She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Dangerous.”
“This is what’s dangerous.” Scott caressed her maidenhead in a casual manner.
She gasped again then nodded as she regained her voice. “She’s a schemer.”
“Oh? What wicked plans has she hatched?” asked Scott.
“You’re coming back some time, right?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” he said. "I could bang out agreements like this all day."
Eloa laughed. “See? She knows how to make a plan come together.”
“I like it when we come together,” said Scott with a toothy grin.
Her eyes widened at the display of sensual wit. “Silly bully.”
“Sweet river dream,” replied Scott, a smile on his lips.
There was a brief moment of silence after that while they looked into each other’s eyes. That silence was broken when both sighed warmly in unison. They basked in the sort of afterglow that can only happen when two people of different species met by chance and choose to hump like rabbits after the start of the apocalypse.
Unfortunately, all sexy things do eventually come to an end. As far as the agreement for bridge crossing rights, it was considered a deal well kept.
Scott and Eloa said their farewells. After slapping her playfully on the ass for good measure, he headed back toward home base. Roughly a mile down the road, he received a surprising message.
[Update!]
Congratulations! You have successfully unlocked the intimacy route: Sweet Riverdream.
You will now gain intimacy experience whenever you engage in intimate activities with Eloa Riverdream.
Current Route Status: Level 1 [0.005%]
Bonus(es):
+1 Charisma to all interactions with lizard folk.
+1 Defense
[Next Level: Recruit Lizard man]
--
You may now enter the VIP area of any shopping arcade, and play mini-games to unlock information about your intimate encounters. Special knowledge may be acquired that can boost experience gains during the tender moments that are to be had throughout your relationship.
--
As an official person of note in the region who has entered into an agreement with a non-human race, your status updates will now be updated on a daily basis at a specific time. Please choose the time frame that you would prefer. [Dawn] [Noon] [Sunset][Midnight]
Warning: This choice is permanent. You will no longer receive random stat related system updates. Instead, your status will automatically update during the chosen time frame each day.
[—]
"Man, this..." Scott stared at the screen for a moment then shook his head. He thought that the world was weird before, but this was just ridiculous. It was awesome. He fully intended to grind Eloa for as much intimacy experience as possible in the coming days, just to see what they could both get out of the deal. If he could recruit lizard folk, that would be pretty freaking sweet.
Briefly, he wondered if maybe this would happen with any of the odd girls who had chased after him. Was the true secret of surviving in this world... love? Rather, was it intimate encounters with hot monster girl booty?
There had to be more to the situation. Perhaps his titles had something to do with it? Either way, only a fool would toss aside the chance to better his situation, and the situation of his people. Of course, the chance to have more sweet encounters while living in a world of undiluted ugliness did not hurt his mood, either.
Chapter 17
The air was alive with curses and objections inside the dining room of the survival camp manor. Imprecations, shouts, and all manner of obscenities echoed throughout the building as people angrily argued over the current situation.
The small gathering of humanity originally went into an uproar when they learned that Scott made a deal with a group of monsters. After he calmed them down and they begrudgingly accepted the truth of the current world, another question ignited the firestorm of scandal and controversy once more. They demanded to know what toll Scott had to pay for their access to the bridge since something might happen to him in the future.
“You actually had sex with one of those damned crocodile heads?” asked Manny in shock.
“She didn’t look like the others,” said Scott. He had already told them that, but they did not necessarily believe it. Only he had seen her after all.
“That’s disgusting. What if your dick rots off?” asked Hector.
Tammi shouted, “There are kids here!” Strangely, she shouted it to Scott instead of Hector.
Scott rubbed his head. “Yeah, and they’re here because of the deal I made.”
“You could have just killed them like you’ve done to everything else,” she said accusingly.
“Oh yeah? Have you ever fought a boss monster?" asked Scott in as calm a tone as he could muster. The crowd calmed slightly, but there were still unasked questions blazing in the eyes of many of the people gathered.
"Eloa isn't just some random scrub boss either, she's a tribal leader. I'm pretty sure she could have torn me apart with little effort,” remarked Scott. During their tender moments he had considered the sort of power that she had to possess. Lizard men were better than goblins on average. If their second tier warriors could use area of effect breath attacks, what the hell could their queen do? He would not know for certain without fighting her, but she was something far outside his ability to deal with.
She was a fourth tier monster. According to what she told him during their quiet moments that was the top-tier for lizard men unless they ran multiple tribes. Scott had gotten a lot more from her than merely access to a bridge. She granted the first real information he could gather on how monsters actually work.
Monsters grew and changed to stronger forms at certain levels, and then their level was reset. She had not said it specifically, but from what she told him he was still certain of the fact. It was the only thing that made sense, unless some monsters simply spawned at a higher grade. That was also a possibility, perhaps both methods were true.
Of course, he only knew the surface information. There was only one possible way to learn more, and that was to continue speaking with the monsters to discover the secrets of their people.
