《Stonequiet: A Proficiomancer in Another World》 Prologue Prologue ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡°... Chapter I: Transfer I Transfer ¡ºSummon Day -39¡» ¡ºMaluhia Academy¡» ¡°Onii-chan?¡± I looked at the girl who said that wondering who she was. The class as well turned their heads with curiosity as to what she had said. Realizing what she had said the girl became flustered. ¡°Oh, do you two know each other?¡± The homeroom teacher said in an amused tone. The girl looked at me with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes, but I remained silent. I have no idea who she is. ¡°N-no.¡± She turned her head and said with a disappointed voice. The class returned their gaze onto me. Some with curiosity and others with ire or mild annoyance. I guess she was the school''s idol judging from the reactions I saw. She must be favored by a lot of students. ¡°Well, now you do. Naoki, there''s an empty seat next to Alicia go ahead and take it.¡± The homeroom teacher directed me to the seat next to the girl. I began to move towards the seat before I was stopped by one of the students voice. ¡°Isn''t that Chad''s seat?¡± This will be troublesome. I couldn''t help but sigh. This was the kind of clich¨¦ I had wanted to avoid. At least that girl didn''t tackle me into a hug. Yay¡­ ¡°It''s fine, I was planning on moving his seat anyway since he''s been disruptive to those seated around him. Also the face he makes when he comes back will be great.¡± Uwa~. He''s not serious is he? I took my seat and homeroom resumed with little issues. The girl, Alicia, greeted me then remained quiet for the remaining period. Although I did catch her giving side glances every so often I simply ignored it and focused on other things. Throughout the remainder of homeroom I felt eyes on me from behind. It felt less welcoming than with Alicia, but nothing came of it and homeroom ended. The day ended with me repeating introductions for other classes. I didn''t have the same problem as I did in homeroom as most of the students were pleasant enough. It looks like I have Alicia in three of my classes. Having to walk to each class was exhausting, I much prefer the old style of sitting in one class, but it can''t be helped. There is no reason for me to squander this opportunity since I wouldn''t be staying here for too long. The following morning I head into an empty classroom along with my bag containing my kendo gear. I had received permission to use this classroom for practice from the principal since I was unable to participate in normal physical education activities. The classroom resided within the same wing of the building as my homeroom towards the back end. Many of the classrooms in this wing had remained unused for some years as this was the extra wing built intended for an overflow or influx of students. The use of the homeroom class and four others are the result of such recent influx. As I arrived in the classroom and checked my phone, it was 7:18 am. five minutes to change into my kendogi and hakama, fifteen minutes to perform my practice exercises and ten minutes to change back into my school uniform and clean up any mess I made. I entered homeroom and stored my gear bag in the back of the class. I chose to bring my gear with me to and from school rather than leaving it in the empty classroom as I did not want to have to replace it if it were stolen. When I moved to my seat and then I felt it, the tension in the air I had expected yesterday. Ah, here it comes. ¡°What the hell? Hey, who the hell are you? That''s my seat.¡± The person saying that approached my desk glaring at me with hostile eyes. He took an intimidating stance before me and continued staring me down. I looked at him analyzing the way he carried himself, the way he stood and his body shape. Thick arms, thick neck, thick legs. Is this one of those American jocks? He''s definitely stronger than me. This is troublesome. ¡°Kuroba Naoki desu, yoroshiku.¡± I decided to introduce myself the same way I did yesterday and try to ignore this person''s hostility. ¡°Hah?! Can''t you fucking speak english?!¡± This person was getting even more aggravating. Annoying¡­ ¡°Obviously I can since I''m from California. I lived in Japan for some years then moved here. Anyways, Donovan-sensei gave me this seat as my assigned sea-¡± ¡°You trying to be a smart-ass?!¡± This guy is getting even more angry. ¡°Chad, shut up. Mr. Donovan changed your seat and assigned this one to oni- Naoki when he transferred in. Your seat is over there somewhere, go away, you''re annoying me.¡± Alicia had spoken up after getting irritated by Chad''s rudeness. Although I am pretty sure that won''t pacify him at all. That''s just going to antagonize him even more. Oh, he has an anger vein on his forehead. Go ahead and hit me, I won''t feel it and it won''t end well for you. I can see him seething, but before he could say any more Donovan-sensei came in and reigned in control of the classroom before a fight could break out. ¡°Alright everyone, calm down. Chad, your new seat is over there, I did give you fair warning that I was moving you last week. Now, everyone to your seats, I have some announcements about the upcoming camping trip next month. Zach, could you pass this out? Ah, that''s right. Naoki, will you be okay for the trip? It''s not compulsory so don''t feel you''re forced to join.¡± I nodded my ascent, there was nothing stopping me from going on this trip. ¡°Alright, good to hear. Now, let''s go over the items you''ll be required to bring and what the academy will be providing.¡± As the announcement was going on I looked over towards Alicia and thanked her. She nodded with a smile and returned her attention back to the teacher. The rest of the day continued and it was unfortunate, but I shared a class with Chad. His glare is really getting on my nerves. ? ? ? I woke up at my usual time, 4:30am. My phone confirmed it even though I didn''t need to see it, it was just habit. I dropped my phone. The pain, which woke me, surged again causing me to wince and drop my phone. I felt each surge starting from my upper spine moving to my shoulders then my neck and finally my head. It became more and more unbearable, I had to stop it. In between waves of pain I reached for my bag of painkillers and chew a small handful. ¡°Calm. Comfort. Tranquility.¡± I repeated these words to soothe my mind. The pain eventually subsided and it was twenty minutes before I could tolerate the pain enough to get up from bed. My body was still stiff, but with the pill taking effect I am able to move about albeit slowly. I booted up my laptop, started the coffee maker, relieved myself on the toilet, showered, changed into my uniform, poured my coffee, made cereal for breakfast, took my medication, then started my video game to kill time. It was 6:30 am, I saved my game after capturing three provinces and queuing replacement units to replace the ones lost and to fortify security of my captured territories. After closing the game I checked my go to website for any interesting news, seeing nothing interesting I shut down my laptop and prepared my bags to leave for school. The apartment I reside in is not my own, it belongs to my middle school headmaster, my current guardian. He purchased it when he was working for this academy some years ago, but since becoming headmaster he himself no longer used it. Why did he not sell it I did not know, but him not doing so was lucky for me. Unlike the academy in Japan which was more isolated, this academy was closer to the town which lets me walk from my apartment to the campus in only fifteen minutes. Forty-five minutes from my apartment is the beach, I simply tested how long it took to walk there, I did not like the idea of being near the water. Never again. I left the apartment at 6:58am and arrived at the campus at 7:13am, another five minutes to walk across campus into the classroom to do my exercises. As I entered the main building I noticed I was being followed. They were not hiding, making it obvious they were following me. 7:18am I walked into the empty classroom and began to change into my kendogi and hakama ignoring the three people that entered after me. It had been a few days since meeting Chad and I knew he had been keeping an eye on me while in school. He really does want to be a bully, how annoying. ¡°So this is what you do when you hide yourself in here, wear pretty dresses like a fa-¡± ¡°I don''t care if you want to watch while I practice, but just stay quiet so I can concentrate.¡± Knowing his temperament I interrupted his insult. I took a stance and began my practice swings. ¡°Motherfucker, you think just because you have a wooden sword you can take us on?!¡± Annoying¡­ I ignored him and continued my swings. Seeing that I was not responding to him he approached me. I stopped my swinging since I did not want to hit him and kept my bokken at my side. Annoying! ¡°Whatever problem you have with me, get over it.¡± ¡°There''s three of us and only one of you. You won''t be able to do shit even with that weak-ass sword. And we''ll come over here everyday to teach you this lesson.¡± I don''t want to deal with this. I was not interested having a bully, but at the same time I did not want to placate him and his minions. Whatever, I just wanted to be left alone. ¡°Don''t threaten me, go speak with Donovan-sensei if you have a problem with¡­ whatever problem it is you have. Go now, I''m busy and you three ruined my mood.¡± ¡°You''re my problem and it''d be better for you to fuck off back to Japan where we can all forget about your little punk ass.¡± He moved to strike me, but I stepped backwards and avoided his jab. As I did so I swung my bokken and struck his jaw causing him to collapse to the ground. Before he could recover I swung down on his head. *Thwack* He staggered, falling back on the ground. I approached and continued my attacks, all aimed at his skull avoiding his mouth, his eyes and his nose. ¡°Hum~, I wonder¡­ if I could make you forget all of this.¡± *Thwack* Anger flared in his eyes as I continued my assault. *Thwack* He tried to fight back, but I managed the right hits to keep him unfocused. *Thwack* I only hit him hard enough to not break my bokken. His minions did nothing but watch as I wailed on their leader lying on the ground. He was already unconscious. When I saw that I stopped my attack and turned to his minions. Pointed my bokken at the closest one and touched his throat. ¡°Go ahead, go ahead and tell everyone what happened. No one will believe you. Now leave, I need to get changed. I don''t want to be late for class.¡± I flicked my bokken upwards scraping his chin then pointed them out the door. As the minions took Chad away I cleaned myself up and went to class nearly missing the bell. Before the day ended I listened to the gossip around me and learned the minions took Chad to the nurse''s office claiming he had tripped whilst horse-playing on the stairs. I took my gear bag and went home hoping that this would end that problem. Maybe I took it too far¡­ No, fuck him. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day -4¡» It was the Wednesday before our week long school camping trip, after going through my early morning routine I spent extra time playing my game on my laptop since I was skipping school today. Though, I was wearing my school uniform in case I decided to come in late. I had an appointment at the hospital where I had my surgery so I took the bus for the hour long ride. While on the bus I checked my medication for what I needed to have refilled or changed. The painkiller, the medication to correct the hormone imbalance caused by the painkiller and the experimental suppressant therapy needed to be increased. The drug was designed to be a replacement for chemo- and radio-therapy minus the severe side effects. So far the only side effects I have noticed were my inability to taste a few hours after taking the medication, my abnormal appetite and metabolism and my altered brain chemistry affecting my personality, although a few doctors had mentioned that was simply due to my age. The bus'' announcement system announced the arrival of my destination. Gathering my belongings I stepped off the bus feeling a breath of warm air contrasting the cool air conditioning of the bus. The sun rose high in the sky burning away the last of the morning chill. I pulled out my phone to check the time, 10:04am. Seeing that I decided that there would be no point in coming in late for school. Thinking of the upcoming camping trip and necessary items to bring as well as the coupons I had found I decided to go shopping after my doctor''s appointment. Walking up to the double sliding door I was bathed in the cold air of the hospital interior. I walked in and looked for my destination double-checking the map on the wall. My destination, the second floor clinic, was devoid of patients. It seemed I was the only patient for the morning. I walked up to the reception desk and was greeted by the receptionist. ¡°Good morning, are you here for an appointment?¡± I nodded and gave her my name. ¡°Okay, Naoki Kuroba for 10:15am, go ahead and have a seat and we''ll call you when the doctor is ready to see you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°By the way, that uniform, isn''t it from ¡¸Maluhia Academy¡¹? My friend''s younger sister attends that school, do you know Alicia Tachibana? The Tachibanas are quite well known at a few of the hospitals in this state.¡± Tachibana? Is that Alicia''s last name? ¡°Cute, slender girl with a ponytail?¡± I described the only Alicia I''ve met. ¡°Yes, That''s her! She always wears her hair in a ponytail. She used to have it in pigtails until a couple years ago then it became only ponytails. You know, I don''t think I''ve seen her with her hair down.¡± ¡°Pigtails?¡± ¡°You know, like this.¡± She grabbed two handfuls of hair and put it up in a twin-tail style. ¡°Oh, where I''m from it''s called twin-tails.¡± ¡°Twin-tails?! That is so much cuter than pigtails!¡± ¡°Kuroba? Naoki Kuroba? The doctor will see you now.¡± We were interrupted by one of the nurses calling for me. ¡°Oh, you''re up. Good luck.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Mr. Kuroba, have a seat. I won''t mince words, it isn''t good news.¡± He pulled out an x-ray showing my spine and head. ¡°While the original intention of the surgery was successful in removing malignant tissue around your spinal column, it was unfortunately too late. It had already spread into your cerebral spinal fluid and is threatening to breach the blood-brain barrier. The only reason you''re still alive is due to the suppressant drug suppressing any further growth and spread. You''ve already heard this before, but at best you have six months to one year left. Maybe longer if you remain on the drug.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. We discussed various things, mostly about what I am to do now. Since the company in charge of the clinical study saw my results in a (relatively) favorable outcome it was decided I would remain as a patient and given an increase in medication. The dosages were slightly changed to increase the suppression aspect while keeping my bodily functions as close to normal as possible. After two hours I left the clinic and bid farewell to the receptionist whom I had gotten along well with. ¡°Take care.¡± ¡°Un, yeah, you as well, take care.¡± When I left the clinic I headed straight to the pharmacy to get my new prescriptions filled. After that, I headed out the hospital and continued my other errands of the day. There was a nearby megastore that I had been shopping at which is where I am heading to. Since I could not drive and I did not own a bike I had to purchase the items I needed for the camping trip in small increments. Much of the needed materials needed I already owned so now it is just the last few items as well as food for the rest of the week. When the bus arrived at the stop I headed into the store. Oh, a sale week? How lucky. It seems the academy''s camping trip is a well known event and had been discounting items related to camping. I wish I was told about this so I could have saved more money. Oh well. I took a shopping cart and started browsing the aisles. LED glow-sticks, fire-starter, filter water bottle, survival straws, some toiletries and some extra clothes, especially socks. I ended up buying more than I intended. My backpack was filled and my arms carried multiple bags. It was quite heavy. I managed to make it to the bus stop and by the time I got home it was late afternoon. My dinner was fancier than usual so as to try and perk up my mood. Hearing my inevitable death sentence again and again is annoyingly demoralizing so I wanted to pick myself up. An extravagant meal to put a smile to my face. Finishing off my night was a marathon gaming session with some queued up shows I needed to finish running in the background. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day -3¡» Ji~ *Twitch* Ji~~ It was the next day and I sat in homeroom staring at Alicia next to me. She winced at my staring, but I ignored it and continued to analyze her. Her long hair tied in a high ponytail with loose long bangs, the shape of her ear, the shape and size of her eyes when she would take glances at me, the shape of her nose, the shape of her thin pouty lips. She is quite cute. ¡°W-what is it, Naoki?¡± She could no longer take my staring and broke her silence. ¡°¡­ twin-tail.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I met someone yesterday who said she knew you. She mentioned that you used to wear your hair in twin-tails until a few years ago. I was just picturing what you would look like with it.¡± ¡°But what are twin-tails?¡± ¡°Hm? What did she call it? Hm, um, uh, oh, ah. She called it pigtails.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± She thought for a moment then undid her ponytail shaking and loosening her hair with her fingers. Taking a bundle of hair she tied it up to the side, then reaching into her pencil case she took out another hair tie and mirrored tying up her hair on the opposite side of her head. After fussing with her pocket mirror and evening out her tails she gave a satisfied sound and looked towards me. ¡°How is it?¡± Super cute. ¡°Un, yeah, cute.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± She beamed with an ecstatic look. Then quickly asked, ¡°Which do you think looks better, ponytail or t-twin-tail?¡± ¡°Hmm, a twin-tail is cute, but Alicia looks prettier with a ponytail.¡± ¡°!!¡± Whoa, her face went red. ¡°A critical hit! Naoki, good job!¡± The girl behind me said so and gave me a thumbs up. I looked at her trying to remember her name then gave up and responded with a thumbs up. ¡°Alicia, aren''t you glad? He called you pretty!¡± ¡°Sh-shut up...¡± Soon after Donovan-sensei walked in and we ended our talks of cuteness and hair. ¡°Alright everyone seats, seats. Naoki, good morning. Everything went okay yesterday?¡± ¡°Un, yeah, no change.¡± ¡°I see, I see. You''re still good for the camping trip? There''s no pressure if you want to change your mind.¡± ¡°It''s fine, I can go. No problem.¡± ¡°Good to hear. By the way, here''s your homework for yesterday. You can turn it in either today or tomorrow.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± After that Alicia became more open towards me and even greeted me anytime we passed each other in the halls. When we would walk to our shared classes, we walked together. New friend, huh? That was what I was trying to avoid. Oh well, can''t be helped. At least she''s cute. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day -1¡» Saturday morning I headed to the megastore to buy some last minute items for the camping trip as well as food for the weekend. I was overexcited on Wednesday with my shopping spree I only managed to buy a bit of food for the rest of the week. I also remembered seeing Alicia''s mirror and seeing a video about how mirrors can be used in rescue operations. Since I had been using my phone as a mirror I didn''t actually own one. Also, I needed sunscreen. Even though it is no longer summer, the sun was still bright and giving me mild sunburn. After finding the items I needed I headed over to the grocery department. On my way there I ran into a familiar face. She was probably doing some last minute shopping herself. It was also probable that she was with friends since it was Saturday. When she had noticed me she called out to me. ¡°Naoki, good morning.¡± ¡°Un, yeah, you as well Alicia, good morning.¡± ¡°What''re you shopping for?¡± ¡°A small mirror and sunscreen, I keep getting sunburns since I moved here. I''m almost out so I wanted to get another bottle before the trip, ah and also shampoo and body wash. Now I''m heading to the grocery department for food for tonight and tomorrow. You?¡± ¡°I''m here shopping for bathing suits wi-¡± ¡°Alicia, they didn''t have it in my size so let''s go check over at¡­ Naoki! Oh, um, uh.¡± Alicia''s friend that sat behind me in homeroom came out of the surf shop style clothing area empty handed. When she noticed me she fumbled her words trying to think of what to do. Quickly she came up with an idea, a bit obvious even for me, she pulled out her phone and pretended to take a call. ¡°Yes, hello? Hi mom. No, just got to the store. What? You need me to come home right now? But then I''ll be leaving Alicia alone with Naoki. What? That''s fine, you say? Okay, I¡¯m heading home. ¡°So that was my mom, she said I needed to go home for something or whatever. So laters! Alicia, good luck!¡± She whispered that last part a little too loudly. It was definitely made obvious on purpose, crafty. Turning to Alicia and seeing the slight panic set in I decided to throw her a line. ¡°Your friend just ditched you, do you want to do some shopping with me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She said with a surprised gasp. I have some free time today so it''s fine. It had been months since I spent time with friends so this is a nice change of pace. Or so I thought. What I had expected to be a couple hours of walking around shopping ended up taking six hours and two bus rides to different shopping areas. It was lucky that the groceries I bought didn¡¯t spoil easily so there was no problem sticking it in my backpack. We visited different shops and Alicia had tried out a myriad of clothes from bikinis to sundresses and even formal evening gowns. She bought quite a few outfits that, obviously, I had to carry around. I think my favorite was the thigh sock and miniskirt combo. It suited her very well since it is a classic. We had only eaten a light lunch today so I was anxious to return home and prepare dinner. When Alicia was finally satisfied with shopping we sat waiting at the bus stop talking about our plans for the evening. I had thought our conversation would end when I saw my bus turn the corner, but it turned out that she was taking the same one and that she lived in the campus dormitory. The topic then turned to where I lived. ¡°Naoki, where do you live? I''ve never seen you in the dorms.¡± ¡°I''m staying in an apartment a fifteen minute walk from campus.¡± ¡°Why aren''t you staying in the dorms? Well, not like you''re the only one staying in nearby apartments, but a fifteen minute walk is kind of far.¡± ¡°I can''t do much physical activity so walking is most of my exercise.¡± ¡°Can''t do-, is there something wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing to worry about.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The conversation dulled after that. Alicia continued to sit beside me quietly. I could see she wanted to ask me something, but hesitated to do so. I remained quiet and rested waiting for my bus stop. This continued until the campus came into view and we neared the bus stop. When that happened Alicia spoke. ¡°Naoki.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Can I come over?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but there isn¡¯t much to do.¡± Hm, there goes gaming night. ¡°It''s fine. Just dinner is fine.¡± The academy bus stop came and went without a stop. It was only 4pm so it was still early for any students to return from their Saturday outing making the bus sparsely filled. Two stops later my apartment came into view. The both of us stepped off the bus and headed up to the second floor that I reside in. As we reached my apartment we were met with a courier with a long rectangular package. ¡°Afternoon, can I help you?¡± ¡°Ah yes, I have a package for, let''s see here, Kuroba Naoki?¡± ¡°That''s me, but I''m not expecting a package.¡± I looked at the return sender and saw it was someone I knew. ¡°Oh, it''s from my guardian, I¡¯ll take it.¡± ¡°Sign here, please. Thank you and have a good day.¡± After retrieving the package I invited Alicia in to my apartment. She looked around with curiosity while I took the package to the table and opened it. ¡°What is it?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°It''s my family''s katana, my grandfather gave it to me before he passed away. I had my guardian hold on to it. I guess he thought it would be better to send it to me here.¡± The letter that accompanied the katana confirmed it saying it was a reminder of my family and my family''s history. Thinking about it, my grandparents only had one child, my mother, and she only had one child, me. I might be the last Kuroba left. I shake off such heavy feelings and placed the katana in front of a picture of my grandparents and said a small prayer. ¡°Naoki...¡± Alicia saying so hugged me from behind. ¡°Un, yeah. So, let''s get started on dinner. I¡¯m starving.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I took the ingredients I bought today and set it on the counter. Took a pot, filled it with water and set it on the stove to boil. Looking into my refrigerator I pulled out the remaining ingredients that I had prepared this morning. An hour later we sat down to enjoy dinner. ¡°Is that a bottle of wine?¡± ¡°Do you want some? There should be enough for both of us if we pour half a glass each.¡± ¡°I''m not really a drinker, but yeah, I''d like to try.¡± I poured our glasses and we began to eat. As dinner progressed, I noticed that Alicia was becoming more and more tipsy. Her words were becoming slurred and her eyes unfocused. Hmm, that isn''t good. ¡°Alicia, are you alright? Sorry, I didn''t expect it would affect you this much. Do you want me to call someone to take you back to the dorms?¡± ¡°I''m fine, ish fine, erything''sh fine onii-chan. I can shtay tonight right onii-chan? I can shleep on the bed with onii-chan." ¡°You''ve called me onii-chan before. Why?¡± ¡°It''sh becaushe you''re my onii-chan~.¡± Ehh¡­ I¡¯m not getting the logic. She stood up and stumbled towards me pursing her lips in an attempt to kiss me. I grabbed her as she fell and we both landed on the floor. *chu* She managed to kiss me. I looked her in the eyes and saw she was fast becoming unfocused. *zzz* ¡°I hope that wasn''t your first kiss.¡± I managed, barely, to carry her to my bedroom and lay her down. Since she was drunk I felt uncomfortable removing any clothing and left her fully clothed. Leaving the bedroom I went to clean up the dishes. Seeing the time I figured I could sneak a couple of hours of gaming in before heading to bed. I felt satisfied after taking over four provinces with a single army stack and setting up production queues throughout my empire. I just needed to prepare for my Egyptian conquest. Turning off my laptop and remaining lights, I head to the bathroom to prepare for bed. I went straight to my bed completely forgetting there was a drunk girl already sleeping. I froze when I heard her slight snoring. The noise I made when I came in the room woke her slightly. ¡°Onii-chan? Is late, come to bed.¡± From the moonlight peeking from the window I saw her reaching out her hand to me. Feeling tired I didn''t argue and took her hand and joined her in bed. I had wanted to lay on my side facing away from her to give her privacy, but I was pulled onto my back and she laid her head onto my shoulder with her arm around my chest. ¡°Onii-chan, why don''t you remember me?¡± She whispered before falling back to sleep. I took in her words and thought about who she is, but nothing came to mind. I simply had no memory of her. This reminds me of sleepovers with Honoka. I wonder whatever happened to her¡­ I miss her. Then I slept. ? ? ? ¡ºDay of Summoning¡» Sunday morning, I awoke at 4:30am with my usual pain surging throughout my spine and head. I attempted to reach over to my painkillers, but it was out of reach. The only reason I could think of why it was out of reach was because I wasn''t in my typical sleeping position. I usually slept closer to the right center of the bed, but I was closer to left center. My medication was merely a few centimeters out of reach. It seemed during the night Alicia and I shifted sleeping position as I found we were in a spooning position. My right arm numbed from the lack of blood circulation as her head lay atop it. My left arm wrapped around her and my hand grasping something soft yet firm. It took me a few seconds to realize that my hand had snaked beneath her shirt and bra and that I was groping her bare breast while we slept. I quickly released my hand and desperately reached for my medication, each second passing made the pain more and more unbearable. My panicked struggling had woken Alicia from her sleep and she tried to comprehend what was happening. Since it was still early for sunrise and late enough that the moon was no longer in a place to shine through the window the room was considerably dark. ¡°Onii-chan, what''s wrong?!¡± She said with deep concern then felt around looking for a source of light. ¡°My phone, I found my phone, I¡¯ll call you an ambulance!¡± The screen of her phone illuminated her panic stricken face. I immediately stopped her by grasping her wrist. ¡°No¡­ bag¡­ table¡­¡± I struggled to say pointing at the nightstand beside my bed. Seeing the direction I had pointed to, Alicia found a small bag of pills and handed it to me. Taking three pills in my mouth, I quickly chewed and dry swallowed it. During the twenty minute wait Alicia returned to her spot resting on me waiting, I¡¯m assuming as it was still dark, with a worried face to speak. Twenty minutes passed and as usual I was able to move. I sat up and told Alicia that this was normal and not to worry and to go back to sleep. Even in the dark I was familiar with this bedroom layout to not need a light. I found my bottles of medication and took the first course. ¡°I''ll make you breakfast when you wake up, so go back to sleep. I have a routine I stick to so don''t mind me.¡± I did my normal routine for weekends which was nothing more than a later weekday version. Extra gaming time or reading time was typical. When I heard the bedroom door open I went to make breakfast for the both of us. When it was done Alicia joined me at the table. ¡°How come I have bacon and eggs while you only have cold cereal?¡± ¡°It''s good for hangovers, drink some coffee too, the caffeine will help.¡± ¡°I know about hangover cures, but what I mean is why are you eating only cereal?¡± ¡°I can''t really taste anything in the morning and early afternoons, so I don¡¯t bother. Just whatever is nutritious and filling enough.¡± ¡°Is it because of that medicine you take? I''ve never heard of the name on the label and searching it online didn¡¯t show anything.¡± ¡°Clinical trials, it''s not public yet.¡± ¡°Trials for what?¡± ¡°Don''t worry about it.¡± ¡°Naoki.¡± ¡°It''s fine.¡± I stopped her from prying any further. I don¡¯t want something like this to spread and told her so. When breakfast was done I helped her gather her things. She was still having a little difficulties walking so I offered to walk her back to campus or the bus stop, but she declined saying the walk will do her some good. At the door she turned around and hugged me thanking me for yesterday. After seeing her off I closed the door and began cleaning up. I didn''t want to keep anything in my fridge that would be spoiled when I returned from the camping trip so I looked up recipes to use up what I had left. When I finished writing down the recipe I started to do my packing. The military rucksack I was to use was given to me by the same person that sold me the 9mm handgun. I know I shouldn''t bring it along and that it was highly illegal, but I was compelled to bring it. It was placed in a thin case along with a box of ammunition and packed into a secret compartment in the bottom of my rucksack. No one would find it unless it was torn apart. First aid kit, camping supplies, survival supplies, toiletries and my clothing all fit snugly. There was still room for my electronics so no problem there. I took some of the first aid supplies and placed it in pockets outside the rucksack as well as food rations, nothing more than high calorie energy bars. Since I stopped making my own soap I had leftover scented oils which I placed in my rucksack as well. I had learned from camping years ago that old clothes smell lingered in a bag. Packing was done and so was the cleaning. The apartment looked immaculate, as if no one had lived here. There was no reason to leave a mess. I looked over at my grandparents shrine and looked at the katana. Unsheathing the sword I saw a beautiful blade sixty centimeters long with a smooth, wavy hamon. On the scabbard was the Kuroba family crest, three three-leaf clovers pointing towards the center. I sheathe the katana and pack it in my rucksack. ¡°Just in case.¡± ? ? ? Because of the weight of the rucksack I had to take the bus to campus. When I arrived at campus I saw Alicia waiting for me, she had texted me this morning and wanted to walk to homeroom together. We exchanged greetings and started walking, as we walked she took my hand in hers, fingers interlaced and held tightly. Arriving in the classroom we were met with different responses, I mostly ignored it until I saw Chad seething. I pulled Alicia close to me and kissed her. Then we took our seat. Suck it. The last few stragglers came into class and Donovan-sensei took roll call and read off a checklist. Seeing everything in order we lined up and head for the bus that we will be boarding. Students were separated with boys sitting on the left and girls on the right with each persons baggage in front between their legs, no doubt to avoid certain situations. Beneath the bus was the baggage storage which held all our tents, food, utensil and entertainments. A final check list was done and an announcement was made that the bus ride would take longer than anticipated due to the road on our route suffering a mudslide the night before. We would arrive by night. Then we left. ? ? ? A convoy of buses moved through the narrowing roads, I watched through the window as the day fades to dusk. Half a dozen buses filled with students of our grade drive in a single line. Hours had passed, routes had been plotted and replotted. The mudslide had been cleared, but too many hours had passed. The atmosphere within the bus was much different from this morning. The cheery talks turned to frustrated silence. Even with air conditioning there was an air of annoyance that was difficult to shake. Most students had fallen asleep, I spent the day reading from my tablet and occasionally conversed with Alicia, but like the others, the mood had become soured and our talks stilled. There was still two or three hours before we reached our target destination and tiredness reached me. I nodded off to sleep leaning against the window. ¡°Champion.¡± I heard a voice. ¡°...world.¡± A voice filled with static. ¡°Choose.¡± I concentrated until the jumbled mess of words became clear. ¡°I have found you my Champion. Your pain has called out to me. I invite you to my world. A world once had been connected to your own. Choose, my Champion, travel to my world and I shall take away your torment or remain in yours.¡± I wasn''t interested. ¡°Hm, no.¡± ¡°I see. I am saddened by your rejection. Then, my Champion, farewell and live well.¡± ¡°-from another world¡­ ordered...¡± ¡°What?! What fool dares to interfere?! This one has made his choice, do not dare sully the judgment of a goddess! My Champion, this is not of my doing, resist this fool who takes your peace-¡± ¡°Beings from another world, by my right, you are ordered to our world. Come forth!¡± I awoke from my dream to hear screams of terror. The darkness illuminated with bright colors of white, gold, blue and green. Then it was dark. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +0¡» ¡ºLocation Unknown¡» My face burned from the hot sun causing me to become aware of my surroundings. The dry, crisp grass my body was laying on, the warm air that brushed against my skin and the sounds of screaming. When I opened my eyes I saw that there was daylight in the sky. The sun still showing a late afternoon yellow glow. It should be night, how long was I unconscious for? Confused I remembered it was night, it was dark, there was screaming and the flashes which burned into my mind. Then the dream, the words from the unseen characters. Their voices too real to be a simply dream. I looked around, at the nearby shouting and confirmed this was real. Four people in armor were on the ground unmoving and another four surrounding a¡­ ¡°Is that a turtle?¡± Chapter II: Summoned II Summoned ¡ºSummoning Day ¨C Late Morning¡» ¡ºAventine ¨C Capital of Epistylia ¨C The Great Temple of Aventine¡» ¡°Father, the ritual is ready. Shall I begin?¡± ¡°Father, I am adamant that we not do this. We should not include otherworlders into our world''s problems.¡± ¡°Beloved sister, we have no choice. The summoned saved us once, they will save us again. I have spent my entire life researching the ¡¸Summoning Ritual¡¹ and the gathering of ¡¸Altar Stones¡¹. Our eldest brother had perished at the hands of the Ossians whilst defending our lands. We have no choice, we must do this!¡± ¡°Enough, both of you. I have already made my decision. Go now, complete the ritual.¡± ¡°¡°Yes father.¡±¡± Within the palace temple the emperor as well as his daughter watched as his son performed the ¡¾Summoning Ritual¡¿. In attendance were numerous priests and priestesses as well as the elite guardsmen, the Domestici. The altar was prepared by the priests while the priestesses performed numerous animal sacrifices to appease the gods. ¡°Beings from another world¨C¡± The ritual began. Great lights flashed within the temple. Stronger. A rift appeared. Lights swirled gold and white then blue and green. The thunderous sound echoed. Ten forms began to take shape on the floor. Human forms. Their appearance clearly defined. The rift grew weaker and began to fade. Then a scream. A terrible scream. The prince of the empire shrilled a pained scream as his body began to burn. Slowly he died an agonizing death. His corpse charred. His staff ashed. The altar shattered. The rift had faded. The lights had dimmed. The ritual had completed. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day ¨C Late Afternoon¡» ¡ºOutskirts of the City of Liguria¡» A ¡¸Rift¡¹ appeared in the sky, unlike those of the ¡¸Ossian Rift¡¹ with its violet coloring and streaks of red and silver, this was was a ¡¸Summoning Rift¡¹ of white and gold with streaks of blue and green. This drew the attention of a nearby patrolling contubernium, a unit of eight soldiers and two auxiliary servants, to quickly march to the area of activity. It was past midday, the surrounding area was dotted with knolls and a bountiful forest which stretched past the horizon. Tensions were high as the contubernium arrived. Nearly an hour has passed since the soldiers had moved with haste to meet whatever it was that would be spawned from the ¡¸Rift¡¹. There they found a human unconsciously laying on the ground. Thought to be a child due to his young face, however, his height claimed that of an adult. Beside him was a cloth bag not unlike those the soldiers and adventurers used. The soldiers'' thoughts of awakening the sleeping person and interrogating him were stopped by the bellowing roar of a jungle turtle in the distance. The ¡¸Rift¡¹ had drawn the attention of other creatures. ¡°Protect the child! You two, make for the nearest village and call for reinforcements under orders of a legionary of the Eighteenth Legion!¡± The decanus, a commanding rank of a contubernium, ordered. The two servants quickly left for the nearby village to fulfill their orders while the soldiers moved to battle formation to face the jungle turtle. A giant of a turtle, the jungle turtle stood nearly two meters tall and three meters wide. It charged at the formation with its sharp claws tearing through the wooden shields and leather armor. One lay dead and another critically injured. The formation broke. The remaining soldiers moved to surround the turtle stabbing at its weak points. The eyes, the neck, the inner mouth and the legs. A soldier attempted to stab the eye, but failed and had an arm bitten off and legs crushed as the turtle moved over that person. Another tried to slash the hind leg, but was kicked and slashed by the claws of its hind leg. The other were left slashed and bleeding, but still able to move. The jungle turtle ignored the soldiers and continued onto its target, the now awakened, observing Naoki Kuroba. ? ? ? Should I run? I watched the giant turtle making a beeline towards my direction. With my condition, If I run I would not get far before collapsing. The remaining Roman soldiers were injured and unable to keep pace with the turtle. My gun? I looked at my rucksack beside me. No, I do not have time to dig it out before it reaches me. My katana. If I fight¡­ I have no choice I am dead either way. I retrieved my katana and moved into an iaido stance preparing to draw my sword. My mind needed to be clear. Fixed. I fixed my position. Come closer. Focused. I focused the power of my attack. Concentration. I felt heat in my hands. I concentrated all my power into my first strike. Now. Now. NOW! ¡°RAH!¡± I drew my blade and swung at the turtle, but when I did something had followed the blade. A second blade, but made with fire, followed my attack. My first strike cut deep its neck and the ¡¶Fire Strike¡·followed through burning its wound and part of its shell. Was that¡­ fire? I was too distracted by what I saw that I could not dodge its attack in time. I moved back as quickly as I could, but the turtle''s claws slashed my abdomen. ¡°Ah...¡± I felt pain. I could feel it hurting. It was too much to handle that I fell backwards. The turtle, as well, suffered from its own wound and lurched forward falling atop me. Then my vision faded. ¡´Ding¡µ ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day - Early Evening¡» ¡°Oomph! Ugh, how much does this monster weigh?!¡± ¡°Quickly, we need to get him out. Okay, now, pull!¡± A group of adventurers arrived from a nearby village to lend aid and reinforce the legionaries. When the ¡¸Rift¡¹ was first seen that day an alarm was rung and a call for aid had already been made. By the time the auxiliary servants had made it to the village a group of adventurers were already prepared to move. After information was relayed, the adventurers swiftly departed. The adventurers were prepared for a horde of Ossians, but was met with an already dead jungle turtle and injured humans. Assessing the situation, they scattered to organize the injured and find out what had happened. The least injured legionary explained to them and the adventurers discovered another person beneath the turtle''s corpse. ¡°Is he still alive?¡± ¡°Yes, but his wound is deep. Call Claritia over here.¡± A young girl came as instructed and saw the young man on the ground. ¡°Claritia, how are the others?¡± ¡°Um, t-two have succumbed to their wounds, one is missing an arm, but his legs should recover with more healing. The other four have light in-injuries in comparison. I-I still have enough mana to treat this one.¡± ¡°Do it.¡± The healer began a short chant and light bloomed from her hands that was placed over the young man''s wound. But as soon as she did so an oddity occurred. ¡°Gah!¡± ¡°What happened?!¡± ¡°I-I don''t know! The magic was rejected somehow...¡± ¡°He''s moving and he looks in pain! Boss, hurry and think of something!¡± ¡°Because the wound is deep, pouring a healing potion would only heal the outer area of the wound. We would need to open his wound further to pour the potion inside, but ripping him open might kill him.¡± ¡°I know what to do!¡± The young healer took out a vial and with a determined look, took a mouthful of a reddish liquid and quickly placed her mouth over the young man''s mouth. She pushed as much of the liquid into his mouth using her tongue as a guide and with her hand, moved his throat to force him to swallow. ¡°Okay that''s good, he''s healing. Now bandage him up and lets sort out this place. Claritia, good work, but where did you learn that?¡± ¡°In the ¡¸Healers Guild¡¹, my instructor demonstrated it to us, but had said it was uncommon to be used since most healing magic was sufficient.¡± ¡°Hm? This sword is blue. You don''t think¡­?¡± The man whose strength lifted the jungle turtle noticed the odd sword, but was interrupted by the appearance of a legionary. ¡°The child lives? That is good news. You, adventurers, I offer you my gratitude. Most of my men live due to your intervention. Now I have a request for you. ¡°Scribe! Write these orders down.¡± One of the auxiliary servants took a wax-filled tablet and began writing down the orders. Before night came the contubernium and adventurers began to set up camp save for a single party which was making preparations to depart with young man. The jungle turtle would spoil on the way to the capital so it was decided to butcher and use the meat while the leather and shell was to be given to the young man for his part in slaying the beast. When the food was distributed, the party began their leave towards the capital of the empire: Epistylia. ¡°He owns a blue sword, what else does he have?¡± ¡°We mustn''t! If it becomes known we have stolen from a ¡¸Summoned¡¹ we could be crucified!¡± ¡°I''m merely curious young one.¡± ¡°Still, personal property is personal property!¡± ¡°You seem pretty defensive over him, have you fallen for him already?¡± ¡°T-that¡­no I have not!¡± ¡°Haha. I wonder if the legends about ¡¸Summoned¡¹ are true, what do you think boss?¡± ¡°...¡¸Summoned¡¹, huh.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +1 ¨C Early Morning¡» ¡ºOutside the City of Liguria¡» *Squirm* I felt an odd sensation in my spine. Is it morning already? It was not the same pain I was accustomed to so I was confused at this feeling.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. *Squirm* It felt as if slick threads slithered up towards my neck. It was a disgusting feeling. *Crack* ¡°Guh!¡± I felt my spine cracking. The pain surged immediately waking me from sleep. It felt as if my spine was breaking apart. I reached for my painkillers, I need more than normal. This was to much. ¡°Kyaa!¡± I felt something soft, it was too dark to see. Was it Alicia? No, it felt bigger than Alicia''s. Where are my pills? ¡°Est aliquid iniuriam?¡± ¡°Me arreptaque aliquid!¡± What the fuck? I was even more confused. That sounded like really bad Latin spoken by someone reading from a machine translator. But my thoughts clouded back to the surge of pain. I need my pills. Reaching in my pocket, I searched for my phone. In between surges of pain I managed to get the flashlight on. I ignored the voices of surprise and their, I am guessing, questions in a different language and started searching for my rucksack. I was in some kind of covered wagon and there were three people with me. They stared with shocked at the me who was shining my flashlight looking around. There it was, just out of reach. I moved my hand trying to grasp it. The pain continued to surge. I became aware of more pain emanating from my abdomen as well. Panic began setting in. It couldn''t be reached. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. Calm. Comfort. Tranquility. When I thought those words a sudden wave washed over me. The pain receded slightly and I was able to think clearly. I pointed at my rucksack hoping the big guy could figure it out. He continued speaking, but I still could not understand. He took my rucksack and moved it close to me. When he did so I was able to reach for my medication and took a large dose of painkillers. Finally I was able to calm down. The pain was dulled. I could rest easy. I still cannot understand what the hell these people are saying. When my twenty minutes passed I was able to sit up. After taking the rest of my medication I took out my tablet that had a machine translator app that I used when I played one of my strategy games. It had a lot of roman words that made me curious so I would look it up. I started translating the best I could. ¡´Ding¡µ What was that? I had thought I heard a ding sound in my head, but I could hear footsteps outside the wagon so maybe it came from there. Ignoring it I tried to understand what was going on and what had happen. I, maybe, understood three fucking words. I have no idea how to spell anything they said so translating it was pointless. At least they could understand some of what I said. They gave me some dried meat, hard bread and vinegar water. Since I was not able to taste it it was fine. During the travel, of which I have no idea where we were headed, the cute girl with pink and brunette hair kept trying to perform magic on me. That surprised me. Magic. Healing magic. It fucking hurt! I thought she was trying to torture me for information, but the big guy made a cut on his hand and she healed it. The blood that spilled out remained, but the wound closed as if it was never there. For whatever reason, it did not work on me. If this was a fantasy world then that meant little to no electricity. I had to keep my electronics off. I kept my phone on, with no service available, to keep track of day and time and managed to trickle charge it with my solar charger. Thank you Rich for this expensive prototype phone with prototype battery cells. I will buy a mil¡­ I will buy one if I ever get back. During the nights I was able to taste the food they gave me. It was absolutely disgusting. The meat was over salted and the bread was too gritty. I cannot believe they actually drink vinegar water. At least their soups and porridge was okay, if a little bland. They really need to learn what broth is. Every so often my stomach would bleed and I would cough up blood. When that happened they made me drink some pink goop. It looked nothing like a healing potion from games, but it tasted okay and it made the hurt go away. After traveling for six days we passed by large gates with large walls. We made it to the capital. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +7¡» ¡ºCapital City of Aventine - Inner Palatial Halls¡» I was escorted through mosaic floored hallways, the healer helped me walk my arm around her shoulders. The big guy carried my rucksack and, I guess, their leader walked in front. Two more people followed closely behind and around us was a different group with weird looking axes. Might be fasces, if it is then they might be bodyguards, lictors I think. We made it to the throne room and I saw two people, an adventurer looking person and what looks like a kingly person. It seems the group knows the adventurer person by the way they talk to each other. Maybe he was sent ahead as a messenger. The party leader spoke with the king person and a conversation began. I was too tired to care about trying to listen and just leaned on the girl. She''s soft My thoughts drifted until I heard something heavy being carried. When I looked I saw a giant turtle shell, it was covered in dried moss and there was a large burn mark on one end. So it died then? Good. ¡°Et ibi sunt undecim.¡± More dialogue that I did not care about took place. I had taken out my phone and took some pictures since this place looked impressive. Wait, eleven? Eleven what? Then I saw a cute girl with dark black/blue hair wearing a toga. No, I think women were something else it should be called a stola. That should be what roman women wore. Wait, where did she come from? She approached the king person and left the area only to come back a minute later with something in her hands. She went to the party leader and handed her a pouch that jingled then bowed. Then she went to me and handed me another pouch and bowed. She moved to take over the healer''s place and had me lean on her. ¡°Quod unum ad vos pertinet.¡± The party leader said to me pointing at the girl, but still, no idea what she is talking about. I looked at the girl and guess that she was going to take me somewhere to rest. It would be nice to have a bath. Six or so days without one makes me feel disgusting. Also, the wound might become infected. ¡°I need a bath. ...Bath? Bathus? Balineum?¡± ¡°Sic dominus.¡± She bowed. I guess that would be a yes. Wait, master? Before leaving the throne room I turned to the other people and bowed. They did the same and I took a picture of them. At least the flash did not go off, they might freak out. I took another picture of the healer girl¡­ for sentimental reasons. Yes, that is a good reason. They obviously had a confused look. We walked for some time while being escorted by the axemen. I observed everything around and noted how everything was so¡­ fancy. The statues, the paintings, the furniture, the architecture, the plants. All of it was amazing. Eventually it started to get less impressive, still impressive in its own right, but not compared to the palatial area. We stopped at a building and the girl said something to the guards. The guards left my rucksack on the ground, saluted and left, leaving the girl and me alone. We climbed upstairs then walked to another door. It reminded me of my apartment complex. ¡°Insula.¡± She pointed. ¡°Insula should mean island?¡­ No, apartment?¡± She opened the door and helped me enter while a person that came out of nowhere carried in my rucksack and followed us within. The insula was not the same as the ones I had learned about, but was still connected to other insulae. It was smaller than my apartment back home. The room on the left looked like a closet or coatroom, on the right a dining room. We walked further in and there was an open area like a living room. The bathroom to the far left, bedroom at the center end and a kitchen on the right. I took my rucksack from the boy that followed us. The girl spoke to him and then he left. She guided me into the bathroom and I saw almost modern plumbing. Straight in was a sink with faucet, my left had a counter top area to place items so they would not get wet, next to that was smaller room for the toilet, on my right was a stone bathtub and next to the tub was a showering area with piping above. I was impressed at the level of technology these people possessed since most stories had much more primitive technology. I placed my rucksack onto the counter and took out toiletries and clothing. I also took more painkillers since I finally had time. I turned around when I had heard some shuffling. Hm, she is naked. The girl removed her clothing and placed it on the counter next to my belongings. She was completely naked and did not cover anything. She tied her dark blue hair up and I saw her breast jiggle to her movements. She had beautifully pale skin, alabaster, she was not as slender as Alicia, but was skinnier than her friend, whose name I still cannot remember. When I looked lower I noticed that she did not have hair down there. ¡°Dominus?¡± She pulled out a clay jar and a sickle. Then tried to guide me to the showering area. I knew what they were, oil to cover the body and a strigil to scrap it off. I pointed to the items and waved them off. She had a confused look when I showed her the items I held. I carried it over and began to undress. A little nervous because she kept watching me. She took my clothing and placed it at the counter then returned and began filling the tub. This is so weird. The last person I bathed with was Honoka and she hadn''t grown ''those'' yet. I started to shower. She was surprised when I used shampoo, then again when I used a bath cloth and body wash. I was surprised when she started touching me, rubbing and massaging my back. I handed her the cloth and let her scrub me down. Whatever, when in Rome, I guess. I looked down at my wound. It was mostly healed and had scabbed over. I supposed healing potions were not very strong. It still hurt when I put pressure on it. The girl carefully washed my front. It was incredibly awkward how close she was. Feeling her skin on me. Feeling her hands glide over me. She was careful with my wound before moving lower to clean between my legs. Felt weird to let her do that, but whatever it also felt nice. Then I did the same to her, shampooing her hair, scrubbing her body and cleaning her¡­ down there. We rinsed off and I felt incredibly refreshed. A first shower in a week. Then she said something. ¡°Dominus fellare.¡± Hm, fellare, what does that mean? I felt an intense feeling that caused my vision to turn white. ¡°Oh my god...¡± When I was able to think clearly I was back on the floor and in front of me was the girl covering her mouth and swallowing. I saw what she could not swallow on her chin dripping down her chest and to her legs. Moments passed and she urged me into the tub then went back to clean herself up before joining and sitting next to me. The water was very hot and relaxing. After bathing I tried myself with my towel then did the same to the girl. My curiosity became too much so I reached out and cupped one of her breast in my hand. ¡°Nn.¡± She let out a cute moan. I let go after a minute or so satisfied with the feel of her. Hm, slightly bigger than Alicia¡¯s, but softer. I think that healer girl was even more soft. I took my toothbrush, toothpaste and floss over to the sink and started cleaning my mouth. I started with flossing since I had six or seven days worth of cured meat stuck in my teeth. There was no mirror so I could check if there was any food left, but thankfully I had bought one before the trip. All clean. Then I brushed my teeth. Before we left the bathroom the girl kept trying to tell me something, but I could not understand. Maybe something about food. I really am not sure. After changing into clean clothes I took my rucksack into the bedroom. The bed was fairly small, maybe a full size or slightly smaller. The bedroom itself was surprisingly modern albeit sparsely decorated. There was an exit leading into a balcony, which was nice. I noticed there were workers moving around. One carried pieces of wood back and forth from an outdoor storage to the first floor of the building. He looked at me and bowed before continuing his work. I remembered the girl had given me a pouch so I took it out and poured out its contents on the bed. Coins. Gold coins. After counting, it was one-hundred and twenty gold coins. It looked like authentic roman era coinage. Is this a lot? I had absolutely no idea what the value of anything was. I put most of the coins back into the pouch and pocketed three coins. Maybe I can go shopping tomorrow. No, I can not even understand the language, I would be scammed easily. I looked over at the girl who kept watching me. Maybe I can have her as a proxy. While I sorted through my pack and making sure everything was in order the girl kept trying to talk to me. Eventually she started to pantomime eating. It took some time to work out, but I think she wanted to take me outside somewhere. ¡°Convivium.¡± Was what she kept repeating. I took the time to look it up on my tablet. ''Feast'' was what it said. Thinking about it, it would help me understand this place a bit. So I tried to tell her yes. I think it got through. I also checked one more thing. I reached into the bottom of my rucksack and undid the secret compartment. And pulled out my case. My 9mm handgun and accessories was nestled inside. I took out my pistol and started to do a function check. Removed magazine, checked slide, cleared chamber, released slide stop, inserted empty magazine, checked magazine release, squeezed trigger on safety, squeeze trigger off safety. Everything check out okay. Then I checked the tactical light by attaching it to the rail. It clipped on smoothly. Tighten the lock, checked the green laser, checked the light, checked the laser/light combo, checked the finger flicks, checked the thumb flick, checked the strobe, loosened the lock, unequipped light and placed it in my pocket. Next was the bullets. Single case of fifty rounds of 9mm. thirty full metal jacket, ten jacketed hollow point, and ten soft point bullets. I loaded fifteen rounds of fmj into the magazine. Doubled checked the safety then loaded the magazine. No round was chambered. I placed the pistol behind me, tucked into my pants since I had no holster. I wore my hoodie over it to keep it hidden. Then I took my sword and tied it onto my pants. No longer feeling weakened we quickly walked out. ¡°Yoshi~, ikuzo!¡± ? ? ? ¡ºSummoned Quarters ¨C Dining Hall¡» ¡°So why exactly do we have to do this every night?¡± ¡°Um, because we need food to live?¡± ¡°Shut up asshole. You know what I mean.¡± ¡°Well, the princess did call us and said it was something important ¡­I think.¡± ¡°Yeah, I still have no idea how to structure their god damn language.¡± ¡°At least we can understand some things.¡± ¡°Their food is fucking terrible though.¡± The ten students gathered around the table were conversing, lightly wondering if something was going on. Since having been summoned, they had not understood the words of the people in this world and were confused with some becoming belligerent, terrified at suddenly appearing onto solid ground from a moving bus. The nearby priests and priestess tried to calm them the best they could. The Domestici moved to keep the emperor and princess safe. The emperor had rushed to the body of the fallen prince. Simple chaos. Screams were heard from the summoned when they finally saw the charred body laying on the floor. It took hours to be able to calm and communicate with the students, much of which was by pantomime. They were lead to a dining area and given food and drink. Each one given a place to sleep within the palace. Some students decided to share a room to feel more secure. The following day they were lead to a teaching area and had instructors begin teaching them the native language. Many noted the similarities to earth latin. Before nightfall they would be lead to the dining area to eat. Few resisted, however, and remained locked in their rooms. Eventual coaxing by the others brought them out and joined them in their new daily life. Over the days that followed they were able to learn various things, though their grasp of the language was still immature. Numbers were quickest to grasp as they followed earth latin. They learned time, eerily similar to earth at twenty-four hours, sixty minutes and sixty seconds. They learned the weeks were six days, months were five weeks and years were thirteen months. The students became more compliant, but still wanted answers. ''Solving the language barrier would give them the answers they needed.'' was their consensus. On the seventh day since their summoning the princess, who had acted as their liaison, had told them that there would be something important to discuss. It was still difficult to understand, but few somewhat understood. The students were seated at the dining tables enjoying, or rather, tolerating the dinner and conversing about things which had happened and plans of what to do when a call was made and the guards rushed to the opening door. All eyes focused on this development and watched as a young girl with dark blue hair and deep blue eyes entered. They had seen her before, a servant to the princess, but today she was not seen. Their curiosity of why was answered. ? ? ? I walked in through the door following the girl to the quiet room that turned out to be a dining room. There were familiar people seated around the table. ¡°Oh what the fuck are you doing here?!¡± Tch. He''s here? ¡°Tch. He''s here?¡± ¡°What was that?!¡± Oops, I said that out loud. I looked at the annoying person that voiced out loud his surprise. I wasn''t happy that I would have to be dealing with him here. ¡°Onii-chan!¡± Eh? Alicia? I immediately turned my focus on the voice I had hoped I would not hear, but she too was stuck here in this world. Alicia quickly stood up and ran to me pulling me into a deep embrace. Showered me with kisses which I returned. Our lips met and my hands wandered, caressing her, firmly grasping her butt. Our tongues met and after a few seconds she pulled back staring at me. ¡°Alicia.¡± The only thing I could say. When she heard that she embraced me once more resting her head on my shoulder. ¡°Holy shit, I want in on that. Naoki baby, I missed you so mu-¡± One of the other girls stood up from her seat and rushed over to us. I recognized her as someone from Chad''s group. When Alicia heard that she pulled back and turned her head to the girl, giving her a death glare. ¡°Damn Ali, no need to be scary.¡± She backed off and sat down. ¡°Seriously Zoe?¡± ¡°What? He''s hot.¡± ¡°Horny slut.¡± ¡°Careful or I might stop giving you pussy.¡± ¡°Onii-chan, what happened? Why weren''t you with us when that thing happened?¡± ¡°Starving, need food. Let''s go sit down first.¡± Alicia pulled me to a chair next to her and we both sat down. Someone else greeted me and I did greeted back. ¡°Hey, Naoki.¡± ¡°You''re here too...¡± ¡°You don''t sound glad to see me.¡± She pouted. ¡°It means you''re stuck here too.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. It''s lame here, there''s no wifi and our phones don''t work. Also we can''t charge our phones because, you know, no electricity.¡± Food was delivered to me by one of the servants and I began to eat. The others resumed eating as soon as I did. The drink was the same vinegar water, it still tasted terrible. ¡°They call it posca, it''s sour wine mixed with water and herbs. It tastes terrible. So is the food, they actually eat mice. Can you believe that?! Gross...¡± ¡°Un, yeah, it is.¡± I drank the cup empty as I was also thirsty from the walk. I signaled to the girl that escorted me by raising my cup to her and tried to communicate what I wanted. ¡°Vino¡­ vinus¡­ vi¡­ um.¡± I turned to the others and asked. ¡°Were you able to understand the language?¡± ¡°Somewhat, they''ve been teaching us, try vinum¡± ¡°Vinum¡± The girl spoke with one of the servants and walked out of the room. ¡°So why the hell are you here and why is that girl with you?¡± ¡°Chad don''t start.¡± I ignored him and continued eating. The food was¡­ well, it was better than what I had been eating since coming here. The girl came back with an amphora and filled my cup. I drank it in one sitting. It was still watered down, but it was not sour. I looked over to the girl. ¡°Stronger¡­ fortis.¡± ¡°Fortior.¡± Alicia''s friend offered. The girl looked a bit shocked when she heard that, but regained composure and bowed again before leaving. She came back with another amphora and poured me another drink. It was much stronger and much tastier too. It had some sweetness mixed in with its fruitiness. I think honey was mixed in. ¡°It''s good.¡± I looked at the girl and nodded my satisfaction. She looked relieved, but somewhat uneasy. The other servants began replacing the posca with the stronger wine. ¡°Can I try some?¡± ¡°You got drunk from a sip when you spent the night, are you sure?¡± ¡°¡°You what?!¡±¡± Ah, oops, I forgot the others were here. Oh, that person has an anger vein again. That was unintentional, letting that slip. That was One-hundred¡­ eighty percent not provocation. Yes, I will go with that. ¡°Y-you''re right, did¡­ no, back on topic. What happened to you?¡± ¡°Woke up on a grassy knoll and got chased by a turtle.¡± ¡°Haha a turtle?! Fucking loser.¡± I ignored the minion. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Some temple. Bunch of cultists in robes. Oh yeah, a barbequed guy. That was fun. You missed out.¡± So Alicia''s friend said. Another girl came into the room and joined us. She was seated near the end of the table and was surrounded by bodyguards. I looked over to Alicia. ¡°That one is?¡± ¡°Princess, the barbequed guy Veronica mentioned was her brother or fiance, I think I¡¯m mixing up the words though.¡± ¡°I see.¡± So her name is Veronica, huh? She''s cute. I turned to the princess. ¡°Ave.¡± I said with a light bow. I took out my phone and took a picture of her. Whoops, the flash went off. This startled everyone and the bodyguards began to move. The girl that was with me managed to stop everyone and I guess explain what happened. She''s pretty. ¡°She''s pretty.¡± I realized I said that out loud and turned to Alicia who was staring at me. I stared back for a few seconds thinking of what to say. ¡°But Alicia is prettier.¡± This made her smile and went back to eating. ¡°Smooth.¡± Said someone or whatever. The princess started talking to me, but the escort girl interrupted her and they talked for some time. The others were focused trying to listen in. I continued eating and drinking. The others also drank the same wine I was drinking. ¡°Dude, how are you not drunk? This stuff is strong.¡± One of the guys seated next to Alicia whispered seeing that this was my...eighth-ish up. I remembered him from homeroom, but did not know his name. ¡°I am drunk.¡± Not exactly a lie, but my medication nullifies some of the effects of alcohol. The princess started speaking to us and Alicia was translating for me. It seems there would be magic and combat training starting the next morning. She had also congratulated me on my defeat of the jungle turtle, which she claimed would take a well equipped contubernium to take down. Most of the others were impressed. ¡°Not that impressive.¡± Said the minion, I think. There was also mention of having the shell and leather for me to use and experts that can craft armor from it. I had Alicia tell her that I would like to speak with them at a later time. When dinner started to wind down and I had my fill I was ready to return to my room. The girl came to assist me while I saw Alicia and Veronica talking. Then she came up to me. ¡°Onii-chan, I want to get something from my room, would you wait for me?¡± I nodded and a few minutes later everyone else had left leaving me and the girl alone. She sat next time and since we were alone I took the opportunity to fool around with her a little. Just a little groping. They feel very nice in my hand. She was blushing the whole time. Not long after Alicia came back and saw what I was doing. ¡°Having fun? How''s her boobs?¡± ¡°Very soft. Ah that''s right. Alicia I¡¯m sorry I may have cheated on you a little.¡± ¡°Cheated? You''re just playing with her tits.¡± ¡°Well, that''s also technically cheating, but what I mean is that early today she gave me oral. I¡¯m really sorry.¡± ¡°Oh, that''s it? Not really a problem and if you really were sorry you would have let go of her boobs.¡± Though I was confused about her lackluster response we got up and left to the apartment. ¡°Oh, this place. This is where most of the servants live, I think. The language is still hard to understand.¡± Alicia and the girl would speak while we walked and she would translate some of the things they spoke of for me. After climbing the steps to the insula we made our way inside and I started to get ready for bed. Alicia went to brush her teeth first, I guess she had brought her toothbrush with her, and I went to put away my weapons. I also prepared my medication for tomorrow and set it near the bed. Alicia and I talked for awhile while in bed. She lay on my left side and rested her head on my shoulder. The girl came in and moved to lay beside me. I objected at first, but Alicia told me it was fine. The two of them spoke a bit then Alicia told me that she had told Veronica to start packing their things. It was decided that the two of the would move in to the apartment next door. ¡°By the way onii-chan, did you have sex with that girl?¡± ¡°No, of course not.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Eh? Chapter III: Practice III ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡± ¡°.¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°.¡± What? It might be good for you. How about we leave a message to that boy to meet us at Vaticano? We will be there for some time.¡± Well, we will be there for some time recruiting and delving the dungeons. But you should hurry before someone else steals him.¡± ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° Oh, I can make some breakfast sandwiches for Alicia. Never mind. ¡´¡µ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° I need allies, even if it means using her. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° She changed the subject with a dangerous question. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡´¡µ ¡° ¡° ¡´¡µ ¡° ¡´¡µ ¡´¡µ ¡°¡¶¡·¡¶¡· ¡° ¡´¡µ ¡° ¡°The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I wonder if mana is a thing and if the exhaustion and hunger are tied to it. Insufficient data. Wish there was an inventory system here. ¡° Aventine ¨C Mars Training Grounds Office For what reason am I to train them?! They can barely speak our language. They are nothing but idiot children!¡± ¡º¡» Fuck this guy! He wants cheap shots? I¡¯ll give him a cheap shot! ¡¶¡· Fucking die. Calm. Comfort. Tranquility. ¡´¡µ ¡º¡» ¡¶¡· ¡º¡» ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡º¡» ¡º¡» Champion.¡± Bored! Grimoire.¡± ¡´¡µ
¡¸¡¾Grimoire Magic System¡¿ activated.¡¹ ¡¸New user detected.¡¹ ¡¸Initializing...¡¹ ¡¸Animancy not detected.¡¹ ¡¸Initializing...¡¹ ¡¸Auramancy not detected.¡¹ ¡¸Initializing...¡¹ ¡¸Initializing physical materialization process.¡¹ ¡¸Initialized.¡¹ ¡¸Welcome User.¡¹
Chapter IV: Grimoire IV Grimoire ¡ºS-day +8¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» ¡°Uh, okay. What?¡± Reading the words that were in my mind I was left completely in a state of confusion and awe. Suddenly, pixelated aberrations started to form in front of me. Slowly it formed into the shape of a thick book. Smooth black surface with hexagonally embossed purple lines. In the center was a design similar to the engraving on my sword: a triple three leaf clover pointed inward in a silver circle background. Okay¡­ It was simply floating, yet when I moved my hands to grasp it it had weight to it. Heavy, but easy to move and had a texture of velour. When I let go it remained floating. A single finger can push it to and fro. Taking it in my hands once more I opened it. It''s pages felt like parchment. As I was caressing the page words began to form as if ink was flowing within the parchment.
