The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!

The addition of raiders and gorks had increased the size of their convoy. They probably didn't look like a good target for other would-be bandits anymore, not that a group of succubi were easy to begin with. Kanae, Claudia, and Alicia had their fill of the bandits all the way to their encampment.

In the distance, a small town was coming into view under the shadow of a large, rocky outcrop. Spiked fortification surrounded the area, guarded by other rough-looking bandits. Other packs of gorks were fenced in and fed cactus or bundled-up desert grass. Many teepees and yurts were arranged around campfires, with people seated beside them roasting game meat. Some of them saw Kanae and her party coming, so they reached for their weapons. There had to be maybe a hundred of them.

"S-Succubi? Hey, hey, hey! What's going on here? Where's Zep?" a beastman jackal shouted, brandishing his spear at the carriage.

Kanae, who was sitting on the back of the foremost gork, shrugged at them. She exchanged glances with Renya on the other gork.

"Is there someone named Zep with you?" Renya rapped her knuckles on the carriage.

They shuffled around inside until the side door swung open. Claudia hopped out of the carriage first. She gave the leash in her hand a good yank, and a naked,  one-eyed dark elven man fell flat on the ground. When he picked himself up, his fellows from the encampment gasped. 

"Mmmh! Nnnghh!" The dark elf named Zep tried to speak helplessly with a ball gag in his mouth.

"We're looking for shelter," Kanae said, not at all fazed by the many weapons pointed at her. "You can either offer us hospitality, or we can charm it out of you."

"Go fuck yourselves! You're just going to drain us to death. That the hospitality you want from us? There's a hundred of us. We'll take our chances against two succubi!" the bandit exclaimed.

Alicia groggily descended from the carriage and stretched both arms above her head.

"A th-third succubus changes nothing!" he added hastily.

Petyr kicked open the door from her own carriage and stepped out. She propped her warhammer against one shoulder and glowered at them.

"What's an… Ortesian doing here?" The beastman gulped.

"We also have a necromancer sleeping in the back. Do you want to risk waking her up with a fight?" Kanae smirked.

"Ah, fuck. This is above our paygrade. Dudula can go fuck herself," he said.

"Wait!" Vizier Duran poked his head out of the window. "What's this about Dudula?"

The tense atmosphere shifted after the vizier had shown himself. Claudia released Zep from Charm and gave him his free will back. The dark elf, although peeved about having been under a succubus' control, had his people stand down.

Kanae and her party found themselves in the hospitality of mercenaries. They sat around a smoldering fire inside a large yurt. To her surprise, they were served coffee to drink.

"I can't believe we were traveling with Sultana Dudula's cousin this entire time… I had my ass reamed by that damn succubus' paddle!" Zep complained.

"Hehe. Sorry~ Your booty just looked like a beautiful canvas that needed a shade of red and purple!" Claudia laughed until Alicia nudged her in the side.

"We're actually on our way to Bravost when you attacked us. Who exactly are you guys and what's your relation to Sultana Dudula?" Kanae asked.

"As you already know, I'm Zep. I run the Sandstriders. We're mercenaries. We also smuggle whatever the highest bidder needs moved between the Three Jewels of Savir. Smuggled. Recently, Sultana Dudula's put us all under her payroll, including that of other mercenary groups, bandits, raiders, and low-lives alike. Heh. Freed a whole lot of us from the dungeons, enough for a small army," he explained.

"My cousin did?" Vizier gasped.

The dark elf Zep was a handsome dark elven man. Of course, not as handsome as Kanae's husband, Noah. Zep wore a loose cowl, and his curly black hair draped down no farther than his chin. His features were sharp, accentuated by high cheekbones and a strong jawline. He wore a silver piercing on his left nostril and another on the corner of his left brow. Although he lived in an extremely dry place, his skin was surprisingly smooth and well-hydrated.

In fact, every one of his bandits looked healthy, fed, and equipped with decent armor and weapons. If what Zep said was true, then Sultana Dudula must be getting desperate to have relied on and paid criminals for help.

"We want to get to Bravost, and to get Vizier Duran there safely. Maybe the Sandstriders can put their smuggling skills to use and ferry us there?" Kanae suggested.

"No can do," Zep answered promptly.

"And, why not?" Her eyes flashed, readying a Charm spell.

"Now, now!" The bandit leader threw his hands out defensively. "It's not that I don't want to, but we can't. There's a sandstorm in the way. Not the normal ones that blow by every once in a while. This is a magical one. A few weeks ago, wind elementals plopped themselves down at the edge of the Arkesian Wastes out of nowhere! No one's been able to pass, and it sure as hells ain't the sultana's doing. Why block the Sandstriders out after paying a fortune for us to work for her?"

A magical sandstorm created by wind elementals, huh? That meant they couldn't fly to Bravost even as a last resort. But they needed to get there one way or another.

