Vol 4 Chapter 40: The Master Swordswoman
A/N:
Good news! Hugo has finally arrived at Sherry's village on my most recent Patreon chapter! Their reunion is nigh!
Not before he defeats one last obstacle though...
Let's just say it's his hardest trial yet.
Hugo
So this is the flower…
Victoria was right… It really is beautiful…
After defeating the boss, we took a few hours of rest. My clothes were in tatters and Felicia had to fix them with her needlework. I mean, it even has a large hole on my bottom. Unless I want to flash my underwear to the girls, I need to get it patched up ASAP.
Resuming our trip, I then found a large flower, just before the teleporter to the next floor.
There were no words I could say that could give it justice. It was a large plant around the size of a tiny house, with multicolored petals that were reminiscent of the seven colors of rainbows. It emitted the most pleasant scent and what fatigue I had immediately vanished into the wind. It seemed to be glowing, even though I knew it really wasn't.
The Starlight Flower. The flower Victoria desperately wanted to see.
"Wow, it's beautiful!"
Theo's eyes were sparkling as he stared at the flower. Well, who could blame him?
Tama on the other hand had her eyes moistening, at least before she wiped them with her sleeves.
"Milord, why don't we bring back a petal? For her?"
Felicia was the one to speak, to my surprise. She really has softened towards her.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. It's pretty large but I think I still have some space in my Dimensional Storage." After traversing through the dungeon for so long, both my bag and my storage are pretty much bursting with loot. We should not have any money problems for a long while.
Gently, I cut off one of the petals. It really was large, about the size of my body. I then sent it off to my storage.
"Well, now that's taken care of…" I smiled. "Let's go onward to the 501th floor."
I just hope Victoria's doing well out there. The good part about her family seeing her as useless—she won't be sent to the war. She'll be safe and sound in her mansion.
...If only she would let me help her…
But Felicia's right. We have no right to intrude on her life without her permission. Especially if it means hurting or killing the people dear to her.
Too bad neither of us are family counselors that can make her family treat her better. We can only solve our problems by violence and murder.
...Yeah, we aren't good people, alright.
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Victoria
"Here he is! Your new trainer!"
Victoria's mother smiled as she saw the terrified look at her daughter's face.
After training her sexual prowess with toys and the like, her mother deemed the half-fey to be ready for the next step of her wife training.
To perform sexual acts with a living, breathing male.
For that purpose, she had bought a slave from the markets. Even during a war, there were always still merchants who would peddle their goods. And she purchased hers from such a merchant, for quite the expensive price too. But she didn't care. It was her husband's money anyway.
For her efforts, in front of her now stood a two-meter tall orc, green and virile and no doubt ready to breed.
Orcs were the perfect race to give to her daughter. Known to be a race of casual rapists, orcs could barely contain their lust towards an attractive female. Even she could tell the beast was eyeing her as she took her home. Thankfully, her faithful butler, Gam, was there to keep an eye on him.
And of course, there was the convenient fact that her daughter’s future husband would be an orc as well.
"M-Mother!"
Victoria was dressed in her sleeping gown. She was still in her room, sleeping late, when her mother suddenly burst in and brought the orc with her.
She thought it would only happen much later. But for it to happen now…
She could already feel her eyes watering.
"Ah, you're properly dressed already." Her mother smirked. "Now, orc. Feel free to ravage her as much as you wish. With one exception. Leave her virginity intact. Her future husband will want that for sure."
"M-Milady, I'm afraid I have to object once more. Surely, whoever her future husband will be, he prefers her to be fully unspoiled before he can lay with her."
Victoria's face lit up at the butler's objection. Maybe he could save her! O-or at least delay this… this training until she's ready!
"Shhh! You're wrong!" She put a finger to her lips. "He wouldn't care if her cherry lips had touched another man's rod before! They're demons! They're not like us humans who only want pure and loyal partners! And besides!" The youthful lady twirled in place. "Darling has already approved." She finished with a giggle.
