Rem's entire body trembled from exhaustion mixed with lingering adrenaline, muscles screaming in protest after pushing beyond their limits
They'd won. Against impossible odds, against two three-core alphas and an entire pack of flame-born beasts, they'd actually fucking won.
Then Marcus...
Rem was already moving, The wolf that had gutted Marcus was turning toward her, jaws stained red, eyes gleaming with satisfaction at having taken down the healer. She reached it before it could move, before it could finish what it started.
Her sword came down in a brutal overhead strike that put every ounce of her strength behind the blow. The blade split the wolf's skull like ripe fruit, cleaving through bone and brain matter in a single devastating cut. Gore sprayed across her face and chest, hot and wet, the wolf dropping without even a whimper of protest.
Kaisen killed the last two wolves with quick efficiency, his blade flashing twice and leaving corpses in his wake. Then they were all crowding around Marcus, all three of them converging on his fallen form.
"Fuck, oh fuck," Rem muttered while dropping to her knees beside him. Blood was everywhere, pooling beneath his body and spreading across white ash in growing stain that looked black in the firelight. Too much blood, way too much.
They flipped him carefully, trying not to jostle the wounds, and the damage was immediately apparent. The claw had punched through his lower back and erupted from his stomach, the exit wound ragged , bloody and terrible. She could see the white part of his bones too clearly. The neck wound was almost as bad, teeth marks showing the bone where the wolf had tried to snap his spine.
This was fatal. This was absolutely, completely fatal without magic.
"Potion, now!" Rem shouted while pressing both hands against the stomach wound, trying to slow the bleeding even as it soaked through her fingers, hot and slick and pumping with each beat of his failing heart.
Kaisen fumbled through his pack with shaking hands, pulling out a mid-tier healing potion that glowed faint green through the glass. He uncorked it with his teeth and poured it directly into the stomach wound, the magical fluid mixing with blood and beginning to work immediately.
Rem watched the potion take effect with horrified fascination. The liquid seeped into torn flesh and began knitting it back together, but wrong at first, muscle fibers connecting to the wrong places, organs trying to repair in patterns that didn't match their original structure. She had to press harder, force the flesh into correct positions while the magic worked, her hands literally inside Marcus's body cavity helping guide his intestines back where they belonged.
It was the most disgusting thing she'd ever done.
The healing accelerated as more potion reached the damaged areas. Torn vessels sealed themselves, stopping the blood spray that had been painting her arms red. Internal organs began regenerating, tissue growing back with unnatural speed that made her skin crawl watching it. The stomach wound slowly closed from the inside out, muscle and skin knitting together until only an angry red scar remained.
The neck wound was healing too, and that shouldn't have been possible. Damaged vertebrae were realigning, bone somehow regenerating where it had been crushed by fangs. The spinal cord looked intact, but the healing was consuming massive amounts of the potion's power. She could see it working, see tissue flowing like liquid to fill gaps and repair damage that should have been permanent.
Marcus's eyes fluttered, tried to focus on Rem's blood-covered face hovering above him. His mouth moved, trying to speak, trying to say something important. Only blood bubbled out between his lips, dark and thick, lungs probably punctured from the damage. His hand reached weakly toward the wounds, trying to assess his own fatal injuries even while dying.
His eyes lost focus. Rolled back until only whites showed. His hand fell limp to his side.
"No no no," Elise was muttering beside them, her hands hovering uselessly over Marcus because she had no mana left, couldn't help, could only watch while he died. "Please no, please..."
"He's breathing," Kaisen said, fingers pressed to Marcus's neck checking for pulse. His hand was shaking. "Barely, but he's breathing. The potion stabilized him."
Rem sat back on her heels, hands covered in Marcus's blood up to her elbows, and felt the weight of failure pressing down on her. What was the fucking point of being strong if you couldn't protect the people who mattered?
Silence fell over them broken only by Marcus's ragged breathing and the distant crackle of dying fires. None of them moved, too exhausted and shocked to do anything except stare at his unconscious form and process how close they'd come to losing someone.
