“Eric? Eric, are you there? For fuck’s sake, please respond!”

“Elonia?”

Eric groaned, rubbing his throbbing head, gazing down at his near-naked torso and shredded pants, only now noting the angry pink scar on his chest just now beginning to fade.

He shuddered as the final moments of that desperate battle came flooding back to him, feeling like he had spent hours struggling just to infuse his cells with all the spiritual energy and essence he could, inspiring countless millions, perhaps billions of cells to rapid regeneration and division, his final reward being the bliss of a good eight, or eighteen hours comatose slumber.

But according to his Interface less than thirty minutes had passed since the desperate fight with Redtooth before Elonia’s terrified voice rang across his soul.

“Eric, please respond, we’re in trouble!”

Eric took a shuddering breath, a dozen interface messages flickering across his mind’s eye as he found the mental strength, and voice, to respond to his sister’s desperate plea.

Fire Fist is now Rank 6!

Unified Restoration is now Rank 3!

Unified Restoration is now Rank 4!

Iado Fast-Draw is now Rank 15!

Swordsmanship is now Rank 25! (Because few things are better for skill development than training against tactically superior weapons wielded by high level mercenaries who will do anything to kill you!)

You have successfully Conquered Dairyland! Experience Earned!

Master Adventurer in now level 32!

Using subterfuge, tactics, and a blitzkrieg assault, You have successfully bested a full dozen Orc Assassins armed with unorthodox weapons at or near your level!

Master Adventurer is now level 33! (You now have 18 stat points to spend as you will)

You have successfully taken down a Level 51 Orc Battlemaster! This counts as a worthy battle against an opponent considerably stronger than yourself! You have successfully evolved in the crucible of combat, proving yourself worthy of your Pristine set of Peripheral Channels!

Congratulations! You are now a Level 21 Disciple of your hidden patron! Strength, Vitality, Quickness, and Spiritual Energy have all gone up 3 points!

You have drunk deep from the Crimson Cup of Endless Bounty!

Strength and Vitality have each been boosted by a permanent 15 points!

Congratulations! Strength has now surpassed 200! You are the 7th Contender to achieve this feat since Earth was integrated into the System!

Dairyland shares Arcane Affinity with Silvergrove!

Dairyland shares enhanced sustenance modalities and affinities with Silvergrove!

Silvergrove cows are blessed with enchanted milk! Never have your confections been more luxurious, more filling, or have NATURAL HEALING PROPERTIES!

You have successfully shaped Dairyland into the glorious hospital, magical ice cream shop, and chocolatier confectionery it was always meant to be!

Path of Endless Bounty is now Rank 13!

Eric blinked for long moments at the interface message, only then noting that he was, in fact, in what seemed to be a hospital bed with an IV drip that looked way way too much like milk for his comfort, even if his Unified Perception pinged it as being chock full of healing magics.

Because if the flash of the uniformed… individual he had seen in the hallway that looked suspiciously like his favorite forbidden anime character was any indication, complete with a tiny silver bell around her neck, pert little horns sticking up from her brown curls and crisp white nurses hat, and most striking of all, an absolutely magnificent set of… endowments that completely stretched the bounds of good taste, as his mother would say. Not to mention the fabric of her nurses uniform.

He chuckled ruefully, forced to accept that his fevered mind had altered this tiny corner of reality in all sorts of unexpected ways while he had been seconds away from bleeding out from what had been a kill shot that should have seen him dead.

But it seemed that an absolutely absurd Vitality allowed for all sorts of miracles, especially if the healing milk of fever dreams had somehow become reality.

Eric shuddered, grateful to see that by some miracle his sword was cleaned and in its sheath, though by some totally absurd and unfair twist of fate, the absolutely delicious number of outlawed blaster rifles that had come so close to killing him were nowhere to be found.

“What kind of bullshit is this?” he muttered to himself, even as he headed to the window, absolutely refusing to have his reality shaken by the sight of those soft brown eyes now gazing towards his room with such concern and… hunger, as more than one strikingly beautiful nurse blushed and smiled his way as they adjusted their uniforms.

“I think our patient needs another drink.”

