“Her father?”

“Why would Meadow’s father have her kidnapped? Ruth told us that her father died when she was young. Fuck, calling that a coincidence is a stretch, is there any other possibility besides that Oak guy?” Even though he knew it was improbable, he still tried his best to doubt the reality he was presented with. Not only was Meadow’s father alive, he was involved in her disappearance.

“There is always a possibility, but in this situation it’s unlikely. You see this woman here, the one that launched the surprise attack on Jasmine?” An image of the sexy woman with a mechanical scorpion tail appeared on the screen. “This woman is a sadistic assassin known as Sasori, she actually had that codename before getting the tail implanted onto her. She is known for using her multitude of poisons to paralyze and **** her targets to ****. Her tail is a product of Professor Paxton’s prosthetics, which use nanotechnology to flawlessly connect limbs to the recipient's nervous system.”

The Gamer felt his head spin; the thumping of his heartbeat echoed in his head. Looking at the woman on the screen and remembering how easily she’d dispatched Jasmine was only filling him with pessimistic thoughts. A feeling of dread spread when Reimi spoke about the things this scorpion tailed woman was known for. ‘Meadow was in trouble, tortured by a lunatic assassin, scared and alone. All while I was enjoying a haze of sex. Sure, I risked my life a few times, but I had the choice to do that.’ Tears started flowing freely as he sobbed, images of his friend's corpse flooding his mind.

The small arms of the technomancer wrapped around John as she cradled the crying man. “John, I can’t be sure, especially since I can’t read your mind, but I’m pretty sure your friend's situation is better than you imagine.” She was doing her best to reassure the panicking young man, gently stroking his head as he sobbed.

It took him a few minutes to calm down; her caressing did help soothe him. “I feel so guilty. Sure, I have been moving forward to find and save her, I’ve almost died a few times, pretty sure if your gynoid didn’t show up, things would have been shaky, but, I have also been having fun exploring my powers and a lot of fun with my sexual escapades with you and Jasmine. All while Meadow is who knows where apparently, being experimented on, or tortured to **** by some psychotic sadist. Reimi, how can you be sure?” There was a solemn expression on his face as he questioned the technomancer.

“John, you’re doing way more than is expected of you. I don’t know Meadow, but I’m sure if she knew how much feelings and effort you have put into finding her, she’d be happy. You need to keep your mind healthy, to be able to function properly. You’ve already helped, it was you who discovered her disappearance sooner than the other, plus you were the one who helped us narrow down her kidnapper." She hugged him deeply while reassuring him with her soft voice. “As for the fun you’ve been having, even that is an important step in strengthening yourself. Sure, having sex with me and my sister is enjoyable, I had fun too, but you also gain rewards for doing it sometimes. Like the quest I’m pretty sure you received last night.”

The Gamer lifted his head out of her bosom, with a look of shock on his face. “You knew?”

“I wasn’t sure, but I do have a grasp of your personality. Your stats may help you hide it now, but you are still a shy nerd who has been bullied. Best case I expected you to take the initiative in a more vanilla type of sex, but you were talking with me like you were dominant. Even with my hints, no, that’s not you.” She shook her head for emphasis at that statement. ”While I hope to help you with your confidence, I was sure someone gave you a push. So, unless you somehow received a message from Jasmine without me, a technomancer who carefully monitors all devices around her, noticing, the only alternative was Gaia. Who I really gotta thank because you blew my brains. I can’t wait until I get a bit more comfortable with you, so I can give you items that would truly render me helpless.”

John cocked his head staring at the pink haired beauty holding him. “You, you weren’t helpless?”

Rolling her eyes with a chuckle. “John, those were mundane items. I still had access to my mana, plus like I said I monitor the whole room, so I could see through the cameras I have in here. Upside for you, I confirmed even if someone somehow is able to see your windows, they probably won’t be able to see them through screens since I didn't see whatever quest you received last night even while admiring you from many directions.”

“Hm, I guess that’s good to know,” he responded with a nod. The Gamer hugged her back finally, before standing up. “Thank you, Reimi. I’m still worried, but I don’t feel as bad. So, what do we do next? Are we visiting that research guild, or do you have another idea?”

“Well, if you’re up for it, we wanted you to try your Psychometry skill on the corpse of the kidnapper. As he’s dead he’s technically inanimate, but we aren’t sure since the object part is dubious at best. Others with similar powers could, but I must warn you, the ones who could were usually against doing it on bodies. I don’t know why, there aren’t enough people with that ability to have an accurate analysis and they all had different restrictions. Besides that, before approaching the guild, I would like to enter another barrier with you so we hopefully can get you a little stronger. I won’t deny I’m also curious about the barriers you create.”

The thought of not only seeing but also using his Psychometry skill on the corpse of the man he’d killed wasn’t pleasant. He felt he had to at least try, even with Reimi’s warning. John steeled his resolve then answered her, “I won’t lie, it's unsettling, but for Meadow I will suck it up and face this challenge head on. Please take me to him, before I change my mind.”

“If you’re sure, that won’t be necessary; the body is already nearby. Are you ready?” He nodded nervously in response.

After his confirmation, Jasmine entered alongside the gynoid which was carrying the bodybag of the kidnapper. “Morning John,” the reporter greeted him while heading over to the big table on the opposite side of the room. The robot held the bag over one shoulder while shifting some of the clutter on the table, making space, before placing the corpse on the table.

His eyes followed the body bag that contained the man he had killed. “Uh, hey Jasmine, you look better. Is everything alright with you now?”

“Yep, I’m doing fine. A few of my siblings made sure my muscles didn’t atrophy while I was paralyzed.” The ebony skinned nympho gave him a playful wink, while chuckling at her own statement.

Shaking his head, he remembered how she had been called a slut a few times by Gaia. “Well, I’m glad you’re ok,” he said, making way over toward the giant table.

“Oh, John, before you attempt this. I have a suggestion, if you don’t mind using one of your two available slots for potential skill absorption.” A book appeared in her hand, that he assumed she took out of a storage device. After mentioning the book, she reached over to him with it in hand. “I’m not much of a gamer, so I went over a few possibilities with Reimi. We saw with our own eyes that your skills have the potential to evolve.”

Nodding he was reminded of his missing Masturbation skill that had evolved into Addictive Cum, as well as the notification he received for his Observe after attempting it on the elderly Cyril. ‘That reminds me I really should work on leveling it up. No time like the present,’ he thought while shrugging, and used the skill on the book in the reporter’s hand.

Manual of basic projection magic theory.
This book contains the basic concept behind the use of projection magic.
The Gamer meets the criteria to Absorb this book and learn the skill Basic Projection Magic.
Minimum criteria for absorption: 10 points or above in both Wis and Int. (Requirements were lowered due to having basic knowledge on projection)

Making sure not to dismiss the Observe window, he opened his menu and sent party invites to the two women. “Ladies, hurry up and join the party, then check the Observe window in front of me.”

After following the instructions, Reimi was the first to react. “That’s useful. Not only does it tell you that you can learn a new skill by absorbing the book, but it even tells you the prerequisites to do so. Plus, having an understanding of the subject matter can lower the requirements. Do you have any advanced knowledge on how projection works?”

He shook his head. “No, the only thing I know about it probably comes from seeing those projectors used in school. It would make sense when I think about the Shadow Manipulation skill. Shadows are everywhere and the basic concept isn't too ****. Also, I had seen Jasmine manipulate them a few times before I learned the skill. Plus, looking at how much MP I used just by picking you up last night shows that my knowledge or proficiency with the skill is only at a basic level.”

“Oh, oh!” chimed in the excited technomancer, interjecting in his monologue. “I am curious now if you read about concepts involving your skills, whether or not you might gain levels with increased knowledge on them. We should try that when you have some down time. Even if it doesn’t work, reading up on a future subject that you might want as a skill is a good idea. Funnily enough, that’s why I suggested we give you a book on projection magic. At first I wanted to have you learn illusion magic, but that magic is more mid tier or even advanced depending on who you ask. I assumed that projection magic might have a chance to evolve into illusion magic.”

“That is a possibility. I’m curious why you want me to learn projection or illusion magic?”

“I wanted a way for you to show us as much as you can from your visions provided by the Psychometry skill. I also thought it might be useful for an overthinker like you in combat, plus if you get skilled enough at it, I hoped you could use sexy illusions,” Jasmine answered his question, while being slightly flirtatious.

“I’m baffled at how the title Belle of the Beacon was given to you. It should have been Slut of the Beacon,” teased Reimi at her sister's expense.

“Shut up, virgin, you’re just jealous John fucked me. I should incentivize him to keep your virginity intact. I bet a masochist like you would enjoy that, especially since providing oral sex allows you to climax.”

The bickering sisters amused the Gamer, as they hurled insults and stimulating scenarios back and forth. He decided to tune them out and take the book that the reporter had offered to him to absorb its contents and learn projection magic.

Requirements met. Would you like to absorb the manual of basic projection magic theory ? Y/N

New Skill Unlocked: Projection Lvl1
Allows the user to project images directly from their imagination or memories onto a flat surface.
Active skill that consumes 20MP allowing a projection for up to a 5 minute duration.

“Cool, you learned it. Are you ready to do this?” asked the technomancer, with her hand on the zipper of the bodybag. John responded with a simple nod. She unzipped the bag enough to expose the man’s head and upper torso, and said, “Alright do your thing.”

John stared at the face of the man he’d killed. His head had been cleaned up as there was no trace of blood or brain matter around the covered hole of where his blade had ended the man’s life. He took a deep breath before extending his hand and activating Psychometry.