As the veil left his mind, Asher woke up from another Roleplay. Before the roleplay he thought really hard about the prop manifestation screen showing as soon as it procced, and it worked. Without someone to yell cut he wasn’t sure when the charade would end.
Laughing he said, “It worked.” Zora breathing heavily into his chest. He tapped her back to wake her up from whatever his skills had done to her. “Babe, it worked,” he said.
“Really?” She asked with a smile.
“I think so, let’s check it out,” he said. She extricated herself from him with a groan.
“I swear you’re gonna break me,” she whined under her breath.
With the reminder he made his dick go back to normal size before putting his clothes back on. No time to waste, he opened the now bulging briefcase. Dumping the contents, he was surprised by the videos, booklets, and even money that poured out. Zora began to tear into the pile. Flipping through the booklets it wasn’t long until she found her passport.
“Hah!” She laughed and screamed in delight. “Is it real?” She questioned as she began to read it.
“As far as I know it is.” He had received his own IDs from the system and they worked so far.
“If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed,” she said. Her passport soon stashed in her pants she began to dig through the others. “What else can you do?”
“You’d have to stick around to find out,” he said. She stopped and looked him over for a minute. Hesitation apparent. He changed the subject by asking, “What do you think the rest of this is?”
“Nothing good,” she whispered as she finished going through the other passports. She showed the last one, apparently it was Aleksi’s. Then she looked down to the tapes from the safe. “Have anything to watch these?” she asked.
“There is an old VHS in the back for the security system.” Soon they had everything stacked up and in the small manager’s office. Crammed into the back room she bounced around giddy. Like a whole new woman, she smiled as she put the first video in. The screen blank for a moment a grainy picture soon showed.
It had a young girl screaming as a walrus of a man was on top of her. It wasn’t long until they both realized it was Zora. Asher jumped to turn it off. “Stop!” She ordered. Her good mood gone, she now appeared cold as ice as she watched herself be raped. “I have to watch.”
Asher had heard of rape videos before, but he never imagined they would hit him so hard. Her screams and cries were loud in his ears as the girl watched herself go through the traumatizing event. Tears welled in his eyes and bile rose in his stomach as he ran to the bathroom. His hands cupped under the sink faucet he couldn’t chug down the water fast enough. When his stomach settled he stared at himself in the mirror.
Tears freely fell and for the first time he thought, You did the right thing. Caught up in a whirlwind of feelings from his first roleplay with Zora he hadn’t stopped to think. He hadn’t thought once about the truth of the pain she had gone through. Hell, he had gotten angry at her when he thought she was going to have sex with her ‘step-dad’ soon after they had had sex.
This though, this was proof that for once in his life he was making an actual difference. That bouncing giddy Zora had been worth it. She was way stronger than he thought possible. Her screams muffled the tape sounds, he still had trouble controlling himself.
“I need to distract myself,” he admitted. Finally he allowed his screens to populate. And there were a lot of surprising ones.
| Survival (Level 10) |
| You've spent years in the wild. Whether it is starting a fire, field dressing a kill, or making your own weapon, you can do it all. |
| Tracking (Level 8) |
| There is always proof. Nothing can go somewhere without leaving a sign. Your skill at understanding these signs is almost preternatural. |
| Ahegao (Level 3) |
| Oftentimes they just need a little extra loving. This skill will ensure your partner is satisfied. And if they aren't it's your fault, not ours. Current pleasure increase - 10%. |
| Brawling (Level 5) |
| Without formal training, some people learn how to fight the hard way. This skill, though unrefined, will allow you to put up a fight. |
Asher had learned 2 skills from his Roleplay as Grug. Was this because he had dived so deep into the roleplay, or because his fantasy had made the caveman so OP he was given more skills? So far he had really only been a gardener and boyfriend. What were the restrictions on this? Could he Rolleplay pretty much anyone and get a random power?
That thought saved for later he was happy with the Ahegao skill. 10% was actually noticeable. Hell he had barely touched Zora in their last roleplay and she was squirting like crazy. A smile on his face, it disappeared as he remembered what she was going through right then.
Brawling was the skill he had learned from Aleksi. Whether his fantasy roleplay was the true man’s background or not he didn’t know. The Roleplay skill often guided him to whatever background knowledge was needed to convince others of the lie. Either way, he felt like this Brawling skill would be useful. Asher had never really been in a fight before, so he needed all the help he could get.
After finishing with the skills he read through the XP notifications and multipliers. Most everything was done on tape. His phone now had his very own porno on it. What shocked him though was that he got another multiplier for both sexual encounters today. They both gave him New Person 1.5x. The first time they had sex as boyfriend/girlfriend she was Zora. The next time she was a college student named Mary, and this time she was some new handler working with Aleksi. So that meant that as long as he roleplayed with someone as a new person, he would still get the multiplier. Not sure if this was an oversight he brought up his status screen.
| Name: | Asher Whitmore | Skills: | ||
| Alias: | Quinten Hardly | Acting | LVL MAX | |
| System: | PORN STAR | STD Immunity | LVL MAX | |
| Level: | 6 | Roleplaying | LVL MAX | |
| Experience | 1204/1,600 | Genitalia Control | LVL MAX | |
| Title: | N/A | Prop Manifestation | LVL MAX | |
| Guild: | N/A | Relationship Screen | LVL 1 | |
| Syscos: | 1,100 | Gardening | LVL 4 | |
| Ahegao | LVL 3 | |||
| HP: | 47 | /47 | Slovene Language | LVL 2 |
| MP: | 30 | /30 | Survival | LVL 10 |
| Tracking | LVL 8 | |||
| Stats: | 0 | Brawling | LVL 5 | |
| Strength: | 17 | |||
| Dexterity: | 14 | |||
| Endurance: | 15 | |||
| Agility: | 14 | |||
| Wisdom: | 10 | |||
| Intelligence: | 10 | |||
| Luck: | 13 | |||
| Charm: | 14 | |||
| Custom Stats: | ||||
| Dick Length | 8.85 Inches | |||
| Dick Diameter | 1.85 Inches | |||
| Fertility | Off | |||
He was getting closer and closer to that next level, and potentially a new skill. Not that he was lacking them at this point. Some skills finally unrelated to sex, he was starting to feel less like a pervert.
