Chapter 19: A Priest might help
After a long night, J. left the embrace of the blonde girl next to him. As he saw her sleeping peacefully and totally bare a slight feeling of accomplishment welled inside him. They had gone at it two more times in the night and even once this morning.
And he came out even, if only by luck. He had found out her earlobes where extremely sensitive.
Now she was still asleep and he even got the feeling her once flat belly was a little bulging. Chuckling to himself he collected his clothes.
It was then he saw a mirror in the corner. The first mirror since he had come to this world. Standing in front of it he examined himself. Now that he had a comparison he knew he was over six feet tall, slightly taller than most here. Though really young, he was handsome. A fine chiseled face with a straight nose, brown hair and captivating emerald eyes.
His shoulders were broad while his hips looked slightly unproportionally thin. Thought that might have had to do with his last night. Every muscle was not only buffed and well defined, his body was extremely ripped. The skin was smooth, though missing some manly hairs for his own taste.
And then there was his tool. Though slightly red from the night, that wasn't what made it stand out. It shamed every description. He had to admit its drawbacks like the cramped feeling of trousers or hurting physically smaller company like he experienced yesterday. Even using the restrooms was difficult when the toilet was too flat. But a good portion of a mans pride made that up to him.
Dressing up he silently snuck to the Door. He didn't want to wake Riley up after the long night. It wasn't as if he wanted to flee the awkward situation of leaving her...
As he pulled the door close and turned towards the stairs he went up there, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"So... had a good nights rest, boy? If you're done here we need to meet Haggard!..."
Turning around he saw a smirking Alexis with one hand held to her hips. The 'boy' was back and her eyes weren't smiling at all, though that might have been due to her hangover as he guessed. At least he was now safe from encountering other soldiers while sneaking out.
They met Commander Haggard in his private office. After he shot J. a knowing glance they discussed about their findings and the next steps.
As he had guessed the totem caused a massive stimulation on males, resulting in a overgrowth of the Kobold population. When the space in the adjoining cave got sparse the creatures expanded it and at some point broke into the mines. The Tunnelers they hunted on the fields were gathering food for the growing community. It was then stored in the deepest part of their cave, which was also the deepest part of the mines. That at least partially explained the growth of some Kobold individuals in the lower tunnels.
How the totem worked or who made it they had no idea. Nor did they get clues as to who had given it to them.
The four people in the room had to gather information on the item itself first. As he had been stationed there before the Commander took him as his adjutant, Tharynn came up with an idea. In the Abbey to the north was a Brother who had studied shamanism and totems. He may find out something or give them a hint for further inspections.
As neither of them could leave after the incidents and Alexis instantly denied, saying she had already gotten way to involved, all eyes landed on J. He would be traveling to Northvale the next morning.
After Alexis and him returned to the Inn they told Mia what they discussed. Even her seemed to know what had transpired the last night as she glanced alternating between the two while smirking.
She said she would prepare a letter of introduction for the abbey as she had a Acquaintance there that would help him a provide shelter.
When they had finished their talk while having some leftovers for a late breakfast, Alexis called J. with her to the yard.
More than four hours later he wobbled back through the kitchen and up to his room.
Alexis gave him the hardest, most abusing training until now. Sure, he got a doubled boost to Vitality from it, but she wouldn't even teach him some martial arts. It had been more of a beating.
After he had cleaned himself and even applied a [Heal] on himself, he went back down. Some minutes of rest and a clean set of clothes had given him the energy needed for his next endeavors.
This time it was Mia that had planned a training for him. She had asked him when he came back if he would be willing to train his magic skills a little. Stepping down the staircase he remembered the notifications that appeared last night.
***
Skill integrated:
One-handed Mace lvl.2
***
***
Skill integrated:
Shield lvl.1
***
***
Skill integrated:
Chant shortening lvl. 2
***
***
Skill integrated:
Light Magic +336 AP
lvl.3 → lvl.4
***
With this he was certain that he could copy the skills through intercourse. After he had thought about his experiences in the woods he had suspected exactly that. When the first notification had appeared last night he confirmed that thought. He feared he might steal the skills but after he analyzed Riley he was sure they were copied. The skills had only gotten integrated once and the same principle applied to reflected spells, so he was pretty sure his system made a copy and paste from the source.
The last night some new skills had been added, though the last notification was something new. Apparently he could strengthen his skills even with lower versions of them.
Now he was eager to find out more about this system.
Mia was already waiting for him. Their goal was a small pond in the northwest of Gold Creek, just a mile away. There she had him cast some spells at random targets. His chanting speed astonished her, so he told her about his chant shortening. Though he still kept to himself how he got most of his skills, he asked her if she could cast spell of a different Element on him.
As she reluctantly agreed, he had to promise to never reveal it to anybody and put up a shield of the light attribute.
Seconds later she shot a dark substance towards him.
