The group was much diminished, when they ascended to the next level. The Lord of Pontis had brought no staff with him, Amalia only a single female advisor and Ria, who was eligible due to Maximillian’s victory, was on her own as well. John brought the entirety of his harem with him and Romulus was escorted by Sol, Luna and Rodaclam, so they weren’t entirely without additional elements. From the over fifty people they had been for the last two floors, they were down to about twenty. The servants that had brought drinks also stayed behind.

They found new people on that fourth floor, however. On a circular platform fashioned from a polished, red stone, they sported red suits, elevating both them and their location from the otherwise white and golden hall. They stood out even more thanks to their instruments: a piano and violins, all fashioned from an auburn wood. In them, John finally found the source of the music he had heard all evening.

Their tune grew a little bit louder when they noticed the people pouring into the room. They must have been starved for an audience, bored out of their minds as they played for several hours. One of them was a dwarf, going by stature and beard, the other two elves, albeit one with much shorter ears than the other. The Gamer’s interest in the musicians was small, as he stepped along the ring that made up the space between the central elevation and the walls. Quickly he realized how much smaller this floor was.

The indents that had existed on the previous two floors had been replaced by a complete ring, diminishing the size of the room considerably. There were doors, placed at equal distance from one another. Between them were extremely thick windows. Looking outside through them was impossible, and what little light shone through them, John wasn’t certain came from the outside. Tinted glass that thick would have broken sunlight down to nothing. It was more likely that there was some sort of light source embedded within.

“A simple little breather, before I unveil my gifts to you, Lydia,” Romulus declared, while shedding the shape of the giant. The awe-inspiring, middle-aged man, whose hard face, raw size and presence commanded authority and respect was replaced with a much younger, much smaller figure. A late twenties man, with a strong tan and of such beauty that he may have set the ideals for civilization at large. Perhaps the reverse was true and Romulus had attained this form inspired by those ideals. Either way, he changed his flesh in less than a minute, now standing only as tall as Sol did.

Where his physical presence was diminished, his green eyes remained a warning to anyone that would underestimate him. Beyond that, perhaps because John knew of the true power of this man, the Gamer felt the magical force of the Apex. It led him to believe that this more compact form was, indeed, Romulus at his peak performance. A scary insinuation, given that John had seen him and Thana tear open the walls of Rome’s arena with their sheer might.

A remarkable thought was that he would get to that level himself. He was creeping closer day by day.

“A dance,” Romulus spoke, his voice still deep but more youthful. “A simple enjoyment of movement. No worries, no politics, no trials and no games, let us just be with love, enjoyment or both.” He offered his hand to Sol who quickly took it. Leading by example, the emperor stepped further forward, past Amalia and Ria.

The two seemed somewhat perplexed, as they had likely never seen Romulus outside of his imposing regular form. ‘Then again, I don’t know if this isn’t his regular form and the giant is just for public appearances,’ the Gamer thought as he looked to Lydia. “Do you mind if we bury our strategic rivalry for a dance, queen of Rex Germaniae?”

“I suppose I can stomach contact with you for the necessary duration,” Lydia retorted with a straight face, the laughter only showing within her grey-blue eyes. From being hooked into his arm, she swiftly transitioned to having her hand in his. His other wandered to her hips, pulled her closer than was necessary and grabbed her butt a bit tighter than appropriate. Clicking her tongue, Lydia warned him without speaking a word, while putting her left arm around his side.

They swayed together on the spot for several seconds, getting accustomed to the tune they had only listened to in the faint background up until now. The melody, the rhythm, they listened for the repetitions in both and then, when John was certain they had it, he took the lead. A step was taken, then another one, all in service of a simple sequence that carried them a few metres along the circle. It ended in a turn around their own axis and was then repeated.

After a couple of times, John became emboldened. They had danced with greater complexity before, there was no need to keep it simple today. From a straightforward sequence, their movements evolved to a flowing band of spontaneous steps, sways and twirls. Romulus had said this was to be a matter of simple entertainment and John found it incredibly entertaining to keep challenging Lydia to follow his lead.

