It was Saturday evening, the opening night of The Den, a new brothel in Silver City’s Nobles’ district.

Wolf looked at the inconspicuous yet elegant sign, still feeling torn. Regular women lost their use. They save me several hours, maybe a day’s worth of meditation and that’s not counting Big Brother’s wine. Should I try going to elven lands? I’m an elf from my mother’s side, after all. Lonely Eagle had it easier. Elven souls have to last several centuries and their pregnancies are three months longer, so taking a chunk out of them is more profitable. Or should I just quit? Dammit. I really wish to see the difference in Soul Force between virgins and proper women…

Anna’s grimace flashed in Wolf’s mind. Even Mandy’s eyes lost their luster when he announced his plan.

What do I want from life? He asked himself, gritting his teeth, but Wolf already knew the answer. I want to get powerful enough to revive Father, find Mother, and let us live happily. I can’t have offspring, so their wish to have descendants and a happy lineage will die with me, unless they have other children.

For gods know which time, Wolf thought he could breathe easily if he sired a son and passed his parents’ dream to him.

“Sir, are you here for the opening?” A young woman wearing a provocative dress approached him.

The young Mage disguised himself as a short elderly gentleman. He was a head taller, but illusions couldn’t stretch Wolf more unless he reshaped his body.

He coughed and nodded.

“Please follow me.” The petite woman leaned towards him, showcasing her impressive attributes as she took his hand. She pressed Wolf’s arm against her breasts and then ushered him inside.

I wonder if she’s the virgin? Doesn’t look like one with how unabashed she’s acting. Wolf wondered as the pair entered the well-furnished establishment.

“Oh, an impatient customer! We’re opening in two hours, though.” The female bartender wearing nothing but a translucent toga giggled while teasing.

Wolf was already immune to seeing shapely women clad in provocative clothing. Not even the exposed, plump breast drew his attention. Many establishments had such tempting exhibits to fan their customer’s flames, while women working had questionable looks.

What attracted his attention were the walls. They radiated magic. Ever since his fight with Griff the Fox, Wolf always used Detect Magic when encountering women. He was afraid of accidents.

“Good evening. I heard you have a special offer tonight?” Wolf’s voice remained cool. His gaze ignored the flesh displayed in front of him and fixed on the Spell Formations.

Protection from scrying, soundproofing, temperature and moisture dampening… Wolf scanned the inconspicuous runes he saw, but drapes and potted plants hid the rest.

Wolf felt like whistling. Whoever made this place went all in. This is probably the most expensive piece of Spell Formation Scribing I’ve seen outside the Mage Academy and the Duke’s Palace.

Ironically, if Wolf had taken Roger’s offer to work as a Spell Formation Scribe, this elaborate masterpiece could’ve been his creation. Then, Wolf would’ve known this was a trap laid for him.

“Yes, we have several special girls tonight.” The bartender placed a glass on the counter and took a bottle depicting a dwarven miner.

She motioned Wolf with the bottle, and the youth nodded. He loathed this poison and didn’t understand why people drank it. It was expensive and tasted horrible, like liquid fire.

“I want to hire them all.” Wolf knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself. However, the bartender shook her pretty little head.

“No more than three per customer.” She didn’t look at Wolf, instead she nodded at the woman who brought him in. “Sit down. Enjoy a drink while Marrie prepares everything.”

Wolf obeyed and glanced at his glass. Detect Poison revealed the miasmic vapor rising from the amber liquid, but that was normal when inspecting Miner’s Whiskey. Wolf wanted to inquire whether he could hire more women, or whether they would reserve them for him for the next evening, but kept his mouth shut and drank instead. If the effect was satisfactory, acquiring and rearing virgins was simple in these turbulent times.

“Follow me, sir.” Marrie returned from the corridor, her lips locked in a professional smile.

Wolf left behind the half-finished glass of amber poison filled with ice before following the hostess.

“That would be twenty-nine gold and ninety-seven silver coins for the girls, plus seven gold for your drink.” Marrie stopped in front of a door and robbed Wolf with a straight face, but the youth didn’t care about thirty-odd gold coins. This trip turned out expensive. Much costlier than Wolf expected, but for a one shot experiment, he didn’t mind paying through the nose.

He handed Marrie her thirty-seven gold pieces and entered the room. Inside, Wolf saw three nude women. They wore way too much makeup and their bodies quivered despite the Spell Formation being set to the scorching heat of a summer afternoon.

No magic. Wolf examined the women, then the wall, noticing the same Spell Formation runes as in the lounge.

After taking in those faces wearing enough makeup to hide their true features, Wolf realized these women were rather old, considering they were virgins. They seemed to be in their mid to late twenties.

Wolf stepped forward, but the women winced. They bit their lips or clenched their fists, and he stopped.

“Are you here against your will?” Wolf’s question surprised the women.

After a moment, the leftmost one shook her head. Then the other two followed her lead.

“I… We just…” The skinny flat-chested one in the center started stuttering, but couldn’t complete the sentence. Wolf nodded with understanding. Having their first time with a perverted old man, whom Wolf posed as, was most women’s nightmare.

“Thank you for your concern, Lord Ma—y gods give you a long life,” the one with a crooked nose, standing on the left said; her wit quick enough not to say something stupid. “We came here of our own free will. You need not concern yourself with us.”

She’s educated. Did someone drive her against the wall, like Mandy? Wolf pitied the educated woman. “If any of you are unwilling, you may leave the room. I have paid for your services, and I won’t demand refunds.”

Wolf saw the skinny woman’s knuckles turn pale as she clenched her hands too hard. She bit the corner of her lip, but she stayed.

“I will give you one more chance.” Wolf knew this stupid line would expose his hidden identity, but he still had to do it, for his conscience’s sake. “I will perform a technique on you. It will make you unable to conceive for the better part of a year. So, if you wish to have children in the near future, you should quit. Also, this technique will make it impossible to advance any further as a Mage. I’m willing to pay extra for any damages and trauma you may experience.”

Wolf told the women his standard disclaimer, promising them extra payment. He didn’t see what he expected. These women didn’t gasp in shock, nor did they cry out because the Perverted Mage had visited them.

Their bodies did quiver, however. They seemed afraid, and Wolf silently cursed his horrid reputation and the fact that he was pouring more oil on an already roaring bonfire. He did everything in his power to assure them he was a decent manling. He paid extra. He warned them and gave them more than one chance to give up, yet these women persisted.

Even after several seconds of silence, they remained silent.

“Are you really fine with this?” Wolf checked again. These women gave him weird vibes.

Against his expectations, the prostitutes nodded in agreement, a weird glint in their eyes.

This isn’t the first time that speech earned me weird looks. Wolf assured himself, but then paused. The women weren’t moving. They stood there, stiff. They folded their arms as if they were cold, but in reality, they hid their chests from Wolf’s view.

As if you have anything worth seeing. Wolf believed these women wore heavy makeup to hide the plainness of their faces, and their bodies were just as plain. Despite her breasts being the biggest, the silent girl on the right was chubby, bordering on fat. The middle one was bony, while the left one’s nose was too big. But Wolf wasn’t there to look at them, nor to enjoy himself.

“This will hurt. After I’m done, you will feel exhausted. You will probably faint and fall into deep slumber.” Wolf recalled the dozen female lifetimes he experienced when erasing women’s memories. “However, other than what I mentioned, no harm will come to you.”

Wolf took the chubby woman’s upper arm and led her towards the bed while storing his clothes into Archibald’s Ring of Holding.