A Virtual Temptress, Ch. 19

Chapter 19

Dan was lounging in the oversized bed, trying to muster the energy to get up. The place Lexi had been lying was still warm, her scent drifting pleasantly around him. It wasn’t laziness, he told himself. Any man would struggle against so devious a trap.

With a great surge of willpower, he managed to roll to the edge of the bed and sit up, yawning as he flicked Blaize Firewild’s character screen open. His brows furrowed as he scrolled through various screens and menus.

Dan walked over to the doorway, leaning against the frame and sticking his head into the hall. “Hey, Lexi?”

“Yes, Daniel?”

“This is kind of  a weird question, but… why am I still level 19?”

The click of heels preceded the succubus as she strode into the hall, adjusting her blouse and tucking a strand of hair into her bun. She raised an eyebrow. “You almost sound disappointed, darling. Was I not thorough enough?”

“No, it’s not. Well.” Dan blushed, suddenly distracted by the shortness of her skirt. He managed to reassert eye contact after a few harrowing seconds. “The last time you drained me, I dropped several levels. I think my experience is down a little, but that’s it. And you were, uh. Quite thorough. I was just curious what the difference was.”

Lexi nodded. “The result of our contract,” she explained. “Combined with the mark I left on you some time ago. A succubus can feed from her master or her thrall more efficiently than from another mortal. Due to the complications of our relationship, you seem to function as both.” She smiled, withdrawing a tube of black lipstick and applying it, giving an experimental kiss before she continued. “You were also quite backed up, Daniel. Most unhealthy for a young man. And with the effects of my magic, you’ll need to relieve yourself more often than usual. But not to worry - I’ll assist you on a nightly basis.”

Dan wasn’t sure if the prospect scared or excited him. Probably both.

“Don’t give me that look,” Lexi chided. She withdrew a pair of stylish, half-rim glasses, settling them on the bridge of her nose before nestling the temples behind her ears. “You seem to have recovered splendidly. And nightly feedings will leave me markedly less ravenous. It’s your own fault for letting things take this long, Daniel.”

“I guess I shouldn’t argue.” Dan grinned sheepishly.

“You shouldn’t,” Lexi agreed. “Moreover, this will be an excellent opportunity to further your training. I will allow that you are a giving lover, Daniel, but not the most skilled.”

“I think I do alright,” Dan said, reaching into his inventory and starting to dress. “Obviously I can’t keep up with you, but that’s hardly my fault.”

Lexi’s eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth, then stopped, expression softening. She caressed Dan’s cheek affectionately, helping him adjust his robes. “That was poorly phrased. I am sure you are more than adept at pleasing human lovers. But I see great potential in you, darling. Clever. Bold. Charismatic. With time, you could become quite the villainous figure. You’ll be seducing queens and valkyries when you’ve had time to blossom under my tutelage.”

“That wouldn’t bother you?”

“I am a succubus, Daniel. An embodiment of sinful lust. I hardly expect our relationship to be monogamous. Short of finding another mistress, there is little you could do to make me jealous.” Lexi put a finger to her lips, considering. “In fact, you might try fraternizing more directly with the imps. Darkness knows they would benefit from additional oversight, and it would be good practice for you.”

“That’s, uh…” Dan exhaled slowly. “I’ll think about it. Is that where you’re going now? The Inquisition office?”

Lexi nodded, starting down the stairs without waiting for Dan to follow. “They’ve been more competent than expected, but imps inevitably exceed their boundaries. A part of their nature. They’ve captured some official… Valken, perhaps? The man has repeatedly broken free of charm magic, despite what are ostensibly their best efforts.”

Dan stopped at the bottom of the stairs. A browser window materialized in front of him and he began typing. “Magistrate Valken?” he asked after a moment.

“I believe so.”

“Shit. That’s actually really bad. And my class is coming up, I won’t have time to…” Dan thought about marching over and dealing with it himself, but their only saving grace was that Valken hadn’t seen his face. “Look, this guy is a major quest-giver. That’s why the charm magic won’t last. How long have they been holding him?”

“Emma did not specify, but I assume it has been a few days at the least.”

Dan nodded, pacing back and forth. “We have to let him go today. And don’t kill him! The next magistrate will just put out a city-wide quest to bring in whoever was involved. If you can wipe his memory, or at least make him forget where he was captured, that would probably work.” An alarm began flashing on Dan’s HUD and he silenced it with a wave. “I’ll catch up with you after the academy class and see how I can help. Just do your best with it.”

Lexi put her arm in front of Dan as he made to leave, drawing him toward her. She kissed him affectionately on the lips, just enough to make Dan wish she would keep going. “You worry too much, Daniel.” She slipped out the door ahead of him, allowing Dan an enthralling view of the succubus’ ass in her  miniskirt. He allowed himself to stare until she vanished into the crowd. It had a soothing effect on his nerves.

Shaking his head to clear out the pink, Dan locked the door behind him and made for the nearest teleportation beacon. One problem at a time, he told himself.

* * * * *

Practice Arena IV was empty when Dan arrived, but he was a few minutes early. Five minutes passed. Ten. He wandered out of the arena, scanning passersby, but none were his students from before and none seemed to be heading his way. Dan’s boots were soon damp from the rain-specked grass as he paced from one side of the arena to the next. There would have been a message if the class were canceled, surely. Or if he were fired. That was some comfort. But it eventually forced Dan to conclude that the stadium was empty because every student had chosen not to attend.

