Chapter 2: Ch. 2 – Pizzicato Andante

Hey there! I’m back to lift the hiatus off this interesting teaser first debuted on hentaifoundry!

I am going to be upfront and say this is going to be my guilty pleasure story where I go nuts about worldbuilding as well as indulging in my own take on Isekai/LitRPG. Lewdness is a secondary feature, which might be unfortunate news for some, but will be tagged as they appear.

This particular chapter is going to be heavy-handed with the busywork of some rules and foundations of said worldbuilding. I’m trying to set them up in order to be consistent to myself, and a promise to the audience to not insult expectations.

Skip down to -o-o-o- to cut through the weeds, so to speak, as well as the beginning of the transformation sequence.

///

We sat in silence for a minute or three. Looking around for some sort of obvious signs of Oz behind the curtain working the Wizard projection, finding nothing, then crossing my arms and tapping my foot on the ground.

“So, uh, hi,” I whispered. On a whim I looked upwards into the inky blackness above my little character select hex, far above the various cards representing typical roleplaying game classes. “You the enigmatic ‘master’ of this place the coin took me to?”

+Well, yes, but also no. He’s my boss. This is my first time managing this sort of thing.+

The sensation was creepy. Almost like I was seeing the words behind my eyelids in-between blinks, but there was also a genderless voice behind it. Not robotic, but also emotionless. Kinda like those garbled filters used to keep people anonymous in conjunction with blurred out faces. Wasn’t uncomfortable in the physical sense like if someone shoved a sonic screwdriver in my ear, so at least there’s that.

“That’s a bit of oversharing if this is supposed to be a game. You need to keep that bit of game master info close to the chest,” I chided, shaking my head disapprovingly. “Otherwise you’re gonna get a player who’s going to walk all over you.”

+A good point, good point, but so far there’s only been you. Well, you being an outsider to this place,+ the Newbie Master replied.

Watching the shift of what looked to be a sleeve – an oversized sleeve of a robe to be precise – drag across the sky, I was mildly concerned about the size difference between us. More interesting, it was like being underneath a glass table and seeing someone interact with it.

Nondescript fingers gripped a nondescript pen and wrote on what I’d have to assume was a notepad. The scritch and scrawl etched their scribbles into my mind. It was annoying as hell and reminded me of the one asshole in a voice chat who forgot their mic was open. Already I could feel a vein pulsate at the side of my temple in aggravation.

Figuratively, of course.

With a sigh, I put a finger to the side of my head and began rubbing out the crow’s feet beginning to develop prematurely.

“Right. This is supposed to be character creation I gather, you have a script that gets followed as the cards run by,” I said, reaching out with my hand. Imagining it like moving things with the Force or my mind. Surprisingly, it worked as I flicked through the various cards.

+Could you… not… do that yet? I need to make sure the process is up to snuff. This is my project while the Master is on leave. Also,+ he or it commented, almost as annoyed as I was, +you aren’t the expected person. Unless Dwarves had become much more slim and pleasing to the eyes somehow.+

“Ahah, well, I’m going to let that one slide considering you’re literally the size of a titan,” I nervously chuckled.

+Hmm? Oh, damn, I forgot to turn off-, where is it, what were the words again?+

I did not so much as feel or hear as I did see and imply that Newbie had just gotten up and walked away. Void-like outlines of hands and fingers pressed down on the not-glass and then lifted off. What was left was the empty black once more.

“Uhhh, hello?”

No response.

“Hey, you.”

Again, nothing.

“Well, shit.”

There was twenty, thirty cards to look through. There might be even more, breaking out of the typical multiplayer mold, though they also might’ve been prestige classes for perusing at a later date. If I wanted to think of this like a game, that was sure to be the start.

Then again, what if I was a play tester?

Now that would suck. Contrary to popular belief, being a beta tester, alpha player, was less about enjoying firsthand access to the product. More like, they got to bump around walls to find holes in geometry that the egghead programmers would need to patch, test out features in boring ways, provide feedback, and maybe a tenth of the time actually play.

Goddammit, was I just subcontracted to do the boring part of a job? My luck would only marginally be better than what I was doing before, all things considered. At least I wouldn’t need to deal with bitchy customers and grubby children in the store ever again.

Just as I was about to rage at the universe and shake my fist, I noticed three emerald dots in the top left corner of my vision.