He could so easily imagine the most well-endowed charge nurse making that sultry declaration, earning throaty chuckles from her fellow nurses back at the station, now heading for his room with a sway to her generous hips. And her eyes? Those soft, brown, strikingly beautiful eyes were that of a queen of her herd… a lonely herd free of any bull. And she knew a strong potential mate when she fed one.

He shuddered at the thought. Knowing that if he wasn’t under a dire time crunch, had even a single beer in his system… yeah. No more burgers for him. For like… ever.

Note! You have stretched the bounds of orthodox alterations! Resonance has been achieved!

Eric winced at the too smug interface message, just knowing that all the blasters and delicious killy killy toys that the twelve assassins and their fiftieth level leader had had at their beck and call had faded into the ether, along with their deliciously potent bodies… endless potential to shape the world instead invested into his latest forging.

A magical milky chocolatey healing hospital filled with strikingly beautiful and absurdly well-endowed nurses that had maybe… scratch that, probably, saved his life.

So who the hell was he to complain?

At least his Unified Restoration had shot up to Rank 4. A skill he really, really needed to rank up as fast as he possibly could without near killing himself while doing so. Though he feared it would demand extremely painful, carefully controlled sessions. Progressing far slower than when he was facing killing intent. Which would mean far more pain. And he would do it. Because he really liked living. But when he had a chance. Which sure as fuck wasn’t now, he thought, a quick look out the hospital window revealing an endless grassy vista just a dozen feet down.

He took the leap, happy to find that, save for a single agonizing twinge that turned to nothing but an odd tingle as he raced back north to Queensland for all he was worth, his pain had faded to nothing.

All he felt now was desperate anxiety as he quickly messaged his sister back, having only wasted a handful of seconds centering himself, feeling another 18 points of his eternal potential flooding into Quickness as that, plus his further enhanced Strength and Vitality allowed him to eat up the ground faster than had been possible for him, even just an hour ago.

_____________________________________

Eric Silver Level 33 Primal Adventurer

Rank 21 Cultivator

Level 24 Master Necromancer

Physical Characteristics

Strength – 213

Vitality – 233

Finesse – 131

Quickness – 230

Appearance – 24

Mental Characteristics

Scholarship – 22

Perception – 121

Willpower – 67

Charisma – 13

Potency Pools

Arcane Potential – 118

(Mana Pool = 1416)

Spiritual Energy – 180

(Qi Pool = 2160)

Soul Reserves – 83 (75)

Stamina – 2370 Points

Health – 3123 Points.

Resistances & Recovery

Physical Resistance – 43

Physical Regeneration – 23.3 health per second

Elemental Resistance – 20

Qi Resistance – 33

Mental Resistance – 23

__________________________________

“Elonia! I’m here! Talk to me, sis. Talk to me!”

But there was nothing. Nothing to occupy Eric’s desperate mind as he was plagued with a thousand terrible images of his sister’s grizzly demise, the wondrous bucolic landscape he raced through at speeds that would have exhilarated him hours or a lifetime ago now doing little to take the edge off the terrible anxiety gnawing at his soul.

His only distraction was pulling and prodding with all his strength against the now semipermeable barrier still blocking access to all his prizes. It was a relief to see that distance and territories separating him from the curse shamans really did make a difference.

But it still wasn’t enough to pull anything through!

He growled in frustration, desperately pulling at one soulbound prize after another.

His Arcane sniper rifle was right out. He couldn’t even grab ahold of his wand, and his wondrous Mithril mail, not soul-bound at all, though he had been intending to, was no more real than mist. But after endless minutes of desperate clasping, his hands finally caught hold of a single strap of leather.

And what a wondrous relief it was to pull what might well have been the least of his prizes through. The most primitive of weapons. One that just might give him a fighting chance in the struggle to come.

He furrowed his brow as he approached the barrier, surprised by how easily the leather cords of his sling were to pull once the three-finger loop had pulled free. It was only the pocket that stubbornly refused to budge.

At least until he took the time to stop, and slowly pull with every last ounce of his will, biting his lip till he bled at what felt like a slow tearing of his soul… until at last he cried out with relief, his precious prize finally slipping free.

Along with a 17 pound cannon ball the color of blood, covered with runes of Dominion, bound to his soul.

