Red slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position before a mighty hand pushed him back. His vision swam.
"This is your fault. I can't believe he saved me and let himself fall."
He couldn't see himself doing that as Fred Hollow, but as Red saving her and sacrificing himself felt like the right thing to do.
"Did you hear our daughter, Clark, Xion found love just after hatching? If there were a luck attribute, hers would be in the E-rank." Vespa said.
He closed his eyes. Green pills were given out as rewards for certain quests. The goblin event poured buckets of pills on the participants. Red killed a lot of goblins and saved people. He placed a troll pill in his mouth from his storage ring and swallowed it. That was the third one he couldn't take any more of that type.
The throbbing in his head wasn't a great feeling, but given enough time, he would get better.
Red looked up at the moon and turned his head to see the broken top half of the well. Vespa had rescued him from the well's bottom and flown him to safety. Okay, so she did care, but why betray her friend if she was a good person? He didn't understand.
"He's awake, that's a good sign," Vespa said.
"Try not to move too much; head wounds can be dangerous," Xion said.
Red got a feel for his body. He wasn't in great shape, but wasn't bad off either. He looked at his watch and noticed it had been recording the whole time. He closed that down and relaxed against the comfy, soft pillow behind him. It was also a little wet.
The moon drifted across the sky as he felt his body slowly mend itself piece by piece. He looked down at his arm at the bone sticking out. Red reached over, grabbed his wrist, and pulled. The bone slipped back in, and he nearly passed out. The bones slipped back into place, and the exit wound closed before he could bleed out.
He looked down at a spike from the drider sticking out of his chest. That was a problem. His mind stalled when he looked at the spike.
"Stop moving, you'll only do more damage to yourself," Xion said.
He heard the pounding of hooves and then lots of yelling. "Jean, don't be mad at them. I'm the idiot who slipped and fell into the well by mistake. Vespa is the nice wasp lady who saved me."
Red used his left hand to look through his phone until he found what he needed. Before he could press a button, he heard Vespa return. When had she left, and why was it so bright outside? What was happening?
She gripped the spiked limb in his chest and pulled it out in one fluid motion before pouring honey on his wound. It would clean it, but he would still bleed out.
Red blinked, and the sun was in the middle of the sky. They were already late for their delivery.
When Lucidity returned, he purchased a regeneration potion and gulped it down. Over the next couple of hours, he felt his body crack and pop as bones moved back into place, and the dregs of the many red pills in his body made him a little stronger. His G4 strength increased to G5, and his G5 vitality increased to G6.
When he rose to a sitting position, it was night. He looked back to see Xion snap awake; she had been the pillow.
"You're up, but Mom said it could take until morning for you to heal." Red pulled the ribbons of his shirt off and rubbed the smooth skin where his wound had been.
His vision swam, and the world felt fuzzy.
He looked down at her. "All that talk of betrayal and you're a big softy at heart." Red pulled her into a hug. "My little larva girl with a heart of gold."
Maybe he was laying it on a bit thick, but how else would he snatch another cultivation resource? A second monster girl would significantly increase his chances.
He checked her typing with his watch.
Type: Insect/Parasite.
Skills
Harvest: When devouring an enemy, increase the gains of a single attribute by the victim's highest attribute.
Sting: A venomous, piercing attack that bypasses defenses to poison enemies.
Red gave the stinger at the end of her tail a contemplative look.
Poison could be a serious trump card if used correctly. He would have to focus on agility with Xion first and worry about lesser attributes later. The returner imagined that more powerful enemies could be defeated with the right amount of speed to deliver her sting.
Jean could tank, and Xion could be a solid DPS. Poison that could be reliably inflicted was practically a cheat.
Calling and withdrawing was an essential tactic in battle. He would use Xion by calling her out and withdrawing her when her sting landed. With his stamina added to hers, Jean could then play the waiting game.
It wasn't a strategy, more of a tactic, but it used both girls.
The more he thought about it, the more he liked having Xion on his team.
"Um, this is hard for me to say, but I'll say it. I want you on my team."
Her eyes widened. "Are you sure? I'm not as strong as my mom, and when I reach my adult form, I still won't be powerful. Most of us don't even reach E rank. Mom is special."