“Oh yeah, what level was she?” asked Frank.
“Eight,” said Scott. "She was level eight."
During their sweet moment, he had managed to look at her actual information. It was surprising, but food for thought.
“The… You can’t beat a level eight lizard man?” asked Frank.
“She’s a level eight Lizard Queen, Frank,” said Scott.
Frank did not seem to know the difference, but he did tilt his head to the side in a thoughtful manner. "I've never seen one. What's the difference?"
Scott looked to Frank and then around the room at the others. "The Hobgoblin leader I beat was a second tier monster. I'm sure of it. The difference between it and a regular upper level goblin was clear."
"Right," said Frank. "You beat that guy, so..."
"Eloa is a fourth tier monster," said Scott quietly. "Her level is nearly the same as that hobgoblin, but she is two tiers higher. If she were a goblin, she would be a boss monster who was the boss of that hobgoblin's boss."
Frank's eyes went wide. A normal level eight goblin would be a serious problem for him. He did not want to think what the boss of a boss' boss would be like.
“Worse, lizard men are simply better than goblins in general. Even their second tier fighters have strong area of effect breath powers and they hit hard," said Scott.
He pressed onward with his explanation before anyone could question him. "She would be good to ally with, if for no other reason than it will keep random monsters from crossing the bridge and attacking from that direction,” said Scott.
“Bullshit. You’re just saying all that to make us go along with this!” exclaimed Hector.
“If you don’t want to go along with it, don’t use the bridge,” said
Scott.
“They’re monsters! They eat us. They don’t get to do whatever they want,” said Manny.
“Fine. You go kill them and take the bridge. After you do that, you keep holding that bridge against every other group of lizard men who comes along. Be sure to remember that all of their tribes will know that you refuse to negotiate, and break treaties,” said Scott.
“Chicken shit!” snapped Manny.
“The hell!” snapped Frank. He stood up quickly from the table and glared at Manny. “What’s your damned problem?”
“He is! He acts like he’s in charge of everyone!” shouted Manny.
Frank started to say something, but Scott waved him off. “That’s a fair statement. So, let’s see what people want.”
Scott stood up and said. “Everyone’s here right except the people at the tower?”
There was a murmur of agreement. Scott nodded. “Then let’s have a vote. Everyone in favor of me staying here and making decisions raise your hand.”
Scott did not vote for himself. He merely looked around to see who wanted him as their leader. Frank, Rosa, Harley, and the Weiss family raised their hands. Surprisingly, Tammi and her family did not. That did not sit well with Scott, but he did not engage her about the matter at the moment.
“So, everyone else doesn’t want me in charge? Is that so?” asked Scott.
Hector and Manny nodded readily, the others were a little slower about it, but they agreed. Scott looked back and forth among them then sighed. “I see. There are enough people here that even if we get a vote from those outside, that’s the majority vote.”
“See? You ain’t in charge,” said Manny in a smug, self-satisfied tone.
“You’re right. You people can leave any time you like. Feel free to take any equipment you came with and one day’s rations,” said Scott reasonably.
“The hell we are! You go!” snapped Manny.
Scott laughed. “Or what? Were you dropped on your head as a child?"
Manny started to say something, but Scott cut him off with another wild laugh. He waved his hand around and tried to catch his breath, "Give me a minute. This is the funniest shit I've heard all day."
The gathered, with few exceptions, began to grow agitated and drew closer to each other. Fortunately for them, Scott was still somewhat mentally stable. "Let me run down the list of reasons why I don't give a fuck about your demand for me to leave."
Scott cut his hand through the air then said, "I’m the one who planned the evacuation to this place. I’m the one who cut a swath through town that let you even be here."
He jerked his thumb toward Tammi. "I’m the one who got these apparently ungrateful bastards across the river after saving their lives in the first place."
Tammi made a squawking noise, but did not speak up. Scott ignored her and continued. “There's also the fact that every single person here who can fight worth a damn, including the woman who owns the house you’re squatting in, sided with me.”
The room was left in stunned silence for a moment. No one was certain what would happen next. The situation was tense, and filled with danger.
He leaned forward and stared at the man. “What exactly is your problem with me, anyway? What did I ever do to you, but help you?”
Manny turned bright red and looked like he would explode at any moment. Finally, he shouted. “You’re nobody special! You weren’t a cop or even a fucking soldier! Where do you get off thinking you can be in charge?”
Scott looked at the man as he shook in rage. “What you mean is, how come I’m in charge when you can’t be?”
Manny snapped his mouth shut and growled a little. It was obvious that he wanted to argue, but he couldn’t.
“Do you want to be in charge Manny?” asked Scott.
Manny looked down. “I…”
“I’m not trying to belittle you. I’m asking you an honest question. The world has changed. I don’t know what you were before but you can either be that guy again, or someone else. I chose someone else,” said Scott.
Hector reached out and put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Let it go, bro.”
