Chapter 27.5: A Different Experience

Recovery went swiftly for Spencer. Thanks to lifestealing off of the centipede monster most of his chest injury had already closed up. It was unclear exactly how much blood had been lost and then replaced thanks to the magic-like ability, but Spencer had been able to stand and move around with only a bit of unsteadyness after a solid ten hours of sleep. Although there was some arguing on Spencer’s part he was forced to rest through the entire next day by every member of the team.

A tarp had been found and set up as a makeshift tent over Spencer’s sleeping bag area. Supplies were gathered and organized, the area around the grocery store was scouted, and potential abomination targets spotted in various directions were noted and planned for. The engies were productive with the day. Spencer on the other hand felt incredibly useless.

With nothing else to do but rest, Spencer was left alone with his thoughts a lot. Self doubt and fear crept in like they usually did whenever he allowed himself to slow down. Spencer felt like he had replayed every moment from the past few days over a dozen times. He could think of at least twenty different ways he could have handled every situation better.

Distractions helped.

Spencer read through the entirety of Chris’ dissertation on playing Zero Conflict and gained a few insights that might be helpful with his current situation. 

First off, Zero conflict didn’t have strictly character pulls. There was a lengthy list of materials, consumables, and items that would fill up most results in between finding engies. The fact that Spencer received five characters for the first five pull meant that either this was yet another difference between Spencer’s abilities and the game they came from or the tutorial forced characters to be in every pod. Now that the tutorial was over Spencer couldn’t reliably know what each pod would contain.

Not that he could add more characters to his roster at the moment anyway. 

Spencer had to wonder what would happen if he did come across an engie pod while his roster was full. Assumably he’d need to dismiss someone from his team before he could open the pod, but that was only a guess at this point.

In the gacha game the materials were used for base upgrades, cosmetics, and farming currency. Nothing Spencer had seen from his system indicated he’d need any of those things. Then again, the system seemed to be adapting on the fly. Perhaps these mechanics would appear over time.

He would have read through Chris’ guide some more, but his phone battery was already low. Spencer turned it off to preserve what power he had left just in case. 

He also spent time reviewing all of the contents of the shop in his champion system. There were new unique items for each engie that would boost damage, durability, speed, recovery, or various other stats, but they were all ridiculously expensive for the minor improvements they offered. Spencer had gained quite a few credits from killing so many monsters, completing the tutorial stage, and earning certain bonding moments.

All in all he had three hundred and forty credits. The cheapest option for each character started around four hundred credits.

“Highway robbery.” Spencer grumbled and scrolled back to the page where buying pulls was offered.

There were now three options for buying pulls. One at a time for ten credits each, five at a time for fifty, or ten at a time for a hundred. If the system followed usual gacha logic then the larger number you pulled the better odds you’d have. Considering that Spencer didn’t have an empty roster slot at the moment, and wanting to experiment a little, he pressed the button to purchase a single pod. This would give him the worst odds at receiving a character so he’d be able to check what the baseline contents of a pod would be.

‘Purchase successful! One capsule has been pulled and distributed into your surroundings.

Look for a beam of light to claim your prize.’

Spencer adjusted his position in the sleeping bag to scan the dimming evening sky around the grocery store rooftop. Sure enough a new pillar of blue light appeared to the north, back towards Spencer’s home. Spencer paused as his eyes lowered from the skyline to discover that Beatrice had silently approached him during his study time. The others were down in the store searching the stock rooms for anything useful.

‘I don’t mean to disturb you, commander.’ The light blue haired deflection specialist blushed and signed out shyly.

Her shield remained chest level behind her to be out of the way and her quarterstaff had been set down on an AC unit near the ladder. Beatrice’s shoulder length hair swayed gently in the warm breeze. 

“Not at all. Come take a seat.” Spencer sat up fully and made space for Beatrice to sit beside him.

She stepped around the sizable pile of pretzels and placed herself close to, but not touching Spencer directly. Her blue skirt rustled quietly against the sleeping bags. Spencer frowned slightly. Beatrice had an odd energy about her.

“What’s up?” Spencer asked.

Beatrice retrieved the familiar whiteboard attached to her waist and uncapped a fresh marker. The felt tip hovered around the clean white surface, but no words were written down. Spencer glanced at Beatrice’s face. Her eyebrows were knit together, gaze unfocused, and bottom lip bitten slightly.

Spencer pushed back the desire to speak first, instead he waited patiently for Beatrice to put her thoughts in order.

‘You told Sarah you have a roster limit.’ Beatrice wrote out slowly.

