This S.O.B. System

It turned out to be the sex tape with he and Tiff. The one that Amber had been there for. The small sorority sister was conveniently cut out of the amateur video. In all honesty, Asher thought it was tastefully done. They had censored out Tiffany’s face, which he was glad for. But everything else was in full detail.  It was more like a softcore porn shoot except it did focus on penetration now and then. He really wondered how the hell they had so many angles. Was he so into sex with Tiff no one noticed a giant camera in their face as they came?

 

He had commandeered Hansen’s phone and easily found the amateur video. Apparently there had been search history in the phone for the video. Something he chose to ignore. Asher sent Tiff the link and she text back. 

 

-I know. Didn’t want to freak you out more. But dang you look good- then some egg plant and squirting emojis that made him laugh. 

 

He did look good. There was barely any fat on him at that point. He was all muscle as he pounded his massive dick into Tiff. The worst part was the realization.  

 

-I’m as bad as a Kardshian now- he sent Tiff. 

 

-you were already famous. I don’t think it counts- she sent back. 

 

Tiff was taking it surprisingly well. Yes her face was censored, but anyone that knew her could tell who it was. Her attitude quickly changed when he text. 

 

-you know people will start copying your hair after this-

 

There were a lot of ‘….’ Following that until she sent. 

 

-get that fucking video off the internet-

 

-How? I literally turned 18 that day. Your moms a lawyer. She have anything to say?-

 

-I’ll check-

 

And that was how his night ended. Franks and Hansen took shifts outside his door while the other slept in the other room, but no one disturbed them that night. 

 

His confident gusto about helping people had been quashed by a sex tape. But as Daphne and Joon said. He needed to learn to accept it. So he fell asleep. The next day he had an early interview at the UN. He and Tyranis answered some questions, but they were all the same answers as before. The UN people asked if they could assign someone to come off the planet. Honestly Asher was having trouble filling his roster. He said if they sent him information on the people and their levels he would think about it. 

 

When he was on his way to lunch with more important people he happened to look at someone’s phone. It had the picture of him sleeping with the 2 elves. One of them was Tyranis’ daughter. He grabbed the phone and read the headline. “Asher Whitmore sleeps with alien princess!”

 

He cursed and text Tiff. -get on my cloud account and delete everything. Then my cloud account. Then burn the computer. Then destroy my old phone. Love you. I’m heading home-

 

Once outside the UN he told Franks and Hansen. “I’m leaving the city this instant. If you 2 have loved ones I can knock you out and leave you here. But if you’re serious about sticking with me I want to know.”

 

They looked to one another. “We are sticking with you,” Franks said. 

 

Asher nodded. “Ok. Either get me a plane out of here. Or we are going civilian.”

 

It took them an hour of calling around. Leland tried to get him to stay but Asher was firm. He was soon on a plane out of the city. “Where to sir?” Hansen asked. 

 

“Iowa,” Asher said. 

 

—

 

Asher stepped out of the humvee onto the gravel road. A couple hundred yards ahead he saw the small house he had seen some pictures of. “I might be a while,” he warned his escort. They nodded. 

 

He stepped onto the gravel and walked slowly. Enjoying the feel of the September day he saw the cornfields on one side and pastures on the other of his path. There were cows in a large section and up by the house were other pens. Between goats and chickens, no wonder she sent so many selfies. 

 

The house was large. Larger than he expected despite pictures. 2 stories tall there was a wrap-around porch, and a few cars out front. Asher knocked the storm door. Soon a small child peaked out. Then he yelled inside. 

 

“That porn star from the TV is outside!”

 

It wasn’t long until the front windows were plastered with faces. Zora pushed her small body through the throng and yelled, “Asher!” He took her in a big hug laughing as he held her. “You all can talk to him when I’m done. For now we will catch up,” she said. Taking charge she dragged him down the porch to a back barn. 

 

“Hello my love,” he said. 

 

“Hello to you,” she said back blushing. “How are you?”

 

“Eh. I’ll manage,” he said. “I'm more worried about you.”

 

“As you always are,” she said with a sigh. 

 

The way she said it told Asher more than she knew. “I um. I'm sorry. I spoke to Joon and she said I need to trust in you more. And I forgot,” he said, stepping away from her. Looking off into the field. “I’m trying to work on it. I tried every angle. Asked every question. But you are going to have to go through this alone. And it scares me,” he admitted. “But hell. I feel like you’ve survived worse. And I believe in you. I think you’re the strongest woman in the world when you need to be. That’s one of the many reasons I wanted to marry you.”

 

He looked down to her then. She was crying. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-“

 

“No. It’s not that. I guess I needed to hear you say that,” she said, wiping her eyes. 

 

“Which part? I can tell you more like it,” he offered. 

 

She laughed. “All of it.” They kissed deeply then. She was in his arms. It was a short kiss and he set her down when they were done. 

 

“Well it’s true. I think you’re so strong. I was just in the right place to help you when you needed it. So let me help you. I spoke to Tiff and she said you were staying with your family for the tutorial.” She nodded. “I want you to have this then.”

