“Take care, you two.” I said as we separated from Alice and Paulina.
The two of them were heading to the adventurer’s guild again today, while I was going to visit a slave trader with Angelina. I asked if Angelina could really just take a day off for something like that, but she said she had some other business to take care of around town anyway, so she didn’t have any paperwork or meetings today in the first place.
Oh, I guess I should mention that we weren’t on foot or in Overdrive, but in a carriage that Angelina had prepared for us.
Another thing I feel like I should mention is the card I set on Alice to take the place of Sakuretsu Armor. It ended up being Spellbinding Circle as it was the best trap I had to combo with the others she has set on her. I would have loved to set Waboku on her, but I don’t actually have one.
Spoiler
nro_8 Waboku is in multiple starter/structure decks, but not in any of the sets. Also, it would be super OP if Brian had some and would set them, but he has to get access to structure decks first. But really, just make yourself damage immune for a short period and the card can activate itself.
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I did also consider setting a flip monster on her, but I need to test them out first at least. And most of the flip monsters with a good effect are no better than Sakuretsu Armor in scariness.
Like Man-Eater Bug or Rafflesia Seduction. At least Old Vindictive Magician shouldn’t be too scary, but he is a creepy old man, so I don’t want to give him to Alice.
Spoiler
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“We are here.” Angelina said as the carriage pulled up to a medium sized mansion. I really didn’t expect a slave trader to live in a mansion, but I guess slave trade pays well. And this might be a front for the more … noble clientele. “Don’t look so suspicious. I know slave trade sounds bad, but it is a controlled and closely monitored business. The number of illegal slaves in this country is very low and there is almost no kidnapping people to make them into slaves, like you might hear in some stories.”
“I don’t like the word almost.”
“Well, there is no way to eliminate all crime. We can just try to catch the ones that are illegally forced into slavery.”
“Well, at least that is good to hear. But what about the more … underground slavetrade?”
“As I said, we can’t eliminate all crime. And the problem with that side is that it is not on the level where just an Earl could do anything about it. The entire kingdom needs to take action to take down the large scale criminal organizations. And sometimes the criminal underground extends beyond the country's borders as well. I’m sure you can understand that. At least based on what I know, you seem to have a good education.”
“I do, in some areas, but not when it comes to politics.”
“Come. Let’s go inside and I’ll introduce you.”
We went inside and were guided to a parlor room by … Well, she isn’t a maid, that much I can say. Service girl? Yeah. Let’s go with that. She was dressed in a fairly provocative leotard-style outfit, with her legs left bare. This, of course, drew your eyes to her long smooth legs. Now let’s just cut off the sleeves and some of the top part, add a bunny tail and ears, and she will be a fine bunny girl.
Oh yeah, before the thoughts of getting a bunny girl outfit for Laura completely derail me, I should mention that a guard had also come with me and Angelina inside the building. He had been sitting with the coachman while we were moving, but now he was following a few steps behind us.
“Please wait just a moment. Corben will join you in just a moment.” The service girl said after she had guided us to a room.
I followed Angelina's lead and sat next to her on a couch in the room. The guard remained standing behind us.
Just a moment later, the door that the girl had entered opened again and a middle aged male entered the room.
“Madam Garner, what do I owe this pleasure to?” He asked as he approached and stood on the other side of the table. I was expecting that I should stand up, but as Angelina didn’t, I didn’t either. Also, Garner is the surname of Angelina’s husband, so she must have taken it as well. “Looking for new servants perhaps? I believe I did send you the news about the new slaves we just got in.”
“Yes, I did come to inspect them as well, but the main point of my visit is an introduction.” Angelina said, getting the slave traders attention on me.
“The young man next to you? I don’t believe I recognize him.”
“You wouldn’t. Brian here is a new noble. He founded a new dungeon near the town of Alewatch. And you wouldn’t know him because he hasn’t made any public appearances as a noble yet. But I think you might have heard some rumors about him. If you have heard about the mechanical carriage going around town, that would be him.”
“Oh? That is his? I really wouldn’t expect something like that from a young man like him. You must have some connections to get something like that. … unless… don’t tell me your dungeon can produce something so valuable.” That last part was said in a quiet voice that I just barely caught. Well, Overdrive doesn’t come from my dungeon, so no worries.
