Witches Going Live 1.1

This isn't a rough draft, I already rewrote it based on the rough draft my friend created. Let me know what you think of the new series debut!

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Chapter 1 - In the DMs

Adventurers. Doers of fantastical deeds, heroes of great renown, free spirits who roam the realm of Karnalle chasing gold, glory, and everything in between. Those foolish souls who lusted for all the world had to offer and were selfish enough to take it for themselves. Slayers of monsters and demons, looters of decrepit dungeons long since forgotten, and much less excitingly, runners of mundane errands.

The alderman needs four zebarra hooves, and it's not like he's going to get them himself, is he? Of course not.

For every stalwart platinum-ranked adventurer capable of swinging their sword and ending the life of a colossal dragon without even breaking a sweat, tens of thousands of bronze-rank rookies were scraping by off of random jobs posted at their local Association of Adventurers-sponsored Guild. Menial labor, escort jobs, deliveries, fetch quests- things no one wanted to do themselves but had to be done by someone.

No other city in the realm had such an abundance of these sorts of quests quite like Imperalis did- which as Karnalle's massive and sprawling royal capital, was hardly a wonder. A whopping three hundred thousand people dwelled there if you counted the population of the shantytowns outside the walls and all of the outrealmers living in the embassy district.

Every last one of those people had a problem to solve at one point or another. Squaring it off was as simple as heading to the nearest Guild kiosk scattered throughout the many districts. There, one could talk to a representative and register their petty problem as a quest, which would then be sent to the main building over in the adventure district where some down-on-his-luck schlub would hopefully take notice of it and solve the issue.

I lost my precious heirloom over on Farandall Street, please track it down and bring it back to me? Done. Sign this, please. I have a package that must be delivered, and I don't trust the mailmages to get it done in time. Please bring it to Bartlebragge Valderhalm at The Rusty Nail. You got it. Sign here. There is an overabundance of weeds in Sallasia Park, and I can't do it alone. Sounds good, sign.

These sorts of tasks were 'quests' in name only, and no one really wanted to be doing them if they could help it. Between chasing down lost pets or partnering up with your friends and raiding dungeons to bring back treasures not seen since ancient times, the choice was often a no-brainer for anyone who wasn't weak. Adventurers considered these side quests as supplementary income- tedious jobs to be done only when nothing more interesting was on the table or when they needed a bit of extra gold in a hurry.

While they might not make you famous or as wealthy as a nobleman, that's not to say that these kinds of jobs don't pay the bills. They do. More than that, even, if one can keep up with the demand. Someone with the proper skill set could pack away a tidy sum if they were good enough.

Leo Lowlion wasn't just 'good enough'- he was the best. He'd also be getting a late start today.

Leo groaned as the early light of dawn lanced through the windows of his room on the fourth floor of The Inn Between. He'd forgotten to close the damn curtains again before falling asleep and cursed himself for it as it shined directly on his face. He was groggy, out of sorts, as he reached up to rub the sleep from his eyes. During the process, his elbow nudged into something it really shouldn't have, snapping Leo fully awake thanks to panic.

The medium-sized glass orb that rolled toward the edge of his bed was the most expensive thing he owned, so he quickly snatched it up before any misfortune could occur.

"Damn it," Leo cursed himself and felt like a fool. He really had to quit falling asleep in bed with this thing, but that was easier said than done. Given the shenanigans he got up to on the magical device, his bed was the most comfortable place to do his business.

With his smart-orb now secured, Leo swung his legs out from the sweet comfort of his high-quality bed to start his day. Shaking off the incessant, clinging grasp of tiredness, he picked up a glove off his bedside table and pulled it over his left hand. It was dark blue, almost black, with magical-looking pads on his fingertips.

He pointed at the catalyst in his opposite hand, willing it to awaken. The smart-orb briefly burned with dim blue light before dulling and ceasing its shine. "Oh, come the fuck on..." Leo grumbled.

This had to be a joke. He'd just charged it last night, hadn't he? Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Leo slotted the orb into an intricate display stand on his bedside table while muttering about what a waste of money the damn thing was.

