Recette

As Maya sat down Lucian looked out at the group. It had been…almost as painful as he had imagined it would be but they were finally all gathered and the Master, the demon shot a look to the nerve-wracked man, had not yet fainted. He had been right to put the calming effect down, they could panic once they were through explaining things, they had a schedule to keep. With his own ass on the line, Lucian was not going to let these mortals upset the process.

He grinned as he signaled Reyna, who in turn brought down a white projector screen on stage. “Now, I promised once everyone was gathered I would explain things in more detail, and I keep my promises. You have all been chosen for a special season of Harem Hotel, a multiverse-spanning program that entertains countless beings. Over the next five rounds, you will compete for the love and affection of the master, Mr Ward Over there” The demon gestured with his slapstick. Lily tried to open her mouth and found she could not speak “Save all questions for the end please” the host sneered

He then pointed at the screen and Reyna did her best Vanna White impression as it displayed an image of ten days “A round is composed of ten days, it would now be a good time to mention time flows differently on this island. No time will pass while you are here in the world you’re familiar with.” The screen showed a line from ten days to a single day in the “real world”.

The demon nodded and continued “The first is a day of rest and…reevaluation, you will be able to calm down and recover after the transformations and the challenge of the previous day. The next eight days are date days, and each of you will be assigned a day of that round to spend with the master, how much you spend is up to you except from curfew, which is nine p.m. You must spend your night in the master’s suite and share his bed.”

More than a few eyes bulged at this and smirking Lucian continued “What you do in the bed is up to you, but as you will soon see, it will behoove you to take advantage of that time”

He pointed to the final day of the week “Our tenth day of each round is reserved for the challenge, starting at noon all contestants will have to engage in a competition of my design to prove their desire to succeed in the harem. Winners of the challenge, are immune to that round’s transformations. And this season, no eliminations!”

Everyone began to look nervously at each other and Lucian smiled and nodded “Yes, you heard that right, starting today in a few minutes and after each challenge, you contestants and the master will be receiving one transformation from one of your three transformation paths to better fit your role in the harem. The transformation will be decided on votes by the audience.”

He gestured to the air around them “You can’t see them, but rest assured they are watching.” Maddy started to cry in her seat

“I have one veto per round to negate the audience’s decision I feel one transformation is particularly appropriate. Also in the case of tie (which for our purposes counts as two options being with 1.5% of each other), I have discretion on how the transformations are applied.”

He started pacing on stage, “Challenges also decide how much VP or Victory points you earn. Victory points are how you succeed in this competition. Any contestant reaching 100 VP, guarantees their preferential rank in the harem! What does that mean? It means when you return to reality you will receive an exit transformation that makes it so you can go about your day-to-day life, no matter how changed you’ve become! Those of you who don’t hit 100…well” He gestured at the screen

Suddenly images flashed by, a young man transformed into a bimbo as he screamed within his own mind. A young woman reduced to being a sex doll, completely unable to move. A small woman reduced to a maid on a chain. Myriads of horrid images of previous exit eliminations danced before them, and every person in the auditorium felt the icy grip of fear in their hearts.

“Those who don’t hit 100 by the end will receive a different sort of exit transformation that finalizes their role as a subservient member of the harem, reduced to an object for the master’s pleasure.”

Even without the enchantment keeping them from talking, the room would have been silent as the reality of the situation gripped the group,

Lucian chuckled mockingly “Now don’t worry, you only need to hit it, if you lose VP later, well that’s ok! Your spot is still guaranteed but you’ll want those high points because the contestant with the most VP at the end earns…a wish straight out of a fairie tale. You can wish for anything, three rules only restrict you. 1. You can’t remove your bond to the master. 2. You can’t kill anyone with it. 3. no reversing your own fate, or the fate of any of your fellow contestants. We play for keeps here”

“As for other ways to earn VP, challenges and appealing to the master are the primary ways but every so often bounties will be posted on the bounty board with VP or BP. Think of them as side quests. You have Twenty-four hours to complete a task or it returns to the board, but any bounty worth VP will subtract points if not performed in twenty-four hours to prevent hoarding.”

You lose VP by doing poorly in challenges and VP may also be docked for disobeying the rules of HH by attempting to escape, harming the master or another contestant, or violating the integrity of the show. Also violating the rules may invoke additional punishments.” Lucian stopped and snapped his fingers, “Reyna…I’ve been talking for a while do something cute to entertain the audience…”

Reyna salutes “Sure thing Lucy” Then gets center stage and performs a handstand, her hat miraculously not falling off

Lucian nods “That will have to suffice…the final thing to go over is BP or Bonus points. Think of it as currency. While on the show you may use BP to buy clothes, tools, or whatever you may find here on the Island. It may also be used to upgrade transformations for yourself or others.”

Lucian looks over his notes, appearing a notepad out of seemingly nowhere as he thumbs through. “You earn BP through the bounty board as well as the polls at the start of the competition and after each challenge. The first poll starts today and is the popularity poll…very basic shit if the audience likes you you get 5 BP for every 3% of the audience votes for you, simple.”

He flips the page. “The other poll is the MVP poll and will only start after the first challenge, this is meant to be a vote on who the Audience thinks is playing the game best after a challenge. So maybe you want to be a little cutthroat, won’t score well on the popularity poll but the MVP poll may compensate. You will receive 2.5 BP for every 3% of the audience votes for you rounded down.”

The notepad disappears in a flash of fire and smoke.

Lucian gestures out to the collected women of the Harem “The popularity poll will also decide your rooming situation and the order of your date nights…but more on that later for now…” His grin widens manically “Time for the part everyone has been waiting for! Transformations! Everyone On Stage!” The host swung his slapstick and everyone found themselves **** to attention.