"Start from the beginning," I say.

"Well, I have always been going to the same few stores since they always have a steady of the things we eat normally. So yesterday, before we found your little... accident," I wince, "I sent Ciel to buy some more wyvern meat but I forgot to tell her to get the smoked sausage, so I went after her. That's when I noticed an inconspicuous woman with a hat, the important part is that she was too inconspicuous, she's certainly using some magic that makes it harder to look at her."

"Then what really called my attention is that I couldn't see her with [Sense Presence], she was using [Hide Presence], she's deliberately hiding. She followed Ciel and I managed to get a small look into her jaw before I hid. Then I decided to pass by her and got a sniff of her smell. Both the jaw and the smell jostled my memory, I had seen a few glances of her for a few days but never really paid any attention to her, I was too confident on my [Sense Presence] being infallible," she looks down and her ears flop.

"Don't feel down, no one would imagine we would start being stalked," Ciel says rubbing Alissa's back.

"Then I saw glimpses of her when I dropped you both at the university and when I went to get you back. I didn't see her when Ciel went to drop or pick Lina from Mr. Bombur but she could just be waiting in the middle of the way or at Bombur's."

"But why?" I ask.

"Red Smile?" Hana says.

I sigh. I hope not.

"There's also the circle of magi that Vanea mentioned," says Lina. She rubs the right spot with her ass but the tension of the situation keeps me contained.

Roxanne shudders.

"Oh no, the Dawn of Fire is a circle of magi that used to stalk me at the High Forest. They stopped once I moved into Rabanara," Roxanne says.

"But why would they stalk Ciel or Alissa?" I ask.

Roxanne lowers her head.

"There's always those hunters that want to know more about you, who think you could be a fraud. They could be jealous of your magic dick," says Hana.

"Well... stalking would be a little too aggressive for them, wouldn't it?"

"Probably..." Hana sighs.

"Then it most likely is about Red Smile, Darean," I massage my eyes.

"Is she all day there? We could follow her when she goes home and murd-... Capture her or her accomplices," says Lina.

Don't tell me you too are being corrupted.

"If Alissa can't feel her presence then she's an expert spy or assassin, who has enough experience to stalk a stalker?" I ask.

"You," says Ciel.

Ah shit.

"Not experience, but you can use your skills to increase your [Hide Presence] and stalk her... " She continues, she's cringing at this idea, but it's an idea, "What about [Illusion Magic], do you know something that could help?"

"There's the level 10 spell [Ignorance], it makes it harder to be noticed by others, possibly what that girl was using. Which means they already have the support of a magician, it makes things even more dangerous," I respond.

"Still, Wolfy, we can't let it stay like this. Being stalked is something very, very offensive to do. Nothing good will come out of it if we ignore the problem," says Hana, she looks solemn.

"Kweh..." Aoi makes an unhappy noise.

Alissa comes to me and grabs my hand. Lina finally releases me from her claws, then sits somewhere else and she looks at me concerned. Alissa doesn't say anything, she stares at the ground. I bring her closer and hug her.

"Yeah... we have to do it, you girls will follow me from a distance," I say.

"Understood..." Alissa says dejectedly.

"Should we do it tomorrow?" Asks Ciel.

"I... think we better wait a little more, perhaps after tomorrow. We can all spend some time thinking on a plan or on what might happen," I answer.

"You mean, mental training?" Asks Hana.

"I guess it's something like that. It's gonna be more difficult than just fighting monsters, we need time to get used to the idea of following the stalker and possibly ending up fighting her. Actually, the one who needs this training the most is me," I say.

"Ciel, did you ever kill someone?" Alissa asks.

Ciel looks away and grimaces.

"Yes. As an honorary member of the Templars, we killed a few bandits."

"What about you Lina?" She asks again.

"N-never. But I won't back down, if it's for defending Wolfy I will do anything it takes!" Her eyes glare in anger.

"Careful. Don't let yourself be consumed by rage, to kill another humanoid you need a clear mind," says Hana.

"I killed once and I went berserk. I would rather not feel like that ever again," I confess. It still pains me to think about that.

Alissa kisses my forehead. Ciel gives a knowing look.

I pat Lina's head.

"It's mostly us two who need time to think. But I'm sure we will be able to do it."

Lina nods and smiles.

Fuck Darean.

We end up the night with a group hug. Tonight Ciel is with us on the bed and I'm feeling like I want some comfort.

"So, Ciel…"

She looks at me expectantly.

"You see…"

She looks a bit impatient.

"Alissa is a pervert…"

"Well, all of you are," she smiles wryly.

"Yes but she's a bit different. She... likes to watch."

Ciel slowly turns to Alissa, who's blushing.

"So... can we do it in front of her -?"

Ciel is expressionless. Alissa is trying to hide her smirk.

"No," she says flatly.

"Please... you already saw us doing it in the bath or the bed."

"T-that's different," she looks exasperated.

"Please. We are a family, no secrets among us and being open-minded like this only makes things easier for all of us. When we go on a trip we might not have room for everyone to have their own tent, it's going to be easier if we all share one and get comfortable doing things in front of each other," I make the best puppy eyes that I can.

Ciel facepalms. She massages her forehead and groans. After a minute she responds.

"Okay…"

Alissa claps her hands -.

"Remember that I'm doing this because I love you, I really do love you, Wolfy."

"Awn... I love you too."

I hug her tight and kiss her.

"But don't ever think that I'm depraved, okay? I'm doing it because I love you and I love Alissa too, but I'm not completely shameless," she glares at Alissa.

Alissa squirms in happiness and - Ciel groans again.

Tonight I'm extra gentle with Ciel -. Alissa was incredibly happy.

Today is the 24th.

I learned [Earth Magic] and [Andraste Language] with 1 point, I guess that skills level very slowly if I don't learn the theory behind it. I increased my [Electric Magic] by 1 (now 0+8) and increased my MP by 30 (now 630).

Ciel wrote for me some basic grammar rules and I have been trying to read without the language skill but it's very hard, using the skill really is a complete crutch for me.

I'm impressed with my MP growth, yesterday I wasn't so focused because of shame so I'm going to do the same today and focus much harder. I'm gonna need the mana for confronting that stalker.

