“I didn’t know you couldn’t handle a little teasing,” I said to Gemma, sitting on the bed in the dream world.

  “You don't know a lot of things about me,” she replied, staring at me intensely. “And for your information, I could sleep with different men or women every night if I wanted to. That I’m not a slut or pervert thinking only about sex is entirely my choice.”

  It was a jab at me, but I really didn't feel offended. I came to this world for sex, and if that made me a pervert, then I was one. “I didn't know you swing both ways,” I replied with a smile.

  “Amber isn’t the only one who seeks a retionship with someone equal to her,” she said. “It's common among mages to pair, and with only women avaible…” Gemma shrugged.

  “Have you fucked with Sage?” I asked, the first thing that came to my mind. Yup, I certainly was a pervert.

  “No,” Gemma replied. “And I’d appreciate it if you stopped sticking your nose in my sex life.”

  “I would love to stick something else in there.”

  Gemma rolled her eyes with a sigh.

  “Come on, you were practically asking for a comment like that.”

  She shook her head, a soft smile tugging at her lips. “Do you actually have any questions? Or are you gonna tease me through our whole limited time?” Gemma asked.

  “I have,” I replied. “Do we meet here rather than in real life because you’re scared I would turn you into a mindless sve like the Greatest Mage was doing?”

  Gemma burst out ughing at me, and even though she was bending forward, giving me quite the view of her amazing tits, I was more appalled by her mocking.

  “Me? Supposed to be scared of you? And the confidence you had, asking that,” she said, still giggling. “You’ve been in this world for two weeks, I’ve ruled here for centuries, and you think I’m terrified of you?”

  “So, why don’t you want to meet with me?” I asked. “I don't believe it’s only because you’re trying to hide me working for you. I live in Sage’s house right now, someone might find out anyway.”

  “First of all, I didn't invite you to live with her. That was her idea. Second, even if they suspect it, they would think you work for Sage, not for me. And hundreds of people work for her, so you will blend in with them,” Gemma expined.

  “You still haven't answered me,” I said.

  “Even if there are other reasons, I won’t tell you. But believe me, Tobias. I’m not scared you will turn me into a worshipping sve.”

  “Now. But in the future? Maybe you don't know when I’ll be strong enough.”

  “Even if you reach this level of power one day, it’s not a matter of days or weeks. I doubt it's even decades. You forget that the few pages you read in the book about Averindral cover thousands of years of him getting stronger. Besides, we’ll meet one day.”

  “Then why not today?” I asked. “We would have much more time for talking.”

  “Like talking is what you want to do,” Gemma replied, smiling. “And I’m not gonna tell you, but… maybe things will change soon,” she added. “It’s just… I’m not ready yet.”

  “Not ready for me?”

  “Not everything’s about you,” Gemma snorted. “It’s about something else… but it involves you.”

  “I don't understand,” I replied. Whatever she was talking about, there was a flicker of hesitation in her eyes - rare for Gemma, who was usually so confident. For the first time, she seemed uncertain, almost… vulnerable.

  “That’s the whole point,” Gemma replied. “You’ll learn it when the time comes.”

  “Learn what?” I asked.

  Gemma sighed before she answered. “We can sit here all night, going back and forth, but I won’t tell you anything today.”

  I stared at her and realized that she was determined, and I would really not get anything from her. Lately, she was behaving strangely, but I had no idea what it was about. “Any more information about the slime?” I asked, changing the topic.

  “Nothing,” Gemma replied. “Are you still feeding it?”

  “Yeah, it even came off me when I put the mana away. But it rushed back immediately.”

  “It’s starting to trust you?” she asked.

  “It seems like it,” I replied. After that, we chatted briefly about my training and pns for the next day before Gemma announced she had to sleep. Parting with her on more friendly terms this time, I drifted back into my own dreams - ones I couldn’t remember, but was sure had even more sex. After all, I am a pervert.

  I was woken up by Zoe gently shaking my arm. It was still dark before sunrise, and at such an early hour, no one was really in the mood for sex. After waking Mari, we sluggishly washed up and ate breakfast in silence, all of us fantasizing about going back to bed.

