"Start from the beginning," I say.
"Well, I have always been going to the sa few stores since they always have a steady of the things we eat normally. So yesterday, before we found your little... accident," I wince, "I sent Ciel to buy so more wyvern at but I forgot to tell her to get the smoked sausage, so I went after her. That's when I noticed an inconspicuous woman with a hat, the important part is that she was too inconspicuous, she's certainly using so magic that makes it harder to look at her."
"Then what really called my attention is that I couldn't see her with [Sense Presence], she was using [Hide Presence], she's deliberately hiding. She followed Ciel and I managed to get a small look into her jaw before I hid. Then I decided to pass by her and got a sniff of her sll. Both the jaw and the sll jostled my mory, I had seen a few glances of her for a few days but never really paid any attention to her, I was too confident on my [Sense Presence] being infallible," she looks down and her ears flop.
"Don't feel down, no one would imagine we would start being stalked," Ciel says rubbing Alissa's back.
"Then I saw glimpses of her when I dropped you both at the university and when I went to get you back. I didn't see her when Ciel went to drop or pick Lina from Mr. Bombur but she could just be waiting in the middle of the way or at Bombur's."
"But why?" I ask.
"Red Smile?" Hana says.
I sigh. I hope not.
"There's also the circle of magi that Vanea ntioned," says Lina. She rubs the right spot with her ass but the tension of the situation keeps contained.
Roxanne shudders.
"Oh no, the Dawn of Fire is a circle of magi that used to stalk at the High Forest. They stopped once I moved into Rabanara," Roxanne says.
"But why would they stalk Ciel or Alissa?" I ask.
Roxanne lowers her head.
"There's always those hunters that want to know more about you, who think you could be a fraud. They could be jealous of your magic dick," says Hana.
"Well... stalking would be a little too aggressive for them, wouldn't it?"
"Probably..." Hana sighs.
"Then it most likely is about Red Smile, Darean," I massage my eyes.
"Is she all day there? We could follow her when she goes ho and murd-... Capture her or her accomplices," says Lina.
Don't tell you too are being corrupted.
"If Alissa can't feel her presence then she's an expert spy or assassin, who has enough experience to stalk a stalker?" I ask.
"You," says Ciel.
Ah shit.
"Not experience, but you can use your skills to increase your [Hide Presence] and stalk her... " She continues, she's cringing at this idea, but it's an idea, "What about [Illusion Magic], do you know sothing that could help?"
"There's the level 10 spell [Ignorance], it makes it harder to be noticed by others, possibly what that girl was using. Which ans they already have the support of a magician, it makes things even more dangerous," I respond.
"Still, Wolfy, we can't let it stay like this. Being stalked is sothing very, very offensive to do. Nothing good will co out of it if we ignore the problem," says Hana, she looks solemn.
"Kweh..." Aoi makes an unhappy noise.
Alissa cos to and grabs my hand. Lina finally releases from her claws, then sits sowhere else and she looks at concerned. Alissa doesn't say anything, she stares at the ground. I bring her closer and hug her.
"Yeah... we have to do it, you girls will follow from a distance," I say.
"Understood..." Alissa says dejectedly.
"Should we do it tomorrow?" Asks Ciel.
"I... think we better wait a little more, perhaps after tomorrow. We can all spend so ti thinking on a plan or on what might happen," I answer.
"You an, ntal training?" Asks Hana.
"I guess it's sothing like that. It's gonna be more difficult than just fighting monsters, we need ti to get used to the idea of following the stalker and possibly ending up fighting her. Actually, the one who needs this training the most is ," I say.
"Ciel, did you ever kill soone?" Alissa asks.
Ciel looks away and grimaces.
"Yes. As an honorary mber of the Templars, we killed a few bandits."
"What about you Lina?" She asks again.
"N-never. But I won't back down, if it's for defending Wolfy I will do anything it takes!" Her eyes glare in anger.
"Careful. Don't let yourself be consud by rage, to kill another humanoid you need a clear mind," says Hana.
"I killed once and I went berserk. I would rather not feel like that ever again," I confess. It still pains to think about that.
Alissa kisses my forehead. Ciel gives a knowing look.
I pat Lina's head.
"It's mostly us two who need ti to think. But I'm sure we will be able to do it."
Lina nods and smiles.
Fuck Darean.
We end up the night with a group hug. Tonight Ciel is with us on the bed and I'm feeling like I want so comfort.
"So, Ciel…"
She looks at expectantly.
"You see…"
She looks a bit impatient.
"Alissa is a pervert…"
"Well, all of you are," she smiles wryly.
"Yes but she's a bit different. She... likes to watch."
Ciel slowly turns to Alissa, who's blushing.
"So... can we do it in front of her, while she masturbates?"
Ciel is expressionless. Alissa is trying to hide her smirk.
"No," she says flatly.
"Please... you already saw us doing it in the bath or the bed."
"T-that's different," she looks exasperated.
"Please. We are a family, no secrets among us and being open-minded like this only makes things easier for all of us. When we go on a trip we might not have room for everyone to have their own tent, it's going to be easier if we all share one and get comfortable doing things in front of each other," I make the best puppy eyes that I can.
Ciel facepalms. She massages her forehead and groans. After a minute she responds.
"Okay…"
Alissa claps her hands and instantly gets naked.
"Rember that I'm doing this because I love you, I really do love you, Wolfy."
"Awn... I love you too."
I hug her tight and kiss her.
"But don't ever think that I'm depraved, okay? I'm doing it because I love you and I love Alissa too, but I'm not completely shaless," she glares at Alissa.
Alissa squirms in happiness and imdiately starts masturbating, Ciel groans again.
Tonight I'm extra gentle with Ciel, I use [Massage] on her breasts and make sure she orgasms at least twice. Alissa was incredibly happy.
Today is the 24th.
I learned [Earth Magic] and [Andraste Language] with 1 point, I guess that skills level very slowly if I don't learn the theory behind it. I increased my [Electric Magic] by 1 (now 0 8) and increased my MP by 30 (now 630).
Ciel wrote for so basic grammar rules and I have been trying to read without the language skill but it's very hard, using the skill really is a complete crutch for .
I'm impressed with my MP growth, yesterday I wasn't so focused because of sha so I'm going to do the sa today and focus much harder. I'm gonna need the mana for confronting that stalker.
