Man Made God 003

by Brandon Varnell

  Adam rolled his eyes. “You say that, but how many times did I have to save you when we played the Frozen Winter expansion?”

  “And how many times did I save you when you first began playing?” shot back Aris.

  “What can I say? I was a noob back then.” Adam shrugged.

  “I did actually play World of Wargcraft when I was younger.” Fayte smiled, though it was tinged with sadness. “Father didn’t approve though. He said girls shouldn’t be playing games and demanded I focus on learning etiquette and how to act like a proper woman.”

  “Screw your dad. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Aris said with a huff before she shoved some chicken into her mouth.

  Aris was becoming a lot more animated as time passed since her recovery, but Adam considered that a good thing. No, it was the best possible outcome. This was the Aris from before she got Mortems Disease, before her body had started atrophying and her physical weakness left her exhausted most days.

  Back during the year when Adam had first met her, Aris had been a rough and tumble girl. When she wasn’t playing video games, she was getting filthy playing around in the dirt. They used to live in the countryside. The town they lived in was small, with a population of no more than maybe two or three thousand people.

  Towns and cities the world over had experienced a massive population decrease thanks to World War III and Mortems Disease. Cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong had been reduced to nearly half of their original population. Towns like the one Aris grew up in had become the norm.

  As dinner continued, Fayte ended up flicking through her tablet. Adam was closest to her, sitting between her and Aris, so he could see that she was looking at online forums regarding information on Age of Gods. There were still mostly just rumors, but there were also a few national announcements from other countries. There was even one international announcement that happened about one hour after they logged out.

  “It looks like Lin Akamine has conquered the first dungeon in Age of Gods,” Fayte said. “I expected nothing less from the woman who is hailed as the greatest VR player in history.”

  That reminded him that his party had not conquered the magic academy. They had only managed to reach the first forty floors. He wondered how many floors they would have to travel up to conquer it. Also, was the magic academy even considered a dungeon? He wasn’t sure.

  “She is pretty impressive,” Adam said. “It sounds like she’s gotten stronger too. I kind of wish I could battle her again.”

  “Didn’t you fight against her when you took first place in the International VR Championship three years ago?” asked Aris. “I remember watching you, but I can’t remember everyone you fought.”

  “Lin Akamine was one of them,” Adam said with a nod. “She was easily the toughest opponent I’ve ever fought, especially since I was still not used to virtual reality at the time.”

  While many virtual reality games did their best to simulate reality, that did not mean they did a perfect job. Aside from Age of Gods, all other VR games had issues that made using skills picked up in real life difficult inside of the game. The avatar bodies he used also never felt like his own body. That was one of the areas where Age of Gods differed.

  Fayte suddenly paused after scrolling through the information. Her hand trembled a little. Concerned, Adam leaned in to look at what her tablet said and noticed that she had switched to a chatroom and was staring at a name on the screen.

  Flame Emperor.

  “Isn’t he one of the Four Elements you told me about?” Adam asked. “Do you know him?”

  “Flame Emperor. His real name is Mason Dairing.” Fayte gave him and Aris a thin smile that looked like it might break at any moment. “He’s my older brother.”

  Now Adam understood why she reacted that way. Her older brother was one of Levon’s Four Elements—one of his generals, in other words—which meant he probably had a very tight relationship with Levon. The Four Elements were, according to Fayte, the most powerful group after Levon and his vice-commander, Connor Sword.

  “I take it you and your brother don’t get along?” Adam said.

  “Yes.” Fayte sighed as she set down the tablet. “My brother was very happy when Levon expressed an interest in marrying me. In fact, it was Mason who introduced me to Levon. When I publicly rejected Levon at the party, I believe Mason felt as if I had disgraced him. He’s been very... harsh to me ever since.”

  “Sounds unpleasant,” was all Adam could say.

  “That sucks,” Aris added with an intense frown that looked out of place on such a cute face.

  Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Fayte gave Adam a humorless look. “Unpleasant is greatly understating the matter.”

  Adam could say nothing to that. An awkward feeling settled between him and Fayte for the rest of dinner.

  When dinner ended, Aris held out her hands to Adam and smiled. “I want to take a bath. Help me walk?”

  “So demanding,” Adam mock grumbled as he took her hands, grinning as he pulled the girl to her feet. “Since when have you been so impetuous?”

  “Hee-hee. Haven’t I always been this way?”

  It was true. Aris had been this way until she got sick. Now that she was recovering at an astonishing pace, her original demeanor was returning. It warmed his heart. He never thought that playful and mischievous girl from back then would come back to him.

  With Adam’s help, Aris walked into the bathroom. He had Aris hold onto the counter as he stripped off her clothes. She was dressed in the pajamas she’d been wearing since last night. He slid the pink pajama bottoms off her hips, then removed her cotton white panties, slowly moving them down her ankles.

  “Lift your left foot, please. Now the right.”

  Aris struggled to lift her feet so he could slide her clothing off, but she still managed it after a little difficulty. Adam took careful note of how her legs were shaking from the exertion.

