Trials, p.7
Trials, page 7
“I do. We just need to hope that our members can hold the line and make sure Taya and the others are ready to weather the storm.”
“Alright, let’s get into the details…”
Kate and Xeal spent another hour going over the various scenarios that could play out. These were based on both what Xeal knew from his last life and Kate’s current read on the situation. However, everything was uncharted waters for both of them, due to no major wars starting before players reached tier-7 in Xeal’s last life and this being the first such conflict that Kate had been a part of in ED. Though she did have past experience from other VR games that was applicable due to Abysses End’s involvement in them to fall back on.
When they finally finished, Xeal returned to grinding for a few hours until it was time to return home to spend the night with his family in ED. As he sat on his balcony overlooking the lodging that had originally been set up for only the three-day marriage interviews between beast-men and the nobles of Nium, he couldn’t help but smile at its current state. While there had been more than a few nobles who had left of their own accord, most had stayed and were working hard with the beast-men. The crafters that Xeal had supplied to train them had been an excellent idea, as while none of them were close to being masters, they were decent novices already. While this meant that making cheap arrows, processing materials to save other crafters time, or basic sewing tasks were all they could reliably handle, it was still more useful than what they would be up to if they left. Even if it was pissing off most nobles in one way or another as they called for Xeal to accept more young nobles, or return them all to their houses. Xeal had rejected both as he commented that as far as he was concerned, those that remained had already accepted him as their patron. Even if there were still more than a few formalities to take care of before they were officially sponsored.
When day 102 arrived, Xeal once more found himself with Kate and Levina as he got ready to log out for one of his short breaks. He also once again found himself being overwhelmed by the amount of electricity that she was pushing through him like it was nothing, as like last time he only lasted around five minutes. As he worked to recover enough to move, Levina got dressed before speaking in a tone of mild annoyance.
“I would have thought that you would have at least shown some improvement since yesterday, but it seems that you just don’t have the motivation to make this happen on a short timetable. Perhaps you will reach where you need to be in another decade or so, but not before the next major battle.”
“So I will return from my break and spend the next week here as you repeat this over and over again whenever my stamina recovers.”
“Won’t do any good. You gained all of 2 seconds. That isn’t even a one percent increase. If you keep that pace, you won’t even reach ten minutes after 100 of these sessions. As much as I love seeing you and you letting me touch you like this, if you are going to improve you need more motivation.”
“Are you saying that ensuring Nium wins the war and my family is safe isn’t enough motivation?!”
“Xeal, your family will be safe regardless and while your guild collapsing would devastate you, it is not enough to truly push you to your limit any more. No, you need something far more immediate and undesirable to you for motivation. Any ideas, Kate?”
“Having to show you affection would certainly do the trick,” quipped Kate. “But you would simply increase the difficulty and ensure that he failed to get your prize then. So, let’s go with you have to spend your recovery time letting either Ekaitza, Lumikkei, Malgroth, or Lughrai hold you as you do so.”
“You are so mean to me.” Levina pouted. “Though I was going to suggest him having to give a kiss to either me, or one of my sisters selected randomly.”
“Not all of them would say yes to that,” retorted Xeal. “Also, Kate, are you really saying that I dread showing any of them affection more than the fall of Nium?”
“Yes, you are utterly terrified of letting one of them in as you believe it will allow all four in. Of those who are actively expressing interest in you, you only fear letting the phoenixes in more right now. Yes, you would rather let Princess Bianca, or Princess Lorena in at this point!”
Xeal wanted to deny Kate’s words, but a part of him worried that she was right as he responded to her.
“Fine, I will leave this to you to explain to the others, but you aren’t to even let Ekaitza, Lumikkei, Malgroth, or Lughrai know about this until I fail to reach whatever goal we have for our next session.”
“Very well,” replied Kate, “Five minutes and 30 seconds, as you made it to five minutes and 18 seconds this time.”
“Great, so I only need to show six times more improvement. Kate, are you still in favor of letting one of them in?”
“Yes, but not to the same extent that I once was as I think you are pretty much at 16 already, assuming that Daisy, Violet, Bula and Dafasli all reach tier-7 with you. They are more likely than not at this point.”
“How did things get to this point?” asked Xeal rhetorically.
“You fell in love with two women that couldn’t refuse to share you and they let a princess in who sees the number of brides you have as something to be proud of and well, you were love starved in your last life,” replied Kate half sarcastically.
“Last life?” asked Levina in a tone of genuine curiosity. “What does she mean by that, Xeal?”
Kate blinked a few times as she mentally cursed herself for slipping up, as Xeal sighed before replying.
“The concept of reincarnation exists in my reality and it is said that part of who we are is influenced by who we were in a past life at times. In this case, the joke is that I must have been a sad and lonely man who lacked the care and affection of others in my last life, despite having a deep desire for it. So, now I can’t help but find something to love about any woman I allow to get close to me.”
Xeal could tell from the slight frown on Levina’s face that she wasn’t buying his story. However, a second later she smiled as she responded to him.
“I see, so there is hope for me to find a way into your heart, I just need to get close to you. Is this close enough?”
