The Little Blue Pil- Juice. The Little Blue Juice.

John tried not to focus on the sweet taste of the mana potion when he drank it. Knowing that that faint blueberry and strong honey flavor had been ripped out of other people kind of ruined his appetite. As much as he would have liked to have saved the decoction for a time when he absolutely needed it, he didn’t think he could rely on the potion to save him in the heat of the moment. Even if it did restore his mana enough for him to cast some of his spells again, it also had a tendency to intoxicate. It took away his ability to think clearly while he was under the potion's effects, and if he was in the middle of a fight, then he needed his mind to be clear.

He could, however, use it in moments like this. He could use it when he ran out of mana doing regular tasks and… recreationally. He considered the idea that he could have used his Craft ability to try and make it better for him to use in certain hostile situations… but he didn’t want to waste his mana or collection of Arcane Rocks on something he could probably just buy more of from the Abyssal Auction.

Consumed 1 Soul Ration
+20 to maximum mana.
+2 Libido
+???
+???

You have consumed enough soul rations to fix the wounds taken from previous soul-damaging effects! Your soul has been patched!

‘Patched.’ His pop-ups didn’t say that his soul had been repaired… or healed. It was just… ‘patched’ back up, and that thought alone made John shiver as he finished off the bottle and then tossed the empty glass back into his inventory. He imagined, briefly, what it might look like if someone had tried to put a tiny, adhesive bandage on his soul. There were a few images that passed through his mind at that, but the one he ended on was one of a giant mana tank, like the ones he had seen in the Cabal’s mana factories, patched up with a little piece of tape that had drawn pictures of little kittens on its surface. He pushed the thought out of his head as quickly as possible, just so he wouldn’t have to imagine who was floating inside the mana tank.

The potion took effect almost immediately after John ingested it. He watched his mana bar fill back up, more than it had the first time he had used one of the Cabalist’s mana decoctions and then blinked slowly as the moment repeated. The trance he had gone into after his first experience with mana potions started almost the exact same way the second time. His mana bar appeared empty to him, filled back up, and then appeared as empty again, and again… and again. At the same time, Elisrya’s hands obediently traced down his chest, exploring his firm abdomen on her own for the first time, but only because of his command. Her touch hesitated at the edge of his ‘pahnts’ for what must have seemed like a long time for her, but for John, the moment passed before he had a chance to consider reassuring her or pushing her further. Her fingers slipped past the hem of his leather clothing and brushed against the veiny base of his member, and then John watched as she did it two more times. He felt her fingers try and fail to curl around his whole girth three separate times, in the exact same way, and smiled when he thought about how similar the experience might have been to what Elisrya went through with his Rememory spell. Time started to shift and became almost… malleable to John. The moment where she pulled his cock out of his pants combined with the moment where she first started stroking him, and then repeated again and again while the potion continued to mess with his senses. Minutes quickly passed before he found himself aware of the present again, and realized he was smiling at Elisrya once more.

She did not smile back at him. She blushed, ground her teeth together, and averted her gaze from his submissively, but she did not smile back. She had lost, so she obeyed, happily if it meant that she had the opportunity to hear even a memory of the voices of her people again, but she refused to break.

His clothing had gone missing by the time he could no longer feel Elisrya’s hands on his stomach, and he knew that he had dragged the garments off his strong figure only because he could remember doing so. He never consciously experienced the act itself. He remembered yanking Elisrya against himself and the bars of her cell, pulling her close enough for the Elf to feel him kiss and exhale hotly her sharp, newly hypersensitive ears. Yet, he only experienced the moment when she gasped as he gingerly bit down on one of the sharp lobes, teasing her when he grazed her skin with his teeth. He remembered making her shiver and moan when they both discovered after a few minutes how powerful the sensation was since he had altered her body. Every time he kissed her, the feeling clouded more and more of her thoughts. The sound of his lips smacking replaced the deafening silence in her head and caused her to push back against him and squeeze his cock tighter with both of her strangely calloused hands. Her facade cracked for a moment as she let her long, pristine nails dance across the length of his member… but when she came back to her senses, she didn’t claw at him this time like she had earlier. She stayed obedient. She made sure that he could feel her soft, round tits mashing flatly against his chiseled chest through the bars of the cell and her warm, chiseled stomach pressing against the underside of his member as he hardened in her grasp.

