~~~Lee~~~

Give me the skill, and make it good this time! Lee thought and triggered his victory reward. A shard appeared out of nothing once again, and Lee caught it out of the air.

Silencing Touch (Rare)

Be silent.

Users may block all sounds emitting from touched objects…

Damn. Sure, the skill might have value… but Lee couldn’t see how it would help him. Maybe it would help someone like Mar? It wasn’t even a liquid mana skill... which confirmed that the system wasn’t giving him skills intentionally. Which meant that plate skill was nothing but a fluke...

It had turned out okay in the end, but this skill could go to someone else. He didn’t even care about getting the attributes from it. So many people had helped him already, it was only right to give back.

Lee walked out to join Maria. He wasn't hungry, but felt like he should be. Saira had obviously dropped by at some point and healed his hunger; he'd seen the notification. But it just wasn't the same as eating... especially not when the alternative was a breakfast burrito.

He could see Jamaal downstairs and would head that way shortly, but first. "Maria, thanks for looking out."

"De nada." She searched his face with an inscrutable expression before smiling. "Tu bien? You look more young."

Lee smiled. He wasn't quite back to his youthful self yet, but he was no longer ancient. Maybe something to do with the new loss of those debuffs... or just from ranking up. "I'm doing very well! How is..." His smile faded. "How did it go?"

"Not so bad. Few dead." She slapped a hand on the metal railing. "Three kill many. Very good thing you make. Keep them all safe." Her eyes moved to the courtyard as she spoke, and Lee followed her gaze to the playing children.

They were riding around the courtyard on one of his creations, and the hovering rune plate suffered almost no friction as it slid around the large space. Because of the way the rune worked, it would ricochet away from the walls without touching them. The children loved it. Despite many of them tumbling off whenever it changed direction too fast.

"Was it your idea to let them play with it?" Lee asked, not wanting to come right out and say what he was thinking.

Maria's rapidly darkening expression told him it was worse than he'd thought. "Who?"

"Gabriel," Maria growled. "Told me you said was okay."

Lee looked down to see the boy in question staring back up at them worriedly. Then Maria appeared next to him, and they both vanished in a streak of mana that deposited them back beside Lee.

"Uncle Lee!" Gabriel said. "Thanks for letting me..."

"I didn't," Lee said, interrupting and destroying the desperate attempt to head off his mother's wrath. "How did you get that plate? What if you'd grabbed one of the exploding ones!?" The very idea left him feeling sick. He never should have left any of his experiments down there...

"I didn't touch the others!" Gabriel pleaded with rapid looks between Lee and his mother, who looked terrified but well on her way to being enraged. "I only took the flying plate!"

"You... wait, how do you know which is which?" Lee summoned a plate... and it snapped into existence almost instantly. That was new... and likely a benefit of his new mana-channeling capabilities.

He stuck one of his bomb runes on the plate. "What's this one?"

"That's... it's dangerous..."

Lee tried again with the battery and overheating rune he'd used on the flies. One Gabriel hadn't ever seen. He kept it small and at a distance so the boy wouldn't feel the heat. "This?"

"Hot... bad. It will break..." Maria hadn't let go of his arm, but she seemed content to let the testing continue.

Lee summoned another plate, this time pushing to make it as strong as possible.

Skill Level Up: Create Plate

It came out stronger than anything he'd made before, and Lee drew a brand new rune onto the plate. "What does this one do?"

Gabriel stared, his face twisting in concentration. "It flies... and it's hot... and will explode!"

Lee pulled the rune back before it did any of those things, then stared at the boy. "How do you know that?"

"I..." Gabriel's eyes jumped back and forth between them as he wilted. "I just do? I feel it..."

"That one safe?" Maria nodded toward the courtyard below, still not letting go of Gabriel's arm.

"Yeah," Lee waved. "It's fine. That one only hovers."

"I knew that," Gabriel said, pleading. "I was careful!"

Maria went off on him then. In Spanish. Lee got the gist. Taking without permission. Messing with dangerous things that could have killed him. Lying.

