A Slimey Mission

(Author Note: Italics is for thoughts, Italics + quotes for telepathy and Italics + Parentheses for Isabella's These Hips Don't Lie TF)

Team Fairy Castle gathered around the task board, finding a lot of tasks to do. Much like with the other team’s task board, it had tasks that were clearly meant for them to complete when they reached a higher level. Sadie was at the board first, joined shortly by Laura, Sam, and Mark. Isabella, Allie, Talia, and Ethel joined a bit later. After everyone arrived, they looked over the board for another fifteen minutes before discussing their options for the day.

Sadie started. “I see a few options here, but I really don’t know what the best choice is, so I’ll take opinions. The first option I see is we split up and try to do a bunch of lower-level tasks. We are all level two, and Sam is level three. We could probably split up and tackle a bunch of the level 1 quests, probably overall safer, but if we can do them either solo or in pairs, it would probably still end up rewarding us fairly well. I found a few quests at our level that we could probably tackle as an entire group simultaneously, or split into two groups. Finally, I have no idea how much we can push up in level, but we could go for a level 3 or 4 quest. If we do that, though, we are all going together.”

Allie asked, “Mark, Sadie, do either of you…” Allie paused for a moment, realizing Ethel was here, “Have any idea of the power the champions of Smug have gained, possibly a divine revelation from Cassandra about their progress? How strong they might be now?” Both shook their heads. Allie noticed Mark momentarily had a flicker of something cross his face. I’m going to trust him on whatever he’s keeping to himself. “Hmm… we should assume the worst then, and that they outpaced us. My assessment is that we either all go solo, save maybe Mark, doing level 1 quests meant for more than one person, then try and meet up into two groups and do a level 2 or 3 quest in the afternoon. Or we should try and punch up to a level 4 quest for a bigger impact. My only concern is that we all have starter gear, so doing a bunch of quests to get some upgrades seems like a good use of time.”

Sam said, “Honestly, I’d rather punch up. But I understand if you all don’t want to. I actually spent yesterday evening looking through the board. There is a simple level 2 quest not far from here. We can clear it fast, get some XP, and then I found a level 4 quest I think is suitable for our party composition. We should all either be level 3 or close to it when we start the quest.” Sam grabbed the two notices off the board and handed them to Sadie.

Laura chimed in next. “Maybe I’m full of myself here, but Freya was under the impression that when I fought Sam, it was Sam who would lose, despite her being a higher level. So level is clearly not everything. I’m for Sam’s plan.” Everyone else shrugged, not having anything to add.

Sadie read the quests that Sam had picked out. “Um… are you sure about this first one?” Sam nodded. “Well, if no one has any objections, I guess we will go with that plan.”

Task: Clear out the catacombs of the Church of Cassandra.

• Risk: Medium
• Reward: 700xp split amongst participants. Blessing on four items. 20 Empire Merit. 14 CP to be split amongst party members.
• A local Church of Cassandra has been defiled. Tentacle slimes have infested the catacombs. Eliminate them all.

“Ethel, could you guide us to the Church of Cassandra?” Sadie requested.

“It would be my pleasure.” Ethel mounted Bertha, as did Sadie. “Mark, there is room on here for one more. I’m sure Bertha wouldn’t mind.”

Bertha grunted, clearly not agreeing with Ethel’s words, which earned Bertha a swat upside the head from Sadie. “Look, even if you don’t want Mark on your back, that is no reason to be rude. Apologize.” Grunt. “I care.” Bertha grunted and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m serious, apologize to Mark.” Bertha gave Mark a nod and an ear waggle. Sadie just sighed. “I swear if Bertha wasn’t helping us for a pittance, I would find a different companion.” Bertha grunted. “Oh, so now you care about manners? Ethel, let’s go before I go crazy.”

Ethel instructed Bertha where to go, and everyone followed after them. They didn’t even have to leave the city to get to the church. This was just a smaller church and not the grand cathedral that they were summoned in by Ethel. The group entered the church, but had to leave Bertha outside since she was too big. Most of the group had gone inside, but Samantha had deliberately hung back. Once everyone else had gone in, Samantha turned to Bertha and yanked her face down by the reins, “Let’s get one thing clear, you damn cow. You call my boyfriend names again, and I’m going to find out what charred moose tastes like.” While holding the reins in a claw, Samantha momentarily transformed into a full-fledged dragon that was larger than Bertha. Then she reverted to her normal size. “Do we have an understanding?” Bertha nodded in fear. “Good. Also, I heard you weren’t going to actually be fighting with us, simply protecting Sadie. That’s going to change, understand?” Bertha grunted in annoyance. “No, I don’t expect you to be a meat shield, but I do expect you to help out.” Bertha grunted in resignation. Laura stuck her head out of the church doors. “Sam, you coming?”