We risked it and didn't change a thing in our routine. Today we won't be attacking, but tomorrow we will.
With renewed vigor and caution, I train my mana again and make sure the backyard doesn't get destroyed. To the happiness of the girls, the griffin spirit drops down from the wall and frolics on the grass beside Aoi, this way she might end up being the first one to touch it.
On the break of the [Blessing Magic] class, we have so ti to speak with Hatara.
"So, everything succeeded?" I ask.
"Yep, he's mine, only mine," she answers with a giggle.
"But do you have guarantees?" Alissa asks.
"Heheh," she shows us a necklace, hidden under her clothes, "This is his family's symbol, his father gave it to . Once we graduate we are to marry imdiately."
It's a simple tal dallion, polished until it's almost a mirror. It has a fla and a drop of water engraved on it.
"His father was a bit..." She cleans her throat, "Annoyed at what I did to him but he relented when Gara told him I'm a mage. His father was looking for a court mage's daughter to introduce to him but he told us 'she'll do'," she smiles bitterly.
She doesn't seem very happy with Gara's father but it's understandable, considering their situation.
"Wolfy, can you give us so privacy? There's still so... things I have to teach her," Alissa says with a wicked smile.
Hatara blushes but her eyes show expectancy.
I shrug and leave. I take this ti to visit Nononya.
"Do you ever take a break?" I ask.
"FUAH!" Nononya crops the scalpel with a clang.
"That was an incredibly cute noise you made."
"P-please, don't tease like this, Mr. Ryder," she hunches over, her cheeks red in sha, "Anyway, how can you be so silent?"
"I don't have [Quiet Steps], you are simply far too absorbed in your work."
"That's... yeah, Silvane told this once," her whiskers twitch, her ears drop. Cute.
I chuckle.
"Here are my notes on the soul. I'm still far from done, I can certainly improve more but I have many things I want to train so I have to keep a certain priority."
I hand her my papers.
"Ooh, impressive handwriting. Do you have the [Writing] skill?" She asks, swiping through my notes.
"Well, no."
I did put the skill on while writing the notes, my handwriting is so ugly noodles without it.
"Even more impressive."
I smile wryly.
"So, here is a copy of my research. I didn't write them myself, I hired a scribe to copy them, too many drawings that I will never torture myself to remake them."
She hands a large stack of notes, most of them have anatomy drawings covering most of the page.
"Say, do you know anything about the level 30 spell [Summon Monster]?" I ask.
She squints her eyes and crosses her arms. Cuute.
"Well [Summoning Magic] is very rare to acquire since there's no living teacher for it," she increases her speed and pitch after every word, "To even reach level 30 on it would make you a master of summoning. You already have level 20 right? I heard you can summon elentals. Oh! This ans you already reached level 30!?" She gets up from her chair and gets so close she's almost falling on top of .
"N-no. I'm just asking since I heard this is the next level," I lie. Well, half lie.
I can see the spell now that I unlocked level 30 spells but I haven't used it yet, it sounded rather... Dangerous.
"Hm..." She returns to her chair, "Well this spell is incredibly useful, especially for hunters. You can summon any monster that you killed because part of their information was absorbed in your soul as experience. Though it won't be as strong as the original if your level in magic is not high enough."
I'm straining myself in keeping up with her speed.
"Please, speak slower."
"Oh? Hahah, sorry, Silvane keeps telling this and I always forget about it," her speed turns back to normal.
"Back on topic. The monster that I summon works the sa as an elental, right? It won't attack others?"
"Yes, that's the curious thing. Anyone with [Sense Presence] will think it's a monster, though if they get real close they might sense the mana that's leaking out of it, which is unnatural for a normal monster, but not many people would know that. Though if you don't tell them to act, anyone will imdiately see there's sothing wrong with the monster if he doesn't attack humanoids on sight."
Her whiskers keep twitching, she's making an effort to keep her talking speed constant. Cu~ute.
"Sounds incredibly powerful. I heard there's one more spell at level 40, you know what it is?"
"Nope. Nobody does, if you ever reach that level you might as well call yourself the most powerful summoner in the world."
I see. If people have difficulty reaching level 20 then [Summoning Magic] is actually a rather limited magic school, no wonder they don't teach it here yet. But if we can teach people how to get [Summon Monster] like we do [Item Box], then it could greatly influence civilization.
There are a few monsters that could give so massive benefits if I ever killed them, seems we are going to collect so monsters for my pocket.
I look around at the cages, it seems there's less than half of the animals and monsters of last ti.
"What do you do with all these animals?"
"Oh, I don't kill them all, Silvane would hit if I did. Most of them I use to understand their behavior, I take them for a walk, give them different food, observe their mating habits," -I shudder, Tanya's flashback- "or just play with them. You can learn a lot about their anatomy when you discover all their tickling spots, can't do that with the monsters, though."
She giggles again.
"You seem very close to Silvane, how did that happen?"
"Well, Conchononoi is next to Elaria. The silver elves have a good relationship with us. Silvane also seems to adore rabbit wereanimals, my ears, specifically..." her voice trails off and a silly smile appears in her mouth.
Those fluffy ears and hair seem alluring. They seem so soft, so cute. They are asking to be petted.
"And you seem to adore them too," she says with a smile.
I clean my throat and recompose myself. I have Alissa's tail and ears, even Hana's hair is comfy, there's no need to lose myself in anyone else.
Nononya chuckles.
"Payback," she whispers.
"A-anyway, thanks for the notes, I will let you keep working."
"No problem, co back anyti. I always end up forgetting to talk to other people so Silvane is the only one who I talk to regularly."
I wave goodbye and go back to the buffet, this ti there's a simple chocolate cake there, oof. I get one of the last pieces, those cakes are selling fast.
A few minutes before the bell I go back to our place and see two evil beings plotting sothing and laughing. A succubus with a glint on her green eyes and a fox-demoness with a bewitching tail swaying about. When I sit by them Hatara snaps out of it and blushes.
"How about we have a quick dinner and go to the theater?" I ask the girls while we prepare the al.
"Oh? So interesting play there?" Roxanne asks while washing leaves.
"Yeah, there's a play there called Roberto and Judea, I heard it's pretty good. I think it would be good to relax a bit, you know, like we do before a battle."
"Hm. Alright, then let's just fry so atballs, don't wanna waste too much ti making dinner," Alissa says, grabbing so ground at from the ice box.
