In the end, we slept rather well in the tree… I want to say house, but it was more a mansion really. How else to describe a place with four levels, an indoor swimming pool, more than ten bedrooms that were quite luxurious, and which had all sorts of comforts inside.
The spell was created to build a comfortable home of sorts, somewhere hospitable no matter where you were. With how overcharged the spell got due to the ambient and sacrifice, it went from hospitable directly to luxurious.
I wonder, for just how much would a place like this could sell as hotels and whatnot. With the new roads more merchants should travel to our lands soon, somewhere like this should be quite novel and desirable for those types to sleep in, and it cost me nearly nothing to make besides a few drops of blood which I healed nearly instantly from.
As for the woman it seems we kinda ruined the house off, she was a single mother so we put her in Paul's home and after we leave she would get paid for the damage or have Paul's family live in this tree mansion while she lives in the current Greyrat house.
Honestly, if Paul is smart he will take this house. It is much larger, safer, there is running water (I checked, it seems it draws water from underground) and the beds are comfier.
Miss Zenith didn't seem too glad about the woman sleeping in her home though, but that is not really that huge of a deal for me anyway.
Standing outside early in the morning I finish my morning job of emptying my mana reserves to a dangerously low level before I take out my training sword and start swinging it.
My body development is advancing extremely fast, I have checked it, but that is by no means an excuse to not try and do constantly better. I have knowledge of every single sword school and martial theory in my mind from the world of Nasuverse, I know that if I train for a few years single mindedly training for it I could replicate absurd acts like technique based Noble Phantasms, but I still want to figure out Touki.
Touki is something like the Aura from the RWBY universe in that it protects the user and makes them stronger and faster, only it goes well and way beyond what Aura could ever accomplish. There was even a story of how a particularly powerful swordsman once used his full strength on a slash on another continent, the cut went from one corner to the other of the continent and even hundreds of years later no monsters dare to approach the 'road' created by that slash.
Just remembering it is enough to frighten me to the bone, and make me yearn for that sort of power all the more so I continue to swing my blade.
"What are you doing?" A childish voice said from nearby, turning in its direction I saw the little boy from yesterday watching as I practiced with the sword.
"Training." I said easily as I tried and just moved my energy like how the knights do when using Touki (I analyzed it with my magecraft before).
After seeing and experimenting with it several times I have the right idea about it, but I am not quite able to pull it off just yet. There is just something I am missing, but everyone I question always says 'I just got a feeling, and did it'.
Totally unhelpful.
"But, you are a magician!" The kid said from the side, making me turn to him. "You made the tree become that big, you could release all those magics earlier, so why do you practice like dad? Isn't magic better?"
"Magic is better." I admit instantly and without any sort of trouble. "But, even if I can cast without chanting, training one's body is important. My teachers always say that a healthy mind lives in a healthy body."
With that the kid keeps watching as soon Eris gets out as well, already dressed up in what seems to be her version of an adventurer clothing (which looks adorable) and with an expression as if she can't wait to get going.
"What are you doing?! We gotta get going, the monsters won't kill themselves just like that!" Eris said excitedly as she moved her hand to her sword… which wasn't there. "Wha- where is my sword?"
"I took it so you wouldn't try to rush in the forest, my Lady." Sir Arthur said as he moved out of the house. "Young lord, good morning."
"Morning. Surprised you were sleeping until later." I said with a chuckle to which Arthur looked slightly sheepish.
"Well, the beds were that comfy, after all."
"Tell me about it." Sir Oberyn said, his spear already at hand as he got out of the house with his hair disheveled but a content expression on his face. "Can't remember the last time I had just a comfortable bed. Young lord, if you could make stuff like that, why did we have to sleep in travel begs before?"
"Hey, I just found out about the spell recently and this was the first time I tried it. I wasn't even sure it would work." I said and soon regretted it.
After all, I had to spend the next twenty minutes with Sir Arthur berating me over using unknown spells without sufficient guidance or practice. It seems the man had only just figured out that this was my first time doing the spell, and that me and Eris going into the tree mansion right away, without first testing the spell to make sure it is safe, was not exactly the smartest thing to do.
On one side, I think he is overreacting, but maybe he has a point. Going in right away like yesterday was hasty.
