The iteration starts with me on autopilot, introducing myself to the battle hares as Simca’s new master. After the usual avoidance of the initial near-death situation, everything continues smoothly.

At Jane’s suggestion, instead of going on another killing spree in hopes of getting an offensive skill, we’ll be waiting with the hares. In a small confined room with sexy, murderous rogues and assassins. -What can possibly go wrong?-

Not much apparently, -Things are going pretty good all considering.-

Salifa and Simca are busy catching up in one corner. The third battlehare, -Whose name I should really know by now…-, is sitting next to them, meditating. Most of the room's space is delegated to Lisara and I.

Lisara, who the moment it was decided that I will travel with them, pushed me on my back and got on top. I looked at the other girls in surprise, but they didn’t seem to care. Simply giving us some room to frolic and going on with their business. Salifa even got up once to instruct Lisara on how to ride better, as it was her first time. After which she congratulated her with a peck on the forehead and simply went back to talking to Simca as if nothing happened.

-They don’t treat men as equal,- Jane offered me an explanation.

-Oh, right. They keep them in cages,- I think and suddenly get a weird urge to re-evaluate this endeavor.

-Not only that. Men are nothing more than tools. Both human and hare, -Jane has a wicked grin plastered on her face, as if saying she agrees with their logic completely, -Their own males are used as a slave force for everything they want, while the humans are no better than stallions. Battlehares kidnap males for the same reasons men capture women during times of war. The stronger the male the more he is coveted and it's not an unusual thing for a female battlehare to use humans in the street or even official gatherings.-

The scene flashes in my mind and all doubt about going with them vanishes.

-Think less pleasure and more artificial insemination,- she shakes her head, -A high ranking battlehare might have a few young ones who perform the role of fluffers. Bringing male human slaves near orgasm, only to ejaculate inside their leader. Which isn’t very hard to do over and over again thanks to the use of fertility drugs and aphrodisiacs. The men are forced to ejaculate around the clock until they die.-

-Only to be replaced by others,- I gulp, -This might be more fun than I expected,- I think as I spread Lisara’s butt cheeks and turn on my skill.

-Let's see what happens when I make it all about their pleasure instead.-

A few moments later and Lisara is on the edge, inhaling quickly and starting to clench her muscles. Salifa moves as fast as Brack’s did, pulling her off me with one yank and clamping her mouth shut. Keeping her silent as her muscles spasm from her first ever orgasm.

Salifa glares at me as she holds her on the floor.

“Be a good girl and I’ll give you one too,” I send her a kiss and playfully summon a mana orb that I send dissipating towards her. I still can’t control them properly but the ball of bluish light, turning into mist as it nears her, is a satisfying result.

“Sure,” she starts undressing, “Let's see what you've got.”

By the time we had to move, I was exhausted. Elated, but exhausted. I was more than ready to start my journey in this world with a group like that.

Unfortunately, this time the hooded figure caused a total party kill, again.

So the next iteration I tried to act like I would if there was no escape plan. I left Simca with the girls and continued to the dining hall and from there to Elsa’s room. I waited and waited for Lisara to come take me but they left without me. I was so angry I went on a killing spree that ended when one of the guards killed me.

-In hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have tried to go after the princess…-

The second iteration I get annoyed and tell the hares about the danger. For a reason they refused to tell me they decided against changing the escape plan, choosing to prepare for the engagement instead, But it still ends up with the whole party being killed and me committing painless suicide. I did, however, find out that the option of blowing up his mind with my skill is out of the question. The hooded figures reaction speed is too fast and the worst I managed to do was give him an untimely erection before he slapped me away.

On the third iteration, it’s a bit too late to flirt my way into Elsa’s room. Dinner was over and the iteration started when I was already waiting in my room with Simca.

So I had to improvise and was invited to Elsa’s room under the pretense of needing someone to talk to. A few forced tears which I pretended to hide by wiping away at them quickly, and Elsa’s defenses were down. I didn't get a chance to set up a safe word, it wasn't the right mood for it. The sex was more tender and caring than I like but I took the bitter pill and acted out the role of the gentle lover.

-Not that it really matters. Thanks to Mana Stimulation there’s little chance she’ll forget the sex either way.-

I have a few hours to spare so I pass them by making her edge for as long as possible. Denying her her coveted orgasm by going deliberately slow. Making sure that no part of her body is left unattended to.

