Becoming Monsters is the creation and property of Ai Loves, setting used with permission. Apologies for the dey, I had the scheduling set wrong.

  I would also like to emphasize that every chart and graph you see talked about in the story actually exists somewhere in my notes. I had to make them myself. Was it necessary? Probably not. Did I do it anyway? Yup. We don’t believe in doing things halfway in this universe, and it’s not even the most calcuting I’ve done for a story chapter. That title goes to In The Mirror chapter 12. At least for now.

  —

  Chapter 18: No Rest For the Weary

  Todd found himself hunched over his desk shortly after getting back to the dorms, a pad of graph paper before him and pencil in hand. The sun had already set, but if Sunday wasn’t going to be avaible then his homework had to be a major priority. There were several graphs and charts drawn, comparing all kinds of information with one another in a desperate attempt to find some kind of solid thing to point to.

  The thing is? No matter how much he tried to apply reporting formats, no matter how many things he put on an X or Y axis, it seemed like everything correted and nothing conclusively proved to be what he was looking for. Level versus progress gained each encounter? Sure, but that wasn’t news to anyone with two brain cells to rub together. Given that this was, in fact, a college campus, most people could be assumed to possess that minimum qualification. Calcuted mana curve versus actual? It looked like he was averaging about a half-percent difference between what he expected to recover and what he actually got, but it didn’t seem consistent and what was causing it wasn’t clear. There was a very secure trend of giving a buff to a new person being worth twice as much progress as one who he’d buffed before. Again, not exactly outndish, but at least it wasn’t nothing.

  He checked his Status screen again. It was a good thing there wasn’t any css tomorrow. Given his distinct ck of discipline keeping his dick in his pants today, he’d need to wait for nearly midnight to be able to cast Investiture at full strength. Getting back onto that particur track was probably going to be important.

  He rubbed his eyes. The numbers and lines on the paper were swimming around. It all seemed so close, but just out of reach. The dies were ughing about something in the common room. Todd heard Ghata say something about the Ace of Hearts, he figured they must be pying some kind of game to blow off steam. He, of course, wasn’t avaible for the next couple of hours for their normal way to do it. So they were pying cards. From May’s distinctively sexy ugh, either she won something or else something entertaining just happened.

  Todd reached for some water. He wasn’t really thirsty, per se, but if Jem was warning him to make sure his Sunday was clear it was likely to be a major wringer. Trying to sm water the day of wasn’t going to work, and if it involved what he thought it was going to then he wasn’t going to have many opportunities to use the bathroom either. Best to start hydrating early.

  He stretched, back popping. All of the consolidated data retionships looked like they trended in generally the same way at the same time. Maybe he could use that somehow? Actually, that made sense. It wasn’t a secret how these things could interrete, but if they were all doing the same thing then that made things easy to summarize together.

  There was a tap at his door, dispelling his focus. Blinking, he realized another hour and a half had passed. Todd opened his mouth to say something, but whatever he was about to try to say emerged as an enormous yawn instead.

  “And here I thought roaring was my job,” Ghata said from the other side of his door. “Can I come in?”

  “Sure, you know you’re always welcome.”

  She came in. Much to Todd’s shock, Ghata did not enter in her Human form. Tall, powerful, red-orange with bck stripes and hands which attached backwards. Gambhira Subedi was a Rakshasi, and came in looking like it. “Todd, you need to rest. It’s te.”

  “I need a lot of things, Ghata. There’s just so much to do…”

  “Yep, and if you work yourself until you pass out you won’t be working, either. Then, when you wake up, you’ll have to redo all the work since you won’t be able to trust it. So now you’re going to listen to me. Strip and y down on the bed facedown.”

  Around the time his shirt hit the ground and he was unbuckling his belt, Todd wondered why he was listening so quickly. He had not quite managed to answer the question before he found himself facedown on his bed, but when Ghata id her hands on his back and began a slow and deliberate massage he found he no longer cared.

