“Are you ready to go?” Alice asked when she came back from changing clothes. She was now wearing a navy top and dark green pants. Is green fabric just cheaper to make? She also had a leather jacket that almost looked like leather armor. Perhaps it was, but I’m not completely sure. She also had her treant staff in hand.
“Are you sure you want to bring your staff? If I learned anything about them, it is that they need time to grow before you use them. Won’t it break?” I asked.
“I’m not going to use it. I just brought it to look the part.” Alice said.
“Oh, good point. I should probably get a belt or something so I can carry my sword as well.” I said.
“You got yourself a sword?” Alice wondered.
“Yes. I made one with the dungeon while I was there.” I answered.
“Ah, I see. Could you show it to me?” She asked.
“Sure.” I responded as I opened my fanny pack to pull it out.
The sword I have is an arming sword, with a total length of about 90cm (35.5 inch) and a blade length of 70cm (27,5 inch), so it just fits into my fanny pack.
After I got the sword out of my bag, I pulled it out of its sheath and showed it to Alice.
“This is it.” I said as I held the sword.
“It looks beautiful. Can I hold it?” She asked.
“Sure.” I carefully spun the sword around so I could hand it to her safely. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” She said as she received it. “Can you hold this for a second?” She then said as she handed her staff over to me.
“Sure.” I said as I took it as a pawn for the sword.
Alice held the sword and even swung it down a few times.
“This feels nice. Could you get me one like it?” She asked.
“I’ll think about it.” I answered. “But it is a little expensive, so perhaps later.”
I’m not sure how expensive mithril swords really are, but judging by Christina’s reaction, I would guess they are expensive. Like 100+ gold coins per sword expensive. Sure, I can just make them with the dungeon’s power, but carrying around a sword that expensive might get some unwanted attention. I think I can handle it, but Alice could get into some serious trouble. Kidnappings and such.
With access to Pack Opener’s collection, I can get out of basically anything, but Alice might actually be lost if she gets kidnapped. I don’t have any cards to search for her. I think. Well then again, I might have. I think I have wolf-like monsters that might be able to sniff her out.
Sadly, I don’t think I have anything that will just teleport her to me.
…wait a second. Teleport? I have A Hero Emerges. And the spirits call me a hero. If that card is played, would it summon me? Well, I don’t have any skills that would make me a hero. I assume a hero would have the hero skill.
I should still try it out. If it does work, I can leave a copy with Christina or Zayaan. That way they can call me if something like the behemoth attacks.
After Alice returned my sword and I handed her her staff back, we left the manor grounds and headed to the guild. I wanted to talk to Lua and at this time of day she is likely at the guild or out somewhere draining blood from boars.
The guild building was almost empty. Well, then again, I suppose everyone is out working at this time of day.
“Miss Alice. Welcome. You as well Brian.” A receptionist welcomed us.
“Good morning Krisha.” Alice responded.
Krisha? Is that her name? I don’t know if I have ever actually heard it.
“You know you could just call me Kris.” Krisha responded to Alice.
“And you don’t need to call me Miss.” Alice said.
“Yes I do. You are the lord's daughter.” Kris said. “Now, what can I do for you?”
“We are looking for Lucia. Could you tell us where she is?” I asked.
“Lucia? I believe she headed to the east today. She should be somewhere there.” Kris answered.
“Thanks. We’ll head that way then.” I told her.
“Are you sure you don’t want to look at some jobs first? You haven’t done any official work since you joined.” Kris asked.
“Is there something worth doing available?” I asked.
“... well, I suppose not. There is a request for escorts from Bakula company, but I’m not sure you would want to do it.” Kris said.
“My point exactly. But don’t worry. We’ll actually do some stuff when we move to a larger town.” I told her.
“If you are traveling anyway, perhaps the escort quest is perfect for you. It’s to Sawyer city and the leaving date is still open, as no one has taken it.” Kris said.
“I’ll think about it.” I answered, before leaving with Alice.
