Maviel lounged in on the velvet chez lounge in her dressing room, sipping from a large glass of red wine. She was experiencing a bit of peace and zen, at least until the door opened.
“Mistress Maviel,” whined Babqex as he waddled into the room, adjusting his bow tie.
“What do you want, Babqex?” said Maviel as she sighed and stretched.
“The Coordinator has captured five new tutorials, and requires your assistance,” said Babqex.
“How… inconvenient,” Maviel said with a scowl.
“Mistress, may I remind you of the importance of breaking every tutorial we capture? The Overlord wants to be sure that—”
She pulled herself up and glowered at the imp. “Don’t you fucking tell me what the Overlord does and doesn’t want!”
Babqex shrunk inside his tuxedo. “So sorry, Maviel, so sorry.” His eyes grew wide and bloodshot as he shivered.
“Apology accepted,” Maviel said with a huff.
“Still, um,” Babqex emerged slightly from his makeshift turtle shell, “Are you going to go break the tutorials, or…?”
“Yes I’ll break the damn tutorials!” Maviel said. “Now get the hell out of here!”
Babqex shivered and scuttled out of the room, shutting the door.
Maviel cracked her neck and took a swig of red wine. Then, she opened her inventory.
Inventory: Maviel
Carrying Capacity: 275.5/740
Item
Traits
Cat of Nine Tails
+15(+5%) damage, +2 carry weight
Latex Gloves
+5 str, +0.5 carry weight
Latex Bodysuit
+15 int, +2 carry weight
Steel Toed Heels
+10 str, +2 damage, +10 carry weight
Black Silk Gown
+15 cha, +1.5 carry weight
Gold-Tipped Lingerie
+20 cha, +0.5 carry weight
Gold (28845)
n/a
Abbreviated list based on prior usage. Focus to see more items…
Maviel smiled. Sometimes it was rather convenient to be connected to the Overlord’s system. She focused her mind, equipping her Latex Gloves, Latex Bodysuit, Steel Toed Heels, and her Cat of Nine Tails.
[Black Silk Gown unequipped]
[-15 cha]
[Gold-Tipped Lingerie unequipped]
[-20 cha]
[Latex Bodysuit equipped]
[+15 int]
[Latex Gloves equipped]
[+5 str]
[Steel Toed Heels equipped]
[+10 str]
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[+2 damage]
[Cat of Nine Tailes equipped]
[+15(+5%) damage]
Maviel turned to look in one of the many gilded, full-length mirrors hanging on the wall. She didn’t look half bad. She smirked at herself. She winked. Then, she stormed out of the room.
Maviel’s steel heels clacked on the marble floor as she walked down the hall, taking a left, a right, and another left. Then, she reached the false bookshelf.
[False bookshelf - locked]
Maviel focused on the false bookshelf. ‘Unlock.’
[False bookshelf - unlocked]
A book on the shelf tilted downward. Then, with a shudder, the entire shelf slid to the side and into the wall. Maviel walked forward and descended the long, winding staircase lit only by torchlight. Finally, she reached the round, wooden door.
[Enchanted door - closed]
Maviel focused on the enchanted door. ‘Open.’
Out of her own control, Maviel hissed in a snakelike fashion an encantation. An emblem of a glowing purple dagger appeared across the door. It swung open.
Maviel walked forward into the dark, musty room. The door slammed closed behind her. Only after that did the torches on the wall of this room spark and burn.
Standing before Maviel were five figures in tattered robes, their arms bound behind their backs, their necks locked and chained together in a line, their eyes covered with harsh fabric and their mouths gagged.
“Hello there!” said Maviel, cracking her cat of nine tails against the stone floor. “Do you all know why you’re here?”
An old man at the far left of the line of captives grumbled incomprehensibly.
“Huh? What was that?”
He mumbled again.
Maviel smiled a crooked smile. She walked over to the man and yanked the cloth gag out of his mouth.
“Go on, then. What were you going to say for us all?” she asked.
“Welcome to the world of Beaubinte, player,” rasped the man. “There are a couple of things you should know before you get started—”
Before he could continue, Maviel kicked the man in the groin with her steel toed heels.