As Levina said that, she lay down on the ground right next to Xeal as she let her body brush up against him and smiled. Xeal just shook his head at the playfully taunting look she was giving him, as he stood up and left for the day before logging out. He knew that just like Kate would have, she had calculated the pros and cons of pushing for the truth at that moment and had made the right call for the greatest long-term benefit.
(*****)
Morning April 20 to Evening April 28, 2268 & ED Year 6 Days 103-129.
Time in reality might as well have not existed for all the productivity that Alex got done during the two one-hour breaks he was taking each day. He didn’t even see any part of the house but the VR pod room, his bathroom, the hallway and stairs to the upstairs dining room, the inside of the elevator and the nursery. Most breaks it was roughly in that order as well, as Gido brought him something to eat while Alex focused on his kids and the few moments he got with Sam, Nicole, Ava, Mia and Kate. All of whom were being great about dealing with the current state of things, though time would tell if they could deal with it long term. Especially once they were barely seeing him in ED once things really started to get going.
While Alex remained in his 22 hours a day in ED schedule, the rest of the house continued life as usual for the most part. Ava and Mia were still keeping to a feeding schedule for their kids, Kate was pulling a few 22-hour days as well and Tara was beyond overworked as she took on even more responsibility, both in and out of ED. Thankfully, Sam, Nicole, Clara and Fred were able to help Tara out with most of it, but it was clear to all that once this phase was over, Tara would need a vacation from work for a good bit. Still, everything was running as smoothly as could be expected in reality with everything considered.
Days 103 to 121 in ED were a blur to Xeal, as he remained focused on simply leveling and improving his and his party’s abilities. This of course included trips to Levina every time he was about to do admin work, to exhaust his stamina while trying to improve his control over electricity. Surprisingly to Xeal, Kate’s threat of being held by one of the four dragonoid women actually was effective, at least in part. Xeal had only made it four days before he missed a target. At this they had learned of the deal and one of them was making themselves available each day on a rotational basis. Xeal found that he was also failing to reach his goal one out of every three daily visits after they had arrived. A fact that Kate was quick to point out after he had repeated this pattern three times. As she put it, he was slowly giving into them and if he wasn’t careful they would find a way in, after which Xeal started to succeed nine out of ten times.
Though each time he failed, Kate was quick to ask him if he was just looking for an excuse to be held to relieve some mental exhaustion. Xeal had just smiled at this idea as he suggested that she let him rest on her whenever he succeeded then. So it was that that Xeal found himself enjoying ten minutes of laying his head in Kate’s lap most of the time after that, as she used it as an opportunity to get a head start on their meeting that would follow. The pouting faces of the dragonoid women during this made Xeal decide to keep his eyes closed to avoid seeing them as he focused on relaxation. He felt slightly guilty about the system Kate had set up where Ekaitza, Lumikkei, Malgroth and Lughrai were only allowed to respond to Xeal’s words and weren’t allowed to initiate a conversation. He knew that they had agreed to it simply to have any chance of gaining ground, but he was also just staying quiet in an effort to keep the interaction as awkward as possible. Still, they had taken to doing things like stroking his hair, or humming softly as they tried to mimic the same things that they had watched Xeal do with his wives in similar situations.
It was also this situation that Xeal had found himself discussing with Austru when he had visited her. For the most part she had been satisfied with Kate’s explanation that had been included in a letter. Though she had several questions for Xeal. These revolved mainly around his feelings on the situation and if he thought it was working. After which they had enjoyed a good night of snuggling as Xeal focused on just enjoying the break for what it was. When the time had come for him to leave in the morning, he reluctantly did so after a few more hugs and kisses. That was until the ruse in ED started on the 26th, though all that changed was that he was offline for four hours a day as he mimicked what he would be doing during his tier-7 tribulation.
When day 122 came around, Xeal found himself at level 197 and quickly approaching level 198 as the next arena league started. Once more, few if any members of FAE’s main arena team were participating as they were instead joining Xeal and others in the main force that had been selected in vanishing from the public eye. Kate had been sure to only select the members that she was absolutely positive wouldn’t leak the details of the ruse as they all entered clearable dungeons like the kobold mines, or the Vault of Ucnuc had been. For Xeal and his party this was the dungeon at the center of the Mist Woods, where they used safe zones to get rest and recover regularly. Xeal realized that this was also the first time that he would be spending downtime with both Lucy and Sylvi, as he still assessed if the cleric of Freya that Gale had found for his party was a fit.
“Is this really how the next month plus here is going to go?” asked Lucy, sounding bored.
“You should really learn how to be grateful for times like these,” replied Sylvi. “They are important as when we are out in the field like this, they will be how we recharge between each struggle that is before us.”
“I get it. I just have so many other things that I could be taking care of right now if I was allowed to!”
“Lucy, we can’t,” replied Xeal. “If our work is getting done like normal it will ruin the ruse.”
“I know that, though I just think you wanted to get out of doing any of the work that the arena leagues create for you.”
“What are you talking about, I have you for that now,” quipped Xeal. “Or did Kate fail to let you know that your job includes that?”
“You still need to look over it, or have you been approving it without looking at it?”
