Kaolin Empire: Planet Kaolin

The emperor sat on his throne and sulked. Having the imperial upgrade package stolen right when it was supposed to be his crowning achievement stung like nothing he had felt before. He had been fretting for months now, unsure what action to take. The fact that Armageddon had seemingly left the current dimension made tracking it unlikely at best, and the steps he could take to rectify the situation felt limited.

The secret of the SG66 material was lost when Armageddon destroyed the FUCK base (Future Ubiquitous Control Kinematics Base), and so were many of the technologies used in the superweapon. However, because its multiverse phase drive was a project distributed over many research stations re-creating the ability to warp throughout the multiverse might be possible.

The emperor finally got off his seat and resolved to form a special team to investigate the situation. He would task them with explicitly focusing on the feasibility of rebuilding the phase drive and perhaps building a new powerful starship to mount it on. It would also be nice if the special team could see if tracking the phase drive on the Armageddon would be possible.

The emperor would like to get to the point of multiverse phase capability. That would allow him to start the process of spying on Brian so he could perhaps engineer a situation where he could recover Armageddon's technology or possibly at least have sweet, sweet revenge. It wouldn't be possible to kill the boy since the SG66 nanites were practically indestructible, but he could defiantly make his life miserable!

-Brea-

Brea enjoyed the herbal lessons from her new Master for a while, but she still intensely missed Brian. She liked him for more than the sensual times they experienced together and didn't want him to die because he had hardly any spirit. Spirit required balance to cultivate, and his energy felt off; it felt akin to someone who had been rejected or neglected by women their whole life. She resolved to help him learn to get in touch with this energy by teaching him some of her secrets and helping him connect the next time they met. She drummed her fingers and wondered what he was doing now.

-Brian-

I opened a com channel to Mike and Armageddon. "Hey guys, can you hear me? I think it will take Mike a few months to outfit the dungeon rooms with the manna gathering array, and since I got the dungeon floors done fast with the help of the overpowered nanite machines, I could use the time to go level up my STEALTH skill. I was thinking of leveling in Dublin city; you know the one the caravan ended up at after our trip from Grey Gorge?

The Armageddon ignored me, evidently not caring at all. However, Mike replied, "That is an excellent idea as you do not have the required stats to help me inscribe the runes for the manna array, and you are still so low level the soul factions probably won't bother you. You might be able to find someone who has a trainer skill who can help you level up a few starter manna skills, and you could also find an herb shop and buy some spirit weed to help your spiritual cultivation."

I smiled at the comment about the herbal shop. "Wow, you know what, I bet I can get that from Breas shop! I will defiantly have to visit!" I was already excited as I had grown quite fond of the previous herbalism lessons and didn't want to miss out on the opportunity.

Mike added another comment "You know there is a local guild house in Dublin. You might be able to level up your sneak skill with one of their trainers" I grimaced and replied, "You know, the last time I was at a guild house, the lady said some bizarre things to me. I think I will avoid the guild for now."

I examined my stealth skill which had fitted under my movement skill in the Streaky Imperial tree:

Sneaky Imperial

Category

Description

Effect

Movement 1

Move silently to avoid detection

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Did it really happen if no one saw?

Stealth 1

Be seen without being made

I'm obviously another peasant. Move along!

My skill looked weak. I wouldn't be able to fool a good inspection. I needed to find a way to level up enough to walk around the city without being made. I decided I would go over to Breas' shop and see if she had any ideas about how I could fit in.

I waited till the evening hours and then bribed the Strange with some thinly sliced Rock meat to teleport me directly in front of Breas' shop. I figured it was better I didn't get seen by the gate guards until I had a better idea of how to play the part of an ordinary citizen.

The space warped, and everything went black for a second as the Stranges teleport activated. I appeared in the city as planned. Of course, the shop was in a wealthy district, and the roads were paved with smooth stones. Manna-powered lights lit the streets, and I could see a faint glimmer in the air far above: the city's manna shield.

The shop was a brick building with carved manna runes covering the outside. The sign on the door still said "Open," so I opened it and stepped inside.

Brea was sitting in a chair behind the desk and looked up from a book. "Brian! I didn't think I would see you for a few more weeks! Hey, flip over the "closed" sign, would you? I'm just about to wrap up."

I flipped over the sign and bolted the door "Brea! You look beautiful as ever! I take it the Master is treating you well? With a graceful twirl, Brea stood before gliding over and hugging me. Warm energy passed from her and caused my skin to tingle. "Wow," I said, "that was hot!" Brea hugged me and whispered in my ear, "Master is teaching me how to channel the energy attained from the herbalism lessons. It can be potent!"

I cleared my thought, trying to convince the sudden bulge in my pants to go away. "Yes, well, you are defiantly developing your um skills." I squeezed her with affection. "Anyway, I made the trip over here because I myself need to develop a certain skill that I need for part of my future cultivation process."

Brea led me back to the chairs where we could sit and chat. "So basically," I said, "I need to level up a skill that involves social interactions, emotional intelligence, and the ability to adapt to challenging interpersonal situations quickly. The real kicker is I have to do it without lying because that would break another skill. I figured that living in the city for a while and being around thousands of people could get me started on leveling, but I don't know where to start."

Brea tapped her fingers on the desk. "Well, I won't pry and ask what the exact skill is. But, and I know I may be stating the obvious here-why, don't you simply pick up a job and then rent an apartment? You can then be seen at the bar and other places, and it will seem normal since you're paid to be in the community."

I felt like I had the biggest brain fart ever. "You mean I can just get a job, and no one will care about my past or anything?"

Brea rolled her eyes at me like I was a dork "Yeah. Listen: As long as you're being paid to be in the community, they won't bother looking at you unless you have a high level." Most people are going to think you're just a kid anyway. You hardly look 18, and no one will know about your fighting skills if that's what you're worried about because using INSPECT to read people is taboo."

I grinned. Leveling STEALTH sounded like it would be easier than I had anticipated. "So, how do I get a job then?" Breas eyes widened. "Wow, you have not spent much time in the city, have you? It's pretty easy. There is a job board in the middle of the central square. There are probably hundreds of available positions—anything from contract to full-time gigs. Once you get a job signed, you can walk to the government housing building and show them your contract. They will approve an ID card for you and give you directions to housing."

I couldn't believe how easy it sounded. "Well, that sounds great! Thanks for the tips. I think I will defiantly head over and see what's on the board. Hey, I also want to work on my SOUL tree. Would I be able to buy Spirit Weed here?" "Oh, yes!" Brea responded, "It is rather expensive and goes fast, though. We don't have any now and will have to wait till the next harvest. If you come back in a few months, we should be able to fill your order."

Brea poked my arm. "Hey, I want to show you what the Master has taught me about developing my spirit flower. Why don't you stay with me tonight? The Master is visiting his new spirit weed herb farm we just planted and won't be back tonight."

Brea lightly trailed her fingers down my arm as she finished her sentence. "Wow! I exclaimed. I would defiantly like to take you up on that! She knelt before me, staring up with big eyes. "I don't want you to be left without" My heart sped up as she continued, "Here, let me show you the poses Master has been teaching me for my herbal studies. Did you know that the rose doesn't always need to be restrained to achieve intense connection? Brea continued, "you know: one secret to leveling the soul is the ability to feel what the flower is experiencing as it blooms. I can develop my rose to produce an intense afterglow by holding strict stances that mimic restrained stimulation. If you were to share this experience, the resulting empathetic bond could allow insight into greater balance in your spirit."

Brea continued late into the night to show me the new progress she had made developing her unique rose. The Master has shown her that by leveling up her FORCE OF WILL, she could hold the required pose, and the rose would not wilt as I lightly stimulated it with soft caresses, vibration, and deep contact until it gave up its bounty.