Mature Content Warning: mild cursing. A little graphic violence. Ah, and mention of erotic imagery.

Author's Note: So, here we go. If this scene has a sense of familiarity then good. :)

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Chapter 14: Such a Tasty boy

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Feet danced on stone, blood arced through the air. The sights and sounds of battle filled the room as Crystallim struggled against Crystallim.

Throughout the day, the hunting party had crossed the paths of two to three Crystallim at a time. However, in this room they had found the Kobold nest at last. Over thirty of the Nightmares were resting in the area when the hunting party had noticed them.

Upon arrival, Scott and Alexis pulled back and devised a strategy. Not long after, the hunters had each thrown three sleep grenades into the area. The Nightmares had immediately become alarmed, but many of them fell unconscious before they could do anything.

Once the majority of the Nightmares had been rendered non-combative, girls swept into the area. Pirouette and Ginger entered the area first, followed by Flora and Alexis’ third team member, Arika.

Arika, a Gung-Hopper, was quite excited to face such a battle. She rushed in and immediately began to fight the largest Kobold in the area.

Flora rolled her eyes then moved to join Pirouette and Ginger. She provided entanglement and other helpful means of low-end crowd control.

Ginger tackled a Kobold then leapt back and to the side to avoid the claws of another Nightmare. However, Pirouette easily finished the downed Crystallim with a hard downward strike to the abdomen.

After several of the Nightmares gathered in a mass to fight as a pack, the Dark Elf unleashed one of her most devastating attacks. Dark energy swirled around her for a moment and then she lashed out with her sword. The advanced skill, Dark Wave, was unleashed.

Dark Wave, a combination of Shadow bolt and Shadow Cutter, shot out in a powerful arc. The area attack ability cut deeply into the six Kobolds in front of her. Each of them immediately fell into critical status as the powerful shadow element attack was well beyond their resonance and defense.

Ginger quickly finished off two of the Nightmares facing her by using a series of rapid claw strikes. Flora managed to take down one of them with a vine whip, but three of them remained.

Off to the side, Arika, kept the largest Nightmare busy. The black haired beauty faced off with an evolved Kobold, a Stormvolt. The lightning element Nightmare was faster and more dangerous than her sisters, but her level was not much higher. The Gung-hopper ducked under a powerful clawing strike then leapt upward with a jumping spinning uppercut that sent the dog-headed girl flying back.

Whenever one of the girls became endangered, Scott or Alexis would recall them and then call them back out. After a quick health restoration, the girls would be sent out again. Restoratives worked best if they were applied to the dream form directly. Applying them to the Crystallim core did work, but the restoratives could not be used repeatedly because the absorption rate was slower.

Pirouette shot off three shadow bolts and then returned to her master for treatment. Scott sprayed her chest with the contents of a medical canister. She winked at her master then turned and ran off toward the battle.

By the time the Dark Elf had returned to the battle most of the girls who were conscious had been defeated. They quickly finished off the conscious nightmares and then the next part of the plan began.

Scott and Alexis called out their aquatic Crystallim and had them fire off their weak water attacks at the same target.

There was little moisture in the room and neither of them had strong water attacks when they were not near a source of water.

The mobility challenged girls slowly crushed their opponents with water spears. Several minutes passed, however. A few of the downed Nightmares began to wake up.

At first, the mermaid and the Scylla were directed to fire on the Nightmares who started to stand up, but soon several of them had groggily began to rise to their feet. Circe, the Scylla, and Shaia were instructed to stop their attacks. The rest of the team moved in to finish off the groggy Nightmares.

After the battle ended, the girls brought the Crystallim cores over. Scott and Alexis poured through them, but only Alexis had a spark with any of the gathered girls.

“Lucky! You sparked twice.” said Scott. It was common for a hunter to capture a dozen or more Crystallim but not spark with any of them. However, he began to wonder if Kobold girls just did not like him.

“I know, right!” exclaimed Alexis. She placed the two girls into her Miss. As compensation, she granted Scott the Stormvolt despite the fact that Arika had defeated her. Neither of them could bond with the girl anyway, so it was more of a monetary compensation for claiming two of the girls.

After the choosing, the rest of the Crystallim cores were divided up evenly. At the end of the battle Scott had scored a whopping sixteen Crystallim! If only he could have sparked with even one of the girls that they had captured throughout the day.

