Speedrunner 0.3

Author's Note: In reviewing the first few chapters, I realized I've had some inconsistencies in one of the names of the stats; it ought to be called Performance, not Physical. I've tweaked the first few chapters to correct the inconsistency; just wanted to clarify any confusion.

---

Why now? Ah, this time you're asking the right question, Diane.

The computing power and AI models have been good enough for this for a while, you understand. The technology undergirding Prometheus is really the same as it would’ve been five or even ten years ago.  More resources, some refinements and efficiencies, but no new, fundamental breakthroughs.

What is new — what let us take this idea from something Hollywood execs would joke about at cocktail parties during writers strikes, to a viable pitch we could bring to investors — is the recent breakthrough in VR and haptics, actually. That’s what is letting us create an immersive experience for the participants and easily translate it into something watchable, and thus sellable.

I can't really say more than that until the big reveal in a few days, but trust me, the end product is going to be fucking -- you said I can swear, right? Okay, good -- fucking awesome.

We just announced some of the marketing and promotional details, so I can now say this: you'll want to watch the premiere. You'll want to buy the all-access pass. Companies are going to want to consider the sponsorship packages we're offering. Everybody is going to love this.

And I'm saying that without any insight into who's actually selected to play, what the game's been like for them.

Ah, that's right, Diane, I'd forgotten. We do have something new to announce for your viewers: you're one of our premier media partners! You'll be doing regular and consistent live interviews with some of our players, following them through the competition. Exciting, right?!

Beats those CEOs you usually talk to; no offense intended to them this time, I’m including myself in that statement as well, haha. Our players are the equivalent of astronauts, or undersea scientists, or...well, I don't know what the right metaphor is. Nobody's ever done anything like what they're doing, is my point. They're exploring completely uncharted territory.

And we're all going to get to watch it live. So be sure to tune in, and consider purchasing the all-access pass.

...Uh, and my legal folks want me to remind your listeners that you need to be 18+ for the all access pass and it's not yet available globally; see our website for details on country-specific restrictions.

---

I considered the choice prompts that occupied the entirety of my field of vision.

SELECT A NEW DOMINANCE PERK FROM THESE TWO OPTIONS:

Charismatic Chatter [F]
You've got one of those voices people love to listen to. For hours at a time, even.
Add +1 to your Verbal.

Good With Your Hands [F]
All those video games have really made you dexterous, huh? Think about what you could use that for...
Add +1 to your Performance.

SELECT A NEW OVERALL SCORE TALENT FROM THESE TWO OPTIONS:

The Voice [D]
Once per encounter, you may add half of your Dominance, rounded down, to your Verbal score for three seconds.

(Currently, this perk will temporarily give you +2 Verbal when activated.)

First Impressions Matter [D]
You know how to make a good first impression. Until you complete your first encounter with another participant, all six of your core characteristics are effectively three points higher for the purposes of interacting with them. This does not affect your Overall Score or Sexual Prowess.

(Currently, you have had encounters with Ted and Becky. This talent no longer applies to them.)

After some consideration, I picked my upgrades.

I found myself torn on both of the choices. First, I took The Voice. How intimidated Ted seemed by my Verbal score just cemented how useful that perk might be, especially if I continued to gain Dominance quickly. First Impressions Matter had a lot of appeal, but ultimately it felt like a choice between something would scale and something that would only become less and less useful over time as I had encounters with more people.

The choice between +1 to Verbal and +1 to Performance was more difficult. I waffled for a moment. I was half tempted to just focus on my Verbal score; the memory of Colton's Appearance -- which must've been at least five -- lingering in my mind. But ultimately I decided I'd opt for a slightly more balanced approach, and picked Good With Your Hands. I had always liked being good with my hands.

I pulled up my character information, scanning through everything as a review -- talents, perks, stats, all of it.

STATISTICS
Appearance: 1
Verbal: 3
Performance: 2
Sexual Prowess: 6

EXPERIENCE
Dominance: 5
Satisfaction: 1
Connection: 2
Overall Score: 10

TALENTS AND PERKS

Good With Your Hands [F]
All those video games have really made you dextrous, huh? Think about what you could use that for...
Add +1 to your Performance.

