Echoes Of The Seven

Jasmine felt it almost as soon as she reached the fourth floor.

It flushed through her chest like a swallow of hot water, but not in an uncomfortable way. It rolled down her arms like a warm embrace. It swam from the very tips of her fingers to each and every one of her toes as if she were dipped into a bath with the temperature turned high, and it even filled out in ways other than warmth.

It was the scent of homemade shampoo- the exact one that Jasmine caught a whiff of whenever she buried her nose in Eris’s hair.

It was the taste of a chocolate cake that she scooped up off the floor.

It was the swarm of butterflies in her stomach that surged whenever the love of her life smiled.

Her entire body was enveloped in soothing warmth, but one thing was clear despite all of it. Underneath all the sensations rocking through her body in this single moment, she could feel another form against her own. It didn’t matter that she was fully clothed as her and Alexandra were seconds away from returning to the fourth floor and joining the orgy-in-progress. Jasmine could still feel warm, smooth skin pressing against hers. Slender arms wrapped around her waist. A beautiful face resting sweetly against her chest.

Alex’s grip tightening abruptly onto Jasmine’s hand seemed to be the only thing in the world that was real as Jasmine completely halted at the top of the stairs. After all, everything else ceased to matter as Eris held Jasmine in the tightest, sweetest embrace possible.

And then it was gone.

The warmth rolled away. The scent of Eris’s hair faded. The taste of cake and the feeling of the love of her life held in her arms vanished so quickly it practically gave Jasmine whiplash. In fact, even as she and Alex both gasped, the Berserker could feel a tear starting to roll down her cheek.

“Eris…” Alex shuddered from beside Jasmine. That made the taller girl look over at the blonde with wide eyes, but no words needed to be shared between them. They had both felt it. Jasmine could practically feel Alex’s heartbeat pulsing in her palm, but that made sense. If Alex’s heart was throbbing even half as powerfully as Jasmine’s was, then she was surprised the Knight’s chest hadn’t burst outwards.

”What the fuck?!”

Jasmine was momentarily snapped back to reality as both she and Alex’s heads jerked in the direction of the door to the fourth floor, where a muffled voice shouted in panic from within. Only one glance was spared between them before Jasmine and Alex, hand in hand, bolted towards the door and opened it. The hallway between all the dorm rooms stretched out before them, from which no small number of confused faces emerged to presumably examine the scream. Even the two attendants that Jasmine only had a passing glance of were turned around, actively walking towards one of the rooms. That was, until another yelp came from a different room- the tone of which seemed oddly familiar. The attendant’s faces whipped in that direction a moment before a tall, lanky Evoker stumbled out of the room. Claire’s brunette hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, but Jasmine couldn’t really take in any other details since her teammate was completely naked.

Her body was lean and lithe, being the ‘slender’ version of a tall girl rather than Jasmine’s athletic build. Claire’s breasts were perhaps a bit on the smaller side, but they still looked very sexy on her, along with her smooth stomach glowing with… wait, what?

Jasmine’s eyes never even made it to the erect member hanging between Claire’s legs, since they were locked on the glowing pink light tracing itself like a pencil along the flat of the Evoker’s pelvis.

“Can anyone tell me what’s going on?!” Claire called out in panic, primarily to the two hallway attendants that looked on in shock and confusion. That only doubled when a second figure walked out of a different room, a shorter redhead that had both hands on her stomach and was craning her neck down to try and see what was going on.

“Yeah, I’d like some info, too. Who the fuck is doing magical tattoos at an orgy?”

Jasmine’s eyes fixed on another expansion of thin pink light strings growing across Meghan’s lower stomach in a way identical to Claire’s. Lines were drawing themselves like strokes of a paintbrush, stretching and curling in on themselves, then splitting as the light branched. For a moment, everyone was speechless, doing little more than watching a pattern start to form across the pelvis of both girls. However, Jasmine’s heart started pounding in her chest hard enough she could feel it in her ears.

She recognized that pattern. That shape now faintly glowing about two inches above the junks of both girls.

The light itself diminished, but never faded. Looking at the pseudo-tattoos pasted onto Meghan and Claire’s skin, the pink lines didn’t seem to give off any illumination themselves, but did appear as if they were under direct sunlight. They were clear and vibrant amidst their pale skin, making the marking unmissable. At that moment, a third figure with multicoloured hair stepped out of a seemingly empty room while looking down at her own naked body.

“Is this some side effect of the birth control potions?” Nima asked calmly. The pink pattern on her lower stomach was clear to see, again- identical to both Meghan’s and Claire’s.

