The two of them fell asleep after their flurry of activity, having gone at it several times over the course of the night. Honestly, Tyler was exhausted, and he was sure that, were his Constitution not at a high enough level, he wouldn’t have been able to keep up with her. Still it was the best night he’s ever had since, well, ever. As far as he could remember anyway.
The next morning, Tyler woke up to Agha snoring loudly on his chest and he had to snort. It was cute in a way, the Duergar woman slept, but he had things to do and places to be. He wasn’t exactly what he could call their relationship. They had been on a date and screwed for hours but he wasn’t sure concepts like boyfriend and girlfriend would exist in this world.
Slowly making his way from out under her, Tyler fished around inside his pack, which had been tossed out the side last night, and brought out his Cleaning Rune, using it to clean himself, Agha, and the sheets. Luckily it seemed Agha was a very heavy sleeper, as she hadn’t woken up from the water and heat that cleaned her of their mixed dried up…juices. Tyler then left towards her kitchen. He may as well make her breakfast.
He looked around the stone cupboards of her dining area. There didn’t seem to be a fridge, but there was a rocky box that, upon further inspection, had a rune meant to chill items inside of it. Pushing the heavy stone top to the side, he looked inside and found eggs and what he assumed was milk. What kind of milk it was, he didn’t know. It was blue of all colors. And the eggs were more oblong than round like he knew of chicken eggs. Still. He took the items to what seemed to be a stove, given the metal skillet atop it.
Searching around, he couldn’t find any forks so he decided to use his [Mana Manipulation] to mix the eggs and milk in the skillet. A quick search found some herbs and, after a taste test, he decided it was close enough to chives so he added that too. Once the mixture was combined enough, he found the heating rune on the magical stone and pushed mana into it. Tyler watched as the more mana he put in, the hotter it got. Once he was sure the temperature was decent enough, he cut off the flow of his mana. Then he began to stir the eggs with strings of man. It took some time to get used to it but eventually he got it.
Ten or so minutes later, Tyler had finished the meal and dumped the eggs onto a nearby stone plate. Lifting a piece to his mouth to test it, he hesitated but eventually let the hovering food past his lips and into his maw so he could test how it tasted. It was…okay. Not as good as some of the eggs he had eaten on Earth but it wasn’t gross. So he took that as a win. That and the system messages.
Mana Manipulation is Level 8
…
Mana Manipulation is Level 15
As a result of your actions, a new skill has been discovered.
[Cooking]
Common
Level 1
Where would any of us be without the warm comfort of a good meal. Sadly you’re a pretty poor cook but I’ll give you credit where credit is due. Ease of cooking harder dishes and effects of cooked meals increases per level of this skill
Cooking is Level 2
…
Cooking is Level 7
Just as he finished preparing the breakfast, Agha seemed to have woken up, clad in only a loose robe. The Duergar woman sniffed the air and grinned.
“Well, nice tae see I dinnae scare ye off last night. And ye even cooked me breakfast! Well, if you pounding me for hours on end wasn’t enough of a reason to say yer a keeper, this is!”
The woman rummaged in a nearby drawer and pulled out a fork before she sat down and started wolfing down the makeshift plate of scrambled eggs. A few minutes later, and she was finishing, giving a satisfied sigh before she turned to Tyler.
“So, ye got any plans in that noggin’ of yours? Like outside of banging me or any other woman ye happen tae get into bed with?”
Tyler felt his face heat up slightly but he was able to master his flushed state before he thought.
“Well as you know I have that personal quest to find the bastards who backstabbed me, I figured that was a big enough goal for now. So I guess it’s going to be a grindfest for me. Kill monsters, increase my skills, which are lacking by the way, et cetera. All in all, while I can bruteforce my way through situations, I have to get stronger.”
Tyler left out the part where he wanted to gain the power to see his family again, he didn’t find that a good enough reason to share, at least at the moment. Hell it was so far out of reach at the moment it might as well have been a pipe dream currently.
Agha nodded to his words. “Aye, I can understand that. If yer needing levels and shite like that, ye can always hunt down the Sporians near the Fungal Forest to the west of here. THey range from Level 20 to 30, but are slow and rather dumb. Hell, we usually clear them out during weekly supply runs for mushrooms and herbs. Shan’t be too hard for ye if yer smart. I’d go with ye and bring the lads, but I need tae work on my non-combat skills and professions more than anything now that ye mention it. I’ve almost hit 50 in Blacksmithing! Though, try not tae die, aye. I’d miss yer companionship.”
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Agha gave him a sincere smile that quickly became devious. “Well that and yer cock. Never thought I’d be fucked by a tentacle and like it. But what do ye know?”
Tyler, for his part, managed to not blush this time and simply snorted, giving her a parting peck on the cheek, much to her embarrassment, before leaving.
Now that he thought about it, he still had some coins left and if he was being honest, he needed to upgrade his armor. Or lack thereof. He was still wearing his basic clothes and knew he’d need something better at hand if he was going to be more prepared and grind. That thought soured his mood for a moment before he pushed it into the mental box he kept his darker feelings in. He was getting good and compartmentalizing. His therapist back on Earth would be proud.
