7.114 - Emporium IX

She came down from her high, breathing heavily and her head spinning. Looking down, she saw a pool of white cradled inside her propped-up cleavage. Warm, sticky fluid dripped down between her tits and across her stomach.

She had really done a number on herself.

"I can't believe I did that," Natalie groaned.

"It was a wonderful display, Mistress," the automaton enthused softly. "I'm happy I could help demonstrate the utility of the item."

The utility? A snort escaped her. "It definitely has its uses. Let me get cleaned up real quick."

A minute later, she had purged the messy evidence of the perverted act she'd performed on herself. Really, she couldn't believe she'd done that. What was wrong with her? She'd fucked her own breasts and came between them. Would she have ever considered doing that, two weeks ago? Surely not. The City of Eros's corrupting influence was the only explanation. She guessed even she hadn't been immune to it.

Embarrassed, she faced the automaton, who had stood primly to the side with her hands clasped in front of her lap. She offered a bright smile when their eyes met, and Natalie fought her cheeks from coloring.

"I'll take it. The price is solid, and the stats are good."

Both true statements. The item fit in her budget and would make a useful addition as a piece of epic-rated gear. Not to mention how it could be equipped by two people at once—double the value.

But by the sparkling in the automaton's eyes, she knew the real reason Natalie was interested. These rings opened a world of possibilities. There were a million things she wanted to try with Jordan and Sofia.

"Wonderful," the automaton said. "Would you like to purchase them now, or later?"

"I should finish looking through the rest of the gallery. Same deal as the rapier? Let me know if anyone comes in."

"As you wish, Mistress."

Natalie returned to her hunt. She couldn't quite call the task tedious, since sorting through a massive collection of epic and mythical-rank items interested her far too much to call it tedious. But there was a veritable mountain to peruse, so it was at least partly a chore.

An hour and a half later, she had made her way through the three wings of the gallery and come to a decision.

***

Bulwark Striders

Epic

Lv. 4

Effects

Major increase to physical tenacity.

Anchor. Greatly reduces the efficacy of displacement or knockdown-type attacks and effects.

Description

Sturdy, dark-brown leather boots that rise to mid-calf.

***

Nothing special, and one of the rare non-sexual items. But a solid piece of tank gear to throw into the mix, and more importantly, cheap. There had been another mythical she would have liked, but her good luck had run out: the item's price had 'rolled' on the high end, far outside of her budget. These boots were the compromise. Well-priced, and while worse than the best item she could have bought, not by a ton.

So. [Winterfrost Blush], the [Silverthread Bonds], and these [Bulwark Striders]. That put her slightly under budget, but not so much so she could afford a fourth item.

She did some accounting. Her equipment situation was sorted now, right? For her weapon, she had the mythical [Kinetic Catalyst Mallet]. For gear: the mythical [Primordia's Embrace] and her three epics, the [Champion's Loincloth], [Bulwark Striders], and [Silverthread Bonds]. With the [Verdant Covenant] for amplifying [Carnal Harvest] when she wasn't in combat—to be carried around and swapped out with, likely, the [Silverthread Bonds] as needed.

Additionally, she had three gifts to bring back to her team: the level-up potion, the partner ring of [Silverthread Bonds], and Sofia's [Winterfrost Blush].

 Her perusal of the Emporium had come to an end.

"Excellent choices, Mistress." The automaton looked hopefully up at her, the sides of her arms pressing into her breasts to prop them up. Natalie knew it wasn't an accident. "Before you leave, is there anything else this humble servant can do for you?"

Well, if she was offering, Natalie would never say no.

***

Pleasantly sweaty and thoroughly drained, Natalie escaped from the enthusiastic clutches of what she had quickly realized was an outright nymphomaniac, despite the cheerful nigh-innocent facade she wore. The heavy door of the Emporium closed behind her, and she took in a deep breath, her legs wobbling.

"Alright then."

The expedition had been nothing but a rousing—and arousing—success. She might have basked in her satisfaction of the hard-earned haul, but the upcoming Coliseum fight loomed over her, so a frown tugged on her lips instead.

She had two more tasks to handle in preparation.

Vanetta, thankfully, was in her room at the Palace. Upon knocking, her door swung open instantly, as if she'd been waiting.

"You sure took your time. Well? What was it like?"

Natalie slipped in. "Nothing special, honestly. At least by the standards of this insane city."

She explained her experience as she handed over what remained of Vanetta's loan, thanking her a second time for the help. The rogue was blatantly impressed by Natalie's haul, especially the [Kinetic Catalyst Mallet]. Any mythical was bound to be impressive.

Natalie had saved the [Silverthread Bonds] for last, since she had a request to make. She'd stored the silver rings on each of her pointer fingers. She slipped the left one off and handed it to Vanetta, who took it, blinking.

"I was hoping you could wear this with me," Natalie said.

Vanetta stared at the ring, then looked up at Natalie. For some bizarre reason, her face deepened shades of red faster than Natalie had ever seen.

"What?" Vanetta stammered. "What do you mean?"

With that sort of reaction, Natalie stalled and desperately tried to figure out what she'd done. Of course, she put two and two together. She wasn't a complete idiot.

She felt her ears turn hot. She definitely could have chosen better words for suddenly offering a ring to another girl—especially a girl she'd been deeply intimate with over the past week and a half.

"It has a linking effect," she hastily explained. "Gives a double major stat boost of the primary stat of your partner. Which is Prowess for me from you, and Furor the other way. I do need Prowess, remember?"

"Oh. Right. O-Of course. I didn't—I didn't assume anything else." She glared at Natalie, daring her to contradict her. Natalie wisely didn't.

Vanetta slipped the ring onto her pointer finger. Interestingly, she could intuit that the rings remained 'activated' from her activities with the automaton earlier. The weekly requirement was apparently target-independent.

"A double-major boost to Furor," Vanetta said. "Hardly doing you a favor. The other way around. It's better than most of my other gear, but I assume you'll be giving it to one of your girlfriends once we're out of here."

"Probably," Natalie conceded.

Vanetta quirked an eyebrow, waiting patiently. It took Natalie a second to understand why.

"They're not my girlfriends!"

"Very convincing," Vanetta replied sarcastically.

Natalie elegantly fled from that thorny topic, stammering, "Anyway, that's everything that happened in the Emporium. I've got one more thing to deal with, otherwise I'd stay and chat."

"By all means." She paused, then added, "Elida isn't as bad as you think she is, even if she … makes me a little uneasy sometimes. Regardless, I think an ass-kicking will do her some good. So good luck."

"I'll try not to disappoint," Natalie said, frowning.

Not as bad as she thought? The woman might not be a puppy murderer, and wasn't evil from what she'd seen—as in she wasn't going around murdering people—but she was as colossal of a bitch as they came. Why had Vanetta felt the need to defend her? She guessed the two were teammates, and were intending to stay so.

Leaving, Natalie pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the more important ones.

It was time to spend her Carnal Energy.