Once I woke up and recovered from using my battle form, I decided to get some answers out of Rouge, but the werewolf was nowhere to be found. I managed to find the water farm and made my way out of the elephant graveyard. There wasn't much else to do there. Besides the one water farm, everything else had been stripped clean. Maybe it was better that way. If they had been present when I woke up, I might have tried to convince them to join me. What would I say to Kale and Molly?
"Hey, I know these girls are bandits, and they stole from us, but the werewolf had a great pussy." Saying it out loud didn't make it sound any better than when it was in my head.
I scavenged my staff or what was left of it. Focusing qi from my battle form had nearly killed it. I barely managed to grow a seed from the staff's remains. The little seedling would remember wielding my power, and hopefully, it would be better at handling the power in its next incarnation.
After returning the seedling to my inventory, I tucked the water farm under my arm and skated back to the camp in the dark. While finding my way back should have been challenging, the world spirit gave me a little tug whenever I veered off course. It was starting to grow on me. The minor warnings it gave and helpful hints made interacting with it almost worth it. I would be happy if it stopped putting me in pornographic situations for a few minutes.
I arrived back in record time and managed to return the water farm to its proper place. While I was at it, I took some seeds from my inventory and planted them around the camp. With some qi, they grew into posts covered in formations. They would warn me if anyone invaded our camp again and gather what qi they could for me. A little extra early warning was better than nothing.
After I finished solving one problem, I returned to the tent. Molly's eyes snapped open before falling on me; various symbols appeared around her on the backdrop of magic circles before her mind caught up. Once she realized I wasn't a stranger, she calmed down.
"Where have you been?" Molly asked.
"I retrieved our water farm," I said.
"My hero, I had a spare. Did you at least have fun getting raped by a bunch of bandits?" Molly asked.
"It was interesting. How's Kale doing?" I asked.
"That bad, well, you do look exhausted. Kale should be ready to come out by morning. I don't know what form she will take. Not many centaurs get the chance to rank up. Most are killed before they can finish the transformation." Molly said.
"Why would most of them die before they can transform?" I asked.
"I don't like it when you stand over me. Why don't you come in and snuggle with me? it's cold; I'm sure you're tired?" Molly said.
She wasn't wrong; I was still wiped from my earlier transformation. My run back here didn't help matters. I pulled a warm washcloth and bucket from my inventory and began the process of cleaning the road off of me. Molly stared at me for a long minute before rolling her eyes and turning over.
"Get in behind me when you're done, and hurry up; it's cold," Molly said.
Once I was clean enough, I slipped under the cover behind her. "Alright, why would someone want to kill a centaur before they can rank up?" I asked.
"It takes far more Devateria for a centaur to rank up than a catgirl or werewolf. Of the monstergirls that populate the world, only the legendary species like dragons, giants, and gods require more. For example, a lizardgirl could rank up to a lesser dragon for 5 times the amount of cum a centaur can rank up to a giant. Few other species can jump to a moderately powerful race to a legendary." Molly said.
"Is that what Kale is turning into?" I asked.
"No, the mana levels aren't there. Kale is definitely ranking up, but she isn't attempting the big leap, but most can't tell the difference. If she was making an attempt to turn into a giant, we would be swarmed by Lilium's mecha girls. I think Kale is becoming a demi-human. That's a smart move on her part." Molly said.
"I thought she was already a demi-human. But, no, it's more than that; why did she put her life in our hands like that. Did she think we were too stupid to try and stop her, or was she banking on you knowing the difference? None of it makes any sense; why take that risk?" I asked.
This felt like a really dumb move on Kale's part. Did she not respect her own life? Sure, I was here, and a single mecha girl wasn't an issue with my transformation. But, Kale didn't know that, and I didn't lead her to that conclusion. If anything, Kale was just following her instincts, which actually explained everything.
"None of this was planned. Kale happened upon me, was overwhelmed by her hormones, and went with the rank up without a second thought." I said.
"That's why most centaurs are killed, and despite that, we have a bunch of giants roaming the prairie. Beast blood makes monster girls act without thinking. Unfortunately, no amount of preventative action is enough to stop them all either." Molly said.
"Alright, then why is ranking up to a demi-human smart," I asked.
"Demi-humans can come from many species lines and can rank up to chimera, Cerberus, and man, other monster girls. They make up the majority of monster girls, and it's impossible to tell the difference between one that came from a centaur and one that came from a rabbitgirl. They can also transform into their lower forms at will. For example, many werewolves rank up to demi-humans. I could also be considered a demi-human." Molly said.
"Really, what were you before you transformed?" I asked.
"That is a secret. It's rude to ask a demi-human about their former forms. Some of us are touchy about it." Molly said.
"What's the largest thing you ever fit in your ass?" I asked at random.
"My classmate's foot, why?" Holly asked.
"I'm just checking to make sure I'm still in the same world. So, questions about sex are fine, but I should never ask what you looked like before your last rank up." I said.