Lost in the stats for a moment he was brought out as he heard the familiar click-click-click of the stove. Running to the kitchen out back Zora was standing in front of the oven. The natural gas ignited, taking with it the VHS tape in her hand. Asher flipped the switch for the exhaust fan as the smoke billowed up. They stood in silence for a time. Asher didn’t dare try to comfort her. He had no idea what she was going through.
Tears running down her face she eventually broke the silence. “I believe them at first. That I need to earn my stuff back. They moved us around all the time, I met so many girls with my same story. I started to understand that it was all a lie. When I started to fight back thats when the first fat pig raped me. A few days before my 17th birthday they took me into a room. Didn’t bother drugging me. The man just overpowered me and took what he wanted. After that I escaped. Was caught. Then I was isolated. Weeks I was on my own. By the end I would have done anything to talk to someone again. That's when the training began.” A shudder escaping her, she brushed the tears from her eyes.
“Simple at first. It wasn’t until I was 18 that they made me start sleeping with men. Once a month, then once a week, then every other day. That’s when I was transferred to Aleksi. A few weeks ago actually. I was only in a few films before I met you. But when I did I-” she stopped herself. Turning to him she buried her face in his chest. He stood there awkwardly then he set his hand on her back and the other on her head. When she didn’t flinch he began to rub her back and pat her head. That’s when she began to wail. Asher wasn’t sure how long she wailed, but by the end she was cradled in his arms. Her small head resting on his chest.
“Why did you help me?” She asked, staring into his eyes. “I’m damaged goods,” she whispered.
With a big inhalation of breath Asher let out a boom of a laugh. “Because you're my girlfriend,” he said. “I’d do anything for you. I mean how else are we going to go to prom?”
As she processed his words she remembered their first meeting, then she too began to laugh. When the room was filled with their laughter Asher felt a huge weight leave his shoulders. She wasn’t really his girlfriend, but he had to admit, he liked thinking of her that way. “I’m Asher by the way,” he said. “Asher Whitmore. Quinten was just a nickname.”
Zora smiled up at him. “I’m Zora Mlakar.”
—
“So what’s the plan?” Asher asked. “Do you have everything you need to escape?”
“I think so,” she said. They had piled everything back on the table.
“That should be $10,000,” he said, handing her the money from the safe contents. “You need it more than I do.”
“Are you sure?” She asked.
“Don’t worry. I have my own source of revenue after I quit this business,” he said.
“You are quitting?”
“Of course,” he said. “I couldn’t work with people okay with doing stuff like this to you. Besides, most of them give me the creeps. Feel like they are all trying to use me somehow.”
She appeared happy by his answer, “Good. I still want to try to get the other girls out. There should be 3 others at the hotel. I found their passports. How can we get them out?”
“Pull the fire alarm?” He offered.
“Won’t work. Aleksi is usually in the lobby, and typically there is someone parked outside, not to mention someone is now on our floor,” she said.
“Jeez, I got lucky the night I came over then,” he said. “Honestly, we really need to play it by ear. I got in once, I can do it again. I go up, grab the girls, you wait in the car and be our getaway driver.”
“Girls won’t trust you. I need to go up with you. We can show them their passports and documents and get them moving much easier that way. Besides, I have my own personal items to grab.”
He had to agree with her there. “What about after? What will the 4 of you do?”
“I would say take a plane to my family, but Aleksi is part of the underworld. I think we should take a bus to Iowa. My family lives on a farm, there is plenty of work there.”
“Thought you said Illinois,” he commented.
“And I thought your name was Quinten,” she retorted, bringing a smile to both of their lips.
“What about these?” He asked, pointing at the videos.
“Burn them,” she said.
“I don’t think we should. Who knows what's on the rest of them. Let’s hope they aren’t all like yours. Maybe there is something we can use to get Aleksi,” he said.
After some thought she said, “Okay, but if you can’t find a way, I want these destroyed.” She passed him Aleksi’s passport as he agreed.
—
The rain had lifted at some point. Pitch black outside now. Asher would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. Outside his home they had the first hurdle to pass through. Their original clothes soaking wet they needed more, potentially some that would pass for a disguise.
“Hey mom, hey dad, sorry I’m late,” Asher said. His mom and dad sitting at the table, they were shocked to see them.
“Ash, we thought you were staying at Doug’s,” his mother said.
Asher recalled the lie, he replied, “yeah I am. But my gi-uh-friend Zora needed help with something.”
“Hello,” his mother said standing up. Ever the hostess, she greeted the small girl. “Girlfriend?”
“Friend,” he corrected as Zora blushed. “I told you about her. I was helping her prep for theater props. Then we were caught in the rain, and now I need some new clothes before I finish up.”
“Well you go do that then, I’ll get to know your friend,” his mother said, leading Zora away. Asher bolted to his room.
Throwing the suitcases on his bed he upended his backpack. Then he began to rifle through his closet for clothes that would fit both of them. Once he felt like they had enough options he headed back outside. “Zora, you ready?”
His little foreign friend sheepishly looked at him as she dug into her own plate of food. “Oh come on, it can’t be that important. Stick around for dinner,” his mom said. His dad talking with Zora, Asher worried she would let something slip, but the smile on her face made him stop.
“Ok,” he said as he realized how hungry he was. “But then we gotta go. I told Doug I’d be at his place by 10.”
“So Zora, where is your accent from?” His dad asked. He must have finished his sermon already since his notebook wasn’t in front of him.
