Her heart beat rapidly. Her mind tried to look focused, but a hint of dread and embarrassment were clearly visible on her face. She tried not to think of much but to succeed as the time ticked away, the seconds vanishing in a worryingly slow yet rapid fashion.

Four... Three... Two... One...

She was close. So close! She would be succeeding! She really hoped so!

Zero.

She... couldn't do it. And the blade of execution had moved at a rapid speed to take her life, for the third time this day!

Whap!

"Kya!" Mei Wu yelped as the sting of one Kasumi Ai's vine unforgivingly hit her butt for the fourth time in the last two to three minutes, before it returned, floating right behind the alraune who started this whole situation.

"Ahh... You failed again, Wu-chan." came the comment from the alraune, full of mirth and glee, enjoying this show that she herself started. Despite her feeling shame in waves, that sensation seemed to be consumed by the amusement and whimsically sadistic joy at the torment she was inflicting on her lover, along with an intense wave of love that seemed to overflow from the green-haired woman. That was what Mei Wu noticed as her concentration was cruelly broken, and her Grimoire, once again, didn't appear.

"Ai'er! I just can't focus if you keep spanking me! And I still can't believe you actually did this!" she truly couldn't believe it.

Her senses made it clear that Ai was determined to do it, but it wasn't the first for Mei Wu to see and feel someone wanting to do something, only to have their determination vanish when they actually found themselves tasked to prove their words to be more than hot air.

Ai, her beloved, didn't hesitate at all! The moment the first thirty seconds had passed with Mei Wu failing to summon her Grimoire because of the added stress, her vines moved and directly hit her in the rear, and it stung!

And if that wasn't enough... Ai, extending the vine linking her monstrous and human body, moved her human form away from its usual area, and gave her a kiss on the cheek with a "Do better!" phrase!

Just like she did right now.

"Chu~! There, Wu-chan!" Mei Wu felt the soft lips of her girlfriend connecting with her left cheek, and despite the sheer embarrassment she felt, any attempt to feel upset about this humiliation she found herself feeling, just looking at Ai smiling so tenderly just made it impossible for her to feel genuinely angry at this idiotic alraune!

"Ai'er!" she groaned as heat rushed to her face once more, "I'm serious! I just can't focus with an execution blade hanging above my head! A- at least give me just some more time!" she pleaded.

She really needed more time. If she had just a couple more seconds, then she would have succeeded in summoning her Grimoire. Ai was putting too much pressure on her, especially for a person who had just contracted a Grimoire!

Her body shivered as Ai's green eyes gazed at hers, amused yet contemplative, yet the smile on the alraune's human body never changed at all. "Hm, I guess you have a point... I might have gone too hard on you. I guess I should start with thirty-five seconds to see your general limit under my so-called pressure." the alraune admitted, her grin softening just a bit, yet Mei Wu couldn't have taken time to relax, as the next words that came from Ai's mouth caused her to freeze.

"But of course, not succeeding in bringing your Grimoire in thirty-five seconds would result in punishment, and when we determine your general time limit, that would be the new bar for punishment if you failed. And of course, if you got too comfortable with it, I will shorten it by a second or two, and, it's simple to understand what that means, right?"

Mei Wu frantically nodded, resisting the urge to rub her ass. 'Not that I can even escape you, you pervert!' she felt like crying rivers of tears as she felt the futility in trying to bargain for a more 'generous' deal. After all, she knew the consequences of trying to run away when she first realized that Ai was actually serious in spanking her, when she failed in the first thirty seconds.

She had tried to escape the vine as it whipped at her rear, only for multiple vines to catch her, and that stupid alraune gave her ten whooping swats on her rear! Then the alraune wiggled her finger in a 'no-no!' motion and told her to to get into training! And gave her a kiss on the cheek!

Really, it was just so unfair and cruel! Even worse, Mei Wu just couldn't find it in herself to actually think of a better 'punishing' motivator, and Ai was determined to give her both the metaphorical beautiful rose and the stinging thorns.

Hindsight was truly cruel. If only she knew that this goofy yet whimsically sadistic alraune would think of this kind of punishment, she would have gladly accepted a kiss on the cheek instead!

