Chapter 99 - New leadership [3/3]

Reactions to the lust that began to fill the room were varied. Some instantly turned to Kane with gazes of desire, others looked uncomfortable, and a few appeared confused, as if new to this feeling. 

"I'm sure you're all feeling a little hot right now," Kane smiled slightly at their reactions. "But you can ignore that. It will go away after I'm done marking everyone." 

The women all looked a little uncomfortable at Kane's intent to mark them, even those leaning into the spreading lust, but there wasn't much actual resistance. Not only did they know the alternative was death, but their leaders appeared fine after already having been marked, and most importantly, their desire for techniques and power overwhelmed most of the concern. 

So, despite the doubt, they started lining up in front of him. 

Unsurprisingly, they'd already found out that an actual kiss wasn't required, so most asked for it on their forehead, like Anna had gotten. And Kane didn't object. He had some fun with the original four by not disclosing that, but he wasn't a maniac who'd insist on being kissed by fifty women. 

In fact, if he had the choice, he'd just wave his hand and have it be done, but it didn't work that way yet, unfortunately. He'd need to become far more proficient with the rune of lust to do such a thing. 

But there were also a few who asked for a genuine kiss. Most of them were those leaning into his lust in the first place, while some where those who previously looked confused. They were predominantly younger, Kane guessed age 18-22, and blushed profusely while asking, and after being kissed. 

Naturally, Kane was happy to oblige, and especially enjoyed the reactions of those more embarrassed among them. Although he did wonder how so many young and inexperienced women ended up as members of an outlaw gang... 'Fleeing arranged marriages, perhaps?' he wondered inwardly. 'Assuming those are a thing here, anyway.' 

After it was done there was some murmuring while they compared notes and checked themselves for any weird abnormalities, which Kane patiently waited out. 

Before he could move on, however, Aelia suddenly walked up to him with a frown and pointed at the holographic screen in front of her. "Hey, Boss, what's this about?" 

Kane raised an eyebrow at being called boss by her, but didn't make a point of it. Clearly, his sharing of techniques had risen her estimation of him, and acceptance of this situation as a whole. 

He put his thoughts aside and focused on what Aelia was pointing at. 

It was a popup message that appeared after she'd selected a technique. It read, 'This technique is highly confidential. Do you, Aelia, promise not to share it with anyone? By accepting, you agree to the terms set forth by the distributor, Kane Mercer.' The message then allowed for an input of acceptance or denial. 

"I'm not saying I'll break my word, but…" Aelia shrugged in confusion, falling silent at the end with an obvious implication. Even if she didn't break that promise, what about the others? 

Kane grinned mysteriously at her for a moment, which caused her to become a little anxious. "W— What?" she muttered while looking at him strangely. 

An amused Kane shrugged, "I don't know… I think it's nice that you're coming to me with this. You're concerned about my success with this method." 

Instantly, Aelia grimaced, and she took a step back, "D— Don't make this weird! Besides, it… it was probably your damn mark that forced me!" 

Still grinning, Kane shook his head, "No, I doubt it. Clearly that came directly from me, after all, and if the mark forced you to question everything I did that brought the tiniest bit of confusion, it would never end. No, this was all you, and I appreciate it." 

He'd already noticed before that, while Aelia was clearly stubborn and resistant to authority, she was also fiercely loyal. At least, to those she considered worth her loyalty, which meant Kane had his work cut out for him. 

Aelia groaned in frustration, and palmed her face, "Alright, well, whatever… you're welcome, I guess… Now can you clear this up for me?" 

Kane chuckled at her behaviour. He was happy her acceptance of the situation appeared to be rising. Regardless, he answered her question with a nod. "Sure. It works because, while the mark wouldn't force you to talk to me over this, it would force you to keep a promise to me." 

For half a second, Aelia blinked, but then she rolled her eyes and appeared a little frustrated, "Right… Guess I should have thought of that." 

Kane shook his head with a smile, "No, I get it. A mark like this takes some time getting used to. All its boundaries and limits won't be clear immediately." 

Aelia sighed and nodded, but didn't say anything more before simply hitting accept on the popup. 

Naturally, everyone heard what they said and committed the information to memory. Anna, Mira, and Lyra soon got the same popup, and didn't question it now. 

Meanwhile, Aelia was finally presented with her technique and started reading it at a fast pace, her eyes scanning quickly across the holographic pages in front of her. 

"This… this actually is a second stage technique…" she mumbled in awe. "I thought it'd be another ten years at least, before I could afford something like this…" 

Kane grinned, "See? This whole thing's not so bad, right?" 

Aelia looked at him from the corner of her eye, and scoffed noncommittally, "We'll see… but I guess it's off to a decent start." Then, she quickly refocused on what was in front of her. 

At this point, any doubt and hesitation were wiped out among the others. 

"Hey, Boss! Can we get our bracelets now?!" a greedy human exclaimed excitedly. 

"Yeah! We'll follow you to the ends, Boss! At last, someone who gives proper rewards!" another followed, with a wide grin. 

"Of course, a Lord would reward his people properly!" a proud beastling boasted. 

Naturally, Kane wouldn't make them wait, and quickly started handing out bracelets to everyone there. Fortunately, this base had clearly been designed to house far more people than a mere fifty, so there were plenty of these things. 

Soon, however, they all noticed that their interface was a little different, because they were first asked for their names, and then they saw a popup of their own, before even getting to the technique list. 

It read, "By accepting this bracelet, you, [username], agree to remain as a member of the outlaws headed by Aelia, and are ultimately in service to the distributor of this bracelet, Kane Mercer." Once again, it then allowed one to accept or decline. 

There was some confusion among the group, but greed and hype over the techniques was far too great, and they'd already decided to remain with Aelia anyway, so they all accepted without much thought. 

With the original four, Kane had already secured their agreement and service, so they didn't need this additional promise. 

Meanwhile, Kane smiled mysteriously, because the promise to be 'in service to him' was a little vague, but ultimately did give him far more control over them then he would otherwise. 

Now, Kane waited patiently while everyone got familiar with their bracelets, the messaging system, and found a technique. 

When he figured he'd given them enough time, he clapped his hands to get their attention. "Alright! We've all had a long day, so I suggest everyone gets some rest. You'll eventually get more orders through the bracelet, but in the meantime, I do expect the base to be clean by tomorrow, understood?"