Becoming Monsters is the creation and property of Ai Loves, setting used with permission.

  —

  Chapter 20: Check On Learning

  He slept through his arm that morning. And his second one. And Song trying to shake him awake as she realized the beeping had been going on too long. And Ghata spshing cold water on him. Thankfully, the dies of Room 222 were not limited to these means. May dove into his dreams, finding his form there ALSO sprawled out in his mind’s bed, and shook him awake in his dreams. It makes sense in context, but it was enough for him to feel his body being shaken and wet, which was enough to let him wake up, look at the clock, and panic. It took him about two nanoseconds to realize that getting a shower was entirely out of the question, but he could at least change. Modesty was pointless, everyone in this room had not just seen but experienced him naked in the st 48 hours.

  “What the heck, guys? We have twenty minutes to make it to Professor Otterly’s css for the first exam, why did you let me sleep in so long?” Todd was hastily putting necessities into his backpack, double-checking that his research assignment was there.

  Jem handed him a gss of water. This time to drink, not wear. “Not my fault you slept through two arms and three attempts to wake you up afterwards.”

  “Jem, you of ALL people should know that yes, it really is your fault.” Todd had his pants and belt on, and gulped down some water. He had never been hung over in his life, but the way he felt was a lot like descriptions he’d heard. He found he didn’t like it much, and resolved never to test it the real way. “Something about shooting my soul out through my dick twelve times yesterday, and I know I’m not the one who wrote THAT schedule.”

  With a rustle of wings, May manifested behind him in the bed. “Hey! I’ll have you know that I’m an authority on such matters, and you definitely still have plenty of soul left in your dick.”

  “Not helping, May. We don’t have time, let me grab one of my emergency snacks and I can get more after the math exam. No time to be your emergency snack. Did you all eat?”

  A chorus of yesses came back, and he ran out the door chewing on a candy bar and praying it would st him. This would not be the first time he’d ever done so, but it was certainly the first time after that kind of physical effort. The fact that it was his first time doing anything remotely like that kind of effort helped make the distinction. Was it really ten days ago that he was a VIRGIN? Seemed hard to believe. As he wondered at it all, his feet carried him forward. The cssroom he was headed towards wasn’t close, but even as the dies kept pace (minus May) he knew he’d have some time to spare. Reflexively after yesterday, he called up his Status screen… but what he saw was puzzling. Specifically, his Mana was reading at 28%. Considering he had spent himself to zero eight hours prior, that should not have been remotely possible. Not on his own. He should have been well under 10%. This data point was wildly off base, and of course it was coming right as he was going to turn in his report. This was also leaving aside the two Attribute points and Css Feature he had to choose. Say what you will, good or ill, about the day. It certainly served to help him power level 20% of the way into Level six.

  The line at the math building did surprise him, though. With five minutes before css, normally the hallway was cleared out and the cssrooms and lecture halls more filled. Instead, the hundred or so students in that mass lecture were waiting for the doors to open, nobody quite knowing what was going on. Especially Todd. Professor Otterly was not the kind to be te. If anything just the opposite, some students had reported getting to his hall half an hour before css only to find him happily jotting down notes or preparing the board. Five minutes before css and he was the kind of person to be gring at the tecomers arriving just in time for the start of css.

  The doors opened, and there was a stir from the front. Painfully slowly, the css began to file in. Todd was too far back to see what was going on, but as he got closer he could hear his professor’s voice occasionally muttering “talley one… okay, one more…”

  It turned out he was speaking to a teacher’s assistant, also a Beastfolk but this one looking like a small dog of some kind. Possibly part Corgi? Either way, her tail was wagging a bit as they took stock of every student entering, stamping their hand with what looked like an ink mark. The professor’s nose twitched, and he looked up to see Todd shuffling closer. “Ah, good, you did make it. I was afraid I hadn’t been clear on the fact you needed to be here for this one.” He turned, stamped a Human’s hand, then looked at the person his TA was helping. Stacey, the Changeling. “Talley one more, please.”