"You caught on to that pretty fast. That's good. I was scared you were going to bungle something up. Now when sleeping with a lady, it's proper etiquette to slip your dick between my cheeks." Molly said.
A hole opened in Kale's cocoon the next day, and pink mist poured out, filling the tent. More holes opened before Kale reached out and ripped the hole wider. The hissing sound died to the noise of tearing cloth as Kale pulled herself out of the purple remains of her cocoon. She was covered in dripping fluids and looked positively human. It was strange seeing her without her horse half. The small hairless sex between her legs looked positively human if we ignored the heart-shaped horse clit.
Kales toenails were the same color as her hooves, making them look almost painted. Then, she took on a step and fell over.
"How do you walk on these things?" Kale growled after her time in the cocoon.
"I'm still trying to figure out how you can regain your centaur form," I said.
"That's easy; she can summon the mana to her body and let her instincts do the rest. As long as she has the energy, she can swap between forms." Molly said.
"It's not like I plan to do much swapping. People don't trust centaurs this far east." Kale said.
"Can you blame them? The giant wars were only half a century ago? There are veterans on both sides that still remember. I remember this bitch Heather with her thick dick-sucking lips, who tried to write about the benefits of the giant wars. She was expelled the next day and had to put her lips to work to pay off her debt to the academy. There aren't many men who have come this far west ever since Lilium took over. I don't think Heather's sexy lips made her much money while I graduated and fucked a centaur." Molly said.
"Alright, then why did you come here, Kale? If the people around here don't trust centaurs, then why come at all." I asked.
"My tribe needs a male if we're going to survive. Lilium won't sell the Devateria we need, and the giant of our tribe isn't strong enough to defeat her. So we're forced to buy from other tribes at exorbitant prices. I heard male slaves were sold in the East for as low as a few silver pennies. So I planned to buy one and smuggle him to my tribe. If I'm successful, there is a centaur in Flank town waiting to disguise my purchase for the trip back home." Kale said.
"Of course, there aren't many male slaves this far west. Lilium-created male scarcity men are basically priceless this far west. If you wanted to buy a man on the cheap, you would have to travel much farther east, and centaurs aren't allowed past the Ayther Gate." Molly said.
"Ayther isn't that," I said before Molly interrupted me.
"Yes, the theoretical liquid and solid force of mana or the Great Mother Goddess if you want to get religious. Our will vibrates to the Great Mother to manipulate mana and use form spells through it. Not that there is anything wrong with being religious. What do you believe in, Red?" Molly asked.
"I'm a theist. Yes, there are gods, and some create stuff, but I don't really care anymore about them than they do about us." I said.
"Well, I'm a scientist, and I haven't seen any proof of only force that binds everything or consciousness behind mana. However, I believe there is a force behind mana, and it's created a mental block." Molly said.
Kale hobbled over to Molly and covered the magical girl's mouth. "I love your magical girl cock, but this is about me, not you. My people won't survive without fresh Devateria and soon. No one can have children and ranking up is impossible. I know it's a lot to ask. But Red, will you come back home to me and mate with my tribe." Kale asked.
"Alright, why aren't there legions of men lining up to do this?" I asked.
"You must have been really sheltered. Was your mother a lich, vampire, or perhaps a zombie dragon?" Molly asked.
"My mother was human as far as I can tell and alive," I said.
"Those species of monster girls are particularly sheltering of their offspring. If your mother was a dragon or a zombie dragon, that would explain your resilience. I tried my best to suck you dry, but you kept Cuming until even Kale was full. Then you took charge. I thought for sure you would have gotten that arrogance from either a dragon or a vampire." Molly said.
"Sorry, but no, I'm just from very far away," I said.
"Well, a single human wouldn't last long with a tribe of cum starved centaurs and a giantess. They wouldn't use you sparingly either. A normal human would die in a matter of days." Molly said.
"That's why we should take him to the dungeon. With some time, there, he will grow strong enough to satisfy my tribe and his lifeforce." Kale said.
"What's this about my lifeforce?" I asked.
Molly looked surprised then looked over at Kale, who stared blankly. "Well, it's probably nothing to worry about; you look healthy to me. If you get plenty of rest between sessions, you shouldn't have an ill effect." Molly said.
Yea, it just drained the hell out of my qi reserves and required a lot of cultivation. Satisfying Kale nearly drained me dry faster than I could cultivate. Multiple centaurs weren't an option then. Well, they weren't at my current level. If I advanced my cultivation, it would be different. I needed more spirits to do that. Well, I could have bought them from the system. Unfortunately, I was broke, so pay to win wasn't an option either. If the dungeon could really make me stronger, then it was something I had to try.
After packing up camp for the day, we walked with Kale stumbling behind on the road to Opaque village. It was the nearest village to the dungeon and had grown in population. Molly believed that it would become a major city in a few decades. But for now, savage monsters ravaged the outskirts of town. So, we didn't know what we would see when we got there.