fics I read

February 13th 2016 Gemworld 9:00 PM EDT

The first place I headed was my cottage. It was one of the first places I'd made and I'd paid special attention to it in the upgrade. From what I could tell residential areas got bigger and more luxurious on upgrade than other places since size and luxury were the things that made them valuable. Whereas say a forge might not change too much physically but the actual furnace might be upgraded. Because I'd gone for size over density I doubted our G ranked buildings had changed too much with the exception of a material upgrade, they should still be at G with a few other important locations joining them and lots of H ranked living spaces.

The cottage was still G rank, but it had been heavily altered by becoming part of the city, and pushed much higher in the G rank range, increasing in size as the material shifted. It wasn't a mansion now, but definitely a nice sized house with a few stories, and much more well furnished. Once I took the girls back to celebrate a bit I decided to look around my new town before the swearing in ceremony. I was still comfortable on points so there was no reason to get squirmy. My first move was appraising the house itself to see what the new description said.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Lord's Manor- G rank. The estate of the lord of the city, a spacious and sturdy manor house luxuriously situated in the heart of a budding metropolis. Made from love grade deepvein titanbone this house possesses the ability to grow and change to suit its owner over time.]

I grinned. It had my name on it. Granted it could have easily been a coincidence, but I still appreciated seeing it. I left the girls to their affairs while I toured around the house before heading out into the city. I was walking peacefully through the hall when something caught my eye. I froze, turning ro see what the movement had been, and chuckled when I realized it was just a mirror. I stared into the glass, looking into my smiling face, and I started to remember the strange feeling I'd gotten at Zee's place.

My smile began to die, and as it did, so did the smile in the mirror. Despite my knowledge that the face in thew gl;ass was the same as the one I was making, my eyes bored into the reflection. I tried to look for any differences. Was the cast of the lips a little more sneering? Was the glint in the eyes a little colder. I knew it was stupid, but despite being absolutely sure there was only me in the reflected image I had the terrible feeling I was looking at someone else. That I was looking at a stranger, and not one who wished me well. I appraised the mirror like I had the last.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Gemsand Mirror- H rank. An upscale mirror made from luxurious gemsand glass. Tastefully designed to pull together the room.]

There was nothing. No magic, no sign of problems. It was just a mirror. Just a normal reflection of me. I chuckled uneasily. This wasn't like me. My instincts were usually good. Paranoia was a given for anyone with common sense, but Lords did not jump at shadows. I scanned my face in the mirror, it could be that the whole Doctor Gotham thing had made me a bit edgy.

For some reason though, I suddenly didn't relish the thought of being alone. Not that I was vulnerable. I was an F rank wymkin, I could protect myself fine, I just didn't like the silence. So I broke it. "Hey Marcus, any notes on how I'm building up my territory? This is your wheelhouse right? I mean, granted things didn't end too well for you, but the whole ancient world empire thing is definitely your scene, at least at the beginning you did pretty well, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten to a position to fall so hard."

I tore my eyes away from...my eyes, deciding to focus on the issue at hand. I hadn't actually seen anything other than movement as I was walking by a mirror, and the system said it was a normal one. I had no real reason to think otherwise. Everyone had moments where they got a little weirded out, a creak of a closet, a thump in the hall, once you confirmed it was nothing you just had to move on.

[You're doing fairly well for a beginner honestly. That cup was a hell of a find. The decision to build wide instead of tall is likely to keep you from attracting too much attention early on. It's smarter than what I did. Just don't make the mistake of building up a huge force and thinking quantity can actually bridge the gap. You aren't going to get to the point where you can take any of the noble dynasties in a straight fight. Not in the time you plan on spending here.]

That was a reality check I appreciated actually. It was easy to buy my own press, to decide I was some world conqueror and try to hit them head on, but all the power I had was nothing compared to the magical titans that ruled this world. My big priority wasn't conquering Gemworld, it was making sure I had a power base that could be effectively translated back to Gotham. I wanted to build a strong base that would serve me in both worlds.

One of the earliest lessons my old man taught me was never to confuse power with glory. Having power, wealth, and influence wasn't about the status it gave you, it was about having options. The more options you had the more freedom you possessed, and freedom to do what you wanted was the only thing that really mattered. I'd been falling into the conquerors mindset, been letting the promise of glory tempt me. Not that I'd made any concrete plans to attack the dynasties, but I'd been tossing the idea around.

I didn't need to go to war to win my battles, in fact, having to fight would mean I'd already lost. I sighed, trekking through the house and finding my study, which I had now apparently. I dropped into the chair behind the desk, which was pretty nice actually, made of a nice heavy dark wood. "You're right. I was letting this go to my head." Left unsaid was that I'd been falling into the same trap that Crassus had, and the reminder from him of all people was much more effective than it might have been from others. "So what's your advice going forward then. I mean, I'll still do what I think is best, but I'm game to listen."

[Keep doing what you're doing. As long as you don't start churning out F or E rankers I doubt the nobles will care much. They've got centuries of foundation here, and whole courts of much more powerful magic users. Don't make a nuisance of yourself, build up a solid base, and get in touch with the Amethyst kingdom as soon as you have things stabilized. We're on the edge of their territory, and the idea of them courting you should keep the Emeralds from being too pushy.]

Playing both sides against each other was a game I was well acquainted with. "You think I should expect an envoy soon? I mean I did just magically create a giant ass city in their territory. Edge or not I would expect that to raise a couple of flags." I wasn't going to be the one to get in touch, I wanted them worrying about who I was talking to, but it would make sense for them to dispatch someone to at least make contact, even if only to show off an put me in my place.

