VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne-Chapter 143: Drinks with a View
"Do I really have to do this?" Percy asked as he gave his bathtub a disgusted glare. The moss green liquid filling fizzed and bubbled ominously, as if it was waiting for him to dive in so it could ensnare him in its sticky embrace.
It took a little convincing but, in the name of progress, Percy had eventually agreed to follow in Valerie’s footsteps and have his own D-fuel bath. In truth, the bath wasn’t entirely necessary. All he had to do was drink it, as Valerie had discovered herself that a bath of it - even a bath the size of a Jacuzzi like Percy had - was not enough to create a source.
But why would she give up this wonderful opportunity when it presented itself?
He was currently standing in front of her wearing nothing but a form-fitting pair of boxers that left very little to the imagination. Although he felt no shame standing in front of her like that, that didn’t mean Valerie felt the same way.
She couldn’t make up her mind between whether to look at him or not, which left her in a state of constantly darting her eyes around the room and blushing even more whenever she laid eyes on his physique sculpted by discipline and training instead of surgeons and implant engineers.
Why an E-sports player had to be this buff, she had no idea. But she felt that if she questioned about it, then maybe he would put his shirt back on, and she couldn’t have that.
God... Why was she feeling this way about this idiot? Clearly it had to be sickness from the mana or something. Yes, that was it. Delusion, nothing more. She had to move on, and do it quickly before he flexed something else by accident.
"Yup, it’s the only way to awaken your mana lobe. Then you’ll be able to start progressing towards a source like I am."
"You know, I’m still doubtful that this ’source’ thing even exists like you claim, I’ve yet to meet a player with one. Then again... I’ve yet to meet someone other than you who can actually do magic. So I guess you’re the expert here..."
"That’s right, I am. Now in you get and stop worrying to much about your hair, Princess." She slapped her hand against his back and tried to push him, only to feel like she was pushing a brick wall. A fleshy brick wall made of very toned muscles and smooth skin.
For some reason, at that moment, a strange, high pitched squeak escaped her lips. A sound she had never heard herself make before, nor could she understand where it came from.
Percy glanced over his shoulder, giving her a strange smirk, before stepping into the Jacuzzi-bath and sitting down. He allowed himself to sink slightly into the water, until his mouth was at the water level (and more importantly where most of his hair was above the ’water’) and simply started to drink from there.
Valerie chuckled slightly, the blush fading from her face as she placed her hands gently on top of the fizzing liquid and began to concentrate. After a little more conversation regarding the topic, she had realised something.
Why did they need to rely on just the mana in the drinks? After all, they only existed as a medium for the body to reliably take it in, much like the meat in Dawd. She might not be able to extract and purify the mana from the drinks into something easier to consume, but she could dilute the drink with even more mana.
Slowly but surely, Valerie poured mana into the bath. Letting it flood the drink as whatever concoction it was eagerly accepted the mana into its structure. She pulled the small amount from the room, as far as her senses could extend, as well as gradually emptied her limited supply.
Now that she could replenish it much easier, it was less necessary to desperately hang onto it all.
With her hands in the water, she also urged the mana within the juice towards Percy, so that he could drink less and still get the same amount of mana. Could she have done this with a bucket and less of the drink? Probably. Did the young master Monarch need to know that? Absolutely not.
If she did that, then this wouldn’t have come with the view and that was clearly the most important part of the process.
This extra method, however, meant that after nearly an hour of sipping away at his bathwater, Percy ran out of mana well before he ran out of the D-fuel. The only problem was he still hadn’t awakened yet.
Sitting up in the bath, Percy winced from the stabbing pains in his head as a Gorilla played the Bongos with his brain.
"Ugh, Crap... Yup, this is definitely the same feeling..." He muttered to himself.
"Do you think you can manage another dose? The more painful it gets, the closer you are. We might be able to push you over with another session."
"No... I think my stomach will explode if I drink anymore, unless my bladder beats it to it. I should be able to soldier through until tomorrow, I can take some painkillers or something." He said with another wince, clenching his eyes closed as the light felt like red hot needles stabbing through his eyes.
Valerie gave him a slightly concerned look, before leaning forward and pressing her fingers against his temples and began to rub them in circles, just like the wizard had taught her.
Slowly Percy’s face relaxed and he gradually peeled open his eyes, until he was looking directly into Valerie’s as her face was mere inches away.
She smiled softly at him, continuing to massage his temples as she focused on just the pain he was feeling rather than their closeness. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
"Better?"
Percy’s eyes darted between hers, getting lost in those sparkling emeralds, before he smiled softly.
"Yeah, much better."
Valerie smiled back, staying like that for a few seconds longer, before she removed her hands and leaned back.
"Good, now I have a cat to feed, in Dawd not here before you ask. But you should probably get yourself washed up and refreshed. After all, your hair is a complete mess."
Percy frowned slightly, "What? My hair is fi-", he managed to mutter before getting cut off as Valerie scooped up a handful of D-fuel and dumped it all over his head, before rubbing her hands all over his head to mess up his hair.
"See? Total mess." She said with a mischievous giggle, pushing herself away and rolling out of the room.
Percy watched her leave, his eyes full of annoyance and yet he couldn’t get rid of the slight smile on his face. After a few seconds of sitting in the sticky drink, he let out a soft sigh and stood up to wash himself properly.
