When we are done in the lab I head off to my room while Rina heads to one of the bathrooms. I head to the master bathroom. I want to get in a quick shower. From what I could smell as we exited the lab dinner would be done soon and it smelled great. It was the first time I would be eating a meal cooked by someone else since I arrived in this world, and I was looking forward to it. On my trek through the forest, I had been collecting several plants that herbology said were edible. But outside of certain fruits, I was not sure how they needed to be cooked. Herbology taught me how to gather edible plants but not how to prepare them. From what I smelled my guests knew how to cook them. This would be my first noncrappy meal that was not all fruit.
I took a quick shower and headed back out to the great room. I was not expecting what I found when I entered the room. Even if someone had told me what was out there, I would not have believed it. When I walked into the room, I could have sworn I was like one of the anime characters. My jaw hitting the floor and my eyes popping out of my head. Or even blood firehoseing out of my nose as I passed out.
All of my new guests were in the room in some state of undress. When I entered the room there were ten nipples all free and swinging. All five of them were at the minimum topless. While three were completely nude. I stumble for a quick second before I put myself together. I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Thank whomever I need to that they did not notice me until I had put myself together.
When they noticed my presence all of the joviality in the room stopped. I looked around and stepped into the room fully.
“You don’t have to stop just because I am here. I am glad you have made yourself comfortable.”
Sarisol stepped forward she was one of those who was completely nude. It was all I could do not to stare. She deffinantly had all the right curves in all the right places. “Lord Van the meal will be ready soon. Your pantry was well stocked so we prepared a full meal if that was, okay?”
I heard one of the others say in Edabi “Well stocked, he could feed the whole village for moons with that pantry. I hope he does not care that you used some of the more valuable herbs to season the meal. Not that there was a lack of them.”
Sarisol gave the woman whose name was Fisri a withering stare. “It’s rude to speak around Lord Van in a language he does not understand Fisri.” Fisri withed under her fierce gaze and placed her palms in her hand and nodded her head.
“Lord Van, I apologize for the disrespect I showed in your house,” Fisri said sullenly.
“It’s fine I am glad you found the pantry useful. I am good at gathering food, not so much at preparing it. I took no offense Fisri, I understand that sometimes it is easy to slip into your native language. I will look to all of you to help me learn it going forward.”
She took me over to the cooktop that had a nice fire going by this time. She showed me a pot with steamed tubers, I had tried to boil them it had not worked out well. There was a pan with a potato-like vegetable sliced and fried. All of the dishes had been seasoned with different herbs. All of it smelled awesome. It was almost enough to distract me from my naked cook, almost.
When she got done Rina get down freshly showered, and topless as well. I thanked my lucky stars, as I figured out that they must go topless all the time. None of them even batted an eye at her. She was even carrying her top and took it outside to the back porch. When I had designed the cottage, I had done so with a mix of indoor-outdoor living in mind. I wanted the place to be able to get a nice breeze and be mostly open. The group was shocked when instead of going through the door I opened the wall to the back porch letting in a lot more air. This had the effect of cooling off the whole floor that had started to get hot from the fire from the cooktop. It’s not like I made it cold though we were still in the tropical forest so while it cooled the house off it just made it bearable.
I followed Rina on the porch where she put her top along with the others that were there. When she put her top down, I looked at everything there. There were six tops one with a massive unrepairable hole. Three bottoms with skirts attached and three skirts. There were also five spears one was also irreparably damaged. Rina noticed my frown when I looked at the lot. I also gave her the once over while I was standing there. It was obvious that the top she was wearing was not made for her. Now that she was topless, I could see just how stacked she was. While she was shorter than the others, she was also curvier. Her bust was almost twice that of the others. I could not tell you what size they were but they were like cantaloupes sitting on her chest. They had this gravity-defying property that only the best bras on earth seemed to possess.
“Our armor and equipment are not much. It is what we could make with our limited resources. The chest piece I am wearing actually belongs to Sari. She gave me hers to protect me while we went out foraging. She took a piece that was not fully ready and if you had not come along, she would have died for it. Honestly, if you had not come along, we would have been dead five times over. I thought about it while I was cleaning up, and realized something. That in our fear we never thanked you for saving us” Rina said slowly. “I just wanted to say thank you for saving us when you had no reason to do so.”