We risked it and didn't change a thing in our routine. Today we won't be attacking, but tomorrow we will.

With renewed vigor and caution, I train my mana again and make sure the backyard doesn't get destroyed. To the happiness of the girls, the griffin spirit drops down from the wall and frolics on the grass beside Aoi, this way she might end up being the first one to touch it.

On the break of the [Blessing Magic] class, we have some time to speak with Hatara.

"So, everything succeeded?" I ask.

"Yep, he's mine, only mine," she answers with a giggle.

"But do you have guarantees?" Alissa asks.

"Heheh," she shows us a necklace, hidden under her clothes, "This is his family's symbol, his father gave it to me. Once we graduate we are to marry immediately."

It's a simple metal medallion, polished until it's almost a mirror. It has a flame and a drop of water engraved on it.

"His father was a bit..." She cleans her throat, "Annoyed at what I did to him but he relented when Gara told him I'm a mage. His father was looking for a court mage's daughter to introduce to him but he told us 'she'll do'," she smiles bitterly.

She doesn't seem very happy with Gara's father but it's understandable, considering their situation.

"Wolfy, can you give us some privacy? There's still some... things I have to teach her," Alissa says with a wicked smile.

Hatara blushes but her eyes show expectancy.

I shrug and leave. I take this time to visit Nononya.

"Do you ever take a break?" I ask.

"FUAH!" Nononya crops the scalpel with a clang.

"That was an incredibly cute noise you made."

"P-please, don't tease me like this, Mr. Ryder," she hunches over, her cheeks red in shame, "Anyway, how can you be so silent?"

"I don't have [Quiet Steps], you are simply far too absorbed in your work."

"That's... yeah, Silvane told me this once," her whiskers twitch, her ears drop. Cute.

I chuckle.

"Here are my notes on the soul. I'm still far from done, I can certainly improve more but I have many things I want to train so I have to keep a certain priority."

I hand her my papers.

"Ooh, impressive handwriting. Do you have the [Writing] skill?" She asks, swiping through my notes.

"Well, no."

I did put the skill on while writing the notes, my handwriting is some ugly noodles without it.

"Even more impressive."

I smile wryly.

"So, here is a copy of my research. I didn't write them myself, I hired a scribe to copy them, too many drawings that I will never torture myself to remake them."

She hands me a large stack of notes, most of them have anatomy drawings covering most of the page.

"Say, do you know anything about the level 30 spell [Summon Monster]?" I ask.

She squints her eyes and crosses her arms. Cuute.

"Well [Summoning Magic] is very rare to acquire since there's no living teacher for it," she increases her speed and pitch after every word, "To even reach level 30 on it would make you a master of summoning. You already have level 20 right? I heard you can summon elementals. Oh! This means you already reached level 30!?" She gets up from her chair and gets so close she's almost falling on top of me.

"N-no. I'm just asking since I heard this is the next level," I lie. Well, half lie.

I can see the spell now that I unlocked level 30 spells but I haven't used it yet, it sounded rather... Dangerous.

"Hm..." She returns to her chair, "Well this spell is incredibly useful, especially for hunters. You can summon any monster that you killed because part of their information was absorbed in your soul as experience. Though it won't be as strong as the original if your level in magic is not high enough."

I'm straining myself in keeping up with her speed.

"Please, speak slower."

"Oh? Hahah, sorry, Silvane keeps telling me this and I always forget about it," her speed turns back to normal.

"Back on topic. The monster that I summon works the same as an elemental, right? It won't attack others?"

"Yes, that's the curious thing. Anyone with [Sense Presence] will think it's a monster, though if they get real close they might sense the mana that's leaking out of it, which is unnatural for a normal monster, but not many people would know that. Though if you don't tell them to act, anyone will immediately see there's something wrong with the monster if he doesn't attack humanoids on sight."

Her whiskers keep twitching, she's making an effort to keep her talking speed constant. Cu~ute.

"Sounds incredibly powerful. I heard there's one more spell at level 40, you know what it is?"

"Nope. Nobody does, if you ever reach that level you might as well call yourself the most powerful summoner in the world."

I see. If people have difficulty reaching level 20 then [Summoning Magic] is actually a rather limited magic school, no wonder they don't teach it here yet. But if we can teach people how to get [Summon Monster] like we do [Item Box], then it could greatly influence civilization.

There are a few monsters that could give me some massive benefits if I ever killed them, seems we are going to collect some monsters for my pocket.

I look around at the cages, it seems there's less than half of the animals and monsters of last time.

"What do you do with all these animals?"

"Oh, I don't kill them all, Silvane would hit me if I did. Most of them I use to understand their behavior, I take them for a walk, give them different food, observe their mating habits," -I shudder, Tanya's flashback- "or just play with them. You can learn a lot about their anatomy when you discover all their tickling spots, can't do that with the monsters, though."

She giggles again.

"You seem very close to Silvane, how did that happen?"

"Well, Conchononoi is next to Elaria. The silver elves have a good relationship with us. Silvane also seems to adore rabbit wereanimals, my ears, specifically..." her voice trails off and a silly smile appears in her mouth.

Those fluffy ears and hair seem alluring. They seem so soft, so cute. They are asking to be petted.

"And you seem to adore them too," she says with a smile.

I clean my throat and recompose myself. I have Alissa's tail and ears, even Hana's hair is comfy, there's no need to lose myself in anyone else.

Nononya chuckles.

"Payback," she whispers.

"A-anyway, thanks for the notes, I will let you keep working."

"No problem, come back anytime. I always end up forgetting to talk to other people so Silvane is the only one who I talk to regularly."

I wave goodbye and go back to the buffet, this time there's a simple chocolate cake there, oof. I get one of the last pieces, those cakes are selling fast.

A few minutes before the bell I go back to our place and see two evil beings plotting something and laughing. A succubus with a glint on her green eyes and a fox-demoness with a bewitching tail swaying about. When I sit by them Hatara snaps out of it and blushes.

"How about we have a quick dinner and go to the theater?" I ask the girls while we prepare the meal.

"Oh? Some interesting play there?" Roxanne asks while washing leaves.