The Voice [D]
Once per encounter, you may add half of your Dominance, rounded down, to your Verbal score for three seconds.
(Currently, this perk will temporarily give you +2 Verbal when activated.)

Chloe's Inspection [C][BASE]
Your interface reveals additional information about game mechanics. Descriptions of other characters, your environment, and similar systems will also be more robust. Gamers like you just have an eye for this sort of thing, y’know?

Any% Completion [C][BASE]
Always on the lookout to set a new record, aren't you? Encounters in which someone finishes faster than they expect will award you one additional point of Dominance or Satisfaction. Encounters that end faster than anyone expects instead award two additional points of Dominance or Satisfaction.

What Do You Think, Chat? [C][BASE]
Once per competition level, you may ask chat a question. Asking the question starts a five minute timer. When the timer reaches zero, you’ll receive an aggregated summary of responses and reactions to your question from viewers in the chatroom of your live stream. Chat may be wrong, uninformed, hostile, sexist, rude, and/or unhelpful. But you knew that already – it’s chat, after all.

CURRENCIES

Minor Favors: 1

OBJECTIVES

Overall Score >= 1 -- 1/1 [COMPLETED]

Party Size = 3 -- 1/1 [COMPLETED]

Complete Two Encounters -- 1/2

One thing did stand out to me, upon review: the additional point of Performance had brought my Sexual Prowess up to 6...but hadn't given me another upgrade.

It meant that Sexual Prowess and Overall Score didn't an offer an upgrade when they reached 5; it was likely they offered upgrades when you hit 10. It made sense; they were the product of multiplying your other stats, so they'd increase more quickly.

It also spoke to some advantages to spreading points across all three of the Statistics or Experience scores: that would raise your Overall Score and Sexual Prowess the fastest.

If I got another point of Appearance, it'd give me another Talent; if I got another point of Verbal or Performance, it'd leave me with only eight or nine Sexual Prowess, and I wouldn't.

Something to think about.

I shared all this with Ted and Becky as they cleaned themselves up.

Becky just nodded along with everything I said, although how much of it sunk in was extremely unclear. "My score went up to four!" she said, enthusiastically pleased. "I got a point of Connection like you said, and a point of Dominance, too! Plus four Satisfaction. So I'm all set, now."

Ted, on the other hand, was scowling. "How is it you've got all these fucking points and I don't?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that my score's still zero, and I've only got one encounter to fix it, or I'm out of the competition," he said. He was looking at me distrustfully, like maybe I'd pulled a fast one on him somehow.

"Whoa, whoa, okay, let's figure it out," I said, my hands up defensively. "What're your Experience scores now?"

"Zero Dominance, two Satisfaction, two Connection. For a score of zero, Chloe." He glared at me, ran a hand over his bald head in irritation.

"So you got one Connection and one Satisfaction from that..." I mused. Then I winced. "Becky got the point Dominance because you weren't, uh...the most dominant person in that encounter, I think."

"Yeah, I got it, thanks," he said, darkly, his face reddening.

I felt a twinge between my thighs, remembering how overwhelmed I'd made him feel, how I'd directed the action. How the words had flowed off my tongue, how I'd said just the right things to get him off the way I wanted.

Frankly, it made me want my stats to be a lot higher. All of my stats.

The way Colton looked, the memory of his appearance seared into my mind. I wanted that.

It was easy to think about what getting my Performance high might mean, too.

I could imagine how, with my Any% Completion perk, there would be a positive feedback loop: more stats would mean I could finish people quickly, would get me more stats, would mean I could finish people quickly...

"So I need to be the dominant party in the next encounter. Or I'm going to be out of the game." Ted said the words more thoughtfully, now.

I rerouted my circular train of thoughts, trying to think of ways to be helpful. I liked Ted. Didn't want to see him go.

Good ideas occurred in just a moment later though. "I see two options. First, we need to cut down the variables," I said, peremptorily.

