Interconnected: Spliced Souls

“Servi!!!! Can you hear me?!?!?!”  

“SERVI!!!!!”  

“MOMO! SRASSA?! I'M RIGHT HERE!!!”  

Fifteen minutes of backtracking later, I finally picked up their panicked voices. I raced towards where I thought it was growing louder and found a flowing stream.   

Standing across from it was a sight for sore eyes.   

Momo and Srassa both had reddened eyes from crying. And Svelte wasn't with them…  

I rushed through the water and leapt into their arms. Momo buried her head in my chest before looking me over, panickingly asking what had happened.   

After telling them the story I came up with, Srassa stood still and wiped her eyes, refusing to meet my gaze.   

“It's all my fault… I didn't move… You almost died because of me… Servi, I'm so sorry… Please, forgive me… Hic…”   

“I didn't die, so that's something, right? I lost my sleeve. My clothes are fucked, but I escaped. And look, I'm alive. That's what matters. So, you can stop crying, okay?”  

I turned from Momo and embraced Srassa. Her armor was so hard and sparkly, but it felt weak against my fingers. The poor girl shivered like she was suffering from frostbite, but my compassion made her shed even more tears.   

Momo joined the hug and whispered that everything was okay. As expected, she quickly conquered her emotions and returned to being a very dependable captain. Proof she was experienced in this field of work enough to keep her feelings restrained until it was time to vent them.   

Srassa…didn't have that skill. But I could hardly fault the girl. If we were in each other's shoes, I'd most likely have cried if she returned covered in blood after being kidnapped by a feral bear. 

Momo consoled and spoke to her while I waded back into the water and cleaned the blood. Itarr and I conversed a little bit about mortality through my phone.   

With [Necromancy] it should be possible to raise her from the dead if Srassa perishes. But we would have to learn the skill or activate it, and I am not aware of the requirements.  

I guess, but I don't want her to die any time soon. Same with Momo. We don't even know how the skill works.  

I wish I knew, but I cannot remember.  

The goddess dried me off, and I returned to the girls. Srassa had progressed to just having a stuffy nose. But she still looked pretty, nonetheless. She gave me one more heartfelt apology. “I…promise to make it up. I'll train harder than ever with Ms. Momo. I have a shield and this armor for a reason… But Ms. Momo told me it's not good to needlessly apologize again. I'm…sorry for losing myself. But please, allow me to purchase new clothes for you.”  

“There's no need to be that formal. Besides, we're friends. At the end of the day, I'm just a little bit dirty. None the worse for wear. I chose the Rogue Skill Path, so I'm good at escaping sticky situations. And thank you. I think I'll take you up on your offer. Once we turn in this quest, I should have enough for [Sleuth]. Speaking of that, where's Svelte?”  

“He went back to the village. Crap! We gotta run and tell them not to get the search party!” Momo exclaimed.  

“Come on!” I grabbed Srassa's hand and ran after Momo, following her through the path. We dodged under branches, jumped over logs, squeezed between two tightly packed trees, and hopped over a small stream before crossing a bridge. It took about ten minutes before that makeshift gate came into view. On the other side stood Svelte, passionately speaking to eight other farmers– all of which wielded pickaxes or pitchforks.   

“Call it off!! She's fine!!!” Momo waved her hands. Svelte turned around. His anxious face vanished, replaced by one of relief. He ran to the fence and unlocked it, letting us in as he looked at my torn clothing.   

I told him and the others the same thing I described Momo and Srassa.   

The monotonia sent murmurs through the gathered audience– some of which seemed to realize what I was talking about.  

“Oh, and I found these. Are these the akablooms?” I pulled the red flowers from my ring.   

“Ye–Yes, it is! But how did you find the time to–”  

“That bear knocked itself out after eating those pills. It gave me some time to look around. But I found these growing from a corpse.”  

“Akablooms can grow in certain areas, but they take their red appearance from the blood they get their nourishment from. You most often find them around sights of battle. Before the bear intruded, I planned to take us to the heart of the forest, where it's said a great battle was fought long ago. There's a field of akablooms that bloom all year around. But thank the heavens... You emerged mostly unscathed.”  

“My clothes were torn, but that's it. I'm no worse for wear.”  

The gathered group returned to their schedule soon after, and we followed Svelte to his house. His mom and dad were outside in what I thought was their former guild equipment. They smiled when they saw us approach, and Svelte’s mother was pretty. She was taller than her husband and shared the same skin tone, but the woman was toned and had physical proof of her former strength.   

