Bond

By the time the twins' first day had come to an end, they had spent nearly nine hours fighting and had slain more than three-hundred monsters. Given the conversation ratio for magic cores and drop items, they would have been able to exchange everything for around 27,000 Valis, which was more than what a party of five Level 1 Adventurer's earned in a day. Since they were just two people, this showed how impressive their capabilities were, at least compared to 'normal' Adventurer's. They were still a ways off from 'expectations' and, at their current rate of growth, it would likely be several months before they reached the parameter development for obtaining Level 2.

Though they had spent nine hours fighting, they had already rested for nearly six, including the time they took for meals. They had also played it safe and spent the majority of the day on the tenth floor and only probed into the eleventh floor for about an hour before retreating. Vahn didn't blame them at all, but he was very aware that even the twins were probably not satisfied with their own progress. It was starting to look like their Innate ability was actually restricting their growth since it fatigued them so quickly and, given that they had no support skills or magic, it was very difficult for them to fight monsters stronger than they were.

When they had probed into the eleventh floor, Emiru had taken a bad hit from an Orc's club and, if not for the fact that their equipment was durable, she most likely would have suffered some serious internal injuries. The biggest problem, since it wasn't a wound that couldn't be healed with potions, was that Maemi's capabilities took a hit alongside Emiru's. When she got flung away by the impact, Maemi had come to a complete stop for a few seconds as she fought against the pain that was coursing through her body from their shared connection. Fortunately, she was able to recover before suffering any real damage of her own and managed to retreat from the floor after blinding the attacking Orcs with a flashbang before covering their escape with a smoke ball.

By the time they had retreated to the safety of the corridor connecting to the stairs, it was nearly 8:40 PM and they officially called the day to a close as Maemi helped tend to her sister's wounds. Vahn had seen with his eyes that, when Maemi had suffered the backlash from their bond, she 'canceled' it in order to regain her functions. Though this allowed her to treat Emiru without being distracted, it also prevented Emiru from being able to split the burden between them as she strained herself to try and drink the potion. Vahn had already known their ability was a double-edged sword, but it looked like Maemi might develop a trauma from this event and be less inclined to bond with Emiru in the future.

Unable to continue watching from his hiding spot, Vahn walked into the corridor and made Maemi startle before she pat her chest in relief after seeing who had arrived. When she tried to stand, Vahn waved his hand and said, "That isn't necessary at all, tend to your sister. Here, I'll give you a hand..." Maemi nodded her head and a sad expression appeared on her face and she began to tear up as she kneeled next to Emiru. As for Emiru herself, she gave Vahn a somewhat apologetic smile with teeth stained with blood from her own injury. Vahn did his best to show a gentle smile as he kneeled down and placed his hand on her ribs.

Orcs were rather well-known for their power and the attack Emiru received caused four of her ribs to fracture from the impact. She also had a bit of abdominal bleeding for an internal injury, but it was slowly recovering from the potion she had ingested earlier. Vahn channeled healing energy into her abdomen to repair some of the damage before he whispered in a soothing tone, "Spirits of light, spirits of healing, become a pleasant warmth and heal my ally. Remove her pain, replenish her blood, bring her comfort - Heal..." Though it didn't matter what chant he used, the more emotions and effort he put into it, the greater the image would become and the more powerful the effect of the magic.

Vahn could feel a large amount of mana drain from his body and flow through his hand using the same pathways as [Hands of Nirvana]. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see the blood in her abdomen slowly dissipate as her body magically absorbed it back into her circulatory system. Even her ribs started to heal as a visible rate, but Vahn made sure they were set properly so she wouldn't have any discomfort. Around twenty seconds later, though it felt like he used nearly 30% of his mana, Emiru had fully recovered and sat up from the ground with a grateful smile on her face as she said, "Thank you, Vahn-sama." Vahn reached out his hand and began to pat her head to 'comfort' her a bit before he said, "The two of you did very well today, so don't let a small hiccup destroy your momentum. This isn't a reason to give up using your [Gemini] skill, it's actually proof that we need to put in more effort understanding its functions..."

Turning his head to the left, Vahn saw the melancholic expression on Maemi's face and could tell that she was 'afraid' of synching back up. It wasn't that she didn't care about her sister anymore, she was just scared after having a close shave with what could have very likely been their death in most instances. Though she was paying attention, Vahn could tell his words weren't really getting through to her and he began mulling over thoughts rapidly in his mind to find a solution. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Vahn's attention was pulled to the fact that he was still habitually stroking Emiru's head and he was 'inspired'.

