What should I do?

  In all his years of life, Adam could count the number of times he had panicked on one hand. The first time had been when the Pleonexia Family had ambushed him and Lexi, forcing them away from each other. The second time had been during his escape from Cocytus. The third time had been when he discovered that Lexi had gone missing several years ago and was presumed dead. And the last time was when Aris contracted Mortems Disease.

  And now, Adam was on the verge of panic once more.

  “Adam?” Fayte called again, looking at him through the small gap. It was maybe only three feet wide and two tall, just enough to see from his face to his waist.

  “Y-yes? What is it?” he asked.

  “Are you okay? Your voice sounds… strained.”

  “I’m fiiiine!” Adam’s voice rose in pitch as his entire length was engulfed by something hot, soft, and wet. He looked down to find Aris had taken him into her mouth. She was staring up at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. He glared at her, but still responded to Fayte. “Don’t worry. I’m just… cooking.”

  “… Do you need any help?”

  “No, no! I’ve got this! You just… just… oooh… um… sit in the living room and check the latest updates on Age of Gods, please.”

  “Well, okay. I’ll do that. But don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need anything.”

  “I wooooOON’T!”

  “Adam?”

  “It’s fine! Everything’s fine! I just touched the hot stove!”

  As Adam created excuses for his sudden groan, he glared down at the young woman whose nose was firmly pressed against his crotch. He didn’t know how she knew how to deepthroat someone, but he’d felt her throat softening as she took all of him inside of her mouth, felt the way her throat conformed around his length. Adam knew he wasn’t the biggest guy around, but twenty centimeters was still twenty centimeters.

  What do you think you’re doing?! Adam’s eyes seemed to say as he stared at her.

  What am I doing? What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m getting my daily protein. Tee-hee. Aris looked right back at him.

  Adam and Aris had known each other for years and were closer than most people. He had dearly loved her ever since she was young, and he had spent three whole years of his life staying by her side after she got sick. Their shared time together meant they could communicate with nothing more than eye contact.

  Stop it! Fayte is in the other room!

  Good. Maybe she’ll come into this room, see what’s going on, and decide to join us.

  In what twisted alternate reality would that ever happen?!

  Maybe it could happen in this one.

  Realizing Aris had no intention of surrendering, Adam decided his time would be better spent trying to focus on his cooking. He looked at the pancake currently on the pan. It was ready to be flipped. He grabbed the spatula with a shaky hand, slid it underneath the pancake, and flipped it—not carefully enough it seemed. He grimaced, though whether that was because the pancake almost fell out of the pan or because Aris had just licked the underside of his shaft, not even he knew.

  “Haaah… mmmm… hrrrrnnn…”

  Adam tried to keep his pleasure-filled groans to a minimum as he cooked and Aris sucked him off. This was absolutely mortifying, and yet, at the same time, he could not help but feel incredibly aroused by the situation. Fayte was just a room away. Not even a room. The living room and kitchen were connected. He could see Fayte through the small window, sitting on the couch as she went through some information on her tablet, though she would look back at him every so often.

  The concern in her eyes was completely unwarranted.

  But he couldn’t tell her that.

  The first pancake was done, so Adam took it off the pan and added more batter, all the while trying to ignore the way his cock throbbed in Aris’s mouth. He was close. So close. When had Aris become such a pro at sucking dick? Was she really just that talented, or was he maybe that inexperienced? He didn’t know. His mind was going blank.

  The second pancake finished about the same time Adam did. His knees buckled and threatened to pitch him forward as he shot several spurts of cum straight down Aris’s throat. He pressed his hands against the counter and leaned over, allowing him to see Aris better from his new position. Her throat bobbed as she guzzled down his sperm with ease. He was both impressed and a little mortified. She had mentioned masturbating to him many times not so long ago, but this nymphomaniac side of her was still something he wasn’t used to seeing.

  This girl is… way too erotic for her own good.

