《Weycorus》 Prologue Waking up, I opened my eyes and was immediately bewildered, there was nothing around me, everywhere I looked was pure white, but it strangely wasn''t too bright where I would have to squint my eyes. The only thing I can see is myself; my hands, my legs, and my slightly protruding belly. I had stopped exercising many years back when I realized I would probably never get a girlfriend that fit my unrealistic standards. I mean why else would I workout, I can live healthily just by eating properly and can save myself the hassle of having to dedicated a few hours a week to travel to the gym, workout, travel back home, clean myself, and repeat this every other day just to have a fit body which would have no practical use in modern society and no girlfriend to care. As I try to clear my mind, I start assessing the situation I am in now. "...Am I in a coma..... or worse, dead?" I try to think back to the last thing I did, which I''m pretty sure it was just another night where I finished gaming and watching anime on the PC and went to bed after reading some web novels on my iPad. "...FUCK, does this mean I will never get to see the end of One Piece?!" I pray that I was just having a dream, hoping that I''m still alive as there are so many games, anime, and novels that I still have to finish! As I''m praying a voice suddenly resounds within my mind. "Well, I am sorry to tell that this is not a dream, and you sir have unfortunately passed away." It was a voice that sounded like a kind gentle old man despite the grave news he delivered to me.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. "What... How did I die? Is this the afterlife? Then are you God?!" I couldn''t help but panic a bit as I was told that I was indeed dead, and the fact a God existed as I thought myself as sort of an atheist, believing religion was just comfort for the mentally weak, like fire warming up the physically cold, with religion being the mental support for the mentally weak in order for them to live without worries. "You died at peace in your sleep, a simple heart failure. This place is like a transition to the afterlife. And I guess I am a God in your eyes, but I am just me to myself. I am not omnipotent and I too do not know if a higher being to myself exists. Anyways, time is precious so I would be jumping into the topic straight away. You are supposed to have died, but I plan on sending you to another world, a world of sword and magic, would saying you will be getting isekai''d like the stories you have read so much about be easier for you to understand?" I dumbly nodded as this so-called "God" quickly answered my questions as fast as I had asked. I quickly recollect myself in an attempt to accept the truth presented to me and prepare for what is to come. "Well worry not, I will not send you there completely unprepared, I will give you an isekai starter kit, the bare minimum you will need to quickly adjust yourself to this new world." What the fuck, this God got an isekai starter kit? Is this supposed to happen often for him? "The starter kit will give you the ability to speak the common tongue there, clothes that will fit in, a weapon, and living expenses for 10 days if you spend wisely." "Wait, I''ve got so many questions, why did you chose to isekai me? I didn''t even get hit by a truck or anything. And please tell me more about this world I will be going to, at least the common sense knowledge I will need to know. I..." I was cut off as I tried to fire off as many questions I could as I seem to feel that this "God" is preparing to send off and waste no more time with me. "Sigh..., you just need to know that this world will have many dungeons where risk comes with reward. Live how you want, learn what you need to survive, this world will not have the same morals or ethics you were once bound by. In a way, you can live more freely. Off you go now, this time try to live life to the fullest." I can almost hear him wink at me in that last line as I feel my consciousness slowly slip away from me. Chapter 1 - First Contact In the darkness I suddenly feel a warm ray shine upon me, prompting me to open my eyes. I am greeted by clear blue skies and the sound of rustling trees. Realizing that I am on the laying on the ground I start to get up to take in my surroundings. There are trees scattered everywhere sparsely but the place that had most of my attention was a large wooden signpost, standing on the side of a crossroad; where a dirt road intersects one made of gravel. I move to investigate the sign, but I feel a tug on my shoulder as well as weight on to the side of my hip. On my shoulder was a burlap sack strung onto me and on my hip was a standard double-edged sword you would expect to see in a game. I quickly unsheathe it a little to see it gleaming under the sun, confirming it was an iron sword. In my bag, I find an extra set of clothing with everything down to socks and underwear, a small purse filled with silver coins, and a thin hardcover book made of leather and papyrus paper. The title "Isekai Quick-start Guide" was engraved on the cover of the book. "Nice" I couldn''t help but feel excited that I at least have something to go on after being put into an unfamiliar environment. I quickly store all my belongings back it how it was except the book which I hold onto as I make my way towards the signpost. They are four different signs pointing to the four different directions down the two roads. As I try to read the weird symbols on the signs, I somehow instinctively know exactly what was written. I guess I really did get magic google translate in this world. North - City of Arrowhald 15 km East - Dungeon: Kinhelm''s Embrace 2 km South - City of Unatis 3 km West - Dungeon: Greens Filth 5 km I probably shouldn''t take the risk and head to any of the dungeons until I get my learn more about them so my decision was easy as I followed the direction of the sign for the city of Unatis, walking down the gravel road. I walk in a leisure pace trying to take in the scenery but quickly get bored staring at nothing but the gravel road and the trees surrounding it. I guess this is the perfect time to finally take a look at the book in my hands. Surprisingly the book was written in English and not the languages of this world. I was absorbed into reading its contents as I make my following the road, occasionally taking short glances of my surroundings of course, else I may run into something dangerous without realizing. From the book, I learned that magic was the foundation of everything for the people of this world. Besides the obvious role of magic for mages in combat, even the pure physical fighters depend on physical enhancement magic to fight. These physical magic are separated into different types just like the different elements for mages, split into strength, stamina, vitality, and dexterity. While they are many different types of magic besides just the combat ones, people usually only focus on a handful of them in total as they require constant practice in order to improve or even remember how to properly execute it at all. People can see which magics they have learned by focusing on the word "Status" in their mind and a menu will show up. The magics are quantified into numeric levels, representing the proficiency with level 1 being the starting point with no known level cap. "Status" I quickly try it out by saying it out loud even though it wasn''t needed but I just wanted to hurry and check it out.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level:
Unique Magic: Identify
I guess it doesn''t show the names, well in any case should I even use my old name in this new world anyway? I contemplate for a moment, I wasn''t the creative type that likes up to come up with new things but I think having a new name for a new beginning wouldn''t be a bad idea. I don''t really want to think too hard on this, I guess I will just use the name I always used in roleplay games. That decides it, from now on I''m going to be called Aster. Aster Estrea. With my new name settled I look at my age showing 18. Sweet, back to being a teenager huh? No complaints here, as the saying goes "Kids want to grow up faster, and adults want to go back to being a kid." I didn''t expect to have any magic as I haven''t learned anything yet, and like the quick-start guide had told me, I was given the unique magic "Identify" by the higher being who sent me here. Unique magics are apparently supposed to be magic that you are born with, usually belonging to certain races and have no numeric levels to them. Humans normally don''t have any unique magic so I should probably keep this to myself. While I was immersed in investigating the status screen, sounds of heavy footstep ring in my hear, sounds like a group of people too. I quickly dismiss the status screen with a thought and look toward the source of the footsteps, directly ahead where I''m walking towards. I squint my eyes see a group of people, some dressed with what seems to be chainmail, some with brownish armor which I presume to be leather armor, and some just wearing linen clothing. They each carried a different weapon; swords, short spears, bows, and daggers strapped onto them.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "...Fuck" I hope I ain''t in any deep shit, all I got is a sword that I''m not sure I can even properly use. It''s too late to run or hide now since I was able to spot them, they surely would have done the same with me as well. I tell myself to stay cool and continue walking without changing my pace at all and keeping an expressionless face, it''s important to look relaxed and not a person to be taken advantage of. I continue to walk keep my eyes straight ahead of me as I reach talking distance to this group of well-armed strangers that I now see they are six of them. "Good day" At the head of their ground, a burly man with black hair, unshaven beard, and looks to be a Caucasian man greets me along with a small nod that I can only dumbly nod back as they continue to walk right past me at a much faster pace than the leisurely me that seem like I was out for a stroll. "...Phew" I sigh in relief as I create some good distance from the group. I guess they are just an ordinary adventurer party that I have seen like novels and anime, out early in the morning to make their way to a dungeon. With that little exciting first encounter I had in this world going positively for me, I pick up the pace and head towards the city that now close enough for me to make out the little figures of humanoid beings bustling through the gates, a busy city surrounded by what I presume to be ten-meter high stone walls. I quickly count the number and kind of coins I had in my purse, and I found exactly 50 silver coins the size of a small ring. God did say it was enough for ten days, but I doubt this is much if I have to buy daily necessities and equipment if I want to check out the dungeons. I guess I''m gonna find ways to quickly earn some money if I want to have a livable environment, which I doubt would be cheap with the standards coming from my world. I approach the gates and more and more people past me either on foot or on horse-drawn carriages, hurrying about their own business. Hundreds of people are moving orderly in and out of the gates with the people entering leaning towards my left, the people exiting the city coming out to my right, and in the middle are about a dozen of armored soldiers keeping order and inspecting the people passing by. On the walls I see a few sentries scattered about, looking out of the city while chatting with their comrades beside them that are also similarly keeping a lookout in a different direction. I guess the security here isn''t as bad as I thought, while I proceed to walk through the gate with my expressionless face, looking straight forward. To my surprise, the guards didn''t bother me at all after giving me a brief glance, and no one asked for a toll fee for passing through. I walk along the main street which was orderly and clean, and just like at the gate, people moved orderly towards the side of the road while occasional carriages passed through the middle. Theyare a lot of people and it reminded me of Asian metropolitan cities in my previous world as both had considerable pedestrian traffic hurrying about their lives. I see many signboards at the entrance to many different buildings, some made of stone and some of wood. These signboards have nothing written on them, instead each having a detailed painting illustrating their crafts. I saw some with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, some with a needle and spindle, and some with hammer and anvil. Each signboard had its own flair to it, each being unique. I guess that is how they differentiate themselves from their competitors. I quickly scan the different inns I come across and judge their quality by the exterior look of the building, and the types of people entering and exiting. The inns were easy to find as they had two signboards hanging out from above their doorways, with one depicting a mug of ale, and the other being a bed. I decide on one that was decently big with five stories, and judging from their patrons, their main target audience were traveling peddlers and small merchants, which seem about to be a mid-tiered establishment to me. This one seems about right, the other ones where I see adventurer looking types looks too rough for me, and I bet wouldn''t be able to handle living in those types after being spoilt by modern society. Even if it is going to cost a bit more, I think it will be worth it. "Welcome, how may I help you?" I make my way into the inn and see a middle-aged lady behind a counter smiling at me while she greets me with a slight bow. I take this chance to try out my unique magic "Identify" as it has a range of 5 meters and requires me to focus on the target for a few seconds to bring up their status screen.
Human Female
Age: 46
Magic Level: Water Lv. 2 Wind Lv. 2 Stamina Lv. 1
Unique Magic:
I guess she wouldn''t have high levels as a non-combatant living in town and it only shows magic. It doesn''t show skills in crafts like sewing and cleaning, guess Identify has its own limitations. "...Umm, I would like to stay at this inn and was wondering how much per night? The lady smiles slightly deeper and replies in a business-like manner. "It would be 4 silvers, 50 coppers per night without meals, 5 silvers with breakfast and dinner included. Drinks aside from water aren''t included though and will cost you extra, both options will include a bucket of hot water and towels every day whenever you require, and a small magic light with a magic crystal each night that can power the light for 1 hour." I guess she gives that pitch multiple times on a daily basis as expected, seeing how practiced it sounded. "I''ll take the option with meals please" The lady quickly grabs a room key from the counter and hands it to me. "Here you go, room 307. just give the key to the person at this counter when you are head out and state your name and room number when you are retrieving it when you come back. Oh, which means I am going to need your name if you would please kindly tell me." "...Aster Estrea" "Thank you, that will be 5 silvers" I hand over the coins and start making my way up the stairs behind the counter, passing by the lady while she bows slightly to me. "Thank you for choosing to stay with us, I hope you will enjoy your stay. If you need anything just feel free to ask me or any of the staff on duty." I quickly find my room, the second last room in the corridor and enter after unlocking it with the key in my hand. A simple bed, a desk and chair, and a closet with a small cabinet to store clothes, not bad from a fantasy world I would have to say. There was surprisingly also a washroom within the room which just consist of a simple wooden toilet and a basin to store water to wash and flush. Finally, I get some time to rest in a shelter suitable for people. I take a moment to relax as I lay down on the pleasant soft bed as I start to think about what I should to next. I''m really glad I didn''t have to fight right after being thrown into this situation like in the stories I''ve seen, I should really find a way to defend myself as soon as possible but I just don''t have enough information about this world. I guess I''ll go through the quick-start guide again to see if I missed anything before I plan my next move. But before that, a small nap is in order as I close my eyes to rest my mind. Chapter 2 - First Lesson Opening my eyes I see an unfamiliar wooden ceiling, I guess it wasn''t a dream and I am in another world. What should I do from now on, start a business? No, I don''t have the connections, startup funds, knowledge of the markets and products, and more importantly, I have no skills nor strength to protect anything if I start from peddling. The guide described this world in a state of dog eat dog, people prey on the weaker if it will benefit them, the survival of the fittest. "...Sigh" I guess nothing is so easy, but to live here comfortably won''t be cheap, I can only start at this inn for 10 days even if I don''t buy anything. The guide did recommend becoming an adventurer, the default cliche thing to do when coming to another world. Despite the dangers, it does pay well as well as the chance to become stronger. Speaking of strength I don''t know a single magic useful in combat nor know how to fight with any weapons. I get up and stare at the bronze mirror at the desk to take a better look at myself for the first time. I look just like how I was in my old world but just a lot younger, I am 18 again after all. I had black hair, brown eyes, and plain features that is forgettable as fuck. I look down towards the rest of my body, I had the same average build I had in high school with a small belly as expected of a gamer who didn''t exercise much. My stomach started growling as I moved towards the window of the room and saw the dazzling sun high up. I guess its noon and I haven''t eaten anything since coming to this world. I make my way back down to the lobby after locking my room and bringing all my belongings with me. At the counter, I spoke to the middle age lady previously there is now a man, probably the husband and owner of this inn. I lightly nod back at him as he greets me and I continue to head towards the pub area for a meal. Finding an empty seat, a young man quickly approaches me with a business smile. "Hello sir, here''s the menu for today, feel free to take your time and let me know when you know your order." He hands me a piece of yellowish paper and quickly turns back to tend towards the other customers. I scan menu which only had five or so options for food and half a dozen or so of appetizers to go with the alcohol that fills the entire back page. I decide to just get the lunch of the day as I have no idea which would be good as they all seem to be simple dishes. I waved at the previous waiter when he is free and give him my order as well as some water. I didn''t have to wait too long before he came back with a tray full of my dishes as he carefully placed them down. The food looked like a simple club sandwich with some mashed potatoes on the side along with some butter. I asked for the check immediately as well so I can just leave when I''m done. The meal cost 50 coppers and since I got 50 coppers back in neat stacks of 10 each wrapped in paper after handing him a silver coin, I can confirm that 100 copper coins are equal to a silver coin. After finishing my food which was actually pretty good or I was just really hungry, I turn in my key to the man at the counter and head out of the inn in order to look into the adventurers guild. I see a large building nearby and start heading towards it, I mean usually, the adventurers guild is super big like a landmark right? As I come near the building I noticed signboards that are in front of every shop so far, but this time it is a picture of a golden scale with coins on each side. I move closer to the entrance and see a large store sign hung right above the entrance with the words "Merchant Guild" written on it. I guess I was wrong and this wasn''t the adventurers guild, makes sense though that the merchant guild is near my inn catered to merchants. I didn''t want to waste more time and ask one of the people standing guard by the entrance to the merchant guild for directions. Thankfully they don''t seem too averse to helping out strangers as I quickly headed towards the directions the guard indicated. Within 15 minutes I see another large building this time, larger than the merchant guild but not as fancy. I see the familiar signboard but surprisingly the picture wasn''t anything I expected for an adventurer guild, it showed a picture of a huge blue tree with fruits hanging on it like apples. Seeing many people who were similarly dressed and armed as the people I encountered on my way to this city, I am reassured I didn''t go to the wrong place and proceed to enter through one of the eight large doors into the guild. The place was very organized with signs everywhere to help people locate where they need to go. I saw signs for people to would like to put a request to the guild head off to the left, signs for merchants to trade with the guild to the right, and for adventurers heading straight deeper into the building. I come across another four sets of eight doors, but much less grand and much more normal-sized. I open the door and the sound you would expect from any pub instantly assaults my ears, those are some pretty good soundproof doors. To my right was the rowdy pub area where I see many adventurers having a drink and meals, while straight ahead I see a big line of adventurers waiting to be served at one of the dozen counters where a uniformed guild staff awaits. This is starting to look like a lineup at a bank in my old world, there is even an information service counter veering off a little to the left of the line where two guild staff are busily looking over some paperwork. I noticed one of the men is a beastman of the cat variety as I see his cat ears twitching as he is working while looking down, the awkward contrast between cute cat ears and a fit middle-aged man put a chill in my spine as I''m still not used to approaching these new races. I saw a lot of different races on the streets until now but I didn''t want to stare and mistaken for someone being rude, the guide book only introduce some of the different races but never went into detail on their characteristics or culture so I wouldn''t know any taboos for their race and how to handle them. There are definitely a lot of humans in numbers anyway, this city of Unatis probably belongs to a human kingdom anyway. I walk over to the counter and walk straight up in front of the human man who gave off an aura of a strict veteran. "Excuse me" The man stops what he is doing and looks up straight at me. "Yes, how may I help you?" "I was thinking of becoming an adventurer and would like to know more about them, can you tell me how the whole things works?" The man quickly pulls out a sheet of paper and puts it in front of me and starts explaining to me while using the paper to help with his explanation. "It''s free to register but you will have to either take a combat test to prove you can defend yourself or take our newbie training course until one of our volunteer trainers gives you approval. Once you become an adventurer you will still have the same freedom of movement as before so don''t worry about that part." "Okay, then please go ahead and enter me into the newbie training course" Lucky they provide training which is exactly what I was looking for and I accepted it right away. "The course can be started at any time, if you''re ready then please follow me to the training area."This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. "Yes please." I start following the old guy toward the left, the opposite direction to where the pub area was. After going through a few doors we are now outside in what seems to be the backyard of the adventurers guild. The man looks around to find someone free and starts heading towards a woman standing around looking at the others'' training. She seemed to be in her late twenties with flaming red hair down to her waist, clear blue eyes, skinny build, and wearing an equally red cloth robe that fits the criteria of a standard looking mage but without the hat. She had a classic hourglass figure despite the thin build, and probably at least a D-cup. "Elena, this is a new recruit wanting to become an adventurer, do you have the time to train this one?" The man seemed familiar with her, seeing the way they talked to each other. "Sure thing Lawrence, I was just lazing around anyway. It''s so boring recovering from an injury." Elena said with a cute pout. "That''ll teach you for always being so reckless, anyway I still got work to do so I will be leaving him in your care." The man that I now know is called Lawrence quickly retraced back from where we came from and disappeared. "Hi I''m Elena, I''m a rank six adventurer. What''s your name?" Elena turns her attention towards me after waving Lawrence goodbye and gives me a brilliant smile. "Aster Estrea, a complete beginner, I will be in your care" I politely bow toward my new teacher while trying my best to not let my eyes wander off to where it shouldn''t be. "Oh my, cute and polite just how I like it." She playfully winks toward me before quickly putting on a business face, showing she is ready to get to work. "So Aster, do you plan on becoming a mage or enhancer? Maybe a mix of both?" Mages are self-explanatory but enhancers are the people who focus on physical combat mainly at melee range, their magics are called enhancement magics thus the nickname enhancers. "I wanted to fight from the back lines, so I would like to pursue the path of a mage." I answer in an equally serious tone. And as to why I chose a mage, its because I never really liked working out nor do I want to be in the front line of a fight. Besides, I usually roll a mage when I play RPG games anyways so it would probably be easier for me. "Perfect, I''m a mage too so that works out. In order for me to give approval for you to become an adventurer you will need to reach level 1 in two different magic, and I really recommend you focus on those two elements of magic even in the future. Practicing anymore would just make you a jack of all trades, and even the strongest adventurers only focus on one or two magic that they excel in, so your choice now may stick for a long time. Any particular magic you want to learn? I''m a fire and wind specialist but I can teach you beginner level of most elemental types I think." As she starts spouting off numerous information that I have read from the guide I couldn''t help but stare down into her cleavage. It is taking all of my willpower to stop myself from hugging her tightly and press those soft-looking marshmallows right up against me. "Helloooooo, Asterrrrrr got any particular interest in an element of magic? Hey, can you focus please, if you qualify to become an adventurer by tomorrow I might let have a feel okay?" She bends over slightly to establish eye contact with me as I was staring straight at her chest and speaks to me playfully before giving me a wink. Fuck, what''s wrong with me? Did becoming 18 again mean all the hormones are coming back to me as well? I should have better control than this, come on Aster your an adult mentally. I try to recollect my mind and look straight back into Elena''s beautiful blue eyes. "...Umm sorry, I would like to learn water magic please, and as for the second magic I will wait until I master water first." The guide book showed some of the different magic I could learn in this world like fire, water, wind, dark, light, but the more vague concepts didn''t exist like space and time. I decided on water magic already for several reasons and there were three main ones. First, I really wanted to stay away from my enemies and not get hurt at all, and from my experience in games, Ice mages fits the role. Second, there''s no magic item system and while space rings exist, they carry very little amount and are very expensive and hard to get. That means bringing along enough food and supplies is one of the challenges of being an adventurer, and since water is so heavy to tug around, I thought water mages will have it easier being able to produce water whenever I want. Third, since only selecting two or so magic is the norm, I wanted to select two different magics that had good synergy to achieve my goals of a pain-free safe combat style. I had another element of magic in mind for my second magic but I''m gonna need to test out the properties of after mastering water magic first. "Water magic huh, sure just let me go over the basics of magic first and have you to learn to feel mana." "I will try my best teacher, please go ahead." "Well then to start off, mana is the source of strength and magic we adventurers and monsters in dungeon rely on. Mana is everywhere and we constantly absorb it into our bodies until we reach our maximum capacity. We can train the capacity by simply using up our mana more and more, like training your muscles. When we invoke magic, we exert power on our environment through our mana and since the mana comes from us, the power we create originates from us as well. This means I can''t just make a fireball appear behind you all of a sudden, I can only make it appear within half a meter range from me." Finally, I''m learning more detailed knowledge that the guidebook didn''t tell me about. I close my eyes to listen carefully and avoid repeating the previous incident again. "Of course, if I only make it appear, it wouldn''t have any attack power to it. So any attack spell consists of two parts called spell power and spell control. Take a basic fireball spell, for example, I first need to make a ball of fire with my spell power and then use spell control to throw it at the target at high speeds." "...Umm, then can you change the property of the spell with spell control? Like making the fire burn hotter or split into two fireballs or something like that?" I quickly ask Elena as this question will decide if I chose my element correctly with what I had in mind. "Of course, many things are possible with magic but it might take a lot of mana from you if you can''t picture what you want properly which requires a lot of practice. Thought if you try to make a change that is too drastic like changing a fireball into a waterball the spell may fail and you mana wasted so be careful." I nod at Elena''s words. "Now why don''t you try to feel mana first, here hold this." She hands me a tiny round shaped crystal that I used before with the magic lights back at the inn. "This is called mana crystal or some call it magic crystal, same thing. They come from defeated monsters and are usually located where their brains are and are the main source of income for adventurers when they visit dungeons. Stronger creatures have richer and more powerful mana crystals so they are worth more as well, this small crystal is from a goblin so it''s of low quality and is only worth one silver. Anyways, go ahead and try to feel the mana within." I spent the next few hours sitting down with my eyes closed like I''m meditating, and by the time the sun is starting to change color I start feeling mana. It''s kind of like when I was a kid and pretended I can ki and can shoot power blast through my hands, but this energy is definitely real. "I did it!" I quickly reported to my teacher Elena who was sitting beside me having a drink while looking at two guys spar. "Nice! Good job Aster, really, you just completed the hardest part in learning beginner magic. We started kind of late and the suns going to set soon, so let''s call it a day today. Come back tomorrow morning and we will continue okay?" I handed back the crystal to Elena while she seemed really happy and proud, beaming like she wanted someone to praise how good she was at being a teacher. "Sure thing, I''ll see you tomorrow. And thank you teacher Elena, it was all thanks to your teaching that I progressed so fast." I start making my way back to my inn and start feeling the mental fatigue of sitting down for hours and just focusing. I think I''m just gonna eat and go straight to bed today. I autopilot myself to the inn and retrieve the key from the middle-aged lady that checked me in earlier today, and went straight toward the dining area of the pub. I was given three choices of meal that came included with my room fare and I mechanically just picked the first one being too tired to care. The dish seemed like a tomato sauce pasta with ground beef, pretty good I should say. As I finish gulping down the mug of water to wash down the food, I quickly retired to my room, room 307 and asked for a bucket of hot water on the way there. I used the towel and hot water to wipe myself clean and brushed my teeth with a wooden toothbrush that inn provided and quickly plopped myself onto the bed after changing to just my underwear from my spare clothes. As I enjoyed the softness of the bed and pillow I thought back on my first day in another world. I think back to Elena''s breast and the things I want to do to them. Man, it would be perfect if I had a girl right now to hug in my sleep. "...I wonder how strong teacher Elena is anyway? She said she was a rank 6 adventurer, whatever that means." I was totally absorbed in the lesson and taking in new information that I completely forgot to use my identify spell. I really should get into the habit of using it more often. With that thought in mind, I slowly fell asleep as I''m exhausted from my first day. Chapter 3 - Adventurer "SHIT, I DID IT!!" There is a blob of water floating above my hand right now. Honestly, I didn''t expect to suddenly learn water magic so fast, I mean it hasn''t even been 15 minutes since I started training this morning. I woke up this morning to the sunlight shining through the windows, went to get breakfast which consist of some soup and bread, I immediately went to the adventurer guild to find Elena to continue learning magic. "See, I told you feeling mana was the hard part." Elena is just as beautiful today, showing her excitement through her smug grin. "Now check your status, you should have learned water magic." I quickly try to bring up my status screen.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv.1
Unique Magic: Identify
Oh, by the way, I did use Identify this morning on Elena, and these were the results.
Human Female
Age: 28
Magic Level: Fire Lv. 56 Wind Lv. 42 Water Lv.2 Earth Lv.1 Electric Lv.1 Healing Lv.5 Dark Lv.1 Light Lv.1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic:
Seems like healing magic is separate from light magic. Weird. "Yep, it''s there." "Great! Now you just need to learn one more magic before you can start your adventure." Adventuring around with level one magic seems risky if you ask me though. "Shouldn''t I train and level up my magic a bit first?" In return for my question is the sound of laughter. "Hahaha, you wish Aster. If everyone could just train their levels that easily, then adventuring wouldn''t be such a risky job now would it? I still have a confused face on me as I look at Elena to continue. "You see, levels can only go up after you accumulate enough experience with each magic. And the only way to gain experience is through killing. Elena turns into serious mode Elena and stares straight at me. "That includes other people, if you kill them you can gain experience, but of course it is also a heinous crime and will land you straight into the wanted list if found out. That''s why people go to the dungeons, kill monsters, get stronger, and you may even get some awesome loot and get rich overnight." I nod, showing I understood that she meant that as a warning; what I shouldn''t do, and be careful of are some the dangerous people out there willing to do anything to get stronger. "So is that all adventurers do" "Haha of course not. Dungeons is a big part of all adventurers as its the shortcut to getting stronger, but we also take requests from people as it usually pays better. Though you would have to get stronger and haveto rank up first before being able to take on any requests." I take a bite at the opportunity to ask the question that I was curious about since meeting Elena. "How do adventurer ranks work anyway?" "...Aster you really don''t know anything do you?" I shrug as I didn''t really want to come up with an excuse for my lack of knowledge. "...Sigh, adventurers are classified into different ranks by the guild, the higher the rank, the more powerful and trustworthy that adventurer is. The ranks go from 1-10, but there hasn''t been any rank 10s for over a century apparently, you can tell the rank of adventurers by the guild badge they have. Here take a look." Elena pulls out the badge she was wearing around her neck, I sure didn''t notice that as I probably was too busy staring at her chest... The badge looked to be made of silver and on it was engraved a picture a tree, the same one the represents the adventurer guild, but the thing that stood out the most was the six bright red fruits on the tree. Seeing my attention on the fruits Elena continues to explain. "Everyone two ranks, the materials the badge is made of changes from iron, bronze, silver, gold, plat, and up to diamond for the legendary rank 10. The easiest way to tell an adventurer''s rank beside the material of the badge is to look at howthe number of fruits on their badge." I handed the badge back after taking a closer look. Seeing I lost interest in further expanding on the topic, Elena gets back on track.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Anyways, let''s have you learn your second magic, it shouldn''t take long, which element do you want to learn this time?" Before that, I needed to test out something with water magic first. "Teacher Elena, I wanted to learn more about water magic, is the water drinkable?" "Of course, lots of adventurers rely on it as a source of drinking water you know." "Then is the water conductible?" "Conductible? What do you mean?" What I wanted as my second magic was electric magic and it would only work if the water I create from water magic is conductible. If its pure water it wouldn''t work but seeing as people drink it, I assume there are minerals in it, as drinking pure water isn''t healthy. "Do you happen to know electric magic?" "I know it, but I am nowhere near proficient at it." Elena quickly replied, curious about what I''m up to. "That''s enough, can you please apply the smallest amount of electricity that you can into this bucket of water?" I quickly create some water magic and fill the small bucket nearby. Elena doesn''t bother to question me creates some whitish bluish electricity in front of her hands as she tries to lower its power. I bring the bucket right in-between us and put a finger in the water. I''m not really sure how to test else to test its conductivity except for this dumb and direct method. Lets hope teach brought the power low enough or I''m fucked. Elena manages to control the electricity globe into the size of a pea now before looking at me for confirmation. I nod, and she launches the electricity into the water. I instantly feel a burning tingle and quickly pull my hand from the water, thankfully the burning only went up to my elbows. Well, that didn''t go too bad, I''ve touched exposed cables when my friend''s rabbit chewed up the plastic cover, and that shock went all the way up to my shoulder. "...Perfect" Elena looked at me strangely, clearly seeing that just hurt me and I was now grinning, being all happy about it. "I''m going to learn electric magic." I ignore her look and immediately attempt to generate electricity with my mana. "Are you sure? I mean it''s up to you, but people usually pick one magic with good offensive potential and one for either defense and hindering enemies. Both water and electric is great for the latter but doesn''t hit very hard." I stop what I''m doing and look at her. "Don''t hit very hard? Can''t I make ice with water magic and burn things with electric?" "...Umm, you can but that requires changing the properties of your magic or focus it on one point which will require a lot of mana until you get a lot of practice and be able to imagine more efficiently. To make water ice you have to make it colder, coldness is a pretty vague concept itself, not to mention elec-----!" Midway through her explanation, I tried to invoke water magic and turn it to ice. I close my eyes feel my connection with my magic and imagine all the H2O molecules moving around. I try to slow their speed and bring them closer to each other as much as I can. I open my eyes at the sound of surprise from Elena and look into the ball-shaped ice, it feels nostalgic it was just yesterday that I would ice into my drinks. And now I can create that same ice through magic. Ice get. "Aster you... didn''t you just learn water magic..." Elena looked at me astonished, with her mouth wide open. I guess this world doesn''t really study science, well I guess they don''t have a reason to study it as they can do so many things with magic already. "Haha... I''m a genius at ice magic I guess?" Elena recollects herself and stare at me strangely, seeming to want to say something but ends up giving up. I ignore her and continue my attempt at learning electric magic. It took another five minutes before I createda whitish bluish ball above my hand, just like Elena did earlier, albeit a bit smaller. "...Sigh, anyway, congratulations on qualifying to become an adventurer, take this paper and return it to the information desk and they will deal with the registration process." I take the paper from Elena who starts murmuring something. "BONUS BONUS BONUS, YAY!" I try to ignore how she started jumping around like a little girl, I guess she gets a bonus for completing my training within a certain time limit. As I start to turn my back and make my way towards the guild, Elena''s energetic voice rings in my ear. "Remember Aster to keep training, even though leveling up in magic gives you better stronger control and more power at less mana cost, it won''t give you the techniques on how to control your magic. If you want to do any of that fancy tricks you talked about like splitting a fireball mid-flight, you''re going to need to keep up with your training every day." I turn back to Elena and bow deeply to her. "Its been a short while, but thank you for everything you have done for teacher Elena, I won''t forget your lessons." She smiles warmly like a parent watching their child grow up. "Go, and its just Elena from now on, I''m done being your teacher." I return the smile and head back into the guild. --- I see the same duo working at the information desk, the veteran middle-aged man, Lawrence, and the cat man. I make my way up to Lawrence and hands over the paper that marks my approval from my mentor. "Done already? Congratulations." Lawrence professionally takes the paper, confirm it''s contents and stamp on another piece of paper that he hands to me. "Fill out the registration form and you will be a rank 1 adventurer starting from today." I glance over the form, it asks for some basic information about me and some that are optional like what magics are your good at and things like that. I guess its the norm to keep your cards hidden even to the guild. I fill out the form and triple check everything is correct before handing it back to Lawrence. "Here''s your badge that can double as an ID card if asked for your identification, it''s a magic item so replacements will be expensive. The board over there beside the lineup is where the requests are posted, but you''re too low rank to take anything proper requests besides cleaning the sewers." He points to a large wall with a huge bulletin board that''s decorated with paper nailed onto it, sure is a lot of requests. "The reference room is up the stairs near the entrance to the training ground on the second floor, I advise checking it out first as it has information about all the known dungeons in the area. Its all free of charge as long as you don''t take any books out if the room." Lawrence patiently explains to me and gives me advice, what a nice guy. "Most adventurers usually form a party and sticks with the same people for the majority of their adventuring life, so most are formed between friends and family, people you can trust. Looking at you though, you probably don''t got anyone, do you?" Ouch, maybe not so nice after all. "You''re going to find it hard to join a party without having some social skills and charm, seeing how you don''t have any of those, I would recommend training on the first floors of some of the easier dungeons." You''re starting to get annoying with how you''re basically telling me I''m a loser and keep rubbing it in. Fuck you. "It''s not all bad adventuring alone, you get more experience to yourself as well as the loot, though the risks are also much higher. Anyway, remember to extract mana crystals from near the brain of the monster you defeat, that''s the only thing you will be able to carry en masse to take out of a dungeon." Lawrence hands me a small knife, is he being nice and gifting it to me or is does the guild provide it? "If you want to sell the crystals, you get to join that huge line over there and wait for your turn. I advise against selling it to anyone but the guild as its most often shady and dangerous, and the guild pays a fair price and will record it on your track record for your promotion up. That''s the easiest and most stable way towards getting your guild rank higher, the higher the rank you get more benefits like higher price the guild offers for the crystal you sell." I nod at Lawrence and wears my iron guild badge around my neck with the thin iron chain it''s attached to, the part the stands out the most is the glaring red spot, depicting a fruit. I guess this is my adventurer starting point. Chapter 4 - Combat On my way out of theguild, I stopped by to ask for some recommendations on equipment stores. When I stepped outside, I realized it is already noon seeing how high the sun has risen.I guess I spent a few hours in the reference room looking up information on nearby dungeons. I pass by some stalls on the street selling food and got some skewers with some chicken and vegetables for my lunch. As I''m eating and walking toward the blacksmith shop, I review the fruits of my work from this morning. I finally found out why the guild emblem looked like a blue apple tree when I investigated about the dungeons. It turns out that''s what every dungeon core looks like in general, but the real surprise was in my findings on the fruits. I''m surprised no one told me about it, was it common sense so they didn''t think to note it or it didn''t matter if I knew or not as a beginner. The fruits are actually called Weycorus fruits, no idea why it''s named that way, maybe someone had identify in the past. But the most important thing about these fruits is that they give whoever eats them a longer lifespan! Whoever eats them gain at least one year longer to live or more, depending on the dungeon. No wonder adventurer profession was so popular, you can live longer as long as you get strong enough. There are limitations though, the fruits have to be eaten within the dungeon, or they will just dissipate if brought out, or else I bet each Weycorus would cost a fortune. Each fruit also can only be eaten once, once eaten you will never be able to reach the floor the dungeon core is on again. Even then, Weycorus fruits are such a big temptation that even nobles and kings dive into the dungeon regularly just for the fruits. Though the dungeons have mechanisms that prevent them to just flood the dungeon with their armies. To get into a dungeon and to going deeper into each floor, you need to step into a teleportation rune, and only up to six people can be teleported together. The location you get teleported to is always a random location on that floor too, so working in more than six would be inefficient. So sending elite squads of five to protect the noble is the norm, and there are requests for it too from wealthy merchants. There is also a legend regarding the Weycorus fruits, they say that whoever manages to eat a fruit from every dungeon in the world will be able to gain immortality. Seeing how even "God" exist who sent me over, I naturally don''t find it unbelievable. Well,it sure is a large goal I would like to try to accomplish, who wouldn''t want immortality. Though it would probably be best if I achieve that with girls or I would be lonely being the only one living forever. Ambitions that aren''t grand aren''t worthy to be called ambitions, I''m going to try my best to achieve immortality with my own harem! I did get transported to another world, so I must be fated to live the life of a hero right? --- I enter the blacksmith shop the guild recommended to me and started calculating my budget. I have 40 silver left from paying for the inn, I need to keep at least 10 silvers for living expenses just in case, and there is also other supplies I may need. If I just enter the dungeons and make it back to town by sunset I would only need potions for now hmm. I decide all I can afford right now is a shield after looking at the prices. I already have a sword and all the armors are out of my budget. I see the weapons and armor are all neatly arranged with price tag in front of them. You could hear the sound of blacksmiths hammering in the back, and a few store attendants busy serving other customers. I wanted some time myself to take a look around anyways. I move to the shield section and use identify on a few shields to compare as I have no idea how to decide.
Wooden Shield
Age: 0
Condition: 93/100
Enchantment:
Reinforced wooden shield
Age: 0
Condition: 99/100
Enchantment:
Iron Shield
Age: 1
Condition: 97/100
Enchantment:
War Hide Shield
Age: 1
Condition: 99/100
Enchantment:
All the shields didn''t have enchantments, I guess enchanted shields are made to order or expensive products that you don''t leave lying around. The age only shows in years which isn''t useful at all, and the condition is slightly different between the same shield. The wooden shield cost 15 silvers, reinforced shield 25 silvers, iron shield 50 silvers, and the hide shield was 2 gold. So iron and hide are out, can''t afford that for now, I don''t think I can even handle the iron shield properly as it was way too heavy for me when I tried it out. I choose the reinforced shield that was basically no different from the wooden one aside from some thin metal wrapping the edges and some parts on the front. It seems like a better investment than just a piece of wood to me. After buying one that I find in perfect condition thanks to Identify, I head to my last stop before the dungeon I chose, the potion shop. The potion shop looks pretty cool, glass bottles of different color liquids feels like a weird perfume shop. They were many selects, some that help you recover stamina, mana, to some that gave a temporary boost in your strength or magic power. They are all pricey though and the only potion I need for an emergency is healing potions. Unfortunately, the healing potions in this world aren''t like in games; where you instantly heal back from drinking, heck even healing spells don''t work like that apparently. It just speeds up the natural healing process, and the higher quality the potion or spell, the faster. The attendant told me the cheapest quality healing potion cost 5 silver each, and it takes hours to heal cuts and fractures. Even when healed you will probably feel sore and won''t be back to your best right away.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. I begrudgingly buy one and store it carefully in my bag before heading out of town toward the dungeon I chose for today, Greens Filth. Greens Filth''s first few floors were mainly home to those disgusting little rapist I heard so much about in my old world, goblins. Now the reason I chose this dungeon isn''t because they were the easiest or I had a fetish to the little buggers. I chose it because its simply the easiest dungeon that was close enough for a one day trip back. Tomorrow I''m going to head out in the morning which would open many more options to me where I''ll be able to practice on easy targets like slimes. Though for now, I''m stuck with goblins and maybe a few wolves. --- The dungeon was about 8 km northwest, so it took me a whole two hours before I finally arrived at the entrance. The entrance for all dungeons is actually a pitch-black statue of the Weycorus tree, there''s also a plaque at the base of it with a conveniently carved name, Greens Filth. Near the statue you can see some tents and people making camp, presumably other adventurers getting ready to spend the night here. I see some signs that are promoting their services too like healers and carriage transportation. Not that I can afford it, and they seem like they are targeted more to advanced adventurers with more financial ability. I ignore some gazes of the people there though most don''t even pay attention to me and walk straight up to the statue. The way to enter is simple, touch any part of the statue and say enter out loud. And I do just that. "Enter." I instantly hold up my shield and sword and carefully inspect my surroundings. It seems I''m in the forest somewhere which makes up the most of this floor according to the books. Each floor in a dungeon is like a small separate world, there''s even a sun when I look up. Though it is said that they are visible borders in all three dimensions if you get close enough. The goblins of the first floor should be pretty weak, equipped with only wooden clubs or spears, the thing to watch it for though is if they group up. Since I was too broke to afford a detailed map, I pick a random direction and decide to slowly move forward, being as stealthily as I can. It took me 15 minutes to just advance 100 meters, before hearing the sounds of whimpering dog. I slowly move closer to the source of the sound and see the two goblins with their spears piercing into a wolf who is laying on a pool of blood. The goblins were gutting the wolf, likely preparing a feast for themselves, as they happily skinned the wolf messily. I don''t feel as nervous as I thought I would be, seeing how I''m about to have my first kills, ever. The most I''ve killed before this were insects like flies and mosquitoes and my state of mind is similar to that right now. I target one of the goblins. "Identify." I mutter under my breath.
Goblin Male
Age: 0
Class 2 Monster
Magic Level:
I guess since this is a popular dungeon, this goblin just spawned this year. A monster''s strength is rated into classes, with class 1 being of the weakest. The higher the class of the monster the more power or tricky, I hear the stronger monster at the last few levels of a dungeon is at least a Class 50, scary. I channel my mana and start casting a spell, thankfully I don''t have to scream out the name of my spell as that would be annoying and ruin any surprise attacks. I conjure a waterball as big as I can and fire it off at the two goblins huddles together. It travels at a speed slightly slower than an arrow would. The sound of the goblins surprise grunts from taking the hit overpowers the sound of the waterball hitting and splashing over the two goblins. The goblins are knocked off their feet and are now hugging onto the corpse of the wolf. The one that was slightly closer to me is now coughing out some blood, I hope that means I got a rib. They two goblins try to get up and turn to me. "Too slow." I finish my spell by focusing on the water they are now drenched in and imaging the molecules slow down and shrink. A thin layer of ice instantly freezes the two goblins in place atop the corpse, shivering as they are completely naked. I feel my mind is slightly more tired than before, a result of using mana. I quickly sprint at the goblins before they can break free and stab my sword in each of their hearts. Most of the resistance I felt was from piercing the thin layers of ice, their naked bodies are easy to slice through. Confirming the goblin''s death, I try to flick my sword clean of blood like in the movies, but some blood still remains. So much for looking cool as I rubbed my sword against the wolf''s corpse to clean my blade. Here comes the disgusting part, I take out the small knife Lawrence gave me and started play brain surgeon with the three corpses. The mana crystals I got were small and cheap ones worth a silver each, like the one Elena showed me. --- Thankfully this world had matches, I thought to myself as I sat down on a rock, staring into the small campfire I made. Its been over two hours since I killed my first two goblins, I repeated the same process of slowly creeping around and finding my targets. These goblins are not very perceptive as I had the jump on them over ninety percent of the time. The other ten percent we spotted each other at the same time, but I managed to learn how to quickly freeze the moisture on the ground and make them slip on theicy surface before delivering more spells on them. I experimented with a few ways I can use my magic. I honestly really wanted to be able to fire ice spears to kill them instantly but I couldn''t freeze the water fast enough, instead, I made freezing my targets in place more effective as I froze the water the right after hitting the target. I also used my electric magic a bit and it worked okay, it uses less mana but stuns them for a shorter amount of time than ice. I tried focusing the electric magic into one point by imagining a lightning rod on my target, and it managed to bore a hole straight through the poor goblin, though it wasn''t a very mana efficient move. My mind feels like I just studied the past few hours to cram for an exam, I decide it''s about time to head back since running out of mana alone would be suicidal. I''m told running out of mana affects each person differently, some faint, some just have a splitting headache, or some just can''t think at all. Well, I''m not eager to find out in a dungeon so I backtrack where I came from, reaching a miniature version of the statue I used to get here in the first place. I put my hand on it and mutter the words to leave. "Exit." After a blink of an eye, I see the previous statue I used to enter, and in its surroundings, many more adventurers can be spotted now. Some are making camp while others are just walking on the road back towards Unatis. I join the latter and make my way back, I sure worked up a sweat today. While walking back I mentally count back on how many crystals I obtained today. I killed a total of 17 goblins and 2 wolves, plus the extra one I got from the wolves the goblins killed. 19 silver for half a day''s work, not bad but I guess normally you would split this with the party. I also take the time to bring up my status screen to see if I leveled up at all.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv. 2 Electric. Lv. 2
Unique Magic: Identify
So it only went up by one each, even though I used water magic more, I guess leveling up gets harder and harder. After another two hours, I finally make it back to town, just in time for sunset. I make my way to the inn to have dinner; tonight was a hamburger made of some unknown meat. Following my routine from yesterday, I ask for some hot water on my way back to my room to wipe myself clean. I once again plopped myself into the soft bed and think back on my progress for the day, especially my first kill. I''m going to be doing a lot more monster killing more now on and it wasn''t that bad; I''m sure I''ll get used to it. I guess tomorrow I''ll head to another dungeon and try to level up faster. Wait... I forgot to sell the crystals. Oh well, I have a feeling going at the end of a day would just earn me more time in the line. I''ll go in the morning before heading out, hopefully, there isn''t much of a line in the mornings. With that last thought I slowly drifted asleep, or so I wanted but all I could think of is holding a sweet girl that belonged to me in bed with me. Fucking teenager hormones. Fuck I want my own harem so bad. Chapter 5 - Steady Growth I wake up to the first light of dawn, the orangey glow projected on to the buildings outside is pretty comforting to look at. It also has great effect on calming my eager, teenaged little brother. Honestly, I would''ve definitely scouted the night scene already if my experiences aren''t constantly reminding me how bad of a decision that is. I don''t think they will even have condoms, who knows what diseases I can get with the working girls of this world. With this world being dependent on potions and healing magic, I bet the medical development here is really backward compared to modern medicine. Yep, in conclusion, it isn''t worth the money on girls who probably served dozens of middle-aged uncles, just to relieve some hormones. If my past had taught me anything, I''ll end up feeling empty if I have mechanical sex with no feelings behind it. As cheesy as that sounds, feelings are important. --- I head for the adventurer guild after having the same breakfast as yesterday, but there was something off about the city today. The expressions of the people as they hurry about made the entire atmosphere of the entire city tense. I enter the guild and it became obvious something must of happened, the usual cheerful atmosphere from the adventurer chatting and drinking was gone. Adventurers are still huddled in groups, having discussions among themselves, but instead scattered around sitting down as per usual, they formed a crowd around the request board. Seeing how I won''t be able to make my through a crowd, I head toward the person I''m most familiar with within the guild, Lawrence. "Hey Lawrence, don''t know if its a bad time, but what''s going on?" Lawrence turns to me and seems to be lost in thought for a moment. "...Aster was it?" Now that I think about, I don''t think I''ve properly introduced myself, I guess he found my name either from Elena or from reading my registration form. "That''s right, I''m Aster Estrea, sorry for the late introduction." "I''m Lawrence, though you already knew that, anyway, nice to meet you Aster." I return the handshake that Lawrence offers me. "And as for your question, it seems a party of rank fives got taken out last night while escorting the Count''s second son back from the Greens Filth dungeon. To make things worse, the criminals who did it sent a note to the guards at the gate, asking for ransom for the Count''s son." Good thing I can back early yesterday, getting caught up in this shit would be the end of me. "...Wow, those kidnappers must be really strong or must be a lot of them if it''s causing such a disturbance to the city." "...Hmm, the problem is no one knows who they are, and just because they took out rank fives doesn''t mean they are strong, even rank ones can do the same with properly executed traps or surprise attacks." I guess even the strongest people aren''t superhuman. "Well, this sure is starting to sound like something I don''t want to be involved in." Lawrence grins at my words. "You''re right, it isn''t something beginners would be able to meddle in, but I doubt the other adventurer will realize that. Especially not after a reward of one platinum coin has been issued to rescue the young lord and a bounty of the same amount for the kidnappers." Platinum coin? That''s probably a hundred gold coins! I haven''t even gotten a gold coin yet, not to mention platinum... "Don''t let greed take your life kid, the Count is rewarding anyone with information pertaining to their whereabouts as well, so even if you see the kidnappers, just run and report it and let the Count''s knights deal with it. Not worth your life." As if seeing through my moment of greed, Lawrence warns me with a serious look on his face, prompting me to nod back at him. He''s looking out for me, he''s a nice guy after all. Seeing Lawrence put his focus back on his work, I walk up to the line for selling crystals, well there is no line as everyone is still crowded around the request board. I walk up to a counter with a pretty lady wearing glasses with a classic round frame; made of metal. First time seeing anyone wearing glasses in this world, but it looks nice on her. I hand over a pile of magic crystals that I collected yesterday and placed them together with my guild badge on the counter. The lady lays them out so she has a clear view of all the crystals and pushes up her glasses, as I feel mana being emitted from the glasses. "Total of 19 low-quality crystals, that would be worth 19 silvers." Magic glasses huh? I guess they quickly inspect crystals for their authenticity and quality. She brings my badge and scans it on something I presume to be a magic item, records something on a piece of paper, before putting the money and badge back onto the counter. I quickly retrieve my badge and place my money into my purse and move to the side to make way for the next person in line, who happens to be no one as the line is empty. Embarrassing, let''s just pretend we are in a hurry and leave. I make my way outside and see people all moving toward the same directiontowards the north gates. Curious, I join the crowd as well. It didn''t take long to find out why the crowd gathered, as the sound men moving around in plate armor, and hooves of horses become louder as we near the main road by the gates. People filled the side of the road, letting what seem to be an army of knights riding out of the city. Not all the knights wore the classic shining full plate armor, as I spot some wearing a mix of cloth and leather armor, holding spears. Do mages not use staffs in this world? I don''t remember seeing any staffs at all in the blacksmith shop. Being too lazy to investigate my thought further, I start heading south, to the opposite direction of the knights. I am heading to the dungeon, Elemental Slime Nest today, the first floor of this dungeon will have easier targets for me, perfect for testing out how to utilize my spells. In exchange, Elemental Slime Nest is twice the distance of Greens Filth, 15 km away. It would take too much time and energy to get there on foot, but with the dungeon being a popular spot, they are carriages transportation services going back and forth a few times a day. I find the carriage station and paid one silver to board a wide 12-seater with a grey canopy, drawn by four horses. I''m joined by a merchant and his workers, and a group of 4 adventurers who are rank 3 judging from their badges. We all remain quiet during the ride, except for the merchant who is questioning his associates regarding some numbers on a piece of paper. I take scan the adventurer party in detail with identify to see what composition a normal party is made of.
Human Male
Age: 24
Magic Level: Strength Lv.1 Stamina Lv.7 Dexterity Lv. 19 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic:
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The leader seemed to be a lanky guy in all leather armor with two short swords hanging on his waist. Dexterity enhancer, so pretty much like a rogue.
Human Male
Age: 29
Magic Level: Strength Lv.14 Stamina Lv.20 Dexterity Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv.1
Unique Magic:
Beside him was a big man with wide shoulders, wearing an incomplete set of plate mail on top of his chainmail. No question here, obviously the tank.
Elf Male
Age: 78
Magic Level: Strength Lv.6 Stamina Lv.2 Dexterity Lv. 25 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Diagnosis
Almost didn''t even notice his ears as he had his hood on, but this guy''s your standard elven archer. He even has the signature elven blonde hair, green eyes, and that prideful look on his pretty-boy face. Elves do age slower in this world huh. I already don''t like him. He''s got the first unique magic I''ve seen with identify, though I don''t see what exactly diagnosis does, but the name sounds self-explanatory enough to guess most of it. Moving on, I can''t stand to stare at the pretty boy any longer without feeling pissed off.
Human Female
Age: 24
Magic Level: Fire Lv. 16 Earth Lv. 10 Electric Lv. 1 Water Lv.1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Light Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic:
Staring at the shoulder-length brunette washed away my agitation. She wasn''t the most beautiful but got a cheerful, innocent vibe that would make her a perfect girl next door. Their levels weren''t particularly impressive, but it seems like having level 1 fire and water magicis the norm. For mages, the norm may be even level one for all standard element types. Level one magics are easy to learn, so learning fire and water may help in emergency with starting fire and drinking water. There seems to be no harm to learning them. So with that discovery, I spend the rest of the carriage ride learning the rest of the elements. Of course, the other people would look over from time to time to see what this idiot is doing, making a fireball inside a carriage, but I quickly dismissed it and moved on to the next element. --- After a little over an hour, the carriage finally comes to a stop, God cars are so much more comfortable with springs and whatever shit that makes it shake less. I just to walk off my sore ass as I approach the encampment area surrounding the dungeon entrance, the black statue of the tree. The only difference with this statue is maybe its size which is slightly larger, and the plaque with the name, "Elemental Slime Nest". I waste no time and head straight into the dungeon. "Enter." Before I knew it, I find myself in a gloomy cave with faint blue light shining from the ceiling. They were rocks, that seemed more like crystals stuck on the ceiling everywhere in the cave, providing the only light source. I''m presented only two paths to take, as I pick one at random and move slowly while my eyes adjust. I move faster as I start to getting used to the dim lighting, and I quickly find my first training dummy. A red slime slithers toward me silently at almost jogging speed. It is one meter tall and one meter wide, like a giant moving red pudding. I spot the black sphere within its translucent body, it''s the size of a bottle cap, and the only way to kill a slime. I shoot my a stream of water at it, attempting to freeze it into a spear before it reaches the target. With my level up yesterday, I can feel that my magic is slightly more powerful and I can generate more water for the mana cost. Unfortunately, the slime was moving too fast towards me and it ends up freezing inside the slime, barely slowing it. I fire a stream of electricity at it, and this time the slime definitely felt that, as it completely stops moving. I throw a constant stream of electricity at it and walk closer to avoid having my attack weaken from the electricity dissipating. By the time I got within five meters of the slime, the core visibly cracks, and the slime implodes on the core, leaving only a mana crystal behind. I grab my loot and continues searching for my next prey. I optimize how much mana I spend to perfectly freeze my targets, and practiced my new electric spell that was basically to constantly electrocute my target. Not going to lie, did feel like I was an antagonist in star wars or something. On my fifth slime, something looked strange as I stare into its translucent body. There was a shadow person curled up inside, freely floating around. This slime was moving a lot slower than any other slimes, barely at walking speed, so I managed to successfully form my ice spear before it penetrated the slime so hard that it made a satisfying spluuush sound. It looked like the ice lance popped a bubble, but then the slime started to gather at one spot and implode like the others, guessed I hit the core straight on. As the slime popped, the contents inside were also released onto the ground. I walked closer and found a skull with half a spine attached, while the torso which was a little further away still had some half-melted flesh and organs by the rib-cages. The only other thing that was left was small metal arrowheads, a small short sword, and scattered coins laying around. I guess the slime couldn''t digest metals that fast and the poor guy was probably practicing his archery and failed epically, dying to a slime. I loot the sword, and gather the coins, he won''t have any use for these anymore anyways. I salvaged 46 silver coins and 1 gold coin, the guy was pretty rich. Now I have 1 gold coin, 74 silver coins, and 70 copper coins. Not bad considering I have only been here for a few days. I continue to hunt for slimes, while training my magic control in the process, before being alerted by my stomach that it was past lunchtime. "Fuck I''m stupid." I forgot to buy any rations with me before entering the dungeon, so I have no choice, time to exit the dungeon and buy something at the camps outside. --- The people waiting around outside at this time were mostly non-combatants. Most were healers and caretakers for supplies and carriages. It''s probably a good idea into looking to get a carriage myself some time in the future. I easily find stalls that people set up with mobile carts and picked one that seems to be making some noddles that reminded me of ramen. Though the spices used were different, the rich soup and noddles had at least a seventy percent semblance. With my stomach filled, I head back into the dungeon and started another round of hunting. The slimes I encountered this time were all light blue, a contrast from the red slimes that I''ve been fighting until now. I guess the slimes have different elemental affinities seeing the name of the dungeon, Elemental Slime Nest. Thankfully the slimes on the first floor are so weak, any elemental resistance is useless and they won''t be able to cast spells. Thanks to my continuous practice, I''m able to form my ice lance before impact most of the time now, gaining me a solid offensive spell. No pun intended there. I lost track of time and onlyhave my sensesreawaken when I find myself in a spacious clearing within the cave. When I was still looking around, a huge shadow falls from the ceiling right behind me, blocking my exit. "Welp." Though it scared me for a second, I read about this boss of the first floor in the reference room before, so the information quickly calmed me down. To be blunt, this boss is just an extra-large version of the slimes until now. Standing at 3 meters tall and 5 meters wide, the giant blue boss slime''s core can barely be made out within its body. I mean it is the same size as the other slimes, size of a bottle cap within that huge body. This boss is really only a challenge for enhancers, well this entire dungeon really. That''s why I chose this dungeon, it''s a much easier time for mages. I fire a large stream of water at the feet of the slime, well it doesn''t have feet so the part where the slime touches the ground. As soon as the water enters into the slime and makes contact near the ground, I freeze it, hoping it binds the slime to the ground. The slime easily shakes it off, and abandons the frozen part of it and continue my way. But that was enough time that it bought me, as I was channeling my mana into a huge ice lance for the huge guy over there. The slime mechanically charges straight at me, like the dumb monster it is and takes my ice lance straight on. A familiar scene appears, accompanied by much louder noise of impact this time. The entire passageway behind is covered in slime juice, before it gets sucked into the damaged core, and softly imploded into a mana crystal. I collect the mana crystal that is slightly bigger and looks higher in purity. Well, that actually used quite a bit of my remaining mana, it''s about time to call it a day anyways. I head back to the other end of the spacious room and find a similar black teleport statue after passing through a narrow corridor. The ground where the statue is placed, patterns of some complicated rune is drawn. This is the teleportal down to the second floor of the dungeon, but it can also be used to return to previous levels. I can also start on the second floor right away next time too since I have reached here before. I place my hand and recite the word to leave. "Exit." --- While there was nothing to do on the carriage, I counted my harvest for the day, 41 normal slimes and the 1 crystal from the boss slime. Next, I inspected my growth for the day.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv.4 Electric Lv. 3 Fire Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Light Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic: Identify
I make it back to town after a bumpy carriage ride before sunset. I''m going to keep selling my crystals in the mornings, but now would be the perfect time to buy some supplies and daily necessities. I still only have two sets of clothes and underwear, and I want to purchase my own toothbrush among other things. I ended up spending 15 silvers by the time it was starting to get dark. After dinner, I go through my routine before bed, I couldn''t stand it any longer and spent a whole silver on a tiny piece of soap for one-time use. I felt relieved, being able to wash my hair and felt particularly refreshing, I thought to myself as I was layingthe bed. As I start to think abo----------- Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Chapter 6 - The Difference between Fortune and Misfortune... For the first time in years, I wake up feeling fully refreshed, without a hint of drowsiness. I quickly get ready in order to head to the Elemental Slime Nest again, I only get three levels all of yesterday, and I really wanted to quicken my pace. I make it to the guild before the sky fully brightens. Today the guild seems to have gone back to normal, its better like this or it won''t feel like an adventurer guild. The request boards are still crowded as people look for a good job to take, though the atmosphere is completely different from yesterday. I take a glimpse at some of the requests as I made my way to join the small line for selling my mana crystals. The requests are all pretty similar, they are all either bodyguard quests, delivery quests, and collecting materials from dungeons. If only there were any valuable materials on the first floor of dungeons. Then maybe I can get enough money to relax, and since this is a fantasy world, I should be able to buy a beautiful slave to serve me right? Having a reliable companion is key if I want to move further than the first floor in adventuring, plus it would be a lot safer to be in a party than alone. While I try to justify the dream that the demons in my head started entertaining me with, the dream is crushed as the angels rush in to remind me that money doesn''t fall from the sky like that. If it does its a trap or some scam. "...Sigh." I waste time fantasizing about suddenly striking it rich while I wait in line. "Next please." The next available guild staff calls out to me while I was still fantasizing, staring in the direction of the request board. "Sorry about that, I would like to sell these." I bring out the result of yesterday''s expedition along with my badge and place it on the counter. I try my best to keep my chuckle in, as the image of the burly dogkin with glasses is quite comical to me. The male dogkin guild staff makes sure to unstack the crystals as he places them on the counter and pushes his glasses up, then a surprised expression form on his face. "You got these all by yourself?" "Yep, is there a problem?" "...Impressive." The man seemed like he wanted to say more, but swallowed the thought and deftly continued his work. "Total of 41 low-quality crystals plus 1 of medium quality, the total worth is valued at 51 silvers." Ten times huh? Its an okay amount for a boss monster, though it was still an easy kill. I count my total cash now as I want to start keeping track, as my funds get larger, it wouldn''t be funny if I didn''t even know if someone stole from me. I have a grand total of 1 gold coin, 104 silver coins, and 70 copper coins. I''m gonna keep it in silver as that''s used the most often. Now that my purse is fuller thanks to that unfortunate soul yesterday, I think its time to upgrade some of my equipment, at least get some armor as its game over for real if I get seriously hurt. --- I enter the shop where I previously got my shield and start looking for the armor section. "Welcome to our humble shop sir, is there anything I could help you with?" A high pitch voice suddenly sounded beside me and I look over to see a little girl with pink hair tied into a long ponytail, her head barely came up to my stomach, and with skin pale white that makes me look tanned in comparison. I crouch over so that she wouldn''t tilt her head so far back to look up at me. "Hey there, are you helping out your family at work today? What a good girl you are." Her expression immediately turns red, red for anger. "I''M NOT A CHILD, DON''T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, I COULD PROBABLY BE YOUR OLDER SISTER!" Her little outburst grabs the attention of everyone else in the shop, as an awkward silence seems to take hold of the entire shop for a moment as everyone stares our way while she continues to stare straight at me in anger. Fuck, its probably a gnome or dwarf or some shit isn''t it. I quickly use identify.