I noticed Angelina give me a look, which was my que to introduce myself, so I got up and said: “It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Brian Wood, and as Lady Garner said, I’m a new founder of a dungeon and will require your services in the coming days.” I, of course, used my full name as I was acting as a “noble” at the moment. I say noble in quotation marks, because I haven’t technically been given my title yet. Well, my terminal does somewhat show my status, but still.
“The pleasure is all mine, Lord Wood. Feel free to call me Corben. Please, do tell me what I can do from one such as yourself.”
We spent a some time as I explained that I was going to take in a dhampir as a slave and everything that would come with it. We also made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, when I would come with Ria here to have her sign a contract and marked as a slave.
After that, we walked around the mansion and Angelina checked up on the new slaves. There were two families and some singular individuals. All of them were slaves due to debt. It is a little sad to see an entire family fall into slavery because they incure a little debt, but Angelina said that it is better to be a slave than being forced to live out in the wilderness. I guess that goes especially for people of low level. But I think higher ranked adventurers could just run off into the wilderness and survive there. Then again, from what I know, they are paid quite well, so I don’t think they would fall into debt that easily. Maybe if something like gambling was a thing. Actually, it probably is. It would be something that exists. I think. I don’t see any reason as to why it wouldn’t.
After checking the new slaves and inspecting the paperwork, (well, Angelina did all of that) we were ready to leave. I was expecting for us to go straight back to the manor, but instead Angelina took us to a high class clothing store.
“May I ask, why would you bring me here?”
“You need a suit.” Angelina said. “Otherwise, other nobles will look down on you when you make your debut.”
“Debut? I’ll have to do something like that?”
“Of course. I know you don’t understand noble etiquette yet, but I’ll have it taught to you in time.”
“In time for what? When will my debut be?”
“27 days from now. It will be my father’s 60th birthday and he decided he would introduce you to all of the local nobles that will attend the party at that point.” Angelina said. “Also, as a new dungeon founder, everyone will accept a high class gift from you, so you’d better not disappoint.”
“... well, thanks for the pressure.” I said before a system screen appeared before me.
| Mission: Gift of Value |
| Goal: Give Earl Sawyer a gift worthy of his position. |
| Reward: Opens new sets depending on the value and rarity of the gift. Giving an overly expensive gift above your position will decrease the reward. |
| If the gift is either too low or high in value, this mission will be treated as a failure and no reward will be given. |
Eh? A mission for something like that? I guess I do appreciate getting one, but now I need to put even more thought into the gift I’ll give him. The pressure is on.
“Brian?” Angelina asked as I had frozen in place after I got the system mission.
“... oh. Sorry. I was just thinking about the gift thing and zoned out a bit.” I admitted, not adding the entire system mission thing. I would tell her about it, but she doesn’t really need to know. It isn’t an emergency mission after all.
“You don’t have to be so pressured. Your dungeon made mithril weapons, right? That will be more than enough. It might even be seen as you trying to suck up to my father, but that is a small price to pay.” Angelina said.
… hmm. So a mithril sword is too much. I really need to analyze some lesser metals and use them instead. Well, let’s stay in the here and now, instead of worrying about a gift that won’t be important until a month later.
“Madam Garner. Thank you for visiting us today. What may I do for you?” The owner of the clothing store greeted us as soon as we got into the store.
“Will you be able to make one more outfit before my father’s party?” Angelina asked.
“Yes. I believe one is doable, depending on what it is.”
“He will need a suit. And it will be his debut, so I want you to make something worthy of that.”
“Oh? A new noble? And making his debut suit. That is indeed something. I shall get my best designer to work on that. Young man, please come here and we will work out the basic details.”
I followed the owner and he introduced me to a few employees. I was then shown a few basic designs and was asked to choose one of them to act as a base. The suits in this world aren’t exactly what you would think of when you hear a suit. These were more like stylized long coats over high quality shirts. The best part about them is no raised up collar. I always hated that part about modern day suits. I just don’t like having it restrict my neck.
The designer quickly drew up a basic design, and after hearing my name, she added some tree aesthetics to it. I don’t know if being named ‘Wood’ is good or bad, but I do like how the design looks, so in this case it is good.
The other thing they made sure is that my founder’s terminal would be visible. Apparently, it is customary for dungeon founders and masters to show their status that way. Well, in a practical sense, all that ment is that I’ll only have half a sleeve on my left arm.
“It will be ready in time.” The owner reassured us as we were leaving.