Rem looked at her hands, and felt something twist in her chest. Guilt, anger, self-loathing, all mixed together into emotion she couldn't name. She'd gotten this power to survive, to protect them, and it hadn't been enough when it mattered most.
"Is he..." Elise's voice cracked. "Is he going to be okay?"
"I don't know," Kaisen admitted. "The potion worked but that was bad, really fucking bad. He needs proper healing magic, better than what a potion can provide."
Minutes passed in heavy silence. Rem's hands stayed covered in blood, the sight of it making her stomach churn. Elise had tears running down her face, not speaking, just staring at Marcus's unconscious form. Kaisen was checking his pulse every thirty seconds like he expected it to stop at any moment.
Finally Marcus's breathing steadied, becoming less labored and more regular. Color began returning to his face, the deathly pale replaced by something closer to normal. His chest rose and fell in steady rhythm.
Then the system notification appeared.
EMERGENCY QUEST COMPLETE
Survive the Alpha Assault
Rewards:
3000 LP
5 Stat Points
Level Up! (Level 4 → 5)
New Skill Unlocked: Enhanced Regeneration (Passive)
BONUS: Three-Core Alpha Kills
Lightning Alpha: +1500 LP
Fire Alpha: +2000 LP
Additional Stat Point Awarded
Total LP: 6500
Total Stat Points: 6
NEW SKILL TREE UNLOCKED
Divine Mark Progression
Rem dismissed it with mental a command, not caring about rewards right now. She didn't want to look at numbers and stat increases, didn't want to think about getting stronger right now
Another notification immediately replaced it, refusing to be dismissed.
[QUEST CHAIN COMPLETE - ARIA'S FAVORITE Part 1 of 5]
Congratulations, my favorite toy! You've completed the first step beautifully~
REWARDS EARNED:
750 LP
RANDOM MAGIC UNLOCK: "Phantom Step" (Active)
[Short-range teleportation (10 feet max). Leaves afterimage for 2 seconds. Cost: 50 Mana. Cooldown: 30 seconds.]
Next Quest Chain Unlocked
Total LP Available: 7250
Aria's voice whispered directly into her mind through the mark , intimate and invasive in a way that made her skin crawl. "A useful little trick, darling. Though I'm sure you'll find creative uses for it beyond combat. Now, let's see if you're ready for what comes next~"
Another notification appeared, and Rem felt her stomach drop as she read the objective.
[ARIA'S FAVORITE - Part 2 of 5]
[First Blood]
Objective: Lose your virginity
Time Limit: 7 days
Rewards: 1500 LP + Random Magic Unlock + Part 3 Unlock
Failure: Mark feeding requirement becomes DAILY instead of weekly
Note from Aria: "Seven days to shed that pesky virginity, toy. The settlement has some interesting candidates. Your boy toy is clearly interested, the healer will be adorably corruptible, and who knows what other opportunities await? Choose wisely—your first time should be memorable~"
Rem stared at the quest with horror spreading through her chest like ice water. Lose her virginity in seven days or the mark would need daily feeding instead of weekly? Daily orgasms required or she'd lose half her stats every single day? That was unacceptable!! that would...
And the goddess was already calling out candidates!!
"Rem?" Kaisen's voice broke through her spiraling thoughts. "You okay?"
She realized she'd been staring at nothing for several seconds while the others watched with concern. "Fine. Just... processing everything."
"We need to move," Elise said, still hovering over Marcus but sounding more composed now. "He's stable but he needs real healing"
Rem nodded and forced herself to focus on immediate problems instead of quest chain bullshit. "There's a settlement at the plains border, maybe half a day's travel if we push hard. Small farming community with a church—they should have healers who can help him."
"How do you know that?" Kaisen asked, curiosity evident despite the exhaustion.
"Travelers talk. Farming settlements always have church healers for accidents with animals and equipment." The lie came easily, covering her otherworldly knowledge with common sense that fit the world.