Bouncing off from him it dissolved after crashing into her barrier. But nothing happened. After the third spell, the anticipated notification appeared.
***
Skill integrated:
Shadow Magic lvl.1
***
He looked at her with bewilderment. Then he concentrated on the new skill and chanted the spell he just learned. It was the most complicated until now and took not only longer but a whole lot more energy than any other spell.
Now it was Mia to look baffled. He had just casted a element that was nearly impossible to come by after she had shot him with it.
On their way back they talked about his unusual ability to sometimes copy spells he reflects. How it worked and when it occurred was a total mystery to him.
The evening was back to regular. Helping in the dining hall and caring for the guests was no longer new to him. Riley and co had been on duty as he heard from some acquainted soldiers with a smirk on their face. Even Alexis was back to her normal behavior.
Yep, she had been back to normal and after a silent night he got woken up by a banged open door.
After a relatively short morning training and a quick breakfast the two women accompanied him to the garrison. They had to fetch the totem which got sealed in a special chest to not inflict its surroundings and the instructions to hand over at the abbey. From there they went to the Main crossing in Gold Creek. A wagon was already waiting there for him with the fellow travelers already seated. Mia gave him the promised letter of introduction as he mounted the wagon.
Waving goodbye the wagon clattered out of the town towards the north.
As the Wagon was pulled by two sturdy horses it went on slow but steady. The travel would take up most of the day though it was only a distance of thirty miles. The group traveling with him had been the adventurers who lodged in Mia's Inn. Asher and his party greeted him friendly and the chatted a little about their desination.
Northvale was the location young adventurers were first sent to when they got their Jobs. It was a peaceful region, guarded by a high wall which they would pass through later. Only some wild beasts and a small kobold settlement could be found in the forest surrounding the abbey.
The abbey itself was one of the oldest buildings of this kingdom as Eagan told him. It was big enough to even shelter the adventurers coming and going. A small town had grown around it over the decades though most buildings belonged to the abbey.
As their travel went on, J. started to chant some spells from out of the wagon. He kept it to fire and earth element as to not rise suspicions. Mia had told him that each hitting spell in the respective level would increase his proficiency. With those two elements being his lowest, he had cast simple spells and aimed at trees, stones and occasionally appearing rabbits.
That earned him a whistle from Shanti and a few curious glances from Jeany. Eagan snorted at him and the other two guys were pretty indifferent about it.
Only after reaching the walls gate did he stop. He didn't want to be looked at as threat and his energy had run dry anyways.
Taking the check up as a break for the horses and themselves, the travel went on afterwards.
When they arrived at the abbey and unmounted the wagon, Aman helped him with the chest. Passing his two letters to the priest welcoming them we was guided inside.
The 'brother' who had studied totems was the head priest of this abbey, deacon Paxton. Unboxing the totem he immediately told J. that it would take a while for him to study the object. He would have to stay at least a night in the abbey.
The priest who received him first, brother Neals would be his guide for the time of his stay here. After receiving a room from his guide he was led to the Acquaintance of Mia.
He was stunned the moment he passed the door to the training halls where was supposed to meet the person. In the big hall knelt only one person before a big golden statue. The silver and golden armor adorned with purple crystals was imposing even in that position, as well as the giant hammer standing on the ground beneath. Rising up only when he reached a short distance away, the person turned around and stood towering before him.
Purplish blue skin and long backwards curved horns peaking sideways out of silver hair were the first things he saw. With at least seven feet the woman of unknown race looked down on him.
He didn't dare to analyze her and doubted it would even be possible for him. So he simply stretched out his hand holding the letter from Mia.
Frowning a little, the woman took it, ripped it open and read through it. With soft eyes and a small smirk she she peeked over the letter as she read it whole.
"I'm Yrel,nice to meet you." Y.
With a friendly smile after her introduction he stated his name, which she obviously knew from the letter.
While leading him through the abbey, they talked about how Mia had briefly described his circumstances, though only the public version, and that she wanted her to train him while J. was staying in Northvale. If she found some work for him she could use him as Mia stated.
'Am I some kind of workhorse now?' he retorted in his mind.
After they arrived at brother Willets office and another quick introduction, they inferred if there were any tasks for J. to look into. A few days ago there had been a report of Goblins having been spotted on some fields. Those creatures were normally not seen in this valley but as they didn't pose any threat it hadn't been looked into any further. But since this morning a inhabitant of the abbey, brother Dorian was missing. He had accompanied two field helpers to prove their beliefs at the shrine of the Divine. It was a ancient tiny chapel near the mountains to the east where normally only those with the job priests went at later levels for a blessing.
But as brother Dorian was a friend of ale and wine, everyone had bet on him lying under some tree while snoring. It wouldn't have been the first time. Though he had never been missing for this long.
Promising to keep his eyes open for him and search the Goblins tomorrow J. left together with Yrel.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone