Chapter 56: Very Little Sleep

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep in my arms, everyone was exhausted, and this shock didn't help Iona. She had the most challenging life of us all, but I didn't know that much about Tilly's past, either. She hadn't been affected like Iona was, but that didn't mean it wasn't affecting her.

I picked up Iona and decided that tomorrow I would sit down with Tilly and see how she was doing. I left the sitting room with the sleeping girl in my arms and was escorted by a waiting-maid to Iona's room. Once she was in bed, and I tucked her in with a kiss that left her with a cute smile, the maid guided me to my own room.

Once in the room, I closed and locked the door, then turned around. The room wasn't huge like my other one, which was more than alright, but something about my bed caught my eye. There were too many pillows on the bed and a suspicious white tip of a tail sticking out from bed, and then I heard a giggle from the pile of pillows.

I took off my shirt and slip into bed, being careful not to crush her tail. Tilly's head pokes out from the covers beside, and I was able to partially see the sheer light green nightgown she wore that left nothing to the imagination. I leaned in and kissed her, and we tangle our arms around each, but soon I pulled away before I couldn't use sensible words anymore.

"Are you OK with all of this? It didn't affect you like it did to Iona, but that doesn't mean it didn't at all."

"I already had my suspicions. The way you and lavender changed when you got back from fighting Grismald, and then the way you two and Victoria all seemed to know something I didn't."

"Was I hard for you? Like in the beginning?"

"I don't remember my parents or anything before the seven, and that's when Darbon found me. He and the other dwarfs took good care of me and helped me meet Miss Grace. So It hasn't been that bad, but I do understand the way Iona feels."

"I'm just happy that your life hasn't been hard. It hasn't been the same for everyone, and I haven't been able to save them all. In the second last game I played, we lost two people because of a mistake I made in trusting a certain person. That's why I do this! I don't want you people to keep living meaningless lives! I want everyone to live and play together!"

Tilly's eyes were glassy from my impassioned speech, but she had a beautiful smile on her face. I pulled her into another kiss, and the two of us let go of the world. Even though I was exhausted, I still got very little sleep.

The next morning I woke up to the soft and warm press of Tilly's naked body into mine. Her head was one my chest, so I stroked her delicate ears, and she nuzzled her face further up my chest. Soon her face was up to mine, smiling and her naked body sliding along mine brought the excitement of last night to mind, and I wanted to try and rekindle that fire right now.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

"DAVE! Let's go! You to Tilly! Enough screwing around in there!"

Why was it Trinity's voice yelling at us like a drill sergeant? I focused back on Tilly's face, but she had turned an intense shade of red, and she had a very embarrassed look on her face. Her entire body was getting hot, and it wasn't helping Morning-Man-Brain, so I kissed her and pulled her off me, then ruffled her hair.

"We are coming!" I yelled back.

Soon we both got dressed, and I admired her feline features with her unclothed body as Tilly got dressed, which made me want to barricade the door and pull her back into bed. After we were both dressed, we had one more long kiss before unlocking and opening the door. The girls were all waiting for us.

"Took you two long enough? Dave, you look pretty tired still," Victoria joked.

Everyone, including Tilly, even though it made her redder, laughed at this, and we all heading back down to the dining room we had eaten in last night. When we arrived, there was a stack of pancakes on each of our plates with some sliced fruit. The Duke was also waiting for us, but it looked as though he had already eaten.

"I hope you all had a good rest. Eat well, because today we will be starting training. Your first test will be to gauge your abilities against the Professor. After that, you will be split into two groups, one will train with me, and the other will train with Grace."

"Wah? How?" We all asked at once.

Instead of The Duke answering us, the door opened, and Miss Grace walked inside. She was wearing the same outfit as the day she was taken, but she looked like nothing had changed. Dungeon life must not have been so bad for her, I thought to myself but dared not voice my opinion out loud.

"It's so good to see you all again! I heard you all have been very busy since I left. Doing the demon house cleaning and such."

"Grace will be training Lavender, Victoria, and Trinity, and I will work with Dave, Tilly, and Iona."

We all finished eating while talking to Miss Grace about the things we had accomplished in her absence. After, we were led to the house's back yard area that turned out to be a high-tech training facility with a closed-in roof. Inside was a single jet black robot, waiting for us.

"Is it OK for all of us to fight him at once?"

Both The Duke and Miss Grace started to laugh at me, and I gave them a questioning look.

"Don't worry, if all of you can defeat his third form, then I will be very impressed. When I was able to defeat my trainer, it took six of us all above level forty to finally beat him in the sixth form."

"OK then, but I need a minute before we start."

I stepped back from everyone and opened my notifications, and selected STONE BLADE SHADOW DUELIST. I flashed with light, and then another screen popped up.

CONGRATULATIONS FULL RELATIONSHIP STATUS ACHIEVED

Your RELATIONSHIP levels have risen to the max with Tilly and Iona. You all have been awarded the passive Skill, SKILL FUSION. You have been awarded the Active Skill, RESCUE.

That must be the result of consummating the relationship in the mind of the game. SKILL FUSION looked exciting, and I was pretty sure RESCUE was going to be self-explanatory. I closed that screen and finally got to see my AVATAR.

LEVEL: 15

HP: 250/250

MANA: 240/240

NAME: Dave Huntington

AGE: 21

CLASS: Stone Blade Shadow Duelist

STATUS: Satisfied

WEALTH: Wealthy

HOME: Huntington Manor

STRENGTH: 40

CONSTITUTION: 35 (+175)

COMBAT: 38

SPEED: 62

INTELLIGENCE: 37

MANA: 33 (+165)

CHARISMA: 48

LUCK: 40

SPECIAL ABILITIES

HEROIC GRACE: Remove any adverse magical effects or side effects from a party member. This ability has a 24-hour cooldown period between uses. (1/1 uses available)

ABILITIES

PASSIVE SKILLS

SKILL FUSION: Combine Skills with another party member with this Skill. Skill combinations may vary.

STONEBLADE STYLE: Proficient at wielding stone weapons, and you are not affected by the weight of the weapon.

MOLTEN SKIN: You have become invulnerable to metal. If you receive damage from a metal weapon, that damage is transferred back as heat to the weapon. A heated weapon loses durability fast and causes user FIRE damage.

PEIRCE EVIL: People with evil intentions have black auras and are vulnerable to the HERO's LIGHT BLADE Skill.

SELFLESS HERO: Magic item find increased by 250%

ACTIVATED SKILLS

LIGHT BLADE+++: Activate to summon a blade of light. This Spell consumes 2 MANA per/minute.

SOUL AVENGER++: In the presence of demons, LIGHT BLADE will increase in size, but in this form, the blade only affects demons. A non-demonic creature struck by SOUL BRINGER receives no damage. Consumes 15 MANA per/min.

SOUL BRINGER++: In the presence of demons, SOUL AVENGER will erupt with golden cleansing flames, and all stats with temporarily be boost against demons. Consumes 5 MANA per/min.

SHADOW SLIDE: Enter any shadow and travel to any other shadow within 10m. Consumes 15 MANA per/use.

Well, Nothing crazy, but I could work with this. I turned to the girls, and they all were smiling and waiting.

"Ready?"