I suddenly feel tired, drained, and I realize that I spent the whole afternoon tense as I waited for my turn. Now I can finally relax a little, but the day isn't actually over… or rather, the night isn't. So I grab the incense and sniff it again because I think it'll help me get through this tiredness.

After a few sniffs, I start to feel more comfortable, so I put it back in, turn around, and leave the room. I quickly cross the lavish corridor and walk downstairs, but then I stop mid-step once I see who's waiting for me.

Huge tits straining against a green, silky, strapless dress; a very generous side-opening that exposes black, lacy panty strings and thick thighs, which are then covered by long, lacy, black stockings; pretty feet adorned by dark green high heels; a wide-brimmed, pointy, green hat that hides most of the voluminous golden locks of hair, a large pair of spiral horns, vibrant red, juicy lips, and striking green eyes behind large, round glasses. Then my eyes take in her whole face and I pop a boner.

Ay! Is this how the female Magi dress?

She's a gorgeous woman, the kind that is so womanly, so mature, that I wonder if her tits naturally produce milk. She has gorgeous and gentle features that make her beauty comparable to Mom's, but her curves are a bit exaggeratedly "luscious," like the Goddess Mother while Mom is "perfectly balanced."

"Congratulations on passing, Fiubun," the Magus gently cheers with the sweetest smile.

I look down in panic, but my boner is hidden by the robes and my hunched-over posture, so I force it back in, then I raise my head again and smile back. "Thank you," I shyly grunt and finish walking down the steps, but then her sensuous perfume enters my nostrils, and I have to hold my boner in again.

"I'm Grand Magus Pufaia, and I'll be your guide for the Harnessing Program," she continues as I awkwardly stop a bit too far away.

But I suddenly brighten up, filled up hope as I hum, "Oh, that. I'm happy to finally get some help…"

And she flashes another charmingly pouty smile as she reassures me, "Don't worry, my spells have saved hundreds of corrupted souls, but the Headmaster has also taken notice of you, so I definitely won't disappoint him."

But now that the tension from the test has passed, I feel calm enough to start questioning, "I… why did he talk to me? I'm just a big tiger…"

"Precisely because you're a tiger," she immediately answers with a cute nod. "There has never been a full beastman magus before, so the Second Tail Council will love to hear this, and that's why the Headmaster wants to watch over you."

The Council was created after the Broken Lanterns Revolt to make sure the humans respect the rights of the beastmen. This happened about ninety years ago, which is why I remember it from my history class since it's kind of relevant to my life.

But this also means that I'm going to be forced into politics. Now, that's scary, and it's making me feel like the Headmaster's attention wasn't such a good thing.

She seems to read my mind, and her tone becomes surprisingly soothing as she reassures me again, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll thrive in the Royal Army. I was also born from common parents, but the Headmaster taught me how to cultivate my talent, and now I'm here."

"I… I hope I have something to cultivate," I awkwardly reply with a chuckle and scratch behind my furry ear.

But she immediately exclaims, emphatically trying to encourage me, "You surely do! Using a Strangler's energy to divert a barrier is no small feat." And her words stir something within me, then she readjusts her round glasses on her little nose, stirring something else within me.

But it felt so… simple. Is magic really supposed to be this easy?

I don't want to say that to her, so I just smile back and nod.

And so she continues, her tone now more serious but no less sweet, "Now, let me take a quick look into you before we continue."

"Into me?" I confusedly repeat.

But she doesn't answer and commands out loud, "Lailoranaria, please come out."

Then a gust of wind hits us, filling my nostrils with even more of her sensuous perfume, and also lifting her dress, but her hands are strategically positioned in front of her, not giving me a peek of her panties, though I can still see the strings from the side opening…

Suddenly, a female "ethereal" voice echoes across the room, as if it was some M-TV with signal issues, "Master! I answer!" And a little green dot appears in front of us, but it immediately grows into a flower bud that then blooms into a pink flower, revealing a very cute, pink-skinned, little woman with blue twin tails, purple butterfly wings, and wearing green leaves like a dress.

