Stephen Baratheon POV
"Eleven, Tewelve…. Thirteen… *huff huff* Fourteen… Fifteen."
With a heavy thud, he pushed the boulder off to the side and wiped the heavy perspiration off of his brow.
Ever since he got his Gamer System, he developed a routine of training for at least a few minutes every day, if not an entire hour or more.
As he laid on the ground, huffing and puffing, his sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps moving in his direction.
Glancing sideways, he observed that some of the zombies had eluded Asha and Sarella's designated kill zone. Or maybe these ones just spawned in the wrong place.
However, he didn't have to concern himself with them much because with a mere thought, the mana arrows hovering above him zoomed towards the approaching zombies and annihilated them.
At this point, he'd become so powerful that a few mana arrows of his would easily defeat the Zombie boss in this level. So he had no fear of training while in this ID.
Once he had recovered from the slight exhaustion, he created a few more mana arrows to hover over him, picked up the giant boulder once again, and resumed his training.
Having reached a significant level of mastery in his Training Skill, he could maintain impeccable form and posture, even if he lacked the ideal equipment. Not to mention that he possessed an innate understanding of how to obtain optimal results from each exercise.
One of the other advantages of his training skill was that he always able to select a boulder that was sufficiently heavy to limit his sets to 10-15 repetitions, regardless of the type of exercise.
He recalled watching anime shows in the past where the main shounin protagonist could perform thousands, if not tens of thousands of push ups or or some other exercises.
While that kind of training sounds impressive in an anime. In real life, you're not really pushing your muscles all that much if you can do 10,000 of something.
For example. Let's say you walk 10,000 steps. Sure, it'll be tough for someone who only just started doing it. But it'll not really increase his leg muscles all that much. What it'll do is that it'll increase his Stamina. Not your Strength.
If a person wants to boost his stamina, then sprinting a few laps around a stadium field would be far more effective exercise.
Having completed 12 sets of pushing the weighty boulder on his back, he eventually pushed it away and slumped on the ground, exhausted.
In the distance, he heard the uncharacteristically loud roar of a zombie, signifying the arrival of the Zombie boss.
Despite being too tired to move himself, he could still manipulate his Mana just fine and used it fly to the top of a building from where he could get a good view of the fight.
From his vantage point, he saw Asha fighting the Zombie boss. Although she was strong enough to finish this boss within seconds, she mainly diverted its attention while Sarella rained down Mana-enhanced arrows upon it using her Goldenheart bow.
Hm… might have to look into giving her the Dragonbone bow. The Goldenheart bow gifted to her by her mother was amazing, no doubt about that. But Dragonbone bows were a step above that.
Sarella eventually did enough damage to the Zombie boss that it aggro'd on her and started running/stumbling in her direction.
It was already too late for it however, as two more mana enhanced arrows to its eyes finally took its total Health Points to 0 and the giant zombie stumbled and collapsed to the ground.
Within moments, the Zombie disintegrated into tiny specks of light, leaving behind several loot items on the ground. He took advantage of this opportunity to descend and meet his girls.
"Hey Steph! Look, we got another Skill book," exclaimed Sarella with excitement as she showed off a Skill book labeled 'Zombie Strength.'
It was a low level skill book that increased your strength by a few points in exchange lowering your HP by a few points every minute.
It was rather useful for a normal person whose average Str stat was 10. But it was mostly useless for someone like him whose Str stat was now in the Hundreds.
He also happened to have over a dozen of this particular skill book lying around in his Inventory. But he didn't offer those skill books to either Sarella and Asha, wanting them to work hard to earn their own stuff.
"Congratulations," he said, a wide smile stretching across his face as he enveloped both of his girls in a warm embrace, tenderly placing a kiss on their foreheads.
"Sarella. Good job on not losing even a single of your HP this time." He said before turning to his other girl. "And Asha. You've become a better Supporter. I'm so proud of both of you."
Sarella beamed at him, the adrenaline high making her more emotive than usual, while Asha gave a snort even as her cheeks turned pink at his genuine compliment.
"My Archery Skill also increased from Level 36 to Level 37 after I killed the Zombie boss!" Sarella announced with some excitement and he smiled.
