The Gamers Gambit Pt 05

GAME CONTINUE

Date: March 18th, 21XX

Location: Cammy's Castle

High Score: 81,829

Top High Score: 3,333,360

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A few days have passed since the Great Shellie Escape. Gamer and the group would have left sooner, however, Asterion's schedule did not permit it. His real world workshifts would leave him unavailable for three days straight. Persica and Gamer agreed Asterion's power would benefit them, and thus would wait for his return.

Persica spent this time organizing a small brigade of yosauri to join the journey. With their sailboat gone, it meant they were stuck with land travel.

It was a few days later, while packing up coins, that Persica heard a yelp from the front of the castle. When she checked on the commotion, she found Asterion had blinked into existence again and scared some of the shroomans.

"Good morning, Princess Persica," Asterion greeted with a new look. A thick mane of dark fur surrounded his head, neck, and shoulders. The thickness made his horns look smaller, but its mass gave him a bulkier appearance. His scarf was missing entirely.

"Good morning, gentleman bull. Your apparel is...quite different," Persica examined him. The mane gave Asterion an afro, essentially.

"Alternate skin. A staple in games with large character rosters, like fighting games," Asterion used a comb to fluff up his mane. "This is my buffalo skin."

"You said words, but I fail to understand. I suspect it is important in your land."

"Sure," Asterion didn't see the point in explaining things to an NPC. Thus, he asked, "Where's Gamer?"

"In his room. Minnie will show you there. Once you have retrieved him, meet us outside the castle perimeter in the front," Persica said. The princess used her network of subordinates to track Minnie down. Asterion followed the little guys and found Minnie next to a fountain in the courtyard.

The fountain was being constructed with stone blocks, but Minnie found it a perfect place to sunbathe. When he approached the topless shellie, it reminded him of their first meeting, "Hello, Minnie."

Minnie peeled her eyes open, having been in a comfy nap. She perked up immediately, "Hi, Asterion! Nice haircut!"

"Thanks. You have a nice tan going on," Asterion admired the shellie's body. "Are you an exhibitionist, by any chance?"

"A what?"

"Hah, nevermind."

Minnie patted her skin. The sting was slight, but the results were perfect. She put on her tank top, white side out, and hopped from the fountain, "Is today the day we leave?"

"Yeah, Princess Persica said you could take me to Gamer."

"Sure thing! Follow me!"

Minnie and Asterion scaled the castle to the top floor. It helped the minotaur to familiarize himself with the place. The first time here, the layout was a blur due to the chase. As they approached the closed bedroom door, Asterion asked, "What have you guys been up to since my last visit?"

"We've focused on the important points. Preparations, sex, sleeping, food, and sex," Minnie listed off.

"I guess that's one way of keeping up one's cardio," Asterion couldn't argue the preparations. They arrived at the door and Asterion was the one to grab the doorknob, "Well, I have no worries. Gamer's shown he knows how to be prepared."

Asterion opened the door. Gamer sat on the edge of the bed, nude, hands hooked under his knees, as he wildly gave himself a blowjob. Dude was folded like a lawn chair. The gurgling and slurping were the most violent things Asterion ever heard. The minotaur quickly closed the door. It was a brief glimpse, but so much had been seen.

"Was he..." Asterion looked inquisitively at Minnie.

"I think he..." Minnie returned the bewildered expression.

Asterion opened the door again. Gamer walked towards them, fully dressed, and no sign of sexual activity. He greeted them with his usual cadence, "What's up? You guys ready to kick some Lord Shellie ass?"

Asterion blinked hard, and nodded without question, "Yeah. Ready when you are."

Gamer asked about Asterion's new form, and the minotaur gave the same response as he gave to Persica. Gamer wondered if he could change his outfit, as a t-shirt and jeans were becoming boring. He messaged his sister, "Hey, are you there, Samira?"

|˶˙ᵕ˙ )ﾉﾞHey! I'm busy debating thots on morals and playing Coochie Clicker, but I'm here!" Samira responded.

"Do I -- oh, nice, I like that one -- do I have access to character customization?" Gamer searched his inventory screen. His inventory didn't have any clothing or armor slots.

"Nope, that one's a bit tricky with your situation. But don't crash out, I low key might have a solution. I'll fiddle with the code and see which one of my crackdowns works. I'll slide in your DMs when I lock it down. K?"