[45 damage dealt]
“Oh, dear gods, why?” the man asked, groaning in agony.
Instead of answering, Maviel punched him in the nose twice.
[33 damage dealt]
[28 damage dealt]
“Think about that for a second before you ask me any questions,” said Maviel, stuffing the gag back in the man’s mouth as blood ran from his blunted nostrils. “Coordinator!”
“Yes, Mistress Maviel?” whispered a deep voice from the shadows. A brute in black chainmail and a hood stepped forward. “What would you like from me?”
“Take this one away for now, give him some time to think,” Maviel said, patting the bloodied old man’s weak shoulders.
The Coordinator walked forward, unlocked the old man’s neck brace from the chained row, and lead him off into a far left wing. After a couple minutes of silence, the Coordinator returned.
“Is there anything else you’d like me to do, Mistress Maviel?” the Coordinator asked.
Maviel considered the question. “Yes, actually. Put all of the others away too. All of the other expect… hmm… except her.” Maviel pointed to a tall, scrawny woman, second to the right of the end of the line.
“Of course,” said the Coordinator, unchaining the woman and leading the other three captives away into the darkness.
Maviel stood there, watching her subject stand there in the murkiness.
“Do you want to know why I chose you?” Maviel asked.
The lady did not respond, moving only to breath.
“No? You don’t want to know?”
No response.
“I did it because I think you’re kind of cute. In a pitiful way, of course. Still, I find you almost adorable. You look like you’ve just about wasted away. Why, I’m sure if I ripped those rags off you I’d see but skin and bones.”
Maviel walked up to the lady and ripped her sweatstained top off in two swipes.
“Look at that. I was right. Skin and bones.” Maviel chuckled and took a step closer. She ran a gloved hand over the side of the lady’s torso and smiled. “You’ve got a beautiful ribcage.”
The lady shivered.
“What?” asked Maviel. She stepped behind the lady and whispered in her ear. “Are you scared of me or something?”
The lady jolted, hitting Maviel’s chin with her shoulder.
“How dare you!” said Maviel, stepping back and scowling. “You do not hit me! Understand?”
Before the lady could make another move, Maviel kicked her in the small of the back, sending her falling facefirst onto the cold stone floor.
[25 damage dealt]
Maviel raised her cat of nine tails and thrashed it against the lady’s exposed back.
[58 damage dealt]
She lased her again.
[63 damage dealt]
And again.
[68 damage dealt]
Satisfied, Maviel smiled and knelt on the ground before the lady’s face. She grabbed her gnatted hair and pulled her face up off the ground. Maveil ripped the blindfold off the lady’s face.
“Such lovely eyes,” said Maviel. “So expressive. I can see all your pain, all your suffering, deep in those eyes. Lovely. Absolutely lovely.”
The lady’s eyes watered.
“If I take out your gag, will you talk to me? Just nod, please.”
The lady tried to nod, desperately struggling to move her neck.
“Oh, sorry about that,” Maveil said, “I forgot I was holding your head up. I’m a busy person, and a little absent minded, so sometimes things just slip my mind.”
Maveil took a hook from the chains and collar around the captive’s neck and tied it around her scalp, forcing her head to stay lifted in its current position. Before the lady could respond in any way, Maveil ripped the gag away from her mouth.
“Come on,” Maveil commanded “Speak to me. I want to hear your voice.”
“Welcome to the world of Beaubinte, player,” said the lady. She then closed her mouth, her eyes darting around in fear.
“Keep going,” Maveil commanded, standing up and pacing around the lady in a circle.
“There are a couple of things you should know before you get started on your journey,” said the prisoner.
Maveil raised her cat of nine tails and flogged the lady’s welt-covered back.
[72 damage dealt]
“Oh, yes,” Maveil said, “More. Tell me more.”
“First and foremost,” the lady said, “You have been chosen for reincarnation here in Beaubinte due to a series of bids from the deity(s) of your past incarnation(s) along with the deities of other worlds, including but not limited to Beaubinte. There are some aspects of your incarnation experience in Beaubinte that may differ from your past incarnations.”
Maveil stopped circling, raised her cat of nine tails up again and flogged the lady.
[79 damage dealt]
The lady screamed.
