(Kai) "Aunt 'Sia, could you give Jasper and I some time to catch up?"
(Aspasia) "Sure, go ahead. I have something that I have to do, and was planning on going anyway, so take all the time you need."
My aunt left, and Jasper and I simply stared at each other for awhile.
(Jasper) "Can your aunt really be trusted here? I mean, are you sure that she didn’t have a hand in the death of your mother?”
I sighed.
(Kai) “‘You really like picking the difficult questions, don’t you?’”
I smirked, returning what Jasper had said earlier.
(Jasper) “You know what I mean. Doesn't it just seem a little too convenient, how you mother was taken only after being sealed by your aunt?”
(Kai) “Believe me, I’ve considered it ever since I knew about the whole thing. And for the record, I don’t trust my aunt. She hasn’t done anything to prove that I can yet.”
(Jasper) “And if you find that you can’t trust her at all? What then?”
(Kai) “I run. Right now, one of the reasons I’m here are to see you, and to validate the character of my aunt, whether good or bad.”
Jasper’s face twisted in concern.
(Jasper) “You’re going to run? How? The Elven Empire has too much power to just let you slip through the cracks again. The first time was lucky enough—and you won’t have me helping you next time.”
(Kai) “Easy. You know that I always have some hidden trump cards—I’ll just have to use those. Besides, who says that you won’t be there?”
(Jasper) “Wait, what do you mean?”
(Kai) “I have a way to get you out of there. The problem is that it will completely destroy the seal, alerting the entire capital that you’ve escaped. It’s a last resort kind of thing.”
Jasper looked excited, and animated.
(Jasper) “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Here I’ve been waiting away in this damn seal, without any hope. Just the thought that I could get out is uplifting—Though, how did you find something capable of breaking the seal in the first place? It would have to be at least a legendary class item.”
(Kai) “Mmh. I got lucky, and found it.”
Jasper scratched his chin in bemusement.
(Jasper) “Pfft. Your luck is almost unreal. It’s like the heavens themselves hate and love you in equal measure. I mean, you’ve had some things happen to you that would be impossible in any other situation”
(Kai) “Hah! You’re just bitter about what happened when you were carrying me out of the elven empire.”
(Jasper) “Damn right I am. Do you know how difficult it is to run through the forests here in the first place? And then, as it turns out, you’re some kind of living monster magnet—every single day, more wolf packs attacking, birds practically falling from the sky to kill you, every time we were near the water, something would come out and I would have to kill it. It was downright exhausting to try and protect you.”
(Kai) “Look on the bright side, though—Because you protected me, I’m alive and well today. I owe you my life.”
(Jasper) “Oh please. I’m sure that if I hadn’t found that grotto, you would have just use another one of those damnable ‘trump cards’ and escaped.”
(Kai) “you should know full well that they’re trump cards for a reason. I can only surprise others with them once, before they develop countermeasures. Besides, with how I am at the moment, it would just be more productive to train my body, rather than rely on other things.”
(Jasper) “Train your body, huh. I take it that you’ll be using the dungeon here?”
(Kai) “Yeah.”
(Jasper) “That’s dangerous, you know. It’s not a tier six dungeon for nothing.”
(Kai) “I can handle it. Besides, I’m only sticking to the first few floors until my level gets high enough to tackle the lower ones.”
(Jasper) “What is your level right now? I’ve tried to use my〖Analyze〗on you, but it’s never worked.”
(Kai) “Ah, sure.”
In front of me, I created a construct out of mana showing my currents stats from memory. It hovered in front of me, displaying them to him. While I was at it, I went ahead and used〖Analyze〗on Jasper, wondering what his stats were.
One of those floating blue windows invisible to everyone else appeared in front of me, showing just how monstrous Jasper is.
Status:Name: Jasper NadineTitles:Forgotten LordGluttonous KnowledgeRace: DemonAge: 347Gender: MaleMain Class: Quasi Demon-LordSub Class(es): LibrarianLevel: 277Health: 7840Mana: 469000Strength: 156Stamina: 20Dexterity: 12Intelligence: 1989Wisdom: 1250Luck: 33
Holy shit. No wonder the elves had a hard time taking him down. And he’s not even a Demon-Lord yet. Those guys supposedly gain massive bonuses to a whole slew of things, and can also get new skills to go with it.
While his stats are a little...skewed, they are definitely strong. My stats are more balanced, and have a good growth rate, but when someone is specialized in one thing, and focuses all of their attention on it, the results can be frightening.
While I stood, awestruck with Jasper’s stats, he examined the ones that I showed him.
(Jasper) “Not bad. Your level is at the higher end of kids even older than you are, and the stats are higher than I would have thought. Look’s like you have a diabolically high growth rate for having inherited demon and elf blood. It’s actually a little higher than the average human’s growth rate, if anything. Though, I half expected you to have titles by now, with how cheaty you are.”
I wonder how he would react if I told him that I had titles already—And no less than four. Though, I was born with those, so I’m not sure if they would even count. And, about the growth rates and average levels, they go something like this:
When a human child turns ten, the nobles would have around a twenty, and the rest a ten. Elves would also be about level ten, due to their slow growth and long lives. A twenty year old elf is typically directly comparable to a ten year old human child. Demons levels depend, with some having very quick growth, but short lives, and others being comparable to the elves.
