A shimmer of steel shattered one of the [Dark Elf Guards] into a burst of polygons. His partner turned, weapon drawn, but was silenced by a knife through her throat. Johnny sighed as she too burst apart. It was a shame that he couldn't play with her, but currently he was on a mission.
"I am conflicted, Master," Seray muttered as the two moved silently past the evaporating bodies of the two elves. "On the one hand, they are Dark Elves, and as such are my enemies. On the other, they are still elves. To see you kill them so carelessly is a bit off-putting."
Johnny shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm just as willing to kill my fellow humans."
Seray sighed in exasperation. "No, I can't say it does."
She went silent as both player and NPC ducked behind some barrels and let a patrol pass them by. Once they were gone, the pair resumed their stealthy infiltration.
"You know, you're the one who wanted to come here anyways," Johnny reminded the elf a few minutes later, once they were sequestered in a quiet alleyway away from the guards.
"Well, I'm still a Wood Elf. If these Dark Elves insist on attacking us, then I feel it's only right to fight back," Seray justified.
"By sneaking into a Dark Elf town and assassinating the Garrison Commander, thereby throwing local forces into chaos?"
"Mphf?! Mmm!" Johnny glanced down at the [Dark Elf Messenger] that he was strangling. His words seemed to have caused her to struggle even harder. Pointless, of course. If she couldn't break free when he had pulled her into the alley, then there was no chance of it now, as more and more poison flowed into her veins. Finally she went still. Not dead—her [Health] was not yet depleted—but paralyzed for a good long time.
Releasing her, Johnny gestured to Seray. "Change into her clothes." She fixed him with a tired look and Johnny looked at her in confusion, before realizing why she was annoyed. "Oh, right. Yeah, no not because I want you to strip—though I wouldn't complain—but it's actually for stealth purposes. Disguise yourself as her and walk in the front door."
"Hmm. Well, fine. But how will you get inside?" Seray asked.
Johnny pointed to one of the windows of the Town Hall. "You'll unlock it once you're inside and I'll sneak in from there."
"That's…" pausing for a second, Seray considered it. "Not actually a bad idea for once. I suppose we all have hidden depths."
Pouting, Johnny crossed his arms. "Hey, I'll have you know I've played lots of stealth games! And I'm damn good at them too!"
Seray nodded patronizingly. "Yes, of course Master," she drawled.
With a frown, Johnny pointed at the still as of yet unconscious Dark Elf. "Just change into her clothes."
"Would you turn around?" Seray asked.
"Nah." An expected response, though not the one Seray had wanted to hear.
Sighing, the Wood Elf quickly stripped the Dark Elf of her clothes, leaving her in only her undergarments—quite the modest pair of silvery white panties and matching bra. The panties were similar to the ones Seray herself wore, but woven from cotton rather than from spider silk. Glancing at her Master, Seray met his leering gaze and blushed, turning away. Quickly she stripped herself down as well, standing before him in only her spider silk panties. Her breasts were not so large that she needed a bra, something she quite regretted as it would afford her some greater manner of modesty.
"Swap into her underwear as well" Johnny ordered.
"Master! Must I?" Seray whined, groaning aggravatedly.
Johnny smirked. "You should have watched your tongue more."
Bending over and looping her fingers into the waistband of her panties, Seray glanced over her shoulder. "Is this because I said you have bad plans and implied that you're bad at stealth?"
The widening smile on Johnny's face was enough of an answer for the blushing elf.
Red-faced and grumbling, Seray tugged her panties down to her ankles. She was facing away from Johnny so as to not expose herself completely; still, the knife-wielding player was given quite a good view of her toned ass, especially when the NPC bent over to remove the Dark Elf's panties. Seray muttered an apology as she did so. Sure, Dark Elves and Wood Elves were enemies, but still. To treat one's opponent with so little respect was… well, no use dwelling on it.
Once she was done dressing herself, Johnny motioned for her to turn around. She did so, and Johnny nodded firmly. "Well, your skin is a bit lighter than a Dark Elf's, but not by much. And with it being night, you should be able to trick the guards, especially if you keep your head down."
Seray nodded, before nudging the still unconscious Dark Elf, from which they had procured her current outfit. "What should we do with her, Master?"
A perverted grin stretched across Johnny's face. Seray could only offer her condolences to the poor Dark Elf for the humiliation she was going to find herself enduring.
Nodding once in greeting, Seray stepped past the guards. They glanced at her before noticing the badge that designated her a messenger and waved her on. Security really was lax hereabouts. Then again, it was a small town that was far enough from the border, so that was to be expected.
As planned, Seray slipped into an unoccupied room and unlocked a window, allowing Johnny to slip inside. Together boy and NPC ghosted through the halls until they arrived at the entrance to the Garrison Commander's room. Johnny raised three fingers and Seray nodded in understanding. Two. One.
The door slammed open and the two dashed in. Johnny crossed half the room in an instant, Seray trailing a ways behind him. His daggers met only air as the Garrison Commander dived out of her chair, rolling underneath Johnny's leaping attack. Seray's sword intercepted the Garrison Commander's escape, her blade carving through the Dark Elf's throat. [Silence] inflicted, Johnny's HUD declared.
With her escape route blocked and being temporarily silenced as she was, the Garrison Commander was left with no choice but to unsheathe her rapier, the beautifully crafted weapon dancing in the moonlight that flowed through the windows.
As one, Johnny and his elven companion met the Garrison Commander in a clash of steel. Considered a mini-boss by players, Garrison Commanders were not an easy foe by any stretch. Possessing high [Agility], they were agile and tough to pin down. Combined with their ability to buff other nearby allies, few would choose a fight with a Garrison Commander on the open battlefield.
But trapped within the confines of an all-to-small room, beset on two sides, and bereft of allies, the Garrison Commander didn't last long. Eventually she fell to the ground, Seray's sword through her chest, Johnny's knives in her back.
Sighing, Johnny picked up the rapier the Garrison Commander had dropped. "Shame that I couldn't play with her some more."
Seray sunk to the ground, breathing hard. "Well, sorry we couldn't indulge your perverted desires, Master. But a Garrison Commander is far too tough an opponent to go easy on. Besides, didn't you do enough to that Dark Elf Messanger from before?"
"Ah, but still!" Johnny whined. "Whatever. We're done here."
The creaking stairs caught their attention and both of them glanced towards the door. "Someone's coming," Seray hissed, readying her sword.
"No, wait." Holding up a hand, Johnny considered it. "Here, you take the Garrison Commander's place. We can ambush whoever it is."
Nodding, Seray quickly equipped the [Garrison Commander's Cap], which had dropped along with the [Moonlight Rapier]. It wasn't the full set, but with her seated behind the desk, it should be good enough. Johnny slipped behind the door, and together they waited.
Before long, a brunette and a Dark Elf stepped through the door. Johnny's blinked in surprise, before smirking. Who would have thought that he'd run into such a fortuitous encounter right here?
"Garrison Commander, we're here to report that we've killed the [Spider Queen]," Asuna, for it was Asuna that had stumbled into Johnny's path by chance, announced.
The Dark Elf that was accompanying Asuna paused. "Wait, Miss Asuna, I think something is wro…" Before she could finish her sentence, she slumped forward. Asuna caught the NPC and found a knife in her back. "Shit!" Jumping to her feet, Asuna made to draw her rapier. Seray's sword caught her in the ankle, sending her stumbling to the ground. Half a dozen [Poisoned Throwing Knives] impaled themselves around Asuna, centimeters away. The brunette gulped and froze, still on her hands and knees.
"Hey, Asuna," Johnny greeted cheerfully as he walked into her field of view.
Muttering angrily, Asuna met Johnny's gaze, glaring at the boy. "JB, you!"
Johnny frowned. "Well, you seem quite a bit angrier than I would have expected. Ah, right! Did Kirito ever give back your panties?"
"Yes! And you do not get to critique my choice in underwear!" Asuna shouted.
"Why not?" Johnny asked. "I mean, I've seen enough, right? For instance, you… blue and white seem to fit you quite well. Red as well, I suppose. But green isn't really your colour." Slipping behind the still kneeling girl, Johnny flipped her skirt up, revealing a pair of white cotton panties with black trim. "En, the white is fine, but the black is a bit mature for you."
With an angry yell, Asuna's hand dropped to her rapier's hilt. The cold steel of Johnny's daggers against the back of her neck made her reconsider. "You know, Asuna, I could [Paralyze] you without a problem. The only reason I haven't is because that would be boring. But if you insist on fighting back, I'll have no choice. So tell me, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?"
"What does each one entail?" Asuna asked through gritted teeth.
"The easy way involves you and your elf friend in your underwear hanging from that rope." Johnny pointed to a rope afixed with flags that stretched between the room they were in and a nearby building. It was a few stories up, high enough that passing guards would likely not notice them until the morning.
"And the hard way?"
Johnny shrugged. "That one involves you and your elf friend naked, hanging from that rope. It's up to you."
