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A Virtual Temptress Ch. 12 (Part 1/2)
🕑 Added 2021-01-04 20:54:57 +0000 UTC“I cannot understand your hesitation, Daniel. Your plan is reasonable. And I have our stray Templar well in hand.” Lexi held out her arm, eyeing the heavy black cloak from beneath its hood with unconcealed distaste. The fountain in the Courtyard of Bright Hope. “You’ve already made a pact with a demon. And you say this isn’t your real world, so surely you have no moral compunctions.”
Dan tried to relax as he observed the people walking by. He noted, with growing relief, that no one was paying attention to them. He ran his hand absentmindedly through the water.
“You’re changing the subject.”
“And if I am, Daniel? I’d like to address your reluctance before we discuss this little experiment of yours.”
Dan sighed. For the third time that hour, he flicked open the system message he’d received the day prior.
You have unlocked a new class! Due to your alliance with a being of the Far Realms, your entrance into the Nath Valen Arcanist’s Society, and your proficiency as a Pyromancer, you now have access to the Hellfire Adept class! Would you like to change your class? You will retain all current class levels and abilities and become a level 1 Hellfire Adept. Gaining experience will advance your level in the Hellfire Adept class instead of your current class.
He’d been through the starting abilities several times. It seemed like a cross between pyro and warlock, which an emphasis on flexibility and close-range firepower. Dan was almost suspicious of how well it seemed to fit his playstyle – he’d lose almost nothing relevant by moving out of pyromancer.
The problem was that whenever a secret class was unlocked for the first time on a server, Saga Online announced it server-wide. Dan didn’t want to answer questions about what, exactly, he had done to become a Hellfire Adept. He’d already turned off messaging from anyone not on his friends list, so he’d only have to deal with other people in person.
Dan massaged the back of his neck. The guys from Steel Thunder were going to be curious, but he could brush them off pretty reasonably – just feed them some bullshit about being a pyromancer and making a deal with something from the Far Realms, say he couldn’t say more, and he wasn’t sure what else he had done. Class unlocks weren’t always obvious in hindsight, after all.
“Yeah… you’re probably right.” Dan ran a hand through his hair, reopened the screen, and hit “Accept.”
SERVER ANNOUNCEMENT
Blaize Firewilde is the first player in Saga Online to unlock the Hellfire Adept Class! Congratulations!
Around the plaza, players flicked open their UI.
Dan looked at Lexi. “Done. Now, will you admit I was right?” He watched the succubus glower at him from under a hood. Even in a full-body cloak the fabric somehow accentuated her curves.
“I confess that it was effective, Daniel. And loathe though I may be to admit it, I do appreciate you informing me of this ‘Talent Tree’ system. We lack anything similar in this world.” Lexi brushed a strand of blonde hair back inside her hood. “Now then. You have persuaded me to invest into this ‘Restraint’ talent. Three ranks, as you call them. And as you have so smugly noted, it has made the humans around us disinterested in my presence. What I fail to see, however, is why I should bother myself with hiding? It is in a succubus’ nature to flaunt herself, after all. I hope you won’t find me brazen if I confess to enjoying male attention.” She raised her eyebrows, mouth quirking into a smile.
“Lexi, we’ve been over this.”
“Insufficiently, Daniel. I may be bound to you by our contract, but it nonetheless behooves you to explain yourself. I can hardly be expected to support your endeavors if I do not understand your perspective.” The succubus held out her hand, palm up, encouraging him. “This is your opportunity to persuade me. Speak.”
Dan slowed his pace and looked around. It took a minute to find an isolated corner, motioning Lexi to follow and leaning against a retaining wall beneath the shade of the young maple tree rising behind them.
“Okay, so.” Dan scrunched up his face, thinking of how to best make his point. “Let’s start with this: how many men can you seduce at once?”
Lexi eyed him skeptically, brows knitted beneath the shadow of her hood. “As many as can see me, I suppose.”
“Ten?” Dan asked. The succubus nodded. “Twenty?” Another nod. “Two hundred?”
“Men are slaves to their desires, Daniel.”
“And you’re sure? You’ve seduced a small army of men before?”
“Well… not as such, no.”
Dan took in breath as he picked up momentum. “So lets say you walk into a crowd, and every male player and NPC is charmed immediately. What about the women in the crowd?”
Lexi’s frown deepened. “There are more men in this city than women, Daniel. Certainly among the adventurers.”
“Okay, let’s say you’re in a crowd of one hundred people. Ten are women. Your magic works perfectly, and ninety men are staring at you and drooling on the floor, completely helpless. What’s your plan for the ten?”
“Well,” Lexi sighed. “My… thralls would fight them off. Or distract them, so I could be on my way.”
“Okay, so you charm 90 men, they bog down the 10 women, you leave. What happens when your charm wears off on the men?”
Lexi stretched, squeaking out a yawn. “I am growing tired of this conversation, let’s - ”
“Answer the question.”
Lexi met Dan’s gaze for moment, then stared absentmindedly at the passersby. “You are infuriating. Men! Such simpleminded creatures.”
“Lexi, answer the - ”
“Yes, yes, I agree. Is that what you wanted to hear, Daniel? I will restrain myself. Daniel, are you listening to me?”
Fumbling open the alarm warning, Daniel read the message that opened onto his screen: First meeting w/ Glorianna, BE EARLY. “Shit,” he muttered. “Shit damn shit.”
“Daniel?”
“The academy, I’m going to be late. Look, I’ll meet you back at the house. Just… get ready for tonight, I guess. Don’t do anything risky.”
Lexi laughed. “Please, when have you known me to be incautious?” The succubus eyed her master contemplatively as he hurried away down the street. “What a day it’s been already. Still, I suppose he is correct. I’ll need to be at my best this evening, and one can never have too much time to prepare.”
