Seed Master 2: A Spicy LitRPG Adventure, page 4
“Pellitora, right?” he whispered and motioned at a spot on the ground beside her.
“Yes, and yes,” she managed through a mouthful of apple. “That’s my name, and this is your place, not mine, so you can sit wherever you like.”
Seeing the deer-colored dryad did wonders for his mood. Her brown skin and white spots combined with her short stature to make her look like a newborn fawn roaming the woods. The way she chomped on the apple with her mouth open certainly reminded him of how children eat, but he made a point not to stare as he sat down next to her.
“These are good,” she laughed with juices flowing down her chin. “But the ones back home were better.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it,” he muttered and looked over at the plant she came from. A new bud grew from the stalk, one he knew contained a copy of himself. He didn’t care for the thought, so he shook his head and started to turn back to the dryad, only to find something else had changed along the way. The plant next to hers had a small bulb as well, which meant that the orc had emerged. His heart shot into his throat as he looked around for Vilicri, fearing that she was hiding in the shadows somewhere, preparing to attack everyone while they slept. It sounded like something an orc would do, but his search came up empty. “Hey, sorry to change the subject so quickly, but did you happen to see an orc?”
The fruit fell out of her mouth as her ears perked up. “An orc? There’s an orc down here?”
“Her name is Vilicri. She should be a friend, but…”
Pellitora dropped the apple and quickly shot up to her feet. A second later, she had her bow out and an arrow nocked with her dark eyes scanning the shadows. “I’ll strike the first thing with green skin. You just make sure to kill her before she reaches me. I hate orcs.”
“She’s only a half-orc, so her skin is tanned. Oh, damn! Don’t shoot at the first green thing you see. There’s a kitsune down here with green hair.”
“Oh, I saw her already.”
“Where?”
“On the other side of that…” Pellitora replied and tried to lift her bow to show where she meant, only to have her fingers slip. The short arrow zipped across the Undervale and slammed into the side of the deadwood that was more of a tree than sapling at that point, followed shortly by a gasp from the dryad, and a shouting cry from the shadows. “…tree.”
“Did someone just fire an arrow at me?!” Mekiko growled as she stormed out from the other side of the deadwood. Her eyes located the arrow, which she quickly ripped out, and then she turned to glare at the dryad with serious heat in her eyes.
“Sorry about that!” Pellitora shouted with her hand cupped around one side of her mouth. “The tall man…”
“Julian.”
“…Julian said there was an orc around here.”
“Yes, about that,” Mekiko hissed and rapidly motioned for them to come over. The dryad started to walk with him, but the sneer on the kitsune’s face told her to remain still without a single word being uttered.
“No offense, but I’m glad it’s you and not me.”
“No offense taken.”
He assumed that the shouting would wake everyone, but his companions, or friends, now that he thought about it, were all sound asleep by the podium. It didn’t seem right, but he ignored it and hurried over to the small tree before his tardiness angered the guardian.
“Look, about the arrow…” he started as soon as he rounded the tree.
“It has nothing to do with it,” she growled and rolled her eyes before tossing the arrow aside. “Well, a little, perhaps, but that isn’t why I called you over here. It’s about Vilicri.”
“She didn’t make it, did she?” he sighed and looked down at his feet. “I saw the new pod growing. Do you know why…”
“She’s alive, Julian,” Mekiko hissed and yanked him closer. “She is also close enough to hear you, so mind what you say.”
“That’s great!” he cried out and looked into the shadows, noting that he could just barely make out a silhouette. “Why is she hiding though?”
“Well…” she stammered and turned to motion toward the outskirts. “…see for yourself.”
The figure slowly emerged from the darkness, but what he saw didn’t truly resemble the half-orc woman who saved his life. She seemed a bit shorter than before, and her muscles less bulky. The hair was still jet-black, but her eyes seemed more orange now. Those changes were nothing compared to what truly stood out about her. His memory was of a woman with a wide jaw and tiny tusks protruding from her lower lip. The woman before him had a narrow, almost gaunt face that reminded him more of Suunria than an orc, and he doubted she had tusks hiding behind her normal-looking lips.
“She looks more…I’m not sure if I can say this without offending her, but…”
“Human,” Vilicri growled in a far softer voice than he remembered. It was still lower than anyone other than Manora, perhaps, but it wasn’t as gruff as before. “You’re right though, I do feel insulted, but I appreciate your hesitation.”
“And the fact that I was talking about you like you weren’t around didn’t help, did it?” he groaned and shook his head. “Sorry, that was rude of me. I’m just a bit shocked is all.”
“As was I when I slipped out of a plant and fell onto the ground naked.”
“Oh, that’s why you’re wearing Marona’s old dress,” he groaned and threw back his head. “Wait, why were you naked? None of the others were. Well, I was, but…”
“You came from one of those strange plants?”
