Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56"So, what exactly is this game?" I asked her, as she entered my room, holding a pack of cards.
"It's a pretty simple card game, it's a deck of thirty cards, we each hold three cards in our hands at a time. Each card has one of three symbols on it...rock, paper and scissors. We both play one card each turn, and then the rules of rock-paper-scissors apply," She explained, as she sat on my bed, across from me."Oh, okay, so it's just rock-paper-scissors in card form, then?" I surmised in bemusement.She wasn't kidding when she said that this is a simple game. I suppose it could be a slightly more fun way of playing rock-paper-scissors, but it seems kinda boring, especially for a game that she picked herself. There's gotta be more to-..."Hehehe...come now, who do you think I am? Obviously there's more to it than that! Did you really think I'd waste money on a game that's got nothing more to it that just rock-paper-scissors in card form?" She responded smugly, as she opened the pack and began shuffling the cards.Uh-oh, I'm getting a bad feeling about this now...I don't trust that gleam in her eyes one bit..."Alright, ket's see here," I frowned warily, as I picked up the pack and read the back of it.'A spin on the classic game of rock-paper-scissors, with a twist! There are ten cards of each sign, and on top of that, each card comes with a dare! Lose a round and do the dare on your opponent's card!'"Hey, don't look! It would've been more fun if you went into it blind!" She groaned in dismay as she snatched the pack out of my hands."Does it really make a difference?" I shrugged indifferently.Not gonna lie, this actually sounds like it might be kinda fun. Well, depending on what the dares are like, anyway. But I doubt it's gonna be anything too extreme, they wouldn't sell something with mature content to a fourteen year old-...hm?"What is it?" She asked me, as I narrowed my eyes at the corner of the pack."Uh...this game is age-restricted, it clearly says '18+' over there. I don't think this is appropriate for us to play," I frowned apprehensively.If I'm being honest, I don't exactly hate the idea her being made to carry out some rather explicit dares with her...b-but I can't let my intrusive thoughts get the better of me! Come on, brain, be better!"Huh? Oh, it does...well, whatever! I paid for it, so I'm gonna use it! Plus, we're not THAT far from eighteen, just a few years. But how about this...if we come across any dares that are too extreme, and we both agree that it's too much, we'll skip it and redo the round or something," She suggested after mulling it over."Yeah, I don't know about this. I mean, it's gotta be age-restricted for a reason...""Come on, let's at least give it a shot for a few rounds!" She tried persuading me, a hopeful, pleading look in her eyes."O-okay, fine, let's try it out...stop looking at me like that," I muttered as I averted my gaze."Yay! Alright, I'm done shuffling. Take three cards and then let's get the first round started," She remarked, as she set down the deck between us as drew three cards from it.What have I gotten myself into? Might as well get it over with, I suppose...I hesitantly reached for the deck and picked three cards off the top. I'll play whichever one has the most innocuous dare, let's have a look here...Two rock cards and one paper card. Huh? W-woah...what's up with these dares? Uh...none of these are even remotely innocuous!The dare on the paper card is 'take off one article of clothing'. Lilac's only wearing a tank top and a skirt, I-I definitely can't play this one! If she'd been wearing socks or gloves or something, it would've been fine, but if I play this and she plays a rock card, I'll win...i-it's way too risky.As for the rock cards...one says 'flash the other player...damn it, that's basically the same thing! No, it's even worse!And the other one says 'sit on the other player's lap for one minute'...a full minute feels like it could be super dangerous, not sure I'll be able to keep my blood rushing down to a certain spot...and yet, it's probably the safest dare among these three. I have no choice..."O-okay, uh, I think I've got my card ready to play. You?" I inquired, turning my gaze towards her before my eyes widened slightly in surprise.She had a taken aback look in her eyes, her cheeks slightly red...well, that's not good. Whatever's on her cards are so shocking that they've left her speechless."Hey, maybe we shouldn't play this game after all-...," I began."N-no, it's fine! Alright, I've picked which card I'm going to play too, let's do this...you ready? On three!" She declared, trying a bit too hard to appear unbothered by whatever was on her cards."Huh? Wait, we should think this through a bit m-...!""Three! Two! One!"As she finished her countdown, I gave in and played my card, the rock card with the lap dare. And she played...a scissors card. Oh, guess I win...wait, no, that's