Maximus Truestorm, the Lord Ruler, found himself sitting in an elite-only room, pondering at his graze with death. How could a saint be so powerful? There were reasons, he knew. The first was that the Raider had the aura of a real saint, not just the realm. Following that would be his mana makeup. Master magicians held intense, unique structures of mana within themselves, normally formed by years, perhaps centuries of design and practice. How could one be both a saint and a master magician? Lastly, Raider was completely unaffected by the Lord Ruler’s King aura. Maximus didn’t break his bones with his strikes. Hell, he didn’t collapse after looking the Lord Ruler in his eyes.
A bottle containing Grand-tier magic capable of harming even him scared Maximus. But the words he said were clear.
He did not want to fight. It was Maximus who provoked him, poked the hornet’s nest until it rightfully stung. Master magicians normally didn’t fight, considering lesser realms unworthy of their time, and they weren’t exactly wrong.
Master magicians were frontrunners on the tiring quest for immortality. They were living art pieces of what every magician aspired to be, including special magicians such as witches, or shamans, among other oddities.
Maximus wondered if Raider was one of them. Well, at least he wasn’t one of the lost overlord magicians. Wizard, sorcerer, or warlocks. Old legends revealed sorcerers as the most successful when it came to world domination or Peace Spawner-like genocides.
Raider showed none of those special characteristics, thankfully, nor the lost overlords. The Inquisition had no reason to kill him.
“Your excellency,” someone said as they knocked on the door.
Maximus opened it with a wave of his hand. “What is it?”
“A message from Headmaster of the Ascension Academy, Titus,” the guard said, passing Maximus the folded letter.
The Lord Ruler read it, then let out a longsuffering sigh. “You know what? Let them be. They’ll return to the capital eventually. Tell one of the executioners to report Ling’s mission to the Inquisition.”
The guard bowed. “Yes, Lord Ruler.”
He performed an about-face and set off to follow his new orders.
“What a pain,” Maximus said as he leaned back on his bed. “Where did I go wrong with raising them? Oh, that’s right. It began with agreeing to have kids. Well, she’s nineteen. Maybe she won’t get herself into too much trouble.”
The Church and the Inquisition were taking drastic risks, and it worried Maximus. Did they not still serve Wanda? Why did they send Maximus’s favorite daughter as an assassin? Was it a message to him? They were usually more direct than this. He argued with them plenty of times.
The most chilling thing perhaps was Ling accepting the job in the first place. He still hadn’t a clue how they talked her into such a thing.
It almost made Maximus consider the rumors of her being… mentally unruly, but he knew his daughter. She could put on a new persona in an instant to get people to let down their guard and a second later, be crying into Maximus’s arms about her terrible luck with men.
It wasn’t luck, of course. She possessed a terribly powerful Dao tattoo which naturally generated a fear-like aura. Dao tattoos were quite rare and not even the Lord Ruler possessed one. How could he not be protective of his talented daughter? She didn’t run off with an elf to get married, abandoning the family and a chance at the throne. The eldest daughter possessed the power to win, but she was a bigger pacifist than the Love Saintess.
Her little sister ended up being the opposite.
The freakout received from reading the alchemist wand description was warranted. An indestructible tool that punished anyone that attempted to destroy it. That hinted at certain magicians targeting wands or staves to disarm their opponents. On top of that, the heavens couldn’t punish me for creating something that scared them or tossing the Philosopher’s Stone in a spelled cabinet to be unused forever.
“You have to explain to me again why chests are appearing around you?” Ronica said.
“I told you, I don’t know, twerp,” I said. “Honestly, that may be the point. Else, I’d just exploit the phenomena. This is no weirder than the gifts of Wanda out there.”
“I don’t think this compares to objects one can find in the dungeons,” Maxus said. “They’re very rare and can only be found in the most challenging dungeons, but they can be found. On the other hand, I’ve never heard of anyone receiving chests out of thin air.”
“Well, get used to it,” I said. “If by some miracle the world rewards me with more, I’m opening them.”
“Well, of course,” Milia said, eyes starry. “Wanda, if you’re listening, grant him ways to make more pie.”
Everyone turned to stare at the dryad, even Ronica.
“What? Have you tried his pies?”
Harmony chuckled. “Milia has a point. We’re not an adventurer team. Practical items over tools of war.”
