It didnot end up taking only a couple of minutes for the enchantments to return to functionality. Hours passed with no changes, forcing me to endure every withering glare Bella sent my way throughout the evening.
In the end, we have a quick dinner, helpfully delivered by the inn staff, before going to bed. At the time, she seemed mildly flustered about sharing a bed, but she eventually mustered her courage enough to fall asleep.
It was her decision to get a single room, after all.
That’s where things seem to have fallen apart.
The first thing that hits my waking mind is the warmth. The second is the smell, faint but sharp enough to stir me awake. Spices, roses, something thats a mix of floral and sweet, and cutting through it all is the scent of arousal.
My sluggish mind scrambles for an explanation, only to realize why my whole body feels pinned.
Bella is pressed against me, every line of her body flush with mine, my arm and tail curled tight around her waist. Our legs are tangled, and bare skin meets bare skin wherever our sleepwear allows.
Last night I changed into a pair of soft shorts and a giant shirt, while she slipped into a silky nightgown that swished and flowed prettily. The downside is only now clearly evident.
My legs and arms were wholly exposed, while her gown seems to have ridden all the way up to her hips, nearly exposing her lower half.
In other words, we were touching in far too many places.
I freeze, taking a shameless moment to enjoy the softness of her hair against my cheek, then my ears and tail jolt at a sudden realization. There is another feeling, a prickling, pulling sensation.
Mana rushes out of me in a torrent, slipping across every shared soft connection.
She’s draining me, somehow.
Wasn’t I feeding her mana through the ring?
I check, only to find it inactive. It must have stopped working when I fell asleep.
Gods, that would have been good to know in advance.
I quickly send mana through the ring to restart the process, and she seems to absorb it just as normal… but she doesn’t stop draining me. I quickly check my mana and find that she’s not keeping up with my mana regen, but it’s a close thing.
My total mana regen is currently being reduced from over four million per minute to just barely over a million. Which… okay, it’s still absurd, but the fact that she’s draining over three times that without even trying?
That’s both impressive and nerve wracking.
I wonder, for a moment, what would have happened if she could drain more than I can regenerate. I let my mind wander down that line of thought for a bit, but I quickly return to what’s important right now.
She isn’t hurting me, and I’m… very, very obviously not hurting her, if the smell is anything to go by.
My mind stutters to a screeching halt as her thighs suddenly twitch against mine, and she lets out a pleased sigh that tickles against my neck.
My face explodes with warmth.
Yeah, nope, doesn’t matter, I gotta move.
As delicately as I can, I extract myself from her embrace. The pulling sensation fades away as if it were never there, and a wave of relief washes over me when she doesn’t wake up at the sudden change.
Part of me wants to linger, to see how red her face would get if she woke like this. But that would be cruel. She doesn’t deserve to be laughed at for something she can’t control.
If anything, I’m to blame. Most beastkin are cuddly just by nature, and despite my past, I’m no exception. I just used Cari as my outlet, usually. If her obvious shyness is anything to go by, she very likely isn’t the one who started the snuggles.
And I was definitely feeling needy for contact yesterday…
Shit, I’m definitely at fault here. Sorry Bella!
I mentally apologize and beg for forgiveness, but never speak a word aloud for fear of waking her.
After ensuring she’s covered by the blankets properly, I scamper off to the bathroom. After closing the door quietly behind me, I realize that the mana in the air has returned to normal, the enchantments once more working as intended.
I quickly get the bath water running and strip down, loosing a pleased sigh as I slowly submerge myself in the warm water. That’s when it hits me.
I haven’t had a goal this entire time, and I’ve even gone so far as to actively avoid thinking about what to do after the System Update. Now, though, it seems so… simple.
First, a bit of revenge against the Empire for what they did. Then as many baths, massages, and friends as I can get. And getting stronger, but that’s a given.
And returning to the forest to do what I should have years ago.
The thought sombers me for a moment, but I quickly shift back to the less weighty benchmarks.
