Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Making Strides

Welcome back to Becoming Monsters: In the Mirror! This is a work of noncanonical fanfiction to Ai Loves’s Becoming Monsters series. 

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Chapter 3: Making Strides

The pyre that was once a horrific demon was dying down. A person was left, unconscious but not bearing any other obvious injuries. She was dressed in ragged scraps of what might once have been jeans and a tee shirt, they were barely providing decency now. There were sirens in the distance, the reinforcements that I might have needed. I made a decision then, one I didn’t realize at the time would change the course of the rest of my life. “Lucy, listen close, because we have zero time. That woman has nothing, at all, and needs care. If anyone asks, she was here and all remains of the monster evaporated or were vaporized by flame magic we both use. NOBODY needs to know that she is it, there were no other witnesses.”

My wife knew me, and was nodding before I’d even finished talking. It was obvious she had been thinking the same thing. The mystery woman would not be served by the association. “Got it. Police are inbound, standard bounty-claim routine?”

I nodded right back. “Start collecting the gold and feathers. Those are ours regardless.” As she did, the authorities began to approach, weapons drawn. They were told to expect a demon, and found two. Typical. I held up my Delver license and Firearm card as they approached, this not being my first rodeo. “Officers! There is a woman here who was injured in the attack and needs medical attention. I would also like to claim a bounty for a major surface incursion, in addition to medical care for injuries sustained protecting seven civilians.” To their credit, I didn’t have to catch any bullets. One gestured at the others to stand down, they had the decency to at least holster their weapons.

“Identity and proof?” The one stepped forward, a gruff man who looked like he was rejected from a casting call for background cop characters for looking too stereotypical. He was husky with both muscle and fat, tan-skinned and square-jawed with bushy eyebrows. His brown hair was showing hints of salt in it. I saw an annotation on his badge, he was assigned OPP duties and could take the report.

“Jeremiah and Lucile Kithkin. The hospital curse annex can verify this, I just left it when I heard the screams. Love, can you bring the pictures over?” I will give my wife this. Her time at the college newspaper meant that when she was the one capturing images, they looked good. There was a full action shot of me breathing fire at the demon, another of a lightning net, a third of the burning corpse that didn’t show the woman’s form. Wait. Didn’t she just tell me not to take pictures while the thing was still standing? I chose not to mention this. After all, the shots were needed, and I did look really good in them.

The officer’s eyebrows raised. “Ain’t seen one of those around here in three years.”

“And we had at least two conscious, adult witnesses. Dungeon Vrocks are a serious problem and rated to Tier Three bounties. Minimum. I’d like to claim immediate public defense of children in addition.”

We spend about thirty seconds tensely glaring at each other. I was aided by the fact that I was close to a foot taller than him. He relented. “Fine. I’ll submit the reports for Tier Four as soon as we get statements. You Guilded?”

I could not quite keep the note of bitterness out of my voice. “Shield Against Shadows.” 

Another raised eyebrow. Dude must have practiced the look, given how much he was using it. “Really? Thought they dissolved. Did some good work topside, long time ago.”

“Mostly. Long as I’m still alive, the Shield stands.”

He nodded. Paramedics were approaching, not used to jogging directly to the scene. Two were carrying a stretcher, I could almost feel them debate calling for two more when they saw that the woman they’d be loading up was over six feet of muscle. They got her onto it, though, careful to arrange her wings properly. The woman seemed lighter than her build would indicate. Possibly something to do with the bird-like heritage? No way to know for sure until I could talk to her. Still unconscious, though. Another paramedic gave me a once-over, deciding in the end that I was likely fine all things considered but should get a more thorough examination. My wife tried to wave another off, saying she had gotten there late, but he had to at least follow protocol in case of disease or curse. 

I’m sure the fact that he’d be able to be that close to a Succubus had nothing to do with his decision. We could both directly sense his arousal no matter how well he hid it on the outside.

I decided to play nice with the paramedic and walk to the hospital for healing. After all, I wouldn’t be paying for this one, and my insurance rates weren’t about to change. Thirty minutes later, Lucy and I were on the bus home, leaning on each other. Just breathing. “Jay, why is it that dealing with the authorities after a fight is more stressful than actually risking your life against a monster?”

I thought about it for a bit. She had, as usual, read my mind. “Honestly? Probably because we are trying to not light officers on fire, and we have no guarantee they had the same goals. And the adrenaline crash. That’s never going to make things easy.” I didn’t bother to mention the remaining bruises and lightning burns. Those would heal, and I was happy that I had been the one to take all of them instead of her. There was another *PING*. I had looked at my phone before realizing that this one had actually come from inside my head. “Looks like that scuffle was enough to put me to Level 8. Once we get home and let the Aspirin kick in, I’m going to need to take care of that.”

