Nymphsaga/Break

Lore Update

Katja's and Dana's "Survival Handbook."

As all of you should know by now, there are no difficulty settings in Nymphsaga. It doesn't matter if this is the first virtual reality game you've ever played or if you're a veteran. You can be casual or a hardcore raider, or you can be a purely social gamer. When you step outside the barrier into the vast world around us, you step into the same exact world that everyone else does. It does not care how good or bad you are. It does not discriminate or make exceptions for anyone. Still, we, Katja and Dana, the authors of this piece, believe that the world around us is survivable for everyone. While skill, training and improving yourself is important, this game is one of preparation. Everyone can make it outside the barrier if the make proper effort and prepare accordingly.

We are a couple of former leaders from well-established competitive progression-oriented raiding guilds in Mormia. A lot of Nymphs come to us seeking guidance regarding their adventures as well as their training, so we decided to put together a list of seven general guidelines that we - as well as our companions - follow ourselves. We do not claim to be authority over anything or claim that our methods are always the best, but we do believe that we can offer a lot of valuable insight into how to make yourself a better player. These are not rules or laws that you absolutely have to follow. You might have a different kind of approach that might suit you better, and that's fine. Think critically and think independently.

1: Guidelines for team composition.

We strongly believe that in order to have a strong team you need different Nymphs to carry out different roles. In general, there are three different roles for Nymphs, each of which are equally important. We have tanks, defensive players whose primary role is to generate "aggro" and keep the attention of enemies on them, so the other team members can focus on their own respective roles. Then, we have healers to take care of fatigued team members. Us Nymphs are very small and weak creatures that just can't keep up with most enemies, so having a healer even in a party is even more important than having a tank. And last, we have the supporter Nymphs whose purpose is to suppress, weaken and slow enemies with anything they have in arsenal, be it crowd control, stuns or status altering effects. You might notice the lack of damage dealers in this list; that is not to say that pure damage dealers do not exist. It's just that we, in our very humble opinions, believe that every Nymph must carry their weight in some additional way in order to contribute for the common good of the group. Everyone can deal more than enough damage to help the team, even healers. Therefore, pure damage dealers are - sorry to say - kind of useless. Feel free to prove us wrong though. We strongly recommend that you have five or more members in your group, and that your group consists of at least one tank, one healer and two supporters. You can have the extra spots for any roles you want but try not to stay too far away from the 1-1-2 ratio. Also, if possible, make sure you have a scout in your party, because scouts freaking rock.

2: Diversify your offense.

Diversity of offense is equally important, as for each and every one of us there is that one invincible enemy that we cannot beat no matter what, mostly because they are immune to our damage. In an ideal setting every member of your team can deal different kinds of damage on enemies to cover each other's weaknesses. It's not going to matter even if there are ten of you when you all deal physical damage only; slimes and other metaphysical enemies are going to make you sorry.

3: Train, train, train.

Allow me to start by quoting Socrates: "No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable." We don't care about your habits in the real world, but this quote couldn't be truer for us Nymphs. Despite the common misconception that rises from the fact that this is a game, us Nymphs can get more fit and athletic if we train hard, just like in real world. You will look better, feel better, and you will even build more stamina, which is immensely helpful. Run, exercise, and follow a good workout plan, especially if you're a caster, since you're naturally weaker. Work your butt out, no excuses. Do not skip days, ever. Seriously, your survival depends on it. I, Katja, personally recommend gymnastics and yoga. As for a recommendation from Dana, practice martial arts and flying. Being able to flips and tricks in air is not only effective means of training your muscles and getting sweaty, but also freaking cool and incredibly satisfying. Your wings are awesome, don't ever forget that. Do not forget to train and practice your fighting skills either. Do anything to make yourself better. There is a glass ceiling for us Nymphs as far as our passive abilities and levels go and we are simply too weak to break it. And finally, rely on pure skill over used abilities when you can; aiming and weapon training are a must for soldiers and rangers. Using an ability is not going to mean anything if you miss your attack. We especially recommend getting yourself a sparring partner. Don't worry too much about getting actually hit. You won't die from accidentally getting sliced by a sword so go all out as if wanting to kill your partner.

4: Rely on professions.

Every single profession can benefit you somehow, so make sure you got potions, rely on powerful food effects and enchant every single piece of clothing you have. Be sure to train your own profession as well so your companions can also rely on you. Nobody likes leeches, and you wouldn't want to be a leech, now wouldn't you? Relying on professions and training your own becomes especially important later on, as all professions can be utilized in combat as well. Upgrading your house with professions is also cool.

5: Strategize and communicate.

You should always strategize BEFORE you go on an adventure. Of course, you always need to change plans on the fly when strong enemies appear, but having general plans, as well as plans for setbacks is very important to establish beforehand. Never go out on an adventure without a comprehensive battleplan. Battlefield is living, ever changing and unpredictable so speak out, constantly. We can't stress how important it is to talk to each other during combat. You can help each other so much better and act as a cohesive unit when you're all vocal. Also, listen to the party leader. We're not saying that a party is a dictatorship, but seriously, have one or two people to make critical decisions for some semblance of order. We admit that this rule is the one where we have some bias, as we are both raid leaders in our respective guilds, but hey, it has served us well. We're not leaders of some of the best guilds in Mormia for nothing.

6: Make friends and help each other.

We do not always agree on everything and we don't get along with everyone, but it's important to be friendly and social in this small community. It is good to have a lot of friends here in Grove and beyond. Help those in need to the best of your ability, even those you don't like. Treat others the way you want to be treated yourself. All of this is especially relevant in small groups and with those you're going to be teaming up with. You're going to be spending a lot of time with them so chemistry and getting along is very important. When we recruit new players to our respective guilds, we always interview them first. Well, it's more like a casual conversation honestly, but the point is to know them on a personal level. This practice is good and probably one that is going to treat you well here in Grove as well. Preferably train with your new partners together before going in an adventure for real. Both authors of this piece also agree that getting together, having fun, playing games and drinking is an especially good way to bond with possible party members. If possible, don't just rely on one group either, but also have backup plans in case you sometimes want to or even have to tag along with other parties.

7: Relax.

Don't forget to take few days off to heal and relax. Free time is important, both for your mind and your body. Going on an adventure is extremely exhausting, ridiculously dangerous and just fucking scary. Every time you get out there you risk getting raped or captured. Adventuring is NOT something that anyone should be forced to do when they're not in a right mind for it. You really don't need to go on an adventure every day or even every other day. Yes, this is a rule, an absolute law you must follow. You can ignore everything else on this handbook, but do not ignore this one. While we're at it, make sure to make most of your days off by doing something constructive, like on professions to contribute to the society, or by training, studying or strategizing. Don't forget to take time off either. We all need fun in our lives, and having some days dedicated to nothing but fooling around is important as well. Drink, socialize, play, do whatever you want. You can even pursue romance and pleasure if you feel like it. We don't judge.

This concludes our list of guidelines for adventurers. It will be updated if need be, as we are still only few weeks into the game, and new information will most likely force us to readjust some of our statements. We both, Katja and Dana, hope and pray for your safety. Good luck on your adventures, and as Grove's motto goes, "Never lose hope".

…

Nymphs of Grove are two full nights of sleep away from their raid of Fort Hammercliff, and a new morning has risen. The past two days - left unexplored up until now - have been ones of relief, but also of confusion, shock and even fear. In the light of recent events, new information has come out regarding the game from both the pages of lore and from the mouths of many Nymphs. Some of this information, like the existence of Paradise, a community of Nymphs completely separate to Grove, has even been contradictory with previously-thought-to-be-facts about the game. There have also been stories from Nymphs in the captivity of goblins about some of them acting in a way that is even contradictory with existing lore books.

On one of the excerpts from the Gamer's Logbook, the one about Nymphs and mortality, the exact mechanics behind mental breakdown were explained along with the claim that "programmed enemies are not intelligent enough to abuse this mechanic, as it would be just plain unfair". Well, some Nymphs claim that this information is bogus, as some of the goblins could abuse the rest mechanic to "heal" Nymphs between rape sessions, which would reset the counter to keep Nymphs as their slaves for longer periods. Should everything else in this excerpt be true and factual, it would mean that Nymphs could in theory be kept as slaves indefinitely, a thought that terrifies many. Only goblins who were able to abuse this mechanic were the elite ones, or the most intelligent ones, so to speak. There is actually a logical answer to why this is the case, but Nymphs can only theorize how this can be true, but they cannot get into an agreement.

There was also yet another meeting between the community and its organizers. For the first time ever, few Nymphs from Paradise also participated in the discussion. Amongst the topics were what I already talked about, and also the next collective chapter in the lives of Nymphs, and a new goal that they have set their sights towards.

With goblins gone, the efforts of Nymphs will slowly be concentrated towards pushing even further to the north in hopes of establishing a connection to Paradise, a village where many Nymphs held captive in Fort Hammercliff claim to be from. Nymphs who are from Paradise - who are now taking refuge in Grove - have described it as a place very different to Grove. For starters, it's much more concentrated and condensed as a village. Grove is scattered across a huge area and is according to some very liberal estimates ten - if not even twenty - times bigger than Paradise. Rather than being built on a flat plane, Paradise is built on a hillside. There is no protective shield around it, but it is at a very secure location where most enemies can't find it. Those that do can be defended against effectively. Abundant with water, multiple streams run through it from the mountains to the north, and according to the residents, the waterfalls are stunningly beautiful. There are no signs of past civilizations, large pyramids and ancient theaters either. Trees are normal sized, and thus, there are no treehouses either. Instead, Nymphs live in more traditional houses, some of which are built partially underground. According to the residents, Paradise kind of looks like a village of gnomes or dwarves straight out from a medieval fantasy. As far as similarities go, there is an abundance of food, which seems to be free for everyone there as well. There is also a simple city center, where most larger buildings are located, including the temple hosting their "leader", as well as an university, where most books are located. The central area of Paradise kind of reminds the residents of a central European village one would perhaps find in Alsace, France. It has to be pointed out at this point that in Paradise there are even knowledge about a profession called "Forging" that is unknown to Grove, and therefore unavailable to its residents. Grove also has an unique profession to it, which is called "Grooming".

There are multiple good reasons to want to connect the two villages, which is something that almost every single Nymph agrees with. What they don't agree with is how to go about their business. For the first time since the council was established, the vote was split in the middle. They were discussing the prospect of a great raid to the north, but a slim majority voted against this idea. For the losing minority in favor of raid, the idea of not setting up a raid seems absurd, as the minority feel that setting up a large raid would basically force their way through to Paradise. The part where the disagreement lies, however, is in the fact that a large raid won't actually help connecting the two villages long term. If they set up a large raid for one visit, how will they go about their next visit? How about Nymphs who want to travel in between the towns individually? Should they always rely raids as some form of weird public transportation? In majority's opinion, it's ridiculous to think that a whole raid would be set up just to get few Nymphs from one place to another. Instead, they propose that individual groups should explore the area and try to work together to plan out a safe route everyone can use safely without any reliance on raids. But then, the minority asks, what about helping Nymphs who are from Paradise get home? Wouldn't a raid be the best way to go about it? Yes, without a question, says the majority, and they do not have a counter proposal to this. But what about the risks? Nymphs succeeded once, but will the second time be as easy? A big raid is bound to end up in a big mistake. If that happens, Grove will effectively be curb stomped with no way of recovering. Besides, there's two more important points to consider regarding this debate that I haven't even talked about yet.

First, and less importantly, there is the increased activity of demons in the Hammercliff Valley and Misty Forest zones. Demons used to be something that very few Nymphs came across frequently, in the past day many adventurers have reported seeing way more of them, some of which are even stronger than one would expect to find in the Misty Forest. While they're not as widespread a menace as goblins were, they are individually more terrifying. For starters, they do not have a base to operate from. That's why demons are a problem is a one that Nymphs can't simply just solve overnight, and it is basically impossible to save the captives of demons in one fell swoop. Besides, demons are not organized, and as far as Nymphs know, they have no leaders. Nymphs can't rule out the possibility of demons knowing about their raid expedition either, and the impact of a large raid on the surrounding demon population. Of course, this could all be just temporary as well and be a problem that is going to solve itself overnight just as quickly as it appeared.

Second, and more importantly, the Nymphs have realized that protective shield around Grove has shrunk. Not only that, but the shrinking seems to coincide perfectly with the raid of Fort Hammercliff, having occurred as they got home. The shrinking was not significant, and it will still take dozens of similar events for the first residents to find their homes outside the barrier. Even so, it's worrisome for most Nymphs, especially those who currently live in the outskirts of Grove. Nobody knows for sure why this happened. Was it because some kind of punishment from developers for their raid? Is it some kind of unknown, still to be discovered game mechanic? Could it have been intended from the start? Could it have been just a coincidence that the two events coincided? Nymphs hope to find answers soon.

The debate will end for now, as Nymphs will continue to observe the situation and to explore the area independently. In the matter of three more days, Nymphs will have another vote, a final vote for an one-time only raid, which will decide whenever they will help Nymphs of Paradise to get home. Normally, Nymphs wouldn't vote again on anything as decisions are final, but as there are more things to consider regarding this debate, and the fact that there wasn't a clear consensus, they feel it's necessary to vote again later with even greater turnout.

…

Before we get properly to next part of this tale, there is something I want to talk about. In fact, there's a lot of things I want to talk about.

A lot of information has been left out from the story, some of which is on purpose, but there's also a lot of information that isn't all that important to the plot. Yet, knowing about it will probably still help you understand this world better. Since there's no need for me to hold it from you, and since I am a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to explaining lore and game mechanics, I'm devoting the rest of this subchapter to tying up some loose ends and explain information about the game and its mechanics that has been left unexplained for reasons such as; "It's too much trouble to go through it in a single entry", or; "But that's a story for another time", or, in some cases, "Author forgot, the absolute bastard." I still do not promise to explain everything. Hell, there could even be some more questions that have to be answered later by the time you have read this subchapter, but this should be a very thorough chapter in terms of information about the "game" part of the story nonetheless.

While I do recommend that you read the rest of this subchapter, I'm not going to bullshit either. Most of this is that important in terms of character development, so feel free to skip through it if you want to. Just keep in mind that the information on this page might not be revisited later, even when something that is explained on this chapter happens later on this story.

…

Let's start off with a quickie. Why the hell are there guns and rifles in a game that takes place in a primitive world? Who made them and why? Like most weapons, they're made by the enemies on the planet. There is only one type of enemy that can craft futuristic weapons - if you can even call them enemies - and they are Altarians. They do not have an active presence in Phantasm which is why they can't be counted as conventional enemies, and most Nymphs do not even know what they are like, but they have gifted both the Nymphs and the enemies with some technology in a process of "experimenting" with Phantasm, as foreshadowed in the "Inception of the Nymph, Part Two" logbook. Altarians have created most of the other weapons as well, but not all of them. Demons have made some weapons too, and so have some primitive tribes of Phantasm.

On that note, guns and rifles are not the only out of place items that can be found on Phantasm, as there is other technology as well, mostly in form of collectibles, which are something that I have not explained at all but will explain later in this very chapter.

I also want to point out something that you might or might not have realized. I've purposefully modeled many parts of the future world after the present world, especially when it comes to popular culture. When Rain said, for example, that Angel likes extreme metal, she meant metal bands that are popular in the early 21st century rather than about some unknown genres of metal that nobody in our current day and age can even imagine. Same applies to nations. I don't know if any of the countries the characters in this story are from are going to exist hundred years from now. I admit, it's a bit of a copout, but it doesn't matter, at least in my humble opinion.

