We ended up robbing the king of just about everything, including some samples of his bone dust stuffed into bottles. The dust pulsed with ancient mana, and I couldn’t wait to experiment with it. His crown was made of gold and jewels. His cape, capable of being made into other things, carried formidable defensive properties. We even took a few of the giant raisin-like fruit, after Milia verified that they were safe. And safe they were, beyond it, as they contained earth and air mana. The rusty broadsword was practically garbage, containing no magical properties. No one wanted to carry it.
“Now all that’s left is the chest,” I said.
“An S-ranked chest may contain the very thing you seek or a bunch of valuable goods, though potentially less exciting,” Milia explained.
I slowly pulled the lid up. In it was a golden book shining with aura, a dagger with a bone hilt, an impressive dark blue mana blade, a sealed scroll, some kind of silver pocket watch, a pale gray baton thing, and a rose gold leaf-shaped locket attached to a golden necklace.
“May I fasten the necklace on you, Milia?” I asked.
Blushing, she nodded, and I did, though I will admit it was a little stimulating even for a grown man. Come on, don’t pretend like you’re unfamiliar with the feeling of being in a brand-new serious relationship. The irritated look Harmony tried to cover up didn’t make things better, though I couldn’t be angry with the teenager. I’d be pissed too if my teammates made me feel like the third wheel on a date.
The locket itself contained nothing inside, but the mana it exerted complemented the dryad quite well. The chest clearly spawned it for her. By the feeling of Milia’s presence, she advanced in power, though it still felt rude to analyze my fiancée at this point.
“So this dagger—”
Wolverine barked three times. Surprised at his reaction, I passed the wolf the dagger. He actually did a few test swings, then zipped around the place, excited. I watched him for a bit before turning back to the chest.
“So, what exactly is this?” I asked as I picked up the baton.
“It’s a wand,” Milia answered.
“Oh, that’s right, I forgot wands, staves, sticks, and all are tools to help channel mana,” I said.
“And strengthen cast spells,” Milia said.
“In that case, Harmony, here you go,” I said cheerfully.
The blue-haired girl flinched, blushing. “Are… Are you sure? This is an ancient wand from the Skeleton King’s era. I didn’t participate in the fight. I couldn’t possibly—”
I wagged my finger. “You’re my disciple, student, employee, right? You’ve done a good job at the shop so far, so I’m giving you an early bonus. Just practice safely, alright?”
Tears suddenly streamed from the girl’s eyes.
I sighed.
She quickly wiped them. “Sorry. Just knowing that one day I’d be able to protect our town or even myself without the fear of a magician taking away everything I knew and loved…” Her voice trailed off.
“This is only the beginning,” I told her. “The wand’s a tool, but remember to advance in realms, practice and, if possible, pick up some new techniques.”
I had to sound as if I knew what the hell I was talking about for her sake. No, I wasn’t totally the worst at communicating with emotional individuals. However, I couldn’t even begin to comprehend what it was like to deal with tormentors on a yearly basis and be powerless to stop them.
I turned back to the chest, pulling out the remaining three items. The golden book, a scroll, and the silver pocket watch.
[The Book of Legendary Spell Upgrade. Item rank: S. A special one-use book capable of upgrading a spell. If you have the required mana, it will activate upon touching.]
“No, wait,” I said, but it was too late. Annoyed, I watched the book burst into golden sparkles, which absorbed into my skin. My muscles tensed just a bit as the foreign mana danced through my body. In fact, I could see my veins glowing.
[The mana has entered your meridians. You are becoming even more powerful! Congratulations on your new spell.]
[Your Supreme Magic Bolt has upgraded to Dragon Magic Burst.]
I unwrapped the scroll, although feeling a little wary that this one would burst into sparkles too, granting me more unwanted hero powers. To my surprise, it contained a recipe for a potion. Like the damn RNG actually treated me like a potion maker for once. Maybe I should’ve given Harmony the book, but I didn’t know it’d jizz into sparkles in my hand. I was hoping for maybe a diary of the Skeleton King’s former life. So I could sell it for thousands of gold. What? You thought I’d read it? Perhaps I’d take a peek to make sure it wasn’t a fake, but nothing more than that.
“Wait, there are two recipes here. Potion of masking and potion of eagle sight. Masking hides your presence. Eagle sight enables you to see very far. I can add these to my arsenal, perhap—”
“Sneak a peak of Milia while she’s in the bath,” Harmony said, pointing at me accusatorily, blush deep red. The dryad burst into laughter, her amusement that of a woman making fun of her daughter, or big sister over her little sister, despite having no experience herself.
“I was thinking of using it during a visit to the city,” I said. “To hide myself from any magicians, but your idea’s way better.”
While Milia knew I was obviously joking, her laughter brightening the room, Harmony only grew redder.
“Men really are the biggest perverts in the land,” Harmony said.
“Says the girl who’s thinking it,” I quipped, though she probably wasn’t wrong. “Let’s get moving. I don’t want to be in here through the night.”
Wolverine barked in agreement. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just felt it. The baby spirit beast held a level of intelligence that outpaced any animal from the old world.
“Should we finish the dungeon?” Harmony asked.
I turned around and gave her an exasperated look. “We just beat the Skeleton King. I’m tired and earned myself a bacon sandwich.”
“Bacon? Also, magicians tire?” Harmony asked.
“What’s bacon?” Milia asked, curious.
