Leveling through Lust

After leaving Oeyne, I swung by the library to check for Titania, but her absence continued. Helga was still busy with the documents I had pilfered from the necromancer base, and the rest of the girls were supposed to be in classes. And while it was tempting to pull them from their classes, I could visit them later on. I had a bigger issue. After the payment for my dagger, I was poor once again.

I needed to gather enough materials before Oeyne finished the dagger, which might even be tomorrow. Luckily, I already had two instances of mana regeneration active with still a decent duration left. After sneaking out of the school, I once again used the faux-elemental trick, and five minutes later, I was three hundred miles away from Silver Spires, facing the outskirts of a misty mountain.

I was at Mount Dread.

I had picked my destination carefully, because this place was famous for the constant mist that caused many travelers to get lost until their death. Therefore, not a lot of people chose to hunt here despite the potential richness both in terms of valuable monsters to hunt and the variety of magically-rich herbs and minerals. Like I had done before, I picked a cave and spend half an hour covering the place with a thick layer of wards, both with passive and active defenses, making sure I had a place to hide if things had gone too badly. Only then I started my hunt.

At first, I relied on my melee skill, curious just how much it would improve thanks to my new specialized skill. The answer turned out to be a lot. I was a good swordsman before, but the difference between the two states was incredible. The difference was more than the one between Expert and Master Melee, though it wasn't as much as the difference between Advanced and Master Melee. Apparently, I had been underestimating the impact of the specialized skills, as well as just how much my stats helped to overcome the others.

Still, I was glad for my more generalized approach, as it fit my strategy perfectly.

After making sure my sword skills were up to par, I started using spells to quicken my work, which worked wonders. Creatures below Class fifteen didn't even take a second to take down, while the ones reaching Class twenty took at most thirty seconds, and only because I wasn't willing to reveal my trump cards against them. After three hours of intense hunting, I had managed to collect enough to craft my sword and pay Oeyne for her efforts, which was above my expectations.

Mount Dread was a good hunting destination, it seemed, unable to keep a proud smile from forming. It felt good, being strong enough to treat a place the others were afraid to step in as a personal hunting ground.

However, as I was returning to my cave, that smile suddenly turned into a frown. My sixth sense started tingling, suggesting that I was being watched. It wasn't an intense feeling, and I wasn't able to see anyone around, but that didn't mean that I was going to neglect the sensation. However, I changed my mind about going back to my safe house for a rest and continued hunting while underplaying my abilities, acting unaware of the foreign presence, hoping to bait them into an attack.

[+1 Subterfuge]

I barely kept back my flinch at the notification, which effectively confirmed that I had been being watched. However, as time passed, I started to discern more about my observer, including the fact that their gaze lacked the hostile intent. While that deduction was by no means foolproof, it was enough to make me relax a bit. I stayed in the mountain for another hour, relying mostly on my sword skills to hunt, supported by simpler spells with limited mana consumption. I didn't want to alert my observer about my insane mana regeneration, which was still my most important trump card.

[+7 Subterfuge]

Seeing my subterfuge skill slowly increasing was convenient, both for the sake of progress, and informing me that I was still being watched. Still, I have left Mount Dread after the mana regeneration from Helga expired. I still had around half an hour for Aviada's, which was enough insurance, but I wanted to be halfway back when that expired. Even with a full mana pool, I didn't want to stick around against my mystery observer.

The sensation of being watched had disappeared when I left the outskirts of the mountain, but I maintained a slower pace for another fifteen minutes before I finally summoned the fake air elemental and returned to the school.

"Finally," I said, feeling happy. Not just because I was carrying enough valuables to make a minor noble house jealous, but also I somehow managed to get away without finding myself embroidered in a fresh mess.

I stopped in my room to drop the loot, only to see Helga sleeping, exhausted. Pity, I thought as I checked the library, only to see that Titania is yet to be back. "Where did she disappear?" I murmured, unable to help but worry. She was strong, yes, but that hardly meant that she was invincible. She should be alert enough to avoid another ambush, but it wasn't impossible. Regardless, if her absence continued, I would be forced to talk to the headmistress directly, which was something I wanted to avoid.

However, if avoiding that wasn't an option, I wanted my subterfuge skill to be progressed to its new limit before doing so, just as an added precaution. Luckily, I had a good target for that.

I once again dressed as a servant and went to the Hall of Crafting, doing my best to penetrate the private locations of the various Guilds. I spent four hours in the attempts, and surprisingly, made very little progress. Apparently, the Guilds defended themselves much more meticulously than the school itself. I failed to penetrate their inner sanctums, but I managed to slip into servant areas for the Blacksmiths, Alchemists, and Enchanters, enough to swipe several apprentice-level books, while maximizing my Subterfuge in the process.

[+13 Subterfuge]

However, as I did so, I was able to listen to the gossip, even managing to convince some apprentices to have some idle chat. As a result, I learned quite a bit about Oeyne's situation.