Prompt: Language Available: Epistylian Unlock Requirements:10 Skill Points
My finger moved over the words pressing down as if it were a touchscreen.
Native Language: Epistylian. Learn language? [YES] | [NO]
I tapped yes. Suddenly a sharp pain went through my head as if a hundred needles simultaneously stabbed into my brain. After a minute or so the pain was gone.
¡¸Native Language: Epistylian Learned¡¹
¡°Um, ow?¡± The message faded leaving a blank page. I tried flipping the pages, but found that each was blank. Going back to the first page I started feeling around curious if there was any buttons or switches. There were none nor were there any icons to indicate any contents. Is there a main menu? The page changed showing a list of different items.
¡¸User¡¹ ¡¸Encyclopedia¡¹ ¡¸Quest¡¹
¡¸Synthesis¡¹ ¡¸Conversion¡¹ ¡¸Shop¡¹
Knowing what my stats are is important, but seeing ¡¸Shop¡¹ was more interesting and piqued my curiosity. If I could just by an item to go back to earth then problem solved. The story is done. The end. Fin. When I tapped the item and a few pages turned automatically. A new prompt appeared.
Grimoire Shop: Locked
Unlock Requirements: 1000 Skill Points Mana Storage Synthesis
Information: Able to purchase any unlocked items using stored Mana.
I couldn''t progress any further as I would need to unlock the shop to view the items. After going back to the menu I wanted to look for ¡¸Mana Storage¡¹, but since it was unlisted I went to ¡¸Conversion¡¹. The pages flipped once more.
Conversion: Locked
Unlock Requirements: 1000 Skill Points Mana Storage
Information: Able to convert Mana Stones into stored Mana. Able to convert stored Mana to Skill Points. Able to convert Skill Points to stored Mana.
Nope, still no ¡¸Mana Storage¡¹ and this thing needed it as well. With stored mana being the main currency for the Grimoire maybe I might need to shift my focus on gathering mana rather than gold. Next up,¡¸Synthesis¡¹. Looks like I found what I was looking for.
Synthesis: Locked
Unlock Requirements: 1000 Skill Points
Information: Synthesizes Grimoire Shop items. Requires stored Mana to synthesize.
Mana Storage:Locked
Unlock Requirements: 100 Skill Points.
Information: Able to store excess Mana (Must be at full Mana to transfer). Able to store converted Mana.
¡°Yoshi, purchase.¡±
Prompt: Unlock Mana Storage? [YES] | [NO] Skill Points Available: 1144
Prompt: Mana Storage Unlocked. Skill Points Available: 1044
This was a good start. With this I can start saving up for when I am able to eventually make purchases. Now to check out what quests I can do.
Quest: Locked
Unlock Requirements: 100 Skill Points.
Information: Able to spawn quests to gain rewards. Only 1 Grand Quest and 5 Subquests may be active.
Prompt: Unlock Quest? [YES] | [NO] Skill Points Available: 1044
Prompt: Quest Unlocked. Skill Points Available: 944
Prompt: Spawn Quests? [YES] | [NO]
It did not look as if there was a cost to spawn quests and I was curious what kind of rewards I could get. Money? Holy sword? Ancient relic of unimaginable power? A brand new car? A nice boat? I hit [YES] and a list appeared.
Grand Quest:¡¾Cure The Oss Curse¡¿
Information: User is afflicted with the Oss Curse, a disease which may alter humans into an Ossian. Discover a cure.
Rewards: 50,000,000 stored Mana 1,000,000 Skill Points Gift of Veiovis
Quest:¡¾Debt¡¿
Information: Personally visit the Combat Instructor and collect debt owed.
Rewards: Collected Money 100 Skill Points 500 stored Mana
Quest:¡¾Learn Auramancy¡¿
Information: Grimoires can be damaged or destroyed. Learn Auramancy (Native: Sentiomancy) to add self-preservation mode.
Rewards: Auramancy Spells: ¡¶Lie Detection Level:1¡· ¡¶Vigilance Level:1¡· ¡¶View Intent Level:1¡·
Quest:¡¾Learn Animancy¡¿
Information: Limited Grimoire functions may be used without spawning physical Grimoire to add layer of protection.
Rewards: Animancy Spells: ¡¶Mana Regeneration Level:1¡· ¡¶Health Regeneration Level:1¡· ¡¶Stamina Regeneration Level:1¡·
Quest:¡¾Magic Bag¡¿
Information: The Magic Bag is a lost technology. Rediscover it.
Rewards: 10 Random Magic Stones (Synthesis Required)
Quest:¡¾Unlocked¡¿
Information: Unlock remaining Grimoire Menus.
Rewards: 5000 stored Mana 100 Skill Points.
¡°Oss Curse? What the fuck? That''s my Grand Quest, not ''Return to Earth''?¡± The quests flickered before settling on the current selection with the grand quest was quickly set. As interesting as my other quests were the grand quest had me concerned. What the hell is an Oss Curse? I went back to the main menu and selected ¡¸Encyclopedia¡¹ wanting to find information about it.
Encyclopedia: Locked
Unlock Requirements: 1000 Skill Points
Information: All information User learns becomes recorded Data.
Prompt: Insufficient Skill Points Skill Points Available: 944
¡°Tch.¡± An expensive unlock just for an information gathering tool. Even if I get the remaining amount of skill points needed, I still have not seen my character sheet. I need to deal with that before I can deal with this. This is too much. ¡¸User¡¹ did not need to be unlocked and when I selected it new menus appeared.
¡¸Information¡¹ ¡¸Attributes¡¹ ¡¸Magecraft¡¹ ¡¸Skills¡¹
¡¸Items¡¹ ¡¸Crafting¡¹ ¡¸Achievements¡¹ ¡¸Titles¡¹
Selecting ¡¸Information¡¹ gave me generic information about myself. Name, age, height, blood type, weight, fetish, favorite foods, etc. all types of things were listed and were mostly correct. I have no interest in what was listed in the fetish panel so it was obviously incorrect. Obviously¡­ yes, obviously. There is no way that I derive arousal from the way Alicia calls me ''onii-chan''. Definitely not the reason why I ended up dating her. ...Shit. Fuck it, whatever. Completely brushing off that awkwardness I looked further and there was a list of languages. It was just a list of what I have learned. I would probably need to go into the skills menu to do any upgrades. Looking through the list I had a lot of languages unlocked, but many were marked as ''level 0''. Even if I have the spoken version unlocked I did not have the written version for each of it unlocked and vice versa. This was probably due to having played certain games that exposed players to other languages or the different people I have met. Back at the ¡¸User¡¹ menu I skipped ¡¸Attributes¡¹ and went straight to ¡¸Magecraft¡¹. I would like to confirm my magic using ability. ¡¸Magecraft¡¹ is the umbrella term for magic users, ¡¸Mages¡¹. The Grimoire states that ¡¸Divination¡¹ and ¡¸Diviners¡¹ are what the natives of this world call it, respectively. Each ¡¸Mage¡¹ had a primary ¡¸Magecraft¡¹, which is attuned to one''s highest affinity. In addition to a primary, each person is able to learn any type of ¡¸Magecraft¡¹. There were six categories in which magic is divided into from most common to rarest: ¡¾Elemental¡¿,¡¾Alteration¡¿,¡¾Protection¡¿,¡¾Domination¡¿,¡¾Creation¡¿, and¡¾Temporal¡¿. Each category was given a basic explanation. Elemental manipulated anything considered elements. Alteration changes the state of something. Protection contained healers, curers and barrier projectors. Domination had absolute or near absolute control over something. Creation was able to spawn items, possibly includes Necromancy. Temporal affected time and speed. My ¡¸Magecraft¡¹ is under the ¡¾Domination¡¿ category.
Primary Magecraft: Proficiomancy Category: Domination
Information: Learned Mage A passive Magecraft which has no discovered spells. Allows User to learn and strengthen Magecraft, Spells, Skills, and Crafting at an accelerated pace. Gain bonus Skill Points when Skill Points are earned
¡°Heh~, so that''s how I learned those spells so easily.¡± It would be a good idea to try and learn those two magics to complete the quests. But before that I should finish checking my other magic.
Prompt: Unlocked Magecraft: Mantramancy[III] Pyromancy[II] (Native: Ignimancy) Aeromancy[II] Terramancy[III] Aquamancy[I][!] Glaciomancy[I][!]
Mantramancy? I wonder what that is and what are those superscripts? The page turned and I read the details.
Magecraft: Mantramancy Category: Alteration
Information: Mantra Mage Allows User to utilize words of power as mantras. Replaces chants. Current Spells Unlocked: 3
Mantra of Pain
Information: A gift from Angerona. Allows User to inflict pain towards a target. Chance to temporarily paralyze. Single Target. Higher grades may cover Area of Effect.
Words of Power: [Agony. Torment. Pain.]
Mantra of Concentration
Information: Allows User to concentrate power to increase damage and increase mental processes. Higher grades allows granting to target.
Words of Power: [Fixed. Focused. Concentration.]
Mantra of Tranquility
Information: Allows User to bring tranquility to self or target. Reduces aggression. Higher grades may cover Area of Effect.
Words of Power: [Calm. Comfort. Tranquility.]
Magecraft: Pyromancy Category: Elemental
Information: Fire Mage Allows User to control and manipulate fire. Current Spells Unlocked: 2
Magecraft: Aeromancy Category: Elemental
Information: Air Mage Allows User to control and manipulate air. Current Spells Unlocked: 2
Magecraft: Terramancy Category: Elemental
Information: Earth Mage Allows User to control and manipulate earth, sand, stone. Current Spells Unlocked: 3
Magecraft: Aquamancy Category: Elemental
Information: Water Mage Allows User to control and manipulate water. Current Spells Unlocked: 1
¡¸WARNING! User has anti-affinity with Aquamancy. Penalty: +100% increased mana cost. Increased casting time. Unmodifiable.¡¹
¡°What the hell?¡± Is that why I felt weird this morning?
Magecraft: Glaciomancy Category: Elemental
Information: Frost Mage Allows User to control and manipulate ice, freeze water. Current Spells Unlocked: 1
¡¸WARNING! User has anti-affinity with Glaciomancy due to Aquamancy. Penalty: +100% increased mana cost. Increased casting time. Unmodifiable.¡¹
¡°Oh, what the fuck is this? Well, fuck you too, Aquamancy.¡± It seems two of my personal mantras had turned into spells. The superscripts turned out to be the number of spells unlocked. I was granted two skill points for each spell I had unlocked, but I still do not know where the larger amounts come from. When I checked the other magic types they had the descriptions of standard elemental magics. I had two spells unlocked for pyromancy called ¡¶Fire Strike¡· and ¡¶Fireball¡·. As it turned out ¡¶Fire Strike¡· was the skill I had used when I killed the giant turtle. It was nothing more than a blade of fire launched at a direction I chose. ¡¶Fireball¡· was the same. Just nothing more than a ball of fire that I had created in the kitchen. Aeromancy had the spells¡¶Gust¡·and¡¶Concussion¡·. Terramancy had three spells¡¶Earth Shatter¡·,¡¶Earth Shape¡· and¡¶Create Gravel¡·. The last two were just a ¡¶Waterball¡·and¡¶Freeze¡·. There were literally hundreds of spells available, but all had been marked ¡¸Undiscovered¡¹. It was the same with other magecrafts each one had hundreds of potential spells that could be discovered. Two of them were concerning however. The [!] sign accompanying the magic which was a warning turned out to be poor magic ability. Usable, but costly. I do not understand my anti-affinity with those two magecraft, but it seemed that affinity would decrease mana cost while anti-affinity increased mana cost. Water and ice would have been a great magic type to use, but with the increased cost¡­ how much mana do I have? I felt it was now important to understand my stats and see if I could use my skill points to increase it.
Health: 64/100 Stamina: 25/25
Mana: 71/100 Life Force: 100/100
Stored Mana: 0
Strength: 17 Intelligence: 45
Precision: 73 Wisdom: 47
Dexterity: 14 Willpower: 13
Endurance: 18 Perception: 22
Toughness: 45 Charisma: 20
Resistance: 52 Luck: 1000
Health Recovery: 1 Stamina Recovery: 1
Mana Recovery: 1 Life Force Recovery: 1
Skill Points: 944
Status Effects: Abdominal Injury (Healing)
Special Effects: Blessing of Angerona Oss Curse Toxicity Resistance
The special effects interested me and I went straight into checking it. When I tapped the blessing the information displayed said he or she was a god involved with pain, sorrow, torment and suffering. Basically a being that sounds like a bdsm god. The blessing itself dulled any pain I suffer by 50% which explains why the pain I had was not as bad as it was on earth. Add to that my constant intact of painkillers, probably makes it closer to 90% pain resistance. Another effect was that it controlled or inhibited the Oss Curse. The Oss Curse on the other hand was not great. The description matched what the grand quest described, but had an extra detail. It limited my healing from spells by 80%. Not only that, it increased the mana cost to heal me by 100%, consumed a constant rate of mana and increased stamina cost by 100%. Awesome. Bonus was my Toxicity Resistance. I had an 85% resistance to any toxins, poisons and venoms. I think the medication I had been consuming was giving me the resistance. That could explain why I do not get as drunk as most people or when I have never overdosed on my painkillers even though I had taken over thirty pills that one time I tried to commit suicide. I just ended up feeling really good then nauseated for around fifteen hours then vomiting in the bathroom. Going back I looked over my stats. It was all an inconsistent low, medium or high number mixed all about. My luck was at 1000 for whatever reason. Made zero sense as I was pretty unlucky or at least I thought so. Or maybe whomever decides what luck is is some kind of sadist. Could be that Angerona person, bdsm god. Hmph. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Maybe coming to this world and getting a chance to find a cure that wouldn''t kill me might be considered lucky. I started to distribute points here and there. Health, Mana and Stamina became 200 each. I put a single point into each of the eleven stats as well. I did not feel anything when I did that though. I checked what each one meant and it was pretty standard fantasy RPG descriptions. The cost to upgrade was a single skill point, however it becomes more expensive at certain thresholds. It also stated that there was a cap to the stats. One thousand points for each of eleven stat items, but interestingly Luck was capped at ten thousand. For the four pools and recovery stats there did not seem to be a cap at all. The recovery stats looked to be defaulted at one point per hour. Life Force determined regeneration rates at certain states such as consuming food or resting, but was also important to one''s own life. At full Life Force along with resting stats can be recovered faster. At zero Life Force a person is dead, same as if Health became zero. Health can be considered physical while Life Force can be considered non-physical. At zero Mana a person will not die, but will suffer from mana exhaustion. If one forces magic use in this state then Life Force will be consumed. At ten percent Life Force a person goes into a coma. This state is called ¡¸Mana Burn¡¹. The body will simply shut down to force the person into prioritizing regeneration of Life Force even if it is in the middle of combat. The comatose length is dependent on regeneration capabilities. For now I added ten points to each of the four recovery stats. ¡¸Skill Points Available: 518¡¹ Moving along, the ¡¸Skills¡¹ Menu listed every none magic ability I had. Cooking, chopping, slicing, sauteing, cleaning, sewing, jogging, sprinting, push ups, kendo moves, languages, marksmanship, etc. All sorts of things were listed and each could be leveled up to ten. Leveling costs were exponential with level ten costing five-hundred and twelve points for a total of one-thousand and twenty-three points. I leveled up the native language from level zero to level five which cost thirty-one points total.
1 = 1 2 = 2 3 = 4 4 = 8 5 = 16 6 = 32 7 = 64 8 = 128 9 = 256 10 = 512
¡¸Items¡¹ simply listed everything that I considered my personal property. Everything was divided into different categories from ¡¸Weapons¡¹ and ¡¸Ammunition¡¹ to ¡¸Clothing¡¹ and ¡¸Medical¡¹. When I looked into ¡¸Weapons¡¹ I noticed my sword had a name: ¡¾Fortunes Unbroken¡¿. It came off as a little chunni, but it still sounded quite cool. I needed to have ¡¸Encyclopedia¡¹ unlocked to learn it''s history, but it did give me some details. The weirdest thing about the sword was that the material was called mithrite. It was such a fantasy sounding word I had wondered how my ancestors came upon it. Is that the name of mithril? is it pure mithril or something else? Why is it blue? ¡°But it''s weird, how do I have a mithril sword? It doesn''t even feel light either.¡± All that was left to check was ¡¸Crafting¡¹,¡¸Achievements¡¹ and ¡¸Titles¡¹. ¡¸Crafting¡¹ was simple, anything I learned that is considered ''crafted'' fits in this category. Culinary was the only thing listed even though I new how to do other things. Tapping on it it showed a single recipe: ¡¸Sandwich¡¹. It seems I would need to unlock other things one by one. ¡¸Achievements¡¹ showed things that the Grimoire considered noteworthy and rewarded something. I had three listed achievements:¡¸Summoned to Another World¡¹ gave me my ability to use magic,¡¸Jungle Turtle Slayer¡¹ gave me one-hundred skill points and ¡¸Blessing From A God¡¹ gave me one-thousand skill points. ¡¸Titles¡¹ showed earned titles that were ''displayable''. Not too sure how it was to be displayed though. How one would gain a title is unknown, it just shows up for any reason at all. Four titles were listed for me: Summoned, Champion of Angerona, Samurai, Unpoisoned. Checking each title showed that it did not give any benefits, it was merely cosmetic. But why the hell do I have that title? Samurai, is it because I am Japanese? Is the Grimoire some racist asshole or something? Well, at least it sounds cool. Ah that reminds me, I need to visit the blacksmith or whoever has my turtle stuff. I suppose I can make samurai armor with it, since I am obviously a samurai. With samurai training and discipline. And obviously because I follow Bushido, obviously. Asshole¡­ With the Grimoire practically explored I wanted to send it away. I closed the Grimoire, but had no idea how to make it go away. When I thought to make it disappear it did so the same way it had appeared with the digital glitching. Now with nothing to do I took a nap.
Health: 84/200 Stamina: 200/200
Mana: 91/200 Life Force: 118/200
Stored Mana: 0
Strength: 18 Intelligence: 46
Precision: 74 Wisdom: 48
Dexterity: 15 Willpower: 14
Endurance: 19 Perception: 23
Toughness: 46 Charisma: 21
Resistance: 53 Luck: 1000
Health Recovery: 11 Stamina Recovery: 11
Mana Recovery: 11 Life Force Recovery: 11
Skill Points: 518
Status Effects: Abdominal Injury (Healing)
? ? ? ¡ºLocation Unknown¡» ¡°Pfft hahaha ha haha. He actually said ''deus ex machina''! Hahahaha! My sides! My sides are killing me! Oh I haven''t laughed like that in years. Were you able to establish communications?¡± *fua* ¡°Yes, it was exhausting, but he has unlocked the ¡¾Grimoire Magic System¡¿. Encrypting the communication line so the others would not find out took a lot out of me.¡± ¡°There, aren''t you happy? You got to speak with your precious champion. Then, now what? Even if you wanted him to travel here the humans summoned him at the other side of the planet. It was reckless what you did, trying to pull him away from the others. He could have ended up in the middle of an ocean or worse, the others would discover the summoned.¡± ¡°It turned out fine didn''t it?¡± ¡°Just barely. From where he is it would take years to travel to our location. What will you do?¡± ¡°I will wait for as long as needed.¡± ¡°We are not as immortal as we make the lower beings believe. You are the last of your blood. Your death ends your line. Same as that girl over there who refuses to speak. My line has only two left, but even they are at risk of early death. Keeping them alive along with us keeping the summoned from being known to the others is already taxing our mana reserves.¡± ¡°We will meet him soon. And there is something we can do about replenishing our mana.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± ¡°By the way, what do you think of my beloved champion?¡± ¡°I can feel that child''s anger, he should express it more, I very much enjoy seeing such seething rage. I would find him more interesting if he released himself. What about you little girl, you haven''t been manipulating things in secret have you?¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +8 ¨C Late Afternoon¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» *click* ¡°Ehehe, onii-chan is so cute~.¡± I felt the bed move. A warm feeling entered my mouth as I lay sleeping. Curling around my tongue with a sweet taste. Another feeling intruded, distracting my sleep. A hand grasping, caressing between my legs. This woke me up. As I opened my eyes I saw Alicia above me. Noticing me awake she released our kiss. ¡°Mm, morning~. Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?¡± ¡°Welcome back. Actually, I have to use the toilet.¡± ¡°Ooh, so romantic. You really know the right words to make a girl swoon.¡± ¡°Funny, help me up?¡± As we walked towards the bathroom I could hear rustling in the kitchen. Two people walked out and upon seeing us, bowed, then left. ¡°So how did it go?¡± ¡°Fine, found a lot of stuff, but I had to use some money to hire carriers since it started to get heavy.¡± ¡°That''s fine. Did you happen to find any soybeans or rice?¡± ¡°We found a bunch of beans, but I don''t know what soybeans look like and no rice either. I tried to describe it to her, but I don''t think it exists here.¡± Damn. After using the bathroom I was helped back to the bed to continue resting. Alicia stayed by my side laying her head on my shoulder. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°I''m feeling good. I should be able to move around tomorrow.¡± ¡°Don''t push yourself.¡± ¡°I''m fine.¡± The servant girl came in after a few minutes. She probably spent time organizing the things they bought. ¡°Master, this one has returned.¡± Eh? What? No way, the thing worked? I should not let her know I could understand her. I had to ignore her for now, I think that is what I had been doing when I did not understand her. Damn, I cannot remember how I acted around her now that I can understand what she says. ¡°Veronica will come by soon to make dinner, I¡¯ll also introduce you to our servants. Well, not like I know their names or anything.¡± ¡°Sure, I am starting to get hungry. Also, I could really use a bath.¡± ¡°Nope, you are absolutely not doing anything strenuous yet. You might rip your not-stitches. I¡¯ll wipe you down with a towel if you want. Or better yet, maybe have that girl do it.¡± She smirked. Um, why did she smirk? She''s planning something... The both of them left the bedroom and came back a few minutes later with a pot of hot water and some towels. After being stripped I felt the hot towel on my skin. So relaxing. ¡°Onii-chan, can I play with your tablet?¡± ¡°Hm? Yeah, sure.¡± She had grabbed the tablet that had been sitting outside in the balcony all day. Since the sun was no longer on this side of the building there was no need to keep it outside. While Alicia was playing with my tablet the servant girl continued wiping me down. Very relaxing. Alicia showed the tablet to the girl and she nodded. After putting the tablet away Alicia came back to bed with me. Snuggling up against me. Resting her head on my shoulder. ¡°Onii-chan, that girl is pretty isn''t she?¡± ¡°What are you getting at?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± The girl then went between my legs and took me in her mouth. ¡°Wait, Alicia, are you okay with this?¡± ¡°Shh, just sit back and relax. She''s so cute. Look, the way she''s bobbing her head. Oh, look look, she''s staring up at you onii-chan. She has such pretty eyes doesn''t she?¡± ¡°Ah, god.¡± ¡°Wow, she swallowed it all. Did she also swallow last time?¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± ¡°Oh fuck...¡± I felt her shiver next to me. When I looked over her face was red and eyes closed tight. Her breathing ragged. She relaxed shortly after with a glowing look and a twinkle in her opened eyes. The girl left the room after cleaning me while Alicia moved above me once more and kissed me. ¡°Onii-chan, you can fool around with any girl you want. As long as I approve of her. You can play around with my servant if you want. Even Veronica, but you can''t force her or anyone else. Ah, but you are absolutely forbidden from going near Zoe and Emily. ¡°You can''t touch them or go near them. They will try to seduce you. They''re terrible people and I don''t like them. But if you do want to fool around with someone just point her out to me so I can make sure she''s good enough to sleep with you. If you want to use your servant or even my own to practice then go ahead. You can have me anytime, just say so.¡± ¡°Why do you want me to sleep with other girls? I¡¯m not interested in being a harem king. Alicia is good enough for me.¡± There was no answer. Instead she kissed me before leaving the room to get the food I now realized was already cooked. There was a scent of garlic and onions that snaked into the bedroom from the kitchen. Dinner was soup for me and Alicia was spoon feeding me while I sat up in bed. We talked about what she had bought and if there was anything that resembled earth food. Much of what she described was pretty much what the Romans would have had back on earth. Though she did not know what soy beans looked like and there were not any potatoes, tomatoes and rice. It was unfortunate. As I watched her feeding me I could see the look on her face. Each time she moved the spoon to my mouth. Each time she wiped away any spills. Each time she smiled as I asked for more. She cared for me. She genuinely cared about me. Her feelings for me were real. Was it wrong to think I could or should use her? What I had plan for the camping trip would have devastated her. I should complete the grand quest. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +9¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» I was finally able to get up and walk around, but Alicia did not want me leaving the apartment until I was fully healed. So I asked her to go to the place that had health potions and get some mana potions and whatever ingredients they had. Also if they had alchemy stuff like a distiller or retort or whatever. Mana potions could work as a shortcut to farm stored mana. Alicia took the girl to have her show where the potion shop is. After they left I went to inspect the fridge. It was still cool how there was a fridge here and I wanted to know how it worked. But I could figure that out later. I took out all of the contents that Alicia had bought that was inside the fridge, there were more in containers elsewhere in the kitchen. I saw familiar fruits and vegetables, but a few I had no idea what they were. It was still early so I could not try to taste test it, but smelling some of them were pretty familiar. I looked for the beans and saw some that were familiar, but no soybeans. Alicia was right, there was nothing that resembled potatoes and tomatoes. No New World Crops like corn, agave, cocoa, cassava or even strawberries. Oh no¡­ that also means there is no coffee. Dammit. There were somethings that seemed out of place. I picked up a crimson thread looking spice and gave it a sniff. It was familiar to me as I had had this once and it had a distinct scent. Saffron. There were other things I recognized such as ginger, peppercorn, turmeric and even tamarind. This would mean that there was an India-like region here. Aside from vegetables and spices there were numerous fruits, nuts and meat. Easily recognizable were the apples, grapes, peaches and cherries. There were some figs, pomegranates, dates and different kinds of berries. Two kinds of meat looked familiar, pork and chicken. There were other kinds that were wrapped in cloth as well as sausage. There were some fresh fish as well. I was unsure what many of them were, but I did recognize the eel. Almonds and pistachios was easily noticeable. As well as the smell of hazelnut. I put everything back to where it was except for one amphora. The liquid was white and creamy. Unsure if it was cow''s milk or not I placed it back in the fridge. The other amphorae that were stored on shelves were all olive oil. Next to the olive oil was a glass jar of honey. There was also no wine. That needed to be fixed. Interestingly, I did find chickpeas. I had learned that people with soy allergies could not use soy sauce so a soy alternative was made. One was using coconuts some how and another was using chickpeas. I could make a soy sauce alternative with this. But this would take months or even years to produce and do not have much time. I need to find a way to prolong my life, complete the quest and find a way home. Leaving the kitchen I went back into the bedroom. I spawned the Grimoire in order to check my mana. My status showed I was still healing and that the injury was making the regeneration slower. With my mana full, mana was being stored. I decided to increase mana recovery to one-hundred and bring up some of the other attributes to thirty points.
Health: 177/200 Stamina: 200/200
Mana: 200/200 Life Force: 200/200
Stored Mana: 18
Strength: 30 Intelligence: 46
Precision: 74 Wisdom: 48
Dexterity: 35 Willpower: 30
Endurance: 30 Perception: 30
Toughness: 46 Charisma: 30
Resistance: 53 Luck: 1000
Health Recovery: 11 Stamina Recovery: 11
Mana Recovery: 100 Life Force Recovery: 11
Skill Points: 374
Status Effects: Abdominal Injury (Healing)
Mana is full and recovery looks good. Now I want to try learning a specific type of magic. One that is necessary for modern worlders. I went to my rucksack and pulled out my USB cable and wall charger. Stepping on the balcony I took my tablet that was charging and disconnected the solar charger. I sat down and laid the solar charger down and took the cable connector. Next, I pressed my finger to the connection pins, nothing happened as a connection could not be made. I needed something to reach the pin. I went back and took a safety pin from my med kit and tried again. It was faint, very faint, but I felt something. A very mild vibration. ¡´Ding¡µ I picked up my Grimoire and checked what had been learned.
¡¸Electromancy Discovered¡¹ ¡¸¡¶Detect Electricity¡· Learned¡¹
Magecraft: Electromancy Category: Elemental
Information: Lightning Mage Allows User to control and manipulate electricity. Current Spells Unlocked
Yoshi. With this I can understand electricity. Moving my electronics away from me just in case I focused on my thumb and index. I have felt this before from carpets and rubber balloons. *zap* ¡°Got it.¡± ¡´Ding¡µ
¡¸¡¶Static Shock¡· Learned¡¹
Good, now I needed to control it more. I took my wall charger which had built in regulators to prevent overcharges and power surges and connected it to my tablet. With the lowest power I could attempt i started zapping the two prongs of the wall charger. I had to be careful not to blow the charger up since i only had one. The tablet started to charge. ¡´Ding¡µ
¡¸¡¶Electric Control¡· Learned¡¹ ¡¸¡¶Electric Charge¡· Learned¡¹
¡°Haha, too easy.¡± I was successful! But I was also tired. My mana went down quite a bit. It was fortunate that I had an affinity for ¡¸Electromancy¡¹ or I would have accidentally drained all of my mana. I needed Alicia and the girl to come back with those potions since even with the increased points I have terribly slow mana recovery and I had used quite a bit. ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» Not long after I stopped my tests and put away the Grimoire Alicia and the servant girl came back. They had brought back many ingredients and tools from the potion shop and had put it away where ever there was space for it. The girl had prepared food for us so while we were eating we went through some of the ingredients. Quite a few were recognizable like cinnamon, rosemary, garlic and oak leaves. After having Alicia talk to the girl we sent her off to get some wine. Hopefully it would take some time. If no one knows about the existence of Grimoires then I do not want her leaking this to the princess or anyone else. Now that she had left I could talk to Alicia about it. ¡°Alicia, do you trust me?¡± ¡°Uh, duh? What''s up onii-chan?¡± ¡°Can you keep a secret and also can Veronica keep a secret, since I¡¯m sure you''re going to tell her?¡± ¡°Yeah, easy. I have tons of secrets that even you don''t know and Veronica isn''t someone who gossips. What''s wrong?¡± ¡°Okay, ignoring that thing about tons of secrets for now¡­ have you been hearing any ding sounds since coming to this world?¡± ¡°Yeah, it''s annoying as hell, but from what I understand it''s just a way of life here. Something about doing things correctly or whatever. Why?" ¡°If I told you that this world was some kind of weird video game world would you believe me?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°''Sure.'' Just like that?¡± ¡°Just like that. Does my boyfriend have a reason to lie to me?¡± ¡°...No.¡± ¡°Then, what kind of video game are we in?¡± ¡°Keep what happens here a secret, it is absolutely important no one that doesn''t need to know about this find out. Say ''Grimoire'', but don''t panic after what happens.¡± ¡°Huh? Okay, ''Grimoire''.¡± Apparently she had heard the same thing I did and freaked out a little. The same pixelated aberrations eventually formed and a book was floating in front of us. ¡°What the shit is this?!¡± ¡°I said don''t panic...¡± ¡°Onii-chan what¡­ I don''t understand what this is.¡± ¡°Okay, you should get a language prompt.¡± ¡°Yeah, there it is.¡± ¡°Right, before you accept it I have to warn-¡± *tap* ¡°Ow¡­ OW! Fuck, ow oh my god! Ah it hurts. What¡­ what the fuck. Why did it hurt?!¡± I held her close until she recovered. When she did I brought out my Grimoire and showed her the basics. Learning the attributes and skills and now she had unlocked the native language. Alicia''s magecraft was something called ¡¸Vindicomancer¡¹, which was in the ¡¸Creation¡¹ category and could manifest items like weapons, shields and tools for a short time. She did not have many skill points, but I showed her how I managed to get a few. We could not go further as we heard the girl return and I made her put it away while explaining my reasoning.
Primary Magecraft: Vindicomancy Category: Creation
Information: - Avenging Mage Allows User to spawn items for offense or defense. Current Spells Unlocked: 1
¡°Master, this one has returned with the wine requested.¡± ¡°Holy shit, I can understand her.¡± ¡°Mistress?¡± ¡°Girl, can you understand our words?¡± ¡°Yes master, this one understands.¡± ¡°Umu, then, would you kindly tell me your name?¡± ¡°Yes master, this one is named Saya Servilia of the Servilia House, High Servant serving the one before me.¡± Saya, huh? That''s a cute name, but isn''t that oddly Japanese? ¡°Saya Servilia of the Servilia House, I am Naoki Kuroba, Kuroba Clan Head. Tell me about your name and what a High Servant is.¡± ¡°This one is a descendant of a previous summoned hero. Those with the heroes blood may be given names left behind by the previous heroes. High Servant are slaves that is permitted to use magic as well as given higher education. A regular Servant does not possess magic, but is given an education. A lower slave is used for labor or for the use of the plebs.¡± Heh~. This is interesting. We can finally get a lot of answers now. I nudged Alicia. ¡°I am Alicia Tachibana¡­ Kuroba, wife of Naoki.¡± ¡°Wife?¡± ¡°Shh.¡± Ehh~¡­ ¡°How long ago was the previous summoning?¡± ¡°One-thousand one-hundred eighty-two years ago.¡± ¡°Who was the person that died at the ¡¾Summoning Ritual¡¿?¡± ¡°That¡­ He was Prince Ralla Reperius Epsitylia, brother and betrothed to Princess Minervina Galeria Epistylia." ¡°They were siblings?! That means siblings can marry¡­ onii-chan isn''t that great news?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°It''s almost time for dinner. Saya, help onii-chan with his bath, I will go get Veronica.¡± ¡°Don''t just ignore me, wait, come back. Dammit, what the hell?¡± Alicia bolted out the door without even a second thought. ¡°So¡­ siblings can marry? Even the peasants or whatever they are.¡± ¡°Yes master, there are no laws against siblings and first cousins marrying, but only to that point. Other familial relations are forbidden. Men may also have multiple wives on the condition that each wife can be supported by the husband and vice versa.¡± This¡­ isn''t Rome at all. I remember learning that such things were illegal in roman times. But here it is all fine and dandy? This place is weird. And what was up with Alicia? Fucking hell. Did she see my user information? It is a misunderstanding¡­ ¡°I see, then, let''s go take a bath.¡± ¡°Of Course master.¡± ¡°Ah, let''s, um¡­ let''s repeat the first day.¡± Did she blush? She did. Dammit she is cute. As we both sat in the bath soaking in the heated water Saya was sitting on my lap with my hands fondling fun parts. This was a good chance to get more information from her. She did not understand the term fridge since the people here just call it an Ice Box, original. From what she said it was powered by magic. Specifically ¡¸Magic Stones¡¹and more specifically ¡¸Frost Stones¡¹. ¡¸Magic Stones¡¹are naturally occurring in this world and can be mined, grown or found in dungeons. To grow a ¡¸Magic Stone¡¹requires slime creatures. Those can also be found in dungeons. She did not know much about dungeons, but said that what can be found there is usually what various creatures and Ossians carry. The ¡¾Summoning Ritual¡¿ that brought us here was powered using ¡¸Altar Stones¡¹. Which were destroyed when something happened. It is also used somehow in dungeons. Though no one knows how, it seems to be some kind of ancient tech. In the capital there are street lamps that are powered by ¡¸Glow Stones¡¹ I just never noticed it before. The water in here as well is powered by ¡¸Water Stones¡¹. I asked if they can be purchased and she told me that it was possible, but it would be cheaper near a dungeon town. I also wanted to know what kind of mage she was since I remember her using healing magic. Her magecraft was called ¡¸Viseremancy¡¹ which allowed her to learn from observing. Which explains why she kept making me sandwiches that were almost identical to the one I had made and why she constantly stares at me. I then asked her if she knew of an ¡¸Animancer¡¹ and ¡¸Auramancer¡¹. ¡°¡¸Auramancer¡¹? This one does not know.¡± ¡°What about a ¡¸Sentiomancer¡¹?¡± ¡°Yes, the Princess is an ¡¸Sentiomancer¡¹,but this one does not know of any ¡¸Animancer¡¹.¡± ¡°Heh~, is that so. Is she willing to teach it?¡± ¡°This one is unsure.¡± ¡°Then I have some things I want to do tomorrow. First, I want to visit the potion shop. Second, I want to visit the idiot instructor for payments owed. Third, I want you to set up a private meeting between the princess and me. Then if we have time I want to visit a magic stone shop.¡± ¡°Yes master.¡± ? ? ? Veronica and Alicia along with their servants were already waiting for us as we left the bathroom. The two were sitting at the dining table while their servants were cooking. ¡°You two took a long time in there. Did you have fun?¡± Saya blushed while I rolled my eyes. I think I saw Veronica blush too. I told them my plans and that I wanted Alicia to come along. Both of them were fine with this. Dinner was served and we ate. After dinner Alicia whispered to both servants, both of whom had startled looks on there faces. ¡°I''m leaving these two with you tonight, I have to have a talk with Veronica. We''ll see you tomorrow.¡± I knew immediately what Alicia wanted to talk to her about. They will most likely spend all night learning about the Grimoire undisturbed. ¡°Wait, the both of them? The bed isn''t that big.¡± ¡°Don''t worry about it. Goodnight.¡± *chu* God dammit, I¡¯m not going to fuck them¡­ ? ? ? ¡°Ali, are you really okay with letting him sleep with them?¡± ¡°Of course, I want him to be happy.¡± ¡°And that is what will make him happy, having sex with different girls?¡± ¡°Yup, you''re more than welcome to be his lover as well. ''Veronica Kuroba'' sounds pretty cute or do you want to hyphenate your last name? ''Veronica Tieu-Kuroba'' doesn''t really roll off the tongue.¡± ¡°Ali, no. what the hell? I¡¯m not going to be part of some harem thing you''re trying to put together.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± ¡°¡­ does he remember you yet?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°You need to tell him already.¡± ¡°He needs to remember on his own.¡± ¡°Alicia, knock that shit off and tell him. It''s pointless to keep it secret. Does your sister remember him? You said something about talking to her about him right?¡± ¡°Yeah, when I called her that morning to find out what medication he''s taking I mentioned his name. At first she didn''t know who I was taking about, but then she remembered calling him ''Nao Nao'' when we were kids. I had to hang up when I saw him at the gates.¡± ¡°Just tell him already. He''ll be happy knowing you two were reunited. I saw the look on his face when he saw you that night. He was relieved that he got to see you again.¡± ¡°But, it''ll be better if he remembers on his own.¡± ¡°God dammit Ali! If you keep too many secrets from him you might just drive Naoki away. What happens if Zoe seduces him? Then you walk in on him fucking her! Then what?! You know what she''s like. What she and Emily does! I¡¯m not even the first girl they did that with¡­ if you don''t tell him, I will.¡± ¡°Fine... Hey Veronica, see that prompt that says ''Learn Language''? Tap [YES].¡± Chapter V: Rewards V Rewards ¡º11 Years Ago ¨C Earth¡» ¡°And then, and then when we grow up we''ll get married!¡± ¡°And we''ll live in a big house!¡± ¡°Ehehe~, and I''ll give onii-chan lots of babies!¡± ¡°Huh?! That''s dumb, you can''t marry Nao-Nao.¡± ¡°Shut onee-chan! You''re just jealous because onii-chan picked me and instead of you!¡± ¡°You shut up! Dad~! Explain to my dumb sister why they can''t get married.¡± ¡°Come on you three, stop fighting. Your baby sister is taking her nap.¡± ¡°Dad~!¡± ¡°It''s fine isn''t it? Or are you jealous because he picked Alicia instead of you?¡± ¡°Hah! I told you!¡± ¡°Shut up! I don''t want to marry a dumb kid! And besides, you two will probably get sick of each other when you grow up. Probably won''t even remember any of this.¡± ¡°That''s not true! Onii-chan will never forget! Right onii-chan? Promise you''ll always remember me?¡± ¡°Yeah! I promise!¡± ¡°Yay~! And, and, promise we''ll get married and have lots and lots of babies?¡± ¡°Un, yeah! I promise I¡¯ll marry Ali-chan and have lots and lots of babies and we''ll make onee-chan jealous!¡± ¡°Naoki, it''s time to go home.¡± ¡°Kay~.¡± ¡°Onii-chan, come back and play again, okay?¡± ¡ºS-Day +9 ¨C Late Evening¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» ¡°So, wait, basically you''re just over-romanticizing an old childhood promise. Ali, there is like¡­ fifty anime series with that plot and guess what, the childhood friend never wins. But you already have him as your boyfriend so isn''t that good enough?¡± ¡°I know, but still.¡± ¡°And what''s the deal with the whole ''Harem Plan'' thing? Are you trying to be Momo?¡± ¡°I want him to be happy¡­ and fulfilled. I don''t want him to die without leaving an heir.¡± ¡°You make it sound like he''s going to die soon or something.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Shit, Ali, really?!¡± ¡ºS-Day +10¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» A metal spoon was bent to the form of a ladle. Into the amphora of milk the cream, which had settled on top, was scooped. Each scoop poured into a small glass jar. With the glass jar partially filled was sealed and shaken. ¡°Shake it like this.¡± I gave the jar to Saya to shake, instructing her to do so with vigor. With her busy, I activated the oven to preheat. A bowl was filled with flour sifted through a clean cloth. A pinch of salt was added as well. Sodium bicarbonate was not thought of as a cooking ingredient in this world it seems. I had managed to find some amongst the apothecary ingredients. It was considered an alchemy item due to its cleaning capabilities and the natives had thought to use it as a purifying agent. The acid was not that tricky to find. Simply pouring the wine into another container carefully yielded salts in the original container. Because it was mixed with wine it would affect the taste, but I decided to see how it would turn out. The crystals were strained through another cloth and added into the flour mixture. ¡°Master?¡± Saya inquired why I was having her make butter. The face she had made when I told her what it was to be used for was¡­ interesting. Apparently butter, just like in ancient Rome, was used as a skin and hair conditioner rather than a food item. So her slight repulsion was natural for her. The butter was scooped out, formed by hand, rinsed and set aside. The remaining buttermilk was poured right into the flour mixture along with some olive oil. Still just eyeballing the proportions. I used my hand to mix the ingredients into a crumb like consistency. Milk was poured and the dough was mixed until it became soft. The dough was then turned over onto a floured surface, the counter top. It was then kneaded gently and folded until it was firmly together. A makeshift rolling pin was used to flatten the dough and a knife to carefully cut it into circles. Over-mixing and over-kneading would result in a harder biscuit. These were then placed in the oven to bake. The butter we had just made was cut and a portion was placed in a heated pot. Sausage was cut out of its casing and placed into the pot to brown. Sifted flour, salt, pepper and a couple other spices were mixed in. Milk was carefully poured while I constantly stirred the pot. As the mixture thickened I poured more milk. A taste test by Saya confirmed it was delicious. ¡°Here, try this biscuit with just butter. Go on. Don''t give me that look.¡± ¡°!¡± From repulsion to surprise and delight, the faces she made was entertaining. The two other servants were sent to retrieve Alicia and Veronica. The biscuits were done as they walked through the door. Breakfast was served. ¡´Ding¡µ ¡°You know, if you need to make tons of money, starting a restaurant business wouldn''t be a bad idea.¡± ¡°Good idea, but it would take too long without massive starting capital, workers, goods and infrastructure. In the long run it''ll be something to consider though.¡± With breakfast over we finalized what each of us were to do today. While Alicia, Saya and I were to move as we had planned, Veronica wanted to explore a bit of the city. So we had two of the servants escort her. I also asked her to buy a couple of small empty barrels and have the servants find wood ash and a bundle of straw. ¡°Saya, take this with you. A gift to the princess.¡± I handed her a small bento made from a wooden box filled with the same biscuits and gravy on one side and biscuits with butter and honey on the other. Before we left Alicia stopped me. Weaving her arms around my neck and lightly kissing me from lips to my ear. Whispering to me. ¡°You have your weapons?¡± ¡°Yeah, my sword is right here.¡± ¡°What about your other weapon?¡± ¡°...Concealed.¡± She moved away pulling me by hand, we left to go to the potion shop. The shop was not too far, within the shopping area near the residential district for nobles, which was a different area from the larger market district. As we entered the shop I saw and smelled all sorts of familiar herbs, spices and various plants and roots strewn in different containers or hanging on string. Alicia and Saya did bring back a sample of all the stock that this place had. ¡°Welcome customer, welcome back mistress, welcome back sister Saya.¡± A young girl about the same age as Saya greeted us. ¡°Sister?¡± I whispered to Saya. ¡°Yes master, she and this one are both of the Servilia house. She is the apprentice to the apothecary.¡± ¡°How may this one be of assistance?¡± ¡°Do you have any books or tomes of recipes for purchase?¡± ¡°For purchase¡­ please wait while this one asks my master.¡± As she left I could not help but take a peek at her. ¡°She''s cute right? I¡¯m pretty sure all High Servants are required to be cute girls.¡± Alicia said while nudging her elbow at me. ¡°Yes mistress, the Servilia house primarily raises young girls and trains them to be sold as High Servants as well as Diviners. Those which are not suitable are sold as regular servants and are unable to bear the Servilia name. There are many houses which specialize similarly, the Pinarius house, for example, trains young boys.¡± Right, she did mention some form of slavery. The shop girl and, I am guessing, the shopkeeper walked in from the back room. Not long after we had finished talking. She was younger than I thought she would be. Probably younger than the servant. ¡°Hmm~, you don''t look like you can afford books. Well, if you have the coin I have books to sell. I have cheap scrolls with individual recipes, papyrus books that are more expensive and parchment tomes which are difficult to produce.¡± The fucking snark from this loli¡­ ¡°Prices would be a good start, but I am specifically looking for health and mana potion recipes.¡± ¡°Scrolls are the cheapest and are made of papyrus, it''s five denarii each. They degrade quickly, so you won''t be able to keep it as an heirloom. Obviously. The papyrus books are similar, but have a cover which protects it. Each book has related recipes in each volume. One aureus each. ¡°The parchment tome is, again obviously, made of parchment. Specifically that of Tauross hide. Very strong and will last for many generations if properly taken care of. The cover is made of hardened turtle shell. Each tome is one-hundred aureus. Ah, also the writing for the tomes are much cleaner than of the others.¡± Tauros? Is there a Safari Zone here? ¡°Interesting, well I only need health and mana potion recipes, but let me see the papyrus books.¡± ¡°Sure sure, let''s see, ah, this is the one.¡± She handed me a thin book that had the recipes I wanted as well as a couple more. It showed detailed instructions on what ingredients are needed and how to process it with which tools, but I had no idea what the words said. It was not exactly latin script, it was a lot more curvy rather than sharp. But there were illustrations so I can just make guesses. ¡°If those girls are with you then you already have the tools necessary since they bought it yesterday.¡± ¡°I see. Here''s two aureus, I¡¯ll take the book and some scrolls that weren''t listed in the book. Do you also have a plant guide?¡± ¡°Plants, animals, ossians, demons, materials. I deal mostly with plants. If you want the others the ¡¸Adventurer''s Guild¡¹, ¡¸Dungeon Guild¡¹and ¡¸Alchemist''s Guild¡¹will have more detailed books for most of it.¡± ¡°Then how much for the book on plants?¡± ¡°Books. And there are eighteen of them.¡± I brought out eighteen more gold coins and paid her. The scrolls that were chosen was random. Since we couldn''t carry them back to the apartment I asked her to keep it aside and I would have my servant pick it up when our errands were done. ¡°We''ll buy more potions as well.¡± ¡°We have three health and two mana potions ready. Grand-mama is out gathering more ingredients.¡± I bought the potions and we left. ¡°Hey Saya, were the prices right?¡± ¡°Yes master, in fact that shop is actually quite affordable considering this is the Patrician''s residence. The shop-owner is well liked because she had never over-priced any items.¡± ¡°I see, then let''s go and visit instructor asshole.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºAventine Training Grounds - Barracks¡» Saya brought us to a large building. It was near...ish to the training area where that incident happened. Outside and inside were various types of soldiers with different sets of armor.Saya spoke with one of the men sitting at a desk and with a raised eyebrow wanted to know why we were here. We explained why and with a "Hah!" he directed us to the person''s room. ¡°No entry.¡± A guard blocked us from entering the room. ¡°Step aside, we have business with that person.¡± ¡°I was instructed by the princess herself not to allow anyone in without her authority.¡± ¡°As I said, we have business with that person, so step aside or we will make you.¡± ¡°You dare threaten a guard?¡± He had his hand on his sword ready to draw. I held Alicia back. ¡°Look, you look tired, why don''t you go take a break. It would not do for a guard to collapse from exhaustion would it?¡± Our tensions were high, Alicia was ready to¡­ magic a weapon or something while i had my left hand on my sword and my right slowly reaching into my pocket. Saya was slightly out of the way. ¡°Just so we are clear. I was the one that made, uh, what was his name?¡± ¡°Dentus Ba-¡± Saya was saying his name, but I did not care about it, just needed a name. ¡°I was the one that made Dentus look like this.¡± I took out my phone and showed the guard a picture I had taken of that person. The guard looked at the device with curiosity, but saw what image was displayed. He looked back at me with understanding of who I, we, were. Then turned and left without a word.Once he was away I sent Saya to go speak with the princess and telling her to meet back at the apartment. When she left I had Alicia guard the door. Just in case someone were to make some noise trying to alert someone else. She would be fine, probably. I opened the door and stepped inside closing and locking it behind me. ¡°This place is smaller than I had thought it would be for a person of your¡­ stature. Oh? I would have thought someone would heal your injuries.¡± ¡°Y¡­ you! What are you¡­ doing in here?! ¡­Guards!¡± ¡°Yeah, don''t bother I sent the one at the door away. Smart kid, knows when to not be an asshole.¡± ¡°How are you¡­ able to speak¡­ so clearly?¡± ¡°Really, that is what you ask? Idiot. I am the great me, be in awe.¡± ¡°Because of you¡­ my honor was¡­ ruined. My face ruined. My career ruined. I was demoted. The princess would¡­ not let the¡­ healers heal me¡­ no potions.¡± ¡°Yeah, uh huh, boo hoo. It was your own fault for that cowardly display in a duel. If you had fought fairly you would have been fine.¡± ¡°Fairly?! You cheated! You used magic¡­ in a test¡­ of blades!¡± ¡°I cheated? I wasn''t the one that made a shameful sneak attack while the other was showing respect to the duel. You¡­ HONORLESS PIG! ¡°So anyway, I am here to collect on your debt. As well as collect fees for that shit you pulled being the little bitch that you are.¡± ¡°As if I¡­ would honor that¡­ deal.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah because you have no honor. I get that, but you will pay me.¡± ¡°Why should I?¡± ¡°Besides not having a choice? You do know that I am a summoned person right? A being from another world? The world I come from is much, much, so much different from this world. I have knowledge of many things. I have knowledge of history and the cruelties from it. I have ways that will make you beg me for forgiveness. ¡°You fucking humiliated me in front of my classmates. In front of my girlfriend. In front of the god damn princess of this kingdom. I could have easily taken your life that day. Easily. You are weak, so weak, it''s a wonder how you barbarians even still have a kingdom to live in. No one will come in here to save you. I will torture you if I have to. I have toothpicks. Do you even understand the possibilities of what i could do with those?" ¡°Then kill me. Coward. You are all¡­ talk. Show me then¡­ how honorless you¡­ otherworlders are.¡± ¡°So willing to die yet you won''t kill yourself and you call me a coward. All I want is what you owe me.¡± I drew my blade and pointed the tip at his nose. ¡°...Do it.¡± ¡°Where is my gold?¡± It was a small movement, but I saw it. His eye twitched slightly. Pointed it in a certain direction. As I thought about it I looked around the room. It was fairly large. I sheathed my blade and walked around the area he glanced at. ¡°...¡± I started poking and prodding the drawers on the desk, what looked like a cabinet and some chests. Ah, bingo. There was a hidden compartment on the wall by the desk. ¡°I guess you used to have a sweet job because this is a lot of money.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Don''t you dare!¡± ¡°How much is this? This isn''t a standard pay for a soldier right? Let me guess¡­ bribes?¡± The chest was maybe the size of a cooler, a large one. It was filled with nothing but gold coins and was very heavy. I started to do some quick counting, but it was probably over a a few thousand coins, maybe in the tens of thousands. It was really heavy. God damn, I need Alicia to help me carry this. ¡°Give it back¡­ thief!¡± ¡°You tried to kill me. I nearly died because of you. Consider this a very cheap and affordable reparation. I¡¯m sure you have more money at home with your wife or husband or little boy butt-slave. If you really did not want to lose this you should have put it in a bank. Do you even have a bank? Do you even know what a bank is? Fucking primitive barbarian. Or was I right and these are bribes that you don''t want anyone to know of it.¡± As I turned to leave he slurred out more insults and finally threats. Claim he would kill or get the whole legions to kill me. This pissed me off, he was really good at that. I took off my scabbard and looked him in his eyes. ¡°Bar bar bar. That''s how all you barbarians sound to me. Can''t you speak a proper language? One that sounds less of sucking cock? ¡°I do not take kindly to threats, savage. I will not take kindly to threats. Especially from you, Gummy McNoteeth.¡± I drove my scabbard down at his face. Hitting him again and again. Making him bleed again. Making him feel pain again. Making him crack again. He looked terrible. I took out my phone and once again a picture of his face was taken. Putting the phone away I remember seeing something in one of the drawers and went to fetch it. It was an ornate dagger, probably worth a lot of money. I casually tossed it on his stomach. ¡°If you decide you have learned your lesson and want to regain your honor, as if you ever had any to begin with, use that to kill yourself. Cut open your stomach from side to side. If you can do that then I will acknowledge that you have honor. Until then, lie there and be useless. Be grateful that I am oh so very merciful.¡± ¡´Ding¡µ I picked up the very heavy chest and opened the door. Alicia had been listening and shooing away anyone that came by. I asked her to help me with carrying the chest. It was too heavy for the both of us, but we managed to drag it outside where we commandeered a small cart and left. As we were leaving the building we walked by many soldiers. Almost all of them looked at us with an angry look. As if they were insulted, but no one said anything. No one stopped us. Barbarians... ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» Alicia and I made it home before the others I put away my sword and gun. ¡°So you already knew about my gun?¡± ¡°Yup, from the night you got drunk. Alcohol and guns don''t mix onii-chan. You should be more careful.¡± ¡°I hadn''t intended to drink so much.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± ¡°Don''t let anyone know.¡± ¡°I won''t tell.¡± We talked about what happened last night. Veronica now knows everything that we do and further more, they discovered a settings menu. I could now turn off the ¡´Dings¡µ. Being able to be rid of that annoyance was cause for a celebration. I also checked my quest.
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Debt¡¿ | Information: Personally visit the Combat Instructor and collect debt owed. | Rewards: Collected Money, 100 Skill Points, 500 stored Mana.¡¹
¡¸Skill Points Available: 474¡¹ As soon as I checked off my quest a new one showed up.
