The Daily Grind

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An Imp gets adjusted to her new job, with a few missteps.
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Carol_J
Carol_J
274 Followers

There were a few sources of stress for an aspiring "professional monster." Most of them related to learning the ropes once someone hired them, but that was just the tail end of the biggest pain of all: landing the damn job. Valencia shifted nervously in her seat. She'd done her best to spruce up her bestiary entry as best she could, but it's not as if those technicalities would make much of an impact. Not when her monster type was clearly devoted to one thing specifically.

Valencia was an imp. Not any specific type, which would be in her favor in this dungeon in particular, but she was still just an imp. A low-level monster made to tempt adventurers into a very specific type of defeat. She'd managed to catch a glance at the listings detailing what other foes heroes could expect to find in the dungeon, and the assortment made her heart sink. Slime. Kobold. Brownie. Wisp. Basic monsters. Straight hack 'n' slash fodder that barely knew how to tempt a sandwich into their collective stomachs. Part of her hoped that the boss would want a more feminine beast to help offer some variety, but the chances were slim. She sighed inwardly and glanced down at her bust. All she could do was hope right now.

The Gorgon reading over the tattered page, the boss of the dungeon, narrowed her yellow, pupil-less eyes, pursing her lips and leaning back in her seat. A roughly-hewn desk separated the two, similarly stone-fashioned seats on either side. It wasn't a glamorous job at some high-end late-game dungeon, but there weren't many openings for monsters these days.

"So." Valencia straightened up as the Gorgon suddenly spoke, tapping the sheet with a clawed finger. "It says here you know the spells 'Inferno' and 'Cocytus.' That seems a little advanced for a lower level demon."

Valencia coughed and glanced down before meeting the Gorgon's gaze. Even if she wasn't affected by her petrifying gaze, the net effect on the nervous imp was roughly the same. "Ah, while I may technically know the spell, I don't actually have enough MP to use it, so I mainly just use it to waste a turn sometimes. Like, kind of an 'oh, no!' moment before the hero realizes what happened." She smiled, not quite knowing where to look before her eyes trailed back up to the Gorgon's. She looked less than impressed for a moment before nodding and looking back down.

"Good, good. Wouldn't want them to get in over their heads. Ah. What about the item you drop? It says here it's a..." She squinted at the page, clicking her tongue as she tried to pronounce the word.

"Topaz Bromide. It's an accessory." Valencia knew well enough to provide the information before her prospective boss struggled too long with the word. "It raises MP by 10, and—"

"Is it a crafting material?"

"—Yes, but it's also purchasable from mid-game towns and at least one secret shop. By the time the heroes realize they need it, they can obtain it without coming back here. Uh. Well, here, if I'm here, I mean." She was getting ahead of herself, but it was difficult to stop talking once she got caught up in hypotheticals like this.

"Excellent. Yes, I was worried it would be the kind of thing that would be making adventurers come back late-game, but if that's not the case, there's no problem. And I see it has a low drop-rate, too, so that's fine." The Gorgon set Valencia's bestiary entry on the desk and looked at the imp with a nod. "Our primary goal here is to educate outside of the tutorial dungeon without offering a technical tutorial. Let them get some experience with abilities, spells, equipment. That sort of thing."

"Listen. I'm going to be frank." Valencia winced as she listened, looking down for a moment before steeling herself and meeting the boss' eyes again. The serpentess sighed and leaned her elbows on the desk, steepling her fingers before she spoke again. "I like you, Valencia. I think you'd be a perfectly fine fit to this dungeon, and it says here you know...'Succubus Kiss?' That inflicts charm, right?"

Valencia nodded, leaning forward and pointing to an entry on the tattered page. "And under that, I know 'Bedroom Eyes,' which is sleep and charm."

"Yes, exactly. So we have one or two slimes here. They can poison, and I believe our kobold can confuse adventurers. So you'd be helping fill out our variety regarding status effects, but I'm a little concerned that 'charm' would lead to more wiped out parties than I'm comfortable with." The Gorgon leaned back, tapping her chin with her finger as she watched her prospective hire. "How would you respond?"

This was it. The make or break question. Valencia could feel it, and her heart was pounding in her chest. "Well." She spoke slowly, careful not to stutter or stammer or "uh." "I would say...that your concern, certainly, is valid. But." She looked to the side for a moment and swallowed. Finally, though, she nodded and looked back up. "Just as you say, this dungeon is meant to educate without a tutorial. So this would be the perfect time to show heroes that yes, 'charm' exists, and it may lead to party members attacking each other, but they wouldn't be strong enough to do any serious harm. It would inform without overwhelming."