Spencer nodded. “That’s right. Five engies currently. There’s a page where I can dismiss anyone on the team and Andrea is still on it.”

Beatrice took a deep breath and wrote out another note. ‘Good. From what you shared about her, Andrea is strong. It will be good to have her back on the team.’

Spencer’s apprehension deepened.

‘Why are you sad?’ Spencer signed to her in ASL.

Beatrice broke out into a huge smile even though her eyes remained conflicted.

‘You’ve practiced?’ She responded with her hands.

‘I’ve had a lot of time today.’ Spencer signed and then patted the ASL For Dummies book near his pillow.

“Why are you sad?” He repeated out loud.

As much as it meant to Beatrice for him to respond to her in sign language, Spencer got the feeling that this conversation would be far deeper than his current skill level speaking with his hands could provide.

Beatrice wrote down her thoughts and held them up for Spencer to read while her head remained low.

‘I know what you told me before, commander, but now that we know that your team space is limited… You don’t need two shields.’

Spencer opened his mouth to respond, but Beatrice held up a finger to pause him while she wrote further.

‘I’m not as strong as the others. I know this, they know this, and you know it too.’

“That doesn’t matter!” Spencer took Beatrice’s hand in his own and scooted closer to the down trodden girl. “For crying out loud, Beatrice, do you know how often you save my life on a daily basis?”

Beatrice frantically erased her board and wrote again. ‘Against small opponents, sure, but that was before Anny joined. I may have a head start, but she will grow quickly and protect you and others far easier than I can. Her ceiling is higher than mine.’

Spencer never explicitly told any of the engies of their ranks, but all of them seemed to instinctually know it. Beatrice, Naomi, and even Anny were able to immediately identify that Sarah was the strongest among them. Likewise everyone was also able to tell that they were stronger than Beatrice. She was Spencer’s only B ranked team member. 

According to Chris’ guide B rank was the lowest and considered to be ‘common’ pulls. A rank would be the rare, S rank would be the super rare, and he mentioned special seasonal characters that fell under the X rank that were hardly ever pulled. Chris went on a rant about whales at that point and didn’t actually explain what X ranks were.

“What you’re asking me to do is to continue to retrieve engies, verify if they’re stronger than those on my current roster or if they fill a role better, and then throw away whoever is weaker. Am I understanding that correctly?” Spencer laid it out plainly. “We don’t even know what happens if I dismiss someone. What if you just snap out of existence and never knew you were even here?”

Beatrice winced, but surprisingly didn’t shy away.

‘My priority is your safety, commander.’ She wrote out in a determined and clear script. ‘That means I will give my life whenever and however is required. Even if it’s just to make way for more competent engies to find a place by your side.’

“No. Absolutely not.” Spencer’s lips hardened into a thin line. “You’re selling yourself short and I’m not the type of heartless monster to throw people away like that.”

Beatrice dropped her whiteboard and brought both of her hands up to punch Spencer’s shoulder repeatedly. The enhanced human could send Spencer flying across the roof if she really wanted to, but Beatrice maintained enough self control to keep the frustrated punches to a light angry protest. Her eyes were misty and fiery all at the same time.

“You want me to be selfish, is that it?” Spencer asked, remembering Naomi’s similar anger the day before. “You want me to look out for myself first?”

Beatrice’s hands froze on Spencer’s shoulder. Her fingers flexed and pulled the fabric of his sweatshirt into clumps. Her dazzling blue eyes held his and she nodded.

Spencer pulled the girl tight into his chest and smashed his lips into hers.

Beatrice gasped, but returned the kiss with equal fervor. Her hands slid up to grip Spencer’s dark hair. Her body rushed forward like a starved cat seeking nourishment. She arched her back to push as much of herself into Spencer as she could manage without falling off the side of the bed. 

Spencer’s own hands slid down to Beatrice’s narrow waist. He pulled and Beatrice gasped quietly as Spencer planted her firmly on his lap. Hearts blazed in Beatrice’s eyes as they broke apart their kiss breathlessly.

“I’m going to be selfish.” Spencer declared. His hands lifted to cup her cheeks and hold her gaze. “I’m not going to do the smart thing which would be to continuously roll the dice and gather as many strong engies to my side as I can manage. Instead I’m going to keep the broken. The hopeless. The lost.”

Spencer reached down and began to unbutton Beatrice’s top one button at a time.

“I’m going to keep you, Beatrice, not as a tool, but as a friend, a protector, and a lover. I’m going to selfishly claim you and not let you step aside.” Spencer paused his hands and kissed her tenderly. “Because you’re who I want by my side.”