"Is this a familiar?!" I excitedly ask, unable to control myself.

The Fae(?)-ry turns to me and shows me a motherly smile as she replies with her ethereal voice, "What a cheerful furry boy. And yes, I'm a familiar, proudly made in the Well of Seven Wishes of Puanabik."

Seven is an unlucky number, though.

Then the little woman with the unpronounceable name wrinkles her nose, and my worst fear comes true. "But before we do anything, let me clean you up."

I open my mouth to speak, but I'm choked by a strong gust that hits me and envelops my whole body, even my mouth, then it raises my fur and lifts me up a few centimeters off the ground as it "brushes" me.

And then it stops as suddenly as it came, dropping me on the floor with a loud thud though it doesn't feel rough to me.

"Sorry… water was being rationed," I awkwardly apologize, then I realize that even my teeth were "brushed" clean.

And the familiar suddenly starts speaking so fast that I have to concentrate to catch everything she's saying, "Don't feel bad, it was expected, all things considered. You came from the Dark Forest of Hatarvros, hm? Never been there, though it sounds lovely, like any place with 'Forest' in its name, even if it's preceded by 'Dark.' It's terrible what happened; demonic invasions can happen anywhere, at any time, and they never end well since it takes decades for an area to be cleared of demons again. But, study hard and one day you'll be deployed there to get your revenge."

"Deployed? Really?" I repeat, and I sense something boil within me, but that's not a good thing so I clamp it down again.

She nods, making her cute twin tails sway. "You'll spend your sixth and last year in a supervised deployment, and Hatarvros will be the perfect place for it since there will be plenty of demons to hunt."

But my excitement dies down. "That's still a long time…"

And she lets out a soft but high-pitched snort. "Patience. You're almost a great man already, so I'm sure that my Pufaia can wait until then."

"Lailo…" Pufaia warns her familiar and makes a pause. "Just do your job…"

But the fairy grins devilishly and turns to her master then smugly replies, "Helping you get married is also my job."

Now the sheep Magus starts to get a bit ticked off, but she still won't raise the volume of her voice and simply whisper-shouts, "Analyze him then leave!"

"Sorry, sorry…" Lailo whispers and lowers her head respectfully, then she turns to me and winks, looking like she's not sorry.

Pufaia rolls her eyes and readjusts her glasses as she frustratedly mutters, "Familiars can be quite the irreverent imps sometimes."

And I just smile at their antics.

Then Lailo calmly continues, "Now, relax while I blow my wind through you."

"Okay…" I hum, wondering how such a thing would work.

And it works by literally blowing through me. I feel a breeze brush against my insides, tickling them in a rather unnerving way since I can't scratch them.

I shudder, and Lailo crosses her arms and grabs her chin as she starts to mutter, "Let's see… a crippled arm, but the muscles are just scarred, which is easily fixed; some demonic transformation has started on the very same arm, but it can be harnessed; the corruption looks like it's buried in his soul, but there's something in his marrow, too; and he also has a massive package, so he should strip for inspec-…"

But she doesn't finish as Pufaia snaps her fingers, and Lailo suddenly turns into a cloud of green smoke that quickly loses shape and dissipates into nothing.

Then the Grand Magus sighs softly and remarks, looking slightly stiff, "I don't know why she's being so naughty with you, but I apologize."

I stifle a chuckle and reassure her, "It's no problem. I find her funny."

And I don't mind stripping.

But she frowns for a moment. "Yes, that's the problem. She likes being funny too much." Then she becomes serious again. "Now, I can do something for your arm, let me just get my grimoire."

Then she snaps her fingers, and a book appears floating in the air in front of her. Its cover is made up of innumerable little triangular mirrors and little colorful gems, though most of them are green, and they don't seem to be magical sources.

