Aris shook her head, slapped her cheeks, and chased threw herself into a sprint as she, Adam, Kureha, and Titania raced down the collapsing tunnels.

  Adam stepped into the chilly winter air, walked around to the other side of his car, and opened the door for Aris and Fayte. The two women thanked him with a smile. While he wore his normal jeans and a t-shirt, Aris and Fayte were bundled up. Fayte was, of course, wearing her hideous clothing and veil, but Aris had gone with a pink duster, leg warmers, and UGGs.

  “So this is where you went to get medical care?” asked Fayte.

  “That’s right,” said Aris.

  “The New York City Hospital is the best one on the east coast,” Adam added.

  “It is. I’ve heard many good things about it,” Fayte agreed.

  They left the parking garage and made their way across the street, entering the hospital through its automatic sliding door. There were already a number of sick patience sitting in the waiting room. A young man kept coughing into his hand. A little girl had the sniffles and her mother kept wiping her nose. One person sitting in the far corner had broken out in hives.

  Walking up to the front desk with Fayte and Aris behind him, Adam announced his presence to the young woman. “Hello. I’m here for my appointment with Dr. Sofocor.”

  The young woman who appeared thinner than was probably healthy looked up. She glanced at him, then at Aris, then at Fayte. She did a double-take upon seeing his companion’s ugly clothes, but she at least retained enough professionalism not to say anything.

  “Um… just fill out these forms please.”

  “Thanks.”

  She handed Adam the forms, and he filled them out before handing them back. The woman told him that Dr. Sofocor would be out shortly, and they should sit down and wait.

  Unlike the last time they were here, no one was actively avoiding them, though Fayte did receive many an odd look from the people present. No one seemed to know what to make of her outfit.

  The wait wasn’t long. A few minutes after they sat down, Dr. Sofocor appeared in the room. She looked the same as always. Her brown hair was tied into a tight ponytail. She wore a knee-length black skirt, a long-sleeved black shirt, and a white lab coat. Wrinkles lined her mouth and eyes, denoting her age. Adam thought he saw a few new gray hairs, but he had enough sense not to tell her that.

  “Adam… I was beginning to think you’d forgotten our promise,” Dr. Sofocor said immediately upon seeing them. She smiled at Aris. “Hello, Aris. You are looking well.”

  Aris beamed at her. “I’m feeling well! Adam has been taking very good care of me!”

  “I’ll bet he has,” Dr. Sofocor said, tone dry.

  “Jealous?” asked Adam.

  “Don’t even get me started.” Releasing an annoyed grunt, Dr. Sofocor finally looked at Fayte. It was a testament to her mental fortitude that she didn’t freak out upon seeing the woman’s ugly outfit. “Is this the person you spoke of?”

  “Hello,” Fayte said, clasping her hands together in front of her. She performed a short bow from the waist. “I’m Fayte. Adam has told me a lot about you.”

  Dr. Sofocor raised an eyebrow but responded all the same. “Dr. Sofocor, but you can just call me Julia. I’m not your doctor, so calling me by name will make this conversation go a lot more smoothly.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Julia.”

  “Likewise, Fayte.”

  “Perhaps we should change venues so we can talk,” Adam suggested.

  Dr. Sofocor nodded and headed back into the hallway. Adam, Aris, and Fayte followed the woman as she took them to her office, which was little more than a large space filled with equipment and some seats. Adam’s nose twitched as the scent of antiseptics hit him. The moment they were inside and the door was sealed shut, the good doctor whirled on Fayte.

  “Are you really Adam’s benefactor? The one who cured Aris of Mortems Disease? How did you do it?! Can you tell me? What would it cost to make you part with that knowledge?”

  Adam almost facepalmed when Dr. Sofocor moved into Fayte’s personal space and peppered her with questions. Almost. Aris held a hand to her mouth and giggled. For her part, the one on the recipient end of the doctor’s onslaught merely glanced at Adam as if asking for help.

  He sighed and pushed his way between them. “She can’t answer you if you don’t even give her a chance to talk.”

  “Ah. You’re right. I’m sorry. Lost my composure a bit there.” Dr. Sofocor smoothed out the ruffles in her skirt.

  Adam raised an eyebrow. “A bit?”

  “Fine. A lot,” Dr. Sofocor growled, her cheeks red. “You can’t blame me.”

  “I suppose not.”

  Now that Dr. Sofocor was calm, Fayte removed her veil, ignored the doctor’s sharp intake of breath, and smiled. “I would be more than happy to tell you about the cure I have for Mortems Disease. In fact, I would be willing to let you take the capsule that cured her. However, I do have a few stipulations that I hope you’ll agree to.”

  “What are they?” asked Dr. Sofocor immediately.

