Man Made God 003
Page 9
Magic Defense: +125
Dodge-Rate: 300%
Magic Attack: +25
Name: Changing_Fayte
Class: Mage
Lvl: 15
SP: 0
AP: 35,200
Experience: 1,028,050/2,457,600
Reputation: 45,000
Strength: +5
Constitution: +25
Dexterity: +10
Intelligence: +70
Speed: +5
Physical Attack: +5
Health: 510/510
Hit-rate: 10%
MP: 915/915
Movement: +5
Defense: +46
Magic Defense: +90
Dodge-Rate: 10%
Magic Attack: +195
Academy Ruins
“How does that feel? Does it hurt anywhere?”
“No… but it does feel a little tight.”
“That’s good. It should feel like that. It’s proof that you’re regaining feeling in your muscles.”
Aris was lying on the floor as Adam knelt above her. He had one hand on her left leg, holding it up so her leg was perpendicular to the ground. He maintained that position for several seconds, then moved it backward until her knee was touching her chest before bringing it back to its original position. He moved slowly, asking her to let him know if she felt any pain.
“Maintain your breathing. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slowly now.”
“I know. Haaaaah. Hoooooh. Haaaaah. Hooooh. I got this.”
It was the morning after Adam, Fayte, Lilith, Titania, and Kureha entered the magic academy. They would be logging onto the game soon, which meant Aris would be alone since he had asked her to not leave the Village of Beginnings until he could be there when she left.
He was, at this moment, helping her do some simple stretches to get the blood flowing back into her legs. Aris’s thighs and calves were smooth like fine silk and more supple than most people would have expected from a woman who once had Mortems Disease. Adam had been constantly infusing his own energy into her body to stimulate her muscles and nerves. That and his blood were the reasons her body hadn’t deteriorated like everyone else who got this disease.
Being able to freely touch these amazing legs was Adam’s blessing and something he admittedly took guilty pleasure in. He was the only person Aris would let touch her. Of course, he knew part of that reason was that she’d had Mortems Disease until recently. Since it was highly contagious, very few people would be willing to go near someone who had it, but Adam liked to think that even if she never contracted it, she still would not let any man except him touch her.
Now that he was thinking about it, Fayte was pretty abnormal as well. She was not immune like him. Even so, she still allowed Aris to live with her.
Aris suddenly made a slightly squished face as Adam put more weight on her leg than he intended.
“Adam, that hurts.”
“Does it? Sorry.”
He eased off. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he did want to know how limber she was since it would help him determine what stretches she could and couldn’t do in the future.
At that moment, Aris was still dressed in her pajamas. The pink pants were very cute on her slender hips and supple thighs, and the button up pink shirt covered her modest chest. As he pushed her right leg down until it touched her chest, he grabbed her small foot, which was no bigger than his hand, and rolled it a little.
“How does that feel?”
“Mmm. It feels fine… I think? It doesn’t hurt if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Okay. Let’s do a few more stretches then. We’ve got time.
“Hee-hee. I think you just enjoy manipulating my body. Would you like to make me do some lewd poses? It’s okay. You can do it if you want.”
“…That’s enough out of you.”
They went through several more stretches. There were some that she couldn’t do yet, like the lying pectoral stretch, which was where a person laid on their stomach with both arms extended to the sides, then pushed off the ground with the left hand, bent the left knee for balance, and rolled onto their right side. Her muscles simply weren’t developed enough for such extraneous movement. Adam cataloged what she could and couldn’t do and composed a routine they could follow.
“Breakfast is ready, you two,” Fayte called as she walked into the living room.
While Aris was still dressed in her pajamas, Fayte was wearing her usual jeans and a turtleneck sweater. She wore an apron over her turtleneck. It was white with pink polka dots.
“Ah! Breakfast!” Aris’s eyes lit up like twin bonfires at a festival. She looked at Adam and held out her hands. “Adam, can you help me up?”
