My Girlfriend’s a Demon Incarnate!

The sun had barely kissed the horizon when the town of Stonehaven came alive the next day. The air filled with the smell of freshly baked bread from the village ovens, and the distant clang of metal on metal echoed through the streets, hinting at the busy blacksmiths already at work this morning. William and Elen stepped out of the carriage, the cool breeze ruffling their hair as they took in the unfamiliar sights and sounds.

Mayor Anton led them through the cobblestone streets, past the quarry where a group of tired looking villagers were finishing their day's work. The dwarf's booming voice filled the air as he called for the townspeople to gather. The square grew crowded as the villagers, a mix of humans and dark elves, looked at the newcomers with hope in their eyes. Elen felt a pang of responsibility, knowing that the fate of these people rested on her shoulders.

"I hear these people are going to help our local guards finally stop the Chimera," said a plump woman in the crowd.

"They look quite capable," a young dark elf said, taking in William's muscular physique and Elen's unmistakable aura of power.

"I don't know," said a young man near them. "Adventurers have access to a lot of skills to fight beasts, but I've heard of one that's really cheap and just makes you look tough. I think it's called Iron Muscles. It makes you look tough, but it only lasts for a day, and weaklings use it to hide their true physical strength."

William gulped when he heard this, because this villager hit the nail on the head there. Without iron muscles, he was weak in strength. His girlfriend-turned-wife, Elen, was more than capable of throwing him across a room. In this world of combined Earth and Terra Morte, Strength was a terrifying stat. Every five points in it gave you the ability to use the strength of four grown adults at once. This made it very popular, but dangerous, because it meant that a monster with thirty Strength had the strength of twenty-four men.

Elen's grip on William's arm tightened. "Don't worry, dear, we'll show them our true power," she whispered into his ear with a mischievous smile.

"You mean you will. I'm the quote, um, quote wizard of this group, and you're a demon soldier," William replied, hanging his head in his hands. "The Chimera will tear me apart."

"You forget, my love," Elen said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "We have more than brute force on our side."

The square fell silent as Mayor Anton addressed the gathering. "Citizens of Stonehaven, these are William and Elen, the heroes sent to us by Lady Luck herself!" The crowd murmured, a mixture of hope and skepticism. "They have agreed to take on the Chimera and save our village from its tyranny. We will support you in any way we can!"

"In return, we only ask for a little gold, some information, resources and labor for our home in the mine where we live." William announced, trying to put on a brave face. "This means that we will hire some of you as maids or butlers for our house. But some of you have already agreed to do this..."

The villagers looked at each other in confusion before a young dark elf girl named Luna stepped forward. She was slender, had a sweet face, and was dressed in a simple yet elegant robe that covered her light brown skin. Her blonde hair remained tied up in a bun with a red ribbon.

"Um, who are you?" Elen asked. She hadn't expected a young dark elf to step forward like that here.

"I am Luna," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "My mission is to be your servant, as you requested."

"By whom exactly?" William asked in a puzzled tone. "We have a much older dark elf, a coachman named Tom, and a few others who have agreed to do this, but shouldn't you... just try to live here? You look much too young to be our desired type of worker."

"Your reputation precedes you," Luna replied, her cheeks blushing a soft pink. "I heard you needed a servant with certain skills. I have level four in Housekeeping and Cooking. I can also help with the children, if you have any."

"We already have a hunter named Brandis. She's back at our house, taking care of our daughter." Elen replied, rolling her eyes. She could sense that this child was trying to gain her favor.

"But I can learn other skills if you wish," Luna said eagerly. "I'm a quick learner and willing to do anything to help."

"How old are you?" Elen asked as she approached the girl.

"I'm sixteen, almost an adult, by dark elf years," Luna replied with a small smile.

"That's a lie," William said, pointing his finger at her, "Brandis said dark elves don't mature quickly, but she was an exception. You must still be a child."

"I assure you, I am not," Luna said with a firm look in her eyes, "I am ready to serve, no matter what the task."

"Then how old would sixteen make you in Dark Elf years, because you still look like a child," Elen insisted as she wrinkled her nose at Luna.

"I'm not exactly a child," Luna replied, her voice calm. "But if it makes you more comfortable, I can show you my identification screen. It will confirm my age and my abilities."

"Ladies! Can you not discuss this in public?" Anton raged. "This girl is the last person I offered you on the list of people who will work for you. The knight from Stonehaven who was with them confirmed this, "You get Tom, Brandis, Luna and nine other workers from the town. Luna is the only one who couldn't come to you, so she's waiting here."