“Oh, I love it when they scream,” Maveil whispered under her breath. Then, she looked down to her subject and commanded her. “Don’t stop now. Keep going!”
The lady took three deep breaths and then she labored to speak. “One of the most important aspects of living as a player in Beaubinte is the existence of your system. Understanding what your system is and what your system does requires you to understand that not everyone you meet in Beaubinte is a player. In fact, most folks you meet will instead be what is known as NPCs, like me. NPCs are generally just normal people, though some of them have specific, player-based purposes. The main difference between a player and an NPC, however, is that each player in Beaubinte has their own unique system instance.”
“Fuck!” Maveil cried, thrashing the cat of nine tails thrice against the lady’s back.
[85 damage dealt]
[97 damage dealt]
[112 damage dealt]
“Ohh fuck, don’t you stop now! Don’t stop! Keep going! Keep talking!” Maveil commanded. She was feeling flush.
The lady groaned and whined, tears streaming down her face.“While each player’s system acts and functions the same, it is also customizeable to one’s tastes, meaning that in the end any two players’ system ends up working a little differently from time to time. The easiest way to learn about the system is to use it, though it is important to get through this entire tutorial before continuing in your journey, as the system can be inherently dangerous not only to you but to the world around you if you do not have a comprehensive understanding of it.”
Maveil thrashed her again.
[127 damage dealt]
“More!”
The lady’s eyes grew glassy and pale, almost robotic. “For those reasons, I am here to greet you. Consider me your tutorial guide to all that Beaubinte has to offer. You can spend up to two weeks learning with me before heading out into the world and making the life that you want for yourself. Beaubinte is an equal opportunity world, meaning that at the end of your tutorial with me, you will get the chance to respec your character sheet if you so choose, as well as the chance to pick your starting class. You’ll learn more about your character sheet and class assignment as the tutorial goes on.”
“Yes, fuck yes!”
Another flogging.
[135 damage dealt]
The lady spat out a pool of blood.
“You look so sexy in so much pain,” Maveil said, licking her lips. “Keep talking.”
The lady complied cooly, automatically. “You may wonder why you’ve incarnated in the world of Beaubinte as a grown adult instead of, say, a baby, fetus, or thereabouts, as is often the case in many worlds. While some places do it differently, here in Beaubinte the designers pride themselves on rational player placement and reasonable usage of systemic abilities, both of which are specific phrases trademarked by the Beaubintian Designer Council, also known as the BDC. In the pursuit of total transparency, I must also let you know that the body your soul has entered as a player previously belonged to an NPC in this world, though it has been reformatted to fit your sense of self.”
“Yes!” Maveil cried. “Keep talking, you nasty little whore!”
The lady sobbed, nodded, and spoke. “The short of it is, there was concern that if the reincarnated player started with a system at an age where normally they would not have any agency, there could be an outlash of anti-player sentiment among the NPCs of Beaubinte. The BDC seeks to always foster good relations between players and NPCs, even allowing some NPCs to join a players’ party, though we’ll get into that later. Now, to start, why don’t you go ahead and open your character sheet? For ease of access, you can open it during the tutorial by shrugging.”
Maveil cackled, raised her cat of nine tails, and thrashed it twice against the lady’s back.
[146 damage dealt]
[163 damage dealt]
Maveil then crouched back down, getting her face within an inch of the tutorial lady’s. She smiled.
“I love the smell of blood on your breath,” said Maveil.
“Oh gods, forgive me,” said the lady.
“There are no gods that can get you out of this situation now, you stupid bitch!” said Maveil. She then unhooked the chain holding the lady’s head up, took the lady’s hair back in the grasp of her gloved hand, and slammed the lady’s face into the stone floor over and over again.
[35 damage dealt]
[43 damage dealt]
[22 damage dealt]
[31 damage dealt]
Maveil held the lady’s battered face up, exhaling slowly and shaking her head.
“You know what I love about you tutorials?” Maveil asked.
The lady tried to shake her head. When she couldn’t, she mumbled a no.
Maveil raised her lips to the lady’s ear. “I can’t damage you too much, because you always heal.”
With that, Maveil slammed the lady’s face into the floor again.
[44 damage dealt]