“Scuffle? Jeremiah, I watched you get blasted by a giant bolt of lightning, get knocked into a tree, and then put three rounds into what did it.” She leaned in close to whisper into my ear. “That was unbelievably hot, love, and I got topped off this morning. We have all afternoon.”

Oh, she knew what that voice did to me, especially in combination with her absolutely luscious breasts pressed into me and the fact that I was already turned on by her mere presence. The bus, in what should be classified as a hate crime, chose that exact moment to arrive at our stop. I had to rapidly rearrange how I was pointed inside my pants, or I would not likely have been able to walk easily. Concealing a full foot of boner was not going to be possible no matter what I did.

I managed to get off the bus and to the elevator in our apartment building without shoving my crotch in anyone’s face. This would have been an accomplishment even without present circumstances, with them I was rather proud of myself. We made out like we were teenagers again on the elevator ride up, managed to stop when we heard the bell, got barely inside the door to our own apartment, then got handsy again.

You know, thinking about it, that really was a bit of a theme for us, huh?

This particular bit of horny only lasted a few moments, though. Lucy skipped off to our room to get my Status Binder. It was a thing that some military friends of mine had recommended to me, a sort of I Love Me book. A place to record everything I knew about my Race and Class, including research into future choices. Lucy had one for herself, as well, but I was the one who needed it today. Neither of us was exactly at the forefront of things, so in general we would be able to help each other do things like place attribute points and select from class feature choices given what everyone on the Internet and in scholarly articles were saying.

I sighed a bit, took my painkillers, sat down on our living room rocking chair, and got comfortable. I was still enormously hard but trying to focus. Decisions here would have permanent results, so I could not rush them. I pulled up my Status screen as my wife walked in, seeing two Attribute points available (END, INT, or HLT) and a Class Feature. I conveyed the info to my wife, who checked the notes and found no shocks. “Given everything going on, I think I’m going to drop the points into Health. Two attacks in two days makes me think the pace could be picking back up.”

Most of my vision was still blocked, but from the way her knees moved she nodded vigorously. “Alright. Go ahead and pull up the Class Features. Bonus pick for Class, most don’t get one at eight. According to our notes there are a dozen or so you could catch but only four that will pop up. Consensus is that harder ones to qualify for come up more often for those who meet the requirements as compared to generic options.”

It was my turn to nod. Focusing on the alert, I pulled up the selection menu. Sure enough, four choices. “First up is called Full Reflect.”

I heard Lucy flip a couple of pages. “Gives you another way to use Mirror Shield, focusing it on any one thing you can affect with it to bounce it back at the attacker instead of just mitigating it. Disables the Shield entirely for about five minutes after use, and you can’t activate Acquisition on that instance of the ability or gain progress towards ability levels if it would have given it.”

That sounded like it would not work out well long-term. Specifically, most enemies tended to be resistant to their own attacks. “Pass. Second is called Concubal Acquisition.” There was a lot more page flipping this time.

“I don’t see it in the notes.”

“That’s odd. I don’t have a headache yet, see if we have anything on Accelerated Learning or Lancet?”

“Accelerated Learning gives you about a 5% boost in leveling speed for your abilities. Lancet removes Mirror Acquisition entirely and replaces it with an offensive spell that also pulls powers. Both are general skills.”

“Accelerated Learning doesn’t sound too fun, and Mirror Shield is dependent on Acquisition so I’m not sure I want to risk replacing it to see the interaction. Do a quick search for the one we didn’t have notes on?”

“Already was. Full search only has one hit from a Status forum three years ago, a Succubus Mirror said she saw it pop up but didn’t choose it since she had planned around Sapphire Radiance, which popped for her. Says she also had Cursebreaker. Feel like being a pioneer today, love?”

“Guess so. Concubal sounds like it comes from Concubus or Concubine, which could refer to our Race. If so, it might key off of Racial abilities, like the Aura or Hunger. Going to pick it, here goes nothing.” I mentally selected it, and accepted all changes. The first thing I noticed was the tweak of Health, the pain from earlier fading a bit more.. 

The second, though, was a bit more dramatic. It started with another window popping up.

