ENF Academy - A LitRPG Ch. 009-017

[Humiliation Factor]. She was embarrassed now of course, having just charged and face planted into the field before rolling onto her ass, probably flashing her panties to the crowd as well. The skill was active now, boosting her efficiency, and if the System could be believed her capabilities as a whole as well. Too little, too late. Waine was still struggling to untie himself, Elaina consciously keeping the rope in place. At least he would look a little silly right before he won. She'd probably look more ridiculous as she lost, face burning after her ridiculous display.

So much for having a class. She could hardly believe she'd been excited at one point about it. Only now that she'd already lost, less than half her mana remaining and pinned to the ground, would she finally get a benefit.

Elaina looked to Tira, the watch captain stoic as she watched them both. To the crowd, enraptured in the duel, not knowing how dire her circumstances were. To Prisma. Their eyes locked, but Elaina couldn't read her face. She was pensive, just another onlooker in the crowd of people with no stake in the fight. Still, more than anything Elaina didn't want to lose in front of her, lose to her and her team.

And the fight wasn't over yet. With [Restraint] enhanced by [Humiliation Factor], she was more aware of her surroundings. Not aware of everything, just what was relevant to her class, but she was a manifester and a manipulator, capable of both producing and controlling. She knew what she needed to win, to embrace who she was, what the fate the stars had read for her was. Could she do it? She had to.

She used her aspect to reach out to the clasp of her skirt, the restraint holding her skirt together, and undid it. It would look like an accident, she hoped, since she wasn't touching it physically. The skirt fell off in the sand as she pushed herself away, exposing dark green panties with just a trim of lace on top. They weren't sheer in the back like her black pair, but they rose up and exposed the bottom of her ass cheeks as she tried to slither away. I hope this is worth it. Sure, Waine would see her in her underwear again. Everyone would see her in her underwear, but that was a risk she had to take. Tira had manufactured a no risk situation for her, but if she was going to win, she had to sacrifice something.

Waine finally got out of the rope as Elaina had dropped focus on it while undoing her skirt, bellowing out laughter as he did. "More uniform trouble? Are you that eager to put on another show for everyone?" The crowd laughed back as he approached, Elaina still squirming away in her underwear as her face glowed red. He threw his arms up, taking his time to approach as she scrambled back and fruitlessly looked for her sword. "You know, maybe I take my time and strip you naked right here, how's that sound?"

It sounded mortifying, and she was already partially there. The entire class seeing her like this, those in front getting a view of her spread legs as she crawled away, her praying that they couldn't see the growing dampness in her crotch as she did, it would all have to be enough. [Humiliation Factor] wasn't fully active— it would apparently take even more embarrassment for that— but Elaina was far more capable now than before. She called on [Restraint] again, attempting more than she ever had with it before.

A shackle, chains, a weighted ball of iron buried underneath the stand. They came into being instantly, the shackle snapping around Waine's leg, the chain connecting it to the weight. His approach was halted once more, only steps away from Elaina. "The fuck is this?" he said, looking at his leg. "How do you have this much mana left?"

The two locked eyes again, Waine frozen in place and Elaina sprawled on the ground, each unable to move. Waine thrashed, trying to pull at the chain keeping him in place, trying to burn more of Elaina's mana, but it was futile. She was spending mana to keep her manifestations, but it was the weight of the iron ball buried in the sand holding him back, not constant effort. Likewise, Elaina realized she could move back still, but standing or approaching was out of the question.

The crowd had stopped laughing now, their attention shifting as the outcome of the duel was no longer as clear as they'd though. Waine turned to Tira, grimacing. "It's a draw, Strask. We're both immobilized."

Tira shook her head. "Till one of you yields or I call a lethal blow."

Waine slashed the air in Tira's direction. "What, you want me to throw my sword?" He looked down at his blade as if he was considering it, but Elaina's reaction was faster. She extended the chain, clapping another shackle onto the cross guard and locking it to his ankle.

"Fuck's sake, it's a draw!" he shouted, thrashing as he tried to pull away.

Tira shook her head again. "One of you will run out of mana eventually."