Red stood on firm legs, his limbs bursting with strength. He threw a few practice punches and swung his hand, imagining using his diabolic thrust to take out bad guys.
"What are you doing?"
"I was feeling stiff and needed to stretch my muscles," Red said.
"Were those martial arts?" Red nodded. "Could you teach me?"
"I've never taught before." She seemed to deflate at that. "There is a first time for everything."
…
He turned some music on in his tent, something classy like Disturbed. Her soft body rested in his lap, the small legs lining her lower half gripped him while her deadly tail wiggled. Red was excited that another monster girl was already there. How could he be anything but happy? Then there was the anticipation for their first taming session. He loved the reaction of monster girls the most; every time he unleashed one, it was like they were having an orgasm of their own. They craved his release; it wasn't something stalled for his partner's pleasure.
The returner listened to the pounding of hooves as Jean practiced with her precision ring. Even through the music, he could hear her, and he knew she would be sweaty when she returned, bouncing her large breasts in her bra that could barely handle her breasts. He planned to give her attention when she finished and shove another pill up her butt.
She could protest all she wanted, but she loved the gains. He was going to use them to surpass his past. People wouldn't know him by his cousin's crimes.
Red gazed into Xion's eyes, and he had to wonder if they would hate him if they knew. Xion's eyes were pools of black innocence and full of trust. Her gaze was a gentle darkness.
He placed his hand below her waist and pulled on her slit. "I'm not sure if you should do that." Warm, inviting flesh greeted him with a warm welcome. Lubrication squirted out of her present urethra before her walls undulated before his eyes.
Xion's breaths were heavy. "I didn't mean to." He placed his cock between her lips and pushed in with little resistance. She groaned as he plunged into her depths.
He felt her grip him like a vice and ring him for every drop he had. Soft as velvet and then tight as a steel press, he didn't have to move her body; it wanted it. He was wanted, she had already stayed by his side, and he knew what she wanted—the anticipation in her hungry eyes.
She squirted a second time as he came, covering him in her lube as he blasted her insides. Red had a mission this time, and he wouldn't stop until he ran empty or she did. Her walls caressed his cock back to full hardness as her lower half wound around him. She kept her stinger from piercing his thigh as she shuffled her body and worked him to his second orgasm. The long line of her pink slit wrapped around him as she dribbled with lube after every orgasm.
At the fourth, she looked at him as if expecting him to flee her before kissing him as she drew out his fifth.
Red pulled out and watch a drop of cum tumble out of her pussy before she clenched and drew it back in. Xion moaned and gripped her bulging stomach in satisfaction.
"My womb is so full," Xion said.
A cough alerted him to Jean's presence. "I hope you have plenty left for me."
…
Red had a choice: either continue saving his chi to break through to the next stage or use it to activate his skill. Jean and Xion rested in his bed while he sat on the couch in the living room of his tent. The returner steepled his fingers together as he debated it with himself.
Never before had he been able to use his Sky Father's Body skill for more than a second. Using it instantly knocked him out before and destroyed everything around him. Stamina had a poor conversion rate to divine energy.
He stepped out of his tent and into the open. The sun was down, and the forest was alive with monster girls battling for food, territory, and pleasure. No tamer in their right mind would be out at night so far from a road. Even bandits would think twice before walking out in the open when it was dark.
Lightning crackled along his skin, lightning the night as he used 20 chi to fuel his skill. Pain like nothing he's felt before lanced through him as the skill activated. From the top of his head to his feet, lightning raced as the skill did its work. The chi he had collected through careful cultivation had transformed into divine lightning.
His very mortal cells absorbed what they could as the power traveled through him, but it shorted out all too quickly. Charred skin flaked away all over his body, revealing new, healthy skin.
Sky Father's Body (Beginner 7%)
Yes, it moved up by 2% more than four dozen activations with stamina, but skills do things. This particular one was a body refinement skill. So, what did it do?
He checked his attributes by vocally commanding his watch after placing it safely out of danger.
