Chapter 16

I'm learnin' to walk again...

I believe I’ve waited long enough…

Where do I begin…?

    Ooh, you’ll have to remember to write that down later. For now, you were busy cruising the halls with impunity. The last two weeks had consisted of you walking around unshielded as your very essence was torn to shreds by ambient demonic sex energy until your body gave out and you threw up.

    But you were getting stronger. Every time you went out, you felt stronger; more clearheaded than the last time. It seemed like an exponential increase. When you started, you only survived a few seconds before you began to die. Now, you could spend hours walking up and down the hall with no complications. Well, you did get tired quickly. Too tired than one should just by walking for a bit. And there were the ever-present thoughts of sex that permeated your mind. Nothing to serious.

Not that the second side-effect was any different than normal.

    Your caretakers also seemed to be much less anxious. Your arrival had no doubt caused a stir in town. The atmosphere now was far more placid than when you arrived. The knight escorting you now merely leaned against the wall and let you shuffle around instead of following an arm’s length away from you.

That and she still hadn’t forgiven you for puking on her. Even now her eyes make you uncomfortable when she stares at you.

It was one fucking time lady, get over it.

    You looked down at the town out the window. This had become your favorite and only pastime while you were out here. From this distance, it was impossible to make out any individuals amidst the tightly packed buildings and chimneys. Occasionally you could see a crowd gathering in a certain area, but it was just a wiggling blob; no definition. This didn’t bother you, as the view of the town itself was majestic enough to captivate you for days.

    The town of Admaz itself was situated at the foot of some small mountains at the very end of the mountain range and stretched to a massive lake roughly a mile away. The lake then fed into a river, which took an abrupt turn away from the mountains, and off to parts unknown. Trees were smattered throughout the town, both deciduous and evergreen. Magnara had told you a little about the climate of the regions you traveled through and explained how Admaz was of mild climate and slightly above average rain fall. She said that the forest was a sight to see in the fall. Apparently, demonic plants took on different colors than trees on earth. Past the arable land east of the city, there was an entire forest that stretched almost as far as you could see.

    To the south-east, fields of crops grew in neat rows. Most you didn’t recognize, and what looked familiar to you was almost certainly not closely related to its earthly counterpart. Recently the nurses had been experimenting with your diet, slowly weening you from purified food from human lands and transitioning you to demon realm food. Whatever those crops were, they tasted pretty good. Even if they did give you a raging boner every time you finished your meal.

    Across the lake was another city, though it was too far away to see. From what you had been told, this body of water was something akin to the Great Lakes of earth. Crossing it took days, and the lake was often used to transport goods. The city port was further up the coast, situated away from the rest of Admaz. The shore near the town was instead used as a recreational beach by the inhabitants.
What fascinated you most about Admaz was the city proper. A wall surrounded the entirety of the city, starting at the lake and stretching all the way around to the mountain in a semi-circle. Attackers could torch the fields, but the wall protected the city and the port; all Admaz had to do was prevent a naval blockade and they could weather any attack.

    Inside the wall was a chaotic maze of buildings. Almost all buildings had roofs that slanted slightly more than an average earth roof, and ALL had the same flat, stone tiles as shingles. The stone was a light grey; the color predominated your view of the town from the lofty perch of the college. Below the roofs, the city lost all sense of aesthetic cohesion. The walls of buildings ranged from brick, to daube, to wood, to stone. Certain districts seemed to be made of different materials. You could see that the wealthier homes, the ones higher up in the foot hills, were exclusively stone and brick. Most buildings were two or three stories tall, but there were some that loomed over their surroundings. The further away from the center of town a building resided, the smaller it got. It was a clear gradient of size and building material stretching from the small, single room homes at the edge of the wall and outside of it to the chaotic construction of the city center.

