Waking up in darkness I felt the warm softness of a hand in mine. Turning my head to the clock beside my bed I could see that it was coming up towards midnight. I guess we only spent about ten hours in the Boundary this time… reaching for the wall I pulled the light cord with my free hand, flooding the room with light… only for my mind to go blank for a moment.

What the… hell…?

Holding my hand was a short girl, a few inches under five feet tall, with long pale blond hair that had a faint golden-orange tinge. Her hair was framing a pretty, doll-like face, featuring a small nose and mouth, and a pair of pale amber eyes that were especially striking. Her body was small too, just a hint of a chest hidden within the folds of her bright yukata, a pale off-white colour covered with a series of golden weasels. This was topped off by delicate feet tucked into a pair of sandals and a large purple bow and sash around her waist.

Releasing her hand I scooted backwards. “Shae… Shaeula?” I managed to get out, causing her to snort in that familiar fashion I knew so well.

“Who else would it be? I am here-here as expected.” She paused and looked around my apartment. ”I must say, this is far too shabby for my master to live in. I can not-not help but feel rather disappointed in you.”

It was her voice as well, but she looked so human. I mean, that’s way better, she can go out like that, not having to worry about attracting attention… no wait, she’ll definitely attract attention anyway… she’s… well, pretty damn cute! I know my thoughts were racing, but after all I’d just been holding hands with a really cute doll-like girl. The fact I knew what she looked like in the Boundary was irrelevant.

“Well…” I said, trying to get my thoughts in order. “Yeah I’m not rich yet. But it’s only a matter of time. One of the reasons I called you to the Material was to help with my plan.”

“Very well. I have no objections.” She replied. “But first, it would be nice-nice if you could get me something to drink. I find this Material body is giving off some strange-strange sensations”

“Oh of course, I’m being rude. Why don’t you sit down?” I got out of my chair and let her sit, which she did gracefully, her platinum-orange hair cascading around her. Going to the fridge I opened it up. “Did you want alcohol, juice or tea?”

“A good question. As a Fae I can exist on the aether, yet as a noble princess I did enjoy the wines and other delicacies of the Seelie court-court.” She paused for a moment. “Bring me one of everything and I shall try them all-all. When I have decided what I like best I shall have more of that-that.”

Demanding, aren’t you? “Of course, princess.” I pulled off a passable bow then brought out some iced tea, orange juice and a six-pack of beer. Digging out a stool from my closet I sat down beside her and handed her the fruit juice. I need to get more furniture. Watching her face twist in pleasure as she took a swig I opened a beer and took a chug myself.

“This one is sweet, like the fruits of the many-many gardens of the Seelie Court. But you look like you are enjoying that. Give me some-some.”

Wordlessly I handed her a beer. For a short while she stared at it, before remembering how I had opened it. One delicate finger popped the ring-pull, and she eyed the foaming beer warily. When the froth subsided she took a swig. “Ugh. It is a little bitter. But it is not-not entirely unpleasant. I shall try some more-more.”

As she drank more I finished my can and started another. Getting out some rice balls I passed her one. She took a bite and smiled. “Not bad. The Material world does have its charms I see-see.”

Hmmm something is off here. Wait… that’s it. “By the way, your verbal tic, the repeated words, it seems to be much lessened?”

Shaeula flushed, her pale face going red, all the way down to her neck, visible in her yukata. Nope, I’d better not look there, that’s dangerous.

“I do not-not know what you mean.” She said primly. “I talk as I always have, with grace, elegance and charm-charm.”

“Three words that describe you well.” I conceded. “Anyway, now that you are here I find my room is way too small. I’ve no idea how my sister thought that she could stay here with me if she goes to a University in Tokyo. It’d be way too cramped.”

“Hmm, your sister. You have mentioned her quite a few times-times. Her and that Eri girl.” Shaeula spoke, holding out a hand for another can of beer. I gave her one and she opened it quickly, having mastered the ring-pull. “They must be good girls indeed if they can put up with the likes of you. Yet perhaps sadly too kind for their own good-good.”