Ted's brow furrowed. "Okay, what did you have in mind?"

"You both masturbate. I don't watch; there's too much risk that'll make the system think I'm the one in control and give me a point of Dominance, or something. Ted, you make sure you're giving Becky here instructions. Don't touch her; that way you both get some bonus Satisfaction from her talent...what was it called, Becky?"

"Crowdpleaser," she said, helpfully.

Crowdpleaser [C][Base] (This is Becky's starting perk.)

You love an audience, and the audience loves you. Any time you complete an encounter in which someone else watches you but doesn't touch you, you receive an additional point of Satisfaction, and so do they.

"Right. That ought to be a formula that's pretty likely to give you Dominance, Ted. Plus you'll get another point of Satisfaction too."

He nodded. "That makes sense," he said. He still sounded a little guarded. "What's your other idea?"

"Similar approach, a little more risky. You find someone we interviewed who needs Connection and who seems like a partner you can easily...well, dominate." I mulled it over. "Not, uh, whatshername, the Dominatrix..."

"Jennifer," Ted supplied immediately, his tone wistful.

"Right. Not Jennifer. Maybe Lisa, the Tradwife or whatever? Or, uh..." I wracked my brain. "Violet? The Stoner?" I shrugged.

He thought for a moment, although I noticed his gaze mostly seemed to linger on Becky's body. Eventually, he just shrugged. "I mean, Becky, if you're going to stay in our party and you're game, it's probably better to just improve our stats."

I nodded at that choice. I was a little disappointed not to be joining them, to be honest. Another point of Satisfaction and Connection in every encounter with them was going to rack up score really fast; if you kept getting Talents at every increment of 10, I was going to get more powerful very quickly.

But I thought it was pretty likely that I'd screw up the dynamics in a way that might knock Ted out of the game. I didn't want to risk that.

"Okay! That was a ton of points; that sounds good to me." Becky's blithe enthusiasm at least accurately reflected the underlying truth of the situation: she could do a lot worse than just increasing her stats through encounters with Ted.

"But then what're you going to do for your second encounter, Chloe?" Becky asked the question, curiously.

I was, admittedly, trying to decide that myself.

I knew the responsible thing to do. The thing I'd do if I was trying to get stronger as quickly as possible. The Voice meant I should really be favoring my Dominance score. Any% Completion meant I could do that by finding someone who would finish faster than either of us expected, and have a sexual encounter with them.

And I also knew what I wanted to do, which was to find Colton and have him fuck me senseless. I couldn't stop thinking about the way the rez suit clung to his body. The way his eyes had run over my body. I was getting wet just remembering it.

I just shrugged casually to the two of them. "I've already hit the requirements; I'll see if there's anybody who makes sense to just maximize my stat growth, I guess."

Ted gave me a mildly disapproving, knowing, look. "Just be careful, Chloe. Try to make sure they share their abilities with you before you-"

I rolled my eyes and cut him off. "Yeah, thanks, dad. I won't be out past curfew. I'll use good judgment."

Becky giggled. Ted sighed.

I nodded at the two of them and left the room.

---

...My judgment -- which I thought was excellent -- was that I had all the points I needed for now; I just needed to complete another encounter to finish the level.

And I wanted an encounter where I got fucked by one person in particular.

Colton was easy to find. I was like a compass, and he was magnetic north; I could've picked him out in a crowd of people. I threaded my way between tables, around other people, until I got to him. If anything, he was even hotter than he had been when I'd seen him earlier.

Dark eyes looked down at me; the dim light from the bar's hanging lamps seemed to catch on his angular jawline perfectly.

It, just like the rest of him, was begging to be kissed.

"H-hey," I stammered out.

Colton was talking with Alex, the AI bartender. They both turned to glance at me as I approached; Colton spoke first. "Oh, hey. Chloe, right?"

I nodded, suddenly tongue-tied.

"Did you know they've got, like, gear you can buy, Chloe?"

That was enough to pull my attention off Colton and onto Alex, at least for a moment. I blinked. "Really?"