I guess there is no harm in doing it, but if we go with a convoy, I can’t really use my OP summons to move us faster. That means no flying with Gradius and no driving with Overdrive. Actually, Overdrive might be usable. It might also keep bandits away. Who would want to attack an armored carriage with a big gun?
“Do you want to pick up some lunch before we go there?” I asked Alice.
“Oh. Yes. Let’s do that.” Alice responded after she realized we had no food with us.
“Then to Uncle Sam’s. He has some great food.” I said as I led Alice to the stall.
We picked up two burritos for each of us. I paid for it with a small silver coin and got a copper coin as change. Then we headed to east gate.
After we got past the guard at the east gate, (he wasn’t fully on board with letting Alice outside the walls, but he did after I told him we had permission form Brandon), it didn’t take us long to spot Lua.
Well, more like we spotted everyone else. She was with a group of around 20 adventurers. They seem to be butchering boars.
Some of the adventurers that weren’t actively doing something stared at the two of us as we walked up to them.
I saw Lua draining blood from a boar so I didn’t want to interrupt her, so I just stood around with Alice. Well that was the plan until a young adventurer came up to us and spoke to me.
“Hello Brian. Will you let us train again today?” Kurt asked.
Kurt was the kid that once got his hand burned by my Dark Magician card. Well, it wasn’t really because of the card. The real culprit was the little shithole that was with him. Kevin’s son. What was his name again?
(I believe it was Len.) Laura informed me.
(Believe? You don’t know it for sure?)
(We only heard it from a secondary source once, so cannot fully confirm it.) Laura said.
“Hi Kurt. I’m not sure yet. But I think there is a chance for it.” I told him.
“Oh. You remember my name. I’m honored.” Kurt said.
“Is it really that big of a deal?” I asked.
“Having a C-ranker like you remember my name is always an honor. It proves that I’ve made an impression on you.” Kurt said.
“Sadly, it’s not the greatest impression.” I flat out told him.
“... I see. So you just remember me as a crying loser.” He hung his head down.
“Well, sadly that is the truth. But then again, it isn’t exactly your fault that it happened. Actually, where is that little shitter?” I asked.
“I don’t know. We haven’t really seen him at the guild. Some say he left town with his father, but others say he is just not leaving his house.” Kurt said.
“I see. Well, as long as he is no longer causing trouble it should be fine.” I said.
“Well, it’s not like he always causes trouble. If he did, he would have been kicked out of the guild.” Kurt said.
“Ah, of course the guild would handle it. Well, as long as he is no longer causing trouble for you and your friends.”
“Yes. We are doing fine. Thank you. We are getting the money together so we can buy good weapons to explore the dungeon with.” He said.
“Oh, is the guild spreading information about it already?” I asked.
“Well not officially, but there are plenty of rumors. Some even have dungeon cards, so there is proof.” Kurt said.
“Oh, I see. Well, when you do go there, be careful. I don’t want you dying.” I warned him. I almost added ‘in my dungeon’, but managed to keep it in my mouth.
“Yes. We’ll be careful.” He responded.
After my little chat with Kurt, I made my way over to Lua who had finished the boars she had been working on.
“Hey Lua. Do you have time to talk?” I asked her.
“Oh, Brian. And Miss Alice as well. You didn’t need to come all the way here just to talk to me. You could have sent a summon to the guild.” Lua said.
“Isn’t that a little much? It’s not like this is official business or something.” I responded.
“Well I’m still just an adventurer, so to have a daughter of a noble and a dungeon founder come to me feels a bit strange.” Lua reasoned.
“Well then just say we are also adventurers. And we actually are, so.” I said.
“Adventurers or not, it doesn’t change the other part.” Lua said.
“Perhaps. I was just trying to make it easier for you.” I said. “But let’s get back on track. Are you done here or…?”
“Mostly. I still have to butcher my own boar.” Lua said.
“You have one for yourself?”
