Chapter Forty-Four
Cody sighed and ran a hand through his hair before facing the trio of women. “Look, I know you think you could take her—”
“We were winning!” Nyrah insisted, claws still out.
“No, we weren’t,” Yana said quietly. “Temica and her chicken were both toying with us.”
Cody nodded to Yana. “They were. But I don’t think Temica is as powerful as she says she is. I still think she’s bluffing about the whole ‘goddess’ thing. She has limitations.”
“Her ability to relocate,” Yana said.
Cody snapped his fingers and pointed at her, happy that at least one of them was following his line of thought.
“Exactly,” Cody said. “She used it to arrive here, and she used it again when Nyrah rushed at her, and then stopped. She just walked out the front door.”
“Like a mortal peasant,” Nyrah said.
“You think that specific power has limitations?” Yana asked. “Maybe a cool down period? My elven spark magic has similar restraints. I currently have nothing left for a twenty-four-hour period.”
Cody sat down in the armchair again and the girls sat back down on the couch. “That’s what I was thinking, yes. I am fairly certain she usually uses it to arrive, and then again to leave. This time she used it to move out of the way, when Nyrah attacked her.”
“That is one big assumption, guys,” Morgan said. “And I have no idea how it helps us.”
“It’s pretty standard for skills to have limitations within a game,” Cody said. “Like only being able to use something once or twice a day, or having a two-minute cool down period until you can use a skill again, stuff like that.”
Yana was nodding along, but both Nyrah and Morgan still looked unconvinced.
“She’s a fucking goddess!” Morgan argued. “I don’t think that kind of game logic applies to her! Especially when she’s in her own game!”
“I don’t believe that goddess shit,” Cody said. “I’m still leaning towards the Chaos Demon theory.”
For what it’s worth, I agree with the Chaos Demon theory, Knife said.
Thanks, Cody said.
“So, you have a hunch that she’s a demon not a goddess?” Morgan asked. “And that she might have limitations on her relocation skill? And that made it okay for you to agree to her terms? To put Gracie’s life in danger? All of our lives in danger?”
“Morgan…” Cody got up and made his way over to her. He passed Knife back to Nyrah, before holding his arms open to Morgan. She begrudgingly stood up and hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder.
“I don’t like this,” she said. “I’m…I’m sorry. I’m not really mad at you, I’m mad at her, for putting all of us in this situation in the first place.”
“I know.” He held her close, rubbing her back.
“I think we need to go over everything that needs to be done in order to win this game,” Yana said.
“That’s a good place to start,” Cody said.
They walked to the kitchen, bypassing the mess of books they’d need to clean up later. Cody grabbed the notepad and pen used for grocery lists before sitting down at the table.
“How many more people do you need to reach full Friendship with?” Nyrah asked. Her claws had retracted and she had normal fingernails again.
Cody brought up his game screen and the Resident Menu. He winced when he noticed there was now a countdown right next to his Stamina Bar. It was just under 168 hours. But he turned his focus to the Resident Menu. “I have four more people I need to finish Friendship Leveling. There’s Bob, Lexi, Doug, and Marigold. Marigold has been a bit of a problem. She’s at zero. I haven’t figured her out. And Doug might be an issue; he’s only at three out of five. But I’m confident we can speed through the others.”
“Wouldn’t say no to one of those weird song montage things you told me about,” Morgan said dryly.
“No!” Cody said. “That’s the last thing we want. When it’s a full montage, it feels like we lose our freewill. Time passes in a blur and we barely remember what happened. We might not level up if we get stuck in a song. It could end up a…I don’t know, a You Failed, You Die song. If you sense a song coming on before I do, say something right away, and I’ll control-alt-delete it. Nyrah, Yana: you can probably do the control-alt-delete thing, too, since you’re more connected to the game system than Morgan, because of your roots in Velasarin.”
“What’s control-alt-delete?” Nyrah asked.
“It’s something you can do if your computer freezes. It usually brings up a Task Manager so you can…” he trailed off, noticing the confused looks on Nyrah and Yana’s faces. “It’s like a spell. You say the words, and it stops the song. I’ve used it before and it worked, so I’m hoping it still works if we do it again.”
“Ah, an incantation,” Yana said. “I understand now.”
Morgan bit back her smile. “Anyway, I suggest we pick the easiest friend quests and get them done pronto. And then we have the rest of the week to figure out the others.”
“Bob is the most straightforward,” Cody said. “I need to catch four specific fish, snap some pics, and then text them to him.”
“I can help!” Nyrah said. “I already caught a fish for you!”
Cody looked at Morgan and then Yana. “Are we in agreement, then? We’re spending the rest of the afternoon fishing?”
“I guess,” Morgan said, but sighed.
Nyrah noticed and looked over at her, giving the other girl a soft smile. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Maybe?” Morgan said. “What are you thinking?”
“I was thinking I was about to lose my maidenhood to the man I love, but then that witch Temica interrupted us,” Nyrah said.
“Yep,” Morgan said. “I’ve been horny all day and now that bitch ruined our fuckfest.”