Dwarf Female
Age: 18
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 13 Stamina Lv. 10 Dexterity Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv.1
Unique Magic: Physical Boost
"Sor------" "CLARICE! WAT DID AR SAY ABOUT SPEAKING TO CUSTOMERS!" As I was about to apologize, another short figure emerges from the back of the shop. This time it was a midget, no a dwarven man with a full brown beard, with soot over his face, and carrying a thick hammer. He spoke in a thick, dwarven accent that sounded like a pirate, fits perfectly with his looks I say. The girl Clarice twitches and looks back at the dwarven men in shame. "...Sorry dad...I..." She couldn''t keep eye contact with her apparent father and looks to the ground. "Why don''t cha go outside and take a breather." The dwarf''s eye softens when the girl looked down butstated in an irrefutable voice. The girl nods and starts heading toward the back of the shop and disappears from view, as the onlookers are stunned, unsure of how to react.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Sorry everyone, feel free to continue to browse in our store, I''ll give y''all a discount for today''s troubles." The dwarf impressively returns the atmosphere back to normal and people continued shopping, as the dwarf turned towards me. "Sorry about that lad, the girl still can be a bit sensitive at times, but she meant no harm." I nod dumbly at his words while I stare at the dwarf who fits the archetype of a dwarven blacksmith to the tee. "So how can our store help you today lad? I''ll give you a big discount, so let''s sweep this incident down the rug, how ''bout it?" I realize I was being rude staring at him without a word, looking like an asshole customer. I quickly bow slightly to finish my apology. "No, it was my fault as well, I was rude to your daughter, sorry for the trouble I caused in your shop." The dwarf grins. "What trouble? Don''t know what''cha talking''bout at all. Anyways lad, the names Bosgrem Grayforge, was there something yer needed?" Seeing as how he wants to move on from the incident, I happily oblige. "My name is Aster Estrea, I was actually looking for some armor, and maybe a new weapon. I''m a new adventurer who has been frequenting dungeons for training." "Aye, then you come to the right place, yer an enhancer or a mage?" I guess my current equipment with a sword and shield, wearing cloth doesn''t really give the people a sense in which class I am. "I''m a mage sir." "Follow me." Bosgrem walks towards the section with a bunch of leather armor. "I take it yer want some leather armor then, anything metal would be too heavy fer y''all who doesn''t have any enhancement magic." I nod at Bosgrem''s word, he''s the professional, so he would know what he was talking about. "What yer budget lad?" I wanted to keep at least 50 silver to pay for the inn and emergency, and I would like to buy some more potions so that''s another 10 silver. "1 gold and about 40 silvers is what I''m willing to spend, not sure how much armor and weapon is, but I would like an upgrade for both." "Aye, then how ''bout this one here made from the hide of a crocolisk from the 26th floor of Kinhelm''s Embrace. Its normally 1 gold and 50 silvers, but I''ll sell it for half price this time." Kinhelm''s Embrace? Sure sounds familiar, anyways I''m glad the incident earlier turned out to be a good thing for me, getting a discount out of nowhere. "That would be perfect, I''ll take it." Bosgrem nods and carries the set of armor for me. "So up next, to find yer a weapon, mages like yer usually prefer something with more reach as yer don''t want to get too close to the fray. How ''bout a cast spear?" "Cast spear? What''s the difference from normal spears?" Bosgrem smiles as if remembering I''m a beginner and start to explain. "Caster spear, so cast spear in short, they made with materials that channels mana well, so it acts like a part of yer own body, letting yer cast spells originating from the spear itself." So that''s why all the mages I''ve seen don''t carry staves, they use spears instead. "Sure I''ll take it, assuming it''s within my budget though." He gives me a bright smile and slaps his fist against his chest. "Haha, no problem, leave it to me lad." And that''s how I spent a whole gold coin and 40 silvers. --- My shopping spree didn''t end after the blacksmith shop, I went to store my old sword back at the inn, as I also went to get a mana potion and an antidote potion before heading out of the southern gates. The potions were 5 silver each, being of the lowest quality, but now I''m down to 54 silvers, and 70 coppers. My daytime dream of getting rich from this morning is getting farther and farther away. I better kill more slimes today to earn back a ton. I take the same route as yesterday, riding on a carriage headed to Elemental Slime Nest. It seems more crowded, probably with the incident with the Count''s son still ongoing, everyone ran straight in the opposite direction while waiting for the incident to pass. Today I teleported straight into the second floor. The second floor wasn''t much different from the first, being the same cave scenery with gloomy blue lights from the ceiling. The only difference was that the slimes a slightly bigger, like ten percent, and another monster, the demon boar, appears. The difficulty shouldn''t change much, but I''ll be able to level up faster fighting stronger enemies, plus the boar would make a great lunch if I find one. While moving slowly to get used to the light, I spot my first slime of the day. I''m still trying to get used to my new getup, wearing my green leather armor that covers my full body but the head. I have my reinforced shield and new cast spear, but since I won''t be facing any ranged attacks, I strap my shield around my back. I test out my new cast spear, freezing the slime in place before thrusting straight into its yellow fluid body. I tried to aim for the core, but it''s my first time using a metal spear and barely misses. Time to try out why its called a caster spear. I start casting electric magic from the tip of my spear, and a electric ball forms at the tip, engulfing the slime''s core as it was in the vicinity. Seeing the slime start to implode, I quickly pull out my spear and stare at my magic that is still active on the tip. Impressed, I can''t help but mutter to myself. "Damn, that''s pretty cool." It wasn''t until 12 slimes corpses later that I finally find my first demon boar. It doesn''t seem much different from a normal boar except for its longer tusks that are almost a third its body length. It spots me at the same time, and start sprinting at me at speeds much faster than slimes. I cast my signature waterball freeze combo at where his feet are going and froze his front to paws. It slows down for a second behind his two hind legs pushes strongly, breaking free of the ice. "Fucker." I curse and cast my another spell, as electricity shoots at from the tip of my spear and lands straight onto the boar''s snouts. The boar''s limbs instantly stiffen in place, but his momentum continues forward and comes crashing a few meters in front of me. I waste no more mana and simply finish it off with a stab down into his head. This spear is sure a lot pointier than my previous sword. I collect the crystal from the boar and start to gut the corpse messily. First time for everything, convincing myself to continue, trying my best at draining the blood from the body, and skinning it. Being a decent sized boar, I eventually have a couple of messily cut up pieces of meat being grilling on my spear from my fire magic. I sprinkle a little salt that I bought from town as the smell stimulates my stomach. They do say that just a pinch of salt on anything is all the spices they need. While the boar tasted a bit gamey, it was still a nice meal compared to the dry rations I prepared. Taking a break after my meal, I start to hunt again, eager to level up. I''m going to go all out today! --- By the time I exited the dungeon, sunset was at it''s last breathe already, with the sky turning dark shortly. Fuck I lost track of time, the carriages would''ve left by now. I guess my only choice is to walk back the 15 km. "...Sigh." As I walk down the dim road, I check my results that cost me my trip back to the city.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv.6 Electric Lv. 5 Fire Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Light Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic: Identify
Seeing the results, it cheered me up a little. I gained a whole two levels in water and electric today. My opponents were more vulnerable to my electric magic so I''ve been using it as much as water magic. Counting my loot today, I also got a whopping grand total of 77 crystals today. It''s mostly due to me getting used to combat, my new gear, and proceeding at a faster pace because of how fired up I was. I mindlessly walk for another half hour, the only boon in the meantime is that my mind feels slightly lighter, the effects of recovering some of my mana. I continued along the road when suddenly, the smell of blood reaches my nose. I''ve become more sensitive to this smell ever since I started killing monsters in dungeons, so I know this smells like fresh blood. I look around, and move further into the forest, straying from the road. Hearing the rustling of trees while there was barely any light left in the day is kind of putting me on my nerves. I refrain from making any noise, avoid startling whatever is out there. It isn''t long before I see a patch of blood dyeing some bushes in their color. I move closer, past a forest of bushes and come out into a clearing of grass. In the distance, I spot a man in cloak limping towards the west. In the direction he came from, a cold gleam shines in my eyes, a knight in full armor is drenched in a pool of blood. Beside it, were several other knights and men in cloaks and leather armor, all in a similar state. Their bodies all have two things in common, none were moving and were all covered in blood. I watch the figure of the cloaked man slowly limp away in the distance. Many thoughts are going through my head at the same time, while I think of my best course of action. And I better do it fast. Chapter 7 - ...Is But a Thin Line These guys knights from Unatis, so that makes the other party the kidnappers they were looking for. Why did those fucking kidnappers have to run straight in the opposite direction like idiots, and why did I have to encounter this shit. I go through my options in my head to find one that best suits this awkward situation. Plan A, leave and report it back to the city. The safest and soundest option. Plan B, kill the man first, then report it back to the city. I ain''t crazy enough to even think that I am strong enough to capture the guy alive, even if he''s injured, who knows how strong he is. Plan C, follow the guy and aim to find Count''s son before bringing the information back to the city for a reward. The best option in terms of opportunity to strike it big with a reward but also the most dangerous option. I would normally pick the safer option, but watching the figure limping away changed my mind. The guy''s barely holding on to his consciousness, the only thing going through his head right now is probably to reach safety, I doubt he will notice me if I keep the distance and play it smart. A line reverberated in my mind as I made my choice, "Risk comes with reward". If I don''t take an opportunity this good because I''m always scared of any risks, what will I be able to accomplish? Ambitions that aren''t grand aren''t worthy to be called ambitions, and I need to take a bold step forward right now to fulfill them. With my decision set, I start to trail after the cloaked figure. --- I trailed the cloaked figure without a hitch, all I had to do was just follow the blood trail. The worse of it was that the chase lasted for a whole hour, how has he not bled out yet? The man finally reached his destination as he entered into a plot of farmland. He is walking unsteadily, as figures who noticed him emerge from within the estate overlooking the farm. Which has now brought me to another impactful moment where the decision I make will change my life. I also get the extra joy of doing so while lying prone in the grass, looking towards the lights leaking through house, hoping not to be found. I want to leave, but I dived into hiding in a patch as grass as some of the men emerge from the estate and start backtracking from where their injured companion came from. I guess it was obvious that with his injuries, he would be spilling a blood trail. These guys are cautions, hopefully, they won''t find my tracks, I did try my best to take the same steps as the guy I was tracking after all. Too afraid to leave, I stayed unmoving in the grass for hours. What the fuck man, are those guys not coming back, what could they be doing out there all night. It must be almost midnight by now, come back and sleep already so I can leave. The lights in the house never went off, but its effect of warding sleep away from me is slowly failing as it''s a distance away, forcing me to grit my teeth. It was never this hard staying up all night before, but with the darkness coupled with having literally nothing to do, it''s getting more and more difficult to stay awake. Suddenly a loud muffled scream pierces through my ear from the direction of the estate but listening in more careful, I find the screams to actually be loud moans of ecstasy coming from a woman. What the fuck are you all doing when your comrades just showed up not too long ago, all bloodied and with half a foot in the grave. I waited for another hour while being anxious and restless before the moans finally die down. I gathered my courage to start moving, hoping they would''ve all fallen asleep by now when suddenly, the door to the house opened, and a figure came out with a magic light in hand. I freeze, trying my best to avoid myself from moving at all as I watched the light slowly move towards my direction. I need to think of a plan quick. Take him out with a sneak attack and run for my life? No, my doubt my magic will be able to take him out quietly, if at all. Fuck, please don''t see me. If he does, should I play dead? Fuck that. What the fuck should I do? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I briefly slip into panic mode before quickly I get taken out from it just as quickly by the sound of something being splashed into the water. The fucker who came out seemed to be drawing water from a well. He took a cup and filled it with water from the bucket before downing the entire glass of water in one go. I guess even with level one water magic, you won''t be able to create much water or it will cost too much mana, so people still rely on water from natural sources if available. I wait patiently as the man finishes up and returns back into the house, before long sounds of those moans resume. Holy fuck, go to sleep you fucking animals. I take a deep breath to calm my mind as I start to plan my escape again. Wait a moment...water...well... I have an epiphany and a very dangerous plan starts to enter my mind. I try to refute it multiple times, but the temptation of the prospects grabs on to me unrelentingly. Fuck it, risks come with rewards, so act now or never. --- It is almost dawn, as the dark night starts to brighten up, displaying a beautiful violet hue in preparation for a new day. My complexion pales, showing visible fatigue as I moved to another nearby hiding spot with a better vantage point. I spent the whole night learning what it feels being on the verge of running out of mana. I already used my only mana potion too, or Iwouldn''t have beenable to hold on until now. By the time the sky changed colors again, turning into the warm orangey glow, I see the door of the estate swing open as a dozen figure step out. The most eye-catching was the scene of a large burly man carrying a large grain bag over his shoulders that appears to have something struggling within.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. They were a mix of eight men and four women, all who looked used to combat and armed. Four of them heads to the back towards the barn and leads out an equal number of horses for their group. In the meantime, the other gathers in the group with their luggage by the well as they talk amongst themselves. "Boss, the horses are ready, we just need to move everything on and we will be able to be on our way." "Hurry it up, that dumbass Etta left a long-ass blood trail straight to where we are last night, luckily they managed to kill all the knights, they probably won''t find the trail until noon. I swear, if that mother fucker didn''t drop dead himself, I would''ve decapitated him myself." "...Boss, what should we do with the bodies of the estate''s owner and his family?" "Leave''em, would''ve loved to hang''em up to leave a good show for those knights, but we need to hurry." While the two men were having their conversation, one of the women started drawing water from the well to fill up their flasks. "Move faster people, we have to reach the rendezvous point by sunset." Rendezvous? I guess those people who parted last night are moving separately. I struggle with an intense headache as I continue maintaining my connection with my magic as they spend another 15 minutes packing their things onto the horses. "Good to go boss." I watched one of the women hand a flask of water to the boss, as the rest of their group heads to the well and start drawing more water. "Drink up boys, we''re going to have to march deep into the mountains throughout the entire day, those fucking nobles and their knights still think they can solve this through force. I swear the Count will panic soon once we vanish without a trace and will start begging us to accept the ransom to protect his son and reputation, hahaha." "...But boss, are you sure the Count will ever be willing to negotiate with us? What if they set a trap?" The bandits all seem a bit down, as they take another swig out of their flasks. "Don''t worry lads, if words gets out that the Count can''t even protect his son, how will the people trust the Count to be able to protect them? These nobles value reputation more than their lives, we will definitely be ri-------arghhhhhhhhhhh!" "arghhhhhhhhh!" Screams echo throughout the vicinity as the group of kidnappers all clutch their bodies in pain. Having confirmed that all of them have taken a drink of water, I wait no longer and immediately change my water magic into ice and whirl''em around like inside a washing machine. No matter how strong they are, they won''t be able to handle this right? I spent the entire night pouring water created from my magic into the well while trying to keep my connection to it, else it will just become normal water, out of my control. Now it finally paid off as the kidnappers all ingested the water and I can freely churn up their insides with my ice. The screams of pain doesn''t last very long as streams of blood leak out from their mouth''s and wherever else that I don''t plan to investigate. They all fall onto the ground motionless, in a pool of their own blood. "...Phew." I finally get to stand up and stretch my limbs as I sigh of relief despite the scene in front of me. I''m just thankful it all worked out, but I ain''t looting through that mess, that''s for sure. I try not to delve too long on the scene of slaughter and open the grain bag the leader was carrying over his horse. Inside is an unconscious teenager with dark green hair, with childish features. Poor guy looks like he''s been starving, and now he got knocked out when he fell over from the horse while trapped in the grain bag. Not my fault at all. --- The green-haired kid woke up not long after I started exiting the estate we were on, I guess my non-existent riding skills showed him a whole new meaning of a bumpy ride. Well, his body was in a pretty bad condition too. "...Who...are you?" The boy said to me why trying to distance himself from me as he was clinging to me while unconscious but has trouble moving given his weak condition. "The names Aster, I''m no one important, just the adventurer who just rescued you." I didn''t bother to use proper etiquette while talking to a noble, adventurers have a complex relationship with nobles, they may be times when adventurers suck up to them, but opposite instances also occur. This is because nobles often have to rely on adventurers in order to attain Weycorus fruits, so powerful adventurers or ones with great potential are treated with respect, even among nobles and kings. So in order to keep the relationship between the two parties more cordial, nobles and adventurers often speak casually to each other. "...Sir Aster, what happened... to the brigands who kidnapped me?" I hold up a circular object wrapped in thick cloth and show it. He unwraps the cloth only to be met with the bloody head of the leader of kidnappers. He almost drops it but manages to wrap it back in the cloth. "Thank you. I swear by my name of Norton Lockhart, I''ll repay you." He whispered softly as he leaned his head on my shoulder as he looked like he was going to fall asleep any moment now. "Wait a second, don''t fall asleep!" My sudden outburst surprised him for a second as he lifted his head with a confused face. "Yes?" "...Errrr you''re going to have to start repaying me right now by teaching me how to ride this horse. Else we gonna be here for longer than either of us wants." "..." --- I arrive near the southern gates of Unatis a little before noon. I had trouble finding the road back for a bit, but thanks to the mobility of my new horse and my new riding instructor Norton, we managed to make it back. As I drew closer to the gates on my horse, with my new sickly looking friend, it soon drew the attention of the guards when we got closer. Someone blew the horns atop the city gates, summoning a welcoming party of knights awaiting us as we arrive at the gates. One of the leading knights rushed at us despite his guard''s attempt to hold him back. The knight threw his helmet aside while drawing near me, and his bold green hair instantly drew my attention. The knight looked similar to Norton, except older and with more defined features. "Norton!" The knight completely ignored my existence and quickly dismounted near me as he rushed towards Norton, screaming his name. "Brother, I''m fine, thanks to Aster here." With Norton''s word, the knight finally recognizes my presence. "Thank you sir Aster, you''re going to have to excuse me now though as I tend to my brother''s wounds. I will thank you properly at another time." Norton''s brother transferred Norton over to his horse and left just as quickly as he appeared. I see him only stops to speaks to his knights for a few seconds, before rushing into the city with Norton in tow. I''m left awkwardly hanging around in front of a team of knights,with a bunch of onlookers to the side. Thankfully one of the knights approaches me so I don''t have to be subjected to the onlookers in silence any longer. "Sir Aster, we''ve heard that you saved the young lord and also dispatched of those kidnappers. Please if you''ll come with us to tell us more in detail of your exploits while we ready your reward." At the sound of hearing the word "reward", I quickly nod. "Please, lead the way." --- I''m lead into what I believe to be the barracks for the knights and was invited into a room with a table filled with food. With the smell reaching my nose, my stomach starts to growl, reminding me I haven''t eaten since yesterday. The middle-aged knight who lead me here joins me at the table along with two of his adjutants. They ask questions while I eat, while I take my time to chew and swallow before answering, the back and forth lasted well past lunchtime and into tea time. I told them all the details of the incident including the missing members of the kidnappers who left earlier in the night. The only thing I gloss over is how I defeated the kidnappers. When there was nothing else to talk about, including where I am staying, they finally let me take my leave after handing me my reward. They reminded me constantly as I exited the complex that the young lords would like to invite me tomorrow for lunch as they would like to thank me personally. I walk back towards my inn with a spring in my steps despite my fatigue. I''m rich! I got two whole platinum coins, I''m fucking rich! Just the thought of how well everything turned out, puts a grin on my face. With the setting sun in the background, I finally managed to return to the inn. Having eaten my fill with the knights, I head straight back to my room and go through my usual routine to prepare myself to hibernate for the next 12 hours. Lying on my bed, I can''t help but keep taking out my two platinum coins from my purse and admiring their beauty and value. Before I know it, I fall asleep with the coins in my hand. Chapter 8 - Gifts I wake up feeling heavy throughout my body, I don''t want to get up but I can''t sleep anymore either. This is why I hate pulling all-nighters. I look out the window from the bed and see that morning has long arrived and if listened to closely, you can faintly the sound of people bustling around, the city was fully awake. I grip tightly on my hand, forming a fist, letting the dull pain from squishing the coins into the palm of my hand stimulate me. It wasn''t a dream, I really did hit a home run this time. I think back to the events that occurred, I really did kill people for the first time. I feel pretty indifferent about it, am I broken? Maybe that''s for the better, it doesn''t seem like to be a rare occurrence in this world. Though if I took away anything from that incident, it''s that I won''t be drinking anything other than the water created by myself anytime soon. I check the level of my magic.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv.10 Electric Lv. 5 Fire Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Light Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic: Identify
I gained four whole levels for killing those guys huh, they must''ve been pretty strong, I''m glad I didn''t have to fight any of them head-on. No longer wanting to dwell on what could''ve happened, I force myself to get out of the bed and get ready to head down for breakfast. I ordered something new today, some eggs and ham with sliced bread. Thought simple, it reminded me of home as I used to occasionally eat this for breakfast. The waitress gave me a weird look though when I asked for an empty cup when asked for drinks. I head for the adventurer guild after my meal. I will have lunch for Norton and his brother later so it would probably be a good idea to skip dungeons this morning. After selling my crystals, I won''t have anything to do, might as well practice some magic at the training grounds. I do have to try out how much stronger my magic has gotten after gaining four levels after all. I enter the adventurer guild and gets greeted by the familiar sight, boisterous noises as drunkards drink in the early morning, I''m starting to suspect that they have a group who schedule shifts around 24/7 to make sure there''re always people drinking around the clock or something. I join the longest line that I''ve ever entered since becoming an adventurer, this is what I get for sleeping in, oh well, not like I''m in a hurry. Waiting in line, I start thinking about how I should spend my newly earned fortune. I currently have 2 platinum coins, 49 silver coins, 70 copper coins, and 77 mana crystals. If this was my old world, I''d definitely buy a property or two to rent out and invest the rest in stocks, but I doubt that''s what I want. Though both sitting around doing nothing and receiving rent as well as not having to worry about paying rent sounds good, it''s not sounding very appealing to me. Being presented with the opportunity by a "God" to come to this world where immortality isn''t a dream, how can I not aim for it. I noticed that I started thinking like I''m some protagonist. I''ve been taken more risks than I used to be comfortable with, with some part of me thinking I''ll be fine, I''m special. Or is this just me being integrated into this world? Anyways, since I decided what I''m aiming for is immortality, that means I will need to get a lot stronger and conquer dungeons. I can''t do it alone, I will need allies, party members, but can I really hold together a party with my charisma? All I can think of are my party members being recruited by headhunters once they get strong enough by the rich people. I don''t think I can compete with wealthy kings, nobles, merchants in giving out incentives to people to stick and work with me. If only the power of friendship is so easy to acquire like in anime, an unbreakable friendship where we risk our lives for one and another. Heck, I can''t even imagine it, I''ve had close friends and loving family, but those were fostered throughout a lifetime, I grew up together with them. But the thought of forming such a strong relationship with some stranger I meet in my adult years is mind-boggling. Maybe it wouldn''t be so if I''d ever had a girlfriend but even so, banking on making five girlfriends to go conquer dungeon together? Naive. I remember the thoughts I had while waiting in line the last time I was here, slaves huh. I''ve always been living alone since university, the idea of living with someone else who would take care of me sounds novel, I''d especially welcome it if it were a beautiful girl. Imagining a life with five beauties for eternity sounds like a dream come true to me. Slaves, I really need to gather some information. I try to keep my lecherous grin from showing on my face, though that poses no difficulty as a force pushes me forward. "Kid, wake up, it''s your turn." I turn around to the voice and see a man with the body of a bodybuilder standing there shirtless with his arms crossed. He was bald with multiple scars all over his face and body. I bow slightly to him and quickly turn back around. Being brought back to reality by the walking abomination over there, I walk up to the counter as my turn had come and place my crystals and guild badge on the counter in a practiced manner. This guild staff this time is really eye-catching, she was a kitsune, a foxkin girl, with light brown hair and a thick and fluffy looking tail of the same color swinging back and forth behind her. She focuses on her work diligently and does the same routine I''ve seen a few times; unstacks the crystals, pushes up and glasses, and recites to me the results in a cute voice. "They are 77 low-quality crystals, making the total worth... 77 silver coins." She smiles proudly after finishing her sentence as if shes just solved a difficult problem.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I say nothing and receive my money and badge, she''s too cute. The immortal plan I have is in dire need of cuteness like that, though ability and potential are also important, I would rather die than have someone like that muscular abomination like that. I mean if we succeed, I''m going to have to spend eternity with that shit, yep, NOPE! Cute girls only. --- Feeling refreshed after having found a clear goal that I can put into specific words, I walk out to the training grounds to kill some time until lunch. I have a few things in mind to try out but first lets test how different level ten water magic is. I start off by casting a water spell shaped into a spear and try to freeze it into ice as fast as I can. The water freezes into an ice lance a split second after I launched it at a rock, the lance itself was twice the size than it used to be, even though I put in the same amount of mana. The tip of the spear pierces into the rock before the back half shatters, the speed I can project it is much faster as well. I spend the next half an hour adjusting my spells, I don''t need something so powerful all the time, it''d just waste mana. I also test out new ideas and improve on my old ones. My old spell where I freeze the target in place is too weak, even monsters on the first floor can break out of it, the problem is that there isn''t enough ice holding them. I try to create a flood of water toward one direction, but the range is abysmal as the water spreads out and some seep into the ground. In the end, I figured out two methods. One by freezing the edges, guiding the water worked best but required a lot more delicate control, and in turn mana. This move gives me more flexibility with either freezing the target''s feet or applying an electric current to the water, frying them. I dub this move water stream. The second method was a lot simpler, I just made the huge waterball the size of a person and fire softly at the target to envelope them, eliminating the blunt force, before trapping the target in a ball of ice. The weakness is obvious with this method though, with the slow speed it travels to the target, it would need a proper setup for it to land. I dub this move ice prison. Seeing that noon will soon arrive I head back into the guild. I find Lawrence in his usual spot working away. "Hey Lawrence, going for the final sprint before lunch?" Lawrence doesn''t even look up at me. "I''ll be having lunch right here, with work in hand or I won''t be able to get off work on time. Unlike a certain brave hero, I won''t be having any nobles invite me to lunch today." Lawrence''s sarcasm screeched in my ears. "Haha, so you heard, things just got out of control, I still can''t believe it myself." Lawrence finally stops moving his quill pen and looks up at me. "...Sign, as much as I want to scold you, even after I went out of my way to warn you. I guess I can''t complain much after you produced results. The paperwork is still being finalized, but you''re being promoted to rank two, come get your new badge tomorrow morning." My eyes widen before transitioning into a smile, don''t know the perks of being promoted yet but being recognized for your actions does feel good. "Thank you, now then I must head off, don''t want to keep them waiting now." I turn around and before I even finish my first step Lawrence''s voice once againresounds in my ears. "Don''t let this get to your head kid, what happened already happened, but what you did was dangerous, you won''t survive long if you keep trying to pullstunts like that." I turn my head to look at Lawrence again but he keeps his head down, focusing on the paperwork and ignores me. Seeing as he had nothing more to say I started heading toward location the knights told me about yesterday with a smile, he''s a good guy, worrying about someone he just met for a few days. --- I arrive at the location I was given, what''s there wasn''t the grand castle I imagined but more like a grand mansion with a huge garden surrounded by black metal gates. They are two knights standing guard by the gates as well as a someone dressed in well-fitting black suit, no it would be more fitting to describe it as a butler uniform. "Welcome sir Aster to the Lockhart mansion, the young masters have been looking forward to your arrival, please follow me this way." The butler guided me through a smaller gate door beside the main one, guess this one is for people while the main one is for carriages. It took some time walking across the expansive property as I finally arrive at a patio where I find Norton and his brother are sitting down the table. "Young masters, sir Aster has arrived." The butler bows politely to the brothers, then to me and elegantly retreats into the mansion. "Hey, allow me to introduce myself properly this time, I''m Norton Lockhart, second son of Count Lockhart, thank you for saving me yesterday." The brothers both rise from their seats as Norton introduces himself formally while holding his hand out to me for a handshake. "Likewise, I am Norton''s brother, Alekk Lockhart, first son of Count Lockhart, I thank you for rescuing my brother yesterday." "My name is Aster Estrea, I just arrived at the city of Unatis recently to join the adventurer guild." I shake the two brother''s hands and we all get seated, I seat across from them, facing Norton. With a quick glance from Alekk, the servants understand what their young master wants and immediately bring dishes to the table. There was a small feast speedily unfolding before my eyes, as food are brought one after another. We start eating as the brothers introduce each dish to me as we make some small talk over the meal. I answer vaguely about anything regarding my past, thankfully they don''t pry further into it. I ate until I could eat no more and feel my stomach bulging out. After politely declining an offer for some wine, opting for tea instead, Norton gives another look at a servant as they nod and heads off to retrieve something. "Aster there is something I would like to give you as thanks for yesterday." Norton takes a small box from a servant and opens it, revealing a delicate silver ring. I sure hope he''s not proposing to me... Norton handles the ring with care and reluctantly hands it to me. "It''s nothing grand as I don''t get much allowance from the family, but please accept it as a token of my gratitude." "There is no need to be so kind, I already received the rewards properly yesterday, but I will accept it as a token of our friendship, thank you." I accept the ring, it must be something valuable seeing his reaction, right? "So what is this ring anyway?" I casually ask with a straight face, trying to hide my embarrassment. "..." "Hahaha." Alekk laughs at Norton''s frozen expression. Was it a bad idea to accept it before asking? Alekk was the one who spoke first after recovering from his laughter. "...That is a space ring, though it is of lower quality, it still has the room of one meter in all three dimensions. It is something really rare and expensive as it can only be found by chance in some dungeons." I restrain myself from wanting to ask how much is it worth. "Something this valuable I ca----" "I won''t allow you to return something I have already given to you." Being instantly shut down by Norton, I guess I have no choice but toaccept this awesome, useful, and expensive ring right? "I also have a gift prepared for you." At Alekk''s words, I hear the sound of something galloping our way. Soon, a black horse with a likewise pitch black mane appears. "I''m sorry about the horses you got from the kidnappers yesterday, but those were stolen and had to be returned to their owners'' families, rules that I have no control over. Instead, I will gift you this fine stallion." I look at the fine horse, aren''t horses expensive like cars in this world? I got gifted a car, nice. "Thank you, I will humbly accept your gifts." Can''t accept gifts from only one of the brothers now can I? "...Umm, can you also teach me how to care for it as well, as Norton knows, I just learned the basic of riding from him yesterday." "..." This time Norton laughs at his brother''s frozen expression this time, payback for earlier. --- The brother escorts me to the gates on their own horses while I try to get by with my beginner riding skills, I sure hope I don''t crash into people in the streets with a horse... "See you Aster, what are your plans for now? If you''re staying in Unatis feel free to come find me anytime or if come across something troubling you, I''ll try my best to help you." From Norton''s words, I am reminded of my plan to buy slaves in order to gain immortality through Weycorus fruits. I figured Norton would have the knowledge I wanted to know. "Actually, I plan to go purchase some slaves now, I wanted some companions I could trust to fight together with me. Got any recommendation on where I should go to buy quality slaves" And hopefully to serve me day and night, but let''s keep that part to myself. Alekk beats Norton to it, answering my question. "Slaves huh, that would be a good choice if you want reliable companions, actually Norton here plan to form his adventurer party with slaves as well." I look toward Norton as he lets out a helpless smile. "Well yeah, I''m the second son so I won''t be inheriting the title of Count from my father, so I''m going to become an adventurer next month. Father and brother will support me through buying slaves as well." "Wouldn''t nobles have plenty of people like knights to serve them, why would you get slaves?" I voice my curiosity. "Well those people serve the Count, it wouldn''t do if they served me if I''m not inheriting the position after all. Slaves are the best option for me, you''ve also seen it with the kidnapping, being a noble also puts a target on me, slaves are just about my best bet in conquering dungeons." I nod at his words, everyone has their own plight to deal regardless of their position I guess. "Anyway, I''ll write a recommendation letter for you with this slave trader my father trusts, he deals with a lot of nobles like me who want to slaves with the intention of conquering dungeons so it''ll be just what you need." I wait as Norton goes write a letter of introduction for me. They better have cute girls... If all they have are muscular looking guys like the one from this morning, I swear, I''m never talking to you again Norton. After ten minutes, Norton comes back with the letter and we part ways after pointing me in the direction of the slave trader, they wave as I ride off on my new horse. I''m just going to be lazy and name you Blacky. Let''s go Blacky. I''m honestly excited, at last, I will be taking a step forward toward my newfound goal! Chapter 9 - Slave I ride Black slowly down the middle of the street with full focus, scared I''d run into something like a new driver. I fidget around with the ring on my finger while anticipating my destination. I''ve got 2 whole platinum coins, 126 silver coins, and 70 copper coins all stored safely in my brand new space ring along with the rest of my belongings. All I have to do is pour a little mana into it and I will feel a connection with it, like mental inventory slots, where I can freely throw items into the ring or pull them back out. I can''t help but continue fidgeting with my new toy while thinking about what I''m about to do. I''m going to buy a slave. I keep down the guilt by telling myself that this is an important step in gaining a dependable ally, all in order to survive. Though there''s a twisted sense of excitement as I''m about to venture into something very illegal and unethical in my old world, and knowing I won''t receive any repercussions for it. Oh well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I stop musing over useless things when my decision has already been set and start putting my attention back to looking for the slave trader''s place. I enter an area I''ve never been to, the buildings around have almost none of the familiar sight of the colorful signs sticking out perpendicular to the street. Instead, the store signs are all on top of the entrances with the names of different merchant companies on them. This is definitely the office area of the city, having no retail stores. I keep alternating between looking left and right, reading the signs, trying to find the name Norton gave me. Marvin Company, nope. Adler''s Transportations, nope. Celis Fashion Design, nope. Kelrick Brothers Company, not that either. Allen Company, that''s the one. The buildings in this area all look similar, a three-story building with a 50 meters wide front. I dismount from Blacky, holding on to his reins as I move towards the entrance. A boy by the entrance spots my approach and comes to greet me after knocking on the door. "Greetings sir, did you have business at the Allen company?" The boy who looks like he belongs in middle school speaks to me in a professional manner. "That''s right." "Allow me to tend to your horse then sir." I give the boy a look and hand him the reins along with a couple of copper coins, no way a reputable company would have scammers at the door front right? He swiftly takes Blacky off to the back of the building as I enter the building. Upon entering, I''m swiftly greeted by the view of neatly tied up black hair contrasting with the lacey white headpiece, as someone bowing towards me in a maid uniform that goes down to the ankles. "Greetings sir, and welcome to the Allen company, how may we be of service today?" The lady lifts her head and smiles politely at me, she was middle-aged but you could tell she was a beauty in her youth as the afterglow of that beauty still shined through. "I was introduced by a friend to come here as I wish to buy a slave, here is the introduction letter." The slave trader here only dealt with the reputable as they were the main target market and someone who would be beneficial to build a relationship with. That also meant that they only dealt with high-quality slaves. "Certainly, please take a rest in the reception room while I call the master." The maid politely receives the letter with both hands and a slight bow. She then leads me into one of the nearby rooms, deeper into the hall before she elegantly takes her leave. The door opens again moments after I take my seat and another maid enters with a tray in hand. This maid was much younger, probably in her late twenties, with slightly wavy brown hair and ample curves. She quietly comes toward me and places the contents of the tray on the table in front of me. She pours what seems to be tea in a delicate ceramic cup beside a plate of cookies as she bows before leaving. "Please enjoy." Even though Norton introduced this place to me, I still don''t feel comfortable enough to consume anything, especially not after the feast I just had. I waited patiently for another 10 minutes before the door once again opens. This time, the figure that emerged was a fat man, slightly shorter than me and wearing clothing reminiscent of the renaissance era. Following him was the middle-aged maid from earlier. "Welcome sir Aster, my name is Allen Witsmore, head of the Allen Company. I heard you are a promising adventurer who would like to purchase a slave to join your party?" This guy had the aura of a merchant gushing out from him, I like the straight to the point attitude though. "That''s right." I nod and look straight into his eyes, trying to convey I''m serious and not just window shopping. "Perfect! I''m sure we have what will satisfy you at our store." "Hana, please prepare some of the merchandise to show our esteemed customer here." The middle-aged maid nods and steps out of the room. "Please, follow me." The slave trader guides me upstairs to another room that is more spacious but empty except for a few sofa chairs near the center. We both take a seat on the comfy looking chairs. "So tell me, did you have any particular preference in mind?" "...Umm, I''m looking for a female slave who is willing to take dungeon diving seriously." That was more embarrassing than I thought, saying I wanted a female slave out loud. Before the slave trader had a chance to answer, a knocking noises resounded. "Come in." The middle-aged maid Hana opened the door and moved to the side as more and more figures entered the room. Pretty girls quickly stepped into the room and lined up in front of the slave merchant and I. The girls all only wore a simple sleeveless white dress down to the middle of their thighs, they were bare feet and the only noticeable items on their bodies was a thick leather collar. I scan through the dozen of them, they are all varied in appearance, tall and short, different colored hair, pale white skin to a caramel tan, but all of them are humans around my age and all have an exceptionally beautiful face like a model or more like a Japanese idol given their age. This sleazy merchant fucking already knew the kind of slave I wanted, good job, I respect you as an expert of your trade. "Do you only deal with human slaves here?" I voice my curiosity to the slaver beside me and he gives me a helpless smile. "It''s been peaceful for the last few years so slaves of other races are getting more and more rare within the kingdom, especially so if they have to fit the standards of our clientele. Therefore all the top quality demi-human slaves are only seen during the semi-annual auctions at unreasonably high prices." Well, that''s not really a big deal to me, I wanted to get a human like me first anyway because I have no idea about the cultures and taboos of other races. The last thing I want to do is accidentally piss off my comrade-in-arm, having a nice amicable relationship is for the best. "But rest assured, the ladies here are all trained thoroughly and have met our stringent standards so they will have no problems fighting in dungeons, and of course they are all virgins." I mentally twitch at the sound of virgins. I use to never care much if a girl was a virgin or not back in school, as long as she was decently pretty, got along well, and we''re happy being together. I dreamed of going out with a nice girl like that, moving along each stage of life together, getting married, start a family, have kids, and being together in old age.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. But my ideals slowly changed. As time had passed I never found a girlfriend at all, I had a few close friends so school wasn''t that bad but still, my anticipation for a girlfriend year after year accumulated unanswered and growing the twisted feeling inside of me. I saw the girls go from one boyfriend to the next, looking down on "losers" like me who focused on my studies, until they finally realized that those guys weren''t going to amount to much in life and started going after guys with good prospects like me. But I felt disgusted by that, they had their fun in their youth and now that they want to settle down and have a more stable life, they come on to guys like me and expect me to take care of them for the rest of their lives? I hated the very idea of that from the core of my heart. As twisted undescribable feelings inside of me continued to grow, it also changed me into someone who would only ever accept dating virgins, I wanted to progress and learn about love together at the same startline, at the same pace, experience all the good and bad of life together, but that only made my standards even higher, leaving me single for the rest of my life. Coming back from my thoughts, I once again look at each of the slaves carefully while using identify while I ignore the slave merchant''s introduction on each of them. They are all 16-20 years old and all had similar levels in their magic, around the twenties in their main specialization and in the tens for their secondary magic. I guess this is considered the cream of the crop for their age. I double-check on the one girl who had caught my attention.
Human Female
Age:18
Magic Level: Dexterity Lv. 25 Stamina Lv. 14 Strength Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Sense Danger
This girl is the first human that I''ve ever seen with an unique magic besides myself. She has silvery grey shoulder lengthed hair, sky blue eyes, and creamy white skin that glowed with vitality. Her delicate thin build made me want to protect her, but her defined curves and large chest made me wonder if it can be achieved naturally. I want her. Feeling my gaze on her she looked back curiously, unlike some of the other slaves who some gave me pleading looks, looks of disdain, looks of embarrassment, or even refusing to make eye contact at all. "You sure have good eyesight sir Aster, Faris is one of the finest slaves I''ve ever trained; not only is she smart and catch on to things quickly, she is also a powerful dexterity enhancer and poses a rare unique magic, Sense Danger! I believe she is just right for you as not only does she excel in combat, she has been trained in detecting and disarming traps, fully utilizing her unique skill, and being a great boon to any adventurer party." Seeing my gaze focus on Faris, this old guy sure is giving it his all with his sales pitch, but little did he know he was only wasting his breath as I had already decided. I want her. "How much?" Tired of hearing his sales pitch who was veering off to who knows where I cut straight to the point. Hearing my question, the merchant lets out a elated smile. "You must know a normal healthy man would be in the range of 20-40 gold coins depending on their skills, but a woman of the same skills may even double that price if she is beautiful. Our Faris here is the best of the best, even possessing a unique skill so her price will only double again." "Enough, how much?" Please just get to the point. "She would normally cost 2 platinum coins and 50 gold coins, but seeing you''re an esteemed guest recommended by the Lockhart family and a promising adventurer, I will give you a twenty percent discount, 2 platinum coins." Did this bastard know exactly how much I got as a reward? He wants all of my precious hard-earned platinum coins I risked my life getting. My beautiful platinum coins. But every fiber in my being isscreaming at me, it''s worth it. Because I want Faris. "Deal." The merchant lets out a hearty laugh having closed the deal as the maid Hana brings the slaves back out of the room. Including my Faris. "Let us head back down to the reception room to finish our deal and wait for Faris to get prepared." With his big hand on my back, the slave trader guides me back to the room where we first met. "I believe this to be your first time purchasing a slave yes?" I nod in confirmation "Then allow me to clarify on a few things; first the slaves wear a special collar engraved with magic that connects the slave to their master. You will be able to feel generally which direction the slave is but the main feature of this collar is to kill the slave if the master should die or should the slave try to forcefully remove the collar, don''t worry the collar are sturdy." So the collars are magic, that''s why I don''t see the iron collars and chains of my imagination. "Secondly, slaves are one of the major driving forces of production in the kingdom, thus it is against the laws to intentionally kill any slaves. Personally, I would like to remind you to treat your slaves with care, since the only deterrent for slaves is death, if you make their lives a living hell, then they may just take you out with them. There have been a few precedents." I gulp at his reminder. I will definitely make my Faris happy! "Lastly, slaves can''t register independently as adventurers or travel in and out of town unaccompanied, this is just methods to target runaway slaves but you shouldn''t have to worry with Faris." I won''t let Faris leave my side. We wait for another for a dozen more minutes before Hana enters, bringing along my Faris now dressed in a cute pink one piece that matches her white shoes. Hana carries a tray and comes toward me with Faris in tow. "We will need a bit of your blood to establish a master-slave contract." I raise my hand atop the tray that Hana sets down as she pricks my index finger with a needle. As a high-class establishment, I''m sure that the needle is clean right? There isn''t AIDS in this world, right? While I mentally panic, Hana quickly finishes the contract by mixing my blood with some purple solution and pouring it onto Faris''s collar. I suddenly feel that I gained a mental compass pointing towards Faris. "The contract is complete, Faris is now officially the slave of the adventurer Aster Estrea." The fat slave trader reads out a piece of paper he just finished stamping with a seal. "Take this, it is a document proving you as the master of Faris, you will need to show this when entering and exiting cities with a slave, should you lose it, feel free to come back to me or to any slave dealer and they can get you a new one with a fee." I carefully take out my beautifully gleaming platinum coins that I had slept with and exchanges it for the piece of paper. After the transaction, the slave trader gives me another item. "This is a complimentary gift that our Allen Companyprovidesto our clients who have bought our female slaves." "What is it?" He hands me another smooth silverish ring with no designs on it whatsoever. Another silver ring? Does this world have an obsession with silver rings? "This is a ring of cursed fertility, whoever wears this ring, be it male or female, will not be able to procreate." The damn slaver gives me a knowing grin as I quietly receive the ring, though, with the word cursed in its name, I would find it sketchy as fuck if it wasn''t coming from this place Norton trusted. Anyway, I did part with my precious platinum coins that I shared a night with, which means the ring will come in handy since I''m going to have to sleep with what I used those coins for as a replacement. Yep, it can''t be helped. --- I walk with quick steps and large strides out of the slave trader''s place with my new partner, Faris cutely following. I feel the nice warm rays of the sun and turn back to get another look at my Faris in all her glory under the sun. "Faris, we''re are going to be fighting together from now on, so if you need anything, feel free to just tell me okay?" "Yes master, Faris will definitely do her best and be useful to master." Faris clutches her two small fists and brings them up to her chest. Her feminine and gentle voice soothes my soul, my Faris is so cute. I get interrupted admiring my Faris at the sound of a horse neighing. I turn to see the kid from earlier there with Blacky waiting for me. I wasted enough time here, let''s get going. I mount Blacky as Faris skillfully mounts behind me without need any help at all. "Faris, do you know how to ride a horse?" "Yes master, I have received horsemanship training before." "I''m kind of a beginner, so it would help a lot if you mentor me while on the road." "I''ll do my best to teach master." I start guiding Blacky back to the part of town I''m familiar with while thinking how Faris''s determination to help me is so cute. "So Faris, let''s go shopping, we need to get you some spare clothes, daily necessities, and equipment for the dungeons. Let''s start with equipment first, the store is nearby, what kind of weapons do you prefer anyway?" "Master, I''m proficient in most single-handed weapons but I am best with short-swords and daggers." "Let''s go then." --- We enter the shop with Faris trailing slightly behind me as a high pitched voice jumps out to greets me. "Welcome to ou---It''s you!" Its the little dwarf with pink hair who made a big scene the last time I was here, I sure hope you don''t make a scene this time. "...errr...I mean...SORRY FOR LAST TIME." Here we go again. Her loud voice draws in the sight of everyone else in the store to her bowing 90-degrees to me. "It''s okay, I was in the wrong too, I''m sorry for jumping to conclusions and treating you like a kid." "...ehhh..." "It''s yer lad, welcome again, how may ar help you today." With the little dwarf lost for words, Bosgrem, her father comes in to save the day. "I just wanted to buy some equipment for my new companion here." I point to my cute Faris with my thumb. "Ai, you gotcha self a fine one didn''t yer? Clarice, do yer job and help''em out would yer? Seems like the boss is busy today and quickly retires back to the workshop in the back after leaving those words. "...Umm, what are you looking for?" "Some leather armor like mine, and some short swords and daggers for her. Faris choose what you like yourself." "Yes master." I let Faris take the lead herself and casually follow the two while taking my time browsing the rest of the store. I think I made one of the biggest mistakes since I come to this world, I let two girls go shopping by themselves, they endlessly compared the same products over and over again, taking forever to decide on each item. I lost my patience and had to step in and use identify and just picked the best one. Faris finally finishes her selection and settle on a leather armor much lighter than mine to facilitate her movement, a short sword, and several daggers and a strapper for them to strap to her thighs. I still have a spare short sword I found in the dungeon before so she can take it too as she duel-wields. Thankfully it was all within budget, costing only 75 silver coins, non-cast weapons sure are cheap. "Bye-bye Faris, come find me when you have time okay?" "See you later lady Clarice, I will if my master allows me." Hey hey, don''t stare at the back of my head like that, you''re going to bore a hole straight through my head, I''m not a bad guy I swear. It seems like they become quick friends through their shopping. We exit the shop under the reluctant gaze of Clarice as we go to finish our shopping for my cute Faris. We finally finish getting everything before sunset, in the late afternoon and start heading back to the inn. I''m left with a grand total of 41 silver coins and 65 copper coins, got to work hard starting tomorrow to earn some back. but first... The day may be ending soon but my night with my Faris is only just starting. Chapter 10 - Night "No need master, It is my job to serve you." For the third time, I offered to help Faris carry some of the things we just bought earlier but every time she said the same thing. We ended up buying a lot but we still didn''t get a satchel to strap onto Blacky so we still have to carry the items by hand. I could just use my space ring, but I didn''t want to draw needless attention by showing off wealth. I''m honestly not sure how to keep the balance in my relationship with my future party members yet, they are going to be my slaves but I also want a closer relationship that doesn''t seem so business-like of just master and slave. It''s going to be something I need to keep a note of and just have to do my best. We reach the inn I''m staying at but unlike this morning, I now have an extra horse and a person to add to that. I tell Faris to wait outside with Blacky while I enter to explain the situation to the staff inside. "We have a stable for your steed but will cost an extra one silver per night, slaves have no additional costs but their meals will not be included." Manning the counter was the husband this time, he quickly sends for one of the young boys working to take care of Blacky while I took my room key from him. I bring Faris in with me and the husband looks at us with a gentle smile. Hey, you don''t need to say a thing and I can still hear you say "It''s nice being young.", in your mind, and fuck off with the old man attitude too, your hair isn''t even white yet. "Just leave the stuff anywhere, are you tired? Do you want to take a break? You can rest anywhere you want in the room, make yourself feel at home." I try to be considerate as best as a man who was single for decades can, but in reply, all I got was a "Yes master, yes master, or a no master, thank you master." in an emotionless tone, this isn''t working, I need to lead the conversation so Faris will open up to me more. "...Sigh." "Are you tired master? Should I give you a massage?" Though that''s a great suggestion, this isn''t going where I want... "No, I''m fine, instead, let''s go down for dinner shall we?" "Okay master, I will stay here to organize the things we bought today and perform maintenance on your equipment, master, where are the maintenance tools?" "Maintenance tools? Don''t have any. In the first place, you''re coming down to eat with me anyways." "No maintenance tools?! How can you be an adventurer without maintaining your equipment regularly?" "...Well, I just became an adventurer recently so you may have to guide me through some things, anyway, we''ll talk more later, for now, come to dinner with me, I won''t take no for an answer, this is an order." "Yes master." "...Sigh." I ignore the question mark on Faris''s face and lead her down to where I usually have dinner. I had to order her again before Faris seat down across from me at the same table. "What would you like today? We have freshly grilled rainbow trout as the special of the day." "I''ll have the usual set number two please, what would you like Faris?" Faris looks confused at the question. "I will have your leftovers master and if that is not enough I will just need some black bread and I will have enough energy to fight." "...Look, I need you to be in your best condition to fight with me, and I don''t mind if you splurge a bit on meals as long as you work your part." "Then... I''ll have whatever is the cheape---" "She''ll have the rainbow trout, thank you." The waiter laughs helplessly and finally returns with our order. As usual, it doesn''t take long before the waiter arrives with our food and two empty cups, you can never be too safe you know. I cast water magic and fill the cup for Faris and me. "Wow, are you a water mage master?" "That''s right, I use water and electric magic, we''ll go over more on how we each fight tomorrow and work from there and slowly work on building our teamwork up." "Sure master, I''m looking forward to it." She finally sounds more motivated and she puts on a sweet smile as she nods at my words. Food sure does taste more delicious eating with someone, especially pretty girls. "What are you waiting for? Eat your food." "But master is sti---" "No buts." She finally starts eating her food albeit a bit reserved, but her smile as she tastes the food is genuine, my heart is also genuinely melting at the sight. A happy Faris is a good Faris. --- Finishing our meal, we retire to our room. Upon locking up the door for the night, I start to feel awkward as I''m unsure what to do next. I make my way to sit on the bed while Faris proceeds to unpack our harvest from earlier. As I watch her work, a fierce battle between angel and demon is currently raging on in my mind. Why don''t you just go ahead and push her down? She is your slave after all, I mean look at her, can you really sleep without doing that? Control yourself, patience is key, you don''t want to make a bad impression on her on your first day. Remember, you are going to be comrade-in-arms from now on, what if she starts hating you if you push her down? She might not show it, but when in a critical moment who knows what she might do, having trustworthy allies is key! The war in my mind continues fiercely with no end in sight as I continue staring at Faris''s cute shapely butt as she bounces around. Who knew how long I was staring at her, I thoroughly inspected every visible inch of her, creating greater momentum for the little devils in my mind. Soon she''s done putting away everything there is and just stands there looking at me, awaiting new orders. "Master?" "...Faris...wash me." With Faris nodding to those words, I stand up proudly and head into the bathroom as the small footsteps following behind me arouses me further. Wait, I forgot to ask for hot water, FUCK, I can''t let this ruin the mood I just setup. Think Aster, think. You''re a goddamn water mage for god sakes, if I can create ice with magic then I can create hot water right? Same principles. I cast a waterball and quickly imagine the molecules moving faster and spreading out. The water starts to bubble and made a noise like pouring water on a hot pan, it instantly all evaporated into steam. Fuck, too much, I can''t even control it anymore once it becomes steam. I conjure another waterball and throw it into the steam, hot steam is dangerous after all. I continue my second attempt at making hot water while Faris watches quietly behind me. I focus my magic control and do it a lot more slowly this time. "That should be about the right temperature." I finally fill the bucket with water at a suitable heat. Nice I need to get a bathtub and I can have baths now whenever I want. "Amazing master, you have such great control of the properties of water magic!"You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Being praised by pretty girls boosts my confidence to no bounds. "I''m more focused on using ice magic though." Going with the momentum from my confidence, I strip naked and sit down on the little wooden stool. I look back to see Faris still standing there with a blush on her face, a little confused. I point to the basin of hot water, towels, and a soap laid neatly on top that I bought earlier just for this occasion. "Will you come here and wash me?" I tried to sound confident but not too demanding but did it work? "Yes master." She nods and start taking off her clothes, I can''t help but stare, not daring to look away for a second. She slowly takes off the dress shoulder by shoulder as I focus on the valley on her chest, waiting for those big melons to be freed from their bindings. I catch glimpse of pretty pink nipples and areola, scaling perfectly with her breasts but soon get blocked from that mesmerizing sight by her hand covering it. The same thing happens for her womanly part and I only saw that it was cleanly shaven down there before those humans block my sight. "Master..." Seeing her troubled look, I really wanted to tease her but I am too scared that I''d make her hate me I turn around to let her start washing my back. She grabs a towel and soak it in hot water to prepare to wipe my back. She squeezes the towel over me to let some water drip onto my shoulder. I feel her delicate small hands brushing past my shoulder as I focus on the smoothness of her fingers. "Master, your muscles are so tense, you need to relax more or it''ll become more prone to injuries you know. Let me massage it for you." Okay was the only word I could mutter as two silky hands press down on my shoulder and start massaging me. Silence was slowly instilled in the bathroom as she continued her massage as neither of us said anything, this is bad, it''s becoming awkward, I need to say something. "So Faris, where is your family?" "...I... don''t know, we sold ourselves into slavery when I was still too little to remember anything, they are probably serving different masters by now..." "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to..." "It''s okay master, it''s not like I despise my fate or anything, in fact, I''m grateful to be alive. My family would have starved to death when we lost everything to the war, we made a decision and we all survived because of it... And now I''m with a... gentle and kind master like you." Did I step on a landmine when venturing into this topic, or did I make it through and conquered the enemy base? "Master...if I may be so presumptuous to ask, may I know about your past? I want to know more about master to serve you better." Faris stops her massage, prompting me to turn around and look straight into her eyes. "I''ve come from a very very far place, a place so far that it''s probably impossible for me to ever go back to my homeland. That''s why I may not know a lot of things that you may consider common sense, so please tolerate this foolish master and teach me about everything you know, okay?" Faris looks blankly at me for a moment, trying to take in my words. "Yes master, but a place so far that you will never be able to go back? That sounds sad." "Hmm? Why?" "I mean... if you can''t ever go back to your homeland, that means you will never get a chance to see your friends and family ever again? At least for me, I still have a chance to find them again. Master must be lonely." Faris embraces me, bringing my head with both her hands into her collarbone, she smells nice, this feels so soothing and relaxing without any of the previous sexual tension. "Yea, I haven''t been thinking about it but I think you''re right. I really miss my friends, my family, and my mom. She must be so s---" I can''t bear to continue verbalizing the next part as my vision becomes blurry and something warm rolls down from my eyes. I died in the other world, I wonder how my parents are doing. I really want to apologize to them, I''ve been nothing but a disappointment to them, I''m sure. My parents were very traditional, the kind that wanted their sons to succeed them. But after never getting a girlfriend for so long after university, I started giving up on ever finding one, I deemed it impossible to find one that fit my standards at my age. This led me to lose motivation in anything I did. I had the safety net of my family, who was pretty wealthy so I didn''t need to work to survive, I found that there was no need to work, it not like I have a family to care for or vacation to save it for anyway being alone. I personally learned to live with it but my parents were always worriedabout me, whenever our relatives had someone inviting us to their marriage, they always get teased on whenis it going to be my turn. I''m sure they really wanted me to get married and start a family even though they never voiced it to me, I''m sure of it. But I disappointed them, I made them live constantly worried about my future and as a son, I''ve done nothing for them except take, I really want to pay them back for everything. But now I will never get a chance. As tears continued to flow freely from me, a softness covered my lips. I clear the tears with my hands and look at the figure of Faris right in front of me smiling warmly. "Don''t be sad master, I''ll be with you from now on, I won''t let master feel lonely." Seeing the smile of a goddess, I finally feel at ease. I caress her smooth and gentle cheeks and kiss her slowly, trying to feel her lips with mine. I back away a little to look at her gentle face still smiling at me so I once again seal her lips with mine but more aggressively this time. I push my tongue at her as she opens to accept me. My tongue dances in her mouth, desperately wanting to get more tangled with hers as I taste he sweet saliva. I inhale deeply, trying to memorize the scent of my Faris but I have no intention of letting our kiss stop anytime soon. My hands start to wander in sync, both grabbing on to her bouncy butt as I pull her entire body and push it against mine, wanting to feel each part of her smooth skin with my own. Feeling her full chest pressing on me sent a shiver down my spine, waking up my member. Using the leverage from my hold on her bottom, I continue to rub our bodies together in a circular motion, trying to feel her as much as possible. Our kiss gets more aggressive as we get lost in each other until Faris breaks the kiss to catch her breath. I refuse to take a break and move on to her nape while my right hand travels to up her side until it reaches her bosom. I slowly but firmly grip down on her chest, feeling the softness and elasticity with my hands, confirming their authenticity. I feel her soft tits spilling out of the gaps of my hand as I continue to grope it in a circular motion. Having her softness satisfying both my hands, I focus sucking harder on Faris''s nape, fully intent to leave my mark on her. "You''re mine now, stay with me forever, I won''t ever let you go." I whisper into her ears and continue to put down more marks of conquest on my Faris. "Hmm... ahhhh... Yes master... ahhhh... I''m yours, I won''t ever leave your side...ahhh." Her angelic voice arouses me further, making me lose my patience, so I hold Faris up. "Let''s continue on the bed." Faris says nothing but shyly nods and looks away, a full blush blooms on her face. I hug her by the waist as we exit the bathroom together in our birthday suits. I grab the ring I got from the slaver and slips it on Faris''s ring finger, and then I throw Faris on the bed and immediately get on top of her and resume our makeout session, except this time both my hands are busy massaging her elastic melons. My left hand eventually makes its way down and makes a stop to feel her smooth sides and abdomen, then continues down between her legs, where smoothness can be once again be felt. My fingers make their way to a small bump before starting to rub on her furiously. I pinch and pull, playing with her clitoris however I want. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Faris breaks the kiss and yells into my ears while her arms are tightly wrapped around my neck, I start to feel a wet feeling staining my hand as her thighs tightly closes shut on it from both sides. She relaxes her arms and takes a moment of rest while breathing in deeply. "..." "...Master." Hearing her call out to me breaks the last restraints to my reason. I sit up and position myself between her legs and start rubbing my member against the wetness of her slit before taking aim at her entrance, poking the tip of my penis against her labia. "...Faris, I can''t hold back any longer... I''m entering." "Hmm, no need to hold back master, I''m yours, please take my first." Hearing Faris''s encouraging words I push it all in with one thrust. "AHHHHHHHHHHH! MASTERRRRRRRRRRRRR, YOU''RE IN MEEE!" "Need to take a break?" I stop while fully inside Faris, it feels really wet and tight. "...No, move as you wish master, engraved this pain into me so I never forget!" I silently cast healing magic at her torn hymen in hopes of easing the pain before I start pumping into her. With her permission, I pound her with everything I have while I interlock our hands as we stare deeply into each others'' eyes. Her moist hole is making me feel ecstatic, it feels much better than with a condom on, I can clearly feel her fold grip onto me tightly at every thrust, and the wetness gushing out to allow my penis to continue to freely pound her to my heart''s content. I get lost in lust while alternating between staring at Faris''s expressions and her jiggling boobs as I fuck her, the sounds of her loud moans and the impact from hitting her ass from fucking her balls deep, overpower the noise of my heavy breathing. Being at my last sprint, I grab her cute round butt and pull it further up, giving me a better angle for me to thrust down on her while I lean down to once again seal our lips together. I start feeling something rising out of my balls before breaking the kiss and burying my face into the scruff of her neck, rubbing our cheeks together before whispering to her. "I''m... gonna... cum." "Hmmmmmm...!" "...Cum in me master...ahhh...mark my womb as yourssssss!" She once again tightly wraps her arms around my neck, trying to merge our bodies as she does the same with her legs around my waist as well. "FUCK, I''M CUMMING, TAKE IT ALL IN FARIS!" Having reached the peak, I take a few final firm, powerful thrusts, trying to etch myself as deep as I can get into Faris and unloads everything into her womb. Her vagina responds in turn by tightly gripping onto my penis, as if it wants it to stay inside forever, further squeezing more out of semen out of me. "Ahhhh, FUCK!" "AHHHHHHHHHH, I FEEEEEEL IT MASTERRRRRRRRRR, IT''S POURING INTO ME." "IT''S SO WARM. I''LL TAKE IT ALL IN MASTER, SO LET IT ALL OUT HMMMMM." I continue to pour my all into Faris for almost a minute before I stop pushing into her. I prop my face up to look down onto Faris''s unfocused eyes while listening to her heavy breaths of relief. She tries to catch her breath and lets out a whisper that I hardly catch. "...Master...I love you..." "I love you too Faris, I''ll treasure you forever, I''ll always protect you, so stay by my side okay?" "Hmm!" She nods with a delighted smile as I mirror it with my own. My member that is still inside Faris salutes at attention, raring to continue. "It''s okay master, I can take it, give me everything you''ve got." With my renewed vigor, I start pumping into my precious Faris again, but this time much more gently. I continue to cum inside her two more times before falling asleep while we hold each other while on soaked bedsheets and cum spilling from her opening. This was truly an unforgettable night. Chapter 11 - Teamwork I feel myself floating in the air in the everlasting darkness, unable to move my body at all in the coldness. I continue drifting for who knows how long until suddenly my arms respond to my calls and reach out. I hold onto something warm, it''s comfortable, it feels like I''m holding onto a cloud while drifting about. I want to stay like this forever. A bright ray of light suddenly peeks out from the darkness, stopping my drifting, I feel the tug of gravity pulling on me. I feel like I''m free-falling straight to the ground. No! What do I do? I start seeing myself falling straight towards the light. I try to hug on to the light as I''m about to collide with it, I succeed and feel the light to be warm and soft on my limps, forehead, and the tip of my nose. Wait a second, this warmth and softness feels familiar. --- I strongly open my eyes and the sight of a face very close to my own enters my view, causing panic in me for a second before realizing who it was, Faris, the slave I bought yesterday. I take a moment to observe my surroundings, our foreheads are leaning against each other while I gripped firmed onto Faris with both my hands and left leg, I''m holding her like a body pillow. I can feel her soft skin throughout my body, along with her heartbeat, and breathing from when she exhales. Watching her sleep peaceful, I get reminded of what happened last night. I sure said a lot of embarrassing and cheesy lines but I don''t regret it one bit. Faris is mine, I will do my best to protect make her happy. She is the first person I feel like I can rely on, trust, and confide with since coming to this world, maybe it''s just because I think of her as my slave... But I don''t care. I can finally feel at ease, like coming back home from a tiring day out, and I don''t plan on losing it. I tighten my hold on her at that thought and nuzzle my forehead against hers. "Hmmm..." Faris shakes at my movement before slowly opening her eyes. Oops, I wanted to let her continue sleeping, considering she just had her first night, but I guess it''s too late now. Her eyes look at me blanky before widening from realization and her face startsto blushlightly. "..." "...Sorry master, I should''ve been the one to wake up before master and be the one to wait upon you..." "Don''t worry about it." Faris looks down but I quickly move my free hand to pull her chin back up and caress her face. As she was about to say something, I deny her the opportunity and seal her lips with mine, pushing my tongue into her, ravaging it as I please. "Hmm...mm mas...ter..." Her soft moans leak from her mouth occasionally, prompting me to be more aggressive. Not bothering to keep track of time, I have no idea how long our tongues wrestled and only stopped when she needed to catch her breath but my hand does not stop stroking her cheeks. "New rule, if you ever want to wake me up in the future, that''s the only acceptable way to do it." "...Hah...yes master." Sexy morning kiss routine, get. "Does it still hurt from last night?" "...No, I think master''s healing spell did its job overnight, thank you" I bring Faris closer into my arms and whisper in her ears. "I. love. you. my Faris, I meant everything I said last night, did you mean the words you said to me?" Faris shyly nods, making her seem so vulnerable that it lights a fire in me, resulting in the beginning of a new round of assault. Let''s stick to the basics, for now,let''s try out some doggy style. --- We head down for breakfast after cleaning up our love nest, well, the best we could anyways. We couldn''t wash out the red stain on the sheets even with soap, sorry innkeeper. Maybe I should start looking for a place to rent, it would be more convenient in a lot of ways, and will have more room for my future companions. "Which dungeon are we going to today master?" Faris always becomes more assertive when talking about dungeons, I just need to figure a way to bring out more of that assertiveness to other topics. "Let''s go hunt some goblins at Greens Filth, fighting humanoids is the best to learn about each other''s abilities, and to form our framework of how we will fight together." "Sounds good master." We settle on a light meal before heading out on Blacky to the dungeon. With a horse as a method of transportation, it only took about an hour before we enter the camps around the dungeon. Before entering the dungeon, we found a stable that specifically caters to adventurer about to enter the dungeon to leave Blacky with, costing me a silver coin. Faris and I both place our hands on the statue and mutter the words to enter. "Enter." The familiar feeling of being teleported remains the same even though I had an extra party member now. "Faris, we''ll take turns having one fight monster and the other observe to get a gauge, you can start first." "I''m ready anytime master." Faris takes the lead as we quietly trek through the forest. The greenery is sparse enough to let lots of light through so it''d be hard for monsters to sneak up on us. With one of her short-sword drawn while the other comfortably rests in the scabbard to her waist, Faris perceptively moves around in her surroundings, trying to sense the presence of anything nearby. All I hear is the rustling of leaves as the wind blows but Faris signals me that she found her prey and is stalking towards it while I follow a little behind. I find her crouched in front of me staring ahead and by the time I am about to reach her, she makes one swift flicking movement and a dagger that was strapped around her thighs disappears. At the same moment, she sprints to the front and I make it in time to see her sword piercing through the back and into the heart of the poor goblin who is still clutching his wooden spear.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. That was pretty amazing to have watched the thin Faris lunging forward at that speed and accurately thrusting into a vital point. Definitely can''t judge this book by its cover. To the side of the scene where Faris stabbed the goblin, another goblin is there lying on the ground with a dagger sticking from the back of his head. I didn''t even hear the goblins'' struggles and two of them were taken out, Faris sure is pretty strong, she is a lot higher level than me after all. With that exceptional display, I get a bit conscious for my turn, I''m still too weak. At this rate, it''s going to be a while before I can live up to my words of being able to protect Faris. "How was it master?" "That was awesome, you''re much stronger than the me who just fumbles through close combat. Watching your movement felt like watching art." "Thank you master! Here, the mana crystals." Faris skillfully removes the mana crystals from the goblin''s head with a happy smile on her face and hands them over to me, I put it away in my space ring and takes the lead for my turn to fight. Here we go, please don''t let me embarrass myself in front of Faris. I continue in the same direction we were already heading for a while, finding nothing. I need to find a way to detect monsters or something, all I can hear is the rustling of the trees. Another five minutes and everything seems to be unchanged when suddenly the rustling grew louder and a figure pounces straight at me from a nearby bush. I instinctively point my spear at the figure pouncing on me and cast an electric spell to form on the tip. The figure, having already jumped off at me is unable to change course, ramming straight into my spear but pushes me down onto the ground from the impact. I establish eye contact with the figure which is a wolf, staring at me with hostility but unable to move but spasms while being supported by my spear running throughhis abdomen. I pour more mana and increase the amount of electric shock to finish him off before pushing the wolf off of me. Standing up, my middle section is now covered in wolf blood as the smell of slightly burnt meat enters my nose. I look back to confirm the status of Faris and see her standing there with a dagger in her hand, I helplessly give her a smile. Okay, plan to not embarrass yourself, failed, the plan to get seemingly overpowered by a wolf before turning the tables, major success. "Let''s just say I don''t have much experience in dealing with surprise attacks." "It''s okay master, I will protect you!" I''d much rather say that line to you than have you deliver it to me. I wash out the parts soaked in blood as best I can with my water magic, while Faris collects the mana crystal from the wolf for me. Next up is Faris again, after her earlier display, I''m not even the slightest worried for her as there is simply no challenge in the first floor. She quickly picks up the trail of her prey and skillfully climbs up a small hill to get a better vantage point. I finally catch up with her and spot her targets, a rare group of five goblins. Before I can ask if she is okay handling all of them by herself, she springs into action. This time I can see more clearly her movements, quickly throwing a dagger and the short-sword in her hand one after the other consecutively at two different targets, then draws her other sword and stabs it into the center mass of one of the goblins beside the one she hit with her thrown sword. Three down, two to go. With her sword in one of the goblins, the remaining two goblins try to flank her and stabs her from behind, making her do an elegantly spins and throws the goblin thatis still stuck to the end of her sword at one of the approaching spearman, pushing him back into his ally for a moment. She takes the earned time to complete her movement, using her free hand grabs the sword she threw earlier that was impaling the corpse beside her and swings the sword with the momentum of her spin, decapitating the last two goblins. The fight ended in a split second, though it was much longer than the previous bout, allowing me to see a dance attained through the balance between speed and precision. I couldn''t help but clap my hands. "That was truly amazing, it''s sure is reassuring to have someone like you in my party Faris." "...Thank you master." She is so cute and humble, blushing at my heartfelt compliment, setting a charming contrast to her swift and decisiveness in battle. Continuing on for my turn, I encounter a small squad of three goblins, walking aimlessly together through the forest, likely looking for their next meal. I have to do better this time. I aim my new spell, water stream on a path that will hit all three of them and without looking at the result of my spell, I start casting an ice prison towards the goblin furthest to my left. My water stream freezes the edges of the current of water I create, guiding the water straight towards their feet. Seeing the goblins standing in my water all the way up to their ankles, I turn the current into ice, freezing the three panicking goblins. Seeing my giant waterball slowly travel to the leftmost target, I sprint towards the rightmost goblin and pierces him while he is still panicking. At the same time, the leftmost goblin get''s enveloped by the giant waterball of my ice prison, before living up to its name, trapping his whole body in a ball of ice. The last goblin witnesses the fate of his peers and stops trying to break free his feet to bring his focus on me. Not wanting to give him his desired spear fight, I send a current of electricity through the ice trapping him. The electricity was a lot weaker as ice isn''t as good of a conductor as water but manages to make him lose control of his movement, allowing me to feed him the tip of my spear. "Wow, that was such a cool fight master, it''s amazing being able to cast and fight at the same time!" Yep, I tried my best, though I''m not very strong in a straight-up fight yet, I do have a few flashy tricks up my sleeve. Having triumphed this time, I personally harvest my reward from the dead goblins. "Master do you need a break? You used quite a few spells consecutively." "Hmm? No, we barely just started, I usually do this for the whole day anyway." "Does master have a very high level in water magic?" "...Umm no, I''m only level 10, I''ve only started training recently since I''ve come from my hometown." "Then master naturally have a lot of mana then! Master is a genius meant to become a great mage." I never really got to see any other mages in action for long. Did I really just happen to be born with immense mana? Or is this one of the perks I got like identify? Well, no point in thinking about what I can''t prove right now, better watch Faris in action instead. --- We had hunted until around noon, Faris having killed over 20 goblins while I only killed about 14. We decided to eat nearby as we had cleared most of the monsters around anyway so I started a little campfire to roast some of the wolf meat. Unlike the failure me, Faris was able to properly handle processing the body of a wolf into presentable wolf steaks. She cooked the meat on a pan we bought yesterday along with some of the native seasonings and utensils. The smell of the steak reminded me of some rosemary lamb racks, the actual thing was much rougher in texture and more gamey but was still made to be delicious by my personal chef Faris. Wanting to spoil her, I had Faris let me feed her much to her embarrassment. "Master! I should be the one serving you." Seeming to have had her fill after a while, our roles were reversed as I enjoyed in bliss. We will start fighting together after lunch so we are going to discuss how we fight together while we rest from our meal. "I don''t have much experience in fighting in teams so I think the simplest approach right now is to play to our strengths. You will fight in close combat after I disable the enemy, I will continue to support you with ranged spells if the battle drags on." "Okay master, I understand." "Let''s see how things go and adjust our strategy as we fight more together." We set out further into the forest and once again come across a big group of five goblins. "Let''s do a surprise attack, how many can you take out before they can react?" She stares intently at the goblins for a while to see how they are positioned and their equipment, though it''s all still only wooden spears on this floor. "Hmm...I can take out three for sure, maybe four." "Okay three is enough, I''ll take care of the other two. Engage as soon as you see me launch my ice lances, go get in position and let me know when you are ready?" Faris moves closer to our target under the cover of the greenery, as I start focusing on casting two ice lances simultaneously. It takes me more time and focus so I can''t do it in the middle of combat but now is okay. I carefully form the two spells, making me feel reminiscent of the times when I tried playing two characters with separate two controllers at the same time. Finishing my preparation I look at Faris who gives me a nod. Two ice lances coming right up. The ice lances flew like arrows and pierces the chest of the two goblins furthest from Faris, while at the same time I see another two goblins get impaled with either a sword and a dagger before I see the blurry figure of Faris rushing her second sword into the throat of the last goblin. She steps to the side in a practiced maneuver as soon as she makes contact, dodging the spray of blood. Not bad if I say so myself for our first time working together. We spend the rest of the day working on our teamwork without break, though it''s not like we need one as everyone fights ended smoothly even if we didn''t rely on surprise attacks. The first floor was just too easy so we probably have to go the deeper levels tomorrow if we want to get any decent practice in. Our total harvest today is 86 mana crystals, probably could''ve been more if we put on minds to it but it is still the best harvest I''ve had yet. --- I retrieve Blacky as the sky looks it is starting to darken and make my way back to Unatis. Seeing Faris still full of energy we chat while on the road. "So what does your sense danger do exactly anyway?" "Umm...I can sense danger that is going to happen to me if I continue my course of action like if I reach out with the intent to open a chest and it was a trap, I would get a warning." "That sound''s super powerful, no one will be able to hurt you at all!" "It''s not that impressive master, though it''s helpful in a lot of cases, it only works if I can react to it, even if I sense an arrow heading straight for my back I may not be able to dodge in time if I was caught off guard. I still have to rely on prediction from my other senses." Seeing my cute Faris being all humble, I can''t but help look forward to tonight. Come on Blacky, let''s pick up the pace a little. Chapter 12 - Incident "Master, are we going to the guild as soon as we get back? Don''t forget to stop by Clarice''s place to pick up some maintenance tools." "We can just go straight to Clarice''s place, I usually don''t head to the guild until morning when there are less people. I''ll introduce you tomorrow too to a guild staff I''m close with, I''m sure he''ll l---shit..." "Hmmm? What''s the matter master?" "...Sigh, I promised to drop by the guild this morning to get my new badge and I totally forgot! Lawrence must be pissed" All I''ve been thinking about was Faris this entire time since I bought her, and without any mana crystals to sell, I completely forgot about my promotion and new badge. "Hey Faris, can you take the reins, let''s hurry back before my friend at the guild gets off for the day." "Leave it to me, master." With Faris at the reins, Blacky breaks into a gallop as I hold my Faris tightly from behind, for safety of course. --- "Are you sure that''s the kid?" "I''m certain, he''s even wearing the same thing when he was bringing the Count''s son back." "Signal the others, it''s time for revenge." --- With nothing better to do as we can''t even have a proper conversation while the horse is in gallop, I check out our status.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv.10 Electric Lv. 6 Fire Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Light Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic: Identify
Human Female
Age:18
Magic Level: Dexterity Lv. 25 Stamina Lv. 14 Strength Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Sense Danger
My magic has barely leveled at all, I guess this is about the limit for staying on the first floor. I need to do some research back at the guild to find us a suitable dungeon to progress further. "Master, the road in front seems to be blocked off by a broken-down carriage, there are people around the carriage, should we go help them?" Looking ahead, I see a carriage tilted to the side, missing a wheel, and two hooded figures inspecting the damage. What could have caused the entire wheel to be missing? I don''t trust this one bit, it seems like a textbook setup for an ambush to me. "...Be careful, I think they''re bandits in disguise. If they do anything we''ll go with the same formation we used in the dungeon today." "Don''t worry master, I''ll definitely protect you." We slow our approach and stop a distance away from the people around the carriage. "Excuse me, but can you guys move the carriage off to the side, it''s blocking the road." One of the hooded figures steps out toward us and reveals his face to us. A woman in her twenties with long red hair tied into a ponytail. "Oh sorry, our carriage broke down and we can''t seem to be able to move it at all, can you guys help us out? We''ll pay you back for sure!" "Sorry, we just remembered we were supposed to meet with someone back at the dungeon, excuse us, Faris let''s turn back, we ARE in a HURRY after all." Sensing this to be likely a trap, I try to tell Faris we should retreat fast but before we even managed to turn around... "...Tsk, they ain''t falling for it, attack!" Two archers emerge from within the carriage and quickly lets their arrow loose at us. Being on guard, I quickly hold my shield up at the sight of the archers. I feel two forces push against me through the shield and by the time I lower the shield to get better vision on our opponents, I see Faris had already dismounted and is currently dashing at them. I dismount and join the fray. Faris swipes two daggers in each hand and throws them accurately at all four targets. The two archers manage to quickly get out of the way by stepping off the carriage while the two on the ground use their weapon and parries the daggers. The woman charges toward Faris with a two-handed katana, while the other figure pulls out a large battle axe and heads toward me. The two archers fire a volley at the closer unshielded Faris, forcing her to abruptly come to a stop from her dash and rolls to the side while chucking another dagger one of the archers. The archer busy loading his next arrow did not expect the retaliation and takes the dagger straight into his wrist. Nice, one pesky archer down. The red-haired woman reaches Faris as she stabilizes from her roll and slashes straight down with all her weight. Faris parries the blow not straight on, but skillfully at an angle and deflect the blow to the side and kicks the woman''s ankles, making her fall flat on the ground. Before Faris''s sword strikes down on her, she rolls rapidly away and gets back to her feet. I finish my spell and cast a water stream, aiming at the feet of the man charging me with an axe. He threw away his cloak at the start of the charge, revealing his gleaming iron plate armor. This guy must be really strong to dash at me so fast wearing something heavy like that, can''t afford to take him in close combat. With that thought, I pour lots of mana to form a strong electric current at the stream as soon as his feet make contact with the water. With electricity running throughout his body covered in metal, he''s forced to come down on one knee after a loud grunt. I try to cast an ice lance to finish him, but before I can fully freeze the water, an arrow comes flying my way, breaking my concentration as I lift my shield up. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report itFaris and the woman are clashing swords against each other, each movement flowing fluidly, seeing the archer aim at me, Faris decides to throw her sword in hand, catching the woman off guard, forcing her to step back to parry. Taking this time, Faris breaks away and sprints straight at the uninjured archer. The previously injured archer draws a sword with his remaining working hand and tries to intercept Faris, but all he got was air with his swing down as Faris stopped before him. Faris takes the opportunity of the failed wide swing that hits the ground and steps on the blade and stabs out at the chest of the archer that had his arrow nocked before quickly smoothly pulling out into a slashing motion and slits the throat of the man still trying to pull his sword from underneath Faris''s foot. Two on two. Without the interference of the archers, I manage to cast an ice lance straight at the still kneeling armored man. The ice lance hits his thighs and barely penetrates the armor but he''s bleeding hard and now he can''t get close to me. Right after Faris slits the last archer''s throat, the woman reacher her charging straight at her with her sword, Faris wasn''t quick enough to fix her posture and tries to dodge behind the man clutching his bleeding throat. The woman''s blade managed to nick at Faris''s waist, she''s bleeding from the wound but it''s shallow. Fuck, Faris is hurt, I need to hurry to help her, that woman was fighting toe to toe with her even before the injury. I pour tons of mana into a huge ice lance at the now immobile target, the man takes it straight onto his chest and grunts out all the air in his lungs, he''s sent flying to the ground with the lance still sticking out of him. Good, just one left. I start casting another ice lance as I sprint closer to their fight, Faris is on the defensive now, I''m sure the injury impeded her movements. I launch my ice lance at the back of the woman but she skillfully dodges it without disengaging from Faris. Having gotten close enough, I cast a stream of water, angled upwards and sprays it all over their fight. Being unable to dodge my move targeted at a large area, both of them are soaked in my water in the midst of their intense sword fight. I focus on only the water on the other woman and freezes it, the leather armor the woman was wearing soaked up most of the water so a thin layer of ice freezes her from the neck down as well as some sporadic ice pieces hugging her skin and hair. With the ice slowing her movement, Faris takes this chance and stabs out into her center mass. The woman tries to struggle her arm out of the ice and clutches the sword piercing her abdomen. Blood leaks from hurt mouth and she turns to me staring ferociously. "You...fucker killed my brother for some stupid bounty...I swear...you''ll die a horrib---" An ice lance pierces her lungs and interrupts her speech. Yeah, I ain''t listening to some shitter who hurt my Faris nor do I care for your reasons, just die. I quickly head to Faris to check her wounds, it''s still bleeding but it''s a shallow cut. I cast a heal and wrap the wound in some bandages from my space ring. It''s going to take a while to take effect but better than nothing. "How do you feel? You should take and easy, go rest on Blacky, we''ll be back in town in no time." "I''m fine master, you should see if Blacky is okay, I''ll search their bodies." "No, I''ll do the searching, you go to Blacky now. This is an order." Faris retreats to Blacky while I loot the corpses. The woman said something about the killing her brother and bounty, must''ve been those guys who kidnapped Norton, the ones who split up that night. Fuck I should''ve been more careful while these guys were still on the loose. Being criminals sure is profitable, I looted a total of 52 gold coins, 36 silver coins, and 51 copper coins from this in total. I return to Faris who is now standing beside Blacky, stroking his neck. "Let''s go, I don''t want to stay here longer than we have to, we''ll leave them here and report it to the guards, I''m sure they''ll clean this up. "Sur---MASTER!" I''m confused by Faris''s sudden outburst as she charges at me. I get pushed down by Faris onto the ground as I feel a sharp gust of wind past by us, followed by the sound of something crashing into a tree. I look to the source of the sound and see a clear horizontal slash mark on the surface of the tree. "Wind magic!" Reacting faster than my realization, Faris already got up and in fighting stance, staring into the treeline as two figures emerge. "You guys should''ve just let that hit you, it would''ve been a painless death compared to what I''m about to do to you." "Fuck, we got here too late, careful they must be pretty strong to have taken them out." The first man who steps out is dressed in leather armor like me and wielding a spear, must be a mage with a cast spear. The second man isn''t even wearing armor, just a cloak and duel-wielding daggers. As soon as they stepped out of the treeline, the man in cloak dashed toward us at shocking speeds while I feel the other mana gather his mana for a spell. Faris is still hurt, I need to take lead and protect her. I cast a water stream, aiming to capture both of them at the same time. My water spell rushes toward the cloaked man first, at the speed he''s running, he won''t be able to change direction now. I''m assured I would at least get one but the cloaked man shocks me but jumping high into the air and does a front flip, jumping past my spell and continues closing in on Faris. Faris engages him in melee but from seeing the man''s acrobatic movements, Faris won''t be able to defeat him with her injuries. I need to do something. The other mage dodges out of the way of my water stream as well and fires his wind blade at me. "Your opponent is me, let''s have a nice and slow one on one, I''ll be sure to not kill you right away." I roll to the ground to dodge the wind blade, now that I''m focused on him I won''t get caught off guard by those invisible attacks again, I just need to pay attention to his mana when he launches the blades. I fire an ice lance at him as soon as I get up. This is turning into a back and forth shootout between us. Meanwhile, Faris is being outmaneuvered, the cloaked guy is attacking from all directions without rest in unorthodox ways, it looks likes a mix between acrobatics and break-dancing. This is bad, her wounds are going to open and the longer this fight last the more disadvantaged we are. I try my best to hit the mage but we just keep dodging each other''s spells, I can''t even launch a lightning bolt at him with him moving around so much, I need some time to focus my image of a lightning rod at one spot. I try to predict his movement and cast a lightning bolt at him. It misses him by half a meter, I just need to get closer. I try to launch a few more ice lances while I close the distance but he just keeps kiting me around. Faris gets nicked in the arm. Fuck, I need to do something, fucker just die already. I increase the intensity of my fire rate but he just switches to pure defense mode, dodging my spells the same. "Now now, don''t be so anxious, we should try to savor our time together." I ignore his taunts and look over at Faris, her face is getting more and more pale and her movements are getting dull, she''s losing too much blood. She tries to slowly move their battlefield into the treeline to limit his movements her posture suddenly crumbles as she parries off another blow. We''ve been fighting non-stop since this morning in the dungeon and those guys earlier, even I feel my mana starting to drain, she must be exhausted. The cloaked man takes the chance and slashes her across her side as he dives at her and then balances himself on his hands to kicks her back away from the treeline. "FARISSSSSS!" She struggles to stand but is still able to hold her sword. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Seeing her hurt, all I want to do is rip their heads off right now, in my rage, something clicks in me, like I gained an extra arm in my mind. I start casting again at the enemy mage. This time I fire off two lightning bolts at the same time, I aim at his left and right sides. The lightning bolt travels through at one third the speed of light cutting off both his escapes, he dodges to the right and gets hit. My lightning bolt bores a fist-sized hole through his flank and he crumbles to the ground. I instantly ready my lightning bolts and look toward Faris''s side of the fight. Hearing a loud sound from my lightning bolt and silence afterward, the cloaked man turns his head my way and we make eye contact. "Die." By the time he saw my lip movements, two lightning bolts bore through his two shoulders, ripping his arms off. He looks at me with a gaping mouth and falls to his knees, then a sword pokes out in the area where his heart should be as I watch Faris finish him off. Instantly the biggest headache I had even had jolted my brain, it feels like my brain is splitting in half as a million ants are bitting all around it. The worst part is I am still conscious despite the pain, I drop to the ground and start crawling towards Faris. I can barely think right now. "...Master" Faris supports herself with her sword and she weakly stumbles toward me. "Fa....ris, are yo..u o..kay?" Fuck, I can barely even talk, is this what happens to me when I run out of mana? Better than fainting I guess. I gather my willpower and try to focus on Faris, trying to zone out the pain. I slowly stand up and take a health potion and hands it over to Faris. "Dri..nk th..is." Faris opens the bottle with one hand while I hold it, both of us can barely stand. At this timely moment, Blacky trots toward us seeing the fighting has stopped. I move around like a zombie and brute force myself on the horse hugging Blacky, while Faris slowly gets on behind me. Get us back to the city Blacky, we shouldn''t be too far away, I''m sure they''ll be high-level healers in the city. While hoping Blacky would just steer himself, I lose consciousness as I feel Faris''s arm move past me toward the reins. Everything will be alright, it has to. Chapter 13 - Aftermath I jump up as soon as I have a sense of self again. It feels like I just jumped out of the water after almost drowning. I take a moment and breath in deep and try to figure out where I am. It looks like we made it back to the city in one piece as I''m currently on a bed in some room. The sound of the door opening draws my attention. "It seems like you''re awake Mr.Estrea, please excuse me as I go inform Lawrence." A kind-looking old lady wearing the guild uniform peeked in and left almost immediately after confirming that I''m awake. Looking at my own body I judge that I shouldn''t have been in bed for long, I''m still wearing the same leather armor and all of my belonging is still with me including my spear leaning on the side of the bed. Before I can confirm the contents of my space ring I hear knocking on the door once again. "Coming in." "Good to see you still breathing Mr.Estrea, glad you had found some really nice friends to play with and forgot all about good ol'' me and even your brand new badge." "...Hahaha, a lot happened and things got out of control?" "Wow, you must be really talented in sending things out of control if it is happening this often." I am defeated by Lawrence''s teasing as he walked closer to my bed. "So tell me, what happened this time? Your new slave came charging into the guild on your horse with you knocked out and all we got out of her mouth was that you guys got attacked by bandits before she lost consciousness. We sent somebody to check it out so they should be back soon so no point in hiding anything." "FARIS, is she okay? Where is she?" I failed to protect her... "...Sigh, Mr. important always wants to have his answers first, don''t worry kid, the little girl is fine and resting right now. She had some pretty big wounds but the cut was shallow, she only lost consciousness from losing too much blood, the healing mage on duty at the guild tend to her already. She should be fine after waking up." "...Phew, good." What can I do to protect her better... "Your turn to answer now." I explained to Lawrence about the entire incident, how it started, who they were, all the way up to how we ended up here. "So those guys were the remaining kidnappers who took the Count''s son last time and were out to get revenge on you? You sure got some luck, kid. Anyway, you should be fine, you only ran out of mana and wasn''t injured. I''m going to finish the report on this incident and I''ll also inform the Count''s people as well, I''ll come find you again in a few hours." "..." I''m once again alone in the room as Lawrence shuts the door behind him. I stay listlessly in bed and stare into the ceiling. The more I think about it, the tighter my grip on the bedsheets gets. I''m a failure, I couldn''t protect Faris, even though I promised her before, even though I promised to myself so many times in the past that I would protect my woman with my all if I ever got the chance. Now that I did get myself a woman and gained that chance that I used to wish for so much, I failed. I was the one being protected, Faris protected me from harm and as a result, I''m lying here without a scratch. Is this really what I wanted? I chose magic to stay in the backline to let my woman get hurt protecting me? Even though I knew that Faris was more suited to attacking rather than defending, I still made her be my frontline and draw in attacks, to be my shield and using the excuse of being a mage. No, this is the last thing I want of my party, if things stay the same then am I going to do the same with my future party members too? Use them as a shield while I sit comfortably in the back being protected, I can''t let that happen. I won''t let someone else be my shield anymore, if our party needs a shield then I will become that shield. I need to practice being the shield. I snap up and leave the room in a rush, I need to go to the training ground and figure out ways to protect my party, my family. I guess the way and head back down to the first floor and into the familiar lobby of the adventurer guild. I don''t bother to look at anything else as I walk straight to the training ground. As soon as I find my own spot in the training ground I start experimenting with ways to protect Faris and my future party members. I need to be able to make a shield quickly enough to be used in close combat. I try out forming an ice shield as I conjure a big piece of huge and have it float around me. It takes me a whole second to make it solid ice, I would be sliced down already, try again. I mindlessly keep forming chunks of ice around me even though a dull pain still aches in my brain. --- I''ve been forming walls of ice around me for an hour straight but I don''t really feel much improvement, it''s still not at the level to be used in close combat. I did figure out that I can cast two spells at the same time easier now, it''s like I figured out how to use a muscle in the mind that I''ve never used before. This isn''t enough, casting in the middle of a melee is difficult, I need to change my approach. I aimlessly walk around the training area trying to find an instructor free when I spot a duo sparring with spears, one tall lanky young man and one old man with white hair, seemingly to be in the middle of a lesson. I can''t waste time I need to gain the power to protect. "Excuse me, please train me how to defend myself with the spear." I walk up the still sparring duo and loudly proclaim my intentions. The old man stops and looks at me in annoyance. "Can''t you see we''re in the middle of our session right now, get lost." "Please." I bow my head 90 degrees to him, I know I''m being rude but the frustration in me is propelling me, telling me I need to get stronger fast. The young man seeing me being so serious puts on an awkward expression. "...Gramps, it''s about time for me to go anyway, why don''t you help him out, he seems sincere." "Don''t be such a pushover Shu yo---GET BACK HERE!" The young man starts walking away with a wave, causing the old man''s face to turn red and turns toward me.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "You want to train right, come on, let''s have a sparring session right away!" The man charges at me with full metal spear much faster than he was during his previous spar. I dodge to the side but the old man smoothly transitions his thrust into a sweep and I hold up my spear to parry. The impact blasts me up into the air and I fall twenty feet away into a roll. I recover my balance and look up only to be greeted by the sight of the man about to slam his spear down vertically at me, fearing his power from the last blow, I reflexively cast the ice magic I''ve been practicing for the past hour and form an ice shield overhead. Before my ice is fully frozen, the man''s spear smashes the shield into pieces and stops his spear right above my head. "A high-level water mage?" "...No sir, I''m still new but I can freely form ice." The man brings his spear back to his side and offers me a hand up. "Still haven''t got your name yet youngling." "Aster, Aster Estrea." "Well Aster, starting today you can call me instructor Morgan, and as you wish, I''ll teach you how to defend yourself with that thing." "Thank you, sir." "So tell me, why do you want to learn the spear when you''re a mage?" "...I decided to fight on the frontline for my party and in order to do that, I need to at least be able to defend myself while I cast." "...So you want to fight up close with both magic and spear?" "Yes sir" Morgan gives me a strange look. "To be honest, I can teach a lot of different styles on how to use your weapon for enhancers, but none of that would work for mages, I have no idea what to teach you besides the basics." "The basics are enough, and if you would so kindly to spar with me and point out my deficiencies." With being able to cast two spells at the same time now, I open myself to many more options, I just need to refine my fighting style to fight as the tank of my party. An unorthodox mage tank. --- Morgan spent another hour teaching me the basics of wielding a spear, how it isn''t only about thrusting, many different movements like sweeping, slashing are all possible just like with a sword. He focused on how to parry attacks in consideration of me being a mage with weaker physical abilities. I wanted to start sparring with Morgan but a voice interrupts me. "Aster! Are you sure you''re good to be moving about already?" I turn to see Norton walking toward me with Lawrence behind him. "That should do for today, come back in the morning if you want and we can continue from there." Morgan not wanting to be in the way discreetly parts the scene, as expected of an old man with rich social experience. "Why are you here Norton?" "The guild sent a message about the remaining kidnappers at large being killed, so I came here to confirm that it''s them. Didn''t know you were involved, but I should''ve considered the possibility they would take revenge on you. I''m very sorry to have got you caught up in this mess." Norton gave me a formal bow, befitting of a noble. "...Stop it, I should''ve been more careful too, it''s not your fault. Come on, stop being so formal, we''re friends aren''t we?" "Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but as a guild staff, I am responsible for reporting to Aster about the results of our investigation of the incident." Norton and I smile bitterly as we give our attention to Lawrence here. "Would you come with us into the guild as I explain?" I nod our party of three heads back to the lobby of the guild. "We have already confirmed the bodies at the scene and have been consistent with your story, the six people who attacked your party are confirmed to be on the wanted list for kidnapping of the young lord. You will receive their bounty which adds up to a total of 30 gold but 5 gold will be deducted for the expenses of the guild healing mage, giving you a total of 25 gold." "5 gold coins per patient? I should start leveling up my healing magic on the side!" Both of them look at me strangely at my statement. "...Errr, Aster, you do know that it''s basically impossible for an adventurer to also be a healer right?" "Hmmm? why?" "I''ll explain for you Lord Norton, Aster must''ve been living in a well or some rural countryside all his life, it doesn''t help that his mental aptitude is lacking too." What the fuck Norton, don''t nod at this guy''s shit, we''re friends, aren''t we? And fucking Lawrence must be still mad I stood him up, grow up, stop being so petty. "Healing magic levels different compared to other magic as they have no offensive capabilities to kill at all, so the rules for gaining experience is different. It is said that it used to work by just healing anything injured in the past but it angered the Gods when people captured others and continually maimed them just to level their magic. Are you following along so far Aster?" "Yes, I''m not retarded or lacking in mental aptitude you fuck, keep going." "Excuse his language Lord Norton, he must have not received education on manners. Anyways, healing magic can only be leveled by healing wounds that resulted from fighting monsters in dungeons, which is why they are so many healers stationed outside dungeons. That is the only way to heal enough people to get to higher levels, if the healer went into dungeons as well, they would only have the chance to heal their allies occasionally, do you understand what I''m saying Aster?" "Yeah yeah, to level healing magic, the best way is to wait outside dungeons to heal the adventurers who come out. Do any healers enter parties after they gain sufficient levels?" "Rarely, healing magic isn''t that useful in combat dungeon, even high-level healing magic takes at least half an hour to take effect, and with most healers not use to combat, most parties just stick to the healers outside dungeons." It was Norton who answered my question, no wonder they think I''m stupid, an adventurer that knows less about adventuring than someone who hasn''t become an adventurer yet. "You sure know your stuff, Norton." "Haha...my dad came back from the capital this morning and was furious with me after hearing I got kidnapped, he''s mad that I am weak enough to let that happen, and is making me become an adventurer as soon as possible so I''m making sure I''m ready for it." We reach Lawrence''s counter as Lawrence brings a few sheets a paper to me along with a bag of coins. "Sign this to acknowledge you have received the bounty from the guild. Sign this to acknowledge the medical fees have been deducted from your reward. Fill this form, it''s to register your slave into your party. Your slaves will become a dependant of you and will have the same rank and privilege as the owner, all their achievements and reward will also only credited to you." Looks like he really was working hard and was prepared, I sign the forms after skimming through the contents, never sign anything without looking at it first you know. "And here, give me your old badge, this will be your new guild badge, congrats on your promotion to rank two after a few days, let''s not have you keep trying to be a hero now though, okay?" He hands me a guild badge that looks the same as my current one, made of iron with the picture of the Weycorus tree that is the symbol of the guild engraved but with two glaring red fruits on the tree now, showing my position of rank two. "And this badge is for your companion, we already recorded all her information." I take the badge for Faris and carefully keep it. I should go take a look at her now. "Thank you so much, Lawrence, where can I find Faris?" --- I head to the place Lawrence told me after I said my goodbyes to Norton. I enter the room with dim lights as a curtain is covering the window, I see a figure with beautiful silvery-grey hair sleeping peacefully on the bed. "...Faris." I whisper quietly to myself as I take a seat on the bed next to hers. "This will be the last time you will get hurt for me, I promise." I think back to the events since this morning, all the danger I put her through where a single mistake could''ve ended her life. I feel disgusted with myself, my inability to carry out my promises. "This will also be the last time I break my promises, I promise." I sit there watching her over as I constantly what I should do better to keep us safe. I will do whatever I can, no matter how ruthless, I will make sure we all gain immortality together safely and live happily ever after. When the light outside starts to turn purple, indicating that the mellow orange glow of sunset will soon come as well, Faris finally opens her eyes. "Faris, how are you feeling." She blinks blankly a few times and turns her eyes to me before she tackles toward me. "Master! You are safe, I''m so glad." "Idiot, don''t move around so much after just waking up. How are your injuries?" She runs her hands all over her body before removing the armor and clothing of her middle section and shows me. "I''m all fine, see, not a scratch, not even a mark remains." She brings my hands to feel her skin where she was cut. I run my hand over it a few times before bringing her into my embrace. "I won''t let you get hurt like that again, and I order you to try your best not to get hurt from now all, even if you have to run away." "Bu---" "No buts. You are family to me the moment I bought you, I won''t let you get hurt again." Faris reluctantly nods and returns my hug. "Master, I love you." I feel the heat from her face buried into my shoulders as I stroke her back. Let''s take a moment to rest, after all, we do deserve it after going through all that, right? Chapter 14 - Break "Let''s go pick up Blacky and head back, I''ll give you a hand." "I''m fine now master, I can walk by myself." Despite Faris''s protests, I hold her by the arm as we walk, just like I did with my grandparents back in the days. We head out of the guild and retrieve Blacky who was tied up near the entrance. "Master, we should drop by Clarice''s, we still haven''t bought the maintenance tools yet." "I decided we are going to be taking a break day tomorrow, so we will have plenty of time to go shopping then." "...Master, we have to treasure our equipment and diligently care for them every day." Faris gives me a stern glare and I give up, I can''t win against Faris when it comes to adventuring stuff. "...Fine, but stay on Blacky, I''ll quickly go pick it up." I hand into the blacksmith shop and find them preparing to close for the day, I didn''t spot Clarice so I just asked one of the attendants to bring me two sets of the maintenance toolkit that cost me 25 silver each. Having finished my errand, we finally reach back to our inn after what felt to be a long day. We didn''t even notice how famished we are until we started eating, and with our bellies full I couldn''t wait to just jump into the bed and fall asleep. "Master, let me help you take off your armor, I''ll take care of all the maintenance for it." "No, I actually want to learn how to do it, can''t call myself an adventurer if I can''t even take care of my own gear, besides when we get more party members in the future it''ll be more efficient if everyone takes care of their own stuff." "...More party members?" "Uhhh, yeah, I''m planning to have a full party of six and together, we will aim to conquer all the dungeons and eat all the Weycorus fruits to gain immortality. At least that''s what I want to take a try at. Does it sound too far-fetched?" "...No, it suits you." "What does?" "Having such a grand dream, I''ll do my best to help you achieve it, master!" "...So, it''s sort of weird saying this, but I plan to have four other girls join us in the future...so it won''t always be just the two of us, even so, will you stay with me forever even after my goal is achieved?" "...Only if you promise me that you''ll never start hating me and abandon me along the way, I''m sure you will come across many slaves better than me." "Of course I won''t hate you or abandon you, I''ll tell you this as many times as I need to, you''re mine and forever will be, I promise to always keep you by my side." "...I...don''t know how I''ll feel if you start paying attention to other girls. I might start getting jealous and start being overly clingy and annoy you, even then?" "Yes." Faris gives me the most brilliant smile I''ve ever seen, even if I was unsure before if I was only lusting and being possessive over her, it makes me feel for sure now that I truly love her. "Let''s get started then master, you can watch how I do it first, then you can try while I watch over you." I was unsure what she was talking about at first but seeing her open the maintenance toolkit and gather her equipment, I quickly caught along. The process didn''t seem too difficult, just have to learn the procedure for different kinds of equipment like oil the blades or use the whetstone to fix the nicks on the blade. I watch carefully while holding the magic light next to her to give her better lighting and she finally finished after half an hour. "All done, did you get a clear grasp on how to do it, master?" "Ummm... I probably need to try going over it a few times first." "Great, you try and I''ll correct you along the way if you make any mistakes." "Ok... so... like this?" "Yep, you just need to make sure that part is... yeah almost finish, you did a good job master." I probably spent a lot longer than Faris did but I managed to pick up a lot. When I finally finished, I notice Faris hugging me from behind, her soft chest pressing hard against me, and I can feel her soft cheeks rubbing against mine as I try to turn towards her. Before I can say anything, she turns her head to me and nibbles on my earlobe, sending shivers down my spine. She then proceeds to whisper into my ear. "Massteer." I need to stay in control, Faris just recovered, I need to let her rest. The great war between angels and demons in my mind erupts once again. "...Not... tonight, the healer said you need to rest properly even after the wounds are gone." I feel her hold on my tighten. "...Then, at least let me wash you." Having planned to thoroughly clean myself anyway after a long day, I readily nod in agreement. Faris continues to cling to me while we make our wash to the bathroom and start helping me undress. Getting caught up in the mood, my hands start wandering around her body as well while slowly undressing her as well. "...Ahhh, where are you...ahhh...touching me, master? You have to sit down before I can start washing you." I stop like a kid getting caught red-handed with his hand in a cookie jar, she looks at me with a mischievous grin. This little girl must be teasing me because I rejected her offer a second ago. I try to clear my dirty thoughts and turn around to fill the basin with hot water before sitting down in the bath chair with my little brother at half-mast. Faris moves behind me and starts scoping warm water to pour down my back. "Master, we still haven''t used this soap much, let''s do so tonight." I didn''t think much of her words as I try to control myself, mind over body, have to let my precious Faris rest for tonight at the least. The layer of defense I construct is instantly shattered as I feel two warm, soft mountains pressing against my bare skin. The mountains slowly rub up and down smoothly, aided by the slippery soap. I feel the urge to turn around and start cuddling around her slippery body but Faris appears in front of me, nudging herself in between my legs, acting before I could. "Master, does it feel good?" I can only nod as Faris starts to clean my hand and arm by bringing them into the valley of her chest, watching the erotic scene of her snow-white skin enveloping my hand. She pushes her breasts together to increase the pressure around my hand as I watch and feel her erect pink nipples brush past me. This is certainly fully waking up my member. She continues to do the same with my other hand before working on my chest, rubbing her softness against me up and down. She purposely slows down her movement and rubs the tip of her nose with mine while stares into my eyes with that same mischievous grin on her face, okay, I''ll let you win a little. I start hugging her back, brushing my body against hers and pulling on the back of her head towards me for a kiss. We gently embrace each other while I try to entangle my tongue with hers as much as possible, swapping saliva in turn at the same time. I try to memorize her scent, memorize the feeling of her tongue, the taste of her sweet saliva as I continue pushing my fully erect cock against her stomach.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Feeling the increasing eagerness of the hard thing poking at her, Faris breaks the kiss and slowly moves her mounds down my body. Her slow movements only increase my anticipation more as I focus on her nipples rubbing against my lower stomach, my navel area, and finally to my thighs. At the same time, her mounds are finally pressing against my dick. "Master, let me make you feel good." Faris looks up at me while on her knees, I see her big tits surround my penis from both sides, enveloped by he glistening skin. She pushes her hands against her chest and increases the pressure my member feels as she starts the back and forth movement to pleasure me. "...Where''d you learn this from?" "Hehe, I''ve been trained in many ways to pleasure my future master since I reached the adult age of 15." Fucking perverted slave trader, Good job! Faris slowly picks up the pace as sounds of slippery skins roughly pass through each other start to fill the bathroom. Being greedy for more pleasure, I start moving my hips in rhythm with her movements, causing more of my penis to start poking out of her chest, hitting her chin. After having poked her chin a few times, Faris turns her head down and positions her lips to where my penis is landing, kissing the tip whenever it approaches to cushion my thrusts. The fulfilling sensation of reaching the end of something sends a shiver down my spine and I start nudging my penis against her lips to feel more of their softness. I start feeling something rise as pre-cum leaks from the tip to Faris''s chin, prompting her to quicken her movements. Not wanting to prolong this any further, I grip onto Faris''s shoulders to gain more leverage to match her movements. Faris starts to poke my urethra with her tongue and starts licking around the frenulum while I nudge it against her in between thrusts. "Faris, I''m gonna cum." In response, she sucks hard on my tip, giving me the final push. I pull up her chin to make her look at me while I start letting the dam break free. I don''t stop thrusting in between her chest for a second while my seed erupts like a fountain over her face. I admire my work as Faris''s flawless face gets plastered with my whiteness, with some getting into her silvery-grey hair or rolling down to her boobs. After I let out my last spurts, I release my hand holding her chin up to move them to get a grope on her chest while I close my eyes and take in a deep breath to try to imprint this experience deeply into my mind. "That was great." With my eyes closed, I easily feel my dick suddenly get enveloped into something tight and warm. I open my eyes to see Faris still on her knees, with her mouth glued to my dick. My cock starts to feel the blood flowing to it soon as it hardens once again and Faris response by enthusiastically bringing my dick deeper down her throat. Remembering that Faris shouldn''t strain herself, I try to finish quickly by gripping the back of her head as I start pumping my hips at her mouth. Faris looks up at me and nods with her eyes as I watch her hands make way to her dripping wet pussy. Maybe she is a bit of an M after all. Being granted permission, I start thrusting without holding back as I sense that familiar feeling welling up again. "Faris, I''m gonna cum again, take it all in." "Hmmm." I hold the back of her head against me and I unload down her throat, the reverberating sensation I feel as her gulp down my cum only increase the intensity of my orgasm. I feel her entire body tensing up and vibrating as a puddle forms between her legs. Having clear my head a little bit while cumming, I start pulling my penis back out a little, not wanting to make her choke. I stay in that position for a minute as Faris licks my urethra clean before pulling out of her mouth. I stroke Faris''s cheeks as she looks up happily to me while opening her mouth to show me its contents. I see her mouth full of my thick white semen rolling around her tongue before she closes her mouth to take a few gulps before once again opening her mouth to show me that she swallowed every drop, making me unable to resist petting her head. We easily clean up as we were in the bathroom and head to bed. "Let''s sleep in tonight, we''ll have the entire day off tomorrow anyway." "Okay, goodnight, master." "Goodnight, Faris." We jump into our covers naked and start sleeping while I hug Faris again like a bodypillow. This is starting to become a habit, hell I want it to be my new habit. --- "...Master, give me a few more minutes." "When did you become so spoiled?" "But you said we''ll be getting new party members soon, so this will be the only chance I get to monopolize you, or do you hate me now that you''ve seen my lazy side?" Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, humanity''s greatest weapon, puppy eyes. "...Fine." --- We made it to the guild after a hearty brunch, after seeing there is basically no line at this time, I quickly sell my stock of 86 mana crystals before heading over to see Lawrence. "Hey Lawrence, thanks a lot for yesterday." "Oh, you guys seem energetic today, glad you''re all fine now kiddos." Okay, that''s it, let''s see how old you are, old man.
Human Male
Age: 55
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 62 Stamina Lv. 47 Dexterity Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic:
55?! And those are some of the highest levels I''ve seen since coming to this world. "...Haha, I wanted to formally introduce you to my new party member today, this here is Faris." "My name is Faris, Master Aster''s slave, I am pleased to meet you and thank you for taking care of us yesterday." "Oh, a slave huh, seems to be the best choice for a loner like you if you have the money, you better take good care of her Aster. Anyway, I am Lawrence, just regular guild staff working here, glad to see that you''re all fine, little miss." "I will, we''re going to head to the training ground now since I promised old man Morgan that I''ll come today." "Oh that reminds me, before you go, I have a message for you from Lord Norton this morning. He wanted to invite you to go to the slave auction happening in a few weeks together, he just registered as an adventurer though, so I''m sure he''ll be busy until then." "Wow, Larence registered already?" "Yep, along with his slaves; one strong looking dude, a handsome tomboyish looking human girl, a pretty foxkin girl, plus his catkin maid." ...Norton you...are a man of culture I see. --- I sparred with instructor Morgan until a little past noon, Faris watched and join in when I was taking breaks. Now, we''re going to upgrade our equipment now that we have a bit of extra cash. We managed to easily spot the pink hair of Clarice today. "Faris! Welcome!" "Hi Clarice, how are you." I leave the girls to their conversation as I walk up to Bosgrem who''s tending to some blades behind the counter. "Boss, can you show me the best armors you got for me and Faris over there." "What happened to yer old ones?" "Faris''s got a big slash across hers while mine''s fine, we''re looking for an upgrade." "Fine, the best armor we got that''s suitable for yer group is probably dragon hide, tough and light enough fer a dragon to fly." "Dragon hide? You guys just have that sitting around for sale? Sounds rare and valuable to me." "While dragons ar rare and tough boss monsters, one dragon can produce quite a lot of hide so it isn''t that rare of a material, meanwhile dragon scale would be the treasure yer thinking''bout, it is as valuable as a national treasure." "Okay, how much is it?" "25 gold coins per set, it ain''t expensive considering its performance, normal arrows and blades won''t be able to pierce through it." "Fine I''ll take two sets, but can you change up the grip of the boots to make it easier to run on ice?" "Money first, pickup in the morning." "Deal." Faris ended up buying a few more spare daggers and short swords to replace some of the damaged ones from the incident, giving me a grand total of 51 gold coins. I''m spending as fast as I''m making, though it''s worth it as our safety is the priority. We then went shopping for some clothes and other miscellaneous items until we arrived at a store I looked up beforehand. Walking into the store there was no flashy set up to display their products, it didn''t even have other customers right now from what I can see. An employee at a nearby desk comes over to greet us. "Welcome to Unatis Housing, how may I be of service for you guys today?" "I''m looking to rent a place here, preferably not too far from the adventurer guild." "Please come over this way and I can show you our catalog." The employee brings me over to her desk and before finding a booklet to let me browse through. "All the details on each property as well as their cost and location are written in here. If you have any questions feel free to ask me." The norm here seems to be shopping through their catalog here, it''s rare to go inspect each property if you''re just renting as transportation is inconvenient. I browse through while Faris curiously looks together with me while sitting to my side. We need something not too expensive nor too big right now as it isn''t likely for me to suddenly have a full party right away. I spend a whole hour looking through and finally settled on one I like. "What do you think of this one Faris?" "I like whichever one master picks." Okay, no opposition is good enough for me. The one I picked had two floors and comes fully furnished, the first floor had a decent size living room with a dining table and a kitchen. The second floor is where is the bedrooms are; one large master bedroom with three smaller rooms. I''m not planning on letting my slaves sleep on their own though, just let them have their own room to store their stuff and to have some personal space. The biggest deciding factor though is that it had a large bathroom with a built-in bath in the master bedroom. "I would like the rent this place." "Perfect, if you can pay the rent of 5 gold coins now, I can get it cleaned and ready for you by tomorrow, the 24th day of the second month." We paid the rent and left and started shopping around aimlessly once more, I should get a calendar now to know when to pay rent at the least. "We sure bought a lot today, is there anything you wanted to get Faris?" "Hmmm, nothing really in particular." "How about something as a hobby for when we are taking a break from dungeons, is there anything you normally do?" "All I did was train or study, our only entertainment was sharing stories with the other slaves..." "...Then, how about getting some books to read?" "Sure." We ended our shopping spree after our trip to the bookstore with a balance of 20 gold coins, 102 silver coins, and 21 copper coins. Tomorrow we have to start going deeper into the dungeons and start saving up for the slave auction, it seems like a good chance to add a member to our party. So I guess we better get to rest early, of course after some bonding time with Faris. Chapter 15 - New Home I''m not a morning person but today is probably one of my favorite mornings, being woken up by my beautiful slave, Faris, kissing me while in my embrace, I can definitely get used to this. After some quick morning "exercises", we set off to the blacksmith store to pick up the gear we ordered yesterday before heading to the adventurer guild to have my morning training sessions with Morgan. I''ve been getting more use to fighting up close with casting magic at the same time, I should be able to manage against weaker monsters. Today we are once again heading to Greens Filth, the goblins in the dungeon may get more numerous and well equipped but their fighting strength is still near the bottom of the barrel and easy to kill. Going to other dungeons like Elemental Slime Nest will slow down our progress as we would have to get used to fighting new enemies, and they may be some enemies that are more annoying to kill than the vulnerable goblins. With Blacky carrying us through the journey, we comfortably arrive at the familiar scene at the entrance to Greens Filth, filled with people heading into the dungeon as well as the businesses catered towards adventurers. We leave Blacky with the same caretaker as last time before entering the dungeon ourselves. "Enter." Our two voice overlaps. We are going to aim for at least reaching the next floor today while getting used to our new battle formation of me drawing the focus of our opponents. Faris picks up on the trail to a small team of goblins as we approach them without any intention of hiding at all, sneak attack would not help us practice much against these small fries. I walk straight toward the three goblins we found, they notice me and start rushing at me brainlessly with their wooden spears, hoping to overwhelm me with numbers. I cast a small mana efficient water stream targeting the area between two goblins, waves of water being guided by the ice surrounding it soon reaches the goblins, I change the water into ice, freezing a foot from each of the two goblins in place. The two goblins stop in their track but the last one reaches me, giving me the opportunity to try out my ice shield in real combat. I wait until the goblin starts the motion for this thrusts before I start casting my ice shield, round-shaped water flows out into the path of his attack and freezes into ice. My speed is still not where I want it to be as the goblin''s spear is stuck inside my shield, I was too slow. I use my magic control to move the ice shield to the side, pulling the spear away from the goblin as I sweep my spear from the side at his feet, knocking him down onto the ground before finishing him off with a stab. I look over to see two cleanly decapitated goblin heads next to Faris as she is working to gouge out their mana crystals from their heads. Noticing that I''m finished, Faris smiles sweetly to me. "How was it, master?" "I''m still a little to slow at forming my shields, I''ll need to predict their attack trajectories for now until I can form my shields fast enough." "Hm, master''s water magic is still only level 12, it''s already really impressive." After the incident being attacked from the kidnapper remnants, my levels shot up from killing them,giving me two levels in water magic and four levels in electric magic. Though Faris''s levels barely went up from the fight, it''s getting harder and harder to level up as our level grows.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv.12 Electric Lv. 10 Fire Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Light Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic: Identify
Human Female
Age:18
Magic Level: Dexterity Lv. 26 Stamina Lv. 15 Strength Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Sense Danger