One of the most commendable things that Oberyn had done for his daughters was to compel each and every one of them to select a specific weapon to study and excel in.
Obara had picked a spear. Nymeria had picked hidden knives. Tyene had also picked hidden knives, though she considered her poisons and her innocent facade to be better weapons than the knives she always carried with her.
Sarella, on the other hand, had gone a different route and had chosen a ranged weapon. Mostly thanks to being influenced by her mother who had gifted her the Golden Heart bow when she was very young.
Sarella had made it a daily practice to wield the Golden Heart bow since she was able to pull its strings. However, it posed a significant challenge due to the substantial shoulder and back strength it required. Despite her determination, she would become fatigued after launching just a handful of arrows, which led her to rely on training bows more often than not.
Due to all this, her skills with a bow didn't increase by a lot in the past two years.
That changed as soon as she became a Co-Gamer.
In the past week, since he shared his Gamer System with her, her Archery Skill had gone from 28 to now 37. And her Strength and Vitality stat had both gone up from 6 and 8 to 13 and 14 respectively.
He would say it again. Gamer System was bullshit. Especially in this world.
"That's good." He told Sarella. "Now… how about you try to fight the Zombie Boss on your own, without Asha's help."
All of Sarella's joy fled at his words and she gave him a rather nervous look.
"I don't know. Can I really do it on my own?" She asked.
That was yet another difference between Sarella and Asha. While Asha had taken to Dungeon Combat like a fish to water. Sarella was… rather meek, if left without a Supporter to protect her.
Make no mistake, she was a terror when given a proper Supporter. She was already giving perfect heat shots to zombies from half a football field away. But without someone beside her to assure her safety, she lost her confidence and started questioning her abilities.
It was something that he was slowly trying to get rid of. After all, he or her sister waifus won't always be there to protect her once she moves on to the higher tier Instant Dungeons.
So if she doesn't learn to conquer her fear in the lower dungeons, then she could put the team at risk with her fearful actions.
"You can. I have no doubt about that, my dear." He told her and gave a soft peck in her lips. "You just need to maintain your distance from the Zombie boss and pelt it with your arrows until its HP goes to zero and it dies. Easy as that."
"Watch for the boulders though." Asha suggested from the side. "Those can catch you offguard."
Sarella gave a nervous smile and nodded. "I… okay. *ahem* I'm willing to give it a try."
"Perfect." He said and waited on the side as his girls went to gather the loot scattered about in the ID.
Once they had collected all of it, he took their hands and Exited the ID before entering it once again.
Upon their return, the Instant Dungeon reset, and the zombies began spawning once more. He gave a light swat to their butts and smiled. "Go, get them girls."
Asha merely scoffed at his words before she rushed forward to meet the zombies. On the other hand, Sarella gave him a seductive look while rubbing her butt cheeks before shaking her head to refocus and ascending to a high position to eliminate zombies in a broader area.
He smiled at them before he went to a secluded spot and started doing his training once again. Gamer System having already gotten rid of his previous exhaustion.
He loved the Gamer System.
—
He laid on the bed with Lynalle and Tyene, their naked and sweaty bodies pressed close to him on both sides. A content smile formed on his face as he enjoyed the cuddle session with them after a few bouts of vigorous sex.
He caressed Tyene's back with his fingers and nuzzled her hair gently. "Your sexual skills have improved," he murmured in a soft tone, prompting the younger girl to gaze up at him with a weary yet contented expression.
The girl had shown the greatest improvement in her deep throating skills. Having learned under Lynalle and practiced with a cucumber over the fast few days. But telling her that she had become a great Cock sucker seemed… rude.
Of course, the girl would've shown even greater improvement if she had the support of the Gamer System. However, despite everything, she had not really fallen in love with him, or confessed to him. And he had made it a point to only share his Gamer System with the girls who have been Captured by the system and are absolutely loyal to him. So she'll remain without it for the foreseeable future.
"Where is my compliment?" Lynalle purred from the side, nuzzling her face into his muscular chest. "I was the one who went to all that trouble of teaching her."
"You are a good teacher as well, my dear. Though, I must ask. How has Tyene been coming along as your assistant?"
Lynalle hummed in thought for a moment before she replied. "She's… learning."
"I sense a but coming." He said and gave a light swat to her ass. "And not this butt either."
