This Ascent to Divinity is Lewder Than Expected

7.52 – Fifth Advancement Shard

Zoey had to admit, she had gotten a better deal out of this than she'd hoped for. She had thought Rosalie would jerk her off onto Astrid at most—but getting milked by her girlfriend's thighs and watching her paint Astrid's face as if it were her own cock doing the job had been a delicious upgrade.

Coming down from the high, they were left with the reality of the situation: their thoroughly painted teammate breathing hard, red-faced with one of her eyes glued shut by the thick white strings covering her face.

Rosalie took charge of the situation admirably, her 'team-leader' instincts perhaps overriding her normal attitude toward such lewd situations. After separating from Zoey's cock, the blonde cleaned herself and Astrid up with a towel. Zoey did the same for herself, sitting on the wall-bench and enjoying the show as Rosalie made awkwardly cute allusions to how, "At least the skill should be taken care of, now." Of course, she firmly didn't address how enthusiastically she'd milked Zoey's cock onto her face, with the sort of vigor that suggested she'd been fantasizing that it was her own. Hilariously, Astrid glossed over that fact as well.

They parted shortly after; they had a busy day ahead. With their next shard set for the following morning, there were a number of errands to run.

Zoey checked in with Fe. The analysis of the [Item Smelter] had almost concluded, but not quite. By the time they returned, Sabina would be working with the ingredients it produced to brew stat-boosting potions. But they wouldn't be benefiting from the item in time for the upcoming shard.

For the first night in a while, Rosalie's bed was used only for sleep; the four of them cozied up and ensured they had an uninterrupted night's rest.

Early that next morning, the squad of five gathered in Rosalie's room—only Astrid having to travel to meet them. After a brief discussion to ensure their affairs were in order, they set out.

Though they benefited from Rosalie's ability 'Seek', the first-advancement skill from her Rune of Trailblazing that let her locate nearby shards of a specified advancement, there were still the physical realities that needed to be dealt with. Travel time. Rosalie's skill pointed them where to go, but shard entrances were rare, much less ones of a particular advancement.

Especially a higher level one. And they were tackling a fifth-advancement shard today. It would be the first time they targeted a shard of a higher advancement than their own average level. It was slightly risky, but they'd gone up against a fourth-advancement shard without much difficulty. Everyone felt confident that a fifth-advancement would be a challenge but not a significant risk. A small one, yes, but any shard came with some risk.

Regardless, even with Rosalie's skill aiding them, tracking down a fifth-advancement shard was no quick task. Ten hours passed as they worked through the Fractures at a brisk jog—they were at a rank where constant but moderately paced running didn't wind even the mages of the team.

Zoey didn't mind the tediousness. The Fractures were safe compared to shards, so, all things considered, it was a peaceful and quiet expedition. Monsters popped up, but were dealt with easily. Maybe some squads would have been pressed, but they were a team composed of fourth-advancement wayfarers, with Zoey being ahead of the pack, having a single fifth-advancement skill in her Rune of Bonding. Making her 'four and one-third advancement', she supposed.

So, the trip was relaxing. She turned her brain off as they trekked along. The team chatted amongst themselves; it was a good opportunity to warm up further, especially to Astrid, who seemed to be far more confident in this environment than the one of yesterday morning. Which was fair. Of course she was more at ease jogging through the wilderness and chatting with her team than getting into a voyeuristic threesome in which her team-leader of less than a few weeks painted her face using her girlfriend's cock.

They arrived at their destination as evening was ending. Not that time was consistent between Fractures, but the sun was probably setting in Mantle too, if her internal clock was accurate.

The Fracture containing their sought-after shard entrance was a desert biome. A sweltering sun sank toward the horizon, not as full-powered as it would be at noon, but, combined with their physical activity, left the five of them drenched in sweat. Defensive stats provided resistance against extreme elements, but offered less against natural environmental conditions. They wouldn't suffer heatstroke or frostbite, but the oppressive warmth of a desert joined by the exertion of jogging had left them peeling off layers, with what remained clinging to their bodies.

Which, honestly, meant there was a small pleasure to take from the discomfort: however much of a pain it was jogging through a desert, the image of her sweaty girlfriends made up for it.

Rosalie's skill led them to a buried pyramid, only the triangular cap of the structure poking through the sand dune. After she kicked hard several times, the flimsy—or, rather, flimsy to a fourth-advancement's strength—material cracked and opened, revealing a passage into the hollow interior. Sand poured through the breach. Peering in, Rosalie spent twenty seconds squinting and checking for threats.

Seeing nothing of concern, she beckoned Astrid—the tank—to drop the thirty feet to the hollow structure's floor. She followed afterward, but they triggered no traps or encounters; the interior remained calm. Zoey, having lesser physical stats, took the impact of the thirty-foot drop with a slight twinge to her ankles, but no real pain. She caught Maddy on principle, even if she would've been fine too.

Inside the sandstone pyramid, there wasn't much except diagrams and dust. The etched pictures were interesting to study; the general aesthetic seemed Egyptian. Though that obviously wasn't a term people used here. She wondered if the word would even translate. What would her teammates hear? Probably the word, without any of the meaning Zoey associated it with. She hadn't done much experimenting on the 'translation' ability Ephy had given her.

The underground pyramid was a larger structure than she first assumed. Though not an entire complex, they explored a number of connected rooms before they found what they were looking for. Through the last of the hallways—there was one per cardinal direction attached to the pyramid's base structure—they entered a circular chamber. Inside was a swirling black portal set into the floor, surrounded by six braziers burning a dull blue flame, the light weak enough that they hadn't noticed it from the central room. Hieroglyphs were carved around the black portal, which she studied curiously, the same as the rest of the team.

Of the shard entrances Zoey had seen, it was the most well-decorated. She supposed that was natural. A fifth-advancement shard was no joke; few wayfarers were strong enough to clear one of this strength. Their team had a number of advantages on their side, but this wouldn't be a trivial encounter in the best of cases. They were in for a challenge.

"Everyone ready?" Rosalie asked. She looked at Astrid. "Anything could happen. More than a normal shard. So prepare yourself."

"I'm ready," Astrid said, and Zoey was impressed to hear not an ounce of hesitation in her voice. Maybe she would lose that nerve when the typical strangeness of their style of shards appeared, but she had braced herself conceptually, at least.

Rosalie looked at each of them in turn, but of course Zoey, Delta, and Maddy had no objections.

"In we go, then," Rosalie said.

They linked hands and jumped into the inky blackness.