{Alex}

After a passable meal, Gotrat helped me put together my tent. Sadly, that was not included in the price, and I had no unearthly idea what I was doing. I couldn’t wait to get into a city where I could have a house and bed. He kept asking me questions about my home, what magic we used and why I wasn’t under a contract. I tried to deflect as much as I could as I used half my mind to track the mana pool in my body slowly moving up. Once it was full, I’d have to try to make some coin now that I knew what I was doing with it. It felt so natural using it or maybe I was on easy mode here with all these fools. I pondered over some of the things I learned in school about metals and how they interacted. 

It should prove to be useful here. Can I make a magnet only using iron? So many things to try. I needed to get more coins and more coins means more metal to play with. Step two complete, step three get laid… Step three: find a home. I should be able to do both. Why not? Once the mage had left and I had an almost full pool I went to two men sitting by the fire. One was poking the fire with a stick and the other was facing out into the darkness. “Hello there.” I said fighting not to add General Kanobi, fucking memes have turned my brains to mush. Both looked at me skeptically. One had a scar running across his face and the other had arrows on his back. That is about all I cared to notice about them. “I see you have arrows, my friend. Can I sharpen them for you?” I asked in what I hoped was a friendly tone. He looked at me with a frown.

“How much?” He asked as he crossed his rather large arms.

“How much do they charge in town?” I asked with a shrug. He sighed and growled at me.

“A copper an arrow.” It was like this man was expecting me to suddenly take his coins and run away. I beamed at him. Couldn’t tell if I pulled it off without looking evil this time, but I was sure the firelight didn’t help my odds.

“How about we say a copper for five arrows.” I said holding up the proper fingers. He looked at me blankly.

“Why go cheaper? We are in the sticks.” He asked and now both were looking at me with interest. Good idiots let me take your coins. I beamed at him as I fought not to lick my chops.

“I need to train my metal magic. So cheaper. Also, if I fuck up you aren’t out a whole lot.” He nodded and counted out the arrows and copper from his pocket. I took them and started sharpening each one. I didn’t remove any metal, just worked to compact the edge. It felt nice, but I was nearly empty after it was done. Fifteen arrows were slow, challenging work, but I quickly got the hang of it. Iron had a pleasant thrum almost like a soft heartbeat to my ears. I would need more mana if I was to pull this off. At the very least I wouldn’t have trouble sleeping tonight. He took one of the arrows and tested the edge.

“Good work mage. Mind if I give you the rest to play with?” I shook my head and yawned.

“Sorry, not much mana. I can do them on the road tomorrow. Feel free to tell your friends, I could use the work and practice.” He looked after me beaming. I was bone tired, but that worked like a charm. Get a customer base, earn coins, and get metal. Get a reputation as the good go-to guy. I have the time and working on them was actually a little fun. The word should get back to that tiger goddess and the way she blushed at me…

The next morning, I woke up and checked my pool. It felt slightly larger. No, that isn’t right. It felt deeper. Like there was more of it. My mana veins seemed tougher, and I felt slightly stronger. The zinc in my pocket was smaller and I must have taken it in somehow. I looked at it closely and saw that half of it was gone. Maybe that is why my mana felt tougher. I’d have to ask the mage about this. I walked to the campfire and saw the arrow man from last night. He poked another faceless man who walked to me. “Hello there.” He said with a polite bow. I smiled at him.

I ate like a horse. That sword had a deep crack and he paid two silver to make sure he didn’t have to scrap it. I wonder what they do with scrap? Maybe I can get some to play with. I saw my tiger goddess and waved at her. She waved back and blushed looking away quickly. Sexy as hell. I tried and failed not to lick my chops. On seeing me do that, her blush deepened, and she quickly walked away, but turned back just before moving past the wagons. I’d have to be careful not to push my luck as she could probably break me in half without too much effort.

People would come and go throughout the day as we moved asking me to fix this or sharpen that. It netted me a few more silver and a handful of copper. Each time I’d underbid the price they would tell me that they would have to pay in the city. It didn’t cost me anything and it seemed to make my mana stronger. No that wasn’t right. It made the mana easier to use. Like my mind was getting used to using it. 

