A New Bond, and Some Testing

The trio made their way back to Ethan’s dorm room, the walkways of the training campus full of other Class Marked going about their days. The weight of the morning's revelations about the significance of Ethan’s class hung heavy in the air, and each of them were silent as they went over what had been said in their heads. As they entered the room, Penny took the lead, her voice steady and determined.

"Alright, let's talk about this," she said, gesturing for them to sit down. Ethan and Alice followed suit, taking seats on the bed and the small love seat respectively. "Clearly the political implications of your class are huge, Ethan. The guild is taking this seriously, and we need to be prepared for what's coming. An entire team of advisors, ready to meet us at a moment's notice? The guild is clearly taking you having an S-rank class seriously, and we should as well."

Ethan nodded, his expression grave. “I know. They made it pretty clear that there are a lot of expectations for me. Being S-ranked is one thing. They have experience with that. The idea of permanent growth from Essence Imbuement seems to have been all they could focus on, though. I knew that it would be a big deal, but I think I underestimated how they’d react.”

Alice chimed in, her voice thoughtful. "The advisors they assigned to us aren’t just random, either. Each of them are the heads of their respective departments, and they’re all at least B ranked. I think Mage Thompson is related to the Guildmaster, too.”

Penny agreed. "Exactly. And the question about why you're working with D-ranked teammates... it's clear that they want the best possible team composition. But we know each other, and we trust each other. I just worry that’s not going to be enough. Trainer Harris was pretty clear about where he stood, even if Mage Thompson came to our defense.”

Ethan took a deep breath, feeling a sense of determination wash over him. "I agree with Harris to a point. The idea of making A-ranked Marked even stronger is an obvious application of my abilities. You heard Thompson about the rise in S-ranked Dungeons appearing.. But I still believe trust and synergy are crucial when I have a class this weird. We've trained together for years, and I believe in our abilities. I was serious about not intending to let them pick and choose my teammates just because of my class. We've all planned to work together for years and that hasn't changed.”

Alice nodded. “They did seem to understand that we had a history together, but I’m not sure how much that will matter to them if we can’t show results. Trust and synergy are great, but they can’t make up for the disparity between class ranks.” She paused before continuing. “I think we need to start testing the limits of your class and see how the long-term growth manifests. The advisors want to conduct extensive tests, and we should be prepared for that. If it’s possible the long term growth could make up for us being D ranked..” She trailed off.

Penny leaned forward. "I have an idea. We should test what the bare minimum for bonding and Essence generation is. Remember when you and I felt essence from just a kiss? Maybe that's all it takes." She said, speaking to Ethan.

Ethan looked at Penny, surprised but intrigued. "That's a good point. If we can generate essence through a simple kiss, it might be worth exploring. It could be the bare minimum for bonding. If we could find a way to create Essence without going further..” He left the rest of the statement unsaid.

Alice hesitated before speaking. “I’m not sure how I feel about this..”

Penny reached out to take Alice’s hand. “We can figure this out together. We’re all in this as a team and we can’t let anything get in the way of that.” She met Alice’s eyes. "What do you think? Should we try it?"

Alice looked at both of them, her expression thoughtful. "Alright, let's do it. But let's set some ground rules first. This is just an experiment, and we need to keep it professional."

Penny nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. We'll start with a simple kiss and see how it goes. If we feel essence generation, we can explore further. But for now, let's keep it at the bare minimum.” Penny pulled Alice to stand up, gesturing for Ethan to come over. “We know from last night that even a quick kiss can generate Essence. A quick peck, the same type of kiss you’d give an aunt, okay?”

Alice nodded, still seeming unsure, but willing to give it a shot. Ethan moved forward to stand close to Alice, feeling the moment grow awkward as they waited for the other to make the first move.

“A quick peck, right?” Penny reminded them.