Svelte welcomed us inside their cozy home, where we were given tea and freshly baked cookies.  

The little desserts were distinctively sweet and gooey, the insides filled with melted chocolate after being sprinkled with something resembling powdered sugar.   

His mother asked about us. We spoke while he fetched the completion slip and filled it out. But we didn't spend too long here since a lengthy return trip awaited us.   

“Before you go, please take this,” said Svelte's father, holding a basket. He and his family escorted us outside. “There’s fresh milk, bread, and a few leftover cookies.” We thanked him, then it was time to start the trek towards Canary. 

---

After arriving at Canary, we went straight for the guild and reported the quest. Our statement mentioned the bear and the circumstances behind its odd behavior, which Claire took personally. She had heard of monotonia before, but the elf thought it was some weird medicine.   

In a way, she was right. Drugs were just medicine when you broke it down. But she wrote a detailed description of the events, then apologized for not having enough information to properly brief us on our mission. After giving us our reward, Claire assured us she would bring this to her boss’s attention and post a quest to investigate the forest for any more crazed bears and the pills.   

We thanked her, and as we walked out of the guild and made our way to the noble district, I purchased [Sleuth] from my Skill Phone. Using it made it harder for others to detect me while standing in a shadow, so it was perfect to use at night or in caves. Not so much in the daytime, but it would have been perfect for the forest because there was so much shade. There was also [Backstab], [Dodge Roll], and [Swat]. The first two were obvious, but the last skill was a parry move designed to swat away incoming strikes with a free hand to counterattack with a dagger.   

[True Absorption] ... Itarr said I could upgrade it, but I didn’t see anything to do that. Her skill set was the definition of mysterious, so there was probably something else I had to do before I could increase its range. Of those fools I killed last night, I only received [Telekinesis] and nothing else.   

Momo bought a tier 1 spell called [Acid Arrow], which worked like her [Magic Missile], but it coated the target in a weak poison. It dealt less damage, but you could use it to trap monsters or prevent them from accessing escape routes with technical use.   

Srassa seemed upset because she didn't have a Skill Tablet to spend her SP. Momo chatted with her while we continued on our way.   

Eventually, we entered the noble district, and my noble friend escorted us to a shop her mother fancied, which was two floors tall and full of clothes. Two suited men stood at the glass doors, and they nodded to Srassa after she held her crest. As if they had practiced, they opened the door and welcomed us in. 

The shop was fancy. The floors were made from marble, the walls were just gorgeous, and the pretty women wearing blouses, skirts, stockings, and high heels said all that needed to be said. An employee with a low-cut top and glasses approached us, but Srassa said we were looking.   

That woman looked at you with scorn. Is your apparel not appropriate for this place? 

I suppose not. But screw it. It doesn't make me that mad. Places like this have to keep up appearances, I guess. Let's just try to find something nice.  

“Are you sure this is okay? I don't think I've ever seen that much dupla before,” I said, rubbing my hands against a set of fancy overalls after following Srassa to a section of the store that held ‘rural’ clothes. I took just one look at the price tag and nearly fainted.   

“It is. My father is an investor, so we get a discount. Please, this is the least I can do. Feel free to pick whatever you want. It's my treat.”  

“Umm… If you say so. Thanks! I appreciate it,” I said, taking the pair of overalls to a nearby dressing room after finding it in my size. It looked distressingly similar to mine, so the Crimson Grotto probably had an agreement with this store.   

Stripping naked with my ring, I looked at my reflection in the mirror after putting the clothes on. I had forgotten my panties, so my dick rubbed against my thighs, but it wasn't that noticeable. Still, I corrected that mistake before walking out and showing my friends.   

They approved.   

Since Srassa was offering, I picked out a pair of black and red and white and green overalls, but the former was my favorite. It looked so stylish and clean and sharp, too. Then there were the four button-up shirts. One was black and red, one was blue and black, one was green and pink, and the other was white. And I had to get two more white tank tops and another pair of black boots.  

Srassa told the manager what she was doing, and I received permission to wear these new clothes out of the store, which I did in the black and red overalls.    

“I don't remember the last time I went shopping like this,” Momo said. She happily bounced on her feet while rifling through a stack of skirts with a cut-out for her tail. Srassa offered to pay for Momo to get a new outfit, but she didn't take her up on it.   

