"Come in and make yourself comfortable," Vanessa said as she opened the door, revealing her office, which wasn't fancy at all, just a closed room with white walls. "And don't worry, no one will bother us while we're here."
After saying those words, which could be taken in more than one way, the girl unbuttoned her blouse, making her cleavage reach proportions that could only be described as vulgar. I could perfectly see her breasts and almost the beginning of her toned abs.
She grabbed a fan from the desk and started fanning herself, complaining about the heat right after. My gaze involuntarily followed the beads of sweat sliding down her neck, disappearing between her ample breasts. It was hard to resist the urge to admire her, but this wasn't the time to be a pervert.
"Unfortunately, my air conditioner broke, and now I'm suffering because of it. What a shame."
After that brief comment, she sat down and returned to business mode. She quickly thanked me, expressed how impressed she was with what I had done, and asked a few questions about who I was, what I worked on, and other things. I had no reason to hide anything, so I ended up answering.
At the end of the short interview, she gave me her number and told me to call her if I ever needed help. She also took my contact info, saying she would reach out in the future if she had any work that required my talent. She even offered me a job, but the store I worked at was closer to home, and the salaries weren't much different. Plus, I really liked having Eva as my coworker.
She also mentioned that all of this was probably a sabotage attempt by a rival company. The plan was simple: create confusion, have many people hear about it, and through word of mouth, spread the falsehood that their establishment sold low-quality products.
Even if they proved their innocence later, once the rumor spread, the damage would be done, and most people wouldn't care about the truth. Plus, in a small town, it was inevitable that the rumor would reach almost everyone.
In that sense, she thanked me profusely, saying that if I hadn't stopped the man in time and exposed him, things would have gone terribly. In other words, according to her, I had saved much more than just the value of a bottle of wine, which made me happy.
In a way, the whole situation — the interactions with Isabel, Helena, and now Vanessa — had given my ego a good boost. I felt more confident and ready to take on anything, which was great.
With most of the details out of the way, she asked if I wanted anything as a reward for my help. I intended to refuse and ask for nothing, as I wouldn't feel comfortable receiving a reward, but I needed to get something for Eva. That way, I could ensure the date would be a success.
"Actually, I'm not used to expensive drinks and stuff like that, so..."
"Don't worry, I know almost every store around here and their owners. I can get you a really good discount. Or, since you have a cute face, I can reward you in another way if you like." Suddenly, she gave me a provocative look, but her tone was playful, leaving me unsure of what to do.
"Can we go to the electronics store?" I asked, trying to dodge the topic.
"Of course, let's go." As quickly as she had switched from business mode to cracking a joke, she snapped back into it and showed me a serious face.
With quick, firm steps, she guided me to our destination. There, I asked for a microphone, something my partner needed, and she went to negotiate with the store owner while I stood in a corner waiting.
With nothing to do, I took the opportunity to exchange a few more messages with Amber. Then, I was surprised when I received a mission-completed notification; I had finally completed the second phase. The quest discretion now was:
*_____________*
Second quest
(Win over the Lonely Goddess of love)
Description: Amber lost her parents at a very young age, at only 15, inheriting a huge mansion and a cult that worships and supports her. As a distant descendant of a succubus, she unconsciously awakened some of her powers and used them to be revered. Since then, she has lived in a place of absolute solitude, where no one sees her as an equal, making all her interactions seem so empty and distant. Perhaps being a god is a bit lonely for an ordinary human.
Complete phases: 2/16
Third phase:
Prove yourself a trustworthy man.
Third phase reward:
1 g-coin
Notice: you will receive more rewards in the upcoming stages.
*_____________*
For completing the second phase, I also received a bonus of one to my strength status and I could already feel my body getting lighter, by the way it was currently like this:
Level: 4
G-coins: 1
Misons: 9/10
Quests: 3/3
Completed quests: 0
Stats:
- Agility: 7
- Stamina: 14
- Intelligence: 16
- Strength: 5(+1)
- Charisma: 8
Not much had changed, except for my charisma, which had impressively jumped from 1 to 8. That was quite remarkable. Besides that, I had gained a bit more stamina and naturally increased my strength thanks to the rewards from my mission and my recent workouts.
That day felt like everything was going right. On top of it all, I had managed to get the microphone that Eva had been wanting so much, and her smile of approval when I handed it to her was the cherry on top.
However, at the exact moment I gave her the gift, I felt something shift drastically in the air. A dark, suffocating aura emerged out of nowhere, tightening around my neck as if trying to strangle me. Suddenly, I found it hard to breathe, and my heart raced. Something was very wrong.
