by Reed James
“Might be good to Yell yourself,” Iris said. “It's a useful ability. It gives a boost. Helps you kick some butt and win some of those cuties! Get to it!”
It was on my hotbar along with an offensive ability called Hard Strike. I activated Yell and my character let out a mighty roar, the grass before me rippling from the outburst. A cooldown counter of two minutes began counting down on the icon while I had a twenty second buff. For damage?
No time to find out, the first boar was on me.
I set my shield. I could almost feel the shivering impact. The scrape of tusks on wood ground together. Boots scraped on the grass. I swung my ax and slammed into its hide. Damage numbers burst in red. More than the last one.
Bristles shot from the other one, spiking into me for some minor damage. I pushed back with my shield and slammed down with my ax. A bloody rent ripped through the boar's hide. It squealed and collapsed into its death animation.
“Go, Marcus, go!” cheered Iris from my right.
“Now for you, little piggy!” I said, getting caught up in this. It was easy to forget that Iris wasn't a real person. Her AI was impressive. So was this game. Who invested so much money in what amounted to a porn game?
I readied Hard Strike, the counter on my Yell buff slowly ticking down. I didn't have to swing my arm this time. The animation took over. My character snarled, powerful and guttural, and slammed the ax down in a burst of red streaks. It crashed into the boar. Numbers exploded.
The boar squealed and dropped dead.
“Yay, yay, yay!” gasped Iris. She paused before me, doing a dance that combined the grace of a hula girl's swaying hips with a cheerleader's arm pumps, her little titties jiggling. “Now let's go!”
“Yeah,” I said, glancing at my HP. I still had a good amount, not even a quarter gone. I didn't notice any HP regeneration going down. Or TP. “So are healing items the only way to regain Hit Points and my TP?”
“Your Technical Points,” she said. “Physical attacks use those. You can also camp in appropriate spots and level-ups restore all expended resources.”
“So there's an attrition system,” I said. “What happens when I run out of Hit Points?”
“Why, death,” she said. “You don't want to die.”
I blinked at that. “Hardcore mode? I didn't know that was in-game.”
She giggled. “You say funny things, Marcus.”
“I guess so. Well, let's keep going down this path. Wherever it leads.”
“To a temple, I think.”
“The tutorial area,” I countered.
She giggled. “So funny!”
The path continued on but not for much longer. It opened onto an overgrown courtyard. The paving stones were buckled in places, thrust up by the roots of trees growing on the edges, or the new saplings thrusting up in the middle. Tufts of grass found purchase in the cracks. At the far end lay an overgrown structure draped in vines, the roof looking half-collapsed. Identical statues flanked the entrance, though only half of the busty figure remained on the left one. She had ample tits, whoever she was, arms spread wide in fertile invitation.
“Yep, a ruined temple,” said Iris.
“Is that a Shardhunter?” a man groaned. From behind the busty statue, an older man appeared, his beard streaked with iron strands, his face wrinkled. He rubbed gnarled hands together, a beseeching look on his face. “You must be a Shardhunter. Good sir, please, I need your help.”
All he was missing was a golden question mark to identify him as a quest giver.
I trotted to him, looking for any threats. He took a few steps towards me, rubbing hands on the leather pants he wore. Then he reached out to clasp my character's hand. He clutched to it, a look of desperation on his face.
“Please, Shardhunter,” he begged, “they took my daughters.”
“Your daughters?” I asked out of reflex.
“Yes!” his AI responded to my question. “We came here from our village, collecting Bloodroot and Heartleaf, when we encountered these scary, robed individuals. They had curved knives and their leader looked deformed. A black mist drifted out of his shadowed hood. He looked at me and I froze. He grabbed both my daughters and took them in there!” Tears brimmed in the man's eyes. “Please, they're only eighteen. Virgins! There's power in purity for those foul kind.”
“Oh, no!” Iris gasped.
“If you save them before they're sacrificed, I promise you that one will make you a good servant. Shelly is a fantastic cook, and Erica can sew any clothing you need. Just, please, please, help them.”
