Chapter 12: For the first time in forever.

“What in the fiery fields of mayhem is that thing?” I gasped, taking a few steps back even though the monster hadn’t agroed. “What am I saying? Oh, right. It’s that kronkey-loving language filter.”

[That is my special creation, the Kanganosserous.] Aura explained.

I gaped at the oversized and armored horned kangaroo.

Kanganosserous

Level: 45

Class: Rank B Monster

Affection Level: Extra Horned

Horns and Feet. You’ll feel pain from both ends!

I looked over my stats. “Isn’t that thing higher level than me?”

Alexander Krup

Class: Terramancer

Level: 41

Hitpoints: 4100

Mana: 58,600

Stamina: 4100

Base Stats

Strength: 59

Dexterity: 56

Ability: 66

Constitution: 97

Intelligence: 69

Wisdom: 82

Charisma: 62

Luck: 101

Skills/Spells: Pew, Crunch, Kronch, Gong, Wham, Manipulate Earth, Divine Ritualistic Crafting, Furniture Creation, Minor Home Repair.

Traits: Affinity: Earth, Golem Creation, Functional Jaw, Golem Blades, Affinity: Iris, Affinity: Slag, Personal Dungeon, Assimilate Stone, Bloodline: Pendragon.

Titles: King of Albion.

A whole section of stats was missing. I wondered if they’d gone missing when Pi left.

[Be warned, this is not just any monster. It is also classified as a boss.]

The kanganosserous hopped up and down a few times as though it was preparing for a boxing match. I watched it pace back and forth before asking, “Are you controlling it directly?”

[Perhaps. Are you scared?]

I wondered if she’d prefer to hear the honest or the macho answer. I decided to go with neither and drew Excalibur. The blade rang out with a satisfying shing that was always music to my ears. The kanganosserous turned its attention to the sound, and steam blew out of its flared nostrils. I half expected flames to follow.

[The first move is yours.]

“Thanks…I think,” I muttered as I summoned all four golems.

I had them circle the room in an attempt to surround the monster. Aura wasn’t being aggressive, and I was fairly certain she was actively trying not to hurt me. Would the lack of peril have any effect on experience or drops?

There was only one way to find out. I started combat. “Gong!”

Two reasonably sized boulders appeared beside the kanganosserous and collided. When the dust settled, I saw it had crouched, narrowly evading the attack. It kicked off the ground on its two powerful legs and launched itself at the nearest golem. Its horn pierced its midsection before I could react. Surprisingly, the horn sunk into the stone like a hot knife through butter. Cracks splintered out from the point of impact, and my golem crumbled into rubble.

I willed the other three golems into action, uttering a silent curse to Pi for not insisting I practice with them more. They lumbered over to the Kanganosserous with thick stone arms outstretched. The monster was ready and pierced another golem, reducing it into rubble. Fortunately, that gave the other two enough time to grab onto it, holding it between them in a stone bear hug.

The kanganosserous kicked off of the ground, sending itself and both golems rocketing into the air. They all crashed into the ceiling with a thud before plummeting back to the ground. The creature’s horn had pieced the ceiling, and a deluge of stone fell on top of them, pinning my golems to the ground.

The monster rose from the rubble, but I was ready for it this time. “Kronch!”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The ground opened up, swallowing my remaining golems, the stone from the ceiling, and the kanganosserous as well. It tried to escape, but the floor closed around it too fast, and its powerful legs were crushed.

“Pew!” I shot a stone bullet directly at that horn, using as much of my mana as possible.

A loud crack echoed through the chamber as the horn shattered from the impact. The kanganosserous struggled in the middle of the chamber, but its two greatest weapons were sealed.

I summoned another pair of golems and sent them in. The kanganosserous continued to thrash and even snapped at the golems, but without the horn, it had no way of damaging my creations.

I pointed a finger at the crippled monster’s head and carried out what I thought was an act of mercy. “Pew!”

Then…nothing happened. I didn’t level up. No treasure dropped. Nothing. I waited for a while before Aura spoke.

[I don’t understand. I can’t assign you any treasure at all.]

“Let’s fight something else,” I replied. “Make it even stronger this time.”

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After three more “boss fights,” I learned two things. The first was that I was woefully inexperienced when it came to golem control. The second was that Aura was holding back, or more like her heart wasn’t in it. While I managed to kill everything she threw at me, I never felt threatened. Because of that, Aura suffered from a case of treasure chest dysfunction. She couldn’t produce one, no matter how hard she tried.

“You need to try to at least hurt me,” I said after the last one died.

Aura sighed, causing a breeze to gust through the halls and around me. [I’m afraid it’s not that easy. I can no sooner harm you than myself.]

“Why do the others get experience fighting Bori?” I asked. “She hasn’t hurt anyone, to my knowledge.”

[Bori is a child, Dear. She cannot control her power. It is more likely that she is unable to cause lasting harm.]

“How are the others doing?” I asked, thinking of Isa, Vince, and Anna, who were currently running the dungeon. “Are they getting experience?”

[Yes. The mother and father have both gotten upgrades to their armor. Isabelle gained two levels.]

“Well, that’s good,” I replied, wondering what it would take for me to get some levels. “Is there anything you haven’t tried with me?”

There was a long pause before Aura replied. [Y-yes. But it’s risky.]

