I was back outside the princess's chambers. Bracks was standing straight as an arrow, not even looking at me, while Julan was sizing me up with a smile plastered on his face.

-Great, now what do I do? Can’t get access to the princess and going to the freaky woman will just lead to another death. In hindsight, it was kinda obvious that a mind mage would notice Jane...-

I was starting to get the hang of dying. It wasn’t so bad when there was no pain involved and not even that much disorientation unless the death was particularly gruesome. More along the lines of closing your eyes while in a car, driving through a cityscape and opening them in the suburbs. You feel lost for a second until you find some form of landmark and then everything falls into place.

-And this bloody oaf,- I thought while locking eyes with Julan, -Can’t believe this asshole killed me so easily. It wasn’t even a request. She wonders aloud how great it would be if I could die for her, all while gently stroking me with a feather, and the next thing I hear is his sword being drawn and my head rolling.-

Taking a few steps back I sit down with my back to the wall. Simca remains standing and Julan is picking his ear.

With a sigh I force myself to stop focusing on him, -I doubt he wanted to do it and I can’t really confront him on it, can I? No… I’ll need to find some other way to get ownership of Simca.-

-Actually, I th-

-There’s still the princess route, maybe, but who knows how long I’ll have to wait here.-

-No need to w-

-Fuck, fuck, fuck! I can’t believe I miss how civilized Earth was… at least there people didn’t kill so easily. Well, most didn’t at least. I could play around with everyone and at worst I’d get my car keyed or a punch thrown at me.-

-David.-

-Fuck… can’t really complain though can I? If the roles were switched I doubt I would’ve thought twice about killing people if I needed them dead. Hell, I’d probably kill a few just for fun. Maybe I should take another restart to relax? Luise was quite enjoyable and there’s a whole palace full of people to have my way with and kill. Not necessarily in that order,- a smile creeps onto my face, -Yeah, I think I’ll do that while I think of a way to get the seal transferred to me, or hopefully come up with another way to deal with the murderous bi-

-David!- Jane shouts at me.

-What?!- I yell back.

With a withering glance, she takes a deep breath to calm herself, -I still have control of the girl,- she exhales calming herself down.

-How?-

-The same way skills are exempt from the restarts, most likely. If you didn’t get so worked up over getting your head lopped off you would've realized it was a possibility and asked me to check. Instead you were letting your urges dictate your course of action again,- sashaying around in my mind she summons a bed to sit down seductively on, -You can play around once we leave with the hares, until then how about you join me while we wait for the cooldown,- she pats the bed with a hand and bites her lower lip with one fang.

-I can set her orders in the menu and there’s even the option of making her die if you die like you guessed there would be,- she says with her head on my chest, while her tail plays around with my family jewels.

-Great,- I answer absentmindedly.

She was glitching in and out of my mind from time to time, but there wasn’t any serious loss of mental function like last time. So either that was a one-time thing or it was exacerbated by dying immediately after.

I was listening to her with only half a mind, my other busy trying to think of a secluded place where I can ejeculate privately. The fact that having sex with Jane makes me orgasm in real life slipped my mind and now I have blue balls that are making it hard for me to think straight.

Noticing how distracted I am Jane smiles, -Just tell Simca to swallow everything. Then there’s no mess,- she offers.

Looking at Julan and Bracks I contemplate the offer but decide against it, -Maybe next time,- I start blowing on my thumb and thanks to my new skill the erection goes down much quicker than it normally does when I do it, -Right now there are more pressing matters to discuss. We don’t have that many restarts before it becomes too late to try and leave with the bunnies.- Looking at Simca I add, -Also, we need to figure out how we deal with her. Can’t send her back as there’s no guarantee they can’t dispel a private crest on the spot. I really hope this will be as easy as walking outside and meeting up with them on the other side of the wall.-

-Who knows, we might get lucky,- Jane says with a serious tone.