…

Now that I got those little things out of the way, let's talk about actual lore, and start off with talents. If fact, why don't I go through every single talent in the game that hasn't been explained before? As previously mentioned, there are eight for every class. There is very little crossover, as you will see soon.

Starting off with the soldier, we have already gone through Athletics and Speed, so let's get straight into the first new talent, "Assassination". It's kind of like Stealth without the invisibility feature, as soldiers can't turn invisible. It is a talent that offers players much greater critical multipliers, combined with an additional multiplier to surprise damage, where Nymph, when opening combat, can deal increased damage to unsuspecting enemy. It also allows players to see the weak points of the enemy with a special ability that can be cast once every minute. The multipliers vary from weapon to weapon, but not greatly, and Assassination can be done with any weapon. Next, is "Weapon Mastery", a versatile talent that allows the player to specialize in weapon specific abilities, both on-use and passive, both defensive and offensive. It is designed for players who prefer to specialize in a specific type of weaponry and is especially excellent for those who want to diversify their offense with additional abilities.

Next, is "Magic Imbuing", which is the ability to add magical damage to every attack by applying a Spell Crystal to a weapon. It is not quite the same as the Ammo Specialization for rangers, as the damage is added, not converted. The primary damage source of soldiers is, and will always be, physical, and even this talent won't change that. This talent is of course weaker than its ranged equivalent in terms of magical damage, but it has one upside compared to it. It allows players to learn new abilities, that deal pure magical damage, and cost mana in addition to stamina, which is something that rangers with Ammo Specialization will not get. Next, is "Strength", which, well, increases the raw strength of Nymph. Useful for blocking, and for handling bigger weapons, and most importantly, doing more damage. It will not make them ridiculously strong through; they're only strong when compared to other Nymphs.

Next, is "Iron Skin", a purely defensive talent which reduces all damage taken, physical or magical. It won't protect against stuns, poisons or most other status altering effects, but it is still the most powerful purely defensive talent in Nymphsaga either way. It also protects clothes from damage, magically strengthening them against physical attacks in a way that they cannot be destroyed while player has any stamina left. And last, is "Retrieval", which adds functionality to weapons. The main gist of this talent is in the name, which is to call back weapons instantly if they're knocked out of hand. To explain next part of the talent, I must first point out that there is actually an automatic call back mechanic in the game which will activate if the player has been disarmed for a specific time, or if the weapon is about five meters away from the player. Now, this talent also increases that timer and the distance tenfold, making it so that any melee weapon can be used as a thrown weapon, provided that the player has strength to toss it. And finally, the talent makes summoning weapons more convenient, as with this talent it can be done with a simple free-to-use spell. Normally, players have to open the user interface to get their weapons out from the inventory, so this is a big update, especially for Nymphs who want to use multiple sets of weapons.

Now, let's get to the ranger. We have already gone through Athletics, Ammo Specialization, Stealth, Longshot and touched briefly on Accuracy, so we don't have much to go through. A little more on Accuracy though, the so-called "Aim-bot" of Nymphsaga. It is not a talent that will lock itself into a target for a guaranteed hit, but instead will give all weapons a "target circle", even those which naturally don't have one, and it will make it very, very large. As long as there is an enemy within this enlarged circle, the weapon will do the rest and hit the target. There still is a smaller target encircled within the bigger target for more accurate targeting, which can be used to aim at weak points of enemies when needed. This is a talent that is - needless to say - one that will not actually increase the damage of Nymphs in any way, and is meant for just assistance. For Nymphs who can shoot easily without relying on this talent, it is completely useless, and gives no benefits. It is only recommended for shooters who need to rely on movement a lot and therefore have no time or skills to aim effectively.

Next, is "Recovery." Rangers don't have natural boosts to their mana or stamina recovery, and this talent is a counter to that, providing a boost to both of them. Next, is "Automatic Loading", which allows Nymphs to instantly load their bullets into their guns, effectively eliminating the need to load bullets, which is a huge timesaver for anyone. In case of bow users this is impossible, as they already summon the arrow to their hands when drawing the bow, so instead they can generate arrows free of charge. Gun users still have to pay with their resources to generate ammo, unless they happen to find a super rare space gun with the automatic loading enhancement. In this case, their ammo will become free too. And last, is "Overclocking", which unlocks a whole new extra profession for rangers, which can be used to enhance and improve weapons, giving them new quirks. It kind of works like enchanting, but can be applied to weapons on top of that, meaning that they get double enchants on their weaponry.

You might've realized that none of the ranger specific talents give them extra abilities. No, not even Overclocking, as it is considered a profession and not an ability. Why is this? Because all of their abilities - every single one - are universal across all talents and weapon choices. This is unique to rangers, as both soldiers and casters can learn extra abilities through some talent choices.

And finally, we get to casters. Like with rangers, I have gone already through half of their talents previously, and those are Restoration, Barriercraft, Dual Slots, Instant Casting. There are four more to go, starting off with "Status Altering". Like Barriercraft, it unlocks player a whole new set of spells. They can be used to strengthen allies with buffs, or to weaken enemies with curses. These spells can be cast on anyone, but their effects do not change based on the target, as is the case with holy spells for example. Next, is "Summoning", another talent which unlocks a new set of spells, which can be used to summon monsters to momentarily fight in caster's stead, or to do some other tasks as well. There is not much else to explain here.

Next, is "Meditation", a powerful talent which in right kind of situation will improve players performance in every field, and at the same time nonetheless. It demands player to stand still, completely unmoving, so it's a big toss-up in that sense. It is a very powerful talent in group settings, but is otherwise very unreliable, as combat in Nymphsaga demands movement for virtually every combat role. And finally, there is something that is not quite a talent per se, but rather, a useable ability, "Telekinesis." It is exactly what it sounds like, and it allows player to move and levitate things with their minds. What makes it great is that it can be used for non-combat purposes as well, and even living beings. It works on literally anything. The spell is channeled, and therefore is unaffected by increases to cast speed. Its mana cost is directly linked to the weight of the target player is trying to lift and is higher for heavier objects. In theory, players can lift anything - even mountains - but since there are limitations to mana, lifting ridiculously heavy items is impossible in practice. Even lifting another Nymph with magic is hard to accomplish.

…

Spell Crystals are an integral part of Nymphsaga's gaming experience, mostly for casters, but for other classes as well based on their talent choices as well. Generally speaking, when equipped, players unlock the element infused inside the crystal to use for combat purposes. For soldiers and rangers, this can mean elemental damage, and for casters, this means spells, a lot of them. While every crystal comes with some spells for casters to learn instantly, most of the spells still have to be trained.

What kind of crystals are there? There are Fire, Water/Frost, Lightning, Earth, Arcane and Shadow for pure damage, and Nature and Holy for damage and healing. While they are all equally viable, they do have their strengths and weaknesses, and differences in terms of usage, like weapons. They all fit different styles, different situations and different players.

First off, Fire is exactly what it sounds like, and can be used for burning enemies. It relies heavily on casted and channeled spells, and the spells have to travel to their destination to deal damage. They deal some of the damage right off the bat, and then the rest through burn. While definitely amongst the most destructive schools of magic in terms of raw damage, there are very few ways this can be used for crowd control. Fire spells are very likely to piss off enemies more than other schools of magic, which can be either a good thing or a bad thing.

Next, is Water and Frost, which are combined into one school of magic. It mostly relies on the frost part, as water related spells are much rarer and are rarely used to deal damage. Like Fire, it relies heavily on casted and channeled spells, and the spells have to travel to their destination to deal damage. Frost spells deal low damage but have nasty freeze and slow effects attached to them which are a very effective way of crowd control.

Casting Lightning is kind of like rolling a dice on the battlefield. Sometimes, it can deal very little damage, and sometimes, it does lot of it. While the range of damage is massive, the damage output is very much average. While the spells are casted and channeled, they travel to their destinations typically instantly and hit with almost one hundred percent accuracy. Lightning can stun enemies too, but this effect is random, and therefore not very reliable.

Earth relies mostly on physical damage, which makes it unique for casters in a sense that it's the only way for them to deal physical damage to enemies without any talents or professions to help. It relies heavily on channeled spells, which are rarely shot out, but rather cast on environment. Needless to say, there is no travel distance in these cases. It is very effective at dealing raw, instant damage in high outputs, and can be used for defensive purposes as well, as well as even altering the battlefield. It is not, however, useful for crowd control.

Arcane is a school of magic specifically designed against magic. Its normal damage output is very low, but it can degenerate mana from the enemies as well, making it super effective against casters and metaphysical, magic-based lifeforms. It functions like most spells, through casting, channeling and spells that have to travel to reach their destinations.

Shadow is a school of magic that relies completely on damage over time effects. Out of all the schools it deals the most damage by far and away, but since none of the damage comes instantly, it's hard to maximize its full potential outside raid settings. While shadow spells are cheap and travel to their destinations instantly, they rely on very long cast times. There is also some crowd control in form of blinds and even mind control, which makes shadow magic versatile as well.

Now we get to the schools of magic that can be used for healing. First, there is Nature, which, like Shadow, relies mostly on over time effects. There is no such thing as a nature damage and instead, the damage comes from poisons which can be used for many different purposes. When it comes to healing, there is a higher emphasis on over time effects and mana intensive instant cast heals. Nature spells are never cast or channeled, as they always come out instantly. Some of them find their targets instantly, some don't.

And finally, there is Holy. Unlike Nature, which has a different set of spells for healing and dealing damage, Holy spells work both on friends and foes alike. They just have different effects on different beings. While there are many mana efficient over time effects, Holy spells rely much more on straight up heals. They are almost always cast or channeled. Some of them have to travel, while some reach their targets instantly. At this point, it is also worth pointing out that both Nature and Holy are equally useful for dispelling negative status altering effects.

Normally, Nymphs have just one set of spells, but with Dual Slots and some higher tier stones, that allow multiple schools of magic, Nymphs can even learn four sets of spells. Of course, versatility always comes at the cost, since specializing in just few schools means higher mastery over them, especially at higher tiers.

…

Speaking of tiers, what are they? I don't think I've discussed them at all, despite the fact that there have been few mentions about them. There has also been one mention of item names, which are colored, and normally white. These colored names and tiers are directly connected.

Just like enemies have ranks, items have tiers attached to them. Every item category is divided into tiers, even collectibles. From one to five, tier levels are divided to these colors: White, green, blue, red and purple. What are these ranks called? Again, from one to five: Common, uncommon, rare, extra rare and epic. Technically there is also tier zero, which is yellow, but since it only has the currency in it, it's not important at all to discuss here. Higher tier typically - in 95% of cases - means a better effect or an item. Some exceptions to this rule include ingredients, which always have a situational use, items that are not meant for combat, and items with very specific must have effects that some talent specializations rely on heavily. The tier level is also directly linked to item rarity. Epic items are by far the rarest. For full context on rarity: Normal, common items are 80% of all items. Out of the twenty percent left, fifteen percent are uncommon, while the remaining five percent are divided to the last three tiers. In this small sample, rare items make up 80%, extra rare make 18%, and epics make 2%. It is worth noting that this percentage divide is across the entire world of Phantasm, and in some places high tier drops are more common, while in some places they can't be found at all. Raid bosses also tend to drop very high-tier items.

When it comes to all equipment, higher tier doesn't just mean better effects, but also in some cases more effects. Items can be categorized in many ways, but one that is the most important is the distinction between breakable and unbreakable gear. Breakable gear - or clothing - includes tops, bottoms, shoes, accessories and panties, while unbreakable gear includes jewelry and weapons.

Starting with clothing, there is one effect per item, with the exception of panties and two-piece dresses. Dresses have double effects, as they count simultaneously as both top and bottom. Panties are the second most powerful equipment in game, and arguably the most important to protect as they can be broken unlike weapons, and the number of effects they have on them is directly linked to the tier level. Epic panties have five effects on them, which is why they are sought after by everyone. Panties always come with one negative effect or a curse as well to balance things out. The only exceptions to this rule are the panties Nymph start with, which never have any magical properties attached to them, positive or negative. Now, I mentioned accessories, and they come in many forms. They include optional things such as belts, hats, glasses, socks, pretty much anything that cannot be categorized in other gear categories. Players can wear as many of them as they want but can only benefit from two of them at the time. Players can choose the effects by picking them in a special user interface - summoned by drawing a square with a finger - and they can only be changed once in an hour, or for free when in an apartment owned by any Nymph. Safe zones such as barriers also count.

Now, unbreakable gear. Nymphs can also wear as much jewelry as they want but can only benefit from two items. So basically, the exact same rules as the ones with accessories apply to here. They have one effect until tier two, two effects until four, and three effects at five. In addition to having damage multiplier that scales with tier levels, the number of enhancements on weapons is always the same as the tier level, making them are the most important part of any arsenal. Nymphs, of course, only benefit from the weapons they are currently using. This raises a question about dual wielding and thrown weapons usable with "Retrieval" talent: are these Nymphs overpowered? In theory, they can be, but in practice, no. Weapons designed to be used with one hand - like pistols and daggers - have naturally weaker stats than the big weapons, and enhancements specifically designed to boost thrown damage are typically limited to low tier weapons. Besides, big weapons can't be thrown effectively, so there's that too.

Spells and abilities also have tiers attached to them. While lower tier abilities scale upwards based on the tier of the weapon player has currently equipped, higher tier abilities always require higher tier weapons and Spell Crystals to be useable. It is also worth noting that if caster gets a tier three Spell Crystal with two elements on it - which is the minimum requirement for such a crystal - the elements count as tier one instead of two or three.

…

I promised to talk about collectibles earlier, so here we go. They are looted items that have no combat use and can't really be used for professions either. In a sense, they're kind of like trophies; they're proof that the player has ventured far into the unknown and found something awesome. Like every other item in the game, they can be divided into tiers as well. Technically lore books fall into this category, but let's be honest, nobody collects them as trophies for personal use. They are always donated to the various libraries scattered across Phantasm. Otherwise, collectibles can come in form of almost anything: decorations, containers, dishes, fun accessories, books, technology, sex toys, you name it. Speaking of sex toys, they can't be crated or found in Grove, but fun toys such as vibrators can be looted. Yes, there are epic, tier five dildoes as well. Let that sink in.

…

That's a lot of information to wrap your mind around, and I haven't even gotten to professions yet. Let's waste no more time, as there is a lot to go through.

Cooking is a unique profession in a sense that everyone can cook. It doesn't take a genius or a specialist to pick up a knife, chop up some vegetables and toss them together to make a salad. So, what's the point of having specialized chefs? They can do three things that nobody else can.

First off, is growing and cultivating plants. Chefs possess a special ability to extract seeds from the items they pick up and by doing this they can grow plants even outside their natural habitats. The things they grow don't even have to be limited to food products. They can, for example, grow herbs used by alchemists, and grow carnivorous plants for pest control. It is even possible to grow up some plants that may, in fact, be a little dangerous and rapey, which can be used for pleasure. It is in this ability that also lies some of Chef's special abilities which can be used for combat purposes, as they can summon and grow vines and plants instantly to either deal damage or slow down enemies with crowd control.

Next, is the magical spice of the Chef. Food they cook is instantly laced with this magic, which makes their meals not only taste better by some form of weird magic, and the power of this magic scales with their cooking level. You can always expect food worthy of three Michelin stars from the high tier Chefs. Their food also actually boosts up players stats when consumed. These effects vary from food to food and are partially random. They last for 24 hours so only one such meal is needed in a day to get its full effects. The use of these effects is not, however, widespread in Grove, as setting up restaurants takes a lot of time and effort. They are something that only Chefs and their close friends rely on. Chefs always get better and longer effects from their food.

