18 The start of something new (1/2)

”Hic! Hic! Hic! R-reeykkkuuu” Mina wobbled over to Riyku and firmly straddled his lap. He was sitting on the couch relaxing with his head resting firmly against the headrest and his eyes closed. It was when he felt the pressure of another body planted firmly on his body did his eyes open and looked to see Mina who was pressing herself firmly against him. ”You said, you would have... Hic! sex with me.” The woman seemed drunk as ever right now. ”I did, but right now would not be the best time,” Riyku stated as he took the empty glass from her and set it on the coffee table in front of them, using his other arm to keep her from falling back as he leaned forward. ”Why~?” Mina whined.

”Because you are drunk. This goes for all of you.” He noticed the other girls wobbling their way towards him before sighing heavily. ”No fair~” Vex complained. ”Y-yeah HIC! Kristen got to!” Lira seemed to add to which Kristen would snuggle up against Riyku's right arm. ”Hehe~” Even she seemed drunk as ever. ”When you all sober up, I'll take care of you each of you. Okay?” Riyku would state to which the girls all smiled. ”Prowmise.” They said in sync to which Riyku nodded. ”Yes.” After which they seemed to snuggle up against him. A soft sigh would escape his lips as he leaned his head back to rest it against the headrest and close his eyes yet again.

'Just like in your previous lives. You have an uncanny way of naturally attracting women.' Seraphina's voice called from inside of his mind. 'I saw that in one of the fragments.' Riyku replied internally. 'I don't get how this happens or what I do to make this happen. I get it that after these several months they may have developed these feelings for me, but... with Kristen, she threw herself at me.' Riyku stated bluntly to which Seraphina chuckled lightly in response. 'Maybe it was because she saw you as something more than just a normal man. You never tried to take advantage of her, not once. Nor are you even trying to do so now. Kristen, as well as the other girls, see that and realize that you won't betray their trust in you.' Seraphina would explain, but it seemed Riyku still did not get it. 'Okay, but what of Racheal. Her feelings came out of nowhere, and I was truthfully just using her for my own personal gain.' This caused Seraphina to tsk at him, 'Only in the beginning though. The thing you have yet to realize about yourself is that you have two sides to you.' Seraphina stated to him which caused his brow to rise. 'You are a gentleman by instinct and a devil by nature. Whenever you see a woman of any shape, size, or personification you will instinctively be a gentleman towards her unless they are naturally a bitch towards you, of course, then you become a devil. Your instinct of a gentleman is simple as opening doors, aiding in carrying heavy loads or even just helping them out in general. Small things that most people don't realize matter much.' Seraphina explained to which Riyku sighed internally. 'You mean being nice?' He would attempt to correct her. 'No. Remember how you told the barista you were going to take things outside. You were doing it to allow her to know that you were not going to bring harm to her store. The times before that you helped out several other women, be it old and wrinkly or young and childish. You do it by instinct because that is who you are... however, you are also a devil by nature. As such, you can get be angered easily if those precious to you are put in harm's way. You may often at times come off as an asshole as well.' Seraphina seemed to explain some more to which Riyku just gave up in the end.

'Still doesn't explain my present situation. I mean, I can understand their feelings, but why they are willing to accept this situation is beyond me.' Riyku would firmly put out to which Seraphina chuckled lightly, 'Because the world you are in encourages polygamy. Especially those of strong origin. Men and women both have harems to tend to them, not because the genders flock to them out of their sheer strength, but because of pure respect for who they are. They want to be able to be part of that person's life to the fullest. Just like these girls want to be a part of yours. Just as I wanted to be and just as our family did, as well as your previous friends.' Seraphina explained to him once more to which he seemed to finally grasp a bit of understanding of it. 'I won't stop them then, but I don't like the fact that they throw themselves on me every chance they get.' Riyku would sigh heavily to which Seraphina chuckled lightly. 'You have your own self to blame for that, after all, you are the reason they feel that way about you. Everything you've done for them in such a short time-span. Not to mention your Mein is also a part of the reason.' Seraphina would recap a bit before Riyku shook his head lightly. 'Whatever...' This caused Seraphina to giggle lightly. 'Goodnight, my darling.' She whispered softly before seeming to fall asleep. It seemed everyone was asleep now to which he would soon follow.

Riyku's conscious was plunged into the abyss once again and he seemed to glance around yet again at all the footage of memories there were. ”You survived. I am impressed.” A voice called out, the same one that he detested. ”Again with you,” Riyku growled to which the tiny black-haired woman who looked just like the tiny brunette locked in the cage had stepped forth into what little light was provided. ”Huh? Wait.. who are you?” Riyku inquired to which the girl chuckled lightly. ”Hmm... how to put it. I guess you can call me Blaze, I am from the version one point zero. While I was not your Operator like Coco, I was part of someone who watched over your system.” Blaze would explain to which Riyku seemed a bit surprised by this, it was the first he had heard something like this after all. ”Version 1.0. You mean before my reincarnation?” Riyku inquired to which the girl nodded. ”Yup. Although, I should explain something to you. I wasn't the one who locked up Coco. You see, I only came about the moment she was locked up. I have no idea who or what locked her away, but I would like to give you a fair warning.” Blaze would state firmly to which Riyku narrowed his eyes at her, ”And why should I trust you?” He would retort to which the girl would chuckle lightly. ”Because I haven't tried to harm you. You see, something has infected your system. They want you to revert back to the old system, the one that has damaged. For what purpose? I have no idea. I just know that the old system was full of malfunctions. There was nothing I could do to fix the malfunctions or even stop what was to come of it.” Blaze would state as she circled around him. Riyku would follow her with his eyes, ”What do you mean? What happened?” He inquired.