  I fed the slime fifteen points of mana and had the impression that it was bigger than the previous day. It was growing quite quickly, and I wondered what form it would have when it was bigger. Just a puddle of green goo following me through a city would bring a lot of attention.

  Just when we were supposed to leave, I realized we should leave a message for Hannah so she wouldn’t panic, thinking that I kidnapped her daughter during the night. Pinning a piece of paper to the kitchen door, I wondered if she wouldn't assume it anyway, despite the message. But there wasn’t anything more I could do - I certainly wasn’t going to take her with me or leave Azura.

  As we approached the city gates, Marcellina was already there with a small bag and a bow. She was smiling, far too cheerful for such an early hour. Honestly, being that perky at this ungodly time should be illegal.

  “Hey, you guys!” she greeted us as we got closer.

  “Hey,” I murmured. “That’s Mari, our mage. And Azura. And this’s Marcy.”

  Surprisingly, Marcellina’s smile vanished the moment her eyes fell on Azura. She stepped closer until they were face to face, staring each other down.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” I asked, sliding my hand between them. I tried to pull Azura back, but she resisted, letting out a low growl as she gred at Marcy.

  “Do you know each other?” I asked. Could Marcy have worked at the b?

  Azura let out a growl again, baring her teeth, which in her human form looked really strange. But this time Marcellina lowered her gaze, tilted her head aside, and shrank back. Despite being almost a head taller than Azura, she suddenly looked small in front of her.

  Then, she stepped back, smiled, and turned toward Mari. “Nice to meet you. I heard you’re really strong,” she said brightly, as if nothing had happened.

  Mari gnced at me, nodded, and didn’t bother answering.

  “What was that? Do you know her?” I asked Azura.

  “No,” she hummed, completely rexed again. All the tension, just as suddenly as it had appeared, was now completely gone.

  “Oh, don’t worry,” Marcy said. “That was just our shapeshifter little greeting.”

  “You are a shapeshifter?” I asked, surprised.

  “Yeah.”

  “And is it a problem that Azura is one too?”

  “No,” Marcy replied. “We expined everything between us already.”

  I looked at Azura, wondering if she agreed, and she hummed a short yes.It seemed they needed to establish some kind of hierarchy. Surprisingly, Azura was the one on top. I wondered if that was because she was already part of our pack, or maybe because her level was higher. Or perhaps Marcy just wanted to avoid a fight and gave in.

  “You didn’t act like that with Tori,” I said, gncing at Azura.

  “Tori didn’t care,” she replied.

  “Some of us are less connected with our animal spirit,” Marcellina added.

  “So they’re more human?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Marcy said.

  “And you’re more… animalistic?”

  “I’m a wild beast,” she replied, cwing the air with a little snarl, then giggled.

  “A cat?” I asked.

  “A lioness,” she corrected, thrusting her chest forward and raising her chin before bursting into giggles again.

  Using the images of the book in my head, I checked the page about lion shapeshifters, reading the list of common character traits: prideful, confident, natural sense for hierarchy, protective of their close ones, territorial, brave, strong need to belong to a group, vocal, expressive, tendency to follow animalistic instincts, loyal, passionate.

  The pause as I was reading was getting too long, so I spoke again. “Cool, so there won’t be any problems between you and Azura?”

  The list of traits was very simir to those of wolf shapeshifters, and while I didn’t know Marcy well yet, I was pretty sure she matched several of them. Maybe that warning in the book - that these were only common traits and every individual could be different - was just a formality, because so far three out of three fit their descriptions closely.

  “Nope,” Marcy replied.

  “Okay,” I said. “Are you ready to go?” We didn't have a lot of time, and were already having additional deys.

  “Sure,” Marcellina replied.

  We left Ortas through the gate and headed toward Atranth.

  “We’re going to look for Amber, right?” Marcy asked, walking at my side.

  “Yes.”

  “Why was she traveling?”