Oh dear.

Did my eyes just become a heads-up display?

Closing them, I still saw them. I accidentally looked at them.

Oh god.

Info panel.

My ADHD squirrel brain looked at all the buttons and tabs and opened them at the same time.

Info. Panels?!

Opening my eyelids didn’t help to dispel the overload of information. Skills, attributes, inventory, social panel, mounts, talent trees, usual fare of MMORPG theorycrafting hell. My one weakness. I was a min-maxing raider when I had the cash for a regular subscription. Numbers. Big numbers. Shiny yellow crit numbers that made flashy graphics when you proc special effects!

“This-, What-, I-, Could y-”

+Focus your will on the Magical Analysis Projection away to dispel them all,+ Newbie cut in. +I can’t believe that worked.+

I did so, removing the massive headache. Already I could feel wheels turning, wondering about the relationships between stats and ratings and what bullshittery I could get up to in this new world. They condensed back into the familiar triple dots. I found them annoying in the top of my vision and willed it into the bottom right. A set of red and blue and an empty-looking bar clanged – literally clanked with a little chime – against the menu which made me wince. If I had to guess, health and mana but no idea on the last.

“So, this kind of world, huh?”

+Pardon?+

“Oh, nothing. I’ve just seen this kind of thing before. They’re a dime a dozen, between free to play and pay to win or the rare diamond in the rough that strikes a good balance between-,” I mouthed off like some big shot. However, I detected some little dick energy of inadequacy emanating from the heavens so to speak. “Ahem, I have experience in these kinds of worlds is what I meant.”

+Ah. Well, I suppose that is a good thing for our venture.+

I looked over at the cards once more. They were unchanged. I guess this thing was literally being cobbled together on the fly. Like a player wasn’t meant to be here yet. Well, actually, that was kinda true, but that was besides the point.

Now that I had an excuse to peruse the cards while Newbie did whatever he needed behind the scenes, it looked like the starter classes were ordered from martial prowess to magical talent. Fighter, Barbarian, Rogue, Swashbuckler, Monk, Knight, Ranger rounded out the people who shot and stabbed pointy sticks or did the sword and board. Mages seemed to be the boring old Cleric, Wizard, Sorcerer, Druid, Shaman, Bard.

Bard?

I’d actually always wanted to play a bard. Every time I found myself in a game, I ended up having to be the healer or the tank. I could never do the fun stuff because everyone sucked ass at doing those jobs or didn’t want to do them. Too much wanting to do the flashy fun stuff as opposed to devoting brain cells to making sure people stayed alive.

Well, bard in tabletop games typically did a little bit of support, a little bit of damage, a lot of talking. Maybe some excessive horny bat bonk-deserving situations, but not everyone played that way. I was more interested in the jack of all trades aspect anyways. Erotic roleplay was way too time consuming for too little reward. Too many damn coomers that turned out to be creeps online, let alone anyone in real life. If I had the time to make real life friends.

Oh well. At least I had this game and whoever I might meet. Wait, what if I was the only real person?

My brain jolted as if I stuck a fork in an electric outlet. Did that as a kid a few more times than I should have. Also made me feel interesting things when I grew up and became a deviant who enjoyed a little pain with pleasure from time to time.

“Hey Newbie. Question. What happens if something dies?” I asked aloud, spinning the bard card around. My clothes felt looser, lot more comfortable leather that didn’t crush my ribcage.

+In a metaphysical sense? Well, typically the soul is divorced from the body and sent to the judgment seat. Then they are-… Oh, you mean for this plane of existence, don’t you?+

“Winner winner, chicken dinner,” I replied in monotone.

+The plan is to siphon off the life force built during the time a creature has lived its current incarnation up until they expire. They are returned in a more or less whole form to a place designated as their home point of binding.

“So resurrection sickness penalty and a semi-free ticket home,” I offered back in understanding.

+Perhaps it is something best experienced firsthand.+

“Wh-what?”

+You are here to help create this world, are you not?+ Newbie… the Game Master stated with a finality I hadn’t expected from the low guy on the totem pole. Did I push it, him, too far?

“H-hey, buddy, let’s ah, let’s not be too hasty about going into that so soon. I need, well, uhm, what if-, what if-,” I scrambled to delay the inevitable. “Maybe wait until after I decide what I want to be?!”