It went like this over the next week. I would fix this or that, get paid, and go on. I did buy myself new clothes and even a bedroll. The ground was not suitable for someone like me although a bed would be nicer. Everyone in the caravan seemed to welcome my presence and would openly wave or talk to me. I would catch Yen looking at me from time to time or sniffing the air when I walked past. I was starting to smell a little. God, I missed having a shower every day. I was able to get by with a bucket of cold water. That cost me a copper every time, but it beat smelling like a pig. I was doing my normal thing that evening of helping out for pocket change when Scarface and arrow man came to me.

“Hay, come with us.” Scarface said. I wasn’t about to be mugged or told off for making eyes at Yen. They still seemed friendly as they took me to the edge of camp where I saw a small green man tied up. He looked half dead as he breathed heavily. “This is our way of saying thanks. Kill it so you can get stronger.” Scarface said with a smile. He handed me a knife and it was clear this was a favor. I felt bad for the little green goblin. It was going to die anyway and if not me then who? I grit my teeth and slashed at its head hoping to make it quick and painless. It was not and took three slashes to the skull before the knife sunk in. I felt sick. I didn’t like killing things. I would joke about killing someone or something, but actually doing it was just wrong. “Now next time if you aim your knife here,” He pointed at a place on the goblin’s neck. “It will die quicker unless you were trying to make it suffer. I wouldn’t blame you for that though. They are nasty little bastards.” I looked at him shocked. What, the, fuck?

“Noted. What do you mean next time?” I gulped trying not to throw up dinner.

“Me and some of the others want you to get stronger so you can do more with your mana.” I would have to do this again. Well fuck, this shit backfired on me badly. I just nodded and tried to wipe the purple blood off my arms and face. It had bled a lot. What the hell was wrong with these people? I stood up and felt something in my mana pool, it felt the slightest bit deeper. The men started working on the body taking it apart. The way they did it was almost like they had done it many times.

“What are you doing?” I asked, looking away quickly.

“Goblins have useful parts. I think this one may have a core. They don’t sell for much, but every little bit helps.” Arrow said with a shrug. I smiled, interested again in what they were doing.

“What do these cores do?” I felt the spark of a key I needed for my plan. They explained that the core processed mana and then gave me a rundown on the other parts they could get off the goblin. There was a core, a tiny gem-like sphere in the middle of the creature’s chest. I paid them three copper for it. It would only fetch me two copper if I tried to sell it in town, but I didn't care. Looking at the small green gem and probing it with my mana, I felt something strange. The mana went in and stayed for a short while before coming back out slowly. I wonder if metal could be used to hold it in place for longer. I would have to ask that mage. I had long since stopped caring about his name as it no longer mattered. What mattered was this small green ball of information I needed to figure out. I smiled at it in the campfire light. “Hello, beautiful.” I said at this tiny wonder.

I woke up the next morning and found Mage in his normal place, nose fully in his book. I still didn’t care enough to remember his name. “Hey bud, I have a few questions.” I said hoping to sound friendly. He marked his book again and smiled at me.

“Can we trade questions now that we are a few days away from the city?” I nodded. “Me first. Does your world have magic?”

“No. we use technology to make do. My turn,” I found out everything about mana. Turns out the metal can be used to hold mana inside or rather I think the metal acts as an insulator. I would have to test that though. Infusing mana into objects is often the job of an enchanter. I would have to try to get that as soon as I could. I wonder if the type of metal mattered. He went on to tell me about the cores and how he thought they could be used to imbue powers and effects into weapons and armor. Interesting, I would have to do a lot of work to figure everything out. Now I needed metal to play with. Would have to buy some as soon as I could. “I only have a few questions left for you, my friend, but they are on a personal level.”

“I thought you said you were only into women?” He laughed and I smiled at the idiot.

“About that. What do your people do if you get an STD?” He looked at me puzzled. “A sexually transmitted disease.” His face didn't change. “If you have sex with someone, can you get sick or give them a sickness?” I spelled it out hoping that he wouldn’t need to be explained what sex was. He clapped and smiled. The horse finally crosses the finish line.

“Oh. That, we use magic to cure anything aside from babies. You will have to deal with any kids you have. That is unless you plan to sleep with a beast like Yen.” He laughed and I smiled not fully getting his joke.

“What is wrong with that?” I asked as I thought about the amazing tiger who was trying and failing at this moment to hide behind one of the wagons behind us. He frowned at me and then shrugged.