Tira was right, and Elaina was increasingly afraid it would be her. She'd burned a ton getting the ball and chain setup going, and even more now that she had to extend that manifestation to stop the sword throw. There was only a sliver left, and maintaining something of such mass was draining it, quickly. She had ten seconds max, and Waine was spending only the bare minimum to keep her away from him. No, she couldn't risk the war of attrition; even if Waine miraculously ran out first, she'd need to grab her sword and strike him before he got free. There was only one hope, a falling star's chance at victory.

She let go of the iron ball first, the heaviest drain on her reserves, leaving only the chains and shackles. Waine, still trying to get free, managed to pull out of the ground, struggling to regain his balance with his confusion at his sudden freedom. Elaina took a deep breath, activating [Personal Restraint]. She'd lose what little remaining movement she still had, but the strength of her [Restraint] doubled in return. Letting the shackle on Waine's leg disappear, the only thing she left was the chain attached to his sword hilt. Elaina focused on that chain, spending every last ounce of remaining mana to pull on it.

As soon as the attempt was made, everything she'd conjured disappeared, her mana depleted.

But the force of the chain being yanked carried on, Waine staring down at his own sword hand as it whipped back at him, the lingering energy of Elaina's last effort to win. There was no fighting back Waine could do with his aspect, no amount of willpower that could stop the blade as it crashed into his neck and sent him reeling to the ground.

Ch 1.14: Results

As Waine fell to ground clutching his windpipe, his sword careened off towards the crowd, momentum still carrying it from Elaina's final gambit. Her stomach dropped for a moment as she imagined the heavy metal object crashing into someone's skull, but it instead gently arced over to Tira, who caught the grip with her free hand. "Elaina has dealt a would-be lethal blow. I declare her the victor."

The crowd of students broke their silence, cheering as Elaina pushed herself up into a sitting situation. "Fuck you, Ferris!" she heard from one, "Yeah, get him, Panties!" she heard from another." Panties?

"Shit!" she said, covering herself with her hands and closing her legs. The duel was won, but it still wasn't a flawless victory. She looked over to where she'd dropped her skirt, but saw a figure running to her with the discarded garment in hand.

For a brief moment she saw the girl's uniform and thought it was Prisma. But no, Prisma was over by Waine, who was writhing on the ground clutching his throat. The new girl that Waine had declared part of of his crew was the one running to Elaina with her skirt. "Here," she said, draping the fabric over Elaina's legs. It was the first time Elaina had been up close with her, but the girl refused to meet Elaina's gaze, instead staring off to side with an apple red face.

"Thanks," Elaina said, wrapping the skirt around her as best she could, though there was no way to put it on without standing. The girl looked familiar, in very faint way, but Elaina couldn't remember from where. She really was cute, a mess of black hair framing her round face, a longer skirt than most girls at the school being both endearing and intriguing, only making what was underneath that much more enticing. But what really drew Elaina's eyes was the girl's chest, struggling to be contained by her shirt and completely filling out the uniform jacket in a way even Elaina herself couldn't match.

"I— I really should go help Waine; he might be seriously hurt." The girl bit her lip before turning around and running off, waving. "Sorry, I'll— I'll see you later!"

"No pictures, you shits!" Elaina heard Tira shouting as she walked up behind her. "Here," Tira said as she opened up Elaina's jacket and used it to cover her backside. "Stand up and cover yourself."

Elaina did so, managing a decent enough job of keeping what modesty she had left intact. "The portraits," she said as she finished, looking back at Tira.

Tira put Elaina's jacket on for her, nodding. "Ya, we deal with that now. Alright everyone, duel's over, class actually dismissed!"

The crowd started to trickle away as Tira strode forward, Elaina following behind. "Can't breathe," she heard Waine croaking out. He was still laying on the ground, his group surrounding him, the original group at least, the new girl already gone. "Can't breathe!"

"You're fine, Waine." Prisma said, arms crossed. "Carline said so. Get on your feet."

"The Forsythe girl?" Waine coughed out as he stood up, legs wobbling. "Where is she?"

"Ran off," Ivis said, pointing back to the castle. "Said she needed to shower or something."

Nyla laughed. "Probably can't stand outside for two hours without soaking through her uniform in sweat."

