The Blazewind Expanse stretched before us like a fever dream of scorched earth and jagged cliffs, a furnace of red-black stone veined with Geodrite that shimmered like a Lava Dragon's hoard. Hot winds carried Fire and Wind Qi, stinging my eyes and making my curse's 30 kg weight feel like a damn Void Leviathan sitting on my chest. My Starforged Tunic hummed, easing the strain, but I barely noticed, too busy ogling Bera's corset—those Middle Master Fire curves could ignite a sacred spring. Tira, Beginner Grand Master Fire, rode ahead, her phoenix tattoo glowing under her red tunic, hips swaying on her Zorath like she owned Adena. Lila, Middle Master Earth, wasn't far behind, her earth-rune skirt hugging thighs that could crush Cryonsteel. Varkoth, my Beginner Master Darkness Basilisk Emperor, coiled as an armband, hissed, "Fleshling, your lust burns hotter than this wasteland." I grinned. "Damn right, snake."
The air buzzed with unstable Fire Qi, making high-level techniques a gamble. Bloodthorn shrubs—crimson, spiny, and Wood/Fire—clung to the cliffs, glowing faintly like they'd drunk the land's heat. Somewhere out there, Silver Wolves (Ice, Middle Master) stalked, their frost breath a middle finger to the Expanse's Ember Drakes (Fire/Lava, Beginner Grand Master). I didn't care about beasts, though—my eyes were glued to the Fiery Triangle. Bera's fiery glare met Lila's earthy scowl, both still pissed from Vira's little stunt back in Crestmoore.
Tira, leading with that smug strut, was all business, her focus locked on Forgehold for reasons she hadn't shared. Not her dream, just her goal—some mystery even I couldn't prank out of her.
"Oi, Tira, your ass in that saddle's gonna start a wildfire," I called, voice dripping with Supreme Prankster charm. She spun, eyes blazing. "Keep your eyes on the road, pervert, or I'll torch your braid." Bera smirked, tossing her red hair. "He'd like that too much, Tira." Lila's hand twitched, earth Qi spiking. "Keep talking, Killy, and you'll eat a boulder." Their jealousy was a storm, and I was the lightning rod, loving every spark. "Ladies, plenty of me to go around," I teased, dodging Lila's half-hearted earth spike. "Hell, I could handle all three of you in one night—Bera's fire, Lila's stone, Tira's… everything." Tira's laugh was sharp. "You'd trip over your own ego first, idiot."
Then it hit me—or rather, didn't. My Zorath shifted, and my backside stuck to the saddle like I'd sat in a Gromble's glue spit. I tugged, cursed, and tugged again, the leather refusing to budge. Bera and Lila burst out laughing, but Tira's smirk was pure evil. "Like my new trick, prankster?" she crowed, holding up a vial of Flamebind Resin—Fire Qi-infused sap, sticky as a Crystal Wyrm's grudge. "Payback for your Vira stunt." The girls cackled as I squirmed, the curse's weight making it worse. When I finally ripped free, my trousers tore, exposing my buttocks to the Expanse's hot wind. "Well, damn," I grinned, standing in the stirrups, mooning the cliffs. "Ladies, enjoy the view?" Bera's fireball singed my cloak, Lila's earth spike grazed my boot, but Tira just laughed, her phoenix tattoo flaring. "You're hopeless, Killy."
The cliffs tightened into a ravine, the air thick with Geodrite dust and the scent of charred Bloodthorn. Varkoth hissed, "Danger, fleshling."
Before I could retort, three Ember Drakes—scales glowing like Magmabronze, Fire/Lava Qi rolling off them—lunged from a fissure. Their Beginner Grand Master auras dwarfed our own, and their fiery breath lit the ravine like a forge. "Move!" Tira shouted, her Fire Qi blasting a drake's flank. Bera's fireballs followed, her corset straining as she danced around claws. Lila summoned earth walls, blocking a tail swipe, her skirt riding up—hells, that view was worth the fight.
