The Cyclopean Trap

[Cherubian]

Any minute now.

I lean back in my comfortable chair and watch the progress bar on the screen. It currently hovers at 98%. Any minute now the download will be complete.

'Cyclopean' it is called. Considering what it promises it is surprising the game had not been hyped more. 'Fully immerse yourself in an antique world of barbarism, wonder and grand adventure'. 'Highly advanced next generation AI custom tailors the game experience to each individual player' I had stumbled upon it by pure chance on Vapor's online store. The screenshots look amazing, and since Vapor has a generous reimbursement policy I had not hesitated with my purchase. I could afford it.

My looks aren't that impressive, I openly admit that. In the mirror I see a thin and flat chested wallflowery kind of person in her thirties, wearing her brown hair in a practical short cut. But at least I am smart which had gotten me a well paying job that could easily finance my high end rig and whichever game I would want to feed my escapism with. This one seemed right up my alley.

There, the download is finished, and the red 'Downloading' button changes to a bright green 'Start'. A quick click. An intro starts playing on the screen. It shows a large chamber, likely underground since the only light source are a circle of torches on the walls. At the center three males in long black hooded robes stand at the corners of a triangle inlaid in the floor. Thier hands are outstretched and they were chanting unintelligibly. As they do, a shimmering globe of light begins to coalesce in ther midst.

The trailer pauses itself and the camera zooms into the glowing sphere. The completely nude model of a man appears on the left side of the screen. Looking at the freely exposed private parts I was surprised how openly X-Rated this game seems to be. Pleasantly surprised. On the right side are a lot - an awesome fucking lot - of menu options. Everything about the model seems customizable. The first one is easy, and immediately that naked male is replaced by a nude woman. Next there are species. The lore window informs me that humans are the dominant species in the world, but there also are other metahuman minorities. I did not even bother to read past 'Elf', and my character model becames lither, paler, and grows elongated pointy ears.

That is when the detail work starts. Apparently every minor body part is customizable. Within limits. I get to work. It takes me more than 30 minutes, but eventually I am satisfied with the results. A gorgeous blonde elven lady of ethereal beauty stares back at me from the screen, swaying slightly in her idle animation. I had chosen a fair skin complexion, bordering on pale, hairless except for her scalp. The facial features have a delicate quality, almost angelic. For the body I had picked a lithe build of slightly above average height, slender toned limbs and a small but firm behind. If only I could have given her larger breasts, somewhere between C cup and D cup the slider would not budge any further.

Once finished the next screen pops up. Now it is time for the nitty gritty character stats. Apparently the game uses an entirely point based system, no levels, no classed. Stats, skills, abilities, everything has to be bought with those 400 character points. And there is a cap of 10 for attributes (standard D&D fare) and a tiered proficiency system for skills. Also some helpful pre-selected templates as a starting point. The 'Elven Mystic' immediately calls out to me, and it quickly turns out to be their version of the D&D Monk, a Martial Artist with some Ki powers.

After a bit of fiddling it soon becomes frustratingly clear that those 400 points are not enough. Not if I wanted all the most fun sounding goodies. But I am a smart girl, am I not, and I earn my living with programming. There is a 'Back' button and thankfully also an option to save that visual model I spent more than half an hour to create. Whew.

Quitting the game, another thirty minutes are spent scouring the game files. At first I am overwhelmed by the sheer volume, but the developers had been very disciplined, with clean folder structures. And they did not use any fancy decryption or compression, so eventually I find a file named characterCreation.json. Inside there's startingCharacterPoints: 400, maximumstartingSkillTier: 1 and maximumAttribute: 10. I quickly make a backup, then change those values to a more generous startingCharacterPoints: 4000, maximumstartingSkillTier: 4 and maximumAttribute: 30 for good measure.

Holding my breath I start the game again.
The first relief comes when I can indeed load my visual model without hitch.
And then ... it worked, 4000 points to spend! Yay, much better!

For attributes I settle on
Strength: 30
Dexterity: 30
Constitutuion: 15
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 30
Charisma: 15

Next skills. Mastery proficiency in Unarmed Fighting, Bladed Weapons, Perception, Insight, Stealth, Persuasion, Deception, Athletics, Acrobatics, Thievery and ... 'Skill cap reached'. What? Okay, those will have to do, too lazy to hack this again. No Intimidation, Leadership, Streetwise or Survival, but I'll probably find some NPCs to help me, right?

For abilities I settle on the Wuxia fare the game seemed to offer. Become an awesome Martial Artist with fist and sword, amplified further with Ki. Jump obscenely high and wide, run really fast, even a short range teleport was in there.

Lastly some advantages. Elven low-light vision is upgraded to Devil's Sight, some Immunities against Magic, Disease and Poison, Keen Senses. The disadvantages section I mostly check out of curiosity, I do not need the extra points those provide. Until I read 'Sterile'. That was a thing, you could get knocked up in the game? Not something I wanted, so I very quickly picked that option, ignoring the lore text about 'social stigma'. Oh and there, almost missed. 'Attractive' and 'Very Attractive'. I had just enough points left for the latter. The moment that one was selected a popup showed with 'New customization option unlocked'. Curious I followed the link which ... brings me back to the breast size slider. What the .... NOW I can get myself an F-Cup? Briefly I wonder what had went on in the game developer's heads, but then I just yank the slider all the way to the right. On the slender elven frame that heavy pair now looks positively enormous, crowned by thick nipples.