The queen repaid him by, on the completion of their first round, forcing him to stop and pressing her lips on his in a swift movement. Surprised but trained to please, John accommodated her with glee. While their tongues intertwined and he felt the softness of her perfect, red lips, their dancing posture was replaced by a wild embrace that hinted at the desire to undress. Sliding over the smooth fabric of her dress, John felt her curves, even copped a feel of her breasts. Barely, he managed to keep himself from pulling at her skirt and unveil her juicy ass. Equally difficult was it to not claw into her hair and ruin that adorned braid of hers.

Lydia faced none of these issues, gripping his short hair and sliding the other hand into his pants. Indulged in the sweet, metallic taste of her lips and the smell of citrus that enveloped her, the Gamer shivered with delight. Her hand wrapped around his cock and squeezed. Their breathing accelerated until they suddenly realized again where they were. Their lips slowly separated.

“It seems I lost my capability for prolonged public appearances,” Lydia panted, while pulling her hands out of his pants. Being discreet would have netted her nothing, everyone who could see it already had. That the crowd still around consisted only of people that wouldn’t mock her for this behaviour was likely a large part of the reason she had dropped her guard like this in the first place. Even Suel, although John could understand Lydia’s general distaste for the man, was not the type to be offended by perverted displays. “At least when you are around me.”

“I guess I should apologize for being so damn sexy,” John joked in response.

“No, you should not. This is entirely a failing on my part,” the queen of steel responded in an overly serious fashion. Looking down at her hand, she saw the glistening of a sticky liquid on her fingertips. “…If you would excuse me for a second, my love, I require to go to the bathroom,” she told him and then walked off.

John wondered if she was going to wash her hands or lick his pre-cum off and then wash her hands. Either way, he doubted she would do more than that. Even if she had suffered a lapse of control, Lydia was still Lydia. She would suffer what she had to and likely suck his cock like crazy the second they got out of here.

For his part, John took a couple of breaths and adjusted his pants. His undergarments were a bit sticky now, but that was an unavoidable fact of life. At least his cock wasn’t peeking past the belt. Next to him, Suel snickered in an amused fashion. Maximillian, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and turned to Amalia. “May I ask for a dance?” he asked the older women.

“I suppose I might as well,” the NTC’s leader hummed and offered her hand to be taken. Curvy, blonde and in her forties (thirties by appearance), she was Maximillian’s type. A lucky coincidence, given that the gravity mage only had between her and his own sister to choose, when it came to single women in the room.

Ria and Suel stood next to each other, the former looking to the latter and the latter looking back with a smirk. “I do not care much for dancing,” he stated.

“Great!” Ria exclaimed and pulled a tablet out of her dimensional pocket to do something else than what was expected of her. Likely something involving calculations.

John kept his erection under control and extended his hand towards Rave. “Let’s dance, shall we?” he asked. Since he was already here and they didn’t often get the space and the music fitting for a ballroom dance, he wanted to offer one to all of his girls. Romulus stepped by, fluidly exchanging Sol for Luna, and continued on.

“Sure thing, tiger.” Rave winked and stepped into the same stance as Lydia had been in. With a giggle, she let herself be pulled against his chest. John clawed into her magnificent butt without a care. Indulging himself in the feeling for a few moments, he soon softened his grip and then started to dance. Just like with Lydia, there were a few seconds of dedicating themselves to the tune. Then they started moving.

Both John and Rave tried to take the lead and in doing so reached a perfect synchronicity. Where they wanted to go, when they wanted to break formula and when they wanted to twirl was all the same. John understood his girlfriend. He wanted to please her. She was very much the same in both regards. Even while trying to be the one in charge, he made the moves she wanted to. There was no clashing in their flow. The two were parallel and intertwined, they crossed where they wanted to and flowed next to each other where they didn’t.

Fully intuitively, they kissed and closed their eyes, still moving to the music. They trusted the music and each other to keep them upright, even as they stepped in circles around the platform and themselves. Only when John raised his arm did their kiss break. She made a final twirl underneath. Her skirt fanned out in a beautiful display, the many layers putting the most beautiful rose to shame.

