Summoned by Monster Girls

Settling onto my couch with a sigh, I groaned at how stiff my shoulders and back felt. Cerebaton hadn’t been kidding about needing to get my body used to strange shifts.

“Would have been nice if he’d warned me a bit more…specifically?” I grumbled while kneading the irate muscles.

We had spent the rest of the evening drilling with the bladed tail/arm to get used to it. He’d warned me that I’d be feeling this in the morning, but it hadn’t even taken that long. The walk back from the park was enough that now I was hurting worse than my first swordsmanship lesson. My lower back and shoulders were suffering from the change in mass distribution, having strained themselves supporting the odd limbs they were not used to, moving in ways I was not yet accustomed to.

As was becoming my habit since walking off my job on Monday, I thumbed the bond-tattoos on my right forearm to check on the girls. Rieka was asleep, I could tell from the peaceful sensation I got touching hers. Kassandra was still awake and mildly irritated, but not angry.

Concentrating, I tried to get a better feeling of what was happening to my favorite snake woman. All I could get was a general sort of grumbling irritation that reminded me of when I’d been in school and had to stay up late working on homework.

You got this, Nugget. I thought with a tired smile. Leaning back into the lumpy couch, I wriggled to try and get more comfortable and my back twinged again sharply.

“Owww. Damn it,” I groaned and sat up to rub at the offended muscle again, which caused my shoulder to twinge at the angle. “Fuck it. Shower time.”

I got the notice as I was stepping into the hot spray of my tiny shower.

Access to Exchange has been enabled.

Thankfully, I was used to the fluorescent words popping up without warning and it didn’t make me stumble. Once I was situated under the hot spray and the water was beating down on my sore back, I leaned into the wall and closed my eyes to examine the System interface.

A new tab was showing on the simple layout that appeared when I closed my eyes. Its name, ‘Exchange”, was outlined in sparkling silver until I opened it up to reveal an informational pane and a very simple row interface.

Welcome Traveler. The Exchange is a straightforward service offered to allow for transferring System Points out of the System interface and into physical currency.

You can utilize any currency that you have previously encountered, though unless you have a power such as Dimensional Pocket you will still be unable to transfer the physical currency between realms, so select with care.

Warning: The Exchange is a one-way transfer. The System does not offer refunds or returns on currency transfers.

Do you understand and accept?

Yes/No?

The fact that the System had a warning attached to it that matched what both Cariad and Cerebaton had told me already was gratifying. Not that I expected to forget anytime soon, but it was nice to have the consistency.

Selecting the ‘Yes’ option allowed for the message to clear and gave me access to the actual interface. It was a pretty simple setup. The upper right corner still had my ‘Current SP’ there, displayed as 270. In the middle of the tab there were two different rows, each labeled with the respective world's name: Earth and Cortha.

Huh, so their world is named Cortha? That’s good to know. Didn’t ever get around to asking, I thought while studying the two rows. Both had a drop-down option to select what currency I wanted and then a spot to enter in how many SP I wanted to exchange, a field for what that would translate to, and a button to finalize the transaction.

Wanting to get an idea for what a single SP was worth, I entered a one in the ‘to exchange’ field for Earth and then selected United States Dollars from the ‘to receive’ drop-down. I noted that in ‘to receive’, I also had the option of pesos and pounds sterling, as I’d handled that kind of money in the past.

Cariad and Cerebaton had both warned me, but I was dismayed to discover that one SP was only worth $9.72 in dollars. Dropping down to the entry for Cortha, I did the same as before. One SP came out to ‘three copper coins (no mana)’, with the option of receiving payment in copper, silver, and gold with no option for mana-infused coins.

“Bad rate is right,” I grumbled and opened my eyes long enough to get some shampoo on my hands. It was only then that I realized that I hadn’t returned the shift that gave me my hair and eyebrows back. Instead, I worked the shampoo into a lather in my hands, since it was already out of the bottle, and used that as body soap instead.

Think about it though. You get about three hundred SP per mission, depending on the mission type. The most recent one you finished was six hundred and fifty SP for a two day mission with the girls, I thought while carefully shuffling in a circle to rinse off.

The hot water was helping the muscles to not protest too much, but they were already starting to stiffen, even with the heat. Six hundred and fifty SP turned into cash would be…make it ten bucks a point to make the math easy. Hm. That’s six and a half thousand dollars. That's four months of rent, right there. Two and a bit if you include expenses like gas, insurance, groceries, and the credit card. I think the girls said that it was a ten-to-one exchange on the coins, so ten coppers made silver and the like. That’s about twenty gold coins, though they aren’t mana coins. That’s a bit more than the girls earned in the mission, if the ten-to-one ratio still applies for infused coins. I wonder if that’s what they spent on summoning me? I think they mentioned it costing mana silver though…

Resolving to ask the girls about it when I saw them next, I ducked my head back under the spray of water and went back to the interface again. I input twenty points into the Earth exchange rate and saw nearly two hundred dollars appear on the interface.