A quick look at all the other faces peeking out from their rooms, and a glance over their bodies revealed that nobody else seemed to have any glowing pink patterns appearing on their skin. However, Jasmine already knew in the core of her chest that they wouldn’t. With the pattern that appeared and three people it was visible on, Jasmine twisted her head to look down at Alex beside her. Both girls wordlessly came to the same conclusion, and Jasmine let go of Alex’s hand for no reason more than to unbutton the front of her pants and pull them away from her hips.

Even at the awkward angle and lighting, Jasmine could see her beautiful dick tucked down one leg of her boxers and her pants. However, most notably were the vibrant pink lines traced smoothly along the skin of her pelvis. The pattern itself wasn’t large by any means- no more than three inches on a side, but the symbol it portrayed was unmistakable. After all, it was the exact same crest that adorned all the pieces of Jasmine’s armor currently under watch by the Syndicate. It was carved into the handles of her glowing war axes, and even incorporated into the design of the beautiful watch tucked in Jasmine’s pocket.

Jasmine’s breath caught in her throat at the glowing tattoo of antlers spreading across her pelvis.

At least Alex seemed to snap into motion quickly. Her face flicked up to the three naked teammates in three different doorways. “Just a second ago, you all felt that, right? That warmth? Like a hug?”

The girls were clearly confused, but gave a slow nod. One of the hallway attendants cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry, but what’s going on?”

Jasmine let out a shaky sigh and re-buttoned her pants. “Nothing that’s your problem anymore.” She turned her face to each of the three naked teammates in turn. “Get dressed. We’re leaving.”

“This is Eris?” Claire asked with a raised eyebrow, apparently having put the pieces together. Jasmine nodded.

“Couldn’t imagine anyone else. Now c’mon! We need to go see Professor Kull. Now.”

At least that seemed to spur them all into action. Dozens of other faces were peeking out from the doorways in many different stages of confusion- the entire orgy on this floor having ground to a halt. However, that didn’t matter to Jasmine in the slightest. She did nothing more than turn around and walk a few steps back towards the end of the hall closest to the door, right beside the room that was apparently dedicated as the communal coat rack.

Clothes and shoes were neatly on hangars hooked onto wooden beams, though there was some kind of weird white log-looking thing laying on one of the beds. Jasmine and Alex just stood beside the doorway as all three of their nude teammates rushed over into the cramped room. Jasmine couldn’t lie though- seeing three cute naked girls scrambling to get dressed was quite the sight- especially when Meghan took a hangar off the rack and used the clothing to wipe off the strings of cum pasted over her stomach and thighs. However, Jasmine was even more caught off guard when Meghan then put the hangar right back on the rack, leading the Berserker to realize that Meghan just used a random person’s clothes as a cum rag. Meghan then stopped, looked over the rack and furrowed her brow.

“Wait, where the fuck are my clothes?”

You have been designated as the trusted companion of a Lustful Artificer. You gain a {750%} bonus to level progression and enhance the Artificer’s skill progression with your sins.

Jasmine stared internally at the words looking back at her, the tightened longing in her chest only growing more and more strained.

Eris was alive.

More than the fact that the Obelisk was still glowing- more than the fact that Eris’s items hadn’t changed in two weeks. More than anything else, those words boring deep into her soul told her that Eris was alive. She was alive, and she seemed to be okay. But those words; ‘trusted companion’. Looking at those made Jasmine hurt somewhere she couldn’t even begin to explain. Not because of the words themselves- each of the girl’s new Wonder of Artifice skill read exactly the same way, as discovered when Claire accidentally discovered it on the way back to Sector Saez. Each of them were referred to as a ‘trusted companion’, despite the fact Jasmine knew that Eris loved her more than the others.

The words hurt because they reminded Jasmine of just how much she missed Eris. Feeling that immaterial hug earlier had brought her to tears. Reading these words from the skill Eris bestowed upon her made her want to curl up and weep until the Hollow took over the world.

However, there was a low-burning bed of coals in the pit of her chest that smoldered with rage. With determination. Eris was alive. She was alive, and Jasmine was going to see her again. Even if the Berserker had to carve through the entire Obelisk to do it.

“I’ve never heard of anything that can increase the rate of level progression,” the head researcher explained wondrously. “Much less a skill with that kind of power. To have the ability to level up over seven times faster than anyone else is completely absurd!”

For the second time today, Jasmine stood in the research rooms beneath the primary offices of Sector Saez while not wearing any pants. The green, foamy insta-bed was gone and the four lovely ladies she shared it with were also nowhere to be seen, but the same head researcher woman was standing there with a clipboard, writing something down at a pace that made Jasmine surprised the paper hadn’t burst into flames. Also like earlier, Professor Kull and numerous other researchers were in the room, carefully examining Jasmine’s lower nudity. Unlike earlier, Jasmine wasn’t the lone subject.