“Twenty-four cores acquired today and sparked with none of them.” said Scott with a pout.

Alexis grinned at him. “Aww, poor baby. Do you want big sister to kiss your ouchy.”

“Oh, big sister... It hurts so much.” replied Scott.

She laughed at him then leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the nose. “There, all better, right?”

“Sure, at least these girls will have a chance at a real life instead of living like animals.” said Scott. Kobolds acted a bit like wolves or wild dogs when they were in Nightmare status. They ran in a pack and acted like wild beasts. When they were Lucid they were often employed as security guards or in law enforcement.

“I wonder how many of these girls will end up in a K-9 unit?” asked the man. Kobolds were often grouped into three kobold squads when assigned to a police officer. Those officers usually operated as three officer teams, and as such the typical police patrol unit had nine kobolds. Over time they were known as a K-9 unit.

“Most of them, I’m sure. My mother has direct contact with police commissions all across the continent.” replied Alexis.

Scott nodded to her then turned to his girls. “You girls are doing great! Keep it up.”

Pirouette smiled at him then granted him a soft nod. Shaia giggled cutely then flapped her tail up and down. Flora, however, walked over to him and held out her arms. Scott gave the sweet girl a warm hug.

Alexis waited patiently for the hug to end, but she kept glancing at them like she wanted to say something. However, it was Arika who would speak up. “So, are we going to keep fighting or...?”

The Gung-Hopped glanced over at her master then blushed a little. She had only been a level one Nightmare when her master defeated her in battle. The memory of her powerful thighs wrapped around her body excited her to no end, but it was hard to speak of such things. Of course, she certainly enjoyed doing such things when they happened.

“Yeah, maybe we shou...” began Scott. However, he was cut off by the sudden emergence of a group of Kobolds. The dog-headed Crystallim raced toward them at high speed.

The girls exploded into action. Pirouette fired off a Dark Wave attack. Shaia and Circe unleashed water spears. Arika raised her fists. Ginger and Flora moved to guard their masters.

However, despite the attacks, the Kobolds continued to run forward at high-speed. In fact, they largely ignored the hunting party. Instead they ran for a nearby corridor entrance.

“What in the world is going on?” asked Alexis. Kobolds were normally far more aggressive.

“Yeah, they seemed like they were frightened by something.” said Scott.

“I think so... But what could be more frightening to them than six trained Crystallim and their two masters?” asked Alexis.

It did not take long to find out. Another trio of Kobolds raced out of the tunnel up ahead. However, just after they entered the room a loud screeching sound echoed through the area. A line of sticky material shot out of the entrance that splattered against the terrified Nightmare’s back.

The Kobold cried out in fear when she was snatched back and onto the ground. She reached out for her pack mates, but they did not even spare her a glance. Her plaintive howl of despair echoed through the room even as she was drawn back into the darkness.

It was not long afterward that the true origin of fear walked into the room. Surprisingly, it was a cute and busty girl!

“Hi! How are things?” asked the girl. She flashed a hint of fangs.

“Things are good...” said Scott.

“Oh, my goodness!” She sniffed the air then nodded. “You’re a boy aren’t you?”

Scott immediately opened his inventory screen. It was obvious that she was a Crystallim even before she had started to talk, but her distinctive notice of his masculinity meant that he would probably be a primary target.

She ran her tongue gently along her lips. “You know, I really like boys...”

“Do you?” asked Scott. He pulled out what he was looking while never taking his eyes off of the girl.

She laughed happily then made a loud, sensual, outcry. “Yes! They taste the best of all!”

The Crystallim shifted her appearance quickly. A scene out of a true nightmare arose before the group. The pretty girl’s lower body morphed into the bloated body of a giant arachnid. “Dinner time!” cried the girl, before hurling her body forward on her eight spider-like legs.

“Be careful! She’s a lot stronger than the Kobolds!” cried Pirouette.

It was obvious due to how the Kobolds had reacted, but it was good to be reminded. Arika, brave foolish, Arika raced toward the spider girl head long. Surely, she would be a worthy opponent at last! The Kobolds had been annoying her off with their weakness.

The Gung-Hopper hopped up into the air and lashed out with a powerful flying kick. It was a display of beauty and grace, just before it became a scene of carnage and visceral gore. Her opponent rapidly scythed her forelegs up and down. She speared through the much weaker girl’s body and tore her asunder with little effort.

