Muddy Boots Inn

  A new day dawned over the city. The snow slowly vanished as the sun rose with each passing day. It was still cold and snowy but less so.

  The trio quietly snored in bed, snuggling together, embracing their warmth as the sun’s light beamed through. Amber woke up. She let out a small sneeze and looked around.

  ‘My feet are cold,’ she frowned, snuggling deeper into Martyn’s embrace. The man hummed, wrapping an arm around her, instinctively cupping her breasts and giving them a firm squeeze.

  ‘Of course,’ she sighed, smiling.

  The next to wake up was Jade. The goblin elite saw Martyn's sleeping face, lightly snoring, and chuckled before kissing his cheek and snuggling further in.

  ‘Five more minutes,’ she thought, wrapping her arms around him. She loved his scent and perked up feeling his hand dip under her clothing squeezing her ass.

  Martyn had woken up before any of them but chose to stay asleep. He was being zy and loved enjoying them.

  After a few more minutes, though, they had to get out of bed. Their training was complete, and their home was near completion.

  After a shared shower, they sat down and enjoyed a lovely breakfast.

  “So, what do we have pnned besides finishing our floating isnd home and returning to the floating isnd for our rematch with that thunderbird?” Amber asked.

  “I want us to do some serious sparring against one another. After that, considering our strength, we should be able to steamroll the dungeon to the thirteenth floor and increase our ranks. Joseph and Donald are going to watch our sparring session,” Martyn said.

  “Oh, I get Donald, but why Joseph?” Jade asked, drinking her juice.

  “I owe him a favour, and he thinks now’s the time to cash in. But he wants to make sure we’re strong enough,” Martyn expined.

  Amber and Jade shared a gnce, unsure how to respond.

  “He’s strong, yeah. He’s the leader of a B-ranked adventurer team. I don’t know if we’re on the same level of power, but I can say he’s got the experience over us. I don’t know what he wants from watching us fight. I know I wouldn’t be here without his support, and I owe him,” Martyn said, finishing his breakfast.

  “Then let’s get to the site and fight. Maybe he’ll tell us when we’re ready,” Jade said, pumping her fists.

  Finishing their meals, they magically cleaned their ptes and snapped their fingers, their armour forming over them.

  “Man, this is great. I never have to struggle to put this thing together,” Jade said, stretching and getting used to her armour.

  “I wouldn’t mind helping you with that,” Martyn said, checking his inventory. He moved next to Amber, pulling her in.

  “Of course you wouldn’t,” Jade smirked.

  “Did I ever tell you, you girls look amazing in armour?” Martyn smiled. He went to them, kissing them both on the lips. A deep and sloppy kiss, squeezing their bodies into him.

  “Oh, come on, let’s get going already. I’ve got two new spells and something I want to try against you guys,” Jade said with a faint blush.

  Amber chuckled. “Thank you, dear, and you look amazing, too,” she said, kissing Martyn’s cheek.

  "You always look hot even when you're wearing loose clothes all the time," Jade said with a sultry smile as her eyes undressed Martyn.

  Outside Quartz City

  Appearing outside the city walls, they spotted Joseph and Donald walking up. They exchanged greetings, and soon, with Donald’s teleportation, they arrived at an open field.

  “Feel free to fight here at your best. The space is distorted—it’ll look normal on the outside, but you can go as wild as you want,” Donald said, pulling out two chairs. He sat down, yawning.

  Joseph sat next to him, watching. “Well, what are you waiting for? A bell?”

  Martyn chuckled and walked a distance ahead. Amber and Jade also distanced themselves, each pulling out their weapons: Amber with a give and shield, Jade with her most recent iteration of what she called her fre bow, and Martyn with his simple scimitar.

  This would be a real fight, with one victor. They gauged each other for the smallest opening. The wind whistled, the clouds parted, and the sun’s light bathed the open field.

  Jade began pulling back her bow with a grin. Mana fred from her body as she unleashed a volley of fming arrows from her bow with one pull.

  ‘So she’s starting this,’ Martyn thought. He lowered his centre of gravity and dashed. The fming arrows curved and followed him.

  Amber, with a smirk, coated her shield in a yer of mana and took the hits. She dashed out of the smoke, reaching Jade in a single leap and bringing her spear down.

