[Vol. 1 pt. 34]
A couple of hours later, Lily and Thera had logged out and I was left alone in my dungeon to think about how I could seriously prepare against any potential threats. I was already aware of the risk before I even acquired my dungeon and I knew that I would eventually have to deal with people wanting to raid it or take it from me, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. I also didn’t expect to potentially inspire one of the game’s developers to be the one to lead an attack against me.
But that was just how things were. I was used to it, honestly. I always had a habit of making enemies as easily as I made friends. Everybody wanted to either fuck me or kill me, my family excluded. The amount of non-family members who were somewhere in-between the two extreme ends could be counted on one hand.
It led to an interesting life, at the very least. Sometimes a bit more trouble than it was worth… but still interesting and worth living.
Now, as for defending the dungeon, I decided to delve a bit deeper into the game’s mechanics for dungeons outside of the lewd aspects.
For example, buildings. I could build a sparring room to gradually increase my monsters’ levels, a primitive forge to equip my monsters with armor and weaponry, and a basic “hospital” to heal my monsters in case they ever get defeated. The last one seemed especially important since it would prevent monsters from outright dying when dropped to zero health in combat. Without it, they would have all of their progress reset upon dying. With it, they’d come back the next day as good as new without having lost anything. Of course, the problem with this was that I wouldn’t be able to immediately replace them. If a monster died, it respawned as soon as the dungeon was safe again. With the hospital, it would be an entire day before respawning.
The basic hospital, at least. It was possible to upgrade it to reduce what was essentially the cooldown timer.
All three buildings were essentially as important as each other to get. Though, I was leaning more toward the primitive forge. Getting weapons and armor to my monsters seemed like the most immediate form of buffing them up. Leveling them up with the sparring room would have a bigger effect over time, but proper gear would help them survive to last long enough to benefit from leveling up.
The only problem… was that all of these buildings, even at their most basic stages, required a ton of materials – way more materials than usual recipes called for.
Fortunately, the materials that they called for were basic and could easily be gathered by any random player. I just needed a ton of them.
So, I could have used one of my unleveled gathering classes to spend the rest of the day gathering all of the required materials…
Or I could go to an auction board and buy them all.
It was times like this that I realized capitalism had some merits to it.
So, I left for the city.
I tried to, anyways.
A certain manticore popped up in front of me as soon as I was heading out of the dungeon. The timing was perfect enough that I almost walked straight into her.
I also may have jumped a bit from surprise.
Akorya, standing directly in front of me, looked up at me with blinking eyes before bringing a hand up over her mouth. “Nyehehe, did I scare you?”
“Me? Scared? Please. The only people who can scare me are prudes,” I lied.
“Ooh, so were you practicing jumping for no reason?”
“Exactly. Jumping is good exercise.”
Akorya grinned like a cat and poked my chest. “I totally did scare you.”
“Obviously. I mean, wouldn’t you be scared if somebody instantly appeared right in front of you without any warning? That’s like horror movie stuff.”
“Oh, I thought you were actually trying to deny it.”
“I only lie when it comes to pissing off fairies.”
“Nyehe… you really did make her angry.”
“She deserved it.”
“Thanks, by the way. I forget if I thanked you earlier.”
“It’s nothing to thank me for. I would have done that even if you weren’t a cute girl who I want to do horrible things to with all manners of monster cock.”
“Oh? You’re not just trying to be my white knight?” she asked with a teasing tone.
“Please, the only good white knights are the ones who are white from being covered from head to toe in cum. I just hate bullies and people who think that they’re better than others in general. I should have expected that sort of personality since she’s a dev in her own game, but – well, she’s been dealt with and hopefully won’t be a problem.”
“She’s so going to be a problem. That’s how she is. She hates letting things go and probably expects me to go back to her…”
“Will you?”
“I – I don’t want to. She’s been my only real friend, but… that’s only because she was the only one who would tolerate me. She always made me do things I didn’t want to do, got really angry whenever I made tiny mistakes…”
“So, basically, it was an abusive relationship.”
“N-no, it wasn’t like that. I mean… it’s just a game, right? I could stop playing whenever I want or block her. It’s not her fault that I stuck around.”
“It was an abusive relationship. I don’t care whether it’s a game or real life. She was supposed to be your friend and, from the sounds of it, she took advantage of you, made you do things you didn’t want to do, and treated you like shit when you made mistakes. That’s an abusive relationship. And being able to leave at any time means absolutely nothing. Almost anybody in an abusive relationship can leave. It’s not about that.”
“But it’s not like I’m in any actual danger or anything. It’s just an avatar, and abusive relationships are like… physical and stuff.”
“Yeah, they’re also mental, emotional, and verbal. I’m not saying you were in some abusive relationship where you were being physically beaten every single day, but it was still an abusive relationship.”
“What if I was usually happy with her and having fun?”
