Descend- Bursting Out: A litrpg adventure

by David Burke

  “It isn’t just that, you also have such a pretty face,” Mia said.

  “And broad shoulders, love your shoulders, oh and your arms,” Amelia said.

  “Don’t forget that perfect ass. I never get tired of looking at him,” Huong added.

  Jay was past worrying about how they talked about him. He accepted it was just part of his new reality. Then he heard Jessie say, “Really cinnamon and sugar? Like for real?”

  Ava was just nodding and suddenly there was another telepathic conversation going on. The giggles told him he probably was better off being left out of it. But then again he expected the subject would be brought up later, especially based on some of the looks he was getting.

  Chapter 21- Lawyering

  Amelia coughed. “As much as I think we need to discuss this interesting turn of events we do still have some other things to talk about. Then we can figure out how to test this new ability of Jay’s in more detail.”

  “I volunteer to be a guinea pig for the testing. You know, for science,” Huong said.

  Shaking her head, Amelia said, “Not now. Now we need to plan a timetable for Jessie’s fusion. It isn’t fair that she is the only wife who is excluded. Second we need to set up a schedule for the tempus fugit fields. Then I guess we need to discuss what to do about the birth control situation as well as how we are going to respond to S’vanth’s demand. Oh and if we have time we should discuss what to do about Trina.”

  “Let me answer the first question. If there are no side effects to the fusion with Meikiyo, then I am fine with fusing with Jessie tomorrow. I won’t belittle the issue by asking if she is still on board with the idea. I can feel her anticipation, just as strongly as my own.

  “As for the tempus fugit field, I can see one of two valid paths. It is still a few days until D’varn is supposed to come back and check on us again. I mean we all know that he is spying on us all the time, but we won’t get a chance to talk to him till then. I would like to explore this floor fully and then see what the seventh floor is. Then we could do a tempus fugit field tomorrow afternoon,” Jay said.

  “That isn’t right. I would agree to exploring this floor for security reasons. But before you go off gallivanting on more adventures, we should set up a training session. If you create the field around the tech building then we will have weeks of scientific development rather than a few hours. Then you can go do your adventure thing,” Amelia said.

  Jay wanted to criticize her for being bossy but she was right in one regard. “The other reason for the delay is that I don’t want to do a fusion while surrounded by other people. I know nothing Freaky-Friday-like happened with Trina’s fusion but that didn’t exactly work out like it was supposed to either. I don’t want anything to go wrong with Jessie’s either. Besides, I am thinking that I can make a field that is much larger than last time given the extra power I have now. Maybe even big enough for all of us, if I can make use of the catalyst ability.”

  Jessie had a pleading look on her face and the other girls all looked away. None of them wanted to tell her that she would have to wait for days or actually more likely weeks.

  “Fine, but none of this deals with the birth control issue,” Huong said.

  “I am ninety-nine percent certain that I can modify myself to make it so I’m sterile. I think that problem is a non-issue,” Jay replied.

  “It won’t be permanent, will it?” Jessie asked.

  “No, I wouldn’t be suggesting it if it was. We are going to need more people if the human race is going to survive. But I also think that I can modify it so that we can have a more natural male to female birth rate,” he answered.

  “So about that. I have a suggestion,” Amelia said. She paused, clearly waiting till everyone was paying close attention. “Hear me out. I think as your lawyer that we should make S’vanth think that we are complying and then see if he is willing to give us some concessions before we have to actually turn over any babies to him.”

  “Just to be clear, we are all on the same page that not a single human, baby or otherwise is going to be turned over to him for the vile purposes that he is suggesting. Correct?” Meikiyo asked. Her voice filled with the fiery passion that was so often hidden beneath her calm exterior.

  “As long as I am the leader that is true. You have my word. I would fight to my last breath to save any of you or any of our children,” Jay replied.

  The girls all nodded. Jay figured that they had expected that answer from him but that it must reassure them to hear his bold proclamation of protecting their children, especially the ones who already had kids.

  “So, you think we can deceive him?” Jessie asked.

  “I think that we can string him along. He obviously wants this very badly. I would like to think that we could use it to gain control of the ship, but that is reaching too far. It isn’t too much thought to think that we might be able to rescue some of the other groups,” Amelia answered.

  “Yes, then we could explain Master’s harem,” Ava said while clapping excitedly.

  Old Jay would have groaned. He already didn’t have enough time for fifty-nine women, or sixty if you counted Trina, but, if this was destiny he wasn’t gonna argue with it. He just might not establish real relationships with the other women. Newcomers might just be baby mommas rather than official parts of Team Jay.

  Everyone sat quietly for a moment until Huong said, “And what about Trina? You said something about thinking that you had figured out what the problem there was.”

  “Yes, it is simple. With each of our fusions, I have wanted deeply to connect with you. To comfort, reassure, and even specifically to fuse with you. And if I get it right, each time the ones I have fused with have wanted the same thing. Remember intent seems to control here,” Jay said.

