Pre-Challenge Kickoff: Calm Before the Storm

Lauren Peterson

Lauren arrived at the dining hall less than a minute before the kickoff. She leaned against a wall, observing everyone enjoying their breakfast. Chatting with Tomoko and Levi, Kaitlyn glanced back at her, but Lauren looked away, not in the mood to acknowledge her.

As the clock struck ten, a cheery fanfare blasted, and the buffet was hidden by a pink burst of smoke. When it cleared, a stage appeared with Azure standing on it. The host was dressed in a striped referee uniform and blew a deafening whistle. Behind her, with her usual disinterest, was Alison.

"Everyone, it's the moment you've been waiting for. At long last, it's Challenge Day!" Azure cheered, clapping in excitement. Balloons and confetti fell from the ceiling in celebration. No one else shared her enthusiasm. Olivia popped one of the balloons with her knife while Kaitlyn groaned in annoyance as confetti landed in her oatmeal.

"I can't believe the time has finally come. It feels like we've all been waiting for years. Yet it was only a few days that all you young, fresh faces blessed this humble castle. You've all grown so much. It's enough to make me weepy."

"Just get on with it," Elena spat.

"My, so cranky today, princess," Azure winked. "Something bothering you?"

Elena gave her a **** glare in response, which only encouraged the host. "In any case, we have a few announcements before the fun can begin. First off, I'm excited to announce the results of the first Best Girl poll."

"The what?" Ji-Woo asked.

"You all remember how we had a first impressions poll when you arrived. Well, the Best Girl is the same sort of thing, but with BP rewards."

"Like any of us care what a group of freaks think of us," Lauren muttered.

A drumroll began as Azure bowed to the audience. "I thank you all at home for voting. Without further delay, here are the results!"

The rankings appeared on screen, one at a time.

1. Sophia Maoulin (+30 BP) - 20.73%
2. Tomoko Nakaya (+20 BP) - 16.79%
3. Kaitlyn Peterson (+15 BP) - 15.48%
4. Olivia Booker (+10 BP) - 14.70%
5. Elena Mendez (+5 BP) - 14.66%
6. Ji-Woo Summers (+2 BP) - 9.56%
7. Lauren Peterson (+0 BP) - 8.09%

Lauren's disinterest in the poll flipped immediately. "THAT'S NONSENSE! You obviously fixed it. I mean, how the hell does Sophia get first? She's a loser!"

Rather than be offended, the stunned Sophia nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Are you sure you counted right?"

"Hey, give yourself some credit, girl," Tomoko said, congratulating her with a pat on the back.

“But… but I…” Sophia stammered, looking around for someone to disagree with. However, Elena and Kaitlyn only nodded in encouragement. Even Levi offered a weak smile.

"Aren't you mad, though? You guys are way prettier than me… and… I…" Sophia flailed around aimlessly.

"Dude, just take the win!" Elena said. While the princess was disappointed to see how far she had fallen since the last vote, she was happy to see Sophia's self-consciousness get some much needed validation.

"And what's this about us being prettier?" Kaitlyn asked. "You're super adorable, Sophia."

Sophia's trembled in embarrassment. "Adorable? Me?"

Meanwhile, Ji-Woo silently observed the results. She was okay with her low placement. It was annoying, but BP was the only reward at stake. That was useless to her now. She was after the VP.

The poll results vanished from the screen, replaced by the scoreboard, which had been updated with their rewards. It updated again when Azure said, "Also, as always, everyone gets 3 free BP at the start of the day."

Lauren fell into a chair, crossing her arms. "This whole thing is absurd!"

"Congratulations, Sophia," Azure said. "And speaking of her, I'm also happy to announce that she will be tonight's date with the master, having added her name to the waitlist.

Tomoko playfully fist-bumped Sophia's shoulder. "Girl! You're crushing it!"

“Th-thanks… I guess…”

Azure allowed everyone a few moments to settle before continuing. "Still, we're not finished with awarding BP. As I mentioned yesterday, we will grant bonus points based on your daily performance in three categories."

The screen changed again, reminding them of the three rewards at stake.

• Pleasured the Master
• Hardest Worker
• Best Humiliation

"Oh no," Kaitlyn shuddered, remembering how she had been humiliated the last time these came up.

"Now, for the first award: pleasure. I regret to say that none of you managed to claim his virginity." Azure wagged her finger. "Tisk, tisk."

Laurens chuckled. "Of course, they didn't. He's too much of a…," but she stopped as a realization hit her. 'Wait… then that means… me and him… we didn’t… he didn’t…'

A wave of relief passed over her.

"Still, one of you did manage to make him cum," Azure continued. "The award goes to the first one to do so. None other than the dark horse herself, Olivia Booker."

On-screen, a clip of Olivia jerking Levi off was played, the suddenness of the footage making much of the audience gasp. Levi buried his face in his hands; Lauren nearly threw up, while Olivia had no reaction.

Strangely, Levi's penis itself was pixelated. Azure clarified, "The censor is there because some of you haven't seen your master's dick yet, and I would hate to ruin the surprise."

"Can we move on, please?" Levi asked, face still concealed, while Elena patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Very well. The next award is for the hardest worker. You all performed better at this yesterday than you did on day one. Throwing a party for your master is a major accomplishment. That being said, today's winner is the one who first started the conversation for said event and put effort into her own personal projects: Ji-Woo."

Sophia and Olivia couldn’t help but wonder what Azure meant by the 'personal project' comment. But their train of thought was derailed by what happened next.

“Hijo de puta!” Elena swore, slamming her fist on the table, causing Kaitlyn, Levi, Sophia, and Tomoko to shriek in surprise.

“El? What is it?” Levi asked.

Elena looked at her friend for several seconds. Ji-Woo felt her heart stop, terrified that the girl would tell him. But with tremendous effort, Elena finally said. “Nothing”

“Are you sure?”

Elena **** a smile. “Yeah, don’t worry about it.”

Ji-Woo sighed in relief. Levi, though confused, dropped the subject.

While this was happening, Kaitlyn and Sophia exchanged a glance. They couldn’t help but wonder if the fact that they weren't awarded meant that Azure was unaware of the effort the two of them had put into planning the previous night.

"Finally, we have most humiliated," Azure beamed excitedly. "A few of you had amusing wardrobe malfunctions, like our esteemed princess. But in all those cases, they were accidents. But, true humiliation is when you subject yourself to it willingly, giving up your pride because you have no other choice."

"I’m, of course, talking about Lauren. Who stripped for her master and begged his forgiveness."

"Fuck you!" Lauren screamed, but she could already feel her body propelling itself to her feet as Azure **** a recreation of the event.

"Stop it!" Kaitlyn shouted, knowing what was about to happen, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Lauren was still in her outfit from the prior night, having only replaced her broken underwear. Cursing loudly, she threw off her dress and stood in her underwear in front of everyone. Several of the girls, along with Levi, tried to look away, but they felt that they literally couldn't, Azure forcing them to watch.

Lauren waddled over to Levi's table and bent at the waist. Her pale face was now beet red as she was **** to press her breasts together, enhancing his view of her cleavage. Her newly increased respect for him was immediately destroyed by the mortification of showing herself to him in this state.

She wanted to tell him off, to curse Azure and everyone here. But her mouth was not hers, as she heard the spell speak for her.

"Hey, Master Levi. You absolute fucking stud!" she giggled in a flirtatious tone that directly opposed her face of disgust. "You're so hot! Do you work out?"

Levi recognized those words. They were the half-formed pick-up lines Lauren tried to say to him but had been too disgusted to finish. But rather than being told through gritted teeth and revulsion, Lauren spoke with aroused confidence. Lauren turned and swayed her ass for Levi. Kaitlyn, along with some of the other girls, triedto object, but Azure had silenced them.

"You're so handsome! Look as much as you like."

She turned back and groped her tits while looking like she wanted to die. "Or, feel free to cop a feel. Master," she purred.

Then, to both of their horror, Lauren placed a shoulder on Levi's shoulder, puckered her lips, and moved in to kiss him. By the time she regained control, the momentum had been too strong to stop, and...