"Yeah, there's a play there called Roberto and Judea, I heard it's pretty good. I think it would be good to relax a bit, you know, like we do before a battle."

"Hm. Alright, then let's just fry so meatballs, don't wanna waste too much time making dinner," Alissa says, grabbing some ground meat from the ice box.

Lina looks at me with wonder, she might have never seen a play before. Roxanne claps the tips of her hands in excitement.

During the trip to the theater, Lina grabs my arm and leaves my hand on her thigh, dangerously close -, her thin skirt doesn't help. I'm dealing with her tonight, it's very clear the other girls are giving her space like they did with Ciel.

"Did you see her?" I ask Alissa, trying to clear my mind.

"Yes. In the morning I saw her, or rather, felt the magic that made things difficult to see so I assume it was her. When we left I saw her a few blocks away from our house," she answers.

Tomorrow after dinner we will stalk the stalker.

I breathe deeply to calm my rapidly beating heart.

I already made my resolve, I will do whatever it takes to keep my family safe.

It's 8:50 PM. The ticketmaster is working non-stop as a line of people enters the theater. I'm happy that our clothes aren't out of the norm, we blend well with the average person here, though Hana and Roxanne are more risque than the average woman. There are a few who clearly have very expensive clothes, with their ridiculous embroidery, what looks like to be gems embedded in the clothes, even shiny scales, and most ridiculous of all a few have some very flashy feathers protruding out of their clothes.

I assume that since there's no industry, having everything hand-crafted, and the use of magic allows for some very advanced fashion, like Snow Weave, but makes it very limited in supply. The nobility also doesn't seem to have a monopoly on fashion, creating this carnival of time periods where the most "fashionable" person is the one with the most unique or well-crafted clothes. Though official positions seem to follow a standard in uniforms, like how Rabanara's attendants seem to like velvet.

We enter the theater and pay 50 silver per person. Lina and Ciel grimace at the cost.

This time we are on the main floor chairs, the balconies are ridiculously expensive and the main floor gives enough of a good view. Most of the ridiculous looking people go to the balconies.

It really is Romeo and Juliet. The families and Paris are put into a very bad light for trying to force Juliet to accept Paris. Prince Escalus is seen as a strict and foolish Lord who deals judgment without a Judge or listening to the circumstances. And Romeo and Juliet are seen as foolish for choosing suicide, though their love for each other is respected.

Alissa and Ciel are sniffling. Roxanne is simply entranced and Hana looks at her with warm eyes. Aoi fell asleep in the first few minutes. I would be paying more attention to it but Lina is absentmindedly caressing my hand, taking my focus away.

What do I even see her as? She's clearly smitten by me and following all of Alissa's advice on how to seduce me, but why? What does she want from me?

Every girl is with me for a reason. Alissa needed a master to follow, someone to honor her clan, she did not need to be a tool for this so she changed her personality to please me. Hana wants to stay safe from the scheming that tore her family apart, it might be impossible to stay away so we all have to work together. Roxanne was a lonely woman who wanted the happiness she denied herself, I can give her a strong reliable family where we rely on each other. Ciel wanted adventure but she wasn't ready for the ultimate sacrifice, like me she wants to help but doesn't want to tread too close to death.

Is Lina looking for safety? Is she looking for the power that I give? Does she simply love me? Does she want to seduce me for better treatment? Or is it just lust since I'm the first real man in her life (Dietgard does not count, in more ways than one)?

Does it matter...?

Love is different here, the weak love the strong. As a slave marriage is a far-fetched dream for Lina, marrying someone you truly love and being exclusive is an even more impossible dream. For her, I must be a prince.

So why did I reject her advances until now? I'm not sure, I think it's because now that my mind is in a better place I regained my resistance to women. After putting a ring on my hand due to Lily certain women became much more flirty and I took pride that I was unaffected by them, it's regrettable that such homewreckers exist but they do. I guess this is why I rejected her, pride, pride that I was immune to women that threw themselves at me.

But now I actually like Lina, of all the other girls she's the one with the personality the closest to mine. Quiet, reserved, introverted, curious, a bit cynical. While she enjoys reading about every book at the library I enjoyed going into my blue link adventures on Wikipedia. Even our outlook at life seem similar, we are both bitter realists.

Then there's the fact that she's a slave. Different from a Blood Slave that can escape if they have enough willpower or are being treated bad enough, the traditional slave doesn't have a chance for this, unless if she runs to the temple. To treat her well, to give her the best life she could wish for, those things are entirely my responsibility.

I guess I should do as Alissa said, I will just enjoy her, protect her and keep her happy, just like I do with the others. Though I'm not sure how our relationship will end up as being, she seems very insecure and has difficulty expressing her feelings, perhaps her feelings for me will evolve.

Once we go back home I grab Lina's hand and lead her, she seems completely surprised at my action. I guess all the coaching in the world won't change her shy nature. When on the jaws of the beast even the bravest warrior can falter.

"Let's talk a bit over here," I say and pull her to the living room.

The girls go upstairs to the bed and I see Ciel smirk. I can't really discern their positions inside the house but I bet Alissa is outside by the door.

I sit on the sofa and she sits on my lap without hesitation. Her aggressiveness becomes adorable because she completely stiffens when I hug her.

"What do you see in me?" I ask.

"W-wha-what...? I..." Her voice trails off.

"Hmm... maybe that wasn't fair to ask. If you can't tell me then show me what you want from me."

I turn her around. She's trembling and avoiding looking at me, her face is beet red. She's straddling me and her skirt is riding up, if I look down I will see something wonderful.

"I... I want you..." She mutters and keeps her head down, then she starts to breathe heavily.

"Show me what you want."

I grab her chin and bring her face up. I stare into her eyes, her expression shows fear. She swallows and her breath normalizes, she calmed herself. Her fear turns into courage and she kisses me.

She freezes during the kiss, after a few seconds she breaks the kiss. She starts breathing heavily again. So adorable.

I kiss her and now I push my tongue. Her mouth opens easily and I explore her mouth. Her tongue twitches and slowly she starts moving. Her hands that were hanging loosely beside her desperately grab my body, then she hugs me tight and intensifies the kiss.

She starts whimpering and I break up the kiss.

"What's the matter?" I ask.

