Server Lost - Chapter 21 counsel

Infatuation Values were a tricky thing in the game itself. Often it could lead to personal quests, the unlocking of unique items or even classes.

These values were not based on people, but the traits set by their personalities and development.

Say if someone was a budding megalomaniac, the person who used divine fealty would be the center of the source of their power. If the person desired knowledge, they’d want to know any and everything from them.

If they wanted authority, they’d work and scheme in order to be directly beneath those they follow.

Essentially, using divine fealty on an NPC or a person is like making an untold symbiotic promise in return for their faith and loyalty. Though many show ignorance to this, especially those who don’t typically bend others allegiances to their own.

When Jack had used the magic spell on Cassandra for instance, it had brought out her undignified desires for knowledge However the reason behind her undignified behavior, was likely another want.

From what Jack could tell, her mother didn’t want to marry her off, but her father did. It seemed that she wasn’t interested in marriage as she was so quick to try and soil herself by using him.

Jack could only conclude that she didn’t want to get married either and was planning to have him make her undesirable to future suitors looking for a pure mate.

Not that he necessarily minded this, it wasn’t something that appealed to him.

The world was large and he had only just arrived. He wanted to explore, he couldn’t take a Lord’s daughter along with him, now could he? Well, he could actually, in order for her to stand higher in the pecking order, she had to be stronger than other male contestants.

When it came to Lord Ivan Carmichael, it was likely his change in allegiance and faith, that gave him greater confidence. He was seeking favor with the King and now that he was beneath Jack, it was almost as if he had no doubts that his favor would increase.

Of course, that would only be if Jack worked along with him. Which he would definitely like to get to know more about the monarchy. To see the rest of the Kingdom, to see if it was just as corrupt as this city.

From Jack’s eyes, the noble House of Carmichael was inept, excluding its daughter who seemed to exhibit some talent in magic and the ideals to enrich the people at large.

Now as he was just standing by the desk in the study, his gaze was still on Cassandra who was standing there with her hands on her hips.

“You should value your dignity a bit more…”

“Dignity? What do you care about my dignity? It’s mine! I’ll do with it as I please, humph!” She turned her head away from him, taking a superior pose as she shifted her weight to one hip, nose in the air.

Dull in the eyes, Jack just sighed at this. He felt as if he was dealing with a twisted version a tsun. “You’re supposed to be a noble, to be regal, are you not?”

Hesitantly, she looked over at him with her brows furrowed, a sheepish gaze. “You…You’re not wrong,” she began to caress at her forehead with her fingers in slightly stressed manner.

“You don’t sleep much do you?”

“How’d you know?” Her eyes shifted to the ground, before flickering over to the mirror, then back to Jack himself.

Jack was brushing the tip of his finger along the lower bulge of his eyelid, “Seems a bit dark. It’s either from overuse of magic, or the lack of rest whilst studying.”

Letting out a shaky sigh, she let her arms fall to her side, her fingers curling over the rim of her gown, caressing the soft and slippery material. “Ah…” She was liking the attention, though it didn’t really improve her mood the moment he had thrown her nobility at her.

“Plus, if you’re trying to seduce a wolf, don’t mistake them for a dog in heat.”

Her lips remained parted slightly as she was looking him over, before visibly biting her lower lip. The reason why he had denied her was because he felt disrespected by her approach? That seemed to be the case.

The fact that his messing with her only seemed to egg her on, didn’t really help earlier.

“So You’re a wolf?”

“No, I’m a fox, quite ‘vulpine’ aren’t I?” The sarcasm wasn’t going to stop and with the stoic expression and monotonously sadistic tone he was using, he wasn’t going to stop teasing her.

Her biting of her lip came to a stop relatively quickly as an empty gaze rested on him as he continued to speak like he was. “You’re a fox in the disguise of an Angel?” Though the seriousness behind her words, it was her attempt at returning the favor.

Jack just shook his head and averted his gaze from her for a moment, before letting his eyes wander on back to her. “So.. Why is it that you want me to sleep with you, exactly?”

“I want to become undesirable to future suitors, losing my virginity before a ceremonial bonding will effectively make it harder for my father to find a suitable male contestant. I want to be able to focus on my magic studies and get involved in the politics of the city, without being handled by a man.” She grimaced at the idea of being controlled by another person, without a will of her own.

Letting out a chuckle, “Well. At least I got that little part right. You got mother on board, but not your father.” Jack would cross his arms slightly across his own chest as he stood from the desk and walked over to her. “Now was that hard to share? If you’re up for a casual shagging, I have no problem with it.”

Jack didn’t have romance on his mind.

Blinking several times as she stared up at him, she wasn’t familiar with the vulgar term he used, but she easily deduced its meaning due to the context. Her face turned a light tinge of pink as she slowly nodded. “I I see…” She glanced away from him, her eyes noting her grown and pulling up the strap. “But you didn’t get all of it right, my Mother just doesn’t want me to marry anyone because I’d be a threat to her power once my father dies.”

“Oh… Sounds very much like a greedy noble… Anyways, if you do get pregnant, that means Angels have the ability to procreate in this world.”