Lina looks at with wonder, she might have never seen a play before. Roxanne claps the tips of her hands in excitent.
During the trip to the theater, Lina grabs my arm and leaves my hand on her thigh, dangerously close to the sacred place, her thin skirt doesn't help. I'm dealing with her tonight, it's very clear the other girls are giving her space like they did with Ciel.
"Did you see her?" I ask Alissa, trying to clear my mind.
"Yes. In the morning I saw her, or rather, felt the magic that made things difficult to see so I assu it was her. When we left I saw her a few blocks away from our house," she answers.
Tomorrow after dinner we will stalk the stalker.
I breathe deeply to calm my rapidly beating heart.
I already made my resolve, I will do whatever it takes to keep my family safe.
It's 8:50 PM. The ticketmaster is working non-stop as a line of people enters the theater. I'm happy that our clothes aren't out of the norm, we blend well with the average person here, though Hana and Roxanne are more risque than the average woman. There are a few who clearly have very expensive clothes, with their ridiculous embroidery, what looks like to be gems embedded in the clothes, even shiny scales, and most ridiculous of all a few have so very flashy feathers protruding out of their clothes.
I assu that since there's no industry, having everything hand-crafted, and the use of magic allows for so very advanced fashion, like Snow Weave, but makes it very limited in supply. The nobility also doesn't seem to have a monopoly on fashion, creating this carnival of ti periods where the most "fashionable" person is the one with the most unique or well-crafted clothes. Though official positions seem to follow a standard in uniforms, like how Rabanara's attendants seem to like velvet.
We enter the theater and pay 50 silver per person. Lina and Ciel grimace at the cost.
This ti we are on the main floor chairs, the balconies are ridiculously expensive and the main floor gives enough of a good view. Most of the ridiculous looking people go to the balconies.
It really is Roo and Juliet. The families and Paris are put into a very bad light for trying to force Juliet to accept Paris. Prince Escalus is seen as a strict and foolish Lord who deals judgnt without a Judge or listening to the circumstances. And Roo and Juliet are seen as foolish for choosing suicide, though their love for each other is respected.
Alissa and Ciel are sniffling. Roxanne is simply entranced and Hana looks at her with warm eyes. Aoi fell asleep in the first few minutes. I would be paying more attention to it but Lina is absentmindedly caressing my hand, taking my focus away.
What do I even see her as? She's clearly smitten by and following all of Alissa's advice on how to seduce , but why? What does she want from ?
Every girl is with for a reason. Alissa needed a master to follow, soone to honor her clan, she did not need to be a tool for this so she changed her personality to please . Hana wants to stay safe from the scheming that tore her family apart, it might be impossible to stay away so we all have to work together. Roxanne was a lonely woman who wanted the happiness she denied herself, I can give her a strong reliable family where we rely on each other. Ciel wanted adventure but she wasn't ready for the ultimate sacrifice, like she wants to help but doesn't want to tread too close to death.
Is Lina looking for safety? Is she looking for the power that I give? Does she simply love ? Does she want to seduce for better treatnt? Or is it just lust since I'm the first real man in her life (Dietgard does not count, in more ways than one)?
Does it matter...?
Love is different here, the weak love the strong. As a slave marriage is a far-fetched dream for Lina, marrying soone you truly love and being exclusive is an even more impossible dream. For her, I must be a prince.
So why did I reject her advances until now? I'm not sure, I think it's because now that my mind is in a better place I regained my resistance to won. After putting a ring on my hand due to Lily certain won beca much more flirty and I took pride that I was unaffected by them, it's regrettable that such howreckers exist but they do. I guess this is why I rejected her, pride, pride that I was immune to won that threw themselves at .
But now I actually like Lina, of all the other girls she's the one with the personality the closest to mine. Quiet, reserved, introverted, curious, a bit cynical. While she enjoys reading about every book at the library I enjoyed going into my blue link adventures on Wikipedia. Even our outlook at life seem similar, we are both bitter realists.
Then there's the fact that she's a slave. Different from a Blood Slave that can escape if they have enough willpower or are being treated bad enough, the traditional slave doesn't have a chance for this, unless if she runs to the temple. To treat her well, to give her the best life she could wish for, those things are entirely my responsibility.
I guess I should do as Alissa said, I will just enjoy her, protect her and keep her happy, just like I do with the others. Though I'm not sure how our relationship will end up as being, she seems very insecure and has difficulty expressing her feelings, perhaps her feelings for will evolve.
Once we go back ho I grab Lina's hand and lead her, she seems completely surprised at my action. I guess all the coaching in the world won't change her shy nature. When on the jaws of the beast even the bravest warrior can falter.
"Let's talk a bit over here," I say and pull her to the living room.
The girls go upstairs to the bed and I see Ciel smirk. I can't really discern their positions inside the house but I bet Alissa is outside by the door.
I sit on the sofa and she sits on my lap without hesitation. Her aggressiveness becos adorable because she completely stiffens when I hug her.
"What do you see in ?" I ask.
"W-wha-what...? I..." Her voice trails off.
"Hmm... maybe that wasn't fair to ask. If you can't tell then show what you want from ."
I turn her around. She's trembling and avoiding looking at , her face is beet red. She's straddling and her skirt is riding up, if I look down I will see sothing wonderful.
"I... I want you..." She mutters and keeps her head down, then she starts to breathe heavily.
"Show what you want."
I grab her chin and bring her face up. I stare into her eyes, her expression shows fear. She swallows and her breath normalizes, she cald herself. Her fear turns into courage and she kisses .
She freezes during the kiss, after a few seconds she breaks the kiss. She starts breathing heavily again. So adorable.
I kiss her and now I push my tongue. Her mouth opens easily and I explore her mouth. Her tongue twitches and slowly she starts moving. Her hands that were hanging loosely beside her desperately grab my body, then she hugs tight and intensifies the kiss.
She starts whimpering and I break up the kiss.
"What's the matter?" I ask.
She's almost crying. She looks down again.
"I just... I felt so…"
"Lonely?"
She shakes her head.
"Scared?"
She doesn't move.
"Because you thought I would abandon you?"
She squirms, I feel her heart beating faster.
I bring her chin up and her expression shows fear again.
"I won't abandon you. Not now, not ever, understood?"
She nods.
"You don't have to worry. We will grow old together, even when your contract ends I will keep you with . If you would still like it," I smile warmly.
