4.25 – Glass

Jordan had Sofia—and Natalie—experiment with a few more outfits of varying degrees of lewdness. They found that the bonus did eventually cap out, though only when dressed in ways that could most forgivingly be called ‘obscene’. Like with Sofia in her thighs highs, panties, choker, and pasties. Natalie didn’t think anyone would want to dress that scandalously for a while, though. If they ever would.

Jordan also dragged Natalie up to the front, then sat on the couch and cozied up with Sofia—still scantily clad, with their tops off, and Jordan indulgingly pressing herself into Sofia’s side, their nearly naked curves hugging. Because [Stylish] worked both ways, Jordan bossed Natalie around, ordering her to strip this, strip that, and change out articles of clothing—because Natalie’s buffs needed to be tested, too.

It was more mortifying than she’d expected. Natalie didn’t behave that much differently than Sofia had. Which was to say, she blushed furiously throughout and did what Jordan told her to. Natalie could take control of a situation, but Jordan being so confident and egging on Sofia, making lewd comments about Natalie’s body and forcing Sofia to agree with her, had Natalie on fire.

Especially when Jordan kept forcing Sofia to give her ‘honest thoughts’ on Natalie’s outfit. And body. Since what aroused her affected Natalie’s boosts—so, Jordan told Sofia, she shouldn’t be so embarrassed. It was only a practical discussion. She made sure to constantly mention Natalie’s cock. Natalie wasn’t sure who was blushing harder by the end of it—her or Sofia.

Their allotted testing hour burned away fast, though. Finishing up, they got dressed into their original delving gear and returned to the team. Sofia seemed grateful the debacle was over, and honestly, Natalie was too. Jordan had found it way too amusing to mess with them. Really, where had all the confidence come from? The ease with which she’d taken charge?

Natalie would have to teach her a lesson tonight. Just to make sure she didn’t get the wrong idea.

As a squad of five, they headed for the dungeon. The upcoming delve was an event she’d been looking forward to. With her significant gains in power and her new weapon choice, she’d been restless to test herself. And even without accounting for the excitement of her new boosts, delves were her favorite part of the day. Favorite professional part, at least. Hard to beat nights with Jordan. Or leveraging her ownership of Sofia.

As they headed for the dungeon, Natalie explained [Joined] and [Link] to the team. She spared the details behind how she and Liz had acquired the buffs, but she was sure the team could infer a few things. And if they didn’t, Liz’s blushing gave it away. But it was a detail that the team needed to know. They were, ultimately, professionals—as Liz was always insisting—and [Joined] and [Link] changed the combat dynamic.

Resting her oversized hammer on her shoulder, Natalie and her team ventured into the dungeon entrance—that flat, shimmering black portal inlaid into a giant stone slab. She went first, the cold black substance making her shiver as she stepped through. Her team followed on her heels.

Now that they had delved past the first floor, the dungeon entrance didn’t drop them straight into the fray. Instead, they arrived to a small stone chamber with two shimmering black portals identical to the previous. Above each, respective numerals were inscribed: ‘I’ and ‘II’.

“Straight to the second floor, right?” Natalie asked, just to verify. It’d been what they discussed, but always better to check.

“Should be able to handle it,” Sofia said. “So yes. Second floor.”

Natalie stepped through the second of the black portals, and once again, she shivered as she passed through space.

Her footstep landed on the polished tile floor of a square chamber. Natalie oriented herself quickly, scanning her environment. No monsters came rushing out to meet them in a surprise attack, which wasn’t common when first entering but technically was possible.

She cataloged the room and the objects within.

The chamber was large and square, with scattered glass sculptures and mirrors. In the center was a fountain made of clear crystal lit from below, illuminating the water inside and casting reflections on the ceiling and walls. Water tinkled down into the circular pool it sprouted from. The tiles were polished to a mirror finish.

There were four exits, each different. The one to the north—she chose the reference direction arbitrarily—was made from glossy black obsidian. Another exit, to the east, was a set of ornate double doors that gleamed gold. The third was smaller, made of glass and etched with intricate designs. She couldn't make out much of the hallway through it. The fourth was a simple, unassuming wooden door, its plain appearance jarring with the rest of the room.

Her team, having joined her less than a second after Natalie herself stepped through, also peered around at the space.

"Don't recognize it," Sofia said. "Do any of you?"

All negatives.

"An uncharted floor, then," Sofia said. "Hm."

That wasn't the rarest thing in the world, since the dungeon could hardly be mapped in its entirety, even after centuries of effort. For all they knew, some floors were created from scratch when delvers set foot inside. But it was more common for uncharted floors to appear deeper into the dungeon, not this early.

Natalie wondered whether her class was at fault. Probably not. Not everything could be ascribed to her strange class. Odd things happened to everyone when it came to the dungeon. Plus, nothing about the floor seemed lewd—probably the best indicator.

"What's with all the polish?" Natalie asked. "Nearly hurts my eyes."

Besides a few surfaces, the entire room gleamed. The mirrors, the tile, the glass fountain, the glass sculptures—even the doorways, besides the wooden one. It made the glare of the white lanterns obnoxious.

"Dunno. But these sculptures are really something," Jordan commented, peering at one of them. It was a young woman’s bust, her face severe and elegant. To its side was an abstract figure made from interlocked triangles. They rested on engraved plinths. Plaques were beneath each, filled with text, though the words were gibberish. "They're beautiful,” Jordan said.

Natalie agreed. Though, she wasn't here to admire the dungeon-created artwork. She spared a moment to appreciate the incredible nature of the dungeon, as did most of the team—Ana seemed more interested in the nonsensical text than the statues themselves—but then Natalie corralled them to the more practical matter: "So, which door?"

"Good question," Sofia said. "Think the designs mean anything?”

“Could. Could also not.”

“Helpful.”

“Perhaps difficulty?” Ana suggested. “Or they hint where they lead?”

“The golden doors, in that case, might be something dangerous, but with a reward,” Sofia said.

“A miniboss?” Liz suggested.

“Or a regular boss,” Jordan said.

“Let’s set it aside for now,” Sofia said. “We’ll come back and check later. How about we try the easiest? The wooden door.”

With how little information they had to go on, they collectively shrugged and agreed. The chamber was hardly going anywhere, and they could check out the rest of the doors later. Natalie supposed the wooden door could close behind them, locking them out of future choices, but without any reason to believe that would happen, there was little point worrying over it. Pretty much anything could happen in the dungeon.

Natalie led the team through the wooden door. It didn’t lock behind them. The hallway they entered was much the same as the entry chamber: all polished tiles, glass statues, and mirrors. Soft white lights glowed from above, reflected in the tiles below. Though the glare was annoying, she preferred it over dimly lit floors.

They picked across the hallway, watching for tripwires and other traps. None presented themselves. They turned a corner, and the first encounter of the evening came into view.

Natalie grinned, her grip tightening on her hefty two-handed hammer. It was time to test out her new fighting style.