Ray had planned to sleep in. An hour after sunrise he was woken up by a banging on his door. He got up and saw Dayton, Theo and Georgie standing there.
“What time is it guys?” Ray asked. Mace came crawling out under him and Georgie immediately picked him up, hugging him like a baby.
“Sun is rising. You said we could go fishing when you got back.” Dayton said. “Also when do we get to go train with you? The others grew up so fast. How?”
“Two more years and you will find out. I can’t tell you until then. Ray said. “Give me about twenty minutes and we can go. I need to get dressed and find my fishing bag.”
“Can we go to Simpson lake? I heard that there are some fish there the size of Mace.” Theo asked.
“Yeah that's fine. Did you ask your parents if it was ok?” Ray yelled from inside his changing room.
“Yeah, Dad, Grandpa, uncle Ross, uncle Dean, and Uncle Adam and Great Grandpa are all packed and waiting at the gate. There are some others wanting to go but I cannot remember their names.” Dayton said.
“Oh! We are taking a whole group? I see. Theo, go wake the triplets up.” Ray yelled.
Ray finished getting ready and teleported everyone to the front gate. Collin, Caleb, and Kona were there packed and ready. All of the men in Ray's family were there. A few other elders and guild masters were present. The six dice were also there with what appeared to be their children. Ray had made it a priority when he returned from Manchester to have houses built for them and their families. They were placed in the mountainside to the far left of the village. They were close enough they could get to the center but far enough away to have their own space.
“Is this everyone?” Ray asked. Greeting everyone. Most looked as hungover or tired as he was feeling.
“Nope, the girls should be here in a minute. They were packing lunches.” Adam said.
“Caleb, who is handling things at Manchester? Ray asked, shaking hands with him.
“Victor and my new assistant are handling things. I am monitoring everything with this new system. Tonya is amazing.” Caleb said. He was wearing a silver arm cuff on his left upper arm. a sparking gem the same golden color and material as Tonya's dungeon core was embedded into it.
The Duke and Vice Duke had access to Manchester and the surrounding fields. They did not have as much control as Ray and Collin did, but they were able to use the system in an effective way to maintain the current objective. Gold Matrices were produced and installed in all of the village heads in Region XI. A total of fifty-three villages and sub villages who were all in need of one thing or another. There were ten to the east near the Arkadian desert that would be added once the last beacon was found. That was a problem for two months from now. Today was for relaxing, fishing, and intoxication.
“Here they come,” Ross said.
Ray turned to see the rest of the group show up including Annie who was wearing a loose pink tank top with tan shorts and matching sandals. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she wore a dark pair of sunglasses. Ray smiled and then greeted the others which included his mom, aunt, grandma, Ryan's wife, Reese's wife and the six’s wives and lastly Annie’s mom. Tim came up with a wagon full of extra supplies. Ray helped load the supplies and explained the teleportation process. Everyone loaded up and strapped themselves down on a bench.
“Tonya, please teleport everyone to Simpson Lake. Grid three on the west side please.” Ray said. He and Collin stood on opposite sides of the group. They held their arms out and began sending a stream of mana around the wagons connected to each other and forming a circle around the wagon. There was a faint pop and the wagons were gone.
“You know this is going to be a complete shit show right?” Collin said to Ray.
“What makes you think that?” Ray asked. “Tonya, did they make it?”
“Thirty seconds until arrival.” Tonya said over the system.
“We are about to see a fully mature Annie in a swimsuit with her boyfriend at the same location where you killed her boyfriend’s boss before promoting her boyfriend to his dead boss's position. I also have enough alcohol to drown a crew of pirates and it's only eight in the morning.” Collin said smiling.
“They have arrived.” Tonya said. “Commencing teleportation of Lord and Vice Lord.”
“We need more variety of girls. Everyone here is either already married or matched up, too young or somehow related to us. I heard the Darcy Triplets live in Manchester now. We should go clubbing sometime." Ray said with a smile.
“Nope, Nope, and Nope. The older one nearly killed me when she found out I was talking to the middle one. Little did they know I was also seeing the younger one.” Collin said “Their mom may also have gotten involved at some point. Lovely woman. It is a shame that her husband got killed by that wild boar. He was a good man”
“They are triplets, how can you tell who is older?” Ray asked before teleporting away. They landed with a thud a hundred feet away from the group.
“Oddly enough, I had no idea. Just kept flirting whenever I saw them. Never actually saw them at the same time. That would have been complicated.” Collin added as they walked towards the group
“They each have different names though?” Ray said.
“Just used pet names. baby, sweetie, honey, Darby-girl. If the oldest one hadn’t seen me kiss the middle one, I could have easily extended that another couple of weeks.” Collin said.
“You are a terrible person and should never be allowed to breed.” Ray said laughing.
Collin, Theo and Georgie took a boat and got themselves situated with Mace and the triplet gnomes. Ray helped get his dad and grandpa in the other boat with his uncle and pushed them off. Ryan, Dayton, Ross and Dean took the other. Ray used his Earth Mana to form a beach of sand going into the lake. The rest of the group set up tents and began enjoying the day. Ray caught a glimpse of Annie and Collin setting up some reclining chairs on the other side of the tents. Annie took her top off revealing a floral print swimsuit underneath. Ray put his dark sunglasses on and activated his Berserker King’s Mount. This was a good chance to level it up with relatively low mana cost and no combat to be had. A small kayak outfitted with poles and gear appeared in the water twenty feet out. Ray teleported to it and sat down. He had fish to catch and it was a beautiful day. The six were in each of their own small canoes with their children. Ray had learned that like with Collin and the Lord system, each of the six had similar abilities and were able to share with Ray and he with them. They had their own mount, armor, weapon, and transformation abilities that they could use.
“Wager time people!” Ryan yelled. “Who is in?”
“What's the bet?” Collin asked.
“Boat with biggest fish, boat with no fish, boat with most fish, and boat with fewest fish.” Ryan said. “We need prizes.” Everyone turned and looked at Collin and Ray.
“What? Why do you all act like I am loaded or something? Ray asked.
“You are essentially the Baron. You own everything technically. Do something cool and give us free stuff.” Ross said.
“Yeah, give me some free stuff!” Dean yelled.
At this point, everyone, even the group on the beach were watching. Ray opened his system and sorted through his inventory. What would be a good prize for everyone? He checked his gold count. He wouldn’t take from the region's coffers but he could offer something from his own personal stash. He also could make something.
“Collin, Think of what the no fish, smallest fish, and fewest fish are going to get. I am working on the largest fish and most fish.” Ray mentally said.
“Adults only right? We can’t make the kids do something stupid or embarrassing.” Collin asked. Everyone agreed.
“But I wanna play?” Georgie protected.
“How about this? The youngling who catches the largest fish and the most fish can ask me to make any toy they want. I should be able to make it in my system.” Ray said. There was a nod of approval of this and the kids started screaming crazy ideas back and forth.
“I like that idea for adults too.” Ross said. “Can you make a magical bow? Mine broke last hunt.”
“Yeah, I can do that. The adult who catches the largest fish can ask for an item and I will try and make it. As for the boat with the most fish, I have 1,000 Gold pieces for you to split."
Everyone got excited and some of the women started yelling at their husbands telling them to win.
“Alright I have it on the others. The boat with the smallest fish and the least fish caught will have to help Tim skin them all once we are done.” Collin said. “If for some reason there is a boat with no fish, those people will have first watch tonight while everyone else gets to party and sleep.
With that the wagers were on. Each boat ventured out onto the lake to find a good spot to cast a line. Ray stayed close to the middle not wanting anyone to be too far away that he couldn’t reach them if something happened.
Around lunchtime everyone took a break and came back for lunch. The score was as follows. Ray had zero fish. Collin’s team had three fish. Adam’s team had six fish and one of the largest ones so far sitting at fourteen inches and weighing at five pounds. The rest varied between zero and five fish. Theo had the largest youngling catch. His fish was ten inches and weighed three pounds. No signs of the fish the size as Mace which made Georgie mad. Every time she caught one she held it up to Mace to compare and then threw it back. They each had some assorted sandwiches and freshly squeezed juice. A few boats went out after lunch. Many of the children had gotten bored and decided to go swimming or play in the sand. This allowed some of the men to spend time with their wives and lay out on the beach. Ray was just about to launch off when he heard Caleb come running up.
“Ray, can you teleport me back to Manchester? It looks like there is an issue Victor is needing help with.” Caleb said.
“Sure, do you need help? What is going on?” Ray said. Collin had walked over also.
“No no. It's not that important. There is a problem with one of the shipping logs for the cotton we are needing to export. Victor did not mess with that nearly as much as I did. He is needing help finding a particular form and it's not where I told him it should be.”
“Need me to come with you?” Annie asked, walking up with her stuff.
“No honey, I should be able to get it. You stay and enjoy it. You're only off for another few days. Stay with your family. It will be ok.” he said, giving her a hug and a kiss.
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Ray moved to touch Caleb but Collin stepped up. I'll take him. I need to resupply anyway. Ross drank all my booze. He and Caleb teleported away leaving Ray and Annie standing there.
She stood there awkwardly for a bit and then turned to walk away.
“Do you want to come fishing with me?” Ray blurted out.
Annie turned and smiled. “It’s ok, you don’t have to do that.”
“I actually could use the help. I haven’t caught a fish all day.” Ray said
“Your boat only fits one person.” She said, she was saying one thing but her body language was giving off completely different vibes.
Ray activated his system and made a modification. The boat grew and added another seat.
“Mr. Ray, Can I come too? Theo and Dayton are over there playing Mana ball since Collin left. She and mace came walking up. She was still determined to catch a fish as big as mace.
Ray made another modification, and they all got in and pushed off. Ray sat in the rear with Georgie in the middle and Annie sitting up at the front. Nearly an hour passed with Georgie doing most of the talking. Mace had decided he was over it and teleported to the beach where he found a spot under the tent and took a nap.
“Georgie, I need you to catch a fish so we do not come in last place. Next time you do, can we keep it?” Ray said as she threw yet another one back in the water.
“They are too small. I want one Mace Size!” She said,
“Hi,” Ray mentally said to Annie. She jumped at his voice in her head and looked back at him.
“Try to say something in your mind. I do not know if it will work or not.” he projected.
There was silence. She looked back and shrugged her arms. Ray frowned and concentrated his mana. He imagined a thin line of it going down his arm and across the side of the boat towards her. He made the line narrowly avoid Georgie who was fishing on the opposite side of the boat. He pushed the line further up and down into her chair. The line kept traveling up her left leg and around her stomach avoiding her arms and stopping around her left temple. He held the line there and slowly maneuvered the mana into her. She stirred a bit but didn’t seem hurt by it. There was ringing noise like he had just won a carnival game, and he heard her.
“Annie,” He thought.
“I hear you. Can you hear me?” She thought.
“Yes!.”
“How?”
“It’s a bit hard to explain. I created a string of mana that connects you and me.”
“Can you read my thoughts? Like are you going to learn my deepest darkest secret?
“You are afraid of spiders and can’t stand the texture of strawberries. I knew those already”
“You know what I mean. Can you do to me what Yugi did to Demitri that one time.”
“I don’t think so. Are you hearing me from a certain direction in your mind.”
“Yes! Behind me.”
“Imagine you are in a room. You can add a window. If you want to think about something but don't want me to know, shut the window. If you want, talk to me. Open it up.”
Nothing happened. Ray cast his bait far to the right and began reeling in.
“Did you hear what I thought?” She replied
“I did not. See it works. What did you say?”
“I'm not telling! Whoa, this is odd. I do not understand how you are doing this.”
“It's a skill. Well, it is a title that was given to me for mastering all of the skills in a particular subject. Next time you are at work. Look into Mana Communication. Mana Sight, and Mana Control.” he said.
“Are you able to talk to me over long distances?”
“If you also had the skill then maybe. I don't think this will work once I take the thread of mana back. Me and Collin are able to communicate this way but he has the communication skill. The Gnomes only communicate this way. In fact, the only way I was able to learn this was because they shoved over a hundred elemental shards in me. It was how we made our dungeon core.”
“Oh yeah, I could have told you that. Gnomes love Dungeons and Dungeons= cores love the excess mana that they..” She caught a fish and the connection broke when she moved too far forward. The Mana String whipped back and hit Georgie in the forehead.’’
“Come here fishy fishy fishy. La La La. I like the fishy. La La La. This is my fishing song.” Georgie's mind sang out. Ray broke the connection. He couldn’t help but smile.
“Uh Ray. Can you help me? I can't hold on to this one.” Annie said out loud. The boat was being pulled in the direction the fish was traveling. Ray stood up and held on to the pole with Annie. Georgie reeled in the other poles and watched Ray direct her to go back and forth with reeling and letting slack out. The shadow in the water was huge. Bigger than the boat. It came up and with some crazy force and launched itself out of the water. The fish was huge. The size of the wagon at least. It got close to thirty feet in the air before breaking the line. Ray jumped up manifesting a fishing spear and with all of his might thrusted it deep into the fish's belly. With a bit of Mana, he sent a small electric charge through the spear and into the fish. He teleported to the shore and let the fish hit the grass near the wagon. It flailed around a bit before finally laying still. Everyone cheered.
“Did you catch that one?” Collin yelled. He and Caleb had returned.
“Annie did.” Ray said panting. “Oh Annie, Be right back.” He teleported back to the boat and began rowing the girls back to shore.
The entire group celebrated Annie’s catch. Since she held onto it the entire time. It was hers. Ray ended the day with zero fish. Georgie had caught a total of twenty-three but threw them all back. Adam’s group had the most fish. Ray’s group had the least fish. No one dared fess up to having the smallest fish. They were all so excited that everyone helped skin and the meat was packed and ready to take home within a few hours. Annie’s parents and a few of the older members of the group all decided to go back. Ray and Collin teleported them to the village. Everyone else pitched some tents and made a campfire. A game of mana ball was started, and everyone watched as Theo and Dayton completely destroyed Quincy and Andrew.
“It's not fair, They can teleport.” Quincy said
“Yeah, I have the same ability and I can’t keep up.” Andrew replied. "Also, Didn't you almost go Pro? Why are they beating us?"
“I need everyone to be aware that a thirty-six year old and thirty-eight year old just got their tail handed to them by a couple of Eight year old's . I am telling the Supreme Bishop!!” Douglas said. This caused everyone to bust out laughing including Quincy and Andrew
Everyone went to their respective tents shortly after that. Ray stayed and kept the first watch. Annie sat across from him. Caleb was passed out next to her.
“Show me the mana line.” She said randomly.
Ray thought about it for a second and then formed an orb of mana in his hand. `Can you see this?” he asked. She Shook her head. He picked up some sand and merged it in the sphere. She nodded and watched it rotate around and around. He created a strand from the rotating orb and connected it to his right temple before sending the other end across the fire and towards her left temple. The Orb Disappeared and the sand fell to the ground but the line still remained.
“I owe you a prize for the fish” .He thought. “ Is there something you would like for me to create for you?”
“You do not have to do that.”
“Actually, I do. The masses over there will insist on it.”
“What can you make?”
“Well technically it would be Tonya making it. I gave her all of those abilities. But through her I can do anything short of precious gems, money or anything with a lifeforce..” he thought. “However I do have some precious gems if you want something that involves that.”
“Can you Embed items with Mana?’ She asked
“I think so. Runes were not my best subject” Ray laughed.
“I loved Runes. Hieroglyphics were tricky but runes were fun.” She said out loud. “I have never seen the magic work however. Can you show me?”
Ray manifested a piece of wood. He took out his knife, heated the blade and began carving into it. Once he finished he took out an orb of mana and pushed it into the wood and handed it to Annie.
“Whenever you are ready, throw it.” he said.
She read the rune, got wide eyed and quickly threw it out over the water. The wood blew up and a large fireball went up into the sky. It slowly faded into nothing and sparks showered over the beach.
“I don’t understand how you did that. The rune said fire but you made it into so much more.” Annie thought.
“Did they not teach you about intent?” Ray asked.
“Intent? No, what do you mean?” Annie asked out loud. This was enough to wake Caleb up. He yammered a bit and told Annie he was ready for bed. The mana connection broke and Annie walked away.
“Good night Ray.”
“Sweet Dreams' ' Ray said to her mentally. When she disappeared into the tent. He whispered “ I think I still love you, Annie.” The night ended with Ray taking short sips of his drink and watching the stars.
7 Days Later
“Alright everyone. Say your goodbyes, we have to get going. Ray yelled out over the crowd of people.
Moms were holding on to their babies and crying. Dads were checking the wagon and making sure they had everything packed. Extended family such as Annie and her parents were also there saying goodbyes.
Ray shot an invisible line to Annie, “I have your prize. He mentally said”
“I do love a good present. What is it?” she thought back.
“Eight, One, Four, Five” he replied.
“What is that?” she asked.
“Combination to the side staircase. Take it up to my house. There is a box sitting on the table” he said before ending the link and moving everyone to get on the wagon. Collin and Ray sat next to each other on the front and off they went.
“What are you doing bro? She’s spoken for.” Collin said mentally.
“I have no idea honestly, I have spent all week thinking of her, thinking of Minh, thinking about what things could be like. I’ve done the pros and cons and even tried to keep myself busy with getting everything ready.” Ray replied. “I’m losing my mind Collin.”
“Most of us are, it will be ok. It’s not like you’ve professed your love to her. Wait? You haven't, right?” Collin said
“Not in so many words, just some light banter and flirting”
“Oh good. You can’t flirt worth a dang so she prolly doesn’t even notice.” Collin teased
Ray already knew that this was about to be a long ride.
Annie
Eight, One, Four, Five.. click! Annie moved the combination lock to the proper #s and quickly walked up to the roof. She had to be quick and not get caught, she said to herself. She opened the door to the roof and walked out. The view from here was beautiful. She walked around taking in the view from the day time. The night was one thing but the colors in the day were just so much more. She looked around and saw the box on the table and strolled over to it. She unwrapped the ribbon and took the top off. There was a letter, a smaller box and a stack of books. She opened the letter first.
Annie,
Please take care of these books. They are very rare but most importantly they explain so much that not even the compound or the academies were able to teach. It took me a long time to find them. I think you will love them as much as I have. In the box is your prize for catching that big fish. The books should help you figure it out. I hope it’s not fifteen years before I see you again.
Ps. Don’t let your dad burn these.
Love,
Ray
“Love? No way. He has to be kidding.” Annie said out loud. She put the small box and the letter to the side and started taking the books out. Mana understanding vol 1-5, Elemental Manipulation vol 1-3, Mana Sight, Mana Control for Beginners, Mana Communication vol 1-4. Magic Runes and the Art of Imbuing vol 1-2
“These are all first editions. How did he find these?” She said out loud.
She looked at the box and decided to open it. There was a silver bracelet with a small ruby on one side and a blue sapphire on the other and a gold sort of gem in the middle. There were marks on the outer and inner facings. Annie did not recognize them. She hesitated before putting it on. Her teachers had said never to wear or use an item if you are unaware of what is written on it. This was Ray though; he would never do anything to hurt her. Annie put the bracelet on and waited. Nothing happened. She opened the book of runes and started looking for what the symbol said. She could not find anything. She packed everything up in the box. She would need her study to properly inspect it at home.
She looked up and noticed Ray's house was empty. A smile crossed her face. She walked over to his house and tried to open the door. It opened and she peeked inside. There was a small kitchen, a bathroom and a bed. Everything neatly organized except for his dresser. The clothes were everywhere. He must have packed this morning. Typical man. She looked around and noticed his bookshelf. There was a large empty section on the 2nd level. He really did give me his books. She checked what the others said. Adventurers' survival guide, classes and roles for beginners, sword fighting manuals, how to build a boat and even a copy of “Surviving the Dunes, a incomplete guide to the Arcadia Desert Part 2.” Wait, this is one of the books I donated to the shop. He really needs part 1 and part 3 if he is to understand this. Annie thought. She made a mental note to try and find those for the next time she visited. Annie looked up and saw a set of picture frames. To the left was one of him, his parents and his little brother, beside that was a photo of a bunch of men in front of a glider, that must have been his platoon in the war. There were various medals next to it. On the next level was a picture of a girl. She was beautiful. Long dark hair. She was holding Mace and smiling. They were on the beach somewhere Annie did not recognize.
“This must be Minh. Wow, she was beautiful.” Annie said. She had heard about the apothecary and that a new girl had moved in and was running it. She recalled the story that Ray told her the night of graduation. Annie stared at the picture for a very long time before putting it back and heading out the door.