He pressed his fingertip into a drawer on the table, which was magically registered to his fingerprint. The Inn Between wasn't the fanciest of inns found in Imperalis's adventure district, but it was a reasonably upscale one, and one of the features it offered its guests was above-average security and privacy. The drawer recognized Leo, allowing him to open it and procure a small box that housed an extensive selection of glasslike crystals each burning intermittently with bright blue energy.

Leo fished a handful of these mana crystals from the box and slotted them into his display stand. Unlike the vast majority of smart-orb users, of which there were very few in the first place, Leo was among the minority who wasn't a mage and had to spend gold out the ass to keep his little ball of joy going strong. The orb drained the crystals of their color and mana, guzzling them like a halfling at elevenses who'd been forced to skip second breakfast.

With that squared out of the way for the time being, Leo shuffled to his wardrobe, naked and exposed. He paid more for a room with a bit of extra storage. Hence, the inside of the wardrobe was deeper than traditional physics would typically allow.

As a young, twenty-year-old city boy with vain tendencies, Leo owned a lot of clothes. Just because he was a glorified delivery boy running fetch quests all day didn't mean he wanted to look anything less than his best, so he picked out a variation of the kind of attire he usually wore while on the job.

A casual dress shirt, tight black trousers, a red leather jacket with a fur collar, his magical winged boots, his similarly magical messenger bag, an enchanted gauntlet, and a belt with a silver lion as buckle and a silver necklace. Yup, that would do. Leo was only five foot six, so he had to make himself stand out in other ways if he wanted to be noticed, which he did.

Satisfied with his choices, Leo used another luxurious amenity that The Inn Between provided to those living on the fourth floor- an honest-to-goodness private arctech shower. He couldn't imagine living without one and shuddered to think that most of the realm still lacked the technological advancements which Imperalis benefited from daily.

Leo took a shower as seriously as he did his appearance, making sure to scrub every last note and cranny of his body. He was a fit young man, and between the extremes of 'muscular' and 'not', he certainly leaned towards the former in a reserved, athletic way. Sure, his height bothered him a little, and although his tool was nothing to laugh at, he wouldn't mind another few inches there, either, but Leo was mostly content with his body.

For someone obsessed over putting their best foot forward, such self-acceptance was rare and overly welcome to his neurotic psyche.

Now clean, he dressed and stopped in front of the mirror for the next part of his daily routine. His thoughtful, distant emerald eyes that lacked light studied his medium-short sunshine-colored hair. He coated his locks in numerous alchemical gels, meticulously combing through strands to get his spiky style right. If he didn't go to all this effort and spend a little extra on hair products, the speed he went about his business would ruin his hairstyle and Leo couldn't have that.

Next was performing a pat down routine from his jacket to the pouches on his belt and everywhere else. Everything he needed was precisely where it should be, so he quickly laced up his boots and sat back on his bed to check if his smart-orb had finished absorbing the mana from its charging crystals. It had. Now worthless, Leo retrieved the colorless glass shards from the stand, depositing them in a bin beneath the bedside table filled with last night's crystals and several used tissues before slipping on his control glove again.

Showing off to no one in particular, he snapped his gloved fingers at the smart-orb, which now shimmered with magical power. Inside the glass sphere, mana swirled and then took on the shape of Ponder's logo- a stylized crystal ball sitting on top of a cushion with the letter 'P' sitting in its center. Then, it flashed and a glowing screen resembling a finely illustrated scroll appeared before Leo.

He controlled it with his gloved hand, repositioning it and making it a comfortable viewing size. The screen had several little buttons he could activate by transmitting his will through the glove by essentially just pointing and thinking about doing so. He focused on only one of these buttons. It had the same logo he'd seen only moments ago, and like the company itself, this feature was also named Ponder.

He willed his glove to activate Ponder and was met with a new screen that said 'Welcome, LowbornKing'. Just like that, he was in.

Confusing naming choices aside, Ponder had been a massive part of Leo's life ever since he bought his smart-orb a year and a half ago. It was many things all at once- a hub to talk to other smart-orb users, a sort of village square where he could get updates on things he was interested in, and more. There was a lot one could do on Ponder, but during the morning, all Leo cared about was checking his feed and inbox.