And finally, Chefs can craft supplements and such, which can - unlike other food - be stored in inventories. While Nymphs don't need to eat food that much, they do get hungry, and being hungry will result in negative stats. Having a candy bar while on an adventure is always a good thing to have, and Chefs can make them for anyone. These items can't give boosts to stats though.

Before I get to the next profession, let's talk about food briefly. Nymphs live entirely on plants and can't consume most animal products. Two examples of animal products they can consume without problems are honey and semen, although the other one is not used for food. The thing that forces players in Nymphsaga to live on a vegetarian diet is not only a limitation with their feet or their digestive systems, but also a limitation in their ability to acquire food. It has been established that monsters disintegrate upon death, making it impossible to harvest meat. Monsters do not drop meat either, at least not for Nymphs. When it comes to drinks, they are limited to water, juice, and drug-laced beverages. Nymphs can't drink alcohol because they are little children and children can't drink alcohol. They can, however, drink a much safer, yet just as intoxicating alternative, which replaces alcohol with a special kind of miasma-infused sugar harvested from a sugarcane-like plant called "Demon's Whistle." This substance is normally poisonous, but Alchemists can deal with the poison and make it more manageable and more importantly, tasty. Best of all, it will not make Nymphs fat and will not result in a hangover. Just like with source generation, their drunkenness is directly linked to their heat. Nymphs get very, very horny and extremely friendly when they are drunk, and they will fuck anything that moves, even those who are looking to hurt them. Needless to say, it is strictly forbidden to go on an adventure while drunk, as the risk of getting raped - if you can even call it a rape at that point - increases tenfold with every permille of sugar in their bloodstream. Think of it as Nymphsaga's version of "Don't drink and drive."

Speaking of Alchemy, let's get to that next. It is something that has been talked about a lot, and honestly, that's because it's probably the most relevant and popular profession in all of Grove. It is used to make potions which are used by everyone, and not just every now and then, but a lot. It relies heavily on herbs and vegetation in general, which is why Alchemists and Chefs like to typically work together. Chefs can, after all, grow rare herbs that Alchemists use for their potions and mixtures. Alchemists do, however, also work on other less appetizing ingredients like animal parts and mucus harvested from some enemies, as well as poisons. Alchemists can also make poisons, mixtures and even explosives that can deal damage to enemies, which is how they get some joy out of Alchemy in terms of combat. Some potions are also alchemist only, and these can give various, very strong boosts to different stats. Otherwise, Alchemy is a very simple and straightforward profession that rarely has any real effects in combat to make them better fighters. If not used for explosives, Alchemy mostly offers passive bonuses, like increased effects from potions, or immunities and resistances to various different kinds of damage.

Another way how Alchemists can be useful for their allies is through transmutation. This is a process that is not useful for anything alchemists themselves can do, but other professions may rely on alchemy for this, as some special, high tier ingredients can only be made by alchemists.

…

Let's go through a profession that I have only mentioned briefly, which is Grooming, or caretaking, a profession apparently unique to Grove. Like Scouting - which I cover very briefly later - Grooming is a profession that does not rely on trade at all. Unlike Scouting, which relies on exploration, Grooming relies heavily on combat. Caretakers can tame animals and use them as pets and companions for combat, and pretty much anything else for that matter - even sex. Most pets are acquired by taming them in the wild. What kind of pets can Caretakers tame? Only beasts. No humanoids, no beastkin, no insects, no slimes or metaphysical enemies, and absolutely no demons. Demons belong to the enchanters; more on that very soon. High level Caretakers can also even give birth to their own pets, as they can control their pregnancies in a way that it will result in a type of a baby that can be groomed later on. They can transform a child of any species into a beast. These bonuses have been mostly left in shadows because few have reached such a high level of Grooming and for the fact that this profession is not simply that popular amongst Nymphs for various different reasons.

Grooming is one of the most useful professions in combat, because having a strong pet is like having one extra Nymph on the field. To make sure this profession is not too overpowered though, pets can't be summoned or dismissed, and they will stay dead if they die. Caretakers who build farms and ranches to themselves can always have many pets, but they can only control one at the time. Changing the pet Nymph can control also takes time. It's done with a long and costly channeled spell which only has an effect of one hour. It can be reapplied at any time though. Because of this, this is also somewhat dangerous as a profession, because if Nymph - for example - has three pets in one closed space, and they can only control one of them at once, the other two can rape their owner, making the owner unable to control any of them. And since pets are not naturally sterile, well… Let's just say that the accidents can sometimes be devastating.

Now, scouting. It has already been established that Scouts find more loot than the others and they can discover all kinds of fancy information about their enemies and spot hidden treasures better. What else can they do? Well, not much. Becoming better as a Scout just increases these bonuses further.

Only thing about Scouts can do that I haven't discussed yet is the fact that they can get better, upgraded maps, which work in areas where other maps normally don't work. A tier three map is required for a tier three zone, for example. Better maps also come with more accurate information about landscapes and such and can even remember locations of special landmarks that normal maps can't show.

Grooming and Scouting are the only two professions in the game that don't have a recipe book, and thus have to be trained by using the abilities provided by them instead of completing high level recipes.

…

There are only three more professions to go: Sewing for Clothiers, Forging for Smiths and Enchanting for Enchanters. All these three professions are highly intertwined - like Cooking and Alchemy - and rely heavily on each other because they all deal with gear. Let's start off with Forging, a profession available only to Nymphs from Paradise.

There are only five Nymphs currently in Grove who are Smiths, and each one of them show desire in returning to Paradise, which is a great blow to them considering how useful a profession Forging is. It is used to make weapons, simple as that. They can't make guns or profession specific weapons, but other than that, there are no restrictions. It relies a little more in alchemy than the other two professions I will talk much more about, as Nymphs don't really mine or smelt ore. They forge metals and crystals into different shapes with magic instead. I will not go through this profession in any other way, as it will not play a big role in the story for a long time, if at all. Instead, let's jump straight to Sewing, which is used to create all kinds of clothes.

While clothes can be looted from the enemies, there is something special about the clothes made by Nymphs. All clothes on Nymphsaga - both looted and crafted - tend to be a little weird, to say it nicely, and are a strange mix of cute and childish and revealing, if not outright slutty. Modesty is not a virtue that Nymphs hold when it comes to their clothing, as it tends to be brash, bold, colorful, revealing and in your face. Clothes made by Clothiers are no different in this front. What does make them different though is the fact that their clothes have a completely different set of unique effects that looted items can't have. Whenever these effects are better or worse changes from person to person, but usually players have to rely on an outfit that mixes both looted and crafted items. Designs in both are also unique, so it does play a huge role in terms of aesthetics as well. Frilly and laced clothes, for example, do not drop from enemies, and are typically crafted instead. Clothiers are also the only kinds of people who can create make-up and dyes for hair, as well as edit clothes by changing their colors and add print to them. And finally, like it has been already said, clothiers can restore effects to broken items.

Clothiers themselves benefit from their professions by being able to use various kinds of transformation spells, which can even temporarily change their combat role. When wearing clothes they have made themselves, they also get extra effects, making them passively stronger.

Finally, it has to be pointed out that Clothiers have by far the largest recipe book in the game simply because of the fact that there are literally thousands of different kinds of clothes. Because of this, Sewing is the only profession in the game that comes with a catalog, which can be summoned and then used like an additional user interface by other players.

Now, we get to Enchanting, which deals with souls of the enemies, as well as enchanting gear. Enchants are, as established before, mostly made from spell and soul stones created by Enchanters. I will not go through them anymore. Instead, let's move forward. Any piece of equipment can be enchanted to have a new, unique effect on it. Items can only have one enchant on them at the time. Enchants are usually item specific, as stamina bonuses are typically found only on boots, and damage bonuses can be only put on weapons. Only exception to this rule is jewelry, which can be enchanted with anything, with the exception of extremely powerful panty enchants. What makes Enchanting so great is that players can pick exactly the effect that they want on their items. When a new, better item doesn't have the effect that they want, Enchanters may be able fix that. Of course, like with Sewing, some effects are unique to drops, while others are unique to Enchanting, so Enchanting is not always the solution.

Intrigue of Enchanting does not stop there, though, as it has one unique effect to it that no other profession has, and that is its effect on other things as well. It's not just gear that can be enchanted. Other items, like some collectibles and ingredients, can be enchanted too. And there is one more special effect to the Enchanting what makes it unique, and that is the ability to control Demons through enchanting.

It is not actually accurate to say that Demons can be controlled, as they cannot be tamed. They can be raised from birth and manipulated in a controlled environment to obey some commands through spells when they are still young and weak. It can only be done to demons that have been birthed by Nymphs, and demons have to be enchanted when they are merely few days old. Otherwise, they will grow up to be completely untamable. Through manipulation, they can grow up to be almost any kinds of Demons, but it is not recommended to create Demons that have the ability to raise against their masters, as that is a very real possibility. The best way to do this is to avoid creating large Demons capable of movement or highly intelligent demons, and instead rely on smaller Demons and stationary Demons, such as some tentacle monsters. It is also worth pointing out that just like Caretakers, Enchanters can manipulate the babies in their wombs to make them all demonic.

As far as Enchanters personal gains go in terms of fighting, they can create special kinds of enchanter only weapons - which honestly aren't any better in combat compared to normal weapons - and enchant their weapons and panties with special enchants, which are far more powerful than normal enchants. All of their special weapons and enchants are demonic in nature. And finally, some Enchanters also use Demons as tools for combat, kind of like casters with a Summoner talent use their minions.

Before I leave the topic of professions I also want to point out that there are many hidden, "secondary" professions in the game that can be learned by everyone, most of which can't honestly really be even considered professions in the context of Nymphsaga. Untrained cooking is one example, since everyone can cook, and as an additional example, there is art, which can be used to draw and write. Most of these professions can't be accessed through user interface, but rather are accessed with furniture and some collectibles. But then, what about other trained professions? There are more communities of Nymphs, so of course, there are more professions as well. Maybe even one that is about creating jewelry. Who knows? I will not list them though, as only the ones mentioned have been discovered by Nymphs of Grove and Paradise.

…

Now, with all this information out of the way, let's get straight back to the story.

Snow

While there are those who have contributed towards the collective effort of Grove to connect the two cities, the past few days have been ones for most to take breaks. Nymphs do not suffer serious injuries, but that doesn't mean that they don't have to heal. In a sense, being pregnant means being injured for Nymphs, and only way to heal these "wounds" is to give birth. It's not something that will sideline Nymphs out of action for months, but rather just days. Despite this, many are still waiting to give birth. Pretty much every party who have had some of their members fall victim to the goblins are taking the break, as they help their friends recover in a way none of them expected.

The hypothesis Wendy came up with in regard to effects of sex and increased source generation on hastened childbirth seems to be a popular one, as many Nymphs have made similar assumptions independently based on the lore and the evidence they've seen. She wasn't the only one to put three plus four together to get seven, and to be realistic, she wasn't even the first. In fact, there is a Nymph called Amanda - a character that is unlikely to be featured outside this paragraph - who has even come up with the name for the hypothesis, "Hastened Childbirth Theory", or HCT, and is currently studying it. As far as results go, there is a very small sample size and only anecdotal evidence, but results seem to be strongly in favor of it. Nymphs who were captive for a long time and gave birth while captive describe their pregnancies as being about two to three days long. It is certainly taking longer than that for Nymphs who have been freed, so there has to be something to it. It is hard to put a number on it but estimates of most Nymphs go somewhere between 30-50% slower pregnancies. Because of the evidence presented in favor HCT Nymphs all across Grove, some reluctantly and some joyously, have participated in "healing" their friends by having sex with them. It's not just Wendy and Angel, or Rain and Lemon. Out of all the victims of pregnancies, roughly two in five admit to succumbing to their desires and having at least one sexual encounter with some of their close friends. Nymphs don't know how large the real percentage of such Nymphs are, as understandably most don't want to disclose what goes inside their private bedrooms, even if it could help Nymphs collectively understand the so-called "Hastened Childbirth Theory" better.

Let me pivot to one important issue that the question about prevalence of sex in Nymph's society raises: the acceptance. Nymphs all are little girls and their bodies are physically immature, but that doesn't mean that their minds are. People controlling them are definitely not children. Even the youngest humans controlling Nymphs are eighteen. You'd probably think that just like in the "real" world, many of them find the idea of having sex with children socially unacceptable and repulsive, and you'd be right. Kind of. Many might've been originally like that, but their numbers have greatly decreased as the game has progressed and there are a lot of reasons for it. First and foremost is the fact that there are all kinds of child lovers in the game's fanbase. Pedophiles of all kind - those into real girls, 2D and 3D loli and shota - started playing Nymphsaga with the intention of being able to play as and with children. Yeah, shotacons were not happy to find out there are no little boys after all. Feeling of necessity is also a big factor, as Nymphs now know that sex is effective way of treating various "problems". Then, there is the lack of competition in the sexual marketplace; only way of enjoying safe sex is doing it with another Nymph. In future, there could be demons and beasts as minions to help Nymphs out, but that's just speculation and still far in the future of Grove. Most importantly, Nymphs just plain and simple have accepted it in their hearts and softened up to the idea for various reasons. Their hearts are changing. Does it have something to do with being a Nymph? Maybe so. Overall, Nymphs of Grove simply see safe sex between Nymphs as an overwhelmingly positive thing regardless of their preconceptions, feelings, sexual orientations or personal views.

Speaking of positive effects of sex, Angel is feeling better than ever. She feels almost as if she was born again. Her physical condition is amazing and probably the best she has felt during her entire life as a Nymph. Not an ounce of poison is running through her veins anymore. Her mental condition is still not great, as she still carries worry in her heart over her friends. She wakes up very early, which was not on purpose, but what's there to do about it? She did go to sleep early. In the small hours of the morning, she decides to go for a jog.

Sven - the man Angel once was - was an active man in his life, and loved running, cycling and hitting the gym. He was bit of a bodybuilder in addition to being a gamer and a musician, so he was a busy man indeed. This love of fitness has carried on to Angel, who even as a little girl works out to best of her ability. There are no gyms in Grove, so she has to settle to working out without weights, but that is not a problem for her. After a quick lap to the park and back, she moves on to her next morning routine: tending the garden. She is the only on who uses the public garden in the neighborhood so it's all for her to use. Wendy and Rain don't care about it and can't utilize it properly anyway. Angel is saving some space for Lemon, as she is suspecting there are plants Lemon wants to grow, but for now that is only a plan. She grows vegetables and herbs only, as there are plenty of wild fruits and berries in the neighborhood. Only three plants she has gotten from beyond the barrier are vanilla, thyme and Demon's Whistle, which she is hoping to use to make some homemade liqueurs with an alchemist.

As she already plans what to make up for breakfast for herself and Wendy, in the middle of her work, she gets surprised from behind. Without a word, someone hugs her from behind, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"Good morning."

Familiar voice of her good friend - once lost, now suddenly found - surprise her even more than warm embrace ever did. Shocked to hear the voice of her dear friend Rain, she jerks herself free, only to turn around and hug her even tighter than she ever hugged her. Rain's grip is still pretty weak, but Angel grabs her tight almost as if to squeeze her like a toy. "Oh god, you're safe! I was worried to death!"

"I was worried too", Rain admits. "Since I didn't know if I was going to find you here…"

"What happened to you? What about Lemon?"

