After colleg themselves, ensuring they hadn't left anything behind, and making sure they were and presentable, they exited the Arena. The gate in the back led them onto the city streets, and they o walk around the building aer the Arena from the front.

  Before throwing themselves into the fray a sed time, Natalie approached a blonde girl sitting on a bench at the side of the reception area. She was leaning bad the other citygoers, perhaps waiting for someoheir eyes met as Natalie finished crossing the room.

  She made quitrodus, then got to the point. "Just had a quick question, if you don't mind. We're new here. Trying to get a feel for how things work."

  "Sure?" The blonde girl—Annabelle—said, straightening up.

  "How many tokens is it normal to have ented, after an Arena run? The receptionist," she gestured at the automaton, "was vague."

  "Depends on how far you get, and the stake."

  "I know that. I meant— I ask you how many tokens you got, your st run?"

  The blonde girl tilted her head. "Six. Then two. Then one. You get less with each series. Diminishiurns."

  Natalie blinked. Six ented tokens for her first run? She and Vaa had gotten een. Had they dohat much better? She didn't reize this woman from Te, so she might be an indepe delver or someone from a less-known academy. So it wasn't impusible she was—well, not as petent. Still, only ohird?

  "Did you, ah, fulfill a stake? No need for the details, I'm n to be nosy. Like I said, just trying to get a feel for the system."

  Annabelle's lips twitched. "Yeah, you two are definitely here's o tiptoe around it. But yes. I paid out a three-hearts stake."

  Same as them. "What round did you get to?"

  "Sixteenth."

  "Sixteenth? Oh. Wow."

  "The rounds aren't sistent in strength," Annabelle said, accurately guessing why she'd been surprised. "Some series get stronger faster. Some drag out. It's not that easy to benchmark the Token system. People have tried, but everything varies too much."

  "Ah." That was useful information to have, if disappointing. It would make estimating how much time and effort would be needed when it came to purchasing something expensive. "I see. That's all we hanks for the help."

  "No problem."

  She and Vaa stepped aside.

  "Good to know, I guess. Wonder if that means the series will be harder? So we could get even more entments? Though there'll be that fifty-pert debuff." And the third series, if they chose to pursue it, would be a seventy-five pert debuff. And so on.

  "We hope. You ready?"

  Natalie nodded.

  They headed in for their sed Arena series. The sounds ing from the reception area faded as they ehe personalized pocket world. The arena hadn't ged from ten minutes ago: simple stru and pin dirt. Walking further in, the gates closed behind them and three short pilrs holding stoablets appeared.

  The stakes.

  Natalie admitted she was ied. What would it be this time?

  Her heart jumped seeing the engraved minimalist drawings. The left-most one, she saw, had three hearts carved at the bottom. If the trend she'd noticed tihat meant their easiest task was a three-hearts stake. And that'd been the hardest of their st set. Indeed, a gnce showed that the sed choice was four hearts, and the third five.

  Swallowing, she ied the first tablet.

  Mutual Stroking. There was an image of two women, oroking the other's cock, the other rubbiween her partner's legs. Befitting their particur arra. Both partits will bring each other to climax using their hands.

  Unsurprisingly, the three-heart rated stake was roughly simir to the previous. Just, both actors o perform, rather than one using a toy oher. Less lewd in some ways—more in others.

  A sideways gnce showed Vaa's cheeks were red, and her eyes had already moved to the sed tablet. They would read all three and discuss them afterward, then.

  The sed read: Oral. The image was of a woman with her face buried betweeher's legs. One partit will bring the other to climax using her mouth.

  Straightforward. Natalie's heart beat faster in her chest.

  Finally, the five-heart task.

  Missionary Sex. The two partits will engage in unprotected missionary sex. Climax must occur duriration.

  "That's, ah, blunt," Natalie said, equally amused and embarrassed. The picture associated with the st stake was the most explicit she'd see. Reasonably.

  "Why'd they jump in rating so much?" Vaa asked faintly. "The lowest is the highest of the st series."

  "Maybe because we picked the hardest, st time?" She shrugged. "The point of the City is to work us into more and more—lewd things. So since we did that st time, it gave us the iers up."

  "… Logical, I guess." Vaa seemed to be struggling to keep her voice steady. "But these are too much."

  "We don't have to do any of them," Natalie reminded her.

  "That's a waste," she disagreed. "But," she bit her lip a Natalie's eyes. "Well, what do you think?"

  Emboldened by previous events, Natalie grinned. "I vote for the five-heart stake."

  Vaa's eyes widened, and, flustered, she faced away. "Don't be ridiculous. You just said if we pick the hardest, the dungeon will make that the new default. Besides, it's … too much."

  "I guess I'll settle fetting my fingers inside you, then," Natalie said. "Or my tongue? Like I said, it's up to you. Or rather, I'm okay with anything."

  Vaa ignored her. Or at least the teasing tone of her voice. "I think ahree-heart is acceptable. Besides, we always retreat."

  Natalie had heard that reasoning once before. The excuse wasn't nearly so ving the sed time around. She had to fight the smirk on her face.

  "Three hearts it is," Natalie said. Then, she winced and rolled her shoulders. She'd temporarily fotten she would be fighting to the death a sed time. "Let's see how far we get."