She nods furiously.
"Then there's nothing to worry about."
Her breath quickens again and this ti she kisses , her tongue explores mine. She hugs tight, as tight as those twigs she calls arms can without using magic.
I push my hand up her shirt, slowly I go up until I find so very small softness and a very stiff nipple. I slowly rub it and she squirms.
She breaks the kiss and hangs her head on my shoulder. I use my other hand and play with her other nipple.
She moans so softly and high pitched it's almost like a cat owing. I push her away and she keeps her eyes closed, her face scrunched up in embarrassnt. I lift her shirt and start licking her nipples, pink and small, only barely noticeable breasts.
She slowly stops trembling and fully enjoys my tongue. I slowly drift my hand downwards and when I get in the border of her panties, she starts trembling again. I keep drifting my hand until I reach the entrance, she needs a bit more ti so I slowly rub her.
Her ows grow louder, her breath quickens even more. She hugs tight and forces herself to keep her legs from closing.
I get up with her hanging on and lower her properly on the sofa. She's quickly getting wetter and wetter. I pull out a towel with one hand.
I pull out her delicate shoes and kiss one of her cute feet. She opens her eyes and giggles. Then she goes back to moaning, I didn't take my hand off the middle of her legs.
I lower my pants and she looks at with fear.
"I will put a bit of oil, won't hurt... as much."
Thank God "Items" keeps the temperature of the objects I put. I pull out so warm scented oil and rub it on my mber.
I see fear turn into a bit of anticipation. I pull down her black laced panties and raise her skirt. A trimd black bush just like Alissa's, a very pink slit glistening with moisture.
"Ah... D-don't look."
"Sorry, but I will look, I will look at every nook and cranny of your beautiful and cute body."
She covers her face with her hands and whimpers. I slowly pull her hands apart.
"Look at , Lina."
Slowly she opens her eyes. She's still cringing in embarrassnt.
"Look at ."
She bites her lips, I kiss them and she smiles. There we go.
I bring her waist up and angle it right. I turn on my Ring of Fertility, I never take it off. Slowly I push it in, a barely perceptible resistance is effortlessly pierced through. She's tight, very tight. She ows loudly.
I'm intoxicated with lust, it's taking a lot of self-control to keep myself from simply ravaging her innocence. Hana has been having quite an effect on .
"If it hurts tell , if you want to stop tell , understood?"
"U-understood."
I hold her face towards and touch our foreheads. Our breaths mingle and we stare into each other as I push. She bites her lips but endures.
I get inside her completely and I stop. Her face, tense from pain, slowly loosens and relaxes.
"I will start to move, okay?"
She nods.
Very slowly I move. Even for , it's gonna be difficult to hold on, it's so tight.
I play with her nipples while I move. She's holding her voice or otherwise, I think she would be screaming, not from pain, I just know she wants to be loud.
She looks so frail, so small, so weak, so vulnerable, so cute. She tickles my heart and all I want is to protect her, to hug her tight.
Slowly her voice starts to escape and she starts to yell, which turns into screams as I pick up speed. The tightness is so amazing I don't last, I pull it out and finish all over her body and face.
Defiled Angel, this is the na of the painting, the na of the scene she is in right now. Her cute face is that of bliss, her pure body dirtied by . She grabs a small glob on her face, she tastes it and grimaces.
"I-I'll get used to it..." She mutters.
I chuckle. I cast [Clean] on her and wipe the rest with the towel, there's no blood on the towel, thankfully.
"Thank you…"
"You wanna sleep on my bed? I think Ciel is in her room."
I can't really discern the exact position she is through the fellowship connection, though I'm pretty sure Alissa is on the stairs, going back to our room.
"If I can," she mutters again and looks away.
I hold her hand and she gets up, she wobbles a little.
"It might feel weird to walk, so let's go this way."
I grab her and carry her like a princess. She doesn't say anything and just buries her head on my chest, I can see a smile on the corner of her mouth.
Today is the 25th.
I wake up to a very eager Lina trying to fit my mber on her cute mouth. Alissa is whispering sothing to her, she smiles when she notices I woke up. Lina blushes and freezes when our eyes et.
"I guess her jaw isn't good enough for this," Alissa says.
"Just... let try... a bit more," Lina pleads, trying to fit it after every breath.
She's trying very hard not to use her teeth, her jaw doesn't open enough and she's applying a lot of pressure with her tongue. It seems everything on her is tight.
"I can't, my jaw hurts too much," she looks dejected.
"Perhaps you can get used to it in the future," Alissa says rubbing her shoulder.
"I will... have to practice."
"You can do it every day during bath then," I say.
She blushes again. Her place skin reddens so easily.
"Now then, let show you how it's done," Alissa says with a mischievous smile.
Lina intently stares until the end, then she breathes heavily and leaves quickly. I guess she can only retain her composure when it's ti to learn.
My [Earth Magic], [Redirect Mana] and [Blessing Magic] increased by 1 (now 0 2, 3 and 0 14), my MP increased by 40 (now 670) and my "Magic Power" increased by 20 (now 260). Impressive gains but I'm a bit tired, I will "rest" this morning, the other girls need attention.
Now I can finally see Lina's status:
Info
Na:
Lina
Age:
15
Race:
Dwarf
HP:
100
MP:
200
Magic Power:
105
Level:
14
Experience:
223/3000
Stats
Strength:
7
Endurance:
8
Dexterity:
12
Speed:
11
Intelligence:
16
Wisdom:
11
Willpower:
17
Charisma:
10
Piety:
10
Perception:
14
Sanity:
11
Other
Status Effects:
NONE
Titles:
NONE
Affiliations:
Wolf Ryder (master), Helios (Fellowship)
Companions:
Wolf Ryder, Alissa, Hanafuria, Roxanne Succubus, Ciel
Cris:
NONE
Her skills are:
Lina Skill Report
Physical
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Hamr Use
6
Parry
1
Dodge
1
Block
3
Magical
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Sense Mana
1
Mana Control
2
Mana Efficiency
1
Fire Magic
1
Light Magic
1
Space Magic
1
Conjuring Magic
1
General Enchanting
3
Magic Tool Carving
1
Miscellaneous
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
General Blacksmith
3
Sewing
3
Housework
1
Cleaning
2
Washing
1
Math
4
Riding
1
Stonebody (innate)
3
15 Remaining Skill Points
OBS: Level ans (free point) (trained point)
Her spells are:
Spells
Clean
Spirit Light
Fireball
Conjure Water
Telekinesis
Item Box (weak)
Enchant
Carve
Spirit of Gaia
With 15 skill points remaining she will learn [General Enchanting] much faster. The amount of free skill points you have is called "soul potential". The more skill points remaining you have, the more your "potential", the "easier" it is to learn a skill. You can even have negative skill points, which will greatly reduce the speed you learn new skills. Lina was actually in the negative before the wyvern battle.