I wanted to both get stronger and come up with funds to buy our third party member at the upcoming slave auction soon so heading deeper into the dungeons to fight against more powerful monsters just so happens to meet both my goals right now. We continue to breeze our way past the goblins and occasional wolves we encounter as we aim straight for the second floor. We spot a huge wooden door with a metal frame in the distance at the foot of a small mountain. The door has the symbol of the guild, the Weycorus tree engraved onto the body, showing that it is the entrance to the next floor. In dungeons like Greens Filth where it is an open space, these doors guide adventurers the way to the next level. There may be several of these in a floor or only one, causing adventurers to sometimes have to camp out in the dungeon to continue to search for the entrance. "Master, we found it!" "Yeah, get ready to fight against the boss." "With our new armor, I doubt a first-floor boss would even be able to hurt us." Faris cheerfully says while heading straight to the door. The area around the door is empty as Faris rests her hand on the entrance before giving me a final glance to ask for my permission. "I''m ready, let''s do it." I tightly grip my spear with both hands, strapping my old shield to my back as my need for it has drastically decreased with my ice shield spell. We enter into a dark open cave which prompts me to cast a light magic spell, creating a small ball of light above each of our heads to act as our light source. The light illuminates a full ten-meter area around us. We move forward carefully, straining our ears to listen for any enemies. We move a little further into the cave before the soft sound of fire crackling rings in front of us. I create a new ball of light and sends it off in the direction of the sound, showing a narrow passageway at the end of the room we are in. We head into the passageway, following a ball of light I sent slightly in front of us to investigate. We see the passageway connects to another spacious area as we spot the orangey glow of fire as well as the sound of goblins screaming from noticing our light as well. The sound of something sharply pierces through the air followed by the noise created from an impact with the stone ground. The goblins fired two arrows at the ball of light in front of us but the only thing they hit is the stone floor. I create two ice shield in front of me as I rush out to meet the goblins, while Faris looks for an opportunity to attack while I draw their attention. I move the previous ball of light towards the goblins to let me have a clear view of what I''m up against. I spot two archer goblins, four goblins with metal-tipped spears, and one goblin with a rusty short sword wearing some crude leather armor. They must be the guardians of the first floor, the boss monster, or in this case, monsters. While I am sizing them up, another two arrows get fired but this time at me. The arrows get easily blocked as I move one of my ice shields into their path while I send my other shield slamming towards the two archers. The shield slams into one of the archers, knocking the bow out of his hand while he coughs up blood from the impact.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The other four charges toward me with the armored goblin following a distance behind. They are still over ten meters away from me, letting me cast two ice spears to quickly eliminate two of the spearmen. The other two goblins closes the distance to me and prepares to thrust out their spears but two daggers suddenly pierces the back of their heads, causing them to fall flat on their faces from their charge. I look behind them and see Faris''s right hand holding a sword that''s stabbing into the heart of the unhurt archer while her left handwieldsanother sword stained with blood, likely from the other archer I hit earlier because I spot him lying in a pool of blood. The last goblin hesitates a little from seeing his men getting swiftly slaughtered but manages to dodge the ice lance I launched at him only to step into my water stream. Seeing Faris rush up to finish him, I fire an electric current into the stream, paralyzing the goblin''s movements, giving Faris free rein to deal with him as she pleases. We collect their mana crystals and find the entrance to the next floor nearby, a statue in pitch black shaped as a Weycorus tree, similar to the one at the entrance of the dungeon looms at the end of the cave. Seeing it''s about time, we choose to exit the dungeon to have a comfortable lunch before continuing on to the next floor. We found some meat skewers from the stalls around the dungeon entrance, making sure not to overeat, we manage to finish lunch within half an hour before heading straight to the second floor of Greens Filth. The second floor isn''t as much different as I thought, the scenery is similar to the first floor, forest area but with more small mountains around along with denser greenery. We encounter our first monsters within five minutes, six goblins all using iron-tipped spears or rusty short swords. We dispatched them easily as their strength is pretty much the same as the ones on the first floor except with slightly better equipment. We continue our hunt as fast as possible without rest to try to maximize our profits for the day. It didn''t even take us two hours of hunting until we found the entrance door to the next floor. My levels show no signs of going up not to talk about Faris''s so I readily take the chance to head another level down. We enter another dark cave but much narrower this time, only allowing two people to stand side by side and enough leftover space to swing a weapon. We proceed with the same strategy from earlier, sending a ball of light slightly in front of us. "Master, there''s a trap in front of us." Faris suddenly blurts out while holding onto me. She skillfully pokes at the ground with her short sword and the sword goes straight through the ground. "Illusion traps, probably a pitfall, follow my steps, master" Faris explained to me while holding my hand. The cave twisted left and right with only one way to go, after ten minutes of walking, we see arrows being fired at the ball of light. Sending the light at our attackers, we see half a dozen goblin archers spread out on the ledges to the side that''s three-meter above us. I form two ice shields to protect us while Faris freely throws daggers at her unmoving targets as they are limited space for them to dodge to. I send my ice shield flying at three goblins to the left, soaking up all their oncoming arrows before pinning them against the wall of the cave. Faris finishes off all three of the goblins on her side and is climbing up to collect their crystals and retrieve her daggers. I make my way up towards the goblins I pinned and start sending a strong electric current at the ice then slowly turn my ice back into water to allow for better conductivity. Confirming they''re dead, I bring out a small knife and collect my mana crystals from my prey as well. We continue heading further into the cave until we spot the entrance to the next floor, though another three archer goblins hiding behind three leather armored goblins holding shields up toward us blocks our way. Being in such a narrow area, I form one ice shield to protect us from arrows while simultaneously sending a water stream flowing towards their formation. I don''t even need to guide the water with a layer of ice as the stone won''t absorb the water and the narrow passageway acts as the guide. Seeing that it would be more mana efficient to just freeze the water than to send electricity for six goblins worth, I do just that and freeze their feet. While the goblins struggle to remove their feet from within the ice, we push up towards them hiding behind my ice shield until Faris is in melee range. She jumps to their backline and harvests the lives of their archers and we finish off the goblins with the shield by attacking from both sides. We reach the statue and decide to end the day early to give us some extra time to move into our new home. We retrieve Blacky and start riding him back to Unatis as I count the fruit of our efforts for the day. We got a total of 142 mana crystals today. The advantages of hunting with only myself and my slaves are really showing with ample rewards for only a day''s work. "We sure did earn a lot today didn''t we, Faris? "Yea, we''re hunting at a good pace." "But with if we''re earning this much for just a day''s work, aren''tmost adventurers rich, even if they have to spend a decent amount on new equipment or repairs?" "Master, most other adventurers either aren''t as fast as us, having to rest their mages more frequently as well as having to split their rewards. Even so, you''re right master, adventurers earn a lot that''s why it''s a popular occupation but a lot of risks come along with it as well besides the monsters, lots of rogue adventurers target other adventurers in the dungeon for their wealth. And being in the dungeon, their crimes would be near impossible to be discovered if they finish off everyone. That''s why most adventurers try to save up and quit adventuring as soon as they have made enough." "...Sigh, greed always gets to some people" "Don''t worry master, they usually target people in more secluded dungeons, even then, they won''t act unless given an opportunity, after all, all adventurers are capable fighters." "Let''s work hard and quickly earn enough to get us a new reliable party member, safety in numbers." "Hmm, I''ll do my best, master." --- We return to town and immediately went to the housing store to get the keys to our new home. "Welcome sir and madam, your property has already been cleaned and is ready for you, here are the keys, please don''t lose them or there will be a fine." I''ve been getting the hang of horsemanship so I make Blacky trot to the inn we are currently staying at to gather our belongings and checking out of the inn. We didn''t have much so we managed to carry everything on us while we headed toward our new home. We exit the main street area and enter the residential area where there are no shops in sight. It didn''t take long for us to find our house, at the front is a small iron gate that opened as it sensed our magic key, reminds me of key fobs from my old world. No wonder mana crystals are always in demand, they power pretty much everything. We cross the small front yard and leave Blacky in a small detached stable off to the side before entering the house using the same key. The interior looked just as described in the catalog, stone walls painted in white, wooden staircase near the entrance, and the fine wooden floor that I''d be fine walking barefooted on. We rush into our master bedroom to unload our stuff only to be greeted by a humongous bed that I''m sure will fit four people with room to spare. "This place is pretty good, what do you think Faris?" "It''s beautiful, master." "Yep, and starting today, it''ll be our home, feel free to choose one of the other rooms to take as your own." "...Master wants me to sleep by myself?" Faris says while looking like an abandoned puppy. "No, no, just to have your own place, to keep your stuff or to have some personal time. At night you''ll be sleeping with me though." I speak as I hug onto my Faris. "You''re still too kind master, giving your slaves their own room..." "As I said before, you may be my slave but you''re like family to me." Faris''s face turns red as I finish that line. We finish unpacking our stuff and head back down and sit on the leather couch for a break. "Hey Faris, do you want to eat out tonight or cook at home?" "Master, I''ll cook for you! I can''t let the opportunity pass to properly make you a meal." "Sure, let''s go shopping for food and any items that we''ll like to have in our house. Let''s head out now before sunset, we can cook together after, though I''m probably not that good at it." As a man who lived alone, I certainly know how to make my own food, though I would certainly call it more of a survival skill than cooking skills. I''m not that picky of an eater so I would simply throw on some simple spices and cook it until edible, or buy pre-marinated cuts but that isn''t an option now. "...But..." Faris puts on a troubled face. "No buts, we''re cooking together, I''m sure it''ll be fun and taste better having been part of the creation process." Having been trained in cooking, Faris easily produces a list of ingredients to buy as we head out to the market. They sure are a lot of people doing some end of the day shopping before sunset as we tried to get more familiar with what''s on the market and which stalls were better, I ended buying a calendar of this world. I left Faris to pick the ingredients as she knew better while I stuck to being the wallet, haggling with the shopkeepers. We got home during sunset and got started on making a feast to celebrate moving into my first home. Faris made some delicious baked fish, some pasta-like dish as well as some local dishes to the kingdom. Having our bellies filled and the dishes cleaned, we head to my most anticipated place of this new house, the bathroom. The bathroom located inside the master bedroom in this house is completely all wooden, along with the built-in bath that can probably able to fit in a dozen people, being four meters long, five meters wide, and one meter deep. Finally, I can take a bath once again, with no showers available so far, I''ve been looking forward to live in a place with a bath. I instantly conjure some hot water to fill the bath and jump in, feeling the comfort that is washing away all fatigue from the core of my being, I can''t help be let out a relieved sigh. That sure took quite a bit of mana but definitely worth it as it is good practice anyway. Faris jumps in shortly afterward, when she fully enters the steaming bath,her expression melts, lookinglike she has reached paradise. I think I''m in paradise too as I enjoy the bath while holding onto my Faris. I stayed in the bath for over half an hour before I reluctantly get out with Faris to move to the next event, breaking in the new bed. And I''m happy to report that the bed was very soft and sturdy, no squeaky noises heard no matter how hard I bounced on it. Yep, quality bed indeed. Chapter 16 - Qualification Waking up to the invasion of Faris''s tongue, I feel so at ease having a proper place to call home again, though it seems like we will have to devote some time to cooking and cleaning now. Remembering the item I bought yesterday, I get up to place the calendar on the nightstand next to the bed. Today is the 25th day of the second month, there are also twelve months in this world, each with thirty days, and each week being only five days. This makes today the first day of the 6th week of the second month. Maybe I don''t have much time as I thought until the slave auction. We prepare for another day in the dungeon before setting off towards the guild. I enter into my routine once I arrive at the guild, sell my mana crystals and head to the training ground to train with Morgan. We earned a total of 142 mana crystals yesterday so I received a gold coin and 42 silver coins, bringing my total to 21 gold coins, 142 silver coins, and 21 copper coins. It''s really nice being able to use water magic freely as I can wash off the sweat from training and cool myself off. We enter into the third floor of Greens Filth directly today. As usual, Faris senses our first prey of the day before me. "Master, there seem to be a dozen goblins fighting a small pack of wolves." "Hmm, let''s take the opportunity to cash them all in at once." We move closer and sees the group of goblins ganging on six wolves. The wolves look slightly bigger with more muscle than the ones we''ve seen on the previous floors. The wolves are all bleeding from their wounds while the goblins seem fine in their leather armor huddled together in a makeshift formation with their spears lines up together in an half encirclement. "Attack the goblins first once things get more chaotic," I whisper to Faris crouched next to me. The goblins move in, prompting the wolves to all charge toward one side of the encirclement, devolving into an all-out melee as the goblins push in on the wolves. "Go." Faris dashes into the opposite side of where the wolves went to flank the encircling goblins from behind while I shoot out a large water stream I''ve been channeling towards the center of the fray. I charge in with my spell, with my spear in hand and freezes once my spell makes contact with their feet. I stab my spear into the back of the closest goblin who is panicking from being unable to move his feet while I cast ice spears at the goblins to my sides. Faris makes short work of the few goblins who didn''t get caught in my spell and were focused on the wolves. The remaining monsters are all frozen in my spell while still stabbing to biting into their nearest enemy. To be safe, I conjure a stream of water flowing at the monsters atop the ice and channel an electric current with it to immobilize them while Faris finishes them off easily. The monsters starting from this floor are getting more numerous, though their strength is still pretty much the same. We proceed like usual but didn''t find any monsters until half an hour later where we find a team of eight goblins, I guess they are grouping up so it is also harder to find them. Though they are greater in numbers, they still only have melee attacks outside of dungeon bosses so the fighting ends uneventfully for most of the morning. Near the end of the morning we find the familiar door at the foot of a small mountain, marking the entrance to the next level, it must still be pretty easy to find or we''re getting lucky if we are finding one so often. We enter the door into a spacious tunnel that would allow two carriages to pass side by side. We use the same old strategy of having a guiding ball of light lead the way, though it became useless as we enter into a spacious room with light shining down from a hole in the ceiling. The moment we step out from our more narrow corridor, rows of goblins step out from the shadows in front of us. They march forward with shields and spear in hand while the back row readies their bows. I count a full ten in the first row so there must be around twenty of them. I ready an ice shield at the approaching small army of goblins while Faris stays behind me, there''s no place to flank them as the entire area is an open area with light illuminating the area between us and the goblins. Both our groups close the distance while hiding behind our shields, I fire off ice lances one after the other straight into their formation while the goblins fire volley after volley of arrows at an angle over their frontline. Our shields soak up alltheir projectilesas we draw near. "Faris, I''ll make an opening after they fire the next volley, can you deal with that many archers?" "Once I get close I should be fine, master." "Okay, on the next volley go on my signal." I time when the goblins are about to release their next volley and charge up two lightning bolts and aim it at the center of their formation, I don''t use this spell often as it isn''t really mana efficient but it has the firepower we need right now. I fire at the same time they release their arrows, the lightning bolts punches a hole straight through each of the two shields along with the goblins holding them and the archers behind. Faris shoots out away from me heading toward the goblins that I indicated to her, trying to dodge the volley by putting as much distance as she can away from me before the arrows come down. Shereachesthe goblins just in time for the two goblins to fully collapse to the ground from my attacks, proceeding smoothly through their formation without stop. The screams of goblins ensue as Faris wreck havoc on their backline, she cleverly uses the goblin''s own allies as shields as she deftly moves in between goblins while reaping their lives. I charge forward loudly while firing off ice lances at the one who tries to turn back to help their allies and chuck my shields at the ones looking to square off with me. Their formation collapses and it becomes a massacre as the goblins lose their ability to work together. I finish off goblins closest to me with my spear while firing ice lances at the ones further from me while Faris is like a shark in water, moving about freely on her prey. We finish collecting the mana crystals and found the statue to the next level before heading out for lunch, I''m glad we don''t have to eat our bland rations so far as we always reach the next level in time. After a quick meal, we continue hunting on the fourth floor where it is starting to get more difficult. The goblins travel in groups of at least six with archers now and are more frequently spotted compared to the third floor. They''re also traps placedall over this floor that we encounter from time to time like the classic pitfallsor nets dropping down on you if you make the wrong step. The good side though is that they''re many more monster to hunt, giving us better profits than on the previous floors.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. With Faris here, the traps are easily avoided but we are still moving more slowly in fear of ambush with bows. I still can''t form a shield fast enough if I only discover the arrow mid-flight so I hold the shield that''s strapped to my back while Faris walks first with her sense danger, ready to jump behind me at any time. Thankfully it seems the goblins aren''t savvy or patient enough to layout ambushes, seeming to just hang out around their traps, ready to respond to any noise in their surroundings. We easily bypass traps and in a frontal battle, whether they have bows or not made no difference as we hunted group after group. The only thing more annoying on this floor is that occasionally, some goblins are equipped with shields like the ones in the boss room, blocking my ice lances, though the frequency of encounters more than make up for it. We continue to hunt and harvest mana crystals from our prey when suddenly I find a round red gem instead of the usual mana crystals. "Faris, take a look, do you know what this is?" I bring it up so Faris can get a clear view. "Oh! Master, that''s a fire gem, it is found only by chance from monsters and is used in enchanting. Master is really lucky to find one in these early floors, it usually drops from stronger monsters and even then, it''s still rare." "How much is it worth? Do adventurers usually sell it or use it for themselves?" "Master doesn''t know? Oh right, let me explain then. Most adventurers would definitely sell it as it is worth at least a whole platinum coin, more depending on the quality. The gems let you enchant equipment to either give you resistance to the gem''s element or increase your strength when casting that element of magic. Although the effects are amazing, the enchantment isn''t permanent as damage to the piece of equipment will destroy the enchantment, so only the rich and powerful adventurers aiming to conquer dungeons will use them frequently." "So they''re consumables huh, well we don''t really need them yet right now and this one''s a fire element gem, let''s sell it when we get back. Do we have to sell it to the guild?" I can''t help but think that getting this gem in the early floors isn''t pure dumb luck as a person who came from another world. Maybe I got a luck boost or some bullshit like my fate is strong, either way, I don''t think this will be that long until I find another one so I''ll sell it now to get the funds I need for the slave auction. "Yep, people usually only trust buying from the guild unless you''re an enchanter who can tell the quality of the gems but it''s illegal to sell to anyone else if you''re an adventurer as it''s one of the main sources of income for the guild to trade in the magic items from dungeons." "Let''s make our way back, it doesn''t seem like we''ll find the entrance to next level soon and it''s getting late." --- We ended our day at the dungeon after spending an hour to get back to the statue we entered with. Today we managed to get 204 mana crystals and 1 fire gem. We head back to the city but the sight of a huge line greets us at the gates of Unatis. We see the usual laid back guards carefully interviewing each person before letting them enter the city. "...Something must''ve happened but we got no choice but to wait in line." We waited until the sky started to darken a little until we got passed the gates after being asked who we were and scanned our guild badge to confirm our identities. I didn''t want to look suspicious asking the guards questions so I head straight to the guild after entering the city to find out what''s going on. Thankfully, the guild''s atmosphere isn''t all gloomy and weird like the time when Norton was kidnapped, I head straight to Lawrence who seems like he''s pissed off that he''s not getting off work yet. "Working hard there Lawrence, careful or you might go bald before you know it." "Tsk, it''s rare to see you coming to the guild at this time, guess you want to know about what''s up in town?" "Haha, you saw right through me, please enlighten me Mr.Lawrence." "You''re new in town so it''s probably your first time this has happened for you, but it''s nothing to worry about, it happens every few years or so. Tensions are rising with the neighboring kingdom so the city is worried about spies as we aren''t that far from the border, once a war starts or peace talks go through, it''ll be back to normal." "Why would war starting turn things back to normal?" "The border would be completely closed and guarded and all the military units would be already deployed so there won''t be much value for spies to come snoop around by then to guess our deployment from logistics when they are already fighting it out. The military will also move all assets and supply lines away from cities anyway to keep things under wraps." "So war happens often? What are they even fighting about anyways." "Who knows, noble disputes, it''s good business for the adventurers though. We get missions from the military to help with logistics, protect the nearby farms and villages from raiders who slip through, and basically, prices and demand for adventurer services spike up, entering the high season for adventurer work." "...Getting involved in wars doesn''t sound like something I want to do, I''ll just stick to entering the dungeon." "That''s fine too, suit yourself." "Anyways, is there a way to sell things more discreetly to the guild?" I lean in and whisper. Lawrence nods and guides me and Faris to a meeting room upstairs. "The counter is really only for mana crystals, anything else you get just ask one of the staff for a meeting privately. So, what do you have for me today?" I bring out the fire gem along with the 204 mana crystals from my space ring. "Found this today." "Ohhh, aren''t you the lucky one," Lawrence says while pulling out the pair of glasses that I''ve seen all the staff at the counter wear, he puts on the glasses and pushes the bridge. "This one''s of a lower quality, with your rank, I can give you 1 platinum coin and 25 gold coins for it, deal?" "Deal." Lawrence exits with the gem and crystals and comes back a few minutes later. "Here''s a total of 1 platinum coin, 27 gold coins, and 4 silver coins. With this, you have earned enough contribution with the guild to be promoted to the next rank, though you''ll need to qualify for it." "Qualify?" "Every two ranks you will need to prove that you''re qualified to rank up, in this case, you''ll be taking the bronze qualification test to become rank 3 adventurer with bronze badges. This is to ensure that the ranks correspond to strength to a certain extent, can''t have someone who just hunts on the first floor for their entire life be a rank 10 now, can we?" "Okay, so what''s the test?" "You can either win an official duel against a current bronze ranked adventurer in the guild and take their rank from them, though you would have to wager something that they accept, or get a good placement in the iron badge dueling tournament that takes place at the beginning of every month." "...The first time I''ve heard of any tournaments, are there any prizes for it?" "Of course, it''s one of the big events the guild is known for where many people come to spectate and to gamble on the event. The first-place prize for the iron badge tournament is one platinum coin I believe, the other tournaments like silver and gold have much higher prize pools but they are only held semi-annually and annually in certain cities." "Sign me up for it, the other option seems like it would breed some bad blood with other adventurers more than do me good, what''s the advantages of ranking up anyway?" "Oh iron ranks barely have anything benefits but starting from bronze, you can access the guild store to buy better equipment and magic items that are hard to come by depending on your rank. The guild would also give you better prices on items you sell like the gem, though mana crystals aren''t included in that." "...So the whole system is geared toward adventurers looking to increase their strength to conquer dungeons." "Pretty much, they are people who are only looking for money too who just farm the first floors in relative safety, they pretty much keep the supply of mana crystals stable so we need people like that too." "Thanks for the info, I''m gonna head back for today, see you." We stop by the market to buy some ingredients for dinner as well as the thing that I find to be missing from my life so far, something to tell the time with. We searched around until we stumbled into a magic items store selling miscellaneous everyday items like magic lights or something for boiling water. I ask the shopkeeper and got two options, both seem familiar with me, a pocket watch and a clock. I bought both, costing a whole 15 gold coins, no wonder it''s not that popular to have around, that doesn''t even include the 5 mana crystal needed every day to power each of them. We finally head back home to relax and eat. There''s a lot to sleep on, the dungeons, how to fight in the dungeons more efficiently, the upcoming tournament, and the slave auction with Norton. I should ask Norton the next time I see how much would I need to buy a decent slave in the auction too. Though none of these things will stop me from taking a bath and loving my Faris, I''ve been ignoring her enough since I entered the city, it''s time for me to pay some attention to her, especially before bed. Chapter 17 - Kou Today is the 26th day of the second month, Faris and I are starting to get used to the place as we enter into our usual morning preparation routine and head to the guild as dawn arrives. A little while ago, I would''ve never imagined I would be a morning person but I guess having no internet or any form of media will naturally force you to sleep early with nothing better to do. I head straight to the training ground since I already sold my loot yesterday. "Morning instructor Morgan," Both Faris and I say with a slight bow. "Oh, aren''t you guys early today, Aster and Faris." "Yea... wanted to get started earlier today, oh and can we also start that practice we talked about before, my magic level went up a bit yesterday so I should be able to do it soon." Hunting on the fourth floor is starting to give me some decent experience again.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv.13 Electric Lv. 11 Light Lv. 2 Fire Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic: Identify
"Sounds like you''ve been progressing smoothly, don''t worry it''s been prepared, we can start whenever the young lady would like." "Okay, let''s get started right away. If you''d please Faris." "Leave it to me, master." The special training I''ll be starting today isn''t anything special, I''ve been wanting to increase my reaction time with ice shield to defend against ambushes especially since we''re fighting goblins equipped with bows now. Morgan prepared a training bow with round-tipped arrows, and I''m having Faris shoot at me randomly in the middle of spars, it''s not perfect but it''s a start. --- I''m glad we splurged on our armors because that barely hurt being hit by those arrows, I only managed to block like two arrows out of over 50. Maybe some more practice and another level in water magic and I can get at least half. Magic control practice is important but without the levels to back it up, it''d be like having technique but with the strength of a child. That''s why we are once again heading straight to the fourth floor of Greens Filth. We get into our groove and start hunting group after group of goblins for the entire morning, getting lost track of time due to constantly finding new prey. We passed our usual lunchtime for probably over an hour, the hands on my new pocket-watchpoints to 12:30 pm, I''m glad at least the twenty-four-hour time is the same as my old world. "Faris, it doesn''t seem like we''ll be finding the way to the next level today, let''s head back." "Master, just one more group, they''re are nearby," Faris says with an earnest expression "...Fine." I just can''t win against my Faris sometimes. We proceed to the area Faris indicates, finding half a dozen goblins all moving away from us. They usually sit around waiting for the noises from their traps triggering on this floor so they shouldn''t be running away from us. Let''s just end this quickly, my stomach is getting upset at me. We speed up to catch up to them and launch a surprise, taking out their two archers first. I launch two ice spears to the back of their heads while Faris sends two daggers flying at another two unsuspecting goblins. Time to get some extra spear practice in, I charge at the remaining two goblins while Faris keeps a close distance but leaves them to me, this floor still isn''t giving her any good experience anyway. I rely on only spearmanship and fight the two goblins and manage to finish them off after a few minutes. Compared to before I actually know how to wield a weapon now, I''m just weaker physically to enhancers but against goblins, I''m more than enough. "Master, there''s the scent of blood coming from where the goblins were headed." I try to catch the scent but the smell of blood is already everywhere around me,unable to findthe source. We really should get someone with good detection skills to join our party later, wonder if they''ll be any slaves like that at the auction. "Might as well check it out, let''s go." We walk to the goblin''s destination and it didn''t take long before finding what their goal was. Standing in front of us is a pitfall trap someone triggered with the smell of fresh blood drifting along, we head over to check what got caught by this elementary trap to find someone lying unconscious at the bottom. He looks to be a teenager no older than 18 like the current me but with neat short red hair, fit athletic build, unblemished white skin, and a pretty boy face. The back of his hands looks smooth like a girl which makes me think he''s from a good family where he didn''t have to do any serious labor throughout his life. Though the most starking thing in his appearance right now is the wooden stake impaling his left calf right now, constantly oozing blood. "...Master, what should we do with him..." Faris gives me a worried look. "...Sigh, it won''t let me sleep peacefully at night if we leave him here, we''ll save him but I''m not doing it for free, I''m taking any cash he has on him." Adventurers usually don''t save each other for free anyways, some even take the opportunity to finish them off to claim all their belongings, I at least won''t go that far. I carefully jump down into the pitfall with the unconscious guy, being right next to him, I notice his iron guild badge with two bright red spots on them, a rank two adventurer like the current me. It seems about right if he''s stupid enough to fall for traps like these. I quickly yank his foot away from the wooden stake impaling him. "AHHHH WHAT THE FUUCCK." The red-haired man screams awake. Ignoring him I bring out a piece of cloth and soak it in steaming hot water I conjured before washing his wounds. "THAT HURTS, WHO ARE YOU?" "Shut up and stay still." I retrieve some clean bandages from my space ring while pretending to take it out from my satchel before casting a healing spell and wrapping up his wounds.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "You''re lucky we found you or you''d be goblin lunch by now." "...Thank you, my name''s Kou, I''ll definitely pay you back." "That''s right you will, I''ll be taking all the cash you have on you." "...Yo---" "Or I can leave you here too if you''d like." "...Thank... you... for your help." Kou says with defeat as he hands me his purse. "Ohhh, you''re pretty rich Kou, happy to be of service to you." The purse contains at least 50 gold coins. I carry Kou on my back and conjure a few footholds from my ice and climbs out of the pitfall. "Faris, let''s try to avoid any monsters while we head out with our guest here." "Hm, I''ll be the frontline if we get into any fights master." "Oh, your name is Faris? I''m Kou, a pleasure to meet you!" Kou''s entire person suddenly lights up as if he''s not injured at all. "Hmmm? Pleasure to meet you too." Confused at the outburst, Faris bows politely. "OWWWW, what the fuck man? Kou screams out in pain from me grabbing hard onto his wounds. "Ooops, my hand slipped." "..." --- We managed to slip through all the goblins and reach it back to the exit without any accidents happening. "Can you bring me back to my companions over there, they''re waiting for me." As soon as we leave the dungeon Kou directs us to one of the camps outside. "You''ve got companions and they just left you in the dungeon alone?" Faris and I both give him a pitying gaze as I finish saying that. "No, no, I entered the dungeon alone." "What? Why would you do that?" "A real man fights alone! How can I let my precious companions go through the hardships in the dungeon, you should be protecting them and do all the fighting yourself!" Kou passionately spews out his beliefs while constantly switching between looking at Faris with pity and glaring at me. Perhaps I should''ve left this fucking pretty boy to die... We head to where the scumbag directs us and find a huge tent that could probably fit dozens of people with two carriages parked neatly next to it. "Caroline, Karen, anyone there?" Kou starts shouting at the tent. Moments later the folds to the tent open and figure after figure steps out until a total of 8 girls varying from our age to mid-twenties appear. They all have different colored hair like a rainbow but they are all humans if you look carefully. "Kou! What happened." One of the girls I presume to be either Caroline or Karen steps forward to take Kou off my back and support him while all the girls put on a worried expression. "Nothing too serious, just need to see a healer and I''ll be fine by dinner time! Would one of you kindly go grab some coins for me, it seems I''ve used all the change on me to hire these adventurers to give me a hand." He may have worded it politely but the girls still glare at me with hostile looks. "Well, we''ll be on our way, hope to do business with you again soon, I''m sure you''ll need it." "...Wait! That girl, Faris, she''s your slave right?" Kou says while grabbing onto my arm. "None of your business, farewell." I brush his hand away and starts leaving. "I''ll buy her freedom back, I won''t let such a cute girl be with someone like you who forces her to fight against her will, give me a price, I''ll be sure to give you enough to satisfy you!" I ignore him and pull Faris along to get out of here quickly. The fucker wants to buy my Faris? I knew I shouldn''t have saved him. I quicken my pace toward the food stalls area, I want to quickly finish our meal and head back into the dungeon. "Master... don''t worry, I won''t leave you." "Who said I''d be worried the words of a brat like him?" "You''re gripping too tightly master, it hurts." "Oh, I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to hurt you... it''s just... people like him piss me off." Noticing how tightly I was still gripping Faris''s arm, I quickly release her while apologizing. "It''s fine master, we''ll continue to be together, right?" Faris says while drawing closer to give me a hug. "Yep, I won''t let you go." I give my Faris a kiss on her cheeks. --- After a quick meal, we head straight back to hunt on the fourth floor of Greens Filth. Time to relieve some stress on these goblins, just thinking about that guy from earlier makes my blood boil. I don''t hold back and unleash ice lances continuously while swinging my spear around to slit the throats of the goblins around me. I''m pretty confident that my skills are near the top in the iron class right now even with my magic alone, I can''t wait to win the iron badge tournament and win another platinum coin. Our hunt continues for a while before we stumble to the familiar door engraved with the picture of the Weycorus tree. "Seems like we got lucky and found the way to the next level this time." "Yep, let''s reach the next floor today, master!" We enter the door which instantly alerts Faris to a delayed arrow trap waiting for us inside. Traps are going to be a problem if they get more numerous and sophisticated on the later floors, especially if we run into them in the middle of a fight, luckily I have Faris. Bypassing the trap, we continue down a narrow corridor straight into the cave, following along the ball of light I created. There weren''t anymore traps and we smoothly reached out of the bottleneck corridor into the wide area of the bottle; an open space that''s pitch dark outside the range of my light magic. Sensing that this is probably the boss room, I send out a few more ball of lights in different directions. "AWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Suddenly a loud howl resonates doubly strong within this enclosed cave as the ground vibrates a little. A giant wolf standing five meters tall walks out with while staring at us, his dark fur almost camouflages him into the darkness if not for his brightly glowing yellow eyes. "I guess it ain''t goblins this time, spread out, I''ll draw his attention." "Be careful master," Faris says while swiftly moving away. I shoot a water stream and an ice lance towards the wolf at the same time which prompts the wolf to swiftly lunge to the side before charging straight at me. This guy is sure fast for being a giant. The wolf leaps at me while baring his fangs, I summon an ice shield and rolls to the side and freezes the ground around at the same time. The wolf crushes the ice shield with his strong jaws but has trouble balancing himself from the sudden slippery floor, giving me an opportunity to stab out at his abdomen while I spot Faris doing the same from the other side. I try to thrust my spear as deep as possible into the wolf but it gets stopped by either his fats or muscle and before I can try to twist the spear further in, the wolf violently jerks away from our attacks. "Master, his defense is too strong for me to do much damage without aiming for his vitals." "My spear can''t pierce him either, I''ll try to immobilize him for you to aim for his head while I fire off a stronger spell." The wolf is bleeding from our attacks earlier but it doesn''t seem to be affecting his movements at all. He takes a few steps to get used to the ice and once again lunges at me, I conjure an ice shield in between us again to block his charge and vision, then shoot off another ice lance aimed at his eyes while jumping to the side. The ice lance misses its mark and sticks itself into the side of the wolf''s neck, the wounds shallow and only causes more bleeding for the wolf. Faris takes this chance to slice at his feet, trying to hamstring him. The wolf retreats while limping to one side, slowing down his movements. "Nice, let''s do that again until he can''t move." The wolf seems hesitant to charge at me again and keeps his distance. I''ll come to you then if you won''t move. I channel into one large ice lance while charging at him, only firing once I get close enough to deem it impossible to dodge. The wolf tries to dodge to the side by the ice lance nails into his hips, hitting the part where his left hind leg connects with his body. I take this chance and rush up to his injured leg and stab my spear in before channeling an electric current into the tip of my spear, immobilizing the wolf. "Get him, Faris." Faris jump in from the side onto his head, stabbing her short sword down into his eye. The wolf violently spasms and somehow manages to swing his body around to throw Faris and me away. Fuck, I guess the wound was too shallow and didn''t reach his brain. In his fury, the wolf charges at Faris. "Run towards me, I''ll finish him off. Faris does as instructed and runs straight toward me, I summon a large ice shield and place it in the wolf''s way as soon as Faris gets behind me. The wolf angrily charges the shield and manages to break through only to be greeted by me landing on his head. I stab into his forehead that is only able to penetrate his skin and send an electric current straight into him again while I charge for a lightning bolt. My spell is complete after what seems to be forever and I fire it straight down at him from the tip of my spear embedded into his head. The lightning pierces through him as he comes collapses down onto the ground. Got him. "That was harder than I expected, bladed weapons don''t seem too effective against him." "Yeah, my short sword barely managed to pierce through his skin." We managed to collect the mana crystal from him and thankfully, we got a medium quality crystal for our trouble. We end the day there having reached the next floor and start returning to town. I''ll need to give extra love to my Faris today to wash off the bad taste I got left with from the encounter with Kou, I hope I''ll never see him again. Chapter 18 - Before the Tournament Today is the 27th day of the second month. Blacky, Faris, and I head to the adventurer guild in the morning, as usual, in order to turn in our mana crystals from yesterday and to continue my training. We collected a total of 211 normal mana crystals and 1 medium quality crystal, we used 10 for my clock and watch and sell the rest for a grand total of 2 gold coins and 11 silver coins. I managed to block 5 arrows out of 50 with my ice shields today during the spars, I''m starting to get a better hang of it. We head straight into the dungeon after training, starting off on the fifth floor this time. This floor seems to remain the same in appearance but the first enemies we find aren''t the usual goblins but a pack of wolves with one giant wolf that''s half the size of the boss from yesterday leading the pack of 10. The wolves rush us with their numbers, forcing me to freeze the ground in our surroundings to break up the momentum of their charge while I pick off the smaller wolves with ice lances. The large wolf lunges at me but contrary to his expectations, his jaw is met with the impact of cold ice as he bites into my ice shield. Repeating the strategy from yesterday, I dodge to the side and thrust out my spear into his abdomen along with Faris who does the same on his other side. Our weapons pierce deeper than with the previous boss however it still isn''t enough to incapacitate the giant wolf. Faris takes the chance while the larger wolf''s movement slows from his injury and focuses on culling the rest of his pack while I keep the large wolf company. With the large wolf being the only one remaining, he tries to switch target and attacks Faris, only to be cut off by my water stream that freezes his front left paw. I send an electric surge to paralyze him while Faris jumps in to pierce down onto his head, the short sword gets stopped by his thick skull and manages to send the wolf into a frenzy, breaking free from my paralysis. He once again heads straight for Faris who caused him great pain and gets caught up in another one of my water streams again where I instantly freeze his paw in place this time as his frenzy rendered my electric attacks ineffective previously. At least going into a frenzy made his movements much simpler to predict, giving me no trouble to land attacks. He struggles to break his feet free but is met with Faris mounting onto his neck this time before aiming her sword straight into the wolf''s eyesocket, embedding the blade deep into his brain. The wolf comes collapsing down as Faris holds on tightly to her blade. "That fight sure was troublesome for being just normal monsters of this floor, let''s hope there aren''t many of these large wolves," I complained while collecting the mana crystals. "Yeah, the giant wolves are really hard to kill." Faris voices her agreement while harvesting the mana crystals as well. We spend the rest of the morning hunting on the fifth floor and our progress is slowing down compared to the previous floor. They were still the same old goblins hanging out around their traps but the problem is that there are way more wolves with one to three large wolves among each pack roaming around. The larger wolves are taking us a lot of effort to finish off which slows down our progress while draining our stamina, it''s not worth expending large amounts of mana for charging lightning bolts to deal with regular mobs after all. We return to discuss our plans over lunch. "Faris, the slave traders must''ve sent you into dungeons before to train you to become as strong as you are now, how did you deal with opponents like these without expending too much strength?" "...Hmmm, they sent us in a full group of six with one or two veterans to teach us. Usually, a strength enhancer would wield heavy weapons like a battle-axe or a war-hammer to deal the finishing blows against monsters with tough defense." "Is that so? What are the usual party composition anyways?" "It was different for us every time as the old slaves were sold and new ones are brought in but in general, they taught us that it''s best to have about half the party being melee fighters and half ranged to be more versatile." "...So we would want a melee heavy weapon user or ranged fighters for our party. Well, it''s not something we can get today, let''s hunt on the fourth floor for the time being." "Sure master." --- Today is the 30th of the 2nd month, the day before the tournament. As usual, I wake up to the invasion of Faris''s tongue, the sun has barely risen yet. "Why don''t you sleep in more Faris? We are taking a break for the day." I say while hugging onto Faris. "But I''m used to waking up at this time, I can''t sleep anymore," says Faris while cuddling up to me. Facing Faris''s provocations, I turn her around while we both lay on our sides and start hugging her close to me while spooning her. My hands start their offensive, roaming to grope her chest and moving to pet her between her legs. "Resting is important if you want to be in perfect condition for the dungeons, I guess I''ve got no choice but to tire you out until you fall asleep for the entire day," I said while evilly grinning and quickening the pace of my attacks. "Ahhh master, that feels good!" Having gotten her sufficiently wet, I enter Faris and moans start to resound in our love nest. It''s sure nice to be at our own place now, not having to worry about our volume. I continue laying on my side, spooning Faris until we fall asleep and repeating the process, only leaving to get some food to silence our rumbling tummies. We finally manage to leave the house in the late afternoon to go sell our crystals as well as do some shopping for food. I ordered a large drawer to made to use as a fridge with my ice magic, I just have to reform the ice twice a day to keep it all from melting so we don''t have to get groceries every day. I should really start making some ice cream too when I have time, I''m sure Faris would love it. We enter the busy afternoon line at the guild, we''ve been staying on the fourth floor of Greens Filth for the past few days and averaging around 200 mana crystals every day and I managed to level up my magic again which helped me block about 40% of all the arrows during our morning training.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv.14 Electric Lv. 12 Light Lv. 2 Fire Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic: Identify
We continued patiently waiting in line until a familiar voice suddenly called out to me. "Aster! Haven''t seen you in a while, did Lawrence deliver my message to you?" I turn to the approaching voice and spot a youth with familiar dark green hair, Norton Lockhart, the second son of the Count and my friend walks toward me with a smile. Standing behind him are his party members who all shared the common feature of wearing a slave collar around their necks.Stolen novel; please report. Right behind Norton, a tall and stout looking man with short brown hair that looked to be in his early thirties wearing full plate armor minus the helmet, looming behind him with an intimidating presence. Standing right beside Norton are two girls, a foxkin girl standing at the same height as Norton with snow-white hair with large fluffy looking ears standing tall and a bushy tail. On Norton''s other side, there is a short catkin girl with bright pink hair dressed in a maid uniform, holding onto the hem of Norton''s shirt. Standing further behind Norton is a tall, cool-looking human girl with short jet black hair, she definitely looked like a tomboy who would be popular with other girls with her style and long legs. "Yep, the slave auction, right? When is it exactly again?" "It''s going to be on the 10th of the 3rd month, in ten days, we can talk more after you finish up, we''ll save you your spots at the pub area." We finally get our turn and sold off the remaining mana crystal we have except the ones my pocket watch needs and head off to the pub area to find Norton. "Hey, so where''ve you been Norton?" I say sneaking a pat on Norton''s shoulder while he isn''t paying attention. "Oh, took you long enough, please, sit. Let me first introduce you to my party." Says Norton while he starts pointing to the stout looking man first. "This is Otes, he''s a former knight and has a lot of battle experience and I rely greatly upon him."
Human Male
Age: 29
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 37 Stamina Lv. 28 Dexterity Lv. 1 Water Lv.1 Fire Lv. 1
Unique Magic:
"The catkin beside me here is Zoey, she has been with me since I was young." This time he points to the pink-haired catgirl in the maid uniform.
Catkin Female
Age: 16
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 1 Stamina Lv. 12 Dexterity Lv. 16 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Night Vision
"Next we have Reika, the foxkin. She''s skilled in magic and detection."
Foxkin Female
Age: 19
Magic Level: Fire Lv. 20 Light Lv. 11 Water Lv.1 Electric Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic: Keen Senses
"Last but not least, we have the talented mage, Iris."
Human Female
Age: 18
Magic Level: Earth Lv. 18 Wind Lv.14 Fire Lv. 1 Light Lv. 1 Water Lv.1 Electric Lv. 1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic:
My gaze returns back to Norton, might as well finish the job.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 17 Stamina Lv. 15 Dexterity Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic:
I check them each out with identify while Norton''s party each politely nod their heads at me during their introduction, seems they''re rigid and acting conservatively to not embarrass their master. "Ahem, allow me to introduce ourselves to your party as well, I''m Aster, a rank 2 adventurer and this is my only party member so far, Faris." Faris stands up and gives them a proper bow. What is this? Etiquette battle of the slaves? "Now that we''re done with the pleasantries, let me answer your earlier question. I''ve been training with my party at the dungeon, Birds High, we stayed at a nearby village so we could train all day to produce results for my father to see. Else he probably won''t fund me for this upcoming auction and I wouldn''t be able to get my sixth party member." Norton says with a helpless expression. "Ohhh, never knew you could be such a hard worker Norton." I tease Norton. "Yeah, definitely more hard-working than someone who I hear returns to his cozy house and leisurely plans what''s for dinner every day while being all lovey-dovey with his slave." Norton snaps back while grinning at us, causing Faris to blush. "Tsk, anyway, so why''d you come back if you''re supposed to be working hard, grinding it out? It can''t be because you missed me right?" "As much as I missed you, I came back to take a much-needed break and to check out the iron badge dueling tournament while I''m at it, so I can scout out what it''s like when it''s my turn to participate." "Then you''re in luck, you get to see me in that tournament tomorrow and get promoted to rank 3, leaving you behind, haha." "Seriously? Didn''t you just become rank 2 not too long ago?" Norton speaks out with a surprised expression. "Let''s just say with our skills and a little luck, it wasn''t a problem at all." I glance toward Faris while speaking out. "Well, I guess I''ll be cheering for you tomorrow, won''t be long until you''ll be the one cheering for me while I shoot past you in the ranks." Norton too gives me a confident look after glancing over his party members. "Glad to have ya." Seeing we haven''t ordered anything yet to clink cups with Norton, I start ordering drinks for Faris and I as well as some snacks while we hang out with Norton''s crew. I ordered some type of juice that tastes like blueberries. "Cheers!" I initiate the belated cheers as our drinks arrive. "Cheers!" Norton and his party return the gesture. "What are you drinking? Why don''t you have some alcohol with me? You''re probably not heading back to the dungeon this late anyway." Norton comes wraps his arm around my shoulders with the slight smell of alcohol. "Sorry, I don''t drink." I curtly respond. Seeing my response Norton stops pestering me about it which I''m thankful for, and change to a different topic. We finish our little afternoon tea session or whatever you want to call it and part ways for the evening. "Master, why do you not drink?" Faris voices out to me as we are riding Blacky home. "Hmmm? Oh, alcohol? Why, do you want to drink? I don''t mind." "No, I just wanted to learn more about master." "...Well, I never liked the idea of drinking and the whole culture around it." "Culture?" "Some random people made up the idea that drinking should be a social norm and a measure to see if you''re a mature, sociable adult by making everyone feel that it is normal to spend their hard-earned money on an expensive drink that is addictive, bad for your health, and can make you lose control of yourself and maybe kill you. I just don''t think it makes sense at all, that''s all, I''m fine with other people drinking though so if you want to drink, that''s your decision to make." "Is alcohol bad for me?" "Errr... I guess you wouldn''t know, well, it won''t do any harm to you in the short term especially if you drink in moderation, but if you drink excessively often, you''ll start regretting it in the future as more illnesses sprout out for you to deal with as you get older if it doesn''t kill you first." "...Then I won''t drink alcohol as well, master." "I''m not trying to scare you, it won''t be that bad if you drink in moderation, it''s still up to you," I say as I turn around to pat Faris on the head, seeing the earnest her try to copy me is so cute. "No, I''ll do the same as master." I''m going to have to "punish" her once we get home for being so cute, though I probably should rest up for the tournament tomorrow. --- The next day, on the 1st day of the 3rd month, we head straight to the guild to participate in the iron badge dueling tournament. We are instructed to head toward the training ground area upon arrival and is met with the scene of at least hundreds of adventurers hanging around with the entire training ground seems to have transformed overnight, having tons of marked out arenas surrounded by large bleachers for the audience. I somehow spot Lawrence sitting under a parasol in his guild uniform at one of the registration counters. "Morning Lawrence, there sure is a huge crowd here." "Oh, aren''t you early for being Aster?" "What does that mean? And register me as present would you?" "Yeah yeah, don''t worry, the tournament won''t start right away, and there are around a thousand adventurers participating so it will take a while before they are even ready to draw out the brackets. Which means I don''t have spare time to chat with you, so begone." Lawrence says shooing me away. "Didn''t want to look at your sorry face for long anyways, I''m off to find Norton," I say while waving at Lawrence who seems to be already ignoring me. I cut the banter short and start walking around aimlessly to try to find Norton and his party, though, with a thousand participants plus all the spectators around, I doubt I''ll find him before my matches start. Just as I walk away from the registration area I hear an overpowering obnoxious shout. "HAHAHA, look at all these people Caroline, they''re all going to witness my glorious victory here today." I turn over to see the sharp red-haired kid making a ruckus while he holds onto a girl in each arm, followed by his entourage of females. "...Tsk, just my luck, of all things to happen, we would run into him in this tournament... Let''s go, Faris, he''ll probably lose early anyways if he fell for elementary traps like pitfalls, let''s try not to come into contact with him." We retreat into the crowd and resume our mission of finding Norton except with the added condition of avoiding the plague named Kou. Goddamnit, is this the bad part that comes with the luck blessing? Chapter 19 - Iron Badge Tournament "Attention everyone, the monthly iron badge tournament will be starting shortly, can all participants please head to the main stadium, thank you." A loud female voice overpowers the entire training ground, likely some form of speaker magic. In the end, I didn''t find Norton, there are just too many people but I''m sure he''ll be around once it''s my time to compete. Faris and I head to the main stadium which is just a large plain field with a large stage in the middle where a group of guild staff awaits. We settle ourselves at the closest spot to the stage we can find and wait for further instructions. After another fifteen minutes, a middle-aged lady dressed in the guild outfit with brown hair steps out on to the stage. "Welcome everyone, I am the guild master of the adventurer guild, Unatis branch, Sharon Lars." Her voice resounds in the entire field as if they are speakers spread around. "It is my honor to be your host today so let me get right into it, spectators please listen to the instructions of the guild staff and move in an orderly manner. Wagers for each match are accepted at the designated counters for each respective arenas for the fight, with a maximum bet of 50 gold coins and a minimum bet of 1 silver coin." The guild master pauses her speech to let the crowd settle down and whispers to her assistant beside her. "Participants please find your name on the board behind me and head to the designated arena as written down. The brackets are kept confidential to allow for fairness so your subsequent matches will be announced in the same way." The assistants behind her unveil the cloth covering a giant board on the stage. "The rules will remain unchanged this year, single elimination with only the top ten percent qualified to be promoted and first place will receive a prize of one platinum coin and each subsequent placement will receive 10 gold coins less until 11th place. Detailed rules for the duel will be explained at the beginning of each match so feel free to ask any questions you have after your judges explain them to you. That is all, let the tournament begin!" The guild master retreats into a tent placed atop the stage after her finishing remarks. The crowd once again starts getting bustling while people at the back scramble to get closer to the board to find out where to go. From where I am, I managed to find my name in the long list of names that is arranged alphabetically under my first names, seeing the names I notice not everyone has a last name. Aster Estrea - Arena #28 With the guidance of a nearby guild staff, we quickly find my assigned arena; a simple plot of grassland surrounded by a bunch of bleachers and some tables where the guild staff responsible for this arena are stationed. "Faris, you can go ahead and try to find Norton or grab a nice seat in the shades." "Okay, good luck master! I''ll be cheering for you." Faris says with her fists brought up to her chest. I move toward where the guild staff is where a large crowd is starting to form. They''re two different lines but there is a cute catkin wearing the guild uniform and holding a sign at the tail of the line, guiding the new people approaching. "All competitors please join the line to your right while everyone else looking to place bets please join the line to your left." The catgirl instructs loudly to everyone around. I join the line for competitors that is thankfully moving much faster than the other line. My turn comes soon as I head over to the table where a male guild staff with an eye patch covering his left eye greets me. "Your guild badge please." The man politely takes my guild badge and scans it across a crystal ball object. "Aster Estrea, correct?" "That''s right." "Would you like to place a bet on your match? Of course, you can only bet on yourself as you''re a competitor but the other rules remain unchanged or else please head over to the area where a guild staff is holding a sign with the number 2 on it." "I''ll bet 50 gold coins on myself, how do the rates work?" I quickly take out the coins and place them on the table. "Sure are confident, the rates are dynamic and changes depending on the pool as the guild only facilitates the gambling and charges a 5% fee on the winnings. You''ll see the final rates posted at the top of the stands once betting is closed. If you win, come back with this slip, good luck!" The guild staff writes something and stamps on a piece of paper after taking my coins and hands it over to me. I''ve been getting more confident recently especially after my daily training with Morgan and Faris so this will be a good chance to grow my funds for the slave auction. Would have gotten Faris to bet too if they didn''t treat slaves as the same entity as their owner, they check your guild badge for adventurers and citizen ID or merchant guild ID for everyone who is placing bets. I guess it is a good measure to prevent people to use groups from manipulating the rates by dumping large amounts of bets. I head over into the center of the arena and under the eyes of all the spectators settling themselves on their seats, I find about ten guild staffs holding up signs with numbers ranging from one to ten scattered around the field. As I head closers I notice an area is marked out in starking red which I assume is the arena for the duels. I arrive in front of the man carrying the sign with the number two on it. "I''m Aster Estrea, I was told to come find you for my match." "You''re at the right place, I will be the judge for your match today. If you have any questions please ask after I explain the rules once your opponent arrives." The judge didn''t seem to want to waste any more words so I spend my time looking around at the bleachers to try to spot Faris or Norton''s party. I didn''t expect it to be this hard to spot them given the unique color of their hair but everyone else in this world seems to have a large spectrum of different hair colors. I continue to scan the crowds but it''s just too hard when they are all still many people moving around. I get interrupted when I notice someone heading towards me, he is a tall lanky fellow wearing leather armor and carrying a spear similar to mine. "I''m Ray, I''ve been told to come here for my first match," Ray says while sizing me up.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. It seems like my first opponent is a mage too, don''t mind me if I cheat to see what you''re capable of, I can''t risk losing my money after all.
Human Male
Age:20
Magic Level: Earth Lv. 21 Light Lv. 12 Water Lv.1 Electric Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Nature Lv.1
Unique Magic:
Light magic? This is the first time seeing anyone decent levels in light magic, as far as my experience with it, it doesn''t seem to have much offensive capabilities. "Good, now that you''re both here let me explain the rules. First and foremost, no fatal attacks or intentionally causing permanent damage to your opponent, failure to comply with these rules will not only disqualify you from the tournament, an investigation will also be launched and you will be arrested. Victory is decided by either forcing your opponent to surrender, knocking them out of the ring or when I deem that a participant is no longer able to fight. You may use any equipment you have brought as long as you do not break any of the previous rules. Any questions?" "No, let''s get this started." Says my opponents while pointing his spear at me. "...No questions here as well." "Very well, please head over to the spot marked with a circle at your respective sides, the match will begin the moment this sign touches the ground." We both head to our positions and I take the chance to look at the rates for my match. I spot multiple pairs holding up large signs and found the one with a giant #2 written with my name and odds below. Aster 1.70 Ray 2.42 I think that means I get 1.7 coins back for every coin I bet, guess that means there''s more money on me. We reach our designated starting location where we are twenty meters apart. Both of us focus our gaze at the referee, waiting for the signal to start. The loud cheering from the audience has already started as I faintly hear the sounds of fighting going on not too far from me. The judge takes the moment when the sound of cheers wane a little before letting go of the sign he was holding gently. The sign looks like it''s traveling in slow motion as gravity pulls it down and when it finally hits the ground, all I can see is a dazzling light shining right into my eyes. Shit, this must be his light magic. I quickly form an ice shield in front of me to diffuse the light but unexpectedly, a loud sound of impact from something striking my shield is heard. He must have fired something with his earth magic after blinding me, not bad. I see a figure rushing at me from the other side of my ice shield and decides to slam my shield into his charge. My assailant did not expect me to be able to counter-attack so quickly and gets knocked off his feet while the second spell I cast, water stream, engulfs his entire body that''s lying on the ground. I freeze the water the moment it fully covers himand charges up close and point my spear at his throat. "...I..surr...ender." My opponent voices out while visibly shivering in the cold. "Match is over, the winner is Aster." The judge quickly appears beside us. That fight sure was anticlimactic, but I''ll gladly take the money from an easy win. I might as well release the poor guy out from my ice too. "Congratulations, now please take this token and report back to the staff responsible for this arena, they will direct you to your next match." The judge offers me a small token as I finish turning my ice into warm water, releasing my opponent. I head back to the counter from before to report my results. "I finished my match, here''s the token and my receipt for my wager." I find the same man wearing an eye patch and hands him my items. "Oh, congratulations, the final rate was 1.7 which means you will get 83 gold coins and 25 silver coins after the guild fee of 5% is deducted, here." The staff swiftly produces the money and hands it over to me, which means I won a total of 33 gold coins and 25 silver coins. "The details of your next round will be announced at the main arena in a few minutes, so feel free to make your way over." "Thank you." I retreat from the counter and instantly spots Faris walking over with Norton and his crew. "Master! You won!" An excited Faris leaps at me. "The young lady was passionately cheering for you the entire time, though you sure didn''t waste time and finished the match quickly. Anyway, thanks for helping me earn some extra cash, it sure was worthwhile to come to this tournament." Says Norton as he''s playing with around with a bag of coins. "So you were part of the reason why my rates were so low! Come on, go ask your family for some money instead of fighting with me for the crumbs." I tease Norton. "Hey, it never hurts to have some more cash, especially since I''ll have to start relying on myself soon to take care of my party." Norton continues to gloat by tossing around his bag of coins. "...Sigh, let''s go, Faris, I''m going to find out where my next round is." "Hey, don''t forget about me too, I did come to cheer for you so it''s only right I get a little benefit from this." I ignore Norton as he trails after us. --- Our party of seven is currently having lunch at a place Norton recommended to us, and of course, he kindly "offered" to treat us with his winnings from my matches. I had another two matches in the morning after my match with that earth and light magic user, the other two opponents were just regular strength enhancers wearing heavy armor that made good target practice so I treated them to an electrifying experience. The sad part was that my rates were going lower and lower, I only made another 33 gold coins from the two matches. "Hey, have you heard, the son of that Merchant Warrior is participating in the iron badge tournament. He''s been breezing past through everyone else so why don''t we go wager on him to make some extra change?" "How do you know he''s really the son of the Merchant Warrior?" "I was among the spectators this morning, he had the same red hair as the Merchant Warrior and his name is Kou Hakuren, the same last name." The conversation from our neighboring table leaks over into my ears. "..." "What''s up Aster? Full already?" Norton asks me as I had stopped eating to pay attention to the conversation to the table beside us. "Norton, do you know about the Merchant Warrior?" "Oh, I did keep hearing people talk about his son in the stands today, the Merchant Warrior is a moniker for a famous adventurer named Tojo Hakuren. It''s said he''s conquered over 20 dungeons by relying on the best equipment that can be purchased, using the wealth he''s made from his business he built up. Truly a merchant and a warrior at the same time." "So he just relies on money?" "Hmm, not quite, else all big merchants and kings will be able to do the same, he''s someone with massive wealth and combat skills at the same time if he''s able to conquer dungeons, he also has a lot of connections so even kings treat him with respect." "...And what about his son?" "Not sure, haven''t heard much about him aside from today, but I''m willing to bet his father didn''t cheap out on his equipment though. Anyways, why are you suddenly so interested in him? You guys met him before?" "...Sigh." I explain to Norton about our encounter with Kou as we continue to finish our meals. "Hahaha, you guys are both so childish." "...Fuck off, fuck that guy for trying to take Faris away from me." I hold onto Faris''s hand as I say that. "Don''t worry master, he can''t do anything to force me to leave you. I am already yours after all." Says Faris as she smiles sweetly at me. "Yeah yeah, don''t worry about it, he sounds just like some spoilt brat who''s living in his own world, he probably already forgot about the encounter with you guys already." "Still... I won''t forgive him until I get to beat his ass up, he better not lose in the tournament before he fights me, I''ll show him how strong someone who "forces" his slave to fight is." "Hahaha, this is sounding more and more like a fight between children to me, you''re seriously childish getting angry over nothing." Norton laughs until he chokes on his drink. "Waiter, can I get a bottle of the most expensive wine you have at this store please." "Wait... what? I thought you didn''t drink." Norton manages to squeeze out his voice while coughing. "I don''t, but you did say order whatever you want, right?" "Wait a second... you forced me into it! I promise I''ll stop laughing, okay? So let''s not waste any food or drinks now." "I think the waiter already opened the bottle by now so you''ll have to finish the bottle if don''t want to waste it." "...Petty." Norton whispers underneath his breath. "What''s that? Another bottle you say?" I evilly grin at Norton. "...I...I give up." That''s what you get for screwing up my rates this morning buddy. Chapter 20 - Little Merchant Warrior Norton''s group headed back to the guild along with me and Faris for my fourth round in the iron badge tournament, one of the most important rounds because there is only a little over one hundred participants, a little over 10% left which means winning this round would guarantee I''ll be promoted to rank 3 without a problem. We head to the training field where the tournament is held and find that the entire venue had been reworked during lunch. The sporadic arenas that were surrounded by bleachers are all gone, replaced by even larger bleachers around the main stage where there are now proper stone platforms that are standing one meter above ground rather than the makeshift fields used until now. With everyone funneled into one arena, the entire venue looks more alive and bustling, with multiple gambling counters set up all around the area in between the stage and bleachers. "You guys better go find seats fast before it''s too late," I warn "No need, it''s probably too late already with so many of us anyways. We plan to watch the action from up close, right below the dueling platform you get assigned to." Norton''s group nods in approval at Norton''s words. I look over to the crowds surrounding the one-meter tall platforms and notice everyone there seems fired up while holding a piece of paper in their hands. I realize what they are holding when my gaze moves onto the gambling counters nearby. "...You just want to keep gambling." "...Of course not! I''m here to support my friend as close as possible... while also making some pocket change." "Yeah, yeah, I''m going to go." I split off from the group and head over to the contestant area and await for the next round to start. Before long, the familiar figure of the guild master steps out on the previous wooden platform and project her voice to the entire venue. "Ladies and gentlemen, the second half of the iron badge tournament will be resuming shortly, all contestants please find which platform you are assigned and head there immediately." The guild staff unveils another large board where the names of contestants are separated into nine groups. I spot Kou under group for platform two while my name is under platform three, guess I won''t face him yet. I head over to platform number three while trying to spot Kou from the crowd, just you wait. They are over a dozen contestants and a group of guild staff which I presume to be the referees all waiting with me at the bottom of a flight of stairs that leads up to platform three. We are in a small fenced off area where numerous spectators surround us, all either waiting for the match to start or lining up at the gambling counters to place their bets, with Norton''s group being of the latter while they drag my Faris along with them. One of the presumed guild staff in the group beside me starts walking up onto the stage while holding onto something reminiscent of a loudspeaker. "The first round at platform 3 between the veteran enhancer, Doris, and the talented fire mage, Andrews, will be starting soon, betting will close in another five minutes! This is the third appearance in the iron badge tournament for Doris. He barely missed the cutoff for promotion previously which he claims was due to bad matchups while fighting in open field that may be disadvantageous for ranged fighters because they are nowhere to run but this time he once again faces the same dilemma, will Doris finally make it through?" The other guild staff that are below the platform starts calling for the two contestants, confirming their identities and offering them the opportunity to place wagers before one of the staff leads Doris and Andrews up to the stage under the rest of our gazes. It seems the earlier guild staff is just the caster while this one is the judge. The referees seem to be explaining the rules to the two contestants again before pulling out a small blue flag which he throws into the air after confirming the two contestants are in position. The contestants start moving the moment the flag touches the ground. "The match begins! It seems like Doris starts the match by keeping his distance and firing a volley of arrows at Andrews! Andrews answers with a strong gust of wind, veering the arrows off course!" The caster''s voice barely reach me over the loud cheers coming from the crowd who are chanting for their favorites. It didn''t take long before even louder cheers erupt, challenged by some booing from the people who likely lost their bets. Doris the archer ended up winning by keeping his distance and flexibility dodging off the spells cast at him while firing off attacks. Immediately after the contestants clear the stage, the caster once again announces the names of those participating in the next fight. They sure are moving things along fast, though I can''t blame them with this many contestants to get through. "Next up, we''ll have the famous nature mage, "Bloomer" Luther Portterbello against the newcomer who has risen up in ranks at rapid speed, the ice mage, Aster Estrea!" Bloomer huh? Having a moniker sounds pretty cool as long as it isn''t some horrible name. The nearby guild staff calls me and my opponent over, letting me spot my brown-haired catkin adversary up close.