“Angelina, sorry to ask more from you, but I might need a crash course into etiquette before the party. Could I ask for your help with that as well?” I asked as we were riding back to the manor.
“Of course. I’ll have a few of the maids teach you whenever you have time.” Angelina said.
“... I’m going to be busy, won’t I?” I said as I realized just how much I had to do this month before the party. Etiquette training, taxying Agatha to the dhampir village and back, taking care of Ria and getting her deemed stable, keeping up with my skill level ups, so there won’t be any disconnect and probably doing some adventuring work with Alice. Let’s hope I can manage that all.
Oh and I guess I should also add getting a good gift for the earl into the list. And maybe I should also mention perfecting my collection, even if Laura takes care of most of that.
I also need to have a day for mass fusion summoning. And the rituals as well.
So much to do, so little time. So I’d better start right now.
That meant that for the rest of the day, I had the crash course into etiquette training. And some dance practice, but when I was in high school we had a mandatory dance course, so I actually did decently with the dancing. Thank god the basic steps are similar, instead of being completely different. Also, being LV.46 and having decent stats meant that I could easily last the lessons without getting overly tired. The maids actually had more difficulty and had to swap out as my dance partners, even though they were more skilled than I was. I guess I could use some Level Ups on them as a reward, but I don’t actually have that many Level Ups right now. I only have a total of ten, and two are with Lua and four with Alice, so I only have four left for myself. Perhaps it is time Laura completes Soul of the Duelist for me. I might need more copies if I’ll use some on Ria. And I probably will.
In terms of etiquette, I had the basic table manners down in a matter of moments, as they were basically the same as what I had learned back in … well, back home. They were slightly more advanced, but nothing much.
We also had some memorization training, as I would have to remember the names and faces of other nobles, but as I had my cheat called Laura, that was no problem. Without her though, yeah, let’s just say I would fail. In general, it would take me anywhere from five to ten reminders to learn the names of new people. Maybe even more.
There was a good part to all of this training as well, as I was able to ask about giving gifts. Mainly I found out that any wearable accessory, like a pendant, bracelet or even earrings with a magic stone that you made, given to a member of the opposite sex would be seen as a proposal. So that is how my accidental proposal to Alice happened. But I did check if the pendant would be fine and it is, so I can give it to her.
After I was let go from the training, I spent some time using telekinesis. It is the skill I leveled up yesterday, so I should practice with it. I didn’t feel the same disconnect as I did with Mana Control, so I think daily practice with one skill level up per day will be manageable.
Laura did also tell me that the Upstart Goblin with Goblin of Greed worked, and she had used all 172 copies of it, and all of that money had ended up in my Inventory.
In there, I now had 336 gold coins, 259 large silvers and 270 small silvers. And they all still only took up one slot each. So one Inventory slot could hold at least 336 items.
Too add to the goblin experiments, goblin monsters, like Goblin of Greed, Goblin Calligrapher and Second Goblin could activate any ‘Goblin’ spells or traps, like Good Goblin Housekeeping, Upstart Goblin, Goblin's Secret Remedy and Robbin' Goblin.
That’s nice. Especially them being able to use Housekeeping, as the transfer of tokens from normal to reprint are done with that. And my ‘unlimited’ tokens only count for the normal tokens.
“Brian! We are back.” Alice said as she returned with Paulina.
“Hey, Alice. Welcome back. How did you do today?”
“We completed one quest. Here.” Alice said as she handed me a form like I had seen yesterday. D-rank quest to hunt 3 forest boars that were too close to farm areas.
“Great work. You completed a mission, so I guess I’ll give you a card for it. Do you want it now?”
“Yes, please.” Alice said.
“Do you want to choose yourself or do you trust in my choice?”
“... I … I’ll let you pick this time.” Alice said. “I really liked Getsu Fuhma that you chose for me last time, so I’m sure you have something good this time as well.”
“Let’s hope so.”
“... Brian, perhaps this could wait a moment.” Paulina cut in. “We did just come back and I think both of us could wash ourselves first.”
“... good point.”
A little later, the three of us were in a private room sitting around a tea table. And to be precise, we were in Paulina’s room. It wasn’t any larger than my guest room, but it was better decorated.
“This is for you, your first dragon.” I said as I gave Alice Pitch-Dark Dragon. “He isn’t that strong, so don’t think he is, just because he is a dragon. But he should be easy to ride, so you can practice that. And if you like him, I can give you a stronger dragon next time.”