Finally done I eagerly press 'Start Game', and only as the screen collapses do I notice the last menu option 'Purchase starting equipment'

However, the game does not start he way I expected. After the screen goes dark, so does the whole room around me. An inpenetrable darkness engulfes me, and before I even have time to panic I lose consciousness.

Once I wake again and look down at myself I have to shake my head in disbelief. It is not easy to comprehend what just had happened happened. Because ... that is not my body I am looking at. I am butt naked. Prominently in the center of my downward vision is a mountain range consisting of two massive udders. I can feel them tugging heavily at my chest, quite the novel sensation. I am that sexy bombshell now? No idea how the game did it, but that is hot! Is this a VR game? But I did not even put on my VR goggles, or did I? And there, jingling in my hand, a leather pouch with some coins, the cash I should have bought my starting gear with - clothing included.

Finally I am able to focus my attention on my surroundings. I am in the underground chamber from the intro. More specifically in the center of the triangle. The three robed dudes are looking at me. From close up it becomes clear that they are all of advanced age and not particularly athletic. And they all have a certain lecherous quality in their stares, their gazes for the moment glued to my bare tits, until at least one of them manages to reign himself in and establish proper eye contact. Wow, the game does react to my state of undress? That was novel. And promising.

Mr. 'Oh, your eyes are up there' finally takes a step forward, extends a hand and asks in a rasped voice that seems to make an attempt to be friendly: "Welcome, please introduce yourself to us!"

So this is where I have to pick my character name? All right, something Elven. How about ... I shake the hand offered and reply

"I am Aeliana"

 

[Unscripted]

Years of studying the ancient arts of their deity had led the three men to that moment. However, little about their cult and belief system matched up with the intent behind their summoning attempts. To cut through the fabric of space was nothing short but a defiance of a natural order that existed long before their own species, and such a defiance was intended to come in the form of an organized, glorious series of rituals that would reshape the fabric of the realm.

The men’s attempts at specifically summoning a carnal distraction to make up for years of isolation and study of the dark arts were certainly to be frowned upon. Were they to be caught, they would most surely be deemed blasphemous and held up high in an altar to be sacrificed to appease the gods they had surely offended with their deviance.

For that, however, they would need to be caught. They prided themselves in having prepared this inner sanctum of theirs deep within the cavernous complex of their temple, and whatever chance there was for them to be tattled on required whoever they summoned to make their way out. All in all, it felt like a risk worth taking for the sake of scratching some burdensome itches.

All in all, their gamble appeared to have paid off, with the unlikely arrival of what proved to be an elven female catching the three men off-guard. Their efforts had never managed to capture a non-human before, and if their memory served them well, elves certainly never came with such a specific…presentation.

The head summoner of the group approached with little hesitation, however. Their position required them to remain in control, and no amount of lecherous intent could make them compromise. His approach was well received by the elven beauty, it seemed, as shown by the handshake she bestowed upon him.

Aeliana’s palm felt smooth, almost porcerlain-like cold in the man’s cold, withered hands. Years of contact with the darkness had sped up their aging, and the man was sure she felt the wrinkles and calluses that cracked through his pale skin. Moreso, his hooded robe did not fully conceal his hunched frame, allowing the elven woman to see the receding hairline of the pale-haired man whose unusual rose-tinted irises insisted on being fixated on her.

“Aeliana.” Her name rolled off of his sharp tongue as he nodded, thin and dry lips stretching into a smile as he nodded. “It has been a long time since we were graced with such an ancient name, yes.” The man’s observation came with a raising of his eyebrows. “I am Vodan, Priest of Obsihd, and I am afraid our attempts of reaching into the void have grasped too close to your home.”

With a tilt of Vodan’s head, his two colleagues were quick to pull their hoods down to conceal their focused stares and simply stepped aside to open space for the rest of the sanctum. By all means, it was a cold, dark chamber, lit only by torches that displayed the occasional cloth placed around for comfort purposes. It was bound to serve its purpose, even if deep within the cavernous complex.


Letting go of the woman’s hand, Vodan rubbed his palms and gestured. “Kindly take a seat. We have much to ask. You must understand that this is most auspicious for us. Perhaps we summoned you at a terrible time, I fear? Tell us about you.” Curiosity laced Vodan’s words as he led her across the chamber and away from the summoning circle, guiding her towards the comfort zone, all under the gaze of his peers, who moved to scour for supplies upon a signal from Vodan. “And pardon the shock of my disciples. They have yet to fully grasp the enormity of our efforts.”​

 

[Cherubian]

It seemed to her they were more occupied with the enormity of her bare tits. Who could blame them, she herself also was. The game made them feel so real, so heavy and weighty. And to her surprise she did not feel one bit of shame standing there butt naked under their leecherous stares. To the contrary, it felt exciting. Maybe because this was just a game, however realistic it might appear. And a game more daring than anything she had played before, to boot. Or maybe because it was novel to her to have a body that would draw that intense kind of attention? She did not want to think about this any more, instead enjoy the moment, perverse as that might be.

Following the invitation she lowered herself onto one of the cushions on the ground, sitting there cross legged and waiting for the summomners to follow suit. But as she looked up to them she became a bit disgruntled. What was she supposed to tell them? Wasn't the game supposed to provide the backstory here? Instead she should tell them about here. With nary a clue about the world's lore.

Feeling to lazy for that, and not wanting to risk to make up some yarn fettered with her ignorance they would see thorough easily she took the easy alternative. "I am afraid there is not much I can tell you. It must be that ritual you conducted, but right now I remember nothing prior to showing up in your midst. Nothing except my name."