While demons are a problem, especially the soul-hungry succubi, I had bigger things to worry about. My system had just updated for the first time after I threw 8 AU Upgrade Dice into Root Of Black Dragons. That didn’t put me in a good mood, and neither did 800lbs of succubi lamia duck taped to my floorboard.

The first update wasn’t the worst, and a few updates were beneficial to my mental and moral health. Abilities play a crucial role in a skill’s ability to warp the human mind. They also significantly increased a user’s power. Without them, many of us were weakened considerably.

So, what’s more, important sanity or power. It’s been a long time since that first update, and compared to some users, I’m practically the benchmark for sanity. There are some users who spend eternity out in the woods counting the flees on a squirrel to upgrade the Numericon skill.

…

Everything stopped working. My interface vanished, there was no inventory to speak of, and the world seemed louder than usual. That didn’t come close to my other problems.

“Do you have to do that?” I yelled.

“Do what?” Both Kale and Nia asked.

“The entire Hummer smells like pussy. I can barely focus on the road and Nia, why are you a demon?” I asked.

Nia stretched as far as her duck-taped tail would allow to look through the windshield. “There is no road.”

I tapped her on the forehead with a spectral arm. “That isn’t the answer I wanted either. Why are you a demon? If this is some trick by you, mother, I’ll turn this car around and take you back.” I yelled.

System updating 35%

The hormonal scent in the Hummer increased, and I felt my third leg reach for the gas peddle only to smack into the steering column. “Why don’t you stop and open a door? That should freshen the air some.” Nia suggested. “Or if you’re feeling adventurous, you could come here and find some relief in me.”

“No, don’t even go there. I know what you can do. I felt it, and I’ve seen that symbol before. It’s the opposite of Chastity, so you must be marked or possessed by the Arch Demon of Lust.” But, then, a question suddenly seemed more prudent. “How did you survive the trip here without food or water?” I asked.

“Wow, so my word isn’t good enough all of a sudden?” Kale yelled from the back.

I turned to the mirror, so my eyes were shown to both of them. “Trust but verify might as well be my religion,” I said.

Nia tried to shrug, but the duck tape held her firmly. I wasn’t sure if it actually worked or if this turned her on somehow. Lamia were known for their bondage fetishes in hentai. She was also a succubus so, that probably went double for her. Yes, I was stereotyping her and trying to put her into a predictable box. But it was for my sanity, and that’s all the justification I need.

“Well, first, I gave a handsome minotaur the sucking of a lifetime. He was so pleased that he couldn’t stand to live another second after. Then, when he gave up the ghost, I saved it from dissolving into the ayther and gave it a new wetter hotter home.” Nia’s tattoo glowed a darker shade of pink. And the duck tape fell away as an oily substance spread across her skin. “Mother made sure my carriage was cool and dark. A week was plenty of time to twist apart and dissolve one little soul. It made me so much stronger.” The lamia raised herself up. “I wonder, do you need help with that.”

I thumped her again harder this time. She fell on her butt where her human half connected with her serpent half. To her, it seemed conjuring lube was a major powerup.

System Update 36%

“Hey centaur lady,” through the mirror, I saw Kale lower her book and glare at Nia. “I can help you with your heat problem.” Nia raised the end of her tail and slipped it under Kale’s tail. Kale’s cheeks turned red, and I slammed on the breaks when I saw a group of frilly skirt-wearing 12-year-olds in the middle of the road.

There were many things I expected 4hrs away from Bridle, in the no man’s land between the border of city-states. The Pepsi Cola hosts could attract a dragon, any number of warlocks, flesh mages, and necromancers, or even a dungeon. Don’t get me wrong, this seemed on the outside like a nice surprise. But, 12 girls dressed like magical girls didn’t seem like the biggest threat to me, given my humanity. If they ignored the obvious lust demon in the back.

I flashed my light and rolled down my window. The one in blue with a crescent moon on her forehead skipped up to the driver's side. After passing through the headlights, I saw that even her hair was blue, and she wore glasses. She clutched the handle of a cutlass sheathed at her waist. On her back was a large blue staff with and snowflake on its side. The girl herself had slightly Asian features with deep blue eyes.