Adam reached out and grabbed her soft hands. She had delicate fingers, which she curled around his as he pulled her up. She was able to stand with his help but leaned into him immediately after. Standing up still took a lot of effort. She couldn’t stand for long, much less walk, so Adam carried her to the couch.
That said, it’s amazing that she can stand so soon with or without aid. I didn’t expect her to be capable of this for at least another week.
A sweet cinnamon scent wafted through the air as Fayte put three plates and a large serving tray on the coffee table. Aris stared at the pan filled with French toast made from thick cuts of Texas toast. Adam needed to look at her a second time because it looked like she had hearts in her eyes for a moment, but… yeah, it must have been his imagination.
“This looks delicious! Fayte, you’re such an amazing cook!” Aris complimented the woman.
Fayte smiled, and because she never wore her veil at home, they were able to see the truly wondrous way her gently curved lips lit up the entire room. Adam likened Fayte’s smiles to the gentle blooming of a red rose illuminated by the first rays of the morning sun. It was breathtaking. Even Aris found herself staring in stunned silence at it.
“Thank you. I hope you enjoy its flavor as much as its presentation.”
“I’m sure I will!” Aris said with an enthusiasm she didn’t bother to hide.
Maybe it was the result of his blood helping her out, but while Aris still couldn’t walk, she could do many other things she had not been able to do before. One of those was eat by herself.
The plate of French toast that Fayte served Aris sat on her lap, and she was using a fork to cut the food into smaller bites. This French toast was fairly soft because it had been soaking overnight. That meant it was much easier to cut into smaller bites and didn’t require a knife. As she stuck the first bite into her mouth, stars appeared to burst from Aris’s eyes as a delirious moan escaped her pink lips.
“Thish ish sho good! Sho good! Oh ma gawd! Ish feelsh like ish melhing in my mouth!”
Adam and Fayte looked at each other from over Aris as she enjoyed the food and shared a smile. While Fayte still acted oddly around them when he and Aris were acting like a couple, she seemed to enjoy it when Aris complimented her cooking.
“How do you like it, Adam?” asked Fayte.
Taking a bite, Adam responded with a lot more restraint than his lover. The combination of cinnamon and sugar was present in every bite, but it didn’t overpower the flavor from the eggs and milk. There was just the right amount of sweetness. He also detected a small hint of cream, which he thought brought the two separate flavors together in harmony.
“Aris was right. This is delicious,” he said at last. “I couldn’t have made it better if I tried.”
Fayte’s smile grew even wider as a soft warmth spread across her cheeks. “I’m very happy to hear that.”
Adam wouldn’t say he found himself mesmerized by Fayte’s smile, but he did find it hard to look away. No matter what he said and no matter how much he loved Aris, he still could not deny that Fayte was an attractive woman. It didn’t help that he’d gotten to see so many sides of her during their time cohabitating.
Aris seemed to notice him and Fayte staring at each other. There was an odd look on her face, like she was thin
king hard about something, or maybe like she wanted to say something but was holding back. Seeing that expression made Adam realize what he was doing and look away.
He coughed into his hand. “Anyway, are you about ready to explore the magic academy?”
“I am,” Fayte said, taking a deep breath. “I just hope we find what we’re looking for in that academy. The last thing I want is for us to spend several days fruitlessly searching for something that doesn’t exist.”
“Even if we don’t find a hidden class, I believe we’ll at least find some items that will make it worth our while,” Adam said.
“You two are so lucky.” Aris pouted at them. “You get to play Age of Gods. Meanwhile, I’m going to be stuck here for several hours.”
“I’m sorry,” Adam said.
He did feel guilty about telling her not to play, but Adam wanted to be the person she did everything with. He wanted to be there when she arrived in Watershore, wanted to join her when she went on the mayor’s quest, and wanted to spend the rest of his time in the game with her. It was selfish of him. He knew that. Just like he knew Aris would listen to him if he told her not to play.
