It's NOT dark in there! (Patreon)

(This occurs before canon events and Fern joining our autistic elf.)

Frieren walked into the town at her usual pace, suitcase in one hand and staff in the other, using it more to steady her steps than out of any real need for support. The gates of Rickenheim rose ahead of her, plain and unremarkable woodwork, much like every other town she’d passed through in the last few decades.

“I have finally arrived,” she announced to no one in particular, and her tone was as flat as ever.

She looked around, scanning the streets with the same mild curiosity she gave everything these days. A few merchants haggling over prices with customers. Children running past with wooden swords or plain sticks, shouting about who got to be the hero this time. A stray cat sunning itself on a windowsill, entirely unbothered by the world. 

Nothing out of the ordinary.

She sighed and kept walking, already wondering if the town had a bookstore, and if that bookstore happened to have a book she hadn’t read yet. There was always a chance, if one was willing to wait long enough for it.

It wasn’t until she ventured deeper into the town square that something actually caught her interest.

There were a lot of female adventurers. 

Not just a lot, an overwhelming amount, far more than she would expect for a town this size. She counted at least four full parties passing by within a few minutes, every single member of each one a woman. That alone might have been a coincidence.

What made her stop and squint was the armor they were wearing.

One woman walked past in a “chestplate,” though that was an extremely generous term since it covered only the nipples, paired with greaves that seemed to exist purely as a suggestion. Another wore what could charitably be called a bikini with metal studs glued to it. A third had opted for something that technically qualified as full-body armor, if you counted the straps as “full.” And those straps promoted the breasts and rear more.

Frieren had heard of bikini armor before. It was a niche thing, mostly favored by married adventurer couples looking to add some spice to their nightly marital duties, not something anyone with functioning survival instincts wore into an actual dungeon or battlefield. Monsters had claws. Claws did not care about fashion choices.

‘Unless the monsters have started caring.’ She thought and paused at the idea long enough to take it seriously. 

Demons, perhaps? Manipulating people into wearing armor this impractical would be a new long term strategy to get easier prey.

She reached out with a sliver of mana, testing for demonic residue on the nearest adventurer. 

And there was nothing. Not even a speck.

‘Well. That would have been a simpler answer.’

She considered the possibility of enchantment next. A glamour spell could make ordinary armor look strange without changing its actual properties, and if that were the case, she wouldn’t think twice about it, people were strange about appearances even without magic involved. 

So she cast a quick detection spell on the nearest passing adventurer and frowned at the result.

It was normal armor. It simply didn’t offer the protection normal armor should.

She squinted harder, as if that might reveal some hidden logic to the situation. It didn’t. She gave up and decided the only sensible course of action left was to ask someone directly.

“Excuse me…” she said, stopping a woman in what generously resembled greaves. “Why is your armor like that?”

The woman blinked, glanced down at herself, then back at Frieren with an amused expression. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“I’ve been in a lot of places. This is a new one.”

“You’ll want to visit the dungeon then.” The woman smiled in a way that told Frieren absolutely nothing useful and walked off before she could ask a follow-up question.

It took her the better part of an hour and several more dead-end conversations like that one before she finally pieced together the full picture.

A dungeon had appeared on the outskirts of town roughly seven months ago, and unlike every other dungeon in recorded history, this one was completely devoid of monsters.

“No monsters at all?” Frieren asked the innkeeper, who’d finally given her a straight answer, tilting her head. “That doesn’t happen. Dungeons generate monsters the way ponds generate frogs. It’s practically a natural law.”

“Well, this one broke the law, then,” the female innkeeper said, wiping down the bar without quite meeting her eyes. “Nobody’s died in there. Nobody’s even been hurt, as far as I know.”

“Then what’s inside it?”

The innkeeper’s ears went faintly red. “You’ll have to see for yourself. I’m not, ah, the right person to explain it.”

‘Everyone keeps saying that,’ Frieren thought, mildly annoyed now, but her curiosity was still going strong. ‘At this rate I’ll have asked the entire town and learned nothing except that everyone finds this embarrassing.’

The dungeon had, over time, become something of a local attraction, mostly among female adventurers, for reasons nobody seemed willing to explain outright. That explained the numbers, more or less.

But more importantly, in her long experience, an unusual dungeon meant unusual treasure, and unusual treasure meant, more often than not, a decent chance at an unrecorded grimoire. 

