He had just finished going over the section on materials and crafting, including taking all of his notes and restructuring his society breakdown when a knock sounded at his door. He was tempted to ignore it but on the off chance it was one of the instructors or Jack he decided that it was worth getting out of his bed to see who it was.
He knew he was on bed rest, but standing up and walking to the door wasn’t a strenuous exercise and if he was being honest, after laying on his bed for so long, he needed to get up and stretch his legs.
He managed to stand up but found himself to be shaky on his legs. He had felt fine when he had been laying down so the weakness he felt at trying to support his own weight came as a shock and he ended up sitting back down on his bed. Rather than get back up, now realising that the order for bed rest wasn’t just a precaution, but needed, he yelled out at whoever was at the door to come in.
When the door opened he didn’t expect to see Tess, the only person who he had had a conversation with so far since getting here. She didn’t say anything as she stood in the doorway to his room, but he did notice her looking at him in a way that made him uncomfortable. She looked him up and down as he sat on his bed, he only had his shorts on, having taken off his shirt as it had been dirty and needed to be cleaned after what had happened earlier in the field. Her look was accessing, and somewhat predatory.
“I heard you had an accident in the training field, thought I would come check on you. Can I come in?” Tess’s tone had changed since the last time they spoke, although she hadn’t been rude the last time, she hadn’t been anywhere near as friendly as she seemed now.
“I am fine, mostly. Just on bed rest till tomorrow. You can take a seat if you want.” He motioned at the desk chair rather than his bed. He didn’t know what Tess was actually doing here, although he did have his suspicions. He wanted to keep some distance between them in case things went south. She took his invitation to sit but before she did she went to close the door behind her. “You can keep it open.” He felt much more comfortable with the door being open with the both of them being alone in the room.
“I think we could use some privacy, don’t you?” She closed the door, even after he said not to, which put him even more on edge. She did take the seat on the desk chair, crossing her legs as she did and giving him a smile. He could admit, Tess was an incredibly attractive girl, not in the girl next door way, either, but in the same way you look at a tiger and marvel at how beautiful they are, even though if you got close they would be able to rip you to pieces.
“Did you need something Tess?” Now more than ever he wanted this conversation over with, he didn’t like the feeling he was getting from her and the quicker it ended the safer he would feel.
“I thought we could have a chat, see if we could come to a mutually beneficial agreement. I am sure there is something I can do for you, and I know, there is something you can do for me.” She said it with such confidence that he knew this wasn’t the first time she had been in this position. Her smile said that when she wanted something, she would get it. And currently, he had something she wanted and she was willing to use everything she had in her arsenal to take it from him.
“If you tell me what you want, I will see how I can help.” Anything to get this entire interaction over with.
“So accommodating, I half expected you to tell me to get out. But if you did you would definitely be missing out.” Still sitting in the desk chair, legs crossed, she opened the top button of her shirt.
“So.” She undid a second button.
“I would love to know.” She undid another one, and now he could notice that she wasn’t wearing anything under her shirt.
“How you got ahead.” She winked at him and then undid the second to last button of her shirt.
“In Owls, class.” She gave him what had to be her most dazzling smile before popping open her last button and letting her shirt fall to the sides.
He looked, he couldn’t help himself. This girl has come into his room and started undressing, being as seductive as she could be, just so he would share with her how to also get ahead in one of their classes.
He didn’t feel any shame with looking, he wasn’t under any illusion that he was taking advantage of her considering she had come in here full knowing exactly she planned to get the information out of him. He knew she would take it even further as well, he had no plans on letting her though. It wasn’t that he was a virgin or didn’t find her attractive. He just didn’t feel like letting a viper into his bed, even if that viper was incredibly attractive. He had some self-control at least.
“Looks like you need a little more convincing.” She had taken his silence as a sign that he wanted her to go further. She stood up, letting her shirt fall off her shoulder and she took a few steps closer to him, enough to close most of the distance to him given the size of his room.
Stolen story; please report.
“You know, if you had just asked nicely, I would have told you.” She gave him a questioning look before she laughed at him, shaking her head slightly. She didn’t stop coming closer to him though.
“This way is so much more fun though.” He knew her type, sex was a weapon to get what you wanted.
“True. But you may want to hold off for the moment.” She took a step back, a flash of anger crossing her face, she schooled her expression back into that of a succubus quickly though. “You are going to need ask Jack for a tablet, one that has the book on Owl’s class on it. If you ask him really nicely, I’m sure he can get it for you quickly.”
