I tumbled through the abyss again, the weightless void expanding in all directions. This time I had a sense of direction as the silver thread was still around me and pulled me towards somewhere. The thread was only ten feet long but that could also just be how far I could see. I counted the passing seconds and just when I was about to hit a minute a silver blue cloud appeared in front of me.

The second I hit the cloud gravity kicked back in and I crashed onto a pile of pillows. The smaller throw pillows were tossed into the air and fell on top of me burying me inside. Throwing out my arms I fumbled around, with my hands weakly flopping about. That strange sensation of cold fire remained and I felt like I had been sleeping on my arms.

As the sensation passed I regained control of myself and rolled out of the plush prison only to face plant on the cold stone floor. Feeling around I got my arms beneath my chest and pushed myself back up. Back on my own two feet I looked around and found that I was in a bedroom, with a nightstand, a mirror against the wall and a door leading elsewhere.

The mirror caught my attention and I went to inspect myself. My hair was a mess, rabbit blood still stained my cheek and I looked wild eyed. I was still alive and that was all that mattered.

The door rattled behind me and I heard a woman’s voice calling out.

“We got another one, I’ll drag him into the line.”

My mind raced if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She didn’t sound angry, just bored. I quickly ran my fingers through my hair hoping to make myself a touch more presentable.

The door opened and I had to fight the urge to gasp. The woman in front of me was head to toe in chainmail armour with a cloth surcoat over it. She loosely held in one hand a green glass spear that crackled with energy. The chainmail veil obscured most of her face but two fierce yellow eyes looked at me intensely like she was trying to measure me up. The two most striking things were two cut outs made in her helmet to allow a pair of curled black horns to jut out and her long tail. The tail was a vibrant red colour and the end of it plumed into a wide heart shape.

“Fancy looking at my tail, do you Mage?” she asked. When I didn’t respond she walked towards me with a look of concern. “You ok there little human?”

I wasn’t a short guy back home, sure I wasn’t the tallest out of my friends but I considered myself average. This woman was over six feet tall and despite looking slim she moved in that heavy armour quickly and effortlessly. As I eyed her a pop up appeared.

Vixa, Half-Demon, moderate size, Level 6 Guardian

Strength 16

Constitution 15

Dexterity 13

Intelligence 9

Willpower 11

Charisma 14

As soon as the pop up appeared she halted and crossed her arms over her chest like I had just caught her walking out of the shower. Her eyes changed from concern to furious as she angrily huffed.

“Hey don’t just grab a girl's character sheet like that without asking first!” she hissed, and flicked the end of her tail towards me.

I backed up dodging the whip-like tail and threw my hands up with palms out towards her. I tried my best to stammer out an apology but stumbled over my own words no matter how hard I tried. It was like I was trying to talk around molasses, and my tongue just couldn’t move right.

The fury in her died out and she cocked her head to the side causing the chain veil to jingle. She inspected me again and this time I had an odd feeling like I was being watched from behind. A small pop up informed me someone was inspecting my character sheet.

“Oh you're just a level one mage, sorry you must never have seen someone with demon blood before.” She said holding out a hand to me. “See, I’m Vixa, I’m not gonna hurt you cute little guy.”

I wasn’t sure if she was trying to be demeaning or if she actually thought that's how you spoke to humans. I wasn’t upset by it, but the whole situation had me baffled. I had just levelled up, yet I still didn’t have my magic just yet and now I was in unknown territory. I was completely helpless in this place so I steeled my resolve and reached out my hand, hopeful that anyone else I ran into here was like Vixa.

She took me by the forearm and pulled me alongside her towards the door. What surprised me was how effortlessly she moved me, sure she had four more strength than me but I felt like a child being pulled around. Her tail curled around my waist and she kept me close as we exited the room. A softly lit stone corridor with plush carpet stretched in either direction as far as the eye could see and Vixa dragged me towards the right.

As we passed rows of identical doors I looked at her again closely. I had less information this time, instead it just told me her name, race and class. She noticed me inspecting her again and she laughed.

“For the record, you caught me by surprise. You should be hiding your details too. Makes it less likely your foes will spring at you if they don’t know what you're made of.” She said to me softly.

