Reject Humanity, Return to Monke

Briefly heading back to my post after the so-called strangling Typhial gave me, which I'm sure could've given pro wrestlers fighting in the UFC a run for their money. Thankfully, I'm made of sturdy stuff (thank you, Tank perk), so I was relatively unharmed by the otherwise deadly force Typhial was trying to subjugate me with.

Then again, she wasn't even trying her best at trying to choke the lights out of me, so I can't say for sure whether or not I would've gone unharmed if she ever decided to really choke the life out of me.

"Ah, mate, yah shift ended an hour ago. Don't wawrry, we all know ya weah occupied with our leadah." Arekhus greeted me with a smile. A few steps beside him was the socially awkward, yet philosophical, Dungeon Master Pilips, who was trying his best to not be noticed by either of us.

"Is that so?" I hummed, my hands rubbing my chin as I shrugged. Turning around, I gave them a single glance with a smile on my face. "Thanks for telling me."

"Anytime, mate." Arekhus gave me a two-finger salute and went back to his post, his body plopping down on a seat provided to them so they don't get tired too easily.

Walking back deeper into the camp, I decided I needed to catch some more Z's since my nap earlier left me more tired than before. Making my way back to my tent, I encountered a grinning Catalina, who was absent after giving me a thumbs up when I was stroking Oshurkova's hair while she napped.

"Well, didn't think you had it in ya. I'm impressed." Catalina placed her hands at her side, her mischievous eyes bearing into me like x-ray vision. "Keep at it then you'll be able to seduce our dear old leader. What a show that would be, eh?"

Catalina approached me and patted my shoulder, giving me an encouraging nod as she gave me a kiss on the cheek and a whisper into my ear. "Call me back in the Mortal Realm if you want to have some fun, alright? Nobody back in my Dungeon can satisfy me anymore."

Leaving it at that, she left with a visible sway to her hips, her cat tail swishing about in the air as her form vanished into her tent. I was left standing alone in the middle of the path with a tight expression.

'Goddamn it! Little Johnny! Down boy! Down boy!' My libido acting up again, I quickly dashed through the path and into my tent a few seconds later. "… Shit, it's not going down… Fuck it, time to let my right hand do the work…"

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The next day, which also marked the last day of the Battle Royale event, had me nervous about what would happen. Exiting the tent, I looked around, noticing the very visible ring just about 200 meters away into the forest.

What I also noticed were the few more camps here and there scattered about nearby, and let me tell you, there were a lot of Dungeon Masters, and by a lot, I meant a LOT.

I even saw some species I had no recollection of or knowledge of, other than they were incredibly unique looking. Hell, there was even a Dungeon Master who was a complete, sentient robot! How that works, I have no idea, but I'll just chalk it up to reincarnees and bullshit magic powers.

"Those are a lot of Dungeon Masters, huh?" A voice piped up from behind me, and I realized it was Oshurkova, who was once again dressed up in a giant robe that covered the entirety of her skin to prevent the sunlight from directly touching it. "Good morning, by the way."

"Good morning, Kova." I greeted her back with a tiny smile adorning my face. She gave a gentle smile in return and nodded in delight.

"Also, I'm here to tell you that to pack up your stuff. We'll be heading inside the arena soon after I finish with my preparations."

"Heh, the Battle Royale is finally coming to an end. Honestly, other than the fighting, surviving, and looting aspects, this whole event felt like a vacation from my Dungeon related problems." I smiled and noticed the pout Oshurkova was forming the moment she heard the word 'vacation.'

"At least one of us is having a good time at this event, unlike your leader, who has to deal with the enemy of all Dungeon Master-kind in her office all day long!" She shouted that last bit, but not too loud that the other Dungeon Masters could hear.

"What can I say? I have my ways." I snarked back, but soon realized that if my Dungeon continues to develop the way it is, even I won't be exempt from signing the damned papers… 'Actually, let's have Bentley do that. He's better at signing papers than me.'

This caused her to pout even harder, a tiny red blush appearing on her face from under the hood. Finally, she turned heel and began to walk, already out of patience with my teasing tone.

"Just get packing. If you fall behind, we'll be leaving everything you forget." Oshurkova then disappeared into her tent, where I saw Reia and Keia for a glimpse inside, packing up the stuff inside her tent into enchanted packs.

"Heh, she forgot that I have an inventory." Snickering in place, I made short work of my preparations for the move by placing the entirety of the tent, as well as the things inside said tent, inside my inventory without any repercussions or side-effects. "Damn, this is such a useful ability. What I would give to have this back in the modern world, no more heavy backpacks."

Once I was done with that, I looked around for somebody else to assist with their packing, as Oshurkova decided to call it. Spotting my friends-with-benefits catwoman Catalina taking down her tent, I approached her and waved an arm.

"Yo, need help?" Catalina stopped what she was doing and turned towards me, an eyebrow raised before she returned a smile.

"Sure thing, big guy." She stood up and stretched, her back making some popping noises in the process. "The damned thing sometimes won't give me the time of day."

I raised an eyebrow at her sentence, but one look at the tent she was folding away made me nod in sympathy.

"Well, that's certainly not how a tent should fold." Catalina gave me a mock glare as she raised a hand to smack me on the shoulder.

"Of course not. Why the hell is it supposed to look like that when I'm supposed to be folding it, not smacking it with a sledgehammer and dropping it into a blender." Catalina dropped to one knee and ran her hand across the rough fabric.

"… Welp, I guess I should help you out. We're leaving soon, and I don't want you leaving this good piece of tent out here like some kind of cheap piece of hardware." I placed my hand on the rough fabric myself and placed it inside my inventory, then quickly got it out and into a folded state. 'Damn, this inventory is very versatile… I wonder if it could also cook if I just add the ingredients in and recite a textbook cooking recipe to it?'

"… Once again, you motherfucking lucky bastard." Catalina pouted, before giving me a quick kiss on the lips as thanks for helping her out. "By the way, can you teach me that?"

"Sorry, but I can't." I replied instinctively, even if my brain was short circuiting because this woman kissed me out of the blue like that.

"Bummer." Catalina shrugged, but was obviously disappointed. I couldn't help but empathize with her. It was an incredible feeling to have on-the-spot inventory that could store your things for you. I'm sure that if I lost this skill, I would have a freak out and possibly try everything just to get it back.

That's how good it is.

"So, what do you want to do?" I looked at Catalina, who was giving me another sultry look, her tongue licking against her lips seductively. My little Johnny stiffened at the sight, but my brain was stronger in this moment, so I was able to resist the horny.

"Sorry, but not now. We're about to leave." My words made Catalina feel a little unhappy, but accepting. "Plus, we have no private place to do it."

Catalina blinked, then looked around her for a moment, before blushing. "Yeah… Looks like it."

I chuckled at her response and she blushed even further. So, this catwoman, who is mostly a jerk towards Typhial, could look this cute?

My little Johnny softened at the wholesome look.

"Well, anyway, we should probably look for some others to help with. I can see the other Dungeon Master group camps in the distance already packing up and moving into the arena."

"You're right. I should probably go help Tanjy with his tent."

"Tanjy?" I asked, a bit curious as to who that was.

"Sorry, I meant Tanjin." Catalina explained. "A bit of a nickname I use for the giant guy. He's nice."

"Ah, alright." And with that, we both spent our morning working with the others to finish our preparations for the trip inside the arena, with Typhial and Catalina getting into a minor fight, but overall, nothing too serious.

'Well then, I think it's time this Battle Royale ended.'