¡¸Quest:¡¾Distortus¡¿ | Information: Acquire 1000 Distortion Stones. | Rewards: 10 Orichalcum Plates (Synthesis Required) | 100 Skill Points, 500 stored Mana.¡¹
Seeing this new quest, I am assuming that ¡¸Distortion Stones¡¹were a type of magic stone. I am curious why I need to acquire so much. Not only that, was the questing system random or what? It is obviously leading me somewhere. With the new quest confirmed Alicia and I started dealing with the treasure chest. It was absolutely absurd. The coins on top were scattered and unorganized. After counting them it was around two-thousand gold coins. Beneath that were six large gold bars. Each one close in weight to the next, heavy, around thirty kilos or so. Beneath that were very neatly stacked gold coins. We started counting as much of a stack as we could. At an estimate, there was around one-hundred thousand gold coins. Factoring in the weight of the coins, the bars and the chest this should be around one metric ton. How were we able to carry it? ¡°Holy shit onii-chan, this felt like it was only a few hundred pounds, but this amount of gold should weigh much more than that.¡± ¡°Doesn''t matter now, we''re fucking rich.¡± That person was definitely doing something shady. Where did he get so much money? Maybe I was right about the bribes, maybe bribes from nobles to get their kid in the legions or something? He''s too much of a threat, I will need to do something about him. "So onii-chan, did you have fun last night?" ¡°So how exactly does the currency work here?¡± ¡°Haha fine, it''s four main coins. The lowest is the Aes. Then Sesterce or sestertius which is worth ten Aesses. A Denarius is worth ten Sesterces and an Aureus is worth twenty Denarii. I don''t know the buying power of each coin, Saya did most of the buying." ¡°Umu, we can ask her when she gets back.¡± As if on cue the door opened and we were greeted by Saya¡­ ah, no, I was wrong it was Veronica and the two servants as well as other people. Those other people were probably laborers as they carried in the items I asked Veronica to buy. Small barrels, a large barrel filled with wood ash and a bundle of straw. I had them set it in the office looking room. ¡°Have fun?¡± ¡°Oh hell yeah, being able to understand the language made shopping easier. I bought a ton of stuff. I had it sent to my apartment, Ali, I bought some things you might like.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll check it out later.¡± We had the two servants prepare our lunch while the three of us were locked in the bedroom. Veronica was surprised at the amount of money we managed to get. When she asked I told her how we came about it. I could not tell from her expression if she was angry at what I did, but she was certainly surprised by it. We decided to split some of the money so the girls can have make their own purchases while I kept the chest here. I moved it near my rucksack after I took a hundred gold coins and stashed it in my pouch. We could already smell the food being cooked and it was making us hungry, except for Veronica who happened to eat a lot of stall food while she was shopping. ? ? ? ¡ºPrivate Chambers of Minervina¡» Princess Minervina Galeria Epistylia stood at the balcony overlooking the gardens of the palace. At a distance in the center of a field of flowers a blaze could be seen. Smoke rising from burning wood. A gazebo stood at the center of the field of flowers now set aflame. Not with malice, but with ineptitude. The group of eight summoned had attempted to awaken their divination, their magecraft, one was successful. Choosing this opened field to practice was done on a whim by the summoned. And as they practiced and practiced, one summoned, who had attempted to recreate Naoki''s ¡¶Fireball¡·, successfully produced a large ball of fire which was then launched at the princesses cherished gazebo setting it ablaze. Much panic ensued as the summoned attempted to extinguish the flames. Without loose soil or sand, their attempts failed. Smoke filled the air alerting the guards and servants of the fire and as the summoned continued their squabble two high servants extinguished the fire using water magic. The princess reminisced at the years she had spent beneath the roof of the gazebo. The little area of solitude which calmed her soul. It was gone now. ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°That was built for me at the instructions of my mother. With it gone what other memories do I have left of her.¡± ¡°Princess?¡± ¡°Saya, it is good to see you once more. I heard you have been pilfering wine from our stores.¡± ¡°Yes, master had requested undiluted wine.¡± ¡°Undiluted wine, how uncultured to drink such a thing. So is there an issue that requires sending you to me or did you simply miss my being your master?¡± ¡°Master requests a meeting.¡± ¡°A meeting, what for?¡± ¡°Master wishes to learn ¡¸Sentiomancy¡¹from her highness.¡± ¡°Hm~, is that so? Where is your master now?¡± ¡°He is currently collecting debts owed to him by lord Dentus.¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, it is not as if Dentus can put up a fight, I had refused him healers so he remains bedridden.¡± ¡°Princess, regarding his request?¡± ¡°¡¸Sentiomancy¡¹? Fine, I can teach it to him. Bring him next week so we may negotiate payment. So how has their language training fared? Since they no longer associate with the other summoned I trust that you are teaching him?¡± ¡°Master can speak fluently. As well as his wife.¡± ¡°What was that? How?¡± ¡°This one does not know.¡± ¡°Find out how. Also, who is his wife?¡± ¡°The summoned introduced to you as Alicia Tachibana. She had introduced herself to me as Alicia Tachibana Kuroba. My Master''s name is Naoki Kuroba. He is head of the Kuroba Clan.¡± ¡°Clan, so the summoned are tribal? Though he seems more refined than the others, I suppose it''s a quality of being a chieftain." ¡°This one does not know.¡± ¡°Then, how has he treated you? As a high servant you carry more protection than other slaves" ¡°He does not harm me.¡± ¡°Has he bedded you?¡± ¡°No, this one has performed fellatio numerous times, but remains chaste. Master enjoys caressing this one''s body. Especially the breasts and buttocks.¡± ¡°Does his wife oppose?¡± ¡°No, in fact she encourages him to take multiple lovers. Last night she had sent her servant and another to tend to him while she left with the other summoned.¡± ¡°The girl that left with the two of them?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Did he bed the two servants?" ¡°No, they had attempted, but master had refused them.¡± ¡°Anything else to report?¡± ¡°Master had made numerous purchases of food and apothecary ingredients. He also purchased recipe scrolls and books. He has talent in such crafts. In the mornings master suffers tremendous pain which he stifles with unknown medicine. This one does not know the ailment." ¡°Tremendous pain? Describe it.¡± ¡°In the early mornings he awakens before the sun brings light. The sounds of his bone crack and break, but heal itself. The pain starts at his neck. It then travels to his head.¡± ¡°That sounds like¡­ I see. Thank you Saya. Is there anything else?¡± ¡°Master offers this as a gift.¡± ¡°This is¡­?¡± ¡°Master called it ''biscuits and gravy''. This one had observed how it was made, but does not understand the method.¡± ¡°It is delicious. See if you can discover more secrets from him.¡± ¡°Yes princess.¡± ¡°You are dismissed.¡± ¡°Princess.¡± ? ? ? There was a knock on the door, when I opened it it was Saya who had returned a few minutes ago. She greeted us and told me she had stopped by the potions shop and picked up the items I bought. It was placed in the office room. Although it was midday we could not go to the magic stones shop as the closest one was located a few hours walk and transport services were usually booked at this time. We were to try tomorrow. As we ate Saya told me that the princess had agreed to meet with me. The plan is to meet in a week when she sends her messenger. During that time I will be learning about the food and making soap to sell. Maybe open a burger shop or something. If I fail in keeping myself alive, I can at least give Alicia and Veronica a way to make money and find a way back home. Ah, that is right I have not been training for over a week. My arms are starting to feel flabby. I asked Saya for a private area for me to do some physical training. She said that many of the apartments in this insula are vacant since many were given to the summoned. This one specifically was Saya''s apartment. ? ? ? After lunch, Alicia and Veronica left with their servants to inspect what Veronica had bought. Meanwhile I went to look at the barrels and the ash. I could not tell if it was hardwood ash, but since I had no idea what kinds of wood was in this world I just rolled with it. I went to my rucksack and found my multi-tool. It had a small drill attachment and I began drilling holes in the bottom of one of the smaller barrels. After a few hours I was able to drill enough holes. I took a cloth and placed it inside the bottom to cover the holes and placed straw on top the cloth. I added many lairs of straw to ensure good drainage. When I was satisfied I started filling the barrel with ash almost to the top. I tapped it down and added more ash. Saya carried the empty barrel while I carried the full barrel to the kitchen setting the full one on top the empty. Slowly I added water causing the ash to settle a bit before adding more. I repeated this enough times until the second barrel was a quarter way full. The leached ash was discarded and new ash was added repeating the process until the second barrel was full. Satisfied with the amount of lye I extracted I had the stove lit and a copper pot placed on the stove. It was not a large pot, so I would need to add more lye to the pot as it boiled off. Eventually it will boil off and give me potassium carbonate crystals. ¡°Don''t breathe in the vapors. Keep the window open.¡± ¡°Master if you wish this one can have another servant do this in the apartment next door. This way the stove may be used for dinner.¡± ¡°Ah, I see, yes do that then. Thank you Saya.¡± ¡°Yes master, right away.¡± I used towels to remove the pot from the stove and to carry. The other apartment was identical to Saya''s own so it was easy to navigate. The servant was given instructions on what to do and what not to do. When we returned I went to clean out the spent barrel and Saya began to clean the kitchen before she started to cook. Dinner went normally. It was a roast bird of some kind. Did not taste like chicken at all. Although it turns out there was chicken here. Neat, I could make karaage or a different fried chicken. It was decided that Alicia would spend the night with me as usual and her servants would stay with Veronica. Although Alicia did try to convince Veronica to spend the night with me instead. Plans were made for the next morning as well. Alicia would go with Veronica to do more shopping and Saya and I will go to the market district. She had already made arrangements for transport. I also had her buy a bag similar to my rucksack. This way I can carry the magic stones without emptying my rucksack. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +11¡» ¡ºMerchant District¡» We were sitting in a carriage heading to where the magic stones dealer is. Going on foot would take about three hours, while on a carriage would take a little less than an hour. Saya had ordered a carruca which was a small, two person, four-wheeled covered carriage and was pulled by two horses. There seemed to be some primitive suspension as the ride was much more comfortable than that covered wagon that brought me to the capital. However, compared to earth tech, this was horrible uncomfortable. The wheels were also bad, there was an iron ring on the outside of the wheel which made a lot of noise. Because Saya had warned me about it I brought my wireless, freshly charge by magic, headphones along with my smartphone. I felt bad halfway through the trip seeing her struggling with the noise so I let her wear my headphones. She was hesitant at first, but her curiosity was too much to bear. The look on her face as she heard music from another world was adorable. Wide-eyed and opened mouth she could not understand what she was hearing. So cute. When we arrived at our destination she had trouble letting go of the headphones. She had a sad look on her face when I turned off the music on my phone. I could tell she wanted to ask questions about it, but being out in public where people could hear about mysterious technology was not a very good idea. She restrained herself and we walked towards to the magic stone shop. The streets were surprisingly clean and all the people walking around were wearing nice fineries, besides the slaves and laborers. I saw no beggars or shady looking people. I asked Saya about it. ¡°Aventine prides itself on keeping the streets clean. There are no slums within the capital. The city of Capitoline would be considered the slums. It is the southern most city and was the main trading hub which was connected to the now abandoned port fortress of Driftingscale.¡± ¡°So the kingdom is landlocked?¡± ¡°Empire master, the empire controls nineteen cities which control large territories and two of the remaining six fortresses. In between the cities are small towns and in between them are villages. Master was found in the west, outside the outer walls near the Endless forest and passed through the city of Liguria. Then passed through Palatine before arriving in Aventine.¡± ¡°I see, it would be a good idea to acquire a map while we are here as well.¡± ¡°Yes master, this one shall see to it.¡± ¡°Let''s go get the magic stones first then we can get some lunch. Veronica told me the stall food was delicious.¡± The magic stone shop was quite fancy looking. The shelves were organized by types of magic stones. Each stone was almost uniform in size and shape in a cubic form. Some were spherical and others were hexagonal. Those were separated and grouped together. The shop owner popped out of nowhere and greeted us. ¡°Welcome welcome dear customers. How may I be of service?¡± He had a merchants smile if I ever did see one. ¡°Looking to purchase some magic stones. Tell me about what types you have and their effects.¡± ¡°Of course of course, let us see here, each stone requires a mana sensitive person to activate it or you can utilize a ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹. A ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ naturally fills with mana over time and is used by contact with another magic stone or can be used by a caster to conserve his or her mana.¡± He began to list the different stones and their effects. ¡¸Water Stone¡¹ produces water. Dark blue color. ¡¸Frost Stone¡¹ produces coldness and can freeze objects. Light blue, cloudy color. ¡¸Heat Stone¡¹ produces heat with no light. Orange-red color. ¡¸Glow Stone¡¹ produces low light with no heat. Pale/pastel green color. ¡¸Bright Stone¡¹ produces high light with no heat. Pale/pastel blue color ¡¸Sun Stone¡¹ produces light and heat. Pale/pastel yellow color. ¡¸Dye Stone¡¹ produces color. Glass color ¡¸Wind Stone¡¹ produces a mild breeze. Cloudy grey color. ¡¸Charge Stone¡¹ produces a mild pain if touched. Pale/pastel amethyst color. ¡¸Silent Stone¡¹ absorbs or reduces sound and noise. Dull grey color. ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹creates a distorted field. Mixed color mosaic. ¡¸Float Stone¡¹ reduces an objects weight. Celadon green color. ¡¸Anchor Stone¡¹ increases an objects weight. Winecolor. ¡¸Appraisal Stone¡¹ identify objects. Beige color. ¡¸¡¹ ¡°Although there isn''t much use of ¡¸Distortion Stones¡¹ I had accidentally received a shipment of them, some use it as decorations for its unique patterns. ¡¸Charge Stone¡¹ is used by shepherds, ranchers and the like to keep their stock contained, but there have been uses of it to keep out unsavory company. ¡¸Dye Stone¡¹is a fun one, you imagine a color, for example, a leaf or flower and the stone will have the same color appearance. It can then be crushed and used as pigments for clothing or paint.¡± ¡°Interesting, do the shapes or sizes matter?¡± ¡°Of course of course, for most the bigger it is the stronger it is. The shape makes setting the stone easy or difficult. Better contact means better utilization. Multiple stones can be be used in an array for a stronger effect. Making the stone smaller or changing its shape weakens the potency. You can use Orichalcum to make better contact with the stones. Is there anything else dear customer would like to know?¡± ¡°What about ¡¸Altar Stones¡¹?¡± ¡°Oh my oh my, no no dear customer no one has access to such a stone. It is incredibly rare and even I have never seen one let alone have it in stock. I do apologize for such inconvenience.¡± ¡°No, it''s fine. Then, the prices?¡± Since only people with mana can manipulate ¡¸Magic Stone¡¹ their prices were not too bad. Some were much higher than others of course such as water and heat. Even with ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ not many people had the technical skills to utilize it properly. I ended up buying a minimum of three stones each with the exception of ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹,¡¸Dye Stone¡¹ and ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹ of which I bought out the entire inventory. Those two were cheap. ¡°Grand total is two-thousand and forty-eight aureus, eighty-six denarii and seventeen sestertii. Is dear customer a ¡¸Magic Stone¡¹ collector?¡± ¡°I suppose researcher would be more accurate.¡± ¡°Is that so is that so, if you require more ¡¸Magic Stone¡¹ then please think of my shop.¡± ¡°Un, yeah, thanks.¡± After leaving we wandered the square a bit and found something to eat. I took pictures of every food I saw as well as clothing and whatever else was being sold. I did get a few odd looks, but ignored it. Knowledge is important and understanding the culture is very important. The food was as good as Veronica made it out to be. I have no idea why the food at the palace was so terrible compared to this. When I asked Saya she mentioned that the royal family had ''certain tastes'' so was different from what others would eat. Watching her nibble on the food was cute I had to take a picture of her. So cute. ¡°Master if this one may ask, what is that?¡± ¡°This can take pictures of anything I point at, here look.¡± I showed her a picture of herself eating. Her response was cute. ? ? ? ¡°Oh my, what a lovely looking girl. Such beautiful blue hair. I wonder for what reason she follows that unseemly looking child. I would very much like to make her mine.¡± ¡°My lord? It is time for the meeting. Please follow this one.¡± ¡°Already? It seems I have lost my chance at acquiring a new girl. You there, do you know who that one with the blue hair is?¡± ¡°Forgiveness my lord, this one does not know that person.¡± ¡°Disappointing, well what are you waiting for? Take me to the meeting place.¡± ? ? ? After eating we did a bit more shopping and managed to find a map, some tools, cooking utensils and metals, mostly copper. I also bought some cloth and leather. I could try practicing some crafting and get some skill points. When this was done we went back to where the carriage was parked and loaded the items. We boarded and left. I gave Saya the head phones again and had her sit on my lap. She undid her top and gave me access to her breasts. I played with them for a good while while Saya listened to music. Since she could not hear herself she was moaning much more frequently than normal. The volume of her moans were still quieted, but hearing it, even in the noise of the carriage wheels, was incredible. I could not help myself. I took her chin in my hand and tilted her face. She looked up at me. I leaned down and kissed her. Her lips were so soft. I slipped my tongue in her, she gasped. Was this a first for her? Her tongue felt even softer than her lips. Pulling away I looked out the window and saw where we were. Thinking up how long before we would reach or destination I nudged her down between my legs. Undid my pants zipper. She moved her mouth over me. ¡°Ah.¡± It was amazing. ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» After returning to the apartment I put away the newly acquired ¡¸Magic Stones¡¹ in the office and locked myself away as well. I took out my Grimoire and checked the quests.
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Distortus¡¿ | Information: Acquire 1000 Distortion Stones. | Rewards: 10 Orichalcum Plates (Synthesis Required) | 100 Skill Points, 500 stored Mana.¡¹
Error: Synthesis locked. Orichalcum Plates will remain in queue.
It made me curious. If the quest asked for one-thousand then it must be important. So what happens if I ended up buying five-thousand? Chapter VI: Learning VI ¡º¡» ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹¡¶¡· ¡¸¡¹ ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹
¡¸¡¾Runomancy¡¿ Ability to enchant any item. A most useful endeavor. |Rewards: Runomancy Spells:¡¶Enchant Object Level:1¡·,¡¶Re-enchant Object Level:1¡·,¡¶Disenchant Object Level:1¡·¡¹
? ? ? n front of me was the map Saya had bought on our outing. It seems I was wrong about this territory. Epistylia was an Empire, not a kingdom just as she said. ¡¸¡¹six cities arranged in a hexagonal formation connected with a wall. Another hexagon surrounded that, but the formation was turned slightly so the alighnment was not concentric, also connected with a wall. The next layer was in the same formation as the first and a final layer furthest out followed the second layer formation connected, by yet, another wall. The six fortresses were further out, isolated. ¡° ¡° traced, when it did I took my bottle of orange oil and placed a few drops to scent it. The soap formed and thickened leaving a liquid which should be glycerol. The mixture was strained with a cloth with a container to catch the liquid and the soap was forced into a mold. ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹The dealer''s words were accurate. All the stones performed the way he explained they would. ¡¸¡¹ Even though this was just a very miniscule step, my plans move forward. fter resting and recovering my mana I tested the ¡¸¡¹Just as the dealer said it created a distorted field. It was small and the distortion resembled the privacy glass panes in some showers. Or mosaics in certain movies I have never watched before. Aside from keeping things away from prying eyes, I had no idea what to do with these. The quest made a big deal out of these things, maybe I need it for the magic bag quest. ¡¸¡¹ Judging from the size of each stone this was probably what made the treasure chest easier to carry. ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ like an oil slick on water. I am pretty satisfied with this. The next batch of soap I make I should try using the¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹I thought it would be a simple thing to operate, but I was wrong. My thinking was that I feed mana into the stone then try to analyze something. When that did not work I tried touching the stone to the object. Same thing. I may have to go back to the dealer to learn how to use it. ¡¸¡¹ ? ? ? ¡º¡» measuring instruments would be nice. The next batch of lye crystals were ready. I wanted to try purifying it to get pearl ash. A small portion of lye crystals were placed in the oven. ¡¶¡· ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Umu, I should cook them something special. ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡°¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹
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? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Why did Saya and the other servant go somewhere else? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Wife? I see, interesting. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡°¡­ ¡°¡­ ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡°¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹ I wonder if I could make rolled egg. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° And she saw me working on my pistol. ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° I? that''s the first time I heard her say that. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­ ¡° ¡° This was resolved pretty easily. Chapter VII: Cheating VII Cheating ¡ºS-Day +16¡» ¡ºImperial Palace¡» It was early in the morning as we walked the halls of the palace. Saya was guiding me to the princess'' chambers. I was already starting to memorize the path as we passed each dimly lit lamp and identical stone column. We were greeted by the same servant and I was led into the bedroom. The princess was seated in the same seat as she was yesterday. ¡°Before we begin I want to make something clear. Saya will no longer be supplying you with information nor will Illyria and Cassia be acting as your spies. Privacy is a given right in our world.¡± *sigh* ¡°It is not as if they were sent to spy on all of you. Monitoring all of the summoned to ensure our safety was necessary. Those that are summoned gain power that potentially rivals the great diviners of this world. We could not afford to to let you move unchecked. It is not as if you are in chains.¡± ¡°Prisoners without chains remain prisoners. I am not interested in looking over my shoulder in fear because I earned the ire of someone in power. If your people are uninterested in returning the ones that were kidnapped to this world, I will do it myself.¡± ¡°And how will you do that?¡± ¡°Through any means necessary.¡± ¡°¡­ I understand how you feel. The other summoned wish to return to their world as well, but my father has already made the order to reform the Third Legion and wishes for the summoned to be incorporated within. Father is even willing to allow you to become Optio or even a Centurion if you wish.¡± ¡°Refused. I''m not here to play soldier and die for your wars.¡± ¡°It may be best to start your lessons. The topic is starting to get heated.¡± Fine, whatever. ¡°Yes, you''re right. Tell me about ¡¸Sentiomancy¡¹.¡± ¡¸Sentiomancy¡¹ is the magic of being able to read one''s intent. Hostilities, lies, affection. One whom has mastered the magic can be a powerful negotiator. The fact that the Princess of the Empire is such a diviner allows her to manipulate any negotiations and squabbles to her favor. I was unable to learn such a magic in a single day. ? ? ? ¡ºImperial Palace ¨C Summoned Quarters¡» *knock knock* ¡°Naoki? Hey man, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here. Did you need something because training is gonna be soon.¡± ¡°It won''t take long, can I come in?¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, come in.¡± After training with the princess, I was guided to the summoned quarters where the others reside. My reason was simple, procure technologies to aid in my plans. After two weeks in this world, most of the electronics should be in an unusable state. I met with Vince. ¡°Can you leave your servant outside? I want to talk privately. Saya, you stay out here too.¡± ¡°Um, sure.¡± ¡°Yes master.¡± I walked into Vince''s room and was surprised at how large it was. It was a scaled down version of the princess'' villa-esque chambers, but it was still much larger than the high servant''s quarters. ¡°This place reminds me of my apartment back on earth.¡± ¡°Shit man, it was that big? I was staying in the dorms. Tiny. Where are you staying now? Zoe keeps trying to find where you''re staying. She''s got the hots for you.¡± ¡°Nearby, I¡¯d rather not have Zoe find out.¡± ¡°Haha yeah, total man-eater. So, about why you''re here?¡± ¡°I heard you have a drone. Can I have it?¡± ¡°Dude, I can''t just give it to you. How about a trade, can I have your servant?¡± ¡°No, what if I buy it?¡± ¡°¡­ one-hundred gold.¡± ¡°Hahaha, ten gold.¡± ¡°We already heard that you got paid after you beat the shit out of that combat instructor guy. So¡­ hundred.¡± ¡°Do you have a Fivepro?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± ¡°Okay, throw that in along with any SD cards and I¡¯ll pay up.¡± ¡°Hell yeah, you got a deal!¡± Is a hundred gold a lot? I handed over the pouch of coins and put away the drone and controller along with the camera and SD cards into a small leather bag I brought along. The drone was a medium size meant for camera usage and can stay airborne up to around half an hour and can transmit up to two kilometers. After he was done I made a request of him. ¡°Vince, if you talk the others into selling some of their unwanted electronics or other stuff to you I¡¯ll buy it. For a fair price of course. Five gold for electronics and a few silver for the miscellaneous ones.¡± ¡°Earth stuff?¡± ¡°Yeah, nothing that''s been used. I don''t need, like, used panties or anything weird.¡± ¡°Pretty sure if you ask, Zoe will give you hers for free.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Kidding man, kidding. Anyways it''s almost time for practice. You gonna join?¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t really want a repeat of what happened. Oh right, I¡¯ll be around the palace for the next few days or so, so if you need to contact me just send your servant to meet with the princess'' servant. Don''t tell Zoe.¡± ¡°The princess? You hooking up with her?¡± ¡°Nope, she''s helping me with something. I should go, I need to visit the blacksmith.¡± ¡°Yeah, laters man.¡± ¡°Later.¡± Saya and I were heading to the craft-smiths location, but were stopped by¡­ someone. ¡°Hey Naoki~. What are you doing here? Were you looking for me? That makes me happy~.¡± Fuck... She moved forward putting her arms around my neck bringing her face close to mine. *chu* I turned my head away letting her kiss my cheek. ¡°Aww why? Judging from where your hands are you don''t mind this. How about we go into my room and have some fun.¡± Oh god dammit. ¡°Sorry, who are you?¡± ¡°Wow, how mean. You have no problem groping my cute little butt, but you pretend to not know my name? I¡¯m usually the dominant, but for you, I suppose I can try being a sub.¡± ¡°I''m actually busy and I¡¯m not going to cheat on Alicia.¡± ¡°Come on, she doesn''t have to know. We can make it a quickie. I¡¯ll let you cum inside me. Here, give me your hand.Feel that? This is how wet you make me.¡± She is soaking... She tried to pull me towards her room, but I would not budge. ¡°What''s wrong? Come on, even if we don''t have sex you can come in and rest. You look exhausted¡­ or stressed, it''s kinda hard to tell with you.¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m exhausted, I¡¯ve been busy trying to figure out ways to go home and find ways to find ways to return home. I¡¯m tired, I want this done with.¡± ¡°Return¡­ home? Why? This place is paradise for us. We are free. Free to do what we want or who we want. Free from the burdens of our families and their expectations. And the people here worship us. I love to be worshiped. Babe, how could you want anything else.¡± ¡°This world has nothing I want. Once I return to earth I will finally get my own freedom.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°Master, you will be late for the appointed meeting.¡± Saya interrupted us. I nudged Zoe away. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m busy. And I¡¯m not interested.¡± I turned and walked away with Saya following behind leaving Zoe standing alone. ¡°Why the fuck not?! Your sushi roll says otherwise! Ugh!¡± ¡°¡­Zoe, why the fuck are you yelling so early in the morning? It''s annoying.¡± ¡°Fucking Naoki gave me blue balls Em...¡± ¡°He was here?¡± ¡°You just missed him¡­¡± ¡°You''re not in love with him are you? You got this lovesick maiden shit going on and it''s weird.¡± ¡°Dude, he managed to hook up with Alicia the Ice Queen. The girl that refuses to be around guys. Any guy that can get her must be amazing. Plus¡­ he was so hard when I pressed up against him. It was a nice size. I want it inside me so bad Em!¡± ¡°Uh-huh, let''s go get breakfast.¡± ¡°Wait Em, I need to cum bad. Eat me out please.¡± ¡°Fine, but hurry up. I¡¯m hungry and not for that.¡± ? ? ? ¡°God dammit, Saya is there anywhere we can be alone¡­ privately?¡± ¡°Yes master, please follow this one.¡± Saya led me to a side room that resembled a linen closet, a large walk in linen closet with windows for some reason. The walls had shelving that held folded and bolts of cloth. I looked down at Saya who was already on her knees and undid my zipper. ¡°Unf god damn...¡± ? ? ? ¡ºPalace Smithy¡» It was the second time I had met with the armorsmith and leatherworker. Yesterday was just a meet and greet with a bunch of ''Oh we are the best in the Empire'' and ''Not even those upstarts at Esquiline can match our skill'' so nothing about designs had been done. The leather had been tanned and was ready to use. For the shell it would need to be cut by the workers into workable parts. I decided to go with a lamellar style scaled armor. Pieces of wood were cut and holes were drilled to be used as a template. Multiple scales were made and twine was used to bind it. It took a few tries to get the looping of the twine to be right. Then my measurements were taken to give them an idea of how many scales would be needed. The ridge of the shell was curved and had small spikes protruding from it. That would be cut and used as shoulder guards. The leather was to be used as the under armor as well as the bindings for the scales and other armor pieces. The mask and helmet would be using leather and shell. Iron would be added to the helmet for more protection. The craftsmen assured me it would take one month to finish as they would utilize extra workers to have it finished. With this settled I went to visit a swordsmith. A quick lunch was had before visiting the swordsmith. Saya had prepared it while I was with the armor and leather workers. My reason for visiting the swordsmith was simple, I wanted to see what kind of tools they were using. Since I was already accustomed to wielding a katana I would need to figure out how to make one using the local tools. The forge looked like any modern non-mechanized forge. A hearth with bellows connected, an anvil next to a tub of water for quenching, hammers, chisels, tongs and other types of tools needed to manipulate the metal. The only mechanized part of the forge was the bellows connected to a waterwheel. I had the smith let me observe his process. This was good enough. We went back home and I had to talk with Alicia about what had happened earlier. Fun. ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» Alicia greeted us as we walked in the apartment. After depositing my loot into the office I took Alicia to talk about what had happened. ¡°Excuse me? What do you mean you finger fucked Zoe?¡± ¡°I didn''t penetrate and she had surprised me. I¡¯m sor- oof...¡± She grabbed me by my shirt and dragged me into the bathroom. Stripping off my clothes and vigorously washing me. ¡°We need to purify your body. She has desecrated it.¡± After the thorough cleaning we sat in the bathtub with her leaning on me. ¡°I know you won''t cheat on us so easily, but I already told you Zoe would try to seduce you. She is manipulative and will sleep with anyone she can. She''s dangerous to be around¡­ I¡¯ll tell you why I hate her so much. ¡°You already know how innocent Veronica is. She was raised in a strict household and was forbidden from dating. Her older sister had gotten pregnant and was kicked out, that made her parents crackdown on Veronica. Anyway, she figured that they wouldn''t find out she had a boyfriend if they kept it at school so she started dating this guy that she really liked. She wouldn''t do anything with him besides holding hands and hugging. She still never had her first kiss yet. So of course he wasn''t satisfied with not being able to fool around.¡± ¡°Then that''s when Zoe comes in?¡± ¡°She has a fetish for stealing peoples boyfriend or girlfriend. She loves going to parties and have the guy walk into a room only to find Zoe on her back with his girlfriend''s head between her legs and vice versa. But in this case Veronica got a note to meet up at a gym storage room. When she got there she saw her boyfriend laying on his back with Zoe riding him and Emily sitting on his face. ¡°I wanted to beat the shit out of her, out of all three of them, but Zoe''s dad is on the board committee. If I did anything Veronica would get punished. She even threatened that she would let Veronica''s parents know that she had been fucking around. So we did nothing. Onii-chan, stay away from her. Now that we have magic she might try to use some kind of mind control to take you away from me.¡± The night ended with an uncomfortable tenseness. ? ? ? ¡ºS-day +17¡» ¡ºPrivate Chambers of Minervina¡» ¡°Any word on the ¡¸Animancer¡¹?¡± ¡°Yes, there was one found and is being transported here. However, there may be a problem that you may not like.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The child does not understand his magic making it difficult to teach it to others.¡± ¡°The fact that he has it is enough. I can figure something out.¡± ¡°Then, back to our lessons.¡± The lessons continued, but I was still unsure if I had learned the magic or not. I still had a problem understanding how it works. Even though the general idea was simple enough I had trouble with it. Maybe she is just a terrible teacher. The servant at the door made no mention of any messages for me so Saya and I went straight home. ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» We were in the next door apartment thinking of how to lay out the chickpea production. I took the sack of wheat and had Saya coarsely mill a small portion of it while I roasted and cracked the remainder. The shallow box was placed atop the dining table. I had made sure it was watertight by testing it and checking for leaks. When I was satisfied I drained the water and used air magic to dry it. The roasted wheat was set aside while the milled wheat was mixed with water and honey then left outside on the balcony. I wanted the natural yeast, as well as the captured wild yeast in the air, to start blooming. In a large cauldron I mixed the chickpeas and water which I left to a boil. I emptied out anything that was left in the barrel and took it outside. The servant kid helped me carry it down the stairs. Once outside I used ¡¶Flame Thrower¡· and deeply charred the interior, being careful not to fully ignite it. Water was used to douse the embers. Once it was back upstairs I checked on the cauldron. It still needed some time to cook. ¡°Saya, what was the barrel made out of?¡± ¡°Oakoo wood. It is believed to have been created by the past summoned using a nature magic. The tree itself grows at an abnormal rate being able to harvest within five to six months. ¡°Because of its growth rate it has overtaken many areas and cut off access to three outer fortresses. Many of the outer cities harvest as much of the oakoo as possible, but because of numerous threats are only able to focus on small areas.¡± ¡°Ah right, that forest you mentioned before.¡± After a few hours the chickpeas were done. I scooped them out into the box and mixed the wheat in. The yeast already present on the wheat as well as the yeast from the air had started to multiply. The honey had acted as a starter food to have the yeast multiply. This was mixed into the wheat/chickpea mixture. The mixture would need to ferment for a few days so we left it as is with instructions to the servant kid to mix it every few hours and once before nightfall. A couple more test batches and if this works I have insurance for Alicia and Veronica. With that settled I went to visit Veronica for another mana potion. She was busy doing potion research in my office. Her apartment would have given her much more room to set up her equipment. When I asked her about it she said that it was simply easier for the both of us to work on potions and she can keep the potions nearby. ¡°Plus I only go to my apartment to sleep, shower and change clothes.¡± ¡°So by the way, I never learned what your magecraft was.¡± ¡°Huh, what are you talking about? I told you last week when we started the potion stuff.¡± Uh¡­ ¡°Right, so what was it again?¡± ¡°Dude¡­ okay fine tell you what, make me some french fries and I¡¯ll tell you what my magic thingy is.¡± ¡°That seems unnecessary.¡± ¡°I''m hungry and craving some fries. So yeah.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± ¡°Wait, really? I thought there weren''t any potatoes here.¡± Just like there was tamarind and other India-origin foods and spices in this world, there was also taro. I remember eating taro in stews and hot pots and hearing about how it can be mashed and fried, but I never had that. This was a good chance to test it. The first thing I need was my peeling knife. I kept some of my knives with me since I had intended to do the cooking during the camp. The taro was cleaned and peeled, french cut then soaked in a bowl of water. Olive oil was poured into a pot and heat. Unfortunately olive oil was a poor oil to use for frying, especially without a thermometer since the smoke point is low and we are unable to control the temperature here. ¡°Ah, I have an idea. Saya can go you pick up some pork back or pork fat or even suet or is it too late in the day?¡± ¡°This one can procure some from the palace kitchen.¡± ¡°Palace huh? Okay.¡± ¡°Master, what is ''suet''?¡± ¡°It''s the fat that can be found near the kidneys of some animals. It''s hard and white.¡± Saya left as I was testing the oil. I kept removing and adding wood to try and control the temperature and keep it from smoking. A few test taros were dried and placed in the oil. Once it started to brown I took it out and let it cool. ¡°Oh shit that''s right, I can take out my Grimoire now.¡± My Grimoire materialized floating in front of me. Opening it I saw that I had five-hundred eighty-two skill points available. This was gained mostly from the skills and a few spells I had unlocked. Recipes became more organized as I unlocked similar dishes. ¡¸Sandwich¡¹became its own category, of which, I had unlocked twenty recipes. The same went with soups, biscuits, gravies, and other things. Soap making and the precursor refining as well as the newly unlocked chickpea sauce manufacturing netted me numerous skill points. My stats have not changed since I last checked it, but I did confirm that I had learned ¡¸Viseremancy¡¹. I looked around and saw that ¡¸Auramancy¡¹ was grayed out and the progress bar showed [18%]. When I tried adding a skill point it nothing happened. Most likely need to have it learned first to unlock then I can increase its level. Whatever, I¡¯ll figure it out later.
¡¸Magecraft: Viseremancy | Category: Domination | Information: Observant Mage ¨C User is able to learn skills and spells through visual stimulation.¡¹
The last time I check the Grimoire I was only focused on changing the settings to disable the ¡´Dings¡µ notifications neglecting the other options since I was too busy celebrating. I found out that attributes would not increase on its own, not anymore at least. What happens is that when the¡¾Grimoire Magic System¡¿becomes active it forcibly prevents attribute increases by converting it to a skill point. The fried taro had cooled down enough to eat. When I tried one it was starchy in the center, it needed to be cooked more. I dropped the pieces back into the hot oil and let it cook. Before I went back to browsing the Grimoire I went to grab a pencil to test something. [Motherlode] Nothing happened. I thought I saw a pop up, but I got distracted from the popping sound of the oil. When I looked back there was nothing. [player.additem f 500] [player.additem 0000000f 500] The words disappeared with nothing happening. One more try. ¡ü¡ü¡ý¡ý¡û¡ú¡û¡ú ? ? Again nothing happened, but the oil started smoking so I threw my pencil onto the Grimoire and rushed to remove the taro fries before it burned. It was slightly burned, but it was just a small test batch. NBD. Hm? Where did my pencil go? I checked around and couldn''t find my pencil, but it was not important as I still had more in my binder. Ignoring that and while the fries were cooling I went back to checking the Grimoire. I wanted to upgrade some spells and soap making skills, but unlock the shop was my priority with skill points right now. Ah, I should check the taro fries. I started to eat the taro fries, it was really good, but it needed salt. As I reached for some salt a piece of fry had dropped from my mouth. ¡°Oops.¡± The piece of fried taro fell onto the Grimoire and something odd happened. The taro melted. Just melted. It just *blurped* right there liquifying and disappearing into the Grimoire. ¡°Whoa, that was¡­ different.¡± A prompt soon appeared and disappeared. ¡´Copied: Fried French Cut Taro +5 Skill Points¡µ What? ¡°Holy fucking shit¡­¡± This was so freaking cool. I tried dropping a raw taro fry. Then other things around me. ¡´Copied: Raw French Cut Taro +5 Skill Points¡µ ¡´Copied: Raw Taro Corm +5 Skill Points¡µ ¡´Copied: Olive Oil +5 Skill Points¡µ ¡´Copied: Wooden Spoon +5 Skill Points¡µ Veronica walked in as I was looking for more things to drop in. ¡°Holy shit no way, you actually made french fries?! Oh man, these are really good, but these aren''t potatoes right? Needs a little salt though. Hey Naoki, you okay?¡± ¡°Veronica, holy shit Veronica. Look at this.¡± I took a cup and placed it on the Grimoire. ¡´Copied: Wooden Cup +5 Skill Points¡µ ¡°What the fuck?! How?!¡± ¡°We need to tell Alicia about this. Start copying other things. We need the skill points to unlock some of the other menus. We need the ¡¸Grimoire Shop¡¹.¡± ¡°Ye-yeah, we need more plants from the Apothecary, we''re almost out.¡± I went straight to the bedroom and into my rucksack. I also took some coins from the chest. The coin and a gold bar were copied. Paper, graphing paper, lined paper, index card, eraser, and a pen were copied, but when I tried a pencil I received a different prompt. ¡´Error: Item Data Present in System¡µ Copied items won''t be recopied avoiding any exploits to farm extra skill points. Guess that answers where my pencil went. I dug into my rucksack and pulled out three bullets. One FMJ, one jacketed hollow point and one soft point. Each were copied, but I was curious of something. It took a bit of work with my multi-tool, but I managed to disassemble one of the FMJ rounds. ¡´Copied: 9mm Full Metal Jacket Round +5 Skill Points¡µ ¡´Copied: 9mm Jacketed Hollow Point Round +5 Skill Points¡µ ¡´Copied: 9mm Soft Point Round +5 Skill Points¡µ ¡´Copied: 9mm Full Metal Jacket Bullet +5 Skill Points¡µ ¡´Copied: Granulated Nitrocellulose/Graphene Powder +5 Skill Points¡µ ¡´Copied: 9x19mm Brass Casing +5 Skill Points¡µ ¡´Copied: Small Pistol Primer +5 Skill Points¡µ So cool. Veronica walked in with her Grimoire and a bunch of medicinal plants. She joined me on the bed and started separating the plants for me and Alicia to copy while I gave her a bunch of my own items, except the bullets as I only had so many of them. I took some things from my med kit that had multiples of an item as well as my medication. ¡°Hey, about that thing if I make you french fries.¡± ¡°Oh right, ¡¸Celeromancy¡¹, I can make a small time dilation field around an object to speed things up because obviously my would-have-been future of chemical engineering meant I can make a ''time warp''. It''s what I¡¯ve been using when I make potions, but it uses up a ton of mana.¡± ¡°How fast can you speed things up?¡± ¡°Um¡­ a few minutes, but i managed to get it up from seconds so yeah, I¡¯m pretty badass.¡± ¡°Teach it to me?¡± ¡°Sure, make more fries. Oh and I want that custard that you made last time. So good.¡± ¡°¡°Master, this one has returned¡±¡± As we talked both Saya and Cassia announced at the same time their arrival. We both greeted them and I got up from the bed taking my Grimoire with me. ¡°Ah right, I left the stove on. Saya go ahead into the kitchen and clear a space.¡± ¡°Cassia, could you wait for me in the study? I¡¯m going to clean up here.¡± As I was leaving the room I turned around and watched Veronica as she continued laying down while putting away some of the things from my rucksack. I did not notice it before, but she was wearing booty shorts. She has a cute butt. ¡°Naoki, are you perving out on my butt?¡± ¡°...No.¡± ¡°Lies.¡± ¡°You have a cute butt.¡± She wiggled her hips. ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± I recalled my Grimoire out of view from our servants and walked into the kitchen. Saya had already cleared the prep area and moved the raw taro to the side. I took the pot of hot olive oil out of the fire and got to work on the pork. She had brought back the backfat and pork belly. The pork belly can be made into bacon if I cure it in salt then smoke it. That and the suet was put into the ice box. The backfat was cut into cubes and placed into a pot. The pot was placed on the fire and render the lard. While that was rendering I took another pot and a clean cloth to filter out the solids and set it aside. Since Veronica wanted custard I took milk, honey, eggs and some spices. Clove and nutmeg were ground into a very fine powder and mixed with the liquid ingredients. The mixture was poured into a small pot and placed in the heated oven. When the lard was rendered I had Saya hold the cloth over the extra pot while I poured the contents over it. The cloth was squeezed to extract the last bit of lard and emptied back into the first pot. The new pot of lard was put over the fire to heat up so I can cook the remaining taro fires. I wonder where Alicia is. She''s missing out on all this fun. ? ? ? ¡ºSummoned Quarters ¨C Early Afternoon¡» Alicia spent the morning watching her classmates during their combat practice. Then again during their magic practice. She had kept her distance to avoid being noticed and used her camera with a telescopic lens attachment to watch them. Illyria kept her company and watched for anyone that would cause them trouble, but her hiding spot Alicia had scouted beforehand kept them difficult to notice. She only had one target she focused on: Zoe Summers ¨C The NTR Queen. The only person Alicia could consider her enemy. Her hatred for Zoe reemerged after physical contact was made with Naoki. When the students finished training they had left to the dining area of the summoned quarters for lunch. Alicia waited for an opportunity to get Zoe alone. As they began to disperse, Zoe headed to her room alone while the others went elsewhere. Alicia moved. She instructed Illyria to stay back and wait for her. Noticing that she was being followed, Zoe turned around and met Alicia knowing already why she was here. ¡°Hey Ali~, how''s our, I mean, your boyfriend doing?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Oh, how scary~, where did you get that sword babe? Are you going to ''stick it'' in me? Too bad.¡± As Alicia approached Zoe, she had materialized a sword using her magic spell ¡¶Summon Sword¡·. Before she had gotten close enough to attack, belts appeared from the floor wrapping around her legs and arms. ¡°You''re not the only one who figure out her magic. This is mine, tying people up and using them as I please. Em loves it, now maybe I can have some fun with you. We''ve always wanted to have a taste of your asian pussy.¡± ¡°I''ve warned you before to stay away from Naoki. Do you really think I would let what happen pass? Especially after what you did to Veronica?!¡± ¡°Ali, give it up, I want him, you want him. Let''s just share. I¡¯ll even stop sleeping with other guys. Come one, let''s share his cum. I really want to suck his cum out of your pussy. What the fuck?!¡± Angered by her words, Alicia summoned more blades cutting away the bindings on her legs and arms. Each of the newly summoned blade hung in the air pointing at Zoe. ¡¶Summon Dagger¡· was used to summon each of the new shorter blades. Zoe, seeing this, began to back away, but was stopped by Alicia causing the blade to be thrown preventing her from moving. ¡°Stop, Ali, wait...¡± Alicia stepped closer and closer towards Zoe. Zoe attempted to use her magic to stop Alicia from taking another step forward, but was preempted and her bindings were cut away. *slash* ¡°Ah fuck! Ali stop!¡± Alicia''s daggers slashed at Zoe''s legs causing her to fall backwards. *stab* As Zoe sat on the cold stone floor Alicia stabbed her sword into her shoulder. ¡°Guh, wait...¡± *twist* ¡°AHH!¡± Alicia twisted the blade breaking Zoe''s clavicle. ¡°Last warning and I am being extremely generous here. Stay away from my husband. Stay away from my best friend. Stay away from our servants. Stay away from me. Stay the FUCK AWAY FROM US! ¡°Or next time I will kill you. I will stab this sword into that filthy cunt of yours then slit your throat. This time daddy won''t protect you.¡± ¡°Fuck you...¡± Alicia smiled. ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters - Evening¡» ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m exhausted. Onii-chan I¡¯m home. I smell something frying.¡± ¡°Oh Alicia, welcome home. You missed out on the fun. Here, try this.¡± ¡°French fries? Ooh it tastes so good. What else did you make?¡± ¡°Lots. Let''s eat.¡± Just like last time Alicia and Veronica went to their apartment after dinner while leaving both their servants with me. I am not going to have sex with them¡­ maybe I will play with their breasts a little. Just a little bit. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +18¡» ¡ºSummoned Quarters¡» The training session with the princess went the same as yesterday. When I left I ran into Vince''s servant who had me follow her to his room. ¡°Hey man, I got your things.¡± He brought a bag to me to which I opened. In it was various items from smart phones and cameras to binoculars and radio transceivers. Score. I passed him a bag of gold. ¡°How much is this?¡± ¡°Thousand. You never saw me here right?¡± ¡°Yeah, right. Where did you get this much gold?¡± ¡°¡­ Arbitrage?¡± ¡°What, did you sell the drone?¡± ¡°No, I sold soap I made.¡± ¡°You can make soap? Holy shit, I can see how you got so much gold then.¡± ¡°Yeah, learned it when I was a kid. What''s that over there?¡± On the table was paper with different lettering written. Some were patterned, some weren''t. ¡°Sweet right? The other day I learned my magic thing was ¡¸Runomancy¡¹so I¡¯ve been practicing.¡± Holy shit, double score. ¡°Were you able to make it work?¡± ¡°Hell yeah, check this out.¡± He took a sheet of paper with writing on it and held it in front of me. He whispered something and tried to bend the paper. ¡°Here, try bending this.¡± When I tried to bend it it felt stiff. As if I was trying to bend cardboard. I looked at the letters on the paper. French? ¡°That''s pretty cool, how does it work.¡± ¡°It''s actually really easy, kinda. Just write down what you want to happen and chant a magic spell thing and ''bam!'' it works.¡± ¡°Is this french?¡± ¡°Yup, despite being Japanese I was born and raised in Canada, near Quebec so I ended up learning french. Did you get your magic appraised?¡± ¡°Appraised?¡± ¡°I think the magic teacher guy said something about orichalcum and an ¡¸Appraisal Stone¡¹. You should get appraised if you haven''t, magic is fucking awesome. I think you might be like Riley who got ¡¸Ignimancy¡¹they call it that instead of ¡¸Pyromancy¡¹for some reason.¡± ¡¸Appraisal Stone¡¹needs an orichalcum plate to work. Triple score. ¡°That¡­ thanks. Here, I need to get going.¡± ¡°More gold? Thanks man, but what for?¡± ¡°Hm? For teaching me how this works. Later.¡± ¡°Yeah, later. I am so rich!¡± ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» I got to work. I knew what to do. I wanted to confirm it, something that made me curious. Veronica was in the office when I came to drop off my loot. ¡°Hey Naoki.¡± ¡°Yo. Help me with something?¡± Afterward we went into my bedroom carrying leather bags and locking the door. The servants were ordered not to disturb us. Probably gave them the wrong idea. My rucksack was moved out of the way to reveal the treasure chest. We started to fill the bags. Thousands upon thousands of gold coins were moved. The five remaining gold bars moved. After emptying the chest I took my multi-tool and got to work. I carefully examined every bit of the chest. Learning every little detail. It was such a finely crafted item. Veronica was taking pictures with her phone and I set up my phone to take a video as I worked. It was so light, like lifting up a cardboard box. I started to take it apart being careful not to break any pieces so I can put it back together. ¡¸Float Stone¡¹ and ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ filled the interior of the chest. Cloth was layered between the wood and the stones to protect it. There was no orichalcum, it was all in direct contact and held together with some kind of glue. The stones were patterned to surround ¡¸Float Stones¡¹around a ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹. Detailed photos were taken. Then I put it back together dropping in the bags of coins. ¡°Now to begin my experiment. Thanks Veronica.¡± My binder was full of school supplies. I took that as well as a tube of superglue from my medkit. Veronica and I went in to the office. While she would go back to doing potion research I would begin rune and ¡¸Magic Stone¡¹research. I started by trying to mimic what Vince had showed me earlier to learn ¡¸Runomancy¡¹. What was written on the paper I did not know, I could recognize the french wording, but not what it read. I just wrote whatever in english. [Strengthen this sheet of paper.] Mana was then fed into the paper. When I tested the paper it bent easily. Fail. I erased the words and tried another way. [Strengthen ¨C Paper ¨C Unbending] Mana was fed again and again it failed. Since I did not know what was chanted I tried making a new mantra. ¡°Fortify. Strengthen. Reinforce.¡± It worked. ¡°You did it?¡± ¡°I did it.¡± Pop ups from my Grimoire showed up. ¡¸¡¶Mantra: Fortify. Strengthen. Reinforce.¡·Learned¡¹ ¡¸Runomancy Discovered¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Learn Runomancy¡¿ | Information: Ability to enchant any item. A most useful endeavor. | Rewards: Runomancy Spells: ¡¶Enchant Object Level:1¡·,¡¶Re-enchant Object Level:1¡·,¡¶Disenchant Object Level:1¡·¡¹
¡¸¡¶Enchant Object¡·Learned¡¹ ¡¸¡¶Re-enchant Object¡·Learned¡¹ ¡¸¡¶Disenchant Object¡·Learned¡¹ ¡¶Enchant Object¡·was probably what Vince had used while ¡¶Mantra: Fortify. Strengthen. Reinforce.¡·was more of a bypass. ¡¶Re-enchant Object¡·refreshes enchantments on an object and ¡¶Disenchant Object¡·removes it. A new quest did not appear, but that was not important right now. I moved on to the next step. Eight ¡¸Distortion Stones¡¹placed around a ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹was glued to an enchanted paper. As soon as each ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹made contact to the ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹it started to create a distortion field that obscured my vision. Because there were eight of it the effect was amplified. I tried wrapping the stones with the rest of the paper and placed it into one of the leather bags. The distortions disappeared and was contained within the bag. Looking into the bag I could see that the distortions were still active. I tried putting other items inside to see if I was successful, but I was not. I tried again with a different enchantment. I tried again with a different pattern. I tried again with a different stone. ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹+¡¸Mana Stone¡¹+¡¸Charge Stone¡¹. Failed. ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹+¡¸Mana Stone¡¹+¡¸Silent Stone¡¹. Failed. ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹+¡¸Mana Stone¡¹+¡¸Float Stone¡¹. Failed. ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹+¡¸Mana Stone¡¹+¡¸Anchor Stone¡¹. Failed¡­ ¡°Hm?¡± That was different. The way it reacted. ¡¸Anchor Stones¡¹increases weight of something, when it interacts with a distortion field it focuses the field towards the stone. When I tested it in the bag nothing had happened, but I was close. ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹+¡¸Mana Stone¡¹+¡¸Anchor Stone¡¹+¡¸Charge Stone¡¹. It reacted. Chapter VIII: Movements VIII Movements ¡ºS-Day +19¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡»
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Magic Bag¡¿ | Information: The Magic Bag is a lost technology. Rediscover it.| Rewards: 10 Random Magic Stones (Synthesis Required)¡¹
Error: Synthesis Locked. 10 Random Magic Stones will remain in queue.
¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹ ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹
¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹ ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ ¡¸Charge Stone¡¹
¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹ ¡¸Anchor Stone¡¹ ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹
Thirteen hours. Veronica and I spent thirteen hours working on this. Towards the last couple of hours Alicia came and helped as well. I do not think that the pattern mattered too much, but what was important was the enchantments. Each stone received its own enchantment which complimented the contacted stones. The ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹created the distortion field. The ¡¸Anchor Stone¡¹ concentrated that field. The ¡¸Charge Stone¡¹ electrified the field. The ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ powered the stones and enchantment functions. A leather bag was cut apart to secure the ¡¸Magic Stone Array¡¹ into an intact leather bag. I used a small sewing kit I carried in my medkit to do this, but because direct contact with the field was needed a small flap was left as an opening. This would help hide the magic stones and distortion field from view and minimize the prying eyes of outsiders. The inner facing leather was also enchanted to work with the array. I had went through eight bags attempting this. While cloth was an easier material to work with I wanted the stones to be secured in a more durable material. We could not test the full capacity of the bag, but we had gotten it to work. We tested coins and pencils. It was such an odd thing to see, as I dropped a coin into the bag it disappeared. When I reached in an image appeared in my mind. Tiles that had the same appearance as the markings on the ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹flowed into my vision. Most of the tiles were empty, but one tile had the coin I dropped in. This was tested with more coins, different coins and pencils. There was no stacking effect, each tile was filled with a singular item. However, when I bundled some coins in a pouch it appeared to take up a single tile. The same was done with the pencils and a rubber band. To remove an item all I had to do was select a tile with my mind. I believe the ¡¸Charge Stone¡¹ was what allowed this to happen. I believe the electrical field reacted with the bioelectric magnetic radiation emitted by living beings, but it was mere conjecture. Whatever, it works. When I confirmed that this was indeed a magic bag the girls flipped their shit and wanted me to make more. A new quest came up as well.
¡¸Quest:¡¾Craft 10 Magic Bag¡¿ | Information: Managing one''s inventory is a beneficial chore.| Rewards: 50 Celerity Stones, 50 Amplifier Stones (Synthesis Required)¡¹
As much as I had wanted to make more bags, I only had two each of ¡¸Anchor Stones¡¹and ¡¸Charge Stones¡¹. I would need to visit the magic stone dealer. And those rewards, just from the names alone I could tell would prove immensely useful. This morning I had Saya visit the princess to let her know that I was exhausted from last night and would not be able to do any training. I made rolled eggs for her. The rest of the morning was spent making two more bags. One for Alicia and one for Veronica. Once that was out of the way I finally made time for the Grimoire. I had managed to unlock the shop that could have my ticket home. Eight skill points was all I had left after that, but there were still many things I could copy. As I looked at the page of the Grimoire Shop I could see many, many items. Hundreds, thousands, millions upon billions upon trillions of items. Everything was categorized, and every category had a category. Everything was detailed. Everything required skill points to unlock, alternatively the copy mechanism was another way to unlock an item. Every unlocked item required stored mana to be purchased. Purchasing an item required ¡¸Synthesis¡¹to be unlocked. Because I have neither of those unlocked I simply browsed the shop. First things first. ¡°Teleportation methods.¡± I spoke the words to activate a search function. Tapping and writing it on the page would have also worked. After saying those words the pages of the Grimoire turned and turned. There were so many ways to create portals. I searched again. ¡°Portal to Earth.¡± The pages flipped. There it was. A portal device that can transport someone to Earth. ¡°Naoki, mana is required to purchase stuff, right?¡± Veronica, sitting next to me, kept her eyes glued to my Grimoire as she asked. We both saw it. The price. The price of a way to bring us home. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°H-how many zeroes is that?¡± I started counting the commas, because the Grimoire had deemed periods to separate zeroes as silly. One, two, twelve, twenty¡­ ¡°Thirty-three commas, so that would be ninety-nine plus one zeroes. A googol. We need one-googol of mana to buy this¡­¡± ¡°And¡­ how much mana do you have?¡± ¡¸Stored Mana: 494¡¹ This is impossible. ¡°It took a week to save up this much. I¡­ I only have two and a half months left.¡± I''m going to die here. ¡°I can''t do it.¡± I''m trapped here. ¡°I''m fucked.¡± I don''t want this. ¡°My death was perfect. It was all planned out. It was simple. A painless suicide. I was going to die on my terms. Mine! But now. But now I''m going to die here in this shit hole. Then¡­ then some asshole god is going to pluck my soul from my body and play around with it and reincarnate me as a fucking goblin or something!¡± ¡°Naoki, stop. Calm down!¡± ¡°I can''t do it. It''s too much. That¡­ I can never get that much mana. I can''t.¡± ¡°Naoki, enough.¡± Veronica held me tightly. Tears soaked into her shirt as I embraced her. ¡°I can''t do it. I just wanted to die on earth. I just wanted the pain to stop.¡± ¡°You have a million things running through your mind. You''re trying to do too many things at once. You skip one project to the next then go back to something else. Just calm down. We can figure this out. You, me and Ali. We just need to slow down and think this through.¡± ¡°No, it won''t matter. I''m dead in two months. Once I''m out of medication the cancer will spread and I¡¯m dead. Not even the god''s blessing will stop it.¡± ¡°Cancer? Oh god Naoki. I¡¯m so sorry. But didn¡¯t you copy some pills yesterday?¡± She was right, I did. I let go of her and looked at my Grimoire. ¡°Unlocked. Medication.¡± The pages turned. There it was, eight pills were listed as unlocked. Five were my suppressant pills, one was my high dose painkiller and two were from my medkit. ¡°That''s it, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, those five pills can keep me alive.¡± ¡°Ninety mana for each pill. Four-hundred and fifty mana a day, that''s doable. We can figure out a way to keep you supplied with mana.¡± ¡°Plus one-thousand and eighty for the twelve painkillers I need to get through each day.¡± ¡°Do you need that much?¡± ¡°¡­ I need that much. Everyday, everyday it feels like I am being stabbed in the spine with a knife. And throughout the day it feels like that knife is twisted just enough to remind me it is there.¡± The Grimoire informed me that copying something gives a ten percent discount towards the mana cost. But even with that, fifteen-hundred and thirty mana a day is still too much. ¡°I think today is a good day to rest, I¡¯ll go stop by my room and get my laptop. We can watch some anime or movies. I have a few movies on my laptop.¡± A rest day to clear my mind. Veronica offered something nice. ¡°Yeah, no need for that. I have my laptop with stuff as well.¡± The both of us went into the bedroom. She sat on the bed as I dug out my laptop from my rucksack. This would be the first time I used it since coming to this world. I went around the bed and sat next to Veronica. My laptop booted and I went into my folder of videos. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°Um, something calming, maybe fluffy? How much storage is that?¡± ¡°Twenty gigabyte high-density solid state drive. Not on the market yet¡± ¡°I want one.¡± ¡°Too bad, this is the only one in this world. Now, let''s go watch something comfy.¡± I opened up a folder and played the file. ? Sha la la la~ ? We spent the day relaxing and not caring about our worries. For today, fuck the world. ? ? ? ¡ºEmily and Zoe''s Room¡» ¡°So, are you going to tell me what happened?¡± ¡°I fell.¡± ¡°You fell. Onto what, a sword and broke your shoulder?¡± ¡°It''s nothing to worry about.¡± ¡°There are signs of a fight outside our room. Something happened.¡± ¡°I may have probably picked a fight with Alicia.¡± ¡°What the fuck Zoe?!¡± ¡°What? She started it. She thought she could ambush me so I went off alone to ambush her.¡± ¡°And lost.¡± ¡°She''s a lot stronger than I thought. I didn''t think she could make flying daggers come out of fucking nowhere.¡± ¡°This was my fault¡­ I shouldn''t have complained about having bodyguards. Now that we have no one patrolling the halls this happens.¡± ¡°It''s not your fault Em. Come here. Thank you for healing me.¡± ¡°I''ll always heal you.¡± ¡°And that''s why I love you.¡± ¡°Pfft, right. You love Naoki.¡± ¡°No I don''t. You''re the one I love the most Em. I just really want to feel his dick inside me you know?¡± ¡°Ugh, way to ruin the mood.¡± ¡°Wait, come back. Lay down with me until I fall asleep.¡± ¡°¡­ Okay fine. Just for you.¡± ¡°You thought about having sex with him too though.¡± ¡°Like¡­ once or twice I guess.¡± ¡°Hehe, knew it.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone about this okay? I don''t want all of us to start fighting each other.¡± ¡°A little late for that isn''t it? Chad hates Naoki, Alicia hates you. We''re going to end up fighting each other eventually.¡± ¡°I already made a deal with Chad. He''s backing off of him. Especially after what happened back at school.¡± ¡°But you know how he is. He''s too competitive. The dumbass might try something. He''s not still using, is he?¡± ¡°Nah, he''s chilled out since we came here. No more pressure from home and the healers took care of his withdrawal problem.¡± ¡°Okay, go to sleep now, my healing magic isn''t that strong yet.¡± ¡°Okay. I love you Em.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºMerchant''s District¡» Three summoned were sitting in a carruca headed towards the Merchant''s District. Each one was attended with their personal high servant to aid them around the district. ¡°So Vince, where did you get the money?¡± ¡°Ho ho, don''t you worry about that Riley. Just be glad we have some spending money.¡± ¡°You didn''t sell our shit did you?¡± ¡°Isaac, relax, we have gold so let''s go shopping. Maybe buy something pretty for our servants. No need to worry so much. Definitely something pretty for you ''mon petit chou fleur''.¡± ¡°Ehehe, master¡­¡± ¡°Fine whatever.¡± They made their way through the district exploring and sampling the local offerings. ¡°Holy shit, this food is so much better than in the palace!¡± The three continued on purchasing various items and trinkets and food, lots of food. Near the end of their outing they happened upon an interesting shop. ¡°Magic tools? Like that oven and fridge in our room?¡± ¡°Yeah, let''s check it out.¡± The three were greeted by the shopkeeper and began browsing. Various tools were available, all designed for the use by patricians. Vincent, as a ¡¸Runomancer¡¹, became curious as to how each item worked. He picked up a magic tool and began inspecting it. It was well crafted and designed ornately. ¡°Careful young man, that tool there-¡± *woosh* Having accidentally activating the enchantments a fire spread. Panic nearly ensued as the fire grew and grew, but luckily Isaac, as a ¡¸Glaciomancer¡¹, was able to learn ¡¸Aquamancy¡¹ spells with ease and began spraying water to extinguish the fires. The damage was minor, but the structural integrity of the building was compromised. Added to that were numerous magic tools which had also been damaged by both fire and water. ¡°Um, send a bill to the palace?¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +23¡» ¡ºPrivate Chambers of Minervina¡» ¡°So is this basically cold reading?¡± A few days passed. Veronica''s advice about relaxing had really helped. With this I have been able to think more clearly. When I had thought about it, I feel Alicia had been avoiding me for awhile. Probably some ploy to have me be in a relationship with Veronica. ¡°I''m not sure the meaning of that, but one must understand the intent of another.¡± ¡°Yes, but how is magic affecting that?¡± ¡°Use mana to reinforce your senses to uncover the intent of the other person. What do I intend? Will I try to attack? Will I try to seduce you? Will I try to distract you as I reach into your purse and take that device that creates amazing portraits?¡± Ugh, why is this difficult? I got other magic, like, crazy easy. We tried to resume training of ¡¸Auramancy¡¹, but I could not get it. I understand what I should do, but getting the mana to do the thing was frustrating. Since this went nowhere the princess went to a different topic. ¡°I would like to ask something of you. The other summoned had gotten appraised and their divination revealed. Would you like to know what yours is?¡± She took a bronze colored thing with a beige colored stone attached to it. ¡°That is?¡± ¡°This is an appraisal plate. Just by touching this area and feeding mana you will be able to gain information about yourself.¡± ¡°Neat, how is it made?¡± ¡°That¡­ I don''t know. I am borrowing this from the ¡¸Mage''s Guild¡¹.¡± ¡°Can I have it?¡± It would not hurt to ask. ¡°No, I must return this when I am done with it.¡± ¡°¡­ Can you make a request so I can have one?¡± *sigh* ¡°I will see what I can do.¡± Yay. I did as she said and it showed my information. It listed fewer items than my Grimoire. All I could see was divination, more divination, oh and another divination. Blah blah, I was more interested in how it worked. ¡°Interesting, a ¡¸Proficiomancer¡¹is quite rare. I believe the Thaumus of the ¡¸Mage''s Guild¡¹is one as well.¡±Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Thaumus?¡± ¡°The highest rank one can attain within the guild. Which begs the question of why you cannot learn ¡¸Sentiomancy¡¹.¡± ¡°Um, cruel twist of fate, I suppose.¡± The rest of the time was spent talking. Mostly her attempts at recruiting me for whatever or something. Afterward I left for my next thing. ? ? ? The princess looked at the appraisal plate which still had Naoki''s information. It was cluttered with various divinations. ¡°So many different types, as expected of a summoned with proficiomancy.¡± She began writing down each item on a piece of parchment. As she turned the plate over she noticed three items: ranks, titles and conditions.
