by Naosu N R
My first attempt enchanting long crowbar failed. But at least it didn't break like the ceramic cup.
"Is there a way to know much the damage increase will be? And what's the percent chance for the enchant to take?" I mumbled to myself.
It seems like its possibly a low success rate. And that makes sense since I'm just a newbie. But if I was more powerful, the difference would probably be better than now, both to succeed in the enhance, and for the effects.
I kept working over the crowbar and the pipe wrench right away.
I managed to enhance the crowbar to +2, after failing 3 times. This puts my mana at 54% right now also.
At first I felt a bit light headed. But the item feels sturdier and sharper somehow after being enhanced.
Whoa...this is a cool skill! It really feels like a better item now, I thought after swinging it a few times. I think I'm swinging it a bit faster also, but not by much. The effects are a bit subtle also.
Weird.
I looked at it more closely.
When I used enhance on the crowbar the first time, it felt like it got a bit less rusty looking. Its edge also looked a bit more fine. And then when it got to +2, it looked like it had no rust at all, and its edges even looked sharp.
Hm...
But one problem is carrying around a crowbar will for sure make people upset.
If a policeman stopped me there would be real trouble.
I have to pace myself.
Wow. The clock already says 1:27 PM. I'd lost a lot of time trying to figure out my stats.
I took an hour nap. That brings my mana back up to 61%!
"So there is some bonus mana regen in naps and sleeping," I thought.
And does that also mean that by just sleeping normally I'll fully refill?
This question in particular worries me.
In games, you go to sleep, and regardless of how long or short the sleep is, you refill health and mana.
In reality, that's totally impossible! It actually goes up by a rest rate, and an active regeneration rate.
Before I spend any points, I need to figure out the answer to this question! This also means going to sleep somewhat exhausted of mana.
There really is a lot to figure out now.
3:01 PM
I dodged calls by mom and dad.
3:11 PM
(What? Are they tag teaming me?)
Auntie just called me. (Mom's sister). But because I'm worried about working with them, I let it go to voice mail.
My brother is trying to reach me at 4:31 PM, interrupting my research.
I failed two more enchants by then, which made me ridiculously depressed.
Then I went to go job in the gym on the treadmill, to work up stats, while I figure this out.
For the rest of the day I kept frantically looking up as many skills as I could! (I didn't make much progress yet. But I will soon.)
...
When I got back from my shower before bed its late; like 8:37 PM.
I glanced at my cell phone.
Hm... Auntie from the clan has called 4 times.
I decided to call her back and hit re-dial.
"Hello?" Auntie Sue answered.
"Uh, its Jay. I saw that you tried to call me. What's it about?" I asked.
"Oh Jay! I'm so happy to hear from you. Listen! You need to come to my house tomorrow for the big date. This is your first time setting up and meeting with my daughters as a real man!" she said.
"What...?"
"Didn't your father tell you?" she said sounding worried.
"Uh oh. He did say something about promoting the family...heritage. I can't say more on the phone," I said.
"That's right. Come talk to me tomorrow and I'll explain it thoroughly," she said sounding happy.
...
I caught my brother washing a lot of blood out of his clothes today near the back washroom. One problem is...it appeared to be human blood. I ducked away before he noticed me.
My sense of worry increased a lot suddenly.
Getting involved with my family is going to have a lot of problems.
This is really screwed up.
Shit.
How do I even get out of this?
But my second aunt is good looking, I think; but also treacherous also. And so are her girls, inheriting her genes. I hadn't seen them in awhile.
Chapter 6
Its now 3:17 PM.
Dad's limo driver had arranged to pick me up at my school, to take me directly to Aunt Sue's house.
The drive took a bit, because our aunt doesn't live next to our parents. She lives in the country instead about an hour away.
It was a nice relaxing drive.
Then we pulled into the courtyard which is inside a big fence and fancy security system around the property and house.
I was surprised to find her gardening in the front yard while the limo pulled into her driveway and stopped.
I got out.
"When should I pick you up sir?" the driver asked.
"Don't worry about it. I'll take him home," my aunt waved to him.
My aunt is quite the widower. (not a first aunt, a clan aunt, which may mean she's like second or third aunt.) She then got up and brushed the dirt off her clothes.
Even though she's been working in the dirt, she still looks good for a woman in her 30s. She has on jeans and what looks like a farm blouse with a sun hat over her head. It registers in my mind, that I guess she's been gardening.
But she doesn't need to garden. Her family is well off too. Her house and yard are nice and considered a very well off neighborhood also. So this means its some kind of hobby.
Unfortunately she's till in the evil clan.
"Hi Aunt Sue," I said.
She took off her work glove and shook my hand. "Just call me Sue is fine," she said warmly.
"So do you know what this is about?" she asked.
"Only vaguely."
"Come on. Let's go inside. I have a lot to tell you," she said.
I began to follow her in.
But I was surprised by how many locks and bolts she has on her front door. The window also have caged iron bars on them, but not to keep people in but other things out.
(Another sign of the clan business facing threats or enemies, I wonder? Although its possible its also from other things. Although some would say this is Los Angeles get real. But its also true that they already have a big fence and security systems.)
And I'd seen my status screen reveal what the clan status actually was; the demon lord clan! This was why the hero and his army would have driven us from another world!
Then she led me into her private office and had me sit down.
She sits in a rich leather soft chair behind what must be a very expensive polished hardwood desk. There's books and book shelves around the room also, I see after taking a seat.
She has good sense of style.
"Nice office," I said.
"Thanks. I like it too," she replied.
"So what do you do? For your uh, day job I mean," I asked.
"I work as a school counselor by day. On weekends I dungeon dive like the rest of the murim. What did you think I was weak, or didn't do that kind of stuff?" she smirked teasingly. "And I help our clan try to conquer the world also like the others," she winked on that last part, but she's not really joking.
"Its great to see you. We haven't seen each other in quite awhile," she smiled.
"Its good to see you too. Thanks for the invite," I said.
"How do you like my house?" she asked.
She has a really freaking nice house!
We chatted a few minutes over a few minor issues.
But I had to ask.
Eventually we strayed from the main topic.
"So what is the murim exactly?" I wondered. "I'm not sure I understand it."
Technically i wanted more information. I didn't know nothing per se.
"The murim? Its the underground supernatural wor
ld. But I should warn you Jay, its more violent than you'd expect. You need to go at a pace you can handle without getting wrapped up in its problems too fast," she said with sincerity.
"Really?"
"If you weren't already in the clan I'd warn you its better not to get involved. But you are here. And being in our clan you won't have a choice. It's too late. You may end up having problems because of being in our clan also. You will be caught up in it one way or another. You will swim in the deep end, whether you like it or not," she told me.
"So how do I survive this world? It sounds dangerous," I said.
"Shouldn't your mother and father answer this stuff?" Auntie said.
"Maybe I want my own answers. They have their own agenda. And I need more than just an answer they are painting. I need the cold hard facts," I said.
Surprisingly Aunt Sue perked right up. "Yes. Yes they do have their own agenda. I'm surprised you can see that at this age. You are right to get your own data. That's very practical of you."
"So?"
"So what?" she asked.
"What dungeon job are you?" I asked Auntie.
"What? Why does that matter to you?" she said.
"Well aren't you trying to get me to be close to your family? You don't have to tell me the secret parts, just what you are comfortable with. I need help understanding this," I said.
(She's evasive. I wonder why.)
While she is one of my aunts, she's not necessarily my mom's sister.
The clan relationships are complex. And quite secretive even from me. Plus, because nobody is monogamous, the blood lines aren't as straight laced as a normal family. And she's not a first line aunt, but somewhere deeper in the wood pile like a second or third aunt.
"Well, let's talk about that later. For now, let me take you to meet me daughters. Remember, this is a big deal. The genes from the other world have twice as much magic power if not more than this world's. That's why if we don't marry in the clan, the next generation might not even have magic. Everyone has relationships set up to try to get them a good partner also, and keep our clan's future strong," Sue told me, looking a bit cold and stern while still trying to tempt me a bit I think.
She seems to want me recruited. But its also true that she's telling me straight.
I'd heard my parents talk about setting up my brothers before. But that takes time. And Diego is a jerk. Even in a world where men are allowed to have more than one woman, like the murim underground, it doesn't mean they will want to be a jerk.
I think Ryan is dating a few people also, actually; but he's secretive about it.
I wouldn't put it past the clan or my parents to have put her up to this.
But I don't know their reasons or what their end game would be, or what they want along the way.
"Wait, what exactly is the difference between our clan and normal humans? Have you studied it?" I asked.