"Then we need to get moving," Kaisen said while forcing himself to stand. "But first we should harvest what we can from these corpses. Alpha cores are valuable, and we'll need money for supplies and healing services."
The harvesting took maybe an hour of exhausted work. Rem cut through the wolf's tough hide to reach the three cores nestled near its heart, each one warm to the touch and pulsing with residual pyro energy. She extracted the fangs carefully, each as long as her hand and infused with magic that would make them valuable crafting materials. The pelt was premium quality, fire-resistant fur that had survived mostly intact.
Kaisen handled the lightning alpha, pulling its three cores that crackled with electricity and gathering the charged fangs. Elise dealt with the pack wolves, cutting out twelve small cores and gathering claws.
Rem stored everything in her inventory when the others weren't looking, making it seem like she was bundling materials in her torn cloak. Neither noticed, too focused on their own tasks and too exhausted to pay attention.
By the time they finished, proper daylight had arrived and illuminated the battlefield clearly for the first time.
That's when Elise paused mid-work and looked down at herself.
"Um... guys?"
Rem and Kaisen looked up. Then they all saw it at the same time in full daylight instead of firelight and shadow.
Their clothes were absolutely destroyed.
Rem's shirt was more holes than fabric, torn by claws and burned by flames until the tears exposed her pale skin. Her entire stomach was visible, gashes across her chest barely preserved modesty, one shoulder completely bare where fabric had been ripped away entirely. Her pants were shredded from mid-thigh down, essentially shorts now with strips hanging loose. The divine mark on her lower back was partially visible through a large tear.
Kaisen's armor was scorched black and falling apart, shirt underneath burned away across most of his torso exposing his chest and abs. One pant leg was torn off completely at the knee.
Elise's robes were shredded, lightweight fabric torn by claws and singed until it barely held together. Large sections across her sides and back were missing entirely, exposing one of her modest breast in all its glory. The hem was gone, leaving her legs bare to mid-thigh.
They were all essentially half-naked, covered in dried blood and ash, standing in bright daylight.
Awkward silence stretched between them.
"We look like we lost a fight with a meat grinder," Rem finally said.
"We basically did," Kaisen pointed out, though his eyes kept flickering to Elise and Rem's exposed skin before he forced himself to look away. His face flushed slightly. "Do we have spare clothes?"
"The wagon's destroyed," Elise said quietly, arms crossing over her chest. "Everything was in there. Some burned."
Rem begrudgibly had to wear that damn silk kimono siting in her inventory, showing off most of her skin but it was an upgrade from the ragged remains of her armour.
Elise had found a torn robe and wrapped in tightly on her waist covering her exposed legs into a makeshift skirt, kaisen... the bastard would just have to have his shining abs exposed
"The settlement better have a clothing merchant," Elise muttered.
"They will," Rem assured her.
They built a stretcher from salvaged wagon wood and wolf pelts, Kaisen cutting precise pieces while Rem bent the metal fittings. Within an hour Marcus was secured on it and ready for travel.
The march toward the plains was brutal. All three were exhausted, injured, barely dressed. Rem and Kaisen alternated pulling the stretcher while Elise walked alongside checking Marcus periodically.
By late afternoon they could see grassland stretching ahead, the ash forest giving way to rolling plains dotted with grazing herds. Somewhere beyond that was the settlement with the healer who could save Marcus.
And according to Aria, the place where Rem would find "interesting opportunities" to complete her virginity quest.
The thought made her skin crawl.
When darkness fell they were still miles from the settlement. They'd have to make camp.
"I have something that might help," Kaisen said while pulling a small crystalline cube from his pack. "Bought this from a merchant in the last city. Cost me half my savings but figured it would be useful eventually."
"What is it?" Elise asked.
"Portable camp charm. Spatial compression tech." He placed it on flat ground and channeled mana into it. The cube glowed, expanded, and suddenly a complete campsite materialized—tent with bedrolls, fire pit with wood, basic rations.