If I can go my whole life being pampered and close to my friends and family, I think I’d be happy. The world might not want to play along, given my Title, but I don’t care what the world wants.
I lean back and sigh again, this time more drawn out, and I let the tension in my neck and shoulders melt away with it.
And maybe I can help people, too. I have the power…
That thought brings to mind the dungeon, Bluebell’s Recompense. I’ve never heard of that type of dungeon. Not in any book or even any rumor. It must have been custom made somehow, though I’m not going to bother trying to figure out the specifics.
The point is, it helped me in a way I could never have helped myself. What if I were to make that possible for others? Other people have their own struggles, their own grievances against the world, so…
Hm… yeah, I like this idea.
System Change Proposal
The System will introduce a new type of dungeon: Mind Trials.
Mind Trial dungeons will allow those that enter to relive their past for an opportunity to overcome it. This will not change the past, but will allow for some measure of healing, should the trial taker succeed.
This type of dungeon will always have an ‘Extreme’ difficulty rating, as the lack of monsters means the punishment for failing must be increased.
Failure to pass a trial will result in death if the trial taker opts to continue beyond a certain point.
Would you like to submit this proposal?
Yes / No
Smiling, I skim through the proposal. Weirdly, the System seems to have pulled the idea right out of my head and added its own aspects—like the difficulty stuff—the moment I mentally pushed for the idea to be brought to a vote.
For that matter, the same thing happened with the bath incident, last time I started a vote. It was weirdly specific then, despite my idea simply being ‘give me a bath’.
Still, despite the risks… this type of dungeon will help a lot of people. It might also kill a lot of people, but that’s the cost of delving.
I select ‘Yes’.
Notice
A vote has been called by:
[REDACTED], the System Waker
Submit your votes for the proposed changes.
Four “Yes” votes received from:
Morena, Goddess of Life and Death
Fylem, God of Time and Eternity
Kiri, the Sixth
Emsala Ken, the Grand Matriarch of the Lost
Two “No” votes received from:
Kophis Vheyra Enkarosi Taska, the Archmage of Wonders
Regulus von Bysm, the Guardian of the Pass
Eight abstain.
Proposal accepted.
WORLD NOTICE
[REDACTED], the System Waker, enacts a change!
A new type of dungeon has been introduced to the world: Mind Trials.
These dungeons confront challengers with trials of their past. Success brings strength and healing; failure brings death.
Note: All such dungeons will be ‘Extreme’ difficulty. Enter with caution.
For a moment I’m confused by the number of voters, until I remember that many of the ones who voted no on the faith-based classes thing likely lost their classes and much of their power and influence at the same time. If they didn’t die outright, like the High Priest of Bephis did.
Thinking back, I remember there being eighteen voters then. Now there are only fourteen.
Then my eyes freeze on one of the names. Emsala Ken, the Grand Matriarch of the Lost. Ken. I think back to the Bluebell’s Recompense dungeon, and the tombstone I etched into my memory at the end of it.
Here Lies
Laralia Ken
Beloved by the spirits.
Mother of the strong.
Mom’s name is Laralia Ken. Just as I settle in to toss it out as a coincidence, a new notice appears in the corner of my vision.
Notice
Would you like to update your name to include your clan?
Yes / No
“W-what?” I mutter, my voice breaking.
A knock at the bathroom door provides exactly the distraction I need from such a sudden revelation. Deep down, I’d figured there were other survivors, but I hadn’t expected such a direct connection to my past.
For now, though, I’ll put it aside. Even if I wanted to, I can’t come up with a decision right now. It feels too heavy. Too sudden.
“Yes?” I shout to the door.
“Are you almost done?”
As expected, it’s Bella. Her voice comes out slightly panicked and rushed, almost desperate. Even though I didn’t want to tease her, I can’t help the smirk that finds its way to my face now.
I quickly wipe it away, reminding myself that it wouldn’t be right to tease her over this.
