Finding the Hole (1)

"Alright... as far as I remember, there are seven hidden pieces inside the academy. Of those, three can be grabbed early on. And of those three, the one I need to go after first is—"

She couldn't recall the exact item, but there had been a piece of gear that boosted the experience you earned in the early game. Get that, pump Strength and Stamina as fast as possible, and then hunt down elixirs or whatever else she could find to keep growing.

Truth was, when she'd actually played, she hadn't known any of this. She'd rammed through the game like a headbutting dinosaur and only looked up a guide once she'd slammed face-first into a wall. If she'd had that item back then, she could've beaten the game several times faster — maybe even tried a few other builds.

"I remember it being somewhere along the wall."

There was a dog hole in the wall, and the item was supposedly sitting just outside it. She had no idea why, only that it appeared exclusively during the entrance ceremony — which meant if she didn't grab it now, she never would.

The problem was... she had no idea which stretch of wall the dog hole was on.

"No choice, then."

She was going to have to search every last inch of it. And therein lay the real issue: Undress Academy was set in a kind of academy city, which meant the campus was enormous. Finding a single gap in the wall across grounds that size... when was she supposed to search all of that?

She let out a sigh and headed for the eastern wall first. It'd be nice if she found it right away...

She walked the wall at a slow, careful pace. The surface was a pristine, unbroken white. No dog hole anywhere. All she could see were the weeds and flowers that had sprung up along the base of the wall.

She was just starting to think this wasn't the right place when a voice called out behind her.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Ah—"

She turned around. The person ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who'd called her was a familiar face: Suika, the Disciplinary Committee Chief who'd told her to hurry to the auditorium during the entrance ceremony. Of everyone in Undress Academy's cast, she was probably the closest thing to a normal person. Not that Bresir actually knew her that well — in the game, she'd only ever seen Suika in her capacity as Disciplinary Committee Chief.

"Uh, that's..."

"Pink necktie. So you're a first-year who just enrolled. Why are you acting so suspicious? Don't tell me..."

"No! I'm not doing anything suspicious, I just—"

"Then what is it?"

"...Someone I know told me there's a dog hole around here, so I was looking out of curiosity."

"A dog hole?"

"It's not like I had any bad intentions. I just wanted to see if it was actually there..."

"Well, I did hear a dog hole was discovered recently. Who told you about it?"

"...They asked me to keep it a secret."

It wasn't as if she could say she'd found out on the internet. She turned her head and looked away — which, of course, only made her look more suspicious. Suika's glare sharpened.

Maybe it was because her character was so short, but having Suika glare down at her like that made it far too easy to shrink.

"Once you've seen it, you'll go back to the dorms, right?"

"Uh... yeah. Yeah, once I confirm it, I'll head back."

"...Well, they said they're sealing it up today anyway. I'll let you take a look before then."

"...Really?"

"Yes. And—"

Suika started toward her. Bresir stumbled backward in surprise, and Suika's hand closed around her shoulder.

W-what? What is she trying to do...?

It hadn't been that long since Luina had gotten her hands on her. Having someone reach for her like this was terrifying. She squeezed her eyes shut and trembled.

"Why are you so scared?"

"Huh?"

She opened her eyes. Suika was straightening her crooked uniform.

"You're an academy student now. You need to keep yourself presentable."

Suika fixed her necktie, then let go. Bresir was honestly surprised. She had assumed that, being a character from this game, Suika would be... well. No wonder she was the Disciplinary Committee Chief. Wasn't she the most trustworthy, safest person in this entire academy?

"Uh, thanks."

"You're welcome. And use honorifics when you speak to your seniors. We can't have the hierarchy between upper and lower classmen falling apart."

"Ah — yes."

Originally she would have been the older one, but the character she'd possessed — Bresir — was younger than Suika, and her junior. And unlike Lucia, Suika was being kind to her. There was no need to be sharp.

"Now follow me."

"Yeah — I mean... yes!"

She fell in behind Suika and followed her toward the dog hole. If she ever needed help from now on... maybe she could go to Suika.

The dog hole was on the complete opposite side of the wall she'd been searching. If Suika hadn't shown her the way, she might have spent an entire day looking for it. She was really lucky to have run into Suika...

"This is where the dog hole appeared. Whoever did this... we'll have to find the culprit."

"It's smaller than I expected."

"Yes. Just big enough for one person to squeeze through. Not that you'd be able to leave this place even if you did get out."

"Right."

She started toward the hole, and Suika's hand shot out and caught her by the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shoulder.

"Uh... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠um."

"Why are you getting so close?"

"I was just curious."

"You can look from here."

"...Yes."

With Suika watching, there was no way she was getting that item. She needed it, though... She kept sneaking glances, but Suika showed no sign of leaving until she did.

"...Well, I've seen it, so shall we head back?"

"Had enough?"

"Yes."

