After my handful of minutes have passed, I enter Lector's house to pack up. I am immediately surprised to see that the clutter that had occupied this space just fifteen minutes before has been almost wholly disposed of. Of course, my few items are still sitting about, but Lector's possessions seem to have been packed neatly into the small mound of packages piled next to the door.
I note that all of the furnishings are still in the house; whether because Lector will be returning here after this deployment or because they were provided alongside the house by the military, I am unsure, though I do suspect the latter.
I move to gather up my own stuff, careful to not get in Lector's way as he frantically prepares potions and packs up alchemical ingredients. My items are still quite limited. Some bedding that the military provided and that I don't intend to take with me, my clothes, my books, my sword; that is essentially all. I grab a bag, shoving the five books Lector gave me and my few extra changes of clothes into it, alongside a handful of miscellaneous items.
[Heh. Considering that only a few minutes have passed, it would seem that I overestimated the time I would need to pack up. Oh well.]
Not one to waste even a moment of time, I decide to take this time as an opportunity to glance over my skills, an activity that I rarely pursue so as to limit my own pridefulness and the major detriments that it comes with.
Name: Anetor
Level: 74
Race: Human
Class/Job: Slave
Skills: Greater Pain Resistance Lvl. 9, Master Madness Lvl. 9, Greater Sight Enhancement Lvl. 4, Moderate Hearing Enhancement Lvl. 5, Greater Resistance Lvl. 5, Moderate Heat Resistance Lvl. 6, Lesser Cold Resistance Lvl. 6, Moderate Thirst Nullification Lvl. 9, Lesser Hunger Nullification Lvl. 6, Greater Sleep Nullification Lvl. 9, Greater Swordsmanship Lvl. 9, Greater Melee Magic Conduction Lvl. 1, Greater Magic Sensory Lvl. 9, Greater Elemental Manipulation Lvl. 9, Lesser Mental Attack Resistance Lvl.3, Moderate Chaos Lvl. 9, Lesser Analysis Lvl. 5, Lesser Suffocation Resistance Lvl. 1, Greater Wrath Lvl. 9, Greater Strength Lvl. 1, Moderate Speed Lvl. 5, Greater Magical Exhaustion Resistance Lvl. 9, Lesser Venom Lvl. 1, Lesser Poison Resistance Lvl. 1, Lesser Venom Resistance Lvl. 1, Moderate Acid Resistance Lvl. 2, Lesser Madness Resistance Lvl. 3, Moderate Alchemy Lvl. 7
What most immediately strikes me is my level. [74 already, eh? That means only one more level until I receive another significant power boost. It seems as though I am getting those left and right as of late, which is certainly not something to complain about. First my naming, then DNTI, and, in the near future, another level increment power boost… compounding with my new focus on spellswording, this is truly a time of growth.
[Not to mention, there are a good number of skills teetering on the brink of mastery. Pain resistance, sleep nullification, swordsmanship, magic sensory, elemental manipulation, magical exhaustion resistance… all of these will soon receive a notable increase in power. Much less fortunately, perhaps, is that my wrath is also soon to reach master level. And looming above them all, madness is not far out from the grandmaster level, while my resistance to it is leveling at an absurdly slow rate. Still, the negative effects from my madness have been seemingly decreasing since before I even arrived here, despite the skill level increasing, which I find rather strange. If I had a higher level analysis skill, perhaps I could look into the reason for this. As it is, the effects still just are listed as 'negative emotions,' which don't seem as bad as of late. Well, whatever the case, I am certainly not complaining about a seeming lack of negative effects from my madness skill. Though, I would still rather avoid leveling it at all possible, it seems unlikely that it could bring me any benefit.
[As for my wrath skill being near to master level, whether that is truly a bad thing, I am unsure. While on Earth wrath is looked down upon, cursed as one of the seven deadly sins, here it seems to me to be quite useful. Sure, it was a pain when I was just forcefully dispersing it whenever it reared its head, but ever since I started compressing it a few months ago, it has provided me with an emergency store of power through my wrath core.
[While I have admittedly not used it yet, I can only imagine the wrath core as a way to temporarily boost destructiveness and power while the wrath within is consumed. Of course, I have been building up wrath for months, the amount prepared is surely immense. And while some may worry that the wrath would turn them into a raging construct of death, to them I say 'let it!' If I could turn myself into a ravenous tornado of flame here and now, I would do so in a heartbeat, consuming all in my path (perhaps making a token effort to swerve around my master, but my regret at his death would still be minimal); my hatred for the world is of such magnitude.
[If wrath can help me with my goal of bringing doom to this world, how may I disparage it as a negative skill unworthy of being leveled? I genuinely think that it would help with my aims, so perhaps I should start seeing it in a different light, as a positive, an aid to my goals and my power.
[And if wrath is a positive, the only downside is the immense, burning, pain coming from the core of it that I have formed within myself. While this pain may seem unbearable, I have compressed the wrath to such a minute scale that the destruction only targets a handful of cells. Therefore, while the pain is noticeable, it is so localized, so minute in its area, that I can ignore it if I so wish. Besides, a little pain in exchange for such an immense boost to power, how could I look down on such a deal?]
My analysis and speculations are cut off by Lector's 'are you ready to go?'
"Yes, master, I am," I say, picking up my single bag of items. We walk to the door, where Lector casts a spell that immediately causes all of his items to disappear. I immediately recognize this spell as dimensional storage, a high-level straight magic technique that allows a mage to store items away in an extra dimensional storage compartment. It would be quite a convenience to be able to cast it, but, sadly, this world again places itself in opposition to me through the way that it limits the types of magic that I may employ.