It was the last one she looked the most pissed about. Maybe because he'd successfully lied to her? Lee didn't think he could pull that one off. Maria was scary. So props to the kid... for having guts. Not for messing with stuff he shouldn't be touching.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Lee," Gabriel said miserably when it was over. "I won't touch your stuff again."

He trudged a few steps away, and Lee cleared his throat. "Your shoes?"

Gabriel had tears glistening in his eyes when he turned back around. "You let us try them! I want to learn to use the mana!"

Maria had her eyes closed, and the mutters escaping from her sounded like a prayer. Maybe one for the dead, if Gabriel's expression was anything to go by.

"I can learn!" Gabriel exclaimed. "I will learn, and I will help! You can teach me, Uncle Lee! Please, can you... teach me?"

Gabriel Morales has requested to become your Apprentice. You do not have the required Class Rank of Expert to take an Apprentice.

Lee and Gabriel both froze, wide-eyed. Gabriel spoke first. "Yes! I want to be apren... prentis... I want to learn!"

"Maria," Lee said. "Has anyone mentioned apprentices?"

She was eyeing Gabriel's excited expression as she shook her head. "No..."

"We should talk to the anubi." Lee frowned at what Mana Mind was showing him, but started for the garage. It was probably nothing...

He put in his breakfast order with Jamaal while Maria instructed the other supervising adults that Gabriel was not allowed to ride the flying disc for the foreseeable future. Gabriel didn't protest his punishment, but he protested getting left behind while they went to talk to the anubi.

In the garage, Lee stopped when he passed Valerie's work space. She'd likely been in here for the latest attack... "How are you doing, Valerie?"

She jumped, but smiled when she looked at him. "Lee! I... I'm good. You were right about the building." Her smile wilted. "I never want to go back to my place now."

"Then don't? You can sleep in here, can't you?" It wasn't spacious, but she could squeeze in a cot at least.

Her expression brightened. "I... I might do that."

Lee left her to it and thought about ways to protect the other crafters. They had more than they could fit in here... Only the ones who needed a lot of mana got to use Three. Maybe they could squeeze more into the apartments? They looked mostly empty right now... though there were a lot of children in the courtyard.

"Trak, do you know about apprentices?"

"My lord!" Trak leapt from his table to bow. A table covered in all manner of glassware, most of it holding glowing liquids of various colors. "I am pleased to see you well, and yes, we can take any apprentices that you wish!"

"I..." Lee hadn't been thinking of that, but it was a good idea. "What are the requirements? Can anyone do it? Does it matter if someone has a class already? Can children become apprentices?"

"The only requirement, if you would call it that, my lord, is the affinity one has for the class. If it is too low, then it is advisable to try another class. Children can apprentice. It is the best way to prepare them, but they will require permission from a parent or guardian..." Trak glanced toward the two pups in the room with him. "Ours can wait if you wish to apprentice more alchemists. With the loss of Ratch... we can only train two."

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"Loss? Was it..." Hadn't they all been inside Three for the attack? Lee felt a sinking sensation as a flash of memory resurfaced. A memory of searing agony and small figures dragging him across the ground. "Was... it was my fault, wasn't it?"

If he hadn't taken himself out of the fight... had they even had a choice? Or were they compelled to fight and die for him?

"He died a noble death, my lord. A warrior's death in service to..."

Lee felt a flash of rage. "He wasn't a fucking warrior! He was a crafter and a slave. He didn't have to die! Not for me..."

Maria put a hand on Lee, drawing his attention and silencing him with the intense expression on her face. "Ratch is warrior. He fight for you! For Alejandro! He fight for home. Family. He is brave warrior!"

Trak howled softly and wordlessly to the sky at her words, and the other anubi joined the song in a sorrowful but triumphant sound while Lee clamped his own mouth shut.

"Thank you," Trak barked afterward. "Ratch would appreciate your words, War Healer. You saved our lives, and we are forever in your debt."

Maria glared at him. "No debt for family! We fight to protect! Is the way!"

Trak smiled. "You have chosen your subjects well, my lord. We are proud to be counted among such mighty warriors!"

Lee sighed as his abrupt anger cooled. "They aren't subjects... they are family."

"All the more reason to lift them up!" Trak barked, then ducked his head. "If I may be so bold, my lord... you deprive them of the benefits by not bringing them under your banner."

