After the fight, he was given leave to do what he wanted. Instead of doing the responsible thing and going straight to the gym, he decided to see his friend Chris. For the first time since coming to the new world, he stepped out of the compound that was his family home. He made his way down the steps leading away from the super mansion and took in his home.

 

Towers sprouted out of sections of the building, shooting toward the heavens like massive white bean sprouts. It was a common aesthetic among the family super mansions in Neon. Seven other super mansions sported the same towers, along with a giant one towards the city's center.

 

From what he could tell, the city sat on several square miles of land walled in and covered in numerous roads to help travel and trade. He made his way to the garage but was barred from it. Males, not even heroes, weren’t allowed to drive in the city; he had to take the bus or walk to visit his friend.

 

Silas sighed and went to a bus stop with a coin purse tied to his side and real coins hidden elsewhere. He wasn’t used to trading exclusively with coins, and they took up a lot of space. It wouldn’t be a problem if he had his inventory, but that was gone with the system.

 

After waiting for an hour, the bus arrived to take him to his destination. It was a run-down thing on its last legs, but it ran, and that was all that mattered. Every hour he wasted to go see his friend was a major risk. Getting stranded and losing a whole day would be a nightmare. Sure, he only needed 21 more PL to leave Claude safely in his rearview, but he didn’t like taking risks like that.

 

Silas got on to see a lady bus driver who looked like a supermodel except for the struggling body in her gut. He paid the bus fare and went to sit down when he was stopped.

 

“I don’t care who your mother is; check your privilege. You sit at the back of the bus with the rest of the worthless males.” The woman said.

 

Silas smiled and did as he was told. “Hey buddy, are you one of those noble-born guys I’ve heard so much about? Is it true you can refuse to be eaten?”

 

“If I wasn’t full, I would show you how untrue that is.” The bus driver said.

 

Silas nodded. “I’ll make sure to tell my sisters all about you. They were telling me this morning that they wouldn’t mind eating some low-class bitch who gave me a hard time because I had to take their run-down bus.”

 

The bus suddenly stopped. “In my ass now, male. I’m going to show you how much your silver spoon is worth.”

 

“No,” Silas said.

 

“What was that?” The bus driver said.

 

“You’re denied continue driving or return my fare.” Her face turned red, and they glared at each other until she stepped on the gas.

 

“If any of you say a word, your ass food.” The bus driver said.

 

…

 

Silas left his experience in public transportation aside at his friend’s house. He knocked on the door, and the door opened the reveal an obvious tom girl. His other was oblivious to an unhealthy degree and was in a dangerous situation. Chris was a very dangerous predator; she was the ambush type. For some reason it seemed like she was glowing, and he didn’t know why.

 

“Hey, you wanted to hang out,” Silas said.

 

“Thanks for coming. Was the bus ride terrible?” Chris asked.

 

Silas smiled but couldn’t tell where Chris’s worry stemmed from. Did she care that her future lunch might be taken, or was it a game that she enjoyed playing? No matter what, he had to be careful around her, or his death could come out of nowhere.

 

“Yea, but it was worth it to get out of there. I might walk back; the bus driver was a little on the insane side.” Silas said.

 

“Probably a card-carrying member of the Femnoid party. Those crazies are in all the government jobs, especially those males could do just as well.” Chris said.

 

He blinked and wanted to laugh. Was Chris an Andronist or just andro adjacent? Either way, it was cute and explained the clothes. She wore a pair of ass hugging shorts and one of his old T-shirts. Yet somehow his other hadn’t noticed she was female.

 

This world was so messed up. Silas patted her shoulder before she led him inside.

 

“Dad is still out visiting the noble families, so he might not be back for days,” Chris said and made a gagging sound. “Can you believe how they treat heroes?”

 

“Like roosters after a cock fight,” Silas said.

 

Chris giggled and pushed him against a wall before apologizing profusely.

