* * *
“Could you perchance reveal what physical dao forms would be excellent for cultivating?”
The Eccentric took a moment to think, but replied fairly quickly as he did his thinking, obviously slowing his speech so as to not discomfort those around him with his seven digit intelligence.
“Sure. Uh… well, to really comprehend the dao of physical forms, one must understand the groupings of the body’s powers. You have the grouping of the powers in the upper arm, and the grouping of the powers…”
The Eccentric slowed, obviously realizing that all three of them were struggling to grasp his deep understanding of the dao and paused. His thoughts, however, formed rapidly and he nodded before continuing.
“It’s best if I just show you,” the Eccentric said, then promptly took off his shirt.
Gwenvair struggled to keep her face from flushing red, but when she looked to Kilniara, she saw only pride and hunger in her eyes, and Gwenvair found herself just as viscerally affected, even if his base form seemed to be deformed as his chest and stomach appeared to be angular; a being chiseled from stone and not one made of flesh. Her mother’s speech broke her from her rapacious eyes scraping across his torso.
“Do you wish to use our healer?”
The Eccentric seemed taken aback, “A healer?”
Her mother nodded, politely, but Gwenvair caught traces of pink tinging her mother’s cheeks which burned slightly brighter with the Eccentric’s attention, “Yes. Your body needs healing.”
The Eccentric seemed confused, “What? Why?”
Her mother pinked up even more, though now from embarrassment at having to point out their benefactor’s deformity directly. While her mother squirmed, attempting to safe the Eccentric from embarrassment, Gwenvair took her role and came to the Eccentric’s rescue.
“Your stomach is… bumpy, and your chest is very… stony.”
The Eccentric’s eyebrows rose even as humor lifted his lips and he began to laugh brightly, shaking his head before continuing, “You have never seen a six pack and pecs before?”
His strange language caught all three of them by surprise and they looked to one another but the Eccentric already knew of their failure to understand and graciously explained quickly.
“Six pack. This is actually an eight pack, but these are the muscles of my stomach. You have them as well, all people have them. If you have never seen them, it is because they are usually covered by fat. If you exercise hard and make sure to keep very healthy, you will reduce the amount of fat on your body and are more easily able to see the muscles under your skin. That is why I seem… stony.” The eccentric stopped to laugh at that comment before shaking his head and continuing.
“To have this little body fat is not bad. It can be very healthy, as long as you can make sure to always have food and never fear starving. If you are unlikely to have food, then it is not wise to do so. My people have… my people do not fear the loss of food, so those of us who pursue the dao of the physical form do so without fear and for perfection, so we do not need much fat on our body. What you are seeing is simply my physical power without the fat covering them.”
The Eccentric then spent some time teaching them of each of the power groups in his body, how they worked, and how they generated power and controlled his body. He also gave dao forms to increase the strength and stamina of each of these power groups. She only hoped her mother was listening carefully, because when she learned that the Eccentric was not stony, but the epitome of the physical dao, she found herself hot and her eyes locked to his torso.
Time passed quickly, and she remembered everything, and nothing then suddenly the Eccentric was putting his shirt back on and leaving the room. Gwenvair came to herself and almost called him to stay when she realized that he’d already asked if they were happy with his training and if he could leave. Kilniara and her mother had both agreed, her mother with much more awareness. The Eccentric slipped from the room, and she found herself alone with her mother and Kilniara.
All three seemed to take a moment, the tension in the room seeming to shudder then escape the room like a suddenly killed slime, the tension fading away to nothingness. She looked around and found her mother as shaken by the Eccentric’s actions as she, although better in control. Kilniara seemed to smile slyly at both of them. Gwenvair grinned at that and laughed.
“You needled Joe to do such a thing to us, did you not?!” Gwenvair accused good humoredly.
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Kilniara quickly laughed and shook her head, “I was as taken aback as you! But, it was very enjoyable,” she ended with a salacious grin.
Gwenvair flushed red, “You take this too easily!”
Kilniara shook her head, “No, I simply enjoy it easily!”
Gwenvair laughed at that but then her mother interjected and her own face flushed brilliant red.
“That was… quite enjoyable!”
“Mother!” Gwenvair looked at her mom in shock, only to see her smiling with amusement.
“I have no designs on him, my daughter.”
“I know, but still! He is quite… salacious.”
Kilniara laughed at that and shook her head, “He does not believe so. I am not certain, but it appears that amongst his people, a man’s chest is not… appreciated or seen as a thing to be hidden.”
Gwenvair and her mother both rose their eyes at that and Kilniara continued.
“He always takes off his shirt in the courtyard at our inn to practice his physical dao. He encourages my brother and elder apprentice Garnedell to do the same, if they wish to or are hot.”
Both Gwenvair and her mother considered that before Gwenvair spoke, “Male chests are not… sexual?”
The comment had turned whispered by the end and Kilniara blushed red with Gwenvair when she said so, but she spoke quickly, ignoring the personal nature of the topic, “Men’s chests are not. Women’s… are very much so.”
“How can he believe so?”
Kilniara shrugged and began to answer but her mother interjected.
“He must be blind to not see what he does to you two.”
Gwenvair narrowed her eyes and looked at her mother, “Only us?”
Her mother’s cheeks pinked a bit more and she chuckled, “I am not unaffected, but I have my husband and have known chests.”
“Like his?” Gwenvair countered hard and her mother turned her face away before looking back and smiling. All three began to giggle, laughing and devolving into conversation and companionship. Kilniara remained stiff for some time until Mother encouraged her to consider her family, as she should, and the three soon found themselves in easy conversation. The healer stood to the side, utterly silent and desperately struggling to hide her own shock.
* * *
Joe found himself fleeing the palace a bit faster than he’d expected. He’d taken his shirt off without much thought as it would simply be easiest to explain all the muscle groups, their interactions, and how they functioned if they could simply see them and see them in action. He’d been half way through his explanation of the various core muscles of the stomach when he realized that the pink cheeks of the Matriarch and Gwenvair were not exactly natural nor were they due to exercise and concern. By the time he realized what was going on, he was already committed and pushed himself through the explanation rapidly, moving quickly before escaping the room and ultimately the palace and inner noble clan territory.
He didn’t calm down until he made it to the inner city well away from the noble grounds. He was feeling quite a bit better by the time he made it out of the inner city and back to the outer city where the dungeons and his inn was. He paused a moment to take stock and to calm himself before making decisions about the day. Everyone was off doing their own thing, and his initial reaction was to head back into the dungeon. Oooh… but what about this monster tide thing? I’m going to need a lot of arrows, if what Garnedell and Gwenvair said is true… maybe… check the fletchers first?
Joe perused his options before deciding that he would make an order for a lot of arrows then head into the dungeon for the day, his job choices were already pretty set, as he would be taking some grouping jobs, another education job, the next in line for the faith job, and continuing working on the combat job he had started. He had to go back to the inn to pick up his pack as they’d ended up running out on what they thought was an emergency, so he’d left the pack in the room.
Decision made, Joe walked to the inn feeling much calmer, the agitation from what had happened in the Matriarch’s room no longer bothering him. When he got there, he realized he’d fallen asleep before he’d taken a look at his jobs from yesterday. He flipped them open his status and took a look at the stats staff warrior, Loki priest, noble groom, and crafter gave him. He didn’t find them to impressive so turned to look at his blessings and titles quickly, having learned to always check everything.
He glanced only quickly and almost flipped on past after that quick glance but then froze when he noticed changes. Gotta another… wow… couple other titles… uh… Erudite. Hmm..
Erudite (Superior Title): You have explored a vast variety of jobs and job types, unlocking five major job trees. Gain the ability to change your own job once per day.
Synergistic gain - Manaless - Does not require mana to change jobs.
Synergistic gain - Jack of All Trades - Skills gain synergy with one another with greater ease and the ability to meld skills comes more easily.
This… OK! Joe’s grin grew. Guess I can practice the healing skill every night now… and… Zilnek’s problem… this should offer me a guarantee now! Let’s… figure this out a bit more carefully. No need to jump in fast, but… yeah. Now just need to figure out if I want to deliberately go dark priest… or not. Regardless, this should really make a difference! At least as a backup for any horrible mistake. Joe’s grin didn’t change as he turned to his next title excitedly.
Titular Master (Title): Acquiring so many unique titles and blessings has turned you into a veritable nightmare for any marshal, herald, butler, or majordomo who might have to announce your presence. In pity, you are now able to hide or reveal any title from those with skills to announce your presence.
Gain two stat points for each stat per title or blessing you acquire.
Ha! That’s… nice… hmm… wonder if that… what about my other Title … uh… title… I get one per for that one and two per for this one, so… that puts it at three per? Or… Joe paused his thoughts and turned to the last title.
Dao of Luck (Dao Seed): You have increased your Dao beyond mortal limits, developing your luck a hundred times beyond average mortals. You have begun your journey in developing a dao of luck. Good luck on your journey, mortal.