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After this childhood period of growth, things slow down depending on the person’s attitude and personality. For instance, there are some whose growth comes to a standstill—Mostly the common people, who have no reason for getting stronger. Others would experience a drop in their rate of growth, but continue to gain levels and higher stats.
Rarely, some actually speed up after puberty hits, experiencing a meteoric rise in strength until they hit a certain point. Most of the humans who gain the hero class are like this, due to their typically unwavering desire to protect and grow stronger. Unfortunately, people who have become insane for one reason or another are also like this, for different reasons.
While there are those who have had faster growth than I in this generation, I am certainly close to the top.
I wonder what would have happened if I had actually focused on gaining levels, rather than smithing all this time. I have a feeling that the results would have been amusing. But then I wouldn’t have been able to make all my fun toys, which will help me level up even faster in the future.
I just hope that my childhood growth period lasts until I go to school, so I can get the most out of the dungeon experience. I shudder when thinking about puberty hitting me.
Mostly due to the physical changes.
Anyway, after Jasper appraised my stats, I ask him about the thing I had come for.
(Kai) “So, have you heard anything about our father?”
Jasper sighed, obviously frustrated.
(Jasper) “No. Nobody’s even seen him since you were born, though I have been doing some research. You know, since I’m stuck in this seal.”
I felt frustrated. Everyone says that he had truly loved my Mother, but he hasn’t shown up, even after her death.
Jasper continued speaking, through, adding onto the quagmire that is my father. It should also be noted that Jasper had only seen him for the second time when him and mom were courting. He had left a few years after Jasper was born.
(Jasper) “Though, I am finding out more about him as I read.”
I look behind Jasper, at the towering stack of books placed precariously on the tables and floor. All of them looked to be more than a few centuries old.
Jasper notices the look, and surmises it’s meaning.
(Jasper) “Yeah. He’s only showing up in the very oldest of books. And even then it’s vague references. I’ve found several ancient books mentioning a person titled ‘The Red Death’, a demon of frightening power who appeared every now and then, before leaving as abruptly as he came. Considering our father’s looks, I’d say that there’s a good chance that he is this ‘Red Death’.”
(Kai) “That’s kinda thin, as far as evidence goes.”
(Jasper) “There’s more. In older books, a Demon-Lord is mentioned, who nearly took over all three of the continents. The combined elven and human forces were eventually able to push him back, but he was never killed. In books just after this time period, his name was used as a curse, along with the moniker “The Crimson Devil”, due to his hair color, which was a bright red.”
I wasn’t convinced, and let Jasper know as much.
(Kai) “I think you’re reaching a little too far for these answers, Jasper. I mean, how old are these stories in the first place? There’s no telling how much was distorted by the passage of time.”
Jasper looked thoughtful for a moment, before speaking.
(Jasper) “Well, I think they’re around twenty thousand years old, give or take a few thousand or so.”
(Kai) “Not exactly helping your argument here.”
(Jasper) “Yeah, I know. I can’t help it though— I want it to be right.”
I kinda understood Jasper’s feelings. For the three-hundred or so years of his life, most of it was spent with vague memories of his father from when he was small. After than, he had disappeared, and Jasper had accepted that he had likely died, just like his mother had thought. Then, after those centuries, I’m born, and he sees his father for a brief moment, before talking to him once. That was the spark that created a flame, consuming Jasper in his quest of solid answers. Truthfully, he just wants to know why he had left in the first place, and had been too timid to ask him face to face that one time. He was afraid that he had been the reason, and was now resorting to stalking our father through history.
And I did have to admit that our father was unique looking— maybe even enough to be noted throughout history for his appearance.
The few times I had seen him had been all I needed to have his features burned into my memory.
His skin was dark. Not the ebon-skin found in those humans living in the southern deserts, but the sort of color found in just-cooled magma. His veins further accentuated that feeling, since they glowed beneath the skin with a faint golden shine. His eyes stood out in his dark skin, with the whites, and the vivid green irises I’ve always felt were so out of place on his body, like a flower blooming inside the caldera of a volcano. His hair was crimson red, which was why Jasper had made the ‘Crimson Devil’ and ‘Red Death’ connections in the first place. He had excluded such an aura of latent power and grace from his seven foot tall body, that there was no doubt to me that he was the most powerful man on the continents.
It made me wonder why he had left us for ourselves.
Anyway, I went ahead and passed Ancient's Respite to Jasper through the seal, and as expected, it cut right through it. The seal reformed itself a moment after, preventing any leaks from occurring. What had happened was that things were allowed to enter the seal, but not return from inside it. However, Respite could shatter the very magic keeping it together, allowing Jasper to leave.
I didn’t want to take the risk of never being able to pass it off to him, and I didn’t really have a use for it at the moment.
He stared at it of a while, amazed at the abilities it has, thought he couldn’t seem to make it change at all, and it stubbornly stayed in it’s dagger form.
Then, I exited the seal room, and went to go find my aunt, and gain her approval to enter the dungeon here in the capital.
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