ENF Academy - A LitRPG Ch. 025-032

Fear. Elaina had a skill that was supposed to deal with that, right? It enveloped her regardless. Maybe fear was the wrong word, but a sense of worry washed over Elaina. She knew which option she wanted to do, even if she didn't know what it entailed, and that was... exciting, anxiety-inducing.

"You have all day to decide though," Tira said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a key, far more ornate than Elaina's room key, and handed it over. "That's the spare office key. It'll guide you to me, so you don't get lost. For now though, let's get back to work."

Elaina had a feeling she wouldn't be able to focus very well for the rest of the lesson.

Ch 1.30: Walk

Elaina was sitting on her bed, fully clothed, wondering which option to pick while she idly played with the handkerchief Tira had given her when they first me. She'd given up on option one, the only one she knew she didn't want, as it was already well past dinner, past the cutoff for that choice, but she had to choose between the second and third fast. Curfew bell would be any minute.

"Hey, Elaina, are you alright?" Carline asked from her bed. "You look worried. Are you still shaken from the other day?" She was mostly under her sheets, reading a medical textbook by crystal light while sipping a cup of water and wearing a white nightgown that, despite its simplicity, was way too good at distracting Elaina from her current predicament. There just wasn't any meaningful thing a nightgown could do to hide Carline's generous chest peeking out over her covers.

"Uhm, yeah, I'm fine. I just..." She had to take care of this now too. She couldn't just leave without saying anything, right? "Hey, Carline. You and me, what are we?"

Carline flushed, looking back down at her book. "I— uh, I mean, we're... We're friends, right? Roommates?"

Elaina looked down, blushing too. "Right... Well, I like you, a lot. I mean, we haven't known each other very long, but we've been through a lot together already, you know?"

"Ye— yeah. I like you too. A lot." Elaina looked back over, catching an adorably cute smile on her roommate's face.

"So, anyway, uhm..." Elaina wished she could do anything else but start this conversation right now, but it needed to be had. "There's this other girl, and I like her as well. I like her a lot, too."

"Oh!" Carline looked back up, a little shocked. "That's— that's fine, really! There's actually, well, I kind of like another girl as well. We're not like, official or anything, but I think she might like me back?" Her eyes were wandering to the window, almost like she was talking to someone else. "I don't know if she really does though. We've known each other forever and everything, but we've always just been friends. But what I mean is, I'm fine if you like another girl too. Just... just don't forget about me?"

Elaina laughed, far harder than she meant to. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to laugh, but I couldn't forget about you. You're amazing." Thank the gods. She really did like Tira, but what she had with Carline, what they could maybe have together, was important to her too. Also, what was that Carline had said about another girl? Elaina wasn't jealous, but she was, well, intrigued.

"Well, I think you're pretty amazing too..."

Elaina's heart fluttered, a strange feeling. "Anyway, I was asking because, well, I'm going out tonight. I'm staying the night at someone else's dorm."

A medical textbook hit the floor. "Oh! That's— I mean, that's great! I just, uhm, didn't realize you— didn't realize you were there yet, you know?"

"Yeah, me neither, until earlier today..."

"Shouldn't you get going then, though? The curfew bell's going to ring soon. And I mean technically you're not supposed to stay over at another student's dorm, but I won't say anything, of course! I just mean you don't want to get caught by the Watch or anything, right?"

Right, that. If Elaina was going to do option three, she'd have to leave dressed in only her underwear in front of Carline. Had Tira even realized that, how absurd an idea it was? There was still no way that could happen, even if "Tira's way," whatever that was, sounded so... appealing.

Gods I want to.

"Well, I don't really know when I'll be leaving, but, uhm, it's fine. I won't get in trouble, don't worry."

"Oh, okay, I guess. I won't press you." Carline picked her book back up and began reading.

Elaina went back to ruminating. Option two, or option three? One easy, safe, and fun probably. One scary, terrifying, and also so fucking enticing. "Hey, Carline, are you a virgin?"

Carline choked, dropping her glass of water onto the floor. "I— What?"

Elaina's face lit up, horrified that she'd actually said those words. They'd just come out. "I'm so sorry! You don't have to answer that, it's just... I am, and I'm kind of nervous."

