Magic Multiverse 8 (Patreon)

With his date with Hermione interrupted, he wanted to look for a new flat. But first, he needed to visit the gym and talk with Liam. It was to give Liam a better sense of his performance. The last thing Sam needed was to create a conflict with a shady promoter.

He might even spar with the candidates he brought without gloves to get used to it.

Familiar with street fights, he had no problem fighting bare-knuckle. Boxing still worked the same, only requiring some strategic adjustments.

… an hour after he arrived, he left, whistling. It went better than he expected.

Liam liked his performance enough to actually give him an advance of a thousand pounds, which was very useful for his upcoming search for a flat.

Unfortunately, the sparring match was more of a test, with no point reward, but one couldn’t have everything.

A thousand pounds, added to what he managed to save by hustling Dudley, was enough for a new flat in the better part of London. A quick search later, he picked a studio, walking distance to Hermione’s flat, though not as good in general.

It was a significant jump in his expenses. He paid sixty a week for his current room, and the new one asked a hundred and forty a week, more than doubling his rent.

He wouldn’t be able to keep it without the extra income from boxing unless he found a second job, but after everything, it was worth the risk. He could always move to a cheaper place in a month or two if he failed.

With his growing skills, he should have an easier time making money in any case.

However, there was one problem. While looking for a new flat, or going back and forth between his old place and the new one, he noticed someone following him. A woman.

He wasn’t able to get a good look because she never got too close. Frankly, if it weren’t for her raven-black hair being distinctive enough, he wouldn’t have noticed.

Confronting her was tempting, but he decided against it. Technically, there was a chance someone was following him because of a low-stakes, somewhat illegal boxing match, but he wouldn’t bet on it.

There were other options: the magic people and the anti-vampire organization Wesley had worked for. He suspected it was more likely Wesley’s people, as Wesley had mentioned multiple times that, they were managed by an organization which he referred as the council, and insulted their tendency to be overbearing and creepy.

Since they didn’t grab him and throw him into a van, they must have been checking to see if Wesley had spilled anything.

He decided to make their job easier. Once he dropped his suitcase at his new place, rather than deep cleaning the place, he changed, and walked to the nearest bar. He picked a bar rather than a pub, because he wanted it easier for the woman who was tailing him to approach.

The sooner they leave, the better. He had too many secrets.

“What a life,” he muttered once he found a crowded bar. A good bait for someone who might be a spy for a supernatural hunter organization trying to see what he was up to. While he walked through the entrance, he looked back casually, and noticed the same distinctive messy raven hair at the end of the street.

Jackpot.

Then, at the bar, he picked a nice spot where he could watch the place, and started looking around. He acted as if he were looking for a one-night stand, which was an easy option.

That was the only thing a bar was good for. The music was louder than he would have liked, and the drinks were unnecessarily expensive. He would have preferred a dance club, but it was too early for that.

He didn’t have to wait long. She walked in merely two minutes later, and the way she looked already confirmed that she was a spy. She was wearing a miniskirt and a tanktop combo, combined with rather tall heels. It wasn’t that she looked out of place at the bar. The opposite.

The notable part was that she arrived merely five minutes later, which was already a very short time to change. More importantly, before he stepped into the bar, she had no idea where he was going, meaning she had multiple outfits ready.

He had considered her being a magical as well, but if she had been, she would have changed faster with magic.

He was already prepared for it, so instead of focusing on her immediately, he looked around, acting like he was trying to find a target.

He soon turned his gaze to her, acting like he was checking her out due to seduction reasons. Luckily, she was beautiful enough that spending a few extra seconds checking her shouldn’t alert her.

She had long, toned legs, which her miniskirt left very little to interpretation. Her tube top clinging to her top to outline her lacy bra was the same. Though, somehow, her bright green eyes were the most noticeable part of her.

He had to admit, she was rather sexy.

Though, he had to suppress his chuckle when he noticed her walk toward the bar. It was clear that she was not used to dressing like that. People looking at her clearly weirded her out, but that could be explained by her just arriving at London and getting a makeover.

It would have been believable, but her steadiness on tall heels would have made him suspicious. Her balance was perfect.

While she tried to find a place, he approached two women, merely asking them simple questions before pulling back, acting as if he was rejected. Then, he sat next to her. “How about I buy you a drink, beautiful?” he said, his gaze already on her legs.

“Well, why not?” she said, trying to smile casually, but she wasn’t able to do so very well.

He guessed that she was not a very good spy. Probably some kind of field operative who had been assigned his case at the last minute. “Good. A cosmopolitan for the lady,” he ordered, trying not to wince at the price.

“How about we move to a seat? So we can have some privacy,” she offered, which further confirmed that she was a field agent. She flirted terribly. Her words were fine, but she delivered them woodenly, as if she had just heard them and never spoken them before.

Even Hermione had been smoother.

He remembered Wesley mentioning he had been trained since he was ten. She must have gone through the same process, with even less socializing.

He grabbed his drink, let her take hers, and walked toward the table, but halfway in, he was struck with a sudden impulse. He wanted to turn back and tell her … everything.