Ranks: Mage Rank: Level 3 ¨C Augur | Adventurer Rank: Level 2 ¨C Explorer | Alchemist Rank: Level 1 ¨C Researcher | Apothecary Rank: Level 1 ¨C Potionist
Titles: Summoned | Champion of Angerona | Samurai | Unpoisoned
Conditions: Blessing of Angerona | Oss Curse | Toxicity Resistance
¡°Amazing, he has gained the favor of the goddess Angerona, but as I suspected, he has the oss curse. If father finds out he might call for the summoned to be executed.¡± She turned to her servant. ¡°Salina, this is to be a guarded secret.¡± ¡°Yes, Princess.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºMerchant''s District¡» Saya had arranged for another carra¡­ a carru¡­ a carriage the day before to travel to the merchant''s district. I needed more magic stones and other miscellaneous items. On the ride here she looked at me with hopeful eyes for the headphones. Nope, punishment is punishment. It was the first time I saw her pout. Fuck, so cute. I was using a spreadsheet software on my laptop to try to map out potential configurations for the magic stones. Tests were needed to be done to confirm if I was right or wrong about magic stone placements being important. As far as I could tell, a single ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹yielded ten tiles making my current configuration forty tiles of inventory space. There was also a need to test if weight was a factor. We made it. As we entered the store I was greeted by the odd speaking magic stone dealer. ¡°Greetings, greetings dear customer and welcome back. How may I be of service?¡± ¡°Mm, I¡¯d like to purchase more magic stones.¡± ¡°Splendid, splendid. Which of my fine magic stones are you interested in?¡± I gave him a run down of which stones I wanted and a fake reason of how I would use them. Other stones were added as well to obfuscate my real intentions. The last time I was here I had paid about two-thousand gold. Most of the cost went to the eight-hundred ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹ that cost me about twelve-hundred gold. I asked him why ¡¸Distortion Stones¡¹ were so cheap. ¡°Certain magic stones can be produced from slime creatures. No one knows why, but ¡¸Distortion Stones¡¹seem to be the most common occurrence.¡± Multiple types of magic stones can be found from slimes, which, I guess I should not be surprised exist here. From his words, no one knows how slimes evolved or came to existence. They just did. Research had been done by numerous guilds to find ways to promote growing of specific magic stones with little success. ¡¸Distortion Stones¡¹stones that slimes create are so numerous that it costs only a few aeses to purchase. Water and fire types were also commonly found. ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹can be mined from mana nodes, taken from ossians that carried the stone as the were transported and harvest from ossians. At birth mana begins to crystallize in an area of the brain that processes magic spells. Goblins which are short lived tend to have ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹the size of a grain of rice. Others can be the size of a golf ball. Mined magic stones have a size conformity of about two cubic centimeters. There does not seem to be any confirmation on whether a human forms ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹. If there are the information is probably being suppressed to prevent human harvesting. Seven-thousand gold was spent purchasing magic stones. Small chests were purchased to contain it and each chest held its own type of magic stone. I purchased additional larger empty chests to hold the smaller chests and to experiment with. A few hours was spent on this and we left to visit the ¡¸Alchemist''s Guild¡¹. ? ? ? *sniff* ¡°What an amazing smell this is...¡± As we entered the building of the ¡¸Alchemist''s Guild¡¹ an overwhelming scent attacked our noses. While the potion shop was scented with herbs and spices this place was scented with aromatic herbs attempting to coverup the smell of sulfur and stale urine. There were, very obviously, few people within the building which consisted of workers and the roman equivalent of a mad scientist. A few minutes wait and we were called up to the counter by the receptionist. The old man looked at me with a raised eyebrow. My clothing was always causing that. ¡°Yes, how can I help you?¡± ¡°I''m interested in what is available for purchase.¡± ¡°To purchase items from the guild you must be a member of the ¡¸Alchemist''s Guild¡¹ or have an alchemy rank. This appraisal plate is attuned to list alchemy ranks.¡± ¡°Is that the same as the ¡¸Mage''s Guild¡¹?¡± I pointed at the appraisal plate that looked identical to the one the princess used. ¡°Same plate, different enchantment.¡± I pressed my thumb on the plate and fed it mana. ¡°Level 1: Researcher, is it? Okay then, what are you interested in buying?¡± Did the other plate show this? I didn''t see it. I listed off some items and described it as well. After some time he finally figured out what I was looking for. There were also some items that interested me. Aqua Fortis ¨C Nitric acid. Aqua Muriatis ¨C Hydrochloric acid. Aqua Regia ¨C Mixture of Nitric and Hydrochloric acid. Aqua Vitae ¨C Ethanol. Aqua Vitrious ¨C Sulfuric acid. Aqua Limus ¨C Liquid from slime creatures. Sulpur ¨C Sulfur. Plumbago ¨C Graphite. Each item was placed in a glass container and put into a padded chest. The materials were sold in units of measure called ''sextarius'' which looked to be around half a litre. Unsurprisingly, I ended up paying a little less than one-thousand gold. It was expensive. After eating lunch we visited other places. A tailor for raw cotton. The ¡¸Mage''s Guild¡¹to purchase orichalcum, which turns out was just as rare as mithril so I could not purchase any. The orichalcum are reserved for various types of appraisal plates and magic tools. Our next stop was the ¡¸Merchant''s Guild¡¹. I wanted to see how much I could sell my soap for and if it would be worth devoting time with. The first test batch was four blocks of soap measuring roughly five by five centimeters and two centimeters thick. It was brittle and crumbled with ease so I simply gave it to Saya to use for laundering. The second batch was ten blocks of the same dimensions. It was just how I had made it when I was younger. When breaking it in half it made a snapping sound the same way a cold bar of chocolate would. I miss chocolate. ¡°Saya, are all the guild buildings here so grandiose?¡± ¡°Yes master, all guild buildings within the capital are each of their respective headquarters.¡± We entered the fancy pants building and waited for an open teller or receptionist. It was slow even with so few people in line. Finally we were next. After exchanging pleasantries we got down to what I came here for. ¡°I''m interested in selling this.¡± I placed a bar of orange soap on the counter. ¡°If you wish to sell items to the guild you will need to be a registered member, if you are not registered you can always sell it from your own stall. If you wish to register the registration fee is¡­ what is this? Such an odd color.¡± ¡°Soap, simply soap. What is the going rate for such an item?¡± ¡°This scent as well, it is quite interesting. It''s not the same as those from those filthy alchemists. Where did you¡­¡± ¡°So how much would this sell for?¡± ¡°Well, I suppose I can make an exception and purchase it for eight silver denarii. Of course you will still need to be regis¡­¡± ¡°Two gold¡­ aureus. You can sell it for a higher price easily, yes? Such a fine quality item. Perhaps even as much as five gold. Imagine the profits you or even the guild could make if I supply more of this.¡± A standard alchemist soap sells for a few bronze sesterce. The quality is as crude as my first batch of soap. Servants use it for laundering, but this new soap was a luxury item and I will sell it as such. Though if I had sodium hydroxide I could make it a better quality. ¡°I see, you make some sense young man. Yes, I¡¯ll agree to your terms, however, you will need to be registered and a fee¡­¡± ¡°There''s no need for my registration. In fact it would be problematic if someone were to discover the source of this, yes? So, how about you become my personal dealer. I was interested in selling ten of these bars, but I suppose I had ended up¡­ misplacing one.¡± I slid a bar of soap towards the man. The man pocketed the soap and counted the remaining. ¡°Two gold aureus for each bar of soap, nine soap comes out to eighteen gold aureus. Thank you for your patronage young sir.¡± Eighteen gold for a few hours of work and also a lot more hours of someone else''s work. Even though I had spent eight thousand gold today, I can probably just increase production to make up the deficit. Whatever, I have an easy source of income. Now, last stop is the magic tool shop. Or not. As we arrived at the shop it was closed. After asking around it turns out some idiot decided to try playing around with a magic tool and set fire to the interior. With this a bust we decided to return home. ¡°We bought too much stuff again. You''ll need to sit on my lap like last time.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day+24¡» ¡ºPrivate Chamber of Minervina¡» ¡°I''d like to visit your library. Every royal palace has one right?¡± ¡°Of course, I can make the arrangements. Though we will need to alter your training time and I would need to accompany you to the Royal Library. Would after the training of the other summoned agree with you? It would make it in the late afternoon, nearing the evening.¡± ¡°That''s fine¡­ are you okay?¡± ¡°Hmm? Yes, there was a slight problem that one of the summoned had caused, but it was dealt with¡­ through my own purse. Everything is fine.¡± ¡°Well, okay. I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡± Thanks to Veronica and maybe also to the Grimoire, I was able to learn the written language easily. The library could hold the answers I need to find a way home, but most likely not. I would expect them to sanitize their collections to prevent that knowledge from leaking out. If I am unable to find my answers then I can learn more about the locals to find a ways to exploit them and make money. ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» ¡°Hey Veronica, you here?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m here, where else would I be?¡± ¡°Yeah so, I want to take apart the fridge. Wanna help?¡± ¡°Sure~. Here, mana potion.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I drank the potion and grabbed our gear before heading to the kitchen. With my multi-tool out I was about to begin disassembling the refrigerator. ¡°Wait wait, hold on. What the hell am I thinking? The one next door is empty.¡± As we moved next door we were hit by a strong smell. ¡°Oh my god what the hell is that smell?!¡± Veronica struggled not to gag at the smell that filled the apartment. ¡°Oh right, this was my project for you and Alicia.¡± ¡°What the shit were you going to do to us?¡± ¡°What? Nothing¡­ what? I was practicing making fake soy sauce. Kinda forgot about it.¡± After blowing air to clear the room of the strong smell I looked over the fermenting mash of chickpeas, wheat and yeast. It was probably still okay. The barrel was moved over and filled with water. Salt was mixed in to make a brine. The mash was then stirred in to the brine and the barrel covered with a cloth. I wrote a note for the servant kid to mix it once a day for a couple of weeks then once a week afterward. ¡°Okay so, let''s get started¡­¡± After dismantling the refrigerator we saw the pattern of the magic stone array. Unlike the float chest, the ''ice box'' used a pattern of surrounding a ¡¸Frost Stone¡¹ with ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹. But just like the float chest, the ''ice box'' was covered with magic stones. With the examination done Veronica and I returned to the apartment to resume research. I think there may be a potential issue with my magic bag. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +25¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters ¨C Evening¡»
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Learn Auramancy¡¿ | Information: Grimoires can be damaged or destroyed. Learn Auramancy (Native: Sentiomancy) to add self-preservation mode. | Rewards: Auramancy Spells: ¡¶Lie Detection Level:1¡·,¡¶Vigilance Level:1¡·,¡¶View Intent Level:1¡·¡¹
¡¸Magecraft: Auramancy | Category: Alteration | Information: Aura Mage ¨C Allows User to discern intent of a target. Current Spells Unlocked: 3¡¹
¡¸Magecraft: Sentiomancy | Category: Alteration | Information: Sentinel Mage ¨C Allows User to discern intent of a target. Current Spells Unlocked: 3¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Craft 10 Magic Bag¡¿ | Information: Managing one''s inventory is a beneficial chore.| Rewards: 50 Celerity Stones, 50 Amplifier Stones (Synthesis Required)¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Unlocked¡¿ | Information: Unlock remaining Grimoire Menus. | Rewards: 5000 stored Mana, 100 Skill Points.¡¹
¡¸Quest: ¡¾Visit The Library¡¿ | Information: A vast collection of knowledge at one''s disposal. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points.¡¹
Prompt: Items in queue: 10 Orichalcum Plates, 10 Random Magic Stones, 50 Celerity Stones, 50 Amplifier Stones. Begin Synthesis? YES | NO
Synthesis in progress¡­
Such a productive day. Alicia kept disappearing so Veronica and I continued our copying spree. Magic stones were copied, a magic bag was copied, a chair and a table. It was weird seeing large objects just melt into a weird liquid and drank up by a book. A chest was copied as well as each component that makes up a chest. Different variations and shapes of origami was copied as well. I was running low on paper because of that so that was put to a stop. We copied everything we could until I was able to get enough skill points to unlock the remaining Grimoire menus. Once that was done I left synthesis to run. It would take all night to receive all items as each item takes five minutes to synthesize. We made sure the servants did not see this happening. When we were done I left my Grimoire in the office and locked the door. Some, crazy, how I was able to learn ¡¸Auramancy¡¹. The ¡¶Lie Detection¡· spell was surprisingly disappointing as its success was based on RNG. Like, I would need to roll a twenty to discern bullshit. I also received a new quest to visit the library. I suppose it is something. Aside from that quest I only had the grand quest and to learn ¡¸Animancy¡¹. No other quests appeared and I was left with three blank slots. ¡°It''s still such bs that you get five points for every copy while Ali and I only get three.¡± ¡°Proficiomancer.¡± ¡°So lame. I¡¯m not teaching you ¡¸Celeromancy¡¹.¡± ¡°Aww, it''s not my fault.¡± Tests with the magic bag showed that weight did not matter¡­ to a point. If an excess amount of items were placed within the bag the ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ would be drained faster. If the tiles were at capacity, any attempts at placing new items would be ignored and the item would be placed in the bag normally. The stone was always at a constant drain to allow the distortion field to remain active. Once drained, the magic bag will become inaccessible while keeping whatever items still in place. I would need to feed my own mana directly to restart it. I would need to figure out a work around, perhaps some kind of trigger mechanism. The ¡¸Encyclopedia¡¹ was pretty much useless for information I needed. It only had information of things I had copied. Fucking useless. How is this worth one-thousands skill points? ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +27¡» ¡ºRoyal Library¡» Easiest. Quest. Ever. Not as if I had my Grimoire out for the princess to see. But I could already tell the quest was done the moment I walked through the doors. As I walked in I gazed around the large room. The library was not as grand as I thought it would be. Busts, statues and paintings filled the room as well as elaborately decorated desks and chairs. Bookshelves lined the walls of the room, but this¡­ it is not as large as I thought. Even a school library held more books. Much of the books were mostly tax codes, laws, histories of important persons and families. A handful of fanciful storybooks and encyclopedias were kept on specific shelves. The princess droned on about various stories she had read and which ones she loved. I started by searching for anything on summoning and teleportation. ? ? ? ¡ºLocation Unknown¡» ¡°Oh good, you''re here. I have a message for you to deliver.¡± A woman spoke to the man standing before her. ¡°Sure thing, what would you like to send?¡± was his reply. ¡°Visit Angerona''s little trio and let them know that I will be visiting them. Soon. They have done something¡­ naughty.¡± ¡°Angerona? Is her little villa on the island still above Serica? It is quite the distance to travel, even with my speed, so proper compensation is needed.¡± ¡°Compensation, that''s right, you are still obsessed with Terra are you not? Then I would like for you to meet with someone else.¡± An image displayed showing a dark haired male youth. ¡°That is?¡± asked the man. ¡°Someone summoned by the Epistylians from Terra.¡± ¡°An Earthling?! Where?¡± ¡°Do you remember the Rasenna region?¡± ¡°Where Vulcan''s brats caused havoc? I believe I heard something about it. Never been fond of that part of the world.¡± ¡°I''m surprised, twelve hundred years ago or so the Gigantoss born of Vulcan''s children were killed by the summoned terrans. I thought you would have known of it. This one was recently summoned.¡± The man was confused, how did this woman know of this child and from so far away? ¡°What would you like me to do with him?¡± ¡°I would like to know what is happening there and why there is a shield protecting the area around him. But as he is from Terra, feel free to converse with him, perhaps even guide him. That is your compensation for the message. Ah, but do not reveal who I am to him just yet.¡± The man was excited. So long has he been away from Earth that being able to learn what has happened in the past thousand year brought joy to him. He wondered if his name was remembered. He wondered if he was still worshiped. So many things can be learned from this person. ¡°Your will be done.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºAventine ¨C Lower Noble District¡» ¡°? I called you once, called you twice, called you ten times no answer¡­ My heavy chest. I watched you eat, watched you sleep, watched you breathe¡­ You are precious. ? Okay, all done here. Let''s go.¡± Alicia had spent the past week photographing and mapping the various districts within the capital walls. Places to hide, places to meet, locations of interest. In between her self-training of combat and magic from mimicking the soldiers at the training grounds and language strengthening from listening to shoppers in the markets, she watched the habits of the natives. Servants moved independently or followed their masters. Slaves cleaned the streets and were ignored. Guards patrolled at predictable locations and timing. She watched as children left to visit educational instructors at mock classrooms. Girls her age idled at get-togethers or markets buying various make-ups or the latest fashion. Alicia noted that any fashion change is minute. She had quickly gained entrance to the social circles of these girls in an attempt to determine if they were usable. Attempts were made to discover what each family was capable of in terms of businesses and business capabilities. Alicia also determined whether or not each girl was suitable for Naoki to take as a lover. Having connections with various families could give potential power increases by having allies. Night fell and Alicia returned home to be with her beloved. ¡°? Who''s the girl? She''s a bore. Are you just with her for pleasure? ¡­ I''ll slit her throat. And I would die just to ride in the bed that you are sleeping. She''s all of half taken. ~ ?¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +28¡» ¡ºRoyal Library¡» Disappointment. There was nothing in the library regarding summoning, portals, rifts or teleportation. I am about ready to start thinking of looking for production and manufacturing sites. I still have enough gold to use as startup capital. Veronica''s suggestion of starting a restaurant business was not a bad idea. If I remember right, there were many Romans that made a fortune in the ancient food industry. There is also the soap I can mass produce. I still need a kiln to refine pearl ash. The magic chest prototype I am working on is still a work in progress. There is an issue with tools and materials to craft the outer shell to hold the magic stones. I could probably finish it in a week or two, but I would need to visit a redsmith or a blacksmith to figure out how to put it together. Whatever. I sat here browsing various curious volumes of forgotten lore bored out of my mind. Hoping, dreamily, for a black feathered bird of carrion to rap upon the librarium door. The princess was always with me observing or being engrossed in some fairy tale. I got up and started randomly browsing for anything of interest. There was an encyclopedia of magic stones which gave explanations and potential uses for each stone. I found it interesting and started taking notes. ¡°You don''t happen to produce paper do you?¡± I asked the princess while continuing to write. ¡°Do you mean papyrus? Parchment is much sturdier to use.¡± *rip* I handed her a sheet of paper from my notebook. ¡°Something like this.¡± She studied the torn sheet of paper. ¡°¡­ No.¡± Interesting, I could probably produce that too. I was curious about another thing and decided to change topics. ¡°Is it possible to fly?¡± ¡°Fly? There are Eagle Riders amongst the First Auxilia. They often train in any of the six inner cities.¡± ¡°Interesting, is that the reason for using it as the royal coat of arms?¡± ¡°That is right, the eagle is a symbol of strength and bravery.¡± ¡°Okay, what about flying magic, is that a thing?¡± ¡°Well, yes I suppose, but there are problems with such magic. It consumes mana quickly and many who have practiced such magic have fallen to their death. It is rare to find anyone attempting it.¡± ¡°I guarantee you one of my classmates will try it.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºPatrician''s District¡» In a room, two men sat across from one another. One dressed blandly, the other dressed in finery denoting his higher stature. ¡°So,¡± began the finely dressed man. ¡°Have you discovered anything about her?¡± ¡°I have. She takes residence on the palatial grounds within an insula for high servants. Others reside with her, a boy and a girl with odd clothing. Three other girls frequently enter and exit the insula. The target as well as the boy make daily trips to the palace. The target occasionally does so alone. I have already noted the patrols of the guards. The best time to take her would be at night.¡± ¡°I want no mistakes. Everything must be done carefully. Have you learned anything about the ones with odd clothing?¡± ¡°Not yet, it is too dangerous to get too close.¡± ¡°Take precautions.¡± ¡°There will be no problem. ¡¸Silent Stone¡¹ will mask any sound I make and ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹ will hide my identity if discovered.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºCity of Vaticano ¨C Northeast of Aventine¡» ¡°And? What happened to¡­ what was his name? Dentatus? The combat instructor of the Praetorian Guard.¡± ¡°Dentus Bassus Caepio. He is currently under house arrest. Supposedly assaulted a summoned hero or some nonsense.¡± ¡°Sounds more like he was found out. A summoned hero doesn''t exist.¡± ¡°There are rumors that a summoning ritual was performed and the second prince was killed. It seems the emperor is suppressing information leaks, but the information seems credible.¡± ¡°The prince is dead? Interesting, that leaves the princess as the sole heir to the crown. We could use this. Who will be replacing Dentatus?¡± ¡°None as of yet, it seems priority is being shifted into training the summoned. I recommend sending one of our own to replace Dentus.¡± ¡°Do it and figure out what happened to Dentatus. Also, I want to know if his men are usable to us.¡± ¡°Of course, I will get right on it.¡± ¡°It might be a good time to call on the other houses. We will return the heir of the House of Remius to their rightful place.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +28¡» ¡ºRoyal Library ¨C Late Evening¡» The magic stone book was a bust. Mostly just theories and conjectures written by a crazy person. I still copied the notes just in case it proved useful, but it got really weird towards the end where he described, in detail, procedures to install magic stone into a mage''s body to add new types of magic capabilities. The writer also conjectured that installing magic stones into a deceased body could be a possible method to create undead soldiers without the use of ¡¸Necromancy¡¹. It was weird. I took out my phone and saw it was getting late, nearly 9pm. After bidding the princess goodnight, Saya and I went home. ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters ¨C Late Evening¡» As I made my way to the bathroom I was met by Alicia who had finished her bath. Her hair was down and soaking wet. Water dripped down her cheeks, down her ears, down her clavicle. She caught my stare and undid her towel flashing her body for me with a devilish smile. After some friendly skinship and light kissing I went to get ready for bed. A lamp illuminated the bedroom. It was a lamp powered by ¡¸Glow Stones¡¹ which Saya had stolen¡­ procured from the palace. I looked at Alicia laying in bed waiting for me. She was wearing a shirt, my shirt, and only my shirt. On the other side of the room was Illyria sitting on a different bed. I was unclear as to when that bed was brought in. I became curious of something. We had already learned through the Grimoire that almost anything can be considered a skill which can be learned and provide skill points. Chopping, slicing, dicing, julienning and mincing of food. Carving wood, shampooing hair, sewing cloth and exercising all became learned skills and gave skill points. So I wanted to try something. Saya and Alicia had been giving me oral sex each day and I have been pretty selfish in regards to their needs. ¡°Saya, go sit with Illyria for a bit. Alicia, come move to the edge of the bed.¡± I moved between Alicia''s legs. Her body was lithe, her hips were not very wide, her thighs thin and firm. Looking between her legs I could see her vulva, a fading tan line and smooth shaved mound. Her lips were thin and already glistening. ¡°Onii-chan?¡± *nom* ¡°Unf! Oh god!¡± A few minutes of amateurish licking and suckling, she squeezed my head with her thighs and arched her back. ¡°Enough, enough, it-it''s too sensitive. Wow.¡± I summoned my Grimoire, out of view from our servants, and check its page.
¡¸Cunnilingus Learned¡¹
¡¸Cunnilingus: Level 1¡¹
I nudged Alicia to move back and motion for Saya to take her place. The Grimoire was hidden underneath the bed. Saya undressed and laid back spreading her legs. I repeated what I had done, but tried to focus on certain spots. She was completely smooth as well, not sure if shaved or plucked. Her lips were thin as Alicia''s, but were pinker. After she had her orgasm I checked my Grimoire.
¡¸Cunnilingus: Level 2¡¹
Neat. Last was Illyria, she followed what Saya had done and laid before me. My jaw was already sore, but I wanted to finish this up. Learning is very important after all. Illyria was also smooth, but her lips were a bit more pronounced. Since my jaw was sore, I let my tongue do most of the work.
¡¸Cunnilingus: Level 2 | 20%¡¹
Hm, not level three. Oh well. I needed to get off. Doing this had turned me on too much. Before I could ask Alicia to help me out she spoke. ¡°Illyria, take care of onii-chan.¡± It was my first time with her and it was obviously her first time doing oral. After cleaning up we went to sleep.
¡¸Stored Mana: 6,117¡¹
¡¸Skill Points: 149¡¹
Intermission I: Third I Intermission: Third ¡ºFortress Valemarch ¨C 5 Years Ago¡» Within the inner castle of the fortress city stood the first prince of the empire, Calidius Spurius Epistylia. Placed before him was a map of the surrounding area marked with locations of Ossian emplacements. ¡°How many?¡± asked the prince. An adventurer stood beside the prince his party having scouted the positions of every Ossian within eyesight of the walls. ¡°Over a hundred thousand goblins and tens of thousands of Orkoss. Supported by varying amounts of Ossian Lokins. They''ve also moved beyond the range of our arrows. How much longer for reinforcements from Campania and Capitoline?¡± Without taking his eyes off the map the prince responded. ¡°Two weeks. But by then¡­¡± ¡°The stores will be emptied, they are keeping the ones that can be used for food away from the front lines. Not only that, they are nearing completion of fortifications using wood from the nearby forests. The Sixteenth and Seventeenth will be unable to relieve us.¡± Desperation. There were many thousands alive within the walls of the fortress. As the Ossians began their march months prior the surrounding villagers flocked to the fortress for safety. Those that fled for the outer walls of the empire were captured by Ossian scouts sent to prepare for marking fortification locations. An idea formed in the mind of the prince. Knowing there would be less than three days worth of food for the nineteen thousand men, women and children a drastic action would be required. He thought about how much of his forces and inhabitants remained. 4,900 legionaries remained of the Third Legion''s 10,000 deployed. 1,600 cavalry remained of the Fifth Auxilia''s 4,000 deployed. 2,200 archers remained of the Sixth Auxilia''s 4,000 deployed. 1,000 combat diviners remained of the Sixth Auxilia''s 2,000 deployed. 2,000 adventurers remained of the 8,000 locals. 800 guards remained of the 2,500 local Custodia Securitas. 6,500 remained of patricians, proles, plebeians, peasants and slaves. From the capital, Aventine, Capitoline lie in the south and Campania to the southwest. Valemarch was situated near the border of Pompeii to function as a border town and defensible fortress. A place of refuge and commerce for travelers which traverse the long distance from both countries was now besieged from all sides. Since the time of the Pompeian Rift incident, re-fortifications had occurred as well as expansions of barricades and trenches to prevent an Ossian incursion to succeed. With numerous assault attempts and suffering great attrition, the Ossian forces had finally overcome the defenses of Valemarch and had manage to surround the defenders. Great losses of life occurred. Now the prince needed to come to a decision which could prove disastrous or save what was left of the inhabitants. ¡°Prepare the horses and empty the remaining stores. We will put as many women and children on the horses and have them carry whatever rations they can. We will charge out toward the east where the lines are thinnest. We will head northeast towards the mountains and cut through the Endless Forest into Campania or Liguria. If that proves impossible we will take refuge at the abandoned fortresses of Stonequiet.¡± ¡°And if Stonequiet is under occupation? No contact has been made for centuries.¡± asked the adventurer. ¡°Further north to Ridgefall. That is if we cannot cross the forest. Then make our way to the safe borders of Healingspring.¡± ¡°We can gather and hunt for food on the way, but the distance, we will need to use a rearguard.¡± ¡°Half our forces. A quarter will remain within the fortress to perform a last stand while the other will join us as we charge out against the besiegers.¡± Both heaved a heavy sigh knowing more deaths will occur from this decision. The adventurer moved to leave the building. ¡°I will ask for volunteers.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºFortress Valemarch ¨C Night¡» ¡°Charge!¡± The eastern gates opened. One thousand horses sallied out towards the ossian lines with each horse carrying two riders. The second rider was an adventurer who would sacrifice his or her self in the initial attack. They were followed by two thousand and five hundred legionaries to be the rearguard. Next was the six hundred remaining horses carrying women and children. Finally the last to emerge from the gates were the combat diviners, a handful of adventurers, seven hundred archers and the remaining noncombatants traveling on foot. The horses clashed into the line of ossians still disorganized from the sudden assault. As, or right before, the horses ran through each goblin and orkoss the adventurer accompanying them dropped from the horses. Their goal was to disrupt the line and create an opening. The legionaries soon joined the ranks and fought to divide the lines further. They fought feverishly, hacking and slashing at anything that was not human. The third and fourth groups ran through the opened lines and made way to the mountains. The legionaries followed until they could no longer keep pace. They found a defensible area made their last stand to buy as much time possible for the prince. As news of the fighting spread through the ossian ranks, an order was sent to attack the fortress. Thousands upon thousands of goblins and orkoss surged towards the undefended walls. With the gates once more closed the remaining defenders moved to execute their final plans.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Throughout the day, work had been done to prepare for this. Wood from homes, shops, wagons, barrels and any wood scraps that could be found were piled along the walkway of the outer walls. Oil was poured on the long piles. Structures made of wood which could not be moved were also doused with oil. As the ossians began scaling the walls the defenders ran to light the fires. As each fire was lit the defenders fled towards the inner castle to commit their last stand. The ossian assault was disrupted by the fires, but had managed to punish the defenders with their own archers. Finally the fires died out and the assault resumed. The walls were taken, but the castle stood firm. Thousands upon thousands of arrows were exchanged between assaulter and defender. The ossian bows being of inferior quality which gave the advantage to the defenders who could easily out range them. Attrition favored the ossians. As each defender fell, a ladder could be erected to breach. Hours passed and exhaustion set, there was no longer any possibility to repel the attack. Two hundred defenders now remain. With the death of thousands of ossians, their goal was accomplished. They retreated to the main room of the castle, barred the doors and windows. Cloth was piled high and soaked with oil. The smoke will kill them. The fire will kill them. But not the greenskins. ? ? ? Two months passed. Only three thousand had survived the escape from the fortress. The ossians had laid many traps in anticipation of an escape attempt. Most of the cavalry had survived, but the foot soldiers were unfortunately sacrificed. The survivors continued to flee heading east toward the Silent Mountains whilst attempting to gain distance from the pursuing ossians. Many of the horses had died from exhaustion and their meat harvested. They continued north. The survivors traversed dense jungles and open forests as they searched for the ancient fortress. Surviving adventurers and auxilia hunted and gathered whatever food they could find. The remaining horses were slaughtered as they could not pass through the jungle. Starvation was a constant threat. Each day they would lose another hunter or scout from various wildlife or native ossian living in the area. Attacks against the group were almost constant, so much so that many could not find sleep. Exhaustion set in. Another month passed. The survivors numbered less than two thousand. The forests cleared and open plains filled with rocky outcrops came into view. They followed the mountain line and continued north until finally they had found it. The abandoned fortress of Stonequiet. Once a mighty supplier of stones, metals, magic stones and minerals for the fledgling empire the fortress eventually became uninhabitable. The Silent Mountains attained its name from the unique property of a special type of rock the natives dubbed ''silent stone''. It had, depending on density, the ability to absorb sound. The magic stone ¡¸Silent Stone¡¹ was named after this material as a large deposit was found within the ancient mines. Once the mine dried up and with the oakoo spreading, there was no longer a need to remain. The fortress became abandoned. Finally the survivors of Valemarch could take refuge. They would rest and recover before making an attempt to head west, towards the outer walls of the empire. They inspected and search every part of the ruins hoping to find anything of use. Stacks of timbers and lumber hundreds of years old was found near the southern area of the fortress. Old homes were still intact, hardly suffered from the elements as little, if any, rain fell onto the area. Wind was light if there were any. They could finally sleep with some peace. But it would not last. Scouts had encountered numerous goblin and orkoss tribes within the forest to the west. Returning to the walls through the forest was now impossible. Constant food shortages were plaguing the survivors as hunters and gatherers could only find so much within the barren plains. The north was scouted. A large lake was located north of the fortress, but the scouts noted the lake water could not be consumed. The lake was filled with high salinity water. Two men fell ill after attempting to sate their thirst. Water was now a problem. All combat diviners of the empire are trained to use a wide variety of magic. Water magic was a priority. Being able to provide drinkable water to the army was an invaluable skill. The survivors taking refuge within the ruined fortress relied on what was left of the combat diviners for water. They had become exhausted. Many were already facing ¡¸Mana Exhaustion¡¹ and few had already succumbed to ¡¸Mana Burn¡¹. Their Life Force had been reduced to such critically low levels that they were forced into a coma-like state in order to regenerate both Life Force and Mana. Twelve had died. Without being able to take in sustenance, their Life Force was no longer able to regenerate properly. The prince no longer had any advisers to seek guidance from. Many of those men had fallen during the escape or trekking through the forests. Legionaries without banners, horsemen without horses, archers with few arrows and mana-less diviners. Less than a hundred adventurers and a few hundred civilians. As each day passed and more survivors perished the prince decided on a final push. Fortress Ridgefall lay northeast of Stonequiet. The fortress bordered the desert lands of the northern barbarians along with Fortress Healingspring. The prince lay his gambit on sneaking through the tribal territories and finding refuge on yet another abandoned fortress. The cache of wood would be carried to the waters edge and rafts built. This was not to be done. Once more the prince faced a siege by ossians. The goblin and orkoss tribes had been alerted to their presence by a hunter who, whilst suffering from starvation and delirium, failed to quickly down a young deer. A passing goblin found the deer with an arrow sticking from its flank. Tracing its tracks, it then found the hunter already dead. The goblin alerted the tribe who then sent their own scouts and discovered the survivors. Smoke billowed upwards. The goblins made large fires outside the fortress to signal other the tribes. More gathered. More fires. More smoke. More signals. This alerted the ossians who had been pursuing the survivors. The Third Legion was no more. When the smoke cleared it was obvious what had happened behind the walls. The ossians were not met by arrows, spears or swords. There was no resistance. They were simply met by the charred remains of the refugees. They had committed suicide and had their bodies burned to deny the ossians a bountiful victory. ? ? ? ¡ºStonequiet ¨C 2 Month ago¡» ¡°This message is dated five months ago! Why is it only now arriving to me?¡± *bark* ¡°Fucking mutt. Go!¡± A wolf-like bipedal creature crouched on all fours and left the room. The person with an eerily human-like appearance whom received the letter showed a furrowed brow as he read on. Another person approached him, a young girl also with a human-like appearance. ¡°Father, what news?¡± ¡°Good news, we can finally leave this barren shit-hole. We have been recalled.¡± ¡°Amazing news! The troops will surely be happy to hear this.¡± ¡°Indeed, go gather them up.¡± When the legion fled they were followed by a contingent of warriors and scouts. They were easy to find as tracks were left haphazardly in their panic. As they finally caught up to the surviving group they found a second fortress already besieged by local ossians. It was a simple attack as the walls were easy to breach and undefended. The burned bodies were unfit to be consumed for food. The local ossians tribes, which had formed together to attack the fortress, were conscripted and ordered to establish ranches and sties to raise animals. Messengers were sent back to the first fortress and the local area explored, but nothing of worth was found. The tracking group remained stationed at the fortress in preparations to establish mining operations. When the messenger returned months later the tracking group, now defensive group, were ordered to follow through with the mining operation as well as to remain there until recall orders were issued. Four years later those orders were received. The fortress was partially rebuilt, but few minerals were found. Raw stone was sent to the first fortress to supply their planned fortification. ¡°Leave a contingent group to protect the fortress. We leave now.¡± said the commander. The bolstered army marched through the forest to reunite with the main force. The travel was expedited as paths were constructed over the years to allow carts to transport supplies to pass. The scouting party lead by the commander''s daughter moved away from the army to search for anything of interest deeper within the forest. A few days into their travel, the scouting group had found an oasis. Spring water flowed out from an underground river and surrounding the oasis was a bale of giant turtles. At least two dozen adults could be seen and hundreds, if not thousands, of eggs were buried in nests. As the scouting group reported the find, the commander ordered the capture of the turtles and eggs. Goblins and orkoss were sent as well as other types of ossians under control of the commander, most of which included luposs, canioss, tauross and suidoss. The battle of the oasis was a victory for the ossians. Thousands of eggs were claimed and four giant turtles were captured. Twenty-three were slain protecting their nests and only one had managed to escape heading east. Only fourteen goblins and one orkoss were lost in the surprise attack. The slain turtles were to be butchered for meat and the remains to be used for tools and armor. The group continued south. The following month a strange light could be seen, even against the brightness of the sunlit sky. A Rift had formed. Chapter IX: Schism IX Schism ¡ºS-Day +29¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» ¡°Mm.¡± Alicia moaned. ¡°Oh god...¡± Her hands gripping the bedsheets. ¡°Higher, just a little higher.¡± She urged me. ¡°Right there! Oh god right there.¡± ¡°Do you really have to make such erotic sounds? It''s very misleading.¡± I said, letting go of her foot. ¡°Why''d you stop?!¡± ¡°Give me the other one.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Alicia moaned.
¡¸Skill Learned: Foot Massage: Level 1¡¹
After the events of last night, I wanted to explore more of Alicia''s body and gather more skill points, but mostly explore her body. She is really pretty. When we awoke this morning and fulfilled our morning routine I stopped her from leaving the apartment. I dragged her back to the bedroom after we both took our morning bath and threw her onto the bed. From my instruction, Saya brought in an amphora of olive oil which I poured a bit on my hands and started to give Alicia a massage. Since this gave the benefit of farming skill points, I used it as an excuse to touch her body. Though it was not as much gained as copying items, but I was running out of items that could disappear without anyone asking questions. After gaining the skill I moved up to her calves. Then her thighs. ¡°Turn over.¡± As Alicia turned around I moved up her body. Both hands on her small firm ass. ¡°Oh my god, don''t spread it it''s embarrassing.¡± ¡°Mh.¡± I mumbled, ignoring what she said. I moved up to her lower back putting more pressure into the massage. More olive oil poured onto her back spilling over onto the bed staining the sheets. Her spine, her upper back, her shoulders. I massaged her all over, hands exploring and caressing. ¡°Onii-chan¡­ you can if you want.¡± I knew what she meant. As I moved further up her body my positioning placed me straddling her hips. Each time I leaned forward I was resting between her cheeks. She could feel it. I could feel it. I nudged her to turn over. As she did so I moved between her legs. My arms supported me as I leaned over her. With glassy eyes, she stared up at me. Her lips parted. Her breathing ragged. ¡°You never answered my question from before.¡± I said, breaking her from her reverie. ¡°What question?¡± Her gaze unfocused. ¡°Are we siblings? I don''t remember ever having any, but I need to know.¡± She moved her hand between us. Placing me at the right area. ¡°Do you care?¡± ¡°...No.¡± I thrust forward. ? ? ? ¡ºSummoned Quarters ¨C Chad''s Room¡» Two people laid in bed covered in sweat and heavy with breath. ¡°I didn''t come here to have sex.¡± Said the blond girl. ¡°And yet, you couldn''t help yourself. So what did you want then?¡± Chad replied with unhidden smugness. ¡°Whatever, Zoe told me about the deal she made with you.¡± ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m backing off already. What more do you want?¡± ¡°I want all of us to make everything clear. To bury the hatchet. To figure out what each of us want. There is too much tension between us and not the good kind. I want a clean slate.¡± ¡°Fine, whatever.¡± He said with a sigh of resignation. ¡°You there, do you know where Naoki and the others are staying?¡± Emily asked Chad''s servant. ¡°Forgiveness Domina, this one does not know that name.¡± ¡°The other three summoned that left.¡± ¡°Yes Domina, this one can find them.¡± ¡°Good, send them a message. We are going to have a meeting. Once they agree I will tell them the date. Go now.¡± The high servant bowed and left the room to fulfill her orders. ¡°Why did you use mine? Where''s your servant?¡± ¡°Zoe''s using her right now. By the way¡­¡± ¡°What now?¡± ¡°You can''t cum inside us anymore. We''re out of birth control pills.¡± ¡°God dammit¡­¡± ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» ¡°Yay, we had sex. I¡¯m so happy~.¡± Alicia was snuggled against me beaming. We had spent the entire morning together having sex until we were too tired and sore to continue. Both of us lay in bed recovering our stamina. ¡°For the past week, have you been avoiding me?¡± ¡°Huh? No, we''ve both been busy. I was training and doing spy work.¡± ¡°It felt like it.¡± ¡°Veronica told me what happened, I¡¯m sorry I wasn''t there for you.¡± Moments passed before she spoke once more. ¡°So¡­ do you still not remember me?¡± I looked at her, wracking my mind trying to find anything about her. ¡°I don''t.¡± ¡°Oh, so not even our promise?¡± ¡°Promise?¡± ¡°Yeah, we made a promise when we were kids that we would get married.¡± Hm? I¡¯m pretty sure I made that promise with someone else. ¡°I remember making that promise, but it was with someone else.¡± ¡°...Who?¡± She glared at me. ¡°Um, Mizutani Honoka. My childhood friend from Japan.¡± ¡°I''m your childhood friend¡­ not her.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºEarth ¨C 8 Years Ago¡» ¡°And then, papa said that because there are lots and lots of tourist that come here there are lots and lots of treasures in the lake! Old man Ishikawa is always on the sands with his metal thingy looking for treasure.¡± Honoka and I were spending the last day of our camping trip playing in the water. Ever since my parents brought me to Japan to meet my grandparents, I ended up living with them. They said they had an important business and that they would be back soon. They went missing, or simply just left without any contact information or what their plans were or where they went. My grandparents tried to find my other relatives back in California, but without success. I became friends with Honoka almost immediately after we met since we lived a few houses away. We became inseparable, always together at school or at each others home. We always had fun together and always got teased about being boyfriend and girlfriend. ¡°Do you think there are pirate treasures?¡± I asked her. ¡°I dunno, maybe! Let''s find some.¡± ¡°Kay~.¡± We both separated a bit looking for signs of treasure in the waters. After wading in the deeper areas I found something. ¡°Look! Something shiny in the bottom of the lake.¡± ¡°Treasure! But it looks deep. We should get a net or something.¡± ¡°I can get it, it''s not very deep.¡± I dove down. After reaching the shining treasure I tried to grab it, but it was snagged on a rock. The rock was slightly heavy to move that I needed to plant my feet into the sand to move it. Success. The treasure was ours! My legs kicked up and I was about to break the surface when I was stopped. Something was wrapped around my foot. I kicked and kicked trying to get free, but it would not budge. My face just inches from the surface, but I could not breathe. I started to panic. My vision faded. ¡°Someone, someone save my grandson!¡± ? ? ? Two families were waiting in a hospital room waiting for the doctor to return. Naoki''s drowning accident caused panic to spread amongst the campers. The object wrapped around his leg was a discarded fishing net, possibly lost from a drunken fisherman. If not for a nearby ambulance, which had arrived for a separate incident, there was little chance for survival. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and delivered to the emergency room. Hours passed before the doctor came to speak with the family. ¡°How long was the child submerged?¡± ¡°About three minutes...¡± ¡°I see,¡± the doctor pondered. ¡°With drowning cases, prolonged lengths of time prove detrimental to the cognitive capabilities to the child''s brain. We will need to keep the patient here to monitor any issue that might be present due to damage in different areas in the brain.¡± ¡°Brain damage?¡± ¡°Yes, the MRI and CT scans show minimal damage, but it may affect his motor control, memory, speech, and other functions. We will need to wait for the patient to awaken to find out the extent of the damage.¡± A week passed. ? ? ? ¡°He''s awake! Nao-chan''s awake!¡± I heard Honoka''s voice yelling. My eyes opened and I could see people gathering around me. Doctors, nurses, my grandparents and Honoka''s family. Questions were asked of me. Tests were performed on me. After another week of this I could finally go back home. Honoka cried and kept apologizing for what had happened. ¡°I''m so sorry. I shouldn''t have made you look for treasure.¡± ¡°What happened to the one I found?¡± ¡°Huh? It got thrown away, it was a fishing lure. Papa was angry because people keep littering the lake and that wouldn''t have happened to you if they cleaned up after themselves.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± ¡°Nao-chan, promise me that that won''t happen again. I don''t want to see you in a hospital bed again. You wouldn''t wake up and it was scary.¡± ¡°Okay, I promise, but only if you keep your promise too.¡± ¡°What promise?¡± ¡°That we would get married when we grow up.¡± ¡°Married?¡­ Un, okay. Promise.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» ¡°¡­ And? What happened to this girl?¡± Alicia asked with a not happen tone. ¡°A couple of years later, her dad got a new job and she had to move. It was the last I saw of her. A couple years after that, after my grandparents passed, I moved too and enrolled in our school system. I was given my diagnosis and was brought in to the clinical studies. I moved back to America for my surgery and when I transferred into school that''s when we met.¡± We both stayed silent for awhile. ¡°Did you love her?¡± ¡°Hm? Not really. At least I don¡¯t think I did.¡± ¡°Okay. Let''s go take a bath. We also need to pee so we don¡¯t get a UTI.¡± We both struggled getting up and walking to the bathroom. The both of us were quite sore and had to be supported by our servants. ¡°We¡­ we ruined the sheets. It looks like a murder took place.¡± After cleaning up we both sat in the tub. The hot water helped to relax our sore muscles. ¡°How''s your progress with the princess?¡± ¡°Meaning?¡± ¡°How close are you to sleeping with her?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± ¡°Doesn''t matter, it''s a good idea to have her fall in love with you. Having a person of power in your pocket will be beneficial to your plans. You might even get some secrets out of her.¡± ¡°As if I can just get her to fall in love with me.¡± ¡°Don''t forget to sleep with Saya, Illyria too. Onii-chan obviously likes the both of them.¡± After our bath Alicia went back to sleep. I went to join Veronica in the office to continue our research. The other day when the Grimoire had completed synthesizing my rewards I hastily brushed them aside to deal with later. I found my small ruler in my school supplies and measured one of the bronze colored orichalcum plates. 15cm x 9cm x 4mm. About the size of a thick index card. A bit of hindsight, I should have taken pictures of the appraisal plate the princess had me use. Maybe I can get her to borrow it once more. There were one hundred and ten magic stones that were synthesized. I had to copy some of them to identify what each stone was. ¡¸Celerity Stone¡¹ creates a small time dilation field. Light green color with white streaks. Fifty-four minus one. ¡¸Amplifier Stone¡¹ intensifies spells or magic stones. Gold color. Fifty-one minus one. ¡¸Soothe Stone¡¹ produces a calming effect on contact. Pink color. One minus one. ¡¸Rage Stone¡¹ produces a frenzy effect if touched. Blood red color. Two minus one. The last two were one ¡¸Water Stone¡¹ and one ¡¸Dye Stone¡¹. The Encyclopedia finally became useful by giving me these descriptions of each stone. I will leave ¡¸Celerity Stone¡¹ to Veronica to research while I continued my work with the magic chest. All I need to do is take measurements for the metal bits to fasten the panels together then work the magic stones in. While I was doing so Veronica asked me a question. ¡°Hey, so how is your progress on that quest going?¡± ¡°Which one, the grand one with the oss curse thing?¡± ¡°Yeah that one. Find anything out on it?¡± ¡°Tried to find something in the library, but that place is as organized as this room. They don¡¯t use the Dewey Decimal System and it''s mostly filled with useless books so it''s pretty difficult to find anything useful. Although, the princess seems to have organized her favorite story books on one shelf. Pretty annoying.¡± ¡°Hm, what about the shop?¡± ¡°The shop? The quest said that there wasn''t a cure and that I had to invent one. It would be pretty silly if I could just buy one in the shop.¡± I took my Grimoire and checked the shop using different variations of search words for a cure. ¡°Yup, nothing, nothing and also nothing. Only an idiot would think that an incurable deadly disease could be cured in a couple of weeks.¡± ¡°True, that would be pretty silly. If the people of this world can''t cure it, how can we?¡± ¡°Right?¡± I mused about my suspicion of what the oss curse really was. Considering the pain I feel in the mornings and the odd feeling in my neck and head, it might be connected somehow. While my attention was focused on this there was a knock on the office door. Veronica and I listened as Saya spoke. ¡°Master, there is a visitor at the door.¡± We put our Grimoires away and I opened the door. Saya guided me to the front door and I saw a servant waiting outside. ¡°Greetings Dominum, this one has been given a message to deliver by my master, Chad Winters.¡± ¡°¡­ Who?¡± ¡°This one''s master is one of the eleven summoned. Would Dominum wish to accept the message?¡± ¡°Oh, sure. Go ahead.¡± ¡°The summoned one, Emily Habst, wishes for the presence of each summoned for a meeting.¡± I sighed, I really did not feel like dealing with them. ¡°We''re quite busy, when and why do they want to meet?¡± ¡°No appointment has been set and this one does not know the contents of the topic. Domina simply requested an answer of attendance to be given.¡± I looked back into the apartment at Veronica, she only gave a shrug. If we went, Alicia might attack Zoe. Whatever, we can figure it out later. ¡°Fine, tell her we accept. Give the date of the meeting to my servant Saya.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± she bowed then left. Returning to the office, I went to finish the measuring of the chest. Once that task was done the panels were placed in a large cloth bag. ¡°I''m going to visit the workshop, need anything?¡± ¡°Hmm, a still would be nice. I would be able to make larger batches of potions.¡± ¡°A still? Hm, we could make whiskey with it also. Alright, I¡¯m off.¡± ¡°Have fun~.¡± At the palace workshop I made my commission for the chest. It would be held together with copper, internally reinforced with steel and lined with durable leather. There was an issue with the measurements as they used a different system. I had to spend time converting the measurements for the workers to understand. I also commissioned for a large still, about the size of a barrel. An actual barrel was used to give a frame of reference and sketches were used for the tubing. That size should be about five times larger than the retort that Veronica was currently using. It would still use the retort shape with a single tube as a condenser. The armor that I designed for the workers was still being worked on. Measurements of my body were retaken to reconfirm the size and shape. Last thing I wanted to do here was to learn the methods of various smithing. Thanks to ¡¸Viseremancy¡¹ I was able to understand the different methods used. It also helped that I had them describe what the worker was doing. A few ingots of copper and iron was acquired to take home. I wanted to try some experiments with electric magic. ? ? ? ¡ºRoyal Library¡» I was fed up with being unable to find anything in here. So I proposed to the princess that we organize the whole library. The princess, her servant, another two servants, Saya and I started putting everything in order. Hopefully I would be able to find something useful. ¡°Any word on the appraisal plate? I''m curious as to how it works.¡± ¡°About that, I have spoken to the magic instructor. If you agree to meet with him he will teach you how to construct one, but it is not possible to spare any orichalcum.¡± ¡°Sure, fine. We can meet here I suppose.¡± ¡°I will let him know.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +30¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» I wanted to craft another magic bag, but this one would be sewn into both of my pants pocket. It only took a couple of hours to complete. Six magic stones instead of nine for each set made enchanting easier. One removed ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ and two removed ¡¸Distortion Stones¡¹ made the set fit comfortably. This made each pocket hold twenty tiles instead of forty. A few tests of ¡¸Amplifier Stones¡¹ resulted in a doubling capacity of tiles, it would not work on the small scale of my magic pocket, but for the magic chest it would be wonderfully expanded. Now I would just need to be wary of potential pickpockets. One of my problems with my magic bag construction was solved. The lamp that Saya had brought in uses an activation method of turning the ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ on and off. Feeding it just a bit of my own mana triggers the activation, it was a simple thing I had overlooked. With this, I will not have to worry about poorly timed lockouts. The chest held a dimension of 30cm x 30cm x 60cm. Two hundred and twenty-five magic stones can fit on each end and four hundred and fifty magic stones will fit on the bottom and rear of the chest, a total of one thousand and three hundred and fifty magic stones. The front was left empty so that it could be removed to allow larger objects to be placed within. A mixture of ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹, ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹, ¡¸Charge Stone¡¹, ¡¸Anchor Stone¡¹, ¡¸Amplifier Stone¡¹and ¡¸Float Stone¡¹ will be used. The bottom of the chest will contain two trap doors, one for the activation of the array and the other for the distortion integration. Enchanting all of this is going to be a nightmare, I should try testing if stamping can be a thing for copy and paste enchantment. I could really use some coffee... ? ? ? ¡ºFloating Island ¨C Angerona''s Villa¡» Three women were observing a visual display which showed Naoki Kuroba''s current activities. ¡°Are you jealous little girl, now that he has slept with the other one?¡± said the older woman trying to ruffle the younger one. ¡°I am not Invidia, I hold no such notions. That child can lay with whichever woman he pleases.¡± replied the younger girl unperturbed. ¡°Well isn''t that good since it seems his lover is attempting to establish for him a harem. Are you perhaps considering joining their ranks? Although I am unsure if he is aroused by the idea of fucking a little girl.¡± the older woman trying to irritate the younger one. ¡°Hmph, your incitements will do nothing on me. I know all too well how you work. Old hag.¡± the young girl bit back. Angerona watched as these two bickered with one another. A smile on her face. She turned her attention back on the display observing the young man work. ¡°Since the two of you are quite obsessed with him, why not give your blessing? While you''re at it, that girl beside him and his lover are both summoned, we can give them our blessings as well.¡± Both women stopped their bickering and turned their attention toward Angerona. ¡°Hmph, I have no interest in that child.¡± ¡°No interest? Yet you have spent the most time watching him. You did not move at all as you watched him fucking his lover. Give it up little girl, he fascinates you just as he fascinates me. I¡¯ll agree to give them my blessings.¡± ¡°...Fine.¡± the young girl reluctantly agreed. All three returned their attention to the display observing their subject with rapt interest. ¡°By the way, has he discovered the use of ¡¸Conversion¡¹?¡± asked Angerona. ¡°Nope, at least I haven''t seen him do so. Will you communicate with him again?¡± replied the young girl. ¡°My mana pool is nearly empty to communicate and placing blessings will put me at my limit, but you could always speak with him. Well, it is up to you if you want to tell him or not. Now then, shall we begin?¡± *knock knock knock* Before the three goddesses could begin casting their blessing spell there was a knock at the door. ¡°Must I always be interrupted?!¡± Angerona spat with bitterness. All three ceased their casting. Angerona rose from her seat and moved toward the front door with great annoyance. She wondered who would even bother coming this way. As she opened the door she was met by a familiar man. ¡°Hi and hello Angie, now, before you say anything I know we had our¡­ differences, but I come here with an olive branch. Um okay, I mean that metaphorically. I have no olive branch. They''re not common in this area. You should really put an olive tree on your island. It would really spruce up the place.¡± ¡°Hermes¡­ what in the absolute fuck do you want? And stop babbling, you always give me a headache with that.¡± ¡°I''m not Hermes¡­ I¡¯m¡­ look it doesn''t matter. I am here to deliver a message. Okay? Don''t shoot the messenger.¡± ¡°Would you just say it already?!¡± Angerona was at her wits end. ¡°Okay okay, the message is from Fortuna. *ahem* ''You have been quite naughty involving yourself with that summoned. I will be visiting you very soon.''¡± ¡°Fortuna? How would she even know? And why would she even be interested?¡± ¡°Sorry, no idea, I would like to know as well.¡± ¡°How long until she arrives?¡± she was nervous of having to deal with Fortuna, but resolved herself. ¡°Again, no idea. Anywhere between now and in a few years. My and her definition of ''soon'' obviously varies.¡± ¡°Fine. Understood. Now leave.¡± ¡°That''s good. Now that that''s out of the way, how about I come in and eat some food. Traveling all this way was quite exhaust-¡± Angerona slammed the door in his face and returned to the main room. ¡°Uh, Angie? Hello? I¡¯m starving. Okay, I¡¯ll, uh, I¡¯ll take some food from your garden. Don''t forget about putting in an olive tree. Got it? O-live-tree.¡± ¡°Who was that?¡± asked the older woman. ¡°Mercury delivering a message. Fortuna will be visiting.¡± ¡°That old hag?!¡± screamed the young girl. ¡°For what reason?! I hate that worn out wrinkly old bitch, always stealing my favors! I am the true goddess of fortune and good luck! She is just a sadistic luck eater!¡± ¡°Should we continue or postpone?¡± sighed Angerona. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +31¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» I managed to get two stamps done, one for ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ and one for ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹. After the ones for ¡¸Anchor Stone¡¹ and ¡¸Charge Stone¡¹ are done I will be able to test if stamp enchantment is possible. As I was working there was a knock at the door. It was Saya. ¡°Master, a messenger from the summoned has arrived. They wish to meet in two days.¡± ¡°Understood, if you see Alicia let her know as well.¡± ¡°Yes master.¡± I continued my work the rest of the day undisturbed. ? ? ? ¡ºRoyal Library¡» ¡°Salve young man, I have been waiting for this day for some time.¡± A middle age looking man greeted me as I entered the library. The princess sat beside him greeted me as well. ¡°Salve, you are?¡± ¡°Septimus Menenius, magic instructor of the ¡¸Mage''s Guild¡¹ working as instructor for the summoned.¡± We spoke at length into the night. He was quite impressed with my ability to use ¡¸Proficiomancy¡¹ to learn other types of magecraft with ease and with little guidance. He also revealed the others magecraft, though I already knew of Vincent''s magecraft, I learned there were other unique types. I wrote down every detail I could so I would be able to attempt learning the ones I have not already learned. Finally the instructor taught me what I needed to know about appraisal plates and orichalcum. On Earth, orichalcum was a real metal, an alloy of copper, zinc and trace amounts of nickel or other metals. Just as copper and other metals are electrically conductive, fantasy orichalcum is magically conductive. As it accepts enchantments easily it is commonly used in appraisal plates, but have also been used in high level magic tools, magic weapons and magic armor. ¡°Do the weapons and armor contain spells or does it simply utilize whatever magic stone is attached?¡± ¡°High level weapons and armor are able to produce spells that allow it to do various things, but such items are difficult to create. Most diviners use staves and scepters with ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹ which allow them to increase their casting capabilities.¡± Casting capabilities, huh? Maybe I can make something like a battery to increase my mana storing capabilities. We ended the discussions late into the night, quarter past 1am. The princess was already sleeping on the couch/sofa thing with her servant watching over her. I held Saya''s hand as we walked back to the apartment.
Magecraft: Fortimancy | Category: Alteration | Information: Warrior Mage ¨C User is able to strengthen one''s body and target objects.
Magecraft: Ligaremancy | Category: Domination | Information: Binding Mage ¨C User is able to control movements of target.
Magecraft: Sanomancy | Category: Protection | Information: Healing Mage ¨C User is able to heal wounds and illnesses.
Magecraft: Telumancy | Category: Domination | Information: Battle Mage ¨C User is able to gain increased learning of weapons and objects.
Magecraft: Protegomancy | Category: Protection | Information: Shield Mage ¨C User is able to project barriers to inhibit attacks and movements.
Though I am iffy about learning healing magic I will try to learn those other magecraft. ¡¸Telumancy¡¹ and ¡¸Protegomancy¡¹ sound the most useful to me. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +32¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» The appraisal plate was a success and on the first try. ¡°Too bad you wasted two of them.¡± Veronica said with a lying voice. ¡°Shh, first try.¡± I said, causing her to roll her eyes. The appraisal plate identified objects placed on it. This way I would not have to rely on the Grimoire to find out what an object is. It was unfortunate that I did not know the enchantment for identifying a persons information, it was probably a trade secret of the ¡¸Mage''s Guild¡¹. Now that I know how to use ¡¸Appraisal Stones¡¹ I can add it to the magic chest prototype. With my last stamps complete I can also test stamp enchantments and an appraised magic bag. Boom, done. What took three hours of work now took one. Sewing the extra leather was the lengthiest part of the magic bag crafting. The same 3¡Á3 grid was used just for consistency¡¯s sake.
¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹ ¡¸Amplifier Stone¡¹ ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹
¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹
¡¸Appraisal Stone¡¹ ¡¸Anchor Stone¡¹ ¡¸Charge Stone¡¹
This set up provided forty tiles of usable space. I would still need to test the limits of ¡¸Amplifier Stone¡¹, but so far it confirmed small scale doubling of ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹. Now to test the appraisal capabilities of the bag. I placed a gold coin into a tile and checked.
1 ¡Á Gold Aureus Coin (Empty)Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. (Empty)
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¡°Fuck yeah, I am amazing!¡± I handed the bag to Veronica to confirm how awesome I am. ¡°God damn that is so cool. Once you finish the magic chest we can clear up a lot of space.¡± ¡°Hell yeah, but it''s getting late, I have to go to the library and flirt with the princess.¡± ¡°Kay~. Have fun.¡± I''m starving. I can just have Saya bring me something in the palace. ? ? ? ¡ºRoyal Library¡» The princess was engrossed in her storybook while I was busy continuing the organization of the books. I had managed to find a handful of interesting topics, but none of the ones I wanted. I gave up for today and sat down with a book about the six great fortresses of the empire. If I remember correctly, Saya mentioned something about one of them being a mining city and the magic stone dealer had said that most magic stones were mined. An hour or so passed when the princess put down her book. She looked over at me with a hesitant gaze. ¡°Naoki, can I ask you something?¡± ¡°Sure, what?¡± ¡°What is it like¡­ with your wife?¡± Wife? Oh right. ¡°What is what like?¡± ¡°Do I really have to say it? Sex. What is sex like?¡± ¡°You''ve never?¡± ¡°No, my eldest brother died while I was still young and my second brother was more interested in his research than me. So I have never taken a lover. The girls, Zoe and Emily, always talk to me about it. Always trying to get me to share their bed, but I do not like their¡­ demeanor. I feel as if they want to use me as if I was some trophy.¡± ¡°From what I have been told, those two are notorious for sleeping with anyone to stir up drama. Be careful around them.¡± ¡°Thank you for your concern. So what does it feel like?¡± ¡°Amazing. The most intimate pleasure one can share with another person.¡± ¡°The person father will choose as my husband, I do not know if he will share that intimacy with me or if he will only be interested in taking the throne and having me bear an heir to cement his position.¡± I looked at her unsure of what she was getting at. ¡°So what is it that you want? Do you want to take me as your lover or perhaps someone to practice such intimacy with?¡± ¡°It would be scandalous if I were found to be sleeping with a summoned. If we were to have such a relationship¡­ would you keep it secret?¡± Holy shit is this really happening? ¡°Alicia would need to know, she would be angry if I keep it a secret from her. Aside from her, no one needs to know.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I put my book down and moved to sit next to her. We kissed, performed oral on each other and finally slept together. After resting I checked my phone, it was past 2am. Before leaving, her servant stopped me. ¡°Dominum, please take this with you. When you are finished with it, please return it. It is the princesses most cherished story book. You may understand her if you read it.¡± she handed me a thin book. ¡°Understood.¡± We separated and left to our respective homes. I cannot believe I just had sex with an actual princess. ? ? ? ¡ºLower Noble District ¨C Tavern¡» Two men sat at a table eating food and drinking wine. The combat instructor and the magic instructor for the summoned. Both were sharing stories of their experiences with each summoned. The combat instructor impressed by the combat capabilities of a few of the summoned whilst the magic instructor spoke highly of the magic oriented capabilities of the summoned. ¡°I met the ¡¸Proficiomancer¡¹ the other night, amazing individual. He took an interest in ¡¸Runomancy¡¹ and had me teach him how to create an appraisal plate.¡± ¡°That''s the one that did that thing to Dentus right?¡± ¡°The same, he''s very analytical, methodical. Focuses on one thing then quickly moves on to the next. He understands everything I told him or at least most of it.¡± ¡°I believe the summoned were scholars.¡± ¡°So the princess says.¡± ¡°There were two more missing, right? Did you meet with them?¡± ¡°No, the princess claims they are with the ¡¸Proficiomancer¡¹ and remain in hiding. Although, there were talks of a strange girl traveling throughout the inner districts meeting with various families and what not.¡± ¡°They must be in awe being able to visit an empire so grand to want to explore their new surroundings. I wonder what their world is like.¡± ¡°Supposedly tribal, one of them is rumored to be a clan head. Though it is hard to understand what the say.¡± ¡°It''s still impressive. In a single month they have learned to speak our language so fluently.¡± ¡°Yes, but...¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°Their accent, the way they speak. It sounds as if they were sucking cock.¡± Both men laughed and continued their drinking. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +33¡» ¡ºSummoned Quarters¡» We were lead to one of the rooms of our classmates by one of their servants. Alicia and Veronica had little interest in the meeting, but decided to go along with it anyway. We sent our servants on different errands, if anything happened at the meeting they would not be in the way. As we entered one room we were met with eight of our classmates already sitting at a large table. Each one was busy eating a meal and conversing with one another. When they noticed our arrival they ceased their activity and waited for us to sit. Alicia glared at Zoe, Chad glared at me, I glared at the cup of ''wine'' on the table. ¡°So, what is this meeting about? I already told the servant that we were busy.¡± I asked. I sniffed at the cup of wine that was placed in front of me. The vinegared smell stung my nose. It was too early in the morning for wine. I pushed the cup aside. ¡°Busy with what, hiding like cowardly pieces of shits?¡± the obvious steroid abuser said. ¡°Chad stop.¡± the blonde girl said. I held Alicia back. While he continued his spiel. ¡°Where the hell have you even been anyway? We''re busy training while you''re hiding away doing nothing. You have a fucking duty to these people to get your shit together and fight.¡± ¡°My¡­ duty. I have no duty to these primitive monkeys. Who would be stupid enough to fight for these ''people''.¡± ¡°There''s nothing stupid about it, asshole. They are very generous. They gave us all the food we can eat, all the girls we can fuck and all the training to be something amazing. They gave us paradise! Look at this shit man.¡± he began spawning a ¡¶Fireball¡· and held it in his hand. ¡°We''re gods here, the people worship us.¡± one of the lackeys said. ¡°You actually like living in this primitive hell hole? You know they kidnapped us, right? And you''re just going to go along with their plan of using us for their own gain. They don''t give a shit about us, they just want our power. Is this some kind of Stockholm Syndrome? You''re just a weak little slave to them.¡± ¡°This isn''t the only thing I can do. I am stronger now, stronger than you. I can kick your ass easy.¡± ¡°No you can''t. I kicked your ass before and I can kick your ass now, glass jaw.¡± ¡°Man, fuck you! How the fuck are you even still alive? Shouldn''t you be dead already, cancer boy?¡± Everyone was silent. Alicia was angry, Veronica was angry, the others were confused at his words. ¡°Wait wait wait, you knew that I am terminal and decided that, what, it would be a good idea to try and bully me? Which, by the way, you failed at. Are you some kind of retard or something?¡± ¡°Fuck you.¡± ¡°No, fuck yourself. What the hell is your god damn problem anyway? Why are you so obsessed with me? Are you in love with me or something and jealous because I¡¯m with Alicia? Well, sorry kid, but I don''t swing that way.¡± ¡°I fucking hate everything about you...¡± ¡°And? Get over yourself. No one cares about your stupid little problems. You''re nothing important.¡± Somehow steroid face calmed down. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not important. Back on earth, it was all about my older brother. My parents loved him. He was the perfect son. Perfect grades, sports trophies, got any girl he wanted. Everyone loved him and here I was not being able to compare. ''Why aren''t you like your brother Chad?'', ''Why can''t you do better?'' ¡°Nothing I did was ever good enough. I was never good enough. Always being compared to him. Always just a disappointment. Then last year I joined the wrestling team and the coach made me use steroids. I had no choice, but I got stronger. Football, soccer, rugby. I became the best in the school.¡± he had a calmed look on his face as if a weight had been lifted. ¡°¡­ That''s it? The fuck does any of that have to do with me? Stupid¡­¡± ¡°Naoki, stop. Chad has been through a lot. This world¡­ it has been healing him, don''t take this away from him.¡± said the blonde girl. ¡°Shut up blondie, he hasn''t been through shit. Oh my god how I wish I could have his petty little problems. You want some exposition? Okay I will give you a real sob story. A nice little tale of ''woe is me''. ¡°Once, when I was a boy my parents took my to visit my grandparents living in Japan. Then they abandoned me. They just never showed up. So for years I had to live in a completely different culture in the middle of nowhere. The friends I made were few because I was never a ''real'' Japanese, only an American knockoff.¡± ¡°No one gives a sh-¡± one of the lackeys tried to interrupt, but Alicia spawned a dagger close to his neck. ¡°Don''t interrupt him.¡± Alicia gave a death glare to everyone of the others. ¡°R-right, N-Naoki, go ahead.¡± said the blonde one. ¡°Where was I? Oh right, then one day I drowned. Super fun, you should try it. I was dead, literally dead for 3 minutes. Recovering from that was just as fun. Then a few years passed and my only friend back then left, then my grandparents died one at a time. I had to pick the bones from their ashes to bury them. ¡°Now I was alone, but got roped in to our nine-school system and made new friends. Hooray¡­ but even more fun was finding out I have had cancer growing in me for years. Waking up every day feeling like your head is about to burst, the choking feeling in your neck as the cancer destroys every healthy cell in my body. ¡°when I came back to America I sat in a hospital bed for three months and watched as eight people I had become friends with die one at a time. Have you ever had a doctor tell you ''good news, the treatment is working, but you''re still going to die.''? For years I have had to listen to robotic doctors telling me that with uncaring faces. Then when I decide to find my own peace, to enjoy what little I had left, this piece of shit starts causing me trouble. For no reason. He just shows up out of nowhere and acts like some poorly written character. And when the chance came when I could blow my brains out and finally get some peace I get kidnapped into this shitty world. So, blondie, how was that for sob stories?¡± ¡°¡­ I have healing magic. I can-¡± ¡°Nothing can heal me!¡± ¡°So just kill yourself then.¡± said the guy who cries about his older brother. ¡°With pleasure, once I am back on earth. We''re trying to find a way back to earth where we belong. And thanks to you, I won''t bother helping you go back even if you beg me. If you want to play soldier and die for these barbarians like the slaves you are, fine, go and have your fun. Just stay out of our way.¡± ¡°...¡± With this, we formed our own little factions and were to go our own separate ways. As long as we did not have to be involved in their affairs and they in ours all the better. I did not need them interfering with my plans. The three of us stood up and left. I placed both my hands on Alicia''s and Veronica''s ass just to rub it in their faces. ¡°Naoki, we''re out of line of sight.¡± Veronica said to me. ¡°Uh-huh.¡± ¡°You can let go of my butt.¡± ¡°Mm, nah.¡± She slapped my hand away while Alicia giggled at our exchange. ¡°Was everything you said back there true?¡± Veronica asked. ¡°Yep, all of it.¡± ¡°Was it a good idea for this to have happened?¡± I pulled out a blood red magic stone and held it in my hand. ¡°If I am right about what the meeting was supposed to be about then they are in there right now fighting or arguing. At the very least all their attention will be directed at each other and not us. And if they do decide to fight against us, they won''t be united. What''s his name totally played the way I expected him to. Didn''t even have to use this magic stone.¡± ¡°If you think it was a good idea then I¡¯m okay with it.¡± ¡°I''m going to visit the smithy, what are you two going to do?¡± ¡°I''ll come with.¡± ¡°Same.¡± We three went straight to the smithworks to check on the process of our orders. As we arrived we were greeted by one of the redsmiths. ¡°Ah, you''re here. The still you wanted is complete. It will be a few more days for the chest you ordered, however, as it is a bit more intricate according to your specifications.¡± Veronica and I examined the copper still, taking it apart and checking the interior. The construction was well made and sturdy with the edges dulled to prevent injuries to the user. I turned to the worker. ¡°It''s well made, good work. Send a worker to bring it along.¡± ¡°Will do. Will there be anything else?¡± ¡°I would like to commission another one, identical to this. Prioritize the chest though.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± With this done, we returned to the apartment. ? ? ? ¡ºSummoned Quarters¡» ¡°Jesus fucking Christ Chadwick, what the shit was that all about?!¡± Emily was unhappy with how things turned out and directed her anger on the instigator. ¡°It''s fine now isn''t it? Now we don''t have to deal with them.¡± Chad replied with an uncaring tone. ¡°The whole fucking point of this meeting was to get them to join us! What the fuck happened to our deal? Huh?! What about Zoe''s?! Did you lie to us just so you could spite them?¡± ¡°We don''t need their help.¡± ¡°You saw what Alicia did, she had a dagger pulled out of thin air before Liam could even put up a barrier! God, she was ready to slit his throat.¡± ¡°He''ll live, come on let''s go. We can get something more to eat then go to training.¡± ¡°Chadwick¡­ I am done with you. You aren''t our leader, you no longer have any say in what we do. You don''t speak for us and because of your little pissing contest we just made very strong enemies. I¡¯m cutting you off, Zoe too. We''re done with you.¡± ¡°And what the fuck does that mean?¡± ¡°All of you, your servants are no longer allowed to fuck Chad. Instruct them to protect themselves if he ever tries to lay a finger on them. Got it?¡± Vincent, Isaac and Riley agreed without hesitation while Liam and Sam had trouble agreeing to Emily''s terms. Zoe had remained quiet throughout the whole meeting, but gave a muffled ascent to Emily''s decision. ¡°If you cannot decide then I will decide for you. If I can''t trust the two of you then you can join Chad. We''re fucking done here.¡± The group split up and left the room leaving the three men alone. ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» ¡°Onii-chan, let''s change positions. I want to be on top.¡± Alicia straddled my hips and began to grind against me. My hands on her hips, guiding her movements. She arched her back as she reached orgasm, my own following shortly after. She collapsed atop me with ragged breaths. As I attempted to move her to the side she stopped me. ¡°No, stay inside me.¡± ¡°It doesn''t hurt anymore?¡± ¡°Nope, Saya healed me. So you can be as rough as you want next time.¡± we lay like this for some time breathing each other in. As we returned to the apartment, Veronica and I got started working on the still. ¡¸Heat Stones¡¹ were used as the heating element beneath the still. Only a small amount of magic stones were required to get the still to be brought at a low boil. A couple of hours were spent on this before Alicia dragged me to the bedroom. ¡°You came home late, how was the princess?¡± Alicia whispered into my ear. ¡°Surprisingly easy to sleep with.¡± ¡°Only because it was with you. I know the others kept trying to sleep with her, but she kept rejecting them.¡± ¡°She told me. Also, her servant gave me something, a book. Said something about understanding her more or something.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± ¡°Probably a fairytale. It''s on the nightstand.¡± She removed herself from me and reached for the book. After settling into my left side where she was accustomed to, she passed me the book. ¡°There''s still time before you have to go to the library right? Read it to me.¡± ¡°Sure, okay. Once upon a time¡­ it actually says ''once upon a time''.¡± Once upon a time there were two kingdoms at war. So long had they been at war that both sides had forgotten what had caused their strife. Yada yada yada¡­ skirmishes and battles occurred every month. Tens of thousands die each year due to the war and famine brought about by war. The prince from one kingdom and the princess from the other became of age and began to lead their armies against one another. It was soon discovered that both wielded mithril weapons. As the only two to wield such a weapon, they were both lead to each other to fight. As the years passed every battle was decided on the prince and princesses fight, each one unyielding. Constant use of single combat to determine the outcome of battle had caused the two to lead into talks and diplomacy. Each meeting always unresolved and leaving both parties bitter. Each battle always causing the two to come into contact. As more time passed and more meetings became common, almost a weekly affair, soon enough it had indeed become an affair. As the tension between the two increased it became inevitable that they would conduct meetings late into the night. The story goes into great length of their¡­ copulation. His length and girth, her wetness and tightness. Their moans and¡­ ¡°Yeah, this is pretty much porn already.¡± ¡°Keep reading¡­¡± The princess eventually becomes pregnant and the two kingdoms ended their war. When she gave birth, it was decided the prince and princess would marry. They had more children and as they grew older, their first son was crowned king. The new king declared that both kingdoms would unify under a single banner. Peace lasted for many hundreds of years. ¡°Isn''t your sword mithril?¡± ¡°Yup and the princess has a mithril blade as well.¡± ¡°Aww, isn''t she cute? She''s seeing you as one of the book''s characters. Good job on nailing the princess, onii-chan!¡± ? ? ? ¡ºRoyal Library¡» The princess and I laid on the couch together having finished having sex. When I had entered the library I was greeted by her servant. After I returned the book she had lent me she urged me to meet with the princess. Once the princess saw me, she got up from the couch and kissed me pulling me down onto the couch with her. ¡°You''re not sore? Alicia was sore after her first time.¡± ¡°No, not at all. Salina here is able to use healing magic. I want to reiterate that I have no romantic feelings for you, I am just curious about what this like.¡± she said as she continued kissing me. ¡°Uh-huh, no romantic feelings. If you say so.¡± ¡°I say so.¡± As we continued laying on the couch I began to stroke her hair. I took notice of the coloring being brunette that faded to purple. Many people seem to have such multi-tonal hair coloring. Saya had black to blue, Illyria had green to seafoam green, cassia had yellow to red hair, oppai healer had brunette to pink and even the princesses servant had silver to red hair. I asked her about it. ¡°Yes, it''s a very common sight to see. In fact you and the other summoned are a curiosity as to why yours are a single color.¡± Her servant mixed a drink and handed it to the princess. She made a sour face as she drank it down. ¡°What was that that you drank just now?¡± ¡°Silphium extract mixed in water. I told you already that it would cause a scandal if I were found to be having relations with a summoned, right?¡± Silphium? Why does that sound familiar? ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Well, it would be even more scandalous if it were known that I had become pregnant without taking a husband. Hench the silphium.¡± ¡°I see. That makes sense. And silphium is...¡± ¡°An abortifacient. It ceases pregnancies from taking root.¡± Oh fuck, I''ve been finishing inside Alicia. ¡°Why did you panic just now? Did you want me to bear your child? Well, too bad.¡± she said with a smug face. ¡°No, not having a child is a good idea.¡± We began to dress so we could continue our routine. However, after dressing she spoke once more. She had a serious look on her face as she did so. ¡°Naoki, I have something important to tell you.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± I gave her my full attention. ¡°The other day when I took your appraisal, there was more to it than what you saw. There were two things you should know. The first is you have received a blessing from Angerona, she is a goddess which alleviates anguish of those who worship her. This is good news, this blessing. However...¡± ¡°However?¡± I already knew what she was going to say. ¡°The second thing. Naoki, you have what is called the Oss Curse.¡± ''Her words shocked me'' is what I feigned. ¡°The Oss Curse is an affliction that causes death without a doubt. I do not know the exact method the cursed one dies, but it involves animals. When a dog or pig or bull come in contact with a cursed one they become drawn in to that person. Once that happens the Oss Curse ''blooms'' and captures the animal, turn that person into an ossian. A dog becomes a Canioss, a pig becomes Porcoss and a bull becomes a Tauross. ¡°Normally, when it is found that one is afflicted with the Oss Curse they are put to death or exiled. As you are a summoned, doing either would be dangerous. I don''t know what father would do, I don''t know what the senate would do, but I want you to know that I will not reveal this fact to anyone else. I will keep your secret.¡± This was good, having her reveal this to me, having her start this topic. If I had requested information about the Oss Curse it would be suspicious as to how I learned of such a thing. If I requested information about ossians then that would be admission to learn more about the enemy of the empire which could be spun as my wanting to fight against the ossians. As she was the one to start this I can spin it as mere curiosity and her keeping it a secret is even better. Alicia was right, sleeping with the princess was a good idea. ¡°Tell me, Minervina, everything about the Oss Curse and the ossians. I have heard people in town speak of a tauross, what exactly is it, this bull and human hybrid?¡± It''s not a minotaur is it? ¡°It is as you say, the consolidation of man and bull. They become not human, but animal. Their flesh can be consumed and is quite favored amongst all classes of the empire. It has the appearance of a bipedal bull, hooves for feet, arms and chest of a man and bull''s head.¡± So a minotaur then? ¡°So a minotaur then?¡± ¡°Minotaur? How do you know that word?¡± she tilted her head in confusion. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°It is from the language of the northern barbarians. It is also the language of the Hykin Ossians.¡± ¡°And what are the Hykins?¡± ¡°I have never met any as they are forbidden within the seven cities with the exception of Vaticano, but beyond that they are quite popular as slaves. It is said they have the appearance of humans with some physical attributes of animals, furry ears and tails and such.¡± She told me more. Lokins were the common ossians such as minotaurs, centaurs and orcs. Goblins would turn into orkoss or orcs, trolls into orgoss or ogres, cyclops into gigantoss or giants. There were what could be described as kitsunes, werewolves, tengus, lamias, gorgons and all different types of mythological creatures all with their own ''ossian'' name. Mitkins were Lokins that had reached a higher intelligence level and have become able to speak, read and write, but still bear the appearance of Lokins. They have been seen as taking the commander positions in organized unit formations, whether it is on the field or within dungeons. Hykins were the animal girls that everyone on earth is fascinated with, I suppose there are animal men as well. That means there were most likely catgirls that exist in this world and if there were catgirls and I manage to find a way back to earth I could enslave them and sell them in Japan. I would become a billionaire overnight. ? ? ? ¡ºOutskirts of Valemarch¡» ¡°Achoo!¡± ¡°What is it daughter, are you falling ill?¡± ¡°Uh, no father, it must be the dust from the nearby flower fields.¡± ¡°I see, get some rest, we will be in Valemarch within a day.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºRoyal Library¡» ¡°Minervina, is there a cure for the Oss Curse?¡± I already knew the answer, but I wanted to continue playing this off for more information. ¡°I''m sorry Naoki, but there is no cure.¡± she had a sad look in her eye. ¡°Then I would like everything there is to know about the Oss Curse and Ossians. Books are fine.¡± ¡°Of course, there is very few within the library, but I will send Salina to the ¡¸Adventurer''s Guild¡¹ to acquire their encyclopedias on the matter.¡± With this matter done for now I went to pick up the book I was reading last. It was the book about the fortresses that had me thinking about which one was the mining city. Stonequiet was the name of the fortress and it lay to the west of the empire at the foot of the mountains. ¡°Tell me about Stonequiet.¡± I asked Minervina. ¡°Stonequiet? Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I''m curious, I also want to find ¡¸Alter Stones¡¹. It could be the key to returning to my world.¡± ¡°I see, I will tell you what I know, but you can learn more about it from what you are reading. If you wish to locate more ¡¸Alter Stones¡¹ then perhaps you might be interested in Healingspring. Much of the mining is done there now.¡± The fortresses of Stonequiet, Driftingscale and Ridgefall were lost around three or four hundred years ago due to the spread of the invasive Oakoo trees. It would start as a thicket or a grove that would appear overnight then within a month it would become a forest. Even as the local population attempted to control the spread of Oakoo it would be futile. If left for too long wild animals or ossians would take refuge within the wooded areas. As the population of animals and ossians grew, they became a threat to the people cutting down the trees. Fires could only offer a temporary respite from the growth. Forests spread and even became jungles thanks to rivers and streams providing water for various flora to flourish. Attacks became relentless and workers slowly retreated. Overtime the fortress were lost. Barriers were eventually erected out of stone to limit the spread. This allowed Valemarch to survive, but the other three fortresses were eventually abandoned. Stonequiet and Ridgefall had supplied the fledgling empire with massive amounts of stone and ore from the mountains and canyons, respectively. Overtime the mines eventually dried up and the inhabitants abandoned the two before the Oakoo spread. Once it did no one bothered to return. ¡°There are those within the senate that wish to reclaim the fortresses before the Ossians do, but they are few and low of influence. Many wish to concentrate on Pompeii and right now Valemarch has become the priority.¡± ¡°I see, thank you.¡± The night ended and we kissed each other goodbye. Saya and I walked home. I have been noticing Saya pouting more frequently. I wonder why¡­ no I know why, she wants me to sleep with her, I am sure. But I am exhausted. Another time, perhaps. As we entered the bedroom Saya crawled into bed tired while I climbed atop Alicia. She was wearing her now usual nightly attire of my shirt and no panties. ¡°Alicia.¡± She grumbled. ¡°Alicia, wake up.¡± ¡°Huh? What is it onii-chan? If you want to have sex with me go ahead. I told you you have free use whenever you want. Just let me sleep. Tired~¡­¡± she slurred with tired words. ¡°That''s not it, are you on birth control?¡± ¡°Hm, birth control? No, of course not. Why?¡± ¡°I''ve been cumming inside you, you could get pregnant.¡± ¡°Mhm, can''t wait.¡± she moved her hand down and started rubbing her stomach. ¡°No. I don''t want a child.¡± Alicia opened her eyes at my words. ¡°Well too bad, because I do.¡± ¡°No, it''s too dangerous.¡± ¡°I''ll take care of it. Protect it. You''re able to live a little bit longer now so we need to have as much kids as we can.¡± ¡°We have enemies, what if it''s used against us? What if I just end up dying anyway? Then I would be abandoning that kid like my parents abandoned me.¡± ¡°...So what then? If you die and I don''t have your child then what? I don''t want anyone else''s child, only yours. So if you do die, how am I going to get pregnant?¡± she was angry. Her tone was calm, but angry. A few minutes passed as I thought of a solution. It should be a good enough compromise. ¡°I can fill up some glass vials and you can put it in your bag. When we go back to earth you can get yourself pregnant as many times as you want. But how will it be when they don''t have a father?¡± ¡°Then¡­ live.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +34¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» ¡°So a bit of hindsight thing...¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Veronica and I were sitting in the office. She was busy with calculations for the new still while I was preparing the magic stones to be set into the magic chest. As I looked at the chest, it suddenly hit me that I was making it unnecessarily complicated. ¡°I realized I simply could have just put magic stones on the bottom of the chest instead of mimicking the Ice Box and Float Chest. Then cover the stones with a false bottom.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± she picked her head up and replied with a spaced out stare. With four hundred and fifty magic stones instead of one thousand three hundred and fifty I had originally designed, it would be an easier prototype to make. It was fortunate I was focusing on the bottom panel to start as a base so my efforts were not wasted. The second prototype will simply use the chest I had commissioned at the smithy. The problem would be ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹ as the majority I had were the small rice size stones not the more useful two centimeter cube size. ¡°I need more money...¡± ¡°Yeah about that, if my calculations are right, I would be able to make twenty to thirty potions a day instead of the three I have been making, but¡­¡± Veronica hesitated. ¡°But? The materials for it are getting expensive.¡± ¡°Right, even if I made small batches instead it would still be a problem of running out of ingredients.¡± ¡°Have you had any success with potency? Less numerous, but more powerful?¡± ¡°I have some ideas, but I would need to go somewhere else for materials.¡± ¡°Take some money and go to the ¡¸Merchant''s Guild¡¹, ¡¸Apothecary''s Guild¡¹ and ¡¸Alchemist''s Guild¡¹ and buy what you need. I will try and ramp up my soap production.¡± She left to go change with Cassia following close behind while I went to the bedroom and started counting coins. I took ten thousand gold coins for Veronica and partitioned out ten pouches of one thousand coins. This way if someone steals a pouch she would not lose all of it. When she came back to the apartment I handed her the pouches and four of us left, with me heading next door and Saya downstairs. As I walked into the apartment I could see the kid working hard on stirring the barrel of moromi, the chickpea and wheat mixture. Saya was in charge of paying him and I had the payout at one silver denarius per day of work. At ten bronze sesterces per denarius, only four or five sestertius is needed for plebs to survive each day. Apparently I was being pretty generous for paying a servant this much. Once he was done with the stirring, I was set to teach him how to make soap. Saya came back with two more servants where I instructed that the two would work under the kid whose name I learned was Aster. Aster would act as the supervisor for the two and the two would be his assistants. They understood quickly what I wanted them to do and I had them working straight away. I would need to go to the smithy and speak with a carpenter to make a larger mold. I can just stop by there before meeting the princess in the library. With all of this settled I went to get myself ready. This time, since I am running out of paper, I will be taking my laptop to record all the notes I have acquired. ? ? ? ¡ºValemarch¡» ¡°Demosthenes, it is good you have returned, but you are late.¡± said a powerful looking man. ¡°We left as soon as we received your message¡­ two months ago. Don''t send mutts as they are slow. The lagomorphic races are more useful messengers.¡± ¡°They are busy with missives to and from Pompeii and you know well the path to Stonequiet is treacherous, the mutts have some use. Kassandra, you look well.¡± the powerful man turned his attention to the girl accompanying the man. ¡°Stratigos.¡± she bowed. ¡°Now give me your report.¡± The two hundred man strong Tracking Corps had returned to Valemarch from Stonequiet. They brought with them captured jungle turtles and thousands of eggs. If hatched and trained, these turtles can become powerful beasts of burden or even siege turtles to tear down the walls of the empire. The Stratigos, or General, who commanded all military forces within Valemarch for the past five years greeted Demosthenes, Lochagos of the Tracking Corps as well as his daughter Kassandra, Dekaneas of the scouting squad. All three persons were Ossians of the Felinic race. Lochagos Demosthenes gave his report regarding the failed mining operations. There were little to no usable minerals to bolster their forces. He gave reports regarding the poor quality rocky soil, but recommended the creation of forts within the fortress borders and the use of goblins and orkoss to log the trees down to form a path to the empire. ¡°It will be considered.¡± said the Stratigos. ¡°There is another matter that was recently discovered. There is a dungeon beneath the fortress. However, it is filled with daemonic mutts, single and double head variants. A few dozen local orkoss were killed so I had the entranced sealed.¡± The Stratigos pondered this new development. ¡°A wise decision, it is not important right now. I have another task for your corps, our ships have discovered another fortress to the east of our location. Unfortunately, there is something wrong with the water and a handful of boats sank. I want the Tracking Corps to trek through the forest and observe the fortress. If you are able to capture it do so otherwise send a report of your findings. You will leave in one week, have your men rest and feast. There is many entertainment for your men as well.¡± ¡°Understood. What will become of Stonequiet?¡± ¡°I will send a horde of one thousand to reinforce the fortress and work the land. The oasis you discovered will be used for crops. If there is nothing else you are dismissed.¡± Both, father and daughter, bowed and left the room. Demosthenes reported the new orders and the men dispersed. ? ? ? ¡ºRoyal Library¡» The still and the chest I had commissioned were completed and I had it sent to the apartment. Saya led the workers and returned after a short time. I was busy typing up notes from the different books I had found interesting into my laptop. The princess was beside me taking turns watching me work and reading her book. It was four hours of mindless droning before I could no longer take this tedious work. ¡°Fuck this already I need a break.¡± I started browsing my hard drive for something to watch. Hm? I wonder¡­ A though came to me. Since the princess lived in such a primitive world, what would happen if I showed her a video of contemporary life? I browsed not anime, but live action series I had. After a bit of browsing I picked one that had lots of good music, lots of action, lots of modern technology, lots of laughs and it was something I could translate fast enough for her. I began to play the video. ¡°Naoki, what is this?¡± she asked after a few minutes in. ¡°Keep watching, I¡¯ll translate their words for you.¡± The princess continued watching with wide eyes. Even after the video ended she held a surprised look. Seeing her break character was something I enjoyed. After some time she was able to compose herself closing her eyes in deep thought. ¡°Okay, I will do it. I will help you return home. I will discover what happened to brother''s research. I will help you find ¡¸Altar Stones¡¹. In return¡­ I want to visit your world.¡± I looked at her with my best poker face, surprised that my plan worked even better than I had thought. ¡°Deal.¡± Alicia was right, having the princess in my pocket would be very beneficial. However, if she ever finds out that I consider her father my enemy for what he did, I wonder what she would do then? ¡°Naoki.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Come to my chambers tomorrow morning. We are giving the summoned a break from training so I will have tomorrow free. Also the ¡¸Animancer¡¹ will be able to meet with you as well as the encyclopedias you requested will be delivered. And¡­¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°My bed is more comfortable than this couch¡­¡± Minervina is cute when she blushes. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +35¡» ¡ºPrivate Chambers of Minervina¡» ¡°Naoki, this is the ¡¸Animancer¡¹, his name is Nonus. This is the problem I spoke of before.¡± The kid was even younger than the one I was employing. It is no wonder he has not yet understood his own magecraft. Fuck, so much for completing that quest. ¡°I will be taking him under my care as ¡¸Animancy¡¹ and ¡¸Sentiomancy¡¹ are closely related.¡± ¡°Uh-huh, understood.¡± She then directed her servant to take the boy away. Giving him his own room and a servant to tend to him. She turned her attention back to me. ¡°The encyclopedias are here as well on loan from the ¡¸Adventurer''s Guild¡¹.¡± ¡°Thank you, I will return it when I am done making copies.¡± ¡°So¡­ this is my bed¡­¡± I requested from one of her other servants for some olive oil. Since it was not long after Alicia and I had our morning routine I still needed time to recharge and besides, Minervina could afford new sheets. I climbed atop Minervina and explored her body just like our first time together. When her servant returned with the olive oil I went to work massaging every part of her body. When I was finally able to I crawled between her legs and slid myself within Minervina. ? ? ? ¡ºEmperor''s Chambers¡» The Emperor, looking exhausted from the recent senatorial meetings, summoned a servant to his side. ¡°Bring Minervina here, I must know the state of the summoned.¡± ¡°Right away Emperor.¡± The servant left leaving the Emperor alone in his office. ? ? ? ¡ºPrivate Chambers of Minervina¡» ¡°Naoki harder, oh Naoki, I¡¯m almost there!¡± Minervina''s servant, Salina, came to the bedside and spoke to the princess. ¡°Princess, the Emperor''s servant has arrived with a summons. You are to visit the Emperor right now.¡± ¡°Now of all times?! Just tell the messenger that I am getting dressed or something. Naoki, hurry.¡± The thought of Minervina having to meet with that shitbag emperor while my cum was slowly dripping down her leg pushed me over the edge. ¡°Ah fuck, I¡¯m cumming.¡± We quickly separated and got as cleaned up as we possibly could. Towels were thrown around as we attempted to blot out enough oil off our bodies that we may look presentable. ¡°I have a lot of studying to do so we may not be able to meet tonight, but tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, tomorrow¡­ if you would like, you can spend the night here tomorrow.¡± I kissed her goodbye and we both left with me leaving some time after Minervina did. Before heading back to the apartment I wanted to pick up my commission from the woodworker. As I arrived at the smithy, I was notified that most of my commissions were completed and were ready to be delivered. Now all that was left was my armor. ? ? ? ¡ºEmperor''s Chambers¡» ¡°Father, I have arrived.¡± Minervina looked at her father sitting at his desk fighting drowsiness. As her voice rang out, the emperor collected himself. ¡°Minervina, good, you are here. I want to know¡­ is something wrong? You look disheveled.¡± the Emperor said as he took notice of his daughters state. ¡°Not at all father, I was merely preparing for a bath when I had received your summons.¡± ¡°Is that so? Sorry for rushing you here, the senators have been dragging the meetings too much that I rarely get any sleep. Tell me how the summoned are doing. Have their servants shown signs of pregnancy?¡± ¡°I believe two of them are showing signs. One belonging to the ¡¸Runomancer¡¹ and the other to the ¡¸Telumancer¡¹. The others would need time.¡± ¡°The sooner they bear children the sooner we can garner loyalty from the summoned. Having a child to protect will be their resolve for our fight against the Ossians. What of the ¡¸Proficiomancer''s¡¹ faction, will there be a possibility of unification?¡± Minervina thought for a moment for what her next words would be. ¡°Unlikely, there is growing animosity between the two groups. I believe assisting Naoki would benefit the empire greatly. We have misunderstood the summoned, they are much more intelligent than we had anticipated. They would be able to bring to us more fortunes from their knowledge than being simple soldiers.¡± ¡°Naoki? Is this the name of the ¡¸Proficiomancer¡¹? Daughter, do not grow too close to them. We need them to retake Valemarch and Pompeii. Once that happens we can use them against the senate. There is also talk of a Remius heir surviving, we cannot allow them to ingratiate themselves with the summoned.¡± ¡°Remius? The founders of the Empire? Then all the more reason to support Naoki! If we can make contact with their world we may gain powerful allies.¡± ¡°Or powerful enemies. We cannot fight against two worlds.¡± Before the two could continue a servant came in with news. ¡°Emperor, it is time again for the senate meeting.¡± ¡°So it is, Minervina, continue guiding the summoned. I will continue to obfuscate their existence from the senate. They are not yet ready to be revealed.¡± ¡°Yes father.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» My magic chest is ready. All I need to do is seal and secure the false bottom. A quick test showed two thousand inventory tiles and the ¡¸Appraisal Stone¡¹ worked to show the information as I place an item in. ¡¸Float Stones¡¹ countered the effects of numerous ¡¸Anchor Stones¡¹ used to stabilize the effects of ¡¸Distortion Stones¡¹. A last test confirmed that large objects could be placed in as I put the larger chest and a chair within the magic chest. I would start cleaning up the office and store it in the chest tomorrow. Since I was here and everyone else was sleeping, I summoned my Grimoire since it had been some days from when I last checked on it.
¡¸Quest:¡¾Fortress I¡¿ | Information: The six Fortresses protected the borders of the Empire, but held other functions. Learn about them. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points, +1 Wisdom Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Fortress I¡¿ | Information: The six Fortresses protected the borders of the Empire, but held other functions. Learn about them. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points, +1 Wisdom Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Princess I¡¿ | Information: Bond with the Princess of the Empire. | Rewards: 2500 stored Mana, 50 Skill Points, +1 Charisma Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Princess I¡¿ | Information: Bond with the Princess of the Empire. | Rewards: 2500 stored Mana, 50 Skill Points, +1 Charisma Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Ossian I¡¿ | Information: Learn the details of what an Ossian is. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points, +1 Wisdom Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Ossian I¡¿ | Information: Learn the details of what an Ossian is. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points, +1 Wisdom Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Oss Curse I¡¿ | Information: Learn the details of what the Oss Curse is and how it functions. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points, +1 Wisdom Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Oss Curse I¡¿ | Information: Learn the details of what the Oss Curse is and how it functions. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points, +1 Wisdom Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Princess II¡¿ | Information: Increase you standing with the Princess of the Empire. | Rewards: 2500 stored Mana, 50 Skill Points, +1 Charisma Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Princess II¡¿ | Information: Increase you standing with the Princess of the Empire. | Rewards: 2500 stored Mana, 50 Skill Points, +1 Charisma Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Princess III¡¿ | Information: Form an Alliance with the Princess of the Empire. | Rewards: 25000 stored Mana, 500 Skill Points, +1 Intelligence Point, +1 Wisdom Point, +1 Charisma Point., +1 Luck Point¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Princess III¡¿ | Information: Form an Alliance with the Princess of the Empire. | Rewards: 25000 stored Mana, 500 Skill Points, +1 Intelligence Point, +1 Wisdom Point, +1 Charisma Point., +1 Luck Point¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Magic Chest¡¿ | Information: Complete the creation of a Magic Chest. | Rewards: 25000 stored Mana, 500 Skill Points, +1 Dexterity Point, +1 Intelligence Point, 1000 Mana Stones (Synthesis Required).¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Magic Chest¡¿ | Information: Complete the creation of a Magic Chest. | Rewards: 25000 stored Mana, 500 Skill Points, +1 Dexterity Point, +1 Intelligence Point, 1000 Mana Stones (Synthesis Required).¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Ossian II¡¿ | Information: Learn the various types of Ossians. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points, +1 Wisdom Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Ossian II¡¿ | Information: Learn the Various types of Ossians. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points, +1 Wisdom Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Oss Curse II¡¿ | Information: Discover the origins of the Oss Curse. | Rewards: 5000 stored Mana, 50 Skill Points, +1 Wisdom Point.¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Altar¡¿ | Information: Search for Altar Stones locations. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points.¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Technology I¡¿ | Information: Old technologies can become new. Prepare schematics of various technologies and inventions. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points, 1 Choice Blueprint of 3.¡¹
Prompt: New Blessing gained: Blessing of Felicitas. | +1000 Skill Points.
Prompt: New Title gained: Champion of Felicitas.
Prompt: New Blessing gained: Blessing of Ira. | +1000 Skill Points.
Prompt: New Title gained: Champion of Ira.
Prompt: New spell learned.
¡¸Mantra of Fortune | Information: A gift from Felicitas. Allows User to temporarily increase Luck, Willpower and Precision by +10. Critical Strike chance increased. Self Target. Higher grades allow multiple targets and longer active time. | Words of Power: [Luck. Fortune. Serendipity.]¡¹
Prompt: New spell learned.
¡¸Mantra of Rage | Information: A gift from Ira. Allows User to inflict Rage Status to target. Increases Strength, Endurance and Toughness by +10. Reduces Intelligence, Wisdom and Willpower by -10. Small chance to cause Berserker Status (5%). Increases Strength, Endurance and Toughness by +25. Reduces Intelligence, Wisdom and Willpower by -25. Single Target. Higher grades may cover Area of Effect and increases active time. | Words of Power: [Anger. Fury. Wrath.]¡¹
Stored Mana: 63,825
Skill Points: 3,297
Prompt: Items in queue: 1000 Mana Stones. Begin Synthesis? YES | NO
Good fucking god, what the shit is this?! I really should check on my Grimoire more often. So much quest spam and chain quests at that and two blessings of gods? My stored Mana and Skill Points skyrocketed as well. There are so many things I could buy from the ¡¸Shop¡¹ and I would be able to unlock a ton of items for purchase. This is freaking awesome¡­ except for the ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ queue. At five minutes per synthesis and one thousand items to synthesize, it would take around eighty-something hours. Fuck it. I am tired and there is so much to take in. I have no idea if I could pause a synthesis or not, but I decided to select YES and left it on the desk. I would just figure it out tomorrow. With this I could go to sleep as it was already very late. Veronica had gone to her apartment a couple of hours ago and I am sure the servants were already sleeping. It was a dark night as there was no moon out, but I chose not to use a light so as not to disturb the girls already sleeping. ¡¶!¡· Hm? ¡¶Vigilance¡· gave me a warning sign. Someone is here¡­ Chapter X: Circus X ¡º¡» ¡º¡» Good fucking god, what the shit is this?! ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹
¡¶¡· Hm? ¡¶Vigilance¡· gave me a warning sign. Someone is here¡­ ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Hm, that was kinda loud. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹
¡¸¡¹ ¡ú ¡¸¡¹
Heh. My leg is asleep¡­ ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¶¡· Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¶¡· ¡°¡¶¡· ¡°¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡°¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° Calm. Comfort. Tranquility. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° If there are no ¡¸Altar Stones¡¹ and no research on summoning then there is no reason for me to remain in the capital. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡»
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¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¸¡¹ I wonder if raising my Endurance stat can fix that problem. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ Dev, please balance.