“No, he has been having Aalin handle it,” interjected Eira. “Gale, Luna and Selene do a fair bit of work behind the scenes as well now.”
“Oh, what are they trading admin work for time with you?” questioned Lucy. “Xeal, that is not how things should be run!”
“Lucy, I know what all of them are capable of and trust them to handle things how I want them to be done. If I didn’t delegate everything that I possibly can, I would never get anything done. You need to be building a team that you can do the same with. Speaking of which, how has yours and Gale’s recruitment been going?”
“How any of the women you are in a relationship with can stand you shoving work off on them is beyond me. As for the special players, well, let’s just say that they are currently gathering in Muthia until you can find a way to get them here.”
“Good, that will work for now. As for me shoving work off on those I see as my wives, well, they are just as much owners of FAE as I am in my mind. Are you saying that if you were married and your partner owned a business that was bringing in enough income that it covered all the bills, that you wouldn’t be willing to lend a hand?”
“He has you there,” interjected Sylvi. “A marriage is a true partnership when done right. While each member of it may have different roles, they still need to work together and support the other where they can. For me that was ensuring that my late husband could count on me to heal him in battle and I could trust him to keep me safe from attack at the same time. You’re a cleric as well, you should know what I am talking about.”
“No,” replied Lucy. “I don’t expect that I will have the same relationship with my partner if and when I find one. I don’t want them doing my work and I have enough work of my own to handle to take on any of theirs. Also, I don’t see myself being attracted to someone who just wants me to stay back and heal them.”
“That just sounds sad,” commented Daisy. “We hope that if he lets us in, that Xeal will be happy to let us have that kind of relationship with him.”
“Yes, else we will feel like a burden to him,” added Violet.
“Lucy, you are free to handle your relationships however you like,” cut in Xeal as he took control of the conversation. “However, for me, those I am with, it is nothing short of a full partnership. That said, I am also lucky enough to not need to withhold information from them as you might find yourself being forced to do. Unless you plan to only date other vice guild leaders of FAE.”
“Oh god, no! I want to be able to leave work at work,” retorted Lucy. “I will leave the sharing the work to cooking, cleaning and raising the kids if we have any.”
“The ways of your kind are weird to me,” commented Sylvi. “To me there is no difference between being at home and work. Life is work. Yes, there are moments of relaxation between the work. Killing monsters, raising kids, cleaning, cooking, even practicing one’s faith is work. To separate them by where they are performed just ignores reality as a whole.”
“You are not wrong,” agreed Xeal. “It’s part of why I believe in paying others to handle any work that I don’t need to do when I can afford to do so. Work that others can do, but I need full confidence in it being done correctly and discreetly, is where my wives come in when possible.”
“Sure, now can we change topics?” asked Lucy. “Like how long until you see Abysses End taking the bait….”
Xeal just smiled as he obliged Lucy as they shifted topics for a bit, before setting up guard shifts and getting some sleep in. Xeal was just thankful that the dungeon’s safe zones were closed rooms in this one that had enough room to set up a proper camp, as he snuggled with Eira in their private tent. The look of contentment on her face at knowing that she likely had over four weeks that would be spent like this was obvious. At the same time, seeing the others in the morning was rather awkward for Xeal, especially Bula who was still doing her best to ignore her desires towards him. Desires that Xeal was intimately familiar with thanks to Freya and he couldn’t help but wish that he wasn’t.
Days 123 to 127 continued like this as Xeal reached level 198 while the rest of his party, save Lucy, had already reached the tier-6 level cap of 199 and started to focus on leveling up their experience items. Xeal had to hold in a laugh as he thought about how he would only have a few days at best to focus on his own experience items. This was one of the real costs of Xeal’s need for one and a half times experience, as his whole party had weeks to focus on leveling such gear up and he didn’t. The fact that having such equipment could be almost necessary to reach tier-7 for any but the top players, depending on their tribulation, made Xeal feel like he was going in at a disadvantage. He just hoped that his elevated stats didn’t increase the difficulty of his tribulation too much. Though after comparing his tier-6 ordeal to what he knew was normal, he didn’t hold much hope of that being the case.
Day 128 started out normal enough and Xeal thought that it would be an uneventful day just like the ones before. Only just before they would have normally been calling it a night, he received a message from Taya. Abysses End was launching simultaneous attacks targeting FAE members in every single country outside of Nium and another human wave attack was headed for the border forts. Xeal just wanted to sigh as he pondered how to respond to the threat as his reemergence would likely have multiple effects. The first of these would be the nature of his reemergence as if he reappeared at level 198 like he was, the instant rumor would be that he failed his tier-7 tribulation. The result of this would depend on a few different scenarios and how the story got spread as if he willingly failed it to counter Abysses End’s assault, it could elevate his image significantly. However, it would also encourage Abysses End to continue their assaults in hopes to keep Xeal from being able to reach tier-7 at all. On the other hand, if he failed due to not being up for the task, his image as the top expert in all of ED would be shattered and it could have worse effects than not showing up at all. Though it would also likely cause the assaults to pause for a longer time as Abysses End would think that Xeal was going to undergo extensive training to attempt to reach tier-7.