I drew Ember's Fang and Blaze's Claw, my Pyroclast dual swords humming with Fire Qi. The curse's 30 kg weight turned Heaven Splitter into a wrecking ball, each swing of Ember's Fang smashing a drake's scales, Blaze's Claw slicing through sinew. "Eat this, you overgrown lizards!" I roared, dodging flames that singed my exposed backside. Tira's blasts scattered one drake, Lila's walls crushed another's leg, and Bera's fireballs drove the last back. My final strike with Blaze's Claw took a drake's eye, and it fled, leaving three scales and a Level 4 Spirit Stone. I stored them in my spatial ring, panting, the curse's passive healing soothing burns. "Nice work, ladies," I grinned, eyeing Tira's sweat-soaked tunic. "But your curves stole the show." Bera's fireball missed me by an inch. "Pervert," she muttered, but her smirk said otherwise.
The fight tightened our bond, though the girls' rivalry flared hotter than the drakes' breath. Tira rode closer, her thigh brushing mine, teasing. "Keep up, prankster, or I'll glue you again." Lila's earth spike nudged my Zorath, and Bera's hand grazed my arm, her Fire Qi warm. "Don't get cocky," she warned, but her eyes lingered. I laughed, heart racing. "You three are gonna kill me before Adena does."
Dusk painted the Blazewind Expanse red as we reached Cinderhollow, a mining village tucked in a crater, its stone huts glowing with Teridian lanterns. The sacred spring in the square shimmered with Spirit Energy equal to Level 3 Spirit Stones, attracting Rotting Blind Mice (Darkness, Beginner Novice) that skittered in the shadows. My qi-blindness kept me from sensing it, but the glow was hard to miss.
The Molten Hearth, the village's forge-tavern, buzzed with miners and a few cultivators—two new faces among them: Kren, a Middle Scholar Lightning with a scar across his cheek, and Veyra, a Beginner Expert Water with curves that rivaled Bera's.
Inside, the air smelled of ale and Geodrite dust. I sidled up to Veyra, winking. "Oi, lass, your Water Qi's got nothing on those hips." She laughed, her aura rippling, but Bera's glare could've melted steel. "Eyes off, Killy," she snapped, pressing against me, her corset brushing my arm. Lila leaned in on my other side, earth Qi humming. "He's ours, Veyra." Tira, smirking, negotiated lodging with the tavern keeper, a Peak Scholar Wind named Torv. "Three rooms, one Spirit Stone," she said, tossing a Level 3 Stone from her pouch. Torv nodded, eyeing her phoenix tattoo with respect.
I couldn't resist chaos. Spotting Kren's mug, I slipped a Sparkfizz Pellet—Wind Qi-infused, no Glowvine—under his table. It popped, spraying his beard with fizzy foam that smelled like a Zenoite Krovar's breath. The tavern roared with laughter, Kren cursing as Veyra giggled. Bera groaned, "You're impossible," but her hand lingered on my back. Lila's earth spike pinned my cloak to the floor, and Tira's laugh cut through the noise. "Nice one, prankster, but I'm still the queen." I grinned, pulling free, my torn trousers flashing the room. "Challenge accepted, firebird."
Over ale, I overheard miners whispering about a "blue-glowing relic" in the cliffs. Probably some Geodrite scam, I thought, too busy watching Lila's skirt ride up as she leaned over the bar.
Tira caught my stare, her Fire Qi flaring. "Focus, Killy. Forgehold's no game." Her voice was sharp, no hint of why she needed to return—just a goal, cold and certain. I shrugged, but her intensity stirred something, even in me. Bera and Lila pressed closer, their rivalry a heat I could feel, and I knew this journey was gonna be a wild ride.
We crashed in our rooms, the curse's healing soothing my aches. Varkoth hissed, "Fleshling, your mates' fire will consume you before Forgehold." I smirked, drifting off. "Good way to go, snake." The Blazewind Expanse stretched ahead, and with Tira's mystery, Bera's fire, and Lila's stone, I was ready for whatever Adena threw at us.