The sun had just set when I returned to Jackson City; there was nothing left to do but sell off the waifus I couldn’t use and buy any last-minute supplies. My dragon power was dialed down to a manageable level, and my body healed quickly. After showing off my tamer’s license, the guards let me in without batting an eye. It was night, so there was a weapons dealer I could go to after I sold off my stock of waifus. So that was my plan, along with renting a room to tame my waifus and catch a few hours of sleep.

 

My escape from the ogre felt like it had taken days, but only a few minutes had passed. People talk about battles lasting days, but I didn’t believe it. A day fighting like I had would drive me crazy it would feel like a year of constant battle. That wasn’t something I was willing to deal with in my current state.

 

I took one of the less crowded roads to the hospital where many of my generation were being treated. Six of the captured starter waifus were with me. Nearly ten times that number were being treated, and most didn’t have waifus any longer.

 

When I approached the front desk, the nurse on staff looked at me and the waifus with me. She had frozen and even opened her mouth to say something, then nothing came out.

 

“I’m returning these six to their tamers. Is there a third rank tamer or higher on staff?” I asked.

 

“Leave them here, and I’ll ensure they get to their owners.” The nurse said.

 

I thought about pulling my gun and blowing her away; consequences be damned. She was a teenager and the daughter of a tamer. It was probably why she had the nurse job. Otherwise, she would be on the street selling her body, hoping to get fucked by a powerful tamer and spawning a tamer son. A certain status came with producing a tamer son, like their son’s accomplishments were their own.

 

“By whose authority do you speak with?” I asked.

 

Even a fifth-rank tamer couldn’t steal from me in Professor Cacao’s city. It was one of the few protections young tamers enjoyed. The second I reached the next city, it would expire. An elevator dinged, and a white-haired man dressed in a red suit stepped onto the floor. He saw me and the waifus behind me before shaking his head.

 

The nurse smirked at me and returned to her business but was clearly listening.

 

“Aren’t you a little young to be collecting favors? Your peers will resent you and plot your destruction. It's why Cacao the younger is probably halfway to the next city already. Speed is more important to a starting tamer than favors that might never be worth something. So give the six to me, and I’ll collect the favors, and I’ll pay you for your trouble. How does that sound?”

 

“Like you’re trying to cheat me,” I said.

 

This was getting more dangerous. I couldn’t sense the guy at all, but I knew he was one of the 10 members of Sephiroth and a rank 9 tamer with an army of rank 9 waifus to back him up. I was sure saying that out loud would be the end of me. Alice was in danger, and I couldn’t afford to piss him off. Accepting his deal would have made him more suspicious.

 

“Nah, not my style. I’m not going to pay you in money, but I have something that could help your waifu rank up.” The man rubbed his neck. “Facing dangerous odds and rescuing another tamer’s waifus was reckless. It was also brave and the right thing to do. Not many tamers care what the right thing is. We prefer to seek out power first and morals second. Not you; I can tell you have a sense of justice by your actions. This was taking up space in my backpack anyway.”

 

He pulled out 6 crystals made of congealed qi. There were 2-night, 2 dragon, and 2 mecha, each with the qi of rank 5s; with them, Alice’s ranking route was clear. But, of course, if I rejected his offer after he offered such expensive treasures, it would be considered an insult. He might even have me quietly disappear in the forest.

 

My shoulders sunk as I held out my hand. He reached forward and clasped it, officializing the deal. Even Professor Cacao couldn’t protect me from someone like him. Sephiroth was one of the counterbalances to the waifu emperors for a reason.

 

“I guarantee they will get your starter to rank 4 if they are only used for the qi you can’t find.” The 6 dinofus stepped forward, and one of the Sephiroth member’s attendants led them to their destination.  

 

“What’s your name?” I asked to make sure he was who I thought he was.

 

“My friends call me Victor; you can call me Mr. Victor. I watched you from the wall as you ran from the ogre. You’re powerful after only a day of being a tamer. But don’t let it go to your head. You’re green as a Prediplantfu’s sexy ass. So stop getting distracted and get to the next city. Each sect only has so many places reserved for each rank.” Victor said.

 

My eyes widened; I hadn’t known that before. That wasn’t in the game guides or the forums; I kept drawing blanks even when I searched my memory. I couldn’t find the information anywhere. That wasn’t good.  

 

“I’ll get there. Do you know where I can sell some waifus quickly? I cleared out the ogre’s maiden vault.” I said.

 

Victor whistled. “That’s impressive; no wonder the ogre was hot on your heels like a magmafu with baby rabies. Go to one of the tamer registries in the city and put your hand on one of the platforms in the building. It’ll activate the online auction. Now, do you need anything else? I have six favor contracts to write up.”  Victor said.

 

“No, you were more than helpful,” I said.

 

Alice grabbed my arm as we walked out the door. Her touch calmed me down we made it back.

 

All I had to do was make the sale, steal more guns, and find a hotel. Hopefully, there weren’t any other scary individuals waiting in the woodworks. I hoped I wouldn’t run into the other members of Sephiroth or their reverse Qliphoth, for that matter. 9^th-ranked tamers were, as a rule, to be avoided until I reached that level myself. Unfortunately, they enjoyed playing with lower-ranked tamers. However, keeping my head down wouldn’t be enough. I needed to prepare to run into more of them at any time.

 

To prepare, I had a few basic plans. First, I needed to subdue a mecha and plant-type waifu. Once I had all 5 basic attributes, they would balance themselves out. Then I needed a neutral, day, and night with their respective rank 1 power skills to balance those attributes. Only when that was done could I think of finding a rare psionic attribute for their power. At that point, I’ll be as well-rounded as a beginner tamer could expect to be. When that was done, I could leave the forest for a spot in the Carthage city sect.

 

I made my way to one of the tamer registries and sold off the waifus I didn’t need. The virgin waifus were immediately auctioned while the others were pending. My payment was given upfront so the system could make even more money on the back end.

The onifu gave me 25,000 credits off the bat, as I expected. While I could have used the dollifu for her mecha power skill, I couldn’t handle more than three waifus at the moment. A day attribute goblifu was too rare to give up, and my tsufu’s leviathan power would soothe the burning from dragon power. The decision was practically made for me.

 

I ended up with 48,724 credits and considered it a steal. While the action already made 10 times that with the onifu auction alone, I was still happy. I went to a high-end tamer supply store and bought some more equipment.

 

There was dinofu armor for sale made with melted down mecha monster bones corrupted by the night attribute. Alice would love it, especially with how it was designed to shift its size to fit her. It was even covered to fit all of her rank 2 varients. I bought it without hesitation, along with a matching set of metal claws connected to the armor. After losing out on 20k for the armor and weapons, I bought more rations, water purifying pills, and an updated map of the local monster breeds and waifus.

 

Alice and I went on a date to one of the nearby restaurants, Bush Steak House, and ordered a 72oz steak each. We filled up on meat and paid for a room in one of the medium-expensive tamer hotels. She hopped on my dick for a slow round and gave me the Night Rite skill. It was the first qi gathering skill and one of the most dangerous to young tamers. If any skill could turn me into a mutant and eventually a monster, it was that one. But there was no use crying. I had 2 more waifus to tame before I could get some rest.