I was a pretty lousy saboteur – maybe I was from the Estonian special forces, pulling sabotage once every six months. I left the house with the first rays of sun, walked to a decent tavern, paid for a week's room, and waited inside until the shops opened. First, I visited the bookshop with the cheerful old man. He greeted me with a sly squint.
"And where have you been, granddaughter, all this time?"
"I've been training – with your book."
"And where did you train, and more importantly, how did you get back through the steppe siege?"
"The city is under siege?"
"For two months now. So, where were you?"
"In my good friend's house. He has an excellent basement – you know how long the hardening method takes."
"I know, but I also know you're suspicious. You're not a steppe spy, are you?"
"And how can you check?"
"Ideally, I'd call a good mind-mage, but there's a better way. If you've been hardening all this time, you should have at least 50% of the first stage. Let's go upstairs and test your toughness – if memory serves, you even enjoyed it."
"You sly bastard – you want to fuck me under the pretext of patriotism?" This time, I was the one squinting.
"Of course not – I just happen to have a book on speed training. It doesn't raise strength, but speed increases many times over. I noticed you focus on speed – you probably took speed perks for Agility."
"Does it require a specific ki element?"
"Lightning, light, and darkness work best for speed – but it's useful for other elements too."
"Lightning and speed make sense – but what does darkness have to do with it?"
"Darkness also moves at the speed of light – when you extinguish light, how fast does darkness fall?"
"Got it. So, is the loyalty test still on?"
"Of course – let's go upstairs. I knew you'd come back and prepared some toys."
When we went up to his room, I immediately threw off my clothes. He took a knife and asked for my arm to test muscle hardening – he even brought a healing potion to fix it afterward. He made an incision on my forearm with a sharp knife – or tried to. Light pressure pierced the skin but couldn't go deeper; the muscle wouldn't give, no matter how hard he pressed.
"Looks like you're not lying – you really have been training nonstop. Well then, let's go downstairs, and I'll sell you the books." He was smiling at me.
Without a word, I grabbed his shoulders and threw him onto the bed, then mounted his face in a 69 position. This was becoming our traditional start. But he'd studied me well – instead of gentle cunnilingus, he was rougher: biting my clit painfully, pinching my labia. I came twice – both times divine – then he came in my mouth. After that, he put me on all fours and started rummaging in his nightstand. I didn't look – I wanted a surprise from this pervert. And I got it.
I felt something cold enter my vagina – six centimeters thick, reaching my womb. At first, I thought it was a regular dildo, but when it started giving off weak electric pulses and vibrating, I knew the old pervert had prepared a wonderful surprise. The currents inside weren't too strong, but they hurt and brought pleasure. I came in three minutes – violently, trembling and writhing, screaming at the top of my lungs, drooling. When I came to, the old man's cock entered my ass. Taking the enhanced anal pleasure perk was a mistake – I came again and again, my mind blank, close to madness. I drowned in continuous orgasm for forty minutes until he came inside me. Only then, in peace, did I pass out.
When I woke up, the old man was gone. I went to the bathroom and washed up – my whole body felt wonderful, light and great. That's what life-giving sex does after six months of torment. I checked the logs – I'd gained a level and seven more points to Anal Sex, plus bits of others. Level 18 already, and I hadn't spent a single attribute point – such a stockpile would greatly elevate me, but I didn't know where to invest them.
I'd spent too little time in this world. Lost in thought, I didn't notice the old man approach.
"Get dressed and come to the room – we need to talk." His tone was serious – this was a different person, and objections weren't welcome. In the room, he sat in an armchair and gestured to another nearby. When I sat, he threw something at me – I caught it – my guild badge.
"One gold fine for not reporting to the guild to replace it. If you had, it would've been five silver. Don't lose it again. I know you don't trust the guild, but you can't be so careless. The Bull handled things poorly, not protecting you in your first days – but instead of leaving clan lands, you descended into childish revenge, causing considerable harm."
"What harm did I cause the guild? You're supposed to answer to the Emperor, but you were bought off like a dockside whore. The whole guild hunted me – I only hurt the Osm Clan."
"Did you? In that small village, our branch acted improperly – I admit, they all received system penalties. But have you seen a single adventurer hunt you inside the city?"
"What's a system penalty?"
"A debuff cutting all primary stats by 50% for ten years. And by the way, for your stunts, you deserve the same. You say you only hurt the clan, but do you know how many imperial subjects died because of your sabotage? The Osm Clan may think they've seceded, but these are still imperial lands, and they will remain so. Do you know that the main buyer of the clan's potions was the imperial army, fighting heavy battles against demon-plane invaders? Who did you really hurt?"
"You knew who I was from our first meeting and could have laid it all out. I'm taking revenge on those bastards for good reason."
"Of course I knew – but I didn't expect you to be so effective. Many influential people see you as a rabid bitch and want you gone. Now you have to prove you're worth more to the guild and the Emperor alive than dead."
"What's your proposal?"
"First, you should leave this region and head to the front – you like blowing things up, right? Those skills will be useful there. Don't worry about the clan – they've overreached, thinking only they could deal with the nomads. Now it's time to make amends for the damage. To answer your unasked question: you're completely on the guild's hook. By joining, you effectively got citizenship – and citizenship means mobilization. You don't want a debuff cutting all stats by up to 90%, do you?"
"What citizenship, old man? Are you crazy? All the time I've been here, your citizens tried to kill me – now I'm supposed to go defend an empire I don't even know? Out of patriotism?"
"What other options do you have? To the east are human kingdoms, but they'd turn you into an incubator to birth strong system-users – they have a specific view of women. To the west are elven forests with the same view of humans – you'd be treated like cattle. In dwarven cities, you probably couldn't survive – wrong height. From the north comes the demon war – there are renegade cities, but to demons, you're only interesting as a womb. The only place you can live peacefully is the Empire. And don't think we're making you a slave – adventurer service terms are decent. You'll get system quests, good pay, and experience for each enemy head. Your class implies solo or small sabotage group service – no army drill. After ten years, you're free to go wherever."
"You talk like ten years is two weeks."
"For you, it is. A level-forty system-user lives about five hundred years on average. A systemless ki cultivator with a formed core lives about three hundred. No one's stopping you from going higher. Ten years for an adventurer is nothing. Besides, if you serve at the border ten years beyond the minimum, you receive a baroness title; forty years – countess; a hundred years – duchess. No tricks – the title is given by the system, and the Emperor is forced to grant lands and privileges according to your rank."
"And if I reach the border, find a deep hole, and meditate for ten years?"
"The system will give you mandatory timed quests from headquarters, assigned to the most suitable candidate. So if you can shirk for ten years, I'll be glad. And you probably can't sit still on that pretty ass anyway – you're rabid for power. Am I wrong?"
I sat in silence, pondering my difficult fate. "Enjoy a world of adventure and lust," they said – and I ended up in some Orwellian world.
"You'll stay as my guest for three days, then take a teleport straight to the front. Now let's go downstairs and pick out some skill books for you."