Chapter 521: Chapter 518: Prepared Sniper’s Position

“That would be me,” Kerr declared excitedly.

From her position with her head lying in Aila’s lap, the therion eagerly sat up with a grin on her face. However, as she moved, she took a detour and unexpectedly turned to latch her mouth onto the swell of Aila’s left breast through her shirt. Aila yelped loudly and slapped Kerr away, who after the initial bite, was already moving back to her upright sitting position. Without even acknowledging the random act of lewdness she had just committed, Kerr addressed the group at large.

“I have twenty-seven new levels, thirty-five free unassigned attribute points, and thirteen empty skill slots to fill! Two or three other slots I’d like to get filled, but that’s for later. I’ve already read through my options, and I have the best ones lined up for review first, with the less awesome but still amazing options ready for discussion. Where do you all want to start? One, two, or class number three?”

Everyone in the room stared blankly at Kerr, wordless for a long pause. Glancing back and forth between them, the archer shrugged with her eyebrows raised.

“What?”

“Sorry, I think we’re all just surprised that you’re actually prepared,” Jay responded dryly.

“Of course I’m prepared!” Kerr made an attempt at an offended expression. “What did you think I was doing over here, diddling my bud? I was ready to go first from the beginning, just in case Aila wanted to be all coy and shit.”

“That still doesn’t sound much like you,” Aila remarked as she resumed writing in her journal, the entry now switched to Kerr. “Public masturbation sounds far more in character.”

“It’s not public when everyone in the room has already had sex with me,” Kerr dismissed the accusation. “Anyway, you think this is my first hunt? Look here, rosy cheeks, I’m not going to argue that you aren’t smarter than me, because you are. But I’ve been doing this whole fighting and leveling thing for a lot longer than most of the people in this room while on my own. Of course I’ve already reviewed my skills and lined up the best options.”

When put that way, it did feel silly to assume Kerr had been just playing around while they were considering their own class options. The archer was an experienced mercenary who had travelled across the breadth of the empire all on her own and had gotten to a high level while doing so. The only one in the group who certainly had more experience was Severina, and even then, the two had grown through very different lives.

“I apologize,” Aila said with a crimson blush. “I didn’t mean to imply you were—"

“You can apologize to me later with that long tongue of yours,” Kerr hushed the redhead with a finger against her lips. “Right now, I want to get through these levels I’ve been sitting on. So! Which one first?”

Jadis shook the two of her heads that she could under current circumstances, not the least bit surprised that Kerr had somehow turned the situation into a promise of oral sex. Leaning her Jay self forward, which naturally caused Eir to press into her chest, she caught the gray-maned woman’s attention.

“I say start with your current status sheet, so we have the baseline, just like the rest of us have done so far. Then we go from primary to tertiary. And before you say that it’s boring doing it that way, keep in mind that we don’t need to get anyone confused tonight. D’s nuts, I hate being the voice of reason on these things.”

“Alright,” Kerr sighed, though she clearly wasn’t at all unhappy. “Here we go!”

“No real changes other than the levels since I haven’t applied anything yet, but that’s about to change. Two of the passive skills I want to take for Nox Archer are attribute boosters.”

“Are you sure? What with all the increases you’re getting from me—”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, you big, beautiful cock muffin, but we aren’t all as lucky as you are with the awesome classes,” Kerr cut Jay off. “Nox Archer is good, but it isn’t great. The attribute skills I’m being offered are better than taking a skill meant to keep my bow string dry in the rain or my arrow fletching from ripping. Those are the sort of utility skills that are nice, not needed.”

“Alright, fair enough,” Jay conceded as she motioned towards the horned woman. “Tell us what you got.”

“That first one is okay, but that second one is really good,” Bridget exclaimed once Kerr finished speaking. “That’s forty-two points right there, with lots of potential to grow.”

“Exactly,” Kerr pointed at the orc. “It’s no explosion of stats like our little shieldmaiden, but it’s a great option for Nox Archer. I think maybe… one out of every five Nox Archers get a skill like this offered to them if they make it to my level, only it’s usually for Dexterity instead of Strength. Could be more. But not much more.”

“Other clan classes probably get a similar version too, right?” Jay asked. “Come to think of it, there were all those therion mercenaries at the battle last night. I’m sure they got a shit ton of levels, too. I wonder how many of them are getting their own clan’s version of this skill.”