We were about 5 or 6 steps away from the store, leaving that place and planning to head to the arcade when I ran into Thomas. He was part of the popular crowd that had ruined my life and always intimidated me.
I thought I had gotten over it, that I was more confident now, but just seeing him in front of me made me lose all my capabilities. A deep fear washed over me, suppressing my rationality and forcing me back into the fragile, shy kid I used to be.
In a way, the past was right in front of me, making me confront it once again. Had I really changed? Or was I just the same old weakling, incapable of doing anything in this situation?
"What are you doing here, loser?" he asked, his arrogant tone making me tremble.
Feeling like I was back in the past, weak and powerless, I couldn't even move. I wanted to step forward, to walk away, to tell that jerk to screw off and continue with my life, but my muscles wouldn't respond.
The dark aura continued to spread, suffocating me in its grip, and I was about to kneel to it once more, but…
"Are you okay?" Eva gently squeezed my hand. Just the soft touch of her skin and her angelic voice were enough to pull me out of that storm.
I saw rays of hope breaking through, and I tried to face my fear. This time, I wouldn't run away.
"What do you want from me?" I asked, my tone aggressive.
"What's wrong, getting all mad, you useless piece of trash?" He stared at me menacingly, causing me to instinctively take a step back. "You were around here, right? Can you tell me if it's true that Isabel gave her number to another guy?" He let out a groan of irritation after finishing his sentence.
Immediately, I connected the dots. It was obvious what situation I was in, and without much confidence, I forced my voice to say, "Yeah, you're talking about this." I pulled out the card, pretending it wasn't a big deal. "She gave it to me after I helped with a difficult customer."
In response to my provocation, the veins in that guy's temples bulged, and he nearly punched me right there.
"Haha! As if someone pathetic like you could pull something like that!" He stepped forward.
I thought I was ready, but when I saw my past approaching, I froze again. Why did my heart have to race like that? My muscles tensed, my whole body stiffened, but no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't move an inch.
I didn't say anything, didn't respond, didn't do anything; I just listened once again. The black mist surrounded me again, blinding me. I felt weak and suffocated in it. I lost all my breath and…
"The only pathetic person here is you, idiot. Get out of our way. I want to continue our date, and I won't accept any more interruptions!" Suddenly, a scream that sounded like an unnecessarily high-pitched meow pierced through the fog, opening a small crack through which I could see the situation unfolding.
"Who are you? Don't tell me you're this loser's girlfriend?" Thomas started laughing hysterically. "For God's sake, you're pretty. You could do so much better, girl."
"Better like you?" She kept speaking aggressively, showing a fiercer, more violent side I had never seen her display before, a genuine hatred burning in her eyes.
"Yeah, right! Did you hire a girl to pretend to be your girlfriend or something?" As always, Thomas was spinning crazy stories in his head to alter reality in a way that made him the center of the universe while everyone else was trash. He was a true narcissist.
Then, in a surprising move, she pulled me by the shirt with such force that I couldn't resist. Before I realized what was happening, our lips met, and Eva's intense eyes locked onto mine.
"Look at me because today you're mine and only mine. I'm tired of other people getting in the way." She whispered, her powerful gaze making me forget everything else.
Our bodies pressed closer together, and the usually timid girl acted aggressively, guiding my hand to her rear, then whispering again, "I'm going to show you that I can be sexy too, so just look at me now."
For a moment, nothing else in the world mattered. It was just me and this beautiful girl doing everything to grab my attention. Returning her gesture, I leaned in for a passionate, intense kiss, not caring about the people around us or anything else.
When our lips finally separated, a bit of saliva lingered between our flushed faces. Our heavy breathing and lust-filled gazes revealed how deeply we had immersed ourselves in our own world.
That said, reality still existed.
I turned to the jerk, this time with more confidence. I had finally managed to dispel that mist. Although anxiety still nagged at me, and my hand trembled a bit, there were people by my side, and I felt sure that I wasn't the same as before.
Noticing that I needed her support, Eva clung to me, allowing me to wrap my arm around her waist. She leaned passionately against my chest, like a cute girlfriend would with her boyfriend.
I took a deep breath, and Thomas took another step toward me.
"That's it, I don't have time to waste talking to you, so screw off and stop bothering me. We're not friends, and I'd prefer if we weren't even acquaintances." I was irritated; I had a date to finish, and honestly, I just wanted to move on and leave that jerk behind. However, that wouldn't be possible…
In a crazy move, the jerk resorted to the only solution he knew, running toward me and landing a punch with all his strength on my jaw, which almost made me fall back. But I held my ground, and with the remaining strength I had, I tried to retaliate, and then…