“I… feel like I’ve lost something important.” Q was kneeling on the ground and hanging her head while wearing a dispirited face. (orz)
“I feel the same way…” Brie was also in the same pose, equally as dispirited as Q.
“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad.” Kukis tried to cheer up the two’s but instead drew their anger.
“How dare you not help us!” Q yelled. “I was being violated in my most important spots, and you just stood there and watched! You’re a pervert, Cookie!”
“Wha-” Kukis could barely get a response out before Brie also began to admonish her.
“Yes, I expected more out of you Kukis. To think that you would disregard your companions in their time of greatest need… You truly disappoint me.”
“W- wait! You guys aren’t serious right?!”
““We’re very serious.”” Q and Brie said in sync, looking at Kukis with condemning eyes. The three of them argued for a while until they all heard a sound and a window appeared in front of them.
[Quest Complete!] - Meet and Greet
-See Lily for your rewards.
“Oh crap, that’s right! Where’s Lily?” Q looked around and found Lily standing at the gates, waiting after she finished greeting other players. Q, Brie and Kukis all approached her. “Aw man… sorry Lily.” Q apologized. “We were kind of… sidetracked.”
Lily only giggled, looking at Q with kind eyes. “I don’t mind at all. It was quite fun to watch you girls get intimate like that. In the future, I too wish to get that close to people after meeting them.”
“Ahahah… yeah…” Q responded weakly. I sure hope that scene won’t be a bad influence for her… Q prayed in her mind.
“Well, you all have helped me with my request, so I simply must thank you. I have knitted some things in my spare time, so it would make me happy if you accepted them as a reward. Please wait a moment.” Lily turned around and seemed to be rummaging around in… something. When she turned back she was holding three different knitted items.
Where the heck did she pull those out of!? Q was shocked to see those items appear from seemingly out of nowhere. It seems that even in video games girls have mysterious powers… Wait, I’m a girl now, does that mean I can use the rumored magical ability all girls use, [Multi-dimensional Purse]? Or possibly even, [Always Smell Good]? While Q was contemplating the many mysteries of girls, Brie and Kukis were looking at the items.
(A/N: Sorry if I offend any female readers. All in good humor.)
[Soft Scarf (Head, Uncommon)] - Durability (15/15) - An incredibly soft scarf, hand-knitted by Lily Breckden. Vitality +1, Defense +1, Agility +2.
[Puppy Hat (Head, Uncommon)] - Durability (15/15) - A cute hat with floppy dog ears on top, hand-knitted by Lily Breckden. Vitality +2, Defense +2.
[Rose Headband (Head, Uncommon)] - Durability (15/15) - An elegant rose headband, hand-knitted by Lily Breckden. Strength +1, Dexterity +1, Agility +2.
“Hmm… I’ll take the Puppy hat.” Kukis picked up and wore the hat, feeling slightly more excited than usual.
“Then I shall take the headband.” Brie wrapped the band around her head, and the red color complimented her eyes perfectly.
By this point Q had stopped her musings of the female gender and took the scarf. “I am totally okay with this.” She said as she wrapped the scarf around her neck, enjoying the softness it provided. “Honestly if you took the scarf I might have killed you for it.”
“Heh. Nice joke.” Kukis said, admiring her new hat.
“I’m not joking.”
“...”
While Kukis felt a chill go down her spine, Lily prepared to leave. “Well then, I shall be off. My parents must be worried about me for being out for so long without telling them. Thank you again you three, I hope to see you all again soon.” Lily began to head back home while the three girls bid her farewell.
“Uh… Could I have a moment of your time?” The leader of the party they helped spoke up. “I’d like to thank you for helping us there. I know I spoke tough, but we really were in a bit of trouble there.”
“Hahaha, now that’s a joke. You know you weren’t actually in any trouble at that moment right?” Q said while admiring how soft her scarf was.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I mean, you know that fighting is forbidden inside a town right? Didn’t you notice that the guards were pulling out their weapons when you guys were ready to fight?”
“Eh? Really?” The leader initially hadn’t noticed that there were guards around at all, but now that he looked around he did indeed find a few town guards patrolling the walls.
“Yup. The only reason I stopped your fight was because you were slowing down the progression of our quest.”
“Oh… well, thanks anyway. Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Verne. I’m a level 12 human swordsman and leader of our guild, The Crios Blades. Well, not that we’re a guild yet, but we’re planning on becoming one as soon as possible.” Now that Q got a proper look at him, she realized he had quite a handsome face. His face was a strangely balanced mix of rough and innocent, giving off a sort of ‘heroic’ aura. He had a well-built body, and wore leather armor along with a longsword on his right side. His green eyes stared at Q, as if he was appraising her.