“Yeah, I just needed a moment.” Sam ran up the church steps to join the rest of the party.

Ethel led them down a long spiral staircase to the catacombs. “Please be careful. Those entombed here are those who died while in service to the empire, which is rather rare because of Cassandra’s grace. So please don’t damage the corpses if at all possible.”

Sam took the lead, being both the highest level and the tank. Ethel opened the door for Sam, and they were immediately attacked by a writhing mass of tentacles. Most of the party failed to immediately react to the attack, but Sam was already pushing the party back as she blocked. Though the attack didn’t hit Sam’s shield. The slime was still lunging at them, but it was as if it were moving in slow motion. Talia exclaimed, “Attack it any time now, please!”

Sam immediately slashed down at the slime, cutting it in half. Talia weakened her spell and found that the slime was reforming as if Sam’s attack did nothing. Allie moved forward and plunged her gauntlet-covered hand into the slime and ripped out a spherical object, and then smashed it underfoot. “Slimes have a core; you have to shatter it. Some might have more than one core; in that case, cutting attacks like yours, Sam, might actually produce extra enemies. Ethel, does the passageway open up any further in?”

Ethel nodded. “Yeah, after this first tunnel, it’s much wider.”

“In that case, let's go. Sam, could you take up the rear?” Allie asked.

“What? Why? I’m the tank, shouldn't I be in front?”

“You are also the highest level. I can take the front, and you can guard our flank. I might be mistaken, but did anyone besides Sam, Talia, and myself get XP for the destruction of that slime?” Everyone shook their heads. “Right, I expected that, if you aren’t involved in the battle, you don’t get XP.”

“In that case, I should probably hand out a few of my longer-duration buffs.” Mark said, “Otherwise, I’m going to lag behind a lot.” Mark walked over to Allie and placed a hand on top of her head, and started to scratch between her ears. “Who’s a good girl? You are Allie, yes, you are. You’re the bestest girl.” Allie felt a surge of energy flow through her.

Laura asked, “Seriously? That’s how you give out a buff? That’s incredibly demeaning.”

Mark said, “I mean, there are a few definitions for a Casanova, a lady’s man, but also a womanizer. I’m not surprised.”

“I don’t mind.” Allie said as her tail was wagging furiously in approval. Even making an audible sound, it was moving so fast through the air.

Mark moved to Isabella next, “Mark, you try that with me, and I will bite your hand off. I told you that before on our last date night.” Isabella jutted her hips out to one side and placed a hand on her extended hip; her tail made a couple of flicks side to side. (I’m not letting him treat me like a pet. I don’t care if the idea excites me or not. This entire thing is meant to make us associate feeling good with being Mark’s plaything. I like him, but I am absolutely not his plaything or pet.)

Sadie stepped in, “Isabella, you are going to have to deal with it. Mark is going to buff you right now because Mark needs XP like the rest of us. Or would you like to get an upgrade solely for his benefit instead of one we would actually like?”

Isabella shifted her stance. (Well fuck, that’s a good point. Damn it, do I really have to do this?) Isabella said, “Sadie, you aren’t the boss of me.”

Sadie retorted, “Actually, I am! In case you forgot. I. Am. The. Party. Leader. I want to make this clear to everyone here. Yes, I’ve been deferring to others because I don’t know everything. That being said, right now I have a lot more on the line than the rest of you. It comes with privileges, though. Like assigning people to tasks and loot distribution. You are technically right. I can’t **** you to let Mark buff you. What I can do if you refuse to be part of the team, which includes getting buffs, is assign you to solo tasks and highly restrict what loot you get to keep. This will likely result in you being extremely low-level in comparison with the rest of us. You know what Cassandra expects of us and the penalty for failing.” Ethel looked confused at Sadie’s words, but didn’t comment.

Multiple people furrowed their brows, but Isabella retorted, “Yeah, and Cassandra also said you could be removed for being a tyrant. Sounds like you already intend to be one.”