After a moment of silence, we both start laughing at the absurd idea and it takes me a moment to regain my breath. Ignoring the looks I was getting from Julan and Simca I mention a request to Jane before standing up to leave, -Try to move things around from a distance will ya? The Psionic tree is interesting and I’m wondering if we might get telekinesis out of it.-

-Sure, I’ll give it a try. Anything in particular?-

-Well, I was thinking it’d be cool to use it to arouse people from afar, but it’ll depend on how the skill works.-

She rolls her eyes with a chuckle, -Why am I not surprised,- she says.

Right after anchoring myself we drop by Simca’s room to introduce myself to the rest of the gang as Simca’s new master and decide on where and when we will meet. After that finishes smoother than expected, I order Simca to run to the training arena and grab my backpack, bow and a full quiver of arrows. I also tell her to pick herself some equipment and to hide whatever she chooses in the backpack. If someone stops her she is allowed to explain her orders and who gave them but nothing else. If they pry in too much she is to run away as fast as she can back to me. I also told her where my room would be if she doesn’t find me in the dining hall.

Alone, and on my way to the dining hall I weaved in and out of alleys, houses, and various rooms, looking for isolated individuals to practice on. This was so fun that I ended up making a few detours, and though I didn’t get the skill I was hoping for I did get something that will be useful in the future.

Mana Stimulation (Toggled) Leveled up

Locomotion tree unlocked

Agility +5

Terrestrial movement branch unlocked

Agility +2

Stealth Twig unlocked

Agility +1

-You realize that a trail of corpses will put the palace on high alert and render this iteration useless, right?-

Shrugging my shoulders I answer, -Getting an offensive skill would’ve been worth it.-

-Fair enough,- she sighs, -Now that you had your fun and worked out your feelings, care to try something?-

The edge of my lips curls upwards as her words make me remember how well she knows me, -Sure. What do you have in mind?-

-Next kill I turn the time dilation on and we see what happens.-

-Oh my…- I grin wildly, -Sounds fun. Any particular target in mind?-

-Any slave should do. We need someone of the same strength as the ones you killed so far.-

-Works for me. -

One thing I noticed while hunting for the past hour was that it was much easier to find slaves or servants in buildings with more than two floors. However, as most of these large buildings served some form of public cause, going unnoticed inside was impossible, there were too many people around. So instead of hiding, I'd do the opposite. I would walk in with a straight back and purpose in my step.

Without looking around I’d greet a random person as if I knew them for years, nod at another and head straight up to the second floor before anyone got a chance to ask questions. On the second flo, r it was a simple matter to find a room which door was left ajar and peek inside as I passed. If it looked and sounded free of people I’d try going inside.

If there was more than one person I’d apologise and excuse myself. Servants rarely asked questions and most slaves didn’t even raise their eyes to look at me.

This time I had to go up to the third floor before I stumbled upon a good target. A young boy was washing the floor and the corridor was empty. Even better was the fact that there was a carpet I could use to sneak half the way to him.

Stepping slowly on the balls of my feet, I’d first put my weight on the lateral side of the foot and with a rolling motion transition the weight to all the toes. The most important thing was actually bending the knees correctly to keep most of the weight distributed equally while still keeping my balance. I was still a bit rusty and though my muscle memory from the army days was returning quickly I still had to rely on the carpet more than I would’ve liked. All the sneaking didn’t matter too much however, as the boy turned around after I made only a couple of steps towards him.

With my presence known I moved forward normally while locking eyes with the boy. As all the servants and slaves so far, he also lowered his eyes immediately and as I passed by him I heard Jane start a countdown.

-Three!- she said and everything slowed down just as my hands started to come up to grab the boys mouth and nape.

I could feel him startle in surprise but it was too late, a single mana tether was already making it’s way through him. There was a spasm that possessed his body as the arousing sensation hit full force and a moment later the mana tether passed between muscles and vertebrates to reach the spinal cord. From there it moved a few centimeters upwards until it reached his brain stem and exploded, leaving him limp, lifeless and ejeculting.

I let go of the body and it started to fall slowly to the floor. Jane deactivated the skill while he was still in the air, making his body accelerate suddenly and me reaching forward on reflex to grab him before he hit the floor.

-Well that was effective…- I think in awe as I wave my hand in place to make the pain and numbness from the lashback go away.

-You’re welcome,- she folds her hands over her chest and lifts her chin proudly.

Hiding the body in an empty room I leave the building and head straight to the dining hall.

-Can you control the mana tether as well? A five second kill is nice compared to ten, but you can clearly think much faster than me and I’m wondering if that can translate to the skill.-

-Can you activate the Increased Processing skill?-

I give it a try but nothing slows down.

-Nope. Which is weird… I could use all skills up to now instinctively.-

-Thats what I thought. I can’t use any other skills. It’s still early to tell but if I had money, I’d put it on me being able to only use mental abilities.-

-So mana isn’t a mental ability?-

-I guess not. Even if you control it mentally you’re still controlling your own Mana. Either I don’t have my own or I can’t control yours. Either way, unless we get a skill that changes it, we have a separation.-

-Hmm… that sucks.-

-For you maybe,- she sticks out her tongue and grins, -It’s nice to finally have something just my own,- she says joyfully.

I have a few other things I want to talk about but her words shut me up and make me put myself in her shoes. Yes, it sucks that I have no stats and only limited mana to work with and get stronger, but it’s already more than I ever had excess to on Earth. With a weight in my stomach I pause to shake and clear my head from negative thoughts and push down any doubts about Jane somehow denying me access to those skills.

‘If she is… I have no way of telling and suspecting her won’t do me any good. We’ve been together for five years. She’s the closest thing I have to a friend and in away I can even consider her my soulmate. I can be jealous and happy for her at the same time, right?’

-What happened? Why’d you stop?- Jane asks.

-Nothing. Just the usual. Let's go eat.-

-Ohh, sorry,- her tail stops wagging, lowering to the floor together with her head, -There isn’t anything I can say to help, is there?-

She knows what I think about the subject, and trying to persuade me she doesn’t have any nefarious intentions will only make me more suspicious that she actually has them. As such, I learned very quickly that it’s better not to dwell on such thoughts. Absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence, and add to that the fact that I’m not a very trusting individual in general and having Jane sharing my mind becomes troublesome whenever I put myself in her shoes. Because my first thought whenever I do that is that if I was ever locked up in someone's mind, even if this someone was the person who gave me life, I would try to take control.

‘It becomes even scarier once I realise that her personality was shaped by my actions, so she should have no second thoughts of double crossing anyone if it means serving her self-interest.’

-You can tell me why us having sex makes you glitchy and foggy,- I answer to her question.

It takes her sometime to formulate an answer, time I use to make myself scarce as a few guards pass by me, running in the direction of the building I just came from.

-I’m surprised by that myself actually. Not having much to do I pleasure myself quite regularly, especially when you’re testing the limits of your female partners, and I’ve never experienced such side-effects. I can’t even notice them myself, which makes the whole thing quite scary and intriguing at the same time… if nothing else, not having physical body has made me quite self-aware, and not noticing something affecting my mental image or thought process is an experience I haven’t had in the past few years.- Pausing to exaggerate a thinking pause she adds, -I think we should experiment and see if this persists and how various things affect it. We’ll start from sex three times a day and increase from there. Whatcha say buddy? Feel like doing science with me?- she says with a wink and a not so subtle lick of her lips.

-Pfft, three times? I say we go for an even dozen! Just figure out how to deal with my physical mess and I’ll show you there’s no limits to my imagination.-

-I thought we already have one? I just need to set an order preventing her from biting your dick off and your personal cumbucket is good to go. That’s one fantasy marked off the list,- she finishes with a flick of her tail on an invisible list.

-As much as I’d like to have a dedicated fluffer, can we not talk about this now? I’m getting an erection and I’m almost at the dining hall.-

-Boohoo, suffer,- she sticks out her tongue and start to streaptease.

I flick her off mentally in response and block her the best as I can while blowing steadily on my own thumb, the random skill proving its usefulness once again.

Pacifier skill has leveled up.

Sitting in the dining hall, waiting for Ralc to come take us, I couldn’t help but distance myself from the others.

In my mind my departure is already in affect and from now on I am sitting in the midst of my future enemies. Not that I ever considered them allies or even entertained the idea of having them as future friends. No, to me they were never anything other than ‘earthlings’, people who share knowledge and experiences from a world different to this one.