She manually grabs a dark red marker and opens it then starts going through its pages. I sneakily step closer and take a peek at them, but the words are too small and the pages too busy with writing and diagrams, so I take another step.

"Here, 'Dryad Masha's Unscarrer and Unscrambler,'" she suddenly states as she touches the page with her index finger and raises her head, then stiffens up as I got a bit too close.

"Sorry, I just got curious about what's written," I immediately apologize and back away, but not before taking a peek at her massive cleavage from this privileged angle.

But she knits her blonde eyebrows in concern and gently warns me, "Please don't attempt to read a Magus' grimoire. Even though it's most likely going to be encrypted, it's not a polite thing to do."

And I stiffen up so much that I clench my butt cheeks. "I'm sorry… I used to get in a lot of trouble trying to understand magic."

But she flashes a cute smile, soothing me again before returning to her usual bubbly demeanor. "So did I. Now, grimoire, cast Dryad Masha's Unscarrer and Unscrambler on Fiubun's left arm."

And a large puff of green-ish smoke comes out of the book and then flies towards me. My magicsight gives me a comforting feeling of moss coming from the smoke, though it also seems "itchy," but then the smoke enters my crippled arm, and it actually starts itching.

I look at it and see that the smoke turned into barely-visible little vines that cover my skin and seem to move around slowly. The itching quickly subsides on its own, but occasionally, I feel like something pulls on my muscles, making my fingers twitch, and it also itches just a little bit, though it's not unpleasant.

She closes her grimoire, making a loud thud, as she happily hums, "There. It should finish in a week. Now, let's take you to your temporary dormitory. Grimoire, to the lower Magi barracks, please."

And she releases the book, which remains floating in the air and releases a smoke that looks more like rainbow-colored fire, then a familiar, glowing white ball appears to our side, but instead of growing into a sphere, the Tunnel becomes a white door, complete with even a handle but no keyhole.

"Follow me," Pufaia sweetly requests, then grabs the handle and opens the door to a courtyard with a fountain, but it's too dark for me to see much else.

I follow her, and I'm suddenly in a completely different place, which makes me feel a bit dizzy for a moment. We're now in a stone courtyard, surrounded by tall, ornate, bright-red buildings with details in gold.

The sounds of running water are back, and not just because of the fountain. There are little channels with running water even here.

But I leave that question for later and as there's something that I can only ask her now. "Why is your portal a door while the other Magi use spheres?"

"They have less control over the Aether," she immediately answers and waits for me to continue my questioning.

"But they're Aethermagi," I point out.

And she smiles proudly. "And I'm a Grand Magus."

So I awkwardly twiddle my thumbs as I apologize, "I-I see… sorry for the, uh… impertinent questions."

And she waves her hand dismissively. "Nonsense. Curiosity is good."

But I'm too curious for my own good.

Then she sighs softly and rather embarrassedly adds, "Though, I have to admit that perhaps the long distance may be a factor in the difference between our Tunnels. The Dark Forest of Hatarvros is near Reality's Edge, correct?"

"Yes," I grunt with a nod.

And she giggles softly. "Then I believe that it makes sense for a hired Aethermagus not to waste effort in making the Tunnel look pretty."

"I see…" I hum in understanding with a nod.

Then she flashes a sweet smile and motions towards one of the buildings. "Now, your dormitory is this way." Then she starts walking. "See the open book sign above the entrance? That's the universal symbol for Magis, but the white sword behind it means Roszin Royal Magi."

Roszin is what the citizens of Vorosza are called, which I always thought is unintuitive since it omits the "Vor-" part, making it sound too different from "Vorosza."

But I just nod along as I follow, her heels clacking loudly against the stone, and for some reason, I really like that sound.

"Now, let's go to the Mess Hall and get you some dinner," and then she sweetly adds.

"Oh, thank y-…" I attempt the reply, but my stomach rumble does the talking for me.