  As Adam came back up, he found himself stopping halfway. Aris’s butt was in his face right now. While it looked a little soft because she had been unable to exercise for so long, it was still a beautiful and pert butt. Each cheek was shaped like a perfect oval, and the overall contours of her hips and ass formed a lovely heart shape. Once she toned up, this would become an even more magnificent rear end.

  Of course, what really caught Adam’s attention was not her butt.

  Adam had seen Aris naked many times in the past, but he had never given any thought to it because she had Mortems Disease. Her body would never be able to withstand the rigors of sex. He didn’t want to harm her, so he always kept his desire on a tight leash.

  Now that she was recovering, Adam found the sight of her hairless mound arousing, and he was now very, very horny.

  “Adam?” asked Aris.

  He took a deep breath and tried to settle down his racing heart. “Yes?”

  “I have to pee.”

  “Oh…”

  Trying to keep his cheeks from flushing, Adam had Aris turn around and removed her shirt, then helped her sit on the toilet. As she was going to the bathroom, Adam turned on the bath. He wasn’t sure how well her body could hold up to heat right now. That was why he only turned it onto a medium-high setting, enough to make the water warm but not produce steam.

  After she went to the restroom, Adam used the same disinfectant wipes to clean Aris’s body the way he always did before helping her into the bath.

  “Aren’t you going to join me?” Aris asked.

  Adam hesitated. He wanted to join her, but he was worried he wouldn’t be able to control himself.

  “I’m not a glass figurine, you know.” Aris pouted at him as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. “I know we can’t have sex yet, but we can at least do other things, can’t we?”

  “I… yes. You’re right.” He smiled. “Sorry. I was letting my worry get the best of me.”

  “Hee-hee. You’re always worrying about me. It’s one of the th
ings I love about you.”

  Adam removed his clothes, wiped himself down, and sank into the warm tub behind Aris. She immediately leaned back against him. As her soft back came into contact with his chest and her butt with his crotch, Adam experienced the same thrill he always did, only it was magnified a thousandfold.

  His breathing became just a little heavy.

  “You can touch me if you want,” Aris murmured softly.

  Even though she said he was allowed to touch her, Adam still hesitated. Was it really okay? He’d been resisting his urges for so long that he was worried about what would happen if he gave in. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt the woman he loved.

  Whether Adam was worried or not, Aris seemed determined to get something from him. She grabbed his hands and raised them to her chest. As his fingers brushed against the soft plumpness of her chest, Adam sucked in a breath. Aris did not have a large chest. She was only a 31B, but the softness of her breasts, the elasticity he felt as he touched her, and the soft nubs that were already growing stiff, caused his mind to blank.

  “Mmm…”

  Aris’s soft moan as he began rubbing her chest only served to further drive Adam down a hole he could not crawl out of. He started softly, but his rubbing soon became more vigorous as time passed. Only his concern for Aris’s well being, which was more powerful than his desire to claim her body, kept him from being rougher.

  “Haaah… haaaah… I-I think… my boobs are more sensitive than they used to be,” Aris panted as he began lightly teasing her nipples. He traced his fingers around them, flicked them up and then down, and ever so gently pulled on them. Aris released a louder cry at his tug.

  “It’s probably because your nerve endings have recovered,” Adam theorized. “Mortems Disease kills everything, including your nerves. Since your nerves were dying, you couldn’t feel much. That was good at the time since it meant you wouldn’t feel pain, but now that you’re healed, your nerves have also become active. I imagine these heightened sensations will stop once you grow accustomed to having active nerves ending.”

  “I’m not sure… haaah… mmmm… ahn… I’m not sure I want to get used to it,” Aris admitted.

  Adam could not stop himself from smiling wryly, but then he leaned down and pressed his lips to her neck. Aris’s breathing hitched as his lips branded her slender, beautiful neck, causing her to tilt her head and grant him better access. He traced his lips across her skin. It was perhaps the result of her overstimulated nerve endings, but Aris was sensitive everywhere.

  As he kissed her neck and shoulders, Adam finally could no longer resist his impulses and desires, and so he removed one of his hands from her breasts and trailed it across her stomach. The way her soft belly twitched when he glided his fingers across her skin spurred him on. Her breathing grew increasingly heavier the longer he kept this up, until, finally, he reached the most sacred place on her body.

  “Oh…”

  Aris’s eyes went wide as Adam pressed his finger between her thighs. He didn’t insert it. He rubbed his finger against her lips, enjoying the way her thighs squirmed against him, then found the hood of flesh hiding her pearl. He worked out that little bundle of nerves and slowly stroked it.

  “Oh! Adam! That feels… haaah… mmm… that feels… like I’m being shocked…”

  “So it’s electric?”

  “Verily.”

  “What does that word even mean?”

  Aris could not answer Adam as he rubbed her small clitoris with his index and middle finger. It was tiny—small and cute like her. Adam enjoyed the way it pulsed as he rubbed it.

  “A-Adam… I feel something… ah… something’s coming!”

  “Mmm. Let it come. Don’t resist.”

  “!!!”