Silence.

I swear I felt the cold steel of a scythe hanging over me.

+I suppose.+

I sighed heavily in relief.

+You seem to have made a choice for your class archetype.+

“Yes. And, uh, if you’d like to go through your actual script for practice, I promise to limit the commentary,” I quickly stated. My cavalier treatment of the hooded man in the sky was in hindsight a bad idea.

I heard a throat clearing.

+The bard. Using the songs of creation, they grant boons to friend and curse their foe. For all else, the bow is for music as much as for arrow, the sword a quill to write in blood.+

“That’s… actually a really cool intro. Bards aren’t always held in high regard where I’m from,” I said with no small degree of admiration. “Usually they get painted as philandering bums who leave a string of parentless children behind them.”

There was silence for a few moments.

+Hmm. Interesting. That’s perhaps what the third bar is for.+

“Come again?”

+Oh, nothing. Thank you for the compliment, I wrote that one myself. On to the races you should be able to choose.+

The deck of cards folded in on themselves, disappearing in a flash while leaving the Bard card floating in midair before darting towards me. With a reaction time surprising to myself, I caught it between both my fingers. A faint hum emanated from the thing as the triple dots glowed gently. Looking at it, the Magical Analysis Projection – god, I’m not saying that every single time, it’s a MAP – info popped up.

My name, Arienna Kestalennetti, came up. Level one. Class, Bard. Race, question mark. Weird. Pretty sure I was human. Or maybe that was unknown because I’m not officially patched into this world yet.

Three decks appeared in front of me. Humans, Demi-Humans, Monstrous.

“Okay, so before you start going through anything, I need to give some feedback for me personally,” I cut in excitedly before Newbie could go into it.

I pointed at each deck in turn.

“Humans are boring,” I stated, pointing at the deck and its few cards located within, flicking it off to the side. “Demi-Humans I’m guessing are Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes, and so on.”

Away the Demi-Humans went as well. My eyes had never left the big letters translated as Monstrous as soon as I had seen them.

“I might be an outlier in my home plane, as you people call them, but I don’t care much about restarting a life as a boring old me in shiny new digs,” I continued with a hunger in my eyes. I beckoned to the shimmering cards. “So I’m very curious about what is in there.”

+Monstrous races. Sharing more kinship with the ravenous creatures of the untamed parts of the world, they still possess their own societies and civilizations comparable to that of the other inhabitants of the world. Their lot in life is much more difficult, yet the rewards for conquering adversity are many.+

Two, three dozen different images arrayed themselves in front of me. I couldn’t get a bead on all of them. I saw various kinds of beastmen, serpentine naga types, fish people, dragonkin and goblinoids, werewolves, vampires, minotaurs, many more I didn’t know the name for but looked positively awesome.

And near the top of the alphabet, one immediately made my eyes widen.

Wordlessly I willed the graven image to me. Holding it between both my hands, I pressed it to my chest.

The whole point of the coin that brought me here was freedom. The freedom to choose. This was something I could choose for myself, no strings attached. Only the strings that I would make. Only the tunes I would play and sing.

+I haven’t gotten that far for some… flavor text, but are you sure?+ Newbie asked, genuinely concerned.

“Oh yeah. I’ve had this dream for a while now. I’m sure.”

+As you desire. The last of things to do is change one’s appearance to fit the color scheme, adjust bodily features like, uhm, assets. Then choosing a background to help place you in the world. Then you will, well, ‘die’ and be sent down to the world itself.+

“Hold up a sec. I’m not the only person who’s going to be playing here, right? And the people here are actual people? This isn’t some videogame where the shopkeeper someone might decide to murder and steal all their things without retaliation of some sort if they’re powerful enough?” I queried. I had to ask. Call it a moral imperative. “These people aren’t just artificial constructs. That life force is their actual spirit or soul being siphoned off.”

+If I had to explain it in simple terms, they are traded souls. Slates rewritten for different purposes. I don’t know the process, my boss got them as a favor from Old Boatman Styx. Probably destined for one of the various hells. If anything, it’s a form of reincarnation but low chances of remembering their past actual life,+ Newbie postulated with the same robotic text to speech. I thought I detected a hurried pace, like excitement. +However, the mindless things like animals and plants are… well, I suppose you could say they are those artificial constructs if I understand the implication. Unless directly bound to a person, they follow instructions from the world and generate much less life force than people to keep the engine of the world going.+

“Past lives, huh. Well, if you say so. I can get behind that. So it is reality for them, and should be for us incoming players,” I said while tapping my forehead with the race card I pulled.

