Testing the Thrall
Even if they were spirits, I had only just acquired them, so there wasn’t much they could do yet. A fire spirit, at first, was little more than a remote-controlled lighter, and a dark spirit was only good for giving someone a small scare.
This would probably get better once their levels went up.
Before I knew it, it was time to head home. I changed clothes and came out to find the bald instructor talking with someone.
She was small-framed, but she had a surprisingly nice figure and a cute face. For some reason, she looked vaguely familiar.
"Ah, Seha. Heading out?"
"Yes, Instructor."
After I bowed in greeting, the instructor introduced the woman she’d been speaking with.
"This is Im Hana, who’ll be working as an intern in the infirmary from now on. Introduce yourselves. This is Lee Seha. She’s interning with the support team."
"Hello."
"I-it’s nice to meet you."
Nice to meet me? So I had seen her before, then?
When I tilted my head, Im Hana’s face flushed red and she dropped her gaze.
"Have we met before? You look strangely familiar."
"Yes. We have. In a Gate, a while back..."
"Ah."
Only then did I remember who she was. She was the healer from that Gate, the one who’d suffered mana exhaustion not long ago.
I sifted through my memories for a moment, then tilted my head again.
"I’m pretty sure you were with a fixed party back then."
"It broke up."
"Oh? Why?"
"Just... things happened."
She seemed reluctant to talk about it, and I couldn’t blame her for that. Still, I had no reason to press the issue.
With a party leader whose field of vision was so narrow he was practically blinded by battle alone, and a healer with an introverted personality, things probably hadn’t been easy. Unless there was someone else around who could compensate for those two, I couldn’t imagine the party working out. Then again, if there’d been someone that capable, the guild would have snapped them up already.
"I guess... maybe field work just doesn’t suit me very well... so..."
I’d been thinking about that incident for a moment and had gone quiet, and she seemed to take my silence as something else entirely as she mumbled that one addition.
Honestly, just from the way she spoke, I could tell field work didn’t suit her. At the very least, she didn’t seem like the type who would take initiative and push things forward on her own.
"Did the instructor recommend you?"
"Huh? Yes..."
"I’m working as an intern thanks to the instructor too. We’re in similar situations, so if we run into each other, let’s at least say hello."
"Yes."
When I held out my hand, Im Hana hesitated, unable to meet my eyes properly, before finally taking it.
Well, if there were people like that, there were bound to be people like this too.
Anyway, that was the end of the day’s work. I went home, showered, and got into bed. It was time to begin another workday.
When the dream began, the woman in the form of a dark elf welcomed me again, just as she always did.
"Hmm."
She looked me over quietly before speaking. Considering that she’d originally left me unable to move or even talk, this was a tremendous improvement.
"You smell like another woman."
"Excuse me?"
When I tilted my head, not understanding what she meant, she snorted and said, "Hmph. It’s not as if you can really go around ravishing women in reality anyway."
"Thanks to who, exactly?"
I pulled the slightly jealous woman into my arms and enjoyed a deep kiss.
And, as always, that led to sex.
By now, both she and I were able to enjoy it quite a bit. Shifting positions here and there, we lost track of time completely as we spent a pleasurable stretch together.
The woman in her dark elf form had just the right kind of supple body, so even after we’d been mixing bodies like this every night, I never got tired of it.
At last, after the two of us had finished and lay side by side, drenched in sweat, she spoke again.
"It seems you succeeded in summoning a spirit today."
"Yes. I finally reached level 3."
Just like in any game, the higher your level got, the harder it became to reach the next one. Even at level 3, I was already beginning to feel the stagnation.
"Even with help like this, leveling is still slow. How did the original character ever get to level 9?"
"Well, she was over 120 years old."
"Ah... right, she was an elf. Haha."
"That doesn’t mean every 120-year-old reaches that level."
She kneaded my chest as she continued, "Are you getting impatient?"