“Well even if I work as a blood drainer, I can still butcher them as well. And extra money is never really a bad thing. We do need travel money.” Lua said.
“I suppose that is true. I do have some money, but I’m not sure how long it will last.” I responded. I do have something like 70 gold coins and I also have my daily use Upstart, so it might be fine, but more money wouldn’t be terrible.
“Could you teach me how it’s done?” Alice joined our conversation. She had kept quiet since we got outside the town walls, so I was a little worried about her.
“How what is done?” Lua asked.
“Butchering. You said you were going to butcher a boar. Could you teach me?” Alice requested.
“Oh that. Sure I can teach you. What about you Brian? Do you want to learn as well?” Lua asked.
“Sure, if you are teaching us anyway.” I responded. I do have some experience from the time I went hunting with my grandpa, but that was mainly the beginning parts like blood draining. He didn’t actually let me do the delicate work like skinning, as that could easily damage the hide.
“And that is how it’s done.” Lua said as she collected the pieces of the boar.
… yeah. We can’t learn anything from that. No way.
Lua had used water magic to quickly cut apart the boar. Learning from that would be like trying to learn how to play a game from a world record speedrun. There is no way we could get anything out of it.
Well, that is what I would like to think, but Alice was busy writing things down into a notebook. Where does she hold that thing?
“Can you explain the spell you used?” Alice asked.
“Oh, it’s just my own mix of water control and water cutter. It’s somewhat difficult to control, so I wouldn’t recommend it.” Lua answered.
“Then why did you use it in a demonstration?” I asked.
“... because that is how I always do it. Rico was the one to usually do it with a knife, so I never learned that way. I only ever did it with magic.” Lua answered.
“I see. I’m sorry.” I apologized for bringing up memories of the deceased.
“Why are you apologizing?” Alice wondered. “And I thought it was a perfect show of how magician butchers a monster. I wonder if Mana could teach me a spell I could use to do that.”
“She probably can.” I commented. “And if she can't, Dark Sage definitely should be able to.”
“Sage? Can you really summon a sage?” Lua asked.
“... yes. Didn’t you know about it?” I responded. I feel like she should know about Dark Sage, but then again, I don’t think I’ve summoned him in front of anyone.
“Brian. You need to stop summoning impossible things. You just break reality if you keep doing it.” Lua complained.
“Then I should just reject your reality and substitute my own.” I quoted a line. I know it originates from an old ass movie, but I know it from a TV show. And that one abridged series.
“Are you saying you are going to become a God? Because only God may decide such things.” Lua said.
“... I don’t know. Probably not.” I answered as I thought about some Yugioh cards.
The Egyptian Gods, the Sacred Beasts, the Nordic Gods. I guess there is also the Numeron Dragon and Numeron Network. All Gods, or beings with Godlike power. If I ever got one of them, wouldn’t that make me basically a God? Or at least someone who can command a God? Even Exodia was a Godlike being, before he was sealed away and broken into the five pieces.
“Probably? Wouldn’t that mean you think it is actually possible?” Lua caught onto my word choice.
“It’s impossible, isn’t it?” Alice commented. “No person can become a God. Even in the legends of the hero, there was no such thing.”
“She is right, you know.” I added. “Even if I can summon monsters that are out of the norm, Gods are way above the level of simple monsters.”
“Well, I suppose that is true.” Lua gave in. “But Brian, if you do become a God, could you promise to cure all the dhampir? A God can do something like that, right?”
“You should know I don’t need to be a God to do something like that.” I said back. With Vampire Lord by my side, and even Vampire Genesis, I am more than capable of dealing with the curse. Well, it will take some time, but still.
“Oh, I know that. But still.” Lua said.
“Fine. If I somehow become a God, I promise I’ll take good care of all the dhampir in the world.” I made my promise. I don’t know if I can actually do it, but I’ll try. Well then again, I don’t really plan on becoming a God. Being able to summon one is more than enough.
