The Wanderer's Rebirth: Other Paths

Which threw her for a bit of a loop.

She was certainly not happy that she’d been captured and enslaved, not at all. But given the horror stories she’d been raised on that told of how inhumane and degenerate human masters were, she had resigned herself to a life of pain and misery.

She still wasn’t absolutely certain that Joram wasn’t just hiding ulterior motives, or his true self. But. But, her heart dared to hope that he wasn’t like the humans in the stories she’d grown up with. So, she watched, she listened, and most of all, she listened to her gut, her [Intuition], as it had helped keep her alive thus far.

Well, alive, but not free. At first, she’d railed against her Skill, cursing it for having failed her. But now…. Now she wondered if the Skill had a sort of prescience to it. For she’d have certainly preferred death over enslavement if she’d been given a choice.

So, she listened and found that her [Intuition] was mostly silent. Though, when it stirred, she got the distinct impression that she was on the “right” course, further confusing her while validating what she was seeing and hearing from the young master- Joram.

They eventually wrapped up their discussions, having planned out quite a lot during their time together. Not only that, but Joram had shared more about himself, causing her, Arise, and Fyrelle to once more be blind-sided by him.

She was still thinking of the ridiculous things that he could do as they all walked back to the house together. If he could do what he’d claimed, and he had already shown them that he could do a lot, then it was no wonder that he could manifest an [Aura] like the most powerful demons out there.

Even Arise, who was at Level 29, couldn’t manifest an [Aura] yet. Though, she wasn’t too sure on what exactly qualified someone to gain an [Aura] in the first place. With that in mind, and if Joram really wasn’t a human, then she wondered if he was a new kind of “demon”; the magically touched, that is.

Many of the races living on the Demon Continent weren’t actually demons, but were instead races that had been touched deeply by Mana. Beings who’d been touched by Mana in that way tended to look… different, than others. Some grew horns, others had wildly varying shades of skin, while yet others grew wings and tails, or claws, scales, or feathers. Sometimes a combination of all of those things.

And to normal humans, they appeared terrifying. But aside from their physical changes, almost every one of those who’d been Touched by Mana had a much larger mana pool than those who hadn’t.

She glanced over at Joram again as they drew closer to the greenhouse and wondered just how large his mana pool was. She wasn’t like Fyrellia who could sense mana to a certain degree. But given what she’d witnessed, she was sure that it must at least be several times larger than someone else who was of the same level as he was.

Thus lost in thought, she continued onwards while on autopilot, barely registering entering the house. Then hardly noticing heading straight to Joram’s room, she got changed and laid in bed. It wasn’t until she got poked in the side that she came out of her daze to see Myra staring daggers at her from less than a foot away.

She blinked, then noticed that Asami Miki was also staring at her from her right side, though she seemed more amused than anything. Then she noticed that she was laying on a somewhat hairy chest, then blinked again. She followed the chest up to the bearded chin, then saw that she was indeed laying on Joram.

Qyress felt her face light on fire with embarrassment as she frantically scrambled back, using her wings to help her move faster. Unfortunately, the sharp nails on her hands and the claws on her feet shredded the bedding in her haste, sending cloth flying everywhere as she beat her wings in a frenzy to escape the mortifying situation.

Then she felt as though the air around her had solidified, holding her in place up above the bed. She watched as Joram frowned slightly, then gawked as every bit of mangled and shredded bedding suddenly flew back to the bed, then reformed into the bedding it once was.

Myra was gaping as well, though Asami Miki looked like a youngling at a streetside magic display. She caught Arise and Fyrellia also gaping before she felt herself being drawn back to the bed where she was spun slightly before landing on it to sit beside Joram.

“I’m not bothered, you know,” was all the young master said before closing his eyes again, still sprawled on the bed as though nothing had happened.

Hearing the words was one thing, but having them penetrate her mortification was quite another matter entirely. It took her a few minutes of looking between Myra, Asami Miki, Arise, and Fyrellia to finally calm down enough to regulate her breathing back to normal. It was only then that she finally understood what the young master had said, once more blushing furiously in shame for having acted without thought.

Though, she mused, it’s a bloody shocking thing to come back to your senses to!

She looked back at the young master who was still laying there with his eyes closed, then to Myra who’d also closed her eyes as she lay snuggled up to the young master’s side. Asami Miki, though, was looking at her again with a small smile. After a moment, Asami Miki winked at her then closed her eyes and snuggled into place, apparently finding a comfortable spot before going still.

Qyress swallowed hard before glancing at Arise. She looked like nothing was out of the ordinary. But because she knew her friend so well, she could see that Arise looked… contemplative. Fyrellia, though, just gave her a quick thumbs-up before settling into bed, making her blush even more.

She took a few deep breaths to help herself calm down, then looked back down at the young master’s broad chest. She slowly, ever-so-slowly, turned so that she could bring her feet up into bed, curling her toes to avoid catching the bed, or anyone else, with her clawed toes. Still moving slowly, she shifted her wings back and out of the way, then laid on her side using the young master’s extended arm as a pillow.