"Well... I’m not an elf, after all."
"Hmm."
She fell silent for a moment, then let out a small sigh and spoke again.
"Still, it doesn’t matter. It’s impossible in reality anyway."
"Huh? What is?"
When I looked at her, puzzled, she hesitated before finally speaking.
"It’s not that there’s no way."
"What?"
"If the speed at which your vessel grows is too slow, then you can use some other external method."
"An external method?"
"For instance, you could create a thrall to share the burden you’re carrying."
I tilted my head.
"You can do that?"
"Usually not. But among your classes, you have Succubus, don’t you? A version that’s mixed with vampire blood, more or less."
"Ah..."
One of the special traits of vampires and succubi was precisely the ability to create thralls.
"Could I do that too? That character didn’t seem to have that kind of ability."
"Not with the game character alone, no. But if I help you, it’s possible."
Come to think of it, the reason I could meet her every night in my dreams was entirely thanks to her power.
"So what you’re saying is, if I want to make a thrall, I have to enter someone’s dream."
"That’s what succubi are, aren’t they?"
At her tone, as if asking why I was stating the obvious, I could only make a sour face.
"You’re not telling me to go into a man’s dream and do that, are you?"
Absolutely not. No matter that my body in reality was female now, doing that with a man was a hard no.
"Have you ever become female in a dream?"
"No... I don’t think so?"
Come to think of it, in dreams I was always male.
But there was another issue nagging at me this time.
"That... wasn’t the whole point of turning my body into a woman, so I wouldn’t mess around with other women?"
"It was only meant to keep you from chasing after any woman you pleased in reality."
"Oh. So that means it’s fine in dreams?"
"I never said it was completely fine."
After muttering to herself for a moment, she finally found an excuse.
"Your vessel is far too small, so one session a day is the best you can manage. You inadequate thing."
"Ugh. I’m sorry."
I couldn’t argue with being called inadequate, so I had no choice but to shrink a little. She gave a light cough, then went on.
"Since it’s come up, we might as well test it."
"Test it, you mean?"
"I mean we should try it on the woman who came in smelling like you."
Hey now. We’d only held hands once; saying she was “smelling” like me was a bit much, wasn’t it?
When I thought about it carefully, I remembered that although she was small, her body had been quite well-proportioned.
It wasn’t as if we’d be physically connecting in reality anyway, so maybe I should give it a try.
"Then... sure. Let’s try it once."
"You really won’t refuse, even at death’s door, will you? Honestly, men."
"..."
She was the one who suggested it, so what exactly was I supposed to do? Honestly, women.
Of course, I didn’t have the courage to say that out loud.
She rose to her feet and traced a straight line through the air with one finger.
At once, space split open, and a new landscape appeared beyond it.
"That is the woman’s dream. Once you cross over, the other side won’t be able to see you at first, so watch for a chance and make your move."
"How, exactly, am I supposed to do that?"
"By joining bodies."
"That’s all?"
"The rest depends on you. You could merely drain the other side’s essence, or you could pass on a new power like I did. In this case, though, the goal is to help expand your vessel, so it would be best to transfer the dark elf ability."
If I passed on the power of Kunoichi or Succubus, then she would be forced to experience the same dual-class conflict I was dealing with. So the only thing I could transfer was the growth-type skill, the Dark Elf whatever-it-was.
"If I transfer that, will the experience she gains also be shared with me?"
"Not only that. As your thrall’s level rises, your vessel will expand as well."
That sounded plausible. Very plausible, in fact, but if that was the case, wouldn’t there be one problem?
"Then if I want to raise her level quickly, do I have to keep going in and joining bodies like this?"
"There is a way to simply wait and let her level up on her own. It just has the minor drawback of taking more than a hundred years."
"That doesn’t sound like a very minor drawback."
Grumbling, I stepped into the open fissure.
Just as she’d said, my own body became translucent, and the scenery around me came into view.
