The Wanderer's Rebirth: Other Paths

‘How did it come to this?’ he sent to Avi, desperately hoping that she’d be able to provide some insight into the insanity that was his life.

‘You’re not assertive enough?’ Avi guessed, seemingly enjoying his profound discomfort.

Asami looked over at them, frowned, then turned back to staring at Myra as she awkwardly stood near the changing screen.

He’d made it to his room first, completed his evening routine, then had quickly retrieved the first thing that came to mind, the [Pyrokinesis] Skill Book and started reading through it.

The two women entered his room shortly after, bickering all the while. He studiously ignored them, though, so they had no choice but to continue on without him.

Since he’d already made her PJs, Asami decided to strip right there to get changed, causing Myra’s eyes to nearly pop out of their sockets. For his part, Joram used [Quick Manifesting] to its full potential and threw up a screen between him and Asami as fast as he could.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Myra smirk at the obscured Asami when the screen went up and immediately buried is face into the book in anticipation of Asami’s response.

Which led to the screen being tossed to the side by a presumably naked Asami.

More arguing ensued until he finally finished the Skill Book and it vanished into particles of light that quickly faded away.

He ignored the System notification as the two women turned to gawk at him, then spoke.

“Enough. You, Asami, get dressed. Now. You, Myra, go get changed,” he said, pointing at the door while looking anywhere except at Asami.

Myra looked torn for a moment before she quickly left the room, leaving him with a smug Asami.

“Stop that. Do you enjoy tormenting someone so much younger than you?” he asked, still not looking at her, which somewhat reduced the effectiveness of his glare.

Asami harumphed at him, then grudgingly started getting dressed for bed. It was still crazy early in the evening, but they’d spent the whole day inside either eating or talking about this or that.

But given Myra’s comment after dinner, he’d tried to just escape the pair. Unsuccessfully, he might add.

Which brought him back to the present with Myra still looking more than a little bit awkward standing in her night clothes while he sat on the floor because Asami had once again sprawled across the bed.

“I’ll make you a bed. Give me a minute,” he muttered, trying to think of how to make the futon-like beds they all used.

Myra nodded, looking more grateful than he thought his gesture warranted… until Avi piped in.

‘She probably thought that she’d have to sleep in the same bed as you both.’

Which made his headspace that much more complicated as he remembered how Asami had told everyone that Myra liked him. Now especially glad that he’d offered to make her a bed, he just went for it and manifested [Ectoplasmic Creation].

A couple of seconds later, a second bed appeared in the room, making it feel significantly smaller. He then got up and helped to move it out of the way, but then closer to his bed at her insistence. With that done, he quickly made some sheets and a light blanket before returning to his cushion on the floor where he planned to study until “bedtime”.

As he pulled up [Modify Matter, Greater] and started reviewing it, he peripherally noticed Myra making her bed while Asami started playing with something.

After he’d been at it for about an hour or so, he heard Myra whisper to Asami.

“Does he do that every night?”

“Yup.”

“For how long?”

“Until bedtime,” Asami replied, sounding slightly aggrieved.

“That long? Don’t you get bored?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Asami said, sounding terribly exasperated.

“I’m sorry,” Myra said, sounding a bit uncomfortable. “I thought that, you know, you were doing… stuff together,” she said, now sounding quite embarrassed.

“No, just boring [Meditation],” Asami said, once more sounding like the harmed party in all this. “With how much he meditates, you’d think he was a high-level [Monk] or something.”

Myra snorted at that, clapping her hands over her face to try to muffle her giggles.

“I’m sorry that you’ve had to… deal with that,” Myra eventually said once she got control of her giggles.

“At least he makes a wonderful pillow,” Asami replied, sounding as though that were his only saving grace.

Myra nearly choked when she heard that, though. Asami seemed to finally have pity on her much younger junior.

“But, like I said, high-level [Monk],” she said, emphasizing the last word strangely, eliciting a very quiet “Ohhhhh” from Myra.

Thankfully, that talk ended and there was quiet for a time. Then they picked up chatting again, this time sounding more amiable than before, which was a relief and thus allowed him to more fully concentrate on [Modify Matter, Greater], as he felt that he was close to fully understanding the trick behind affecting an exponential increase in the matter he could affect with the power.

Even after Asami dragged him into bed, with Myra climbing into her own, he continued working at the problem until it was time to renew his body through normal meditation. Which brought him all the way to pre-dawn.

Going through his ritual of sliding out from under Asami and replacing himself with a body pillow, he noticed that Myra was awake and staring at him. Upon closer inspection, she had dark circles under her eyes, indicating a lack of sleep.

Not wanting to open that can of worms yet, he quickly stepped behind the changing screen and got ready for the day. He then retrieved his backpack full of metal and yesterday’s purchases and slipped out of the room.

This time he made it to the kitchen in time to see Linette just starting to put out her mixing bowl.

“I figured that I’d come earlier so that I can learn a bit more,” he said, once more nearly scaring the woman to death.

“You really need to stop doing that!” Linette said, clutching at her chest again as she breathed heavily.

Now concerned that she might really have a heart condition or something, he wracked his brain to see if there was anything that he could do for her. But, ultimately, came up short.

‘You’d need to learn the ways of the Vitalist if you wish to heal others easily. That, or change out your Psion Discipline for that of the Egoist, specializing in Psychometabolism. Otherwise, you have a long way to go before you’ll be able to help her,’ Avi said from beside Linette, motioning to the woman’s chest.

“Would you like to sit for a moment? I could start getting things ready for you,” he offered, but was once again declined.

“I’ll be fine if you stop skulking about,” she said, giving him a mock glare.

He nodded, then sat quietly as she worked, taking in everything that he could. Then Myra came in, then stopped as though shocked to see him there.

Linette, however, seemed to have expected Myra and just started chatting with her as though nothing were out of the ordinary. Eventually Myra seemed to forget him, for she started speaking more naturally with Linette, though had to pause often to stifle a yawn.

Having gotten what he wanted, Joram quietly slipped out of the kitchen and made his way to his usual chair in the dining room.

After breakfast, Myra wound up being sent back to bed by her mother, which didn’t go over well. But she ultimately gave up, acknowledging that she really did need more sleep.

Then, with Asami and her lunch in tow, he went back to his construction site, activated his [Inertial ArmourA], and got to work.

He first replenished his [Astral Ally]s, bringing the number up to seven this time, though the last two were specifically designed for combat. You never knew when something would pop up and ruin your day. Which was why he’d given the two combat units [Natural Invisibility] along with a few other nasty surprises for whatever showed up.

Then it was business like usual. Gather stones, shape stones, then add them to the house. [Grow] trees, harvest trees, make fully cured lumber, then add to the house.

He did make a small room for the water system he still had in his inventory, as well as a place for the electrical panel. He wasn’t sure if he could get magical versions of his appliances, but didn’t really care because he both still had them and had the means with which to power them.

Anyways, he made sure to make space for pipes, wiring, and air vents as he worked. It would be a pain to have to adjust things after he finished, so he made sure to do things right the first time.

He was surprised when Myra showed up not long after the lunch hour, peppy as could be. He idly wondered if they’d discovered the joys of caffein yet. Then a question popped into his mind that needed immediate answering.

“Didn’t someone mention that there were monsters out here?” he asked, addressing both women.

“Yes?” Myra said, looking as though she was trying to understand why he’d asked.

“There are,” Asami agreed, nodding.

“Have none showed up because we’re so close to Kirkwall, then?”

“No,” Asami said, shaking her head. “They’re probably just too scared to approach.”

“What? Why?” he asked, more than a little bit confused.

“For one, I’m here,” she said, looking smug. “But I imagine that none dared approach you before due to your own aura. The natural monsters of the forest aren’t very powerful.”

“I have an aura?” he asked dumbly.

“Everything has an aura,” Myra replied before Asami took over.

“Depending on how strong you are, your aura will affect monsters and wildlife. If it’s particularly strong, it can affect people as well,” Asami explained, once more looking bored.

“So, I would be considered strong, then?” he asked, not fishing for compliments, but genuinely curious as to where he would land on the scale of “will die if you sneeze on me” to “sorry, I accidentally farted and wiped out your kingdom.”

“Probably around Rank C or Rank B,” Myra said after thinking about it for a moment. “I was told that there were a few Rank B hobgoblins in that last attack, and also that someone saw you taking one of them out. So, about there,” she finished, looking a bit uncertain at the end.

Damn, if I’m that strong as a Pathless person, what would I be like if I finally took a Path? He wondered, still not quite able to get a handle on the power scale of his new world.

“Wait. You really are Pathless, then?” Asami asked, once again invested in the conversation.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that a few times,” he replied, getting annoyed by how everyone just assumed that he was lying about that.

“Oh, well, then it’s probably that,” Asami said, nodding as though everything suddenly made sense.

“Probably what?” he asked, hating it when people starting using the word ‘that’ to sound all mysterious.

“Normal monsters never attack the Pathless,” Asami explained, though she looked like she wanted to stick her tongue out at him. “Natural animals would probably have attacked you, but were probably scared off by how strong you smell. Dungeon monsters, though, just try to kill everything that isn’t a dungeon monster. So, yeah.”

Joram’s eyebrow twitched when she mentioned his scent, but knew she was referring to his “aura” so he let it go.

Myra was once again staring at him as though he was an exotic insect that she’d never before seen.

“Why do people always assume that I’m lying about being Pathless?” he asked, more than done with all that.

“Probably because you’re stupidly strong,” Asami said, nodding as though that made all the sense in the world.

“Or because you can [Summon] things that people have never seen before,” Myra added, also nodding to herself.

“Or because you fight like you’re enjoying it?” Asami added.