 

Willing out the White Light ring he gave it to her. “I took this from Nicolai after I killed him. It’s got a lot of space. And when you awaken your System you can use it.” Asher then dumped out food, an Uzi, a handgun, a spare sword, a spare shield, and some daggers. Then he put them in the ring. “Consider it another engagement ring. Once you get your System and know who you’re supposed to be. I’ll be there to help get you started.”

 

She nodded while taking it. The ring was soon in her non-System necklace. “You’re always with me,” she said. “Come on. I want you to meet my parents,” she said, dragging him back to the house. “You were quite amazing in your trial. Did you do that before or after you helped me?”

 

“After,” he admitted. “Honestly, I was thinking of you during the whole thing. I always felt bad for not stepping in to save you when Aleksi hit you on set that day. I thought of that and jumped to save those kids. Cus I wanted to be the guy that saved you next time.”

 

“Really?” She asked, brushing more tears away. 

 

“Really.”

 

“You’re such a friggin romantic,” she said, slapping him. 

 

“Anything for you, hun,” he said as they walked in. On the news were of course broadcasts about him and Tyranis. There was an interview going on with a familiar dark haired girl, but he couldn’t remember exactly who she was. 

 

Around the room people stared at them. He recognized the 3 girls he helped out of the sex ring. The dark haired one winked at him, he waved. There were a couple of young kids, he guessed they were Zora’s cousins. Then 2 older couples about his parents age. They stared at him as if he was a story book villain come to life. 

 

Zora quickly shut off the TV. “Everyone, I want you to meet my future husband,” she said. Pulling a ring from her pocket she put it on her ring finger. The room was dead silent. There were 2 older men his dad’s age staring at him. She had said she was trying to keep stuff secret, luckily no one had blabbed about her. 

 

“Which one is your dad?” He asked. She pointed. 

 

Asher went up to the man. He was big, but Asher still towered over him. The floorboards creaked under his steps. “It’s an honor to meet you sir. I’m Asher Whitmore. And I love your daughter very much.”

 

The man looked shocked for a few seconds. He started speaking in Slovenian. Asher caught a couple of words but not many. “My husband says it’s an honor to meet you too,” the woman next to him said. Asher knew that wasn’t what was said, but let it pass. “Welcome to the family.” Then the floodgates let loose and everyone started asking him questions. 

 

He soon had Zora in his lap as he spoke to everyone in turn. Late into the night they finally ran out of questions and people yawned. Zora was already asleep so he sat with her on the couch worrying this would be the last time he saw her. 

 

—

 

Hansen parked the Humvee in the parking lot. There was hardly an open spot in the guild lot, but they found two. It was dark already, but Asher knew there were plenty of people still awake. Franks parked next to them in his Tacoma from the base. 

 

Hansen and Franks followed him as he headed to the Guild Hall. Some lights were on out front. The front door was locked. A small camera and doorbell at the side he pushed it. Almost immediately he was buzzed in. 

 

He stepped in to be tackled by Tiff. She latched onto his torso kissing him all over his face. “I missed you so much,” she rasped between kisses. 

 

“I missed you,” he said, doing the same to her. She practically grinded on him. Asher ignored everything else as their lips met. Her bubblegum taste was sorely absent the last few days. Their kiss was long and deep and full of tongue. He was struggling not to become erect as he remembered what her tongue could do. 

 

Cough-cough, someone pretended to cough in front of him. Asher turned his face to see Wayne there. Beside him were Asher’s parents. “I think they have more important things to discuss,” Wayne said. Tiff reluctantly let him go. 

 

“Um mom, dad. I don’t know where to start,” he admitted. He had forgotten they were staying there. Tiff had been on his mind too much. 

 

“Is there a room we can use?” His mom asked Wayne. 

 

“Please,” he said, leading them down the hall. Asher held Tiff's hand as they followed. Old offices had been turned into meeting rooms. A couple were shops for merchants as well. “Any of these 3 you can use.”

 

Asher looked to Tiff but she said, “I think you need to talk to them alone.”

 

He hesitated but nodded. “You mind taking these 2 to the cafeteria?” Asher introduced his bodyguards. “I trust everyone here. So you don’t need to worry about me. I won’t leave without telling you,” he said. They nodded and saluted. Asher noticed Hansen’s lingering gaze on Tiff. Guess he recognized the hair. 

 

It was soon the three of them sitting at the table. He was at the head of it. His mom was on his left and dad was on his right. He slowly tried to gather what to say, but he was interrupted when his mom started speaking. “We agreed long ago to keep certain things from you. And now we are paying for it. So I will start,” she said. “About 22 years ago I was talked into starting pornography.” She paused for a second, but he didn’t react. “I needed money and it was easy. At first it was pictures. Then slowly it became videos. And quickly I didn’t like the person I had become.” 