    From what the nurses had told you, the crown jewel of Admaz was the college itself. The institution sat higher than any other building in Admaz and was built entirely of stone. Unlike any other building you could see, the college looked like gothic buildings on earth. High, vaulted ceilings, intricate designs, a somber yet beautiful aesthetic. From the windows you had access to, you could not discern how many buildings were on campus in total. There may even be some buildings that were built into the mountain itself.
Though you couldn’t see anything of the building you were in, the interior was certainly beautiful. The walls were full or ornate details and patterns. Paintings of various monsters lined the hall; many of them depicted the painted copulating with a man. Some of the trysts looked questionably consensual for the man. It was a bit of a culture shock, but you were glad that you got to experience how things really were in demon realms. It would be a shame if you offended someone by telling them that the orgy family portrait they commissioned was in poor taste. Hopefully you would be able to see more of the college soon.

As the sun started to set you took a seat on one of the benches lining the hall and began to write down all of the things that you had remembered about earth that day.

    This was without a doubt the longest that you had ever been outside the warded room that had housed you for the past few weeks. You had been outside since breakfast, and now it was completely dark outside. And you felt no worse than you did this morning. Were you cured? Coincidentally, Hicera appeared out of a door at the end of the hall holding a tray with your dinner.

“Oh! Anon! You’re still out here! Have you been out all day?” she asked.

“Yep. Since breakfast. And I still feel normal.”

“Excellent!” she said setting the tray of food next to you on the bench. “I’m so glad to hear that you’re making so much progress. Our calculations predicted that you would be able to endure exponentially more mamono mana exposure as time went on; I’m just relived that your body behaved for once.”

“Me too. So does that mean that I don’t have to live in that room anymore? Can I finally get out?” you asked taking a bite of a roll.

“Not yet. We still need to keep a close eye on you. The next step is ensuring that you can survive the night while exposed to the ambient mana. It would be tragic if we came this far only to have you die in your sleep.”

“Can we try tonight?”

“Certainly! I’ll have a bed brought out for you.” she said with a smile.

You dipped the remainder of the roll into some mashed potatoes (or whatever demon realm equivalent this stuff was) and took another bite. You were so close. But what were you going to do when you got out?

    Learning the nuances of magic and finding a wife were the only goals you had at the moment. But how were you going to find a specific girl when you didn’t even know which species you want? All this time you had been worrying about learning the language and preserving your memories from earth. Deciding on who to spend the rest of your life with had completely slipped your mind.

But maybe that wasn’t all bad.

    In reality, it was probably best to take your time. This was going to be your partner, your best friend, and the mother of your children. Not a decision to make lightly. The best course of action would be to observe the women of this world and make a staid judgement with a clear head. This was a choice that COULD NOT be made with your dick. It was imperative to remember that you know next to nothing about this world. A paragraph a piece for a single member of a species was not sufficient data for choosing a life partner. Every one would have different personalities, hobbies, dreams, and ideals. One of them would be the one that rose above the rest in terms of compatibility.

“Anon?”

“Hmm?” you turned back to Hicera with a mouthful of food.

“I asked if you needed any more blankets.” She said giggling.

Your face flushes and you hastily swallow your food. “Uhh, yeah, thanks. That would be great.”

She smiled at you with closed eyes. Her ears wiggled a bit as she watched you eat your meal. So kind. So beautiful…

So dangerous.

    As she walked away to fetch more linens the clarity of your thoughts returned to you. That settles it, the first thing that you would have to learn was warding magic. Even a unicorn posed a serious threat to you. If she had asked you for sex you would have been powerless to say no. And there was a 100% chance that succubi would tempt you into sex as soon as you set foot outside. Hell, pretty much anything could get in your pants by just asking. The latent charm of mamono and the demon realm was truly a thing to be feared.
Hicera returned with an armful of extra sheets, and bid you goodnight. The dullahan guard made her exit without saying goodbye, and another girl in full armor took her place. You climbed into bed and extinguished the candle you were carrying. The bed you were in was just a few feet away from the warded room in case you needed to beat a hasty retreat to safety in the middle of the night.

Rolling to the side you watched the stars twinkle through the window at the end of the hall. An entire galaxy of new constellations.

