The Oracle of the Research Lab

Quick author's note: Hello! Thank you for giving my chapter a try! This is my first time publishing a story here, so I'd appreciate any feedback I can get! My preference for stories tends to be a little bit more of the slow burn kind, so please bear with me, we'll get to the big confrontations eventually. I'm not experienced in writing smut, so I am a bit uncertain about how well I'll do on that front. It will probably also be a while before anything particularly smutty happens. My intent with this story is to make it a corruption of the protagonist, where they won't start out all that willing to indulge in all of the perks of their new form. Lastly, I'm bound to make typos and outright translation errors in my head, as English is not my first language. I'll do my best to keep those at a minimum to make this story as enjoyable as possible for all of us.

This branch will eventually include at least the following: corruption, futanarization, feminization, lactation, impregnation, cumflation, and will breaking. If this combination of themes does not appeal to you, it is probably for the best for each of us to go their own way.

I'll be heavily drawing on the prompt images for a lot of the conversations on this chapter, in order to stick to the set-up script as much as possible. If you'd prefer to skip straight to Ruyanei, go to A New Life in the Lab. For the stats on this monster, which includes all of the choices in the form of stats and perks, feel free to check out Oracle's initial stat sheet.

---

Before the transmigration

Lauren Hodges had been practically working non-stop for about two weeks now. Time was running short and she was nowhere near finished with her class project. Why did they always do this to themself? She did not need to volunteer to do a group project by herself, but here they were, once again sabotaging their chance at a bachelor's degree by taking on more work than they could actually handle by themself.

She exaggerated, of course. It's not like she was empty handed. The paper itself was practically finished, they only needed the results from the experiment. The rest, however, was the result of her own stubbornness. Although her teacher, Dr. Woods, insisted that a negative outcome was still something to learn from, Lauren could not accept failure. It didn't matter that failure in the experiment would not negatively influence their grades in the class -the methodology was the most important part for Dr. Woods-, this experiment was personally important to them.

At this point, Lauren could not help but feel that Miss Whiskers was personally slighting her by resisting the formula that was meant to turn the mouse into Mister Whiskers. "Why do you hate me?" she shouted at the disinterested rodent "I've run the model so many times, what am I missing?"

Then, an intrusive thought crept into their head. Maybe, just maybe, the formula was not working on Miss Whiskers, but would it work on herself? They'd need to adjust the dose, of course, but the calculations for that would take a long time, maybe longer than they had. On an impulse she jammed the syringe meant for Miss Whiskers and injected the contents into her arm. Moments later, as the pain from the injection set in, her mind caught up with her. Oh no, oh no no no they started panicking "It's okay, I'm gonna be okay. That was what? Double of what I usually give Miss Whiskers? Nothing's happened to her in weeks, I'll be fine, right?"

Just before she fell into a spiral, Lauren heard a knock on their door "Hey Lauren" it was her best friend and roommate, Alice "that friend of yours is here, you didn't set up a date and forgot about it again, right?"

Well shit she thought That's exactly what happened, but I'm not gonna let her know that.

"I'm almost ready!" Lauren shouted "Can you please tell Rob to wait in the living room, I just need a minute!"

Alice snorted, knowing Lauren all too well "Sure thing bestie, but best not make him wait too long"

Unfortunately for Lauren, her mind shifted gears all too quickly, completely forgetting about the incident with the syringe for the time being. They quickly changed into something more... presentable. It was not her best outfit, certainly, but it'd do for a casual date, right? Walking out to the living room, they started getting an itch on their arm, but she chose to dismiss it for the moment.

"Rob! Sorry for the wait!" She said, "I may have lost track of time."

Rob smiled to himself "It's okay, I arrived early half expecting something like that might happen."

"Am I really that bad at keeping track of time?" she asked, half seriously

"Only at the end of the semester" Rob replied

After a quick catch up, Rob and Lauren got ready to leave, but not before the dose finally kicked in. Lauren was closer than she ever believed she'd be, but she would never learn that, as her formula was still definitively not ready to be used on humans. Feeling a weird sensation in their groin, as if something was... stretching, Lauren also felt pain in their chest. Before long, they collapsed, and everything went dark.

---

Dealings with the Dark

Lauren opened her eyes, but everything was still dark... a different kind of dark. Lauren tried looking around, to see if they could find anything. After awhile, they were afraid they'd gone blind. Eventually, however, she noticed two figures looking at her from above. There was a certain aura about them, as if they felt higher than anyone else in the world. In a way, they were looking down on Lauren in more than a literal sense.