“It is... frowned on. A lot of humans view them as animals as most can’t use magic and some even have,” he leaned in so he couldn’t be overheard over the moving wagons. “Monster cores.” I gave a real smile and knew it looked evil but didn’t give a shit. I didn’t care or notice him back away. I felt another key to this world land in my lap. I got lost in my thoughts as the day moved on around me. I would need to visit the shop and get some junk metal to play with and then maybe tonight I would try to plant a seed in someone’s mind.

We stopped for the day, and I found a rusty broken sword that was given to me for a copper. It was just trash that would have been sold for scrap, but I was able to remove the rust and mold it into a small bar. I put it into my bag and peeled off a small wire to wrap around the core. It didn’t take long and somehow it felt right wrapping it around the widest part. I closed my eyes when done and felt something strange. It had a small well of mana. The metal, mostly iron, had a slight leak of mana around the side. It was pulling in mana through the top and I could pull it out through the bottom that touched my palm. I quickly turned it into a bracelet and a picture popped into my mind.

NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: ENCHANTING. YOU ARE NOW ABLE TO IMBUE ITEMS USING MONSTER CORES.

I had a greater understanding of the world and how to make items. This would help my low mana issue. Somehow, I now knew that gold and other rare metals would fix the mana leak. I could also use runes to enhance things. What the hell were runes? How did I suddenly know all this? This world had better not be messing with my brain.

The sun had set and I knew most of the camp had gone to bed. All except my target and another one watching the fire. I knew Yen would be walking around looking into the dark. She seldom sat with others at night and mostly stayed on her own. The other one at the fire would be Scarface. I smiled and waved as I walked up to him. “Hello, friend.” He waved and I knew he liked me or rather liked how cheap and quickly I worked on his blades.

“Hi, Alex. What can I do for you?” He asked pleasantly. When did he learn my name? Doesn’t matter. I thought dismissively.

“I had a question about Yen.” I knew she could hear us. I had watched her listening in on others from the same distance as we were now. I could almost picture her stopping to listen in.

“Is she bothering you? I know she can be a bit off-putting, but she has an order not to harm or bother anyone who is riding with us.” He said with a slightly worried look on his face. I smiled as I moved around on the edge of the firelight.

“No, not at all. Quite the opposite. I would rather she did bother me more.” He frowned at me not liking what I was implying.

“You are a weird one. You would like someone like that.” He said scowling at me like I had just said I wanted to fuck a toaster. I smiled, shrugged, and turned away.

“Very much so. I find her beautiful.” I said as I made my way to bed. I smiled as I could almost picture her blushing in the dark. Normally, I never tried this hard to get someone, but it had been some time and I wanted to feel her ears and tail. I had a girlfriend back in high school who liked to wear cat ears when we were alone, and I delighted in seeing those on her. Something about this beast woman was making my blood boil in a very good way. I could have tried to pay for a night with her from her owner, but that didn’t feel right. It would be no better than cranking one out. Much better to have her come to me. It stroked my ego when a woman lay in my bed, exhausted and happy.

I hadn’t expected her for the next few nights, but I had hopes. Some of the hunters gave me odd looks now but were happy to give me kills and work. I was starting to trade work for cores. The goblin core didn’t play nice with the other monster cores, and they would spark or leak mana too quickly. Some would even just crack or explode if they were put next to each other without a barrier like cloth. That being said, my bracelet now had four cores. It more than doubled the mana I had. We only had a week left and I was wondering if Yen had even heard me that night. I was slightly dejected when I crawled into my tent and froze. She was lying on my bedroll, nude and blushing. Her long tail swished back and forth as she looked over at me. “I was told you wanted to see more of me.” She purred. My boner was immediate and threatened to ruin my pants with how fast he stood up, as I crawled up to her legs. I smiled brightly as I started kissing those rock-like calves. She giggled and hid her face, not moving a muscle.

“You are here on your own? No one told you to visit me?” I asked, hoping that this was her decision. She rolled over in the small tent, firm breasts only bounced slightly as she moved. I looked up at this amazing creature under me and licked my chops as I looked at her wet cave of wonders just under a smooth and clean patch of black pubic hair. She smelled amazing and I could tell she liked to keep herself clean as much as I did.

“I could easily rip your arms and legs off if I wanted to.” She said through hooded eyes. I kissed her knees and moved up slowly.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I said before I kissed high on her thigh making her gasp.