“Hey, you’re not going to introduce the rest of us?” The priest of the party said. His hair was a bright gold color and he had long pointed ears. His body was thin, which complimented his fair, almost female face. He wore white robes and held a staff with a gem embedded in the tip. “I’m Fortis Caleron. You can just call me Fort. I’m a level 12 Elvish Priest, and I’m also the guy who yanks this fool,” he indicated Verne, “out of trouble. Though it seems like you took my job from me this time.” He said with a grin.
“I’m next!” The archer spoke up. She was small with a slight build, but only slightly shorter than Kukis was. Her shining blue eyes and childish face added to her child-like, energetic behavior. “My name is Melun, level 10 human archer, lover of all things cute!” She said while staring at Q with an intense expression. Right, she’s a pervert. Q mentally labelled her as such.
The female swordsman came up next. She wore thicker armor than Verne, and also had a small buckler shield on her right arm. She had some slight muscle with a few scales dotting her skin here and there. She had horns which curved up and around her head, and she wore an indifferent expression on her face. Her deep blue eyes and calm face seemed to indicate that she was a very tranquil person, but Q remembered her dangerous eyes while she was ‘cuddling’ her. Hmm... this one’s a closet pervert. Q labelled her as well. “I’m Neria, a level 11 draconian swordsman. Pleased to meet you.” She said with a slight smile.
Last but not least, the magician introduced herself. Most of her body’s figure was covered up with a long robe, but Q was aware of the ‘dangerous weapons’ hiding underneath that robe, as she had come into contact with them multiple times while being cuddled. Her big doe eyes and entrancing smile made her seem quite lewd, especially when combined with her cute face. “I’m Aeryn, a level 10 half-human half-devil mage. But you can call me older sister~.” She said with a wink. She’s the biggest pervert of them all! Q noted in her mental library.
Before Q could introduce herself, Kukis came up and introduced herself first. “My name is Kukis. That’s pronounced coo-kiss okay? I’m just a level 10 human with no class yet.” Then Kukis pushed Brie up to the front while whispering, “This is your chance, introduce yourself!”
“Uh… I… uh...” Brie looked a little panicked but after looking back and seeing her friends smiling at her, she managed to squeeze out a greeting. “I am Brie! A level 11 mouse-kin!” Then she scurried back behind Q, muttering “That was scary… But I did it! I said something to a male!”
Congratulating Brie in her mind, Q also introduced herself. “I’m Q, a level-”
“““““YOU’RE Q!?!??!”””””
All members of the Crios Blades screamed out at the same time, causing the people walking around to stop and stare for a while. “Ouch, that hurt my ears. Yes I’m Q.” I think that system message is going to bring me more trouble than I thought... Q was only just now realizing the consequences of letting every player know about how amazing you were.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“No way… prove it!” Verne said in disbelief. This little girl was able to kill a boss 15 levels above her? There’s no way that’s true...
“Uhh… okay?” Q decided to send a friend request to Verne so that he would see her name. When Verne saw the request, his eyes opened wide and he stared at Q, slack-jawed.
Seeing his reaction, the rest of the Crios Blades realized that the cute little girl in front of them really was the legendary player who took down a boss 15 levels above her. For a while they stood in stunned silence, until Verne suddenly blurted out, “Join my guild!”
“No.” Q immediately shot him down, bringing down his spirits. Seeing his depressed face, Q decided to take a bit of pity on him. “I won't join your guild but… if you want to temporarily party together that would be okay. Well, as long as my friends are alright with joining.” Q turned to see her friends reactions.
Currently Kukis was holding in her laughter, finding the Crios Blades faces absolutely hilarious. Meeting Q’s gaze, she nodded in consent. Brie on the other hand was thinking quite hard. Join a party with men? I cannot… but… if I do not do this I will never get over my fear of men…
Seeing Brie’s hesitation, Q slowly said, “It’s alright. We don't need to join them if you can't handle it.” Suddenly Brie’s face became determined as she took Q’s words as a challenge. “Of course I can handle it! Who do you think I am? I will face any challenge head on!”
“Nice to hear,” Q said with a smile. Good for you Brie, you're finally taking the steps forward to get over your fear. She thought. Q turned to the Crios Blades who were still slightly stunned from hearing who she was.
“Well, my party members are fine with joining you guys. Wanna party up?”
“YES!” Verb shouted in excitement. “We'd be honored to have you join us… but, are you going to join our party, or are we going to join yours?”
“Eh, we'll just join yours. Though even if you are the leader, I won't follow any stupid orders!” Q said while disbanding her party. Verne nodded, saying “Of course!” As he invited them to his party.
“Alright! It's party time!” Melun said with an elated face. “And since we’re party members now, we should get to know each other better… eheheh, how about we start with learning about each others bodies?” She said while making a grab at Q.
This time Q was ready though, and she dodged smoothly, causing Melun to crash face first into the ground. “Lolita yes, touch no!” Q said, reciting a line from a novel she had read in the past.
“Ahaha…” Verb smiled wryly seeing his party members play around. “Since we’re party members for now, I'll share the quest we got.” He said while making a few gestures in the air.
[New Quest!] - Explore the Forest cave
[Objective] - Investigate the newly discovered cave in the Verdant Forest. Recommended level: 10
[Rewards] - Varies depending on what you find.
“Awesome! Finally some real adventuring.” Kukis said with an elated expression.
“You mean you weren't really adventuring before while wandering around in the Forest?” Q inquired.
“Psh. No way, that was just a casual stroll. THIS is what adventuring is about, exploring deep caves and unknown lands. You don't really get the same sense of danger and excitement just walking around in a forest.”
“Hah, say that after you've wandered around the Forest at night.” Fortis spoke up. “This idiot thought it'd be a smart idea to wander in the Forest and take on an enemy 10 levels above him.” He said, punching Verne lightly on the shoulder.
“Hey I can't help it!” Verne replied indignantly. “Seeing Q’s achievement got me fired up!”
“It also got you killed.” Fortis said with disapproving eyes.
“Ugh… your gaze hurts…” Verne looked away, trying to avoid Fortis’ look.
“Yes yes, we know that you two like looking at each other with hot gazes of passion, but we’re burning daylight here so we should get a move on to the cave.” Aeryn said with a sly grin.
““We’re not gay!!!”” Verne and Fortis protested in sync.
What an interesting bunch… Q thought as they all exited the town. On the way there, Melun and Aeryn kept trying to sneakily touch Q’s ears or tail, but she was already on extreme guard against the two so they weren’t able to touch her at all. Brie got touched by them once, but afterwards wouldn’t let them near her. “Why is everyone so eager to touch my ears? If this was real life they would not dare at all…” Brie muttered to herself while walking.
“That’s because your ears look really cute.” Q commented, hearing Brie’s mutters. When Brie heard her response, her face immediately got red as she struggled to say something. Q spoke first though, as she said, “To be honest, I’d like to touch your ears as well. But, that would go against my personal creed.”
“Personal creed?” Those words piqued Brie’s interest.
“Yeah, no matter how much I like soft things, there’s always a limit to it. Well, the only limit being that if a soft object belongs to someone else, I must get their permission first before touching it.”
“That is… strangely noble, considering your previous actions.” Brie said. “I do not recall you asking those rabbits for permission to touch them.”
“Hey, small animals are an exception! Those rabbits didn’t belong to anyone so they were free game. Besides, how could I possibly resist such an amazing opportunity?” Q smiled, remembering the feel of the rabbit’s fur.
The two of them continued to make small talk until Verne had them all stop. “Hmm… the map says it should be around here… ah, there it is.” Verne moved aside some bushes and they found the entrance to the cave.
“Wow… that’s pretty dark.” Kukis noted, not being able to see more than 15 meters inside the cave despite it being midday.
“Yeah. Anyone here afraid of the dark?” Fortis asked, looking at the others. Seeing that no one had a fear of dark places, he nodded and began checking his inventory.
The rest of the players all followed suit, except for Brie. “Brie, you aren’t going to check your equipment and stuff?” Q asked, noticing that she hadn’t made any movements.
“No, my equipment is in pristine condition. There is no need for me to check again.”
“Okay, but you should probably take out your equipment instead of keeping it in your inventory.” Q said with a grin.
“Oh! That is quite true.” Brie brought out her short-sword and placed it on her belt.
“Alright then,” Verne said in a loud voice. “Everybody ready?” All the players nodded in response. “Okay, time to storm the cave!”
“For adventure!” Kukis shouted.
“For loot!” Melun exclaimed.
“For chances of meeting more small animals!” Q cried out.
““““Let’s go!”””” Everyone else shouted, and they all went into the caves.
----------------------------------------
A/N: Enter the Crios Blades! So, all the setup is done for the next action segment, and you also get to learn about the Crios Blades members. These guys are a fun bunch, and they'll be important to the story later (if they weren't important, why would I have mentioned them?) Also, do you recognize a certain someone briefly mentioned in chapter 3?
Just saying, when I was trying to come up with a guild name for the Crios Blades I went to a random guild name generator. One of the first things I got: Crusaders of Fluffy Pink Death. Yeah, sure sounds imposing doesn't it?
Also, to all people who may think that Melun, Neira and Aeryn are perverted lolicons... well ask yourself a question. Seeing the picture of Q (kind of) in the previous chapter, could you resist hugging her? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Thanks to everyone reading this far. I'll do my best to meet your expectations as readers. Remember to comment or something if you have questions or any criticisms for me. Well then, I'll see you all in the next chapter. Cya!
Fun-fact: It takes me about 10 minutes to come up with character names.