I expect him to lead the way out then, as he is standing in front of the door, but he instead turns to me. "I almost forgot amid the night's chaos, I have a gift for you."
Saying such, he pulls a ring out of thin air, presumably from his storage compartment, before handing it to me. "I assume that you know what this is, yes?"
"A storage ring?" I ask, allowing a bit of hopeful excitement to creep into my mind.
"Yes, another of my creations. It can hold about ten cubic feet worth of space, it should be of great use to you, yes?"
"Yes, of great use indeed! Truly, I thank you, master." I am not at all exaggerating my gratitude, either. A dimensional storage ring of this quality would normally sell for thousands of gold pieces; this is truly an extravagant gift, a gift that will be of great use to me.
As I had read in my books, I infuse the ring with mana, the type not mattering. I immediately get a feel for the space within, a space which is empty. I then put my hand on my bag, and will it to enter the space, which it does. I then put my sword in for good measure, leaving me with nothing to carry.
"Wait, master, aren't storage rings a high-level item of the artificery branch of magic?"
"Yes, though they may also be made through enchanting a pre-existing ring, which is as I did here; I am not so adept with artificery as to make a storage ring."
[But didn't he say that he wasn't a master with enchantry? Because I thought that making storage rings with enchantry required a great deal of skill in the art… well, I guess if he doesn't consider himself a master of that magic, it is not my place to question him.]
"Oh, and there was one other gift that I had for you." Saying this, he pulls out my slave control panel.
[Wait, could it be… no! Best not to get my hopes up.]
"I, as your owner, end your status as a slave." As he says this, he fiddles with a series of knobs and casts a spell. The panel blackens and shrivels up, until it eventually turns into a fine black powder.
[There's no way…] "Wait, I'm free? Just like that?" My hopes, so long suppressed overtake me, and after he responds in the affirmative, I cannot help but fall to my knees, overwhelmed with joy.
"Thank you, master, thank you! For this gift, I could never repay you! Thank you!" Even after saying this, I feel as though not even a single percent of my gratitude has been appropriately expressed.
[So abruptly, no warning at all, and I am now free… free to pursue a life of my own, free to see this world, free to do as I please… no, in reality it is not that simple. After all, I still owe my allegiance and service to my master, not to mention that I could be forced to render it at any moment due to being named by my master. Actually, considering that my master is also the giver of my name, this hasn't actually changed our relationship all that much; he had near full control over me before he bought me, and by giving up his ownership of me he only returns to having one good method to control me. He was able to give up essentially nothing, and in exchange looked to buy greater loyalty from me. Sly, sly Lector, did you think that I wouldn't see through your plot, you plot to only further ensnare me? Yet, I find that I don't really care that this is all a scheme on your part; you have removed the greatest of my bonds, that formed between me and this military, so that I may now pursue your knowledge single mindedly.]
"It is really not a very big deal. I already was forced to buy you, what use could I have in holding my willing apprentice as a slave. Perhaps I may have used it to lord over you if you were the type to be reluctant in his studies; however, considering that your diligence and perseverance rival even my own, that is not much of an issue. And, as I'm sure you have already realized, such was redundant when I hold your name, anyway. It is widely accepted that naming is a superior method to enslavement, as it forces a result as opposed to punishing a failure to act."
[Yes, I have read such, in a brief description of the puppeteering type sorcery spells. Where slave bonds allow an owner to punish a slave who fails to follow orders, results still depend on how much a slave values his life and whether the slave subconsiously believes himself capable of carrying out an order. On the other hand, naming outright forces the subject to carry out the sorcerer's will, effect varying based on power difference of course. Between a sorcerer of Lector's power and a warrior of my own, he is right that naming is a better method. Of course, that does not account for my excessive fear of the death-accompanying darkness. Considering that, that the easiest method to cut off my life has been destroyed is indeed something to celebrate.]
"Of course," Lector continues, "it is not as though I have much intention of using your name to control you. After all, I have yet to do so in these weeks, eh, Anetor?"
"Yes, of course," I reply, still on my knees. "Your kindness, your gifts, your teachings… such are almost too great to bear. Whatever you demand of me, master, I shall provide to the best of my ability, in hopes that I may even repay an infinitesimally small portion of what you have given me."
"Er, well, good! For now, what I desire is for you to continue to devote yourself to your studies, so long as you do that, all my investment into you shall be repaid. Now, I have no more gifts to give, we must be off; we are supposed to be gathered in less than five minutes."
Saying this, Lector steps through the open door, immediately taking off into the air. Behind me, I close the door to his house, unsure if I should ever pass through it again and unsure of whether it would be good or bad if I did not. I then leap off from the ground, utilizing the air around me to keep up with his flight.
I have already taken to employing DNTI at all times; such shows its almost excessive usefulness. By using it during my flight, the already easy and natural-feeling process becomes no less difficult than walking over solid ground.
Perhaps recalled by the granting of my freedom, I immediately recall my first solo flight, the feeling that I could just leave this place and the danger and despair it represents, to privately pursue my goals in peace, and the recognition that I would be forced back under the threat of death if I were to do something so foolish. Maybe now, I could; if Lector cared so much, he could recall me, but if he did not, I would be truly free.
Still, the idea of abandoning my master after receiving such gifts, the gift of value that is my ring and the gift of freedom, sickens me. How could I leave the man who has given me so much? I am not above manipulating others for personal gain, but to abandon someone who has been so good to me, such behavior would be excessive. And so, that thought in mind, pursued by my high speed thoughts, I take the seconds long flight to the dining hall.