 

After getting the snacks ready they made their way to her bedroom. Pictures of heroes lined the walls along with a boyband poster called the Feeders. They exchanged band members every other day, the poster auto updated. Instead of a crystal screen there was a projector hooked up to the ceiling.

 

“What do you want to watch? I have a new projector and plenty of movies. A trader came by last week, and the markets are swimming in everything from lesbian romance to spicy hero journeys. We could do a horror about an all-male outpost in the frontier. This one is from the vampire’s perspective; it’s rumored to have happened.” Chris said.

 

Silas pulled out his bag and revealed tons of snacks. “Since your dad isn’t home, do you mind if I sleep over?”

 

Squee!

 

Chris gave a very lady-like cheer and dragged him with monstrous strength to the kitchen. They made bacon-wrapped poppers stuffed with cheddar cheese, tacos, burgers, and mountains of chilly fries before running off to her room and starting the projector.

 

“I needed this,” Silas said and leaned against Chris.

 

He slowly took a pair of chopsticks to his chili fries and demolished the mountain as the movie started. The vampire narrated the adventure, starting with the ill-fated choice of the frontiersmen to not have any werewolves in their party. The horny monster girls, while man-eaters like any other, often protected their food supplies viciously and tried to make them last. Adding one to their party added a layer of detection and a solid defense against vampires.

 

If Silas wasn’t shoving fries in his mouth, he would have taken notes. Instead, the vampire moved like a ghost turning into mist and squeezing through the seams indoors. Her abilities even allowed her crystal recorder to move with her. As a part of the show, she only struck one victim the first night. It was to allow her victims time to prepare and attempt to counter her. She might have even given up her attack if they could put up a credible defense.

 

None of the guys in the video had any abilities that countered a vampire or allowed them to improve their defenses. Instead, they dug ditches and built a wall for all the good it did them. Wood had cost them 10 men to bribe the dryads to allow them to take it. In the end, it was the wood-housing insect monsters who promptly ate another 20 men. This information was taken from one of the vampire’s victims before she started feeding.

 

“This is some scary stuff. You wouldn’t catch me in the frontier. Monsters there are more brutal.” Chris said.

 

“Mary isn’t bad, and I heard she’s from the frontier,” Silas said.

 

“I wouldn’t call Mary a domesticated monster. Though I’ve heard that she doesn’t use force to eat your siblings.”

 

“Everyone comes to her.” Silas said.

 

“What about you? Do you want to become a part of her? I’ve heard it's more pleasurable than what any human woman can provide.” Chris said with a blush.

 

“Not interested,” Silas said.

 

Chris smiled at his reply as the movie became more like a comedy, the way the vampire gave the humans more and more chances to defend themselves. Each time more of the settlers were lost due to terrible deals with monsters on the frontier.

 

Silas tossed some poppers in his mouth and swallowed them down. “Wow, you sure eat a lot.”

 

Silas decided to use it to discuss his ability and make it more plausible. “I have an ability. The more I eat, the faster I heal.” Silas said.

 

“Really, so if someone ate you instead of dissolving, you would heal the damage,” Chris said, a little too hopeful.

 

“Nope! I would just die very slowly.” Silas said.

 

“So what if it was with someone you trusted. Would you let them eat you if you knew they would let you back out?” Chris said.

 

“That wouldn’t be a good idea,” Silas said.

 

“Why not? It sounds like you would be safe, and if everyone is having fun and no one is hurt, everybody wins.”

 

“There have been experiments with what you describe. Males who enter become addicted to the substances secreted by monsters and females. It takes weeks of isolation for a male to return to any sense of normalcy, but they will always want to return. Those who weren’t allowed to in the experiment committed suicide.” Silas said.

 

“This world is wrong,” Chris said.

 

Silas shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. There is the other end of it. Suppose someone was strong enough and endured the secretions for an extended period. In that case, they might gain resistance to it and the addictive effects.” This was bullshit.

 

“How strong would someone have to be?” Chris asked.

 

“Probably in the tens of thousands with a regeneration ability,” Silas said.