Alex nodded at me. "All we've got here are some basic samplers so players can start to see how shopping works; this is all cheap consumable stuff. You'll be able to buy better stuff later on, obviously." Then he waved his hand, and the system text threw up a menu in front of me.

SHOPPING AT THE STARTER PINT

SAMPLER: APPEALING SCENT [GEAR][CONSUMABLE: 1]
Cologne? Perfume? Does it matter? This makes you smell nice.
+1 Appearance until the end of your next encounter.
Cost: Minor Favor (1)

SAMPLER: PERSONAL LUBRICANT [GEAR][CONSUMABLE: 1]
Literally grease the wheels (or other parts) of a sexual encounter!
+1 Performance during an encounter when it's used.
Cost: Minor Favor (1)

SAMPLER: STATEMENT LIPSTICK [GEAR][CONSUMABLE: 1]
A lipstick that helps you make statements. Get it?
+1 Verbal until the end of your next encounter.
Cost: Minor Favor (1)

Interesting.

I considered buying something. I had started with five Minor Favors. I'd spent one on that drink in the first Tutorial stage; I'd given three to Ted as a show of good faith. So I had one left.

As I mulled that over, though, I found my gaze repeatedly pulled to Colton. His eyes were staring into the middle distance, broodingly -- probably shopping as well -- but eventually he shrugged, and a little vial of what was either the scent or the lube appeared in his hand, briefly, before vanishing.

He glanced over at me, clearly realizing I was watching him. "I still have one encounter left, Chloe."

He didn't actually ask a question. The knowing look on his face was enough.

I was blushing.

"I, uh, yeah, same..." The words fell over themselves to get out of my mouth. "I'll, um, I'll be back to buy something, maybe, Alex, thanks..."

Alex the AI watched us walk off together, expression unreadable.

---

Ninety seconds later, Colton was slamming me up against the wall, in a room a few doors down from where Ted and Becky were presumably going at it.

ENCOUNTER STARTED.

I gasped; the rush of getting manhandled by a guy who looked like him sent a surge straight between my thighs that was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. Looks weren't everything, but Colton was hotter than anybody I'd ever been with in my life by several orders of magnitude. I'd imagined this about thirty times in my mind since I first saw him, but the reality of it -- his body up against mine -- felt so much better than I had imagined.

"O-oh god, fuck, yes," I hissed, desperately. I scrabbled at his back, feeling the hard muscles under my hands as he pinned me against the wall. He bit my neck, gently, but hard enough to turn the hiss into another gasp.

His body was incredible -- everything I ran my hands over was lean muscle and corded veins.

And I did want to have my hands on everything. My hands roamed over his rez suit, feeling out the mass of his pecs, then down his abs -- which seemed to go on forever, one taut ridge after another under my fingertips -- before finally reaching his cock.

He was hard; I could feel it through the fabric of the rez suit, jutting out, tenting. I felt like I was in heat, the way my body was responding to his. I moved my hand out of the way and pushed my groin into his instead. Fuck, he was so hard, his length thick against me making me throb with need.

I had to see it. I started grabbing at the zipper on the front of his rez suit.

"Jeez, Chloe, so eager..." He gave me a broad smile, tossed me down onto the bed and started stripping off his rez suit.

I stared up at him, mouth open.

Holy fuck.

The man’s body was a perfect work of art. Exactly the right mix of leanness and muscle, smooth brown skin flawless.

I knew, by any reasonable standard, that I was pretty. The chat feeds of my stream were littered with enough thirsty comments from my viewers that I needed a mod in the chat at all times to clean them up. I looked good.

But Colton was physically perfect. Struggling out of my own rez suit, I felt uncharacteristically self-conscious. I was lucky to be with this guy.

And then I realized that he was standing over me, looking down at me like I was a prize to be claimed, and my self-consciousness faded. He wanted to take me.

The sight of his cock — which, like the rest of him, was masculine perfection, pointing straight and proud towards me — sent my stomach somersaulting, my clit throbbing.

