- Day 14 into Day 15 -

Revelations

I warp back home into the large open-plan room. It seems everyone is in the dining room talking to one another. They sound like their having fun, so I think I'll get washed up.

Ever since I arrived in the capital, I can't help but have the desire never to let my male scent get as strong as it was of my first day here. I still to this day do not understand how people were able to talk to me without holding their noses!

...How do you work this damn thing…

Ah, pull this and...

Okay, so that's the water, but wow that's cold... how do you heat it?

"You press this here Master."

I turn around to see Kate and Millie giggling to themselves, at my expense it would seem. Well, if you'd let me run my own bath from time to time, I might not look so silly!

"How long were you watching?"

"Welcome home Master."

They both ignore me but instead offer to see to my needs. Fine, I'll forgive this impudence just this once! ...Thank you.

HP: 3266 / 3266 MP: 10,616 / 10,616 ST: 2450/2450

Blood State: Normal

"The bath will take a while to fill. I will let you know once it's ready Master."

"Thank you Kate."

"Are you hungry Master?"

Millie asks, clearly hoping the answers yes... How can I tell her I ate with Katharine when she's looking at me with those eyes…

"I-I could eat but don't go to too much tro--"

She's already gone…

"Is Emily in her room?"

Kate nods.

*blink*

"I picked these painkillers up for her. The lady in the store said they’re what she uses when it’s a bad one."

“That’s very thoughtful of you Master--”

She takes them from me and puts them in her pocket. I kept two just in case I need them for anything.

“--I’ll make a dose and take it up to her shortly.”

With nothing to do until the bath is run, I decide to take the sweets up to Emily myself. Popping my head in and checking on her seems like the right thing to do after all.

I knock the door gently just in case she’s sleeping as I’d rather leave her rest if so.

"It's me Emily... Are you awake? Can I come in?"

I hear a faint 'yes', so I open the door slowly.

"I heard you're a little under the weather, so I got you something sweet?"

"Thanks Master but I'm good..."

You say that Emily, but you look so flustered. I hand her the sweets and sit beside her placing the back of my hand on her head...

Wow, that's a seriously high temperature! AE, is this really just her period?

[** Ascension system has been activated **]

[** Fate is being overridden **]

..W-what? Fate? Show me!

Name: Emily Serl

Class: Archer

Sub-Class: Slave of ???

Race: Human

Sub-species: S2G6F8

Ancestor Code: D2A4F5

Oh, she's become an archer..? You had me panicked there...

I don't really understand, but I guess this is related to [Class system (Racial)] and [Advancement (Racial)] in her status.

I’m thinking Emily was never meant to go down this path, so she's 'ascending'? Is that what you mean AE?

[** Correct. Incorrect. Expand Scope **]

*Sigh* I'm close enough. So what does the Archer class give Emily exactly?

[** Archer **] +30 - AGI

+30 - PER

+20 - STA

+10 - STR +2 Levels - [Archery]

+1 Level - [Scout] Static Effects:

- [Archer], +50% hand to eye coordination, correlates to increased accuracy with ranged weapons.

That's... quite a bonus. Is this possibly 'forced processing' you spoke of earlier?

[** Correct. Incorrect. Minor **]

I guess I understand why she's in pain. Glad I didn't try forcing anyone's level ups...

"You're very warm Emily... Get some sleep if you can, Kate will bring you up some medicine in a bit."

She nods while suckling on a honey stick...

It's very unlike Emily to meekly do what she's told. She must really feel worse than she's letting on.

I tuck her in and head back downstairs, meeting Kate along the way.

"The bath is ready Master."

"Thanks Kate... I checked in on Emily and it's not just 'Woman's Curse' she's suffering from as she looks to be advancing to the Archer class as well. Could you tell everyone to go easy on her as she's in a lot more pain than she's letting on."

"I will Master... May I ask what do you mean by advancing?"

..?

Did I just give something away that isn't common knowledge? I assumed that because humans have the [Class system (Racial)] and [Advancement (Racial)] traits that this was common knowledge?

[** Advancement requires deity approval **]

[** Advancement achieved at deity shrine **]

*Sigh* So why the hell didn't you mention that earlier? Wait, more importantly, how the hell did Emily begin advancing in the first place!

[** Direct Proximity. Desire. Initiated ascension **]

We can do that? ...Of course we can, we can modify stats and skill levels. I don't know why I questioned that bit but AE, you initiated this without telling me, didn't you?

[** Correct **]

Have you 'initiated' anything else on your own volition?

...AE?

...I'll take that as a yes...

