Let’s get this party started.

John opened his Stat Sheet and scanned the contents. Nothing useful. Not even in the settings menu.

’I have video game powers, so surely I can create a party,’ John thought with frustration as even Red’s Observe window yielded no option.

Placing his hand under his chin, John pondered the issue for a long moment. When he had faced the Broodmother, he had managed to create the Sneak Attack skill through his own will. ‘Perhaps a similar thing will happen with the party invite?’ John reasoned as he began to focus on creating a party. Still nothing.

“Welp, either I’m missing something obvious or Gaia forwent the option to ‘create a party’. That’s a huge fucking dissapointment,” John sighed.

Create Party: ‘That’s a huge fucking dissapointment’? Yes/No

“Voice control? Seriously?” he groaned as he clicked ‘yes’. “Next I’m gonna have to shout out every attack before I can use it.”

Urgh, fine, I’ll patch it into the stat menu!

The message came, and moments later, John saw the option appear. ‘Much better,’ John thought contentedly as he was finally able to send the invite to Red.

“Bloody hell!” the girl screamed, springing into the air as the invite appeared in front of her. It used the same display that John had set his to. “Is this you?!” she demanded, waving a hand through the incorporeal screen.

“Yeah.”

“Fuck, I nearly shat myself,” Red calmed down, and her tone changed to that of great amusement as she accepted the invited. “You weren’t even joshing me when you said you had video game powers, huh? But I think we’re gonna have to work on your party names…”

The practicality of being in a party immediately became apparent, as John found he could see her current health and mana without even needing to look her way. ‘I wonder if there’s a cap to how many people can be in the party?’ John mused, thinking the system would be a useful asset as he built the harem of his dreams.

“Alright, well, are you ready to get going?” John asked his new companion.

“Ready and set!” Red replied cheerfully, fastening her cloak as she hurried over to him.

She didn’t hesitate to loop her slender arm in his, much to John’s surprise. “What?” she asked cheekily as she felt his body stiffen reflexively. “You don’t like it?”

“I didn’t say that,” John replied as they set off on the path.

The path wound its way through a small forest of pines before emerging onto the lip of the giant sinkhole, giving John his first chance to peer directly down inside. There were clear tiers to the Depths, though John couldn’t decide on an accurate estimate of their size or distance from one another, as the sheer scale of the hole made it impossible for the human eye to determine. Most of the tiers he could see seemed relatively consistent, but there were a few oddballs among them, such as what looked to be an amusement park about ten floors down. There was no sign of Camelot though, leading John to wonder just how far the castle had sunk into the Depths.

Soon after, the path entered into a small watchtower overhanging the edge of the hole. It became apparent, as the two stepped inside, that it served as some sort of checkpoint. A few benches had been set up so as to form a ring around an unlit bonfire. Lining the walls were a small kitchen as well as stations for alchemy and equipment repair, and a shared bedroom with multiple beds had assumed all of the upstairs space.

John moved to a sconce bolted to the grey-brick wall and took the lit torch from it, using it to ignite the bonfire. As he did, a message appeared on his HUD.

Bonfire lit. The ‘Floor Select’ option has now been added to the Depths Dungeon.

“I just unlocked the ability to warp here,” he informed Red. Ignoring the obvious reference that was actually quite useful. “There’s likely a checkpoint like this between every floor,” he hypothesised.

Red let out a small chuckle and traced her finger along one of the workstations. “It’s almost like Gaia designed this barrier with your powers in mind. Quite the thought to have when you’ve lived here all your life.”

“I can imagine that’s quite weird,” John agreed as he looked out the window of the watchtower. He could see a stone staircase leading down into the hole not far from the tower. “C’mon, I can see the way down,” he told Red, not seeing any reason to linger at the checkpoint.

“But, John,” Red spoke up in a melodic voice. She avoided his gaze as he turned towards her. “Don’t you think we should stop and rest?”

“I’d like to at least scope out the second floor before it gets too late.”

John saw a momentary flicker of irritation appear on her features, before it was replaced by a coy demeanour. “But poor little Red has been going out of her way to help you… and now she wants a break!” Red said, playing with her hands behind her back.

Apparently arguing was not an option made available to John, as Red grabbed his hands and pulled him down onto a bench by the bonfire. John had to admit the warmth of the bonfire was nice.

It grew nicer still as Red soon found herself unsatisfied with the cold bench. “Your lap is warmer,” she said simply, as she placed her firm ass against his crotch.

“I’ve decided I want payment for my services!” Red suddenly declared. “I want-”

“What? You want to be paid for freeloading?” John interjected with a dry smile.

“-A kiss,” Red finished, ignoring the obvious bait.

“A what?”John blinked.

“A kiss, you muppet!” she snapped as her face took on a deep shade of crimson.

John’s mind emptied of rational thought as it reeled over the fact that a girl actually wanted to kiss him. Him!

John knew he wanted her. They’d known each other for less than a day, but John already felt the connection of a bond that would last a lifetime. Yet he sat there, frozen with fear and unable to meet her halfway. ‘Vulpis will seriously kill me,’ John realised.

Red pouted as he made no move to kiss her before taking the initiative upon herself, leaning her face in close. She paused just short, however, lingering hesitantly mere millimetres from his face. Her warm breath tickled his skin, and she stared at him with wide, gorgeous blue eyes that called to mind the silver screen.

“John?” she spoke softly, barely a whisper. “Please.”

Her murmur cut through John like a knife through butter. She needed him as much as he wanted her. He tilted his head forward, and she received him with a vivacity that emptied John’s mind of all rational thought...