“Sure, just give me a couple of minutes,” I respond.
Just barely, I hear her sigh of relief before she steps away from the door.
As promised, a couple minutes later, I’m stepping out of the bathroom smelling of flowery oils and a towel around my head. I’m slapped in the face with the overpowering aroma of roses, as if the room was doused in perfume.
She fidgets with the bed across the room, but snaps up to pretend she wasn’t doing anything the moment I reveal myself. Without a word, she slips past me the moment there’s enough room, hiding her face the entire time.
As she passes, my eyes catch on the window across the room, now opened wide to allow fresh air inside. The moment the door closes behind her, a small smile slips onto my face.
Yeah, I’ll just pretend nothing happened. I wonder how much perfume she used…
The scent, while incredibly potent at the moment, is still pleasant. Vaguely, I recall the same smell coming from her hair this morning, though it wasn’t exactly my primary focus at the time.
I resolve myself to ask her where I can get some of that perfume later. I don’t think I’ve ever used perfume except for when the girls at Tails and Temptations pampered me.
While she bathes, I head downstairs to order some breakfast for us. Yesterday I hadn’t taken the time to look around where we were staying, given my sour mood. Now, as I walk through the beautifully decorated hallways and into the even more ostentatious lobby, the only word that matches what I see is ‘opulent’.
For some reason, I’m not surprised. Bella probably stays at places like this all the time, so it isn’t shocking that she’d pick it when put on the spot like she was yesterday. Still, I can’t stop myself from gawking a little bit.
“May I help you, my Lady?” a man dressed in an immaculate black and white butler suit asks, suddenly drawing my eyes away from the gigantic crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Human Attendant
Level 68
“Oh! Uh, yes, please. I’d like to get breakfast for two,” I say quickly, trying—and failing—to seem less like a tourist.
“Certainly. What room would you like it sent to?” His tone is smooth and even, his expression utterly composed, like it was carved into a mask of courtesy itself.
I panic for a moment, only to realize I’d seen the room number before we entered. Thanks to my Intelligence, it’s easy enough to recall it just from that brief memory.
“Room 2B, please. Oh, and thank you!”
“You are very welcome, my Lady. I will ensure your meals are sent up presently,” he says with a bow.
The bow itself is so precise and sharp that it feels as if he rehearsed this exact moment a thousand times, yet there’s not a trace of stiffness in it. When he straightens and turns, his motions are so elegant that I can’t help but feel like I couldn’t replicate it, no matter how high my Dexterity climbs.
Just what kind of Class do you need to move like that?
On my return to the room, I try to emulate the grace he just displayed, but struggle to so much as take a single step in a way that matches him. After climbing the stairs, I find a woman in a maids uniform, all black and white with a extra frilly skirt.
She stops mid step to shift aside, as if to give me the entire hallway, before dipping into a curtsy no less elegant than the butlers bow.
Jealous, I check her tag.
Human Attendant
Level 63
Same level as me? Gods...
Either this establishment has ridiculous standards, or the average level of the city of Theola is just that much higher. Maybe both.
She doesn’t pay me any further attention as I walk past, and only starts moving again once I have.
The moment I step into the room, I find Bella already changed into a cleaner set of her previous traveling clothes, every inch of her skin once more covered. I frown at that, surprised by the feeling of loss that bubbles up within me.
She watches me like a hawk as I enter, and the moment the door closes behind me, she speaks.
“How are you alive?” she asks.
I stop dead at the question, completely thrown. “Huh?”
She frowns. “Last night, you… I…” Her face blooms scarlet as the words die on her tongue.
“Oh, the drain? Wait—that could have killed me? I was wondering about that…”
Her flush deepens with my quiet acknowledgment, creeping down her neck. “Y-yes. In fact, it should have killed you. How did it not?”
I shrug. “Eh, you just don’t drain enough.”
She blinks, momentarily stunned. “I’m sorry, what?”
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