  The goblin girl avoided it as Amber’s spear cratered the ground. She gnced up at Jade, ready to advance, when the dirt beneath her glowed red. ‘What?’ was all Amber could think as fming chains emerged, binding her to the ground.

  “Haha!” Jade giggled, nding down. A shadow appeared behind her, and she froze, turning. Martyn grabbed her by the arm, throwing her body into the fming arrows.

  Jade collided, and a fiery explosion filled the area. He quickly turned, dashing to Amber with his bde coated in mana, ready to swing.

  “RAAH!” Amber roared, a pulse of mana exploding from her. The chains broke, and Martyn was thrown off bance. Seeing this, she raised her shield to bash him, but it hit thin air as he blinked out of pce, reappearing behind her with his scimitar coming down.

  A csh echoed. ‘Seriously,’ Martyn struggled, his scimitar pushing against her tail.

  Fmes erupted, and the two looked ahead, seeing a frowning Jade releasing her arrow. ‘Gravity Amplified Bzing Eagle!’ The sigils running up and down her bow came to life.

  The fming construct came to life—a giant eagle made of fire, but the fmes weren’t natural. They were hotter and condensed.

  Martyn blinked away as Amber leapt a rge distance back, but the construct fpped its wings before splitting into two. One chased after the sparking ball of light that was Martyn, and the other went after Amber, who unched water spears at the thing, only to see her magic evaporate.

  Martyn was moving as fast as he could in his state, but the fming eagle followed him. ‘How much mana did she put into that thing?’

  Amber thought the same as she moved on the defensive while Jade constantly fired fming arrows at her. ‘Water Spear!’ She threw her spear at the construct. It soared through the air, smming into it and forming an explosion of steam.

  Amber’s smile fell as the construct emerged through the steam, hunting her down.

  “Thanks, babe. Your sigils are doing great~” Jade blew a kiss at Martyn, aware he could see everything with his spatial awareness. She also quickly gnced around her, sending mana into the ground.

  The pantherian came out of his blinked state, gliding across the air. The construct came towards him, and he drew a sharp breath before pointing downwards.

  “Down,” he willed his mana. Gravity went down, and the construct shrieked as it couldn’t escape and fell in a fiery explosion that shook the ground.

  Amber stopped running. Water mana erupted from her body, coating her whole form. She ran at the construct with her shield raised and took the bst.

  The explosion reverberated, and smoke filled the area, but with a flick of her tail, she blew the smoke away, standing in the ashy dirt, roughed up but fine.

  “My turn.” Amber gred at Jade, who gulped. Amber stabbed her spear into the ground. A vortex of mana left her body, stretching higher than the trees, shifting and morphing.

  ‘At least a thousand mana,’ Amber groaned.

  “Water Serpent,” she chanted, and her spell came to life. It hissed and dove at Amber, and the goblin girl shrieked. It was as tall as the trees and as wide as a house.

  At that moment, it slithered towards her with its water fangs open. As it got close, the ground beneath Jade gleamed in the orange light. A wall of fire emerged, and the water serpent smmed into it, resulting in a rge explosion of magical energy and steam.

  “Haha, yeah!” she cheered. She had formed the circle a moment ago, sending mana beneath her feet into the ground.

  “Not bad,” Martyn said from behind her, scaring the goblin girl as he brought his scimitar down. She blocked with her bow, but the force behind it was amplified by gravity magic, making her kneel.

  He drew back and swung mercilessly. Jade did her best to avoid his onsught, but his bde curved and slithered around her, kicking at her skin and drawing blood. She cursed in an attempt to unleash a fire bst up close.

  Martyn spped her palm to the side and kicked her feet, making her step back. She groaned and stepped into the arc of his swing, thrusting her palm at his chest with one hand while blocking his bde with her armour.

  She stepped on his feet before throwing a punch. He moved his head with a feral grin, let go of his scimitar, and swung at her. They exchanged blows in hand-to-hand combat.

  Jade caught his fists and headbutted Martyn, making him stagger. She giggled, licking her bloody nose. If Martyn wasn’t in love with her, he would be now. He grinned and charged, coating his body in mana. Jade did the same, but her body was covered in fmes as they exchanged blows.