  Todd eventually got to the front of the line, and the TA nodded at him. Her voice was chipper and perky, almost the opposite of what Todd was feeling at the moment. “Todd, right? The professor wanted you to stand by for a moment until the others get in. I’ll get them started while he speaks to you.”

  “Talley another, Selma.”

  “Yes, professor.” She put a mark on a clipboard she was carrying. “Can I have your dominant hand, please? I do still need to stamp you.”

  “Uh, sure. Can I ask what this is for?” He held out his right hand.

  “You can, sure, but I can’t tell you. I will see you when you get inside.” She went into the auditorium and closed the doors, leaving Todd alone with the professor.

  Professor Otterly sniffed the air delicately. “Mr. Reed, you smell a bit low on mana.”

  “Yes, sir. Several people asked me for assistance yesterday.”

  “That would expin the other smells, then.” He had the decency to wait for Todd to finish his reflexive flinch at the commentary. “That hardly matters, however. Do you have your assignment?”

  “Yes, sir.” He awkwardly took off his backpack, pulled out the folder he was keeping it in, and handed the report over. “It probably isn’t anything revolutionary, but there’s a lot of data going into the charts.”

  “Excellent.” The professor opened the report to take a look… and his casual demeanor suddenly dropped. “Todd. Do you have a copy of this besides the one you just handed me?”

  The student was perplexed. “No, I do not.”

  “I will make one for you then. Save it, and keep it safe. You will need it. For that matter, start saving your assignments anyway. It is a good idea in general. Now, the other students have already begun their exam, but you will get an additional five minutes at the end in the exceedingly unlikely event you need it. Go to your seat and get started, see me on the way out.” With those cryptic words, Professor Otterly opened the door to let Todd in. Slowly, he made his way over to his normal seat (if it could be called that, given he’d only sat in it once). There was a paper there, he flipped it open and got started.

  The first thing he noticed was that the content there seemed a step or two higher in difficulty than what they had been getting the st time he was actually in this cssroom. Either the css had stepped up its pace after the first day or something else was going on. The second thing was that the exam had 200 questions on it. For one hour of allotted time, this seemed excessive.

  Third? Well, third was the fact that it was all ridiculously easy for him anyway, so he burned through the exam’s demands almost as fast as he could circle answers and write out others. No calcutor was permitted, but then again none was required. Not for him. His brain barely turned on for it, which was good because he could not have kicked it up into high gear if he tried. It did give him time to think, which was crucial.

  Okay, so. This exam is strange, and I can see the stamp shimmering as I answer things, so I guess it’s magical. Makes sense if they want to… what, make sure we don’t cheat? Check to see how we’re doing it? Take attendance the fancy way? No way to know for sure without spellcasting analysis, and I don’t have one set up to do it even if I wanted to take the time to. Maybe they want to see if we’re taking them up on being able to use css abilities? Huh, that could be it. The talley might have been counting people walking in with buffs? It would make sense with what I know. Jem, Song, and Ghata don’t have one active and didn’t get tally marks while Stacey did after visiting me yesterday…

  The pages of the exam melted away before him, and before too much longer he found himself out of questions to answer. Looking around, he saw a marking on the board pointing to where he could turn in his stack. There were only two others done before him despite the dey in getting started, and he left the room in silence. The professor was not in his office, but there was a thick envelope in his box beled with “for Mr. Todd Reed” so he figured it was probably his copy of things. Outside, Todd decided to sit on a bench by the grass, enjoying the stillness that it could bring. Nobody else was walking around, busy with their tests.

  Todd figured that he should probably be doing something directed and constructive with this sliver of free time. Maybe researching possible Css Abilities which might be hiding, maybe reviewing notes, but he just didn’t feel the need. Not this time. Not after all he had done and been through the past week. There was too much turmoil in him that needed to be let go. And so he meditated, after a fashion, breathing in the clean air and listening to birdsong. A soft sound behind him almost made him jump out of his seat, but Song’s soft voice came. “Just us, Todd. Exam’s done.”