“Arika!” screamed Alexis. The hunter started to run toward her downed Crystallim, but Scott held her back.

She turned toward him and he shook his head. “We need to get ready to assist. That girl is obviously a Black Widow.”

Alexis’ eyes widened. “Shit, you’re right!”

She looked through her inventory and pulled out a device that would be needed. Unfortunately, it looked like it would be needed soon as well.

Pirouette leapt to the side and began to flash with a dark light. Soon three identical versions of her had appeared. Her foot work was rapid and her mirror images seemed to dance in time with her movements.

The Black Widow glanced at her but shot out a web line toward Ginger, almost casually. The Cat Girl took a load to the face and she fell to the ground gasping for air. Alexis immediately recalled her then called her back out to work on freeing her face from the status effect. Status effects would sometimes disappear when a Crystallim was recalled, but a lot of the time they would linger due to trauma to the psyche. The Crystallim would actually manifest the status herself because she remembered it so keenly.

Flora whipped out her vines in an attempt to entangle the Nightmare’s legs, but the agile monstrosity was too quick on her feet.

Three identical shadow bolts raced toward the spider girl with great speed and perfect timing. However, the damage was largely mitigated by her carapace and agile movements. The fact that she was a Shadow and Vitality type of Crystallim could not be overlooked, either.

Water spears raced toward the spider girl, but she merely laughed and opened her chest up to accept their feeble attacks. A bath sounded just lovely, even if she was not a major fan of water.

“Dammit, at this rate we’re dead.” said Scott. He attached the device in his hand to his wrist and set it for voice activation.

“She must have wondered up from one of the lower levels. I thought Black Widows were rare in this cave.” said Alexis.

Flora tried to capture one of the spider girl’s legs once more, but this time the Nightmare did not bother to move. The vines wrapped around her legs, but before Flora could pull them tight, the spider shot out a line of webbing that suddenly expanded into a net-like structure. The Alraune was completely wrapped up in the much stronger girl’s skill, enweb.

Scott reached down and placed his hand to his firearm. He opened a message screen. “This is hunter Scott Matthews. Acting under duress while facing a strong Crystallim in a non-standard area for her breed, I am acting to safeguard my life and the continued existence of my team.”

The message was sent to the city council, and then he pulled his gun free of its holster. The heads-up he had just sent was no absolutely necessary, but it would show that he had intended to act in an ethical manner.

Alexis chose to do the same, and sent in a message as well. Her firearm was hot pink in color, but just as ready.

Scott ejected his elemental core then installed an anti-bug shot. “Type III Anti-Bug?”

Alexis nodded to him. She had chosen that ammunition as well.

Once they were ready, Scott recalled Flora and Pirouette. The Black widow, pouted then said, “That’s not fair. You invited me to a party then won’t let me have any snacks.”

Scott leveled his firearm at the girl. “Party’s over.”

She flashed a pearlescent fang. “No, baby. I can go all night.”

With a loud *Scree!* she raced forward to get her sweet treat. However, she cried out in surprise and rage when her body was bombarded with a bio-chemical attack. The anti-bug ammunition generated an oily cloud of highly concentrated pepper spray and citronella.

Soon the girl was coated in the infuriatingly disgusting smell of citronella. Her eyes burned and she could do nothing but flail around wildly.

Weakened by the onslaught of the hunters, she proved less overpowering when Pirouette and Ginger ran over to finish her off. They did their best to finish the Nightmare but despite appearances, her humanoid torso was able to withstand a lot of punishment.

The Black Widow cried out suddenly then flared with a dark light. Pirouette and Ginger fell to their knees then started to fade in and out.

Scott fired another citronella round and neatly tagged the Nightmare in the face. The mass drain attack stopped, and the girls started to recover.

A few more powerful strikes allowed them to break through the Black widow’s defenses. The battle ended not long after that. Pirouette snatched up the Black Widow’s core then jogged back over to her master.

Scott smiled at her and then called out Flora. He placed his hand on her struggling body and activated the device on his wrist. A cloud of tiny machines appeared around his wrist. At his command they began to move over the unfortunate plant girl.

The nano-cutter was a swarm of tiny machines designed to remove status effects such as webbing and viscous materials like slime. No hunter would head out without having a few of them on hand. They were designed to protect the one who wore them automatically. If they were webbed or otherwise trapped, the device would fire off. However, as with Flora, they could be used on another person if directed.