Ethan looked back to Alice, seeing a mix of emotions on her face before it resolved into a look of determination. “Okay, fine.” She said, closing her eyes and puckering her lips. Ethan did the same, leaning forward. As their lips met, Alice jumped back in shock. She had felt the essence they had told her about, not expecting to feel it so quickly. “Uhm, wow, okay. I definitely felt something.” she said while nodding.

“I did, too,” Ethan replied. “I wasn’t able to activate my bonding skill, though. We pulled away too quickly.”

“So hold it longer?” Penny suggested.

Alice nodded, closing her eyes and puckering her lips. Ethan moved in again, pressing his lips awkwardly against Alice’s, waiting for the feeling of essence to activate his bonding ability. As he felt the essence begin to build, he reached and tried to activate the skill… and got rejected. He pulled away and spoke. “I don’t think it’s enough essence to offer a bond. When I tried to activate the ability, it failed.”

“The way the two of you are going about this isn’t helping.” Penny chimed in. “Look at you both, you’re standing so far apart you have to lean forward at the waist as awkward as middle schoolers kissing for the first time. And neither of you know what to do with your hands, just letting them dangle. If the Essence generation is actually tied to intimacy, I doubt the sort of kiss that makes a person cringe just seeing it is going to cut it.”

Penny stood up and turned Ethan towards herself. “Like this.” she said as she grabbed his hand and leaned in to give him a peck. She felt the essence present in the kiss and pulled back. “Was that more or less essence than before?” she asked.

“It was a bit more, yea” Ethan replied, feeling a bit awkward.

“Ok, then let’s try this.” Penny said as she grabbed his hands and put them on her waist. She leaned in and gave him another kiss. “How about that?”

“A bit more than before, for sure.” Ethan’s cheeks turned red as he blushed, still holding onto Penny’s waist.

This time, Penny leaned into Ethan, pressing her body against his as she kissed him for a third time. She held the peck for longer, the kiss lasting for a few seconds. “That has got to be enough essence, right? She exclaimed as she pulled away from Ethan. She took Ethan by the shoulder and turned him, pushing him towards Alice. “Let’s see you try again like that. A peck, but intimate.” she said to Alice.

Alice stood there, eyes wide and cheeks red as Penny demonstrated the kiss. “Hey, you can do this.” Penny said softly to Alice. Alice gave a small nod in reply, still looking anywhere but Ethan. Penny grabbed Ethan’s hand again and placed it on Alice’s waist, pushing Alice closer to Ethan by the small of her back. “Try again like I showed.” Penny instructed.

Ethan and Alice were only inches apart now, one hand on her waist, with Penny’s hand holding it here. Alice closed her eyes once more as Penny brought the two together. Ethan felt Alice press against him, her face turned up towards him as he brought his lips down to hers. With Penny holding them there together, the kiss was far beyond their first awkward attempts. They felt the essence building as they kissed until the threshold was broken and Ethan offered Alice a bond.

Alice felt the bond being offered to her and hesitated for a moment, a small feeling of panic rose in her chest causing her to pull back away from the kiss. She took a few steps backward and began apologizing. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened, I.. I..” She stammered, feeling a bit overwhelmed in the moment.

Penny went to Alice and pulled her into a hug, apologizing to Alice herself. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

Alice shook her head as they hugged. “Don’t, you didn’t do anything wrong, the whole day with everything, it just hit me all at once and I started to freak out a bit.”

Ethan was standing distraught at the thought of hurting Alice, unsure of how to comfort her. He felt angry at being given such an unbelievably bullshit class. S-ranked, but he had to kiss people just to make it function? Whose idea of sick joke was this? All of this power but the cost was hurting the people he loved?

Ethan began to speak as Penny and Alice pulled apart, wanting to express his frustration at the situation. “I’m sorry Alice, this entire situation is stupid. We just got our classes and I think I might be rushing things. Everything about my class is bizarre and I shouldn’t be putting you in this situation, I’m not sure what came over me. There’s no excuse.”