For long moments he stared at his prize with wonder, a fierce smile lighting his lips.

He could only hope that it meant what he thought it did, and didn’t dare leave that spot until he had tested it at least once.

Reveling in just how fast he could get that massive ball of blood-soaked iron to shoot through the air after twirling it for several long seconds, his eyes widening at the distinctive sound of a crack in the air when he sent it flying with a final snap of his hips upon release.

But it all meant nothing unless…

And there it was.

He fell to his knees in desperate relief when he felt the weight return, retrieving his object with a surge of his will. And not to his near impermeable storage space… but to the sling pocket where it most needed to be.

Eric flashed a single desperate smile as he sprinted for the border once more, his anxiety growing in pitch without release, soon so tight with worry that he wanted to scream for Elonia to answer, but knew he didn’t dare.

Yet the growing tension gave him no peace, no matter how fast he sprinted. Not even the surreal sight of yet more extremely well-endowed girls with tiny horns on their heads he could now make out everywhere as they tended to flocks of sheep, goats, and yes, large herds of cattle could sooth the anxiety roiling in his soul. Yet still, he was humbled by the sight of so many girls now gazing his way with bright inviting smiles. Girls who had both never existed yet had always been just a single former otaku’s dream away from the reality they so now eagerly embraced. As if they had always been the daughters of this 400 square mile sanctuary, now eagerly looking for husbands of their own that would anchor them to this realm, this reality, forevermore.

One or two girls who caught his eye actually pointed to tiny little picturesque cottages that had sprung up out of nowhere and pantomimed sleeping on their hands while tilting their heads and grinning at him in ways so innocent, yet so evocative, that he couldn’t help grinning despite the quiet sense of dread that wouldn’t abate.

Not until he saw none other than Annika’s wide-eyed features, gazing his way with such a brilliant smile on her snow white mount he spotted as he raced towards the border. Eyes widening as he truly took in what she was riding.

“Annika! You made it! Thank fucking god! And is that a unicorn you’re actually riding? Fuck me!”

Annika, who was most definitely riding the back of a noble looking steed that was gazing at Eric like he was dirt on the back of his hoof, let loose a sultry chuckle. “He is indeed a unicorn, my beloved handsome beast. A Silverhorn, the only breed allowed here on Earth.”

She flashed a playful smile. “And if I were to actually engage in that act of carnal deliciousness, I’m afraid he would no longer be my mount, because the rumors are all true. But for you? It just might be worth it.”

Eric blinked at the impishly smiling raven-haired beauty now gazing at him quite boldly, before shaking his head. There was so much he could say to that… but there was no time. “Did your father successfully claim Silvergrove? And what’s going on with Elonia? She just broke off communication!”

Annika’s bemused smile turned grave. “There’s no point in sugarcoating it, hero. We’re in trouble. The mass of shamans and giants who look like fucking titans haven’t stopped, or slowed down. They’re now less than an hour out. Elonia sent us a quick message, said to be on the lookout for you, and that she had to start the final ritual now, if she’s to have a hope of casting without the shaman’s curse markers dooming all her castings.”

Eric clenched his jaw, then nodded. He hated the way their connection had been broken off, but he understood that his sister dare not suffer distraction now.

“Alright, that’s good.”

Annika gave him a hopeful look, biting her lip. “Um… Eric?”

“Yeah?”

Her cheeks flushed a rosy crimson. “Can I, um.. cross?”

Eric grinned, quickly stepping over, the Dominion Interface blaring about a free land that was instantly claimed by the girl now gazing back at Eric with a look of wondrous disbelief.

“Eric, this territory! I now feel it! Totally. Completely. It’s thrumming through my soul!”

He grinned at her delighted squeal, giving her a thumbs up.

Her eyes widened all the more as she gazed at Eric with a growing sense of disbelief. “Eric.”

“Yeah?”

“This territory has a facility dedicated to essence-infused chocolates and magical ice cream manufacture! This was Elonia and Aurelia’s pet project. But it was months… well, actually it was years away from actual… wait, it’s also a hospital!? And I have talking cow nurses? Who the hell’s ever heard of talking cattle? With magical milk? Eric, Is this true?”