A chance at new spells.

She turned on her heel without so much as a thank-you and headed in the direction several helpful, if unhelpfully vague, townsfolk had pointed her, staff tapping against the cobblestones, suitcase swinging gently at her side.

Whatever this dungeon was doing to people, she intended to find out.

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It wasn’t long before she arrived at what could only be the entrance to this mysterious dungeon. A small crowd of female adventurers was seated outside of a cave set into the side of a green hill, and all of them were giggling. But as Frieren drew closer, she felt no familiar oppressive energy that most dungeons radiated, no malevolent force or lurking danger. There was only a strange, almost gentle thrum of ambient mana, warm and oddly inviting.

She passed the group without a second glance and stepped inside.

The air shifted, and the humidity rose, clinging to her skin with a sticky warmth, reminding her of being near the ocean. The light from the entrance faded quickly, but the passage ahead was not dark. Soon she noticed that the walls glowed with a soft, pulsing greenish-blue luminescence moss. And after walking some more, the surface became damp, the texture more organic than geological. 

It was a really strange progression.

But the strangest thing was the utter lack of any other discernible features for a dungeon. No traps, no labyrinth, no scattered bones from monsters, not even so much as a loose stone on the floor. It was a corridor that led deeper into the earth, empty but clean and unnaturally quiet. The only sound was the faint squelching of her boots.

Eventually, she reached a large, circular chamber. The room was bathed in a soft, ethereal glow that seemed to emanate from the very air itself. The walls were lined with pulsating sacs, each about the size of a human head. In the center of the room was a shallow pool of a viscous liquid, its surface shimmering and reflecting the chamber’s strange luminescence.

That’s when the pool stirred.

Frieren’s eyes narrowed slightly, her staff coming up to defend herself. She patiently watched as a black tendril rose from the pool.

“A monster?” She didn’t detect a monster back at the entrance, so maybe this one could perfectly hide its presence? Wouldn’t that mean that it learned how to mask its presence just like she learned to hide her mana?

Something like that was extremely dangerous to be left alive.

The tendril, however, did not attack her.

It rose higher instead and wiggled before another joined it, and another, until a writhing mass of black, glistening tentacles emerged from the pool. She could tell that they were slick with the viscous liquid, their surfaces smooth and yet somehow textured, a contradiction in Frieren’s mind.

They moved rather strangely, yet their motions were fluid and almost hypnotic. They were not aggressive, that was the first thing she noticed otherwise she would have used a spell to pulverize them on the spot. Besides, there was no killing intent from those strange appendages.

However, that made a fair amount of sense otherwise, the adventurers would have destroyed this monster long ago. So all she had to do was wait for the next action.

She didn’t wait long.

One of the tentacles moved toward her. Frieren stood her ground, her expression unchanged, her grip on her staff firm but not tense.

The tentacle paused a few feet away and then went down where it gently nudged her suitcase.

She looked down at it, then back at the mass of tentacles in the pool. “You’re interested in my luggage?”

The tentacle nudged it again, this time more insistently. Another tendril joined it, carefully wrapping around the handle of her suitcase. It tugged lightly, as if asking her to let go.

Frieren considered her options. She could incinerate the thing. She could freeze it or she could turn it into a potted plant, if she felt particularly creative. But she was, above all else, curious. And this was, without a doubt, the most curious thing she had encountered in at least a century.

With a mental sigh that did not reflect on her face, she loosened her grip. The tentacles immediately took it, pulling it away from her and setting it down by the pool’s edge.

Then they moved to her staff. A few of them coiled around it, their grip surprisingly strong despite their gentle demeanor.

“I would prefer to keep that.” She said, her voice as flat as ever.

That made the tentacles pause and turned to ‘look’ at each other until they seemed to confer among themselves. Then, as if reaching a consensus, they released her staff and retreated to the pool, leaving her alone.

But not for long, because they came back.

This time, they came for her.

The first touch was on her ankle and it was surprisingly warm, coiled around it and tried to pull her towards the pool. Frieren looked down, her brow furrowing slightly in thought. ‘Why does it want me to get closer?’

She didn’t resist.

She allowed herself to be led, her boots sinking slightly into the viscous liquid at the pool’s edge. Another tentacle wrapped around her other ankle, and then one around her waist to ease her into the pool itself, which was also warm.

