It was barely after midnight when I left Marianne's room, and was exploding with energy. Helga was exhausted, and Aviada was not much better after our morning adventure. Titania was unfortunately inaccessible, and the less it was said about Marianne and Cornelia, the better.
I was hit by the surprising realization that I needed to expand my circle of … let's call it 'close friends', the best I could do without being extremely crass.
However, that realization didn't help me in the middle of the night. I could have gone to sleep, of course, but I didn't want to waste the three instances of mana regeneration. Maybe I should go for another hunting trip, this time without Aviada, to properly test my new limits.
Even with that decision, however, I started walking toward the wing that housed the female warriors. I wanted to go out alone, and I trusted my magical abilities, especially with three instances of regeneration active, but a little extra insurance in the form of a masterpiece magical sword wouldn't be amiss.
Sneaking through the empty corridors was trivial, but when I arrived at Aviada's door, I hit a little snag. I could hear Aviada's tone, speaking with someone. A small arcana spell allowed me to peek through the keyhole, and revealed that Aviada sitting on her bed across a redheaded figure whom I could only see her back.
My eyes were sharp enough to recognize her impressive curves. It was Aviada's redheaded friend that I met in the showers —if I could classify that as a meeting. Regardless, considering the compromising conditions of our first encounter, barging in was not exactly a problem.
I managed to sneak inside without alerting them, amusing considering they were supposed to be sharp-eyed warriors. Feeling mischievous, I cast a silencing ward to make sure we didn't alert the whole ward, then spoke. "Hi girls, having a nice evening?" I asked.
The redheaded friend, Carla if I was remembering correctly, jumped to her feet, her hands reaching to her back to get a weapon that was absent while her hand dipped to the side. Just from that move, I could see that she was an archer, trying to get her bow and arrow at the same time. It was an impressive move, too bad that she was only equipped by a long conservative nightie.
Correction, wearing a nightie that would have been conservative if it was being worn by someone less endowed, because both her hips and her breasts were stretching the thick fabric to the limit temptingly.
Before I could enjoy the sight to my heart's content, Aviada spoke. "Honey," she murmured with an exaggerated tone even as she pushed her chest out, her nightie struggling to contain her assets as well, just not at Carla's level. But Aviada was a smart warrior, and discreetly popped a couple of buttons to equalize the situation. "What a nice surprise!"
Her out of character response was amusing. Not the enthusiasm itself, as Aviada could act with a burning need whenever she desired something, but actually using her words to express her emotions. When Carla turned to give her an incredulous look, and Aviada responded with a smugly satisfied one, I understood the reason. Aviada was using me to brag to her friend, who no doubt had been grilling Aviada about our morning encounter.
"So, he just comes and goes whenever he wants," Carla said exasperatedly. "Who is he, exactly?"
Before Aviada could speak, I sneaked behind her, and whispered. "He could speak for himself," I said, and she jumped in shock, unable to catch my movement.
"How?" she stammered, her eyes wide. "I'm a ranger! No one can sneak up to me, especially not when I'm aware of their presence."
"If you say so," I answered with a soft smile, fully aware it was a more devastating brag than actually bragging openly. Carla blushed, but her eyes flickered with anger, but she didn't say anything before I sat down.
"So, what brings you here, sweetie," Aviada said as she put her hand on my shoulder, caressing softly. Well, if she wanted to play, I was going to play. I grabbed her waist and pulled her on my lap, nibbling her neck. "Stop," she giggled, another surprising reaction. "Don't do in front of Carla, she gets jealous."
I smirked at her words. Combined with Carla's flush of frustration, it was easy to understand the reason for Aviada's shift. They were clearly good friends, likely with a long-standing argument about boys and boyfriends. "Sorry," I said to Carla, not bothering to hide my smirk as I wrapped my arms around Aviada, pulling her tight.
"Okay," Carla stammered, trying to look unaffected but failing badly. "I should go, you're clearly going to be busy."
"Actually, you can stay. I'm just here to borrow something and then I'm going to leave," I said. Aviada turned to look at me questioningly, and I nodded. It was only one thing that could borrow from her that would make a significant impact on my prowess.
"Sure," she said as she stood up and reached for her sword, but when she returned, she gave me a flirty wink. I understood exactly what she was asking, when she carefully pulled the backside of her ass, giving me a glimpse of her naked bottom. Just as she was about to sit, I cast a spell to pull down my zipper and free my shaft, only to push it directly into her slit.
