Arc 1: Luxuria

Chapter 12: Ability Level Up

 

When Haruki woke up, a barrage of messages greeted his sight.

[Congratulations to Player for successfully activating Sovereign Ability "Carnal Connection" for the first time!]

[Bonus Stats had been added to both Player and the new Consort, Monad of the Sinful Stone. Please check Status for specific details.]

[The following Achievement has been unlocked: (Heroic First Time) - Successfully promoted a Hero with an Affection of 90 and above as your first ever Consort.]

[Achievement Reward: Carnal Connection Ability Level +1 (Current Level: 2/??]

[Congratulations to Player for successfully raising your Sovereign Ability to Level 2.]

[Upon reaching Level 2, Player can now have a maximum of TWO consorts. (Current Number of Consorts:1/2)]

[In addition, Player can now use the Unique Skill "Private Harem Channel" - Open a telepathic channel between you and Consort(s) specified. With this Skill, a secret rendezvous is as easy as 1, 2, 3.]

"What the, ugh…"

As Haruki tried reading and focusing on the system messages, a throbbing pain on his backside halted his efforts. A "man of his word", Monad did as he promised, and the two spent three days and nights in bed. Hickeys and bite marks decorated the young man's entire body, from the neck to the chest up to his legs. Haruki was starting to doubt whether Monad was an Incubus; the guy must be a rabid Vampire instead!

While Haruki slowly stretched his arms and legs to ease the joint pains, he realized his hole had been cleaned up. He couldn't recall how many times Monad had cummed inside but remembered it had been stuffed full of the other guy's semen. At least the Demon had the decency to actually clean up his mess, though why the heck were the two of them still naked?!

Monad's muscled arms were wrapped on Haruki's waist, preventing the other from sitting up, not to mention actually leaving the bed. Haruki sighed heavily, watching the peaceful sleeping face of the Demon Hero, stifling the urge to violently punch it. This stupid guy really went berserk in bed, especially grinding and thrusting at the right time so that Haruki would beg for more instead of stopping. Haruki wondered if his gullibility was because he was a (former) virgin or was the Incubus just incredibly good at sex?

Haruki shook his head - was this question really necessary? He had a memorable first time and he wasn't averse to doing the deed with Monad in the future. He would just treat having a good sex life as his "reward" for all the stress he had to face as the Sovereign of Luxuria.

Speaking of, Haruki checked his status with Identifying Magic.

[Name: Sano Haruki]

[Level: 9/???]

[Class: Sovereign of Lust]

[Race: Demon]

[Affiliation: Luxuria]

[Affinity: Lust (100%)]

[Stats:]

[HP: 80/80]

[MP: 330/330]

[SP: 20]

[Strength: 11]

[Stamina: 8]

[Intelligence: 33]

[Resistance: 96]

[Agility: 15]

[Charisma: 362]

[Luck: 69]

[Sovereign Ability: "Carnal Connection" - Promote a Hero to become your "Consort". A Consort will acquire a 25% bonus on a specific Stat and Skill upgrades will be 50% cheaper.]

[Current Level: 2/?? (Number of Consorts increases based on the Level. More Consort-related options will also be unlocked with more Consorts appointed. Ability Level increases through expanding the Faction.)]

[Current Number of Consorts: 1/2]

[Skills:]

[Identifying Magic (Unique, Level: MAX); Hero Summoning (Unique, Level: 1); Private Harem Channel (Unique, MAX); Leadership (Rare, Level 1); Psychic Magic (Rare, Level: 3); Disguise (Rare, Level 1); Seduction (Common, Level: MAX); Darkness Magic (Common, Level: 3)]

It seemed like Haruki got around 1-2 additional points to his Stats after successfully promoting Monad to be his Consort. Well, except Luck. For some reason, it was still stuck at 69? What the heck was up with that?

One should know that getting new Stat points was incredibly hard for Sovereigns, Leaders and Heroes in "Verethragna Gloria". After every level up, certain Stats would randomly increase by one or two points and getting two or three Stats all together to get a point was already extremely lucky. For the Sovereign of Luxuria who seemed to have a bias for Charisma, Resistance and Intelligence, Haruki's other Stats remained exceptionally dismal even after passing through eight levels.

Still, there was a need to raise your level, especially since you will receive 10 SP with each rank up. Skill upgrades started with 20 SP from Level 1 to 2 and the cost would double as it increases. After reaching Level 9, Haruki used the 60 of his then 80 SP to raise his Darkness Magic to Level 3, giving a well-deserved boost to his Shadow Needles and allowing him to learn the Blindness spell. His goal was to specialize in both Psychic and Darkness Magic and unlock the Combination Spells that could create wide-area illusions. For a combat trash like him, having good defensive Skills was necessary to attempt a successful escape.