As for Rudeus and Eris, they went inside the manor of Rudeus's parents as they would be preparing the food for us to eat while I simply continued my workout, this time with sparing against Sir Arthur and Sir Oberyn.
It was later during the day, after a good breakfast provided for us, that our look into the settlement's defenses against monsters started.
As the most frontier village close to the monster infested forest the place's defenses were honestly not nearly as good as I expected.
"So, this is the lookout where we observe monsters' movements to make sure they are not approaching." Laws said as he showed us the place.
Apparently Paul was still being a childish idiot who did not take well to having his nuts all but cracked by me yesterday. He just dumped us on his vice commander of the guards before he went to do some important job somewhere else during this inspection.
Honestly, for a man who had to beg for my father for a job, he is far too full of himself. He doesn't take me or even my family all that seriously, otherwise he would at least try to be polite to us as inspectors of the place.
At least Laws, the vice commander, was much better. He was more deferential, at least tried to be polite and was helpful in explaining things properly.
"How exactly do you all act when it comes to a monster attack here? I mean, if the foremost guards in these structures are not capable of killing the monsters." I questioned while Eris looked slightly bored.
Guess she really was hoping for monsters to just show up since she was now here.
"We use these." Laws said as he showed us a beacon. "We put magic stones we get from some monsters here, it lights up brightly and we direct the light towards the lookouts closer to the village so they can come to the rescue."
Well, it at least is something. Not much though, that is for sure, but it is something.
Maybe I should see if I can improve it? It is not like some simple runes or enchantments would take me long to do and it would be much more practical for the village defenders if I did that.
Then again, it is not like I am particularly interested in helping them. Perhaps ask father if he would like to hire me for this, with my payment being with monster parts and such from the area. Maybe some live specimens as well since it would certainly be helpful for my experiments.
"Hey, can we do it?" Eris asks, her body clearly electric and almost jumping up and down.
"You really want to fight monsters that much:" I ask with a weird expression and she nods seriously.
"Yes!" She says and I sigh as I look at the others.
Laws looks slightly troubled while Arthur looks exasperated and Oberyn looks amused.
As for me, well, I guess I might as well accept my fate here.
"Fine. We will go but not too deep." I tell my sister who smiles brightly at that.
"Great! Let's go, this is our first adventure!" Eris said happily as she pretty much ignored us to instead run ahead towards the deeper forest.
Sigh, this girl really is bad at listening to others. I should reprimand her later, but first we need to make sure she is safe.
As such, we all ran after the red haired menace who was having far too much fun running ahead alone.
"Hah, found it!" Eris yelled as, from a distance, we could see a group of goblins walking by.
Laws, on the side, narrowed his eyes at it.
"Weird. Why are goblins so close to the village border?"
I noted this, but chose not to focus on that and instead moved ahead.
On the side, I noticed as Sir Oberyn accelerated suddenly to reach Eris while Sir Arthur stayed with me as we moved forward. Guess they each intend to secure and protect one of us, which I think makes sense enough.
Sister was having the time of her life it seems, she really seems to enjoy facing these goblins with her short sword. Besides, one may not expect it but she has already unlocked at least the basics of Touki like I did so enemies of this level are relatively quite safe.
Oberyn just had to watch over her to make sure she was safe as we continued on our journey through these woods. It was mostly Oberyn showing Eris details about the surroundings and such, things related to adventuring, and how to spot monsters weaknesses.
I personally did not overly care about those, much rather just look at the corpses to study as well as see if fresh monster cores can be used for jewelcraft magecraft since ones from long dead monsters are not that great conduits.
3° Person P.O.V.
In this small rural village, Luca was experiencing a whole new place and life.
Looking at all the smiling kids and people walking around, the dark elf girl had trouble associating this with the world she was used to.
Being a dark elf, Luca was born from the mating of an Ogre and an elf, an union that was not natural by any means. If she remembers it right, her mother was the previous elf princess who sold her kingdom for dicks, or something along those lines. Luca herself was born nine months after the local festival done in the town she was born to commemorate the fall of that elf kingdom by fucking her mother and whatever last royals were still alive.
Luca was the result of the Ogre God coming over at the time and participating, not that he would ever take to his kingdom a daughter of a prostitute. The girl did not blame him, she was used to being unwanted and uncared for, preferred it even.