But, there really was no medicine for regret, and Mei Wu only gave a sigh as she focused, trying to ignore the heat both on her ass and on her face.

'Okay, Mei Wu, focus damn it!' she chided herself as she saw Ai counting with a voice barely above a whisper, that even the human woman couldn't hear. 'Yes, ignore that and focus on summoning!'

She felt like she was sweating as time unforgivingly kept going forward, but thankfully, thirty-four seconds later, a brilliant light appeared along with the Grimoire.

She almost jumped as a vine barely missed her butt, changing direction in the literal last possible second, hitting the ground behind her, and she shuddered.

Her lover was taking this too seriously, and was about to 'punish' her just as the time limit was about to end!

"Congratulation, Wu-chan! You succeeded!" despite the genuine happiness emanating from Ai, Mei Wu couldn't relax, as the amusement and sadism never ceased, and if anything, they increased.

Ai was seemingly more and more in tune with her sexual nature as an Alraune, or so Mei Wu felt. She knew that neither of them were ready for actual sex yet -not that Mei Wu needed to think about it since they would dual cultivate afterwards, much to her embarrassment- , but seeing how Ai had no problem with her sexual humor, and now this... actual sex won't matter if she kept acting like this!

Thankfully, Ai didn't shorten the time limit right away, after giving her yet another kiss on the cheek, but instead she allowed her to try a few more times to make sure that thirty-four is truly her current level while under pressure.

"Under pressure, you say..." Mei Wu muttered, but didn't argue when it would just disturb her focus, and she once more focused on summoning her Grimoire.

A dozen minutes passed, and it was clear that while she could take nearly half a minute to summon the Grimoire without pressure, it required nearly three to two more seconds under pressure.

It was honestly nervewracking since even with multiple successful attempts making Mei Wu more used to it, her lover's intimidation tactic never stopped, and she still got her poor rear swatted at least three times. Ai was unforgiving, only giving that supposedly sweet smile towards her, filled both with love and amusement.

"Oww... So harsh..." Mei Wu whined as she rubbed her ass. She felt like crying.

She fully understood Ai's point. She really did! Her lover was basically making this a 'battle' where her not being fast enough would result in being 'severely injured'. Mei Wu had enough time to think about this in the few moments of respite where Ai rewarded her with kisses on her face, and she fully understood that point.

"But did you really need to be this strict? My ass feels like it's going to split in two!" she found herself complaining, glaring at her girlfriend, and it irked her a bit that even the mostrous body looked amused by her misery.

"Wu-chan, I love you making it so dramatic, but let's be real, okay?" Mei Wu's eyes twitched as her senses felt the mirth of her lover growing, as the alraune tried her best to look so innocent and pure, "It won't split in two... just that it will be sore and sting for a while. Plus, think positively! This is a completely safe training session!"

'Yeah, completely safe in every way except for bruising my pride, making me feel so ashamed I'd prefer to dig a hole and to stay in it forever, and the fact that my poor rear would be taking a while to heal.' Mei Wu thought miserably.

"I mean, at least I didn't put you in a death trap where you cut off your arms and legs with a rusty knife in less than a minute lest you get metal screws inserted into your skull! Or, have you choose between being injected by acid to melt from the inside out in one fast yet slow, agonizing minute, or being injected with paralytic self-sustaining poison where you are unable to hear, see, taste, smell, or feel, leaving you as an unresponsive husk from the outside while your mind crumbles on itself until you stop thinking!"

Again, how can she say something this horrific so naturally and happily!? Even as a warrior who faced a lot, a part of that speech...

Mei Wu shivered at the fates Kasumi Ai spoke of, and she knew for a fact that the acid and poison threats were very much possible to make into a reality, from what the alraune had in her repertoire regarding poisonous nectars and how she said that alraunes are able to digest practically any corpse with enough time.

"Th-that doesn't make it better, Ai'er..." she really tried to smile, but it came as a more terrified one. It was a bit of a reminder that her girlfriend was a lot more terrifying than she expected. Not that her previous experiences made that doubtful, but damn if this didn't make it clearer than ever!

"It really doesn't!" the alraune only kept grinning, and Mei Wu felt a bit exposed as she felt her lover's eye moving directly at her clutched rear.