It turned out that she was originally from a famous Blacksmith family which held an important role in Blacksmiths Guild, but she belonged to one of the less important branches, so the family didn't allow her to access their unique techniques, making her leave the family and join an adventurer group, which turned out to be highly successful, which wasn't surprising as she had managed to reach level twenty-four.

The problem came when she rejected her family's request to join back and take a role. Angry, the family had used the Guild to pressure her, only for her to resign from the Guild, which happened five years ago. Normally, it would have ruined her career, but she apparently managed to get herself a spot in Silver Spires, bypassing the school completely.

That was supposed to be the end of it, but for some reason, about a year ago, Enchanters Guild decided to join Blacksmiths Guild to suppress her, which was shocking enough considering the cold relationship between them. Even more surprisingly, about six months ago, the Alchemists Guild and Herbalists Guild joined them to exert pressure, which was something even her mysterious backers were unable to handle, which resulted in her losing her workshop. She apparently bypassed that by moving to the storage unit, but it was clearly a temporary measure.

Interesting, I murmured, curious why the hell four Guilds suddenly decided to suppress one independent Blacksmith, especially when they should be more than happy about the struggle of Blacksmiths Guild. In the end, I shrugged and left the Hall of Crafting, happy with my findings. Not only I had learned quite a bit about my latest target, but also I managed to maximize my Subterfuge.

I wanted to go hunting once more, but not before I activated my mana regeneration perk. I could have made a quick stop at Aviada, but after a brief consideration, I decided to drop by Marianne, curious about her progress. Then, I could swing by Cornelia, and pick her for the hunting trip, impressing her while helping her to level up again. Showing some of my capabilities in a nighttime hunt would impress her further about my capabilities, removing the last probability of a dissent.

After all the times I had been there, sneaking into Marianne's room was not even a challenge. I found her sitting on her desk, several books open in front of her, a concentrated expression on her face. However, my attention was grabbed by the flickering dot of energy hovering above her hand. It was the anti-undead pure life energy. Impressive, I thought. The spell might be still far away from the combat applications, but she had succeeded in using it, and she did so in less than a day. No wonder she was a renowned healer despite her age.

That achievement deserved a celebration, I decided even as sneaked to her, and without a warning, pushed her on her desk. Conveniently, she was wearing a nightie, so I easily pushed it up as she cried in shock. Only then she realized the identity of her assailant. "Caesar," she gasped in shock while I was busy pulling her panties down. "You scared me!"

"Sorry sweetie," I answered even as I cast a spell to clean and lubricate her back door, pressing my shaft against her puckered hole.

"Caesar! What are you doing!" she exclaimed again when she felt my shaft, unable to process the sudden change of the situation. Not surprising, since she was really bad at processing change.

"Rewarding you for your progress," I answered even as I pushed deeper, parting her puckered hole parting to accommodate the crown of my shaft. She gasped in pain as her body tried to adapt, but she made no move to avoid the pressure, obediently laying on her desk. It had been a while since our fateful encounter in the storage room, where she had surrendered her anal virginity while suffering from delirious arousal after my massage. And she had come a long way.

That time, she had accepted my presence resentfully —not only toward me, but also toward the betrayal of her own body. This time, after the initial shock wore off, she responded to my presence with an explosive moan of acceptance, even lifting her bountiful ass to give me a better angle. Her previous shyness didn't seem to be preventing her from moaning.

"So, you managed to make great progress with the spell," I commented absentmindedly even as I pushed my presence deeper bit by bit, using the assistance of my magic to loosen her, but not to the point of completely removing the sting of pain. Marianne clearly enjoyed a subtle jolt of pain, she wouldn't have reacted to my anal intrusion with that much enthusiasm otherwise.

"The spell?" she stammered in shock, surprised by the topic of conversation I picked while I was fucking her anally.

"Yes, the spell," I said even as I used the opportunity to slip some mana inside her, and her eyes widened with the rush of experience, which also triggered pleasure along with it. "Unless you want to stop and talk about it," I added, giving her a nice ultimatum. I had no intention of leaving the discussion after sex.

[-614 Mana]

"But-" she started, only to receive a warning slap to her ass. I might have thought about actually pulling out and denying her the pleasure if the target was Cornelia, but Marianne was just too cute to torture like that. "Okay," she moaned. "I managed to isolate the pure effect you have taught me," she started explaining as I pushed deeper, enjoying the unique tightness of her forbidden hole.

"How long you can keep a fragment stable," I asked even as I put my hand on her body, and pulled her nightie off her body, the fabric falling into pieces under my physical strength, leaving her plump body naked.

"Almost a minute," she gasped while my hands scaled the familiar curves of her body once more, enjoying the curves.