Better no one notice her then the alternative since, the last someone noticed her, she was bought by her previous master. She, who would otherwise grow to join the town's army to protect the Madam, like most other dark elves, was instead sold for a good sum.
So, for Luca, her new life was almost like a dream she hardly felt worthy of. She had good food, a warm bed, she was treated well with no beatings, and her wounds that should have seen her thrown out or serve as slave labor until she died were all healed by her new master.
It was not even only her like this, others who were also in terrible conditions were also treated the same.
But, even as she thanked him so many times and, much like the others, desired little else than to help him with his objectives, a part of Luca wanted more.
She wished to do more, to do something the others could not or would not be able to do.
So, as she walked around thinking how she could do that, that's when she heard them. Voices with a tone she was all too familiar with.
"We don't need no beings like you in our village!"
At the sound of that voice, painful memories came flooding back in Luca's mind. She vividly remembered it, the scorn from those who saw her as an inferior being, how the son of her previous master would throw rocks at her when she was not being made to serve his father, or how the man's wife yelled to her and the other maids and slaves.
These were the voices of someone who used their position and power to torment somebody beneath them.
"Get the hell out of here!"
"Take this!"
"Ha, Nice! Direct hit, man!"
She saw it then. On the field, muddy from the other day's rain, three boys with their bodies all caked in mud were hurling mud at another child who was walking along.
"Ten points if you can nail him in the head!"
"Hngh!"
"I got him! Didja see that?! Right in the head!"
Luca looked at this with disgust and contempt. These kids were only dependent on their numbers to bully the other one. From their clothes it was clear that the kids were no nobles, so they would hardly be the owners of the abused child, and despite her status as a slave Luca was lucky enough to have been receiving some basic training from Beatrice.
Specifically, she and the other girls were first taught to sense the magic energy in others since it would better let them protect their master in case of emergency if needed. As such, Luca knew well enough after seconds that none of these kids had any training in magic.
But, she had little to do with them so she just stood at a distance watching as the kids continued to shout and throw things at the smaller one and… wait.
Was it just Luca, or was that smaller one an elf too? And, despite the mud, it was clear this one had green hair, a very rare color and one that, back in the city, would normally make them be valued much higher due to how rare it was.
As she thought this far, an idea sprung in Luca's mind. Perhaps, perhaps she could thank her master like this. She already heard and understood that her master had a thing for maids and elves, probably beastkin too considering his father and grandfather, but he had a thing for maid and elves.
Wouldn't he like a green haired elf then? He already had a blond one, a white haired one, a dark haired one, and a dark elf, and his sister had red hair, so wouldn't a green haired elf be good as well?
With that in mind, Luca decided that yes, yes he would like it, and it would be a start in showing him the thanks he deserves for saving her as far as Luca is concerned. As such, the little dark elf girl decided on her own personal project, one she would discuss with the others later to see what they think about it. Project 'gifts', which she would start right now as she approached the kids and spoke up.
"You bullies, scram or I will kill you."
The three bullies looked around until they found the source, seeing Luca approaching while still wearing her maid outfit they did not care about it. Their 'leader' in particular was extra disdainful since his mom has spoken some times about how the maid of the knight responsible for the town was 'just a harlot who depends on the charity of others'... whatever that means.
Regardless, it sounded like maids were somehow bad and no-good, and this one was interrupting his fun time so he would show her how strong he was.
"Go away or I will call my mom!" The kid said triumphant, fully confident he would get his way.
Luca looked at him as if he was an idiot and took out a short sword she had received from his master before. Without hesitation, when close enough to him, she pointed it at him and nicked him just enough to draw blood.
"Leave."
"Iiihhhhh!" The kid shrieked as he and his friends ran away.
Luca nodded to himself seeing this, and especially liked how the elf had curled up even more into itself in fear.
"Hey, no need to be so worried. The bad ones have gone away now."
The elf then turned her face slowly to Luca who saw at a glance that this one was female. She wondered if this was better or not, seeing as some owners enjoyed males too and her master has yet to obtain a boy, but that could be a future gift perhaps.
For now she had to focus on this one.
"What is your name, cutie."
"Si-Silphiete." The green haired elf, Silphiete said, and with Luca's smile then became nearly predatory for a moment as the dark elf began to plan on how to corrupt the white elf into what all elves were in her eyes after years back in the city.
Natural sluts just waiting for the right master's cock.