*Class Feature Concubal Acquisition Unlocked*

+2 END

+2 CHA

You are reading story Becoming Monsters: In The Mirror at novel35.com

Gained Improved Demonic Attraction

Mirror of Instinct acquisition mode changed

Behind Lucy, I could see my reflection in the mirror. Though nothing too dramatic had changed, I had become noticeably more regular of features. My growing hardness felt different, too, like it was bigger. I could suddenly see a faint shimmer of light around my wife as the energy flowed through me, improved me. Her eyes widened, her pupils dilating clearly even from here. Just sitting there, still several feet away, she was visibly having to restrain herself. I stood, slowly and smoothly. Her eyes were glued to me, a whimper escaping her lips. I nodded in the direction of our bedroom, and she took off running for it faster than she had come running to reinforce me against the demon.

By the time I got there, she was already on the bed, spread eagled and panting, visibly soaking wet. I took off my polo, slowly. By the time I stepped free of my pants, she was actually visibly desperate almost to the point of incoherence, quietly mouthing “please… please…” at me. It took me two steps to get to our bed, one motion to drag her to the edge of it, and one more to smoothly pierce her to the hilt. She came, instantly and powerfully, her body clamping down on my dick as if it didn’t ever intend to let go. I could see her abdomen flexing, her back arched, her hands grasping at our sheets, as the indescribable sensation of a Succubus in orgasm brought me near the brink instantly. Only five years of experience holding on through that let me not instantly lose it inside of her.

Lucy settled, her insides still twitching around me, and so I took the opportunity that presented itself. I leaned in and immediately started pounding into her once more. This was no gentle loving, I knew that was not what she wanted. My hands grasped both thighs, and with the leverage I drove myself in as far as I could go with every stroke. I put my back into it, every thrust taking me all the way in until my tip was kissing her cervix. Every time I drove myself into her, the slap of our bodies was loud enough to sound like someone was applauding us. I could hear her moaning, helpless as I rapidly took her body back over the brink, and with a growl deep in my chest I came into her, feeling myself release pulse after pulse after pulse of ecstasy. I fed deeply upon her bliss, and felt both physically and spiritually satisfied for the first time in what felt like forever. 

With a contented sigh, I fell onto the bed next to her. We cuddled there for a moment, panting and sweating. Both of us were leaking onto the bed sheets, neither of us cared. Lucy was the one to break the silence. “What was that? You just freaking dominated me, made me cum twice in three minutes, and I was turned on so hard I just let you? Since when does that happen?”

I could barely hear her, though. As I lay there, a Status message appeared.

***

Subject: Lucile LaCroix Kithkin

Class: Sorceress

Class Attributes: DEX, WIS, CHA

Primary Ability: Flame Ray

Do you wish to Acquire? Y/N

***

“Love… love! We can talk about round two later, get paper and a pencil NOW!” She moved, again immediately, and came back shortly. “I have a Status window up, please write these down.” 

It didn’t take long. I could not see her expression, but I could hear the concern in her voice. “Jeremiah… what does it mean by ‘Acquire’? Ever since you leveled, I’m jumping at everything you say.”

“I really don’t know, love, but the line is exactly the same as when I get smacked around in combat and get the chance to pick up a new power. Might be why it lists a particular one as a primary?”

“Could be? We’re in completely uncharted water. It’s pretty obvious that sex activated it, though, so I’m sure nobody is going to believe you if you try to tell the tale anyway.”

“Kind of used to that. Alright. I don’t know what Acquiring you will do. If you want me to say no, tell me and I’ll do so. You have to decide now, though, and I don’t know either way if you’ll get a chance to change your mind.” Not being able to see her was driving me nuts. I wanted to be out of this screen so I could look into her eyes, but I couldn’t close it without making a choice. I could hear her panting in a way that had nothing to do with the exceedingly enjoyable time we’d had a moment before.

Her breathing calmed down. She sounded… resigned, almost. “It could mean anything from you gaining my spell list to me becoming a slave to you. Probably a million shades between those, and lots I can’t imagine right now. Okay. Promise me, Jay. Promise me that you’ll keep treating me right if the worst happens.”

“Love, you know that I would never make you do anything against your will, or that is against what I think your will would be, or that would unnecessarily harm you. No matter what the results of this choice are. I love you, and that will never change.” My heart was pounding, harder than while we were having sex, harder than when we were fighting the monster.

“Do it, Jay. Do it before I lose my nerve. Accept it.”

I nodded, and did it. The status message cleared, I could see the look on my wife’s face once again, the tears in her eyes. We leaned in and kissed each other, feeling the power take hold. We pulled back, looking into each other’s eyes, and I could suddenly see her more sharply. I could see with that much more detail as her body began to change in several subtle ways. Her eyes brightened, eyelashes straightened, abs firmed, and breast plumped even more deliciously. When she moved, it was even smoother than before. She reached out to touch my face, almost unbelieving. 

