I wait for a few minutes while my mana recovers as Azzaria and Thia take lanes at the range. Timbre chooses one of the training rings nearby and I create a few targets for her to practice on. As I’m recovering I take a look around the training grounds and I can already see signs of use. I’ll need to talk to Grondar about making a rotation for the dungeon. That will help grow my dungeon and the guard will be able to get stronger as well. The stronger guard members can even start taking volunteers from the town that want to increase their level. That reminds me. The would be adventurers of the town would love to get the experience there too. I will need to make a schedule with Grondar and include free times for the adventurers.
Growing the dungeon is a priority as it should offer increased challenge and higher level enemies to fight. For that it will need to be used. It would get a little more from people who die in the dungeon but I’m not willing to feed it people for that. Seems wrong, plus a person can contribute more in the long run from repeated use. Plus there is another worry I have. I’m linked to the dungeon now, though the bond is a weak one. If I start feeding it people to kill would that effect its personality or temperament? Is it a risk that it will get a taste for it and go crazy, trying to devour any who enter. If so, will that have an effect on me in return? Better not to risk it.
Thinking of how a dungeon is essentially a closed system where all energy is recycled and harvested from visitors makes me wonder about mana generation. At first I thought mana was in the environment and that it was absorbed by things including plants and animals. The mana fount and the way dungeons work, as it was explained to me, would indicate that mana is actually drawn from another source and the mana in the environment is actually a side effect from leakage. The mana fount has me leaning toward an extra-dimensional source as opposed to it being generated by living things. Living things must draw from this source and places like the mana fount would then indicate a breach where the energies leak through uncontrolled.
Following that logic brings us to ley lines. I was once told that a mana fount is a point where ley lines cross and the build up of mana leaks out. Maybe it is really the origin and not a crossroads. The metaphorical Rome to the road system that it was famous for. The mana fount is where the energy we call mana enters the world and flows out. It takes the path of least resistance and forms channels in the ground that we know as ley lines. Some of this mana is expelled through the ground where the breach is and this is what we know as the mana fount itself. Of course this is all speculation based on the little information I have.
Shaking off my ruminations, I head over to one of the open lanes of the firing range I created. Mainly I test out the increased range of my spells due to the increase to my Advanced Mana Control ability. I also focus on my spatial magic by practicing increasingly difficult trick shots. Using folded space I then fire a Mana Bolt from different angles. I increase the difficulty by doing it as fast as I can, then by trying to do multiple shots at the same time. I’m able to cast the spells pretty quickly. Not machine gun fast but still fast. It’s the casting of simultaneous Mana Bolts and then simultaneously casting folded space that is tricky and I don’t quite have it down. I keep missing a Mana Bolt with the Folded space or making the exit miss by not placing the Folded Space at the right angle.
After some time we are all tired and ready for bed. We gather up, and since my Dimensional Door spell is on cooldown, we walk back to the keep. As we pass through the main square and head toward the bridge that enters the keep I hear a lot of laughing and general revelry coming from the two inn/taverns in the square. Stopping I look over at them. I’m tired, but I haven’t been to the tavern at night and I hear music inside. One of them has a rather nice voice drifting out of it. Wanting to investigate since I plan on creating a sort of arts district at some point I head toward the inn in question.
The inn we are going to is called the golden feather and is regarded as the better, marginally, of the two. The other one is called simply The Roost. As we approach Thia flies down, changing back into her elf form, and walks along with us. The four of us walk through the door to the inn and I can see the place is full. No one seems to be really drunk at the moment though everyone is drinking. When you walk through the door there is a bar on the right and a large room with tables to the left. In the back of the room on the left, past all the tables, is a stage for performers. I wave at the inn keeper behind the bar and the four of us look for a table to sit at. It’s pretty packed but we get a table near the bar since it’s the farthest from the stage. The music stopped right before we walked in, but as we get settled at the table a short wood elf girl with mousy brown hair worn short in a sort of pixy cut steps to the front of the stage.
A moment later she starts to sing an upbeat song that reminds me a little of punk music in the 1990s back on Earth. The thought of all the music from home that I will no longer get to hear and how technology really changed the music industry starts to make me a little homesick. If only they had electric guitars here she would be amazing. Thinking about that I get distracted again about the possibilities with magic. Maybe I can work with Bolden to enchant instruments to sound like their electric counterparts. Maybe I can bring a little of my home world’s culture to this one. Mostly this town that I have made my new home. Drawn from my reminiscence I hear a familiar voice from the table next to us. “Well hello Lord Vol Adare. Surprise seeing you here.” It was Jackie, the adventurer.
Looking at her table I can see all four of them gathered together, and Jackie’s words draw their attention to us. A dwarf waitress in an apron stops by our table and I order an ale for the four of us before I turn back to the adventurers at the nearby table. “Hi Jackie, everyone. Just heard the singing and dropped by to catch a song or two. Since you are all here I would like to talk to you Nickie.” I nod to the gnome who is the actual leader of the little adventurers group. At my words she pulls her chair over to our table, but before anything else can be said the waitress returns with our drinks. That was fast. I toss her a couple silver and tell her to keep the change for the excellent service.