Her declaration is noticed by the others they all nod and look into their laps subdued. It’s like they all believe they have forgotten something and what they forgot was taboo. I could feel the shame begin to ratchet up in the room, and I could tell I was going to have to stop that freight train before it started.
“You're welcome for the save, but I didn’t do it for the thanks. I saved you all because I could and it was the right thing to do. And now you are paying me back for that. This will be the first and best meal I have had for moons. I have only had Akurra and a talking tree to keep me company. So, your company is appreciated.”
I felt the building tension in the room begin to evaporate, and laughter replaced it. After that the meal was served, and they insisted on making and serving my plate while I sat at the table. They said it was custom for the lord to be fed and waited on. I also realized that I was the subject of a game of sorts. I recognized it when Mari nudged Aoi into me slightly. This forced Aoi to rub up against me. At first, I thought it was just a happy accident as it forced Aoi who was fully nude to rub her chest on me. But when Fisri bumped Nari into me by “accident”. I realized what was happening.
I was forced to think of Chet. He was a member of our group, just barely. He had started gaming because in his words “I am just trying to diversify my dating pool.” He had realized his mistake early on but had stayed because he had actually had fun gaming. Chet was a bit of a fuck boy. He was used to gaslighting girls to get what he wanted. I was loathed to take any of his advice but in this case, it was valid. We had been talking about how he was able to do what he did. He had given me sage advice that is actually valid right here and now. He had told me when I was around women “to act like I had been there before.” He has said “If you don’t act like it is a big deal then they won’t either. So, if you act nonchalant about what’s happening, you’re less likely to get a bad reaction.”
Not that I liked agreeing with a fuck boy about anything. And behind closed doors, Chet was not a bad guy, as long as you were not female. But in this situation, he was right. As long as I acted like I was unaware of what was going on. They kept playing their game, and I benefitted. The longer the game went on the bolder they became. They seemed to enjoy putting each other in situations that caused the recipient to be in the most physical contact with me. So, I was getting brushed with a breast here and an ass cheek there. I did not know what the goal of the game was. Maybe to elicit a reaction from me, or the subject. I was not sure.
The game continued through dinner and just as we finished up. Nari tripped Rina who I honestly didn’t even think she knew she was playing a game. If she was playing at all. Rina who lacked the grace and skill of the others tripped and fell into my lap. I had to catch her to keep her from toppling over. By reflex, Rina grabbed me by the neck sticking my face right between her boobs. I could have motorboated her and had to hold myself back. “Act like you have been there before” repeating in my head. I was also thankful for my boxers at this point. As they helped hide the tent I was pitching. Rina realized what she was doing and released my neck. I think she was worried that she had harmed me somehow. The thought of which caused me to start laughing.
My laugh cut through the sharp silence that had been building in the room. I continued laughing the whole time this caused some of the others to giggle. Rina was still mortified when she realized she was still on my lap. She moved to jump out of my lap, and as she did, I tapped her on her but. This caused a few raised eyebrows, and Rina turned a bit red. Rina turning red was so adorable. She basically turned red up to the tips of her ears. While I was watching Rina turn red, I was oblivious to the looks I was getting. When I started paying attention again the looks were gone.
I had expected the game to stop at that point because with my laughter I had made it obvious that I knew what was going on. So, I was visibly surprised when the game continued unabated. Not only that it ramped up! Now it seemed the object of the game was to see who would end up in the most compromising position. Before it had been slight brushes and minuscule contact. Now it was ramped up I had never had so many breasts pushed into my face outside of a strip club. Now that they knew I was on to their game they were even more devious. They were working to position me as well as set up their target. Now my hands were ending up on thighs and butts as well. The game ended when the group ganged up on Sari. She ended up across my lap on the couch with her butt and tail in my face.
I lost control of myself for a split second and spanked Sari’s bare ass. It wasn’t hard but it was enough to leave a hand print on her ass cheek. This earned me a few looks, that I could not decipher. It also seemed to be the end of the game. The mood did not become tense so I figured that as long as I acted like it was no big deal there would be no problem. After that, the women all started flagging. The stress of the day showing in tired yawns. They all filtered out of the main room.
I was not tired at this point. I was quite riled up and I was dealing with a massive case of blue balls. Also, since my upgrade, I have found myself needing less sleep. I have been averaging about one to two hours a night. But I knew that I could probably go a few days without sleeping if necessary.