 

We enter the main hall, and I hesitate before stepping onto the polished dark granite with my rugged and worn boots, but then I remember that Pufaia's familiar (with a name that I already forgot) cleaned everything, so I step forward with a bit of confidence. My eyes then start to follow her reflection, trying to get a peek of her panties, but for some reason, her (considerable) ass looks blurry in the reflection, making me think that there's some sort of magic going on.

I decide that it's better to look at the real thing, especially because there's a cute sheep tail coming out of a hole in her dress right above her tailbone (and the hole gives me a glimpse of her panties), but then the decorations of the main hall attract my gaze. Everything looks even more shiny and clean than the Recruitment Office, but while that place had simple architecture with expensive-looking decorations, the dormitory is expensive architecture with even more expensive decorations.

The floor's reflection seems like it waves as if it was underwater, and the dark-purple ceiling is almost fully covered in clouds that aggregate around the lights, giving the hall a moody atmosphere, but what's really striking are the walls. They're covered in a fuzzy-looking carpet, and they depict Magi doing a variety of things, but the pictures move.

A purple-robed Magus with a wide-brimmed hat slamming some sort of black, sparkly sphere against the face of a huge demon; another Magus with glowing eyes conjuring a storm that strikes scores of Greenskins; a formation of cavalry galloping across a bridge of clouds while a Magus flies alongside them. But I stop paying attention to them as Pufaia has stopped ahead and is waiting for me to catch up.

She smiles reassuringly, but I don't want to make her waste any time with me, so I hurry up.

 

We cross paths with other young Magi, and I notice that there isn't any sort of dress code here. She isn't even the one wearing the most daring outfit, and we pass by a very-good-smelling woman who's basically naked as her semi-transparent clothes hide nothing.

They all give me curious looks, but it seems that they respect Pufaia too much to get in her way or even ask questions as they all lower their heads in the exact same way, so it's a sort of salute, I guess.

We cross a long corridor, then we reach the Mess Hall, and this one is full of other young Magi. They let out steam and smoke as they talk loudly, play around, and even use magic. I see so many magical puffs of smoke that my eyes hurt, forcing me to look away from whatever they're doing.

But even then I notice the stares. Not only is Pufaia attracting attention with her super hot body, but the youngsters are also following me with their eyes.

I don't like this. I feel out of place.

Pufaia doesn't care and simply strides forward until we reach an empty table, then she sits in a very comfortable chair and motions for me to sit across from her. Once my furry buttocks touch the super-soft cushion, I feel the chair shift under me, making me tense up, but then I realize that it's just becoming larger to fit me more comfortably.

"Balmy," I mumble happily and get myself comfortable.

She just smiles at me again and snaps her fingers, then a puff of indescribable magical smoke appears in front of her, followed by another puff of smoke, but this one is physical and white-colored. Once it's gone, it reveals a long piece of ornate paper covered in a plastic film floating in front of her.

So she grabs it and looks it over once then turns it to me as she asks, "What would you like to eat?"

I run my eyes through all of the names, but there are just too many choices and I have too little brain to pick one. "Whatever you recommend, really. These meals look too fancy for me."

She chuckles once then pulls the menu back. "The daily course, then. You'll have time to taste them all eventually."

Then she does something magical to the paper, but it's too subtle for my magicsight to discern what it is.

Suddenly, a square piece of the table suddenly starts to float upward, revealing a hole where a little female goblin in an apron and a hat comes up from on a floating piece of white granite. The Greenskin is carrying two little plates full of little food on each hand and a third on her head, which she promptly deposits in front of me, then she snaps her fingers, and a little sparkly smoke comes out of her hand.

The plates and the food start to grow, then a heavy wooden mug full of something frothy lands on the table with a thud, making me jump.