Soon you would be out in that new world.

~~~~

“He’ll be out any day now. He’s spent several nights outside the wards without any complications. The tests show that the levels of demonic energy in his system are in equilibrium with the ambient energy around him.” said Hicera.

“So, he’s ready to leave his prison? I could certainly use my building back.” said president Oroba dryly.

“This is a big risk. The towns folk may have been appeased by the explanation that Magnara gave them, but their vigor will return twofold once they think that they can assault him.” said the guard captain Nevkya.

“The college has already screened its pupils, and all ‘problem students’ are being closely watched. If there is an attack, it will come from the townies.” said Crowlyne.

“Very good. I think that it is time to move forwards with this scheme.” said Malpha. “Anon cannot stay cooped up in there forever, and he has made it clear that he wishes to move beyond a room and hallway. Magnara, do you still have the list of species he is attracted too?”

“No!” said Hicera, stopping Magnara from removing the parchment from her bag. “He is still to sensitive to demonic energy to survive intercourse. The energy in a demon realm is nothing compared to what his body would be subject too during sex with a mamono.”

“Then… he can’t couple with anyone?” asked Magnara.

“Not… not yet. It’s just a theory that he cannot mate with mamono yet; but one I will not allow to be tested. Nevkya, Crowlyne, it is crucial that Anon be protected from mamono who would rape him.” said Hicera.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure he’s accompanied at all times by married mamono. We also need to address the public again to tell them that even though he appears healthy, he is still very fragile.” said Oroba.

“Speaking of the public, how are we going to introduce him? And what is he going to be doing?” asked Crowlyne.

“He said he wanted to attend the college of Admaz, so I see no reason to deny him such a simple request. As for introductions, I suggest a school assembly. Make sure that everyone sees him and gets to satiate their curiosity so that when they see him again they don’t do anything too rash.” said Oroba.

“That sounds reasonable. We will have to assign extra guards though. Putting him up on stage like that is liable to cause a stampede.” said Magnara. “I can deliver my address and then bring him on as a follow up.”

“We will give him some time to prepare. Could we hold the ceremony three days from now?” said Malpha.

“Yes, the auditorium is available then. I shall make the arrangements now.” said Oroba.

“Magnara, would you tell him what the plan is? Give him a summary of the situation and help him write his introduction. Make sure he doesn’t put anything that could be perceived as an invitation to breed in his speech.” Said Malpha.

“Of course. Just leave it to me.” said Magnara.

“Good, good. Things are going well, ladies. Let us ensure they stay that way.” said Malpha.

~~~~~~~

“Are you sure this is a good idea Magnara?” you asked.

“No, but it’s the best option we have. Try to put on a brave face, some of them are turned on by fear.” said Magnara as she walked onto the stage.

    Perfect. You clenched the thin stack of papers in your hands, the speech that you had hastily written just a day before your big introduction to mamono. What were they thinking?! Why didn’t you get a say in any of this? You could handle a bit of public speaking, but there was no way that you could stay cool and collected when your life was at risk.

    Magnara began her address and you tugged at the collar of the formal robes you had been given. It was a long cloak with a rhombus shape cut out on either side to reveal your sides. When you had asked for something more conservative, Hicera had informed you that this was the most modest piece of clothing the phantom had in her collection. Should you even be surprised?

“Anon, don’t worry. We are here for you. No harm will come to you under my watch.”

    You looked up at the ornately dressed guard captain, Nevkya. She had been in charge of keeping you safe so far, and you had to admit that she had done an excellent job seeing as how you weren’t dead. You nod at her and moisten your dry lips. Just how many monsters were in the audience tonight? And how many of them were going to try to rape you?

“… And so, please welcome Anon: the human from another plane!” said Magnara. That was your cue.

    As you walk out of the wing, you hear a loud gasp from the mamono on the opposite side of the theater. All necks crane to get a better look at you as you walk onto the stage. When at last you are fully in view of the whole theater, a chorus of gasps, oohs and aahs, and whispers fills the auditorium with a palpable energy of curiosity and excitement. You take your place at the podium and place your notes on the sigil and a hush falls over the crowd. The guards lining the front of the stage shift restlessly as monsters squirm in their seats.