Alice shook her head, listening to Ethan as he blamed himself. “You didn’t choose this class.” Alice said, unknowingly echoing what Penny had expressed the night before. “We’ve spent the past five years since we first received our Marks training for this. Just because it’s weird doesn’t mean I want to throw everything we’ve been working towards away. I just freaked out a bit, that’s all. I still want to team up with you both.” Alice took a few steps towards Ethan, grabbing his hands and putting them on her waist herself. “Let’s try again. I’m going to accept this time. I felt the offer, so we know it can work.” Alice sounded decisive as she spoke.

Ethan knew when she had made up her mind, and he could tell this was one of those moments. He chose to trust her, pulling her against himself as they went for another attempt at Bonding. As their lips touched, the Essence rushed up far quicker than before. It was almost as if the hesitancy from their earlier attempts had been inhibiting them, their nervousness blocking the Essence. Ethan activated his skill, offering Alice a Bond and he felt her accept it immediately. The rush of essence hit them both hard, Alice letting out a moan as her knees went weak. Ethan felt her legs bend and held tight to support her. As he caught her, they became unbalanced and stumbled to land onto the loveseat next to them. They fell with Alice on top of Ethan and Alice tucked her head against Ethan’s chest as he felt her entire body go stiff.

They sat there for a few moments as Alice came to from the intense feeling of the bond. She felt mortified, her head still pressed down against Ethan’s chest where it felt like she could hide. She couldn’t believe she had just cum while kissing her brother. While laying atop her brother. If she could just keep hiding her face..

Ethan held completely still as Alice lay on his lap, his cheeks burning bright red, self conscious about what had just happened and how his body was reacting to it. Feeling her tremble in his lap while she came, his body didn’t seem to care if they were related.

“Alice, are you okay?” Asked Penny as she knelt next to them on the couch, pulling some of Alice’s hair out of the way to see her face. Penny could see how flush Alice was and combined with the expression on her face, Penny could tell what had just happened.

Penny met Ethan's eyes and realized that if Alice had reacted that way, then Ethan must have as well and that meant.. “Ethan, could you go down to the common area and grab us something to drink?” Penny asked him.

Ethan nodded his head and helped Alice move off of him to sit on the couch. He looked at Penny as she mouthed to him silently to give her and Alice a few minutes. He had no problems doing that, having a strong guess as to what had just happened.

As Ethan left the room, Penny turned to Alice to ensure she was okay. “Alice..?” She trailed off, looking at her friend.

Alice took a minute before she replied. “I’m okay. I just.. I didn’t expect that to happen.” Alice said, intentionally looking away from Penny.

“I’m sorry.” Penny replied. “When Ethan and I bonded we were already, well, we expected it to be.. Explosive. I should have thought about that before I suggested we try this.”

Alice gave a small laugh. “Hah, explosive is right. I would have fallen if he hadn’t caught me. For a few moments there my mind just went blank.” Alice sat up and glanced sideways at Penny, beginning to laugh. “If you had told me yesterday one of the best orgasms of my life would have been from kissing Ethan I’d have called you crazy. The intensity of the Essence was unbelievable.”

Penny laughed along with her. “I know what you mean. I think he and I laid there for 5 minutes afterwards before we were even able to speak.” She turned sideways on the loveseat, folding a leg beneath her to face Alice. “But it worked, right? The bond. Show me your class mark.”

Alice turned to show Penny her back. Penny grabbed the hem of her shirt to pull it up and sure enough, Alice’s Shock Blade Mark had the same intricate circle overlaid on it that her own Dark Weaver mark did. Penny stood up and pulled Alice up by her hand to the mirror on the closet door. “Look at it.” She said, positioning Alice and holding her shirt up for her.

Alice looked over her shoulder to the mirror and could see the change her mark had undergone. Mixed into her mark as if it was always designed to have it was the intricate circle of Ethan’s class mark. Alice stared at it, an odd feeling she could only describe as.. ‘pride?’ welled up in her at the sight. “Did yours change, too?” She asked Penny.