Then I guess I forbid you from taking any more actions without my prior consent. Hopefully, nothing you've done will cause me problems down the line! Ugh, now what the hell do I tell Kate?

"Are you okay Master?"

"Sorry Kate, I'm still trying to figure this out myself. I'm not too sure of the specifics, but that's indeed what's happening to Emily at the moment. She's in quite a deal of pain as the process was activated in a non-standard way."

I'm getting a little too good at these impromptu lies...

"I see. Is Emily's life in danger?"

That's a bloody good question. AE??

[** Incorrect. Loss of life is not a possible outcome **]

"No, no. It's just going to hurt a lot for some time. The medicine should help relieve the symptoms."

"Okay, then I'll keep a close eye on her Master."

"Thanks Kate... I'm going to wash up then."

"Do you want--"

"I'm good."

I'm not letting you finish that sentence minx! I can't see her, but I can hear the giggling. One of these days Kate I’m going to call your bluff, one of these days...

*Spadoosh*

Hehe, I really need to stop doing that. One of these days I'm going to smack my head off the side.

...Do I bathe too much? I don't see anyone else washing this often…

Nah, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be clean. If anything, they’re the weird ones for only bathing every three days! Or is there another reason they don't wash this often? There must be because I can't think of a better end to the day than soaking in this fricking giant tub!

…Sir William Trove huh.

I think my first port of call tomorrow will be to meet with Torrent and see what intel they've gathered on him. After that, I'll come up with a proper plan to deal with the treacherous little man. I'll need to be careful though, and I certainly shouldn't underestimate him. I'll be sure to bring my full prowess to that fight.

*bink*

Hello, you beautiful yellowy bastard and your coarse little friend. Shall we? I think so!

"Kate, my robe please."

"Here you go Master."

...Knew it.

"Thanking you."

I head upstairs to dry off. Without a proper towel, all I can do is lay about on my bed or air dry.

It'll be another five days at the earliest before we all can head back into the Catacombs, elven to twelve days for the forge and at least seven to ten days for the final preparations for our expedition, baring of course, any more unwanted complications.

Truthfully, I think Graham’s and Alexanders enemies are greater than just General Victor Syvian and William. The way Alexander put those faction comments together with the four princes leads me to believe something more worrying. For example, what if all four princes reside in only one or two factions…

Well. Not much I can do about it right now but Torrent is about to get short staffed as I need more intel before I’ll know how to react.

For now, I guess that means I have free time to look into a few matters like history and recipes. I'll maybe look for the alchemical recipes tomorrow while I'm with William Trove. He may be my enemy, but he is the Merchant guilds head so he's bound to know where I can pick up what I need. This might also be the best way to entrap him as well.

Hmm.

Skill Points: 145

I could also do with finding and learning some more skills...

Actually, there was still some stuff in [Dark Sage of Agamenty's book] now I think about it.

*blink*

I begin flicking through the pages slowly while laying on my stomach, kicking my legs about like a teenage girl reading a gossip mag until I finally find what I'm looking for.

[ 'Hellfire' Acquired ]

[ 'Forbidden Commandment' Acquired ]

[ 'Rite' Acquired ]

[ 'Shaken' Acquired ]

[ 'Dominance' Acquired ]

[ 'Instil' Acquired ]

[ 'Blackfire' Acquired ]

[ 'Quickfire' Acquired ] [ Mana Theory ]

[ Magical Wave Theory ]

Hmm, so that's everything huh? There still looks to be some spells in here I haven't learnt yet, but that's it for the skills. Hopefully, I'll find another good source of skills soon, or I'm going to end up with a massive stockpile of skills points I can't use.

Heh, and I used to be worried about spending them so frivolously.

>>>>>>>>>>

Mana Theory Lv 10 / 10

>>>>>>>>>>

Magical Wave Lv 10 / 10 Skill Points: 125 [- Master of Mana Theory achieved -]

[-- +100% Mana focus, +50% Mana recovery and +25% Maximum MP --]

[- Master of Magical Wave Theory achieved -]

[-- +25% Spell power and +25% Maximum MP --] HP: 3266 / 3266 MP: 15,924 / 15,924 ST: 2450 / 2450

Nice!