  Jade fought dirty, but Martyn had an advantage. He used his tail to catch her fist before delivering a heavy blow to her face and sweeping her feet, making her fall.

  Martyn was ready to punt her when the ground beneath him glowed. The hair on his ears and tail stood on end as fming chains trapped him in pce.

  He groaned as some dug through the gaps in his armour, slicing his skin and burning him.

  ‘Clever girl,’ Martyn grunted, trying to break free when a glowing spear flew between them. Jade jumped back, escaping, but Martyn was caught in swirling, razor-sharp water. He gargled a roar, mana exploding from his body.

  Martyn panted, soaking wet, with some bits of blood dripping down into the pool beneath him. His armour was cut apart, some parts showing deep wounds that leaked blood.

  Jade nded safely and gulped, feeling a chill as Amber descended from above. She dodged her first hit and the second, but Amber’s thrust was too quick and struck her stomach, sending the goblin flying.

  Quickly recovering, Jade was ready for the next bout when she began to float, and gravity lost its grip on them. Martyn stood, a blue aura rippling around him. Space distorted as he summoned his staff.

  He spat blood and aimed his staff at them. His eyes burned with a green fme, and the girls panicked, trying to bst themselves away with their magic, but nothing worked. He held them prisoner in an altered space.

  Martyn’s awareness and domain expanded. Large chunks of rocks and rubble combined far above them. He was burning mana by the hundreds.

  ‘Two… three thousand.’ his body tensed as the chunks of rocks combined into a small meteor, a third the size of the floating isnd.

  “Oh, fuck!” Jade paled, gncing behind her.

  With a heavy swing of the staff, the accumution of rocks came down. Amber and Jade couldn’t move. Jade panicked, bsting stronger fmes to push herself away, but Martyn held her in pce.

  Amber took deep breaths. Her mana condensed, and she closed her eyes as the world silenced around her. Her leviathan heart sped up, her blood stirred, and once her eyes opened, the slit pupils gleamed as a torrent of mana covered her body.

  “RAAAH!!” Her body was covered in bright light.

  Martyn’s grip on them wavered. His mana was being pushed back. ‘This feels like the isnd. Wait, no!’ His eyes widened in realization.

  The light surrounding Amber dimmed, and Jade was the first to see it. She wanted to step back, but she couldn’t. Then, Martyn saw her new form from afar, followed by Joseph and Donald, who were focusing on the fight.

  Amber’s armour had vanished. She was left in her underyer, which was torn up, resembling a swimsuit. She shifted into her leviathan form. Her arms and legs had grown slightly. Her blue scales became more pronounced, and her horns and her tail changed into a richer texture.

  Martyn would’ve been excited if it weren’t for his sensory skill warning him she was dangerous.

  Amber’s eyes gleamed across the field towards Martyn. A small chill ran up his spine. Then, Amber turned back towards the descending meteor.

  A system prompt appeared to her.

  [You have shifted into your leviathan form. All attributes, excluding Psyche and Arcana, have increased by 10%.]

  More than that, she felt more authority. Her mana was draining by the second. Thankfully, she hadn’t used it a lot. In that split second, she checked her status and did the math for how long she could remain in her form.

  [Amber, Level 3 (0/3,600), Css: Knight, Points: 3, Titles: 6, Skills: 7]? [Mana: 6,340/8,784] [Strength: 78] [Agility: 77] [Vitality: 79] [Arcana: 144] [Psyche: 72]

  ‘Roughly two hours,’ she nodded.

  With a flex of her leviathan tail, she struck Jade so hard she went flying, untethered by Martyn’s gravity magic. Amber chose to stay trapped.

  Next, she stretched her cws, guiding a thousand units of mana into them. They shone in blue light, and the small meteor closed in.

  “We shouldn’t py with rocks, darling,” she smirked and cwed at the meteor. Her attack released thick arcs of mana that ripped through the meteor's body, destroying it.

  Martyn’s magic couldn’t hold, and the pieces fell to the ground. He let go of Amber, and her body fell. She nded gracefully, making no impact sound.

  Martyn was panting. His body shook from the backsh. He had poured half his mana into that, and she destroyed it with ease. Jade groaned, getting up. She coughed up some blood, wincing at the swirling pain that came from Amber's blow.