Before he went to a clothing shop, he stopped by the Runesmithery, meeting Fizzlespark once again. He pulled out his cleansing rune and showed the gnome. Said gnome looked over at it thoughtfully before stating it was adequate, if a bit amateurish given how Tyler had just shoved the runes together in a big mess. Oh and it was missing a soap rune if he wanted it to be used for deep cleaning. Still, he was given his weekly stipend of silver coins and also some books to study. So Tyler took the whole situation as a success.
With twenty new silver in his pockets, he set off to get himself some decent combat gear, which Fizzlespark had said was located near the tavern when he had asked. It didn’t take Tyler long to find what he was looking for. There he saw a stout Duergar woman who, despite having crow’s feet and some of her hair turning white from age, looked like all women here it seemed, like a total bombshell. Seeing a new customer, the woman grinned and leaned across the counter, amplifying her…assets. Tyler forced himself to look away. Even if Agha had hinted that it was okay for him to bed multiple women, he was still used to being monogamous.
“What can I get fer ye today?” The woman asked, giving Tyler an appraising look bordering on hunger.
“Ah, I need some combat robes…Something other than a simple tunic and trousers. Something lightweight and easy to move around in but with enough defense I won’t be able to get shanked easily.”
Hearing his words, the cougar, for what else could he call her, rubbed her chin in thought before snapping her fingers.
“I got just the thing ye need, sugar. Lemme go and grab it fer ye!”
A few minutes later and eighteen silvers poorer, Tyler had obtained a set of clothes he quickly donned.
[Ironskin Hanfu of the Bear]
Type: Cloth Armor
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: An outer robe designed in the style of the Eastern continent, it has been infused with mana-attuned threads, allowing it to more easily allow transfer mana through it. In addition it has a lesser enchantment on it that will reduce all incoming physical damage by 5%. This is a self-repairing garment, on account of being made with mana-attuned threads.
Honestly, he thought it was a bit of a steal if he was being honest. Though it was a bit…flowey, effeminate? It even came with a skirt of some kind to replace his trousers. He also looked like a xianxia protagonist, which made him laugh before he thought about it. Was he? He WAS cultivating, though it was mana and not Qi. Regardless of his inner thoughts, it was irrelevant. He had mushrooms to kill. At least he didn’t have to eat them. If THAT was a requirement, he’d drown himself. He HATED mushrooms.
Leaving the town, Tyler quickly made his way down the sloping terrain towards the giant first of, eugh, mushrooms. It took him about an hour’s walk before he saw what he was looking for. In front of him was a massive forest of incandescent mushrooms ranging in size from the size of his hand to three stories tall. The entire area looked like an acid trip’s dream, with how many different colors of mushrooms there were. From bright red with polka dots to silver plate-shaped fungus that grew on the largest of the normal mushrooms. Tyler wrinkled his nose in disgust. Perhaps, were he an alchemist, he would find the place much more appealing. But mushrooms just wicked him something fierce. Between the large fungal stalks, Tyler could see large lumbering shapes. Those must be Sporians as Agha said. ANd by god were they slow.
They were about six feet tall, give or take a few inches. And about half that in sheer width. They just seemed to be walking aimlessly, emitting spores at random intervals. So slow, stupid large. Perfect for grinding experience in Tyler’s opinion. Oh and they were blue. What kind of fucked up world makes BLUE mushrooms? Out of habit, he used [Analyze] on it.
Name: Sporion Wanderer
Level 23
Lore: Sporians are the first stage of a mushroom-type elemental that spawns in dark areas filled with immense amounts of Nature mana. Slow as tar, and even stupider than a rock, they rely on infecting their targets with a mana-leeching poison emitted by their spores before withering them away.
“Okay, so stay away from their spores. Though I do have a large mana pool I don’t have any real way to purge poisons. Note to self, make an antidote rune or something.” Tyler mused to himself as he stepped closer.
A few minutes passed and one of the creatures was in range. Calling upon his mana, Tyler let loose his skill.
“Grasping Tentacles!”
The thick tentacles of his skill crawled up the stubby legs of the Soorian, which vaguely turned in Tyler’s direction. The elemental started to move towards him, shedding some spores from under its…head? Cap? Either way, the thing was so slow he could stand like this for ten minutes and it would only be halfway. What caused him worry was that somehow, his mana was being drained. Were the tentacles of his skill transmitting the poison effect? Yeesh, he hadn’t thought about that. Somehow the skill was tied to him enough that it seemed to count as part of his body. The mana drain was thankfully slow enough that he could ignite it for now but he had to take down the sporian.
Digging into his mana even more, he focused on his skill, [Mind Sear]. It was the only damage spell he had other than [Geyser], which he was sure would do little against a plant-like enemy. So it would have to do for now. Moving his hands, Tyler coalesced the typical orb of energy that launched the beam. This time however, he imbued it with his Dao. This time, when the beam shot out, there was a cold feel to it. Like the grip of death. Frost creeped up the limbs of the Sporian and after a few seconds of channeling the imbued spell, the creature was rooted in place, seemingly frozen. Ten seconds of channeling the magic was enough, draining around a hundred mana, the elemental was defeated, shattering into frozen chunks of mushroom.
You have killed a Sporian Wanderer.
Well, that….easy all things considered. Then again he was Level 30 now. So he was seven levels above it and he wasn’t getting bonus experience. Still, if he could purge the world of mushrooms he should level up fast enough. Plus with his title, Mind Over Matter, he would regen any mana he lost quickly. So, with all these factors in mind, Tyler headed deeper into the Fungal Forest.