Katie entered the penthouse from the maintenance room with a knowing look in her eyes. I was stark naked, Marie's juices coating my thighs. “Yeah, it happened.” What else could I say, really? What, say it wasn’t me.

  “ Had fun, I take it?” Her voice was failing to hide her amusement. I gave a simple nod and a smirk in response. I did have fun breaking her.

  “Yeah, if I hadn't, she would have probably started to feel a lot of pain if she already wasn't.”

  Katie raised an eyebrow at my words, and a realization that we hadn't talked about the previous day in detail. After I got my shirt off the floor in the office, my sweatpants were soaked. So I just wore the t-shirt, with the hem resting mid-thigh. I proceeded to fill Katie in on all that happened yesterday, along with how I hadn't had control over my [Pheromones] ability. Explaining in detail how it probably affected Marie to the point that it was all-consuming.

  “Damn, Sara. But it sounds like you are starting to gain some control over it. Still poor Marie. I take it she accepted your bond. “ Giving a simple nod, I pulled out a large mac and cheese box.

  “I think dinner tonight is on us.” We both giggled at that. I was happy with the fact that Katie seemed fine adding Marie into our little group.” It’s a good thing she is with us. We won't have to be so secretive, and she can help us get things stocked up and moved into the shelter. “ That had been weighing on my mind. Keeping Marie from all of this, and as time went on, it would have been nearly impossible to do so. Then Katie dropped a surprise on me.

  “Oh, Ameri wants to join us. I guess cause she is at a low enough level, as long as she is on Earth when it is integrated, the System will let her stay on Earth. She told me that many powerful families and organizations will try to place someone of a low level onto a new planet. “

  Huh. Well, that was interesting. I could see the benefit of having her on the team. Her knowledge and experience alone would be extremely beneficial. “What class is she?” Of course, she would have to fit into the dynamic. We already had two of us with a focus on DPS, and I was going to guess Marie would become a support of some kind. This was due to her education and her nature.

  “I don't remember the actual name of it. But it's like the Elven version of a [Shield Maiden]. She is more of a tank. Which surprised me, considering how small she was, but then I tend to forget that stats can be an equalizer between the sexes. She did say that size still matters.” We both looked at each other and let out a giggle at that comment.

  “Any way,” Katie cleared her throat. “ So let's say we are facing a giant or something we can't go tossing it around, and its stats mean different cause of its size.” I nodded as I started the water boiling. “Also, though she isn't interested in bonding sexually. At least not yet she said she would be happy to bond with a verbal oath.”

  Yeah, I forgot about that. I could bond with someone without fucking their brains out. It would be a weaker bond with fewer bonuses. “ Yeah, I think that can work. Well, when I can add more people. My limit right now is two. I am good with her joining. I was thinking next weekend, after we all had some training and time. We all could hit the training dungeon. I got a token for one yesterday. “

  'Is there when the training montage kicks in?'

  I had to smirk at the thought. I still had those common skills to consume. Suddenly, my vision was filled with text.

  Attention: This is another update to the skill system.

  Active skills can now be switched up every six hours up to three times a System day.

  Major patch to skills. All skill crystals level 2 or higher are now converted to skill books of equal Rank. If learning a new skill using a Skill crystal, they are only available at Rank 1. To gain experience . Skill books will need to be read to activate the next rank. Seeking out training from someone of at least two levels higher will aid in the ranking process. If using both a skill book and a Trainer, experience is gained at a 25% increase in speed till you hit 50% to the next rank.

  Well, shit, I wonder why the change. Realizing I had notifications and the water was boiling, I focused on fixing our simple dinner. Then it hit me . 'Shit, how hard is it going to be for me to rank up skills once I hit Rank 2. A lot of them were technical skills, and not like once things hit, there are going to be colleges taking admissions.'

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “I am so screwed. “ Sighing as I looked at Katie, I saw an understanding in her eyes.

  “Perhaps, Sara, but you still have a huge advantage with how many active skills you can work on at once. Now able to switch out three times a day. That is going to be a huge difference.” She had a point. I was just dreading all that dry reading I would have to do. Granted, I enjoyed them, but to a point. Usually, I hit a spot when I feel like my eyes are going cross-eyed.

  “I hate it when you make perfect sense.” Katie just gave me a sweet smile as I added the butter and milk before dishing it out as we sat at the island.

  “I got our trainers set up three days a week, starting on Monday. I'll probably head to Namon's tomorrow to level up the skills I am learning tonight. Fuck, and I got notifications. I think I have a love-hate relationship with them. “

  Smirking Katie ate her food; it was obvious she wanted to comment, but decided against it. I knew I would have made some smart ass remark. As we ate, I went ahead and brought up my notifications.

  Do you wish to assign Marie her bonded ability?

  Like with Katie, I figured I would wait till I saw what Marie had gotten and her build.

  Quest complete. Open Your Eyes.

  Rewards Received

  50000 Credits

  1 Trial Dungeon token

  Congratulations, you have achieved 26% towards your next rank for your bloodline.

  Quest Complete.

  Rewards

  Ability Imbue with Sexual Energy

  Imbue with Sexual Energy

  Convert a beast core or Mana Crystal/Shard fully or partially with SE.

  Runes Unlocked

  Extract SE

  SE Combustion

  Well, color me impressed. No snarkiness and pretty decent rewards. I will have to ask Ari how the advancement of a bloodline actually works.

  Questions add to [What the Fuck]

  I still chuckled over the list. Suddenly, the way I can work out my own creations made more sense. I quickly shared with Katie my screen showing my rewards. As we finished eating, we had a back-and-forth discussion on ideas. Most of them were silly. But it was needed, I think, just to be stupid and silly with all the bombs that have dropped.

  After cleaning up, I absorbed the skill crystals. It was fairly easy. Just hold it in the hand, inject a bit of mana, and all done. It wasn't bad, but then these were simple ones. I was sure the rest would not go as easily. Settling into the bed. Yeah, I still couldn't call it my bed or my room yet. We snuggled up, and the day caught up with both of us quickly.

  For whatever reason, I was up early. 'Like, why? I should be able to sleep in.' Even the sun wasn't up yet. Perhaps it was still snowing. Damn, now my brain is starting to function. Sighing, I untangle myself from Katie, waking her up in the process. She grumbled under her breath as I leaned in softly, whispering in her ear. “ Can't sleep. But you go back to sleep, I am heading downstairs. Can you help out Marie when she wakes up?”

  I think the grunt was a yes as she grabbed my pillow and crushed it against her body. Dressing in my last clean pair of sweats and a t-shirt, I head into the kitchen. Turning on the Keurig and grabbing a poptart, I let my mind wander about how I should proceed.

  Logically, I should go one step at a time. Use my two tokens to set up my rooms, probably take one of the legendary crystals, and head over to Namon's shop and see if I can get my first smithing lessons in. Also, there were some questions I wanted Ari to answer, but I might as well wait till everyone was together. Probably easier.

  Stepping into the shelter, I smiled, seeing the place look less sterile. She had colored the walls a soft gray with hardwood flooring. The furniture didn't have the plastic on it. Instead of fluorescent lighting, there were lamps releasing a soft glow of light. Not much in decorations, but hey, this was better than feeling like we walked into some secret, spooky underground lab.

  Heading to the panel in the hall before the what, portal door. Yeah, that sounds properly technical. Giggling a little as I sipped my coffee, I pulled the blacksmith coin from my storage and popped it into its slot.

  Do you wish to use this coin? Using this coin will consume it.

  Hitting yes, a list of options appeared, 'Ohh great, more fucking decisions. Wasn't it too early for that?' Good thing I had coffee. Looking through the different choices.

  Traditional Blacksmith

  Modern Blacksmith

  Hybrid Blacksmith

  Some interesting choices, but I found myself leaning towards the Hybrid model. Honestly, that seemed to make the best sense. Still, I expanded it to see what it had for a description.

  Hybrid Blacksmith

  This blacksmith set up provides the best of both worlds. Choosing this option is not as extensive as a more dedicated version; the hybrid will give any budding blacksmith a good number of tools. All Blacksmithing done in this room offers a 15% gain to all experience, and for each level, a 1% chance per rank of the room to increase the finished product by one rank.

  I didn't feel this was a bad option. Both Katie and I had watched .' Fuck what was that show called. Forged with Steel.' I couldn’t remember; it was one of those things we would catch on occasion. I went ahead and chose it.

  You have 6000 shelter points.

  Upgrading this room costs 3000 points?

  'Why not?' Once selected, the portal flashed for a moment, and on the panel, a selection for Blacksmith appeared. Shrugging, I figured I could check it out and walked through. Standing at the entrance to the room, a smile appeared on my face. Looking around, it had a big coal pit with a huge bellows at the bottom of the stone ring. A huge metal hood over it. 2 different-sized anvils stood proud. One wall was lined with tools of the trade. While examining them, my basic knowledge filled me in on their names and their uses. 'Yeah, that was cool.'

  I saw a power hammer, several belt sanders, and a roller machine. A couple of ovens, even two different-sized modern forges. A workbench with a welder, clamps, and a few other items. I saw another workbench with shelves filled with different materials for handles. “This is so fucking cool.”

  Even the look of the forge was a bit more traditional, something you would see in medieval times. I loved it. While I walked around, I found a door with a window. Inside was what appeared to be a clean room. A workbench with engraving tools and other implements for finer work.

  I clapped my hands and did a little jump. I would get a bonus for [Rune Crafter]. With all the worry over the past two days, something about finally seeing this room made me a bit excited for the future. Maybe it was just cause it was new, unknown, or maybe something else.

  Honestly. I don't know.