  Fayte held up a hand and extended a single finger. “One, nobody except yourself and people who have been personally vetted by me can study the capsule with you. You can recommend people. But I get final say in who can and cannot examine the capsule. Two, I’m willing to offer you the chance to study and reproduce the method of curing Mortems Disease for free, but when you release the cure to the world, I want you to let everyone know it came from me. My full name is Fayte Dairing, by the way. If you can agree to these two terms, I’ll let you study the capsule to your heart’s content.”

  “Deal!”

  It amazed Adam how the woman didn’t even think about Fayte’s offer before accepting, but this was something she had been researching for over a decade without success. He imagined the woman was prepared to accept a deal with the Devil if it meant acquiring a cure. As the two shook hands, sealing the deal between them, Adam wondered how long it would take before the name Fayte became synonymous with saint.

  Adam was sitting in the Guild Association office that belonged to Clarise. It wasn’t just him either. Titania was sitting on his shoulder like she always did, and Kureha had taken his lap for her seat. It used to be his head that she sat on, but ever since she gained a human form, his lap seemed to have become her personal chair.

  He felt a little awkward about it. Adam wasn’t what you’d call a family man. The only person he had ever loved was Aris, and even her parents had just been background decorations to him. Now he had this child who called him “Big Brother” using him as her chair, demanding affection, and he just didn’t know what to do.

  Perhaps that’s why he let her do what she wanted.

  He was out of his element.

  Aris, Fayte, Lilith, and Susan were not with him today. His lover had told him that today was going to be a “girls talk” day and that boys weren’t allowed, and thus he’d been expelled from the Guild House until their talk was over. Adam had no idea what they were going to talk about. However, he remembered an old saying that Lexi had once said to him.

  “A girl needs to have her secrets.”

  Adam had no idea what that meant, but he had always taken those words to heart. That explained why he didn’t know Aris had been masturbating as she fantasized about him when she was younger. He needed to let a woman have her secrets.

  At least, that was what Adam told himself.

  “Thank you for coming today. I delivered your report to Mayor Paxton, and he has expressed concern regarding the movements of both [Andras] and [Astarte],” Clarise, sitting across from him with her hands in her lap, said. The expression she wore was grave indeed. It belied how serious this situation was. “Now that we are aware that commanders under the War Demon are on the move, we’ve begun to realize that several similar situations are likely being caused by his forces. Adam, we have several quests with similar circumstances that we believe his forces are causing. I would like you and your guild to handle all matters pertaining to this. This is an official request from Mayor Paxton as well.”

  “Will my guild be compensated appropriately for handling these quests?” asked Adam.

  He removed his hand from Kureha’s tails, which he had been fluffing because they were there and not because her tails were so irresistibly fluffy, and reached for the teacup, bringing the porcelain object to his lips. Warmth blossomed on his tongue. It was spicy. Chai? Not quite. Though it tasted similar to chai tea, there was an unquantifiable flavor that he couldn’t identify. Either way, it was good.

  Kureha turned to him with a pout. “Big Brother? Pet Kureha’s tails more.”

  Adam sighed but placed the cup down and willingly pet the girl’s tails. They were very soft. Kureha giggled and leaned against his chest.

  “You’re quite the accommodating big brother, aren’t you?” Clarise smiled. Adam grunted. Coughing into her hand, the woman got back on track. “The Guild Association is willing to give you proper compensation. We have been vested with the authority to handle this matter as we see fit. Each commander you slay will earn you a total of two hundred million experience points and fifty million gold coins. We actually wanted to offer you more, but our coffers are limited. This was the best we could come up with.”

  The gold was not as important as the experience, so he honestly didn’t mind. What he and his guildmates needed was to increase their levels until they were so powerful that even if the Pleonexia Alliance came at them with all their forces combined, they would still come out on top. He wanted to be able to crush a guild with millions of members with a small guild of just seven.

  That would send the entire world a message.

  That was what he wanted.

  “If the War Demon and his forces are on the move, then it is true something needs to be done, but are you sure we’re right for the job?” asked Titania. “I do not mean to cast doubt on myself or my companions, but we are still just a small force of seven people. Our individual combat prowess aside, I’m not sure we can deal with every single one of his commanders.”

  “This is completely optional,” Clarise confessed. “You don’t have to accept this if you don’t want to. However, if you don’t accept this, we will have no choice but to rely on our own forces. I don’t have to tell you this, but very few of our soldiers are over level 50. Only our captains and commanders have ascended the limits of human strength, and even they pale in comparison to the War Demon’s commanders. There’s no telling how many lives will be lost.”

  “So you hope to use otherworlders who have no reason to fear death in your battle against the War Demon and his forces?”

  “Yes.”

  Titania huffed and crossed her arms. She didn’t like their plan one bit and made that clear through her actions. Adam wondered if the reason she was against this had to do with her own mortality. Unlike him, Aris, Fayte, Susan, and Lilith, she and Kureha would die if they were killed. There was no reviving them.