Catkin Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Nature Lv. 26 Earth Lv. 15 Light Lv. 1 Water Lv.1 Electric Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Wind Lv.1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Night Vision
This is the first time I''ve seen a nature mage combatant, unlike other magic, you aren''t able to create something from nothing with nature magic. It only allows you to manipulate plants and trees in your surroundings but not create them, making nature magic very situational in combat strength or so I think. I show my guild badge and place the maximum bet of 50 gold on myself before making my way up on stage while trying to keep tabs the rates for my match. Aster 2.17 Luther 1.85 For once I''m the underdog though not by much, but facing someone with a moniker probably isn''t going to be a walk in the park. I can''t help but think that the easy opponents until now were much more preferable, getting free money from the bets albeit at a lower rate. The judge leads me and Luther up to the center of the platform. "I don''t think I will need to explain the rules again since you''ve made it this far so if you don''t have any questions head to your spots, the match will start as soon as this flag in my hand touches the ground." I arrive at my spot under the bustling of the crowds and the loud introductions from the caster who is trying to hype up the match. The referee checks that we are both in place before throwing the blue hand-held flag with an embroidery of the guild symbol on it up into the air. The moment the flag lands on the stage, I instantly shoot out two ice lances at my opponent but he is prepared and intercepts my attacks by an earthen wall that springs up from the ground in front of him. "Here we go! A strong start by Aster as he starts with a decisive attack by dual casting with ice magic, his water magic must be really high leveled despite his young age to perform such a feat!" The sound of the caster rings much louder in my ears now that I am on stage and much closer to him. That wall is pretty thick, I don''t think I can break through it while trying to avoid heavily injuring him. I''m going to have to move around it. As I am slowed down by his defenses and trying to find a way to counter, I see several small objects be thrown over the walls of my opponent, sprinkling the area around. "There it is! The bloomer has sprinkled his seeds, what will he bloom out today?!" Before I can react to his move, the seeds on the ground suddenly starts glowing before it quickly turns into a bed of vines. What is this? Are vines even suppose to grow from seeds?Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. As I get closer to move around the wall, the vines move as if they are snakes and slither my way. "Look at that! Luther successfully makes bloom of some iron vine seeds, will his opponent Aster be able to deal with it?" The vines continue traveling towards me while zigzagging around as if trying to dodge my attacks, well try to dodge this. I cast a large water stream of water and flood it towards the approaching vines before encasing most of the vines in ice. While I admire my work, a ball of stone suddenly hurls itself towards my chest but I manage to cast an ice shield in its path by instinct, I guess all that training in the mornings is starting to pay off. The stone ball smashes hard into the ice shield, shattering the shield and landing on the ground near my feet. Nature magic and now he can create stone too from earth magic, why can''t I get him as my opponent a bit further into the tournament after I''ve secured my promotion? More seeds get thrown my way while I busy myself from his sudden attack but this time, I flood the area where the seeds are scattered and freezes them in place. Can''t grow in ice right? Seeing that I''m targeting the vines before it blooms, my opponents decisively give up throwing them near me and instead grows them behind the safety of his earthen wall. My magic isn''t suitable for beating him without risking heavily injuring him especially if he decides to turtle up like that. This may become a battle of attrition, who runs out of steam first. The matches become uneventful as I keep my distance to deal with the occasional vines that try to bind me while I lob balls of ice over his wall at him which gets blocked by a stone shield he conjured around him. Visible fatigue is showing on my opponent''s face as it pales while he breathes in rapidly. It seems he''s near his limit though it hasn''t been that long of a fight. Seeing me still fine as I continue to cast spells, Luther decides to make a last desperate struggle before he runs out of mana, charging at me under the protection of his stone shield. Seeing it''s time to end it, I cast another water stream at his path while channeling a large electric current into it at the same time. Knowing that spending his last bit of mana on defending will earn him nothing, he leaps up while charging all his remaining mana into a stone spear and launching it at me. I''ve learned my lesson already as I don''t half-ass my shield and concentrate on casting the strongest ice shield I can, imagining a bigger and thicker shield with its molecules moving as slow and dense as possible. His attacks make an impact on my shield with a thunderous sound as the two spells stop in midair. A small part of the tip of the stone spear stabs itself into my ice shield but the entire momentum of the attack is stopped and for a moment everything comes to a standstill, it''s my victory. Luther lands on my water stream and is paralyzed the electricity though I think it''s also the only reason he''s hasn''t collapsed yet. I confirm my suspicion and release my spell as Luther drops onto the ground, it must hurt like hell for him right now after running out of mana. Speaking of which, I really should start working on my mana pool more even though mine is already better than most people. I really do not appreciate the thought of having to experience mana zero again. "The match is over, the winner is Aster." The judge quickly declares the results of the match before quickly heading over to check Luther''s condition under the loud sounds of applause, happiness, frustration, sorrow, and anger. Yep, gambling never changes but it sure feels damn good to be part of the winning side, that''s for sure. I drink a mana potion provided to the winner by the guild and finish up collecting the fruits of my wager and head out to meet with Faris and Norton''s group, there''s still some time before the next round and I have some time to kill while my mana recovers. "Congrats, it seems your promotion to rank 3 has been confirmed but don''t let that get to your head, I''ll catch up soon enough." Norton and his party greets me with congratulations as Faris jumps at me. "Congratulations master, you did it!." Staring at the clear blue eyes of Faris looking genuinely happy for me while she is holding onto me, I can''t resist and steals a kiss. A startled Faris swiftly looks down and buries her increasingly red face into my chest as Norton looks on with a smirk while his female party members are watching on in fascination with a blush on their faces. "Heh, I wouldn''t want to ruin your moment but since you''ve got some time before your next match, why don''t we head over to platform two, I heard the Little Merchant Warrior who you have a crush on is about to fight next," Norton says while holding out a wager receipt. "...Let''s go." --- Platform two is just right next to where we were with the identical layout except there is a larger crowd here. We squeeze our way into the crowds to get a closer look at the match. "The match between the two winner candidates, the Little Merchant Warrior, Kou Hakuren against the Temperate Mage, Ian will be delayed for another five minutes to facilitate for wagers to be placed." The caster on the platform announces. "This match sure is popular..." I can''t help but voice. "I wouldn''t say that it is the contestants that are popular, more like there is free money to be made." "What do you mean?" "Anyone who knows about the Merchant Warrior would know that he is the worst nightmare for mages, naturally that will carry on to the Little Merchant Warrior as well." "...?" I do nothing to hide my confused look. "You''ll see when the match starts." "Fine, be that way," I say as I turn back my attention onto the stage while hugging Faris from behind, got to be careful in these crowds, they''re probably gropers around... "Master... People are staring..." Faris blushes refuses to fade as embarrassment overwhelms her. "It''s fine, let them do what they want, who cares what they think." "...Yes master." "The match will now be starting shortly, thank you for everyone''s patience." Two people on the stage move toward their positions, a human with short black hair in leather armor wielding a cast spear who I don''t recognize which means the other person wearing a pitch-black full plate armor with his face hidden behind the helmet is Kou. I glance over to see the final rates for the match. Kou 1.17 Ian 5.88 "...Those rates are pretty brutal." I mutter while giving Norton''s receipt for his wager a glance. "It''s already pretty good since his opponent is one of the likely candidates to getting really far into the tournament, the rates are even more brutal if it was against some no-name mage." The referee confirms their position and proceeds to toss the flag in his hand into the air. The moment the flag lands, two arrows of fire shoot straight through the arena and zones in on Kou who stands completely still in his black armor. Kou continues to not respond to the attack as it makes its way towards him and lands straight into the middle of his chest. The expected impact or burning did not occur, Kou remains standing there motionless without having moved a step which agitated his opponent as much as the crowd cheered. "The match starts off with a fiery opener as Ian dual casts two arrows of fire but it seems there is no effect whatsoever as the Little Merchant Warrior tanks the hit! The might of orichalcum armor is truly the nightmare of mages all around." The caster explains to the cheerful crowd. Kou starts slowly walking toward his opponent who yells something at him that gets lost in the sound of the venue before resuming his barrage of spells fired off at Kou. The spells soundlessly disappear as Kou continues walking leisurely. "What''s going on? Does that armor negate all magic attacks?" Not able to keep silent I voice my questions to Norton. "Orichalcum, expensive stuff, it costs at least a dozen platinum coins just for a small shield but it''s really effective at absorbing the mana of newly casted spells before they stabilize." "So basically all spells are ineffective against that suit of armor? Isn''t that like cheating? Aren''t there rules against that in the tournament?" "The tournament allows the use of any personal gear unfortunately but he isn''t immune to everything, he is still vulnerable to physical force, things not conjured from mana like nature magic, or even spells that have stabilized for half an hour or so wouldn''t be negated completely." Kou steps closer to his opponent who tries to soak him and his surroundings in water before freezing it into ice. The water and ice disappears as soon as it makes contact with his armor as each step leaves a clear footprint in the frozen floor he walks through. "...So how is a mage suppose to beat him with that cheat-like armor." "Well...there is a limit to how much orichalcum can absorb at a time, the metal turns more and more white the more it absorbs until it reaches full capacity but seeing that full suit of armor, I doubt it''ll reach its limit without a dozen mages working together..." Norton gives me a helpless look. My attention is brought back to the fight at the loud sound of an explosion. "Ian desperately struggles to keep Kou away as he launches a hot counterattack! But did it work?" Steam obscures the arena from the result of the explosion as everyone tries to see the results of the attack. What even caused that explosion? The steam subsides as we regain our view of the match, Kou is getting up to the side, it seems he got knocked away by that explosion but he seems barely injured. His opponent Ian took the time to cast a large ice spear when visibility was lost and launches it toward Kou before it lands a meter away from him. He can''t have possibly missed now can he? Did he aim that on purpose? Immediately followed by the ice lance landing, a similarly large ball of yellowish fire shoots straight at the ice lance embedded to the ground beside Kou. This time Kou reacts diligently as a medium-sized, greenish shield appears from nowhere and Kou crouches behind his new shield held toward the ice. The yellowish fireball makes contact with the ice lance as another explosion ring in my ears and the stage is once again filled with steam. What the fuck was that? Steam explosion? I think I''ve seen that in documentaries before with thermite and ice though I''m not even sure the same rules of physics apply in this world... The crowd enters a brief period of silence from the explosion as the clear sound of metal armor rubbing against itself resonates while the steam still obscures the vision for all the spectators. Then the unique sound of metal hitting metal reverberates as the grunts of the man paints the scene of struggle for the owner of the voice that is suffering outside my vision. Before long the steams clears out as we make out the figure of the man in full plate armor standing over an unconscious man beneath him while the judge is crouched next to him, examining his condition. "The match is over, the winner is Kou." Cheers and applause resonate loudly throughout the area as if their hero just defeated the demon king. "..." "...Master, you can definitely beat him too!" Seeing my troubled look, Faris tries to cheer me up. "Well even if you don''t, you already got your promotion anyway so don''t fret about it, it''s no big deal. Anyways, I''m going to go collect my winnings, I''ll see you in a bit." Norton tries to sound positive while his party members gazes at me with pity. "...Yea, then I''ll make my way to my way back to platform three first to prepare for my next round, see you there." I bring my Faris along with me this time who is still in my embrace since the beginning of the match instead of leaving her off with Norton''s party. You''re going to be my body pillow while I clear my head. How can I beat Kou? I can''t just let him beat me or run away by forfeiting, I need to think of a plan... Chapter 21 - Lesson Back at platform three, the fourth round is still ongoing but my mind is still in a daze. Scenes of Kou fighting in that orichalcum armor keeps replaying as I helplessly try to find an opening I can exploit. I am so distracted that time passed by like a haze and I fought in round after round while imagining my opponents as Kou. I even tried to fight against an enhancer without magic for a while to simulate fighting against Kou only to have it handed to me and forced to use magic. The more I thought about it, the more useless my magic seemed against him. The only magic that even fazed him was the explosion but I doubt I have time to level my fire magic to do that now. I only wake up from my daze when Kou entered my vision. The final eight are gathering at the central platform for the quarter-finals as I head there with Faris and Norton''s party in tow. The sky starts to dim but the entire venue is still bright as day as the guild deployed several light mages for lighting, allowing me to clearly see the approaching pitch black armor.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 26 Stamina Lv. 22 Dexterity Lv. 1 Vigor Lv. 5 Water Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1
Unique Magic: FearImmunity
Feeling my gaze from this close, Kou stares straight back at me. "...You, I''ve seen you before." Kou scans me and my companions before settling his gaze on Faris beside me. "That''s right, you''re that adventurer who forces his slave to fight for him! If you''re a man then you should rely on yourself instead of relying on unfortunate girls who fell to slavery." Kou says whileall fired up with his speech. "Mind your own business." I retort before Faris has a chance to speak. Meanwhile, Norton and his group sees where this conversation is going and let out a helpless sigh. "I''ll give you double amount you spent on your slave, it''ll be worth your while since it''s impossible for you to get that price for a second-hand slave, go buy yourself some experienced knights or something if you want meat shields." "No, it''s not up for discussion no matter how much you offer," I say while trying to maintain my composure as much as possible. Calm down, don''t let his words get to you. "...You...I hate people like you the most, I can''t just stand by doing nothing while knowing a poor girl is being forced to serve and raped by the likes of you then only to be thrown away after her usefulness of being used as a meat shield is exhausted." Kou starts raising his voice, attracting the attention of the nearby people. "Don''t worry young lady, I will definitely save you from this scum." Having attracted more attention, Kou proudly declares to Faris. "Mast---" Faris''s words are cut off by me before she can voice out. "I''m going to have to say the same, I hate people like you who force their own ideas on other people, jump to conclusions, and thinks your delusions is the truth to everything. You better fuck off before you regret it." We stare at each other for a moment before a loud voice coming from beside me draws our attention. "I DON''T NEED YOUR SAVING, I''M HAPPY AS I AM WITH MASTER!" Faris yells out before holding onto my side and glares at Kou. Everyone is stunned as the surroundings enter into a silent lull at the unexpected outburst. I''ve never seen Faris like that before. "...I see...so this bastard has even forced you to speak out against your own wills, you are truly despicable." "You---" I draw Faris closer to stop her from talking to Kou anymore as I whisper into her ears. "It''s useless... This guy is straight-up an idiot." "But master..." "It''s fine, let''s just ignore him and move on" I finish whispering to Faris and gives Norton a look in which he nods back in response. Time to head to the quarter-finals. "Where are you going you, coward! Don''t run away from me." Kou positions himself to block our path. "The quarter-finals are starting soon shouldn''t you head there as well?" I try to misdirect Kou''s attention to focus on the tournament while holding Faris back from arguing with him. "Oh, so you made it to the quarter-finals as well then I take it, surprising for someone like you. You---" I shove past Kou while pulling along Faris''s hand, interrupting him as I no longer want to listen to his ramblings. "Stop running and show me that you''re a man, let''s settle this in the tournament! If you win, I can promise you anything within my powers but in exchange, If I win you have transfer ownership of your slave to me!" Kou shouts out after us while glaring hard at me. "Fuc---" Before I can tell him to fuck off, an arm wraps around me as Norton''s voice quietly whispers into my ear. "It isn''t wise to flat out reject him right now." "...What? Why? There no way I''m risking Farisbecause of his stupidity." I struggle to keep my volume down to a whisper. "The way he''s glaring over here, you''ll make an enemy out of him for real this time if you reject his bet, then they''ll be no tellingwhat an angry idiot is capable of doing, especially a rich angry idiot." "Then what do you want me to do? I''ll rather have to deal with assassins or whatever he sends at me than give him Faris, I''ll come on out and say it, I have no confidence of beating him as I am right now." "There''s a way to make him get off your back without losing Faris, you guys trust each other right?" "Of course!" "Okay, then for your part of the bet, tell him this..." "...Haha, that''s pretty good. What should I ask for in exchange, does making him my slave sound good? Having a rich slave doesn''t sound bad to me at al---." Norton''s grip around my neck tighten, cutting me off. "We''re trying to NOT make an enemy out of the Hakuren family here, if you win with that as the wager, you bet your ass his dad is going to be going after you. Ask for something less extreme, that won''t stir up bad blood, you guys don''t actually have any unreconcilable grudge or anything, it''s still easy to smooth things over." "...You''re right, I''ll do as you say, thank you" I genuinely thank Norton as I fist-bump his chest, it''s not bad having a friend look out for you. "Stop whispering around and answer me!" Kou shouts out after having lost his patience. "Fine! I''ll accept your challenge if it''s on my terms." "Hahaha, very well state your terms." Kou seems elated as he can''t possibly imagine losing. "If I win, you''ll acknowledge that I''m your better and address me as your senpai from now on. If you win, I''ll give Faris the opportunity to choose if she wants to be transferred to you instead, though if we don''t end up facing each other, we''ll forget about the whole thing and no longer pursue the matter, deal?" Surely with how caught up he is with the idea that Faris is a tragic victim, he''ll no doubt think Faris would choose him. "Only if you promise you won''t try to throw matches to avoid me, otherwise I demand we have a match after the tournament."If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "Okay, no problem." "Hahaha, then Deal. Don''t worry Faris, I''ll surely save you soon." Kou happily accepts the deal and leaves after assuring Faris. Seeing Faris sends off Kou with an angry glare I can''t help but tease her a little. "Aren''t you happy, there''s a little hero coming to save you." "...Don''t be stupid master, I''ll always be on your side, that is if you let me... " Faris says while looking down. "Of course you will be, there''s no way I''d have it any other way." "Heheh, but that sure was pretty sly of you master." Faris smiles sweetly. "What? Oh, that?Just a little insurance, like I said, there''s no way I''ll risk losing you but doesn''t mean I won''t try to beat his ass and teach him a lesson." "Hm, I can''t wait to see that master." Faris displays her excitement through her clenched fists that are brought to chest level. Now...back to strategizing how to defeat the Little Merchant Warrior, I have a clue on how to go on about it but I don''t think it''s enough... --- The process remains the same for the quarter-finals as the eight of us wait near the flight of stairs up to the platform, waiting to be called for our turn. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the quarter-finals of the iron badge tournament, I''m happy that you all stayed with us throughout the entire day but the end is near! For the first match if you would welcome..." I continue simulating fighting against Kou in my head during the matches until Kou''s turn came for the second round of the quarter-finals. Kou faces off against another strength enhancer in full armor for his match as I take the opportunity to watch how Kou fights in a melee. His opponent wields a long halberd while Kou''s weapon of choice is a dark green greatsword. His opponent skillfully dodges Kou''s swings and successfully counter-attacks by connecting the axe of his halberd to Kou''s shoulder. A small dent is visibly on Kou''s armor as he swings visibly slows. However, the match ends shortly after when Kou baits another swing on his injured arm before suddenly bring out a shield from his space ring to block the attack, not allowing his opponent to dodge his attacks. Kou swings down with his green greatsword while his competitor brings his halberd to parry but the greatsword easily slices through the halberd and stops at his neck. I guess these matches with strength enhancers can change in a moment''s notice with how much damage they can dish out in one hit especially with the superior equipment Kou has, heck I bet his equipment is even enchanted. "The match is over. Kou is the winner!" The judge calmly declares. "There it is folks! The Little Merchants Warrior''s sharp adamantite sword easily slices through his opponent''s defense, what a powerful sword!" Let''s hope that''s his only weapon, I''m glad it isn''t an orichalcum sword so at least he''s not just a walking piece of magic absorbing metal. My match is next as I fight against a melee dexterity enhancer, thankfully it is a good matchup for me as freezing the surroundings limited his options of closing the distance and enabled me to freely chip away his stamina from range until I found an opening to disable him with electric magic. After my match, I take the time to try to rest up and avoid staring back at Kou. Truth be told, I''d much rather see him lose before fighting me, I''d be able to get him off my back without any effort but you know what they say, plan for the worst, cause it will come. "That concludes the quarter-finals. The semi-finals will start right away or else I think everyone''s stomach would eat me alive! Without further ado, let us start off the first match of the semi-finals with the Little Merchant Warrior, Kou Hakuren! Against him, we have a new adventurer who doesn''t seem to be new to combat at all, the ice mage Aster Estrea!" ...Calm down, you can do this, my chances aren''t zero as long as I don''t give up. I continue to do the maximum bet of 50 gold, got to show my confidence, especially to myself. We head up onto the platform and head to our positions while I take the chance to see the final odds. Kou 1.24 Aster 4.16 I guess it''s not that bad considering I''m a mage against the Little Merchant Warrior. It just means if I win, I win that much more. Arriving at myposition, I look back to see the suit of black armor opposite to me and the referee who everyone''s attention is on, waiting for the signal to begin the match. The referee takes a moment to confirm our condition before throwing the flag up into the air. "The flag has landed, the match has begun! And according to the gambling odds, you guys think Little Merchant Warrior will secure an easy victory against yet another mage! Or will the rookie ice mage be able to go against your predictions and be the one to prevail in the end?" The sound of the crowd and the commentator muffles the sound of the pitch-black armor''s movement who is casually walking towards me, holding his dark green greatsword at rest. I put a hand on my back to feel the shield strapped on to me that hasn''t seen action in quite some time. Here goes nothing, I just need to bait him in and catch him off guard, I simulated this many times in my head, everything should work, just a matter of how much mana will it cost and will it hurt me too? "I''m sure am lucky to have drawn you for this match, I guess this means our deal is on, right?" Kou shouts out. "Yeah, bring it. Let''s see what you can do by just relying on your equipment." Immediately after my words, Kou breaks into a charge you wouldn''t expect to see from someone wearing full armor. Time to put on a display of a desperate struggle without holding back. I concentrate on collecting two pools of electricity with my electric magic while Kou continues to run at me in a straight line. Just a bit closer... Just when Kou enter the range to be able to lunge out at me, I fire off two lightning bolts at the same time, one aimed at his visors while the other aimed at his sword. The bluish lightning bolts instantly reach their targets. The spells that make contacts with the visors of the black helmet disappears without a sound, with only the color of the visor changing from pitch black to an almost black dark grey to show for as a result of the spell. The second lightning bolt hits the greatsword in his hand, knocking the sword to the side but Kou''s grip stays strong on his weapon. That took almost a fifth of my mana and all I got in return was him momentarily coming to a stop from being blinded and his weapon pushed back but it''s enough, it''s shown that magic can still be effective against him. I take the opportunity before Kou recovers and thrust out my spear, aiming for the gaps in his armor, the armpit on the side where his hand got staggered. It sucks that tournament rules prevent me from aiming at the slit where his eyes are but I doubt a mage like me would be able to do it accurately and swiftly enough before he reacts anyways. My spear makes contact with the gap in his armpit and the feeling of hitting something hard assaults my hands. Not good, I couldn''t even pierce the chainmail underneath, is it made out of some cheat-metal too? As I recover my spear, a sword rapidly approaches from my left. Kou managed to swing his greatsword one-handed from his staggered position earlier. Fuck. I quickly generate an ice shield, as strong as possible while I roll off to the side. The ice shield barely stops the sword for a moment before cleanly slicing through it and into the area I just was at. I try tostand up and recover my posture as Kou relentlessly pushes his attack. A thrust in chasing after me just as I fixed my posture forced me to jump off to the side. Just as I think that I successfully fended off another attack, the thrust motion suddenly turns into a swing, chasing after me as I struggle to cast another ice shield to slow down the attack as I once roll away again. Mid-roll the sound of my ice shield shattering rings out from behind me as chunks of icepropels into me as I am knocked down onto my stomach. He must have used the flat of his blade to bat my ice shieldat me... "That all you got?" Kou sneers, giving me a moment of rest from his pursuit. "That''s my line, I expected more but it turns out you are just someone who wouldn''t be able to fight without his fancy gear supporting him." I taunt as I get up onto my feet and fix my posture. My words seem to have agitated him as he starts charging at me once again but with more vigor. Good, lose you cool and just charge head-on, the simpler your movement, the better. Kou leaps up and lunges at me as he swings down at me with an overhead swing. Nows the time to do it. I cast another ice shield in his path and jump to the side while taking out the shield on my back and hold it towards Kou who is just a breath away from me. Kou''s movement ceasesas his swordis embedded into the ground. givingme a chance tostart casting a spell. From seeing his fight against that fire and ice mage earlier, it showed that reactions from spells worked on his orichalcum armor like the explosions. With my arsenal of spells, I thought I wouldn''t be able to do the same without fire magic but all I needed is a way to superheat the ice to cause an explosion. Remembering how my lightning bolts can even bore a hole through metal and how my electronics in my old world got hotter, I remember learning about how electricity doesn''t give off heat but generates it from how fast the electrons move past things. So I basically just need a current that runs as fast as possible come into contact with my ice and it should be able to cause an explosion though I''m not sure if it will be hot enough. Let''s just hope magic will fill in my blanks and this works. I quickly generate an ice lance between my shield and Kou while conjuring an electric current nearby. I control the current to move around in a circle imagine the current to move as fast as possible. Feeling that the current is spinning the fast as possible within my capabilities, I overlap my ice lance with the electric current. BOOM! Light instantly flashes, a strong sound sends my ears ringing while a strong force pushes against my shield and picks me up and blows me away. A steamy fog obscures my vision as I standup on my feet. My body aches as I struggle to see the aftermath of my spell. That didn''t use as much mana as I thought, in fact, it was like barely more than a normal spell like ice lance. But I guess I can only make it explode near me or else I won''t be able to control the currents as I please. "A sudden explosion shocks the stadium, what spell could Aster Estrea possibly have cast to create such an explosion like the Temperate mage''s?!" My ears start to recover as thevoice of the announcer starts to become clearer. Just as the steam clears up, a figure lurks out at me, catching me off guard, I instinctive turn towards the figure with my shield out as I cast an ice shield. My spell doesn''t complete in time as the figure jumps through the water that I have yet to freeze and jump kicks into my raised shield. Once again a strong force assaults me and sends me flying except this time I feel my left arm not able to support it and it starts hurting to the bone. I resist the pain and get a bearing on my situation. I notice half my shield missing as it snapped off and the figure who assaulted merecoveras well and heads my direction. It seems my explosion didn''t hurt Kou much, it only blasted his sword away. This is bad. I''ve used up my trump card, I don''t have anything effective against him anymore. Do I surrender? Fuck that, I''ve come this far, think Aster think, there must be a way, I need to teach this arrogant asshole a lesson Kou once again charges at me unarmed as I cast another ice shield and roll off to the side. What can I do at this point, my explosion spell didn''t work, in the first place I should''ve known explosions by themselves aren''t that powerful, it''s the shrapnels they send flying that are deadly, that''s how grenades work, how can I not know something so basic... Kou backhands into my shield that seems to soundlessly disappear as his blows lands on the half a shield I''m still holding. Fuck that hurts, I think my left arm is broken. Kou chases after me as my fight or flight instinct kick in and I flood the platform with water before freezing. I slide away on the ice while every step Kou takes deletes the ice, forcing him to run normally after me. "Booooooo!" Booing fills the crowd as I run away. Fuck this is so uncool, maybe I should forfeit after all. I can''t believe I was stupid enough to think my makeshift explosion spell can be compared to high-explosives, heck if it was I probably would''ve been badly hurt as well anyway. It''s like the difference between black powder and smokeless gunpowder, the two propellant both explode but at different strengths...wait, propellant? "Give up, I acknowledge your strength but you have no way to beat me. With your abilities you have no need to use your slaves like a meat shield, you should be a man and be the one to stand out on the front-line, let this be a lesson for you." Kou says while walking towards me. Let''s try this out, all or nothing. I start charging at Kou with my spear pointed to him. I force my broken hand to help support the spear despite the pain advising against it. "A futile last struggle, you can''t possibly hurt me with that spear of yours without even being an enhancer!" Kou spreads his arm, ready to take my charge. I continue rushing at him until the distance is close enough for me to lunge out at him but before doing so, I flip my spear around and point the blunt end at his chest. Just like before, maybe a bit weaker this time. I focus on casting two spells at the same time, creating a ball of ice at the tip of my spear facing away from my charge while I summon another electric current traveling in circles, accelerating its speed. I leap atKou who has his arms spread, looking at he''s ready to receive a hug and aim the back of my spear at him. I thrust out and at the same time, overlap my two spells at the tip of my spear. "Here''s a lesson for you!" I scream out. You''re not the center of the world, the main character of a story, stop being so self condescending. "Wha---?" Kougets surprised the moment I flip my spear and sees the ball of ice at the tip of my spear but the sound of another explosioncuts him off. BOOM! The back of my spear thrusts out at Kou with my full force plus that of the explosion''s, launching the spear with incredible force straight into his chest. The force of the spear manages to knock Kou off his feet, sending him flat on his back. A visible dent shows in his chest. Kou breathes heavily and quickly struggles to stand up. "Have another!" I scream out as I jump ontop him and stabs the back of my spear straight down with only one hand as he tries to push me off, I repeat the previous process once more and cast another explosion at the tip of my spear. BOOM! Another dent appears on the left side of his breastplate and his struggle weakens. He suddenly tries to punches out at me causing me to once again hammer down my spear into him with the power of my spell. BOOM! The first dent on his armor deepens as blood leaks out from the bottom of his helmet. His struggles stop as he lay motionlessly on the ground. The entire venue is silent since I knocked Kou onto the ground as the referee pops out and examines Kou. I breathe heavily as I remain mounted ontop Kou with my left hand dangling to my side and my right hand still grasping onto my spear, ready to slam it down at him once more. "Kou is unconscious, the fight is over, Aster is the winner!" The judge stands up and loudly declares, erupting cheers from the crowd. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I stand up and let out a warcry and raise my only working arm high into the air while holding onto the spear. I won...I can''t believe it, I DID IT! Chapter 22 - Vigor Magic I don''t want to wake up, it''s so comfortable right now, sleeping on top of this soft pillow, I feel a warmth run past my head. Wait, when did I fall asleep? Wasn''t I still in the iron badge tournament, what happened? I force myself up as I feel that I may have forgotten something. "Master! Are you okay?" A familiar voice sound out before I could search my memories. It seems I was lying down on Faris''s lap in this tent of some sort. "...Faris, where are we?" I ask as I rub my eyes clean and can''t help but notice the pain in my palms. "We''re in one of the tents that the guild let us use while you recover from your match." Faris dutifully explains while adjusting from a kneeling to sitting position. My memories start to come back to me, that''s right, I just beat Kou! The last thing I remember was yelling at the top of my lungs from the adrenaline as I took my victory pose before suddenly feeling the pain of my broken arm and bleeding palms overwhelmed me. I''m going to need some gauntlet or something if I''m going to do use my explosion spells to power my thrusts again. "How long was I out for and what about my match? I''m in the finals aren''t I?" "Sorry master, it hasn''t even been half an hour since your match with Kou but the healing mages deemed you unfit to continue fighting so you automatically defaulted your match." ...Sigh, I managed to make it to the finals so I should be satisfied, yet I can''t help but feel a little frustrated. I was only one match away from winning the whole thing, I was so close. "Don''t be sad master, you were so amazing today!" Faris wraps her arms around me. Can''t be all down now, can I? Not with my Faris cheering me up and it''s not like I had a bad showing in the tournament at all. "Hmm, you''re right, besides, I sure made a killing this tournament! Did they pay me out from my wager yet?" I ask while I take out my coin pouch from my space ring. "Yeah, they gave it to me to hold on to, it''s right here." Faris hands me another small pouch. I take out the coins and start counting my harvest, 1 platinum coin and 58 gold coins from Faris''s pouch added onto what''s in my ring previously adds up to a grand total of 2 platinum coins, 338 gold coins, 197 silver coins, and 35 copper coins. I should really go change these gold coins into platinum coins, it''s starting to pile up. I was a bit short of 2 platinum coins before the tournament and now I have over 5 platinum coins to my name and I still have the tournament rewards waiting for me, I wish I could participate in the tournament next month again... "Excuse me, the award ceremony will be starting soon, will you wake your master up soon please?" A female voice speaks out from outside the tent, must be a guild staff. "Ah yes, I''m awake, I''ll be out shortly." Have to put away all this cash, can''t be showing off my wealth now, wouldn''t want to stir up the greed of any random strangers now, do I? I exit the tent with Faris to see a catkin lady with a killer body in a guild uniform waiting for us. MILF spotted! "The ceremony will be starting soon so if you could follow me." The MILF bows politely before turning around to lead the way, making me follow her while my gaze is glued to her swaying tail and wide hips. They say that lust increase after an intense fight, it must be true, or so I want myself to believe. Faris who notices my gaze tightens her arms around mine, squishing her chest into my arm. "I''m sorry Faris, I may lust after all kinds of women but you are the one I love the most," I whisper silently into her ears, turning her complexion red. Have to ease her into the idea of a harem after all, better to start now than later. Our flirting time is interrupted as we approach the main stadium where the guild leader gave her speech this morning. "I''m sorry but beyond this point is for staff and participants only, your slave will have to make other arrangements until the ceremony ends." The nice ass I was staring at turns and hide themselves from me as the guild staff turns to bows towards me. Those deep ravines aren''t bad either. "Faris do you know where Norton is?" "Yep, I''ll watch the ceremony with Lord Norton, see you later." Faris gives me a quick peck on the cheeks before running off towards the crowd. Time to get this tournament over with, it may have only been a day but it feels like it has been going on for far longer than that. --- "I would like to first thank everyone here for participating in this month''s iron badge tournament and all the staff that worked hard throughout the day to allow for this event to go on smoothly..." The guildmaster gives her speech while I stand in a line of ten people total, off to the side by the guildmaster, including Kou still in his black armor with only one person standing in between us. "...and finally I would like to congratulate all the adventurers who managed to make it into the top 10% and qualify for promotion..." I heard the loser bracket to make it into the top 100 was intense, someone was even accidentally heavily injured. "...I must remind you all who are about to get your bronze badges that you are not superior to anyone below you in rank or inferior to anyone above you. No matter how high a level you manage to train your magic to, you can still be killed as easily as any others, there have been many instances in the past of gold badges being killed by iron badges. It is important that you all continue to sharpen your senses through training and be on guard no matter who or what you fight against..." The guildmaster rambles on for a while until she starts handing out the rewards to the top ten, starting from tenth place. That means I''m second last to get my reward, and the man on my right must be the champion, the winner of this tournament. He sure has the air of a veteran around him, though he looks plain, the type that doesn''t stand out.
Human Male
Age:22
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 1 Stamina Lv. 39 Dexterity Lv. 43 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic:
He sure is pretty high level for his age, would''ve been a tough opponent. "Congratulations Aster Estrea, here is your reward for being second place as well as your bronze badge, you may keep your iron badge as a keepsake but all it has been marked as deactivated and can only be used as identification." The guild master personally hands me a pouch of coins and my new guild badge; made of bronze with a Weycorus tree depicted on it as well as three glaring red fruits hanging from the tree. "...I now declare the end of this month''s iron badge tournament, thank you to everyone for attending and hope you all have a great evening." The tournament ends immediately after the reward ceremony and the remaining crowd starts to recede. I quickly make my way around trying to find Faris and Norton''s group but it seems they were the ones to find me first as I watch them emerge from the crowd, must have been a lot easier being able to spot me on the platform. Faris reaches me first and latches onto me while Norton dispiritedly lag behind, followed by Norton''s party members who are trying to cheer him up from the side. "Congratulations!" Norton''s party members speak in sync. "Thank you, I''m happy you guys were here to support me for the whole day." I thank them before looking over at the still dejected Norton. "Sigh, congratulations Aster." Norton forces out while glaring at me. "Thanks...I guess?" "What''s with him?" I whisper to Faris "I''m not sure, he''s been like that since master''s last match." "...Hey, ...Norton." "What?" "Did you bet against me and lose?" "..." Norton winces and looks off to the side. "Hahaha, you got what you deserved!" Seeing his reaction, I couldn''t hold myself back from laughing. "HEY! You bastard, I did stay the entire day to cheer you on, the least you could do is---" Norton is cut off short by a familiar voice and the sound of heavy armor drawing near from behind me. "Aster Estrea!" I turn back to see a suit of black armor behind me. "...Sigh, what do you want Kou? I''m pretty sure I beat you fair and square so remind me what else we have left to talk about?"The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "...You...I..." Kou stutters at my attitude. "Spit it out quickly." Wanting to quickly head out for some rest and food, I hurry Kou which prompts him to take a deep breath before continuing. "Since you are strong enough to beat me, regardless of the dirty tricks you used, I acknowledge your strength..." Who would want to be acknowledged by the likes of you? And what dirty tricks? You fucking sore loser. "...That is why I want you to swear to me that you will never use your slaves as your shields again!" How did this conversation end up in me having to promise you something? "Master has never used or treated me as a shield, he properly takes care of me and I am happy to serve him! And before you ask, NO, master did not forbid me from speaking out against him!" Faris is the one to respond, and aggressive at that as I was still puzzled at how quickly the conversation took a turn. "...Then...that is fine I suppose..." Kou is stunned at Faris''s outburst and struggle at how to respond. Good job Faris. "...Idiot" I can''t help but mutter under my breath, seeing Kou''s confused face. "What was that! I heard that you savage! Show some respect or I''ll---" "Now now, I''m glad we all cleared up the misunderstandings, but I''m sure you''re all tired from a long day of fighting so why don''t we all head to out for some food together?" Norton timely intervenes as he walks out in between us. "What? And who are you?!" "Allow me to introduce myself, I''m Norton Lockhart, a novice adventurer, and these are my companions." Norton eloquently introduces himself and bows. "Another slave abu---Lockhart? May I ask if you are a part of Count Lockhart''s family?" Kou''s speech suddenly become a lot more polite. "Correct, I am the second son." "So it is Lord Norton, forgive my rudeness." Kou bows back at Norton with practiced etiquette. This bastard is sucking up to Norton as soon as he heard he was a noble, as expected of merchants who live for money. "Please, just call me Norton." "Well Norton, it would be rude of me to decline your offer but I need a moment to change into something more suitable as well as find my companions as well." "That''s fine, you can come with your companions after, meet us at that restaurant in half an hour. It is located at..." What the fuck man, why am I going to have dinner with Kou? I thought this was going to be the last I''ll see of him too,screw you Norton. Kou and Norton finish up their conversation as Kou gives me one last look before quickly disappearing out of sight. Good riddance. "What was that Norton?" I interrogate Norton as soon as Kou is out of sight. "Calm down, it''s just a little networking, can''t hurt to make a connection topeopleas wealthy as the Hakuren family now, can it? Besides, I may be an adventurer now but I still need to think of my family''s best interests." "Do it on your own then! Why are you getting me involved?" "Hey, I''m just doing what''s best for you too, don''t be so petty." Norton smiles at me with an amused expression. This guy...He''s definitely doing it on purpose in revenge for making him lose his wager earlier, who''s the petty one... --- We start heading out from the guild once the crowd dispersed a little more and managed to fine Lawrence standing near the door connecting the guild to the training grounds, talking with a bunch of other guild staff. "Hey Lawrence, want to join us for dinner? We''re heading out right now." I say as I tap his shoulder to get his attention. "Hmm? Oh, it''s you guys, sorry, but still got a ton of work to do at the guild so you guys go on without me. Oh, and congratulations on getting second place Aster, good going kid." Lawrence shows his acknowledgment by pushing my head down and rubbing my hair into a mess. "Is something up at the guild? I thought you guys would be free after this tournament is over already" Norton asks while my hair is being assaulted. "Hmm, something like that, you guys will find out about it tomorrow so don''t worry about it for now and have a good rest." Lawrence waves goodbye at that and moves back over to the group of people he was talking to earlier who moved slightly away to give us some space. "I''m starving, let''s go," I say as I give Norton a pat on the back. "...Okay, let''s go." --- Norton takes us to a restaurant that is in a nicer part of town, the clientele here seems lean more toward merchants and higher ranked adventurers with better income. We are seated in a private room and we order immediately as I''m famished, I ain''t waiting if it''s just Kou after all. "You''re such a nice guy, treating us to a feast even after losing your last bet Norton!" I wrap my arm around Norton, you''re not getting away without paying the bill buddy cause I for sure ain''t treating Kou to anything. "...As a nobleman, generosity is a trait that has been ingrained to me, despite losing out on the last match, I still did make quite a bit anyway." Norton says while trying to hold back from berating me. "Ah, waiter, a few more of your most expensive dishes and wine please." "...Yo---" "Anyway, I have something I''ve been meaning to ask you before Kou arrives." "...Shoot." "Have you ever heard of vigor magic?" "Ahem, come closer." Norton''s face suddenly turns a little red as he gestures for me to keep our conversation away from Faris and his companions who are chatting away happily. "Officially, vigor magic is supposed to be exclusive to royalty so spreading it is forbidden although it has already been leaked to the point that being found capable of using it is no longer a crime. So you must have the right connections and pay a handsome sum in order to be able to learn it, anything more is unknown to me." Norton whispers to me as he darts his eyes around to spot anyone eavesdropping. "Exclusive to royalty? What does it do anyway? Sounds like an enhancement magic though." I quietly whisper back. "...Umm, it''s for that, you know, increased performance in bed." "Oh..., no wonder you sound like you''ve done your research in the subject, can''t blame you for having trouble in that department with a party like that." I slyly grin at Norton before directing my gaze to his companions. Excluding the large knight, they are three female beauties in Norton''s group; a catkin with bright pink hair, foxkin with dazzling white fur, and a cool human beauty. They seemed well behaved whenever I was around but I bet that won''t be the case when they''re alone. "...I...What are you saying, I have no problem whatsoever, I just happened to be well learned, unlike a certain someone who seems to know nothing." Norton turns beet red trying to keep his volume at a whisper to voice his excuses, it''d look cute on a girl but it''s hella creepy on a guy if you ask me, so stop it already. "So why did you ask about it? Oh..., it seems like you''re the one who is starting to have problems in that department. Tsk tsk tsk, I''m disappointed Aster, after only one girl." Norton recovers as he find ammo to turn the conversation back on me. "...Look, I have reliable information that Kou learned vigor magic so I was just wondering what it even was, didn''t know it was something rare, think we should get it out of him somehow? It''d come in handy playing with your three cuties, wouldn''t it?" "Decide by yourself, it doesn''t matter to me since I have no problem in my performance in that area even with three opponents." Norton breaks the whisper, no longer wanting to continue on that topic. What do you know, so he does get it on with those three, one of my curiosities sated. But I''m going to pry it out from Kou''s mouth with or without you, vigor magic seems vital to my cause after all! Speak of the devil, right after we end that conversation, Kou enters the room followed by a full entourage of women. "Greetings." They all bow and greet us in sync before getting seated. We are sitting at a long rectangular table with Norton at the center with me, Faris, and his party to his left and now Kou is seated directly to Norton''s right with his companions beside him wrapping all the way to Norton''s group. Kou is now dressed in very common leather armor, a typical adventurer who wouldn''t stand out if not for his red hair, just like when I first met him in that trap inside the dungeon. "Greetings, nice to see you again, hope you don''t mind that we ordered already but feel free to add to the order, it seems we do have enough people to finish it after all." "Haha, sorry, we do have quite the large group." "No worries, the more the merrier." Norton and Kou continue with their small talk after a new round of drinks are ordered as I focus my attention on Faris and Norton''s companions but I feel the occasional gaze from Kou''s harem. Kou must''ve talked them into hating me or something, they keep staring daggers at me. "Cheers!" Kou''s drinks arrive with the food we ordered earlier as everyone takes turns toasting each other and clashing their cups before starting on the meal. I move on to tea after finishing the meal as we continue sitting around and chatting. "The tournament sure was exciting today, it''s my first time going but even I can tell that the fight between you two was a league above others!" Seeing the lack of conversation between Kou and me, Norton tries to bridge us with a conversation. "Hmph, he just got lucky and caught me off guard," Kou says with disdain, looking a little tipsy. "Yea? Why don''t we have a go right now? What? Scared without wearing that shiny armor daddy gave you?" I can''t stand Kou normally and now with alcohol loosening his mouth, it''s only become worse. "Yo---" "Now now, I actually wanted to talk about doing business with the Hakuren family, my father has spoken very highly of your family''s expertise in business." Norton immediately holds onto Kou''s shoulders and changes the topic seeing his plan backfired. Kou takes a deep breath and reluctantly drops the matter, giving Norton some face. "I''m sorry but I won''t be able to contact the Hakuren family as I''m currently traveling incognito." Kou gives a helpless smile to Norton. "Ha, so you''re on the run from your own family? What''d you do? Piss them off by ruining the family business?" "You..." "It''s the opposite! The young master Kou is only taking a break because he is too talented so the master has been forcing him too much on him!" The girl next to Kou with long blonde hair defends the speechless Kou. "Enough Caroline, I''m sorry for that display Norton but Aster''s right, I''m running from the people of Hakuren family so I would appreciate it if you keep this meeting a secret, on the matter of business, I sorry to say I won''t be of any help until a later date." Kou bows to Norton while the girls beside Kou stare daggers into me. So I guess that''s why I didn''t see his cheerleader squad in the tournament and why Kou had his helmet on the entire time, he didn''t want people to start recognizing his face to make it easier to travel about. "Aster may I ask the same of you as well?" Surprisingly Kou actually bows to me. "What do you need me for? It''s not like you''re going to stick around in town and I won''t know where you''ll be heading next." "If anyone asks, just tell them you saw me alone and don''t tell them anything about my companions, it won''t be easy if they knew I was traveling in such an eye-catching party." Kou looks over at his large harem of eight. Perfect chance to get him to spit it out! "Fine, it''s not like I want to meddle in your business but you''re going have to give me something in return." "I...I may be from the Hakuren family but I don''t have much money to be extorted of...besides the tournament rewards..." "Relax, I''m not after your money, well not this time. I just need you to give me some information." I pull my seat back and gesture for Kou to do the same so we can talk privately in the area behind Norton. Kou follows as I gesture him to whisper while facing away from the table. "What is it that you want to know that requires us to be whispering and sneaking around like thieves?" "I know you know vigor magic, why don''t you teach it to me?" "What?! I know of no such magic, nor would I need it." Kou barely manages to contain his voice as his complexion reddens. "No need to be embarrassed, I know you know so just spit it out, it''s part of the deal remember?" "...Sigh...fine." Kou starts whispering even more quietly and occasionally glances back to his companions. What? So he doesn''t want his girls to know? What''s the big deal? "I learned it from someone in the capital, I won''t be able to teach you much as I''m still learning and it require potions to even learn vigor magic so you better find that person instead. I''ll write down where you''ll find them and an introduction letter, they''ll never teach you otherwise if they suspect you will report them." "Can you write a copy for me as well?" Suddenly a voice whispers behind us towards where the table, surprising us as I turn back to find Norton right next to me. When the hell did this guy sneak up on us, and what about not needing a performance increase? "...Norton, I thought you said you were doing fine in that department..." "...I just want to be more... well-learned." At his obvious excuse, Kou and I just stare at Norton and a short silence ensues between us. "...Making excuses isn''t manly, you should own up to it if you''re a man." Kou mutters under his breath. ...Shut up, you''re the last one that I''d want to hear that from. Chapter 23 - Guild Store "It''s getting late, we''ll need to prepare to leave town soon since word has gotten out that I''m here for quite some time already, so we''ll be taking our leave now. Thank you for inviting us Norton, until next time." Kou gives each of us a glance, then executes a slight bow before exiting with his companions. "Sigh, he''s finally gone." "Hey now, it''ll do you good to get used to socializing with all types of people, it''s important to help you get connections. Anyway, what are you going to do now? I hope you''re not thinking about running away to the capital right away, are you?" "Of course not, too much hassle going back and forth to make it back in time for the slave auction, and of course, I didn''t forget about the auction as well. I''ll just continue with my routine of training in the dungeon until the auction starts, on the 10th of this month right?" "Yes, glad that your memory is still working fine." "Of course it does, hell I probably have a better memory than you! Oh, by the way, how much money do slaves usually go for in the slave auction?" "Hmm, you probably don''t have much to worry about if you are only buying potential slaves with your profits from today, it normally only ranges around 1 to 10 platinum coins depending on the rarity of their race, and appearance. Of course, some slaves of exceptionally quality can go much higher." "Potential slaves?" "It''s just a term to describe younger slaves who are inexperienced and still require training before being of great use in the combat. The combat-ready slaves are usually older and their price varies a lot, with the most expensive being ones who have experience completing any dungeon, their price can skyrocket so they are usually the star of every auction." Much more expensive than 10 platinum coins? They sure are some rich people in this world too. "What''s the most expensive a slave has ever sold for?" "Hmm... not sure, I''m still kind of new to this but I heard it can go up to thousands of platinum coins for a slave who has conquered many dungeons or some of the more difficult ones. I doubt that''s the limit though, you can''t underestimate the spending power of kings and powerful nobles who are approaching the end of their lifespan." "...The more you have, the more afraid you are of losing it." I guess that''s true no matter what world I''m in. "Exactly." "Well, thanks for the meal and the info, it''s about time for us to leave as well, are you going to stay in town too until the auction?" I stand up and nudge Faris who was still absorbing with conversing with Norton''s girls. She sure looks happy hanging out with girls her age, don''t worry, master will get you some friends soon. "We''ve rested enough, we''ll be heading back to Birds High to continue training. I''ll come get you on the morning of the 10th so write down your address for me." "Got it, I''ll see you then." "Bye-bye" Faris waves back energetically at Norton''s group as we exit the restaurant. --- We manage to make it back to our place under the dark sky with the guidance of some light magic. I haven''t really gone out in the night time before but as you expected, night time in this world is really dark, with people having to use lanterns to move around, the only place still brightly lit are some occasional establishments. Having fought the entire day out in the sun, the first thing we do upon reaching home is to head for the bath. Faris helps me undress as I conjure hot water for the bath. Watching many fights today, it really struck me when I noticed fewer and fewer mages in the later stages of the tournament. The majority of mages couldn''t recover their mana fast enough with the intensity of matches, even if they got far enough to be provided mana potions by the guild, it still wasn''t enough. I really shouldn''t slack off even with my superior mana pool, starting today I''m going to exhaust my mana before bed! "I still have a long way to go..." I subconsciously blurt out. "Hmmm?" Faris tilts her head at my sudden outburst. "Uhhh, don''t worry about it." I enter the bath with Faris as I start my new training; expending mana. Seeing how we are in a bath, it wouldn''t do to create ice and make the bath cold nor is it good to electrocute ourselves. I start trying to create steam by heating up the water, being careful to aim it away from us. "Master, what are you doing?" Faris nudges up next to me as she presses her chest against my arm. "Um, just a little training I decided to try out." "Jeez, master you just recovered from your wounds, the healing mages said to rest more too! You should just relax for the day." "It''s fine, I''m fully recovered already." I continue to explore steam magic. "..." Seeing no way to convince me with words, Faris starts raining kisses onto me, starting from all over my cheeks to my neck, slowly heading lower after leaving no place not kissed behind. I try to focus on my magic despite the distractions, trying to control my water magic even after it turns into steam. I continue my attempts while Faris has reached my nape, it''s not working at all, as soon as the water turns into steam, I lose all control of it and the steam starts to disperse and cools back down, turning back into water. It''s like the magic is fragmented into millions of tiny particles and I can only control one or two. I guess I really can only control one tiny particle of water once it turns into steam, well there goes steam magic, it''s good for heating up the surroundings or making a steam sauna though. Faris reaches my chest and starts licking around my nipple while looking up at me, making my little brother stand at full attention. Okay, I can''t concentrate on my magic anymore and screw exhausting my mana. I pull Faris up and hug her body against mine tightly before taking her lips. My tongue aggressively invades past Faris''s soft lips as she retaliates equally aggressively as our tongue violently intertwines. We savor each other''s taste as we swap saliva while my hands move around to explore her curves. One hand rests on her bouncy ass, massaging it as I please while my other hand strokes across her smooth back as it presses her harder against me, rubbing our bodies. I continue until I feel my saliva is close to running dry, I break the kiss, prop myself up from the water and sit on the edge of the bath before positioning Faris ontop me, looking to move on to the next phase but a sudden chill runs through my spine. "Master, relax," Faris whispers directly into my ears as she resumes nibbling on my earlobes and exploring around with her tongue. This time she moves much faster, running her tongue down to my chest, my abdomen, before reaching my inner thighs. She licks all around while looking up at my teasingly, knowing very well what I want. I''m unable to endure as I bring a hand to caress her cheeks and motion it towards my member. Faris doesn''t resist and obediently moves toward my penis, positioning herself right in between my legs, sitting straight across from my proudly standing member. She gives me another look and smiles devilishly before pushing out her lips, pecking at the tip of my penis with her lips. She continues to rain kisses on the tip while keeping eye contact with me then proceeds to run her lips along the shaft of my dick, rubbing them strongly as she moves by. She finishes her round trip and finally takes the tip into her mouth as I start to feel her tongue swirling around, poking at my urethra and rolling around the frenulum. I continue to caress her cheeks as I feel my urge rising up, prompting my other hand to reach for the back of Faris''s head and pulling her towards me as I push my hips forward. Understanding my intentions, Faris braces herself and hugs me around my hips as I start to face fuck her, I start moving faster and faster at the beckon of my urges as I feel that I am near. "...Faris!" I start focusing on nothing but reaching the peak as I do one final thrust before unloading with all I have into Faris. Though my movements have stopped, Faris picks it back up and bobbles her head, sucking strongly as I watch the movement of her throat from swallowing my load. "Heheh, there was so much master." Feel my convulsion stop for a while, Faris frees her mouth to talk and opens it to show me her work. "That felt amazing, thanks Faris." "My pleasure!" She takes my member back into her mouth again and starts thoroughly sucking me clean. It doesn''t take long before I''m reinvigorated. "Fuck, can''t take this any longer." I pick up Faris and seat her down onto me, facing me while I remain sitting on the edge of the bath. I make sure my penis is lined up with her opening before dropping her hips down. Having her swallow me down to the base, Faris starts moving her hips with the help of my hands supporting her.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "AH... AHHH...AHHH..." This is bliss, I think to myself as I listen to the sweet sounds of Faris''s moaning right next to my ear while I feel my dick rubbing against her wet folds as they try to latch on. "Mas..ter, let''s go to the bed...AHHHH" Not able to decline my Faris''s request, I stand up while we are still connected, holding onto her and swinging my hips while she locks her legs around my waist and brings me into her kiss by wrapping her arms around my neck. I slowly make my way to the bed, being careful not to bump into anything as I continue to pump my hips against hers. Having reached the bed, I place her down on the edge, mounting myself on top of her, giving me more leverage to slam down with more force. "AHHHHHHH...MAS..TER, you''re sup...pose to REST...let...ME...be...on...TOP." Not wanting to part from Faris for a second more than I need to, I pick her back up and sit on the edge of the bed. Faris struggles to stand up with my help and position herself to sit on top of me with her back facing my way. She starts moving by halfway standing up and plopping herself back onto me, creating strong strokes but seeing her difficulty, I hold up her legs by the knees, allowing us to grind our hips with more ease. I kiss at Faris''s nape, trying to leave my mark there as I nudge my hips against the soft feeling of her ass whenever they slam down into me. "...MA...STER, I''M...CUMMING." "Yeah, me too." Feeling my second shot rising up, I push myself as deep as I can into Faris, dropping her legs down to hug her tight against me before giving it my best to fill up her hole. Having finished, I place Faris down on our side and was about to pull out but Faris pushes herself back into me, refusing to let me go. "...Can we stay like this for a while longer?" Faris says with a flushed face after catching her breath. Seeing how cute she is, I hold her tight, spooning her as I reach over to give her a kiss on her cheek. "Sure." Faris reaches out to the bedside table and picks up a book. "...Want to... read... together?" Faris barely manages to get those words out of her throat as she hugs onto the book. "...How can I say no? Let''s take turns reading it to each other then." I don''t think I ever did an activity like reading together with anyone since I was a little kid, for some reason this feels so soothing. We read to each other into the night with the occasional night romp once I couldn''t hold it in anymore as my member still remained inside of her. Before I knew it I fell asleep. --- 2nd day of the third month. I wake up feeling pleasure and softness moving in my arms as I open my eyes to see myself still spooning Faris, more specifically Faris moving her hips while my dick was still in her. "...Morning Faris." "Ah!, master...I couldn''t hold back... with your thing twitching around in me for so long...so I..." I stop listening to her excuses as I start pumping my hips as well to reach my first climax of the day. We finish our morning exercises and start dressing for another day of adventuring, except I had Faris carefully put on her panties first before getting up from bed. The devils whispering to me this morning had won out against the angels, entertaining me with the idea to have her spend the day while keeping my seed inside her. The idea was such a turn on to me that the angels didn''t even have a chance. "You ready?" "Yes master, I''m ready to go." "Good." I hug Faris and gives her a peck on the cheeks before letting go with a parting slap on her butt. "Master, don''t..." Faris holds on to the spot I slapped her and pulls her clothes up. "Why not?" I tease as I enjoy the sight of the embarrassed Faris. "It''ll sp---nevermind, let''s go." Faris storms out the door with a red face. I guess this is as much as I can tease her this morning. --- We arrive at the guild, starting my first day at the guild as a rank three adventurer. I find Lawrence at his usual spot sitting beside his catkin co-worker who still stands out to me with bright pink fluffy looking tail and ears but with a well-toned body of a weightlifter. "Morning Lawrence, it seems especially busy today doesn''t it?" I rest my arm over the counter Lawrence is behind and greets him. "Look at the announcement boar---" He stops himself as he sees the large crowd surrounding the message board. "Well whatever, there''s an official announcement today, war has officially started out in the eastern border with the elves of the forest." "What? Is this a big deal, should I do something?" "Don''t worry, it seems a bunch of neighboring countries are all teaming up on the elves, it seems they are harboring some party of adventurers who found the way to conquer one of the more difficult dungeons. I doubt the scale will enlarge seeing how difficult it would be to move men into the forest so this just means more work for adventurers." Lawrence reassures me with a pat on the back. "So anyway, is there anything you need today or are you just here to show off your promotion?" "Oh, can you exchange some gold coins into platinum for me, change Faris''s badge, as well as tell me about the guild store you talked about, I can access them now as a bronze rank right?" "Go land up at the coun---...Fine, hand me the gold I''ll go fetch it for you, I have to head that way for the badge anyway." Lawrence once again looks back into the crowd and decides to do it himself, what a nice guy. I hand over a big bag of gold coins to Lawrence, 400 in total to exchange. Lawrence quickly disappears into the crowd and reappears within five minutes with a small pouch. "Here, it''s about time you start buying enchantments for your gear if you have that much extra cash, it''ll definitely help you survive. And here is your badge young lady." Lawrence hands me the small pouch and Faris her new bronze badge. "Ha, I''m still saving up as much as I can, I''m planning to recruit more members at the upcoming slave auction with Norton, remember?" "Oh that''s right, you better pick a good one as you''re going to be entrusting your lives to them." "That''s the plan." "Okay, let me explain to you about the guild store for bronze rank, come this way." Lawrence starts leading us to the staircase. We head around a corridor before arriving at a counter where a group of guild staff are working. There is another set of stairs near them while a large door sits in front of the counter. "This here is the guild exclusive store for bronze rank, up those stairs are for the higher ranking adventurers so don''t worry about it for now." "Guild store huh, how is it any different from the blacksmiths outside?" "Well, like in its name, it''s a store only, there aren''t any blacksmiths here, we only resell the works of other stores. The difference is that the quality of equipment here is much higher as it is required for stores to sell equipment past a certain level through the guild. You still have to go back to a blacksmith for adjustments and custom orders though." "Why would there be such a roundabout system just so the guild can make extra profits to selling high-quality equipment to adventurers?" "The guild doesn''t try to make a profit from this, the system is actually to help adventurers who want to conquer dungeons after all. Before this system was in place, rich merchants and nobles would just buy up the best gear and stockpile them all, using it to bait adventurers to work for them, or even just to drive up prices as they know how desperate people can get in order to conquer dungeons to increase their natural lifespan." "So that''s why the guild control the market to regulate the supply and prices?" "Exactly, it also got more peopleto becomeadventurers and frequent dungeons more often, preventingexcess monsters from spilling out as well as bringing equipment to the people who are truly in need of them. That''s all there is to it, why don''t you head you to give it a look, you just have to present your guild badge and they will let you enter, I''ve got to get back to work so see ya." Lawrence disappears in a flash before hearing my reply. "...Let''s go then Faris." We enter together after presenting our badges upon which we are greeted to a huge selection of equipment, all made withvarying amounts of raremetals like adamantite orhides from strong monsters but the thing that stood out to me the most was the price. The cheapest thing I''ve seen here are daggers that cost dozens of gold coins. There''s even high-quality potions and other supplies here, not just weapons though they all have the commondetriment of havinghigh prices. I use identify on a dagger labeled "Mixed-Alloy Dagger" and find a different name.
Unpure AdamantiteDagger
Age: 1
Condition: 100/100
Enchantment:
Is this where all the money of high-rank adventurer goes...? I''m starting to feel the devasting gap in wealth between the rich and the poor though strangely,everyone seemed happy and well-fed and I haven''t seen anything alike to the slums in the city yet so I''m not sure what tomake of it. I can''t afford to spend any extra cash before the auction, making me too ashamed to even ask for assistance as I know I won''t be buying anything today. We retreat after having a good look at all the high-level gear I could buy in the future and head back to our usual blacksmith store run by Bosgrem and Clarice. "Master, I''m going to find Clarice." We enter the familiar store and Faris immediately informs me with excitement. "Okay, I''ll come to you once I''m done." Faris moves off to find Clarice at my words. Well then, not sure how I should feel to be dumped for a girl. I bury these strange feelings as I head off as well. "Hey boss, you free to do a small order for me?" I enter to see Bosgrem, the owner of this store manning the counter. "Sure thing, what do ya need?" "Can you line the palms of my leather gloves with some alloys, it messed up my palms from too strong of an impact when I used my spear, see?" I hold up my gloves that are a mess in the palm area from my battle against Kou. "...Aye, ya sure done them in good, it looks like something only an enhancer would cause, what did''ya do lad...nevermind I''ll have themdone sometime tonight. It''ll be three gold if ya want to use quality alloy." "That''s fine, can you reinforce my boots too?" "No problem." I hand over my gloves and boots before handing off in search of Faris. I find the duo happily talking in the section with swords and daggers. "Master! Done already?" Faris sounding reluctant to part leave so soon. "Yeah, but don''t worry, you can take some more time to chat with Clarice. I''ll go pay first so hand me your selection." "Un, thanks master." Faris hands me a dozen daggers and a short sword. I go back to the boss and pay a total of six gold before starting a chat to kill some time while Faris and Clarice are having fun. "Thanks for ya business. I''ll finish the order sometime tonight so it''s better if you pick it up in the morning" "Sure, anyway boss, I wanted to ask, do you guys supply the guild with higher quality gear too?" "Of course, we pride ourselves at this store to being able to forge with even the best materials. So ya got a look at the guild store eh?" "Yeah, but the prices there are all so high, can''t believe adventurers spend so much on equipment. The amount of money I''m starting to deal with seems to eclipse that of normal people." I lean back on the counter. "Well of course they do, they''re not FOR normal people, they''re for adventurers aiming to conquer dungeons!People want to live longer, that''s why theyaim to conquer the dungeons, so why would they cheap out on gear? The point is to live longer, not die quickly by foolishly rushing into dungeons ill-equipped. Believe me, those equipment are well worth their price, you''re lucky to have the chance to buy them." "...I know you''re right, I guess I''m justfeeling a little shaken afterrealizingthedisparityof wealth between people is much more than I had thought." "Haha, ya not wrong, there is a big''ol gap in wealth. Though the common folks may seem poor to you,it''s not hard for them to just enjoy their life in peace if they wanted to, and their quality of lifewon''t beall that bad either with food being so cheap thanks to nature mages. And even if they wanted that wealth,they allhave the chance to gain it if they daretake on the risks of anadventurer, so don''t worry about it, the people aren''t in a bad spot as youmight imagine." I guess with the presence of magic and dungeons, society here has evolved around it and things aren''t nearly the same as the middle-ages of my old world. No wonder there seemed to be such a high populationin cities and the lack of people I''ve seen working in the agriculture sector. "Remember kid, always be clear on what your end goals are, money isn''t nothing but a tool to help youreach that very goal." How is this rough-looking blacksmith starting to sound like a wise sage all of a sudden? "Thanks for the advice boss, I really enjoyed our chat but it''s about time I take my leave, I''ll see you later." "Aye, don''t die out there now." I head back over to fetch Faris to head out to the dungeons. Let''s take it easy now until the slave auction, shall we? Chapter 24 - Slave Auction Part 1 10th day of the third month. It''s finally time. I''m currently waiting for Norton to come pick me and Faris up while I double-check my wallet. I reconfirm that I have a total of 7 platinum coins, 41 gold coins, 137 silver coins, and 15 copper coins. Faris and I have remained hunting in Greens Filth until yesterday. We managed to find another elemental gem of the wind element which added another platinum coin to my pockets. Remembering how Norton told me the price range for the type of slave I''m looking for goes from 1 to 10 platinum coins on average, I''m pretty sure I''ll be fine with this much. We head out our front door and bask in the morning sunlight as I try to contain my excitement for the day that has finally come. Today will be the day where we will finally have another party member join us, another step closer to realizing my har--- immortal plan. "So that day has come, hopefully, we will have a third member of our party by the end of the day. What do you think?" I look over at Faris who seems to be exceptionally beautiful today, basking under the morning sun is making her silver hair shine. "Yea, we will be much safer now in combat with an extra pair of eyes keeping watch with us." "Umm, do you have any preferences on who will be joining us?" I try to keep my voice loud enough so that it can be heard through the noises from the nearby carriages passing by. I can''t help but to start feeling a little guilty when thinking about our future teammate while I look Faris straight in the eye. I''m torn between two different feeling, It''s like I''m about to confess to cheating on my girlfriend but also respect her wishes while I do so, though it''s not that far from the truth. "Hmm... as long as they are reliable... I''m sure master will pick the right candidate." "Faris... like I said before, I''ll be picking a girl, ...any thoughts on that?" Faris turns to me and smiles faintly. "Will you abandon me once you find better slaves? Just so master knows, I have nowhere to turn to and no clue on where my family might be." "Of course not!" "Then like I said, I''ll always be on your side master, no matter what choices you make." Faris wraps her arms around mine and leans her head onto me. I really am blessed. With that decided then, there''s no more need for hesitation. All that''s left is to think about what type of slave I''ll be purchasing today, I do have a general idea on what I''m looking for but I just need something more defining, and no, I''m not talking about appearances. I didn''t brainstorm for long before the sound of someone wolf-whistling drew my attention. "Aren''t you having fun being all flirty this morning." "Yeah, yeah, good morning to you too." "Good morning Norton." Faris slightly blushes. I look at the source of the voice to see Norton riding next to the driver on a carriage, drawn by two strong looking horses. He unmounts the carriage and moves to open the carriage door before turning back to us. "What are you waiting for, come on, I''m starving." We head over to the carriage to first greet the driver before entering, it turns out the driver is, Otes, Norton''s slave knight. We enter the spacious carriage that can probably hold up to four people each on two sides and greet the three slave girls of Norton''s, if my memory serves me right, the catkin with pink hair is Zoey, Reika is the foxkin with white fur, and Iris is the cool looking beauty. We sit across from the three gives while Norton joins the side with his companions despite the tight fit, must be nice to be mushed into your harem. The ride took about twenty minutes though it felt like it passed by in a blink of an eye as I busied myself chatting with Norton while Faris talked with the girls. The carriage stops outside a luxurious looking inn that I find out by observing the two store signs above the entrance depicting a bed and a mug of ale. Otes hands over the reins to the carriage to one of the workers who came out to receive us as Norton leads the way into the eight-story building. We head straight into the tavern area where we are seated and given a menu to browse. "You come here often?" Looking at the high prices on the menu, you definitely won''t dine here if you aren''t pretty well off, well I should be considered in that category now too. "Hmm? Well, from time to time, there are a few places that I prefer more but for today, this place is right next to the auction venue." I take a look around at the other customers, there''s a good balance between well-dressed people who seem to be either nobles or merchants and high ranked adventurers judging by the quality of the gear they are in. With how much income an adventurer can make, I guess it''s not surprising that they are quite a number of them in high society, and there doesn''t seem to be any friction or arrogance when they are interacting too. Hell, some of those adventurers may even be nobles themselves who became adventurers in pursuit of prolonging their lives. We proceed to order from the breakfast sets that are priced at five silvers, man, it cost as much as a stay at my previous inn though it may not have been of the best quality. I enjoy the exquisite meal as I ponder about how my value of money is being changed so rapidly recently, maybe they use magic to grow their food to lower the cost or something so I can''t use my previous common sense to value things. "So will you be purchasing a new slave today Norton?" Seeing how everyone is about done with their food, I start up a conversation with a question I''ve been wondering. "Eh, didn''t I tell you before? Well, whatever, yeah, I''m hoping to purchase my final member so I finally put my full focus in training, I have the Lockhart''s family support too so you better not think about competing with me." "Whatever you say, what type are you looking for anyway?" I give Norton a teasing grin. You''re looking for cute girls, right? Come on, admit it. I convey those thoughts to Norton with just my gaze. "...Obviously someone strong and reliable... oh, a potential slave of course, not cost-effective to buy the more experienced one for me at this point." Norton manages to find an escape to my questioning and turns back to his companions for approval for his response which is met with skeptical stares. "Really? I remember you talking about trying to look for a cute girl last time, did I remember incorrectly?" "..." Three hands reach out toward Norton''s waist as I respectfully move my gaze elsewhere. For some reason, I can still feel a gaze that screams "You traitor!" from where sounds of pain come from. I take this chance to reaffirm that it''s most soothing for my eyes to be looking at my cute Faris after all. --- "It''s about time we head for the auction, it''s good to arrive a bit early," Norton says while having a last sip of his tea. "Okay, let''s go then." Seeing how Norton has been treating us to all our meals together recently I decide to reverse the roles, just this once. I''ve been sensing my money-grubber side of myself growing stronger and stronger recently, having realized just how much money I need to even reach the starting line for my ambitions.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. We exit out of the inn and proceed to walk along the main street instead of retrieving the carriage. The buildings in this area are all much larger and the architecture seems much more elegant, this must be the rich part of town I haven''t been to yet. After a short five minute walk, we come across a large crowd outside a grand building much wider than all the previous ones I''ve seen though it is about the same height, is this the tallest structure they can build with the technology they have or is this just to be in line with the entire neighborhood? The crowd is varied, with rich-looking types to novice adventurer looking types, those guys must be here for the same reason as me so in a way they are my competitors. They are a total of three entrances, the main entrance with a blue carpet laid out, and two off the to side through a smaller set of doors. So instead of red carpets, they use blue carpets here, maybe it''s because blue is the color of the Weycorus trees or is it just from different materials? The majority of the crowds are lining up at the two side entrances while there is practically no line at the main entrance, with the exception of a wealthy-looking man and his servants being invited through after showing his invitation card. "The seats for this year''s first slave auction is sold out, please only line up if you have already purchased a ticket." A man wearing clothes reminiscent of the guild uniform but in pale yellow yells out at the crowd. "I assume you bought the tickets already?" I look skeptically over at Norton, remembering he barely spent much time in the city recently. "Don''t worry, I have something better." Norton flaunts around a blue invitation card like the one I''ve seen earlier. With a mental sigh of relief, I follow Norton who had already started heading straight through the crowd toward the main entrance. I catch up only to be met with an arm wrapping around my shoulder. "Come on, this city isa part of Lockhart family''sdomain after all, you should have a little confidence in me," Norton reassures as if he knew what I had in mind. We swim out of the crowd that are heading for the other two side entrances and reach the main entrance where a group of people who seem to be the staff and guards awaits. Norton produces his invitation card to one of the staff before then scurry off and return with an older looking staff. "Lord Norton, we''ve been expecting you, please, this way." The elder who I assume to be something like a manager bows and starts escorting us through the main entrance. We follow the man into the main hall where columns of people are being guided further in. We climb up one of two sets of stairs that are facing each other and lead up toward the same place, below us, I can see the crowd entering through the doorway below us. At the top of the stairs, a luxuriously decorated hallway stretches forward in a slight circular shape from where we are with multiple doors every five or so meters along the wall we are facing, reminding me of a hotel corridor mixed with a stadium entrances. We are led to enter one of the closest doors from the top of the stairs. Upon entering the room, the first thing that entered my eyes is the huge venue I''m looking down at. The enter place looked like the classical theatres from my old world with numerous seats on the first floor and rooms with a balcony overhead surrounding the venue in an "U" shape, ending when it nears the stage. The stage is shaped like a half-circle, protruding out at the audience. "If you have any needs, feel free to ring the bell by your seats, if you''ll excuse me." The staff who led us, bows and exits the room. "Well, not bad isn''t it?" Norton smugly looks at me. With a short nod, we take our seats that are out towards the venue on the veranda as we curiously scout around the entire gallery. On the stage, there are currently two giant slabs of marble-like material on the two sides, positioned like Tv screens with the surface giving off a cool smooth reflection. While we are looking around, I spot several people from the other balconies who have just arrived exchanging glances with each other, including Norton, they must all be acquainted. "The auction is starting in 15 minutes so please be prepared as the doors will not be open during an ongoing bidding process." A strong voice sounds out like it''s spoken from a microphone. With nothing better to do, Norton rings the bell and order some tea and fruits for us from the maid who came in. I couldn''t help but stare at the familiar black and white uniform as the maid came by. I prefer the version with shorter skirts, it has to be above the knees. I definitely need to look into where I can order a set for every one of my future companions... "Have you heard about any notable slaves to look out for in this auction?" I ask Norton who is sitting to my right. "Hmm...they don''t really release many details but you can expect at least one exceptional combat-ready slave and one slave of a rare race being the star of every auction with the rest being potential slaves. It''s not often that someone powerful fall into slavery after all so don''t worry, they''ll be plenty of potential slaves for you to choose from." "So how are we going to even evaluate between the slaves, we can barely see the face of the people on the stage not to talk about their abilities." "Yo---" Before Norton could answer, the voice that sounds like it''s coming from a speaker fills the venue once again as everyone quiets down. "Welcome everyone to this year''s first slave auction! My name is Allen Witsmore and I will be your auctioneer for today, and without further ado, let''s start this auction up with the first lot!" A familiar figure of a fat middle-aged man emerges onto the stage. "Isn''t that the slave trader you introduced me too?" "Yep, he got picked by the merchant guild to be the auctioneer this time I guess." Well this is a surprise, don''t they usually let someone more... charismatic do it instead? Before I know it, two masked figures in loose robes escorts petite red-haired catkin girl onto the stage. "May I introduce everyone to Zoey! Zoey here has completed her full courses and is a voluntaryslave so she can only be sold as a combatant..." Zoey? Isn''t Norton''s catkin slave also called Zoey? Is it a common catkin name?Also, full courses and voluntary slaves? My mind is assaulted with a torrent of questions and puzzles that distract me from listening further so I turn to my trusty answering machine, Norton. "Full courses?" I whisper over. "Didn''t Allen explain it to you last time? Well maybe not, he''s known for only in dealing with slaves who have completed the full courses after all so he probably thought you knew... It just means they have completed the full five years of training that slave traders give in order to prepare the slaves to serve their master adequately so they are more expensive." "I see..." I look over to Faris who has her eyes glued to the stage with a neutral expression. So she has completed her full courses as well? No wonder she has supported me so well despite being the same age as me. "And what about voluntarily becoming a slave? People volunteer to do that?" "Yea, for the sake of conquering dungeons and attain Weycorus fruits, some connectionless people who know they would sell for a high price will become a slave to receive proper training and to enter strong parties to ensure their safety. After all, strong parties or nobles would be more likely to afford them so the chances are in their favor especially since they can set some conditions on their buyers such as to be a combatant like in this case." That still feels strange to me, maybe it''s because I keep thinking slavery in the terms of the negative stigma from my old world... So is it all more related to dungeons than I thought, I haven''t seen a single slave used for labor before but they do still enslave citizens of opposing countries from war I hear...This is starting to get a bit too confusing so let''s put it aside for now. "...feel free to take a look at the screen for her detailed profile, VIP members on the second floor can feel free to come inspect her up close for the next 15 minutes." The auctioneer declares as the masked people retreat behind the stage with Zoey then two flashes of light draws everyone''s attention onto the slabs. The two slabs of marble-like material I found previously are being used as a screen, light is projected onto it from two silhouettes I barely manage to make out under the stage. They''re like human projectors, is this the main use of light magic? I guess this world''s use of magic is more developed than I thought. "That''s the answer to what you were asking earlier, merchant guild employed light mages will project onto the screen on the information the guild has on the slave. We can also head over to the inspection room at the end of the hallway on this floor to check her out, this is the first lot but for the rest of the auction they''ll always have the slave about to start bidding in the inspection room while they introduce the next slave on stage." "I thought this was your first time here, you sure know a lot." "Of course! I was taught the specifics by the people of my household before coming, can''t embarrass the family so ask me anything." I direct my attention back to what is being projected.
Zoey Alcott
Age: 20
Magic Levels: Strength Lv. 1 Stamina Lv. 28 Dexterity Lv. 30 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Night Vision
Notes: -Completed full courses training -Six years of combat experience -Exceptional fighting ability to beyond her magic level, on par with the average rank four adventurer ...
It shows even more information than my identify. "How did they gather this information? Do they just go on what the slave tells them?" "The slave traders at the merchant guild pooled resources and bought one of those expensive identification orbs, just a drop of blood and a ton of mana crystals to power it and it''ll show the status menu of the owner of the blood." "Wow, it shows unique magic too?" "I believe it does not but it''s obvious she would have night vision as a member of the catkin race and she''s a volunteer anyway so she should have confessed about any unique magic if she did have any other to make herself more valuable to the stronger adventurer parties." Then I better probably shouldhead to the inspection room so I can get close enough to use my identify, it''d be a good opportunity to check out the room anyway. "Let''s go take a look at the inspection room then, shall we?" Chapter 25 - Slave Auction Part 2 Only Norton and I head off to the inspection room, leaving our companions behind as we are only going there to check things out. We head down the hallway after exiting our room at the slave auction until we reached the end where a set of snow-white double doors stand. Their is a doorplate with the words "inspection room" clearly written off to the side, indicating we have arrived at the correct destination. The moment we open the doors, the sound from the auction venue fill our ears, it seems like it was designed this way so we can hear the introduction of the next slave from the auction from the auctioneer while we are here and not miss out on anything. We take a look at the room to only find one word to describe it, simple. The entire room was painted white and had barely any furniture or decoration with the exception of a few stanchions around the middle of the room to support a rope barrier to the center of the room. There didn''t seem to be any other guests in the room at the moment, with only staff who greets us we enter and the slave, Zoey, who was just introduced earlier, sitting on a lone chair in the center of the room, behind the rope barrier. Being up close, I can clearly see her features now but the place that draws most of my attention is definitely the cat ears. Her red shoulder-length hair, similar to that of Faris''s, covers the area where a human ear should be and instead, she has two cute cat ears atop her head. Her body has an average figure that definitely showed her feminine side without being over-exaggerated. I walk closer to her to use my identify.