“Eh, I don’t care,” Kerr dismissed the idle question. “Moving on to more important things. Namely, me and my new skills.”

Jay tilted her head to one side, eyes locked onto her lover’s face. Something about the way Kerr had casually brushed off the mention of the other therions sat wrong in her gut. She’d made the effort to seem uninterested, but Jadis knew Kerr and her quirks well. The topic had bothered her, and she was trying to move on while making it seem like she wasn’t moving on.

Jadis almost spoke up to press the issue but quickly decided against it. They were there to discuss levels, not whatever problem Kerr had with those mercenaries, whoever they were. She’d bring it up with her lover later, in private, where hopefully she would be more inclined to talk freely.

In the meantime, Kerr had continued to expound upon the skills that had been made available to her to choose from for her primary class. Some options were clearly better than others, with one skill drawing quite a bit of laughter from everyone in the group when Kerr went over its description. A passive that would protect Kerr’s boobs from the bite of her bowstring was… nice in theory, but utterly useless so long as Kerr was wearing her armor. Though as an experienced archer, Kerr winced at the memory and retelling of a few times early on where her breasts had suffered the snap of a bow.

The other two skills she ended up taking were a lot more useful under most circumstances.

“Are you going to be hitting enemies across the city now?” Jay joked.

“Eh, probably not,” Kerr shook her head. “The longer the arrow flight, the more the wind fucks with the aim. But it’s a good setup skill for stuff I may get in the future, like increased accuracy at greater ranges, things like that. There were Heroes who could hit a fly’s puckered asshole from a mile away. I don’t see why that couldn’t be me, too.”

“As a Slut Sniper, I have every confidence that you’ll be pulling off even more impressive trick shots,” Dys grinned at Kerr. “Probably also involving asses and holes.”

“Damn straight,” Kerr grinned back with a laugh. “Oh, there are some damn fun skills I got for my slutty archery class! Kind of wordy, but there’s this one that—”

“Far Wilds Traveler first,” Aila interrupted Kerr before she could spoil the details on her new tertiary class skills. “In order, remember?”

“Ugh,” Kerr groaned and slumped petulantly. “Fine. I’m taking these three skills in my traveler class, no contest, here they are. Gah.”

“There. Can I talk about my sexy skills now?”

“Ah, I guess…” Aila mumbled as she was writing down notes as quickly as she could. “Wait. You don’t want to have any discussion about the skill options? Alternatives to these?”

“Pthh, no,” Kerr made a rude noise with her lips. “Wild Wall Climber synergizes nicely with my enchanted boots. Sustenance Supplementation helps when I’m out in the field for a long time, and does double duty helping me with my pregnancy. I’m giving birth to two pups, keep that in mind, you lucky ducks. Next time it might be three.

“Finally, there’s Traveler’s Wealth of Health. It’s obviously a great choice because we have the airships now. I go for a nice ride on a sunny afternoon, and I get an extra two hundred health points for the rest of the month. It’s almost too easy. I could literally take a nap, have lunch, get my cock sucked by Sorcha, whatever I want for the ride, and I still get the free health. It’s a sweet deal. What’s not to like?”

“Hey…” Sorcha protested as she gave the archer an offended look.

“I mean, crudeness aside, that’s a pretty good analysis,” Dys shrugged her shoulders while looking at Aila. “Honestly, that Wealth of Health skill sounds great.”

“They do appear to be good choices,” Severina agreed, though her expression showed that she was still trying to process Kerr’s casual insertion of lewd language. “Considering the amount of flying I do regularly, I would dearly love a skill that offered bonuses just for traveling long distances.”

“The other options aren’t worth consideration?” Aila asked dubiously.

“Small boost to health and agility, a skill for running away from enemies faster, and a weird-ass skill that lets me pack better trail rations. I don’t cook, so that’s a big fat no. Can I please tell you about my new Slut Sniper skills? Please!”

“Well…” Dys did her best to smother her growing grin. “We’ve been at this a while, now. We might need to take a break to stretch our legs, use the bathroom—”

Dys’ words were abruptly cut off by a large gray blob of righteous fury landing on her face that turned into Kerr. The enraged therion shoved Dys roughly to the ground with a surprising amount of strength, which on second thought was less surprising when Jadis remembered how high that particular attribute was for the wild woman by that point.

Growling like a hungry wolf, Kerr crawled over Dys’ form before firmly arranging herself so that she was facing the rest of the group while her butt was planted on the Nephilim’s face. With her ankles locked behind Dys’ neck, the archer had settled herself in an unmovable position that would keep Dys’ mouth smothered.

“Now, about my new skills,” Kerr announced with a dignified air.

“Ready when you are,” Bridget mumbled while Aila flipped to a new blank page in her journal.

“Are you okay under there?” Sabina asked, leaning down to whisper in Dys’ ear.

The Nephilim-turned-seat cushion raised her hand in a thumbs-up gesture in response.

“Okay, just checking,” Sabina nodded before turning her attention back to the enchantment sketch she had been previously working on.

As she began to speak, Kerr reached out to Thea, who was now on her left thanks to her new seating arrangement, and began absently stroking the other woman’s head. Thea looked mildly confused by the change in seating as well as by being pet like a cat but made no objections and seemed to just roll with the new situation.

“I will give the bad news first,” Kerr spoke with solemnity. “Only one of my six new Slut Sniper skills is actually lewd. A travesty, I know, but if the world was perfect, we’d all be sluts and there would be no need for a sniper.”

“Uh…”

“The good news is,” Kerr pushed on before anyone could comment on her statement, “my new sexy skill is not only lewd, but it involves everyone. The description is long, so pay attention. If I have to repeat myself, I will demand compensation.”

That was, indeed, quite a mouthful to digest. Once Kerr had finished speaking, everyone was quiet while they took time to process the implications of the new passive skill. The first to speak up was Jadis.

“Mmph,” Dys said, her voice muffled by Kerr’s posterior. “Mm, mmph hmph mmm.”

“You can use your Jay self to talk…” Aila rolled her eyes.

“Nah, she can keep going as is,” Kerr grinned wickedly as she wiggled her hips back and forth. “Good vibrations.”

“So, it’s an extra well of stamina that you can use for combat, but you can’t regenerate until after combat,” Jay expressed her full thought so everyone could hear. “Kind of similar to Bridget’s Fuel for the Flame, but stamina instead of magic.”

“Putting aside the lewd aspects of that skill,” Severina commented, “that is quite powerful. Especially since the amount goes up with your CLR.”

“Why would you want to put aside the lewd aspects?” Kerr asked with genuine confusion.

From there, Aila, Severina, and Kerr began a spirited debate concerning the skill. Mostly, it was Aila and Severina talking about the potential uses of Bonded Slut Sniper’s Salacious Stamina Bank, while Kerr occasionally interjected some ribald commentary about how she was planning on using them to help power the skill up. There was no question between the three, or from anyone else for that matter, that it was a powerful skill that would serve Kerr well in battle.

“You know, from the way you’ve been talking, I get the feeling you’re pretty set on your remaining Slut Sniper skills as well,” Jay pointed out when the conversation between the three lulled. “Were the choices that clear cut?”

“For the most part,” Kerr shrugged in a noncommittal way. “I know what I want, and these skills line up nicely. I’ll go over the less interesting ones for you, though. Second opinion and all that.”

Kerr proceeded to outline the skills that she had less interest in, which took a few minutes. Three of them were attribute boosters, good ones too, which Jadis was sure that under normal circumstances would be happily accepted by Kerr or most people in general. The fact that Kerr didn’t want those increases told Jadis that she held the skills she had earmarked in far higher regard. The other three skills on offer were all passives as well. One offered increased accuracy against enemies damaged by Jadis, which Kerr considered to be a runner-up to her main choices, and the other two were more utilitarian skills that would help with stealth and avoiding drawing attention on the battlefield. Jadis was honestly very interested in having Kerr take those skills, but on a second thought, she remembered that Sorcha could always obscure the archer when needed, which was probably part of why Kerr didn’t rank those two skill options as high priority.

Once Kerr started listing out the other five skills that she did want to take from her tertiary class, Jadis understood her reasoning for skipping the others.

“Wow, the system just straight up gave you a shot—uh, explosion shot, huh?”

As she stumbled over her words, Jay glanced towards Sabina, who was still happily etching whatever enchantment idea had called for her attention. She was glad the inventor was distracted, since she had almost brought up shotguns in front of her. One thing Jadis had been careful to avoid when talking to Sabina about Earth technology was firearms. She had no illusions about Oros being any more peaceful than her old world; it patently wasn’t. That said, she didn’t want to be the one to introduce new forms of weaponry to the magical world, especially not when she didn’t have a clue how magic would interact with technological means of mass destruction. A shotgun or a rifle wouldn’t be that bad, but someone as smart as Sabina would take no time at all to figure out how to increase the size and reinvent cannons and artillery. Once that happened, the results would be… unpredictable.