Sadie barked out a short laugh, “HA, as if. I’ve practically deferred most decisions to the group. That’s hardly being a tyrant. This is about group safety; you refusing to let Mark buff you, even if it makes you uncomfortable, endangers the group. So either you let Mark buff you right now, or you are off the task.” Sadie saw that Mark was about to say something, but cut him off before he started, “No, Mark. I’m not budging on this. This goes the same for everyone else, too. If Mark needs to pass out a buff, you will let him.”

Laura gave a nod of approval. “Sorry, Isabella, but I actually agree with Sadie here. Yes, I think it is demeaning, but it is important that Mark level and that we make use of his abilities. Mark, do you have any abilities that go beyond kissing, light touching, and corny lines?”

“Eh… sort of?” Mark replied. “Nothing mandatory or in combat, but yes, I do have a few abilities that require me to do far more sexual things to use them, including actually having sex. They don’t do anything that I couldn’t achieve with more time and less sexual alternatives, though at least a limited number of times per day.”

Isabella dug in her heels, (No way in hell am I letting Sadie dictate that I need to have sex with Mark.) Isabella echoed, her body aloud, “You going to try and tell me that I have to tolerate that? That I have to let Mark grope me or screw me?”

“No, I’m not.” Sadie replied. “But, this isn’t that. I am going to tell you that you are letting Mark buff you like he did Allie.”

Isabella glared at Sadie, “FINE! Mark, just get this over with.”

Mark walked over to Isabella and gently stroked her wolf ears while leaning down and putting his forehead to hers. Mark whispered, “Isabella…” Isabella’s knees buckled just hearing the affection in Mark’s voice as he softly whispered her name. “You’re such a smart, talented girl.”

Isabella thought, What the hell was that? Her body conveyed as much to Mark as well. Isabella was blushing furiously while breathing rapidly. “Why was that different from what you did for Allie?”

Mark replied, “Two reasons. One, it was a different buff. I gave Allie a buff to her constitution, whereas for you, I gave it to your agility. Two, the lines and actions are personalized, which, Sadie, if you hadn’t cut me off, I would have explained.”

Sadie turned to Mark defiantly. “And during that explanation, were you going to say something about how you didn’t need to buff her if she was uncomfortable with it?” Mark didn’t respond, but his expression and lack of response were all Sadie needed to know that she had hit the mark. “Mark, I’m not happy about your response from our earlier conversation but that, I at least understand and can accept. You not using your class abilities is a different story. It will directly impact our performance.”

Allie pushed back, “Sadie, back off. Don’t speak to him like—”

“Like, WHAT!” Sadie snapped. “Like, he is going to screw us over? Or have you forgotten already that he threatened to kill the empress right when we met her? Or do you think I should be speaking to him with deference because of the relationship that Cassandra decided we should have? I’m not going to ask anyone else to take over the party leadership. But unless you are willing to take over the position, then I DO expect you to follow my lead. That includes Mark.”

To Allie’s and Mark’s surprise, Sam and Laura both moved to step behind Sadie in a show of support for her. Both of them nodded. Sam said, “I agree. This is about a chain of command. Sadie is the commander; unless you intend to replace her, you need to fall in line.”

Laura sighed, “I agree with the points Sadie is making, though, Sadie, you could be a bit more diplomatic about making them.”

Talia tried to break the tension. “Okay. Can we stop the boob measuring contest and get back to the task? Mark already buffed Isabella and Allie. I assume you can’t just hand out unlimited buffs, Mark?”

“Yeah, I was planning on giving you a mana regeneration buff, but then saving the rest of my ability usage for later.”

“I don’t need that. I have a massive store of time mana for my spells saved up. I assume, Laura, you are in a similar situation as mine?” Laura nodded. “So save the rest of your buffs, we might need them later.” Talia gestured for Allie to take the lead down the tunnel. Allie, while annoyed, went ahead, realizing that now wasn’t the time to continue this argument. The group was attacked by two more slimes as they went down the tunnel. The slimes were on the ceiling and dropped down into the middle of the group. Luckily, Isabella was able to dodge the slimes just barely, while Laura just whacked the slime attacking her with her staff so hard that the staff went through the slime and shattered the core. Isabella quickly sliced the slime into pieces, exposing the core, which Laura stomped underfoot.

Mark saw Isabella glare down at the puddle of slime, (Damn, if Mark hadn’t buffed me, I would definitely have been hit by that. I guess Sadie has a point. Even if I don’t like it.)