Focusing back on Nickie I say “What would you do to have access to a dungeon you could level up in?” This gets a reaction from the gnome that is a little comical, with bulging eyes and mouth hanging open. Mel, who looks a little deeper in his cups than the rest actually falls off his chair as he is leaning in to hear. He scrambles back upright and I stifle a chuckle at his expense. “From your reactions I can see you’re interested. To answer your first question, yes, I do have knowledge of a dungeon like this.”
“Twenty percent” Nickie blurts out. “Twenty percent of loot value goes to you from what we collect.” I look at her and think for a moment. Ultimately I don’t want to take advantage of the people who reside here but this is a good source of income for the town.
“Ten percent” I counter offer “goes to the town, but any skill books or spell books you find as well. We can negotiate for any that you wish to keep and you will be compensated for any that you don’t get to keep.” She furrows her brow for a moment and I can just about see the wheels turning in her head.
Finally she answers. “Deal” she says and holds her hand out.
I hold up mine to forestall her. “There is one other thing. I plan on letting volunteers from the town who wish to raise their level accompany the guards who will be training there too. Your group only has four in it and I would like you to also take on a few of these volunteers. This is, of course, after you have been through it a time or two to get a feel for it.”
Nickie nods to me with a smile. “Not a problem. I’m actually glad to see you giving that opportunity to others. It really gets to me how dungeons are often horded by those who control them. Leaders often keep access to dungeons restricted. This allows them to feel like their power can’t be challenged by the populace. I think that is just short sighted though.”
“Good to hear you’re on board. I will want you to meet me and Grondar in the morning. We ca
n work out a schedule that is reasonable for all. You will be representing your group as well as the couple others I have heard tell about. The rest we can save until tomorrow. Now tell me about this singer. Who is she?”
Azzaria leans in at this point to answer. “That is Kalliel. She is known for her voice and odd style of songs.”
Leaning into Azzaria so only she can hear I tell her “That style that is so odd is very similar to what we call punk rock, or just punk, back on Earth. What she is missing though is the right instruments to accompany her. Maybe I can do something about that later.” Leaning back I speak normally again. “I was planning to create a arts district to include a concert theater and was curious about the local talent.” After that we all listened for a couple more songs before the girls and I stand to say our goodbyes.
We all go to the master suite on the top floor of the keep. There is no argument from me as they follow me into the bedroom. All three women are looking at me when I turn to them. Their expressions are expectant, like they are asking for permission. Knowing what they are thinking I relent. “Yes, you all can sleep in the bed. Just don’t lay on top of me again. It’s uncomfortable.” They all jump up with excitement and start changing into their matching pajamas. Embarrassed at their lack of modesty I turn around, but not before catching a few tantalizing glimpses. A moment later I’m part of a group hug before we all start to get situated in bed. Laying there with all the girls I think of how lucky I have been in this world so far. With Azzaria in my arms while I lay on my side, Thia behind her and Timbre hugging me from behind I can’t help but feel like the luckiest guy alive. Someone or something also seems to agree with this assessment.
Chapter 9
Waking up was much like the last few days but, pleasantly, without the pressure on my chest. I can feel all of us still laying the way we went to sleep. From the light coming in from the next room I think we actually got to sleep in a little today. That is when I notice I have messages to review. I didn’t have anything before I went to sleep so what could have happened while I was unconscious.
For maintaining a relationship with three women for multiple days, and they all know about each other!, you have earned the ability Magnetic Personality.
You have earned the ability Get Lucky. Anybody can see that you are lucky by the three girls that fawn over your attention.
“What the hell” I nearly shout, but I restrain its volume some. Instead of a shout it comes out as a loud whisper. A moment later the messages I’m looking at revert to simple ones. All they say now is that I earned the abilities, no snarky subtext. My exclamation, though not a shout, still makes Azzaria stir in my arms.
She pops one eye open and sees that I’m not alarmed before closing it again. “What’s wrong” she mumbles into my shoulder. Whispering so that I don’t disturb the others I tell her what I saw, how it changed and the few times that it happened in the past. “Gwydia seems fun.” Again with the half asleep mumble into my shoulder I get her answer. Confused I ask her what she is talking about. She opens her eyes and turns her head so it’s no longer buried against me. “It is theorized that it’s your Patron that creates these messages. I’m sure there are some things that happen automatically, but it has been known that sometimes gods can communicate to their followers through the messages we receive. On top of that, you are the only person I have heard of having Gwydia as a patron in a long time. That means she is sure to pay plenty of attention to you as there isn’t anyone else, or at least very few.” Having answered my question Azzaria pulls in close to me once again. I can tell she’s not asleep but just isn’t ready to get up yet.