So it's not necessary to level to learn to craft. You can also learn anything the normal way and just ignore the skill system, it just takes much longer.
[Stonebody] passively increases your "Strength" and "Endurance" by the level of the skill so Lina actually has the sa strength as . [Spirit of Gaia] gives a boost to the passive at the cost of mana. This is why dwarves are so strong even though they have very little body mass.
Lina's Trivia: Gaia is the na of the human that gave birth to the first dwarf, feeling blessed by the God of Creation she took upon herself to lead the new dwarves. She founded a kingdom, Mountainho, and beca their first queen.
Now I'm quite sure that we can surpass human strength without the proper muscle mass for it. Hana is incredibly strong but her body is lean, she's toned but she's far from looking like a weightlifter. Lina also has the sa strength as when I first ca to this world and I was a bit more toned than the delicate twigs she calls arms, so there's more to this stat than pure muscle mass. Perhaps its growth is also related to level, I did get extra points after the wyvern battle.
Lina cos back from the enchanting lessons looking very proud, she presents Alissa's warbow to us.
"Mr. Bombur actually thinks I'm a genius now," Lina says, smiling.
"You are just a cheater," Ciel says.
The skill system gives muscle mory, intuition, and guidance, but it gives no real knowledge. Putting all Lina's extra points into enchanting made her life much, much easier but it didn't make her an expert in enchanting, she still needs soone to teach her the enchantnts. Today she succeeded at enchanting the warbow with [Loosen], an enchantnt that makes it easier to draw the bow.
Right above where you grip the bow a small ring with a transparent crystal was added, this is where the spell is stored. Parting from the crystal, silver lines run through the wood. A small ring with another transparent crystal is put just above the place where you rest the arrow. This way once you nock an arrow and feed it just a bit of mana the bow will loosen and get easier to pull. Once you loosen the arrow it will stiffen back and throw the arrow just like a normal bow.
"It really is a cheat," I say.
We also have properly fitted Lina with armor. We used the older Grey Berserker armor set we had and had it reduced to her size and gave her a coif. We also got her a tal kite shield with a boss in the middle for gripping and bashing. She's smaller than so a small shield is enough to protect her whole body. Her war hamr is a long wooden shaft with an expensive steel head. Her eyes glead when she saw it, must have been the most expensive thing she ever used.
The stalker didn't change, he's still watching us go. The class was a blur, as always no one has any progress with [Reduced Mana Cost].
"Are you okay, Wolf?" Lyle asks.
"Uh? What you an?"
"You are very quiet, well, quieter than usual and your expression is very neutral. Normally you seem like you are always smiling a bit, even with your eyes," Lyle looks at concerned.
"Seems he's ruminating on sothing," says Toroo.
"Wow, didn't think you were this observing. Well, I just have a lot on my mind so I have been thinking a lot."
"Hmpf, I'm a noble from the capital, Wolf, if I wasn't at least observant enough to know your emotions I would be considered a failure," Lyle says with his chest swelled in pride, "In any case, you can always count on my help, though I'm not sure I can help a lot."
Lyle looks away embarrassed. Hatara looks concerned while Garanae keeps a poker face. Toroo smiles warmly. Alissa and Lina know what I'm thinking about so they keep quiet.
"Thank you for your concern, Lyle, really. It's sothing that I will deal with so there's nothing to worry about, I'm just a little anxious," I smile warmly.
When we go back ho Alissa tells us she's a few blocks from our house. It's ti.
I have 91 skill points. I put my skills like this:
Wolf Ryder Skill Report
Physical
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Sword Use
0 6
Dodge
0 5
Parry
0 5
Block
0 8
Shield Bash
0 1
Muscle Explosion
0 1
Battlefield Perception
2 1
Quiet Steps
10 0
Quiet Action
10 0
Sense Presence
11 0
Hide Presence
10 0
Magical
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Sense Mana
0 5
Mana Control
0 7
Mana Recovery
0 0
Mana Efficiency
0 5
Reduced Mana Cost
0 0
Mana Overuse Resistance
0 2
Electric Magic
0 8
Earth Magic
0 2
Light Magic
6 4
Nature Magic
0 13
Space Magic
14 16
Summoning Magic
11 9
Blessing Magic
0 14
Illusion Magic
8 2
Golemancy
0 2
Redirect Mana (creator)
3
Sense Soul (creator)
2
Miscellaneous
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Skill Na
Level
Andraste Language
9 1
Dismantling
0 2
Enhanced Sen Recharge
0 3
OBS: Level ans (free point) (trained point)
I feel naked without my lee and the mana enhancents skills. I have to wear a cloak over my armor and I can't carry my shield. This is so dangerous.
"Be safe," Alissa tells .
"We will be right behind you," Hana assures .
"It will be alright," Roxanne comforts .
"You can do this," Ciel cheers .
Lina seems lost for words and rely looks at with anxiety.
"I'll co back," I tell her.
Each gets a kiss. I cast [Ignorance] on myself.
"This is a bit odd, my eye wants to look away, as if it hurts to look at you," Alissa says.
"I can't see shit, it's like you are invisible," says Hana, the one with the lowest "Perception".
"I can feel the mana when I'm near you, though," says Roxanne, the one with the highest [Sense Mana].
"Even though this does wonders to hiding, it would be extrely suspicious to walk around with it, you only need one person to feel the oddity and you are screwed," I say.
No more ti to waste, I move towards her last known position.
"Turning on" all those sneaking skills makes feel like my body is made of lead but I can actually move normally, it just takes a lot of ntal effort. I wonder if Alissa feels the sa, probably not otherwise she would be ntally exhausted. Is this a limitation of the system? I see that the range of my [Sense Presence] isn't that much far, each level gives less and less range. Because I have a lot of skills I shouldn't have it's giving so sort of diminishing returns? I should have tested this before but I didn't think such problems would exist, right now I gotta deal with it.