bad!I then glanced at the text on her card, curious to see what dare she played...'take off two articles of clothing'. Huh, on second thought, I'm glad I won, now I don't have to strip."Oh, that's it? This isn't so bad, guess there are some easy dares in the deck too! Come on, stretch out your legs, I can't sit there if you have your legs crossed" Grinned Lilac, looking a bit relieved after reading the dare on my card, as she scooted over towards me, plopping herself down onto my lap as I reluctantly stretched out my legs, "Pardon the intrusion, good sir!"She's so soft and warm..."O-okay, uh, I'll keep an eye on the clock...a minute will be up when the second-hand goes back around to the twenty minute mark," I informed her, focusing on the clock to distract myself as a fragrant scent wafted into my nostrils from her hair, before I stiffened slightly as she began shifting around to get into a more comfortable position, "H-hey, stop moving around so much, that's dangerous!""Huh? What are you talking about? It's not like I can fall off or something, and even if I do, we're on the middle of the bed, so I'll only land on the mattress," She shrugged in bemusement as she glanced back at me, continuing to shift around.D-damn it, she's not getting it! Th-this is bad, h-her shifting around so much, it feels t-too good to ignore. I-it's no use, as hard as I'm trying not to notice, I can't ignore it...!"H-hey, uh, I-I think you should get off now!" I blurted out, starting to panic as..."It's not even been half a minute yet, what's got you so-...hm? What's that? Something's poking me...," She muttered curiously, turning her gaze downwards.K...kill me. Please, someone, anyone...just put me out my misery already...
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
The Fractured Mage Chapter 22 - Age-Restricted(Part 2)
"...""...""...""S-so...shall we, uh, continue the game?" Stuttered Lilac quietly, breaking the silence. After, uh, you know, THAT happened, I lifted her off my lap and turned away, feeling absolutely mortified as I calmed myself down. She was pretty quiet too, which means she probably realized what it was that, uh...p-poked her. "I-I think we should just stop already, I told you it had to be age-restricted for a reason...," I muttered, my gaze fixed downwards, as I was unable to look her in the eye. "Wh-what, are you chicken? Come on, you aren't scared, a-are you?" She taunted me, poking my shoulder a couple of times...but her taunts are definitely a lot less spirited than usual. This is painfully awkward. "You should be more worried about it than me...I-I mean, I bet that was a super unpleasant experience for you, and it might get even worse from here, s-so...," I trailed off. "Well, um...I guess it was kinda awkward, b-but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was unpleasan
The Fractured Mage Chapter 23 - The Solaris Magic Guild(Part 1)
"Are you ready to get going?" Inquired Ifeus with a smile, as I made my way down the stairs. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess...but, uh, what's with this outfit?" I inquired in bemusement. "That's your gear. It's made of highly durable, but still quite light and flexible, leather. You're about to be a Guild Mage, so you might as well look the part, right?" He grinned with a thumbs up. "Okay, first off...I'm only going to register today, aren't I? So what I'm wearing really shouldn't make any difference either way. And second...I feel kinda exposed," I frowned apprehensively. It's the next day, the 20th of April, 505 PA, which happens to be my birthday, and I was just about to head out to the Guild with Ifeus. Lilac's gonna be tagging along too, while Iris is busy on a Quest in another city at the moment. A few minutes ago, Ifeus handed me this new outfit, to use as battle gear. So, I went back up to my room and changed into it, but, uh...it's kinda missing something. It consist
The Fractured Mage Chapter 24 - The Solaris Magic Guild(Part 2)
"Ah, good to see you, Rex. You seem to be full of energy this morning," Ifeus greeted him with a smile. "So, this is guy you were talking about before, huh, Master? He sure doesn't look all that impressive...and what's with the dumb hair?" Frowned the redhead, narrowing his eyes at me as he peered at my face, "That's one girly face you've got there...tell me, you have any experience fighting Monsters or anything?"Yeah, I already don't like this guy."Hey, there's no need to be such an asshole about it, Rex," Responded Lilac coldly. "Stay out of this, Lilac. This is between me and the pretty boy," Replied Rex, continuing to glare at me. "Hi, I'm Topaz Oriole, and I'm the guy not judging someone based on their appearance. Nice to meet you, dickhead," I responded dryly. "Come on, Master, there's just no way this guy's strong enough to start off at the same rank as me! He's obviously got no experience whatsoever," Scoffed Rex dismissively. "That may be true, but he's more than strong