Ahead of us there was a massive set of double doors to break up the monotony and from it spilled conversation, music and the smell of food. Trying to follow what Vixa had said I looked at my character sheet and tried to see what she meant by hiding them.

Noticing my confusion she said, “bottom right, the one with the three little dots.”

Somewhat hidden out of view was a button just like she said. I clicked it and the whole popup condensed and it now read one line of text.

Joshua Hale, Human, Level 1 (Keeper) Battlemage

The brackets made me think that it was hiding that I was a crystal keeper, but the more important part was my new class. Battlemage made me think of a sword swinging wizard who could send off fireballs with one hand and parry blows with a sword clutched in the other. It made me feel a bit giddy and I finally managed to sort out my dumb tongue.

“Thanks Vixa for all the help.” I said and tried to stand a bit taller. “I think I got my nerves back in order, you don’t need to hold me anymore.”

The demon girl let go of me and she took a half step away from me. I couldn’t help but think she might be blushing under the armour. She cleared her throat and took on a much tougher persona.

“Dream projecting can mess up a first timer, good to see you recover quickly. Get in line with the others and wait your turn to speak to today's overseer.” Vixa said, pointing to the double doors. “After your meeting a guard will escort you back to an available room to return to your body.”

After I thanked her one more time Vixa set off on her patrol, as she walked away from me I saw a little spring in her step and her tail swished behind her happily. Now alone in the strange corridor I decided to investigate the source of the unknown sounds and entered the doors.

The next room was massive, my whole apartment complex could have fit inside of it and I gawked as I tried to take it all in. The large vaulted ceiling was decorated with dozens of chandeliers each covered in candles, the light greatly illuminated the busy hall packed to the brim with hundreds of people. A neat line was against the right wall leading to an ornate door towards the far end. The left side of the room was like my mess hall but on a much grander scale. Rows of nice tables were filled with guests or guards and beyond a counter was a busy kitchen.

Standing over a head taller than the rest was the chef, despite my limited knowledge of this place I assumed he was some kind of orc. He looked like a normal human but was built like a bodybuilder and had two sizable bottom fangs jutting out from his lip. His green skin was greatly contrasted to his red necktie over his bright white chef uniform. He lifted an entire cooked pig on a platter over his head with a single hand and brought it to a table filled with hungry demon guards who beat their table with their silverware.

“You getting in line buddy or what?” someone said behind me.

I shuffled into my place in line and looked behind me seeing other people had arrived. There were about maybe twenty people in line now and everyone but me looked the part of a wizard. Floppy hats, robes and some kind of staff made up most of their outfits. I on the other hand had a bloodied shirt, a name tag and cargo pants. Yet no one pointed out my clothing or that I was the only other human in line.

The man who had spoken up behind me was the other human and he leaned against the wall smoothing out his spotless black robes. His black wood staff hovered beside him and he absently poked at it causing it to spin. He seemed to me to be the kind of guy who really liked to look like he was too cool to care about anything.

“So it looks like I'm not the only human dedicating his life to magic,” he said, thumbing his pockets. “Can’t let the elves take over every college bringing their dumb 'magic is art' culture.”

I bit my lip and wondered if I should bother talking to this guy at all. I dealt with enough morons in retail to peg what kind of guy he was from that one sentence alone. He put up his hood and tried to sigh audibly, not seeing the three elves behind him cracking their knuckles unhappy with his outlook.

“Actually I ran out of money and had to drop out of college. Had to buy a magic talent when I levelled to get my class.” I said. “So I’m just here to pick up my magic and go.”

The half truth seemed to buy him over and he nodded along. The man scoffed and kept yapping. “Probably because of the elves, see the colleges know they have old money so they keep jacking up the price. Normal guys like us get the short stick all the time, but it's good to see you have the natural aptitude for it.”

“Well it was my fault. Maybe your problems are more on you?” I asked, seeing the three elves getting riled up.

“Well the problem with knife ears-”

The man was silenced as a hand went over his mouth. The three elves dragged him away and out of sight. The others in the line scoffed and one man spoke up saying “good riddance”. I did my best to be quiet and observe. The line moved quickly, only taking a minute or two at a time, some men left the ornate door disappointed while others clutched large books or daggers decorated with gems.

