4.52 – Three Rewards II

As Natalie pulled out the second piece of loot, she tried to ignore how Liz was on her knees, sensually finger-painting Ana's pubic region.

Maybe Ana found it a strictly practical encounter to be in, not worth embarrassment in the slightest, but she was alone in that. The rest of them were blushing with various intensities, seeing Liz down on her knees, tracing a finger around Ana's lower half. Especially since the mage was holding her robes out of the way, panties pulled down so they could see the mound of her pussy—and a quarter-inch more would expose her entirely.

Natalie wondered whether this was one of those intentional or unintentional bouts of cluelessness. Probably a bit of both, but she expected more the first than the second. Jordan might not be the only instigator of the group, just the one who was more direct about it. There was no way Ana wasn't doing this to mess with everyone.

Digging out the necklace, Natalie held it up for the team to see. Liz looked over and identified the item too, pausing as she digested the description.

***

Treasure Hunter's Necklace

Rare

Lv. 2

Effects

- Rarity Boost. Item-bearer has increased odds of finding items of higher quality.

Description

A delicate silver chain adorned with a radiant gemstone pendant.

***

"Oh. That's … surprisingly not disgusting," Sofia said. "It came from the challenge room?"

"Yeah." Natalie was also surprised by the non-lewd nature of the item. And, obviously, the effect. "Boosted loot rarity? We're already finding rares almost every day."

"We'll have our first epic in no time," Liz said. She shook her head in incredulity. "A level-two epic. Really, Nat really must be blessed by a goddess. That's the only way all of this makes sense."

Natalie was still coming to terms with that ridiculous possibility, so she ignored the comment.

"It does take up an equipment slot, though," Jordan commented. "That's a pretty big downside."

"We should still equip it," Natalie said. "Better loot is worth being a bit weaker. But who?"

"Whoever benefits from items least, probably," Sofia said.

"And that is?"

Sofia hesitated. "I'm … not sure."

Items were crucial to all delvers, so it was a tough question. Natalie wasn't sure, either.

"Either you or me, Nat," Jordan said. "I have the worst gear right now, so would lose the least in the immediate term. But you could also wear it, because you're the strongest, and already at risk of outpacing us. One less gear slot isn't that big of a deal. Maybe even a good thing, to keep us nearer in level in the long run." Jordan shrugged. "That said, tanks might be the most gear-reliant class, so maybe not. Dunno."

Natalie chewed her lip as she thought it over. "No, I think that's fair," she said slowly. Of course, she didn't want to reduce her effectiveness in combat, but someone had to, and Jordan had made a great point—that Natalie was the strongest, or was certainly approaching that point, thanks to her class's unusual nature. "We can figure it out later, anyway. Don't have to pick now."

"We'll decide tomorrow," Jordan agreed.

Natalie deposited the necklace into a monster core. Back in the series of challenge rooms, she and Ana hadn't had enough cores to do so—but they had their old loot back, now.

"The grand finale, then?" Jordan asked. "Your last reward?"

"Yeah."

Natalie pulled out the arrow, holding the shaft between two fingers as she inspected its glinting pink metal tip.

***

Arrow of Lustful Transmutation

Description

An arrow with a head of forged erotite. Upon embedding into a Boss monster, converts the target into a Carnal Boss, which only a single attacker can engage. Arrow tip is brittle and will shatter when impacting a hard, non-monster surface.

***

"Oh," Jordan said. "What does that mean?"

"Carnal Boss," Sofia said flatly. "You're kidding. You found an arrow that makes monsters … what, want to fuck us?"

Her cheeks coloring, Natalie's mind flickered to that writhing mass of vines she'd encountered in their first delve. Had that been a monster, technically? The vines had certainly seemed alive. Would this arrow create a similar encounter?

"We'll probably want to use it carefully," Jordan said dryly. "Some monsters, it doesn't sound so bad. But most, I don't think so."

That was obvious. Natalie was still balking at the whole concept, but there were definite tiers between what monsters she would be okay with turning into a 'Carnal Boss'. For example—that dryad they'd found would be a prime candidate. Something like that would be more tolerable than, say, the wolf boss. Unless it turned the boss into some kind of … wolf girl?

Natalie didn't know what exactly the transmutation would do—if it would create an encounter palatable to her senses, or kept the boss mostly the same—but if she had to choose between a tall, attractive plant woman and a literal wolf, well, it wasn't much of a choice. She might be approaching degeneracy the longer she spent in the dungeon, honing her class, but something like that was very much a no-thank-you. Human-like monsters only, please.

Or something like those vines. That hadn't been so bad. But definitely no 'real' monsters.

"We'll keep this in our back pocket," Natalie said, her cheeks burning. "See what comes our way."

"You're going to use it?" Sofia asked. "Seriously?"

"If she doesn't, I will," Ana interjected. "I understand your reservations, but I think you're forgetting how lucrative the rewards are. Especially since this came as the ultimate reward for our challenge room. That it requires a follow-up must mean whatever we get from it is going to be even more phenomenal." She shrugged. "Besides—it could be fun just on its own merit."

"Fun."

The dark-haired mage shrugged, unashamed as always.

Sofia stared at her, then squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, as if mentally resetting herself—and holding back whatever her reply would have been. Piercing blue eyes refocused on Natalie. "Well, whatever," she said. "That's your choice. And only one person can engage it, the arrow says, so it's not like it will drag us in."

"We might want to find a level-one boss to use it on," Liz said. "Not a level-two. Safer that way. Since we don't know how it'll work."

Natalie frowned at the idea. Liz had a point, but purposefully picking an easier opponent for the sake of safety didn't sit well with her. The boss ought to be balanced so that a level-two could face off against a level-two, right?

"Can it be reused?" Jordan asked. "It says it'll break if you miss, but can you reclaim it to use more than once?"

"Good question." Natalie hadn't thought about that, and she could see it going either way.

"If it does, then Liz is right," Jordan said. "Start with an easier boss first."

Natalie wrinkled her nose, which Jordan rolled her eyes at.

"Maybe we can make more of them, even if it breaks," Natalie said. "It's made of forged erotite. We found some of that. Just need to find a blacksmith."

"True." Jordan hummed. "It's something we can decide on later. We're all caught up, then?" She looked around the room, eyes settling on the exit. "It's time we get back to campus. You're almost done, Liz?"

"Almost," Liz said from down between Ana's legs.

"And I'll need my weapon back," Ana commented. "You three can leave. I'm assuming Natalie wants some privacy. Especially since she'll need to re-equip it on me."

Natalie wiped a hand down her face.

And at the reminder, she became, again, aware of the thick rod spreading her ass open. Like Ana had said earlier, it was amazing what she could adapt to. She'd nearly forgotten it was there.

"She's not wrong," Natalie said flatly. "Privacy would be nice."

Because with something that size, it was going to be a bit of an event—both coming out, and having to put it back into Ana. And it was something they'd need to take care of every dungeon trip. Hell, every morning, if the crazy woman wanted to wear it to class. And knowing Ana? She actually might.

Heavens Above, but her life was getting weird.