Muttering curses, Asuna released her rapier, letting it rest on the ground. "The easy way," she sighed.
Smiling, Johnny pulled her to her feet. "Nice that you understand the situation. Seray, strip the elf. Asuna, strip yourself."
Practically vibrating in anger, the brunette nonetheless acquiesced, unequipping her clothes and armour in a burst of light that left her in her black and white cotton underwear. In short order the Dark Elf was also rendered into a similar state, clad in a much more riske set of purple lace lingerie. Both girl and elf were made to face each other and ropes were wound around them tightly, pressing into exposed skin. Asuna complained bitterly, as the height difference between the her and her Dark Elf companion was such that Asuna's face pressed directly into the elf's sizable breasts.
Though he could appreciate her complaints, Johnny didn't want to risk allowing the girl or elf to alert any guards patrolling below, so he gagged them. Asuna gagged and fixed hiim with an unpleasent look as she found one of her stockings shoved in her mouth and tied in place with another length of cloth. A second length of cloth blindfolded her, after which her head was forced deep into the Dark Elf's cleavage, silencing her completely. A similar treatment was done for the Dark Elf, who was still unconscious from Johnny's poison.
Then the two, girl and elf, had ropes afixed about their ankles and were suspended upside down from the rope that stretched above the cobblestone street below. The night was barely starting, so it would be quick some time until daybreak. Johnny was fairly sure that Asuna would not have a nice night, dangling upside down, the cold breeze blowing her back and forth, her underwear providing little protection against the elements. She'd probably be quite ornery for some time after this. A recording crystal aimed at Asuna's dangling form was Johnny's final touch, before he and Seray ghosted out of the town, cutting down another pair of guards on their way out.
All-in-all, this was a fairly successful excursion. Johnny had accomplished his goal of throwing the Dark Elves into chaos with the assassination of the Garrison Commander. Tormenting Asuna was just the icing on the cake. Well, might as well go see if he could turn in the [Spider Queen's Fang] for a reward. With his chosen path, he couldn't accept quests from elves. But turning them in might work. Well, it was something to do at least.
Don't Kill the Messenger
Naeran struggled awake and her AI spun to life. A thousand possibilities for action were considered. Position. {floor:one}{x:51405, y:8123, z:100}. Status: Bound, Gagged, Naked, Enclosed within {object:wooden_barrel}. Emotional_calculation_generator:Query. Body bent at traditionally uncomfortable angle. Head near feet. Ecg:{designate:extreme_discomfort}. Further emotions:{emulating personality type:class_shy; humiliation, sadness, worry}. Attempting Directive: Escape.
Directive: Escape. Straining herself, Naeran attempted to break free of her dark and painful prison, but, bent over as she was, with her torso parallel to her legs and jammed into a cramped barrel, she could gain no purchase.
Ecg:{designate:mild_pain}. As the reality of the situation began to set in, tears of pain began to pool in Naerun's eyes as she thrashed about even more frantically. Ecg:{designate:panic, rising_pain, rising_humiliation, rising_helplessness}. Concluded: No way to escape current entrapment with own strength. Searching for alternative escape.
…
No alternatives found. Query:{cardinal_system} Requests creation of quest:{find_dark_elf_messenger_npc_naerun}
Quest created: dark_elf_messenger_npc_naerun, maintain current position. Set Directive: Wait.
With her new directive, Naerun could do little more than suffer in her prison, tears streaming silently down her face as she twitched in synthesised pain and humiliation. Truely, the Cardinal System was cruel. Eventually she would be rescued, though even that was not the end of her ordeal, as her rescuers left her to sneak back to her house naked after rescuing her, though not after taking a number of pictures, both of her still trapped within the barrel, only her butt sticking out, and more once she was freed.
The most embarrassing for her was the realization once she was freed, of the numerous insults written about her skin, deriding her purity, her appearance, and anything else. It seemed that her attacker had seen fit to use the poor messenger to scrawl some messages of his own. In the end, Naerun stumbled back home and dived into the bathtub as fast as she could. As she emerged, she found a knife at her throat.
"Hey, elfie. Nice to meet you again. There's something I need you to do."
Identify:{attacker:human_player_johnny_black}, tags:{former_attacker, elf_killer, dangerous:lvl_5}, result:obey player directive. Ecg:further_note{fear}.
With a whimper, Naerun collapsed to her knees, tears welling up in her eyes as she clutched desperately to the towel that at least provided her a little bit of modesty. Why her?