  “All good, honey?” Amber asked, her voice sweet like honey, giggling, but Martyn knew she was taunting him.

  With a deep breath, he stood up. “Fine then, two can py that game,” he chuckled.

  Amber smiled, tilting her head cutely. With a deep breath, Martyn’s mana burst, cycling through him. Mana exploded from him as he shifted, and as the light dimmed, he stood.

  He looked like a hybrid panther. He magically removed his gauntlets and shoulders, revealing that his skin had changed to bck fur, reaching up and stopping at the upper part of his chest, leaving his face unchanged. His hair grew a bit longer, as did his height.

  His attributes increased, and he felt his senses sharpened as well.

  Amber smiled before leaping at him, crossing the distance in an instant. Martyn's senses fred, and he ducked, avoiding a cw swipe that tore the ground behind him, devastating the nd. He got close and nded a heavy blow on her stomach. With gravity magic, it sent Amber tumbling a great distance, easily tearing through the dirt and boulders that littered the field.

  ‘This strength feels unreal. We could tear the isnd apart with our power. Are all B-ranks this powerful? God, I don’t want to imagine what an A-ranked adventurer is like.’ Martyn said, flexing his muscles.

  Martyn hummed, tilting his head and avoiding a fming arrow. “I don’t think that’s going to help you much,” Martyn said, catching an arrow and snapping it.

  “But it’s cute to watch you struggle,” he smiled.

  “S-shut up!” Jade jumped away as Amber cshed fists with Martyn.

  ‘I can’t get too close to them. Well, I guess now’s a better time to try it out,’ Jade focused, quickly draining away at her mana.

  Amber and Martyn gripped each other’s hands with unreal strength, trying to make the other fall. The ground beneath them cracked as their mana cshed with one another. Something stirred within Martyn as they cshed. He knew she was stronger than him, only slightly, and it probed at his pride as a pantherian.

  Amber grinned before opening her mouth, revealing a swirling fme of mana.

  ‘Breath attack!’ It caught Martyn off guard, and he went flying. Recovering, he skidded to a stop, ready to dash back, only for Amber to blitz in front of him and bst him with a water bolt, sending him crashing through a boulder.

  Martyn got up quickly, avoiding an axe kick from his partner, and elbowed her face before hitting her with gravity, making her kneel. He then bsted her with a constant stream of magic bolts.

  Amber bore the pain and escaped the onsught. They panted, their bruised and dried-up, bleeding bodies ready to fight when the air heated up.

  They turned to Jade, seeing the manic goblin girl smile. Beneath her was a complex circle, and behind her, a fire elemental with its arms crossed.

  Martyn and Amber’s extrasensory skills fred, and quickly, the two crossed the distance in a fsh, their fists reeled back. But Jade smirked. Amber’s fist nded against a solid wall of fire.

  The Elemental caught Martyn’s fist as Jade unleashed her spell. “Red Geyser!” The ground beneath them erupted in red fmes. Amber’s mana coated her body, doing well to protect her, but she was being boiled alive. Martyn's mana couldn’t do much besides distorting the fme, but the heat was getting to him.

  The spell continued, and from within the fmes, fire chains erupted, locking them down. They tried to break free but struggled, and the fmes intensified, turning blue.

  With a roar, both exploded their mana, destroying the chains and bsting the spell circle, breaking it. They kneeled, their bodies sizzling with heat.

  Their first thought was, ‘Where’s Jade?’ They looked around for the goblin that got the best of them and looked up. Their eyes widened.

  Jade smirked, pulling her bow. With the Elemental’s help, the skies were littered with fming arrows, amplified by Martyn’s magic.

  Hundreds—no, thousands—of fire projectiles rained down from the skies, morphing and shifting, following Martyn and Amber wherever they went.

  It was thrilling, having to avoid Jade’s volley while fighting against one another. But Martyn got a good grasp on their limits and his own. It went on for a while. He and Amber exchanged blows while avoiding Jade’s arrows. Jade would descend and fight them with the fire spirit acting as her shield, but Martyn was getting tired.

  And an instinct within him awakened by the shift told him to stop pying around, to dominate them and win. He was no longer a regur panther-kin. He was a high panther-kin.