"What benefit?" Maria asked.

"Mana!" Trak barked. "Even more now that the lord is E-grade!"

Lee wasn't sure how they knew he was E-grade, and Maria distracted him by staring with a calculating expression that made him nervous. The feeling only increased when she said something rapidly in Spanish...

You have gained an Oath of Fealty from Maria Morales. If accepted, this oath binds her and two children into your service until such time as she or her children renounce the oath. Or until such time as you release them.

As the sworn party, you may release them at any time. The swearing party must provide a warning no shorter than (59:59) before the oath is unbound.

Betrayal of the oath by either party will incur penalties on par with the betrayal, up to and including death, and will remove restrictions from the other party.

Accept? Y/N

"Maria..." Lee closed his eyes and pinched at the bridge of his nose. When he opened them, she made a 'get on with it' gesture. "Your kids..." She repeated the gesture. "It says you could die! They could die!"

Her expression turned furious. "You think they betray you!? Think I betray!?"

"I accept! I accept!" Lee exclaimed, just trying to head off the anger on her face. "You know I don't think that..."

She smiled brightly, like a flipping switch... and Lee realized she'd been messing with him. "That's not very nice..."

"Callate." She was clearly looking at her status. Then she looked at Trak and said something in Spanish.

"Yes, mistress..." She cleared her throat. "Yes, Mrs Morales, though mine is two hundred percent mana pool and regeneration. I told you it was good!"

Maria pointed. "It work outside?"

"Yes, M... Mrs Morales."

"Seriously?" Lee asked, looking back and forth between them. "That's insane!"

"It is the exchange, my lord! We give you a fraction of our power through the oath, and you share yours in return."

Lee shook his head. "I get like point one percent attributes from each of you. How does that add up to two hundred percent mana!? Not that I'm complaining... and why don't I see a debuff for that?"

"I do not know, my lord. But it doubled when you advanced to E-grade..." He frowned, which Lee knew despite the lack of any human expression on the dog-like face. "Our last lord granted us even less than we give you... I suspect it is because you are..." He glanced around and then whispered, "Legend."

"Is good," Maria said. "Will help save more. I will tell others to swear."

"Wait! I..." Lee didn't actually have a good argument against her plan. "I might have a lot of mana... but I don't want it to get too low!"

"That is not how it works, my lord. Else, kings would be powerless rather than the strongest!"

"But..."

"My lord, you said your mana is liquid. I do not know the meaning of that, but I know you use more than this entire room every time you create one of your masterpieces! That plus... the other... thing."

"They aren't all masterpieces," Lee grumbled, and then smiled as he realized something. "Trak, now you can swear the same oath as Maria! You don't have to be..."

"I won't!"

"Do you think your people are lesser than Maria? Less than..."

"Yes, my lord!"

Lee groaned. "God damn it, Trak!" He suddenly grinned. "What if I... beg!" Lee dropped to one knee. Then the other. He leaned forward, both hands on the cement, his head below Trak's as he bowed lower.

He could feel the alarm growing inside the anubi at his actions, so he kept going lower.

"Please, my lord!"

Lee sat up but stayed on his knees, putting him at eye level with Trak. "You claim Ratch died a good warrior's death. Maria says he died to protect his family. Well, I'm part of that family, aren't I? He died because of me... Because I made a mistake. I should have killed all the monsters myself... but I fucked up!"

He rubbed moisture from his eyes, and not because of Ratch. Not really. Lee didn't know him—not enough for this. He wasn't even sure if he'd ever spoken a word to the anubi... But to have Ratch die saving him. A person whom he was bound to serve forever. "It's all my..."

Trak's voice was soft when he said, "I will swear the new oath, my lord."

Lee blinked at him. "Don't call me..."

"So long as you allow me to call you my lord, my lord." He smiled. "I know what you are, what you truly are, and it would please me greatly to have you as my lord."

"Deal." Lee smiled and, with a thought, released them from their oath.

You have released the entire Druller Pack of Anubi from their Oath of Fealty. All restrictions removed from both parties.

Trak kneeled along with all of his kin, not with his face to the floor but on one knee. Well, more of a crouch... Then he spoke the oath while looking up at Lee.

