15:00 AT, Day Thirty Seven | The Mighty Grassland

  I crawl through the snow, very careful to bump into Ray every opportunity. It is nice to feel her warmth amidst the snowy terrain. Almost like she is my own personal heater.

  “Ko, look over there!” Ray says, pointing to a lone Bisoclo that is currently busy digging for food. It looks to be a normal one, but it's important to remember that they are much stronger since we last fought them.

  “Go for it, darling. Show that beast what you are made out of.” I say. Ray turns to me and smiles a very devious smile. Then she firmly places her railgun against her shoulder and takes aim.

  Her railgun charges up and fires with a woosh. The projectile streaks through the air and within a second it burrows deeply into the Biscolo. The force of the impact throws the beast back several meters and it looks up from its hole.

  “MOOO!” it roars at us.

  “Alright darling, you’re up!” Ray says, and then pushes me to my feet. I jump up and ready my spear, burying the haft in the ground and bracing myself.

  The bisoclo charges forth, roaring its challenge. But unfortunately for it, it ends up charging right onto my spear. The tip pierces right through its thick hide and stops it, dead.

  “They have definitely gotten tougher since we first fought these beasts. Can you really believe it was just last month that we first challenged them?” I say, picking up the trophy and heading back to Ray. I smile as I hold out my arms to her. After all, hard work deserves many hugs and headrubs, it's only fair.

  “Oh yeah. Don't forget how we lured that poor beast into the hellfire cannon at Fort Rider." She stands up and throws her railgun over her shoulder, then wraps me up in a tight hug that nearly breaks my ribs. Which is perfect, just as all hugs should be. “Now, where is the next one located?” She asks, slightly decreasing the hug pressure.

  I open up the beast compass v7183 display, and search for the next target. “Seems like there is a small herd about ten klicks west of here.”

  “Sounds delicious, let's go get 'em!”

  We head back to our hoverbike and hop on. I let Ray take the driver's seat so I can wrap my arms tightly around her, reveling in the warmth that escapes her armor. I have no clue why people always want to drive these things, riding passenger has a lot of nice benefits. Especially when the driver is by far the cutest girl in the entire universe.

  We soar across the ocean of snow that the grassland has become. The hover bike barely affects the ground beneath us. It is like we are a gentle wind, gliding over the pristine terrain.

  We arrive and take our places on a small hill above the herd. There appears to be 10 minors, 5 normals and a single major. The major might actually pose some danger to us, so we focus on it first. Luckily for us, we have lots of fancy new skills, which the beasts don’t.

  I sneak away and fly just above the beast and use my inheritance skill to call a {Rock Summon}. The massive boulder forms right in the air and I push it down as hard as I can. With a crash, it lands and crushes the major, just as planned.

  The next instant, the air fills with several cracks as Ray’s railgun fires, each shot hitting their targets with a scary level of precision. The bisoclo all fall to the ground before the others even react.

  Ray leaps in and shouts, “Cowabunga!” and several of the remaining beasts quickly meet their end. Not to be outclassed, I drop down and clean up a few of my own.

  “Cowabunga? Really? Have you been watching some ancient media or something?” I ask, poking Ray in the side. “Dont tell me you are turning old at the prime age of twenty one.”

  “It's called flair.” She says, flicking her hair as if to emphasize the fact. “Also, I will let you know that my prime age hasn't even started yet. I am still growing in several places! Just you wait…” She frowns a little bit, seemingly sad at something,

  I pull her into a tight hug and give her a few headrubs, which brightens her spirits near instantly. “Well, if this is you not at your full power… I might just die of happiness once you get there.”

  She nuzzles her head deeper against my chest, and I can tell she must be blushing. I think I have gotten quite good at this whole thing. Though I wish Ray would let me see when she blushes, it's super duper cute.

  I pat her on the head a few times and we just stand there embracing for a while. The trophies of the biscolo are just lying around us, amidst the vast snowy landscape. In my opinion, it is super romantic. After all, nothing says love like the pristine pureness of snow being marred by blood.

  “Ko, you are a big jerk.” she whispers.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  There may have been a bit of cuddling and headrubs in the snow, later

  Thwack. A railgun projectile smacks into the molan’s skull, breaking through the ridiculously thick armor.

  “Woah, these new insane-level upgrades are fantastic!” Ray shouts. “They are so much better, Luna isn’t gonna stand a chance against us now.”

  She celebrates by giving me a hug and then goes to retrieve the trophy. It was only a minor molan, so it was relatively weak.

  I may have forgotten to mention, but before we headed out on this expedition we cracked open all of the equipment crates from the dragon queen. Suffice to say, they are klacking cool.

  My new armor looks like something right out of some child’s dreams of having awesome armor. It's sleek and strong, yet somehow has a bit of bulk that looks super cool. My spear has also gotten a massive upgrade. Now it has a function where it can get a bit longer, which was used to spear that bisoclo earlier on.

  My pistol remained much the same, just a lot stronger like everything else.

  Ray got a similar set of upgrades, and the new armor really works to accentuate her cuteness. Not that she even needed it, she was already the cutest in the universe after all. I worry that if she gets any cuter she will become a singularity and absorb the hearts of all beings in the universe.

  I wouldn't mind being a part of that singularity. Though I would much rather be the only one. After all, the only one allowed to see the full power of Ray’s cuteness is me. She is simply too cute to let anyone else have.

  As for the rest of the equipment crates, we divided them out. All of the raid participants got a set of armor and a weapon. Then we took all the extras and divided them amongst our other best soldiers.

  Our army has turned from a bunch of random troops into a lean, mean, beast slaying machine. Currently most of our forces are focused on fighting beasts. We really need to rack up a lot of currency so we can get as much manpower as possible. With all the territory we have, labor has become the limiter.

  Our sheer material wealth is vast, but it takes a lot of effort to extract and transport it to the production facilities. A problem that has plagued civilizations for millennia. We don't even have robots to assist us, everything must be moved manually. At least the actual manufacture doesn't require labor. It is mostly a logistics game.

  It is a good thing that Emil and Linda absolutely excel at logistics. The two of them are likely the sole reason this entire operation is functioning. I wouldn't know what we would do without them. Perhaps we can make them some sort of medal once this trial is done.

  Plus we could get them a nice private home back on City Stelarum. I am sure they would enjoy that. But, before I can think about such things, I have another problem to deal with.

  “Darling, why are you thinking instead of paying attention to me on our date?” Says an ominous whisper from behind me. It sounds quite dangerous, and I immediately leap away into the air.

  I make it about three meters before I am yoinked back and crash into the snow. A weight of Ray’s shape and size is pinning me to the ground and I am unable to escape. It is not the most unpleasant experience. In fact, I would probably say I quite enjoy it.

  But that is when the torture starts.

  Ray smiles at me. A very evil smile. Then, she starts to relentlessly tickle me. I struggle to breath, to speak. My brain can think of nothing else but the lovely feeling of her tickle torture. It is all consuming. I feel like I am becoming a completely different person from the trauma.

  I now see why this was classified as a torture technique. It is truly evil, and despicable. But somehow I want more. I want Ray to continue tickling me until the end of time. Trapped in this snowy expanse and wrapped up in her clutches as she peppers me with kisses and tickles.

  Then suddenly, it stops.

  The wonderful torture ends and I open up my eyes. My grey eyes meet Ray’s blue eyes.

  “You were enjoying that punishment.. Weren't you?” She asks, a fire still burning in her eyes.

  My voice is hoarse from laughing, so I just smile. “Your turn now.” Without giving her a chance to resist, I flip her over and start administering a bit of torture of my own. Her laughs are wonderful. Easily the second best sound in the entire universe. I wish I could record it and listen to it on repeat every second for the rest of my life.

  That would definitely be the true meaning of bliss, of completeness. I bet if we tried to sell it, we would become the richest in all realities. Though, that won't happen. After all, her laugh is mine to hear. None shall gain access to it, for it might very well destroy the universe – and my heart.

  Our torture sessisons last for so long that the sun ends up setting. Ray is practically asleep so I gently carry her on my back and onto the bike. I wouldn't dare complain about getting to hold Ray on the way back, it's like some miracle.

  We arrive back at Arce Lunae, and I gently fly us up into our bedroom. Then I get to undergo the most difficult task of getting a sleepy and laughter-drunk Ray to not go to sleep in full armor. Turns out it is really hard to take off this new armor. Which makes sense and is kind of good, it is armor after all. But when you’ve got a Ray to take of on the regular, it can become a real pain.

  It takes me a while, but I finally tuck her into bed and give her a goodnight kiss.

  The moment I climb into the bed as well, she seems to attract me like some sort of magnet – or heat seeking missile. She snuggles up real close, and I comply with her demands for headrubs. After all, what else would a good boyfriend do in such a situation?

  Laying there, Ray wrapped up in my arms, I am certain that we can do anything and go anywhere. No matter what comes our way, Ray and I will overcome it together. Even if that something happens to be an arrogant pink haired sister of mine that has a very nasty dagger.

  So, bring it on.

  End of Chapter 130

  Next: Chapter 131 | Winter Cleanup

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  must go check out this super cozy and funny story by a friend of mine (its really awesome). I am sure even Ko would love it.

  Heron's Hearth In Another World

  TweekZ