  As Amber closed in from his left and Jade from his right, he sighed. This would hurt him, but he would win. He summoned his staff, his eyes gleaming with predatory intent.

  [Your skill, Extrasensory, has leveled up 4 > 5!]

  [Your skill, Extrasensory, has leveled up 3 > 4!]

  Amber felt a chill run down her spine, and Jade wanted to retreat.

  Martyn chanted with his staff, “Temporary Domain, Gravity Bind.” A bubble formed around them, filled with Martyn’s mana. In that space, Jade’s magic projectiles and her spirit vanished.

  Amber and Jade fell to the ground hard. They tried to resist the gravity forcing down on them, but it felt different as bck chains formed, locking them to the ground.

  Martyn went to Jade, kneeling next to her. A part of him felt nice seeing her struggling to stand. It showed spirit, and it made him want her more. But after some calming words, the goblin girl yielded happily.

  “Hah, I can’t beat you. You're too much for me~,” Jade said wistfully. He released his hold on her, and Jade quickly got up, locking lips with Martyn.

  She pulled back with a smile as Martyn went to Amber.

  Amber struggled. Her leviathan mana resisted and fought back. She managed to get up on one knee, but that was all as Martyn stood over her.

  His increase in height and form made her freeze. “You’ve lost this fight.”

  Amber panted and couldn’t fight her instincts. She wanted him, but she lost, so the natural course of action was submission. But she wanted to prove her strength. With a roar, mana exploded from her, pushing Martyn’s mana away and destroying the chains.

  She stomped, throwing a punch. Martyn was surprised but grinned. With a snap of his fingers, Amber overthrew her punch. Martyn’s gravity magic gave her more force than needed.

  With a grin, he gripped her face, smming her to the ground. She groaned and filed, her cws digging into his arms and cutting at his bck fur, but Martyn bore with it, pinning her down.

  After more fruitless resistance, Amber panted heavily. Her face flushed, and she yielded.

  The fight was over. The victor was Martyn. And good, too, as his body colpsed onto Amber’s, falling out of his transformed state.

  Joseph appeared next to them, with Donald behind. With a wave of his hands, red mana tched onto each of them, healing their wounds and restoring their fatigue.

  ‘This is more power than I was expecting them to develop—more than I know is required. And given their levels, they’ll easily surpass me,’ Joseph thought as he spun.

  ‘This is it. My hope. But I’m tired of hoping.’ He gnced at Martyn, who sat next to Amber and Jade with a happy smile.

  “So, it’s time?” Donald asked Joseph.

  Joseph nodded, and the dryad sighed. “Well, I saw and heard nothing. And after nothing happens here, I’m coming back and doing some gardening because a couple of monsters tore this pce apart.”

  Donald said his goodbyes before leaving the area.

  Joseph sat down on a rock, his eyes dimmed as he spoke to the trio. “It’s time for that favour, Martyn,” he said.

  Martyn and the girls focused on the man. Joseph sighed. “I honestly don’t know how to begin but. How much do you know about the Grey Continent?”

  Amber spoke up. “It’s mostly a vampire continent, but it’s filled with other races who drain life force. It’s one of the smaller continents—a rge isnd—and is ruled by a vampire council.”

  Joseph nodded with every word, staring into the distance. “What I need from you, Martyn, isn’t easy for me to ask. And I’ll be happy to answer every question you have after I give my piece. I’ll be quick.”

  Joseph found it hard to speak. The words caught in his throat. “I need you to kill a vampire count. A former vampire council member, Ashton Brooks. I can say every horrible word in the dictionary to describe him, but it’ll take too long.”

  “I used to be a member of a noble house on the Grey Continent before my home got destroyed by Count Brooks. He’s an inhuman monster who has been experimenting on innocent lives—be they monsters or people—to achieve immortality. After finding out he was the reason behind my parent's disappearance, I went to kill him, but things didn’t turn out well.

  I used all my connections to help support an investigation of his estate, but nothing was found, and my credibility fell. Not long after, he had me banned from the continent. Honestly, I gave up wanting revenge, thinking there was nothing I could do. Until I ran into you. I know what I saw, what I heard. And I know he’s still doing it to this day.”