Opening up my status I read over the descriptions to my new abilities. I always wondered why a lot of games had stats like luck and charisma but they had very little knowledge on what they actually did for a player. To me these things always seemed to be amorphous statistics that showed exact numbers but the results can vary so much the number was practically worthless. One could never determine what situations were actually affected by these stats. When I got to this world I noticed the absence of these and just brushed them off as impractical in a real life, like a stamina bar. Turns out there are charisma and luck, but they are things you develop.
Magnetic Personality’s description mentions that it augments a persons charisma. It will make my words more meaningful to others and help people to like me. Yes, very vague. At least it’s in keeping with the uncertain nature of charisma in general. It does mention that the effect will increase in potency the higher level it is but will never be able to subvert a persons will. For Get Lucky the description says it effects anything that has a variable of chance in it, from gambling to meeting three girls that get along well enough to share me. The description is a little snarky, but knowing where it comes from now it doesn’t bother me like it did before. For resonance they both just have question marks, which is odd but follows along with my opinion of both abilities. Not having a good explanation for the oddity I ignore it for the moment.
As I lay there enjoying the company of the ones I have become close to in this world there is a suspicious movement under the blankets. A moment later there is a sharp pain on my ass cheek that draws a slight yip from me due to it’s unexpected nature. After the embarrassing sound I feel a warm amusement in my mind. A little confused at first, it takes a second to realize the amusement isn’t mine, but Thia’s. She’s awake and decided that she would cop a feel on me while we were all resting. I feel a slight shaking coming from Timbre and I can tell she is laughing at the sneak attack.
Knowing all my girls are awake I don’t feel the least bit of guilt for exacting my revenge. I throw the covers off everyone, to the protests of all the girls when the cool morning air rushes in. I quickly pounce on Thia and start tickling her. It’s really easy because when I get to a spot that is particularly sensitive her emotions come through our bond easily, like she looses the restriction she normally has to blunt the flow between us. I spend a minute or two pleasantly torturing my familiar before I switch targets to Timbre. She was looking at my antics with a lazy and amused expression on her face as I focused on Thia. When I turn to her I can see her eyes go round as she realizes, too late, what my intentions are. It takes a second of playful wrestling before I catch a break and find she is very ticklish behind the knees and on her inner thighs.
I pinch and tease Timbre for a minute as Thia tries to catch her breath. Azzaria has wised up though and is already backing toward the door when I turn to her. She has her hands out in front of her as she backs away from me, like I’m some dangerous animal ready to strike. Too bad for her she forgot I am magic. Using Folded Space I leap toward her. To her it must have looked like I disappeared just as I leaped but then I came out from behind her and caught her from behind in a hug. My arms pin hers to her front while my fingers tickle her sides to the ringing of her melodic laughter. Before any of them can regroup, Thia is already trying to get to me, I use Folded Space again and step back into our bathroom as I mentally command the keep to close and lock the door.
Feeling a little smug about my victory and timely escape doesn’t mean I’m not aware that there will be retaliation for my little stunt. For now though, I bask in the glory that is a little prank between loved ones as I take a quick shower and prepare for the day. As I do, I look over my status again just to review it. I’m starting to get a long list of abilities and titles. Wishing that I could minimize them for brevity I’m surprised when exactly that happens. Titles, abilities and skills all fold down on themselves reducing the overall size. Playing with it a little in my mind I find I can view each category separately like my Grimoire. Finished with my morning preparations I join the girls in the living room of our master suite. They have used the other bathrooms to get ready.
Heading down to the main hall I find the council and guards from the lower floors eating breakfast, but not the one person I’m looking for. “Hey girls, I’m going to discuss the dungeon with Grondar and Nickie, but you don’t
need to come with if you don’t want. After that I’ll just head out to the open area to start on the arts district. I’ll be grabbing a bite to eat at the Golden feather first though.”
Azzaria and Thia grab some food off a table to go as we walk by but Timbre doesn’t. We head down the stairs toward the keep exit after that. Azzaria is the first to speak up. “I want to continue helping and training my magic with the orchard and the lands that are starting to be planted. The Council worked quickly and has already assigned farmers to the fields in the walls with instructions on what to plant.” After leaving the keep and entering the main square she gives me a kiss on the cheek before bounding off to the south. Thia sends me a message through our link that she is going to fly around a bit. I tell her that I would appreciate it if she kept an eye out for any threats to the town that she may see. Stuffing the last of her pastry in her mouth Thia changes and flies off. Timbre gives me a quick smile and shifts to her wolf form before rubbing against my side and following along.
I mentally query IMA and get a response about the location of Grondar. Turns out he is at the Golden Feather where I had planned to get breakfast. Walking in with Timbre right behind me no one says anything about the giant wolf I bring in. It’s good to be the Lord sometimes. Spotting Grondar at a corner table with Nickie I head in their direction. Nickie is talking to him in an animated fashion with a lot of hand gestures, clearly excited. “I see she already tracked you down Grondar” I say when I’m close enough. “I assume the council already talked to you about the new addition to our training options and what I plan to do with it?”
A Mage Rising: (The Chronicles of Herst 2: A LitRPG Saga) Page 19