“H-hello everyone, my name is Anon.”

    The crowd shouts and groans in exasperation as your voice only reaches the first few rows of mamono. Magnara rushes over and lifts your notes, revealing a smudge in the rune work where your fingers had been. She quickly corrects the mistake and pours more mana into the amplification spell. You clear your throat and the restless crowd’s jeers abate.

“Hello everyone, my name is Anon.”

The audience erupts in a frenzy of poorly suppressed excitement. Some whisper to their neighbors, some stay silent, some wiggle in their seats, some cheer and squeal, and a few rose from their seats and were quickly tackled and subdued by the guards. The fighting in the aisles took the attention of the room away from you for a moment as everyone was remembered to behave.

    “As you have been told, I am from a different world. The relation to this world and my own is unknown. I do not know if the boundaries between our worlds are merely physical, or if I truly have transcended dimensions. This is a moot point at the moment; my goal now is not to learn about how I arrived in this world, but how to live well while I am here. My friend Magnara has been an indispensable asset to helping me understand this strange new land, and I hope that each of you will have the same patience and understanding. Please do not take personal offense from my actions; I am still ignorant to many of the customs of this land.”

You flip to the next page.

“And just as I wish to learn about your world, I know that many of you are eager to lean about mine. I have spoken to Magnara, and with the approbation of President Oroba, I am pleased to announce that I will be giving a series of lectures on my world here at the college.”

The crowd murmured excitedly.

“In addition, I will also be enrolling at the College of Admaz as a student; I will begin as soon as the logistics of my stay and education are settled.”

A cheer went up from the crowd and many began to shout questions at you. It was impossible to hear what they were asking; dozens of voices drowned each other out vying for your attention.

    “Quiet! Please, everyone, clam down.” Surprisingly, the mamono listened to you and regained their composure. Huh, maybe you were in less danger than you had imagined. They seemed quite complaisant. “I can answer your questions during the lectures, but for now please let me finish. It is VERY important to remember that I will still die if exposed to too much demonic energy. It is a very painful process; please do not cause me any undue suffering by assaulting me. I know that I can rely on you, and look forward to learning with and about you and your world. Thank you.”

    The crowd cheered and made noise with whatever appendage they had. Most with hands clapped, but some stomped their feet or slammed their tales against the ground. Several howls from the back of the theater made your hair stand on end. Mamono were quite the excitable bunch.

    Suddenly, one of the guards in front of you flew back and collapsed with a bolt in her chest. Another bolt flew past you and embedded itself in the wall of the stage. All hell broke loose.

The audience screamed and began to stampede towards the exits, or the stage, some choosing to duck under their seats. The dullahans and dark valkyries sprang into action against the unseen foes. You had no idea what was going on.

“GRAB HIM!”

    It became clear immediately that there was a group of monsters working together. Several were pressing through the mob towards the stage with weapons in hand. The auditorium was emptying fast, giving the guards a better chance against the gang. It looks like the rapists had used the chaos of the crowd to stealthily do away with many of the guards in the audience, leaving only the contingent on the stage to defend you.

“Anon! This way!”

    Magnara grabbed your arm breaking your daze and began tugging you towards a wing. As you approached, a minotaur guard staggered back with a dagger lodged in her thigh. She roared and swung her massive axe through a werewolf who shuddered and collapsed in a pool of her own juices. But more mamono began to pile through the door and a ghoul leapt onto the cow woman, taking them both to the ground. Magnara stopped and pulled you towards the other wing. The right wing wasn’t fairing much better. The guards had barricaded the door and were slashing and stabbing at the enemies behind the wall of props and furniture as they threw themselves against the ad hoc wall. Ironically, the safest place seemed to be center stage, where captain Nevkya and her veterans were making good progress against the monsters from the audience. A bolt whistled past your head and you decided that taking cover was a wise decision.