Cody rubbed his face, trying to think of something to say. On the one hand, yeah, he was looking forward to getting to know Nyrah and Yana more intimately now that everything had been discussed and everyone was okay with the harem thing. His dick strongly agreed that the harem was a good idea. But the thought of screwing the rest of the day away while neglecting the Friendship quests was one that made his stomach knot with anxiety. Failing meant death now. Not just for him, but everyone he cared about. It was a major boner killer.
“Unfortunately, I think we really need to focus on fishing and finishing off these Friendship Levels,” Cody said.
Yana raised her hand.
“You know you don’t have to raise your hand, right?” Cody told her.
“Sorry,” she said. “It’s just…aren’t Nyrah and I part of, you know, completing the game?”
Nyrah gasped and then grinned. “You have to Romance Level us!”
“Oh, right!” Morgan met Cody’s eyes and quirked a smile. “Well, if Temica thought you wouldn’t be able to make twenty orgasms happen in one week, she’s one dumb bitch.”
“Wait, what?” Yana was blushing the most Cody had ever seen, and the girl blushed a whole lot. “Or-orgasms? Is that how Romance Levels work?”
Morgan shrugged. “It was for me. And like we said earlier, it’s safe to assume it’ll be the same for both of you.”
“This. Is. Marvelous!” Nyrah clasped her hands in front of her chest and gave Cody a dreamy smile. “I’ve never had one of those before! But I have heard of them.”
Morgan tilted her head, regarding the nekofae quizzically. “You’ve never, you know, done it to yourself?”
“No.” Nyrah shook her head. “I have tried. And failed. Some of the other young priestesses at the Rose Temple have spoken about it, in secret, away from the Head Priestesses, of course. But now I’m glad I never figured it out, because Cody will make love to me, and I will experience it for the first time with my Heart Mate.”
“Huh. What about you?” Morgan asked Yana.
“What about me?” Yana asked quietly.
“Have you ever touched yourself and made yourself cum?”
“Morgan,” Cody said. Clearly, the other girls were less experienced in more ways than one. And Yana was not very comfortable talking about it.
Yana shook her head. “N-no. Can we please go fishing now?”
* * *
Ten minutes later, Cody was standing on the beach behind his cottage with three of the hottest women he’d ever met, and they were all wearing tiny bikinis. Yana and Nyrah were both wearing their gemstone necklaces, so they appeared human.
Fuck me, he thought. He could have been getting to know the new girls better, cozied up in his bedroom, petting pussies and going strong until midnight, but no, Temica had to show up and add a ticking time bomb to the plot of his fucked up life, and now they had to spend time fishing.
His impending death in less than a week was still a boner killer, but the bikinis were helping bring his dick back to life. And Morgan was right…he needed to accomplish twenty orgasms in the upcoming week. It was a task he felt ready to tackle. But for now: fishing.
Cody brought up pictures of a sunfish, a catfish, a northern pike, and a yellow perch on his phone.
“These are the fish I need,” he said, showing Nyrah. “Do you think you can find them in the lake? The internet says it’s usually better to fish for catfish in the evening, but I say we give it a go right now, anyway.”
“I will do my best!” Nyrah said. She went up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek before wading into the water. Once it was deep enough, she started swimming away.
Morgan was getting two fishing rods ready, since that’s all they had at the cottage. They didn’t have any live bait, but Morgan was fixing some spinnerbaits to each line. The plan was to let Nyrah swim away from the cottage, and Morgan and Cody would fish off the dock.
“I feel like I am not helping,” Yana said. “What should I be doing?”
“You can be the photographer.” Cody gave her a quick rundown on how to take a picture with his phone. She still seemed fascinated by modern technology, but grasped the concept well enough. She sat down on the dock just behind Cody and Morgan, and watched them cast their lines.
It wasn’t long before Morgan was reeling in the first catch of the day: a small sunfish, about the size of her palm. Yana snapped a pic and Cody sent it off to Bob, earning him his second Friendship Level with the bait shop owner.
Morgan was on a roll, soon reeling in the second catch of the day: a yellow perch, which earned them Bob’s third Friendship Level.
“Look at you! When did you become Bob Izumi?” Cody laughed. “I haven’t caught a single fish for this Friendship quest.”
Morgan just shrugged. “Maybe the fish can sense my desperation to finish his stupid game and are helping us out.”
“Who or what is a Bobbazumi?” Yana asked. “A fishing wizard?”
Cody nodded. “Yeah, something like that. I used to watch his fishing show with Grandpa Sam.”
But after their fantastic start, things slowed down. Nyrah still hadn’t returned with any catches of her own. Morgan and Cody had been casting and re-casting for well over thirty minutes before the nekofae reappeared. She rose out of the water, flinging her head back to toss back her long, chestnut brown hair. Cody couldn’t take his eyes off of her. It was like she was moving in slow motion. Droplets of golden sunlight-infused water danced around her as she shook her head, casting water off of her face and…her breasts were completely bare.
Cody had no clue where her tiny bikini top had disappeared to, but he wasn’t exactly complaining. Her boobs bounced and swayed as she moved towards him, rivulets of water running down her chest. Her breasts looked extra perky, since she had her arms raised straight over her head, holding a large, black catfish in both hands.