[Hard to say, I don't know the politics here, but my read on the situation is no. The Emerald dynasty has been in charge here for ages, that kind of foundation makes people either cautious or reckless. Since they haven't violated borders and they use the Emerald Edge for their dirty work I'm thinking the former. They'll keep an eye on you, see if you're worth approaching, the power you've displayed shouldn't be past their tolerance point, not when they have C and D rankers. Plus you're ignoring the obvious question.]

I nodded. "Where did I come from? Power doesn't just appear. Granted the possibility that I might be from another world is probably on the table, but without any reason to expect that the most reasonable assumption is that I came from one of the other dynasties. Am I a plant from Amethyst? One of the other territories? I could easily be a red herring the Amethyst kingdom put here as a pretense for war. Not exactly their style from what I hear, but counting on something like sentiment in espionage would be stupid."

[Exactly. Moving on you before they figure out your origin would be risking getting blindsided by some plot from one of the other dynasties. Any region with a power structure this stable lends itself to constant infighting and threat balancing. Emerald has to consider what every single one of the regions on their borders has to gain from every action that potentially involves outside forces. They'll have to be cautious. Use that.]

He was right. Anything that pushed the timeline back gave me more time to build my power before I had to interact with the other forces, but it was a balancing act. If I didn't have some legitimate connection with Amethyst before Emerald reached out I could easily end up stuck between a rock and a hard place. The trick was to get in touch with the neighboring region before Emerald managed to puzzle out any information about me, and I figured I had at least a few days before that happened.

International politics was, just like any other interaction, it was all about power balancing. If you were interacting with someone much more powerful you needed another force to offset some of the pressure. It was the same logic I'd used when I'd dealt with Morgan Edge, using the implicit threat of my dads influence to keep him from just overtly screwing me over, without actually pitting them against each other. The key to getting the most benefits was never picking a side, walking that knife's edge when the two forces collide.

With a decent idea of how to move forward I headed out into the city, finally ready to take that look around. I checked out the forge, which had mostly remained unchanged apart from a material upgrade, as well as the new bakery, bar, tailor shop, and a few other G rank specialty buildings I'd included in my vision of the city, though not too many of them, since I didn't want to push the town over its ranking limit.

Crassus went back to his normal...whatever it was he did, and since I wasn't alone anymore I didn't feel as uneasy. The bandits were making themselves at home in the new residences, and the farmers didn't seem too unhappy about the new accommodations either, since their farms had been upgraded a bit, though again not too much. As I walked though, my mind went back to the mirror.

I couldn't put my finger on what I'd been feeling or why, but there was something...wrong. Something off. It was stupid really, being worried about my own reflection. I shook it off, continuing down the street with an internal promise to look into reflections in the next magic library I found. I knew they had magical significance. I wasn't sure what that significance was, but I could always ask about it. Zee and Strega might know something. I had this gnawing feeling it might be important.

February 13th 2016 Gemworld 10:00 PM EDT

I was feeling a bit out of sorts, so I decided to make good on my plans to to have some fun with one of the farm girls if I could find one. I'd fucked my girls earlier, but bouncing a new girl on my dick always calmed me down, and as much as I enjoyed playing with my own women, I always enjoyed talking a pretty girl out of her panties. I trekked across the town a few times, looking around for someone fun, before I finally settled on a target for the nights activities.

I saw a few pretty farm girls, but most of them had husbands around, and while I could fuck them anyway it would cause needless drama, so I decided to find a girl who was on her own. It didn't take me long to find a pretty blonde who was about my age sitting out behind one of the farms reading under the stars. I didn't see anyone in the house behind her so her parents (who I assumed were the people living there) were probably out celebrating.

She was a pretty picture, big blue eyes and a pouty mouth, with long blonde hair and a delicate china doll face. The big crowd pleaser was her extremely perky tits, which were probably C cups, but given she looked a bit under five feet looked huge on her. She had one of those plunging medieval peasant dresses with the white linen bodice that made her creamy cleavage pop.

I cleared my throat, and she looked up at me, eyes widening as she saw me, scrambling to her feet. "Oh! My lord, my apologies, I didn't hear you approach. My parents aren't here, if you came to discuss the loyalty ceremony. I know you mentioned speaking to my father about the running of the village, but I'm afraid they've stepped out to celebrate with the others." She kept her eyes down as she talked, and honestly the whole submissive peasant girl think was pretty sexy on her.

I did however, force myself to pay attention to what she was saying, and not just how those fat tits jiggled as she said it. "Oh, you're Levka's daughter? I suppose we haven't met. I wasn't here to speak to them, I was just passing by and found myself captivated by your beauty." She blushed, and I confirmed that shy girls were just as into that harlequin romance bullshit in Gemworld as back home. I hadn't expected a problem but it was good to have confirmation.

Her being related to Levka was actually annoying though. I mean, I was still going to fuck her, but I'd probably need to keep sticking it to her to keep her happy. I needed Levka to help run things, or at least to make that more convenient. I wondered why I didn't know he had a daughter, but I assumed it was because Barbie had been the one reporting their situation and she hadn't wanted me paying attention to the girl. I gave her a soft smile, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles lightly. "My lord is too formal however, call me Nicky, how should I address you?"