 

“That’s when I went back home for a little bit. Cleared my head of the drama. I wasn’t doing anything one weekend and my mother asked me to join her at a church event. It was a meet and greet with a bunch of local churches. That was where I met your father. Once I laid eyes on him I knew. He was the one. We talked all night. Mainly about ourselves. I was ashamed of what I did, but told him willingly. And he was the first person I could talk to like that. It was about 2 in the morning that we noticed we were in a pitch black church talking. He drove me home. Asked for my number. And drove away. That’s when my System awoke,” she said. 

 

Asher began to shake. Willing his sunglasses to him he put them on. Over his mothers head it read,

 

Human 

Level 19

 

Over his fathers it read, 

 

Human 

Level 19

 

Asher pulled the glasses off. He had never worn them in front of them. He felt stupid for it now. His mother continued. 

 

“It was the Chastity System. I always found it funny. A message from high above thought I was worthy of chastity? Of course I accepted. And it gave me a quest to learn the true meaning of chastity. I quit my job. Began living with my folks again. Going to church. During all this your father pestered me daily for dates. And after a few days I agreed. I always thought chastity was about not having sex.” Asher felt a little awkward hearing that from his mother but he was too into the story to care. “It’s more about devotion. And I learned true devotion and my quest was complete. Your father and I were already engaged at that point. And it amazed me when he confessed to having something called a System as well.”

 

Asher’s dad then started speaking. “I had recently graduated seminary school when I was invited to the same mixer. I met the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I spent all night asking her questions. I couldn’t get enough of her. After I dropped her off I asked myself, “would she answer if I called her,” and I thought to myself that I needed to have faith. And low and behold. I got a system. The Faith System. It quested me to learn what faith really meant. I was smitten with a beautiful woman. We quickly became engaged. You’ve heard the story about the girl that asked me out plenty of times. It wasn’t till your mother talked me down that I realized faith wasn’t something inside us. It was our belief in others. I had faith in your mother. And my quest was complete.”

 

“We have had our Systems for 20 years now. No one knew what they were. We thought they were messages from on high. We would get a quest every 6 months or so. Heal this person. Help that one. We would help each other and slowly we leveled up and became stronger. I focused on mental stats while your mother spread her stats around. We both use holy magic,” his father said. A white light appeared in his palm. Another was mirrored in his mothers. “I’m sure you forgot, but you were accident prone as a child. We healed your broken bones more times than I can count.”

 

They laughed but then were quiet for a long while. When Asher’s brain finally caught up he began to laugh. “You’re telling me my parents are Faith and Chastity? No wonder I have a Hero System.”

 

With that he began telling them what he went through. He didn’t mean to, but he did. First stumbling on the porn shoot. Then starting in porn. Then meeting Zora. Then running into the woman he lost his virginity to at their house. His mother clenched her fist at that but didn’t interrupt. Then he talked about the guild. Then the dungeon. He went through all of his lies. He spoke about saving Zora. His mother shed a few tears at that, but didn’t interrupt. He spoke about the trial. And that’s where he left off. They sat in silence for a time. 

 

“We have to be the worst parents in existence to let our son go through that alone,” his mother said as she shed tears. 

 

“What? No. You guys are great. I don’t know how many times I heard your sermons in the back of my mind dad. Your one about conviction helped push me in the trial.  And ma you were always there trusting in me. I knew that you had my back if I ever really needed you. But I was trying to find myself. And somewhere along the way I did. I’m just sorry that I didn’t think you could understand what I was going through. I thought only I had a System. And I was doing what I needed to do to help those around me.”

 

“It’s not all on you,” his father said. “You don’t have to save everyone.”

 

“I know. But for some reason I was always where someone did need me. And it was hard. It was fun. And now it’s a big part of me. There are a lot of scared people out there. I mean billions. And I’d like to try to help them while I can. Since I don’t have to worry about you two. I think we should help.”

 

“We have the greatest son in the world,” his mother said, grabbing his father’s hand. He nodded. 

 

“How can we help?” His father asked. 

 

“Well first I’d like to know if you want to go off-planet with me,” he said. It seemed to catch them off guard. “Your levels are very high. And I’m not sure if you heard. But we should each live over a thousand years. I’m sure the church can deal without you for a little bit. I know I’d feel a lot better knowing you were with me up there.”

 

“To be honest, some of your mother’s old videos resurfaced with all that has been going on. And the church politely asked me to step down.”

 

“No?” Asher asked, shocked. 

 

His father nodded. “I told them I gladly would because I was proud of both of you. So honestly I have been a little lost. I think we might want a change of scenery.” He looked to his wife to answer. 

 

His mother smiled broadly at that. “I think we’d love to join you.”

 

“Good,” Asher said. “We leave in 6 days. So we will have to do a crash course on stuff. And I want to video tape everything. People are scared. I think we should show them it’s not so scary.”

 

“I think that would be nice,” his mother said. “Now, I’ll be back. I need to call Daphne and give her a piece of my mind.” She got up to leave. “I’m very proud of you. And I love you. But please stop cursing on live television.” 

 

His father got up and set his hand on his shoulder. “What she said.”

 

Asher sat alone in the room and felt a lot better. He didn’t know how much it had weighed on him lying to them. Worry was a big part of his hesitation. But if they could stick together. They’d be a lot stronger for it.