"Do not avert your gaze, mortal," one of the figures spoke, the one with black hair "We have seen your desires, your dark fantasies. And we have judged them worthy."

"You need but say a word, mortal, and you will be made our champion to bring the treacherous Light to heel. You will become a monstrosity without equal, to despoil their cities, **** their women, and defile their saints."

Visions of possible futures began flooding Lauren's mind, futures in which she was an enormous monstrosity, the scourge of humanity, leaving desolated ruins behind. Futures in which they ran their own band of Dark adventurers, staging an uprising against the Light. But the ones that interested them the most were the futures where they lorded over their own domain, free to run her research with nearly unlimited resources and no red tape to hold her back.

"All this and more shall be given"

"Wait, I don't understand. Where am I? What happened to me?" Lauren asked

The other figure started laughing, "Mel, I don't think she has figured it out. Little mortal, you died" The news hit Lauren like a cargo truck "Your little formula might have worked, given time, but you had to rush into it. I admire the determination though, it's part of why we chose you"

"So... I'm dead?" Lauren asked in disbelief, "But then, what happens if I reject your deal?"

"It's simple: you continue to be dead," the figure known as Mel said, "Your life falls back into its dark irrelevance and we find someone else willing to take on the offer."

Well, that's not much of a choice, Lauren thought to herself, "All right, I'm in."

"Mel! You've got them!" The white haired figure laughed again "You've fallen for her lies Lauren."

"Do not address me by that name Carnachias" Mel said indignantly "I am Melanoche, Goddess of the Night, and I do not lie"

"Lies by omission are still lies, sister dearest," Carnachias replied, "The fact of the matter, Lauren, is that you will need to grind like hell in order to become any of the powerful monstrosities you saw."

"Deep breaths, Melanoche, deep breaths" after composing herself, she continued "I don't plan to make you go in completely blind, so let me illustrate the situation a little bit for you. The world of Ruyanei has ever been the place of struggle between Light and Dark..."

"Ugh, that speech again Mel?" Carnachias interrupted, "Think Anime JRPG fantasy worlds where the monsters were about to win, but then our sister Palantha and her controlling freak of a boyfriend cheated, and made every hero OP. Thanks to that, the Demon King is dead and the monsters have been beaten back. So we're cheating too."

"You neglected to mention that they somehow gained the knowledge to kickstart mankind's technology" Melanoche interjected, attempting to regain control of the conversation "But yes, in summary, they cheated. And now, we will retaliate: another Demon King is on the rise, we've bolstered the reproductive rates of this monster generation, created as many dungeons on human land as we could, and last but not least, our trump card: you, Lauren, our champion."

"Me?" They asked, "If not even your Demon King stood a chance, I don't see how I'll be able to fare any better!"

"It's quite simple really, though I understand it might be too much for your mortal head to wrap around it" Melanoche continued "You see, Dark, our domain, bestows power immediately but plateaus after a while. This is the reason why the immensely powerful Demon Kings get defeated by Heroes. On the other hand, the powers bestowed by Light start off weak, but grow almost without limit."

"Your human soul belongs to Light, and that is what we are going to exploit. We shall make you a monster, but one that can evolve beyond any other by defeating the spawn of men" Melanoche explained "So as to not overwhelm the light of your soul, you will start as a creature of middling power. But then... oh ho ho ho... but then."

Melanoche had a weird, almost out of place blush to her face as she spoke, which quickly twisted into annoyance once Carnachias interjected, "And she calls me a serial masturbator. Anyway! There are four types of monster cores compatible with your soul. Pick one."

Lauren was conflicted, the reality of just what she had agreed to setting in. But the alternative was a non-starter for them. Life as a monster had to be better than no life at all. She carefully considered her options, and though she was tempted by the possibilities brought by the Arcane core, the Seedbed itched at Lauren's curiosity and at a deeper, darker, part of themself. She may not fully understand why she chose it until she reflected on it, but there was no time for that.

Carnachias looked a little suprised "Uhh, sure. I can make you a tentacle-bed. Demons only really employ these when they need to occupy an area ASAP because they reproduce hyper-fast. So yeah, prepare to have a lot of kids."

"Now, here comes the fun part" Carnachias gave a creepy smile "Well, fun for me, but maybe not so fun for you. Time to insert the core!" She took out a comically oversized blade. Looking at Lauren's face, she snorted and cocked an eyebrow "I've disabled your sense of pain. There's going to be a shitton of blood, so don't be a coward, don't close your eyes."

