Harem Master - RPG story Ch. 023

Hey, another chapter of Harem Master here today! If you're interested, I also updated my other story, The Collector, and I already have quite a lot of chapters ready. I'll be submitting them two at a time, because this way they get accepted much faster than when I try to upload a bunch at once.

But back to Harem Master. I hope you like it!

--- Asher Montgomery ---

Asher opened his eyes, and suddenly he was back in the Academy. The sun was slightly shining through the window, but he realized that it was just a sunrise and it was still early.

He wondered about his weird dream--he was kissing a monster. A hot and sexy monster, but still, it was a dryad. Typically, they would want to kill each other. He rubbed his eyes, realizing that it must have been because of all the sex in his life and the stress of his first exploration being combined in a dream.

He licked his lips, remembering her sweet taste and really refreshing smell. Asher shook his head, asking himself what he was thinking about.

To occupy his mind with something else, he checked his status.

---

Name: Asher Montgomery

Age: 18

Class: Harem Master (Support)

Class level: 4 (25%) (2 skill point(s) available)

Harem level: 11 (46%) (0 skill point(s) available)

Harem partners (4/4):

- Elara River - Swift Blade (Assassin) - Relationship level: 7 (84%) (0 skill point(s) available)

- Ava Black - Fire Mage (Mage) - Relationship level: 5 (10%) (1 skill point(s) available)

- Rachel Shaw - Arcane Witch (Support) - Relationship level: 3 (50%) (0 skill point(s) available)

- Sam West - Aegis Defender (Tank) - Relationship level: 2 (61%) (2 skill point(s) available)

Stats:

Strength: 2

Agility: 4

Intelligence: 9

Vitality: 4

HP: 45/45

Mana: 61/61

Abilities:

- Building Harem (Level 4 - Active - Cooldown: 24 hours): Harem Master can recruit people to join his harem. Activate skill and kiss the target to offer joining the harem. Allowed harem size: 4. Master and partners have a relationship level that grants upgrade points that can be spent to upgrade the partner's class.

- Building Relationship (Level 3 - Passive): To increase the relationship level, Harem Master and partner need to gain experience points through: kissing (level 1 relationship required), touching in intimate regions (level 2 relationship required), oral (level 3 relationship required).

- Stats Amplification (Level 2 - Passive): Master doesn't get his own stats, in return, he gains 5% of each of his member's stats as additional points to his stats.

- Partner Enhancement (Level 2 - Active - Cooldown: 1 hour - Duration: 10 minutes): Master can boost 1 stat of 1 of his partners by 10 points.

- Additional protection (Level 1 (Max) - Passive - Toggle: On): When toggled on, skill guarantees that any member of the harem will not get pregnant with Harem Master.

- Lover's Gift (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 24 hours): The Harem Master can temporarily clone one of a Harem Member's skills. To borrow a skill, the Harem Master must engage in vaginal intercourse with the specific harem member whose skill they wish to clone. The borrowed skill retains the level possessed by the harem member but cannot exceed the Harem Master's Lover's Gift level. The cloned skill remains usable for 24 hours before entering a 7-day lockout period, during which it cannot be borrowed again.

---

He had a fourth class level, but he couldn't remember when he got it... He didn't get an announcement. Unless... it was after the fight with the Spader Dame. He was unconscious for a moment, and the fight certainly had given him a lot of experience points.

Without stat points to distribute, he focused on his skills, opened the window with upgrades to his class, and discovered that he had one new skill available.

---

Skills upgrades:

- Building Harem (Level 4 -> 5 - Active - Cooldown: 24 hours): Allowed harem size: 4 >> 5 (1 point)

- Building Relationship (Level 3 -> 4 - Passive): Next action: A Harem Member must swallow the Harem Master's cum (level 4 relationship required) (2 points)

- Stats Amplification (Level 2 -> 3 - Passive) - Master gains 5% >> 10% of every one of his member's stats as additional points to his stats (5 points)

- Partner Enhancement (Level 2 -> 3 - Active - Cooldown: 1 hour, duration: 10 minutes): Master can boost 1 stat of 1 -> 2 of his partners by 10 points (5 points)

New skills:

- Erotic Heal (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 12 hours): Master can heal 10% health points by kissing his partner (1 point)

- Lover Sacrifice (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 24 hours, duration: 5 minutes): Harem Master can lower his health to 1 point and guarantee 1 of his partners a 100% increase in all of their stats (3 points)

- Conqueror (Level 1 - Passive): The Harem Master deals an additional 1 damage from all sources for every woman he has had sex with in the last 24 hours (2 points)

- Master's Gift (Level 1 (Max) - Active - Cooldown: None): The Harem Master can transfer his skill points to any of his harem members (1 point)

---

The new skill, Master's Gift, allowed him to transfer his skill points to women in his harem. At the moment, he had two, and looking through the list of his skills, he really needed those points, so giving them up didn't sound like an option.

Conqueror would allow him to deal more damage. With his harem completed and Rachel, he could have sex with all of them before exploration to deal an additional six damage. It wasn't a lot, but at least something.

Then he stopped, wondering how casually he was thinking about having sex with six different women. But it seemed that it was his new life, or at least he was heading that way. And he wasn't going to complain about it.

He thought that perhaps he should upgrade Building Relationship to earn more experience points. The daily limit was rising along with relationship levels, and with five members that potentially would want to reach it every day, it would be good to have options to do it quickly. Otherwise, he would spend the whole day having sex. Would that be so bad?

He considered upgrading Stats Amplification and Partner Enhancement, but they cost five points each, so it was quite a lot.

Soon, he would level up the new members of his harem and he would have points to spend on upgrades. As he was looking at the list of his skills, the Building Relationship upgrade seemed like a good choice.

He could have upgraded it immediately, but he still needed a point to increase Building Harem level and add Naomi later that day. But from adding her, he would get a level up and again have two points, so he could upgrade Building Relationship then.

He would also learn today if there was a limit to the number of members he could have. He hoped that there wasn't, because otherwise Rachel would need to leave his harem, and he would lose a lot of potential skills that he could borrow from her.

And with unlimited potential for the number of harem members he could--

Asher shook his head, interrupting his thoughts and fantasies, focusing on Elara's status.

---

Name: Elara River

Age: 18

Class: Swift Blade (Assassin)

Class level: 4 (25%) (0 skill points available)

Member of Harem (Harem Owner: Asher Montgomery)

Relationship level: 7 (84%) (0 skill point(s) available)

Stats:

Strength: 16

Agility: 19

Intelligence: 2

Vitality: 5

HP: 50/50

Abilities:

- Fast Attack (Level 2 - Active - Cooldown: 5 minutes - Upgraded): Performs fast attack, user gets 6 point stats into agility for a single attack.

- Better eyesight (Level 1 - Passive): Owner can slightly better detect traps in dungeons.

- Nimble movement (Level 2 - Passive): Owner has a moderately boosted chance to evade attacks.

- Master essence (Level 2 - Passive): If there is Harem Master's cum in the user's body, the user gets 10 bonus stat points to agility.

- Powerful attack (Level 2 - Active - Cooldown: 30 minutes - Available): Next user's attack deals an additional 30 damage, only available to use when the user has achieved orgasm through the Harem Master in the last 3 hours.

---

Asher noticed that she had already distributed her free stat points and spent her skill points to upgrade Fast Attack and Nimble Movement. She had also spent all relationship skill points, but he still checked the upgrades available for her.

---

Skill upgrades:

- Better Eyesight (Level 1 -> 2): in addition, detects hidden places and treasures (1 point)

- Master Essence (Level 2 -> 3) - If there is Harem Master cum in the skill owner's body, the owner gains 10 -> 15 bonus stat points to agility. (1 point)

- Powerful Attack (Level 2 -> 3 - Active - Cooldown: 30 -> 25 minutes): Next attack deals additional 30 -> 40 damage. Only available to use when the user has achieved orgasm through the Harem Master in the last 3 -> 4 hours. (2 points)

New skills:

- Final Blow (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 24 hours): Skill owner can perform a finishing attack that kills the enemy instantly. Available to use and works only when the opponent's HP is below 5% (3 points)

- Master Love (Level 1 - Passive): Master's feelings towards the skill owner boost all her stats by up to 10% (5 points)

- Shared Satisfaction (Level 1 - Passive): Grants additional passive bonuses for twenty-four hours after making another member of the harem come. All the bonuses can be active at the same time. Available bonuses: (3 points)

- Ava Black: Using Fast Attack infuses the weapon with magic fire, causing the next attack to deal an additional 3 dmg (2 dmg + 50% intelligence).

- Rachel Shaw: Powerful Attack additionally weakens opponent's speed by 15% for 5 minutes.

