94: Bullying

“Let’s not be impulsive,” Professor Kull said, holding up one hand. “As good as Masterwork is, and even if it is the best of Miss Toddley’s skills, we must make the determination as to what would be the most beneficial for Miss Kadell to replicate first.”

Rocky raised a questioning eyebrow. “Dude, it’s fucking Masterwork. It’s the best thing that any of us have, no question. Option number one, any day of the week.”

“Not necessarily,” the only other adult in the room, Charlotte, tried to say. “If Grace has something decent, then-”

“I don’t,” the Artisan said quickly, shaking her head. “Well, nothing of note, that is. I of course have multiple skills that might be useful for Eris, but none maybe as groundbreaking as Rachel’s Mender’s Touch, Addison’s Borrowed Material or the obvious Masterwork. Anything I have would be useful but small bonuses, probably weaker than equivalent skills of other types of crafters. The upside is that none of my skills have any requirement of only being used in certain kinds of crafting. All of them would probably be useful for Eris all of the time.”

“So…” Tatum grinned. “Does that mean I get to sleep with the Echo first? Lucky me…”

“Ah-ah!” Bailey chuckled. “I’ve been slurping her honeypot for weeks. You get second place.”

“Eh, I’ll take it,” Tatum shrugged. “If the prize for first place was losing my tits and my skills, I’ll happily pass.”

“Damn, if I knew that was an option I would have thought it over a little bit,” Bailey giggled. “Like, look at them!”

At that, she promptly lifted the front of her shirt up to her collarbone, revealing her bare front to the room. Eris and Charlotte both went red, Kull turned around to face the opposite direction either out of embarrassment or respect, and all the other crafters in the room took careful consideration with their eyes. Well, most did. Hima used her position right next to Bailey and poked one tit with her finger.

“Wow, that’s a lot smaller than they used to be…”

“You know how big they were before?” Eris questioned the Weaver. When she did, however, Bailey gave an unimpressed smirk to the redhead.

“Really? Have you learned nothing about me?”

Eris blinked for a few moments, face growing hotter as she glanced at each of the crafters. “Wait, have you all slept with Bailey?”

A unanimous shrug of acknowledgement surrounded the counter- except for Grace who loudly cleared her throat. “You know, I should probably just say my skills-”

“Oh come on, Gracie!” Bailey laughed, still with her shirt raised to her neck. “I know you remember that mud wrestling competition last year, when you got so drunk that you, Ashleigh and I-”

“Moving on!” Grace seemed to be attempting her best impression of a tomato, spitting out the details of her stat window so quickly it was almost hard for Eris to comprehend what the black-haired woman was saying.

Name: Grace Livingston McMerkel

Age: 22

Class: Artisan

Level: 12

Vitality: F-

Physical Defence: F-

Magical Defence: F-

Tenacity: F-

Strength: F-

Dexterity: F-

Mind: F-

Control: B

Craftsmanship: B

Skills: 15

Crafter’s Cunning {Passive}

You are knowledgeable when it comes to items. You may Inspect unknown materials and items.

Crafting Points {Passive}

You have 7 Crafting Points, which you may spend on certain abilities while in the process of crafting. When beginning a new craft, current number of Crafting Points resets to 7.

Versatility {Passive}

When using three or more classifications of crafting for a single craft, the Potency of the craft is increased by 50%.

Steady Hand {Active}

For each Crafting Point spent on Steady Hand, the Potency of the craft is increased by 5%.

Fine Touch {Passive}

When using four or more classifications of crafting for a single craft, the craft gains one applicable enchantment.

Virtuoso {Active}

You may increase any of your core stats by any value until a total of three ranks have been added. The additional ranks last until Virtuoso is used again. Cooldown: 1 hour.

Of All Trades {Passive}

For each classification of crafting used in a single craft, you gain 1 extra Crafting Point that can be spent on that craft.

Crafter’s Intuition {Passive}

When Inspecting raw material using Crafter’s Cunning, you also learn the most and least conductive stats or types of magic for that material.

Application {Active}

For every 2 Crafting Points spent on Application, the craft gains 1 extra applicable stat bonus.

Material Mutation {Active}

You can mildly alter the attunement properties of any materials you are crafting with, without reducing the effectiveness of any effects.

Finer Touch {Passive}

Enchantments on items you craft have a 35% boost to Potency.

Dedicated Study {Active}

When you use Dedicated Study, choose one classification of crafting; Alchemy, Culinary, Leatherwork, Smithing, Stonework, Weaving, or Woodwork. For 12 hours, any of your crafts consisting of only your chosen classification gain a 25% bonus to Quality and a further 15% bonus to Durability. Cooldown: 12 hours.

Assistant {Passive}

If using the completed crafts of other individuals as materials in your own crafts, you gain 2 additional Crafting Points that can be spent on skills for that craft. Likewise, any crafts that other individuals make using materials you crafted gain a 10% bonus to Quality.

Fast Work {Passive}

You gain a 15% bonus to Crafting Speed.