That’s a lot closer to two hundred than I had thought. Reeling it back down to one point, I saw that the exchange rate had changed from $9.72/point to $9.93/point. The rate dropped again as I watched it, moving to $9.91/point while I watched it.

“Great. It’s a fluid market. Is that based on a real-time assessment of the value of a dollar, or something else?” I grumbled while trying to roll my shoulder in its socket as I could already feel it stiffening, despite the heat of the shower.

<><><>

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were glorious.

I’d spent so long working at the dock for the food company that I’d forgotten what a real ‘day off’ was. Normally, my weekends had been full with either sleeping in to catch up on rest, doing various chores to keep busy and cross things off my ‘to-do’ list, or giving a hand to folks that asked for it. At least until I’d met the girls.

Since I’d started working with Kassandra and Rieka, I’d just stopped responding to those requests for things like helping someone that had never returned the favor to me. Now, without a day job to deal with or other obligations, I slept until I wasn’t tired anymore and worked out my Shape-Shifting. And it was glorious.

I still made sure to use Manipulate Element to practice with my earth magic. But it was meant as a supplement after all, so it got a lot less practice. I also did as Cerebaton ordered and began working with unfamiliar limbs while ensuring all the little tasks around the apartment that I normally put off for the weekends were done, since those weekends were now claimed by the girls.

While in the safety of my apartment, I let Shape-Shifting play and stretched my limbs out in tendrils or tails with different types of grasping appendages on the end while dusting, scrubbing, or organizing. That had been a suggestion from Cerebaton in a message he sent me on Wednesday. He’d recommended doing it in order to allow my mind to start reaching for the skill unconsciously. I still had to be careful in public so that I didn’t have my arm suddenly extend to grab something out of reach at the store, but it felt like good practice regardless.

Tracking the exchange rate of SP on my phone became a habit. I’d created a spreadsheet and checked the Exchange option three times a day and recorded the entry there to try and spot patterns. It felt a bit like how I imagined day-trading stock to be, but it was nice to know that the 270 SP I had in the ‘bank’ currently was enough that I could use it to pay for at least one more month of rent in a pinch. The only pattern I noticed in the rate was that it never really dropped below $9/point, though it varied almost half a dollar back and forth on each check, which I assumed meant it was a volatile market. I’d initially wanted to pour it into a stat increase, but decided to hold back until I got the work situation dealt with.

I’d just gotten back from a run to the park to continue exercising my Manipulate Element skill late on Friday when a notification flashed across my eyes.

Kassandra Silverscale has sent a non-urgent request for your presence regarding a desire to spend time with her.

Transit? View summoning?

Since I was still just dressed in my sweaty shirt and jogging shorts, I quickly shucked out of them. I threw on a pair of clean jeans and a t-shirt before accepting the transfer option.

The world swirled away from me in a riot of color. While the sensation of movement and gut-churning mess of sights, sounds, and tastes was still jarring, I was beginning to get used to it. Through the chaos, I swore I saw a primeval forest flashing underneath me for a moment. It was full of trees that would have made the redwoods of California look like saplings and I thought I saw a massive bird take wing from one branch. The view was gone before I could really focus my eyes though.

The landing was softer than I’d expected and I was surrounded by the restrained elegance and warm air of a familiar room.

“Liam!” Kassandra’s welcoming cry being the only warning I needed, since it gave me a vector for the cuddle-attack of my lover.

Turning slightly to my right, I spotted her sailing through the air at me. Kassandra’s red-and-brown scaled tail uncoiling in the air behind her as the redhead lunged for me.

Smiling, I opened my arms and spun with the hug/tackle to bleed off its momentum. This helped prevent Kassandra from simply bowling me over due to her much larger mass and had the additional side effect of letting her quickly coil her tail around my hips to help support her weight.

The dwarf lamia giggled the entire time she trapped me. She rained kisses on my face while snuggling into my arms and making sure her coils were wrapped tightly around me so I couldn’t escape.

Not that I wanted to, really.

“Hello Nugget, how’s my mischievous bit of rose-gold?” I teased her, using the nickname I’d given the miniature lamia who’d wrapped herself snugly around my heart and didn’t seem willing to let go. The lustrous mane of red curls she sported danced as she burrowed her face into my neck and sighed happily. I could feel the cool weight of her silver-rimmed spectacles against my skin.

“You smell nice, Liam. Were you working? Did I interrupt you?” she asked, her voice muffled by pressing into me.

“No. Was just out for a run,” I said, feeling a guilty twinge all of a sudden at the mention of work.

