Art Class!

His next class being with his favourite teacher, Reader walked briskly, but something made him stop for a moment and make a note to investigate later.

On two opposite ends of the hallway, his Observe skill was failing for specific people.

He looked closer at each girl. Sunny Moon was a beautifully androgynous student of East Asian descent – the term ‘reverse trap’ might have made an appearance in some of Reader’s spank sessions, and she hit all the right notes in that regard. She caught him looking and glared until he averted his gaze. The other was just as intimidating, Karen Allbright was the kind of dignified valedictorian type that made everyone think it unfair that she also had curves for days. “Lady Allbright” as she was called only mostly ironically, was the sort of polite ice queen everyone expected to learn had been into women in retrospect. Though the out lesbians in the school had no more dared to approach her than Reader at his most reckless.

For both of them he could only see their names. Not everyone had a title or comment but he could always see their level and class (though most were simply 'student'). Both girls only had question marks for those two lines and no relationship bar. He contemplated what this might mean as he entered Miss Glow’s classroom just as the second bell rang.

Art class was easily Reader’s favourite, and not only because of his teacher’s bedroom eyes and movie star body. It was also a class where he could actually create – art was Reader’s number three escape after gaming and masturbation, and Summer was a great teacher, able to improve the performance of students at all levels of talent. The fact that even the girls want to win her approval probably helps with that, Reader thought as he sat down and began the sculpting project he’d been planning the previous class.

Each student had a lump of clay and was instructed to craft something out of it. Reader was better in two dimensions than three, and despite the beauty of the woman he was trying to sculp, the lump of clay refused to become even an acceptable homage, let alone an inspired work of art. Still, having learned to draw, he knew that if he couldn’t do a subject justice it was because he wasn’t seeing it properly. So Reader used Observe on his teacher.

Summer Glow <Lvl 9 Educator>; Guilds: None; Titles: Sexiest Dancer in the Game; Relationship: +69; Sexuality: Observe must be level 4 to see

+69!!!

Reader stared at the score, wondering what it could mean. This had all the makings of a side quest, there was no way it was just random. Reader weighed his options, deciding his best bet was getting a decent statue to start a conversation over.

Reader kneaded the clay, doing his best to transfer his skills as a visual artist to the three dimensional medium. He was just putting the finishing touches on a better second attempt when he got a pop-up.

New Skill: Craft

Transform crafting materials into finished items, or break down items into their basic components. Quality of items and materials produced increases with skill level.

Fascinated, Reader observed the crude Clay statue he'd made. Getting an idea, he broke the statue down to its components, gaining one unit of clay for his troubles. Then he began kneading it again, going into a weird sort of trance that wasn't quite meditation or healing or crafting...

When he'd healed himself, it had felt as though love was pouring out of his fingertips to help his hand, and later cheek, heal. He tried the same thing now with the clay, letting his feelings for Miss Glow flow from his hands and into the clay.

The bell ringing brought Reader out of his trance, to find his mana reduced to one. A quick glance at the pop-up showed why...

Perk Gained: Power of Heart!

You may spend extra mana if you feel affection towards the target of an active skill. Extra mana increases the chances of a critical success, larger amounts can increase effective skill level.

Reader regarded the statue of Summer he'd made, wondering what he should do with it. It would actually make decent fap-bait, but he had a better idea. He took his time packing up, and Summer lingered, seeing that he wanted to talk to her as class filed out.

"Summer?" He asked when they were alone, remembering that she liked to be addressed by her first name in private.

"Yes Reader?"

"I uh, kind of got inspired today, so I was wondering..."

Summer gasped as he showed her the bust. It was a flattering likeness - impossible to tell from what showed whether she was rendered nude or simply wearing something low-cut, a caring expression on her face, the details just obscure enough to allow the imagination free reign.

"...whether you’d like to keep something like this? I know an apple is more traditional, but..."

"Reader, this is beautiful!" She breathed, enveloping him in a hug that seemed to vibrate with libidinal ****.

"I didn't know you were such a great sculptor! You really want me to have this?" She asked as she released him, the scent of flowers and musk still lingering in the air.

“Neither did I" , Reader said honestly, "I'm not sure I could do it again. All credit to the muse, you know" he said, and she actually squealed with joy. "That's why it would seem a shame to just reuse the material.."