Penny turned around and pulled the back of her shirt up, revealing that her own class mark had the same intricate circle design worked into it. At that moment, the door to the room opened and Ethan poked his head in.

“Is it okay for me to come back in?” He asked the girls. Seeing them nod, he opened the door the rest of the way and handed each of them their preferred choice from the vending machine downstairs. “Again I’m really sorry that-” Ethan got out before he was cut off.

“Nope.” Said Penny.

“Stop.” Said Alice at the same time.

The women looked at each other, Penny signaling that Alice should go ahead.

Alice looked back at Ethan “You don’t have to apologize for this. Again, you didn’t choose your class and I was the one who chose to go through with attempting to bond. I don’t want to hear you say sorry again about this, okay?” Alice reprimanded Ethan.

Ethan nodded. “Okay, I get it.”

“Good.” Alice replied.

The three of them stood there for a few moments longer of awkward silence until Penny popped the tab open on her drink. Alice and Ethan looked towards Penny as she stood there frozen in the act of opening the drink. All three laughed as the tension was broken, glad that the moment had passed.

The trio sat down in their accustomed spots in the room, the tension broken by Penny's laughter.

"Alright, let's talk about this bonding thing," Penny said, her tone more serious. "It worked, right? We felt the Essence generation, and the Bond was established."

Ethan nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Yes, it did work. The Bond is solid, and I can feel Alice through it just like I can with you. It's amazing how quickly it happened."

"And now we know that a simple toe-curling kiss can generate enough Essence for a Bond.” Penny continued. “We need to start testing the limits of this and see how far we can push it."

Alice agreed, giving Penny a stare for her joke. “How much Essence do we need to test out your abilities?” She questioned Ethan.

“Penny and I had enough to test things out this morning.” He replied, closing his eyes and feeling at his Bond with Alice. “It feels like the Bond is empty. We were able to create a trickle of Essence as we cuddled last night, so can we try that?”

Alice nodded, Ethan moving to sit next to her on the couch. Their shoulders touch, both of them able to tell that simply sitting there wasn’t enough. Alice held our her hand to him, gesturing for him to take it. As he did, she scooted over, coming into closer contact with him. She let out a small gasp as a trickle of Essence began to flow.

“I think that’s working.” Ethan paused, eyes closed. “If I can remember right, it took a good amount more than what we’re creating to use my abilities, but if we wait a few minutes it’ll be enough.”

“In the meantime, let’s talk about what else we need to test.” Penny proposed. “You mentioned your Boost could activate as long as there was Essence. We need to figure out how long we can run it. We’ll have to balance it with how much a use of your healing ability expends. If we’re going into a dungeon raid, we’re going to want to ensure we always have enough left in the tank for a heal.”

Ethan nodded along as Penny laid out their first steps. “We can all feel how much Essence we have through the Bond, but it feels.. Vague. We need some way to measure it.”

“Essence per cuddle per minute?” Alice suggested with a small chuckle. “EPM for short.”

“There’s also Imbuement, right?” Penny asked. “We haven’t tested that at all, and that’s what everyone was so focused on today. We should probably test that as soon as Alice gets to experience your abilities.”

“Speaking of, I think we can try now.” Ethan said. “Do you want the heal or the buff first?” He asked Alice.

“Do the heal, it’s better than a massage.” Penny suggested.

Alice nodded at Penny. “Heal first. Then the buff.”

At that, Ethan again reached towards his Mark and activated his Essence Touch ability, channeling it into Alice from where they held hands. A short intake of breath from Alice indicated she could feel the power as it spread across her body.

“Oh my god, this is amazing.” She exclaimed. She pulled up the leg of her pants to reveal her shin, looking around for the bruise that should have been there. “I took that blow in shields class last week, remember? My entire leg was yellow. It’s gone. Okay, I need to try the buff. Boost me!” She said excitedly, all awkwardness banished at the feeling of Ethan’s abilities.