"Right, well, I mean—" Carline was hiding her face in her book now, giving up on any pretense that she was actually reading it. "I don't mind sharing, I just was, well, kind of surprised. I'm not, actually, a virgin I mean, but I was scared my first time too. I'm not like, experienced by any means, but, like, I can offer some advice?"

"Yeah... I'd appreciate that."

"So, like, I don't know who you're meeting or anything, and like, you don't need to tell me, but it's important you trust her. My first time was scary, really scary, but it was with someone I trusted, so it wasn't that bad, really? It's hard to explain, but I had a good time, a great time, even. So if you trust her, I think you will too."

Elaina smiled. "Yeah, I do."

The curfew bell rang, and Elaina remained still despite the bustle from students outside making their way into their dorms. "System," Elaina asked, looking at the subcore that was resting on her nightstand. "Can you tell the time? Like, can you tell me when an hour has passed?" Carline gave Elaina glance, but didn't say anything.

"Certainly. I have been tracking your bells, and they seem to correlate to the same units of time that were used in the past."

"Cool, thanks." Elaina didn't have a clock, or a watch, so she had been worried about that. She'd decided though, option three it was. Tira's way.

She waited.

"It has been an hour exactly," the System eventually said.

"Oh, alright." Heart pounding, Elaina got off of her bed and started removing her clothes: her jacket first, then tie, shirt, and skirt, finishing off with her boots and socks, leaving her standing in just her underwear, another set she'd made for herself back home. It was a skimpy, purple bottom, a small thin triangle in front connected to a near nonexistent back, and a matching bra, one that she'd worked hard on to make it push her breasts up into what she hoped was a pleasing shape. Guess that won't matter for long though.

"Uhm, are you, not going after all?" Carline asked. She was looking at the cover of her closed textbook.

"Ah—, no, I am." Elaina couldn't help but stare at Carline. She was so cute when she was trying to hide how hard she wanted to glance over. "You can look at me, you know. Like, not just now either, but whenever you want." Elaina went deep red as her roommate turned to her. "Uhm, by the way, how do I look?"

"Perfect." You couldn't even say Carline had said the word; it had just dripped out of her mouth as naturally as water from a tap.

"Great," Elaina said, walking over to her dresser and grabbing Tira's jacket from inside wrapping it around her arms. She left the handkerchief in the spot the jacket used to be. "Okay, I'm heading out."

"Wait, now? Like that?" Carline said, leaning forward. "Isn't that— didn't you say that's Tira's jacket?"

"Uhm, yeah. I'm bringing it back to her, actually."

Carline's wide eyed stare bored into her, and Elaina felt like her whole soul was bare. "Oh. Okay. Well, be careful, and have fun. And, uhm, let me know how it goes?"

"Yeah, will do." Elaina walked forward, pausing at the door. Could she really do this? If something went wrong, she'd be fucked, and not in the good way. She could be expelled, losing everything: Endrin, Carline, even access to the System. Tira herself, too. Tira. She did trust her, so she opened the door and walked out of the safety of her room.

School nights were "lights out" at curfew, though that just meant that students needed to be in their rooms proper, so the dorm's common room was empty. She remembered the last time she'd been in the room like this, before her classmates knew about the photos. They'd said all sort of things, playful jeers, but the one person that yelled "Get some!" stood out in her mind. I'm finally taking that advice.

Empty or not, it was still terrifying to walk around the school in such a state of undress, and she hurried through the room and out into the halls while keeping the jacket closed around her as best she could. She almost let out a scream as she rounded the corner to the hallways and came face to face with one of the automatons.

Right, these things are here at night. She was used to them now during the day, both the ones responsible for serving food as well as the handful that she'd see performing chores on occasion throughout the school, but the army of them that roamed the halls at night was still shocking. They ignored her as she walked past them, just like before, but it still felt weird, walking through the groups of people-like things while wearing just lingerie and an oversized coat.

Fear gripped her, embarrassment gripped her, but something else gripped her as well. She was so uncontrollably horny, walking through the school like this. The previous time she had been so anxious, worried she'd get caught, and preoccupied with the portraits. There was still anxiety this time, but it was good anxiety, the giddiness you feel before something exciting.