- Sam West: Additional HP: +10

---

Upgrading Master Essence or Powerful Attack seemed like a good choice, and it wasn't expensive, but Shared Satisfaction seemed like a potentially powerful skill too. However, Sam wasn't interested in having sex with women, so that excluded her bonus.

Asher wondered if Naomi or Tiffany would be interested, but both of them seemed rather shy. However, it didn't mean that they wouldn't be willing to try. But that could wait, as he didn't want to scare them away.

Then he moved to Ava's status.

---

Name: Ava Black

Age: 19

Class: Fire Mage (Mage)

Class level: 4 (10%) (0 skill points available)

Member of harem (Harem owner: Asher Montgomery)

Relationship level: 5 (10%) (1 relationship skill point available)

Stats:

Strength: 2

Agility: 7

Intelligence: 28

Vitality: 2

HP: 35/35

Mana: 294/294

Abilities:

- Fireball (Level 4 - Active - Cooldown: None, Mana cost: 20): Summons a missile made of fire that deals 18 dmg (11 dmg + 25% intelligence). The user has stacks that allow them to summon a fireball. Maximum stacks at one moment: 3. Stack regeneration: 20 seconds.

- Fire Shield (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 1 hour, Mana cost: 40): Summons a shield made of fire that can absorb up to 14 damage before vanishing.

- Nature Resistance (Level 1 - Passive): Owner has an additional 5% resistance to earth and plant magic.

- Liquid Mana (Level 2 - Passive): The owner of the skill can gain stacks that increase maximum mana permanently. To gain one stack, the owner needs to swallow the cum of the Harem Master. Only one stack per day can be gained. Mana per stack: 15. Maximum stacks: 20 (after upgrading, existing stacks remain). Collected stacks: 4.

---

Asher ran his eyes over the first few lines but then quickly returned to them, frowning. The status showed that she was nineteen, and he was certain that the previous day she had still been eighteen. So, she had a birthday. She hadn't mentioned it, but they hadn't known each other for long, and it didn't actually surprise him so much that she didn't say anything.

And yet, they had already had sex. It was the same with Rachel. He barely knew them but had slept with both of them. He could try to change that, but he wasn't sure if they would be interested.

Thinking about her, he checked Rachel's status, but there weren't any changes and she had zero points to spend.

---

Name: Rachel Shaw

Age: 29

Class: Arcane Witch (Support)

Class Level: 31 (12%) (0 skill points available)

Member of Harem (Harem owner: Asher Montgomery)

Relationship Level: 3 (50%) (0 relationship points available)

Stats:

Strength: 10

Agility: 50

Intelligence: 152

Vitality: 63

HP: 348/348

Mana: 956/956

Abilities:

- Mystic Confusion (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 10 minutes, Mana cost: 40): Clouds the target's mind with a weave of magic, reducing their focus and concentration for 3 minutes.

- Arcane Shield (Level 3 - Active - Cooldown: 10 minutes, Mana cost: 50): Summons a shield made of energy, blocking up to 50 damage. The skill owner can move the shield with their mind.

- Mana Increase (Level 4 - Passive): Adds 400 points of mana.

- Haste Blessing (Level 3 - Passive): Everyone who enters a dungeon with the skill owner gains 35 points to agility for the duration of their exploration.

- Crippling Curse (Level 3 - Active - Cooldown: 20 minutes, Mana cost: 100): Decreases the target's agility by 40% for 10 minutes.

- Blessed Strike (Level 3 - Active - Cooldown: 30 minutes, Mana cost: 200): Blesses the target's next attack, making it deal 100% additional damage. The target must use this attack within the next 5 minutes.

- Protective Ward (Level 2 - Active - Cooldown: 30 minutes, Mana cost: 50): Protects the target, reducing the damage of the next hit taken by 30% if it happens within the next 10 minutes.

- Mental Shackles (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 1 hour, Mana cost: 50 + 50 per minute): Stuns the target with the strength of the skill owner's mind. Can be broken if the target's intelligence exceeds the skill owner's focus.

- Curse of Decay (Level 2 - Active - Cooldown: 1 hour, Mana cost: 100): For 10 minutes, wounds made by the target's attacks are afflicted with decay, causing their enemy to lose 15 health per minute.

- Give and Take (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 12 hours): The skill owner can transfer mana between herself and another person. The receiver of the mana must have made the giver orgasm in the last ten minutes. The skill owner can give mana in excess of another person's maximum by 10% of the skill owner's mana.

---

After quickly glancing over it, Asher checked the status of the newest woman in his harem.

---

Name: Sam West

Age: 18

Class: Aegis Defender (Tank)

Class level: 3 (54%) (0 skill points available)

Member of harem (Harem owner: Asher Montgomery)

Relationship level: 2 (61%) (2 relationship skill point available)

Stats:

Strength: 7

Agility: 5

Intelligence: 3

Vitality: 14

HP: 100/100

Mana: 50/50

Abilities:

- Stoneskin (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: None, Mana cost: 30): For 10 minutes, reduces all received damage by 2 points (1 + 10% vitality).

- Block (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 2 minutes, Mana cost: 20): Blocks next attack, nullifying the force of impact.

- Improved Regeneration (Level 2 - Passive): Moderately increases regeneration of health.

Skill upgrades:

- Block: Now not only nullifies impact but also reflects a portion of the force back at the attacker. (1 point)

- Stoneskin: Doubles the duration and reduces damage. (2 points)

New skills:

- Master Love (Level 1 - Passive): The Harem Master's feelings toward the skill owner boost all her stats by up to 10%. (5 points)

- Master Healing Essence (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 4 hours): Consuming the Harem Master's cum restores 80% of HP. The effect can trigger automatically if HP is below 40%. The Master's cum needs to be acquired in the last three minutes to work. (2 points)

- Shared Life (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 24 hours): After achieving mutual orgasm with the Harem Master during vaginal intercourse, the skill owner can use this skill to absorb half of the damage that would be dealt to the Harem Master for the next 2 hours. When the Harem Master takes damage, the skill owner receives a portion of it in the same location. (3 points)

- Aegis Ward (Level 1 - Passive): Generates a magical shield around the skill owner, allowing her to block a portion of incoming damage. (1 point)

---

She had one skill point from him to spend, and he could add her a new skill or upgrade one that she already had. Or she could wait to gather more points. The best upgrade seemed to be the one to Stoneskin, which would allow her to reduce a lot of damage in the most important battles.

After checking all the statuses, Asher remained in bed, with a new question in his head. Should he buy something for Ava? They hadn't known each other long, but they had gotten close. Even if at the start she only wanted upgrades to her class, he felt that there was something more to it now. Something was developing between them.

And she certainly liked having sex with him. Asher smiled, stretching in bed, proud of himself.

A small gift, something modest, not expensive, but to show a gesture. She was from a rich family anyway, so she must have had everything that she wanted. It still didn't leave him a lot of time to find something for her.

Asher reached for his phone and checked the hour. It was half past six. He knew that he wouldn't fall asleep anymore, but he still had a lot of time before his first class. He assumed that Elara was probably still asleep. He could meet with Ava to gain experience, but he didn't know if she was awake either, and he didn't have a gift for her yet.

In the end, he wrote to Elara, asking if she was asleep, and put the phone back, deciding to just wait for when she would wake up and answer him. But it wasn't even two minutes before his phone vibrated with a new message. Elara had just woken up, but wasn't planning on leaving her bed for at least an hour.

Asher replied that he had missed her in his bed through the night, to which she only responded that Caitlin, her roommate, was leaving in five minutes.

Asher immediately jumped out of bed, sent a text that he would be there soon, and headed to the bathroom. It wasn't even five minutes before he was running down the stairs of the Academy.

Caitlin stood in front of Elara's room with her hip jutting to the side and her hand resting on it, a wide smile on her face.

"She was right, not even five minutes," Caitlin said, clearly amused.

Asher felt his cheeks blush as Caitlin only giggled. "Have fun," she said, winking at him and heading through the corridor toward the stairs.

Asher entered Elara's room, which was pretty dark because her windows were completely covered with curtains.

"Close the door," Elara murmured from under the cover on her bed. Only her head and the top of her arms were visible, and she looked like she had just woken up.

Asher locked the door and then took off his clothes, keeping only his underwear on. He slipped under the cover next to her, shifting close before he grabbed and pulled her against him. She didn't have any clothes on, and her naked tits flattened on his chest.

Their lips met even before they had a chance to greet each other. Elara pushed on his shoulders, turning him so he was lying on his back, as she straddled him, pressing her crotch against his immediately hard cock.

"Hmm... someone is clearly overdressed," she murmured slowly, grinding her naked pussy against his shaft that was tenting his boxers.