"I… I just…" The old man looked away momentarily. "Then I'll stay here. I'll make sure this filthy orc doesn't touch her more than necessary."
The orc didn't react to the butler's comment. He spoke in human tongue while he only understood demon tongue.
Realizing that her butler was surrendering to her mother's will, Victoria quickly appealed to her mother.
"M-Mother! I-I don't—I don't want to do this! Practicing on my own is one thing but doing all that to an actual man… I-I only want to do it to my future husband."
"Aaw, don't be silly!" Her mother walked over to her and patted her head. "You need actual, real training before you do it with your husband! Trust me, you don't want your first night to be a failure. You, being all scared with sex like this, won't make a good wife in the slightest. You're, what, eighteen years old now? You're too sheltered for your own good."
Sheltered? Sir Hugo and Miss Felicia did say something to that effect...
"I… I suppose you have a point…"
"Finally!" Her mother slapped her bottom, earning a yelp from her. "Now, stop complaining and do it with him." She pointed at the orc. "Your future husband is an orc too, remember? So he’s the perfect specimen. Don't worry. I too will watch from the sidelines and see if you're doing a good job."
The older woman then moved back to the entrance, locking the door in the process.
Oh, she’s not missing this for the world.
"Now, the floor is yours, orc," she said in demon tongue.
"...As you wish, Milady."
Grinning, he took a few steps forward, causing Victoria to respond by taking a few steps backwards of her own. Eyeing her figure, especially those inhumanly large breasts of hers, the orc's trousers immediately bulged with his member.
"You're pretty, little elf. Don't worry. I promise I'll be gentle."
And then, he dropped said trousers, giving Victoria her very first sight of a male genitalia.
And she didn't like what she saw.
I-I'm supposed to—I'm supposed to play with that—that monster?
The orc took another step forward. Victoria took another step backward, only for her back to the hill.
"A-ah, stay—stay away! I'm not—I'm not ready yet!"
The orc did not listen.
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Hugo
The next floor was still the Exogenous Garden, only this time, the moon was up in the sky instead of the sun. This second half of the stratum specialized on nocturnal monsters so we had to be even more careful than before.
There were a couple of notable monsters we really had to be careful about. The first was the Predator Panthers, an A-rank monster that had incredible stealth, swiftness, and strength. Let your guard down for a second and it would rip you apart in an instant.
Thanks to this guy, we had to be extra careful while we were sleeping. We couldn't sleep out in the open anymore. I had to make a dome of earth surrounding our camp everytime we took a rest. And even with that, they still attacked. Twice. Clawing through my dome with their super strength. And each time, I ended up having to fight with my junk dangling out, since I was in the middle of being pleasured by Felicia.
The next monster on the list was the Thousand-Year-Old Owl, another troublesome A-rank monster. Unlike the Panther, however, what made it troublesome was not its strength or speed, but its notorious ability to put you to sleep with its hoots. The range was large and they were everywhere through the foresty part of the dungeon. To deal with them, we had to rely on Felicia's permanent wake-up potions, which delayed our progress quite a bit as Felicia kept needing to produce new ones. The ingredients were thankfully easily found in the dungeon itself.
As for the S-rank monster…
D-did that flower hill just… just moved?
It's… it's a monster!
Yep. It was a monstrosity the size of an entire hill. All the flowers on the surface were part of its body—tips of its countless tentacles.
We didn't know how its entire body looked as most of it was buried under the ground. But we had watched as it swallowed other monsters whole—the ground being its mouth.
In the end, we never got to fight it, as we managed to avoid falling into its trap.
The Flower-Crowned Horror. It was a monster we would not forget anytime soon.
Even with all that, however, we managed to make our way to the 600th floor in another month.
And yes, that meant we actually made it past the 599th floor, the furthest anyone had ever managed.
Personally, not to toot my own horn here, I didn’t know why it was such a roadblock. Sure, the monsters were nasty and the teleporter was quite hard to find, but it wasn’t anything impossible. Perhaps we were just that strong compared to the other adventurers.