+Indeed. I’ll make a note of that to explain to future guests.+

“Cool. Right. I’m guessing it’s off to backgrounds last before dying,” I half-heartedly chuckled.

+What about your desired appearance?+ Newbie slowly inquired.

“Huh?”

A mirror appeared in front of me. Tall, oval, gold trim. It was a perfect reflection. I could even see the triple jade MAP dots in my eyes. Well, eye, it seemed to have actually all gone to the bottom right of my right eye, so that was neat.

As far as me, well, I was me. There stood a tall young woman with dirty blonde hair dyed a poorly applied red. Normal blue eyes, thin nose, wispy eyebrows, average mouth and all that. Bad case of rosacea on the cheeks left me in a perpetual state of being mistaken for tipsy. Puberty thankfully let me keep some smooth skin free of pockmarks and also left behind some decently sized girls in my bosom. Just enough to tease a certain target demographic in my customer service jobs to spend a little more but nowhere near enough to rival cam girls and social media socialites.

“I…”

Biting my lip softly, my hands went limp at my sides as I stared at my reflection. The MAP popped up a panel with various sliders, dropdowns. I could make my eyes blood red. Silver halos could rest in yellow pools for my vision. Replace my natural blue to green or brown, if I wanted to be boring. My hair could turn into various styles instantly, change lengths or types. The other parts of future me also had their own accessories and patterns to go over, but I needed to sort myself out first.

“No.”

+I will mention there is a feature in which attributes will affect your appearance as time goes on.+

You are reading story Arienna’s Cadence at novel35.com

“That’s fine. Is there a way to preserve an image of myself as I came here?” I followed up.

+Why?+ was the genuine curiosity. The anon filter almost cut out.

“So I can see how far I’ve come. So I know where I stood when I said ‘hello world’ for the first time.”

Silence. Then a rush of air as another mirror seemed to explode outward from the first one. It was a still image of me, but had that holograph quality like a collectible card. Out of curiosity, I pointed at it and willed the thing to rotate so I got a good look at myself.

I still had my product demonstrator uniform on. Hair net. Latex gloves. Nametag.

There wasn’t hate per se for old me. Just a hollow recognition. Looking down at the flowing outfit of my Bard class, comparing it to the wage slave staring tiredly back at me.

+Are you sure you don’t want to alter your appearance at all?+

“Nah, I’m good. Thank you though.”

The last deck appeared in front of me, splaying out much like the class cards. However, there were many more. Like, small encyclopedia, more. Pluses and minuses, features and traits, all these things passed over my irises. Squirrel brain activate, trying to minmax the best combo for my current build.

Yet one in the rolling tide of jobs and titles stood out to me.

“This… this one is weird. Not the words I’d expect in a setting like this,” I said, willing the card in question to me. “Raid Boss?”

+Oh, that? The term passed through our brainstorming session for a powerful figure which resides at the core of some large group, stronghold, or nation. A placeholder title, that is.+

A giant grin split my face.

It hurt a little, but I could feel my inner gremlin start thinking of all sorts of schemes and machinations.

“If I might make some suggestions, this is the perfect title for a subset of roles. Limited slots. People who need to work up to earning it like a prestige class or world-tier feat of strength,” I postulated, tapping the two cards together. I heard a faint rhythm to the beat. A heartbeat? No.

+Go on.+

“Where I’m from, a Raid Boss comes in two main flavors. Ones who wander around and ones that hole up in fortresses behind layers of increasingly difficult minions. Players who vanquished these would get big rewards usually. However, if that’s something a person in this place can start their path on, what’s the kind of story steps you take?”

+Well, uhm, you see, the ‘story’ isn’t quite finished. So far it’s more making sure that the system works. I suppose you could say it’s a life without overarching purpose.+

“Uhuh. So, no big bad villain or epic world quest yet?”

