This Ascent to Divinity is Lewder Than Expected

6.64 – Extraction II

"Definitely the top?" Sabina echoed. "Is the other choice of such little appeal to you?"

Zoey knew Sabina was just teasing, but a part of her wanted to hurry to clarify, to say everything about her was amazing, obviously. Which was probably the source of the teasing in the first place, based on the amused glint in Sabina's eyes.

"No," Zoey said. "Just stating a preference."

"A strong one, it sounds like."

"Not necessarily." She flicked her eyes up and down Sabina. "If you gave me a good look at both, I could reevaluate, though."

The retort amused Sabina more than she'd expected—she almost outright laughed. "Good scientists are thorough and data-driven," she said. "And ambitious in their pursuits. Very well, I will remove both."

Zoey blinked. She hadn't expected to get a freebie, she'd just been bantering. Normally Sabina worked slower into her rewards. But with only ten questions, maybe she was wanting to accelerate the process, to get to more exciting things faster. For all Sabina wore a mask of perfect control, Zoey knew the interest was mutual.

Sabina had been wearing a white labcoat along with black pants and a white button-up blouse—all of which she shed now, slowly, for Zoey's viewing pleasure. Part of the appeal, she mused, was how conservatively dressed the woman was on a typical basis, covering every inch of skin out of practicality for the dangerous substances she worked with. So it was twice the joy to see her curves displayed, to see just how much was hidden underneath those practical alchemy garments.

"Bra and panties too?" Zoey suggested.

"Ambition is a virtue, but similarly a vice, when taken too far," Sabina said, amusement lacing her words.

"Only one of the two, then," Zoey conceded.

Sabina laughed.

"Which?" she asked.

Lucky her; Zoey was surprised that had actually worked. She'd talked her way into Sabina removing not just a blouse, but instead almost everything. She was in a pliable mood today.

"Bra."

"Ah, so the preference continues."

"I'm just moderating myself," Zoey said, her attention lingering on the curves of Sabina's thighs, then pointedly at her panties, and what might have been exposed if she'd chosen differently.

"Is that what you call it?" Sabina asked, eyes also flicking down to her partner's crotch—seeing pants which were, upon the tall and shapely deer-girl's body being exposed, straining in silent approval.

Sabina didn't allow the exchange to go further, though. She was, after all, genuinely interested in testing Zoey's alchemical knowledge, as much as what this quiz was leading to.

"Third question," her now-mostly naked teacher said as she sat back down on the corner of the bed and crossed her legs. Which did nothing to hide her exposed breasts. "Since we're on the topic of the moon, describe how its phases might affect alchemical processes."

Zoey tilted her head. For only a third question, that was more of a niche topic than she'd expected—though maybe the normal difficulty curve had been upset because of the natural segue of the moon. She took a few seconds to mull over the topic, trying to remember what she'd read.

It was especially niche because in the Fractures, the appearance of a moon wasn't even guaranteed, depending on the pocket dimension they'd wandered into. For the most part, a given fracture would follow normal day-night cycles and even moon cycles, but that wasn't guaranteed—fractures could manifest in all sorts of ways, including permanent day or permanent night, or even having multiple or no moons. Among stranger manifestations. Which was all fascinating from a physical and astronomical standpoint, but the Fractures in general were doused in magic and not bounded by physical laws. Safer, more stable, and less variant than shards, sure, but the average citizen wasn't heading down into the Fractures for a reason.

"Doesn't it affect potions in tons of ways?" Zoey asked tentatively. "Like, too many to name?" Sabina inclined her head, obviously prompting for her to give any insight she had. "The effect is stronger when exposed to the moonlight itself—the phases of the moon are almost negligible when brewing inside an enclosed space." And dragging out alchemy equipment into the moonlight was tedious for obvious reasons. "But …" she racked her brain for what she'd read. "Full moon has attenuation for clarity, illumination, healing and regeneration, along with a whole bunch other effects. The new moon helps transformation and concealment potions. And the half-moon, uh, effects based on the concept of balance?" That was a guess on her part, but seeing how most sympathies were common sense, probably a safe one. "And waxing and waning benefits growth and reduction, respectively."

"You have been keeping to your studies," Sabina said, sounding pleased.

"Mostly thanks to my brilliant teacher, and her passionate methods of teaching," Zoey said with a grin, which was only partial flattery—it definitely was a big source of encouragement.

And while Sabina wasn't a woman easily flattered, the words actually brought a smile to her face, which Zoey saw her try to hide.

"Stand up," she ordered.

Zoey did so eagerly. She knew enough from previous quizzes to expect what her next reward would be. First, Sabina had stripped herself. Now, she would strip Zoey.