“You know, nothing’s stopping you from going out and getting stronger. It wasn’t easy for me either at first,” said Scott in a calm tone. "It's not even that difficult to gain the first few levels if you take a few people and always try to get the drop on the enemy."
Manny snorted. “Right.”
Scott looked at the aggravating man for a moment then made an offer. “Want me to take you hunting? I’m supposed to go out with Rosa later.”
He shook his head. “No…”
“Yeah, well, remember I offered to help you get stronger,” said Scott.
“Whatever, man. Just, do whatever,” said Manny before he knocked his brother’s hand away and started to leave the room. Scott glared at him and moved toward him at a speed far too quickly for most of the people in that room to deal with. He blocked the man’s path and pushed him back, hard.
Manny cried out as he fell to the floor in a heap. Hector moved forward with a shout. “Asshole!”
Scott whipped his blade up and pointed it at the man. Hector stopped quickly and back-peddled. “I’m not going to deal with this passive-aggressive bullshit. The world fucking ended, get over it.”
“Language,” mumbled Tammi.
Scott ignored her again, though she was sincerely starting to get on his nerves. Instead, he shook his blade at the men before him. “Do you know what it fucking took? Do you? I had to kill hundreds, maybe thousands of those things out there to get to this point. It still isn’t enough!”
He took a menacing step forward, and various people in the room drew back in horror. “They may have been monsters, but a lot of them could talk. They could plan. They have fucking dreams and hopes for their people too, you whiny little shit!”
He slammed the shaft of his blade down against the floor then pointed at Manny as he writhed around. “They’re monsters, but they’re people too. Some of them used to be our fucking friends and neighbors. Did you forget that?”
Daisy started to cry and a few of the others looked ready to do so as well. Scott was scaring them at the moment.
“You don’t want to follow me? That’s fine. I don’t expect anyone to do anything they can’t do. I don’t even call fighting the things out there a brave thing to do. It doesn’t take guts, it takes insanity!” he said.
The gathered people could certainly believe the last part. It was no wonder that Scott had become so strong. The insanity practically radiated from him.
“Every single time that I fought, there was a chance that I would take my last breath.” Scott took a step forward and loomed over the man lying on the floor. “I’m not the sort of person to care if you think bad about me, but stop being such a damned hypocrite about it.”
Manny shouted at him and started to cry. Scott stared down at him and shook his head. “It’s not my fault that you can't pick your sorry ass up and cope with reality, deal with your own damned insecurities.”
He turned away from the stunned people in the room. His voice became cold, hard, unforgiving. “This is the warzone at the end of the world. You can go out there. You can fight. You can kill, or you can die. No amount of democracy in action is going to change that.”
Scott glanced back over his shoulder. “You don’t want me as your leader? Who says I want any of you pathetic leeching assholes to follow me anyway? Most of you have acted like nothing but a god damned burden.”
He laughed obnoxiously then spat out the words, "Someone save me."
He then snorted in derision and shook his head before he continued to rattle off a list of things. "Someone guide me to a safe place. Please help me. Please feed me. I can't wipe my own god damned ass anymore; show me how."
He looked away then snorted. "Get off your fucking knees and live. The world changed, but you can still live a good life. It's hard, dangerous, but you can do it. Believe it."
"You
said I'm no one special?" asked Scott rhetorically. He continued to speak without letting anyone answer, "You're damned right I'm no one special. That should tell you that being special isn't what matters. Anyone can live in this world if they're ready to accept that it's never going to be the same again."
Scott glared hotly down at Manny, obvious insanity in his eyes. "You want to know what gives me the right to talk like this? All you have to do is pick up your weapon, take your parasitic ass outside, and cut down every fucking thing you see until the only thing left standing is you."
Scott's chest heaved up and down as his explosive rant echoed through the room. He kept it bottled up for days, and could not contain it any longer. The constant crying about people not doing enough to save their sorry asses was one thing, but the passive-aggressive bullshit was something he could not tolerate. He was no dictator, but he would be damned if he would let a mouthy parasite dismiss him and walk away.
"If some random asshole like me can do it, anyone can," said Scott with a small tired laugh. "Hell, I wish they would. Why the hell does it always have to be me, huh?"
“I’m heading out to hunt. Anyone who wants to go with me, can. Anyone who doesn’t may want to remember that there are leaders of those monster groups out there that are probably as strong as that girl who lives on the bridge. Some might be stronger.” Scott looked around at the dumbstruck people, his eyes blazing, as the emotions that fueled the fury of his outburst continued to radiate from his body.
Her gripped his blade, swung it over his shoulder, and strolled out like a boss. Harley wasted no time in following her master. Rosa and Frank glanced at each other, and then walked out. In the end, the Weis family joined them as well. Everyone else remained behind.
Once out of the house, Scott stopped and called up to the security tower to see if anyone wanted to go hunting. Hana joined them with one of Scott’s firearms.
Hector came running out of the house, shouting. “Don’t give him those guns! They’re for everyone.”
Earth Tactics Advance: Volume 1 Page 30