Before we left, I decided to stay just long enough for the formation to make a single Seed of Time. Unlike the other formations, which made two seeds a day, this one actually only made one seed every two days. But it was safer than having me make it myself, for now at least. Once I used this seed to add time mana to my grove, I found that I had the ability to alter the flow of time in certain areas. From what I could tell, the change in the flow of time, as well as the size of the area affected were both determined by how much time mana I had in my grove.
I still decided against personally cultivating the element, until I had more safety measures in place. I had been through a time bubble once already, and did not want to go for a second time, thank you. But adding the element to my grove would at least give me a measure of control, should I need it.
Now, one of the other stops we made along the way was to the robot homeworld. That was a bit interesting, but a very brief stop. So, I’ll just sum up what we saw. Rather than exiting subspace, and risking the ship being blown up in an instant by the machine overlords, we hovered around the area while we took scans.
On these scans, we saw… conflict. A small number of ships had engaged in battle with a much larger force. I couldn’t be sure what that meant, except that the robots had begun fighting each other. It was still too early for earth ships to be out this far.
The robot world was a hundred and fifty parsecs from the elven world. The Ha’vosh world was an additional sixty parsecs away from the robot world. At our original speed in the Seraglio, it would take us seven months to travel that distance. However, now that I had the chance to look at the ship’s specs, we were traveling roughly 40% faster than we had when we were in our original ship. That meant the seven month trip became shortened by two full months.
So… I had five months of grinding, four hours a day in the cargo hold. But it wasn’t just me. Sharon, and even Yin visited the ‘experience farm’ I set up, and used it to increase their levels. By the time we left the robot world, I had already reached level 70, and the experience gained from the ettins was becoming wholly insufficient for me to make progress leveling. Once we get back to Hydra, I was going to have to dive deeper into some of the dungeons and get the readings for stronger monsters.
By the time I reached 75, we were already just two months out from Gerin, and Talia knew to expect us soon. Apparently, she had been helping the High Queens mediate with the humans in order to offer them areas to live and cohabitate. Since the elves already had a good impression of us, and I vouched for some of the people on that ship, they did not make things hard for them. Especially when I told Talia that my parents were among the people there.
Now, I did also make my own intelligent armor, which was the entire reason for the magic circle of repetitive grinding. However, there were a few things different about it compared to Sharon’s. Rather than strength and metal enchantments, I gave it increased mana control, and magic defense. I also gave the individual pieces different abilities.
For the gloves, I gave the left one a flame shot, and the right one a water shot. In the boots, I gave them the ability to make shockwaves by displacing the earth with my magic. The jacket had a darkness enchantment, which should allow me to meld into shadows if it works right. I’m still practicing with that. For the other pieces, I focused on increasing my defense to the limit.
After testing the equipment, I learned that while wearing the full set, I could use any of the set’s enchantments through any piece, such as a fire blast from my feet. However, if a piece was missing from the set, I could not use that power. And if the jacket was missing, then I could only use the powers from their original item.
I’m still practicing the Identify spell, and I haven’t quite gotten to the point where I am able to get all of my gear’s abilities listed. Otherwise, I’d talk about the abilities that evolved from the initial enchantments. What I can say is that summoning and killing ettins only seemed to take about half the work once I was wearing the set.
I can safely say that I’ve made a considerable amount of progress towards my levels, and my elements have been growing steadily with my new supply of seeds. As of now, my stats look something like this.
Name
John Hulett
Race
Wood Elf
Titles
Vengeful Heart, Amateur Brain Surgeon, Spider Slaughterer, Starship Captain
Fame
25,000
Level 75
0%
Class
Druid
Advanced Class
Xeno-Shifter
Deity
Malthan
Health
460/460
Health Regen
0.77
Mana
2000/2000
Mana Regen
13.73
Strength
20
Wisdom
200
Agility
26
Intelligence
200
Dexterity
33
Charisma
35
Vitality
46
Luck
20
Points Remaining
0
Earth 31%
Fire 28%
Wind 27%
Water 28%
Lightning 25%
Light 25%
Dark 28%
Plant 25%
Void 25%
Metal 25%
Magnetism 25%
Plasma 25%
Gravity 25%
Time 5%
Skills
Mana Manipulation - Advanced Level 8: 43%
Nature Magic - Advanced Level 4: 49%
Wild Luck - Basic Level 8: 33%
Sketching - Basic Level 6: 60%
Herbology - Novice Level 6: 1%
Gathering - Beginner Level 9: 6%
Alchemy - Intermediate Level 3: 13%
Mana Signatures - Advanced Level 5: 12%
Cooking - Basic Level 4: 10%
Flight - Basic Level 4: 0%
Aura Sight - Intermediate Level 7: 23%
Technomancy - Intermediate Level 6: 13%
Programming - Intermediate Level 4: 5%
Enchanting - Novice Level 5: 3%
Engineering - Novice Level 2: 18%
Maintenance - Basic Level 9: 24%
Dodge - Beginner Level 5: 24%
Swordsmanship - Beginner Level 5: 29%
Marksmanship - Basic Level 3: 59%
Energy Weapons - Beginner Level 9: 42%
Soul Arts - Novice Level 7: 34%
Psychic Power: Toybox - Intermediate Level 3: 31%
Piloting - Beginner Level 5: 3%
Navigation - Beginner Level 2: 12%
Weapons Systems - Basic Level 1: 13%
Shield Systems - Basic Level 1: 0%
Spatial Comprehension - Basic Level 9: 91%
Barrier Magic - Beginner Level 5: 15%
Divination - Beginner Level 6: 10%
Now, it may seem like I’ve gotten quite a lot, but remember that I’ve been training for seven months, alright? I’m actually troubled that I didn’t pick up a new ultimate technique. Though I could probably use the element burst reliably in combat now. Sharon and Yin actually made the most progress, if I am to be honest.