She's almost crying. She looks down again.

"I just... I felt so…"

"Lonely?"

She shakes her head.

"Scared?"

She doesn't move.

"Because you thought I would abandon you?"

She squirms, I feel her heart beating faster.

I bring her chin up and her expression shows fear again.

"I won't abandon you. Not now, not ever, understood?"

She nods.

"You don't have to worry. We will grow old together, even when your contract ends I will keep you with me. If you would still like it," I smile warmly.

She nods furiously.

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

Her breath quickens again and this time she kisses me, her tongue explores mine. She hugs me tight, as tight as those twigs she calls arms can without using magic.

I push my hand up her shirt, slowly I go up until I find some very small softness and a very stiff nipple. I slowly rub it and she squirms.

She breaks the kiss and hangs her head on my shoulder. I use my other hand and play with her other nipple.

She moans so softly and high pitched it's almost like a cat meowing. I push her away and she keeps her eyes closed, her face scrunched up in embarrassment. I lift her shirt and start licking her nipples, pink and small, only barely noticeable breasts.

She slowly stops trembling and fully enjoys my tongue. I slowly drift my hand downwards and when I get in the border of her panties, she starts trembling again. I keep drifting my hand until I reach the entrance, she needs a bit more time so I slowly rub her.

Her meows grow louder, her breath quickens even more. She hugs me tight and forces herself to keep her legs from closing.

I get up with her hanging on me and lower her properly on the sofa. She's quickly getting wetter and wetter. I pull out a towel with one hand.

I pull out her delicate shoes and kiss one of her cute feet. She opens her eyes and giggles. Then she goes back to moaning, I didn't take my hand off the middle of her legs.

I lower my pants and she looks at me with fear.

"I will put a bit of oil, won't hurt... as much."

Thank God "Items" keeps the temperature of the objects I put. I pull out some warm scented oil and rub it on my member.

I see fear turn into a bit of anticipation. I pull down her black laced panties and raise her skirt. A trimmed black bush just like Alissa's, a very pink slit glistening with moisture.

"Ah... D-don't look."

"Sorry, but I will look, I will look at every nook and cranny of your beautiful and cute body."

She covers her face with her hands and whimpers. I slowly pull her hands apart.

"Look at me, Lina."

Slowly she opens her eyes. She's still cringing in embarrassment.

"Look at me."

She bites her lips, I kiss them and she smiles. There we go.

I bring her waist up and angle it right. I turn on my Ring of Fertility, I never take it off. Slowly I push it in, a barely perceptible resistance is effortlessly pierced through. She's tight, very tight. She meows loudly.

I'm intoxicated with lust, it's taking me a lot of self-control to keep myself from simply ravaging her innocence. Hana has been having quite an effect on me.

"If it hurts tell me, if you want to stop tell me, understood?"

"U-understood."

I hold her face towards me and touch our foreheads. Our breaths mingle and we stare into each other as I push. She bites her lips but endures.

I get inside her completely and I stop. Her face, tense from pain, slowly loosens and relaxes.

"I will start to move, okay?"

She nods.

Very slowly I move. Even for me, it's gonna be difficult to hold on, it's so tight.

I play with her nipples while I move. She's holding her voice or otherwise, I think she would be screaming, not from pain, I just know she wants to be loud.

She looks so frail, so small, so weak, so vulnerable, so cute. She tickles my heart and all I want is to protect her, to hug her tight.

Slowly her voice starts to escape and she starts to yell, which turns into screams as I pick up speed. The tightness is so amazing I don't last, I pull it out and finish all over her body and face.

Defiled Angel, this is the name of the painting, the name of the scene she is in right now. Her cute face is that of bliss, her pure body dirtied by me. She grabs a small glob on her face, she tastes it and grimaces.

"I-I'll get used to it..." She mutters.

I chuckle. I cast [Clean] on her and wipe the rest with the towel, there's no blood on the towel, thankfully.

"Thank you…"

"You wanna sleep on my bed? I think Ciel is in her room."

I can't really discern the exact position she is through the fellowship connection, though I'm pretty sure Alissa is on the stairs, going back to our room.

"If I can," she mutters again and looks away.

I hold her hand and she gets up, she wobbles a little.

"It might feel weird to walk, so let's go this way."

I grab her and carry her like a princess. She doesn't say anything and just buries her head on my chest, I can see a smile on the corner of her mouth.

Today is the 25th.

-

My [Earth Magic], [Redirect Mana] and [Blessing Magic] increased by 1 (now 0+2, 3 and 0+14), my MP increased by 40 (now 670) and my "Magic Power" increased by 20 (now 260). Impressive gains but I'm a bit tired, I will "rest" this morning, the other girls need attention.

Now I can finally see Lina's status:

Info Name: Lina Age: 18 Race: Dwarf HP: 100 MP: 200 Magic Power: 105 Level: 14 Experience: 223/3000 Stats Strength: 7 Endurance: 8 Dexterity: 12 Speed: 11 Intelligence: 16 Wisdom: 11 Willpower: 17 Charisma: 10 Piety: 10 Perception: 14 Sanity: 11 Other Status Effects: NONE Titles: NONE Affiliations: Wolf Ryder (master), Helios (Fellowship) Companions: Wolf Ryder, Alissa, Hanafuria, Roxanne Succubus, Ciel Crimes: NONE

Her skills are:

Lina Skill Report Physical Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Hammer Use 6 Parry 1 Dodge 1 Block 3 Magical Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Sense Mana 1 Mana Control 2 Mana Efficiency 1 Fire Magic 1 Light Magic 1 Space Magic 1 Conjuring Magic 1 General Enchanting 3 Magic Tool Carving 1 Miscellaneous Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Skill Name Level General Blacksmith 3 Sewing 3 Housework 1 Cleaning 2 Washing 1 Math 4 Riding 1 Stonebody (innate) 3 15 Remaining Skill Points OBS: Level means (free point)+(trained point)

Her spells are:

Spells Clean Spirit Light Fireball Conjure Water Telekinesis Item Box (weak) Enchant Carve Spirit of Gaia

With 15 skill points remaining she will learn [General Enchanting] much faster. The amount of free skill points you have is called "soul potential". The more skill points remaining you have, the more your "potential", the "easier" it is to learn a skill. You can even have negative skill points, which will greatly reduce the speed you learn new skills. Lina was actually in the negative before the wyvern battle.

