"Goddess?" someone whispered.
"This is insane," Daniel muttered.
"Did she say goddess?" Jessica asked.
'Goddess,' I thought, looking at those glowing eyes. 'Actually, yeah. I believe it. What else could she be?'
"You must have many questions," Kiemora continued, her eyes sweeping across us. When her gaze passed over me, I felt warmth spread through my chest. "I will answer what I can, but first, know this: you have been handpicked, each of you, for a task of great importance."
"Handpicked?" Jake spoke up. "For what?"
"I told you. I am a goddess. And you have been chosen to save a world."
Murmurs rippled through the group.
"Save a world?" one of the brewery guys scoffed. "Lady, I don't know what kind of drugs you slipped us, but this is ridiculous."
"I want to go home," a girl near the front said, tears streaming. "Please."
Kiemora raised one hand and silence fell. "I understand your doubt and your fear. But look around you. You stand in my realm, a place between places. If I were not what I claim, how would any of this be possible?"
'She has a point,' I thought. 'Unless this is all a hallucination, which... seems less likely than a goddess being real at this point.'
"There exists a world," Kiemora said, raising her hand. An image appeared in the air, a planet rotating slowly, showing continents and oceans that were not Earth. "A world under siege by forces of darkness, evil that threatens to consume all light and life. The people of this world have prayed for salvation, and I have answered. You are that answer."
The image shifted, showing destruction. Cities burning, people fleeing, creatures of nightmare rampaging through streets. Monsters with too many limbs, shadows moving independently, things with glowing red eyes and teeth like daggers.
"Those are..." Daniel started. "Those can't be real."
"They look like demons," Jessica whispered.
'Real or not, if she's showing us this, she wants us to think it's real,' I thought. 'And if it is real, we're supposed to fight them? Us?'
"I understand your doubt," Kiemora said. "You come from a world of science and reason, where gods and magic are relegated to stories. But I assure you, this is no deception. You stand in my realm, and you will soon walk in that world, armed with the power to fight the darkness."
"What power?" Daniel called out. "We're just college students. We don't know how to fight anything."
"Yeah, how are we supposed to save anyone?" Jessica added.
"Which is why I have prepared gifts for you," Kiemora replied. "Abilities beyond your mortal limitations. Powers drawn from the essence of intent itself."
She waved her hand and a massive structure appeared. It looked like a slot machine crossed with a roulette wheel, towering several feet above her. Symbols and images spun across its surface, glowing with otherworldly light. The wheel was ornate, covered in carvings and inlaid with gems that pulsed.
'Okay, now we're in a video game,' I thought. 'A goddess just spawned a loot box.'
"Each of you will receive abilities suited to your soul," Kiemora explained. "Step forward, place your hand upon the wheel, and accept what fate has designed for you. Once you have received your gifts, you will be transported to the world in need."
The students looked at each other. Nobody moved.
"What if we don't want to?" a girl asked.
"You are free to refuse. However, you cannot return to your world without first receiving your gifts. The magic that brought you here requires balance. To send you back, you must first be changed."
"So we don't actually have a choice," Jake said bitterly.
"You have the choice of what to do once you receive your gifts. But to go home, you must first go forward."
Silence. Nobody wanted to be first.
'Someone has to go first.'
But before I could move, a girl from the front row stepped forward. Short, maybe five foot two, with dark hair in a ponytail. She approached the wheel with visible trepidation.
"Just... just touch it?" she asked.
"Yes, child," Kiemora said gently.
The girl took a deep breath and pressed her palm against the wheel.
The moment contact was made, the wheel erupted with light. Symbols flashed and spun, faster and faster, until they blurred. The sound was like wind chimes and bells. Then, with a final chime, the wheel stopped.
An image appeared, a bow glowing with silver light. The image flowed into the girl. Her eyes snapped open, glowing silver for a moment before returning to normal. Her posture straightened, and a quiver of silver arrows materialized on her back, along with a bow in her hands.
"Whoa," she breathed.
"Blessed Archer," Kiemora announced. "May your aim be true and your arrows fly swift."
The girl vanished. Gone. Just... gone.
"Where did she go?" Jessica shrieked.
"Did she just disappear?" Daniel asked.
"She has been transported to the world in need," Kiemora explained. "As will each of you once you receive your gifts."
'Or dead,' I thought cynically. 'She could be dead. But what choice do we have?'