"What are you asking exactly?" she said pointedly.
"Are we even human?" I asked.
She seemed evasive again. "Well,...technically yes. But not exactly. Also, bear in mind there's dozens of human archetypes on many worlds, supposedly. They will all compare with each other somewhat, but think about how a world's atmosphere might affect someone positively or negatively."
"You didn't give me a straight answer."
"Really? Didn't I? Its hard to even answer a question like that honestly," she laughed.
"I might as well tell you. You read that maybe 1 in a 1,000 humans might have magitek access as a human right?" Sue asked.
"Yes?"
"Within the clan 'magitek access' is virtually guaranteed. This is also why we set each other up in relationships. We like having that huge advantage. So we're humans only in a sense and on the skin. Inside, we're way more advanced than they are. Over 94% guarantee of magic access, even if they have non-mage jobs. And another 15% chance of having two elemental affinities in the beginning," Sue told me.
"Wow."
"Wow is right."
"So do we have other advantages besides magitek? Higher stats, other skills?" I asked.
She shook her head no frowning. "We used to. But those have been lost over time. Facing that loss has made us also want to hang onto what we have. In the past, we had higher strength and body constitution ratings, and even some boss skills you'd see only on dungeon bosses. But we don't have that now."
"That's too bad."
"It is. But don't go blabbing about this. Its secret. Remember that," she reminded me with a finger up.
"Got it."
Because of the nature of the clan and my family, I can't exactly reveal that I have two elements, or what it might mean. All I know is its special and very cool, like having 2 jobs in a way.
We took a break in the kitchen for a bit. Auntie made me tropical drink mixed from orange juice and soda. Then one for her also. I was given a sandwich also.
We sat down on the kitchen table while we overlooked the back porch area.
It was then that I could see her awesome backyard.
Wow.
Her pool is twice as big as ours. We can see lawn chairs and pool entertainment equipment around it.
"Hey mom. Do you have a snack ready?" my cousin came in the room topless with her breasts hanging out in the open. Technically she's wearing some short shorts. (And now why they have such a big fence also makes sense for other reasons.)
What...whoa. I tried to not stare.
But everyone in the clan is very buffed and gorgeous for their genders. And Sue's kids also even more so probably.
Are they like this all the time, walking around the house like this?
Its hard to not get sexually excited. Sue has 3 gorgeous daughters, and all of them are super hot.
But its so intimidating! My jaw hung open a bit I'm sure. And then to make matters worse...
They must really want us to hook up if she's had them with no clothes on when I came over?
Or, is this just how they are at home? I'd heard of some people living this way but didn't think it was real.
"Hi there," I said.
"Hi!" she seemed excited to see me.
"Oh hey mom, are you going to introduce us to Jay already?" this girl did a cute little bunny hop, making her very busty tits shake in front of me and her mom.
"Dear, you already know Jay. So why don't you just talk to him," Sue said.
I could feel my body already starting to react. I tried to react too much.
And surprisingly she came in very close, and wasn't bashful.
"Hi Jay," Melanie said to me while shaking my hand. Her hand lingered on mine also and didn't leave mine right away.
I'm trying to not stare.
Also when did Melanie like me so much?
I hadn't seen my clan members here for maybe four years? The last time I saw Melanie and the others was around when they were around 14 to 16. And Melanie was three years older than me.
Her next sister, Janey was only one year older than me. And Shelly a year younger than that, even with my own age.
"Its good to see you Jay? How have you been?" Melanie asked, not being shy at all. She seemed to want me to be looking at her chests also.
(I wish she wouldn't do that. She's got her wrists squeezed together with her arms straight to push her boobs together.)
Melanie is the tallest at around 5'10". She has classical blonde wavy hair and an exquisite face. Melanie is right now trying to push up against me.
Wow, she's aggressive!
"Hey, what are you doing? You made a move on him already?!" Janey came in from outside's back door, also topless and having some clear sibling rivalry. She's wet like she was swimming in the pool about a minute ago, still dripping water all over. "You jerk. You were supposed to wait for us at the same time!"
Janey is now arguing with Melanie.
Then a few seconds Shelly came in. She's wearing boys swimming trunks and is no less beautiful than her sisters. It does look like Melanie has the biggest
advantage in the boob department and figure, but the other two aren't far behind her in looks in other areas.
