Roy looked at her and his jaw was tight, as if he was chewing back words that sought to burst out in a torrent. “You don’t understand.”

Awkward.

---

The remaining hours passed in silence as the VBV was opened and the four went inside. Lucifer formed his corporal state once more. Melanie went straight to her guest quarters and slammed the door behind her.

Tinuriel walked up to Roy, “You really hurt her feelings.”

Roy frowned, “I know. I have feelings for her as well. But…I have work to do.”

“Then just keep it as an option on the table,” Felix replied. “Ethdellin, that first Tier, gives agelessness. You can conquer the Tiers and then be with her.”

Roy stared silently at Felix for a moment before curtly nodding, “I’ll go talk to her.” He walked off.

“Well, at least that situation is being resolved.” Lucifer turned to face Felix and Tinuriel, “Meeting an emperor tomorrow. How neat is that? That’s something I haven’t done yet.”

“It’s nothing special,” Tinuriel stated bluntly. “Roy had mentioned something called ‘power squats’, and I noticed his legs are larger. Show me what you two did.”

“Oh, sure. Felix, want to join us for a bit of muscle training?” Lucifer flexed his bicep as he said this, eliciting a chuckle from Tinuriel as his arm was not at all muscular compared to Tinuriel’s.

“I want to do some crafting. You two have fun.”

Tinuriel nodded, “Hot tub later?” She asked Felix.

“Sure.” Felix couldn’t help but admire as Tinuriel walked away. Enough of that, he thought. He went to the Shop and checked his Mailbox. No messages. I suppose no news is good news. He went inside the Shop and sold some items and purchased others. Thankfully, the Shop interface connected with the Crafting Station, so he could tell what was usable and what would just be better off being sold.

[Loot Sold]

- Black Mage Staff

+ 50 VC

- Colossal Snake Fang

+ 300 VC

- Colossal Snake Skin

+ 250 VC

- Complete Dragon Corpse (Ancient Light Dragon)

+ 1,500 VC

- <Rank 1> Health Elixir (x3)

+ 300 VC

[Monies Dispensed]

= 2,400 VC

[Items purchased]

+ <Rank 3> Health Elixir (x3)

- 900 VC

+ <Rank 3> Vigor Elixir (x3)

- 900 VC

+ <Rank 3> Anima Elixir (x3)

- 900 VC

[Monies Paid]

= 2,700 VC

[Current Balance]

= 6,557 VC

I also have that weird Tube Thing from that Death World. He used Detect Properties

[Item Description: Photon Blade]

[A hilt that projects a blade of devastating hardlight that can cut through any substance. One charge lasts for a single swing before the power source must be replaced.]

That would’ve been useful against the giant snake. He looked through the Shop and found the type of power source that was required. It’s going to be nice having a trump card. But he clicked his tongue in disappointment. I can only have three Charges at once? That’s a lame move, Admin.

[Items purchased]

+ Photon-Blade Charge (x3)

- 600 VC

[Monies Paid]

= 600 VC

[Current Balance]

= 5,957 VC

He went over to the Loot Forge and placed the Dungeon Core on the anvil, hefting the hammer.

[You have placed a <Invictus Dungeon Core (Ancient)> on the Loot Forge. Select one of the following options.]

> Dracoknight

> Dracomancer

> Whisperfang

Three new Advanced Classes. He thought for a moment. I’ve been doing a lot of roguish stuff. But I could always pivot. Hey Lucifer?

Hmm?

Can we do a Room that’s something like a Respec Chamber? If I say, want to change up my levels and build?

Let me query the System…Looks like you get one Respec every 20 Core Levels. And, when you do that, you can re-do your Affinity applications. If there was a Magic/Power effect you weren’t using, that would be the time to change things around.

Since Tinuriel is one of my designated Escorts, and she’s a melee-focused person, then I should go into Powers/Magic, or I could keep with the rogue stuff. Thoughts?

Being sneaky has served you well so far. Down the line hybridizing into a support/rogue/ranged combatant might be smart if you plan on keeping her around.

Whisperfang it is. Felix brought the hammer down. The Dungeon Core exploded into a prismatic display of luminous lights.

[Congratulations! Because you shattered an Invictus Dungeon Core (Ancient), you have gained access to the Whisperfang Class!]

