by the time we get there, so just tell me when it’s safe to start across to the fifty foot tower.”

“Yes, sir!”

John positioned himself by one of the archways that served as doors between the tops of the walls and the rooms at the bases of the towers, awaiting Elora’s signal. A few minutes passed, then she tugged at his ear and he crept out into the open again. He hesitated as he entered the base room of the tallest tower.

“Do I have time to make it across to thirty?” he asked Elora.

“Yes, go now!” Her response was authoritative but quiet, a command born of the urgency of time and not of superiority.

John made his way across silently and quickly, the ease of the action freeing his mind to speculation.

What are they doing in that tower? This is getting concerningly easy. Something’s up, I don’t like it.

John nodded to the Aerial Squad, and they sped out the archway upwards.

I didn’t tell them what to do, but I’m sure they got my meaning.

He tested the door to the stairwell carefully, and found it to be silent.

One door out of five isn’t so bad. That’s still surprisingly well maintained for a desert.

The pixies returned and saluted in front of John.

“Report?” he addressed them directly.

“Two guards below the one on watch, sir!” One of the pixies hovered forward to deliver the report.

“Shit… Okay, get ready for this to get ugly, ladies,” John addressed all of them before turning awkwardly to his shoulder. “Elora, signal when it’s safe to start climbing up to that window from the outside.”

“You got it, Chief!”

John positioned himself right beside an archway, and Elora almost immediately tugged on his ear. He swung out onto the crenellations of the wall and from there began his ascent. He climbed diagonally, making his way up and across to where a window would be. He hung from the windowsill as the Aerial Squad positioned themselves near the top corners of the window.

Fuck, I didn’t set a signal for when we rush in. Maybe I should climb back dow-

Elora tugged on his ear twice, and the Aerial Squad burst into action.

Shit!

John activated Sparkbody and lunged forwards to follow them. The Aerial Pixies swarmed the nearest Lizardman’s hands, covering them in dozens of tiny cuts within seconds. John, wreathed in red electricity, vaulted into a handspring before landing with his legs wrapped around their neck, two Bolts readied in his hands. He slammed the spells into the Lizardman’s temples as the Aerial Pixies launched themselves at the second Lizardman, who had taken two steps toward their comrade and had begun unsheathing their sword. The Pixies swarmed this Lizardmans’s hands as well, effectively disarming them as John used the momentum of his initial vault to continue swinging around the first Lizardman’s neck and fling himself towards the second one. The second Lizardman stumbled forwards in surprise as the Pixies cut their scales to ribbons inch by inch up their forearms. John twirled mid air, manifesting his dagger into his right hand and reaching his left hand out to meet the floor before launching himself into the second Lizardman’s torso, knocking it completely off balance and to the ground. He drove his knife into their neck, slitting their throat.

[Combo! 40 hits!] 80 dmg
[****!] 120 dmg
[Combo! 60 hits!] 120 dmg
[****!] 80 dmg

John rushed to the ladder, the final Lizardman’s concerned chittering spurring him to further action. The Aerial Pixies swirled around his head like an earthen halo as he ascended to the roof, dispersing as he pulled himself all the way up and turned a full circle to gain his bearings. The Lizardman was directly behind him, their sword unsheathed and midswing, their maw curled into the beginnings of a snarl. The Aerial Pixies moved to disarm them as John dropped into a crouch and swung his legs with as much **** as he could manage, driving his heels into the back of the Lizardman’s ankles. They began to fall, their grip on their sword lost to the Pixies’ sharp claws. John tucked his legs back towards himself and rolled to the side, ready to slit their throat when they hit the ground. Tiny holes perforated the Lizardman’s skull as it fell, and John received the system notification stating their **** before they hit the ground.

[Combo! 40 hits!] 80 dmg
[Team Fire! 101 hits! (19 misses)] 101 dmg

John cocked an eyebrow at the damage readings. That doesn’t add up to 200 like the rest. I mean it would have if the Infantry Pixies hadn’t missed any shots, but they did miss a few…

19 dmg (bleeding)

“Ah, there it is,” John muttered. “Elora? Any alarming movements?”

I didn’t hear the Pixies’ gunshots, I guess their guns are small enough that from this distance they’re pretty much silent. It speaks to their skill that they only missed 19 out of 120 shots from a distance where their gunshots can’t be heard.

“We’re still in the clear, Chief,” his general responded.

“Perfect. All that’s left is the suspicious final tower, then. What are they doing in there to not notice their numbers being picked off like this? We haven’t been particularly fast about it.” John sat with crossed legs as he began to Meditate once again. “Elora, have the Aerial squad pick up the Infantry squads and bring them to me while I’m Meditating so we can storm the last tower together.”

