Blackthorne's triumphant return to the dream world, and subsequent cleansing process, left him in a good mood despite his hunger and dehydration. After a quick check of his room, he headed down stairs. The tavern was lively. The harmonious sound of happy people going about their lives combined elegantly with the scent of bacon and eggs which permeated the air.

He took careful note of those facts, and a few others, then nodded. They were serving breakfast, but it still seemed to be dark outside.

"Either I overslept my welcome by quite a bit or I have plenty of time. Gates probably won't open till dawn, though," he whispered.

Silently, he crept back upstairs Breakfast would be available for a while, but he did not pay for any. If he were to take a seat downstairs in the common area he would suffer an undeniable torture. The scent of bacon and eggs, he could not resist them! Instead of making a fool out of himself while begging for a free meal, he opted to get water from the bathroom then returned to his room in order to take in a far simpler meal that consisted of apples and water.

"I'll splurge my last few Jerin on a real meal before I head out later," he decreed after he finished off his third apple.

The grass that he collected recently was dry, yet supple. This was further proof to him that not too much time passed since he returned to the waking world. Was it one night? Two? He would ask Jackie or Scraggles later, but for now he had work to do.

Blackthorne focused his energy and chanted the words for his Jolt! spell. His first attempt at casting it fizzled before he finished, but he persevered. He managed to create the anemic dark lightning sparks that he was used to seeing from his magical handiwork on his second attempt.

"I seriously need better spells," he muttered. It was not like he could afford to buy books or hire a tutor, however. His funds were critically low at the moment. In many ways it was a struggle merely to support his daily living expenses.

After he spent a brief few seconds feeling sorry for himself, he shoved those unworthy thoughts aside and focused on the task at hand once more. Blackthorne cast his spell once more then sighed. The pain of losing fifteen points of life force in under one minute could not be expressed in words. His entire body shook. His hands trembled slightly, and strength left his limbs to a sickening degree. Yet, it was all part of his plan.

Unable to train his magic any further at the moment, he set about training his jewelry crafting ability. Time passed as he wove grass into rings or bracelets. Whenever his life force managed to be restored to an appropriate level, he once again called upon the power of his Jolt! spell. Once he managed to craft a reasonably number of grass rings he charged them with mana, and began to use them as consumable items for his spell training. In this way, he could work multiple skills at once while also intensifying the training for each skill.

In this way several hours passed for Blackthorne. A small pile of rings and bracelets appeared before him, even as his supply of water and remaining pile of apples diminished at an alarming pace.

"Time for a break..." he said. Blackthorne drank a bit of water then eyed the many apple cores and small number of burnt bits of grass which sat in his nearby bag. "I'm surprised I could fit all of that inside me..."

His words registered a moment later and he snorted. "That's what she said, am I right?"

Blackthorne looked around the room, but no one applauded. "Tough crowd..."

"Digestion really must be faster here," he said after a brief pause. A lifetime of being mostly alone outside of work had left him with a tendency toward speaking with himself. That tendency rose to full-effect as he rambled on for a moment. He spoke with himself at length regarding what he had eaten recently and the limited after-effects.

Blackthorne sighed loudly then reclined on the bed. He refused to go to sleep, but he did close his eyes. Thoughts, plans for the immediate and distant future popped into his head. There was a lot to do, and precious little time to do it.

"I know that skill levels are supposed to take a while to obtain, but I can't help but think that I could develop faster somehow," he said, his eyes still closed.

A short time passed while he mulled over those thoughts. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. "It's worth a try..." he said slowly.

His self-imposed break ended and he went back to work. Blackthorne immediately began to make rings out of grass, nothing but rings. He did not charge any of them with his life force. In fact he did not perform any magic at all. He fully devoted himself to the task at hand.

Ring after ring appeared on the bed before him as he worked toward his goal. Another few hours passed. Breakfast might soon be over, but he did not care. Blackthorne wanted enough raw materials to make his plan work.

