Leveling through Lust

I missed the promised meeting time with Aviada, so she wasn't in her room —once again sneaking in through the convenience of illusion spells. The ease I was having sneaking around was a bit of a bummer, highlighting yet another problem with the security. Normally, I would have been happy with it, but the looming necromancer threat made me change my opinion. After centuries of safety, the school had become arrogant.

I just hoped that wake up call wouldn't be deadly.

While Aviada was not in her room, luckily she left a note about her location, saving me from making the effort to find her. After leaving the room, I dispelled the illusion and walked around as yet another warrior student —highlighting the lack of security and ease of spying even further— toward the small arena the students used to test themselves. As I arrived, the cries and jeers got louder, with no small amount of insults mixed in.

When I arrived, I wasn't too surprised to see Aviada in the middle of the arena, holding a two-handed practice sword, trying to defend herself against three male students at the same time, each equipped with a sword and a shield, trying to flank Aviada, but failing to close in as she danced around while raining merciless attacks on their shields. I didn't even consider stepping in because Aviada had a large smile on her face as she kept three people away, avoiding them with a grace she had lacked when we first met.

The boost she received to her Agility and Speed during the second-stage Companion process was showing its worth.

I watched as Aviada played with them for a bit until one of them made the stupid mistake of calling her a whore. A bad mistake, as not only did Aviada have an explosive temper, but she also wasn't using her Strength stat to the limit intentionally. A war cry escaped her mouth as she lunged forward, swinging her sword with her full might. The first one tried to defend himself with his shield, only to find himself flying back, while his friend suffered the same fate a moment later.

"I didn't mean-" the remaining one —who was also the one stupid enough to call her a whore— stuttered, only to be silenced when Aviada's sword connected with his shin, the distinctive sound of a bone-breaking filling the opening.

"Anyone else want a challenge?" she called out angrily, only for the crowd to fall silent. Aviada threw her sword down and walked out of the arena. Aviada was by no means one of the top warriors in the school without her magical sword —at least not yet— but the stronger ones tended to avoid her challenges, afraid of their reputations even if they managed to beat her. Unlike the magic side, people of martial pursuits were usually sexist, which was part of the reason why Aviada was rather desperate to prove herself. Not to mention she didn't have a lot of friends, hence her midnight hunting trips before we met.

I followed her as she walked towards one of the empty balconies that overlooked the arena, happy to note that it was a bit concealed. I followed her, only to realize I had a follower of my own. A familiar curvy redhead was following her. It was her friend Carla, the one that I had been acquaintanced with rather memorably. She was trying to stay concealed as she watched me, no doubt still feeling rankled after the way I had picked to prove the lack of her observational skills. She was trying to avoid my attention, and her tricks were not half-bad. It was a pity that my perception was off-the-charts.

I acted like I hadn't noticed her, and walked to the balcony Aviada was in. "You're late," Aviada said as I closed in. I would have been impressed by her perception if I hadn't known about her ability to feel the presence of her sword. It was possibly the reason she picked a concealed balcony, allowing us to talk without getting too much attention.

"Sorry about that," I answered. "But I wasn't as lucky as I had hoped."

"No prey?" she asked, surprised. Her surprise was justified considering I had been hunting alone in the night, which was a very active time period for hunting.

"The opposite actually," I answered, which earned a curious glare from her. "Undead again," I whispered, low enough to make sure Carla wouldn't hear it. She opened her mouth, but I was faster. "Later," I said, adding a warning glare to convey my seriousness. I definitely didn't want to discuss such a sensitive topic where everyone could hear us. "Thanks for the sword, it helped immensely," I said even as I passed it back to her. She visibly relaxed when her fingers wrapped around it, though I didn't take it personally. The fact that she trusted me enough to lend her sword when I went for a midnight hunting session, making it very easy to steal it, conveyed her trust completely. Still, the sword was a big part of her fighting prowess, making its absence rather uncomfortable.

"Finally," she murmured, not bothering to hide her relief.

"Do you have some free time?" I asked. "Maybe we could visit the crafter you mentioned before."

"We're a bit early for that," Aviada said with a chuckle.

"Does she have a class in the morning or something?" I asked, only for Aviada to chuckle.

"She doesn't wake up before noon, and she needs at least one hour for her hangover to pass. We should wait at least until dinner."

"Did she have a party last night?" I asked.

Aviada laughed again. "I know that they had their weekly card game last night," she said, laughing.

"And was it a particularly fun one, or was she celebrating," I said.

"Drowning her sorrows for losing, no doubt," Aviada answered. "She's a rather poor gambler. Worse, she's an enthusiastic gambler as well, making it easy for her to lose a lot of money. She usually uses fortified wine to drown her sorrows."

"A gambler and a drunk," I said, unable to hide the quirk of my eyebrow. "She sounds better and better. Are you sure she's the best one?"

