Hot Spring Weekend 7 – Addressed (Patreon)

Distance did do enough to blend out the distant moans. When John meant to, he could still perceive the gasps of his loves with his superhuman senses. For Hailey and her regular hearing, this would be fine enough. ‘Maybe if I get Eliana to cum her brains out…’ John considered. ‘…Would probably work. Should I do it though?’

‘No,’ his crocodilian advisor responded immediately.

‘Point taken,’ John surrendered and wrestled down his lustful thoughts.

Hailey’s cabin was much like their own. Cramped furniture, a bedroom, a tiled floor, the only real difference appeared to be the lack of a furnace. John had gotten comfortable on the couch; Hailey had taken the armchair. There was a silence in the room that the Gamer did not know how to bridge. Intuition told him that he should leave it untouched.

Silence was the greatest oratory skill of all. Wielded correctly, there was nothing more impactful than a pause. To forego the importance of silence in speeches was to forego the importance of salt in cooking. Between two people, to let the moments pass with nothing said was better than a swarm of unwelcome words.

Hailey stared at her shifting fingers. Her crossed legs changed around almost as often as her thumbs. Audibly, she forced herself to exhale. The discomfort was written all over her body language and John appreciated that. That she showed this level of trouble openly to him was a great leap from the controlled display she had put on after he had first saved her. Not that John believed that back then had been faked. Rather, she had no need to focus on staying in control this time around.

Footsteps soon approached the open door. First to enter was Rave, wearing her pink bodysuit. Doubtlessly, it had been the quickest thing to toss on. Second was Scarlett, in a peculiar combination of her red suit shirt and hotpants, that looked like she had just been dragged out of the bed. Only the orderly state of her long, red hair belied that impression. Last was Delicia, who was in her maid outfit.

‘What are you doing here?’ the Gamer mentally asked the smug maid.

‘Decided to tag along. I do have some worthwhile things to say on how to get stronger as a crafter, believe it or not.’ Delicia’s response had John reconsider and then agree that she should indeed be there. ‘Wise choice.’

The three haremettes sat down next to John on the couch. For once, they lined up in a casual manner. The Gamer could not quite suppress the urge to grab Scarlett’s thigh, but that was about as sexual as they got. No close cuddling, no arms around them, no kisses, just them sitting next to each other, across from the country gal. Hailey, in her white shirt, the front decorated with a washed-out version of the American flag, and hotpants fidgeted around for a little bit longer.

Finally, John decided to break the silence. “Exceeding human potential is not as easy as hanging around us may have made it seem. I swear to God this is relevant… how familiar are you with Warhammer 40k?”

“I love reading up on the lore?” Hailey’s answer was understandably confused.

“Oh great, another one,” Rave groaned.

“I like to use the different members of the Imperium of Man as metaphors for the Abyssal power distribution,” the Gamer told her. “At the bottom rung you have the civilians. Most Abyssals don’t exceed the power of mundane people by much, if at all. Magic is a tool of convenience for them, not much more prominent in their life than little gadgets like lighters and electronic toothbrushes are for you. They benefit from the miraculous aspects of it of course, such as the elimination of most diseases and genetic defects. We’ll see if science catches up on that.”

Hailey nodded along. “So second layer is the Imperial Guardsman?”

“Yeah,” John confirmed with a nod. “People equipped, by a bit of talent and hard work, with some powers that let them shape the world around them a bit more. Granted, Imperial Guardsmen are just a metaphor for power here, not freedom. The point is that these people are above the usual civilian, albeit not by so much that they are unreachable. Even people that can create fireballs in their hands can be taken out by a normal guy with a golf club, in the right circumstances.”

“And that ain’t the case as we get higher…” Hailey made the logical conclusion.

“Yeah. Before we get to the next step, how much of the Abyss do you think we’ve covered with just these first two?” the Gamer asked.

Hailey considered the question for a long while. Her references so far were skewed. She had only seen three kidnappers and twenty of the most powerful people in the entire Abyss so far. “About 80%?” she asked.

“About 99,9%,” the Gamer corrected her. Hailey’s eyebrow shot up immediately. “The cruellest part of the Abyss may be that, no matter what you do, birth dictates where you may go.” John directed his gaze at the ceiling. “To put it in mundane terms, wealth inequality may be dealt with by several means, but no one can help you outcompete the man that was born taller, more handsome, and smarter than you. It’s a fundamental unfairness of life that some people are born with more talent and ability than others. In the Abyss, these differences are intensified to a ludicrous degree. One person can be born with a bad leg, the other with the potential to reshape entire landscapes in an afternoon.”