  “It’s a bit complicated,” I replied, unsure myself if she had gone there to pick up her things, or to run away from me. “Wait a moment,” I added.

  We were far enough from the city’s gate, so I nodded at Azura, who was staring at me the whole time after we left Ortas, waiting for permission. Azura took off her clothes and shifted into her wolf form immediately. Zoe, without asking, picked up her things and stuffed them into her bag.

  “Oh, I want to run with you!” Marcy gasped, grabbing the hem of her shirt. But as I gnced at her, she stopped.

  “I know you want to take a look, but turn around,” she said, smiling. “You too,” she added, when I had my back already toward her. Zoe joined me, pouting, and I chuckled at her unhappy reaction.

  “Will you take my bag and bow, please?” Marcy asked.

  “Sure,” I replied, waiting until a lioness walked in front of me. She was clearly showing off, slowly strolling as we watched. She was a bit bigger than Azura, with fur that matched her dirty blonde hair from her human form.

  After she walked past us, she leapt toward Azura, who began to run away. Marcy chased her for a moment, but then they switched, and it was Azura running after Marcy in circles around us.

  “We really should go,” I said, watching their antics.

  Both of them looked at me in their animal forms. Marcy nodded, walked to her items, and tapped them with her paw. Then set off running along the road, and Azura chased her. This time, at least, in the right direction.

  After picking up Marcy’s things, we moved after them. I wondered where they got so much energy so early in the morning. The rest of us traveled mostly in silence, pulled out of bed much too early.

  It was much ter when Marcy and Azura got tired of the constant running. While Azura remained in her wolf form, patting along with us, the lioness growled at me, then began shifting.

  I put her things on the ground and turned around to give her some privacy.

  “It was so fun,” Marcy said. “I hadn’t run like that for such a long time. Thank you,” she added. As I turned around, she was standing there again in her clothes, holding her bag and the bow.

  As we set off again toward Atranth, she began asking about us, what we were doing and how we met each other. I answered, but was very vague, skipping a lot of details to avoid sharing too much with her. She either didn't realize or didn’t care, cheerfully talking about anything that came to her mind.

  I also told her about our previous explorations, sharing a bit more, as she was supposed to join us and should know how we fight. While I didn't tell her anything about my css, Mari shared hers completely, and Marcy listened carefully, clearly impressed by her power.

  “What about you?” I asked. “What css do you have?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing special in a dungeon,” Marcy replied. “But it’s super cool and useful outside. It lets me learn things about people,” she added, smiling at me.

  “Things?” I asked, worried that she could somehow learn that I have a css and knew it already.

  “I’m a low level, but I can sense what people's intentions are toward me, and a bit of their emotions if they are really strong.”

  “And what intentions do I have toward you?” I asked.

  “You are asking me? You know what you have in your head.”

  “I know, but I’m curious what you can actually sense.”

  “That you and Zoe are perfect for each other,” Marcy replied with a smile.

  I gnced at the succubus, who blushed a slight pink under my gaze. It seemed we both wanted to seduce and fuck her. And yet, she agreed to travel with us and to join our team. Should I take that as a green light?

  “And what are Mari’s intentions toward you?” I asked, curious.

  “Don't get into my head,” the kitsune murmured, speaking for the first time after we had left Ortas.

  “I already did before,” Marcellina replied. “And she doesn't have any. She doesn't care about me at all.”

  “That skill seems useful,” I said.

  “Outside of a dungeon, sure,” Marcy replied. “But inside, you don't need it to know what monsters want to do to you.”

  “Why dungeons then?” I asked. “You could find something that would better fit your css.”

  “So something, or someone, decided I have a css that doesn’t fit dungeons. And what? Am I supposed to just accept that blindly? I want to go to dungeons, so I will. No css and no person is going to tell me I can’t.”

  I looked at her, impressed by the determination in her voice, her refusal to follow paths id out by others, and her choice to live by her own.

  Soon after, we reached Atranth, chatting about lighter things along the way. At the entrance, even though we were only staying a short while, I still had to pay. I tried to cover Marcy’s fee too, but she refused, and I could tell insisting was pointless - she was never going to agree.