Lauren was half-certain they had passed out during the procedure, but by the time she opened her eyes again, it was done: "There, right through the ribs," Carnachias sounded proud of herself "Now, what size do you want to start at? Your first form is the most important, like your first time!"

Lauren had always told Rob that size did not matter to her. That was only partially true. They'd never openly admit to it, but she very intentionally only dated people shorter than her. They felt like it was petty of them sometimes, but they felt like it gave them some sense of power and control. This made being Massive extremely tempting for Lauren, but she also felt like she should reign it in a little, so they opted for Huge instead.

"Nice choice," Carnachias nodded "You're probably gonna change size as you evolve, anyway. But we all start somewhere, I suppose."

Did she sound... disappointed? This really did wonders for the anxious people pleaser within Lauren.

"Next is what family of monsters you'll belong to." Carnachias continued to explain, "Anything from the often underestimated slime to the infamously powerful dragons, or even devils. Usually we'd restrict the type of monster based on your monster core, but fuck it, if we're cheating, we might as well go all the way, right?"

Carnachias projected several options to Lauren's head. While Draconic itched at the fantasy nerd within her, Machine and Bioferric called on both the sci-fi nerd within her, but also on her very recently discovered kink. Upon further consideration, Machine would link their monster form to a now destroyed Ancient Race. The trope was too good for Lauren to say no to.

"I had a feeling you'd go with that one, given your browser history" Carnachias gave a lecherous smile, Lauren could only blush in response and hope that Alice would think to throw all of their electronic devices into a bathtub. "I also have a feeling what you'll be picking for the important stuff!" Melanoche rolled her eyes at Carnachias' comment "What is your greatest tool in giving all those luscious heroes in the side of Light a dose of Dark cultural enrichment going to be like?"

This was a no-brainer for Lauren. Once she made her previous choice based on her kinks, on lust, she knew she wanted everything. The Complete Package and all the add ons they could add to it. She didn't necessarily plan to use every single option on the Mindbreak and Ryona add-ons, but they figured it was better to have them and not use them, than not have them and need them.

"I knew I liked you for a reason!" Carnachias said enthused "So that's done. And remember, it's not **** if a god says it isn't."

Lauren and Melanoche cringed at that comment.

"Thank you very much for that interjection, Carnachias," Melanoche said, "But the following options will require a more knowledgable and less lascivious touch. So, Lauren, it's time to bestow you with the unique powers of Dark, that which is only available to our creations: Monster Powers. I'd usually only present you with one, but the size you went for is a personal favourite of mine, so I'll make an exception and give you an extra one. Don't despair, there are ways to acquire them all once you are in Ruyanei, though be forewarned that the tasks to get them will be arduous."

Dungeon Master immediately caught Lauren's attention. If she understood correctly, this would probably allow them to have their own state of the art laboratory. The wheels on their mind started turning at the possibilities! As for her second option, Status Effects would bless her with a strand of hair from both of the goddesses. If they were to become a Machine, she wanted it to be a nearly unstoppable one. The immunities from Melanoche's hair would make that a reality. Besides, Carnachias' hair also offered more options for her to play with when experimenting, so that definitively played into their decision.

Melanoche seemed more **** than Carnachias to weave a strand of hair into Lauren's core, but ultimately she did not back down on her word. Lauren was half afraid the core upgrade would mean having to bear Carnachias' knife once more, but fortunately all it took was a simple gesture from Melanoche.

"I think we've more than emphasized the advantages of having a human Light-based soul" Melanoche said "But I'm afraid I must insist on it. In addition to all the powers we've already given you, your human soul will allow you to gain a Class. Classes are divided into tiers, ranging from Tier I to Tier X, which is usually beyond mortal means. All of the Heroes have multiple Tier VIII Classes, and you'll be starting with a Tier II Class, so bear that in mind when considering measuring up to a Hero too early."

"Much like the Monster Powers of the Dark, the Classes of the Light can also be unlocked in Ruyanei by fulfilling certain conditions. Everyone's limit for this is different, in your case I'd estimate a limit of..." She stopped in shock, "Six Classes? Six different Classes... this is unheard of. Even the Hero Tomoko Sakurai only has four."