“Let’s take a moment to breathe,” Mekiko groaned and gave them both a motherly look. “Also, let’s start over. Vilicri, this is Julian. Julian, this is…”
“Thank you,” he interrupted and took a step closer. “I never got to say thank you for saving me earlier. You were nothing short of amazing.”
“I would rather have been victorious,” Vilicri growled and folded her arms over her chest, only to growl again while her orange eyes loomed over her new frame. “These breasts are ridiculous. They only get in my way. I require armor to hold them in place.”
“We’ll look into that,” Mekiko stated with a finger held up. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d like a word with my pupil in private.”
Julian knew the kitsune wanted him to walk with her, but his legs froze when Vilicri slid the dress down and tried to squeeze her breasts into place. The nipples were a lot darker than he anticipated, which may have explained why he couldn’t look away until Mekiko jerked his arm.
“Didn’t you get enough of that last night?” she hissed and pulled him toward the podium, only to growl when she saw the slumbering companions surrounding it. She went to the eternal tree instead, which now appeared as tall as the apple tree, making him look around to see if any seeds appeared within its branches. “Stop looking. The eternal tree still needs a few more days. I would remark that it could go quicker if you went over and had a go with your new friend, but I should point out that you cannot advance the Undervale that way until you reach the next milestone.”
“It sounds like I should have asked about that, but I’ll settle for you telling me whatever you pulled me over here for.”
“Right, that,” she huffed and looked over at the deadwood tree. “We have an opportunity before us.”
“How so?”
“The orc…well, the human…no, that isn’t right either,” she groaned and shook her head. “I can’t label her properly, and that’s exactly why she’s unique.”
“The orange eyes?”
“Precisely,” she snapped and jabbed a finger into his chest. “As strange as this may sound, I’ve seen similar results before.”
“Adora?”
“Yes. You see, some unusual events occurred when she empowered the Undervale…”
“How could she…”
“She grew a female companion, discovered her sexuality, and enjoyed a rather long night. Use your imagination, but not now. Anyway, as I was saying…Adora had a similar issue. She enjoyed the company of someone down here while another companion was still growing. When that person emerged, he was…well, this may sound strange…”
“Look around us,” he groaned. “We’re well past strange, aren’t we?”
“Quite true. He was a vampire. Do you know what those are?”
“I’ve read some stories about them, yes.”
“Good, that’ll save me a lot of explaining. You see, I had to worry about how the sunlight would affect him when he emerged, but when he did, he was no longer a vampire. However, that doesn’t mean that he was, how should I say, normal?”
“Orange eyes?”
“Red, actually. I wrote it off at the time because he used to be a vampire, and his eyes were the same color as blood. Anyway, Adora took him with her into an obritrix, but they didn’t return with just seeds. He brought back an enormous black sword and an ability that wasn’t typical among humans. His leaf explained it better, but, in short, his sense of smell was far stronger than the typical human.”
“That is strange. The sword thing, not the sense of smell. That’s actually pretty typical of vampires, and I’m starting to think that whoever wrote those books has been in an obritrix or two.”
“Quite possible.”
“Was there anything else unusual about him?”
“I never got the chance to find out,” she sighed with a frown. “Adora left shortly after.”
“About that…”
“Her companions became free to leave once she denounced the manacron, if that’s what you were going to ask.”
“Close enough,” he replied, nodding as he stared down at his feet so he wouldn’t look over at Vilicri. “Okay, what do you want from me, exactly?”
“Well, for starters, I would ask that you not denounce me anytime soon,” she chuckled nervously. “Secondly, I would like for you to take Vilicri into an obritrix. Before the others wake, I should mention. I want the two of you to take your time as well. Pick up anything you see that could prove useful.”
“You see, that’s just it, the armor people wear disappears with their body. How can I bring anything back?”
“I don’t know. Adora didn’t say how they managed it, and she left shortly after. Do everything you can think of, but try to bring something back with you. None of your companions have suitable armor, and I know there were times when a weapon would have proved useful.”
“You’re right, of course. I’ll see what I can do,” he replied as his gaze shifted over to the podium. “We should probably spend her points first though. Which reminds me, I’d like to see what her leaf says about her.”
“We can look if we’re quiet, but I doubt we’ll find anything interesting,” she sighed and started for the podium.
Stepping over a trio of attractive women was certainly a new experience, but his curiosity concerning Vilicri’s information demanded that his eyes not wander on certain parts of desirable bodies. He had to straddle the satyr to see the podium from the correct side, but he managed it without allowing his mind to wander too much.
“You see, I told you,” Mekiko sighed from the other side of the podium. “Her attributes look just like Pellitora’s.”
“It would seem…” he started to reply until his eyes loomed over the bottom of the carving;
Vilicri Bullhoof
Warrior
Level 1
Experience 0 50
Life Force 10 10
Resistance 1
Resilience 1
Avoidance 1
Strength 1
Agility 1
Stamina 1
Critical Rating 1
Mana 10 10
Intellect 1
Spirit 1
Overpower 1
Points to spend 10
“What are you…oh, I see. She has ten points to spend instead of the usual five.”
