It´s Friday afternoon I´m back from school, standing in the kitchen and cooking.
I make pancakes when Ilza comes in.
“What do you cook? It smells good.” Ilza
“It´s called pancakes, they are good with fruits and melted chocolate.” Me
“Chocolate?” Ilza
“You don´t know chocolate?” I asked with wide eyes.
“Sorry...”Ilza
* Oh right, slave thing and poor.
“No problem, I brought some, do you know where Lilia is?” Me
“Still in school, she has to organise the tournament.” Ilza
“Pretty soon.” Me
“Lots of paperwork if you want to permit entry in the academy, for non-students. She already got my application, the deadline is at the end of the month.” Ilza
“So just two weeks? Good that we heard of it now.” I said and finished the dough.
“This doesn´t look like a meal, more like cake dough,” Ilza said while looking in the bowl.
“You have to fry it, could you cut the fruits?” I said and gave her some fruits out of my inventory.
“Sure.” Ilza said and I began to fry and also made a water bath for the chocolate bars.
“Why do you use hot water and not a pot over a fire?” Ilza
“It gets burned if I´d do that, the water guarantees a steady melting process.” I said and Ilza nodded, understanding.
“Could you please summon the maids? I want to eat in a group.” Me
“Yes, “ Ilza said and left. I just finished the pancakes as she came back with Kim, René, Fera and Paulina.
“You´ve called mistress?” René
“Ah yes, please sit down, I made pancakes.” Me
“Pancakes?” Kim
“It´s something to eat.” Me
“So mistress wishes to eat with us?” Fera
“Yes.” Me
“But we have to work.” Paulina
“Then see this as your work.” I said and sat down.
They all did but did not move.
“Is something wrong?” Me
“How do you eat these pancakes?” Kim asked and everyone looked at me.
“You put the things you want on it and then take it either in you hands and eat or cut it with a knife and fork,” I said and demonstrated.
They all imitate me and began to eat the pancake or more like a crepè, with little more dough.
All of them made “”HMM”“ sounds and had a blissful smile.
“Where did you learn that?” René
“Yeah and how do you make them?” Paulina
“A few years ago from my dad, you have to mix flour, eggs, milk and a little sugar. Then fry them in a pan with a little fat and put whatever you like on them.” Me
“So easy?” Kim
“Yeah, but I eat them seldom.” Me
“Why?!” Ilza
“They almost fatten you.” Me
“And where is the problem?” Fera
“I don´t like it to be fat, it´s unhealthy.” Me
“How can it be unhealthy? You´re able to survive longer without food.” René said and the other agreed.
“Well the people from where I come from, ate so much that they often were no longer able to move and the heart get problems with so much body weight.” Me
“You can weight so much that you´re not able to move?” Ilza
“How much is that?” Kim
“Many were over 130 kg, some even over 200 and the fattest human was over 500 kg.” I said and they looked at me with open mouths.
“How did they have so much food?” Paulina
“Food was abundant in some countries, we were able to eat meat three times a day and seven days in the week.” Me
“Must be nice to live there,” Kim said, now in her own world.
“So so, we had food and a secured environment but many rules and a few got crazy from all the work and stress. Well everybody has its own problems. “ I finished and we continued to eat.
They talked about their daily life and I learned a few common things during dinner.
We all finished and they got back to work, cleaning the dishes, the house and so on.
“Mistress, I spoke with the gardener, he´ll visit today at evening,” René said before she left.
“Thanks, I´m in the basement until then.” I said and went down to my Hurus.
I taught them to attack and how to paw at each other. As well as playing dead, give paw and roll.
The fur of Huru Two did not regrow, even with the regeneration, this must be the effect of the third rune layer. So better just one rune layer for Ilza. Huru One and Three learn four times faster than Huru Two and they also get new stats, four times as fast. It seems like there are no problems with mana enhancing, as long as I only do it until it begins to hurt. I have to test more on a few bandits. I´ll search for them after the talk with the gardener.
And so I trained them for a couple of hours until René knocked on the door.
“Mistress? The gardener has arrived, he waits in the living room.” René
“I´ll come, please bring us something to drink juice or something similar.” Me
* Can I produce coke with my magic? That would be great, I´m hooked on coke.
The gardener was a middle-aged man, almost bald, brown hair and 170 cm tall.
“Hello, my name is Clair. “ I said and gave him my hand.
“Good evening miss, my name is Phillip, I heard from René that you are in need of a gardener?” Phillip
“Yes I do, how high is your gardener skill?” Me
“It is on LV 5 miss.” Phillip
“And with what kinds of plants do you have experience?” Me
“With a lot of ornamental flowers.” Phillip
“And what´s about normal fruit trees and vegetables?” I asked and he looked a little taken back.