“Sup, dog, we need a ride to settle some shit going down, and since you’re going the same direction, we’d like to hitch a ride. Do you know what I’m saying?” The girl asked. I blinked once, then twice, and sniffed the air.

Yes, it still smelled like vagina and desire. Maybe I was high. That was always an option.

I heard her swallow and knew my silence had gone on for too long. “Sorry, this is the third day in a row I’ve gone without sleep, and it was still six hours from Bridle. Then some frilly skirt-wearing blueberry just blasted me with late 90s slang. So I’m struggling here.”

“It's cool; we all have problems, homeboy. But let me be real: if we don’t make good time to Bridle, things will get whack you dig. I’m talking demons everywhere, sex in the streets, and the corruption of humanity. Now you can either give us a ride, or this little blueberry will jack yo ride.” The blueberry said.

“I thought magical girls of Chastity could fly. Couldn’t you just hover a few feet off the ground and zoom to Bridle?” I asked.

“Why would we want to ride with some cracker if our wings worked? Bro, I’ve been ignoring your erection, but it’s 2 girls one cup. Did you take a little blue pill instead of your Adderall? And why does it smell like overripe dew flaps?” The magical girl said.

I glance behind me to see Kale’s tail slowly rise to welcome Nia’s snake. This shit had to end. A thump rocked the Hummer and settled Nia back on her bottom with her tail back on her side of the Hummer.

“I’m going to need you to step out of the car, sir.” She raised her bracelet to her lips. “Blue Saber to Pink Momma, we have a code 1 man 1 Jar. I repeat, we have a code 1 man 1 jar situation.”

“This isn’t your country, and your laws have no jurisdiction here. If you attack, then I will kill all of you. You have my word.” I let my QI rise just enough to let her know I was serious.

She brought her bracelet to her lips. “Standby to back me up; we have a possible dark lord on our hands. Detect readout 9oumphs with spiritual levels off the charts I repeat 9oumphs with off the chart spiritual readouts. Commit to tactics; we aren’t in Kansas anymore.”

System Update 39%

Blueberry pushed her skirt down and stared at me with narrowed eyes. “You look familiar, and you’re strong, so you must be a user too.” She nodded her head as if that made sense. “That’s cool; most of my squad went from our comfy beds to magical girl scout boot camp. Some didn’t survive, especially the last test. Let me give you the 411; we should have dialed 911 and reported our trainer. He was like a priest, a user, and a pedophile. We’re all on a redemption quest to make it up to the angel of Chastity.” She kissed her hand and held a peace sign up to the heavens. “Thanks for that, boo. We really appreciate going on a penal mission; it’s a real rape.” She said.

I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t believe you,” I said.

“Say what! That’s whack. I told you our story like from the bottom of my heart.” The magical girl said.

“I’m sure you did, but how can I even verify that? If you want a ride, it will cost you.” I said.

“I guess it's true all men are pedos when there are no rules. Will you at least let me warm up first? You look a little on the big side?” Blueberry said.

I turned away and took a drink of my beer before replying. “I’m willing to be paid in knowledge. Do you know how to bind demons?” I asked.

When I turned back, her panties were down to her hips. I quickly turned away. “Cloth yourself, girl. I don’t want to see that.” I said.

She quickly pulled her panties back on and sighed. “YOLO Bruh, no rules and no need to be emo. No cap, there is something funky in yo ride that makes me want to ship you and me. Did you late game charisma, or should I be sus about your back seat?” Blueberry said.

“There is a demon in my back seat,” I said.

Blueberry blinked a few times. “No, really, you’re like yanking my chain.”

“Do you want a ride or not?” I asked.

She waved her hands. “We need a ride, and only Crimson Queen drove more than in her parents’ driveway. Don’t worry, we’ll wrangle the slut in your back seat and give you her digits afterward.” The Blue magical girl said.

Blueberry placed her bracelet to her lips and fired off codes rapidly. “Homeboy, what’s your name?”