With an expression of concern on his face, Vahn turned to Emiru and said in a gentle tone, "I'm still afraid there might be some sequelae in your body, so I'd like to give you a proper examination..." Vahn waved his hand and set out a futon on the floor of the Dungeon before continuing, "I'll help remove any remnant injuries and strains, and then I'll update your Status Board to see how your growth is progressing. Though it isn't entirely necessary, things will go smoother if you remove your blouse. You can keep on your shorts unless you're worried about having any injuries there..." Vahn began to feel nervous hearing his own words as Emiru's eyes lit up like stars and she quickly shimmied out of her blouse. Before loosening the belt around her hips and wiggling her butt and long tail out of the garment.

Maemi watched her actions from the side with a slightly shocked expression as she asked, "Umm, Vahn-sama, what about me?" Vahn sent a glance her way as he moved to the side of Emiru and said, "I can't see any injuries on your body and I think you'll recover quickly after a bit of rest. I've been watching your fights all day, so you shouldn't have anything more than muscle fatigue to worry about." Vahn felt guilty about what he was doing, but he wanted to have Maemi make the decision to renew the link she had with Emiru without him directly 'forcing' her to do so. If she wasn't consciously making the decision, the link would never be that stable and there was a chance she would endanger them both in the future if the connection was severed in the middle of a fight.

Emiru had looked over to Maemi as well and muttered in a low voice, "Maemi..." She looked like she wanted to say something, but kept quiet for a few seconds as they two just stared at each other for a while. Emiru then laid her head down onto a pillow so Vahn flexed his fingers before sending one more glance at Maemi and beginning his 'inspection'. Though it was subtle, Vahn was infusing two different types of energy into his hands at the same time. There was the predominant energy, which was like a warm heat that spread through and helped heal wounds, but there was also a moderately stimulating energy that snuck out of his fingertips whenever he was right above the nerve clusters in her body.

Not even a minute after he had begun, Emiru started releasing a strange 'wuuuu' sound and Vahn knew this was how she and Maemi stifled their moans when they were excited. Since he was a 'professional', and had massaged her body fully only recently, Vahn didn't shy away and avoid her sensitive spots as he slowly passed his palms over her back, butt, and thighs. She had taken the initiative to remove her shorts, so Vahn kept his word and showed care to the area that was starting to turn flush from her rising body temperature. Emiru had somewhat pale, subtly snowy, skin and it made any change in her complexion very obvious. Especially for parts like her butt and breasts, they were exceptionally white and she released a long sigh when he stopped his palms on her cheeks for a brief moment. He had noticed this in the past but the twins had firm butts with a strange layer of 'softness' that covered the toned muscles underneath...

Without looking over, Vahn could feel Maemi's aura flaring up as well and knew she had already synchronized with Emiru as she had also started to release muffled cries. Vahn wanted to ensure the bond between them was 'strong', so he kept at his actions for nearly a half hour while focusing the majority of his attention on Emiru. Her body had long become very relaxed and there was a layer of sweat covering her flushed skin and it almost sounded like she was purring from her throat as she laid on her stomach with her eyes closed. To finish things off, Vahn pricked his finger and said, "I'm going to update your Status Board now...I'll check your's as well...Mae..."

Vahn had lost his train of thought because, when he looked over at Maemi for the first time in nearly a half hour, he could see her leaning with her back against the wall with an enamored expression on her face as she absentmindedly moved her hand about in her shorts. Noticing Vahn look over at her, she quickly pulled her hand free from her clenched thighs and turned her face away with a deep blush spreading from her face and down to her neck and shoulders. Vahn was gobsmacked because he had never expected Maemi to start pleasuring herself from the ambient sensations coming from her connection with Emiru.

After stalling for several seconds, Vahn mechanically turned his head away from the now bashful girl before tracing his finger along Emiru's spine. The blood was absorbed into her back as the Hestia Familia crest appeared with a blue light and Vahn began deciphering the hieroglyphs to translate how her parameters had changed. He was surprised for a brief moment when he saw the addition of a skill, but then remembered that he had given them flame seeds earlier. Maemi's little 'incident' had caused his mental processes to slow down a bit and it took him a short while to make sense of what he was seeing on Emiru's back.