So it's not necessary to level to learn to craft. You can also learn anything the normal way and just ignore the skill system, it just takes much longer.

[Stonebody] passively increases your "Strength" and "Endurance" by the level of the skill so Lina actually has the same strength as me. [Spirit of Gaia] gives a boost to the passive at the cost of mana. This is why dwarves are so strong even though they have very little body mass.

Lina's Trivia: Gaia is the name of the human that gave birth to the first dwarf, feeling blessed by the God of Creation she took upon herself to lead the new dwarves. She founded a kingdom, Mountainhome, and became their first queen.

Now I'm quite sure that we can surpass human strength without the proper muscle mass for it. Hana is incredibly strong but her body is lean, she's toned but she's far from looking like a weightlifter. Lina also has the same strength as me when I first came to this world and I was a bit more toned than the delicate twigs she calls arms, so there's more to this stat than pure muscle mass. Perhaps its growth is also related to level, I did get extra points after the wyvern battle.

Lina comes back from the enchanting lessons looking very proud, she presents Alissa's warbow to us.

"Mr. Bombur actually thinks I'm a genius now," Lina says, smiling.

"You are just a cheater," Ciel says.

The skill system gives muscle memory, intuition, and guidance, but it gives no real knowledge. Putting all Lina's extra points into enchanting made her life much, much easier but it didn't make her an expert in enchanting, she still needs someone to teach her the enchantments. Today she succeeded at enchanting the warbow with [Loosen], an enchantment that makes it easier to draw the bow.

Right above where you grip the bow a small ring with a transparent crystal was added, this is where the spell is stored. Parting from the crystal, silver lines run through the wood. A small ring with another transparent crystal is put just above the place where you rest the arrow. This way once you nock an arrow and feed it just a bit of mana the bow will loosen and get easier to pull. Once you loosen the arrow it will stiffen back and throw the arrow just like a normal bow.

"It really is a cheat," I say.

We also have properly fitted Lina with armor. We used the older Grey Berserker armor set we had and had it reduced to her size and gave her a coif. We also got her a metal kite shield with a boss in the middle for gripping and bashing. She's smaller than me so a small shield is enough to protect her whole body. Her war hammer is a long wooden shaft with an expensive steel head. Her eyes gleamed when she saw it, must have been the most expensive thing she ever used.

The stalker didn't change, he's still watching us go. The class was a blur, as always no one has any progress with [Reduced Mana Cost].

"Are you okay, Wolf?" Lyle asks.

"Uh? What you mean?"

"You are very quiet, well, quieter than usual and your expression is very neutral. Normally you seem like you are always smiling a bit, even with your eyes," Lyle looks at me concerned.

"Seems he's ruminating on something," says Toroo.

"Wow, didn't think you were this observing. Well, I just have a lot on my mind so I have been thinking a lot."

"Hmpf, I'm a noble from the capital, Wolf, if I wasn't at least observant enough to know your emotions I would be considered a failure," Lyle says with his chest swelled in pride, "In any case, you can always count on my help, though I'm not sure I can help a lot."

Lyle looks away embarrassed. Hatara looks concerned while Garanae keeps a poker face. Toroo smiles warmly. Alissa and Lina know what I'm thinking about so they keep quiet.

"Thank you for your concern, Lyle, really. It's something that I will deal with so there's nothing to worry about, I'm just a little anxious," I smile warmly.

When we go back home Alissa tells us she's a few blocks from our house. It's time.

I have 91 skill points. I put my skills like this:

Wolf Ryder Skill Report Physical Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Sword Use 0+6 Dodge 0+5 Parry 0+5 Block 0+8 Shield Bash 0+1 Muscle Explosion 0+1 Battlefield Perception 2+1 Quiet Steps 10+0 Quiet Action 10+0 Sense Presence 11+0 Hide Presence 10+0 Magical Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Sense Mana 0+5 Mana Control 0+7 Mana Recovery 0+0 Mana Efficiency 0+5 Reduced Mana Cost 0+0 Mana Overuse Resistance 0+2 Electric Magic 0+8 Earth Magic 0+2 Light Magic 6+4 Nature Magic 0+13 Space Magic 14+16 Summoning Magic 11+9 Blessing Magic 0+14 Illusion Magic 8+2 Golemancy 0+2 Redirect Mana (creator) 3 Sense Soul (creator) 2 Miscellaneous Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Andraste Language 9+1 Dismantling 0+2 Enhanced Semen Recharge 0+3 OBS: Level means (free point)+(trained point)

I feel naked without my melee and the mana enhancements skills. I have to wear a cloak over my armor and I can't carry my shield. This is so dangerous.

"Be safe," Alissa tells me.

"We will be right behind you," Hana assures me.

"It will be alright," Roxanne comforts me.

"You can do this," Ciel cheers me.

Lina seems lost for words and merely looks at me with anxiety.

"I'll come back," I tell her.

Each gets a kiss. I cast [Ignorance] on myself.

"This is a bit odd, my eye wants to look away, as if it hurts to look at you," Alissa says.

"I can't see shit, it's like you are invisible," says Hana, the one with the lowest "Perception".

"I can feel the mana when I'm near you, though," says Roxanne, the one with the highest [Sense Mana].

"Even though this does wonders to hiding, it would be extremely suspicious to walk around with it, you only need one person to feel the oddity and you are screwed," I say.

No more time to waste, I move towards her last known position.

"Turning on" all those sneaking skills makes me feel like my body is made of lead but I can actually move normally, it just takes a lot of mental effort. I wonder if Alissa feels the same, probably not otherwise she would be mentally exhausted. Is this a limitation of the system? I see that the range of my [Sense Presence] isn't that much far, each level gives less and less range. Because I have a lot of skills I shouldn't have it's giving me some sort of diminishing returns? I should have tested this before but I didn't think such problems would exist, right now I gotta deal with it.