The moment he finished she took a few steps back from him, looking him over for any trace he was lying to her, she also looked a little confused. To prove his point he grabbed his tablet which had been covered by his blanket when he tried to stand up earlier, giving it a wave in the air before putting in back on his bed. When she saw the tablet her eyes widened and she gave him a huge smile, in her mind she had won this little interaction.
“I was way off on you. I expected you to hold out on me till after we were done, but I guess it makes sense why you didn’t.” She didn’t bother waiting for him to say anything back, she picked up her shirt from the ground and put it back on, leaving half of the buttons undone. She opened the door to his room and when she was already halfway out she turned back to where he was still sitting on his bed. “Next time you find yourself in this kind of situation, wait until you get something you want before giving up what you have.” She closed the door behind her and thankfully he was alone again.
It only took a few moments before he burst into laughter. It was the kind of laugh that came from every part of his body. He fell onto his back on the bed and didn’t stop laughing until he had tears flowing down his face. It took a full minute before he was able to calm down enough, but even when he did, he couldn’t stop a few more chuckles from escaping.
Of all the ways he had expected that to go, that wasn’t one of them. He lost nothing in handing over the information he had, he got a show, and most of all he had gotten rid of her before he was eaten alive. For a split second he felt bad for Jack, he was now going to have to deal with her. Then he recalled what he said and her reaction. When he realised that what he said, around asking really nicely could be misconstrued and taken to mean something very different, he burst back into laughter. He wished he could see how that interaction was going to go.
He checked the time, dinner would be soon, but seeing as Jack was going to bring it up for him he had nothing to do but continue to study. He had two topics left and from what he could see, they were also the shortest two. ‘Champions’ was the next section.
The term Champion is one that was adopted by the remaining inhabitants of Elisbara quickly after the Demon Plague arrived. Originally it was a title given to those that went out and risked their lives fighting Demons, now, however the term is much broader and is only given to those at or above Gold rank who have reached a certain level in their skill, opened a certain level of Spirit Gates, and have in some way made a large impact on Elisbara.
The reasoning behind the shift in who is given the Champion title was so that it encompassed those that had contributed to our society outside of fighting Demons. This allows those that focus on crafting, infostructure and defence to also obtain the title. An example of this is Champion Phase, who, in her prime was able to create the barriers that surround our green zones and keep out any Demons who try and enter.
The contribution that Champion Phase made to Elisbara changed the lives of everyone still living here, providing protection a sense of security and greatly relieve the pressure on the HA when it came to protecting our people against Demons.
Becoming a Champion is more than just reaching Gold rank and having a certain skill, the majority of people who reach Gold do not qualify for the title of Champion as, although they may have contributed greatly to a cause, a lot of importance is placed on the meaning and emotion behind it.
If asked, why do you want to be a Champion, and the answer to this is money and fame, then that person is not yet fit or ready to take the title. However, if the answer to the question was to help our society, to save lives, to help us secure our world, this is a step in the right direction of the mentality that a Champion should have.
All Champions belong to a third pillar of our society. Along with the Ruling Council and the HA, the Champion’s League of Elisbara (CLE) is what each and every Champion belong to. The CLE is charged with the continuous improvement of our society and also crosses into the other the Ruling Council and the HA regularly. This is due to the CLE spreading across all facets of our society in a way that involves the roles of the other two pillars.
It is often argued that the CLE has greater power in Elisbara than the Ruling Council and the HA, however this is not true. The CLE, although a collective of our Champions, has very little to do with the day to day running of our world. The CLE was more individualistic priorities and only when major events occur, or when decisions that will affect the running of our planet need to be made, do the CLE have direct involvement.
How the CLE is run as an organisation is not public knowledge, as every time a representative is sent, this Champion changes dependant on the situation. What is known is that the CLE prefer to act in the background, very rarely do they make a public spectacle. This has led many to believe that the CLE prefer to act through the Ruling Council and the HA when they can.
To become a Champion is it..
“What the hell did you say to that Tess girl!” Jack had stormed into his room, he was bright red and carrying a tray of food. He had never seen him look so frazzled, not even when he was looking after him while he was unconscious. Before he could even reply he burst into laughter again, he could only imagine what Tess had done to Jack.