“Red, if you could not kill the demon, I’d be grateful. I’m supposed to deliver her to Bridle alive.” I’d been awake for too long.

System Update 40%

“Red, I don’t want to be bound.” I turned to the lamia succubi, who stared at me with a quivering lip. After hours of driving, she looked like a cup of sunshine. The way she pressed her porn star grade lips together and stretched out her hands to me almost made me reconsider on the spot. Yea, she was dangerous and wanted to pop Kale’s virgin cherry before I could; she was also hot.

“Don’t listen to her, Red, bind the bitch if you don’t; she’ll be nothing but trouble,” Kale said.

That bit of wisdom from Kale was impressive. Kale seemed willing before to let the succubi lamia behind her tail. But, of course, that could have been all the pheromones blasting Kale in an enclosed. Kale was also in heat. She had told me how difficult saying no to potential suitors was becoming.

I watched the magical girls rush over in a charge, wands drawn. They filed into a formation around my Hummer and raised their weapons high. Wands shaped like glittering stars, icy moons, and pink nebulas formed dozens of delicate patterns until several circles appeared around the Hummer.

Once the ground runes were set, a girl wearing plate armor slowly approached the side door from head to toe. Clutched in her hands, she held a man catcher. The long steel polearm was built for grabbing humanoids by the neck and directing them.

Another girl dressed in magical girl standard skirts ducked low and grabbed the Hummer door’s handle. Nia stared from me to Kale, shifting back and forth. Her jaws creaked open revealing fangs dripping with hot pink venom.

The door opened, and she shot forward, ducked the man catcher, and bit through the plate armor, shattering a layer of protective runes. Even as the barriers flashed gold.

The magical armored girl turned her head to me with her open mouth showing off sticky lines of saliva dripping down from her outstretched tongue. Her body and face were changing, growing older womanlier. In moments she’d aged to adulthood. Pink veins covered her skin before vanishing. Nia dropped the woman as a set of golden chains grabbed the succubi lamia’s wrists.

I turned away as the magical woman struggled to get out of her too-tight amor. Another magical girl managed to get a man catcher around Nia’s neck while the chains dragged her out of the Hummer. Nia screamed and rose up on her tail. An aura of pink QI encircled the lamia, and one of the chains cracked. The girls continued to pour power into the circle, but Nia continued to increase in strength. Her hand reached out and snatched one of the girls before she pushed the poor user to her breasts.

At that point, I had enough. My spectral hand reached out and thumped Nia upside the head. The succubi lamia dropped the 12-year-old and the chains to her. Honestly, it was impressive; a weak lamia with a little demonic power was a match for 12 poorly leveled users.

There was another option. Each magical girl could be moderately leveled or even high leveled. I realized that I couldn’t really tell; they were slowly than Nia but not by much. Either way, they were at least ten times slower than me. o

Golden symbols flashed from the runed circles around the Hummer and appeared around Nia. The succubi lamia screamed as she fought against the power. I could feel her QI rise ever higher as she resisted the runes. The tattoo over her womb glowed brighter, and I felt power flow from the bitten magical girl to Nia.

I turned to the afflicted girl and quickly looked away. The girl had shed her armor to pleasure herself. A flash of a different tattoo began to form above the girl’s womb. Instead of rising power, the bitten magical girl’s QI constantly drained into Nia.

The pinkest magical girl raised her nebulous heart wand and thrust it forward. All the runes in the circle glowed pink before Nia’s QI began to flow out of her. Then, slowly, runes began to gather around Nia’s throat until they formed a tattooed collar.

Nia screamed, and I felt a sudden explosion of QI. The bitten magical girl’s skin had gone from white to a light shade of pink. Her ears had lengthened, and a pair of horns had sprouted through her hair. Tiny batwings grew out of her back and a smaller set sprouted from either side of her head. When they folded over her forehead, they made a slight M. Above her womb was an empty heart tattoo with a succubus tail stretching down and two bat wings stretched out on either side of it.

That was interesting. It answered a question I hadn’t asked. Can a user change race? Well, apparently, we could unless she wasn’t a user.