Natasha the Halve

20^th day of the fourth month. Fourth week of summer. 1980 Yiama’s Era. Lakeview, Lumin Kingdom.

I sat on the front yard of a cabin we rented a few days prior. The lounge chair was pretty comfortable, I admit. The summer heat was not as overpowering as I expected since Lapia said it’d be 50º outside. Well, her super spell didn’t face me much, so I guess that’s that.

The sound of ice hitting glass coming from my right made me turn.

Alyssa was sunbathing next to me on a lounge chair of her own. Her reptilian nature may influence her tastes as to the suns, I guessed. She brought a glass of fruit juice to her lips and took a sip.

“Haaa…” she sighed with a wide smile. “This is the life. Day off, sunbathing, reading a book.”

We were both wearing swimsuits. I made the colossal sacrifice of offering the group summer-wear from my storage.

I’m such a martyr.

Hers was white, a nice contrast to her light purple skin and dark scales. The top fit her pretty nicely, the exact nature of all the underwear still a mystery to me. The bottom was a thong, as I so unfortunately did not have anything else, which for some reason changed to fit her tail.

I guessed the special trait of my clothes is to fit every kind of body shape, or fit every body shape to it in my case.

Mine was black, pretty nice against my golden skin.

“I know, right?” I chuckled. “Look at us, enjoying a break.”

In front of us laid a massive lake. It reminded me of Baikal, but the surrounding mountains were around the size of the Ural. These fed the lake, and in turn, it fed a river that went off to the north, continuing some thousand kilometers until reaching the ocean.

The suns were 10cm apart in the sky. It was the day the Aphelion began. For four days, all work should be minimized to avoid heatstroke for people below level 100, which surprisingly is the majority of the population in Lumin Kingdom. Higher levels are not enough motivation to go out and experience the dangers of the world, according to Bonte.

I have learned a few things these last weeks. Not much, but enough to not be considered utterly ignorant anymore.

Bromisnar was playing his lute a few meters away while talking to Yolin about something or other. Both were wearing swimsuits.

Costumes are justice.

Lapia was playing some sort of volleyball with Bonte in the shore of the lake. The game was a little weird: the net was low and they only used their feet and hips to pass the ball to the other side.

They too, wore swimsuits.

All according to plan...

Bonte, who was wearing swim trunks, received the ball with his chest like a football player and kicked it some ten meters up, then jumped after it and kicked towards Lapia. The Elf, however, used spells… something that apparently was allowed by rules. The ball stopped mid flight and crossed the field in a clean arc before the Tigea could land. Naturally, he shifted to the ball’s shadow…

I shook my head and grabbed a drink on the table by my side. It was grape juice with a couple ice cubes floating on the surface. Pretty nice.

“We’ve earned it, naturally,” Alyssa giggled. “These so called ‘speedruns’ work wonders, especially the one you came up with where we could only use a single skill for each floor.”

I nodded as I feasted my eyes on both female and male bodies. The space was private, naturally. It costed me one gold coin a day. Robbery in broad daylight, but worth it when considering the lake shore was less than thirty meters from the cabin.

“I’m glad it helped,” I said, staring at Lapia as she jumped five meters into the air like it was nothing and returned the ball. As she landed, her butt shook along with her thighs.

“Sheesh!” I exclaimed.

“Holy crap!” Alyssa whispered.

The shake of that booty was divine.

“Still, skipping the first fifty floors could be considered cheating,” I commented.

Alyssa let out a giggle, and focused back on the book she was reading.

I have discovered new elements. E’er holds nothing against them.

Alyssium, released every time Alyssa giggles. It extends lifespan and heals every possible wound, including tiredness. I am absolutely sure any scientist from Earth would give their unborn child in return for a single gram of it. Wars would surely be started to monopolize it. The part about wounds is something I am yet to confirm as I have not been injured so far. I have no proof, but neither doubt.