She wondered to herself how she managed to get the words out, but Valencia managed a smile as her answer came to a close. The Gorgon watched her for a moment, stone-faced as ever, before likewise smiling and offering her hand to shake. "Just what I wanted to hear. Welcome aboard, Valencia. You're a breath of fresh air here, I can already tell."

The relief was nearly palpable, Valencia's shoulders sinking as her tension melted away. All she could really do was sigh before reaching out to shake her new boss' hand, nodding eagerly. "Thank you so much! I promise I won't let you down."

"Must've been looking for a while if you came all the way out to this hole in the wall, eh?" The Gorgon laughed, giving Valencia's hand a firm shake before she let go and slithered out of her seat. "C'mon, let me show you around. It's nothing special, which is kind of the point, but there are a few things you need to see before I introduce you to the others."

Valencia likewise hopped off of her chair, following the serpentess out of the room and into the cobwebbed hallways of the dungeon proper. A massive statue of some elder god slid in front of the office's entrance sealing it away in case any heroes came searching for errant loot, but for the moment, the halls were quiet.

"So this is pretty much your standard cave-slash-dungeon. No real tricks or secrets to speak of, with the exception of a single arrow trap off on the side in front of a chest. There's a prop skeleton in front of it to show something's up, and once a month we repaint the trigger tile to make sure it stands out. No floor warps, no poison gas, no mimics." The Gorgon glanced over her shoulder at Valencia. "You ever work with a mimic?" She shook her head. "Me neither. I did a stint as a random encounter in a late-game dungeon once, but I guess it was too out-of-the-way to have many traps."

A slime lurched across the ground, momentarily surging a pseudopod into the air in some semblance of a greeting. Gorgon grinned and slithered up. "Ved! Perfect timing. This..." She turned back to motion at Valencia. "...is Valencia." Valencia offered a timid wave back, seemingly returned by another burbling pseudopod from "Ved." "She's going to be working with you and Wolstead as an encounter group. Two slimes and a demon. Perfect! Oh, wait a second." Gorgon suddenly turned back to Ved and tapped her chin again. "OK, no, Wolstead is the one that knows how to poison them. You don't right?"

The slime gurgled.

"Alright, so it'll be you, her, and..." Her gaze trailed up to the ceiling for a moment before flicking back down to the slime. "You, her, and Wolfgang. Slime, demon, wisp." Gorgon clapped her hands together and gave a dual thumbs-up to the mostly-sessile ooze. "Think you can handle that?"

The slime gurgled.

"Awesome! Look at you, you're a member of the dream team now! Alright, I'm showing Valencia around right now, but hopefully she'll be ready to take on a few parties before the end of the day. Hang in there until then. The dream team is gonna debut soon, and the dream girl over here is gonna be the star of the show!" Ved began to trail its way down the hall again with a pop from a particularly large bubble. "That's what I like to hear! Oh. Also, tell Wolfgang he needs to refill the chest when you see him."

"Which reminds me." Gorgon slithered down the hall, Valencia close behind. "We have I think two or three chests in here, so you'll probably be refilling them once or twice daily. We split the job, because that's really the only fair way to do it, but it's not really too major. If you're nearby and see it's empty, just refill it." She glanced at the imp, shrugging one shoulder. "One holds a hi-potion, and the other one's around one hundred gold. And if you fill it with your own gold, just tell me and I'll reimburse you. OK?"

Valencia nodded, and the pair of them stopped as cobwebs and stone walls gave way to bricks and torches. Gorgon looked around and gave a satisfied huff, hands on her hips. "And I think that about wraps up our tour! Like I said, this is a really basic dungeon, and I don't even know if there are any quests associated with it. I think we have a guy outside telling rumors about it, but you shouldn't worry about having to fight too much. You're a bit of a special encounter for this dungeon, so if you want to try and play hard to get, go for it."

"But yeah, welcome aboard, have fun, and, uh..." Gorgon paused for a moment to think before shrugging and rolling her eyes. "Right, so you probably do game overs a special way, and that's fine, but if the other monsters are still there, maybe try to just do a standard one? I'm not saying you can't, uh. You know." She waved her hands around. "'Have your fun,' or whatever, but only when you're the last one. OK?"

Valencia nodded a bit too hard before speaking a bit too quickly. "Yes, yes, absolutely! Yeah, I would never. I'm the odd one out, and I totally understand that. Yes."

Gorgon nodded. "Perfect. So I'm gonna go back and finish the registration paperwork, and you can meet up with Ved and Wolfgang to hopefully work out a strategy or two for your guys' fights. I like the whole 'spellcasting without enough MP' thing you mentioned. Try to work that in."

