I walk back into the living area calling out to Mab. There is no answer. Peeking into the little abode she stayed in shows no one present. I glance around, finally seeing what looks like a note on the counter in the kitchen area. Frowning, I go and investigate.

As soon as I make contact with the paper, a notification pops up:

Gram,

Thank you for finding and retrieving my daughter. By completing the assessment early, my obligations to you are finished. In my capacity as Fae Queen, We owe you a debt - from myself, my daughter, and our race. If ever you are in need of help, we will gladly meet your call.

Queen Mab

That makes it official: I’m screwed.

If she was so eager to help me, then why would she up and leave? I get that she wasn’t exactly the best mentally put together person/fae, but to jump ship while leaving me high and dry? For fucks sake, Mab. You can be a really ungrateful bitch.

Sighing, I resolve to myself to never ignore the notifications again. I could have seen this coming and asked the questions I needed answers to without being all anti-social. Shaking my head, I know this is just as much my fault as it is hers so there is no one else to blame but myself.

For accepting the situation and growing from it, you gain: +2 to Intelligence and +5 to Wisdom.

Stat gains are good. Minor consolation, all things told.

I take the time to eat, then sit down to begin the tedious work of reading through the backlog of events.

Based on the timer of my HUD, a little over three hours pass while I deal with the minutia. That was another massive backlog. In summary: I defeated a lot of enemies, gained a decent amount of loot, had several notifications where my skills increased but those skills were not identified, and I received several quest starters. There were notifications during my run through the Duke’s residence indicating severe penalties if I were identified and caught, the completion of my assessment and obligation with Mab, and my encounter with Meanrock.

One of the more interesting notifications was back when I was learning skills. There was a countdown on each of them. The timer indicates time remaining for full integration of knowledge and memories, which makes so much more sense now. I thought I got a nerfed set of skills or something, though the enchanting skill was somehow skipped or missed for the integration. Maybe it was due to the being the first one I chose? In that vein, then I’m still processing the massive life history of whoever I purchased this from.

To avoid the annoyance of missing the important things, again, due to combat - I go back to the settings and change the priority on messages not pertaining to combat to appear after combat. This way, I won’t miss them as easily. I make sure to toggle off the unimportant messages like damage dealt or enemy defeated, while leaving the more important messages from loot, experience, or even general system messages - all so I don’t miss the important bullshit.

For careful thought and consideration, you gain: +2 to Wisdom.

I smirk. Now that I’m not ignoring the notifications, the snarky comments are back. A seed of worry starts to take root though, it’s almost as if I’m being monitored by an intelligent being rather than an impersonal system.

The notifications done, I settle to go through my inventory. This doesn’t take as long as I feared, with the sorting capability that Mab showed me. I have a lot of junk. Thankfully, the typical RPG rarity system has it’s color coding accompaniment to the items. Common items are grey, uncommon are green, rare are red, epic is a yellow/gold, legendary is orange, and the last is artifact being a royal purple.

Other than the artifacts I picked up and the gear that was gifted or brought with me, all the other items are grey. All of them. Kinda disappointing really. But I’ve been fighting basic mobs and goons, so it’s not like I can complain too much. That and my abysmal luck stat. Leat my charisma isn’t my dump stat, I have enough problems navigating the social norms as it is. Having a piss poor charisma stat on top of that would make this the worst living/gaming existence ever.

Pulling up the shop, I go to the sell option and lump all the white items together. Basically looking at a credit per item, so I just sell it all to free up space in my, apparently, unlimited inventory. I wonder if I can put a building in there…

Moving on, I check up on the materials I need to make enchantments in the shops available to me. Looking at the credit cost per material, I’m not sure if it would be better to go farm the items myself. Based on the enchantment memories, the materials I’m looking to use for the high end enchantments are definitely higher in cost. Typically though, a master of that level is making more than enough credits to not even flinch at the costs to make the new enchantments, so I suppose the logic sticks.

I take a moment to think to myself - do I really want to stay here? Drab, plain walls. No scenery, no new locations to explore, just one relatively massive and uniform location that people can come to for trade and transition.

Decision made, I start to look at the more in-depth info on the materials and make my way to the comm station each room has.

Pressing the comm button, I say aloud, “This is Gram, could I speak to Lt. Scott?” Uncertain of the etiquette involved, I just speak my mind.