Lynalle gave him an unimpressed look at that pun. "If those are your best witty remarks then I wonder how you ever managed to seduce me in the first place."
"Might be from that time when I left you insensate after plowing your ass." He said as his middle finger gently slipped inside her asshole. "Who knew you would turn out to be such an anal slut."
"Only for you, my prince." Lynalle purred even as her body squirmed from his finger playing with her ass. Her cheeks flushed a bit as she subtly glanced at Tyene. "As for your earlier question. Tyene has proved to be rather hardworking, much to my surprise."
Tyene softly snorted from the side. "I might have lived a privileged life when compared to the girls working in this establishment. But my father taught me from a young age that anything that we achieve in our lives, would be from our own merits. Father love us greatly, but he also made sure that we didn't grow up to be spoiled brats."
Hm… he might have to thank Oberyn someday for raising such amazing daughters for him.
Maybe once Tyene has also been captured, he'll go back for Obara and Nymeria as well. Just a thought.
"I can see that much." Lynalle snorted and then let out a soft moan as he increased the nerve endings in her ass to intensify her pleasure.
"I still sense a but coming." He told her as he paused his fingering of her asshole, causing Lynalle let out a heavy sigh.
"Yes, she is a hardworking girl. But as she just said, she has grown up in a… privileged manner. Her privileged upbringing keeps her from connecting with and understanding the lower-level spies in our organisation. Or foot soldiers, as we call them."
Tyene made no compliant at that assessment and remained silent, which was a positive point in her favour.
Not everyone can hear a criticism and remain silent. Even fewer can take a criticism and actually ponder on it.
"So… what is your verdict?" He asked and Lynalle hummed.
"The foot soldiers are the back bone of our entire spy organisation." Lynalle said. "And understanding them is crucial for anyone who wants to run it, including you, Tyene."
"I've been talking with them a lot recently." Tyene complained from the side, getting defensive and he softly rubbed her arms in an effort to calm her down.
Lynalle snorted at her words. "Which is a point in your favour. But merely talking with them is not enough to understand them."
"Then what do you want me to do?" Tyene asked with a pout.
Lynalle paused at the, her eyes darting to the side in nervousness and he raised an eyebrow.
"Lynalle?" He asked and the woman looked troubled for a moment before she sighed.
"I do have a solution for this. But I'm not sure how much either of you will like it." Lynalle said.
He leaned down to gently kiss her on the forehead and asked. "And what's that solution?"
Lynalle remained silent for a moment before her eyes hardened in determination and she looked up at him. "I want her live in an orphanage."
"An orphanage?" Tyene asked, giving the older woman a confused look as he hummed in realisation.
"I see. For how long?" He asked.
"For a few moons at least."
"A few moons!?" Tyene almost shouted in shock but Lynalle didn't back down even a bit.
"Yes. A few moons. Or longer, depending on how long it takes for you to understand the lives of our lower level spies."
"But… a few moons?" Tyene asked, dismayed. "What do you even want me to learn in an orphanage?"
"I want you to understand everything," Lynalle said firmly. "I want you to understand the hunger they feel when they go without food. I want you to understand the cold they feel when they have no blankets to cover themselves with, and only tattered clothes to protect them from the wind. I want you to understand their desperation. Their reasons for doing what they do, and the risks they take. I want you to understand their motivations... and cruel as this may sound, how to use that to your own benefit."
"You're right. That does sound cruel." He said softly.
"We live in a cruel world, your grace. Come and live with us commoners, and you'll understand." Lynalle said before she glanced at Tyene. "So... what's your answer?"
Tyene gave her mentor a betrayed look. "But… there has to be a better way to do this."
"Perhaps. But those methods will take far longer. And I don't have that much time on my free hands." Lynalle said, before she gave an ultimatum. "So you either do this. Or you can leave."
Tyene's jaw dropped open at those words and she looked up at him with pleading eyes.
He ignored her and gave a thoughtful look to Lynalle before he nodded.
"Lynalle, my dear, you're being a bit cruel in springing this up on Tyene so suddenly. But I see your point." He said. "If Tyene is willing to do this, then I will make arrangements for her to visit an orphanage. I will also provide secret guards around the orphanage to ensure her safety."
