Chapter 6: Dex

"You're naked," Hugh said, struggling to find something to say as he quickly looked away. "And you're, uh, you know. Fully equipped. You're not supposed to let it hang out like that."

"There's no one else on this entire planet to see it except for you," he replied in amusement. "Is it not to your liking? You can still make adjustments. Would you like it to be thicker? Thinner? Longer?"

Hugh blushed so hard he thought his head was going to pop off his shoulders. "Why are you asking me that? It's your cock, not mine!"

"Correction," the Navigator replied in sudden solemnity. "Everything about me belongs to you. I exist to aid you in all ways, including meeting your sexual needs in the absence of other partners. It will ultimately be your choice whether to use me as such, but the option is there. You'd be foolish not to make my form as desirable as possible while you can. If you prefer females, I highly encourage you to change my gender at this time. It will be much more difficult to do so down the line."

"It's not that," Hugh said as his blush deepened until he could feel his ears burning. "I like guys. I'm just... uh. You're going to make me say it. I've never seen another cock outside a locker room or a porn vid. Okay? And you're hot, too, so that doesn't really help. I mean, of course you're hot—I made you. But, this is so fucking embarrassing. I made you look like my avatar. I don't think I'm supposed to be attracted to you. Isn't that like being attracted to myself?"

"I don't believe so. I look nothing like you." The Navigator paused in thought and Hugh chanced a quick glance in his direction. Naturally, his eyes went down to the Navigator's crotch instead of his face. He immediately looked away again, but not before he got an eyeful of neatly trimmed hairs around the base of his appendage.

It wasn't fair. The Navigator was perfect even in his most hidden places. If he had a bubble butt, Hugh wasn't sure what he would do. Or, even worse, his ass could be tight and muscled with one of those perfectly placed dimples. Hugh didn't know which version would be worse, although either would likely make him scream in frustration.

"You like to play video games," the Navigator said, focusing Hugh back on the conversation. "Unless you were intentionally creating a character based on a certain theme, doesn't it makes sense you'd create a visually pleasing image?"

"I guess so."

"Also, you've used avatars like mine for years. Time breeds familiarity and familiarity breeds fondness. You've reused this avatar often enough it's no wonder you're attracted to me. It probably feels like I've been your partner for ages."

Hugh huffed. "Do we have to keep talking about this? You look freaking perfect. I'd really feel a lot more comfortable if you were dressed, though. I'm starting to get a woody and I really don't want one right now. I still have a lot more pages to unlock in my Book before I can even think about erotic mini-games or whatever."

The Navigator chuckled deep in his throat and the sound shot straight to Hugh's balls. No matter what the AI said, Hugh wasn't going to believe the attraction he felt was simply the product of familiarity. The Navigator's character builder hadn't been that robust. The system must have read his mind and tweaked the Navigator's appearance to meet Hugh's exact preferences.

He wondered what would have happened if he'd intentionally made the guy look ugly. Not that it mattered, since Hugh didn't intend to find out.

"Very well," the Navigator said. "To finalize my appearance, you simply need to give me a name, specify the color of my starting clothes, then take my hand and pull me out of the fire."

"I don't think I want to call you by my avatar's name. How about Dex? That seems like a good name for a smart guy. As for clothes, how about dark brown like leather?"

"Both choices are registered. It's safe for you to look now."

Another quick glance made Hugh sag with relief. The Navigator, Dex, had been dressed in a dark brown shirt and pants. The canvas cloth hung loosely and shapelessly on his body, giving him the appearance of a medieval serf, but they sufficiently covered his nudity.

"Whenever you're ready," Dex said, holding out a ghostly hand in offering. Hugh reached out and took it without thinking too hard about what he was doing. The moment he felt solid flesh against his palm, he grabbed hold and yanked the Navigator a safe distance away so he didn't fall into the fire below.

Dex stumbled as he landed on the stone patio next to Hugh. A wave of light danced over his body as it became as solid as Hugh's own. And, as easily as that, it was over. The Navigator grinned as he shook out his arms and limbs, testing out his new form.

"Nice," he said, stretching his arms up over his head. "You're not the type to hesitate. I like that."

"Why would I hesitate?" Hugh asked in confusion. "This wasn't really different from any other character creation I've done before. Okay, maybe it's a little different since my characters don't normally talk to me and I can't actually touch them, but still—"

"I get it," Dex replied, throwing his hands up in surrender. "You're a gamer and this is a game. I'm just a little surprised how well you're adapting. Even experienced beta-testers usually took an hour or two to get this far. Of course, they were looking for bugs in the system, so it's not quite the same, but I really expected to have to answer a lot more questions before you agreed to take my hand."