He looked back with a smile, acting like he was checking her cleavage, while he checked her hands. No wand, but she had a weird, gothic ring which he hadn’t noticed before, which further confirmed that she was from Wesley’s side rather than being magical.

The vampire lore had some vague mentions of artifacts, while magicals relied on wands because they were better.

At least, that was his educated guess based on his Wand Magic Theory.

He thought about those details to distract him while he pulled a seat for her, and picked his. The spell effect on him was somewhat like being drunk, more of an impulse for honesty than mind control. And, just like being drunk, awareness was eighty percent of ignoring the effect.

“So, green eyes. Tell me, what brings you to this terrible bar? Drowning your sorrows?”

“Terrible,” she asked. “Why are you here, then?”

“I just moved into the neighborhood, and it was the closest place I could get to delay the deep cleaning,” he said, giving her an honest-looking answer. “I’m not looking forward to cleaning that bathroom.”

“Oh, a big chance, any reason?” she said. “Tell me. It sounds fascinating.”

“Well, it all started when I met a guy named Wesley in my boxing gym. He has been looking very depressed…” he started, giving her the story she must be looking for, though he deliberately made his encounter much more casual. He also avoided mentioning anything about Wesley’s future plans or mental state.

Though, while he told that lengthy story, he pulled a little trick. He started rubbing his leg against hers, an innocent-looking move that had a slow but effective way to make her aroused.

Tantric was proving surprisingly useful.

“… the owner of the gym saw us fighting and decided to promote me as a real boxer, giving me the money to move out of my cramped flat,” he finished, explaining his change of residence as well.

The long story also allowed him to test the effect of the enchantment on him, something that his magic theory skill helped quite a bit. It gave him the ability to test the spell, and during the long story, he found out that as long as he mostly stuck to facts, the effect was very easy to ignore.

For example, it was true that Liam decided to pay him, and he decided to move, but he didn’t need to mention the reason for his move was his fear of vampires, letting her make the connection.

“Wow, and why this street?” she asked.

“It’s closer to my day job. I work in a pub. As a new athlete, I can’t rely on the purse from the fights yet, and the less commuting, the better,” he said.

“Just that?” she asked.

“It’s also affordable and safer,” he said, careful to make no mention of Hermione. There was no need to complicate things like that. But, he could see that she wanted to ask more questions, so he decided to distract her.

From under the table, he reached and put his hand on her thigh. “Maybe I can give you a tour of my flat, pretty eyes,” he teased, hoping that his forwardness would chase her away. Even with his earlier teasing, he didn’t expect his touch to seduce an actual spy.

At this point, she should be looking a reason to leave without raising suspicion, so he gave her one.

However, her reaction surprised him. For one, her pale skin turned crimson, her blush spreading. “What are you doing?” she said.

“Seducing you, of course. That’s what I do in a bar, dealing with one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen,” he added, smirking wide.

She must not be used to being flirted with. “M-most beautiful?” she stammered. “Me?”

“Yes,” he said, which was even true, so the spell didn’t cause any problems. She had a killer body, a pretty face, strikingly distinctive messy black hair, and probably the brightest green eyes he had ever seen.

Then, it clicked. He had already deduced that she was a field agent, which meant she was usually armed and dangerous. He could easily imagine Wesley getting too intimidated to hit on her, not to mention they seemed to be traditional sorts, meaning even their flirting must be subdued.

His smile widened. His initial plan was to chase her away, but he just thought of a better way to distract her from the interrogation. While she processed his words, he changed seats and sat next to her rather than opposite her.

“What are you doing?”

“Showing you how beautiful you are,” he said shamelessly, then deliberately pointing to the opposite side of the bar, where some people were kissing aggressively, while two of them were already testing the patience of the bar while they progressed their foreplay. “You’re not scared, are you?” he added, deliberately goading her. As a field agent, he expected her to be proud.

“O-of course not,” she responded reflexively.

“Good,” he replied, and kissed her neck. He could have kissed her directly, but he had a feeling it would scare her more than a kiss on her neck.

At this point, he was even more glad for the existence of Tantric. Normally, there was a learning phase with a new partner, but Tanric allowed him to skip it somewhat, the pleasure hitting her hard.

Her green eyes widened.

“So, beautiful,” he said, pushing her limits a bit more, letting his fingers slip under her tiny skirt, caressing her wetness directly. “Any other questions?”

She opened her mouth, but he cut her off with a kiss. It was fascinating just how little experience she had even with a kiss, which was a sad existence for a kickass sexy spy.

He kept the kiss light at first, treating her like a skittish mare. He had a feeling that anything aggressive would have sent her bolting before he could prevent it.

She didn’t stay frozen for long. She might be surprised, but her long dormant passion awakened, and once it did, her tongue jumped with an intense passion.

He tilted her chin with two fingers and slowed her pace, which contrasted with his fingers, already caressing her wetness over her panties. She cast an enchantment on him to make him honest.

Well, his mouth was being honest. As well as his fingers.

She must have had more questions, but those died, replaced by moans. Her body was an instrument under his fingers; her slutty outfit, picked as a disguise, poor armor against his attention.