The prolonged rotation ended with her taking a sudden step backwards. Aclysia fluently took the position and the Gamer had his arms on her after a moment. Humming to the tune, she offered her lips to be taken in the same fashion. John gladly accepted, as he led the dance. Theirs was simple and slow. A keeping to sequences, allowing them to continue the contact of their lips all throughout their circle around the room.

Aclysia was clearly hesitant to leave him, but did so regardless, making room for the next haremette. With elegance and strict fluidity, Beatrice took the older maid’s place. The passive expression on her face was compromised by the mild curve of her lips and the joy in her eyes. The green focused entirely on John as she left herself entirely to his desires. She didn’t offer a kiss, neither did she put any demands into his steps by moving on her own. Her hands were where they were supposed to be, his hands were where they were supposed to be and they danced.

Simple as it started, John ramped up the tempo and challenge, let Beatrice become an extension of his body and let his mind meld with hers. Every successful step was a little pang of satisfaction to her. The more challenging, the faster their dance got, the more satisfied she became, the more John was enthused to lead her into even more difficult steps. Before he knew it, they had made two rounds around the platform. They were whirling around each other. John extended his arm, as if throwing her, and Beatrice twirled away to be replaced by Metra.

The First of Wrath put herself on her master’s body with aggressive want and was rewarded with a slap to the ass and an immediate start of a tango. Their dance was half battle, half sexual teasing of each other. Their bodies met and disconnected, clashed and seemingly fought for dominance, only for their lips to brush past each other and Metra to whisper obscene compliments as she basked in his scent.

At one point, their dance was a genuine contest of strength, which John only won by giving in at the right time and then catching the worked-up servant before she fell to the floor. He turned her around, kept holding her tilted body and made her lips his once more through a decisive motion. Tongues fenced and fought for what could have been three seconds or three minutes. Then he made the decision, lifted her to stand and gestured for her to walk away. Biting her lower lip, she did.

Where she had stood, Nia suddenly appeared. Silently, she and John took hold of one another and then began a simple round. Focused on grace and the flutter of her long skirt, their dance was a calm breather after the two previous hazes. Every step had purpose on its own and was merely a side theatre to the two of them looking into each other’s eyes. Not once did Nia look away from John, the calm blue of her gentle gaze focusing only on him. The swing of her butt, so much more pronounced since they had last danced, shifted lavishly under John’s hand.

Nia had him for as long as she needed. At the end, she leaned in and gently placed a long kiss on his neck. Then she fluidly stepped away. Replacing her with forcefully decisive steps was Gnome. Albeit she blushed and her eyes darted to the onlookers with discomfort, she still put herself in John’s arms. The Gamer, before taking complete hold of her body, grabbed her chin.

“Just follow my lead,” he instructed with a warm smile, then pulled her closer than anyone else. Resting her head against his shoulder, they were connected in something that was more a wandering hug than a proper dance. Their legs were too close for any grand movements or impressive rotations. Just firm steps and gentle swaying to the music.

“I love you,” Gnome whispered, when they had made their full round, and then stepped away.

Undine was next, showing a different kind of uncertainty. It was obvious she didn’t mind being seen; for a woman that spent the majority of the time naked, that would have been somewhat odd. However, her slime nature put her at a bit of a disadvantage in this social situation. Walking was something she had learned well enough, but dancing had a level of intricacy she wasn’t used to.

Not minding in the slightest, John pulled the attractive, black haired form of the abysstide elemental against his chest. Her bountiful bosom squished against him when he started a very slow waltz. He took the time to carefully guide her through every movement. Theirs was by far the longest turn around the centre, but John didn’t mind. Watching the goth-like woman struggle and stumble to keep up with him had a beauty in its own. On his side, he kept challenging her to more complicated steps, as she became more secure with the basic ones. At the end of the round, she had at least gotten used to the slow steps.