...Or perhaps, we had a little outside help.
-------
“Alright! The 600th floor! We’re in the final stretch, everyone!” I yelled the moment we stepped out of the teleporter.
“Yes!” Theo replied, his smile as bright as an angel’s. “We just have to find the Boss and then we’ll get to the next stratum! That’s where Miss Elf is waiting for us, right?”
“Yep, that’s right!” I replied. Miss Elf was naturally his nickname for Xaela, this dungeon’s so-called Administrator.
Still high-spirited about our victory, we began our trek through the floor without delay.
It didn't take long, however, until we noticed that something was… off.
"Excuse me, Sir Hugo, but is it just me or are there a lot less monsters than usual?" Tira was the first to speak. "Usually, we've already met one at this point, right?"
"...Oh, you're right, Mother!" Theo chirped in. "That's odd. But it's a good thing, isn't it?"
"The opposite." Tama replied. "This means they might be setting up a trap. Like they had done many times before. Be on your guard."
"Felicia." I glanced at the alchemist. "What do your shadows say?"
"Nothing," she replied. "There really aren't any monsters nearby."
"Hmm… that's good to know. Still, we should remain—"
My speech was cut short.
We just escaped the forest-like section back into the wide, open hills section.
And there, I saw them—unmistakable signs of battle scarring the land.
Everywhere I looked, I could see huge scars in the land, bigger than an adult male's body, with some stretching for more than a kilometer. Multiple hills had their tips missing, as if a giant blade had cut them horizontally near the top.
Chills immediately crept onto my neck.
W-what? What in the world happened here?
The rest of the party were rendered speechless as well.
We all knew one thing.
Whatever caused this—they were an incredibly strong monster.
D-don't tell me… this is the work of that Demon Lord? Had she managed to pass us? The last Convergence Floor was 50 floors below us. That might be enough time for her to go past us since we would be on different floors.
!!!
Far away in the distance, I could see a tiny human-like figure walking towards us.
T-that's—
My hand went to grab my wand.
But I was already too late.
In an instant, the figure was right in front of me, pressing her sword to my neck.
My heart stopped.
My sight grew dark in an instant.
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"U-urgh…"
When I woke up, the first thing I found was that I was sitting in front of a bonfire.
My hand went to my neck. Not even a slight graze.
"Oh, you've woken up. That was fast."
The figure was sitting to my right, smiling in my direction.
She was a woman, possibly in her early twenties. She had bright pink hair, braided into four ends midway down her shoulder, ending past her waist. She wore a loose white robe, reminiscent of those gi karate practitioners would wear back in my old world. Her pants were black, tucked inside her boots. A sword was tied to her waist.
"You're an impressive one, boy. How long has it been since I met someone that could resist my Dread Slash without humiliating themself?"
I looked around and saw the others sleeping around the bonfire. Or rather, they were still unconscious from whatever she just did to us.
Oh, that's just a fear aura attack, wasn't it? Fiora and I could do it too.
But her aura—it was immense. Ten times bigger than Fiora's. No, even more.
A particular scent entered my nostrils.
The scent of urine.
My first instinct was to look at my crotch. Nope. Still dry. I expected it to be otherwise, knowing how fainting could affect muscle control and all that.
Standing up, I looked at the others closer one by one.
Oh, that's… unfortunate.
They weren't so lucky. Every one of them clearly had wet themselves.
"Your friends aren't like you unfortunately." The girl smirked. "They're just like the others. Can't even stand to my aura. Like those ten adventurers I sent home before."
Ten adventurers?
Suddenly, I stopped.
...Oh, this clammy feeling…
….Yep. My underwear is wet. I didn't survive unscathed after all. It just didn't show on my trousers. Probably thanks to the pee I just took a short while back.
"So, mind explaining what that was all about? I walked to the pink-haired swordmaster. "You're an adventurer, right?"
"...An adventurer? I prefer to be called the Greatest Swordswoman In The World."
The girl stood up. She was actually just a bit taller than I was. With a grin, she offered her hand to me and said, "The name's Isolde. Isolde Hrothgar. The Undefeated Virtuoso of The Lancelot Order."
As I shook her head, slowly but surely her words hit the braincells in my skull.
A-A Virtuoso? That's… That's one of the top tier titles in the two Orders! No wonder she was so fast! I couldn't even see her movement back then! She was far faster than that mantis monster! 20 Mach? 50 Mach? 100 Mach? Just how fast was her dash?
"M-My name's Hugo Greenwood. I'm just an adventurer." I flashed her a nervous grin.
"I like you, kiddo." She put her hands on her waist. "You're what, 14 years old, but you can withstand my Dread Slash. You're no ordinary adventurer to be sure."
"I wouldn't say that." I shook my head. "I still fainted from it after all. Still, what kind of a greeting was that? Do you just go to random strangers and hold your sword right at their throat?"
"Yep! Pretty much!" Wow, she answered that so nonchalantly. "I used to do that on the outside but no one is really a match for me. So I decided to go into this dungeon instead. Been here on this floor for who knows how long."
"Why don't you climb further?" I asked.
"Because she won't let me." She sighed.
"She?" I raised my eyebrows.
"That elf girl. The self-proclaimed Administrator of this place. You should already know her."
"Oh. You've been with Xaela then."
"Xaela. So that's her name. She never bothered to tell me that." She laughed.
I blinked. What is this woman's connection with Xaela?
"Well, enough about her." She returned her hands to her waist. "Let's talk about you instead. You are a tough one, aren't you? To not soil your pants like a little boy—that shows how durable you are as a fighter."
All of a sudden, she moved right in front of me, with our faces almost touching.
C-close!
"Hmm, those eyes… those are the eyes of someone who had seen their share of combat. The eyes of a veteran, someone who had brushed with death and lived to tell the tale. I see it now. She's chosen a good one."
Xaela again.
Withdrawing from my personal space, the woman's grin grew even bigger. She now had her hands under chest, magnifying the size of her quite sizable breasts.
"I have a proposal for you, Hugo Greenwood."
"A proposal?"
"Hit me with your strongest spell. Don't worry. I won't fight back. I just want to see what your maximum capability is. You're a pretty good mage, right?"
"My strongest spell?" I paused. Well, this seems familiar. Didn't Fiora ask me something similar when we first met?
"Yep! Your strongest, bestest spell! Doesn't matter how long you have to charge it. I'll wait."
In a flash, she put a 100 feet distance between us.
Whoa! So fast! That's a lot faster than my Graceful Step!
"Why should I do it?!" I yelled. "Casting that spell tires me, you know!" I lied. I could fire several fully charged Super Boom Cannon without breaking a sweat.
"You want to get through this floor, right?! I'll show you the way to the teleporter!"
"I can accidentally kill you with it!"
"Kill me then! Do you think I'm a coward who runs from a challenge? And if you think you can kill me that easily, think again, whelp!"
Aahh, she's just as arrogant as Fiora.
"Well! Fine! Here comes one set of my Super Boom Cannon."
"Super Boom Cannon? What kind of a name is that?!" She laughed.
"O-oh shut up! I'm not good with names!"
Focusing my mana on the tip of my wand, I began charging the spell.
"Oho! That looks like an interesting spell!"
Thirty seconds later, I fired.
The cannonball flew with tremendous speed. It was ten times the size of the swordswoman, with ten times the speed of my normal Boom Cannon.
"Covetous Sword! Mana-Devouring Slash!"
Only for it to fizzle into nothingness with a single slash of her sword.
H-Huh? Was that… some anti-magic sword technique?
Her sword glowed eerie red. If I had to guess, that was my mana converted into aura. How it was possible—I had no idea in the slightest.
Flicking the blade casually to the side, a massive gash on the ground was created instantaneously, creating a miniature earthquake as she did.