In any other situation, he would have slowed his teasing, enjoying the treat. But, tonight, he decided to pick a different strategy, not just because she needed a quick orgasm, but because he was curious whether he would get a reward from her similar to Wesley.

Since Wesley was designated as tertiary, she must at least be a minor reward source. So, he adjusted his body to hide her from the rest of the bar, making it look like they were merely kissing, while he caressed her wetness over and over again.

And, soon, she climaxed, her moan suppressed by his kiss.

The reward arrived.

[Spectacular Tantric Victory, +25 Tantric]

[Main Character Defeated, Holly Potter]

[+50 Magical Combat]

[Magical Combat Uninitiated -> Intermediate]

[Tantric Intermediate -> Advanced]

Once again, he was glad that the sexy girl in his arms was too distracted with her own orgasm to notice his shock, because he had a few details to process. For one, it was not the way he expected to meet vaunted Holly Potter, Hermione’s mysterious roommate, and Dudley’s cousin.

Then, there was her designation. A main character, with rewards appropriately boosted, giving him a new, potentially very useful skill while upgrading another.

However, his focus was on his big mistake. A monumental one, even. Apparently, he had completely misread the situation. She didn’t for the council; she was not here for Wesley, and he even misread her not being a wand user. She must have hidden before he could catch a glimpse, or she had a better way to keep it hidden.

Admittedly, misreading the situation benefited him rather than hurting him, as he probably acted completely differently if he had realized her real identity. He probably wouldn’t have made a move on Hermione’s roommate … but done was done.

Still, it was an important lesson for the future. Trying to make inferences based on limited information could blow up in his face spectacularly.

And, since he had already committed to a path, there was no point stopping halfway. He leaned to kiss her again, tensing slightly when she raised her hand, but when she waved it pointedly, nothing happened other than a flare of her fingers.

Well, not nothing, he realized. He had always been keeping an eye on the crowd, mostly because he didn’t want to get kicked out by the bouncers. Once she waved her hand, the rest of the bar stopped paying attention to them, as if they didn’t exist, their gaze slipping away.

He realized she could cast spells without her wand, but that realization took a backseat to their total privacy. She must have used it because she was shy, not expecting him to catch on.

Good.

He kissed her again, and this time, he pulled her onto his lap. He didn’t unzip his pants. While they might be invisible to the crowd at the bar, he was sure that it would scare her away.

“Kiss me, beautiful,” he ordered. She did, her passion still in control rather than her reason. He responded by slipping his hands under her skirt, grabbing her ass. He had to admit, she had an amazing ass, very tight.

She clearly exercised far more than her roommate.

Using his trip, he directed her hips, their bodies rubbing together. Her kiss grew even more desperate, turning into moans when he shifted to her neck. Whatever spell she used must have worked for sound as well, because no one looked at them.

Never one to ignore an advantage, he grabbed her tube top, playing with her breasts over her clothes, barely managing not to pull them down. They were on the smaller side, but still amazing, and their perkiness more than compensated for it.

Her body turned into his toy while his lips climbed up, teasing her throat, tracing her jaw, before landing on her lips once more.

He didn’t whisper sweet nothings, just played with her body. In their position, the second climax arrived too quickly.

[Tantric Victory, +10 Tantric]

[Main Character Defeated, Holly Potter]

[+40 Magical Combat]

This time, it hit even harder, and he could feel that, unlike the previous climax, she wasn’t in a mood to chase a third one. Mostly exhaustion, as she was clearly unfamiliar with intense orgasms. “I … I don’t do this,” she whispered.

“First time for everything. New student exploring London. Nothing to be ashamed of,” he whispered, not wanting to drive her to panic. He pulled back, examining her body pointedly.

For some reason, she had self-confidence issues, far worse than Hermione’s shyness. “Believe me, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You’re magnificent,” he complimented.

Her blush showed they worked, but that didn’t prevent her from throwing him a stink eye while she fixed her top, which had been dislodged a bit. “I need to visit the ladies’ room,” she whispered as she slid off his lap.

“Sure,” he said. The way she said that suggested trying to follow her to a stall for some extra fun wouldn’t be taken positively, so he stayed in his seat, fixing his clothes. A good thing, because about a minute later, he noticed he was no longer invisible for the rest of the crowd.

While waiting for Holly to return, he focused on his newest skill, Magical Combat. In a way, it was similar to Wand Magic Theory he got from Hermione. It was about magic, but it didn’t have any direct knowledge of it, mostly contextual around something he lacked.

The difference came from their approaches. Wand Magic Theory was about understanding the mechanics of magic and how it interacted with a wand. Combat magic was all about the effects of the spells, how to combine, counter, or avoid them.

Since avoiding included how to dodge them, he was happy with it. Dodging spells required understanding how a spell worked.

But, after ten minutes, Holly had yet to return. He didn’t even see her in the corridor. His new skill supplied the answer. Apparation, which was some kind of teleportation that could be used in magical combat in very different ways…

And, apparently, also useful in escaping from dates … in a manner of speaking.

“Well played,” he whispered as he took another sip, turning his attention to his overpriced drink. With how things had developed, he didn’t blame her for retreating.

He knew exactly where to find her…