Lone entered his store's second floor with Soph trailing just behind him. Sat in one of the room's two chairs was a well-dressed young man who couldn't have been any older than perhaps seventeen or eighteen if his looks were to be trusted.
He was a human with short wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. His skin was fair and elegant, in fact, were he dressed a bit differently, Lone may have mistaken him for a girl.
'A D-ranker... Well, he's not here for a fight at least. Not unless he's beyond stupid,' Lone thought as he casually sat on one of the two beds and scooped Soph up onto his lap then covered her in his tails.
"You insisted on seeing me?" Lone asked as he rested his chin on Soph's soft head of hair.
The handsome young man nodded slowly. "Indeed, I certainly did." He held his sleek jawline in one hand and his elbow in the other as he carefully looked at Lone and Soph. "I trust that you're not a man of many words?"
Lone shook his head. "I can talk for hours when I want to, but right now? Yeah, be quick. I'm assuming you want something, so just spit it out. No need to try to butter me up first."
The youth nodded. "Very well. I am one of the leaders of a group called 'Freedom'. Freedom is, to not mince words, an illegal slave-trading company." His words were filled with bitterness, and, in fact, some hints of hatred.
"Ironic name, assuming you're being honest," Lone responded with a shrug.
The blonde-haired man cocked his head inquisitively. "You aren't surprised or angry?"
"Should I be? I have a policy to not bother myself with things I don't care much about until they bother themselves with me. Well, the story changes if you're trafficking children. You're not trafficking children, now are you?" Lone asked as he leaked a little bit of his Ascending Aura on the man.
Instantly, the blonde youth's entire body slammed into the floor and sweat covered him from head-to-toe. The next second, Lone rescinded his aura and the man was fine, if not short of his breath.
The youth slowly got up and returned to his chair before he said, "N-No, I personally do not deal with children, no."
"I certainly hope not, 'cause if I find out that you're lying, your soul will be crushed the next time we meet," Lone said like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I-I see. In truth, I approached you today and honestly confessed who I am in order to win your favour," the youth admitted.
Lone raised an eyebrow. "What on Earth would a leader of an illegal slave-trading company want from me?"
"I never did nor never will want this job. It was forced upon me." The man's handsome face distorted. "I have heard of your altercation with the Chruch of the Primals as well as all of the high-ranked quests you have been completing for The Adventurer's Guild, there's also the fact that the both of you are Headmaster Erion's future disciples."
He raised his head and locked eyes with Lone. "This is a store that will sell just about anything, right? I want you to destroy 'Freedom' and free me from my fate. In exchange, you may have whatever you wish. I may be weak, but I am still the third prince of the Taslo Empire, Seto Karm Fal Morhadal."
Lone's face shifted from mildly irritated to extremely interested in a split-second. "Did you just say that you're from the Taslo Empire?"
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"Lightning wave. Lightning Wave. Lightning Wave. Ah, right I should use other magic too... Fireball. Advanced Rock Bullet. Mana Waterspear. Wind Blade. Boulder. Lightning Wave. Fireball. Advanced Rock Bullet..." Lone continued to consume his mana frivolously as he stormed his way through the third hideout of Freedom's that he, the foreign prince, and Soph had visited tonight.
Third Prince Seto's face was pale as he trailed behind the man with Soph calmly stood next to him. "I knew he was powerful from the rumours... but to have some mastery over so many different types of magic... and this is the third hideout in less than two hours... Just how much mana does he have?"
Soph smiled proudly. "Lone is just grinding his skills right now. He's wayyyy stronger than just this."
Lone chuckled. He'd reply if he wasn't busy slaughtering dozens of C to A-ranked guards and slave-traders with his magic.
"I-I see..." the handsome youth replied as he tried to keep his cool. 'It was a slim hope at first, but this... this may just be perfect. However, why did he suddenly agree when I mentioned the empire? Does he have friends from back home?'
Prince Seto would not get his answer for now. No, instead, he would go on to watch Lone spend the rest of the evening wiping out nine more hideouts in Falron.
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Now back in Lone's Wondrous Emporium, Seto sat down and collected his thoughts before he said, "That magic of yours to move long distances, 'Teleportation', was it? Is that a teachable magic?"
Soph shook her head as her response before she plopped herself down on Lone's lap and covered herself in her fluffy kingdom once more.
"A shame... Regardless, Ninetails, you have done me an invaluable service today. With this, I have confidence that I can flee from this primal-forsaken country and return to the empire, where, as promised, I shall ensure that you can acquire a meeting with my aunt," Seto confidently said with a small smile on his pale and beautiful face.
"Don't forget the other promise. At least two books on magic and ten steamforged items," Lone said as he wrapped his arms around Soph's squishy waist and then rested his chin on her head - where it rightfully belonged.
"Of course. While you haven't completely rooted out Freedom, they won't return from a blow this severe for centuries. I shall keep my promises, I swear on my imperial honour," the blonde-haired young man replied.
"Good. Make sure to release those slaves too and look after them properly. It shouldn't be too hard for you to do that while you're still a leader, whether you're a de-facto hostage or not. If I find out that I was lied to, I have no issue crushing the Taslo Empire out of existence," Lone casually threatened.
"I-I shall keep that in mind. Well then, Ninetails, Sophie Vladimirovich, I shall be on my way," Prince Seto said as he stood up and bowed.
Lone nodded as he watched the youth leave his store. Immediately after he was sure that the man was gone, he checked his flashing notifications as well as his status its recent changes.
Congratulations! The host's active lightning magic skill [Lightning Wave] has levelled up! It is now Master Level 1.
Despite using it so much, the skill had only levelled up once, but regardless, Lone was happy since it had ranked up. 'Please have a new effect,' he prayed to no one in particular.
Active Lightning Magic Skill: Lightning Wave
A skill currently unique to the user, Lone Immortus.
It is a powerful yet crude application of the lightning magic school at a very advanced degree. It has barely tapped into its true potential due to the host's rudimentary knowledge of the lightning school of magic.
Allows the Host to gather the prime lightning essence and coalesce it into a wave-like blade with immense destructive capabilities.
[New!] There is a 50% chance to deal permanent nerve damage to a target (nerve damage caused by this effect may still be healed by powerful healing magic).
Cost: 1,250 MP [-1,250MP] Mastery: Master Level 1
"Oh, awesome! I can totally grind this on myself to increase my Lightning Magic Resistance, can't I? It's been ages since I last had lightning magic powerful enough to really scratch me," Lone commented as he squeezed Soph's lovely sides.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
"D-Don't hurt yourself, please," Soph mumbled as she blushed. "U-Um, also, do you mind if I teleport to our hotel room?"
"Hmm?" Lone peered down at his little chin-rest. "No, not at all. Go for it," Lone replied as he used one of his hands to create a letter for either Frangila or Annie to read once they eventually came back upstairs.
It would be a bit odd for him to leave without saying or explaining anything in regards to Prince Seto, so he briefly detailed what the girls needed to know in this piece of parchment that his Creation Magic had birthed for him.
"Okay. Um, I'm really sleepy after teleporting so much today, so I'm gonna bring us to our bed," Soph said.
Lone kissed the top of her head. "Sure."
The next moment, the two of them were sat atop of the massive mattress in their diamond suite's master bedroom. Lone waved his hand to summon Kyuubi and Garadia before he got off of the bed and then undressed himself along with Soph.
Once he was under the sheets, he cuddled Soph closely and whispered, "Go to sleep. I'll wake you up when I'm done with my system shit so I can, hmm, how did she put it... 'compensate' Sophie."
Soph's face turned bright pink. "Potty mouth..." she mumbled before she lightly kissed Lone then closed her eyes and wrapped an arm around Garadia while the other wormed its way around Kyuubi and a tail of Lone's.
Smiling warmly, Lone continued to inspect his level-up notifications.
Congratulations! The host's active fire magic skill [Fireball] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 4.
Congratulations! The host's active earth magic skill [Advanced Rock Bullet] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2.
Congratulations! The host's active water magic skill [Mana Waterspear] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2.
Congratulations! The host's active air magic skill [Wind Blade] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2.
Congratulations! The host's active earth magic skill [Boulder] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2.
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It was almost dizzying how many level ups each of the skills had gained, which only went to show how much Lone had used them.
Lone held his forehead and sighed. 'I really should have focused on those low-level magic skills sooner. True, I didn't really have the mana for anything besides my lightning magic and Creation Magic, but I'm sure if I had properly managed my mana, I could have squeezed in some training time for my fire, air, and earth magic. It was so pointless mastering the crude skills for me to only go on to ignore them for almost two years... Fireball got a bit of love in Clicker's dungeon, but yeah, it was dumb of me to centre in on lightning magic.'
He smiled wryly and scratched Garadia's chin. The baby dragon had freed herself from the clutches of her mother and was now sitting on top of Lone's head. "Hey, Gara, is daddy an idiot?"
"Gao?" A cute noise escaped Garadia's mouth.
Lone grinned. "Oh? You can use your vocal cords a bit now? Dragon's sure do grow fast. Can you say any words yet?"
She shook her head and curled up into a ball on top of his head. Her tail flopped down along his cheek and coiled around his neck snuggly like a scarf. "Gao."
"Well, you're certainly making more progress than Kyuubi at least," Lone teased the sleeping foxkin baby as he checked the information pages for his magic skills since every single one of them had ranked up.
Active Fire Magic Skill: Fireball
A standard application of the fire magic school where the caster focuses the element of fire into a condensed ball of pure fire.
Cost: 2,000 MP Mastery: Intermediate Level 10 [Up by 6 levels]
Active Earth Magic Skill: Advanced Rock Bullet
An advanced application of the uncommon [Rock Bullet] Earth Magic skill.
Cost: 7,500 MP [-2,500 MP] Mastery: Intermediate Level 3 [Up by 12 levels]
Active Water Magic Skill: Mana Waterspear
A special application of the water magic school where the caster focuses the element of water into a condensed spear of mana-infused water.
Cost: 6,000 MP [-1,500 MP] Mastery: Intermediate Level 2 [Up by 11 levels]
Active Air Magic Skill: Wind Blade
A standard application of the air magic school where the caster focuses the element of air into a condensed blade of pure air.
Cost: 2,000 MP [-500 MP] Mastery: Intermediate Level 6 [Up by 15 levels]
Active Earth Magic Skill: Boulder
A standard application of the earth magic school where the caster focuses the element of earth into a condensed lump of pure rock.
Cost: 2,000 MP [-500 MP] Mastery: Intermediate Level 6 [Up by 15 levels]
"Hmm... Can't say that I'm disappointed since I don't expect much from the intermediate rank anymore, so I can't really complain about reduced mana costs. It should make it easier to farm up to advanced where, hopefully, I can earn some new effects," Lone whispered as he summoned his status.
Status Name: Lone Immortus Sex: Male Age: 27 Level: 2,613 [+33] Species: Foxkin Rank: SSS Race: Ascending Foxkin HP: 85,740/85,740 [+6,500] SP: 212,254/253,920 [+12,000] MP: 41,989/662,300 [+5,020] DP: 64,320/64,320 WF: 1,500/1,500 Basic Stats Strength: 11,335 [+720] Vigour: 8,574 [+650] Dexterity: 10,233 [+940] Agility: 11,074 [+1,032] Vitality: 25,392 [+1,200] Luck: 978 [+94] Secret Stats Charm: 584 [+20] Charisma: 250 [+134] Magic Power: 66,230 [+502] Divine Power: 6,432 Rage: 60 Control: 940
"So few levels for so many dead slavers..." Lone picked up Garadia and hugged her with one arm while the other coiled around Soph's back. "Oh well, at least I got a fuckton of stats. Time for bed now I guess, huh? Sophie will have to wait until the morning. I'm exhausted."
"Gao," his fluffiest daughter replied.