“Are you ready to go?” Alice asked when she came back from changing clothes. She was now wearing a navy top and dark green pants. Is green fabric just cheaper to make? She also had a leather jacket that almost looked like leather armor. Perhaps it was, but I’m not completely sure. She also had her treant staff in hand.
“Are you sure you want to bring your staff? If I learned anything about them, it is that they need time to grow before you use them. Won’t it break?” I asked.
“I’m not going to use it. I just brought it to look the part.” Alice said.
“Oh, good point. I should probably get a belt or something so I can carry my sword as well.” I said.
“You got yourself a sword?” Alice wondered.
“Yes. I made one with the dungeon while I was there.” I answered.
“Ah, I see. Could you show it to me?” She asked.
“Sure.” I responded as I opened my fanny pack to pull it out.
The sword I have is an arming sword, with a total length of about 90cm (35.5 inch) and a blade length of 70cm (27,5 inch), so it just fits into my fanny pack.
After I got the sword out of my bag, I pulled it out of its sheath and showed it to Alice.
“This is it.” I said as I held the sword.
“It looks beautiful. Can I hold it?” She asked.
“Sure.” I carefully spun the sword around so I could hand it to her safely. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” She said as she received it. “Can you hold this for a second?” She then said as she handed her staff over to me.
“Sure.” I said as I took it as a pawn for the sword.
Alice held the sword and even swung it down a few times.
“This feels nice. Could you get me one like it?” She asked.
“I’ll think about it.” I answered. “But it is a little expensive, so perhaps later.”
I’m not sure how expensive mithril swords really are, but judging by Christina’s reaction, I would guess they are expensive. Like 100+ gold coins per sword expensive. Sure, I can just make them with the dungeon’s power, but carrying around a sword that expensive might get some unwanted attention. I think I can handle it, but Alice could get into some serious trouble. Kidnappings and such.
With access to Pack Opener’s collection, I can get out of basically anything, but Alice might actually be lost if she gets kidnapped. I don’t have any cards to search for her. I think. Well then again, I might have. I think I have wolf-like monsters that might be able to sniff her out.
Sadly, I don’t think I have anything that will just teleport her to me.
…wait a second. Teleport? I have A Hero Emerges. And the spirits call me a hero. If that card is played, would it summon me? Well, I don’t have any skills that would make me a hero. I assume a hero would have the hero skill.
I should still try it out. If it does work, I can leave a copy with Christina or Zayaan. That way they can call me if something like the behemoth attacks.
After Alice returned my sword and I handed her her staff back, we left the manor grounds and headed to the guild. I wanted to talk to Lua and at this time of day she is likely at the guild or out somewhere draining blood from boars.
The guild building was almost empty. Well, then again, I suppose everyone is out working at this time of day.
“Miss Alice. Welcome. You as well Brian.” A receptionist welcomed us.
“Good morning Krisha.” Alice responded.
Krisha? Is that her name? I don’t know if I have ever actually heard it.
“You know you could just call me Kris.” Krisha responded to Alice.
“And you don’t need to call me Miss.” Alice said.
“Yes I do. You are the lord's daughter.” Kris said. “Now, what can I do for you?”
“We are looking for Lucia. Could you tell us where she is?” I asked.
“Lucia? I believe she headed to the east today. She should be somewhere there.” Kris answered.
“Thanks. We’ll head that way then.” I told her.
“Are you sure you don’t want to look at some jobs first? You haven’t done any official work since you joined.” Kris asked.
“Is there something worth doing available?” I asked.
“... well, I suppose not. There is a request for escorts from Bakula company, but I’m not sure you would want to do it.” Kris said.
“My point exactly. But don’t worry. We’ll actually do some stuff when we move to a larger town.” I told her.
“If you are traveling anyway, perhaps the escort quest is perfect for you. It’s to Sawyer city and the leaving date is still open, as no one has taken it.” Kris said.
“I’ll think about it.” I answered, before leaving with Alice.