It was a hot spring. An outdoor bath, specifically.
Looking around, I spotted Im Hana without much trouble.
She was standing beside the bath with a towel wrapped around her, her legs still in the water and her whole body soaked through. Her expression was anxious as she kept glancing around, as if worried someone might be peeking at her.
As expected. I’d felt it earlier when I’d glanced at her, but her body was indeed quite impressive.
From the look on her face, it was clear she was wondering why she was in a place like this. Did she realize she was dreaming?
Then, all at once, I saw her touch her own chest. The outline of her erect nipples stood out clearly beneath the wet towel.
I watched quietly for a moment, then revealed myself before Im Hana’s eyes. And without warning, I grabbed the breasts covered by her towel.
Startled, she clutched my wrist, but she didn’t flee.
Ah.
I could tell immediately that she, too, understood this was a dream. If she hadn’t, there was no way she’d resist so little when some stranger suddenly appeared and clamped a hand over her chest.
Maybe she thought this was how her own desire was taking shape. Either way, it didn’t matter to me.
Enjoying her flustered reaction, I pulled away the towel that had been covering her body.
This time, I took one breast in each hand.
She avoided my gaze, but she still showed no sign of running away. All she did was pant, her face flushed red as she struggled for breath.
I drew her into my arms and kissed her. To my surprise, she wrapped her arms around my neck as if she’d been waiting for it and responded with fervor.
While I gently stroked her hips and enjoyed the kiss, I slowly tipped Im Hana backward.
Spreading her legs, I looked over the soft flesh hidden within. Then I traced my finger slowly around the neatly shaved folds below.
Her face was already bright red, and each time my fingers brushed near her most intimate place, she shivered in tiny jolts.
I took her hand and made her spread herself open.
Even though she looked flustered and didn’t know what to do, she followed my instructions well enough. Feeling pleased, I stroked the exposed flesh again.
After teasing the folds, I inserted a finger into the opening inside, one by one in sequence. First my thumb, then I pulled it out and inserted my index finger instead.
Every time my finger slid inside, she twitched as if struck by electricity, and before long her hidden place was soaked through, as if a flood had broken open.
Shall we move on to the next step?
I withdrew my finger and brought my mouth down instead. I could feel her reacting even more intensely than before, her whole body trembling.
I licked lightly, then sucked at her flesh, now as red as her face. Teasing her mercilessly, I found that before long she was breathing so hard her large breasts were shaking with each gasp.
I pulled her hand to mine and made her lift one leg, holding the back of her knee herself.
Maybe she guessed what would happen next from my movements, because she turned her face away and spread her legs as I told her.
And then I slowly thrust my cock into the wet opening laid bare before me.
As I pressed deeper and deeper inside, her whole body trembled in ripples.
When I finally pushed all the way in, she let out the breath she’d been holding, hot and shuddering.
But this was only the beginning.
I pulled my hips back, drew out the cock I’d driven in, and slammed it forward again. Her mouth flew open, and her body arched like a bow.
Was she especially sensitive? Or was it the succubus power making her feel it more strongly?
As I kept bending and straightening my body in rhythm, she reached out and wrapped her arms around my neck.
Clinging to one another’s heated bodies and moving together for a long while, we finally approached the moment of release.
Perhaps because I was in my succubus state, an enormous volume of semen surged straight toward her womb all at once.
Ah, right. Since I was a man, should I call it an incubus instead?
Was she shocked by the sudden sensation of hot seed filling her from the inside? Or had she simply been overwhelmed by a wave of pleasure so immense it was almost impossible to imagine?
With her mouth hanging open, she threw her head back and trembled convulsively for a long time.
After I savored the sensation of climax for as long as I could, I slowly withdrew. She stared down at the semen spilling from her body with an expression of utter disbelief.
The look on her face was delicious enough in its own right, but since this was our first time, I decided to leave it there for now and slowly withdrew from her dream.