The tower had a feature that I just understood when I claimed it. As its owner, I was the only person that had absolute privacy inside it. The tower had several features it showed me where everyone was. This showed me that all six women were currently in the same bedroom. I went to the room they were in and used one of the features of the tower. The feature allowed me to make the wall see-through like a one-way mirror.
I had expected to find them plotting or maybe having a girl chat. That is not what I found. They were all in the room sleeping. I guess the day’s activities had gotten to them. They had all gotten together in the same room and fallen asleep. They had taken the pillows and blankets and made a bed on the floor. They were all cuddled up together on the floor sleeping. And I was pretty sure that they were all fully nude.
That little vision did not help the case of blue balls I was suffering from. I also found myself less able to sleep at that point. I decided to put that energy to work instead. I went to the back of the house and gathered all of the gear there. Carrying it would have been easy but I did not want to seem like a creep so I put it all in storage and headed up to the workshop.
Once in the shop, I had to decide what to do. Back home I had learned to work leather but I had not looked into the processing of skins into leather. Because of this, I had a fuck load of skins since I had been saving them but no real leather to work with. I would have to ask Rina if she had a solution for processing leather tomorrow. What this did though was limit the materials I had to work with. I had what they already had, which was not much to start with. I also had some limited materials on my end, mostly things I had gathered.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Ultimately all of this gear would need to be replaced anyway, but they need some upgrading in the short term to help them get home. I also had a vested interest in making sure they all made it. If the quest rewards from the first quest were anything to go by, the more that made it home the better the rewards. Plus, who was I kidding? I was hoping that they would be extra grateful for making it home.
I had a difficult choice ahead of me. I had a decision to make. I was the protagonist of my own story, and I had to decide what kind of character I was going to be. I had always hated that anime harem guy who was oblivious to the affections and intent of the women around him. I also hated the guys who stubbornly clung to the values of earth even when it was obvious that the world, they were now in was different. I had always said I would not be either one of those guys. My participation in the game tonight had been a good first step. I had not taken it further, but something told me I could have. I could have told one of them they were sharing my bed, and they probably would have done it. Though that did not feel right. It would have felt like I was taking advantage of the situation. Not that I was above doing so, but it didn’t feel right at the moment. I did think that once I had got them home and saved their village that I would not feel bad about taking advantage of them. I hadn’t thought about it much since I had arrived. Since every day had been work just to survive, this had been the first time I had even thought about sex. A bevy of beautiful women tends to have that effect though.
When I looked at it, I decided to sacrifice Sari’s chest piece. It had been damaged beyond repair but I could use it to help enhance the other's gear. I decided to cut it up so I could use the pieces to add to the other gear. I had a solution for her in mind anyway. While I was limited on finished materials, I did have some things. Once I was done cutting up Sari’s armor, I added the pieces to the other armor. I had just enough to add coverage to each of the other pieces of armor. When I had the pieces portioned out I used my leatherworking tools to sew the pieces together. I also used my tools to finish the leather better. Next was to make the equipment better. While I had many skins all of them were unprocessed. I could have say used one of the skins but I had something else that would be better in the case. Also had more than one since it was a renewable resource. I take one of Akurra’s earlier sheds out of storage.
This is one of the better useable materials I have available. I can use this to reinforce this armor. I get to cutting the shed up into pieces that match the available chest pieces. I realize that if I had not upgraded the tools, I would not be able to cut this shed. I have a limited amount of adhesive but it will have to do, as I glue the shed scales to the chest pieces. It’s not my best work but it will have to do. Once I am done gluing everything together. I put everything under a large stone to keep it all pressed tight so the glue will take. When I look, I have a new skill one I am expecting.
You have learned the skill Armor Crafting (Master Skill).
Armor Crafting (Master Skill)
This skill allows you to make armor with various materials that you find or forage for. This process can be as simple or detailed as you make it. Armor crafting adds no special properties to any Armor you create on its own but special properties can be added by different means. Bonus: Your crafted armor has a chance to add a special bonus just from you crafting it. This chance is high when said armor is crafted with better materials. You have a higher chance of success when adding special properties to the armor you create yourself. This success rate stacks with any other bonuses you receive to add those properties this bonus is %25. Bonus: You have a %100 chance of adding special properties to the armor you have created. All armor you create takes %35 less time for you to make. This skill allows you to repair and improve armor created by others. Bonus: You have crafted both one piece of Epic and one piece of Legendary armor before you arrive in this realm so you are considered a master of this skill. All armor you create has a base AC based on the value of the armor. The base AC is determined by the value of the materials used. The minimum for this base is +40.