  Once she finished milking him, Aris let go of his dick with a surprisingly loud pop. He had to look at Fayte because he was afraid she had heard that, but she was still facing away from him, reading from her tablet. He looked back at Aris just in time to see her kissing his dick. Then she dried him off, pulled his sweats back up, stood to her feet, and patted him on the cheek with a satisfied smile.

  Her expression reminded him of a Cheshire cat from a story he’d once read.

  “Looks like the coffee is done,” Aris said in a voice loud enough for Fayte to hear. “Would you like some coffee, Fayte?”

  “Aris? Are you in there too? And yes, please. I could use some coffee right about now.”

  “Tee-hee. I’ve been helping Adam cook. One cup of coffee coming up.”

  Adam, mind numb from the explosion of ecstasy and eroticism he’d just experienced, turned back to the pancakes. He flipped the one currently on the pan. The other side was a nice golden brown. It was almost hard to believe this pancake was made from just eggs, bananas, protein powder, and vanilla extract. Meanwhile, Aris grabbed three mugs from a cabinet overhead, poured three cups of coffee, and brought them out to the living room.

  “Here you are, Fayte.”

  Fayte looked up from her tablet and smiled at Aris. “Thank you.”

  Aris grinned back as she sat down. “What are you doing?”

  “Well, I was looking up the forums, but now I’m on Mystique Incorporated’s website. It looks like there’s been a game update.”

  “You mean like a DLC patch?”

  “Kinda like that, yeah.”

  Adam finished making the pancakes as the women spoke, placed them all on a tray, and walked into the living room. He set the tray on the coffee table, then went back into the kitchen to grab forks, knives, and plates, which he placed before the two.

  “Thanks, Adam!”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re both welcome.” Adam sighed as he slumped onto the couch beside Aris.

  Fayte gave him a concerned frown. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You look tired.”

  He tossed her a graceless smile. “I’m fine. Just a bit exhausted from dealing with a mischievous minx this morning.”

  While Fayte tilted her head in obvious confusion, Aris grinned and winked at him. He sighed again. Much as he didn’t want to admit it, this was definitely the Aris he had known from before, but with a new nympho side to her—or rather, a nympho side that she was only now showing to him. It made him wonder how long she’d kept this side of her repressed.

  Nobody spoke for a moment as they ate breakfast. The only sounds were those of tableware clinking against plates and chewing. Fayte’s eyes did widen briefly as she tried the food, but she still didn’t speak, just increased the speed she ate. Adam had made twelve pancakes, and all twelve were quickly consumed by them.

  The pancakes had a light vanilla and banana flavor that paired well together. The protein powder he used was tasteless and didn’t add anything to either the flavor profile or texture. This allowed the umami from the banana and vanilla to shine. Adam used to make these for Aris when they were younger, but he had to stop after her mouth became incapable of chewing solid foods. It was nice to make this once again.

  “Wow! That was delicious! I’ve never had pancakes like that before!”

  “They’re made with bananas. Bananas can be used as a substitute for flour in some cases because they’re high in starch, though it does add a slight banana flavor to anything you make. I used vanilla because they pair well together,” Adam explained.

  Fayte nodded. “I’ve heard of that, though I have never tried it myself. Maybe I should consider making something similar?”

  “Can I help if you do?” asked Aris.

  “Of course,” Fayte said with a smile.

  The light conversation gave Adam the moment he needed to recover from his orgasm. He sipped some coffee as the women talked. Aris had added exactly two cubes of sugar and just a bit of whole milk. She knew how he liked his coffee. After setting the mug back down, he turned to Fayte.

  “You mentioned something about Age of Gods getting an update?” he prodded.

  “Oh, yes. Here. Read this article. It explains everything you need to know about the update in detail.”

  Fayte handed over her tablet to Adam, who set the device on his lap, grabbed his coffee once more, and took periodic sips as he read.