Once he felt that enough rings were made to practice his next experiment, he began separating them into lots of four. He spread each set of four out in a shape reminiscent of a square and then lined those squares of grass ring circles next to each other in a line.

A subtle nod of his head was his only response when he completed his set up. Quickly, he braided a new grass ring between one set of grass rings. This new ring slipped through the links of the other four in a way that held them together while also allowing them to bend and shift.

Blackthorne lifted the first set of links then smiled at his handiwork. His smile dropped a little when a link fell off. "Note to self. Make sure I get the linking ring through all of the other rings..."

He set about correcting his mistake. Once he managed to fix his minor gaffe, he moved on to the next set of rings. Once he prepared enough of them to craft a new kind of bracelet, he set about linking them together in a similar manner as before. The two free ends of each set were brought together to make a new set.

Some of the chainmail crafting sites claimed that he should do them all from one side to the other side. Other sites suggested the method that he now used. In this way he could test each section to see if it was solid, something particularly useful for the novice crafter.

Once he finished he gazed upon his handiwork, a wry smile on his lips. "God, you look like a handful of shit."

The resulting 'chainmail bracelet' looked less like shit and more like a hastily tied together floor mat. He checked the status of the item and found that it was no better than a normal grass bracelet. In fact, its durability was equal to a few of his lesser attempts to craft much simpler bracelets.

Still, it was a reasonable first attempt. He used a bit of braided grass as a tie to bind the two ends together then nodded. "I get the idea at least. Soon, I shall be a mighty man of grass craftsman."

Almost as though reality wished to applaud his motivation, a soft feminine voice whispered into his ear. "Your skill in jewelry crafting has increased."

His smile returned and brightened considerably upon discovering that tidbit of information. He started to work on creating rings once more, but the moment he reached for another bit of grass his gut made an angry rumbling noise.

Blackthorne's eyes narrowed then went wide as he felt a familiar sort of cramping sensation in his lower abdominal area. "No. No..." he said excitedly.

Carefully, he slipped off the side of his bed but then immediately regretted it. The distinctive sensation shifted from a gentle warning mode to red-alert!

"No. No," he cried as he threw his door open. Blackthorne trotted down the hall quickly, his ass cheeks clenched together.

He passed Jackie as she walked up the stairs. She called out to him, but all he could do was through up his hand and cry out, "You're awesome, but a man has needs!"

Jackie tilted her head sideways and stared at the trotting figure for a moment then snorted as he dodged into the men's restroom. "Good morning to you as well," she said with a chuckle.

She started toward her room, but heard a strange outcry from Blackthorne's location. "No way!" he cried in a strangely ecstatic manner.

Jackie rushed over to the bathroom door and knocked loudly. "Are you all right in there?"

Blackthorne made a strange rattling noise inside, followed by a few high-pitched grunts of effort.

She called out to him again. More strangled grunts, and then the rushing sound of running water reached her ears.

Not long after, opened the door and stared at her, a deliriously happy expression on his face. "Better than alright!"

"Uh... do I even want to know?" she asked him cryptically.

He grinned at her then laughed merrily. "I just gained a level!"

"What?" she asked him surprised.

"Come! Rejoice with me!" he cried, before he opened the door wide. His trousers were down at his ankles, but his hands were soon at her waist. He danced around with her a little, laughing all the while.

"This costs extra!" she cried.

Blackthorne spun her around in place then hopped around a little. His weird spastic dance-like motions were most amusing.

"It costs extra, I said!" cried Jackie in a ridiculous fit of laughter. "And your hands are wet!"

Blackthorne danced a merry jig with the beautiful slave chef for a moment before he said, "Of course. I had to wash them first..."

"You could have pulled your pants up too, you know!" she said, a smile on her lips. "No one wants to see that."

"Gee. Hurt a guy's pride why don't you?" he asked, a fake pout evident on his lips.

"That too, costs extra," she replied with a wink.

Blackthorne rubbed his chin lightly. Between the reveal of Jackie's escalating pricing structure, and his new level up, today was a day of many revelations.