-They are nothing more than a threat,- Jane chimed in eagerly, -If we have the chance we should kill as many of them as we can.-

Munching on a fruit that tasted reminiscently like sour candy I moved my eyes from one person to the other, while listening in on bits and pieces of the conversations around me. From time to time I would catch Elsa throwing looks in my direction while talking to one of the spearman.

-Sure,- I throw some fruit in my mouth and grimace as the sourness hits me full force, -Help me establish an alibi?-

-What do you have in mind?- she grins, flashing a set of sharp teeth and a tail moving like a cat stalking its prey.

Increased Processing Skill (Active) level up.

Elsa stood no chance against the combined assault and soon after being escorted to our barracks and choosing rooms, I was sitting on her bed with my back perched on the wall while she was down on her knees, head bobbing up and down between my legs.

“That’s better, but try not to interrupt the motion. Your lips need to follow the hand and make sure it goes up completely,” with one hand on her’s and another on the back of her head, I demonstrate to her how I like my blowjobs, “Yeah, much better. Now just suck harder and don’t be afraid to put some force into your grip.”

“Like this?”

“Oww, funny. Do that again and I’ll pinch your clit.”

“Do that and I’ll bite your dick off. Now shut up and let me work.”

“Enjoy, princess. Just don’t forget that you have two hands or you’ll be down there al ow ow ow I got, I got it,” I mimic locking my lips and throwing away the key after which I lean my head back on the wall and focus on the sensation.

A few minutes later I hear something heavy drop on the floor in my room and remember that I didn’t give Simca any orders in case she gets to the room and doesn’t find me.

-Let me try something…- Jane says and disappears from my consciousness for a few moments.

-Yes?-

-Wait a few seconds and we’ll see if it worked.-

Two weak knocks come from the wall that connects mine and Elsa’s room.

Elsa stops to take a breath, “Did you hear that?” she asks, hand stroking up and down.

“Not really, but if you’re tired we can switch. No need to make up excuses,” I say with an innocent smile and pat her head.

Giving me a suspicious look she grabs my penis in an iron grip, “Don’t you dare run away. We made a bet and I don’t intend to lose.”

She starts sucking with renewed vigor, making me grin and squirm at the same time.

“And the fact that I helped you doesn’t detract from the win?”

She lifts her head with a pop, “No one asked you to,” she states with an arrogant look and goes back to work.

“Fair enough,” I laugh, “No one asked me to show you how to ride me as well, but I’ll do that for the benefit of all mankind.”

“What's wrong with the way I ride?” she exclaims.

“Ow ow ow not so strong, not so strong! It was a joke...”

Muttering something underneath her breath she takes me back into her mouth.

-I can give general commands from afar apparently, so once you’re done here you’ll find her in your room, waiting and unable to leave the confines of the bed,- Jane smirks, -And speaking of waiting,- she summons an enormous arm chair and pushes me into it, -now that we have a container to shoot into, how about I show you what I can do?-

She goes down on her knees, pulls me closer by dragging the whole chair with me on top of it, and with a playful smile makes me disappear, deep into her throat. My head arches backwards and before I can get used to the sensation, the tip of her tale slides between my legs and slips between my buttchecks, forcing itself into my hole.

The simultaneous sensations coming from both real life and my own mind leave me no time to enjoy them and with a groan I grab Janes horns and explode into Elsa’s mouth. Through involuntary shakes I plead for both of them to stop and while Elsa does, standing up to spit the contents out the window and turn to look at me with a triumphant pose, Jane takes my pleas as a cue to increase her pace and the force of the vacuum. And just like that, under Elsa’s now bewildered gaze, I orgasem again. My very first non-ejaculatory orgasem.

I inhaled deeply right before my abdominal muscles clenched so tight they started hurting and the rest of my body followed suit as I was paralysed from the euphoric sensation. Elsa said something but it didn’t register as my mind was going numb.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse Jane wrestled my hands off her horns and began again, this time somehow vibrating her tail as she massaged my prostate with it as well as flicking her tongue to give my scrotum a lick once she was down far enough. I could feel another peak coming and it took an amount of willpower I never knew I had in my possession to make the armchair disappear.