Less than a minute after leaving I see her. The only person currently walking on this street. I can sense her presence, I turn the corner and see her walking away. Grey cloak, straw sun hat, lowered head, a hint of a thin jaw. With a bit of difficulty, I keep my eyes on her and stare long enough to use [Sense Soul].

Soul Info Name: Farana Uiara Race: Human Level: 37

The level of an experienced adventurer. She's dangerous.

I keep my distance and stalk her. Only a few people are wandering about, drunks, people about to become drunk, bored guards, late adventurers, workers closing shop. Very few people on the street as the sun has now set and it's dark. Slowly the magical street lights turn on.

I follow her for a long time, we are crossing town and I'm not liking the direction she's going. It's the slums, the part of the town I avoided and never ever got any close.

Slowly the crooked and mixed buildings turn less crooked but more battered and run down. The mixed architecture goes away and only simple, weak-looking wooden buildings remain. I think that this part of town would get completely destroyed on an attack so this is why the buildings look relatively the same.

The street gets dirtier and slowly I start smelling something I never smelled on this town. Piss and shit. The brick roads get worn down and patches of dirt appear.

I see a curious group, 4 guards protecting a duo of priests. It seems they are casting [Clean] around town but it does little amidst all this filth. None of them even spared a glance to either of us, we are both completely hidden in plain sight.

The buildings get even worse and I start to see sick homeless sleeping around the buildings. Children and old people, cripples and the not-so-sane, drunks and drug users. Fuck me I live in the really good part of the town.

We enter a narrow alley and my heart stops, a perfect place for a trap. I nervously follow, I can sense the people inside the houses and no one makes a move, they are mostly sleeping or eating, or possibly fucking.

We leave the alley and I let out a breath of relief. But the place we are now is worse, there are no homeless here, it's a wide-open space.

Farana runs. Fuck. Six bleeps come running from the alleys towards me. FUCK!

I turn the Emergency Ring red and draw my sword. Someone cloaked appears in front of me, he's walking straight to me. I see a slight rainbow shine, he has [Rainbow Shield], [Ignorance] doesn't work as well against him.

"You! Stop right there, if you come closer I will kill you," I warn the cloaked person.

The man stops but the other 5 don't.

"Same goes for your five other friends!"

Now they stop. Wait a second, I get the weird feeling again before the party.

"You have 10 seconds to drop your weapon and come with us, quietly, or we will force you," says the man in front of me."

"10."

Oh no.

"9."

"8."

"7."

It doesn't work.

"6."

"5"

"4."

IT'S NOT WORKING!

"3."

"2."

"1…"

[Gate] IS NOT WORKING!

The 4 rush forward, 2 stay back and I sense mana gathering.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck, I'm going to die.

I summon 4 earth elementals, can't concentrate they are all made of dirt and stone with a head full of long black hair. The group stops for a second.

"Protect me!" I order them.

My head hurts, this was too much to cast on a single second. I cast [Lightning Bolt] on the man in front and follow with [Entangling Vines]. Now my head explodes in pain, overuse. Keep it together!

The man pulls a small shield and blocks the bolt, it did nothing, but the vines tangle on of his foot and he falls once he tries to walk again. I rush towards him.

With the help of [Telekinesis] I bury my sword on his head, it goes through mail and leather up to halfway to his skull, he's dead.

I can't stop, I gotta move, gotta move, gotta move.

With a bit of effort, I take my sword away and look around. 2 elementals are fighting a sword and shield duo to my right, in front, an elemental is getting hit by a huge [Earth Bullet] and it's now skidding on the ground. To my left another elemental is on the ground, cut in half vertically, a huge man with blue dragon wings is charging towards me, he has a dark two-handed flamberge, there are jagged edges at each wave.

I'm going to die! I gotta survive this charge!

I cast [Vine Weapon] and create a small shield. I jump sideways to dodge and use my shield to deflect the blow. The sword ignores everything and cuts my hand away.

"AAA-..."

My scream of pain gets interrupted, I feel "death" approaching. I use [Explosive Muscles] to move my upper body to the side, I feel a gust of wind and mana from my [Wind Armor], then a horrible pain surges on the right side of my neck. I fall on the ground and put my hand on my neck, it's wet and warm, I'm bleeding horribly, I cast the biggest [Heal] I can in a second.

"You aren't supposed to kill him!" Yells the dragonkin.

"HE KILLED NARIAN!" Someone screams.

"FUCK NARIAN, WE AREN'T SUPPOSED TO KILL HIM!" Screams the dragonkin from the bottom of his lungs.

I cast [Lightning Bolt] on the dragonkin, it doesn't work, it won't come out of my handless arm. I use the other, the bolt flies.

"Heh," Laughs the dragonkin, the bolt arched towards the sword and disappeared.

WHY DOESN'T IT WORK!

I cast [Earth Bullet], it hits him square in the chest and the dragonkin flies away. A flying rock is still a flying rock, block this spell you fucker.

"What the fuck," says someone.

A small breather, I can survive a bit longer.

One elemental dies, the mage got him.

My vision is foggy, too much mana in too little time, my head is splitting open. I get up, my stump is bleeding profusely, my legs are shaky, my neck is still bleeding.

I see a hooded archer looking at the dragonkin, who's slowly getting up. The archer looks at me with fury and draws another arrow, I feel "death" coming again.

*Thunk*. I hear an arrow getting embedded in flesh. The archer falls on the ground with an arrow behind his head, he's dead.

"You fuckers took too long!" Yells the dragonkin.

Another elemental dies, one of the two swordsmen destroyed an elemental.

"FUCK YOU FUCKING FUCKS I WILL KILL YOU, I WILL KILL YOU!" Screams Hana, I guess she's too angry to be creative.

She lands in front of the dragonkin with a savage overhead slash. The dragonkin grunts and parries Hana.

The mage gathers mana, it's a robed woman. She's ignoring me, the taunt worked.

I rush her, you don't let a mage cast freely. Once she hears me it's too late, I jump on her and bury my sword on her chest, then I collapse on top of her.

I feel mana gathering away, I hear footsteps and sounds of blades hitting shields.

I see her yellow skin, backward-pointing horns, her hooves, and fluffy goat legs, she's a krampus demon. The mage is still alive, trying to crawl away with the sword on her chest. I draw my dagger, I bury it on her back and twist it.