When they reached the end of the tunnel, the group found themselves in a massive chamber with several sarcophagi and a bunch of alcoves filled with the interred. The chamber was also covered in slimes. Ethel exclaimed, “OH NO! There are so many of them. This is much worse than the reports indicated.”

Laura stepped forward and cocked her staff. Which, to Mark’s surprise, actually made a sound like cocking a shotgun. Laura said, “Seems like fun. How about we make a competition of this? Whoever gets the most kills gets an item upgrade?”

Talia said, “That’s hardly fair. Sadie, Mark, and I aren’t combat classes.”

Laura replied, “That’s why I only said the most, you three can compete for most assists.”

Sadie said, “I’ll think about it. But no promises. Try and use this as an opportunity to fight as a team, please.” Allie and Sam both moved to the front to block the advancing slimes. The nearby slimes had started to make their way towards the group. Laura immediately launched a few lust bolts at the slimes and found that they quickly turned into quivering puddles after a few bolts, but the cores were unharmed. Isabella danced through the oncoming slime horde and quickly destroyed the cores that Laura exposed before the slimes could reconstitute themselves. Then she fell behind the front line.

Talia asked, “Laura, if you went all out, how fast could you fire those bolts and how many?”

“I can fire a bolt accurately about once every two seconds. I can go all day, though. Why?”

Talia replied. “Well, time for you to shotgun the room. Don’t move from your spot, but just cast as many bolts as you can.” Talia cast a spell on Laura, and Laura saw everything in the room practically stop moving, including her teammates.

Laura cast a lust bolt at the nearby slimes. As soon as the bolt was more than a foot away from Laura, it froze in midair, too. OH, I see I’m in an accelerated time bubble. Neat. Laura cast bolt after bolt. Laura managed to get off about fifty bolts when they all suddenly burst forward from her perspective. Laura got the notification that she had gained a lot of experience, as about half the slimes in the room turned into puddles.

Sam asked, “What the hell just happened?”

“Explanations later.” Sadie said, “Destroy the cores.” Talia, Ethel, and Mark moved to destroy the cores, while the others fended off the rest of the incoming slimes. Sadie directed the group and alerted the melees where slimes were gathering to flank the group. After less than a minute of fighting, all the slimes were puddles, and the group just systematically destroyed the remaining cores.

Laura asked, “Is it just me, or did that feel comically easy. I don’t think any of us even took damage.”

Talia said, “I will say people were more coordinated than I thought we would be.”

Sadie replied, “That’s partially because of me. I have an ability to allow better battlefield coordination. Though I will say I was surprised it was so easy as well. Talia, that was a good combination between you and Laura. Did Maja teach you that in training yesterday?”

Talia grumbled, “Maja only threw projectiles at me yesterday. She didn’t teach me anything. Rather, she simply **** me to learn or suffer.”

Ethel chuckled, “I heard that the court wizard was rather eccentric. Still, it seems like it was effective.”

Talia replied, “I’ll admit, I’m definitely able to instinctively call on my magic a lot better even under pressure because of it.” Talia turned to Sadie. “So what’s the plan from here? There are three passageways leading out of this room besides the one we came in from.”

Sadie thought about it for a moment. “Well, right now, Mark is the only one not to hit level three. Isabella, Allie, and I are lowest after that.” Sadie whistled, and a small, adorable mouse came up to her feet. “Hey there, what’s your name?”

The mouse squeaked, “Cheddar?”

“Your name is Cheddar, or you want some cheddar?” The mouse just nodded at Sadie’s question. “Okay, Cheddar, can you do me and my friends a favor?” Sadie reached into her bag and pulled out a cheese wheel, the size of a dinner plate. The mouse’s eyes went wide. “See, I would like to know how many slimes or other dangers are down each of these hallways. If you can get some of the other mice down here to help, this wheel is yours to share with them.

Cheddar stood on its hind legs and saluted Sadie and rushed off.

“While they get us a report, my current thought is that Mark and Allie go down one path, while Isabella and I go down another, with everyone else going down the last path. Laura and Talia, if you could only assist Sam when she absolutely needs it, I would appreciate it. With your combo to eliminate half the slimes all at once, you shot ahead of everyone else. I’d like to try to spread the XP out fairly evenly, even if we can’t do it perfectly.”

