A special inquiry and new faces!

Shortly after Shady and Emily showed signs of movement, Skyler rushed to their side. "How are you two feeling? I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." Shady shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "I didn't know it was so scary to be under paralysis." She looked down slightly as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "We could feel and hear everything, but couldn't do anything about it. I've never felt so helpless before." He softly smiled while reaching out a hand to hers, holding it gently for a few seconds before squeezing lightly. "I'm certain it won't happen again." She smiled softly, sniffling softly before nodding. "R-right."

Emily let out a soft breath while slowly sitting up. "Ugh, that was rather unpleasant. I'm so sore..." Skyler turned his head toward Emily. "I'm sorry I didn't get to you both sooner. I thought this place was safe." Shady looked down slightly. "It is. Well, it was. I will need to investigate to discover what happened." She looked to Emily with a stern expression. "Emily, I'll need you to prepare a few resonating crystals for me. I want to start my investigation when I arrive." Emily stood up while looking to Shady. "Would you like Daiki's assistance?" Shady shook her head. "No. That won't be necessary."

Emily nodded before running off toward the log cabin. Shady let out a breath before trying to stand. However, after several times of trying, her legs were unable to raise her form even an inch off the ground. This was likely due to the severity of the paralysis. Skyler sighed softly while moving his hands to Shady's shoulders. "Don't push yourself too hard. I'll do what I can to keep you safe while you recover your strength." Shady's cheeks darkened slightly. "O-okay. Thank you Skyler." Her score ticked up to 75. Cyanis's score dropped to 55. Nepeta's score ticked up to 70.

Cyanis stepped in between Skyler and Shady, lifting up her hands to their shoulders, simultaneously drawing their attention toward her. "You don't need to go that far. I have just the thing to remove the remaining paralysis!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small white donut shaped mushroom, lifting it to Shady's lips. "Just one bite and you'll be right as rain." Shady looked down to the mushroom then over to Skyler. Cyanis looked to Skyler too. "This shroom has restorative properties." He decided to cast Observe on it, just in case.

Observe:

Donut Shroom. Rare Quality. Known to grow around Dryads, Anthousais, and enchanted forests. If ingested or used as a topical cream, this mushroom will remove any and all negative status effects. If consumed or applied outside of combat, it will also restore 50% of health and mana over 10 seconds. 2/2 Durability.

Skyler tilted his head slightly as he read that. "Cyanis has been trustworthy so far. I can try it first if you are worried about it, Shady." Cyanis's score ticked up to 65 as she looked back to Shady. "So what'll it be? Have him try it or take the plunge yourself?" Nepeta's score ticked up to 75. "Those mushrooms taste good." Shady's score ticked up to 80 while looking back down to the mushroom. "N-no need to go that far. I'll try it." Before anyone else could react, she leaned forward and took a bite of the Donut Shroom.

Shady swallowed it before smiling. Within a few seconds of consuming it, she was able to move normally once more. "That is one impressive and tasty mushroom." Cyanis grinned. "Just like Nepeta said." She took a bite of the mushroom before offering the rest to Skyler. "You should try some." Skyler chuckled nervously while looking at the mushroom. He wasn't so childish as to think of it as a kiss with two women, but he wasn't used to being handed food like this. He leaned in and took a bite.

Skyler's eyes widened a bit. It really tasted good. Oddly enough it tasted and felt like a donut that wasn't glazed. He shook his head slightly to either side. A healthy version of a donut? That was very peculiar indeed. When his eyes refocused. He saw Cyanis leaning in extra close. Her face was a mere inch away from his. "It wasn't bad. Was it?" He blinked twice before realizing his reaction was rather strange. He smiled. "No, it was rather good." She tilted her head slightly. "Phew. That's good to know." She looked down slightly while relaxing her feet, having gone on her tiptoes to get closer to his face. "Um, I'm curious. Why do you smile like that?"

Skyler lifted a brow. "What do you mean? This is just how I smile." Cyanis tried to mimic it by allowing the right half of her lip muscles to point upward. It wasn't quite a smirk, but it wasn't a full smile either. "Whenever you attempt to smile. Only half of your face moves. It's like you've forgotten how to smile." Nepeta and Shady nodded in agreement. Shady gently scratched her chin. "I didn't want to be rude, but I've been wondering about that too." He sighed softly. "I think it started when I was thirteen or so."

Skyler turned slightly away and scratched the top of his head with his left hand. "To make a long story short, my smile ranges from a weak half smile all the way up to showing teeth." This time when he smiled, both sides of his mouth pointed upward very slightly. "It's not easy for me to do. I'm sorry if that's troubling you." Cyanis's score ticked up to 70 as she shook her head. "No. It's nice to know something special about you." He felt a slight pain in his chest. He wasn't sure what that was all about, but it felt a bit uncomfortable. "Ah, I see." He looked down slightly, hoping it wasn't anything serious. A new red exclamation flashed that he allowed to pop up.

Achievement Unlocked!