Asher grabbed her head and pulled her into a kiss while reaching down to take off his last piece of clothing. As he threw it to the side, he reached with his hand to her small tits, which he fondled while rubbing her hard nipples.

Elara was shifting her hips, rubbing her hot folds against his whole length. He could feel how aroused she was because of the wet trace she was leaving on him. He grabbed her hips and turned them around, so she ended up on her back, her legs spread wide around him.

He was still kissing her while working with his hips, grinding his dick against her lower lips. Elara pressed him tighter against herself, wrapping her muscular legs around him.

Asher continued to play with her tits as their lips remained connected in a passionate kiss. Her hands wandered over his back as they lay there, touching and caressing each other. But eventually, he couldn't take it anymore--he needed to feel her pussy wrapped around his cock again.

He stopped their kiss while lifting his hips. Elara relaxed her legs, allowing him to grab his hard cock, which was wet from her arousal, and positioned himself at her entrance.

Elara was staring deeply into his eyes as he slowly drove into her. But when over half of his cock was in her tight tunnel, Elara gasped softly, parting her sweet lips and squinting her eyes from pleasure.

Her pussy was massaging his manhood pleasantly, wrapping her inner walls around his cock's head. It was already amazing, but he wanted more--he wanted to be fully in her again.

Panting from arousal, he pushed his cock forward until his hips met hers, and his whole dick was engulfed in her hot body. Pleasant tingling spread through his muscles as he started to kiss her lips gently, while cupping her small breast in his hand.

Elara wrapped her legs around him as he remained buried inside her. The feeling was amazing, as he was as close to her as possible. He couldn't find any comparison to that sensation of intimacy when he was connected with the woman he loved most in his life.

They continued kissing passionately and teasing each other's bodies. Their hands wandered and explored all over each other as their arousal rose quickly. Asher didn't even know when he started to shift his hips, barely pulling out of her before pushing back to connect their hips, but it was enough to get both of them closer to their releases.

Elara was clinging tightly to him, her tits flattened on his chest, her thighs wrapped around him. Her breath quickened, but they still kissed with their tongues playing together.

Her hands, which had previously roamed across his back, now pulled him tighter against her as her thighs squeezed him close. Despite that, he was still shifting his hips, fucking her with short thrusts, but he was steadily quickening his pace.

Elara's body tensed as she moaned into their connected lips. Her pussy clenched around his shaft, rippling as she gasped and moaned.

He still pulled and pushed into her, moving quicker, but he shifted his lips to her neck, kissing her soft spot, making her groan even louder as her inner walls clenched around him tighter. He was close, the pressure in his balls growing quickly. The realization that he had made Elara come--and it seemed really hard--only helped him to cross the line.

His orgasm wasn't an explosion of pleasure. He was building toward it slowly, just as their sex was, until finally it took over his mind and spread through his entire body, leaving him completely relaxed as he came fully buried inside her pussy, while she was still lost in her pleasure.

Elara whimpered, feeling his cum flood her insides as he lay on top of her, wrapped in her limbs, panting into her neck.

"I love you," he gasped softly after a moment, as both of them were catching their breath. Elara shifted her hands from his back to his head. Grabbing his hair, she pulled him upward so he was looking her in the eyes.

"I love you too, Asher," she said, and then kissed him.

They lay together for a long moment. He didn't go soft even for a second and remained hard, still engulfed deep in her body.

Elara turned them around, straddling him as he lay on his back. She did it so slowly that even through this change of position he didn't slip out of her. He had a perfect view of her small tits, pink pussy, and her lips that were stretched around his hard cock.

Elara started to rise and fall, resting her hands on his chest in a way that squeezed her tits together, creating an amazing feast for his eyes. Holding his hands on her thighs, he brushed the muscles that worked to pleasure his cock.

"God, you are so sexy," Asher gasped, glancing at her face.

Elara smiled, panting. She didn't reply, but lay down on top of him, pressing her hard nipples against his skin. She grabbed his hair and pulled him into a steaming hot kiss while still working her lower lips along his length.

They were having sex slowly, and the pressure in his balls was building slowly again, but they had time for that. Her amazing body was writhing atop him as both of them panted from arousal, making love unhurriedly.

His hands roamed over her body, brushing her soft skin and enjoying their closeness.

"Tell me when you're close," Elara whispered, stopping their kiss. "I have individual training," she added, before connecting their lips again.

She was grinding her pussy along his cock for a few more minutes, stopping only for a brief moment as her body shuddered in a light orgasm. Asher didn't want this to end, but he knew that it would be too late soon.

"I'm close," he gasped.

Elara immediately raised her hips, sliding off his cock, leaving it without her amazing pussy and stimulation, but it didn't last for long as she shifted lower, kneeling between his legs, giving him an amazing view of her face by his cock.

She immediately grabbed his shaft in her soft hand and wrapped her lips around its tip, sliding them lower over his length. She wasn't playing or teasing, instantly bobbing her head quickly, gliding her lips over his wet cock.

Her tongue brushed its underside, and as he had just been on the edge, it wasn't long before he was going to come. When he noticed how the base of his cock was glistening from her juices, he realized that she was licking her own arousal from his shaft. He felt the pressure in his balls release and he erupted in her mouth.

Elara must have noticed that he was coming because just moments before, she leaned slightly back, leaving only the tip of his cock between her lips, and she looked extremely sexy, yet cute, as he was flooding her mouth.

After Asher finished, he lay down on the bed, panting and staring at the ceiling. Elara took more of his cock into her mouth, sucking softly all the cum he had. Then she licked his cock clean from the base to the tip, spending some time at his balls, which caused pleasant tingling to spread through his body in the afterglow of his orgasm.

But finally, she left his cock and shifted on the bed, lying next to him with her head on his arm and her leg over his hips, pressing herself against him. She pulled the cover over them, and they lay like that in silence, enjoying the closeness of each other and the afterglow of the orgasms they had.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Elara whimpered after a few minutes, sounding like she wasn't happy because of it--which he completely understood, as he didn't want to separate from her either--but at least he didn't need to get out of bed.

Asher smiled and wrapped his arms tighter around her. "You're not going anywhere," he murmured, kissing her, but she quickly stopped the kiss, laughing.

"No, Asher, stop squeezing me, I really need to go. Now!" Elara said, trying to get free from his arms, while laughing.

"I will let you go for the price of a kiss," he said.

"I already kissed you," Elara replied, pouting.

He didn't answer and pursed his lips, waiting. Elara rolled her eyes but connected their lips briefly. When he finally relaxed his hands around her, she jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom.

Asher wrapped the cover tightly around himself and lay on his side, waiting for her return, but he couldn't do it, as knocking echoed through the room.

"Can you get the door?" Elara asked from the bathroom.

Asher groaned loudly, to which Elara only giggled, and then he rose from the bed and put on his clothes. He walked to the door, but before he managed to open it, someone started knocking again. He wondered if it was Ava, looking for him, wanting her stack of mana.

But when he opened the door, he saw Lilah. She had a tank class, and they had considered her as someone that might join the team, but Ava had said that Lilah wasn't an option after they had talked. Asher wondered what Lilah was doing there. Perhaps she had changed her mind, but for that, it was too late.

"Lilah?" he asked, surprised.

"No, but I see that my sister is already popular," the woman replied.

Asher took a better look at her and realized that it wasn't Lilah. She was really similar to her--well, she looked like Lilah but slightly older--and it made her look even better than the younger sister, who was already gorgeous.

"When you stop staring, can you tell me where Elara River is?" she asked with a soft smile, leaning back to look at the number on the door. "It is her room," she added.

"Yeah," Asher said, shaking his head, his cheeks blushing. "She's in the bathroom. Why are you looking for her?"

"I'm her new personal trainer. I owed that old geezer a favor, and I'm supposed to test her today. He supposedly told her to expect me," Lilah's sister said.

"Ah, yes, but he didn't mention when you would be here," Asher replied.

"Who is it?" Elara asked, coming out of the bathroom.

"Your new teacher. Lilah's sister," Asher said, and then glanced at the woman, who still stood in the corridor. "She hasn't introduced herself yet," he added.

"Maya Shaffer, but don't pay too much attention to the surname. Is Elara ready?" Maya asked.

Asher glanced into the room. Elara had only put on a shirt that was long enough to hide her naked body, and she was clearly not ready. She approached the door and peeked her head out from behind the door.

"Now?" she asked, looking at her new teacher.

"Yes, now," Maya replied, focusing on Elara. "I have other things to do, so let's finish this quickly."

"I need a moment," Elara said, and rushed to look for clothes to put on.

"I'll be waiting at the square. Hurry up," Maya said, leaving.