If she wanted a sneaky quickie in front of her friend in exchange, who was I to argue.
"I can't believe you're giving him your sword," Carla said, shocked.
Aviada shrugged, which was a good excuse to hide her movement as she tried to fit the entirety of my shaft into her unprepared entrance. To her credit, she managed to struggle without an outward signal. "I trust him," she simply said.
"I can't believe you! You trust him! What do you even know about him? I have never seen him in any of our incursions or classes," Carla said angrily.
"It's expected," Aviada answered.
"Why?"
"Because he's a mage," Aviada simply said. I couldn't help but feel amused at her words more than Carla's shocked reaction. A few days ago, Aviada would have never willingly admitted that I was a mage, thinking it as a shameful detail that needed to be hidden. Instead, she was using that as a humorous detail to mess with her friend to the point that she was underselling my warrior capabilities.
It was an amusing change.
"He's a mage?" Carla countered as her gaze danced on my body, namely my thick arms and my broad shoulders that suggested a lot of explosive power. "Bullshit," she countered. "Mages does not like this, and a mage could never sneak upon to me," she said heatedly, in her anger, missing the fact that Aviada started moving up and down on my lap, struggling to keep her face straight. "And if he's a mage, why does he need your sword?"
"Well, he dabbles with it a bit, and I see no problem letting him borrow my sword," Aviada said, still hiding the fact that it was my 'sword' that she was currently borrowing.
"I don't believe it," Carla said resolutely, the stubborn expression on her face giving me insights about why these two were friends.
"Well, if you need proof," I said. I raised my hand, and cast a small, glowing ball of fire, dancing freely before it turned into water, then pulled the dust particles around to turn into a small but tight piece of glistening rock, only to disappear into the air. It was a simple, but impressive display of elemental abilities.
"Impossible," she murmured as she closed her eyes. "How did you sneak in, then?" she said. "A mage could never beat a ranger when it comes to concealment and observation."
"Never? Are you sure?" I said. "Do you want to bet?"
"Yes, whatever you want!" she answered.
"If you're sure," I said even as I grabbed Aviada's shoulders and pressed her down while I let myself explode into Aviada, making her moan loudly. It was a bit premature, but I wanted to make a point. Then, I raised Aviada's skirt, and showing my presence lodged inside her, making Carla's chin drop in shock, immediately followed by a blush that left her rooted in place.
[Mana regeneration perk activated. Count 4. Duration, 8 hours]
I was expecting Aviada to be a bit dissatisfied, but the sudden shift from sneaky sex to voyeurism had managed to trigger her as well, leaving her gasping and trembling.
"Thanks for the sword, sweetie," I said as I kissed her lips, then pulled out of her and left her trembling on the bed, but with satisfaction on the bed. Normally, she would be asking for the second round, but she was still sated by our morning activities. I fixed my pants, grabbed the sword, and started walking toward the door, only to stop next to Carla.
"So, when do you want to handle the results of our bet?" I asked her, leaning forward just a bit like I was about to kiss her, but stopped before making contact.
"N-no, it doesn't count," she tried to stammer.
"Oh, honey, believe me, it does," I answered even as I put my hand on her thigh, and slowly let it climb up, and she stayed frozen. But just as it was about to touch her wet lips, I pulled back. "I'll send you a message I feel like taking the forfeit," I said and started walking once again, aware that both pairs of eyes were fixed on me, a pair shining with pride, the other with shock.
Then, just as I was about to leave the room, I gave her one last look. "Or maybe, I'll drop by one evening," I said, enjoying her gasp just as I left the room. I dispelled the silencing ward, only for Aviada's laughter to reach into my ears.
Amused by the unexpectedly productive visit, I left the school as quickly as possible. I wanted to be back before the sunrise, and more importantly, I want to use my four active mana regeneration perks to the limit, lowering my complete regeneration time to fifteen minutes.
Sneaking out of school was getting easier and easier as I got stronger. After getting away from the walls, I started running with a mad dash, using my enhanced speed and endurance to a great effect, running faster than a magically-enhanced horse.
That was not without cost, of course, as it drained my stamina quite quickly. Luckily, I had the solution for it as well.