“Makes sense,” Laura said. “I’m not trying to hoard it all to myself or anything. I just had the opportunity, and I feel like we would have had a bit of a rough time if Talia and I didn’t do that.”

Sadie nodded, “Oh, I definitely agree with you there. Especially with you getting rid of all the slimes on the ceiling before they could drop on us.” A dozen mice came back and started to rapidly chitter to Sadie. “Whoa, slow down. I can’t understand you when all of you speak at once.” Cheddar stood on its hind legs again and squeaked. “Yes, I’ll give you your payment as soon as you give me your report.” Cheddar looked at Sadie dubiously. Sadie broke off a small piece of cheese and gave it to Cheddar. “I expect the report before I give you any more.”

Cheddar rapidly said, “Much slime that way.” Cheddar pointed down the center hall. “HUGE SLIME! Some slime over there and there.” Cheddar indicated the two side passageways. “Not that bad.”

“Do you have numbers?” Sadie asked.

“Nummm… Num-bers? What are those? Are they tasty?”

“Down the side passageways, are there more slimes than mice in front of me?”

Cheddar thought about it and looked at the other mice. “More slimes. But that is because slimes bigger. Less slimes than tall ones.” Cheddar pointed at Sadie and her companions.

“And the center passage?”

“Oh, many more slimes. Also, giant slime.”

“Thank you, Cheddar. If you could let the other animals you come across know that Princess Sadie honors her agreements, you will find me very amenable in calling upon your aid again in the future.” Sadie handed over the cheese wheel, and Cheddar saluted Sadie as the mice carried the wheel to the side of the chamber to devour it. “Okay, so we have less than a dozen slimes down either side passage, but quite a few down the center. Plus a massive slime down the center as well.”

Ethel let out a gasp, “A slime queen! Look, I know you are all strong, but I don’t know if you are ready for that. This task was a gross underestimation in difficulty. ”

Sadie shook her head, “I don’t agree, Ethel. Sam, Isabella, Allie, are any of you tired?” They all shook their heads. “Laura, Talia, you doing fine on mana?” Laura gave her a thumbs up, and Talia nodded. “Ethel, we took essentially no injuries and have plenty of stamina and mana still. Can you tell me who was responsible for putting the risk estimation on the tasks?”

Ethel shook her head, “I’m not sure, but a slime queen is no joke. A dozen level fives might take it out, and they would still likely end up with a few incapacitations.”

Sadie asked, “Can you tell me what you think would have been needed to clear out this room?”

“Well…” Ethel looked uncertain.

Sadie replied, “Let me guess, it would be more than six level twos, a level three, and… You know I don’t actually know what your level is, Ethel.”

“It… it would be yes. Also, Sadie, it is generally impolite to go probing about another's level except in very certain circumstances. But my level is five. Wait, it’s actually six now, I gained a level.”

“I think it is fair to say we are stronger than someone of the same level in general.” Ethel nodded at what Sadie said. “So, Allie, Mark, take the left passageway. Isabella and I will take the right one. Everyone else, head down the center passageway slowly, but don’t fight the slime queen without the rest of us.”

Everyone nodded and went down their tunnels. Isabella and Sadie paused at the entrance to their passageway. Isabella turned to Sadie, “Is this you punishing me? Forcing me to be your meatshield?”

Sadie sighed, “Isabella, I’m legitimately trying to get you caught up with everyone else here. I will say I paired you with me instead of Mark because I wanted to talk to you alone, but this isn’t retribution. I also intend to help you deal with the slimes.”

“How exactly? It didn’t seem like you did anything besides give out orders in the last fight. Also, what did you want to talk about?”

“You’re not wrong. I mostly just gave out orders and assessed the battlefield. Ethel explained my class yesterday. I’m not a fighter. You might notice I literally do not have a weapon. Ethel doesn’t either. What I do have is a bunch of abilities that help make combatants more effective. The only thing I have that is partially combative is that I can get animals to sometimes fight for me.” As Sadie said that, Cheddar and the dozen other mice came over to them. Cheddar had picked up a large shard of slime core that had fractured into something resembling a tiny sword. “For instance, I suppose I have created a tiny army of mice.”

The mice let out a chorus of squeaks, “CHEEDAR!” Sadie noticed they all had picked up sharp pieces of Slime core and were waving them about.

Sadie turned to the mice, “I have another wheel of cheese for all of you if you can help distract the slimes down this tunnel for my companion and me to eliminate.”

