CHAPTER 48: MONTHLY RANKING TEST 6*

The crowd around the results board was thick enough to suffocate someone.

Aegis stood on her tiptoes, trying to see over the sea of heads blocking her view. Her heart hammered against her ribs.

[Calm down. You basically gave them a lap dance through song. They’re not failing you.]

"Move it, peasants!" some noble boy shoved through the crowd. "Make way for House Crimson!"

The commoners scattered. Aegis rolled her eyes but used the opening to slip closer to the board.

"Rankings are up!" someone shouted.

The mob surged forward. Aegis got an elbow to the ribs and nearly face-planted into someone’s back. She grabbed onto the nearest stable object, which turned out to be Scarlett’s arm.

"Easy there, Mouse." Scarlett steadied her with one hand. "Don’t go dying before we see if you passed."

"Thanks." Aegis straightened her uniform. "Can you see anything?"

"Yeah, I can see Talia’s ugly mug at the top. No surprise there."

Aegis craned her neck.

Sure enough, Princess Talia Stone held the number one spot. Her overall score gleamed in gold lettering: 298 out of 300.

[Of course she’s first.]

Second place went to Liora Vale with 285 points.

"Where am I?" Aegis muttered, scanning down the list. "Come on, come on..."

"Third place." Scarlett pointed. "Right there. Aegis Starcaller, 276 points."

Relief flooded through her.

She’d dropped from first to third, but that was miles away from the expulsion zone. The bottom ten percent started at rank 45 and below.

"Not bad for someone who can’t throw a proper punch." Scarlett grinned. "Though I gotta ask, what was that song? My ears are still burning."

"Like. I. Said. Trade secret." Aegis checked her individual scores. Combat: 65. Magic: 89. Arts: 122.

[Holy shit. They gave me 122 out of 100 for that performance?] She blinked. [I’m a little more seductive than I thought I was.]

The bonus points explained her overall score. Apparently, the judges decided her "artistic interpretation" deserved extra credit. Or they were too flustered to do math properly.

"Scarlett Lionheart, rank 15." Aegis read off the board. "Nice! You killed it in combat."

"Yeah, well." Scarlett rubbed the back of her neck. "Would’ve been better if that Kanna chick hadn’t shown up. Where’d she even come from?"

They found Kanna Greaves at rank 8, with a combat score of 95. The mysterious transfer student had left an impression.

Mysterious to Scarlett, anyway. Aegis knew who she was.

[And I’m very excited to see where that goes~]

"Look at Varyn." Aegis snickered. "Rank 31. Bet he’s pissing himself."

Indeed, Varyn Duskbane stood near the board with a face like spoiled milk. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. Being in the bottom half meant his position was precarious for next month, even with the lessening penalties.

"Serves him right." Scarlett threw an arm around Aegis’s shoulders. "Hey, we should celebrate! Bunch of us commoners are hitting the Rusty Tankard tonight. You in?"

"The dive bar from last time?"

"Yeah! Come on, you survived your first ranking. That deserves some cheap ale, huh?"

Aegis considered it. She had training with Nazraya tomorrow afternoon and meditation with Rosanna at dawn. But tonight?

"You know what? Sure. I could use a drink after that performance."

"That’s the spirit!" Scarlett squeezed her tighter. "Maybe you can sing us another one of those dirty songs."

"Absolutely not."

"Aw, come on!"

They headed back toward the dorms to change out of their uniforms. Aegis caught sight of Talia surrounded by her usual noble groupies, all congratulating her on maintaining first place. Their eyes met across the courtyard.

Talia’s yellow gaze narrowed. Her lips moved, mouthing something that looked suspiciously like "shameless harlot."

Aegis blew her a kiss.

The princess spun on her heel and stormed off, nearly trampling a first-year in her haste to escape.

---

Aegis nursed her second ale, watching Scarlett dominate arm wrestling matches at the next table. There were fellow scholarship students all around her, all happy to have made it past another month.

[That’s her fourth victory. Girl’s showing off.]

"To not getting expelled!" Ellis raised his tankard, spectacles crooked.

"To Aegis’s lewd song!" Miheyra giggled.

"It wasn’t that lewd!" Aegis protested.

"It was absolutely lewd." Tam’s quiet voice cut through.

"... Okay yeah it was pretty lewd."

The table erupted in laughter. Even Jona cracked a smile behind his ale.

Then Scarlett dropped into the seat beside Aegis, fresh from demolishing another opponent. Her thigh pressed against Aegis’s under the table.

"Having fun?" Scarlett’s breath was hot against her ear.

"Watching you crush egos? Always entertaining."

"I can think of more entertaining things." Scarlett’s hand found Aegis’s thigh. "Wanna get out of here?"

Aegis blinked.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. What do ya say?" Scarlett waited patiently.

[Bondmark Opportunity Detected!]

Target: Scarlett Lionheart

Conditions: Mutual attraction at peak. Privacy required.

Time Limit: Tonight

Aegis looked down at her cup. There was still about half left in it.

She didn’t have to think about this too much.

"Your room or mine?" Aegis drained her ale.

Scarlett grinned. And, also, looked a bit relieved.

"Mine. Roommate’s gone."

They made excuses to the group. Nobody bought them. Ellis made kissy faces. Miheyra whistled. Even quiet Tam gave them a knowing look.

Outside, Scarlett grabbed Aegis’s wrist and pulled her into an alley.

"Been thinking about this." Scarlett backed her against the wall, looming over her. At nearly seven feet tall, she made Aegis feel tiny. "Since that first combat class. When you made me fight blind."

"That was tactical planning."

"That was you showing off." Scarlett’s strong hands held Aegis’s hips. "Made me want to pin you down right there."

Aegis smiled.