” Pull out,” the woman pursed her lips as she seemed to glare at him, not liking the idea of getting pregnant from a casual act of sex.

“That doesn’t work,” Jack responded as he knew the pull out method didn’t make any real difference as it wasn’t a practical form of contraception. And the last thing he wanted to do, was wear intestine over his stick, the medieval equivalent of a condom.

“Er…”

Just then the Lord Carmichael entered the room with Brother Tonic strolling in behind.

Jack hardly jumped at their sudden, and likely timed, arrival. His eyes just rested on their humanoid forms as they made their way to the center of the room.

“My Daughter! You’re still here?” He asked curiously looking her over, before turning his gaze towards the Angel who had used his powers on him.

“Hm? Yes father,” Clumsily she shifted and turned on one foot, before flatly placing both on the ground. “Is there something you need?”

“No, not at all.”

Brother Tonic would walk over to the young woman, looking over her for a moment before turning his gaze towards Jack, a brow raised. “Have you familiarized yourself with the texts?”

“Not as of yet, but she has taught me a great deal,” Jack gestured towards Cassandra.

Tonic blinked a few times hearing the words he shared, before flickering his attention towards the girl once more. He was somewhat confused since she wasn’t one to easily follow the word of faith. His eyes then shifted back towards Jack and nodded slightly, “Interesting.”

“If you say so,” Cassandra’s eyes blandly looked at the priest for a moment as she walked over to her father’s chair and sat down. Resting her hands between her legs, blocking the probable view.

Tonic gave a mute groan, an unamused look in his eye as he gave her yet another gander.

“So what is it that you need of me?” Tonic finally gave all of his attention to Jack, just as the Angel would press both hands down on the priest’s shoulders. “Hm?” Looking at Jack’s hands, he would then look to his face. “What’s this?”

Jack simply smiled at the priest as he cast the Divine Fealtyspell upon him, a golden glow engulfing the man of cloth.

Observing his own skin and body as the glowing was fading away, his eyes shifted back to Jack. “This is a blessing from the ones above…” He couldn’t help but utter, as if his faith in the Gods had been supercharged, Jack being the living proof of their very existence in his mind and the embodiment of their will.

Tonic was a pushover, but he was also a religious zealot, the talk of the Gods and Heathens was the one and only thing that could trigger him.

Runa laid on the bed within the guest room she was assigned, her hands combing through her white silvery hair. Her eyes sharply glaring at the ceiling as if it was her arch-nemesis.

Vivian was laying at the end of the bed, directly at Runa’s feet, on her side. She was looking over the vanity items in the room. “This kinda reminds me of home…” She mumbled to herself before shifting onto her back, sprawling her arms and legs out.

She still had her hood up, so her framed face was the only thing visibly uncovered based on her attire alone. “What do you think Kokei is doing?”
for visiting.

“Hm?” Runa looked over towards Vivian when she was asked the question, “He’s probably hiding from all the maids and staff the Lord has employed here.” She let out a soft bout of laughter before sighing.

“Kokei was never really a people person, even before all this,” Runa was actually a friend of Kokei’s which was one of the reasons she was in the same party as him. On top of that, he was the reason she was playing the game in the first place.

She was recalling the death of Nakajima. Just like how he had died in the Dungeon, he had died meaninglessly at the hands of Jack. Perhaps she could get Kokei to resurrect him? Or maybe Jack could? Unless Jack actually saw Nakajima as a threat, which he probably would be if he had gotten any stronger.

Runa could only shake her head as she continued to think about the day and how it hadn’t really at all been that long since they arrived in this world.

Everything was moving so quickly, it was making her head spin in circles.

“How is Jack able to remain so calm?” Runa uttered quietly as she looked to Vivian for an answer.

“Calm?” Vivian sat up, her head lazily lulling to the side. “He doesn’t seem calm.”

Runa raised a brow at this, “How is that?”

“When he first brought me into the light, saved me, he was focusing on just me. When we were in that dungeon, he was focusing on all of us. Jack wasn’t calm because he could be, but because he needed to appear so.” Vivian folded her hands between her legs on the bed, looking at the soft comforter beneath her.

“It’s outstanding for someone to appear composed under such stress When we first arrived here, he was the one who taught us how to use our abilities again.” Runa huffed to herself and rolled over onto her stomach, resting her chin on the pillow, her feet unceremoniously kicking behind her.

“Really?” Vivian looked over at her when she had said that Jack had taught them how to use their abilities. In a way, he had done the same for her, but in a very different way with a very different approach.

Everything Vivian once knew about magic, had all changed when he had shared his knowledge with her through the use of the ‘Memory Meld’ spell that he had cast upon her.

“..Yeah…” Shifting on the bed, Runa rolled over onto her back once more, looking at Vivian, locking their gazes with one another. “Why are you interested in Kokei all of a sudden?”

Shrugging, “I have a feeling I’ll be with you guys for a while Might as well make friends, since I have the chance to do so this time around.” Vivian was smiling brightly at the woman, a great deal of naive innocence still remaining after being broken down by over a month of abuse.

Runa could only return the smile with a soft one of her own.