“Ain’t nothin’ we can do about that,” Hailey remarked with a shrug. The dismissiveness made John raise an eyebrow. “If I was cursin’ the bad luck of where I was put in life all the time, I’d have too many wrinkles to appreciate what assets Jesus blessed me with,” she elaborated her thoughts on the matter. “Ya can take your hand or curse existence. One ain’t productive.”

“That’s true.” John nodded. His thoughts on the matter were practically the same. It still depressed him when he considered the fundamental unfairness they were dealing with. “Anyway, the 0,1% of the Abyss, the Space Marine category. Here we have people with honed Innate Abilities or extreme talent for martial arts. They reach a level of power where it would take dozens, if not hundreds, of people below their rank to threaten them. They’re the elite of the Abyss, the people that can only be stopped by each other.”

“And above them are the Primarchs,” Hailey drawled. “That include you?”

“Yes and no,” the Gamer responded. “By the level brackets I use for these, I am currently in that category. There’s no more than a thousand individuals of this power level on the entire globe. The Abyss population is small compared to the mundane world, but it still numbers in the millions. What’s more, because magical power delays aging exponentially as it goes up, people in this category live for thousands of years. There’s a higher number of Primarch level Abyssals as a percentage may suggest, for that reason. Back to me… my potential is to reach the very top of the food chain. The metaphorical God Emperor of Mankind level.”

“And how many are currently in that?” Hailey asked.

“Only counting humans, gods have their own power scaling…” John took a moment to consider. There was Romulus, the Apex, of course. Then there was Lucifrena, as unclear as her existence was at the moment. Eliana counted and did not simultaneously. Same could be said for Izha. Then there was the question of Remus. “One, by the conservative estimate,” John gave the most accurate answer. “Five or six, if we expand the category as much as possible.” He added the ruler of the Mandate of Heaven for that, with their bestowed godly power.

“And you’ll join that rank?”

“We all will,” Rave threw in there, causing Hailey’s eyebrow to shoot up. “Ya see this thing?” Rave pulled up Scarlett’s shirt until the Lover’s Will mark was visible. The redhead crossed her arms in reaction to being the display piece. “It’s more than a fancy showcase of love and a super-hot body mark. Anyone who has it has their potential raised to tiger’s level. In other words, the entire harem can eventually get all the way to the top.”

“That’s some grade-a bullshit if I’ve ever heard it,” Hailey stated.

“Bullshit is apt,” Scarlett stated and smacked Rave’s hand away, now that the point had been made. “This idiot is the strongest Abyssal to be born in over ten-thousand years. If he’s not stopped soon, it’s a foregone conclusion that we’ll be the new rulers of this world.”

“The pervs will inherit the Earth!” Delicia added with a giant grin. “We should put that on a billboard! Can you imagine the faces? Pfff, bwhahahaahaha.” The shortstack repeatedly slapped the armrest of the couch.

“The point of this is to give you an overview of the numbers involved,” the Gamer told her. “And where you can stand in relation to the overall population. As a Latebloomer, your potential will be between upper Space Marine and Primarch level. We can find that out pretty easily. You just need to join my party for one second.”

The moment he said that, the window appeared in front of Hailey. The stunning green eyes of the country gal switched to the blue game screen that hovered in front of her. Bending forwards, she tried to look behind it. It was the first time she directly saw any of his screens. “I wasn’t fully convinced ya actually had game-themed abilities,” she confessed. “Sounded too out here to be true, kinda like an EF3 in December.”

“What’s an EF3?” Rave asked.

“”Big tornado,”” John and Hailey responded in unison. They glanced at each other in unison, then snickered in unison. Relaxed, the country gal fell against the backrest of her armchair. One button press later, the Gamer pulled up the corresponding window.

“Potential max level of 400,” the Gamer reported. “About middle of the Primarch field. About what I expected. Alright. First thing I can do for you.” John reached into his inventory and retrieved a flask. The liquid inside consisted of swirling shades of gold that refused to blend together totally, with sparkles of silver mixed in. The container itself was elegant, topped with a glass stopper that sat tightly in the narrow opening. It came with a holster, which John put aside. “This is a Soulpotion,” he explained. “I can fill it by killing monsters inside dungeons I create. Drinking it gives a flat amount of Experience, at least when used in conjunction with my ability. That flat amount is too low to do anything for me or the friends I used it on anymore. For you, it should make an immediate difference.”

After taking it from him, Hailey immediately pulled out the top and downed the thing in one go. Whatever doubts she had regarding him had either evaporated or she had come to the conclusion that she had no choice but to trust him. In either case, she licked the remaining traces off her lips. “Tastes kinda bland,” she drawled. “I ain’t feeling anything yeeeeee-“

Hailey shuddered all over, as John pressed the button to assign two of his monthly party level-ups to her. What other girls would have barely noticed was an actual spike in Hailey’s Stats, from a total of 65 to a total of 75.

