Ruinous Return
Chapter 8

Lyn quite enjoyed her night, finally getting to indulge in physicality with someone else. It had been so long for her, and just having a connection of physical intimacy was something she desperately needed after having gone through the recent ordeals: the lead up to the assault of the Demonic Dragon's fortress, the insane fights, her self-summon…she needed this. And Vael was quite an eager participant. I'll have to reward her with some role in my power structure, she thought.

That made her pause. What power structure? She never wanted to be a ruler like Cecily. She just wanted to kill the Demonic Dragon, get glory and prestige, and then retire to a castle with servants. Where did that thought come from?

She vividly recalled Gina's words. "Just…be careful," she muttered to them around the large hearth after a winter training regimen. Her voice was barely a whisper as she clutched her temples between her words. "…Our cores…They can change us…You might not be the same…I'm not…The longer we're here…the more we change…"

Lyn's old dominant core, the Scout core, never really changed her personality because it fit her so well. Hence why she was given that core in the first place. The same was true for most of the heroes who were summoned. They got cores that suited their personality already. Most of them. Rest in peace, Gina, Lyn thought. Her Oracle core enabled her to see possible futures, and it drove her to suicide. The first of their class to die. The first dead body that Lyn saw, as she had found her body swinging from the beams across the ceiling. A chilling reminder that this world was deadly and powers beyond their comprehension were at work that could push even the most resilient of minds to the brink of madness and a cliff of despair that plummeted to an ocean of sorrow.

Lyn knew this mana core was changing her. It was a fast change as well. Her body was not in nearly as much pain, as if the mana core was settling into the new physique. The pain was still present, but not overwhelming and she could move decently well. She'd not be swinging a sword or stabbing with a spear in the next few days, but damn did this body feel good. It was more sensitive in all of the right places, and she loved that her new eyes let her see in the dark, taking in the beauty in bed with her. She absentmindedly traced her fingers through Vael's hair and along her skin, feeling the woman's warmth alongside her, and using the vividly recalled pleasure of the prior night to drive away the memories that haunted her. Today…I test out this mana core.

Vael stirred and sat up, bright-red eyes blinking at Lyn. She grinned, "Did you sleep well, my Lady?"

Lyn giggled and nodded, running her hand through Vael's hair. "Yes. You served me well." I could get used to ruling. But her promise rang through her head. She might not have wanted to rule in her past life here, before all of her hard work was dashed away…but this was a new start. Sure, she'd try to reclaim her place in history and cement her role in the Demonic Dragon conflict. I can be an enlightened absolutist monarch. I'll make the Duskari's lives better. Both castes. But first… She chuckled and pushed Vael down on the bed once more. I'm not done with you…

Kory slammed the man in the face, crushing his jaw and sending him flying to crumple onto the ground in a heap. If he hadn't held back, he would have punched the man's head clean off. The scavenger would die in the foothills here, outside of the Demonic Dragon's lands without immediate medical care. "A bitch using lava?" Kory muttered.

"Yes, sir," One of his men replied as he pulled Kory's horse up to the Berserker hero. "What do you want to do?"

Kory laughed and mounted the steed, petting it gently. "There's no way. That demonic fucker is dead. We killed that dragon." There's no way it lived, he thought. It may have been ten years ago, but he could never forget the scene of gore. The dragon's head exploded – chunks of brain and gore scattered all around. Nothing lived through that. Misty saw the past. She told us it died. He wheeled the mount around, "We return to base camp. I feel like fucking a whole brothel of whores."

There was cheering and jests from the men as they rode off towards the kingdom of Valagonia. Kory's semi-permanent encampment was in between that kingdom and the no-mans-land that marked the edge of the Valley of the Volcano. It afforded him plenty of means to hunt down the old servants of the villain, and their ears brought in a hefty bounty. Plus, he could keep people away from the dread fortress. The other heroes sent him a good chunk of change to do so.

Back on Earth, he was the only person in the group of twenty seniors who was on his way to be a top-tier athlete. "Fight like hell for what you want," His pops would say. "Then, you can fuck any bitch you want." And that led Kory to his current creed and the one that his whole mercenary outfit followed. 'Fight, Fuck, Feel Good.' Now that the Demonic Dragon was gone, and the rest of the heroes had fucked off to their own shitty, little lives, Kory was free to do whatever he wanted.

And killing was so, so much fun. After they arrived in Ghomar, he found the thrill of combat to be enthralling. More adrenaline-pumping than scoring the winning touchdown. Not even fucking two girls at once compared to the joy he found in slaughter. But it was a close second.

He let out a whooping holler as his men took up the cheer behind him. They'd party like kings that night. And the scavenger? Obviously lying. That fucker is dead. He pushed aside the memories of the past. Fuck and forget.

Lyn dismissed Vael before taking a nice, warm bath. The tub was enchanted and she simply had to activate the embedded inscription to conjure heated water. After relaxing and thoroughly washing her hair, several servants came in. The non-combatant and non-spell proficient Duskari patted her dry with sumptuous towels, and at her instruction also braided her hair into a warrior braid like Vael's. Something to keep it out of the way.

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Lastly, she went to the expansive wardrobe and instructed the servants to alter them all to fit her female physique. After they took some measurements, she threw on a simple pair of pants, jerkin, and – to her delight – found boots that fit her very well. They were like the punk-rocker boots that she wore back home, covered in metal studs and with metal around the edges and along the top of the foot. Closer to booted greaves, she thought.