The ancient elf took a deep breath and closed her eyes before she was fully submerged. Again there was no killing intent, so she simply let the creature do its thing.

Although she should have taken her clothes off before entering the pool of sticky fluids, which she knew would be a drag to wash later.

‘Wait...Is it trying to undress me?’ Frieren thought, a flicker of surprise in her otherwise calm demeanor.

And indeed it was, the smaller tendrils were carefully taking off her clothes and boots as she was being moved somewhere.

‘How surprisingly gentlemanly... tentacle-ly?’

Eventually, she saw another light as she was finally taken towards the surface.

As her head emerged, she took another deep breath as her free hand quickly tried to wipe some of the viscous liquid from her face. The tentacles had been surprisingly efficient. She was now completely bare, her clothes floating in a neat pile on a ledge of the cave, tended by a few smaller, seemingly dedicated appendages.

If this was the only way to enter deeper into the strange dungeon, then it made a lot of sense why the female adventurers were dressed with so little clothes and armor. Still, she wasn’t being held back by anything, so she calmly moved to leave the pool so she could explore the smaller room and try to find anything of interest.

And nothing stopped her, now her naked body dripping although it wasn’t unpleasant per se.

“So where are we?” She asked out loud, but there was no response. So she simply used a quick, light spell and stuck it to the ceiling to illuminate the room properly.

It was smaller than initially thought, but this one was rather different. The walls were covered in what looked like cushions, and once she turned around there was a bed... Or well, an organic structure that had resemblance with a bed.

One would expect to have a strong smell but there was none.

“You are a very... strange creature.” She commented aloud. “Are you trying to make me comfortable so I lower my guard?”

Again, the creature did not answer, and it did nothing to alleviate her growing suspicion.

She walked over to the organic bed. The surface was yielding, yet firm, and it pulsed gently beneath her touch. It would be uncomfortable if she was dressed but since she was naked, it felt strangely nice.

“Is this what the townsfolk were embarrassed about?” she wondered. “A creature that offers a comfortable place to rest? That seems hardly the cause for such secrecy.”

She sat down on the edge of the bed, and it seemed to mold itself to her form. It was, she had to admit, quite comfortable.

As she sat there, the creature moved closer. And the smaller tendrils slowly wrapped around her staff.

“Insistent little one, don’t you?” She smiled faintly at it. “But I suppose I could humor your request. For a little while.”

And so the mage finally relinquished control of her staff to the creature who took the staff and carefully put it beside her now folded clothes. Which was a surprising gesture if they weren’t damp.

“So, what now? Are you just going to stare at me all day?” She asked, lying back on the organic bed. 

That seemed to be a signal as more tentacles suddenly appeared from the pool and walls, these were different, though. They were thinner and tipped with what looked like small, flower-like buds.

One of them brushed against her cheek before starting to repeatedly poke her which finally convinced her to turn her head.

That’s when the tendril with the bud opened, revealing a soft, pink interior. It pressed gently against her lips, and a faint, sweet scent filled the air. Frieren’s eyes widened slightly as a single drop of a clear, sweet liquid reaching her tongue.

It was... surprisingly tasty

“Honey?” She couldn’t help but say.

Frieren’s curiosity overrode her caution and parted her lips, allowing it to press deeper until it went fully inside. The sweet taste only intensified as more of the sweet fluid trickled down her throat and warmed her from the inside.

Another pair of tendrils approached her body slowly, before they began to explore her pale skin.

They were surprisingly gentle as they coiled around her stomach, legs and put extra care around her chest as her small breasts were being massaged and touched in many interesting ways. Then two buds opened to reveal soft, suckling mouths that latched onto her nipples.

She suppressed a moan but a faint flush colored her cheeks.

‘So this creature actually was looking to sexually stimulate me.’ The thought finally clicked. ‘How strange.’

Yet a gasp escaped her lips as the tendrils began to suckle gently which caught her off guard. The tentacle in her mouth pulsed, and another sweet drop landed on her tongue which was an explosion of taste.

Her body, unused to such sensations after centuries of solitude, began to respond. A familiar, yet forgotten, heat started to build in her loins as her breath became ragged and uneven.