First things first. Kanae needed to see the sandstorm for herself. Maybe there was something the Sandstriders missed. Claudia and Alicia accompanied her since they could fly. They also brought Zep along, much to his exasperation.

The vast Arkesian Wastes really were just that. A wasteland. Winding canyons seemed to stretch on forever, and the depths of their valleys had no bottom. Yet despite the barren landscape, there were small pockets of civilization scattered about. Herds of gorks wandered for kilometers in search of desert grass. Tiny critters burrowed out of the ground only to be snatched up by snakes or birds of prey.

"Say… Did I really have to come along?" Zep asked while being carried like a princess by Claudia. "You can literally see the sandstorm from here. It's a giant wall of sand southeast of us!" He pointed into the distance where there was in fact a massive sand wall. "Also, carrying me like this is very demeaning to a man such as myself!"

"You don't like it? Let me put you down then." Claudia let go.

"Wait, what are— AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He plummeted while screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Claudia…" Kanae and Alicia stared at her in disbelief.

"Hold on. These are the most exquisite screams I've heard in a while. Just a little longer…" She leaned her ear into it for a few more seconds, then torpedoed down to catch him.

When they returned, Zep clung to Claudia like a baby to its mother. His hair was all frazzled, and he might or might not have wet his pants a little.

As Kanae and her party neared the sandstorm, the gales grew stronger until it was too difficult to stay in the sky. They descended to the ground, which was just as bad. Sand battered them from all sides. Just trying to speak for a second put more grains of sand in Kanae's mouth than jizz from a blowjob. None of them could hear each other from the screeching gale winds either. 

Eventually, their approach stalled. Every step taken was another step back from being blown the opposite direction.

"This is crazy! We have to turn back!" Zep yelled.

"Kanae, Alicia! I'm going to try to fly as high as I can to get to the other side… Wish me luck!" Claudia bellowed the name of a few skills lost to the wind and blasted off into the sky again.

The two watched as the most resilient succubus they had ever known attempted to crest over the sandstorm. It almost looked like Claudia was going to make it— until her wings folded. A tornado-like arm coalesced from the dark winds and swatted her, sending her hurling away out of sight.

"I love my sister. But all that pain she inflicts on herself must have knocked a few screws loose over the years." Alicia sighed into her hand.

"At least we know for sure flying  over it isn't an option. How are we supposed to cross this?" Kanae asked.

Thunder boomed from within the sandstorm. Flashes of light revealed silhouettes of towering humanoid forms. Their crimson eyes stared down at Kanae, Alicia, and Zep. They backed away out of instinctual fear from the menacing force of nature.

Pale gray elementals emerged from the sand wall, and with them a powerful gale that almost knocked Kanae and her companions off their feet. However, they were nothing that Kanae expected elementals to look like. The lower halves of their bodies were without legs, and instead made of clouds, tornadoes, or a gaseous mist.

One of them, whose bottom half was a whirlwind of lightning and gale, had a female upper half. Her body was a deeper gray than the others. A single thick braid winded down the back of her head. She wore a necklace with large inlaid gemstones. Embedded into her forehead was a single, crystalline jewel, blue in color and exceedingly beautiful. Pupil-less eyes curiously gazed down at them.

"You will go no further. Do so at your own peril," the female elemental bellowed with the strength of a hurricane.

"I-I think we should listen to her!" Zep cried and hid behind Alicia's back.

"We're not leaving!" Kanae exclaimed, then faced the elemental. "We want to pass. Maybe we can come to a deal?"

"No deals." She snapped her fingers, and a powerful wind blew them back several feet.

Alicia went invisible, only to reappear a second later in front of the female elemental with a dagger to its face. However, the blade phased through like it was air she had stabbed into. Realizing that her attack was meaningless, she dashed back to Kanae's side.

"Hmph. You think to hurt us with physical weapons? Foolish!" The elemental erupted into a boisterous laughter, and the others followed suit.

Even the bursts of air from them laughing had force behind it.

So, weapons were useless then. What about spells? At the moment, the elementals didn't think of them as threats. The female one didn't even retaliate against Alicia attacking her.

"Hmm. Turn Horny!" Kanae casted at the elemental.

"Aahhh!" She shuddered, causing the storms that make up her lower body to intensify.

It worked! The other elementals gawked at their affected companion, who was panting heavily and trembling from pleasure. When she realized it, she quickly recomposed herself.

"I-I don't know what you just did to me, but it won't happen—"

"Turn Horny! Turn Horny! Turn Horny!" Kanae, now joined by Alicia, repeatedly fired their signature succubus spell, rendering each and every one of the elementals in a state of shivering ecstasy.

They rallied to make one more push, but Kanae stored another Turn Horny spell into Doom and casted it as an area of effect with Gloom. All of them collapsed to the ground, their pale faces deeply red and bodies twitching uncontrollably.