"Holy shit," Rem muttered, genuinely impressed.
"Common among wealthy merchants," Kaisen explained while gathering kindling. "Stores everything in a compressed form, deploys when needed, though its only a one time use."
They moved Marcus carefully into the tent, settling him on a bedroll. His breathing was stronger now, less labored. The potion was still working, healing internal damage slowly but steadily.
Elise volunteered for first watch despite her exhaustion. She was the least physically injured, just mana depleted, and needed time alone to process everything.
Which left Rem and Kaisen alone in the tent together.
The space felt smaller than it was. Both exhausted, injured, Moonlight filtered through her fabric, mixing with faint glow from the fire outside.
Awkward silence stretched between them.
Finally Kaisen broke it. "So... you made a deal with a god?"
Rem had known this conversation was coming. She'd prepared for it, thought about what to say, how much truth to mix with lies. "Yeah. It happens sometimes—desperate situations, divine intervention. People make pacts when death is certain. I've heard stories."
"The mark on your back?"
"Its a mark of divinity. The entity gave me power to survive in exchange for carrying their mark." She kept her tone matter-of-fact. "Pretty standard deal from what I understand."
Kaisen was quiet, processing that. "I saw it glowing during the fight. When you were pushing the alpha back, there was light coming through your torn clothing."
"It glows when my emotions run high," Rem explained carefully. "Fear, anger, exertion, stress. Physical response to heightened emotional states. The entity didn't provide an instruction manual but that's what I've figured out."
"Does it hurt?"
"No. Just reacts. I cant even notice it until someone points it out."
Kaisen shifted closer in the confined space. "That kind of power always comes with strings. What did the entity take?"
Rem had to be careful. "Conditions.... I have to meet regularly. Something to keep the power active. Nothing that'll kill me, just ongoing obligations."
"And you don't know which god?"
"No. They didn't identify themselves, and the mark doesn't tell me." She shrugged like it didn't matter. "Could be any of them—apparently that's common with divine pacts."
"I was frozen too," Kaisen said. "During that moment before you deflected the alpha. Everything stopped, time itself paused. One second I was watching you die, next you were moving impossibly fast. What happened in that frozen moment?"
"The entity appeared. It made the offer..." Rem kept it simple. "I accepted it because the alternative was death for all of us. i could not afford that ya know"
"I should have been faster with those pack wolves," Kaisen said quietly, guilt evident. "If I'd cleared them sooner, if I'd noticed the one circling—"
"Don't." Rem cut him off. "I got all this divine power and I still couldn't reach Marcus in time. If anything's my fault, it's that."
"We both did everything we could...."
"Doesn't make it easier."
Silence fell between them, but companionable instead of awkward. Both carried guilt, both knew logically it wasn't their fault, but felt responsible anyway. It was honest, raw, the kind of moment that left them hot.
As they sat close in the quiet tent, Rem felt something shift inside her. Not intentional, just her body responding to the proximity and intimacy.
The divine mark began glowing, but faintly. Just soft luminescence through the translucent cloth of the silk kimono, barely noticeable unless looking directly at it. Like moonlight through thin fabric.
Rem shifted position slightly, hoping he wouldn't notice.
He did. "Is it glowing?"
"Probably. I told you—heightened emotions. I'm Stressed from everything"
Kaisen accepted this but clearly noticed she'd shifted away. He didn't push, but the awareness was there.
Aria's voice whispered in her ear though "Oh darling, he's so close and you can barely control yourself. 48 hours left on your quest by the way. Better figure out how to seduce someone soonm if i were you, i would have pounced on this hunk already~"
Rem's face flushed slightly.
"You okay?" Kaisen noticed.
"Fine. Just tired." She lay down quickly, turning away so the mark pressed against ground, ending the conversation.
Kaisen offered to take the next watch. As Rem tried to sleep but..
Aria's final whisper was stuck as she drifted off: "Sleep well, toy. Tomorrow will be very interesting indeed."