But the transformation broke the hesitation. Students began forming a line, some eager, some terrified, but all resigned.
A guy went next. The wheel spun, chimed, stopped on flames.
"Flame Knight," Kiemora announced.
His body erupted with fire that did not burn him, armor of flame coating his skin. He vanished.
"Next."
One by one, they went.
"Healing Saint."
"Shadow Rogue."
"Battle Mage."
"Divine Shield."
"Beast Tamer."
The announcements blended together. Jake received Sword Saint and pumped his fist before disappearing. Jessica got Divine Shield and smiled before she too was gone.
'Sword Saint,' I thought. 'That sounds powerful. Wonder what I'll get. Probably something lame. Background Character Class.'
The line dwindled. Sixty became fifty, then forty, then thirty. Soon only a dozen remained, then six, then three.
Daniel went ahead of me, getting Storm Caller, lightning dancing across his fingers. He looked at me and nodded before disappearing.
Then just me and one other guy. He glanced at me nervously.
"You want to go first?" he asked.
"Go ahead," I replied.
'Might as well be last. Consistent to the end.'
He stepped forward, touched the wheel, watched it spin.
"Elemental Sage," Kiemora announced.
His hands crackled with multiple elements. "This is incredible," he whispered, then he was gone.
Just me now. Alone with the goddess.
"Step forward, Arthur Hart," Kiemora said.
'She knows my name. Of course she does.'
I approached the wheel, heart pounding. Up close, it was even more impressive, easily twelve feet tall, covered in symbols I could not read but somehow felt were important. It hummed with power.
'Here we go. Let's see what the universe thinks I'm worth.'
I placed my hand on the wheel's surface. It was warm, almost hot, pulsing with energy that flowed up my arm and into my chest.
The symbols began to spin. Faster than they had for anyone else, or maybe it just seemed that way. Colors blurred, images merged and separated. The light grew so bright I had to close my eyes.
Ding.
'That's one.'
The chime was clear and pure. The wheel continued spinning, the warmth intensifying.
Then something changed. The smooth spinning stuttered, skipped. A grinding sound filled the air, harsh and wrong.
'What the hell?'
I opened my eyes to see the wheel jerking erratically, the entire structure shaking as if something inside had broken. The light flickered, dimmed, then blazed brighter than before.
"What..." Kiemora's voice carried uncertainty. She stepped closer, her eyes fixed on the malfunctioning wheel. "This should not..."
Ding.
'Two? Why two?'
Ding.
'Three!'
Ding.
'Four! What's happening?'
Ding.
'Five! The wheel is broken!'
Ding.
'Six!'
Ding.
'Seven! Oh god, seven! Everyone else got one and I got seven! Did I break the goddess's magic wheel?'
The wheel finally stopped, the grinding fading, leaving only silence and fading light. I stood there, hand still pressed against the warm surface, my heart racing.
"Impossible," Kiemora whispered, staring with wide eyes. "Seven gifts. The wheel gave you seven gifts. In all my eons, I have never..."
'Seven gifts. That's good, right? More is better? Or did I just screw up cosmically?'
The first gift made itself known. A translucent blue screen materialized before my eyes, floating like a holographic display. Text scrolled across it, glowing white against blue.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
[WELCOME, ARTHUR HART]
[ANALYZING ANOMALY...]
[MULTIPLE GIFTS DETECTED]
[PROCESSING...]
'A system. I got an actual RPG system. Holy shit.'
[FIRST GIFT: ADAPTIVE SYSTEM]
[FUNCTION: RECORDS, DISPLAYS, AND MANAGES ALL ABILITIES AND GROWTH]
[ALL SUBSEQUENT GIFTS WILL BE CATALOGUED HERE]
[STANDBY FOR REMAINING GIFT MANIFESTATION]
'So the system itself is the first gift. It's going to show me everything else. That's... actually really useful.'
The second gift announced itself with weight. Something materialized in my left hand. A katana, its blade gleaming with inner light. The weapon was beautiful, the blade inscribed with flowing script that glowed softly, the handle wrapped in what felt like silk but was probably something far more exotic.
Knowledge flooded my mind. Not gradually, but all at once, a torrent of information about swordsmanship. Forms, techniques, stances, movements. How to draw, strike, defend. The blade became an extension of my arm.
