Chapter 27: Dangerous Walk

After signaling Marianne to stay away, I started following the head librarian, my full attention focused on maintaining my mule persona. Every step, every stumble, even the blank expression on my face had to be perfect, just in case her gaze fell on me for a fleeting moment. After all, she was dangerous enough to change the flow of a battle with just her presence, whether it was against the monsters or humans. Even under the most conservative estimate, she was well-above level twenty, and in reality, nobody knew just how strong she was.

I didn’t know what would happen if she discovered my true nature, but I wasn’t feeling lucky enough to test it, so I followed her obediently deeper into the library. Unfortunately, it was a long walk, and without anything to distract me, I found myself watching the way her body strained her bulky clothing to understand her body type. She wasn’t the busty type, that much was obvious from the lack of a bulkiness around her chest. Similarly her hips were narrow, suggesting that she had a lithe body underneath. Considering that she wasn’t very tall either, it wasn’t hard to guess that without her mysterious clothing, she would have found it hard to put on an intimidating display. Of course, that wouldn’t change the fact that she could rain fireballs with a twist of her wrist, making the observation relatively worthless.

Then, we arrived at a closed gate, and my heartbeat picked up speed, and a soft gasp escaped my mouth despite my best effort. The reason was clear. She was standing in front of the locked entrance of the restricted section, the room that housed the most valuable and most dangerous pieces of writing in the library. I had never ever thought of attempting to enter, because it was protected by layers of wards, making such an attempt no different than assisted suicide.

But now, things were different. I carefully watched the shape of her magic, straining myself to commit the complicated flows into my memory -a difficult achievement even with my unbelievable stats. Still, it was an unbelievable opportunity, one that would have been impossible to receive if she hadn’t written me off as inconsequential. Yet another thing my abyssal reputation proved useful for. I stayed focused on the ebbs and flows of the key she was constructing while the wards around the vault deactivated one by one, and soon, the door opened. “Stay here,” she ordered as she disappeared inside.

I would have preferred to follow her inside. Failing that, I tried to get a feel of her magic to understand whether there were other traps inside, but failed to detect any. Meaning, either the vault didn’t have other wards, or it had the effect of hiding magic used inside while the door was closed. Still, the ability to open the outer shell was a rewarding enough, especially since I just needed to wait around a bit for it.

It took almost two hours for the head librarian to step out once more, and she pushed a cart filled with an impressive amount of books out. She glanced at my direction before starting to walk once again, leaving the cart behind. I quickly grabbed it and started to follow her, noting that she was considerably more exhausted, making it clear that there were further wards inside, much more difficult ones even. But that was a problem for another day.

I followed her through less-used parts of the library, then we arrived at another door, this one her own private residence, which she once again used her magic to unlock. It was considerably easier than the earlier vault door, so I memorized it easily as well. I had been expecting her to order me to stop, which was why I was surprised when she gestured me to follow her inside.

I found myself in a sparsely furnished living room. Surprisingly so, even, considering her reputation and the position she held. She had a large table piled with books, and an even larger bookcase piled with books, but a portion of it completely empty. Other than that, the only thing she had in there was an uncomfortable-looking wooden chair. Her home was as strict and soulless as she was acting outside, apparently.

My observations were cut short by her order. “Sort the books on the bookcase,” she said, then, once again without saying anything, walked to the other room. I would have liked to use the opportunity to browse the books she brought, but they were sealed magically. It was easy to break, but applying them again in the same manner would be time-consuming. A time that I currently lacked. I could only read their titles.

It was an interesting mixture. Most of the titles, I wasn’t even able to read, as they used an unfamiliar alphabet. The ones I was able to read, however, included a surprising number of books about ancient history. And, the rest of the shelf was filled with books on legends and myths, making it quite a mystery. Unfortunately, I was not in a position to explore that particular mystery.

Still, I didn’t want my journey to be completely useless, and despite her power, her dismissive attitude was starting to annoy me. So, I decided to use a little trick. When she pushed the door close, I created a minuscule magical disturbance, hard to detect without looking for it, but sufficient enough to keep the door from closing. An almost filled expert arcana was surely useful. Then, I cast another spell, this time a small, almost transparent piece of floating crystal, while a linked mirror appeared in my hand, allowing me to watch what she was doing.

She was facing the other way, but it wasn’t the reason my eyes were widened. No, it was because her hands were on her robe, slowly unlocking her buttons. I slowly placed the books on the shelf, not daring to use any magic for the job while watching her with my full attention. I was surprised when she pulled her hair free from an oppressing bind, and her raven locks flowed on her shoulders. But it wasn’t as interesting as when she started to push her robe down, revealing a pair of flawless and fragile alabaster shoulders, and when it moved down further, a naked back was added to the mix. My eyes widened with shock, as I hadn’t been expecting her to be half-naked under her bulky robes.