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[[STATUS]]

Name: Emiru Rain

LV. 1

POW: G214->G274

END: H169->G256

DEX: G273->F303

AGI: F331->E420

MAG: F382->C679

Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E)], [Prometheus's Blessing:A]

Magic: -

Development Skill: -

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With Emiru's incredible growth in Magic, Vahn was able to confirm a speculation he had been keeping inside his mind for a long while. He knew that [Prometheus] increased their potential based off of his own and, because his Magic parameter was somewhat monstrous, it seemed to be influencing them all to have rapid development in their own magic parameter. Haruhime's Innate obviously influenced her magic as well, and this is why she had broken SSS-Rank even when she was Level 1. This was an important revelation because Vahn knew how vital Magic could be for a person's actual strength to increase. Lili and Naaza had also benefitted greatly from it and Vahn suspected that the development of her [Cinder*Ella] had likely been a result of her increase as well.

Perhaps most important of all, however, was the fact he would theoretically be able to use his 'flame seed' to give someone an affinity with magic even though they have no natural talent for it. A good example, if she had been a lower Level than him, would have been Tiona. She was a unique case and, ever since she was a Level 1, her Magic parameter had always been stuck at I0. This meant that, even though she was Level 5, Tiona didn't have a single bit of useable mana in her entire body. She was a physical powerhouse and was actually much stronger than her own twin because of her unique constitution. Vahn had learned from the bubbly Amazon that, when she was younger, it had always been one of her dreams to be able to cast magic.

This would also be able to help out the other, somewhat younger, members of the Familia like Tina and Shizune. Milan didn't possess any talent for magic and Tina's was also low with a 'rare' magic parameter that started at I6. Most stats started off with a base of I10, so this showed that her actual talent with magic was somewhat abysmal. Shizune had a similar constitution since, unlike the Renard people, Kitsunes weren't that adept at the use of magic and were focused more on physical development. Strangely, their race was actually known to have a variety of unique magic regardless of this fact and Vahn had thought it was a strange contradiction. The two were currently undergoing magic training with Riveria and Lefiya on occasion, and now they would be able to use the magic they were learning if they put in a bit of effort.

Of course, this wasn't all a good thing since it meant that any of the girls that received his flame seed wouldn't have as great a benefit for their other parameters. Vahn's stats were horribly skewed towards Magic, not that this was a bad thing, and it would influence their growth in the future regardless of his intentions. On the plus side, it meant they would all be able to make use of magic weapons, armor, and accessories in the future. For a brief moment, Vahn imagined the tiny Tina and Shizune duo wearing something similar to a magical girl's attire and parading around with wands as they cast tactical class magic at their enemies...

Shaking the somewhat scary image from his mind, Vahn waved over the still blushing Maemi and also updated her status after she finally managed to remove her blouse with Emiru's assistance. Noticing their parameters were still the same, Vahn released a relieved sigh that made Maemi startle when his 'hot' breath hit her exposed back. Her bushy tube tail flickered up in a jolt and actually brushed against his face due to its length. Maemi and Emiru had tails long enough that, if they were standing with them hanging freely, their tails would actually touch the ground. They were somewhat disproportionally large, but this was what enabled the two to run with their bodies angled low and also what allowed them to perform their acrobatic maneuvers. Of the girls at the manor, they actually had the most flexible bodies and were even his superior unless he pushed himself in his Báihǔ form.

Now that he had updated their Statuses, Vahn decided to make due on his promise to reward and pamper them a bit as he placed out the same large basin that he used for washing Fenrir. Though he had some resistance to it in the past, now that he bathed with all the girls in the evenings, Vahn had stopped worrying about seeing them naked now. After his skydiving date with the other girls, Vahn had even washed Maemi's and Emiru's bodies that evening and now had no inhibitions about doing so again. He might have cared if the reaction from the other girls had been negative, but their only response had been to 'queue' up in the hopes of receiving his care as well.

After he placed out the basin, both Emiru and Maemi had somewhat expectant gazes which quickly turned into expressions of excitement when Vahn said, "You should both get in at the same time, I'll help you wash up and remove any of the blood that might have soaked into your fur. This'll be the last time though unless, let's see...unless you can make it down to the fourteenth floor on your own efforts? Your parameters are developing quickly and I think your magic is getting to the point where you might even be able to pull off your transformation in a pinch..." Vahn realized something and dropped his fist into his palm after a thought came to his mind and he said, "Actually, why not fuse together now and I'll wash your bodies at the same time? I'm curious to see if you will both become clean when I take care of your fused body."