Colton didn’t even say anything; his body was doing all the talking. He stood between my thighs at the edge of the bed, brought his hands to my legs and pushed them apart.

He didn't have to push very hard; I spread them, eagerly.

The anticipation had me wet enough that I could feel it on the inside of my thighs. I reached down, touching the washboard of his abs again, running my hand down to the lean ridge of muscle pointing the way to his cock.

God. I didn't think it was possible, but I got even wetter, another throb of need running through me. I was panting with it, quivering, desperate for him.

And then, in the space of a second, the void in me was filled, as with a smooth thrust, he slid inside me to the hilt.

He was big, but I was so wet it didn't matter. I groaned with the satisfaction of his thick length impaling me. The sensation along with the view -- the thick base of him just visible, the view of abs flexing as he thrust, the way his arms looked as he pushed my thighs apart...

I stared at him, a vision of virility penetrating me, taking me.

And then he started fucking me in earnest.

Three pumps in and out of me. Five or six seconds worth of my gaze locked on his muscles, rippling and flexing.

"O-oh god," I almost sobbed the words out as he fucked me. "Y-you look so fucking hot, yes-"

The climax swept over me, abrupt and sudden, with as little warning as a flash flood. I shuddered, groaning in pleasure as he fucked me through it, each thrust of his cock sending another shockwave of pleasure through me.

It seemed to go on and on and on, wave after wave.

But eventually, it subsided.

"Mmmngh," I made a protesting whimper as he continued. "W-wait, it's, ah, sensitive-"

He nodded his understanding, pulling away, and I rolled over on the bed, trying to catch my breath.

ENCOUNTER COMPLETED.

Well. That had been something. I lay for a moment, enjoying the lazy, post-orgasmic haze of satisfaction, looking the hard lines of Colton's body up and down.

As the haze faded, embarrassment took over. God, that had been fast. And he hadn't gotten off yet.

Well, I could help with that. We'd hit the encounter threshold for the level, so I doubted I'd get experience, but I didn't care.

I eyed his still-hard cock, speculatively, trying to decide between mouth and hands.

He saw where I was looking and smiled a smug, handsome smile. I blushed; I couldn't help it.

Idly, I checked my experience, wondering what had changed.

EXPERIENCE
Dominance: 5
Satisfaction: 4
Connection: 1
Overall Score: 20

I stared for a moment. There were a number of noteworthy things there.

First, I had gained three points of Satisfaction. Probably one from the encounter -- it seemed like you got a single point by default -- so where had the other two come from?

I pulled up Any% Completion again, re-reading the description.

Any% Completion [C][BASE]
Always on the lookout to set a new record, aren't you? Encounters in which someone finishes faster than they expect will award you one additional point of Dominance or Satisfaction. Encounters where someone finishes faster than anyone expects instead award two additional points of Dominance or Satisfaction.

Oh. My face reddened.

I'd gotten two extra points of Satisfaction because I'd finished faster than either of us had expected. The skill still applied to me.

I wasn't sure that I liked a game mechanic informing me when I'd been easier to get off than a partner had anticipated.

Also -- even though my Overall Score had gone up to 20, I didn't have any new talents available. So you clearly didn't get an upgrade every 10 points; I wondered what increments they came in.

But none of those thoughts were what caught my attention the most.

I'd also somehow lost a point of Connection.

"What the fuck." The question came out as more of a demand.

"Hey, relax. You seemed to have a good time, yeah? Don't you want to..."

He trailed off as I pulled away slightly, turning to face him. "What the fuck," I repeated. "What are your talents and perks?"

Colton sighed. "God dammit. This always happens. Just relax, Chloe. I'm not sure which one's pissing you off, but it's probably either Like Moths To A Flame or Just Another Notch on the Bedpost."

Now that he'd shared them, I pulled them both up, reading rapidly.

Like Moths To A Flame [D] (This is Colton's perk.)

Anyone you haven't fucked yet finds you irresistibly attractive. Until you complete your first encounter with another participant, double your Appearance.

(Currently, your Appearance doubled is 12. You have now had encounters with Becky, Lisa, Will, and Chloe; this perk no longer applies to them.)