Power {Active}

For each Crafting Point spent on Power, the Quality of the craft is increased by 15%. If more Crafting Points are spent on Power than any other skill, the craft’s maximum Durability is reduced by 90%.

“So yeah, nothing special about my skills,” Grace finished, almost shrinking into her dark blue uniform. “Useful, sure, but not worth going first. That would probably be either Rachel, Addison or Tatum.”

Not that any of the crafters were currently listening. It was a little hard to do that when Bailey still had her shirt hiked up and her arms lifted out of the way while Hima was carefully wrapping a tape measure around her nude chest.

“Unbelievable! You went down five full cup sizes!”

“And lost like… seventy-five percent of my vision,” Bailey chuckled, readjusting her extra-thick glasses. “But the boobs really are the tragedy here.”

“Guys?” Grace tried, but nobody was listening. Even Eris was staring unabashedly at Bailey’s cute nipples. There was a girl lifting her shirt in the workshop. That was enough to derail any attention. Hima’s focus, however, seemed to be a little less… horny in nature.

“I know there’s been experiments to bind alchemical concoctions with thread in the process of weaving to try and apply some of the effects, in the same way that a Woodcarver gives a handle to a Metalsmith for a tool. If you still have one of your breast enlargement potions in stock, I can see about attempting to make a bra that’ll get you back to your old size. That way, it won’t be a temporary thing like the potion and’ll last as long as the bra does.”

Bailey shrugged while Hima pulled the tape measure away, finally lowering her shirt back into place and hiding her miniscule boobs. “As much as I admire the sentiment, only having boobs for as long as I’m wearing a bra to hide them really does defeat the purpose. Ooh- wait! Could you make a flag with a big-ol pair of tits on it to make any girl that looks at it go up a few cup sizes? That’d be amazing-”

“Ladies!” Eris flicked her attention back to Professor Kull, who was actively blushing and staring down at the counter. Sure, he may have been the dean of Sector Saez and one of the leading officials in the Syndicate due to his station, but everyone’s composure had a limit. His, apparently, was titty flags. “Can we please go back to important conversations?”

Bailey raised an eyebrow. “Sir, this is a very important conversation.”

“Miss Geriege…”

“Fine, fine.” Bailey rolled her eyes, then locked them with Eris. “If he’s gonna be so insistent on us going back to our old conversation, that gives us a question? Who does Professor Kull want Eris to have an eight-hour, sloppy, sweaty, cum-filled sex marathon with first? Rachel, Addison or Tatum?”

The dean actually groaned. Ophelia leaned over a bit and whispered to him. “Yeah- I don’t think you can win in this conversation. My advice? Take the loss with dignity.”

The one and only man in the room was quiet for many moments, face turning shades of pink. Eventually, he let out a sigh and lifted his gaze. He looked like he aged twenty years in thirty seconds.

“We still don’t know with absolute certainty that the necklace even works like that. I think that before we engage in such… intense measures, we should prioritize what has already been established as a top priority.”

“More of a priority than fucking her silly until a couple extra skills are running down her thighs?” Rachel smirked. Professor Kull, on the other hand, suddenly had a prominent vein bulging near his temple. The way he cleared his throat had enough grit to saw a piece of lumber.

“Miss Kadell almost has enough Desire built up to advance Wonders of Artifice to level three, which would be invaluable for the purposes of helping both her and her Wonders level up faster. In addition, the testing they did earlier proved that Miss Kadell is more than capable of gaining a very large amount of Desire in a short period. If she and her Wonders- err… work together tonight, she may be able to advance both Wonders of Artifice and Excellence tonight before going to sleep.”

Addison actually giggled a bit, really trying to hide her smile. “You actually want to follow Nima’s advice and make the whole team have an orgy?”

While Kull visibly died a little bit inside, Rocky pulled a mischievous grin.

“Ahh, so you want Eris to get all sloppy and sexy with all her hottie Wonders, first, and then have a fuck-fest with one of us tomorrow. What a fantastic idea from our lovely dean!” She turned to the group. “Did you hear that, everyone? Professor Kull wants Eris to get absolutely railed by all the big, thick dicks of her whole team and covered in so much cum-”

“Nightmoore!” Kull slammed his fist down on the counter with so much force that the wooden top split in multiple places to send splinters flying- silencing Rocky instantly and making every person in the room jump.

His face was so red that Eris was worried a blood vessel was going to pop in his forehead. Not to say that she was going unscathed either- she could feel her own cheeks burning just as much as her panties were getting damp. The ladies may have been outright bullying the dean of Sector Saez, but the overwhelmingly horny talk was most definitely getting Eris a little bit more than ‘hot and bothered’.

Kull, though, was so tense he was practically shaking when he spoke next. Somehow his voice remained level and his phrases composed.

“After Kadell and her Wonders gather the requisite Desire to advance her skills tonight, then we can test what the necklace means by ‘intimacy’. The Wonders will clear out and return to their own abodes, and then Baker, Zats or Toddley can spend the night with Kadell.”