Doki Doki! ♥♥

Have you heart move for an unexpected reason!

Reward: 5 xp and 1 Libido

Experience has increased from 268/1,400 to 273/1,400.

Libido has increased from 19 to 20.

This time, Skyler smiled by using his eyes when he closed them after reading all of that. "Well, things are getting awkward here. How about we head to the log cabin? I am certain Daiki and Rodovar would love to meet you both." His eyes opened as he looked in Shady's direction. "I know Emily and the others are likely wondering what's keeping us." Cyanis, Nepeta, and Shady all nodded in agreement. Shortly after, they were on their way to the log cabin. He was thinking about that achievement on their trip back. 'If this is the system trying to say I am falling in love with Cyanis. I think I understand my own feelings better than it does.'

Skyler looked up toward the sky. 'Although, it is nice to know that Cyanis is trying to learn more about me.' When they reached the log cabin. Cyanis ran ahead and started to look it over. "I've never seen a log cabin like this one. Do you use mud or grooves to keep it together?" Shady chuckled. "Neither, it's weaved together. It's actually an entanglement of trees." She pointed to the roof, revealing that instead of shingles it had leaves. Cyanis gently touched it and closed her eyes. "Mm, that's nice. I like it." Nepeta curiously walked up to the building as well and touched it. The expression on her face changed to one of deep satisfaction. Were they perhaps communicating with the plants?

Their attention was drawn to the sound of a twig snapping as two figures stepped out from behind a tree. One was clearly a centaur while the other appeared to be a regular man. Wait, no the other one was an elf. Skyler used Observe on them as the centaur spoke. "Sorry to disrupt this gathering, but we are looking for an assassin by the name of Cux. He is a reddish brown goblin with a scar across his nose."

Observe:

Title: Silent Hoof, Guild: Hunter's Bane, Class: Arcane Ranger, Name: Talys, lvl: 18, Height: 7' 10", Length: 8', Weight: 1,736,

Age: 125, Dick size: 14.5 inches, Human Half's Body type: Slight Dad Bod, Horse Half's Body type: Normal,

Relationship: 0, Mood: Very Focused, Tired, and Hungry, Race: Centaur, Hp: 291/291, Mp: 105/105, Current thoughts: This is strange. We've been tracking him for days and this is where the trail grows cold?

Title: Soothing Touch, Guild: Hunter's Bane, Class: Cleric, Name: Amra Dawynn, lvl: 16

Height: 6' 2", Weight: 166, Age: 172, Dick size: 5 inches, Body type: Thin/Slender, Relationship: 0

Mood: Focused, Tired, and Hungry, Race: Wood Elf, Hp: 113/113, Mp: 240/240, Current thoughts: Ugh, I hope this is over soon. I want to get back to my novel.

Talys had a square face, straight eyebrows, solid chin, short black hair, deep brown eyes, and no facial hair to speak of. His human half had lightly tanned skin and was obviously strong, but with a light amount of extra weight making him appear more approachable. His horse half was normal and had a beautiful black coat. He was wearing a brown leather tunic. He looked to Amra before nodding. "Show them the sketch." Amra stepped forward, revealing a tablet with an accurate sketch of Cux on it. "This is the goblin we're looking for. He uses poison tipped arrows to paralyze his victims and sells them to slavers."

Amra had an oval face, arched eyebrows, a soft chin, long blond hair, soft brown/green hazel eyes, and no facial hair to speak of. He was wearing a forest green tunic, brown slacks, and matching leather boots. His clothing blended well with his copper brown skin. Given the look of him, he appeared to be the type you'd assume to be a wallflower at any social occasion. Shady stepped forward. "I don't know what your relationship with him is, but he is no longer with the living." She looked to Skyler. "I do not know the details yet, but Skyler here defeated him."

Skyler looked to Shady then to Talys and Amra. "Yeah, I um. Punched his head clean off." Amra, Cyanis, Nepeta, Shady, and Talys all looked at him bewildered. Skyler suddenly felt a wave of dread wash over him. Did he say too much? Was he supposed to try and spare Cux? Or was their reaction simply surprise that he had punched Cux's head clean off?

Name: Skyler Peterson

Title: Fragile Prince, The Gamer

Lvl: 7 XP 273/1,400

Hp: 246/246

Hp regen: 3.306 per min

Mp: 244/244

Mp regen: 3.564 per min

Money: $18,026.02

Build: Slightly Overweight

Weight: 200 lbs

Height: 5' 10 ¾"

Dick size: 6 inches

Inventory slots 7/25 (Faux One Punch Man's Gloves, Princess Zelda's Dress, Stasis Gel x 18, Slaver's Collar, Black Pearl Ring of Enthrallment, Small Living Core, and Vial of Slime x 2)

Unspent skill points: 0

Str: 31 + (0) + (0) End: 30 + (0) + (0)

Int: 26 + (0) + (0) Wis: 44 + (0) + (0)

Agi: 26 + (0) + (0) Cha: 25 + (0) + (0)

Lib: 20 + (0) + (0)