"But that aside..." Kasumi Ai casually handwaved whatever horrific images she casually spoke of, and Mei Wu felt the embarrassment and excitement rising together, "I think we both got it. You can summon your book in nearly thirty three seconds under pressure, is this a good assessment? Oh, and I assume you feel a bit... sore there?"

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She nodded at that. Surprisingly, that was more or less her range while under pressure, and yes, of course, she feels sore! Now if only this infuriating and stupid alraune didn't tease her and call her "my love~!" or look so smug and innocent after each kiss, then she wouldn't have gotten these three strikes! It just flustered her too much!

"So, here's a deal! I will give you ten free tries. You can fail or succeed however you want~" Mei Wu only felt a sensation of dread at that saccharine tone, all but hearing the 'But!' in the argument. "But of course~ the tenth try is where it matters~! You need to summon your Grimoire in only thirty seconds at most~! In other words, you should try to do significantly better than before! And of course, the consequences..."

Mei Wu found herself retreating as the alraune moved right in front of her, and from the sheer emotions of lust and sadism that oozed from the Qi of Nature, she half-expected the alraune to actually kiss her right then and there. The emotions were that powerful.

Yet, Ai showed an immense amount of restraint. Despite their faces being so close that a kiss seemed to be unavoidable if either of them moved even one more millimeter forward, and despite Mei Wu herself feeling almost tempted to just do the work herself...

Ai seemed to keep her mouth just that far away! It was maddening! Teasing her to this degree, yet not even allowing for the most obvious thing to happen!

Mei Wu felt it as if her beloved was basically tantalizing her with a kiss, but denying it! And the fact that Mei Wu felt like wanting a kiss as a reward for all the embarrassment her stupid Ai'er inflicted on her only made things even more blush-inducing!

"If you succeed... I will reward you with a kiss and some nectar to heal the soreness away, Wu-chan~" the tone, lower than a whisper, and said with such an affectionate and gentle, almost teasing and tempting, made her body shiver not from fear or dread, but from excitement. It was so damn tempting to just demand or ask for the kiss right now. It was hard not to squirm as her mouth opened, yet no words came from Mei Wu's mouth.

"But, if you failed at the tenth try~ I will still give you a kiss and heal the soreness away." Mei Wu couldn't hide the fear and strange excitement in her eyes as she saw the sadistic glee in her beloved's eyes grow even higher, "and then, I will put you over my knee, and give you ten spanks for failing on your tenth try, along with how many more you failed in the previous nine attempts~"

Her heart was beating rapidly, her body was feeling so hot yet so cold, whether from the ridiculously humiliating punishment, or due to the fact that somehow, she wouldn't hate it at all, even enjoying it, is up to debate and one she really preferred not to think of its implications at all if possible.

She couldn't even imagine herself being so... accepting of this kind of punishment before! This damned, and so kissable Kasumi Ai had made her into a pervert! Even now, she could feel Ai's hot breath touching her lips, and it was honestly a wonder that neither of them had kissed each other by now!

"Is this clear enough for your liking, Wu-chan~?" the question was so full of teasing, amusement, yet strangely so sweet and gentle, and Mei Wu could only resist the heat rushing in her face. It felt so damn hot inside her body!

"C-crystal, Ai'er!" she honestly couldn't know how she managed to even answer, instead of liplocking with her teasing lover. That tone was so damn criminal!

"Good~!" and just like that, the alraune's mouth moves away, giving an immense feeling of disappointment that quickly mixed with indignant rage as she saw Ai's grin widening, "Oh, and sorry for not allowing you to cross the finish line into my lips despite yours feeling just so delicious to me right now, but... Motivation!"

She... she was teased like this... left squirming and wanting for a kiss, with a body that is demanding some sort of satisfaction from this blasted green-haired grinning woman... and this frustrating alraune dared to leave her like this!?

"Ai'er! Don't you dare block me from enjoying something as simple as this! Please!" she pleaded, the stress and shame she had felt since this whole ordeal began crashed at her mind at once.

It was just so unfair! How is she supposed to stay sane and do these stupid ten attempts successfully like this!? This was so unjust and cruel!

Tears left her eyes from the sheer frustration. She will so fail, she just knew it!

----------------------------------------

Well... ouch? That was my thought when I saw that Wu-chan had, predictably, failed during her tenth attempt.