The Fractured Mage Chapter 25 - The Solaris Magic Guild(Part 3)
"Hm...? Oh, hey, Master...g'morning," Yawned the person sleeping on the stairs lazily, sitting up groggily. A little girl? She looks younger than Lilac...but Lilac has previously mentioned that she's the youngest member in the Guild. Maybe this girl's another new member like me? "I thought I told you to stop sleeping down here," Sighed Ifeus in response."But it's so nice and cool down here...," She muttered sleepily, before turning her gaze this way, "Huh? What's going on? Why are there so many people down here?"Hm? Oh, looks like pretty much everyone in the Guild followed us down here. I didn't even notice. "We're holding a duel, you might as well stay and watch. Oh, let me introduce you, Topaz...this is Sapphire Roselle. She's an Apex Mage, specifically an Ice Mage. Sapphire, this is Topaz Oriole, our newest member, an Ascended Mage, a Martial Artist to be specific. Since you're both named after gemstones, I'm sure you'll get along," Remarked Ifeus with a grin. "Come on, that's
The Fractured Mage Chapter 26 - The Solaris Magic Guild(Part 4)
Did he say Pyro Dragon? That's the most powerful Inferno Art in the Fire Class...the only Arts stronger in that Class are the Lightning Arts that are unlocked at the Apex Tier. Trying to dodge it would be a waste of effort...so, I'll just have to counter it. I could try rushing him, but his casting speed is incredibly fast, he'll finish charging it up before I can reach him. I then opened up my stance, lifting my right foot up by my side as I channeled Ether into it...the amount of Ether I used to counter one of his attacks earlier won't be enough against this attack, I'm gonna have to risk taking on some serious backlash. Not enough yet, I need more, as much as I can possibly channel! I still don't have a very good idea of how much damage I can cause with this technique, after I broke Ifeus's arms, I was wary of overdoing it and ending up destroying the basement or something, on top of the fact that I was trying to avoid any excessive backlash. But I don't the luxury of worrying a
The Fractured Mage Chapter 27 - The Solaris Magic Guild(Part 5)
I-I'm so...s-so damn cold, I've never been this freezingly cold before... "W-wasn't there a better way of stopping the fight than th-this?" I stuttered as I shivered uncontrollably, my entire body trembling like a leaf. "S-seriously, I-I'm freezing my a-ass off over here...," Mumbled Rex weakly. Since he's an Ascended Mage of the Fire Class, he likely has the Fire Immunity Trait, which means that he can't be hurt by fire or heat. But the downside to that is that it makes him weaker to the cold. Which means that he's feeling it way worse than I am right now...good, serves him right, the asshole. It's a small consolation for the duel ending in a draw. Though, if I'm being honest, I'm glad I didn't unleash that last attack that I'd been charging up. I got way too caught up in the heat of the moment, I probably would've broken a lot more than just my arm if I'd unleashed that attack... "Sapphire, if you would," Ifeus prompted her expectantly. "Ugh, you're giving me way too much work
The Fractured Mage Chapter 28 - The Serene Woods(Part 1)
"Is this the place?" I inquired, as Lilac stopped the cart. "Mhm, that's right. This it is, the Serene Woods," She nodded in response. About a week has passed since I joined the Guild now. It's the 28th of April, 505 PA, and I was currently out on a Quest with Lilac, and we'd just arrived at the location in which the Quest was designated to take place. The party that Ifeus had decided to form that'd include me, Iris, Lilac and, ugh, Rex, has been put on hold for the time being...because a certain someone took off on a journey. After my duel against Rex, we headed back home, where we found a letter on the welcome mat outside the front door, written by Iris. Apparently, she'd left on a journey to go get some training done, and in her letter, said that she'd be gone for at least a month. As a result, Ifeus has been really restless and anxious all week, constantly on edge the whole time. In her letter, Iris hadn't included where she'd be going, probably to keep Ifeus from searching f
The Fractured Mage Chapter 29 - The Serene Woods(Part 2)
"I know you can telepathically talk to the creatures you've tamed, but how effective is it? I mean, they have lower intelligence than humans, right, so do they always understand what you tell them?" I asked her, as we followed the Hellhound into the woods. "Hey, I know that I've explained how my Magic works to you, more than once. Grr, you weren't paying attention, we're you?" She frowned indignantly, before adding as she narrowed her eyes at me as I sheepishly averted my gaze, "Fine, I'll explain it again...yeah, I can't hold complex conversations with them, they get confused if I try saying anything too complicated. The most effective application of this Art, Creature Thought Communication, is giving commands.""I see, so like asking them to do a specific action or something?""Yeah, something like that. Of course, they can refuse if I ask them to do something they don't want to. If I've formed a Contract with them, I can force them to do it anyway, but I'm determined never to do t