"Despite her faults, she's good at her job. And she's always in debt, so she'll be open to your commission without asking too many questions as long as the payment is good enough," she explained, sending me a dissatisfied smile, not enjoying my doubt.

"Okay, okay," I said with a chuckle, raising my hands in mock surrender. "We'll do what you say. But we should go early so I can cure her hangover. No harm starting our partnership on a positive note."

"Smart," she answered, then smirked at me. "We still have an hour. Why don't we go back to my room, and discuss the rent you owe me for borrowing my sword."

"No need, I like it here," I said, and she frowned, reading my response as a rejection, which faded instantly when I stepped behind her, pressing my body against hers. "Don't you think so?" I whispered.

"Do you think you can keep me here," she replied, pushing her hips against my crotch even as she said so. I leaned forward, grabbing her wrists even as I pressed my lips to her neck. She tried to move her hands, using her full strength, only to fail spectacularly. But rather than feeling dejected, her arousal got even stronger, enjoying her own helplessness and my display of power.

I said nothing as she struggled, which included a lot of unnecessary repeats of her hips rubbing against my crotch. I said nothing, enjoying the treatment even as I cast a mirror spell to allow me to discreetly observe my back. Carla was standing in the shadows, her shock obvious despite her stealth, no doubt unable to process our daring. After all, all it would take was a curious glance from the crowd below to create a scandal. Neither her nor Aviada knew that I had already cast an illusion spell on the balcony to hide us from the view of the students below. I wanted Aviada to feel excited, but not at the expense of displaying her delicious body to a bunch of assholes.

It was the best of both worlds.

For a while, I kept Aviada's wrists pinned against the railings while she continued to rub herself against me, waiting for her to get into the mood, which didn't take long thanks to a combination of a rain of kisses to her neck, contrasting greatly with my rough grip around her wrists. "I'll kill you," she murmured when I forced both of her hands behind her back, but there was no hiding the desire in her tone.

"I wonder what I should do to prevent that," I stated amusedly even as I weakened my grip. "Maybe I should let you go." The angry growl she let out in response was simply beautiful. "Or maybe, I should teach you your proper place again," I whispered. "You have a tendency to forget it." She growled once again, this time impatient rather than angry.

I ignored the soft gasp that came from behind, realizing Carla was responsible for it. Her shock was understandable, as I was using my free hand to unbutton Aviada's pants, feeling pity that she wasn't wearing a skirt, which would have given me much more convenient access. Another gasp from Carla reached my ear when Aviada's panties followed the destination of her pants, giving me an excuse to caress her legs. I pulled down my own pants with a simple spell, ignoring the discomfort.

[-1 Mana]

Then, I pushed inside her hard, still keeping her hands behind her back. My shaft slid in easily, my earlier rough treatment working wonders as foreplay, turning her sopping wet. Despite her best efforts, she moaned, struggling to stay on her feet as I ravaged her insides. I could have kissed her, as a method of silencing, but watching her struggle to keep silent would be much more fun. "Try to stay silent if you don't want any observers sweetie," I said as I leaned down to her ear. "Other than Carla, who is already watching us," I added, this time using a spell to make sure Carla wouldn't hear it.

[-2 Mana]

[Companion Acquisition: Progress 73%]

"I'll kill you," Aviada answered, but there was no mistaking the arousal in her tone, not to mention the enthusiastic way she pushed her hips back whenever I slammed in, or the way her legs widened a bit to allow better access. She still struggled to get free, of course, but it only made her wetter.

Despite her best efforts, another moan escaped her mouth when my free hand slipped under her blouse, caressing her stomach slowly to contrast my furious slamming, making her moan repeatedly. "I can use a spell to silence you if you can't handle it," I helpfully offered, not bothering to hide the mocking edge in my tone, only to receive a threatening growl back. She pointedly stayed silent, amusing me with the ease I could tease her. She might have lost some of her prejudice toward magic, but that didn't mean that she wanted to use magic to solve a challenge, however trivial.

I used another mirror spell to take a glance at Carla, curious about what she was doing, only to meet with a pleasant surprise. It wasn't her shock, or the fact that her blush was deep enough to rival her beautiful red hair. However, when I noticed her legs were pressed together tightly, rubbing each other furiously, I smiled. Apparently, the concern Carla was feeling toward her friend's ambiguous relationship didn't prevent her from enjoying the show.

To her defense, it was an impressive show.

But since we once again had our familiar voyeur, there was no harm putting on a bit of a show. I let my hand climb upward under her shirt, revealing more and more of Aviada's beautiful body, enough to reveal the functional bra she had been wearing underneath. I even changed our position slightly so that Carla would be watching us from the side, getting a much better view than what she had been seeing from our back.