With Sharon, she won’t tell me exactly what she got, because she said she wanted it to be a surprise. However, she did say she would show me the next time that we got into a fight. Apparently, the new power she learned for being a Colony Druid with creatures from so many ecosystems would be quite the upgrade for her. She even goes off to practice it alone sometimes. Yes, I tried spying on her to figure it out, but apparently she got Celeste to cooperate with her and help keep it a secret until she’s ready to show me.
As for Yin… well, let’s say that she has improved considerably in her control, for both her magic and her telekinesis. She’s learned how to use her various abilities to incr
ease the accuracy of her lightning attacks, and can borrow the power of her ring to make much more powerful storms than she had before. We learned this when we made a quick stop at one of the uninhabited worlds where Sharon did her quest before so that she could pick up some fish. The storm that Yin created this time was easily double the diameter of the one she did before, and since she created it over the ocean, its power did not decrease after she stopped focusing.
For her telekinesis, her relevant strength has increased to the point where she can easily pick me up, while only suffering from a small headache if she holds me in the air for too long. Considering that her telekinesis would be an excellent mid-range attack method against targets engaged in melee with friends, it turned into a perfect combination with her wide area magic.
The other girls did not progress as much. Yo spent most of her time playing, so I doubt she even gained a single level in these last five months. Yang ran out of materials to craft with, so there wasn’t much chance for her to gather experience. Anything Yang made, aside from our personal gear, was given to Sharon to send to her grove so that her evolved companions could train their Enchanting skills.
Kismet… well, he made quite a lot of progress. He’s actually living outside of the grove now, with the rest of the crew. After spending about three weeks inside Sharon’s grove, learning from its inhabitants, she deemed him safe enough to live with the general population. That means that she also let him spend all of his points. It was odd to see him running through the halls while playing with Yo, moving at a speed I couldn’t follow unless I used my cybernetic eye.
Anyways, as I was saying, it’s been five months since we left the Ha’vosh, and we were just preparing to drop out of subspace. Since this was the end of our trip, I was naturally seated in the captain’s chair. Pushing the intercom button, I addressed the ship. “Attention everyone. In five minutes, we should be arriving in the Gerin system. I’ve already alerted Queen Talia, so our arrival is expected. For those of you who consider these worlds your home, you are free to take a leave of absence and spend this time with your families. I am not clear on how long we will be staying in the system, but it is not likely to be very long.”
“For those of you that wish to end your service aboard the Ariadne, you are free to speak with your local superior. For everyone else, I’ll send out an alert when I know when we will be leaving. That is all.” With that, I ended the transmission, and looked to the two girls standing beside me. I was still not quite sure how I’d explain Yin and Sharon to my parents… or Yo… or Kismet… But at least Kismet doesn’t think I’m his father.
“Captain, we are ready to exit subspace. No abnormalities detected.” Ever since our first run-in with the abstracts, I made sure that we checked each time we exited subspace. I did not want an extra hitchhiker that could start randomly attacking.
“Alright. Take us home.” I nodded, and soon we were in orbit around Gerin. But this time, we weren’t alone. Although it was expected, since my parents had told me, but the colony ship that they came in was there as well. Except, it had been reconfigured into an orbital space station upon arrival. The ship itself, before the transformation, would have been massive. Right now, it made me feel like I was back in the Seraglio, looking at the Ariadne for the first time.
The orbital station was constructed as an elongated pyramid, with four equally spaced sections coming out of the base. The sections extended roughly half as long as the station was tall, and were each connected to their neighbors with semi-circular pathways. Upon our arrival, we were met with a transmission from the station.