  Aris opened her mouth in a soundless screamed and arched her back. She stretched out her legs and feet as far as they would go, toes curling as her body twitched several times. Adam could not feel her juices staining his hand, but that was only because they were in the bath. He might not be the most experienced guy around, but he knew an orgasm when he saw one.

  “Haaah… haaaah… haaaaaaaaaah…”

  Adam looked at Aris as she breathed hard. Now that she’d orgasmed, he was a little worried. Her body was still weak. What if this caused her to weaken further?

  “How are you feeling? Everything all right?” he asked.

  “Haaah… hmmm… Adam?” Aris was still breathless as she turned her head to look at him.

  “Yes?”

  “That felt great.”

  He almost snorted but settled for a smile instead. “I’m glad you liked it.”

  “I want you to do that again.”

  “Once is enough for now. I’m still worried you might not be able to handle more.”

  Aris looked like she wanted to pout, but then she noticed something sticking out of the water. Adam noticed it at nearly the same time as her.

  “Then… should I take care of you instead?”

  Adam considered accepting her offer. It would be nice to have someone other than himself take care of this problem, and just imagining Aris’s soft hands wrapped around his hot, throbbing flesh was enough to make him twitch. But then another thought occurred to him.

  He shook his head. “Not yet. I want my first experience with you to be when you’re body is fully recovered so I can have all of you. I don’t want to stop halfway.” He paused. “Besides, it will make the bathwater dirty.”

  “The bathwater is already dirty,” Aris pointed out.

  “It will make the bathwater dirtier.”

  “That sounds like an excuse to me. Are you trying to blue-ball yourself?”

  “I have no idea where you learned that word, but you’re forbidden from using it from now on.”

  “Hee-hee. Don’t be like that.”

  It was later at night and Adam was lying in bed. Aris was lying on top of his chest, her body covered with a blanket and blue pajamas. Adam was, of course, bare-chested so Aris could enjoy the feeling of his skin.

  As he stroked her back, enjoying the sensation of her body even though it was through her clothes, a soft vibrating sound reached his ears. He turned his head to find the phone on his wireless charger vibrating. Reaching out with one hand, he looked at who was calling, then accepted the call.

  “Astaroth, what is it?” he asked.

  “I wanted to let you know that we have consistently killed Thor God of Thunder and his level is now back to 1,” the gruff voice of Astaroth came from the other end.

  “Hmm. Good. You can let him go for now, but I’d like you to find out his identity in the real world.”

  “Are you planning to kill him?”

  “I haven’t decided yet.”

  While Adam did not like anyone hitting on Aris, he also wasn’t so unreasonable that he’d kill someone just for trying to flirt with her. At the same time, this man was a member of Levon Pleonexia’s Four Elements, which already made him an enemy. Killing him would reduce Levon’s overall fighting strength. It was something to consider.

  “This guy is probably from a rich family. If we kill him, there will definitely be an investigation. I’ve no doubt the police will be involved, and depending on how powerful his family is, they might decide to get the American Federation’s government involved as well. We would also have to consider Levon’s response.”

  There were a lot of factors to consider when killing someone. The first issue was, of course, the fact that killing was the highest crime a person could commit in this day and age where every life was considered precious. With the Earth’s population reduced to about a third of what it had been, every government in the world had not only banned fighting but punished killing with the heaviest punishments available.

  Slave labor.

  Because killing was frowned upon no matter who you were or what you had done, no government would mete out the death sentence. They would instead force a shock collar on you and then make you work for them for the res
t of your life. You would forever be a slave to the government, working on the most menial of manual labor until your body gave out and you died miserably.

  “I understand, Master. We will have the information back to you in a few days’ time,” Astaroth said.

  “Keep up the good work.”

  Adam thought this was all Astaroth wanted from him, but the other man did not hang up.

  “Also…”

  “Was there something else?”

  “We received a request from Levon Pleonexia last week.”

  “Oh?”

  Adam wished he could sit up, but with Aris pressing her entire body onto his chest, he could barely even shift, lest he woke her. His fingers clenched the phone. He was glad his phone had some armor plating to protect it, otherwise it would have broken under his grip.

  “They want us to find out who you and Lilith are in real life.”

  Now that was interesting. He knew the Soul Reapers had done business with Levon Pleonexia before. Their motto was that they would work for anyone so long as the said person was willing to pay their price. With this motto as their main slogan, even if they wanted to deny Levon, they could not because it would look strange and might ruin their reputation. Also, there was nothing wrong with leeching that man of his money.

  “Accept the contract, but don’t do anything with it yet,” Adam decided at last. “If he ever asks if you’ve found anything, remind him of our rules and tell him that you’ll cut ties if he continues to question you.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  Astaroth finally hung up and Adam set his phone, now with new finger-shaped indents on the metal casing, back on the wireless charger. He looked back at Aris to make sure she was still asleep, but it was obvious she was because her breathing and heart rate had not changed at all. It was impossible to wake up and not at least show some signs unless you were trained to do so like him.

  Once he was certain Aris was still sleeping peacefully, Adam shut his eyes and went to sleep as well.

  In-Game Aris