  “New updates to Age of Gods are being added. Updates are as follows:

  - Secondary Classes will become available to characters upon reaching level 20. A list of Secondary Classes will be given to all characters upon reaching this level. Updates have already been installed.

  - Time Compression System. The Time Compression System is a new program that will be implemented to enhance gameplay by compressing time within the game by 100X that of real-time.

  The Time Compression System will be implemented on January 1st at 0000 hours eastern standard time. Players are requested to log out before the update takes place. Players still in-game will be forcibly logged out.

  Adam’s brow furrowed as he finished reading. He set the tablet on the coffee table and glanced at Fayte.

  “The Secondary Class update was something I expected since Titania mentioned it this morning, but I’m a little confused by the Time Compression System. Is it what I think it is?”

  Fayte nodded. “Probably.”

  “Time Compression…” Adam murmured with a frown. “I’ve heard of such concepts before. It’s impossible to truly compress time, but you can compress a person’s perception of time by accelerating their consciousness many times over. If you accelerate a person’s consciousness by ten times, they can perceive the world ten times faster than normal, which makes everything seem like it’s moving in slow motion.”

  “It’s like overclocking a CPU!” Aris exclaimed.

  “In a way, yes. The human brain is kinda like the CPU of a computer. However…”

  “It’s dangerous, right?” Aris said.

  “I’m not sure. Theories have been put forth regarding this idea, and many of them claim they are too dangerous to implement because they put a strain on the mind of whoever is having their thoughts accelerated.” Adam glanced from Aris to Fayte. “What are your thoughts?”

  Fayte was sipping her coffee when he questioned her, but she set the mug down, crossed her arms, and leaned back on the couch, thinking. She only spoke after nearly thirty seconds. “I’m not sure. This update was posted sometime last night and has already received a lot of criticism from scientists warning others about the dangers of time compression. However, I’m not really sure it’s dangerous. I read an article written by the creator of Age of Gods. It states the device used in this game is fundamentally different from other devices used in the past. The device we use to play Age of Gods connects wirelessly at the quantum level to your brain cells to send images, sounds, and sensations, while simultaneously canceling out your own senses of reality. Because it’s a quantum connection and not a physiological one like standard gaming devices, it doesn’t place a burden on your brain cells.” She smiled in self-deprecation. “Well, that’s what I read, but I didn’t really understand it much.”

  Adam felt a chill crawl down his spine. Something about this all felt sinister to him, though he couldn’t put his finger on why he felt this way. He pushed those dark feelings to the back of his mind and focused on the present.

  “The Secondary Class updates aren’t big, but this Time Compression System is huge. If it really does accelerate time within Age of Gods like I think it does, then one day in the outside world will equal fourteen days in the game. That’s going to seriously mess up some people’s sense of time.”

  “I don’t think people will care about that,” Aris said thoughtfully. “I mean, so many people are already practically living in the game world, right? Being able to spend even more time in the game without having to constantly log out to get food, water, or go to the bathroom would make any fanatical gamer ecstatic, I would think.”

  “I know a lot of gamers who will definitely be pleased by this,” Fayte agreed.

  “The update won’t happen until January first, so we’ve got about a month before the update happens,” Adam said. It was currently November 29th. Thinking about it now, he had spent pretty much all of November with Fayte.

  “I wonder why the update is happening so late?” Aris pondered out loud.

  “It might have something to do with the next bit of news I have to tell you,” Fayte said, expression turning a bit grave.

  “What is it? Did something happen?” asked Adam.

  “Early this morning, the Pleonexia Alliance and Auspicious Inc. officially formed guilds within Age of Gods,” Fayte said, making Adam realize why she looked so bitter. It seemed their one-month grace period had officially begun.

  Adam, Aris, and Fayte logged into Age of Gods after finishing breakfast. They didn’t bother traveling to their bedrooms and just logged on while sitting on the couch in the living room. Nobody was there aside from them, and they had already grown to trust each other. As they appeared inside of the guild house for Destiny’s Overture, they discovered that both Susan and Lilith were already present.