She blushed bright red. "Hildie my lo- I mean..." Her face glowed so bright I was afraid she might catch fire before she said in almost a whisper. "Nicky." She was adorable, I was pretty much hard as a rock. She bit her lip, sounding hesitant. "Would you...would you like to sit with me a while?" Her voice was so faint it was barely audible, but I gave her a reassuring smile and sat down next to her.

People like to think virgins are more difficult to seduce than sluts, but in reality, I've found exactly the opposite to be true. Slutty girls are used to attention. If they want your dick, they'll take you for a ride, but the actual process of convincing them if it isn't their idea tends to be more effort because you aren't a novelty. It's just another day for them, and they know what good pussy is worth so they'll make you work for it. Of course, I was rich and good looking and had a huge dick so they didn't make ME work for it, but guys who they weren't drooling over had more to do.

Virgins however, are much easier to impress. They're nervous and unsure, but as long as you let them know that everything that happens is their decision (even if you make sure they always make the ones you want them to) the thought of a handsome guy paying them attention for the first time is so intoxicating you can get away with almost anything. I spent about an hour talking to Hildie, and by the time I decided to actually make a move she was all but panting.

Once I had her nice and worked up, I initiated the seduction. I'd done this more than a few times, so I was familiar with the dance. Step one, drop plenty of compliments, and pay attention to her body. Make sure the compliments are physical, but nothing overtly sexual at first, then "slip up". Gauge her responses to the sexual comment to decide your pace. If she clams up, apologize and tell her you were blinded by her beauty or some bullshit like that, the basic gist of which essentially boiled down to "you're so hot I couldn't resist".

Step two, once the proper groundwork has been laid, start to initiate something basic, like a kiss, then pull back. Mention that you aren't sure it's appropriate and apologize without telling her exactly what you were going to do. The main goal is to get her to come to the conclusion that you going further is her own idea. Once she assures you that she's open to something harmless, start there and then slowly move things up from there, maybe some groping.

Step three, stop and make sure that your groping was what she meant. Make sure to stop before she has a chance to react to it, so she feels like you're letting her set the pace as opposed to reacting to your advances especially since you're doing "what she asked you to do". Keep pushing until you're able to get into a position to make her orgasm, preferably finger fucking, though rubbing through her panties is acceptable too.

Hildie went through every step like I was hitting a check list. Shyly accepting my kiss. Submissively letting me feel her up, and finally eagerly moaning into my mouth when I rubbed her clit to orgasm. Granted with Eros and Psych it was even easier, but as usual after her first orgasm, she subconsciously considered the sex a foregone conclusion, and didn't protest at all when I pushed up her dress and slid myself into her virgin cunt.

Honestly I barely used my ability. My cherry popping technique was pretty well honed, and I'd fucked plenty of bookish good girls back home. Cheerleaders tended to be more fun for long term fuck buddies, but there wasn't really anything like the feeling of an unused pussy, especially some pretty little straight A sweetie who spends so much time with her nose in a book she doesn't have time to find a boyfriend.

Once I was fully inside her Hildie groaned a little but didn't make any other noise of complaint. Her big bright eyes stared up me as if asking if she was doing a good job, and if her soft little cunt wasn't already heaven, that innocent expression of adoration would have turned it into paradise. I started to work myself in and out of her, sliding an inch into her at a time, making sure to flip her switch with my ability so she got turned on by even the initial discomfort.

I pulled down the top of her little peasant dress, letting her fat little tits bounce free and I caught one nipple in my mouth, giving it a little nip, and making sure her pussy flooded at the slight pain. Normally it took some effort slut training a virgin, but with Eros and Psych I could skip the hard parts and just train her body to explode at every little thing I enjoyed doing to her.

Hildie was doing cute little gasps of excitement as I pounded her pussy, and while I knew she was going to be sore later despite me holding back quite a bit, I made sure she adored every hard inch I gave her and relished every bit of stretch. Hell, She wouldn't even need to recover much because once I blew my load in her she'd heal right up. Since that was the case I didn't hold back quite as much, though I made sure I wouldn't break her or anything. Little slut had a grip like like an iron vice and she got even tighter when I kissed her.

I'd have to pass her off to Barbie after I was done, she was giving me that adoring look that told me she was going to follow me all over for a while, but that wasn't a problem. I'd just give her a job as my maid or something so I could get back in this hot little pussy when I wanted another go. I was pretty sure being a medieval noble was going to be awesome, but I might be biased because of the creaming farm girl squealing on my cock.

Since she was just taking whatever I gave her I decided to try out her ass a bit. I shoved a thumb up her asshole. Her eyes went wide with shock and confusion but she didn't protest, just turning her head to the side with a blush as she locked her ankles behind my back. Her cunt tightened up so much as the ass play it was almost painful, and I felt my balls tighten up because she was just such a fun little fuck. I leaned down and whispered "You're such a good girl Hildie. I'm so close."

She gave a happy mewl of pleasure at the praise and leaned up to kiss me, draping her arms around my neck as she stared into my eyes, I liked my girls a bit more talkative during sex, but Hildie was a virgin and didn't really have any idea how to dirty talk or anything. I could teach her that later. For the moment she was warm and obedient pussy who was ready for my cum, and I pushed her down against the ground, getting her ready for the cream pie I was looking forward to giving her.

I wasn't planning to knock her up, but Hildie didn't know that, and I was really looking forward to her reaction to the handsome noble emptying his balls in her. She knew what might happen if I came inside, and she'd locked her legs tighter when I mentioned cumming. I could tell from her desires it wasn't an anchor baby thing, she hadn't intended to get pregnant, her hungry little pussy just craved it. She didn't care if I put a baby in her, she just wanted her lord to spill his seed in her. It was insanely hot.