 

Once his constitution stat reached a certain level, he didn’t need to breathe. This world allowed him to match it with his PL. By his estimation at 500, he wouldn’t need to breathe; at 10,000, things like addictions wouldn’t affect him. But he didn’t know if he wanted to partake in the drug-like effects. Even if it wasn’t addictive to him, that didn’t make it safe to indulge.

 

“What about you? How strong would you need to be safe? I’m just asking for my peace of mind. I don’t want to lose my friend.” Chris said.

 

“About 10,000, and I’ll be safe,” Silas said.

 

She gave him a look that screamed want in a way he wasn’t comfortable with. How could his other not have known what she was? Maybe his want of a friend blinded him.

 

“What’s your PL now,” Chris asked.

 

“5 last time I checked,” Silas said.

 

Her eyes narrowed, and he didn’t like the look. “You were less than 1 a few days ago.”

 

Silas nodded. Chris licked her lips and brushed a strand of blue hair out of her eyes. “Be quick. I can only wait so long.”

 

“Wait for what?” Silas asked.

 

Chris grumbled. “Nothing, so heavy weights help you get stronger faster.”

 

Silas tossed a popper in his mouth and swigged some soda before replying. “Yea,” Silas said.

 

“What do you know of hero training?” Chris asked.

 

“I’m in the program.” Silas said.

 

“No not the program I mean the training heroes do to further increase their power level.” Chris said.

 

Silas drew a blank. “Nothing but I’m not even in the double digits I doubt hero level training would help.”

 

“The general program isn’t designed to help an individual become a hero. A noble family has thousands of children each year and produce dozens of heroes. The program creates the most heroes at the lowest price possible. Resources like custom weighted clothes are too expensive to waste on the average hero candidate.” Chris said.

 

Wow, the more he heard about the world the less he liked society. Not only where they a dictatorship ruled by the strongest queen, but they were training heroes on the cheap.

 

“Weighted clothes,” Silas said.

 

“Yea, my dad had me learn how to make them he didn’t trust a tailor not to slip some him a cursed seal.”

 

“Sealing is an art forbidden to males.” Silas said.

 

“Then don’t tell anyone I know it. But what you said isn’t correct. It isn’t that males are forbidden to learn most can’t.” Chris said.

 

She brushed her blue bangs out of her face as moonlight fell into the dark room. Her gray eyes glowed beautifully like green pools. How could his other believe she was male?

 

“Don’t you need a special kind of thread?” Silas asked.

 

“Ghost Drider thread and I have tons of spools for my seal research. Dad leads a raiding party on a nearby nest. While the raiding party is busy dying, he meets up with an old friend and trades for their silk.” Chris said.

 

“That is horrible.” Silas said.

 

Chris grimaced. “Oh, it’s worse than you imagine. Male prisoners who want to lower their prison time can volunteer for a drider nest raid. Every successful raid shortens their prison sentence by 10 years. Those prisoners often include political prisoners like heroes who speak out against our queen.” Chris said.

 

Queen Morgana’s last known power level was 100,000 recorded a decade ago. The dark goddess of Neon consumes hundreds everyday increasing her power but there were apparently diminishing returns. Until some of her daughters become queens its impossible for her to rank up. Going from a matriarch to a queen was nearly impossible which was why they had to appease the queen mother lamia.

 

Killing the queen and changing the regime wouldn’t help them. Destabilizing their city would lead to a power struggle that could invite monster attacks. There were many queen rank monsters near their city each with a powerful hunger for human flesh. Silas would need all his stats to stand a chance which would take decade by his current rate.

 

“That sucks but it isn’t our problem. I have a power level of 5 and can’t hope to stand up to her. There is a rumor that each rank grants a woman a new ability is that true?” Silas asked.

 

“How should I know, I’m not a woman?” Chris said.