  In her true form, Ghata was a foot taller than Todd, twice his weight, and three times his strength. He could feel this incredible potential force ever-so-carefully press into the muscles along his spine and realized that he had been rather stiff. The pain and stress he’d been holding on to were gently encouraged to vacate the area by those kneading palms and knuckles, radiating spikes of pleasure and relief into his body.

  As she worked her way around his back and arms and legs, he found himself panting with pleasure. When she asked him to roll over, he struggled to move enough to do so. Now face up, her hands had access to his chest and hips and thighs. By the time he felt her lips descend on his dick, Todd was already so hard and so close to the edge that it took him an embarrassingly short amount of time before he was cumming down her throat. Barely enough to be able to queue up his mana regeneration.

  And it didn’t stop there. Ghata kept up the gentle pressure until Todd was lost in a haze of relief and rexation. He thought he heard her whisper something into his ear, but before his befuddled brain could quite parse what it was the feel of the massage changed. The rge and powerful hands were repced in the space between heartbeats by much smaller and more delicate ones. The massage was still heavenly, but as these pushed into his back again the words he could now hear did not come from who he was expecting.

  “Geez, Todd, you really need to take care of yourself better than this.” It was May, trying her best to continue the work the Rakshasi had begun. “I’m scared I’m going to break you trying to get some of these knots out!”

  “May? When did you come into my bedroom? I didn’t hear the door.”

  “First off, you were so blissed out you wouldn’t have heard the school’s marching band invading.” As she eased off, he noticed his surroundings for the first time. The bed was different, the walls no longer his. May grinned. “Second off, I didn’t come into your room. You came to me, in dreams.”

  “Point of order: st I checked it’s still my head, which is still in my room.”

  “Other point of order: you’re here aren’t you?” May was dressed in well-worn jeans and a tee shirt, and though she wasn’t trying to show off it was easy to admire how they hugged her curves as she moved. “We can stay here or go to the cssroom next door if you want. Just try to take it easy, okay? You’re supposed to be resting.”

  Todd slowly and luxuriously got up from the bed then started making his way to the other room. “I thought I was asleep while we’re doing this? Aren’t I resting one way or the other?”

  “Well, yes, but actually no. You ever wake up from a nightmare where something was chasing you? Racing heart and sweating?”

  “Oh. Yeah, that makes sense, I’d still exhaust myself and have to deal with making it through the day anyway.” The door to the cssroom opened easily, the board poputed by half a dozen graphs he had made in his notebook.

  “I can see what you beled these things, but even with that I can’t make heads or tails of it.”

  Todd grinned. “This despite making sure I got both head and tail in the st 24 hours?”

  May opened her mouth to say something, then closed it with an audible click. “Did you just… turn what I said into an innuendo? Wow, Todd. Here I didn’t realize you could turn me on any harder.”

  Todd kept his smile but reached for some chalk. “Fair’s fair, I guess. Did the others ever tell you about the state I was in when they found me in after that first time you came to my room?” He started to draw something in light blue on each of the charts, a line on some and curves on others.

  “Not specifically, but given what I know of what my Race can do I’m pretty sure there isn’t anything you can tell me that would be a shock.” She looked at the new additions to the graphs. “Now this… I’m pretty sure they mean the same thing, but what are you thinking?”

  “I think I might have just figured out the assignment. Call it a Progression Line. How fast someone in my position can push for Status development.”

  “That’s… kind of scary, isn’t it? Just aiming to become that strong? You saw what Lucas was like.”

  “Maybe. Thing is, you know I’m rate limited. Especially if I want to keep you four buffed up and Fed. And let’s face it, I really like sex with you.”

  “Gd to hear THAT is staying steady.” Her wry tone was desert-dry.

  Todd either missed it or forebore from commenting. “So, you dies have managed to push me to Level five this week. That is… well, it’s incredibly quick. Assuming that this particur graph,” he pointed at one seemingly-random curve, “is approximately correct, I know how many sexual encounters I need to have with new people in order to get to the next Level and the few after that. I hear the equation changes around Level eight or nine. Unassisted and with the goal of keeping constant…” his voice trailed off into mumbles.