"Very good. Show me," I said even as I dumped another generous dash of mana inside her, but this time, I didn't let all of it to convert to experience. Some, I maintained in her soul space to observe, while I let some in reserve, to mix with her mana as she cast the spell. I wanted to test whether I could guide her in casting directly.

[-873 Mana]

"Right now?" she asked, only to receive another spank on her bottom, which raised another cry of pleasure. She said nothing else as she raised her hand, and a small, flickering light appeared on her palm, which was less stable than the one I saw while she was on her desk. It barely survived a second.

"Again," I said even as I slammed deeper into her, her body shivering under my touch as my fingers found her breasts. I was happy to note that rather than trying to make excuses, she just cast another spell, which managed to survive for three whole seconds. "Again," I repeated, but this time, I let my mana to infect her spell after she cast, keeping the structure stable even as her attention wavered. "Watch carefully," I warned as I took partial control of the spell, letting it grow while stabilizing it simultaneously, until it was as large as an orange.

"Amazing," she murmured, which followed by a moan as I slammed even deeper. By taking the control of the spell, I had allowed her to observe my casting directly, which naturally provided her with a lot of insight. I let the spell to disperse and she raised her hand immediately, casting yet another spell. It was brighter than her previous spells, and even then it managed to stay stable for fifteen seconds before it risked dispersing. I repeated the same trick, stabilizing it as I made it grow, allowing her to observe it directly with her mana.

We repeated the process several times, and we continued to have fun in the process. Of course, in our interesting tutoring session, my hands continued to explore her body while I continued to impale her puckered hole, her moans getting louder and louder. However, despite her fraying control, her spells continued to shine brighter and survive longer, though her spell fell in pieces when I finally climaxed, bringing her along in the journey.

[Mana regeneration perk activated. Duration, 8 hours]

"Not bad, but you need to be able to maintain control in your spells," I warned her as I pulled out.

"I'll make a note, sir," she murmured playfully even as she tried to break through the haze of orgasm. I held her hand and helped her to stand up, helping her to walk. She hooked her arm around mine, and we might have been mistaken for a proper noble couple if it wasn't for her naked state, and my seed slowly dripping out of her puckered hole.

We said nothing until we arrived at the bed, and she lay down, her legs parted invitingly. Not one to miss such a kind host, I took my place between her legs. "Now, it's time for your final test," I murmured into her ear as I slipped into her womanhood. "Keep the spell active until I climax, and I'll give you a reward."

She said nothing, but her blue eyes shone with a hint of a challenge as she raised her finger, her eyes reflecting the light of the spell. I leaned down, my lips gently pressing against her slender neck, building a road from my kisses, leaving toward her impressive bosom. Seeing that the light of her spell was stable, I decided to increase the challenge. I continued to slide inside her gently, but my lips started to act aggressively, leaving hickeys and bite marks on her neck before they arrived at their final destination.

She moaned louder as I nibbled her skin, but she started to dance more enthusiastically, tempting me to pump her furiously. Instead, I took her with soft, gentle beats, increasing her moans as I explored her depths. As I did so, I filled her more of my mana, pushing her closer to Level thirteen, but didn't let her complete yet. It was the reward for her success, after all. Since we were in her room, she abandoned her sense of control, moans echoing off the walls. Still, she somehow managed to maintain control of the spell, showing the effectiveness of my new teaching method.

I licked, nibbled, and caressed her body while I maintained a steady pace of pumping. Fifteen minutes later, she turned into a delirious husk of moans and cries, barely holding the spell under control. I decided to take mercy, and when I felt I was about to explode again, I didn't bother to resist the call, exploding inside her. And since she was able to keep the spell stable, I infused my seed with a generous amount of mana, making her trigger. As I did so, a notification surprised me.

[-2164 Mana]

[Achievement: Talented Tutor. Bring a pupil to new heights through unconventional methods of teaching. +2 Intelligence, +500 Experience]

"I got a level," Marianne murmured, which was barely above a whisper. I let her lack of reaction slide, as while she was clearly excited, trying to keep the spell active for the duration of our beautiful embrace, all under a continuous rush of pleasure, took a lot from her, and she was tethering on the edge of unconsciousness. Luckily, she was already in her bed.

"I know, honey. Now, sleep," I whispered even as I placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She was already asleep before I could finish pulling the covers on her. I chuckled as I fixed my clothing, leaving her to her rest.

The next stop, Cornelia.

[Level: 24 Experience: 279400 / 300000

Strength: 28 Charisma: 38

Precision: 21 Perception: 27

Agility: 25 Manipulation: 30

Speed: 23 Intelligence: 32

Endurance: 22 Wisdom: 33

HP: 2856 / 2856 Mana: 1721 / 3840 ]

SKILLS

Master Melee [100/100]

Master Tantric [100/100]

Master Biomancy [100/100]

Master Elemental [100/100]

Expert Arcana [75/75]

Expert Subterfuge [75/75]

Basic Speech [25/25]

PERKS

Mana Regeneration

Skill Share