John had no idea which Stats had gotten increased by that. The moaning breath she took pointed to a notable increase in Libido. Otherwise, there was no physical change. Albeit, when his Gamer powers were concerned, such adjustments were usually rolled out gradually to prevent mundanes from noticing their fantastical speed.

To get confirmation on what had changed would have only taken tapping on her screen in the party menu. Because he was still courting her, he denied himself that option. It was the kind of invasion of her privacy that he avoided until they were at that point in their relationship where they let each other access their smartphones.

“That’s… wow,” Hailey stretched. “I’m light’r and my skull’s less clogged.” She furrowed her eyebrows and grabbed her boobs. She released them and they moved in that stiff fashion a bra forced on nature’s second greatest spheres of squishiness. No further elaboration on that action was given. “So, what’s next? Y’all keep feeding me those potions?”

John put the Accessory away, while answering the question, “No, that was a one-time thing. I rarely bother recharging the Soulpotion. Plus, that makes you dependent on me. We’re in agreement that we don’t want that, right?”

“That’s right, purrdy man.” Hailey gave him an intense nod.

“The problem we’re facing is that you may have potential, but your particular Innate Ability does not lend itself to direct power increases. The other one is that my levelling situation is pretty unique and that’s why I have my lovely assistants here.” John put his hand back on Scarlett’s thigh.

“The question is what exactly you’re after,” Scarlett immediately took over, her tone that of the CEO schooling a potential assistant. “If you want physical power, you can dabble in martial arts. Jane here can try to teach you… although I recommend you ask Lydia instead, because Jane fucking sucks at explaining things.”

“Hey! Don’t undermine me in front of the new gal!”

“Undermine, sure.” Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Basic martial arts are a thing you should learn at some point or another regardless. Even if you’re a maker, having enough fighting skills to kick away the small fry is going to take a load off everyone’s mind. For magic power, you can always try your hand at arcane magic. It’s the universal form that everyone can learn to some degree.” The redhead looked over to Delicia. “You’re an actual pure crafter, how did you go about growing stronger?”

“In alchemy, when you brew something, you are effectively in soul contact with the materials,” Delicia explained. “It’s not as effective as regular training and it doesn’t boost your physical strength by much, but you do grow stronger. So, I’ll have to correct you two on her doing her thing not being of use at all. You just got to give her more interesting materials and challenges. That’d boost her Spellpower, as John’s system calls it.”

“Why can’t ya talk this clearly all the time?” Rave asked.

“Psh, you don’t want scientific Delicia around all the time, she’s a bore.” The alchemist waved off with a grin. “Also, there’s always option three: you can become like me.”

“No,” John denied immediately.

“What does she mean?” Hailey investigated, as anyone would have. “Turn me into a crystal soul? Ya can do that for others?”

“Two more and it would mean you’re in a bound contract with me, if you want to have a body and the full benefits,” the Gamer told her. “Which is the opposite of the freedom from paranoia you want right now.”

“Yeah, dispensin’ with that option.” Hailey crossed her arms in front of her chest. Wiggling her torso, as if she was incapable of finding a comfortable position, she pondered, “Can I do all three?”

“If you’re willing to put in the time.” Scarlett rolled her shoulders. “I’d personally recommend you get some basic martial art’s schooling and then test Delicia’s method. The primary resistance to mind control effects is your willpower and intellect, both get trained by that kind of work. Arcane magic offers you nothing your bullshit powers couldn’t build.”

“I could build somethin’ that calls a star from the sky?”

“…Almost nothing,” Scarlett surrendered in an annoyed tone. Someone didn’t like that her engineering could only provide so much firepower.

“I’ll be sponsoring some more expensive building materials then,” John said out loud. “Some.” The insistence on that word had a clear underlying message: he was not a charity. Hailey knew that. A reminder was occasionally helpful. “We’ll see to that from Monday forwards.”

“I’ll see to that.” The redhead flipped some of her hair back. “You’ll stare at our asses while wondering what we’re doing.”

“Those butts won’t be marvelled at by themselves,” the Gamer told her. “Anyway, what do you want to do, Hailey?”

“I’ll follow Rayd’s recommendation,” the country gal drawled. “Ain’t failed me yet.”

“Guess I’m gonna do some meditating with ya then,” Rave said. “Martial arts are great. Can’t wait to see what that does to ya.”

John left them to it, he was no longer needed there.