“My servants, huh?” I asked, an exciting thrill. Saving a virgin and getting the reward. I was liking the game more and more. “Sure, I'll take the quest.”
“Thank you!” he gasped, shaking my hand. “Thank you, good sir.”
“Marcus,” I said, the RPG spirit of this place infecting me. “If there are maidens in need of saving, I am the hero for you.”
“I know you are, Marcus!”
Damn, this game kept impressing me.
I glanced at the entrance to the temple, then up at the busty statue. She had carved drops beading on her nipples. Milk? What a hot treat that would be. “You imagine she'll be in there, Iris?”
“She?” The pixie darted to the statue and sat down on a stone nipple, straddling it with her legs and rubbing her pussy on it. “This is Shuwëmeri. She's the Goddess of Fertility, one of the Gods of Order. This must be her temple. 'Be welcome and sup deep from my mother's milk all who need succor and peace,' is what's written at the base of the statue.”
I glanced down at the strange runes. “Good to know. I hope there's some of that treat.”
Iris glanced at the temple. “It looks abandoned since the Shattering. Many lost their faith in the Gods, but they lost their faith in us first. It's why they broke the world.”
“And now there's some evil cultist in here.” I shook my head. “Figures.”
She gave a sad nod of her head. She then rose up. “Good thing you are here to set things right, Marcus.”
“Yeah,” I said and marched towards the entrance of the temple.
I passed into darkness. I blinked as the screen slowly lightened, adjusting like my vision would be if I were in the game. Out of the shadows came movement. I raised my shield as three orcs appeared. There was no mistaking the look of the humanoid enemy. Strong and muscular, brutish faces. They had red skin, not green, and wore leather armor and pants. Two wielded rusting swords while the third, larger than the others, wielded a two-handed mace.
“Blood-Stained Orcs!” gasped Iris. “Be careful, Marcus.”
“I just need to kill them,” I said and then Yelled.
I charged at the nearest one and unleashed a Hard Strike. My ax crashed into the first, leaving a bloody gash across his chest. The second fell on me, hitting me from behind, red flashing at the bottom of the screen. Then the first hit me, slipping past my shield.
“Guard! Guard!” shouted Iris.
I raised my shield and swung a second blow with my copper ax, cutting off the first's head. The orc fell to the ground, thrashing. I fell on the second as the boss advanced, his footsteps thumps. I slashed into the second grunt's chest, leaving a bleeding wound.
Then the boss raised his Maul. I raised my shield.
A deep, bellowing roar filled my headphones. The maul slammed into my shield. The force threw me back. I hit the ground and the entire screen shook. I struggled to move, but my character refused to cooperate. A debuff symbol appeared in the corner, a head with zagging lines bursting off of it.
“Stunned?” I groaned.
The boss laughed, the prick, and then slammed his maul down and hit my chest. Damage burst from me. My Hit Points dwindled. He hit me a second time. A third time while his minion hacked his rusting sword into me.
“Shit, shit, shit!” I growled, my life almost gone. “Wear off!”
The stun wore off. I raised my shield, catching the next sword stroke. I hit my hot bar and
drank my Diluted Potion of Angel Passion. My character slammed back the clear liquid in the healing potion. Twenty Hit Points, five normal strikes from the boss, regained. I had a chance again.
The boss smacked me in the head. My character lurched from the blow. I snarled and slammed my last Hard Strike into his flank. His Hit Points dwindled. The stun had eaten up my Yell buff's duration. It was now on cooldown. My Hit Points drained as the pair attacked me. My ax swung. My shield blocked.
My heart pounded. Sweaty palms grabbed my two control sticks. I swung them before me. I smacked into the orc, reveling in his yells. Iris shouted on the periphery. My Hit Points dwindled again and again.
The orc drew back, another stunner. It fell down.
I leaped back. It slammed into the ground before me. The floor shook. Sparks burst. I leaped forward and slashed my ax. It buried deep into his meaty shoulder blade. It spurted blood. The boss snarled as he reeled back and then crashed to the ground.
I did it. I beat the—
The second grunt stabbed me, almost killing me.