Eric winced. “Yeah, I was sort of dying with a blaster hole in my chest, shot at point blank range by a level 30 plus assassin. I think that fucking bastard with his arcane blaster might have double criticaled some very important organs. Probably should have insta-killed me, except my Vitality’s over 200. The fuck if I know how far my spirit was reaching, but sure as shit, it was close. But I’m here now, so… yeah. Hail Mary pass, 15 bonus points to Vitality, and a triple Lesser Bounty territory forging for the win.”

Annika gazed at him in slack-jawed disbelief. “Two hundred? You don’t mean one hundred? Eric, fifty is a prettyhigh stat for someone even at thirtieth level, unless you’re some freakish hyper-specialized blob! How the hell did you get so...”

He raised his hand, shaking his head. “Great questions for another time. But as for your stewardship over this territory… Yeah. We got some chatty nurses of a bovine persuasion working at the hospital slash ice cream factory. Or maybe they’re just well-endowed girls happy to share their health-fortified milk with the world, in addition to helping us manage our herds of perfectly normal cattle. And by perfectly normal, I mean regular coww with udders absolutely full of magical milk. And why the hell not? At least now we can have all the soft-serve we could want. And you just wait, I know the perfect place to sell it! We’ll all make an absolute killing! Including the girls, of course. Just because I sort of causalitied them into existence doesn’t mean they don’t have a right to happiness and profit shares, after all!”

Annika gazed at Eric for long moments, her expression caught somewhere between awe and horror.

“Eric... I don’t even know what the hell you’re talking about. All I know is that my nurses are a cross between faeries and Cows. Cows! Complete with tiny little horn nubbins on their heads, silver bells around their necks they’re telling me are just a cute fashion statement, and mammary glands so fucking big… it’s an otaku’s wet dream. I’m not having it, Eric! Even now I can sense their wants, their needs, their inherent… love for me and all the patients I plan on bringing them. Patients the nurses will… quite literally… be nursing back to health.”

Her scowl deepened. “And somehow I just know they’ll be Florence Nightingaling every handsome patient under their care.”

Eric nodded. “Makes sense. There aren’t any male versions of their race yet, so… yeah. Young women waking up to existence in the prime of their lives with extremely strong nurturing instincts probably have strong nesting instincts as well.”

Annika shook her head in growing horror. “Eric, Do you have any idea the lengths adventurers would go to to claim a girl like that for a wife? Hell, half my men will end up with mysterious injuries and be proposing to their overly devoted nurses before the year’s out! And what the hell is Aurelia going to say when the next generation is made up of girls who might or might not be directly related to cattle, with what I’m guessing will be zero interest in combat paths and absolutely no way to reasonably fire a bow, being that fucking over-endowed? And Eric… how the fuck am I ever going to eat a hamburger, ever again?”

Eric flashed an evil grin. “I was asking myself those same questions when I was carefully slipping free of that place while making eye contact with absolutely no one. Fortunately, I was able to handle it with a big dose of ‘It’s just not my problem.’”

Annika’s eyes bulged in disbelief. “Not your problem? You made them!”

Eric winked. “I’m all about free living, and free lovin.’ Let them do their thing. Fuck it, Annika, the world population’s crashed to cinders. We’re going to need every child we can get. And if the Sylvan Alliance finds itself blessed with an ever-growing number of young women gifted with the ability to feed and nurture many, many children, not to mention blessed with healing milk… like it or not, that might be a serious win for all of us.”

Eric frowned thoughtfully. “Though whether the boys will end up highly territorial and aggressive, or just be powerfully built youths with calm, friendly demeanors and a penchant for combat classes, I guess only time will tell. My gut tells me they’ll probably be as kind-hearted as their parents.”

Annika smirked. “And no doubt that will be just how it goes, since reality is shaping itself right now to your every otaku whim.”

Eric felt unexpected heat creep up his cheeks when the distance between them halved, then halved again. He could feel the breath from her soft lips as her too pretty green eyes peered into his own.

“So many questions I want to ask you about what you really prefer in a woman, Eric Silver,” she said with a husky voice and an arch smile. “But I guess I’m not going to have that chance. Because your mad little gambit’s actually paying off, since Father just sent me a message. A Full battalion of orc musketeers led by at least one Shaman with control over lightning storms has just crossed the border back into Silvergrove. So congratulations, we’ve successfully split their forces.”