“Solvenia,” she said. Her accent audible in every syllable. “I transferred here 3 years ago.”
“Slovenia? That’s in the southern part of Europe right? We were looking at sponsoring a Christian family from there,” his mother chimed in.
“Are you faithful?” His father asked. With the pastor it was never meant as an accusation, just a part of his job.
“I was,” she admitted. “They offered free English classes there, but I admit. I could be more faithful.”
“As we all could,” his father said, dropping the subject.
“So what production are you working on for the school?” His mother asked.
Dead silent, Zora looked to him. “Honestly I don’t know. They requested the stuff. Then gave us a print for the props to be built. I’ll be sure to ask on Monday though.” Asher had never lied this well in his life. Was it part of his Charm or Intelligence stat that his mother believed him for once?
“And you said you’d never use those skills building homes for the homeless,” his father smugly pointed out.
“Yep, you were right,” Asher said. It had been an annual trip for them to help build homes across the country. A trip that he might actually look forward to that summer.
Dinner dragged on and it wasn’t long until they were stuffed and excused themselves. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” his mother said. The recent revelation of her past life flashing before his eyes, he wasn’t sure if that was a warning or a blessing.
When they were back in his car it was quiet. The traffic was heavy on the Saturday night. Asher focused on the road.
“I can’t tell you the last time I had a home cooked meal,” Zora said. Her hand resting on her belly.
“Oh yeah?”
“Aleksi would let us have breakfast at the hotel, but then order food at night for us. Weekly he would weigh us, and if we got too fat. Then nothing, or it was very limited.”
“Wow,” Asher said. His hate boiling for the guy.
She was quiet once more. “I haven’t felt that in a long time,” she said. “I missed it.” When he looked at her side-eye she clarified, “love.”
“Yeah, my folks have plenty of that,” he chuckled.
“Not just them,” she said. “You do too,” she whispered. His face blushing he was glad that she continued, “I felt it in our first scene,” she confessed. “I’ve been on autopilot for a few months. With acting lessons I always felt unnatural in scenes. But then you showed up as my boyfriend in that scene. I was just pretending to listen to music. And when I turned around to see you, there was this look in your eyes that there wasn’t anywhere you’d rather be than with me. I don’t remember everything we said. It all felt so natural. And when we made-“
“Yeah?” He asked after she paused. Praying she would continue.
“Had sex,” she corrected. “I didn’t know it could be like that. You are way too big for me. But still you were gentle. Your eyes always had that look of love. Even today I felt it. When you were pretending to be that caveman. You looked at me like I was the most important thing in the world. Your facial expressions when you acted like Aleksi reminded me of the man. I almost broke character once. But then when you were inside me. All I could think about was getting closer to you.”
At some point Asher had parked. His erection growing as she talked about sex so easily. Zora began to cry slowly, but he knew this time that they were happy tears. “Thank you for showing me that,” she said. “That passion. That unconditional concern. When you whispered I love you in our first scene. I couldn’t help but whisper it back.”
Then they were making out. A smile on her face as they did, Asher’s heart soared by the fact that he wasn’t the only one that felt that way. When they were eventually done Asher looked at the clock. It was getting close to 10. “I don’t know where to go from here,” he said as she leaned against him. “But I know my life has felt a whole lot brighter since you were in it.”
Her eyes dry now, she smiled and laughed. “Let’s get this over with.”
They stepped out of the car hesitantly. He dug through his backpack as he handed her clothes. “Alright, let’s make you look like a guy. Baggy clothes. Baseball cap. Let’s hide your hair. Then we will break in.”
The hotel was only a few blocks away. By the end of the makeover Zora looked more like a little kid than an adult. Asher’s clothes included the wig from the scene earlier and a tie dye shirt and ripped jeans. Thick coats on, they locked the doors and headed toward the hotel.
When they were close they stopped at a line of cars near the stair entrance he originally used. “There,” Zora said, pointing to a car focused on the side entrance. Inside was a man behind the steering wheel. His face illuminated by a phone screen.
“Alright. See that gap in the staircase. Let’s walk around, come at the stairs from the other side. I’ll throw you up to the gap. Then you let me in.”
As they maneuvered around the cars Asher couldn’t help but grow excited by this. A couple of weeks ago he would have been terrified. But this week, with the System, it had changed him. He felt like it was for the better.
When they were under the stair gap everything felt like it was going well. “You ever watch American cheerleading?” He asked Zora.
“No, why?”
“Keep your body stiff as a board,” he whispered as he gripped her sides. With a grunt he threw her up in the air. She yelled but caught herself as her feet landed on his hand. It took her a second to recover from her shock that she was standing on his palm. Then she pulled herself into the gap in the stairs.
When she opened the door for him he confessed, “I can’t believe that worked.”
“You mean you’ve never done that before?” She hissed chasing him up the stairs.
“I watched a tutorial once, but it was my first time. Don’t worry, I would have caught you.”
The smell of smoke filled his nostrils as they passed the second floor. When they were at the platform up to the 3rd he noticed someone outside the door smoking. “That the guy?” He whispered. Luckily his back was turned to them.
She looked over his shoulder and nodded. Her teeth began to chatter. The man took another drag and turned toward them. Asher didn’t hesitate. He took the stairs 3 at a time. Before the guy knew it Asher had the thug’s neck in a choke hold. Asher pulled him tight as the man began to elbow him hard in the ribs.
Once, twice he hit, then each hit became weaker and weaker. The Brawling skill kicked in and forced Asher to turn where the elbow thrusts wouldn’t hurt anything important. Then on the eighth elbow he let out a grunt and became boneless. Asher set him down eventually. Once a pulse was found he sighed a little. His Brawling skill had kicked in, but at least it wasn’t a killing skill.
