Julian experiments but is interrupted

Julian stared at his menu. He closed it. He opened it again. He closed it. He opened it again.

He stared at it with wide, unbelieving eyes.

Julian Imerdan (lv. 4 Psion)

HP: 82/109

ST: 99/99

WP: 421/421

Skills...

Attributes…

Effects…

“Julian, if you don’t calm down I’m gonna assume you’re getting all riled up because I’m in here with you.”

His eyes flickered over to Izel. The dark-skinned woman smirked and stretched languidly on her cot, showing off her toned stomach and the undersides of her barely clothed breasts. She licked her lips.

“Remember. You can look, but you can’t touch,” She leaned towards him, showing off her big breasts. Julian couldn't help but picture what they'd look like wrapped around his cock.

“I-I’ll keep that in mind,” Julian gulped nervously, which seemed to amuse the beautiful woman in front of him. Inwardly, he was happy for the excuse she’d just offered him. If any of the Enforcers were watching them through some sort of surveillance spell, they’d just assume he was enamored with Izel and that anything unusual he did was merely a result of that. It helped that he really was infatuated with the woman.

He sighed and read his status menu again.

Psion. I’ve heard that word before. But I thought they were just scary stories parents used to frighten their children with. “Beware. Never allow your thoughts to stray or the Psion will turn you into a monster!”

He’d heard that quote too many times to count. It was a favorite of his mother’s.

So I’m a Psion. What does that mean? It can’t be anything good if the stories I heard as a child are something derived from a Psion who did enough bad things to be used in stories to frighten children. I know the route word stems from something to do with the mind and mental energy. Does that mean I can cast mental spells?

His eyes hovered over the new pool that had appeared in his menu.

WP. 421/421. It’s much higher than either of my other pools. What does it mean? Will Points?

Something tingled at the back of his mind, almost reassuringly.

So it’s Will Points. How did I know that? Of course. People with Classes always instinctively know how to use their abilities and what their current limits are. That must be what’s happening to me. Fascinating!

He paused.

No mana. I don’t have magic. That would mean that whatever abilities my class utilizes are powered by something else entirely. Hm. I wonder if Velri would relate to me at all now.

Thinking of his older sister brought up unpleasant memories. She had their father’s black hair and their mother’s deep ocean-blue eyes, but neither of their magical talents. She’d classed as a generic knight with not a hint of mana in her body. She’d trained so hard to seem the idea successor to their father, but everyone knew she would never eclipse the legacy of Krevos Imerdan. The only thing Velri despised more than her own lack of magic was the classless. And Julian, by extension.

I was such a good outlet for all her pent up frustration and disappointment. Now she can’t make fun of me for being classless anymore. Heh. That’ll probably make her hate me more, but at least we’ll both have the same social standing now.

Julian’s lips twitched upwards as he imagined his sister’s powerful anger being rendered impotent by his social mobility.

His gray eyes gleamed when they fell upon the skills submenu. He urged it to open and reveal its contents.

Skills

[Manipulation] Suggestion (cost: 20 WP): The user can telepathically implant a suggestion in the mind of a target to influence an action, thought, or behavior of theirs. The target must be sapient. There is a chance that it might fail depending on the state of the target mind. The more simple and less unusual the suggestion, the easier it is to implant.

[Affliction] Mind Jab (cost: 15 WP): The user projects a weak bolt of psionic energy that attacks the mind of an opponent, causing crippling mental pain that lasts for a few seconds. Affects any living creature with a brain.

[Connection] Detect Mind (cost: 2 WP/s): The user can detect the minds of sentient organic beings within ten feet.

“Huh.”

Julian licked his lips.

I actually have skills now. Capital ‘S’ skills! And it appears that they’re mental skills, too. What are the words before them, though? Categories? Spell schools? Skill disciplines?

Julian’s mind tingled pleasantly at his last question, and he had a vague sense of being pat on the back by a stern parent for using proper vocabulary.

They’re skill disciplines. Okay, Disciplines with a capital ‘D’. Huh. Apparently my class is a real stickler for terminology. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised considering Psion seems to be a purely mental class. Okay, on to the skills themselves.

Detect Mind seemed like it would be useful if he ever needed to find someone, avoid being found, or defend against ambushes. It was apparently part of the Connection Discipline, and probably one of its most basic abilities. The ten foot detection range was really limiting, however. Julian couldn’t see himself using it unless he really had to, or the ability improved as he leveled. He wondered what abilities from the higher tiers of the Connection Discipline offered.

Mind Jab, part of the Affliction Discipline, was his one true offensive capability, and a weak one at that. If the description was accurate, then it dealt practically no damage. He wondered how effective the headache inducement was. Maybe it would be enough to distract someone and make them commit a potentially deadly mistake or allow him to flee, or maybe stun them long enough for him to run them through with a sword. Thankfully, its effectiveness seemed to extend to animals and other creatures like monsters, so he finally had a means by which to go questing and gain money and notoriety. Julian filed Mind Jab on a tier higher on the usefulness scale than Detect Mind.