  He breathed again. Given the number of people who wanted to do moderately horrible things to him on this campus, knowing the sound was friendly did a lot. “How did you all do?”

  Jem’s voice this time. “There was a lot there that I KNOW wasn’t on his 101 sylbus, and there was a lot more than I think it’s reasonable to demand we do.”

  Todd shook his head. “He wasn’t testing for his css. He was testing for a couple of levels up. Speaking of, actually, you three have a moment? I got to Level 6 yesterday and could really use some help picking my new Ability.”

  Ghata was the one responding this time. “I know I do… and if that’s what the next level looks like in math I’m going to be leaning on you a lot the next few years. Go ahead with the abilities, let’s see what you’ve got. Ladies, phone time. We might need to do some research.”

  Todd chuckled, calling up his Status screen. “Okay, first thing. I’m going ahead and putting one point each into Luck and Charisma. I’m not leaning on either more than the other right now. Now for abilities… Mass Inspiration? I didn’t even think I was eligible for that one.”

  Jem found it first… ish. “Supposed to increase the number of people you can hit with Inspiration at once by 50%. I can’t find a single report of a Carnal Arts Bard taking it, so I have no idea how it might work for you.”

  “Probably a pass then. Reflected Glow? Name rings a bell.”

  “It should.” Song was the speaker. “That’s on your path to True Inspiration. Sets up feedback from the people you Inspire, and you get a fraction of what they do. Considering how many Inspirations you keep rolling, that’s pretty significant.”

  “Oh, yeah, that one. Supposed to follow a logarithmic chart with a…” Todd realized the silence from the other girls had taken on a somewhat gzed quality. “Never mind. That’s probably going to be my pick unless something unexpected is on the other two. Corretion Engine is another one I know, it’s a Bardic Knowledge thing that really helps put together things you know. And number four is… Cutting Words? I’ve never heard of this one.”

  “Oh, this one I know. It’s a spell, often used by magic-dedicated Bards who go into Dungeons. It’s a direct attack.” Jem’s answer was quick and certain.

  How she knew that, Todd wasn’t sure… but was pretty sure he didn’t want to know. “I cast my spells by being buried balls deep in one of you dies. Casting that sounds like it would not have a particurly pleasant outcome. Reflected Glow doesn’t have any real contenders today, any objections to taking it? Alright, locking it in.” He could feel the power washing over him, now familiar after averaging nearly a level a day for the st week. It was absurd to him how successful Jem had been in her self-imposed mission, especially considering she was only halfway through it. Then again, while she had been dedicated to the opposite, she’d managed to ensure he stayed a virgin at 0% Progress Level 1, so perhaps it wasn’t so surprising. “Okay. I think we’ve got enough time to grab lunch before Gen Chem. Shall we go?”

  The four stood and started walking, but did not get far. Ghata quite suddenly looked off to the left, away from the path they were walking. “Todd, Jem, you need to move. Between those two buildings, it sounds like Martin’s in a heated argument with someone.”

  The two took off running. Jem remembered to slow down a bit when four of her strides put her way ahead of the struggling Tidbit. They made it quickly enough. Rounding the corner, they could see two figures. One was someone they did not know. She was a Fox Beastfolk, with fiery red-orange fur and an angry expression on her face. Quite a looker, too, even by the standards of this campus, even in sweatpants and a fairly ragged shirt. The other, they knew. It was indeed Martin the Weasel, from his gestures making a passionate argument. As they got closer, they could hear what Ghata had already. “... and we went and we looked, Megan. I’m not like that. I made a promise under binding magic, I will never be disloyal again!”

  There was a ringing crack that echoed off the walls of the buildings they were walking between. Megan lived up to her passionate and fiery reputation, the sp coming so fast that it was hard for the others to even see. Martin’s head was turned to the side with the force of it. “You’re right about one thing, Martin. You won’t ever cheat on me again. How DARE you try to pull this kind of stunt? Right as I’m going to exams, too? Don’t even TRY to tell me you didn’t know.”