A female voice responds, “Transferring you now.”

I blink. Is it like the old rotary phone days? Should I call her a smooth operator?

“Gram, what is it you need?” Brusque, but at least he responded.

“Listen, I know you’re likely busy, but you’re the only one I actually know on this hub.” I take a moment to explain to him that Mab left, her obligation completed but leaving me high and dry. I also explain to him that I want to get into enchanting, not letting him know about my apparently vast knowledge on the subject. “That’s the short of it, would you know where I can get the essences, crystals, and purified water base? Are they all located on one world?”

There is a pause, long enough that I wonder if he walked away while I explained my situation. Thankfully, it appears I worried for not. “...Because you helped defend the station without asking for a reward, I’ll get that info to you shortly. Frankly speaking, I don’t think you realize just how much you helped us, and indirectly helped the princess. You will have a package delivered to your room within the hour.”

Thanking him, the connection was terminated and I went about gathering anything I may have left out. I browse the shops for things I would need for an extended stay on a hostile planet. Typical items needed for survival and some for my own peace of mind. Might as well get some of the materials to play with enchanting as well. No telling how long it will actually take to get to the locations for said materials and that doesn’t include all the ‘farming’ for ‘mats’.

I didn’t buy any of these items before hand due to the sudden mission Mab wanted to go on to save her daughter, I was busy spending all my time looking for skills and knowledge. Clothing took a priority as well, since I didn’t want to walk around nude in front of Mab, but she’s gone now. Not like I’m suddenly going to strip and lounge au naturale right this moment though.

I find a trap setting tool kit, which is filled to the brim with materials and tools to make all manner of traps. Rope, twine, bear traps, caltrops, flammable liquids, poison, these kits are filled with a large assortment of trap making materials.What’s nicer is I can use the items for other things, it’s not a consumable item that will only make traps. I have to have the skill and ingenuity to make them myself. I buy fifty of them.

The kits take care of a lot of incidentals needed for everyday survival and I get the option to help secure a location much easier with these. If I gain the skill for them. I’m much more used to planting explosives for traps rather than these mundane toys.

Browsing more, I find several different hygiene based kits as well. Most are geared towards women, but there are basic kits that contain odorless soap and such. Going over five months without a bath or soap makes having these essential to my well being. I buy fifty of those as well.

For clothing, I buy ten more sets of what I’m wearing - without any enchantments on them. I plan to do those myself. More underwear and socks, I also look for a method to clean the clothes I’m purchasing.

There is a tiny robot available, about the size of a five gallon drum. Apparently this ‘little’ bot can do laundry, cook, clean, and generally pick up after me. Shrugging, I grab the little bot since it’ll make my life easier. My own little robotic waifu… My heart clenches a moment before I push that thought away with a small and bitter laugh.

Not wanting to head out and desperately need something, I take a few minutes to plan the situation out to the best of my ability. I’ll need food, drinks of some sort, armor, some containers and glass vials to store finer materials. I have ammo and a small arsenal of guns to sort through, so I’d best see about explosives to add to my inventory as well. The most important bit will be transportation. Let’s hope they’ll have something that I can use.

Careful forethought and planning has awarded you with: +5 Intelligence and +5 Wisdom.

Starting to wisen up now, aren’t you?

I can’t help but wonder if those notifications pop up like that to distract me from my thoughts. It works really well in that regard, but I’ve already resigned myself to look them over as they come. Besides, stat gains are good, though it makes me feel remarkably stupid at times. Ego, hang in there buddy.

My packages arrive with a chime. I go retrieve them and get back to browsing the store. I do note that I haven’t received the one from Lt. Scott yet, though I haven’t been paying attention to the time either.

The food stuffs I purchase look a lot more appealing than the MRE’s I’ve had to put up with in the field. Assortment packs that contain different jerky types, berries, nuts, and oatmeal. Reminds me of trailmix from home, but a lot fresher. I try not to look too close at each of them, as they are far different from home, but they wouldn’t be sold for consumption if they weren’t edible, right? Let’s go with that and keep on, purchasing another fifty of those so I don’t have to fear starving right away.