Stuffing the guilty sensation down, I squeezed Kassandra tightly enough that she let out a squeaky giggle and kissed my throat. Her arms slid up to wrap around my neck and pull me closer, if that was even possible given how tightly she was already clinging to me.

“Missed you, Liam,” Kassandra cooed happily before leaning back enough that I could actually get a view on what she was wearing.

Normally, Kassandra dressed in a blouse and skirt combo with a corset over top to support her full breasts. The color and material of her clothes varied depending on the situation, but they usually matched her scales or hair in some manner. Right now though, she was clearly dressed for bed in a long, loose nightie in cream-colored cloth that hung down to just below the curve of her hips and barely worked to hide her sex from view. The material clung softly to her large breasts, leaving a wide slit of her lightly tanned chest exposed to show off the light smattering of freckles there.

“Not that I’m complaining about coming to visit my favorite redhead. But, what’s up, Kass? I thought you and Rieka wouldn’t be summoning me until tomorrow, unless there was a problem. Is there a problem?” I asked after appreciating the view for several long moments, getting a blushing smile from Kassandra as she watched me examine her form.

“No. There’s no problem. I just wanted to see you and spend some time with you before we left. Didn’t want to torment Rieka too much, since she’s finally opening up to you.” Kassandra grinned up at me wickedly, biting her bottom lip slightly with her teeth to be even more mischievous looking. “Hopefully we won’t need to kick her out of the tent for a bit. I’d still prefer to do that than go back to the lake…”

“Because you don’t like the cold?” I suggested and Kassandra bit her bottom lip lightly and smirked.

“I don’t mind it when I have you to warm up with, but I’d rather not risk it this time.”

“So this is a booty-call then?” I asked with a smirk, kneading her tight bum with the hand that was supporting it. “Better make sure there are no problems first. Did you girls get everything done to prepare for the trip then? Is the dimensional sack all secured?”

“Yep, yep, and yep!” Kassandra chirped happily, wriggling in my arms to grind her crotch into the front of my pants. “The only thing left is picking up fresh food supplies on the way out of town and giving the boards at the Hunt and Trade Hall a final check for anything we can pick up out that way. We are going to be gone for the better part of a week for the holiday, so want to make the most of it.”

“No concerns on the budget for summoning me? I don’t mind staying home at night or for a few days if it would make it easier on you two,” I said, feeling a twinge of guilt that I might be taxing their funds. The girls needed the mana-infused metals for their classes after all. not just for summoning me. I had been able to ignore it before, but with my own financial situation starting to look rocky, I was beginning to worry more about theirs.

“Nope! Between the bonus we got for dealing with the crag hunter and the second bit for the partial wolf-pack bounty, Rieka and I are doing just fine for funds, even after the big purchase of the dimensional sack.” At her words, I felt a brief surge of irrational jealousy before I squashed it.

You are getting paid in phenomenal cosmic powers, Liam. Do not be jealous that the girls are getting what they need. Remember the Exchange. In a pinch you can use it to get money, I reminded myself viciously. Kassandra, apparently sensing an opportunity in my distraction, used her arms around my neck to reel me in for a searing kiss that drove money concerns right out of my mind.

Her nightie rode up as I pulled her grinding hips closer to mine. I got a handful of her toned, bare bottom. Squeezing it gently, Kassandra cooed happily into the kiss and the writhing of her hips got more intense. The arms wrapped around my neck slid down to tug at the bottom of my shirt, peeling it upwards to pull it over my head. The kiss only broke when she had to lean back to finish getting the shirt off of me.

“I think I’ve allayed your worries about preparations. I’ve missed your touch, your scent, and your warmth, Liam,” Kassandra husked in my ear, her warm breath tickling my neck and ear. She nipped the lobe lightly while she tossed my shirt to one side. Her talking about my scent reminded me that I was still covered in sweat after my run and I was about to suggest putting it off so I could bathe, when there came a click from the entrance to her room and the door swung open.

“Kassandra, I wanted to go over the plan for the week one las—,” Rieka’s voice trailed off as she finally looked up after making it several steps into the room and froze.

The wolf kin woman was dressed in her usual outfit of a blouse and close fitting pants, both in a dark, walnut brown, with a slim white ribbon holding the top of the blouse shut in a simple bow under her slender neck. She had a sheaf of paper in one hand and stood in the open doorway staring at us.

I could imagine what sort of strange sight we were presenting. Me facing Rieka and half-undressed while Kassandra was clinging tightly to me with her bum exposed and my hand kneading it lightly while her hips continued to wriggle back and forth. Kassandra was looking back over her shoulder at her friend and, from the devilish glint in her eyes, I could tell that my Nugget was about to get up to no good. Which, while bad, was not as bad as she might have been if it had been anyone else interrupting her and me.