    From behind the lectern, you watched the battle unfold in the wings. The left wing was being overrun. The right wing’s barricade was almost broken. And from the sounds behind you, Nevkya was too busy fighting to address either issue. Magnara crouched next to you and you did your best to allow her cover.

    The last guard in the left wing fell at the same time a loud crack sounded from the right wing. Looking left you saw an ogre smashing through a dresser like it was made of balsa. She made eye contact with you and let out a resounding whoop.

“ANON!” screamed Mangara.

    She pushed past you and clashed with a dark elf that had been coming from behind you. Before she could get a spell off, the dark elf twisted her wrist free and punched her in the face. Magnara collapsed and the elf quickly stabbed her with her knife. Magnara’s eyes rolled back into her head and she let out a squeal.

The dark elf pulled the blade out and licked the oozing mana off the blade as she locked eyes with you.

“You’re next, cutie~ Can’t wait to carve you up; you look like a screamer~”

You scrambled backwards away from her, but the sound of a guard being hoisted and thrown into the seats directed your attention back to the ogre that was making short work of the exhausted guards confronting her. It reminded you of the scene in Lord of the Rings where Sauron was smacking people around with his mace. She had a sickening grin as she pummeled one monster after another with her giant fists.

You were surrounded. The guards had fought off many of the attackers, but there were just too many. Nevkya backed into center stage with you. She was panting hard and covered in liquid mana. Panic was taking its toll on your train of thought, and you had no idea what to do.

“Just come quietly, Anon. We just want you. All your friends will be fine, I promise.” said the dark elf.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” you said.

The ogre laughed behind you. “Big talk for someone shaking so much. I’m gonna enjoy putting that smart mouth of yours to work.”

“Well, if you won’t cooperate…” the dark elf took a step back, positioning herself over Magnara. “Then who knows what will happen? Your friends may get hurt…”

She swung her leg into Magnara’s side. The succubus cried out and tried to roll to the side.

“STOP!” you demanded.

“You can make it stop any time you want! All you have to do is agree to serve me. I can’t promise that it will be painless, but in time, you’ll learn to love obeying me.”

“Anon… Don’t do it…” wheezed Nevkya.

The elf kicked Magnara again and you shouted. Not words, just an inarticulate cry of distress. She took a seat on Magnara’s crumpled form and raised on of her boots.

    “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to crawl over here on your hands and knees, and you’re going to lick my boot clean. You’re going to put on the collar I give you and say: ‘thank you for letting me clean your filthy boots mistress,’ got it? If you don’t…” she grabbed Magnara’s hair and lifted her head up. “Then I’ll turn this bitch over to her” she pointed at the ogre “and I guarantee that she won’t be as gentle with your friend as I am. So, get crawling Anon~ Show me how obedient men from your world are.”

She dropped Magnara’s head back onto the ground.

    Then you felt it. The same feeling as when you saved Oreath from the amazons. Your stomach rose as you felt the magic within you begin to swirl in a familiar manner. You stood tall and positioned yourself between the two wings, facing out towards the seats.

“Oh? What’s this? Really Anon, I’m starting to lose my patience. Do I need t-“

    Concentrating you will the energy within you into your palms. The clarity in your mind was unexpected. Even though you were cowering in panic moments before, you now knew exactly what to do. You raised your hands outwards, one palm facing one wing.

“You want me to crawl? Well I'll still be above you; they’ll have to carry you out.” you said facing the elf.

She bared her teeth and brought out a whip from behind her. “Oh, you’ll suffer for that you arrogant p-“

Your palms shimmered and you unleashed a torrent of magical force out of each hand. The mob of rouge mamono waiting in either wing gawked for a moment before being blasted against the wall. There was a loud synchronous scream as your attackers were pushed away by a searing bolt of energy.

The instantaneous energy expenditure is more than enough to make you feel light headed. You collapse onto you hands and knees as the world lists and shifts beneath you, and the color slowly returned.

“That really would have been helpful at the start of the fight.” said Nevkya.

She helped you up as your legs wobbled and threatened to give out underneath you.