[+100 Experience]

The other surprise was just how lithe and elegant her body was. If I didn’t know her identity, I would have never guessed her to be the head librarian. It was hard to match her towering identity with her sweet body. When her robe moved even lower, it revealed her tight bottom, clad in her panties, which, unfortunately, was the white and boring kind. I was about to let the crystal disperse when I noticed her fingers reaching for the edge of her panties. I decided to maintain the spell despite its risk, a decision that was rewarded almost instantly when she pushed her panties down, revealing her cute bottom, and with a fleeting sight of her entrance, beautiful enough to wish me that I was strong enough to ravage her without fearing the consequences.

“Soon,” I murmured to myself.

Since my luck had yet to disappoint me today, I decided to push further, and watched as she started to walk toward the other door in her bedroom, giving me a full-frontal view of her beauty. Her face was yet another surprise. She had a small, cute face even without makeup, one that should have belonged to a cute flower girl on the corner of the street rather than a scary mage that made everyone tremble under the threat of her bad mood. I could see why she was always wearing that hood and using magic to darken her expression. It was hard to take this cute face seriously. Of course, her small yet shapely breasts and thin waist deserved a mention of their own, completing the little fragile girl image.

It was impossible to stop once she entered the other room, not bothering to close the door, the sound of flowing water reaching my ears. I let the crystal float to her bathroom, and met with the beautiful sight of her bubble covered body, her impromptu dress melting under the flow of water. Soon, she had nothing but crystal-clear water droplets to cover her body, and since I had already finished my task, I decided to get a bit of reward, and put my hand in my trousers, playing with my erection.

[+500 Experience]

[Achievement: Dancing with Death. Stretch a hidden situation to its limit with the full knowledge of the cost of failure. +1000 Experience, +2 Perception, +2 Agility]

Unfortunately, her shower stopped before I could attain my release, so, with great disappointment, I released the spell and fixed my pants, and waited for her to appear.

On that, I received another surprise, as I hadn’t been expecting her to walk into the living room naked. Oh, she had an illusion on, but it was impossible to slip such a thing by a master of subterfuge like myself. And with that awareness, denying the illusion and seeing her naked body was trivial for me. Just like that, my heartbeat rose to a peak. After all, not every day did the legendary librarian stand in front of me, stark naked and bent over as she examined the bookcase, tempting me with damnation.

“Everything is in order, you can leave,” she said, and I immediately turned and left the room, not trusting myself not to react in a way that would reveal myself if I continued to be subjected to that heavenly sight anymore.

When I walked out, there was a determination in my steps, and I even used several spells to find my target easily. Soon, I was standing a shelf away from Helga, and a floating note reached to her. Her eyes widened with shock, but I didn’t waste time watching, just walking in determined steps as I reached the storage room I described in the note, casting several wards in succession while waiting for her to appear. Anti-detection, silencing, locking, even climate-control. Helga had a worried expression on her face when she stepped in. She opened her mouth to ask, but before the first word could leave her lips, mine was already on hers, devouring her lips hungrily.

[Level Difference of at least 50%! No Experience]

She froze under the assault for a moment, but it didn’t take long for her lips to join the dance, her hands starting to caress my muscles, creating a pleasant, soothing sensation. Any other time, I would have let her continue, happy to see her taking initiative, but I was simply too aroused after watching the librarian’s unintentional show. A part of my mind acknowledged that it was the effect of her high charisma, only flowing free rather than leveraged for intimidation purposes; and the adrenaline from the fear of getting caught didn’t help my state of mind any.

However, regardless of its partially supernatural reasons, I was extremely horny, so I needed to solve it. I grabbed Helga’s robe and pulled, her buttons flying around. Before she could even let out a gasp, her blouse and underwear received the same treatment, no different than paper under my great strength. “My clothes,” she gasped in shock even as I grabbed her hips, and forced her to turn. She found herself against the wall, her bosom pressing the cold stone walls.

“Don’t worry, I’ll buy you better stuff,” I answered even as I pulled the robe off her, leaving her half-naked, with only her long skirt to cover her legs. A grievous issue that needed to be fixed immediately, I decided, and pulled her skirt up, gathering it around her waist, expecting to reveal her panties, which was why I was pleasantly surprised when I saw they were missing. “Naughty girl,” I said even as I slapped her bottom, her booty rippling sensually, breaking the last hold of rationality over my mind.

“For you,” she gasped even while I was busy removing my pants, which was all the invitation I needed before plunging myself into her depths, her strained cry of pleasure mixing with my groan of appreciation, and I started slamming into her mercilessly. “It hurts,” she managed to gasp between her cries, warning me to go slower. However, I was caught in a daze, and knew that slowing down was not an option for me. Luckily, I had other options. I flared my mana, not bothering to be conservative as I flooded her body with biomancy-based healing energies, deadening her sense of pain while curing the damage my merciless assault was creating. An extremely wasteful approach, but not without its benefits. And I had mana to spare.

[-50 Mana]

“Better?” I asked even as I sped my assault even further, the sound of flesh hitting flesh reaching a deafening point.

“Are you using-” she started, but interrupted by a moan when I started mauling her tits mercilessly. “Are you using your healing magic to deaden the impact? How?” she managed to slur, showing a great display of willpower.