“CHEEDAR!” The mice moved to Isabella’s side, but didn’t march down the hall yet.

Sadie turned back to Isabella. “Like I said, I can give out morale boosts, and things I am aware of are conveyed to my allies via an aura. Tell me, did you feel like you sort of had an idea of what was behind you in the last fight?”

“I did, yeah.”

“That was me, the more information I verbally convey, the better the ability works, but it does have a passive effect even if I don’t say anything. As for what I want to talk to you about… let’s clear out the slimes and talk on the way back.”

“Okay, fine.” Isabella started down the hall and noticed the mice moved ahead of her.

Sadie heard the regular cry of “CHEDDAR!” From the mice. Isabella shook her head in disbelief as she saw the mice surrounding a pair of slimes. The slimes lashed out at the mice with their tentacles, but couldn’t decide which of the mice to prioritize, so they never caught one. Isabella moved quickly and dispatched both slimes, with the slimes only reacting to Isabella at the last second because of the distraction. They proceeded down the passage way, eliminating all the slimes with ease with the help of what Sadie was now mentally calling the knights of cheddar.

Having cleared out their passageway, Sadie handed over another cheese wheel. “Okay, Cheddar, I have a proposition for you.” Cheddar looked at Sadie with interest. “How would you and the other mice like to come work for me. I promise to keep giving you cheese.”

“You have more!” Cheddar said with wide-eyed amazement.

“I do.”

“Cheddar has more mice. Can Cheddar bring the whole family?”

“Sure,” Sadie said with a smile. “Can you meet me with all of the others outside in front of the church? There is a moose there named Bertha. She’s my companion too.”

“Bertha… moose… outside… yes, yes. Cheddar will meet you there.” Cheddar and her knights scampered off.

Isabella looked at Sadie, “Did you just become the queen of mice?”

Sadie giggled, “Yeah, maybe. Perhaps the Cheddar Queen or Queen of Cheese might be more appropriate.”

“Why do you have so much cheese?”

“Ethel recommended it. Apparently, food is the best form of generic payment to animals. So while cooking dinner for Mark last night, I raided the kitchen for supplies.”

“You cooked for him?”

“I did. Now, Isabella, I’m sorry I yelled at you, but I want you to understand something. Something that, from talking with the others, I don’t think you personally appreciate the same as they do. That played into why I was so pissed off and lashed out. Also the modifications to my Fairy Lust. But mostly this.”

“And what exactly is that?”

“Do you realize how screwed I am if we lose?”

“I mean, sure, you’ll lose the VP to Flora, but that’s not the end of the world.”

“Sure, but think about this. If we lose, that is likely because the other team will have generally done better than us. Meaning on average their team members will be higher level than us, and likely have better equipment. You might notice that Mark and I are still the lowest in terms of XP on our team. Unless I make it a point to deliberately take XP away from all of you, that likely isn’t going to change. So if I don’t hoard items or challenge point bonuses, I’m not going to place above 6th. If we lose, it will likely be even lower, if not last place. Meaning that I won’t be losing 10 VP, I’ll likely be losing around 15 to 20 VP. Tell me, what have you done with Mark?”

“That isn’t really your business.”

“Fair, I suppose. But that brings us to my point. See, I can tell how many people are ahead of me; it took me two days to be able to quantify exactly how many people were ahead of me for stuff, but I can. At first, I thought you and Allie counted as one person, but then I remembered that on the first day, I really wanted to show my naked body to Mark even more than I wanted to kiss him. Because there were eleven, not ten people, who had done that. You’ve practically done nothing with him. That isn’t me chastising you. That is totally reasonable in your position. But tell me, are you prepared to let Mark have sex with you? To give him your virginity? You say losing that VP isn’t that big a deal, but realize giving Mark my virginity is what I have to do to make up that loss. So, for you to throw a fit about what Mark has to do to buff us, when you get to sit on the sidelines of this competition, pisses me off. Especially when your performance here affects me as well. I’m not asking that you let Mark fondle you, for you to blow him, or anything of the sort. But if he needs to give you some light pets, or even kiss you. I expect you to pucker up, because everyone else has already had to do much more.”

Isabella looked deep in thought as they walked back down the tunnel, while Sadie spoke. Sadie could tell to some degree that her point was sinking in from Isabella’s body language.

“Isabella, I don’t want to be antagonistic here. But seriously, everyone else has had to make compromises already, because they were pulled onto this show. Is it really that much to ask of you?”

