This Ascent to Divinity is Lewder than Expected (A Futa LitRPG)

5.57 - PvP

To Rosalie's complete disbelief, the hourglass worked. Lucinda was on her feet, spear in hand and armor donned—materialized instantly from her inventory—and halfway toward the man before the corrupted hourglass finished its rotation. But she froze there, enormous obsidian-black spear outstretched for the man's face, halted in her progress.

The man would've died instantly if he'd been even a fraction of a second slower. Lucinda didn't play games.

Rosalie was so shocked that a seventh-advancement wayfarer had just been disabled that she herself froze for an invaluable, infinitely stretching second. It shouldn't be possible for an item to disable someone so powerful, regardless of its rarity. At least, not an item wielded by a man who Rosalie assumed was fifth advancement at most, likely lower.

It had to be because the item had been corrupted, broken in some way by those shard-eaters. Had its corruption actually not been a detriment, but a boon? Made it more powerful rather than weaker, removing its limitations in some way?

Lucinda had probably never seen anything like it, hence her slow reactions. Possibly even her arrogance in how little regard she'd shown the developing situation. Rosalie didn't blame her. She herself had felt the same lack of concern. Her mentor wasn't the type of person to disregard a potentially dangerous situation, but this shouldn't have been a dangerous situation. Who could fault Lucinda for not recognizing an impossibility?

And just how reckless was these cultists' use of the hourglass? It was a broken item. Fundamentally corrupted. She, Zoey, and Delta hadn't dared experiment with their own, because who knew what would happen? It seemed these people were less cautious. Was the item even stable, broken only in that it bypassed its natural limits in some way? Were complications possible? Was Lucinda in genuine danger from it? It was certainly within the realm of possibility, since they were already discussing—and experiencing—the impossible.

All of that flashed through Rosalie's mind in the shocking one-second that followed the outbreak of the fight. Then, her instincts kicked in. Her mentor—her failsafe—had been disabled, and the how behind the matter wasn't relevant. Now, they were engaged in combat with three unknowns. Goat-Mask had been frozen solid upon activation of the relic, so they only had to worry about the rest of his party. Three-on-three.

There was, quite literally, nothing in the world Rosalie had been so thoroughly trained for as how to analyze, break down, then act upon any given combat scenario.

The Church had sent four wayfarers after them. Presumably, they'd planned for the hourglass to disable one of them, turning it into a three-versus-two. Instead, it was a three-on-three, thanks to Lucinda. So Lucinda's presence did help them, if not as massively as it should've.

Rosalie could only assume each of their combatants was, at a minimum, third advancement. Likely fourth, since they had come here expecting to intimidate and bully them, not to kill, which would be difficult if they were peers. So Rosalie and her team were at a stark disadvantage. That was especially true considering Zoey's inexperience. Yes, she had powerful skills, but many weren't directly combat-focused, and Rosalie didn't have high hopes for Zoey's performance in a sudden, unexpected duel.

Especially one against sapient, thinking opponents. People. That was the bigger factor. They'd mostly fought shard monsters, which, while vicious and clever in an animal way, were a different encounter entirely than what awaited them now. Plus, there was the reality of fighting other people. In hurting them. That also seemed something Zoey would hesitate at. Rosalie didn't know how reliable Delta would be, either. The foxgirl sparred plenty inside the training arena, often with Rosalie herself, but would she hesitate in a life-or-death situation? In real combat against another party?