For armor, I chose brigandine for its flexibility and lighter weight. Making sure the coverage is good, for when I have no choice but to battle it out, I select the types with shoulder guards, half sleeves on the arms, and that go down to my knees rather than just the solitary chestpiece alone. Looking over the different types available, I make sure it’s made of a higher grade cloth-like material similar to my flak jacket. I flag the assortment I found, since I’m not sure what kind of world I’m headed to. It’d be funny to have standard camo colors and be in a winter world or snowy climate. I’d stick out like a sore thumb, no doubt.

Looking at the drink section, I find a flask that catches my eye.

Flask of the Never Ending. This flask is imbued with the essence of water and saturation. Never runs out of pure drinking water.

Knowing I could enchant one like this but being short on time and lacking materials, I purchase it.

Following this thread of thought, if they make drinking water flasks, will they have a flask of Purified Essence of Water that is used for enchanting? The quick search feature displays absolutely nothing. Dammit. Oh well, that’d be too convenient.

I find a wide assortment of containers and glassware that can be sealed. I grab two hundred fifty of the glass vials and seventy assorted sized sealable glass containers like Mab and her daughter were caught in.

Browsing for the next to last item on my mental list ends up with nothing. There are no explosives available for purchase through the stores here. If they exist, they are likely available on the blackmarket or it’s equivalent here on the hub. I do notice a skill book for explosives engineering and snatch that up.

After the short processing time for the skill, I remember Mab mentioning skill books on magic. Looking that up again brings quite the wide variety to my attention. I notice that the timer for the intro, intermediate, and advanced books on magic were combined and about to zero out.

I fangirl a moment, but without the squee. I’m going to learn magic! Cough. Ok, there was a bit of squee in there. But, Magic!

The timer hits zero and I’m not disappointed. I’m taken through the life of a student, learning the mysteries of magic in a school setting. Theoretical application of magic as it was investigated and researched on that particular planet and compared to the overall results to the the other known systems that is this universe.

The skill touches on the use of magic for everyday use, applications in battle, strategic use during war, and the intricacies of personal gain from use. The learner also picks up studies of so-called deities that inhabit the world and others.

I have my doubts about said deities, seeing as I’m becoming powerful myself - if I’m not already. I’m more inclined to think they are very skilled users who have gained enormous experience and levels, increasing their power and longevity. Powerful compared to the common man a deity this does not make.

My Faith doesn’t even feel a tremor of doubt while taking this knowledge in, as there is only one Creator. How He relates to this System I’m within now is yet to be seen, however.

The magic system itself is fairly simple. Words of power, of meaning, and gestures impose the Will of the caster onto the world around them. From the skill, I intuit that there are many different schools of magic and each has their own dividing branch from the main skill through deeper understanding and experience. The premise is still the same though and the skill eventually comes down to personal interpretation and Willpower.

There is the standard RPG element wheel for strong/weak damage against each element, but they only discuss the four basic elements fire, earth, water, and air. Nothing of light, dark, or lightning for example. Is that due to the skillbook being about the basics or is it something else, something more advanced?

Seeing as the movie reel hasn’t stopped, I may yet find out that answer.

Intermediate magic primarily touches on the battle aspects for magic use. More strategy, tactics, situational conditions that appear common sense but since its magic… In other words, don’t expect a fireball to be very effective during a massive rainstorm. Even channeling heat of the level of the sun will eventually get smothered by the massive volume of water raining from above.

Once the combative use of magic is finished, the instructional tutorial is covering the more advanced elements. Light, Dark, Lightning, and combinations leading to elements like Ice or Magma.

The reason the additional elements are deemed as more advanced is the amount of willpower needed to combine two basic elements together or use Dark, Light, or Lightning. But nothing was actually said about willpower itself, simply implied with very long lectures leading up to control and techniques to control the combining of elements.

The advanced magic tutorial aims at large scale battles, theoretical spells from ages past that were so massive and potent they were and are deemed weapons of mass destruction, magical warfare, and supporting the troops during bombardment.

The knowledge tapers off as the final subjects of affinites, combinations, and spell joining rituals are covered.

I’m genuinely surprised at just how much time and effort has been taken to learn and then teach this subject. I mean, yes it's magic, but the sheer depth of the subject reminds me of how deeply down the rabbit hole our scholars and military went in their pursuits for knowledge in my own world.