Less than a minute after leaving I see her. The only person currently walking on this street. I can sense her presence, I turn the corner and see her walking away. Grey cloak, straw sun hat, lowered head, a hint of a thin jaw. With a bit of difficulty, I keep my eyes on her and stare long enough to use [Sense Soul].
Soul Info
Na:
Farana Uiara
Race:
Human
Level:
37
The level of an experienced adventurer. She's dangerous.
I keep my distance and stalk her. Only a few people are wandering about, drunks, people about to beco drunk, bored guards, late adventurers, workers closing shop. Very few people on the street as the sun has now set and it's dark. Slowly the magical street lights turn on.
I follow her for a long ti, we are crossing town and I'm not liking the direction she's going. It's the slums, the part of the town I avoided and never ever got any close.
Slowly the crooked and mixed buildings turn less crooked but more battered and run down. The mixed architecture goes away and only simple, weak-looking wooden buildings remain. I think that this part of town would get completely destroyed on an attack so this is why the buildings look relatively the sa.
The street gets dirtier and slowly I start slling sothing I never slled on this town. Piss and shit. The brick roads get worn down and patches of dirt appear.
I see a curious group, 4 guards protecting a duo of priests. It seems they are casting [Clean] around town but it does little amidst all this filth. None of them even spared a glance to either of us, we are both completely hidden in plain sight.
The buildings get even worse and I start to see sick holess sleeping around the buildings. Children and old people, cripples and the not-so-sane, drunks and drug users. Fuck I live in the really good part of the town.
We enter a narrow alley and my heart stops, a perfect place for a trap. I nervously follow, I can sense the people inside the houses and no one makes a move, they are mostly sleeping or eating, or possibly fucking.
We leave the alley and I let out a breath of relief. But the place we are now is worse, there are no holess here, it's a wide-open space.
Farana runs. Fuck. Six bleeps co running from the alleys towards . FUCK!
I turn the Ergency Ring red and draw my sword. Soone cloaked appears in front of , he's walking straight to . I see a slight rainbow shine, he has [Rainbow Shield], [Ignorance] doesn't work as well against him.
"You! Stop right there, if you co closer I will kill you," I warn the cloaked person.
The man stops but the other 5 don't.
"Sa goes for your five other friends!"
Now they stop. Wait a second, I get the weird feeling again before the party.
"You have 10 seconds to drop your weapon and co with us, quietly, or we will force you," says the man in front of ."
"10."
Oh no.
"9."
"8."
"7."
It doesn't work.
"6."
"5"
"4."
IT'S NOT WORKING!
"3."
"2."
"1…"
[Gate] IS NOT WORKING!
The 4 rush forward, 2 stay back and I sense mana gathering.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck, I'm going to die.
I summon 4 earth elentals, can't concentrate they are all made of dirt and stone with a head full of long black hair. The group stops for a second.
"Protect !" I order them.
My head hurts, this was too much to cast on a single second. I cast [Lightning Bolt] on the man in front and follow with [Entangling Vines]. Now my head explodes in pain, overuse. Keep it together!
The man pulls a small shield and blocks the bolt, it did nothing, but the vines tangle on of his foot and he falls once he tries to walk again. I rush towards him.
With the help of [Telekinesis] I bury my sword on his head, it goes through mail and leather up to halfway to his skull, he's dead.
I can't stop, I gotta move, gotta move, gotta move.
With a bit of effort, I take my sword away and look around. 2 elentals are fighting a sword and shield duo to my right, in front, an elental is getting hit by a huge [Earth Bullet] and it's now skidding on the ground. To my left another elental is on the ground, cut in half vertically, a huge man with blue dragon wings is charging towards , he has a dark two-handed flamberge, there are jagged edges at each wave.
I'm going to die! I gotta survive this charge!
I cast [Vine Weapon] and create a small shield. I jump sideways to dodge and use my shield to deflect the blow. The sword ignores everything and cuts my hand away.
"AAA-..."
My scream of pain gets interrupted, I feel "death" approaching. I use [Explosive Muscles] to move my upper body to the side, I feel a gust of wind and mana from my [Wind Armor], then a horrible pain surges on the right side of my neck. I fall on the ground and put my hand on my neck, it's wet and warm, I'm bleeding horribly, I cast the biggest [Heal] I can in a second.
"You aren't supposed to kill him!" Yells the dragonkin.
"HE KILLED NARIAN!" Soone screams.
"FUCK NARIAN, WE AREN'T SUPPOSED TO KILL HIM!" Screams the dragonkin from the bottom of his lungs.
I cast [Lightning Bolt] on the dragonkin, it doesn't work, it won't co out of my handless arm. I use the other, the bolt flies.
"Heh," Laughs the dragonkin, the bolt arched towards the sword and disappeared.
WHY DOESN'T IT WORK!
I cast [Earth Bullet], it hits him square in the chest and the dragonkin flies away. A flying rock is still a flying rock, block this spell you fucker.
"What the fuck," says soone.
A small breather, I can survive a bit longer.
One elental dies, the mage got him.
My vision is foggy, too much mana in too little ti, my head is splitting open. I get up, my stump is bleeding profusely, my legs are shaky, my neck is still bleeding.
I see a hooded archer looking at the dragonkin, who's slowly getting up. The archer looks at with fury and draws another arrow, I feel "death" coming again.
*Thunk*. I hear an arrow getting embedded in flesh. The archer falls on the ground with an arrow behind his head, he's dead.
"You fuckers took too long!" Yells the dragonkin.
Another elental dies, one of the two swordsn destroyed an elental.
"FUCK YOU FUCKING FUCKS I WILL KILL YOU, I WILL KILL YOU!" Screams Hana, I guess she's too angry to be creative.
She lands in front of the dragonkin with a savage overhead slash. The dragonkin grunts and parries Hana.
The mage gathers mana, it's a robed woman. She's ignoring , the taunt worked.
I rush her, you don't let a mage cast freely. Once she hears it's too late, I jump on her and bury my sword on her chest, then I collapse on top of her.
I feel mana gathering away, I hear footsteps and sounds of blades hitting shields.
I see her yellow skin, backward-pointing horns, her hooves, and fluffy goat legs, she's a krampus demon. The mage is still alive, trying to crawl away with the sword on her chest. I draw my dagger, I bury it on her back and twist it.