  People die when they are killed.

  “What’s so funny?” asked the irritated Titania.

  “Nothing,” Adam coughed into his hand to cover his chortling.

  Ding!

  [You have been offered a new quest: [Slay the War Demon’s Commanders]. Will you accept? Yes or no?]

  “All right.” Adam pressed the “yes” button on the screen that appeared before him. “I accept your request. However, my companions and I will decide how and when we will fight these commanders. Let Mayor Paxton know we’ll be completing these on our terms.”

  “Thank you very much.” Clarise stood up and bowed to him. It was a low, formal bow, showing just how important this quest was to her and the entirety of the Sun Continent.

  Ding!

  [You have accepted the quest: [Slay the War Demon’s Commanders]!]

  “I know it’s an old game, but there’s just something about War of Worldcraft that I really love. I think it has a certain charm to it that newer MMOs lack.”

  “Do you think maybe it’s the lack of VR experience? I know that virtual reality has become all the rage since the end of World War III, but I remember playing a bunch of old console and PC games with Adam and enjoyed them greatly. Of course, I like Age of Gods too, but I think the older games that don’t rely on VR technology are very charming and fun.”

  “Yes! That’s exactly it! Virtual reality allows you to fully immerse yourself in any game you play. Don’t get me wrong, I love that. But! I just think there’s something innately authentic and entertaining about retro games you can play on PC and consoles.”

  Aris sat around a table with Fayte, Susan, and Lilith. The four girls had been chatting away ever since Adam left. Aris had wormed her way past Susan’s shy exterior by bringing up old video games. The girl was apparently a fanatical enthusiast and loved old console and PC games, to the point where her shyness evaporated like moisture on a hot summer’s day. She was glad that she had been able to find something she and this girl could talk about.

  She’s so cute.

  Adam had once confessed that Susan brought out his protective instincts, and she could totally understand where he was coming from. There was just something about the young woman that made Aris want to protect her. Of course, she was so cute that Aris also wanted to bully—er, she wanted to tease her. Yes, the idea of teasing the younger woman was so appealing that it took every ounce of willpower Aris had not to launch into an innuendo-laden assault.

  Gosh, I want to embarrass this girl so badly.

  “It could also be because of the change in storytelling,” Fayte theorized. “I know older games always had a story you can follow, but virtual reality games no longer have a main story quest. It’s all about PvP battles now. Come to think of it, I think Age of Gods is the first VRMMO I’ve played where there appears to be a complex story hidden in the game’s background.”

  “That might be part of it too,” Susan agreed, nodding several times.

  Aris hadn’t stopped smiling since they all began speaking. She hadn’t been this happy since before she got Mortems Disease, back when her parents were still alive, and she and Adam lived without a care in the world.

  She frowned.

  My next few words might change that…

  Aris had been thinking long and hard about what she wanted now that she was cured, about how she wanted to live and what her goals should be now that she was not going to die. The conclusion she had arrived at was unconventional. However, she hoped these three women would be able to accept what she planned to ask of them.

  “Ahem.” Coughing into her hand, Aris gathered everyone’s attention. Even the quiet Lilith who had not said anything up to this point was now looking at her. “Everyone, I wanted to talk to you about something important.”

  “I thought so.” Fayte smiled. She was not wearing her veil, so Aris could see just how truly resplendent a smile it was. “You seemed to have something in mind when you told Adam you wanted to have a girls talk. What did you want to discuss?”

  She raised a hand to her chest. Her heart was hammering. It was with shock that Aris realized she was nervous. Ever since she had been cured, Aris had made her decisions in a way that others would have considered recklessly carefree, and that was because she had based her choices on what she wanted to do and not what was necessarily good for her. If Adam didn’t act as her logical dictator, she would have probably done many more stupid things in the name of enjoying her newfound freedom.

  However, ever since her conversation with Adam, Aris had been thinking seriously about the matter she wanted to bring up, and now that she had finally resolved herself to do it, she was incomparably worried about how these three would respond. Would they accept it? Would they agree with her? Or would they not accept it? What if her words irreparably damaged the friendships she was only now beginning to form? Those thoughts swirled through her mind as she screwed up her courage.

  Aris took a deep breath, held it for several seconds, then expelled it in a single woosh. She looked at the three before her. They were waiting patiently for her to say what she wanted. Aris opened her mouth…

  “I want you three to form a harem with me!” she blurted out.

  To Be Continued…

  Thank you for reading!

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  Afterword

  Can you believe that Aris? How could she blurt out something like that after Adam specifically warned her to think about this very subject just a few seconds before?

  I’m just kidding. That sort of thing is very Aris-like.

  Hello one and all. It is I, Brandon Varnell, that guy who writes so many light novels he often forgets what he’s writing and mixes up his characters’ names.