“Let’s do it!” I exclaimed, feeling a rush of excitement despite the danger. It had been far too long since I pushed myself.

[It will have to be later after your friends are done.]

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I inspected Isa and her parents the moment they stepped out of the portal.

Nax Def (Vincent Strome)

Level: 30

Class: Berserker

Affection Level: Hungry

Zelle Lhor (Annabelle Strome)

Level: 32

Class: Aquamancer

Affection Level: Relieved

Isabelle Strome

Level: 28

Class: Revived Curandera

Affection Level: Exhausted

“We stayed late to catch Isabelle up,” Vince said as his stomach growled.

I reached into my bag and pulled out one of Helen’s sandwiches, which Vince accepted gratefully.

Anna helped Isa, who was visibly winded and drenched in sweat. “Are you sure you’re okay, dear? Perhaps you should take a bath. Alex, why is your bathtub in the living room where everybody can see?”

I shrugged. “It’s actually a hot tub, and I used to live alone, so it didn’t matter.”

Isa rolled her eyes. “I caught you with Ceru in there several times. Anyhow, I need to replenish some Chi, so why don’t you join me?”

“Uh,” was all I could think to say. Did this mean she finally forgave me?

“Come on,” Isa growled, taking my good arm and dragging me past her mother. Vince was too busy making love to his hoagie to pay me any attention.

“Honey,” Anna began, reaching out to her daughter. “I was sort of hoping to take a nap on the couch.”

“And Pippa is in the house,” I reminded Isa.

She stopped and glared at me. “The privy then?”

Isa looked a little crazed. While I wanted to make up with her, I wasn’t sure this was how I wanted to do it. Still, my hormones were getting the better of me.

“I have an idea,” I offered. “ I still have a room at the guild hall. We can use that.”

For someone exhausted, Isa somehow managed to speed-walk through town. She glared at a group of people milling at the entrance to the guild hall, which did a wonderful job of making them part. We raced to the elevator, and she pressed my hand to the mana reader, which caused it to lurch into motion. It stopped with a ‘ding,’ and the doors opened up.

Isa and I stared in surprise at the room before us. Unlike the lower floors, which let out into a long hallway, the floor we stopped on opened into a spacious room.

“Did you upgrade your rank?” A wide-eyed Isa asked. “This is a VIP room.”

I gaped at it right alongside her. “I have no clue. Do you think the reader in the elevator made a mistake?”

Isa frowned and walked over to a lounge table, pressing a conveniently placed mana reader. She crossed her legs, and I sat across from her.

Several minutes later, one of the guild staff entered the room. “Can I help you, Ma’am?”

It was interesting that he knew which of us pressed the reader.

“Who’s room is this?” Isa asked.

The man pointed at me. “Alexander Krup, Ma’am.”

She frowned. “Isn’t this an S rank room?”

He nodded. “Normally, that is the case. However, as the King of Albion, the guild has decided to give him the perk free of charge.”

“How convenient,” Isa muttered. “Can we have some food?”

“Sure, Ma’am,” the man replied. “What would you like?”

He offered Isa a menu, and she flipped through it, pointing to at least a dozen different meals, including some I was unfamiliar with.

“Will that be all, Ma’am?” he asked.

“Yes,” Isa didn’t bother asking me if I wanted anything. “Bring it in the morning.”

“Of course, Ma’am,” the man replied before entering the elevator.

“That would be pretty awkward if he came back while we were…” I trailed off helpfully.

“While we were what?” Isa asked with a smirk.

However, she touched the reader again, and the area near the elevator glowed red. When I didn’t understand, she explained. “It’s privacy mode. Now, nobody can enter without my consent.”

“But that’s the elevator?” I said, staring at the closed doors. “What if someone selects the wrong floor?”

Isa snickered. “It’s impossible to come to this room by mistake. The guest either needs to come down for you or leave a message with the guild for you to be let up. I used privacy mode to ensure no staff can disturb us.”

I wondered how Isa knew so much about the VIP room but decided I probably didn’t want to find out. After that, I got up and toured the room. While my old guild room was spacious, the one I currently found myself in was something else entirely. The area outside the elevator turned out to be a sitting room that was disjointed from the rest of the suite. We passed through a set of double doors that revealed a room with a full kitchen, dining area, and living room. Four bedrooms branched off from the corners of the room, each with its own fully functional magic privy. While all four rooms were spacious, one was clearly the master. It contained a large canopy bed and a bathtub in the privy that was so large I wanted to call it a swimming pool.

Isa bypassed the living room and went straight into the master bedroom. She began stripping and called over her shoulder. “Well, are you joining me?”

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I never smoked in my life, but after that night, I was tempted to. Isa took charge the whole time, having her way with me repeatedly. At one point, I had to down a stamina potion to keep up. When she saw me, she held out a hand and demanded one for herself.

I must have passed out at some point because I was woken by the sound of a door chime. After tossing on a complimentary robe I discovered by the bed, I made it to the dining area in time to see a pair of women arranging plates of food on the table. Isa had already helped herself and sat at the nearby bar with a plate and a coffee mug.

“Good morning,” I called out to her.

She smiled, something I rarely saw from her anymore. “Good morning, Alex. Are you hungry?”

“Starved,” I replied, heading over to see what looked good. “Ah, donuts!”