As she glanced away from Sabina, Jay’s eyes traveled over Severina. The reminder of Earth brought to mind the fact that she hadn’t yet had a conversation with her angelic lover concerning her origin. Sev still believed the lie that Jadis had poorly woven concerning her imaginary birthplace in Weigrun. She needed to come clean, as soon as possible, but it was a truth she was hesitant to share. Not because she didn’t trust Severina, but because she knew that Sev would likely feel honor bound to inform Prince Kestil. Having the sneaky prince know about her reincarnation was not high on Jadis’ list of favorite ideas.

Those were thoughts for later, though, as Jadis needed to focus on her therion lover’s new skills and the discussion everyone was having about them.

“—considering how much stamina you go through with all your active skills, Sniper’s Repose makes good sense,” Aila was saying. “The less stamina you waste elsewhere, the more you’ll have for your empowered shots.”

“I agree,” Eir added onto the magister’s thoughts. “Combined with Sorcha’s stamina enhancements, you should always be at full capacity going into a battle. However, the skill I am most interested in is Armor Sunder Shot. Would it truly cause physical damage to armor beyond the normal puncture hole? How would that look?”

“I dunno,” Kerr made a face while shrugging. “I’ve never seen a skill like it before. It’s not something any Nox Archer has ever had, at least that I know of.”

“I have seen that skill on melee combatants,” Severina said. “At least, a skill with the same effect, if not the same name or range. In fact, I believe Rein, the Hero’s Lancer, has a skill that has a similar effect.”

“Might have to compare who’s better at breaking armor sometime, then,” Kerr smirked at the thought. “I bet I’d fuck that pretty elf boy’s whole day up.”

There were a few more comments after that concerning Kerr’s skill selection, but from everything Jadis could hear, it sounded like everyone was impressed and in agreement with her choices. Jadis almost tried making an argument that Kerr should consider switching out the Sniper’s Repose for one of the stealth skills she had passed over but decided against it. Far Wilds Traveler had some focus on stealth and concealment; it was probably better to let that class handle those kinds of skills rather than waste the slots from Slut Sniper. In any case, Kerr was happy with her current selections, and Jadis saw nothing wrong with them.

“If those are the skills you’re going with, then all that’s left for you to do is distribute your free attributes,” Aila eventually pointed out. “Have you thought about which stat you want to be the lowest, so that Jadis’ new ritual can be applied to it?”

“I have,” Kerr answered primly. The dignity of her affectation was somewhat diminished by the fact that she was still sitting on top of Dys’ face while slowly rocking her hips back and forth, but small details like decorum never slowed her down before. “My current lowest stat is Resilience at thirteen, but that’s definitely not what I want the ritual to improve. Since I have thirty-five free points, I am going to put three points into Resilience so it’s bumped up to sixteen. That way, my Fortitude and Vitality will be tied for lowest at fifteen points each.”

“W—which of those two will you increase?” Thea asked curiously.

Grinning at the brunette, Kerr gently tapped the tip of Thea’s nose with a clawed finger.

“Neither! I want the boost to go to my vitality, but if we don’t get it on the first try, I’ll just do the ritual with Jadis again. I’m sure she won’t object.”

Kerr punctuated her statement by bouncing up and down a little, which drew some muffled noise from Dys below her.

“I’ll save that one point and put it with the rest into Dexterity, where it will do me the most good.”

A fair plan, one which Jadis agreed with. She certainly didn’t mind the prospect of doing the ritual more than once with Kerr. It was just one point, not a make or break resource at their level, but putting everything she had into the stats that mattered most to her was perfectly logical. Especially when the only potential penalty was more sex.

“Alright then, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this should be your current status sheet,” Aila murmured as she finalized her notes in her journal.

“That’s it,” Kerr confirmed. “I’m all done. Now, who’s feeling horn—”

Kerr’s question was cut off by her words turning into a yelp as Dys sat up. The therion flailed, still holding onto Dys’ head with her legs, but her horned head was abruptly put into the Nephilim’s lap which caught her by surprise. Before she could recover, Dys exerted her own far greater strength and pried the archer from her face.

“How about we take a five-minute break to stretch,” Dys suggested. “My ritual over there is just about done now, anyway.”

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