And that was indeed what happened. With excited, shivering delight—which she tried to keep a clamp on, to play it cool—Sabina pulled off Zoey's shirt, shoes, pants, socks, bra, and boxers, taking her time with each. And never breaking her perfectly aloof demeanor in the process, not even when fourteen inches of throbbing girlcock sprung free to greet her. She barely paid it second notice.

A girl being obviously uninterested in her cock shouldn't turn her on, Zoey mused, but here she was.

Testing her luck, she hooked her thumb into Sabina's panties and tugged down, bringing one side low enough to almost—but not quite—expose her. Sabina raised an eyebrow, though didn't stop her, a silent dare, and Zoey guessed she felt especially adventurous today, because she finished pulling down her teacher's panties, baring her pussy.

Without saying a word about it, Sabina finished pulling her panties off, stepping back and tossing them onto Zoey's face. She sat back down.

Zoey tucked them away into her inventory for later. Finders keepers.

"Fourth question," Sabina said with infuriating calm. "Name the best ingredient for stabilizing volatile mixtures with gemstone reagents."

Ah. So this one was easier, making up for the difficulty of the third. They were, after all, supposed to scale in complexity, to keep to the pattern, and the moon question had been unusually hard.

"Define best."

Sabina seemed pleased by the response. "Most effective for the difficulty of acquiring. Cost is, of course, an ever-looming factor for even the most fortunate alchemists. What would the average working alchemist use?"

"Powdered quartz."

Sabina inclined her head in agreement. "Why?"

"Because quartz is cheap and common while still being a type of gemstone. It's considered 'plain'—hence stable and in turn stabilizing."

Yes, Zoey was definitely winning a few points with her teacher today. The studying had been worth it.

"I was speaking with Delta, earlier," Sabina started.

"Oh, dear," Zoey found herself saying.

"She regaled me with tales of the shard you explored."

"Ah?"

Honestly, Zoey was glad that the two girls had taken to each other during their travel for Mantle, before running off for the next shard. She wouldn't have expected it. Then again, maybe she should have. Delta's mischievous nature had her constantly being scolded by Sabina, which at a certain point, had obviously become intentional, because Delta liked being scolded by the stern alchemist.

"And what caught my attention," Sabina said, "was your reward."

Zoey blinked. Their reward?

There'd been three. The Item Smelter, which turned unused items into stats—something their team had yet to experiment with, though it hadn't been that long since they'd been whisked away by Lucinda in the first place. Secondly, the Shard Stabilizer, which was also a groundbreaking item they needed to study. It 'reduced divine influence' upon a shard's manifestation, which likely meant it could adjust how lewd shards were. Which might be a bad thing, considering the advantages such shards gave.

Lastly, though, were the Zippers they'd gotten, which had allowed those elemental-resistant bodysuits to be turned into actual items they could carry away. Somehow, Zoey intuited, that was what Sabina had taken an interest in.

"The bodysuits?"

"Indeed," Sabina said. "I presume you have yours on hand?"

"You want me to wear it?"

"I am instructing you to wear it," Sabina corrected.

Zoey grinned. She stood from her seat, and while Sabina tried to keep the act up, her eyes couldn't quite help but flick down to the fourteen inches of girlcock that bobbed with the motion.

Calling on the requested item from her inventory, all at once she was donned in skintight latex. Not that it was actual latex. Rather, something even better. Glossy and hugging her curves, the material was magical in origin: it reduced sensations not in the slightest, with any touch made, or given, nearly the same as if she was naked. Not to mention just how tightly it clung. Even having to distend outward to shape Zoey's cock, the material naturally conformed to her without difficulty. It was capable of morphing to whatever shape was needed.

Interestingly, it had reverted to black. Throughout the shard, it had slowly shifted toward white, indicating progress made via monsters killed, granting higher resistances. Leaving the shard had modified it to its original state, though Zoey was fairly certain it was an aesthetic change only.

Sabina's interest was obvious. She drank in the sight. And that made sense, honestly. Most of the time, these quizzes involved Zoey being locked down on a metal chair or table, tied up and firmly restricted. More than anyone on her team, it made sense Sabina would be interested in a latex bodysuit.

Zoey briefly wondered whether she could get Sabina one. Maybe borrow one of her teammate's? She knew Sabina would appreciate that. She would have offered her own up, but she got the sense Sabina wanted her wearing it, right now. The breach in her usual reservations made that clear: the way her eyes were roaming up and down, drinking in the glossy details of her body.

"What an interesting item," Sabina said eventually. "Anyway. Fifth question."