  “You are just soooo cute!” Lilith said as she rubbed Kureha’s belly. The little fox was rolled onto its back, and she was leaning over it. While Adam couldn’t see her face, hidden as it was behind her mask, he could imagine the smile she wore.

  “That girl used to be so dignified. I wonder what happened?” Titania asked.

  “Lilith just likes cute things… I guess,” said Susan.

  Susan was sitting on the couch, while Titania sat on the armrest. Both watched as Lilith pampered the happily yipping Kureha. The one who saw them first was Susan, whose eyes strayed toward them a few seconds after they appeared.

  “Ah! Fayte, Adam, Aris. Welcome back.”

  “Eeep!” Lilith leapt to her feet after she heard Susan call Adam’s name. She didn’t turn around to face them, but her shoulders quivered a little.

  “Morning, Sue, Lilith, Titania,” Fayte said with a smile.

  “Mrrr. Mrrr.”

  “Of course, good morning to you too, Kureha.”

  “Morning, everyone!” Aris greeted the group much more casually.

  “Morning,” said Adam.

  With everyone now present, the group gathered around the meeting room, though it looked a lot more like a living room. The floor was made of polished wood, a rug had been placed in the very center, where two couches and a table sat. The table was a low-standing one, almost like a coffee table, but not quite. A fireplace sat to their left, a fire merrily crackling inside. Hanging over their heads was a chandelier that provided a bright illumination.

  Adam thought this place looked much more like a home than a guild headquarters, but perhaps that was what Fayte wanted from her guild—a place to call home.

  “There’s a lot we need to talk about now, so let’s get to it. Our one-month grace period has finally started. The Pleonexia Alliance formed early this morning. I’m sure Levon will be doing everything he possibly can to establish a strong presence, and he’s most certainly going to begin looking to strengthen his members. We need to figure out what we’re going to do about this,” Fayte said. She wasn’t wearing her veil at the moment, so her beautiful face was on full display. Aris had also taken off her veil, though Adam and Lilith kept their faces hidden.

  She was sitting on the couch with Susan and Titania. Adam sat in between Aris and Lilith. Curled up on his lap was Kureha, mrring softly as he stroked her fur. He could feel Lilith burning a hole into his hands with her eyes.

  “Why must we do anything?” asked Titania. Because she didn’t live in the real world, she didn’t know about the bet Fayte had with Levon. Fayte had to explain the situation to her, and by the time she was done, the little fairy was frowning at the entire group. “So I see. This does sound like a problem. Why did you not tell me earlier?”

  “It never really came up.” Fayte shrugged her delicate shoulders.

  “I suppose not, though I am not pleased to know that I am the only one who didn’t know about this.” Titania looked seconds away from pouting, but she released a slow breath and uncrossed her arms. “In either event, if this Pleonexia Alliance is so much bigger than us, then there are only two things we can do.”

  “Recruit more people or increase our levels so much it doesn’t matter how large Levon’s forces are,” Adam said for her. Titania nodded.

  “I don’t want to increase our numbers,” Fayte said with a frown. She reached up and caressed her lips in thought, drawing a line across her lower lip with an index finger. “Having a larger force certainly has its benefits, but it also comes with many problems, not the least of which is you can’t know every member in your guild. There’s too great a chance Levon or someone else might try to slip a spy into our ranks.”

  “True.”

  While technology had come a long way, it wasn’t like there was any invention that could force someone into silence. Blackmail notwithstanding, you couldn’t make someone do something they didn’t want to, which meant there was always a chance someone who joined them would betray them, either for money or something else.

  This sort of tactic was also something the Pleonexia Family was well-known for. They had put several companies out of business by discovering and exploiting their secrets with spies and the like. No one had been able to find any evidence of duplicity, but everyone knew it was the only way the Pleonexia Family could have put so many companies six feet under.