And with that, Gorgon slithered her way back into the depths of the cave, leaving Valencia to excitedly ponder her good luck and celebrate her acceptance in private. Yes. Yes, yes, yes! She stamp her tiny feet in glee. Finally, a job! An honest-to-goodness job in an honest-to-goodness dungeon!

She didn't have long to celebrate, though, especially when a chime rang out behind her. One she'd never really heard before, or at least hadn't for what seemed like years. Her eyes were wide, eyebrows arched as she turned to face the source. It was coming from the entrance to the dungeon, valiant, if not perfunctory.

>AN IMP APPEARS! COMMAND?

Her eyes opened wider as a mage with a glowing staff, complete with a smooth, red orb on top, stood before her. A human mage. Oh. Oh, no. She looked around. She was the only monster there. Raising her hands up, she laughed nervously, shaking her head. "Oh, no, no, no, I'm not ready to fight. I mean, like. I need to get my encounter group, and. I don't think I even have any gold to drop when you beat me!"

>IMP ATTEMPTS TO CAST A SPELL!

Valencia blinked, taking a step back, glancing over her shoulder. "Yeah, no, I'm not gonna. I'm just gonna try and...meet up with the guys I'm supposed to fight with. So, I'll see you later?"

>IMP ATTEMPTS TO FLEE! >...BUT SHE FAILS!

And this is where her first encounter turned from a funny story into a nightmare. She couldn't run. Weren't mages supposed to be slow? How was this one able to keep up with her? She gasped, suddenly feeling very intimately focused upon, though a quick look down confirmed that yes, she was still clothed. The dumb bastard was probably using a scan spell. She grumbled and crossed her arms under her massive chest, opting to just wait it out instead of trying to run off again.

Well. May as well make the most of it. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Valencia's stance shifted just slightly. Her arms nudged themselves under her chest, serving to accentuate her assets rather than just showcase annoyance. Slender hips were cocked to the side flirtatiously, and toes pointed inward to drive the image of a coquettish underling. "So, you think you can take me on, big boy?" Her voice rang out, honey-sweet as she decided that yes, she'd be engaging her first customer.

"I'd certainly hope so. You're, what, level 3? And I just hit 47."

She nearly fainted. "W-What? I, uh. What?" That was a fucking forty-four level deficit in his favor. And he could talk. Heroes didn't normally...talk, did they? She'd never spoken to one. True, she'd never really had the chance to, but no one had ever told her they could talk, too! Why did no one ever tell her they could talk?!

"I mean, hey, it's not like I'd get much gold or XP from you, so I can just run, if you'd like. I don't think you can logistically run away from me with this difference in levels. Which is pretty, ah. Interesting, given how slow I am. Not very quick on your feet, are you?" He sounded so unbearably pleased with himself, and the smirk on his face didn't really do much to help his case. Valencia narrowed her eyes at him, still wearing her plastered-on grin.

He snickered, quirking an eyebrow at her as he spoke. "What, did I strike a nerve? It's not like I expect you to be a metal slime with your talent hanging out like that. Must make it a bitch to run. Not like I'm complaining, of course. Hell, I may just stay here and admire the view for a bit." A floating page appeared next to him, subsequently plucked out of the air and read by the mage. "Not enough MP to cast the spells you know, and the only racial abilities you have inflict status effects...that I think I have accessories to negate. Perfect."

He chuckled to himself, tossing the sheet over his shoulder. It phased away into nothing, though his self-satisfied grin seemed to be there to stay. His gaze flicked up at the ceiling, eyes narrowing as he muttered to himself. "Oh, hold on. No, I have the Seven-League Boots on to get here faster. But the Ribbon protects against 'charm.' So I'm fine."

Oh, did it now? Valencia paused for a moment, just as deep in thought before she grinned wider than ever, white teeth glimmering in the low light of the dungeon. "So, it's my turn, right?" The mage just nodded, rolling his eyes and leaning heavier on his staff. "Alright, hold still. I'm a little rusty." She shut her eyes, focused her energy, and, with a flourish of her hands, affixed her gaze upon his. Her pupils glinted with a soft, pink spark, and the smirk on the mage's face curdled into uncertainty before he blinked heavily.

>THE IMP CASTS 'BEDROOM EYES'!

"Wh—?" It was a half-yawn, his feet sent stumbling back, and his staff, clattering to the ground. "Fuckin'...of course." He shut his eyes and yawned wider, stretching...before ultimately sinking to the ground, crumpled into a softly snoring heap.

>MAGE IS NOW ASLEEP... >MAGE'S 'RIBBON' PREVENTS CHARM!