Scott had not used his nano-swam before because he had to be sure that he had it available to counter the Black Widow. If one of his girls was beaten, she would suffer a little trauma but be fine. However, his potential death was a bit more permanent in nature.

Scott handed the core over to Alexis. “Arika was taken out. I think you should check first.”

Alexis nodded. “Thank you.”

The Gung-Hopper would be moody for days now that she had been defeated so easily by an opponent. They lived to fight and grow stronger. However, she had been absolutely slaughtered. As happy and carefree as they tended to be, that sort of crushing loss would scar her a little for a time.

She held the core in her hand and concentrated. However, nothing happened. “No spark.”

She handed it back to Scott. He took the core then placed it in his palms. Scott concentrated on the small black sphere then widened his eyes happily. There was a spark! It was small, but it did not matter. His resonance was high-enough that an F-Rank Nightmare would almost always bond with him if there was any spark at all.

A soft whimper echoed within his mind. “So hungry.”

Scott thought about what Black Widows liked. There was only one thing that would get her attention. He strongly envisioned the image of the girl he had seen first. The cute and busty girl with the raven black hair, bit into his shoulder and drank his blood like a vampire.

The core rocked a little in his palm and slowly began to brighten. The Black Widow sent back and image of a different sort of suckling action and Scott could not help but smile.

He countered with an image of her teeth buried in his shoulder, while he hotly slid between her thighs. That image caused a happy feminine giggled to echo through his mind.

She countered his proposal with an image of him webbed up and hung upside down; nothing was free except for his penis. In her battle form, the Black Widow cooed at her prize and stroked it gently.

Scott laughed then envisioned her tied up in her own webs, while he slid his cock between her large and perky breasts.

The giggle returned and warmth began to spread throughout his body. She enjoyed their interaction. That much was obvious.

The potential master decided to seal the deal. He thought about facing down a horde of Nightmares atop his battle spider. She could eat as much as she wanted.

The core nearly hopped out of his hand. She had really liked the image of a blood drenched battle field and anything that involved a boy mounting her sounded quite nice.

>>

Congratulations!

You have formed a bond with a wild Crystallim. Please treat her kindly, and be sure to give her lots of support.

-American City Council

>>

“Ha ha! I got a Black Widow!” exclaimed Scott.

Alexis smiled at him. “Wanna trade for a few Kobolds?”

He looked at her then slowly shook his head. “Sorry, no. I think I’ll keep the powerful shadow and vitality girl I just bonded with instead of trading her for a few Kobold girls who don’t want to give me the time of day.”

Alexis pouted at him then grinned. “Fine, fine...”

Scott leaned over and kissed her on the nose. “Yes, you are.”

Her face became tinged with pink. The female hunter playfully punched his arm. “Don’t tell me something so obvious.”

Scott laughed at her softly then turned back to his girls. They all looked tired, even Shaia. Her constant water attacks were draining even if she had not fought in the battle directly. “You girls did an amazing job today.”

Flora opened her arms cutely and he smiled at her. He opened his arms as well and she moved over to give him another warm hug.

While he hugged the beautiful honey dew of a girl, he reached down to take Shaia’s hand then looked over to Pirouette and shared a tender smile with her. She enjoyed his supportive nature, but she did not need as much of it as his other girls. A simple smile made her happy.

Shaia blushed cutely at the simple touch. He could be such a nice boy...

Alexis pouted at the sweet scene, but then she turned to her girls. Arika would be unconscious for hours, but Ginger and Circe needed her now. She drew them together in an all-girl group hug that might have smothered any man fortunate enough to be involved.

They had not spoken it aloud, but it was understood. The dungeon exploration was done for the day. They had more or less cleared the first floor anyway. The deeper floors would require a full team of six, and everyone higher than level twenty in order to hunt there at length.

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Author's notes and contribution thanks:

First, a special thank you to Falcon 167 for his contribution to this world-setting: The Gung-Hopper You can see the original version of it at the link there. The finalized versionDr Falcon Andreas. :)

Also! Here is a piece of Fanart by Fallian. It is their idea of what a 'pokemonified' version of Scott might look like. I reiterate, Fallian drew this and not me. I am posting it because they could not. :)