  “Megan, I…”

  “Save it. I told you st time I had to sp you that we weren’t getting back together. Next time I use my cws and Css Abilities. I can’t TRUST you, Martin. That’s gone and it isn’t coming back. Now, I have fifteen minutes to get you out of my head and get to css. Don’t follow.” She turned and strode off without looking back, tail held low.

  Martin took a moment to gather himself up then turned to face the others. A red mark was visible on his cheek. Though he did not permit them to fall, tears were clearly visible in his eyes. “How long have you two been standing there?”

  “Ah… about thirty seconds. Arrived just in time for the conclusion.” Todd was trying his best to be delicate, but there was only so much one could do to soften the blow.

  “I… see.” Martin closed his eyes. He took a deep, slow breath and let it out equally slowly. “Thank you for all that you have done for me. You did your best, and I know you did. This is on me. I’m… I have some time before my next exam. I need to think. See you in Gen Chem?”

  Jem inserted herself here. “Martin, I need you to remember something. The promises you made.”

  “Yeah. I said I’d hold to them regardless of her response. It’s not like I’m able to cheat on her anymore, but I’ll work to make sure she’s back on the right path. Not sure how, but I hope the Moon appreciates the effort.”

  “And intent.” Jem’s voice betrayed something beyond mere advice, but what it was Todd didn’t know. “I know it has to be hard for you right now, but if you don’t show up to the next exam we will come looking for you.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’ve had my fill of doing stupid stuff, not gonna end it all on a low note. I’ll see you ter.” Martin, too, walked off with his tail held low.

  Todd stood in silence with Jem for a few seconds after Martin ducked out of sight, but silence could only st for so long. “Do you think he’ll be alright?”

  “What do YOU think, Mr. Bard?” Jem was very clearly thinking hard.

  “I think you’re trying to buy time to put an answer together. Martin tried, we helped, but he failed. Badly. That’s going to hurt.”

  “Listen closely, Todd. Redemption and atonement do not require your victim to forgive you. Megan’s mind is Megan’s own, and no matter what that must be respected.”

  “It must be serious if you’re actually calling me Todd. And yeah, I get that. Even makes sense. Just sucks for Martin in particur.”

  “Them’s the breaks when you let yourself do stupid things. Everything has consequences. Sometimes, those consequences are beyond your ability to repair. Martin will make it through the hard part, I think. I also think we need to run if we want to be able to eat before the next exam.”

  “You’re right, even if we aren’t done with this conversation.” The two trotted off to eat. Quickly, both for the movement and the eating, because by the time they’d bolted down whatever they could rapidly grab it was time to move onwards to their next test.

  The professor had set up a practical b in General Chemistry. Todd had to dig deep into his memory to make sure he had his reports set up, the equipment straight, and the proper number of drops dripped from one sample into another. It really was cool to see the clear liquid suddenly turn purple. It was less cool having to scramble to look up what this meant about what was coloring it. Martin was in the same css, and he was really obviously not having the best of times. He somehow managed to get something to explode when the components were water, red cabbage extract, and a mild acid. How, Todd didn’t know. He suspected that Martin might not be testing out of the css, however.

  Much like he felt about his own Computer Science test a couple of hours ter. Todd realized rapidly that he had given unfortunately little effort to studying for it, figuring that perfect memory would cover it. Problem of course being that there were an awful lot of incredibly idiosyncratic details to remember, and just sifting through them chewed up more time than it should. Probably thanks to the fact that he’d spent more time cumming into random women the day prior than reading on how the computers were put together.

  He rather bitterly regretted not taking Corretion Engine, but there were no take backs from the Status.