"HYAAAAAAH...!" She shrieks and squirms below . I feel horrible, I almost puke.
"Please... help ... I don't... wanna die," she pleads.
I can't, it's you or , I can't. I remove the dagger again and stab her on the back of her neck, that did it. She gargles on blood and goes limp a few seconds later.
I look in front of . The dragonkin has an arrow on his chest, bodkin arrows doing work, he's being hit by a [Torrent] and falls on the ground. Hana is mid-flight and ready to skewer him, her face showing pure anger, sothing I never saw before.
Ciel is slashing at one of the swordsn, he's suppressed and moving backward. The other is still fighting the elental who's missing an arm and plenty of the dirt on its chest is missing.
I hold my stump. It hurts too much, it's bleeding too much, my body feels cold.
Hana falls on top of the dragonkin, her sword pierces him and gets embedded on the ground, he struggles and tries to grab the sword. Hana stomps on his neck repeatedly, I hear the bones breaking.
Roxanne casts [Fire Whip] on the swordsman fighting Ciel, she grabs his foot and he loses his balance. Ciel stabs him in the shoulder and he drops his shield, screaming in pain. He tries to parry the next stab but lacks strength, Ciel stabs him in the heart and after a few seconds of struggling, he goes limp.
Alissa runs as a fox behind the last swordsman, he looks deathly pale, he's desperate. He tries to run away but falls on the ground with an arrow on his thigh and screams in pain.
"RCY! PLEASE, I YIELD!"
Lina cos running towards , she has my hand with her. Her face is wet with tears. I turn off [Ignorance].
"Get Ciel... I don't have much mana..." I mutter, my voice is hoarse, it's painful to talk.
I'm shaking uncontrollably. I feel my legs are wet and warm, it's the blood of the mage that's pooling below .
I crawl away from the blood and nearly collapse. I drink an ergency MP potion.
I hear the man scream again, Hana stepped on his other leg and crushed his knee. Alissa, Ciel, and Lina rush to .
Alissa casts [Clean] while I hear Ciel hurriedly chant a [Heal], Lina brings my hand and holds it on my stump.
I feel a little bit of pleasure and almost cry, the pain on my stump fades and I regain the feeling of having a hand. For now, I can barely close my fist, tomorrow it will be much better. Ciel casts another and my neck stops hurting. Alissa and Lina hug and cry.
I almost died.
I don't feel like puking, progress, but I can't feel my legs, adrenaline is one hell of a drug. It seems infinitely easier to kill monsters than humanoids, or maybe I'm just the weird one.
I don't know how long we kept the hug. The screaming man got muffled, soti later I hear him mutter sothing and then he stops talking. Slowly I regain my movent, the girls help walk.
The other 3 are surrounding the last man and notice , their eyes hold nothing but coldness to the surviving man. Aoi is on Roxanne's shoulders, there's smoke coming out of her nose, I can feel through [Animal Tongue] that she's grumbling. I wobble towards them, I'm still sweating cold.
"You okay?" Asks Roxanne.
"I think so," I answer. I look at my hand and see it's trembling a little.
"It's okay, it will pass," says Ciel. She holds my shoulder and rubs my back. It helps, gives a bit of comfort.
Lina grabs my other side, she's still silently crying.
My breathing is erratic, I focus on controlling and slowly it turns back normal. My head is still hurting a lot.
"Did you interrogate him?" I ask.
"Yeah, they don't know anything significant, just hired swords," Hana answers with poison on her voice, "The stalker would co here every day and make the sa routine while they wait. The stalker probably didn't even know you were following."
"Anything about who paid them?"
"Nothing, just shady middle-n that only go by nicknas and masks. No wonder nobody gets a lead on Darean, he must have lots of money to buy silence and lackeys."
Being a hunter pays well in Rabanara, we are proof of that.
"Kill him," I mutter.
Ciel sighs and nods to Hana. She lifts her sword and the whimpering man screams in fear, it gets cut short as his head falls from his body. I'm starting to feel sick again.
"You are now level 21."
That was necessary. Darean shouldn't know about my chanting speed and the extent of my magical knowledge, neither should he know about how close to failure we were. If he does, next ti he's going be fully ready for us.
"Bring the bodies," I say.
"What? Why?" Asks Ciel.
"Infinite space," I answer.
"Oh! Clean all the blood you can and get all the items. Not many people should know what happened here," Alissa says.
"Why!? Let's talk to the guards!" Ciel yells, confused.
"It's because we collected a bounty that we are in this ss, to begin with. Let's lay low for now," says Hana.
"Oh. I rember... Gods help us, let the wicked stay away from us, let this family be safe," Prays Ciel.
I look at the headless man. I don't feel anger, he's just a hired sword. I feel pity, pity his life ended like this. The Gods tell us not to waste our lives, to work together for a better future, for a better chance of surviving the monsters. Yet here we are, hurting each other for money.
"Let your next life be on a better place for this one was wasted here," I pray.
I feel sothing change within , my "Piety" increased by 2 (now 14).
"This sword is special, this guy must have been famous," says Hana.
The two-handed flamberge is beautiful and frightening. It's made of black tal with small monster teeth embedded into it. The tal looks glossy and it faintly sparkles in the light.
"That's 'ellanat', a tal that absorbs magic," Lina says, "It must have co from either Mountainho or the silver elves. There's not much tal in Rabanara and definitely none of the special kind."
So this is why [Wind Armor] and [Vine Weapon] did nothing against it.
"Why does it use monster teeth?" I ask.
"It doesn't hold an edge very well. It's good against mages and magic beings but it needs sothing else to cut."
"There's a guy over here with another sword like that one, it's smaller though," Alissa says.
"This shield has that tal behind it," says Hana.
This is how they killed my elentals so easily and why my bolts didn't work. They were prepared for .
"They knew I could use elentals and [Electric Magic], but they didn't know how fast I could chant. If it weren't for that I would have been kidnapped already," I say.
Alissa grinds her teeth and the other girls look down. We underestimated them hard.
"Why didn't you use [Gate]?" Asks Roxanne.
"Oh yes, I couldn't, I tried but sothing blocked ."
Roxanne opens her eyes wide.
"Search the mage girl corpse, she must have a magic tool there."
Lina rummages through the corpse without hesitation. She brings out a small disk. It's made of onyx with lots of circular silver inscriptions on it.