“I can smell every time you get turned on.” I kissed higher as she bit her finger. “You only get turned on when I’m around.” She whimpered as I lightly kissed her lower lips. “You don’t even seem to care when Luhea is around.” The pilot of that beautiful knight. I licked up the outside letting my tongue flick her clit. She arched her back and drew me closer. “Gods, that feels grrrrreat.” she rolled the Rs and I tried not to laugh as I thought of Tony the tiger. One of my hands cupped her toned ass as I let my fingers play with the lower part of her cave of wonders. My tongue licked up and down before dipping in with my teasing fingers. “Yes.” she whimpered “There.” I felt her claw-like hands dig into my hair as she pulled me close. She started rocking her hips into my mouth and tongue. I let my other hand squeeze her ass as she pushed into me. I felt her pinch my fingers as she growled softly in the dark tent. She lay back looking down at me panting hard. “Gods, I wish I had started doing this on that first night.” She finally said. I smiled and moved up, removing my shirt.

“I wish you had done so too. We would have had more time to play.” I stopped at her breasts and started kissing and teasing her cute dark nipples. She moaned and growled at me as she held my head there. I was rock hard as her toe claws pulled my pants down. With a smile I pulled away. “I still have my shoes on. It may make things hard." She pulled me up and looked deep into my eyes before grabbing my cock without warning.

“Nothing can be as hard as this thing is.” She said with a coy smile. I kissed her neck as she gave me a few playful tugs. Reaching down, I removed my pants and shoes. They were tossed in a pile near the door of my tiny tent, and I didn’t care if anyone heard or knew what was going on in here. She groaned as she pushed my throbbing cock down to meet her tight tunnel. I smiled into her neck as I bit it lightly. Suddenly she growled and I felt pain on my neck. She had bitten me hard enough to draw blood. It made me shudder with delight as I rubbed on the outside of her soaking wet womanhood. I had never had a lover bite me and it was a new wonder that I wanted more of. Everything about this woman made me want more of her.

“Tell me what you want,” I said as I looked into her eyes. Her pupils were wide and seemed to be filled with lust.

“What?” She asked, nearly drooling with want. I kissed her softly and pulled back.

“I won’t put it in unless you tell me what you want.” I was expecting a little dirty talk, but she pulled in and whispered in my ear.

“I want you.” It made my dick twitch and suddenly I was inside. She was tight and wet in all the right ways. I growled as I pushed in deeper. She hugged me and lifted her hips to meet mine. We kissed and I let my tongue dive into her mouth. She purred deeply as I flicked it across her teeth and tongue. I could feel four sharp points in her mouth. She had sharp cat-like teeth that I knew would feel nice on my dick. I moved faster hoping to bring her to the edge again and again. I twitched inside her and she growled, sending waves through both of us. Suddenly I was on the edge.

“I’m getting close. Where do you want it?” I managed to gasp out. She wrapped her legs around me and pulled me in close and hard making me burst at the same time I felt her tighten almost painfully around me. I couldn’t get away and for some reason her demanding I finish inside made it so erotic. I kissed her hard as I pumped everything, I had into her. She shook and shuddered below me, not wanting me to move an inch away from her. Once we had both come down a little, I pulled out making her growl softly. I lay on my bedroll, and she started to grab her clothes. “Where are you going?” I asked feeling slightly outraged. One-night stands were not my thing. She smiled at me as she kissed my cheek.

“We had our fun. Now I need to get to my bed.” She said with a somehow sad smile. I kissed the nape of her neck as I reached out to her.

“Stay and let me hold you.” I said hoping that she would be willing. She looked back at me blushing, doubt on her face.

“You want me to stay?” She asked in a small shaky voice. It was like I had just asked her to marry me. God, I hoped I had not done that. I pulled her back so I could spoon her. She was a bit large but still felt nice tucked into me. “Most humans just want sex if they want anything at all from me.” I stroked her side and kissed her shoulder. I wanted so much more than that from her.

“Do I seem like most humans?” I asked with a slight chuckle. She shrugged. “Can I touch your ears?” Another shrug. I reached up and started softly petting them. It turned into me petting her hair. This made her stiffen at first, but soon she was purring, and this led into soft snoring. I kissed her neck softly and pulled the bedroll over us. I drifted off to sleep with the scent of her in my nose. She was better than any ASMR audio I had ever listened to. God, she smelled nice. Like flowers and something wild. I needed this. It was everything I hoped for and far much more than I could ever dream of.

{ZeroGiven40}

Feel free to offer ideas on things to add or parts of this world I could expand on. I have some ideas on key things like what will happen in the next chapter, but always welcome advice.