For once I am both surprised and not surprised Since I had made my own kit. I knew that the whole process felt easier and some of the time it felt as if my hands were moving on their own. The funny thing was that the system had not deemed the equipment armor before even though I knew that was its purpose but now since I had worked on it. The system recognized it, now it was not much but it was definitely an improvement.
Nalachesis Chest Guard 200/200.
This is a simple chest guard made to protect the vital areas of the chest. The armor adds 65 to your armor class (AC), set bonus +20, and +5 to DEX, and CON.
Nalachesis Armored Skirt 200/200.
This skirt is designed to protect the hips and upper legs of the wearer. This type of armor was popularized by the Battle dancers of Dopri. This armor was designed to allow maximum movement while allowing some protection. The armor adds 55 to your armor class (AC), set bonus +2,0 and +10 to DEX.
The next thing to do is to upgrade their weapons. Their spears are only such in name. They are basically sharpened sticks. I picked up one and turned it into splinters by squeezing too hard. The wood they used was substandard it obviously was not from any of the trees in the forest. I could only guess that they were not able to even cut branches from the trees in the forest. I take out a long branch that I had found while I was foraging over the last few days. It is too thick and heavy for any of them to use as it is currently. It is also way too long this is when I use one of my inherent advantages. I use one of my otherworldly knives to cut and split the fallen branch. Altogether I end up with twelve six-foot poles. If I did not have my knives, I knew it would have taken forever.
The next thing was to shave and shape the staves I would be using. Again, this was no issue with the equipment I had for this and it was done in no time. I decided to carve a simple enchantment into each stave I knew with this little prep that they would not hold more. The next part was to make the spearheads. I decided to use incisors from some of the dire rats I had collected. The teeth were too long and thick at the base so I cut the bases off and split the teeth. When it is all said and done, I have enough material to make eight spears. I forgo treating the teeth in this case I am not really spending a lot of time or investment in this case. That way if things don’t go as expected I will not feel any loss if I have to leave. The things I am making are simple and fast and I will not feel bad if I lose them. I have to cut a notch into the wood to seat the spearheads. I do this with one of my chisels. Once this is done, I test fit the spearhead Using the same chisel to bore a hole into the spear and the head. Then, I do this five more times. When I am done with that, I seat the spearheads and glue them into place, and place a dowel through the hole I drilled with glue as well. This should make sure the spearheads stay put. I also used the last of my glue to cap the bases of the spears with the bases of the teeth. Once I am done with that, I leave everything to dry. It’s not my best work but it is an improvement for them and that is the point. Now that I am done working, I feel like I can rest. I have burned off enough of the energy that was building inside me.
I woke up a few hours later to the smell of food cooking. The cottage showed me that all of my guests were in the great room or the kitchen. I clean up in the restroom. There was another feature that I found. I could make the stairs to the second floor appear in any room. So, I went upstairs and gathered all the equipment. I don’t know if it was the magic of the tower or something else. But all the glue was dried and the equipment was ready to go. It was not pretty or even my best work but for the time and materials I had, it was good enough. If things went well, I would make them much better equipment at a later date. From there I went down the stairs it raised some eyebrows. I am guessing that they believed me to be in my room. Plus, the stairs appeared out of nowhere.
There were leftovers from the previous night’s meal heating in the kitchen. I moved over and pulled out two of the fruits from the avatar’s glade. I could tell you that I never got tired of their reactions. Plus, who am I kidding the fact that three of them were still fully naked did not hurt.
When we were done eating, I could see them begin to fidget nervously. There was something bothering them but they did not want to ask. Finally, Sari came forward.
“Lord Van umm, our armor and spears are missing! We would need our gear to begin our travels for the day” Sari says nervously.
“About that, your gear was literally crap, and since I decided I was going with you. I figured you didn’t need it so I got rid of it. Plus, I prefer you this anyway!”