"It's a long story, but we're both safe now."

With a sigh of relief, a giant weight is lifted from Angel's shoulders. Holding Rain by her hand, she proceeds to drag Rain upstairs. "Let's go wake Wendy up. She'd be glad to see you safe."

Rain nods, smiling happily. She doesn't have to ask, because she knows from the way Angel is acting. Her dear friends are all safe.

…

Meanwhile in a little treehouse, Lemon wakes up to a pleasant and warm feeling of soft skin rubbing against her own. Ever so slightly, the curtains of her eyes open up to see a face of a little smiling girl close to her. The touches of this blue-eyed, tired looking cutie are as gentle as they can be, and surprisingly well mannered despite the fact that she's laying on top of her, stark naked. A nervous smile appears on Lemon's face as well, along with a rosy blush. She does not know what to think. Waking up to the sensation of a girl laying down on top of her is one that she loves, but this girl is a stranger to her. She does recognize her for the Nymph they saved together with Ron, and she's glad to see her well, but this kind of intimacy from a stranger feels unwelcome to her.

Before Lemon can even enquire the stranger about her well-being or name, this girl leans in for a soft kiss. The kiss is not just that with lips, but also one with nipples, as the flat breasts of two girls just happen to press comfortably against each other with stiff nipples taking most of the pressure. Even their belly buttons kiss. Unable and unwilling to move, Lemon takes the sweet kiss, closing her eyes as she lays her hands on the little girl's bare back. It's just a touch and not a hug, as she's not trying to tug her closer. They're so close that they can feel every breath and every heartbeat. Stranger is not looking to make an advance or any bolder moves, which at the same time feels very relaxing, but also a little frustrating to Lemon. Her hand moves up to unsuspecting girl's buttock and grabs onto the tight and smooth cheek, as hard as she can muster. Stranger squeals in surprise, and eyes half-open, she looks down at mischievous Lemon, who's left licking her lips. Blushing, the girl is trying to divert her gaze, as she feels a rough hand on her butt. 'Oh, you were so daring to get on me like that', Lemon repeats in her mind. "What's wrong, sweetie…?"

"Did you save me…?"

Lemon finds her heart fluttering. Her soft voice is like that of an angel; so clear and so refined. She also realizes instantly from the girl's Slavic accent that she's probably somewhere from eastern Europe. It's definitely a voice she wants to corrupt with lewd and naughty moans. "What if I did…?" Lemon asks. It's not like her to lie, but part of her wants to see what kind of reaction this girl would have would she believe Lemon truly was her sole savior.

Perplexed and confused, the girl smiles, fidgeting, finding it a little hard to put her feelings into words. "I would be eternally in debt…"

"Well, technically it wasn't me, but I did help you out a lot together with my friend…" Lemon admits. It immediately reminds her of her friend, Rain, who she now realizes is missing.

"O-oh…" girl says sounding a little disappointed. "Well, I'm still eternally grateful to you…"

"Is assaulting little girls in their sleep a way you like showing gratitude…?"

Girl can't help but to blush in embarrassment and laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry… You must've found it uncomfortable…"

Lemon tilts her head, still smiling happily, now also giggling. "I didn't say that…"

Those words seem to give the girl some courage. "So, what's your name? I'm Snow."

"Lemon."

"Alright, my little Lemon…" Snow says, and raises herself to an upward position, suddenly opening up her inventory. "If you don't mind my sexual advances, I'm sure you won't mind this either…"

What appears in Snow's hand genuinely surprises Lemon. It's a little egg-shaped toy, a pink vibrator. It appears to be a cordless model that comes with a remote controller, and it definitely wasn't anything Lemon expected. She knew of sex toys, but this is clearly an electronic device. Lemon was already planning on going full throttle on offense as she prefers to be a top, but having seen a vibrator, her favorite sex toy in the whole wide world, one that has given her so much pleasure over the years, she can't resist the idea of having another girl using it on her. Before she can ask her about where she got it from, Snow is already looking to advance. She turns it on, taking a few steps back, and presents it to her vagina. Immediately vibration causes her legs to spread slightly as she herself finds her lower body vibrating and shaking. Moving up the slit, digging into her, it reaches up to her clitoris, pushing it up and exposing the head properly. That causes her entire body to arc and her legs to spread up even more. With lust and vigor, Snow pushes herself down, kissing and licking the flat brown chest of Lemon, all while continuously pushing the vibrating egg against her most sensitive spots. It is clear to Lemon from the start that this girl shares a mutual passion for little girls. Indulging in this passion is something that Lemon is very much okay with, even though she prefers to be a top. Getting out of your comfort zone doesn't hurt once in a while. Besides, it feels incredible, so why not? It feels so amazing for Lemon that she gets from zero to hundred in a matter of just minutes. When she woke up, she was feeling very satisfied, but now she's already wet, acting all slutty and feeling just as horny as she did last night with Rain.

Snow gets bored of Lemon's chest quickly and proceeds to use her tongue and fingers where it feels even better. Lemon, covering her mouth, looks down to see just what her partner is planning. While still pushing down the egg, she moves her lips to the lower parts of the lips, sticking her tongue against the hole. Snow looks almost as if wanting to lick it dry, but one does not simply lick a wet pussy dry. She's also looking to use her fingers and decides to stick two inside right away. Lemon doesn't like having things stuck inside her, but despite this, she doesn't really mind at all. The pleasure of having fingers grind in and out of her undeniable and causing her entire body to tremble. 'Maybe this isn't so bad after all', she tells herself. 'I mean, at least they're fingers.'

Persistent rapid flickering of her pleasure bean and the fast back and forth movements of the fingers are looking to push her over the edge real quick, and with stunning force. Legs voluntarily spread as far as they can go, she cums all over Snow's pretty little fingers with a warm squirt. Her eyes roll back, and she still tries to muffle her moans. She does not want to disturb her neighbors, but even muffled, she's making a lot of noise. To the very end, Snow just pushes forward, all the way through the orgasm, driving Lemon nuts. Having reached the summit of her climax, she's unable to get down. Feeling light and blanking in her mind, she can barely realize that mixed to the pleasure is something unfamiliar and strange.

As Lemon lays down twitching in pleasure, Snow opens up her inventory to summon yet another toy. It's a strap-on dildo of a very particular kind. It's not one that you wear as pants but rather, a plug-in type capable of bringing extreme pleasure to the wearer as well. With two plugs, it is inserted to the both holes, and despite what one might think, it is very firm and will stay in place even through more extreme and fast-paced plays. Snow can't wait to use it on Lemon. She's planning to fuck her hard.

Meanwhile, Lemon is completely oblivious to the fact that Snow is conjuring up some great fun that she might not appreciate. Her attention is completely taken away by something entirely different. She can feel strong movement in her stomach. It's so strong in fact that it feels almost as if it's trying to get out of her. She knew she was pregnant, but she had no idea she was so close to giving birth, especially given the fact that her sporty and tight belly lies flat like a washboard. Hand on her stomach, eyes closed, she concentrates on the feeling, borderline scared of what's about to come next. She does not want to be forced to give birth and become a mother to anything, especially not a baby of a tentacle. The only silver lining in all of this is the fact that it's probably going to be over fast. She feels hands lift her legs and she finally opens her eyes to see the strange, green, partially transparent rubbery cock attached to Snow. She immediately extends her hands to her crotch, covering her pussy up with another one and grabbing the cock with the other one. "W-wait just a minute!"

"What's wrong?" Snow asks, still smiling.

"Do NOT stick that inside me!"

"Oh, don't worry! It will feel awesome!"

Well, Lemon can't deny that and part of her wants to experience it. She's lukewarm to the idea of enjoying strap-on sex as opposed to feeling cold towards the idea of male on female sex, but that's not the issue she has. "I feel like I'm giving birth…!" Lemon straight up says.

"W-wait, what!?" Snow is puzzled and confused. "Y-you too!?"

"I said, it wasn't me who saved you!" Lemon says, in a haste trying to explain herself. "We were victims too, and the tentacles got us pregnant!"

"A-and you're about to give birth NOW!?" Snow is panicking. She has no idea what to do.

A sudden jolt of pleasure - almost as if a sharp, painless kick coming out from inside her body - causes Lemon to let out a loud, girly yell, and after a moment of relaxations forces her legs back open wide. Her entire lower body trembles and her offspring is moving rapidly. She anticipates pain, asking 'Will it hurt?'. It's the last thing she wants. Given her tiny stature and the fact that childbirth tends to be a painful process for even adults, she's scared to brink of tears. She was not ready for this because to be honest, she had almost forgotten that she even could be pregnant. "No, I'm scared…!"

Snow has gone through the same thing before, but in captivity. She has spent five days of her life as a Nymph as a slave to the tentacle boss - a fact that only she knows for now - and through this ordeal has given life to few tentacle spawns. She moves out of the way quickly, taking to the side of Lemon and grabs her hand. "It will be over soon, I promise." Lemon nods with teary eyes, grabbing hold of the hand tight. "It won't even hurt. Trust me."

Snow's words of encouragement are really what Lemon needed and give her strength to go through her ordeal. She can feel something pushing out of her. It's small and narrow compared to the baby one would expect. Yet, it still manages to feel huge. It could be as thick as the bumpy tentacles that impregnated her. It does not have much force behind it, so it can't really push through her narrow passage. Lemon really has two options: to either help or to resist. Resistance is futile, as it will get out eventually, and it will just prolong this all, so she leans on her elbows, beginning to push with her internal muscles, a skill she's surprised to even have. Little push seems to be what her unborn child needed, as it is pushing fast out of her. As soon as it reveals the tentacle head covered in a clear, slimy mucus, Lemon's arms betray her, and her back is again pressed against the bedsheets. She can't push; she's already out of fuel. It's so extremely exhausting she can't believe it, but the worst seems to be already behind her. It's slithering out of her, pulsating like a worm, bringing her pleasure on the way out. Little by little, it moves out, until it pretty much just with one fast push escapes the vagina completely. A worm-like tentacle has been born, and with no umbilical cord it's hard to even believe that it would be a child of a human-like being. Yet, it is undeniable that it came out of Lemon, a newly turned mother of one. It really was over in a flash. Less than minute from her realization that it was going to get born, it's already over, and she's free.

The worm is squirming, almost as if trying to get away, when a hand stops it. It doesn't touch it, but a palm is extended wide open above it, and the worm is trapped inside a strange, dark red glowing spell circle courtesy of Snow. It wasn't a spell of destruction but rather, one of restriction. Lemon can't get up, so eyes closed tight, she's not up sitting to see it happen.

"Don't worry. I got it", Snow says.

"Got… It…?" Lemon asks, confused, opening her teary eyes a little bit.

"It's a submission spell that enchanters know. When used on a newborn demon, it can be turned into an item." Lemon hasn't heard of such a thing, so she's left very confused. She can't even find the words to ask. "It won't kill it. It'll just makes it so it can't grow up to be an uncontrollable monster."

Lemon finds it hard to appreciate what's going on, but she's somewhat glad to know there's such a spell.

Snow sighs disappointed. Suddenly, she's not feeling so good about using the dildo to fuck Lemon. She decides to unplug it, slowly but surely. It's a really slow progress because like said before, it's firmly tucked into her. Her holes are free from it, and she lays down next to Lemon, feeling still a little horny.

Lemon finally sits up to look down at her child, the abnormal rape baby she never asked for. Wriggling, it's unable to escape the confines of its prison, spell-bound. Lemon still can't believe it came out from her. She extends her finger to it to give it a little poke, and it feels just as weird as it looks. It's warm, squishy and covered in a layer of mucus. Instead of a cord, as a proof of her giving birth to it, she can feel the same mucus still between her legs. As she touched it, something appeared in front of her. It's a window for an item, so the spell-bound baby counts as loot, as crazy as it may sound. It counts as an common reagent which can be used to cultivate and grown all the way to tier five. In addition to Nymph ID, which can be used to track down who gave birth to it, it has some icons and symbols attached to it in flavor text, indicating something, but she can't make much sense of it. Sighing, accepting that it belongs to her, she sends the demon spawn to her inventory. For now, she wants to completely forget about its existence. She wants to kill it, but if it can be useful, she doesn't want to waste it. Besides, her mind might change later, so she doesn't want to make a big decision. Even though she hates it, something is holding her back. Is it her maternal instinct, or is she just being a big softy? Then, she looks down at Snow and realizes that she has grown a little meek and silent. She knows why. Snow is pregnant as well. "I guess you're going to have to give birth too…" Lemon says.

"O-oh, so you realized that I'm in a same position…" Snow says, also nodding as a response.

"Are you scared?"

Snow shakes her head. "To be honest, having experienced it before, I already kind of know what to expect, but… I'm not looking forward to it regardless…"

"It must be due for delivery soon…" Lemon says, with a hand on her jaw.

Snow nods again. "I think so too…"

Despite the fact that Lemon is free from the offspring that was causing her horniness to some extend or another, she is still feeling a little heat, and she can tell that Snow is extremely horny as well. The situation has, however, kind of reversed, because Lemon is not so horny that she would blindly accept submitting into anything Snow would have in store for her. Instead, she kind of feels that she has the strength and the ability to be the one on the top this time around. She suspects Snow of being a very similar girl to her given Snow's desire to dominate her with a strap-on of all things. 'Speaking of strap-on', Lemon realizes, seeing it unplugged, laying untouched on the bed. Snow forgot to put it back to her inventory, which causes Lemon to grin happily. Without Snow realizing, Lemon slowly steals it for herself, hiding it behind her back. "Want me to help with the delivery?"

"W-what do you mean…?" Snow asks.

"Well, I think that sex could perhaps speed up the pregnancy, since it's sped up by source, which is generated more during sex…" Yes, even Lemon has independently thought of this exact same theory that many others have.

"I mean, I don't mind, but…" Then, Snow moves her eyes to Lemon and sees the strap-on in her hands. Her eyes open up and a slightly worried smile is drawn on her face. Just looking at the scared blue eyes Lemon can tell that inside this little child's chest a heart is beating like a drum. "You're not planning on using that one me…?"

"Oh, you were looking to 'reward' me for helping you, but you never asked what I want…" Lemon says, really putting weight on the words reward and I. She looks at the toy with a curious look in her eyes. "What a peculiar toy… To use it, I must insert it into my holes…" Despite being a little weirded out by the idea, she proceeds to put it on. Both inserted sticks are like plugs, and as said before, they really lock into the place. She's very slow to put it on, inserting both plugs at the same time, with eyes rolling back in the process and a crazed smile appearing on her face. Just putting the toy on alone feels orgasmic. As soon as it is fully in place, she feels like she can relax, but just moving and feeling the rubbery dildo sway in air is causing the plugs to move inside her, causing both of her holes to convulse and tighten up. She can just imagine what it feels like to thrust with such a sensitive toy. "You see, I happen to be a top. I like dominating girls."

Snow whispers and nods. "Yeah, me too… But I thought you were sub, considering how willing you were towards my advances…"

"Well, you are wrong", Lemon says, pushing Snow down with her hands, giggling happily and gleefully. On her knees, she looks down at her body with the rubbery dick standing on top of little girl's flat belly. "Oh, what a sight! It almost makes me jealous of men!"

"A-are you sure you wanna do this…?" Snow asks, whispering, looking to bargain with Lemon. "I mean, you must be exhausted because of what just happened…"

"Nope!" Lemon loudly proclaims, as she pulls back her hips to present the tip of the dildo to drenched pussy of Snow.

