Chapter 58: The Witch

virgilknightley

I left my bunny waifu behind to take care of Cottontail’s late-night hankering for milk—a craving she and I both shared, I reflected amusedly. I was already thinking about how and when I’d get my next creamy fix when a bolt of lightning shook me halfway out of my skin, striking a dead tree in the field down the hill from Bonny’s cottage.

The rain had turned to storming, and a powerful gale of wind blew the droplets into my face with such force that they almost flew directly at me like someone had shot them from a thousand Super Soakers. The weather was utter shit, and I thanked my lucky nuts that it was a very short walk from Bonny’s to the keep.

As I walked against the wind, though, I noticed the town, how alive it felt. Candles and fires were lit in each home, and a faint saffron glow emanated from the windows. I felt an odd draw toward them, wanting to look inside and see what the women of the town did to occupy themselves at night, maybe pop into Vale’s or Scalia’s to say hi.

But it was a different house that ultimately claimed my entire attention. As the rain poured down, permeating my clothes with wetness worthy of May Belle’s pussy when I gave her even a modicum of attention, my eyes flew to the abandoned cabin of the Griffin-Witch, Zelda. Only… it wasn’t abandoned.

Whereas a persimmon orange light radiated from most of the cottages, Zelda’s glowed in refracted blue lights like beams of luminosity scattered by a flawed topaz. I stopped in my steps, sinking into my own footprints in the muddy earth below me as I stared intently at the domicile as if waiting for some sort of permission.

I didn’t hear a call of permission, per se—but I did feel something. In my chest, a pulling sensation seemed to be beckoning to me. It very well may have been all in my head, but at that particular moment, it was all the drive I needed to explore.

I approached the cabin, noting a sunken flagstone pathway beneath my feet. Had it been there before? I wasn’t sure. I certainly never noticed such a thing before. As I stared down at the pathway, I watched as it unfolded before me almost in real time, quietly escorting me to the front door of cabin. The solid oak door had a symbol of an eagle’s head notched in it, and the brassy handle gleamed almost eerily bright in the underlit night.

I reached out for the handle instinctively—but caught myself at the last moment. That would have been rude. Instead, I extended my hand gently toward the door, but the door opened itself up for me before my knuckles could reach it.

“Ohhh magic bullshit,” I grinned. “Living up to the hype.”

“So it is you.” I heard the voice long before I could see its source. I scanned the room, but it was dark, with a bubbling cauldron spilling a pale and underwhelming azure light across the walls and shelves full of eerie ingredients.

“Hi,” I grunted, still unafraid and unintimidated, to be frank. “My name’s Bucky, pleased to make you acquain—”

With a puff of black smoke, she appeared in front of me. She was a monster girl, alright, but capitalize the ‘monster’ and leave the ‘girl’ in parentheses. In all my time in Lusteria I honestly never saw a monster girl as unfuckable as her.

She wore a raggedy black cloak and looked largely like a slightly anthropomorphized eagle, but even that was overly generous. Whereas most of the girls in town still had a large portion of their bodies appearing primarily like humans, she had none of that except a vaguely human shape. She stood on two legs, like a human, but otherwise she was just a people-sized griffin in clothes.

I found myself a little let down by that at first—but then quickly realized how fucked up I was for thinking that. I certainly had enough willing pussy in my life.

“I know who you are, Apex Hero,” she said, her voice scalding with its urgency. “Finally you’ve come.”

“How long have you been in town?” I asked, surprised at her use of ‘finally.’

“At least ten minutes!” she said. “Now hurry, there is little time to waste.”

With a flick of her wrist, a table full of books cleared itself and its contents fled back to their shelves and cupboards. With another gesture, a shimmering crystal ball appeared at the center of the table.

“What’s the hurry?” I asked, bewildered by the apparent tone of emergency in her voice. “We’ve barely been introduced.”

“I’m Zelda. Shut the fuck up and sit down,” she said, pointing at a chair that scooted itself out from under the table.

Cautiously, I obeyed, plopping my ass upon the wooden seat. I could tell she meant business, and I was too curious not to humor her for at least a moment.

“Okay, now, look in the crystal ball.”

Again, I followed her instructions. “What am I looking for?” So far I was just staring at an opaque blue orb.

“Focus on it. Now, recall when you slayed the dragon, and its gaping throat wound bled onto your arms and neck, scalding you, disfiguring you forever. Do you remember it, Bucky?”

I scoffed. “Yeah, I fuckin’ remember it. Why the fuck do you know about it?” I asked, suddenly less amused by all of this.

“Focus on the orb. Ponder it, feel its magic wash over you.”

I squinted at the stupid orb, feeling nothing but the rankle of her squawky voice. I stared at it for a solid minute in silence, occasionally looking up at her expectantly like I was missing the second half of my instructions. That’s exactly what it felt like, anyway.

“Just ponder the orb, Bucky. Feel its magic.”

“You said that before—what the fuck is going on?”

“Clasp your hands together. Try to summon your HUD.”

My eyes went wide. I obeyed—just as before, though, nothing happened.  I had allowed myself to get my hopes up.

“Even once you retrieve the nymph’s tears, it won’t be enough. The pain will subside, but the disfigurement that disables you will linger. You will need to find a new way to access your power—a new system, perhaps.”