Not hot enough for me to actually knock her up, I had two babies already on the way, but I indulged her in a passionate kiss as I emptied my balls into her ecstatic cunt, swallowing the scream of joy as she orgasmed into my mouth. I felt the cum flood her body with magic, being absorbed and repairing the minor damage of her first fuck as well as supercharging her body. Her orgasm was amplified by the surge of energy, but I caught all the sound as she finished.

When she was done she went limp. I kissed her for another minute or two and then pushed myself back into her pussy for a second round. She bit her lip with a blush but didn't argue, and I smiled as she whimpered in pleasurable acceptance when I slid back in. I loved the obedient ones. I was curious, between the healing from my cum and her natural submissive attitude I wondered how many times she'd let me fuck her. I picked her up carrying her still full of my cock out further behind the house so we didn't get interrupted. I couldn't wait to find out.

February 14th 2016 Gemworld 10:00 AM EDT

I admit, fucking Hildie was relaxing. I hadn't realized how entwined the girls had become in my life until I got a chance to deep dick the pretty farm girl and send her on her way. I told her to go see Barbie to be given a position as my maid, which she did with a pretty blush, and sighed in contentment. I'd keep Hildie around in case I needed a quick fuck with no complications, and she wouldn't expect more. The lustful Lord fucking his maid was a trope even here, and she would be conscious enough of the social strata not to expect to move up.

I would probably need to toss her a quick conversation here and there to keep her feeling like we had some kind of secret relationship as opposed to her being a convenient cumdump, but it would be way less work than I did with the girls already. I hadn't marked her (I was getting more control over that as I went) because if I waited to apply the brand as she elevated to G rank when she drank from the chalice I'd get a thousand points instead of a hundred.

It had taken me a while to work that out actually. When I elevated my own people to a higher rank I got no return on it, and higher ranked people who were already strong were harder to mark, but using elevation to cement loyalty was a best of both worlds kind of thing. I slipped out my phone, checking the charge, I should probably check in with the girls soon, but I'd been putting a low level charge into the thing for a few days rather than any concerted effort to top it off, I figured I'd call when I could.

I winced at the date. Valentines. I would have to make at least a quick call to Dinah, Whisper never questioned me, but my baby MILF cared about that kind of thing. Usually Valentines was just an excuse to fuck insecure cheerleaders, having kids on the way sure did change things. Deciding to put that off until later I hopped up to my feet. I went home to change and get cleaned up before finding Barbie to let her know it was time to set up the loyalty ceremony.

When she saw me plop down in the chair across from her she glared at me, but I just smiled unrepentantly. I had a plan for this conversation. She pouted at me. "There are four of us constantly at your beck and call, was it necessary to devirginize our only smith's beloved daughter? Now you want me to give her a job as a maid? Presumably so you can continue to have sex with her regularly. Were you TRYING to piss me off as much as you could? Because I know you aren't stupid enough to think I wouldn't mind."

I wasn't. Barbie had mellowed since Zee and I fucked the spite out of her, but she wasn't exactly an eager little harem bunny. I'd assumed this would hurt her, and while I didn't exactly care, I didn't want to deal with her sulking, so I'd prepared a suitable bit of compensation. I smiled at her silkily. "I assumed you would be excited when she told you, what's one more girl on the list? Especially when you get to move in here with me?"

Her glare stuttered as she froze in place, eyes going wide. "Wait...what?" Her cheeks were flushed and her blue eyes were gleaming. "You...want me to move in here with you?" All her righteous anger had, as expected, melted away as my invitation caught her completely off guard. None of the girls lived in the main house with me, they all had individual cottages from among the H rank buildings that popped up with the city. Barbie in particular lived at the Moonberry orchard, which she enjoyed, but not as much as living with me.

We'd shared the cottage a bit before the city had been set up, but we'd also been pretty constantly busy, so it hadn't really been living together, and the idea of living with me clearly derailed her bad mood. Granted, it wasn't as romantic a gesture as she thought, aside from needing her at hand when she was running things and needing to get her under my hold more before upgrading her I was less comfortable living by myself in this house with the mirror weirdness. Having her around would give me someone to confer with if needed.

She cleared her throat. "Well. I mean, don't think this gets you off the hook. Zee and I don't appreciate being deprived of your attention by some little farm hussy. We put up with it from Strega and...Cherry, but sharing you with a new girl is a bit much to ask." I particularly enjoyed the abrupt switch in teams after we'd fucked her. It made me much more certain I could wrap her around my finger, my Barbie really was a needy little slut deep down.

I had a plan for this too. "But Barbie, I got her for you." She looked at me suspiciously, clearly confused, so I continued. "Zee put you in you place when we fucked, and I know you've been on your knees for her more than a few times, but I remember how much you like that little slut at Galaxy. I figured since you're moving in you could train our new maid to be your personal bitch. Being in charge of the city is stressful, and Zee isn't free to lick your cunt whenever you're feeling pent up."

In reality this had NOT been the plan, but since Barbie was going to be moving in and I didn't want Hildie under foot all the time it was a win win for me. I'd have to do a lot less work with the blonde and give her less attention with Barbie playing queen bitch and making her squeal for mommy. My redhead flushed, because deep down she was kind of a sadist as well as a masochist, and without Zee to take out her spite on Cherry had been her only outlet for those tendencies.