"O-okay…! T-then, at least be gentle…! I'm a guy, y-you know…!"

Lemon laughs softly, delighted by the irony. 'Is everyone except me a guy in this world or what? Oh, how the roles have reversed.' She grins happily, looking still down, observing every move of the helpless looking little child underneath her, she grabs into the hips and begins to push. "Sorry, I don't plan on being gentle", she speaks out as she watches clearly how the lips open up to give way, and how the wet hole opens up, letting in the shaft. She observes every single expression that the cute girl makes. Her face is everchanging, and with every inch into this girl, she makes a new, unexpected face. From a smile of doubt, it turns into a wide-eyed face of fear and shock, straight into that of pure pleasure - which is when she tells Lemon to not go further - all the way to a crazed look. When the tip finally reaches the end point, she breathes in rapidly, letting out a soft gasp of pleasure, exhaling a moan of relief. And Lemon, she just loves what she's seeing. It's a sight she could get addicted to, one she would love to see over and over again.

Expecting it to be a little difficult to move with, Lemon starts out slow, but with full intentions of going in fast as soon as she gets properly going. She expected a little friction given the tightness of a tiny hole and the rubbery, unnatural surface, but there seems to be none. Movement feels effortless even with her measly strength. Only her position is holding her back, so she moves a little bit. She's looking for a missionary position and leans forward, thrusting her hips up and down. Snow - despite her initial reluctant attitude - gives out a lot of room with her fully spread legs and really takes the cock in like a girl. Seeing how her body reacts, Lemon, with a wide smile on her face, begins to move faster. She can feel it moving and pleasuring her at the same time to much greater extend that she anticipated. While she can't feel the convulsions and slight movements of the little girl's inner muscles - which she would love to feel - she can definitely feel extreme pleasure from the way her toy tickles her own inner muscles, and this pleasure is a perfect spice for her to move as fast as possible. It's drawing her in. Despite lacking the male instinct, her hips move in near perfect, unstoppable rhythm. She can't slow down at all.

Snow feels her body being pushed down with force, almost as if being pushed down by something much larger than a little girl. She can't move, and she won't move. She's completely unable to do anything to stop the Nymph fucking her. Her body reacts marvelously and draws it in as soft flesh of two children slap against each other, just intensifying the pleasure. Despite her claim to be a top, her body acts obedient and her face has turned silly from pleasure. It seems like a shameful lie. How can she claim to be a top when she's acting the way she does? Her words - coming from the midst of her wild moans - also mirror obedience and willingness too. She is surprisingly talkative and has a sharp tongue, and the word that she ends up speaking the most is fuck. "Ah, fuck! Fuck me! Fuck me hard!" Those are just some of the things she ends up blurting out in the process of being dominated. And then, there is also the visual factor for her. Enchanted by the wonderful sight, she observes the place where they connect, and more importantly, she observes Lemon. She still clearly has a slender body of a little girl, with her chest, her belly and her wide hips, but there is a long extension added to her. It feels almost surreal to her. It's clearly a little girl, yet she is making her feel like this with a simple toy. If there ever was a way to make her truly enjoy being fucked by a dick, it sure as hell is this very situation.

Lemon, empowered by how Snow acts, empowered by the idea of her being able to dominate a girl so effectively, finds a part of herself that she never knew she had. She loves her genitals and being a girl, but having a dick certainly has a charm to it, especially since it's a powerful tool to use against the girls she loves so much to dominate. You could even say that a whole new world has opened up to her. It's a shame that she won't be able to last much longer. She's on autopilot, but she's getting exhausted. She knows she won't be able to stop until she cums, or until her body gives in. At the pace she's going at, she knows it's the orgasm that is going to shatter her rhythm first. She moans, she thrusts, and she feels her entire body arc and convulse as sweat drops appear on her face and her body. She's almost there, and she's not the only one.

Snow has been on the verge of exploding for a while now. She wants to move a little bit, but she's not allowed to. She wants to close her legs, but every thrust against her cervix just forces her to keep them spread wide open. She wants to hug Lemon and touch her, but she can't even lift her back from the sheets to reach for her skin. She feels truly and absolutely dominated, and she loves it. Lemon's conjuring up a magnificent orgasm for her and she's forced to experience it. Having her slim body slammed down, she cums with a squirt of liquid and a lovely scream. Her eyes roll back and she's burning up. Her convulsions and quivers feel brain meltingly intense. Yet, Lemon won't stop. She's not there yet. Snow almost wants to slow down for a while, but she can't say anything intelligible in-between her animalistic moans. She's so sensitive she's trembling. She manages to close her legs finally, but the squeeze of her soft thighs on Lemon's hips is unable to slow the girl down.

Lemon can tell that Snow is still on top of her climax, which seems to be an unrelenting one, and most definitely long. She herself feels that she can't take it anymore either, and she finally feels her own orgasm slow her down a little bit. Climax completely takes away her ability to focus and move, as her holes twitch. She's pushed down deep, and her back arcs backward. Sweaty and exhausted, she collapses forward to the clutches of her lover. They share an embrace, feeling each other's sweaty, hot bodies, and both of them still moaning, they extend their tongues forward. Their lips meet for an intimate kiss, one hotter and more erotic than any of the kisses they shared when they were merely warming up. They moan and mumble through the kiss, but neither speak a word, or even try to. This kiss is a sign of things to come. Lemon has no strength or stamina to go for round two instantly, and Snow's legs are way too weak and squishy to even imagine doing anything similar to Lemon. Things are starting to slow down for them, but they're far from done. They're not stopping, not until their mission is done.

Recess V

When Rain enters Wendy's apartment, she is already awake, laying still in her bed, reminiscing everything that has happened to her during the past few days. She hasn't even put on any clothes. Being naked doesn't stop her from getting up and hugging her friend the first moment she sees her. Only when Rain comments on Wendy's appearance, she finally decides to put on clothes. The same panties and the shirt she was wearing last day are enough, as modesty is not something that she has to be mindful of when in a company of her close friends. She doesn't even bother tying her hair.

As the first thing they all do, they tell each other about their stories in detail, commenting on each other's misfortune with varying levels of compassion. That's not to say any of them were unsympathetic at any point, but words and compassion coming from Wendy having heard of what Rain had to go through border on theatrical. Suddenly, the nightmare that happened to Wendy doesn't sound like the worst thing that could happen to a Nymph.

Having relaxed a little bit, Wendy sighs deep, a palm covering her face. "Jesus Christ, you've gone through absolute hell… How did you get away though?"

"A kind ogre saved me."

"Ogre? Really? Like a big, fat green guy with potato nose and antennae ears?"

Rain, who is usually the one making the jokes, looks at Wendy with thin-eyed expression, arms crossed. "He was actually brown and muscular."

"What happened to it?"

"Oh, after he saved us he helped us home", Rain says. It clearly seems like neither one of her friends believe her. "He also claimed to be a player."

"Well, given the fact that there are other towns for Nymphs, nothing surprises me anymore…" Angel says, arms crossed.

"Wait, seriously?" Rain asks. "We're not the only ones?"

"Yeah, there is this called Paradise, which is completely separate from Grove", Angel explains. "Just like us, they think it's the only starting place for players."

Rain lowers her eyebrows, annoyed. "Well fuck me, what else are devs lying to us about then…?"

Wendy, shrugging says: "Who fucking knows?"

"At least none of the information we've learned in the past few days contradicts lore", Angel reminds. "So far they have been the absolute arbiter of truth, over our memories and what devs tell us."

"It's pretty scary to think that we can't really trust our memories though…" Rain says, worried and annoyed. "I mean, what is true and what's false? There's no way of us knowing."

"I don't think we should really worry about it either", Wendy says. "I, at very least, do not want to even think about memories of my personal life being a lie."

"I wouldn't go that far either", Angel says. Rain also agrees. "I think that the healthiest way to think is to believe in our memories until we're proved otherwise", Angel adds.

"That's not a bad plan", Wendy says, nodding, and turns towards Rain. "Speaking of which, how about your physical condition?"

"Okay, I guess", Rain says. "My baby is pretty energetic."

"O-oh, really…? I can't even feel mine…"

Rain looks at Wendy's stomach. "It doesn't really look like you're pregnant either. Not with that waist."

"Right back at you", Wendy comments. "But, I mean… Have you been feeling hot…?"

"I do think that I am hot."

"I mean horny, you dumbass!"

Rain blushes and scratches her cheek, nodding. "Yesterday was kinda bad, but I'm fine now though… Me and Lemon, uhm, kinda… You know…"

"Oh, really…?" Wendy asks, a little surprised. Not because she wouldn't put that past Rain, but because she didn't expect it from Lemon.

"How about you then? How are you feeling due to your condition?" After Rain asks her question, silence falls in the room. She can tell that Wendy and Angel are both blushing. Rain immediately suspects that they might've done something, but she finds that idea to just be too unbelievable, so she doesn't even want to comment on it. "Never mind…" she says.

"I-I mean, I do manage…" Wendy says, trying to laugh it off. "I'm good…"

"If you're feeling bad, just tell me and I'll brew some tea", Angel suggests.

"Honestly, I think I'm about to give birth soon…" Rain says, laying down on her bad. "It won't be needed…"

"I wish to give birth soon, so it will be just over with", Wendy says, a little annoyed. "I mean, not because I want to, but to get better."

"Yeah, I agree. I'm also looking forward to raising it."

Wendy looks at Rain, shocked. "Wait, raising your baby…?"

Rain nods. "I learned that enchanters can do something with demon spawns. I'm planning on using my firstborn for experimenting what I can even do with them."

Wendy doesn't even know what to say. In context of normal children, what Rain is talking about sounds very cruel to her, but they are talking about demons, so she's a little conflicted. Then again, she herself was planning on killing the baby, especially if it's a goblin, so she's not one to criticize Rain for cruelty. Of course, killing a baby and making it a guinea pig are on completely different levels of cruel, but I digress. Wendy is of the mindset that punishing the unborn child for actions of its father is wrong - consider her pro-life if you may - but if the child is going to grow up to be a sex-crazed monster if released, one that might potentially become danger to Nymphs, killing it could be the most ethical thing in her eyes. Besides, it might be preferable to the child as well, as it would be just forced to live its life in captivity and endless, insatiable lust for source. Oh, and then there is the little issue of them being inside a game, so her real-life morals are not applicable here. "What about other kinds of babies…?" she asks.

"I don't think I can do anything with them", Rain says, shrugging. "Are you worried about yours?"

Wendy nods. "I don't know what to do with it."

"Just kill it…" Angel says.

"Yeah, I mean, what else you can do?" Rain says. "It's not like you're going to source feed it either."

"Oh right, there's that thing too…" Wendy remembers. "Maybe I really have no other choice…"

"I'll go around asking other people for advice", Angel suggests, standing up. "I'll do it right away. Maybe someone might've come up with a solution."

Rain gets up as well. "If you two don't mind, I will go home. I want to talk, but there is something I must do."

Angel and Wendy both know that Rain is talking about giving birth. "Are you sure you don't need help…?" Wendy asks.

Rain looks at Wendy, thinking about her question. Since Angel is leaving, it would mean that Rain and Wendy would be alone, and Rain knows that. She thinks she knows what Wendy is thinking, but she does not have the courage to encage in anything sexual with one of her old friends. "I don't think I do."

"Is that so…?" Wendy asks, sighing. She does not want to push Rain to have sex and honestly, she's not sure if she would want to do it either, mostly because she fears that as a self-admitted lolicon Rain would be sexually interested in her current form, something that weirds her out. 'I guess I'll rely on someone else if it becomes unbearable for me', she tells herself. "Well, talk to both of you later then."

With Angel and Rain leaving, and going separate ways, all three get a little more time to spend alone.

…

Angel is lucky to find Dana relatively quickly, who is probably the best source for information she's going to find. After exchanging few kind words, Angel asks her question regarding what to do with babies. To summarize rest of the conversation along with Dana's answer, she talks about the possibility of Caretakers setting up some kinds of fences and safehouses for children Nymphs give birth to, as it is only possible for them to create such infrastructure. However, she also expresses concern over the fact that it is impossible to domesticate and control enemies such as goblins. Such places do not exist yet, as they've only been talked about and theorized. She personally recommends either killing unwanted children or releasing them to the wild, no matter how tough it might feel. Dana also manages to surprise Angel by asking have her friends been found. Angel, who didn't expect Dana to remember her - especially since they didn't really talk one to one when they met - with a delighted expression replies: "Yes, they're home."

Meanwhile, Rain is home enjoying herself in peace and quiet. She feels like all she needs is a little push for her baby to be born so she decides to relieve herself of some stress by masturbating, which is not something she has done at all. Even though she wasn't really horny beforehand, all it took was her to touch herself a little bit to get into right mood. It takes her only about ten minutes to get to the point where she feels her baby being born. I will not go through this process, as it goes pretty much the same as it did with Lemon. Only differences are the fact that she's alone and the fact that she's not really scared about it hurting. it is over in an instant, and she's left exhausted, finally feeling physically relieved and strangely satisfied.

She sits up, legs still spread, looking down at what just left her body, with confusion and slight repulsion drawn all over her face. Even though small, it's not cute at all, as one would expect babies to be. It's nowhere as disgusting as she thought it would be, and it definitely isn't noisy at all. Best of all, she doesn't have to worry about changing diapers, ever. Rain doesn't have to worry about it getting away or suddenly growing; she has plenty of time to subdue it. On her first try, she manages to trap it inside its restrictive spell circle, after double checking the instructions, of course. She doesn't want it staying in her bed though, so she picks it up with two hands, and looks at the squirmy, faceless and limbless worm. "Oh, you bastard. I'm going to turn you into a lab rat", she tells her child. As she walks it to the middle of her work table, she tries coming up with a name to it, but she can't really come up with one, at least not right away. She leaves it be and heads towards a shower, which is something she badly needs. Once clean there really isn't any more things troubling her, despite maybe the fact that she still worries over her mental condition and the possibility of the game changing her personality, but I'm not going to go through any of that again, as she hasn't really reached any definitive conclusions.

Instead of tying up her hair as she usually does, she settles for a simple pony tail but otherwise decides to dress up normally in her new gear. Having inspected her baby turned into an useable item, she is looking to gather information about different kinds of symbols and what they mean. She suspects they have something to do with demon's traits as well as different kinds of paths she can raise it towards, but since she doesn't know about their meanings, she's going to hit the library. She remembers seeing a large book in the enchanting section of the library about what it takes to raise a demon all the way up to tier three and about general information regarding the raising process in general. She's also hoping to find information about the extra rare enchanting reagent she found, the so-called Soul Lodestone. At the moment it functions as a normal soul stone with a huge capacity of five hundred souls. Apparently, it also will be the primary stone to which all souls will be stored in, taking priority over every other stone. She still hasn't decided if she wants to carry it with her though, as she can't use it for enchanting gear, and doesn't even know if the souls can be extracted from it.

Inside the library, she finds the book instantly and picks it up. Players can't take books away from the library, but by paying a low price of one gold they can copy any book in the library and take the copy home. Contributors of books found in the wilderness get a discount, but as Rain hasn't actually contributed any books, she has to pay. It's a price Rain is definitely willing to pay for the valuable information stored inside this 153-page recipe book devoted to raising demons and nothing but raising demons. She also picks up a book about soul stones but does not make that her reading priority.

