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Chapter 85 : Results

“Holy shit.” Ariadna whispered as she cautiously stepped out from cover of the nearby bushes. She inspected the large ring of circular grooves and singed circles where the Gunge Slime had once been as she took in the ending to such an intense battle. Gates slowly got to his feet as well as he nursed his abdomen, the pain of broken ribs still lingered but his spirits were quite high upon being presented with three new alerts.

[Slimes Defeated : 163 ]

[+2,300 XP]

[You’ve reached level 17.]

“Ha. ha ha ha ha.” Gates laughed to himself as he took note of the amount of experience he gained from a single battle. It was more than he’d acquired in the past month or two alone. He turned to face the rest of his party, giving them all a thumbs up and toothy smile as he walked towards Agni and Katrin. Soon Sypha joined them, and after tending to their wounds he used his Light Weaver abilities to bring everyone else to normal as well.

“How did you two learn to use Unison magic?” Gates asked as the group sat in a circle, taking a well deserved rest before they walked back to the meeting point.

“Is that what it's called?” Agni asked, as she gave a shrug. Katrin had no idea their combined attack was a thing either. In the end they both just had an idea and went with it.

“Yea. Unison magic is an advanced type of magic where two magic users combine compatible spells for effects that are dozens of times more powerful than usual.” Gates explained as he chewed on some jerky ration.

“That was certainly incredible. I’ve never seen it done in person before.” Sypha said as he took partook in some of the jerky shared by Gates.

Agni felt less impressed, after all she was just doing what she wanted to do. Katrin likewise was interested, but ultimately she and Agni often combined their efforts to topple foes so it wasn’t a huge deal to her either.

After taking a moment to conceal themselves properly, the alliance of party members trekked back to the starting point and arrived with roughly twenty minutes remaining. They were surprised to find almost all of the other members of the expedition awaiting their return. They were even more surprised when they saw the state of everyone else.

Most all of them were completely naked, the slimes had proven to be quite a challenge for the large gathering of adventurers. Their expressions were grim and depressing, as if they’d suddenly stepped into a discomfort they’d never known. The only adventurer who was still fully clothed was the expedition leader, Oliver Pagnel.

The short statured elf eyed them with curiosity the moment the party of six stepped into the clearing.

“What’s this? We finally have a group of people who managed to keep their clothing intact -- well for the most part.” He remarked as he cast a glance at Ariadna, Gates and Sypha. Of the six, these three were wearing the least. Gates had only scraps of his pants and shoes, along with his hat. Ariadna was stark naked, save for the cloak which Agni lent her. Sypha’s shirt and most of his pants had melted away as well, but the cloth was enough to cover his manparts.

On the other hand, Agni was wearing her armor, which was relatively undamaged. Katrin was dressed in her boots and hat, the only part of her outfit which remained from their slime hunting. Her cape was pristeen however and served to conceal her large E-cup breasts for the most part.

Merri too was nude beneath her cape, save for her boots and a few parts of her armor. Her muscular frame made it difficult for her to cover up properly but she solved this by holding her corroded shield in front.

“Well done.” Oliver remarked as he motioned for them to take a place within the group of adventurers. The six could feel all eyes on them as they moved, some filled with envy and others disgust. Such was the way of the world, when some rise others fall -- and all six of them, having lived previous lives, thought absolutely nothing of the disdain being directed their way.

“Well, it seems that everyone has returned.” Oliver Pagnel said a few minutes later after three more adventurers returned and reported that half of their party had been wiped out.

“Looking around at your faces, I think the point of this exercise has become painfully apparent. There are many adventurers in this new world. In fact, there are thousands. And of that amount only a fraction bother with the job of Grimlock culling. After today, I think you all gathered here have come just a little closer to understanding why that is.

The Grimlock you fought today are among the absolute weakest you will ever encounter. And, without exception, everyone here suffered attacks from these creatures. A few adventurers even experienced First Death. But, would it surprise you to know that even these Grimlock, these lowly slimes could be much stronger?” Oliver paced back and forth, his hands behind his back as he spoke. His voice commanded the attention of the nearly thirty adventurers before him, partially due to the fact that many had been humbled.

“Shards. Some of you here may have heard what these are. A few of you here have even ventured into them. Inside of shards, your protection against immediate death is meaningless. And inside of shards, creatures like those same slimes you encountered are exponentially tougher. It would be easy if adventurers could simply ignore these mysterious doorways into an alternate realm that seems to exist parallel to our own, but that’s not possible.