"HYAAAAAAH...!" She shrieks and squirms below me. I feel horrible, I almost puke.

"Please... help me... I don't... wanna die," she pleads.

I can't, it's you or me, I can't. I remove the dagger again and stab her on the back of her neck, that did it. She gargles on blood and goes limp a few seconds later.

I look in front of me. The dragonkin has an arrow on his chest, bodkin arrows doing work, he's being hit by a [Torrent] and falls on the ground. Hana is mid-flight and ready to skewer him, her face showing pure anger, something I never saw before.

Ciel is slashing at one of the swordsmen, he's suppressed and moving backward. The other is still fighting the elemental who's missing an arm and plenty of the dirt on its chest is missing.

I hold my stump. It hurts too much, it's bleeding too much, my body feels cold.

Hana falls on top of the dragonkin, her sword pierces him and gets embedded on the ground, he struggles and tries to grab the sword. Hana stomps on his neck repeatedly, I hear the bones breaking.

Roxanne casts [Fire Whip] on the swordsman fighting Ciel, she grabs his foot and he loses his balance. Ciel stabs him in the shoulder and he drops his shield, screaming in pain. He tries to parry the next stab but lacks strength, Ciel stabs him in the heart and after a few seconds of struggling, he goes limp.

Alissa runs as a fox behind the last swordsman, he looks deathly pale, he's desperate. He tries to run away but falls on the ground with an arrow on his thigh and screams in pain.

"MERCY! PLEASE, I YIELD!"

Lina comes running towards me, she has my hand with her. Her face is wet with tears. I turn off [Ignorance].

"Get Ciel... I don't have much mana..." I mutter, my voice is hoarse, it's painful to talk.

I'm shaking uncontrollably. I feel my legs are wet and warm, it's the blood of the mage that's pooling below me.

I crawl away from the blood and nearly collapse. I drink an emergency MP potion.

I hear the man scream again, Hana stepped on his other leg and crushed his knee. Alissa, Ciel, and Lina rush to me.

Alissa casts [Clean] while I hear Ciel hurriedly chant a [Heal], Lina brings my hand and holds it on my stump.

I feel a little bit of pleasure and almost cry, the pain on my stump fades and I regain the feeling of having a hand. For now, I can barely close my fist, tomorrow it will be much better. Ciel casts another and my neck stops hurting. Alissa and Lina hug me and cry.

I almost died.

I don't feel like puking, progress, but I can't feel my legs, adrenaline is one hell of a drug. It seems infinitely easier to kill monsters than humanoids, or maybe I'm just the weird one.

I don't know how long we kept the hug. The screaming man got muffled, sometime later I hear him mutter something and then he stops talking. Slowly I regain my movement, the girls help me walk.

The other 3 are surrounding the last man and notice me, their eyes hold nothing but coldness to the surviving man. Aoi is on Roxanne's shoulders, there's smoke coming out of her nose, I can feel through [Animal Tongue] that she's grumbling. I wobble towards them, I'm still sweating cold.

"You okay?" Asks Roxanne.

"I think so," I answer. I look at my hand and see it's trembling a little.

"It's okay, it will pass," says Ciel. She holds my shoulder and rubs my back. It helps, gives me a bit of comfort.

Lina grabs my other side, she's still silently crying.

My breathing is erratic, I focus on controlling and slowly it turns back normal. My head is still hurting a lot.

"Did you interrogate him?" I ask.

"Yeah, they don't know anything significant, just hired swords," Hana answers with poison on her voice, "The stalker would come here every day and make the same routine while they wait. The stalker probably didn't even know you were following."

"Anything about who paid them?"

"Nothing, just shady middle-men that only go by nicknames and masks. No wonder nobody gets a lead on Darean, he must have lots of money to buy silence and lackeys."

Being a hunter pays well in Rabanara, we are proof of that.

"Kill him," I mutter.

Ciel sighs and nods to Hana. She lifts her sword and the whimpering man screams in fear, it gets cut short as his head falls from his body. I'm starting to feel sick again.

"You are now level 21."

That was necessary. Darean shouldn't know about my chanting speed and the extent of my magical knowledge, neither should he know about how close to failure we were. If he does, next time he's going be fully ready for us.

"Bring me the bodies," I say.

"What? Why?" Asks Ciel.

"Infinite space," I answer.

"Oh! Clean all the blood you can and get all the items. Not many people should know what happened here," Alissa says.

"Why!? Let's talk to the guards!" Ciel yells, confused.

"It's because we collected a bounty that we are in this mess, to begin with. Let's lay low for now," says Hana.

"Oh. I remember... Gods help us, let the wicked stay away from us, let this family be safe," Prays Ciel.

I look at the headless man. I don't feel anger, he's just a hired sword. I feel pity, pity his life ended like this. The Gods tell us not to waste our lives, to work together for a better future, for a better chance of surviving the monsters. Yet here we are, hurting each other for money.

"Let your next life be on a better place for this one was wasted here," I pray.

I feel something change within me, my "Piety" increased by 2 (now 14).

"This sword is special, this guy must have been famous," says Hana.

The two-handed flamberge is beautiful and frightening. It's made of black metal with small monster teeth embedded into it. The metal looks glossy and it faintly sparkles in the light.

"That's 'emellanat', a metal that absorbs magic," Lina says, "It must have come from either Mountainhome or the silver elves. There's not much metal in Rabanara and definitely none of the special kind."

So this is why [Wind Armor] and [Vine Weapon] did nothing against it.

"Why does it use monster teeth?" I ask.

"It doesn't hold an edge very well. It's good against mages and magic beings but it needs something else to cut."

"There's a guy over here with another sword like that one, it's smaller though," Alissa says.

"This shield has that metal behind it," says Hana.

This is how they killed my elementals so easily and why my bolts didn't work. They were prepared for me.

"They knew I could use elementals and [Electric Magic], but they didn't know how fast I could chant. If it weren't for that I would have been kidnapped already," I say.

Alissa grinds her teeth and the other girls look down. We underestimated them hard.

"Why didn't you use [Gate]?" Asks Roxanne.

"Oh yes, I couldn't, I tried but something blocked me."