Srassa insisted, though, and Momo relented and decided to get a cute skirt. It came with a pair of sporty suspenders. "My grandpa never believed in belts. He's a suspender kinda guy, and I guess I inherited that, haha. But belts can be super useful. He's stubborn in a few weird ways." 

But with the shopping done, it was time to leave, so we walked to the counter to checkout.  

I nearly fainted at the final cost, but Srassa said what she spent was less than her mother's bill when traveling to Adenaford to spend time with her father.   

Just how rich are you?! Good lord… I kinda wish I had that kind of money… 

I stashed my gifted clothes in my ring once we were outside. Then we aimlessly walked around and chatted. 

“That farm girl look you got going on suits you. It's like a clash of beauty and muscles or something like that.”  

“I must agree with Ms. Momo.”  

“You're gonna make me blush…” I said. Itarr informed me I was already blushing. But since we were mostly done for the day, I asked to head to the library to turn in the books. The bitchy woman behind the desk didn't seem happy to see me– much less when the books were in perfect condition without a single flaw to its pristine condition.   

In return, I checked out two mathematics textbooks to see if the contents matched my ‘general’ knowledge. But the old bitch had something snobby to say under her breath about how it was too difficult for me.   

I didn't dignify her response with words and walked out with my friends. At the bottom of the steps, we went our separate ways and agreed to meet at the guild in the morning, like we did today. And as Momo and Srassa waved and walked away, I heard Srassa excitedly talk about how she was ready for Momo’s training regiment. Momo turned around and asked if I wanted to join them, but I politely declined and said I'd meet them at Warden after breakfast.   

---

“Ahh~~~ Wel–Welcome back, Ser~~vi~~~ Aaahhhh~~~~~!!!!”   

After reaching the Crimson Grotto, saying hi to Meghann, and walking up those stairs to enter my apartment, I was met with something... 

Nimyra was sitting on a man’s lap with her legs spread wide, giving me a clear view of his dark dick ramming into her ass. Her client furiously fingered her drenched cunt and grabbed a large handful of her sweaty, glistening chest. White liquid stained her lips and cheeks.   

“Yeah… I'm back. Have fun, I guess.” Nimyra was a prostitute. I was bound to come home while she was in the middle of conducting business. With Lucy as she was, Nimyra probably didn't want to do her job elsewhere. The rooms were soundproof, so the noise wouldn’t wake the Goatkin.  

“Oh, would a pretty gal–”  

“Don't even try– fuck! You're so big!! She's!! Mmmnnn!!!!! A– gu–est of mine!!! Kyaaaa~~~~~!” Nimyra threw her hands up and leaned against his chest, grabbing his head and licking his lips. Her client forced his tongue in her mouth and grunted fiercely, his legs quivering as he probably climaxed all he had in Nimyra’s asshole.   

“Just stopped by to say I'm about to head to Cassidy's. Gonna see if I can help with my healing magic. I don't know you, mister, but uh… Good to meet you, I guess.” 

Is that sex? 

I felt my phone buzz in my pockets. 

“O–okay… Take~~~~ care!!!! God! You're filling me up so fucking much!!!! Be– Saf~~e, Servi–Aaahhhhh~~~~” 

Nodding, I walked away, shutting and locking the door behind me.  

Yeah, that's sex. What they're doing is called anal. I told Itarr a few different ways you could have sex and explained heterosexual and homosexual relationships while returning to the lobby. Meghann seemed surprised to see me back so soon.   

“Is everything okay?” she asked.   

“Yeah. Nimyra's with a client. Didn't want to intrude. Hey, how's Grogn?”  

“Him? I went to his room with some food earlier. And the bastard was grinning from ear to ear. I always knew I couldn't compare to Lady Nimyra as a woman, but she's incredible, huh?”  

“I guess she is.” 

“Take care, Miss Servi, and please be safe.”  

I waved and nodded, leaving the hotel while heading to Cassidy's. Truth be told, there was a certain tightness in my panties. Watching Nimyra get fucked like that…the sway of her breasts…the lovely moans fluttering from her inviting lips…  

And Meghann was a cute woman. Hearing her speak of helping Nimyra with that unknown woman’s request, picturing them both naked… 

Have I always felt this horny? I can jerk off later. Now’s not the time. 

I had plans to wipe out the pill dens and destroy the monotonia once night fell. After that, I didn't have much on the docket.