She was begging for me to let her finish but I refused. I enjoyed seeing her squirm and try to push me to where it felt better for her. And I would oblige, moving my fingers or mouth to where she wanted, but not staying there for long.

When she tried to take matters into her own hands, literally, I grabbed both of her palms and pinned them over her head. Sure, there was no safe word, but that just meant that I can’t cause pain. Making her edge over and over, denying her the release she so desperately wanted was torture. Torture by pleasure. And when I finally took her over the edge she thanked me, sincerely thanked me and grabbed me as the pant up orgasm rocked her body.

I let go of her hands as it started and she rushed to hug me, looking for some familiarity and safety as wave after wave of pleasure made her body feel like she lost control over it. By the time she finally let me go, my back was scratched raw and most likely bleeding.

The pain from it was exhilarating, and together with my half erect member and the sight of Elsa’s senseless form on the bed, sent me on an ego trip. If there was a mirror in the room I would have been stuck staring at my reflection.

-Been awhile since I felt so confident,- I roll my shoulders and crack my back, enjoying the delusion of power I felt.

Thankfully there was no mirror, so once Elsa fell asleep I grabbed her gun and walked outside the walls with Simca. The others joined soon enough and I told them of the impending threat. A short engagement later and I’ve ascertained that the gun can hurt the hooded figure.

Hitting him was a different story however, as not only could he move unpredictably from tree to tree, he also didn’t let me fire more than once. Disarming me by cutting off both my hands before I could take another shot. I thought about giving the gun to one of the girls, they were much faster than me and using a gun wasn’t that hard.

-But it’s okay,- I thought as I lay bleeding on the forest floor, -I can kill him myself. I think I can use his orders against him.- Giving the gun to the girls wasn’t a good idea. Unlike me who he didn't even consider as a threat, the girls he was constantly on the lookout for.

Simca didn’t die in the first clash this time so I commanded her to kill me. The surprise of my words caused the hooded man to falter and miss a thrown knife from Lisara. It struck him under the hood, adding a second cut to his body. The first being the one on his shoulder where the bullet grazed him as he avoided my shot.

That gave Simca enough time to execute my order. It would’ve been nice if she did it less eagerly and without a smile plastered on her face, but at least it was fast. And thanks to Jane, it was also painless.

I closed my eyes on the forest floor and opened them in Elsa’s bedroom. And without missing a stroke I kept on pumping, not allowing the slightest suspicion that something just happened to creep into her mind.

Mana Stimulation (Toggled) Leveled up

-Been awhile since this one leveled,- I think as I pry myself out of Elsa’s embrace.

I don’t cast anchor this time. Whatever happens this iteration, whether I go with the battlehares or am taken to the Madam, will be set in stone and I’ll have to live with the consequences.

-Scared?- Jane asks.

-Terrified. I could die…-

-Exciting, isn’t it?- Jane grins and lights up as flames begin to dance on her horns.

-Not really,- I grab the small gun and leave the room, -I much rather make love than war.-

-Too bad you don’t feel the first but thrive in the later.-

-Doesn’t mean I can’t choose to be a lover over a fighter,- I shrug.

-Doesn’t mean you can’t be both.-

-In this world? With my stats, or lack thereof? Yes, yes it does.-

“I’ll create a distraction and you take him down. Simple as that”

I turn my head to look at the grim faces around me. Learning about the hooded figure that will prevent us from leaving didn’t sit too well with them.

“The signal for you to start moving will be a loud noise,” I see Salifa open her mouth to question me, “A really really loud noise. I’m more worried it’ll scare you than you missing it,” I say and smile at her contempt at my words, “Let's go.”

We begin moving through the forest.

I have one hand on a dagger while my other keeps checking on a small glass vial in my pocket. The healing potion that was given to me by Salifa, without which my distraction is useless. Oh, it will work, I just won’t survive to tell about it.

As the distance between us and the outer palace walls grows, a man steps from behind a tree to block our way. For some reason he always does the same, showing himself to us before attacking. It makes the initial engagement much easier to survive, especially when his appearance doesn’t take you by surprise.

