Ken woke up to a familiar sensation. Every muscle in his lower body felt tight. Between his legs, something seemed to be sucking away at his blood and strength.
Then he felt a cautious hand touch his face, sweeping off some tiny objects. Puzzled, Ken opened his eyes immediately, and found himself staring at the ceiling of a dimly lit cave.
"Aaaah!"
The scream came from his side. Ken turned his neck with a little stiffness and made eye contact with...
"Simm!" His voice sounded almost unfamiliar even to himself. But the vision of his first concubine was enough to make him ignore the discomfort.
"Master?!"
The petite Goblin woman sounded unsure, as if she couldn't believe that he had just spoken her name. That was understandable. No one thought he'd be alive to this day. Had his slumber not been interrupted just then, he would have remained dead to the world.
Ken's gaze flickered down from her face to the rest of her, taking in the history of injuries marring the green skin he adored. Every cut, each burn, every drop of blood coloring her smooth, green skin made Ken's brain run a little faster.
Ken's boner headed down, and fury replaced whatever else was occupying his mind. The frozen goblin woman could only squeak weakly as he turned over on all fours and stood up, not very steadily, but with a determination she knew all too well.
There was a weakly glowing panel in the corner of his vision, semi-transparent words flickering inside that nobody except he could see. He was familiar with it, too. It showed the simplified status of this body, not that he needed to be reminded.
[ Race: Human ]
[ Race talent: - ]
[ Class: Mage ]
[ Level: Ultimate ]
[ Error found in assessment. Violations of cosmic laws detected. Recalibrating...]
At the cave's entrance, two tall orcs had paused, scanning his figure from head to toe, trying to glean his race, class, and talent. As for his identity... Only the two elves behind them might be able to dig that out from their massive database, if they had that level of authority.
"Orcish warsuits have really made some impressive progress. Are those Epic-grade?" Ken asked loudly in his hoarse, unused voice.
Both orcs made a second's eye contact, and a silent conversation seemed to pass between them. Ken didn't need to be privy to the conversation. He knew that the orcs were about to attack. Wrestling orcs used to be his favorite pastime many, many years ago.
In the corner of his vision, the panel was still glowing dimly. A new notification had appeared on it.
[Individual has been determined to be a lawbreaker of the highest level. Commencing punishment in five, four-]
That was all the confirmation he needed. The two orcs had barely taken a step forward, only to freeze as a sharp wind-blade passed through them, not at all deterred by the warsuits.
Standing outside the cave, the other dozen mercenaries felt the change in the air, but not one of them imagined that the suddenly appearing spell would not only cut through its target, the orcs, but also decimate the front of the cave–
That was the last thing their mind processed. The wind-blade spell, usually used to annoy enemies in low-level duels, never actually stopped. It rampaged past the cave, past the dozen men and women of four high races, leaving behind a pile of minced meat and shattered steel, even slashing off the upper half of every tree within a hundred-meter radius.
Ken hadn't bothered to wait and see the outcome of his first spell. By then, he had turned on his heels and picked up his goblin concubine in his arms. Before the countdown in his status panel hit one, he had cast the most powerful healing spell in his arsenal. By the time the counter reached zero, he finished casting a third spell, a spell that would carve the footprints of his new life into the world.
[ Punishment awarded ]
He stumbled, feeling an unprecedented sense of weakness and loss through every fiber of his being. Teeth gritted, he staggered out of the destroyed cave and ran deeper into the forest. The panel continued to light up with new notifications.
[ Status Reset ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Race Talent: - ]
[ Class: - ]
[ Level: 3 ]
[ Focus on any stat to see its secondary panel. ]
Ken shifted his focus and tracked down a new hiding spot, one he was very familiar with. In fact, he knew every inch of this forest's soil. This was the challenge ground where he had once mastered countless common-grade spells.
Carrying Simm, he dove head-first into a hole in a hollowed tree trunk. Like a giant worm, he burrowed his way down, ignoring the panicking insects trying to escape or bite him crazily.
More than a dozen feet beneath the surface, the hollowed tunnel came to an end, letting them fall into a pitch-dark cavern. Ken laid Simm down on the ground and recalled the incantation for the most basic flame spell.
"Ishu!"
It did not work. He expected that. He was no longer a mage. But that did not deter him, because he knew he had the ability, the potential that had been buried deep within his body and spirit.
"Ishu!"
"Ishu!"
With that hiss, a spark of light formed within his palm, giving birth to a tiny, golden flame, not any different from candlelight.
But this flame was sustained by mana. After having his level reset, Ken couldn't keep feeding it for long.
Shuffling sounds came from where he had laid Simm. Her silhouette was struggling to sit up. He inched closer to her and held out his palm, lighting up the little space between their faces.
Simm's face looked up at him, eyes teary and full lips pressed into a thin line.
"Master, is it really you? I can't...I'm not dead, am I?"
Ken placed his other palm on her nape and squeezed.
"I am back."
Simm's petite frame crashed into him, wrapping her wiry arms and legs around his midsection, head rubbing into his chest. No words were needed between them. They knew each other all too well.
"Let me see your injuries. The spell might not have had enough time to do a complete healing," he said, trying to get out of her grippy limbs. But her embrace only got tighter.
"You've been gone for so long. Do you think I'm still that same Mutant rank Goblin?" Simm growled a bit angrily. "Your healing spell did more than it needed to do. My vitality went way beyond my normal state. You better make sure you haven't screwed up after sleeping for so long!"
"Ah, that's the Gobline wife I remember. I was almost getting a bit suspicious," Ken said, feeling genuinely relieved. Simm might be used to his occasional bouts of insanity, but this time he had been dead to the world for a substantial period, probably more than a couple of decades, judging by Simm's appearance. He couldn't be certain that this was the same Simm he knew.
In return for that quip, he got pinched painfully in the butt. That confirmed it, though.
"Ow! Okay, okay. Cast a lighting invocation, wifey. I'll examine your body thoroughly to make sure you're alright!"
He was expecting another pinch, but a couple of bright orbs suddenly appeared above Simm's head, lighting up the small underground cavern. Ken's gaze didn't leave Simm's face for a second as she blushed furiously while taking off her armors one by one.
The signs were clear, the stars had aligned, and fate was smiling down upon him, it seemed.
"Let me help, darling," he growled impatiently, leaning down and gripping the silky undergarments wrapped around her upper body.
"Don't-!"
Rip.
The sound of clothes being torn apart became the only sound inside the cavern for a moment. Ken's arousal was momentarily stumped by the crime committed by his greedy grips. He could almost see the smoke of anger coming out of his lovely goblin wife.
He had been too eager and pent up after a separation so long from his family. Past experience told Ken that letting this roll into an argument would bring satisfaction to neither of them. So he chose the route that would satisfy them both and grabbed her in a rough manner, hoisting her up by a couple feet in order to smush his lips against hers. Simm put up a signature struggle for about one and a half seconds before his tongue snaked inside her dry maw.
Her legs wrapped around his midsection once more, and Ken felt two mounds of soft, pliable fat pressing down on his slowly hardening shaft.
The hardening picked up its speed, ready to breed a horny concubine. Simm couldn't have chosen a better moment to break the kiss and whisper, "As an apology, I want you to put a baby in me like you promised all those years ago."