“Miss you want to have normal plants?” He asked a little cautious.
“Yes, I want to have a garden with many different plants,” Me
Phillip´s face beamed and said, “ That is wonderful, all the other nobles only wanted to have ornamental flowers.”
“Good, then how much do you get currently and how much would you like to get?” Me
“I currently get 40 silver a month, but René said you´ll offer 75 silver, is that true?” Phillip
“Ah yes it is, so do you agree for 75 silver, 8 hours a day, 5 days work per week, 2 days off per week and 30 days, of your choosing a year off. “ I said and he looked at me with big eyes and an open mouth.
“I..I heard it from René but couldn´t believe it. I would gladly accept, when can I start?” Phillip
“Today if you want, I have to register you for the guards and you have to buy trees, flowers, and other things, am I right?” Me
“Yes, I know some stores for these products, how much can I buy? And what do you mean with register?” Phillip
“Well, the crocodile guards would stop you if you would be for too long alone on my property, so we register you as a accepted personal. You have to be wary of the things you take with you out of the mansion, food is allowed, but things out of the workshop or the main building are all registered and you would be stopped by the guards if you take them with you.
And how much gold would you need for a full garden?” Me
“...These are some good guards. Ähm, I need at least 3 gold for most of the things but higher grade flowers are more expensive.” Phillip
“Here are 100 gold, is that enough?” I asked and gave him a pouch.
He looks at the pouch in his hand, then up to me and back to the pouch.
“Eh, hundre...hundred gold? I..I would need a guard if I want to buy the things, these is too much money, I would feel insecure on the streets.” He said still looking at the pouch.
“Could you buy them today?” Me
“I could, but many of them would be delivered, they need at least three months to reach this town.” Phillip
“Then it´s settled, you´ll get one of the guards with you and buy the necessary things. Oh and there are two more women in this house, miss Malinda and miss Bose, a young elf girl and a woman in her late thirties.” I said he nodded and we walked outside.
“You aren´t disgusted or troubled with elfs, why is that?” I asked.
“My sister is...was an elf.” He said and looked down.
“I´m sorry, your sister? You look like a human.” Me
“She was not really my sister, I grew up in a different town, as an orphan. Mili and I were living from day to day. We only had the house of the orphanage but not much food, so we had to steal, she got caught and was sold as a slave. I never saw her again and was shortly after,
adopted by a friendly couple.” He said in a sad tone.
“Please don´t mention slavery in stay of Ilza, she was a slave not three weeks ago.” Me
“Oh, I keep it in mind.” Phillip
“Thanks. One guard to me!” I shouted and a crocodile guard came to me, bowed and waited.
“You are to follow Phillip for the day and he is accepted personal in the future.” I said and he bowed.
“They look strong.” Phillip
“Oh, they are.” Me
“I inform you tomorrow on the things I bought.” Phillip
“Please call me Clair, I don´t like the word mistress.” Me
“But René and the other maids are calling you mistress.” Phillip
“Yes, they refuse to call me Clair,” I said with a frown.
“I´ll keep it in mind,” He said laughing.
“I´ll go then.” Me
“Have a nice day.” He said and began to walk to the gate, the guard followed him.
I went back inside and informed Ilza that I´ll be away, hunting bandits. She was worried, but I assured her that I´ll be fine. And left the town and went into a nearby forest.
I then changed into Reaper Dex, grew my wings and flew up.
* Where might I find some bandits? I could follow a street and search with mana sensing for humans.
So I flew along the main street and tried to sense for humans, who were not on the road but in strange formations around it, namely ambush positions.
I flew and flew and finally, after 3 hours and it already dawned, found a group of people in strange movements on the road.
I stopped and looked at them, 30 bandits vs 15 trespassers, while 5 trespassers were not fighting.
There was a mage, on the defending side, who conjured ice chards, but he was cut down.
* I should help them.
So I descended and shouted.
“Hello dear bandits, I need you for some experiments.”
Everyone stopped and looked around.
“I´m up here.” I said and they looked up.
“It´s the creepy mask guy.” A woman shouted, and put her hands over her mouth.
* Caravan Woman? You don´t have luck.
“Oh, I knew you, you really have no luck.” Me
“Please help.” Caravan Woman
“Who´s that?” Bandit
“Not important.” I said and flew down to the ground.
“It´s a monster, he has wings.” Another bandit.
“You may leave caravan woman, I´ll handle the rest.” Me
“Thank you.” The Caravan Woman said and even put her sword away.
“Aren´t ya a little to easy going?” Said the bandit next to her and tried to hack at her with his axe, but couldn´t move.
“What´s that I´m not able to move!” He shouted.
“Me neither.” Another
“”Me too.”“ The rest of them shouted.
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I turned to the caravan and said.
“Please continue your journey.” And gave them a group heal of the 8th Tier.
“How can we thank you?” A man in finer clothes asked.
“You don´t have to, I have business with these guys.” I said and pointed at the restricted bandits.
He tried to say something else but was interrupted by the caravan woman.
“Thank you for rescuing me a second time. Come you don´t want to see what he´s going to do with them.” She said the first sentence to me and whispered the second to the man.
He gave me a bow and they hurriedly left.
I turned around and said.
“So gentlemen, I need you for two little experiments.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Bandit
“I´m either your best friend or your worse nightmare.” Me
“Wh..what do you want?” A frightened bandit asked.
“Nothing much, I want to enhance you with some runes and with mana. And I want to see what happens.” Me
“Dafuck? That´ll kill us!” One shouted.
“Might be but you have not really a word in this.” I said and walked to one of the bandits with wounds.
He looked at me, his eyes were full of fear.
“Okay, you´ll get some runes.” I said and began to enhance him.
The first rune was applied and his wounds regenerated at a rapid place.
“What is this? My wounds, they are healed.” He said in disbelieve.
I gave him the second rune and nothing happened the third rune did also nothing, but he lost all his hairs with the fourth rune.
“My hair?” Why is it gone?” He now again was frightened.
He lost his teeth with the fifth, and got unconscious with the sixth, because the pain was too much as his skin pealed itself off. He didn´t die, the blood was regenerated. The seventh finally killed him, as he burst in a blue mana flame.
* This might happen, because the runes are sustaining itself. What happens if they provide them on their own?
I looked up and saw the pale faces of the other bandits, a few vomited, but vomiting is tricky if you can´t bend forward, they sullied themselves. Some even pissed in their pants.
“Hey that went better than expected.” I said in a happy tone.
“Better than expected? Hank is dead.” One bandit said.
“So who´s next?” I said ignoring him. One bandit began to sob and said between his hiccups something like.
“I °hick° don´t want this, I did °hick° nothing to deserve this.”
I walked to the next bandit and enhanced him with a layer, that does not sustain itself and activated it.
“No,no,no,no,” The bandit began.
I looked at his stats and it seems like it uses 1000 mana a second but he has 50.000 with the rune, so it was okay for 50 seconds. He got unconscious after 50 seconds and the rune then used his life in a one to one conversation rate. He died after six more minutes and his body began to eat itself until only his bones were left.
I went to the next one who began to plead for his life, which I stopped. I ripped his vocal cords out and stopped the blood loss with a spell.
“Pleas don´t cry and plead for mercy, I don´t like this, you are free to go when I finish. I think I need just four more experiments.” I said and some had a little hope on their face.
“Good, then on too you.” I said and enhanced him with layers. He also lost his hair with the fourth one.
* Strange, is it his high mana pool? But they should only have 200.000 mana. Is it because they are no mages?
I activated the rune and the mana was drained at a rapid place, not 4.000 a second, it used 8.000 mana.
* So double for each new layer?
I gave him a fifth layer and the usage rose to 16.000.
* So it gets doubled with each new layer.
I gave him more layers and he died at the eight and almost instantly broke down to his bones.
* So it stays by two layers.
“Two more.” I mused and went to the next one.
I began to pour my mana into him and he looked pleased but began to scream after a few minutes.
His muscles began to bulge and his skin ripped after a few more minutes. And he got unconscious shortly after that.
The funny thing that happened at last was, that his skull began to crack and his brain oozed out.
“Whoa, I didn´t expect that.” Me
“Why are you doing this?” Bandit
“I have a friend and I want to enhance him, but I have to know how much is possible.
So I test it on you.“ I said and enhanced the next person, but only his body.
His muscles bulged and exploded after some time, but his brain stayed normal.
“Good, good, now the last one.” I said and looked at the remaining 15 people.
“Ene mene mu and out are you.” I said and pointed at them randomly.
I went to him and only enhanced his head, which also cracked after the same time.
“W...will you release us?” Bandit
“Sure but I give you all a present.” I said and went to the next bandit.
“Wait, please, °hick° I... I don´t want to die.” He began to say and started to cry during his sentence.
I enhanced him with mana, but only the safe dose.
“Look at your status.” I said and he looked, then looked at me and asked.
“What, what is this?”
“You´re now able to learn faster and also train faster. I´ll give you all the same gift, but you have to stop the highway robbery.” Me
“But we don´t have money and never learned a decent job.” One said with an almost sad tone.
“Hm, then here are 100 gold, learn to live a decent life, maybe become adventurer. I´ll kow where you are, I´ll come and do much, much more frightening things.” Me
“Yes, we´re become the best adventurer in the country.” Someone said pale.