  “I can’t touch him, but you can. As an adventurer, travelling the world is expected, even stopping by the count’s estate. You’re not the first I’ve asked, and I stopped after I realized I sent people to their graves.”

  Joseph stopped, his face void of emotion but his fingers shaking. Martyn took the time to understand it all. Amber’s face soured hearing everything, and Jade gripped Martyn’s hand tightly.

  The man chuckled, his voice ced with defeat. “I know it’s hard to swallow, and I’m asking you to fight an unknown threat and probably face death. I’m not expecting an answer right away. Take your time, and just stop by when you have one. You can refuse if you want. I can’t bme you. I would say to hell with the rules and go there right now to end him but that would cause a small-scale war and I know he’d be ready for me.” Joseph sighed, standing up.

  He tore a magic scroll, teleporting from the area. Leaving the trio to sit and ponder.

  “I can’t imagine that,” Jade mumbled. “I was expecting something like making him a magic inventory or something, not this.”

  “We don’t have to agree, but knowing that there’s someone out there experimenting on both people and monsters to become immortal… I can’t feel right living the dream life here and know what’s happening out there,” Amber said.

  “Then how does Joseph do it?” Jade asked.

  “He gave up,” Martyn answered, his ears flopping. “I was about to give up too before he helped me. I couldn’t find a way to become an adventurer and had to live outside the city… I owe him a lot. And he needs help.”

  Amber and Jade cupped his hand. He squeezed back, smiling at them.

  “So, are we going to do this?” Jade asked.

  Martyn froze. “It’s up to you. I want to, but I don’t want to risk your lives. I’m scared to lose you.” He looked them in the eye.

  “Well, trouble will always find us. I think it’s about time we’re the ones running into it,” Amber said, pulling Martyn in for a soft kiss.

  Jade nodded. Joseph deserved closure, and being aware of what was occurring, knowing he couldn’t act with his power, didn’t sit well with any of them. Right then and there, they agreed. After getting their affairs in order.

  After ranking up, facing the thunderbird, getting their floating isnd home, and visiting Martyn’s home.

  They’d head to the Grey Continent, kill the vampire count, and gather all evidence of his atrocious crimes. The next chapter in their story was about to begin.

  LesserCodex

  [Martyn, Level 3 (0/3,600), Css: Monster Tamer, Points: 0, Titles: 6, Skills: 17]? [Mana: 2,103/8,784] [Strength: 70] [Agility: 66] [Vitality: 72] [Arcana: 144] [Psyche: 72]

  ? [Skills: Dragon heart (1), Agility (6), Muscurity (5), Swordsmanship (5), Basic Magic (5), Strong Mind (7), Soulbond (4), Monstrous Talent (4), Biology (5), Cooking (4), Fast Healing (3), Spatial Appraisal (5), Inventory (5), Extrasensory (4), Space Magic (4), Iron Gut (1), Tinkering (3)]

  Titles: (C) Adventurer, Bookworm, Space Mage, Sage, Breacher, Arcane Resistant.

  [Amber, Level 3 (0/3,600), Css: Knight, Points: 3, Titles: 6, Skills: 7]? [Mana: 3,480/8,784] [Strength: 71] [Agility: 70] [Vitality: 72] [Arcana: 144] [Psyche: 72]

  ? [Skills: Leviathan heart (1) Leviathan body (1) Spear and Shield Mastery (4) Focused Mind (5) Water Magic (4) Linguistic (4) Extrasensory (5)]

  Titles: Leviathan-Kin, Bonded, (C)Rank Adventurer, Water Mage, Monster Girl, Arcane Resistant.

  [Jade, Level 3 (0/3,600), Css: Bcksmith, Points: 0, Title: 5, Skills: 9]? [Mana: 904/3,600] [Strength: 72] [Agility: 71] [Vitality: 73] [Arcana: 144] [Psyche: 70]

  ? [Skills: Mana Veins (5), Tough Body (5), Iron Gut (5), Tinkering (5), Archery (4), Enchantment (4), Fire Magic (5), Extrasensory (4), Focused Mind (3)]

  Titles: Artisan, Bonded, (C) Rank Adventurer, Fire Mage, Arcane Resistant.

  [colpse]