Well, I say 'predictably,' but it was more as; I kinda expected her to succeed, but I just expected her to fail just as much. Basically, I belived that she just had a 50/50 chance of either succeeding or failing.

She really did her best, honestly, and she didn't fail in her first nine attempts, and she nearly managed to summon her Grimoire in only thirty-one seconds, but the tenth one... she was just a half a second too late.

I... I was honestly feeling weird about this. I was a sensation of embarrassment about what I was doing to her, whooping her ass with my vines before, and even now, that feeling was still present, but it was overshadowed, nearly crushed by another feeling of happiness at being with my sweet and adorable beloved, along with an intense perverted and lustful desire to just see her squirm and moan by my hands.

Strangely, I loved all these feelings, and I wanted to cherish and treasure them all. My heart was beating loudly, and I felt my whole human body heating up just thinking about it, knowing what I would do next...

"A-Ai'er... pl-please..." Wu-chan fell on the ground from exhaustion, her Grimoire following her, as my vine caught her arms just as soon as the thirty seconds had ended, not allowing her any more time than promised. If she had been just half a second faster, she would have won the challenge, but alas, reality isn't so kind.

She looked at me, tears on her beautiful face, and looking so pained and miserable, it almost made me feel bad and just go easy on her. Almost.

Instead, I just felt glee at her embarrassment, shame, and I could feel how despite being so worried, ashamed, and pitiful she looked, she was also excited, and I could smell the desire she had towards me too. Maybe it wasn't a desire to have sex, not that I planned to do so at the moment with all my new biological and racial changes, but I felt that even if she dreaded the punishment part... she was nearly begging for the reward.

"I- I don't want to..." her face grew even redder as she looked as if she wanted to retreat, yet she surprisingly only kept shaking in her place as I moved my human body towards her, until I was so close it felt painful and sinful that our lips didn't already kiss.

I gazed at her with an oddly serene and gentle smile as I cupped her cheeks, and I almost felt hurt at how vulnerable and fragile she felt at the moment. It was oddly fitting yet bizarre expression on her face, and I found myself both loving and delighting in its sight, and feeling like a thorn pierced my heart, for making her feel this way.

I knew for certain that had I not been as self-aware and sapient as I was, I would have only felt sheer sadistic glee seeing her so shy and vulnerable, and would have started to turn her into a sex pet and nothing more. Maybe it was true after all, that alraunes, once falling in love, cherish their beloved that much more it's almost painfully sweet and deep.

My heart felt like it would explode in my chest from how fast I felt it beating. I didn't even know how I was still conscious of myself, and how I was not slamming my lips into hers. Even her mere breath, that seemingly fragile thing, was just so enticing and almost cruelly tempting my body to just move on its own.

"Wu-chan..." damn, the heat is so unbearable... I was really happy this was just a bit of kissing and spanking, nothing more, probably. My nipples feel so hard, and I am finding it hard not to rub my legs together to stop the heat.

My Qi flowed into my mouth, as I generated my nectar, and I found myself liking this method when it came to giving her my nectar. It was just so fitting and so unique. Only for her. Only for Wu-chan... Wu-chan...

"Here's your reward." the touching of our lips felt almost fragile, as fragile as an infant, yet strangely, it felt as solid as the world around us. I loved it, this feeling.

Wu-chan moaned in my mouth, as I gave my nectar to her, and she closed her eyes, gulping the small doses of her reward.

A minute had passed since, and our lips were still making contact, neither of us feeling the urge to break our kiss. Our first kiss, if we ignore what happened when we both dual cultivated.

It was so tempting, so enticing, to just go further, go all the way without hesitation, but we both stopped these thoughts. It wasn't time for that. Not yet, when both of us aren't fully ready.

We broke the kiss, almost feeling disappointed. How we both wished if time stopped for all eternity just so we keep feeling this euphoria...

But, we knew that time just won't stop. It wouldn't wait for us, such an ungrateful, and cruel concept, I felt in my heart, even when I knew that the roaring flames of lust were glowing brighter inside of me, knowing what I would do next.