Asher closed the door, and Elara groaned. "Seven twenty, and she wants to start training," she said.

"No more sleeping late," Asher said, lying down on her bed and wrapping her blanket around himself, admiring her naked body as she dropped her shirt to the ground. Her tits bounced in front of his eyes as she was looking for a bra.

Elara glanced at him. "I'll need your boosts, so you're not sleeping late either," she replied, and returned to looking for her clothes.

Asher groaned, displeased, because he knew that she was right. Elara smiled, and then bent over, reaching for something on the floor. Asher admired her naked ass and pussy peeking at him from between her legs, which she was clearly showing off.

"Good luck," Asher said, as Elara had finished dressing up.

She stepped quickly to the bed, leaned over Asher, and pecked his lips.

"I love you, Ash," she whispered.

"I love you too," he murmured, closing his eyes. He still had a moment before his first class, and he wondered if perhaps it was worth skipping breakfast to stay in bed a little bit longer. In the meantime, Elara left the room, heading for her training.

--- Elara River ---

Elara got out to the square quickly. Maya was waiting in one of the circles, her eyes immediately focused on Elara. Nolan stood close by, also watching her. Elara pushed her tits forward and lifted her chin, heading toward them with a confident step. She wanted to make a good first impression.

Elara entered the circle. "I'm ready," she said. Before she had a chance to say anything else, Maya threw a dagger at her. Elara immediately ducked down, and the weapon flew over her head.

Elara looked at Maya, surprised, but she was already by her side, with her other dagger pointed straight at Elara's neck. Fortunately, she had her daggers in her hands and deflected the strike. Barely. Maya was really fast. She immediately tried to kick Elara, but she had jumped to the side.

However, Maya followed after her, and the moment Elara's left leg touched the ground, she struck with her knee into Elara's thigh, throwing her off balance and sending her crashing to the ground.

Elara was surprised by her immediate attack, and by how fast she was moving. Before she managed to realize what was happening, she was already on the ground. Elara rolled over, glancing at Maya, who was standing over her in a position ready to fight.

"If you're going to give up, do it now, and I will not waste more time," Maya said, looking down at her.

Bitch! Elara thought and jumped to her feet, rushing at Maya. She wanted to take advantage of the fact that this idiot had thrown away one of her weapons at the start. Elara attacked with her dagger, expecting that Maya would block it with her own, and then Elara would strike her with her second dagger.

However, Maya didn't block Elara's attack. She twisted her body, making Elara's dagger pass next to her, and before Elara had a chance to attack with her second blade, Maya's fist hit her straight in the face.

Elara was moving toward her, and Maya's hand was hard like a rock. Elara felt like she had hit a wall and bounced off it, flying back to the ground, knocked off her legs.

Elara's head throbbed with pain as she slowly opened her eyes. Feeling wetness on her lips, she wiped them with her hand--only to notice blood on it. She wondered if Maya had just broken her nose.

Maya stood over her, still in a position ready to fight.

"Nolan said that you are exceptional," Maya drawled, as if she found that idea absolutely hilarious.

Elara wiped her lips from blood again and jumped to her feet, realizing that she needed to be more careful. Maya was really fast and strong. Elara had not yet fought such a strong opponent. Instead of attacking her, she stood in position, waiting, watching her carefully, hoping that she would make a mistake.

Maya rushed at her, holding her dagger close to her own body, in a way that Elara wasn't sure where she was going to strike. She tried to jump back, increasing the distance, but Maya just followed after her. When she was close enough, her hand shot out straight at Elara's stomach.

She barely managed to deflect the attack while trying to strike, but Maya easily avoided her blade. Maya immediately tried to stab Elara again. This time Elara turned her body so the weapon missed her. She tried to kick Maya, but she had jumped back, perfectly avoiding her leg, and then immediately rushed at her.

Elara blocked her hit with one of her daggers and tried to attack with the other one, but before she could reach Maya's body, she hit Elara's wrist, blocking it. Then she jumped forward, trying to kick her with her knee held high. Elara raised her own leg, blocking the attack.

But when Maya dashed into her with impact, they both flew to the ground, holding each other. Elara twisted mid-air, so she didn't fall on her back, but on the side along with her opponent.

They grappled and rolled over a few times, but Elara eventually ended up on top, straddling Maya's stomach. With one hand, she pinned her right arm to the ground, and with the other, she wrapped her fingers around Maya's throat.

Elara smirked, pleased with herself that she had won, but then something sharp stabbed her side, and she glanced down. Maya, in her free hand, was still holding her dagger and pressing its tip against Elara's body, not hurting her.

"Never let go of your only weapon," Maya said, lying underneath Elara. She felt her throat moving against her hand that she still held there but was not squeezing.

Elara closed her eyes and groaned before she looked at her, irritated that she had lost again. But when their eyes met, she stopped. Maya was even prettier than Lilah, who was stunning. But in the older sister, there was something mature that was pulling Elara to do something else besides fight against her as she was straddling her.

"Did I hit you too hard or are you always so slow?" Maya asked, as Elara didn't move.

Elara shook her head and started to get up. "You had thrown your weapon at the start of the fight," she said, answering her previous accusation, trying to distract her thoughts.

But her eyes focused on Maya's body, and she wasn't gauging her readiness to fight, but her figure. She had long legs that looked wonderful. Elara assumed that she must have an amazing ass. Maya was slim and had rather small tits, but she had a gorgeous face, and Elara wanted to see her completely naked.

"To give you any chance," Maya replied. "But even that wasn't enough," she said, and jumped forward with her dagger pointed at Elara, who didn't have an opportunity to pick up her weapon. Or perhaps she had, but was admiring the sexy body of her teacher instead.

Elara twisted her body, avoiding the incoming weapon, and tried to kick Maya's hand, but she didn't stop after her attack and slammed her shoulder into Elara's chest.

Elara was standing only on one leg mid-kick, so she had no chance to keep her balance and crashed to the ground while Maya easily landed on her feet.

Elara immediately jumped up, not giving her teacher any chance for some stupid comment. She needed her weapon--without it she had no chance--but Maya was still attacking her.

However, Elara still had options. She activated Fast Attack, avoiding Maya's attempt, and jumped toward her dagger that was lying close on the ground. Maya followed after her, but Elara managed to pick it up and block Maya's attack with her weapon. Then she blocked Maya's fist with her arm and jumped back, avoiding her high kick.

Maya wasn't slowing down and immediately attacked with her dagger again and again. Elara managed to block all of it, but she had no opportunity to counterattack herself, with how fast Maya was moving. At least, when she wasn't trying to strike back, Elara was able to defend herself.

Finally, she noticed her opportunity as Maya was trying to slash at her arm. She ducked down and predicted a kick. Maya had done it a few times already.

Elara avoided her leg, and using the short moment that she had gained, she punched Maya's hand, activating Powerful Attack. Maya's hand, clenched around the handle of her dagger, gave a sickening crack, making her weapon fly to the ground.

Maya grabbed her hand and glared at Elara, without her weapon.

Elara knew that her teacher was surprised by the strength of her hit. Then Elara spoke without thinking, letting her arrogance dictate her words. And among the many mistakes that she had made during this training session, this one was the worst.

"Never let go of your only weapon," she repeated what Maya had said to her earlier, taunting her, staring straight into her eyes.

Maya glanced at her, smirked, and rushed at Elara, moving quicker than before. Elara tried to attack with her dagger, but Maya easily avoided it and punched her in the stomach. Elara managed to block it with her hand, but then Maya's other hand struck Elara's chin from below, sending her to the ground.

"Get up!" Maya said immediately.

Elara glanced at her, realizing that Maya could easily go pick up her weapon. She had time for that, but she was waiting there without it. Elara's jaw hurt, but the pain was quickly passing, and she rose from the ground. She wanted to show Maya that even if she got knocked out easily this time, she wasn't an easy opponent, and she would pay her back for all of those comments.

Elara tried to attack Maya, but two seconds later, she was lying on the ground again--this time the right side of her face was throbbing in pain.

"Get up!" Maya repeated.

Elara rose and this time tried to attack slower, being more careful, not throwing herself at her so much--but it didn't help. Assuming a defensive stance and waiting didn't help either. Maya was much faster than she had shown earlier--much faster than Elara. And much stronger than her.

And Elara really didn't want to admit it, but Maya was much, much, much better than her at fighting. She ended up on the ground time after time. Even having the advantage of her weapon, she couldn't do anything, she didn't manage to hit Maya once. Whatever she was trying, it always ended up the same--with Elara lying on the ground, while Maya stood over her and ordered her to get up.

And Elara did, time after time. She wasn't going to give up.