"Ya," Daly said. "Not even sure why you grabbed her for the team."

"It's because-"

"Enough," Tira said, stopping behind the group. "You lost, Ferris."

Waine glanced back, eyes narrowing. "Fuck you. The duel should have been called a tie and you know it. You're just a biased referee."

Tira closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She pulled her coiled whip of of her waist, letting the length of it unwind and fall to the ground, her voice quavering with suppressed rage. "You. Lost. You were right to refuse to duel me outright, but this was a fair fight. Pay up, or I'll let you experience first-hand what you already know I'm capable of."

Waine stared up at her, eyes shaking. "Fine, I'll delete the portraits of her from my crystal."

"No," Tira said. "Your cronies too. We agreed all of them."

Waine gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, taking a step forward and flaring his nostrils. Tira cocked her head. "Fine," Waine said. "You four, delete the pictures."

"But—" Ivis went to protest.

"I said delete them," Waine said, pulling his device out of his jacket. Elaina stood by while Ivis, Daly, and Nyla took there's out as well, observing them tap and swipe across the crystal displays. One by one the portraits of Elaina appeared and disappeared from the screens, until Tira took each one for a final inspection.

"What about you," Tira asked Prisma as she hand back Nyla's portrait crystal. "And what about that other girl you mentioned?"

Prisma turned from the forest to Tira. "Carline wasn't there, so she never had any pictures. I had some, but I deleted them already." She took her crystal out and handed it over to Tira for inspection.

Tira went through the device, swiping for far longer, going through a swath of landscape pictures and images of Prisma and what Elaina presumed was an older sister. "If you're lying about this, I'll have your head, Fireguard. Why would you have already deleted them?"

Prisma pursed her lips and snatched the crystal back. "I'm not lying!" She tucked it back into her jacket, turning back to the forest. "I just... I just deleted them, okay?"

"I believe her," Elaina said. Prisma jerked her head, locking eyes with Elaina for just a moment before looking down.

"Fine," Tira said, walking back towards the school. "This is officially over. If any of those portraits ever make it out, you're all going to regret it."

Elaina stood for a second to watch Prisma's blank stare at the ground, then for another to lock eyes with Waine. Waine stared her down for a moment before turning away and walking off himself, the others following him. They all made eye contact with Elaina as they walked by, save one. "Prisma!" Elaina called out. The girl continued walking, gaze straight ahead.

"Come on, Elaina," Tira said. Elaina obeyed, running to catch up. "You did good, really good at the end. I was worried at the start though."

"Yeah," Elaina replied, catching her breath. "I kinda used too much mana in the beginning."

"Your pool must be massive though. For someone with no training, you did quite a lot."

Elaina blushed at the praise. "I guess it is large. I wouldn't really know." Though it probably has more to do with my class than natural ability.

"I'm gonna put you in the Advanced Manipulation course after all, with the Fireguard girl and me."

"Wait, you're in that course too?"

"Yup. These practical courses are about personal improvement more than anything, and the advanced ones have so few students that its not worth separating the years. I honestly didn't think you were cut out for it, but the force you exerted at the end... You're unrefined, but you have the potential and need the dedicated training. You're also lucky I was there to catch that, or you might have hurt someone that actually mattered." She smiled back at Elaina. "We'll need to work on that performance anxiety for sure though. I can't have my playmate getting nervous when it really counts, now can I?"

Elaina's heart skipped, and her mouth gaped as Tira laughed and turned back facing ahead. "Playtime has to be later though; I've gotta meet Calivahn. You're free the rest of the day, right?"

"Ya, only today though. My schedule's pretty full the rest of the week too."

"Yeah, you'll get a modified one once I put in your course assignment. You'll have aspect training today of course, and then another round of it on Third Day and Fourth Day. First Day will still be your day with the most free time, but it's not going to be easy, I promise."

"Right," Elaina said. She needed it to not be easy. As happy as she was that the portraits weren't going to be sold, that she'd actually beaten Waine Ferris in single combat, she knew she had a lot to learn. An external aspect was apparently a favored opponent for her, but against someone like Prisma, or even the boy that could conjure up three dogs there was no way she'd last even a moment with her current ability. "I need to go shower myself, then do lunch probably. Do you, uhm, want to eat together?"