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¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ? ? ? ¡º¡» She is adorable. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» Let the games begin¡­ I wish I had some popcorn. Chapter XI: Maximus XI ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° Maybe some kind of dire wolf. Well, they do have giant turtles so maybe this size is normal. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Kinda, I guess. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°you be able to do such a thing?¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° Fucking cowards. Commander? Alright, roll for initiative! ¡° The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· He will bleed out, four more left. ¡¶¡·¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· Now for the last one. ¡° Eh? Who the fuck is that?! ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Fuck this empire. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹ Good enough for a small batch, but it would be better to leave the rest to continue fermenting. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°
¡¸¡¾¡¿¡¹
? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Intermission II: UFO II ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡»A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°I have found you my Champion. Your pain has called out to me. I invite you to my world. A world once had been connected to your own. Choose, my Champion, travel to my world and I shall take away your torment or remain in yours.¡± she had repeated this numerous times until the young man was able to comprehend. ¡°Hm, no.¡± replied the young man. ¡°I see. I am saddened by your rejection. Then, my Champion, farewell and live well.¡± A moment of quiet stirred as Angerona turned to Ira. ¡°Ira~,¡± whined Angerona, ¡°he said no! After finding the perfect candidate. What am I going to do?¡± ¡°Should have just taken him.¡± ¡°You know I cannot do such a thing. They must agree freely, otherwise they would resent me or even rebel.¡± ¡°Most of the others agreed without being aware.¡± ¡°They still agreed.¡± As they were bickering, another voice had caught Angerona''s attention. ¡°Beings from another world, by my right, you are ordered to our world. Come forth!¡± the voice declared. ¡°What?! What fool dares to interfere?! This one has made his choice, do not dare sully the judgment of a goddess! My Champion, this is not of my doing, resist this fool who takes your peace-¡± ¡°Beings from another world, by my right, you are ordered to our world. Come forth!¡± once more the voice repeated itself. Angerona watched as a rift opened around the fires of her chosen champion. One by one, each fire was consumed by the rift. She immediately followed along to search for the source of the summoning ritual. Once found, she had understood what had occurred. The source of the interloper came from Asphodel, her home planet, and it was by the use of ¡¸Altar Stones¡¹ which had forced an override on her own ritual. Not only did the Altar ritual annex the circle ritual, it stole Angerona''s mana to increase the size of the rift. In her fury, she smote the young summoner for daring to violate a god. Immolating him in front of all those present as well as destroying the altar which had offended her. Consuming what little remained of her mana, Angerona was now wracked with exhaustion. She left to her chambers to recover. ¡°Did something happen?¡± Felicitas asked Ira as Angerona disappeared. ¡°Hm? Probably.¡± Chapter XII: Covenant XII Covenant ¡ºS-Day +66¡» ¡ºColosseum ¨C Spoliarium¡» The six bodies of the fallen adventurers were taken to the room where weapons, armor, body parts and other items are removed from the dead. Slave workers placed each body on a stone surface and stripped each adventurer naked. Usable materials will be repurposed. Bile was removed as well as any remaining blood to be sold to the ¡¸Alchemist''s Guild¡¹. Undamaged organs are quickly and carefully removed and placed in ice boxes for preservation and sold to the ¡¸Healer''s Guild¡¹. Lastly, holes are drilled into each head to allow the workers access to the brain. Between each hemisphere lies a crystal of ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ which can be harvested. The size of each crystals differs from person to person, creature to creature. This is either repurposed or sold off. Once the spoils have been plundered, each body is sent to the crematorium for disposal. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +69¡» ¡ºColosseum¡» ¡°For the crimes of subversion and treason against the empire, for offenses against the summoned and defeat within the trial-by-combat, for violation committed during the trial-by-combat, for cowardice and bribery. Former Propraetor Lucius Carbo Umbrius of the house of Umbrii has been sentenced to death by crucifixion.¡± No cheers nor jeers were heard. Quiet gasps of shock murmured through the spectators as the accusations had been made. ¡°To expedite the execution, his accomplice, a pleb whose name has been stripped, shall set aflame a pyre beneath the cross. The man will then be further stripped of his citizenship and will be sent to the urban sewers.¡± the announcer concluded. The urban sewers located beneath the southern cities conglomerated all sewage channels from all the Epistylian cities and drained further south. Thousands of slaves work within this grand construction to maintain its functions. Slimes are bred and tasked to consume and convert waste material into usable fertilizer. Excess slimes are transferred to dungeons to function as cleaners. Slaves are also responsible for maintaining the flow of waste water and to remove any clogs that may appear. It is estimated that tens of slaves perish within the sewers each day. Guards entered the arena dragging along the chained accomplice of Umbrius. The man was then brought before Umbrius and had materials dropped in front of him to start a fire. As the fire spread, the man''s chains were then staked to the ground forcing him to watch as Umbrius slowly burned. Umbrius burned slowly, painfully, before succumbing to the fire. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day + 70¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» It was still dark when I was awoken to the feeling of someone atop my body. On my right, I could feel Saya sleeping sounding while on my left was someone that was not Alicia drooling on me. Above me was Alicia whose face was illuminated by a dim light. ¡°Ah, you''re awake. Good morning, onii-chan.¡± she whispered. ¡°What time is it?¡± I replied groggily. ¡°Almost four. I couldn''t get much sleep knowing you were finally sleeping with Saya. Look,¡± she showed me her camera''s LCD screen, ¡°You were a lot more gentle with her than you were with me. I had wanted you to practice with them first so you wouldn''t just jam it inside me.¡± ¡°Who was recording that?¡± ¡°Illyria. You didn''t notice?¡± I was too focused on Saya that I had no idea what Illyria had been doing. After finishing with Alicia, we resumed our typical morning routine. Saya was made to rest with Illyria handling her duties. As Alicia and I luxuriated in the bath, I started to think of some issues that became problematic. Body wash, shampoo, cotton swabs, toothpaste and other items were already depleted. It can simply be replaced thanks to the Grimoire, but it would cost quite a bit of stored mana. Not to mention my medication, of which I only had less than a month left and five months for my painkillers. I need to figure out a way to mass produce stored mana to keep a constant supply of meds. Another issue is stocking up on supplies we would need to travel to the western mountains. Thanks to the magic chest, we would be able to carry a larger amount of items with greater ease, but we would still require a large caravan to mask its existence. A large amount of food to feed a large amount of workers who would work a large amount of tools and wear a large amount of clothing. Much of my money would disappear in the blink of an eye. Wood can be harvested in the forest and used as temporary shelter along with earth magic. However, once we reach the mountain we would need something that would allow for quick mining. Black powder. It was thanks to my friend Rich and his obsession with learning how everything is made that I learned how to make black powder. A simple thing which can be made with ease. Plentiful wood for charcoal and plentiful sulfur from Healingspring, all that was needed was potassium nitrate. Even though the others will figure it out eventually, it would be best to not give them a head start with such a thing. Thus, harvesting from animal waste would cause too much suspicion and an alternative would be needed. Urine soaked straw left to ferment for a year would do the trick. Placing it in the time machine would hasten the process. Since urine is used on a massive scale by the locals, it would not lead any suspicion. Umu, let''s go with that. I turned my attention to Alicia. ¡°Alicia, I need your pee.¡± She was sitting on my lap resting her head on my shoulder and at my words I felt her tremble. As she faced me, Alicia gave me a look of quiet acceptance. ¡°O-okay.¡± With careful movements, she stood above me standing on the stone rim of the bath. Her thin legs spread allowing me a glimpse in-between. Her fingers moved to spread her lips and with a strained face¡­ ¡°Wait wait wait, what the fuck are you doing?¡± I said, trying to stop her. ¡°You told me to pee on you.¡± ¡°I did not!¡± ¡°You just said ''I need your pee''. What the hell am I supposed to think?!¡± ¡°Pee in a bucket, not on my face. What the shit?¡± ¡°We'' have weird fetishes,¡± she said as she stepped off the bath and walking towards the toilet. ¡°You have to tell me specifically what you want otherwise I will just take it as you trying to get off. Idiot onii-chan.¡± ¡°Hey, pee in a bucket.¡± ¡°Fuck off!¡± she slammed the door. Alicia returned a few minutes later and rejoined me in the bath. Although, she still held an annoyed look on her face. ¡°And, why do you need urine?¡± she asked while eying me suspiciously. ¡°Gunpowder.¡± ¡°Whoa wait, you''re not thinking of giving these people explosives are you?¡± ¡°Nope, once we leave the empire I want to head to the western mountains. If we can find ¡¸Altar Stones¡¹ there then we can have a chance at returning home. That''s where the black powder comes in. There should also be a fortress there that was abandoned that we can use as a base.¡± ¡°We''ll need lots of food and tools, skilled workers and maybe even an army. We have a lot of work to do and a million gold isn''t going to be enough.¡± ¡°A lot of work.¡± ¡°Then let''s get started, onii-chan.¡± ? ? ? We got to work. Alicia took some servants living below us to Veronica so she can mass produce potions. When she finished that, she went to prepare for the upcoming feast she had planned. I, on the other hand, went next door to check on the not-soy sauce. My Grimoire was left with Veronica to synthesize a hand-operated rolling mill which would take two hours and twenty thousand mana. The pot was filled with brown liquid which had the familiar scent and taste. Next step was to boil it to cease the fermentation process. The leftover mash was to be used as miso. Once the boiling was done and stored away, I took the three servants who were idle while waiting for my commands. On my word, the three servants followed me to the carruca. Saya had insisted on accompanying me despite her fatigue, though I did notice an obvious limp to her. She clung to my arm as we walked, hearts floating above her. As we boarded the noise-machine-of-deaf-making I explained my plans for the three servants. Saya was busily tapping away at my phone as if she could read the kanji and english letters. She held a smile as she found a song she liked. They would collect the items I had listed in large quantities and pile it onto the carriage. Oats, wheat, honey, various nuts, various fruit, milk and straw. While they worked on this task, Saya and I would head to the ¡¸Merchant''s Guild¡¹ to sell what soap they had made and place orders on the same items, but in even larger quantities. We arrived at the merchant district and split up. As I waited in line for the counter, I could hear a few customers making requests for information about the crossbow I had used. Each one was turned away as the guild had no knowledge of the weapon. A few asked about the armor and even whose family the emblem belonged to. When it came to my turn at the counter, I was met by the same person I had worked with before. ¡°You''ve returned. Salve.¡± ¡°Salve, I¡¯ve come to sell some wares and place some orders.¡± ¡°Of course, sir.¡± Despite the soap being lower quality than the ones I make, it was still higher quality than that of the locals. A large amount was sold off for nearly four hundred gold. Then orders were placed for large amounts of the same items I had sent the servants out for and other items. Linen sacks were ordered to contain the dry items instead of the large clay pots called dolium. The different linen sacks held ten to fifty libras of grain. Again, I had no idea how much that was in real measurements. If it is less than an imperial pound, then maybe around three kilograms or so. Chickpeas, salt, barrels, chests, raw cotton, charcoal and dry wood were also ordered in large quantities. Covered wagons and other types of transports were order as well for when we were set to leave. Asses were chosen as the animal of choice rather than horses as it was much easier to take care of asses. The massive amounts of orders were to be delivered to the High Servant''s Quarters. We left a hundred thousand gold aureus lighter. As left the building, I took notice of different animals just staring at me. Ever since that wolf from the Colosseum gave me that odd stare, I started seeing other animals doing it. The birds would cock their head to me, the dogs would stare, the cats would stare, the porcupine-looking thing that had feathers instead of quills would stare at me, another porcupine-looking thing that had feathers instead of quills, but this one had red feathers so I am guessing it was a level eighty palette swap would also stare. Whatever. My next stop was to the newly reopened magic item shop. The shop itself catered to the patricians and held large appliances. It was mostly ice boxes, ovens and hot tubs. The few small items that they did carry were fire-starter wands, ass-washing wands and cool-your-face wands. We left empty-handed. Next stop was at the ¡¸Alchemist''s Guild¡¹ for the explosives I wanted to make. To obfuscate the necessary materials required, I simply bought whatever was available. Sulfuric acid and nitric acid were used for gun cotton which was scary easy to make thanks to the same person that taught me and Rich how to make black powder. Graphite was used in gunpowder to prevent static discharge causing an unintended ignition. We left once more a hundred thousand gold aureus lighter. I was now depleted of what money I had on me. There was still magic stones and tools we would need so I could no longer make other purchases. When we returned to the carriage, we saw it was filled completely with what the servants were sent to purchase. It was not much of an issue as Saya could simple sit on my lap as always. ? ? ? The high servant''s quarters were a simple design of six apartment styled insulae connected to each other sitting atop a lower servant''s quarters. Twelve servants assisted the six high servants whilst they were living within the quarters until the high servants were needed. Once five of the high servants had left, the remaining lower servants idled whilst waiting for new duties. As Saya had become the last remaining high servant residing here, the servants tended to her every command. When I had tried asking Saya why she was left behind while the other five went to the others, she would simply ignore me or change the subject. She did tell me that when it was discovered that there were ten otherworlders rather than their intended six, the emperor had to acquire more servants from the Servilia House. I figured that Alicia most likely had already screened them so they would probably be safe to use. Each of the servants would be needed for my current task. Once we arrived at the apartment, I had the servants start unloading everything into my workshop apartment. While they busied themselves, I went into my residing apartment and into the office. ¡°Sup dude, your thing''s just finished synthesizing.¡± Veronica said without taking her eyes off the retort she was working on, ¡°What did you make?¡± ¡°A rolling mill for the oats I got.¡± ¡°Oh cool, I could totally go for some muesli.¡± ¡°I have no idea what that is.¡± ¡°I''ll show you how to make some later. Just need fresh fruits, milk, nuts and honey for the rolled oats.¡± ¡°Sure okay, by the way, I got you some food from the merchant district.¡± ¡°Oh hell yeah, I''m starving. Thanks~.¡± she jumped out of her chair and practically lunged at the food I brought her. ¡°Aren''t I such a great boyfriend.¡± ¡°Not even close, buddy.¡± ¡°Tch. Ah right, do you know how to make gun cotton?¡± ¡°Kinda, my teacher last year showed us how nitration works so I could probably figure it out.¡± ¡°Great, I''ll help you out with making some.¡± I took the hand-operated rolling mill to the work apartment and showed the servants how to use it. They were instructed to take shifts using this on all the oat grains. I also instructed them on toasting half of it with the oven as well as how to dry some of the fruits that were purchased. Once they understood how to do this, they were to teach it to the other servants using the other ovens in the other apartments. The day was nearly done and I wanted to prep one more task. With the help of the other servants, I had piles of straw laid out a bit away from the building and had Saya instruct all the servants to collect urine and pour it over the straw bed. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +71¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» The ration bars, formerly camping bars, were simple to make and the servants were able to bake them in large batches. The muesli that Veronica talked about was also easy to make as it was just putting everything into a bowl, mixing it then chilling it in the ice box. As I thought about all the food that needed to be prepared for our travels, an idea came to mind. I could have some bento boxes crafted. The bento boxes can just be filled and stacked in the magic chest. With all the servants hard at work, there was little for me to do at the moment. I took a look at the tattered remnants of my armor and decided to have it repaired at the smithy. While I was at it, I drew up some plans for the boxes. ? ? ? While there was still turtle shell material leftover, there was not enough usable pieces to fix the damaged areas of my armor. I had the armorsmiths use steel to fill in the gaps. The redsmiths were commissioned to craft more identical copper stills. As much as they could make with the copper they had on hand. Since I was nearby, I went to visit the library to drop off the tomes I had borrowed from Minervina and to grab that book about the six fortresses. Thankfully, there was also a map of the empire that I could steal and use to plot out our travel route. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +72¡» ¡ºPatrician''s District¡» Alicia had taken me to meet with some nobles early in the morning. She convinced me that I could make a bit of money by selling off some ideas to the patricians. Three nobles I would spend the day meeting and three things I could sell to each one. Soap, paper and printing. I met with the first one. He was holding an orange bar of soap that I had not given him, surprised that I was the one responsible for it. He went on to tell me about how his daughter was the one who had bought it from a merchant. Soap might be problematic as the ¡¸Merchant''s Guild¡¹ associate had warned me that numerous inquiries were made by the ¡¸Alchemist''s Guild¡¹ as to ascertain the source of the soap I had made. I relayed this to the man whose name I did not care to remember. ¡°It''s fine, I have dealt with that guild for many years. It will not be a problem.¡± claimed the patrician, ¡°But how do you know its process? It is a guarded secret amongst the alchemists and the never of this quality.¡± ¡°I have approximate knowledge of many things.¡± While I was busy drawing up the contract relinquishing my rights to the soap recipe, Alicia took the man aside and spoke to him quietly. A hundred thousand gold aureus in bronze sesterces and silver denarii were paid out to me. We left for the next noble to sell the paper. It was a simple thing, how to make paper. Wood is broken down into small pieces then soaked in water and beaten to fuck-all until it becomes pulp. Many other types of materials could be turned into usable pulp such as cotton, linen, hemp, papyrus and various vine plants. Lye is used to remove the starches.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The pulp is then suspended in a vat of water where a screen is used to scoop out some pulp. Once the excess water is drained off, the raw paper is then sandwiched between a layer of cloths and stacked upon each other. This is then pressed to remove as much of the remaining water then removed and laid out to dry. ¡°It''s that easy?¡± questioned the man, incredulously. ¡°It''s that easy.¡± I simply parroted, ¡°Ah, but while it is superior to that papyrus crap you people still insist on using, parchment is still better to use for important things and long term records.¡± ¡°I would need proof of your words.¡± At his words, I ripped out a page from one of my composition books and handed the page to him. ¡°This was mechanically pressed using multi-ton steel rollers. The one I described to you will be thicker.¡± ¡°I see, with this it could change the very-¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. My world has had this for, like, two thousand years. You people seriously need to catch up. By the way, here''s a freebie since I am just so gosh darn generous. Use ¡¸Dye Stones¡¹ mixed with oil or water or something as a writing medium. If you mix it with clay and bake it then stick in between some pieces of wood you get a pencil. Amazing~.¡± ¡°Where did you learn such things?¡± ¡°I have approximate knowledge of many things.¡± The contract was signed, he was given the plans and instructions and I got a fat check of one hundred thousand gold aureus worth of bronze fucking sesterces because of course it is something easy to carry and not at all a hindrance. Once more Alicia took the man aside and spoke to him privately. I am not bothered by it. Nope. The third and last person I met today ''oohed'' and ''aahed'' at the very concept of the printing press. The idea of movable type to make reproductions of prearranged letters to make mass amounts of copies was simply beyond these people''s comprehension. ¡°Where did you learn of such a thing?¡± ¡°I have approximate¡­ whatever, just sign here.¡± I did not even have to try to sell it to him before he took my offer of two hundred thousand gold aureus. Again, it was in sesterces and denarii and Alicia spoke to this one privately. I am not jealous. We bid farewell and made our way back to our apartment. ¡°Don''t be jealous.¡± ¡°I''m not jealous.¡± ¡°Ever since you started taking fewer of those painkillers you have been a lot easier to read,¡± she stepped in front of me holding her arms behind her in an attempt to look cute. Her ponytail whipped around as she turned to face me, ¡°Everything I do I do to benefit you. The deal I made with those men ensure that your deals will be upheld. You have nothing to worry about, onii-chan~.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +73¡» ¡ºImperial Palace ¨C Office¡» During our morning meal we received a messenger with a request from the emperor for an audience. It seems their caravan had returned to the capital sometime last night. This was good as I would be able to see Minervina again. Before we left the apartment, Alicia, Veronica and I took all our prepared blueprints, schematics and contracts. The crossbow and trebuchet plans were already negotiated, but I still had my little packet of industry to garner more leverage. The three of us were sat before the emperor in his small office with Alicia to my left and Veronica to my right. Our servants were not present, but the emperor''s own were and were busily providing us with chilled water and a light meal. ¡°Lucius Umbrius is dead,¡± the emperor began, ¡°His agent has been enslaved and sent to the urban sewers. He will not live long.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°He was crucified and set aflame. The house of Umbrii is now in disarray, though they are merely a small family. I have held up my end of the agreement.¡± I handed over the crossbow, crossbow blueprints, trebuchet blueprints and tactical information of its usage. ¡°And, as per the agreement, we will head to Umbria to oversee the initial production of these weapons. We will be using the Umbrius Estate as our temporary residence. What will become of the family?¡± ¡°They remain in the Senator''s villa. No decision has been made as to what will become of them.¡± ¡°As long as they do not decide to retaliate against us, we will not move against them. Now that this has been settled, there is another issue that needs to be resolved.¡± I looked over to Alicia. ¡°Next,¡± Alicia began, ¡°let''s discuss reparations for crimes committed against us ''summoned''.¡± ¡°No such thing has been-¡± ¡°Kidnapping, impressment, attempted enslavement and allowing an enemy agent access to the palatial grounds in an attempted assassination.¡± ¡°I have lost my son summoning you, I have sacrificed too much. I do not acknowledge such ''crimes'', there will be no recompense.¡± the emperor gave us a sour look. ¡°Veronica and I watched your son violate a goddess''s commands and was killed for it. However, that still leaves the fact that we were kidnapped against our will. What we are asking for is a miniscule amount.¡± ¡°So my priests spoke true, it was Angerona who they had heard.¡± the emperor finally realized what had happened. With great reluctance, he looked at us, ¡°What do you want?¡± The emperor looked at me with suspicion, cautious of what I would be suggesting to him. I took out the map of the empire and placed it on the table. ¡°I want this.¡± My hand was placed over the mountain region of the map. ¡°The Silent Mountains? For what reason?¡± ¡°To find a means back to our world and to not be under the thumb of your empire.¡± ¡°Many within the senate wish to reclaim this area, it will be difficult to persuade them.¡± He continued staring at the map, seeing his territory in its entirety. ¡°Simple, have the others retake¡­ what''s this place called, Valemarch, and this southern area of the mountains will remain in your jurisdiction.¡± I pointed at the area where it showed a clear border of the forest, ¡°This area will act as the defining border. Everything inward will be ours.¡± ¡°And you think I would just give it to you?¡± he asked, incredulously. ¡°Obviously, but I suppose I can sweeten the deal. How about this, what I will offer you will change your society and it will be a simple pittance of what I am asking for. I offer the power of steam technology.¡± I did not say this grandly like an imbecile would, but I did expect a better reception other than silence. ¡°That''s it? We use steam toys in the four wind temples to fascinate the plebs. There is no such thing as ''power of steam'' other than keeping the temples visited.¡± the emperor said with an unimpressed voice. The northern city of Tiberialis held the Temple of Aquilo, god of the north wind. The southern city of Esquiline held the Temple of Auster, god of the south wind. The eastern city of Oppian held the Temple of Vulturnus, god of the east wind. The western city of Pincian held the Temple of Favonius, god of the west wind. ¡°I''m not offering a toy, I¡¯m offering technology. For example, how long would it take for an entire legion to travel from the capital to the outer wall?¡± ¡°One month at full gear and supply, three weeks at a forced march,¡± the emperor looked at me questioningly. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Once the railway tracks become established and a steam engine utilized, transporting large numbers of troops and supplies will take less than a week. It would require new metallurgical practices and a universal standardization of measurements.¡± ¡°And what is to stop me from simply requesting this information from the other summoned?¡± the emperor did his best to hide his smirk. ¡°Feel free to do so and you can spend the next fifty years trying to figure out what they are telling you. Then you will be arguing with your craftsmen when they tell you the others are full of shit because your workers are too primitive to understand. But you see this?¡± I waved a bundle of papers in his view, ¡°This is everything written down in your own language, written with new standards of measure, written so that those very craftsmen can understand just by following simple steps. ¡°How long until the ossians invade enmasse?¡± We continued our attempts at convincing him that this would be a good idea. Since they had spent twenty years sitting on their asses doing nothing while the empire was being invaded then they should have no problem spending the years needed to make railways happen. It did not take long to convince him that this was a good idea. I now had complete control of most of the mountain range to the west on the condition that I did not intrude on the gallian mountains to the north and the southern area of the silent mountains. An agreement was made so that no entity from the empire or allied to the empire would trespass onto our territory. We spent an annoying amount of hours writing, rewriting and signing contracts before we were finally done with negotiations. Though I had wanted to leave immediately, we were famished and needed food and drink. One of the servants caught my eye. I had noticed her earlier, but had not paid much attention to her as the contracts were more important. She looked to be around thirty years of age, pale skin, blue eyes and blue hair. ¡°In case you are wondering, yes, she is Saya''s mother.¡± noticing my gaze, the emperor said so. ¡°As I already had two sons and a daughter with the late empress, I saw no need to adopt Saya as my daughter.¡± ¡°Then how did it come that I had gained her ownership?¡± I was curious about how the emperor had distributed the servants as the apartment I resided in had belonged to Saya from the beginning. ¡°She is a special case, that girl. The colors blue and white are the most prized colors within the empire. It signifies strength and power as it was the color of mithril. Blue when mixed with iron and white when made pure. Her divinity allowed her to learn any skill just from a simply glance. Add to it that she is descended from the ancient summoned, her value was extremely high. ¡°Because of this, she ended up becoming spoiled. She was difficult to control and often showed disrespect. She had much avarice for things she was not supposed to have. The girl was punished for pilfering numerous things from the palace. When the summoning was complete we were prepared for six summoned, but received ten.¡± The emperor went on to tell us that when the six summoned were to arrive, a new set of high servants would take residence and they would have just switched out Saya with another. When ten arrived, they gave them a servant each as well as Minervina receiving a new one, Saya was left out due to her punishment. Six otherworlders were expected as that was the supposed number of the previous summoned. ¡°What was her punishment?¡± ¡°The girl had been caught many times pilfering food and wine from the kitchens. She was forced to only eat hard bread and other food of lower quality.¡± God dammit... are you kidding me? That explains the hard bread I had been eating for the first fucking month. Our meals were done and we had wanted nothing else to do with each other so we left. We did not shake hands since we still felt ire toward each other. I am fucking both your daughters¡­ When we left the office, we went our separate ways. ¡°I have someone I need to meet in secret.¡± I said while bidding them a farewell. ¡°Have fun~, we need to set up for tomorrow''s feast. I¡¯ll send Saya over with your overnight bag.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºZoe and Emily''s Chambers¡» Zoe Summers was positioned on all fours, naked, wracked with sweat and on the cusp of climax. Behind her knelt a young man busily and rhythmically penetrating her. ¡°Oh, oh god Naoki, Naoki, I¡¯m cumming baby. Harder¡­ harder!¡± Both partners shared a mutual orgasm before separating. ¡°Look, I know you''re hung up on the guy, but stop calling me by his fucking name. God damn Zoe.¡± the young man admonished. ¡°Sorry Vince, I just got caught up in the moment.¡± she said as she laid on her back then looked over to her servant and called to her, ¡°Sweety, come clean me up.¡± The young girl crawled between Zoe''s legs and lowered her head. ¡°Where''s Em?¡± Vince asked while watching the servant ''cleaning'' her master. ¡°Making up with Chad. She felt bad for going off on him at the meeting.¡± Zoe sigh each word. Zoe noticed Vincent''s servant holding her hand over her mouth before rushing out of the bedroom. ¡°Vince, what''s wrong with your servant?¡± ¡°She''s been feeling sick all month. Probably food poisoning.¡± ¡°Dude, I think she''s pregnant.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºMinervina''s Chambers¡» Minervina rested her head on my chest while we lay in bed. We spent little time clothed the moment we had met each other and immediately worked to relieve each others tension. ¡°Did you miss me that much?¡± I teased. ¡°¡­ I just missed the sex.¡± ¡°That''s fine, I will be spending the night so we can have as much fun as we want.¡± ¡°And it only took you a month to finally spend the night.¡± ¡°Alicia is planning a feast for tomorrow. Afterward, we will be making our preparations for our expedition. I want you to come with us.¡± She said nothing while running her hand over my chest. Her delicate fingers tracing the lines of sweat left behind from our tryst. ¡°I will think about it.¡± ¡°I would prefer it if you came with.¡± ¡°Naoki, do you love me that much?¡± her face was covered in the same smug as Alicia''s. ¡°I only enjoy sleeping with you.¡± She leaned down to kiss me. *chu* ¡°We''re both terrible liars, aren''t we?¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +74¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» ¡°Onii-chan~, welcome back. Did you have fun?¡± Alicia greeted me outside, early in the morning. ¡°I can''t believe you actually sent Illyria to record us.¡± When Saya had arrived last night she was accompanied by Illyria who was carrying Alicia''s DSLR. ¡°I can''t wait to watch it together. By the way, I need your help. I need you to make an imu.¡± ¡°Emu?¡± ¡°No, not the bird. Imu.¡± Inu. ¡°You''re thinking of the Japanese word for ''dog'' aren''t you? An imu is a type of pit oven that uses heated rocks to cook a large amount of food over a long period.¡± She described in detail how to construct one and I went to work. A trench was made using earth magic behind the insulae. Firewood was stacked carefully to allow airflow from the ends of the trench to pull in oxygen and keep the fires hot. Stones were piled atop the firewood to absorb as much heat as possible. When the firewood burned through enough, the stones would simply fall into the trench. Once the stones become set in the trench, branches which have been soaked overnight were carefully placed over the trench to hold the food. Large broad leaves were placed on top the branches and the meat and vegetables placed above that. More leaves covered the food and soaked linen cloths were used to hold the leaves together. The ends of the trench were sealed and the pile was covered with dirt. This would cook throughout the day. ¡°Wait, hold on. Where did the banana leaves come from?¡± I noticed the leaves, but did not remember seeing anything like it before. ¡°The market, apparently bananas grow here, but don''t bother eating it. Totally not worth it.¡± Veronica warned me. Completely ignoring her, I went to the kitchens and found a banana bunch and took one to eat. I immediately regretted my decision as the banana had a weird artificial taste. ¡°So yeah, the ones that they grow here are the same ones that supposedly went extinct on earth. It''s actually pretty popular among the locals as a delicacy. You should really see your face right now.¡± Veronica was busily laughing as she explained the banana issue. I left to work on other things. The servants were ordered to pause their making of ration bars and tasked with setting up tables and chairs outside as well as preparing other foods and drink to be served. ? ? ? ¡ºPort City of Ostia ¨C Outskirts¡» ¡°Blasted jungle, how can so much plant life survive in such a place?¡± a young girl with a cat-like human appearance vexedly asked. ¡°Unlike our world, this world is rich in mana. With so much mana moving freely, it allows life to overcome. Now come, daughter, we are nearing the town.¡± The group of trackers had been tasked with searching for an ancient fortress to allow a further foothold onto the continent for the Ossians stationed in Pompeii. Unfortunately, the jungles were thick with life. Beasts would attack, ossian tribes would not ally themselves and the plants with thick roots and vines which webbed around them slowed their progress. Though a month had progressed, barely one hundred kilometers had been traveled. It was only thanks to numerous failed naval expeditions that they knew of a town which they were now nearing. The city of Ostia was once a small fishing village before the empire came to be. It was one of many villages which provided food and salt to the northern cities. Despite becoming a prosperous city, it was unfortunately plagued by the rampant spread of the Oakoo tree. Ostia was eventually abandoned over five hundred years ago. Night fell when the tracking corps had reached the city. Because of their beastly traits, the tracking corps composing primarily of Felidoss, they were able to see the city clearly through the starlit night. ¡°Just as the report claimed, it is empty. We will make our camp here and in the morning I will send someone back to Valemarch. We can have this place set up as a supply post.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +75 ¨C Midnight¡» ¡ºPraetorian Guard Barracks¡» 3am, I had snuck out of the apartment after our party by feigning drunkenness before going to sleep. With Alicia''s meticulous scouting, I had access to the night patrol''s routes which became easy to bypass. With the use of ¡¸Silent Stones¡¹, I broke into a private room of the barracks and used more of the stones to contain the room. As I completed securing the room, I noticed the person on the bed stirring. His eyes opened wide upon taking notice that he was not alone. ¡°Morning~.¡± ¡°Guards!¡± he screamed, pointlessly. ¡°Yeah, no, don''t bother. I covered the windows and door with some cloth to prevent light leaking out and covered the area with a bunch of ¡¸Silent Stones¡¹. No one will bother us.¡± I showed him my sheathed sword to ensure he did not make any moves. ¡°What do you want, you scum?¡± ¡°Oh, you''re able to speak clearly now? That will make things less tedious. I have questions; you have answers. Just make this simple, okay?¡± ¡°I will never answer your questions.¡± ¡´!¡µ ¡°Yeah, okay, that''s a lie. Now tell me, why did you have so much money hidden away. Someone of your former rank would not make such a large amount.¡± ¡°Hmph, I was the greatest-¡± ¡´!¡µ ¡°Lie. Was it bribe money?¡± He refused to answer my questions. Any questions. I decided to pull something out of my ass to see if my false accusations had any substance. ¡°Propraetor Lucius Umbrius is dead. Crucified and burned for treason. His estate is being searched for any missives to indict any other traitors.¡± His eyes twitched. That''s a bingo. ¡°Is there a plot against the empire?¡± Though I was unable to get a direct answer from him, I did, however, get some implied answers. Umbrius and this guy may be part of an underground faction to rebel against the empire. What I had thought was bribe money from patricians to get their sons into the praetorian guard may actually be bribe money to sway the guardsmen. The best part is simply that I just so happened to stumble upon this plot because these two were idiots or something. As I looked at the annoyed man lying in his bed all I could see was pitifulness. I drew my blade and aimed at his heart. ¡°For someone who was trying to recruit allies for the rebel alliance, you sure as shit fucked up in not recruiting me.¡± ¡°You are just worthless children. You will never be useful. The true empire is greater than you can ever comprehend.¡± he spat with venom and hatred. ¡°All that pride and look at where it has gotten you. I defeated you in combat, I defeated six adventurers in combat. I am the greatest. ¡°Congratulations on getting killed by a ''child'', number seven.¡± *stab* My sword pierced into his chest. Into his heart. Into his spine. He gasped. In pain and regret, he gasped. I watched as the light in his eyes became faded. I watched as his last breath became faded. I wiped the blood from my blade and sheathed it. Before I took the cloths used to hide the light and the ¡¸Silent Stones¡¹ suppress any sounds, I turned around and gazed at the body of Dentus. I wonder¡­ I summoned my Grimoire and watched as the digital pixelation materialize the book of magic. A thought had occurred to me, if it could copy anything and everything then¡­ I lifted the body slightly to allow the Grimoire to be placed underneath. As it did so, the most vile thing I have ever witness occurred. The Grimoire absorbed the body slowly, yet quickly. The skin, hair and clothing melted. The fat and muscle melted. Organs and body fluids melted. The bones melted. The Grimoire drank the entirety of a man in only a few minutes.
¡´Copied: Corpse ¨C Human Male +5 Skill Points¡µ
¡°Jesus fucking ch-blarghahghah-¡± I vomited.
¡´Copied: Vomit +5 Skill Points¡µ
¡°Oh my god, fuck off¡­¡± Gross. Might as well hide any evidence I was here. The bed frame, mattress, pillow and blanket was copied into my Grimoire while everything else in the room went into my super awesome magic bag. Simply turning the bag inside-out allowed the distortion field to contact with the larger objects. I searched for any other hidden panels, but found nothing. If there were any evidence of treason it may be hidden somewhere on the desk. I probably would not find anything, however. When everything in the room had been stashed away, I crawled out the window to make my escape only to be met by Alicia. ¡°I didn''t expect you to follow me.¡± ¡°I thought you were heading to the princess''s room, not here. Is he¡­ taken care of?¡± ¡°Yep, found out some things as well. There might be a rebellion happening.¡± ¡°Then let''s head back and start making plans.¡± ? ? ? Once we returned to the apartment, I made a stop into the office. I wanted to do a quick update on my stats.
Health: 200/200 ¡ú 200/1000 Stamina: 59/200 ¡ú 59/1000
Mana: 145/200 ¡ú 145/1000 Life Force: 123/200 ¡ú 123/1000
Stored Mana: 132,473
Strength: 23 Intelligence: 28
Precision: 31 Wisdom: 30
Dexterity: 25 Willpower: 21 ¡ú 22
Endurance: 22 ¡ú 23 Perception: 26
Toughness: 30 Charisma: 23
Resistance: 28 ¡ú 29 Luck: 68
Health Recovery: 11 Stamina Recovery: 11
Mana Recovery: 35 Life Force Recovery: 11
Skill Points: 2,613
Status Effects: -
Three thousand two hundred skill points were spent on my pool resource to increase each one to one thousand. Twenty thousand stored mana for the rolling mill. Starting tomorr¡­ today I will need to begin stockpiling my medication which costs one thousand five hundred and thirty stored mana. I have enough stored mana to stockpile nearly three months worth. Actually, since I still have a large amount of painkillers I can simple focus on my medicine. Four hundred and fifty stored mana for just a days worth of pills. Okay, this will work just fine. Just fine. ? ? ? ¡ºAngerona''s Floating Island¡» Angerona heard a knocking on the door of her villa. As she opened the door, she was met by a familiar face. One she had been expecting. ¡°Fortuna, we''ve been expecting you. We were unsure when you would be visiting so there is little refreshments available.¡± ¡°Angerona, you are looking as lovely as ever, but must every incarnation carry such¡­ travesties on such a lovely body?¡± Fortuna returned the greeting taking note of the young goddess''s numerous scars. ¡°Don''t mind the food as I have brought some over. I am imposing after all.¡± The goddess was allowed into the villa and as she continued inward she noticed two others whom noticed her appearance. ¡°Ira,¡± Fortuna began, ¡°Such a pleasant surprise. I see you are looking as peaceful as ever.¡± As Ira returned her greeting she noticed who the other person sitting was. ¡°Felicitas, as youthful as ever.¡± ¡°Hmph, old ha-oof¡± Felicitas was quickly interrupted be Angerona whom anticipated her reaction. ¡°Now that the pleasantries are done, I will get to the point of my being here. What, exactly, are your intentions with my descendant? The one which you have summoned.¡± Chapter XIII: Supplies XIII Supplies ¡ºAngerona''s Floating Island¡» Fortuna sat listening to Angerona explaining the events which had unfolded. She was unsurprised hearing an altar ritual had overtaken the magic circle as it was common knowledge amongst the gods that all summoning spells were developed from the usage of ¡¸Altar Stones¡¹. It was one of many reasons summoning spells have been in decline. ¡°It is better to end his life now lest his oss curse overtake him. I cannot let such a thing taint my bloodline.¡± Fortuna finally said after some minutes of silence. ¡°I will bear responsibility over him.¡± rebutted Angerona. ¡°Responsibility?¡± Fortuna, giving her a look of disdain continued, ¡°You gave him access to the Grimoire Magic System, a very dangerous thing, and you plan to use him to defend against the Elysiites and Aesireans. Such a thing would make you a target. Do you honestly believe you can ''bear responsibility''? ¡°Or is it that you intend to create new vessels with him?¡± Angerona was unable to answer causing the room to fall into silence. ¡°Not everyone has a hundred thousand descendants rutting around, you old whore.¡± Felicitas rambunctiously blurted out. Such words had shocked Fortuna into a furious haze, but before she could respond to such insolence a distant voice decided to cut in. ¡°Hahaha, to say such a thing to an old lady, you haven''t changed at all Felicitas. Fortuna, why not let them have the child?¡± said the mysterious voice. At those words, the room full of women took notice of two more women walking into the room with baskets full of food. The one who had spoken looked over at the display module sitting on a table. ¡°Is that the one you''re arguing over? He''s cute, but his cock is hardly impressive. Well, judging by that girl''s face he''s able to do something right. Alright, I¡¯ve decided, I¡¯ll have some children with him as well. What about you Abundantia?¡± ¡°Hmm, okay Avaritia, that sounds fun.¡± Abundantia agreed and then offered, ¡°How about a wager then? Who among us will be first to bear a child by him and who will bear the most.¡± Fortuna, now calmed, looked over to the display watching as Naoki was resting atop Alicia whilst an anxious Saya sat nearby waiting for her turn. As soon as Avaritia and Abundantia delivered the food, they turned back to retrieve more baskets of food. When both goddesses had left the villa, well out of earshot, Abundantia turned to Avaritia. ¡°Do you really intend to have a child with that boy?¡± ¡°Pfft no,¡± sneered Avaritia, ¡°Sericans are so hideous, but I do enjoy a good prank or two. Let''s see how this plays out.¡± Abundantia agreed and both continued transporting food. Back within the common area of the villa, Angerona continued pleading her case against Fortuna in keeping Naoki under her charge. Eventually, Fortuna relented. ¡°So be it, responsibility is yours to bear along with any burdens that may stem from it.¡± Fortuna turned her attention back to the display, ¡°It''s not as if I could use either of those three as vessels anyway.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +75¡» ¡ºMinervina''s Chambers¡» ¡°Do you have any proof of a rebellion?¡± Minervina asked as I laid my head on her chest. ¡°No proof, but once something is found at the Umbrii estate use it to interrogate the Praetorian Guards. In my world, the Praetorian Guards assassinated numerous emperors and even sold the throne to the highest bidder before assassinating him as well.¡± I said while struggling to keep my eyes open. Her breasts were soft pillows on which I may take my rest. ¡°Naoki? Naoki, are you really sleeping? This is your fault for drinking such strong wine.¡± I felt her arms holding me tightly. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +85¡» ¡ºPalace ¨C Deep Cellar¡» ¡°How fucking deep is this cellar?¡± ¡°In order to keep the area cool without the use of magic stones, the cellar needs to be deep underground.¡± ¡°Yes I know, however, we have been walking down these stairs for fifteen minutes.¡± I said, annoyed at how deep these stairs ran down. ¡°We will be there soon, b-beloved. B-by the way, *ahem*, how did you craft these devices? How did you call them, flesh lights?¡± Minervina asked as we continued downward. ¡°Flashlights, flash-lights. I used the idea of the lamps you had and combined it with the flashlights I brought along.¡± A small length of wood was cut into a cylinder. It was then cut to fit two magic stones. A ¡¸Bright Stone¡¹ was fitted into the end of the cylinder with a ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ behind it to provide power. A simple switch mechanism, that I copied from the lamp, moves the ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ back and forth to create or break contact. It was a crude design, but it was simple to craft. I could further the idea by a reflective surface and adding more magic stones and create a high-intensity floodlight. As I explained to Minervina how I was able to create such a simple thing we continued walking down the stairs to the cellar. The air became noticeably cooler the further down we walked. Each time the temperature dropped Minervina would shiver and clasp my hand tightly. I could feel her warmth through her soft hand as our fingers were tightly woven together. ¡°Master¡­ I am cold.¡± Saya was here with us as well, apparently. We continued walking into the darkness with our flashlights illuminating our way. After a dozen steps had passed, Minervina broke the silence. ¡°This could have military applications, even adventurers would have need of it. Most use diviners to carry such stones for light, but those who cannot...¡± she was lost in her thoughts as she imagined the possibilities of this ''invention''. ¡°So simple yet no one has bothered to create them until now, yet there are lamps and street lights everywhere you go.¡± ¡°But those require enchantments and- ah, we''re here.¡± Lamps didn''t even have any enchantments. At the end of the stairs was a set of large doors. Though we did not have the keys to access this area, it was a simple task of using electromagnetism to trip the tumblers of this simple spring lock mechanism. Once I managed to open the doors, which absolutely did not take twenty minutes, we were treated to a lovely sight. Inside the deep cellar was thousands of casks of wine and hundreds of barrels. Minervina explained that the casks were made of various types of wood to experiment on the wine while the larger barrels were made of different oaks and oakoo wood. Dolia, which were located in the upper levels of the palace as it was frequently consumed, were the ''your mom'' versions of amphorae and used for short-term fermentation for the sweet wine. The wine down here were aged for years. Numerous corridors were laid out in a staggered pattern to prevent collapse of the structure and each corridor was filled with many containers. Besides wine, there were many dry barrels of grain. Emergency stores in case of siege. Each barrel was sealed with beeswax to prevent moisture from spoiling the grain. Though it would be nice to loot all the grain, I came here for the wine. ¡°So,¡± Minervina began, ¡°now that we are here, how do you intend to carry these upstairs? Using the elevators will alert the servants and you had said you wanted to sneak down here.¡± ¡°What I''m about to show you, keep it a secret. Speak of this to no one.¡± As I said so, I removed the magic chest from my back which was tied with cord. The magic chest was too large to fit into my rucksack and my hands were busy holding onto Minervina''s hand and a flashlight. So having it tied to my back was the easy solution. As I placed the chest onto the ground, I opened it to remove my magic-modified rucksack and three magic bags. There was an interesting thing I had learned about the storage magic. When an inactive magic stone is placed into the distortion field the field had no problems accepting it. However, when an active magic stone was placed into the field it was rejected. A force was generated the same way a magnet would be repelled by another magnet. The active magic stone was pushed back. This, of course, included the magic storage bags. ¡°What exactly do you have planned with those?¡± Minervina eyed me with curiosity. Before I did anything with the chest, I took a china marker and began labeling the barrels. The shelving which held the barrels were all labeled with the names and types of wines. Transferring that info onto the barrels would make stacking much easier. When this was done for the entire shelf, I unhinged the panel of the magic chest and slid it near the closest barrels. Unfortunately, this was a mistake as I was unable to lift the barrels up. It was incredibly heavy. I struggled a few times before giving up and moving onto plan two. Just like when I had raided Dentus''s room, I flipped the magic bag inside out. With the distortion field visible, I began to absorb all the labeled barrels. It was incredible how I was able to make a row of barrels vanish into thin air. ¡°Naoki, how¡­ how did you do that? What happened to the wine? What magic is that?!¡± Minervina held a shock expression as she watched each barrel disappear. Though she said nothing, Saya had a look on her face which said that she now understands what had been happening with various items disappearing without knowing how. After taking the first set of barrels, I walked towards Minervina. I took her hand and, not missing the opportunity to kiss her fingers, placed it into the distortion field and explained how it works, though not in detail. Her surprise further exacerbated as she saw the barrels inside a mysterious space within her mind. ¡°Use your finger to select an item then act as if you were dragging it out.¡± I guided her on how to use the magic. As she did so, a barrel began to slowly appear from the distortion field. The weight of the barrel became more noticeable as more of it appeared. We eased the barrel down toward the ground as its weight had started to be too much to hold. Once it was safely on the ground, I took the chest to store the barrel. ¡°It''s a magic device that doesn''t seem to exist outside of my creation. I really don''t understand why the people of this world are so¡­ unimaginative. Almost as if they lost creativity by relying too much on magic.¡± I absentmindedly complained out loud. ¡°If you were to sell this idea¡­ military¡­ merchants¡­¡± she was lost in mind as she thought up the potential for the magic chest. I ignored her and began working on collecting the remaining barrels as well as the easier to carry casks. Saya immediately understood how the storage magic worked and we managed to form a system of me collecting loot then handing the bag over to Saya who would transfer the contents into the chest. Minervina, meanwhile, would ask me to spread the storage technology which I would decline. Eventually, she gave up as she saw that I would not relent to her request and began assisting us in the looting. We were at this all day. Despite the coldness of the underground, we were sweating. We were at risk of hypothermia and I was ill-equipped when I had not realized how cold it was down here. Saya, bless her heart, had managed to find a few bolts of purple cloth. It was thick and intricately embroidered to show off its imperial worth. Sure, I could have used fire magic to keep us warm. Sure, I could have used air or even water magic to dry us off. However, there was no better opportunity to get both girls completely naked in which I would use the cloth to dry them both and have our bodies connect. It was not long before I was on top of Minervina feverishly thrusting in and out of her in an attempt to get one of us, mostly me, to reach orgasm. ¡°Come with me, Minervina.¡± ¡°Yes, I''m cumming! Oh gods, I love this feeling!¡± Not what I meant¡­ She orgasmed as I filled her. I was still inside her as we caught our breath and Saya busily wiped away our sweat. Each time I kissed her, I tasted the saltiness of her sweat and I savored the taste. ¡°What I meant was that we will be leaving soon and I want you to come with me. Become my wife.¡± I explained my misunderstanding and also proposed. ¡°You are asking me, the imperial princess and only heir to the throne, to become your ''second'' wife,¡± although she laughed, as I was still inside her I felt her heart rate spike. ¡°Even if I were to agree, when I disappear at the same time you depart father will suspect that you were responsible. Thus nullifying every deal you made with him.¡± As we talked, Saya continued to dry the both of us off. She started nudging me after she was done. When I turned to face her, she laid down on a piece of cloth and spread her legs. ¡°Go on, she worked hard today.¡± Minervina caught on and pushed me off of her. Thanks to increasing my stamina pool, I have gained a very unique ability in which after I had my first orgasm I was able to maintain an erection. This ability was used to my advantage as I began thrusting, albeit slowly, into Saya. In-between moans and grunts, Minervina moved closely to my ear, nibbling it slight as she whispered. ¡°She''s a spoiled girl and I couldn''t help but encourage her, but she is my only living sister and I want you to take care of her.¡± she moved to kiss me and slid her tongue to entwine my own. After a very manly tenish minutes, Saya was now filled with cum and I was devoid of it. I moved between both girls to rest and recover my stamina. Minervina turned my head towards her and as I looked into her purple eyes she whispered to me. ¡°I''ll be your wife, but we must make careful plans if I am to leave.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºPalace ¨C Office of the Emperor¡» The emperor was sitting in his chair reading and re-reading every detailed blueprint, every detailed schematic and every detailed instruction that was bartered for with the otherworlder. It was written in simple terms in which even a child could comprehend. The suggestion of using metric measurements to replace their outdated and inaccurate system spoke volumes to him.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Earlier in the day, a council of the palace''s master crafters had sat in this room meeting with the emperor. Each one poured over the papers then exchanged with another. Each person was astonished at the sheer simplicity of these instructions that caused some to have their pride wounded at never having thought up such an idea. ¡°You were able to observe the summoned as he used your forge. What did you see?¡± the emperor asked the master blacksmith. ¡°He used various magic types to refine the metals and to heat the furnace at such a temperature that it had even cracked. I have used that furnace for fifteen years and have never caused such a thing to happen. The process is similar to the one described in this parchment and it is similar to how mithril is refined.¡± the blacksmith replied while still reading the paper on the subject of the bessemer process. ¡°Do we have enough iron for this ''railway'' that was mentioned?¡± the emperor continued his focus onto the blacksmith. The blacksmith thought for a moment before replying, ¡°Perhaps there is enough to reach the outer wall at a single point, but not enough to connect cities throughout the empire. We would need to expand the gallian mines.¡± The meeting continued into the night before each master was dismissed. Iron would be need in a great number in order for this project to succeed. The senate would need to approve for a large scale expansion of the northern mines as well as stationing a legion to protect it. Even though night had fallen, the emperor never left his seat. He continued to learn from the various papers and committed as much to memory as he could. While he was lost in his thoughts, a voice called out to him. ¡°Father, you had summoned me?¡± Minervina asked. ¡°You were called on hours ago, where were you?¡± the emperor demanded, wondering why his daughter was not present for this important meeting. ¡°Forgiveness father, I was indisposed.¡± The emperor tore his eyes away from the papers and looked at his daughter. Her clothing was in disarray, her hair was unkempt, her face showed a looked of contentment which she was unable to suppress. On her side was a plain leather bag, unimpressive and unsuitable for a princess to carry. ¡°What is that bag beside you?¡± ¡°It contains a gift from Naoki, he will be leaving the capital soon.¡± Minervina replied, satisfied that her ruse was not detected. ¡°I''ve warned you not to associate with him and yet you blatantly take him into your bed.¡± the emperor surprised Minervina as he was able to see through her. ¡°Father, such a thing...¡± ¡°I know the face of a freshly fucked woman. When your mother was alive, I took pride in giving her such an appearance every single day. Are you carrying his child?¡± Minervina was stunned at her ruse having been seen through. She knew she was unable to lie to her father now that he knows of her tryst with Naoki. ¡°I don''t know...¡± was all she could muster. ¡°Take some sylphium and wash your cunt of his semen. We will speak in the morning.¡± ¡°Father¡­ marry me off to Naoki. An alliance with him will prove benefi-¡± ¡°Enough! The thought of you being with such an impudent, disrespectful and ill-mannered child infuriates me.¡± the emperor exploded in rage causing Minervina to recoil from the sudden outburst. When time passed in which he regained his composure, he revealed a problem which has come to light. ¡°However¡­ the first investigators have found evidence tying the Umbrii family to the Remii.¡± ¡°So the rumors are true?¡± ¡°Perhaps, but that is not the only issue. You may not know this, but Dentus has gone missing. His chambers within the barracks emptied with no trace along with seven guardsmen. If your suspicions about the Praetorian Guard are true then Aventine is no longer safe.¡± a solemn look appeared on the emperors face as he realized the dangers are much closer to him than he had known. ¡°Father, does that mean you approve of our-¡± ¡°No, I will never approve of him. I will never acknowledge him aside from being an incitable cur. However¡­ I need to keep you safe and it is too dangerous for you to travel freely. A plan needs to be made.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +86¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» I was sitting by the stables behind the insulae that was constructed when the first batch of orders arrived. Twelve wagons filled to the brim with sacks, barrels and chests of various items. Each wagon was pulled by either one or two donkeys and to accommodate them, I built the stables using earth magic and some wood and was filled with straw for bedding. Troughs were filled with fodder and water and when straw is to be replaced, it would be piled onto the niter bed. The drivers for each wagon are slaves which have experience in taking care of the animals. One of the donkeys had taken a liking to me and was currently sleeping with its head on my lap. I carefully typed onto my laptop all the things we had stocked and stored with one hand and giving the donkey scratchies with the other. The servants had worked around the clock producing ration bars and ingredients for ration bars and little by little our orders from the guild were transported in. Veronica''s team were busily brewing potions daily and my team had learned, with guidance from Saya, how to make the chickpea sauce. They worked on that when the ovens were full. Alicia''s team was doing¡­ something. No idea. I watched the smoke rise at a distance as workers were busy lighting a bonfire. For the past week, I have had workers bringing in the broken amphorae and setting it on the firewood. My reasoning for this is¡­ Roman concrete does not exist here. Plaster is used with great frequency, but concrete does not exist. Earth magic allows the strengthening of stone and dirt into something stronger than concrete. When I had heard this I remembered learning that broken pieces of amphorae were used in concrete making and those that are not are piled onto a mound. So I figured, why not take it? Any oil which has been soaked into the clay would react with the lime causing it to saponify. But I thought about just lighting that shit on fire and wipe it with the residual ash. That could probably work. The amphorae would then be crushed into a powder and mixed with lime to make a basic cement. I pay ten gold aureus a day for the servants residing in the servant''s quarters and an additional five gold for menial workers who transport materials like the broken amphorae and firewood. Two gold a day were paid to the slaves who tended the donkeys which included paying for fodder. A drop in the bucket for what I had, but five days ago I decided to return to the magic item shop and also visit the magic stone dealer. What was in the magic item shop was mostly small minor things and a few appliances that cater to Patricians, but that was not all they had. Items that would benefit farmers, travelers and adventurers existed, which surprised me. I spent two hundred thousand gold on things that would aid in our journey. Following up on that was my visit to the magic stone dealer. I bought everything. Simple as that. Well, however much four hundred thousand gold could buy. Even though I had spent this much, I was able to haggle down to nearly half the cost for each stone. I simply offered the dealer a little insider trading info and advised him to stock up and raise prices on ¡¸Heat Stones¡¹, ¡¸Wind Stones¡¹and ¡¸Charge Stones¡¹. I know that the emperor will soon attempt construction on steel-refining devices and will most likely use ¡¸Heat Stones¡¹ and ¡¸Wind Stones¡¹. As for ¡¸Charge Stones¡¹, the others will probably figure out how to use it for their electronics the same way I did. That is if they still have any left as I had bought a bag full of their junk from Vince. I had a little over three hundred thousand gold left and I still needed to buy tools and other supplies that will be useful for farming, building and mining. Veronica had used a good bit of money on apothecary stuff and Alicia said she needed it ''for reasons''. It did not bother me much as I was confident that I would be able to make more money later on. Probably. As I closed my laptop and waited for the donkey to wake up, Veronica walked up to me holding two cups. She handed me one and I breathed in the heavenly aroma of this beautiful dark liquid of happy-making. ¡°Thanks for buying us coffee. Also, for making it pre-ground and for buying a french press for it.¡± she said while sipping on her cup. ¡°It was worth it, I should have bought this earlier.¡± ¡°Why didn''t you do so before? You did go kinda crazy about not having any.¡± ¡°Hoarders dilemma, ''do I use it now or save it for an emergency, but I won''t actually ever use it so it just sits in my storage taking up space''. So yeah, kinda did the same with my skill points.¡± The bag of coffee was five thousand mana for however much a pound is and the french press was twelve thousand mana. Surprisingly enough, I also bought toiletries that we needed and it only cost ten thousand mana in total so because of this, I ended up splurging on other items. Purchasing magic stones was out of the question as the cheapest stone cost one million stored mana. Although I did find the rifle I had wanted to buy back on earth, since the cost was one hundred thousand, not including ammunition and attachments, I was on the fence about just outright buying it, but I refrained. I also check the cost of a fifty round box of 9mm, it costs fifty thousand stored mana for soft points, fifty-five thousand for hollow points and sixty thousand for FMJ. ¡°How''re you doing? You know, with the morning headaches and stuff.¡± Veronica asked as she sat next to me. ¡°No changes I suppose. My head and neck still feel like it''s getting stabbed by a thousand needles, but nothing I can''t handle. I''ve even managed to cut back enough on my pain medication without the pain being debilitating.¡± We sat quietly while drinking the coffee and watching the work happening around us. ¡°We''re really going to leave this place, huh?¡± she mused as she rested her head on my shoulder. ¡°Into the great unknown. We have a total of seven magic chests and twelve magic bags. Everything will be packed up soon.¡± I already know that bundles of items can be placed into a single tile and bundles of bundles of a franken-container will have no problem going into the chests, provided it could fit through the opening to contact the distortion field. With this, there would not be any issues with our loads. Barrels and regular chests will be filled with grain and other non-perishable foods like the ration bars. The niter bed will be piled onto a wagon along with amphorae of urine into another wagon at the end. This will obfuscate our cargo. ¡°Ah, that''s right, the reason I came out here in the first place,¡± Veronica took out a small vial of blue liquid and handed it to me, ¡°this is a new mana potion recipe. I tried extracting some ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹ into a solution and managed to get this.¡± Since I had put my mana pool at two hundred points, I needed eight mana potions a day to keep it from hitting zero. After I increased it to one thousand points, I needed forty potions. Drinking so many potions a day was exhausting and nauseating. I drank the potion handed to me and tasted an incredibly bitter taste. ¡°Holy fuck, this is bitter.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I actually threw up when I sampled it. Super gross. And no, trying to cut the taste with honey or whatever actually made the taste worse and lowered the mana gain.¡± When no one was looking, I took out my Grimoire and checked my stats. My mana pool was going up at a much faster rate than the previous potions. It restored nearly six hundred points of mana. I can take this in the morning and be good with a couple of regular potions each day or even just two of these a day. ¡°Thank you, Veronica. It means a lot that you''re with me.¡± I kissed her cheek and we both continued relaxing outside. ? ? ? ¡ºMinervina''s Chambers¡» ¡°Are you happy he proposed to you?¡± Alicia asked as she watched a blush appear on Minervina''s face. ¡°Yes, but father is against it. Although I am unable to leave together, father plans on placing me somewhere safe. I will attempt to convince him.¡± Minervina smiled, unable to look into Alicia''s eyes. ¡°We''ll be leaving in a few days as most of our preparations are nearly complete. Which is why I am here. The Servilia house refused to sell me any high servants so I''d like for you to assist me in this. Then we can come up with a plan for when you leave.¡± ¡°The Servilia house only produces a small amount of high servants at a time. They were purchased before the summoned appeared. Along with that, a few are rewarded to different families depending on their service to the empire.¡± Minervina explained then remember a small issue, ¡°That reminds me, what will become with the Animancer?¡± ¡°We''ll take him along. Can we go visit the Servilia?¡± ¡°Of course. They reside within the patrician''s district so it will be a simple walk.¡± Minervina prepared to escort Alicia. However, she stopped and moved closely to Alicia. ¡°Does Naoki wish for a child? We had agreed before that it would be best to not have one, but the night of the trial he had me turn over and took me from behind.¡± ¡°That''s called doggy-style. It''s a typical sex position and feels really good. Don''t mind it too much.¡± Alicia explained. ¡°I see. Then we should be off then.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºVaticano¡» A group of men sat at a table discussing various issues which had begun to plague them. Despite the tenseness of the atmosphere, not a single person showed a worried appearance. Many were calmly eating a meal or drinking wine. As they continued their discussions, the door was suddenly flung open revealing an out of breath man with a panic-stricken face. ¡°It''s true! The summoned. Their power¡­ All of it¡­ It''s all true!¡± screamed the out of breath man. ¡°You are twenty days late to deliver this to us. Good work on being an expert information gatherer.¡± replied one many who spoke like-mindedly among the other men, ¡°Please enlighten us on something we do not know. By the way, we already know Lucius has been executed.¡± The man composed himself from his earlier embarrassment before continuing, ¡°Dentus has gone missing, along with seven praetorian guards. The tribute is to be presumed to have been taken by the eight men. The emperor has begun an investigation of the Praetorian Guard for possible treason.¡± The man who spoke earlier was able to calm the other men down after hearing this news. He leaned back into his chair comprehending the situation. ¡°So, he has most likely betrayed our cause. Since the increased guard patrols, we were unable to gain access to the palace. Thanks to Lucius''s idiocy, we have lost our foothold into Aventine.¡± The man looked around the table taking in everyone''s gazes, ¡°Then, with this¡­ we should begin work on swaying the summoned to our side.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +90¡» ¡ºHigh Servant''s Quarters¡» Alicia, Veronica, our servants and slaves along with a group of adventurers that were hired to act as our escort were gathered in front of me while we were behind the insulae. We had completed all our preparations and were ready to leave. They watched as I turned the dirt on the ground into a sand table which displayed a rough map of the empire. Once I was satisfied at its creation, I turned to speak. ¡°We are currently here at this position,¡± I pointed using earth magic to move the dirt, ¡°from here we will travel north to the first-ring city of Tiberialis. Then we will travel through the second-ring bypass between Velian and Vaticano before reaching our destination of Umbria. With the number of carriages we have, the travel time should be at around twoish months.¡± I went on to explain the various logistics and duties. Rations would be handed out during the day, but we would only stop during nights and whenever necessary. Bathroom breaks would be timed at every third hour. That would also allow us to stretch our legs. When my orders were completed, everyone dispersed to do final loadings and boardings. The lead carriage was to carry Alicia and the others while Illyria and I would stay in the third carriage. Alicia had custom ordered four carriages and had me install ¡¸Frost Stones¡¹ and ¡¸Wind Stones¡¹ to keep it cooled and ¡¸Bright Stones¡¹ to keep it lit. I had not thought of such a thing and asked her why she did not suggest it for the bedroom to which she said ''I thought you were using it as an excuse to see us naked. Besides, the heat doesn''t really bother me much.'' Aside from the magic stones, there was a bed installed in each carriage along with side seating. The seating allowed for trays to be attached to offer a surface to work on. Despite what was installed, it was only a meter and a half wide and almost three meters long. It is considered to be very extravagant. A group of girls that I did not recognize boarded the fourth carriage at Alicia''s instructions. She told me not to worry about them. Before I was able to board my carriage, a man approached and greeted me. I looked at him in confusion as I had no idea who he was. Who''s this asshole? ¡°Ave,¡± greeted the man, ¡°Do you not remember me? We shared a conversation within the Colosseum. I was quite curious as to what you had meant when you said ''guest of honor''. who would have thought it would be a summoned one. Quite clever. My name is Libo Iulius and I have been appointed Praefectus of Umbria.¡± He went on to explain that his family has been appointed as caretakers of Umbria in light of the apparently real fact that the Umbrii family were actually traitors. I had no idea my false accusations could actually be truthful. Was it my high luck? Also apparently, he was to accompany us in his own private transport. ¡°I was also asked to deliver this missive to you.¡± he said as he handed me a rolled and wax-sealed parchment. We separated and I boarded my carriage with Illyria. The reason I did not have Alicia or Saya accompany me was that they were ''on the rag'' as Alicia had put it. I had no idea what it had meant until she explained it was slang for being on their period. She could have just said that instead of using slang I''ve never heard of. I pulled Illyria onto my lap as I began to read the letter which was from Minervina. As I read the letter, I also had Illyria expose her breast as I fondled her with my free hand and luxuriated in her warmth. The letter basically said that Minervina was working on a plan to leave the empire with her safety as an excuse and wanted me to also figure something out to hide her. She could not travel with us as we would draw too much attention to her and make her a perfect target for the rebels. I put the letter away and lead Illyria to the bed. With Minervina, Alicia and Saya indisposed, I was unable to be satisfied with simple oral sex. I needed more. The windows were closed and the carriage was cold. No one would see us. Illyria was now naked and lying on the bed, her skin covered in goosebumps and her nipples hardened from the chill. Her legs were spread and the light showed a glimmer between her legs. A proof of her arousal. Even with how wet she was, I had trouble penetrating her as she was much tighter than Saya and Alicia, but when I did, a heavenly feeling overwhelmed me. She whimpered as I pushed in as deeply as I could and rested atop her. Her skin was cold, but inside¡­ inside she was warm. I turned my head down to lick her lips and she moved to suckle my tongue. She gripped the bedding tightly as I began to move. I took care not move rashly as this was her first time. Pulling out then thrusting in was done slowly so as not to hurt her. I slowly built up speed and watched as her breasts bounced each time I pushed in. when my orgasm came, I slid in as deep as I could and filled her with cum. I kissed her as I rested on top of her. When a few minutes passed, I started moving inside her for a second round. ? ? ? ¡°Are you really okay with letting him sleep with other girls? I mean, the other night at the party when he was flirting with the princess¡­ he looked really happy.¡± Veronica asked Alicia as she was concerned for her best friend''s relationship. ¡°It''s fine,¡± Alicia replied without a hint of worry in her voice, ¡°The more girls he sleeps with the more likely he''ll become attached and the more he becomes attached the more he''ll want to try to find a cure.¡± ¡°I guess, but yeah, the cure has been giving us problems. Nothing in the you-know-what shows any indication of where to start. No leads anywhere. All I can do is keep making mana potions to buy him time.¡± Veronica became lost in her thoughts. ¡°It''s cute that you''re worried about onii-chan. Why don''t you spend the night with him?¡± Alicia asked with a slight smirk waiting for her answer. ¡°You know I can''t. Plus, I¡¯m not in love with him as you are.¡± ¡°You don''t have to fall in love with him, just fuck him. You need the stress relief as much as he does.¡± Veronica refused with a light blush betraying her words. ¡°By the way¡­ I seem to have lost an SD card that had some ''sensitive'' videos on it. Have you seen it?¡± Alicia prodded Veronica, already knowing what had happened to it. ¡°N-nope.¡± Veronica denied knowing anything, her blush intensifying. ¡°Really? You haven''t seen the SD card that I purposely left out for you to find that is filled with videos of onii-chan having sex? Really~?¡± Alicia''s smirking turned into a full smug. ¡°B-b-b-by the way¡­ why do you keep calling Naoki ''onii-chan''? You never said how you two are related. Are you?¡± Veronica attempted to deflect. ¡°Not gonna answer, huh? Well, to answer your question, technically we''re¡­¡± ? ? ? Illyria was sleeping in my arms, exhausted from our physical activities. I took this opportunity to peek at my Grimoire. Increasing my stamina made sex so much more enjoyable. Too enjoyable in fact as now I crave it even more. The intense pleasure I receive from every orgasm washes away the pain in my neck and head. Even for just a fleeting moment, I feel so¡­ normal. So relieved I am from the pain that I need to feel it more and more. I''ve traded one addiction for another. As I browsed my Grimoire and seeing some very minimal increases, I finally saw something that caught my eye. I finally got some new quests.