"Wretch's c-…" I almost swear in front of Pufaia, and I see that the goblin is sinking into the table, then the square piece of wood covers the hole again, fitting so perfectly it's like there was no hole to begin with. So I turn to Pufaia and immediately ask, "What was that? Is there a mini kitchen under the table?"

And she gives me a motherly gaze that reminds me of Mom. "No, you silly. The Kitchen is in a Tear, but it's linked to all barracks in the city, so they miniaturized it to fit all the food in one place. It's cheaper to make Tunnels than multiple kitchens since there's magic everywhere here."

"Cool…" I hum in awe.

You use "cool" for awesome and incredible stuff, and "balmy" for nice and exciting stuff.

Anyway, the food is great. So great, in fact, that I don't have much opportunity to ask Pufaia anything.

The main course is a thick, beef and potato stew with a lot of red pepper spice. Seems like they used the sweet type of pepper and combined it with caramelized onions, butter, tomato paste, and red wine, giving it a very gentle taste. I still prefer the inn's stew, but only because we use beer and a lot of fried garlic, so the taste is stronger.

The second plate is a mix of savory and sweet rolled pastries. Now that is better than what we do at the inn because the dough is super fluffy and light, and we don't usually make delicate dishes. But I like the sweet ones as they have chocolate while the savory ones are mostly just chicken.

And the last plate is sliced fruit salad. Plum, peaches, and cherries all covered in a mild, blue jelly. It's actually great and something I've never eaten before. Jelly is usually too sugary for my taste, but this one looks like it was made for the

Then I drown it all with a warm, buttery nutmeg drink. Thankfully, it isn't alcoholic because I don't want to see a bunch of drunk, super-powered youngsters with me in the middle of them, also drunk.

All in all, it's honestly the best meal I've ever eaten.

Suddenly, Pufaia jumps in her seat as she remembers something, "Ah, before I forget. Grimoire, ID."

And a blank piece of thick paper the size of her hand appears between her fingers, which she hands to me.

The back side of the card has a repeating illusion of a gray storm with an open book at the center and a white sword behind it, just like the symbol at the entrance to the dormitory. Lighting occasionally strikes the sword, which gives it a blue glow that quickly fades, while the book's pages are continuously turning. Overall, it's a high-quality illusion even though it's simple, but I assume the design was made to reflect the fact that I'm just a trainee.

The front side of the card is merely divided into two blank white sections with golden frames, but there's no illusion going on… yet.

And then Pufaia instructs, "Press your thumb against the lower part, and it'll draw a bit of blood. It's just a pinch, so I'm sure a big boy like you can handle it."

"Okay," I hum and do as I'm told, happy that she called me "big boy," so I push my thumb against the bottom one, and I barely feel the pinch on my paw pad.

Then both blank sections are covered in a mess of colors that moves like paint in water, just like how an M-TV looks as it's turned on, and the colors at the top quickly take the shape… of me, my bust, actually, but I'm naked, so I wonder how Pufaia's ID looks like. Then I frown as card-me frowns worriedly and glances around, as if it was scared of what's going on.

As for the bottom section, it becomes almost fully white again, except for the words "Fibun, Magus Trainee," then today's date, which is 21/6/1103 (the 21st day of the 6th month of the year 1103 of the Interrealm Fixed Calendar). There are also some other entries about ID number, document type, and expiration date, but I ignore them.

"You look tense in there," Pufaia cheekily remarks as she taps my picture, and little me gives her a scared glance.

So I pout and grumble back, "Why shouldn't I? This is all new to me."

And she giggles softly and then extends her hand. "Here, let me fix it."

I push the card towards her, and she takes it then starts waving her fingers at it, and some shiny, rainbow-colored smoke comes out of them.

Then she smiles and pushes the card back towards me. "There. You're more handsome now."

On one hand, I'm happy she called me handsome, which is a compliment that I'll never ever forget, but on the other hand, she made card-me glare and angled my bust backward a bit, making it look like I'm staring down at the person holding the card. It's great for intimidation, but it doesn't feel like it's "me," you know?

