The Wanderer's Rebirth: Other Paths

*That night*

“So, do Elder Dragons really have to marry the one who defeated them?” Myra asked, incredibly skeptical of Erys’ story.

“Well, either that or be killed by the victor,” Erys said, shrugging. “We don’t usually start fights we know that we can’t win, so it’s usually not an issue.”

Myra looked for any indication of falsehood from the dragon, but found that she seemed… guileless, almost innocent in how she spoke and held herself.

“And you just so happened to think that Joram would be an easy target…?” she asked, still not believing how things had turned out.

Erys sighed as she fiddled with her pajamas, obviously not used to wearing the clothing that everyone had insisted she wear to bed last night. Even without wings or a tail, she seemed to just not quite get how to put on the top, so she leaned over and gave her a hand.

“Well, who would have thought that I’d run into a little monster,” Erys said with a grin once her head popped out of the top the ‘sports top’, as Joram called it. “I still can’t believe that he’s only Level 20,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

Myra could understand that, but didn’t share that Joram’s Path was a [Unique] one that gave a ridiculous number of Attribute Points per level. Even her Epic Path only gave her 1 Attribute Point per level! Sure, she could still train, and she did as much as she could, but thinking about how powerful Joram was for being Level 20, a C-Ranked Pather, almost crushed her spirit knowing that she would never catch up to him.

“What?” Erys asked, leaning over to poke her in the side.

“What do you mean, ‘what’?” she snapped back reflexively falling back on her snappishness at being poked.

“You know something else, I can smell it,” Erys said, now scooting closer to her on the bed.

“He trains like mad, that’s what,” she said, glaring at the newest hurdle in front of her. “If people trained half as hard as him, then we wouldn’t have to worry about roving monsters,” she said, hoping to distract Erys, and succeeded.

“Mmm, that’s true,” Erys said, nodding. “I thought I felt a Dungeon Overflow a while back in the area, but it vanished before I could get around to coming over,” she said, piquing her curiosity.

“So, what brought you this way, then?” she asked, now scooting up to the dragon woman, not caring that their hips were now touching.

“Well…” Erys said, now obviously regretting having said something before perking up again. “Which reminds me! I should be on my way soon. I can’t just stay here, however tempting that might be…” she said, then wilted again at the thought of leaving.

“Well, I’m sure that if you ask Joram nicely, and explain the situation, that he might be able to help you out…” Myra said as reasonably and as enticingly as she could. “You know, someone who could beat an Elder Dragon could be a huge help…”

“That’s true…” Erys mused as she tapped a finger on her knee, then looked over at her with great scrutiny before speaking again. “But, would it be alright with you if Joram left for an extended period of time?”

Myra was about to say that she’d be fine, but stopped herself. She didn’t like lying, and that would have been a rather large lie, especially when she didn’t know what sorts of trouble would be waiting for him out there. That he’d run off alone, and Pathless, to clear a Dungeon wasn’t something that she’d forgotten. In fact, it was probably the root of her fears surrounding Joram heading off somewhere….

“No. But he’s strong. He can also [Teleport] back at any time, so I don’t think that I- or we- will have the time to really miss him. Especially if he comes back for the night,” she said, smiling as the last words came out, knowing just how true they were for her.

“Mmmnmm,” Erys hummed in agreement. “Well, if he can [Clone] himself, I don’t think that it’ll be an issue either way,” she said, reminding her of last night’s… weirdness.

“That… is true…” she said faintly, now imagining a world where she would be able to monopolize Joram.

“Yeah, I get that,” Erys said conspiratorially, a huge grin splitting her face and showing her very straight and alarmingly pointy teeth.

“Ahem!” she cleared her throat before going on. “So, just ask Joram. I’m sure that he’ll be willing to help, especially if it’s for everyone’s safety.”

“That it is…” Erys said, trailing off in seemingly dark thoughts.

“Well, let’s finish getting ready for bed, then,” Myra said, then started doing just that as her thoughts turned once more to things she hadn’t dwelled on until after meeting Joram.

* * *

*Morning, Day 26*

“Charlotte?”

“Yes, Collette?”

“Isn’t the young master a bit weird?” she asked as she finished up the morning milking.

“That’s for sure,” Charlotte said, nodding. “But what weirdness are you talking about this time?”

“Well,” she started, now a bit uncertain of how to phrase her feelings. “How many humans out there do you think would be as nice to us animal-kin like he is?”

Charlotte looked over at her as she finished up her own milking, looking thoughtful.

“I don’t really know,” she said after a bit.

“Well, I know it’s a bit odd for humans, what we’re doing here,” she said as she motioned to the breast pumps. “But it’s normal for us. Yet, the young master seemed so happy to try the cheeses we’ve already made,” she said, now fidgeting slightly with her pump as she paused in washing it.

“Not just you both,” Aural, one of the sheepkin, said as Danielle nodded along. “He even thanked us for making cheeses,” she finished, blushing slightly as she hurried to resume washing her own pumps.