I guess there is no harm in doing it, but if we go with a convoy, I can’t really use my OP summons to move us faster. That means no flying with Gradius and no driving with Overdrive. Actually, Overdrive might be usable. It might also keep bandits away. Who would want to attack an armored carriage with a big gun?
“Do you want to pick up some lunch before we go there?” I asked Alice.
“Oh. Yes. Let’s do that.” Alice responded after she realized we had no food with us.
“Then to Uncle Sam’s. He has some great food.” I said as I led Alice to the stall.
We picked up two burritos for each of us. I paid for it with a small silver coin and got a copper coin as change. Then we headed to east gate.
After we got past the guard at the east gate, (he wasn’t fully on board with letting Alice outside the walls, but he did after I told him we had permission form Brandon), it didn’t take us long to spot Lua.
Well, more like we spotted everyone else. She was with a group of around 20 adventurers. They seem to be butchering boars.
Some of the adventurers that weren’t actively doing something stared at the two of us as we walked up to them.
I saw Lua draining blood from a boar so I didn’t want to interrupt her, so I just stood around with Alice. Well that was the plan until a young adventurer came up to us and spoke to me.
“Hello Brian. Will you let us train again today?” Kurt asked.
Kurt was the kid that once got his hand burned by my Dark Magician card. Well, it wasn’t really because of the card. The real culprit was the little shithole that was with him. Kevin’s son. What was his name again?
(I believe it was Len.) Laura informed me.
(Believe? You don’t know it for sure?)
(We only heard it from a secondary source once, so cannot fully confirm it.) Laura said.
“Hi Kurt. I’m not sure yet. But I think there is a chance for it.” I told him.
“Oh. You remember my name. I’m honored.” Kurt said.
“Is it really that big of a deal?” I asked.
“Having a C-ranker like you remember my name is always an honor. It proves that I’ve made an impression on you.” Kurt said.
“Sadly, it’s not the greatest impression.” I flat out told him.
“... I see. So you just remember me as a crying loser.” He hung his head down.
“Well, sadly that is the truth. But then again, it isn’t exactly your fault that it happened. Actually, where is that little shitter?” I asked.
“I don’t know. We haven’t really seen him at the guild. Some say he left town with his father, but others say he is just not leaving his house.” Kurt said.
“I see. Well, as long as he is no longer causing trouble it should be fine.” I said.
“Well, it’s not like he always causes trouble. If he did, he would have been kicked out of the guild.” Kurt said.
“Ah, of course the guild would handle it. Well, as long as he is no longer causing trouble for you and your friends.”
“Yes. We are doing fine. Thank you. We are getting the money together so we can buy good weapons to explore the dungeon with.” He said.
“Oh, is the guild spreading information about it already?” I asked.
“Well not officially, but there are plenty of rumors. Some even have dungeon cards, so there is proof.” Kurt said.
“Oh, I see. Well, when you do go there, be careful. I don’t want you dying.” I warned him. I almost added ‘in my dungeon’, but managed to keep it in my mouth.
“Yes. We’ll be careful.” He responded.
After my little chat with Kurt, I made my way over to Lua who had finished the boars she had been working on.
“Hey Lua. Do you have time to talk?” I asked her.
“Oh, Brian. And Miss Alice as well. You didn’t need to come all the way here just to talk to me. You could have sent a summon to the guild.” Lua said.
“Isn’t that a little much? It’s not like this is official business or something.” I responded.
“Well I’m still just an adventurer, so to have a daughter of a noble and a dungeon founder come to me feels a bit strange.” Lua reasoned.
“Well then just say we are also adventurers. And we actually are, so.” I said.
“Adventurers or not, it doesn’t change the other part.” Lua said.
“Perhaps. I was just trying to make it easier for you.” I said. “But let’s get back on track. Are you done here or…?”
“Mostly. I still have to butcher my own boar.” Lua said.
“You have one for yourself?”