“Did the vampire have that many?”
“I don’t believe so, but that was long before anyone called your town Beachlight. Back then, it was just Azgarthe until the town grew around it. Oh, she’s also listed as a warrior. Why don’t you try that seed again?”
He already had it pulled from the satchel, even though he couldn’t recall picking up the bag. It didn’t matter. He placed it onto the podium and watched it absorb, just before the new ability appeared under her information.
“I don’t know where to put her points. We’ve never had a warrior among us.”
“Think of how the situation will play out. I doubt she will ever learn magic, so there is no reason to worry about her spell-casting attributes. Life force is key, as are her defenses, and her strength. I would suggest spreading them out evenly with those goals in mind.”
“Yes, but she’ll have to face creatures that are my level, not hers,” he pointed out. “I believe defense is more important than her attacks.”
Julian was already focusing on her life force to spend the first point, but something unexpected happened. Normally, when a point was spent on the line, the attribute went up by five. It went up by ten this time, and he had to look at the bottom to make sure he hadn’t spent two points by accident.
“That is quite interesting.”
“Indeed,” he muttered and continued on. “But also helpful.”
He only had to spend three points to make her life force exceed his, which left him with more points to spread across her defenses, as well as her strength. He wished he had more to offer her, but there wasn’t anything else he could do before pulling away from the podium.
“Remember, she doesn’t have a weapon, so you’ll have to do the heavy lifting early on,” Mekiko pointed out as she lifted her hand to make two obritrix rise from the grass.
Julian knew right away which one he wanted to enter. The void on the left was surrounded by smoldering rocks whose heat he could feel from afar. His mind drew up an image of a great dragon that could swallow him in one bite, so he accepted that the other one was safer.
“I agree, but maybe you should go over and ask her to join you first?”
“Right,” he grumbled and turned toward the deadwood tree, only to remember that he had another companion who was awake. “Uhm, what about…”
“I’ll keep her company. Besides, I need to have a little chat with her concerning bow safety,” the kitsune groaned and rolled her eyes.
Julian wasn’t certain if he’d be able to convince Vilicri to join him, not with so many factors to overcome. She didn’t know him, she was still getting over the shock of becoming human (not to mention coming back to life), and he needed a segway into the conversation explaining what an obritrix was and why they needed to close them.
Do we need to close them? I guess I never thought about that.
“Vilicri,” he said when he was closer to the deadwood tree, “listen, I know you’re still getting used to all of the changes, but…”
Vilicri stepped out from the tree immediately and walked past him without bothering to look in his direction. “Yes.”
“Yes? But, I didn’t even ask my question.”
She paused to glare at him over her shoulder. The wave of black hair cascading over her head created a shadow. In that darkness stood a soft, orange glow. Something told him that glowing eyes weren’t normal for a half-orc, or one who used to be a half-orc.
“You need me to kill something,” she stated in a flat tone as that glowing eye locked onto him. “What else is there to say?”
“Well, when you put it that way.”
His curiosity remained piqued when they approached the two obritrix. Vilicri walked right up to the one that looked like tree roots wrapped around stone, making him think that she knew which one he wanted to enter. Without looking back, she held out her hand and waited for him to take it.
“How did you know which one I was going to choose, or that you can’t enter without touching me?”
Vilicri shook her head. “The same way that I know the sun will come up in the morning.”
“Well, it’s hard to argue with that.”
5
The obritrix seldom failed to offer something new. The forest of exceptionally large trees was a touch repetitious, but what he found waiting for them in the distance was certainly interesting.
“What is that place?” Vilicri asked with a hand shielding her eyes from the sun. “It looks like tree roots that grew over a small castle.”
“That’s pretty much what I was thinking,” he sighed and looked her over, pondering how she planned to fight when she was unarmed and wearing nothing but a torn dress that left a bit too much of her skin exposed. Her shoulders were wider than the dress’s previous owner, so what remained of the fabric was stretched to its limits. Vilicri was shorter though, so the ends fell around her shins instead of her knees. Still, she filled it out to the point that not staring became difficult.
“Julian?”
He was caught, but he shook his head and withdrew a bit of truth to avoid confessing to ogling her body. “Sorry, I’m just trying to figure out how you’re going to fight without a weapon. Everyone else started with some magic, so I’m a bit new to physical combat.”
Vilicri nodded along as he spoke, but her head turned halfway through his statement. Before he finished, she stormed off the path and grabbed a hefty branch that’d fallen from the tree above. It looked ridiculously big in her hands, but she swung it around fluidly enough that he lost whatever concerns he held.
The castle was a long way off, so he worked on a conversation while they traveled. He wanted to avoid talking about how she died, or the fact that she lost the orcish portion of her being. Sadly, that didn’t leave him with many topics, but he cleared his throat anyway and got started.
“You seem to know what’s going on. I don’t know how you would know, but that makes it easier, I suppose. Maybe you should…how to say this…”