As they were currently in a very synchronized state, both Emiru and Maemi shouted out with excited voices, "Yes, Vahn-sama~!" Without wasting much time, they began to strip out of their clothes until they were completely naked and Vahn put the dirty garments into his inventory. Both girls were still in their growth phase and they had fit, lithe, bodies with modest breasts, silver hair, and circular cat-like ears and long cylindrical tails that were very thick and fluffy. Vahn could feel a bit of pressure in his nose but didn't let it get to him as he waited for the twins to finishing fusing together. They had placed their palms to each other and locked eyes for around twenty seconds before Emiru's transitioned from their shared lilac into a snowy blue. Every time they had fused together, it seemed like Emiru was the one 'absorbed', but Vahn couldn't be entirely sure that was the case since even his [Eyes of Truth] couldn't discern much since it was an Innate skill.

Emiru's body eventually vanished in a magical light and Vahn was left face-to-face with the heterochromatic Maemi who had undergone an instantaneous change in her demeanor. Vahn had noticed this in the past and could tell by 'their' aura that she was in a very excited state and was quickly becoming more aroused as time passed. Vahn wasn't sure if it was their feelings compounding off of each other, or if it was another strange trait of their Innate just like in the case of Haruhime. All Vahn really knew was that she was giving him a somewhat 'dangerous' look like she was contemplating whether or not to 'attack' him.

Since she hadn't immediately moved to the bath, Vahn cocked his head to the side and asked, "Is something the matter...Maemi?" 'Maemi' shook her head with a smile on her face and said, "We're fine...we were just lost in thought for a little while. It's very strange to be in this form...it's like we have a lot of power and all of our senses are going haywire from how sensitive we are..." As if realizing something, Maemi's eyes widened slightly before she showed a mischevious expression on her face and said, "We really are very sensitive right now...I wonder what it would be like for Vahn-sama to touch us like this...I think it would feel amazing...my heart feels like it will explode just thinking about it..." The heterochromatic Maemi placed both hands on her lower abdomen and had slowly started inching down lower as if trying to entice him with her actions.

Vahn released a small sigh before giving Maemi a wry smile and saying, "Actually, before you get into the bath, I'd like to try and check your Status Board again. Don't worry, I'll help replenish your mana so you can sustain the form for longer..." Acting as casually as he could manage, Vahn walked over before making his way to Maemi's back as she followed his movements with a somewhat predatory look on her face without moving a muscle. Vahn had been curious about how their parameters changed in this form and now seemed like as good a time as any to confirm his speculation.

After pricking his finger, Vahn traced a line of blood down her back before placing his left hand on her shoulder as he started to channel his source energy into her body. As he began to check her status, Maemi reached up and grabbed his hand from her shoulder in a swift motion before tracing down her body, over her breast, before finally coming to a stop on her abdomen as she said in a teasing tone, "It's better if you insert it here...I can feel it 'deep' inside of me...filling me up~" Vahn clenched his teeth a bit as he looked into her mischevious eyes for a brief moment before turning his attention back to her status without removing his hand from her smooth stomach.

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[[STATUS]]

Name: Maemiru

LV. 1(?)

POW: D548

END: D512

DEX: C606

AGI: A840

MAG: SSS1358

Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E)], [Prometheus's Blessing:S]

Magic: -

Development Skill: -

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Vahn's eyes widened in shock when he saw 'Maemiru's' parameters, but he was even more shocked when he saw that 'their' [Prometheus's Blessing] had increased from A to S with their fusion. Though he couldn't be certain of the effects, Vahn knew the difference between A and S of a skill was a qualitative leap. This meant that, if the skill still functioned the same way, Maemiru's growth would be much greater than that of the sisters when they were split. This wasn't even mentioning that their parameters had literally been added together and she now had monstrous parameters that would shock the majority of people. At this rate, by the time 'they' reached near the peak of Level 2, their fusion would actually be stronger than his Level 3...for a reason he couldn't entirely understand, Vahn felt a bit intimidated by this fact, especially after seeing the predatory look on Maemiru's face...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Double-edged sword...','Vahn's manipulation','Maemiru's Prowess')

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