“Good,” I said and gave everyone a mana enhancement and a tracker rune.
“There´s a tournament in Turonis in two month, participate in the King of the Hill.” I said and finished the last enhancement, I also tried to reabsorb the mana what worked.
“See you then!” I continued and flew back to Turonis.
“I´m back!” I shouted as I got home.
Ilza run the stairs down and hugged me.
“What?” Me
“I was worried.” Ilza
“I only hunted bandits.” Me
“Lilia also said that it´s not a problem, but I was still worried.” Ilza
“Ah I forgot to show you my status. Show status Ilza.” I said and she looked at the window, and then with an open mouth at me.
“See, nothing to worry.” Me
“O...okay.” She said.
“Where is Lilia?” Me
“Upstairs, reading.” Ilza
“Come, I´ll give you your enhancements and I think she wants to see this.” I said and we went to Lilia to the library.
“Oh you´re back, I know that worries are unnecessary. Why did you hunt them?” Lilia said as we opened the door.
We sat down on a couch and I said.
“I needed to test some things with the enhancements.” Me
“And?” Lilia
“I know the guaranteed amount, so I´m going to enhance Ilza, do you want to see?” Me
Her eyes lit up and she put her book away.
“Go on.” She said.
“Are you ready Ilza?” I asked her.
“Yes.” Ilza
“Good, say when it begins to hurt.” I said and began to enhance her with mana.
“Her body is full of foreign mana.” Lilia said.
“This feels good.” Ilza said with a pleasant face.
It took me three minutes until she said.
“It begins to hurt.”
I stopped and looked at Lilia
“This looks beautiful , her whole body glows from mana and it´s neatly settled on her.
It also doesn´t destroy her body.” Lilia
“Now the runes, I make them so that you get 200 points in strength and agility each week, until you reach 40.000. It also has life, mana, HP regeneration, endurance and a tracking rune.” I said and gave her two layers.
“But you have to train your wisdom and intelligence on your own. I think a lack in these stats determine your maximum capacity of mana.” Me
“Why do you think so?” Lilia
“Ilza has two layers, Huru Two lost her hair with the third, the bandits lost it with the third or fourth and died from a mana flame with the sixth.” I said and Lilia went pale.
“And you gave two of them to Ilza?” Lilia
“Relax, even the Hurus could endure two and the effects are immediately, so there´ll be no problems.” I said and she calmed down.
“And the mana enhancement?” Lilia asked wary.
“Nothing happens, as long as I stop at the point where it begins to hurt. Her growth is accelerated by four times now.” me
“Four?! I don´t know if I want to know, but what happens when you don´t stop” Lilia
“I think I´ll force the muscle to grow and they rip after a few minutes, the brain also grows and cracks the skull.” I said and she went as pale as a piece of paper.
“Ehm, will I be right?” Ilza
“Yup, I can stop the runes and reabsorb the mana, if something happens.” I said and that reassured her.
“Now you can start your training. Gerd, your trainer will arrive on Sunday. Say if you feel something unpleasant.” Me
“I currently feel really good, better than normal.” Ilza
“Good, you have to train your strength, you´ll get 200 extra points each week, so we can fully activate rune at the end of my school years.” Me
“You think she can handle 200 points each week?” Lilia
“Yes, I´ll train her in the sensitivity skill, I just needed one day to teach Hira the tailor skill and a week for the second LV. I think Ilza´ll be on LV 3 in a month and 4 in four more.” Me
“That... is fast.” Lilia said the first half stunned but then quickly regained her posture.
“Ha! You were surprised.” Me
“N..no, no I was not.” She protested but I smiled.
“I´ll make something to eat, someone against chicken?” Me
“We ate chicken just yesterday.” Ilza
“And the day before and before and before....” Lilia
“I get it, no chicken. Then fish for you and chicken for me.” I said and Lilia facepalmed.
I made baked pasta for Lilia and Ilza and chicken gyros for me.
Ilza broke the plate with her new strength and crashed in the walls whenever she tried to walk.
Which amused me beyond anything.
“Don´t laugh.” Ilza said with watery eyes.
“You know, I flew over 100 miles with my first jump and dived three meter into a mountain.” I said still laughing.
“That sounds like it hurt.”Lilia
“Not really, but it was funny as hell.” I said and gave Ilza a few tips for her control.
We then went to sleep and Ilza ripped her night gown, so she had to sleep naked, which I appreciated.
She said, “sleeping naked or sleeping alone? Sleeping naked or sleeping alone?” And finally settled with sleeping naked.
I teased her a little by hugging her with my face on her breasts....