The Grimlock wander out and infest areas if left unchecked -- like what you see in this area. Some Grimlock are so numerous that they infest the areas near the shards. The only way to prevent this world from being overrun by Grimlock is to dispatch them. What’s more, there’s another secret to shards which make them even more terrifying.” Oliver stopped as he turned to face the adventurers once more before continuing.

“Shards expand their influence. The worlds within them grow, and if left unchecked the foes within will become even more powerful. When a shard expands too much, overlap occurs. Overlap is ,simply put, when the two realities superimpose on one another and Grimlock can freely move about in our realm with no limitation to their strength. The shard disappears and all the Grimlock within it are free to run amok as they please.”

Now that she thought about it Agni remembered Bracha explaining the expansion of shards as well.

*She never mentioned they were so dangerous though.* Agni thought as she listened to Oliver’s speech.

“Today’s expedition serves a few purposes. The most important lesson you can learn is your limits. This knowledge will save your life some day and allow you to grow stronger. The second, and perhaps more important purpose is to help you understand that living a relatively peaceful life is also an option for you. There are many functions outside of combat that adventurers can fulfill and many ways to live with the abilities available to you. If this experience was too harsh, too bitter and leaves you with a poor taste in your mouth, I say good. Use this experience to find new pathways to living in Adventia.”

“But for those of you who were thrilled by the challenge. For those of you who enjoy combat, or those of you who simply crave the power to subjugate your foes -- well, let’s just say that there will be plenty of other expeditions. Adventia will always need those willing to challenge the Grimlock.” Oliver said as he ended his speech before moving onto the results of the expedition.

“Altogether, 443 slimes were destroyed.” Oliver began.

“This was between six different alliances. And, the alliance which defeated the most slimes is this one.” Oliver said as he pointed a gloved leather hand at Gates.

Gates didn’t seem surprised, but the rest of his team members were.

“This alliance managed to defeat over 37% of the slimes by themselves.”

At this point several murmurs erupted from the gathering of adventurers as Oliver Pagnel stepped forward and raised his left hand. The Systema mark began to shine as he updated the slime hunting quest for all involved parties.

“Congratulations. All members of your alliance will receive a reward of 1,500 Gols and 25 Chapel Points once we return to the Chapel.”

“Wow!” Merri exclaimed. She’d been filled in on the events of the battle after she passed out, but never would she have expected that her party would come in first. She felt both happy and envious considering she was unconscious for the decisive battle. Within her heart she resolved to train herself more rigorously so that she could stand side by side with her party mates in the future.

Ariadna was thinking along completely different lines.

*Ugh. Now she’s going to ask me to do things like this more often..* It was all the black haired Trickster could think as she sighed to herself. Agni found it difficult to be all that excited, for she had no idea what Chapel Points were worth and the amount of Gols seemed quite low. She felt more excited at coming in first, with this Vivian would definitely take her to Kirlunst so that she could learn more about familiars.

After a few more words of encouragement from Oliver Pagnel the group of adventurers made their way into the transfer gate and returned to the Mystic Tower Chapel. The sight of dozens of nude and scantily clad adventurers caused quite a few Chapel regulars to remark : “Oh, they must have gone on a Slime Expedition. Ha ha ha!”

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Meanwhile, in a certain Chapel somewhere in the slums of Grenvale.

“Uhn! Uhn! AH!” The busty young woman screamed, her moans were a mix of pleasure and pain as the tall, husky man bending her over his bedside gripped her hips fiercely. A rather sadistic smile filled his face as he gazed down, causing his mustache to curl upwards. He enjoyed watching his dick slide in and out of the petite woman he was currently ravaging. His monocle gleamed in the dimness of light as he went to work intently on his current partner.

*I can’t get enough of fucking these petite ones. It clenches like a glove!* Indeed if one were to walk in on them in the act, it would look as if he was brutalizing the petite woman. She clenched the sheets fiercely as he pulled her hips into him with each stroke. He sensed her discomfort and it spurred him on as she gritted her teeth.