Suggestion. Part of the Manipulation Discpline. Julian didn’t know what to think of it, or what it said about the nature of his class. Mind magic normally came under high levels of scrutiny by Imperial authorities. Bending or dominating the wills of sapient beings was nearly as taboo as necromancy.

Then again, Suggestion isn’t mind magic. It’s something else entirely, powered by Will alone.

Another tingle, this one prideful. Almost smug, like his class felt the entire concept of mind magic was inferior to the power it offered.

He wondered how far he could push a person. Could he make his family accept him? Would he really want to? Would he be able to stop himself from changing them further, until he no longer recognized the people he’d lived with for almost twenty years? Considering that there seemed to be an entire Discipline dedicated to abilities that manipulated the minds of others, he would probably be acquiring abilities far more powerful than Suggestion in the future. He pictured Velri kneeling before him naked as the day she was born and pledging her undying servitude to him as he stared at her big breasts.

His manhood hardened.

I can’t tell anyone I’m a Psion. Not if I want to operate without suspicion. I’ll have to think of some other class to pretend to be when I finally tell my family I'm no longer classless. I still need to test my abilities, however. Find my limits. Level up and get stronger abilities.

He looked at Izel. The Tenlani woman was currently on her stomach now, big juicy ass pushed into the air. She caught his gaze and rocked her body back and forth, causing her ass to ripple.

No. No, I can’t really…

Seemingly encouraged by his staring, Izel gave her ass another shake.

“You like my backside, huh? A lot of men do. So much so that they almost lined up to throw you out of that protest,” Izel chuckled.

Julian frowned.

Izel sighed. “Oh, you’re not still mad about that, are you? Think about it this way: if you’d left when I asked maybe you wouldn’t have been arrested like I was.”

I am pretty annoyed about that, actually. It would serve her right to be my first test subject.

He smiled.

“No. I’m not mad at you. Not anymore at least. I was just thinking about something else,” he said.

His thoughts blazed at a mile a minute. Could he really test his abilities on Izel? She was still classless like he'd been. Wouldn’t that make him just as bad as the Enforcers who wielded their class abilities like a battering ram against people who couldn’t fight back? What if they were watching him right now, waiting for him to slip up?

No. I can’t let fear prevent me from growing now that I’ve finally gotten my class. Not after everything I’ve been through. I refuse. Besides, my skills don’t use any magic, so there should be no way for the mages here to detect their use.

Julian recalled the smile on Izel’s lips when she sicced the men on him. She hadn’t ordered them not to harm him if he resisted. In fact, she’d seemed pretty amused by her own power over them; both him and the men restraining him. There had been something cold in her gaze then, as she watched him.

Maybe just this once.

He felt his mind tug on something, like some unseen muscle that had been a part of him since birth, but he'd never used. It responded almost eagerly, and reached out like a tendril, penetrating Izel’s waiting, **** mind.

<You want to apologize to Julian for siccing those men on him. He didn’t do anything wrong.>

There was another sensation, almost like a hot knife cutting through butter. He wondered if that meant the suggestion had taken.

Izel gave no outward indication that it had other than sitting up on her cot. She gave him a considering look, her beautiful amber eyes searching him.

“Julian.”

He looked at her. For once, her voice lacked her usual irreverent sarcasm.

“Izel.”

Izel snorted.

“It occurs to me that I might have been a little harsh with you earlier. At the protest, I mean.”

Julian raised his eyebrows.

“A little harsh? Izel, you basically had a bunch of thugs threaten to beat me up if I didn’t leave. What was so bad about me being there that you had to get rid of me, anyway? It wasn’t like I was hurting anyone.”

Izel leaned forward slightly, drawing his gaze to her deep cleavage. She smirked.

“No. No, you weren’t. You were pretty annoying, though, trying to monopolize my attention like you did. Still, I shouldn’t have acted that way, Julian. So… I guess I'm sorry and all that,” she said. She still managed to sound pretty insincere, but then she leaned back against the cell wall and closed her eyes.

Julian’s eyes widened.

I can’t believe it. Izel Vidoz actually apologized to me and didn’t seem like she was doing it to tease or make fun of me. And it doesn’t seem like she notices anything strange. Let's see if she notices this next one.

He focused again and triggered his skill.

<You want Julian to keep looking at you. Spread your legs.>

The suggestion pulsed along a tendril from his mind to Izel’s that he could feel but not see.

The dark-skinned woman hummed lowly before shifting in her cot again. Her thick thighs moved apart, granting Julian a view of her thick inner thighs and her light blue undergarments. They were tight against her body, accentuating the shape of Izel’s pussy.

He nearly gaped at her.

Holy shit. I can't believe how easy that was. And it doesn't seem like she suspects a thing.

The older woman giggled at him.

“Enjoying the view?” she put her arms under her legs and lifted them, spreading them wider.

Julian’s eyes traced her toned, slightly sweaty skin. She looked like she were inviting him to put his shoulders under her legs so he fuck her roughly against the cell wall.

A sudden loud clanging and footsteps from the hallway drew his attention to the cell bars. They retracted into the ceiling as two helmeted Enforcers in their silver-gray armor stepped into view.