Walking through the crowds of automatons, she couldn't help but imagine they were actually people, her fellow students at the academy. That idea made her heart race even further, drove her mind wild with possibility. Gods, that would be so... She let go of the jacket, letting it hang open, unbuttoned as she walked. The automatons never registered her existence, single-mindedly focusing on their cleaning tasks, but she thought of them as her classmates, thought of them turning their heads in shock as she walked by them, thought of them staring at her with gaping mouths as she walked through the school in such a shameful state.

She couldn't help it as she placed a hand on her groin, slowly rubbing herself over her panties as all those imaginary people watched. They would start taking out those crystal portraits, taking pictures of her as she struggled not to moan. Gods, she needed more though. She slipped her hand into her underwear, fingers slipping into the soft warmth of her body, alternating between pushing inside of herself and then rubbing on the outside.

She should be waiting, right? That's what tonight was all about, after all: her and Tira. But waiting was so painful. She wouldn't finish herself, she could save that for Tira, at least, but something had to be done, now. After all, those automatons—the students—were all there, watching her. She had to put on a show for them, right? No matter how humiliating it was.

And gods was it humiliating, even if they weren't really there. Getting herself off as the whole school watched would be so fucking wonderful, even better if they all had pictures of it they could look at afterwards. Why am I thinking like that if I was so upset about the pictures before? It didn't matter; that stuff was hard to think about, and doing this was so easy. Like this, even walking on that damned silk rug didn't bother her.

She proceeded through the halls, putting a face to every automaton as she walked by them. She was getting close to cumming, too close. Eventually she came to the office, pausing at the door. I have the key. Do I open it? Knock?

The door answered for her, opening inward and revealing Tira on the opposite side, grinning as she stared down at a mortified Elaina. "Hello, darling."

Ch 1.31: Mistress

"Hello, darling."

Elaina fell to her knees, exploding in pleasure as Tira stood over her, moaning out into the halls. Fuck, I wasn't supposed to finish. I was supposed to wait. She knelt there, rubbing herself while she stared up at Tira and cried out, easing out of her orgasm. When she was finished, Tira stuck out her hand.

Elaina grabbed it with her clean hand, pulling herself up. It was odd, Elaina was realizing for the first time. Both of Tira's hands had painted pink nails, but only the left hand's nails were left long.

Tira still had her arm held out. "My jacket."

"Oh, uhm, right." Elaina slunk out of the garment, Tira standing there, watching Elaina like she might watch a meal being prepared for her until she eventually took the jacket back.

"I was hoping you'd choose option three. Come in." Tira left the door open as she walked back inside, hips swaying as she headed towards her desk, jacket in hand and her whip at her side. She laid her jacket over the back of her chair and sat down as Elaina stopped in front of her.

She'd been here before, in the same lack of clothing as well. The office was empty this time of night, despite the numerous small desks and chairs that certainly would have been occupied earlier in the day. Tira sat at the largest, most ornate of the desks, the one for the person in charge, and behind her was something Elaina had forgotten about: the crystal panel on the wall showing a view into the halls of Endrin. Right now, it was showing the hall immediately outside the office. "You— you were watching me?"

"Of course. I had to keep you safe, after all." Tira's smile was more impish than any Elaina had ever seen. "Did you forget about the crystal monitor so soon?"

Elaina bowed her head, realizing fully what that meant. She didn't just see me at the end. She saw the entire thing. "Uhm, I did, actually."

"Well, don't worry. I was the only one here, obviously, and the monitor can't actually record anything. I could have taken pictures on my portrait, of course, but I wouldn't do that without talking to you about it first, no matter how delicious you looked out there."

Portraits, again. Elaina couldn't quite muster up the courage to admit out loud that she would have been fine if Tira had done that, just as she couldn't quite muster up the courage to admit to herself she actually wished Tira had done it. Saying anything at all in the situation was hard, standing in front of the head of the watch in only her underwear, having just been caught masturbating in the school halls after curfew. It all felt like she was in trouble again, being interrogated, about to be punished.

"Anyway, let's get started," Tira said, leaning forward to place her hands together and rest her chin on them. "You chose to do this my way, so there are going to be rules. You will follow them, understood?"

Elaina swallowed. "Yes ma'am."