I feel like I’m taking advantage of her, and yet I know that won’t stop me. Does that make me a bad person?
“If you’re really sorry, then you’ll take a bath with me after you finish playing,” Aris said with a narrow-eyed smile.
Fayte looked away when she heard those words, a small frown on her face. Adam tried to ignore that and the way his chest fluttered as he nodded.
“Deal.”
With the deal between him and Aris sealed, Adam decided to play Age of Gods in the living room instead of his room. He didn’t have any entertainment in his bedroom. Aris could watch TV, play video games, and enjoy the sun streaming in through the window if they were in the living room. Fayte went to her bedroom. She claimed that she wasn’t comfortable leaving her body vulnerable like this.
The body was more or less unconscious whenever people played VR games. That was one of the dangers of playing. There had once been a report about a man who raped his roommate while she was playing VR games, which had caused a huge backlash at the time, though this had not been a major problem for the last ten years. Ten years ago was when the new lock systems had been installed. Now only people who had access to a room were capable of entering. Of course, it was still possible for someone to assault a person while they were playing VR games, but reports of it happening had gone down from several dozen a year to just one or two.
On that note, Fayte had programmed him into every room, including her own, which went to show the level of trust she had in him. Adam would make sure to never betray her trust.
“Lay down.” Aris, sitting up straight instead of slumping over like she had the day before, patted her thighs and smiled at him.
“You’re gonna let me use your lap as a pillow?” Adam raised an eyebrow.
“Hee-hee. I’ve always wanted to do this for you. Normally, you’re the one letting me rest on your thighs, but this time, I get to return the favor.”
Aris was so excited about letting him rest on her lap that even if he was inclined to say no—and he wasn’t—he didn’t think he would be able to resist.
He laid down on his back and set his head on her thighs. They were soft and squishy. Adam believed they should be a little firmer and worried that it was because of how badly her muscles had atrophied, but he shook the thought off. They were doing all they could to get her body back in shape. He was just being paranoid.
The last thing Adam felt before he logged onto Age of Gods was Aris gently running her hands through his hair.
When Adam appeared in the game, he was standing in the middle of the atrium of the ruined magic academy. The tent was still there, but Titania and Kureha were not using it right now. Kureha looked like she was chasing after a cricket, but Titania was sitting against a destroyed column with her knees drawn up to her chest. She looked up when he appeared.
“You have finally arrived.”
“Yeah. Sorry. I know you had to wait for a long time.”
“It is fine. Now we just need to wait for the others.”
Fayte was the first one after Adam to arrive. Lilith and Susan logged on not long after she did. With everyone present, they finally set off in a standard diamond formation with Adam in the front, spellcasters in the middle, and Lilith in the rear.
The magic academy was extravagantly large, to the point where Adam felt like it was impractical. After ascending the first flight of stairs, they ran into a moving staircase that caused them no end of trouble. They ended up having to double back several times as the staircases moved on them. There were also several enemies on this staircase that were even harder to kill than the [dire wolves] outside.
Name: Vengeful Spirit
Description: The vengeful spirit of a student who died at the academy during its sacking.
Class: None
Lvl: 35
Health: 150,000/150,000
MP: 180,000/180,000
Strength: +50
Constituion: +800
Dexterity: +100
Intelligence: +1,000
Speed: +50
Skills:
Skill Name: Fireball
Description: The vengeful spirit shoots a fireball from its staff
Damage = Intelligence
MP Cost: 30
Cooldown Time: 5 seconds
Skill Name: Thunderbolt
Description: The vengeful spirit fires a thunderbolt from its staff
Damage = Intelligence * 180%
MP Cost: 50
Cooldown Time: 5 seconds
Skill Name: Curse
Description: The vengeful spirit has a 15% chance of casting Curse
When someone is cursed, they have 100 seconds to kill the vengeful spirit, or they will die
MP Cost: 1,500
Cooldown Time: 60 seconds
While the [vengeful spirit] wasn’t much stronger than the [Dire Wolf], it was also floating in the air, making it much harder to reach. It looked like a classic grim reaper. Ragged robes covered its body. It didn’t have any legs, but the robes became more translucent near the bottom. Its head wasn’t covered by the hood of the robe, meaning they could see the terrifying skeletal face and blood-red orbs filled with resentment as it glared at them from its empty eye sockets. A gnarled staff was gripped firmly in its left hand, which was pointed at them.
