Plugged In: I got Isekai'd into a Sexbot (Now I Must Save The World)-Chapter 73: Skeletons and Spoils

Vuvi crosses her arms and glares at the others like a fuming mother watching her children beg for dessert before dinner.

"No," she says flatly.

"Aw, come on!" Penelo groans, clinging to Pip’s arm. "He’s super cool! A real-life lich who’s not trying to murder us! That’s, like, once in a lifetime!"

Sera clasps her hands together and bows toward Thalozora with over-the-top knightly reverence. "We could learn so much from him!"

Veena smirks. "And I’d rather have a centuries-old master of dark magic on our side than against us."

Thalozora, the tall skeletal figure still somehow managing to radiate bashful charm, wrings his bony hands together. "I... I promise I’ll behave. No curses, no hauntings. I’ve done my guarding, my brooding. I’d just like to see the world again. Maybe learn to... live a little. And Pip... oh, Pip... what a miracle you are!"

Pip glows faintly, golden eyes shining, and emits a gentle harmonic ping. Vuvi freezes. His thought-wave hits her like a weighted pillow.

Warm, pleading, earnest. He wants Zora to come.

Her scowl cracks.

"Oh no. Not the puppy-eyes. Don’t you dare—" She glares at him, but he beeps again, this one laced with hope. Her arms drop to her sides. "Ugh. Fine."

The team erupts in cheer. Penelo tackles Pip with a squeal. Thalozora claps his skeletal fingers with excitement. "I knew I liked her!"

Veena pats Vuvi on the shoulder, grinning. "You’ll get used to having a big family."

"I was supposed to save the world," Vuvi mutters. "Not lead a traveling circus."

While they’re distracted, Ka’Lula tiptoes away, clutching her little key with both hands. She reaches the back wall of the chamber and finds the door—the one sealed shut for who knows how long. With a trembling breath, she slides the key into the lock.

Click.

The sound echoes through the vast cavern like thunder.

Everyone freezes.

Then Ka’Lula squeals. "It worked!"

"WAIT!" Vuvi yells, already too late as the team rushes forward.

The door creaks open, ancient hinges groaning, and golden light spills into the dark.

They all peer in.

And stand in stunned silence.

Mountains of treasure. Coins, jewels, enchanted trinkets, staves humming with power, velvet-lined chests filled with elixirs. Pillows made of silk, piles of fine clothing, even a throne made of crystal.

Penelo gasps and dives headfirst into a heap of velvet. "We’re RICH!"

Veena squints, her violet eyes flicking between artifacts. "Some of these things are older than most nations."

Sera pulls out a massive enchanted sword with runes that shimmer. "I could slay a dozen dragons with this."

Vuvi walks through the glittering chaos, scowling despite herself. "So many rare crafting runes... magical reagents... this is enough to fund ten lifetimes of research."

Ka’Lula beams. "It’s not just mine. It’s for all of us!"

Thalozora drifts in last, arms folded behind his back like a proud curator. "You’re a delightful little group."

Vuvi turns. "Don’t get comfortable. Just because you’re on the team doesn’t mean you—"

"I can store the treasure," Thalozora says.

She blinks. "What?"

"I’m a master of spatial manipulation. I can tuck all of this into a portable pocket dimension. Neatly organized, easily retrievable. You’ll never need a cart again."

The entire group turns toward Vuvi with shimmering, hopeful eyes.

She groans. "Fine. But label everything."

Thalozora claps. "Of course, of course! I have a filing system you’ll love."

With a few arcane gestures and an incantation, a vortex of swirling red-gold light expands in the middle of the room. One by one, the treasures vanish into it, drawn into a magical ledger that hovers nearby. Vuvi quickly takes over the ledger, muttering to herself as she categorizes and records every item.

Penelo lounges on a floating cushion. "This is the best quest ever."

By the time they leave the vault, everything is packed away. Ka’Lula leads them out of the cave through the now-wilted bramble. The cursed forest, it seems, has grown quiet.

Outside, the morning sun shines down on them.

Thalozora stands at the mouth of the cave and tilts his skull upward, bones steaming slightly in the warmth. "The sun," he breathes... or at least, mimics. "I forgot how good it feels. Even if it is trying to cook me."

He turns to the group. "Thank you, my friends. For freeing me. And for allowing an old corpse to walk in the world again."

Penelo gives him a double thumbs-up. "We’ll get you a new wardrobe. Maybe even some skin."

Vuvi pinches her nose. "I am not walking around with a talking skeleton."

Thalozora chuckles. "Of course not."

With a snap of his fingers, his skeletal form shimmers. Light pulses around him, reshaping him like melting wax until he stands tall, handsome, refined, long golden hair cascading past pointed elven ears, a noble jaw, and piercing silver eyes. His robes reshape into sleek black and crimson finery.

The women gawk.

"Oh wow," Penelo murmurs.

Ka’Lula stares, mouth open. "Is... is he glowing?"

Veena clears her throat. "That’s not fair. You were a skeleton two seconds ago."

Thalozora brushes back his shining hair with one elegant hand. "Just a bit of glamor magic. I do like to make an entrance."

Pip strolls up to him and sticks out his hand. Thalozora clasps it with a grin.

Pip beeps, welcoming him officially to the team.

Thalozora bows. "An honor, your radiant majesty."

Vuvi scowls, face slightly red. "We’re wasting time. Next village is far."

He sweeps ahead, gesturing toward the cursed forest. "Then allow me."

He whispers something in a long-dead tongue. The forest bends, paths opening through the brambles like curtains parting for royalty.

He bows deeply toward Vuvi. "After you, m’lady."

She glares at him, then storms ahead. "Show-off."

Pip whistles a smug little tune and marches in after her. Penelo clings to his arm. "I definitely saw that."

Ka’Lula attaches herself to Pip’s other side. "Saw what?"

Veena and Sera walk at the rear, both laughing quietly.

"Our little family’s growing," Veena says.

"And getting way more dramatic," Sera adds.

---------------------

In a crimson-lit garden of glowing flowers and lava-lined fountains, Maribelle sits on a plush bench, sipping from a steaming cup of crimson tea. Virelle lounges beside her, humming as she paints with her fingers in the air, trails of red and gold light dancing from her wand like ribbons.

Vexena, regal as ever, sits on a hovering chair nearby, papers floating before her, one eye reading, the other keeping watch on her daughter.

A portal rips open in the air with a crackle. Eris steps through.

Vexena doesn’t look up. "News?"

Eris kneels. "Unrest in the eastern territories."

Vexena sighs. "It’s her, isn’t it? Finally awake again..."

Maribelle tilts her head. "Who?"

Vexena lowers her parchment.

"A noble. Very powerful, very influential. You may know her—"

Eris’s jaw tightens. "She’s begun mobilizing her retainers. And her name is spreading again. Too many are listening."

Vexena rolls her eyes. "She’s nothing but a glorified noble with too many titles and a thirst for power."

Maribelle leans forward. "Is she a threat?"

Vexena stares out across her volcanic garden.

"She’s a thorn," she says quietly. "And thorns fester."

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