She bit her lip, playful smile turning to a look of very real concern. “Eric, those shamans...”

“Trust me, I know,” Eric said. “Cheating fuckers managed to slide actual level 50s into the mix. Because the Administrators which I’m increasingly certain are just human politicians who somehow weaseled themselves onto what passes for a Terran council, are as corrupt as fucking sin, and those goblin pockets the orcs can dip so freely into run fucking deep.”

Eric barked with bitter laughter. “And I won’t even tell you about the assassin hit squad that came so close to killing me. A dozen Arcane blaster rifles would have blown me to bits, had I not been willing to drag out a fight way too long and suffer a hell of a lot of pain.”

Eric flashed a rueful smile. “Damn good training though, and humbling. Polearms really do kick ass against swords, nine times out of ten. Unless of course you got a fifty pound mithril blade that you can project Qi attacks from, giving it a kick ass reach even a halberdier has to be wary of.”

In a heartbeat, the flirtatious young elf turned to the highly focused tactician she no doubt normally was, with a strange intensity to her voice. “Eric, please. This is important. If you truly seized twelve arcane blaster rifles, we can declare them as spoils of war, just like the cannons you left us, and thank the goddess for those!”

Eric raised his hands with an apologetic wince. “Annika… I hate to have to say this, but I was really stretching the limits of even what I’m normally allowed. I think I lost a fair amount, if not all the experience the system normally gives me with a conquest. I’m now just a single experience point into my next level, and, yeah. All the fancy toys, and the bodies… let’s just say all the exquisite locked potential to shape reality those tools would have allowed me was sort of consumed when I gave my incredibly nurturing and good-natured nurses and shepherdesses a chance at sweet, sweet life.”

This earned an arch look. “Over-endowed nurses eager to feed all their patients their healing milk… and if it’s an attractive adult male, probably mate with him as well.”

“Probably,” Eric conceded with a snarky grin. “Like you said, every otaku’s ultimate fantasy.”

She gazed at him for long moments. “Eric, did you...”

And here his bemused smirk instantly hardened. “No chance in hell. It wouldn’t be ethical for me to seduce a woman I helped create. Even if she was the one trying to seduce me.” He shook his head. “It would be wrong on all sorts of levels.”

He gently squeezed her hand, caught off guard by her painful hiss. “Just promise me you’ll treat them kindly. Alright, Annika? They’re people, just like you and me. They have hopes and dreams and desires and passions just as real as ours or anyone else’s.”

Her gaze grew solemn once more. “Because you really did forge them out of the ether when you were dying from a shot to the heart.” She shook her head. “If only your mother could appreciate just how alike you and Elonia truly are, in terms of raw power. Beyond fucking belief.”

Eric didn’t know what to say to that, but mention of his mother brought to mind his family’s peril once more, a few desperately needed moments breaking the tension with the absurdity of life, and Eric’s creations, had already gone on for too long.

Eric flashed her a final smile as he waved farewell. “Be well, Annika. I’ll do my best to make sure Dairyland never suffers the presence of another orc, ever again.”

This earned a rueful chuckle. “Just try to survive, Eric. Even my father would counsel that. You don’t actually have to try to take down those monsters directly. Just buy Elonia the time she needs to show you that you’re not the only gifted Silver here on Earth.”

Eric smirked at that.

“Eric?” Annika nervously bit her lip, green eyes betraying the anxiety her melodic voice hid so well. “Silvergrove is twenty miles across at its narrowest point, and our fort in Queensland is another fifteen miles further in. That’s thirty five miles. Can you truly skirmish the battalion sent to harry my father’s position and get to your sister in time to do anything against the regiment making their way there now? After getting shot in the heart?”

Eric winked. “Only one way to find out.” He then took off like a shot, perhaps deriving a bit more satisfaction than he should have, with Annika’s awed curse tingling in his ears and, even better, the angry snort of a unicorn forced to face the fact that the totally not a virgin half-breed could sprint over grasslands at speeds that no mundane animal or vehicle could hope to match.