Collette nodded at that, agreeing fully. “Doing this was normal at home,” she said, once more motioning around the small dairy. “But here? The other girls looked so… scandalized when they heard what we do,” she said, shaking her head at the memory.

“They were even hesitant to try our milk and cheeses before the young master happily sampled them in front of everyone,” Danielle said as she held her hands up in front of her mouth in embarrassment.

“I’m glad he likes our milk,” Charlotte said, smiling as she worked.

That got nods all around as they, too, remembered the young master’s expression of happiness as he ate the sampling of cheeses that they’d laid out for everyone.

“But isn’t it a bit… lewd seeing a human drinking our milk…? A… man?” Danielle said, now obviously blushing with extreme embarrassment.

Collette exchanged looks with her twin, Charlotte, for a moment before they shrugged in unison.

“If it’s him, we don’t mind,” Charlotte said, smiling.

“Nor would we mind if he wanted… fresher milk,” Collette said, astonishing herself with how bold she was being, resulting in her face heating up.

Aural, Danielle, and even Charlotte looked at her with eyes wide with shock before they, too, turned bright red as they all looked down at the same time.

Collette nodded to herself, knowing that what she’d said had been something they’d all been thinking about, but not daring to say. For a human, the young master was incredibly… attractive. Between his amazing muscles and his wonderful beard, he was certainly a… tall glass of milk, as it were.

They soon returned to their various tasks, all lost in their thoughts. But one thing was certain: their thoughts were all, understandably, similar.

* * *

Shae’ra was… distracted.

Ever since Asami Miki had let the cat out of the bag, as it were, she’d been having more than a little bit of difficulty focussing on her daily tasks. Sure, the new fruits and vegetables that Joram had introduced her to were amazing, let alone the ones he’d added just last week!

But now her thoughts weren’t fully with nature. Well, maybe that wasn’t quite accurate. Her thoughts were certainly revolving around nature, but not the kind of nature they were supposed to be focussed on. Namely, gardening.

They were now filled with amorous thoughts, distracting her from what she should be doing. But even when she re-tasked herself- because she was working with the new plants- her thoughts would soon turn back to Joram. And how she felt about him.

She turned her head slightly so that she could sneak a peak at Imryll, the young night elf, and wondered what the young woman was thinking.

Back in the elven villages, they’d heard many tales of [Hero]s. Heck, they even had many records of past [Hero]s that most places didn’t have. And each and every [Hero] they knew about had been… extraordinary in one thing or another. From martial might to magical might and everything in between, each one of them had been exceptional.

Exceptional in one thing. Like having high Intellect or Spirit Attributes if they were a mage of some sort, while the fighter-types usually had a high Strength or Speed Attribute. Then, to go along with that exceptionally high Attribute, they’d also have one Skill that used that Attribute.

But Joram?

She’d watched, and felt, as he’d used incredible amounts of mana while working spells with such force that she couldn’t help but wonder how high his Intellect and Spirit Attributes were. Then the tale of how he’d beaten an Elder Dragon by repeatedly punching her in the head had once more called into question what she thought she’d known.

She could see how deliberately Joram walked, how delicately he touched things, and saw that for a dead giveaway it was that he possessed Strength and Speed far above those around him.

If a [Hero] was summoned that could do all of that, they would surely be the trump card of the Light Continent, their home. But then she began to wonder if such a monstrous existence would truly be a boon for them, for there were also tales of [Hero]s going mad with power and trying to usurp kingdoms in the past. Some had actually succeeded.

So, what would happen if that hypothetical [Hero] managed to subjugate the Demon Continent? Would they be happy with getting a noble title, a parade, and a few other rewards? Or would they yearn for more? Desire more? Want more?

Her thoughts turned back to Joram, then. If it was him, would he be like that? Would he turn into a greedy monster whose only desire was conquest and rule?

Probably not. Especially with what she’d already seen of his personality. But with such power, would others covet it? Would they try to somehow bring him under heel, enslave him? Or would they try to eliminate what they perceived as a threat to them and their rule? It had been well-documented in the past that rulers of any flavour grew nervous when someone more powerful than them showed up in their kingdom; especially when said person wasn’t under their control.

Shae’ra truly hoped that no one in power, real power, found out about Joram. But if they did, her fervent wish was that he would be strong enough to both stay safe while also being able to keep them all safe. Underhanded tactics were common amongst people like that, after all.

She paused in front of a tomato plant and admired the beautiful red fruit that was only about an inch across. They almost grew like grapes- in bunches- but tasted completely different. She was impressed with how fast they grew even though she knew that Joram has used a magic that sped up the growth of plants.

If she, and the younglings and young women who helped in the gardens, kept at it, she was sure that their little produce stall in Kirkwall would soon turn a tidy profit. Not only that, but they were the exclusive growers of the new produce that everyone seemed to enjoy. Which meant that they would likely soon attract the ire of any farmers whose profits were suffering because of them.

Which meant that they’d either have to deal with that, or perhaps find a way to make sure that what they produced didn’t go to waste. It was hard, though, when the rings Joram had provided them made it so that they didn’t grow hungry; providing them with the sustenance they needed to live.

Some of the younglings still ate from time to time, but the amount of food that had needed to be prepared for everyone had dropped to almost nothing. She wondered if the women Joram had hired were resentful of that. Or if Joram had known that he wouldn’t need as many employees as he’d initially hired. Or, perhaps, he had a plan. Either way, most of the women had gone on to perform other tasks around the property.

Shae’ra shook her head as she recalled when Joram had announced the new, and very strange, Dungeon at the back of the property. She didn’t know of any Dungeon that was basically a larder. The monsters in there were practically hand-picked farm animals! Not only that, but they were considerably more docile than standard Dungeon monsters, making it disturbingly easy for anyone who’d expressed interest in levelling up to do so.

Yes, Joram had expounded upon the dangers of complacency when facing monsters, and especially in assuming that all monsters would be as easy to defeat as the ones in that Dungeon. But!

Well, the “but” likely originated from remembering her own grueling experiences while levelling up and comparing them to how easy it was for the younglings here to level up. But, ultimately, she was glad that everyone had the ability to level up safely, gaining power as they did. Which would go a long way to keeping everyone safe should any malicious actors enter the scene, as it were.

For her part, it wasn’t easy to level up since she was already Level 31, because the highest level of monster in that dungeon was Level 30. The experience needed for her next level was fairly high, while killing things below her level wasn’t nearly as profitable as killing things equal to or greater than her level. Though, Joram had mentioned the possibility of another level appearing in the Dungeon….

Sure, that could happen, but it was exceedingly rare. Usually, a Dungeon needed to get to a state of Overflow before that happened, and she was in no way comfortable allowing that to happen when the Dungeon was so close to home.

Well, at least Joram would be more than enough to deal with anything coming out of the Dungeon if that were to happen. Heck, even the “three gals”, as Joram called the three “demons”, could handle things with how they’d been grinding in the Dungeon these past couple of weeks. She then idly wondered what they were doing with any Cores that they found, but then shrugged. They were very likely to have all been given to Joram seeing as how they were still slaves, and all the laws surrounding things like that.

But, given the amazing weapons that she’d seen the three gals using, she wondered if the Cores they found were considered payment for said weapons. Then she started wondering if Joram would find her a decent weapon to use….

Shaking her head to clear those greedy thoughts away, she looked over to Imryll again, once more wondering what the young woman truly thought of Joram. Even as she watched, Imryll would blush occasionally as she worked, making her think that Asami hadn’t just been teasing them all. Which reminded her of her own thoughts and feelings regarding the man who’d first bought, then freed her.

Due to the difference in how the various races aged, elves tended to look at a person’s character before looking at their physical appearance. That wasn’t to say that elves ignored one’s appearance, it just meant that appearance tended to be a lower priority for them. But. Joram was certainly a looker, even with the beard and ridiculous muscles…. Muscles that could….

Shae’ra’s mind nearly overloaded with inappropriate thoughts as she sat down, suddenly too dizzy to stand.

Not thinking about that!!! She thought frantically as she tried to dismiss those thoughts. But as she tried, she remembered what Joram had told them all about his race, and wondered if she would wind up old and wrinkled before Joram did….

A bit saddened at that thought, she began doodling in the dirt with a finger.

* * *

I think I’ve got it… Joram mused as he studied his [Ring of Arcane Might]. He’d been wondering for a while now how to add Attribute enhancements to an item, and after going over the Craft Wondrous Item feat’s information that Altaea had left for him, he felt that he was ready to try enchanting something.

Though, the question became, “what”. If materials here affected what kinds of enchantments could be placed on them, then he’d have to really consider things. The [Ring of Arcane Might] seemed to be made out of a gold alloy, so maybe that would be the best route to go.

Thinking about it more, he was reasonably sure that gold-palladium alloys were used in jewelry. And considering how well palladium took to enchantments, not to mention gold, it might work out better. Especially since the alloy didn’t wind up looking like either of the base metals used in it, turning into “white gold”.

Thinking a bit more, he knew that gold-titanium alloys were a thing, especially given the publicity from the first Iron Man movie years ago. The cool thing, though, was that they’d managed to make an even better Au-Ti alloy a few years later by increasing the temperature at which the two metals were mixed, or alloyed….

Then he remembered the silly metal he’d made up for a story back in grade 10, “Tetratanium”, or just “Tetra” for short. It had been the metal of choice for a fantasy world he’d made up, using it for anything from weapons to armour in their society.

On a whim, he used [Summon: All] while concentrating on the properties he’d imagined up and gaped as an ingot of white metal appeared in front of him. Hesitantly, he reached out and used [Delve] to investigate its properties.

A few moments later, he smiled.