Haruki's Combat Rating was still F+, but he was now curious about Monad's. The Incubus was still asleep, sticking to Haruki like glue.

[Name: Monad of the Sinful Stone]

[Level: 9/???]

[Class: Builder Hero]

[Race: Demon]

[Affiliation: Luxuria]

[Affinity: Lust (100%)]

[Affection: 97/100]

[Stats:]

[HP: 540/540]

[MP: 290/290]

[SP: 80]

[Strength: 42 (+4)]

[Stamina: 54 (+5)]

[Intelligence: 29 (+2)]

[Resistance: 46 (+4)]

[Agility: 35 (+3)]

[Charisma: 74 (+7)]

[Luck: 27 (+2)]

[Combat Rating: E+]

An E+! That was already decent enough for a support-oriented Hero and Monad still had more room to grow.

Haruki remembered Monad had 33 Strength before, so he guessed that the 25% permanent Stat bonus from the Carnal Connection Ability went to this Stat. An instant increase of 8 points was a good enough harvest, though in the game Haruki usually used the Ability in the late game when Heroes have higher base Stats. But this was reality and having a good Hero by his side was essential. Besides, the half-cost Skill upgrades will be extremely handy now; he should ask Monad to level up his Ability and Skills as soon as possible.

Speaking of Abilities and Skills, he really needed to have a more balanced line-up of Heroes…

There was a small movement beside Haruki and the arms on his waist tightened. A low, husky voice was slightly muffled by the skin of his back. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

Haruki turned his head to the Demon, whose tousled bed hair unfairly added to his sexiness. Monad had a lazy look on his gaze as he snuggled further onto Haruki.

Still deep in thought, Haruki spoke without a filter. "I was just thinking about doing another Hero Summoning…"

Monad froze and Haruki felt the atmosphere drop a few degrees. He was suddenly pushed back to the bed and the shadow of a strong body fell over him.

The Demon looked grim and had a scrutinizing expression as he looked down on Haruki. "Not satisfied with me alone, Lord Haruki? I guess my skill in bed is getting rusty."

"W-what?" Haruki's mind had still not processed the sudden turn of events.

"Shall I ask for another three days?" Monad's low tone was laced with a hint of anger and frustration as he playfully bit on Haruki's Adam's apple. "I will make sure to satisfy your every desire."

Monad hummed further as he licked at a large and red hickey he just made. "Hmmm, I guess Lord Haruki wants a threesome? If so, I could oblige."

"S-stop, Monad!" Haruki pushed Monad's face off his neck, putting two hands on both cheeks. "What are you talking about?"

Monad had an eyebrow raised. "Weren't you talking about Summoning a new Hero to be your next Consort?"

"What?" Haruki was confused at the Demon's thought process. "The Hero I'm planning to Summon is a woman. I can't turn her into a Consort."

"Can't?" Monad seemed to have caught something from the spoken words. Haruki had a feeling he said something he wouldn't normally say, but his half-awake mind was still fuzzy.

Both men were frowning and wore shared confused faces. Monad was the first to be clear-headed, wearing a big grin on his face. "So, that means Haruki can only like men?"

The surprise and embarrassment on Haruki's face was a clear answer for the Demon Hero. He embraced the shorter man and snuggled onto the neck, whispering in a pleasant tone. "This is perfect. I only need to be wary of the men; I can handle that."

The gears on Haruki's mind had finally moved smoothly and he laughed as he wrapped his arms on the Demon's much larger body. "Are you jealous?"

Haruki thought the Demon would deny it, but the other's response was a thrum of agreement. "I'm not ready to share you with anyone yet."

A sharp giggle rose from Haruki's throat, while he patted the Hero's back. "Don't be so sulky, it ruins your image. Besides, I don't think I can stomach having another Consort. Just one night with you is so tiring; caring for two people at once might just break my back."

Monad nodded obediently like a good puppy. "That's right. Once they get a taste of you, no one else can compare."

"Now, you're just being a shameless flatterer. All I did was lay down and cry."

"If you did more, I'll probably obsess even further," stated Monad seriously. He gave the Demon King a long, languid kiss, the two men basking in the romantic air that pervaded around them.

After a while, their mouths left each other with a pop. Monad had a sultry gaze when he quipped. "Haruki, you're hard."