[SECOND GIFT ACQUIRED: CELESTIAL EDGE + SWORD SAINT PATH]
[DIVINE RANK WEAPON]
[FORGED IN THE HEART OF A DYING STAR]
[GROWS WITH ITS WIELDER]
[SWORD SAINT PATH UNLOCKED]
[KNOWLEDGE IMPARTED: ALL SWORD FORMS FROM BASIC TO LEGENDARY]
'Sword Saint. Jake got that too. But he didn't get a Divine rank weapon with it.'
The third gift hit like a physical force. My body seized up, every muscle tensing at once. It did not hurt exactly, but it was intense, overwhelming. I felt my body changing, restructuring itself fundamentally.
[THIRD GIFT ACQUIRED: ABSOLUTE PHYSIQUE]
[BODY RECONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS...]
My muscles became denser, more compact but not bulky. My bones felt stronger, tendons more flexible. My senses sharpened dramatically. I could hear Kiemora's breathing, see the individual threads of light in her outfit, feel subtle currents of air.
[ABSOLUTE PHYSIQUE ACTIVATED]
[SUB ABILITIES UNLOCKED: 6]
[1. PERFECT MUSCLE MEMORY - Your body never forgets movements]
[2. OMNI PERCEPTION - All senses enhanced beyond mortal limits, sixth sense for danger acquired]
[3. ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION - Your body adapts to overcome challenges, poison resistance, disease immunity, environmental adaptation]
[4. INFINITE STAMINA - Fatigue is a concept, not reality]
[5. REGENERATIVE FACTOR - Wounds close, bones mend, organs repair]
[6. SUPERNATURAL PHYSICALITY - Strength, speed, reflexes beyond human limits]
'Six sub abilities. This is insane. I went from regular college student to superhuman.'
The fourth gift was subtler but no less profound. I felt pathways opening inside me, channels spreading through my body like a network of rivers. Energy bloomed in my chest, not physical energy but something else, something ancient and powerful.
[FOURTH GIFT ACQUIRED: EXCEPTIONAL MANA TALENT]
[MANA CHANNELS OPENING...]
[MANA CORE FORMING...]
[TALENT LEVEL: ONE IN A MILLION]
[MAGICAL LEARNING ACCELERATED BY 1000%]
[ALL SCHOOLS OF MAGIC AVAILABLE]
Magic. This was actual magic flowing through me, becoming part of me. I could feel it now, the mana in the air, in Kiemora herself. She was like a star of magical energy, so bright and dense with power.
'One in a million talent for learning magic. Does that mean I can do... anything?'
The fifth gift felt different. Instead of adding something new, it changed something fundamental about what I already was.
[FIFTH GIFT ACQUIRED: RACIAL UPGRADE]
[HUMAN → HIGH HUMAN (SECOND CLASS)]
[PROCESSING...]
My body felt different again, denser, more real. As if I had been a rough sketch and was now a finished painting. Power thrummed through every cell.
[RACIAL UPGRADE COMPLETE]
[HIGH HUMAN - SECOND CLASS]
[BASE ATTRIBUTES INCREASED BY 300%]
[LIFE SPAN EXTENDED]
[YOU ARE NOW EQUIVALENT TO A TRAINED HIGH HUMAN WARRIOR]
'Second Class is second to the bottom. So I'm strong, but not the strongest. But that's just my base.'
The sixth gift made itself known with a sensation I could not quite describe. Like warmth spreading through me, but not physical warmth. Something deeper.
[SIXTH GIFT ACQUIRED: UNLIMITED CHARM]
[PROCESSING PARAMETERS...]
[WARNING: EFFECT IS ABSOLUTE]
[WARNING: APPLIES TO ALL FEMALE ENTITIES]
[WARNING: INTENSITY VARIES BY PROXIMITY AND EXPOSURE]
[WARNING: CANNOT BE DISABLED]
[YOU ARE NOW IRRESISTIBLE TO WOMEN]
[THEY WILL DESIRE YOU, CRAVE YOU, HUNGER FOR YOU]
[EFFECT CANNOT BE CONTROLLED OR SUPPRESSED]
'Oh. Oh no. Or oh yes? Unlimited charm that I can't turn off and affects all women and...'
I looked up from the screens, finally pulling my hand from the wheel, and found Kiemora staring at me.
But it was not the same look as before. This was something else entirely.