She was surprised to feel that his arm wasn’t as hard as a rock, contrary to how chiselled it looked. In fact, it was absurdly comfortable to rest on. So, she brought her right wing down and used it to cover her side before she closed her eyes, silently wondering if she’d have the courage to rest there again tomorrow night.

* * *

*Day 9*

The following morning’s routine proved to be slightly more difficult with Qyress on his other side, but he eventually managed to extract himself from his bed, getting a System notification in the process.

Congratulations!

You’ve gained the following Skill:

- Escape Artist 1

You’ve levelled the following Skills:

- Advanced Clear Mind 51 -> 52

- Escape Artist 1 -> 2

You’ve gained the following Attribute Points:

…

…

…

He grinned. He didn’t know if having to escape three women was the tipping point in getting the Skill, but he was happy to see that his efforts hadn’t gone unnoticed. The stat points, though, he just skimmed through, already knowing what had been gained. Which was Strength. He was up to 40, though M2 had increased it gradually, not wanting to experience the intense pain again of having so many points dumped into an attribute all at once.

He was astonished to see that he hadn’t hulked-out, though. Given what he’d read over the years, he’d been half afraid that he’d wind up looking like an albino Hulk. Instead, he more resembled a brunette Thor, or perhaps Superman, as the guy already had dark hair….

The point was, he wasn’t going to be crippled by ridiculously huge muscles!

He looked down at himself again and wondered if he could make something like spandex, idly wondering if he’d finally be able to go cosplaying as some of his favourite superheroes one day….

He’d also added one point into Constitution, as having an odd number annoyed him. Then added 5 into Charisma, as he felt it was being left out, bringing it up to match his STR and CON. He just liked… even modifiers. Which brought him to his INT and SPR, which he’d also dumped a few points into to get to an even modifier….

He shook his head and got changed, then headed out of his room. From there, he made his way to his office, closing the door behind him. Having enjoyed his little session the day before, he grabbed his guitar and started playing. Then stopped as he broke the strings.

He sighed, [Repair]’d the strings, then started once more, this time making sure to pay attention to how much strength he was using. As he did, he pulled up his Character Sheet and had a quick look, then gaped.

Name: Joram Smith

Gestalt Path: Mage/Psion

Class: Creationist (Unique)

Level: 17

Free Attribute Points: 0

Race: High Elan

Resource Pools:

HP: 2,480/2,480

ST: 2,464/2,464

PP: 2,285/2,285

MP: 1,454/1,454

Regeneration Rates:

HP: 72/minute

ST: 72/minute

PP: 133/minute

MP: 135/minute

10x w/ [Clear Mind, Adv.]

Attributes:

STR: 45

SPD: 45

CON: 50

INT: 65 (57)

SPR: 75 (71)

CHA: 45

LCK: ??

Mod:

40

40

45

60 (52)

70 (66)

40

??

Attacks: Crit Chance: 25%

Melee: Mindblade (x3 crit)

D: 67 = 4 + 40 + 23

L: 69 = 6 + 40 + 23

M: 71/46 = 8 + 40/60 + 23

H: 80 = 12 + 60 + 23

+14 dmg after 1st hit.

Mindblade Throw Range:

18m, 14m, 10m, 6m

Ranged: Mindbolt (x4 crit)

D: 73 = 4 + 40 + 29

L: 95 = 6 + 60 + 29

M: 77 = 8 + 40/60 + 29

S: 79 = 10 + 40 + 29

+14 dmg after 1st hit.

M: +20 if using 2 hands to aim.

Range per Form:

18m, 70m, 40m, 12m

DEF = Dodge + Deflection + Buffs + Situational

Dodge: 60

Deflection: 40

Buffs:

+22 [Inertial ArmourA] (1/2PP)

+13 [Force ScreenA] (1/4PP)

Situational:

+5 vs ranged (not spells)

Resistances:

Cold: 60

Elec: 46

Fire: 55

Adapt Body:

All: 90 = 30 + INT Mod (60).

- All stacks with existing.

DR:

3/All per PP spent, or,

14/- [BiofeedbackA] 1/3PP

Kinesis Skills:

Name: Dmg: Range (m):

Aero: 22-472 127

Cryo: 22-472 127

Elec: 15-300 84

Hyrdo: 22-472 127

Pyro: 22-720(+20%) 720

Tele: 22-1,192 175

Terra: 22-562 133

Carrying Capacity:

Light:_________9.9x105 kg

Medium:_______2.0x106 kg

Heavy:________ 3.0x106 kg

Max Lift:______ 6.0x106 kg

Push/Drag:_____1.5x107 kg

Joram: Hey, guys…. We’ll hold off on Attribute Points for now.

M2-M12: OK

He sighed, wondering just how he’d gotten to exponential notation for his Strength score. Those were absolutely ridiculous numbers and he had absolutely no idea how to even start testing them, let alone how his environment would support that testing.

However, he was glad to see that his short-range mindbolt had somewhat caught up to his long-range mindbolt’s damage output. Still, if he was going to increase any attributes in the future, it would be his INT and SPR, for sure.