"Hmm, not bad!" She sheathed her steel. "That was at least a low Grandmaster-level spell in strength." She dashed forward, appearing right in front of me before I could even reply.
"G-Grandmaster? That was a Grandmaster-level spell that I just did?"
"Strength-wise, definitely," she replied with a smile.
I-I can't believe it! I could cast a Grandmaster-level spell all this time!
"But, not enough to defeat my technique. Such a direct spell would never work on me. Or at least, not on that level."
"That was… you converted my spell's mana into your aura, didn't you? How could you do that?"
She laughed. "It's a technique I learned from my old man. To be honest, I don't know exactly how it works either. I just swing my sword and bam! Spell absorbed!" She smirked, putting one hand on her hip.
Her old man? Oh, that's right! She's Isolde Hrothgar! Which means her father is Ciaran Hrothgar, the Demon Sword! Leader of the Lancelot Order!
Oh wow, no wonder she's so strong!
"Is that all you got, kiddo?"
"... I'm sorry?"
"I'm saying, don't you have another spell that you can try on me? Something more sneaky? I know you mages love that kind of magic."
"I… do have one actually. But if I try it out on you, you will die in an instant. No doubt about it."
"Then shut up and use it. I want to see. Just how devious the one she chose is.
As if taunting me to attack, she put her arms under her chest and gave me the biggest smug grin she could muster. Just like Fiora.
I sighed. Guess I have no choice.
I aimed my wand at her. Distance should be fine. She hasn't dashed away like she did before.
"Asphyxia, Hemorrhage."
I aimed my wand to where her lungs should be, sent my raw mana to it, and then turned said mana into a large bubble of wind.
"!!!"
In a flash, she dashed forward, in the split-second it took for my spell to blow up her lung.
And slashed my wand into two in the process.
"You… you idiot! That was my wand!"
She was now panting, squeezing her chest with her free hand. Still grinning, she looked up to me and said, "W-well done. Well done indeed. That's a really good spell. I… almost died there."
"H-hey! How am I supposed to cast my spells now?"
"He...hehehe… s-sorry… if I hadn't done that… I felt I really would've kicked the bucket…"
"You know you could just run out of my range. It's a pretty short-ranged spell. No need to destroy my wand."
"O-oh r-really? T-that's a big weakness. Fitting for such a powerful—aahnnn!"
What.
Her hands went to her crotch and her face was flushed. Almost as if she was—
"E-excuse me for a second…"
Before I could say anything, she already dashed away.
Leaving me with half a stick that used to be my wand.
Goddamnit.
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Isolde
"Haa… haa… haa.. Haa…”
The moment the swordmaster was out of sight from Hugo, she immediately pulled the waistband of her pants outwards, slipped her left hand underneath her pink panties, and massaged her soaked crotch with her fingers.
“T-that… that was close… he really… he really nearly had me there… a few moments later and my lungs would’ve exploded for sure…
“Just what kind of a mage he is?”
Unbeknownst to Hugo, or the many other warriors she had challenged in the past, the other reason why she craved stronger and stronger foe…
...was because she would get turned on by a foe that actually challenged her.
Ever since she was little, the combination of her immense talent and her continuous training by her father meant she was undefeated in combat. She shot up through the ranks immensely, and by the tender age of eight, she was already equal to a Virtuoso in strength. And when she left home, by the age of twelve, she was rivaling the strength of her father.
Seeking both challenge and sexual satisfaction, she travelled the land as a swordswoman, challenging every strong warrior she could find.
Until her feet took her here.
“Ahnnn!"
*spurt* *spurt* *spuurtt*
She finished inside her panties and trousers. Taking her slimy fingers out, she wiped them to her pants.
Hugo Greenwood… The Unchained One.
As one of the Chosen Heroes, it's a shame I wouldn't be able to accompany you. Our paths differ, you and I.
Still, if we are to cross paths again, I look forward to your growth.
But for now, I shall give the floor to her.
A/N:
Picture for Isolde: