William lay in bed with Stacey asleep by his side. He had woken early and couldn’t get back to sleep, but didn’t want to disturb Stacey, so he stayed where he was. The comfy bed was as amazing as the first time he used it so he didn’t mind. He leaned into her and lightly kissed her on the head. She let out a cute moan and curled up into him some more. He thought about a lot of things in that time, enjoying the floral smell of Stacey’s hair. They had found the en suite had been supplied with herbal shampoo. The smell was comforting and allowed William to ponder the tasks ahead of him. He had to secure benefits for Greenwell, figure out his third sword-form, pursue enchanting more, dig deeper into his Soulspace, and get a full AU membership. That last one was less relevant, but he wanted to be an adventurer. To see new things. To slay fierce monsters, and find boundless treasures. There was a lot to do and he couldn’t help but worry something bad was on the horizon. William removed the notion from his mind quickly, putting it down to the conflicts he had experienced since coming to GAEA. More immediately than that, he had a gift to pick up and a nice evening date to plan.

A couple hours passed since William’s ruminations and now he, Stacey, Echo, and Ashen were at Serendipity, and closing their Tasks with Denlar. William read the prompt for his completed Task.

Ascension_Protocol}

{Taskmaster Quest}

Task 1 – Clear pests from Everglade’s Agriculture section.

[[Complete]]

Reward – Cache of high quality Ranged and Melee weaponry

{End}

William nodded contentedly. One more Task and they’ll be able to get full AU memberships. He wondered if John and Jane were as excited as he was. William and Stacey had tried to meet up with the pair, but couldn’t find them before it was time to retire for the night. William and Stacey had agreed to split up to try and find the others. William had decided to search around the area of Everglade not visible with his [Cartographer] skill. He also briefly wondered if the skill gave him a completion bonus for exploring the entirety of an area, but dismissed the idea. It was incredibly unlikely.

William had learned from his [Cartographer] skill that it didn’t care about height, only distance. The skill provided William with an accurate map of the upper tiers of Everglade that he hadn’t explored much, but had passed beneath during his time there. Stacey would explore the areas they had already been to as she now knew the way. Apparently, the recent stat boost to her Intelligence allowed her to retain more information and absorb it easier. This prompted William to try and recount something from earlier memory and was amazed as he somehow felt that his memory had more detail than before. He hadn’t considered it much as William relied on his [Cartographer] skill for most of his navigation, but even small copses of trees from previous journeys and clusters of rocks were retained in his memories now.

William’s travels took him around Everglade for around an hour before he spotted John skinning a dead beast sprawled out on a large wooden table.

“You a butcher now John?” William yelled, startling his friend.

John snapped his attention to William and put a hand to his chest in a self soothing motion before he realized it was a rather bloody hand that left a deep crimson print on his shirt.

“Oh god damn, William, you made me jump and ruin my shirt,” John replied, steadying his breathing before giving William a brief glare.

“Sorry man, this a new hobby of yours?”

“I’ve been doing hunting the past few days and decided to learn how to harvest the different bits from what I killed. Your mother’s archery lessons were incredibly helpful.”

“So did you get any Job prompts or the like?” William asked, looking at the half skinned Deer like creature between him and his friend.

John was looking down at his bloodied shirt with a sigh but nonetheless he replied, “Yes. I got the Butcher Job and before you ask, because I know you will, the two skills I start with are [Steady Hand] and [Carve].”

William nodded in appreciation. A useful Job and skills. He was about to speak, but paused. “Did he just say [Steady Hand]?” William thought. Thinking back a few seconds, William registered that it was what he said.

“Um… does [Steady Hand] synergize with your Archer class?” William asked, forming an idea in his mind.

John’s face scrunched in confusion for a moment before his eyes widened, clearly picking up on William’s hint.

“Okay, that’s something I need to try.”

“Wanna give it a go once you’re done with that… deer?”

“Verdant Hart. That’s its name and sure. Give me five and It’ll be done.”

William sat down on a bench that was beside a nearby tree and caught John up on what he and Stacey had been doing.

“I’m very much glad I stayed here man, but hey, you and Stacey seemed enough for the task anyway,” john said, finishing up the last of his work.

William watched his friend was his bloodied hands in a bucket of water, pondering how much easier it would’ve been with another Mage around to fight the wolves. It was done now so it didn’t take much space in his head. William’s eyebrows rose as he saw John give the meat to a middle aged man with a large belly and stubbly face in exchange for a small pouch of what William assumed was money.

John approached and William nodded to the bag as he said, “Copper, Silver, or Gold?”

John grinned and replied, “Two Silver, one Gold. That last beast was the tenth one I’ve done. This is the cumulation of that. There weren’t any other Tasks needing mine or Jane’s abilities at the moment so we both went searching for work. Jane is making a bit of money helping other Medics as an assistant. She wanted to learn more about her class and see if what she learned could help Greenwell in anyway beyond just healing wounds.”

“That probably explains why we only just bumped into each other then. Wanna come with me to pick up a present I had made for Stacey?”

“Yeah sure, I’ve not got anything else to do for a minute so I might as well. Wanna grab a drink afterwards? One of the Inns here have this honeyed ale and it’s only a few Copper pieces.”

William nodded with a smile. The ale sounded nice and it would be good to chat to another guy for a bit.

It didn’t take too long for William and John to arrive at the Craftsman’s Quarter in good cheer. John had been surprised when William told him what the gift for Stacey was, stating that the gift would probably get him a lot of brownie points. William had thought to how well it should look with the bangle that Stacey now wore and hoped she would love the coat.

The two men arrived at the cabin in question to a beaming woman holding a heavy fur coat that seemed to shimmer ever so slightly when turned in the light.

“Hiya lads, ‘ere for ya order I take it? She’s a beauty of a coat if I do say so myself,” The woman said, giving the two of them a toothy grin.

William gave a polite smile and replied, “Yep, that’s the plan. How does the Mana transfer work?”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The woman shrugged at his words making William start to panic.

“I dunno, that’s why I ‘anded it to my friend to enchant. He said all ya ‘ave to do is want the Mana to go into the coat. The magic mark thingies will do the rest.”

William nodded and took the coat, looking at the inside. He saw that several copies of the same Rune were marked inside. Touching it with his hand then his will, he learned the Rune.

{Ascension_Protocol}

{New Rune Learned:}

- Reinforcement

{Description}

A rune used to reinforce enchanted material, strengthening it to an extent based on the material’s quality.

{End}

William smiled. The material’s quality was definitely top tier and he had just learned a new rune. He also felt a trickle of EXP that made his Enchanter Level get a fraction closer to levelling up.

“Ya like it?” The woman asked, seeming pleased with herself.

William examined the coat closely feeling the fur and how extraordinarily soft it was. The skin was cleaned and polished on the inside of the fur, making the lining inside trap heat well. The waist was tapered in with some white thread that was only noticeable at close up. The weight was about three pounds so it was a heavier coat, but it shouldn’t matter too much with a higher Dexterity like what Stacey had.

“It’s excellent,” William replied, meaning it.

The white fur shimmered further as he shifted it in the light. It was beautiful. Stacey was going to be pleased. William and John gave farewells to the woman, leaving the cabin with a friendly wave. When they stepped out, William stored the coat in his Spatial Storage.

“I’m glad the sound proofing at the Inn is decent. Stacey’s gonna be real keen to reward you I’m sure, my dude,” John said, getting a tired sigh from William.

“That’s… private,” William replied, turning slightly to hide the slight pinkish hue his cheeks were starting to turn.

“I’m just fucking with you man,” John replied, laughing loudly.

“Is this payback for ditching you with Wylton the other day?”

“Yep. We’re even now.”

William nodded as he thought, “I’ll get you back motherfucker.” The thought made William smile and made his mind wander, thinking about all sorts of silly pranks to pull. John waved a hand in front of his face, bringing his focus back.

“you with us man?”

“Uh… yeah. Sorry, lost in thought,” William replied, starting to worry at his mind wandering more lately.

William felt Echo down the bond showing concern, but a pet on the head made that concern disappear. He caught john feeding a chunk of dried meat to Snow, his own bond.

“So, have you used Snow in your hunting?” William asked, curious if the group had another creature that could aid where needed.

“Yep, great at spotting movement in brush and the like,” John replied, a wide smile on his face.

It was nice seeing that his friend had a companion to compliment his lifestyle.

They soon arrived at a quiet little inn named Dusk Leaf at the base of another one of the monstrously tall trees and entered. The place was mostly empty, sporting long tables with an abundance of chairs, making the place seem like some Viking longhouse or the like. A couple people were sat alone at the ends of such tables, but they were all seeming to be drinking troubles away. The atmosphere wasn’t great until the smell of honey and hops caught his nose. He and John walked up tot he bar. John held to fingers up, prompting a nod from the barkeep and subsequent pouring from a freshly opened cask.

John handed the man a silver piece getting a bunch of coppers back as change. Before William could ask about the price, two large tankards were slid across the bar to the pair.

“Cheers man,” John said, lifting his drink.

William did the same back and the two clunked their wooden tankards together. William took a sip and was overcome with a sweetness that pleased his taste buds. After a moment, the hop taste caught up, balancing the sweet taste in his mouth and making the drink very palatable to William. He would be coming here again.

William and John chatted for a few hours, discussing how William can make a nice romantic evening for he and Stacey. One of the upper tiers apparently had some wooden tables and chairs that people could sit at and enjoy the peace and quiet, according to John. He had apparently taken Jane there on a previous night and it worked out nicely. It also answered why when he and Stacey got back that neither could find John or Jane.

A few hours later, William had a good serving of food and drink including more of those honey-glazed skewers from Maggin. If it wasn’t for the taste, he wouldn’t have bothered with the sneaky woman’s goods. He also had a couple sealed bottles of the honeyed ale for them to share and a platter of different cheeses and fruits. All of that was stored neatly in his spatial Storage and set him back a total of fifty copper pieces.

He and Stacey took their bonds with them and after thirty minutes of searching, found a platform branching out between the trunks of two trees that had a few tables with chairs on either side. No one else was present at that one, but a glance through the trees around them indicated that several more spots like this existed and those had some other couples on them. They took their seats and enjoyed the view of the glowing moss in the trees and canopy, forming that artificial night sky above them and enjoying the crisp and gentle breeze blowing through the trees at their elevated height.

The smell was fresh and clean, only changing when William summoned the platter in the center of the table next to the burning candles that seemed to be placed on either side of the table. These were apparently replaced daily by town housekeeping. After the platter came two wooden slats that held three skewers each on them. Stacey grinned at the food, eyes as hungry as he assumed her appetite was. He then summoned the two bottles of ale and explained what they were. Stacey didn’t hesitate to pop the cork of one and sipping it.

“This is delicious!” She said, eyes wide with pleasure.

William smiled warmly and gestured to the array of food between them.

“Let’s dig in,” William said, grabbing a skewer.

He had already secured some dried meat rations earlier in the day for their two bonds and both were contentedly eating from the two piles that were placed beside the table. One pile for each of them. It was a wonderful evening and once appetites were sated, Stacey shifted to his side and the two leaned back and stared up at the moss. William was the most content he had been in… well…. Ever.

“Oh yeah, before I forget, I got you a gift,” William said, somehow having forgotten about the coat he had made.

With a thought to his ring, a large fur coat materialized before the pair and Stacey gasped in shock.

“I had the fur of the Aether-fur Direwolf made into a coat for you. See the Runes inside? Those allow you to will Mana into the coat to replicate the same protection that the wolf itself had used. It also goes well with that wolf bangle of yours.”

Stacey smiled one of the most radiant smiles William had ever seen. She spun with the coat on and he was pleased that it fit almost perfectly. The bottom of the coat covered her upper thigh, but it would function as a makeshift protective skirt in a sense, so it wasn’t the end of the world. Her black hair rested atop the shoulders and collar of the coat, the jet black a stark contrast to the shimmering white of the fur. Stacey tested the functionality next and William watched in delight as Stacey beamed with joy when she saw the white fur shift to a glowing blue overlay.

He panicked briefly as she used [Fire-Bolt] on herself, but the dispersal of the magic attack on contact came as a relief as quickly as the [Fire-Bolt] had appeared.

“I love it William, this is… perfect. I can’t think of a better word. Thank you so much!” Stacey said, rushing back over to William.

He was about to respond when she got on top of him and planted a kiss on his lips. All thought left William and he just enjoyed the moment. Stacey let of him after what felt like both a brief moment, and a long one. Stacey sat back down as William took a swig of his bottled ale.

“I suppose I just need a tall fur hat and pimp cane to finish the style,” Stacey said, a cheeky grin on her face.

William spat his ale out in amused shock at her outburst and started to laugh deeply at it.

Stacey started laughing too and it took a good moment for the two to calm themselves.

William cleaned up the food waste they had made, putting it into a receptacle for composting nearby.

He gave Stacey a cheeky smile and said, “So, Miss Pimp. You gonna educate me tonight?”

Stacey got to her feet and proffered her hand to him.

“The sooner we get back, the more… education you can get,” Stacey said, grinning deviously.

After a very educational night, William, John, Jane, and Stacey were all summoned to Serendipity to meet with the councilors. Jane was blanking William, seeming annoyed at leaving her and John to Wylton’s knowledge seeking mercy. He knew his sister wasn’t overly mad, and that she had pulled similar stunts when they were younger. It would all be fine in a day or so.

As the group entered the councilors' chamber, they noticed severe expressions on all three councilors.

“What’s wrong?” William asked, not wanting to beat around the bush.

Wylton looked to the two other councilors who nodded.

The old Druid cleared his throat and spoke up, “Last night, one of our patrols went missing.”