He scrolled through the information presented to him. There were some sneak peeks released for a few of his favorite men's fashion brands, an ad for the official Wizards of the Workshop store over at Sere's Abundance where they were running a sale on RealMonster cards, and of course, some suggestive images shared by some a few of the girls whose accounts he followed. All of these were interesting in their own right, especially the pictures, but none of that could compare to the fun potentially waiting for him in his direct messages.

With practiced ease he swiped and tapped his way through the scroll, grinning at the glowing rune indicating he had unread texts waiting for him. Leo didn't talk to very many people on Ponder. There were only three icons in his inbox, each belonging to a different girl with whom Leo had strange and storied relations of an intimate nature.

He tapped on the first of these, a cute young witch whose account name on Ponder was ChrissiCrystal. The icon that represented her was a stylish image of her own face. She was overly adorable, possessing sky-blue eyes with long lashes, pink hearts for pupils, and long, pastel-pink twintails ending in frosted, powder-blue tips held by black, jewel-encrusted scrunchies. She wore heavy makeup in the same powdery blue color around her eyes and, more importantly, thick, luscious, pouting lips that begged to be kissed and kissed some more.

The interface loaded their chat history, and Leo habitually skimmed their back and forth leading up to the messages she sent this morning. As always, her messages were filled with cute faces made out of characters. Some people talked like that on the orbnet, while others, such as Leo, rarely talked at all.

[ChrissiCrystal] I got so many new colors, you won't even believe it o(^▽^)o

[ChrissiCrystal] Seriously. You better be ready for a fun show!! (^-^)

[ChrissiCrystal] But make sure you're there when I go live, or else I might use them up without you!! (#^.^#

[LowbornKing] You say that like there's a chance I'd miss one of your streams, silly. I hope you're ready to show off for me.

[ChrissiCrystal] Pfffft. Come on. Isn't it obvious I’m always ready to show you everything I've got, King?? {♥‿♥}

Leo blushed as he made his way through last night's chat. Even though they'd gone much, much further than exchanging flirty messages, he could still never quite get used to how forward Chrissi was with him. It was a blessing and a curse, though more of the latter these days. Today's message was more straightforward, explaining why that stream she promised him never happened.

[ChrissiCrystal] Sorry, sorry, sorry!!! I thought I was gonna be free last night, but my friends roped me into a surprise session of our tabletop campaign. New module just dropped, and our DM insisted on working it into our adventures... got super carried away... (シ_ _)シ

Leo smiled gently. He wasn't upset at her, merely happy. A friend of his in real life often played those kinds of dwarven tabletop games, but thus far, she'd only convinced him to try out RealMonster cards. He could relate. Sometimes their games stretched on and on even when they didn't mean them to. Leo shot her back a quick reply, both respectful and a little flirty.

[LowbornKing] No worries, I hope you had fun. We can always get carried away ourselves some other time... maybe even tonight, if you want?

And that was it for Chrissi unless she messaged him before he finished his morning routine. For now, he moved on to his second friend. Her name was InnocentHaze, and her icon was a picture of an ornate, silver heart-shaped padlock with misty swirls behind it. He blushed immediately upon seeing their recent history, as calling it spicy wouldn't even begin to do it justice. They were in the middle of some really hard-core role-playing last night since Chrissi never ended up streaming.

[LowbornKing] Gods, you're such a dirty fucking slut. You really would do anything I ask, wouldn't you?

[InnocentHaze] Of course I would, my King... anything and everything... I'm yours...

[LowbornKing] Even if I wanted to tie you up and use every hole you've got to service my needs?

[InnocentHaze] My holes are yours to do with as you please... if you ever decided to honor me with the chance to service you with them, I wouldn't stop you, my King... my pussy, my mouth, even my ass... as long as it makes you happy, then...

[LowbornKing] Then what? Say it, you whore. Say it nice and plain that I own you, so we don't have any misunderstandings.

A ten-minute delay passed before her last message of the night went through.

[InnocentHaze] Sorry, be back in a bit...

Hazy didn't come back last night, and Leo's heart sank remembering when his anxiety got the worst of him and seeing that he messaged her a couple of times in the following hour and a half before he fell asleep. A half-hour later, he'd sent,

[LowbornKing] Hazy?