Static Effects:

- [???] ???? - [ Master Alchemist ] +20% Creation potency and effect - [ Master Herbalism ] +20% Refinement success - [ Master Blood Magic ] +20% Damage dealt and effects - [ Master Appraisal ] Immediately discern rare and priceless items without active magics - [ Master Analysis ] It's is almost impossible to hide worldly information from you - [ Master Mineralogist ] 50% increase in yield of mineral veins - [ Master Gemmologist ] 50% increase in refinement yield - [ Master Enchanter ] Increase the max mana storage capacity and enhanceable values by 25% - [ Master Composer ] Spell scrolls crafted have additional power and effects - [ Master Summoner ] All summons have increased STAT and Skill values by 100% but cost double to maintain - [ Master Magical Perception ] Interpret the flow of magical energies - [ Master Enhancer ] Items enhanced with magical energies are 25% more powerful - [ Master of Mana Theory ] +100% Mana focus, +50% Mana recovery and +25% Maximum MP - [ Master of Magical Wave Theory ] +25% Spell power and +25% Maximum MP - [In love] ++Mental Resistance++ Prone to making rash choices when thinking about the target of affection - [Beloved] ++Bonded]++ The target of his affection loves him too.

Huh...

[Beloved], The target of his affection loves him too. [Bonded]

...So Katharine loves me? I thought it just physical attraction, but nope, it’s right there... Well, the effect could be innocent and about my feelings for the girls--

[** Incorrect **]

[** Status effect relates to human 'Katharine' **]

[** Status effect relates to human 'Kate' **]

I see...

I'm not going to lie, I do feel relieved knowing Katharine's in love with me despite the fact I was trying to avoid that very outcome. I may have let myself believe it impossible because we’ve only known each other for such a short time, and besides, it was far more plausible to me for her to be in love with someone else but feel drawn to me romantically...

I guess that's yet another artifice of my prior life...

Ugh... Not every forbidden romance has to end in a Shakespearean way right?

…I guess that means my attraction to Kate is more than pure animal attraction as well.

Oh yay, A fricking love triangle! These never end with a served head and a boat journey. Never ever! Nope...

*Sigh*

I'm suddenly reminded of Wilson again…

Oh forget this, I can't change what's happened, and I wouldn't want to either. So I'm in love with two women and their both in love with me. It's purely platonic right now, so there's nothing to worry about just yet. I'll cross this very dangerous bridge at a much later date!

Besides, Katharine's happy for now just spending time with me, and Kate... Well, she's a whole different game, but I'm pretty sure I can handle most of her very forward advances!

I'll eventually have to deal with this and I know it's not fair keeping them both on the hook but in fairness, I've done nothing to lead Katharine… Okay, that’s not true at all, and I’m incredibly guilty with Kate...

Ugh. I’m screwed.

...Why not have both?

You don’t get a say trunky! That’s how heads are served!

I... need to think about something else.

Whoa, it's dawn... Was I really thinking about this all night!? ..It's not that hard to understand why though and this is likely to be the first of many sleepless nights after all.

...Crap, I forgot Millie made me food...

I proceed to get dressed and head downstairs. Dawn has only just broken but Millie, Kate and Hannah are already awake and proceeding with the morning chores. I've learnt by now that it's best to leave them to it, lest I want yet another verbal bashing.

I greet them good morning and apologise to Millie for not coming back downstairs last night. It seems she only made me a sandwich, so the damage wasn’t too extreme.

Leaving the girls to it, I go to get washed up. Hannah and Millie immediately follow along behind me, so I assume they're offering their blood. Millie starts to look a little pale as I'm drawing from her, so I stop immediately.

[Scan: Millie]

Name: Millie

Class: Cook

Sub-Class: Slave of ???

Race: Human

Level: 4

HP: 60% MP: 100% ST: 18%

Status Effect: Anemia [Major]

Oh crap.

*blink*

"Millie drink these."

I hand her a stamina and rejuvenation tonic. They won’t do anything for the blood loss, but they should help her given enough time.

"I'm sorry Master, I.. I just need to sit down... For a second."

Damn it. I can't keep relying on the girls to see to my needs. It only just works when all four of them can be drained in a rotation and in truth, I don’t even understand how that works. With Emily unwell, I'm clearly taking too much from the others...

I only see one solution for now. I'm going to have to hunt in the Catacombs, aren't I?

"No Millie, this is entirely my fault. I'm placing a too high a burden on you girls. I think I have a way to lighten the burden. For now rest. Let me source breakfast--"

"N-no Master! I'm fine, I can still make breakfast for everyone! Look, see, I-I'm fine!"

Oops. In my concern, I forgot how much Millie likes to cook for everyone. This must seem like I'm punishing her which is the polar opposite of what I was trying to do!

"Sorry Millie, I didn't mean it like that. If you want to cook, I won't stop you but please take it easy, and I'm insisting on help you."

"O-okay"