I narrowed my eyes at her suspiciously. “I really like the current system,” I uttered, thinking of my Harem Knight feat in particular.

She shook her head. “I can allow you to keep your feats—that much can be preserved. But your Trained Skills must go.”

“What?!” I said, thinking of all the skill points I’d spent. “I’d be starting all over again?”

“Not exactly,” she said. “You would be using the system that the Lusterian gods designed for those with missing hands or limbs or who are otherwise unable to access the HUD in the traditional way. This second path emphasizes attributes over skills, as well as the unique ability to create bonds with magical weapons. Feats, generally, carry over from one system to another.”

“Can I still breathe fire?” I asked. I liked that power, as well as Endure. “What about my whole dragon destiny. Will I lose Dragon Affinity?”

“Technically you lose nothing,” she said, “All of those energies will be reconverted into your essence, which you will be able to draw on, improvising powers. They may be less potent at first, but as you practice and repeat things, you will unconsciously level them up.”

“Why are you capable of doing this?” I asked. “And how do you know about… everything?”

“I know much,” she offered, and that was all she said.

Zelda tapped the crystal ball, and I stared in it again. “This time, place your hands on it,” she said. “This is a Lusterian Orb, connected directly to the holy energies of the gods. It is one of the sources of my own power, and I’m spending much of its remaining essence on you, Bucky.”

I cocked an eyebrow at that. “Okay, but why?”

“Because you are the Apex Hero I deem most likely to defeat the remaining two Dark Queens and bring peace to Lusteria. I would give all my power to see that goal fulfilled.”

I studied her carefully, looking into her predatory eyes as she continually sized me up. “To be honest, I just want to raise my daughters and eat carrots with them,” I shrugged. “And, I don’t know if you notice,” I continued, placing a hand on my messed up chest, “I’m not in battle-ready condition.”

She smirked at that. “Not yet—but you will be. You just need to rest a bit longer and retrieve the nymph’s tears. As for your daughters,” her smile faded for this part, “I urge you to remember that they will all die or otherwise fall to the enemy if you shirk your quest.”

And just like that, I was on board. “Okay,” I grunted, thinking of Carrotina’s grinning face, cheeks stuffed full of carrots and caked with dirt. “Tell me what to do.”

“I already have. Place your hands on the orb.”

I smirked. “You just want me to cup the orb?” I rested my palms atop it. “This is a big orb,” I noted.

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Please focus your minuscule brain on the task at hand. Now, smash the orb upon your face.”

I blinked in shock. “Smash it on my face?”

“I did not misspeak,” she grinned. “Smash it on your face.”

This felt like a very elaborate practical joke all of a sudden, but I made the choice to trust her. I lifted the orb off the table, looking it over, feeling its heft in my hands—and then I drove it into my face, shattering it outright.

It didn’t hurt, though. When it collided with my roguish good looks, it instantly scattered to dust, the particles flying through the air, ending up in my mouth and nose. That part was unpleasant.

Instantly I felt the power inside me, originating in my chest, teeming and swirling and reorganizing. Something had changed, for sure.

“I feel it,” I grunted.

“Good,” she nodded. “Ask yourself a question about your powers.”

I flashed a befuddled look.”

She sighed. “Ask what level you are.”

“What level am I?” I asked the air, taking the suggestion.

A voice sounded in my ear, “You are level 20.”

“How much XP do I need until I level up?”

“You need 24,859 XP until you level up to 21.”

Something was a bit off about that level. I didn’t think I was that high before going into my coma. It occurred to me that there were ways my ladies could have helped me continue leveling up while I was unconscious—but maybe I should leave that possibility alone.

“How many skill points do I have?” I asked.  I noticed the Griffin-Witch smirk at that question.

“You do not have any skills or skill points. You possess Qualities that allow you to improvise powers.”

“Ohh—okay? Tell me my Qualities.”

“Your qualities are as follows: Inseminator—”

“Fuck, that’s the first one,” I grimaced.

“—Lancer, Dragoner, and Work-Horse.”

“Uhh, could you tell me about the qualities?”

“Additional information can be accessed through experimentation.”

The voice was kind of sexy. I could ask it questions all night. A wry horny smirk lit up my face, and I could tell Zelda picked it up because her amused smile turned to an unimpressed frown right when I was thinking about how I kind of wanted to fuck the system-voice in my head.

“Okay, you should leave,” she groaned.

“Wait,” I said. “Should I come back here?”

She looked at me curiously. “You may—but I won’t be here often. I can try to return every once in a while, but I am busy.”

“Busy doing what?” I asked, genuinely curious.

She grinned with pride. “Important work,” she said. “I shall see you again next time. Now go!”

Wish a dismissive gesture I found myself on my feet and compelled toward the door. When I stepped outside, though, something truly bizarre had happened.

It was already morning. “Shit,” I grunted. It only seemed like a few minutes, but I realized I’d lost track of time after I bashed myself on the head with the crystal. The moment where my new system activated could have taken five seconds or five hours.

I shuddered, though, when I realized just how likely I was to be in trouble again. These chicks were going to start keeping a leash around me pretty soon at this rate from how often I disappeared for hours at a time.

I made my way back to the keep, the drawbridge already drawn open for me, mentally ready but spiritually anxious about whatever punishment I was about to endure.