I tried to drum up some conversation with the orc man in front of me but he took one look at my character level and laughed. The others around me muttered that I was out of my league and that silenced me from attempting more small talk.

Finally my turn came and the orc from before cursed in a dark guttural tongue as he left the room and tried to push me out of the way. I stood my ground and instead the orc tripped and slammed into a table. He looked at me in shock.

“What the hell, what’s your strength?” he demanded.

One of the guards grabbed him by the coat and she yelled into his face. “If you can’t behave in the court of Ishaka then you will never conduct business here again!”

She grabbed him by the collar and the orc was hopelessly overpowered by her demonic strength. The orc screamed as he was dragged away while the guard cursed him out and kicked him. With all eyes on me I froze in place feeling like I was on stage without my lines. A guard leaned out of the ornate door and waved me in.

I entered as quickly as I could and the ornate door slammed shut behind me. The room was filled with sweet smelling mist and a fountain near me spat out clear running water. Scattered around the room were plush pillows beside small tables and bookshelves for relaxing reading. In front of me was a translucent silk curtain where a woman sat on a wide chair, which might as well be called a throne. Her shadow was shapely as she crossed a leg over a knee and her tail stuck out from the curtain to beckon me closer.

I took a few steps up to the curtain and the guard who waved me in cleared her throat. She looked at me, then the floor and waved her hand downwards. Picking up on the cue I got down on my knees and waited. The sensation of being looked at happened again and I knew the woman behind the counter was trying to inspect me.

The curtain didn’t reach all the way to the floor and I could see the woman's feet. She had on a strange pair of high heeled boots that exposed her painted toes. Someone must have told her the concept of a stiletto shoe but it got confused in translation because the heel of the shoe was an actual knife blade. The sharp keen edge caught the light and I couldn’t help but feel my mouth dry out.

Her tail parted the curtains and my eyes widened. Her body was almost completely exposed from her revealing outfit of translucent purple silk. The loose see through top gently held up her massive breasts as the pierced dark bumps of her nipples pushed out on the fabric. Her blue skin complimented well with the dark purple veil covering her face and her magenta eyes inspected me like a treat she wanted to buy.

“Well human, your call caught my eye. But I must ask, do you want magic or to be my pet?” she asked with a sultry, sickly sweet voice.

The woman stood up holding in one hand covered in gold rings a thick red book covered in leather with a spine reinforced with steel. On the other hand she had a silk collar like the one I had removed from the strange rabbit today. With the nearly seven foot tall woman towering over me it was hard to see her face past the massive mounds of her bosom.

My mouth was dry as I found myself unable to speak, those piercing eyes invited me in, to sit on her lap and worship her all day. I started to move my hand and my body was willing me to forget the hardships, to take her offer and not worry about being killed. The last day passed through my head, my bad job, Paul’s shop where I got shot.

Then I remembered Charlotte and the image reminded me of my spiteful ex. My hand balled into a fist and the sudden change in mental swing made me punch my leg, unfortunately I missed and punched myself straight in the groin.

As I was doubled over in pain the demon woman let out a hysterical laugh, falling onto her seat and kicked out her legs. The demon guard helped me onto my feet and opened a small brass container by the blue demon woman. The container was full to the brim with ice and a bowl full of fruit for the important woman to eat. The guard scooped ice out of the container and put it in a small towel and gave it to me to hold onto my bruised manhood.

The blue demon woman removed her veil and dotted it under eyes to wipe away her merry tears. Her attractive face broke into a cheerful smile as she was racked with laughter still and held a hand to her mouth. She snickered a few more times before holding out the book to me.

She sighed happily and said. “Ok, that was impressive, I’ve never seen a human break out of one of my strongest charms in such a way. For making my day better I give to you your desire human.”

“Thanks,” I wheezed and took the heavy book into my hand.

As my hands touched the leather the blue woman's tail wrapped around my arm and she pulled me in. I was sent right into her chest and when I pushed off her breasts to look up at her she leaned down and ran her forked tongue up my neck and licked my cheek. She breathed in deeply, taking in my scent before purring into my ear.