“Check his pockets for room keys,” Asher ordered. When she stole his wallet she pulled one out. Scanning the door keypad with it they were let in. Asher grabbed the guy by the arm and a leg then carried him inside like luggage. “Let’s tie him up in your room. Then let the others know to pack their things.”
Asher struggled to keep up with her as they bolted to the room. 4 other keys found in the wallet, they tried them out until one worked. Luckily they were inside before anyone saw them. Asher began ripping appliances away from the wall. His muscles bulged as he ripped the power chords off them.
The goon soon tied up, Asher felt calm as he said, “let’s tell the others. Then you pack.”
She was soon out the door. Asher on her heels she knocked and tried each keycard until she found the right one. A tall girl with dark hair stepped out. “Zora!” She exclaimed, hugging her. “Aleksi interrogated us asking where you were.”
“It worked,” Zora said out of breath. She passed over a passport and a few more sheets of paper. The other girl squealed with glee.
“Is this him?” She asked, looking to Asher. “You didn’t say he was so tall. But he is as handsome as you said.”
Both Zora and Asher blushed. “Get your stuff. We leave soon.” Once the door was shut they proceeded to do the process two more times. Before he knew it they were back in her room. The henchman was still out. All Zora had to do was put her toiletries away. Everything was already packed.
“So you believed me?” He asked. She had been trying to talk him out of their goal earlier.
“Maybe,” she said with a smirk.
Once they were outside they began prodding and knocking on the 3 doors until the others joined them. Excited whispers trailed the duo as they headed back the way they came. As they passed the elevator the door where they entered opened.
The man from the car came inside. “Elevator!” Asher ordered turning them around. One of the girls pushed the button and they collectively sighed as the door dinged and opened.
The 5 of them huddled together. Asher tapped his foot in frustration. When they arrived in the lobby they went out together. The top of Aleksi’s head visible in a lobby chair, luckily he was facing the front door. As one they turned toward the base of the stairs, but of course they were met by a sweating henchman. He had practically fallen down the stairs to catch them.
“Fucking fuck,” Asher said picking up speed.
“Aleksi!” The man yelled as Asher ran his shoulder into him. His stats obviously much higher, the henchman was knocked into the door like a pinball. He crumpled to the floor, his puppet strings cut.
“Get to the Camry,” Asher ordered Zora. The other girls were already through the door. Aleksi appeared down the hall and he ran at them. “Don’t wait for me,” Asher said walking outside with her. Slipping her the keys he waited in the parking lot for the ring leader.
“You fuck,” Aleksi said stepping outside. He took off his leather jacket as he flexed at Asher. “You have no idea who you’re messing with.
“I have everything from your safe,” Asher said. The foe began to laugh. “The girls passports. The money. Those fucked up videos.” He let the rage build up in him. 16 year old Zora’s screams pushed his fury further. “You’re going to jail, asshole.”
Aleksi had stopped laughing when he mentioned the videos. “I kill you. I get the girls. We all disappear. No one to arrest.” And with that the fight started.
A brawler is someone who fights violently. No rules. No remorse. Just full force from the start. Aleksi knew that every fight was won in the first few blows so he put all of his power into every hit.
The Russian didn’t know the teen had learned his fighting method from him. So when one threw a haymaker, so did the other. They both were thrown to the side but rolled out of it. Their fight continued on like this. Mirror images of one another they threw punches and kicks, only to be met with the same.
Asher was soon bleeding from one ear. A cut over his eye opened at one point, blinding his left eye. His knuckles ached from hitting the tough man, but he kept on. On TV it felt like people could fight forever before bruising, but they only exchanged a few hits and Asher was feeling all of them. He could tell that Aleksi really was a level 5 Brawler. Asher may have a little higher stats. But Aleksi made up for that with actual fighting experience. The fight felt too balanced for either of their tastes.
The fight reminded Asher of his father’s sermon he had heard a few weeks ago. He had heard hundreds over the years, but this one stuck out to him. He had begun the talk about the conundrum of being caught between a rock and a hard place. Being in the situation of course was an analogy for having to pick between 2 things. Like it was some impossibility to choose.
Then he brought up bricks. “If you slam 2 bricks together, which brick will not break?” After a short pause his father said, “the one made of better materials of course.” The audience let out a few sympathy chuckles.
His father then played a 5 minute long video over the projector. It was from YouTube and had someone with a pile of bricks. The YouTuber announced, “I’m going to find the strongest brick of these 100.”
He then proceeded to smash one brick into another. When one split he would pick the one that was fine as the new strongest brick. When both burst he would get the one that was least damaged. Then at the end of the short video he had one whole brick left. This was now officially the strongest brick. Then he offered to fight the brick against other bricks like a Pokémon. All you had to do was like and subscribe.
The video ended leaving a dead silent church. “This video stuck out to me because there is no way I would have known that brick would be the last one standing. They all looked the same to me. But God could have picked it out. He knows what’s inside all of us. What we are made of. He knows that. And puts those with that strength where you need to be.”
Asher’s mind was brought back to the present. He had really meant to just think of 2 bricks fighting one another. Though they look the same, and have the same skills, only one will come out the winner. Must be all the blood loss. It was hard to focus.
With a roar Asher would prove he was the strongest brick. All of his weight and strength was thrown into one last punch. It hit Aleksi square in the forehead. The man was unable to lift his arms. Asher stood over him breathing heavily. The caveman he played earlier would have killed Aleksi. But that wasn’t who he was.
Blood dripped down his chin and knuckles. It was the first time Asher had been in a real fight, and he won. “Ash,” Zora said next to him. The purr of the green Camry beside him took him out of his daze.
He noticed the 3 girls in the back with Zora driving. His feet dragging to the passenger side, Asher got in with a groan. “Take me home,” he whispered, voice hoarse. He really needed a drink of water.
Zora didn’t question him as she drove. The girl's quiet, Asher was struck with a thought. “You know what? I think that sermon was about spiritual strength instead.” Then he let out a long sigh.