Again, Ethan reached out to his Mark. This time, Alice sat up straight before bolting out of the couch. “I think this might be even better. I wish I had a training bot to zap right now. We have got to get into an Arena and test this out.” After only a few moments, the small amount of Essence they had created for Alice dissipated, consumed by the skill.

“Aww.” She pouted as the power faded. “I’m serious, if they don’t have us testing this tomorrow we’re going to the gym ourselves.”

“Okay, time to test Imbueing.” Penny interjected. “I’ve still got some Essence. Try on me?”

Ethan took her hand, reaching to activate the skill. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. “I don’t think you have enough Essence.” He finally said, giving up.

“Maybe you need to be full on Essence?” Alice suggested. A moment after she spoke her expression shifted. “I.. think I should probably leave you both to test that and then you can let me know.” She began moving towards the door.

“What do you mean..?” Ethan was sure what she meant, it hitting him a few seconds later. “Uh, yea, we can tell you about it later.”

Penny was snickering as the two awkwardly danced around the subject. “I’ll fill you in on the details later.”

Alice nodded, picking up her jacket. "Sounds like a plan. I'm going to head out for a bit and give you two some space. You've got a lot to discuss, and I don't want to be in the way." She gave them both a sly smile and a wink before making her way to the door.

Ethan watched Alice leave, feeling a mix of emotions. He turned back to Penny, his expression serious. "Penny, are you okay with all this? I know it's a lot to take in and I know Alice seemed cool with it, but are you sure you’re both okay?"

Penny took a deep breath, meeting Ethan's gaze. "I'm okay. It was a lot, but I was the one pushing you, remember?. Seeing you and Alice bond like that was intense. I felt a mix of emotions. Jealousy, excitement, curiosity. But I trust you both, and I know we can make this work. She was okay, though, really. She just needed a moment to collect herself after you made her cum." Penny looked at Ethan with a deadpan expression.

Ethan stared back at her, not sure for a moment if she was joking until she broke out into a smile and laughed.

Ethan reached out to take her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Haha, very funny, but seriously, I'm glad you trust us. And I trust you too. We're in this together and I want to make sure I’m not crossing any boundaries by accident. I’m not sure Alice and I could have bonded if you weren’t there to reassure us."

Penny smiled softly, leaning in to press her lips against his. The kiss was gentle and tender, a simple expression of affection and trust. As their lips met, they both felt the familiar warmth spread through them, the sensation of Essence generation tingling at the edges of their consciousness.

Ethan pulled away slightly, his eyes meeting Penny's, wiggling his eyebrows up and down as he spoke. "You know, Alice isn't wrong about one thing. I think we need to test the Imbuement. And I think we should start with you and me."

Penny laughed softly, her cheeks flushing with a hint of pink. "Oh really? And what do you have in mind?"

Ethan grinned, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Well, since the toe-curling kiss worked so well, maybe I need to try it out on my girlfriend as well."

Penny's eyes widened in surprise, but she couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from her chest. "Toe curling kisses, huh? Alright, let's see what you've got."

Ethan leaned in, his lips brushing against Penny's ear. "Close your eyes," he whispered softly.

Penny complied, a shiver running down her spine at the sensation of Ethan's breath against her skin. She felt his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him as he deepened the kiss. His lips moved from her ear to her jawline, tracing a path of soft kisses down to her neck.

Penny let out a soft moan, her head falling back to give him better access. Ethan's hands roamed up and down her sides, exploring every curve and contour. He could feel the essence building between them, the connection growing stronger with each touch.

Ethan's lips found Penny's again, this time with more intensity. The kiss was deep and passionate, filled with desire and longing. Penny's hands tangled in his hair, pulling him closer as she responded to his touch. The essence surged between them, the bond strengthening with each passing moment.