Spoiler
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The real reason I had picked Pitch-Dark Dragon is it being a Union monster and it isn’t too strong. Being an Union monster makes Pitch-Dark Dragon easier to ride than most dragons, according to Laura. And as dragons are still seen as dangerous by the people living here, so if I gave Alice something like Red-Eyes or even Kiryu as her first dragon, she might get into trouble. But Pitch-Dark Dragon is only about 7 meters from head to the end of the tail, so a small dragon like that should be fine. And as I said, if she likes it, I can give her Kiryu next. And maybe Red-Eyes after that.
Spoiler
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“A dragon? You are giving me a dragon? Thank you.” Alice said as she received the card.
“... Brian? Are you sure about that?” Paulina asked.
“It's just a small dragon so it should be fine.” I said. “And if it causes problems, Alice just has to give it back to.”
“I won’t cause problems with it.” Alice intercepted.
“Hopefully you won’t. Not that I have any right to say anything. I always cause trouble with my dragons. Well, not always, but sometimes.” I admitted thinking back to the Blue-Eyes accident and more recently the Horus incident. “I also have something else for you. Remember when I promised you something if you learn a new spell?”
“... yes. I remember. We had a fight after that, didn’t we?”
“Well, more like an argument, but anyway. I’m giving it to you now.” I said as I got the pendant out of my fanny pack. I still only used my Inventory for the coins, so everything that had been in my fanny pack, still is there.
“A pendant?”
“Yes, I thought you would like it. It also has a special effect, so it will help you.” I said as I got up, walked behind Alice and placed the necklace around her neck.
“Th-thank you. It is beautiful.” Alice said as she looked at the pendant.
“I’m happy that you like it. It also boosts your strength and magic a little, so it will help in that way as well.” I said, telling Alice about the effect of the pendant.
“Does it..? Status.” Alice said. After taking a look at something in front of her that I couldn’t see, aka. her status, she took the pendant off and took another look. Then she placed the pendant back around her neck and looked again. “It really does. Thank you so much. This is amazing.”
“Of course. Sorry it took so long for me to hand it over.”
“No. I’m glad I got it. I’d wait even longer if I knew I would get something like this.” Alice said, looking at the black gem hanging around her neck.
“I’m glad you like it.”
The rest of the day was … uneventful. And as I had already taken a bath earlier after my etiquette and dance practice, I went straight to bed after dinner. Tomorrow, I’ll go and get Ria. Then… well, I guess we will find out. Living without a plan is the best way to live. Not really, but I still like it. It leaves you with options to do as you want.
“Just one more thing for the day…” I said as I got out two copies of Level Up! “... I should probably level up inventory, right? Even if it can hold over 300 of the same item in one slot, having more slots will be nice. I want to level up Inventory, Level Up.”
I felt the card activate and then held the second copy. “I’ll increase my overall level, Level Up.”
Again, the card activated. I put the two Level Ups back into my collection. As I checked my status, I realized I’m almost LV.50. Tomorrow, I shall be. Well, nothing left to do but to go to sleep.
Good night.
Spoiler
| Name: Brian Wood |
| Race: Human ! |
| Level: 48 |
| HP: 1220 |
| Mana: 1760 |
| Strength: 345 |
| Defense: 545 |
| Magic: 465 |
| Skills: |
| Pack Opener LV.4 (unique) |
| Different Dimension Factory LV.1 (unique) |
| Telekinesis LV.2 (extra) |
| Summoner’s Unity LV.2 (extra) |
| Inventory LV.2 (extra) |
| Dungeon Founder (extra) |
| Summon Water Spirit (extra) |
| Health Conscious (extra) |
| Mana Control LV.5 |
| Water Spirit’s Blessing (Greater) |
| Language Comprehension (humanoid) |
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nro_8 Well. I feel like I should comment something at the end, but I have no idea what to say. Technically, this isn't the longest chapter of the series, but I feel like it still is. Because no pack openings to artificially extend the word count. And a ton happened, even if they were just little things for the future.
Well, hopefully you enjoyed, and feel free to guess what Brian will give as a gift. There is a correct answer, but I'm almost certain no one will actually be able to guess what it is. Yes it is something you can guess if you understand how I write stuff. No, I don't think it is an easy guess at this moment. And no, it is not a card installed into him or a mithril weapon. It is something else.