"Yeah, sure, sounds good. Character customization sounds fun. It'll help keep monotony away," Gamer gave the thumbs up. Samira returned the same ദ്ദി( °ヮ° )

The group left the castle grounds. They were out in the barren fields that Gamer once traversed in the beginning of his digitized life. They were close to the chasm that Gamer and Minnie fell in, but on the opposite side. The princess, as well as a handful of shroomans, were gathered by a colorful group of yosauri.

Princess Persica had changed outfits since Asterion arrived. She wore a stunning, white dress with thin wraps that covered the most private parts of her body and little else. Gold adorned the trim, made up most of the belt, and squeezed her neck as a high-end choker. Persica's dreads dominated one side of her head, while the rest of her hair was brushed to the other side in a neat braid. Her bare feet touched grass, and each time the wind blew the dress aside and exposed them, Samira sent *sniff* (´⧝｀) *sniff*

Persica slightly bowed, "I was inspired to change up my own attire. I thank you, Asterion."

"You look heavenly. The peploi is a good choice, though your version would make even Aphrodite blush," Asterion admired.

"Peploi?" Gamer didn't recognize the word.

"A type of Greek dress, mostly associated with goddesses. I have Greek in my heritage, so I love this kind of thing."

"Where do you get your clothes from?" Gamer doubted they had their own fantasy Greece.

"A friend of mine from the land of angels," Persica explained. She lamented while starring at the skies, "All of my friends bring me many gifts when they visit. Clothes from their origins are some of my favorites, such as this dress."

"I hope we meet these friends some day. Especially that spacefaring friend of yours. Different places, different challenges," Gamer yearned for more danger.

"On Sam's time, I'm afraid. For now, let us focus on local obstacles," Persica clapped her hands. The lead shrooman and his ilk guided over the yosauri. Minnie received a yellow one, and a red one stepped in front of Gamer. Two pink yosauri drew a gummi carriage over to Persica, who promptly took the driver's seat *sniff* (´⧝｀) *sniff* Asterion didn't have one, but Persica said, "They are bringing you a special yosaurus. Due to your stature, we needed one that wouldn't be crushed by your weight."

"Dude, she called you fat," Gamer loudly whispered. Asterion poked his impressive, thick abdominals, and just shrugged.

After the normal sized people mounted their yosauri, shroomans brought Asterion his. The yosaurus was green and bigger in both height and weight. His overweight frame could be felt with every step. When he reached Asterion, the fat yosaurus needed to sit down, which only made it look thicker.

"OMG!! Chungus! (◕ε◕*) i looooove it!!"

"Quite the portly fellow. Welcome to the team," Asterion approved. He mounted his yosaurus, and the heckin' chonker lifted the minotaur, "Good job, buddy. Wanna take me for a ride?"

"Phrasing ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)" Samira inserted.

With things settled, the group were ready to ride. Persica gave one more instruction to the lead shrooman, "By the time I return, I wish for this castle to be renamed Persica's Castle 2. I'm tired of the shellie mage's name being attached to my property."

"Of course, princess! We'll have it super done!" the lead shrooman, and the rest of the attending shroomans, waved goodbye. The group set out and were finally on their way to Lord Shellie's fortress.

Gamer and Minnie rode in the front, and were fast approaching the chasm. Gamer asked Persica, "How are we getting over?"

"We jump. Yosauri are known for their strong legs," Persica said while favoring a joint.

"I'll go first!" Minnie declared as she heeled the yosaurus. It dashed towards the chasm, and with a great leap, it soared over the gap. She landed, and they both gave a peace sign. Gamer shrugged and his yosaurus did the same. Landing didn't feel great on the groin, but it was better than dying. Next was Persica and her carriage. With the stength of two yosauri, they cleared the gap, and Persica barely felt anything thanks to the gummi. Finally, it was Asterion's turn.

"It was nice knowing you, Asterion," Gamer mocked.

Asterion ignored his words and patted his yosaurus, "Let's show them."

The yosaurus wheezed angrily, unhappy with Gamer's words. It ran the best it could forward and jumped. It cleared a good portion of the gap, but would come up short. The yosaurus whined and fluttered its feet. Doing so let it gain some more height, and float its way to the other side. It landed right on the edge.

"They can do that?" Gamer gawked.

"Strong legs," Persica repeated herself, halfway done with her substance.

"I never doubted you," Asterion congratulated the yosaurus. It heaved its breaths, but gave a cocky smile to Gamer.

"Don't be so egotistical," Gamer waved dismissively.

"Ego isn't always a bad thing. This raptor has lots of guts," Asterion defended his mount. "Actually, why don't we use that as a badge of honor? Your name shall be Ego."