  “I know I sure wanted to be accepted by you and joined with you. It was the most important thing in the world to me,” Mia said and the other girls all nodded in agreement.

  “With Trina, the fusion was born in pain and to be blunt, I didn’t trust her entirely so how could I want to be one with her. I’m not sure, but I don’t think she trusts me either and the pain we shared hardly made a conducive environment.”

  “So, how do we fix that?” Huong asked.

  “Simple, if not easy. We have to trust each other. I have to believe that she isn’t going to turn on me and she has to believe that I will value her as a real individual and not just another part of a harem, which is a negative thing in her mind. To make that happen, she and I are going to have to spend more time together, maybe go on some scouting missions together. But she is also going to have to get to know all of you. If she feels the value of the fusion as a whole, then she will be more inclined to trust me,” Jay said.

  “Okay, so, what now?” Amelia asked.

  “Now, I see if Trina will go with me to scout the rest of this floor.”

  Amelia clearly didn’t like that answer so she added, “And I will come along as a chaperone.”

  Jay shook his head. “Not until you can learn to get along with her.”

  “But…”

  “No buts, wife. I am going to expect you to honor that vow you made now,” he said while staring intently at her.

  “Yes, husband,” she said and Jay swore that she was screaming in her head a moment later as Ava whispered in her ear, “See, it is fun obeying Master.”

  Chapter 22- Scouting for Information

  Jay didn’t want to stick around to see how that conversation went so he simply said, “I’m gonna go scout with Trina, if she is willing. I’d like it to just be the two of us, but if necessary you all can vote on a person or team to go with us. I will accept what you decide.”

  Then he walked off while telepathically asking Trina to meet him. A few minutes later they met right outside the house he had woken up in. “So, would you like to scout this floor with me? I expect it is less dangerous than the other dungeon floors but we can’t take that for granted.”

  “Oh, that
is actually what my team was doing when you called me. We can handle it if you want,” Trina replied.

  “I sorta need to stretch my legs. Would you be okay scouting with me?” Jay asked.

  Trina smiled and said, “Of course. My team will all be happy to spend time with you, but I can’t promise that some of them won’t hit on you.”

  “Actually, I meant just you and me. I was hoping for more time for us to talk.” As he spoke, Jay heard Amelia’s voice in his head. “We trust you, but please let us know if you get in any trouble right away, and I mean any trouble.”

  “Oh are you asking me out?” Trina asked back. Then she too got a distant look. Probably her team asking her if she was okay.

  “You can say that. I’m not here trying to be Mr. Cool. We got off on the wrong foot when you joined this cluster. You know it. I know it. And I am saying that I want to fix it. We can’t forget about it. That isn’t real. Not any more than you can forget about your impressions of me from Earth. But what we can do is acknowledge and move past it,” Jay said.

  “But can we? I am beginning to believe that you can although for weeks I thought you would never forgive me. It dawned on me though that you probably never felt threatened by me, not with the way you handled me then. I hope that I can move past it. I mean I think I already have. I really do like you, Jay, and that isn’t just the hormones speaking. But even if you and I can move on, can your wives? Will they accept me as an equal?”

  Jessie’s voice sounded off, “Yes we can. You just have to do your part.” Then she shook her head as if with regret. “And admittedly some of us, well one of us will be harder to win over.”

  “Amelia,” Trina pronounced the name slowly and with a depressed tone.

  “Yeah, Amelia. Huong is already willing to have you join us but I suspect you know why. Ava is on board because she likes you. Although, I think she likes everyone. Mia thinks he should put a ring on your finger but that you still need to work on patching things up with us, mostly because she believes you make us stronger.”

  Then she glanced over at Jay before adding, “I’m jealous but what is done is done, so I’m okay with you. I can respect that you are strong and as long as you understand that you aren’t just fusing with Jay but with all of the other wives too, then you have my support.”

  Jay was paying close attention, so much so that he wasn’t running his usual scans of the surrounding area. He kept quiet but wanted to hear what they had to say to one another and was just glad he didn’t have to read their minds.

  “What about Meikiyo?” Trina asked.

  “She never says much, but she is religiously devoted to Jay. Heck we all are at some level, but he is like her personal messiah or something like that. Now that they are fused her crisis of faith is over and she is all in favor of adding more girls to the fusion as long as they are fully committed. Which is a long way of saying, I don’t think you will have to worry about her. It is just Amelia you have to win over and she doesn’t trust easily. Half the time I don’t think she trusts me,” Jessie answered.

  “Are there others being considered for fusion?” Trina asked.

  “Jay likely won’t admit to it, but yes, it is likely going to have to be something that is expanded,” Jessie said.

  The caramel-skinned beauty asked, “Umm… can I ask who else is being considered?”