“Take care, you two.” I said as we separated from Alice and Paulina.
The two of them were heading to the adventurer’s guild again today, while I was going to visit a slave trader with Angelina. I asked if Angelina could really just take a day off for something like that, but she said she had some other business to take care of around town anyway, so she didn’t have any paperwork or meetings today in the first place.
Oh, I guess I should mention that we weren’t on foot or in Overdrive, but in a carriage that Angelina had prepared for us.
Another thing I feel like I should mention is the card I set on Alice to take the place of Sakuretsu Armor. It ended up being Spellbinding Circle as it was the best trap I had to combo with the others she has set on her. I would have loved to set Waboku on her, but I don’t actually have one.
Spoiler
nro_8 Waboku is in multiple starter/structure decks, but not in any of the sets. Also, it would be super OP if Brian had some and would set them, but he has to get access to structure decks first. But really, just make yourself damage immune for a short period and the card can activate itself.
[collapse]
I did also consider setting a flip monster on her, but I need to test them out first at least. And most of the flip monsters with a good effect are no better than Sakuretsu Armor in scariness.
Like Man-Eater Bug or Rafflesia Seduction. At least Old Vindictive Magician shouldn’t be too scary, but he is a creepy old man, so I don’t want to give him to Alice.
Spoiler
[collapse]
“We are here.” Angelina said as the carriage pulled up to a medium sized mansion. I really didn’t expect a slave trader to live in a mansion, but I guess slave trade pays well. And this might be a front for the more … noble clientele. “Don’t look so suspicious. I know slave trade sounds bad, but it is a controlled and closely monitored business. The number of illegal slaves in this country is very low and there is almost no kidnapping people to make them into slaves, like you might hear in some stories.”
“I don’t like the word almost.”
“Well, there is no way to eliminate all crime. We can just try to catch the ones that are illegally forced into slavery.”
“Well, at least that is good to hear. But what about the more … underground slavetrade?”
“As I said, we can’t eliminate all crime. And the problem with that side is that it is not on the level where just an Earl could do anything about it. The entire kingdom needs to take action to take down the large scale criminal organizations. And sometimes the criminal underground extends beyond the country's borders as well. I’m sure you can understand that. At least based on what I know, you seem to have a good education.”
“I do, in some areas, but not when it comes to politics.”
“Come. Let’s go inside and I’ll introduce you.”
We went inside and were guided to a parlor room by … Well, she isn’t a maid, that much I can say. Service girl? Yeah. Let’s go with that. She was dressed in a fairly provocative leotard-style outfit, with her legs left bare. This, of course, drew your eyes to her long smooth legs. Now let’s just cut off the sleeves and some of the top part, add a bunny tail and ears, and she will be a fine bunny girl.
Oh yeah, before the thoughts of getting a bunny girl outfit for Laura completely derail me, I should mention that a guard had also come with me and Angelina inside the building. He had been sitting with the coachman while we were moving, but now he was following a few steps behind us.
“Please wait just a moment. Corben will join you in just a moment.” The service girl said after she had guided us to a room.
I followed Angelina's lead and sat next to her on a couch in the room. The guard remained standing behind us.
Just a moment later, the door that the girl had entered opened again and a middle aged male entered the room.
“Madam Garner, what do I owe this pleasure to?” He asked as he approached and stood on the other side of the table. I was expecting that I should stand up, but as Angelina didn’t, I didn’t either. Also, Garner is the surname of Angelina’s husband, so she must have taken it as well. “Looking for new servants perhaps? I believe I did send you the news about the new slaves we just got in.”
“Yes, I did come to inspect them as well, but the main point of my visit is an introduction.” Angelina said, getting the slave traders attention on me.
“The young man next to you? I don’t believe I recognize him.”
“You wouldn’t. Brian here is a new noble. He founded a new dungeon near the town of Alewatch. And you wouldn’t know him because he hasn’t made any public appearances as a noble yet. But I think you might have heard some rumors about him. If you have heard about the mechanical carriage going around town, that would be him.”
“Oh? That is his? I really wouldn’t expect something like that from a young man like him. You must have some connections to get something like that. … unless… don’t tell me your dungeon can produce something so valuable.” That last part was said in a quiet voice that I just barely caught. Well, Overdrive doesn’t come from my dungeon, so no worries.
