When I finally arrived back to my room, the corridors were burning golden with the golden rays of dusk. I carefully sneaked into my room, not wanting to wake Helga up.
I was exhausted, and as much as I was tempted to slide next to Helga and bury myself to her bosom —very inviting in its naked state, barely covered by the blanket— but I had a lot of things to do.
With a sigh, I pulled some of the materials from the golden lions, and after a brief period of refining to make sure they lost their organic properties and condensed into magic crystals —my way of doing that was very inefficient, but finding an expert was unfortunately not an option— and started waving a complicated web of magic around them, connecting four corners of the room.
I didn't use any attack spells, or other dangerous tricks. At this point, hiding from or delaying any possible attacker was much more important than actually killing them. There were two options that would go enough effort to break through all the stealth and shielding charms I had integrated into the structure, either it was the faculty itself that tried to enter my room, in that case killing one of them would have no benefit other than ensuring their enmity, or it might be the necromancers trying to deal with me silently, and in that case, a simple alarm would be enough to get the attention of the faculty to deal with them.
Either way, a passive scheme was much more important than an active one, so I continued working on that. And one instance of mana regeneration perk still active, I didn't really care about wasting mana. Focused on the construction, I was startled when I heard Helga speak. "Impressive work," she gasped in amazement.
"Yeah, after screwing up plans of several necromancers, I think that there's merit in making sure I have adequate protection."
"Without a doubt," she answered before she started examining the structure itself. "Did you make these yourself?" she asked, pointing at the ward keystones at the corners.
"Yes, from golden lion bones, freshly hunted," I said, shamelessly bragging. To be fair, killing six of them was definitely worthy of a brag.
Helga chose to focus on a different aspect of it. "And you hunted them alone or…" she said, letting her words trail off.
"Nope, Aviada was with me," I said shamelessly, meeting her jealous gaze with a glare of my own even though my hands were busy trying to layer another anti-scrying spell.
"You could have woken me up," she said, pouting. I didn't know the impression she wanted to generate, but considering she was completely naked, relying a blanket to cover her bottom half while her breasts stood in front of me deliciously visible, it worked like a playful call for sex.
I leaned down and kissed her, not neglecting to inject a lot of mana in the process, which returned her as some extra experience. "I could have, but it's not like you actually need to hunt anymore, do you?"
[-104 Mana]
"I guess so," she answered, her breath lost after the heated kiss. "But doesn't it also apply for that slut?" she added, unable to resist the temptation to insult Aviada, but her tone lacked any real animosity.
"Not exactly," I answered. "She's too much of a hothead to actually trust with that secret, especially since I doubt she would understand its full significance. She's not as bright as you." I made sure to compliment her in the end, which put a smile on her face. Despite her impressive abilities and amazing intellect, she still suffered from a lack of confidence, so reinforcing her position through compliments was a good idea.
She said nothing for a while I continued to establish layer after layer of protection, watching intently. Considering her nakedness, it made good watching. "How about if you use a seven-point structure to connect the lower layers?" she asked a while later.
I briefly considered it, and unsurprisingly, I realized that she was correct. Not only she was smart, but also she wasn't confident enough to offer opinion until she was sure that it was correct, so I wasn't really surprised at her accuracy. "Amazing idea, as usual," I answered, and she blushed. "By the way, how many experience you have received from the latest mana rush?"
"Sixty-three," she answered. "You shouldn't waste that much mana in the middle of setting wards," she added.
"Nope, it was just eighty mana," I answered, watching her eyes widen in shock as she understood the implications.
"How?" she asked.
"You didn't think I went hunting for the fun of it, right?" I asked with a smirk. "I have a much better idea what I'm doing after watching Aviada gain a level."
"You did that to surprise me?" she asked with a gasp, excitement back on her face. I nodded, as while she wasn't entirely correct, she was mostly correct. Without saying anything, she jumped up to her feet and kissed me heatedly, her hands immediately around my pants, freeing my shaft even as she continued to kiss me.
I was tempted to respond, but my hands were busy layering magic around the room. "You deserve a reward," she said as she lowered herself, and wrapped her lips around my shaft without prompting. As she bobbed her head, pleasure spread through my body, making it difficult to concentrate on the ward scheme.