She gave me a suspicious look. "Ignoring that you probably just wanted some strange and are doing this to get out of trouble, I...suppose I shouldn't be ungrateful for the gift. I could use...and assisstant." I could almost feel her cunt soak as she said that last word with all the depraved implication of junkie talking about a particularly strong fix. She cleared her throat. "I doubt you came here just for that though. You're almost never proactive about cleaning up your messes like that. I would have expected to have to track you down."

I laughed, because she did know me at least a bit, despite my best efforts to put on a front on occasion. "Guilty. As much as I like rewarding you for being such a good girl for me lately, I do have actual business here. I want you to call everyone in the city, as well as any number of potential residents we'd been wooing from the nearby villages here. I'm going to be performing the ceremony to bring Levka into the village in front of the others. I'm expecting it to have quite an effect on the old man, and I think watching it will make others more eager to join."

Levka was high G rank with a noble bloodline. Unlike all the Barons at the stronghold I was fairly sure he had it in him to reach F rank when I brought him into my bloodline. I was also pretty sure the burst of vitality would take a few years off him, and it would have the added benefit of cutting off any potential backlash over fucking Hildie, plus my new blonde fuck toy might be happy about it, and it didn't cost me anything to factor that in.

If we elevated a Viscount and bound him to the village it would not only increase my power by adding a new F ranker bound to me (and a crafter at that) it would also show everyone that I had the ability to dramatically increase people's power. Everyone wanted power, so when it got out to the other villages it would increase the immigration rate of the other villagers to the city immensely.

Barbie, being a literal genius despite how dumb she got when someone paid attention to her cunt, picked all of this up pretty much immediately, though I didn't think she knew about the ranking part of things. She nodded. "Fine, I'll set it up, and I'll keep Hildie...occupied, until after her fathers ceremony so he doesn't notice anything." I wondered if she noticed how hungry her voice got when she said that, though I would have known even if it hadn't I could sense her desires after all.

I chuckled at her and pulled her over the desk and into my lap for a kiss. She moaned into my mouth as I slide a hand up her dress to shove a ring and middle finger into her dripping pussy, almost humping my hand as I touched her where she needed it. Barbie's corruption was going well so far, and every day she was here she gave in a little more to the lustful side of herself.

I hadn't really done anything except provide her with an outlet, but hitting all her weak spots as I had made it much easier. First getting her used to the idea of sex with another woman with that three way, then making sure she thought of her jealousy of Zee as a sexual thing, then making sure to frame the three of us as a victory for her, all the while tugging and shifting slightly at her desires to make sure that each step went well. Being stuck so far from home alone made it even more possible to put her in line, and the process had definitely been enjoyable.

I pulled back, adding a third finger and getting squeak of pleasure as I whispered in her ear. "Happy Valentines day Barbie." Before I flicked her clit with my thumb and hammered her desires even as I stroked both her clit and G spot, she had a wailing orgasm on my lap that I cut off with my mouth, and then I set her in the chair as I got up. I put my fingers to her lips, letting her clean them off for me with a heated look up at me through her lashes.

She gave me a naughty smile and preened at the attention snuggling into the chair as I turned to leave. That had been pretty much the perfect way to deflect her attention and put her in a good mood. I supposed this Valentines thing wasn't so bad after all. Give your girl a slut to play with and shove your fingers in her twat and get out of a bunch of work? Happy Valentines day indeed.

Still, with all that taken care of I went to go get ready for the ceremony. It would take most of the day for her to set it up if we wanted witnesses from nearby villages but that was fine. I had plenty of other things to do today. I was feeling affectionate, so I'd stop in and play with the other girls as a present. Letting them know I remembered something as pointless as Valentines would make them feel like I cared, which would buy me some good will.

I needed to fill the chalice at some point too, since that would be the big event. I was pretty sure if I let it sit for a while before Levka drank it there would be more magic in the cup and a higher chance of bringing him up to F rank. The ten thousand points I'd get from that would be pretty damn useful, plus the elevation might calm him down a bit when he found out what I did to his little girl...well, what we did. I had a strong feeling pretty Hildie was going to be developing a taste for redhead pussy soon enough. I'd have to stop in and watch at some point. That sounded really hot.

February 14th 2016 Gemworld 6:00 PM EDT

Zee had been all sweet and happy when we fucked, so touched that I remembered Valentines she even skipped her usual fight to fuck me struggling. I'd honestly been a bit bummed, Zee's games were a good time, but I could get that later, so I supposed a desperate clingy fuck was a novelty from my sorceress. Strega had just bent over to take my dick, though she had smiled a bit, and Cherry had just requested a night to herself later, saying she didn't care about Valentines, making her the most rational of my girls.

Regardless, I'd killed the rest of my day in style, enjoying myself enough for the time to pass quickly, and Barbie had been as good as her word, setting up the ceremony and even getting the witnesses over to the city in decent time. Which is how I found myself now, in a big ass central square midway through the town, waiting for everyone to file in and surrounded by my bandits, who were looming over the civilians to keep the peace.

The bandits had been allowed to enjoy their night when we arrived, but the next day had found them snapped up by Sally, who was gleefully training them into a proper force to guard my city, complete with formations and, eventually, uniforms. She'd approached me about making them personalized armor, and I wasn't opposed to it once I got a bit of the city filled up and had stocked up on points. With enough of the civilians boosted and living here I'd be seeing a serious increase in GP and I could afford a bit of splurging on some G ranked armor for the guards.