“She’s certainly a character.” I agreed. “Anyway, now you are here you might as well relax. I’m going to check everything is in order and then we can begin the next phase of our long-term plan.” I turned on my PC and set the monitor to streaming some anime I had on the hard drive. Shaeula was drawn to it, watching in surprise and asking me questions about how it all worked. I brushed all that off with a brief description of it only being a series of moving images to fool the eye, and left her watching while eating rice balls and drinking beer.

Damn, she’s cute. But I won’t fall for her furry charms… wait. Is she a furry now? Not right now… ah damn, no time for this right now. Time to assess my status and Territory and go from there…

Looking at my status I was really pleased with how it had grown since the start. If this was an RPG I had graduated from newbie status.

[Material Statistics] [Intangible Statistics] Might 46 83 Fortune 2 5 Fortitude 43 80 Majesty 1 2 Intellect 75 102 Charm 1 4 Resilience 71 106 ??? Alacrity 51 78 ??? Precision 72 99 ??? Aether 93 159 ??? [Material Skills] [Aetheric Skills] White Cord Silver Cord Rank 2 Base Chakra Eight Moons Chakra Network Rank 2 Crude Aether Manipulation Aether Manipulation Rank 2 Aether Combat Technique Rank 1 Heart Chakra Of Wind Rank 1 Wind Manipulation Rank 4 [Physical Combat Skills] Spear Technique Rank 3 Combat Technique Rank 1 Wind Spear Technique Rank 1 [Practical Skills] Ether Crafting Rank 2 [Intangible Skills] [Perceptive Skills] Self-Examination Rank 4 Rank 5 Self-Examination, Territory Rank 3 Rank 4 Kin Examination Rank 2 [Unique Skills] ???????????????? Rank 0 ???????????????? Rank 0 [Level] 3 11 [Class] Fae-Bonded 7/20 Territory Rank 2

The first thing of note was that all my statistics had increased hugely. I knew this already from the way I could work so efficiently and fast, to say nothing of my world-record setting pace at running, but to see it in hard numbers… in several areas I’ve surpassed maximum human potential. Does that make me a super-human? My Aether stat was particularly noteworthy, having gone up by an enormous amount, although this made sense as I’d finally mastered setting up my chakra network and my white cord had turned silver.

My intangible statistics had all increased too, my Fortune and Charm rising noticeably, and my Majesty a little. I wonder what effect my higher Charm will have on women. Karen-chan did seem rather flirty…

In terms of skills most of the ones I possessed before had evolved, and I had gained many new ones. My Self-Examination skills had gone up a bit, and I had gained a new one, which I would look at later. But first it was time to check out my other new and improved skills.

Silver Cord- The connector between the Material and Astral bodies. This allows smooth transition of aether between forms. Travelling a large distance from the physical body is possible, but if the silver cord is damaged harm will occur to the Material body as well as the Astral body.

This was a huge improvement. This was much more in line with the silver cord I had read about in various articles online. The ability to travel long distances meant I wasn’t bounded to my Territory and surrounds, which was great, though I would have to be wary of damage to the silver cord…

Eight Moons Chakra Network- A complete, stable (largely) chakra network, made up of eight nodes, supported by a trunk pathway and numerous branches. Despite the form not fitting the human Astral body, this system is working at high efficiency. Ether is drawn, converted to aether and circulated around all eight nodes, magnifying the power that can be drawn from it. The lunar chakra node accumulates aether and elemental essence, converting it to ????????? and giving it the ability to ?????????.

Ignoring the snarky (largely) that the Self-Appraisal skill interjected, the network was hugely more powerful now all the nodes were connected. My skill still wasn’t high enough to understand everything about it though. I guess that’s no surprise, as humans should only have seven nodes anyway… I surmised that the hidden abilities were positive though, as Shaeula had said the lunar node was responsible for the Fae’s special powers.