  Shaking his head, he left the building next to the Cobra who sat next to him in css. He could be forgiven for nearly missing the woman who was there to stop him. This despite her rather striking appearance. She was a Beastfolk, a Rabbit this time. She was tall and slender but clearly athletic in build with her ears held up and alert, dressed in jeans and a tee shirt. What was most striking was her coloration. Her fur was jet bck, but Todd could see swirling patterns of a faintly glowing blue on her visible arms. This one didn’t take any special abilities to correte, the extremely distinctive coloration was identical to someone who he’d seen the day before. The Tigress, Shannon, who had been the one to screw him unconscious. When she spoke, her voice was soft but had the same intense focus that Shannon's had. “Todd? If you have ten minutes avaible, please follow me.”

  “Uh, sure. I’m done for today, anyway.” He began to walk towards her. She didn’t wait, turning and striding off at a rapid clip. Given the length of her legs and the raw power in them, her strides were equal to a quick jog from Todd. Unlike Jem, earlier, this Rabbit was not willing to look over her shoulder to slow down. She strode off to the student center adjacent to the cafeteria, going in and taking the stairs up. Todd was not a fan of this, but thankfully their goal turned out to be in a room just at the top of those stairs.

  The Rabbit walked up to a skinny man sitting at a small table in the room. “Sir, I have Todd for you.”

  The man looked up, and Todd felt strongly like he was looking into a… well, maybe not a mirror, not quite, but certainly at someone who he could easily be mistaken for. Slender of build, with dark brown hair and eyes with wire-frame gsses. He was wearing a pin bck button-down shirt with khakis, a bit dressier than this campus normal but not exactly out of pce. “Thank you, Titania, I won’t need you for the next fifteen minutes or so.” She turned and left immediately. He looked up at Todd. “And thank you for coming. This conversation should be quick.”

  “Not gonna lie, I’m a bit curious. A lot’s happened, and you seem to have the advantage of me.” Todd sat down opposite the man at the small table, getting as comfortable as possible on the cheap chair.

  “Of course! There are those who call me… Tim.”

  Todd barked a surprised ugh at the unexpected wisecrack as Tim smirked. “I’m going to assume you get that a lot if you ran in the same circles I did in High School. So, still curious. What exactly has you sending someone to come fetch me for a chat? Along with someone else to my bed st night, unless I’m greatly mistaken.”

  “Not the hardest trick to see though, but not bad. Yes, I sent Shannon, too. Had to see if all the hype was true, but as it turned out you were out of stock. She does send her compliments on technique, though.”

  Todd chuckled and shook his head. “Even supported by Css Abilities, a mana potion, and four assistants yesterday was a stretch. You still haven’t told me why you needed to talk, though.”

  “Ah, right. Sorry, I don’t get many free-ranging chats. Anyway, I heard that you are kind of the local subject matter expert on mana management, and I have a bit of an issue on that front. See, you and I work a bit simirly. We help others, not ourselves, and we use a lot of juice doing it. I seem to have hit a limit today, accidentally, and could use your help getting past it so that I can keep progressing in my Css.” Tim was smooth and confident despite his predicament, knowing he was talking to someone who could help.

  “Okay. Let me take some notes. I need your Level, Css, how much your main ability costs you and what it is, and how much you’re regaining per day. We can figure out the jam, then work out a training regimen. I’ll cash in a favor ter if we get a successful pn. So, fire away.” His notebook was out, pencil ready. Time to put his work on himself to work for others.

  “My, you are good. I am a Level 7 Mesmer. My Binding Domination, as I built it, costs me 75% of my maximum mana to cast along with 3% of my maximum per day to maintain. I presently regenerate 10% per day naturally, so the issue is that I’m reduced to a bare trickle right now as of my third parallel instance.”

  Todd, as focused as he was on taking notes, didn’t notice exactly what he’d heard until he paused to reread his notes and do mental math. “Wait. Shannon and that Rabbit…”

  “Titania, yes.”

  “They and another person entirely are under your complete control?”

  “They could be, but I choose not to do that. If you would like to see the contract they signed?”

  “Please.” Todd’s eyes furrowed as Tim passed him a couple of sheets of paper. He started reviewing it, noting Shannon’s name signed across the bottom of the second page.