“Attention, traveler. You are entering protected space. Please state your point of origin and reason for arrival.”
Apparently, news of our arrival did not reach whoever this was, so I had my communications officer open up a channel. “I am John Hullet, originally of Earth. This ship is the Ariadne, originally of Gerin. The High Queen is expecting us.”
“Please hold.” I could hear the voice on the other end, likely an AI, processing the information. “Confirmed, you have been cleared.”
After that transmission cut off, we immediately received another one, from both Talia and Maeve. “Welcome back, hero.” The mature High Queen said with a mostly expressionless face, her lips only having the slightest bit of an upwards curve. “Your arrival was sooner than we originally expected, but still fortunate. And we appear to be in your debt again.” She nodded towards something offscreen, and an information packet was relayed.
Celeste, being the fastest to respond to that, blinked rapidly before giving a knowing smile. Mentally, she transmitted to me what she was sent. “Seems like the humans didn’t quite have good intentions when they came here. Since they had more experience with the system, and stronger weapons, they tried to annex the elves as a part of the ‘New Earth Empire’. But thanks to the orbital cannon we left… and their own biological weapons, they were able to ‘convince’ the humans to treat them as equals. Though that stunt did delay negotiations by a fair amount.”
I nodded my head in understanding. “Apologies.” I looked towards the two queens. “I am glad everything has worked out so far. Were you able to receive my parents?” I was a bit hopeful as I asked this. Although I had spoken to them a few times since my episode on Hydra, it had effectively been nearly two hundred years since I saw them in person.
This time, it was Talia that answered, still in her new queen’s dress that I was guessing Aria would not let her get rid of yet. “That’s right. They’re staying with us right now. It was something they insisted upon, and that you go to see them at your earliest convenience.”
“Thanks.” I gave a relieved smile when I heard that, letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “We’re going to set up a geostationary orbit around your kingdom, and then head down. I’ve cleared my crew so that any that wish to visit may do so, and those that wish to stay behind when we leave need only talk to their local superiors.”
Maeve’s expression stiffened slightly at that, but soon became just as playful as I was used to. Of course, that too faded away to her ‘business smile’ before too long. “Very well. We will of course arrange for the crew to be reunited with their families. In the meantime, we believe that you should hurry and meet your parents. From our understanding, there is… much to catch up on.” There was a trace of pity in her voice, so likely Talia had told her about my accident with the time bubble.
“Will do.” I nodded my head, ending the call and getting up. “You heard the ladies, people. Put us in orbit, then whoever wants to get off for a bit can head to the teleport bay.” I smiled to everyone before grabbing Yin and Sharon’s hands gently, the three of us taking the lead and heading there.
Since we already knew the layout of the planet, it was easy for us to pinpoint the location of Talia’s forest kingdom. However, there appeared to have been some changes since we left. The area of the forest expanded a bit wider than it had in the past, and if the scan data was true, the trees had grown taller as well. I could only imagine what kind of upgrades Talia had been doing to her kingdom to get these results.
Those gathered in the teleport bay for the first trip were myself, Yin, Yang, Sharon, Yo, and Celeste. Since Kismet didn’t know anyone where we were going, he asked to stay in Sharon’s grove for a little while. Once we beamed down into Talia’s throne room, the forest queen nodded her head to me.
“Well timed, John.” She said, just as a nearby door opened up, and a vaguely familiar little girl ran out.
“Mr. Hulett!” She said as she immediately ran straight towards me, not seeming to have any of the trouble recognizing me that I had with her. She was human, roughly seven or eight years old, with long hair and wide, blue eyes. Before I had the chance to react, she was jumping at me and holding onto my waist.
Wait… isn’t that… “Tessa?” When I asked that, she nodded her head happily, though quickly hid behind me when another voice spoke up from the open door.
“Te
ssa Isabel Montgomery, what have I told you about running in the castle?” A mature woman’s voice rang out, before Tessa’s mom appeared in the doorway. “O-oh, you’re back already.” She suddenly smiled, but then caught sight of Tessa hiding behind me. “Come on, Tessa, Mr. Hulett just got back and needs to meet his parents.”
She shook her head rapidly, tightening her grip on my waist. “Nuh uh!” She spoke the most sound argument a seven year old could manage. Apparently, she had become quite attached after our first meeting, and had missed me.
Smirking slightly, I turned around and looked at the little girl. “You know, there’s someone here that might like to play with you.” As I said that, I gave an obvious glance towards Yo, who was staring at Tessa with a wide-eyed smile. “This is Yo, and believe it or not she’s around your age.”
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