The Fool

"Now all that's left is rubble and dirt.

Where's happiness with which you used to flirt?

Nowhere to be seen and nowhere to be found.

You're alone once again;

To despair you are bound."

(Before you start this chapter, note that the culling refers to the event when 10 Entertainers are killed at the end of each month.)

II. (King's PoV – 6 days left before the culling.)

"Good Morning Honey." I said as I forced my lips on Mystica's. She started squirming but she can't fight back. I have her completely tied down after all. I forced her lips open and made my tongue play with hers. Things were starting to get exciting but then, she bit my tongue making me withdraw from the shock of the sudden pain.

"You bitch!" I said, slapping her face.

"Ahh damn that hurts." I can taste my own blood now. The pain stuck to my tongue as if she bit through half of it. This bitch just made me angrier.

"Untie me!" She demanded.

"You know what?" I sat down on a chair and stared her straight in the eyes.

"I've removed the effect of the drug specifically on you. You should be grateful and just spread your legs for me."

"Got to hell!" She shouted.

"Where's Jean what did you do to him?"

"Hey, haven't your parents taught you that its rude to talk about other men when a decent partner is right in front of you?" She's still staring with anger in her eyes.

*Sigh*

"Do you know what this is?" I took out a small glass bottle, making her see it.

"Ooooh don't want to answer huh?" I said after a brief moment of her not communicating with me.

"Okay I'll tell you anyway. This is called an aphrodisiac." I proceeded in taking off her skirt. Again, she tried fighting back so I kicked her stomach making her less resistant.

*Cough*

"S-stop." She said in much effort.

Her weak voice just motivated me more so I tore off her skirt. Now that her legs are shown bare, I observed how she has fine long white legs. I didn't stop myself from feasting on them with my eyes.

"Lowlife." She said and I got annoyed again so I started slapping her face.

*Slap*

"Yeah, yeah"

*Slap*

"I'm a fucking lowlife right?"

*Slap*

"Come on then tell me more about myself."

*Slap*

"Oh dear. I shouldn't destroy that pretty face of yours or I won't get aroused when we start fucking." I looked at her and tears are already forming on her eyes.

"Who'd want to fuck your sorry ass?" She answered holding back her tears.

This time I didn't respond anymore. Fighting back is pointless because she's all tied up. What I did is pour the liquid in the bottle on my hands. I then proceeded to spreading it through her legs. Gently.

"W-what are you doing. S-stop." The effects of the aphrodisiac are starting to show.

"And here I thought you're not the type to easily get aroused, guess you're just another dog in heat."

I then placed the same liquid through her panties; gently massaging her pussy with it as my fingers entered to play.

"Ahhh."

"Oh my. Is that a moan I hear?"

"F-fuck you." She said.

I smiled as I started moving my fingers even faster inside her lubricated pussy. I'm also getting a hard on but I won't start until the aphrodisiac covers her completely. I'll then drug her, making the sex more pleasurable.

"Fuck me?" I said to her, smiling as I continued to whisper to her ear.

"Gladly."

II. (Jean's PoV – 5 days left before the culling)

"Mystica help me plow the ground will you?" I told her as I found the perfect spot to place the seeds. "But that's too tiring. How dare you make a maiden carry heavy stuff!" She objected. Sometimes she can be really annoying.

"That's rich coming from the woman who just leeches off from my ideas. Maybe I should just leave the Inn altogether."

Mystica dashed so fast that I could swear it seems as if she is using a skill.

"Where should I start Jean?" She said, as if she didn't even complain a moment ago.

"Just plow through the land there, I'll come back to see your progress." She nodded and started digging through the ground. No sooner did she start when she already called me.

"Jean come here quick!" She said excited.

"What is it?" I followed her lead and went to where she is digging.

"I found something in the ground, look." I came as quickly as I could. Then as I looked at the direction she is pointing, I quickly regretted my decision. Buried on the ground is Mystica's dead body.

"Jean, why didn't you save me?" A cold and lifeless voice came from where Mystica is sitting. It held my shoulder and as I looked, the person at the same spot became a dead version of Mystica; worms crawling out of her skin.

"AHHHH!" My eyes opened to a dim room. I tried moving but it seems that my arms and legs are bound to a chair. I tried my best to break out of the binding but I'm simply stuck. As I looked around me, I noticed a single lamp is there, illuminating my surroundings.

Then, like any person who completely regained consciousness after sleeping, all the memories flooded back to me. I felt a cold air creeping up my skin. King betrayed me and right now…he has Mystica.

I quickly came to this conclusion since there seems to be no lifeform anywhere I look. I do have a high intelligence attribute and it's at moments like this when the quick analysis of things are most crucial.