She kept holding on to him like that for as long as he wanted her to. For now, at least, it was her duty.

He remembered teasing her ears like he had teased the rest of her body the first time they had been together, but he didn’t know how long he did that to her. When he tried to think about it, his thoughts were replaced. The image of his tall, pale, busty, Elven warrior ****, already gasping for his touch and blushing to the point that her cheeks were just as red as her hair, was replaced by visions of a different woman. A short, scantily-clad lady with jet-black hair, bright blue eyes, and a mischievous smile on her pampered features appeared in front of John. She was covered in make-up and tantalizing black cloth, but not so much as to hide any parts of her form from him. If anything, her accessories were made to be revealing and accentuate her slender body. She had already grabbed his cock like Elisrya had, and stroked down to the base of it at the same pace of the Elf. Her voice was soft and smoky, though he barely had enough time to hear it when she mashed her lips hungrily against his own. Her hands danced back up the length of his cock, squeezing him until he was brought to his full size, and a flicker of gold appeared on the edge of John’s vision. A wedding ring on the brunette’s finger appeared and disappeared from view as she jerked John off only long enough for him to get hard and John realized why the brunette was dressed in that way.

The lacy black cloth she had on… it was reminiscent of styles he had seen used in most wedding dresses. Only now she was missing the actual dress. Her hourglass-like figure wasn’t nearly as exaggerated as Elisrya’s, but it was just as toned. Her smaller, ivory pale breasts were capped with nipples that were just as red and rigid as the Elf’s, but her chest was smaller than his ****’s… and pierced with little studs that gave her whole body goosebumps whenever he brushed against them. Her lacy, black bra didn’t hide her tits from view. Instead, all of the clothing she was wearing seemed to have slits cut into the fabric just so that the more erotic parts of her body could peek through. Aside from the hair on her head and on her groin, she was completely hairless. The small, visible, black tuft above her swollen sex was the only hair she hadn’t bothered to wax away, but even that was so neatly trimmed that John barely noticed it.

When John saw her, the instinct to tease her ears didn’t stay with him. This vision wasn’t an act of utter debauchery like the first one had been after he had used a Cabalist mana potion. It was sweet. It seemed more like a moment from a person’s honeymoon than a romp with a bunch of succubi. She wasn’t an elf or a demon, she was human, and her hair covered most of her ears. Instead, his instinct was pulled into kissing her back. A surge of emotion and strangely nervous but pleasant warmth welled up higher and higher inside him until he didn’t even realize how deeply he was kissing her back. He found himself biting into her plump bottom lip, smearing her black lipstick against him, until he heard and felt someone else moaning back into his mouth. The vision faded, leaving John wondering if he was getting more and more resistant to the high given by the Cabalist mana potion before he realized that he could feel drool dripping down from Elisrya’s chin and onto her heavy tits. He didn’t know how long he had been kissing her for… but it had been long enough for her to be already kissing him back. His tongue lashed against her lips and **** her mouth open wider, and John tasted something that he assumed to be wine.

Unlike what had happened in his vision, John didn’t grab and hold Elisrya by the back of her neck. When he found himself able to focus again, his hands were already coiled up in her unbound, tangled red hair, and his fingers only slipped out of her mane when he decided he wanted to start pinching and pulling on her short, sensitive ears again. Strangely, it didn’t matter how rough he got. The pain never bothered Elisrya; if anything, it just seemed to make her breath hitch and her heart race. Her head lolled around in his grasp like she had long since accepted her role as his plaything and relaxed into his touch enough to close her eyes. Her mouth hung open, even after John pulled away from the kiss and left her gasping, her tongue stuck out like she was still waiting for him to play with it… but he didn’t.

He had to keep focused. He needed answers. He considered using Gamer’s Mind, but his clarity faded before he could.

“How do I get into Dornwich?” he asked, and again his vision dimmed. He found himself with the brunette again for a second time as she cried out in shock at the fact that John had somehow pinned her to the wall. His heart jumped into his throat for a moment when he realized he might have hurt this stranger… and then she laughed, with that smoky, soft tone her voice had, and moaned as John ducked his head down to her chest. He kissed her tiny breasts, one nipple at a time, over and over again, but did nothing else until her legs were shaking and she was begging him to touch her more. He didn’t try to wait for her to answer his questions like Elisrya. He just sucked harder and harder on the end of her tit until her nipples were pulled so tightly against the seal of his mouth that the little buds popped through his lips and pressed hard against his tongue. The size of her tits didn’t allow for much more than that, though he certainly tried to do more. He tried to keep sucking until more than just her nipple followed, to fill his mouth with her soft breast and tease her with his tongue until he left marks on her skin… but he didn’t let it go on for that long.

This time, John **** her to disappear. With the help of Gamer’s Mind, he **** the vision to fade and came back into reality quickly enough to hear the Elf whimper when he found himself sucking on her tits instead. He was no longer outside of the cage. He was inside now, and like the brunette stranger in his vision, John had pinned Elisrya between him and the walls of her cell. He was not as soft with Elisrya as he had been with the girl in his vision. He didn’t simply suck and lap at Elisrya’s tits, he pulled and pinched at her as well. He grabbed at her and squeezed until he could feel his fingers sinking into her breasts and her soft flesh bulging out between, and nibbled at the sensitive parts of her body until he left her covered in fresh hickeys and teeth marks.

The pain never seemed to bother her. It didn’t matter how sensitive the area was or whether John was rough to the point that his handprints appeared red and hot on her ass when he spanked her. The elf was a warrior and older than John knew. She was used to pain, though it wasn’t typically experienced in such a pleasant scenario for her. She just wasn’t used to how insatiable the Gamer seemed to be.

She knew humans fucked a lot compared to Elves, but John seemed particularly active for a human. He didn’t last much longer than most, but he recovered faster than anyone she had ever seen. She noticed that after she had stroked him to completion the first time in that tent. John had acted like he barely even noticed it when she tucked his cock through the gap between her slickening thighs to satisfy him and end their play early, but he didn’t even blink when she started thrusting and grinding against him until he shot his load out onto the ground. He didn’t even soften, he just kept sucking on her tits more and more. Eventually, his orgasm had ran its course and the back of her thighs and the bottom of her heart-shaped ass were left covered in his cum. Still, the orgasm seemed to only make the human even rowdier. When he stopped sucking on her tits and realized that his cock had been squeezed up against her sopping quim, he had just grabbed her by her ears again, **** his way into the cage with her, and then pushed her up against it. She whimpered again when he manhandled her to do so, but with nothing else in her mind to easily focus on, that only made her heart race.

Stepping back into his aura had an effect on her that she couldn’t resist, no matter how hard she tried. It made her ready for him and restless in a way that caused her to continue grinding on him when she found his cock slipping back into the gap between her thighs. Though it didn’t stay there for long. When John found her needy and already covered in some of his cum, he decided it was time to advance past the grinding and lined himself up with her augmented tunnel. He didn’t thrust or let her thrust against him. He just poised his cock against her dripping pussy lips, and watched as that one touch between them caused her mound to redden and clench in anticipation.

He **** his Gamer’s Mind to activate this time, and shoved the visions of the mana potion out of his head for the time being.

“H-How do I get into Dornwich?” he gasped, and smiled when Elisrya’s facade cracked again. The memory of their first coupling alone was enough to make the Elf shiver and drop her hips onto the shorter human. She missed… barely, but only because John tried to angle himself away from entering the needy elf. Instead, his cock jabbed up against her stomach, and her clit crashed against his fat rod. The formidable strength in Elisrya’s body faltered and brought her low enough to stand level with John when tingling shocks briefly rocked her core and knocked her knees together… but it was by no means a proper release. If anything, the emptiness inside her ruined the orgasm and left her whimpering in place as John held her and kept her low until he could get his answers.

“You get nothing until you answer me,” he growled, and for some reason, despite how hard he was, something about his statement felt like it was the right thing to do. The next time he asked her his question, his voice was steadier. Gamer’s Mind helped to focus him on one goal. “How do I get into Dornwich?” he asked again, and Elisrya opened her mouth… but she didn’t answer.

John didn’t hesitate. He cast Rememory three times with his hands on either side of her head, and then took a step back. His mana dropped down to a measly thirty-three points, but he didn’t care. One of the benefits of selecting a strength build was that he wouldn’t have to worry about being useless if he ran out of mana. Having mana helped, but it wouldn’t necessarily be needed if he got his Strength or Agility high enough.

Rememory was cast successfully! Targeting memory: Disconnect!
Rememory was cast successfully! Targeting memory: Silent_Prisoner!
Rememory was cast successfully! Targeting memory: Denial!

As soon as John moved more than a foot away from Elisrya, she dropped to the dirt like someone had struck her in the back of the head. The moments John had selected were some of the worst ones for her he could think of since he had met her. He was careful not to pick ones that meshed too much with pleasure, so the first memory he chose came after the first time they had had sex together. The spell only lasted for two seconds on the first cast, but she relived the moment when she came down from the high of sex and hit the realization that she could no longer hear or feel Dornwich again. The second memory was simply the one he knew of when he and all the Gnomes had walked into her makeshift prison, a moment where she would have had no other noise in her head or around save for her own thoughts. A moment when the silence was loudest.

The last memory he chose was the one that had just happened, where she came so close to the edge of pleasure… and then lost it when John denied her his touch and stepped away. Again, it only lasted for two seconds, but Elisrya experienced it like it was happening all over again. She whirled on him almost immediately, anger burning in her eyes! Her hands lashed out at the wind on either side of her like she was ready for an attack!

...Her anger didn’t last, though. Quickly, it faded to sadness, and John watched as the **** slumped back down, crawled towards him, and then cried out.

“Please!” she snapped, and lowered her head… and then softly sobbed out another plea. “...Please... Just once! Just let me hear them again once!” Once again, John found himself thankful for the help Gamer’s Mind gave him. She sounded like she was in so much pain that John felt almost certain he would have given in if not for that ability. With Gamer’s Mind it was easier than any of the hard decisions he had ever had to make in the past while using the ability. He assumed it was easier because of the potion he had taken.

“How do I get into Dornwich?” he asked again… and watched as Elisrya looked up at him, her eyes watering, and then she let her head fall again. She didn’t plead with him anymore after that. For nearly ten minutes, the two of them just stayed in place and kept silent. Thunder and rain gradually reached John’s ears from the distance, and he found himself smiling when he realized how good of a sign that must have been for the area. The Hallowed were gone, so some regrowth was finally allowed… at least outside of Dornwich.

Elisrya didn’t have the same reaction. When she heard the thunder, she jumped and dashed over to the other side of the cage like it was something she had never experienced before. Her eyes darted to the entrance of the tent in search of the roaring monster… but when it never came, she started to breathe easier. Eventually, John turned to leave the tent and Elisrya broke the silence.

“Along the path from the ass end of Bulgebottom straight up to Dornwich, you can find a hollow tree…” She paused… and John looked back at the Elf. She refused to look up at him. “There’s a small tunnel inside of it that you can sneak in and out of,” she said, and John’s gaze gradually moved over to her tousled red hair.

