Building harem town, p.2
Building Harem Town, page 2
“I would love some meat,” Nicola sighed. “I’d love to be able to hunt again, but I have no weapons. Jack, do you think that’s a possibility?”
“That you can hunt again? Uhhh…” I would have loved to feed the women, but it seemed all I could do for the time being was look around and speak. “I guess… I guess I’m still exploring my powers.”
The human got a strange look on her face, and she turned to Penelope.
“Penelope, what kind of god doesn’t know how to feed his devotees?” Nicola asked the blue naiad. “You said he would provide for us if we worshiped him, but Jack seems awfully… confused.”
“It is not our place to question our loving god.” Penelope shrugged. “All I know is I had a vision to come to this spot to meet our new master so that’s what we did, and here he is. Perhaps he will get to know us better in time, or maybe we just need to pray harder. Jack, do you want me to kneel again and pray to you?”
“No, don’t worry about me,” I said. “You don’t need to kneel again. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
“Whatever you ask for, my lord,” the naiad told me with a dreamy look on her beautiful face, and she settled herself down onto the grass by the altar.
Nicola and Aleia followed suit, and then the fairy laid back on her wings to bathe in the bright, warm sunlight.
Suddenly, I started to feel a little strange. It seemed like this dream was never ending, and I’d certainly never experienced anything like this. I wondered if I could have entered some sort of virtual reality experience without even realizing it, although that seemed highly unlikely.
Could one of my friends have played a trick on me? My coworkers were also computer programmers, so they were well-versed in the latest technology, and we did have a tradition of playing practical jokes on one another. Still, the idea that they could enter my apartment and somehow transport me into a virtual reality game without me realizing it didn’t seem like a possibility. I guessed one of them could have slipped goggles onto me without my knowing it, but I couldn’t feel any physical sensations at all.
Then I started to come to a weirder conclusion: was I actually somehow in this garden and looking around at real beings?
The idea was both exciting and somewhat disturbing, but the part of me that was intrigued by being treated as a god by these women was definitely winning. As an experiment, I actually tried to cause myself pain in order to wake myself up, but nothing happened.
Whatever was going on didn’t seem to be stopping, so I decided to enjoy it for now.
“So, you keep saying you’ve been traveling,” I said to the three women. “Where exactly did you come from?”
“Oh, here and there,” Penelope responded as she waved her hand noncommittally. “Like I said, I’m a naiad, and so I come from the water. Aleia is most at home in the forest, and Nicola is just a traveler of sorts. But we all found each other, and now we’ve come here as your followers, my lord. We are your priestesses, and we serve you, and you alone.”
“Wow, okay…” I muttered, but I was still a little bit confused. I was confused about everything, though. I supposed it was all part of a larger puzzle I would have to figure out eventually, if there was any sense to be made of the strange situation I now found myself in. “Do you happen to know… how I got here? And how did you know my name?”
“Why, it was part of my vision, of course,” Penelope said with a smile. “I envisioned that I needed to come worship a god named Jack, and here we are.”
“Yes, Penelope felt a calling to come to this altar and summon you with our prayers,” Aleia replied as she closed her eyes and relaxed in the sunshine. “I was a little skeptical, but it appears our prayers may actually have been answered. While I haven’t seen you in your physical form yet, your voice is strong inside my mind, and I feel a calmness in my heart I’ve never experienced before.”
“Can you tell me any more about our surroundings?” I asked. I wasn’t sure how to explain that I couldn’t see everything I wanted to, but it seemed there had to be more to this convent than just this garden.
“Why do you need to ask that question?” Nicola questioned as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Can’t you see everything around us?”
“Nicola, if you keep being impolite, Jack might leave us, which would be terrible.” Penelope put her hand to her heart at the apparent horror of my disappearance, though she also appeared slightly puzzled at my question. “Of course, I can tell you, my master. We are surrounded by forests on all sides, broken only by the road that led us here. The convent has many buildings, though all of them are in ruins. There is a chapel, living quarters, and a stable. Until now, we have been living off what’s in our travel packs, and we’ve done quite well for ourselves, although, like Nicola said, we are growing hungry because our food sources are gone. We know how to forage for edible plants, of course, but our daggers alone have not allowed us to catch any game. We have our blankets, and the clothes on our backs, and we have traded for food as we wandered, but we do not have much else. We seek your kindness, love, and power to help us through these scarce times.”
“Of course, I’ll do whatever I can to help,” I responded, though I wasn’t exactly sure what I could accomplish from my limited perspective. I was interested in the surrounding woodlands, since one of my hobbies was practicing wilderness survival skills. I thought I would need to have one of the women lead me there later unless I discovered a way to view everything around me at one time. I wasn’t sure how I could make anything happen on the ground, though, but maybe that power would come in time.
I couldn’t believe I’d just thought about expanding my powers. Once I’d realized this dream didn’t seem to be ending, it seemed I was falling quite naturally into the role of a deity.
Other than the fact I had no idea what I was doing.