However, if I thought that falling to the floor would make her stop, nothing could be farther from the truth, if anything it just gave Jane a better angle to attack me in.

“Banana! Banana.” I manage to yell out in between waves of clenching muscle spasm, and while Elsa wonders out loud what the fuck is happening to me, Jane releases her grip and steps back from my imaginary body, tail gently sliding out from between my legs.

“You alive?” Elsa pokes at my exhausted figure, lying limp on her bad with a shudder going through it every few seconds, “Hey, answer me,” she pokes again and again.

Eventually I manage to form some semblance of speech and mumble at her to lie down and that it’s her turn. Slowly I lift myself up and flop between her legs.

-Argh… what I’d give for a wet wipe right now,- I think with disgust and proceed to do what I must.

Halfway through, my mind recovered from Jane’s demonstration of skill and I decide to try do something like that on Elsa.

-Similar to Big Clitty?-

-Just like Big Clitty.-

The memory of one of my old fuck buddies brings a smile to my face. We would meet a few times a month and our arrangement lasted for quite some time. She was somewhat chubby and not really my taste, but we shared a few interests and after engaging in them we’d fuck if we had the time.

I had a few similar relationships like that during my university days, all approved by my girlfriend of the time so I wasn’t cheating, but what made Clitty special is that she could achieve orgasems in record time. She even had a bet going with a friend of hers on who could get the most in a row.

-She started to black out after too many so we never did manage to break the fifty mark, but damn if I didn’t get a huge ego boost after each try.-

Her secret to getting to those numbers was that if she managed to peak a dozen or so times in less than half an hour, her body would become so overly sensitive that even massaging her back could make her go over the edge. Her body became like a giant clittoris and to this day she was the only girl I’ve ever met who climaxed from a kiss.-

-But with my new skill and this system…-

Imagining what I’d do if I could get Midas’s touch, only instead of people turning to gold when I touch them they would orgasem, makes me stop moving my tongue, but Elsa grabbing my hair and pulling me closer brings me back to my senses. A moment later I send tendrils of mana in different directions throughout Elsa and activate [Mana Stimulation] on the lowest level, slowly dialing the strength of the skill up until she is screaming, my ears are hurting and someone is banging on the door and walls, yelling for us to be more quiet.

When ignored, a different voice comes over asking to join in.

Mana Stimulation (Toggled) Leveled up

Elsa didn’t lose consciousness but she did dry out after some time and instead of asking her to drink some water and going back down I faked an oragsem and threw the condom out of the window.

Not that she would’ve bothered to check, exhausted as she is. No, once I let go of her she got herself to a somewhat comfortable position on the bed and fell asleep, one lag dangling in the air and one hand completely off the bad.

Done dressing, and annoyed she fell asleep before cleaning me off, I try something I didn’t manage too earlier this day and put my finger in her ear. A few seconds later her brain is mush, my finger stings from the backlash and no skill is obtained.

-Tabika said life and death situations make skills appear faster, so not much surprise that killing her didn’t reward you with one,- Jane shakes her head at me.

-Not many life and death situations will give me enough time to stimulate someone to death by putting a finger up their ear anyway....-

-Maybe if you wrestle them?-

-Maybe. Though with everyone being stronger than me if I don’t finish it immediately they’ll break my hold.-

I leave after pushing her into the bed and covering her corpse with a blanket. When I enter my room Simca’s head lifts from the pillow to look at me.

“Hey there,” I say warmly but get no reply.

Sitting on the bed next to the her I yawn, “You can sleep until Lisara comes. No reason for both of us to be tired.”

Her nose twitches as my body odor hits her and when she notices me looking she averts her eyes and falls back onto the pillow.

-She reminds me of your little sister,- Jane sniggres.

-I thought the same when I met her.-

Getting comfortable I put a hand on her head, and using one fingernail to scratch her scalp lightly I practice my mana manipulation with the other hand. The room brightens and dims rhythmically as I summon and dispel a small mana ball. Simca’s breathing slows down and becomes even, before my small mana pool is depleted. A few minutes later I dose off as well.