This was different from Nazraya. She’d been expecting this and she was ready.

"So pin me."

Scarlett’s eyes went dark. She hiked Aegis up like she weighed nothing, hands under her thighs. Aegis had to wrap her legs around Scarlett’s waist just to hold on. Aegis’s dick poked Scarlett’s abdomen.

"Fuck." Scarlett groaned. "You’re already hard."

"You’re one to talk," Aegis replied, feeling what she did under her ass.

Scarlett kissed the way she fought. Shameless and confident. At first, their lips just danced but soon, Scarlett’s tongue invaded Aegis’s mouth.

"Not here." Aegis gasped between kisses. "Your room."

"Right. Room."

Scarlett set her down but kept one hand possessively on her lower back. They speed-walked to the dorms. Several students saw them. Aegis didn’t care.

[Let them gossip.]

Scarlett’s room was basic. Two beds, two desks, zero personality. Aegis barely got a look before Scarlett was on her again.

"Clothes. Off." Scarlett yanked at Aegis’s shirt.

"Demanding."

"You have no idea."

They stripped each other with zero finesse. Buttons flew. Fabric tore. Tragically, Aegis’s shirt didn’t survive the encounter.

"Bed." Aegis pushed Scarlett backward.

Scarlett hit the mattress and immediately pulled Aegis on top.

"Fuck, you’re bigger than I thought you’d be." Scarlett wrapped her hand around Aegis’s dick.

"Look who’s talking."

Scarlett stroked her, reaching down with her other hand and prodding at Aegis’s feminine half. The sensation was immediately overwhelming. Aegis buried her face in Scarlett’s neck, biting down on the muscle there.

"You can bite harder than that, can’t you?" Scarlett’s free hand tangled in Aegis’s hair.

Aegis bit harder. Sucked a bruise into Scarlett’s throat while grinding down into her grip. Their hips found a rhythm, desperate and graceless.

"Oh, fuck... I’m already close." Aegis panted.

"Not yet."

Without warning, Scarlett flipped them.

Aegis hit the mattress with Scarlett’s weight pinning her down. Strong hands grabbed her wrists, stretching her arms above her head.

"My turn." Scarlett grinned.

She kissed down Aegis’s body. Bit her nipples hard enough to make her arch. Licked a stripe down her stomach.

Then, suddenly, wrapped her lips around Aegis’s cock and swallowed it to the base in one smooth motion.

"Fuck!"

Scarlett bobbed her head, taking Aegis deep on every stroke. Her hands held Aegis’s hips down, preventing her from bucking up.

"Scarlett, I’m gonna—"

Scarlett pulled off with a pop.

"Not yet." She crawled back up. "Want you inside me first."

Aegis’s eyes widened.

"Yes. Fuck yes."

Scarlett straddled her hips. Her thick thighs on either side of Aegis’s waist made her feel tiny.

[Holy shit is she gonna break my pelvis?]

Scarlett reached back to position Aegis’s cock at her entrance. Then sank down in one brutal drop.

"Shit!" They said in unison.

Scarlett was tight. Wet. Perfect. She didn’t wait to adjust, just started riding. Hard. Fast. Like she was trying to break the bed.

[Oh god.]

Scarlett rode harder. The bed frame slammed against the wall with every bounce. Someone in the next room banged back. Neither of them cared.

Aegis thrust up to meet her. Grabbed Scarlett’s cock and stroked in time with their rhythm. Scarlett’s head fell back, red hair cascading down her back.

Just a couple of minutes of riding proved to be too much. Aegis buried deep and came hard enough to white out her vision. Scarlett kept straddling her, even as Aegis’s dick softened.

"Holy shit." Scarlett laughed. "That was... nice."

"Yeah."

"I don’t usually let people do that with me," Scarlett admitted. "Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’m the one doing the penetrating, ya know? But, I’ll admit, I was curious with you. You’re not bad at all."

They lay there catching their breath. Then Scarlett shifted.

"So, think you can go for round two?" Scarlett’s grin was wicked.

"Already?"

"Mouse, I’ve been holding back for weeks. We’re not stopping until dawn."

[This is how I die again.]

Aegis swallowed.

[Worth it.]

Scarlett pushed her onto her stomach and nudged her legs apart. Aegis moved accordingly, but she had to admit, there were some butterflies in her gut.

"Now, try not to cry," Scarlett warned before slowly, painfully, slipping in that monster she carried between her legs.

Aegis’s jaw hit the floor.

"Oh god."

"That’s right. So good." Scarlett’s weight pressed her into the mattress. "Taking me so well."

Then, she started moving.

Each thrust punched little gasps out of Aegis. She was oversensitive, overwhelmed. Perfect.

"I’ll fill you up in a moment." Scarlett’s teeth found her shoulder. "Ready?"

All Aegis could will out of her mouth was:

"Please."

As Scarlett went harder, the sound of skin against skin slapping turned into a fast metronome sounding off alongside that of the bed creaking and holding on for dear life.

With both hands on Aegis’s hips, Scarlett came with a groan. Aegis felt it, hot and deep. Her own cock twitched and spurt with a second orgasm as her pussy’s walls clamped around Scarlett.

And they collapsed in a sweaty heap.

[Bondmark Established!]

Scarlett Lionheart: (❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️)

New Passive: Battle Fervor - +25% combat skill progression

Training Efficiency: +50% (Two Bondmarks)

"No more." Aegis wheezed, smiling weakly. "I’m dead. You killed me."

"Drama queen." Scarlett pulled out and drew her close. "How was that?"

"Pretty sure my pussy’s going to have your dick’s shape molded out for weeks."

"Good. That’s what I was aiming for."

Aegis let exhaustion take her. Tomorrow she’d deal with explaining her limp to Rosanna.

Tonight, she’d earned this.