Heart Chakra of Wind- The ability to generate wind energy from your chakra heart node. This is also instrumental in the effective usage of wind elemental energies.

That was pretty straightforward. I’m guessing that now I’ve actually obtained the skill my generation is at an acceptable level. Of course I daresay I have a ways to go before I match Shaeula. Paired with that was the Wind Manipulation skill, which was basically a measure of how effectively I could use the elemental energy I absorbed or generated. It was one of my higher-levelled skills, which made sense as I had picked it up fast and had a pretty high understanding of air and wind compared to Shaeula, who was a natural user.

Aether Combat Technique- A measure of the ability to use aether effectively in combat.

Spear Technique- A measure of the ability to use a spear and similar weapon types in combat through purely physical means.

Wind Spear Technique- A measure of the ability to combine elemental wind with physical spear attacks.

Combat Technique- A measure of the ability to fight based on purely physical limits.

These four were pretty self-explanatory. Though having them appear formally as skills meant I had probably reached a certain useable level in terms of combat. Yeah, damn I’m such a badass. Looking at all this character growth was triggering my inner geekery.

As I continued to check my skills Ether Crafting sprang out at me. Checking the skill I was pleasantly surprised.

Ether Crafting- A measure of the ability to create, modify, enhance and combine items, creating new and improved constructions that have a fixed, tangible presence in the Boundary and Astral plane.

This was a great skill, with almost unlimited possibilities. I’m guessing this has to do with my spear, as I made it out of several items, and it has stuck with me since and been super useful. I wonder what I could do with the wyrm materials we gathered…

Putting aside thoughts of becoming a crafting genius I tried checking the unique skills, but I couldn’t get any information on them. Since they were rank 0 I wondered if they were even useable? Still, if they aren’t now I can always level them up. Of course, that’ll be difficult without knowing what they are…

The last skill was Examination, Kin, which was similar to my own examination skills, but I could use it on those considered my ‘kin’ which seemed to be a concept similar to Shaeula and her weasels. Well, I might as well try it out. My aether was draining fast as I used all the examination skills, but as we left the Boundary early I still had enough left.

Shaeula Tu Shae Dannan Noble Fae Wind Aspect [Material Statistics] [Intangible Statistics] Might 32 +5 Fortune 5 +0 Fortitude 30 +5 Majesty 0 +0 Intellect 65 +5 Charm 5 +0 Resilience 28 +5 ??? 1 +0 Alacrity 67 +5 ??? Precision 46 +5 ??? Aether 304 +5 ??? [Material Skills] [Aetheric Skills] Silver Cord Rank 1 Eight Moons Chakra Network Rank 5 Aether Manipulation Rank 1 Heart Chakra Of Wind Rank 4 Wind Manipulation Rank 2 [Intangible Skills] [Unique Skills] Mystic Eyes Of Perception Rank ??? Kin Restoration Rank ??? Blessing Of Fortunate Winds Rank ??? Blessing Of Befuddling Winds Rank ??? [Level] 0/5 [Class] Wind Fae 8/10

The most interesting thing about her statistics was that her Aether stat was twice mine! The rest of her statistics were modest though, especially her physical skills. On checking the +5 and +0 bonuses I could see they were granted by the Throne of Heroes. It wasn’t huge in terms of her Aether, but since her physical stats were weak it was quite the buff there. I wasn’t able to look at her skills, but I knew what all her Aetheric Skills did from my own versions of them. I also couldn’t get information about her Class or the Intangible statistic she had that I didn’t. Still, it was enlightening.

Looking up I saw Shaeula had turned away from the anime and was looking at me, shifting restlessly. “What are you doing, Akio? I feel quite-quite uncomfortable all of a sudden, like you are staring intently at me-me.”

“Oh sorry.” I apologised. “I was just using my new skill. It’s nothing to worry about, and it’s over now.”

“I see.” She said, looking at me with suspicion before turning back to the screen, taking another sip of beer. “Ask next time before you use whatever skill that is. I did not-not like the feel of it.”