¡¸Quest:¡¾Travel to Vaticano¡¿ | Information: Visit the Dungeon City of Vaticano. | Rewards: 1,000 stored Mana, 20 Skill Points¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Underground¡¿ | Information: Enter the Dungeons below Vaticano. | Rewards: 10 Mana Stones (Synthesis Required)¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Subjugation I¡¿ | Information: Kill ten of the same creature. [0/10] | Rewards: 5,000 stored Mana, 100 Skill Points¡¹
A subjugation quest chain in a dungeon? It will be a good place to do some farming. I despawned the Grimoire and pulled a blanket over our bodies. I kissed Illyria goodnight and followed her into sleep. Chapter XIV: Diverge XIV Diverge ¡ºS-Day +90¡» ¡ºGates of Aventine¡» ¡°Technically we''re cousins. First cousins. Yup.¡± Alicia excitedly kicked her legs as she said. She felt a light rush flow through her as she revealed her relationship with Naoki. ¡°Technically?¡± Veronica asked, confused as to why Alicia used that word. ¡°Legally. Legally we''re cousins. His parents are my uncle and aunt and my parents are his uncle and aunt. But that''s not the best part!¡± Alicia spoke with vigor, ¡°Both our moms are identical twins!¡± ¡°That¡­ would make you two genetically half-siblings¡­¡± Veronica understood immediately what this revelation meant, ¡°Ali, are you really okay with that?¡± ¡°Yup! Once we get settled into the old fortress, I¡¯ll convince onii-chan to get me pregnant. You should too, it''ll be fun.¡± Alicia thought about the possible future that may come and smiled. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +91¡» ¡ºOutskirts of Aventine¡» A familiar ceiling. I recognized the ceiling of the carriage immediately as I had spent last night staring up at it as Illyria would ride me cowgirl style. Despite having trouble taking me inside her at the beginning, she had no problem enjoying herself once she had gotten used to me, which did not take long as I am asian after all. We rested and recovered during our breaks and was able to clean ourselves with a magic tool that used ¡¸Water Stones¡¹ and ¡¸Heat Stones¡¹ attached to a pole with a perforated bronze piece. A portable shower. These people can invent such a thing, but a flashlight is such a unique and foreign concept? Weirdos. There happens to also be a heatless version that are used for gardens. After getting dressed and tucking Illyria back into bed, I left the carriage. It was still dark with the sunlight bleeding into the horizon. The morning chill made my body shudder slightly as a breeze passed through me. Our current position should be near or passed the midway point of Aventine and Tiberalis. An entire day only got us this far. Maybe horses should have been bought after all. We were parked off the main road on a grassy area. I could see the silhouettes of the various tents from our servants, slaves and the other people who happened to be accompanying us. Though there were different types of way stations on our route, our travel time happened to put us in between such things. My attention then moved toward the temporary showers I had constructed with earth magic. A shallow trench was made that sloped away from camp and walls that split a room into 4 rooms. Each room had a shower tool so there would be less wasted time waiting for each person to bathe. I noticed that the floors had become muddy and used earth magic to correct the issue. After I had finished, I made coffee and prepared breakfast. ? ? ? During breakfast, I explained to Alicia and Veronica my new quests and what it would entail. As it would take 2 months to travel to Umbria at our current speed, I suggested I split off and head toward Vaticano to dungeon dive for a month. Alicia did not like the idea of me going alone and so insisted that she accompany me. The servants and escorts would remain with the caravan. We talked it over a bit and decided that we would purchase two horses at Tiberalis to replace the donkeys that pulled our carriage as well as a slave who would function as driver and caretaker. Once we were done at Vaticano, we would meet up with the caravan and continue to Umbria. Of course hearing that she would be excluded, Saya threw a fit and refused to be separated from me. I ended up agreeing to let her accompany us at Alicia''s urging. Illyria was much more compliant and agreed to stay behind. ? ? ? ¡ºEmperor''s Office¡» ¡°Are you able to understand this?¡± the emperor asked the 8 summoned sitting around him. ¡°It''s a pain in the¡­ it''s a bit difficult since we have to translate it, but yeah, we understand it.¡± replied Chad as the others concurred. ¡°Although this seems brand new to you,¡± Isaac interjected, ¡°this is pretty outdated stuff by our standards. I mean, the bessemer process isn''t really used as much and was replaced with the more controllable oxygen converter process and steam powered trains have mostly been replaced with diesel, gasoline and electric engines.¡± ¡°Even if that''s the case, for the technology level of this world these plans would work. It is really detailed.¡± Sam added. ¡°Is¡­ is that so?¡± the emperor soaked in the words of the summoned. ¡°Then what else can you introduce from your world?¡± ¡°Where did His Majesty get these?¡± Vincent asked with hint of suspicion in his voice. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +93¡» ¡ºTiberalis¡» As it turns out, I was wrong. We were two days off from reaching this city. As our caravan arrived at the gates, we were greeted by a gate guard to the ''River City of Tiberalis''. Despite the name, the river connects to 4 other cities which are not labeled ''river city''. The river itself traveled from northwest to southeast then southwest and stretched all the way south to Capitoline which lay in the third ring. Traveling by ship for the caravan was not an option as the river did not reach any area near Umbria. The plan for now was to buy the horses and any supplies that we did not already have which included lots of freshwater fish. We did not bother looking for an inn and headed straight for the emperor''s villa. Having connections fucking rule. Ah, the sight of the adventurer''s faces as we crossed the estate gates was priceless. When we approached the villa proper, the caretaker was found to be waiting for our arrival. We exchanged greetings and he went off to prepare a feast for this evening. I, on the other hand, took a few servants with me and started raiding the vineyards and plantations for cuttings. I also thought about looking for their wine cellar, but had to decide against it as I needed to sort through my things in preparations for the dungeon. The 4 containers I would bring with me were my magic-modified chest Mk I, rucksack, backpack and one leather bag. The other chests held enough food to not be a problem in taking the Mk I chest. Magic Chest Mk I: 68/100 tiles (x250 stack) in use. Rucksack: 27/80 tiles (x50 stack) in use. Backpack: 5/30 tiles (x20 stack) in use. Leather bag Mk II: 50/50 (x10 stack) in use. The leather bag was filled with the wine casks that I stole, I mean humbly accepted as a wedding dowry. All I needed to do was find an open spot in the other chests. After spending a few hours rearranging the items into other containers, I managed to clear up the space to items I would need. Magic Chest Mk I: 43/100 tiles (x250 stack) in use. Rucksack: 19/80 tiles (x50 stack) in use. Backpack: 16/30 tiles (x20 stack) in use. Leather Bag Mk II: 33/50 (x10 stack) in use. Food, wine, clothes, toiletries, weapons, armor, wine, laptop, tablets, smartphone, potions, magic stones, wine, writing supplies, medkit, medication, leather bags, linen sacks, magic tools and more wine were distributed in the different containers. After the feast had ended, I spent a few hours sorting out the drone I had bought from Vincent. I charged it manually instead of using ¡¸Charge Stones¡¹ while reading the instruction manual and looking over the accessories that came with it. The set came with its own camera, but there was an attachment for the Fivepro that I also bought from him. The app to run the drone was compatible with my phone, tablet and laptop. I had to do an annoying round robin-esque game of copying the files onto my laptop then onto an SD card. From the SD card, I had to transfer it to my tablet then onto a microSD card. The microSD card was able to install the files onto my phone. The lack of an internet connection made this super fun. Too bad none of the gods bothered to bless my smartphone and connect it to their godserver. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +94¡» ¡ºTiberalis ¨C Merchant''s District¡» Just like Viminale, Tiberalis was much more lively and crowded than Aventine. Alicia and I easily found a horse breeder and slaver trader. We bought two horses for 20 gold aureii each and a slave that was familiar with taking care of horses for 60 gold. Saddles were 3 gold and stirrups, which they somehow managed to invent, were 1 gold for each horse. Not that we intended to use them, but having them as a ''just in case'' is a good idea. Another limitation of magic storage technology was discovered. After we had bought the horses and caretaker slave, we bought some fresh freshwater eels since they were plentiful in the river. As I attempted to place it into the leather bag, it was rejected. Since living plants have no problem being stored and live fish cannot, I speculate that a certain level of sentience prevents storage. Eggs had no problem entering the storage, but I was unsure if it was fertilized or not. More tests are necessary. ? ? ? ¡ºImperial Villa¡» As soon as we returned to the villa with our purchases, I immediately tested out the drone. First thing I noticed was how loud the rotors are. I thought about using ¡¸Silent Stones¡¹ to dampen the noise, but need time to figure out an enchantment spell and method of attachment. The controller had a dock that allowed my tablet or smartphone to attach to and allowed me to observe the drones view through the camera. The camera itself was on a gimbal system that could rotate 360¡ã and produced a very stable image. The manual states that the drone had a top speed of 40mph which is probably fast as I did not know how much that was in kph. The batteries allowed a 30minute flight time and I wondered if ¡¸Charge Stones¡¹ could be worked into replacing the batteries. When I was done playing with¡­ testing the drone, I packed it away into my rucksack and went to eat lunch. Alicia and Veronica decided that since they have not gone swimming in months, they would spend tomorrow taking advantage of the river. Though they had invited me, I declined¡­ because reasons. This meant I would end up missing Veronica wearing a swimsuit. ¡°Alicia¡­ t-take pictures.¡± I pulled Alicia aside and asked her quietly. ¡°Pft hahaha, yeah okay you got it. Maybe I¡¯ll get lucky and catch a nip slip just for you, onii-chan.¡± she did not even contain her laughter as she agreed to my request. While they went swimming, I would modify some bags for Alicia to take into the dungeon. She also had a backpack as well as a small drop leg bag that attaches on her hips and down her thigh. Unfortunately, I had already run out of ¡¸Amplifier Stones¡¹ for Alicia to use. The best that I could do was stuff as much ¡¸Distortion Stones¡¹ as possible into the containers and have her use one of the magic bag version 2.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Alicia''s Backpack: 0/38 tiles (x1 stack) in use. Alicia''s Drop Leg Bag: 0/8 tiles (x1 stack) in use. Alicia''s Leather Bag Mk II: 0/50 tiles (x10 stack) in use. Alicia''s Small Leather Bag Mk II: 0/12 tiles (x10 stack) in use. I ended up gutting one of the magic bags to give her a smaller version that would have a wider mouth than the drop leg bag, but easier to carry. If I were to do research on ¡¸Amplifier Stones¡¹, I would need to removed it from another of the leather bags or find a new one within the dungeon. There were none in the local magic stone shop. When Alicia returned from swimming in the river, she had already developed a noticeable tan. Though I liked it when she had pale skin, seeing her tan-lines was also very hot. She also showed me pictures of her and Veronica, though no slips of any sort, both wore similar solid color bikinis and a covering called a pareo that wrapped around their hips and covered one thigh down to the knee. It was both colored white with floral patterns and, suffice to say, looked incredibly hot. ¡°You look incredible.¡± I complimented my girlfriend-wife. ¡°Obviously. What about Veronica?¡± she changed the subject. ¡°She has a really nice butt.¡± I said truthfully as there was no reason to lie. ¡°It''s really nice, isn''t it? You like her?¡± ¡°I like her.¡± ¡°Good, just give her time, onii-chan.¡± she gave me a kiss before kneeling between my legs, ¡°I''m not bleeding anymore, but my pussy is too sensitive to have sex. So just give me a couple days.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +95¡» ¡ºImperial Villa¡» *donkey noises* ¡°I know buddy, I¡¯ll miss you too. You take care of Veronica now, okay Burroto?¡± I said to the donkey while giving him scratchies. *more donkey noises* ¡°Burroto?¡± Veronica asked, confused at my naming sense. ¡°Mm, yeah, since burro is the english word for donkey and I just added on -to.¡± I replied while continuing to give scratchies. ¡°I¡­ no dude¡­ the english word for donkey¡­ what the fuck, dude?!¡± Veronica seemed confused for some reason. ¡°We''ll be out for a month ¨C month and a half, once we''re done at the dungeon city we''ll rejoined the caravan. Be safe okay?¡± *chu* I gave her a kiss before saying goodbye to her. ¡°Did you really have to kiss me?¡± she asked, with slight annoyance in her voice. ¡°Should I not have? We''ll be away from each other for awhile, it''s a kiss so you won''t be lonely.¡± I gave her a reassuring smile. She simply rolled her eyes at me, but I saw a hint of a smile as she hugged me. She smells pretty. Before we went our separate ways, I gave her and Cassia the daggers I had gotten from that not-assassin. It also turned out that Veronica and Alicia had visited the ¡¸Adventurer''s Guild¡¹ before they went swimming to hire extra guards. I joined Alicia and Saya at our carriage and saw that Illyria was inside. Alicia had argued that since Saya was joining us that there should be no problem if Illyria comes as well. Though the bed was fairly narrow, she said it would be no problem. Travel time from Tiberalis to Vaticano would be 3 days or 2 if we really rushed, but I would spend the 3 days making more magic bags. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +98¡» ¡ºVaticano¡» We finally made it to the dungeon city. Though we could have arrived earlier, I decided a leisure travel would be less stressful on the horses. I noticed as we traveled from Tiberalis that the geography was much more varied than I had first thought. The descriptions from the maps were pretty basic and did not go into details aside from ''here is a city'', ''here is a river'', ''this is a town'' and ''here are villages, wow''. Much of what we had passed were orchards and groves of different fruiting trees, but as we ventured to the more rural areas between cities, grasslands and rolling hills took over. There were various travelers we saw from merchants and traders to adventurers. A few times we saw contuberniums and cohorts in marching formation. During one of our stops, we spoke with some merchants that told us that members of the 1st Legion were commonly seen traveling from Quirinalis, the city in which they were stationed, to train within the dungeon at Vaticano. Though there were 5 other dungeons, it was common for Vaticano to be used for training as the other dungeon was further away in the more populated southern cities. I took notice of the 1st Legion as wielding blue colored shields and high ranking officers wielding white shields. They were known as the Mithril Legion for being the only ones to utilize mithril weapons and armor. It took longer to reach the imperial villa as this city was much more densely populated than either Tiberalis and Viminale. Being a dungeon city was most likely the answer. The inhabitants were mostly adventurers as I could see many dressed in leather gear, a few in metal and obvious casters in cloth/leather. There was something else that Alicia and I started noticing. We started seeing people with weird shaped ears and even tails. Every single one had collars around their necks and some were even chained. ¡°First minotaurs and now actual animal girls. But why is it all girls? ¡­ ¡­ No wait, I know exactly why.¡± I realized they were all sex slaves. High value trophies that, if domesticated, would rival high servants in cost. ¡°Do you want one?¡± Alicia asked curiously. Judging by the way she would stare at each girl, she wanted to know more about them. ¡°We could learn more about their species.¡± I answered. There were also many shadier characters as my ¡¸Vigilance¡¹ was going fucking nuts. ¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡· Every time we passed an alley or random street, I would get a very annoying warning. Annoying enough that I started to get a headache. But the moment we passed, the warning disappears only to be replaced by another one. I was half tempted to set this place on fire. I was quite happy reaching the villa as it meant we could take a proper bath. A realization dawned on me as I watched Illyria washing Alicia while Saya was effectively giving me a soap massage that I had never taken a bath with Minervina. Even when I had spent the night with her, we had taken our baths separately. I miss her already. As I thought about Minervina, I felt Saya slip me inside her. She did not waste anytime and worked herself on me while we sat in the lotus position. She grunted frantically in my ear as she was thrusting and grinding against me. Her skin was soft and slippery from the soapy water that covered our bodies. As I reached my orgasm, I placed my hands on her hips and pressed her down against me as I filled her with cum. Saya did not stop her movements as she continued grinding her clitoris where our bodies connected. She worked hard as she reached her own orgasm and melted into my arms as she came off her high. ¡°Fuck, that was hot. We haven''t tried that position yet, onii-chan. So¡­¡± Alicia said as she moved closer to me. Saya took notice of what Alicia wanted and removed herself. She had trouble walking as her knees would give out, but Illyria quickly assisted her and began cleaning Saya. Alicia positioned herself above me and I slid right inside her. She rested on me once she pressed herself as far down as she could. She savored feeling me inside her. ¡°You fit me so perfectly, onii-chan.¡± she whispered in my ear. She did the same as Saya and ground herself down on each thrust. She got into a good rhythm swinging her hips back and forth and bouncing up and down just enough that I would not leave her pussy. Each time she pulled herself back, she would squeeze her pussy making it tighter then relax it as she shoved me inside her. I watched her face as she screwed her eyes tightly. Her lips slightly parted as they gasped whispered obscenities. Droplets of sweat replaced water as they caressed her body. A harsh grunt left her as I felt convulsions covering my dick. As she caught her breathe, she left me the same way Saya did, with rubbery legs. ¡°Sorry onii-chan, I just really needed to cum,¡± she apologized to me then looked over to Illyria, ¡°Cum inside Illyria, she likes playing with it after you fill her up.¡± Illyria abandoned Saya and copied what the others had done. As Alicia watched the both of us fucking, she crawled up to me. ¡°Tonight, after I fall asleep¡­ use me.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +99¡» ¡ºImperial Villa¡» Alicia has long legs; smooth, slender and toned. Golden brown from the tan which had set in days prior. I watched as she took a thigh sock and put it on. She did so slowly, knowing that I was watching her. Each movement she made was exaggerated to accentuate her body even going so far to spread her legs and expose herself to me. The smile never left her face. ¡°Are you really going to wear a skirt with thigh socks?¡± I finally asked once I was out of myreverie. ¡°You picked this out for me on our first date and besides, pants would be fairly cumbersome for movement.¡± she replied with an aura of nonchalance. ¡°We''re going into the dungeon today. You need armor.¡± despite my words, I had trouble tearing my eyes away from her. Even when I see her in a consistent state of undress, I still enjoyed the various outfits she would wear. Even more so when she would dress or undress. ¡°I''ve been training and I''ve got a new spell type: ¡¶Summon Armor¡·. The cost is kinda high and it doesn''t last too long, but it''s pretty strong.¡± she said as she finished dressing. ¡°Hah~, I wish I could learn your magic. Veronica''s too. But I keep having trouble with it. Even saying ''trace on'' doesn''t do shit.¡± I lamented as I finished gearing up. ¡°You''ll figure it out. No worries.¡± Alicia assured me as we left. Because I expected the need for unrestricted movement, I wore partial armor. A shirt and hakama underneath and sneakers. The armor components I chose to wear were suneate shin guards, haidate thigh guards, do cuirass, a single sode shoulder guard and a kote gauntlet for my left arm. My right arm would be unarmored so I would be able to cast magic unhindered as well as draw my gun if needed. We left Saya and Illyria to collect plant cuttings with the local servants and to also find the wine cellar. Before we set off for leaving into the inner city, the caretaker notified us that each imperial villa had a carriage and driver that can be used for such occasions. We took him up on his offer and boarded the less extravagant, but more subtle carriage toward the dungeon area. ? ? ? ¡ºDungeon Guild¡» As we traveled from the villa to the ¡¸Dungeon Guild¡¹, we paid extra attention to the route so we could find our way back without the carriage. Travel time took 2 hours as the streets were quite crowded and because we rode in the clearly marked imperial carriage, many stares fell on us. The entrance to the ¡¸Dungeon Guild¡¹ was within a castra, a fort, within the city walls. There were barracks for guards around an insula. The insula functioned as an inn for adventurers and also as a brothel. Inside the insula was a main corridor which lead to a large underground lobby. The left side area of the lobby seems to function as a type of open-walled tavern with a kitchen that contained some kind of ventilation system. The right side area had the service counter against the back wall. Behind the service area was accessible from a doorway on the right side that lead into the back rooms. In the back center of the lobby was a set of doors that lead to the back rooms from our end. Of course, the both of us drew attention to all the inhabitants as we were dressed strangely. And also because Alicia is incredibly gorgeous. I ignored the plebs and looked over to where the line ended and queued up with Alicia following me. After 30 minutes of waiting, the receptionists were only halfway though the clients. Occasionally, a waitress would show up to offer drinks to the people in line. Some of them were also animal girls. It was difficult to not stare, but Alicia was also guilty of this. There were also children that would wait against the wall on the far right side of the room that would wait in place of the queuers for when they needed to relieve themselves in the latrines. While it was nearing our turn to meet the receptionist, which was a very cute girl for some reason, we ended up getting caught in a clich¨¦. 3 men walked in and cut in line in front of Alicia and I, as well as the people patiently waiting behind us. The cries of protest behind us were stifled as the 3 amigos turned out to be high-ranking adventurers or something. Are these idiots really going to pull this shit? ¡°Hey retards,¡± I called out to the idiots standing in front of us with their backs facing us, ¡°the line starts at the back. So gather your uselessness and crawl away, idiots.¡± At my words, the entire lobby became deathly silent as they realized who I had just insulted. I could feel the people behind us quickly backing away. Of course, the 3 retardos angrily turned around to face their would-be insulter, slash, ego-bruiser. When they turned around, I got a good look at their faces and holy shit were they ugly. Like a bunch of 40 year olds that worked as career bare-knuckle brawlers that also spent years chain-smoking under a sunlamp. ¡°What dares a child to speak to us in such a manner? Run along now and return to suckling your mother''s teat.¡± said their supposed leader. Fixed. Focused. Concentration. Luck. Fortune. Serendipity. I cast both mantras on myself and Alicia then turned my attention back to the trio. They needed to be taught a lesson so I continued provoking them. ¡°I said idiots, such as yourselves, should learn how to queue up properly and stop being such a useless pleb. Learn some manners and get to the back of the fucking line. Idiots.¡± I said as I disreetly placed my hand on my pistol and turned the safety off. I could hear murmurs and whispers around us as the 3 men could hardly contain their anger. ¡°Your armor is pristine. As I thought, you are nothing more than a spoiled son of some worthless patrician house. Leave before you wear our patience down.¡± he said as he made a show of placing his hand on his sword hilt. ¡¶!¡· ¡°Are you hard of hearing or simply uneducated? Back. of. The. Line. Listen, there is 1 of 2 things that is going to hap-¡± before I could finish, the 3 goblin-faces drew their weapons. The lead man and the one directly behind him drew a longsword each while the 3rd man drew the most adorable wittle itty bitty tiny winy dagger ever. Seeing this, Alicia and I took a few steps back to gain some space to maneuver. ¡¶!¡· ¡°Okay, now 1 of 1 thing is going to happ-¡± again, before I could finish, the assholes interrupted me. ¡°We have tried to be patient and show you lenience, but your impudence and insults are no longer forgivable.¡± he took a step forward as he raised his blade. ¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡·¡¶!¡· *bang* *bang* *bang* Before he could take another step, I quickly raised my gun chambered a round and fired 3 times into his chest. The leather did nothing to protect him as the bullets penetrated with ease. When I switched my aim to the tiny-dagger man, I already saw a much longer and girthier dagger driven into his neck. The last man that stood behind the leader showed a shocked expression at the sudden noise was unable to move. ¡°W-wait.¡± he pleaded, but I gave him no fucks. *bang* *bang* *stab* I fired 2 shots into his chests while Alicia flung a dagger into his neck and now all 3 were dead. My attention turned to the others in the lobby to ensure there was no longer any threat to us. ¡¸Vigilance¡¹ made no warnings and I check on Alicia. She had around a dozen daggers floating above her as she stared out into the crowd, which had now backed away even further. ¡°Anyone else?!¡± she yelled with a stern and aggressive voice, ¡°Those 3 men instigated the issue and drew their weapons. We acted in self-defense. All of you are witnesses.¡± We took their silence as acquiescence and saw no one else making any moves against us. I did not realize it at first, but she had the Fivepro attached to her backpack recording what had happened. She turned off the recorder and desummoned the daggers while I put my gun away. I turned around to face the 3 bodies and wasted no time looting whatever valuables they had. Purses, potions, weapons and anything that might be useful or sellable. My 5 spent casings were also collected and all the items that we gathered were placed into my leather bag. Un, yeah, there is no way my actions will have any repercussions. Nope, not at all. When the loot was stored, I took one of their longswords and, with careful aiming, beheaded the corpses. The heads were collected and we both walked up to the counter with me looking right into the eyes of the frightened receptionist. ¡°Ave, we would like to learn about the dungeons and how they work. Also, I would very much like to collect the bounty on these bandits.¡± Chapter XV: Dungeon XV Dungeon ¡ºS-Day +99¡» ¡ºDungeon Guild ¨C Guild Leader''s Office¡» ¡°Explain to me exactly why you went and killed the 3rd son of the Vaticania family?¡± asked a very strong looking man. A few seconds after I placed the heads of the bandits and spoke with the receptionist at the counter, a group of guards surrounded Alicia and I. What had surprised us the most was that the guards spoke calmly and without hostility. I nearly did not take notice of them because ¡¸Vigilance¡¹ did not go off. They eventually talked us into speaking with the guild leader and lead us into his office where we sat now. ¡°Well, you can ask the witnesses about it, but those 3 men violated the sacred law that even the gods adhere to of not cutting in line. Ever. When we¡­ encouraged them to move to the back, they simple drew their weapons and attacked us.¡± I truthishfully reported. ¡°There was no choice but to kill them. We had to protect ourselves after all. Self-defense.¡± Alicia added in, also truthishfully. ¡°Do you not understand the severity of this issue? You murdered-¡± started the guild leader. ¡°Killed, in self-defense, there is a difference.¡± I interrupted the man. ¡°You both killed him and two of his party members. This is a serious problem. The Vaticanii family is the patron of this city, if the name was not evident enough.¡± despite the calm demeanor of the guild leader, he was very upset and quite nervous for some reason. ¡°They will want your heads for this insult. And since neither of you are registered to the guild, we can offer no protection. It would be best for both of you to leave this city.¡± ¡°Not possible, we came here to train within the dungeon. We will not be leaving anytime soon.¡± Alicia spoke obstinately, I agreed with her. ¡°Are there no rules protecting non-members from actions by guild members?¡± I asked, annoyed that we would be blamed for some idiot''s actions. ¡°If members are allowed to threaten and/or attack non-members, then it is no wonder the Ossians are winning this war and why we were forced into this world. Useless people are too scared to fight monsters that they would rather harm other humans.¡± ¡°It''s disgusting how cowardly you barbarians are.¡± Alicia added. ¡°Are you a guild leader or just a puppet for the Vaticanii? Do your job.¡± I ended up antagonizing him in an attempt to snap him out of being a god damned pissant. It took some time, a few hours of bickering, but he finally did find his balls. He ended up relenting on allowing us to register with the guild. Mostly because of Alicia. I am not sure, but I think she threatened him a few times. The registration portion was done in the guild leader''s office. The appraisal plate that the guild leader had was a stripped down version of the one I had used before. It simply showed our names, affiliation and rank.
Name: Naoki Kuroba
Affiliation: Kuroba Clan
Ranks: Mage Rank: Level 5 ¨C Sorcerer Adventurer Rank: Level 2 ¨C Explorer Alchemist Rank: Level 2 ¨C Analyst Apothecary Rank: Level 1 ¨C Potionist
Name: Alicia Tachibana-Kuroba
Affiliation: Kuroba Clan
Ranks: Mage Rank: Level 5 ¨C Sorceress Adventurer Rank: Level 4 ¨C Wayfarer
Even if we are unaffiliated or registered with guilds, we still gain rank¡­ somehow. My adventurer rank has not changed, but Alicia outranked me as she was much better at stalking- ¡¶!¡· -as she was much better at exploring and mapping out areas. We are also the same mage rank, which means she managed to learn other types of magic. Though I have not seen her using any magic other than her floaty swords. Not only that, her name shows up as ''Kuroba'' meaning we really are married. Holy shit, I have a wife¡­ 2 wives? Oh damn, what does that mean for Saya and Illyria? I need to get some rings. Afterward, we were guided back outside to the reception counter to learn the functions of the dungeon. It happened to be the same receptionist we had met that was tasked with giving us the information. Since we were already at the counter when the guards showed up to interrupt us, we were allowed to be placed in the front of the line. We did not jump the queue. We simply resumed our queue. Everything was coptic. ¡°Is coptic the right word?¡± I asked Alicia. ¡°Copacetic.¡± she corrected me. ¡°Close enough.¡± Before the receptionist started with the dungeon introductions, she gave us 3 silver denarii for turning in the bandits. Since they actually were related to a strong family, I did not press the issue. But 3 denarii for 3 bandit heads was bullshit. ¡°N-now for how dungeons work,¡± began the receptionist with a hint of nervousness, ¡°no one knows who built it or when, but it has always existed since before the tribes had unified. Ancient magics allow the dungeon to function deep underground. Walls that are damaged will repair over a short period of time. Air and water flows to ensure life can be sustained.¡± She droned on and on about how every thing works and how everything is organized. The walls cannot be replicated as there are no visible runes or any obvious magic which can be detected. Only an assumption that it is a magic-sustained wall. This also includes the floors and ceiling. There are 20 levels or that is to say there are 20 types of dungeons which may or may not have multiple floors. It is divided into 2 types of 10 each: Labyrinths and Mazes. Even though it basically means the same thing. Behind the reception counter were 4 rows of multiple panels, 2 rows were labeled I-X. The numbers were also either lit or unlit. Lit meaning there were active creatures roaming around and unlit meaning it was devoid of anything.
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
? ? ? ?
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
? ? ? ?
Beneath the numbered panels were panels that would show an image if a dungeon was active. The images were surprisingly modern and showed the various types of creatures that were inside the dungeon. The receptionist had no idea how it works as it ''has always been here''. Levels I through IV are a single corridor type. Each corridor leads to a main room which contains a magical treasure chest. Monsters and ossians spawn at random. Levels V through VIII uses split corridors that lead to a single treasure room. The lengths of each split corridor varies and can wind around using bends and inclines. Level IX increases the number of corridors and adds a lower floor. Level X was 3 or more floors. No one knows as it is the most active and dangerous of the labyrinths. Mazes are more interesting as I-V were a single floor, which gets larger with successive levels, that had dead ends and multiple treasure rooms. Level VI increases by 1 floor and VII by 2. Levels VIII, IX and X remain fully unexplored and have an unknown amount of floors. Monsters have been known to create nests or even bases in random areas and dead ends. There are also ''safe rooms'' which have various amenities to take refuge in, but because it is a favorable location, many monsters and ossians make us of it as well. ¡°When sir adventurer comes across a treasure chest, it is advisable to not make any attempts to discover its secrets. There is a magic that causes harm to those that do so.¡± warned the receptionist. The treasure chest was described as providing random loot when one places their hand to be identified. It made me think of the Synthesis mechanic of our Grimoire. I want to attempt to discover its secret. When she finally finished explaining everything to us in excruciating detail, of which I was pretty sure I dozed off for a bit, we finally decided on entering a dungeon. As it so happens, Labyrinth Level I blinked on. We managed to get priority to explore it. She handed me a small wooden card with a [I] on 1 side and the dungeon guild''s insignia on the other. This was our permission token to present to the guards to enter the specified dungeon level. Interestingly, no one has made any mention of my gun. Despite my crossbow causing people to flip their shit, no one cares about firearms. Or perhaps they thought it was some kind of magic. ? ? ? ¡ºDungeon Hall¡» Alicia and I left the lobby where we had entered. Instead of heading up toward the surface, we turned going down a long corridor. We passed through guarded doors which lead into a long corridor which lead to guarded doors which lead to another corridor to another guarded doors. ¡°How long have we been walking?¡± I asked no one in particular. ¡°Awhile, but I guess it makes sense. Have to prevent things from getting out.¡± Alicia answered as we continued walking. As we passed each guarded door and corridor, we noticed that there would be peddlers squirreled away to the sides in the nooks and crannies of the corridor. It was wide enough for large groups of people to walk in without impeding others as well as having space for people to set up stalls. Weapons, armor, magic stones, food, potions and even slaves were being peddled by hawkers. We would also pass the occasional adventurer group. Some were cheerful and some were gloomy. I think the coolest group we passed was a contubernium of 8 legionaries with blue shields. They looked pretty badass. Once we passed through the main corridor, we found a very large chamber. In the center was a large fort called a castrum. Instead of wood, stone was used for the walls, towers and barracks. The chamber was lit by a mixture of magic stones, torches and bonfires. The scent of smoke and meat filled the air. A few legionaries could be seen patrolling the top of the walls and inside the towers. 4 towers were placed at each corner of the castrum. Stationed inside the castrum was a centuria of soldiers, about 100, but had the capacity for a cohort, between 300-500. Only soldiers of the 13th legion were permitted entry. Outside the castrum, adventurers and soldiers gathered and had tents and other amenities constructed. Drunks could be heard excited about their spoils while dead bodies were being mourned. Adventurers and soldiers alike practiced formations and drills. A few places had monsters being butchered and cooked¡­ ¡°That pig monster over there¡­ I think that''s an orc. They are eating ossians. Fucking gross.¡± I whispered to Alicia when I saw an orc being spit-roasted. ¡°T-that isn''t a¡­ *hic* an orkoss,¡± interrupted a drunken man who happened to overhear me somehow. ¡°You can''t eat an orkoss! Pfft hahaha. That *hic* is a scrofoss and it is delicious!¡± the drunkard then staggered toward the pit roast. After wandering a bit around the area and finding someone sober, I was able to find out the direction of our labyrinth. We managed to find the corridor to our labyrinth which was guarded by 2 men and, after presenting the token, was permitted to enter. The token was confiscated by the guard, presumably to return to the guild. Our first foray into a dungeon begins now. ? ? ? ¡ºLabyrinth I¡» Alicia and I passed through the doors which were promptly closed behind us. The corridor was dimly lit from torch sconces that were used by previous dungeon crawlers. We passed artificial obstacles in the form of narrow archways and wooden gates that were constructed to limit whatever spawned from attacking the doors. When we made it to the labyrinth proper, we noticed a few things. The labyrinth was wide, very wide. I tried walking from 1 side to the other and counted about 10 meters. At least 3 cars could fit side by side by side. The height was¡­ indeterminable. When I used my flashlight to see the ceiling, I could barely make it out. I was tempted to use my drone and find out, but I did not want to risk damaging it. ¡°Let''s not draw this out, onii-chan. Once we clear this place I have something to tell you.¡± Alicia pulled my attention back to our mission. We passed various things on the floor and walls. Bits of rocks and stones littered the ground, probably from earth mages. Small scraps of metal and splintered wood probably came from armor and weapons. Blood stains dried since long ago. All of this was illuminated by our flashlights. When we reached a bend and could no longer see into the distance, we took caution. My back set against the right wall as I peeked my head around the corner, but saw nothing. We continued on. We repeated this for a few minutes until we started to smell something. It was the putrid smell of something rotting. ¡°Over there.¡± Alicia pointed with her flashlight. It was a small body on the opposite side of our wall. We saw some odd things moving around the body, but it was unclear what it was until we moved close to it. The body was childlike, probably a goblin or something. Its flesh was mostly gone and some of the bones were wearing away. The reason for it was probably due to the weird shit that was eating it. Little blobs of breast implants were busily squiggling atop the corpse. There were 3 blobs of varying sizes. The largest was roughly the size of a soccer ball while the other 2 were the size of a softball and tennis ball. All 3 were a transparent green color and had a lumpy looking core inside their bodies. It looked just like a green mizu shingen mochi (raindrop cake). Next to the large one were little clumps of what looked like green fish roe. A few flashes of light came from Alicia''s camera. They paid no attention to us as they continued eating. Since they were preoccupied and did not seem bothered by our presence, I reached out and poked the small one on its side. It wobbled and pulsated a few times, but made no other reaction and remained in place. I reached out once more and pinched it lightly. When it did not react, I fully palmed it. As I squeezed the blob, I noticed that it did not give off any slimy residue. The larger one glistened with slime, but I think that was due to it laying eggs or something. The blob was really soft and smooth and it reminded me of something, but I could not put my finger on it. ¡°Onii-chan, stop molesting the monster blob.¡± Alicia said, rudely. Since the blobbies were not hostile, we left them to their devices. There were still things we needed to do. We came across more blobs and decayed corpses, but there was nothing else noteworthy. The further we ventured into the labyrinth, the more lit it became. Faint light from ¡¸Glow Stones¡¹ were attached to the walls and gave off a bit more light than with just torches alone. Off in the distance we could hear something. Footsteps mixed with some weird grumbling voices could be clearly heard.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. They saw the movement from our flashlights and their footsteps hastened. When they got into visual range, we could clearly see what they were. Goblins. Ugly little things that were less than a meter tall. We counted 5 charging toward us wielding small knives and spears and clothed in animal hide. When they got into attack range, I launched a ¡¶Wind Blade¡·at the lead goblin. The attack was only strong enough to deliver a slash onto the chest of the goblin. Alicia anticipated my target and launched a magic dagger onto the left goblin. Both fell forward causing a 3rd goblin behind them to trip. The last 2 goblins stopped their charge as the saw their comrades fall. Alicia launched 2 daggers. 1 at the 3rd goblin and 1 at the 4th goblin while I sent a ¡¶Wind Blade¡· at the last goblin. When all 5 were on the ground, we stood still listening to any sounds of other monsters. No other sounds could be heard aside from some heavy breathing from the surviving goblins. 2 of the goblins hit by my wind spells were still alive, but just barely and 1 goblin attacked by Alicia was still alive. Our flashlights were fixed on the bodies as we approached with caution. Because it would be a cleaner kill, I asked Alicia to use her daggers to finish them off. Each one was stabbed in the neck or throat except for 1 that was not as injured. The last goblin only had a leg injury from my wind spell. It had attempted dodging the ¡¶Wind Blade¡· only to have its leg cut just above its foot. However, the creature was no longer able to move as the force of the wind pushed it against the wall. ¡°I want to examine it.¡± I said to Alicia. She wasted no time and used more magic daggers to pin it to the ground. Into each shoulder and ankle. ¡°Gobu! Gaba gobu!¡± screamed the goblin in goblinese or some such garbage. ¡°Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?¡± I asked the goblin. ¡°Goba glabo!¡± the goblin screamed again. Just as the book I had borrowed from whoever it was that had the books on ossians described, goblins were gross looking. They had either sand, gray, or green colored skin. Their limbs were lanky and thin, but very muscular in its thinness. Longish ears with large earlobes that seems to be adorned with earrings and gauges. Even its long nose had piercings. It is possible the more or more elaborate adornment meant a higher status. Their scent was pungent. It gave off a smell that was reminiscent of a bag full of wet, week old gym socks. The smell also reminded me of a bag of flour thrown into a compost pile and left to ferment. It was overpowering and yeasty. Simply disgusting. The mouth was large and wide with sharp, pointed teeth. I took the weapon laying next to the goblin which was a short spear with a sharpened piece of scrap metal tied to the end. With the spear, I placed it in its mouth and attempted to break one of its teeth. The goblin screamed in pain as I unsuccessfully tried to break off a tooth. Probably not shark-like. Lastly, the skin was thick. Using the spear to prod the body, it felt leathery and greasy. It took effort to drive the spear into its body. That explains why it was able to not be affect by m ¡¶Wind Blade¡·. There was probably a natural or unnatural resistance toward certain spells. After more screaming, the goblin died. ¡°So what the hell kind of reference was that?¡± Alicia asked, once the goblin was confirmed dead. ¡°I liked that movie. It was one of the first ones I watched when I was living with my grandparents. Can you believe that town still had a VHS shop?¡± I answered her. ¡°That movie is older than we are.¡± she said while looking around the area. ¡°Is the area clear?¡± I asked Alicia, changing the subject. ¡°Yup, there''s nothing else around.¡± she replied. ¡°Alright, this is a good time to take out our Gri¡­ oh.¡± I saw she had her Grimoire already summoned and was using a couple of magic swords to drag a body to copy. I did the same, but used the spear.
¡´Copied: Corpse ¨C Goblin Male +5 Skill Points¡µ
¡´Copied: Weapon ¨C Goblin Spear +5 Skill Points¡µ
After I had copied the goblin, I put away my Grimoire as it was a bit too dark to see. Even though it has the ability to just float in the air, it was still annoying trying to turn the pages or to even have it sit still while I try placing something on it. I also did not want to sit down on the floor as who knows what has been soaked in it. The rest of the goblins was to be left where it was, but before I could step away, Alicia stopped me. ¡°Wait, there''s the thing I want to tell you about,¡± Alicia came up to me and began to whisper in a low voice as if there would be eavesdroppers, ¡°you see onii-chan, there''s something you need to know. The thing is¡­ I-¡± ? ? ? ¡ºVaticano ¨C Imperial Villa¡» Saya and Illyria had spent most of the morning instructing the villa servants in collecting and labeling the various cuttings of the vineyards and plantations. With their tasks delegated to the servants, both girls awaited in the bedroom. Saya wore Naoki''s headphones and was busily listening to music while Illyria was browsing through a spare tablet given to her by Alicia. When the day passed, it was time to bathe. ¡°Sister Saya, master will not be here tonight. We should take this opportunity to cleanse ourselves.¡± Illyria approached Saya with a long, thin object in her hand. Saya looked down and saw the small object and agreed. She turned and walked into the bath with Illyria following behind. After fully undressing, both girls cleansed their bodies using Naoki''s body wash and shampoo before soaked in hot water. The water relaxed their bodies. When they had finished soaking and removing themselves from the bath, Saya climbed atop a stone counter. As she lay on the counter top, Illyria poured and massaged warmed olive oil over Saya''s body. Illyria''s hands caressed every part of Saya''s body to leave no area of skin uncovered. Illyria then nudged Saya''s legs apart. Her hands reached between the young girl''s legs and gently touched her labia. This drew a slight moan from Saya as she remained still. Illyria saw that Saya was now ready and took the small object she had carried with her. She placed it against Saya''s skin and looked at her face. ¡°Ready sister?¡± Illyria asked, to which Saya had nodded. Quickly, Illyria squeezed the tool and moved it away. ¡°Ow!¡± shouted Saya as she felt the pain of the tool. Illyria ignored her and repeated what she had done. Every bit of unwanted hair was removed from Saya with the tweezers that Illyria held. Her pubic area and around her anus, her legs, her arms, her back and her face all had hair removed. When Illyria had completed her task, Saya washed her body with hot water then with cold water. The hot water washed away the oil and any blood that may have seeped out while the cold water dulled the sting of having her hair plucked. Illyria then waited atop the counter for Saya to do the same to her. ? ? ? ¡ºLabyrinth I¡» ¡°I''ve killed people before.¡± Alicia completed her confession after that weird interruption. ¡°I saw, it was cool how you launched a dagger into their throats.¡± I said while trying to avoid stepping on the goblin corpses. ¡°No, I mean I¡¯ve killed 18 people and that includes the 2 upstairs.¡± she said that casually despite the nervousness in her voice. ¡°That''s only part of what I wanted to talk about. It''s about our Grimoire. I found something I think we could exploit.¡± As she said this, she took her Grimoire and pulled me in close. She also did this bullshit thing of using a bunch of her magic daggers to hold up her flashlight so that we could see. The Grimoire was flipped to the ¡¸Conversion¡¹ tab which showed the same description I have already seen before.
Able to convert items into stored Mana. Able to convert stored Mana to Skill Points. Able to convert Skill Points to stored Mana.
Or maybe not. I only looked at it once and lost interest in it when I had seen what the ¡¸Shop¡¹ had offered. Was that first option always there? ¡°Okay, so you have to make ¡¸Conversion¡¹ active to make it work, otherwise it will just attempt to copy whatever you drop. I¡¯ve already tested the mana to skill points and vice versa, 1 Skill Point will give you 100stored Mana while 1000stored Mana will give you 1 Skill Point.¡± as she explained so, she picked up a goblin corpse with her magic swords and placed it atop the open Grimoire. It was identical to the copy process as the body was broken down and absorbed into the Grimoire. When the 5 minute conversion process ended, a prompt appeared.
¡´Converted: Corpse ¨C Goblin Male +25 stored Mana¡µ
¡°If you remove clothing and armor, you can maximize how much stored mana you can get. If you convert while it''s still wearing it then it will convert it as a singular thing and not add any extra mana. Watch.¡± she took another corpse, but this time stripped off the piece of leather that was being used as armor as well as an iron dagger.
¡´Converted: Leather Scrap +1 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Fur +14 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Weapon ¨C Iron Knife +5 stored Mana¡µ
¡°I don''t really get the scaling, but I tried other things like water. It takes about 4 cups of water for just 1 mana. Same with rocks, dirt and other things like that. A human corpse gives 100 mana.¡± she looked at me waiting for a reaction. ¡°So why did you not tell me this before and what it has to do with why your kill count is higher?¡± I asked her. ¡°I thought you knew. I also thought you might be upset that I''ve been killing people left and right.¡± she explained and waited for my reaction. When I only stared at her waiting for her, she continued. ¡°Like a week or two after we robbed the combat instructor, a bunch of praetorian guards tried sneaking into the apartment. I just happened to come across them when I was doing my scouting thing and killed them when they drew their swords. ¡°The other 9 people were just random assholes that thought they could rob or kidnap me or some shit. So yeah, when I needed to get rid of their bodies, I came across the conversion mechanic.¡± ¡°Oh okay. So¡­ wow.¡± I said, surprised at this confession, ¡°you could have told me about the people trying to kill us.¡± ¡°Eh, not really a big deal. You make enemies, I clean up. I¡¯m such a good wife,¡± she smiled, ¡°so be sure to take care of me on-ii-chan~.¡± We finished off the last goblins and continued inward, toward the treasure chest at the end of the labyrinth. We came across more blob creatures and saw them either bouncing or wriggling to move around. I took one that was not moving and stabbed it. Alicia did the same. We did this a few times each.
¡´Copied: Corpse ¨C Slime +5 Skill Points¡µ
¡´Converted: Corpse ¨C Slime +25 stored Mana¡µ
Stabbing the slime had caused it to release its liquid which was very slimy. It had the viscosity of thick syrup or thin honey. The aqua limus I had was much thicker than this, so I think it might have been boiled down or perhaps it thickens over time. I did not want to waste the battery life of our flashlights so we ignored the rest of the slimes and finished the dungeon. The magic treasure chest was fairly large. At least twice as large as my magic chest. It was elaborately adorned with engravings and looked very sturdy. We had already been warned not to mess with it so we just followed the instructions of how to operate it. The instructions was simple. In front of the treasure chest was a square in which we place our hand. When the treasure chest ''reads'' our hand, it will determine what loot we get. The square felt like parchment, similar to my Grimoire page. Could it be related? I went first and placed my hand within the square. 5 minutes passed before I heard a ''click'' sound. The top was able to be moved and opened. Inside was a single magic stone. A mosaic patterned ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹. Lame. Alicia did the same, but instead received a cheap looking bow. I also want to tear this thing apart and find out how it works. ¡°I want to figure out how this thing works.¡± I said to Alicia. Before we ended our dungeon crawl, I decided to figure out how this thing works. I took out a small knife and started prying around the edges. It did not seem to be made of wood, but it did feel like it. It was tough and rigid, probably made of stone or corundum. Since it seemed to be a single solid piece, I moved over to the square with parchment like material. The moment I slid the knife at a corner a warning was triggered. ¡¶¡¶¡¶!¡·¡·¡· I have never felt this before. My heart was beating a kilometer a minute. My palms grew sweaty. I felt panicked. I needed to get away from this thing. That felt¡­ wrong. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± Alicia asked, noticing my reaction. ¡°W-we need to leave. Let''s not mess with this thing anymore.¡± I tried to calm myself as we turned to leave. Although we were both disappointed at our loot roll, we at least learned something interesting. Finished with our first dive, we returned to the surface. My body, though, was still trembling. ? ? ? ¡ºVaticanius Villa¡» Inside a room were 2 people. A young girl and an older man. The man had an imposing appearance as he sat in his seat. He stared at the young girl who stood before him. ¡°Tell me everything about how my son was murdered.¡± said the man. The young girl shivered in fear at the man''s voice. She spoke, telling the man everything she had witnessed. ? ? ? ¡ºDungeon Guild ¨C Taberna¡» It was already pretty late when we came out of the dungeon. While the sky was still lit, it would only be an hour or so before it grew dark. Alicia and I decided to stay in the hotel like place above the ¡¸Dungeon Guild¡¹. We would certainly draw attention if we were to take an extravagant room so I decided to take the extravagant room. It was the only type that had a private bath. Being near goblins and touching corpses was disgusting and I needed to be clean. There were different types of rooms to choose from as the building was quite large. There was a common room which was the cheapest and shared with other people and a private room that had little amenities. There were various private rooms that would scale up in amenities with our room being the most costly. Our room was the most expensive at a cost of 5 gold aureuii per night. It, disappointingly, only had a single person bath. This meant that Alicia and I could not fool around in the bath like we like. There were also prostitutes available, but Alicia made sure I would not get one. When we were climbing the stairs to our room, 1 of the prostitutes had approached me. Alicia cut her off using 3 daggers pointed at her neck, 5 swords floating nearby were trained at her face and 2 spears aimed for the eyes. ¡°Never. talk. to. him. again.¡± she warned the prostitute. Within a blink of an eye, the weapons disappeared as if they had never existed and we went into our room. Alicia went to take a bath first while I checked my Grimoire for the updates I had missed while inside the dungeon.
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Travel to Vaticano¡¿ | Information: Visit the Dungeon City of Vaticano. | Rewards: 1,000 stored Mana, 20 Skill Points¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Underground¡¿ | Information: Enter the Dungeons below Vaticano. | Rewards: 10 Mana Stones (Synthesis Required)¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Subjugation I¡¿ | Information: Kill ten of the same creature. [4/10] | Goblin: [2/10] Slime: [4/10] Rewards: 5,000 stored Mana, 100 Skill Points¡¹
Whoops, should''ve killed the other slimes.
Achievement: Human Slayer: Killed 2 humans +20 Skill Points.
Goblin Slayer: Killed 1 goblin +10 Skill Points (First of its kind). Killed 1 goblin +1 Skill Points.
Slime Slayer: Killed 1 slime +10 Skill Points (First of its kind). Killed 3 slimes +3 Skill Points.
Health: 912¡ü/1000 Stamina: 239¡ý/1000
Mana: 645¡ý/1000 Life Force: 599¡ý/1000
Stored Mana: 1,281
Strength: 29 Intelligence: 35 ¡ú 36
Precision: 37 ¡ú 38 Wisdom: 36 ¡ú 37
Dexterity: 31 Willpower: 27 ¡ú 28
Endurance: 36 Perception: 39 ¡ú 44
Toughness: 31 Charisma: 33
Resistance: 30 Luck: 68 ¡ú 69
Health Recovery: 11 Stamina Recovery: 11
Mana Recovery: 35 Life Force Recovery: 11
Skill Points: 2,358
Status Effects: Fear (mild)
In less than a month, my attributes have grown quite substantially despite not putting in any Skill Points. Because of that terrifying incident with the treasure chest, my Perception made a large jump of 5 points. There has been no noticeable change in my mana regen despite putting points in Mana Recovery. And my damn Stamina disappears quickly any time I move. As much as I want to use more Skill Points in my attributes, I feel I need to get as much as I can. I believe once I hit the 50''s rank it will become more difficult to naturally increase it. Skill Points and stored Mana is what I want to increase the most. Tomorrow we will continue grinding the dungeon. I just have to be more careful. The ''Fear'' status shows that I am still a little freaked out from that treasure chest. I have no idea what kind of magic is being used on that thing, but it most likely has a ton of security enchantments. A hot bath will help clear my mind. Last thing I wanted to do was check the ¡¸Conversion¡¹ mechanic. I took out a grain sized ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ from my rucksack and dropped it on the parchment. It started to copy the magic stone.
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¨C ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ +5 stored Mana¡µ
It was a miniscule amount, but I had over 10,000 of these. They were pretty cheap from the magic stone dealers, but I have no idea where they come from. With this alone, I could get a new box of bullets. I then tested a normal sized ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¨C ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ +1000 stored Mana¡µ
Okay, holy shit. I could totally exploit this. ? ? ? ¡ºNorth of Tiberalis¡» 3 days after Naoki''s transport had departed, the main caravan lead by Veronica left the city. The line of wagons and carriages had drawn the attention of every person that had witnessed the spectacle. From a distance, a small group of men carefully watched the caravan. ¡°30 guards, adventurers by the looks of their armor.¡± spoke a man to the others around him. ¡°Only 30, could they be elites? With that many wagons, they would need more to defend. It is probably a trap.¡± replied another man, letting the others know of his concerns. ¡°Even so, we have more horses.¡± replied the 1st man. He looked to another man within his ranks and gave an order. ¡°Send word to the boss, we will attack when the prize reaches the farmlands.¡± Chapter XVI: Exploits XVI Exploits ¡ºEmperor''s Office¡» ¡°An airplane?¡± asked the emperor as he looked at the person who suggested the word. ¡°It''s a machine that allows a person to fly in the sky. We already know that flying magic isn''t a thing since someone, Riley, tried and failed.¡± replied Isaac. The emperor thought for a moment, ¡°We have eagle riders, which are our elite scouts and soldiers. Are airplanes superior to them?¡± ¡°Well,¡± begun Vincent, ¡°we can start with early version aircraft which used wood and cloth for its body. Engines will be a problem, but we can miniaturize this steam engine and refine it to use a different power source. Probably. ¡°As for superiority. In our world, we have, like, 100,000 aircraft. Most are light aircraft and cargo and transport. They don''t have weapons. But the military aircraft have guns, cannons, missiles and bombs. In World War II, there were hundreds of thousands of bombs dropped that destroyed cities.¡± ¡°Basically,¡± interrupted Riley, ¡°if we can make gunpowder, guns and bombs, we can stick them onto the planes, teach your people how to fly them and win wars like nobody''s business.¡± ¡°Gunpowder? Guns? Bombs? What exactly do these words mean?¡± asked the emperor, overwhelmed by the new information he has received. ¡°Oh right, um¡­ not-magic that goes ''boom''.¡± Vincent pantomimed with his hands as he explained what each item does. ¡°Do you know how to make it?¡± the emperor excitedly asked. ¡°Um, charcoal, sulfur and something something. I can''t remember the last one.¡± replied Vincent. ¡°Saltpeter. No idea where to get it though.¡± added Chad, who had been listening. ¡°Right right, that. So we figure out where to get it and we can make gunpowder. Easy peasy.¡± Isaac replied. The group discussed more inventions which could be created. From telescopes to paper, from cars to radio. The emperor became even more overwhelmed as he listened to their descriptions of these groundbreaking technologies. He was satisfied that he was able to learn of these and no longer rely on the ¡¸Proficiomancer¡¹despite his warning of not being able to give enough detail. He smiled inwardly as he realized the ossian threat will be stamped out soon enough. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +100¡» ¡ºImperial Villa ¨C Vaticano¡» ¡°Sorry about last night. I was pretty knocked out.¡± I apologized to Alicia while we were sitting on a carriage taking us to the villa. ¡°Hm? Oh right, no worries. We still had sex last night.¡± she rebutted. ¡°While I was sleeping?¡± my eyebrow raised in suspicion. ¡°Yup, ''free use'' goes both ways and I managed to cum 3 times. So thanks for a good ride onii-chan.¡± she smiled, glowingly. ¡°Uh-huh.¡± We arrived at the villa and was greeted by both Saya and Illyria. Saya approached me first and gave me a kiss while wrapping her arms around my neck. The taste of fruits and honey lingered on her lips and tongue. When Saya and I separated, I pulled Illyria to me. She also seems to enjoy eating fruits and honey. ¡°Master, the bath is already prepared.¡± Saya said to me. At least this time I''ll be awake to enjoy it. ? ? ? Even though it was only a day, it was nice being able to feel them again. Waking up this morning without either Saya or Illyria made me feel lonely. After our bath, Alicia and I took the magic chest Mk I and secluded ourselves away from Saya, Illyria and the servants. We checked and double-checked the room to make sure there was no recording device or hidden spyholes. Satisfied that the room was clean, we got to work. I reached into the opened magic chest and pulled out a single bag from the stack of magic stones. It was large and heavy as it was filled with more bags of magic stones. Each smallish bag was filled with 100 identical magic stones of each type. 100¡¸Mana Stones¡¹, 100 ¡¸Distortion Stones¡¹, 100 ¡¸Wind Stones¡¹, etc. With this, we managed to fill up an entire x250 stack slot. There were also 8 slots of mixed magic stones bags. More magic stone bags were spread out in the other magic chests that were still with the caravan. Those were magic stones I had not fully sorted out. From the 8 slots, I took out 10 bags of grain-sized ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹. Each bag was small and held exactly 1,000 ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹. It was super fun counting those out. Now with 250 slots of 100 ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹, that made it 25,000 stones. This was just a small amount of ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹ that I had brought with me in case I wanted to do some enchanting. Including the now named ¡¸Mana Grain¡¹, I have a little over 25,250,000 points worth of stored mana. I still need to figure out how much of the other magic stones are worth.
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Water Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Frost Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Heat Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Glow Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Bright Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Sun Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Dye Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Wind Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Charge Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Silent Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Distortion Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Float Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
¡´Converted: Magic Stone ¡¸Anchor Stone¡¹ +200 stored Mana¡µ
Appraisal, celerity, amplifier and rage stones are rare and I could not justify converting it since all the other stones I had converted gave the same amount of mana. Converting 2 at a time only gave the equivalent stored mana of 1 item. Converting 2 items will also give the highest value item worth as far as I could tell. We would need to convert everything 1 at a time. Being that it was a small item, it would convert in an instant. However, doing it 1 at a time will be extremely tedious. I know exactly what I want to purchase right now so I would not need to spend all my time converting. Just 600,000 stored mana and our dungeon crawl will be a breeze. After I converted and queued up all my purchases, I realized it was already late. Our stomachs growled with thunderous fury with the madness of hunger. ¡°I can watch over our Grimoires, go ahead and be with your girls,¡± Alicia suggested, ¡°I''ll be fine. I know you miss them, but before you go¡­ how about a quickie?¡± she smiled as she removed her shorts and positioned herself on all 4''s. Hungry or horny? Hungry and horny. I moved behind Alicia and removed my shorts as well. Food can wait. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +101¡» ¡ºImperial Villa ¨C Vaticano¡» I woke up to Alicia laying atop my now-awake body. Her back was bare and covered with sweat as I swept my arms around to hold her. ¡°Have¡­ fun?¡± I asked her. ¡°God, yes. So good~.¡± she lifted herself up and handed me my medication and potions. ¡°Go do your morning routine in the bath. I''ll have the house servants prepare breakfast. I bought a bag rice.¡± ¡°Huzzah.¡± I smiled at the thought of having rice to eat again. After the very relaxing and stamina draining bath, I joined Alicia in the office that we used in our seclusion. She had 2 bowls full of food. Rice, which she had purchased from the Grimoire shop, which had the scent of goodness, which had the texture of deliciousness, bacon and eggs. Even if I could not taste it, I still enjoyed the breakfast. She also had a pot of coffee ready. I had left the coffee and french press with Veronica and needed to repurchase another set. ¡°I organized everything before I went to bed.¡± she pointed to the neatly arranged items I had purchased. ¡°I added more ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹ and changed the number of bullets so you have extra.¡± x1 ¨C semi-automatic sniper system with sling, stock and grip included. 150,000 mana. x2 ¨C 20-round capacity rifle magazines. 10,000 mana. x1 ¨C 15-round capacity pistol magazine. 5,000 mana. x10 ¨C 10 round boxes of 7.62x51 FMJ rounds. 500,000 mana. x1 ¨C 8x optical scope. 150,000 mana. x1 ¨C iron sights. 1,000 mana. x1 ¨C bi-pod. 8,000 mana. x1 ¨C suppressor. 2,000 mana. x10 ¨C high-intensity chem lights, x5 red color and x5 white color. 10,000 mana. All in all, this cost me a total of 836,000 stored mana and 1000 skill points. The pricing still made little sense, pretty much no sense at all, but what sense I could make of it was that weight and complexity may or may not factor in pricing. A 1 gram pill costs 100 mana while a 1 kilogram bag of coffee costs 10,000 mana. However, a bi-pod that was less than half a kilogram costs 8,000 mana and the rifle that was around 7 kilograms only cost 150,000 mana. When I checked the prices of an ingot of copper, iron, mithril and orichalcum, the prices were vastly different. The pricing scheme was fucking stupid. Alicia purchased batteries for our flashlights and a few other things from her Grimoire. All that was needed now was to return to grinding in the dungeon. I would need to set up my optics inside the dungeon where no one would see. Also, before I start pouring skill points into my attributes, I want to level it up as much as I can without it. ? ? ? ¡ºLabyrinth II¡» The number of vigilance warnings I received while we rode the imperial carriage caused me to look up various explosives in the Grimoire Shop. Dynamite and C4 was nice and cheap at 2,000 mana each, but the detonator and remote trigger for the C4 exceeded many millions of mana. ¡°Un, yes, I will just need a few tonnes of these and we can wipe this fucking city off the map.¡± I said determinedly to Alicia. ¡°And let people know about explosives? It''s better to wait until we reach our new home before you start blowing things up.¡± she said, wet blanketly. There was also the issue of carrying around the dynamite. Even though it uses clay or some other material to stabilize it, I was wary of how it would be affected by the hot weather of the area. Also, whether or not the electrical contact of the distortion field could detonate it. I put the though aside.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. When we arrived at the ¡¸Dungeon Guild¡¹ lobby, we were able to get labyrinth II without any issues. The receptionist said that orkoss had spawned. No idea what that was, orcs? But I wanted to see if we could just breeze through each level in sequence. To do this, I would need to quickly fix up my rifle optics. Obviously, a carbine, shotgun or even an SMG would have been a better choice of weapon for the fairly ''narrow'' quarters of the dungeon, but I liked my rifle. I should have bought holsters. Once we passed the guarded doors of the labyrinth, we proceeded to secure the area so I would have a place to work. I placed a few ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹ with a ¡¸Bright Stone¡¹ on top around me to illuminate the area. If I were to activate the ¡¸Bright Stone¡¹, it would give off light for about 1 minute before deactivating. Having the ¡¸Mana Stone¡¹ would let it continuously function. Alicia did the same downrange to help me set up my sights. It did not take long to get the rifle adjusted to my preference. I chose not to fire a test shot so as not to alert the orc things. After collecting the magic stones, we proceeded into the labyrinth. I must have looked ridiculous with my rifle, sidearm, sword, backpack, rucksack and side bags being worn over my armor. Not to mention I was still wearing sneakers. Steel-toed work boots would be a good idea. We managed to make our way toward the end of the labyrinth without a finding anything, save for slimes. This was good as I needed to kill more for the quest and I wanted to collect more slime liquid. The slimes were simply picked up, stabbed with a dagger and placed into a leather bag that had been waterproofed with slime liquid¡­ or slime lacquer? About 2 dozen were collected. As we neared the treasure chest chamber, we found 8 silhouettes around the treasure chest. 2 were holding torches and we were able to partially see their appearance. We were careful to keep our distance and observe them. Through my scope, I noticed they had greenish skin like the goblins. Almost twice as tall as a goblin and had large muscles with a wide jaw. Each 1 had different weapons. I could confirm a club of unknown material and a medium length sword. Another wore metal armor that I could see glinting off the torch light. It looked like they were arguing around the chest as 1 managed to open it and retrieve something. The body obscured my view of what it was, unfortunately. Another silhouette tried to open the chest, but was unsuccessful. In its anger it started to hit the chest with a hammer of some sort. It continued to bash the treasure chest until it screamed in pain and fell over. This alerted the others which terrified them. They began to back away from the chest toward our direction, but it seemed they have not noticed us. I took a kneeling position and made my preparations. Safety was flipped off and a round was chambered. The moment the click sound was made, creatures took noticed and roared. ¡°Waaagh!¡± screamed the armored one. Ah, that kind of ork. Holy shit we are going to be sued. The scope was set at 4x magnification. I took aim and fired. *bang* I missed and hit 1 of the torch bearers on the left. The sight was off by a few millimeters. I readjusted my aim at fired once more. *bang* The armored ork was struck in the head even though I was aiming for the chest. The optic is really fucked. I fired once more hitting 1 on the arm. They were now close enough to make the scope useless. Alicia used her flashlight to illuminate the creatures. They looked so gross. I stood up and tilted the rifle, aiming through the iron sights. With my target lined up, I began firing. *bang* *bang* *bang* 2 more were hit and fell forward. Alicia used a magic dagger, but it was repelled. This angered her enough to spawn 10 swords, all of which were able to stab into the creatures. Just as before, 1 was still alive and pinned to the ground by the daggers. Before I approached it, I picked up my 6 spent casings. I could not understand the words it spoke so I simply killed it. Its skin was tougher than a goblin''s and its muscles were larger. It and the others had varying heights between shorter than me or slightly taller. Very human-like. With my Grimoire summoned and a ¡¸Bright Stone¡¹ shining, I checked the updates.
Achievements: Slime Slayer: Killed 10 Slimes +10 Skill Points.
Orkoss Slayer: Killed 1 Orkoss +50 Skill Points (First of its kind). Killed 2 Orkoss +10 Skill Points.
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Subjugation I¡¿ | Information: Kill 10 of the same creature. [10/10] | Slime: [10/10] Rewards: 5,000 stored Mana, 100 Skill Points¡¹
With the completion of this quest, 4 new quests appeared.
¡¸Quest:¡¾Subjugation II¡¿ | Information: Kill 50 dungeon creatures. [7/50] | Rewards: 10,000 stored Mana, 200 Skill Points¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Goblin Subjugation I¡¿ | Information: Kill 10 of the same creature. [0/10] | Rewards: 5,000 stored Mana, 100 Skill Points¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Orkoss Subjugation I¡¿ | Information: Kill 10 of the same creature. [3/10] | Rewards: 5,000 stored Mana, 100 Skill Points¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Slime Subjugation I¡¿ | Information: Kill 10 of the same creature. [4/10] | Rewards: 5,000 stored Mana, 100 Skill Points¡¹
Too bad I could not clear the ¡¸Animancer¡¹ quest so I could have a freed up quest slot. Instead of orcs or orks, they were called orkoss. Their gear and bodies were also copied or converted. The converted amount of mana was pretty low.