“If you have a friend who only purposely punches you in the face one day of the year but is nice the rest of the time – congratulations, you still have an abusive relationship. The way you’re thinking about it is normal, so I don’t mean to shame you or anything for it. A ton of abuse victims don’t consider themselves to be abused. That’s part of the problem. Abusers generally know how to hook you to them and keep you thinking that it’s never that bad. It could always be worse. They’re nice most of the time. You’re just overreacting. So on and so on. All of that is understandable, but it’s still bullshit.”
Akorya rubbed her arm and looked away. “I guess… I don’t want to call it abusive because I’d feel like I’m taking it away from people who have it worse than me.”
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“It’s not a sport. Nobody is trying to compete to see who was abused the most, and anybody who tries to gatekeep abuse is an abusive asshole in their own right. Understand?”
“I think so. Thanks, Damian. I still don’t really want to call it abuse, but… I’ll remember what you’ve said and scolding me has made me feel a bit better.”
“If that’s what you consider scolding, then I’ll scold you whenever you want or need me to.”
“Nyehehe. Anyways, so, umm, were you leaving?”
“Yeah. I’ve got to go to an auction board to buy some materials for my dungeon. Want to—”
“Can I come?”
“That’s just what I was asking.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
I placed hand on her head to pet her between her ears. “You apologize too much.”
“Nyehe… habit, I guess.”
“It’s a bad habit. We’ll have to break it. You’re never going to apologize ever again by the time that I’m done with you. Even if you accidentally cut my head off, you won’t apologize.”
“I – I think that’s something worth apologizing for.”
“Too bad. Apologies are now illegal.”
“Illegal? So… if I apologize, you’re going to dress up like a cop and handcuff me?” Akorya asked, her scorpion tail excitedly wagging behind her as she looked up into my eyes.
“They do have cosmetic police uniforms in the cash shop. I’ve even got a pretty good one in real life that somebody tailored specifically for me. I even wore it in one of my videos.”
“Oh yeah, you mentioned videos before. Do you like, post videos online or something?”
I could have sworn that I told Akorya about me and my online presence before, but maybe she never actually followed up on checking me out. “You could say that. If you’re curious, just search ‘Damian sex’ sometime. Those two words should bring you to my stuff – wait, didn’t I tell you this already?”
“Umm… I think so. Sorry, I forgot and never actually looked you up. Anyways! So, you’re wearing a uniform in one of your videos?”
“Yeah. I forget what it was titled, but I know it had ‘cosplay’ in the title. I wore a nurse costume in it, too.”
“Like… a girl’s nurse costume?”
“Yeah. You can see some chest hair popping out from the cleavage cutout. I supposedly gave a few guys a crossdressing fetish if the comments are anything to go by.”
“That sounds hilarious. I’ll totally go look for it later. So are you like, popular?”
“To a certain degree.”
“Ooh, cool!”
“It can be. For now, let’s go find an auction board. We can talk more on the way there.”
“Yes, sir! I mean, boss! No, I mean, yes, officer!”
“There you go. Mess up my title again and I’ll have to handcuff you.”
“Yes, captain!” Akorya said with a salute and a wide grin.
I was going to need to acquire some handcuffs.
Because an auction board was the goal, we couldn’t go to any of the local villages. We had to go into an actual city. Fortunately, one such city existed that was neutral to everybody, so my Lust affiliation didn’t make the guards want to instantly kill me.
I also instantly remembered why I hated going around the major cities.
When it came to the smaller villages that were generally only useful as quest hubs for leveling players or spots for roleplayers, they were quiet, not many players went to them, the roleplayers were always respectful, and things were generally… consistent.
But the major cities?
Standing to the left of the auction board was a man in a speedo with a unicorn mask on using cosmetic effects that made his body constantly emit glitter. To the right of the auction board was somebody sitting atop an oversized dragon with chains hanging from all over its body, flexing in his end-game gear with his rare mount.
All over were people having their own conversations to the point where I could barely even hear myself think. Some players were trying to sell items directly to avoid the auction board tax, some were advertising their groups, others were just talking about random things, and—of course—there were people having edgy internet debates about every topic that should never be brought up in an online game such as politics, religion, and so on.
There were also a few jealous eyes glaring at me since Akorya kept herself hugging my arm the entire time. No matter how many times I may have experienced it before, having a woman hug my arm between her breasts would always be a highlight.
“Hey, Daymee, let me buy the stuff you need,” Akorya said.
“That’s a pretty sudden offer,” I replied.
“Yeah, I know, but I want to repay you for earlier. It’s not like I really use any of my money anyways, so I don’t mind buying you what you need! And it’s for the dungeon, right? I want to see the dungeon get even more awesome! You can consider me like, an investor! Nyehehe.”
“An investor, huh? We’re going to have to get you a businesswoman suit and some glasses. I think you’d look hot in that.”