Damn. That meant he had a six in Appearance. Way higher than any of my stats.

And as far as I was concerned, apparently that six had been a twelve until just a moment ago. It explained a lot. God, he looked good.

Although even now, I could feel the force of the way he looked lessening. He still looked good, of course, don't get me wrong. But it didn't have the same impact as it had before. I could see some of the vanity, peeking out underneath the perfection; the ego and narcissism in the way he moved.

He was still hot, but the impact was cut significantly.

And then my eyes narrowed as I read the second perk he had shared.

Just Another Notch on the Bedpost [C][BASE] (This is Colton's starting perk.)
You can't seem to connect with other people on anything more than a physical level. At the end of each encounter with participants who have at least one point of Connection, you remove one point of their Connection. You permanently gain +1 Appearance for each point of Connection removed this way.

Your own Connection can never rise higher than 1.

"What the fuck." I said it again, flatly.

"What?" His voice was impassive. "I didn't make the, like, abilities work the way they do."

"If I had one less Connection, I'd be failing the level objective right now, you asshole. I'd be out of the game. Why the fuck wouldn't you warn me?" I shoved at him. It didn't do anything; he was much larger than I was.

"Look, it's not personal." He shrugged. "I'm just trying to get stronger. Stats like Appearance seem harder to come by than the Experience stuff. You'll get more Connection, I'm sure."

I stood up, backing away rapidly and pulling my rez suit back on. "Fuck you."

"You just did." A smile flickered onto his face and then off again as he watched me dress. "Look, I took the same risk you did; it's not like you told me anything about your talents and perks."

"Yeah, because I don't have any talents and perks that drain your fucking stats. You...you fucking vampire. Ugh." I was furious.

"...But you're fine though, right?" He seemed confused. "What's the big deal?"

I flipped him off. "Sociopath."

Right as I was stepping out of the room, I got another system message.

LEVEL COMPLETED.

ALL OBJECTIVES HAVE BEEN MET. YOU WILL ADVANCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

DELOADING WILL BEGIN IN 60 SECONDS.

PLEASE GO TO A QUIET, DARK PLACE TO MINIMIZE SIDE EFFECTS, WHICH MAY INCLUDE: DRY MOUTH, NAUSEA, UPSET STOMACH, CRAMPING, VOMITING, DIARRHEA, DISORIENTATION, HEADACHES, NOSEBLEEDS, EMBOLISMS, VERTIGO, MENTAL CONFUSION, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, LOW BLOOD PRESSURE, HYPERVENTILATION, MOOD SWINGS, PANIC ATTACKS, MEMORY LOSS, EARLY-ONSET DEMENTIA, AND DEATH.

I scanned the message. It looked the sa-wait a minute, had the system added Death to that list of side effects since the last time I'd seen it?

"Shit. Fuck," I muttered. 60 seconds. I tried to shake off the frustration, the anger -- at myself, at Colton, at this stupid game. There were still things I wanted to do.

Hurriedly, I went over to the bar. Alex was standing there, looking at me curiously.

"Shopping, please," I said, quickly. The timer in the corner of my vision was down to 45 seconds.

"You should really get to a quiet, dark place..." But he waved his hand readily enough.

I perused the menu and spent my one remaining Minor Favor on the Statement Lipstick. I figured stacking up a temporary buff to my Verbal might be useful on top of The Voice, and who knew how widely available these things were.

Although I'd been too preoccupied with Colton's appearance to even considering using that ability in this last encounter, I thought bitterly. Damn. It would've been a good encounter to test it on.

36 seconds.

"Thanks, see you later." I gave Alex a little wave; he watched, bemused, as I sprinted for the door of the room Ted and Becky were in.

22 seconds.

I opened it, shut it hurriedly behind me, and crammed myself on the bed next to Ted.

"Chloe?" It was Becky, sounding sleepy.

"Yeah, it's me. How'd things go for you guys?"

"Great. How'd it go for you? Kind of figured you wouldn't be back here..." It was Ted, this time. I could hear the curiosity in his voice.

