Chris gasped, checking his Health as he stabbed the last Soldier in the thorax with its own lance, watching as it melted away.
“Fuck,” he gasped, “I’m down to my last fifty Health.”
Above him, the Queen buzzed angrily, flying back and forth as Chris watched her carefully. He leapt to the side as the Queen suddenly launched herself at him, stabbing her stinger into the ground, noxious fumes rising from the earth as her poison melted the ground around it.
“Okay,” Chris said to himself, watching the Queen fly back into the air, “So it’s basically one hit and I’m as good as dead. Great, just like the Trial. No biggy, I can do this.”
The Queen buzzed angrily again, swooping down at him as she swiped with her front legs, Chris just barely managing to avoid the attacks as the limbs sliced through the thick trees like they were paper, making them collapse around him. Swearing under his breath, Chris scrambled across the floor, managing to get behind the angry Queen as she continued to destroy the forest.
“Okay,” he muttered, checking his Status screen again, “How much Mana have I regenerated?”
He cringed as he saw the surprisingly low number, wondering if he had really beaten the Soldiers faster than he had expected.
“Right, so maybe twenty seconds of my wind enhancement spell, or a decent sized fireball,” he growled as he watched the Queen turn to face him, “I can totally do this.”
------
“What is it like?”
“Huh?” Elizabeth blinked at the strange question, the three teens sitting together as they waited for the others to return. Alan and Ayla had gone off to try and find Chris, but only after the Defender had made sure to hogtie the still unconscious Chu Hwang, leaving him face down in the dirt, “What’s what like?”
“Being…gay,” Xiu Ming continued quietly.
“Pretty much like normal life,” Elizabeth shrugged, “Well, except for the people who hate you for no reason. But other than that, I don’t think there’s all that much difference, why?”
“No reason, I was just curious,” Xiu Ming replied, her voice still quiet as she sat between the two girls.
“Okay?” Jessica said slowly, before brightening up, “Let’s use this time to have some more girl talk, then! Like…what kind of guys do you like? I like mine a little stupid and hunky, we call those himbos in America.”
“Guys?” Xiu Ming blushed as she looked away, “I do suppose I have a taste in men. Well, certain men.”
“Like my brother?” Elizabeth joked, blinking when Xiu Ming shook her head.
“Surprisingly, no,” she replied, looking down in embarrassment as her face turned red, “I prefer…men who like to dress up.”
“What, like suits?” Jessica asked, “I mean, any man can look good in the right suit, so that’s not that weird.”
“No,” Xiu Ming shook her head again as she started to fidget, “I think…I think the English word is…’crossdressing’?”
“Wait…what?” the other two blinked, Elizabeth continuing, “Wait, so you like guys who dress up in girl’s clothes?”
“In a manner of speaking,” the other girl nodded slowly, “Not necessarily dresses and make up, just…effeminate clothing.”
“Oh!” Jessica nodded, “You like femboys! That’s cool, everyone has their own tastes.”
“You…you do not find it strange?” Xiu Ming blinked.
“Xiu, I’m gay, and Jess is a moronsexual,” Elizabeth laughed, “We’re in no position to judge you for liking girly guys.”
“I…I see,” the teen nodded slowly.
“Now, if you liked girls,” Elizabeth laughed, “Then we’d have to talk.”
“What?” Xiu Ming blinked again, “But don’t you also like girls? You said you were gay, correct?”
“Also?” Jessica hummed, “Is there something you aren’t telling us, Xiu?”
“N-no!” the girl gasped, “It was a slip of the tongue. I am perfectly straight! I just have…odd tastes.”
“Are you sure?” Jessica pushed, “We won’t judge you at all. I mean, you can totally like guys and girls at the same time, that’s just being bisexual.”
“Bisexual?” Xiu Ming blushed, looking nervously between the two young women as they smiled encouragingly at her, waiting for her to answer, “Well…I have found some women to be…alluring, before.”
“So, then you’re probably bi!” Jessica laughed, hugging the blushing girl, “Yes! My collection of queer best friends grows!”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“B-best friends?” Xiu Ming gasped, “But after what my brother did and said…you would still consider me a friend at all?”
“Of course,” Elizabeth nodded, “You’re not him, so why would his stupidity change that?”
“It’s just…his actions reflect badly on our family?”
“And?” Elizabeth asked, “It wasn’t you who did it, so it’s fine.”
“I tried to seduce your brother!”
“And?” Elizabeth asked again, “I mean, I’d be pretty pissed if someone tried to force Chris into a relationship against his will, but you backed off after finding out he was dating Ayla, right? So, we’re cool.”
“I mean…” Xiu tried to say, her mind swimming with strange thoughts as she stared at Elizabeth, the other girl just smiling at her, “I don’t know what I mean.”
“That’s fine,” Jessica laughed as she hugged the girl again, “You’re our friend, that’s all that matters!”
“But what will my father say? He is very traditional. I have been taught all my life that it is the duty of a woman to find a good husband and provide him with healthy heirs,” Xiu Ming said, her expression going serious, “You cannot tell anyone of this, understood?”
“Of course,” Elizabeth nodded, “We’re not going to out you just because your brother is an asshole. And anyway, aren’t you like the strongest Diver in all of China?”
“Yes?”
“Then they aren’t going to kick you out just because you like girly guys or women,” Elizabeth shrugged, “I mean, that would be incredibly stupid. You’d just be able to go to a different country and work for their Diver group, anyway.”
“That is…a good point,” Xiu Ming nodded, “Though I am not sure if I am comfortable telling anyone else that I am this…bisexual thing.”
“And you don’t have to,” Jessica said, “I might like gossip, but I know when to keep a secret, I’ve known Beth was gay for like, six years now, and I’ve never told anyone she didn’t want me to.”
“It’s true,” Elizabeth nodded, “Your secret is safe with us. Promise.”
------
Chris shouted as he launched himself into the air, landing on the back of the Queen as she swooped down at him again, grabbing one of her wings at the joint, digging his fingers into the rapidly vibrating flesh. Smoke rose from his hands, the Queen screaming as she flailed in the air, Chris gritting his teeth against the painful shockwaves that were shooting through his body. An explosion knocked him off the Queen’s back, the monster falling out of the sky to crash into the ground as he just barely managed to catch himself with a small air cushion, still hitting the ground hard.
“Finally!” Chris groaned as he staggered to his feet, staring down the Queen as she stood as well, one of her wings now missing, “Get grounded, bitch!”
The Queen screamed again as she charged him, Chris diving to the side to avoid the razor-sharp front legs and snapping mandibles of the insect. He hit the ground rolling, popping back to his feet as the Queen careened past him, charging after her as she started to slow.
“Got you now!” Chris shouted as he grabbed the stinger around the base, just able to get his arms around it as he pulled backwards, the Queen looking over her back at him as she screeched, “Time to die!”
Chris squeezed with all his might, feeling the stinger start to move as he did so. The Queen thrashed around again, slamming him into the ground a few times with her abdomen before she simply lifted it up high, pointing the stinger to the sky. Confused, Chris just continued to squeeze, before he smelt the acrid scent of poison in the air. Looking up, he saw the globs of viscous fluid pumping out of the tip stinger, slowly making its way down towards him. Swearing, he squeezed harder, praying his plan would work before the toxic goo reached him.
Everything then happened all at once.
The stinger popped off, falling to the ground along with Chris, the poison touching his armor as it started to burn away the crimson fabric. The Queen, in turn, screamed again, spinning around madly as her organs started to fall out of the hole in her rear, splattering against the ground as she started to slow. Chris screamed as well, throwing himself back as the acidic poison ate into his skin, making him thrash around in agony, watching his Health plummet from the tiny amount that had apparently gotten into his blood stream.
“Fuck!” He screamed, “FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! What do I do? I need an antidote! Anything! Fuck!”
He barely managed to keep his mind through the pain, touching his Carry-All-Bag and reaching into it, pulling out a glass bottle of purplish liquid, downing it as fast as he could. He coughed and choked on the fluid, forcing more down his throat before he pulled the bottle away from his lips, pouring the rest onto the patch of skin that had been touched by the poison.
Green and purple smoke burst off the growing wound, making Chris scream in pain again, before finally the agony started to lessen, allowing him to stumble to his feet and look around for the Queen. He blinked when all he saw was a massive puddle of honey spread out over the destroyed forest, a familiar silvery-white chest sitting in the middle of all of it.
“Wait…” he muttered, “Did I…Did I actually win?”
------
“Chris!” the group gasped as he stumbled back into the clearing around the door, his expression tired as he slumped to the ground.
“Holy shit,” Alan said as Ayla rushed to his side, immediately casting Healing Magic on him, “What the fuck happened to you?”
“Regicide,” Chris chuckled weakly, “I think I found a secret area or something. S Rank Boss monster was there.”
“Did you win?” Elizabeth asked, a mixture of curiosity and worry on her face.
“Somehow,” he replied, before reaching into his bag, “Oh, and here, for you.”
The girl looked at the strange weapon he handed her, the “blade” simply being a straight piece of material not unlike chitin that tapered to a sharp point, the entire length glistening in the sun.
“Monarch’s Stinger,” he said, pointing at it, “Rank A, does extra poison and acid damage to anything you stab with it.”
“Okay, cool,” the girl nodded as she walked over to him, “But are you okay? Your armor is all messed up!”
“I did say the Boss monster was S Rank, didn’t I?” Chris chuckled as Ayla checked him over again for any wounds she might have missed, “Oh, Ayla, for you.”
“What?” Ayla blinked as Chris handed her a gleaming gold tiara, looking at it in mild shock, “Thanks, but I’m busy making sure you aren’t about to die right now.”
“Queen’s Grace,” Chris just laughed tiredly, “It gives a bonus to Mana Regeneration, so I thought you’d like it. Also, Xiu?”
“Y-yes?!” the girl squeaked as he glared at her, “I would like to apo-.”
“Here,” Chris interrupted her as he held out the two strange rings, each about a foot across and covered in short spikes, his voice falling to a mumble as he slowly passed out, “S Rank Chakram…called Regent’s Dancers…They deal extra poison and acid damage, and come back to you when you throw them…”
“I…I cannot accept!” Xiu gasped as the man shoved them into her hands, “But…why?”
“To say sorry for punching your brother,” Chris suddenly yawned, “Sorry guys, just gonna take a quick nap, ‘kay?”
“Sure thing, Chris,” Elizabeth nodded, looking to her friend as Xiu stared at the weapons in shock, tears dripping down her cheeks, “Keep them. He’s being serious about this, Xiu.”