She was thrown to the ground for the thirtieth time. Or perhaps fortieth--she wasn't so sure anymore--when her whole body was hurting. Her ribs, arms, forearms, hands, thighs, knees, calves, stomach, and head. It would probably be easier to point to the places on her body that weren't hurting.

"Enough for today," Maya said, sitting down on the ground next to the laid out Elara.

Elara only glanced at her. With the end of their battle, all strength had left her body.

A glowing orb emerged from Maya's ring--a gold band with small black stones--and materialized into a healing potion in her hand.

"Drink it," Maya said, and her voice suddenly sounded much nicer than through all of the training. Elara glanced at her, surprised, as Maya was grinning widely at her. Even now, Elara admired how stunning Maya was, even if she had managed to start to hate her during their training.

"You don't want it?" Maya asked, tilting her head.

Elara groaned, sitting up. Everything hurt even more when she was trying to move. "Thanks," she murmured, taking the glass flask from Maya and checking its status.

---

Enhanced Healing Potion

Restores a large amount of health and accelerates wound recovery.

---

It was a better and more expensive potion than the ones they had been taking with them to the dungeons, but Elara wasn't going to refuse it if Maya was giving it to her. She drank the sweet liquid slowly.

Nolan approached them, stopping by their feet.

"And?" he asked.

"I will teach her," Maya replied, glancing at him.

Nolan looked at Elara. "Don't waste this opportunity," he said, before heading toward the Academy.

"Don't waste this opportunity," Maya mocked the teacher in a lower voice than her normal.

Elara snorted, chuckling as her body was slowly hurting less, having finished the potion.

"Grumpy old prick," she added, before glancing at Elara. "Maya," she said, reaching her hand toward her and smiling widely with her perfect white teeth.

Elara looked at her, surprised. After the beating that Maya gave her and the comments that she had thrown toward her, she had the impression that Maya was a bitch. A very gorgeous bitch who was displeased that she needed to waste her time training Elara. She expected some rude goodbye before Maya would just leave.

Instead, Maya laughed. "Okay, I will start with an explanation then. If you want, I will train you. But during training, I'm going to be harsh on you. I will treat you as my enemy, and I will take advantage of your every weakness. So if some old grumpy man told me that you have problems controlling your emotions," Maya said, shrugging, "then I'm going to use it against you."

"Nolan might be rude and harsh, but he is right that you can't go easy on students during training. And if you want to have it easy, then forget about lessons with me. If you want to learn something from me, you need to accept that every training will look like that. At least for some time, before you get better."

"But Nolan's problem is that he's like that all the time. I'm guessing it has become a habit after all these years working here. But I don't want to end up like him, so outside of training, I will try to be nice. Of course, we can keep being hostile toward each other even off the training grounds, but I'd rather we become friends--or at least be somewhat decent to each other."

Elara nodded, still not convinced she could become friends with someone who made her whole body hurt so much.

However, what if they became really close friends? Elara closed her eyes for a moment, wondering where all these thoughts were coming from. She assumed it was because of Asher's class. But it didn't push her to sleep with Rachel. Or kiss Ava.

"Nolan said that you're exceptional. Even stronger than I was when I came here. I thought he was exaggerating, but it's true. You're strong. I would even say a little too strong," Maya said, staring at Elara and tilting her head. "Did you get a strong class?"

"Umm... you could say so."

Maya shrugged. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't need to--no problem. So, I owed a favour to Nolan, and I was supposed to test you. And you impressed me," Maya said.

Elara questioned that, wondering when she could've impressed Maya, considering she'd spent most of the fight lying on the ground.

"I'm still actively exploring, so my time is limited, but I'm willing to meet two or three times a week."

"And what will you get out of it?" Elara asked.

Maya giggled. "Money, of course. The Academy would pay me. And I might have my own additional reasons. You intrigued me," she said, staring into Elara's eyes.

Elara realized how close they were to each other. It wasn't intimate yet, but close enough that she could see Maya's perfect skin and the details of her brown eyes, which were glued to her face. Or the soft smile that danced over her slightly plump lips.

"But as I mentioned," Maya said, breaking the moment and glancing at the circle, "it's not going to be easy, and I'm going to be a bitch to you during training. Outside of that, I hope we can at least keep things neutral -- but I'm open to getting to know you better, if you're interested," Maya said, smiling.

Elara wasn't sure what Maya meant. Did she mean becoming friends--or something more?

This whole sex-and-harem situation already had her mind jumping ahead to romantic possibilities, but maybe Maya only meant going shopping together and grabbing coffee like normal friends.

"So? Do you want me to train you?"

"Yes," Elara replied immediately.

Even if Maya treated her like an enemy all the time, she would agree. So she could beat her one day. At the moment, she was better, stronger, and faster. But that meant Elara would need to train harder to catch up to her. And then beat her.

Maya smiled. "Maya," she said, reaching her hand out toward Elara again.

Elara smiled too and grabbed her hand, which was really soft--at least in comparison to when, with the same hand, she had punched her face and struck her ribs.

"Elara," she replied.

--- Asher Montgomery ---

"That's all for today. Thank you for attending, and see you next week," the lecturer said at the end of Asher's first lecture that day.

He sat with Madelyn at the back of the room. Not many people came, since most were still resting after their first exploration. Elara had her first individual training, but she had already finished it and texted him that she needed to rest because Maya gave her a beating. He was worried about her, but she assured him that she was completely fine after drinking a potion.

Of the other women on his team--his harem--only Naomi was at the lecture, sitting in the front, and he assumed she didn't notice him because he was already in the room when she entered. He was surprised that Ava didn't show up, because so far he had seen her at every lecture.

"Were you even listening?" Madelyn asked, standing up next to him.

Asher grinned. "A bit?" he replied, following her toward the next auditorium. The first lecture had been about first-level dungeon bosses. That, he knew, but most of the time he didn't listen, as his thoughts wandered in different directions. Or rather, toward different women.

Madelyn sighed softly. "Will I need to repeat everything to you again?"

"Oh, come on--I know you enjoy teaching me. And besides, you're a way better teacher," Asher said with a grin.

Madelyn gasped softly as her cheeks blushed and she averted her eyes as they were leaving the class.

"Are you doing something after lectures today?" he asked.

"No," Madelyn replied, shaking her head.

"Ava's birthday is today, and I want to buy her a present. Something small, and I thought that maybe you'd want to go with me to a shopping mall and help choose something for her?"

"Sure," Madelyn replied, smiling softly. "Is Elara coming?" she asked.

"I don't think so. She started her individual lessons today and finished a little while ago. Her teacher beat the shit out of her, and she needs to rest."

"Individual lessons?"

"Yeah, Nolan set it up. Do you know Lilah Shaffer?"

Madelyn nodded as they entered another classroom, heading toward the back of it. They still had a brief moment before the lecture would start.

"And her sister Maya?"

"Not personally, but I've heard about her. She's one of the best graduates of the Academy in the last few years. She's teaching Elara?"

"Yeah."

"Oh wow!"

"Is she that good?"

"Lilah spent a whole month bragging to everyone after Maya graduated from the Academy as the top student. And at the same time, she always made sure to add that she's actually even better."

Asher nodded. "That's good. Elara will benefit from having someone better than her to train with."

Asher knew that Elara liked to compete, and more than that, she liked to win. Someone better than her would push her to train harder and become even stronger. Perhaps she could finish the Academy as a top student too.

However, Asher started to wonder if she even needed to train so hard. After a year of him upgrading her class, other students would not stand a chance against her. It would be like she was cheating.

Perhaps only the other women of his harem could fight against her. But that was exactly why Rachel warned him that if the professors at the Academy learned about his class, they might exclude her from the rankings.

Asher's thoughts were interrupted by the lecturer, who started the next lecture, but his focus lasted only a few minutes before he again started to think about his class and the women in his harem--those who were already there or those who were supposed to join soon.

--- Asher Montgomery ---

"I need to talk with Tiffany and Naomi, and then we can go to the mall, okay?" Asher asked Madelyn as they were leaving the class after their last lecture had ended.

She looked at him, stopping in place, then averted her eyes, biting her lip.

"Maddy?" he asked, not sure why she reacted like that.

"Are you going to talk with Tiffany about her joining your team?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," Asher replied.

"Agh... fine. Umm... see you soon," she said, and then quickly headed through the Academy's corridor toward the stairs. He followed her with his gaze, not sure why she got so flustered when he had mentioned Tiffany.

He walked toward the library, where he was supposed to meet Tiffany in the same place where they had met last time. He still had a few minutes, so he didn't need to rush and walked calmly.

Tiffany was already sitting at the table, watching something on her phone. As he approached, she put it to the side and looked at him, frowning. Her look gave him a hunch it was going to be bad news.

"Hey, Tiff," he said, sitting in front of her.