I had actually slipped into armor for this. We'd been wearing our formal clothes for the last few days since arriving, since I'd upgraded them and they were basically stain proof anyway it wasn't really an issue to keep them on. The next best thing to self cleaning or not though, people didn't like wearing the same shit ad infinitum, and it wasn't exactly inspiring to see your leader in a wrinkled suit. I'd snagged a suit from the treasury and merged it with another one to make it fit a bit better and then headed out here to check on details.

Aside from what I was wearing the only important factor was the chalice, which had been prepped for hours. I'd even topped it up a bit to make sure it was maxed out in terms of energy. I wanted an F ranked smith bad, for the points and the usefulness both. I set the chalice up on a table I had one of the bandits carry out here, making them move it around a few times to get the best placement before deciding it worked best in the original spot. I admit I made them move it a few extra times just to fuck with them, but it was funny watching them scowl but refuse to bitch about it.

Between the fear and the loyalty mark the bandits were shockingly well behaved, and I was almost sad I didn't have a reason to put the fear of Waylon into them. If one of them fucked up I could get my muscle to smack them around in front of the others. Still, obedient was obedient, and I wasn't petty or short sighted enough to manufacture a problem. Willing lackeys were infinitely simpler to deal with, and if I trained them to only respond to fear I'd have to constantly micromanage. It wasn't worth a few minutes of satisfaction.

Finally though, everyone arrived. I saw Hildie trailing behind Barbie, looking flushed and a little dazed and had to fight a grin. Levka had shown up with his wife, but they didn't have a chance to interact with their daughter other than a quick conversation and congratulations on the new job because as the guest of honor Levka had shit to do before he drank from the cup, walking around and schmoozing a bit. The change would make a bigger impression if we let everyone see the before and after more thoroughly.

Once that was done I stepped out in front of the crowd, clearing my throat. I held up my hands as everyone fell silent. "People of Lord Town!" My voice boomed through the square, carried by acoustic resonance that made me really impressed with the native attributes of this city. "As you know, today is a grand occasion. We see a member of our own swear his oaths to the village, and you will bear witness to the ascension that comes with giving me your loyalty. Service to the city will be generously rewarded, as you will soon see."

It was a bit dramatic and kind of ham fisted, but these were medieval peasants, and subtlety wasn't exactly their native tongue. A bit of showmanship here was to be expected, and would only highlight this next part all the more. "Levka! Smith of Lord Village. You have brought many to my door and contributed greatly to the success of the village." I neglected mentioning how his daughter had contributed to the emptying of my balls, though I REALLY wanted to bring it up right now.

Luckily I had self control, so I simply held up the chalice dramatically, passing it to the smith to drink from. He took it with a solemn nod, and drank deep. I was honestly a bit surprised. I'd expected him to be a bit reticent given he'd met me so recently, but Gemworld was a land where magic decided social strata, and seeing me make the village had clearly erased any doubt anyone here had about hitching their wagon to me. He drained the whole cup in a few swallows and the green vital power surged through his veins, visible under the skin as it flooded him with my strength, supplementing his current power with my bloodline.

I'd seen more than a few of these transformations, including one for Malcolm, but this was the first time I'd seen an elevation to F rank. Despite there being just a single rank of difference, G and F were markedly different in terms of scope. F rank artifacts and people were wide scale powers that could affect entire areas. Most G rankers were just middle tier bruisers or small scale magic talents. There was a reason Baron was the first rank on the ladder here. Nothing else was even worth noting.

The elevation of a Gemworlder from Baron to Viscount was a big deal, in other words. The difference between a thousand and ten thousand GP was not a small one. When Levka began his change, I had to actually step back, because the green power of vitality blazing under his skin actually caught him on fire, and I stepped back in surprise as he went up like a gas soaked rag. I expected screaming from him, or from anyone else, but no one reacted, all watching in rapt silence as the flames covered him.

It took me a minute to figure out exactly what was happening. The old and damaged skin and hair was burning away, the vitality in his new bloodline flooding him with life and regrowing it all shiny and new as he slowly reverted in age. I wasn't sure if this was an F rank thing or just a side effect of the lifestorm blood because Levka was the first older person I'd imbued with my blood (bandits didn't tend to have much of a lifespan). Regardless of the reasoning the change to a younger form was compounded by the elevation in life order, and Levka let out a roar as he ascended to a higher level.

When the flames died down, he was naked, a tanned and dark haired man in his early twenties with startling green eyes. His thick beard was pitch black now, and he grinned triumphantly at me, dropping to a knee. "My lord. I had thought myself at the limit of what I could become, doomed to age and die at the precipice of a higher form of life, but you've given me a gift I never expected. My service is yours, for eternity if need be." I mean, it was anyway because of the Brand, but that was nice. I wondered if he would feel the same when he found out I was banging his daughter.

I nodded regally. "Rise Levka, smith of Lord Town, and take your place among the nobility as a true Viscount." I gestured for the others to bring his clothes, and Lenka let his head drop back in near exultation as he put them on, enjoying his new body. I shot a look at his GILF of a wife, and figured she was probably pretty worried about this, and sure enough her eyes were clouded as she looked at her now younger husband. I could de-age her obviously, even if my blood wouldn't do it I could find some other way, but if the marking left her still older I might wait to see if they broke up. She was kind of sexy.