“Stag Hare blood. I love a man who isn’t afraid to get dirty and beat something to death. Your hands are even roughed up, so you fought it hand to hand.” she said, and grappled me back into the valley of her breasts. “Your scent is wonderful, how do you smell like strawberries?”

My nose was drowning in the sweet scent of her oiled body, she was a furnace of warmth that radiated into me and I wanted to rub my face into her. I wanted her to wrap those mighty thighs around me and hold me here forever. With my mind falling into honeyed goo I forced myself to break out of her grip. I stepped back and shook my head to try to clear my senses.

“It was left over hand made soap from my ex, and I didn’t really-”

The demon woman cut me off with a knowing grin. “You intrigue me even more Joshua Hale. For that I issue you a quest, should you build a shrine to my dear mother Ishaka in your dungeon I shall send one of our priestesses to aid you. I’m sure you will get to know the lucky demoness quite well as she will aid you in matters pertaining to our Goddess.”

Knowledge : Divine Partial Success!

Ishaka the goddess of pleasure and magic is one of the major gods of the world. All powerful magic users give some tribute or lip service to the queen of magic even if they serve other lesser gods of magic. She is able to bestow boons as gifts to her daughters who then give them to worthy mortals who align with their goals.

Quest Issued!

Build a shrine to Ishaka and the required rooms to accommodate her priestess. As a reward you will be gifted one minor boon as well as a loyal demoness to serve you.

The piercing look in her eyes read me like an open book. I had to check I was hiding that I was a keeper and saw it should have been hidden still. Yet she mentioned my dungeon with a knowing tone, perhaps she had some other way of figuring me out. I swallowed a lump in my throat and tried to empty my thoughts in case she could read my mind too.

“That sounds…wonderful, thank you…” I said trailing off. I coughed and asked quietly, “what's your name ma’am?”

“Just call me the Overseer. My name will be presented to you should you prove worthy. A part of me hopes you do come through with my request.” The blue demoness grinned with a predatory smile as she licked her thick lips. “I can think of a few ways you can get me to scream my name if you want to stay and find out now.”

My body was a mess as signals got crossed over, was I supposed to be aroused and interested in the seven foot tall demoness who could manhandle me with ease or be terrified because she might possibly eat me. The guard took me by the hand and guided me out to the hall as the curtain was drawn again.

“Next!” The guard called and took the next man in line inside.

The mages in the line hoot and hollered clapping for me as I passed them. I awkwardly waved at them as a demon guard lightly pushed me from behind steering me out to the hallway.

“Good job newbie!”

“They're giving out freebies today!”

“I thought you would have been turned into dinner for sure!”

I shouted back wishing them good luck as the guard escorted me to a seemingly random room. It was an exact copy of the first room and I grinned seeing myself in the mirror clutching the book. The guard closed the door to stand beside me and the bed of pillows. Remembering what these demon’s goddess stood for I looked to the bed then her.

“So do we…do it here so I leave?” I asked.

The guard threw up her hands and looked shocked. Her tail coiled around her leg and a familiar voice stammered. “I-I-I with me, no you just lay down and sleep!”

“Oh,” I scratched at the back of my head, feeling my collar get hot. “Sorry Vixa.”

I laid down and Vixa started to move my limbs, crossing my arms on my chest with the book secured below them. She patted my shoulders down and started to softly hum. The wordless tune relaxed me and I felt my eyes drop.

“Good luck Joshua, if you ever want to chat just build that shrine and I can visit.” Vixa said. She clasped her hands and watched me start to snooze. “I always wanted my own human friend to play with.”

I was much more comfortable in the presence of Vixa compared to the Overseer and I smiled listening to her cute voice. Sleep started to take me and I yawned nestling into the pillow and felt Vixa comb my hair.

“You can just call me Josh.” I mumbled. “I’ll get…right on that.”

In my mind I saw a distant silver blue cloud that condensed into a pool of liquid metal, the silver tread appeared and tugged me towards it. As the hit the liquid metal it parted and I was thrust back into my body with a dumb smile on my face.