“Or that you use spells that no one has seen before?”

“Or-,” Asami started, but stopped because Joram cut her off.

“Thanks, I get it,” he said, grumbling. “So, in other words, I should just pretend to be an ordinary person and I’d be treated like an ordinary person.”

“Too late for that,” Asami said, grinning like a cat in a creamery.

“Too true. Everyone in town should already know about you by now, especially after yesterday,” Myra said, adding to his growing regret of not keeping a lower profile up to that point.

“Back to work,” he said, quickly fleeing the judging gazes of the two women in favour of good old manual labour.

Which took up about half his work time anyways as he waited for one resource pool or the other to refill.

Evening came again, but this time fell on a house that was now three stories tall. As they headed off, he once again set his constructs to guard the place, and especially his stock of building materials. It would be a royal pain to have to gather them all over again. So, the five construction models were set to roam the perimeter while the two combat models were stationed in the basement with his supplies.

Dinner was nice, consisting of a roast served with veggies and gravy. At least they used salt. Which reminded him of his desire to create a greenhouse in which he could [Grow] a stockpile of his own herbs and spices. Thus encouraged, he quickly planned out the new building before heading off to his bedroom for the night where he performed his nightly ritual in preparation for Asami’s arrival.

As he went over his shortlist of powers he needed to study, he was pleasantly surprised that neither Asami nor Myra followed him right away. In fact, it was almost bedtime when Asami finally came in, followed by Myra. Who, it seemed, had already gotten changed for the night.

Suppressing a sigh, he used [Ectoplasmic Creation] to provide her with a bed and linens, then nearly fell over when she requested a set of night clothes like Asami’s.

* * *

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to let her sleep in there?” Nalun asked, obviously worried about their headstrong daughter.

“If Asami Miki still hasn’t managed to… coax Joram into anything, do you think that that awkward boy would do anything with the two of them in there?” Celys asked, giving her husband a patient look.

“It’s just that he is, by all appearances, a healthy young man,” Nalun said, still glancing down the hall. “Or are humans less… virile than foxkin?”

“From what I’ve heard, they’re worse,” Celys snorted, then continued, sounding thoughtful. “Myra did mention that Joram meditates a lot, and Asami Miki confirmed it. Maybe that has something to do with it?”

“Or maybe his male bits don’t work properly?” Nalun posited, making Celys snort as she tried to keep her laughter in.

“Well, if that’s the case, we’ll have two very frustrated young women to deal with,” Celys said, shaking her head.

“Maybe not for long,” Nalun said, catching her attention. “I snuck over to have a peak at what the three of them were doing out in the woods all day,” he said, getting a scandalized look from her. “Anyways, it looks like he’s building a house out there, and he’s almost done from what I can tell.”

“Do you suppose that he’s planning on moving out soon?” she asked as she thought of what her house would be like after Joram left.

“Well, the rate that he’s going, I think that he’ll be done in a few days or so,” Nalun replied, shrugging.

“Well, I suppose a nice cabin in the woods would suit his needs…” she trailed off when Nalun started shaking his head. “What?”

“It’s not a ‘nice cabin in the woods’. It’s a massive mansion in the woods,” he said, looking as though he was still trying to believe what he’d seen, then explained when she pressed him for details.

“With that much ability, why in the world was he living in that tiny house before coming here?” Celys asked in shock.

“Maybe he was hiding?”

“From what?”

“No idea. Just throwing around ideas, is all. But if he is to be believed, and Asami Miki believes him, he’s still Pathless. Which means he’s either a monster, or a Monster,” he said, emphasizing the last word.

“He’s certainly unusual,” she mused. “But given that Asami Miki is following him around, I don’t think that he’s a danger to Kirkwall.”

“Hmm,” he hmm’d, thinking. “You still think it’s fine that Myra’s so taken with him?” he asked, throwing her off by changing the subject so suddenly.

“Truthfully? I don’t know. Who ever knows if someone’s crush will work out for them,” she said, ribbing her husband with her elbow and making him jump. She loved that he was as ticklish as she was.

Nalun grunted, looking away in embarrassment. Even after all this time, he was still a bit shy.

“I’ll tell you what,” she said, leaning close as she spoke quietly. “Let’s refresh ourselves on things. Perhaps even try for another kit,” she said, now gently pulling at his arm.

He looked at her, eyes wide. Then his expression slowly softened, changing into a grin as he scooped her up into his arms and made his way into their bedroom.

* * *

“Am I the only single one in the house…?” Kalduin muttered as he tried very hard to forget what he’d just heard.

Then left the house when he started hearing more than he would ever be comfortable hearing from his parents.

“I need to find a girlfriend…” he muttered, wondering how Joram did it. “He must be some sort of romantic god or something, to be able to not only tame my wild sister, but to also attract the great Asami Miki…” he finished as he looked up at the stars in the night sky, sending a silent prayer to any god that would listen.