Tyene gave him a betrayed look. "You can't mean that Steph."
He snorted at her. "You were the one who wanted to be a Spy Mistress, Tyene. Did you thought that it'll be an easy sailing? You asked me for my help and I showed you the gates. But I can't help you walk through it. You have to do that on your own."
"Or… you walk leave those gates and go back to being who you were." Lynalle added from the side, her eyes focused sharply on her student.
Tyene looked like she was about to cry but in the end, she simply clenched her fists and glared at them.
"I hate the both of you."
"Oh?" Lynalle asked.
Tyene took a deep breath and her eyes firmed up. "But I'll do it. I'll live in or orphanage, if that's what you want, you old bitch."
"Really?" Lynalle asked. "I'm not asking you to live there for a few days girlie. I'm asking you to live there for many moons. That's not a small commitment, you know. And if you give up half way through, then don't even expect to come crawling back to me."
"I won't." Tyene said firmly. "I won't give up."
Lynalle stared at her student for a long moment before shrugging. "We'll see," she said. "However, if it makes you feel any better, those orphanages are not nearly as terrible as they were up until a year ago, thanks to our man here. The orphans do not go hungry anymore, and they have enough clothes to keep them warm on cold and windy nights."
"Yes, I'm so very grateful." Tyene said, though her expression otherwise.
"You'll be, once you eventually start living there yourself." Lynalle told her before they fell into a somewhat uncomfortable silence.
He let the silence linger on for a few moments before he decided to change the subject and asked. "Any particular news that I should be informed about?"
Lynalle placed her hand on his member and began to stroke it slowly to bring it back to hardness. "Not really," she said. "Though... Renly Baratheon and his entourage are expected to arrive in King's Landing by tomorrow."
He nodded at her words.
He had originally planned to host a family dinner with Robert, Robert's family, himself, his father, and himself where he would poison all of them, including himself and his father.
The poison will of course, not be lethal for either him, his father or Robert. But poor Joffrey will pass away from the poison due to his 'delicate constitution'.
With Renly being the only one in the room who would not be poisoned, and himself out of commission, Cersei would react as anyone would expect and put all the blame on Renly.
Simultaneously, his contacts would be actively spreading rumors and ensuring that everyone in the city knows about the assassination attempt by Renly. Given how beloved he is by the population, it would not take long for people to start calling for Renly's head.
At that point, even if Robert doesn't believe that Renly was behind the assassination, he will be pressured to take action. Renly may be sent to the Wall as a worst-case scenario or forced to return to Storm's End in disgrace at best, having lost the trust and respect of his vassals.
In Westeros, there is no one more despised than a Kin-Slayer.
Assuming Renly manages to hold on to Storm's End, his reputation would still be irreparably damaged, and his ambitions of becoming a king would be shattered.
Or, in an average-case scenario, which he believed was the most probable outcome, Renly would lose Storm's End and it would be granted to him due to the favours owed to him by Robert, as well as the fact that he would eventually marry Myrcella.
In the end, everyone will be happy, except for Renly and Cersei.
However, that plan was created before he abandoned his desire for the Throne and before he revealed his true powers to Cersei.
Now that she knew the extent of his strength, there was no way she would accept the idea that he had been poisoned and would continue to harbor suspicion towards him.
Better to earn her trust as well as her love and Capture her before he deals with her son.
He might not even kill Joffrey at that point. Merely throwing him down a set of stairs and turning him into a halfwit would do the job.
With how much Robert dislikes Joffrey and his cruel nature, he won't have any problem in skipping Joffrey and making Tommen his new heir.
And everyone will be happy. Except for Joffrey. But fuck him.
—
"Hello, little Princess."
Dany's eyes grew wide open as she noticed his presence and she jumped at him with a hug.
Her body, of course, directly passed through him and she fell to the ground with a thud. "Owwie."
He couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. "This is the second time I've met you with the help of a Glass Candle, Dany. How come you make the same mistake again?"
Dany rubbed her bruised arm and pouted at him. "You look so real every single time that I forget. It's not my fault. It's yours."
"Of course, put all the blame on me, why don't you." He said as he gestured for her to sit. "Come, tell you how you've been."