“Spend the night as in-” Rocky began, but was cut off by a firm nudge from Bailey’s elbow along with the blonde swiping her hand horizontally across her throat in a ‘cut it out’ gesture. As funny as it had been to push the dean, he had clearly gone past the point of annoyance and it seemed Bailey was intent on keeping Rocky from getting strung up like a flag.

Blessedly, Rocky seemed to get the hint and promptly shut the fuck up. Kull let out a slow breath.

“One of them will sleep with Kadell tonight, in the literal sense. They will not have sex. They will be testing the lower end of ‘intimacy’ to see if that is enough for the necklace to take effect, by engaging in nothing more than sleeping nude in the embrace of the other. If it does not work, then that will not only inform us that the necklace requires more ‘intimacy’, but also let Kadell and her partner work to replicate the skill when they are well-rested instead of weary after a long day like this one.”

Hima raised her hand, and for a moment, Eris was worried that Kull was going to rip it off. However, the dean clenched his jaw in restraint. “Yes, Listle?”

“If we’re using tonight to test how the necklace works, should we not have all of us sleep with Eris?” She spoke quietly- obviously not wanting to fluster or anger the dean more. “After all, I don’t think the necklace specified that it could only be used on one person at a time.”

Professor Kull nodded, obviously pleased that Hima had a genuine question and not some scathing joke at his embarrassed expense.

“That is a very good point, and that will be something we test in the future, but not right now. If we test with all of you tonight and it doesn’t work, then we won’t know if it didn’t work because it required more intimacy, or if it was because it can only do one individual at a time. Once we figure out the requirements for Kadell to even replicate a skill in the first place, then we can test how many intimate partners she may have at a time and still have the effect work. Understood?”

Hima nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Good,” Kull let out a heavy sigh, the red tint in his face slowly fading. “Now, if this break is over, I believe that there is still a forge, an oven, and a loom that all need to be built. Once those are finished, then Miss Kadell can get cleaned up for her gathering session with her Wonders.”

Eris, who had been all but completely silent for the last few minutes, couldn’t help but let out a squeak. Ah, yes; the prospect of a sloppy six-some hanging over her head wouldn’t be a massive distraction when trying to make new tools for her workshop. Imagining Jaxie and Alex’s thick cocks plunging in and out of her holes while gripping tightly onto the soft, nude flesh of Claire, Nima and Meghan. Touching them. Kissing them. Tasting the salty sweat mixed with cum, all while panting with slick skin gliding across each other in the embrace of-

Eris shuddered all the way down her spine, cutting the thought short in panic and desperately trying to affix her mind to anything else. It was time to build, not to leak a trail down her thighs. Not that it was easy to try and convince herself of that when her lower half felt like it was throbbing. She leaned a little harder on the counter, thighs rubbing together. While everyone else moved away to get back to work, Eris remained where she stood to hopefully let herself settle down.

“Eris, you okay?”

The Artificer looked up to see Bailey leaning over the counter with a perplexed look. Eris shakily nodded. “Y-yeah. Just gimme a minute.”

Bailey visibly scanned Eris up and down. Between her shifting thighs, ragged breathing and flushed face, it was no surprise when a sly grin crawled across Bailey’s face. “Oh, I see. Need a break?”

Addison cocked her head to the side. “We just had one…?”

“Nah- not that kind of break,” Bailey smiled, then turned to the dean.

“Professor Kull, Eris got a bit… distracted by that last conversation. Do you mind if we leave for a few minutes so I can help her screw her head back on straight?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You two need to help make the forge, oven and loom.”

Bailey cocked her hip to the side, resting one hand on it with a raised eyebrow. “Actually, she only needs to do the finishing touches to make it ‘her’ craft, and I don’t have any powers so I can’t really help anyway.”

All the other girls were looking over now, making Eris’s face go even further red. Bailey was, on her behalf, asking the equivalent of Sector Saez’s principal and one of the leading military figures in the entire Syndicate for a break from their important work to go have sex. However, the dean eventually glanced to the armoured bodyguard and made a gesture with his head.

“Watch them.”

“Yes, sir.” Charlotte nodded, holding her helmet under one arm but using the other to hold a fist against her chest in a kind of salute. Bailey chuckled, walked around the counter and laced her fingers with Eris’s to grab her hand.

“Alright, Cutiepie. Mama BJ’s gonna help you relax a little bit.”

Eris gulped as she was led out of the closed door of her workshop and back into the main hall of the CDF’s first floor. Naturally, lots of eyes turned to look at her. Bailey just smiled.

“Come on, we’ll go to my shop.” Then, the blonde leaned in while lowering her voice to a whisper. “And unless someone’s stolen all my shit, I know there’s still a few Phallus Philters tucked away somewhere that should still be good.”

Eris’s eyes widened and her cheeks turned yet another shade darker. Bailey used her whispering position to give a quick kiss to Eris’s earlobe, which sent shudders rolling down her spine.

“How about it, Cutiepie? Wanna see what it’s like on the other end of the meat?”