Kiss: +3 VP

Entirely by Compulsion: -50% (Rounded Down)

Breaking themselves apart, the teens of gagged. Lauren immediately spat on the ground, and it took her willpower not to slap him across the face.

Azure was bursting with laughter. "After that point, our dear Lauren got herself shitfaced. Unfortunately, said **** blocked out feelings of humilation, so we have to stop it there."

"Sis," Kaitlyn began, reaching out sympathetically. But Lauren had already turned her back on them and marched over to grab her dress, refusing to acknowledge what had transpired.

The scoreboard updated to show the three awards.

Azure needed a minute to stop laughing. When she did, she cleared her throat. "Now, with all that out of the way, it's time to discuss the challenge." A chill ran through the crowd as everyone became deathly silent. "I won't be telling you the game right now, though I'll assure you that athleticism won't be required."

'Thank goodness,' Sophia thought, looking at her skinny arms. Olivia was also relieved.

Azure continued, "The challenge will be ranked first to last. The amount of VP given or taken will depend on your placement."

"I take it you're not going to tell us how much each place is worth," Sophia suspected.

"And ruin the surprise? Never!" Azure giggled. "But I will tell you that points aren't the only thing at stake here. Your ranking will also influence your next transformations."

Several of the women groaned. "Not another one," Ji-Woo complained.

Azure's grin widened. "Oh yes, indeed. Like before, it will be voted upon by the audience. However, your place in the challenge will determine the options' intensity."

"Intensity?" Tomoko reprised.

Azure nodded. "Going forward, all transformations will have one of four levels of magnitude. They are Boon, Minor, Major, and Nasty. The higher your ranking, the more positive the choices will be. For reference, all of your options during the first vote were Minor and Major, though generally leaning more towards the former."

Several of the women's eyes widened. If the prior curses were Mild or Major, they shuddered to think what Azure considered Nasty.

Azure encouraged their anxieties. "So, before any of you in the lead think of throwing the challenge, consider there is more than just points on the line. Do poorly, and you may not like the life it leads to. Plus, I'm only doing one veto per round from now on, not two, so don't rely on me to help you again."

Lauren snapped, "You didn't help us! You made it worse!"

Azure acted like she didn't hear her. She turned to the camera and addressed the audience. "Now, if you've ever seen a season of Harem Hotel, this challenge system is probably familiar to you. However, I'm adding some twists to make first and last place more significant."

"Uh oh," Tomoko grumbled.

Azure lifted an index finger. "First, something positive. If you come in first during the challenge, you can give up your VP reward and swap out a prior transformation for another in the same category."

Everyone's ears perked up at this. Azure noticed their interest and gave an example. "So, let's say that todays Best Girl Sophia won and chose the option. Her old anime compulsion would be removed, and four anime-themed alternatives would be presented. Though I should note that these new options may be of any intensity."

"Do we still get a new transformation?" Sophia asked.

"Of course."

Kaitlyn threw up her hands. "Why the hell would anyone do that then?"

Azure licked her lips. "That depends on how much you hate your old transformation."

Olivia couldn't help but nod in agreement. If given the choice, she'd pay all her points to get any of the other curses she'd seen.

Azure turned back to the camera. "On the other hand, if you end up in last place in a challenge, you will be automatically eliminated if you come in last again in a future challenge," she said with a laugh. "But if you're doing that poorly, you probably wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway."

The group was upset but the reaction was a bit subdued. No one was planning to come in last place in the challenge, especially not twice.

"Is that all the changes?" Alison asked, shocking those who forgot she was even there.

"Of course not. What a silly question," Azure teased.

"You told me to ask it to help you transition topics."

Azure ignored her. "I'm happy to announce one more Payback Edition twist: round-based rule changes."

No one likes the sound of that.

"We want to keep each round fresh and exciting, so three new rules will be introduced at the end of each round. A positive, a negative, and one voted on by the audience."

"You've barely given us time to learn the normal rules. And now you're adding more?!" Ji-Woo lamented.