I couldn’t be more glad that I watched a ton of YouTube videos on making bacon, did it plenty of times, and was more than confident on reproducing the same thing in this world.
“Bacon is what we call cured pork in my homeland,” I explained, which gained a flat stare from my vegetarian fiancée.
“Oh,” Harmony said. “You probably won’t be surprised by my next words.”
“I know, it’s expensive,” I said. “Maybe I should consider raising some cattle and pigs.” I shook my head. “Let’s get going. The ingredients of the potions on this scroll will take a bit time to locate. Well, I have a few of them, actually.”
In truth, I wasn’t sure if monsters respawned in real life and didn’t want to stick around to find out. When we climbed up the stairs, there wasn’t a single wolf skeleton to be in sight. Also, I didn’t feel any of their presences, or had any sense of unease. Not that that was saying much for an E-rank baby, but this same noob dungeon had a secret boss that would’ve killed anyone else. Assuming they were worthy enough to be allowed inside the steel doors.
“Are you sure you don’t want to finish up here?” Milia asked.
“Nah, leave the action-adventure shit to—”
“Adventurers,” Harmony interjected.
Of course they’d have adventurers. It couldn’t just be the hero and his party. No, that would be asking for too much.
“Are they magicians too?” I asked, though mostly sarcastic.
“Not all of them,” Harmony answered without missing a beat. “I should lend you my book of the greatest adventurer around. She who got into the royal guard by pretending to be a man. With a few magical tools to keep her identity safe, she served her entire term unnoticed and no one have learned it until a decade after she retired from adventuring. When she revealed the truth to old friends.”
I nodded, impressed, and continued walking, leading the others to the exit. “She sounds like a real badass.”
Wolverine still carried the dagger in his mouth, and I was about to say something when Milia made an interesting proposition.
“I wonder if he’ll learn the spirit storage spell,” she said. “Carrying that dagger is going to be annoying when something else catches his attention.”
First, let me take the time to remind you, well, mostly myself, that a dagger-wielding wolf is so goddamn badass. If I could teach him how to do the same for a sword when he got bigger, my life would be complete. I’d be able to die a happy man knowing I witnessed such a thing up close.
“I didn’t know such an ability existed,” I told Milia. “How exactly does it work?”
“Exactly as its name,” Milia replied. “You absorb any item into your spirit and will it out whenever you need it. At least, that’s the gist. I’ve only ever heard of the skill. Rumors of it actually came from powerful spirit beasts.”
I nodded. Maybe if I decided to tackle the S-ranked death dungeon, the book for the ability would spawn in a treasure chest. Decisions for later.
When we stepped out of the dungeon, Beakwing let out a purr in excitement.
“Hi Wingy,” Milia said as she caressed the griffin’s head. I quickly undid his reins from the tree, gave him some scratches beneath his chin and moments later, we were boarded and flying. The sun was beginning to set. First, we dropped Harmony off, though not before inviting the cheeky teenager to dinner.
She declined. “My maid is probably worried sick about me,” she said. “I’m sure she stopped by the shop at some point to see if I was around.”
We launched back into the air, flying to our house roughly ten minutes from town by foot.
I set my things in a room I’d now call the lab. There was a lot of work to be done, and hopefully I’d have new products very soon. Maybe I’d start with something simple, like the lightning.
Milia took a bath first, then after refilling the tub with fresh water and heating it with mana, I bathed and relaxed. After drying off and changing into night clothes, shorts and shirt, I cooked dinner. As always, I made two versions of every dish. Not just because I was trying to impress Milia, but I genuinely enjoyed doing so. Something about cooking the exact same thing alternatively presented an incredibly fun challenge. I ate both versions too. Yes, they were that delicious, not to toot my own horn.
It didn’t take long for Milia and me to end up making out a bit after the dishes were clean. We sat and chatted and as adults came very close to tossing away tradition. Eventually we ended up on the topic of my next set of plans. This subject change was needed for obvious reasons. I personally didn’t care for the tradition, but Milia did, somewhat, so I respected that. Also, I shouldn’t be in such a rush to have a kid, anyway. Oh, did I mention this world hadn’t invented protection yet, if you know what I mean. I wasn’t confident at the timed game of yoink, turn, and aim elsewhere.
“The plan’s still the same,” I told Milia. “Get this town out of crippling inflation, earn plenty of coin, and well, help as many of the townspeople as we can. Perhaps when we’re traveling, you could show me the world.”
Milia smiled. “There is so much to show, including my favorite, the Plain of Infinite Roses.”
“Plain of Infinite Roses?” I asked. “What’s that like?”
“It’s very far from here, closer to my birth home,” she said. “It’s a beautiful place of roses of all colors, including gold and silver, and with an amazing waterfall that pours into a lake so pure, you’d wonder if it’s part of the sky as you gaze at your reflection.”
Seeing the dryad so excited made me vow to see this place for myself with her at my side.
Less than a day’s travel from the grassland and the town of Kyushu, horses pulled a wagon. In it was a pouting redheaded girl of eighteen. Sitting with her were two paid magicians. Two. Mistress Mandi Karen Wingston snuck out of the manor, the fires of vengeances gleaming in her eyes. Her supercool brother gave her permission, promising to cover for the young woman while she was away.
Her hired help were actually talented cousins, Winn and Lou. She was sure their wives didn’t mind them earning a ton of extra gold just to beat up a few peasants who failed to recognize their pathetic places in the world.