"Wolf... I'm sorry, I-I forgot these things existed," Roxanne looks down, tears on the corners of her eyes.
"What?"
"The disk is a Gate Scrubber, it blocks [Gate] and removes any 'coordinate' soone would have put down on the area affected," she clutches her staff harder.
"Oh, the Lords use it to protect their castles. Didn't know it could be used like this," Hana says.
"You use it in the middle of a town and you screw over the entire transport system, this is why it's not talked much."
"This mage girl is a runaway space mage," Lina says, bounty plate in hand.
This is why she had it then. I grab Roxanne's shoulder.
"It's okay. None of us would have imagined this," I say to her.
"But, we should have, I should have warned you this could happen."
"And the plan likely wouldn't have changed. It's okay."
Ciel hugs her from behind.
"We don't bla you, alright?"
Roxanne calms down and nods.
"So, I guess now we really don't want the guards involved?" Hana says.
"The empire would certainly investigate and use lie detectors on all of us," Roxanne answers.
"That's... a bit risky," I say.
"One thing is certain. Darean is not just a normal adventurer," Roxanne adds, fear in her voice.
We use bounty plates on the other corpses, they were kidnappers and illegal slavers. The woman likely used [Gate] on the victim and teleported it to a cell or sothing. They weren't branded by the gods as wicked so they wouldn't be executed but the cris they committed spelled a long sentence as a criminal slave. Except for the mage, the empire does not fuck around.
I store everything on my "Items".
"Let's go ho," I say.
I cast [Gate] to our living room. We go to sleep imdiately after a quick wash. I hug Alissa tight and Hana hugs from behind. Roxanne looks undecided for a second but then she drops beside Alissa and hugs her from the front.
Today is the 26th.
I wake up to Hana and Roxanne kissing with my dick in the middle, their tongue would entwine and then slowly play with my mber, each getting a bit of ti with it. I slowly built up my pleasure until I shot it all out upwards, making it rain all over the bed. I guess that wasn't a good idea.
"Noo, what a waste," Hana says, licking my body and the sheets where it fell.
Not because of that, though.
My [Mana Overuse Resistance] increased by 1 (now 0 3). Ciel leveled up to 31 and increased her [Light Magic] by 1 (now 24).
Aside from the morning lewdness, we wake up without much energy, Roxanne more than the others. Everyone is slowly taking in the reality of the danger we were in. I have two new scars now, one on my wrist and the other on my throat. These don't have so glorious mory of it, just a reminder of the danger of overconfidence.
I just feel so weak, both in combat and in spirit. I was so close to being kidnapped, I now know they certainly wouldn't have killed . It seems Darean is avoiding being branded as wicked by not killing , but he wants to do sothing to , what exactly I do not know.
"What now? You think it's safe to stay here or should we leave town?" I ask Hana.
"I don't know, I fought the underworld a few tis but I never got involved like this," she answers with a frown.
"I think we need help," says Ciel.
"From whom?" I ask.
"You tried talking to the guildmaster?" She asks.
"I asked if Silas knew sothing about Darean's family but he said he wouldn't tell even if he knew."
"Tch, after all this he isn't giving much back," Ciel frowns.
"What about Nour?" Alissa asks.
"He ca here to train, away from his family's sches. I doubt he could help much," I answer.
"Silvane?" Lina asks.
"I don't think she has that much power, she's still a Blood Slave. We also don't really have much of a connection with the Lord's son or the Lord himself. Except…"
"Vanea," Lina finishes.
I sigh.
"She's dangerous, who knows what she's going to ask in return," I say.
"But she's our only bet. From what you told us she has sothing against him," Ciel says.
Alissa looks concerned.
"I... don't wanna deal with her," Hana says.
"Why is that?" I ask.
"You know... nobles and sches, this, this is why father..." Hana looks down, a lot of sadness in her eyes.
Roxanne grabs one hand and I grab the other.
"We don't really have much of an option, except running away," Roxanne says, caressing Hana's hair.
Hana closes her eyes.
"Wolfy, can you promise that... that we will be safe?" She looks at .
"I can, those are my vows, to keep you all safe."
"Dad said the sa thing..." She mutters.
Her voice shows a weakness she didn't have before. A weakness, a pain that I don't want her to feel ever again.
"I'm sorry Hana, but you know we don't have many options. There are things we just can't run from, we have to fight," Ciel says, calming confidence in her voice.
"We need to trust each other, not just trust Wolfy. We will deal with this, together," Alissa says, a sweet tone that gives us motivation.
After a few seconds Hana breathes in deeply and nods, her face resolved, the weakness and pain gone from her face.
"Should we go and et her imdiately?" I ask.
"Vanea said she wanted you to visit, right? But did she give you a token or sothing?" Ciel asks.
"No, she did not."
"Then perhaps she ant you should visit her at the university? Visiting a Lord's daughter at her ho is a privilege that shouldn't be taken lightly, even she wouldn't just give it to soone she just t."
"Then we wait until classes are back. But should we just wait here?"
"Perhaps... we should flaunt our strength to Darean, show that we are not scared," Alissa answers.
"Uh, what do you an?"
"We could collect the bounty on those people. If Darean has more spies he would think we are confident in our power."
"Or he might think we are overconfident and attack again."
"I find it hard to believe he has two Gate Scrubbers. If he does we might as well assu he's funded by the royalty of the empire," Roxanne says.
"He won't attack to kill us, he wanted to kidnap you. He will have to find another way to ambush you again, he won't be able to do that so quickly," Ciel says.
"Well, in the end, it's a bluff, we could see if it works," says Roxanne.
"Then what? Go waltz around town and show we are not scared?" I ask.
"Well, we could go to a dungeon. We still need to keep earning money, my potions won't sustain us all forever. Especially because soone has so curious spending habits," says Roxanne.
I squirm and look away, the gazes are too much right now.
"Oh, let's go to the Spiral Springs again. We can put a portal on the Moon Turtles floor and get more moss whenever we need," she says excitedly, but then she cringes, "Though we have to go through the Ant Hill again."
No pleasant mories there.
"We could throw off any pursuers by teleporting back ho, this could also serve as a trial for how much mana it's going to cost to teleport us far away," I say.
"I don't think he's going to pursue us for so ti, but yes, I think we should go to the Spiral Springs," Alisa says.
"There's also sothing I wanna get on the Roulette of the Morning Dew."
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