Sadly I suspected the youth was just a side effect of the vitality. I didn't think it would be quite as dramatic for those not crossing such a big barrier, but I was betting any older people I marked this way would slowly start to return to their youth as a side effect of my blood. Oh well, Hildie was plenty of fun, even if I kind of wanted to try the whole mother daughter sandwich thing. I vaguely remembered that Zee's mom was dead, and I was already planning to bring back Sally's kids. With her dad stuck under the control of the gold pot dictator maybe I could rez the mother and complete the set.

The biggest effect of this whole show however, wasn't Levka at all. It was the way everyone else looked like a lightning bolt had struck them. The other civilians were almost vibrating with excitement, and I was pretty sure this story was going to get repeated back and forth between every villager with about ten days of here. We were about to get a huge immigration boom, which had been kind of the point. Aside from that a new loyal F ranker was a plus, and speaking of that I used appraisal again on Levka to see how he'd changed.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Levka- F rank Lifestorm Gemsmith. Former smith of the village of Bridhall, Levka has sworn himself in service to Nicholas Lord, current liege of Lord Town, and grown in power through that oath. Having Ascended to the rank of Viscount he has joined the ranks of true nobility in Gemworld, a rare feat for a smith outside one of the major dynasties.]

I blinked. That was...interesting. I could have sworn he'd had a bit of emerald bloodline, but I was probably remembering Manka. No wonder he got stuck at the peak of G rank. I wasn't entirely sure it was possible for Gemworlders to even reach F rank without a bloodline or some kind of magical trick. I supposed it was like how humans on earth seemed to be basically capped at H without superpowers. Gemworlders had a higher ceiling, but her in Gemworld, bloodlines were how people climbed to a higher level.

It would be fine though. The cup just gave them a bit of my bloodline, which while not one of the Gemworld OGs WAS a bloodline, so it wasn't like I'd discovered some revolutionary new thing. I was just sharing something the other nobles wouldn't have been willing to part with. Levka was back on his feet, chattering excitedly to his wife, and the two of them left with a quick bow to me as the ceremony broke up.

I didn't see the civilians off, nobles didn't do that kind of thing, I just turned and headed back into my manor. I was going to get some rest before the coming wave of villagers. I'd be getting lots of points soon, but I was going to be draining myself dry of blood to do it. I wondered if those moon berries made good juice?

February 20th 2016 Gemworld 6:00 PM EDT

The amount of people who had shown up over the next six days was actually pretty staggering. No more peak G rankers to be had sadly, so I didn't get that ten thousand point boost, but I'd managed to convert about a hundred of them or so, and they'd all hit G rank, pumping me back up the hundred thousand plus I'd spent on the city and getting me firmly back up to two hundred and fifty thousand. I'd have gotten more of them done, but the more often I used the chalice the longer it seemed to take to recharge. I suspected it was still recovering from the blitz to elevate all the bandits.

Still, two hundred and fifty thousand was enough for my upgrade to E rank and then some, so I wasn't worried about it. I watched my newest G ranked gemsworn rise and leave the study with a sigh of relief. After Levka we didn't really need to do a ceremony, and I preferred to avoid everyone seeing me bleed all the damn time so I had taken to summoning the villagers. I converted them in order that they showed up, since seniority was a decent measuring stick to use to keep the others from bitching about having to wait. Once the most recent one was done and I hit two hundred fifty thousand I slipped the cup into my pouch and leaned back with a groan.

Barbie, who was in the room waiting for me to finish, grinned at me saucily. "Well, you certainly seem tired for a guy who hasn't left that chair more than a few times in almost a week. You losing that amazing stamina Nicky?" Despite adoring me, Barbie relished opportunities to snipe at me a bit to get back at me for dumping the running of the entire village on her. She still did her best to make it run smoothly, but bitching a little made her feel like she was valued, so I didn't take it personally.

I did, however, snipe back. I held up my middle finger. "Bite me. I've been a constantly blasting blood faucet for days. Even my legendary stamina was bound to be a bit taxed by playing waterfall for nearly a week straight. Still, I've gotten a huge chunk of the new villagers done, between them and the bandits there's nearly a quarter of a thousand bound Barons in this city. This won't be the end of it either. Word will get out about all this and even more will come to see what I can do for them."

She nodded, but the teasing expression was gone, replaced by worry. "That's true, but...I'm not sure we have that much time. There's no way we haven't caught Emerald's attention at this point. Malcolm says they've been trying to contact him but he's been dodging their sendings, but that isn't sustainable. If we're still vulnerable when they show up we could just get steamrolled by one of their Earls. As much as I enjoy our growth at the moment, I feel like we have enough of an infrastructure to sustain the village without you. You need to head for Amethyst soon."

I grimaced. She was right. I'd put this off for too long, mostly because I wanted to find something good for my ascension, but despite having a few ideas, I couldn't drag this out any longer. I needed to leave. Still, I had to raise an eyebrow. "You sure you aren't just trying to rush us home? I know how worried you've been lately. Did that call to your dad stir up your homesickness?" I'd let her use the phone after the ambient charge from me had refilled it a few days ago, and she'd been jittery ever since.

That got me a frown. "Of course I want us to go home, but given that Doctor Gotham has rebuffed every attempt from Doctor Fate to get into the city, whatever it is you're planning is going to be our only chance. Still, I do want to move things along, and getting to Amethyst is the first step on our return trip, isn't it?" I'd explained enough to her to get her to shut up about going back, and between that and lots of brain frying sex and keeping busy she'd barely had time to worry about Gotham. Sadly after that call she was doubling down on the subject, and I was getting annoyed.

Still, she was right. It was time to head for Amethyst. I'd need to stop and rank up, an Earl was pretty much the lowest level of nobility that people considered to be worth anything in one of the dynasties. Being a Viscount made me real nobility, but still the lowest level of real nobility. Another step up the ladder would help me be taken seriously when I petitioned for a meeting with the Amethyst royal family. I didn't know the political situation over there either, so better safe than sorry.

I'd tried asking Malcolm, but the dynasties were pretty insular. Any attempts to get information between domains was considered espionage, and it was risky as hell. Malcolm had never really needed to spy on Amethyst territory, so his grasp on their political situation was basically nonexistent. I had to go see for myself, and I'd set up the village to function without me, but I needed to check on a few things still. "How is Sally doing with the guard battalion? She and Waylon having any trouble training them?"

Barbie smirked at that. "Please. I've been studying troop formations and ancient training tactics for years as part of my training. I gave her a full regimen for raising a roman legion. A monkey could get them to work together with a bit of motivation, and Sally is more than up to that, especially with Waylon looming over them like a massive scaly death god. They saw his transformation during training a few days ago, we haven't had any slackers since then."

I wouldn't fucking slack off with Waylon looming over me either. Well, no, I absolutely would if I felt like it, but Waylon was one of mine, so I had that right. Anyone else would be an absolute moron to fuck with someone like Waylon. I didn't know if any of the bloodlines in Gemworld were physically based, but Waylon was an F ranker from pure physical might, same as Sally. I imagined some durability was mixed in there too, though honestly I hadn't really studied the barriers between the ranks as they related to different attributes.

I knew there were different attributes though. My Vitality made me F rank, but I didn't have as much raw strength as say, Sally, so clearly there were a variety of factors. Still, Waylon's terror croc transformation was bound to inspire obedience for him and his woman, especially considering their reaction to my transformation. A terror croc wasn't a dragon, but a big fuck off lizard beast was closer than my dragonkin like form probably, and even if not, you'd have to be an idiot to fuck with it.

Regardless, that was all well and good. The guard training was going well, and with everyone around here I doubted we would run into a problem when I took my trip. I'd had about enough with people messing with my shit thank you very much, so I wanted Lord Town protected while I was gone. I'd put a lot of work into this place. "So how is Levka getting used to his new abilities?" I'd used the chalice on his wife next, deciding some Gilf pussy wasn't worth rocking the boat right now, and she had started deaging after, though apparently it was taking a while. Regardless that should be enough to keep him happy and productive, and he could make the armor for the guards and save me some points.

Barbie just snorted. "He's mostly been either eating way too much or fucking his wife. Hildie has been ecstatic at seeing how affectionate they are. She's expecting a little brother or sister. Levka did eventually get suspicious about her new job, but I think he's afraid to kill the golden goose. He mostly just grimaced and told her to take good care of us. The approval made her much more...enthusiastic. He's gotten into the forge in the last few days though, at least for a bit, and he's apparently enjoying himself. I have no clue how smithing magic works but apparently however it works it does it better now."

Not unexpected. There wouldn't have been as much of a point in elevating him if not. I wasn't shocked he wasn't more upset about Hildie. Aside from this world being kind of medieval, it was also an unspoken check on his new influence. A reminder that he might be strong and influential now, but he and everyone he cared about belonged to me. People in a caste system chafed a bit less at reminders like that. He knew as long as he did what he was told I'd treat him well because I needed him, fucking his daughter was just an overt reminder of the influence I had over his life.

Still, since he was up and running now I figured I should pass him a bit of work. "Let him know to get started on a design for a suit of armor for the guards. He can run it by Sally to make sure it's up to par. Tell him to identify the materials that would work best and get me a list for when I get back. I doubt we have any sort of consistent stockpiles that would be enough, but I'm happy enough to put some things together for him to use when I return from getting in touch with the Amethyst domain."

Theoretically that would be about as expensive as creating the armor, but in practice I had multiple ways to get around that. Merging some powerful magical substance into a vein of ore or something would produce a deposit of magical material that we could use to make armor and weapons. It would also keep the major industry of the town (and since our smith was such a big deal now, smithed goods WOULD be a major industry for Lord Town) completely in my hands, since I would be the sole provider of supplies. Not that it mattered since I had him under my complete control if needed, but a bit of insurance never hurt.

Barbie nodded, writing down the order without any hesitation, and once she was done she stood up to leave. Before she did though, she leaned down and kissed me softly. "Just...be careful, ok? I realize you're more than up to taking care of yourself, but this is a dangerous world. Be careful." She bit her lip, looking away with a blush. "We would be really upset if something happened to you daddy." I knew she was serious about this, because she never called me that outside of sex.

I didn't actually know how to respond to that. Faking responses to things like emotional outbursts was easy, but Barbie was mine, and I actually kind of liked her. Hearing her express concern for me like that was...odd. Not in a bad way though. I reached up and pulled her down into my lap, kissing her soundly for a few minutes before I finally let her go to talk to Levka. She was a bit dazed, but she gave me a beaming smile as she left. It looked good on her.

As she left, I stood up and walked over to pull down a cloak Zee had enchanted for me to help hide my magical signature from prying spells and then headed to the door, slipping out. I sought out and said my goodbyes to the girls, giving them each their own tasks, as well as passing a few orders to Sally and Waylon on what to do in case of emergency, before walking out of town in the direction of the border. I was heading into Amatheyst territory, and soon enough I'd be meeting with a princess I needed to seduce. Before that though, I had a stop to make nearby. It was time to hit E rank.