I noticed Angelina give me a look, which was my que to introduce myself, so I got up and said: “It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Brian Wood, and as Lady Garner said, I’m a new founder of a dungeon and will require your services in the coming days.” I, of course, used my full name as I was acting as a “noble” at the moment. I say noble in quotation marks, because I haven’t technically been given my title yet. Well, my terminal does somewhat show my status, but still.
“The pleasure is all mine, Lord Wood. Feel free to call me Corben. Please, do tell me what I can do from one such as yourself.”
We spent a some time as I explained that I was going to take in a dhampir as a slave and everything that would come with it. We also made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, when I would come with Ria here to have her sign a contract and marked as a slave.
After that, we walked around the mansion and Angelina checked up on the new slaves. There were two families and some singular individuals. All of them were slaves due to debt. It is a little sad to see an entire family fall into slavery because they incure a little debt, but Angelina said that it is better to be a slave than being forced to live out in the wilderness. I guess that goes especially for people of low level. But I think higher ranked adventurers could just run off into the wilderness and survive there. Then again, from what I know, they are paid quite well, so I don’t think they would fall into debt that easily. Maybe if something like gambling was a thing. Actually, it probably is. It would be something that exists. I think. I don’t see any reason as to why it wouldn’t.
After checking the new slaves and inspecting the paperwork, (well, Angelina did all of that) we were ready to leave. I was expecting for us to go straight back to the manor, but instead Angelina took us to a high class clothing store.
“May I ask, why would you bring me here?”
“You need a suit.” Angelina said. “Otherwise, other nobles will look down on you when you make your debut.”
“Debut? I’ll have to do something like that?”
“Of course. I know you don’t understand noble etiquette yet, but I’ll have it taught to you in time.”
“In time for what? When will my debut be?”
“27 days from now. It will be my father’s 60th birthday and he decided he would introduce you to all of the local nobles that will attend the party at that point.” Angelina said. “Also, as a new dungeon founder, everyone will accept a high class gift from you, so you’d better not disappoint.”
“... well, thanks for the pressure.” I said before a system screen appeared before me.
| Mission: Gift of Value |
| Goal: Give Earl Sawyer a gift worthy of his position. |
| Reward: Opens new sets depending on the value and rarity of the gift. Giving an overly expensive gift above your position will decrease the reward. |
| If the gift is either too low or high in value, this mission will be treated as a failure and no reward will be given. |
Eh? A mission for something like that? I guess I do appreciate getting one, but now I need to put even more thought into the gift I’ll give him. The pressure is on.
“Brian?” Angelina asked as I had frozen in place after I got the system mission.
“... oh. Sorry. I was just thinking about the gift thing and zoned out a bit.” I admitted, not adding the entire system mission thing. I would tell her about it, but she doesn’t really need to know. It isn’t an emergency mission after all.
“You don’t have to be so pressured. Your dungeon made mithril weapons, right? That will be more than enough. It might even be seen as you trying to suck up to my father, but that is a small price to pay.” Angelina said.
… hmm. So a mithril sword is too much. I really need to analyze some lesser metals and use them instead. Well, let’s stay in the here and now, instead of worrying about a gift that won’t be important until a month later.
“Madam Garner. Thank you for visiting us today. What may I do for you?” The owner of the clothing store greeted us as soon as we got into the store.
“Will you be able to make one more outfit before my father’s party?” Angelina asked.
“Yes. I believe one is doable, depending on what it is.”
“He will need a suit. And it will be his debut, so I want you to make something worthy of that.”
“Oh? A new noble? And making his debut suit. That is indeed something. I shall get my best designer to work on that. Young man, please come here and we will work out the basic details.”
I followed the owner and he introduced me to a few employees. I was then shown a few basic designs and was asked to choose one of them to act as a base. The suits in this world aren’t exactly what you would think of when you hear a suit. These were more like stylized long coats over high quality shirts. The best part about them is no raised up collar. I always hated that part about modern day suits. I just don’t like having it restrict my neck.
The designer quickly drew up a basic design, and after hearing my name, she added some tree aesthetics to it. I don’t know if being named ‘Wood’ is good or bad, but I do like how the design looks, so in this case it is good.
The other thing they made sure is that my founder’s terminal would be visible. Apparently, it is customary for dungeon founders and masters to show their status that way. Well, in a practical sense, all that ment is that I’ll only have half a sleeve on my left arm.
“It will be ready in time.” The owner reassured us as we were leaving.