 

Silas smiled; he wasn’t sure if her andronist views were camouflage before, but she messed up. Chris wasn’t really a supporter of male rights anymore than any other woman in Neon. Her gender was on top but if she could use some political theatre to get more males to slide down her throat she would. It wasn’t his business what tactics she chose to use. It confirmed that she wasn’t reliable to have his best interests at heart. No, she wanted to appear different to ensnare and devour him.

 

He didn’t know if he could trust the seals she planned to put on his clothes. She claimed her father made her learn to protect himself from cursed seals. Well, wasn’t she capable of doing the same to him and he didn’t have his charm skill to make Chris spill her plans.

 

“Could you teach me sealing?” Maybe she didn’t deserve it, but he wanted to give her a chance at redemption. He was a guy and couldn’t put away his own instincts even if he wanted to. Silas needed to love and protect women even if he told his mind and body, it was a mistake.

 

“I didn’t think you would have any interest in seals. They take a special kind of energy and understanding to create. Most guys can’t understand them.” Chris said and bit her lip. “Let’s do a test.”

 

She wrote a seal on a piece of paper before handing it to him. “This is a simple seal that lights up when activated. If you can’t activate it, then seals are impossible for you.”

 

“What if I get a higher power level?” Silas asked.

 

“The energy you need doesn’t come from male power levels.” Chris said.

 

He raised an eyebrow. That was very telling. He didn’t know what it meant exactly but he was sure the information would be useful, so he filed it away.

 

“What does that mean?” Silas asked.

 

“What are they teaching you in that hero program?” Chris asked.

 

“Not enough apparently.” Silas said.

 

“If you put in the next movie and I’ll think about telling you.” Chris said as she started sewing seals into a stretchy undershirt.”

 

He put in a movie called deep sea adventure. This one followed a group of aquatic heroes and a matriarch leading an exploration of a deep ocean chasm. There was no dialogue just ocean sounds and the deep dark sea lit only by a few light crystals. On the side of the screen, it showed the depth.

 

“Women don’t train to increase their power level.” She stopped herself. “Women don’t just train to increase their power level. They can squeeze out some numbers with training especially after we eat a nice strong male.” Chris said before correcting herself again. “They, not we absorb a type of energy from every male they digest. Depending on the compatibility and victim more of this energy is absorbed. For the sake of this conversation, we will call the energy Yang. It doesn’t power seals we absorb it and convert it into Yin which when merged with seals draws in power to operate.” Her eyes shot open wide. “Sorry I keep messing up, but you get the idea.”

 

“If it draws in power on its own then why can’t I activate it.” Silas asked.

 

“Yin energy is needed to shift the seal into activation. Sealing ink is never truly dry. Seals are ever changing and can even adapt to their user’s needs. That is only if the seal mistress likes the user.” Chris said.

 

Silas hadn’t expected that, but it made some sense. The seal on the piece of paper he was holding shifted before his eyes minutely. He was told what it did, but the shape wasn’t concrete. There was no light seal he could memorize because the seal continuously moved. After staring at the seal for a few moments longer he understood he needed women he trusted to navigate seals for him. They were too useful to leave on the table but extremely dangerous. The bus driver had used seals to drive her run-down crack shack of a bus.

 

Chris met his eyes and in an instant, she knew he knew. She leaned closer and he placed a finger on her lips. “Why don’t you stay my best friend Chris until I reach 10k? That way its safer for both of us.”  

 

“Do you trust me? I can be gentle and make you feel good.” She grabbed her mouth and stretched her jaws wide until he saw the fleshy folds of her delightful throat. He felt more than a stirring from his pants he was hard in seconds. The raw need to be more intimate with his best friend was painfully throbbing between his legs.

 

In his heart he felt more than raw lust. There was genuine affection between them, and she had promised to spit him back out. Maybe he wouldn’t be affected by her pheromones and addicting chemicals like other males thanks to his foreign nature. All he had to do was let nature take its course and he could feel her in all the right ways. She hadn’t touched her food letting him pig out waiting for this opportunity with minty fresh breath and an empty gut.