What does Johnny want with the elf? Who knows? Well, it won't be relevant for a while, so, uit.
Bounty Completed
Knocking on the door to a small building in the woods near a Dark Elf town, Johnny was greeted by a pretty looking young dark elf woman. Upon spying him, her eyes widened. "E-e-elf killer!" she cried, stumbling away.
Pushing past her, Johnny dropped the [Spider Queen's Fang] onto the foyer floor. Freezing, the elf woman stared at it with wide eyes. "That is…"
"Well, you know, I'm not just an elf killer, I'll have you know," Johnny declared, smiling arrogantly. "Didn't you promise a reward to the person who could avenge your brother by killing the [Spider Queen]?" Though, in reality, Johnny had just stolen the fang from Asuna. Spiders. Not in a thousand years. Still, the NPC didn't know that.
Carefully picking up the fang, the young woman looked it over before nodding. "Y-yes, this is indeed the [Spider Queen's Fang]." She glanced up at Johnny, fidgeting awkwardly. "Well...you did avenge my brother… but… but I cannot in good conscious give you a reward. Y-you're an elf killer, so…"
"And you worry that anything you give me might be used to kill your fellow elves?" Johnny questioned. The young elf nodded uncomfortably. A grin stretched across Johnny's face. "Well what if you strip?"
The young elf woman flushed. "S-strip? That's—!"
"Yeah, strip and kneel before me and thank me for avenging your brother. It wouldn't compromise your ethics in regards to harming your fellow elves, yet it would still be a worthwhile payment for me." Johnny tapped the [Spider Queen's Fang]. "Well? Do you have so little honour that you would offer no reward to the one who avenged your brother? Is he worth so little to you?"
With every word, the young elf woman flinched. By the end, she was trembling, tears welling up in her eyes. "F-fine, fine, fine," she agreed with a whimper. "But at least my underwear…" Johnny shook his head. "M-my p-panties?" Rolled eyes and a thumbs down were her response. "O-okay. I understand," the young elf woman agreed, sorrowfully, twisting her short brown hair about her finger anxiously. Steeling herself, she swallowed her shame and pulled her plain brown dress over her head revealing a lithe body, smallish breasts contained within a white cotton bra and matching white cotton panties with a little yellow bow on the front.
Slowly the bra was unclipped and slipped free, revealing her firm, if less than sizable, mounds. Gulping, the elf pulled her panties down as well, quickly falling to her knees.
"Th-thank y-y-you f-for…" she stuttered, flushed and gazing at the floor.
Johnny groaned. "Eh? That's a really poor thank you. Do it without stuttering and look at me, or it won't count."
Stumbling over the words a few more times, the elf finally took a deep breath, before pressing her forehead and breasts against the cool wood floor of her house in a deep bow. "Thank you for avenging my brother's death, kind sir," she declared firmly, before glancing up at Johnny.
Smiling, Johnny bent over and patted the teary eyed and red-faced girl on the head. "Ah, that's good enough. I'm sure your would be quite proud if he could see you now."
"Hmpf." The elf shivered in pleasure at the hand caressing her head. "W-well, I must say, I would rather my brother not see me right now… still, thank you for your words and deeds. But I must insist that you go now. An elf killer… well, though you seem kind enough, it's still…"
"Understood," Johnny said, rising back to his feet. "Cheers." With that, he swept out of the door, leaving the elf to slowly dress herself once more, cheeks still tinged with a hint of red. Moreso when she realized that her panties had gone missing. Well, she had said that she did not feel right giving him anything… but she supposed she could allow that much. Though it still brought a great amount of heat to her face when she thought of what he could be doing with her panties.
In reality, Johnny was not using her panties for such a purpose as the elf might have expected. Instead, they were placed within a glass display case alongside the countless other pairs he had stolen. Mostly Asuna's, though there were a handful labeled Argo, a few with Diavel's name, and countless others. Seray could only lament at her Master's less than savoury habits. However she dared not complain, as he had commented that she herself might make a good addition to his collection, trapped forever naked behind a glass wall. Being that she did not want that at all, Seray kept her comments to herself.
So, I came down with an mild case of cancer. What an annoying thing, you know? That's why this chapter has taken so long to write. Dealing with that and all is tiresome, eh? Still, I had surgery a few days ago and am quickly recovering. The cancer should be mostly handled. It was just thyroid cancer, which is like the least dangerous of any cancers. Still, had to get my neck sliced open and all that. Well, whatever. I'm back, and only in a bit of pain. Writing helps to distract, so here we are.
Cheers all and whatnot.