The female elemental who had been talking shit to them crawled up to and grabbed Kanae's ankle.

"Your magic… cannot defeat… m-mmmh! Ahh… I can't think straight…" she murmured.

"Stop your sandstorm, or there's more where that came from!" Kanae threatened.

Battering winds slowed to a gentle breeze. The sheer amount of sand kicked up from the gale settled and formed dunes. This must be where the Akesian Wastes ended, and where the sandy desert of Savir started. Beyond the pile of trembling elementals was an expansive biome of large, rolling sand dunes and cloudless skies.

An even more intense heat emanated from the desert. Kanae shielded her face. She was beginning to wish the sandstorm hadn't disappeared.

"I'm coming back for round two!" Claudia screamed.

Kanae and Alicia turned around to Claudia, booking it at full sprint. Her limp wings dragged on the ground behind her.

"We already dealt with it. What took you so long coming back?" Alicia folded her arms.

"What do you mean what took me? It slapped me all the way to bum-fuck nowhere, and my wings are broken. I had to run all the way back!" Claudia sulked.

Fortunately, Kanae had a healing potion. She plugged the vial into Claudia's mouth. As soon as the succubus imbibed the entire thing, her wings mended itself and were able to flap again.

Someone was missing though. Kanae, Claudia, and Alicia searched Zep until they found an arm sticking out from under a mound of sand. When they unearthed him, he gasped for fresh air. With the sandstorm gone, they could continue on their way to Bravost.

Kanae and Claudia were about to take flight back to the others when Alicia seemed to have other plans. The succubus kneeled next to the female elemental and caressed her cheek.

"Elementals do not simply take up residence on a strategic road that leads to a large city. Why were you here? Who is your master?" Alicia asked.

"Do you really think they were working for someone?" Kanae, with Claudia in tow, landed back down next to her.

"With 90% certainty. Zep mentioned that the elementals came a few weeks ago. Almost as if… to take precautionary measures against our passing. Now who would want to keep us out of Savir?" she offered, much to their surprise.

Kanae figured the best guess would be Cerberus or the Harpy King. However, the external help coming into Savir would only either benefit Cerberus via Ortesia or Sultana Dudula via Vizier Duran. By process of elimination, the culprit had to be the Harpy King.

While they were thinking, the elemental had slipped away and hightailed it into the sky. They were about to give chase when Alicia grabbed Claudia by the shoulders, then plunged a knife into her back.

A whiplash of pain and pleasure assaulted Kanae. Claudia's Project Agony pulsed far and wide, and the female elemental plummeted back to the earth.

"Ahhh~ Pain! Exquisite pain!" Claudia cried as she climaxed.

"You… could have warned us first…" Kanae rubbed her back where she felt the invisible stab wound.

"I hate… succubi… your kind are… the worst…" Zep croaked.

One among them took it a lot worse than the rest. Zep was lying face down on the ground, squealing in agony.

"Don't even think about running away, you sack of hot air. My sister won't hesitate to stab me again, and Project Agony only hurts worse and worse! Actually… Maybe do try and escape, so she hurts me more!" Claudia panted heavily.

"No, please!" Zep yelled desperately. "Just do as they say! I can't take this anymore!"

"Okay, okay! Yes, the Harpy King sent us. He ripped us from the Primal Planes and binded us to his will. We don't know why, but all he wanted us to do was to seal Savir off. That's it. That's all I know!" the elemental explained.

Alicia noticed Kanae's confusion and said, "The Primal Planes are a series of overlapping realms inhabited by living elementals such as these. This Harpy King must have powerful shamans and mystics if he was able to bind elementals to do his bidding."

First Faerealm, now the Primal Planes. Kanae really hoped this wasn't a flag that she would be heading into another world again…

Having learned all they could from the wind elementals, Kanae permitted them to go free. It wasn't as if they had the means to imprison them, and doing so would present more trouble than not.

Upon returning to the Sandstriders' encampment, the four of them were appalled to find the mercenaries giving Petyr the royal treatment. They fanned her with giant feathers, fed her exotic fruits and wine, and massaged her bare feet. She even had a young, beastman boy in her arms like a toy. Meanwhile, Vizier Duran, Renya, and Edina were playing cards with a couple of mercs.

When Petyr saw them, however…

"Tsk. Back already?" Petyr sighed.

"Yo! How'd it go?" Renya glanced up from her cards to ask.

"We did it." Kanae nodded. "The way into Bravost is clear, but Sultana Dudula might have another problem. The Harpy King's putting elementals from the Primal Planes under his service. He was the one behind the sandstorm."

"That's great news! We should leave immediately!" Vizier Duran got up, only to have a death knight push him back down.

"Trying to dip out of a losing game, pal? I don't think so. You're down ten grand, and I aim to collect on your losses." Edina grinned menacingly.

"On second thought… I really should have asked someone else for help instead…" He groaned.