Lapium, found in the deepest confines of cheekiness. This particular element is prone to cause floods with just a smirk and a chuckle, and it could easily replace currency in civilized planets across the universe. Impossible to acquire by Alchemy, it’s value is undeniably high. Not even the full fortune of a planet could acquire it.

Yolinium, an element that is dangerous to acquire. Depending on the environment, it can function as an energy source or used in the forging of armor. It requires careful extraction, as the source could headbutt the intrepid miner if done hastily. Useful in both war and peace, any society could benefit from it.

These three elements sustain life and bring about death in the right circumstances. Their true power is yet to be seen, however…

I looked up to the suns. Both looked the same to me since I was on the planet, and I was never that smart to really understand how light waves entering the atmosphere influenced the color of a sun.

Returning my eyes to Lapia, I continued my insights. She was wearing sport swimwear, and her tan skin shone with a little sweat. She also had her hair tied in a ponytail.

The Domi Elves have built their country in the eastern coast. A flat land with rich soil and generous sea produce next to it. Maybe after thousands of years of exploitation, the ocean lifeforms have dwindled. Low fertility rates added to a cycle every fifty years leaves little hope to form a new generation to take on tradition, culture, and knowledge. It could be said that the Elven Queendom of Maaruhk is a ‘flatland’ next to the sea. And it would make sense for people to call it as such.

However, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, also known as Lenin, states in his discourse of social integration of the middle peasant that the term emerged from something entirely unrelated to the land. It’s called a flatland because the Domi Elves are generally flat-chested, though not enough to be called a washboard. The Queendom of Maaruhk accepts those that visit with open arms similar to a vast plain. As such, people call this ancient nation ‘flatland’.

I wisely nodded. Though Lapia’s breasts were smaller than my own, I enjoyed them to no end.

Then, I turned to Alyssa.

The Krystaali Luzo have their country surrounded by volcanoes. And an ancient Storm Dragon sleeps in one of those. This makes it difficult to approach, as it presents a ‘large’ challenge to face. I’m sure many are left in awe as to their enormity. The fact three sexes are required to continue their species is something to be celebrated, as I’m sure it’s a loving society. Maybe like the kind of mother I never had. It could be said that O’lu Keer Ren is a ‘mountainous’ land with a gentle nature. And it would make sense if people were to call it as such.

However, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, known for his discussions about nihilism, states that the term originated from something completely different. It was called mountainous because the Krystaali Luzo are generally big breasted. O’lu Keer Ren is a land difficult to visit as it’s similar to a mother’s bosom, and it’s kept from the reach of many just like lusting after one’s own mother is forbidden. As such, people refer to this perilous land as ‘mountainous’.

I wisely nodded once more.

I turned to Yolin. The Oni was wearing a fashionable white bikini with frills. The fabric combined with her white hair and her white tattoos was a beautiful contrast to her red skin.

Red Island is, as the name implies, an island. This came to be due to a volcano in the seabed that formed the land after millennia of spewing lava. It’s a well-formed, firm land surrounded by the flattest of surfaces, water. It would make sense, then, that people refer to it as a ‘solid land’.

However, Vasily Vasilievich Rozanov stated in one of his geography lessons that the term is not derived from how the land was shaped. It originated from the Oni anatomy of well-defined muscles and their nature leaning on the more ‘aggressive’ side. Their figures are firm and solid, and their class choices reflect this sentiment. Female Oni are voluptuous and fit with a generally carefree attitude. As such, people refer to Red Island as a ‘solid land’.

I let out a hum of satisfaction.

“Maybe, maybe not,” I murmured. “Those are just my assumptions, after all.”

“What are you thinking about?” Alyssa asked.

I turned to her and smiled.

“Nothing much,” I shook my head. “Silly things.”

“You have that look on your face,” she commented. “Like you’re about to do one of your skits.”

“Hahaha!” I covered my mouth and relaxed on the chair. “I’m not planning anything.”

“Well,” she began, sitting up. “It’s about time for us to go inside.”

“Right,” I said while checking the time. It was a little past four.