+Ah, no. Although…+

I perked up my ears. There was amusement, perhaps? Not malice. Both our dispositions had increased. This was supposed to be a partnership to make sure this thing got off the ground successfully. Also, I didn’t exactly want to spend an eternity alone with a bunch of brainjacked spoopy souls and a being behind a magic glass ceiling that seemed to be a giant omnipotent robed guy in the sky.

+You are the first visitor to this place. There can be some special considerations. I’m interested in what you mean by the wandering and, what, stationary Raid Bosses?+

“Well, we can workshop titles, but maybe… Calamities? Generals? Lords? Doesn’t exactly fit the ones which would go from place to place. So maybe specific case-by-case titles for each race? Oh, and if players choose these kinds of backgrounds, are they going to be the targets of other people that choose, I dunno, more nobler jobs like straight up monster hunting?”

There was a pause.

+This is another thing to consider. Perhaps we’d need another kind of artificial constructs that fit the ecosystem as additional Raid Bosses. Conflict between visitors is a potential outcome we foresee as unavoidable, but that shouldn’t be the focus-+

“-when an overarching story could instead bring everyone together against a common enemy, sharing a triumph before parting ways as frenemies or something.”

+Fren-e-mies?+

“Oh, friend enemies. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, at least for as long as that enemy exists. Like truces of convenience. Someone you don’t like all the time but can tolerate breaking bread with, maybe.”

+Hmm. I do like the concept. I’ll attempt to sway my mentor. Thank you, Lady Arienna.+

Lady Arienna? I kinda liked the sound of that.

-o-o-o-

“You mentioned special considerations?” I hummed expectantly.

+Would the possibility of beginning as a fully fledged example of this background interest you?+

Skipping the grind?

Oh. Wow. How could I say no?

Then again, that was as scummy as using pay-to-win credits in a real MMO game.

“I’ll have to respectfully decline.”

+Really?+ Newbie scoffed.

“Yeah. It’s funny, really. I’d love to get that fast pass in a new life. As much as I’d love to take that power trip to the max,” I replied quietly, closing my eyes. The triple dot menu gradually faded from view, so at least that was good news for when I wanted to sleep. “I want to get there through my own blood, sweat, and tears. Aside from being able to pick this path and being given whatever starting tools you expect to provide anyone else, I want control of my own destiny.”

I looked at the three cards now in my possession and the lifeless image of the old me floating beside the Appearance mirror.

“That’s all I ever wanted.”

The character creation hex began to spin slowly. My feet remained firmly planted on solid air as it fell away into the void. The deck of cards representing class, race, background, and the mirror began circling me with my last words still ringing in my ears.

I clenched my hand around my choices.

“I can’t believe it. I’m getting to choose fate’s cards straight from the dealer’s deck. Bit cliché, but I’m totally behind it,” I murmured, taking in the scene unfolding.

+Right. I’ll make a note of everything we’ve discussed. Thank you for your assistance, Lady Arienna,+ Newbie scrawled across my eyes and tonelessly spoke. +Oh, and I should tell you, that siphoning of life mechanic? Some memories are also archived at the same time. Not stolen, merely copied over. I only say this because, without your full consent, memories of your past life will be under review.+

“Eh?” I eloquently responded. “Well, uh, I guess thanks for the actual conversation instead of harvesting my knowledge?”

+Oh, I considered it after your rudeness earlier,+ he said while the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. +But I think we had a quiet understanding of one another. For that, I’m glad.+

I took a breath of relief, feeling the gentle breeze from the spinning decks of cards around me. The mirror floated below me, letting me glimpse into my future form a little bit. Last minute changes I suppose. I quickly chose a color scheme for the lower half of my body, added an accessory or two, adjusted my bust size a tad.

Hey, don’t judge, you would do so to your assets too given a chance without drawbacks!

“Well, are you going to keep track of my shenanigans while I quest for world domination as the first player Raid Boss?” I queried, wondering why the cards were beginning to peel away from each other like being dealt out again. Almost like a cage.

+Correct. I can monitor your progress and check in from time to time personally if you would like.+

“I would appreciate that,” I smiled. “Uh, do you have a name I could use instead of Newbie? I’ll be honest, it actually is a slightly… demeaning title for a novice in an activity.”