One of the tendrils, bolder than the others, slid down her stomach, its tip tracing a path to her most sensitive spot. It circled her entrance once, twice, before pressing against her clit and somehow got a grip on her bud.

Frieren arched her back, a soft moan escaping her lips. The creature seemed to learn from her reaction, its movements becoming more confident. The tendril on her clit began to vibrate softly, while the ones on her nipples increased their suction and more joined her body to massage her entire body.

The warmth in her belly intensified with each passing second. She found herself rocking her hips, unconsciously seeking more of that delightful friction.

Another tentacle, thicker than the rest, joined the one at her core and nudged at her vulnerable entrance.

‘Ah, that won’t fit.’ She thought, a flicker of apprehension cutting through the haze of pleasure and tried to close her legs.

The creature, however, was patient. It pressed forward slowly, its girth stretching her inch by inch. A sharp sting of pain made her wince, but it was quickly replaced by hot pleasure. The thick appendage stretching her walls completely, its tip brushing against a spot deep inside that sent a jolt through her.

After a moment it began to move, causing her to moan.

‘So this was your goal.’ She thought. ‘This is a unique creature that uses females from other races for reproductive purposes, although none of the female adventurers looked pregnant.’

As if hearing her thoughts, the tentacle inside her began to throb, and each pulse sent a warm, thick liquid inside her tunnel that was filling her to the brim. It wasn’t painful, just... strange. Another strange thing on the long list of strange things that occurred so far. Nonetheless, it was a fullness that was both alien and strangely good as she could feel her stomach swelling, which mixed really well with having the appendage ravaging her insides.

‘Ah, it does not impregnate but simply uses us to incubate its eggs or something similar.’

She could feel the eggs being deposited one by one. It was a bizarre sensation, being used in such a way, yet the pleasure never ceased to go straight to her brain, causing her eyes to go up.

Her entire body was on fire and was losing consciousness as her vision was turning white around the edges.

Frieren should probably stop this and leave but she was so deep into this that it was better to go through it to the end.

And that thought was shared with the tentacle creature that increased its speed inside her. She could feel it moving, exploring her depths and scraping her fleshy walls and its every movement sending another wave of pleasure crashing over her. 

Her vision finally began to blur, her mind lost in a haze of ecstasy.

Eventually her orgasm hit her like a tidal wave. A strangled cry escaped her lips as her body convulsed, her walls clamping down on the thick appendage inside her. The creature seemed to revel in her release, its movements becoming more frenzied and erratic.

When it was over, she lay panting on the organic bed, her body slick with sweat and the creature’s fluids. Her stomach was now visibly swollen, but not too exaggerated, at least. Although the way it felt she thought that her stomach would look a lot bigger.

The special monster, seemingly satisfied, began its retreat. The one in her mouth pulled out, leaving a trail of sweet honey and saliva on her chin. Those playing with her breasts and on her nipples released her with a soft pop, the little buds closing up. The thick appendage inside her withdrew slowly, its exit as gentle as its entry. And soon enough she was fully released to rest on the bed by herself.

She felt empty for a moment, a sense of loss even.

“That was... new.” Frieren said as she sat up, wincing slightly at the soreness between her legs and the odd weight in her belly.

That’s when she realized that she had lost some of her mana and quickly formed a theory. “So you feed on mana to reproduce.” She looked at the creature, her expression unreadable. “You are a clever one. You give pleasure in exchange for mana so this could be considered a symbiotic relationship, of a sort. Although there is no precedent for a situation like this, so you are a first, possibly even first in the world.”

The tentacle creature seemed to preen under her praise, its tentacles writhing in what she could only describe as a display of pride.

“Are you perhaps waiting for me to recover?”

It nods.

She reached out and patted the nearest one. “I see. Then we have an agreement.”

She lay back down on the organic bed, her body still humming with the aftershocks of the recent climax. Only for her new companion to move back to her and caress her hair, so she closed her eyes, a faint smile on her lips.

‘I could get used to this.’

Sex was a small price to pay for such a unique experience and maybe learn something new.

Maybe use the experience to develop new branches of magic even.

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AN: This was really strange to be honest, I guess I now understand why there isn’t that much tentacle content out there. Tentacles have a lot of things occurring at the same time from different places, and it is difficult to show in writing format compared to the visual format.

But at least, Consentacles are bestacles!