She stood up from her chair and I followed her into the cabin. Once inside, I laid on a big bed in the main room.

The space was admittedly pretty comfy. Since I splurged, I managed to rent a two-floor cabin that had each room full of sound-proof enchantments. Me, Alyssa, Lapia, and Yolin stayed on the first floor, and Bromisnar and Bonte took over the second floor. With three rooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen, the place was pretty damn nice.

The bed was comfortable and bouncy. It almost made me think the pricing was right, but it still was too much. I was yet to properly convert the currency of this world to Earth’s. Something I’m sure Lapia would help me with.

I felt Alyssa’s hands going over my stomach, and a gentle warmth sank into my body.

“How far have we gotten?” I asked with eyes closed.

The clawed fingers felt nice, and her increased status from leveling up made it easier for her to feel up my body… in more than a few ways.

“Up to the skin only,” she answered. “I’m still trying to fully understand how you absorb sunlight.”

I hummed. Lately, we’d spend an hour each day doing this. Alyssa would scan my body and try to understand how it worked by injecting Life Energy into me. The specifics escaped me. I won’t complain, though. A massage by my girlfriend every day is nice.

“Wouldn’t that work like a plant? You know, photo… something,” I chuckled.

“Photosynthesis?” she supplied. Then, she giggled, “No, you don’t absorb light like a plant, Natasha. Photosynthesis works that way because plants don’t eat like we do. You’re not a mammal, a plant, nor any other type of life form.”

Her hands cupped my breasts, and I opened an eye. Her face was serious, so I returned to darkness.

“Haven’t you used supportive skills on me, though?” I asked, remembering the white halo floating above my head a few times.

“I’ve brute-forced it,” she explained with a chuckle. “If the time comes that I have to heal you, I need to understand more than just the surface.”

“Hmm…” I thought for a second. “So you’re saying I’m not made of flesh?”

Her hands rested on my ribs, and the warmth increased.

“We’ve said it hundreds of times by now. You’re made of E’er, not flesh,” she whispered.

I nodded.

“Still feels a little too detached from reality to me,” I admitted. “I mean, if my muscles aren’t ‘meat’, then how does it work?”

“‘Meat’, as you so eloquently call it, is not the only thing that can work like muscles,” she explained. “I’ve seen you drawing, and I know you understand anatomy very extensively, but that changes when we’re transformed by E’er.”

“I see,” I said back. “If you- Ahn!”

Her hands brushed a nipple, and a moan inevitably escaped me.

“Focus, Natasha,” she giggled. “You were saying?”

I felt my face burn in embarrassment.

“If you level up, do your muscles become denser? Or does the ‘material’ change?” I asked.

“Both,” she answered as she followed the shape of my abs with her fingers. “Life Energy reinforces muscles and change how energy is liberated, along with its efficiency. Our nature as mammals is inescapable, however, so a lot of energy is wasted. While I’m a Luzo and some ancestral features from Dragons remain, I’m a mammal in the end.”

“You sweat, for example,” she continued, her hands prodding where my bellybutton should be. “So you have a working internal thermoregulative system. You have sweat glands like us, but your sweat is unlike ours. It’s a cold, pure liquid for some reason. Maybe our version of sweating is an incomplete imitation. We lose a big amount of minerals and water.”

“You’re losing me, Alyssa,” I chuckled.

“Your sweat smells sweet,” she said. “Sweat itself should be odorless in a healthy person. That either means there’s absolutely no bacteria inside or on you, or there’s something else added to your sweat. Adding to that the fact your smell causes sexual arousal, its leading me to believe Halves are supposed to have tons of sex.”

Jesus.

“You mean like pheromones?” I asked next.

The conversation was really interesting even if I didn’t understand half of it.

“A little. Pheromone release is mostly unconscious, and it not only serves a sexual purpose,” she educated me. “Take insects, they use pheromones to communicate.”

I sighed.

“Well… I’m on your hands,” I muttered.

Relaxing, I enjoyed the feeling of her hands on my body for the following hour.