"I've been good." Days said as she massaged her bruised arm and sat down on the bed. "What about you?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Seducing a Queen, punishing a wicked thief, wooing a Princess with expensive gifts, charming maidens with my singing, and sending a poor girl to an orphanage because I'm such a kind and generous soul."
"Yeah, the usual." Dany said with a roll of her eyes. "But seriously, tell me what you've been doing."
"Well, if you really want to know, then I've recently decided to take part in a Tourney. So I've been training for that."
"A tourney. Where?" Dany, asked looking rather excited.
Rather unfortunate, that her excitement died out the very next moment with his two words. "Kings Landing."
Dany frowned at that. "You're participating in a tourney being held by the Usurper?"
He raised his hands in mock surrender. "It was not my idea," he said. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't participate in any tournaments for the next few years. But my uncle insists that I take part in it. And I can't really go against his words in public."
Dany crossed her arms and frowned. "I don't think I like your uncle very much."
He snorted. "That's alright. I'm not a great fan of him either. The only thing he does all day is drink and whore, whore and drink."
Dany's nose scrunched up in a cute manner at the mention of 'whores' before she shook her head. "So… this will be your first tourney?"
"Yup." He said with a smile. "And while I know that the Usurper is your enemy, he does give out exorbitant prizes to the tourney winners. And I've never turned down free gold from anyone. Especially my enemies."
Dany continued to pout at that. "I still don't like it that you're participating in a tourney being held by the Usurper." Then she thought of something and paused. "Can I give you my favour? I heard that it's something that the ladies in Westeros do. Would you wear it?"
"Wearing a Targaryen favour right in the midst of Kings Lading?" He gave her a morose smile. "I don't think that'll look very good princess."
Not to mention that people would expect him to wear Myrcella's favour now that he's betrothed to her. Not that he could tell that to Dany.
He might not want to be the King anymore, but Dany was a Tier 5 waifu and he still planned to used his charms to win over her love and affection.
"Oh." Dany said as her face fell. "Sorry. I forgot about that."
"It's perfectly alright Princess." He said with a kind smile. "Now… why don't you tell me about yourself and what's been going on in this manse."
So he and Dany talked well into the night.
He told her about all the places he had travelled to in Westeros. About all the beautiful sights he had seen.
The golden deserts of Dorne. The shimmering evening sea of Sapphire Isle. The towering castle of Hightower. The Citadel. The Naga's bones in Iron Islands. The giant volcano in Dragonstone. So on and so forth.
In turn, Dany told him about the deteriorating mental condition of her brother Viserys, who had recently started to sacrifice goats and sheep at the temple of the Red God. About how lonely she felt in this place. About how her brother recently beat up a maid who thought to talk with her, and warned her against interacting with other lowly slaves.
Upon hearing how bad the situation was going for her, he asked her to come with him.
He didn't want her to learn about his real self. But if Viserys' mental condition has deteriorated to such an extent, the Dany might not be safe with him for much longer.
In the Canon timeline, Viserys had thought it a good idea to sell Dany to a Dothraki Horselord in exchange for an army.
In this world, Viserys' mental condition seems to be much worse. So who knows what he'll end up doing.
But Dany simply shook her head and said. "Viserys might have… changed. But he is still my brother. And I can't just leave him."
"Really? And what if Viserys started to sacrifice slaves to the Red God? Would you still remain with him then?"
Dany had no answer to that question and he decided to change the topic and tell her a few stories about the Valyrian Empire.
The two magical tomes were not the only books he had found in Valyria. He had found a few other normal books that were preserved to the point where they were somewhat readable.
He had learned a bit more about the daily goings of the Valyiran Empire back in its prime.
Not all of it was good.
But he decided against telling Dany about the more negative side of Valyrian society and told her stories about the good parts instead.
He'll eventually have to reveal the bad parts as well. And tell her the truth about her own father and his madness. But that could wait until he has gained more of her trust.
Dany listened to his stories for another hour more before she started feel sleepy. He suggested that she get inside her bed and once she was there, continued telling her stories until she slowly drifted off to sleep.
"Good night, little princess" He told her and Dany mumbled "…night Axel." Before she fell asleep.
He stared at her peaceful sleeping form for another moment before he stopped channeling his mana into the Glass Candle and returned to his own body.