"And it's as easy as that." Valencia giggled to herself as she stepped up to her now mostly-subdued foe. It's not like she could knock him out for real, and any attack she'd do would wake him up. It'd crit, sure, but that hardly made a difference with the gap between them level-wise. Squatting down next to him, she narrowed her eyes. He'd been a real asshole to her. And Valencia didn't quite know what to do.

Well, she could run away. It's not like this was going to end in her favor with the odds as they were. Pull a metal slime, so to speak. But that felt so lame, especially for her first encounter! She couldn't cast "Inferno" or "Cocytus," either, not even if she tried to regain her MP.

...Hadn't he been ogling her, though? And it was really only the Ribbon that was stopping her normal abilities from working. Where was he...there. Tied around his wrist. The imp moved onto her hands and knees, biting her lower lip as she reached slowly towards the offending scrap of cloth. The knot looked sturdy, but he was asleep. She could manage, right?

>MAGE IS STILL ASLEEP... >THE IMP IS WAITING TO ATTACK.

Slowly. Slowly. Valencia did her best to undo the knot without nudging him. Even the slightest jostle would wake him up, and if she failed to do unequip it from him before he did, it wouldn't be pretty. But she was almost there. Just one little tug away. One. Little. Tug!

>MAGE IS STILL ASLEEP. >MAGE UNEQUIPPED 'RIBBON'.

Valencia silently pumped her fist, once more sent into paroxysms of glee as her first encounter took a turn for the better. She regarded the mage's sleeping form for a moment before giving him a kick to the side, flitting away on bat wings and giggling to herself. "Wake up, sleepy-head!" She hummed the words out, practically tasting them as she wondered just how he'd fare.

>THE IMP ATTACKS! >IT'S A CRITICAL HIT!! >MAGE TAKES 1 DAMAGE.

The mage, of course, was less than amused. He blinked groggily once or twice before scrambling to his feet, fumbling with his staff. A scowl gashed his face, though it was quickly usurped by the same smug grin he'd worn after the imp's unsuccessful attempt to flee. "Well, alright. Clearly I need to invest in a Silk Ribbon instead, but no harm, no foul. I'll still run away instead of grinding you into a smear on the ground; all you need do is ask politely." He winked at her, licking his lips. "You can manage that, right, babe?"

>MAGE IS GOOFING OFF.

Valencia just rolled her eyes, stepping forward. "Oh, ha ha. Thank you so much for the offer, BABE, but I think I'm willing to try my hand at a proper fight. Well." She returned the wink and hopped up into the air. Her wings flapped gently as she hovered towards him, and when she was close enough, she reached a hand out to cup his cheek. "Here, let's see how you manage this. Pucker up, baby..."

And with that, the imp shut her eyes, leaning in to press a light, chaste kiss on the mage's lips. It prompted a chuckle from her target at first.

>THE IMP CASTS 'SUCCUBUS KISS'! >MAGE IS CHARMED...

Until the laughter ended, of course, cut off by a sharp gasp...and a low hum as the mage's eyelids drooped. His eyes glazed pink, posture going relaxed, face tilting into Valencia's hand. "Huh? What'd you...?" He could only manage a low, relaxed chuckle as she raised up the purloined Ribbon and let it drop to the ground. "Wow. I had no idea. Thank goodness I fell asleep, huh?"

"Oh, 'thank goodness,' huh?" Valencia gave him a playful flick on the nose, pressing her chest up against his as her wings flapped away. "Here I thought you were keen on getting me to beg for you to let me go. Seems to me your priorities are all messed up in that head of yours." She pouted, furrowing her brow at him. "So what is it? Should I stay, or should you go?"

"Stay! Stay, please!" The mage's lethargy seemingly vanished, his arms raising up and pulling Valencia flush against him. "You're beautiful, I'd never want you to leave."

>MAGE IS STILL CHARMED...

Valencia giggled, and her arms wrapped around him, too. "That's what I thought. Darling, that kiss felt good, didn't it?" He nodded vigorously. Such enthusiasm. Adorable, really. "Good. Close your eyes, dear." The mage did, and with a giggle, Valencia shut her own and pressed her lips up to his once more.

>THE IMP CASTS 'SUCCUBUS KISS'! >MAGE IS CHARMED... >MAGE IS NOW INFATUATED!

He sighed into the kiss, as slight as it was, and his grip grew a shade weaker before it resurged stronger than ever. The mage felt so hot against her. His body was practically radiating heat. Valencia took it to be a good sign, and as she trailed a finger down his chest, she giggled. "Careful, honey. Wouldn't want you to fall for me any harder. It'd be pretty embarrassing to lose to a monster as weak as me, wouldn't it?"

Carol_J
Carol_J
274 Followers
12