Beatrice practically vibrated in Spencer’s lap, overcome with emotions. Her hands lifted up and spelled out a very specific request that even Spencer could understand.

‘Ruin me, commander.’

Spencer smiled and kissed her hard once more.

Beatrice’s clothes fell away one item at a time. It wasn’t wise to compare experiences with other women in the moment, but Spencer couldn’t help but notice things as their passion reached new heights.

Where Sarah had been assertive, commanding, and aggressive, Beatrice was almost fluid with her submission.

Beatrice was incredibly soft. Her modest sized breasts felt like clouds in Spencer’s hands as he cupped them. Her nipples pebbled immediately under his palms and she squished herself forward as much as she could.

Where Sarah had been speaking constantly the night prior, Beatrice’s vocalizations were all related to her breathing. The mute girl would gasp in the most delicious way when he played with her breasts. She would pant heavily when his hands would pull her butt harder into him. Most of all her eyes would beg him for more as his arousal rubbed against her skirt.

Beatrice followed whatever Spencer decided on. If he leaned in to make out she was there to eagerly lock lips. If his hands gripped her lower back she would arch into him to give him better access. If he leaned down to kiss her breasts she would gasp and pull his head harder into her chest. 

Her entire focus was on him and it was intoxicating.

It didn’t take long before they were both naked with Spencer laying on top of the shorter engie. Spencer's manhood made brief contact with Beatrice’s lower lips and it was his turn to gasp. She was absolutely dripping and he hadn’t even touched her there yet.

As if sensing his discovery, Beatrice lifted her hands to her face and hid behind them. Her fingers spread slightly, a deep blush spreading throughout her pale features, as she peeked out to gauge Spencer’s reaction to her shameless and complete arousal.

“You’re very excited.” Spencer grinned and slowly dragged the head of his cock around her dampness.

Beatrice panted heavily and nodded her head. Her waist lifted briefly and made frantic little thrusts against his length. Spencer sucked in a quick breath and stopped.

“Yeah, me too. I won’t force you to wait longer.”

He carefully lined up with her entrance and pushed his length inside. Beatrice’s eyelids fluttered shut. Her legs snapped up to lock around Spencer’s waist and pull him deeper into her. Spencer intended to go slowly at the start, but Beatrice’s desperation practically forced him into a quick rhythm almost immediately. Her soft breasts bounced hypnotically beneath him.

“Is this okay?” Spencer asked while maintaining his pace.

Beatrice’s hands came up to frantically sign her reply. Her whiteboard had fallen somewhere by the pile of pretzels and neither one of them wanted to stop to find it. Spencer only caught half of what she was saying.

‘Yes, so good… hard as you want… forever… ‘

Spencer leaned down to kiss Beatrice while pumping his length in and out of her channel. Beatrice shuddered against his lips and Spencer felt a warm gush envelop his manhood. Spencer paused to give her a moment.

“Did you-”

He yelped as Beatrice thrust her own body up and down in an effort to keep things going. Her eyes blazed and her hands briefly signed a simple message begging for more.

Spencer leaned back and set his hands against Beatrice’s hips. He lifted her slightly to get a better angle. He was a little worried half lifting Beatrice off of hte bed would be uncomfortable for her, but the fit engie simply arched her back and supported her upper body with her core strength.

“Hold on!” Spencer took a steadying breath and thrust.

His movements grew deep and frantic as he chased his own release. Beatrice’s hands formed the, ‘I love you’ sign and kept them there while her heart filled eyes remained locked onto Spencer’s face. He felt her gush around him twice more, each gasp growing more intense than the last as the extremely sensitive girl was brought to orgasm multiple times. Spencer finally buried himself to the hilt and moaned loudly.

Hot fluid erupted deep inside of Beatrice, mixing with her own release as the lovers collapsed against each other in unison. Now that they were no longer supporting her weight arched over the bed, Beatrice’s hands wrapped themselves around Spencer in fervent worship. Her hands massaged, kneaded, and clung to Spencer like he was a life preserver. Her lips never stopped kissing him even as they both came down from the ultimate high in life.

Bonding Event successfully passed, Milestone successfully passed, True Devotion: 

• Ten store credits awarded.

• Team member, Beatrice, stats vastly improved.’

“Hey.” Spencer halted Beatrice’s movements and held her gaze. “No more of this self-sacrifice stuff. Okay? We’re a team and we always will be.”

Tears spilled over as Beatrice frantically nodded.

‘By your word, commander.’