Home again, Rain gets straight into reading. Her first job is to feed the offspring. It can be done by either feeding it source or souls, out of which former is cheaper and literally free, but the latter is more efficient and much faster. It will not need much to evolve to second tier, just five regular common soul stones, as well as optional ingredients. If Rain would just give it the souls right away, it would just grow normally towards being a kind of monster that its father was. To manipulate its growth and mutate it into being a special kind of monster, Rain needs additional ingredients. She does only have a limited amount of options, most of which seem very similar to her. There is one growth path, however, that caps at just tier three, which she finds to be most intriguing. It's not a path that will it make it useful for combat, but rather, for pure fun. It can be grown to be some kind of futanari demon, which can be attached to a Nymph to temporarily give them a penis. Reading about this, and realizing that it is a choice for her, makes her heart pump fast. She blushes and covers her mouth, almost shaking. She can't believe it. Last two times she did it with a girl, she was lamenting the fact that she didn't have a dick, and the supposed fact that she would never be able to have one, but here it is, lying right under her nose, and it's so simple as well. She can make her futanari dreams a reality. Immediately, she begins reading into what she needs. Turns out, she has to rely on alchemy for step one, and she just happens to have the potions at hand, so she evolves it immediately. Now, she has a slightly bigger and meaner looking tentacle at her hands, one that resembles a dildo more than a worm. Yet, it still is definitely a living being. Step three requires five large soul stones, each of which are filled with ten souls in addition to source, even more potions, some fake cum she already ran to during her second expedition and three rare mushrooms she hasn't even heard of. Obviously, having a day all for herself, she decides to head out to go around shops looking for what she needs.

After walking around in the central for a little bit and touring shops, she comes across everything she needs apart from two mushrooms. She got only one, since as she expected, they're very rare and valuable. She had to give out something equally valuable. Luckily, she just happened to have something to offer; an ingredient of similar value that she or none of her friends needed. It was a good trade, as the trader seemed to have an use for it, but not for the mushroom. Rain does not have all the souls either, but she has ingredients to make enough soul stones now.

Instead of spending time going around more shops, Rain decides to go home and separate the items she needs from her inventory. On her way back, she sees a girl waiting for her at the door. A warm light is lit in her eyes, and she can't help but to see a Pink. Both of them at the sight of each other run towards each other, arms extended, and share a loving hug.

"You really are safe! I heard so from the girls and have waited for you ever since!"

"Hope you didn't wait too long. I was out for quite a time."

"I don't care!" Pink says happily and looks at smiling Rain. She can't even help herself, so she steals a kiss from Rain's lips, a move that shocks and even startles Rain. She's fine with being kissed by a cute girl, but right now they're outside. Arms extended slightly, not anymore touching Pink, she stays still, engulfed in the passion of her good friend. After a solid ten seconds, Pink finally relents and says: "I know we shouldn't… And that we promised, but I just couldn't help myself…"

"I-it's fine, really…" Rain says, laughing, hugging Pink once again, also looking around herself. "You should've waited until we got inside though… I don't want to risk getting seen by Angel and Wendy…"

Pink separates from Rain, holding hands up like a criminal being pointed by a gun. "Okay, I'll resist! Even though you're so cute!"

"Why not come in? I have something fun to show you."

Happily obliging, the overly cheerful Pink rushes inside Rain's apartment the moment door opens up. She jumps directly on top of Rain's bed, face against the sheets, and she kicks about while giggling. Rain's not sure what to make of it, but she sure does not mind Pink fooling around in her house. In fact, she finds it cute. "It smells of you…" Pink says, giggling even more. "Oh boy, this is the bed that my dear Rain sleeps in."

As Rain hears the word smell, she immediately blushes, because she's afraid Pink would notice a much stronger smell that her natural little-girl-scent, since she just a moment ago masturbated in that very bed. She starts unloading her inventory to the already messy table, to the outer right corner. Her tentacle spawn is laying dead in the middle of the table, still squirming. She feels Pink coming from behind and looking down at the strange creature.

"Ewww, what the hell…? It looks like a dick…"

"Oh, it's my child", Rain says, with a dead serious face and expression.

"R-right… I heard about you going through some difficulties…"

"Let's not dwell on that."

"Are you fine though?"

Just thinking about the tentacles makes Rain feel a little anxious given everything that happened and how they made her feel and act. She figures out that she might as well be honest. "It was a very, very difficult experience, in more ways than one."

"What could you mean by that…?" Pink asks, looking a little uncomfortable and worried.

"Something about miasma poisoning", Rain says. "It kind of… Changed me at the time, maybe even permanently. I'm not sure if those scars will never heal…"

"I've heard something about miasma as well, and victims of it."

"Really? From who?"

"Melody and folks talked about it. They don't have first-hand experience though."

"Oh, you've come to know them as well?"

"I actually grouped up with them yesterday. We were looking for you and Lemon together…"

That came as news to Rain, since Angel and Wendy never told her about it. She looks at Pink, surprised, and she begins to smile brightly. "I need to thank them all then…"

"No need to thank me though!" Pink says, laughing. "I was just doing what I know you would do for me."

"Yeah, you bet", Rain says nodding.

"But what about this child?" Pink asks, changing subject back to the creature laying still on the table. "Is this what you wanted to show me?" Rain nods, also showing Pink the book, which is open at the page telling about the so-called futanari demon. She points her hand at the picture of the strange looking demon with a long, surprisingly human phallic extension and little tentacles growing from the base. As Pink looks at it, she can only think of a one thing, and she immediately realizes what's up. "Wait… You're going to turn this into some kind of living sex toy…?"

Rain nods, with clear excitement in her eyes. "I'm turning it into a dick!"

"Seriously…?" Pink asks, with lowered eyebrows and overall skeptical look on her face. "Isn't it already a dick though…?"

Rain shakes her head. "It's just a dildo. What I mean is a dick that can be attached to a Nymph like a strap-on!"

"T-that's possible…?" Pink asks, surprised, with a shaky voice.

"What, did I get you interested?"

"I-I can't deny it… But I wouldn't use it…"

Rain tilts her head, letting out a long, stretched out "Really?"

"I really prefer having a vagina…" Pink whispers, arms crossed, sounding embarrassed.

"Oh, so it's about being on the receiving end you're interested in?" Rain asks, with a hand on her jaw.

"I-I mean… I DO like dicks…" Pink says, blushing like crazy. "It's just that… Dicks on little girls is heresy…"

"Then I'm happy to be a heretic", Rain says, with a serious expression, getting closer to Pink. "In any case, it's good to know I have someone to use this on."

"I never said that…" Pink says, finds herself on retreat, smiling and laughing uncomfortably though.

"Oh? Your loss, I guess."

"C-come on, Rain…" Pink says, still laughing. "We promised to not have that kind of a relationship."

Rain looks at Pink's body, basically daydreaming in her head about boning her body. She finds it very easy to resist her temptations because she feels pretty satisfied at the moment. She nods at Pink's comment. "You're right. I won't seriously push you to do anything."

"It doesn't look like an easy recipe though", Pink comments, looking at the list of ingredients. "Looks like you have a good start though."

"Yeah, harvesting enough source and souls is going to take couple of days."

"Does the source have to be yours?"

Rain shakes her head. "I'm happy to loan it to anyone."

"How about the demon itself? Can it be dangerous?"

"That evolution route should have zero risks of pregnancy or the demon being able to turn against its master, but a sterilizer made by an alchemist has to be applied to it to eliminate the poisons. It has the same effect that its father has to turn Nymphs crazy with miasma poisoning." As Rain says that, she realizes that she forgot to get herself sterilizers. Most alchemists don't have them in stock, as they only work on males. Moreover, ingredients for them are not only uncommon, but also used for more sought-after potions, making them a waste of valuable resources in the eyes of many. Rain has to either deal with the miasma in small doses or get someone make the potions for her. "I'm probably not going to rush raising it, even though I really want it."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Pink suddenly says. "Wendy and Angel talked about wanting to meet up with all five of us to discuss our future plans. Do you think we could bother Lemon?"

"Well, she should be awake…" Rain thinks out loud, wondering why hasn't she heard about her yet. Then she remembers the other Nymph as well. It doesn't take her a moment to put two plus two together. "Actually, I think she could be busy…"

Pink tilts her head, looking puzzled, as she has no idea what Rain means.

"Oh, and can I ask one thing from you?"

Pink nods. "Sure, what?"

"Don't tell others about this…" Rain says meekly. "Especially not Wendy and Angel."

"Why not?"

"It's a little embarrassing. They're just going to make fun of me."

"Who cares? It's just banter."

"Well… I suppose… It's just the kind of banter I'd rather avoid."

"Besides, who are you going to loan it to?"

"I'm not sure… Those I feel comfortable telling about this…"

"Why did you tell me then?" Pink asks, leaning in closer towards Rain, with a smug smile. "Is it because you think I'm an easy fuck?"

Rain immediately blushes. "I-it's not that I think you're easy… I don't want to reveal this secret to those I have no desire to fuck, because there's the risk of them getting actually interested."

"Oh, really now?" Pink asks. Her facial expressions reveal her suspicion. It's clear that she doesn't believe a word of what Rain just said. "Do you actually think those two would be interested then?"

"No, honestly…" Rain says. "It's just that, I would never fuck those two, so they don't need to know."

"Alright then", Pink says, and nods. "I'll honor your wish."

Reunited

About a week into the game, a group of six Nymphs, every one of them friends with each other, left the town of Paradise towards the mountainous regions to the south with plans to venture farther than ever before. Past the Sparkling Forest - an area that is considered amongst the local communities to be the entry level - lies the zone that Nymph's of Grove know as Hammercliff Valley, and this was the next frontier for this party. Little did they know that this would be their last adventure together.

It started out well, and they were hopeful about the journey ending well. Why wouldn't they be? They're all skilled and confident, especially considering their past success. They defeated many foes and looted their treasures. They even survived an ambush of a group of eight goblins. Having decided it was time to return home, they turned back, only to be surprised by a group of demons that turned out to be a little too much for them. There were four ranked A demons and two elite ones, a group that was way worse than anything they had ran to so far. The group was forced to scatter and split into three. Out of the six the one who was unquestionably unluckiest was their summoner, Snow, for she was the only one who found herself alone in the forest.

This group had a plan in case of these kinds of situation: get home as soon as possible. Deep in the dangerous reaches of Hammercliff Valley, Snow was not feeling optimistic about her survival, but she didn't want to give up. To make matters bad for her, she was heading towards the wrong direction straight from the start. How come? In these parts of the mountains, normal maps don't actually work. She didn't know this, so she thought she was going into the right direction. In the valley, she faced many adversities, barely surviving them all. Her equipment didn't survive the many tentacle traps that would've turned out to be fatal for her if it wasn't for her minions. By the time she realized that her maps are not working, as evident by the fact that they suddenly started working after she found herself deep into the southern parts of the valley, it was already too late. At this point she knew that she would not be getting home anymore. She was tired and way too deep into the valley. Night was falling too. Weeping and scared, unable to accept her fate in her heart, she searched for a place to rest and found it within the safety of ancient ruins.

These ruins were the ones she met her fate in. She is not a scout, so she can't really track traps either. It was only a matter of time until she got caught. As we know, her fate was to be trapped in the lustful embrace of a tentacle demon, one that she would not escape until the day Ron found her. Five straight weeks and five straight nights went by in a time that felt like a lifetime during the ordeal, but afterwards felt like it went past in a blink of an eye. The flashes she can remember from it all can be fit within a hour-long time window, a thought that horrifies her. When she inquired Lemon about how long the game had been going on now, she got legitimately upset just thinking about the fact that for almost a week she has been separated from her friends, who themselves might be in danger. Then, she got even more upset and scared when she heard that she's not even in Paradise. She's in Grove, a place that is completely unknown and strange to her.

By the time afternoon rolled in, she was invited and accepted to the little get together of the five reunited Nymphs who for the first time in days can be together in the same place at the same time, sitting on the large bed inside Lemon's apartment in a close and tight ring, with intentions of discussing their plans going forward. They briefly introduced themselves to Snow, and Snow introduced herself to five friends.

Snow in real life is a country boy, having lived her entire life on the shores of lake Lagoda about an hour's drive away from Saint Petersburg, Russia. On the first glance, she looks quite shy, but once you get to know her, you will quickly find out that she's actually an extrovert with quite a sharp tongue. She's somewhat unconventional and even inappropriate at times. She usually dresses up modestly in an outfit that closely resembles a typical sailor school uniform popular in many Japanese schools. Her long-sleeved jacket is white and her skirt is bright red, and she also wears a matching sea captain's hat on her head. As far as her clothes go, she definitely stands out.

She's a caster who plays full supportive role in a group, relying primarily on summoning allies to do fighting and by strengthening her allies, both Nymphs and monsters. She doesn't use many spells on her enemies, and instead opts to use her spare mana and time on heals, making her also a secondary healer. Her arsenal of spells and the wide list of creatures she can summon makes her a rare kind of player who can in theory solo any type of enemy, provided she's adventuring in a relatively easy area. She's yet to come across an enemy she's completely unable to do damage against. Her playstyle is very defensive and calculating.

"In any case, we're happy to accept you on board, even if just temporarily", Wendy says.

Snow nods, smiling shyly.

"About your friends", Wendy begins, "were those five close to you?"

"I mean, we were starting to get really close…" Snow says, meekly, not sure how to explain herself. "But I didn't know them from before I played this game, so to be honest, I'm not sure… I just want to know they're safe." Then, she looks around the girls sitting in a circle with her. "By the way, who was the other girl who helped me out from the ruins?"

Rain, who is sitting next to Snow, raises her hand. "That would be me."

"Oh? So, you were Rain?"

Rain nods and is about to reintroduce herself kindly, when suddenly, to her surprise, and to shock of pretty much everyone in the room, Snow leans in to take one very soft and short kiss from Rain's lips. Suddenly not sure what to even say, she just stares at Snow, dumbfounded.

"What kind of a lewd woman are you!?" Wendy suddenly asks, raising her voice, and pointing a finger at Snow, blushing and clearly embarrassed.

"Oh, that was just a little 'thank you' kiss", Snow says, giggling.

"In what world is that normal!?" Wendy asks, still flustered.

"C-calm down…" Lemon says, finding the whole situation funny more than anything else.

"Maybe she's just jealous of Rain", Pink says, laughing hard.

"S-shut up! I'm so not!"

"I mean…" Snow is blushing herself, having just realized what she did might've been inappropriate. "I just… Kind of did it without thinking… I don't even know why… I just thought it was the most appropriate way to thank someone…"

"Well to be honest, kissing someone you just met as a thank you is not the first thing that would come to my mind…" Angel says, shrugging.

"O-okay, I'm sorry, Rain…" Snow says, giggling. "I hope you're not angry…"

"No…" Rain says, whispering in the softest and girly voice she can muster. "I didn't mind…"

"Yeah, I'd be more worried about Rain kissing you if I were you, Snow", Wendy says, arms crossed.

"Oh, you…" Rain says, turning towards Wendy. "Oh, right. Didn't you say something about other Nymphs here being from Paradise?"

"Right", Wendy says, trying to collect her thoughts and act like a leader. "There were like a forty or fifty of them…"

"Really?" Snow asks, surprisingly loudly. "Where? How?"

"We raided Fort Hammercliff", Angel explains. "To save all the Nymphs who were captive. Amongst the captives were a lot of Nymphs from Paradise."

"I was just thinking that could some of your friends be in that group?" Wendy asks. "Since you ran to groups of goblin hunters and all that."

"It is not out of question…" Snow says, thinking about it. "We did stumble across two groups of goblins in our last journey, and since we were scattered, small group would've definitely been an easy target."