Glancing at my stats when the knowledge dump is complete, I stare at the screen and wonder if there are hidden stats just like my hidden abilities. Willpower isn’t listed and I’m unsure how else a person would have it in a quantifiable way. I’m fairly certain that willpower is a hidden stat since luck and charisma are both quantifiable and used.

Shrugging, I put that rumination off till later. I look up and purchase the basic spells for four elements - wind, water, earth, and fire. This way I can fiddle with them when I have down time.

You have obtained the basic Wind spell: Gust.

Using MP, a small gust of air is generated in the direction that is willed. Can become stronger with use and understanding. Cost 5 MP per use.

You have obtained the basic Earth spell: Stone Fist.

Using MP, a small fist of stone shoots away from the caster in the direction that is willed. Can become stronger with use and understanding. Cost 5 MP per use.

You have obtained the basic Water spell: Water spout.

Using MP, a small water spout shoots away from the caster in the direction that is willed. Can become stronger with use and understanding. Cost 5 MP per use.

You have obtained the basic Fire spell: Ember.

Using MP, a small ember of fire shoots away from the caster in the direction that is willed. Can become stronger with use and understanding. Cost 5 MP per use.

I frown at the spells for a moment. Yes, spells. They have their own tab, separate from skills. Maybe due to the MP use rather than SP? This will involve more thought, but later. I’m eager to get on the road, so to speak.

I glance at my Credits and do a double take. That’s higher than it should be… Oh right, Meanrock was carrying quite the stash on him when I killed him. Even with all my purchases, I still have over one million credits. At least I won’t have to worry about money any time soon.

I take the time to finish my shopping by looking into means of transportation. Unlike my previous, exotic, searches, there is such a thing.

Wheeled vehicles a plenty, from single wheel agile single seaters to twelve wheel massive behemoths that can seat a small platoon comfortably. Various designs, paint schemes, and configurations for just the wheeled section and then there are the exotic options.

Anti-grav mobile units, aquatic, vehicles capable of atmospheric flight or space flight. Or both. That’s where my eyes wander until I see the lowest credit cost and I shudder a bit.

I thought with my million plus credits I was loaded. Well, the starting cost for full atmo and space vehicles begins at ten million. Yowza.

I browse back to the full atmo flight units and cringe again. A simple two seater flying unit would still wipe out most of my fortune. Pass, for now.

I lean back in thought while I pull open the anti-grav tab. The prices are more reasonable compared to my pocket depth. I’ll have a means of quick mobility, comfort, transport over water, and a smooth ride. Interested, I start looking at combinations.

The first one that pops up is listed as a bargain buy, having the base unit of ten meters long and three meters wide. This includes the equivalent of a motorcycle in the back, but anti-grav instead of a fuel based engine.

Fast, reliable, quiet, has a small living quarters in the middle of the thirty foot monstrosity and it shows it can be stored! All for half a million.

Not hesitating in the slightest, I punch the order in and close the shop screen. Way too stressful and I’m not even sure I’ll need most of that. Sigh.

The door chimes, must be the last of my orders. I get up and head to the door, it slides open as I approach and two uniformed guards march in.

My guns are up and I’m taking aim, not wanting to take any chances. The guards freeze, their eyes going wide for a moment.

“Lt. Scott did warn me you were jumpy, but I didn’t expect to this extent.” A very attractive blonde haired woman enters, hair going past her shoulders. Petite and decently endowed in the three figures most otakus yearn to know, she’s wearing an ornate dress, colorful and well made. She stands at a little over a meter and a half, or five and a half feet tall. Unarmed, an impish smile on her face. Regal features, similar to Mab. A light perfume diffuses into the living area, flowery and fragrant.

I’m neutral in my response, “Where I’m from, visitors announce their presence before entering. Commonly called manners, last I checked.” The two guards eyes bulge and their jaws drop a bit.

The woman giggles, a hand comes up to cover her mouth. “I’ll keep that in mind. I’m Princess Leanna. You must be Gram?”

I nod as I put the guns back into inventory, my arms falling to my sides as I make eye contact with the princess.

There is a pause, slightly awkward. One of the guards coughs. I roll my eyes.

“To verbally answer your question, yes I’m Gram. To what do I owe this honor of a visit from you Princess?” Might as well get the ball rolling.