The yosaurus liked the sound of that and clapped its hands together. Gamer added sarcasm, "How about his full name be Ego Testicle?"

Gamer started to laugh, but Ego whipped its tongue out. It grabbed Gamer and yanked him into its mouth. Gamer's panic was muffled on the inside of its cheek, "Not again! Not again!"

The group carried on after Gamer was regurgitated. The ride across the barren fields of Chanterelle was easygoing. Avoiding blushrooms and maneater flytraps coming out of the green pipes was a breeze thanks to the speed of the yosauri. Any enemy who got too close to Asterion and Ego were eaten. Thus, nothing really posed a threat.

"Princess, how long will it take to reach the fortress?" Asterion asked.

"A fortnight if we were on foot," Persica responded. "With the yosauri, we can cut that in half. These plains will be the easiest part. Once we reach the forest, then problems will arise."

The journey yielded as much. They spent a few days and nights travelling the fields. Gamer asked the princess for instruments to play as travel music, such as a banjo or ocarina, but she did not pack such an item. Instead, she brought along coins to entice Lord Shellie, her drug paraphernalia, clothes, and rations of food. Persica also brought a tent for herself, but everybody else had to do with sleeping bags. Asterion would blink out once a day and return the next morning. This would spell trouble if they were busy with anything at night, but Asterion said he had two days off coming up. By all means, he'd be able to stay on and help even during nights.

On the night before Asterion's long break, Minnie and Persica stargazed. They stood on top of the gummi carriage. The skies were too pretty to not appreciate at this time. Minnie asked, eyes sparkling from the vast sea of stars, "How many worlds do you think there are?"

"My friend weaves tales of many. It is wondrous to know there is so much more out there, and yet terrifying that Chanterelle and its large scope is but a speck," Persica spoke as she smoked.

"What do you think, Gamer? Is one of them yours?" Minnie turned and looked down.

Gamer laid sideways on the carriage roof, assgazing. Minnie and Persica's shapely bottoms were too great to not appreciate at this angle. He shrugged, "It's complicated. Maybe I should..."

"Should what?" Persica didn't want him trailing off. Gamer buried his cares and fucks, and told the ladies about reality. He went through everything, including them being essentially a different dimension, Gamer's crimes and sister, and his true goals. They took it in strides, barely shaken by the news.

"Okay!" Minnie accepted without batting an eye.

"I see why you wish to speak to my friend. This is quite the revelation. I need to think more on it," Persica reached down into the carriage and pulled out a bong and some resin. And the thinking commenced!

Samira texted, "Yo, new record! Over three thousand coochies clicked (≧▽≦) so what did I miss?"

"I told Minnie and Persica about our reality," Gamer responded as Minnie gave the bong a go.

"Oh lit okay...YOU FUCKING WHAT???!!!"

"I figured they should know what's really going on. They're always confused when Asterion and I talk about the real world," Gamer explained as Minnie gave Gamer's bong, and its accessories, a go.

"Bro, no cap, you're already changing their behavior states. Pardon my extraness, but if you start telling them they live in a simulation, it could have catastrophic effects! Butterfly and tornado shit!"

"What's so bad about that?" Gamer asked as Persica joined Minnie in the siphoning of Gamer's resin.

"Oh, nothing! I thought it'd be more fun to be overdramatic. Bro, this shit is uber fascinating!! ꉂ (´∀｀)ʱªʱªʱª keep it up!"

And keep it up Gamer did -- all night long. In the morning, as the group wrangled their yosauri to head out, Asterion rejoined. He blinked into existence on Ego. The ladies no longer reacted to the bizarre magic. Gamer filled Asterion in, and he saw no issues.

On this day's stretch of travel, Gamer and Asterion talked about the games they like most. It eventually broadened to their favorite genres. Gamer said, "Puzzle games, dating sims, and roleplaying games."

"Ah, that explains a lot. The way you prefer items and make connections speaks to that. Mine are pretty simple: fighting games, sport games, and anything with card mechanics," Asterion listed.

"Stuff that requires a technical approach, but has a high impact. Or maybe I'm reading you into it too much," Gamer fancied.

Asterion laughed, "I like to take my time and learn strategies. Mino Martial Vow #4: A strong right is only strong when timed right."

"We have arrived," Persica announced. Ahead, sprawled across the horizon, was the canopy of a forest. Giant mushroom trees were interspersed among oaks, and a few of them had stalks so tall that they towered over the rest of the forest. The heads of these mushroom trees were in the sky. The princess claimed, "Once past this forest, we'll find the land bridge that connects Chanterelle to Lord Shellie's land."