Later, we finally decided to call it a day, the exhaustion setting in.
“Chenzu,” I said, before he hopped onto Beakwing’s back. “Do you think it’s possible for me to pull back my aura from the forest?”
Milia gave me a concerned look. She had just finished putting away the last of the tables and chairs with Maxus and Ronica. Kelvin already cleaned them off. He also collected everyone’s trash in a sack for disposal. The city collected the trash, piled it on a trash wagon to ship to a mega furnace run by either an alchemist or magician. They dealt with trash magically, burned it, or sent it to their version of a recycling system, men or women called junk collectors. There was one such person in this town somewhere, though I doubted I’d have any reason to meet them.
“Easily, but why?” he asked.
“Seriously,” Milia added. “Your aura has turned the forest into a zone of peace and tranquility.”
“Believe me, I don’t want to remove it,” I told them, “But I can’t stop thinking about our mistakes today. We advertised saint aura to the Lord Ruler, his stupid brat, and the headmaster. I want to remove it for a few days until we’re certain they left the area.”
“Let’s just check on the lookout tower,” Milia said.
“Oh, that’s right,” I said. “First, I’ll need to upgrade it.”
Cheetara and Wolverine quickly abandoned the guard tower, eager to witness the upgrade. The kitten took her place on the top of my shoulder. Wolverine sat next to my leg.
[F-ranked Special Lookout Tower. A simple watch tower at first glance; however, it unlocks additional features throughout a series of upgrades.]
[Communication to tower owner established. Tower owner will now receive notifications from the tower when events occur, or events you manually transmit to him. Upgrade for further long-range abilities, such as transferring items from the shed to the owner.]
[You may upgrade to rank E for 10,000 spirit coins. Upgrade? Yes or No.]
I selected yes.
“I have a feeling this will be the cheapest upgrade we’ll get out of this thing,” I told Milia. “Oh, let’s upgrade the mana gathering device too.”
“Thank Wanda, I was just about to ask about that,” Opal said. She and Mandi had returned from another test flight. The redhead still had a way to go.
I glanced at Lucas, who was currently practicing with my combat staff. Yes, my combat staff. Sharing is caring, but that didn’t mean I’d give too much out easily.
[Your tower is upgrading…]
[Congratulations, your special lookout tower is now E-ranked. Features unlocked. You may now observe as far as Wingston. You can now transfer objects from your shed to the tower and then to your inventory/soul space, but the range is no further than Wingston. You must accept transfer requests to receive items.]
[You gave your pets, Milia, your apprentices, Chenzu, and the hero’s party access to the tower.]
[Are you sure you want to revoke Ramon’s access?]
I chuckled at the idea but decided not to. He was a brat, but I think he’d be a useful one someday. A little guidance, and it’d be up to him to push forward with a life beyond just being a part of the hero’s party. Hopefully this world offered decent career paths. Hopefully.
Maybe the calling of the party would come eventually. Maybe not.
[Upgrade mana gathering device for 10,000 spirit coins and one rare potion?]
All of my potions were far beyond rare, allowing for this upgrade to be painless. An energy potion vanished from my hand, merging with the mana gathering device. The antenna-like mechanism glowed and grew at least a foot and a half.
[Total spirit coins remaining: 112,901.]
That seemed like a lot, but it truly wasn’t. Hell, I couldn’t afford the spiritual room upgrade, which cost one hundred fifty thousand spirit coins and an angel summoning potion. Unfair requirements, I knew, but crying about it wouldn’t get me any closer to unlocking everything.
[E-ranked Mana Gathering Machine. Item rank: A. Item quality: Superior. This device pulls mana from the atmosphere and stores it for use, whether for gadgets or trinkets or for personal use. Upgrade it for more options and higher gathering speeds. Current: 90% of 100%. Estimated time until full: 15 minutes. Upgrade for 175,000 spirit coins.
Feature unlocked. It will charge devices without contact within one mile.]
I read that description to Mandi and Opal, regenerating their excitement all over again. Wireless charging!
[Please give additional time for upgrades to install on the lookout tower. Try again in the morning…]
The others weren’t happy about the prompt when I read it.
Shrugging, I considered running some tests with my new exotic wand, but the tiredness of the day demanded its due sleep. Taking an energy potion this late would do my body a disservice, especially with the activation length.
Ah, forget it, I thought. Who needs sleep?