"We should go around asking organizers about the names of these Nymphs", Lemon suggests. "Want me to go with you, Snow?"

"Isn't this meeting more important to you…?" Snow asks. "I mean, you're finally reunited and all that… You don't need to be that concerned for me."

"Are you kidding me?" Lemon asks, and laughs. "We're taking a break, so we have all the time we need for ourselves."

"I have a better idea", Pink states loudly. "Let's go together!"

They all look at each other, nodding. Even Wendy who has been too tired to leave her home all day figures it might be a good idea to go outside once in a while. So, all six of them leave for the central in hopes of finding out the identities of Nymphs rescued.

…

They're unsurprised to find out that the people present in the theater and library do not remember the names of every single individual, but from the twenty or so names floated around, none sound familiar to Snow. She tries to describe her friends also to those willing to help out, but she's not very good at explaining people's appearances. Besides, she kind of thinks that most of her previous party members are kind of plain. There is, however, one Nymph that remembers seeing a girl that matches of one Snow's descriptions. In fact, this girl is apparently studying in the library, just a short walk away from our heroines. With haste, Snow heads towards the direction of a pointing finger, loudly thanking the helpful Nymph before leaving.

She's really in a hurry to see if the Nymph is one of her previous party members, so much so that the five Nymphs have hard time keeping up. Snow doesn't really care though. As soon as she sees a black-haired little girl reading a book, sitting on a bench, she cries out her name. "Crystal!"

Distracted by a familiar voice, this girl raises her eyes from the book, and she's lit up with joy. She drops the book as she stands up. It's clear that she can't believe her eyes. "Is that you, Snow?"

"Yes, yes!" Nodding, Snow rushes to Crystal and grabs both her hands. "What happened to you?"

"We were on the way home", girl named Crystal begins. "Me, Trisha and Bell. We get ambushed again by goblins."

"What about others?"

"I… I do not know…" Crystal says, looking a little worried. "Trisha and Bell probably got back to Paradise, since they weren't with me in the castle." Crystal is on the first glance as average as a Nymph can be as far as size goes. If you look close enough, you will realize that she's got stacked hips, but that's about the only noticeable feature in her body. She's got a wild looking short and curly hair, raven black in color. It partially covers her eyes and ears, twists and turns, and sticks to various different directions. While chaotic, it fits her like a glove, and actually looks very cute on her. Her brown eyes also have a darker shade to them. She appears fully human, and her skin is a lighter shade of brown. Her clothes are rather plain but have a militaristic touch to them. She has a black, plain tank-top and baggy green camo shorts that reach all the way to her knees. She has dog-tags on her neck. "I have no idea what has happened to Poppy and Hina though", Crystal admits. "How about you?"

Snow shakes her head. "It's a mystery…"

"Did you get into trouble?"

"Long story short, I was alone, got lost, and then, caught by tentacles…"

"Yikes…" Crystal says, with a slight hint of disgust in her voice. "Not sure if that's better or worse than what happened to me…"

"I was caught by goblins too", Wendy says, inserting herself into the conversation. "As horrible as it was, I can definitely imagine tentacles being worse."

Crystal then realizes that she and Snow have company.

"They're with me", Snow explains. "They're all good girls."

"Really?" Crystal eyes the five girls as a shy smile appears on her face. "So, you're all local? Nice to meet you. I'm Crystal."

Brief introductions follow.

"Do you have a party yet?" Wendy asks. "Snow has already joined us, so I thought it would be a good idea for you to join as well…"

"I… I don't have one yet…" Crystal admits, scratching her back. She shows signs of fear, and doubt is oozing from her voice. "I haven't honestly even thought about returning to the battlefield…"

"Are you scared?" Wendy asks, to which Crystal just nods. "I don't blame you."

"Yeah I mean, you went through it as well…" Crystal says, looking deep into the eyes of Wendy. "I don't know how much you experienced, but what I went through honestly made me feel like there was no salvation for me."

"Honestly, I'm afraid of getting caught again as well", Lemon says. "Oh, me and her", she continues, pointing at Rain, "Got also caught by tentacles."

Rain nods. "I don't think any of us are in a hurry to return."

Crystal nods, sighing. "I know I will return eventually… I just need time."

"We all need time", Lemon says, nodding. Everyone is in an agreement.

"Well, for now, why not join our party? Even if it doesn't get anywhere, let's help each other."

Crystal is hesitant to accept, because she just met these five Nymphs, and she is, to be very honest, very attached to the idea of being with her first group. She knows it's impossible, but she feels like she can't really let go like that. It's upsetting for her to think that she has to move on, even if just temporarily. "Sure…"

Wendy gets closer to Crystal, looking curious. "What's your role?"

"I'm a tank", Crystal says, which is something that makes everyone in the party really happy. "I'm guessing you ladies need a tank…?" she adds, laughing a little. "It's written all over your faces."

Rain extends her hand to Crystal and says: "I used to be the only melee in this party."

"Really?" Crystal says and shakes Rain's hand. "Let's share the burden then."

It still hasn't been decided if Crystal will join the team for sure, but with Snow already in the group, she sees no reason not to join. This party of seven is starting to look like a proper set-up, but it's still far from perfect and desirable. Knowing how badly they fell flat the last time they faced great adversities they all know that they need to improve and add to their arsenals. If they can't get better, they're just going to just fail again. Next time that happens, they might not be so lucky and be saved.

…

On the way back to Lemon's house, Crystal introduces herself a little better while also learning about the girls she just met. In the real world, she's an American woman of mixed heritage, with her mother being Hispanic and her father being black. She's 35 years of age and lives in a small town in Texas. What makes her different from pretty much every other Nymph in the group is the fact that she actually has a family of her own, two children along with a husband. She used to be a real MMO junkie, but nowadays doesn't have much time to play anymore. She doesn't tell much about what kind of person she is - apart from being brutally honest - but everyone can tell that she's very kind on the surface. Her in-game combat role is not only melee, but very much in your face and close-quarter. She isn't anywhere similar to Rain in style. Her weapon of choice is a large double-headed axe, and her talents are Strength and Iron Skin. She does sound more tanky, but that doesn't mean that she's any more suited to it than Rain is, because she can't rely that much on dodge. As a fighter she is surprisingly technical per her vast experience with similar weapon from her days from an unnamed competitor to Mormia, a game she used to play a lot in her twenties.

Now the Nymphs finally get around to discussing their future. While Wendy is the leader on the battlefield, Lemon is kinda like a chairman for the group, the person who leads the conversation in the group. Or, at least so the other girls treat her. They both are regarded as leaders of some sorts. It might've not gotten apparent from the story yet, but it absolutely is the case. Lemon is actually the first one to realize something about what Crystal told, something that the others did not even think about at the time.

"Since you were in goblin's custody, you must be pregnant as well."

"Oh, that…" Crystal says, blushing a little bit. "I already gave birth to it.

"So, are you okay now?"

Crystal looks hesitant, but nods either way.

"That's good to head", Wendy says. "I still haven't given birth…"

"It's not that awful an experience, so don't be scared", Crystal says. "By the way, I was impressed by the amount of lore you girls here in Grove have discovered. There was a lot of information we didn't have in Paradise."

"Have you two from Paradise discovered something that none of us from Grove have?" Lemon asks.

"I didn't get time to read through everything", Crystal explains, "but you seem to miss the third page of the book about mortality…" It is a page that everyone in the group are dying to hear about - no pun intended - since the question of mortality and what happens next is one that puzzles literally every single Nymph in Grove. "I even have a copy. I was going to submit it to Paradise's library, but someone else did so before me." She summons it from her inventory for everyone to read.

…

Excerpt from the Gamer's Logbook; "Exploring the Mechanics of Nymphsaga", entry number ???, "Nymphs and Mortality, Part Three: Death, Rebirth, and the Cost."

Have explained what leads to Nymph's mental breakdown - which in this context means death - and how it can happen, the only thing to really explain is to explain what happens afterwards. As it was stated in the previous chapter, player's spirit will leave Nymph's body upon mental breakdown. What happens next, anywhere from few minutes up to three weeks after it has taken place, is rebirth.

Nymph's life is an eternal cycle which cannot be interrupted by normal means. Nymph's soul can't escape Phantasm. It can't return to the world players consider "real", and it can't perish completely. When rebirth occurs, player will get a new body, which highly resembles their old one, but is never exactly the same. There are always few features that will change from their last avatar. The place where the rebirth happens is the closest "Garden of Rebirth" to the place where they perish, and the rebirth always happens on the "Day of Rebirth", which is every three weeks, which is considered to be a month in Phantasm, or the time it takes for Phantasm to revolve around its parent. Despite being organisms of bone, flesh and blood, Nymphs grow from plants which bloom on the day of rebirth. These flowers only bloom where there are a lot of source present, or in other words, in places where Nymphs tend to live.

When the player comes back to life, they will lose not just all their equipment and everything in their inventory, but also all their learned abilities, levels, talents, professions and even their predetermined class. They will literally have to start from the scratch and make the choices again. They can choose to take a completely different path, or a familiar path. It is completely up to them. Then, there is the spiritual cost. Every time player resurrects, she will lose an irreplaceable part of herself. What this something is, is a secret for now, and a surprise left for when the player dies. Then again, by the time she resurrects, she won't know what it is that she lost.

…

It isn't really a relief for any of the five Nymphs who didn't know about it, as it was what they expected. They suspected they would resurrect; they just didn't know about the details that turned out to be a little harsher than any of them feared. Whenever being forced to be this world's prisoner is better or worse than being granted the release of death is something that is left for every individual to decide for themselves.

"There still isn't any information about how to actually get out from this game", Angel points out.

"Yeah, but the text say it can't be interrupted by normal means", Crystal says. "That must mean that there's more to this."

"Yeah, and we don't really know if there's a fourth part", Snow says, shrugging.

"But what about the thing we lose when we die?" Pink says.

"Honestly, those last sentences feel like a riddle", Rain mutters to herself.

"Well, we're almost three weeks into the game", Lemon points out. "We don't know what day we spawned to this world on, but the so-called day of rebirth hasn't taken place yet."

"It can't be more than few days away", Pink says. "Maybe we will know the answer by then."

Crystal sighs deeply. "Honestly, I was WAY more scared of never being able to die than I was from actually dying…" Silence falls on the room, and Crystal realizes this. She hasn't really talked about it much because the others have. It's about the fact that many Nymphs already know, but our heroines don't yet. "The goblins were sure to let us rest and heal to make sure we never break down."

"But that goes directly against the lore!" Angel yells, sounding scared.

"Yeah, I know", Crystal says. "But I swear to God, I'm not lying. It was the elite goblins that were calling the shots and making sure we get rest."

Wendy, having realized that she too could've been in a situation where she wouldn't be able to break down, falls silent and scared, unable to really say anything. Flashbacks of what the goblins did to her come back to her, but this time, accompanied by the idea of not being able to get out. Had there not been any plans for a raid, she wouldn't be saved, and she wouldn't be able to even respawn. The goblins had the intentions of keeping her there as a slave for a long, long time, perhaps even indefinitely. 'There's just no way that would be fair to us', she tells herself.

"The tentacles weren't like that", Snow says, deep in thought. "We were heading straight towards breakdown, right?"

"If you can even say that", Lemon says, shrugging. "Since we had basically broken down already."

"I mean", Rain begins, beginning to challenge the idea of not being able to break down. "Just because the goblins let you rest doesn't mean that you would've been slaves for eternity, right?"

"Yeah, there has to be some mechanic that would protect us from that kind of abuse", Wendy says. "There's just NO WAY it would be fair otherwise."

"When has this game ever been fair to us?" Lemon asks, pointing out the obvious.

"Yeah, and the text is pretty clear", Crystal says. "If we get rest, our stamina bar will regenerate, which will interrupt the countdown. It was exactly what happened to me. I'm not saying there isn't a mechanic we don't know about yet, but the evidence suggests that it is possible to abuse this mechanic."

"Yeah, but the same text also says that enemies can't abuse the mechanic", Wendy points out. "How do you explain that then?"

"I… I don't know…" Crystal admits. "I'm just talking about my personal experiences…"

"Can you actually remember the exact thing the text said?" Rain asks. "Because I'm pretty sure it said that programmed enemies can't abuse the mechanic."

Crystal turns towards Rain. "What are you implying?"

"What if the enemies are not programmed? What if they are thinking, feeling and intelligent beings just like us?"

Crystal, who found herself on the other side of this debate, can't do anything but to admit: "…That would change everything."

"Wait a minute, Rain", Wendy says. "Are you talking about monsters like that ogre you met?"

Rain nods. "Ron claimed to be a player despite being a monster. It could very well be that some of those goblins were the same."

"I can't imagine players, humans like us, being so cruel to us", Angel says.

"Me neither, but it's possible", Rain says. "And they could be controlled by someone else than us players. I wouldn't put it past the bastards who are behind all this."

Crystal had not heard about the monster that was player yet, but the fact that everyone else seems to believe the story - Snow included - and the fact that Lemon also says that she talked to this ogre named Ron, makes her a believer too. "Well, it would definitely explain everything, and that would also mean that there are no contradictions in the lore."

"Yeah, and it also means that this game just got a little scarier", Pink says.

"So, let's summarize", Lemon says. "If we're caught by a dumb enemy, we'll resurrect and lose our progress along with something important. If we're caught by a smart enemy, we're probably forced to be slaves for God knows how long. Either way, we're royally fucked."

"No news there", Angel says, sighing. "We were fucked from the moment we got stuck here."

"Instead of discussing depressing shit, why not actually discuss how we can avoid this all?" Rain says. "If we never lose, we will never have to worry about getting caught."

"Well, that was the topic we WERE supposed to talk about anyway", Wendy says. "I'm happy to talk about that."

"So, provided that Snow and Crystal join us", Lemon begins, "we have Rain and Crystal as tanks, Angel as a healer, Snow as a secondary healer and a supporter, and me, Wendy and Pink as pure damage dealers. Have any of you actually read the updated guidelines written by Dana and Katja?" Everyone shakes their heads. "Because they said, and it got me thinking, that damage dealer isn't a viable role. Everyone should contribute in some other way."

Wendy immediately realizes that this is partially directed at her. "Well, I am the tactician, and I've got some poisons, so…"

"Yeah, I think you're fine", Lemon says, turning towards Pink. "But you and me, how can we contribute?"

"I could get a stone that offers me more crowd control spells", Pink says. "I don't want my damage output to suffer, but if we all benefit from more crowd control, I'm happy to change my style."

"There can never be too much crowd control", Rain says. "We have barely any at this point."

This leaves Lemon in thought, because she hasn't honestly thought a lot about how she could contribute to the team with crowd control. She doesn't have the right talents and she can't really serve as a secondary tactician either, given her constant distance and stealth role. "I mean, I do have some crowd control, like pin-down and concussive arrow."

Wendy taps Lemon's shoulder. "I actually have always viewed your attacks as finishers of sorts, since you rarely leave your target alive. If we get more crowd control, this role of yours will become just easier."

"Yeah, I don't REALLY think that we need every damage dealer to have crowd control either", Pink admits.

Snow nods. "Provided that I'm a full supporter, I think we can afford having one pure damage dealer in the party of seven."

"Besides", Pink says. "Isn't being an alchemist already your role?"

"Well, it's more like a precaution than a combat role", Lemon says, sighing. "I kinda feel embarrassed about staying as the sole damage dealer especially after saying that we all need to contribute with something other than damage."

"Don't mind it", Wendy says. "Just do your thing. We don't have to agree with everything that those two big shots have to say."