I’ve been banking a level. Let’s put one into Whisperfang.

You got it. Level up incoming!

[Selection Made: Whisperfang]

Finalize. The world grew slightly brighter, and everything stood out more starkly than it did before. He also felt a slight itch on his hand, and looking down, he saw a very faint prismatic-scale tattoo that glimmered faintly in the light.

I’ve got a few new Rooms and Functions to add also. Three more of each.

Yup. Any ideas on what you want?

I think it would be prudent to have a Training Room. Something that I can practice in. And as for a Function, let’s put something like ‘bars refill really quickly’.

Adding them now.

The grey void of space shimmered for a moment before, next to the Recreation Room, an enormous training field appeared. Running over, he saw archery and shooting ranges, obstacle courses that constantly moved and shifted, training dummies that could take a pounding, and several different terrain types split up in a grid.

Satisfied with the changes to his VBV and his current loadout, he went to the Recreation Room and smirked as he saw Tinuriel divested of her armor and dressed in body-hugging workout gear, squatting five hundred pounds across her shoulders. Lucifer was standing behind her, shirtless, spotting her as she finished a set. She got out from under the bar and high-fived Lucifer before she saw Felix. “Want to give it a try?”

“Sure, why not.” Felix went over and got into position. To his immense surprise, he was able to easily lift the weight. He felt no strain at all and put it down for a moment out of shock. “Umm, let’s try more weight?”

Tinuriel cocked an eyebrow but added a few plates to one side as Lucifer did the other. “Eight hundred pounds is a bit nutty,” Lucifer muttered.

Felix got under the bar and felt some resistance this time, struggling to complete a set of three before putting it back up. Tinuriel looked at him with an impressed stare. “You’re a lot more muscular under the clothes than you appear.”

“Might is tricky to quantify into actual weight,” Lucifer explained as he removed the weight plates from the bar. “The closest I can figure is that you can squat a number of pounds equal to your Might times one hundred. We can do some limit testing to see what it's like for other muscle groupings.”

"Why not?" Felix replied.

 

The trio engaged in a series of lifts and were able to determine that Felix's Might times fifty (450) was the pounds in weight he could bench press, and times ten (90) was what he could do with a single bicep curl. It's good to get an estimate of what these numbers mean translated to real-world practical motions. He felt a sense of immense satisfaction at his newfound strength, reveling in the ease with which he picked up weights that he would have struggled to lift off of the weight rack back before all of this Versewalker business.

"Neat tattoo," Lucifer commented.

Felix stopped the rep and looked down as the weird dragon-scale, ethereal tattoo glimmered in the light. "Part of that new class."

Tinuriel clapped him on the shoulder, "Come on. Another set."

As they wrapped up the limit testing, all covered in a sheen of sweat, a thought came into Felix's head. "Lucifer, can I even benefit from working out? Can I raise my Might at all with lifting?"

Lucifer leaned against the squat rack, “Nope. But it is a fun pastime.”

Tinuriel grabbed Felix’s shoulder, “Hot tub?”

The time in the Recreation Room passed blissfully, with Tinuriel and Felix joined by Lucifer as they chatted for a few hours. Tinuriel shared more about her childhood, clarifying that she was large, even for an elf, and that she was the butt of many jokes because, “Elves are meant to be graceful, lithe, and nimble.” She gestured to her body that was clad in a bikini that didn’t leave much to the imagination. “I was ashamed for some time, but then I embraced my physique.”

“Body positivity and self-image are all integral components to truly freeing oneself.” Lucifer took a sip of wine.

“I was always just average height, middleweight, not super fit.” Felix grabbed the bottle from Lucifer and took a swig of the wine before handing the bottle to Tinuriel. “Now? I'm cut and lean with plenty of muscle. I’ve got everything going for me except the height part.”

Tinuriel smirked, “That’s fine. I like a man that’s smaller than me.”

Lucifer chuckled and Felix went beet-red. Tinuriel joined Lucifer in laughing as they moved on to a different subject.

After a few hours, Roy joined them along with Melanie. “We decided,” Roy said as he slipped into the warm liquid, “That I’m going to spend some time on Dirge when we get there to re-establish the start of my kingdom.” He looked at Felix, “I would ask that you three help Melanie get up to her home. But then I have an even more unique request.”