“Kureha! Fayte! Susan! Fire at will! Titania, sing the [Song of Valor]!”
Adam gave orders immediately and strode in front of the girls as they moved to the back of the moving staircase. Titania hid behind his back and began singing. He instantly felt his body become lighter, stronger, sturdier, and he glared at the [vengeful spirit] as lightning burst from the tip and struck him in the chest.
-600!
Adam was very glad he had a lot more health than he used to. With nearly four thousand health, being dealt six hundred points worth of damage wasn’t much. What got to Adam was not the damage but the pain. His entire body felt like it had been struck by real lightning. His muscles seized up, his nerves flared with agony, and his body shook as he withstood the damage. Even though he only felt 15% of what he would feel in real life, that was still a lot. Honestly, he thought even 15% might be too much for a game.
The first person among his party to launch an attack was Kureha, who fired off a bolt of crackling lightning from her second tail. It struck the [vengeful spirit] and sent it soaring backward. A large number sign also appeared above it. She didn’t just stop with [Thunder Bolt] either, but cast [Fireball] soon after.
-3,036; -2,300!
After Kureha brought the [vengeful spirit’s] health down by around -5,000 points, Susan pulled back the arrow notched in her bowstring as a bright, incandescent light flared from the tip. Light energy swirled around the tip and gathered. It felt holy, pure, like a blade of divinity cutting through the darkness of this academy. Once her attac
k was ready, she released it.
-1,170!
[Light Arrow] was a skill that dealt six hundred percent damage to undead and enemies with a darkness element. The [vengeful spirit] was classified as an undead enemy, which meant her arrows effect was six times greater than if this had been a regular enemy. Sadly, the bow she was using didn’t grant her that big a bonus to her Physical Attack, so the attack still did less damage than Kureha’s magic.
-390!
Fayte was the last to launch her attack. [Energy Bolt] was the weakest among all the attacks so far, which was due to a combination of her normal class and lack of powerful weapons. Adam didn’t have a staff that could let her deal more damage than the one she already had.
Things would have been a lot worse for them if Kureha hadn’t been present. She was their heavy hitter when it came to long-range attacks. After her cooldown time ended, she launched two more attacks that dealt another five thousand points of damage. Of course, even with all that, they still only managed to deal about fifteen thousand points worth of damage. This [vengeful spirit] had +150,000 health.
Then Adam remembered he had two unique abilities thanks to his [Goddess of Creation Boots]. He had forgotten them because he didn’t have much use for them until now. They were [Flight] and [Double Jump].
He used both skills without hesitation to reach the [vengeful spirit] and attacked several times with [thrust] and [slash].
-3,990; -4,256; -3,990; -3,990; -3,990!
He only managed five attacks before his [Flight] ability ended and forced him to land back on the staircase. His attack also pulled the monster’s agro, but that was a good thing. Fayte, Susan, and Kureha were able to launch several attacks without being targeted as he downed a [middle-grade magic potion] to replenish his lost mana.
-3,036; -2,300!
-1,170!
-390!
-3,036; -2,300!
-1,170!
-390!
-3,990; -4,256; -3,990; -3,990; -3,990!
The four of them continued to trade attacks, using long-distance magical attacks mixed with hit and run tactics. Because she didn’t have a skill that would let her attack something floating so high above them, Lilith was the only one unable to contribute in this battle. Adam felt a little bad for her. However, he put those feelings out of his mind and focused on battling this enemy until the [vengeful spirit] was killed.