And a little after that,

[LowbornKing] Is everything okay? Just let me know if I said something wrong.

Before entirely falling into paranoia with,

[LowbornKing] It wasn't something I said, was it? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so over the top.

His paranoia wasn't completely unjustified. Hazy was the one who liked verbal abuse, hard-core domination role-play, and aggressive language, so he struggled at times to keep up with what she wanted. Truthfully, he liked it much more than he would ever openly admit to, but his numerous other issues made Leo second-guess himself and filled him with doubt. In retrospect, he cursed himself over how stupid he was, especially after reading the two messages she sent him a little while ago.

[InnocentHaze] I'm so sorry, my King... you know I would never leave your needs unsatisfied- I exist to serve you, after all- but there was an emergency. Someone near and dear to my heart suddenly became sick, and I had to attend to them all night. I might be busy with this for a day or two, potentially longer if things take a turn for the... no, I shouldn't bother you with this. I'm sorry. Just know that I'll do anything to make this up to you later, my King, even if it might be a while until I'm back to myself again.

[InnocentHaze] Just in case I do end up disappearing for a while, just remember... I love you, my King.

Just like that, Leo's paranoia was replaced by, well, paranoia of a different sort. Hazy wasn't his girlfriend, none of these girls were, but he cared for them as profoundly as his crippling self-confidence and doubts would allow him to. He wanted to say a thousand things to Hazy, maybe offer help since he knew she also lived in Imperalis, but the thought of meeting her face to face caused the pit in his stomach to explode outward until it was as big as an abyss.

Besides, he doubted he could be of much help regardless of his good intentions...

This must've been serious, though. She'd never outright said the l-word before. Hazy implied it reasonably often, but seeing it on the screen gave him so many conflicted emotions that Leo didn't know what to do with them. Instead of trying to sort through those feelings, he ignored that part of her message and responded with as much support as he could push himself to give.

[LowbornKing] Hey, don't even think about apologizing. I'm just some fan of yours on the orbnet. Your real-life friend is obviously way more important than me, Hazy.

Leo was self-deprecating in his response, but when wasn't he?

[LowbornKing] I just know they're going to get better because they have you there to take care of them, so try and keep your spirits up.

His hand was still idling above the reply box, where his thoughts were transmitted into text through his magic glove. There was more he wanted to say to Hazy. He looked back at the part where she said she loved him. Leo wanted to tell Hazy he would wait as long as it took for her to return but was terrified that if he expressed himself the way he wanted to, he'd just be stringing her along... as if he somehow already wasn't doing exactly that.

Hazy was a good girl, and Leo couldn't drag her down with his bullshit any more than he already did, so he opted to leave things off with a respectful comment.

[LowbornKing] Don't worry. I'll be around whenever you need me.

Leo read that last message several times before sending it, but only after he was satisfied that it didn't sound overly romantic. He didn't feel good after pressing enter, but Leo wouldn't have felt good if he had said what he wanted to say, either. With a deep sigh, he turned his attention to the last icon and the last of his three friends.

DireFuture's icon was grim, to say the least. It was a minimalist illustration of an empty eye socket bleeding profusely. Fitting, once you got to know her. Their conversations up till now were sporadic, as Dire messaged him here and there whenever she felt like doing so, but she typically always shot him a message early in the morning to give him some sort of vague advice.

[DireFuture] Heed the advice of a close friend today, or suffer the consequences.

Leo rolled his eyes and replied.

[LowbornKing] I take it you won't give me any context for this one, either?

Dire's reply was instant, with no lag between his message and hers, as if she'd been expecting it down to the last second and pre-wrote her response. Given what Leo knew about her, that was likely exactly what happened. She was a master of divination who told people's fortunes professionally on the streets of Imperalis, at least according to Dire.

Leo had little doubt in her ability, as the few times he'd pieced together what her advice was supposed to mean, it always served him well. If only she could package that advice more reliably, it would save him some headaches.

[DireFuture] Context?

[DireFuture] Now, why would I do that?

[DireFuture] You'll figure it out, or you won't.

[LowbornKing] As helpful as ever, I see.