The yawn still escaped me, pulling Milia’s gaze. The wand itself was twice the length of a drumstick, decked out with numerous symbols and unfamiliar script, which covered every inch of it. The grip felt surprisingly comfortable, as if auto-adjusting to my preferences. The top half took on a silver—no, platinum—sheen. The bottom half appeared to be polished black wood.
I aimed the wand in a clear spot and gently channeled mana through the tool. Nothing happened.
“Well, what did I expect—”
A glowing magic circle appeared at my targeted location, filled with symbols I didn’t understand. It lit up the area as the sun began to set.
I examined it.
[You cast a blank Diagram. You must learn how to form Gates. This special wand will handle most symbols for you, but it cannot form any that must be drawn by blood.]
Uh. I seriously didn’t see myself as a blood magic type of guy, and for good reason. Deciding to defy the system, knowing this was supposed to be secret ancient knowledge only meant for the ‘worthy,’ I gestured for my apprentices to surround me. The spirit beasts were already here. I scratched beneath Cheetara’s chin, gaining a purr from the kitten.
Grinning, probably evilly, I made a bold declaration.
“As soon as I learn how diagrams and other magical alchemist things work, I will be teaching you,” I said. “You too, Milia. Not that I could stop you from leaning over my shoulder and watching my failures.”
Everyone laughed, excitement glimmering in their eyes. I continued talking. “Yes, this stuff is supposed to be for the so-called supreme worthy-ones, whatever, but you know what, who cares? If knowledge isn’t shared, then what’s the point? Also, the apprentice thing works out well in this case. So what if you lot become a bit overpowered?”
They laughed again.
“There is one thing I’d like you to avoid, if you can,” I said. “I’m trying to avoid it myself, but Wanda or whatever deity out there is attempting to drag me into something. Don’t ask me how I know this, I’m not experienced enough at magic to understand the workings of the universe. Avoid getting involved with something called the Philosopher’s Stone. I’m willing to bet the Peace Spawner guy’s after it too.”
The thought of coffee came to mind again as I yawned. No, I wouldn’t drink any this late, but a nice little boost in the morning just like the pencil-pusher days should work. Serina Starrigon, eldest daughter, may be able to resolve that problem, I realized.
That night after the shower, I mentioned it to Milia.
“Do you think I could convince Serina to sell us some coffee at a discount?” I asked.
Milia rolled over to my side, snuggling tightly. The cold breeze that came in probably had something to do with that. Probably.
“I’m working on it,” Milia replied, which gained a surprise look from myself. “I asked her about it when we registered with the bank. She sent a message out to one of their closest suppliers. We should hear back any day now.”
“You are the best,” I said, imagining my mornings improved with the bean juice. I hadn’t even considered just asking her with all the crap going on. “Let’s check on her tomorrow, see how things are going with the bank.”
Milia kissed me. “An excuse to check on the status of that coffee?” She grinned at my guilty smile. “I know it is not because you have no confidence in the mayor.”
“The mayor isn’t amazing, but he’s certainly more qualified than I’d ever be,” I said, though judging from the look in Milia’s eyes, she didn’t seem to agree. I had to remind myself the structure and legality of this world was different. The dryad was twenty-nine years old and while she knew this world far more than I did, I wondered if she suspected my origins.
In her own words, she watched me appear from nowhere, establishing the entire grassland as my domain, an event so unknown, it intrigued her enough to greet me. Good thing dryads were divine beings, or she probably would’ve considered attacking me. Or not. Assumptions shouldn’t be made for nonhumans. Okay, I probably wouldn’t be immediately friends with an intimidating orc from the get-go.
The system was probably going to be pissed about me teaching the apprentices advanced alchemy, but there wasn’t a damned thing it could do about it.
Before Harmony went home, I asked her to consider taking the Yin Yang pill. She may not have gotten anything out of the chests, but she did receive that. When I reminded the teen about it, light dawned in her eyes, and she excitedly agreed. Maybe someday, she’d be producing these things by the dozen.
[Yin Yang Pill. Item rank: S. Item quality: Extraordinary. Pill type: Mana. Pill potency: Heavy. Balance the hidden Yin and Yang energies within you, creating an equilibrium that will flood all of your meridians, breaking you into the next 4 realms or, if you’re at the wall, you will rank up instead. Warning: the value of this pill can only be measured in spirit coins. Do not sell it for gold.]