  “That probably depends on who you ask. Look, this isn’t something we go around talking about in public, cause well you know it could cause a lot of discord. But you are almost a wife, so I will tell you on the condition that you don’t share it with anyone else, even your team,” Jessie replied.

  “That is fair, you have my word.”

  Jessie ran her hand through her brilliant blue hair and glanced at Jay but he had his face as blank as he could possibly manage. “So again, it depends on who you ask. But we talk about this a lot. We all agree that some consideration needs to be given to who has the best powers to add to the fusion. But we also know Jay well enough, he won’t fuse with anyone that doesn’t want the lifelong union.

  “Heck he may not fuse with anyone that he doesn’t think he can fall in love with. Our boy here is sorta old-fashioned like that. I know you and some of the others didn’t believe it but hopefully you know now, we really aren’t making it up. Jay doesn’t like the idea of random sex, even if it’s good sex.”

  “So is there a short list of those being considered?” Trina asked, while looking at Jay.

  “Don’t ask me. I’m not the one sitting around talking about this stuff. I am as on the outside as you are about this,” he replied.

  Jessie said, “Huong slants her choices in favor of those that she thinks are good in bed. Ava just looks for those that she thinks make Jay happy. Amelia looks for those that she thinks won’t fight with her for the position of first wife, even though she should know by now that we all love her too and have conceded the spot to her. Honestly, I don’t think that he will ever love anyone as much as he loves Amelia and Meikiyo.”

  “That isn’t fair. I love each of you. You have to know how I feel about you. Even the bond conveys that much,” Jay protested.

  “Yeah, yeah, but it is distinctive for each of us. Anyway though, I wasn’t supposed to be complaining, I was talking about who makes sense to fuse. Meikiyo only wants those who will fight for Jay while Mia and I are in my opinion the most objective about it. From all of us the names that come up the most often are, Madison, Sora, Daphne, and Harper for their powers. Charlotte, Martina, Rosa, Nalani, and you for the reactions Jay gets around them.

  “You are kind of a moot point now and Rosa has been clear that she doesn’t want a romantic relationship with him. Charlotte mostly because Jay has a thing for her and Maddy together. Nalani is on the fence about if she wants a serious relationship, but just like Rosa she has a kid with him and Jay seems to be pretty into being a dad,” Jessie said to Trina.

  “And Martina?”

  “Oh, she has some special talents that Jay seems very fond of, not that I can blame him. I’ve watched the way she walks.” Jessie laughed and both the girls laughed for a moment before Trina got serious again.

  “Okay, thank you for being so blunt with me. I prefer to let my actions speak for themselves, but you should know that I am firmly committed to saving as many humans and in the end the human race as possible. I believe that Jay is the best bet for that and he has shown himself to be the man that I dreamed about. He makes me feel like a schoolgirl with her first crush and yet there is history and baggage there,” Trina said.

  Both girls looked at Jay now and Jessie asked, “Are you gonna say anything or just stand there with that Cheshire cat grin?”

  Jay shrugged. “I didn’t want to interrupt, was learning valuable information. Don’t worry about Amelia. She is more bark than bite and there is a reason for that. But that is her story to tell, not mine. As for Trina, it is inevitable. We just have to figure out how to build trust between us so that we can finish the fusion and gain the full benefits of it.”

  Trina got a confused look on her face. “Full benefits? What do you mean? My stats shot up. I gained sixteen levels. My metabolism is insane now and I got three new skills from you.”

  Jessie said, “Don’t look at me. I’m the unfused one remember. I only have secondhand knowledge.”

  Jay grinned and said, “Oh if only you knew. Let’s put it this way. You have three hundred and fifty-eight base stat points now, whereas all of the other fused wives have more than five hundred. I thought you would have figured that out by looking at the shared status page.”

  “Shared status page?”

  “Oh, that must be because the fusion isn’t complete. The other girls and I can call up our status page but it shows the stats for everyone who is part of the fusion, including you,” Jay said.

  “So you mean that I would be able to see each of their stat pages? Oh and they can see mine now? What about you? If they have over five hundred stat points, how much do you have? It ha
s to be more,” Trina said almost like she was talking to herself.

  “I could tell you but I don’t want to ruin the surprise. There is also another big perk that comes from finishing the fusion. You will get an ability from each of the other girls and they will get an ability from you. For that matter, I will get one from you too. At least that is how all the completed fusions have worked. Yours was different because it was born in shared pain not shared bliss,” Jay replied.

  “Wait, so you didn’t get stronger because of our fusion?” Trina asked.

  “I gained eight levels which seems to be the common theme and I gained stat boosts but no new skill like the other girls gave me,” he answered.

  “I’m sorry. I will fix it if I can,” Trina said and then she paused like she was thinking. “That’s it. We just need to have sex and then it will be fixed. I can make you feel bliss, that much I promise and from the way my team talks about you, I don’t think it will be a problem for you to get me there either.”