Latest Chapter
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 96 - Monster Army(Part 3)
Point-of-View: Iris Lero———————————————————————————I began to point my blade at the Dragon as it raised its arm up, before I lowered my weapon in surprise, as the Dragon... "No, wait-...!" Began Lilac, before abruptly trailing off as the Dragon plunged its claws into its own throat, killing itself.Blood gushed out of its neck as its body went limp and collapsed onto the ground, sending tremors across the area as blood poured out of the deep gash in its neck, pooling around its head."Wow, uh...that was hardcore. Wasn't expecting that from you, Lilac," Remarked Rex in surprise."N-no, I...that wasn't me. I linked with the Dragon using Thought Communication and managed to free it from the control it was under, I was going to set it free after that. It was in a frenzy and immensely enraged, even though I managed to establish a telepathic link with it, I couldn't get it to listen to me. I think it thought that I was going to take control of it instead of letting it go, and it chose t
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 95 - Monster Army(Part 2)
Point-of-View: Iris Lero———————————————————————————"Damn it, there's just no end to them!" I snapped, as I slashed off a Monster's head with my sword, before rapidly extending the blade towards a Monster barreling in towards me from the right, piercing through the top of its head and splitting its skull open as I swung my blade up while continuing to extend it out.I then whipped my arm across, the blade slicing across several flying Monsters and bringing them down, before I began to spin around as I sensed a Monster springing up behind me.As I turned around, a massive blast of flames came shooting towards the Monster from its left, eliciting a deafening roar of pain from it as the flames enveloped it and set it ablaze, its agonized roars soon fading as it got burnt to a crisp."I know you probably had that under control, but you're welcome regardless," Grinned Rex, beads of sweat running down the sides of his face, before firing out a scorching wave of flames from his mouth at a g
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 94 - Monster Army(Part 1)
Point-of-View: Lilac Lero ———————————————————————————"Thank you for coming, we really appreciate the assistance," Smiled the Guildmaster of the Praepotentia Guild, a grateful look on his face."Don't mention it, we're all on the same side here, so it's only natural that we help each other out when necessary," Replied Iris politely. "Yes, of course, I completely agree."Hah, yeah right. Pretty sure this guy used to mock our Guild in the not so distant past, guess him showing genuine gratitude like this despite his previous attitude towards us means that the situation here must be pretty dire.After Sapphire wiped out all the Monsters around the capital in the direction we'd come from, we entered the city and made our way to the Praepotentia Guild. We came across a Goblin on the way in, I used Forced Tame on it to confirm that these Monsters are being controlled by someone with the same Class as me. We then arrived at the Guild shortly after, and there were a lot of people here, wit
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 93 - Perpetually Exhausted
"Too slow. Come on, I know that you can do a lot better than that," Remarked Ifeus, before firing a telekinetic blast at me.I quickly countered with an Ether-negating wave, before firing a barrage of swirling Ether spheres at him. As my projectiles closed in on him, he vanished from sight, before I stiffened as I sensed him reappearing behind me.I began to fire out a shockwave of Ether from my body, before I found myself falling as he swept at my legs with his right foot, tripping me over. My left shoulder hit the ground with a painful thud, as I let out a weary groan..."Come on, man, give me a break...I haven't eaten anything in almost two full days now, and you only let me sleep for like two hours last night. I can't fight like this, I'm completely drained," I complained as I tried to catch my breath, my stomach rumbling and my vision blurring."Oh, don't worry...I'll let you have some food and a bit more sleep tonight. But there's still a few hours before night time, so we're no
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 92 - Request