“Angelina, sorry to ask more from you, but I might need a crash course into etiquette before the party. Could I ask for your help with that as well?” I asked as we were riding back to the manor.
“Of course. I’ll have a few of the maids teach you whenever you have time.” Angelina said.
“... I’m going to be busy, won’t I?” I said as I realized just how much I had to do this month before the party. Etiquette training, taxying Agatha to the dhampir village and back, taking care of Ria and getting her deemed stable, keeping up with my skill level ups, so there won’t be any disconnect and probably doing some adventuring work with Alice. Let’s hope I can manage that all.
Oh and I guess I should also add getting a good gift for the earl into the list. And maybe I should also mention perfecting my collection, even if Laura takes care of most of that.
I also need to have a day for mass fusion summoning. And the rituals as well.
So much to do, so little time. So I’d better start right now.
That meant that for the rest of the day, I had the crash course into etiquette training. And some dance practice, but when I was in high school we had a mandatory dance course, so I actually did decently with the dancing. Thank god the basic steps are similar, instead of being completely different. Also, being LV.46 and having decent stats meant that I could easily last the lessons without getting overly tired. The maids actually had more difficulty and had to swap out as my dance partners, even though they were more skilled than I was. I guess I could use some Level Ups on them as a reward, but I don’t actually have that many Level Ups right now. I only have a total of ten, and two are with Lua and four with Alice, so I only have four left for myself. Perhaps it is time Laura completes Soul of the Duelist for me. I might need more copies if I’ll use some on Ria. And I probably will.
In terms of etiquette, I had the basic table manners down in a matter of moments, as they were basically the same as what I had learned back in … well, back home. They were slightly more advanced, but nothing much.
We also had some memorization training, as I would have to remember the names and faces of other nobles, but as I had my cheat called Laura, that was no problem. Without her though, yeah, let’s just say I would fail. In general, it would take me anywhere from five to ten reminders to learn the names of new people. Maybe even more.
There was a good part to all of this training as well, as I was able to ask about giving gifts. Mainly I found out that any wearable accessory, like a pendant, bracelet or even earrings with a magic stone that you made, given to a member of the opposite sex would be seen as a proposal. So that is how my accidental proposal to Alice happened. But I did check if the pendant would be fine and it is, so I can give it to her.
After I was let go from the training, I spent some time using telekinesis. It is the skill I leveled up yesterday, so I should practice with it. I didn’t feel the same disconnect as I did with Mana Control, so I think daily practice with one skill level up per day will be manageable.
Laura did also tell me that the Upstart Goblin with Goblin of Greed worked, and she had used all 172 copies of it, and all of that money had ended up in my Inventory.
In there, I now had 336 gold coins, 259 large silvers and 270 small silvers. And they all still only took up one slot each. So one Inventory slot could hold at least 336 items.
Too add to the goblin experiments, goblin monsters, like Goblin of Greed, Goblin Calligrapher and Second Goblin could activate any ‘Goblin’ spells or traps, like Good Goblin Housekeeping, Upstart Goblin, Goblin's Secret Remedy and Robbin' Goblin.
That’s nice. Especially them being able to use Housekeeping, as the transfer of tokens from normal to reprint are done with that. And my ‘unlimited’ tokens only count for the normal tokens.
“Brian! We are back.” Alice said as she returned with Paulina.
“Hey, Alice. Welcome back. How did you do today?”
“We completed one quest. Here.” Alice said as she handed me a form like I had seen yesterday. D-rank quest to hunt 3 forest boars that were too close to farm areas.
“Great work. You completed a mission, so I guess I’ll give you a card for it. Do you want it now?”
“Yes, please.” Alice said.
“Do you want to choose yourself or do you trust in my choice?”
“... I … I’ll let you pick this time.” Alice said. “I really liked Getsu Fuhma that you chose for me last time, so I’m sure you have something good this time as well.”
“Let’s hope so.”
“... Brian, perhaps this could wait a moment.” Paulina cut in. “We did just come back and I think both of us could wash ourselves first.”
“... good point.”
A little later, the three of us were in a private room sitting around a tea table. And to be precise, we were in Paulina’s room. It wasn’t any larger than my guest room, but it was better decorated.
“This is for you, your first dragon.” I said as I gave Alice Pitch-Dark Dragon. “He isn’t that strong, so don’t think he is, just because he is a dragon. But he should be easy to ride, so you can practice that. And if you like him, I can give you a stronger dragon next time.”