Tamer Name: Red
Girls: 2
Centaur G: Resource Share I
Larvae G: Assassin I
Attributes
Vitality G6
Endurance G8
Strength G5
Agility G8
Precision G3
Perception G2
Intelligence G4
Spirit G3
Magic G1
Red liked seeing Xion as one of his girls, but his attributes remained unchanged. There had to be some effect. It was a body refining technique. Did it need more activations, a higher percentage, or a special resource to activate?
The activations had to be it. Red needed to use the skill a few more times before he would see its advantages. Maybe he was feeling stronger as well. He moved through a few stances and felt his body slide between forms more easily, which could be attributed to his increased strength.
For all he knew, there was an attribute the skill affected that the watch didn't account for.
He looked down at his feet, where the sand had been turned to glass from the lightning passing through his body. The sand almost had a reflective surface, but it was useless for his purposes. He picked his watch up from the ground and looked at himself through the display. There was a noticeable change in his body. His muscles looked more refined, and his skin practically glowed under the fading light of the glowing sand.
Red looked at another part of his status page that might hold the answers he sought.
Chi Gathering 0/9
Origin Chi: 7/110
The answer stared him in the face, and he confidently gave it the glare it deserved. Of course, a Sky Father would refine his ability to hold chi. He couldn't move up a stage until he maxed out the gains he could get from his skill.
Did time under the skill determine the increase, or have any effect on it? If so, he needed to store 100 chi and use the skill until he couldn't hold it. That would give him the best possible effect.
He valued the idea of making gains early on that snowballed into massive world-upturning gains later. The returner didn't know how cultivation would affect his attributes in the future. A feeling in the back of his mind told him that his spirit attribute's current G3 was because of his cultivation skill.
The spirit attribute appeared to influence the amount of energy he could gain from cultivation. If making cultivation gains increased his cultivation speed, he needed to go up the ranks. But if there were another way to gain spirit attributes, he would rather pursue them.
"You should come to bed."
Red looked back to see Xion in his bathrobe, watching for predators at the mouth of his tent. He smiled gently and returned to her. There was nothing left for him to do out in the darkness.
Was the world once again conspiring to deny him power? He would take it no matter the cost. Red gazed down at the girl by his side. Her hopeful eyes and positivity contrasted heavily with her nature. The returner was a failure. He hadn't stopped the dark lord, but still, he struggled to find ways to make his failed build work. He had hope with the girls he had by his side.
She stumbled and he caught her before she could fall. Her lower larval body clung tightly to the ground. Precision was her highest attribute.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm about to transform into a pupa." She looked away as if she had something to be ashamed of. "I know that isn't what you wanted to hear. It could take a week before I can leave it."
"Do you need to be tamed again?" Red asked.
It was shameless, but he needed the power. "I could always use more energy."
…
…
The dual cultivation was successful. Jean cracked an eye open. "I knew you weren't asleep."
Jean yawned. "You were having a moment I didn't want to ruin it."
Red held up Xion's card before placing it in his deck. It would take some time before he could use her in battle.
He forwarded an edited version of the video he took, revealing the spider in the well, and received the 500g for the quest. His ranking on the Little League team ranking board went up a place.
Little League Rank 9,531
The watch chimed, declaring his rank. Red shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed before lying back against Jean's side.
There had to be a way to increase his spirit attribute. If he could raise it, the gain rates from cultivation would skyrocket. He theorized that the more chi he had before ranking up to chi gathering 1/9 would increase his gains overall.
So he did the obvious thing and checked to see if the ability granted a shared spirit attribute.
It was called Necromancer I and could only be obtained through taming undead-type monster girls. He sucked in a breath and let it out. He checked the region map on his watch.
He would have to rely on quests unless he had the money to buy a map.
There were mysterious sightings near the Verden Forest at night. Reports of tamers disappearing overnight and other troubling reports. A little league tamer like himself couldn't accept those quests; he needed to be at least in the F-rank or a minor league tamer.
To go up, he had to reach the top ten spot in his current league for a week. Most tamers who gain an F-rank girl quickly rank out.
"What's our next move?"
Red looked back at Jean. "Full speed ahead, we're staying on course."
He could also purchase a G-rank spirit training set for 10,000g.