Stored Mana: 14,208
Skill Points: 1,832
Our Grimoires were despawned and we headed to the treasure chest. As we approached the chest, I was careful not to do anything that would upset it. Seeing firsthand how its security features work worked wonders to cure me of my curiosity of its hidden functions. I received a shitty iron short sword while Alicia got a ¡¸Heat Stone¡¹. No 2 blues and a green, no dungeon tokens that can be traded to an NPC for dungeon armor or weapons, only a single item. Ah, I didn''t use my ¡¸Mantra of Luck¡¹. Oh well, next time. Last thing I did was touch the pad once more. Thankfully, and unfortunately, nothing happened. Whatever makes this thing work seems to have set it to a single use. But was it per session? If we left and reentered, would we be able to use it immediately or would it be on a cooldown? We left the labyrinth and headed to the lobby hoping to nab a spot for labyrinth III. ? ? ? ¡ºLabyrinth III¡» Lucky lucky. I made sure to cast ¡¸Mantra of Luck¡¹ before we entered the lobby. We lined up and waited patiently for our turn and, by sheer happenstance, labyrinth III became available. The receptionist said the ossians that had spawned were anuross. As we walked down the corridor to return to the dungeon area, Alicia asked me a question. ¡°If this labyrinth is also a cakewalk, do you think you can handle the next one solo?¡± ¡°Yeah, probably. Plans?¡± I asked. ¡°I want to explore the city and find a magic stone shop. I also want to find a new wife for you.¡± she said as if it was the most natural thing in the world to say. ¡°I have you and Minervina, I don''t need a new wife.¡± I said, looking at her attempting to read her face. She turned her head to face me as we continued walking, ¡°Pfft, right, sure okay.¡± she laughed, ¡°You''re banging Saya and Illyria and you have Veronica, my best friend, on your list. She will most likely give you Cassia just to protect her virginity. Plus¡­¡± ¡°Plus?¡± I raised my eyebrow suspiciously. ¡°I wonder...¡± ¡°Alicia.¡± ¡°We''re almost there. I want to finish this off and get something to eat.¡± she giggled as she started to walk ahead faster, almost skipping. ¡°Don''t forget your potions.¡± Once we passed the guards, I removed my pistol. This time I wanted to use my pistol and magic instead of my rifle. The pistol was fitted with the suppressor and light. After drinking my potions, I boosted the both of us. I decided we would just rush in. We positioned ourselves to the right wall of the labyrinth and moved at a light jog. Each time we passed a slime, we would pick it up and shove it in a spare bag. I would kill it later on. This labyrinth felt longer than the previous ones. There were at least 30 curves and turns that we had passed. Along the way, we found more slimes covering rotting bodies. We ignored those. No idea if my sword would react to whatever chemical it composed of. We finally met our 1st opponents. 2 frog-looking ossians wielding spears appeared to be on patrol. 1 of the 2 was holding a torch. I signaled to Alicia to take the left 1 as I would take the right. She would use her standard daggers while I would use wind magic. It was the best for an ambush attack. We synchronized our attack. A blade of wind speed toward the chest of the frog-person with a dagger flying toward its friend. The ¡¶Wind Cutter¡· was a successful hit as it opened a large wound on the frog''s chest. The dagger, however, skidded across the neck and pinged off the wall. *CROAK!* The frog''s throat expanded and gave off a loud, very loud, warning scream. Alicia sent more daggers as well as swords against it. I sent another ¡¶Wind Cutter¡· to my target to finish it off. Their skin seemed to be stab-resistant, but weak against slashing attacks. *CROAK!* The faint echoing sound of a croak reached us a few seconds later. From the sounds of it, they were still a good distance away from us. I took my leather bag, flipped it inside out and forced both bodies and their items into it. With our sneak attack having been foiled, I trained my pistol in front of me and prepared for reinforcements. We moved forward carefully to meet with the rest of the enemy. We found a suitably defensive spot where I could build an ¡¶Earth Wall¡·. The material of the wall, however, seemed to resist magic and so I spent extra mana in order to create the wall. I built it just tall enough to reach our waist. Footsteps could now be heard in the distance. I took a handful of ¡¸Bright Stones¡¹ and threw it as far out in front of us as I could. Our firing line was now lit. We attacked as soon as they appeared. I took aim at the 1st one to appear and opened fire. *bang* *bang* *bang* 1 down. At this range accuracy would be lowered, but the targets had fairly wide bodies. *bang* *bang* Another down. Alicia, as well, sent blade after blade to repel the monsters. In an attempt to flank us at our undefended left flank, they began to hop in an erratic pattern making it difficult to deliver a critical hit. I switched my pistol light to strobe in order to disorient them. In between gunshots, I would launch ¡¶Wind Blades¡·, ¡¶Wind Cutters¡· and ¡¶Fireballs¡·. ¡°Reloading!¡± My kill count hit 5 before I needed to reload. Because the 2nd magazine was brand new, the spring''s tension was still high and it could only hold 14 rounds. Alicia was able to hold them back with multiple shields. She attacked with everything she could. Spears, swords and daggers flew and stabbed into each frog. I followed up with more gunfire and spells and the bodies began to pile up. Seeing this, a few began to retreat. ¡¶!¡· Before we could finish them off, a warning came from above. 8 frogs were clinging to the walls as 1 jumped down and collided with Alicia. Another collided with me. A ¡¶Gust¡· was able to push it away which was followed up with multiple ¡¶Wind Cutters¡·. Alicia used her shields to force hers away. We were able to recover and retaliate. My last 2 rounds hit 2 frogs as they jumped toward us. The remaining 4 followed the others and retreated. The ¡¸Bright Stones¡¹ had long lost its power as the darkness covered their retreat. Numbers unknown. We took refuge behind the wall I had made and recovered. Potions were taken to recover. I could hear the flopping of slimes as they gathered for the bodies. There were at least 20 that littered the ground. ¡°You okay?¡± I asked Alicia who was taking deep breaths. ¡°Fine. Chest hurts from their bullshit dropkick.¡± she replied between breaths while clutching her chest. ¡°What''s that shit on your arm?¡± Looking down, I noticed 5 toothpick sized darts in my right arm. I checked the rest of my body and found another dart on my neck. The darts attached to where I was not wearing armor. Poison darts? Whatever, I¡¯m fine. ¡°Were you hit by darts?¡± I asked, knowing she did not have my resistance to poisons. ¡°Nope, I had the shields covering me.¡± Confirming that she was okay, we got ready. We could not waste time as the frogs would dig themselves in and make attacking them difficult. Alicia gathered the weapons while I gathered their bodies with my small magic bag. They took up multiple slots as they had different armors, body sizes or skin colors. I also gathered some of the slimes that showed up. 18 dead frogs were collected. With my pistol empty, I would use my rifle since it still had a fresh magazine. I would also use magic and my sword as backup. Last thing I picked up were my spent casings using ¡¸Electromagnetism¡¹ and the ¡¸Bright Stones¡¹ I had thrown. We moved forward with Alicia''s flashlight leading the way. Arriving at the treasure chamber, Alicia swept left while I swept right. Captured torches and ¡¸Bright Stones¡¹ were thrown out to light up the area. The left and right side of the room was clear. All of the remaining frogs were gathered around the treasure chest desperately trying to get it to open. We attacked. The clang of metal, gunfire and croaking noises filled the room. 11 frogs were now dead. I collected their bodies and gear as well as cleaning 3 more fucking darts from my neck and arm. Now that this was finally over, we went over to the treasure chest to collect our loot. The items I received were a scepter, about as long as my forearm, and a small round metal plate with some inscriptions etched in the center. This was a 1st time getting more than 1 item. Alicia received 5 rolled up papyrus scrolls and 1 rolled up parchment scroll. ? ? ? ¡ºDungeon Guild ¨C Taberna¡» The room we had used last time was already taken, but we were able to rent a different room. Same quality. I was already tired and wanted to get some sleep so I would have to do the copies and conversions tomorrow, but I killed the slimes that were in the bag. While Alicia was in the bath, I ate while checking my stats.
Achievement: Anuross Slayer: Killed 1 Anuross +80 Skill Points (First of its kind). Killed 16 Anuross +128 Skill Points.
Health: 338¡ü/1000 Stamina: 164¡ü/1000
Mana: 215¡ü/1000 Life Force: 732¡ý/1000
Strength: 29 ¡ú 30 Intelligence: 36
Precision: 38 ¡ú 39 Wisdom: 37 ¡ú 38
Dexterity: 31 ¡ú 32 Willpower: 28 ¡ú 29
Endurance: 36 ¡ú 37 Perception: 44 ¡ú 45
Toughness: 31 ¡ú 32 Charisma: 33
Resistance: 30 ¡ú 33 Luck: 69
Health Recovery: 11 Stamina Recovery: 11
Mana Recovery: 35 Life Force Recovery: 11
Skill Points: 1,584
Stored Mana: 1,287
Status Effects: Poisoned (Resisted)
So it was poisoned darts. I should see if there are any antidotes available. Hurray natural resistance. And lastly, my updated quests.
¡¸Quest:¡¾Subjugation II¡¿ | Information: Kill 50 dungeon creatures. [45/50] | Rewards: 10,000 stored Mana, 200 Skill Points¡¹
¡¸Quest Complete:¡¾Slime Subjugation I¡¿ | Information: Kill 10 of the same creature. [10/10] | Rewards: 5,000 stored Mana, 100 Skill Points¡¹
¡¸Quest:¡¾Slime Subjugation II¡¿ | Information: Kill 25of the same creature. [15/25] | Rewards: 10,000 stored Mana, 150 Skill Points¡¹
? ? ? Alicia was taking a long time and I had nothing much else to do. I took out my pistol and rifle and began reloading the magazines. While doing this I was also browsing gun holsters and boots. As my attention was on the Grimoire, added to this my drowsiness, I dropped a few 9mm bullets attempting to load them into the magazine. 3 bullets fell, 1 falling on the floor and 2 falling on the Grimoire page. Since I had already copied the 9mm bullet, I figured nothing would happen.
¡´Copied: x2 9mm Full Metal Jacket Round +5 Skill Points¡µ
Okay, yeah, let''s exploit the fuck out of this. Chapter XVII: Solo XVII ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ Ick. ¡¶¡· ¡¸¡¹ ? ? ? ¡º¡» th level. When I arrived at the gate, the guards gave me an odd look. Probably because I was the only person entering instead of a group. ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ I wonder if there is night vision magic. ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹
¡´¡µ
st worg, aiming at the side of its head. nd worg which yelped as it died, alerting the goblins. The laser light helped, but it also gave away my position. The worg saw the point source of the laser and charged. It ran in a straight line which made it an easy target. I opened fire. nd lane. As I moved into the chamber, I kept my rifle trained at the light. nd lane. When I heard the click of the lock, I tore my attention away from the exit and looked into the chest. The loot I had received was¡­ ¡° nd lane. The chem light led my way out with the help of wind magic pushing it. Aside from slimes, there was nothing in this lane. I picked up the chem light and put it away so I could copy it. ¡° The fuck is an aes? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» st item I had been ignoring.
¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹
¡¸¡¹
¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹
¡¸¡¹ ¡° Red. ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? Thanks devs.
¡´¡µ
Right, I had already copied this.
¡´¡µ
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Okay good, size doesn''t matter.
¡´¡µ
? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡°kins~!¡± ? ? ? It feels like Minervina. Oppai. ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter XVIII: Grind XVIII ¡º¡» ¡º¡» She''s really pretty. ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹
Attributes, spells and skills naturally gained experience. Although there were no hard numbers on how much XP was gained or cost, it does show the progress in percentages. Unfortunately, I noticed that my resource pools (Health, Stamina, etc.) and recovery attributes did not have any progress. Skill Points needed to be added manually.
11 points per hour was fine when I only had 100 in my resource pool, but now that I had reached 1000, I relied too much on potions. Even if I raised it, I had already confirmed with Mana Recovery that the Oss Curse scaled upwards. Bumping it up would still benefit me in having to use fewer potions, but I could also use the Skill Points to unlock items in the Shop. Bringing it up to 50 would only cost 298 skill points each, plus Mana Recovery. From 11 to 20, it would cost 2 points each. 21 to 30, it would cost 4 points each. 8 points for the next tier, 16 after, with the last tier (91 ¨C 100) costing 512 Skill Points each. Once I am able to harvest more skill points, I would be able to max these out. But not yet. I will bring it up to 50 points.
Hopefully this will make a dent in my potion consumption. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¶¡·¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» th labyrinth. Goblins and slimes and goblins and also more goblins. We had no idea where the slimes were coming from, but as we killed the horde of goblins more slimes would appear to consume the bodies. The horde seemed endless. ¡¸¡¹
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? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Guess we won''t be doing much expanded exploitations. ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· Show off. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° st floor was a breeze with me clearing my slime quest and part of my goblin quest, but as soon as we reached the 2nd floor, we were attacked by magic using orks. I came up with a plan to use ¡¸¡¹ nd floor meaning the lanes were a free-for-all for any adventurers. Not like we saw any down here. Now that all the orks that were attacking us are dead, I took out a coin to decide which way to go. Not that it mattered as I was pretty sure that all the god damn orks had attacked us. I flipped the coin and disregarded the outcome as we went straight into the middle lane. nd treasure chamber. What was guarding the treasure chest was¡­ ¡° ¡° This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹ ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» st floor lanes had been occupied by soldiers, but we never saw any when we reached the treasure chamber and never saw them on the lower floors. ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¶¡· ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° nd floor held. Now the people needed answers. ? ? ? ¡º¡»
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¡¸¡¹ st and received a large chest from the grand chest which we could not move due to its weight. Same size as the chests we had been using. She made space in her 1 of her bags and stored it away. I received the same large chest and stored it away. We had received similar items from the upper floors, only they were much smaller. About the size of a toolbox. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» What the fuck is this? ¡° ¡° Is this guy fucking retarded? ¡¶¡· ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ th labyrinth had given us chests. Small chests for the 2 upper floors, a medium sized chest on the 3rd floor and a large chest on the last floor. ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° nd and last orgasm for the night. ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» st floor. Any time we would find a safe house, we would use it to relieve ourselves and take a break. The safe rooms themselves were fairly spartan in furnishings and divided into 4 rooms which varied in size from safe room to safe room. A sleeping quarters held multiple stone platforms for beds, a latrine with showers and running water that lead¡­ somewhere, a meeting room with stone furniture and a kitchen with also stone furniture, some were equipped with magic items. ¡°st floor.¡± I said excitedly as we finally found what we were looking for. ¡°Now all we have to do is give it the ol'' kill-kill and we can go to the next- and~ there''s a line. Great.¡± my relief was washed away at the sight of multiple groups sitting or standing by a wall. ¡° nd floor after activating a parchment trigger which opened a doorway. Then we proceeded to the 3rd floor. Then the 4th floor. We killed and slaughtered where ever we could and ignored occupied random treasure chests and treasure rooms. From the small treasure chests that we did come across, I kept expecting a mimic to attack us. Not being able to attack treasure chests made mimic-checks really difficult and would up my paranoia. Thankfully there were no mimics found. th floor was much larger and we started noticing that there were fewer and fewer adventurers. The more we explored, the more we became lost. We were able to breeze through the upper floors in less than a day, but we were tired now. It became a struggle looking for a safe room that was not filled with trash mobs or ruined by trash mobs. We continued clearing corridors and rooms searching for a safe room. ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? Whatever that is, they need to shut the fuck up. ¡° Soft. Something soft like Pinkface. ¡­ ¡­ ... Oh god dammit, it''s someone''s breast¡­ ¡°
Chapter XIX: Down XIX ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡ºth Floor Safe Room¡» ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡¶¡· ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡ºth Floor Safe Room¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡ºth Floor Safe Room¡» ? ? ? ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡¶¡· ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° Poor thing. ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡° th floor. We could not avoid every dead end, but since they had already found the boss room, it was a matter of retracing their steps. It took a few hours, but we finally found the boss room which had no line. We entered after preparing our weapons and armor. ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡ºth Floor Safe Room¡» Maybe I can use electric magic to launch the daggers and swords I looted. st sip was awesome. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡°th Maze. It has been 5 days since they had entered.¡± the girl answered. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡ºth Floor Safe Room¡» th floor, we were met by the amazing smell of rotting corpses. Slimes littered the corridors consuming the bodies. We were forced to push aside the bodies with wind magic, which only made the smell worse. All I could think was the amount of noxious fumes and disease coming from the bodies. It was probably the most dangerous part of this dungeon we have faced. ¡°¡¸¡¹ th floor was more of the same, but with actual fights. Muroidoss, the boar-types called scrofoss and the satyr-type called capross were fighting against goblins, orks, trolls and ogres. Whoever came up with their names is a fucking retard. God damn. st safe room we came across. The adventurers were exhausted and we needed to recover as well. Too much of my mana and mana potions were spent on the 6th floor. The shower tools were used to wash away the filth inside the safe room. Though I did leave a body for Pinkface''s dinner. After everyone had gone to sleep, I took my turn in the shower portion of the latrine. I had changed into cheap clothing that was found in the treasure chests and had multiple rags near me as well as my first aid kit. There was a task I needed to accomplish as I felt was my responsibility. ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡ºth Floor Lord''s Room¡» ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡°th floor boss room of this fucking maze. Fuck off.¡± I interrupted the leechers. ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡»
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¡¸¡¾¡¿ Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡¹
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Prompt: User may now browse Grimoire Menus without physical spawning. Must spawn Grimoire in order to make adjustments, convert, copy or synthesize.
Neat. I focused my mind in order to pop up my attribute panel.
Super neat.
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¡° ¡¸¡¹ Why are there so many candlesticks?
¡¶¡· Unf, fuck. She''s good. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡° st penetration. nd time, then a 3rd time, then a 4th time. ? ? ? ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Yes, let''s try this. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°st day.¡± she anticipated my question and answered, ¡°Plans?¡± ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ? ? ? Isn''t that the ¡¸Dungeon Guild¡¹ receptionist? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° In hindsight, I should have bound her mouth. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» th maze. Thanks to Alicia, I was overloaded with bullets and rifle magazines. It hurt watching her take a fresh box and a fully loaded magazine of 7.62 rounds copied into the Grimoire. But I was able to gain a large amount of bullets and fresh magazines. While synthesizing, I was busily making batches of magic scrolls. ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ st floor with ease. The phantom bullets followed the trajectory of the initial bullet and acted the same way it would as a real bullet. If the initial bullet contacts an enemy and becomes stuck inside or deflected, the phantom bullets would continue forward until it hits an obstruction. I was mowing down multiple ossians with a single shot. It was amazing. nd and 3rd floor, the density of the ossians and the short corridors made it difficult to remain at range. rd floor safe room, we took a short break and I switched the ¡¸¡¹ ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡·¡¶¡· ¡° th floor where the amount of adventurers and soldiers began thinning out. There were no goblins around, but there were a lot of orks, so I took out the ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° st ork I had captured stopped and so did 1 of the others he had brought. Only 1. The rest continued their charge and were killed by Alicia, Crixus and Lavinia. ¡°nd ork, ¡°so I can only mind break 1 at a time it seems.¡± ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡ºth Floor¡» st safe room we came across was a disgusting slime den. So many slimy eggs hanging from the ceiling and walls. As we turned around to leave, Pinkface jumped out of my backpack and into the safe room. It began devouring any eggs that it could reach. I started to follow it in to bring Pinkface back. ¡° ¡° And we now all have trypophobia. Thanks Pinkface. nd safe room was nothing more than ruins with frog people inside. We killed them before leaving. It took an hour of walking around and killing ossians that were not capturable before we found a clean safe room. It was hidden by debris. We had only found it because of a cyclops, which we had stumbled across, fell against it as it died and dislodged some of the debris. ? ? ? ¡¸¡¹ ¡°Naoki Kuroba of Earth! Rejoice, for the great I have deemed you worthy of my pre-¡± Chapter XX: DEVS VVLT XX ¡º¡» ¡ºth Floor Safe Room¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Where the fuck is everyone? That was, like, 20 bullets! ¡° ¡° Anytime you''re ready, just pop in and yell out ''surprise attack''. ¡° ¡° Okay, never mind. Don''t come in and attack. Just stay where you are being completely fucking useless. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° st Roman Emperor and solidified the empire as well as expanding it. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡°rd was a slight distance above the 2 and the 4th light above the 3rd light. ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡°rd light dot, ¡°is called Mictlan. It''s not very important, but it did spread culicidae to Earth. Then this is Earth, connected to 5 other worlds. When the Oss Curse made it to Earth, it had lost its effectiveness. The hybridization would no longer take place and the afflicted humans would simply die off. When we left Earth, it was so ingrained into the populace that we expected humans to eventually be wiped out or severely thinned. ¡° Steaks? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Stolen novel; please report. ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ Did he sober up instantly? ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­ ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡°rd man who appeared to be the leader of the 8 men, ¡°There''s nothing we can do now. Any attempts to silence the 2 children would have consequences. We cannot allow all our hard work to go to waste, but we can no longer use Vaticano as our meeting place. ¡°st Umbrius and now Vaticanius. Decades of work wasted. Who''s next? The Tuscuii? The Cispii?¡± the 2nd man asked rhetorically. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡ºth Floor Safe Room¡» ¡° ¡° ¡°You both share blood.¡± ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡°nd wall, we probably could''ve made it to Umbria already.¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ? ? ? ¡ºth Floor¡» ¡° ¡°st Legion.¡± he explained that the 1st Legion, also known as the Mithril Legion, typically send about 2 or 3 cohorts here for training and loot/ossian farming. It was extremely rare, but mithrillic items do drop in any dungeon. Despite my high luck, I never received any. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°st Legion also favors it so you may learn from them.¡± ¡°st light. While you are away, we will begin laying the foundation of the new ''railway'' system.¡± the emperor dismissed them before calling his daughter to stay, ¡°Minervina, there are things we must discuss.¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° Chapter XXI: Giants Drink XXI ¡º¡» ¡ºth Floor Safe Room¡»
th floor, we realized it was an untouched nightmare just like we had seen in other levels. It was nothing but an orkish hell, filled to the brim with intertribal warfare. It was not very difficult to fight through them since I had my minotaurs and orks to be our meat-shields. Anytime I lost an ork, it was easily replaced. ¡¶¡· ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹ Someone ripped off the Mines of Mo- ¡¸¡¹ ¡¶¡·¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡¶¡· ¡°¡¸¡¹ nd chant. The ogre and minotaur died before I retreated. I knew already that the cyclops would be more difficult to kill and I learned just now the bear-thing''s fur acted as a bullet sponge. nd wave would meet us. I had just made it to the makeshift fort with enough time to spare for the others to close it up before the cyclops and bear thrashed against the walls. The fort was generously wide having been placed between 4 column bases. I was kicking myself for not having figured out a spell for an upgraded ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¸¡¹ th wave and the giant kept spawning adds which made more bodies to pile over. From our left flank, a cyclops reached over and crushed a minotaur''s head before Alicia could kill it. ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡¶¡· ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡­Blades. ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡¶¡·¡¶¡·¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· Motherfucker! ¡¶¡·¡¶¡· ¡¶¡·¡¶¡·¡¶¡·¡¶¡·¡¶¡·¡¶¡· Fixed. Focused. Concentration. ¡¶¡· ¡°¡¶¡· ¡¸¡¹ ¡°
¡¶Flame Thrower¡·? ¡¶Tornado¡·? ¡¶Fire Tornado¡·? I need to burn it. Burn the oxygen and choke it. Burn the¡­ bodies and let the ash smother its lungs. Burn everything. ¡¸¡¹This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ¡°¡¸¡¹ st shots at was ruined and seeped fluid. Its remaining eye looked at me with a glassy haze with its eyelids not fully burned away, but unable to move. I turned to look behind and had my minotaur hand me its spear then returned to face the giant eye. ¡°¡¶¡·¡± ¡° ? ? ? ¡ºst Wall ¨C Northeast¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡ºth Floor Lord''s Chamber¡» ¡¶¡· ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¶¡·
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Achievements: Gigantoss Slayer: Skill Point Gain: Killed 1 Gigantoss +25,000 Skill Points (First of its kind)
Equinoss Slayer: Killed 1 Equinoss +700 Skill Points (First of its kind) Killed 7 Equinoss +490 Skill Points
Ursoss Slayer: Killed 1 Ursoss +750 Skill Points (First of its kind) Killed 2 Ursoss +150 Skill Points
Tauross Slayer: Killed 19 Tauross +1,330 Skill Points
Orgoss Slayer: Killed 4 Orgoss +200 Skill Points
Cyclops Slayer: Killed 1 Cyclops +500 Skill Points
¡¶¡· Holy shit, that''s a lot of skill points. ¡°¡¶¡· st floor. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹ st delve. Their lodgings were settled and would be at a distant taberna that was luxurious than the ones nearby. Their meeting with the guild master went smoothly and they became full-fledged adventurers. The evocati were to remain as their escorts and would construct a castrum as close to the guild as possible. ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡ºst Floor¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° th labyrinth was such a big deal, then their minds will be blown to absolute fuck all with this giant''s head. ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡°th Maze. ¡° ? ? ? When did she get here? ¡° ¡° ? ? ? I deserve this. ¡° She wasn''t even trying with that one. ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° st dungeon crawl.¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Fuck it, I want more of her. ? ? ? ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? Maybe she wants it stuffed and mounted? ¡­ The ringing in my ears stopped? ? ? ? ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ? ? ? st carriage would be my modified carriage with me, Alicia, Saya and Claritia riding it. The 2nd would have Lavinia, Crixus and Crixus'' new servant. The last carriage would have Illyria, Sidony and Delia. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°Nobody Enjoys Sovi¡­ okay, yeah. We are going in the wrong direction.¡± we corrected our orientation and left the city. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter XXII: Second Movements XXII ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» nd tier wall and the city. It was at least 3 weeks from reaching Umbria. That was not the only thing I found. Multiple camps could be seen hidden in the trees. If it were not for the drone, I would never have known they were there. ¡°
? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡°th legion no longer sends patrols south now that they have been deployed to the gallian mountains.¡± ¡° ¡° nd camp will ride out to meet and distract the travelers and soldiers, attempting to lead them away from the main group. ¡° nd camp will delay the new travelers. Near the cover of darkness, the camps were emptied. ? ? ? ¡º¡» No one touches my Veronica. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° th legion, whose home base was Vaticano, was currently deployed to the south as part of their rotational defense allowed her army to move without threat. The streets leading to the Vaticanii estate quickly cleared away to allow the army to march unhindered. Now, standing in front of the gates, Minervina stood with great confidence. ¡° ¡°th legion, the 2nd son is a merchant in the southern cities, the 3rd son and youngest daughter were killed recently.¡± the slave answered. ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ? ? ?
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
¡¶¡· ¡°nd wall getting all our shit searched!¡± ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° rd wall city of Liguria was, along with Campania, the major supplier of cheap timber for the empire. With the looming threat of an ossian incursion further into the imperial lands, production of timber had been increasing over the years. Liguria would be a relatively safe area to build their factories. The number of attacks in Ligurian lands over the years was insignificant. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Manicure? Or was it pedicure? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° I will never, ever, ever tell her that all this time, I thought she was Chinese. When did she start hating me? ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» I suppose it was a silver blessing that the caravan got delayed. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter XXIII: Umbria XXIII ¡º¡» ¡º¡» nd ring cities. Refined metal and rock salt mined from the northern mountains also pass through Umbria. Despite its importance, Umbria has the lowest population within the empire at around less than 50,000 non-slaves and is often given little attention. ¡¸¡¹ ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ? ? ? th legion to the northern mountains. ¡¶¡· At least he''s right handed. ¡° I thought those group of girls were with him? ¡­oh, god dammit Alicia. ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Fuck it, I¡¯m a haremancer. ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡° ¡° ¡° Oh my god, that was the most adorable voice I have ever heard. How can be someone so cute?! Uh, wait, did she say yes because she enjoys sex or because she wanted food? ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹ The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ¡° She''s too cute. Kinda growing on me now. ? ? ? ¡¸¡¹
¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¶¡· ¡¶¡·¡¶¡· ¡¶¡· ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡¸¡¹ ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¶¡· ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» I should really learn idioms. ¡° ¡°¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» ¡¶¡· ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ¡¸¡¹ ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ? ? ? ¡º¡» ¡º¡» Chapter XXIV: Measures XXIV Measures ¡ºS-Day +175¡» ¡ºKuroba Base ¨C Umbrii Estate¡» The morning pain awoke me from my sleep. My twitching body roused Saya who had been deeply clung to me. She rose robotically to reach for my medication and to feed it to me. This had been our simple routine for months. A pill would be dropped into my mouth followed by a kiss. Then another. Then another until all 5 pills and 2 painkillers were consumed. She then woke Delia to send her off to the kitchen before falling asleep once more. ? ? ? ¡ºKuroba Base ¨C Auxilia Virago Castrum¡» ¡°Salve, young dominus.¡± ¡°Salve, Centurion...¡± ¡°Aesthesia.¡± I visited the virago camp in order to have a few assist me with today''s meeting. Though I have met the centurion a few times, this was the first time we were actually introduced to each other. We were currently sitting in the central tent that was used for their official meetings; the tents used were temporary until wooden buildings were constructed. ¡°Centurion Aesthesia,¡± I said, returning to topic, ¡°I require a few virago for today''s demonstration.¡± ¡°Of course, half of my soldiers are currently out gathering supplies and materials and the other half are busy with construction,¡± the centurion paused for a moment to gather her thoughts, ¡°but Faleria''s contubernium should be available. They had completed their guard duty late at night, but should be well-rested enough.¡± She passed orders to a servant standing behind her who then left to fulfill them. We bid each other goodbye and I left the castrum. Crixus and Lavinia were already waiting for me near the stables. They had already prepared the mini-trebuchet for transport; 2 minotaurs would be carrying the trebuchet. Lavinia also had my backpack with other materials for today. Aside from the trebuchet and crossbow, I plan to introduce a proper measurement system. I also plan to restructure the functions of the ateliers in order to make them function as an assembly line. Just in case there were some outward discontent, the minotaurs would act as a deterrant. When the virago joined us, we left to meet the craftsmen of Umbria. ? ? ? ¡ºGubbio Amphitheater¡» Proconsul Libo Iulius met us outside the amphitheater. I actually had no idea what his official title was until Faleria greeted him. We stood in front of each other as we passed our greetings. ¡°Full house?¡± I asked the good proconsul. ¡°A little over 200 masters of their craft as well as numerous high-ranking guild officials. They are¡­ less than enthused about this meeting.¡± he said, low-key emphasizing how difficult it was to bring these people together. ¡°Huh, why wouldn''t they be enthusiastic? They have earned the privilege of building weapons for the glory of the empire,¡± if I rolled my eyes any harder, my retinas would have detached, ¡°Well, whatever, let''s go.¡± I had Libo lead the way. The size of the amphitheater was much, much smaller than the Colosseum. It looked to be able to hold 1,000 people comfortably while being able to squeeze in upwards of 5,000 people if necessary; perhaps having them stand at the top seats. The groups of people currently sitting inside the amphitheater appeared to be huddled into little cliques. I made the assumption that Libo encouraged them to organized themselves by craft. And as was typical, they leered at me with curiosity as I have been leered at for many months by many others. Perhaps they saw me as some kind of hunky leper. Whatever the case, I already found them annoying as all fuck. ¡°Greetings ladies and¡­ oh, just gentlemen. Shocker.¡± I heard the grumblings from my words as if the idea of a master craftswoman was the epitome of preposterousness. Thank you to my thesaurus app. ¡°Right, okay, I will introduce myself. I am Naoki Kuroba, head of the Kuroba Clan and essentially your boss for the next few months; hopefully fewer.¡± A man from the stands stood up and quelled the grumbles. Libo leaned in to explain to me that he was the guild master of the ¡¸Fabrication Guild¡¹. This guild oversees a dozen or so smaller, more niche, guilds. A handful of masters representing those guilds were present as I would be affecting them as well. Once the crowd quieted, the guild master turned to me, ¡°What does the young dominus have in mind? What exactly are your intentions? And why, exactly, were we threatened to participate in this congregation?¡± though his voice was calm, his tone mirrored that of the vexation of the crowd around him. ¡°My purpose of being here and my goals are easily explainable. 1: Due to the now-deceased governor, Proprietor Umbrius, Umbria is suspected of holding rebellionists. If that isn''t a word, I am making it a word. ¡°2: His treason was discovered when he sent an assassin to take my life. He believed my being a summoned being from another world was a threat to the rebellion as they would be much too powerful and, thus, an obstacle to their plans, he decided to take my life.¡± Although it was obviously only an attempt to kidnap Saya to be his plaything. ¡°That makes little sense,¡± some random pondered loudly, ¡°if summoned beings existed, then why not attempt to assuade¨C¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up and do not interrupt me!¡± I was obviously not done speaking, ¡°Also, assuade isn''t a word. I make up words, you can fuck off with that. 3: It is by the Emperor''s will that the war against the Ossians must come to an end. And to that, agreements were made, I provide him with new weapons and I get something I desired in return, but you will also prove your loyalty to the emperor. ¡°4: You will be crafting 2 types of weapons: this is called a crossbow. It uses a complex trigger mechanism to fire a bolt.¡± I held up the crossbow and explained the various components and their functions as well as describing 2 other models. ¡°The second is this thing behind me,¡± for the entire time I had been messily speaking, Crixus and the virago had been assembling the model trebuchet. The minotaurs moved the assembled trebuchet to the front of the crowd so they may see it clearly. Every bit of the crossbow and trebuchet was explained in excruciating detail. For the demonstrations, Decanus Faleria was given the honor of operating the crossbow. ¡°Now,¡± I began as Faleria examined and practiced loading the crossbow, ¡°this target here will be the evil Ossian beast. We will call him, um, Melon Lord.¡± as soon as the words left my lips, I realized something extremely off, ¡°Where did we get a watermelon? There are watermelons in this world? Why am I only seeing this for the first time? Fuck it, whatever. Faleria, kill it.¡± I never gave her any prior training. This was more for me to gauge her adaptiveness to a new weapon without any foreknowledge. The result was that she took 3 minutes to figure out how to load the string, a few tries to nock the bolt and 8 tries to hit the target. She cheered excitedly before catching herself and composing back to a calm demeanor. ¡°Good shot.¡± I congratulated her. Next would be the trebuchet. This one required guidance from me and Crixus. The first shot was a dry fire to get the virago acclimated to the procedure. However, the actual firing of a projectile was an issue as there was not enough space in the arena. Libo had already thought ahead and had an entire section of the stands cleared beforehand. All that was needed was to move the trebuchet away from the stands. It was a good thing that we were playing aroun¡­ testing it beforehand, as we already had a feel for the range. Before I could give orders for the minotaurs to carry it, Crixus lifted the thing as if it were a cardboard box and hauled it away. I looked over at Melon Lord and ''decapitated'' him; his head would serve as a perfect projectile. Everything was set, the virago primed and locked the swing arm. I instructed them on how to load the watermelon into the sling. The honors to pull the trigger was given, again, to Faleria. We made it showy by giving a loud countdown. The rope was pulled, the lock released and the counterweight fell. The watermelon flew through the air impacting the low area of the stands. Gold-colored flesh splattered across the stand. ¡°Yellow? Why is it yellow?¡± I asked. ¡°Why would it not be yellow?¡± Crixus asked me. The dark yellow color of the fruit was¡­ I did not like it. It made me uncomfortable for some reason. I left it to be cleaned by the slaves and walked to the center of the arena once more, facing the crowd. ¡°You''ll be making that siege engine, but on a much larger scale; bigger. The next topic is equally as important. Each of you will increase the number of apprentices you have and train them in your respective craft. You will be using a new form of measurement called the metric system. It is the superior form of measurements, even to that British nonsense. Seriously, ''stone'', idiotic measurement. Any questions?¡± as I finished my display, the crowd began booing me. *booing intensifies* I guess they really like the brits. The mob mentality grew enough that there were shouts and screaming. Many were trying to calm the disorderly plebs possibly concerned at the thought of unchained minotaurs being let loose, but most were calling me some kind of insult. Mysteriously, as I was holding onto the crossbow, a bolt some-crazy-how was dislodged from the string and flew into the crowd at random. Even more mysterious was that the bolt hit one of the craftsmen in the arm; a craftsmen who just coincidentally called me a child. I am honestly flabbergasted at such a bewildering happenstance occuring. But, also, fuck that guy. ¡°I will explain this to you all again. You have no choice in this matter. If you refuse, you will be banished from this city. You will take no personnel, you will take no coinage, nor will you take your family. You will be exiled from the city with the clothes on your back. You will stop being a primitive fucking society and start being useful.¡± I gave my warnings and reached out to Libo. He handed me a rolled papyrus scroll to which I held up, ¡°This is a list of all of your names and the locations of your workshops. I will be visiting each and every one of you and teaching you what an assembly line is.¡± The wave of flowing discontent was carefully diminshed. The many guild masters attempted to dissuade me from pushing such a massive overhaul to their livelihoods and methodologies. I, however, was adamant in my resolve. These ideas were proven by men and women greater than myself and greater than them. Production lines, assembly lines, interchangeable parts, standards and measures, mass production. Everything they needed was in the palm of my mind. The meeting continued for hours; them bitching and me explaining why they were idiots. Some were willing to humor me, but they still held faces of scorn, and I was able to cover the basics of the new methods and practices. The day waned and we packed our equipment. ¡°So those watermelons¡­ they look weird, but do they taste good?¡± I asked Crixus as we walked out the arena gates. He turned to me and gave a sour look, ¡°They taste like piss and rocks. The alchemists seem to enjoy them for some reason.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºAventine¡» Emperor Epistylius stood at the edge of the Praetorian Guard''s training grounds. The open field was devoid of grass and other plant life as the soil became hardened and compacted from years of formation drills. Around him were palatial engineers and metalsmiths; top craftsmen gathered from every corner of the empire. From talented youths to wise elders. ¡°This area will serve as the testing grounds for the railway.¡± the emperor announced to the men around him. A middle-aged engineer approached the emperor, ¡°We should have the soldiers dig trenches as if they were building a road. Unfortunately...¡± ¡°Unfortunately?¡± ¡°The amount of iron required is massive.¡± the engineer composed himself and spoke carefully so as to not offend the emperor, ¡°and there have been no shipments coming in from Umbria.¡± The emperor pondered for a moment for an alternative, ¡°What of using bronze or wood?¡± ¡°Both are much too soft. It will deform or even crack under heavy weight.¡± the engineer warned. ¡°Then what of casting plates of iron and wrapping it around the wood?¡± the emperor asked. The engineers discussed it amongst one another and agreed to the idea; it would need to be test and this would be a good enough time to do so. While the Praetorian Guard built the bed for which the tracks were to be laid, the iron workers will cast sheets of iron and attempt to form it around wooden beams. Other workers read the copied manual and began construction on handcars by modifying wagons to fit the rails. The wagons were also to be equipped with gearing to allow locomotion via mechanical pump or pedals. The craftsmen and engineers were soon dismissed; allowed to continue their discussions and theories in private. The emperor looked upon the sky and stood in contemplation, ¡°I wonder how my daughter fares.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºVaticano¡» Princess Minervina and her high servant Salina were walking through a crowded street. A retinue of virago escorted them and in turn kept the crowd at bay. While the virago accompanying Naoki were novices that had only been recruited a few months before their deployment, these virago were much more experienced. The most veteran among them were the only ones to have directly serve the empress before her passing. ¡°I know I said that you would be with my beloved, but circumstances has changed.¡± Minervina sent a glance to her high servant, ¡°I require you to remain by my side, Salina.¡± ¡°This one is honored to be of use.¡± Salina said happily. The group continued their walk until they reached a villa. The villa resided a few miles from the ¡¸Dungeon Guild¡¹ and was easily a short carriage ride away. At the entrance, they were met by a man. ¡°This one humbly greets the princess.¡± the man bowed respectfully, ¡°Allow me to give her highness a tour of this villa.¡± The princess was seeking a semi-permanent residence for the summoned. They required privacy that their current lodgings could not offer as well as a place of peaceful respite. Though the villa was small, it was more than adequate. There was also a request by Vince the ¡¸Runomancer¡¹, Riley the ¡¸Ignimancer¡¹and Isaac the ¡¸Galciomancer¡¹; these 3 were more interested in magic research rather magic combat. After having seen Naoki''s crossbow at the Colosseum, they had imagined bringing other technologies that the natives seem to lack. The only problem they asked was how was Naoki able to construct one? It was understood that war would return to the empire either by the time the summoned had completed their training, or if the ossians decided to launch a new offensive. Before either could happen, the ''3 amigos'' hoped to introduce early firearms to the world. Research of black powder would be conducted simultaneously with a magic stone substitute. ¡°This villa suffices. Let us finalize the contract.¡± Minervina said to the man. After the villa is in her possession, she will have the high servants of the summoned relocate as well as purchase suitable slaves and servants. Midwives would also be hired as most of the high servants are now partway through their first pregnancy. Princess Minervina, her high servant Salina and the virago left the villa to continue on to the next task. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +178¡» ¡ºUmbria¡» ¡°Are you fucking kidding me?! How is a millimeter difficult to understand?¡± I admonished a guild craftsman. ¡°And I am asking you, what does this little mark have to do with a mile?!¡± the craftsman countered. ¡°Nothing! These little marks indicate 1,000 partitions of a meter!¡± The craftsman looked at me with bewildered eyes, ¡°Only a child could come up with something so redicul¨C¡± *bang* ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, my reoccurring tinnitus prevented me from hearing you properly. You called me a what now?¡± I said as I holstered my pistol. ¡°My arm!¡± the asshole screamed as he clutched tightly his bullet wound. ¡°Why would you call me your arm? Get healed up and get to work. I don¡¯t want you dirty, filthy, fucking peasants screwing up my schedule more than it already is. You have 1 month to deliver the first batch or else.¡± I left the atelier and moved to the next one. For the past 3 days, I have been visiting every workshop involved with the weapons manufacture. 20 ateliers were all with the same result; obstinate jackasses that think their form of measurement is superior even though half of them measure with their fucking fingernail. How the fuck is a random length of fingernail a unit of measure?! Every single one of them were absolutely resistant of my reform. Out of the 20 master craftsmen I visited, 8 were mysteriously shot by some strange weapon. The worst ones were the metalsmiths. The trigger mechanisms required precision casting in order to have interchangeability. While what they already used was accurate enough, it slightly differed from workshop to workshop. They refused standardization as it would ''allow other crafters works to be mixed into their own'' or whatever. It pissed me off even more as the Romans I somewhat knew were strict on their units of measure. It got to the point that I very nearly wanted to start using their families as hostage. I stressed to the guild masters to make the craftsmen compliant with an insinuation that the walls would be torn down and the city open to ossian attack. I also have to revisit the metalsmiths to work out casting materials. Since I emphasized mass production, molds made of iron would be much more suitable for long term casting. Creating iron molds was a process I was unfamiliar with. There was little choice but to trust their expertise. However, I still ordered them to use metric.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +180¡» ¡ºKuroba Base ¨C Umbrii Estate¡» Near the stables was a storehouse used for holding animal fodder and bedding. Inside were numerous amphorae filled with all the urine we have been collecting. The walls were filled to the brim with these amphorae. On average, a single person excretes approximately 1 liter of urine per day. With 100 virago, 50-something high servants and servants from Aventine and Vaticano, as well as Umbrii house servants and slaves, which numbered around 400, we were producing around 500 liters of urine per day. Urine had uses other than gunpowder. The primary use was in the textile industry. When urine breaks down, it forms ammonia. The ammonia is used in raw cloth, that is cloth that has been weaved, in order to tighten the fibers and making the cloth thicker and stronger. The other use was by launderers. It cleans and bleaches fabric. So with this as our excuse, no one would bat an eye over our hoarding of urine. Also, it could be sold for a small amount of coin. Though the smell was atrocious. A 2nd niter bed was made next to the storehouse. I had prepared the ground by compacting and sinking it slighty so liquids would be contained. Straw, vegetable scraps and more straw was piled high and soaked with more and more urine. A small portion of the 1st pile was mixed in to seed the compost with bacteria. The next thing I had to do was work on the time machine project that I keep constantly pushing back. ? ? ? A young girl lain on all fours in the tall grass. In front of her wandered prey searching for food. With beak and talons, the prey scratched and pecked at the soil searching for prey of its own. The feathery creature remained oblivious to its impending doom as it foraged the open yard. With violet and red hair, the girl with fox-ears and a fox tail slowly and steadily prepared her stance. The prey stepped closer to the girl, pecking and scratching. She was ready to pounce. *flash* ¡°Ahhh! Ah! Ahhhhh!¡± she screamed as a bright flash blinded her eyes. ¡°Sidony must not hunt master''s property!¡± Illyria admonished the girl as she continued to flail on the ground while shielding her eyes. She sighed as Sidony heard not a word from her, ¡°This one knows nothing about the instincts of ossian hykins, master will need to be consulted and permission for hunting will be requested.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +181¡» ¡ºKuroba Base ¨C Umbrii Estate¡» Out of 335 slaves and house servants, Alicia decided to keep 200. As it was agreed, the 135 would be offered to Libo''s estate to which he agreed as he had found the servants and slaves satisfactory; they were allowed to keep their personal effects. It was also decided that the children of those slaves would be allowed to accompany their parents as we understood the feeling of being separated from family. The virago escorted the slaves to the north gates where they were met by Libo''s guards. Just so there would be no attempts at any form of retribution, I paid them off with a severance package of 100 bronze sestertii, 100 silver denarii, some food and wine. Libo paid me not in coin but in items I was interested in: raw timber, charcoal, sulfur, waste amphorae, clay and massive amounts of straw. With the threat of a security breach gone, I went ahead and distributed the loot chests from our dungeon adventures. At our last delve, Lavinia, Crixus and Claritia received 3 large chests while Alicia received 5. They gave it a quick inspection once the chests were delivered. Each chest received was an assortment filled with gold coins, chests filled with armor and weapons and a chest filled with a mixture of magic stones, magic scrolls, magic tomes or jewelery. They essentially became rich enough that they could buy patronage and become patricians. Simply being adopted or married into a family would raise or lower one''s status. Interestingly, this world''s culture seems to assume that ancient Rome had not declined and managed to progress into the medieval era. The patrician''s status can rise and fall easily just as the Umbrii family have shown. Though I am not too clear on the rules, there are strict procedures one must undergo to be allowed patronage. As the Kuroba is a foreign entity, it can never gain status as a patrician. My relationship with Minervina is actually detrimental to her status as princess. Either I give up being a Kuroba and become an Epistylius or she give up being the princess and causing a massive power vacuum. It is all very muddy. I left them to their riches and went to the north gate to meet Alicia. One of the servants alerted me that she had caused some kind of stir. ? ? ? At the north gate, Alicia was busily directing wagon after wagon loaded with dolia containers. ¡°Watcha buy?¡± I asked as I approached my wife. ¡°Grain, tons and tons of grain. 5 kinds of wheat, 12 kinds of barley, 4 kinds of rye, 6 kinds of oats and something called amaranth. Need to test if it will copy separately or not. Also got a bunch of¡­ legumes? The bean-looking shit. Chickpeas, sweet peas, pigeon peas, lentils, lupins and more.¡± she said as she leaned against me and taking my arms around her waist. ¡°We might be able to max out our stats with all this. We also need to synthesize other things before we leave, like a radio. We need long range communications. And another drone¡­ and more SD cards. Yeah, just tons of stuff.¡± ¡°Expensive, though.¡± ¡°What made you such a penny-pincher?¡± she asked. ¡°American healthcare.¡± However, she was right. We would need many things to survive our journey and to make it easygoing. Once we left the safety of the walls, the fog of war would keep us in the dark and another quad-copter would make scouting easier. ¡°We would need more slaves as well; laborers and crafters. I need to put slaves in to study under those belligerent master crafters. I¡¯ll also need to train the virago.¡± I said while cradling my head onto her shoulder. ¡°Have you counted your money yet, onii-chan?¡± ¡°Not yet, but last I checked there were 5 chests that were all gold. It''s on my to-do list.¡± I answered. ¡°Does anything on your to do list ever get checked off?¡± she asked, rudely. ¡°How rude, I''ve taken care of, like, 8 things.¡± there were no lies in my words. ¡°That doesn''t involve getting your dick wet?¡± ¡°Like... 2 things.¡± there were some lies in my words. Alicia pulled herself away and, with a smile, faced me, ¡°Get back to work, I¡¯ll handle getting new slaves.¡± ¡°I also need you to do something. Take a horse and the quad-copter and head northwest, outside the wall. Check the area near the forest for a place we can use as an outpost. Somewhere remote; uninhabited.¡± at my words, she agreed. Then we separated to continue our work. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +182¡» ¡ºVeronica''s Room¡» ¡°So you want to use ¡¸Wind Stones¡¹ to make a scuba thing?¡± Veronica asked as she sat on her desk writing various research notes. ¡°Scby, actually. We won''t be near water when it''s used. But on the other hand, if given the proper seal then it would work perfectly underwater.¡± I answered. Veronica turned on her chair to face me, giving me an annoyed glare, ¡°Dude, no, you don''t get to be the smart-ass. I get to be the smart-ass.¡± ¡°Right, so anyway, besides making a breathing apparatus, I wanted to test the capabilities of magic stones. If we can make ¡¸Wind Stones¡¹ produce specific gasses like nitrogen, then we can explore new technologies.¡± I explained to her one of my hypotheses. It was after the dungeon expedition where we had encountered the myriad of rotting corpses that I found the need for a scby-like device. Besides that, for our future mining operations, the breathing apparatus would be useful to keep the miners alive as one of the leading causes of mining deaths was breathing in dust. The nitrogen was specifically for the manufacture of nitric acid. The only thing I know about producing it was using water, nitrogen and electricity. I would more than likely have to sift through the Grimoire Shop to find a manual. Nitric acid can be mixed with Sulfuric acid with cotton or other cellulose to make guncotton. Also need to figure that one out properly. ¡°Sure, okay, but I''ll need a bunch of stuff. I want you to buy it for me.¡± Veronica acquiesced for a price. ¡°I need better measuring devices; pipettes and graduated cylinders. Better scales too. I need beakers, flasks, and test tubes. I need a magnetic stirrer and centrifuge. All of it; bells and whistles.¡± ¡°Do you have any idea how much mana that would cost?¡± I looked at her with astonishment. ¡°Millions?¡± she guessed. ¡°Trillions. Maybe even quadrillions¡­ probably.¡± it was incredibly difficult to accumulate stored mana. The most efficient way to produce it was converting ¡¸Mana Stones¡¹ for 1000 stored mana. ¡°For example, 100 grams of dirt gives me 1 stored mana. I would need a massive amount of dirt to convert. I can do the glassware though.¡± ¡°Okay, that sounds good. I can settle for at least that.¡± she agreed, ¡°Before you get started on that¡­ wanna practice?¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± I began removing my clothes and sat on her bed. She followed shortly after and we had great sex. Before we started, she had asked me to bring her to orgasm with my tongue. It was a wonderful time and I would not mind doing this every day with her. After our ''practice session'', we lay close to each other. Once I was able to catch my breath and consume a stamina potion, I remembered my intention for visiting Veronica. ¡°I had another reason for why I am here. I need your help with teaching me your magic. There might be a possibility that we can make a magic storage that functions with the ¡¸Celerity Stones¡¹. I¡¯d also like to try using ¡¸Heat Stones¡¹ and ¡¸Wind Stones¡¹ to create some kind of oven or dehydrator.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± she said, before falling asleep. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +183¡» I finally took out my chests filled with gold. The shining, shimmering doubloons filled the multiple treasure chests to the brim. It felt as if I were some kind of pirate having found the big X. 2 other large chests were filled with silver coins; dungeon runs were way too lucrative. There was no way I could count it all, but my assumption would be in the millions. Millions of coins that could literally buy this city. However, I knew this would all disappear soon enough. With this thought slowly disappointing me, I decided to fulfill one of my life-long goals. With Saya''s help, and also because I wanted to have sex with her, we made space in the storage room and took out a number of ¡¶Earth Wall Scrolls¡·. The 3 girls that had been assigned to manufacturing these scrolls had become able to produce 4 scrolls per day. I was proud at how quickly they learned and memorized the process. Into the empty space, we spawned ¡¶Earth Walls¡· to create an enclosure. The walls were not perfect, but it was acceptable for novice work. I further strengthened the walls with earth magic as well as smoothing out any roughness. Any cracks, nooks and cranberries were filled. Canaries? Whatever word I¡¯m trying to think of. Little by little, we threw in the gold coins. This would probably be the only time I could ever do this, so I held nothing back. The clinking of the metal as it collided with each other was quite deafening. Under the light, the pool glimmered. The level continued to rise and yet, there were still many small chests worth to throw in. Once we had completed the filling, we took a short break, played a game of kissy face and downed a few potions to recover our stamina and mana. While recovering, I went to another magic chest and retrieved a few candles, placing and lighting them around the room. ¡°Shiny~.¡± Saya sighed as she became enthralled at the gilded sea before her. She knew exactly why she was here helping me with this little project. She stood in front of me as she began to remove all her clothing and dropping it onto the floor. Her body had not the athleticism that Alicia or Faleria had, but a softness that was comforting; petite and adorable. It was pleasant to hold and caress. I climbed into the pool. Not dived like some kind of duck. Then I realized how cold the coins were and jumped back out. With a little bit of fire and wind magic, the surface of the coin pool became warm. I crawled to the center of the pool and dug around to make myself comfortable. Once she saw I was stilled, Saya followed along and lay herself atop my body. We kissed as she guided me inside her. She moved herself slowly against me with her upper body never straying away from mine until I came inside her pussy. Once I had came down from my high, I noticed something scraping against my chest; it was jewelry dangling from her neck. ¡°Is that my amulet?¡± I asked her as she was catching her breath. Her hand held the amulet protectively, ¡°Yes, master. But it calls out to me; it wills itself to my possession.¡± Cursed object? I allowed her to keep it. And to ease away any uneasiness, distracted her by urging her to cum. My adorable high servant used my body until she reached her orgasm. Her moans filled my mouth as my tongue filled hers. And when she came down from her high, I pushed her to continue riding me until I came a second time. Whatever it was about sex, it made me feel amazing. I wanted more of it; needed it. The rush of an orgasm hazed my mind and clouded every pain away if not for a fleeting moment. Enough so that my addicting to pain medication waned, but I needed more. ¡°Saya, bring me the girl guarding the door.¡± I whispered to her. ¡°Yes, master.¡± she replied as she slowly removed herself from me. Her body was covered with sweat and filled with cum. As she moved, the fluids dripped onto coins and floor as she walked on wobbling legs toward the door. Saya returned immediately with the girl who had been sharing guard duty with Delia. A servant from the high servant''s quarters from Aventine. I never bothered with her name, but I did remember seeing her before; a bit mousey, but cute. Her clothes were removed, but before she climbed in to join me, Saya reached between her legs and touched the girl. She sucked in a gasp at Saya''s touch. Saya then pulled her hand away and reached between her own legs and scooped out some of our cum. The slickened finger returned between the servant''s legs, causing a moan to slip out. Once satisfied at her lubrication, Saya directed the girl to climb in and position herself above me. She had trouble taking me inside her; felt just like Illyria and just as good. Eventually I was able to fit inside and worked her hips the same way I would with Sidony. Once she figured out the rhythm I wanted her to move at, I released her hips and relaxed on the pile of gold. To my surprise, Saya entered the room; I had not realized she had left at all. Following her was Illyria and Sidony. Illyria undressed herself and then Sidony before they joined us in the pool. They both waited patiently until the servant girl, whose name I still had not bothered to learn, worked me until I filled her. Sidony, passive as she was, had Illyria move her body for her. Illyria sat on my waist facing away from me and moved Sidony''s hips. I watched as lubricating fluid leaked out of Illyria''s pussy and thought how she was the only girl I have seen this with. Or to such an extent that it was pouring out of her. Her hips were brought close to my mouth so that I may lap up her juices. When I came inside Sidony, Illyria had her turn with me. Then I realized Claritia had joined us. Then Delia. Then another servant. I was busily kissing one girl while another rode me. It was exhausting. Stamina potion after stamina potion was consumed and Claritia would constantly use her recovery magic to keep me up. Somewhere toward the end, Faleria, the virago soldier, was having sex with me. The look in her eyes was similar to what the others displayed; pure lust. I held her close to me, kissing her, as I enjoyed our first time together. Orgies are the best. ? ? ? ¡°I can''t believe I missed the orgy.¡± Alicia somberly said as she half-attempted to hide her pout. My eyelids were becoming heavy, but I could clearly see her undressing. ¡°And fucking on a pile of gold, what the shit is that about? Get his dick hard, I need to get my rocks off.¡± ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +184¡» ¡ºKuroba Base ¨C Umbrii Estate¡» The memories of yesterday were a bit hazy. Though I do remember having tons of fun. Somehow, I had gone through over 60 stamina potions and 4 restoration potions. The restoration was mostly needed due to Faleria being surprisingly aggressive. Unfortunately, Veronica never showed up. ¡°Ah, what a fun night.¡± I reminisced. ¡°Dominus?¡± a young high servant called my attention. ¡°Right,¡± I snapped myself back, ¡°count out 25 coins and roll it up with the papyrus. When you run out of papyrus, count out 100 and place it into a pouch. There should be enough, but if there isn''t then you can use larger bags.¡± The 30 Servilia high servants that Alicia had bought in Aventine were still undergoing training. But there was no reason to put them to work with sensitive tasks; they are designed to be trustworthy to their master. 4 were given to Veronica for her potions job and 3 were used by me for the magic scrolls job. 3 high servants were allocated somewhere else by Alicia and the remaining 20 were inside the storage room, tasked with counting my gold. Next stop was the kitchen. For whatever annoying reason, every single kitchen I have come across was just a teeny tiny room. Just enough to get work done, but not enough to move freely or easily. When cooking large amounts of food are required, outdoor roasting pits would be used. I needed a large kitchen to mass produce my ration bars. To do this, the outdoor area beyond the kitchen was divided into sections with each section holding an oven and table. To make the stand that the oven would sit on as well as the work tables, I used earth magic. The dirt was made into shape and harden to a rock state. The stand was made hollow to hold firewood and the table as well to hold the utensils. It took all day just to mark the layout and magic the base stands; it would still take a few more days to complete. Then the clay oven would be made on top of the stand. Because I had no idea how to construct a clay oven, Alicia was sent to find someone that does. I do not know exactly what Alicia''s process is, but she had requested that I go through her to requisition a worker. She would then screen and scrutinize the worker before sending over. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +185¡» As I walked the halls toward the storage room, I caught a pink shadow in the corner of my eye. Tame as it was, Pinkface bounced toward me at my call; at least if it can hear me. Can it hear? I mean, it has no ears¡­ I think. My arms stretched outward to catch the hopping slime into my embrace, ¡°So, we need to have a talk. Well, I need to have a talk and you need to listen? Seriously, do you have ears?¡± *wobble wobble* ¡°I''ll¡­ yeah, I¡¯ll take that as a yes. Right, okay, you, little blobby, have been causing a little havoc with your disappearing act.¡± it kept wobbling as if it was protesting something I said, ¡°Let me finish, the servants that have no idea that you belong to me keep freaking out, just like they do with the minotaurs, and I¡¯m pretty sure you''re starting some kind of urban legend. Some kind of ''ghost slime'' that appears out of nowhere just to scare a bunch of girls. So I need to know where you go so I can finally have my curiosity sated.¡± *wobble wobble* Pinkface leapt from my arms onto the ground and began a kind of half-roll and half-bounce pace. It moved from corridor to corridor while keeping itself somewhat hidden; hiding itself behind pillars, pottery and whatnot. No idea why, it just seemed obsessed. I would think instincts, but the other slimes did not react the same way; they were much more passive. Eventually, it lead me to some unassuming door and began squeezing itself through the bottom crack. The room behind the door was nothing more than a linen closet; small, but still large enough to hold more than a few bolts of cloth. It continued toward the back of the closet until it reached a cloth-filled shelf. Beneath the shelf, Pinkface disappeared as it squeezed through a narrow opening that was impossible to see from a standing angle. It took some exploring before I could find a way to open the hidden door. I had found the secret area of the Umbrii estate. When I had confronted the Vaticanii family head, Alicia and I were lead to a secret room that was underground. The entrance to that one was hidden in a storehouse that was separated from the main villa. In this case, it was in a who-gives-a-fuck closet. The room was not identical to the Vaticanian room, but was much more used as a forgotten storage as one would expect. Missives, coins, gemstones, a ledger that was filled to the brim with outdated information, various reports about the surrounding areas and the mines, a shrine to some god, numerous chests containing potions and enchanted weapons and armor. Of course, it became mine now. Pinkface emerged from a corner of the room that was out of line of sight. My little hide-and-seek mini-pet wobbled at me to follow it. As I did, I saw sticky threads holding sacs of slime eggs. ¡°So you''re a girl slime?¡± I asked, but received no answer. Although I did kill more than a few slime in the dungeons, I actually had no idea of their anatomy. They simply looked like a gelatine balloon filled with a not-quite-viscous-but-kinda liquid; something like watered-down honey. Their skin had a rubbery and fleshy feel to it, but there were no organs, sexual or other. I kinda assumed they underwent some kind of mitosis, but instead of dividing by 2, it laid eggs. Magical biology. ¡°Seriously, what are you?¡± I asked the silent breast implant, but it only returned a coy wobble. No idea what a ''coy wobble'' is, but it gave one. ¡°Well, whatever, if they hatch before we leave this place, try and keep your kids in order. Don''t really need them getting loose and going wild. But we''ll take them with us when we leave. I have plans for slime and slime research.¡± *wobble wobble* I returned from the corner of the room and sat on a nearby chair. The missives and reports will be skimmed through for anything useful then handed over to Minervina when she arrives. As for the ledger, skipping to the end, the last entry was made a few years ago. It could be assumed that there were more and the current one would have been in the possession of Umbrius; it is possible it has already been found by the emperor. Since I¡¯m comfy, I may as well skim through it now. Let''s see¡­ tax fraud, money laundering, yadda, yadda, yadda, minor extortion, forgery and¡­ oh. ¡°Holy shit, this guy picked off his family members one by one.¡± surprise colored me as I stumbled upon a page that mentions poisoning the former Umbrii head. He had done it over time so he would get progressively sick. The sick fuck was actually tabulating the costs of doing this right down to the prices of various poisons and calculated that killing off the branch families would give him absolute control of the city for a low cost. I immediately wrote a letter to Minervina detailing the various poisons listed and urged her to have that Umbrian senator checked out. I had not remembered who had told me about the senator or when, but I do remember hearing about how sick that person was. That person mattered little to me. However, if it turned out that I had saved his life, then I would be able to get a senator to back me. Political play, go! I packed everything inside the room into my magic bag and left to find a messenger to ride out toward Vaticano. ? ? ? ¡ºS-Day +186¡» ¡ºGrain Storage¡» ¡°This is the most bullshit thing I have ever seen...¡± Veronica muttered as she watched me pouring grain atop my Grimore. ¡°Right?¡± I replied as the grain piled up until it hit a threshold for the Grimoire to accept into copying. Once I had copied literally thousands of grain, I moved the Grimoire into a large dolium; a giant clay pot. All of the various species of each grain did in fact count as a different object to copy. All in all, the amount of Skill Points we were able to garner was immense. Alicia had warned us earlier not to dump Skill Points into most of the attributes as our bodies would need to acclimate to it. She never gave a reason on why, but she did stress that it was important. After rounding out my stats, I would probably increase it daily; one by one. For me, the recovery stats are pretty much useless as the Oss Curse nullifies it, but for Veronica and Alicia, they would be able to benefit from it.
Health: 1929¡ý/5000 Stamina: 2688¡ü/5000
Mana: 3597¡ý/5000 Life Force: 4225¡ü/5000
Strength: 70 Intelligence: 50
Precision: 80 Wisdom: 50
Dexterity: 60 Willpower: 50
Endurance: 70 Perception: 80
Toughness: 50 Charisma: 40
Resistance: 40 Luck: 100
Health Recovery: 50 Stamina Recovery: 50
Mana Recovery: 50 Life Force Recovery: 50
Skill Points: 807,225
Stored Mana: 147,306
Status Effects:
Minions: 6 Tauross 0 Orkoss 0 Goblins