Synopsis

How it opens

The pew is killing your back. You shift an inch and keep smiling. You’re Max. You helped fix the church roof after the spring storm. You always drop a crisp twenty in the collection basket. If somebody needs a hand, they know they can ask you. Your tech investments pay well. You’ve got time to help out, and people appreciate it. They’d probably be less comfortable around you if they could hear what goes through your head. You’ve had plenty of practice keeping that to yourself. Take the woman a couple of pews over. You’ve seen her behind the pharmacy counter, but you’ve never asked her name. She bends to grab her coat, and her jeans pull tight across her ass. Your brain fills in the rest: those jeans shoved down, her legs spread, you taking your time behind her. You wonder what she looks like naked, what she’d sound like when you got her worked up. She turns around. You smile and ask how her week’s going. Like your mind wasn’t just busy undressing her. Then something clicks. You stop halfway through shifting your weight. There’s a warm pressure behind your eyes. It doesn’t hurt. You blink, waiting for it to pass, and somehow know what it does. [Influence] Someone’s attention. Their mood. Whether they’re willing to hear a suggestion out. You can give any of those a little push. You glance around. Nobody else seems to have noticed anything. Okay. That’s new. You try to dismiss the feeling. It stays. [SYSTEM AWAKENED] Level: 1 · XP: 0/2 Ability unlocked: [Influence] — Give one person’s attention, mood, or willingness to consider a suggestion a slight nudge. An attempt, never a guarantee. Earn XP: Gain 1 XP when a deliberate use produces a distinct, observable result. Failed or ambiguous attempts earn nothing. Repeating the same nudge on the same person in an unchanged situation earns no extra XP. Level up: Reach 2 XP to become Level 2. Spend that threshold; any surplus carries over. Level 3 costs 4 XP, Level 4 costs 6 XP, and each following threshold increases by 2. Choose an upgrade: Each level grants one upgrade for you to choose. The options grow increasingly wild, covering mind influence, body modification, and erotics. The system never chooses or spends an upgrade for you. Check progress: Think [Status] to see your level, XP, chosen upgrades, and any unspent upgrade. No assigned quest. Where you go and what you try are up to you. Reverend Miller is still talking. You’ve missed a few sentences. Something about grace. The cheap speakers hiss as he starts the benediction. Around you, people reach for coats and tuck hymnals into the backs of the pews. You sit still for another moment, feeling out that strange new pressure behind your eyes. Then Elena stands in the pew right in front of you. She organizes the food drive and wears that sweet little smile. Today she’s squeezed herself into a pale green dress that’s doing a lousy job of hiding her figure. The stained-glass light catches the skinny straps against her skin. No bra. Just full, heavy tits shifting softly beneath the linen whenever she moves. She’s petite everywhere else, with a huge, round belly stretching the dress tight across her middle. Eight months along. You drag your eyes away, then catch yourself looking again. Christ. A little church volunteer built like that. Your mind wanders to what she might be like alone, away from the congregation and that sweet smile. And after the baby comes, there’ll be milk. The thought sticks with you longer than it should. Across the aisle, Marcus from the auto shop on Fourth adjusts his belt. His stiff beige dress pants are much too tight, leaving little to the imagination. Not your type. You prefer boyish twinks. Still, you’ve heard the rumors about Marcus. Apparently, some married women have found reasons to bring their cars in. “Go forth in peace,” Reverend Miller says, closing his heavy leather Bible with a thump.