Kieran was deflated.
It had been two days since he and his family had taken shelter in the mountain dungeon behind the Academy. The first and only time he had been officially allowed out of the house. Now, back in his room and confined to the family home, Kieran was testing the limits of his skill when he saw the green-haired beauty who had almost died standing still outside his window.
It wasn't just the woman who had come to a stop as the entire street had ceased moving. Every single person was motionless, even the young boy caught mid-leap in the air went unnoticed as Kieran gazed at the woman who had captured his heart in her moment of rage. The one who scared the moon and Earth - or Tironia, as he now knew.
Unfortunately, Kieran was still grounded and he watched as time corrected itself and started to flow once more. He hadn't even done anything to deserve the grounding. Well, nothing that his parents knew about anyway.
Today was the day his father was off work. The Time Mage's masculine role model had joined the city guard like many of the other migrants from Gorn and Kieran respected his commitment. Even if Mark was a gentle giant, their table was always full and their son wanted for nothing. Other than freedom, that was. Even in the orphanage, back when he was still Bruce Gold, Kieran had more freedom than he did now. Granted his belly was never full, but that was a state of being he'd learned to live with.
Tina was out shopping, looking for ingredients for tonight's dinner. This was a stroke of luck for the young, but old, reincarnator. His father didn't check in on the youngster as often as his mother, so Kieran took his shot.
With as much confidence and determination as a teenager can muster, Kieran grabbed hold of the strings of time. He dashed out of the family home and ran down the street, following the direction the Goddess of War had taken before releasing his magic.
His control had gotten better in the last few days and Kieran was now strong enough to hold time still for almost twenty seconds. Nearly double the amount he had stopped in the forest during the war.
Catching up, he found the woman with three, young girls. Girls who Kieran could have sworn had died. This world had magic though and was as close to fantasy as it could be. 'Of course, people can come back to life,' he thought. Little did he know that if anyone else would have died, anywhere else in the world, for that matter, their soul would be sent to the reincarnation cycle as his own was not too long ago.
A purple-haired child sits on top of a large bear without a care in the world. Next to her is a blonde who doesn't stop talking and beside her a redhead, whose belly rumbled the moment time commenced. The woman with green hair laughed, her smile sending flutters through Kieran's heart.
He followed the group to a restaurant. The name on the building marked it as Ali's. Kieran didn't enter as he had no money. Instead, he opted to - as stealthily as a teenage boy could - peep through the window and observe from afar.
However, the inexperienced Time Mage was far from a Master Assassin - the sad truth of the matter was that he was still level 1 - and it didn't take long for his existence to be noticed by the woman who fought with the King.
Kieran was mesmerised. Caught in the beauty of her bewitching gaze, he realised too late that they were fixed in his direction. Before he could react, she disappeared and a hand had landed on his shoulder. Kieran's body turtled up as it had done so many times as Bruce. He was expecting a fist to arrive shortly and braced for the impact.
"Who are you and why are you following us?" Instead, she asked him a question. Her voice was the sweetest whisper, the most pleasant sound Kieran had ever heard. He even missed the slight edge she left hanging at the end as he could see her eyes perfectly so close up. Lime green with an array of speckled colours dotted around. They were entrancing.
"I-I'm B-Bruce G... I mean, I'm Kieran. K-Kieran Ely. I saw you and... And... I don't know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have followed you. I'm not even allowed out. I was just... You're so... I... I... I'm sorry." With that, the red-faced Time Mage flared his magic to the max in embarrassment and fled as fast as he could.
First impressions were important and Kieran had just blown his. Instead of the doting admirer, he was now the crazy stalker. Why was fate so kind yet in many other ways so cruel? He didn't know.
Kieran ran home, stopping time every chance he could to make sure he wasn't followed. Through the door. Up the stairs. Under the blanket. And then the tears came as he sobbed into his pillow, the feathers scratching his face.
His sound hadn't been completely muffled as his father entered the room shortly after.
"Hey, son. You okay? Is this about not being allowed out again?" Mark was worried, genuine concern showed on his face.
"I don't ever want to go out again," Kieran shouted back through taxed breath and salty tears to his father's surprise. All his son had ever asked for was to be allowed out. To mingle and join in activities with the others. Mark Ely hated himself for not being able to allow it. Having to hide his son's power was hard on all of them.
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Mark had plans though.
Big plans.
Kieran Ely Time Mage
Dungeon Stories Volume 4
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My speech ended and it wasn't all that, to be honest. I got my point across but then ended up rambling on about improvements and new trade routes before I was shut down by a booing Me.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
I don't even know how I ended up talking about roads and way stations, but they will help Hana and Mira keep the guards busy and levelling. There's only so much forest they're allowed to patrol so they don't curb the adventurer's levelling and more and more guards end up patrolling the streets than what should be the naturally-dangerous wilderness. Roads and waystations would make travel much safer and easier for human merchants, but still, it's not where my speech should have ended.
Pumping myself up, I try to finish strong.
"Everyone here contributes their fair share and I couldn't be more grateful for that. Because of you, we are where we are today and it wouldn't have been possible without all of your help. From the Taskmaster," Talia's name solicits some cheers, "to the Ringmaster," while the second earned a few light-hearted boos and chuckles, "you all contribute. You all put in the effort and work hard."
Now that I'm at this point, I feel kind of bad. If anything I'm the person who slacks the most. Even the humans seem to keep themselves more occupied than I do. Even with my new routine.
"You fought off a demon invasion for Core's sake. You guys rock and I'm not just talking about you, Barry." Colin licks the midnight-black surface of Barry's Mythril frame and Noir slaps the Golem on the back laughing heartily at the joke he caught. That was surprising on its own as puns and sarcasm usually go straight over Noir's head.
"Marie, what would we do without you?" The Space Mage sitting with the Categorisers and they all congratulate her. Everyone has been congratulating each other for the last few days but more praise and recognition is due. Unfortunately, there are too many people to name at our little get-together and if I tried it would last a lot longer than I told them it would.
"I'm so proud of everyone and honestly couldn't ask for a better family. Special in your own ways and unique in many more. I love every single one of you. Even you, Me." I throw him a quick wink at which he flushes red and looks anywhere but in my direction. "With that said, let's eat. It would appear that Amber and a couple of others have already started so you don't want to be left behind. I only have so much DP and that Dragon can eat. So, enjoy it while you can."
When I said that talking to my family was like talking to a part of myself, I may have been talking myself up then. That was still awkward as hell, especially with how many of them there are. Using my will is much more convenient.
Maybe I'm just not a public speaker.
Either way, I gave the speech and it wasn't a complete failure. Go me.
Now, it's time to mingle.
Going table to table, I try my best to remember the names of the people I have met once or twice since their summoning. In fact, quite a lot of these guys weren't even named by me and that fell to their employers instead. While engaging in the third conversation since making my speech, I call Blondie over since I'm already in way over my head.
"Hey, Danny, Trish, Marsh and Manda. I hope you're all doing OK. This food's the best, right? Anyway, sorry to interrupt, but I need to borrow Abi for a second. Thanks, guys. You're the best." Blondie saves me from making an ass of myself and I let her know there's a treat in store for her later if she helps me navigate the tables. It's not so that I can remember their names because I probably won't, but I just want to praise them more. They really do deserve it.
The only thing I can actually take credit for around here is spending points. Every other accomplishment is theirs.
At the next table, Sophie is talking about Gordon and his adventuring party. Apparently, they're the closest to reaching the second tier. All are over level 35 and their leader's pushing 39. The pregnant woman no longer guides their party as they have since passed her in level. That doesn't mean she hasn't been keeping an eye on them whenever she can though, which is harder than usual as she spends most of her time in Orad with Light.
A few Assassins don't seem convinced that reaching the second stage is such a big deal. That's mainly because most of them are over level 80, but humans have to be more careful than these carefree idiots.
Looking in Light's direction, why am I not surprised to see a mug in his hand and a silly expression on his face? Also, why does it feel like Prince Sillybollocks' tolerance to alcohol is getting weaker rather than stronger?
Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?
As I watch him goofing around, Noir appears beside Light and slaps him merrily on the shoulder, albeit a little too hard. Not letting it phase him, Light smiles mischievously before returning the friendly gesture. Ever so slightly harder than what he had received.
I can only shake my head as less than three slaps later a fight breaks out. I don't know what's overcome these two, but there's never a dull moment when they're together. Even out in the countryside, they can find reasons to kick the ever-living shit out of each other and yet, I still love them unconditionally.
It really is like I'm their parent sometimes, watching my kids squabble over petty things like affection. Guess what? You both annoy the shit out of me equally! It's pretty fucking amazing when you consider that they're dungeon-summoned beings. Not your average dungeon monsters, but sentient people who have thoughts of their own.
Before I have to intervene, the dastardly duo's respective partners turn up and put a stop to it for me. A quick slap round the back of Noir's head from Carrie and the redhead looks ashamed.
She's got him well-trained.
On the other hand, Dropper must have thought a slap wouldn't suffice for Light and punched him straight in the face instead. The Master Assassin blew backwards, destroying a table in the process - he costs me a fortune in tables, but to his credit, he still didn't spill a single drop of ale.
In fact, the only liquid covering the wreckage and ground beneath him is his blood. Gushing from his nose at a scary pace, I can't help but wonder how Light managed to become a Master Assassin before Dropper did. Then I remember the hand I played and groan. It was him I summoned when the Lazy God decided exile was a cool gig for a quick-witted Dungeon Core to have.
"Erm, Tilly. Can we borrow you for a minute?"