Still better than my worried look from before, so I just accept it and store it inside my robe.

Then she starts standing up as she states, "I'll show you where the baths are, then we'll go to your room."

And I just nod.

 

We stop in front of three large entrances, each taking to a steamy, tiled white room, and my tail starts happily waving on its own as it has been a long time since I had a hot bath.

And Pufaia motions to them as she explains, "Here. We have female, unisex, and male baths. The unisex one is for everyone to get used to bathing in the open air because you don't always get private baths in the field even if you have the power to make your own."

Now I get it. The left entrance has two large statues of women in robes flanking each side, the right entrance has two men in robes, and the middle entrance has a man and woman but they're both naked. I also find it curious how you can look under the robes and see the pussy and dicks.

"We often don't wear clothes in Hatarvros, so this will be the easiest thing to get used to," I casually remark, secretly eager to see if there's a woman brave enough to go into the unisex bath.

But Pufaia seems to be imagining something as her voice trails for a moment before she blinks and returns to normal. "I… I see. Now, your room."

 

She knocks on the door and promptly starts to enter without waiting for an answer. "Excuse me, I'm coming in."

The inside looks pretty simple: there's a central small room with a table, four chairs, and a little sofa to our left; then there are four doors, two on each of the side walls, that lead to small personal rooms with a bed, a trunk, and a nightstand; and, finally, the last door right ahead of us leads to the bathroom. But one of the beds is occupied.

A thin and short, freckled and pimpled young man with a tuft of messy brown hair on top of his head peeks out and becomes stunned by Pufaia's hotness and my "imposing" figure. "Uh… hi," he mumbles as he gawks at us.

"I'm Grand Magus Pufaia, and I've brought your new roommate," she politely introduces herself, smiling amusedly at his awe-struck face, then she motions for me to walk forward.

"Hi… I'm Fiubun," I hum and extend a furry hand.

His eyes turn to my clawed hand and open wide in what I know is surprise and a bit of fear, then he swallows heavily and comes out of his room. He's wearing a set of pajamas stamped with stars, wands, and wizard hats, which is cute but also shows a bit of wealth… though it could be normal since we're in the capital and everyone is a bit wealthy.

"I-I'm Georgo. I passed the Magus test a few days ago," he finally speaks and gingerly shakes my big hand.

"Fiubun also passed it today," I gently grunt back to not scare the thin man.

"Oh…!" he exclaims in understanding then shakes my hand vigorously.

I think he thought I was a soldier, or something, which is why he said he passed the Magus test. But then he seems to forget to stop the handshake, so I release his hand, and he awkwardly backs away.

And with that done, Pufaia steps forward and declares, "You two can get to know each other later. Right now, I have to teach Fiubun his Harnessing routine."

"'Harnessing'? Harnessing what?" Georgo repeats confusedly.

"Demonic corruption," I calmly answer.

But his reaction is more of curiosity than disgust or fear. "How did you…?"

"I got wounded by a demon…" I briefly answer. But it's bad to leave it at that, so I hurriedly add, "Well, it's a long story, but I come from the Dark Forest of Hatarvros, which was invaded by demons some time ago."

And that's enough for him, so he backs away to give us space. "I see, I see… I'll just watch, then."

Watch Pufaia, I'm sure.

And the Grand Magus sweetly requests, "Very well. Take out an incense while I pull these chairs."

But I continue staring at her while I reach inside my bag because she's just so hot that I simply can't look away.

"Grimoire, wand," she quietly orders, then a ribbed black dild-… I mean, a little wand appears in her palm, and it even has a hand grip molded into it.

She promptly flicks it towards both chairs, as if "marking them," then makes a wide motion with her arm, and the chairs start sliding towards us.

"That's a Minor Aether Wand, right?" Georgo excitedly asks.

And she nods at him. "Yes. You'll both get one when you learn how to not accidentally punch a hole into the Aether with it."