From Undine to Siena, the contrast was stark. The moonshade elemental’s naturally high-heeled feet created a steady staccato of sure steps as she took hold of John and immediately forced him into a high-speed chase of a dance. Smiling sadistically while he attempted to keep up, Siena kept upping the tempo. His struggle only she felt in the way he held onto her. Every time before he could lose his balance or otherwise make a fool out of himself, she suddenly switched to a series of easy steps to allow him to regain his composure.

John knew he was being toyed with and did his best to retake the lead. That only fired Siena up further. She was too fast, too graceful, to be overtaken by him. When they had made their full round, he felt more frustration than anything else. The challenge of getting to be the lead at some point excited him.

Before he could dwell on it, however, Sylph stormed into his arms and took him for a wild journey. Theirs was not a dance. The arcvolt elemental never landed for more than a few steps at a time. Enthusiastically, she flew in circles around him like a whimsical fairy, pulling him along with her moods. She laughed and so did he, while his sense of balance faded and his feet just followed along with her. Sometimes they stood, sometimes they ran, sometimes he had to jump. It wasn’t elegant in the traditional sense. It did somehow follow the rhythm set by the music.

Worked up by that wild exchange, Salamander was the perfect follow-up. Escalating things back to the levels Metra had earlier risen the dance to, the apocalypse elemental once more had John tango. With less aggression and more lust, Salamander and John were getting as heated as they could without outright undressing each other.

He embraced her from behind. His arms pressed into her colossal tits. The squishiness spilled past the strips of her dress, her nipples barely hidden when he backed away. Her tail wrapped around his waist, she pulled him back when she turned around, hair flying and chest jiggling mad. A fiery reunion, John stretched his neck to kiss the slightly taller woman. The taste of her oily saliva on his tongue, sweet and smoky. Then a renewed separation. She ran two steps from him. Let him catch her hand and pull her back. His hands travelled down her flat midriff and down to her meaty thighs. Salamander’s luscious body was a wonder to behold. The heat radiating from her agitated him to do more. He grabbed her tits and she moaned. She pushed him back with a smirk.

“Not quite yet,” she reminded him.

“You don’t make it easy for me to remember,” John returned with a wink and then turned to suddenly grab Eliza.

“Fuck that, nooo!” she complained, while John put his hand on her back and pulled her along. He only laughed at her little struggle and soon she just let him have his will. Forced she may have been, but Eliza was quick on the uptake. Furiously blushing and following his lead perfectly, she suffered through their simple round. All the time she was adorable and, had she not been so far down, John would have kissed her like the other ones. As it was, he couldn’t without him bowing down breaking their rhythm.

Finding the perfect solution, John suddenly took hold of her entirely and lifted her off the floor. With superhuman strength, he tossed her two metres into the air. He caught her in such a fashion that her legs parted around his hips and her face was now in front of his. With insatiable greed, he leaned forwards and claimed her lips, while carrying her back to the starting position.

Once there, he put her back down. Against her initial refusal, he barely got her to let go. The dance she may have disliked, but to him she was very much attached. John had one more girl to take for a ride, however.

“No,” Scarlett said, arms crossed.

“You will not be the only one who doesn’t dance with me,” John stated and made a demanding gesture.

Not budging, Scarlett only raised her chin. “I mean it, I won’t dance. I have no idea how to and I’m already struggling with these heels.”

John sighed and stepped closer. “I’ve shown you a lot of things more interesting than money, Scarlett, I won’t stop today,” he whispered into her ear. Slowly but firmly, he moved to separate the lock of her arms. With a little nibble to her earlobe and some time dedicated, he got his will. With a little bit of firmness, he could break the stubbornness of the technomancer through the submissive side of hers he had reserved for himself.

True enough, Scarlett struggled through the dance, even more than Undine had. They took it very slow and sometimes they paused so John could give her advice. “Don’t look at your feet.” “Rely on me.” “Think of us as one unit.” And so on. Particularly that last advice helped her and by the end of their round, she didn’t cling onto him with quite as much force as she had at the start.