Alex, also bottomless, stood just to Jasmine’s left, with Nima in a similar state on Alex’s other side. Claire was to Jasmine’s right, and Meghan on the other side of her. However, of all the girls, Meghan was the only one completely naked. All the others had their shirts on, or in Nima’s case, a white turtleneck, but Meghan had not a stitch on her body. Instead, the fake birch tree shell she had to wear on the monorail ride back to Sector Saez rested on the ground nearby.

“And you’re saying these markings all appeared simultaneously?” The head researcher’s brow was furrowed as she stared at the pattern of pink antlers, identical on each of the five girls’ pelvises.

“They seemed to,” Jasmine said. “Alex and I were walking back to rejoin, and then it felt like Eris was there. She was hugging me. I could smell her. I could even taste the birthday cake she made me years ago. Just, all of a sudden everything was Eris.”

The Berserker sighed, trying to ignore the longing tugging in her chest. “Well, it stopped, and then that’s when we heard Meghan shout.”

The redhead shrugged. “Pretty much the same thing happened with me. I gotta say, feeling a person who isn’t there hugging you when you’re getting DP-ed is a weird experience. Then my junk started glowing and that’s when I yelled. I walked out of the room to see Claire, Jaxie and Alex, Nima came out, and then that’s that.”

Professor Kull rubbed his chin in thought.

“Well, it’s blatantly obvious that this circumstance correlates to Miss Kadell, though there have been no reports of any change at the Obelisk, nor any change for any of Miss Kadell’s observed creations. We can also deduce that this is not a byproduct of any of her crafted items, at least not on this side of the Obelisk.”

“How is that?” Alex asked. Professor Kull cleared his throat, speaking professionally despite the fact that he had four different dicks and a pussy that seemed to still be oozing a bit of cream in his line of vision.

“It happened with each of you simultaneously, yet Miss Gargrave, Leghume and Massato have had no extended contact with any of Miss Kadell’s items. Yes, they have eaten food prepared by Eris, but so have hundreds of other students with Miss Kadell’s oatmeal sales and there have been no reports so far of any of them experiencing something like you five. If this is a result of you five entering the Obelisk together in possession of Miss Kadell’s items, subsequently solving your puzzles and discovering that prophecy, none of the other groups that bore one of Miss Kadell’s items and experienced the same thing have stepped forward so far, but they are being gathered for questioning as we speak. However, I am operating under the belief that these markings are isolated to you five, and you five only.”

None of the half-naked girls spoke. That meant the fully-naked one did.

“Because we were supposed to be Eris’s party?” Meghan asked?

Professor Kull nodded. “Or something of a similar sense. If this was a coincidence of the Obelisk and interactions with her crafts, then this should have happened two weeks ago, when you encountered that prophecy. Because it is only happening now, at this moment, that directs all options to point that Eris must have done something while inside the Obelisk to grant this skill to the five of you specifically.”

“She umm- she doesn’t have a skill for anything like this, so this had to be something she made,” Jasmine managed to get out.

The researcher woman who Jasmine still had yet to hear the name of, simply shook her head with wide eyes. “To be able to make something that multiplies level progression to this degree…”

Professor Kull crossed his arms. “That is most definitely a possibility, but we cannot completely rule out that this was something Miss Kadell created. I believe that there is more evidence in favour of this being a skill of her own that allows her to bestow such an effect onto others.”

“What makes you think that?” Meghan asked. “Also, can I at least get a towel or something? It’s actually kinda cold in here.”

The dean blinked a few times, then waved a hand. “Err- yes. Each of you may get dressed. Private Lemming, find a spare change of clothes for Miss Leghume.”

One of the lesser researchers turned around and swiftly exited the room with a nod. Meanwhile, Professor Kull stepped towards one of the shelves and pulled a what seemed to be a large blanket from a pile. He spoke even as he walked towards the group and handed the fabric to Meghan.

“From what we understand about Miss Kadell, it appears that as of the moment, the base effects of anything she creates appear to be no different than anything any other crafter is capable of. For example, Phallus Philters existed before Miss Kadell made them. Of course, when she makes something and seemingly chooses to imbue it with Lust, additional, powerful effects appear that correlate to that sin. However, there has been no recorded knowledge of any kind that dictate any combination of any materials to exist that increase the rate of level progression.

