Intermission: Collecting

𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰.

"Hahhhh....I guess I'll need to get my armor repaired."

The battle at the Crimson Grotto had been more brutal than I had remembered. This was because of my frenzied state due to [𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫]. I really don't remember taking this much damage. Just looking at the armor.....honestly I am surprised I survived even with the buff I get from the skill.

After settling down in the cottage with Fiona, I had gone to a remote place in the woods to do research on the skill. Maybe it had saved me from certain death, but it was also the reason Taleena died. I had lost myself in the slaughter. I needed to be able to tame it, and bend it to my will. I couldn't afford to lose control again.

Some might say, "Well just stop killing! Don't be a murderer! Plenty of Isekai MCs are able to go without killing! How could you suddenly flip a switch and murder people!?". To those people I say, "Are you a fucken idiot? Have you seen how this world is?".

This world is brutal. Since the short time I have been here I have witnessed multiple acts of violence that would have occurred with or without me. The perpetrators that executed those acts? Ya, they weren't going to be stopped by lofty ideals. I wasn't some invincible protagonist that was given immense power because I was a deity's childhood friend or something. I didn't have the leeway to go easy on anyone. No, much like the residents of this world I ended up choosing the route that gave me the highest odds of success and safety.

I'll admit, I still had an aversion to killing, and I would avoid it if I could. When I shut my eyes I felt a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach as the scenes flashed before my eyes. I had even started having nightmares and waking up in a cold sweat. However, that would not change my mind, and I would not hesitate at this point if it was the best option. I have nearly died multiple times in this world while giving it my all, if I handicapped myself to hold up some lofty ideals, I'd definitely die sooner rather than later. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸.....𝘺𝘢 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨....𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵.

My eyes wandered through the doorway to the other room. I could see Fiona trying to play a board game with the zombie Taleena.

"You should put the piece there? Yay! Good job mother! Hmmm...now what should be my next move?"

Yup, I definitely wouldn't hesitate, I would not sacrifice Fiona just to hold the moral high ground. Taleena sacrificed herself so her daughter would live, and I had promised to protect her. There was no room for mercy. At the end of the day power was everything. If I had sufficient power to protect what I needed to protect and have the leeway to be merciful....maybe at that time I'd try to be the stereotypical Isekai MC.

But I digress, my experiments in the woods confirmed my assumptions. First, every time I killed something I would gain a buff. I took less damage, dealt more damage, moved faster, my mana recovered faster, I felt less pain, the list goes on. To sum it up, it helped turn me into the best slaughterer I could be. No cutting corners, just cutting up enemies.

Second, while I was buffed, the cost seemed to be a loss of my sanity. Though to be more precise, it removed any mental barriers to allow me to be the most efficient killer I could be. Unfortunately, that also meant forgetting any higher level thoughts I might have outside of slaughter. I found that certain external stimuli would be able to bring me some clarity, and if I concentrated I could remain in control.....for the most part.

Finally, the effects seemed to also muddy up my memories during the action. There might be other effects I was unaware of, but these were the main ones I was able to identify. I had thought the loss of memory was such a negative at first, but then I realized it was because of that I was still able to sleep to some extent.

I had some fuzzy thoughts about what I had done to those bandits, but I could not recall the exact scenes. Perhaps it was a way of protecting my psyche afterwards when I came down from the slaughter high. Whatever the reason, I was grateful for not being able to remember vivid details of every life I had reaped that night. Though based on the fuzzy memories I had, Fiona was right, I am a monster.

Anyways, enough unpleasant thoughts, I got enough of those when I closed my eyes. Where was I? Oh ya, unfortunately none of the buffs extended to my armor, and thus I found myself in need of repairs. I packed up the armor in a bag, and headed out of the room.

"Fiona, I am heading to Rockfort's. Do you need anything?"

"......."

She stared at me silently for a few moments before shaking her head. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦! 𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴!

I kept those thoughts deep inside. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦....𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦....𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?!? 𝘙𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛?!?

**********

"OY! Look who's back! Looks like ya survived eh?"

Rockfort was surprised and elated when I came back into her shop. She ruffled my head and slapped my back so hard I thought I'd lost a lung.