-David. David, wake up. Your mana is full.-

As always happens, my mind is awake as if I was never asleep, while my body takes a few minutes to get into gear.

-Thanks. Say… do you know why I so rarely feel tired? Mentally at least.-

-If you think it has anything to do with my presence than I don’t know. Could be. I don’t need sleep and since we’re sharing a mind...- she shrugs.

-I see, now if only I could get a skill that removes the physical affects of lack of sleep and life would be perfect,- I chuckle, -or at least significantly better. I hate sleeping…-

-You know…- she says sheepishly, -Well…-

-No.-

-Okay.-

We wait in silence for my body to wake up. I lift myself up to the edge of the bed and put my hands on my knees and my head on my hands. Hunched up like that, I yawn and try to blink the grogginess away.

-Can I know why?-

-On principle.-

She pouts at my wry answer while I get up and warm up my stiff lower back before sitting back down to knead Simca’s ears as I practice channelling my mana. The short fur feels soft and relaxing as my fingers brush against it.

-Important enough to lose on the possible benefits?-

-It wouldn't be a principle otherwise.-

-And you don’t think there's good reason to reevaluate?

I try to channel all the mana I have left into the small orb that has formed on my palm. It doesn’t take too much concentration by now and I just want to see what would happen if I did that.

Spellcasting Branch unlocked.

Focus +2

Mana Shaping twig unlocked.

Focus +1

Arcanum Tree grew another bud.

Attunment +1

Mana Orb Spell learned.

It’s round and made of mana.

A small orb of pale blue light floats slightly above my palm.

In the darkness of my room it's bright enough to make me to squint when I look at it.

-I meant this new world and system might be go-

-I know what you meant,- I really didn’t want to talk about this right now, or at all for that matter.

-And?-

-And what?- I snap at her, -You know what I think about that. You know how afraid I am of you eclipsing me so why even bring possession up?- my anger rises.

-Because ignoring it will only make your fears worse,- she answers calmly.

-And talking about it will help?- I yell and accuse -Who though, me? Or you?-

I know I’m angry for no reason. It’s like I can see myself in third person and think to myself ‘Why are you yelling?’ but when I try to calm myself down it doesn’t work. I just get angrier. Times like this, usually when furious at my girlfriends, is when I would turn to Jane for help and she’d pulse calmness, helping me get my emotions under control and think rationally.

A part of me wanted to ask her to do it now, but a bigger part of me knew that if she did, it would only fuel the thoughts that led to me being angry in the first place.

-Both me,- her tone is relaxed, -and you.-

She's now speaking from a summoned sofa while drinking hot cocoa. A second steaming cup is waiting for me to sit down next to her and take it. For some reason this infuriates me even more and I just clench my fists and plant my feet as I glare at her. -It’s why I separated our thoughts and tried to give you privacy. There’s not much more I can do except disappearing entirely and for me that's the equivalent of dying,- her legs are tucked underneath her and her tail curls over them, acting more like a reminder to restrain herself than a defensive gesture, -and in this new world, if I don’t bring this up and you keep ignoring it, we’re both going to die eventually. You saw how good our skills were against high level opponents? They were next to useless and it's not going to get much better I’d wager.-

-That doesn’t mean I should give you my body,- I sneer, -You think you can win against them when I can’t?-

-No you idiot!- she flares up and bares her teeth, -But together we stand a better chance and I won’t let your fears be the death of me.- The fire in her mouth and the flame dancing between her horns diminish as she adds, -Now that I can finally get laid I plan on doing that for a long long time. Now sit down and drink your coco.-

I look at her at a loss for words as my emotions keep switching between amusement, resentment and an urge to do what's written on the shirt she’s wearing and choke her for bringing stress into my life.

-Want some marshmallow?- she offers from a bag she materialised.

Burnt out I raise two middle fingers at her and drag myself to the sofa, dropping down into it. This makes Jane spill some of the delicious liquid so I refresh the sofa underneath us while making it slightly larger at the same time.

-You know what I find strange?- I sigh as she hands me my mug.