Lauren did not know how to process that information. Essentially, she had the potential to eventually rise from a measly single Tier II class and surpass the Hero with four Tier VIII Classes? It truly sounded like a distant objective. However, they opted to focus on the here and now before getting too far ahead of themself. The prospects Sorcerer brought to Lauren's mind sounded like a great addition to her Laboratory Dungeon idea. If she could evolve it into Alchemist, it might give her the tools she needs for even greater progress. Hell, they might even be able to complete their unfinished project from Earth.

Earth... the thought saddened Lauren a bit. Would Alice be alright? Would her parents? What about poor Rob? Having your date collapse to **** before you even get to go on the date is hardly the best way to end your night. Before Lauren could continue to sink into her thoughts, Melanoche spoke once more.

"You, now, hold the most potential of all my creations. But I fear that might not be enough..."

Carnachias interrupted, "Because the Light side has cheated super hard!"

Melanoche gave her a nasty side-eye and continued "Indeed. And, for that, I feel no regret in granting you one last fight. A "Cheat" of your own, if you will. Pick one"

Lauren considered her options carefully. All of the options held great potential, but only one truly called to her. The one that was included in all of her favorite Isekai animes and light novels: Pro Gamer HUD. "And with this" Melanoche announced "You are annointed, baptized as the doom of Light. But before you scourge the earth and sky, we will reveal onto you the nature of your enemies, the accursed Saintesses of Light."

Melanoche and Carnachias projected information about all the Heroes into Lauren's mind. They truly were so broken that Lauren lost the slight guilt she may have faced at being overpowered herself.

"Oh, I know that face Mel," Carnachias said, staring intensely at Lauren's face, "Don't you think they're gonna need some extra enticement to deal with those ridiculously overpowered heroes?"

"I fully intended to reward them with immortality and the ability to step in between the planes, were she to succeed," Melanoche calmly replied.

"Pffft, as if. They could just get that by walking out of here and drinking from the fountain. I have a better idea" Carnachias directed her attention at Lauren once more "Listen Lauren, what do you think of my sister? Because if you win, I'll give you her hand in marriage. No, wait, that's not what appeals to your deepest desires, no. I see it now. I'll give her to you to experiment with as you see fit. You'd be able to fully study and experiment with a goddess, what do you say?"

Melanoche looked indignant and, while Lauren attempted to feign disinterest, Carnachias could clearly see they saw the appeal of her offer.

"I refuse!" Melanoche shouted "I am sorry Lauren, but you will have to be satisfied with immortality."

Carnachias laughed, "Good luck Lauren. Have fun wherever you go! I'll be sure to prepare my sister for your projects!"

"DO NOT IGNORE ME!" Melanoche shouted, being the last thing Lauren heard before the darkness faded and her eyes were struck by a blinding light. This, however, was not painful, it was almost comforting in a way.

---

Dealings with the Light

"Oh no no no no!" Lauren heard a new voice shouting "I'm sorry Lady Palantha, it seems I did not manage to get her in time."

A figure dashed to Lauren's side, almost androgynous in appearance, though leaning slightly more towards feminine.

"What were you thinking, listening to those creepy goddesses in the first place!" The figure continued shouting as they examined Lauren's body, "Oh no, you have a Monster Core too?" The figure then looked into the distance, towards what Lauren assumed was the source of the light, "It seems your wretched sisters have already tainted them, Lady Palantha"

"Truly?" Another, more feminine voice -which Lauren assumed belonged to Palantha-, inquired, "It's no wonder they are blinded by my presence. No matter, we may not be able to fully undo the damage my sisters have done, but we can at least try to mitigate it."

"Hear me Lauren Hodges, I am Palantha, Goddess of Day and Bringer of Light. It would seem my twisted sisters have tricked you into a terrible lot, but Ariel and I can still help you remain closer to the Light than not."

"Ariel? Like the Disney Princess?" Lauren said aloud, although that was not their intention. She was usually bad at keeping her thoughts to herself, but something about the Light here made it even harder. They'd truly need to concentrate if they wanted to keep any thoughts private.

"A Disney Princess?!" the indignant Ariel shouted "HOW RUDE! I'm Ariel, the Lion of Heaven, Lord of Air, Highest Servant of Palantha, and by the way, a man!"

"Calm down brave Ariel, I am sure they meant no offense" Palantha said. Lauren was almost certain she was holding back laughter.

The Light then got brighter, almost as if it was focused on Lauren "I see... so that is why they chose you. You are an... interesting one, Lauren Hodges, but unlike my sisters, I do not believe you are beyond redemption. I can see well enough that you would not change your core nor your monster type, so I will not even attempt to offer you to change those. However, I do believe I see some potential in you. Would you perhaps be willing to take some Divine Oaths to mitigate the damage those two would have you bring upon Ruyanei?"