Luckily, after slowing down my construction speed, I was more than capable of enjoying Helga's enthusiastic treatment and working at the same time. After a couple of minutes, I even started to inject mana to our little game, allowing Helga to grind level in a way that we both enjoyed. I spent thousands of mana, but luckily, one instance of my regeneration was still active.
[-3620 Mana]
"I'm coming," I whispered, warning her about the impending explosion. She pulled herself back a bit, but kept the crown in her mouth, so when I exploded, she managed to swallow almost all of my mana-laden seed, triggering an expansion of her soul space in the process.
[-1370 Mana]
[Mana: 160 / 2700]
However I didn't care that I almost emptied my mana pool, because the following notification was more than worth it, once again rewarding me greatly for actually discovering the abilities related to my original way of leveling. Yet another mystery I need to solve, but I was more than happy with the quality of the clues I was receiving.
[Achievement: Alternative Advancement. Make love, not war! Just like you have done for centuries. +2 to All, +10000 Experience]
Level UP!
[Select one of the following skills: Grandmaster Melee (Requires 5 Points), Master Elemental, Master Tantric]
I couldn't help but frown at the points required for Grandmaster level improvement. If I chose that, it would mean no new skill points for the next four levels while that skill fully matured. What a waste. It was the main reason why I believed a wider expertise was the more rational choice, even though the Grandmaster improvement gave a total of fifty points rather than usual twenty-five. Of course, considering it required five levels, it meant a measly ten points each level.
Naturally, I chose Tantric once more. Master Elemental was tempting as well, but Tantric gave me the key to discover more about the System itself, and the benefits from that was impossible to overstate.
Helga, on the other hand, had just finished swallowing my seed and stood up, enthusiastic for more. She turned her back to me, and looked at my construct. "What do you think about building connection points in layers," she asked as she examined my construct in more detail, followed by a gasp.
She gasped, because as she examined the structure of the matrix, she took a step back, aligning her entrance perfectly with my shaft. Feeling her warmth around my length, I pushed my hips forward, enjoying her moans. "Do you think it might cause an interference?" I asked, enjoying the way she tightened further. She was really enjoying the opportunity to have sex and discuss magical theory simultaneously.
[Companion Acquisition: Progress 73%]
[+1 Tantric]
[-26 Mana]
"No, they will be stabilized by overlapping effect, invalidating the possibility of interference," she explained, though her explanation was interrupted by rapid moans as I started rocking my lips recklessly. For once, I was pushing for a quick explosion, because I wanted to activate the second instance of mana regeneration, which would help increasing her leveling speed. Grinding with such a speed with no risk was not an opportunity to be wasted.
"Good point, and if we set up an additional connection between node five and nine, we can stabilize the structure thirty percent," I added, even as I carefully stopped casting from my right hand, continuing with one hand. I did so, because I wanted my right hand free to enjoy her naked body. Not digging into her beautiful breasts was a great loss, so I fixed that.
"It might work, especially if we add an amplifier in between to leverage the connection further," she answered even as she trembled, stumbling hard enough to fall if it wasn't for my grabbing.
[Companion Acquisition: Progress 75% - Third Stage Completed +15000 Exp]
[New Perk: Skill Share]
[Companion Acquisition: Relationship not sufficient for the Fourth Stage]
She gasped as she lost her concentration for a bit, understandable, as I could feel her soul space changing as she received yet another achievement —a big one with significant boost to her mental stats if I was feeling the changes correctly. I let her enjoy the experience while I focused on the joy of receiving a brand new perk, feeling curious what exactly it was.
Well, I was about to find out if it activated the same way my mana regeneration perk did.
I sped up, pushing recklessly as I searched for release, which didn't take long to finally attain. I exploded in joy, filling her with mana along with the usual liquid, losing every scrap I managed to regenerate in the process, dropping my remaining mana to single digits.
[-265 Mana]
[Mana Regeneration perk activated. Count 2. Duration, 8 hours]
[+1 Tantric]
Then, I felt myself almost forcibly being pulled into her soul space, until I touched one of her skills, with corresponding changes happening in my soul space. Or more accurately, just outside my soul space, creating a vessel similar to the skill I had just touched. It was the same skill she had chosen to improve.
[Skill Share perk activated. Target Skill: Expert Magical Theory. Copied: Duration, 24 hours]
[Temporary Skill: Basic Magical Theory (25/25)]
A sudden clarity appeared in my mind, allowing me to make previously-impossible connection between different schools of magic, even leveraging my other abilities like Melee and Subterfuge. Helga probably had advanced level if it completed, with expert track just started. Her prodigious instincts toward the areas of magic she didn't even use herself suddenly made more sense.