  May let him putter around for a bit before walking up to Todd and hugging him from behind. “Todd. You already made a leap forward. Please, do us both a favor and rest.”

  Todd’s hand stopped at the end of the line, chalk still in his grip. Slowly, with determination, he set it down. “You know, you’re the second person to tell me that in the st hour.”

  “Wow, Todd, it’s almost like we have eyes to observe you with, talk to each other, and love you enough to be concerned for your well-being.” Her eyes flew open, and she released her hug to cp both hands over her mouth.

  Even Todd noticed that, turning sharply to look at her. “Wait, back that up. What did you just say?”

  “I… Todd, I’m going to ask a lot of you right now. I need you to ignore the words I used and just go with the spirit of it, okay? Being in here is making me speak and act differently.”

  Todd’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Okay… you know I won’t be able to forget what you said, May, but I’ll try to keep myself in check once we wake up. I thought you did this all the time, though?”

  “Not normally this many nights in a row with one person, not someone who sees me as more than a sex object, and certainly not someone I’m this emotionally connected to.” Her eyes flew open as her mouth continued past the point she obviously intended to stop. “I should go. I’ll ask one of the others if I can sleep in their head the rest of tonight.” She turned to head towards the cssroom door, but Todd reached out to grab her hand. She was more than strong enough to ignore his attempt and keep going, but found that she just didn’t want to.

  “I think I see what’s going on. You can’t lie or conceal here, can you?”

  She shook her head.

  “Same reason you’re dressed casually? Why you aren’t in full seduction mode?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure, but probably? I’m… not Hungry in here. Horny, sure, but that’s not any different from who I was before I got my horns. Can we stop this conversation, though? It feels icky.”

  Todd sighed. “Alright. May, I am going to say something very true as well. I really want you to come back. It’s… really nice. Peaceful. If that means I have to stop asking you personal questions, I’ll do it. Tell me to stop at any time and I

  will. Will that work for you?”

  She nodded, a glitter of tears in her eyes. In the space between their rapid heartbeats, May went from pulling away to ducking into his arms, hugging him close. They didn’t speak for a bit, and didn’t need to. It was enough to just be there as their emotions calmed, helping each other get there.

  “You know, May,” Todd carefully ventured, “I think you’re right. What I have here should be enough to make Professor Otterly happy, anyway. Maybe we can head back to the bedroom?” Seeing her disappointment, he hastened to add “not for sex! Just to cuddle. Rest. You know, like I’ve been advised by more than one lovely dy to do.”

  May rexed immediately into his chest again. “You know what? That sounds really good right about now. Thanks for taking the advice, even if it took you a while.”

  “Thanks for giving good advice.” The two reluctantly stopped their hug some moments ter, but the promise of a good cuddle was enough to get them to move eventually. Still clothed, they climbed onto the bed and resumed their hug in a somewhat more horizontal fashion.

  The sun rose, and Todd’s eyes opened. The woman in his arms was red-orange and furry, Ghata had apparently cuddled up with him after he fell asleep. Todd felt something that had become rare this past week. He felt well-rested. Peaceful, almost. It was with some regret that he realized his bdder would not allow him to stay there for too much longer.

  Very slowly and carefully, Todd disentangled himself from the tigress in his bed, then silently put on slippers and a bathrobe to make the walk to the bathroom. It was Saturday morning, people didn’t have schedules to adhere to this day, so the facility was blessedly empty. Still quiet, he made his way back to block 222, enjoying the stillness. He really had been hurting and stressed, inside and out, and the dedicated help from Ghata and May really got him right.

  Then he got into his own room, and the train of thought abruptly derailed.

  Ghata was still in the bed, but that’s where the expected ended. She was not alone. May had apparently materialized there, and was now trapped. Eyes wide open, looking for a way out of the arms and legs now holding her. From the look of things (and Todd’s memory), they were quite powerful and heavy. Ghata’s powerful thighs had her hips in an immovable grip worthy of a wrestling match. Her mighty arms came down over May’s shoulders, paws resting quite comfortably on both of the beautiful breasts they found there. Much to May’s consternation, neither of these moved so much as a millimeter despite her attempts to escape. They were basically the extremely secure, warm, and furry straps to a five-point harness that she couldn’t reach the button to.