“I… I think I’m still me? But you… changed.” She seemed to be trying to check everything about me, her, and the room at once. The look of soft wonder was temporary, as she reasserted her control over herself. Her eyes half-lidded again, her sensuous lips gained a wicked little grin. One which my body reacted to immediately. “Oh, so you’re ready to go again already? Seems like I have a chance to regain my honor!” Lucy set her hand on my chest and, gently but quite firmly, pushed me onto my back on the bed.

I had barely gotten there before her right hand traveled south, coming to grasp my rising hardness, looking tiny there. She began stroking me, slowly and precisely. I could feel her own aura of lust focusing in on me, though she need not have bothered. Fifteen seconds of that, from the woman who knew my body better than I did and as practiced at giving it pleasure as she was, and I was turned all the way back on. 

Unlike what we just got through, she was in no hurry. Sometimes, she would lean down to give me a long, luxurious deep throat. Other times, she would smoothly stroke my length until she heard my breathing go ragged. She kissed and nibbled, licked and sucked, and performed things with her long tongue I’m fairly sure are not physically possible for anyone not supernaturally gifted. She used a combination of reading me like an open book, well-timed pressure, and spikes of lust control to keep me a half-step from going over the edge for over a half hour.

Honor thoroughly regained. By the time she decided to have mercy and let me orgasm, the cumshot was strong enough to hit the ceiling. We already had to clean the sheets, this just confirmed it.

As I lay there panting and sweating, she let out one of those self-satisfied and confident giggles I had long since come to associate with the phrase “mission accomplished.” It usually sent me directly back into the horny depths, but I was rather sated at the moment. Post-nut clarity is a heck of a drug, though, and my brain started catching up to things. I was literally seeing things more sharply, and feeling them more clearly. Lucy’s movements had been more precise than even she had ever reached before, and she was looking better than even her usual. I could think of no other cause than the class feature I had just gained. It would have been worth the pick even if it was just for the mind-blowing sex, but there had to be more to it.

I pulled up my Status screen, one I had seen at a minimum several times a week for the last five years. I knew it backwards and forwards, but it was not the same today. My Racial modifiers for DEX, WIS, and CHA had gone up by one. Not just the Attribute, the Racial Mod. Each of the three had an additional note saying “10%” after it, as well. At the bottom, though, was the biggest change. My Mirror Skills category had been renamed and reformatted, now called Concubal Acquisitions. The Flame Breath attack I had so recently used to good effect was missing, instead my wife was listed there along with her three class attributes, Flame Ray, and a progress meter at 30%. It showed Level 1. My other four skills were still present, but presumably would be overwritten as I acquired more people. If I acquired them. I also noted, briefly, that I was at 2% progress for my Class, which was odd given that I had just leveled up. Yep, had to be the feature. I was gaining attributes and skills from my wife. A non-monstrous source.

“I need you to check your Status. This evening has been utterly amazing, but see if something has changed. Not going to tell you what to look for, but it should be obvious.”

Lucy’s eyes got that glassy look of someone reading a screen nobody else could see. Her brow furrowed. “I have a new status, Acquired. Looks like I gained a point of Racial modifier to all of my class attributes, too.”

“Nothing else? Nothing lost?”

She was quiet, eyes furrowed for a while as she looked more closely at her screens. “Not that I can see. Getting close to leveling, no lost attributes, all my Rotes have the same progress as while I was getting checked at the hospital. Hunger at 68%.”

“68%? After I fed from you twice?” I glanced at my own stores. I had, sure enough, taken in a significant amount of energy there. Between earlier and our own activities, I could possibly abstain for a week without going dry.

“That’s what it says, and I’m not feeling desperate. Why are you so focused on losses?”

“I just lost my breath weapon. Your Flame Ray just took its place, and you with it.”

“That’s a bit creepy. Hopefully, you don’t accidentally drop your Sterilize spell, we need it to stay good.” She looked at the clock. “I am hungry the other way, though. Pizza and a movie? We can talk shop more tomorrow.”

That sounded like heaven, though I was feeling like I was forgetting something. I accepted, gratefully. Let others tell you that sex is the height of intimacy. Cuddles on the couch beat it by a mile. Both of us were kind of getting used to things again, but it was a chill kind of comfort. She fairly rapidly got over having an instant reaction to obey my words. Not mind control, then, more a Charisma boost? I’d need to experiment later. It was a relief, though. I had no desire at all to dictate her every thought and deed. My own were sometimes a bit much by themselves. The movie was mostly mindless, but we weren’t paying attention to it as much as to the pizza and each other, so it worked out.

The peace was broken a couple of hours later. That evening, the Emergency Room called me to come speak to the woman we had rescued. She was refusing to talk to anyone else. 

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