Azure winked. "Don't worry, your silly little heads. They're minor adjustments to bring in some variety. The fundamentals will always be the same. More importantly, the rule changes will be done as a part of the challenge and related events. Here is how they slot into the schedule."

SCHEDULE

1. Challenge
2. Rule Change: Audience Pick
3. Elimination/Replacement (if applicable)
4. Transformation Vote
5. Rule Change Positive: Host Pick
6. Rule Change Negative: Host Pick

A confused murmur spread through the crowd. Levi, of all people, was the first to ask. "Why's the first Rule Change before the elimination?"

"In case it changes, who gets eliminated," Azure replied.

The uproar was deafening.

Azure raised her hands reassuringly against the onslaught. "It's just a precaution. The odds that one of the new regulations would be enough to alter the results is highly unlikely."

"It's still completely unacceptable to alter things at the last second!" Sophia shouted, almost more offended at Azure's game design skills than the situation itself.

Azure nodded in agreement. "You are absolutely correct. It would be unfair if I, as the host, changed the rules at the last moment. That's why only the audience vote precedes the elimination."

"What fucking difference does that make?!" Olivia roared.

"All the difference!" Azure gazed into the camera. "The audience is a neutral third party. Plus, they are composed of intelligent, reasonable individuals. I'm confident they would never allow any unfairness to befall you." She couldn't maintain a straight face while saying this.

"Ridiculous," Ji-Woo spat.

"Another reason to keep yourselves popular with the folks at home," Azure warned.

"Can't you just... give them a break?" Levi asked nervously. "You're putting so much pressure on everyone here."

'Is he starting to stand up to me? Progress.' Azure thought. She teleported next to him and pinched his cheek affectionately. "Sweet, sensitive Levi. He's so considerate of his subjects. You should all be thankful to have such an incredible master."

"I'm not their master," Levi muttered.

"And so humble too! Oh, Levi, if I were only a contestant myself, I would be swooning over you. But alas, I must maintain my professionalism."

"Leave him alone," Kaitlyn said before Elena, Sophia, or Tomoko could. She added, "Thanks for trying, Levi."

'Don't thank him!' Lauren thought angrily.

Azure patted Levi on the head while grinning at Kaitlyn. "Whatever you say, dear," she said before walking back on stage. "The challenge begins at 1 PM in the courtyard where we had the opening ceremony. I recommend you come early, though, as tardiness will be counted as a forfeit."

She bowed. "Thank you all for your time. I'll see you soon." With that, she and Alison, along with the stage, vanished.

Olivia immediately got up, eager to leave as soon as possible, and Lauren did the same to avoid any conversations. Elena followed Olivia as she went.

---

Elena Mendez

"Hey, Olivia," Elena called out as they exited the dining hall. The other women ignored her but quickened their pace.

Elena did her best to catch up, which was tricky in her gown. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Fuck off!" Olivia countered, flipping the bird at her without looking.

"Wait! Please! I wanted to apologize for last night."

"Good for you!"

"No, please! Listen, I didn't have a choice," Elena cried desperately. "I… promise you won't tell Levi, but Ji-Woo **** me!"

Olivia pivoted to her in exasperation. "Oh, for fuck sake! You're an adult! Take some fucking responsibility!"

"No, I mean literally! She used a curse from the card shop on me!"

Olivia let out a hollow laugh. "Bitch, what the fuck are you even talking about? What card shop?!"

Elena was confused, wondering how Olivia could not know about that. Then she remembered that not only had Olivia not joined them when they learned about it, but she had also separated herself from the group all of yesterday. She had missed so much.

"Jezebel operates a shop where you can use BP to purchase items, including curses and transformations," Elena explained.

"Uh huh," Olivia replied skeptically.

"No, I'm serious. Ask anyone here. They'll tell you."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Oh, how convenient for you. And this," she waved her hands sarcastically, "magic card shop is totally to blame for you acting like a psycho cunt! " She laughed bitterly. "Please! You could justify anything with that BS."

"I promise, it's true!" Elena cried. "She bought a card that **** me to tell everyone how great she was, so I'd gaslight Levi into liking her."