“There are more guards coming, but we need to get you out of here. Come on!” she began helping you stagger towards the audience exit.

“Magnara…” you mumble.

“She’ll be alright, you won’t!”

Nevkya shoulder checked the door open and abruptly stopped.

“L-Lady Malpha!”

You looked up to see the most well-endowed succubus you had seen standing before you. Her horns were much larger, and her body was almost bare. It was hard to find a parch of skin on her body that was not covered in tattoos (probably pleasure runes).

“Captain, I see that a predicament has arisen.” she said sweetly.

“Yes milady. He was attacked. They’re taken care of for now, but I need to get him somewhere safe.” said Nevkya.

You groaned and doubled over in pain. You didn’t feel so good all of a sudden…

“Yes, don’t worry, I’ll take it from here. Are you alright Anon?” asked Malpha reaching out a hand.

“Milady, no!” said Nevkya.

As her hand made contact with your head, you moaned and heaved a gob of mamono energy onto the floor.

“Lady Malpha, leave! Practitioner Hicera warned you that you have too much mana for him to handle!”

With a loud heave you spill another load of black sludge onto the floor. Nevkya is now the only thing holding you up.

Your mind starts to go dark. Nevkya is talking to someone, but you can’t make out the words. The last thing you are aware of is your limp body being dragged away as you lose consciousness.

~~~~~~

Back to the room.

    It’s probably a bad sign that you already know where you are after passing out and almost dying so many times. Thankfully, you appear to have missed the cleanup this time. Your clothing had been changed and your chin was devoid of mamono mana.
Damn, you thought you would be able to last a little longer around mamono. Just who was that lady? Probably some sort of arch-succubus. Mal- something. You’ll ask later.

Reaching over you give the handbell next to your bed a ring. You take the amulet next to it and slip it on. Hicera enters after a few minutes.

“Glad to see you’re awake. How do you feel?” she asked with concern in her eyes.

“Tired. Hungry.”

As usual, you were absolutely ravenous after using magic. Staying awake was a herculean task at the moment.

Hicera sent for some food and trotted over to your bed.

“What happened?” you asked.

“After you passed out, the guards who were outside entered the college and escorted you to safety, while Lady Malpha took care of the remaining belligerents.” said Hicera.

“Is Magnara okay?” you asked, remembering her bruised and crumpled form getting farther and farther away as you were dragged off.
“Thanks to you, yes. I heard the shockwave from here! You must have quite some magical potential. Though, you need to learn control. Some of the girls you threw were seriously hurt.” she said wagging a finger at you.

“I mean… they WERE trying to kill me…”

She frowned and nodded. “That’s true. I suppose there is more at stake for you than a normal human.”

“So now what?” you asked rubbing your eyes.

“Well, now you start learning! And teaching us, as it would seem. I look forwards to hearing your lectures about {earh}!”

“Yeah, it will be nice to know what I’m actually DOING the next time I need to blow something up. Ahh, but I am going to need a lot of help. I don’t know where anything is on campus, or how the grading system here works o-“

“Ooh! About that! We found you someone to help with all of that. As a matter of fact, she’s the one bringing you your food.” Said Hicera with a little clap.

“Who is she?” you asked tentatively. After what had happened, you were skeptical of any old monster being given an all access pass to your life.

“Don’t worry about her. She’s hand picked by me and the others assigned to your case. She’s kind, patient, and very knowledgeable. Having her around will help you learn all about how things work here at the college, and help to keep you safe from mamono who would think about taking you.” she said with a wink.

There was a knock at the door.

“Practitioner Hicera? I brought the food you requested. I he awake?”

“Yes, yes. Come in! Anon, I would like you to meet Morala Fray.”

A titania fluttered in carrying a tray with your dinner on it. She set it down on the table beside you and looked at you expectantly.

“I am Morala Fray, but please call me Mora. I’ll be taking care of you, okay Anon?” she said with a wiggle of her wings and a beaming smile.

“Yeah, thanks for your help. I’m sure you’ll be indispensable.” you said, smiling back at her.

~~~~~~