Point-of-View: Lilac Lero———————————————————————————"Damn it, I miss To," I sighed irritably, feeling restless and impatient."Yes, I know, you've been saying that every single day, multiple times a day, for the last month. I'm sure he'll be back soon, try thinking about something else in the meantime," Responded Iris as she gave me a pat on the head."Don't patronize me, you stupid gorilla...""...just this once, I'll let that slide. But only once, got it?"Yeah, whatever. Today's the 15th of August, 505 PA, and we were currently on our way to the capital, Rosnoir City. There had been an immense spike in the number of Monsters around the capital, attacking around the outskirts of the city. Which is very unusual behavior for Monsters, they tend to dislike hunting in unfamiliar territory. Though, from what we've heard, they're not hunting, they're just attacking and killing without really eating the people they kill. Which is even more unusual and unnatural for Monsters. Even smal
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 91 - Ambushed(Part 2)
I quickly set up an Ether-negating barrier over the alley, ducking as one of the people surrounding me flung a dagger at me, narrowly avoiding it. It's likely that all their weapons have been coated in poison, a single hit might be all it takes to kill me. This is bad...including the woman who'd tricked me, there's eight of them surrounding me right now. The odds are heavily stacked against me, I have absolutely no margin of error here..."How troublesome, it would seem as though we can't use our Magic," Remarked one of them, as they circled around me."It's not a problem. This is just a minor inconvenience, it's no great obstacle.""You know, I'm starting to feel kinda insulted!" I snapped, forming a ring of Ether around me before rapidly expanding it outwards towards them while narrowing and sharpening the edges of the ring.Some of them managed to duck under it, while the rest sprang above it to dodge the attack, several knives coming flying in towards me from multiple directions
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 90 - Ambushed(Part 1)
Well, this was a massive waste of time. What gives? The hell is going on here, anyway? I mean, seriously, who sent me that letter? Somehow, I don't think this was just some dumb prank... On the bright side, I get to go home now, and since Ifeus is here, I just need to meet back up with him and he can teleport me right back to Skyrouge City.So, at least I don't have to worry about taking the long journey back by carriage. Still though, I'm kinda pissed, I don't like that I just wasted a whole lot of time on nothing.As I walked down the street, muttering to myself irritably, I was snapped out of it as someone came jogging this way, trying to swerve out of the way as they closed in on me, but in their rush, failed to fully get out the way and ended up bumping into me, getting knocked down with an alarmed cry as I stumbled back a bit before regaining my balance."Uh, sorry about that, are you okay?" I inquired, offering my hand to help them up. It was a young woman, she was carrying a
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 89 - Letter
"Uh...I don't know, this sounds really fishy," I frowned apprehensively."I understand your concerns, but I can assure you, this client is a trustworthy sort. The letter appears to be authentic, this is definitely his seal...so, I don't think there's anything to worry about," Replied Ifeus, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder."Still...given what happened on the last Quest you sent me out on, I figured I'd have to stay cooped up at home for the foreseeable future," I sighed wistfully."Yes, you seem to be quite disappointed that that's not the case. The thought did cross my mind, of course, but no, I won't be doing that...it may be the safer option, but if you just stay at home indefinitely, you're not going to get very much stronger, Topaz. And with the way things have been going lately, you need to get as strong as possible, as fast as possible. And the best way to do that is to keep building your experience level," He surmised, a slightly conflicted look on his face.I mean, I
- The Fractured Mage
Chapter 88 - Failed
"I see, that sounds like it must have been a pretty harrowing experience. I'm glad the both of you are okay, at least," Remarked Iris, as she slumped back in the couch and munched on a chip."Yeah, that could've ended up a lot worse than it did. It really helped that that girl, Luxuria, just kept talking. I probably wouldn't have broken free from her control otherwise," I replied with a grimace, before adding, "Anyway, based on what you said about your Quest, it sounds like things didn't go too much better for you."It was the next day, around 5 PM in the evening. Iris's group got back from their failed Quest early this morning, and she'd just woken up about half an hour ago. She had a bite to eat, and then joined Lilac and I in playing some board games. Before we long, we got to talking about our Quests yesterday... "It was a disaster...we failed to protect our client, and while I'm not too torn up about his death, he was a real asshole, the fact that I was so completely helpless to
