Chapter 13: Keeping Distance

Viktoria wiped a bead of stinging sweat from her forehead and adjusted the thick leather strap of her pack. The morning sun was already beating down with a relentless, dry heat on the dirt road leading out of Stonebrook. She and Lena had taken another simple, unglamorous quest—escorting a farmer’s heavy wagon loaded with seasonal vegetables to a nearby hamlet, roughly a half-day’s walk to the east. It was exactly what Viktoria needed: easy money, low risk, and most importantly, zero chance of running into the "main cast."

“Slow and steady,” Viktoria muttered, shifting her weight as she navigated a particularly muddy rut in the road. Even with her rapid transformation, her body felt like a foreign country she was still trying to map. Every step was a rhythmic reminder of the potion’s lingering magic; her chest and hips moved with a heavy, independent momentum that required constant physical management.

Lena walked beside her, her stride effortless and silent, her bow slung casually over her shoulder. She glanced at Viktoria, noting the way her companion was staring intently at the dust. “You’ve been quiet since we left the gates. Something on your mind?”

“Just thinking,” Viktoria replied, her voice low. She stole a quick look over her shoulder toward the stone walls of Stonebrook. “I’d rather not run into that golden-haired pretty boy and his growing fan club if I can avoid it. The air around them is too thick with... whatever that is.”

Lena smirked, a knowing glint in her eyes. “The Voss sisters haven't left his side for a heartbeat since he registered. Seraphina, especially, seems to have made it her life’s mission to glare at you whenever you're in the same room. What did you actually do to her, Viktoria? You barely spoke.”

“I existed,” Viktoria said flatly, adjusting her reinforced leather corset. The garment was the only thing keeping her "stubborn assets" from hindering her movement entirely. “She took one look at me and decided I was a blemish on her perfect world. Fine by me. I’ve got my own goals, and they don’t involve being a footnote in her high-ranker drama.”

The two women fell into a comfortable, working rhythm. The farmer, an older man named Garrick who possessed a surprisingly kind disposition compared to the men Viktoria had known in her former life, was genuinely grateful for the company. He sat perched on the wagon bench, flicking the reins occasionally while Victoria and Lena flanked the cart.

“You girls are a godsend,” Garrick said, leaning back. “Bandits have been bolder since the last monster surge, and the local guard is too busy licking the boots of those high-rankers to patrol the vegetable routes. Having two capable-looking adventurers makes an old man sleep a lot easier.”

Lena nodded politely, but Viktoria merely grunted. She wasn't here for the gratitude; she was here for the experience points and the anonymity.

Leon’s Perspective

Meanwhile, back in the training fields on the outskirts of Stonebrook, Leon Brightwood wiped a smudge of dirt from his brow and looked around with wide, wonder-filled eyes. Everything still felt like a fever dream.

Just two weeks ago, his biggest concern had been a broken fence on his parents' farm. Now, he was a registered adventurer, surrounded by women of such breathtaking beauty and power that he frequently forgot how to breathe. It felt like the world was unfolding just for him.

Seraphina Voss floated gracefully a few inches off the grass beside him, her silver hair shimmering like spun moonlight. “Your sword form is surprisingly clean for a beginner, Leon. You have a natural instinct for the flow of mana. With the right... guidance... you could become quite formidable.”

Elara, her younger sister, sat on a nearby sun-warmed rock, her expensive mage robes draped elegantly around her. She watched him with an intense, curious gaze. “He has incredible potential. And he’s so refreshingly humble. Most men who receive even a fraction of the attention we’ve given you become insufferable. You’re different, Leon.”

Leon rubbed the back of his neck, his face heating up. “You two are way too kind. I’m just trying to keep up. Everything is so new—the magic, the monsters, the way people talk. I feel like I'm playing catch-up with the rest of the world.”

Seraphina laughed, a sound like silver bells. “That’s why we’re here to mentor you. Most common adventurers are crude, ugly, and lacking in any real refinement. You have a spark that they could never understand.”

Two more women had recently joined their circle—a lithe beastkin archer and a soft-spoken mage from the capital. Leon was flattered, though a small part of him felt a strange flicker of curiosity. He’d noticed a particularly curvy, dark-haired woman around the guild lately. She always seemed to vanish into the shadows or leave the room the moment his group arrived. He shrugged it off as shyness.