She left the room and waved to Gael. He ran over and saluted with his spear. "What do you command, my Lady?"

"What is the status of those body enhancing substances that the elders promised?"

"I regret to inform you, my Lady, that we do not have any remaining tinctures." Gael's voice wavered slightly, as if he was afraid to share that news.

Lyn waved dismissively, "These things happen," she muttered. "I need to experiment. Where are the training grounds?"

Gael led her down a long corridor. They passed several Duskari warriors of varying age and gender – as the Ari had no sense of sexism, seeing both genders as equal in all things. They all had the tell-tale sign of body enhancement within their skin and wore studded, dark leather. They are relying on their speed. Just like I did.

It was a smart way to fight. Why have heavy armor if your skin was as tough as the protective encasement? It was her preferred way to fight. This body was suited to that. Small blessings and silver linings, she thought. It was still odd being in a non-Human body…but Lyn was rapidly growing to like this form and its inherent advantages. Last night and that morning had definitely made her appreciate this physique.

She glanced at Gael who kept looking at her rear, and she caught his gaze, staring daggers at him. "Would you like to say something?" She growled, as her voice dropped into the Demonic Dragon's vocal range.

"N-no!" Gael stuttered as he quickly averted his gaze.

Lyn laughed as her voice reverted to its new normal, "Let me guess, Vael told you about last night." Gael nodded sheepishly, keeping his gaze averted. "I swing both ways if you're really interested," Lyn stated tersely, mustering up as much charm as she could as she winked at him. Gael's face went red – astonishingly so, giving his white skin – and he nodded briefly. Lyn turned forward and kept walking. It's the only way to keep the memories back. If she wasn't busy doing something, and just lying in bed waiting to sleep…they would return. And she didn't want to deal with that. Not now. Not ever.

"Fuck and forget," she recalled Kory saying after they had finished fighting a large battle with a neighboring kingdom. One that sought to capture the heroes and strip them of their mana cores to empower their own troops. The first time Lyn had to kill fellow Humans and not monsters or servants of the Demonic Dragon. It scarred all of the heroes deeply in their psyches. Kory was the only one of them that had killed Humans up to that point, having crushed a group of brigands that wouldn't relent in their demands. "That's what I'm going to do. Fuck someone sexy, and forget about this whole war. Who doesn't want to sleep with a hero?"

The other classmates coped in their own ways – Thomas consumed book after book in his library, Cecily hosted elaborate parties, Brad started crafting the magic version of cocaine, just to name a few of their coping mechanisms. But Lyn agreed with Kory in his mindset. Fuck and forget. She wasn't a huge fan of alcohol, and had kept away from drugs. But her body? Oh, she'd use that to help her forget the atrocities she had committed on the battlefield.

They arrived in an enormous cavern. There were many dummies set up and archers drilled arrows over and over into the center of the targets. Martial dummies were also set up, and warriors practiced with weighted wooden blades. They're smart about their training. She knew that training with a much heavier version of your chosen weapon was an excellent way to build lethality with the real thing. She went to the end of the cavern where a large space was set aside for spell practice. "Gael, be ready with a water spell in case things go out of control."

"Of course, my Lady."

Lyn felt the roiling, bubbling of the Destroyer mana core inside her. Time to test out the basics. There were many different types of spells. Broadly, they were categorized in two types. Internal spells and external spells. I know I'm capable of external spells, Lyn thought. The fact she had shot lava and wind had attested that enough. So, let's try internal. Every mana core was capable of internal spells. Some were much better at it – such as the more martial-aligned hero cores.

She calmed her breathing, focusing her swirling mana that bubbled and simmered. Willing her mana channels to open slightly, she whispered the spell. "En ethiel an le / thalion min / an dautho nin ennas." A simple incantation, one of the basic ones that warriors across Ghomar memorized. She felt the warm mana seep through her mana channels before stopping at the tips of her limbs. Her clothes tightened as her muscles expanded and her physique bulked. A body-strengthening spell that pushed mana into the muscles to improve strength, speed, reaction time, and efficacy.

The mana continued to slowly seep into her mana channels, and she stopped the flow. One, two, three… she kept count as she put herself through some light calisthenic exercises – pushups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and jogging in place. After three minutes, her increased muscle mass faded, and her form returned to normal.

If she had kept the flow of mana going through her channels, then she could maintain the improved strength for a longer period of time. Or if she was doing light activity. Three minutes using a single burst of mana was impressive. Lyn was breathing heavily as the exertion caught up with her, and Gael rushed up to catch her before she fell. Still not fully recovered. Once she was fully healed and her mana channels stopped throbbing with pain, that same exhaustion wouldn't hit post-spell.

Other Duskari had stopped their activities to watch her. Makes sense, she thought. Word spread about my arrival. They want to see what I can do. Lyn put her hand on Gael's arm, "Thank you."

The man nodded and, still blushing from her earlier comment, helped her stand upright. "Your internal spells are magnificent," he said sheepishly.

"What would you expect?" Lyn asked as she tried to put on a face of arrogance and confidence, only partially being faked as she was impressed at the durability of this body and the power of the Destroyer mana core. Even in this weakened state, strength-wise when using that spell, she could probably bench press three-hundred pounds. Once fully recovered? She would probably be able to go toe-to-toe with the strongest bodybuilder on Ghomar. "I'm the Destroyer." She got her second wind and stood upright. "Hand me a spear, I need to see if my muscles remember how to act."