Before I visited the kobolds I decided to check out the stocks of ether we had accumulated. Unfortunately my Territory Appraisal skill, despite having increased recently, was still unable to provide all the information I wanted, which was annoying. I mean, come on… stuff like ether draw rates per Spire and upkeep costs should come as standard. If this is a mobile-style gacha game it is very poorly designed…

In addition since my Territory seemed to produce ether based on the area under my control, and also defeating foes added more, getting an accurate figure was impossible, to say nothing of the variances within the etheric tides that complicated things further. Oh and there is apparently a fairly chunky reduction in the ether my Territory and Ether Spires produce while the Anchor is upgrading, muddying the waters further… also where the Spires are situated matters as well…

Damn it, I was going to have to work on my Appraisal skills, they were seriously lacking. I needed to learn how to Appraise items too…

Still, from what I had observed I could say that with six Rank 2 Ether Spires and the Territory at the size it was now, with the tide having diminished to a more normal level I was pulling in roughly between two thousand five hundred and three thousand ether a day just from those. Now I had a Rank 3 Dark Rhyming Tree that would grow as well… though that was being offset for now by the current production drop…

Checking the Silo I found a balance of a bit under half of the maximum capacity of the Silo, around sixty-five thousand ether. That wasn’t bad for while I was gone, and must have been supplemented by the ether Shaeula and I had gained, and Grulgor too. Still, that meant at least my Silo wouldn’t be full before I returned from Las Vegas. I don’t want any more Wyrms looking for easy lunch, nor do I want to attract the attention of whoever was sending those pig-faced troops out. I guess they must be orcs? Japanese orcs anyway, I think western ones are different…

Shaeula followed me out to the shrine on the hill, where a large group of kobolds greeted us. Bowing down before us they offered me a portion of their spoils. There were several handfuls of pretty looking gems which I gave to Shaeula since she appreciated the sparkly stones, along with some more useful things. First there was a stack of Etherite Ores. Most of them were red ores, but there were a couple of orange ores too. Since breaking them down now would be foolish I entrusted them to the white snake kami so I could use them later.

There was also some metals. I recognised iron, copper and silver. But there was one I had never seen and suspected was no mere periodic element, a blueish-silver metal that was giving off a strange feeling. Intrigued I channelled a little wind energy into the metal and it greedily sucked it up, holding it within.

“That is kobold bluesteel, our prized ore, best metal.” The kobold overseer barked. “We find blue gems that we need to grow stronger, become mightier, but we use some to make this metal. Very nice, very special.”

“I have heard of this metal.” Shaeula nodded. “My sister has a spear made from it-it. It can hold elemental essence and use it to strengthen itself. It is as good as some dwarf-made weapons, so she says-says.”

Hearing her words of praise the kobolds looked elated, even forgetting for a while that they were usually deathly afraid of her. With words of thanks we took their offerings and returned to the wind-rich area near Shaeula’s old dungeon.

All right then, a lot to do… what to start with…

My Astral body was still carrying the scars of the wounds inflicted by the black ooze, so I decided to use aether to close them. As I did so, I wondered. Wounds inflicted on the Astral body affected the Material body, and vice versa, so surely I could use that link to heal my Material wounds? But how? My Astral body was repaired, but I had a feeling it was not reaching down to the Material. How could I make it work?

Beside me Shaeula was still experimenting with her wind, practicing gleefully with help from her kamaitachi. Unlike before she was now quite the training fiend, seeming eager to surpass her siblings. Seeing her earnestness I shook my head wryly. She’s come a long way. I’m pleased to see it.

Deciding to take a break from my futile efforts I ordered some of the waiting weaselkin to fetch what scales and fangs we had left in the storehouse. There wasn’t much, but there was enough for a few more crafts. Taking a look at the ingots of bluesteel I experimented. They could hold aether, but it leaked away quickly, vanishing into nothing. However when I stored wind energy, the metal continued to hold it, gaining some of the attributes of wind. It could also be released at will.

Okay, now that gives me some ideas… I have a weapon for Shaeula in mind. Shaping the metal into a series of long fine threads I then crafted several other items before attaching them together. As I worked a welcome message scrolled through my vision, informing me that my Ether Crafting skill had gone up a level. Looking proudly at the items attached to the thin metal cords I suddenly had a breakthrough…

Oh man, I’m such an idiot. Why didn’t I think of that before? Seeing the sudden realisation cross my face, Shaeula stopped her training and asked me what was up.

“Oh, I’ve just worked out a way to heal my Material body from the Boundary… well, I think, anyway. I’m going to give it a try, but while I’m doing that, here.” I picked up the weapons I had made for her and handed them to her. “I think you should be very compatible with these.”

She looked at them quizzically. “These do not seem like weapons, they are strange, are they not-not?”