”Your system shut down. You died. After that, I know nothing else. But I did hear something say, May the end begin anew.” She would relay the message to him. ”Huh?” Riyku did not understand it, to which Blaze did not even understand. ”Not sure. After that, when the system was rebooted you were in a new body in this strange world. I was once more locked up and watched as a new Operator took over. After that, I just observed until I was free. That was when your Operator was locked up.” Blaze stated. ”Then what of that warning, with the limiter ordeal?” Riyku seemed to inquire. ”Oh yeah. I ran a search through the process. You've met the requirements. First being, you need to over level ninety, and the second being you needed to have unlocked any form. The Class Up quest is supposed to send you into a trial against yourself. Where you will battle against enemies of your past and should you fail... well, you will be consumed whole by your own power.” Blaze stated to which Riyku seemed to relax slightly. ”So I just need to prepare and become stronger.” Riyku stated to which Blaze denied his claim, ”Wrong. You are strong enough. As I said this battle will be against yourself; therefore no matter how strong you become you will be fighting a battle equal of that. What you need to do is reaffirm your resolve. That is the strength you need. If you had gone into the Class Up with the resolve you had today, the Power of Darkness would have consumed you whole. The only reason you were brought back was because of the bonds you forged with those five.” Blaze stated as she brought footage of Riyku hanging out with Lira, Vex, Skylar, Mina, and Kristen. The footage showed them doing various things, like shopping for clothes, checking out weapons and armors, and so much more.

”They will become the pillar of your strength. The stronger your bonds become with them the stronger your inner strength will be. You are plenty strong on the outside, but what you need is inner strength.” Blaze would step up to him and tap upon his chest. A bright light would illuminate over him which caused him to blink rapidly as he suddenly felt a warmth embrace his entire body. ”What did you do?” Riyku inquired to which Blaze chuckled lightly. ”I have bestowed upon you the Power of Bonds. The 'Bonds' you make will link up with those you surround yourself with. They don't have to be lovers, but friends and even strangers or business partners. The stronger your bond grows the stronger your inner strength with becoming. You will have a new tab labeled 'Bonds' which will have each person's name and the strength of their bond with you.” Blaze explained to which Riyku smiled softly. ”Bonds eh? It feels like something I never really had in my previous lives.” Riyku stated to which Blaze shook her head. ”You did, but you refused to accept them.” This caused Riyku's brow to raise. ”Why?” To which Blaze shook her head. ”Because you did not believe you were strong enough to protect them with your own power. Your inner strength became your downfall. Which is why I am giving you this power, and giving you this advice. So you do not make the same mistake again.” Blaze would inform him to which he nodded lightly.

”Looks like your time here is up. As such, I will be going as well. If whatever has infected your system catches wind of me, I may be locked away as well, so I'll be in hiding for a while. Take care and remember, cherish your bonds.” Blaze stated as his vision slowly became blurry and his body was ejected from the abyss only to awake to the chirping birds outside and the weight of the woman snuggled into him. Blinking softly he would take notice of the text box before him.

'You feel refreshed and ready for the day. +100 Shield points.'

'The spirits of mana graced you during your slumber. +200 Mana points for four hours.'

Well, that is reassuring that he slept for eight hours. He really wanted to get up now, but he was underneath these five... so a thought came to mind. Seeing several couch pillows scattered on the floor he would use blink maybe five or six times in a row in less than a second to make it so none of the girls woke up while he was away. Nodding to his own accomplishment he would yawn softly and stretch his limbs as he began to head towards the kitchen area. He was greeted by the Head Chef who smiled warmly at him, ”Ah. Master Riyku, Good morning. Did you and others have a wonderful rest?” The chef seemed to tease him lightly to which he chuckled and nudged the male in the arm. ”I don't take advantage of women. You know that, Chef.” He would reply with a playful expression. ”That I do. Are you planning on preparing breakfast for them? I can do that for you since I am already preparing breakfast for the Master and Mistress Novaa.” The Chef offered to which Riyku shook his head. ”I appreciate it, but I think I'll get this one myself, ”Riyku stated with a smile to which the Chef nodded. ”Of course. I won't stop you. If you need any help don't be afraid to ask.” He would reply to which Riyku nodded lightly before taking an apron off the rack and putting it on. Next, he would tie up his hair into a ponytail before moving to wash his hands and arms at a washing station. ”Alright.” He would begin to take out various ingredients for a western style breakfast. A bowl with several eggs, then some flour, sugar, and butter along with several other ingredients for the main dish. Since a small number of eggs would be used later he would prep the batter for the main dish. Once that had settled and become ready he would pour a small portion of the batter onto a skillet. Setting the bowl of batter aside for later use, for now, he would prepare the side dish which by now anyone could have guessed was going to eggs. Putting two and two together, it would home-style pancakes and eggs.

As time passed, everyone seemed to have been waking up. Skylar seemed to have walked into the kitchen due to the lovely aroma. ”Smells good in here. What are you making?” Skylar inquired to which Riyku would chuckle lightly. ”A simple breakfast.” He replies. Skylar would look at the process he was going through before blinking rapidly. ”Simple? You made everything from scratch!” He cried out to which Riyku would shrug. ”Is everyone up?” Riyku asked to which Skylar nodded. ”Yeah, the girls are washing up,” Skylar replied. ”Good, can you set the table and get them into the dining area. ”Umm, okay.” Skylar was still kind of stunned, not once has Riyku ever seemed to bring any kind of home-cooked meal, or even attempted to cook. So, he didn't know that he could do such a thing.