“Shall we take a proper subjugation quest tomorrow?” Elara suggested, rising from her rock. “A small dungeon or a goblin nest? It’s time you saw some real action.”

Leon smiled brightly, his blue eyes flashing with determination. “I’d like that. I want to get strong enough to actually protect people.”

Viktoria’s Perspective

Viktoria and Lena returned to Stonebrook just as the horizon began to bleed into deep purples and oranges. As they approached the guild’s main entrance, Viktoria spotted the "Hero Party" immediately. Leon was the center of a laughing, vibrant circle, with the Voss sisters practically draped over his shoulders.

“Shit. Let’s hit the side entrance,” Viktoria muttered, grabbing Lena’s arm and pulling her toward the narrow alleyway that smelled of woodsmoke and wet stone.

Lena raised an eyebrow but followed without protest. “You’re really going to extreme lengths to avoid him. Is he that scary?”

Viktoria hesitated. She couldn't explain that Leon was a walking plot-device whose presence heralded chaos, harem drama, and world-ending threats. “Just a bad feeling,” she lied, her voice tight. “Guys like that are magnets for trouble. And I’ve had enough trouble to last several lifetimes.”

They turned in their quest at the secondary counter, collecting their six silver each. As they were slipping out, Viktoria heard Leon’s earnest voice carry across the hall.

“—think we should clear that goblin nest near the southern pass tomorrow. The villagers need the road open.”

Seraphina’s reply was sickeningly sweet, even from a distance. “Whatever you think is best, Leon. We’re right behind you.”

Viktoria quickened her pace, her heavy chest bouncing with every frantic step. She hated how hyper-aware she was of her own physicality—the way her thighs still rubbed together despite her shrinking waist, and the way men’s eyes followed the sway of her hips like they were under a spell.

Back in the safety of their inn room, the two women shared a quiet meal of bread and stew.

“You’re losing weight at an unnatural speed,” Lena observed, leaning back and looking Viktoria up and down with a critical, hunter’s eye. “It’s been what, twenty days? You look like a completely different person from that girl who stumbled into the village. Except, well... the potion seems to have some very specific priorities.”

Viktoria poked her stomach, which was now noticeably flatter and firmer. “Yeah. I’ve noticed. I think whatever happened in that forest—whatever magic I was exposed to—it’s still running its course.”

She kept the truth of the gender-swap potion buried deep. That was a secret that could get her killed, or worse.

Lena shrugged. “Well, it suits you. You look strong, Viktoria. More importantly, you don't quit when things get ugly. That’s worth more than any S-rank badge in my book.”

Viktoria gave a tired, genuine smile. “Thanks, Lena. I needed to hear that.”

Over the next few days, Viktoria maintained her strict policy of avoidance. She and Lena took the "boring" quests: herb gathering, delivery runs, and clearing minor pests from cellars. Viktoria pushed herself until her muscles burned and her back throbbed from the weight of her own body. She was getting faster. Her movements were losing their clumsy, noble edge and gaining a pragmatic, survivalist grit.

Every time she saw the Voss sisters floating through the streets or Leon laughing in the square, she headed the other way. Once, she even ducked behind a merchant’s cart when she saw Seraphina’s silver hair in the distance.

“You know you can’t hide forever,” Lena remarked one afternoon as they rested in the shade of a willow tree. “Stonebrook is a small town. Eventually, your paths will cross.”

“I can hide long enough,” Viktoria replied, chewing on a piece of tough jerky. “I’m not ready to deal with that circus. I need to be stronger first. I need to be my own person before the 'Hero' starts vacuuming up everyone’s destiny.”

She watched a hawk circling high above and thought about the chapters yet to come. The Hero was still in the "tutorial" phase—naive, pampered by his harem, and blissfully unaware of the darkness brewing in the south.

That night, Viktoria stood before her mirror once more. Her waist had narrowed even further, creating a sharp, dramatic contrast with the heavy curves of her hips and chest. She looked like a weapon disguised as a distraction.

“Whatever you are,” she whispered to the potion’s lingering influence as she traced the new lines of her body, “don't fail me now.”