This caused a couple of different reactions. The comment about preferring them the way they were got some raised eyebrows. But then it sunk in about me getting rid of their equipment. I could see the dismay in their eyes when it set in that I had discarded their gear. I could see the warring emotions in their eyes and on some faces. They were trying not to let it show or react. I only let it play for a few seconds, maybe it was a minute or two before I started laughing.
“I am just kidding I took your gear to try to fix where it I could. It’s not my best work but it’s better than what you had.”
I walked over to the area and deposited the equipment where they had it previously. At first, they were surprised when I set out their armor, such as it was. They seemed more impressed at the upgrades than I would have thought. When they were mostly kitted out, I could see why. The gear gave off the impression that they were a unit. Before it had been basically scraps of various leather but now, they all matched. The was one slight problem as Sari was lacking a top, she did not seem too bothered but it was not something I would be comfortable with. Yes, I was going with them but I would be able to be everywhere at once. While I didn’t see an issue that did not mean that there would not be one. It was a good thing I had already come up with a solution.
Rina had also noticed that Sari was without a top and moved to fix this on her own.
“Here Sari take this one since it is yours anyway. Plus, you got hurt protecting me so it would be better if you had this.” Rina was somber as she said this. She had blamed herself for them being out here, and she had blamed herself for everything that had gone wrong since.
“Rina that is quite unnecessary you go ahead and put that on I have some armor she can borrow. Temporarily anyway.” I said this as stepped up and took the armor I had made for Sara out of my inventory. It was kind of bitter-sweet because Sara had never gotten to see the finished product. I knew she would have flipped out over it. I had been hoping she would have noticed the extra touches I had added. I had also been hoping this would have been my path to get lucky as well. Now I would never know.
I had looked at the armor in my inventory many a night. I had never taken it out before. Now I took it out and laid it on the table. This caused a sharp inhale from the whole group as the power of the armor filled the space.
Gryphon Skin Void Armor; Void, Human, Epic-Unique, Soft-Fall, Self-Repairing. 20000/20000.
This armor is made from the legendary skin of a griffin. This armor traveled with you through the void of space. This armor is self-repairing. The armor was made by your hands for a female companion, you can allow any female companion you have to use the armor. The armor will fit the female companion that it is loaned to, you can choose to revoke this loan at any time. If you revoke the loan the armor will return to your inventory. This armor is bond to you and not the party it is loaned to. From being made from gryphon skin this armor is constantly affected by reduce gravity. The armor adds 950 to armor class (AC), and +10 to STR, CON +15 to DEX.
The armor glowed a soft purple in my spell sight noting its epic quality. It had been made from a supple gray leather Sara did not want it to be all black as that would stand out during the day. Grey on the other hand was a neutral color both day and night. I had dyed the griffin black as the only embellishment. The armor had steel buckles holding it togethe, and had been made with a boatload of steel rivets. It was supposed to be studded leather armor so I had wanted it to have that kind of feel.
Sari had looked at it shell-shocked before putting it on. As advertised, it had fit her like a glove.
“Sari this is just a loan. That armor is priceless if you were to get a bright idea and try to disappear with it. Well, that would not go well for you.” I looked her in the eye and snapped my fingers. The armor disappeared off her, and back into my inventory. I summoned it back out and handed it back to her.
“That armor is made from griffin skin and is enchanted. As you can see, I can take it back at any time. I made it for a friend who I don’t know if I’ll get to see again so you can wear it for now. If you prove yourself, I might allow you to keep wearing it.” My tone had been jokingly serious. Anyone who had known me would have known I was joking. From the look on her face, I knew that Sari did not know I was joking. She had a deadly serious look to her now as she nods as if she has been challenged.
After that all I have to do is hand out the spears. They are again surprised by the spears I give them while they are nothing to me, they are better than anything they have ever had. I get harder to interpret looks from them. I know that this is the most anyone has invested in their wellbeing and safety. But it was quite literally a few hours and some materials I had on hand. I also had an ulterior motive since I had the quest to get them home.
I also had a feeling that as soon as we got into range of their village that there would be an event of some type that would cause me to have to protect them or kill the beast that had been plaguing them. To be honest I planned on killing the beast either way it would be a good source of XP and levels. Plus, the possible quest rewards would make it worth it on its own. Plus, I wanted to see this village I wanted to see just how many topless women lived there. Hell, I might stay for a few days even.