"Lady Palantha, surely we should give up on her, she's a Darkie now!" Ariel protested.

"Ariel!" Palantha shouted, forcing the angel to show fear for the first time since Lauren met him "Surely you can allow Lauren Hodges to make her choice by herself!"

"Yes, Lady Palantha" the cowed angel responded

Palantha then explained the three Oaths usually undertaken by the Heroes of Light. While she had no problem with taking Respect Sacred Ground and Love Humanity, she had some questions about Erradicate the Dark. "I understand that, with this Oath, I would be sworn to fight the new Demon King, seal dungeons, and kill monsters. My question is more of what this implies for myself," Lauren found themself explaining more honestly than they'd have expected, "As a Dungeon Master myself, would I ultimately need to seal my own Laboratory? And what about my own personal safety? You've promised to get the Heroes to leave me alone while I fight the Dark, but what exactly is the extent of that promise?"

"You'd dare question the benevolence of Lady Palantha?!" Ariel shouted

"Ariel! Enough!" Palantha shouted once again, "I can answer you well enough Lauren Hodges. Given that you've taken the first two Oaths, I am willing to allow you to keep your own Dungeon once the Demon King is defeated. I don't expect you to stop fighting the Heroes and the crusaders of Light, since they will not stop fighting you. I'm afraid I have less... influence... on them than I'd like, that is more the domain of the God of Justice, Mileth, and I'm afraid his crusade against the Dark and its creatures, including you, is relentless. I can, however, promise that they'll leave you and your Dungeon alone when you are actively fighting the Dark. Will that suffice for you to take the Oath, Lauren Hodges?"

"I believe it will," Lauren replied, "But that being the case, I hope you don't expect me to dedicate my time to hunting down the Dark. I will do so when I see a realistic opportunity for it. The way I see it, the faster the Dark is dealt with, the faster that God of Justice will turn the Heroes on me."

"Hmmm. It's not ideal, but I guess you're not so bad for a Darkie," Ariel seemed to have found his voice again, "Being that you have taken all three Oaths, I guess the least I could do is give you some Angelic Blessings to aid you on your journey. They will allow you to seem more approachable to humanity, summon Emanations as your minions, create a Domain where you will have some reprieve from the harshness of the world, as well as gain more information on your opponents. I guess that would be all, I don't think I ca- OUCH!"

One of Ariel's feathers was separated from his wings and was slowly making its way towards my chest. Palantha then spoke with some sense of irony, "Ariel dearest, I believe you almost neglected to offer them the ultimate protection against instant ****. How forgetful of you."

"I believe I'll also offer you a gift for taking the Oaths, Lauren Hodges" Palantha continued "I will offer you three of the six Divine Miracles I offered to the Heroes before their last crusade against the Darkness. Please, make your choice."

Lauren considered her options carefully. Pure Land seemed like it would work with Dungeon Master beautifully, so that one was a no-brainer. They also opted for the Mark of Submission. While she couldn't honestly claim her intentions were innocent in picking that one, it would probably become a way to permanently ensure a way to stop the Heroes without having to destroy them, in any sense of the word. Their last choice was harder, she had no interest in an ability that she wouldn't effectively be able to use until she reached a Tier VII Class, or one that would put their soul at a permanent risk of destruction. The Key to Apollion might have been tempting if she was more interested in combat, but that was not the case. So their final choice was probably the most surprising, both to her and to a certain angel. But hey, Lauren could always use a research assistant.

"What? No!" Ariel pleaded, "Please Lady Palantha, my first time as a Guardian Angel was supposed to be with a cute girl! I don't want to have to guide, heal, protect, comfort, and care for a Darkie monster! I swear Tomoko Sakurai was a few accomplishments away from getting another choice!"

"Ariel, this is unbecoming behavior from the Lion of Heaven!" Palantha reprimanded him, "But oh well, if you think you are not up to the task, I'm sure your sist-"

"No! I can do it! Just don't bring her into this!" Ariel shouted, "I'd never hear the end of it!"

"It appears the decision is made, Lauren Hodges." Palantha said warmly, "While your circumstances don't allow you to fully align with the Light, I am glad to be able to count on you as an ally."

For the first time, Lauren was able to breech the blindness from the Light and gaze upon Palantha's smile. It was warm, and it felt like home. Lauren closed her eyes, taking the feeling in. Little by little, the feeling lulled them to sleep.