-Not including trust, love and empathy?- she jokes as she pops a large pink marshmallow into her mouth.

-Nah, those are easy. Its sadness that’s weird. I always struggle not to laugh when people cry because of me and can never understand why people do it in general.- Taking a gulp of the hot liquid a surprised smile appears on my face and I empty the mug in one go, -Can I have another? Hard to believe I can actually taste it even though this is all in my mind.-

Jane hands me another glass, this time half full with an assortment of multicolored marshmallows.

-Thanks. I mean it’s easier with females. Most realise from a young age how a few tears can turn most situations in their favor and know very well how to leverage that, but men crying? Or crying from happiness for that matter? One of the hardest thing I’ve ever accomplished was to learn how to cry on command. You won’t believe how much it helped me out as a teenager and through university.-

I look at Jane to try and figure what she’s thinking but all I see is a red devil with a body as alluring as sin, looking at me while sipping on steaming chocolate milk dressed only in the shirt I always wear at home.

There is a lot more I want to say to her and a whole speech starts to form in my mind but none of it matters. Her logic is solid. This is a new world and as stupid as I sound saying it time and time again, this also means new rules. So I have no choice but to think over my beliefs and principles and change them accordingly.

And nothing can make you forget your principles as fast as the imminent fear of death.

Jane waits until I finish my second mug and then looks at me as I pick at the marshmallows that are stuck to the bottom with my tongue. She knows better than to keep arguing her point and her laying there, giving me time to come to the same conclusion as her, shows me again that whether I like it or not she’s a part of me and that there’s no one else that knows me as well as her.

I ruffle my hair with my hand and exhale loudly, -Can you tell me why you lied to me?-

Looking confused she lowers her cup and retracts her tail which she was using to play with my feet, -Only if you tell me what you think lied about.-

-Don’t play coy. How can you say you ensured my privacy when you have access to all my memories? Even if you can’t hear what I think, you can just check my memories at a later time.-

-That’s what you think I lied about? Idiot!- she exclaims annoyed as she kicks my leg, -Why not ask immediately?- she kicks again, and again.

-Ow,- and again, -Stop that,- I kick her back.

-I didn’t lie,- she whips me with her tail this time, -I made a partition in your cortex. Anything you think to yourself is saved there and I-

Catching her tail before it hits me again I interrupt her, -And I’m supposed to take your word you’ll never look at it?-

-Yes,- she says wryly and flexes her tail to bring us closer, -Because you’ve never lied to me and I intend to do the same,- she finishes with our faces almost touching and looks me in the eyes.

A lot more is said between us after that but the walls are broken, and it’s decided that my principle will be set aside for now while I reevaluate it. Jane will be allowed to try and control my body while I sleep and we start hammering out the details of how this would work and how it might affect our relationship when we are interrupted by Simca waking up and lifting herself up to sit on the bed.

A few moments later Lisara steps out of the shadows in the corner of my room, informing me it is time for us to head outside and that she will join us once she finishes killing all the other males that were summoned together with me. A condition I insisted on in our earlier negotiations. Looking at Elsa’s watch I still have with me I take note of the time of departure being three in the morning and head to the western gate with Simca.

The roads are clear except for an increased number of patrols, some of which stop to investigate who we are only to send us on our way when I show them the pin marking me as a summoned hero. The guards at the gate do the same and after less than half an hour we are outside the outer walls, with the battlehares joining soon after.

-Finally,- I think once we’re set on a direction to run to and -Fuck!- is what I think when a hooded figure steps out of the forest we were just about to enter, cutting us off and throwing Lisara’s head at our feet.

Faster than I can blink only Salifa and I are left standing. Salifa because she managed to avoid the killing strike, losing her arm in the process, and I thanks to being completely ignored.

With the hooded figure ruining our escape and bringing this iteration to an end I decide against wasting time and rush him just to see what happenes. I don’t like being ignored and I might as well end this faster so I can try again.

-I just hope he doesn’t make me suffer.-

Instead, he slaps me with the back of his hand so hard that my knees buckle, “You’re lucky Madam requested you be unharmed, so sit there and be a good boy.”