“I…I’m sorry!” Rieka stammered, flushing brilliantly and starting to back towards the door. “I didn’t realize you were occupied, Kass. Your door was unlocked so I figured you weren’t busy. I’m sorry for interrupting. Hello, Liam. Goodbye, Liam!” Rieka made to dart back towards the doorway when Kassandra called out to her.

“Rieka!” The wolf-eared woman froze, halfway out the door. “Shut the door and come in. You are already here and so is Liam. We might as well go over the plans.”

“I don’t…it’s not necessary right now, Kass! I was just anxious about making sure we had everything planned out before summoning Liam.” Rieka refused to turn to look back at us, but Kassandra would not be denied.

“Then shut the door and come sit down so we can talk it through. I don’t mind forgoing some of my private time with him to plan things out a bit more.” Kassandra’s voice was sultry and I had a feeling that this was going to be more about teasing Rieka than planning. I didn’t protest though. Kassandra continued to slowly grind her hips into the erection still trapped in my pants.

“Liam?” Rieka apparently had decided to change tactics and appeal to me instead.

“It’s fine, Rieka. Let's get this knocked out so you can relax and get a good night's sleep.” I was rather proud of the fact that my voice didn’t shake as Kassandra continued to stimulate me. She’d started scraping her nails down my back lightly and it felt so good.

Unable to rally a good enough argument, Rieka did as she was asked. She closed and locked the door before proceeding over to sit on the love-seat by the crackling fire.

“Go sit next to her.” Kassandra whispered in my ear before nipping the outer edge of it lightly and giggling. She then unwound herself from me and dropped to the ground.

“My shirt?” I asked her.

“It’s mine now. Go sit down.” Kassandra ordered imperiously and slithered quickly to the small tea-service she had in the corner by the fire to prepare cups while still carrying my stolen shirt in her hand.

I did my best to adjust my erection in my jeans to make it as unobtrusive as possible before settling onto the seat next to Rieka. I was so concerned about not showing off the tent in my pants to the attractive, platinum-blonde woman that I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth left to be self conscious about my lack of shirt.

“Rieka, how has your week gone?” I said into the awkward silence, shifting slightly to angle towards her. Rieka was stiff in her posture, but she turned her bright, icy-blue eyes to take me in. I noted that they widened further at my bare chest and a blush dusted her cheeks.

“Good, Liam. You?” she said, her voice strained.

“Productive.”

“That is good. We got everything done as far as preparing for next week.” Rieka seemed determined to find something to talk about.

“Oh? That is good. I’ve been doing a lot of practicing with my new ability, so if anything dangerous happens to show up then we will be as safe as I can make it,” I reassured her. The wolf-eared woman’s nervousness was obvious to see and it actually helped me push away the shredded remains of my own self-consciousness.

When I’d first met the girls, I’d been carrying a bit of a spare tire around my middle despite having quite a bit of muscle from work. Between the extra training and having a desire to lose the weight, I’d trimmed down a fair bit and could see the beginnings of a six-pack in my abs again. It definitely helped my confidence that Rieka kept stealing glances at it and the handful of scars I had on my chest, both from rough encounters when I was younger and from fights I’d gotten into since coming to Cortha that first time accidentally.

“That’s great to hear, Liam. I know you will do all you can to look after us.” Rieka gave me a genuine smile that was made even cuter by how her pointed ears arched upwards before flopping down again to either side. She was slowly relaxing as we sat there longer, her posture slowly relaxing. Rieka had draped her fluffy tail around her right side and it sat between us like a low, cloudy barrier that bounced occasionally.

“Tea’s ready!” Kassandra interrupted the quiet moment by shoving an elegant porcelain cup into Rieka’s hands before sliding up and into my lap with her own cup in hand.

Kassandra let her serpentine tail sprawl out in front of the love-seat while she wiggled into my lap so that she was tucked into my right side and faced towards Rieka. She hadn’t bothered to change out of her nightie, instead just making herself comfortable in the sheer outfit.

I was partially thankful for Kassandra’s decision to settle herself where she did. With her firm bottom on top of it, I knew that my erection was at least out of sight. I regretted it just a bit though. Each little wiggle of the redheaded, dwarf lamia was further torture.

“Thank you, Kass,” Rieka said politely, blushing a little more as she watched Kassandra wriggle until she was comfortable. The dwarf lamia also used the opportunity to push her backside against the arm of the love-seat and lever me closer to the, once more nervous, wolf kin woman. This ended up with Rieka nearly pressed to my side and her tail trapped between us.

“You are welcome, Rieka!” Kassandra chirped happily, a broad grin creasing her face as she shifted to press me further against her friend. “Enjoy it,” she added and from the tone it was very obvious she didn’t mean just the tea.

“Sorry about this.” I murmured to Rieka, causing one of her pointed ears to twitch and she gave me a wry smile while still blushing.

“I’m not,” Rieka said quietly and her blush darkened. “Sorry that is.”