As the veil left his mind, Asher woke up from another Roleplay. Before the roleplay he thought really hard about the prop manifestation screen showing as soon as it procced, and it worked. Without someone to yell cut he wasn’t sure when the charade would end.
Laughing he said, “It worked.” Zora breathing heavily into his chest. He tapped her back to wake her up from whatever his skills had done to her. “Babe, it worked,” he said.
“Really?” She asked with a smile.
“I think so, let’s check it out,” he said. She extricated herself from him with a groan.
“I swear you’re gonna break me,” she whined under her breath.
With the reminder he made his dick go back to normal size before putting his clothes back on. No time to waste, he opened the now bulging briefcase. Dumping the contents, he was surprised by the videos, booklets, and even money that poured out. Zora began to tear into the pile. Flipping through the booklets it wasn’t long until she found her passport.
“Hah!” She laughed and screamed in delight. “Is it real?” She questioned as she began to read it.
“As far as I know it is.” He had received his own IDs from the system and they worked so far.
“If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed,” she said. Her passport soon stashed in her pants she began to dig through the others. “What else can you do?”
“You’d have to stick around to find out,” he said. She stopped and looked him over for a minute. Hesitation apparent. He changed the subject by asking, “What do you think the rest of this is?”
“Nothing good,” she whispered as she finished going through the other passports. She showed the last one, apparently it was Aleksi’s. Then she looked down to the tapes from the safe. “Have anything to watch these?” she asked.
“There is an old VHS in the back for the security system.” Soon they had everything stacked up and in the small manager’s office. Crammed into the back room she bounced around giddy. Like a whole new woman, she smiled as she put the first video in. The screen blank for a moment a grainy picture soon showed.
It had a young girl screaming as a walrus of a man was on top of her. It wasn’t long until they both realized it was Zora. Asher jumped to turn it off. “Stop!” She ordered. Her good mood gone, she now appeared cold as ice as she watched herself be raped. “I have to watch.”
Asher had heard of rape videos before, but he never imagined they would hit him so hard. Her screams and cries were loud in his ears as the girl watched herself go through the traumatizing event. Tears welled in his eyes and bile rose in his stomach as he ran to the bathroom. His hands cupped under the sink faucet he couldn’t chug down the water fast enough. When his stomach settled he stared at himself in the mirror.
Tears freely fell and for the first time he thought, You did the right thing. Caught up in a whirlwind of feelings from his first roleplay with Zora he hadn’t stopped to think. He hadn’t thought once about the truth of the pain she had gone through. Hell, he had gotten angry at her when he thought she was going to have sex with her ‘step-dad’ soon after they had had sex.
This though, this was proof that for once in his life he was making an actual difference. That bouncing giddy Zora had been worth it. She was way stronger than he thought possible. Her screams muffled the tape sounds, he still had trouble controlling himself.
“I need to distract myself,” he admitted. Finally he allowed his screens to populate. And there were a lot of surprising ones.
| Survival (Level 10) |
| You've spent years in the wild. Whether it is starting a fire, field dressing a kill, or making your own weapon, you can do it all. |
| Tracking (Level 8) |
| There is always proof. Nothing can go somewhere without leaving a sign. Your skill at understanding these signs is almost preternatural. |
| Ahegao (Level 3) |
| Oftentimes they just need a little extra loving. This skill will ensure your partner is satisfied. And if they aren't it's your fault, not ours. Current pleasure increase - 10%. |
| Brawling (Level 5) |
| Without formal training, some people learn how to fight the hard way. This skill, though unrefined, will allow you to put up a fight. |
Asher had learned 2 skills from his Roleplay as Grug. Was this because he had dived so deep into the roleplay, or because his fantasy had made the caveman so OP he was given more skills? So far he had really only been a gardener and boyfriend. What were the restrictions on this? Could he Rolleplay pretty much anyone and get a random power?
That thought saved for later he was happy with the Ahegao skill. 10% was actually noticeable. Hell he had barely touched Zora in their last roleplay and she was squirting like crazy. A smile on his face, it disappeared as he remembered what she was going through right then.
Brawling was the skill he had learned from Aleksi. Whether his fantasy roleplay was the true man’s background or not he didn’t know. The Roleplay skill often guided him to whatever background knowledge was needed to convince others of the lie. Either way, he felt like this Brawling skill would be useful. Asher had never really been in a fight before, so he needed all the help he could get.
After finishing with the skills he read through the XP notifications and multipliers. Most everything was done on tape. His phone now had his very own porno on it. What shocked him though was that he got another multiplier for both sexual encounters today. They both gave him New Person 1.5x. The first time they had sex as boyfriend/girlfriend she was Zora. The next time she was a college student named Mary, and this time she was some new handler working with Aleksi. So that meant that as long as he roleplayed with someone as a new person, he would still get the multiplier. Not sure if this was an oversight he brought up his status screen.
| Name: | Asher Whitmore | Skills: | ||
| Alias: | Quinten Hardly | Acting | LVL MAX | |
| System: | PORN STAR | STD Immunity | LVL MAX | |
| Level: | 6 | Roleplaying | LVL MAX | |
| Experience | 1204/1,600 | Genitalia Control | LVL MAX | |
| Title: | N/A | Prop Manifestation | LVL MAX | |
| Guild: | N/A | Relationship Screen | LVL 1 | |
| Syscos: | 1,100 | Gardening | LVL 4 | |
| Ahegao | LVL 3 | |||
| HP: | 47 | /47 | Slovene Language | LVL 2 |
| MP: | 30 | /30 | Survival | LVL 10 |
| Tracking | LVL 8 | |||
| Stats: | 0 | Brawling | LVL 5 | |
| Strength: | 17 | |||
| Dexterity: | 14 | |||
| Endurance: | 15 | |||
| Agility: | 14 | |||
| Wisdom: | 10 | |||
| Intelligence: | 10 | |||
| Luck: | 13 | |||
| Charm: | 14 | |||
| Custom Stats: | ||||
| Dick Length | 8.85 Inches | |||
| Dick Diameter | 1.85 Inches | |||
| Fertility | Off | |||
He was getting closer and closer to that next level, and potentially a new skill. Not that he was lacking them at this point. Some skills finally unrelated to sex, he was starting to feel less like a pervert.