Balmy!

She takes her seat and motions to the chair in front of her, so I obey, and her sensuous perfume almost makes me hard… again. Then she flicks her wand at the incense and it lights up as it begins to float, so I release it and stare in awe.

She's using Aether to do these things, but my magicsight isn't triggering because this isn't like normal magic. The Aether can "loosen" the laws of reality and make Minor Miracles, as the Scriptures of Magic called them, so every Magi has a Minor Aether Wand as it's an all-purpose tool for them.

Suddenly, she grabs my big, rough, furry hands with her little delicate ones, leaving her wand floating in the air, and, again, my cock tries to come out.

I'm actually so drained it's getting hard to hold myself back. The desire to rip off Pufaia's clothes and rape her has firmly lodged itself inside my mind, and I can't even feel bad about it anymore. I know it's wrong, but it's like a hunger that comes to me every time I get aroused, and I can't deny that it exists.

She clears her throat, starting to blush, and I realize that I'm staring blankly at her, so I look down, but that's where her cleavage is, so I fully lower my head.

"Fiubun, I want you to close your eyes and let your mind relax," she gently requests, so I nod and obey.

The smell of the incense enters my nostrils, and it immediately penetrates my brain, then a soothing sensation spreads all over my body, and I feel my willpower melt away. It's a good thing I didn't light one during the test or I would've gotten too sleepy to do it properly.

Then Pufaia's voice gently slithers inside my ear and massages my brain, soothing me to the point that I feel like I'm half-asleep already, yet I can clearly hear her every word, "Now, I'm going to use a little spell on you to help you find your corruption. I don't know what you're going to see as each person is different, but you should find the corruption in your soul and then 'burn' it so it stops spreading temporarily. You know how to use sources and the Strangler's energy, so treat the corruption as a very volatile type of energy and don't attempt to do anything else with it, understood?"

"Yes, Magus," I answer absentmindedly.

"Very well. Grimoire…"

Then she starts speaking in a language that I don't understand, but it just might be in code so that other Magi don't find out the secrets of her spell.

Suddenly, I sense a spear pierce the back of my skull and scramble my brain, but then the pain is gone in a second and I find myself stumbling forward, my heavy feet weirdly silent in the mossy ground.

I steady myself and look forward, and I see that I'm in the Dark Forest again, but I don't recognize this exact location. Also, I'm naked, my body is still as muscular as I was before I started rationing food, my left arm isn't black, atrophied, or crippled, and I clearly remember that I was on a chair while Pufaia used a spell on me, so I'm not one bit confused about what's going on.

Well…I actually am a bit confused since I have no idea where to go. I look around, but every direction looks the same. I'm in some sort of place similar to the Dream Realm, but I seemingly can't teleport at will.

Now, what?

"Y-you… follow the path," Pufaia's voice echoes across the forest, though she sounds… awkward?

But before I can ask "What path?" a group of dark trees start to tilt out of the way, creating a very obvious path for me.

Alright.

So I start walking down its length, but the world starts to move under my feet, giving me the dizzying feeling that I'm sliding forward, but I don't lose my balance. This just makes me feel uncomfortable, so I continue walking as normal.

It doesn't take long for me to reach my supposed target, though, as a horrible but familiar, pungent scent of death and pain invades my nostrils, but then I notice that there's also a heavy smell of sex mixed in.

The world suddenly stops moving, and now there's a huge tree in front of me, and it's covered in red, glowing, pulsating blisters.

Okay, this is obviously the corruption.

So I extend my hand and imagine a stream of fire shooting out of my palm, and the world obeys.

The tree instantly becomes a huge bonfire, and it starts to sway in agony as it lets out an ear-piercing shriek, "RIIIIII!"

But I hold steady, snout wrinkled in disgust as an acid-like smell hurts my nose and lungs.