I looked at Wu-chan, as she gazed back, looking flushed, and I felt that she was trying so hard to keep eye contact with me, instead of simply looking away. She just looked so shy and meek, and I just loved that look. It just looked so innocent and pure. How can I not love something this delicate and sweet...

"You know what will happen now, right, Wu-chan?" despite my voice being less than a whisper, she nodded, and I felt how she just understood my intent.

Her body trembled just slightly, a feeling of fear yet determination appearing in her eyes. "Yes, Ai'er. I- I understand... I failed, and... I still can't believe this is actually happening..."

I smiled at her, almost smirking, as I felt the emotions of lust and love overflowing, something she noticed as she squirmed even further. The smell of lust and excitement emanating from her was almost overpowering, mixing with that sweet and borderline masochistic fear she had since this started was just so delicious.

Ahh~ if only we didn't have to worry about anything, just so we can be together for all our lives with nothing to care about other than our love and lust towards each other...

Soon enough, she was over my lap. It was such a tender and beautiful sight.

Wu-chan was shaking like a leaf, and I gave her a pat on her head, gently ruffling her pink hair, such a beautiful and pretty shade, and she stopped shaking after a while.

"Ai'er... I'm embarrassed... I feel so... physically exposed..." it almost surprised me how she could feel so exposed when said that

"I know." maybe I couldn't truly know, but I could feel how she was feeling.

"I-it's... weird, honestly." she gave a shaky laugh, "I- I know that this was just too ridiculous, and that I should be objecting to this more... vehemently. I know that if I genuinely, viscerally hated this... that you would just... stop..."

My hand stopped momentarily at that, "would I? Would I really?" I knew that I would. I wanted to tease her, sure. Embarrass her, definitely. Break her? No. My heart hated the mere thought of doing that to her.

I would happily break a million humans and make them my sex toys before I even dared to think of doing the same to her.

"I know that you would. I just... know it." she answered honestly, and it only made me feel warmer.

"... Thank you, Wu-chan. I didn't realize you trusted me this far..." oh, great, now I'm feeling bad. How dare she make me feel bad about spanking her? Truly, one terrifying girlfriend. I better quickly do something to balance the scales and not feel bad about punishing my sweet love's sexy rear for not winning against an almost-rigged and impossible test for her level!

I felt her shiver as I gave her ass a squeeze, as she no doubt felt my emotions. I almost felt her dread as I kept my hand on her rather shapely rear. Her dress didn't even do a thing to hide these curves.

"Wu-chan, you think I should bare your ass for this?" I grinned as I found myself asking her, and her reaction didn't disappoint.

"Ai'er!" she squeaked as she squirmed, and I wondered if steam would come out of her ears from how red she looked. It was just so adorable!

But, I guess I should spare her some embarrassment. It wouldn't be fair if I teased her too much... maybe. Or maybe I should go all out?

"What? Didn't I promise to tan your bare rear back then? But, don't worry! I, despite being an alraune, am the epitome of fairness! So, I shall compromise despite my very humble and simple requests, compared to your magnificence." I declared proudly and sadistically, as she sweated and trembled.

"I remember that you usually train with me in only your underwears, correct? So let's make that a thing here too! From now on, if you fail in summoning your Grimoire... you lose a piece of clothing. But, I guess you can keep your bra. I mean, you saw me down there, so I suppose it's totally fair I get the same chance, correct?" I threw at her every excuse and reason for why my totally humble argument was really humble.

"Ai'er! Ai'er, stop!" oh, great, now she was thrashing around and trying to escape.

Foolish girlfriend, there's no escape from my Spank-Happy Path. With that thought that seemed like a sexy version of a mad narcisstic god's quote, my vines made sure she couldn't get away.

"Now, let's start our very simple and humble trade. I receive a chance to spank my sexy girlfriend, and you receive an embarrassing, yet most likely pleasurable experience, and a bit of motivation!" man, I really love my life right now!

Whap!

"Ai-ow! I regret everything!" she wailed miserably.

"Well, of course, you don't really regret everything." she only glared at me for saying that, especially with my cheerful tone as I looked at her teary face.

"I could always have you count and ask for the next spank~!"

She paled at that. Then she whimpered.

Hmm... add counting and thanking into any next spanking session we might have... not a bad idea.

Okay now, back to my very important work!

Whap!

"Aww!"