[-120 Mana]
[+1 Biomancy]
Recovering stamina was supposed to be a simple spell, but with a simple caveat. The stronger the target, the higher the stamina, harder to recover. And considering my stats were averaging around thirty, my recovery required a lot of mana, not that I cared about the expense, when that amount recovered in less than thirty seconds.
As I moved, detection spells came quite useful. Without Aviada to protect, I was free to sneak around. Especially with the assistance from some arcana spells to erase my smell and suppress my sound, I managed to ambush several dangerous creatures with very valuable ingredients on the way, my pack getting bigger and bigger even if I just took the lightest and most precious pieces.
However, it was a delight to sneak to a Shadow Wolf, and cut their head with a blast of wind blade, turning the table on the sneaky hunters. For the next hour, I never came across a creature stronger than Class twelve, which was a bit unfortunate. Still, the hunt was plenty, and after the first hour, the items I had picked managed to overwhelm my carrying capacity —if I still wanted to be able to sneak, of course.
[-7530 Mana]
[+11 Elemental]
[+7 Biomancy]
So, I found a cave, killed the thunder bear that staked its claim, preparing to set up several defenses. At first, I was going to create a temporary spot just to hold for the evening, allowing me to store my items, but then I remembered my last encounter against the necromancers, how I had struggled to hide while I waited for my mana to regenerate.
I needed better hideouts, I suddenly decided. There's no guarantee that I wouldn't have another encounter with the necromancers or another group. Also, having such a spot near the school would be useful I needed to run away. At this point, it wasn't very likely, but still, I would be more relaxed if I addressed it.
So, I changed my plan just a bit. Rather than reinforcing the cave itself, I used my earth elemental to dig a tunnel, and once I reached the target depth, I dug myself a large room, enough to host several people for a couple of days without a problem while also storing the desired items.
After setting up the defenses of my room, the ones in the cave was almost trivial, because unlike the school, I didn't need to hide it from hundreds of mage that was in close proximity, nor I was afraid of someone accidentally triggering something, allowing me to set up stronger and more aggressive defenses with less effort. I engraved flame traps, quicksands, water bolts, explosions of life energies —in case they try to use undead to trigger— and even tracking arcana missiles…
[-5420 Mana]
[+2 Elemental]
After adding several wards to hide the magical signature of the defenses and any possible occupants, the hideout was ready. I added another hidden exit just in case —a tunnel that traveled even deeper into the earth, rigged with explosives— my new hideout was ready. It was supremely uncomfortable of course, lacking any furniture, but it was safe. I was happy with the result even if it had used almost all the reagents I had collected.
Safety was important.
When I moved above ground, my mind was already made up about setting up several more outposts in all directions, but not tonight. Tonight I wanted to hunt… So, I decided to get away from the school even more, as even during the night, the surrounding area wasn't exactly dangerous. Running was nice, but I wanted to use a new trick.
So, I spent a great deal of power to create an imitation of a wind elemental —a real one was simply too dangerous, nor I had the time or ability to summon one— and mounted that. It flew close to the earth, easily moving several times my speed, but with a corresponding mana expenditure. In ten minutes, I traveled more than a hundred miles, but also it drained my mana pool almost completely despite the regeneration.
[-6211 Mana]
[Mana: 1211 / 3565]
[+4 Elemental]
I stopped in a concealed spot and dispelled the pseudo-elemental, taking deep breaths. I needed a more convenient method of fast travel, I decided. Pity that I lacked the ability to construct it. Maybe I should meet with the Enchanter Aviada recommended sooner than later.
After I rested for five minutes, I started casting wide-area detection spells. I was looking for a big target to test my abilities, maybe something like a Lunar Ursa or even a Goliath that would push me to my limits, when one of my detection spells gave me a result.
A biomancy-based detection spell… Suddenly, I had more interesting prey to hunt…
—
[Level: 23 Experience: 263100 / 276000
Strength: 28 Charisma: 38
Precision: 21 Perception: 25
Agility: 25 Manipulation: 30
Speed: 23 Intelligence: 30
Endurance: 22 Wisdom: 32
HP: 2737 / 2737 Mana: 3265 / 3565 ]
SKILLS
Master Melee [100/100]
Master Tantric [100/100]
Master Biomancy [100/100]
Master Elemental [92/100]
Expert Arcana [75/75]
Advanced Subterfuge [50/50]
Basic Speech [25/25]
PERKS
Mana Regeneration
Skill Share