Elen sighed as she turned to William. "What do you think, dear?"

"She looks like a little kid, but maybe she'd make a fun playmate for Nell. Just confirm her age. I don't want a granny running around with our girl," William whispered.

Elen sighed as she pulled a glowing green crystal out of her pocket, "I'm going to do just that, but she had better not be lying to us.h

The Access Crystal, available in shops across Terra Morte's original game world, enabled players to differentiate between ordinary humans and NPCs by revealing parts of their status window against their will and using mental powers to block such attempts. William purchased this crystal from Bird's Eye when he first earned money in his new body and later gave it to Elen. Before Brandis returned to her dungeon with Nell, he had Elen use it on her to verify certain truths. It turned out that Brandis was a genuine 20-year-old human transformed into a dark elf within this merged world. If she had been an NPC, her hero status would have indicated her human age as 20, with a note stating she was 100 years old in Elven years via brackets. A dark elf like her would typically appear close to 100, unlike Luna, who claimed to be sixteen but looked younger than that in Elven years.

Luna took out her crystal, a token of the Terra Morte system that every player and NPC had, and placed it next to the glow of Elen's crystal. The green light grew brighter and then a window appeared in the air. It read, 'Luna - Age: 16 - Race: Dark Elf - Level: 5 - Class: Housekeeper'. The crowd gasped as they saw the truth.

"Then you must be a real human, born on Earth before Terra Morte merged with it. Why are you so small?" Elen asked her as she leaned down and spoke into her ear.

Luna nodded, her blush deepening. "It's a side effect of the transformation. I was shorter than average before, but now I'm... like this."

"You know, elves and dark elves age five times slower than humans, so I can let you be my daughter's playmate if you want, since you're technically three in elven years. She's a demon goblin, though." Elen grinned evilly.

Luna looked up at Elen with wide eyes, her cheeks a deeper shade of pink. "I-I'll do my best to help," she stammered, trying not to let the teasing get to her. "Just please stop making fun of me; I'm technically a teenager stuck in this childish body until I actually grow up again in a few years. I just don't know if I can handle it without some good support, so allow me to work for you and be your friend."

"All right, all right. No need to be so sensitive," Elen said with a smile and patted her on the head. "But you have to be careful around Nell. She's got a bit of a wild streak in her. She kind of wants playmates to fight her, I think, so expect to get closer by getting hit by her."

"I will do my best to keep up with her," Luna said with a small smile, her eyes sparkling with excitement at the prospect of a new adventure. Luna, though a teenager inside, had once dreamed of being a child again, but when the world changed her into a dark elf, she had found it extremely difficult until she became Mayor Anton's house cleaner. He was an NPC in Stonehaven, but a nice dwarf, mostly.

The mayor cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to the task at hand. "We've wasted enough time. The Chimera grows stronger every day. You must rest tonight and prepare for the battle ahead." He handed them a scroll with information on the creature, including its weaknesses and the layout of the area surrounding its lair. "And when you're done, be sure to take Luna back to your home."

The day passed quickly, with William and Elen strategizing in the quiet of their room at the inn provided by the town, while Luna listened eagerly, offering her thoughts and experiences with various traps and poisons that might be effective against the Chimera. Despite her youthful appearance, she had a keen mind and a surprising wealth of knowledge.

"Did Brandis train you in trapping creatures?" William asked, resting his hands on a wooden table surrounded by four chairs.

Luna nodded, her ponytail bobbing. "Yes, she taught me a few things. I'm not as good as she is, but I can hold my own."

"I hope so, because she's gone, and the main thing she gave us and told us to use was wire. String them along the trunks of trees and it will slow the monster down. I think she set up a few other things, but that's all she contributed." William informed her as he put his hand under his chin.

Elen studied the map, her eyes narrowing. "We'll have to set up an ambush. The Chimera is too fast and powerful to engage directly."

William nodded in agreement. "We can use the woods to our advantage. Set some traps, maybe a pitfall, and then we'll lure it out into the open. But since Brandis has already done that, maybe it's best just to set up the wires and use the map to see what surprises we have placed in the area for this beast before we fight it."

Luna nodded eagerly. "I've seen Brandis set these wire traps before. She's a master at it. We just have to make sure we don't get caught in them ourselves."

"So you're saying you're doing this work for us?" Elen said, clenching her fists.

"Yes, I've set many traps for Brandis," Luna said with a nod.

"You better not get us killed," Elen replied. "I have to get back to sweet little Nell and feed her this Chimera as soon as she dies."

Luna nodded again, her eyes full of determination. "I won't let you down. I've been practicing every day to get better."