The next thing he always does is use the skill that allows him short distance teleportation between trees. He tries to teleport and attack from behind us but the battlehares manage to parry him while also shielding Simca, who although small was still able to hold her own unlike me.

“Hello!”

My yell causes a pause in the clashes and the man looks at me from behind a tree.

“It’s me you want, no?” I ask the man but he stays silent. No matter, I know the answer.

-Now Jane.-

She disappears from my consciousness and the sensations coming from my body are diminished. I make a show of stabbing myself in the stomach, trying my best to miss my vital organs and start running away from the hares.

The man wastes no time, disappearing behind a tree and stepping out from behind one right next to me.

I knew he would go for me so I pretend to fall. Without a sensation of pain I fall down without any care while also turning around in the air to make sure I fall on my back.

The man is standing over me, I can't see his expression through the hood but his body language speaks loudly of how annoyed he is with my actions.

He glances at the girls and back at me. They aren’t moving. They are as surprised and annoyed as he is and looking at them makes me want to laugh.

I don’t however, instead I reach a hand to my side. From their direction it looks like I’m trying to stop myself from bleeding all over the forest's floor but after a moment a gunshot reverberates between the trees, waking the silent forest up.

A cacophony of sounds follows my shot.

Birds lift into the sky in a clatter of flapping wings and beaks. Sleeping animals are roused from their sleep, crashing through bushes and breaking branches in their rush to get away from the loud sound.

Maybe if Jane wasn’t busy suppressing my pain, she could've slowed down time and I’d be able to get another shot in. But she wasn’t here and by the time I managed to squeeze the trigger a second time he was gone and I couldn’t hear in what direction he was moving because my ears were ringing.

I tried to stand up but I must've lost too much blood already because my feet refused to hold my weight. Slowly I took out the potion from my pocket and raised it to my lips, gulping down the cold liquid.

Jane was still suppressing the pain preventing me from knowing if it was working or not. So I just lay there, waiting for the life-saving concoction to take effect when Lisara walked up to stand next to me. In her hand was a bloody dagger which she was cleaning using the man's hood.

She was the only one to respond on time. The only one not to freeze while looking at me once the bang of the firearm sounded. If not for the quick reaction this wouldn’t have ended as easily as it did.

The rest join her in towering over me. Salifa’s expression is baffling to me so I ask to ease my fears, “Why’s it taking so long to heal?”

She crouches over me, moving my cuirass to the side and poking the wound.

“A wound like this? A few minutes.”

I click my tongue as time is something we’re short on. I’m surprised that no one came yet to investigate the gunshot.

“You punctured your intestine, the infection will kill you eventually. If you manage to survive the blood loss that is.”

“Bloodloss? But the potion?” the truth hits me like a truck.

“You mean this one?” she takes out a small vial from one of her pouches.

“All this trouble only to abandon your target at the very end?”

“Abandon Simca? Why would we?”

“The Crest will kill her once I die.”

“It won’t,” she smiles as she says that. A gentle smile that looks condescending from my lying point of view. “Suicide doesn’t count as an attempt on your life. The Crest will do nothing to Simca, if anything it will free her once you draw your last breath.”

“Simca! I order you to” I get slapped hard and a metallic taste fills my mouth.

“Don’t bother, her ears are plugged.” Straightening back up she looks around, “That way,” she says and points to the group. “Only a menu command can save you now, but luckily for us, you can’t access it while hurt,” she chuckles and begins to walk away, “Funny that you’ll die for the same reasons that the very first master, the one who set our king free, did. It was nice knowing you Marcus of Earth. Goodbye.”

“Ah hahaha,” I begin to laugh hysterically, laughter that soon turns into screams of pain, “Ahhhh!”

The battle hares don’t even look back as my screams intensify, simply moving deeper and deeper into the forest. That is until they notice Simca has dropped down to one knee and is grabbing at her chest.

After ordering her to stop breathing, Jane leaves my mind space to keep blocking the pain.

“Too early for goodbyes sweet cheeks,” I say through clenched teeth, Jane is exhausted and can’t block everything anymore. “I haven't tried that ass of yours yet,” I chuckle and spit some blood and a loose tooth to the side.

“Impossible…” Salifa whispers.

“That's what they all say but in the end, they grit their teeth and take it like champs. Now feed me the potion before she suffocates.”

End of part 1