kvmb Chapter 159: I am actually cooked
Chapter 159: I am actually cooked
After the eventful expansion quest, Martin woke up refreshed.
Yesterday had been one of the best days of his life. He had ridden Ao Tenshin into the final clash, helped finish off Raze Dawg, and watched his party claim a victory that thousands of players would probably talk about for days.
And yet, somehow, none of that stayed with him first.
Kill Clause’s smile did.
The way she had looked at him was still there the moment he opened his eyes. It had not been her usual sharp, teasing expression either. There had been something softer in it, something that made his chest tighten harder than any raid boss, field boss, or legendary quest ever had.
Martin stared at the ceiling and slowly dragged a hand down his face.
Bruh, I am actually cooked.
He rolled onto his side and let out a slow breath.
If Victoria hadn’t saved me there, I really would have kissed her, huh?
The memory came back too clearly. Kill Clause had been close. Her voice had been soft. The quiet pressure between them had been dangerous, and for one second, his body had almost moved before his brain could stop it.
If Victoria’s $100,000 offer had not landed that day, Martin was pretty sure he would have leaned in.
And if he had leaned in, Kill Clause might not have pulled away.
The thought froze him in place.
It was easy to joke around, flirt, and act like everything in the game was just fun. It was easy to laugh when Crimson Halo teased him, when NukEncore got excited, or when Chaosgraphy did something cool enough to make his blood heat up.
Kill Clause, though, had looked at him like she saw more than the simple tank standing in front of her.
She had seen right through him, and the worst part was that everyone else had seen through him too. Kill Clause had simply been the one to say it out loud.
Thank God Victoria saved me there. Seriously. Thank God.
Martin exhaled slowly.
The whole party could get weird if he did something that stupid. One kiss, one impulsive and greedy idiot move, could turn comfortable banter into awkward silence.
He liked the party too much to risk that.
He liked all of them too much, and that was the problem.
Kill Clause’s smile lingered in his mind until he finally tossed the blanket aside, hopped out of bed, and forced himself through his morning routine.
At least, that was what he tried to do.
While brushing his teeth, Martin stared at his reflection and told himself he was a normal man with normal thoughts.
Then Crimson Halo crawled into his mind.
His brain did not choose some holy, graceful, priestess-like image either. It immediately picked the worst possible angle from yesterday. It remembered the way she had moved on all fours, the sway of her tits, and the ridiculous confidence she had shown while doing something that would have made most people die from embarrassment.
Martin stopped brushing.
Foam filled one side of his mouth while his eyes slowly narrowed at the mirror.
Really? This is where my brain goes first thing in the morning?
He resumed brushing more aggressively, as if he could scrub the image out of his head.
Of course, it did not work.
By the time he leaned over the sink and washed his face, Chaosgraphy’s moment flashed through his mind instead. She had stepped forward and sacrificed herself without making it dramatic. She had simply thrown herself into danger as if she had decided that this was what needed to be done.
That memory did not make him horny.
Well, it did not only make him horny.
It made his chest tighten with genuine admiration.
That was so fucking cool, girl.
Martin splashed more water over his face, then exhaled through his nose. Chaosgraphy was dangerous in a different way. She did not tease him like Crimson Halo. She did not pull him in with warmth like NukEncore. She simply did something insane, looked cool while doing it, and somehow made him want to respect her and stare at her body at the same time.
My brain is cooked.
Then NukEncore’s voice finished him off.
Her saying that their time together had been perfect should have been a sweet memory. A pure one. A precious one, even. She had sounded so happy while launching fireballs like a tiny walking disaster, and Martin could still remember the excitement in her voice.
The problem was that with NukEncore, it was not only her body. It was the way she made everything feel simple, fun, and warm. Being around him did not seem like a burden to her. It did not feel like a strategy or some complicated social game.
It just felt perfect.
Martin went blank and stared at himself in the mirror, water dripping from his chin and hair.
I finished off Raze Dawg and the monument of darkness, but all I have on my mind is my friends?
He blinked once.
They’re all women with bodies so great that their faces don’t really matter. Bruh, that sounds terrible, but it’s also honest.
In the end, a lot of testosterone still needed some hand exercise before it could truly leave his system. Martin couldn’t really blame himself, though. Even long before immersive gaming became a thing, female players could gather guys around themselves with ease and break party dynamics with a single word.
Martin had four girls in his party, and he had shared intimate moments with all of them.
That was not healthy for a simple man’s brain.
The worst part was that those moments felt real enough to mess with him, but not real enough to give him any actual answers.
He knew their voices. He knew their habits. He knew how Crimson Halo teased, how Chaosgraphy locked in when things got serious, how NukEncore’s excitement could fill an entire battlefield, and how Kill Clause could cut through his bullshit with one sentence.
Outside the game, though, he knew almost nothing.
He did not know their names, faces, jobs, homes, routines, relationships, families, or problems. Everything that made them actual women beyond their avatars remained behind a wall.
Martin leaned against the sink, frowning at his reflection.
We’re close, but are we actually close?
The thought annoyed him because it sounded too deep for that early in the morning.
He had once asked NukEncore about her name, but she had played it off nicely and turned it into a secret. Martin couldn’t blame her back then. It was the internet. It was the game. Privacy mattered.
But now that he thought about it with a clearer head, or maybe a head too heavy with images of his friends’ bodies, he was confused.
It’s not like your name will expose you, right? There are countless women named Annie, Beth, or whatever.
Little did he know that out of all his friends, NukEncore had the most "unique" name because of a single typo her mother had made at the registration office.
Martin rubbed the back of his neck.
Names were not the real problem, though.
The real problem was that they kept giving him pieces of themselves that felt intimate while hiding everything else. A laugh here. A soft word there. A moment that made his heart jump. Then, as soon as the topic came close to real life, the door shut.
They did not shut it rudely or coldly, but they still shut it firmly.
Whatever, really. I can’t do anything until they at least start sharing more with me.
Maybe that was fair. He had no right to demand anything from them. He was their tank, their friend, and maybe something more complicated than that, but he was not entitled to their real lives.
Still, the gap bothered him.
If the game kept feeling more real, then the secrets started feeling more real too.
Regardless of any intimate moments, if they keep everything to themselves, then it’s only fun and laughs. I already enjoy being around them, and I should just enjoy it more since they don’t seem to oppose it.
It sounded reasonable, simple, and safe enough.
Martin nodded once at his reflection, as if he had solved the matter.
Then another thought immediately ruined it.
But if it’s only fun and laughs, why did Kill Clause’s smile stick with me so hard?
He stared at himself for another second.
"Bruh," he muttered.