Female Catkin
Age: 20
Magic Levels: Strength Lv. 1 Stamina Lv. 28 Dexterity Lv. 30 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Night Vision
Comparing the results from the ones projected on the tablets, I find that there is no difference at all. She matches my gaze with a smile. "Sir, is there anything you would like to ask about me?" Zoey speaks out with confidence. Her sudden question makes me nervous as my brain scrambles to find a response, having been caught off guard. "...Umm... Not right now." I frantically respond. Well, that was a disaster, her easy-going atmosphere overcame me at my moment of defenselessness so I''m going to just treat this as an incident that helped me gain experience. Good thing I wasn''t thinking of buying her or that would''ve been an embarrassing first meeting. She was really pretty, sure, but she is a dexterity enhancer and I already have Faris for that. Plus, she doesn''t really have a part that stands out to me nor would she click with our party. "Zoey is it? How do you feel about trudging through dungeons every day, would that sound like a lifestyle you are willing to undertake?" Norton comes in to dispel the awkwardness. "Respectfully sir, I wouldn''t be against it at all, it may sound cliche but it is my dream to conquer dungeons and achieve immortality!" The catgirl energetically respond. "Thank you for your answer." Norton nods and turns to me. I signal I''m done and we can leave, having become more familiar with how the inspection room works. Having only spent about five minutes in the room, we both exit and head back toward our VIP room. "What do you think?" Norton asks me as we walk down the hallway. "The quality is definitely higher than the ones I''ve seen from Allen''s store but I''m going to wait and see for now, she didn''t really click with me." "Don''t worry, all the slaves at the auction are high quality so you still have many choices but be sure to not let one that you fancy slip by. Those profiteers at the merchant guild heavily guard the information regarding the slaves up to the last minutes of the auction, it''s so we won''t save money and give it our all when we come across one that we like." I nod as we reach our room and a nearby maid swiftly opens the door for us. We get back in our seats and observe the next slave on the stage being introduced by Allen. While the previous slave is in the inspection room waiting for the bidding to start, the next slave is introduced so that there is always one in the inspection room while bidding is ongoing. The introduction for the second slave is soon over as they retreat to the inspection room while their status is projected for all to see. Before long, the red-haired catkin, Zoey, once again reappears on the stage as the bidding is finally about to begin. "The bidding process for Zoey will now begin, the starting bid is one hundred gold coins with a minimum increment of ten gold coins." Allen, the auctioneer announces. Immediately, the crowd quiets down and someone from the lower gallery starts to bid. "One hundred and fifty gold coins!" The guild staff near the bidder repeats the bid loudly for the auctioneer to hear before the auctioneer himself loudly proclaim the current highest bid. Bids continue to roll in as the price climbs to 250 gold coins before slowing down. All this time, there still hasn''t been a single bid coming from the people in the upper gallery where I am as a part of my attention is focused on what these VIPs are bidding on. I doubt I can outbid them if they really set their sights on the same slave as me so I''m hoping they would quickly spend a fortune on the ones I didn''t pick. "Something the matter master?" Faris says as she notices my concern through my frown. "Don''t mind them, they usually only bid on extraordinary slaves like strong combat-ready slaves, potential slaves aren''t much to them." Norton kindly informs me, having to see my concern and the direction of my gaze after Faris drawing his attention to me. I really should work on my poker face... I''m sure it''ll be useful in a fight against other humans too. The first lot of the auction finishes as the final bid for Zoey settles at 270 gold coins. The winner of the bid seems to be a novice adventurer from a wealthy family judging from his young age and top of the line equipment that can be bought outside of the guild stores. It seems you don''t receive your slave right away judging from how the winner had not left his seat. I wonder how they deal with it if that guy actually couldn''t afford it? The auction continues and I make my way to the inspection room, bringing Faris and to use identify on any wom--- prospective candidates for our party I see as well as ask for Faris''s opinion of course, though she too didn''t find anyone who stood out to her. The slaves were definitely all talented and varied in race with many who possess unique magic different from their race innate ones, ranging from enhanced vision, strength, mana, magic power, etc. Human slaves were a minority though but it''s not surprising considering they are much more common in this kingdom. To my expectations, the ones who voluntarily become a slave were a vast minority as I haven''t heard the auctioneer introducing any of the other slaves as so. But I didn''t see the eyes of despair in them, most having seem to accept reality and are looking forward to dedicating themselves in conquering dungeons and becoming stronger. This was especially true to the slaves who received full course training of five years from their caretaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, introducing to you for the last lot before a much-needed lunch break, we bring to you one of the stars of this auction, a potential slave of the high elf race!" A tall, slender, model-like figure with platinum blonde hair that went down to her waist, steps onto the stage, even from here I can tell she''s definitely a beauty. Oh, the classic elf has appeared! I''ve seen a few elves before, even used identify but they were all of the elf race, not high elves, I wonder what the difference is. "Otes, count my coins again," Norton says seriously to his former knight slave. "So you''re interested in her?" I look over to Norton. Norton nods and continues focusing his attention on the stage. I look around at the other VIPs and feel that the atmosphere has changed, everyone has gone serious. "You all haven''t heard wrong, she is of the high elf race, her name is Aluria Urisys!" Allen, the auctioneer continues introducing her, talking about topics that I''m having difficulty keeping up with as Norton pays full attention.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "We will now end the morning segment of the auction with this, we will start off the auction again in one hour with the bidding process for Aluria!" Before long, Aluria is to be taken to the inspection room and the lunch break starts. I stare at the stone slabs where the light mages are using as a screen for their projections, expecting to see more information about the elf only to see a few staff draw out a large piece of paper like a poster and set it on the former screen. I guess it''s lunchtime for the light mages too?
Aluria Urisys
Age: 54
Magic Level: Dexterity Lv. 22 Wind Lv. 23 Earth Lv. 16 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv.1
Unique Magic: Diagnosis Spellbody
Notes: Noble of the elves Expert archer ...
What the hell? She has levels in both enhancement magic and elemental? Two uniques too though it may be just from racial of a high elf. No wonder Norton is so serious about buying her, he''ll probably know more about this anomaly. "I didn''t know you had a thing for elves Norton." Seeing the crowd below starting to disperse, I speak to Norton in a teasing tone. "It can''t be helped, she is a high elf after all... sigh, I doubt you know that much about them. Why don''t we order some food first? The food here is decent and it beats heading out now to fight for a spot with this many people around." With that, Norton rings the bell to call on the maid. The maid comes prepared with menus and everyone orders something before heading to the table at the back of the room near the door and away from the veranda where we were at. As soon as we settle in, Norton takes this time before our food arrives to resume our conversation. "Anyway, back to the high elf. What do you know about them?" "Pretty much nothing, all I know is that elves live longer but what''s the difference between elves and high elves?" "Hmm, they are similar in appearance with high elves only having slightly longer ears and they both live longer than other races but high elves can live even longer. A normal elf becomes an adult at the age of 50 and can live up to around 500 years old while a high elf also becomes an adult at the age of 50, they can live up to 1000 years." Seeming to already know that I only had a basic understanding, Norton immediately replies. "...No wonder I see so few elf adventurers, no need to risk going to dungeons when they already have such longevity. But still, I don''t see why you would value them so highly just because they''re high elves, are they special somehow?" "You''re correct, high elves are special in that they have the unique magic, spellbody. Combined with their scarce numbers who become adventurers because of their special status among the elves, this is a rare opportunity to complete my party." "And what does spellbody do exactly? Does it have something to do with how she cultivates in both enhancement and elemental magic?" "Right, normally someone would only train in two magic from either enhancement type or elemental type because that is how much the body can handle to use at a time. No one trains in both enhancement and elemental either because enhancement magic works like forming a layer of armor around the user from their own mana pool. This layer prevents any remaining mana to be released out of the body or it would throw your entire body is disarray so enhancers use their remaining mana to form another layer, another enhancement magic." "And spellbody allows high elves to become an exception?" "That''s right, some races possess the innate ability to change this rule, the high elves'' spellbody allows them to use enhancement magic and elemental magic at the same time, allowing them to become powerful combatants." Races? Does that mean they''re more races that can use both types of magic or what? "Are there any other races that possess special innate abilities?" "...I heard some rumors about dragonkin but to be honest, I don''t know. Those races are usually small in number you don''t hear about them often, even the high elves are only so well known because they are so many normal elves that has spread the information as they come into contact with other races and even then, I doubt they aren''t any more secrets they have kept hidden." Faris and Norton''s companions seem to be quietly listening in on our conversation to the side. A moment of silence befalls the room as the information is digested. The silence breaks when the sound of knocking echoes throughout the room as the door opens with two maids entering while carrying our food. "Errr... Sorry, are we interrupting something?" The first maid who had taken our orders ask apologetically feeling the atmosphere in the room. "Oh, it''s nothing, please deliver us our food, we''re very much looking forward to it." Norton expertly dispels the atmosphere. "Yea, time to enjoy a good meal," I speak out to everyone at the table to back Norton up. I probably won''t be able to participate in the fight for the high elf anyway so no point thinking about it, let''s just eat and enjoy the show that''s about to come. --- We finished lunch with some time to spare so Norton''s group decided to head over to the inspection room to check out their potential ally and I decide to follow along with Faris. We enter into the same white room but this time, it doesn''t feel so empty anymore. There are usually only two or three other groups of other guests in the room at the same time but this time the room is filled with people and the sound of chatter. It wouldn''t surprise me if they said all the people in the VIP rooms has gathered here. Everyone has their attention on Aluria, with some people trying to talk to her but the high elf remains sitting quietly in the center of the room. We manage to land a spot right next to the rope barrier as I take the opportunity to use identify.
High Elf Female
Age: 54
Magic Level: Dexterity Lv. 22 Wind Lv. 23 Earth Lv. 16 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv.1
Unique Magic: Diagnosis Spellbody Lock-On Target
Hmm? Lock-On Target, it seems like she has an extra unique magic that wasn''t in the information the auction provided. Did they not know? I guess I should let my friend know, it''s the least I can do after all he''s done for me and it''s not like my unique spell is some great secret I must keep at all cost anyway. "I think she''s hiding an unique magic that she possesses, you should definitely do your best to buy her," I whisper discreetly to Norton. "...What? How do you know?" Norton and his party''s eyes widen but he quickly recollected himself. "Just trust me, you don''t want to miss out on her." Norton nods in response. "I won''t, wasn''t planning to anyway." Norton gives Aluria one final glance before we start to head back. The bidding is probably going to start soon as the noise from the lower gallery is becoming louder and louder as the guests make their way back into the venue. We all stay silent the entire way back to our seats as we patiently wait for the start of bidding, and with more and more guests returning to their seats, especially those on our floor who likely are returning from the inspection room, a tense atmosphere is quickly building. Man the intensity in the air is starting to even get to me and I have no stake in it, I can''t imagine what Norton is feeling right now. Norton suddenly whispers something to Otes, the only guy in his party beside himself, before Otes nods and faithfully exits the room. Though I''m curious, it''s best to give him some space for now, I should do my part and be an unobstructive spectator. Ten minutes went by that felt like an hour but the distinct figure of Allen, the auctioneer, returns onto the stage along with the high elf with her easily identifiable platinum blonde hair that. "Welcome back everyone, I''m sure you were all looking forward to the auction to resume so let''s not wait any further! Let the bidding for the high elf, Aluria, begin with a starting price of ten platinum coins with a minimum bid increment of one platinum coin." Immediately, they are some gasps and sounds of disappointment from the lower gallery when they heard the minimum bid, evidently many who did not do their homework on the value of high elves. Though the venue is getting fired up, no one places a bid immediately as everyone in the VIP rooms are calmly assessing their competitors. The lack of bidding is causing the gossip from the people on the lower gallery to grow in volume. At this moment, someone finally places a bid, a familiar voice loudly echoes throughout the hall as I turn to the origin of that voice beside me. "20 platinum coins!" The staff members who somehow picked up Norton''s voice through the crowd, repeats the bid toward the stage, prompting more staff to join in, silencing the crowd. "We have a bid of 20 platinum coins right away from room number 2! Is there a bid higher than 20 platinum coins from anyone?" The auctioneer skillfully takes control of the venue and ignites the brewing tension that was taking hold of everyone on the VIP level. With Norton starting off it off, bids start to come one after another, as the other guests start to take action. "...We have 25 platinum coins, 25 platinum coins, anyone higher? 26 platinum co...30 platinum coins..." After making the first bid, Norton stays silent and does nothing but observe. Seeing how I don''t even have enough for the starting bid, I quietly enjoy the show as well and wonder at the amazing economic strength of the people embroiled in the bidding war. As the bidding becomes more intense, the audience in the lower gallery is barely able to contain their voices as they gasp at the intense bid war despite the price. The bidding war finally slows down as some bidders reluctantly drop out one after another, either no longer able to afford it or simply judging the slave not to be worth the price. "The highest bid right now is 55 platinum coins, is there anyone willing to go above 55 platinum coins? 56 platinum coins, any other offer higher than 56..." They are only two other parties bidding against each other, both on the same floor as us, the VIP floor. One to the left of us, and the other to our right. I look over to Norton to see his unchanging neutral expression that he had at the start. "70 platinum coins!" Suddenly a deep and strong sounding voice booms out, to everyone''s surprise, the voice originates from the lower gallery, a man seated at an inconspicuous corner in the lower gallery where many novice adventurers are seated as the ticket prices for those seats are cheaper. Everyone at the venue turns quiet and turns their attention to the man but his face is covered by the hood of his plain-looking robe, hiding his face and identity from the scrutinizing gazes. "70 platinum coins, we have 70 platinum coins! Is there anyone with a higher bid of 70?" Allen the auctioneer declares without bothering to hide his elated voice. The last two remaining parties who were previously still bidding remains silent but I can clearly see from my view their displeasure as I spot one of them slamming his fist down onto the table beside him. "70 platinum coins going twice, are there any higher bids?" The auctioneer clearly talking upwards toward the VIP rooms. At this moment the door to our room slams open as the figure of Otes, Norton''s party member returns and nods his head in my direction. Seeing his knight''s affirmation Norton steers his gaze back onto the stage before loudly declaring. "75 platinum coins!" The staff repeats Norton''s bid once again as the sound of people furiously whispering fill the auction. "80 platinum coins!" Before the auctioneer even have a chance to finish stating the new bid, the man from the lower gallery instantly raises the price once more. "85 platinum coins!" As if to retaliate, Norton instantly increases his bid, stunning the crowd into silence as they wait for the show before them to continue. The man now falls into silence having been instantly outbid, contemplating his next move. He stands up and looks over direction in my direction with determination before his voice one again ring out in the hall. "90 platinum coins!" Norton stares straight back at the man and immediately takes action to once again outbid his opponent. Who knew watching an auction live could be this exciting, Norton seems to be really determined to win. "100 platinum coins!" As if receiving the signal, the moment 100 platinum coins sound out throughout the auction, the crowd goes into hysteria. "100 platinum coins, I repeat, 100 platinum coins. Is there anyone willing to offer a higher bid?" The crowd quickly settles down and all attention returns to the man on the lower gallery, who is still locked in a staring contest with Norton. Chapter 26 - Slave Auction Part 3 The staring contest between Norton and the hooded man continues until finally, the man breaks eye contact, looking down for a moment and to let out a sigh. Seeming to have given up, the man sits back down. "100 platinum coins going once, going twice, is there any more bids...? SOLD, to the gentleman in room 2." A round of applause accompanies immediately after the auctioneer declares Norton the winner of this bid. Hearing the applause from the crowd, Norton seems to finally relax and sit back down. "Nice one, sure shown off your wealth there, haven''t you?" I immediately tease, jumping on the opportunity to converse with Norton again once he''s relaxed. "Thank you, I wouldn''t have gotten the funds in time if you didn''t tell about her unique magic." "Hmm? How did that help you at all?" "I only had 60 platinum coins readied with 50 of that coming from the Lockhart family, but with your information, I asked Otes to head back to the family to tell them about Aluria and they agreed to fund me another 50 platinum coins. I hope your information about her unique magic still stands solid though, right?" "Yeah, I''m certain of it, don''t worry." Following my line, a knock is heard to our room and a maid enters and stops in front of Norton and slightly bows. "Lord Norton, congratulations on winning the bid, would you like to settle the account right away or wait until the end of the auction?" It seems the VIP room guests have the perk of being able to receive their slaves right away instead of waiting until the end. Norton looks over to Otes before receiving a bag of coins from his knight. "I''ll immediately settle the account now, lead the way." With that, Norton exits the room with the maid, likely to perform the necessary procedures to receive his new slave. "It''s a shame that we couldn''t afford Aluria, she seemed to be a great boost if we had her for our party with her abilities." With Norton gone, I turn to chat with Faris. It''s about time I take it seriously again and carefully inspect each of the upcoming slaves after having lunch and watched an entertaining show. "Yea, but I''m sure we''ll find someone else that''s suitable master." Faris cheerfully replies. "I believe so as well, let''s put our focus back to screening our potential candidates, be sure to tell me your real thoughts on them." What a cute nod, it warms me up from the inside from her radiance. --- We''ve been carefully looking at each slave and a lot of them stood out in each of their different ways but none were of what I had in mind, what our party needed most right now. Being so focused on the stage, I didn''t even realize Norton had returned until he called out to me. "Hey, I''m done on my end, any slave catch your eye yet?" Norton speaks as he sits down. I shake my head and turn to see him already sitting and further behind, I spot the high elf, Aluria, standing at the end of our seats. "Well, there''s still quite a few more until the end I believe, but never knew you were so picky. Aluria, please take a seat." Norton answers me as he turns his gaze toward where mine laid. A maid quickly brought over another seat and laid it out next to the tomboy from Norton''s party. Aluria sits down but glares at Norton, well she doesn''t seem too friendly. "I don''t think she likes you much, what''d you do to her? I never knew you were so impatient." I lean over to keep my voice low. "...I didn''t do anything, she just hasn''t got used to becoming a slave without having done her full courses and having her pride as a high elf, she''ll turn around. I asked her about her unique magic too but she wouldn''t talk to me about it and just coldly stared me down." Norton looks to me helplessly. Seeing him like take after all the fanfare it took to buy Aluria, I quickly turned around to stifle my welling laughter but a chuckle manages to escape from me. "...Hey, if you can''t help me then don''t go rubbing salt on my wounds now." I feign ignorance and focus back onto the stage where the next slave is about to be introduced. I''m starting to see the advantage of having a middle-aged man shaped like a ball being the auctioneer now, it''s letting me focus on the slaves and making them all look slim and pretty in contrast to Allen. "Introducing to you our next slave, Neri Brewfinger, a member of the noble Brewfinger clan from the country of the dwarves!" The next slave, a petite girl, steps onto the stage with the auctioneer, Allen. With Allen''s impressive width, the dwarfappears to be even slimmer but still, I still marvel at the fact that dwarf women look so different to their men, I would''ve practically thought she was a human little girl if I wasn''t told beforehand. From what I could make out in the distance, the dwarf, Neri, has straight deep blue colored hair the went all the way down to her back. She quietly walked onto the stage, keeping a stoic face and closed her eyes when she stopped moving at the masked people''s direction. "My words are empty without the facts to back them up, let''s put up her information on the screen for your examination as we move on to bidding." As if having to hurry along a schedule, Allen cuts the introduction short and sends her off to the inspection as he moves on to the bidding of the previous slave.
Neri Brewfinger
Age: 19
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 24 Stamina Lv. 22 Dexterity Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv.1
Unique Magic: Physical Boost
Notes: Educated; received dwarven noble training equivalent Fighting ability on par with rank 3 adventurers ...
Seeing the information, I instantly pay more attention to this slave just like all those beforewho all fit my first and simple criteria of being a strength enhancer. It said her fighting ability is only around rank 3 with those levels so she should be about average but her being knowledgeable is definitely a big boon seeing I still have a lot to learn about this world. I''ve been looking for a strength enhancer because that was what our party is currently sorely lacking, a heavy hitter. I''m sure I can dish out big hits now with my explosion thrusts but I''m also the tank and my spear won''t do much blunt damage as that is not what it''s made for. With a strength enhancer who is able to deal out decent blunt damage, I''m sure we''ll be able to more easily hunt and reach further into the dungeons, with the ability to deal with larger monsters like the big wolves on the fifth floor of Greens Filth. I signal Faris and we both head over to the inspection room, leaving Norton''s group behind. We head down the familiar corridor that we''ve been strolling along throughout the day and open the set of doors into the inspection room. Upon entering, there seems to be only two other groups of guest who are keeping to their own group and talking amongst themselves while occasionally looking over to the dwarf slave, Neri, sitting in the middle of the bare room. We approach up to the rope barrier and give the dwarf another glance over up close. She''s quietly sitting there upright without any expression showing on her face. Being much closer now, I can see her violet eyes staring straight ahead as if she pays no attention to anyone in the room and have no care. She seems to be pretty tall for a dwarf, comparing her to the few I''ve seen, probably coming up to my upper abdomen but still looking delicate with her slender frame. It gives the feeling of wanting to protect her despite how cold she seems with her stoic expression. Identify
Dwarf Female
Age: 19
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 24 Stamina Lv. 22 Dexterity Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv.1
Unique Magic: Physical Boost Sense Location
Here it is, another slave who kept quiet about their unique magic just like Aluria, the high elf. Seeing how they didn''t mention anything about her completing the full courses earlier on the notes, I can assume she hasn''t and has only fallen into slavery recently. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation."She has a unique magic she hasn''t told the auction about, sense location. I think she would be a pretty good fit for us, what do you think?" I whisper to Faris. "Really? That sounds like a utility unique magic that could bring something much more valuable than just fighting strength to the party!" Whispers loudly, to the maximum volume that can still be considered whispering. "Shhh, don''t let anyone overhear you, don''t want to create competitors now. Anyway, I take it that your answer is yes?" "Mhmm, I believe in master''s choice." Faris nods exaggeratedly. Now you''re making me feel a little guilty, I''ve been looking at their skills, sure, but one of my hidden criteria was definitely being a pretty girl. I try to put the guilt behind me by distracting myself by moving the conversation along. "Is there anything special I should know about dwarves?" "Hmmm, I think they''re just the same as us though you shouldn''t make fun of their height, they are stronger physically from their unique magic. Other then that, she should just be like Clarice and her dad." "Okay, let''s try talking to her first." We turn to face Neri who is still casually sitting there without a care to the people around. "Hello Neri, I''m an Aster, an adventurer and this is my companion, Faris. Would you be against fighting with us in the dungeons, we are aiming to conquer them of course." Her expressionless face doesn''t change and she slightly looks over at me and Faris who I introduce, I notice her gaze stop at Faris''s collar before going back to me and then staring blankly into the space in front of her as if contemplating. Both Faris and I patiently wait for a few seconds before Neri finally shakes her head. I take that as she doesn''t mind? Not much of a talker is she... Seeing she hasn''t talked, I take it she doesn''t feel comfortable talking to us so we retreat back to our room in preparation for the next bidding. "So how was it?" Upon sitting down, Norton quickly asks. I nod to his question, "I''ll be bidding for her if I can afford it." It''s better to keep expectations low before I managed to attain what I want, though from the auction so far, most slaves'' price ends up being around three to five platinum coins. "So you finally decided, don''t worry I still have some coins left over, I don''t mind lending them to you, with interest of course." "...oh how KIND of you." "Haha, being benevolent is one of my greatest traits." "..." I''ll let you have that one, I''m going to focus on the auction. "Look master, it''s starting." Faris grabs onto my arm to remind me. I look over the edge of the stage where the two masked staff escorts Neri up onto the stage. "...feel free to look at the stats being projected on the screen, we will now move on to the bidding for the previous slave shown, the dwarf, Neri Brewfinger!" Neri mechanically moves to her designated area, showing no emotions at all even with this many people''s attention on her. "Let the bidding start with a starting price of 100 gold coins, minimum increment of 10 gold coins!" The auctioneer says in practiced fashion. I''ve been paying attention to the auction for the entire morning so I''ve gotten the hang of it and proceeds to take the wait and see strategy in the beginning. "110 gold coins, 120 gold coins, 200 gold coins is there any higher bid?" The auctioneer turns back and forth, scanning for new bids. I''m surprised someone of his stature is able to keep that up for so long, I would imagine it to be seriously tiring being the auctioneer for so many bids. "250 gold coins! Is there any higher than 250?" Eventually, one of the guests from the VIP floor enters the fray. "260 gold coins, 270 go---, 300 gold coins." The bidding war starts to die down with only two remaining parties at play, one from the lower gallery, and the one from the VIP room. I guess it''s about time I join in on the action. "400 gold coins!" I declare as loud as I can without shouting. Although I have no practical auction experience, from what I''ve seen in the old world, it''s a strategy to raise your price by a noticeable amount to demonstrate your determination in winning and to deter others. I wonder if it''ll work? "400 gold coins, I repeat, 400 gold coins, is there any higher offer." Allen, the auctioneer patrol his gaze between the previous two parties who remain in the bidding war. The two parties remain silent and look my way. "450 gold coins!" At this moment, a woman''s voice sounds out from a new VIP room that is just next door to mine, giving me a clear view of the side of her face and her green hair. Damn, why can''t it be that easy? "500 gold coins!" Not wanting to show weakness, I refuse to falter and increase the bid once again. "500 gold coins, anyone with a higher offer? Going once, twice!" Now Allen only looks toward the woman in the room beside mine. The woman seems to be discussing with the other people besides her, waiting until the last second. "550 gold coins!" The woman''s voice resonates throughout the venue. The crowd''s discussion seems to be heating up, enjoying the show though the sense of tension isn''t very prevalent ever since the bidding for the high elf. "600 gold coins!" I must remain steady and instantly shut her down to demonstrate my will. "600 gold coins, I repeat, 600, is there any higher offer?" This time the woman seems to be staggered by my quick response, she stands up and looks over my way but one of her companions comes whispering into her ear and calming her. After listening to what her companion had to say, she takes her seat and continue glaring my way. "Going once, going twice...SOLD for 600 gold coins." "Master we did it!" Faris is swept up by the auctioneer''s mood and excitedly grabs onto me. "Yeah, I''m going have to rely on you to teach and take care of her from now on though." "Leave it to me, master." "Congratulations." Expertly waiting for an opening, Norton congratulates me which prompts his companions to do the same as well. The wave of congratulations does not stop as immediately after, a knock is heard on our door and the familiar-looking maid once again enters and heads my way. "Congratulations sir, would you like to settle your accounts now or at the end of the auction." "Now would be fine, please lead the way." Seeing that there isn''t a reason to wait, I immediately leave with the maid to complete the transaction. --- Master left. Seeing the spring in his steps as he follows that maid, I can tell he is looking forward to receiving his new slave and I can''t help but feel a little unsettled about it. The thought that master might someday stop paying attention to me or abandoning me when he grows tired of me haunts me. I''ve been doing my best to have master like me because I really don''t want to leave master''s side. Master has been so kind to me since he bought me even though I''m a slave. I was so scared before that, the other slaves'' gossiping, the slave trainers'' lessons, all made me prepare for the worst to come. Thinking back now, I''m really glad I never needed to train in those subjects ever again as they were all in vain. I no longer have to endure sleeping on the cold floor or any of the harsh training to work as a servant. I was told they were all in preparation for how bad some masters treated their slaves and high-quality slaves would be trained to be obedient no matter what. I''m so glad my master wasn''t like that, he didn''t even treat me like I was a slave at all, I got to sleep in soft beds, I ate the same food as him, I even received allowance to buy what I want, and his gaze was always so gentle and filled with kindness when he looked at me... Just like dad''s... at least before starvation changed him. I''m not sure if this feeling is love but I''m willing to do anything for master so that he will continue to like me, I want to be able to continue to stay by his side and enjoy his kindness. I shouldn''t be thinking like this, I believe master will stay true to his words and he definitely won''t leave me behind. Instead, I should be looking forward to the arrival of our new party member like master is. Together we will all become stronger, I will become strong enough so that this time I will have the power to protect everything important to me. This time I will be the protector instead of the protected. I will give it my all, so this time for sure! --- The maid leads me all the way back to the inspection room at the end of the hallway, then down the staircase to the side of the roomwhich connects to the back of the stage where the auction is currently taking place. Waiting at the end of the stairs, a middle-aged maid with a familiar looking face is standing at attention with her two hands held together. The maid leading me leaves me with the middle-aged maid with neatly tied up black hair. I swear I''ve seen her before but I can''t really recall exactly when and where. I stare at her face while standing at the bottom of the flight of stairs. "Sir, please come this way, everything is prepared to complete the slave contract." Her voice wakes me from my thought. The lady didn''t seem to mind my staring at all, patiently waiting for me the whole time with grace and etiquette that you can tell is ingrained into her being from years of experience. I nod at her words and follow her. "Knock knock, I have brought the esteemed guest to finish his transaction." The maid politely knocks and declare our intentions before holding the door for me to enter before following me into the room. The room is decorated like a living room, with sofas and chairs encircling a tea table. Sitting on one of the chairs is a young man with brown hair dressed like the other merchants. To his side, sitting on one of the sofas is Neri, sitting there with her back straight with the same old expressionless face. "Greetings sir, please sit." The young man gestures for me to sit on the sofa opposite to Neri and adjacent to him. "My name is Alfred Witsmore, an apprentice merchant at the Allen company. I will be helping you complete the procedure for your ownership over the slave Neri. If you would please write down your name for me, we can finish this as quickly as possible for you." The young man that doesn''t seem much older than me informs me. He sounds tense, is he new to this? And Allen company? Isn''t that the fat slave trader, Allen''s company. I look over to confirm that it is Neri, she blankly stares at me and makes eye contact. I don''t think I''ve heard her voice yet... "It''s Aster Estrea." I write it down on the table in the middle of the three of us and push it towards the young merchant. Having received my name, Alfred immediately brings out a few pieces of paper and start furiously writing something down while looking between the papers. "So you work for Allen, the one whos acting as auctioneer right now, right?" I ask as he scribbles away. "That is correct sir Aster, he happens to be my uncle who has kindly received me as his apprentice." He answers without even looking up, I don''t mind but isn''t that not of proper manners? "Hana, please get the tools ready for finishing the slave contract. Sir Aster, if you could please produce the payment equivalent of 600 gold coins." Alfred says after checking over his documents and stamping them with a seal. That''s right, Hana, the same maid I saw at Allen''s place when I bought Faris. I quickly bring out a bag of coins from my space ring and collect six platinum coins from within and places it onto the table. The middle-aged maid responds to Alfred''s words and heads over to a corner of the room and retrieve a tray holding some items on it from one of the cabinets. Being able to make out the items on the tray as Hana approaches, memory of my first slave contract flood into my mind. "Excuse me sir." As if to replay that memory for me, Hana naturally brings my left hand atop the tray and quickly pricks my index finger with a needle to draw some of my blood. She then moves on to mix my blood with some purple solution poured from a potion bottle. The mixed solution is immediately poured onto Neri''s collar after thorough mixing, Hana accomplishes all this in one practiced movement. Suddenly, I feel that another point has been added to my mental radar, letting me sense the direction of the two points on my radar. The one pointing straight in front of me must be my new slave, Neri, with the other one being Faris. If I close my eyes and focus, I can tell which one is which as I see two dots of different colors in my mental radar. "The contract is complete, Neri Brewfinger is now officially your slave sir. These documents here are for you, they are the proof of ownership so please do keep them safe." "Thank you." I stand up and give my new slave an inspection with my eyes. "Happy to have you Neri, I''m Aster Estrea, I''ll be your master starting today, I''ll try my best to take care of you so feel free to let me know about anything you need." I extend my hand out for a handshake. Neri blankly looks me in the eye then looks at my hand before standing up and extending out her own hand to give me a handshake with a small nod. "Master." As if only dawning on her after the handshake, she finally opens her mouth spit out a word in a barely audible volume. Her blank and innocent eyes work really well with her small stature, making her look so cute despite the stoic expression. It is at this moment that I can confidently say to myself, "I don''t regret picking her at all", it was all worth it, carefully going through each of the slaves today with Faris. "Let''s go." Not being able to help myself, I say while petting her on the head. She''s at the perfect height for me to pet her, her hair is so silky and smooth. This might become a habit... I reluctantly move my hand away once I feel her movements of standing up. Let''s go back Neri, your big sister, Faris, is waiting for us. Chapter 27 - And Then There were Three "Neri... Brewfinger is it? Starting today, I will be the one tasked with you, you can call me head maid. Let me tell you about..." A middle-aged lady tells me while examining the paper in her hand. To think one day I would have someone looking down like this. I really have been reduced to nothing but a slave, haven''t I? I know she''s trying to explain to me various things I will need to know while I live here and I am trying my best to listen but I just can''t... Even though I''m trying so hard to distract my thoughts from thinking back to what happened back then... I can''t wait until bedtime, I just want to be asleep and forget about everything. --- Apparently I will be sold today. The other slaves were all so focused on training while all the caretakers look at me with disdain and treat me like an object so I should be happy to be able to leave this place but instead, I''m only feeling more fearful than ever. I fear how my life will be like with my new master, will it be same as right now where I have to fight in the dungeons during the day and do chores at night? I''ve overheard some bad rumors about what some masters will do to their slaves, I hope they are only rumors. Don''t be afraid Neri! It can''t get much worse anyway... I think. Mom, Dad, what should I do? "It''s your turn, follow me." A strange person with a mask orders me so I can only obediently follow. Before long, I can hear the sounds of many people and by the time I realized what is happening, I''m already on a stage where a sea of people are looking at me where some fat man is talking about me. Is my new master going to be one of these people from the crowd? It wasn''t long before I am escorted into a room with nothing in it except a single chair in the middle, I can still hear the sound of the crowd too. I am told to sit in the chair while the masked men disappear, they are only a few people standing to the side now in uniform. A group of well-dressed humans then entered the room and approaches me and starts to talk to me but remembering dad''s words and with what happened but then still fresh in my mind, I stay silent and try to ignore them. Look straight and think about things that you can do to improve your situation Neri. "Hello Neri, I''m an Aster, an adventurer and this is my companion, Faris. Would you be against fighting with us in the dungeons, we are aiming to conquer them of course." Before I knew it, a young man and woman stood right in front of me and started talking to me, it feels strange with everyone knowing my name so I''m glad they at least introduced themselves to me. I glance over at them briefly seeing an average looking guy with black hair and a girl with beautiful silver-colored hair,so she''s a slave too. I wouldn''t have noticed if it wasn''t for the collar, she is so well dressed after all, and she looks so happy, I''m sure her master treats her well. I almost wanted to reply but kept it to just shaking my head as I remembered what dad taught me, can''t judge a book by their cover, stay vigilant Neri! I get taken onto the stage again by the masked people and realize I''m going to get sold soon. Please don''t let it be a bad master like in the rumors, please don''t. I swear I''ll do my best to serve my master, so please let it be a good master. The image of me being abused and used as a human shield keep haunting my mind as I start to feel myself shake. Am I going to see you soon mom, dad? No, keep it together Neri, you still have to clear your parent''s names, think happy thoughts, happy thoughts. Before I knew it, I''m sitting in a room with some man, I''m told we are waiting for my new master. Don''t be scared Neri, don''t be scared... "Knock knock, I have brought the esteemed guest to finish his transaction." A man enters the room followed by the head maid. It''s him! The one with that pretty silver-haired slave. My new master finishes the procedures to become my master as the head maid pours something onto my collar. I guess I now officially belong to him. "Happy to have you, Neri, I''m Aster Estrea, I''ll be your master starting today, I''ll try my best to take care of you so feel free to let me know about anything you need." My new master, Aster, extends his hand out toward me. With etiquette being trained into me since young, I reflexively shake his hand. I still have to be vigilant, he still may be a bad guy putting up a facade in public but for now, I will play along. "Master." Master starts petting my head, it''s nice and warm, his hands feel so kind, just like dads. Wait, don''t be so easily fooled Neri, don''t let your guard down! "Let''s go." I still have to wait and see how my new master is but I sure hope he is as it seems. I wonder how my life is going to be like from now on. --- Having completed the slave contract, Neri is now officially my slave. Hana the middle-aged maid starts to lead us out of the room and back to the stairs we came from. I follow after the maid, with Neri following after me, forming a line of three. I suddenly remember something and quicken my pace to whisper something to Hana. "Excuse me but can I purchase the fertility ring, the one Allen gives as whenever a female slave is bought." Hana stops moving and looks back to me and subtly nods. "Of course but since this transaction isn''t done on behalf of the Allen company, there will be a charge of 10 gold coins for the ring of cursed fertility." Damn profiteering merchants, I''ll still buy it though, not a fan of wearing multiple rings so I''ll have all my slaves wear one instead. And from my research, you can have kids with different races but the odds are much lower. The kid will only be of the same race as one of their parents too, no half-bloods apparently. I hand Hana the coins where she then walks back to where we came from and almost instantly reappears with my item carried on a tray. "Please." As Hana holds the tray up to me. I take the ring and immediately store into my space ring, careful to not let Neri see it. It''d be a pretty weird first impression if the first thing I did was to put that ring on Neri after all. As she is something akin to a former noble, she would easily recognize the ring. We resume walking and make it back to the bottom of the stairs that lead to the inspection room where Hana bids us farewell and part from us. Knowing the way, I lead Neri up the stairs and all the way back to the VIP room where Faris and Norton''s group is waiting. "Master, you''re back!" Faris''s elated voice reaches my ear the moment I open the door. Before reaching my seat, Faris rushes over to me. Behind her, I see Norton casually raising his hand at me before turning back towards the auction. "Yeah, I officially received Neri as my slave." I step to the side to give Faris full view of the little dwarf behind me. Neri remains expressionless and returns the gaze Faris gives her. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!"I''ll leave it to you to help her with anything she needs and teach her about how we do things, so take good care of her okay?" "Of course master. Hi there, Neri, my name is Faris, I''m also one of master''s slave, just like you. I will be taking care of you so you can think of me as like a new big sister from now on, feel free to ask me for help or if you have any questions okay?" Faris closes the gap with Neri and starts petting her like I once did. "Faris, age?" Neri thinks for a moment before uttering out two simple words, not much of a talker, is she? "Hmm? I''m 18." Although confused at the question, Faris still replies truthfully. "I''m 19, older, big sister," Neri says while pointing to herself. "...you see Neri... I am master''s first slave, I have been with master for much longer so you can treat me like your big sister from now on, okay?" A flurry of different emotions passes by Faris''s face before returning back to a gentle smile. "But---" "You can treat me like your big sister, okay?" Faris repeats the same line with the same tone, unfazed by any objection Neri may have. "..." Neri stays silent and looks over to me, almost as if she is asking me for help though I can''t really tell for sure as she is expressionless as usual. Meanwhile, Faris continues to stare at Neri and patiently wait for her response, I think I''ve seen a new side to Faris, it''s kind of cute. Anyway, I shouldn''t get involved here. I walk myself back to my seat and bring my attention back to the auction to enjoy the rest of the show. --- "Thank you for every guest in attendance today for coming to the city of Unatis''s semi-annual slave auction. The auction is now officially over and I hope to see you all in six months, guests in the lower gallery please leave in an orderly fashion, thank you!" Allen, the auctioneer manages to finish the last of his duties while wiping the sweat from his face. Honestly, I''m surprised that Allen had the stamina to remain standing and talk for so long, I''ve seriously underestimated him. "I think a celebration is in order to welcome our new party members so how ''bout it? Care to celebrate together tonight?" Norton asks with clear joy still in his voice from attaining Aluria. "Sure, I have to thank you too for bringing me to the auction." "Haha, very good, I''ll make the reservations then, meet me at this place tonight." We exit the building to find Norton''s knight already there waiting with the carriage. I accept Norton''s offer to bring me back to my place as I left my transportation, Blacky there. Before long, we manage to arrive safely. "Then I''ll see you guys later, I''m sure we both have many things to prepare for our new companions." "See you." I nod to Norton. With that, Norton closes the carriage door and their carriage rides off into the distance. "Well, let''s go shopping, we have many things to buy," I say as I look over Neri. Her only belongings are only the simple clothes she is wearing now. We bring out Blacky and first head toward the old man Bosgrem''s blacksmith shop we frequent. Man, with three people, it is starting to be a bit too crowded riding on Blacky, maybe it''s about time to buy another horse or a small carriage, it''d help with carrying our extra gear and supplies too but that would depend on my wallet. I need the money to finish assembling my party too... After having bought Neri, my determination has only grown to finish my party with potential slaves who are both pretty and talented. The combat-ready slaves aren''t in my considerations anymore. This is because the most expensive slave at the auction was not Norton''s high elf but the combat-ready slave. I went to the inspection room to use identify on them too, with their levels being really high, at mid-seventies. The slave was sold for a sky-high price of 130 platinum coins but the most startling thing to me was that the slave wasn''t even of the best quality, he had no unique magic and his overall combat evaluation was considered around B-tier but was still considered a rare find. Who knows how much people would pay for A-tier combat skills and unique magic. Well, I doubt people with A-tier abilities in the first place would fall to slavery that easily. Seeing my current slaves, Faris and Neri, I''ve decided to add the criteria of useful unique magic to the list when buying slaves. I believe it will be worth taking my time searching for the best members for the best foundation rather than rushing it, not that my wallet is allowing me to rush it anyway. While I was distracted in my thoughts, we arrived at the blacksmith shop before I knew it. "Welco--- Oh Faris! I''m so glad to see you! How may I help you today?" Upon entering, a short dwarf with pink hair tied up into a ponytail greets us, or rather, Faris. "Hi Clarice, we''ve come again, we''re looking for equipment for my master''s new slave. Look, her name''s Neri." Clarice finally notices Neri who was standing slightly behind us and inspects her with her eyes before settling on the leather collar. "Welcome, I''m Clarice, feel free to rely on me, I''m sure I can help you look for gear suitable for you. Tell me, what are you looking for?" Clarice may be talking to Neri but for some reason, she glares at me the entire time of her speech. What the fuck, what did I do wrong? You little rascal reallyis short even for a dwarf, my Neri seems to be a full head taller than you pipsqueak, stop glaring. "Hm, strength enhancer..., war hammer..., hammer..., shield..., armor." Neri nods at Clarice''s words before spewing out a list of equipment she would like. "I see, a war hammer as your main weapon, one-handed hammer as a spare weapon that can be used alongside a shield, and plate armor. I got it, follow me." Clarice leads Neri away to start looking for the equipment they listed. This is probably going to take a while, isn''t it... "Faris, I''ll go buy some daily necessitiesfor Neri first so you guys can take your time, no budget, buy the best for her okay? After I come back we can then buy clothes for her." Catching Faris by her shoulder just before she left with the two dwarves, I inform her of my plans before going on my way. Well Blacky, just you and me, just like old times. --- I return to the blacksmith store and find the three girls chatting around by the counter, next to them is a pile of weapons and armor neatly placed. "You guys done already?" I say as I move closer to examine their harvest. "Yes master, we have everything including maintenance tools for the armor." "Of course, I was with them after all." Faris and Clarice talk over each other as Neri just nods at me. "So how much is it in total?" I turn to ask Clarice. "The best I can do for you is 75 gold coins." "...Isn''t that a lot more expensive compared to when Faris and I bought it?" My wallet is crying. "You guys wear leather armor, Neri here is a strength enhancer so she can wear plate armor without a problem. You did say to buy the best right?" Clarice rests her hands on her waist while looking grumpily at me. I carefully look over the equipment to make sure I''m getting the best bang for my buck. The most eye-catching is a big dark grey hammer with a really long handle, made entirely of metal. There isn''t much decor on it but it gives off a strong heavy look that would crush your toes if you drop it on yourself. I swear that thing is probably taller than me, it must be at least two meters long, can Neri really wield that with her small frame?
Great Darksteel War Hammer
Age:1
Condition 100/100
Enchantment:
I guess identify doesn''t tell me much besides the enchantment on it, I wonder if I can somehow level up my identify spell? The next piece of equipment I lay my eyes on looks much more normal. Just a normal looking hammer that can be held with one hand that is a bit shorter than a shortsword. It''s entirely made of metal still but looks manageable for me to carry at least. Below the hammer is a shield, unlike my old shield, this one is made entirely of metal as well and shaped like a rectangle but curved around inwards to better shield its bearer, it''s large enough to be able to cover the entire width of one person. The last thing I inspect is a small set of grey plate armor neatly laid out on the counter. Compared to the hammer, the armor is a lighter shade of grey. It honestly looks pretty cute like a toy seeing the modest-sized plate armor but I can definitely feel the weight and the defense it can provide when running my hand through it. I can''t help but wonder if Neri can really wield all these heavy-looking equipment, it''s hard to even imagine her decked out in this while holding that heavy war hammer that is even taller than me by a whole head. "...Isn''t the helmet missing from the set?" "Open-visor helmets have to be adjusted to order to ensure it fits perfectly unlike the closed-visor ones so you''ll have to pick it up tomorrow," Clarice explains with clear annoyance in her voice as she points over to a nearby helmet on display. The helmet has gaps and holes in various places, designed to let you your ears out to listen and open in the face area to not obstruct vision and smell. It kind of reminds of a clunkier bicycle helmet with how it mostly covers the top and back of the head and around the jaws and chin. I look over to another helmet on display across from the previous one. Just judging on appearance, I can tell this is the closed-visor one from how the entire face is covered to the point I''d probably won''t be able to see clearly out of it. This was the type Kou was wearing. "The closed-visor ones are usually meant for the battlefield,meaning only knights use them usually, adventurers like you guys going into dungeons are better off staying away from them as it''ll hinder you without years of training wearing them. And even if you can wearthose things, they block out most of your senses so they are more of a detriment to the small skirmishes and surprise attacks you guys would encounter in dungeons." Clarice jumps to explain, noticing my gaze. "So that''s why the helmets seem so expensive," I say while looking at the price tags of the helmets. "Master, maybe...something cheaper?" Neri asks me with a guilty look on her face. This has been the most I''ve heard out of her and with that face, I can''t bear to squabble about the price any longer. I should never cheap out on gear that can save our lives anyway. "Well, I was just checking to see if you have everything, don''t worry about it, Neri. You''re my slave now so I''ll try my best to not let you get hurt. Here, a platinum coin." I quickly pay the bill before the powder keg to the side, Clarice, explodes. Clarice snatches the coin I offer her and head behind the counter, "Thank you... master." Neri slight bows toward me. Am I imagining things or is she blushing a little? "Hm, just pay me back with your hard work." I start petting Neri''s head, it''s too irresistible. "Mm," Neri nods. Soon, Clarice comes storming backat me with my change, seeming to look even more agitated than before. "Here, your change of 25 gold coins." She shoves it to my face and puts on a look on her face as if telling me to quickly begone. Old man Bosgrem, where are you? To think there would be aday where I would rather talk with some sweaty old man rather than a cute girl... Chapter 28 - Sense Location "Hm, strength enhancer..., war hammer..., hammer..., shield..., armor," I answer the store clerk, Clarice, who seems eager to help me. "I see, a war hammer as your main weapon, one-handed hammer as a spare weapon that can be used alongside a shield, and plate armor. I got it, follow me." I follow the pink-haired dwarf down into an aisle where she starts explaining to me the different options. What should I do? The caretaker always used to take care of these things for me, I have no idea what she is talking about. I can''t find the right moment to interrupt her, maybe I should just let her finish, it doesn''t seem to be anytime soon though... "...and that''s about all the plate armors we have, did any particular one interest you?" "..." What do I say, I wasn''t listening at all. "Master said to get the best one." A female voice behind me answers. Oh, she was here, Faris, master''s first slave. "Hmm, the best one would be the refined darksteel alloy armor set here but it''s a little expensive, it''ll cost you 50 gold coins, is that okay?" 50 gold coins?! It might not have been a big deal if it was before, but to spend that kind of money on me that''s now just a new slave... "Isn''t that too expensive... I''m fine with another one." My voice escapes my mouth without thinking, my bad habit is striking again, I need to think before talking. "...Heh" Faris lightly chuckles at me with a grin. "What?" "Sorry, it''s just that was the first time I''ve heard you talk so much at a time. And seeing it''s because you don''t want to be a burden just makes you look so cute." Faris crouches down and hugs me. It''s warm. "...I just...like to think before speaking, especially towards strangers." "It''s fine Neri, master wouldn''t want any of his slaves to get hurt to save some coins, you''re our important comrade now, my little sister, a part of the family. So there''s no need to talk to us like strangers, I nor master will fault you if you say the wrong thing." Faris says while holding onto me with her hands but looks straight into my eyes. A warm feeling wells up around my chest. "...Thanks...sister Faris" My voice faintly sound out. "Just Faris is fine." "...Are you two done?" A helpless voice from nearby enters our ears and I turn to see Clarice waiting there awkwardly while holding a set of armor. --- I don''t know how to face master and Faris right now. I was really happy yesterday and found that they were both really kind to me, I had a great time and felt at ease just like in the past with my family. It''s all because of what happened yesterday, where did it start again? I think sometime after buying my equipment but I''m not sure, my head is still hurting from drinking too much last night. Thinking back, we finished picking out my gear and master soon returned. I thought we may have gone a little overboard with how expensive the total turned out and master started to argue with the clerk, but in the end, he still bought it for me and that warm feeling in my chest resurfaced. Our next few stops included the clothing store where master bought me a ton of brand new clothes of quality I never thought I''d wear again so soon. At the potion store, master bought a variety of potions and even gave each of us a healing potion worth a gold coin apiece for emergencies. When the sunset came, we went to a fancy restaurant and met master''s friend from the auction and we all had a big feast. Master even told me to drink as much as I wanted and let me toast his friends in his place. As a proud dwarf, I did not disappoint master and represented him and managed to outdrink his friend''s entire group. I may have drunk a bit too much though. That''s right! It happened after that. Master carried me on his back while I was still in my drunken stupor, I may have been drunk but as a dwarf, my mind was still aware of my surroundings. We got home and I wanted to jump straight at the bed as soon as I entered the room but master and Faris dragged me to wash me. It was so embarrassing, they washed me like a child and I was stark naked too! After they were done, thankfully, master carried me to the bed and gently placed me inside the covers to let me sleep before he headed back to the bathroom. I fell asleep watching him walk away but the next thing I know, vibrations that shook the bed woke up back up as I heard gasps and whispering beside me. I didn''t know what to do and just pretended I was still asleep but I heard them clearly. "Master...Neri is right there, we can''t do it here." "She just fell asleep not long ago so a little noise shouldn''t wake her, I doubt she''ll even wake up until sunrise with how drunk she was. Come on, it''ll be fine." "But still..." "She''ll join us sooner or later, who cares. Don''t run Faris, I ain''t letting you get away." After that, the sounds of moans, their whispers of sweet nothings, and the vibration of the bed all kept me awake throughout the night. I couldn''t do anything but to wait there, hoping to fall asleep so they wouldn''t find me out, he said I''ll join in eventually too... I know it would happen ever since I became a slave... and I don''t mind with master... especially with how kind he is to me so I know he won''t hurt me but still, the thought of that is too embarrassing. I don''t know how to face them once they wake up, should I pretend I didn''t see anything? --- 11th day of the third month. I wake up to Faris staring straight to my eyes and before I can say anything, my mouth is covered by hers. I wish this would last forever. After who knows how long, we finally part. "Morning." "Good morning master." "Hmm? Where''s Neri?" With the fact that I had bought my second slave yesterday settling back in, I scan the room in search of her. "I''m not sure, she already wasn''t here when I woke up." I close my eyes and focus on my connection with my slaves for a moment and felt Neri in the direction below me. So she''s downstairs, I''ll let you get away for today but tomorrow... "Let''s go get ready." I steel myself to leave the comfort of the bed to head for the bathroom to wash up andget dressed into my combat gear. When we finally head down to the first floor, I finally see my new slave and our latest addition to our party, Neri, sitting by the table, nestling her head into her arms resting on the table. "Morning Neri, still having a hangover?" I ask before recovering something from the kitchen pantry. "Huh....what?! Master... Uhh..." Neri snaps up, surprised by our presence and looks over to us awkwardly. "Relax, have you had anything to eat or drink yet?" I walk over and sit beside her and place a cup in front of her." "No... I wouldn''t dare without master''s permission." She quickly recovers and restores her classic stoic expression, her face is still a little red though, I guess it''s from the alcohol. "You don''t need permission for small things like that, starting from now, feel free to eat or drink whenever you want to, let me know if there is anything you want that we don''t have. Here, drink some tea, it''ll make you feel better." I place the teabag and conjure boiling water into the cup and let it sit for a few seconds before pouring in some colder water to make it drinkable. "Feel better?" "Don''t you still have a hangover? Look your face is still red." I place my hand on her forehead to feel the temperature, seems fine to me but it''s surprising that even dwarves experience hangovers, I thought alcohol was like water to them. "Ah, yes, I do... Thank you master." Neri quickly pulls away and turns her back to me while I hear her taking a sip of the tea." "Neri, we''re going to master''s morning training, do you want to rest in the meantime?" Faris chimes in from the other side of Neri. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it."Ahh...no, I''m fine." For some reason, seeing Faris on her other side, Neri turns back ninety degrees to face toward the table. Is she really okay? "Well if you''re fine then go get suited up when you''re done, we''ll grab something for breakfast from the stands on the way." Having received my command, Neri instantly trots away. I didn''t mean to rush her...well, whatever, as long as she''s fine. --- We found Lawrence as soon as we got to the guild and received Neri''s guild badge that is connected to mine as her owner, before continuing my training with old man Morgan while Faris helped occasionally by launching surprise attacks with her proficient dagger throwing techniques. Of course, it was targeted at where my armor is thickest or else I would''ve been scratched here and there. Neri trained as well, doing some weight lifting and running alongside Faris while all decked out in her armor. It looked a bit strange seeing a small girl in full plate armor running around holding a two-meter long war hammer with a shield that''s almost her full height strapped to her back. Seeing her work so hard really made me feel I didn''t make the wrong choice in her, it''d be bad if the slave I bought turned out to be lazy even if they were really competent, we still have so much to work on before we can consider conquering dungeons. Still, dwarf strength enhancers really are something when their physical boost is paired with enhancement magic, the enhancement magic works like a multiplier, after all, the two magic complement each other really well. "Okay, let''s wrap it up for the day, time to go to the dungeons and work on our team play." I wrap it up after the usual hour of training, today I managed to block over half of all the projectiles launched at me. "Yes master!" "...Yes... master." We head out of the guild training grounds and ride Blacky towards our usual dungeon, Greens Filth, after having picked up the last piece of Neri''s equipment, the helmet. It''s pretty crowded now with three people but thankfully, Neri is petite enough for all of us to fit stably. I hold the reins with Faris behind me while Neri sat in front of me. This truly isn''t bad at all, let''s delay the plan to acquire additional transportation. Making use of the time while on the journey, I take a moment to look at my party I have so far.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv. 16 Electric Lv. 15 Light Lv. 2 Fire Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv. 1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Nature Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Identify
Human Female
Age: 18
Magic Level: Dexterity Lv. 26 Stamina Lv. 17 Strength Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Sense Danger
Dwarf Female
Age: 19
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 24 Stamina Lv. 22 Dexterity Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Physical Boost Sense Location
Our levels have stagnated recently, I think I''m reaching the limit for only fighting on the early levels of dungeons, we''ve only fought on the fourth floor of Greens Filth recently and never gone to the next level as we had trouble dealing with the large wolves. We''ll need to fight stronger enemies if we want to level up further but to do that safely, we''ll also going to have to work on our teamwork and increase our numbers. So I guess our current goal is once again to train and to make money with an emphasis on the latter. "Neri, can you tell us about your unique magic?" I try to keep my eyes on the road ahead while steering Blacky. "Physical boost as the name implies increases strength, stamina, and toughness. It is a passive that is activated at all times, letting us dwarves overcome our opponents in brute strength despite our smaller stature." Neri replies fluently as if reading out of a script. That''s the first time I heard her talk so much in one breath, is it a sign she is opening up to us? "What about your other one?" I ask, trying to keep a poker face. I really hope she answers truthfully, I''d be really sad if she denies she has another unique magic and tries to keep it to herself. Though it''s understandable if she did, after all, we''d only met since yesterday and trust is something built over time but still, I''d like for her to trust me. "..." "You don''t have to answer if you don''t want to." At least she isn''t denying, better not push her and make her feel uncomfortable. As I said, trust is built over time but it is also destroyed within seconds. "...How did master know?" I can feel her heated gaze focused on me as well as Faris''s who choose to remain silent, tactfully waiting for my answer as well. Oh well, I don''t really need to keep this from my slaves nor do I want to. "I have an unique magic as well, it allows me to see the status of other people if I focus on them while they''re close enough. Try to keep it a secret okay?" "You can see other people''s status and unique magic without using an identification orb and just by looking? That''s unheard of. Don''t worry, as your slave, I promise to never leak your secrets, I won''t fail again..." Neri excitingly spouts off before controlling her volume, her last few words were so faint that I couldn''t quite catch them. "So that''s how master knew. Of course, I''ll keep master''s secrets." Faris sounding relieved, having figured out a question. I doubt they would answer anyone who would ask such sensitive questions regarding unique magic but just in case, I explicitly warn them. Though in the first place, many people keep their unique magic a secret if they can as it is an extra trump card so I didn''t really need to tell them for they should already know it isn''t something to tell others. "So Neri, what does Sense Location do exactly?" "Well, it isn''t very useful in combat, I can always remember about places I''ve been to and have a general sense of direction. How do I explain it? Hmm... think of it as having a mental map of all the places I''ve explored before. Sorry if it isn''t very useful to you master." So basically like the map features in games! "No, it''s very useful, in fact, it''s amazing! With you here, we will never get lost even inside dungeons." "Is that so? Let me remind you master, I can still get lost when suddenly thrown into an area I''ve never explored before like in the dungeons." "Even then, it''s an amazing ability, we''ll be able to cut straight through the floors we''ve been to and save our strength. Do you know how to draw maps? You should draw out the maps of each floor of the dungeon we''ve been to in the future so we can easily prepare or sell them." "I''ve drawn them before but the maps were useless, if I''m not there, people won''t be able to pinpoint where they are on the map with the terrain looking so similar everywhere and no landmarks to be found." "I''m sure even then, some parties or even the guild would like them, it''ll be a good reference for them." "...If you insist master." Neri hesitates for a while before nodding her head in agreement. --- We left Blacky at the usual place and entered onto the first floor of Greens Filth since this is Neri''s first time here. "Let''s do the same thing as when I first met you, Faris. We''ll find a group of monsters and each takes a turn and fight alone while the others watch to get a grasp of each other''s fighting styles." With both their agreement, we continue onward to find our live-demonstration "volunteers". Before long, Faris finds a small group of three goblins together. Faris goes first and forgoes a sneak attack as it would ruin the point of this demonstration. She calls out to the goblins who try to surround her and attack with their wooden spears, only be agilely dodged by a tumble from Faris who doesn''t forget to return a dagger at the goblin she rolled away from. Faris quickly picks herself up in between the two remaining goblins while smoothly slashing the ankles of the one toward her dominant right side in the process. She finishes the goblin off with a stab to the back of the heart by the time she got to her feet. The last goblins finally react and thrust out at her but with only one opponent left, Faris easily dodges and finishes off the last goblin. "Those movements are so beautiful," Neri says while looking mesmerized. Maybe I should''ve chosen to be a flashy enhancer too... No, I wouldn''t have any advantages being an enhancer like I do now; I am much stronger than people of around the same level after all. Next up is me, after a dozen or so minutes of searching, Faris finds us another group of three goblins who are all wielding wooden spears. Like Faris, I yell to grab their attention, forgoing a surprise attack, and let them close the distance to me until ten meters out. I then launch a wide-area water stream at them, thin layers of ice guides the water to cover all three of their feet. Upon contact, I channel an electric current into the water, paralyzing all of them, allowing me to pick them off one by one with my ice lances. To show off my style more, I let the last remaining one free by stoping my electric magic, prompting the last goblin to lunge at me in anger and excitement from finally being free. The goblin thrusts out his spear at me as I stand still. Trying to look cool, I conjure my ice shield near last second, and the sound of impact rings out. I immediately thrust my own spear and move my shield out of the way in the nick of time for my attack to go through. To further show off, I finish casting a small explosion spell at the end of my spear to give the attack more force. The goblin is still stunned and looking at the tip of his spear that broke from attacking my ice shield,putting up no resistance as my spear cleanly pierce into his heart. Glad my training has been paying off, my control with the spear has improved a lot and my palms are fine too, thanks to my new gloves inlaid with metal. I look back to Neri to see her reaction only to see her staring blankly. Was she even watching properly? I feel like my pride has taken a big hit... At least Faris is clapping for me. Having finished collecting the mana crystals, the party moves on in search of the next group of prey, oblivious to the damage done to my heart. We find a group of four goblins, a large group for this floor. It is Neri''s turn to heads out to meet the foes as she walks over at them calmly. I still can''t get used to seeing the figure of such a small girl in full plate armor and wielding that large war hammer, I wonder if I ever will. The goblins see Neri approaching and bursts out into laughter, seeming happy to find prey. They send in two goblins straight at her as the other two tries to circle around to prevent their prey from escaping. Are these little shits actually underestimating her because of her size? I''m surprised they''re intelligent enough to even do that. One of the goblins approaching who I seem to somehow recognize as the one laughing hardest rushes at Neri, eager to finish things off. His partner tries to keep up but is left a few meters back. The rushing goblin jumps out at Neri once he closes the distance and his spear is thrust down at Neri''s chest. I focus my gaze on the tip of the spear and watch it being drawn closer and closer towards Neri. The spear does not stop and I watch the spear about to make contact with her chest armor...but there is no power behind the spear at all as it suddenly flies off into the distance the moment of contact. What I saw was Neri swinging her hammer like a baseball player, with her war hammer''s longer reach than the crude wooden spears, she makes contact with the torso of the goblin before he could properly connect. The goblin gets sent flying by her hammer blow straight towards the goblin still trying to catch up, the goblin sent flying gets skewered by the wooden spear of the approaching goblin''s but the force of impact continues as the charging goblins are knocked down. The surrounding two goblins stop in their steps upon seeing the fate of their ally and choose to attack from two different directions. They charge in sync and thrusts out their spears at the same time from opposite sides. Their expected sight of blood doesn''t come to fruition as Neri steps forward and turns to face one of the goblins and grab onto the two spears that were thrust at her with her left hand. The goblins try to recover their weapons from Neri''s grasp but are unable to overpower her, the sight before me almost looks like two little goblins trying to play a game of tug-o-war with Neri being the referee in the middle. The comical sight returns to reality as Neri windup her war hammer with to behind her left shoulder and swings it around with a backslapping motion at the goblin in front of her, creating a gruesome sight of the side of the goblin''s skull entirely crushed. Neri''s swing doesn''t stop there and continues around her, as if she is performing a spinning back fist, crushing the skull of the goblin behind her as well. The two goblins with crushed skulls are sent straight into the dirt, with their bodies twitching sporadically. That really sure is something, all done with just one hand. Neri goes to finish the job and approaches the last goblin that is still struggling beneath the skewered body of his ally and slams her hammer down with both hands, straight at the head. The scene I''m greeted by seems to come straight from a video game as I saw the head literally blow up into pieces, like smashing into a watermelon. Well then, remind me not to ever judge someone''s strength by their size... and especially not to anger Neri too... Chapter 29 - Team Building After retrieving the mana crystals from the goblins Neri killed, which wasn''t hard considering their head was either smashed open or turned to mush, we discuss what our formation should be and proceed to head toward the next floors to find stronger enemies to test things out. We encounter a pair of goblins and quickly finish them off before found the familiar wooden door with a metal frame, signifying the entrance to the boss room connecting to the next floor. Repeating the same tactic as last time, I send out a ball of light in the front to illuminate our path. As we enter further into the narrow cave that only allows for four people to walk side by side, Neri switches to her shield and hammer for close-quarter combat. Suddenly, a piercing sound ring out from ahead before witnessing two arrows flying out from the dark toward my ball of light. I immediately form an ice shield and send the light down further to the source. With the light illuminating further in, we spot a group of goblins consisting of two archers, four spearmen, and the leader in ragged leather armor with a rusted sword. Seeing our target, we speed up our approach and charge towards them under the cover of my ice shield and Neri''s iron shield while Faris takes cover behind us. Once we closed the distance, I send my ice shield flying and Neri shield bashes the closest goblin to her. Faris takes the opening we create to enter their lines and rushes straight to their archers. Against these ill-equipped goblins, it doesn''t take long before we finish them off. That was a bit rough but at least we didn''t get in each other''s way while fighting. We reach the end and find the Weycorus statue to the second floor. On the second floor, the difficulty doesn''t change much, prompting us to focus on rushing to the next floor as we easily make short work of the goblins without needing much teamwork. "Master, we should take a break," Faris whispers to me after having finished collected the mana crystals from our freshly killed prey. I look over at her questioningly, trying to figure out if she is hurt or feeling unwell as she shouldn''t be tired after fighting something of this degree. In response, she only looks over to Neri. With Neri not being very vocal, I haven''t noticed that her breathing is starting to get rough as she stands still trying to minimize her movements to catch her breath. Damn, I should''ve noticed earlier, I still have a lot to learn about being the leader of a party. "Let''s take a break before continuing, it''s not like we''re in a hurry." I loudly declare. Neri quickly moves over to sit down and lean back against a tree without a word while Faris and I walk over to join her. "Huff...our party''s pace is certainly fast. Don''t you need a break to recover mana, master?" Neri speaks out after having caught her breath. "Master can keep going almost all day." Before I can respond, Faris answers for me in a matter of fact tone with some pride behind it. Neri stares over at me with that reply but remains quiet as if in deep thought. That''s right, your master is awesome isn''t he? Admire your master as much as you like. "Then... if it was just the two of you before with a dexterity enhancer and a mage that doesn''t need rest, you guys must have collected over a hundred mana crystals a day!" Neri exclaims as if she thought of something amazing. "We usually average about 200 a day if we hunt in the more densely populated fourth floor," I explain. "WHAT!? 200 A DAY!?" Neri suddenly outbursts, a bit out of character compared to her usual self. "Hm? That''s right." I answer back a bit confused while Neri looks over to the nonchalant Faris for confirmation. "What''s the matter, Neri?" "What''s the matter? The matter is I can''t believe you guys hunted 200 mana crystals every day, that''s 200 you know, 200 kills on monsters. The average parties should get about 60 to 70 a day given the difficulty and monster density of this dungeon, maybe about twenty percent more or so if they focused solely on hunting instead of progressing. But you guys triple that!" Were we that amazing? I didn''t think we were that much stronger than other adventurers from what I''ve seen. Definitely still within normal ranges and not the type that screams, we have triple efficiency of the average adventurer party. "Really? I didn''t think we would be earning THAT much more than the other parties." I say while looking over at Faris, questioning if she knew. "Errr... I don''t really know much about the average adventurer party, master. Maybe I wasn''t paying attention back at the slave trader''s place, I was entirely focused on training to become stronger... I did know that master is amazing though." Faris guiltily answers while trying to make herself smaller. "Sigh... It''s probably because master is a mage that is an anomaly that doesn''t need to recover mana and also acts as the frontline. Combine that with a dexterity enhancer that can recover their stamina quickly in between battles, you guys can just bulldoze your way through without stopping. It may be fine on the lower floors but you should stop that method from now on, and not only because I will need rest." "Then why?" I can''t help but interrupt to ask. "You may have noticed it by now, after taking breaks in between battles, monsters become harder to find. That''s because they sensed the battle and bloodshed and they may have already gone over to investigate and found traces of an unknown threat, scaring them off from the area. If you continue on without rest like you''ve been doing on the later floors, you''ll be swarmed by monsters one after the other and it can become dangerous." "So we were doing something dangerous... Was how we operate really that different from other adventurers?" "Yes! The frontline members are usually strength enhancers that wield and tug heavy equipment around while fighting like me, which means we will need rest much more often and for longer periods of time compared to dexterity enhancers. Normal mages will also need to rest often to recover mana so that leaves dexterity enhancers to go scout ahead and be on the lookout while the party rests." Neri has really gotten more talkative with us when there is no one else around, I''m glad. "I''m sorry Neri, I didn''t mean to work you so hard and put us in danger, please feel free to let me know next time if you need a break." Neri nods at my words. Her face is a little red, it must be hot to be fighting in that armor, I''ll make sure she stays hydrated from now on! After a fifteen-minute break, we continue aiming to reach the next floor. There isn''t that many monsterslike I normally see after the break, did the nearby goblins notice the scent of blood of their comrades and ran away or something while we rested just like Neri said? At least this will conserve Neri''s stamina. I should really start getting used to this slower pace from now on, I can''t push my companions and expect them to keep up. I''ll need their strength in top condition once we face stronger monsters. --- It is around noon that we finally found and cleared the boss room to the third floor, the guardians were easily swept away once we got close and their arrows couldn''t even pose a threat to us with our armor, we would have to let our guard down pretty hard to fail. "Just about time, let''s stop here and head out for lunch." With my lead, the three of us exit the dungeon and start heading towards this not-ramen place that I''ve taken a liking to. Looking around while we walk to our destination, it''s apparent that there has been quite a decrease in adventurers around the area. They must''ve all went to take on requests from the guild to take advantage of the opportunity while the kingdom is at war, just like Lawrence said. The entire atmosphere can still be considered lively but it has definitely dropped down a notch or two. The only commotion I see is some young guys arguing about something while one chased the other. The only reason I even noticed is because of their hair color, it''s black just like mine, it surprisingly stands out among the myriad of colors in this world. Arriving at the not-ramen place, I found a piece of reassuring news, the ramen is on discount, only 25 copper coins per bowl! Hey, even though it may only be a few coins, taking advantage of discounts still makes me feel gratified no matter what world I''m in. After having lunch, we resume our dungeon diving straight from where we left off, the third floor. Just like before, we don''t plan to idle on this floor as we focus on searching for the door leading to the boss room. To save time, we only hunt down the monsters in our way and ignore all the others we find in the distance. Following Faris''s lead, we are able to leisurely stroll across the forest without having to worry about traps so before we knew it, we cleared the third floor and have found the door leading onto the fifth floor. "Let''s take a break before entering, assuming the boss monster is the same, we''ll be fighting with that annoying giant demon wolf again." "Yes, master." Both my slave''s voice overlaps. Having gotten used to it, Faris and Neri proceed to find a safe place to sit down and monitor our surroundings. We''ve been taking breaks after every three or four encounters so our pace is completely different than before but we still are able to reach the boss room on the fourth floor thanks to how easy is it for us to bypass goblins and their simple traps.