Lost in the stats for a moment he was brought out as he heard the familiar click-click-click of the stove. Running to the kitchen out back Zora was standing in front of the oven. The natural gas ignited, taking with it the VHS tape in her hand. Asher flipped the switch for the exhaust fan as the smoke billowed up. They stood in silence for a time. Asher didn’t dare try to comfort her. He had no idea what she was going through.
Tears running down her face she eventually broke the silence. “I believe them at first. That I need to earn my stuff back. They moved us around all the time, I met so many girls with my same story. I started to understand that it was all a lie. When I started to fight back thats when the first fat pig raped me. A few days before my 17th birthday they took me into a room. Didn’t bother drugging me. The man just overpowered me and took what he wanted. After that I escaped. Was caught. Then I was isolated. Weeks I was on my own. By the end I would have done anything to talk to someone again. That's when the training began.” A shudder escaping her, she brushed the tears from her eyes.
“Simple at first. It wasn’t until I was 18 that they made me start sleeping with men. Once a month, then once a week, then every other day. That’s when I was transferred to Aleksi. A few weeks ago actually. I was only in a few films before I met you. But when I did I-” she stopped herself. Turning to him she buried her face in his chest. He stood there awkwardly then he set his hand on her back and the other on her head. When she didn’t flinch he began to rub her back and pat her head. That’s when she began to wail. Asher wasn’t sure how long she wailed, but by the end she was cradled in his arms. Her small head resting on his chest.
“Why did you help me?” She asked, staring into his eyes. “I’m damaged goods,” she whispered.
With a big inhalation of breath Asher let out a boom of a laugh. “Because you're my girlfriend,” he said. “I’d do anything for you. I mean how else are we going to go to prom?”
As she processed his words she remembered their first meeting, then she too began to laugh. When the room was filled with their laughter Asher felt a huge weight leave his shoulders. She wasn’t really his girlfriend, but he had to admit, he liked thinking of her that way. “I’m Asher by the way,” he said. “Asher Whitmore. Quinten was just a nickname.”
Zora smiled up at him. “I’m Zora Mlakar.”
—
“So what’s the plan?” Asher asked. “Do you have everything you need to escape?”
“I think so,” she said. They had piled everything back on the table.
“That should be $10,000,” he said, handing her the money from the safe contents. “You need it more than I do.”
“Are you sure?” She asked.
“Don’t worry. I have my own source of revenue after I quit this business,” he said.
“You are quitting?”
“Of course,” he said. “I couldn’t work with people okay with doing stuff like this to you. Besides, most of them give me the creeps. Feel like they are all trying to use me somehow.”
She appeared happy by his answer, “Good. I still want to try to get the other girls out. There should be 3 others at the hotel. I found their passports. How can we get them out?”
“Pull the fire alarm?” He offered.
“Won’t work. Aleksi is usually in the lobby, and typically there is someone parked outside, not to mention someone is now on our floor,” she said.
“Jeez, I got lucky the night I came over then,” he said. “Honestly, we really need to play it by ear. I got in once, I can do it again. I go up, grab the girls, you wait in the car and be our getaway driver.”
“Girls won’t trust you. I need to go up with you. We can show them their passports and documents and get them moving much easier that way. Besides, I have my own personal items to grab.”
He had to agree with her there. “What about after? What will the 4 of you do?”
“I would say take a plane to my family, but Aleksi is part of the underworld. I think we should take a bus to Iowa. My family lives on a farm, there is plenty of work there.”
“Thought you said Illinois,” he commented.
“And I thought your name was Quinten,” she retorted, bringing a smile to both of their lips.
“What about these?” He asked, pointing at the videos.
“Burn them,” she said.
“I don’t think we should. Who knows what's on the rest of them. Let’s hope they aren’t all like yours. Maybe there is something we can use to get Aleksi,” he said.
After some thought she said, “Okay, but if you can’t find a way, I want these destroyed.” She passed him Aleksi’s passport as he agreed.
—
The rain had lifted at some point. Pitch black outside now. Asher would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. Outside his home they had the first hurdle to pass through. Their original clothes soaking wet they needed more, potentially some that would pass for a disguise.
“Hey mom, hey dad, sorry I’m late,” Asher said. His mom and dad sitting at the table, they were shocked to see them.
“Ash, we thought you were staying at Doug’s,” his mother said.
Asher recalled the lie, he replied, “yeah I am. But my gi-uh-friend Zora needed help with something.”
“Hello,” his mother said standing up. Ever the hostess, she greeted the small girl. “Girlfriend?”
“Friend,” he corrected as Zora blushed. “I told you about her. I was helping her prep for theater props. Then we were caught in the rain, and now I need some new clothes before I finish up.”
“Well you go do that then, I’ll get to know your friend,” his mother said, leading Zora away. Asher bolted to his room.
Throwing the suitcases on his bed he upended his backpack. Then he began to rifle through his closet for clothes that would fit both of them. Once he felt like they had enough options he headed back outside. “Zora, you ready?”
His little foreign friend sheepishly looked at him as she dug into her own plate of food. “Oh come on, it can’t be that important. Stick around for dinner,” his mom said. His dad talking with Zora, Asher worried she would let something slip, but the smile on her face made him stop.
“Ok,” he said as he realized how hungry he was. “But then we gotta go. I told Doug I’d be at his place by 10.”
“So Zora, where is your accent from?” His dad asked. He must have finished his sermon already since his notebook wasn’t in front of him.