“You're not taking me down, bastard!” I growled. I wouldn't lose a Hardcore character on the first boss encounter. I hacked. Hard.
One. Two. Three blows slammed into the orc. Virtual blood spurted, drops splattering on my vision before fading away. The orc bellowed and then stumbled back.
“Khah!” it cursed as it sagged down and hit the ground.
The XP bar at the bottom of my screen, which had been filling up with blue, hit the end. A burst of golden light erupted around me. My HP went from 3 to 48. My TP refilled. A new skill flashed across my screen.
“Ooh, you did it!” whooped Iris, her hips swaying in the air. “Yay, yay! And you got your first level up!”
“I did,” I said and noticed the corpses all had a faint shimmer. I looted them for some copper coins and a Diluted Potion of Angel Passion, replacing the one I'd consumed. Then, out of a swirl of silver light, a chest appeared in the middle of the room.
“Wow, you spawned the Ultimate chest,” Iris said. She soared towards it and darted around it. The chest was bound in silver and burst with sparks. “Do you know how amazing that is? I didn't even know it was possible.”
“Yeah, probably not a lot of people spend $50,000 on a dumb loot box,” I said. This could never be worth it. Probably some weapon that I'd out-level pretty fast. Maybe some special gear that only made sense if I knew the other games the developers created. Shit like that. Well, I rolled my shoulders, grabbed the chest, and ripped it open.
Sparks exploded. They showered across my vision. I gasped as something struck me. Not in the game, but in life. My computer chair rolled back. A fist seized my chest. I screamed, my heart bursting with agony.
Something wrenched at me. I fell forward, the world twisting, compressing. I threw away the controller. I ripped off the goggles. I caught a glimpse of my computer screen, my character standing idle on it. My vision narrowed into a cone that dragged me forward.
I screamed as I plunged forward into...
Chapter Two: Awakening in Another World
Pain.
Darkness.
Light.
A groggy rise to consciousness.
Who am I?
Mark Taylor...
Who I was. A man who worked hard. Investment banker. Spent my life grinding for that money. Why? Love. Marriage. Kids. All lies. I wasted my time grinding for nothing. I might as well have been playing an MMORPG for the last twenty-five years.
Least I wouldn't feel empty now.
Who am I?
Marcus Aurelius?
A fabrication. A fantasy. Why not be him? Marcus Aurelius didn't grind to support a cheating wife and bastard kids who weren't his. Marcus Aurelius didn't work ungodly hours only to see it all taken away.
Why not be him?
I felt a body. Different. Strong. Young. No aches in my joints. No soreness in my lower back that made sleeping hard. No need for high blood pressure medicine. Flesh at the start of life. Able to make new decisions.
Marcus Aurelius.
A faint sensation. A small tongue, warm and wet, licking at the tip of my cock. It fluttered in such a playful manner. I groaned as the sensation drew me out of the abyss. Light bled through eyelids, the world assuming a faint, orange hue.
“Damn,” I groaned, struggling to open them. The small tongue licked across my slit, just nuzzling into it. Then a slurping sound filled my ears. “What happened?”
“Marcus?” a cheerful voice asked. Another lick. “Oh, Marcus, good, you're coming awake! Boy, gaining a level really zonked you out.”
“Level...” I blinked as I stared up at the ceiling. Shadowed cracks in stone. Vines breaking through to dangle curled fronds.
Vines? Stone Ceiling. Was I still in the game? I reached my hands up to pull off the headset. My fingers slid across a face. Different from mine. Skin smoothed. Nose bolder. I drew my hand over lips. The tongue kept licking at me. A warm body hugged my cock. Something juicy rubbed midway down. It was like a miniature person had wrapped herself around my dick.
“What is going on?” I groaned.
“You passed out during your level up, Marcus,” the squeaky voice said.
“Iris?” I asked.
“Yes?” she asked. A buzzing sound and then she humped up and down my cock. I could feel her small nipples, twin points, rubbing back and forth over my frenulum, the sensitive boundary between tip and crown. Her tongue licked into my slit. Her juicy pussy rubbed me.
“How are you humping my cock?” I groaned.