“Oh good. I had heard from Lt. Scott that you asked for some information and I decided that it would be best to deliver it myself as thanks for unwittingly defending me from the insurgents.” She flashes a pretty smile and gives a slight curtsy.

An eyebrow arches up. “I hardly think a parcel of information begs your attention for delivery, Princess. I thank you for such consideration.” I reply with a slight nod of my head. No bowing or other such signs of servitude from me, she’s not my princess after all.

There’s that impish smile again. “Oh, it is not only information I bring. I felt it necessary to reward you, even if you acted in my defense unintentionally.” She motions behind her to another guard carrying a small parcel.

I give a strained smile and wait for her to continue. Royalty is quickly becoming a pain in my ass, but I’ll humor her for the moment seeing as she brings free gifts.

She opens the parcel and removes a finely crafted pair of leather boots. “These were made by the royal craftsmen, to reward you for your aid. I heard from Lt. Scott that you were in dear need of a good set of footwear, so I commissioned this set made just for you.” She tells me and steps towards me, boots held out for me to receive them.

I take them from her with another slight nod. “Thank you for this gift.”

“You are most welcome. Thank you for saving my life and for defending the hub.” Another smile, genuine and radiant. “The planet you will want to visit for the materials is addressed in this letter. I hope to see you again in the future.”

She hands me an envelope, smelling faintly of her perfume. I nod and step back. They leave there-after, with no fanfare or excitement. The Princess does look back at me before the door slides shut, a slight look of longing?

I let out a sigh of relief then look at the boots Princess Leanna gave me.

Finely crafted leather boots of the Sky Dragon. These boots allow the wearer to fly with the consumption of MP. Increases movement speed by 40%, grants the wearer Haste.

Armor rating +100 to physical and magical defense. Soulbound item.

Wow, a yellow Epic item. This is something else. The boots are a grey/blue with a shimmer to them. Looking closer, you can see fine scales on the outside.

These boots allow the user to fly, huh? That’s really exciting.

I quickly examine the enchantments, so I can try to replicate them later. Haste and movement speed are present, fairly straight forwards as far as enchantments go. There are a few added pieces that lower the activation costs, refining the skill, spell, and energy use. But no indication of the flight…

Huh, looking at the material itself, there is an activation enchantment and about a dozen refining enchantments covering the boot. Tied within are the Haste and movement enchantments. This is definitely a masterwork piece, the ability for flight being inherent to the material rather than an enchantment by itself.

I quickly swap the my boots out, feeling like a child on Christmas day. This is an amazing gift. While I’m not prone to selfless acts of heroism, this time it unwittingly paid off. Though they attacked me… Eh, don’t over complicate it. You got loot, enjoy it.

A random thought occurs to me. The music never changed when she arrived. I frown and think on that for a few moments. I don’t recall the music changing when Meanrock appeared either. Is it because I’m on a hub? I faintly recall the music changing slightly when Mab was captured on the world I grabbed her daughter from, but I decimated them before things could get serious.

Ah well, it’s not like I’m going to intentionally put myself in harms way for an extended period to find out. It’s not that important.

Shrugging, I open the envelope and pull the letter out. The princess definitely sprayed it with her perfume. I frown at that realization, not wanting to have anything to do with any royalty if I didn’t have to.

A notification appears when I go to read the letter:

To my savior,

The planet you wished to find that contains the materials for Enchantment is located at the coordinates FV-749. This planet is hostile, though it does have several hundred large settlements throughout the world. The technology level is 3, meaning they are still using crude metals for weapons and armors. Magic level is 5, they have a firm grasp of their magical abilities, but nothing catastrophic or capable of decimating large settlements.

The enemies you seek for the required materials are deep within the hostile territories, so plan for long treks abroad.

I look forward to our next meeting. Stay safe and keep away from the women on that world, they are very unclean.

Princess Leanna Novosa

The letter has a lipstick printing of her kiss below her name. A massive shiver runs up and down my spine. That’s so fucking creepy, she never met me before - just a few minutes ago in fact.

Granted, she is attractive and appears to be intelligent, but those stalker tendencies and the psycho vibe I’m getting when I read the part where she warns me away from other women - freaks me out. A lot.

I’m hit by a massive, full-body, shiver. Geh.