He sank down into the grass and lay on his back, letting the damp seep into his robe. It would have been nice to say that he didn’t care, but the truth was that he really did. He was the only player on any server to teach at the Arcanist’s Society, and somehow he had screwed things up. It wasn’t the end of the world, of course, but it really was a shame. He felt bad for the kids, too. Not that they really were kids - most were just a few years younger than he was. But whatever their age, they were in for a rough experience the first time they tried to fight a group of adventurers. If Kip was the best they had to offer…

No, that was unfair. It wasn’t that he was untalented. The guy’s spellcraft was impressive on its own. He’d been clean and efficient with his casting, not to mention that he’d been using techniques well above the level of any pyromancer Dan had met, let alone students. But PvP was about adaptation, not formal dueling in an open field. They lacked experience, not technique.

“Though I guess it wouldn’t really be PvP,” Dan muttered to himself, staring past the dome and up into a scattering of clouds. “Since they’re not players. Huh.” The train of thought brought him to another consideration, one he’d been thinking about for a while but hadn’t put into words. Non-players in Saga had seemed more real, more like people, ever since his first encounter with Lexi. Was that just Dan’s flawed perspective? Some side-effect of overdosing on charm magic? The world did seem different, but he was hesitant to trust his own judgment and he didn’t have anyone reliable to discuss it with.

“Grown weary of the world, Instructor Firewilde?”

Dan sat up too quickly, blinked hard, and looked around. “Oh. Hey, Rangrave.” He tried to think of a witty remark, but nothing came to mind. “Something like that.”

Rangrave looked to his left and right, eyes conveying mild disdain for whatever they surveyed. “A thin showing,” he remarked.

From his position on the ground, it was hard for Dan to see the other man’s face. He squinted up, following Rangrave’s eyes as they examined the field. He lay back down, exhaling slowly. “Yeah. You think I scared them off?”

Rangrave shrugged. “I think it unlikely that they are frightened. Pride is a more probable culprit.”

“Theirs? Or mine?”

The older man smirked.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the company,” Dan said, toying idly with a blade of grass. “But why are you here? Just to gloat?”

“That is certainly part of it,” Rangrave allowed. “For the other part, I am as of yet undecided. Tell me, Firewilde. From your perspective - ”

“You seem very tall.”

“... what is the goal in a duel?”

Was this a trick question? Probably. Some kind of philosophical diatribe. Well, Dan didn’t mind playing Cephalus. “To win?”

“I see. And in what manner would you prefer to win.”

“As quickly as possible, I guess.” Dan held the grass in a loop around his finger, trying unsuccessfully to weld the two ends together. “I’m a burst mage, so I don’t want an extended fight that would give someone else an edge.”

“And your opponent, young master Kipling,” Rangrave continued. “Would you say that his perspective on victory was similar?”

“Probably. He came at me pretty hard, so yeah, that sounds right.”

“Very well. Setting aside the manner in which you planned to be victorious, what did you hope to accomplish from said victory?”

Dan’s brows furrowed. He tilted his head, squinting up at Rangrave though the mid-afternoon sun that was out from behind the clouds. “I really just wanted to get to teaching. I hadn't even started and he was already interrupting. Plus he was talking a lot of shit, given they’d all just met me. Pretty arrogant.”

“Indeed. And did you believe that by humiliating the man in front of his peers, that arrogance would be quelled and he would become a model student?”

“I don't know about model. Teachable, maybe.”

“Did you also consider that a common reaction to humiliation among the aristocracy, especially when said humiliation is conducted by someone of lesser status, is umbrage and collective alienation of the offending party?”

Dan pushed himself to his feet, rounding on the professor. “Look, I don't know how your high-society games work. I wasn't hired to… to navigate some kind of societal maze. I was hired to teach combat magic. You’re implying that I didn't know what I was getting myself into, but Speaker Brightwind told me specifically to put the fear of god into those kids. Teach them the harsh realities of practical combat. Why would she have brought me in if this was what she expected?”

Rangrave raised an eyebrow. “Why indeed?”

“You - ” Dan froze, finger outstretched. He choked a little, coughed, and spat. “Wait, what?”

“You say you have no understanding of the nobility or the niceties or polite society. This is understandable. Expected, even. Did Brightwind caution you that master Kipling has challenged, and defeated, his last three combat instructors?”

“Including…”

Irritation crept into Rangrave’s expression. “Including myself, yes. He has a singular talent for provocation.”

“She didn’t mention him specifically,” Dan said. “Something about how students were getting overconfident after outpacing their professors. She wanted me to, uh.” He hesitated for a moment. “Disillusion them, I guess. Show them they aren’t invincible.”

“A noble aspiration. Do you feel your first class made progress toward this goal?”

“Maybe?” Dan shrugged. “I don’t know. If no one shows up next week, then probably not, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about it.” He wiped his hands on the side of his robes, transferring some of the grass stains. “I’m kind of over the interrogation. Did you have a point you were making?”

Professor Rangrave shook his head. “No point. I was simply hoping to understand your perspective.” He withdrew a steel timepiece from his pocket, inspected it, and tutted. “I fear I have overstayed. Best of luck, Instructor Firewilde.”

“Uh huh. Same time tomorrow?”

Rangrave hesitated for a moment, then inclined his head. “Very well, then. Tomorrow.”

Dan waited out the remainder of the hour alone before taking the teleporter back to town. He really wanted to dislike Rangrave, but the effort was increasingly difficult. The man had raised some interesting points. Should Brightwind have prepared him better? It was such an odd quest structure, and the more he thought about it the less it made sense. There wasn’t a clear goal for him to progress. No indication that he should talk to Brightwind, apologize to the students, or whatever. The quest hadn’t failed, either - he’d have seen the notification right away. Rangrave certainly knew more than he was saying. Maybe Dan could get him to open up more during tomorrow’s class. If it was anything like today’s showing, they’d at least have plenty of privacy.