He returns his attention to Salifa who’s dropped a small, empty glass vial to the floor and is standing ready to fight while her cut forearm is regrowing at a visible pace.

“Salifa!” I shout through a numb jaw, “Kill me now!”

I try to move towards her but my legs still can’t support my weight so I fall towards her, catching myself with my hands and scraping some skin of my palms. There were at least two throwing knives that I saw on her, but losing a hand meant she can’t use any of them without letting go of the dagger in her good hand and leaving herself defenceless.

-Plus, to her, your request sounds insane,- Jane laughs.

The hooded man steps to the side, hiding himself behind a tree and jumping out at Salifa from a different one. Whatever skill he used to move the distance Salifa wasn’t surprised and parried his attack. He didn’t stay to engage her and instead moved quickly behind another tree, only to reappear from a completely different one to throw a knife at her back which she somehow deflected with ease. He tries a few more times, giving me enough time to get back on my feet and proceed to stumble towards Salifa.

“Use me as cover,” I tell her and she jumps towards me.

The hooded figure responds before I can take another step, appearing from a tree closest to me and slashing apart my achilles tendons. Salifa stabs at him but he’s too quick, already behind the cover of a tree before my body even hit the ground. I growl in pain while writhing on the forest floor. Dead branches and dry leaves didn’t do much to soften the fall.

-Unharmed, takes a completely different meaning when healing spells and potions are real,- Jane stops munching on popcorn to point the fact out to me.

I’d love to answer her but it’s difficult to think straight at the moment, the pain is proving to be quite distracting.

She puts down the bucket of popcorn and stands up, -I might be able to help,- she says as she cleans her buttery hands on her shirt, -Want me to try?-

-Hurry! Please,- I plead her.

-I will,- she says empathetically and disappears from my mindspace. A few seconds later, as the sound of clashing weapons rings over my head, the pain starts to diminish. Another tang of metal and the pain is almost gone, just the barest sensation that something is wrong with my legs is left.

Peripheral Nervous System branch unlocked.

Dexterity +1

Perception +1

Afferent Nerve Neuron twig unlocked

Perception +1

Nervous System tree grew another bud.

Perception +1

Nerve Block

Helps with reducing sensory perception

-Thank you,- I whisper to Jane in relief but Jane is unable to hear me.

The skill is a great boon to me, being able to work through pain is something I was never good at, choosing to avoid it whenever possible. Nonetheless, in the back of what Jane called my private mind, a weak thought was whispering to me and asking me why, ‘if she could do it whenever she wanted why chose to only reveal it now?’ Was it now, because we talked about the concept of her possessing my body, or because I was in great pain and couldn’t think crealy at the time? Whatever the reason, pain immunity is a welcome addition to my arsenal of skills.

Feeling no pain allows me to return to the situation and not being able to think of anything I could do to change it, suicide floats up to the top of my pool of ideas. Never an option before today because of my inborn survival instinct and my aversion to pain. Two things that are no longer part of the equation. Giving my tongue a weak bite I realise that the skill doesn’t extend to my cranial nerves so the option of biting my tongue off is not possible. Fortunately I have the Rondel dagger to stab myself in the heart with.

Not wanting to find out what the Madam wants from me and how she even knows about me in this iteration, I proceed to grab a dagger and position the tip between my ribs, a difficult thing to do accurately without sensing pain. Once certain I’m in the right place I angle the dagger to penetrate both the heart and the aorta at the same time and press the blade into myself.

The hilt of the dagger presses to my chest just as a crash of blades resounds over me. There are no pain receptors in the internal organs and while my body is signaling my brain that something is wrong, very very wrong, but there is no pain I can feel. So with stable hands I remove the dagger and let it fall to my side, all that's left is to wait until I bleed to death.

It's nighttime but the moons of this world are shining bright, illuminating the forest with their ghostly white light. A beautiful sight I get to see before I die. Salifa’s head drops down next to me, lifeless eyes locking with mine. The man approaches to tower over me. Turning my head to look at him, corners of my vision slowly going dark I smile as I see him fumble for a healing potion but know that it's too late. I won the battle.

-Now how do I win the war?-