…
The next day, they returned to the road. After a day of rest, Jean moved the cart far more easily down the old dirt road toward the town. He looked down at Xion's card. She had already transformed into a pupa, and the card was locked. He couldn't summon her until she finished her metamorphosis.
The sun had only begun setting when Jean pulled the wagon through the farm's gate. A tall, dark skinned Hog girl greeted us.
"Welcome to Bush Farms, where we have the finest cuts of bacon this side of the Verdant Forest." Green fields dotted the landscape with signs of struggles from some beasts' victims.
…
Jean smelled a predator. Red stood at her side, looking but not seeing. He didn't have the senses of prey, a nose that could smell spilled blood, or ears that could turn and listen to sneaking predators. He stood and made a show of looking around, but he wasn't a detective. Red was an opportunistic killer. He used speed and precise power to pierce defenses, delivering a single, devastating killing blow.
If she compared him to a monster girl, Vespa was what he was most like.
She was meant to be the prey that the predator couldn't resist. With his ability to withdraw and heal even from her death, she wasn't at risk, but instinct told her this place wasn't safe. She needed to run and find more members of her herd. Only numbers could save them from the monster.
Her centaur nose detected the scent of urine where the predator marked the edges of the fence to declare this hunting ground hers. Then there was the smell of dried semen she remembered from her mother, only stronger. They weren't dealing with a mere predator but a futanari monster girl driven not only by her hunger but also by her lusts.
She could already hear it somewhere in the distance. When the sun set, its ability to hide itself and choose its attack became its greatest strength. Jean was something new that could either make the predator curious enough to tempt it to attack tonight or skittish enough to avoid taking more victims.
"Thank you for the offer; we'll accept it. It's been some time since we've stayed indoors," Red said.
By some time, he may have meant hours since they stayed in his magical apartment with all the amenities they could want on the road. The hog patted her shoulder.
"I understand you're an herbivore. Well, we have plenty of food for you. There are potatoes, we've recently baled some rye grass, and we have carrots. I know you centaurs love nice, big, juicy carrots." The hog girl pulled at her pants, exposing her bulge.
"Hey, mess with my woman, and you'll find that a predator is the least of your worries."
"Is that a challenge, G-rank?" Red twitched his hand, and she knew a fight could be over quickly.
She was unsure of the piercing power of his attack, but it was rare for hog girls to have the vitality needed to survive an impalement through the brain.
"Whatever, when does it normally attack and from which direction?"
"Stay with my girls and you'll have all your questions answered."
"Let's go, Jean, we'll put some pigs to the question."
When he thought they were out of earshot, he asked, "Where is the owner of this farm?"
Jean didn't look back in case she tipped the hog girl off. There could be numerous answers. For example, the owner may not feel that Red's rank justified an introduction, or he may be busy with some other task. Though what could be more important than seeing to a loss of production?
She felt his warm hand as he shoved another red pill inside her. The cold essence of the medicine traveled through her body, soothing her sore muscles and building them back stronger than before. She felt the gains from her hard work: Vitality G6, Strength G6, and Endurance G7. After two days of hard work, she gained six levels. That was insane.
If she played her cards right, she could rank up two attributes before she reached F-rank. That was unheard of. Her mother only managed to rank up endurance.
She had to be sure he was aware of her gains. "Red, will you allow me to wait until two of my attributes are F-rank before ranking up myself. You're probably hurrying to leave Little League, but two F-rank attributes could ensure I reach the E-rank.
Her tamer looked at her like she was a complete fool.
"I'm sorry, but you're right. We need to get as strong as possible, even if I never rise beyond the F-rank," Jean said, trying to increase her pace.
"Jean, you aren't ranking up until all your physical attributes are in the F-rank. That's true for all my girls. I plan to help you all reach the highest rank possible. If we can swing it, then I would like to get magic and spirit to the F-rank as well before you rank up.
"Master, that could take years." He snorted.
"Nah, trust me, you girls are going to be so strong," Red said.
Up to Chapter 18 on my Patreon. You can also purchase a collection to have all the chapters so far for $18. Collection
Chapters up to 20 are done and only need some editing.