  In Atranth, we headed to the inn where I had met Amber. Entering it, there weren’t a lot of people around - only a few eating breakfast.

  “Is Amber here?” I asked the barman after approaching the counter.

  He looked me over slowly, then smirked. “I remember you. For the first time, when she took a guy to her room, he didn't run away trying to pretend nothing happened.”

  “Yeah, that’s me. Is she here?”

  “She left with you,” the barman replied.

  “She was supposed to come back here,” I said, worried that she hadn’t even reached this pce.

  The barman watched me in silence, and I wondered if he was thinking or waiting for me to pay for information, but before I decided, he spoke again. “She came two days ago, took all her things, and told me she won’t live here anymore.”

  “When did she leave?” I asked.

  “She spent the night and left in the morning yesterday.”

  “Did she tell you where she was going?”

  “She isn't a very sharing type,” the barman replied. “But she seemed quite lost in her thoughts.”

  “Does she have any friends?” I asked, wondering if she could have gone to live with someone else.

  “Not that I know of,” the barman replied.

  “Enemies?” I asked, trying to gather as much information as I could.

  The barman snorted. “You spent the night with her. There were a few before you that she took to her room. So, what do you think?”

  “Thanks,” I replied, stepping away from the bar and approaching the rest of the women. As I gnced at Zoe, she covered us with the silent dome.

  “Marcy, can you give us a moment?” I asked, looking at her. She agreed and stepped out of the dome, but remained close by.

  “Amber left yesterday morning and took all her things,” I said.

  “She should have reached Ortas yesterday,” Zoe said.

  “Maybe she ran away from you,” Mari suggested, actually joining the conversation.

  “Amber is not a person to run away from a man, and I’m worried that it's not a coincidence that she helped us to find the b and vanished soon after.”

  “Do you think someone seeks revenge?” Zoe asked.

  “From what I know, everyone at the b was captured. But there’s still one person left - Malvick. His whole business depended on working for them, and when the b went down, he lost his income. He knew Amber was aware of it, and once the b was taken out, he started digging. Amber left the day it happened, and when she turned up the next day, she took all her things, and it looked like she was running away.”

  There was a moment of silence as everyone looked at me, wondering about what I had said.

  “What now?” Mari asked.

  I looked at her, surprised she was getting involved.

  “What?” she gasped. “Some asshole bastard kidnapped a woman and thinks he can do whatever he wants with her? I will stuff my ice spikes into his ass until they come out of his mouth.”

  “Even if it's Malvick, we don't know if he kidnapped her, he could…” I trailed off, not wanting to accept that she might already be dead for helping me.

  Mari snorted with disdain. “He’s a man. If it were a guy, Malvick would kill him in revenge, but you all think with your dicks. He won’t kill her, she’s too attractive. He will make a sve out of her and abuse her.”

  That should feel better, as she was somewhere out there alive, but thinking about all the things he would do to her was making me angry. If she wanted to come back to me, that meant she was mine, and no man should touch her.

  “We must check it,” I said. “We’ll visit…” I quickly checked images in my mind, looking for the informant that worked for Sage in Atranth. “Kalista. Maybe she knows something more.”

  “What if she doesn’t know anything?” Zoe asked. “Or something else happened to her?”

  “We’ll find her,” I replied. “Someone must have seen something. She’s not a normal human, she stands out in a crowd.” Amber could have been attacked by someone else, or bandits on the road, but asking Kalista first seemed like a good start anyway.

  After no one had anything else to say, I gestured for Marcy to join us. I told her a much shorter version - that Amber left and didn't reach Ortas, so we would ask around, trying to find where she had been seen st.

  After she agreed, wanting to help us find her, we left the bar and headed toward Kalista’s house, but we had only made a few steps before we were stopped.

  “S-Sir,” a quiet female voice said behind me.

  I turned around and spotted a short figure with her head lowered, her arms crossed, and a hood covering her head, standing behind our group but clearly turned toward us.

  What now? I really didn't need any more trouble in my life.