"What the fuck does gaslight mean?"

Elena rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "It's a term used in my psychology class. It means to manipulate someone into questioning their own reality."

'Oh, so my dad then,' Olivia thought coldly.

Elena's eyes welled with tears. "Please, believe me! I was mind-controlled by that... that... witch!" She bowed her head. "I've felt so guilty about what I did to you! Please forgive me!"

Olivia studied the sobbing princess for a long while, her expression impenetrable.

Finally, Olivia sighed. "Fine. I believe you."

Elena looked up, hopeful. "You... you do?"

Olivia shrugged. "Yeah. If you wanted to lie, you would have thought of something less insane."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Elena exclaimed as she stretched out her arms for a hug.

Olivia took a step back in alarm. "NO! None of that!"

"Oh, sorry," Elena chuckled, wiping her tears with her finger.

Olivia tapped her foot impatiently. "And you're not telling Levi about this?"

"Oh, I will," Elena said, her voice dripping with disdain. "But I'm waiting until after the challenge."

Olivia smirked. "You're a lot nicer than I would have been."

Elena looked away. "I want to so badly. I've never felt like this before. I've never wanted or needed to hurt someone so badly." Olivia nodded, entirely understanding the feeling, while the princess continued. "But then, there's the elimination on my conscience."

"Okay, seriously. What even happens with elimination anyway?" Olivia asked.

"What?"

Olivia repeated the question. "Everyone talks about it like a **** sentence. But what actually happens?"

Elena's mouth hung open. 'Dios Mio, she really did miss everything! I'm almost jealous.'

Elena took a deep breath. "If you're eliminated, you get transformed into someone different. Both body and mind. Then you get replaced. It... happened before you got here."

Olivia furrowed her brow, the gears turning in her head. "I see. No wonder you're all trying to jump his bones so bad." Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. "Wait, am I the replacement then?"

Elena nodded sadly.

"And Alison? Did the girl I replace turn into her?"

Elena shook her head. Before she could clarify, Olivia already put the pieces together.

"Wait, it's the blonde with the galaxy tits, isn't it!"

"Yeah," Elena replied nervously. She felt a pit of anxiety welling in her stomach. She didn't want to be the one to tell her about her brother, but it looked like it was unavoidable.

"I'll fucking kill that bitch Azure! Turning some poor girl into that freak!" Olivia roared, slamming her fist angrily into her palm. "Who was it? Did you know her?"

Elena steeled herself, taking several deep breaths. Finally, she said, "Jezebel has always been Jezebel."

Olivia looked perplexed at the princess for several seconds before remembering Kaitlyn saying the same thing yesterday. "This another one of those curse things? Can you guys not say it?"

"Jezebel has always been Jezebel," Elena replied, proving her point.

"Shit. Fuck it then. Don't worry, I'll figure it out myself."

Olivia turned her back on Elena and walked away with newfound determination. Elena stood there, speechless.

---

Levi Summers

Sophia sat on the weathered wooden bench in the greenhouse, surrounded by a lush array of flowers and verdant foliage. Her laptop rested on her knees, the soft tapping of her fingers on the keys blending with the distant rustle of leaves.

From the other end of the greenhouse, partially hidden behind a towering fern, Levi watched her with apprehension. Olivia's words came back to him.

'The host bitch said the first person who fucks you gets a bonus multiplier. I'm in the first place, so another chick might benefit more from the boost.'

He took a moment to remind himself of the current VP score. Elena, Olivia, Tomoko, and Kaitlyn all had between 16 and 19 VP. Among those with less, he knew Lauren was a non-starter, and there was no way he could make himself do Ji-Woo, especially not with the time he had left.

With only 7 VP to her name, Sophia was the obvious choice.

Despite this, he couldn't help but hesitate. For a boy who found simple conversation difficult, going up to someone and asking them for sex seemed beyond his capabilities. At least with Olivia, she had taken the burden of offering.

Still, he understood that this wasn't about him. So why couldn't he move his legs?

Finally, after several minutes, he finally abandoned his attempts to approach her and called, "Hey, Sophia?"