  “Long story short, I’m built for long-term domination of minds, but I cannot use my Hypnosis without the target being willing. A bit of a tradeoff, but it greatly increases the end effect.”

  “What… okay. The contract seems to say what she will do for you. Think tank work, school help, use of abilities in your defense, and ‘personal service’. It says that your domination will help them study, practice, train, and develop themselves to the maximum they are physically capable of. That’s… a bit vague. Can you give me the details?”

  “I don’t see how that is relevant to our conversation.” Timothy’s genial smile had given way to a much more neutral and focused expression.

  “Humor me. Anything could end up mattering.”

  “It is simultaneously quite simple and enormously complex. Imagine if you will: how much time over the st two weeks did you waste for any reason? Fatigue, distraction, stress, any of it? How much did you eat that was not completely optimal for your dietary needs, how much sleep did you get that was not 100% used the next day?”

  “Quite a bit, it’s called being a person. We don’t operate at 100% all the time. Not even most of it, I tried pnning what that might look like for me and it wouldn’t be sustainable.”

  “It is for my dies. In exchange for doing anything I want, with very limited exceptions, they spend the rest of their days operating at a hundred percent. They study as if fresh, work out as if perfectly rested, and are immune to distraction and inefficiency. Hunger, thirst, stress, and pain do not affect them, except as signals of what they may need to do to optimally compensate ter. My only rules are that I not cause them permanent harm, get them pregnant, or bring their death.”

  Todd’s eyes flew open. “That sounds like a lot. You said it sts for a long time?”

  “Three weeks when I use it on someone for the first time. If you look at the back of page two, you will see that Shannon made the decision herself to renew it when my control ended. Several times. She begged me to send her back to where the stress and pain could not reach. My duration doubles every time I use my abilities on someone, to a maximum of a year. Shannon’s test renewal over the summer was when she hit the st category; we were cssmates st year and I agreed to help her. Once under my spell she was extremely enthusiastic about thanking me.”

  He had her over the summer. That means that she belongs to him entirely. She wasn’t home with her own family. Read between the lines! “I’m assuming by ‘enthusiastic thanks’ you mean…”

  “Sex, yes, though I don’t expect you of all people to be squeamish about that. Again, they exist in a pce where pain doesn’t reach. They can hold their breath until the exact second they would pass out without slowing down, they can take any advance with no warning, and they have no inhibitions about enjoying it when appropriate.”

  “I… see. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” To his credit, he kept a straight face as his mind processed the information Timothy had given him. “I don’t see any easy ways out. The best I have offhand is if you keep the third slot rotating. Twenty-one days at 1% gain per day means that you would need another two weeks at the end to get to where you could cast it again. Not counting any other abilities that use that particur meter, of course.”

  Timothy’s lips pressed together, his eyebrows furrowed. “That is not ideal, and it’s math that I’ve already done myself. How are you doing your own calcutions?”

  “I have to rate-limit myself, and I made sure to pick up a mana-restorative spell as soon as I could. What I don’t know is if equivalent options exist for Mesmers, and if so what form they take.”

  “That makes an unfortunate amount of sense. Especially since my test such was earlier today.”

  “Then you have a month and change to wait before you can proceed, at best, unless you find alternatives.” Todd was not sure he wanted to provide the sources of his own alternatives. After all, could the dies even give consent to donate their own mana while they were dominated like that? He didn’t know, and he certainly didn’t want the man to keep expanding his control network. It just didn’t seem… healthy. “I do have to ask, who is the most recent of your… call them acquisitions? I know about two of them.”

  “Ah, her. I didn’t think I would get the chance, to be honest. Taken, and I do try not to interfere with that. The status apparently changed, so a recently-single Fox was headed to an exam and couldn’t get out of her own head. Too much stress and heartbreak over that breakup, I assume. I offered my services, and she readily agreed. Megan, that’s her name. She tells me that she did quite well, and is already studying for her next one this evening with a much clearer mind.”