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. We take the spare time to discuss our strategy against the large demon wolf we will be facing as this will likely be our new default strategy against large monsters for now. Once we are ready, we open the large wooden doors with the Weycorus tree engraved on it and walk down the narrow corridor after my ball of light. As I expected, the narrow pathway ends and connects us to a much wider room, as if we just entered into the base of a bottle through the bottleneck. Knowing what is to come, I ready an ice shield as we move into positions in the formation we planned, with Faris in the back and Neri near me. "AWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" A loud howl echoes within the cave as something walkout from within the shadows, evidently something large judging from the slight vibrations from its steps. Once I am able to make out its figure, I quickly cast an ice lance at it and draw its attention. The figure moves agilely and dodges to the side and starts charging over at me as its figure becomes more clear to us once illuminated by my light. Yep, the same as last time. An oversized wolf standing at five-meter tall with dark fur and bright yellow eyes. Having been provoked by my attack, the wolf charges straight at me without hesitation as I bring my ice shield in between us before I start casting on another spell. The wolf tries to crush ice shield with its strong jaws only to suddenly stiffen and come to a stop after making contact with my shield through his teeth. I cast an electric current to run through my shield so the moment it made contact, the wolf is paralyzed from my electric magic. "Now!" I yell out. As if knowing even before my signal,the two girls take advantage of the opportunity and launch out their attack. Faris jumps out to aim for the eyes while Neri winds up to slam her war hammer into one of its legs. But before their attacks connect, the wolf regains control of his body and swiftly roll off to the side, dodging both their attacks. Damn, I guess theelectric current wasn''t strong enough after passing through the ice. The wolf warily keeps a distance from us after having been caught off guard by the trick with my ice shield. I fire off ice lances after him to keep him on the move as we wait patiently for the next opening. Seeming to be annoyed by my constant harassment, the wolf decides to once again charge at me. I bring my new ice shield up in between us once I think he''ll lunge out at me but this time,being more cautious, the wolf jumps over the shield. Don''t think I didn''t expect that! I had already moved closer to my shield so when the wolf jumped over, it gave me the chance to stab out at his belly from below. I quickly release my control over my ice shield to cast explosion to help propel my spear into the wolf''s flesh. I focus on the image of electricity running in a circle as fast as possible before making contact with a small ball of ice I conjure to superheat it and cause a steam explosion. My spear manages to stab inthrough the skin and into its belly but a wound of this size isn''t enough to be a fatal wound so I quickly channel electricity into its body through my spear. The wolf stiffens up once again and lands down on the ground as I try to keep myself close to continue channeling electricity into him while avoiding being crushed. This time, I don''t even need to signal for my teammates and they come to finish the wolf off. Faris stabs at its eye while Neri delivers a devastating overhead blow down on the wolf''s head. Even from here I can hear the sound of bones cracking and feel the vibrations of their attacks through my spear. Neri makes another blow in the same manner before I decide that the wolf should be dead and I release my magic. Phew, this time I didn''t have to waste mana on a lightning bolt spell, I''m glad to see proof that our party is indeed now stronger with a heavy-hitter like Neri. "Good job you two, and nice finishing blows, Neri." I head over to my companions and unconsciously start patting Neri''s head, it can''t be helped, she''s at the perfect height for it. "You too master, nice job stopping the wolf''s movements." Faris eagerly responds. Neri remains quiet as I pet her though her face is starting to redden a little, is she tired or is she actually blushing? "It''s about time, we sure made it pretty far, all the way to the fifth floor in one day but it''s time for us to head back." I declare after Faris hands me the medium quality mana crystal from the wolf. Today''s harvest, 78 normal mana crystals, and 1 medium quality mana crystal. It''s a lot lower than before due to the frequent breaks we took and fights we avoided but we accomplished our goal of the day to acclimate ourselves to fight as a team. --- "Cheers!" The three of us happily cheer as we clunk mugs. To celebrate our first day fighting together going smoothly, we went out to a place near our place. This time, I make sure Neri drinks moderately though it isn''t hard considering she is the only one drinking among us so she isn''t in the mood drink that much. By the time we are done, the sky has almost fully darkened, but thankfully our place is nearby. We proceed to finally take off the gear we''ve been wearing all day and start to perform maintenance on it. Having gotten used to it, it doesn''t take long for either me or Faris to finish while Neri is still fumbling around. It is new gear after all, and she was apparently from a wealthy family so I doubt she has much experience with it. "Faris, would you help out Neri?" "Of course master, you did tell me to order me so don''t worry, I''ll teach her the various things she will need to know while serving you, master." Faris proudly proclaims and walks over to Neri. Well, I''m glad she''s enthusiastic about it... I head over to prepare the bath by conjuring hot water, seeing that they will probably take a while longer, I wash myself off and plunge into the hot bath to relax. I''m glad we got another member now but we are still missing three from a full party... Then once we Neri gets used to the party, our next goal is to focus on making money. Do to that let''s lo--- The door to the bath opens and interrupts my thoughts, I look over to see Faris holding Neri by the shoulder as they walk in. "Master." "...Master." The girls greet me before wiping themselves clean with a wet towel and joining me in the bath. Faris assumes her usual position, sitting down to my left while Neri takes my other flank. This is the first time I''ve been so close to Neri, well, conscious at least. An awkward moment ensues as Neri stares down with a blush on her face and Faris looks on with a grin while I struggle with to come up with a way to dispel the awkwardness. "So you guys finished doi---" Before I can finish my sentence, Neri suddenly closes the distance and overlaps cover my lips with hers and invades my mouth with her tongue. I almost wanted to push her off for a second from surprise but the weight from Neri mounting me dissuades me. Well, isn''t this just what I wanted? No point pussying out now. I reciprocate her kiss while hugging her closer against my chest, she may be petite but her chest is still decent sized relatively, probably about a B cup. Suddenly, I feel something soft and warm nibbling on my ear. "Master... we will serve you." A seductive voice whispers. Is this all because of Faris? She did say she will teach Neri how to serve me but... Nevermind, good job Faris! While I make out with Neri, Faris''s tongue explore my entire face, nape, chest, and continues to move down on the side. Eventually, Faris gives Neri a signal to get off me as she tells me to sit up on the edge of the bath with her eyes. "Neri, this is how you do it." With my little brother already at full attention, Faris skillfully brings him near her mouth, doing a demonstration to the blushing dwarf who seems to be paying full attention. In a practiced manner, Faris carefully stimulates my member with her tongue and wraps it around. She then starts brings it into her mouth while keeping up the caresses of the tongue. With my hand''s direction, she pumps her head up and down, seeming to want to suck everything out. Faris then disengages and looks over at Neri who is still staring on in a daze. "Your turn." At Faris''s heeding, Neri grabs onto my shaft and slowly brings it closer to her mouth. She tries to replicate Faris and starts to bring out her tongue to meet the head of my penis. Sorry, but with Faris lighting up my fire, I don''t have much patience. Having found new stimulus after the previous interruption, I am unable to hold back and urges Neri to take it in with my hand. After a brief moment of hesitation, Neri faithfully tries to Faris''s earlier movements. I sit back and look down at the latest member of my budding harem, watching alluring deep blue hair start to drape down her face as her movement quickens. Her movement is obstructed from her hair, prompting me to help hold her hair for her. She looks up at me, conveying her thanks before continuing. Fuck, she''s too cute. While I am lost in pleasure, Faris casually takes hold of Neri''s hair from me, freeing up my hand, before she buries her head between my legs as well. I can''t see much besides the back of her head but I can definitely feel Faris''s warm tongue caressing my balls as I let out a groan. Have I really been living life before without having experienced this? A shiver travels up my spine like lightning as I feel that I am close. I move my hand from caressing Neri''s face to the back of her head as I push out my hips in. Neri continues sucking as if in her own world, bringing me to the edge. "Neri..." I let out a sigh of satisfaction at the same time I let out my seed. "HMMMMM" Neri tries her best to keep going as I continue to release into her. When I finally finish, I sit back up straight and have my little brother escape from Neri''s mouth but he was intercepted immediately by Faris who seems to be trying to suck out anything left. I watch Neri try to swallow the contents I left in her mouth with a strange face, making me start to feel reinvigorated. "Let''s go to the bedroom." I declare eagerly. We quickly wash up and dry our bodies before heading over to the bed. Feeling like a king with two naked beauties in my arm, we reach the bed. "Master, I want a ring as well...just like sister Faris." Neri bashfully requests. Of course, I haven''t forgotten as well, promptly producing a ring I had bought earlier at the auction. I carefully help Neri put on the ring. "Thank you, I will carefully treasure it," Neri says, almost breaking out into a tear. Hmm? Why does she look so moved? Does the ring signify anything? Whatever, I''ll think about it later. Seeing how cute the beauties in my arm are, I toss the two onto the bed before diving in myself. I''m going to thoroughly enjoy this. Our flesh wrap around each other as countless kisses, touching and caressing goes on while we entangle ourselves with each other. After who knows how long, I find member unable to endure any longer and find myself positioned before the two girls, one laying on top the other. They are both laying on their backs with Neri on top and their legs spread. Faris seems to be spreading Neri''s opening for me to see while Neri blushes and struggles to look in my direction. "Neri, I''m going to do it, it''s your last chance if you want to back out," I warn while lining up my member to her cute pink opening. "...It''s fine... enjoy my body master." With her consent, I give her a peck on the lips and enter into her small opening. It''s tight. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH." Neri cries out, obviously in pain. I stop halfway in to let her rest and cast a healing spell, not sure how effective it is but better than nothing. Meanwhile, Faris nibbles on her ears and uses her hands to caress the spot above where Neri and I are connected. Following her lead in an attempt to soothe Neri, I lean down to kiss her while my hands wander around her. Her lower body''s tight grip on me soon loosens as Neri gives me a signal with her eyes to continue as she moves her legs around my waist to brace herself for what is to come. Seeing how hard she is trying for my sake, I can''t help but caress her head while I move slowly deeper into her. Neri smiles comfortably at me in response, breaking down a part of my rationality. "Master, do it," Faris whispers from beneath Neri. That''s the final straw. Taking advantage of how much wetter Neri has gotten, I plunge into her with my all, prompting Neri let out a part of her scream she desperately tries to hold back as her all fours tighten their grip around me. Fuck this feels nice, it feels nice with Faris too but this is a totally different sensation. I managed to put my entire member in but it still is so tight, it feels like she''s trying to keep me in her forever. The most satisfying part is our perfect fit, the head of my member is pushing up against something soft and squishy, making me feel like I''m almost at the peak. "...Neri, you''re mine from now on, I''ll be sure to make you happy." I instantly start pistoning, not giving her a chance to reply. I feel like I''ve turned into an animal as my mind blanks, focusing only on kissing the head of my penis with her cervix. I don''t know how long I''ve been thrusting my hips at her but at this point, Neri''s voice has already retired as she can only press her face against my nape and suck hard onto me, it''s starting to hurt a little too. Feeling near the peak of pleasure, I push down even harder down the pile of flesh below me while I move my face down to meet Faris''s so I can enjoy entangling our tongues. Faris, noticing that I''m close, playfully breaks the kiss and shifts my head into her nape. "Go ahead master, be sure to let everything out," Faris whispers into my ear. Her words send a tingle throughout my body, creating a chain reaction. Like a dam breaking through, I act on her words and start letting out everything with all my might. I stifle my groans as well by copying Neri, sucking onto Faris''s nape as I continue to pump out everything I can while my penis is nudged up against the squishy wall at the end of the tunnel. After a full minute, I prop my upper body up and look down on the people I truly trust in this world. There is a clear visible hickey on Faris while I can feel mine. I look over Neri''s clear white skin as she lays there breathing heavily, she needs one too, it''s only fair. While remaining connected, I lean down towards her nape. You''re mine, I''ll be sure to treasure you too and make you happy to the best of my abilities. Admiring my handiwork that greatly satisfied my sense of possession, I start to exit Neri and lay her down to the side and raise a blanket over her, as I turn my gaze over to Faris who is also staring back with passion clearly in her eyes. I''ll let Neri rest for tonight but you, I don''t plan on letting go. Chapter 30 - Requests 17th day of the third month. Waking up, I feel slightly sluggish and my body is really sore. I really need to learn vigor magic. Shaking it off, I open my eyes to the small paradise I''ve made for myself, my beautiful Faris''s face up close while we exchange saliva before I have a turn with Neri. After doing some morning "exercises", we start with our usual routine to prepare ourselves for the day though we are taking a break from the dungeon for today to start looking for a request we can take. For the past week or so, we''ve been fighting non-stop on the fifth floor of Greens Filth, focusing on how to fight properly together. With the new pace we are going at, we''ve made a bit short of five gold coins since Neri has joined us if you count the mana crystals we have on hand. We could''ve gone to the next floor but we decided against it as the enemies on the fifth floor were suitable for us to train our teamwork without putting ourselves at risk. Now that we''ve gotten a hang of it, I lay my eyes back on our current goal, to raise enough funds to purchase our next member. At the pace we''re going if we only rely on dungeons, it''ll take too long if no magic gems show up. So that brings us to our new plan, to finally find work as an adventurer, to complete requests. I''ve heard requests have been booming with the war still going on so there is a shortage of personnel everywhere. And personally, I kind of want to travel to someplace new. "All set? I don''t plan on fighting today but let''s be prepared just in case there are some easy requests we can finish within today." I ask the two girls who join me near the door. "We''re ready, master." The two girls exchange glances before replying with a nod in unison. With the rising sun as our background, we head off on Blacky towards the familiar guild building. Entering the guild, I find it just as bustling as ever as numerous people enter and exit through the guild doors. Some young-looking adventurer bumps into me too as I open the inner doors to where the pub and counters are located. Geez, at least apologize, I complain about him in my mind while I make sure I have all my belongings. Seeing how this will be my first request, I send the two girls off with the remaining mana crystals we haven''t turned in yet to do so while I head over to chat with Lawrence. "We''ll be looking around for a good request to take today and since it''s our first time, I''m going to consult Lawrence so why don''t you two go sell our remaining mana crystals in the meantime, here." I pass a pouch of mana crystals to Faris. "Sure master." Faris energetically replies while Neri remains quiet and nods before going to join the line. Watching them walk away, I think back to last week where we tried to have Neri be more open even with other people around but she remains a lot less talkative in the presence of unfamiliar people. At least that means she feels comfortable with us then, I guess. "Morning Lawrence, you busy? I wanted to ask you about some things." I head over to the counter to find Lawrence diligently going through a huge pile of paperwork with his catkin partner who seems to be directing some adventurers. "I''m always busy." He gives me a brief glance before resuming back into his paperwork. "But ask away if you wish, if it''s part of my job then I will answer, if not, it''ll depend on my mood which I can tell you isn''t very good right now." Lawrence points to the huge stack of paperwork. "Errr... I wanted to take on a request so can you tell me about them?" "Just read the requests posted on the board, it''ll tell you all the details and minimum rank required to take on. Once you find a suitable request you like on the request board, come back here with the request number that''s written on the top left corner and report it to Fron over here." Lawrence points to the middle-aged catkin man beside him. "Is there any limit on how many I can take at a time?" Lawrence spares a glance toward his co-worker and seeing him stilled occupied, he continues. "Within reason, as long as you can complete it within the deadline and it''s a request that can be done consecutively within common sense. Don''t do something stupid like trying to escort two different clients even if they are going toward the same direction unless they explicitly indicate they do not mind." Why are you talking like I would do such a thing...? Maybe I thought about it for a split second due to efficiency but even I would know to respect the requester and their privacy! "So which requests pay the best for the effort invested?" "Want good pay for no work eh? Youngsters these days... Typical requests the fit the bill would be to search for items or rare materials from monsters but require luck so I wouldn''t recommend it. Monster extermination quests along the major roads are menial and tiring but consistent pay, bodyguard work is about as consistent in pay and can be a lot more relaxing but will be time-consuming from the travels. The payfor most requests is50% more than usual too since the war has caused combat-worthy personnel shortage everywhere so it really depends on your preference." "Hmmm, isn''t there anything better?" "What? You want to go slay a dragon or something for a huge reward or something? Stay realistic kid. It''s not my department so I''m not clear on the details so go ask Fron when he''s free if you have any further questions. In the meantime, why don''t you go check out the request board for yourself." With Lawrence seeming to no longer want to talk, I have no choice but to squeeze my way through the other adventurers to the request board to take a look. There sure are a lot of requests and they have so much detail written about the job on it too. I start skimming through the requests and only reading it through in more detail on the ones I have interest in. I pay extra attention to a section of the information provided, the locations. It''s so we can take several quests that fit together, of course, weARE trying to maximize our profits after all. Yep, there''s no way it has anything to do with me wanting to head to the capital soon to learn vigor magic, no way at all. Before I know it, I feel a tap on my should while I was engrossed in reading. "Master, we''re done, what are you doing? Looking at requests?" Faris voices sound out beside me as I turn to look to find the two girls behind me with Faris holding out her hand to me to give me the money obtained from selling our mana crystals. "Good job, I''m looking for multiple requests we can do at the same time that will help us raise funds as fast as possible." "Wow, there are so many that it''s making my eyes spin, are they organized somehow?" Faris voices out in genuine curiosity. "Yeah, you see the ones over here? Those are all monster extermination requests, usually along roads. With the war ongoing, it''s paying another silver coin for each proof of extermination on top of the mana crystals." I point over to the section at one end of the board. I turn over to Faris to wait a moment for her to absorb and for her acknowledgment to continue but suddenly, a very quiet voice sounds out in between us that I can barely hear over the rowdiness of the guild. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source."With the soldiers and knights being redeployed for the war, the cities don''t have enough manpower to cleanse the monsters on the roads far from towns so it pays better than usual. I wouldn''t recommend it though, master. There may be powerful mixed in that escaped those obscure dungeons somewhere." Neri lightly whispers at a volume only Faris and I can barely make out because we stood so close to her. Both Faris and I take a step closer so we can hear her better and to encourage her to continue. Seeing how she has said everything she wanted to, Neri looks to me to continue. "The section beside it has all the requests that involve searching, either for missing people, item, or rare materials from monsters or nature. There aren''t any minimum rank requirements or requests number marked on the top left so I think that means it''s not a request we need to actively take to finish it." I look over to Neri to see if there is anything she wants to add. "Don''t let their high reward distract you, those quests rely heavily on luck, you''re more likely to get nothing than something so it should be regarded as side quests that you bump upon." Neri continues expanding on my explanations with whisper-like volume. Faris closes her eyes and nods, did she really understand? "The next section here has all the requests related to bodyguard work. It''s generally pretty straightforward, guard the requester while they travel from point A to point B. The requesters are usually non-combatants like peddlers and travel with a lot of belongings so the travel speed will slow down which makes these requests time-consuming." "With the war in action, most of the peddlers are following the scent of money and moving toward where the battlefield is to act as logistics. So the requesters probably consist more of civilians looking for escorts to travel between cities. The pay is definitely higher for these quests as well with increased monster activity along roads with the army busy and lack of adventurers." Neri explains without a stutter while looking through the requests herself. Faris nods once again, urging us to continue. "The last two sections are supplies request and miscellaneous requests. Ignoring miscellaneous, supplies request seem to be a call from the merchant guild from different cities requesting for a variety of supplies like alcohol, high-quality food ingredients and spices, and an assortment of different materials from different places. I thought you needed a peddler or merchant license from the merchant guild to transport goods, is it different in wartime?" I look over to Neri who seems eager to be of use. I choose not to go over miscellaneous requests as right now, it is filled with requests related to the war. Either scouting, small strike teams, or even rear-guards, they are all too dangerous for me to want to be involved with despite the money. "With all the peddlers being redirected towards the battlefield, shipments of goods for many things is interrupted. Since both peddlers and combatants that are needed to escort them are in short supply, the merchant guild requests the adventurer guild in a roundabout way to legally ask adventurers to fill that role. After all, adventurers won''t need escorts so allowing them to act as peddlers themselves will be more efficient, benefiting all parties and hurts the interests of none." "So? Do you have an idea of what quests you want to take now, Faris?" I ask the closed-eye beautiful girl with pretty shoulder-length silver-grey hair. "I''m happy with whatever master picks," Faris responds with a gleaming smile. So does that mean you weren''t really paying attention the entire time...? "...Master...can we take this request?" Surprisingly, Neri is the one with a request she fancies as she points over to one of the requests at the supplies section while tugging on my sleeves. I look over to request Neri points at and read it over. The entire request is pretty standard delivery, apparently, the supply of dwarven alcohol is dwindling in the capital, especially high-quality ones used in high-society banquets so it is requesting for as much alcohol as possible. Those drunkards... There didn''t seem to be anything else special about the request besides the location of where to procure the alcohol, at the capital city of the Dwarven country in the mountains to the south. "Neri... do you want to go home...?" I ask while trying to maintain my emotions while Faris stares on at Neri with a mix of astonishment and betrayal. Is she homesick and wants to visit or is she planning to run away back to her home country? "No, it isn''t anything like that or what master and sister Faris are thinking. I won''t lie, there is something I need to resolve at that place. If master could allow me some time to operate by myself... I promise I won''t bring any trouble to yo---" Seeing Neri''s eyes tear up, it''s obvious that it must be something personal and important to her and it must take a lot of courage to speak out on the matter. I reflexively lean down to her eye-level and embrace Neri into my arms. "It''s fine, you don''t have to worry. You can ask for our help, I''ll be glad to help you and I''m sure Faris feels the same way. As I told you before, you are mine now so I''ll also help bear your burdens too. You better not think to do everything yourself, since the day you joined my party you are one of us." I whisper gently into Neri''s ears who is in my embrace. "Don''t be so reserved with us, Neri, I''m sure we can help you with whatever it is. It''s better to do things as a team than doing it alone, haven''t we be been learning that throughout this week?" Faris voices softly echo out, at some point in time she also embraces Neri from the other side. "...Ok...ay" Neri manages to squeeze the two syllables out. --- Well, that was awkward, to say the least. Having a sudden group hug by the request board and one of the girls almost shedding tears... Shit, I definitely looked like a bad guy there didn''t I? Please stop giving me those murderous stares, it''s actually pricking me. Come on guys, I''m not a bad guy, I swear! Anyways, having memorized the request number for another request, I''m finally able to escape from that sea of people staring daggers into me and head over to where Lawrence and Fron are at. Luckily, it seems Fron is free so I immediately approach to tell him the requests I would like to take. "Fron is it? My name is Aster Estrea, Lawrence told me to come to talk to you to take on requests?" "Ah yes, a pleasure to meet you. So which requests are you planning to take?" A high-pitch voice replies. I''ve had weird feelings about him since the first day I''ve set foot into the adventurer''s guild but hearing his high-pitched voice for the first time has just brought it to a whole nother. Picture a fit manly looking middle-aged man and slap on cute cat ears and cat-tails on him and pair that up with that voice... I''m surprised my poker face is holding up. Is this some sort of joke? I use identify in disbelief.
Catkin Male
Age: 48
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 1 Stamina Lv. 42 Dexterity Lv. 49 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Night Vision
Please don''t laugh, come on, I can do it. Hold it in! The only good side is that he at least gets straight to the point, I''m sure it has something to do with him being in charge of taking care of the requests. "I would like to take request #42 and #91," I answer as I watch him write it down on a piece of paper. He writes down the numbers for the first two without delay. "Your guild badges please." His high-pitch voice resounds that grinds my ears. I hand over my guild badge as I watch him use it to register my information before stamping on the piece of paper before handing back my guild badge. "Your party members as well." He looks over at Faris and Neri. The two hands him their badge and the process is repeated. "I believe this is your first time taking on requests, so I''ll inform you of a few things. Every time you take on requests, you must register the members who will be participating together which means you can perform them with a different party every time as long as they meet the requirements to take on the request. The process is a bit tedious for those who stick with the same party so we offer the option to register adventurers as a party together so that this process can be simplified, would you like to register?" "Sure." I only plan on fighting with my slaves anyway, I don''t trust other people enough anyway and it won''t help with my harem immortality plan fighting with others. "Is there a name you would like to give to the party? If not, we will use the party leader''s name and thus your party will become Aster''s party in our records as slaves can not be designated as party leaders. Of course, you can change the name at any time." I''m put on the spot. To think of a name suddenly is not something I can do. "Leave it as the leader''s name for now." "I understand, from now on, only the party leader is required to be present when taking on requests. Please do exercise this power with caution as the entire party will receive ratings from the guild for performance so remember to notify us of only the members taking part in the request or else your party members will have the right to report you if their performance ratings fall and a guild investigation will be launched." I nod at his words with a poker face. I''m starting to get used to his voice but please keep it short. "Please head over to room #8 and wait for a guild staff to come to give you additional details on the request." "Thank you." At Fron''s direction, I quickly leave and find the correct meeting room I''m supposed to be in. It isn''t hard finding the room as Lawrence has brought us to the meeting room area before when I sold my first magic gem. We quickly enter the room marked with the number 8 on the door and take our seats and chat among ourselves while we wait. It doesn''t even take five minutes until a knock is heard and a guild staff enters. The guild staff this time is a young rabbitkin woman who seems to be in her mid-twenties. She has long rabbit ears in a light greyish color and has a really voluptuous figure. If I hadn''t rigorously "exercised" recently I would definitely ogle a lot more but in my sage form, I intend to get to the point. "Is it Aster Estrea? Would you kindly present your guild badge once more please." I quickly let her confirm my identity through my badge. "Perfect, now to be on-topic. I must remind you that the supply request you took requires you to invest your own funds to procure the goods so be sure to have ample cash when traveling to the dwarven country." Great, make the adventurer take all the risks, at least this will pay well. "As for the escort request, I have gotten in contact with the requester and a meeting will be held this afternoon to determine if they wish to employ you. Please remember that the employer has the power to decline to employ you for whatever reason they choose but once they employ you, they will be bind by the contract and must remunerate you for your services. On that part, the guild will protect your interests to the best of our abilities, rest assured." So you''re telling me the guild is going to do its job? Great. Chapter 31 - Nature Mage Division "Allow me to do the introductions, these are the adventurers who are looking to accept your request, the party leader, Aster Estrea and his party members, Faris and Neri." The rabbitkin guild staff introduces us to an old man. After our previous meeting with the staff, we went to spend some time training in the training at the guild before having a simple lunch in the guild pub. When we went to report our attendance afterward, Fron notified us that the requester was already here so the guild staff who handled us quickly guided us into a meeting room. "And this is Robert Lensly, head of the fourth nature mage division of the merchant guild, the requester who is looking for escorts to the city of Austellus. Please feel free to use this meeting room as you please, now if you''ll please excuse me." The rabbitkin lady bows to us before leaving the room, closing the door behind her. With the quest Neri chose leading us to the dwarven country in the south, we chose a corresponding escort quest down south, to the southernmost city of the kingdom, the city of Austellus. With only the old man Robert and us left in the room, both parties take a moment to size each other up. I try to keep up a business smile and to look confident but polite because as they say, first impressions will make or break a deal. I take the time to gauge my potential employer as well, the last thing I want is someone reckless and stupid telling me what to do and where to go. The old man Robert gives off an aura of an army veteran with the way he sits perfectly straight and his head full of grey hair that complements well with his well-trimmed beard. Maybe I''m biased to age but he seems like someone with enough life experience to be cautious enough for me to be a good employer.
Human Male
Age: 62
Magic Level: Nature Lv. 67 Earth Lv. 67 Water Lv. 67 Fire Lv. 1
Unique Magic:
Those are pretty high levels but three different magic? Why would someone with such high levels need bodyguards in the first place? "Nice to meet you Mr. Lensly, feel free to ask us anything you would like, we will be happy to oblige." I act proactive and extend my hand out for a handshake, hoping to gain the favor of my potential employer. "A bronze ranked kid with his slaves that know some degree of etiquette, and judging from the skin on the back of your hands are, you obviously don''t do much manual labor. Which house do you belong to?" The old man ignores my outreached hand and questions me instead. "...I''m sorry?" "Which noblemen house do you come from?" "I''m sorry but I believe you are mistaken, I am not a noble of any sorts, I am just an adventurer." I try to sound as genuine as possible. The old man stares at me for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. "It''s fine if you don''t want to say but don''t lie to me." "..." --- After spending a great deal of effort and time to convince Mr. Lensly that I''m not a noble, we finally moved on to talk about the expectations, requirements, and terms of employment and got successfully hired. The terms we agreed to were mostly to avoid small misunderstandings. We agreed that we are responsible for our own food rations, transportation, and obviously, equipment. In return, we will be paid 1 gold coin and 50 silver coins per day and with all mana crystals of the monsters we kill belonging to us as well. The length of employment is starting tomorrow morning when we will depart, up until we reach our destination which is expected to take 8-10 days as we will be making various stops along the way. We won''t be the only adventurer party Mr.Lensly hires as they usually employ two to four parties depending on the size of their caravan but seeing how there is a shortage of manpower everywhere, we probably will be one of two parties participating in the request. This time, the caravan will consist of half a dozen other nature mages who are all part of the fourth nature mage division that is under Mr.Lensly. With the deal settled and with us officially employed to be part of the escort team for the fourth nature mage division of merchant guild, Mr.Lensly takes his leave as only my party is left in the meeting room. "A nature mage division of the merchant guild huh? It felt awkward asking the old man but who are they exactly? Why would a group of mages need escorts while they tour all over the south?" I voice my doubts to Neri, expecting her to have the answers to my questions. "..." Neri soundlessly stares at me before turning to give Faris a look that screams, is he serious? Hey! That hurts master''s feelings a little if you give me that look, Neri... "Master, the nature mage division consists of mages trained carefully by both the kingdom and the merchant guild in agriculture support magic. They have dedicated themselves to researching ways to use their magic to help improve the quantity, quality, and time required to grow crops." Faris explains patiently. I love you, Faris. "Nature magic can do that? I thought the changes it brings were only temporary." The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.I remember back to my fights in the tournament where I fought against a nature mage once. He made vines grow out from seeds at an astonishing rate and was pretty skilled. "Of course it can, it requires a lot more time, skill, and mana to change even a little bit so you won''t see it in combat but the changes can be made permanent. It''s thanks to these nature mages dedicate themselves to this pursuit that we are able to feed everyone so well and why they are so few people starving. The only people who starve is because they are logistically cut off from food." Neri chimes in. I was always wondering in the back of my head why I haven''t seen the slums in the city yet with such a high population, it must not exist or very small and consist of people from special circumstances. "So they''re basically going around to help different farms along the way from here to Austellus?" "Yep," Faris responds while Neri nods slightly. "Should I assume they have little to no fighting capabilities?" I say while thinking back to Mr.Lensly''s high levels. "Correct, they can use magic at a high level but they probably have little to no experience in a fight so they won''t be able to effectively utilize their spells while fighting for their lives. They''ve been trained carefully under the management from the merchant guild with the adventurer guild''s help but is only in matters pertaining to agriculture." So they''re grown in a greenhouse and are more of the scholarly frail type. With our objective clear, we head out to start shopping for supplies with a long-distance journey in mind. We need to buy a tent, portable utensils, foodstuff, and most importantly of all, a wagon to carry all of the above. The amount of supplies and equipment needed for is no joke as we aim for at least 15 days worth just in case. Even if we were able to carry it ourselves we wouldn''t be able to fight at the same time with all the extra baggage in the way. Since it''s our first time, we didn''t spread out but stayed as one group and went through the things on our checklist. With only 64 gold coins, 144 silver coins, and 50 copper coins left in our possession, we have to try to budget everything in order to have enough to purchase enough dwarven alcohol for the request. We start off with transportation first to make it easier to carry the goods we will be purchasing so we arrive at a shop near the outskirts of town. The shop sold a variety of carriages and wagons as well as horses. "I''m not too familiar with wagons and horses, do you two know how to choose from all this?" I ask the two girls beside me as I look around. I look at Faris first who immediately turns over to Neri as I set my gaze on her as well. "...With a budget in mind... we should ask for the cheapest covered wagon. The coverless ones won''t be suitable for long-distance travel as we won''t be able to take cover from the sun or rain nor could our luggage. Blacky alone probably won''t be able to pull the cart, he isn''t suitable for the role anyways as a fine warhorse so we should look into some cheap draft horses." Neri whispers out at a volume that''s barely audible as they are many people around. Both Faris and I nod at her words like having received wise teachings from our teacher. With that in mind, I head over to find someone to help us. We ended up buying a second-hand wagon with a white cloth cover that reminds me of the back of a pickup truck in size for 2 gold coins. We also bought two draft horses to pull our new wagon for 3 gold coins total, spending a grand total of 5 golds. Let''s hope this will be useful to us for a long time to come. The only one among us who knows how to drive the cart is Faris, having been trained to do so as part of her full course training back with the slave trader. Both Neri and I insist to learn as well so that we can take turns in the future but I teacher Faris only accepted Neri as a student and I was mercilessly rejected, with the reason being "Master does not need to know how to drive as it is our job as your slaves to do so for you." I tried riding on our new wagon out but my ass couldn''t stand it for long with how bumpy the ride is against the hard wooden seats. I really need to get soft leather seats like Norton has or somehow install shock absorbers to the wagon. So instead, I plan to focus on improving my riding skills with Blacky as we can''t escort if all of us are just sitting around on the wagon. After having acquired our new mode of transportation, we set off to purchase up the rest of the things on our list. Our next purchases are much easier to choose from, picking out a tent that is large and stable enough to shield all of us from the wind and rain, everything to do with food that can be easily carried and preserved, and small useful contraptions like a warning system which basically only consist of bells attached to rope. The only expensive thing on the list was the tent so our total damages were only 1 gold coin and 50 silver coins. The shopping didn''t last as long as we expected so we used the extra time to finish some matters at the housing store and to research the dangers we may encounter along the route we will likely be taking tomorrow at the adventurer guild. It''s been decided that we will discontinue renting our current place as we will likely be away for quite some time so it won''t be worth it to pay for next month''s rent. Good thing we have few belongings so we can just carry it all with us on the wagon. We end the day with having dinner downstairs at the adventurer guild pub before heading home to rest early to prepare for our first request tomorrow, can''t be late on our first day after all. --- 18th day of the third month. As promised, we head for the south gate at sunrise. The girls are on the wagon while I ride Blacky alongside them. We managed to exit the city after a quick inspection of our wagon before searching for our employer at our meeting place. There''s a lot of traffic even though it''s so early in the morning but we after carefully searching, we managed to find Mr.Lensly and his entourage standing to the side under the city walls. Beside them are two carriages and five large wagons. I sure didn''t expect them to have so many vehicles, it won''t be easy to keep an eye on all of them. "They sure are bringing a lot of transport." "Probably to carry the samples of crops and soil from different areas for research and examining their progress," Neri replies. We park our horses to the side before heading over to report our presence. Closing the distance, we stumble onto the scene of a young woman with green hair complaining to Mr.Lensly while pointing to the people on the other side of her who seems to be adventurers judging from their getup. The adventurers are huddled around one of their own, a young man, who seems to be recovering from being knocked down. "...WASTING MONEY ON ESCORTS, WE ARE PLENTY ENOUGH TO DEFEND OURSELVES!" The green-haired girl yells. Goddamnit, just the perfect time for us to come. Let''s just stand in the distance and wait for it to pass. "Enough, you are being too rude. I know what you are trying to say but there is a reason it''s part of the guild rules to hire escorts during our missions. No matter what you say, the decision has already been made." Mr.Lensly lectures. "BUT THERE''RE SO WEA---" The girl cuts herself short when she noticed Mr.Lensly''s stern gaze and stomps her foot into the ground before turning around to storm away. Mr.Lensly ignores her and turns to apologize to the adventurers. Just as the green-haired girl is about to storm pass us, she comes to an abrupt stop upon seeing Neri and stare at her for a while before turning her gaze to me. "...YOU!" ...Give me a break, what did I do now?! --- "You think they''ll listen or call for the knights?" A man voices out. The rough-looking man is sitting on a wooden chair placed in front of a fire while he feasts on the skewer he is holding. Kneeling beside him is another man with a thin figure in a jet black cloak, with his face hidden, wrapped in cloth. "Don''t worry leader, even if they call for the knights, I doubt they have any spare manpower to investigate based on their claims alone." "I hope that will be the case. Double the lookouts around the area just to be sure and remember to feed our ''guest''." The leader says in a commanding voice as he stands up and throws the skewer in his hand to the side. "Right away sir." Says the cloaked man, with obvious fright in his voice. Having received his orders, the cloaked man immediately takes his leave, disappearing as if he was just a shadow. Chapter 32 - Escorts "...YOU!" Right now a green-haired girl is angrily charging at me for who knows what... What did I do to deserve this? "Uhhh... Can I help you?" I speak with obvious confusion. "YOU''RE THE ONE WHO STOLE HER FROM ME AT THE AUCTION!" The girl points over at Neri. At the auction... right. Now that I think about it, I think there''re was someone back at the auction who bid for Neri at the room near mine with green hair. And I''m a thief now apparently? But I won her fair and square... What do I even say to this stupidity to defuse the situation? In the first place why in the hell did her group have to employ me of all people... "I believe we have a misunderstanding, I won Neri in the auction fair and square," I say while meeting the girl''s eyes. "I DON''T CARE HOW YOU WORD IT, SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE! YOU---" "SERA! DO YOU HAVE TO HARASS EVERY ADVENTURER IN-SIGHT TO BE SATISFIED?" Mr.Lensly''s voice boom out from behind the girl, having noticed her starting another commotion. "..." With a frustrated and wronged expression, the green-haired girl, Sera, storms off into one of the carriages, slamming the door behind her. What am I supposed to do now? We exchange awkward glances between ourselves. "I''m sorry about that, I hope to don''t let it get to you. What she said doesn''t represent the views of the fourth nature mage division, we welcome you with open arms." Mr.Lensly tries to reassure as he draws near. "Ah, we don''t mind at all, it is our pleasure to be of service to your group... but will she be okay?" I question while looking back over at the carriage where the green-haired girl, Sera, stormed into. I hope she won''t remain a pain in the ass while we''re on our journey, we are going to be traveling together for quite some time after all. "Don''t worry about her, she''ll be fine after some time. She''s just a little stubborn and her vision may sometimes be too tunneled on some matters, she''ll come to it sooner or later." You call that just a little stubborn? She seems way more like a self-entitled bitch, an arrogant brat to me. Though I better keep that to myself. "Anyways, we should prepare to depart so why don''t you make arrangements with the Relentless Waves on how you will position yourselves. In the meantime, I''ll finish up the final preparation for my caravan so you guys should have half an hour or so before we set off." The old man points over to the group of adventurers behind him. The young man in leather armor who previously had been knocked down is now standing with the help of his party. Judging from their attire from here, they consist of four mages and two strength enhancers. I wonder how much they''re being paid with a full party of six compared to us, it''s probably more than us seeing how they seem to be a stronger force just from the number of bodies their party fields. I doubt I''ll ever find out though, it''s in our contract to keep those details to ourselves. Having directed us to what we should be doing, Mr.Lensly quietly moves away from us and towards the other group of people gathered nearby. Seeing how it''s time for us to get to work, we move over towards the adventurer party, Relentless Waves. From first impressions, they don''t look too impressive or too hard to approach seeing how one of them had been knocked down by that green-haired bit--- girl. Having noticed us heading towards them, the Relentless Waves puts their attention to us as the young man with light brown hair who had been knocked over earlier steps forward. I guess that means he''s the leader of their party? They''re all humans so I don''t have to be mindful of committing something taboo from their culture. Once I reached them, the young man extends his hand out for a handshake to which I swiftly respond. "Greetings, I''m Vorn, leader of the rank 3 party, Relentless Waves." "Nice to meet you, I''m the leader of our party, Aster, these are my companions, Faris and Neri." Feeling that it''s too weird to declare myself the leader of Aster''s party or Estrea''s party, I default to introducing ourselves individually. I should come up with a party name too but that will be for later. I make use of the time during our introductions to get a better feel of who we''ll be working with.
Human Male
Age: 23
Magic Level: Water Lv. 30 Fire Lv. 26 Electric Lv. 1 Light Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv. 1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Nature Lv. 1
Unique Magic:
He doesn''t seem weak at all, did he let the green-haired girl knock him down on purpose? I also use identify on his party members too, which all came up as either water mages or strength enhancers of similar levels. Another piece of information I noticed not from my identify spell is that the two enhancers are slaves. Is that a party of water mages who bought slaves to be their frontline? I guess we have more in common than I had thought. "So Aster, seeing your party only consists of three people, is there any particular position your party would like to take up? Our party is versatile enough to take on any role so feel free to play to your strengths." Vorn''s voice speaks out, drawing my attention back to him. Positions... I pretty much have no idea what''s the norm and what''s good from the bad. Vorn sounds like he''s experienced at taking on requests and knows what he''s doing so I should just let him take charge, it''s better than me trying to wing it. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation."To be honest, we''re inexperienced in missions like this so I''m fine with you taking charge." "I see... why don''t you guys take the vanguard role at the front then, it''s the most suitable position if you''re unfamiliar with guarding the flanks." Suitable huh? I guess he''s trying to word it nicely that it''s the easiest position and he wants us there as he doesn''t trust us with covering the flanks. It might also be the more tiresome role too, being the first to make contact with enemies who come at us head-on but I''m fine with that. "We will take on the vanguard role then, is your party fine covering the flanks by yourselves?" "I''m sure we''ll be fine, I don''t mean to brag but we are pretty experienced with escort requests." We stay to discuss the minor details entailing our roles and responsibilities, how we should react in different circumstances until someone sent by Mr.Lensly came to inquire if we are ready. It should be fine, having a preliminary modus operandi in place. We''ll work out the chinks as we go. --- We are now preparing to set up camp as the sun is about to fully set. What a boring day it has been! There was nothing to see but endless roads surrounded by trees and grass. Maybe my expectations are corrupted by TV and movies where they get straight to the action but it''s boring as hell traveling at snail''s pace with nothing to do. I really miss all the convenient forms of transportation I took for granted before. I used the excuse of scouting ahead with Blacky as we raced forward as they were nothing better to do. And now, I even let my Faris and Neri do most of the work with setting up the camp as they insisted. Was I always this useless? I''m just standing there thinking about useless things while I watch my two girls work. Before long, our tent is set up and we start a fire nearby. We didn''t encounter any animals on our way to hunt as we stuck to the road, with all the noise our caravan makes, I doubt any would wounder near us. I really would like to have some fresh game being roasted right about now but instead, we have to eat the dried rations we prepared. "Is our entire journey going to be so boring?" I can''t help but complain, seeing there isn''t anyone nearby but my slaves. "Don''t fret master, we''re still near the influence of the city and nearby villages so it''s a given that there aren''t many monsters or animals nearby. I''m sure we''ll have plenty to do soon or else escort requests wouldn''t be so common." Maybe I''m really just being impatient like a brat... Speaking of which, I haven''t seen that green-haired brat since she retreated into her tent after continuing to grumble about how we''re a waste of money. Well, it''s not like we''ve been talking to a lot of other people anyway. There have been some distances between the different parties and we only communicate with the liaison that is occasionally sent over to keep us updated. The Relentless waves are circled around their own campfire near their tents while the nature mages are doing the same except positioned in the middle of our two parties. It''s been decided that each party will send out one person to stand guard for about three hours to act as sentries throughout the night. Man, I really need to enlarge my party, having to tent out is bad enough for a modern person like me but having to do that continuously without sufficient sleep is pure torture. The girls seeming to have read my expression insisted I take the first guard, that way I can sleep in without having my sleep interrupted. Faris volunteers to take the second shift leaving Neri with the third shift. I spend the rest of the night sitting back to back with one of the strength enhancers from the Relentless Waves. I''m not sure if it''s because he''s a slave so he doesn''t dare to strike up a casual conversation with me or he''s been ordered to keep quiet but didn''t speak the entire time. Thankfully, Faris relived my shift a bit early,allowing me tohead to bed slightly early, prompting me to give her a loving kiss. It sucks we''ll have to sleep in our armor in case of attacks but I''m still going to sleep while holding onto you Neri! --- 19th day of the third month. I wake up to the familiar warm sensation enveloping my lips. Having become a habit, I open my mouth to the invasion and seek to wrestle with the intruder. Once my body is heated, my arms reach forward to wrap around the familiar warm body, seeking the warmth and softness that I have left ingrained into my brain. Finally hugging my prey, the stark contrast between what I feel to what I expect instantly awaken my mind. My hands barely feel any warmth or softness and are only met with a dull sense that tells me I am indeedholding something. I snap back and open my eyes wide and see the familiar sight of blue eyes and silver-grey hair, the face of my beloved Faris. She is showing a slightly surprised expression at my sudden retreat but what struck me is how she is fully geared up. That''s right, we aren''t at our place anymore, we''re doing an escort request from the guild while we travel south toward the Dwarven kingdom. My memory is finally working as a soft voice wakes me from my daze. "Good morning master, is it slightly before dawn so there is still some time left until we have to prepare to set off." Faris gently greets me having realized the reason for my confusion. "Good morning Faris... Are you sure you''ve rested enough? You took the mid-shift so it must be exhausting having to split your sleep up so why don''t you rest a bit more until it''s time, I can take care of the packing." I ask worriedly, having drawn closer to Faris to inspect her condition. "I''m fine master, I''ve rested enough. In fact, I''m so well rested that I decided to wake up a little early to have time to serve you." Immediately after her line, Faris connects her lips with mine as our tongues start to tangle, both desperately trying to be the one in control. To assert my usual dominance, I toss her below me and start to run my hand over her. Damn it, this damn armor is in the way, there are no gaps for me to enter... Frustrated, I double down my attacks and decide to redirect my efforts to ravage the inside of her mouth instead. As if sensing my frustrations, Faris obediently allows me to have my way while her hands slide down toward my thighs and the sound of something being unbuckled is heard. I completely ignore everything and solely focus on taking in Faris''s scent while my tongue runs through everything part of her that is exposed, which pretty much only consists of her face. After who knows how long, I suddenly feel my little brother that is constantly trying to break free of the armor somehow succeeds. The split second of thinking I somehow broke my armor is washed away the moment I feel those familiar pair of soft hands tending to my member. This little vixen managed to unequip my armor to the point where my little brother is free, though it isn''t that hard considering it is designed with ease of washroom business in mind. Taking the moment where I back off to confirm the situation of my penis with my own eyes, Faris manages to break free from my mount and position herself on all fours in front of me who is on my knees with my exposed member. Without the need to speak further, Faris inches closer while staring into my eyes the whole way before plunging my member into her mouth. In a practiced manner, she starts pleasuring me as I sit back to enjoy the views. After a while, Faris stops her movements while I am still entirely in her. Having known each other for long enough, I understand what she is conveying, for me to start moving instead. Just as I''m about to start thrusting, the sound of the flaps of the tent being opened sounds out and a ray of sunlight pierces into our dwelling. "It''s about ti---" The dwarf with long blue straight hair shining in the sunlight pauses midway through her sentence as she takes in what''s in her view, instantly reddening up. I look over to see Neri there in her signature heavy-looking metal armor that fits her small figure to a T, except she is holding her helmet to her side instead of wearing it. "...Ouch... Come here, Neri." Being a little frozen up, Faris''s pinch wakes me up and urges me to continue. That''s right, it''s just Neri, my slave. Nothing to be embarrassed about. I start thrusting into Faris while holding the back of her skull while I look over at Neri, urging her to come. "I...I''ll...wait... out---" An embarrassed Neri tries to sneak back. "Come here, Neri," I ask again, this time with more confidence and authority in my voice. Having met my gaze, Neri swallows hard before slowly moving near us, trying to steer her gaze away from what is happening. A shy Neri is a cute Neri. Once she is within reach, I instantly pull her into my embrace with my free hand and seal her lips with mine. She lightly reciprocates at first but slowly eases into it as she gets into the mood, reciprocating my kiss with ferocity near my own. Not having relented with my thrusts the entire time, I feel myself drawing near, prompting me to break out into the final sprint to reach the peak. Reaching the peak, I let out everything without holding back as I greedily devour Neri''s saliva while my waist is drawn forward by Faris''s hands that are wrapped around my waist. A minute or so while I am enjoying the afterglow, I finally release Neri from my tight grasp as I look over her pretty face with a blush. "Good morning Neri." "...Good morning master." Faris has a special place in my heart as my first in this world but damn, Neri is too cute for me, if there was more time she''d definitely be next. Chapter 33 - Nature Magic Having packed up our tent and other small items, we set off slightly after dawn. Having been taught the basics yesterday, Neri gives a try at driving our wagon while Faris takes my role of scouting ahead on Blacky. As a lazy master, I get to sit back and relax. It seems like today, we plan to reach one of the villages on our itinerary by noon so hopefully, it won''t be as uneventful as yesterday. At the very least, I''ll get to have a proper meal for lunch I guess. Please let time pass by faster. Suddenly, the wagon comes to a full stop. "Master, sister Faris seems to have spotted something." Waking me up from my inner grumblings, I turn to the source of the voice, Neri before looking further ahead for Faris. I spot her gleaming silver hair that contrasts nicely with black fur of Blacky who is underneath her. She is currently motionless in the middle of the road atop a small hill, facing her back towards us with one of her arms up. That''s one of the simple signals we decided on with the Relentless Waves, a signal for spotting enemies of a low threat level to the caravan. Probably by now, everyone in the caravan should''ve spotted it and are preparing for the fight to come. Doing as we previously discussed, Neri locks the wheels for our wagon before we both dismounts from our ride. The people from the Relentless Waves are likely doing the same except staying in their positions as the threat indicated so far is low. Shortly after we got off our ride, Faris arrives beside us and swiftly dismounts, tieing Blacky to the wagon. It seems horseback fighting is uncommon outside of armies as our horses are unarmored. With the magic along with the existing ranged weapons, the chance of our expensive rides being injured or killed is too great so it is common practice to leave them out of battle if we have the time to. Even warhorses are trained to look for cover if no one is mounting them to increase their chances of survival, though few people target riderless horses as they are attractive loot as well. "Master, there''s at least a dozen of so kobolds hiding in the treeline 20 meters ahead." Kobolds huh? From what I''ve read in the guild library, they''re very similar to goblins except they don''t procreate with other species so they aren''t rapists. They''re short like goblins and look like the result of cross-breeding between a rat and a dog in humanoid form. "Is there anything else you''ve spotted?" A voice suddenly rings out from behind me. I turn around to spot the liaison from the fourth nature mage division on his horse. How in the world did I not hear him approach on a god damn horse... As if to make fun of me, the liaison''s horse neighs in my face. "That''s all I know from what I saw." Faris answers. "Roger, I''ll relay the news." The man curtly replies before dashing off with his horse. With him gone, it''s time to discuss our next action. According to the possible engagements we''ve discussed previously, our group will go ahead to exterminate the obstacle in our path. Faris has declared we can do it ourselves when she decided on the low threat signal and I agree with her if there''s only a dozen or so. "Good job Faris, what do you guys think we should do now? Sneak up on their ambush by going around the treelines?" "...It''s better that we not." Neri says after a moment of deliberation. "Why not?" I ask patiently, trying my best to not sound like I''m displeased with being disagreed with but genuinely asking for the reason. "We don''t really have a clear view of what''s deeper into the treelines, there could be more kobolds somewhere we haven''t detected and pincer us when we least expect it." Hmm, she''s right, that has been a weakness of our party we''ve realized. We don''t have any good means of detection when our opponents are really trying to hide. While Faris''s scouting ability is amateur at best and her unique magic only works when the danger is imminent. Heading deeper into the treelines could mean placing our backs to the unknown. "I think we should fight them head-on, continuing down the road." Neri voices. "I agree." Faris nods. "Okay, then let''s do it. Stay behind me." I form two shields of ice, facing one to each side of the road ahead and start walking down the road, up the small hill where Faris previously was when giving out her signal. The two girls follow closely while being protected by my shields as we continue down the other side of the hill. "Master, they''re over there." Watching Faris point at the two different directions, I''m helpless to attack with my attention directed at my two shields and can only continue to close the distance for my party members. This is another weakness I''ll have to address later, I can''t consistently be a part of our ranged attack force when I''m working as the shield. I wish our next member will be a pretty girl skilled in detection and ranged attacks but I doubt I''ll be able tofind the best of both worlds. Most scouts are melee fighters, dexterity enhancers who can sneak near to gather information from traces left behind and sound while being able to agilely dodge out of sticky situations that they land themselves into. Unfortunately, Faris showed no talent in the tracking regard during her training, focusing more on her other repertoire of combat and trap detecting/disarming. No one can be good at everything. The kobolds aren''t dumb enough to not notice that we''ve already realized their existence as they start coming out of hiding, with their archers firing futilely at my shields. We dive toward the left group of kobolds, managing to reach them with ease. Faris continues to stay near me to shield herself from attacks from the group on the rightwhile throwing knives into the unsuspecting archers on our side of the road. Having drawn close, Neri charges out of the protection of my shield and starts charging at their frontline fighters, equipped with decent swords and spears. With us being too close for their archers to fire freely, I send the shield facing the right group straight at them to prevent them from approaching us to reinforce their allies. Having freed up a slot to cast another spell, I immediately follow through with my previous attack, sending the most powerful electric ball that I can conjure in an instant, sending it straight into the ice shield flying at the charging kobolds. The ice shield becomes electrically charged and slams straight into the vanguard of the right group charging at us, knocking them over and smashing the shield into pieces. The debris from my ice shield shattering makes contact with some of the kobolds behind their vanguards, shocking the vanguards and part of their backline alike. Making use of this opening, Faris rushes out towards the right group to finish off the kobolds who are immobilized while I fire off as many ice lances as I can at the kobolds further away before they can recover from the shock. "Master!" Neri shouts out from my flank. I turn to see Neri standing over three kobold bodies while pointing over to deeper into the treelines. Turning my vision to where see where she is pointing to, I see an extra wrinkly kobold in a robe, pointing a wooden staff at Neri. At the end of the staff is the classic spell, a fireball half the size of a kobold and before I can analyze further, the fireball shoots off quickly towards its target, Neri. Not needing to think, I send my remaining ice shield flying toward the flight path of the fireball while I fire off an ice lance at the kobold caster. Thankfully, I timed it correctly and my ice shield slams into the fireball, melting a small part and shattering the rest from the impact. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.My ice lance successfully makes its mark, landing squarely at the chest of the kobold mage. Phew, this is the first time I''ve fought monsters with mages amongst them, I was totally caught off guard. Thankfully, the mage didn''t seem to be high leveled, I''ll have to be more careful in the future. I turn my attention back to the battle, mainly firing off ice lances to suppress their remaining archers as the two girls mop them up. The fight ends uneventfully and the girls proceed to collect their mana crystals after making sure there weren''t any more nearby. Instead of helping, I turn back to the caravan to check up on them and report the end of our battle. I jog back and spot our wagon untouched, with our two draft horses and Blacky waiting docilely while a group of people is standing a distance away, by Mr.Lensly''s carriage discussing something. They spot me and wait for me to reach them as I walk over directly to Mr.Lensly and clear my throat to prepare to report loudly to ensure everyone will be able to hear me. "We dealt with a dozen and a half of kobolds and there doesn''t seem to be anymore nearby, we should leave quickly before other monsters are drawn over by the scent." "Good job, the Relentless Waves also fought off an attack to our rear of about two dozen kobolds so that should be it from those critters. They aren''t smart enough to plan any further so let us make haste and leave right away." I nod at his words and start to walk back to my wagon until a slightly familiar voice shouting from behind brings me to a stop. "SEE? They took so long to dispatch of a bunch of stupid kobolds, we really didn''t need to hire any guards. We''re more than enough to defend ourselves. I bet even my magic is way higher level than any of those weak adventurers." I turn to see the green-haired girl, Sera, jumping out of the crowd to confront Mr.Lensly. She seems to be more gloating than confronting though. The rest of the members of the fourth nature mage division, contrary to her expectations, all smile wryly and shake their heads as if to dismiss the small antics of a little child as they disperse to ready for departure. "WAIT! DIDN''T YOU ALL SEE, THEIR MAGIC IS SO WEAK, EVEN I CAN DO BETTER. WHY DON''T ANY OF YOU SAY ANYTHING? I KNOW YOU ALL AGREE WITH ME!" Sera desperately shouts, seeing she has no support. "Enough, let us start to depart," Mr.Lensly says tiredly. I guess it''s not something for me to worry about. I ignore Sera as well and resume heading back to my wagon. Not even five minutes pass and the two girls return with our loot, allowing us to resume our journey with me riding on Blacky this time. --- Noon We arrive on time at the first village on our itinerary. After our first encounter, we fought two other times against goblins and kobolds of a smaller scale. I guess the goblins and kobolds are competitors in this area, thankfully, there weren''t any traces of stronger monsters. After passing through an area full of fields, we finally spot structures that represent civilization. Though the houses aren''t tightly packed like in the cities, they are still neatly organized inside an area protected by log walls. Most of the houses look similar, with the most notable structure in our view being the wooden sentry towers that I can''t really attach the word ''tall'' to. Our small caravan makes our way straight to the house of the village chief, being guided by one of the villagers on lookout duty who approached us as we drew close to their settlement. Likely to have already been notified, an old lady being supported by a young man outside the house twice as large as the others. Behind them are a middle-aged couple and a fierce-looking man that gives off the aura of a veteran. Parking our vehicles at the direction of the village lookout, we start to dismount as I head over to where the old lady is along with Mr.Lensly and several of his aides as well as Vorn, the leader of the Relentless Waves. Following etiquette, only the leaders of each party should head over in order not to overcrowd the discussions or overwhelm the host. "Verda! I''m so happy to see you, how have you been?" Mr.Lensly intimately walks up to the old lady and gives her a warm hug. "Glad to see you still kicking too Robert, though I''m not surprised considering how much money the merchant guild is willing to spend on you. Unlike you,time has been rough on my old bones in recent years, I doubt I have more than a decade left in me." The old lady replies in a warm tone despite the content of her words. "Please, be more optimistic, I''m sure you''ll be able to live much longer---" "Enough about me, I''ve already accepted it. Don''t you have some work to do first? We can catch up later, first allow me to fulfill my obligations as the village chief and allow me to invite you and your companions for a meal. We''ve already prepared places for you all to spend the night." Old lady Verda says with a smile while glancing at each of us. The two men and woman behind her spread out at the village chief''s words to invite the rest of the caravan who are standing by their vehicles, including Faris and Neri. Following our hosts, we all enter into the large house and are guided through a spacious hall into a large dining room capable of hosting a small banquet. The furnishing may be simple wood but its simplicity emphasizes how clean androomythe place really is. Everyone isn''t really uptight on the complicated formalities as we scramble to take seats liberally, sitting into our own social groups. I learn from Vorn and head to find Faris and Neri and sit near the back of the table where I can avoid unnecessary socializing as I''m likely not that important of a figure here being a humble bodyguard. The same three people working for the village chief then disappeared shortly before returning to serve us with food and drinks. There aren''t any fancy dishes or wine to be served but a plentiful serving of bread and soup is provided along with a modest selection of juices and beers. I keep the chatter to only between me and the girls for the majority of the meal, only responding politely to some of the members of the nature mages when they tried to make some small talk. Right after the meal, we all assemble once more by our transports and are guided by the village chief''s three helpers. The couple entered into the carriage with Mr.Lensly while the veteran-looking man led in front of our own wagon, riding his horse. We exit the residential area and enter into where the fields are, where the scenery turns green, with wheat growing as far as the eye can see. I hold in the urge to sate my curiosity and leave the veteran alone in his job of guiding the caravan. Before long, we come to a halt and everyone starts exiting. Without needing further discussion, Mr.Lensly and the other members of the fourth nature mage division all start to disperse in a practiced manner. "What are they doing?" I ask the little dwarf to my side. "They''re spreading out to surround the field in preparation to cast their magic to improve the quality and accelerate the growth of the wheat field." Contrary to my expectation, a manly voice replies to me. I look back to see the veteran who guided us standing nearby. Seeing the surprise on my face, the man continues. "Sorry to startle you kid. Allow me to introduce myself, I''m Leon, the head of security of this village." "...Forgive me for my rudeness, I''m Aster and these are my companions: Faris and Neri." Leon takes a moment to study us, resting his sights on Faris and Neri''s collars before smiling brightly, patting my back and turning me toward the nature mages scrambling to their positions. "They come to help us pretty often with their magic. Thanks to them, there''s always plentiful harvest, allowing for cheap but quality food to be spread throughout the kingdom. So you should be proud of your job of escorting these fine people to come to our aid." Leon explains. Why are you suddenly going all lecture on me old man? I don''t think I even asked you about anything... Is it even possible to always assure plentiful harvest anyways? That sounds pretty cheat-like. "T--- If you''ll excuse me." Just as old man Leon is about to continue, the couple with Mr.Lensly gestures for him to come over, saving me from having to listen to his ramblings. After a while, the mages start nodding to each other until Mr.Lensly himself receives affirmation from both mages standing a distance away to his left and right. Mr.Lensly closes his eyes as the other nature mages do the same, likely casting their spell. There aren''t any special effects, anything flashy or noticeable around the mages as I stare on in anticipation. Ten minutes pass by and I start losing interest but then, a hand pulls on my sleeves. I look down to see Neri pointing back to where I was staring before. "Master, look." I listen and try to discover what I missed as I carefully watch the mages for any movement. Seeing nothing has changed, I move my gaze to the field to study the green wheat stalks. The moment I look over to the wheat, some movement catches the attention of my eyes right away. At the head of the wheat, it is slowly rising up and opening, like a flower. I''m mesmerized by the phenomenon and can only stare quietly at what is unfolding before me. Soon, the color of the wheat starts to change, turning from the immature green slowly towards a crisp light yellow. A yellow glow starts emanating from the field as the pale yellow starts to deepening towards a golden color of ripe wheat. Is this really allowed? The nature mages seeming to be proud of their work starts to congregate once more on Mr.Lensly. They take large strides while looking back at their work with a passion that you would expect a blacksmith look at their own creations. Being none of my business, I can only stand at a distance with the girls and watch on, not able to listen in to their conversation from this distance. Thankfully, their discussion isn''t long and Mr.Lensly starts ordering the mages back on their vehicles except for Sera, the green-haired girl along with a middle-aged man. The two draws near the field once more and uses a water spell to cleave a few stalks of wheat down before collecting it. They continue heading further into the fields to do the same in different places, returning with a small pile of wheat. "What are they doing with the wheat? Not preparing for dinner right?" Neri looks left and right to confirm there''s no one else there and that my question is directed at her as Faris is just looking on, straight back at her in anticipation for her answer. "...I''m not sure but I think they''re collecting samples of their work to study later. Regular nature mages like them dedicate themselves to polishing their abilities to improve harvest as opposed to the combat nature mages who purely study ways to enhance their nature magic''s fighting capabilities." "That''s right, they also need to check if anything has changed with the land here as the lands are fickle, it possesses different properties in different areas and even then it changes all the time." A familiar male voice resonates. I look over to spot the veteran old man, Leon again. Where the fuck did you pop out from? And stop coming out randomly and surprising us please, would you... And what the hell did he just say? Is this how they explain the soil''s change in nutrients and composition over time? So magic is how they prevent the soil from being overfarmed? Well whatever, it''s not like I''m going suddenly become a professional farmer or something. And it seems like they have their methods in this world already so there''s no need for me to become involved. Thankfully, Leon doesn''t stick around to continue lecturing as he has a job to do, to continue guiding the caravan. The caravan spends the rest of the day repeating the same process with different fields, casting magic to accelerate their growth and taking some samples back to their wagons. We finally finish the day''s work and eat a meal together once more in the small hall earlier before they bring us to our arrangements. I''m not sure about the place other people of the caravan are going to be spending the night at but ours is a simple but clean storehouse. It seems it''s one of the extra storehouses they use to store the part of the harvest that they will be selling soon so it''s usually empty. It''s not the best but beats having to camp outside with proper roof over our heads and with the village already having arrangements for night watch, I get to enjoy the entire night without having to tend to any other responsibilities. "Faris, Neri, let''s go wash up now that we finally have the chance." "Yay, let''s go quickly master." Faris cheers while Neri simply nods. Another advantage of spending the night in a proper shelter is that we finally don''t have to sleep in our armor. I let the ladies walk in front as I let out a grin that I''ve been holding back. Hurray civilization, hurray shelter! Chapter 34 - On the Road 20th day of the third month. With the nature mages finishing their work at the village yesterday, we depart on first light. We entered the village with our transports mostly empty but left with some samples of different crops grown in the village. It''s so nice to be well rested. "Yawn, will we be able to reach the next village by the end of the day?" I ask as I wrap an arm around the metal pauldrons of the cute dwarf beside me. "Not a chance, we''ll arrive tomorrow late afternoon at best so we''ll be camping out tonight," Neri replies in a neutral tone, not reacting at all to my advances. That sucks. We''ll have to camp outdoors again... All this outdoor stuff may be novel at first, but as someone used to modern luxury, I''d much prefer sleeping in a proper bed in a comfortable attire instead of this annoying armor. Trying to release some of my frustrations, I lean over towards Neri''s straight blue hair that is neatly tucked into her armor and take in the nice scent it''s giving off thanks to my efforts in washing her hair. "...Master, what are you doing... someone''s going to see... Haven''t you had enough last night and this morning..." Neri complains while trying to keep a straight face without changing positions. But she is unable to hide the faint blush that is starting to show on her face. "It''s not like anyone will be able to see us through those crates behind us, and there''s no one in front of us besides Faris. Perks of being the first in line." I press my lips onto her cheeks, causing Neri to try to escape to the opposite side. My hand on her shoulders instantly move to push her back towards facing me, allowing me to take her lips before she can rebuke. I can''t help but curse this armor in my way once more. Can''t help it though, our safety comes first. Being only able to feet the warmth of my partner through our connection up top, I increase the intensity of our connection. As my tongue is enjoying its exploration, the wagon suddenly jerks to the side as the horse neighs in complaint, followed by the sound of metal colliding. I look up to see the horses turning slightly left to follow the curvature of the road, dodging a large rock on the side of the road that we almost ran into. I look back at Neri who is holding onto her helmet, it seems it almost fell off from the seat beside her when the wagon suddenly turned. Luckily she managed to catch the helmet which explains the metal noise from earlier. "MASTER!" Neri barks. Her face is red and I honestly can''t tell if it''s from embarrassment or anger. "Sor...Sorry." I weakly let out to placate her. "Hmph." Neri snaps her attention back to the road and ignores me. Shit, I guess I did screw up. Let''s not agitate Neri further and let her cool down a bit. I hope people in the back didn''t notice... With no choice, I keep to myself, waiting until it''s my turn to scout around with Blacky. I''m starting to really hate traveling, I hope I can get used to it by the end of this. --- I look at my magic-powered pocket watch and find that it''s almost two in the afternoon. We barely stopped for lunch as we marched on, eating the rations we''ve prepared beforehand while our horses drink at the small river we find. The only good news is that my butt is starting to get used to this bumpy wagon. Putting away my watch, I look up to see my lovely Faris slowly but surely returning with Blacky. It''s time to switch, with me scouting ahead with Blacky instead. "I''m back master," Faris says as she deftly dismounts her ride and jumps onto our wagon. "Come over here, I missed you!" I declare while widely spreading my arms for a hug. After my little incident this morning with Neri, she ignored me for a while but started to talk with my normally once more around noon. But still, she glares at me with a dissatisfied face if I try to be even a little intimate. I could practically hear her saying "Don''t distract me while I''m driving, or else..." from her glare, and I would''ve heard her saying it too if I wasn''t her master so she had to hold back a little. So my attachments to Faris has exponentially gone up during the rare few minutes we are together as we switch roles. I watch as my cute Faris unbuckles her headgear and places it to the side before shyly entering into my embrace. I love my little Faris. She truly heals my wounds, no matter the source of its affliction. "I love you, you''re mine and only mine, I won''t let you go," I whisper into Faris''s ear while I nudge my cheeks against hers. "Mmm, master will always be my master." While I enjoy my skinship with Faris, I look over her shoulder to make eye contact with our driver. I spot her stealing some glances our way so I convey to her that I know you''ve been watching through my gaze. In return, she gives me a look that screams "I can''t stand watching you two being so cheesy" and snaps her attention back to the road. Even if your head is on the road, I know you''ll continue stealing glances. Knowing that Neri is still keeping tabs on us, I turn my attention back to Faris and push her away from me a little so my lips can connect with hers. I start a steamy make-out session with Faris and occasionally catch Neri''s eyes wandering over. Heh, watch all you want. My lovey-dovey time is cut short as we are technically on the clock, having to resume our duties. I mount Blacky and start proceeding ahead to look for possible threats amongst the scenery. For the next hour, I get used to focusing my gaze into the treelines, trying to spot anything suspicious. I feel like I''m playing the game where you spot the difference between two similar-looking pictures non-stop. Just as I''m starting to feel the fatigue in my eyes, something that really stands out catches my attention from the edge of my vision. I look over stupified, not being able to believe what I''m seeing in the middle of the road. Really? Suspecting my eyes are playing tricks, I rub my eyes before looking again. In my view, I watch a dozen orcs frolicking around in the middle of the road. I instantly recognized they are orcs from their green skin and large muscular bodies. Their jawlines are square, with two large fangs sticking upwards from the bottom of their mouths. They''re two in the middle who are currently engaged in what looks to be a wrestling match while the others are spectating happily around them. I almost thought they are a group of cavemen from their attire consisting of rags and wooden clubs if not for their starking green skin. What the fuck? Are they just casually fucking around in the middle of the road? I guess they either don''t have the intelligence or the patience to even set up an ambush... I backtrack a little to make sure I''m in view of the caravan and start signaling for medium-low threat detected. The only thing I know about orcs is that they are at least as strong as bronze ranked strength enhancers in physical strength and they work in teams like goblins. Since we haven''t fought orcs before, I signal for medium-low threat, asking the Relentless Waves to send one or two people over to support us. I stay in the same spot, making sure the entire caravan has received my signal before returning back to my wagon. The first person that greets me is neither of the girls but is the liaison of the caravan instead. I quickly notify him of our current situation, which isn''t urgent at all considering those dumb orcs haven''t even noticed me at all. The liaison quickly departs to spread the message and our party starts heading closers to keep an eye on our foes. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source."There they are, they''re still oblivious to our presence and are absorbed in what seems to be a wrestling match?" I speak while pointing at the spectacle in front of us. "Master, that''s the orc''s way to earn prestige and attract mates by displaying their strength. It''s pretty common seeing them like that if they aren''t led by an orc commander." Neri explains dutifully as if accepting her role of being my walking encyclopedia. "So we should be glad that there aren''t any strong orc variants around?" "That''s right." I look over at those green muscle-heads and back to my cute girls and can''t help but to worry a little, considering we haven''t fought monsters who are both physically superior and in greater numbers than us by a large margin before. "Both you girls rely on melee combat, are you confident you can fight them without a big risk of injury?" "Don''t worry master, I''ve fought them before during my training. They aren''t a match for me, they can''t even land a hit on me." Faris confidently replies. "I''ve fought monsters of similar characteristics before as well. I can safely fight them defensively even if they''re properly armed to the teeth so these orcs who barely qualify for the word ''armed'' aren''t a threat at all." This time, it''s Neri''s turn to reply with confidence. "Okay, we''re still going to wait for support from the Relentless Waves before engaging. I assume it''s safe to launch a sneak attack this time?" The two girls nod in unison. Now all that''s left is for us to patiently wait for our reinforcements. They must be clearing our flanks of any threats before heading over, I sure hope they hurry it up. We place our attention back on the movement on the orcs in front of us. Having waited for a few minutes, we finally hear a pair of footsteps quickly approaching from behind. "You''re he---" I turn to a scene that stops my sentence midway. Sera, the green-haired girl who is a part of the fourth nature mage division is stomping her way straight at us. "What are you doi---" The girl who seems to have had her fuse lit pushes pass me and start heading straight for the orcs. "Get out of the way weaklings, you''re taking way too long so I''m going to clear our way for us." Without sparing us a glance, Sera continues her way to where the orcs are. Just as I''m about to start chasing after her, sounds of footsteps from behind reach me once more. I turn to see Vorn along with another member of his party walking casually. "Vorn? How''d you let that girl storm off from the rest of our clients? I thought you said you''ll keep your eyes on her! Nevermind that, let''s go after her." "Hey, don''t blame me. Mr.Lensly told us to let her relieve her stress against those orcs since she was having a scene in their carriage. We''ve been requested to let her do what she wants and only intervene if she''s going to get hurt, so let''s get going." Vorn replies with a shrug and continues his leisurely pace, after Sera. Mr.Lensly is allowing this? With five of us in tow, we slowly chase after the haughty brat who''s been giving us a lot of trouble. Let''s hope this somehow teaches her a lesson and knock her down a few notches. Although Sera is a distance ahead of us, there are no obstructions on the road and we have a clear view of her and the orcs. It seems the orcs have just noticed her and are preparing for battle. I cast my ice shields as have them on standby, ready to intervene. My sudden spell cast caught Vorn and his teammate off guard as I hear them gasp while looking my way. I maintain a poker face, acting as if I haven''t noticed their gazes and continue walking forward. "To cast ice magic so quickly..." The man besides Vorn mutters. Yep, I am amazing, this sure feels good to show off. At this moment, I totally understand why they are so many show-offs garnering for attention now, it certainly feels good. But I must maintain my poker face, letting the attention get to me will only make me look lame and shameless. The scene of the lone nature mage versus the group of orcs progresses as the orcs start charging her way, letting out a fitting warcry. At this point, the green-haired girl finally stops in her tracks and starts casting a spell. Her spellcasting is by no means fast but the power and scale are certainly there seeing the giant ball of earth that is gathering in front of her. Once the earth ball reaches a size that eclipses the lone girl''s figure three times over, it stops expanding. The girl, Sera, makes an exaggerated pose of pushing the giant ball of earth as she launches her attack flying at the approaching orcs. The speed of the spell is so fast that the orcs who are in a charge are unable to react. The result is like watching a giant bowling ball hurling its way towards moving green bowling pins. The simple but deadly spell leaves a scene of knocked over orcs in its wake. The orcs are motionless on the ground with a few struggling to stand up. Before I''m able to witness if the surviving orcs are able to stand or not, another ball of earth, except much smaller in size interrupts, smashing into the orcs and penetrating into their bodies like a bullet. A pool of blood starts to bloom for each of the orcs hit. "I guess they''re all dead and we aren''t needed," I mutter under my breath. The two girls, having heard me, nods in agreement as we continue to take in the aftermath that was presented to us before we could breathe. Her spells are all simple earth balls but the amount of power and size behind the attacks is truly impressive. I guess that is the strength high-level magic gives you. Sera pauses her steps in front of us, staring at Neri for a brief moment, as if wanting to say something, before continuing her way back towards the caravan. "Good for nothings." We finally regain our bearings as Sera brush pass us, clearly more agitated than before. Sera hasn''t touched any of the mana crystals so we agree to split the loot with the Relentless Waves half-half before we going back to resume our journey. Not long after we reach return to our transports, the liaison from the fourth nature mage division greets us, delivering thanks from Mr.Lensly for taking care of Sera and a bunch of other pleasantries. Basically put, he''s thanking us for tolerating her behavior and that they are still truly grateful at having us escort them. The last part can''t help but sting me a little, seeing how strong Sera is. But I definitely see her fatal weaknesses in her fighting abilities as well. Though there''s no point dwelling on it right now, let''s just focus on my job. The journey resumes smoothly and is met with only one other attack from a group of goblins near the end of the afternoon. What is supposed to of been our fight is interrupted when Sera shows herself again, launching earth balls as we are in the middle of the fray. Thankfully, she has enough decently to aim farther away from us but it still feels like shit, having your kills taken. Those are my experience points being taken away! I may not know how much more until leveling up, but every chance to gain experience counts! Not long after the last encounter, we find a spot to settle down for the night. Goddamn night watch again... Can''t even go to sleep in peace. --- 21st of the third month Another day on the road. I can''t wait until reaching the next village, then I''ll be able to take a bath as long as I find someplace suitable for me to employ my water magic. I hate the feeling of oily hair, maybe I need a haircut... Forcing myself to ignore the quality of life changes that I hope for, we set off once the girls and the rest of the caravan are ready. Unlike them, I had last shift of night watch which means I''m already prepared even before they woke up. Having set off for an hour, Faris reports finding something other than the road and trees, signaling that an unknown and non-urgent threat is spotted. After confirming that her signal has been received by the caravan, she returns by my side. "Master, there seem to be two broken-down carriages ahead with a group of people sitting nearby." Broken down carriages again? Is it bandits again? If it is, can someone tell the bandits to start cooking up new tricks please? Because this one is getting real old. "Do you think they are bandits?" I ask Faris this time, seeing how she has gone through our previous encounter with bandits together. "Hmm... a few of them seem to be armed but they aren''t even trying to hide, they look more like they''re waiting for rescue... but I''m not sure." "So there could be more people hiding nearby to ambush us if we draw near." "From what I saw... that''s right... Sorry master, that''s all I could find out." Faris replies dejectedly. "No need to apologize, you did great as it is. Let''s discuss it with the caravan and let them decide." I look over to the liaison who was listening quietly nearby and nod to each other to show our understanding of our next step. The two of us follow the liaison back to the center of the caravan where Mr.Lensly is, leaving Neri behind. Mr.Lensly himself is already standing outside his carriage along with a few others who are waiting to hear more about the situation. Vorn is among the group waiting as I nod at him in acknowledgment before heading over to Mr.Lensly. Faris starts explaining what she found to the group while I chimed in with speculations of the possibility of this being a trap. "So you say they could either be regular folks who have in trouble or bandits in disguised and we have no way to tell for sure?" Mr.Lensly repeats apprehensively before turning to give Vorn, the leader of the Relentless waves a look. "Our party excels in upfront battles, we don''t have any means to confirm or deny Aster''s suspicions or not," Vorn replies while shaking his head. Well, I guess it is as it looks, the Relentless Waves are not a balanced party. They have four mages and two strength enhancers to hold the frontline so they can''t help much either in the information gathering aspect. "...Very well, then let us proceed with utmost caution." Mr.Lensly declares after a brief moment of deliberation. --- Looking around the at the trees and bushes around me, I can''t help but be reminded of the dungeon we frequent, Greens Filth. Just like I''m used to, I follow Faris in the lead trekking through the treelines to be able to sneak up close to our target with one big difference. Our target this time isn''t the usual goblins but actual living breathing human beings who could be much stronger or weaker than us. My only assurance is that we have four members of the Relentless Waves with us while the other two members are staying back with the caravan along with Neri. Mindlessly following Faris while trying to keep as quiet as I can, we finally make it to the edge of the treelines where I can spot the clearing that represents where the road is. Since Vorn is still back at the caravan, I''m the one who will be taking charge of our detachment though I''m sure it''s in name only. The other member of the Relentless Waves probably won''t listen to any of my plans that they themselves don''t agree with. "We still don''t know if they are friendly or not, so why don''t I approach them along with Kelvin and Woody while you guys stay hidden in the treeline, ready to reinforce us if anything goes wrong?" I explain to the group. Kelvin and Woody are the strength enhancers who are actually slaves and from what I''ve seen, they don''t hold any power to choose their assignment, only following orders. With Faris use to listening to my calls, I''m basically only trying selling my plan to the two mages of the Relentless Waves. Well, the sorry excuse of a plan only puts me and their two slaves at risk so I doubt they will oppose it. On the contrary, they''re probably gleaming with joy, being assigned to the easy job. "Sure, just give us the signal and we''ll jump into the fray." The young man replies in a neutral tone. Okay, time to get this over with. The sooner we continue our way, the sooner we''ll reach the next village, and the sooner I''ll be able to relax. I start approaching as quietly as possible into the clearing alongside the two men in metal armor. It won''t be long before we will reach where the broken down carriage and where the group of unknown men are located. I look back to the three people who are behind us to see if they are in positions and notice the worried gazes from Faris. Don''t worry, I''m confident that I''ll be able to get out unharmed with my abilities. Besides, as selfish as it sounds, I plan to fully take advantage of these two hunks of metal as my guardians and I plan to use them to cover my escape if anything goes wrong. There is nothing more important than myself after all. I ain''t no saint, that''s for sure. I raise a hand towards Faris and give her a thumbs-up before continuing to move forward. Now that I think about it, do thumbs up even have the same meaning in this world? Well, whatever. Having made some distance with the three people behind us who are in positions to ambush the unknown party, I signal the two guys beside me to quicken their movements, no longer trying to be stealthy as I follow a small distance behind the two armored enhancers. "...Wh...Who''s there?!" A well-rounded man loudly asks. The fat man in fine clothes stumbles away from the treeline we emerge from, obviously startled at our sudden appearance. Behind him, several people scramble toward the fat man and take up defending position toward us, their sudden visitors. It totally feels different when a goblin does it but it really gets on my nerves when a bow is aimed towards me. Maybe it''s because it isn''t the familiar crappy bows that the goblins use and instead, it''s a full-grown man with a large longbow. Why do I suddenly feel like I''m visiting some aliens and I''m trying somehow convey that we come in peace? Well, let''s hope for the best... Chapter 35 - Suspicion "...Wh...Who''s there?!" A well-rounded man loudly asks. Gathering behind the bulky man are a few armed adventurer-looking men, presumably his guards as well as some non-combatants. I look over and count five people armed before setting my gaze to the man with black hair who is aiming his drawn bow my way from the safety of being behind two heavily armored enhancers from the Relentless Waves. "Calm down, we''re just some adventurers on the road that your vehicles happen to block. So we''re checking to see what''s going on here." I speak while holding my hands up. "Oh, that''s a relief. I thought you were band---" The fat man tries to respond before getting cut off by one of the armed men standing near him. "How can we trust your words? Especially after you guys snuck up on us." The armed man with black hair who also happens to be the closest combatant to us questions while pointing his sword our way. Black hair too huh? It''s rare seeing people with the same hair color as me, everyone else''s hair is like they randomly picked a color from the rainbow. A brief moment of silence takes hold as I feel the tension start to rise. Got to defuse this... "...If we really meant you harm, we would''ve attacked while we had the chance and wouldn''t have approached you as we did." I quickly use one of the agreed-upon hand signals right after my words. Responding to my signal, the sound of something emerging from the bushes rings out from behind me. Everyone''s attention immediately snaps to the new arrivals; Faris and the two mages from the Relentless Waves. I hear a few sounds of startled cries coming from mostly the fat man and the non-combatants. Turning back at the supposed leader of the adventurer party on the other side, I give him a glance that conveys ''See? It would''ve been easy for us to ambush you.'' The man continues staring at me for a moment as if in deliberation before raising one of his hands, clearly giving out a signal to his allies. "I''ll believe you, we''ll stand down first to show our sincerity." His men all sheathed their weapons and undraw their bows to my relief. I exchange looks with our allies, prompting them to all stay down as well. Another moment of silence fills the scene, but this time, the tension is replaced by awkwardness on how to continue. Sensing the situation and no longer wanting to waste time, the well-rounded man that seems to be also well-dressed upon closer inspection speaks out to break the awkward atmosphere. "I am Macer Fide, the merchant in charge of this small caravan and these are my employees as well as adventurer escorts." Macer continues to introduce each of his companions. I choose to save energy and only remember Macer and the leader of their adventurer team who I talked to earlier, Keith. Like a textbook merchant, Macer continues to go off on a tangent about their adventurers to convince us to help them out. I don''t care about the small details like each of your names, now hurry and get to the point damn it... "...and that''s how those monsters managed to kill our horses and damage our transports in the process." Macer finishes his story in one go without a pause. I move over to confirm their story, looking at the wounds on the corpses of their horses. Yuck, what a horrible end after a life of servitude to us humans. Seeing how we''ve confirmed the identity of the target as confirm that they are not a threat, I give the go-ahead for one of the mages to signal Vorn and the rest of our caravan. The mage from Relentless Waves starts casting a waterball toward where our caravan is, aiming at an angle up to the sky before firing it once the waterball reached the size of a car tire. The waterball flies straight into the sky before being coming back down due to gravity and splashing into the ground somewhere out of sight. Is there more to the signal or is it really something just so simple? Well, the simpler it is, the less margin for error. Fifteen minutes later, we rendezvous with our caravan. Now that the escorts of both parties have cleared each other, it''s up to our employers to call the shots on what is to come next. "Nice to meet you, I am Robert Lensly." "Likewise, my name is Macer Fide." The two men shake hands as I return to Neri at our wagon with Faris, leaving the people from the Relentless Waves to look over the two men conversing. "Neri, we''re back, did you miss your master?" I ask while holding my hands open towards Neri. Neri ignores my questions and responds while only looking at Faris. "Welcome back." Tch, lucky we''re in view of other people right now or I''d sure teach you a lesson. With our front occupied as the meeting place with Macer''s caravan, our security duties can be completed while lazing around on our wagon. "How do you think Mr.Lensly will respond to their request for help?" I ask to cure my boredom while laying flat on my back. Surprisingly the voice I hear responding to me comes from Faris instead of Neri. "I remember hearing from my father when I was little, merchants tend to help in situations like these as best they can because the guild offers a small reward for the helping party regardless of any other agreements made for the helping hand." "The guild encourages merchants to help each other? Really? Why?" I ask why sitting up. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.I see Faris slowly collecting her words while Neri watches on patiently in encouragement. "Umm... I think it''s related to something about the guild having to pay a larger sum to compensate the victim''s losses in most situations. The guild encourages merchants to help each other so that there won''t be as many damages there to compensate for." So the merchant guild also acts as an insurance company? Wait, you mean there are insurance companies in this world? Whatever, I''m sure it''s not as widespread as my old world anyways. After twenty minutes, as if to confirm Faris''s words, the liaison from Mr.Lensly''s caravan informs us about Macer''s group joining us. They''ll be ditching their two broken-down wagons, moving their goods to our transports. We''re only asked to help move the goods over as they technically couldn''t ask to make use of our transports as it isn''t part of our contract. With so many abled bodies, after another twenty minutes, we once again set off on the road except with more people and fuller wagons. --- Late afternoon We finally reach our destination village as the sky starts to change color. "Welcome, we''ve been expecting you. Please come follow us, I''m sure you''re all tired from your journey so hot food has already been prepared." I can practically feel eyes gleaming at the words ''hot food'' from a majority of the caravan. We follow along with the group, heading into one of the larger buildings in the village, similar to the one we visited from the previous village. At the head, Mr.Lensly is busy chatting with an old man who I presume to the village chief of this place. Entering the dining hall, we''re split into different tables that are spread tightly together like a cafeteria. I take a small table with Faris and Neri in an inconspicuous corner while everyone else also devolves into their own respective social groups. The meal progresses peacefully, with a friendly atmosphere as everyone is eating and laughing, which includes me and the girls. As good times past especially fast, the small banquet is over as the old man earlier gives one last parting remark. "I hope the food was to all your liking, we won''t bother you all any longer as I''m sure you all need some well-deserved rest after your trip. They are many rooms that have been prepared upstairs in this building, please feel free to make use of any of the rooms. Now then, goodnight to you all." The old man nods one final time at Mr.Lensly before exiting. So this is entire building is dedicated to guests? This village must be much more well-off than the previous one. Bringing me back from my analysis, a familiar voice once again makes itself heard throughout the entire dining hall. "I''ve been discussing with Mr.Fide here about our travel plans tomorrow but could not come to a conclusion. Can the leader of each adventurer parties come to our table so we can further discuss our future agenda? Everyone else can go rest, thank you for your hard work today, everyone." Unfortunately for me, the day''s work isn''t over I guess. My bath time with my girls is shortening! I stand up trying to cheer myself up as I reluctantly part from Faris and Neri. Making my way to where I''m summoned, I take one of the seats at the rectangle wooden table with a rough map laid on it. Mr.Lensly remains silent, giving some time for everyone else to clear the room before opening his mouth. "To get you all up to speed, our original route is head south like this." He runs his finger through our route. "But since Mr. Fide requests to be taken to the town of Ellam which means we would have to at least take a small detour from our original route after reaching the next village through here which is the route I prefer most." Mr.Lensly points to the town of Ellam which is located slightly to the west from our southward route. "Now the problem here is that Mr.Fide has told me he must reach Ellam within two days with his goods in tow which isn''t possible with this route. In order for Mr.Fide to reach Ellam on time, we would have cut through this forest, through a more dangerous route than the main roads. What do you two think about this proposition?" Mr.Lensly patiently explains before asking Vorn and me. But before either of us answers, another voice chimes in. "With all due respect sir, although the new route we propose is using a road that isn''t as well maintained and patrolled as the main roads, it isn''t much of a threat to our caravan at all with our numbers. Rarely are there bandit groups numerous enough to overcome us." The black-haired adventurer who I recognize as Keith, the leader of the escort party for Macer Fide''s caravan, speaks out. "I understand," Mr.Lensly replies dismissively. Despite his words, the leader of the fourth nature mage division continues pressing Vorn and me for answers with his gaze. Knowing my inexperience in escorting, Vorn is the one who is bearing the main brunt of Mr.Lensly''s questioning gaze. Vorn closes his eyes and continues contemplating for a few minutes in which everyone keeps quiet, fearing to disturb his thoughts. Finally opening his eyes, Vorn replies. "It shouldn''t be a problem taking the proposed route." Satisfied with having an answer, Mr.Lensly moves on to me. Come on, you really expect me to answer too? As if I know shit... Not knowing what to say, I can only nod while keeping my poker face. "Wait a minute, staying on that road will still take too long! I''ll barely make it in time if we aren''t delayed at all, we should pick this route that leaves some leeway." The fat merchant, Macer, draws a route with his fingers straight through the forest. "ABSOLUTELY NOT, ARE YOU CRAZY? WHY WOULD WE CHOOSE TO GO THROUGH A FOREST WHEN THERE IS A ROAD TO SUIT OUR NEEDS?" Keith the black-haired adventurer suddenly snaps at the fat merchant''s suggestion. Dude, isn''t he your employer? Are you really yelling at him for something small like that? That''s sure some customer service that I haven''t seen before... "But---" "NO BUTS, I WON''T JOIN YOU IF CHOOSE TO GO THROUGH SOME FOREST JUST TO SAVE HALF A DAYS TIME AT BEST." Keith stomps away despite the heeding of his employer. "Sigh... is it possible to take this route without Keith''s party?" Macer weakly asks while shaking his head. "Cutting through the forest will be even more dangerous, so no, it won''t be possible." Vorn mercilessly replies, cutting the merchant''s last hope for taking that route. "I understand, I''ll send one of my men to head to Ellam first to inform them of a possible delay." The bulky merchant says dispiritedly before walking away with weak steps. Come on, why are you being so dramatic? We''re still likely to make it on time taking the other route, what the fucks up with those two and their obsession with their routes. As I contemplate the reasoning behind the behaviors of the two who just left, my gaze wanders over to Mr.Lensly''s. The old man exchange gazes with Vorn in a frown while Vorn replies with small nods repeatedly. The two finishes conveying whatever is between them with their gazes before both settle their gaze on me. Errrrrrrr........... I don''t understand a thing you''re trying to tell me if you don''t speak out. But it''ll be a little awkward to ruin the atmosphere by opening my mouth now. Let''s just nod back... Yep, I know exactly what you two are thinking... The two leave their seats, heading for stairs to the bedrooms. Somehow being swept up by the mood, I follow them as well. With Mr.Lensly leading us into a room at the end of the hallway on the top floor, we enter together without a word. Is this some secret cult thing? Well, that would be one of the better options as opposed to what popped up in my head when entering a bedroom with two other guys... Sitting down around a small circular table for four, Mr.Lensly is the first one to break the silence. "What do you think the odds are?" Odds? Odds for what? The lottery? Silent listening mode, fully activated. "Somewhere around 70%." Vorn grimly replies. "What?! We should get away as quickly as possible." Mr.Lensly almost jumps out of his seat, struggling to contain his voice. Do I really have to make myself stupid and ask what we''re talking about? I guess so, it sounds important. Here goes nothing. "Wh---" Just before I manage to squeak out my voice, Vorn speaks. "It''s too late, Macer or one of his men will just keep following us. He''s probably already sent his men out to inform their hosts before the meeting earlier. We''ll be chased down and we won''t get far with all our luggage." "Then what do we do?" "Keep acting like we don''t know until the last minute before quickly neutralizing the threats." Vorn motions a slashing motion across his neck. Having finally received more information, my mind starts to put the pieces together. "Does this happen often?" I ask Vorn "More than you would think, especially after that incident became famous, there''s been many copycats." "I think we''re half right and half wrong..." I state while deep thought as if having a revelation. "What do you mean?" Both men ask me while directing their confused gaze at me. "Actually, from what I remember and noticed, I think..." Chapter 36 - Madalein 22nd day of the third month. "So you have taken the route from here to Ellam many times before?" I say while looking at the black-haired adventurer riding alongside our wagon. "That''s right, I take this route at least four times a year to visit family." The man replies without meeting my eyes. His gaze is focused on the person beside me who is driving the wagon, Neri. "We''ll be reaching the road that leads to Ellam soon, the road conditions won''t be as good as the one we''re currently on so you better take care. It''s a pity that your master refuses to take over the reins for you." Hey! Fuck off, and stop eyeing Neri, she''s mine. I try to naturally position myself to cut off his line of sight. Noticing my actions, Neri looks over for a second as if deliberating how to respond before she decides to just ignore him. "..." "Hey, why do---" The black-haired man continues to presses but is interrupted by the sound of an approaching horse. "Master, Neri, I''m back." The silver-haired girl happily exclaims as she transfers over from her horse to our wagon. "Welcome back beautiful lady, I hope your---" "Shouldn''t you take over as the scout now? I think the road we''ll be taking is coming up soon." Faris innocently interrupts the black-haired man''s greetings as if it is the most natural thing in the world. Whether it was on purpose to not, good job Faris! I reach out my hand to pet the silver hair of my beloved companion. much to her confusion. I don''t forget to look back over at Keith with the smuggest expression I can muster while urging him to hurry up and do your job with my gaze. "Very well, I will go fulfill my duty." As if my actions have no effect on him, Keith displays a resolved look as if he is going to undertake an important task before he starts rides away. He looks back and nods one last time our way before galloping ahead on his mount. Good riddance, that perverted fucker didn''t even try to hide his leering at all. --- "The road starts here." The black-haired adventurer loudly declares. The dirt road he indicates to branches off from the main gravel road and is much more narrow, being barely able to fit one wagon through. On the side of the dirt road is just grass and bushes so there''s enough room for two vehicles to pass by or make a U-turn. Keith, the black-haired adventurer swiftly heads down the road without a moment to spare, becoming the vanguard of the caravan as previously arranged after confessing his familiarity with this route to Ellam. "We''re so going to be delayed if there is any rain with this kind of road but I guess it beats the uneven ride we would''ve had to endure if we decided to cut through the forest," I mutter to the figure of Keith slowly become smaller along with a horse he borrowed from the caravan. The two girls beside me nod at my words before the little dwarf holding the reins to our wagon starts urging the horses forward, after the figure ahead. With Keith taking over as the vanguard, the responsibility of scouting ahead falls to him now, allowing us for the first time since setting off to be able to travel leisurely with all three of us on the wagon. Blacky, who also no longer have scouting duties, gets to enjoy the more relaxed pace of traveling alongside the wagon as well. But this does not mean I have nothing to do while on our way. After the secret conversation with Vorn and Mr.Lensly last night, we all discussed what signs of danger we have to look out for on our journey to Ellam and delegated responsibilities to each of us. Our party''s responsibility is to keep our eye out for suspicious movements, whether it be from within our caravan or from an outside party. Which lead to our current arrangements with me looking out the back of our wagon, at the transports belonging to the merchant, Macer Fide. Faris, on the other hand, is covering the direction of our two other flanks while Neri is keeping an eye on the front. With our new duties, the atmosphere on our wagon is a lot tenser than it used to be, as we travel for over an hour without conversing as we are each focused doing our part. Noticing the mood, I immediately proceed to try to calm us down by starting a topic for discussion. "Have both of you ever heard about situations like this before? I mean, the leader of the Relentless Waves, Vorn told me it''s becoming more common in recent years but just how common is it?" I ask while being sure to keep my voice down so that only the girls can hear me. "There were always stories who tell of similar incidents happening but it wasn''t until the famous Madalein incident that happened last year that encouraged a lot of copycats. The method allows bandits to take advantage of the rules from the merchant guild, is hard to defend against if not extra cautious and lets them get away with the crime if pulled off correctly." Neri''s voice sounds out from the head of the wagon. "What is the Madalein incident?" Faris quickly asks curiously, jumping to sit beside Neri before resuming looking to the left and right. Faris knows some bits and pieces about merchants and peddlers from her father, so it can''t be blamed that she''s curious about anything that relates to the topic that her dear father talked about, or so that''s how I see it. Especially since she was probably cut off from news and anything that didn''t benefit her full course training while with the slave trader. Realizing Faris''s thirst for answers, Neri succinctly explains while I quietly listen in, not disturbing them despite being the one to start the conversation. "The Madalein incident was basically a bunch of bandits raiding and murdering of an entire merchant''s caravan, hailing from the Madalein family, thus the name of the incident. The robbery deeply wounded the Madalein family, especially their reputation and caused waves in the merchant community throughout the continent." "What''s so special about the incident? Isn''t that just a common incident that happens all the time, just that it happened to a larger caravan?" "The key to the incident was how the bandits were able to pull the raid off. The common incidents you refer to usually happens to the less wealthy merchants and smaller caravan who hired insufficient escorts either in quality or quantity. The caravan in the Madalein incident was one of the most elite caravans, the powerful Madalein family employed a large number of high ranking adventurers along with their own personal guards. That''s why they fearlessly transported large amounts of wealth, never imagining that such misfortune could befall them." "So their arrogance got to them? Or did several large bandit groups team up together to rob them?" Faris asks impatiently with a frown. "Neither, the bandit group that robbed them were just a small group of bandits with little renown. They managed to wipe out such a large caravan thanks to a single hostage. They took the daughter of some merchant who was friendly with the Madalein family and blackmailed him to lure the Madalein caravan into a trap. The merchant purposely sabotaged his own caravan without the knowledge of anyone else, asking the ''accidentally'' passing by Madalein caravan for assistance. With the two on good terms, the blackmailed merchant poisoned the food at a banquet that was meant to thank the Madalein''s for their help. The slow-acting poison started to act up after the blackmailed merchant''s caravan parted ways, setting up an easy target for the bandits." "...Couldn''t they have just taken the family of a member of the Madalein caravan hostage and not go through that roundabout way? Even if the powerful merchants have their families well guarded, they could also just stick to the smaller caravans to make up for it with the numbers as well." "They could, but then they would alert the merchant guild if incidents kept occurring and be hunted down by many people as they disrupted the interests of many parties including the kingdom. Just a generous bounty alone from merchant guild would eliminate most of the safe havens that were willing to harbor them before, not to talk about the possibility of their subordinates betraying them for the bounty. The key is to coverup the incident as best as possible and not draw the attention of any powerful factions. They were able to make the sole survivor, the merchant they blackmailed tell the guild that they encountered an extremely strong group of monster that wiped them out, clearing the suspicion from any investigators. Of course, if the same story keeps happening then the investigators will look further into it so they chose the best value they could get from one robbery even if it was a high-profile target." "I see... Having multiple incidents would alert the guild or the kingdom but just one incident wouldn''t draw as much attention... but wait, then how did the incident become so famous?" "At first, it didn''t. The investigators barely looked into it with the testimony from the blackmailed merchant. The lack of reoccurrence made the guild just write it off as a one-time thing and thought the monsters returned into the dungeon they came from and soon the incident was forgotten about. That was until the blackmailed merchant stepped forward after not being able to stand the guilt anymore. Dozens dead because of him for the life of his daughter, he didn''t regret his decision in order to save his daughter but the guilt really gnawed away at his sanity. Once the incident came to light, the merchant community was outraged and scared of copycats so they quickly implemented new measures to defend against such incidents." Those bandits would''ve gotten away with the crime too if it wasn''t for the meddling merchant. I guess it''s impossible to commit the perfect crime, loose ends always will exist. The rich and powerful merchants realized they weren''t invulnerable so they quickly implemented changes to protect themselves. Funny, I wonder if they would''ve acted the same if it was only some small caravan that was attacked.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Wait, if new policies were implemented to address the issue, then how is it becoming more and more common recently?" My naive little Faris, no matter what world, those fancy policies, and countermeasures are designed to protect the interests of the powerful people at the top as the main consideration and not anyone else. "The policies do work, for the big merchants at least. The smaller caravans aren''t as well secured, and the bandits know that. Though they aren''t able to target the larger targets anymore with this method, it can still reduce their risk and make their raids on smaller caravan a lot easier if they''re patient enough to prepare. But still, shouldn''t the merchants be the ones more aware of their vulnerabilities..." Neri says with suspicion, looking back at the carriage behind us. "I think master is r---" Neri''s words are cut short as the sound of someone approaching on horseback enter my ears. I look to the source which is in the direction of where we''re heading to see Keith pulling up near us. Within a minute, one of the liaisons for the caravan arrives and Keith states his findings right next to our wagon. "I found a well about ten minutes away, we can head there to take a rest since we won''t have to use up our mage''s mana for water." Although the horses do drink up a lot of water, I''d much prefer drinking my own water than from a well, especially from what I''ve seen before... "Roger." The liaison quickly heads back to relay the report. Approximately ten minutes later, the caravan starts to bunker down near an abandoned shack that is equipped with the well Keith found. It''s time to feed the horses so it''ll probably take half an hour before we will set off again. We make our way towards where Mr.Lensly is, conversing with Keith and the rest of his party totaling five people. Noticing my party, Keith cuts the conversation short. "Excuse us, we''ll be heading out to stand guard around the perimeter." Keith delivers the line in a professional tone, before retreating with his party. Neither Mr.Lensly nor me and the girls talk as we watch Keith''s party move further away. Coming from the direction of the well, Vorn quietly joins us along with a member of his party. Once Keith and his party are out of hearing range, we turn to confirm the position of Macer Fide before Mr.Lensly finally breaks the silence. "I fear you are correct... Let us move as planned." Both me and Vorn nod at his words before retreating with our companions in different directions just like we''ve previously planned. --- 22nd of the third month, noon. "Boss, our mole has signaled us that the target has entered into position, we''re all ready to set off." "Haha, finally. To be safe, we''ll set off in ten minutes." The burly man in worn-out plate armor gives out his commands happily. Having received my orders, I head over to where my subordinates are tending to their mounts, giving them the signal to prepare to head out as I hop onto my horse. We''ve done this before, we''re all experienced and know what do to. Now with this new plan boss started using, the last part which used to be the hardest part became as easy as taking candy from a baby since we no longer have to fight for our lives. I can''t wait to finish up this job and head over to the nearest town to visit the brothels, the girl we captured this time got me all fired up but the boss won''t let us even near her. Let''s sure hope the loot will be plentiful enough for us to enjoy for a while. Ten short minutes past rapidly as we all follow our boss towards the trap we set up. We exit the temporary hideout and make it onto the dirt road. Looking at the tracks, it''s clear that the targets we''ve been eyeing have already passed by here and into our trap. Just as we start to march down the road, we spot a few figures approaching our way. "It''s our helpers," I advise the boss, fearing he will order an attack. Hearing my words, the boss signals our band to stop as we wait for them to approach. They are five of them in total, all wearing loose robes that cover their faces just like we requested. Can''t have people recognize our helpers now and report it to the guild now, can we? I step forward to confirm their identities and result in a staring match between me and their leader. "Come on, we did as told, they''re now resting by the well. Quickly release Linda now! We''ll be sure to tell the guild that monsters got us!" A female voice sounds out from one of the hooded figures beside their leader. "You better, or we''ll come to find you even if you run to the depths of hell. Kal, take them to the girl and regroup with us after you''re done." One of my lanky-looking henchmen quietly diverts from us to start leading the five robbed figures. "Are you sure we can just let them go like that?" "It''ll be fine boss, best not to push them too hard. Besides, the guild will be suspicious if they report in with one member missing and then she suddenly reappears after the incident." "Hmm, I''ll leave it to you." Of course, you''ll leave it to me, you leave everything to me... I swear, if I could be as charismatic as you to lead and keep these thugs in line, I''d poison you to death on our next meal. Stupid bunch of meatheads who only know how to answer to muscle. Goddamnit, I''m getting stressed out, there better be nice girls available for me tonight or I''m going to go crazy. A few minutes of traveling down the road later, we finally are able to lay eyes on our prey today. That seems to be quite a number of transports, I sure hope they''re loaded. "Approach cautiously, we can''t be sure if they all got knocked out by the poisoned or not." Our meathead leader shouts out. Yeah, real cautious yelling out in the open like that. I use hand signals to tell my lackeys to start moving in as I follow from behind at a safe distance should anything go wrong. We get close enough for our bows to reach them but still see no signs or anyone. Strange, it can''t be they all took a drink from the well and fell asleep on their wagons together can they? I continue to look around for an explanation of the mystery. Just as I am about to warn my men to back up as they approach the first carriage a loud noise of wooden splintering sound out. I turn over to see a giant ball of earth heading straight at me at a speed that I know I won''t be able to react to. The shouts from that musclehead leader enter my ears before my vision blackouts. "SHIT, AMBUSH!" --- Taking a deep breath, I look over to Faris on the left and Neri on the right. We''re currently hiding in the treelines a small distance away from the caravan, preparing to fight. To once again fight against other humanoids, sentient beings who think and use weapons like me. It can''t be helped but we''ll be fighting against humanoids once again, bandits. It''s kind of scary fighting against people who can be much more intelligent than you, stronger than you, or both. We can''t really tell their strength until we fight but Vorn assured me that the typical bandits wouldn''t be that strong or they would still be working as adventurers. They''re mostly ex-adventurers who failed in advancing further, who fell to their short-term greed. They probably weren''t even able to rank up to a bronze badge and felt frustrated at the system. "Master look, they''re people coming from over there," Faris informs us, pointing to the barely visible mounted figures approaching the caravan, confirming the imminent attack that is about to begin. "Okay, let start slowly move in from behind them." We stealthily sneak up behind the approaching bandits, keep an appropriate distance away from their detection, waiting for the fight to start just like we planned. Last night, Mr.Lensly and Vorn started talking about the possibility that Macer Fide, the merchant we picked up on the way was actually a mole for bandits just like in the Madalein incident. They suspected Mr.Fide because of the way he acted and how eager he was to send his men ahead to inform about such small delays. But I voiced my suspicions that indicated otherwise. I believed that Keith, the leader of the adventurer party that Mr.Fide employed is much more likely to be the mole. I arrived at that conclusion not just because he was so adamant about taking this specific route but because I remember seeing him back in Unatis before. Keith has black colored hair similar to mine which made me take more notice of him than other people so I recognized seeing him by Greens Filth as well as the adventurer guild before. I remember seeing him arguing vehemently with his companion with the same colored hair, even knocking into me. But when I saw him during our journey, he seemed much colder and like a soldier but got along with his companions fine. Although I wrote it off as just them making up at first, when I heard Mr.Lensly and Vorn voice their suspicion for Mr.Fide, everything fell in place in my mind. About why Keith would take an escort quest that would force them on a trip where he''ll be stuck staying closely with his companions for the whole duration of the request while their relationship is strained. Why a party who chose to continue dungeon diving despite the high rewards for requests from the war suddenly did a 180 and took on an escort quest. Although we could''ve captured them all while they were off-guard, we knew the bandits already had their eyes on us. So rather than waiting for them to ambush us at any time, we decided to use their plan against them to ambush them back in return. My conjecture didn''t change much to our plans besides keeping Keith''s party out of the loop and splitting more attention to them. With him being so proactive at becoming our vanguard, we kept our guard up on everything he informed us about, including the well he found. Right after finding us the well, Keith used an excuse to move away to an area we couldn''t easily monitor, almost confirming our suspicions. We couldn''t inform everyone part of Mr.Lensly caravan without risking exposing ourselves so the moment we settled by the well, we took action. We subdued Mr.Fide and his companions just to be safe and gave some room for Keith and his party to signal their backer, only observing them from afar. Once we confirmed their movements, we prepared for an attack that was likely about to happen which brings us to the present. The bandits are nearing our vehicles, not suspecting much despite the absence of anyone in their view. The moment the first two bandits were about to check up on one of the carriages, the doors smashed open, accompanied by the familiar sight of a large earthball crashing straight through the nearby bandits, and even sweeping away a mounted bandit who unfortunately is in the spell''s trajectory. With the bandits dazed from the sudden attack, the people from the Relentless Waves rush out from one of the carriages and start attacking the bandits. I spot a few nature mages too stepping out to unleash one of the spells they have prepared before retreating back into safety. The only exception is the young girl, Sera who continued to stay out in the open, bringing the fight to the bandits. Making use of the fact that the bandits are distracted by the caravan, we hurry to join the gray and launch our sneak attack. Faris sneaks up close to one of the bandits in plate armor at the back, plunging one of her short swords through the gaps of the armor. The bandit dies silently until the sound of his armor collapsing onto the group alerts his allies, but that is already too late. Faris already reached her next target and Neri has already brought her hammer straight down onto the head of one of the poor lads. I also unleash a lightning bolt that I''ve been charging up at a mounted bandit who seems to be the leader and water stream that is encompassing the feet of as many bandits as possible. The moment the bandits turn to the sound of one of their strength enhancers collapsing, my lightning bolt already drilled a hole through the center of their leader and an electric current is channeling into my water stream. The electricity shocks a majority of the bandits, stopping them in their tracks as my two girls move in to engage the few who aren''t paralyzed. Keeping the bandits in place, I look over to the caravan to find the two knights from the Relentless Waves, shielding their masters as well as Sera from the oncoming bandits. They made the right decision. Although Sera has exceptionally powerful spells from her high levels, her cast time, reaction time, and variety of spells are all at a level of a novice. Having not trained in combat, I suspected as much. She''s like a bodybuilder who has never learned to fight before, although she has a lot of strength, she doesn''t know how to apply it to hurt her targets. On the flip side, the Relentless Waves are like lighter weight class MMA fighters who are trained to fight, their spells don''t look as big and powerful as Sera''s but their application, precision fully demonstrates their skills in combat. They''re firing off water cannons to knockback the approaching enhancers, while their teammates in the back charge up an ice lance-looking spell to finish them off. The bandits who do manage to close in on them have to deal with the two large strength enhancers guarding their mages. Their ice magic takes a lot longer to cast compared to my own but their teamwork more than make up for their slower cast times. It also seems like they can''t dual cast spells they aren''t fully comfortable with. The fight soon ends much faster than we anticipate. I guess they weren''t even prepared for a hard fight at all, expecting to easily take care of the rest of us while we are unconscious. But having an anticlimactic fight here is a good thing, it means our preparations were enough and we didn''t have to struggle to survive. Taking it easy is the best. Just as we''re about to gather around Mr.Lensly for a debriefing, Faris shouts out in alert. "Master! More armed targets approaching on foot, stay on guard! Damn it, is it not over yet? Did I jinx it? "Non-combatants back into cover, quickly!" I shout out before moving over to greet our new guests. Now then, this better not be some final boss level that is forced upon us. I quite enjoyed that easy fight from ambushing the bandits so please let that be the end of it. Chapter 37 - To Ellam "Non-combatants back into cover, quickly!" I head over to join the formation against our approaching visitors. We instinctively form into the most basic formation, with our frontline melee fighters in the front and the ranged fighters in the back. Naturally, I''m near the front, positioning myself just behind the two heavily armored strength enhancers from the Relentless Waves. This time there are only the people from the Relentless Waves and my own party, all the nature mages listened to my earlier advice and are taking cover in the vehicles. I''m glad Sera too, decide to stay out of the fights though I''m not sure if it will last. The nine of us stay in our formation and slowly wait for the approaching six figures to draw closer. Noticing our cautiousness, the leading member of the approaching group waves at us with both hands, signaling that they haven''t come to fight. The distance between us and the new group continues to shorten as we are finally able to make out their identities. Yep, that guy behind the waving woman is Keith all right. Why in the world did he decide to come back to us? At least it saves us the trouble from having to deal with them later I guess... "ARE YOU GUYS ALRIGHT?" The leading figure who turns out to be a woman yells out in a worried tone as they enter the hearing range. The scene of the unarmed woman with short brown hair running at us should''ve lowered the tension in the air but I start to feel the mood tense up instead as the people from the Relentless Waves stare on in continual hostility, moving ahead to surround Keith''s party. Finding it troubling to draw any closer to the people with weapons drawn at her, the leading girl stops her steps with a regretful expression. She stands still and looks to the corner of her eye as if collecting her words. But before she can speak out, the man behind her steps in front of her. "It seems you guys already found out. That''s right, we betrayed you guys and lured you guys into a trap that we help set up with the bandits, but we''re not here to fight." The man declares before pausing briefly to see our reaction. To be honest, this guy brought me and the girls into danger if we didn''t figure out their plan first so I honestly feel the same as the nearby mages from the Relentless Waves who have their spells ready and aimed. But since Vorn is more experienced in dealing with rogue adventurers, I''ll let him deal with it for now. "You guys betrayed not only us but your honor as adventurers. In accordance with the guild rules, we should do whatever we deem as necessary to bring you in alive and execute you should you resist. Now that you''ve saved us the trouble of hunting you down, give us a reason not to cut off your legs right now and drag you off to the guild." Vorn yells out his response angrily at Keith''s party. Seeing that our hostility towards his party hasn''t budged, Keith continues. "We understand that we had done something unforgivable and I know you care not for our reason but we do not regret our actions. But that also doesn''t mean we don''t acknowledge our wrongdoings against you, so please do as you wish with us." With those words, Keith throws his weapon away and sits down on the ground, accepting any punishment to come. Immediately following him, the rest of his party except the previous woman does the same. The woman falls into a panic, urging her friends to stand up. "Please, it''s all my fault, let me take responsibility myself." The girl urges, trying to lift her companions up. Seeming to not care at all, Vorn approaches them with one of his strength enhancers as his guard. Realizing that her efforts are futile, she turns her attention to the approaching men instead. "Please, they only did it to save me, they aren''t bad people. Once they saved me and told me the situation, they readily agreed with my request of coming back to help you guys. If you want to punish someone then just punish me, it was all my fault in the first place." Despite her words, Vorn and one of his slaves expressionlessly move up towards Keith who has his eyes closed and motionless, sitting on the ground. I watch on, debating in the head on whether I should let what is about to go on proceed. A side of me that has been imbued with modern ethical sense since small scream out in disgust at imminent extrajudicial punishment but the other part of me insists that they deserve it for trying to bring danger to the girls and me. Seeing that Vorn has reached Keith, the woman quickly approached Vorn and kneeled in front of him, holding onto his legs. "Please, punish me instead, I''ll take on all their punishment." As if not hearing the lady''s words, Vorn brings his spears up, in position to strike downward. With no unanimous decision being made in my self-debate, I look over to Faris and Neri to see what they think. I''ll support whatever their decision is, my girls are the most important to me after all. Both of them are watching the scene with a little pity in their eyes but they don''t seem to have much of an opinion on the matter. I guess they''ve left the decision to Vorn for now, I''ll follow suit and continue doing nothing then. "PLEASE, IT''S ALL MY FAULT!" The woman screams and closes her eyes, unable to bear watching any further. With Vorn''s back facing us, we aren''t able to see the scene clearly as the sound of something metallic shattering reaches our ears. Vorn then bends down for a moment before stepping back to the side after prying his leg back from the woman''s grasp and starts walking back towards us. With nothing left to obstruct the view, the scene is all laid out before us. Contrary to what I expect to see, which is Keith laying in his pool of blood, I see Keith in the same position without any injuries and Vorn retrieving something off the tip of his spear as he continues to walk in my direction. "I was just testing if they were surrendering to us for real, sorry for the scare madam." Hearing those words, the woman who had her eyes closed opens them to a scene she did not expect. She pauses for a moment, allowing reality to settle within her before an audible sigh of relief and sounds of joy start to ring out as she jumps to embrace Keith. Upon closer look, I figure out that the item Vorn retrieved is actually Keith''s guild badge. "I''ll stick to the rules and let the guild decide your punishment but don''t expect a comfortable ride on our way to the guild." Vorn''s words instantly annihilate the tension in the air and his companions cancels the spells they had prepared and start to approach Keith''s party, removing their guild badge and tying them up to constrain their movement with the exception of the woman. With the incident over, we start herding our new prisoners onto our transports and reporting the situation to Mr.Lensly and his fellow mages. "I see, these are matters of your adventurer guild''s so I have nothing to say in this matter. The girl can join me in my carriage while you''re busy with ensuring the safety of our caravan." With Mr.Lensly''s words, we quickly finish preparing to continue our journey. Some of our vehicles are slightly damaged from the fighting but they are mainly just superficial wounds. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.We decide to split Keith''s group onto different vehicles to separate them during the journey, and it just so happens Keith himself is going to be riding with us. You better keep your eyes off my girls or I won''t be as merciful as Vorn. --- 23rd of the third month Not even an hour after lunch, our caravan finally spots the strong stone walls of the town of Ellam, signifying that we''ll finally be able to have a good night''s rest tonight. We''ve been traveling non-stop and throughout all of yesterday after the encounter with bandits and all of this morning. Though with the girls accompanying me, it''s still bearable, I am full of admiration for the others who easily endure the travels. Especially our prisoners who haven''t even step off our vehicles throughout our trip since yesterday besides to go do their business. We enter the town after a brief inspection by the city guards because we are entering with quite a number both in personnel and luggage. We head over to one of the inns near Ellam''s branch of the merchant guild and Mr.Lensly will be the one paying for our accommodations during our stay as we are still in his employ. We''ll all be in the same inn to his generosity and to simplify logistics and our ability to perform our bodyguard duties although it doesn''t seem it''ll be needed. With each of us having checked-in to our rooms, I start heading over to the adventurer guild in this town alongside Vorn to turn in our prisoners. Mr.Lensly will be sending Sera to accompany us to act as a witness to simplify the process. Just the three of us will be going to keep our logistics simple, leaving my Faris and Neri behind at the inn. I head to retrieve Keith from my wagon to take him to Vorn''s carriage that we''ll be taking. "Keith!" A girl with the short brown hair exclaims as she moves over to assist the ragged-looking man. It''s the same girl from yesterday who plead on her party''s behalf. It seems like her name is Cecily. "...What happened to his face, Aster?" Vorn asks the moment he sees Keith. "He fell over when we hit a bump on the road. You know, we don''t have that many members to look after him the whole time." "How could you be so careless, let me take a closer look," Cecily says in a worried tone as she moves closer to inspect Keith''s wounds. "..." Both Sera and Vorn look at me speechlessly, as if they can''t believe that I expect them to be tricked with such an excuse. Well, I guess it''s a bit weak of an excuse after all, his bruises on his face definitely doesn''t look like it''s from a fall but I''m too lazy to come up with another one. It''s obvious that the reason his face is bruised up is because of me anyway. He was fine throughout all of yesterday after having surrendered to us but once I had a good night''s rest thanks to my kind and caring girls, it really started to piss me off whenever I saw his face. After all, this guy tried to bring harm to my girls and that is an unforgivable crime! And to top it off, I caught him leering at my girls blatantly when I was coming back from scouting! "...Help... he beat me... all morning." Keith weakly says as he is carried into the carriage by Cecily. At his accusations, Sera and Vorn all look over my way skeptically while Cecily looks over with a gullible expression, waiting for my explanation. Fucking snitch, there''s a saying from where I''m from, snitches get stitches. Vowing to make sure our journey to the guild will be as ''bumpy'' as possible, I give out the most textbook response to justify Keith''s injuries. Go guild rules! "He tried to escape." I spit out the words casually as I move to board the carriage. "I didn---" A voice sounds out from the figure poking his head out of the carriage door. "Stop trying to escape!" I yell out as I conveniently slam my fist into that very same figure peeking out as I board the carriage. "KEITH! Please behave yourself! Even though I know you want to come to check on us, you should know better than to sneak around when we''re under so much scrutiny." Cecily complains. "..." Sera and Vorn give each other a look before shaking their heads and boarding as well. Seeing that we are ready to depart, Cecily stops worrying about Keith and mounts her horse to set off alongside the carriage as Vorn proceeds to close the carriage door. Throughout our entire ''bumpy'' trip to the guild, it seems they choose to just ignore my actions as Keith''s companion keeps their sight off to a corner silently, trying their best to keep attention away from themselves to Keith''s disappointment. Don''t worry Keith, as a civilized adventurer, I still have the decency to use healing magic on you. --- It didn''t take long for us to finish our report of the incident to the guild, especially because we are accompanied by a member of the fourth nature mage division, Sera, who acted as our witness to the events. Once we each finish recounting our experiences, Klein and the rest of his party, including Cecily, are taken by the guild. They''ll be waiting for an official decision on what their punishment will be after the guild themselves finish conducting an investigation. And of course, the guild didn''t even blink at Klein''s unfortunate wounds as heavily injuring traitors are not that uncommon and are acceptable as long as it can be justified which doesn''t take much at all. After Vorn and I stop by the guild counters to turn in our mana crystals, the three of us head back to our inn in Vorn''s carriage. Vorn is silently acting as lookout throughout the ride while Sera keeps to herself mostly but no longer has that hostile attitude she once had when approached. We uneventfully make it back to the inn and report to Mr.Lensly in his room. "I see, so that matter is in the guild''s hands now. Incidentally, I also finished the matters with the merchant guild and Mr.Fide also happily depart to tend to his own business. Despite our ''rough'' handling of him and his men, he graciously passes his thanks to you gentlemen as well." No shit he''s happy, he manages to make his delivery on time to make a profit without having to pay a dime to his escorts since they went rogue! "I also received compensation from the merchant guild for our help in this matter and I won''t forget to thank you and your companions for their assistance. I''ll award each adventurer five gold coins for their efforts in this incident, here." Mr.Lensly personally retrieves two bags of coin from the table and hands it over to me and Vorn before continuing. "There isn''t anything else to do but to restock on supplies and prepare to set off once again tomorrow morning. But until then, do go get yourselves some much well-deserved rest." With his words urging us to take our leaves, I immediately head back to reunite with my girls. Entering into my room, I spot Faris sitting on one of the beds leisurely reading a book next to her leather equipment that is neatly laid out. The shine that her equipment gives out obviously shows that it has recently been serviced. Near her, Neri is sitting by the table that has pieces of her plate armor sprawled in front of her as he tends to her gear. It seems she is in the middle of performing maintenance on her gear, it can''t be helped that plate armor will take longer to service. The two stop what they''re doing and look over my way. "Welcome back master!" Faris closes her book and greets me with enthusiasm. "Master." While Neri glances over to greet me before resuming her work. Not wanting to disrupt Neri, I walk over to Faris. "Don''t mind me, continue doing what you were doing. We''re free until the caravan sets off tomorrow morning again." I say as I urge Faris to sit back down by pushing her shoulders back down. I quickly position myself comfortably on the bed, laying myself down while using Faris''s thighs as my pillow. From my view down here, I see Faris looking down at my antics before she glances back toward the book that she''s holding. Now, it''s time to count up our earnings so far. I open the small bag of coins I received from Mr.Lensly as well as the coins from selling our mana crystals back at the guild. 15 gold coins plus 2 gold coins and 97 silver coins from the 297 mana crystals we earned so far equals to a total of 17 gold coins and 97 silver coins. Add that to our existing funds, we now have a grand total of 75 gold coins 191 silver coins and 43 copper coins. We don''t receive our pay until the escort request is finished but for the rate of 1 gold coins and 50 silver coins a day, we have a payment of 9 gold coins pending as well. Well, we still have a lot of money to make by completing the part-time peddler request of delivering alcohol to the capital so it''s not the end of it yet. Time to take a look at our status, I''ve been too tired to look since my levels haven''t been going up anyway but with our recent fight with bandits, let''s see if it has gone up. I cuddle Faris''s thighs before I cast identify on each of us.
Human Male
Age: 18
Magic Level: Water Lv. 17 Electric Lv. 16 Light Lv. 2 Fire Lv. 1 Earth Lv. 1 Wind Lv. 1 Healing Lv. 1 Dark Lv. 1 Nature Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Identify
Human Female
Age: 18
Magic Level: Dexterity Lv. 26 Stamina Lv. 18 Strength Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Sense Danger
Dwarf Female
Age: 19
Magic Level: Strength Lv. 24 Stamina Lv. 22 Dexterity Lv. 1 Fire Lv. 1 Water Lv. 1
Unique Magic: Physical Boost Sense Location
Finally! It''s only one level but I finally leveled up in both my magic. It seems like Faris''s stamina level went up as well. Neri''s level remains the same though they are pretty high already. It looks like the leveling becomes a lot harder once it reaches the twenties. We''ll need to fight stronger opponents to continue getting stronger. To do that safely, we''ll need to assemble more members to our party which brings us back to finishing our current escort request and the one to deliver dwarven alcohol back to the human kingdom''s capital. Let''s hope it all go as smoothly as planned.