Sophia gasped in alarm as she was pulled out of her state of concentration, nearly causing her to fall off the bench.

"Are you okay?" Levi shouted in concern, running over to her but stopping midway as he realized something.

Regaining her balance, Sophia looked over to see the stationary Levi. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Uh, I just remembered. If I get close to you, will that trigger the whole... you know... anime thing?"

Sophia blushed. "Oh... probably. Uh, it's okay. And... uh... apologies in advance when I slap you and call you a pervert."

"Are you sure?" Levi asked.

Sophia nodded and braced herself for when he would inevitably trip and land on her chest or underwear.

Instead, when Levi was mere feet away, she felt a sudden urge to stand up. She then fell forward, tripping on absolutely nothing, and collided with him. He fell on his back while the girl landed face-first between his legs, her mouth falling squarely on his crotch.

This time, it was Levi's face that blushed comically red. "Oh! Oh no! I'm... uh, sorry!" He cried, trying to move his hips out of the way, but only managed to grind his groin into her face.

"Mph! MMPPH!!!" Sophia let out a muffled cry, trying to get out.

Finally, after nearly a minute off this, Sophia managed to pry herself off him, a humorous pop sounding as she did so, like a cork from a bottle.

"Are... are you okay?" Levi asked, worried. However, Sophia was laughing.

"Wow, talk about trope subversion. I didn't give Azure enough credit! Maybe all the cringy cliches were just a setup for the twist," she pondered in amusement.

"Uh, what?" Levi asked, totally lost.

"Oh! Sorry, let me get off," Sophia said sheepishly.

Mouth on Masters (Clothed) Dick: +4 VP

Entirely By Compulsion: -50% Reduction

Sophia backed off and sat on her knees. Levi sat up, staying on the floor to be at eye level with her.

A tense speechlessness passed between them, and neither knew what to say. Finally, Levi broke it. "I uh... was wondering if you... uh... if we should... uh... if you..."

He trailed off. He knew the words he wanted to say, but they kept dying in his mouth. 'Why is this so difficult?' he thought.

"If I what?" Sophia asked, averting her eyes.

He cleared his throat. "Well, it's just. The challenge is in an hour and..."

"An hour and a half," Sophia instinctively corrected him.

Levi nodded. "Right. An hour and a half. And you... you have the third-lowest score. So... uh... do you... want any... help?"

Sophia's eyes opened wide with surprise. After pausing to collect her thoughts, she politely declined with a simple "Oh, no thanks."

Levi did a double take. "What?"

Sophia rose to her feet while brushing dust off her skirt. "I have my own pre-game ritual for getting mentally prepared," she said. "I'm not sure how you can assist unless you have some insider info, but I appreciate the offer."

"That's not what I meant!" Levi tried to clarify, but Sophia was already packing up her laptop.

"I need to grab some lunch now. You want to ensure you're not hungry during a game, but you also don't want to eat too recently, or your blood goes to your gut instead of your brain," the girl illustrated. She then put the computer into her bag and swung it over her shoulder.

"But I..." Levi began, but Sophia was already walking to the exit. "See you around," she called to him, closing the greenhouse door behind her.

Levi pounded his fist on the ground in frustration. How had he managed to mess that up? Why could he never get across what he wanted to say?

It was only much later that the thought occurred to him that she had known exactly what he had meant.

---

Alison

Alison stood alone in the center of the void, surrounded by an infinite expanse of nothingness stretching in all directions. The only light source emanated from a large, glowing crystal, which expanded slowly, resembling the growth of a tree in fast motion. A barely discernible silhouette of a humanoid figure could be seen within the gem.

Alison stared at the crystal unmoving, so still that an outside observer would mistake her for a mannequin. She only began showing signs of life when she heard a voice in her head.

'Alison! Alison!' Azure called out, back at the castle.

Alison blinked several times before turning her back on the crystal. She knew why she was being called. The time of the challenge had finally arrived. She vanished, appearing with Azure on the stage as the first contestants arrived.

---

Bonus Image

Winner of the first Best Girl poll, Sophia