*Cough. Cough*

"Oh my you're up already? That drug was supposed to work for three days. Aren't you a strange one." "KING!" I shouted. I don't even need to see him to confirm that voice. That's him alright, but this time, all those manners and etiquette he showed in my face seem to vanish from how he spoke.

"Where's Mystica!" I asked, demanding an immediate answer.

"That's a weird question to start things with don't you think? The first question you should ask is where you are. Orrrr you should've demanded that I untie you. Haaa, you just had to go and bore me."

"Where's Mystica you bastard!"

"That's the spirit! Atta boy Jean, you're really a top-class dog. Come on then, bark some more for me."

I didn't answer him for a while and tried analyzing my current situation. I will not be played for a fool again, I'm gonna make him pay back for whatever's happening to me and Mystica.

"Hey, why did you suddenly become so quiet? That's not fun. Fiiiiiine I'll let you hear Mystica. But only because I know it'll make you bark louder. Stay quiet okay? Listen carefully."

King stopped talking and then all I heard was silence. I thought he's fooling with me again but then I hear it. The sound of a woman.

"Ahhhh~ Ahhhh~"

"Mystica! Mystica where are you what is he –"

I wasn't able to finish what I wanted to say because another sound accompanied her voice. The sound of skin hitting skin. More specifically, the sound of rough and crude sex. The anger welling up inside of me got stronger and stronger until I've almost burst into a fit of rage.

"KING!" I shouted

"There you go! I knew you'd bark again hahaha. I gotta hand it to you Jean, your woman's a real treat. We've been going non-stop since this morning and her hips aren't getting any weaker. HAHAHAA."

"KING YOU ASSHOLE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MYSTICA?" I tried unbinding myself but whatever it is that's holding me down seems to just get tighter, the more I moved.

"And here I thought you're the intelligent one. We're having sex dumbass. Wanna hear her moan again? Here I'll place the communication device near her mouth."

"Ahh~ Jean, I'm sorry. Ahh~. I've been saving my first time for you, b-but this asshole, he took it away. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm –."

"Yeah that's enough drama. Man that kinda ruined the mood, my boner even got a bit smaller from all that lousy soap opers shit. Anyway, the drug should take effect soon. Enjoy your stay there."

He's raping Mystica! Tears started forming on my eyes. Mystica…my Mystica.

A few moments later and my body felt heavy again. I tried to fight for my consciousness but I failed. No matter how much I scream to myself that I need to stay awake, my body has already betrayed me. With a final effort, I tried activating my skill.

"Subco –" Soon enough everything returned to darkness.

III. (Jean's PoV – 4 days left before the culling)

*Knock*

*Knock

*Knock*

"Hey dogshit, wake up already will you? This is getting boring." My mind is still blank when my consciousness came back.

"Yo! I can't have you dying on me yet you know? So you gotta wake up."

"Huh?"

"Oh there you are! Rise and shine sleeping beauty." A gleeful voice that sounded a lot like Loki's greeted me. But I know that voice. I know it through the nightmares I've gotten after I lost consciousness for the second time. It's King.

"Let me go." I said, my voice weaker than I intended it to be.

"Oh my, you're already that weak huh?"

I know that I'd probably lose consciousness again if I prolonged talking with him so I activated my subconscious skill immediately.

"I'll kill you King! I'll kill you even if it's the last thing I do." I told myself.

"Sei."

"Yes Master."

"Can you give me details even on events that I experienced while unconscious?"

"Answer."

"At my current level I cannot provide that much master. But if you raise my level, I'll be able to grant you access to all your experiences. Be it awake or asleep."

"How do I do that?"

"You need to max out your intelligence stat master. After that, the skill containing me: Sage's Wisdom may be raised in rank. Either by natural means of using me or by forcing it to go up using your bonus status points."

"How many points do I need to invest exactly?"

"Master." Sei's voice sounded like she disapproves of what I'm about to do, but I will not let her stop me.

"How many Sei?" I demanded, raising my tone.

"250 points master."

I'm currently at level 30. All the bonus status points I've gained until this point are still unused because, I didn't see any point on investing in them when things were going smoothly. Basically, I have 300. That's the amount of bonus points I can allocate at the moment.

"That should be enough." I told myself. Twenty more points to max out my intelligence. That leaves me 280 points more. That's more than enough for what I need to accomplish.

"Status"

The status window appeared before me. Even in the realm of the subconscious, all my skills work just fine. I never thought there'd be a day when I could actually benefit from this feature yet, here I am.

"Allocate 20 status points to intelligence."

*System Notice: 20 points have been allocated to intelligence.*

*Alert: You have maxed out the intelligence attribute. All skills connected to intelligence are now upgradeable.*

*Alert: You have gained a new active skill: Mind Control.*

*Skill Description: The player can make another person or creature obey by staring them in the eyes and activating the skill.*

"Allocate 250 points to Sage's Wisdom."