I hoped the women didn’t find it suspicious that I was asking so many questions, but only Nicola seemed to have any sort of problem with the situation. I couldn’t blame the brunette, though. I wouldn’t have been able to accept this scenario easily, either.
From the looks of the garden and the women’s clothing, it appeared we might be in ancient times or a fantasy world, and the thought of somehow traveling to another dimension or fantasy world sent shivers down my virtual spine.
How the fuck did I get here? Was it really a dream?
I was starting to think it wasn’t.
Being a god to three beautiful creatures was every man’s dream, or at least it seemed to be my dream, so I was still leaning toward the idea that I was making all this up after a late-night drinking escapade with my gamer buds.
I wondered if I could interact with my environment in any way, and I concentrated as hard as I could on trying to move my nonexistent hands. Because the altar seemed like the focal point of the garden, I tried as hard as possible to reach out and physically touch it. It seemed like I could almost feel the smooth stone within my grasp, and the sensation seemed to grow stronger and stronger.
And then, suddenly, something even stranger happened.
A display of numbers popped up in front of my eyes, and it was just like I was playing a video game again.
What.
The.
Fuck.
Chapter 2
“Whoa, that’s crazy,” I gasped.
It appeared I could see statistics for all the women, as well as something regarding the level of the town. I seemed to also have goals and rewards, and I wanted to explore the interface thoroughly as soon as possible.
“Did you say something, my lord?” Penelope asked as she sat up straighter in the grass and clasped her hands together again.
“Oh, no, I was just talking to myself,” I replied, and I thought I would have to be more careful about what I said aloud. I wasn’t sure I wanted them to know I had a whole display of information about them, although it definitely seemed useful.
It seemed like I could mentally “tap” on the display to gain more information about a particular topic. The first heading read Town Level, and I used my mental will to open the next screen. It currently read Convent: Level 1, and that didn’t surprise me, given what Penelope had told me about the state of our surroundings. If I knew anything about video games, one of my main quests was likely to be restoring the surrounding area.
I wanted to explore the women’s statistics more thoroughly, though, so I scanned the part of the interface where their names were listed. They appeared to be in alphabetical order, so I used my thoughts to click on Aleia first. I saw she had a list of five attributes with numerals next to them, and I took a minute to examine all of them.
Strength: 6
Endurance: 1
Intelligence: 1
Perception: 2
Agility: 1
So, it seemed Aleia’s most significant features right now were her strength and her perception.
I took a moment to think about what the specific attributes might mean. I thought strength seemed obvious, like a bodybuilder, and endurance might be more like the athletic skills of a marathon runner. Intelligence seemed self-explanatory, and perception seemed like it might help in navigating the surrounding environment. Agility clearly had to do with movement, as I associated the quality with a gymnast, so it appeared Aleia was both tough and clear of mind, which were two qualities I could definitely appreciate.
Even more interesting, though, was her special ability. It seemed like the interface for each woman told me their unique talents, and my eyes glanced over Aleia’s.
Special Ability: Crafting: Develops into Alchemy: Level 1
It appeared the fairy’s special ability was at the same level as the town, at least to start with.
Since it didn’t seem like I was able to do anything on the ground myself, I thought her crafting skills could be useful for making stuff around the convent. I wondered how much experience she had constructing things using natural materials, and how easy it would be to teach her. Luckily, I was good with my hands, too, and I hoped I’d be able to relay information to the fairy. It was entirely possible she already had the same skills as me, so I didn’t want to discount that, either.
I closed out Aleia’s page, and I decided to check Nicola’s stats next, since she was next in line on the screen. I opened the brunette’s interface, and I read through her list.
Strength: 2
Endurance: 2
Intelligence: 1
Perception: 1
Agility: 1
It seemed like Nicola’s primary skills were largely centered around her physical abilities, and I wasn’t surprised when I saw her special skill.
Hunting/Animal Husbandry: Develops into Animal Communication: Level 1
The brown-eyed beauty had mentioned hunting earlier, but she’d also said she was lacking in weapons. It already seemed like the women’s skills would work together nicely, though, because if Aleia could craft weapons for Nicola, I didn’t think it would be hard to find meat in the surrounding woods. As an avid outdoorsman, I had plenty of experience with hunting. I was equally proficient with a rifle and a bow and arrow, and I was also well versed in setting traps for animals.
Next, I opened Penelope’s statistics screen.
Strength:1
Endurance: 1
Intelligence: 2
Perception: 1
Agility: 2
Special Ability: Water Seeking/Fishing: Develops into Water Magic: Level 1
Something interesting I noticed after looking at all the women’s statistics, was that none of the priestesses except Aleia had an outlying number like the fairy’s Strength, and I wondered how this would come into play later. I also thought it was strange the fairy was the strongest of the three women, given her small stature and the fact that fairies weren’t usually known for their brute strength, but I guessed this wasn’t any stranger than me being able to see these stats in the first place.