With the connections made, I turned my attention back to the ward scheme, and started making rapid changes, making the structure several times stronger.
"It seems that I wasn't the only one that just received some interesting benefits," Helga murmured as she tried to catch her breath, still leaning against me, my right arm wrapped around her waist to keep her from falling.
"Yeah, I just received a new perk that allows me to temporarily copy a skill of yours, and I just got Basic Magical Theory. I have to say, it helps a great deal," I said before leaning and giving her a long, drawn out, thank you kiss.
"Happy to hear," she murmured she answered before extending the kiss, and we enjoyed an extended moment.
"So," I murmured after we disconnected for a long breath. "Do you have anything urgent for today?"
"Nothing I can't do tomorrow," she answered. "You?"
"Not until the evening, where I will meet with the Head Librarian," I answered even as I squeezed her harder. "So, there's nothing that prevent us staying here all day long, working on … warding the room?"
She didn't answer. More accurately, she didn't answer verbally. Pushing me to my bed and straddling my lap was answer enough. We spent rest of the way wrapped around each other, sometimes working on the warding scheme, sometimes focusing my mana on leveling her further. I had drained my mana pool an staggering number of times, only for it to be refilled back again thanks to my active regeneration perk, though toward the end, the part I received from Aviada expired, slowing down the process a bit. But with great result, as Helga gained another level in the process, while I maximized my new skill.
[+23 Tantric]
When the sun finally set, the only reason we were still able to move was the generous amount of healing spells I had used, keeping our bodies on top shape. Even then, Helga was mentally exhausted. And two levels she had received during the day surely didn't help her exhaustion. It was why I stopped using Tantric toward the end, just to give her soul space a chance to settle before she received another level.
For me, endless sex made my thoughts even sharper, though it wasn't that surprising considering the source of my powers.
"I just received another achievement," Helga murmured lazily as I collapsed next to her.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah, I just received three more endurance points, basically doubling it," she answered, underlining just how poor her physical stats were. Luckily, system took our extended activities as an opportunity to boost her physical aspects.
"Good news, maybe you can last all day without healing spells on two digits," I quipped, only to receive a playful slap to my chest. She sighed as we cuddled, enjoying the euphoria of a day filled with supernaturally-enhanced sex.
"Do you have a plan for your meeting," she asked, dispelling the question I had in mind.
"I have some ideas, but it all depends on Titania's reaction. I don't know just how strong her emotions will be affected after a day of rest. If she returns to her previous mood, I doubt that anything other than cold logic will affect her."
"Maybe you should find another ambush," Helga said with a chuckle. I was amused by the ease she had accepted Titania's presence, contrasting with the constant needling about Aviada —even though at this point it was pretty low-key. Maybe it was the hero worship she had toward Titania. I shrugged, as regardless of the reason, I was happy with the output.
"Yeah, they are at every corner," I quipped.
"Aren't they?" Helga answered with a chuckle. I laughed as well, despite the danger her words implied. After all, we went out for extended hunting trips two times, coming across necromancers on both of them. Either we were supremely unlucky, or there was a big danger about to happen.
"Maybe," I answered with a sigh. "I'm sure Titania has a better idea about the risk. You finished copying the book, right?"
"I did, which was a very grueling work. Quite few of the letters had magical imprints that encripted further information. I copied them to the best of my ability, but I can't guarantee that they are correct."
"That's a trade-off we have to take," I answered even as I stood up, and used a water spell to imitate a shower. Not the most pleasurable thing, but markedly better than going to see Titania while still smelling sweat and sex. I kissed her one last time and whispered.
"Wish me luck…"
—
[Level: 21 Experience: 228100 / 231000
Strength: 26 Charisma: 36
Precision: 19 Perception: 23
Agility: 23 Manipulation: 28
Speed: 21 Intelligence: 28
Endurance: 20 Wisdom: 30
HP: 2289 / 2289 Mana: 3045 / 3045 ]
SKILLS
Master Melee [100/100]
Master Tantric [100/100]
Expert Arcana [75/75]
Expert Elemental [75/75]
Expert Biomancy [75/75]
Advanced Subterfuge [50/50]
Basic Speech [25/25]
PERKS
Mana Regeneration
Skill Share