Then, I conjured a rope, and tied Aviada's hands behind her back. Thankfully, her dislike of magic didn't extend to indirect effects. Then, I pushed her to her knees, forcing her down, grabbing her hair to keep her from collapsing. A flick freed her beautiful breasts from the oppression of her top. I started pushing inside her long and hard, though unfortunately, not hard enough to make the sound of our flesh hitting together explode. I could have used a sound-dampening ward, but it would have ruined Aviada's challenge.

[Companion Acquisition: Progress 74%]

"You like it, don't you, slut," I whispered into her ear, loud enough for Carla to hear. "You like it when I use you like a toy, putting you in your proper place under me."

"You're courting death," Aviada answered between her squeezed teeth, which would have been scary if it wasn't for the thick arousal coloring her every word. Staying silent was taking her full concentration.

"And what are you going to do about it other than obediently taking what I'm dishing out until you cum like a helpless slut," I asked. "You even have your friend here to watch your humiliation," I reminded her. Meanwhile, the friend I had mentioned was watching us with rapt attention, her fingers caressing her inner thighs over her pants. She clearly wanted to do more, but lacked the courage to do so.

"I'll kill you-" Aviada tried to say, only for her body to betray her, climaxing explosively. Since she was such an obedient little girl, I let her get her reward, filling her up, just as a wall of notifications filled my sight.

[Companion Acquisition: Progress 75% - Third Stage Completed +15000 Exp]

[Mana regeneration perk activated. Count 2. Duration, 8 hours]

[New Perk: Skill Share]

[Skill Share perk activated. Target Skill: Legendary Sword Mastery. Copied: Duration, 24 hours]

[Temporary Skill: Master Swordsman (100/100)]

Level UP!

[Select one of the following skills: Grandmaster Melee (Requires 5 Points), Basic Swordsman, Expert Subterfuge]

I focused on the wall of notifications even as I captured Aviada's lips in an effort to silence her. There had been a lot going on with the notifications I had received. The first thing I focused on was my own progress, of course, as it needed an immediate response. After a brief consideration, I chose Subterfuge, considering the rapid challenges I had been facing, faking a new personality wouldn't exactly be a hindrance. Enhancing my melee abilities was tempting of course, but not at the cost of locking myself for the next five levels. My flexibility was the only reason I was alive, and I had no reason to change that. Specializing further by picking the Swordsman skill was definitely out, especially since I had already received such a welcome workaround.

The skill share perk was not a surprise after already experiencing it with Helga, but its application was still a bit surprising. After all, rather than getting a basic skill, I had received a master skill. I could already feel that skill connecting to my already existing Melee Mastery, suggesting that I could receive specialized skills in this manner.

Very convenient, I thought even as I considered the possibilities it presented with Elemental and Cornelia, as well as Biomancy and Marianne. It was potentially a huge power boost with seemingly no drawback. A bit inflexible as it needed planning, but considering its potential implications, very much worth it. More importantly, it had some very interesting possibilities for training. Even without swinging a sword, I could feel a flood of information filling my mind about how to be a better swordsman, some I was hoping to remember even after I lost the skill, though it needed further practice.

"I got a new-" Aviada started with a fascinated expression on her face, only to receive a warning glare from me. She was justifiably excited as she just received a new achievement. I checked her soul space, only to see it was very similar to what Helga had received during her third-stage completion, a two-point increase across all of her physical stats, to a total of ten points. Considering a lot of people would gleefully sell their mother, sister, and grandmother for ten stat points, I couldn't fault her, but she should know better to discuss that when she was aware of the little voyeur.

There was a reason I was yet to reveal my leveling trick to her.

She visibly wilted under my warning glare despite her euphoria, which showed that despite all of her shows of resistance, she firmly accepted her position under me. I kissed her once more to bring her mood back up. I continued to kiss her, only to receive yet another notification.

[Achievement: Vivacious Voyeur. Intentionally let a little voyeur enjoy the show you're putting on. +2 Perception. +500 Experience]

Amused, I raised my head, only to meet Carla's gaze, whose hand had finally disappeared in her pants, and looking like she had just experienced an orgasm of her own. She froze, realizing she had been caught. "Do you want to join us for the second round, or do you want to keep watching?" I asked amusedly. Carla stood frozen for a moment, then dashed away without saying anything.

"She's a bit shy for a peeper," I said, and Aviada laughed. Then, I leaned in for a kiss even as I started pumping into her once more…

[Level: 24 Experience: 278800 / 300000

Strength: 28 Charisma: 38

Precision: 21 Perception: 27

Agility: 25 Manipulation: 30

Speed: 23 Intelligence: 30

Endurance: 22 Wisdom: 33

HP: 2856 / 2856 Mana: 3792 / 3792 ]

SKILLS

Master Melee [100/100]

Master Tantric [100/100]

Master Biomancy [100/100]

Master Elemental [100/100]

Expert Arcana [75/75]

Expert Subterfuge [50/75]

Basic Speech [25/25]

PERKS

Mana Regeneration

Skill Share