+It’s rude to ask a dimensional traveler for their true name,+ he audibly frowned. +Though, I think the diminutive fits our relationship. Me to my station, you to this world I reckon.+

“Oh, sorry. Kinda like Fae rules or whatever then. I guess DnD got some stuff right,” I chuckled nervously, seeing the cards turn edgewise to me.

+Seeing as that is settled, are you ready to die for the first time?+

I nodded slowly, a cold sinking pit in my stomach getting deeper and deeper.

The cards spun in a whirlwind before becoming as small as a regular playing set.

A metallic screech was all the warning I got.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

They sliced through my body, some embedding into my flesh. I felt bone break and blood spurt. I lost feeling of everything below the waist as my eyes widened.

The pain spread from the top of my head to what used to be the tips of my toes. Strange markings appeared over my arms and chest. My teeth chattered as some of them lengthened, sharpened, throat became parched.

It hurt, it hurt.

My eyes burned and I tried blinking away blood and stray hair as my locks whipped around. It felt even harder to do as more and more eyes appeared across the top of my face. I could see the world in slow motion as each razor sharp card that I had passed over punished me for not choosing them. I would have tried dodging if not for the ones already embedded within my body, holding me in place through some force.

It hurt, it hurt, it hurt!

My waist felt rigid, popping, snapping as my knees bent backwards and met with my lower back. Four pairs of bony growths speared out of my sides as my organs shifted around and I somehow gained more and more mass to fill out my figure. My chest, arms, and face stayed the same aside from fingers growing sharp talons for nails. I kept growing, growing, growing like my body expanded backwards and away from me despite the method of my execution.

Oh god, I couldn’t take it!

My breaths turned ragged. It was getting so hard to focus on anything. So much blood. So cold.

Then it felt warm.

So tired.

Warm embrace of something soft.

Darkness.

///

I was dead.

Right.

But there wasn’t a light at the end of the tunnel. No Old Boatman Styx asking me to cough up my two gold coins for passage. No Grim Reaper and his scythe.

There was something in my hand. Three somethings. The only things I held tightly onto through the whole experience. Gradually they started to feel squishy, wet, finally washing over my skin and slithering across my body. Strange feeling, really.

Soon after, I could feel one of my legs. Then another. Another. One more, one by one feeling returned to each for the first time. Curled inwards and locked together around my abdomen and partly over my chitin-covered belly while I sat in some kind of confined space. No light.

+NO LAIR CLAIMED.+

Text and a generic announcer female voice filled my head. Annoying.

+DETERMINING RANDOM RESURRECTION AREA.+

The MAP triple dots glowed a gentle violet with orange brackets around them in the bottom right of my vision. The red health bar was slowly refilling, the blue mana bar already full, the mysterious empty bar still empty.

+WANDERER STANCE ACTIVE.+

A stance? I thought I was a Bard, not a martial class. Those usually had different fighting styles they swapped between, game vernacular called them stances.

There was a diamond over my health bar with four different colors. Red, yellow, blue, green. Currently the blue section glowed.

Wait…

+SUITABLE BEGINNING LOCATION DETERMINED.+

My prison jostled back and forth. Like I was placed. It was warm and nice. Bit moist for my taste, like a humidity choked room, but much more comfortable than the iron maiden of cards that I was put through after finishing my recreation.

+ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ATTRIBUTES ADJUSTED TO ZONE CHALLENGE RATING.+

Annoying, annoying, annoying, I wish I could just sleep in a little longer. I barely got four hours before work today, staying up all night jonesing for cheap violins. Violas. Viols? Words were crashing together.

Huh. I wonder how exactly that would work now.

I was pretty good when I was younger. Maybe that’s why I chose what I did. Just one more thing out of old Ari’s reach.

Not Lady Arienna, or whatever name I chose.

+Enjoy. Until later.+

I could have sworn I heard a young man’s voice. A regular one. No scrawling text behind my eyelids either. No fizzy filter. A real person’s words.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap first,” I slurred, nestling into my silky cocoon. The purple designs up and down my body started to glow, along with the orange tattoo-like accents all across my lower abdomen and eight legs.

Tucking myself together even further, I bunched up more of the loose silk around my forearms and made a little pillow.

I was a Raid Boss after all. I was more or less untouchable.

Right?

Something scrabbled on the ground outside my temporary parlor. And then another. And another. Each in turn growled curiously.

Hungrily.

“Nnngh… god fucking dammit.”

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