Isabella sighed, “I’m sorry. You’re right, I guess I haven’t really considered the value of VP. Partially because even if I do something with Mark, it is essentially worth 1 VP, unless it is something that even Allie hasn’t done with him. I just really don’t want him to treat me like his dog. I’m only a wolf-girl because Allie is, it isn’t even for my paths.”

“You have Pack Mate as a path.”

“I have that because of the wolf-girl TF, not because it suits me. I’ve been trying to convince Allie to let me reroll the path. If not, I’m planning on asking Mark instead. Heck, I’m still debating if I want to reroll the wolf-girl TF.”

“Why? I think you look sexy as hell like that.” Sadie turned pink as Isabella looked at her funny. “I… well, I mean… oh god please kill me.” Sadie covered her face with her hands. After a moment to compose herself, Sadie continued. “I mean, Mark clearly has a thing for animal girls. I’m glad I ended up being a fairy instead of a cow. I’m just wondering if there's something you would prefer, instead of wolf-girl? Because given your current paths, I can’t think of too many options.”

“You aren’t the first person to ask me that. I still don’t know. I don’t hate it, but I don’t want to be treated as a pet either.”

“I’ve only been here a few days, but during that time, and seeing Mark’s interactions with people, I don’t think he views anyone of us as a pet. Mark is clearly in love with Allie and most certainly doesn’t view her as his pet. Even if they indulge in some pet play. Also, you might have forgotten since it’s new, but your body very much betrayed how you really felt about what Mark did to buff you. I don’t know exactly what it was saying, but it was clear you enjoyed it and wanted more.” Isabella groaned at that. “Look, Isabella, I really don’t want to upset you and make you hate me. I have enough problems on that front already, but I need to know that you will be a team player.”

Isabella sighed, “Yeah, I might not be happy about it, but yes. I will say I do have hard limits about what I am willing to tolerate, though, and you can go fuck yourself if you think I will let them be crossed.”

“Like I said, I’m not expecting you to let him fondle you, but the sort of PDA that you might do with a partner, even on the more intimate side of things, is something I expect you to tolerate.” Isabella nodded, her acceptance of that. “Good, I’m glad we could clear this up. Also, while I said I wasn’t asking anyone else to take over as party leader, if you really don’t like it, then convince Allie to take over.”

The two reached the chamber they had split off from the others and started down the center passageway. It took them a few minutes before they came up on the rest of the party, methodically eliminating slimes. Mark and Allie were already here. Laura said, “Finally! We’ve been going about this super slowly, waiting for you two, and frankly, it’s boring. Can we please plow through these to get to the slime queen?”

Sadie turned to Mark, “Anyone damaged?” Mark shook his head. “In that case, sure, let's push forward.” The group quickly moved through the remaining slimes in the hallway and came upon a large room. It was absolutely covered in slimes, and in the center of the ceiling was one massive slime that occasionally dripped a newly formed slime down onto the floor below it. “Well, shit.”

Laura looked confused. “What’s the problem?”

“How are we supposed to fight it while it’s on the ceiling?” Plus, the place is covered in slimes. The walls and floor just have tentacles coming off them everywhere.”

Sam said, “I can fly, and Laura can easily reach the slime queen. Worst comes to worst, Talia just uses the same tactic as in the last room, and Laura just launches like a hundred bolts at the queen. The slimes are really stupid, so it shouldn’t be that hard.”

“If you say so.” Sadie shrugged. “Sam, Allie, you go in first, then, and clear a foothold for the rest of us. Laura, try to keep the ceiling above them clear of slimes. Talia, I’ll let you determine the best way to utilize your abilities since I don’t have a full grasp on them yet. Mark, do you have anything to help Laura cast faster?”

“I do,” Mark replied. He went over and leaned in and whispered into Laura’s ear in a husky voice, “My goddess, if you’re fast here, I’ve got a special reward for you later tonight. I wonder exactly what it will take to satisfy a goddess.”

Laura gasped as she felt a wave of pleasure wash over her. “Okay, I swear your class is complete bullshit, Mark. It shouldn’t feel that good just listening to you talk like that. Also, you'd best be sure that you will be satisfying me later.”