John slipped into the trance state of his regenerative skill as Elora saluted and made several quick hand signals to her soldiers. He blinked, and the jolt that usually brought him out of the trance to let him know his mana was full again instead brought him elsewhere.

He sat on a smooth rock, floating in a river of lava. He turned his head to take in his surroundings. The distant shores of the river were on fire, the flames taking on various hues.

This is new. Where am-

His train of thought was interrupted by a sudden weight in his lap. A petite girl had appeared, laying across him and using one of his thighs as a pillow. His hand started to pat her head immediately, as if on instinct alone. Her hair was a bluish purple, and tied back into a long ponytail that would reach at least her waist if she were standing. She murmured something unintelligible as she cracked her eyes open. They were a deep purple. John felt a recognition as they looked at each other, he felt as if he should definitely know her despite never having seen a girl with blue hair and purple eyes before. She yawned and stretched her arms and legs forwards like a cat, showcasing the loose fitting navy blue sleeves that covered her arms from bicep to wrist as well as the baggy brown pants she wore tucked into her blue and purple boots. She smiled up at him and placed a hand on top of his as he continued to pet her before turning to lay on her back. She pulled his hand off her head and held it in hers, resting on top of her slim midriff. Her torso was covered by a purple tunic, with some sort of red harness across her small chest.

“Master,” she spoke. “I finally found you here. I’m sorry it took so long.”

“Ignis?” John was dumbfounded. My giant fox made out of magical flames turns into a tiny girl?

“Am I not how you pictured me to be, Master?”

“Well, you aren’t… a fox?”

“I’ve matured past being confined strictly to my primal form, Master. In this body, I can touch you without hurting you. And I can talk. Talking is nice.”

“I thought you matured a few days ago. You couldn’t have shown me sooner? Or somewhere else? Where are we, anyway?”

Ignis giggled, then brought John’s hand up to her mouth for a quick kiss before responding.

“This is where your mind goes when you Meditate. It’s an isolated area in the flaming part of your soul, it’s sort of part of your Summoner’s Temple, but not really? I’m not entirely sure how it works. But, um, as for why not show you until now, I wanted to have you to myself for a bit. Back in your dorm we’re always with everyone else, and when you’re in class you have your classmates. I thought here would be nice.” Uncertainty crept into her voice. “Was I wrong?”

“No! No, I mean. Here is nice.” Ignis smiled up at him as he stammered. “It’s just unexpected, is all. I mean… everything that’s happened since we met has been unexpected, but like still. Yeah… this is nice.” He sighed and rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. “Now that you’ve found where I go when I Meditate, can you come see me every time?”

Her eyes lit up with excitement. “I can! Would you really want me to?”

“I would love spending more time with you, Ignis. Especially now that we can speak to each other.”

Ignis squealed and kicked her feet in response, then suddenly wrapped her arms around John’s neck and pulled herself up for a kiss. Her lips were soft against his, and her tongue darted playfully into his mouth.

ding!

John opened his eyes and he was back on top of the tower in the Lizardman outpost. His mana was full and the Infantry Pixies had taken up stations clinging to his clothes, anchoring themselves to his aura. He tried not to sigh in disappointment as he took a deep breath, standing from his cross-legged posture.

“Elora, status?”

“All clear so far, Chief. No movement other than the guard at the top of the final tower.”

“Alright. Cool. Let’s get the drop on that one and see what that tower has in store for us.”

“Sir!” all the Pixies whispered their confirmation.

John set off down the ladder, then further down the spiral staircase that led to the top of the walls. He awaited Elora’s signal, then made his way across to the final tower. The room at the base of the stairs was empty, but movement could clearly be heard directly above.

Heavy footsteps? And splashing water? Is this where the room in my fly by frame is? Why would all of the guards… No… I mean could it possibly…?

John shook his head of such thoughts and crept his way up the stairs. The further up he climbed, the more clear it became: The Lizardmen were having an orgy in the room below the roof. Feminine moans and guttural grunts filled the air alongside slapping, thumping, and splashing sounds. He stood outside the door to the room, steam wafting lazily through the cracks at the top of the door.

This is going to be awful. Killing a bunch of creatures in the middle of an orgy? That’s just cruel. Not to mention it’d be an extended fight, there’s no way I can **** my way through two dozen of them in a short time… Well, I have Elora and most of the Pixies with me. And I can call in Ignis to barge in and mow them all down… Alternatively… I can call in Omorfia and see if she can work some sex magic? Even further alternatively… I can call Calista in and see what crazy things she can do in a room full of water… Fuck, I have to decide, I’ve already taken too long playing stealth mode at this outpost.