“She’s lying.” The entrance flap to the tent opened and fell shut again as Kennedy and Ms. Lask stepped back into the tent. They were the only two from Bulgebottom who did. Kennedy didn’t bother backing up his statement as he looked at the Elf, and John felt like he didn’t need to. The Gamer took one look at the blue, glowing crystal rod in the Gnome’s little hands and knew he was right.

Sapphire Rod of Divination. (Rare Quality.)
This blue crystalline rod is one of many that were summoned up from the depths of the earth by a gathering of clerics. Cut into the shape of a footlong wand and enchanted, these magical, pristine crafts can be used for nothing other than what they were intended for. Any school of magic, other than that of the godly school of origin that it was designed for, causes these wands to crack.
+Allows the user to cast Divine Truth
-Divine Truth: Upon infusing the focus of this spell with 100 points of mana, the focus will begin to emit a godly glow. Any lie spoken within the range of this focus (50 feet) will cause this focus to glow brighter. Divine Truth lasts for a length of time in minutes equal to the level of the person casting it.

“No, I’m not…” Elisrya mumbled, and the wand grew brighter. John softly swore under his breath, and stepped out of the cage, slamming it shut behind himself.

“Yes. You are,” John grunted, and began walking towards the exit. Elisrya didn’t let him make three steps before she was on her feet again, begging for him to stop.

“Alright. Alright!” she snapped, and the Gamer turned to look at her. “It’s straight out to the city from Duskacre,” she muttered, and the rod’s light dimmed. “After they saw the Deceiver leaving the burning pass, Dornwich was worried you might do the impossible again and find the tunnel to the keep in Duskacre.” Again, the rod dimmed. “It’s why the Hallowed were sent out to greet you when you turned back to Duskacre after your first attack. They couldn’t risk the possibility that you might search Duskacre’s well.”

“A tunnel right into the keep? How is that a good idea?” Kennedy butted his head into the conversation while Elisrya lowered her head. She didn’t bother answering that question, so John did it for her.

“Tunnels like that are sometimes built into castles so that the royal family may have a way of escaping in a failing siege… or sneaking in food and water to strengthen their stronghold. I imagine that it was put into place before the elves connected themselves to each other and had one of them established that they needed to protect. It’s probably collapsed in many places by this point, however,” John explained, and Kennedy slowly nodded.

“Oh, it’s doubtlessly collapsed. I’d have sunk it the moment I lost an army if I were them… but I did bring a few machines that might be able to help with that.” Kennedy grunted, and John glanced skeptically back at the Gnome. Upon seeing John’s gaze, the Gnome merely shrugged and said, “I brought mine, that is. In need of a good repair in some parts but still usable for a small tunnel. Most of Bulgebottom’s diggers remain back at home. My own, howeve-”

“Please…” Elisrya interrupted their conversation loudly enough for everyone in the room to turn and look at her. John stopped and stared at her red hair for a long moment… and then realized why it was that he felt more comfortable with denying her what she wanted. “Just… I gave you what you wanted. Just let me hear them, at least once. Please,” she begged, and John straightened up.

He didn’t want to give her what she wanted because some part of him was mad at her, and mad at Bulgebottom.

“Your ‘Hallowed’ soldiers, or whatever you want to call those cursed fucking things…” he growled the last three words at her. “They never should have been made.” He could feel his teeth aching as he ground them together and stepped up to the cage in front of her. “And they never will be again.”

“Your ‘Hallowed’ took from me, and killed a friend of mine. Her name was Tyrea, and despite how badly I want to give you what you want just to make you feel better… your red hair reminds me too much of her right now.” The tent got eerily quiet as John finished talking to his ****.

“I will see you again after I take Dornwich.” he said, put his clothes back on, and then walked straight out of the tent.