“Solvenia,” she said. Her accent audible in every syllable. “I transferred here 3 years ago.”
“Slovenia? That’s in the southern part of Europe right? We were looking at sponsoring a Christian family from there,” his mother chimed in.
“Are you faithful?” His father asked. With the pastor it was never meant as an accusation, just a part of his job.
“I was,” she admitted. “They offered free English classes there, but I admit. I could be more faithful.”
“As we all could,” his father said, dropping the subject.
“So what production are you working on for the school?” His mother asked.
Dead silent, Zora looked to him. “Honestly I don’t know. They requested the stuff. Then gave us a print for the props to be built. I’ll be sure to ask on Monday though.” Asher had never lied this well in his life. Was it part of his Charm or Intelligence stat that his mother believed him for once?
“And you said you’d never use those skills building homes for the homeless,” his father smugly pointed out.
“Yep, you were right,” Asher said. It had been an annual trip for them to help build homes across the country. A trip that he might actually look forward to that summer.
Dinner dragged on and it wasn’t long until they were stuffed and excused themselves. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” his mother said. The recent revelation of her past life flashing before his eyes, he wasn’t sure if that was a warning or a blessing.
When they were back in his car it was quiet. The traffic was heavy on the Saturday night. Asher focused on the road.
“I can’t tell you the last time I had a home cooked meal,” Zora said. Her hand resting on her belly.
“Oh yeah?”
“Aleksi would let us have breakfast at the hotel, but then order food at night for us. Weekly he would weigh us, and if we got too fat. Then nothing, or it was very limited.”
“Wow,” Asher said. His hate boiling for the guy.
She was quiet once more. “I haven’t felt that in a long time,” she said. “I missed it.” When he looked at her side-eye she clarified, “love.”
“Yeah, my folks have plenty of that,” he chuckled.
“Not just them,” she said. “You do too,” she whispered. His face blushing he was glad that she continued, “I felt it in our first scene,” she confessed. “I’ve been on autopilot for a few months. With acting lessons I always felt unnatural in scenes. But then you showed up as my boyfriend in that scene. I was just pretending to listen to music. And when I turned around to see you, there was this look in your eyes that there wasn’t anywhere you’d rather be than with me. I don’t remember everything we said. It all felt so natural. And when we made-“
“Yeah?” He asked after she paused. Praying she would continue.
“Had sex,” she corrected. “I didn’t know it could be like that. You are way too big for me. But still you were gentle. Your eyes always had that look of love. Even today I felt it. When you were pretending to be that caveman. You looked at me like I was the most important thing in the world. Your facial expressions when you acted like Aleksi reminded me of the man. I almost broke character once. But then when you were inside me. All I could think about was getting closer to you.”
At some point Asher had parked. His erection growing as she talked about sex so easily. Zora began to cry slowly, but he knew this time that they were happy tears. “Thank you for showing me that,” she said. “That passion. That unconditional concern. When you whispered I love you in our first scene. I couldn’t help but whisper it back.”
Then they were making out. A smile on her face as they did, Asher’s heart soared by the fact that he wasn’t the only one that felt that way. When they were eventually done Asher looked at the clock. It was getting close to 10. “I don’t know where to go from here,” he said as she leaned against him. “But I know my life has felt a whole lot brighter since you were in it.”
Her eyes dry now, she smiled and laughed. “Let’s get this over with.”
They stepped out of the car hesitantly. He dug through his backpack as he handed her clothes. “Alright, let’s make you look like a guy. Baggy clothes. Baseball cap. Let’s hide your hair. Then we will break in.”
The hotel was only a few blocks away. By the end of the makeover Zora looked more like a little kid than an adult. Asher’s clothes included the wig from the scene earlier and a tie dye shirt and ripped jeans. Thick coats on, they locked the doors and headed toward the hotel.
When they were close they stopped at a line of cars near the stair entrance he originally used. “There,” Zora said, pointing to a car focused on the side entrance. Inside was a man behind the steering wheel. His face illuminated by a phone screen.
“Alright. See that gap in the staircase. Let’s walk around, come at the stairs from the other side. I’ll throw you up to the gap. Then you let me in.”
As they maneuvered around the cars Asher couldn’t help but grow excited by this. A couple of weeks ago he would have been terrified. But this week, with the System, it had changed him. He felt like it was for the better.
When they were under the stair gap everything felt like it was going well. “You ever watch American cheerleading?” He asked Zora.
“No, why?”
“Keep your body stiff as a board,” he whispered as he gripped her sides. With a grunt he threw her up in the air. She yelled but caught herself as her feet landed on his hand. It took her a second to recover from her shock that she was standing on his palm. Then she pulled herself into the gap in the stairs.
When she opened the door for him he confessed, “I can’t believe that worked.”
“You mean you’ve never done that before?” She hissed chasing him up the stairs.
“I watched a tutorial once, but it was my first time. Don’t worry, I would have caught you.”
The smell of smoke filled his nostrils as they passed the second floor. When they were at the platform up to the 3rd he noticed someone outside the door smoking. “That the guy?” He whispered. Luckily his back was turned to them.
She looked over his shoulder and nodded. Her teeth began to chatter. The man took another drag and turned toward them. Asher didn’t hesitate. He took the stairs 3 at a time. Before the guy knew it Asher had the thug’s neck in a choke hold. Asher pulled him tight as the man began to elbow him hard in the ribs.
Once, twice he hit, then each hit became weaker and weaker. The Brawling skill kicked in and forced Asher to turn where the elbow thrusts wouldn’t hurt anything important. Then on the eighth elbow he let out a grunt and became boneless. Asher set him down eventually. Once a pulse was found he sighed a little. His Brawling skill had kicked in, but at least it wasn’t a killing skill.