“I undid the lacing of your leather pants and extricated it. I knew my pussy and cute body would rouse you.”
“But why?” I groaned. She felt so good, but... How was I in the game? Had I gone crazy?
That chest... The computer pulling me in...
The $50,000 microtransaction. Had it pulled me into the game? Digitized me. Gave me a new beginning. I could grind to something better. Something more fun. What happened to my real me? Did it matter? Wasn't this the real me?
Felt like my thoughts.
And that small body humping on my cock. A pixie was making love to my dick. She ground that juicy twat on me. She fanned her wings, the buzzing sound, to work her body up and down my cock. Give me the pleasure I craved.
I embraced it.
“Think I need to be roused more,” I groaned.
“Spoken like a true Shardhunter!” she exclaimed and continued humping up and down my cock. Faster. Harder. She stimulated me.
I stared down my body, past the coat of chainmail to watch the little pixie. Her pink hair swayed about her little face as she sucked at the precum beading out of my cock like she was supping upon nectar from a flower. Her body held me tight. Her thighs and arms wrapped about my dick. Her gossamer wings hummed away.
I groaned, the sounds echoing through the dungeon room. My hands clenched and relaxed. Her hot pussy rubbed up and down my cock. The feel of her small breasts sliding over the frenulum of my cock sent such heat surging down my shaft.
My balls boiled.
“I'm going to drown you in cum,” I groaned.
“Goody!” she moaned, her hips wiggling from side to side, buffing that hairless twat on the side of my cock. If only she were bigger. “Just drown me, Marcus! I'm yours!”
“Yes, you are,” I growled, loving the sound of that. And she didn't even count towards my harem. I loved this. Such an exciting treat.
Her face nuzzled into my cock's tip. She licked and lapped and did such naughty things to me. I groaned, loving the way her thighs flexed about my shaft, her pussy humping. Those little titties massaged me.
The pressure built fast. This new life had such intriguing possibilities. My chainmail jingled around my torso. I breathed in deeply, the earthy scent of the ruined temple filling my nose. It was all so real. So here.
This was incredible. Worth $50,000.
“Iris!” I growled. “Goddamn, that's good. I'm going to cum on you. F
uck!”
My cock throbbed and pulsed, twitching against the hum of her wings. Those kept me pointing straight up. Then my jizz fired from the tip. She thrust her head over it, eyes closed. The second blast engulfed her little features in my jizz. I soaked her in a thick coating of cum while the pleasure slammed through my body.
“Shit, shit, shit!” I grunted, my body trembling through the bliss. It felt incredible. Stars danced before my eyes. “That's fucking amazing.”
The cum spilled down her face to her shoulders. More jizz fired up in the air and rained around us. The pleasure filled my mind with bliss. It felt more powerful than any orgasm I could remember. My body spasmed.
I heard her sucking. The cum on her face drew into her little mouth, exposing the features of her face coated in a layer of pearly spunk. Her tongue licked out, seeming too big. It crossed her entire face, devouring all the cum adorning her.
“Oh, that's so yummy!” she moaned and ducked her head in for the final blast.
The weak, watery spurt only coated her face, but she loved it. She rubbed her cheeks and nose into my slit, reveling in it. Her wings hummed so fast. They blurred. The sound increased, her body pulling against my cock. Then she slipped off and shot up into the air. She hit the ceiling in a burst of pink dust.
“Iris, fuck!” I snarled, struggling to rise.
“I'm okay!” she moaned and appeared out of the cloud. “I'm a pixie. Takes more than a little conk on the head to slow me down.” She zoomed down, her body entirely clean of my cum. She planted a kiss on my nose. “How do you feel, Marcus?”
“Fucking fantastic.”
She giggled in delight. “That's what I want to hear.” She struck a pose in the air, hands on hips, head thrown back. Somehow, her pink hair rippled in a breeze I didn't feel. “I am the great and amazing Iris! Pixie extraordinaire!”
“Yes, you are,” I said.
“Ooh, ooh, and you're Level Two. You have more Hit Points and Technical Points, your Strength went up two whole points because you're a Fighter.” She grinned at me. “Do you feel stronger?”