Ethan broke away from the kiss, leaving Penny breathing ragged as he looked into her eyes. "How was that?" he asked softly, a smirk playing on his lips.

Penny laughed, her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining with excitement. "Toe curling indeed," she replied, her voice husky with desire. "But I think we can do better."

Ethan grinned, his hands moving to the hem of Penny's shirt. He slowly lifted it up, revealing her smooth skin inch by inch. Penny raised her arms above her head, allowing him to remove the shirt completely. Ethan's eyes roamed over her body, taking in every detail as he traced patterns on her skin with his fingertips.

Penny shivered at his touch, her breath hitching as he leaned down to press kisses along her collarbone. His hands moved to her bra, deftly unclasping it and sliding it off her shoulders. Penny's breasts were exposed to him, her nipples hardening under his gaze.

Ethan's lips found one of her nipples, sucking gently as his tongue swirled around the sensitive bud. Penny let out a soft moan, her hands gripping his hair as she arched her back towards him. The essence between them surged, the connection growing stronger with each touch.

Ethan moved to her other nipple, giving it the same attention as he trailed kisses down her stomach. His hands roamed over her body, exploring every curve and contour as he made his way lower. Penny's breath hitched as Ethan's fingers hooked into the waistband of her pants, slowly sliding them down her hips.

Ethan knelt before her, his eyes meeting hers as he slid her pants all the way off. He could see the desire in her eyes, the longing for more. He stood up, his hands moving to his own shirt as he slowly removed it. Penny's eyes roamed over his body, taking in every detail as she reached out to touch him.

Ethan's skin was warm under her fingertips, his muscles firm and defined. She traced patterns on his chest, her touch light and exploratory. Ethan's breath hitched as she moved lower, her hands roaming over his abs before hooking into the waistband of his pants.

Penny slowly slid his pants down, revealing his erection straining against his boxers. She could feel the essence building between them with each naughty touch, the connection growing stronger as her hands explored his body. Ethan's hands moved to her shoulders, gently pushing her back onto the bed as he climbed on top of her.

Ethan's lips found Penny's again, this time with even more intensity. The kiss was deep and passionate, filled with desire. Penny's hands tangled in his hair, pulling him closer as she responded to his touch. The essence surged between them, the bond strengthening with each passing moment.

Ethan broke away from the kiss, his breath ragged as he looked into Penny's eyes. "Are you ready for this?" he asked softly, his voice husky with desire.

Penny nodded, her eyes shining with excitement and longing. "Yes," she said looking up at him, her voice barely audible. "I’ve been waiting for this since I saw you and Alice bond."

Ethan smiled, his hands moving to his boxers as he slowly slid them off. “Watching us got you excited, hmm?” He asked. I’ve been ready, too. He took her hand and placed it on his erection.

Penny's eyes widened at the feel of his erection, her breath hitching as he climbed back on top of her. She nodded an answer to his question. Ethan's lips found hers again, this time with even more intensity as he positioned himself at her entrance.

Penny wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him closer as he slowly slid into her. The sensation was intense, the essence surging between them as they became one. Ethan's movements were slow and deliberate, each thrust filling Penny with a sense of completeness and connection.

The room filled with the sounds of their moans and the soft slapping of skin against skin. The essence between them built to a crescendo, the bond strengthening with each passing moment. Ethan's hands roamed over Penny's body, pushing her higher and higher towards the crescendo.

Penny's nails dug into his back, her hips meeting his thrust for thrust as they moved in sync. The sensation was overwhelming, the essence surging through them like a tidal wave. Ethan's movements became faster and more urgent, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he neared his climax.

Penny's body tensed around him, her own orgasm building to a peak. "Ethan," she moaned, her voice hoarse with desire. "I'm close."

Ethan continued his steady rhythm, his thrusts deep and powerful as he drove them both towards the edge. The Essence surged between them, the Bond filling with each passing moment until they both reached their climax together.