Almost everything that he did relied on those two Attributes, so when he finally decided to increase his Attributes again, those would be the two he’d focus on.

For now, he thought it would be wiser to focus on his Class Levels, so he directed M2 to work on that tonight while he meditated. For now, he got back to playing.

- - -

From there, the morning went smoothly enough, though he’d needed to explain to everyone that they weren’t sick, but were instead under a [Sustenance] effect. He’d done so before everyone had gone over to the mess hall to avoid spilling the beans to the staff. Though, if they noticed that the girls weren’t eating nearly as much as before, then he’d still have some explaining to do….

Which led him to taking his employees aside and explaining things to them… which went better than he’d expected, really. They’d actually been happy to hear that the younglings would have the proper nutrients they needed to grow and be healthy, because younglings were well-known for avoiding foods they didn’t like. Which usually led to kids getting sick, or malnourished and all that stuff that parents constantly worried over.

But that also brought up the valid point of lots of free time for the majority of his staff.

Seeing as how he’d enchanted every room in every building with a [Cleanse] effect to keep things clean, he didn’t need anyone mopping or dusting. Which led him to inquire about any other skills they might have that didn’t include cooking.

Which then led to him assuring them that one: they wouldn’t get laid-off, and two: that they’d still get their scheduled meals there. After that, things went smoothly enough.

Just over half of the women went off to help with the greenhouses, the dairy, or the brewery, surprisingly enough. He had another two ask if they could spend time with Ilyana learning her craft. He left that to Ilyana herself, not knowing if she wanted another two apprentices or not.

But Ilyana happily accepted them, especially since he’d be paying the two women to be there. They would also help in making other clothing for the younglings, which was a bonus all around.

After all that, he was still on the hook for his cooking class, as people still wanted to learn from him. Which was fine, really. He couldn’t blame a person for wanting to better themselves by learning as much as they could. Especially when it was something that they were passionate about.

With the influx of gardeners, he decided to quickly make a third greenhouse. It took almost no time at all to build, especially when using [Modify Matter, Superior], as it could affect just over 28m3 of materials at a time. Well, that went down when he started affecting minerals, then again with metals. But that was fine, as he’d just use [Terrakinesis] for the minerals, and he actually hardly used metals, so that was fine too given that the wood he created was harder and tougher than steel these days.

This one he left unplanted though, leaving it up to the women to decide what they wanted to grow there. Which was also fine, as they expressed their desires to add in local produce to the meals.

Then, to keep the seamstresses busy, the created a few dozen bolts of bamboo cloth of varying thread counts and tossed in a few bales of the bamboo fluff in case they wanted to make quilts or something.

When he was finally done with all that, he retreated to his practice spot from yesterday and got back to work.

He felt that he was close to really getting the hang of moving stuff around with [Spatial Manipulation], so a bit more practice wouldn’t hurt. After that, he’d start working on making things bigger on the inside, then work on enchanting them to keep the temporary alteration affixed to the container.

After that, he would start on [Dimensional Manipulation], though he was going to stick to creating extra-dimensional spaces to start off with. Something like a portable hole, then something along the lines of a handy bag of holding. All while he had M2 and M3 working on getting the last bit of [Fission] learned. Once he had that Power going, things would get even more interesting. Especially once he managed to create an augment for it what would allow for more duplicates.

Grinning, he got back to work.

* * *

“Young master?” she said, then cleared her throat.

Joram turned and looked over at them as another massive cube of stone disappeared then reappeared a short distance away.

“What’s up?” Joram asked curiously.

“We were wanting to head into the Dungeons,” she said, then pointed off to the stone building. “But we’re… unequipped. Would it be possible to get some equipment?” she asked, pulling on every ounce of diplomatic training that she’d received growing up.

“Sure?” he replied, shrugging. “What weapons and stuff do you normally use?”

Fyrellia suppressed a sigh of relief, not having been sure that he’d agree after having brushed her off just yesterday.

“Arise usually uses daggers, and light armour. Qyress specializes in using a longbow, also with light armour. I usually use a staff to help with my casting. If I can get some enchanted robes or some such, then that would be helpful,” she said, trying very hard not to rush through it all due to her nerves.

What they were asking for was very unusual. From what she understood, arming demons- even enslaved demons- was looked down upon, if not outright illegal. If he did give them what she’d asked for, then he might very well get in trouble. Yet, they also wanted to be useful to him, which meant gaining more power. Which meant levelling. Which meant they’d need equipment or die while trying to level.

“Well, then, how about these?” he asked, making a pair of, sheathed, curved daggers appear in his hand that he promptly tossed over to Arise who deftly caught them.

After a quick inspection, Arise’s mouth dropped open.

“Seriously?” she asked incredulously.

“Well, yeah,” Joram said with another shrug. “As for you, Fyrellia, you could try this,” he said, then tossed her a dark grey staff with a black gem held in place at its top by a basket of wood woven from the staff itself.

She quickly sent her mana into it to attune herself to the staff and just about dropped it as its details entered her mind.

“What?!” she practically yelled, too shocked to care about propriety anymore.