“It’s not that difficult,” I answered, deciding to indulge her in a sudden hint of amusement. I was impressed that she was still able to think about the intricacies of magic while being stuffed mercilessly. And maybe focusing on a different thing would help me to combat the sense of arousal I was feeling, which was rather scary. “Actually, I’m basing the flow on one of your theories for arcana, but changing the energy flows…” I started, and launched a detailed explanation of theory even as I continued to drill her mercilessly.

[Companion Acquisition: Progress 16%]

The notification managed to surprise me, because it only appeared after I started explaining to her about magic. Another clue, I realized, though it didn’t match the previous time. Then, I wasn’t helping her with magical theory…

But that time, I had just finished helping her level up! “It’s so simple,” I murmured in shock.

“What’s so simple?” she answered, or more accurately, she managed to slur certain parts of that sentence while I managed to piece together the rest. Her pleasure had risen to a point to prevent her from speaking coherently.

“Just reached an epiphany, give me a moment,” I answered, punctuating my sentence with a spank. She just moaned in lieu of an answer, leaving me free to focus my thoughts while I pumped her towards an orgasm. I realized that the companion process was about proving myself to them based on their perception, though as usual, I needed to seal it with a sexual process. It was pure physical domination for Aviada, and exemplar magical theory for Helga. Also, I couldn’t discount the fact that I saved Aviada from her fiancee, and helped Helga to level up, therefore removing their biggest problems. Maybe it was a combination of both. I needed to help them, and impress them… It certainly explained why I hadn’t received anything for Marianne despite the time we spent together.

With the next target of experimentation selected, I turned my attention to Helga, who was showing the signs of an impending explosive orgasm. I grabbed her hair, pulling her into a searing kiss, which triggered her orgasm immediately. I didn’t delay it, because she deserved a reward. Not only was she very helpful to get rid of the effects I had been suffering under, but she also unknowingly allowed me to mostly solve the issue of the companion process.

I pulled out of her, and she collapsed on the floor, her trembling legs unable to hold her weight. She was barely able to twist so that she was resting with her back against the wall, trying to control her trembles. As another part of her reward, I gave her a minute to calm down before ordering her to open her mouth. She did so immediately, and I invaded her throat, no less merciless than my earlier invasion. I let the healing magic fill her body once more. However, even as I invaded her I was explaining the flow of magic and theory behind it with great detail, amused by her struggle to decide what to focus on, the pleasure she was feeling, or the intellectual opportunity in front of her.

[Companion Acquisition: Progress 19%]

[Companion Acquisition: Progress 22%]

[+3 Arcana]

[Companion Acquisition: Progress 25% – First Stage Completed +5000 Exp]

When the first stage was completed, her eyes widened with shock. After Aviada, I had a good idea of what she had just experienced. “Did you just receive an achievement?” I asked smugly, and her shock increased even further. I pulled out for a moment, letting her speak.

“How?” she murmured.

“It’s a dangerous secret,” I said even as I filled her mouth once more. “I’m trusting you with it, and soon, I’ll explain it, but don’t even mention it to anyone else,” I warned her, and she managed to nod despite her busy mouth. I wasn’t worried about it. Her look of fanaticism was hard to fake, not to mention I had the system’s approval about her increasing loyalty. With that aspect shelved satisfactorily, I continued ramming her throat until I filled her mouth with my seed, which she swallowed with great fervor.

I decided to sit down next to her, letting her rest against my chest in a rare moment of pure intimacy. She sighed in satisfaction. “By the way, rest well tonight. Tomorrow morning, we’re going on an expedition outside to increase your leveling speed further. Let’s see whether we can let you gain two levels in a week.”

Someone else would have claimed that I was mad for even daring to go out for hunting with less than a full regiment, not to mention my claim that I could help her level up with a speed that would rival a bonafide hero. It was proof of the impression I had on her when she, rather than arguing, just nodded with a smile and climbed on my lap, slowly riding me toward the climax. We stayed in the room for almost two hours, our bodies melding together in a variety of positions, mixing tender and fast, managing to squeeze several high-level theory discussions to the mix.

[Companion Acquisition: Progress 45%]

[-356 Mana]

In the end, even with the generous application of healing energy, Helga was completely spent. Naturally, she lacked Aviada’s stamina, and magic was an imperfect replacement. Still, a huge smile was on her lips as she stumbled to her room, naked under her robe. I followed her until she reached her room of course, not wanting her to meet with a dangerous situation in her distracted state. Only when she was securely in her room did I walk away, but not to my room.

I wanted to receive my reward for helping Marianne in the library…

—

[Level: 13 Experience: 90800 / 91000

Strength: 17 Charisma: 19

Precision: 12 Perception: 13

Agility: 14 Manipulation: 17

Speed: 12 Intelligence: 16

Endurance: 13 Wisdom: 18

HP: 884 / 884 Mana: 274 / 1079 ]

SKILLS

[Master Melee [68/100]

Expert Arcana [75/75]

Advanced Subterfuge [50/50]

Advanced Biomancy [50/50]

Basic Speech [25/25] ]