"Fuck that guy," I said. Ted just snorted.

7 seconds.

"Becky, this is the end of the level. You should really give Ted your Minor Fav-"

"We covered it already, Chloe," Ted said. "She did. Now be quiet, so none of us get brain damage."

I lapsed into silence as the room slowly faded away.

---

DELOADING COMPLETE.

I lay still and quiet for a minute or two before I took off the helmet, thinking.

I could admit it to myself: I was unsettled. Afraid, even.

Up until now, I felt like the mechanics of the game had mostly worked to my advantage, letting me play with other people, direct things the way that I wanted.

This had been the first time I had been on the receiving end of it.

And I hadn't liked it. Not at all.

I considered how effective Colton's abilities had been against me, how helpless I'd been to re-route what had felt like an overwhelming torrent of desire for him.

The memory of what it had felt like -- wanting to see him, to touch him, to have him take me -- was a somewhat sour one in spite of the intensity.

I'd gotten complacent, comfortable. Was there something that would make me less susceptible to the effects of another player with really high Appearance? How would other players might resist my higher Verbal abilities, as they progressed?

There must be some way to protect yourself, I figured. Or else we'd end up in situations where I was shouting around the corner to use my Verbal before I could see people and be impacted by their Appearance.

So what was it? Maybe my Appearance opposed his, and if I raised it a bit, the impact would be less dramatic? Or maybe there would be perks and talents we could pick up that would improve our resistance to the effects of other players' high stats?

I'd been way too comfortable. I was lucky that encounter hadn't ended my run of this game.

And I was determined that it wasn't going to happen again.

Sighing, I pulled off the helmet. Ethan was in the room already; he must've entered the room while I was still rezzing out of the game.

"Welcome back..." He looked at me, awkwardly silent. "I, uh, just saw the recap of your first Tutorial level," he stammered, lamely. He was blushing.

"Yeah? That's interesting," I said aloud, thoughtfully. There was a lot to unpack there. A recap? I wanted to see it. Wanted to see how the footage was being edited together, what the system -- or whoever was doing the editing -- considered most relevant.

And he clearly hadn't expected what the game was about. I thought a bit about what he'd seen; me giving Ted a handjob, teasing him. Making him cum incredibly quickly.

The way that Ethan couldn't seem look me in the eye was confidence-restoring, if nothing else.

"Anything you especially liked?" I felt my lips curve into a smile.

"I-I thought you, um, really...that is, it, uh, looked..." Ethan trailed off, obviously desperately trying to think of something to say. "You seemed to grasp the game mechanics pretty quickly."

I was quite certain he wasn't supposed to be having this conversation with me.

Outside the game, I didn't have the advantage of the system nudging me in the right conversational directions because of my high Verbal score; if I did, maybe I could've thought of a way to get a look at the recap footage myself.

But I could think of plenty of useful things to say to Ethan, who seemed obsessed with me.

And I wasn't about to give up an opportunity to get another advantage. Not after what had happened with Colton.

My smile got sly. "Thanks. Ted liked the way I grasped things too, I think. Otherwise that Any% Completion ability wouldn't have given me the extra points, y'know?" I purred the words out and stretched, languidly, feeling the fabric of the rez suit shift over my breasts.

"Ha, right, y-yeah..." His red face got even redder, and I saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed, hard.

Speaking of which, the guy was hard, visibly tenting his pants.

"Any pointers on my approach?" Still stretching, I moved sit on the edge of the bed closest to him. "Or maybe there's something you'd like to see me do on a future recap?" I murmured it as softly as I could, looking up at him. "Always happy to take requests from...fans."

I let that hang in the air.

"I-I, uh..." And then he glanced down at his tablet and appeared to gather himself. "I need to get you to medical. Last round of between level tests."

He stepped away from me and turned towards the door, obviously pointedly trying not to look back at me.

But I was satisfied with that. The seed had been planted. I felt back in control of what was going on.

And I wasn't going to let what had happened with Colton happen ever again.