You have gained an Oath of Fealty from The Druller Pack of Anubi. If accepted, this oath binds them into your service until such time as they renounce their oath. Or until such time as you release them.

As the sworn party, you may release them at any time. The swearing party must provide a warning no shorter than (59:59) before the oath is unbound.

Betrayal of the oath by either party will incur penalties on par with the betrayal, up to and including death, and will remove restrictions from the other party.

Accept? Y/N

"I accept," Lee said with a bittersweet smile. "Welcome to my family. It is an honor to have you by my side." All it took to fix things was the loss of a life they would never get back.

"Thank you, my lord."

Lee floundered a little as the emotional moment wound down, then he remembered why he'd originally come down here. "So, what level is expert?"

Trak gaped. "You... are not... at least... master rank in your class?"

"I'm..." Lee checked again. "Level thirty seven. I know level fifty is advanced rank, but what's expert?"

"One hundred, my lord. But... how? Your fortress, my lord! It... it..."

"I guess you finally got to see it in action earlier?"

"My lord! It fought on while you slept! In all the stories and legends of... only one ever mentioned a living fortress! It is... beyond..." He stared at Lee for a moment, then shook his head. "I suppose it is not beyond you, my lord."

"I told you it would protect you... if you'd only stay inside." Lee looked at the gathered pack, all staring back at him, and bowed his head. "Can I use the amulet, Trak?"

Trak handed it over without hesitation, and Lee watched the magic settle around him. He stayed on his knees. "I just want to say... thank you. To Ratch. To all of you. He was a brave warrior... and he saved my life. You all fought for me, and I will never forget what the Druller pack has done for me this day. You will forever have a place beside me."

Lee waited for the quiet and somewhat shy responses, then nodded at two of what he assumed were female members of the species. Taria and Rital. With the newly improved Mana Mind, he could see inside everyone. At least he could see the mana inside everyone, which, as far as he could tell, was practically the same thing. "If it is not impolite, then congratulations on the upcoming children."

It must not have bothered them to have it pointed out, because they smiled while Trak bounded to his feet. "Thank you, my lord! We are all excited!"

Maria was looking at him strangely, so Lee told her. "They are pregnant."

"How do you know that?" she asked in Spanish.

"I... can see their mana." He must have hesitated too long there, with the look in her eyes, but he didn't elaborate.

There was no way Lee was going to tell people he was effectively spying on them with an all-seeing gaze that now even saw inside their bodies. He'd already seen more than a few people going at it in the privacy of their apartments, and that was with the old version. It was immeasurably worse now...

People knew he had something. It was how he'd ended up at the border... But they didn't need specifics.

Speaking of which... "Trak, I don't want any of you guys fighting. Definitely not against E-grades. At least, not until you all get to E-grade as well. Even then... if you want to fight, we should apprentice you to some combat classes. Though, I guess we need people to get expert ranks first..."

"We will watch for compatible classes, my lord." The anubi leader was sitting very still when he asked, "Will you be taking an apprentice, my lord?"

"Of course."

"Congratulations, my lord! But... apologies! I did not know you had any offspring."

"Eh... what?"

"Who else... would you apprentice?"

Lee thought of Gabriel. The kid had some kind of knack for sensing the runes. It might mean he would make a good runic, or it could be unrelated. There was also liquid mana... "How does it work? Like, my mana differs from everyone else. Will it still work?"

"I... do not know. I only know of the affinity."

"So I guess I'll teach whoever has a higher affinity?" Though giving someone else a legendary class would put a target on their back... Trak was studiously not looking at Lee while staying silent.

"Whoever has the highest affinity, Trak. Even if it's you or one of your pack. Assuming they want..."

Trak tried to press his face into the floor again, and Lee caught him while he howled, "We are not worthy!"

"Hey," Lee said, dragging him upright; it was ridiculously easy with his E-grade strength... "I said you could call me Lord. But bowing is no longer allowed!"

Trak stood up and smiled. Then he bowed along with the rest of his pack. "Yes, my lord!"

They all winced, and Lee abruptly knew that they'd all just betrayed him to do that... He sighed and, for the first time, wondered if he needed a more restrictive oath.