Tira smiled. "Close, but not quite. First rule: when we are playing, you address me as 'Mistress' or 'Mistress Tira,' understood?"

Mistress? "Yes, Mistress Tira." It flowed out of her mouth so easily.

"Second rule: If I give you a command, you obey. Understood?"

Elaina's head was turning. She was doing this? Was this okay? "Yes, Mistress."

"And finally, the third rule." Tira stood up, walking around the desk, placing a hand on Elaina's head and running it down her hair, sending shivers throughout her body as she reached Elaina's shoulder and continued down her arm. "The third rule is that you enjoy yourself. I play hard, and I like it when my playthings play hard back, but I need you to have a good time, so we're going to need a safe word, alright?"

"I— uhm, okay." Elaina bit her lip. "What's a safe word though?"

Tira blinked, cocking her head to the side and opening her jaw before she started giggling, placing her hand back on Elaina's head and ruffling her hair. "You are impossibly cute, you know that? If I didn't know you better, I'd think you were to soft to be my plaything."

Elaina furrowed her brow, scowling. "I've just never heard of that before..."

"No no, it's fine," Tira said, still giggling as she stepped back and sat on her desk. Elaina could see the girl's already short skirt ride up from this angle, revealing toned, terrifyingly attractive thighs, a deep tan just like the rest of Tira's skin. "A safe word is something that if either of us say it, we stop playing, no matter what. You can scream, beg, and ask me to stop without using the safe word all you want—and trust me, you'll do all of those things—but the safe word is your protection, something you can always fall back on."

Huh. The concept was kind of strange, to Elaina. When she agreed to this, she thought she was agreeing to, well, anything, that by making this choice she'd given up all rights to say no. Hearing that that wasn't true was almost... disappointing. Still, this was one of Tira's rules, right? She had to pick a word, something safe. "Handkerchief," she said, not even thinking before blurting out the word.

Tira's eyes widened again. "So sentimental, aren't we? Handkerchief doesn't work though, my dear, since I might want to tease you about the one I gave you. It has to be a word that won't come up naturally while we're playing, a word you know, but that you never really say."

"Oh," Elaina said, blushing. "How about 'sapphire?'"

"Yeah, that'll work. Why sapphire though?"

Good question. A blue gem is what it was, but all she could think of when thinking about safety was the dull blue glow of the System when she first found it, when it first gave her a purpose. A sapphire was the closest thing. "Uhm, I don't know. I've heard of them, but never seen one, so it's not something I really say."

"Well, good enough then; sapphire it is. Are you into pain? What's your tolerance?"

Elaina had to almost force herself not to reach for her panties, ready to go at herself again already. Why did the idea of pain excite her? Even with her skill, it shouldn't be something she wanted, right? "I— We can try it. I'll use the word if I have to."

Tira shook her head, smiling. "I will go easy on you, especially tonight, but I can already tell we're going to have so much fun together. Are you ready to start? I am."

Ready? Elaina didn't know if there was a way to be ready for this: something so different, so terrifying, so unknown. "Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, Mistress Tira."

Tira stood back up and went back to her seat, tapping on the crystal tablet that controlled the monitor behind her. There was a new look on her face, a degree of sternness Elaina would've expected from the watch captain, but that playful glee was still underneath, behind Tira's deep brown eyes. Under this gaze, Elaina would have felt naked no matter how much she was wearing. Tira stopped tapping the tablet as Elaina gasped, the monitor finally settling on a frame, that of the very room they were in, Tira sitting there fully clothed, back to the screen, and Elaina standing there in just her skimpy purple lingerie.

"Well now, what do we have here?" Tira asked, that faux seriousness coloring her tone. "The troublemaking freshman back again, after I let her off easy last time. Tell me, what possible reason could you have for walking the halls out of uniform at this time of night?"

Elaina was frozen, unable to move, unable to speak. Tira was playing, right? She wasn't actually in trouble? "I— uhm—"

"Too slow, darling," Tira said, leaning back into her chair. "Answer me promptly when I ask you a question." Elaina needed to look her in the eye—Tira's presence commanded it—but her vision was being pulled above Tira's chair, to the monitor. Elaina could see herself clearer than in any reflection, and she looked so pathetic, shaking in her underwear, squirming in front of the desk, face as red as the ruby rug she was standing on.