“I will do.” I promised, contrite. I was done with her appraisal, so the last thing was to take stock of my Territory. Breaking it down, it had a Rank 2 Territory Anchor, Six Rank 2 Ether Spires, a Rank 2 Spawning Spire, Rank 2 Barracks, Rank 2 Silo, Rank 2 Elemental Silo, three Rank 1 Defensive Emplacements (one of which had a Sniper upgrade), a Rank 1 Armoury, a Rank 1 Throne of Heroes and a Rank 1 Special Kobold Den.

In addition there was an upgrade to the Silo to Tier 3 queued in, an upgrade to a Rank 2 Armoury, and two more Defensive Emplacements planned.

When you look at it, I’ve built up quite the little empire. Where I go from here though… There were still many buildings I wanted, as well as the obvious upgrading of the Ether Spires and so on. It was time to take stock of just what I had in hand.

Barracks Rank 2 – This Barracks can recruit up to twenty-five basic-class troops and five elite-class, based on those who serve your Territory. These troops will gain experience and have a maximum level of 5. Troops produced from the Barracks will start at level one rather than zero. Cost 12,500.

Barracks Rank 3 – This Barracks can recruit up to fifty basic-class troops and fifteen-elite class based on those who serve your territory. These troops will gain experience and have a maximum level of 9. Basic-class troops produced from the Barracks will start at level two rather than zero. Elite-class troops produced from the Barracks will start at level three. Cost 125,000.

From the perspective of pure numbers ten Rank 2 Barracks would produce far more troops for the same building cost, but as the Barracks increased in rank there were other bonuses, such as greater level caps and higher starting levels, which would boost their average strength. Besides, I wasn’t sure if there were a maximum total number of buildings I could build at each Rank of Territory Spire, as Ether Spires were limited. I would consider building a few lower-level Barracks later for variety and backup, but once I had finished upgrading a few of the Ether Spires to buff my production I would then go for the Barracks upgrade. Plus Shaeula is asking me too, how can I refuse?

Armoury Rank 2 – At Rank 2 the maximum rank of weaponry and armour you can create is limited to normal-grade. Items that are not already a duplicate of those you possess will require additional ether to create. Advanced equipment will require materials in addition to ether. Cost 6000.

I wasn’t too sure about the differences between basic and normal-grade gear, but it seemed to be an improved rank so should be better. It was already queued in, but at some point getting it to Rank 3, which also gave other bonuses would be sensible.

Damn, I’m going to need a shit-ton of ether for my plans. When the etheric tide subsides the rate of incoming ether will drop a ton too… I’m going to have to think outside the box for this one…

Next was checking the upgrade to the Silo, which would be reaching Rank 3.

Silo- Rank 3 – This Silo will securely store up to 150,000 ether, protecting it from theft or loss. It has greater security than a lower level silo. You may transfer ether between yourself and this silo at any time. One additional annex may be added to the silo. Cost 20,000.

The ability to build an extra annex was useful, as I had my eyes on a store for Etherite Ores. There were also other storage buildings that didn’t link to the Silo, such as the Warehouse and the Treasury, which I also wanted to build. As for the ‘greater security’ that was good, but it did make me think that maybe having a Silo wasn’t total protection for stored ether. I’ll be sure to spend it as and when I can rather than hoarding.

Elemental Silo- Rank 2 – This annex to a Silo will securely store up to 200 units of one type of elemental essence in each of three storage units, protecting it from theft or loss. You may transfer this essence between yourself and this Silo at any time. Cost 3200.

With this I could store multiple essences (not that I currently had any but wind) or just load it with a ton of wind elemental essence to fuel my and Shaeula’s attacks. A Rank 3 version would also be desirable, but it was a low priority until I started finding more elements to procure.

With all this assessed I turned back to Shaeula, who was looking at me with an expectant expression, having finished off all my beer. I couldn’t help but sigh. “All right, I’ll go out and get some more…”