“Well even if I work as a blood drainer, I can still butcher them as well. And extra money is never really a bad thing. We do need travel money.” Lua said.
“I suppose that is true. I do have some money, but I’m not sure how long it will last.” I responded. I do have something like 70 gold coins and I also have my daily use Upstart, so it might be fine, but more money wouldn’t be terrible.
“Could you teach me how it’s done?” Alice joined our conversation. She had kept quiet since we got outside the town walls, so I was a little worried about her.
“How what is done?” Lua asked.
“Butchering. You said you were going to butcher a boar. Could you teach me?” Alice requested.
“Oh that. Sure I can teach you. What about you Brian? Do you want to learn as well?” Lua asked.
“Sure, if you are teaching us anyway.” I responded. I do have some experience from the time I went hunting with my grandpa, but that was mainly the beginning parts like blood draining. He didn’t actually let me do the delicate work like skinning, as that could easily damage the hide.
“And that is how it’s done.” Lua said as she collected the pieces of the boar.
… yeah. We can’t learn anything from that. No way.
Lua had used water magic to quickly cut apart the boar. Learning from that would be like trying to learn how to play a game from a world record speedrun. There is no way we could get anything out of it.
Well, that is what I would like to think, but Alice was busy writing things down into a notebook. Where does she hold that thing?
“Can you explain the spell you used?” Alice asked.
“Oh, it’s just my own mix of water control and water cutter. It’s somewhat difficult to control, so I wouldn’t recommend it.” Lua answered.
“Then why did you use it in a demonstration?” I asked.
“... because that is how I always do it. Rico was the one to usually do it with a knife, so I never learned that way. I only ever did it with magic.” Lua answered.
“I see. I’m sorry.” I apologized for bringing up memories of the deceased.
“Why are you apologizing?” Alice wondered. “And I thought it was a perfect show of how magician butchers a monster. I wonder if Mana could teach me a spell I could use to do that.”
“She probably can.” I commented. “And if she can't, Dark Sage definitely should be able to.”
“Sage? Can you really summon a sage?” Lua asked.
“... yes. Didn’t you know about it?” I responded. I feel like she should know about Dark Sage, but then again, I don’t think I’ve summoned him in front of anyone.
“Brian. You need to stop summoning impossible things. You just break reality if you keep doing it.” Lua complained.
“Then I should just reject your reality and substitute my own.” I quoted a line. I know it originates from an old ass movie, but I know it from a TV show. And that one abridged series.
“Are you saying you are going to become a God? Because only God may decide such things.” Lua said.
“... I don’t know. Probably not.” I answered as I thought about some Yugioh cards.
The Egyptian Gods, the Sacred Beasts, the Nordic Gods. I guess there is also the Numeron Dragon and Numeron Network. All Gods, or beings with Godlike power. If I ever got one of them, wouldn’t that make me basically a God? Or at least someone who can command a God? Even Exodia was a Godlike being, before he was sealed away and broken into the five pieces.
“Probably? Wouldn’t that mean you think it is actually possible?” Lua caught onto my word choice.
“It’s impossible, isn’t it?” Alice commented. “No person can become a God. Even in the legends of the hero, there was no such thing.”
“She is right, you know.” I added. “Even if I can summon monsters that are out of the norm, Gods are way above the level of simple monsters.”
“Well, I suppose that is true.” Lua gave in. “But Brian, if you do become a God, could you promise to cure all the dhampir? A God can do something like that, right?”
“You should know I don’t need to be a God to do something like that.” I said back. With Vampire Lord by my side, and even Vampire Genesis, I am more than capable of dealing with the curse. Well, it will take some time, but still.
“Oh, I know that. But still.” Lua said.
“Fine. If I somehow become a God, I promise I’ll take good care of all the dhampir in the world.” I made my promise. I don’t know if I can actually do it, but I’ll try. Well then again, I don’t really plan on becoming a God. Being able to summon one is more than enough.