He quickly grabbed her by the back of the head, taking in a hand full of hair as he proceeded to pound her harder, so much so that her stable stance broke and she was forced onto her stomach. She could do little but take his advances, her face contorted and turning redder as he pounded her for all of his worth. The pounding sounds of flesh slapping against flesh filled the room and echoed down the hallway as he relieved himself, spurting deep inside the blonde’s creamy wet pussy.

*I love an adventurer’s body. Something like this rarely tires me out anymore.* He thought as he looked down at the lowly rank 0 adventurer who was panting heavily, her body drenched in sweat.

“Get lost.” He said as he grabbed a nearby towel and patted his forehead dry. His eyes took on a purple glow as he issued the command and a magical sigil on the blonde’s chest responded to his command. Despite being dog tired and weak in the knees she was forced to obey, thus she quickly got up and walked out into the hallway, leaving all of her clothing behind.

The tall, husky man closed the door behind her without a care in the world. She knew better than to disturb him however, so she covered her breasts and quickly walked down the hallway to her own room on the second floor of the Chapel.

It was quite some time before a knock was heard at the door.

“Enter.” The rotund man said. He was now fully dressed in a dapper suit vest, dress shirt and dress pants. A fine watch hung from his right wrist and in this left hand was a designer walking cane with a skull relief as the grip. He was currently inspecting the intricacies of this walking cane as he sat behind his desk, as if he expected the person’s arrival.

When the door opened a short young man with dark skin and white hair stood in the hallway for a brief moment before he walked into the room.

“It smells like sex in here. Do you really have to fuck in your office?” The mage known as Ziphr immediately commented as he strolled over to the desk. The rotund man didn’t seem bothered, as if he expected some outlandish thing from the mage’s mouth.

“Are they prepared?” He said simply as he got to his feet. The sound of the cane striking the hardwood floor made a particular sound that the husky man liked. It reminded him of a sledgehammer.

“Yep. Are you sure you don’t want me to--” Ziphr said as he motioned, sliding his hand across his neck.

“No. They are still useful. The usual methods will suffice, but I want to hear from them first hand about the two adventurers who destroyed a party of six.”

Soon both Ziphr and the well dressed, chubby man had moved to the basement of the Chapel. They were now in a room that resembled a dungeon of sorts, yet there were no holding cells. All four walls were rigged with dozens of manacles side by side. Quite a few of them were in use. Men, women, all naked battered and bruised. Some were bleeding, others were unconscious and all were in misery. The only things they had in common were location and a strange mark at the center of their chest.

Fargo saw the shadow of his “boss” entering the dimly lit torture room. He’d tried his best to prepare himself for the hell that awaited him after being defeated, but the sight and smell of the things that went on in this small room were enough to make any man’s stomach turn.

In a way he felt better, seeing that the man himself had come. It meant that now things could get underway, and the sooner the better. His only solace was that he wouldn’t be exposed to Second Death. His only solace was also his only despair, for he would be tortured within an inch of it.

Fargo shot a glance over to Glint, who was in the same situation. Stripped nude and strapped to the wall, both his dignity and his clothing taken from him. Even if they weren’t affected by the debilitating effects of First Death it would be impossible to break the chains. Both physical and otherwise.

Soon the man and his sadistic second in command stood before the group of six, silence abound. The failures were silent because they knew it wouldn’t matter, while the other two men were no doubt brainstorming devious ways to torment them.

“Tell me of the ones who defeated you. In great detail. And leave nothing out.” The rotund man finally said, his eyes turning purple as an oppressive mana seeped out from them. His gaze in the deep darkness struck enough of an imposing figure. His body was large, not just made of fat, but muscle. His forearms were thick, as were his arms and his upper body resembled that of a wrestler. There was enough strength in this man’s hands to wring them unconscious easily, Fargo understood this. Yet every fiber of his body rejected his orders.

The sigil on Fargo’s chest began to glow with the same purple energy as a burning pain took over. Rather than physical pain it felt as if Fargo’s mind was on fire ,he resisted it for as long as he could. Fargo clenched his fists as his body seized. He could hear the sounds of shouting from his companions, the rotund man was using his ability to make them suffer on a whim. The command was only directed to Fargo, everyone else was simply being tortured. He clenched his jaws in futility before his mind went numb and he was forced to spill the details of his battle in Sprim Row against a certain Scribe and her Succubus companion.

“Yes, Master Gaines.” Fargo said, his will having been sapped completely by the power of another Specialist class adventurer.