Her amber eyes were wide, pupils dilated until they nearly swallowed the glowing irises. Her cheeks, which had been pale cream, now flushed deep pink that spread down her neck and disappeared beneath her outfit. Her lips parted, her breathing coming faster, shallower, her generous chest rising and falling with increasing urgency.
"You," she whispered, her voice rough. "What did you... what is this? I feel..."
She took a step toward me, then stopped herself, her hands clenching at her sides as if physically restraining herself. Her whole body trembled, muscles tensing and releasing in waves.
'Oh god. The charm. It's affecting her. A goddess. She should be above mortal desires. But she's looking at me like...'
The way she looked at me had changed completely. Where before she had regarded me with distant benevolence, now she looked at me with something primal. Hunger. Need. Desire so intense it radiated from her in waves.
Her gaze traveled down my body and back up, lingering in places that made heat rise to my face. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Her breathing grew ragged, each inhale making her bust strain against the black fabric. Her thighs pressed together, shifting, rubbing.
"This should not..." she started, her voice strangled. "I am a goddess. I am beyond mortal desire. I am eternal, unchanging, perfect in my divine nature. I should not feel... I cannot feel..."
But even as she spoke, her body betrayed her. Between her thighs, a darkness appeared on her outfit, a wetness spreading slowly, unmistakably. The goddess, the being who commanded power beyond comprehension, was dripping with arousal she could not control or hide.
"Arthur," she breathed my name like a prayer and curse combined. Her voice carried notes I had never heard before, desperate and needy and hungry. "You need to... I need you to... we should..."
But she could not finish. Could not articulate what she needed or what should happen. She just stood there, divine and powerful and absolutely undone by whatever had happened when the wheel malfunctioned, when I received seven gifts instead of one, when charm itself had been rewritten to make me irresistible.
Her hands moved to her sides, fingers twitching as if wanting to reach for me but fighting the impulse. Her wings, which I had not noticed before, materialized behind her, great sweeping things of light and energy that fluttered and trembled with her distress.
"I have existed for eons," she said, barely above a whisper. "I have walked among mortals and gods alike. I have witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations, the birth and death of stars. Never, in all my endless existence, have I felt desire. It is beneath me. I am Intent itself, pure purpose without the weakness of flesh or emotion."
She took another step toward me, her legs shaking. Another step. Another. Until she was close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from her body, see the pulse hammering in her throat, smell something sweet and intoxicating.
"But now," she continued, her glowing eyes locked on mine with intensity that should have been frightening. "Now I look at you and I feel everything. I want everything. I need..."
Her hand reached out, trembling, fingers extending toward my face. She was going to touch me. A goddess was going to touch me because she could not stop herself, could not resist whatever the unlimited charm had done.
The blue screens still floated in my vision. The katana still rested in my hand. Magic thrummed through my enhanced body. And before me, a goddess dripped with need she could not control, staring at me with eyes that promised things mortals should probably not experience.
'One break,' I thought, watching her fingers inch closer. 'I asked for one break. Be careful what you wish for, Arthur.'
Her fingertips brushed my skin, and Kiemora gasped, her eyes rolling back slightly as if that simple contact sent electricity through her being. Her other hand came up, both palms now cupping my face, her touch reverent and desperate.
"So warm," she murmured, her face so close I felt her breath. "So alive. How are you doing this to me? What magic is this that even a goddess cannot resist?"
'Not magic. Charm. Unlimited charm. And apparently unlimited means unlimited, even for gods.'
We stood there in the white void, alone together. The wheel sat silent beside us. Around us, the white stretched endlessly, but I suddenly felt like we were in the most intimate space imaginable.
Kiemora's thumb traced along my cheekbone, sending shivers down my spine. Her eyes, still glowing but hazed with desire, studied my face as if she were seeing it for the first time. As if I were the most fascinating thing in all creation.
"I should send you away," she whispered, but her hands did not leave my face. "I should transport you to the world like the others. This is wrong. Goddesses do not... we do not feel these things. We do not want. We do not need. We do not..."
But her words trailed off as she leaned closer, her lips mere inches from mine, her breath coming in short, desperate pants. The wetness between her thighs had spread further, the black outfit now transparently soaked in that area, leaving nothing to imagination.
'This is happening. This is actually happening. A goddess wants me. Needs me. Cannot resist me. And we're completely alone.'