As she walked closer to the beach and the water grew shallower, it revealed she had been able to keep her swim bottoms on. She was moving in slow, elegant steps, the water parting around her, slow moving beads of water dripped off her perfect, peaked nipples and—
“Control-Alt-Delete!” Morgan shouted. And then she smacked Cody in the arm.
“W-what?” Cody asked.
“Say it!” Morgan said. “It didn’t work for me!”
“Control-Alt-Delete!” Cody shouted and turned to her, confused.
“You didn’t hear the music?” Morgan asked. “There was a sweeping orchestra heavy on the strings, like something out of a James Bond movie.”
“Um…no. Didn’t notice.”
Morgan rolled her eyes and then turned to half-naked nekofae: “Nyrah, your boobs are out and they’re distracting Cody.”
“Huh?” Nyrah looked down, noticed, and then held the big catfish in front of her chest. And then grimaced. “Ew! I don’t like this fish on my skin! Take it, please!”
Cody set his rod down and ran down to the beach, quickly taking the fish from Nyrah. “Yana! Picture!”
“On it!” Yana was ready with his phone and snapped a quick picture of him holding the catfish.
“All good?” Cody asked. Yana confirmed they got the picture and he set the catfish free.
Morgan grabbed Nyrah’s beach towel and tossed it to the other girl. Nyrah thanked her and wrapped herself up, hiding away her boobs.
“I have no idea what happened to my top,” Nyrah said, her cheeks turning pink. “I’m sorry.”
Morgan shrugged, making her own boobs jiggle in her very tiny bikini top. “It happens to the best of us.”
“I have another bikini I can change into,” Nyrah offered. “That is, if you still need my help with the other fish.”
“We haven’t caught anything yet,” Cody said. “So yeah, we could use your help.”
Nyrah ran off to the cottage and Cody sent off the pic to Bob. He got the notification right away:
Nyrah returned shortly, now dressed in a little blue bikini. She took another look at the final fish they needed: a northern pike, and then dove into the lake. Morgan cast out her line, but then sat down on the edge of the dock, dangling her feet just above the water. Cody sat down next to her, feeling good about how well they were doing, but still anxious that they hadn’t completed Bob’s Friendship quest. Morgan leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I have been horny for you since the moment I woke up this morning,” she said quietly.
Yana was sitting on the beach now, her eyes locked on the lake. She was probably too far away to hear them.
“I know. Same,” said Cody.
“But instead of having a quickie, you went fishing with Doug and now we’re stuck fishing again.”
“Maybe we can fit something in before dinner.”
“Oh, it’ll be a tight fit, but we’ve made it work before.”
Cody chuckled. “We have.”
“Speaking of tight fits…” Morgan said and sat up straight. “I think your first time with Nyrah should be a one-on-one thing. Same with Yana. And maybe only aim for one level up at a time.”
Cody frowned. “We’re kind of in a time crunch. It would be ideal to at least hit Level Two or Three with Nyrah tonight.”
“Yes, but she’s a virgin. Maybe take things slow at first?”
“Does she seem like the kind of girl who wants to take things slow?” Cody asked with a laugh. “She’s been trying to get into my pants since the moment I met her.”
Morgan gave him a stern look.
“Okay, yes, you’re right. I’m only joking. I’m not going to rush her. Or Yana, for that matter.”
Morgan leaned her head on his shoulder again. “Do you remember our first time?”
“Of course I do.” He kissed her on the head. He was about to say more, but something bit his line. His rod jerked so hard it nearly flew out of his hands. He gripped it as he got to his feet, Morgan standing at his side.
The fish violently surged to the right, then the left, the line rapidly spooling out. It felt strong. Definitely stronger than a little sunfish. He really hoped it was a pike on the end of his line. He braced his feet on the dock and started reeling in, the fish putting up a valiant fight the entire time.
“You got this!” Morgan said and gripped his arm, keeping him steady.
Cody paused every time the fish made a mad dash one way or the next, reeling in between when it slowed before its next attempt at freedom. Inch by inch the line cut through the surface of the water, getting closer to the dock. In a final push he reeled it in.
“Fuck yes!” Cody shouted. “Yana?”
The fish on the end of the line had a long, narrow body with greenish-yellow scales and a white belly. It was most definitely a northern pike. Yana snapped a quick picture, and then Morgan helped free the fish and returned it to the lake.
“Here,” Yana said, passing Cody the phone. He sent the pic to Bob, and then waited for the notification to appear. Morgan and Yana were watching him, expectantly.
“We did it!” he told them and Morgan whooped with joy and threw her arms around him.
Yana grinned. “We need to find Nyrah.”
As if she heard them, Nyrah popped out of the water. She wasn’t in slow motion this time, there was no music, but once again she was topless.
Current Inventory Total: 1,505
Friendship Moments: Doris: 5/5, William: 5/5, Gracie: 3/5, Lexi: 3/5, Bob: 5/5, Doug 3/5, Marigold: 0/5
Romance Moments: Morgan: 10/10, Yana: 0/10, Nyrah: 0/10
Relationship Status: The Harem is 100% Happening