She nodded and turned around first. That meant she'd have to wait until after Suika left. She wanted to put it off until tomorrow, but based on what Suika had just said, the dog hole was going to be sealed today. The moment it was sealed, the item was gone. She had to get it today.

"Thank you for showing me the way."

"Of course. Get back safely."

"You too, senior."

"...That's the opposite direction from the dorms, you know?"

"Ah — thanks for telling me."

She bowed to Suika one last time, then pretended to head for the dorms and looped all the way around. It would take a bit, but after one full circuit, Suika should be gone. There was no way she'd just keep waiting.

"Gone, just like I thought."

After looping around, Suika had left her post. Bresir had been worried she might wait... but there was no need. Now she could go grab the item.

She approached the dog hole slowly. It was... smaller than she'd expected.

"Hss... can I even fit through this?"

Worried she might get stuck, she crouched down and peeked through to the other side. Sure enough, a chest was sitting on the ground outside the school.

"That's it, isn't it?"

Seeing the chest right there, she couldn't hold back. She shoved herself into the dog hole.

"Nngh..."

She pushed as hard as she could, and luckily, she made it through. Thought I was gonna get stuck and not make it.

She'd gotten the chest. She tried to pull herself back out of the hole.

"...Huh?"

Her body wouldn't come out. She braced herself against the ground and shoved toward the academy, but she didn't budge an inch.

"...I'm stuck?"

Wait. She'd gotten in — and now she couldn't get out? She kept pushing, trying to wriggle free somehow, but there was no sign of movement. So she was just supposed to stay like this until someone pulled her out? She really had to wait like this?

She kicked her legs as hard as she could, thrashing to escape... but of course it didn't work.

"Ah... I'm screwed."

She'd shoved herself in without thinking the moment she saw the chest, and now this. She was actually an idiot. If Intelligence were a stat, hers would definitely be an F.

"...Would this even help?"

She knew she didn't have any abilities that would be useful here, but just in case, she opened the chest. Inside was a bracelet. So it was a bracelet?

"How am I supposed to use this, though?"

The bracelet looked so ordinary she wasn't even sure it was an item. Did it just activate when you put it on? The moment she slipped it onto her wrist—

"Oh..."

She'd only known it helped with stat growth. She had no idea the effect was this broken. Now she understood why everyone said you had to start with this. No restrictions. It could feed you bonus experience all the way to the maximum rank... what kind of cheat item was this?

Still, it wasn't much help right now. What she needed at this moment was immediate power, not growth.

"Well, might as well set it up."

Might as well squeeze every last drop out of it. All the stats, plus the traits... it was a shame she didn't have any skills, but since it was an item, she could probably use it again later. She set every growth target to maximum. At this rate, even early graduation might not be a dre— wait. Huh?

The black bracelet sank into her wrist and vanished without a trace.

"What the..."

A bad feeling made her swallow hard as she opened the skill window. That wasn't right, was it? You weren't supposed to just set everything at max, were you?

"...Ah."

A truth she really didn't want to see unfolded right in front of her. There was no such thing as power without a price. Her growth had accelerated — and in exchange, she'd become an even more pathetic female.

She was already sensitive, and now she'd be even more so. She'd be in heat almost constantly, and the fetishes that had already started taking root would eat even further into her mind. And the last problem... she'd acquired Desire to Submit, which was terrible for growth.

Desire to Submit: the craving to be crushed by an opponent's power and defeated. The silver lining was that it wasn't Desire to Lose, which sat one rank above it... but still. Acquiring Desire to Submit meant the odds of developing Desire to Lose had gone up. So it was all bad.

"If I'd known it was going to be like this... I never would've set it this way."

She lamented her past self for not remembering the item's description properly, and the game company for putting in an item like this. Fuck... was this for real? If it was a hidden piece, it should just be good. Why the hell was it plastered with this many drawbacks? On top of that, she couldn't even unequip it! They should at least let her cancel!

She was still cursing her situation when she heard footsteps, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and she shouted. Her situation was her situation — but she still needed to get out.

"Hey! Is someone walking by?! Help me! I'm stuck and I can't get out!"

The footsteps that had been fading grew closer, as if they'd heard her. At least this way she could get ou—

"Hyaah!"

Slap!

A sudden sting across her ass tore a cute little scream out of her before she could stop it.

"W-what?! Who is that?! Why are you hitting my ass?! I just asked you to pull me out! Nnh...!"

A sudden coolness on her backside made her dread the worst. Someone... was lifting her skirt and running a hand down her ass.

"Eek! Don't! I said don't! Don't touch me!"

Slap!

"Kyahhn!"

The hand spanked her again. She hung her head and trembled. I... I almost came just now. I almost orgasmed from just getting spanked on the ass... fuck.

Terror washed over her. Someone she couldn't see was touching her from behind. Her body was getting used to it — getting aroused more easily, tipping toward climax...

A-am I going to be okay?!