*System Notice: Commencing Sage's Wisdom evolution to Athena's Blessing.*

*Alert: During this period Sage's Wisdom cannot be used.*

*Time remaining before evolution finishes: 23 hours and 58 minutes.*

"What is this?" I froze and thought of how stupid I am. With Sei gone, I cannot make proper decisions.

"Maybe this is the reason why she wanted to butt in earlier on."

"Damn it Jean what were you thinking!" I screamed at myself for making this rash and abrupt decision. Come to think of it, there were a lot of times that I didn't listen to Sei. I just kept on doing what I wanted…and now, of all possible moments, I'm paying the price. The exact same moment when my love is being forced into sex and pleasure.

In the subconscious there's nothing to hit. I can't even hurt myself because my form in this realm is incorporeal. Fuck. What do I do now? I can't stay here for long because my stamina will get depleted.

What do I do?

*System Notice: Status requirements have been met. The player is given a free skill swap.* A random notice bar suddenly popped up in front of me.

"What should I make of this?" I told myself as I scrolled down to the information of the skill.

*The player is given the chance to trade one skill with another skill of the same rarity or lower. The skill swap option will disappear if the player does not use it now.*

I thought of the skills I have thus far. Currently there are three. Sage's Wisdom, Subconscious, and Mind Control.

"Do I want to bet my chances and swap one of them? But Which one?" As I thought about it, another problematic notice bar appeared in front of me.

*Alert: Stamina is now below the safe amount, the Subconscious skill will automatically shut down once stamina reaches zero.* This isn't good, without Sei I won't be able to find out where I am nor will I get any clues as to where Mystica is being held captive. Using the subconscious skill any longer will be taxing on my real body. This situation might really kill me. What do I do now?

"Think Jean! You didn't allocate 200 points to intelligence just to be this stupid. Think!"

*Alert: 5 Minutes left before Subconscious shuts down.*

This situation isn't even making it possible for me to think clearly. My state of mind is directly connected to the well - being of my real body. Thus, if it's tired, all my thoughts become harder to process. Right now it's close to zero, so even if I have the highest intellect amongst all the Entertainers, that doesn't hold any value if I'm exhausted.

"Dammit!" The image of Mystica floated to the top of my thoughts. The nightmares I've had of her made my mind go even more frantic.

She's getting raped…

She's going to get murdered…

"I need to do something!" I said and thought of the option the game gave me. Subconscious and Sage's Wisdom are very important skills. Mind Control may also be useful in the future but right now it won't help me with anything. There's no person to control and my stamina is almost out.

"I'll take my chances." I said as I bit my lower lip.

*Alert: 3 minutes left before Subconscious shuts down.*

"Use skill swap."

…

*System Notice: Commencing skill swap lottery.* A machine dropped in front of me. It looks a lot like those lottery machines in a casino. At the corner of the machine is the rate of getting a good skill.

Diamond (50%) – Exemplary Skill

Gold (25%) – Above Average Skill

Silver (15%) – Normal Skill

Copper (9.99%) – Useless Skill

Joker (0.1%) – Detrimental skill

This is good! At the very least I can get a skill which is above average.

*Alert: 30 seconds left before Subconscious shuts down.* I need to hurry.

*Which skill would you like to take out?* The lottery machine asked through an option window, displaying all my current skills.

*1. Sage's Wisdom*

*2. Subconscious*

*3. Mind Control*

"Swap mind control."

*Alert: 20 seconds left before Subconscious shuts down.*

The three gears of the lottery machine began moving.

"Please, just this once, let me get lucky." I pleaded.

*ting!*

*Joker*

A cold wind suddenly blew at me. A joker appeared at the first slot. The one with the lowest rate of appearing came out.

*ting!*

*Joker*

"Is this some kind of sick joke!" I screamed with all my might. How can I receive two Jokers in a row? Forget about getting an average skill, I won't even be able to get anything better than garbage at this point! Wait, there's still a chance. If the last slot shows a diamond, I can still get a decent skill.

*ting!*

*Diamond*

….

"Yes!" I have a chance now. I'll save you Mystica jus – why is the last slot still moving?

The last slot turned, slowly, and then in a sudden burst of energy, the diamond disappeared completely.

*ting!*

*Joker*

*System Notice: Congratulations your Mind Control Skill has been swapped for The Fool. Skill will activate automatically.*

"Mystica…I'm sorry."

*Alert: 5 seconds left before Subconscious shuts down.*

*System Notice: The Fool is activated.*

*You will now die.*

*Congratulations!*

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