"Hey," she replied.

"Have you made a decision?" he asked, getting straight to the point, as this hunch only intensified and he was worried that he knew the answer--and it wasn't good for him or his harem.

"I thought about it, and I think it's not for me. I'm sorry, but I don't want to. I can't," Tiffany said quickly, averting her eyes.

"Are you sure? We can talk about it," Asher offered.

"I have a team already," Tiffany blurted out, and lowered her head. "My roommate came back from the exploration yesterday, and their warrior found another team, and she offered me to join her, and I promised to do it."

There was a moment of silence as Asher connected the dots.

"You're joining Zoe and Madelyn Hayes?"

"Umm... yes. Zoe, my roommate, convinced me yesterday. We've been friends since before the Academy started--not really close, but I've known her for some time, and... I... all of this... your class... It's too much. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I don't want to get into it..."

Asher sighed heavily, feeling rejected, but he quickly shoved the feeling out of his mind. "It's okay, I get it," he said. He was trying not to take it personally, but she was kind of rejecting him. But quickly Asher realized that he shouldn't be surprised--they didn't know each other, and he had asked her to join his harem. He should be glad that he actually found three women who wanted to join.

But that also meant they were lacking one person to have a complete team. They still had a week, but because of his class, their choices were limited, and he was worried they might have problems finding someone.

He realized that he would need to ask around and see if there was some warrior woman who still didn't have a team. He would need to talk with her, tell her about his class, convince her, and hope that she would agree to join.

"Umm... thanks for those two times exploring. When I sell the items, I'll give you the money. And, again, I'm sorry that you'll have to scramble to find a warrior for your team," Tiffany said quietly.

"Yeah, sure, no problem. But please, don't tell anyone about my class. Especially Madelyn," Asher said.

He didn't know if he wanted her to know about his class, but he certainly didn't want her to learn from someone else. If anything, he should tell her himself, but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea with her past.

"Of course," Tiffany said, getting up from the table. "I'm sorry it took me so long," she said once again, and then walked away from the table.

Asher got up and walked to the library's exit, then headed to the floor where the female students lived, toward Naomi and Sam's room.

He pulled out his phone and texted Elara and Ava, passing the bad news to them before he knocked on the door. He hoped that Naomi and Sam wouldn't change their minds, because without them, they would really have a problem.

Naomi opened the door and invited him in. She wore a dark blue shirt with long sleeves that covered her stomach this time but exposed more of her body on the other side, showing her cleavage, which wasn't as big as Rachel's, but still caught Asher's attention.

"Hey, Nami," he greeted.

"Hey," she replied, closing the door behind him.

"Sam's not here?" he asked, looking around the room.

"She has a class," Naomi replied, stepping closer to him, standing in the middle of the room.

They stood, watching each other for a moment in silence. Asher noticed that she was wearing eyeshadow, and a pink lipstick glistened on her lips. He assumed that it was a good sign--if she put on makeup for a meeting with him.

"I talked with Tiffany, and she's not joining us," Asher said.

"Oh..."

"Are you and Sam?" Asher asked.

Naomi quickly nodded before softly licking her lips.

Asher let out a breath of relief. "Thank God. Then we're just lacking one person. Do you know someone who would fit?" he asked.

Naomi pursed her lips to one side, thinking for a moment, before she shook her head. "I can ask Sam, but I don't think we know anyone," she replied.

"Okay, I'll ask around to see who is still available and let you know how the situation looks," Asher said. He realized that it would probably fall on his shoulders, but as Rachel had told him, he needed to learn how to lead his group. To lead his harem.

"I can add you now," he said, returning to the main reason he came to visit her.

Naomi nodded, averting her gaze.

He shifted closer and slowly grabbed her chin, lifting her head so she was looking at him. Her eyes had a really intense brown color, just like walnut tree bark, with slight discoloration that only added to her charm.

"I wanted to kiss you yesterday after our date, and I still want to, but we don't need to do it now if you want to wait," he said quietly, but with how close they were, he was sure she could hear him.

Nami stared into his eyes, jumping back and forth between them, then her eyes lowered to his lips.

"I want to do it," she whispered, barely moving her lips.

Asher smiled, and then leaned closer to her. Naomi closed her eyes, pursing her lips, waiting for the kiss. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers, brushing against them gently.

After a few seconds of their first kiss, he leaned back, opening his eyes. She was watching him with her lips slightly parted and her cheeks darker than normal.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, remaining close, but then Naomi pouted.

"I didn't get an invitation," she said quietly.

Asher grinned. "Oops..." he said. "I must have forgotten to activate my skill," he said, and stopped for a moment, glancing at her lips. "We will need to kiss again," he added, looking back into her eyes.

Naomi ran her gaze over his face, and he couldn't stop smiling. He had done it on purpose; he had come up with this idea during a lecture in the morning as he sat there bored.

Naomi didn't say anything, but a small smile played on her lips. Instead of waiting, Asher connected their lips again. He cupped her cheek, holding her in place as he tilted his head to the side and kissed her more passionately. Her lips responded, and they stood in the middle of her room, getting closer to each other as their lips remained connected in passionate embrace.

This time he activated his skill, and when their lips parted for just a second, her eyes focused somewhere on his chest before he got an announcement.

---

Added a new Harem Member - Naomi Tanaka - Spirit Archer (Ranger)

Harem Level Up!

Harem Level: 12

---

"Did it work?" Naomi asked.

"Yes," Asher replied, opening her class status.

---

Name: Naomi Tanaka

Age: 18

Class: Spirit Archer (Ranger)

Class level: 3 (54%) (1 skill point(s) available)

Member of harem (Harem owner: Asher Montgomery)

Relationship level: 1 (0%) (1 skill point(s) available)

Stats:

- strength: 5

- agility: 5

- intelligence: 11

- vitality: 1

- HP: 35/35

- mana: 118/118

Abilities:

- Phantom Arc (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 3 minutes, Mana cost: 20): Change the arc of your own arrow.

- Spectral Arrow (Level 2 - Active - Cooldown: 2 minutes, Mana cost: 20): Create a spectral arrow that deals additional 3 dmg (2 + 15% intellect).

- Arcane Marksman (Level 1 - Passive): Arrows deal 60% strength + 60% intellect damage.

---

It was exactly as she had told him earlier.

"Do you want me to read you your upgrades?" he asked.

Naomi nodded, and Asher read them aloud for her.

---

Skill Upgrades:

- Merge skills: Arcane Marksman + Spectral Arrow

Spectral Marksman (Level 2 - Passive): Skill owner can create unlimited spectral arrows that deal 14 dmg (2 + 0.75*strength + 0.75*intellect). (3 points)

Note: The new skill starts at the higher level of the two merged skills. To upgrade it, use the lower upgrade cost between the two original skills for that level.

New Skills:

- Piercing Arrow (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 30 minutes, Mana cost: 40): The next arrow deals additional 20 damage. Only available to use when the skill owner made Harem Master orgasm in the last 3 hours. (2 points)

- Spirit Walk (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 6 hours, Mana cost: None): Instantly teleport to a visible location within a short range. Only the skill owner and their equipment are teleported. (3 points)

- Soulburst Arrow (Level 1 - Active - Cooldown: 3 minutes, Mana cost: 10): Fires a soul-infused arrow that explodes on impact, releasing 10 shards of spirit energy. Each shard deals 3 damage (2 + 10% of intelligence) in a small radius around the target. Requires 1 Arousal Stack to use. Gain 1 Arousal Stack by spending 20 minutes naked around the Harem Master. Max stacks: 10. (1 point)

- Master Love (Level 1 - Passive): The Harem Master's feelings toward the skill owner boost all her stats by up to 10%. (5 points)

---

Asher read the skill upgrades for Naomi, as she remained silent, blushing and averting her eyes. He was also a little embarrassed about it, but mostly because of the way she was reacting. He realized that he was getting used to it, and he wasn't getting as embarrassed as he was before. When he finished, Naomi didn't say anything, and there was a moment of silence that he decided to interrupt.

"Merging Arcane Marksman and Spectral Arrow seems like the best choice for your first upgrade. It will save you mana to use on other skills and make it so you can deal a lot more damage," he said.

Naomi nodded. "Unlimited arrows and increased damage? That's... super strong and useful," she said. "And... teleportation, and... AOE damage... and this piercing arrow... those skills..."

"Yeah, but it will take some time before I can unlock all of them for you," Asher replied. "We will need to get to the tenth relationship level. Elara and I are still only at the seventh level."

"Umm... Sam told me to tell you she wants to have the same relationship level with you as I do... so..." Naomi said, trailing off as she looked away.

Asher realized that he would have to reach the experience limit with Naomi and not do anything with Sam that day.