Spoiler
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The real reason I had picked Pitch-Dark Dragon is it being a Union monster and it isn’t too strong. Being an Union monster makes Pitch-Dark Dragon easier to ride than most dragons, according to Laura. And as dragons are still seen as dangerous by the people living here, so if I gave Alice something like Red-Eyes or even Kiryu as her first dragon, she might get into trouble. But Pitch-Dark Dragon is only about 7 meters from head to the end of the tail, so a small dragon like that should be fine. And as I said, if she likes it, I can give her Kiryu next. And maybe Red-Eyes after that.
Spoiler
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“A dragon? You are giving me a dragon? Thank you.” Alice said as she received the card.
“... Brian? Are you sure about that?” Paulina asked.
“It's just a small dragon so it should be fine.” I said. “And if it causes problems, Alice just has to give it back to.”
“I won’t cause problems with it.” Alice intercepted.
“Hopefully you won’t. Not that I have any right to say anything. I always cause trouble with my dragons. Well, not always, but sometimes.” I admitted thinking back to the Blue-Eyes accident and more recently the Horus incident. “I also have something else for you. Remember when I promised you something if you learn a new spell?”
“... yes. I remember. We had a fight after that, didn’t we?”
“Well, more like an argument, but anyway. I’m giving it to you now.” I said as I got the pendant out of my fanny pack. I still only used my Inventory for the coins, so everything that had been in my fanny pack, still is there.
“A pendant?”
“Yes, I thought you would like it. It also has a special effect, so it will help you.” I said as I got up, walked behind Alice and placed the necklace around her neck.
“Th-thank you. It is beautiful.” Alice said as she looked at the pendant.
“I’m happy that you like it. It also boosts your strength and magic a little, so it will help in that way as well.” I said, telling Alice about the effect of the pendant.
“Does it..? Status.” Alice said. After taking a look at something in front of her that I couldn’t see, aka. her status, she took the pendant off and took another look. Then she placed the pendant back around her neck and looked again. “It really does. Thank you so much. This is amazing.”
“Of course. Sorry it took so long for me to hand it over.”
“No. I’m glad I got it. I’d wait even longer if I knew I would get something like this.” Alice said, looking at the black gem hanging around her neck.
“I’m glad you like it.”
The rest of the day was … uneventful. And as I had already taken a bath earlier after my etiquette and dance practice, I went straight to bed after dinner. Tomorrow, I’ll go and get Ria. Then… well, I guess we will find out. Living without a plan is the best way to live. Not really, but I still like it. It leaves you with options to do as you want.
“Just one more thing for the day…” I said as I got out two copies of Level Up! “... I should probably level up inventory, right? Even if it can hold over 300 of the same item in one slot, having more slots will be nice. I want to level up Inventory, Level Up.”
I felt the card activate and then held the second copy. “I’ll increase my overall level, Level Up.”
Again, the card activated. I put the two Level Ups back into my collection. As I checked my status, I realized I’m almost LV.50. Tomorrow, I shall be. Well, nothing left to do but to go to sleep.
Good night.
Spoiler
| Name: Brian Wood |
| Race: Human ! |
| Level: 48 |
| HP: 1220 |
| Mana: 1760 |
| Strength: 345 |
| Defense: 545 |
| Magic: 465 |
| Skills: |
| Pack Opener LV.4 (unique) |
| Different Dimension Factory LV.1 (unique) |
| Telekinesis LV.2 (extra) |
| Summoner’s Unity LV.2 (extra) |
| Inventory LV.2 (extra) |
| Dungeon Founder (extra) |
| Summon Water Spirit (extra) |
| Health Conscious (extra) |
| Mana Control LV.5 |
| Water Spirit’s Blessing (Greater) |
| Language Comprehension (humanoid) |
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nro_8 Well. I feel like I should comment something at the end, but I have no idea what to say. Technically, this isn't the longest chapter of the series, but I feel like it still is. Because no pack openings to artificially extend the word count. And a ton happened, even if they were just little things for the future.
Well, hopefully you enjoyed, and feel free to guess what Brian will give as a gift. There is a correct answer, but I'm almost certain no one will actually be able to guess what it is. Yes it is something you can guess if you understand how I write stuff. No, I don't think it is an easy guess at this moment. And no, it is not a card installed into him or a mithril weapon. It is something else.