[DireFuture] You're the King, aren't you?

[DireFuture] Kings often receive wise counsel, but in the end, they have to be smart enough to decipher it for themselves.

[LowbornKing] Right. When you put it like that, it really speaks volumes about our current King...

[DireFuture] Wouldn't know. You're the only King I concern myself with. Best of luck out there.

Dire was as aloof as ever, making Leo sigh in mock frustration while smiling at her sassiness. She was a lot to handle, especially when she got into a teasing mood, but the less he thought about that, the better. He was trying to get through his morning routine, not nurture an erection.

Speaking of erection, Leo suddenly received a notification telling him he'd received a reply from Chrissi. Dire had just swatted him from their convo, so he switched back to her to see what was up before taking off for work.

[ChrissiCrystal] Oh, you want to get carried away with me, do you? In that case, how about I give you my address, and you can come see just how carried away we can get ◕‿↼

So much for not nurturing an erection.

Leo knew that Chrissi was joking, but it fell flat. He was always vague in his interactions with these girls. Leo didn't ask for personal details about them, just as he didn't share any about himself. The only exception was his profile, which signaled to anyone who saw it that he lived in Imperalis before he changed it. Given how Imperalis and Mithimere were just about the only two cities where smart-orbs had caught on yet, that wasn't too surprising, but it did cause him some worry knowing each of the girls he routinely did all sorts of dirty things with lived in the same city as him.

Dire occasionally joked about meeting up, and Hazy had expressed interest in a more subdued manner, but Chrissi? She was so persistent that Leo almost believed she was being genuine... not like that was actually the case, he laughed.

[LowbornKing] Trust me, there's nothing I'd love more, but I'm super busy with work today.

There was a delay in Chrissi's response. The interface told him that she was preparing one, but it would go back and forth, suggesting she was deleting what she was saying as she tried to think of the right words. She settled on,

[ChrissiCrystal] Oh, come on. You're always working!! It's not fair!! (ᗒᗣᗕ)

[LowbornKing] You're telling me.

He was good at deflecting the blame by now, or at least he thought he was. The reality was that Chrissi was getting fed up with him, and it was getting harder for Leo to ignore that fact.

[ChrissiCrystal] Well, whatever... I was going to ask a friend if they wanted to hang out later, but I doubt anything will come of it. If I'm right and nothing does, I'll stream tonight!! Who knows? Maybe if you send me a private quest, I can give you a special show just... for... you!! (ɔ◔‿◔)ɔ ♥

[LowbornKing] Just for me? You really know how to make a guy feel special. Better not be doing these special shows for anyone else, though. You'll break my heart...

For someone absolutely terrified of commitment, Leo had a near-obsessive compulsion to shove his foot so far down his mouth that it threatened to poke out his ass. He was addicted to flirting- especially on Ponder, where he could better manage his partner's expectations. It was harder to do that in real life, which was becoming increasingly apparent with one of his only real-life friends.

[ChrissiCrystal] You're joking, right? I never do private streams with anyone else!! (‘ε’)

Leo smiled but didn't know if he believed her. Chrissi was supernaturally adorable, and even if she didn't have that many followers, surely he wasn't the only one who had more money than sense and dangled the promise of gold before her nose. He wouldn't have been upset if she did do that for someone else, of course. They weren't a couple, and expecting her to turn down the gold if she needed it was ridiculous...

Or at least that's what Leo convinced himself was appropriate to think. He would've been more jealous than he let on, and he'd have no right to feel that way. Gods, he was a mess. A mess who really had to get to work and wrap this up before it got out of hand...

[LowbornKing] I'll take your word for it. See you tonight, maybe.

[ChrissiCrystal] Yeah, on stream... (＃`Д´)

[ChrissiCrystal] Whatever. Good luck today, King.

Even though he couldn't hear her voice, Leo sensed the disappointment. How couldn't he? It was the same conversation they kept having on an infinite loop for the last few months now, and every time they had it, he felt like a lumberjack swinging into the same tree in front of him, and Leo knew painfully well that the tree was getting close to falling.

Pushing such thoughts from his head, he powered down his smart-orb, sighed, and got his ass in gear.

'Adventure' awaited.