Lemon nods, reluctantly.

"Speaking of professions", Angel realizes, turning towards Snow and Crystal. "How about you two?"

"I'm an enchanter", Snow says. "I heard you already have one. Not sure if that's viable."

"I don't think it matters", Rain says.

"I don't have a profession yet", Crystal admits.

"Wait, really…?" Wendy says, looking at Crystal with a suspicious tone.

"I-I just didn't think of them as a big deal", Crystal says, shrugging. "I should probably get one though."

"We don't have a Smith or a Caretaker in the group", Pink thinks aloud.

"I was actually thinking about becoming Caretaker", Crystal says.

Wendy's suspicious tone turns a little more surprised as her eyebrows raise. "Oh, that would actually be super cool."

"I kinda like animals, so it's a no-brainer for me", Crystal says, giggling.

"I wish I had that luxury", Snow says. "I can't tame demons that aren't my own. If I want more demons, I got to get pregnant."

"Oh, what should I do with that demon?" Lemon asks, turning towards Snow. "The one you restricted."

"Give it to me", Rain suggests.

"Well, I don't mind, but wouldn't it make more sense for me to give it to Snow…?"

"I don't really care…" Snow admits.

"Let me adopt your baby", Rain says.

"Please, don't frame it like that…" Lemon says, laughing. "It's a freaking demon…"

"What are you even planning on doing with it?" Angel asks.

"Not sure", Rain admits. "Since the first one is for pleasure, the second would be for combat."

"Wait, pleasure?" Angel asks. Rain realizes that she might've accidentally said something she had no plans of telling, and she doesn't answer Angel's question at all. "Pleasure who exactly?"

"Don't push me…" Rain says, clearly flustered. "I don't want to tell you…"

Wendy is quick to mirror her own thoughts and feelings into Rain. Because of the fact that she feels changed because of her experience, and the fact that she actually has warmed up to the idea of taking a dick - an idea completely foreign to her before she became a Nymph - she suspects that Rain could be going through similar change. It also gives her courage to not only push Rain on this topic, but also admit her own feelings out loud. "I totally get you if you feel like you're changing because of this world. I'm like that as well."

Rain looks at Wendy with dubious eyes. "Do you feel like this world has changed you as well…?"

"Yeah, this world has kind of made me warm up to dicks…" Wendy says, cheeks beet red, and voice shaking. "So, I completely sympathize with you if you want to, um… Pleasure yourself like that…"

"Dude…" Rain says. "It's not like that… I'm growing a demon that kind of works like a strap-on…"

Wendy, having realized that she kind of admitted herself changing while making a vain point, just gets even more embarrassed, and it's clear to see.

"I-I mean, I have changed as well, but I don't think I like dicks…"

"I always liked dicks, so I don't feel like I've changed", Pink says, half serious, half joking.

"Okay, I'll say it as well!" Snow suddenly shouts. "I'm exactly like Wendy!"

"Well, I mean… I have changed a little too", Crystal admits.

"I think we all have", Lemon says. "Don't feel embarrassed about it, Wendy."

"It's just that, talking about these kinds of topics feels weird…" Wendy says.

"I thought you weren't planning on telling anyone else", Pink says, poking Rain with her elbow.

Rain sighs. "Well, cat's out of the bag. Don't expect me to chase you girls with it though."

"I actually want to make myself a similar demon…" Snow says, giggling. "If it is possible for me."

While the discussion diverges from more serious topics to those that are a little bit more casual, and a little bit more personal to each one of them, they completely forget about what they were supposed to talk about, but that's okay. They're not going on an adventure for a while, so they can have their fun and their pointless discussions.

They all admit to have changed, and honestly, they can all see the changes in each other, especially Rain, Wendy and Angel, who have known each other for so long. No longer do they even think about each other's real personalities, and instead, they exclusively use each other's in-game names. No longer do they refer to themselves or to each other with male pronouns, but rather, they use feminine ones. They all are reluctant to admit that they've become more girly in their behavior and in how they speak and move, but they're quick to see the changes in each other. It's disturbing for them to think that they could be going through similar things, but in the end, does it matter for them? No. They just quickly dismiss it and store it in the back of their minds and move on. It does make up for some bedtime thoughts - something to think about while waiting to fall asleep - but it's the least of their worries in the dangerous world. In the end, it has to be said, that they have all become more open sexually and more willing to talk about their sexuality and preferences. Will their new forms and their new nature as a Nymph change them even more? Deep down they know, yes, they will continue to change, perhaps for better, perhaps for worse. They all agree that it won't matter as long as they're happy, and as long as they're safe.

…

There are no disagreements in the newly formed group of seven; they are to put their efforts to push through Hammercliff Valley all the way to Paradise. They have not decided yet what's going to happen once they get there. Will they go separate ways if Snow and Crystal find their friends there? Will they even find their friends there? That's something they have to worry about later. They feel like they have a lot of preparing and improving to do, mostly because they do not want to relive their bad memories of that place. Once Wendy gets better, they pretty much get instantly into back into training and getting to better shape.

Speaking of Wendy getting better, during the last moments of her pregnancy, her belly would actually start to grow. It was already late, so she pretty much went to sleep with her belly. She wasn't too excited about having to walk around with. She was feeling shame, even though she deep down knew that she wouldn't be shamed for it. It's not like she ever asked for it. On the very same night she had the misfortune of having to deliver alone, with nobody else by her side. It started without warning during the early hours of morning, when her firstborn decided it is time for him to see the light of day before she was even awake herself. She woke up confused, initially not even aware of what was going on. There was pain and she cried for help, but it was already too late. If there was a silver lining in all of this, it's the fact that it was over before she would even get the emotional support she wanted. It honestly wasn't as bad as she initially thought it would be, at least as far pain goes. A little crying child of a goblin still connected to her by a umbilical cord - the ultimate proof of her motherhood - was delivered to the world safely. What happened to this baby later? I will spare you the details but let me just say that they decided to not get rid of it right away, per the wishes of the mother. They also hope they won't be having to get rid of any more children, should they have the misfortune of having to deliver some.

But enough of that. Let's get back to what they must do next, which is to train and to get familiar with styles of their new allies and learn to use new skills and tactics. They take regular trips to Misty Forest, the only place they feel 100% comfortable training in. They always had no troubles clearing enemies in this forest, but with their new and improved tactics along with some super useful crowd control in form of Wendy's focus on poisons and Pink's frost magic, they have no problems. They train in groups of four, with three benched at time, following the group around. This is to train with different kinds of setups to prepare for different kinds of situations in case of something going horribly wrong. They try training without healers, sometimes without tanks. Some setups are better than others, but they never get into trouble in these easy areas. They also learn to combo their attacks more effectively. Lemon, for example, usually takes slowed and stunned enemies as her targets to one-shot her enemies while others focus on tankier enemies.

They're sure to not forget about professions either. Rain and Snow, with their new enchanter only enchants get a good boost to their performances, and Wendy gets even better with maps and finding treasure. They no longer have any problems with high-level areas and broken maps. Angel learns to make rations that can be used to give temporary boosts on adventure and Lemon's potions continue to improve. It's not just the effects either; they are starting to taste good as well, especially Angel's rations. Most of it comes in forms of candy bars. Pink doesn't really have room to improve anymore, since she can't find good recipes anywhere, but hey, at least her transformation ability is getting stronger. This leaves us with Crystal, who get herself a pet-wolf. It's not strong by any means, but it can alert the presence of enemies and even track them, which is always good. It's crippling ankle bite and interrupting paw strike are also effective means of crowd control against both melee and some casters.

So, they improve a lot, and it's noticeable. It also makes them confident. They feel like they're finally ready to return back to the front lines, but not before they have one more night's rest, one filled with fun, games and a little bit of drinks. This time, they gather around in Rain's house, who lost the bet to play the host. What do they play with? Well, they don't really have a lot to play with, but they have a deck of traditional playing cards. You can play like a hundred games with them, so they have a lot to choose from. Since they're all from different parts of the world, they all are familiar with different games. They settle to play simple poker as it is a global game they all know the rules of and decide to go forward from there. They manage to play for about fifteen minutes until they get bored, because the truth is that poker is very boring without proper stakes. They don't want to play about money, but that's not a problem at all. They have two things they can stake, and those are clothes and sugary drinks with intoxicating effects. It's not the most PG combination there is, especially as Nymphs tend to get horny when drunk. Let me say from the beginning though, that while some of the Nymphs in the group end up losing more than the others, it doesn't get THAT lewd, at least not until they decide to play even more childish party games, like spin the bottle. It kind of starts with truth or dare rules, but quickly dissolves to nothing but dares, most of which involve intimate contact of some sort.

They only had a set amount of drinks, so it never has a chance to get out of hand, relatively speaking. They do know self-restraints. Well, at least those do, who win. It's usually the loser that ends up getting drunk, which just fuels their losing streak. When they run out of drinks, it's already late, and they decide to go different ways. Well, everyone except Wendy. Whenever she's just bad at playing cards or just had bad luck, she was the one getting the most shit-faced. She was also first one to get stripped. Now, she lays defenseless on Rain's bed, not wanting to move. Rain on the other hand is very good in poker. In fact, you could call her a natural. You should already know why.

"You know…" Rain says, leaning closer to Wendy. "I know my bed is comfy, but I need you to bugger off."

"Don't be like that", Wendy says, laughing. "God, my head is spinning so much… I just can't get up…"

Rain sits down on the bed and sighs. She is starting to get tired and just wants to get to sleep. "No, really, I just want to sleep in peace."

Just like that, Wendy actually gets up, hugging Rain from behind, with her head leaning against Rain's shoulder. "Let's sleep together…"

"Dude…" Rain says, with thin eyes.

"Don't call me a dude", Wendy says, pouting, sounding offended.

"…It's a figure of speech", Rain points out.

"Come on, Rain. Get naked already."

"There's no way I would sleep with you."

"Oh, fuck off, I know you're into little girls."

"I'm not into you", Rain says, sighing. "Besides, you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk!" Wendy states loudly, then laughing.

Rain is starting to get uncomfortable, because she really doesn't want to do anything to Wendy, especially when she's drunk. No, she wouldn't probably do anything even if she was sober, but the situation is not one that she wants to be in. Rain does admit to being a little bit horny. Had it been someone else than Wendy drunk in her bed, she wouldn't have hesitated to pounce on her. "Please, just leave."

Yet, Wendy is still not having it. "Hey…" she whispers, straight into Rain's ear. "That dick of yours should be ready by now… Wanna try it on me…?"

Rain sits still like a statue. Her heart is pounding faster. She has it ready. Wendy was actually one of the girls that helped with giving it source, but Rain hasn't used it yet, not even once. She just hasn't had the opportunity. She has wanted to, but opportunity hasn't presented itself. And there it is; the opportunity is hugging onto her, naked, pushing her little body against her back. 'Wait, this can't be actually happening', Rain thinks to herself. Rain is tempted, really tempted. Just like she can't get the softness and the warmth of the little girl from her skin, she can't get that raw, preteen body from her mind. Oh, she would love to do some real lewd stuff to a girl like that. 'But she's drunk!' Rain tells herself. 'She's not in her right mind! She has to be messing with me!'

"Come on, Rain…" Wendy's childish voice is oozing lust. She sounds serious. "Fuck me hard…"

Rain shakes herself off from Wendy's grasp and stands up, backing off. Wendy doesn't look like she's following. Instead, she just collapses back to the bedsheets. "Just go to sleep…" Rain concedes a point and decides to let Wendy stay. As Wendy realizes this, she just responds with a cheerful "Yay", but nothing else. She doesn't even realize that Rain walks away to the bathroom to cool down, just to get away from the situation. 'Fuck's sake, why her of all girls? Now I really wanna fuck someone, but there's no way I would do HER. Not Wendy. No way in hell.' Sighing, Rain leans against the door, hoping that Wendy will pick up the hint and drop her advances.

After about two minutes, after being in the dead silence, able to cool down a little bit, Rain finally figures out it's about time she goes to sleep. First thing she sees when she gets out is Wendy, who is unsurprisingly fast asleep. It's a good thing, since it means that she can sleep peacefully as well. She gets naked and is about to change clothes to her light pajamas, when she figures that she is feeling way too hot. She does sleep naked every now and then to make her sleep more comfortable from time to time. Can she do it with Wendy in the same bed with her? 'Fuck it, it doesn't matter', she tells herself. She does keep her panties on, but that's all she needs. She crawls to the other side of the bed and falls asleep quickly.

…

Next morning, Wendy is first one to wake up, sober. Something is not quite right, as she can feel something warmer and heavier than a blanket wrapped around her. First thing she sees as she open her eyes is the sleeping face of Rain, whose cheek is pressed comfortably against her chest. Rain's arms are also hugging her body, which at a first glance looks incredibly cute to Wendy, until she realizes that's her naked body she's grabbing tight onto. This is a first time ever for her: she woke up in the bed of someone, and she feels immense guilt. At least she remembers exactly what she did on that evening, which is nothing. Rain never laid a hand on her. Well, at least not while Wendy begged for sex.

What scares Wendy the most is what was going on in her head at the time. She wasn't just messing around with Rain. No, at the time what she asked for Rain to do was what she really wanted. She really wanted to have sex with Rain, one of her friends. Not only that, she wanted to be fucked. She hasn't just warmed up to the idea of enjoying dildoes and other long objects as masturbatory aid; she just straight up wants to get fucked raw by a man. Well, at least she wanted it when she was drunk. 'Holy fuck, I'm glad Rain had some restraint. I have newfound respect for her.' Wendy's somewhat okay with intimacy, but she really wants to get up, so as much as she hates to do it, she decides to wake Rain up. Rain wakes up pretty quickly, but instead of reacting in the way Wendy hoped she would, Rain still half-asleep hugs her even tighter. "Get off me already…" Wendy asks.

"No way…" Rain mutters. "You're so warm, hot and squishy… I just wanna hug you…"

"You damn pedophile…"

With Wendy's second sentence, Rain finally realizes that she's not in the bed with who she thought she was in bed with. She was having a nice dream about unspecified fictional character and for some reason immediately assumed that was the girl she was cuddling with. "Oh, what's up, Wendy?" Rain asks, sitting up, stretching and yawning.

"I hope you had a comfortable sleep…" Wendy says, sitting up herself, staring daggers through Rain.

"Your chest is pretty comfortable", Rain blurts out.

Wendy covers her up. "You better not be thinking about anything perverted…"

"You're the one who asked me to do actual perverted stuff", Rain says, getting up. "Glad to see you're yourself now."

Wendy sighs deep. "Yeah, thanks for not doing anything to me…"

"If you want to get fucked, at least ask me while sober", Rain says, as she begins to dress up.

Wendy knows Rain is just joking so she doesn't even bother getting angry over what Rain just said. Or was it merely a joke? Wendy wants to make sure by asking a serious question regarding the subject. "So you're saying that you would have done it if I was sober…?"

Rain looks deep into Wendy's eyes, unsure how to comment. She doesn't know the answer herself, but her silence proves that she is at least thinking about it. "I didn't say that…" she finally says.

"Just answer me."

"Probably… Not…"

"So which is it?"

"It's not something I think I should do to you, ever", Rain answers with a straight face. "I hope you feel that way too. I don't want to be put into a situation where I have to make that kind of decision. Is that good enough an answer to you?"

A smile appears on Wendy's face, and she nods. "That's perfect."

"Oh, and it also depends on how drunk I am", Rain adds, with a playful smirk.

Wendy can't help but to laugh.

Chapter IV