In any case, Penelope’s water skills seemed like a good sign, because a source of water would be critical for the women’s survival. I wondered what water magic would consist of, and I could think of a few examples from video games, which included the ability to strike with a water attack or to manipulate water into its various forms, including ice.
I wondered if the women had knowledge of their special abilities, and I definitely wanted to discuss the topic with them, but I also wanted to explore the rest of the screens first. I was particularly intrigued by finding out more about the town’s quest, and what my own personal reward would be if I completed it.
So, I opened the Town Quest menu, and I read the displayed text.
Cook with Five Different Proteins.
Apparently, I’d been right about my idea to combine Aleia and Nicola’s talents in order to hunt, and I hoped the surrounding woods had enough biodiversity that it would be easy to accomplish this goal. It was hard to tell where the ruins were from. Although they looked vaguely European, I wasn’t even positive we were still on Earth. If time travel was possible, it seemed like anything could be on the table, including travel between universes.
I put the thought aside for the time being as I clicked on what my reward would be if I successfully completed the Town Quest. I figured I’d saved the best information for last, and I wasn’t disappointed.
Reward upon Quest Completion: God Vision.
Whatever that was, it sounded super cool, and I wondered if it had anything to do with my current sight limitations because I thought they were detrimental to exploring the surrounding area and continuing to rebuild the convent. It was interesting it was called a Town Quest and not a Convent Quest, and I wondered if the ultimate goal of the game, if I could call it that, was to build a thriving town.
The situation kind of reminded me of other strategy games like Civilization, but in any case, there was nothing about this new world that wasn’t fascinating to me, although I didn’t know if I’d ever get over the shock I felt every couple minutes that I wasn’t back in my apartment anymore. Regardless, while I missed the comforts of home, I’d hate to see a dream end where I served as the god of incredibly breathtaking women.
“Does anyone happen to know what God Vision is?” I asked the women. It definitely seemed like it would be outside their scope of knowledge, but I still figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.
“God vision?” Aleia asked in a puzzled tone. “I’m sorry, Jack, I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Shouldn’t that be something for you to figure out?” Nicola scoffed. “You’re supposed to be the god around here.”
I was starting to find her sarcasm intriguing. I liked the idea of having to win her over, and I seemed to remember getting bored with women who just threw themselves at me, but as soon as I tried to grab onto the memory, it became like smoke and vanished.
Considering I hadn’t managed to do anything particularly godlike yet, I could appreciate the brunette’s skepticism.
The interface in my vision was pretty fucking cool, although I wasn’t sure the women would appreciate knowing I already had so much information about them. I thought I might try to casually mention the things I’d learned in conversation instead of telling them I had a whole screen of stats to look at, since it didn’t seem like they’d understand the concept anyway. I still wasn’t sure I wasn’t trapped inside some sort of intricate gaming scenario, and the visual display heightened that suspicion.
“So, Nicola, you said you liked to hunt,” I said in a nonchalant tone. “Can you tell me more about that?”
“I’ve always had an affinity for animals.” The brunette shrugged, but she sounded more upbeat than I’d heard her before. “Back where I came from many years ago, we had a farm where we raised chickens and cows for food, and horses to ride and dogs to pet. Those were good days. My father would take me out into the woods, and it was there I learned how to set traps and to shoot an arrow. Many times we brought home dinner for the family, and it was incredibly satisfying. There’s nothing like providing sustenance for the people you care about, and I suppose Aleia and Penelope are my family now. If I could only get my hands on a weapon, I’m sure I could provide for my sisters here.”
“I… I might be able to make one for you,” Aleia murmured as she looked down shyly. “I know a little bit about woodworking, and maybe I could learn how to construct a bow.”
“I could help you with that,” I told the violet-winged fairy. I was finding it a little hard to get used to the fact that when I communicated with the women they couldn’t see my facial expressions or read my body language, so I was trying to always speak as kindly and gently as possible.
“That would be wonderful, my lord,” Aleia said in a friendly tone. The corners of her red lips curved up naturally into a perfect bow shape, which made her look like she was always smiling a little bit. “It was something I learned as a child, as well. I didn’t grow up on a farm like Nicola, of course, but since fairies spend so much time in the forest, it’s only natural we learn a lot about wood.”
This was getting better and better. Although I knew it was going to take a fair amount of work to get the women into a place where they could survive on their own, it seemed like their natural affinities were going to take them a long way.
“Did you learn anything special as a child, Penelope?” I asked the sky-blue naiad.
“I suppose you could say that, my lord,” Penelope replied, and she tapped a delicate blue finger against her lips. “Naiads are born when a new body of water is created, so we come from the water itself. I have always had a natural affinity for swimming and communing with the creatures of the water, and there is nothing I love more than being immersed in a stream or a pond. But I suppose it isn’t something I was taught so much as something I was born with.”
It seemed like the interface was totally accurate, although I wondered how to explain the Town Quest to the women. Since they were currently in need of just a single meal, talking to them about the need to find five individual proteins seemed like it might over-complicate matters, so I decided to broach the topic in a different way.
