The festive mood we had was gone and the Pretty Boys left the room. I sighed as I got on my bed and crossed my legs. Karl was looking at me quietly from his bed. He just blinked and looked at me. Karl was bred the day before, so he wasn't too horny. It was time to allocate the six stars I had from leveling up. If it was time to leave the academy, a power up was well overdue. It was always better to hide your power level when you go into a meeting. Since we were going into the real game, I wanted some offensive power, so my stars were going exclusively in the Alpha trees. I put another of my stars in Punch and Grapple to unlock and put stars in Super Punch and the Maul perk. I then put a third star in Flexibility to allow me to back bend. Finally, I put a point in Laser. I needed something other than a knife in combat. It was a perk I got from the character creation screen. I only used it in the Bettle mecha training simulations. I did want to eventually make it to the point where I could have the swords to use in combat.
For the next few in-game days, the academy suspended classes and taught dancing and etiquette for interacting with the elite of society. We were being groomed to join them after all. They all had minigames for the various dances of the elite. It was pretty much a ripoff of Dance Central where both partners were expected to get in the right position when prompted. They had waltzes, foxtrots and swing dances. I was able to do surprisingly well with the swing dances and waltzes but I did not enjoy the foxtrots that much. That was fine. It just meant that I needed to sit them out when those songs happened. When the classes finished, the teachers presented us with the dress uniforms of the academy. It was nice and shiny. There was also a ceremonial sword. I thought it was pretty cool. Multiple cars were called and we were brought for us to be transported. The Pretty Boys had our own to ourselves. We were decked out in our uniforms and I was happy. My uniform was specially fitted to account for my tail which was in my lap.
I looked out my window as we traveled the streets from the academy and towards the venue of the gala. It was Duke's Bastion capitol residence. His Grace certainly did enjoy dancing and drinking. It was better than a pastime of gambling or sex however. His brothers seemed to enjoy those to the fullest. Duke Felix ran a high class brothel with a practically owned harem out of his properties and Duke Ryder ran casino's in certain cities throughout the nation. They were also very influential in the kingdom. Bastion, Felix, and Ryder the marshals of the army, navy, and air force. His Highness was the law maker and determined the budget. His uncle was the leader of the national bank and his aunt was the highest ranking nun in one of more militaristic orders of the church. I needed to be able to impress Duke Felix during the gala. I made the conscious vow to not sell out or sell my body to get a spot in the Navy. That was a firm line I did not want to cross. Even if it meant losing out on the chance to go there.
We were the not the only guests that would be attending the gala. There was also a royal academy that taught the kingdom's nobility and the children of the high officers of common birth. It was twice as good as our academy at grinding exp. for all the students. Where our uniforms were black and gray, the royal academy had a gold trim on them. It did not make me jealous as I knew that I could take them if push came to shove. We were then led into the main hall of the residence. The students with commissions from both academies were there. The dukes were all there. The King and the Queen Dowager were in attendance as well as his aunt and uncle. They were in the residence and would grace us with their presence when they saw fit. In the meantime, the musicians were playing and there were finger foods out for the guests to enjoy. Other military and government officials were in the crowd. I thought it would not be too difficult to network with them for better assignments and curry favor. That prompted me to get up and cross the hall. There was a tap on my shoulder and I turned.