Felix nodded, “Okay, I’m listening.”

“I know you’re going to use a Multiversal Charge to make a VBV portal permanently at my citadel, but I want you to do one at Melanie’s estate on Tier one.” He smirked and leaned back, “If I bring my forces through the VBV straight to Tier one, I can take it with ease from within, and then work my way down the Tiers, freeing people as I go.”

Melanie nodded and put an arm around Roy’s shoulder, “Once he’s done fixing things and brings equality and all that, then we are going to try and make a go of things.”

Tinuriel raised the bottle, “I’ll drink to that!” She took a swig before handing the bottle over to the new couple, and then she slipped her hand under the water and grabbed Felix’s hand, leaning over to his ear. Her whispering voice was enthralling, “Thank you for this.”

“Thank you for wha-” Felix’s words were cut off as Tinuriel kissed him, her lips tasting like the wine mixed with a near smokiness.

She pulled away and gave him a small grin, “I’ve made up my mind.”

Lucifer whooped and hollered, either drunk or excited, “That’s what I’m talking about! Go on you crazy kids!” he grabbed the wine bottle from Roy and chugged the rest.

Tinuriel got out of the hot tub and lifted Felix out, throwing him over her shoulder and manhandling him. “Come on. Time to break you in.”

Felix giggled at the absurdity of the situation but was incredibly content on the inside. And apprehensive. But excited.

---

Morning came and Felix found himself quite comfortable in the embrace of Tinuriel, feeling her pressing into him from behind giving him a sense of safety and protection he didn’t know he had craved.

Good morning. The time dilation is being stretched to the maximum. We gotta head out soon here to get to Heficyre by their sunrise.

Thanks for being my wingman.

No problem. I hope you had fun.

Felix chuckled and felt Tinuriel stir behind him. Yeah, we did.

The two got out of bed and took turns getting into the bathroom before gearing up. Tinuriel stopped Felix before they left, pushing him up against the wall and kissing him deeply before letting his feet touch the ground again. “You are more than satisfying as a partner.”

Felix grinned ear to ear and gestured for her to lead the way out the door. They joined their allies who were waiting near the tables, having eaten already. Lucifer tapped Felix’s back and merged with him once more. “Hurry up!” Roy said, “We’re going to be late to meet the emperor.”

The two new lovers sat down and scarfed down the breakfast burritos. Felix opened the VBV and the four of them exited, once more arriving in the guard room. It was empty, but Felix heard the guards outside the door moving about. He opened it and the pair of armored men quickly came to attention.

“Versewalker.” The guard waved over a young boy dressed in lavish attire, “Boy, go get Jeremiah.” The boy ran off as the party stepped into the hallway, waiting patiently.

The boy came back a few moments later with a middle-aged man who was rather thin, with a bald head and brown eyes. He bowed slightly at the waist. “Versewalker. We thank you and your allies for saving “Invictus from the collapse. Word is being spread of your deed and how to prevent future collapses. The whole of Heficyre is indebted to you.” He stood up straight, “I’m Jeremiah Denaril, head of the emperor’s council. Please, come with me. The emperor is still preparing, but the council is about to begin.”

Felix followed the man with his allies, and they strode through the enormous, ornate halls bedecked with silver and gold leaf intertwined with Gothic architecture. It felt as if he was walking through the halls of a sacred cathedral in Rome back on Earth, but somehow grander and airier. They passed several corridors in the enormous palace and were led past the largest and most ornate door that Felix had ever seen. It was covered entirely with gold, silver, and platinum, and depicted the founding of Invictus. Beyond that door was another, smaller door that was made of steel-bound wood, and guarded by a squad of four ornately dressed men. Jeremiah let them in.

Inside was a wooden throne at the far end of the room, an enormous square table, and several cushioned chairs. The exterior of the room was covered with wooden bookshelves full of tomes, scrolls, and writing supplies. Two desks were stationed in the corners, and young men sat at them with quills and inkwells at the ready. The chairs were occupied, and Roy inhaled rapidly as if in shock.

A woman with dark skin, brown hair, and a large scar running down her face and disappearing under her scale armor stood up. “Roy?”

“Hi, Roxanna.”