“True, but I think they leverage your best advantages. Here is how they work…”

As I explained them to her I saw the light of understanding dawn in her amber eyes. By the end she was nodding excitedly. “I see-see, yes, very clever. I would expect no less from you, Akio. I must try them out at once!”

“Well, when you do can you fetch me a few branches from the Rhyming Tree? Don’t go mad though, I only need a few.”

As Shaeula headed off I gathered my concentration. Holding focus on my Silver Cord I saw it appear in my vision in a burst of rainbow light. I can see why people romanticise the silver cord in stories of astral projection. It really is very pretty. Sending my consciousness into it I felt my mind drift down, almost as if I was going to return to the Material, but I resisted, holding firm, channelling aether. In that strange state where I could feel both bodies, which was uncomfortable yet somehow liberating as well, I carefully began to pass aether down through the silver cord and into my Material body. As I did so I imagined my wounds closing up, like I did with my Astral form. It was fiendishly difficult, the concentration required brutal, but I persisted, and after a while I felt a prickling heat that seemed to emanate from my Material form, yet I could still feel it here. I continued until my exhaustion was too great, collapsing down onto the ground in a tired heap. It was then…

Your Silver Cord has advanced from Rank 2 to Rank 3. This has strengthened both your Astral and Material forms. Aether can be utilised more efficiently with less waste.

You have gained a skill, Ether Healing Rank 1. This skill allows you to more efficiently use aether to heal injuries to your subtle bodies, such as Material and Astral forms. In addition your subtle bodies will slowly draw in a minor amount of ether from the surroundings and automatically repair themselves.

Jackpot! Just what I was looking for! It seemed I was on the right track, as picking up the skill was a sure indicator that what I was doing must have been helping. It isn’t troll regeneration, but even a minor healing boost is very welcome. And it should grow as I level the skill…

I relaxed, gathering more aether while I waited for Shaeula to return. When she did, carrying a few severed branches, she asked me why I was so pleased with myself. When I told her I’d gained a new skill as well as a level up of my Silver Cord, she applauded me.

“Excellent indeed, I fear you are putting me to shame-shame, I must work harder myself. These new weapons are… quite special indeed. I shall master them soon, have no fear.”

Reassuring her she would certainly be an expert in them in no time, I started work on a weapon of my own. Once more it was a spear, my third one… Damn, I wish bastards would stop ruining them… this one made of a mixture of Rhyming Wood, Wyrm materials, various metals and, to finish it off… Yes, this bluesteel will do nicely.

In addition I made several devices out of the remaining bluesteel, imitating a manga I had read recently, as well as crafting Shaeula and I yet another set of wyrmscale mail, using up most of our remaining materials. This time though they had additional metal reinforcements and just a dash of bluesteel. I guess I’ll have to thank the kobold miners. Letting them use the Spawning Spire to make more diggers they can order about was a good move too…

I would be able to do more crafting when the kobolds excavated more ores for us, but until then, this would have to do. Still, coupled with the bells and dagger Shaeula had, we were now pretty well equipped. I was even confident we wouldn’t be bullied by that black ooze so easily again. Well, at least not when it was just one eye… we’d still get flattened by the whole nest…

I spent a while recovering, watching Shaeula practice her new attacks. She was also using the bells to good effect, and they combined especially well with her new gear. Hang on a minute? Could I even beat her in a fight now? I’m not so sure…

For some reason that thought hurt my pride a bit, so I threw myself into more healing, until I had exhausted both my aether and my concentration. Returning to the Material once more I opened my eyes… only to find far less pain than I was expecting.

It worked, I knew it!

The wound in my abdomen had largely healed, only a shallow hole left, while my thigh had changed from an angry red mess of scabs and torn flesh, healthier pink skin starting to fill in the sides of the gash, the scarring diminishing. It was still a nasty wound and still hurt, but it was as if I had spent a week or so in hospital recovering.

Shaeula came over and looked at my injury, face rather too close to me for comfort, especially as I was naked except for my underwear. Looking at the wound she smiled. “Yes, that looks much better. I would feel rather sorry-sorry for Eri if you were left with a scar. I would have to apologise, which sits poorly with me.”

“Well, it was hardly your fault was it?” I glanced over at the motionless doll. “Besides, I don’t think she’d blame you, would she?”

“Oh, I would not be so sure. Eri is quite the strong-willed female underneath it all… oh my, you must control yourself, my master. Have some shame-shame.” She smiled at me, her face pink. I followed her gaze, to see she was looking at my groin, where a certain morning physiological issue was cropping up. I let out an undignified squawk and hastily covered myself, blushing far redder than Shaeula had. I grabbed for my trousers as her laughter followed me…

Damn, I won’t forget this!