Roxanne opens her eyes wide.

"Search the mage girl corpse, she must have a magic tool there."

Lina rummages through the corpse without hesitation. She brings out a small disk. It's made of onyx with lots of circular silver inscriptions on it.

"Wolf... I'm sorry, I-I forgot these things existed," Roxanne looks down, tears on the corners of her eyes.

"What?"

"The disk is a Gate Scrubber, it blocks [Gate] and removes any 'coordinate' someone would have put down on the area affected," she clutches her staff harder.

"Oh, the Lords use it to protect their castles. Didn't know it could be used like this," Hana says.

"You use it in the middle of a town and you screw over the entire transport system, this is why it's not talked much."

"This mage girl is a runaway space mage," Lina says, bounty plate in hand.

This is why she had it then. I grab Roxanne's shoulder.

"It's okay. None of us would have imagined this," I say to her.

"But, we should have, I should have warned you this could happen."

"And the plan likely wouldn't have changed. It's okay."

Ciel hugs her from behind.

"We don't blame you, alright?"

Roxanne calms down and nods.

"So, I guess now we really don't want the guards involved?" Hana says.

"The empire would certainly investigate and use lie detectors on all of us," Roxanne answers.

"That's... a bit risky," I say.

"One thing is certain. Darean is not just a normal adventurer," Roxanne adds, fear in her voice.

We use bounty plates on the other corpses, they were kidnappers and illegal slavers. The woman likely used [Gate] on the victim and teleported it to a cell or something. They weren't branded by the gods as wicked so they wouldn't be executed but the crimes they committed spelled a long sentence as a criminal slave. Except for the mage, the empire does not fuck around.

I store everything on my "Items".

"Let's go home," I say.

I cast [Gate] to our living room. We go to sleep immediately after a quick wash. I hug Alissa tight and Hana hugs me from behind. Roxanne looks undecided for a second but then she drops beside Alissa and hugs her from the front.

Today is the 26th.

-

My [Mana Overuse Resistance] increased by 1 (now 0+3). Ciel leveled up to 31 and increased her [Light Magic] by 1 (now 24).

Aside from the morning lewdness, we wake up without much energy, Roxanne more than the others. Everyone is slowly taking in the reality of the danger we were in. I have two new scars now, one on my wrist and the other on my throat. These don't have some glorious memory of it, just a reminder of the danger of overconfidence.

I just feel so weak, both in combat and in spirit. I was so close to being kidnapped, I now know they certainly wouldn't have killed me. It seems Darean is avoiding being branded as wicked by not killing me, but he wants to do something to me, what exactly I do not know.

"What now? You think it's safe to stay here or should we leave town?" I ask Hana.

"I don't know, I fought the underworld a few times but I never got involved like this," she answers with a frown.

"I think we need help," says Ciel.

"From whom?" I ask.

"You tried talking to the guildmaster?" She asks.

"I asked if Silas knew something about Darean's family but he said he wouldn't tell me even if he knew."

"Tch, after all this he isn't giving much back," Ciel frowns.

"What about Nour?" Alissa asks.

"He came here to train, away from his family's schemes. I doubt he could help much," I answer.

"Silvane?" Lina asks.

"I don't think she has that much power, she's still a Blood Slave. We also don't really have much of a connection with the Lord's son or the Lord himself. Except…"

"Vanea," Lina finishes.

I sigh.

"She's dangerous, who knows what she's going to ask in return," I say.

"But she's our only bet. From what you told us she has something against him," Ciel says.

Alissa looks concerned.

"I... don't wanna deal with her," Hana says.

"Why is that?" I ask.

"You know... nobles and schemes, this, this is why father..." Hana looks down, a lot of sadness in her eyes.

Roxanne grabs one hand and I grab the other.

"We don't really have much of an option, except running away," Roxanne says, caressing Hana's hair.

Hana closes her eyes.

"Wolfy, can you promise me that... that we will be safe?" She looks at me.

"I can, those are my vows, to keep you all safe."

"Dad said the same thing..." She mutters.

Her voice shows a weakness she didn't have before. A weakness, a pain that I don't want her to feel ever again.

"I'm sorry Hana, but you know we don't have many options. There are things we just can't run from, we have to fight," Ciel says, calming confidence in her voice.

"We need to trust each other, not just trust Wolfy. We will deal with this, together," Alissa says, a sweet tone that gives us motivation.

After a few seconds Hana breathes in deeply and nods, her face resolved, the weakness and pain gone from her face.

"Should we go and meet her immediately?" I ask.

"Vanea said she wanted you to visit, right? But did she give you a token or something?" Ciel asks.

"No, she did not."

"Then perhaps she meant you should visit her at the university? Visiting a Lord's daughter at her home is a privilege that shouldn't be taken lightly, even she wouldn't just give it to someone she just met."

"Then we wait until classes are back. But should we just wait here?"

"Perhaps... we should flaunt our strength to Darean, show that we are not scared," Alissa answers.

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"We could collect the bounty on those people. If Darean has more spies he would think we are confident in our power."

"Or he might think we are overconfident and attack again."

"I find it hard to believe he has two Gate Scrubbers. If he does we might as well assume he's funded by the royalty of the empire," Roxanne says.

"He won't attack to kill us, he wanted to kidnap you. He will have to find another way to ambush you again, he won't be able to do that so quickly," Ciel says.

"Well, in the end, it's a bluff, we could see if it works," says Roxanne.

"Then what? Go waltz around town and show we are not scared?" I ask.

"Well, we could go to a dungeon. We still need to keep earning money, my potions won't sustain us all forever. Especially because someone has some curious spending habits," says Roxanne.

I squirm and look away, the gazes are too much right now.

"Oh, let's go to the Spiral Springs again. We can put a portal on the Moon Turtles floor and get more moss whenever we need," she says excitedly, but then she cringes, "Though we have to go through the Ant Hill again."

No pleasant memories there.

"We could throw off any pursuers by teleporting back home, this could also serve as a trial for how much mana it's going to cost to teleport us far away," I say.

"I don't think he's going to pursue us for some time, but yes, I think we should go to the Spiral Springs," Alisa says.

"There's also something I wanna get on the Roulette of the Morning Dew."