"Why?" he asked, unsure why she wanted to do it like that.

Naomi shrugged. "I asked her about it, but she didn't want to tell me anything more."

"Umm... okay, so... do you want to sit?" Asher asked, pointing at her bed.

Naomi nodded, and both of them sat on her bed next to each other. She glanced at him but quickly averted her eyes. She was holding her hands on her knees and squeezing her fingers around the palm of her other hand, clearly stressed.

Asher grabbed her hand and squeezed gently. "Nami," he said quietly. "We don't need to rush things. Don't let Sam pressure you into anything. I much prefer you to feel comfortable than grinding levels without care."

She looked at him and smiled softly before her eyes focused on his lips again, and then she leaned slightly toward him. Asher took the invitation and kissed her again. Their lips barely brushed, testing each other.

It wasn't hard to guess that she didn't have a lot of experience, and he could tell that she wasn't sure what she was doing, but pretty quickly she was repeating things that he was doing. And even if he wasn't very experienced having sex, he was quite experienced in kissing--after years of practice with Elara.

He was caressing her lips, gently brushing against them with his tongue, but Naomi leaned back and interrupted them. Both of them were panting, staring into each other's eyes.

"Do I..." she said, but didn't finish, averting her gaze.

"Hmm?" Asher hummed, tilting his head, unsure what she was asking about.

"I don't know if I... do it right," Naomi whispered.

"I don't want to stop," Asher replied with a smile. "That's a pretty good sign, no?"

He didn't wait for her answer and kissed her again. Because she was still leaning back and he pressed against her lips, she fell back on the bed, lying on her back. Their lips parted, but Asher followed after her immediately, hovering over her body with his face close to hers.

He brushed her hair from her face while looking into her brown eyes. "You kiss well and learn really fast," he said. Naomi smiled, and then he kissed her again.

They kissed for some time, testing, playing. In the meantime, they had reached the second level, but Asher instantly closed the announcement, still kissing her.

A moment after that, they had reached the experience limit, and he wasn't sure if she knew about it or not, but he didn't want to stop and was too occupied with her lips to tell her about it. And she was kissing him back, getting less shy, so he assumed she was enjoying herself too.

He held one hand in her hair and the other on her arm. Still kissing her, he started to shift lower, heading toward her exposed cleavage and tits. He could feel her soft flesh under his fingers, but when he brushed the edge of her shirt, Naomi tensed, stopped kissing him, and grabbed his hand, pulling it away from her breasts.

"I'm sorry," Asher said, leaning back and sitting next to her on the bed, realizing that he wanted to push things too far.

Naomi sat up and fixed her shirt, averting her eyes from him. Her cheeks were really dark from blushing. Asher was the same, with his breath quickened and his cheeks slightly redder.

"It's okay. I... just want to go slower," Naomi whispered.

"Of course," he replied. "As I said, we can go at any pace you feel comfortable," he said, grabbing her hand.

Naomi glanced at him.

"I'm glad we're doing this--you and me," he added.

She nodded slightly but still averted her gaze.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Naomi was most of the time quiet and behaved shyly, so he wasn't sure if she was flustered that she had stopped him or angry at him that he had tried. But he wasn't pushy, and nothing had actually happened.

"Yes," Naomi replied, whispering.

He still felt like that answer didn't give him a lot. He stared at her a moment longer before he spoke again. "I'll be going," he said, to which Naomi only nodded.

"Can I get a goodbye kiss?" he asked, wanting to see if she wasn't really angry with him.

Naomi glanced at him and nodded, smiling softly. He grinned too and leaned close to kiss her--gently and briefly. As he was leaning back, her lips followed after him, wanting more. That he took as a good sign.

"I can't wait until we have time to meet up again," he said before leaving her room.

In the corridor, he checked his upgrades--or more importantly, the upgrade to Building Harem.

---

- Building Harem (Level 5 -> 6 - Active - Cooldown: 24 hours) - Allowed harem size: 5 >> 6 (2 points)

---

There was no limit. But the upgrade will cost more--two points. Meaning that he would need to gain a second level with a woman to gain back the points. That wasn't a problem, just as his meeting with Naomi had shown, but he suspected that the cost might rise further, not allowing him to add women so freely.

Yet, that meant Rachel could stay in his harem, and he could add a warrior when he found someone interested. And perhaps then he could--

Asher stopped his thoughts, shaking his head. Six women. That was more than one man could handle, and he had no idea how he was supposed to do it.

He was standing in front of Madelyn's room but decided to pull out his phone and text Elara and Ava first, informing them that he added Naomi, and that she, together with Sam, confirmed joining them.

Ava didn't respond, but Elara sent back a thumbs-up, and then a photo.

In it, she was naked. She didn't have any clothes on but she was covering her pussy and tits with her hands, sitting on a bed. It was clearly made in house number three, and someone else had taken the photo. He realized Elara and Rachel had taken the photo when he had gone training with Ava.

The photo was taken slightly from above, so her face and eyes were really highlighted. Elara looked at him sexily, with those blue eyes. Her blond hair was tousled after sleep--and the sex they had before.

He sent her heart and fire emojis in reply. Before, she had sent him photos of herself, but it was the first time she had sent him one where she was naked. She had covered her private parts, but it really didn't leave a lot to the imagination.

He knew where Elara got the idea for a photo like that--Rachel had sent him a hot photo in her lingerie. Asher wondered briefly if Elara was jealous or competing with Rachel. The second option was probably true, but he hoped that there wasn't any bad blood between them, especially since Rachel had helped with the photo.

Asher put the phone back in his pocket and was going to knock on Madelyn's door but then quickly ran a few doors further and knocked there.

"Just a moment," a voice from inside said, and after a few seconds Caitlin opened the door, grinning widely.

"It's for you," Caitlin said, opening the door wider. Elara was lying on the bed, playing with her phone, and she smiled when she saw him.

"Do you need a private moment?" Caitlin asked.

"No, I'm here just for a second," Asher said, sitting next to Elara. He kissed her, quickly stopping because Caitlin was still in the room.

He brought his lips to her ear. "You look stunning in that photo," he whispered, and then bit her earlobe gently.

Elara giggled. "I have more. Showing more," she replied, whispering back in his ear.

Asher pulled back slightly, looking at her. "I can't wait to see them," he said.

Elara smiled and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with us?" he asked as their lips parted.

"No, I need to rest," Elara replied.

"Are you okay?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah, Maya gave me a potion, and everything's good. Come meet me when you get back?"

"Of course," he replied, gave her a short peck, and got up to leave the room. Caitlyn was sitting on another bed, smiling as always.

"Bye, Asher," she said, clearly amused.

"Bye," he said, rolling his eyes but smiling too.

Then he went to Madelyn's door and knocked on it.

"Ready?" he asked as she opened it.

"Yep," she replied, grabbing her bag that was next to the door before she left her room.

"Have you talked with Tiffany?" she asked, locking her door.

"Yes. She's joining your team?"

"Yeah..."

"So, you have a full team now, officially?"

"Yes."

"I'm glad," Asher said.

"Even if it's at the cost of your team?" Madelyn asked quietly.

Asher snorted. "It's not like Tiffany was already officially in my team, and you, somehow, stole her from me. She preferred your team over mine, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm glad you have a full squad," Asher said. It was a full squad of women around whom Madelyn felt more comfortable, but he didn't say it because he didn't want to bring up the topic.

Madelyn bit her lip, nodding, as they left the Academy. She led them to the mall. On their way, they talked about the lectures and joked about their professors. Madelyn was listing the lectures that were worth attending as they were entering the mall.

They didn't walk for long before one exhibition caught Asher's eye. Behind a glass stood mannequins clothed in skimpy underwear. One set was really similar to the one that Rachel had worn when they had sex. It was a little bit more modest, and Rachel, having larger tits, certainly stretched the material of the bra better than this mannequin.

"Umm... Asher?" Madelyn asked.

He quickly turned toward her.

She was biting her lip, averting her eyes with blushed cheeks.

"I... don't think it's a good present for Ava."

"Ugh, no! It's--no! Not like that. I--not for Ava, for Elara. I was thinking that perhaps, for Elara," he said, stumbling over his words as his cheeks blushed furiously. It certainly wasn't a point in their relationship to buy Ava presents like that, despite that it would certainly look amazing on her fit body.

"Oh... y-yeah, of course," Madelyn said quietly.

"I want to take her on a date. I mean Elara! I want to take Elara on a date. This week, and I thought that I might buy her something," he added, waving his hand at the exhibition he had been ogling.

"Do you want to go in?" Madelyn asked, glancing at the shop.

"Umm... if I'm already here, I could take a look," he said, glancing again at the mannequins, wondering what would look good on Elara.