"Fuck," said Haruki, putting a hand on his face. His red and sweating face was a signal for Monad to grind their hips together. "When did I get so sex-crazy?"

Monad had a gentle and calm smile on his face, but the fierce and hungry glint on his eyes said otherwise. "Don't worry, I'll take responsibility."

~

It took a few more hours for Haruki and Monad to finally leave the bedroom. Haruki wanted to wear some garments to hide the love marks, but according to Monad, no one would mind. Lust Demons were very open-minded and were normally proud to show off their "hard-earned efforts". Haruki wisely decided not to comment on that.

Asmo was happy to see the two of them and could not stop talking about how his Master finally had a Consort. He was so glad that he had already published the news to the entire city, which made Monad the subject of awe, ire and envy of the citizenry. Nevertheless, they all respected their Sovereign's decision and started calling the Hero "Consort Monad". Haruki was weirded out by all this, while Monad took into his new role with grace and pride resembling that of a peacock.

Monad had a particularly smug smirk on when the scouts left the study after handing in their reports to Haruki. Of course, the young man noticed. "What's with the big grin, Monad?"

"Nothing much," replied Monad, but the smile on his face grew wider. "Just took care of some annoying bugs which were trying to bite more than they could chew."

One of Haruki's eyebrows rose in suspicion. "I didn't know you were so possessive…"

"Hmmm, well, even the most powerful Dragons know how to keep their most precious treasures safe from thieving hands."

Haruki shook his head. "If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you became part of Invidia."

"The Demons of Envy?" Monad had a rare, disgusted look on his face. "Those weaklings who could only dare covet are not worth speaking."

Haruki flashed a curious stare. "Weaklings? Aren't they second to the Pride Demons when it comes to raw power?"

"How could they not, they only seek to fill their hearts with the stolen glory of others." Monad shifted into a bragging tone as he continued. "At least we Lust Demons are true to ourselves in the pursuit of pleasure and desire. It is true that we obsess over our object of adoration, but we don't fight to possess them just for the sake of being better than others."

Haruki hummed - the intricacies between each Demon faction was still a mystery to him. In fact, even before he transmigrated in this world, he saw the seven deadly sins to have very few differences between them. If you're jealous over another person's loved one, is it really the sin of Envy or that of Lust? If you want more than one, does it become Greed then? If you keep a harem full of beauties beyond your own sex drive, would it turn into Gluttony? Haruki couldn't help but wonder about the philosophy of it all.

"If they wish to seriously pursue you, then let them show you their skill." Monad was about to close the topic with a look that heaped confidence. "I assure you, I'm still the best in bed."

Haruki frowned. What was he thinking too hard about, these guys only boast about their dicks.

"No thanks, I have no plans of bedding everyone for some showdown of skills," stated Haruki in an expressionless manner. He took the papers that were submitted to the scouts and handed it over to the Hero. "The Humans who went missing in the nearby settlements is something we should look into."

Asmo, who had been hovering beside his Master and ignoring everything so far like the good Familiar he was, moved towards Monad and read the documents with him. "Does Master think this has something to do with the Chimeras?"

Ever since he established Harlux and summoned its citizens, Haruki had kept a close eye on the minor race. "Maybe, maybe not. Since there were traces of Magic on the locations where the Humans were last seen, it might have to do something with a Mage or a Scholar from the Nit Magedom."

Keen as ever, Monad quickly got the point. "Are you saying it might have something to do with the gem imbued with the Death Spell?"

"I'm not sure, but it feels like it's not just a coincidence," murmured Haruki. "The Humans and Chimeras have occupied this land for quite some time, but no one actually tried to encroach on the southeasternmost territories. I figured there must be a reason somehow."

Asmo titled his head. "Asmo thought it was because of the Horned Serpent?"

"The Mana-Beast's territory wasn't that big, otherwise we would have been attacked before we even discovered the Mana Vein."

Monad nodded. "I agree, it seems a little strange. It's as if this land was waiting for the Sovereign of Lust to be born here."

Haruki couldn't help but think of C-Kami's messages and the mystery behind this "game". With Monad's feedback added to the mix, he felt like their theory was very close to the truth. To balance out the "stage", each of the "players" must occupy a spot to grow and develop. What they would do when they got out of the pond and into the big sea was the question of the century.

"Let's look into this," said Haruki. Both Monad and Asmo acquiesced to his decision.

This "pond" I was given should be used thoroughly, thought Haruki. And the first thing he needed to do was to bring the Chimeras to his side.