Tira scrunched her face. "I would, but I'm doing a working lunch with the crone. Watch duty during dinner later too." She smiled. "I'll keep Third Day free for you though, and we can make plans then? Unless you're busy."

"Oh," Elaina said. She thought she'd messed up for a moment, overstepped, but it didn't seem that was the case. "Yeah, we can do Third Day. I'm, uh, not busy then." She wasn't busy any day, really.

"Great!' Tira said, spinning and ruffling Elaina's hair. "You get cleaned up and enjoy lunch." She leaned over, whispering in Elaina's ear. "On Third Day, wear something nice under your uniform, but try and let me be the only one to see this time, kay?"

Tira pulled back, winking at Elaina. "Later," she said, stepping onto the cobblestone immediately surrounding the castle, boot heels clacking as she walked, a single finger running over a whip tied to a waist that swayed back and forth with each step.

Elaina realized she'd stopped walking and shook her head, rushing back into the academy proper. She made it back to her dorm room, locked her door, and examined her uniform. The jacket was fine of course, having been held by Tira during the duel, but her skirt and shirt were covered in sand. She sighed as she opened the dresser, looking at the scraps of the skirt she couldn't change into. Winning the duel had been great for maintaining some of her dignity, but it wasn't like everything was magically fixed. At least she still had a couple extra shirts, since the school expected her to change them every day anyway.

She stripped naked, placing her shirt and underwear next to the dresser while she laid her jacket and skirt on top of it. She wanted to beat the sand off the skirt, but the only way to do that would be to do it on the floor in her room or out on the grounds in her underwear. That could be fun though... No, bad idea. She needed to get to the showers.

Elaina looked over at her bed, thinking about actually cleaning her uniform in just underwear, about the number of people who'd already seen her in them. Her sheets looked so inviting too, and there was time, right? She had plans for the day, to go back to the orb she'd met, but that would have to be after lunch anyway, and lunch itself was over an hour away.

She gave in, diving onto the mattress and crawling under the covers. They'd get a little dirty, but she'd noticed her room was cleaned each day between lunch and dinner anyway. Automatons? Probably, but she didn't care to think of that right now.

Elaina got to work and plunged straight into her own pussy, having neither the time nor the patience to build up slowly. There was enough foreplay earlier when she'd been frozen in place in front of her entire year, spread legged after having taken off her own skirt in front of them. There's no way they'd know, right? That she did it on purpose, that she liked it? She wished they did. The sheets were thrown askew in seconds as she writhed in their luxuriousness. She needed to bare herself anyway, imagine someone was watching her, could see her. Tira? Prisma? It didn't matter who; Elaina needed someone to see her like this, anyone.

The lock to her room clicked, and the door swung open.

Ch 1.15: Caught

Elaina had two fingers inside of herself, one tit barely covered by sheets while she massaged the other with her hand as the door opened. In the doorway was the girl Elaina had met earlier, the girl Waine was recruiting to his team, Carline Forsythe they'd call her. It took both of them a second to realize what happened, Elaina continuing to pump inside herself and Carline taking a step into the room before they both froze. There was no way to tell whose face burned brighter in that instant, Elaina naked and in the most compromising position anyone had ever seen her in, Carline dressed in full uniform and standing there with wet hair and a towel in her hand.

Carline held Elaina's gaze for a second, looked her body up and down, placed the towel next to the room's second dresser, and left. Elaina's brain started working right about the moment the door lock clicked again. "What the fuck?" she said out loud, vigorously rubbing herself again, mind racing. Roommate, her? Me, naked. She saw. She looked. She definitely looked, and she saw everything.

And it was at least the second time. Gods, she has to think I'm the biggest pervert in the world. She'd walked in on Elaina on orientation night, but at least that time Elaina was completely under covers, she hoped. She could barely remember that night, the haze of ecstasy, the waves of bliss that she was now returning too. Was there anything more mortifying than this? Elaina imagined Carline looking across her body over and over. She'd looked slowly, not hiding her gaze at all as she took in Elaina's body. Did she think it was disgusting, or did she maybe even like it?