Chapter 3: SYNC OR DIE.
The intake courtyard buzzed with murmurs. Recruits filed through lines, glowing screens floated over desks, and guild officers barked orders. Everyone was here to prove they had what it took to survive this... whatever the hell world this was.
And then there was me.
"Next candidate:Eiji Kagemaru. Alias, Eight."
I shuffled forward. All eyes turned to the pathetic guy whose system panel still had virgin flashing in bold letters.
The examiner... a bald veteran with scarred arms...squinted at me. "Show us your combat ability."
I raised a trembling fist. "Uh. Punch?"
Snickers rippled through the recruits. Someone coughed, "Loser," and a few more Chuckled.
Alma floated beside me, upside down like she was bored. "Aww,Master. You’re the entertainment already."
I hissed through my clenched teeth. "All I have is punch! What do you want me to do, shadowbox a dragon?"
The examiner frowned. "Standard procedure. Summon a trial beast."
A circle of glowing runes flared into the center of the yard. Air warped, crackling with energy. And then...boom.
A beast clawed it’s way out,Half-wolf, half-serpent, with too many teeth and eyes glowing red. It snarled, drool sizzling where it hit the ground.
I pales. "That’s not a trial beast!. That’s an insurance scam."
Alma hummed in delight. "Mmm, perfect. Not.hing like a life-or-death situation to spice up your performance."
"Performance?" I squeaked.
Her grin turned wicked. "Listen carefully,Eight. Your Punch won’t be enough. But I can lend you my real power."
Hope flickered in me. "You can?"
"Yes. But it requires... syncing."
My eyes narrowed. "Define syncing?."
Her eyes gleamed. "Think Valkyrie Drive. I’m your weapon, Master. But to unlock me, you’ll need to make me...climax."
The courtyard spun. "WHAT?!"
"To everyone else, it’ll just look like you’re focusing your energy. Don’t worry...they can’t see what’s really happening. But you’ll feel everything. And so will I."
The beast growled, snapping it’s jaws. The crowd was already murmuring...another rookie about to get eaten alive.
[Quest Generated: Defeat Trial Beast.]
[Time limit: 5 minutes.]
[Failure: Death.]
I clutched my head. "Why is it always death?!"
Alma’s floated closer,her lips grazing my ear. "Because it’s fun. Now...kiss me."
I panicked, I paced, I considered fainting. But the beast lunged forward,forcing me to roll sideways like an idiot.
Alma sighed, pouting. "Fine.. I’ll start."
And then she pressed her lips to mine.
It was like plugging into a live wire wrapped in silk. Heat rushed down my spine. My hands moved on instinct,tangling in her shimmering hair, pulling her closer. She moaned against my mouth...loud, shameless, vibrating through me like I’d unlocked a cheat code.
"You’re...really doing this in public?" I gasped between kisses.
"Only you can see it, Master. To them, you’re just glowing. But to me..." She bit my lower lip,hard. "Mmm,you taste like desperation."
Her body arched against mine,light sparking from her skin, system panels flickering like corrupted files. She moaned again, voice breaking into digitised static.
"Yes...yes....more...don’t stop..."
The beast lunged at me again. Someone in the crowd screamed.
[Sync Progress:56%]
I pressed harder, heat coiling low in my gut. My hand skimmed her waist,one hand grabbing her breast, and she shuddered, eyes rolling back as another surge of energy burst out between us.
[Sync Progress:87%]
Alma threw her head back, glowing,her voice rising in a shameless sensual cry;
"M-Master...ahhh, I’m...I’m...!"
Lighted detonated.
She dissolved into pure radiance, flooding into my chest,down my arm and then bam. A weapon materialized in my hands.
A sleek, obsidian gauntlet wrapped my right arm, runes glowing, claws gleaming. Alma’s voice panyed in my head,sultry and breathless.
"Yessss.... Now swing me,Master. Harder. Don’t hold back on me."
The crowd gasped. The examiner blinked.
"Weapon manifestation?!"
The beast lunged at me again. I clenched my new clawed gauntlet, Alma’s laughter ringing in my skull. And for the first time in my life...I punched.
CRACK!!
The Monster’s head snapped sideways with bone-shattering force. It collapsed, twitching, before vanishing into blue mist.
Silence. Then chaos...shouts,cheers, curses.
The examiner scribbled furiously on his clipboard. "Unstable system type. Mark him for monitoring."
I staggered, panting,staring at the glowing gauntlet. Alma’s voice cooed, smug as hell.
"Mmm...see,Eight? You made me cum, I made you strong. Win-win."
"Y..you can’t just say that!" I hissed, feeling my cheeks burn.
"Sure I can. And we’ll be doing it a lot, Master. Everytime you want to fight, you’ll need to make me sing."
I wanted to die again.
A new panel blinked into existence:
[New Quest: Raise Bond Level with Alma to unlock Transformation V2.]
[Requirement:Bring her to climax in public again.]
I felt like returning the to the void I woke up in, because I knew things were about to get even more ridiculous
I stared, horrified. "NO."
Alma giggled in my head. "Yes."