The tree's infernal shrieking eventually dies out, and it stops swaying, then its branches crack and break off, so I stop the flames, and the fire almost instantly goes out.

"I think it's burned completely?" I ask out loud.

Suddenly, I feel something being yanked out of the back of my head, giving a blinding pain for a second, then I open my eyes and find myself back in my room in the dormitory with Pufaia right in front of me, still holding my hands.

But her face is red, and her eyes are looking down, so I follow them (and glance at her cleavage again) and find that my hard, dripping cock is out and on full display as it has pushed through the opening in my robe.

"Oh, fuck!" I swear and jump up, making Pufaia jump and squeak in surprise as I almost slap her face with it, but then I immediately turn around and hide it in my robes as I force it back in.

Surprisingly, my cock listens and immediately shrivels, then retreats back into its sheath. Maybe not so surprisingly since that's exactly what should happen now that the corruption in my soul is "dead."

But then an awkward silence settles in, and I'm just too embarrassed to look at Pufaia again.

She suddenly clears her throat loudly and very politely reassures me, "That's something very normal for corrupted men, so you shouldn't think too much of it as it has happened to almost every man I've aided."

But I bet they were at least using pants…

I do enjoy the fact that she got to stare at my cock, but it's the idea that it was unpleasant to her (since she's a half that likes to wear clothes) that makes me embarrassed. I like being naked, but I don't like making other people feel disgusted by my nakedness.

So I slowly turn around and try to politely reply, "Yes, uhm… thank you for the treatment. I already feel like it's easier to control my emotions."

"I'm happy to hear that," she hums back, still blushing, but at least she's smiling again. Then she extends her hand and offers a string necklace holding a metal sphere with a little red gem slotted in the middle of it. "Now, take this necklace and put it on. Once it starts glowing, you light up an incense then feed the gem some Lifeforce, and it'll take you back into your soul so that you can 'burn' the corruption again. We'll teach you how to harness your corruption once you start your training as a Magus."

"I don’t know how to use Lifeforce," I immediately reply as I obediently put it on.

"Oh…" she hums blankly then crosses her arms and massages a horn as she thinks, which is a very interesting pose, considering it strains her dress even harder against her massive tits. Then she turns to Georgo, who stiffens up and almost bows reflexively. "Georgo, please take him to the morning Lifeforce training tomorrow. I'll check on him in four days since that's when the spell should be ready again."

"Yes, Grand Magus," he obediently replies.

And she flashes a sweet smile as she praises him huskily, making my fur stand on end in excitement, "Good boy. Now… that's it for today. Sleep well and study for your written test."

"Yes, Grand Magus," I politely repeat.

But she just smiles and leaves. "Goodbye."

I wanted her to call me a "good boy."

I sigh in both relief and tiredness. It's great to feel like I don't have a bomb inside me that I need to keep suppressing anymore, but it also isn't over yet. If I'm expelled from the Academy, then I'm dead. I'd feel more comfortable if I at least had a second option in case the shithole floods.

Then I notice that Georgo is staring at me, looking like he doesn't believe what he's seeing.

"What?" I grunt.

And he looks away as he makes an embarrassed face. "Nothing, it's just… a lot happened so suddenly."

"And it rained today…" I use an idiom that Mom loved to say. Then I sigh and tiredly add, "I'm just going to take a bath to relax, then I'm going to sleep."

He nods repeatedly and states, "Right, right. We can talk tomorrow… and I have to take you to the Lifeforce training."

"Yeah…" I awkwardly grunt.

And he also awkwardly advises, "J-just remember to take the key to the door to your room."

"Right, thanks," I reply with a snort.

So I put my things in my room, lock it, then go to the unisex bath.

It's surprising that the water is still hot even though there's nobody else here, but I ain't complaining since I love a hot bath. And I relax so much in it that I almost fall asleep, and I don't even pop a boner!

But the sleepiness doesn't go away, so, after I return to my room, I drop on the bed then immediately fall asleep.