With everything in place, Allie and Sam charged into the room, clearing the entrance. Isabella danced between the two, helping get rid of the slimes that Sam was having trouble finishing off, as there were just so many. Talia was slowing any slime that got past Allie or Sam until someone could deal with it. After they made a decent dent in the slime population, Sadie said, “Talia, Laura, switch focus to the slime queen. It isn’t producing them as fast as we are getting rid of them, but at this rate, we will be here all day, if we don't take the queen down first.”

Talia and Laura repeated the Lust Bolt Barrage from the previous room. When it went off, they expected most bolts to hit the slime queen, but instead, a massive number of slimes dropped off the ceiling to take the blows while the slime queen reached out with its tentacles and threw other slimes in the path of the bolts. A few managed to land on the intended target, but only a few. Even with Talia’s quick thinking, slowing the slimes that the queen threw towards them, it wasn’t enough to keep the party from being showered in slime. After the attack, everyone but Mark, Isabella, and Talia was covered in various degrees of slime.

The slime queen reached out with a whip-like tendril towards Allie. Wrapping her arms and legs in wriggling appendages. Sam and Isabella quickly severed the tendrils, but not before the physical contact with the slime caused an arousal spike in Allie, sending her into a lust-induced frenzy. Allie charged into the horde of slimes like the berserker she was, every thrust of her claws ripping out a core from a lesser slime. Sadie shouted, “Allie is fine for the moment, just keep her from being overwhelmed from behind. Laura, keep focusing, the queen. Do not stop no matter what.” Ethel wiped the slime that had splattered on her off, then she helped Sadie and Laura do the same.

Mark walked up behind Laura and smacked her ass, “Hey, you got this.” Laura’s HP build-up dropped a bit from the foreplay.

Sam shouted to Allie, “Allie, pull back.” Allie didn’t seem to hear her.

Sadie heard what Sam said and focused on Allie. Then she said, infusing her voice with authority, “Allie, calm down and pull back!”

Allie seemed to calm ever so slightly, enough that she retreated to the group, and just in time, as she was absolutely drenched in slime and had taken a lot of damage. Mark wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into a passionate kiss, “Hey, darling, I’m the one who’s supposed to make you all wet and sticky.”

Sam then shouted, “Everyone behind me.” No one hesitated, but no one was prepared for what Sam did next. Sam transformed into her dragon form at a size that only Mark had seen before when he rode a top of her. Then she unleashed a torrent of icy water from her mouth as a breath weapon, fanning it across the room. Many slimes froze solid as they were hit by the breath attack. When Sam angled it up at the queen, it even knocked the queen down off the ceiling. While not defenseless, the queen now sat in the center of the room, far from any other moving slime. Allie, Sam, and Isabella all quickly moved in, slashing away at the sides to expose the many cores of the queen. Allie and Sam took a few swipes from its tentacles, but after a few more seconds, Laura unleashed another barrage of bolts with Talia’s help, finishing off the queen. With the queen defeated, the remaining slimes were easy enough to dispatch.

Allie and Sam were both panting in arousal as the fight concluded. They both stared at Isabella. Sam said through heavy breathing. “How do you have essentially no slime on you? You were in the thick of things like we were. Talia and Mark, I understand. Talia used a combination of enhancing her perception and slowing down the incoming slime to avoid it. Mark is cheating because no slime will cling to him because of his Smelling of Roses. How are you slime-free, though?”

“I dodged it.” Isabella said with a shrug. “Like that was one of the main things Petra drilled into me yesterday. More than anything else, I needed to make sure I didn’t get hit. She made it clear that if I got hit, I'd better be doing ten HP for every one HP I took, otherwise it wouldn’t be a worthwhile trade. Except in **** circumstances, I can’t actually reach the ratio if I get hit at all. My HP pool is much smaller than either of yours. You might not have noticed, but I did get slime on my feet. That build-up over the battle ended up causing me to take about ten percent of my HP pool. I can only imagine how bad it would have been if I had gotten hit.”

Laura said, “So, Sam… When were you going to tell the rest of us about your breath weapon?”

“Eh… to be honest, I only just realized I could actually breathe out a torrent of water like that.”

Talia noticed the way Sam had phrased that. “Sam… is that your only breath weapon?”

Sam glanced to the side, “Noooo…” Sam sighed, “I can also breathe out lightning.”

Laura exclaimed, “Why hide that?! That’s cool as fuck!”

“No comment,” Sam replied. “How about we go back to the palace, clean off this slime, get some lunch, and then take that second task I showed you, Sadie?”

Sadie nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.”