"Ya made it back! Ya one lucky bastard!"

"So what are ya here for? Supplies for another quest or are ya here to collect?"

"C-collect?"

"What? Am I so unappealing that you already forgot our deal?"

"D-deal....OH!"

"So ya do remember! If you wanna do it.....we gotta do it in the back.....so no one walks in ya see."

That's right, before I left for the Crimson Grotto, Rockfort had said I could have a free "feel" if I came back alive. I wasn't sure why she cared so much whether I lived or not, but it felt good knowing she cared nonetheless.

With everything that had happened I had forgotten, but it looks like she didn't. It seems she thought I came back to collect my reward.

"...I-I-I....."

Before I could say more she had pulled me into the back of the store causing me to drop the bag in my hands. The back was filled with all different kinds of materials, half finished pieces, and an anvil. Oddly enough I didn't see a furnace. I was curious how the blacksmiths of this world worked, but I didn't have too much time to dwell before Rockfort's words hit me.

"I just ask that...ya...be....gentle.......my....first....time."

Her last words were so meek and quiet that I couldn't believe they came from Rockfort. She always seemed so strong, both physically and mentally, that I'd never thought she could be so.....girly.

"I-I-I-I...y-yes."

"Un"

I probably should of said no, should of reassured her this wasn't necessary, and that her concern was enough. However, I didn't say any of those things. Who would be able to say no? Don't judge me! Let he who is without a sex drive cast the first stone I say!

While all of this went through my head she had nodded and unclasped her overalls. Then she slowly started unbuttoning her shirt that she had under it. I gulped hard, slowly more and more tanned skin revealed itself, and finally.....boom. They exploded out of their confinement and I was greeted by two glorious breasts the size of basketballs. You'd think that would be grotesquely large, but due to how large Rockfort was, they seemed fine for her stature.

Even more surprising, they had no sag, gravity had no hold over them, they were....ROCKET TITS. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦?!? 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤? 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭....𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥....𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦?

"....Ya....ya embarrasing me. You going to look forever or are ya going to touch em? You only get a few moments though!"

I gulped again and walked forward....they were even bigger than I initially thought. I reached one hand out and tried to gently cup one. Heavy. It was much heavier than I'd thought it'd be. I slowly switched from cupping to squeezing, being extremely careful as I grasped it. Soft. SO SOFT.

".....Hoh....."

It was so quiet, but I definitely heard it.....Rockfort's light moan. I looked up and our eyes met, she had been looking at me the whole time it seems. That made me even more nervous and I lost my train of thought, but my hands had a mind of their own apparently. My other hand reached up to match its brother and they moved up to cover her nipples.

I hadn't really noticed, but I had started to massage and tease them.

"...Hah...hoh.....no...that's enough....th-that's....th-th-THAT'S ENOUGH!"

She slapped my hands away and turned around. I had lost myself in the moment. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭?!? 𝘕𝘰, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭! 𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.

"S-sorry....I.....lost myself for a bit."

She turned around once she had finished up, her normal look was back, and she put on a wide grin.

"So ya a little perv eh? Here I thought you were a shy boy, but ya more bold than I thought. I'll remember not to let my guard down again next time."

"I-I...."

"So....how was it?"

"...s-so.....beautiful...amazing."

I could have sworn I saw her blush for a moment, but it was gone in the next instant as she came over and slapped me on the shoulder.

"HAHAHA! Well aren't I great? Well you have more self control than most, most men would have...huh?"

She had stopped mid sentence and was looking down. I followed her gaze and my eyes fell upon...a very noticeable tent I had pitched. I looked up to see her reaction and our eyes met. She was definitely blushing this time.

"Th-this....you see.....c-couldn't be help--"

"GET OUT YA PERV!"

With that she shoved me out of her shop before I could pick up my armor or tell her I needed repairs. Later on when I mustered up the courage to come back, she had the armor completely repaired and ready for pickup. I tried profusely apologizing, but she still ended up adding on an extra silver for "labor costs for helping erect a tent".

Also, for some reason when I returned that day Fiona gave me an even harsher glare than usual. It must have been my imagination though. There is now way she could know...right? Plus I did nothing wrong......................probably.