  Todd saw the decision cross May’s face. He knew it was a bad one, but was already ughing entirely too hard already to be able to vocalize it. The Greater Succubus, unable to get out of the bed, triggered her Feeding on the Rakshasi in a desperate attempt to wake her up. On the one hand, it certainly worked for what she wanted to do. Ghata’s eyes flew open as the orgasm crashed into her without warning or buildup. The problem, of course, was everything else that came with it.

  The powerful tigress’s core muscles contracted HARD with the force of the sudden spike of pleasure that struck her. This, predictably, led directly to legs and arms securely wrapped around the Succubus to also contract, equally hard. Given the fact that they were already inescapably tight, this meant that May was crushed within that grip to the point that she couldn’t breathe. Her hips, shoulders, and spine let out a series of pops that sounded much like glow sticks being activated as the tigress’s back arched, though this was rgely covered up by Ghata’s orgasmic roar. That roar, originating as it did a matter of inches from May’s ears, did not help her suffering in any way, shape, or form. It should be noted, as an academic interest, that South Asian tiger species possess some of the loudest roars of any known animal species, and this transted directly to the volume of what came out of Ghata’s throat.

  This, quite thankfully, only sted a few seconds. Todd’s door crashed open as the noise drew Song and Jem running at top speed, just in time to witness Ghata come down off of her peak and slowly peel back her limbs to release May. Both of them took about a second to look around, see the scene, and realize it was a sex thing. Not anything to be really concerned about.

  The Succubus rolled off the bed and flopped onto the floor. Slowly, she wobbled her way back onto her feet. She moved like she was stretching out, feeling herself and seemingly getting reacquainted with her own spine. She looked over at the new observers and gave a sacious smile. “Well, that was unexpected. My spine feels all noodly, it usually takes a particurly good orgasm for me to feel like that.”

  Ghata sat up slowly, breathing hard. “Not to be blunt, May, but it WAS a particurly good orgasm. Just not yours.”

  “Oh. Well, then, I guess the streak continues.” She looked around the room again. “Breakfast time?”

  Todd by this point was recovering from his own ughter, sides sore. “Okay, not a bad suggestion. Uh. Jem, I think you need a buff before we go? Song still has a few hours left on hers.”

  The enormous Amazoness grinned. “I think I’m ready for it after seeing all of that, too. Been skipping my turn too often, and we need to talk anyway.”

  About sixty seconds ter, Todd found himself positioned on his knees on Jems bed, slowly and deliberately pounding into her from behind while the others got ready for the day. It only momentarily occurred to him to wonder about how strange his life had gotten before she spoke up.

  “Okay… oh, you know the spot… about tomorrow. You know initial exams are Monday, right?”

  He kept up his pace while nodding. Then, Todd realized she wasn’t positioned to be able to see the gesture. “Yeah, I do.”

  “Awesome. You also mentioned that you get more Css Progress from giving a buff to someone new?”

  “I’m not sure where you’re going with this.” He was feeling like he was getting close. The purpose of all of this today was for him to finish quickly so they could go get breakfast, and he was intending to set a couple of his spells back up while he had the mana to spare.

  Jem clenched down on him in her first orgasm, but once she got herself back under control she continued. “There are a LOT of dies who are nervous about their exams and think some bonuses will push them over the edge. So, starting at noon, you have about a dozen of them who are ready to pay in favors and materials to line up for you to rail into submission so that they can do better.”

  Todd’s eyes flew open in shock at this arrangement, it was so far outside his experience that he didn’t even know where to START thinking about it. The thought, though, was so hot that his body immediately gave him its own opinion on the matter. His balls contracted and he sprayed powerful jets of cum into the Amazoness he was hilt deep in, his power flowing into her.

  “Ah, I see you like the idea.”

  “Are you INSANE, Jem? How the actual heck am I supposed to keep up with that? It would use 228% of my mana pool and I am NOT drinking another one of May’s turbo potions.” He pulled back from her, flopping onto the bed.