“Of course, there is always the option that whatever prison realm Miss Kadell is in has materials we’ve never encountered before. It is not entirely uncommon for very high level parties that traverse the most dangerous regions of the Obelisk to come across creatures, plants or minerals that have yet to be discovered in any capacity. Given Miss Kadell’s nature as an Artificer and the fact she is likely in one of the predetermined prison realms, there is a large chance she encountered materials that may indeed let her craft such an effect.”

The dean kept eye contact, even while four of the girls pulled pants on to cover themselves. Meghan pulled the blanket over her shoulders and held it closed like a cloak. Professor Kull cleared his throat.

“However, it is the numerous other factors that lead me to believe this is not the effect of a crafted item. First, the fact that a clear numerical value is given. Magical items never provide clear and concise values to their power. Even if the scale of the bonuses themselves are fairly straightforward and predictable, such as a ‘Minor’ bonus to something equating to approximately twenty-five percent, that bonus is applied as a multiplier to the effectiveness that the item would normally apply, which is modified by Potency, Quality, each of the crafter’s skills and stats, and other effects. An item with a ‘Minor’ bonus made by a high level crafter is still likely to be better than an item with a ‘Greater’ bonus made by a first-level, because the base values of the item are so much higher that the multiplier doesn’t matter. Because of that, even items obtained from the Obelisk need to be expressly tested to try and determine a rough idea of the respective power. Since this skill directly states the value, that is the biggest informant that this is not the result of a craft and instead a skill that Miss Kadell possesses.”

Jasmine raised an eyebrow, securing the button on the front of her pants. “Except Eris doesn’t have a skill to do this, so it has to be an item.”

“Not exactly,” a voice chirped up from the small gathering of researchers. Each of the five girls on display looked over along with the dean, causing the man who spoke up to suddenly shrink back into the crowd with an apology. “Sorry.”

“No need for sorries,” said Kull. “Continue, Wazrez.”

The man gulped.

“Well, most new students tend to reach second level within the first one to two months of enrollment. If Eri- err… Miss Kadell is stuck in the Obelisk, she’s likely been working non-stop to try and get out. More than enough time has passed for her to reasonably have reached second level, meaning she likely has a slew of new skills available to her that we are unaware of- one of which may be this progression-boosting one.”

“Thank you, Sergeant Wazrez,” the dean said before turning back to the girls. “Even if the scaling of the skill and the fact it can target all five of you with seemingly no decrease in power is inconsistent with the assumed power that Miss Kadell would have at second level, it is still, in my opinion, a more likely chance than this being the effect of an item. Especially when we regard the secondary portion of the skill’s benefits.”

Professor Kull gingerly took the clipboard out of the head researcher’s hands, cutting her incessant scrawling of notes short and fixing his eyes on the top of the page before reading out loud.

“You have been designated as the trusted companion of a Lustful Artificer. You gain a seven-hundred-fifty percent bonus to level progression and enhance the Artificer’s skill progression with your sins. That’s what it says. ‘Enhance the Artificer’s skill progression with your sins’. If my presumptions are correct, this would allow each of you to have the equivalent of Miss Kadell’s skill, Desire’s Reap, and provide that energy straight to Miss Kadell for her to use as her own. That means there is a distinct connection directly between those skills and her. I could very well be wrong, but I cannot see a circumstance where the skill is one provided merely by an item she created. Of course, that may just be me being hopeful, because if it was caused by one of Miss Kadell’s skills then that may be a tremendous boon in our favour.”

None of the girls spoke, instead opting to let the dean of Sector Saez finish.

“The Obelisk was closed to all of us the moment Miss Kadell entered it. There is a brand new theory that was presented and is being looked into that the Obelisk is using Miss Kadell’s energy as an Artificer to ‘fix’ itself and further maintain its own enchantments- one of which distinctly states that unauthorized individuals may not use the Obelisk. If Miss Kadell is one of these unauthorized individuals as an Artificer, then she is likely the only person that would be able to enter or exit the Obelisk while it’s in this state.

“However, each of you now has a skill that is explicitly connected to Miss Kadell. Skills are not just effects we have, they are parts of our very soul shaped by the magic of the Gifting. If Miss Kadell did indeed manage to provide you with a skill somehow, then that means there is a genuine connection between your souls and hers. Because sin you commit would result in energy going to her, then that means that connection goes both ways. Not just from her to you, it also travels from you to her.”

Jasmine’s heart clenched in her chest as the pieces started to drift together. Her eyes were wide when she spoke. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Professor Kull let out a sigh. It was not one of exasperation, but rather of tension and stress, but maybe- just maybe, the tiniest bit of hope.

“If you five now have a direct connection to Eris through your soul, and the Obelisk will only let Eris use it, there is a non-zero chance that you five may be able to enter the Obelisk and find her.”