"Do you know her size?" Madelyn asked.

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence as they stood there together, with Madelyn watching the skimpy women's lingerie.

Asher grunted. "If you don't want to go in, you can wait here, or go do something else, or I might come another time without you," he offered.

Madelyn glanced at him, biting her lip. "I can go with you and maybe... help you or something."

"Ugh... okay," he replied.

They walked together into the store, which was full of displays of sexy lingerie. Asher hadn't imagined that his shopping with Madelyn would be this--he was walking between shelves looking at the lingerie, with his cheeks blushing.

He tried to focus on the underwear, imagining what would look good on Elara, hoping that they could leave quickly and pretend that they hadn't walked together into this shop.

"Asher," Madelyn said behind him. "What do you think about this one?" she asked, pointing at a shelf, her cheeks reddened.

He glanced at the set she pointed out--panties and a bra made out of light blue material that would cover her intimate bits, but the lacy finishing added a spicy tone. He imagined how Elara would look in it.

Good. Sexy. In a way that made him want to rip it off her. But Elara would look good in anything, he assumed. Was this set the best? Madelyn had suggested it, so perhaps it was a great choice.

"That's a great choice," the shop assistant suddenly said--a woman in her thirties who had just walked up to them. "It matches your girlfriend's eye color," she added with a wide smile.

"What?" Asher asked, surprised, wondering how she could know that Elara had blue eyes. But when the woman glanced at Madelyn, who now had not only her cheeks but her whole face and neck red, averting her eyes, he realized what she had meant.

"Oh, no! Madelyn's not my girlfriend," he said quickly. "Umm... she's my friend. She's just helping me pick out something for my girlfriend, Elara," Asher explained, feeling like he was about to die from embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! You two just looked so adorably flustered together, I thought you must be a couple," the woman said with a bright smile. "So, what does your girlfriend look like?"

"Ugh... blonde hair, blue eyes, light complexion," Asher said. The shop assistant raised her eyebrow, glancing at Madelyn, who fit this description. "Umm... darker blond than Madelyn, and she is more tanned. But their eyes are very similar," Asher added, looking into Madelyn's eyes.

She had slightly brighter irises, but both of them had the same color--his favorite one, the light blue that he always associated with a cloudless spring sky.

"This set should suit her. It's also available in black, red, or white. Unless you want to look for something else? Perhaps something bolder? Or less?"

"Umm... I think this one is great," Asher said, feeling more uncomfortable talking with the shop assistant.

"Do you want a moment to think?"

"Yes," Asher replied immediately, feeling more relaxed as the woman walked away from them.

He glanced again at the set, imagining Elara in it. He wanted to see Elara in it. He was sure that she would look hot.

"Umm... do you want to look for something else?" Madelyn asked, interrupting his fantasies.

"Do you think she will look great in it?" he asked, still staring at the lingerie.

"Umm... yes," Madelyn replied, after a brief pause.

Asher checked the price. It would be the most expensive underwear he had ever bought, but he could afford it, and they should start earning money from exploring soon. He really hoped that it would be worth it, and that Elara would like it.

"I will take this one," he said as he approached the shop assistant. He told her Elara's size, and after paying, they quickly left the lingerie shop.

He breathed a sigh, relieved that it was over, and then started laughing.

"What?" Madelyn asked, walking next to him as they strolled through the mall without a destination.

"I didn't think I would go to a shop like that for the first time with my best friend," he said.

He wasn't even so sure what made him laugh--perhaps just the stress. But Madelyn smiled too, and then she started giggling, covering her mouth with her hand.

"I never thought I would go to a shop like that," Madelyn said, amused.

"Thanks. Without you, I probably would have spent an hour there lost," Asher said.

"At least you would have had interesting sights," Madelyn replied.

Asher glanced at her, surprised, and then both of them started laughing.

"Present for Ava now?" Maddy asked finally.

"Mhmm."

"Do you have any ideas? Maybe something less private?"

Asher snorted. "Well, that's not difficult. But... maybe a book? She's studying all the time, and it's quite simple and cheap--a small gesture," Asher said, shrugging.

Madelyn nodded, then led them toward the bookstore.

--- Ava Black ---

Ava was sitting on the bed in her room alone and was repeating all possible scenarios of the incoming fight in her mind. She analyzed every possibility, every step, even if in this fight the most important would be her reflexes and the accuracy of her missiles.

But that was today. Ava knew that she would finally do it--she would finally reach her goal. And it was an especially perfect day for that. It was only hours, and she would show everyone who was the best.

Someone knocked on her door. Ava raised an eyebrow, a little confused. Her roommate had class, and her friends didn't stop by when she wasn't there. Ava normally didn't have anyone that would visit her either. But then she realized that a week ago that might have been true, but now Asher could be behind the door.

What if he wanted to have sex? Ava wondered about it for a moment. She didn't have time, but... no, she wasn't in the mood either. The fight was occupying her mind too much. Perhaps afterward.

Her phone rang, and she realized that she was standing by the door but hadn't opened it. Just as she suspected, Asher stood there with his phone in one hand and the other hand behind his back.

"Hey," he said, raising his eyes to her and hiding his phone.

"Hey, I don't have time now, I'm busy. We can meet in the evening so I can get my stack," Ava said, brushing him off and hoping he wouldn't insist.

"Sure, I just wanted to stop by for a moment," Asher said.

Ava looked at him, waiting, hoping that he wasn't going to waste a lot of her time.

"Happy birthday," Asher said, pulling a book from behind his back and holding it out to her.

Ava glanced at the cover quickly, recognizing the title, but then she focused on him, surprised.

"I didn't tell you it was my birthday," she said.

"I was checking the statuses this morning," Asher explained.

"And you bought me a present?" Ava asked, still shocked. She hadn't gotten anything for years for her birthday. She had only received money through bank transfers from her father--and even that without any wishes.

"It's nothing special, just a book that I thought might be useful when..." Asher stopped and looked around the empty corridor. "Soon," he finished, looking flustered and raising the book higher toward her.

Ava grabbed it, still looking at him. She could see in his eyes expectation and a hint of nervousness. It was a good present--thoughtful, modest, and useful. And he had just found out about her birthday that morning, so he must have gone immediately after his lectures to buy it.

Ava smiled. "Thanks," she said, hugging him.

Asher embraced her, and they stood there for a moment as Ava felt a mix of awkwardness and surprise. No one had ever given her a present, and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to react--especially since she didn't need the book. But Asher had put effort into it, had thought about giving her something, and she didn't want to disappoint him. So she just stayed quiet.

Ava realized that they were standing there, hugging for too long. But his body felt warm, comforting, and she genuinely felt good in his arms. The gift made her feel good too--special. She could've stayed like that longer, but she was supposed to be preparing for a fight, not getting distracted.

Ava backed off, still smiling--but this time less forced and more real. Asher looked happy, and she was glad that she didn't mention that this present was useless to her.

"Thanks," she said once again, raising the book higher.

Asher smiled, and his gaze jumped to Ava's lips, and she wondered if he wanted to kiss her. No, she knew that he wanted to do it. She was much more surprised by the fact that she wanted it too.

"So, I'm not going to bother you anymore," Asher said.

Ava actually felt disappointed that he didn't kiss her. She wondered if she should go for the kiss herself, but wasn't fast enough as Asher had already headed toward the stairs.

"Remember to eat something. I'll see you tonight," he added before walking away.

Ava stood there for a moment, staring at him. She hadn't eaten anything that day, too focused on her fight to think about food. But she started to wonder if perhaps she really should eat something.

But her mind was much more occupied with the unfamiliar feelings Asher stirred inside her. No one had ever cared about her like that or worried whether she had eaten. It wasn't anything special, she told herself. He had just reminded her to eat. But he remembered from their previous conversation that she sometimes forgot about it.

Ava sighed, frustrated. She was supposed to prepare--not think about Asher. She stepped back into her room, closing the door. She approached her nightstand and grabbed the book that lay there.

"Elemental Magic: Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Element."

The same book that Asher had given her. The one on the nightstand was old and worn, because she had been using it for years already. Ava put the book from Asher on the nightstand and threw the old copy into the chest with her other items.

Even if the present wasn't extremely useful to her, she could still use it rather than her old copy. It was the only present she had gotten that day. And even though it was the middle of the day, Ava knew that she wouldn't get anything else.

She sat down on her bed and glanced at the book from Asher, and only then another thought crossed her mind. Did this gift mean something more? Did he give it to her because they were together in a team? Or because they were sleeping together? Or because he hoped for something more?

What more could he possibly want? They were already having sex.

Ava lay down on the bed, deciding not to think about it and focus on what was important--analyzing her strategy for the incoming fight.