I considered taking mine too, but the warning I received halted me, making me regret asking Harmony to take hers. In fact, I hopped up, taking Milia still in her night gown with me to board Beakwing. I had already given one to the dryad earlier.
[Warning! You can only take this pill once. Any other doses will be rendered inert. What? Did you think you’d be able to cheat up the ranks?]
We flew to Harmony’s house. To my relief, she hadn’t swallowed the pill yet. She gave us scandalous looks, mostly due to Milia’s nightgown, as I explained the best way to utilize this one-time use miracle.
“So take only if I’m unable to breakthrough, if I hit what feels like a wall,” Harmony said, nodding. “Thanks for the warning.” She looked around, but the town was as empty as ever during the night. People were either at home or in the tavern. Until new entertainment opportunities emerged, this would continue to be the norm for Kyushu. “Please hurry home before anyone sees you.”
Milia pouted. “It is not my fault Nate insisted on hurrying before I could put on something to protect me from the chilly breeze.”
I gave the women what probably was a sheepish or guilty smile. “It probably doesn’t help that I left the coat I would’ve given to you on a chair.”
Harmony glared at me.
“Anyway, that’s all,” I said, starting toward Beakwing.
“Wait,” Harmony said. “Are we still going to the city?”
Even Milia noticed the hopeful expression and sighed before I could.
“Of course we are,” she answered, preventing me from objecting. I did say we were going, but with the wand, I considered asking Gwendolyn, Shera the librarian and soon-to-be-teacher, Kelvin the newest school hire, or even the mayor for help. Hey, saving myself a two-week trip made it worth it.
Then again, I did promise Wolverine and Cheetara they could come along. We’d hire a temporary farmhand to watch over things while we were out. Thankfully, we had magical defenses, which would allow me to relax.
“Excellent. When are we leaving?” the blue-haired teenager asked.
Milia gave me a no-nonsense look that seemed to detect potential idiotic or sarcastic words forming, snuffing them out as they reached the tip of my tongue.
“Maybe a day or two after we can confirm this Lord Ruler BS is over,” I said.
“BS?” Harmony asked, tilting her head.
“Nothing,” I said, then spun, hopping on Beakwing. “Sorry we woke you up, Beakwing.”
Beakwing huffed cheerfully, reminding me that griffins required less sleep than us pathetic humans.
Hours after Best Buddy and Mistress Milia fell asleep, Wolverine felt it. A certain vibration. With Best Buddy’s aura gone, the sunlight wolf felt unease for the first time in a while.
He hurried outside, Cheetara waking up and immediately following.
“What’s wrong, Big Brother Woofy?” she asked, sleepiness in her voice, though the kitten’s eyes were as sharp as pointy things.
He sniffed the air, allowed it to rush into his ears, felt just the slightest vibration and a distant electrical sensation that approached them rapidly.
“The rolly-rollies,” Wolverine said, narrowing his eyes. “They have come. And I believe they have one bad human with them.”
“Does that make them all bad people?” Cheetara asked.
“I do not know,” Wolverine replied. He rushed to Beakwing. The griffin was already awake, watching the west.
Aura silently outlined him, revealing just a hint of great improvement. The elicrones exited their houses to join the gathering. Little Moo and Mazu joined moments later.
“Good,” Mazu said. “You can sense it from here. The training has far surpassed my expectations.”
He looked at the elicrones. “I’m glad Cheetara was able to talk you into joining.”
Lady Feathers huffed. “That’s because she said Wolverine would bite me during a spar. I couldn’t miss that opportunity!”
Wolverine somehow found himself on top of the tower, far away from the crazy bird. He glanced at the tasties for just a bit, reminiscing in their delectable flavor from Best Buddy’s dish, before turning back and activating the device before him.
Cheetara joined him seconds later.
“What’s the matter? Is there something wrong?” the kitten asked, eyes worried.
“See for yourself,” Wolverine replied. “Place your paw on the device, Disciple Cheetara Cutie.”
The kitten seemed to pale as she too witnessed the approaching group of strong people that Wolverine had. Especially the girl sharing a horse with… her mate? Her brother?
“They may be too strong for us right now,” Wolverine said, “but Best Buddy needs to be alerted.”
“I’ll do it!” Lady Feathers cheered, hurrying into the house before Wolverine could object.
Uh oh.