Gamer checked the time by looking at the peeved sun; it was late afternoon. He asked, "How long will it take to get through the forest?"

"A few hours, if undisturbed."

"We're definitely going to be disturbed," Minnie said chipperly.

"Don't jinx us!" Gamer barked.

"With our reprieve before the forest, I'd like to ask that you withhold from violence, Gamer," Persica requested. She took a hit from her joint like drinking from a water bottle, "I already know Asterion's stance, but you tend to favor a ruthless approach. If we are to convince Lord Shellie with peace, we need a clear soul and clean hands."

"We've been doing fine as is. You don't have to worry about my highly worrisome ways," Gamer ignored.

Persica's bratty side leered, "I bet your dad could do it..."

"Pacifist run! Let's gooo!" Gamer conceded.

Asterion gave him pity, "You're hopeless."

The group entered the forest. The brightness lessened, but beams of light cascaded through the cracks in the canopy. The wilderness bustled, with constant leaves rustling and insects going bananas. The thick foliage made it difficult to see far ahead.

As for enemies, a few cropped up. Maneater flytraps were present thanks to pipes. It seems wherever Marco went, he created a pathway for them. The yosauri proved vital, as they could simply consume the plants.

A new threat surprised the group in a different way. While navigating around a fallen log, something unseen pulled Persica and Asterion from their mounts. Gamer and Minnie looked above them to see a maze of spider webs. Due to height differences, Persica and Asterion were the only ones caught and pulled up by the arachnid trap.

Upon being caught, a few spider-like creatures scurried from arboreal hiding places. They were red, yellow, and black, and instead of tipped feet, they had hands with four fingers. The fingers wiggled enthusiastically as they descended on their captured prey.

"Ticklebugs!" Minnie identified. "They..."

"Tickle you until you pee yourself," Gamer said at the same time as Minnie.

Minnie gasped, "How did you know?"

"Because whoever designed the enemies of this game needs therapy!" Gamer prepared to use the yosaurus to give him a boost and allow him to dropkick the ticklebug. However, Persica's request haunted him and gave him pause. He then asked the ticklebugs, "Uh...would any of you like...to talk about...late stage capitalism?"

The ticklebugs swarmed Persica and Asterion. The ones on Persica used their grubby hands to trace and wiggle their fingers on her neck, cleavage, armpits, and feet *sniff* (´⧝｀) *sniff* Persica began to laugh and writhe uncontrollably. She begged them to stop, but the ticklers were relentless. They paid devious attention to her sideboob and inner thighs, and her forced hysterics intensified.

The ticklebugs on Asterion were no different, but the minotaur barely reacted to their touch. He smirked, "Sorry, boys, but I'm not ticklish."

One ticklebug's hand fiddled with the base of Asterion's tail. It twitched his glutes and shocked the bull man, 'Oop! I'm wrong.'

Gamer had to think quick. He could use his broom to fly up and swat them away. No; he'd fail the pacifist run if he accidently poked somebody in the eye. He could check Persica's body for a flare flower and set the web ablaze. No, what if he flicked a nipple? Pacifist run, gone! He couldn't risk it. Perhaps he could use the joint between Persica's fingers and blow smoke in the ticklebugs eyes, like what people do to mellow out yellow jackets. No! What if somebody started to have a coughing fit and hacked up a lung? Too much violence!

A lightbulb clicked on; he didn't have to be the one taking violent action. Gamer used his yosaurus's reins to make it jump. It reached a great height, nearly at the same level as his entangled companions. The yosaurus shot its tongue and grabbed a ticklebug. It met its end in the dinosaur's stomach. It fluttered and licked again, disposing of another bug. Minnie followed Gamer's example and joined in the pest control. They bounded about and ate up the ticklebugs around Persica. Soon enough, she was tickle free and could regain her lost breath.

Ego decided to join in and save his rider. The big boi jumped half the height though, before attempting to lick up a ticklebug on Asterion's ass. Due to the height disadvantage, the tongue instead tagged Asterion's groin. Asterion gasped, "Ego, no! Wait..."

Ego joyfully pulled Asterion from the webbing and scared the ticklebugs away. Asterion found out what the inside of a yosaurus's cheek was like as the big lizard landed with a hard thud. Ego released Asterion, and he sprawled onto the forest floor covered in saliva. He gave a disgusted sigh, "Thanks, buddy."

Gamer pulled Persica from the web when they fell back down to the ground after a yosaurus flutter. The rest of the ticklebugs scattered into the canopy.