  “Oh, don’t be such a baby, I know you can do it!”

  “Not if they all need my Inspiration, Jem. Assuming I eat an early lunch and start that with full mana, I’ll regain almost 90% if I keep going to MIDNIGHT before exams start. That still leaves me nearly forty points short of the goal.”

  Jem stood tall, stretching her powerful body before reaching for a desk drawer and pulling out a bottle. “Ethically sourced this one, and the one who is st in line has been told she might be just getting fun and stress relief”

  “And are the others okay with slowed down or canceled buffs for a few days? Going to be at zero and without Investiture.”

  “Already talked it over with them, we’ll be fine. Song even still has her Potions of Willpower if it gets bad, thanks to your help she hasn’t had to use any of them yet.”

  Todd pulled up his underwear and pants. “Not going to object further, then. Guess I should be fueling up today.”

  “That’s the spirit!” Jem had already put her robe and hat on. “Now come on, the others are waiting.”

  The five of them managed to be normal for about three and a half minutes of walking. Talking about inconsequential things, giving tips on what to study for. Just like any other college students. Right up until they saw the dueling circle, roughly drawn into the ground as though with a stick.

  A muscur man with a boar’s head, no shirt, and two wooden swords stood snorting and staring at his foe. Across from him was a dog-man, looking like a German Shepherd or a Malinois but dressed in camo pants and a tan tee shirt, empty-handed but returning the hostile gre. Both heard the group approach. The tter barked out “you! Todd, right? We need a referee. Trey here thinks I’ve insulted his honor.”

  “Shut up, Astor!” The boar-headed man was not interested in pleasantries. “You know you’re keeping me from getting in!”

  The dog-man, Astor, looked over his shoulder. “Fine then. Unconsciousness, surrender, or ring out? I have exams Monday.”

  “I’ll ref!” Todd took several quick steps forward. It looked like failing to do so would only lead to more blood. “Take your positions.”

  They walked to opposite ends of the circle. The boar-man was the first to take a fighting stance, pointing both of his wooden swords forward. “Adversor et admorsus.”

  Astor’s eyes narrowed. “You should be careful who you speak those words to.” Still unarmed, he took a martial artist’s fighting stance.

  “Get ready. Begin!”

  The fight did not take long. Trey charged forward as soon as he heard the word and started swinging. Astor quite calmly assessed what was coming at him and began blocking the strikes, forearms glowing with a dull blue light. He didn’t escape cleanly, at least a couple of the attacks struck home, but a few moments ter he saw his opening. One fist crackled with power as he struck his enemy’s sor plexus. He accepted a hit to a shoulder to do so, but when his other hand glowed and connected with the boar’s chin in a titanic uppercut it was worth it. Trey nded in a heap, outside the circle some twenty feet behind where he’d started his dog-powered trajectory.

  That was obvious enough. “Ring out! Astor wins!”

  Astor the Malinois took a few careful steps over to the man on the ground, his tail wasn’t wagging. “My grandfather fought in World War Two. For Belgium. That motto was from his sister unit, they’re why he lived long enough to have my mom. You just like it because you’re a boar. Now stop dogging me, I have better things to do than teach you more lessons. I don’t have to be Bradley to be able to do it.” He looked back at Todd. “Thanks for letting us have it out. See you Monday?”

  With a shock, Todd remembered Astor’s face. In the back row of his Math css, specifically. “Ah, right. Yeah, Monday, exams first thing. Did you need help studying?”

  The Malinois grinned in a toothy kind of way, tongue visible. “From what I hear, and I hear a lot, you are going to be a bit too busy to do that.”

  Jem frowned. “How did you hear that?”

  “I have ears. They work a bit better than yours do. When Tricia called you I was two rooms away. And caught the whole thing.” He looked back at Todd. “You’d best be careful. Something smells around here, and you’re making a spsh. Those two don’t combine well. Still, like Saba said, when you are neck deep in dung is the wrong time to hang your head. You have more friends and more enemies than you know.”