96 – Pre-Preparations

It was time for Ari’s second dungeon run.

Really, for how valuable of a resource it was, Ari ought not to have skipped even a single day of venturing to those lucrative depths. Sure, she had pretty good reasons—still being indecisive about how she wanted to handle the possibility of being caught, and also, having needed to recruit Opal—but still. Dungeons were incredible for adventurers. More dangerous than above-ground adventuring, true, but people generally didn’t get into adventuring because it was safe. Not to mention how that reasoning didn’t apply to her, seeing how she didn’t need to worry for her life. Not as much as most did, at least.

But, before she could set off, she had preparations to take care of. She might not need to get armored up like a real adventurer, but supplies were still necessary. And she had gear of a different sort.

She put her hands on her hips, surveying the collection of loot she’d earned from her lewd monstergirl encounters.

Yesterday, especially, had been fruitful. The Bewitching Swamp trek had gone well, and it had also been the highest-level adventure she had undergone. She, Opal, and Lori had been fighting exclusively level sixes and above.

For the lower level encounters, Ari had mostly been receiving a variety of aphrodisiacs and lubricants. Sometimes, she received small knick knacks like the lovebite necklace she’d gotten from Lori—but the majority had been the previous. In fact, she’d started to wonder whether that would be all she would get. Whether she would receive actual armor and weapons—of a lewd sort—or whether chemical substances and trinkets would be what she was limited to.

The answer was: no. She wasn’t limited to those. Yesterday’s adventures had resulted in a few interesting items, ones she would be making good use of during her dungeoneering expedition today. And not just the magically-dropped items, she had a collection of toys purchased from Madam Iris’s contact: Nyla, who ran one of Molehill’s only sex shops.

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Thigh Highs of Temptation

— Req. Level 6

— +2 Stimulation Max

— +3 Stimulation Damage

— “Leg Lure” - Increases the chance of monster girls being attracted to wearer’s legs.

— “Thigh Thrills” - When using thighs during sexual encounters, gain an additional +8 Pleasure Damage.

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Those were one of the crown jewels of yesterday’s sticky expedition. Not only were the passive stats incredibly useful—making all of Ari’s moves more effective via ‘stimulation damage’, and also making it easier to hold off her finish via ‘stimulation max’—but the thigh- and leg-specific boosts were huge. The second one, ‘+8 pleasure damage’, didn’t provide functional benefit, since ‘stimulation’ was how a fight was ‘won’, but higher pleasure bars meant a better-satisfied opponent, which meant more experience and loot. So, not helpful in winning a fight, but amazing for progressing faster and earning better items.

Ari had a feeling her thighs would be getting a lot of action, today. Not that she’d restrain herself to only fighting that way, because that’d be boring—and she doubted her opponents would let her—but when she did, she’d have a big advantage.

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Glasses of Lust Detection

— Req. Level 5

— “Discerning Gaze I” - Allows wearer to discern the lustful preferences of monster girls.

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Another incredible item. The sleek, thick-rimmed spectacles were stylish, and, like all equipment, fit Ari perfectly, seating on her nose without a problem. Comfortable, too. And most importantly of all, well-secured to her head. A good shake couldn’t dislodge them. Considering the vigorous activities Ari would get up to while wearing them, that couldn’t be discounted.

At least from what Opal and Lori had said (but could they be trusted? They were way too nice), they looked good on Ari. But even in the case they weren’t the most flattering piece of equipment, they would be useful during today’s fights.

Because ‘Discerning Gaze I’ was an amazing effect. It let Ari see the desires of opponent monstergirls? Unfortunately, from brief experimentation, it didn’t work with her Menagerie, which was a disappointing quirk, but Ari supposed finding out what they liked manually was half the fun. Against random encounters, though, knowing what to hone in on would be devastatingly effective.

Plus, the effect said ‘Discerning Gaze I’, emphasis on ‘I’. Presumably that meant it wouldn’t be overly powerful. Whether that meant slow-to-discern or sometimes ineffective, Ari didn’t know. But as she leveled up and fought stronger monster girls, she suspected she’d receive another pair of spectacles with ‘Discerning Gaze II’, or III, or so on. Maybe one day, she’d receive a legendary drop that let her identify in an instant her opponent’s most-hidden desires. She’d be unstoppable.

Finally, the third item from yesterday’s adventures that Ari would be dragging along.

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Shifting Wig

— Req. Level 5

— +2 Stimulation Damage

— “Shifting Composition" - Concentrate to adjust hair color and style.

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Beyond being able to change her hair into whatever her partners wanted, and excite them that way, the item had other uses. First off, upon seeing it, something obvious had popped into Ari’s head: it would mean she could disguise herself, so that if she were caught today, Ari’s short red hair wouldn’t give her away.

It wasn’t a complete solution. The goal was to not be caught at all. Not only for the embarrassment factor, but because Ari didn’t want the populace knowing there was a girl running around transforming and seducing monster girls. But, at least if she were caught, having a wig meant it wouldn’t be tracked back to Ari. Probably. Her freckles and build could still give her away. But that was only if someone got a good look.

Those were the magical items. Besides those, Ari had other tools planned. Her discussion with Madam Iris, finding a place to buy toys, hadn’t been pointless.

So. Ari’s more mundane arsenal.