He stood up from his own cot upon reflex. Had they detected what he’d done to Izel? He wondered if he’d be able to hit them both with Suggestion before they dragged him off to Eptium, where the Empire’s worst criminals who hadn't quite merited summary execution languished deep underground.

Heart hammering in his chest, he barely heard Izel reposition herself on her cot.

“Julian Imerdan,” the figure on the left addressed him, his voice slightly metallic. “Come with us. You’re being released.”

Julian blinked, his expression complicated.

If they knew what I'd done, there's no way they wouldn't be stunning me right now. But why release me early when I'll get out in the morning anyway? What's going on?

“Getting out early, huh? Well, aren’t you lucky?” Izel muttered. He glanced down at her to find her lying down again, seemingly totally at peace with where she was. Her eyes gazed up at him. There was something in them that hadn’t been there before. She glanced at the Enforcers. “You Enforcers are so cruel, taking away my entertainment like that. Or perhaps you wanted little old me to yourselves~”

“Shut your mouth, whore. Or I’ll make you shut it,” the Enforcer on the right drew a baton. It crackled with electrical energy.

Izel quirked an eyebrow and smirked as if to say, “That’s cute.”

“Relax. Relax, I’m coming,” Julian raised a placating hand toward the Enforcer and stepped forward.

“Hey Julian,” he glanced back at her when he heard Izel's voice. She was smiling at him now, but the mood in her gaze was still infuriatingly difficult to discern. She sat up, giving him an unobstructed view of her cleavage. “I’ll be out of here in the morning. Come find me if you a real apology from me.”

Julian blushed.

She actually wants to see me again. Were my suggestions really that effective in changing her mindset? I don't see how, but I definitely need to follow up on this.

“I-I will. Sleep well, Izel.”

He felt her enigmatic eyes on him as he walked out of his cell, Enforcers flanking him. He heard the cell bars extend back into place with a metallic crack.

He glanced to his left. Then his right.

“So do you guys have any idea why I’m getting out of here early?”

The one on his left snorted, but didn’t respond. The Enforcer on his right mumbled something to himself, but didn’t elaborate further.

Julian sighed. It seemed he wasn’t going to be getting an answer out of them.

After a few minutes of walking down the dimly-lit, almost cave-like prison hallways they reached a flight of rocky stairs that ascended for several minutes and gave way to a much brighter and furnished floor above. They passed what seemed to be an entire cordon of Enforcers guarding the top of the stairs. They each faced him, staring at him through their helmets. They gave a brief nod to the Enforcers escorting him as they passed through a doorway which led to a much wider space beyond.

The room had gray stone walls which looked smooth and had none of the damage he’d seen in his cell. The air here was warmer, too. He saw Enforcers – some masked and others in what looked like official uniforms (also silver-gray) moving about, clutching giant rolls of paper under their arms. There was a din of chatter that made the place feel like it had a life of its own.

As they approached a wooden door, Julian heard a feminine voice close by.

“He’s coming up now, Maela. I really have no idea why you couldn’t wait until tomorrow morning.”

Maela? Mom’s here to bail me out? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. She probably wants to get me out of here before anyone important hears about me being arrested.

“Because he’s my son. Quite a few of the people in your dungeon are there because of Krevos and I and I’m not willing to risk his safety here. Rest assured though that my son will be appropriately punished for his actions.”

Yeah, that’s definitely Mom. I was really not looking forward to this. I kind of wish they'd left me in that cell with Izel the whole night. Who knows what else I could've gotten her to do?

The Enforcer to his left knocked on the door.

“Enter!” the first voice said.

The Enforcer opened the door, revealing a room beyond along with two women standing in front of a rich brown mahogany desk.

One of the women was an elf. Julian had met her before. Jora Revenar, commander of the Rona Enforcer Corps and mother of Clevis Revenar, his hated rival. She and his mother were pretty good friends which meant that her presence had become a regular fixture at his house. Unfortunately, she seemed just as disdainful towards him as her son. She had pale skin, dark crimson hair and ethereal violet eyes. Her hair was relatively short and tied behind her head in a ponytail. Her pointed ears looked almost delicate and detracted from the severe appearance the woman seemed to want to convey. She wore a dark black outfit that resembled the military uniforms favored by the High Marshal. It hugged her voluptuous curves like a second skin. She glared at him, and Julian found himself digging into his memories to see if she’d ever thrown a different expression his way.

The other woman was pale-skinned human. She had deep ocean-blue eyes and long blonde hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall. She wore a light beige robe that did little to conceal her achingly well-endowed body. The tops of her huge breasts were almost completely exposed, and it took every ounce of self-control Julian had not to stare. The robe was tight , hugging her wide, childbearing hips which teased at what he knew was one of the juiciest asses he'd ever seen. She wore an ornate silver staff along her back which had a large sapphire gem at the head. It thrummed with magical energy.

Julian kept his gaze on her face.

Maela Imerdan faced him. She drew her plump limps into a thin line.

“Julian,” his mother said, azure eyes narrowing. “Have a seat.”