The room filled with the sounds of their cries, the Essence exploding between them like a supernova. In one moment, their Bond had completely filled to overflowing. Ethan's body tensed as he released into Penny, his own orgasm intense and overwhelming. Penny's body convulsed around him, her own release shattering through her like a wave.

They lay there for a few moments, their bodies entwined as they caught their breath. The Essence between them slowly fading to the background. Ethan rolled off of Penny, pulling her into his arms as they lay there in silence.

Penny's head rested on Ethan's chest, her fingers tracing patterns on his skin. "That was... incredible," she whispered softly, her voice filled with wonder and awe. “I’m not saying it was bad before, but wow, the bond has some benefits. I think I actually blacked out for a moment.”

Ethan smiled, his hand stroking her hair gently. "Yes, it does. The bond is full now, I felt it when we finished. It was like everything else we had done hardly mattered. When you came the amount of Essence dwarfed everything else.

They lay there for a few more moments, their bodies entwined as they basked in the afterglow of their connection.

“Ready to try to Imbue?” Ethan asked. “I can’t wait to see what happens. Imagine if we could boost you to be able to compete with a higher tier class?”

“How should we test it?” Penny questioned. “We need some way to measure whatever the growth is.”

“Well, we have your physical fitness tests, right? We could compare your scores there. For magic.. You said your Shadow Minion was much bigger and easier to cast with my Boost skill on you, maybe we could use that as a comparison?” Ethan pondered. He got up from bed and opened a blank notepad on his laptop. He typed quickly for a few moments. “Okay, cast your shadow minion, then I’ll Imbue you, and we can compare.” Ethan said.

Penny focused and summoned her Shadow Minion, the small blob of physical darkness not coming up even to the edge of the bed in height. Penny had it walk over to stand next to the doorway and they marked off how tall it was with a pencil mark on the door trim.

“You know, this isn’t exactly what they mean by after care, but I think I’m just too excited to find out what will happen to mind.” Penny joked, poking fun at Ethan.

“You say that now, but I can’t imagine you’ll be complaining when we have to refill your essence after this..” Ethan gave her an exaggerated wink.

Penny stuck her tongue out at Ethan. “Okay! You’ve convinced me, hit me with the good stuff! I’m ready to ascend!”

Ethan took her hand and activated the ability, Imbue Essence. He could feel the Essence as a pool within her and as he activated the ability he could feel the Essence suffuse from a pool to spread out evenly throughout her body.

“It tingles. Penny giggled like she was being tickled. “I kind of like it.”

As the skill finally finished, the Essence faded away. “Okay, it’s done,” Ethan said, focusing again to check how much essence Penny had. The pool felt entirely empty. It.. wasn’t a pleasant feeling. It almost felt wrong for Penny to not have any essence.

“It was great until all of the sudden the feeling of having essence was just gone.” Penny replied. “Okay, let me try summoning again.” Penny cast the spell and once more and measured its height. “That’s what, half an inch, maybe? But it’s absolutely taller!” Penny nearly shouted.

Ethan was amazed. That sort of magical growth is what his classes told him to expect over months of training. Everyone was able to improve their class abilities, but to do so with almost no effort? Completely unheard of. If there weren’t any diminishing returns on this.. “How big are shadow minions from a C grade shadow mage?” Ethan asked Penny.

“Uhm, I’d have to pull up my textbooks, but I know they can get pretty large, maybe half again as tall as you are?” Penny guessed. “One of the benefits from higher tier classes for shadow minions really relates to how durable they are rather than just size and I'm not sure we can test that here.”

“Penny, that means at this rate of growth, if we can do this once a day, you’ll have a shadow minion as tall as a C grade shadow mage in around a year.” Ethan explained.

“Holy shit.” Exclaimed Penny.

“Holy shit is right!” Ethan said back.

Penny stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him from his seat at his desk and back to bed. “You better get to work, I’m expecting ‘Imbuement’ round two.” She laughed as they fell into bed together.