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All Characters in the story are 18 years of age and above...
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Chapter Forty Six: A secret Agreement...
Greg could remember once reading about the placebo effect. In essence, if one can trick one's mind into believing something to be true, one can achieve the same results as if the lie had been true. For example, if someone in pain is given sugar pills and is convinced that they are a strong pain relief medication, the effect is so powerful that in seventy to eighty percent of the cases, the individuals will actually feel better as a result. This is what Greg had done with the EROTIC WILL candles. They were among the first items that Greg came across in the Eros shop. Their function was simple, the longer one was in their presence, the more any resistance to things of an erotic nature would be broken. Basically, they did the same thing as his innate title AROUSING, but on steroids. While it had taken his title three weeks to break through Shalia's resistance, the candles would achieve the same result in a few minutes. The only difference is as soon as they go out, all the effects that they so far had would be lost.
By telling the Town-head's wife and her daughter that they revealed one's true self, Greg had been doing the same thing his familiar was so good at. Telling a technical truth. The candles wouldn't give you any new desires that you didn't previously have. Instead, it would just break down all the barriers that you put up to hide your true desires. By telling them that their function was to reveal one's true self, however, not only would Greg keep them from trying to fight the effects of the candle, but he'd also plant the thought that he was to blame for their heightened arousal and that the candles only revealed this. The more that thought took root in them, the more susceptible they would be to his charm.
The candles, however, were just one part of the intricate web that Greg had weaved to catch his prey. The other part of his plan was thanks to the advice Olivia had given him about the DISCERNING ring. Greg had gotten the false impression that all titles could do was to give passive effects. The CHARMING mask affected how women perceived him. The TEMPTING pendant increased desire in women who were already committed to another. The ADDICTIVE bangle made those who engaged in any kind of sexual activity with him crave it even more. The SENSUAL TOUCH bangle made his touch pleasurable to the women he consciously touched. The VIRILE and STERILE rings affected his fertility, either ensuring or preventing pregnancy. In all these instances, it didn't require any input or direction from Greg. They simply worked as soon as they were equipped.
From all these, it could be understood why Greg had been under the impression that the same was also true of the DISCERNING ring. For him, it had thus far been a vague new sense, like a quirky radar, it just told him who was turned on among the women around him. According to the familiar, however, not all titles were the passive kind. Some titles require the conscious channeling of the title owner to bring out their full potential. The example she gave was a title like SHARPSHOOTER. If one had such a title and never made use of ranged weapons like longbows or crossbows, then like a sword that is never taken out of the armory, the title would just gather dust and nothing more. His aim might passively improve in other areas, but just like Greg was doing with the Discerning ring, he would be wasting the true potential of the title.
Greg had moved to the front porch of his house and in the time between the explanation and the arrival of Shalia and her mother, Olivia had taught him just the basics of exerting his will through the title. While in its passive state, the DISCERNING title worked like sonar, pinging off every woman around Greg who was turned on and bringing back that information. When Greg channeled his will through the title, however, it went from giving vague information about every woman around to giving detailed information about the particular woman that Greg was focused on. In other words, it went from being a sonar to being a laser scanner. From just knowing whether a particular woman was turned on or not, Greg could now tell the level of arousal, from mildly turned on to very aroused. He could tell exactly what had triggered the arousal. What things the particular woman was into that would fan the flames of that arousal, including hidden kinks if the target had any. It would even point out which parts of the woman were extra sensitive to them. Not that Greg needed this given the SENSUAL TOUCH bangle he already had.
Having only gotten some basic level training from Olivia, Greg wasn't as yet well versed in channeling his will through the ring or interpreting the feedback he got. Right now what he got were hunches and instincts of what would work and what wouldn't. The longer he focused on a target, however, the more he was able to parse out from the information the title granted him access to. Shalia and her mother arrived while Greg was still on the porch looking at the various women who walked by. His eyes had zeroed in on the Town-head's wife. It took a second for the title to start feeding him the information he needed, but eventually, it began. Greg wasn't surprised to find that the woman was already quite horny. Given what had happened the past two times that they had met, she was probably expecting something to happen this time as well.
The more he focused on her the more he understood the nature of her arousal. Greg didn't know if it was her nymph bloodline, her natural desire as a woman, or some mix of both. The woman, however, had almost immediately picked up on the fact that Greg was powerful, perhaps even more powerful than her husband. It was this fact that sparked the flame within her and drew her to him every time they met. Greg's brows had risen behind the mask when he picked up on this. It just showed how sharp the woman's instincts were as no one who looked at the Town-head and then looked at him would think that he was the more powerful of the two. Of course, in a straightforward melee battle, Greg would lose ten times out of ten. If they were ever at odds, however, not only did Greg have a powerful familiar at his beck and call, he was also always walking around with an armory in the form of the Magic shop from his system. So long as he had the points to spend, Greg could buy tier-three items powerful enough to level the whole town. And that is to say nothing of his connection with the healer.