“Oh, oh! Then… if I’m an investor, you can be a cop investigating me for uh… corruption or something!”
“A white-collar criminal, huh?”
“Yeah, that!”
“Handcuffing a businesswoman in her office… that does sound like a fun roleplay.”
“And we still need to have our sex duel, remember? The lewd business lady versus the sexy cop!”
“You’re onto something, and it’s a very nice something. Anyways… if you’re really offering, I’d be happy to let you pay. I’m going to need to spend more to upgrade these buildings later on anyways, so any money I can save now is important.”
“Got it! Umm, send me a private message with the items you need and how many.”
As Akorya requested, I sent her a message telling her that I needed a few hundred stone chunks and wood logs, an anvil, medical supplies, training dummies, and more miscellaneous items that didn’t even seem relevant to what they were for. The developers had to make use of those items somehow.
“Got it, got it, and… got it! That’s everything!” Akorya announced.
“How much was it all?” I asked.
“Umm, enough that I have no money left!”
“You – you spent all your money?”
“Yeah! What else am I going to use it on? It’s not like I need food or potions or anything for raiding, and I can farm some quick cash if I ever need to repair my gear.”
“I feel guilty now.”
“Nyehehe, don’t be. Oh! And I had another idea!”
“Yeah?”
“You want to bring business to your dungeon, right?”
“Right. That’s something I should really start trying to do.”
“Then how about,” Akorya paused for a few moments to fiddle around with a window, “this!”
A large board appeared in her hands that said, “Daymee’s Dungeon! Open 24/7! Every orgasm comes with a free hot springs dip!”
“Nyehehe, what’d’ya think? I know it’s not like, exactly what it’s supposed to say or anything, but it’s just an example! I can hang out around cities and swing this around like one of those people you see standing on the sidewalks swinging signs around!” Akorya explained.
Essentially… Akorya wanted to be my booth girl.
Given Akorya’s manner of dressing, her personality, and her eagerness to help, I couldn’t think of anybody who would make a better booth girl than her. Lily was too shy for that sort of thing and Thera… would probably glare at anybody checking her out and scare them away. Though, some would probably be convinced to come to the dungeon if were glared at by her.
“So, not only did you buy me the materials you need, but now you’re offering to help me advertise?” I asked.
“Yeah! I kinda have a lot more free time now since I’m not friends with Syl anymore, and I really like what you want to do… so I want to help however I can! Oh, but my help isn’t free,” Akorya answered.
“Oh? And what sort of payment are you looking for?”
Akorya put away the signboard and formed a circle with one hand for a finger from her other hand to thrust through. “Dick. Lots of dick. Pre-preferably… your dick.”
“Not monster dick?”
“Monster dick is okay if it’s controlled by you! That counts as your dick.”
Given what she was implying, I couldn’t help but to tease her about it. “Why’s it have to be mine specifically?”
“Be-because…”
As much as I wanted to press her some more, I decided against it. Instead, I gave her head a few pats. “Thanks, Akorya. I’ll be happy to let you advertise to me, and I’ll pay you in more of my cock than you could ever ask for. However, there’s only one problem.”
“Yay! And what problem?”
“Look around and tell me what you see.”
“Umm.” Akorya looked around with a finger on her chin. “Lots of people?”
“What kind of people?”
“The umm… people kind of people?”
“What do they have between their legs?”
Akorya looked around once again. Most of the players surrounding us… were overwhelmingly male. Even most of the women had very noticeable bulges since futas were all the rage.
“Dicks!” Akorya shouted out her answer.
“Exactly. Right now, the dungeon is kind of specialized for women. Thera and Lily have no interest in servicing anybody, and you don’t really seem to be interested in that, either. Therefore, we need to,” I paused, looking at Akorya to see if she would find the answer herself.
“Oh! We need girls! Monster girls! To take care of all the dicks!”
“Exactly. I mean, I’m pretty sure that all my monsters are pan and wouldn’t care who they’re with, but let’s face it. Most players are straight. The vast majority of potential male visitors are going to want cute and sexy monster girls, not Al Capra’s hairy nuts.”
“That’s a good point. Hmm… can I suggest a monster?”
“You can suggest whatever you want whenever you want.”
“Nyehehe. Then how about a slime girl? They’re really weak, so you can probably tame one super easily, and they’re really popular! Every time I go by the starter zone, I see noobs putting their dicks in the slimes.”
“Hmm. That’s a good suggestion, but I feel like any man interested in coming to the dungeon would have already grown tired of slimes by that point. Then again, the same could be said about my goblins and women. Alright. I have a plan. Akorya, we’re going to head back to the dungeon, start the constructions, and then we’re going to go monster girl hunting. We’ll get a slime and then two other girls by the end of the evening. Sound like a plan?”
“Sounds like a plan, officer!”
The two of us shook on it and left the annoying city behind.
It was time to go monster girl hunting.