“Check his pockets for room keys,” Asher ordered. When she stole his wallet she pulled one out. Scanning the door keypad with it they were let in. Asher grabbed the guy by the arm and a leg then carried him inside like luggage. “Let’s tie him up in your room. Then let the others know to pack their things.”
Asher struggled to keep up with her as they bolted to the room. 4 other keys found in the wallet, they tried them out until one worked. Luckily they were inside before anyone saw them. Asher began ripping appliances away from the wall. His muscles bulged as he ripped the power chords off them.
The goon soon tied up, Asher felt calm as he said, “let’s tell the others. Then you pack.”
She was soon out the door. Asher on her heels she knocked and tried each keycard until she found the right one. A tall girl with dark hair stepped out. “Zora!” She exclaimed, hugging her. “Aleksi interrogated us asking where you were.”
“It worked,” Zora said out of breath. She passed over a passport and a few more sheets of paper. The other girl squealed with glee.
“Is this him?” She asked, looking to Asher. “You didn’t say he was so tall. But he is as handsome as you said.”
Both Zora and Asher blushed. “Get your stuff. We leave soon.” Once the door was shut they proceeded to do the process two more times. Before he knew it they were back in her room. The henchman was still out. All Zora had to do was put her toiletries away. Everything was already packed.
“So you believed me?” He asked. She had been trying to talk him out of their goal earlier.
“Maybe,” she said with a smirk.
Once they were outside they began prodding and knocking on the 3 doors until the others joined them. Excited whispers trailed the duo as they headed back the way they came. As they passed the elevator the door where they entered opened.
The man from the car came inside. “Elevator!” Asher ordered turning them around. One of the girls pushed the button and they collectively sighed as the door dinged and opened.
The 5 of them huddled together. Asher tapped his foot in frustration. When they arrived in the lobby they went out together. The top of Aleksi’s head visible in a lobby chair, luckily he was facing the front door. As one they turned toward the base of the stairs, but of course they were met by a sweating henchman. He had practically fallen down the stairs to catch them.
“Fucking fuck,” Asher said picking up speed.
“Aleksi!” The man yelled as Asher ran his shoulder into him. His stats obviously much higher, the henchman was knocked into the door like a pinball. He crumpled to the floor, his puppet strings cut.
“Get to the Camry,” Asher ordered Zora. The other girls were already through the door. Aleksi appeared down the hall and he ran at them. “Don’t wait for me,” Asher said walking outside with her. Slipping her the keys he waited in the parking lot for the ring leader.
“You fuck,” Aleksi said stepping outside. He took off his leather jacket as he flexed at Asher. “You have no idea who you’re messing with.
“I have everything from your safe,” Asher said. The foe began to laugh. “The girls passports. The money. Those fucked up videos.” He let the rage build up in him. 16 year old Zora’s screams pushed his fury further. “You’re going to jail, asshole.”
Aleksi had stopped laughing when he mentioned the videos. “I kill you. I get the girls. We all disappear. No one to arrest.” And with that the fight started.
A brawler is someone who fights violently. No rules. No remorse. Just full force from the start. Aleksi knew that every fight was won in the first few blows so he put all of his power into every hit.
The Russian didn’t know the teen had learned his fighting method from him. So when one threw a haymaker, so did the other. They both were thrown to the side but rolled out of it. Their fight continued on like this. Mirror images of one another they threw punches and kicks, only to be met with the same.
Asher was soon bleeding from one ear. A cut over his eye opened at one point, blinding his left eye. His knuckles ached from hitting the tough man, but he kept on. On TV it felt like people could fight forever before bruising, but they only exchanged a few hits and Asher was feeling all of them. He could tell that Aleksi really was a level 5 Brawler. Asher may have a little higher stats. But Aleksi made up for that with actual fighting experience. The fight felt too balanced for either of their tastes.
The fight reminded Asher of his father’s sermon he had heard a few weeks ago. He had heard hundreds over the years, but this one stuck out to him. He had begun the talk about the conundrum of being caught between a rock and a hard place. Being in the situation of course was an analogy for having to pick between 2 things. Like it was some impossibility to choose.
Then he brought up bricks. “If you slam 2 bricks together, which brick will not break?” After a short pause his father said, “the one made of better materials of course.” The audience let out a few sympathy chuckles.
His father then played a 5 minute long video over the projector. It was from YouTube and had someone with a pile of bricks. The YouTuber announced, “I’m going to find the strongest brick of these 100.”
He then proceeded to smash one brick into another. When one split he would pick the one that was fine as the new strongest brick. When both burst he would get the one that was least damaged. Then at the end of the short video he had one whole brick left. This was now officially the strongest brick. Then he offered to fight the brick against other bricks like a Pokémon. All you had to do was like and subscribe.
The video ended leaving a dead silent church. “This video stuck out to me because there is no way I would have known that brick would be the last one standing. They all looked the same to me. But God could have picked it out. He knows what’s inside all of us. What we are made of. He knows that. And puts those with that strength where you need to be.”
Asher’s mind was brought back to the present. He had really meant to just think of 2 bricks fighting one another. Though they look the same, and have the same skills, only one will come out the winner. Must be all the blood loss. It was hard to focus.
With a roar Asher would prove he was the strongest brick. All of his weight and strength was thrown into one last punch. It hit Aleksi square in the forehead. The man was unable to lift his arms. Asher stood over him breathing heavily. The caveman he played earlier would have killed Aleksi. But that wasn’t who he was.
Blood dripped down his chin and knuckles. It was the first time Asher had been in a real fight, and he won. “Ash,” Zora said next to him. The purr of the green Camry beside him took him out of his daze.
He noticed the 3 girls in the back with Zora driving. His feet dragging to the passenger side, Asher got in with a groan. “Take me home,” he whispered, voice hoarse. He really needed a drink of water.
Zora didn’t question him as she drove. The girl's quiet, Asher was struck with a thought. “You know what? I think that sermon was about spiritual strength instead.” Then he let out a long sigh.
