“So we’re really leaving next Monday?” Terrie looked excited.
“Yeah,” I said, chewing bread and scanning the options on my window. It was breakfast time at the castle, and I had just announced the date of our departure from Delaron.
“I’ll let Brigitte know, madam,” Maura said after hearing my confirmation. Brigitte was a hard-working woman. Since coming to this castle, I’d never seen her spend a night here. Every night she hit the city for points. She really understood the concept of levelling in the city, fighting in the dungeon.
I swallowed the food in my mouth and said, “Please do.”
“So we need to get a boat.” Terrie nodded.
“I already have a boat arranged. I’m going to go see her tonight.” I said.
“You want me to come along?” Terrie was too excited.
I shook my head. I kind of wanted to spend some alone time with Tatiana. It felt like it’s been ages since I was with a woman. Though I like spending time with the boys, I do desire the company of a woman. “No, I can do it on my own. Everything’s already set up. I just need to tell  her the date and time.”
“Alright.” She was disappointed.
I went back to studying the 5 options on my window. [energy solidification, eww-echo-body, sticky-tentacles, judge-jury-beam, force-erection]. Other than [force-erection], everything else was a worthy choice. As you might imagine, [force-erection] was a spell that made men erect, it could also arouse women and make their nipples erect, but that has less use. It was just a stupid spell in the game, but now that I think about it, I feel like these spells are the remnants of a time when Toad potions and the like didn’t exist. Many erection-inducing drugs are available for low prices on the market these days, and you can get them even cheaper on the black market. I can’t imagine any woman choosing [force-erection] as an option these days when there are so many drugs available. All-day Vitality was the best of the best in the  market because it’s the only one that made men healthier as they used it. Unfortunately, that also makes it the perfect drug for women who want to keep men caged up for years. Speaking of which, “How’s the auction coming along?” I asked Garth.
“They’ve scheduled the first round for next Thursday, master.”
“Oh, so it’ll be soon after we leave.” I nodded in understanding. “I’m sure you’ve got everything under control.”
“Yes, master. Stephanie’s helping me with everything.”
“Stephanie?”
“The manager, master.”
“Okay. Good.”
While they talked, I turned my attention back to my options window. As I chewed on bacon strips, I considered the options.
I can already do [energy solidification] to some extent by combining [energy manipulation] and [telekinesis]. The difference is that [energy solidification] requires less concentration, is safer than [telekinesis], consumes less of my mana because it’s only one spell, and is more versatile. Also, [energy manipulation, telekinesis, energy solidification] would be a lethal combination.
[eww-echo-body] is one of the many variations of the bodyguard spell, which generates a clone to protect and fight for a magician. It differs from a summoner’s summons in that it constantly drains your mana to exist. With a few exceptions, summons only consume mana at the moment of summoning. A bodyguard spell is essential for a fighting magician. [eww-echo-body] generates a revoltingly ugly version of yourself to fight in your stead. The only question is whether I should choose this spell or wait for another to appear. There are several versions of the  bodyguard spell, and if I choose this one, it’s pointless to choose another if it appears later on… The eww-echo-body will grow stronger and uglier as my level increases. “Hmm…”
“Madam, may I take your plate?” Susie asked.
I looked down at my empty plate and saw that I had finished eating. “Ah, yes.”
“Then I’ll take it away.” She said, and I nodded.
She was gone with the plate, but I continued to sit and think…
[sticky-tentacles] would be great for restraining powerful enemies. As the name suggests, sticky tentacles will emerge from a magic circle when  the spell is cast. Of course, it can also be used to attack the enemy, but that isn’t its primary function. Also, I kind of want it because  it’d let me restrain Otto in the bedroom without hurting him. Plus, controlling tentacles is nearly essential in a power-based ero-game.
The table slowly cleared out while I sat there contemplating my options.
[judge-jury-beam], as its name implies, brings down a large beam of energy from the heavens. At my current level, I can probably incinerate  the entire gladiator stadium in the capital… Technically, I probably can’t because of the guards and defensive spells they employ, but I  would be able to destroy a similar size of land. At level 100, it’ll be capable of destroying the entire city of Delaron. I do need something like this to face the demon generals.
So those were the four options… I stared at them till my eyes hurt. Everyone else had left the dining room, leaving me to sit alone at an empty table.

Garth showed up while I sat there listlessly, staring at the options on my window.
“Master, you’re still here.”
“Yeah. Thinking.”
“Ah… I wanted to ask you about Susie.” He said.
“What about her?”
“What do you think of her master?”
“What do I think? Fine. She’s doing fine. I haven’t noticed anything… Why do you ask.” I said, my eyes still on my window.
“Well, Maura just told me she got a job at the Classy Hyena Hotel.”
“They have a hotel too?” The Classy Hyena was a famous bar in Delaron like the Flower Mary.
“Yes, master.” He nodded. “But… She’d like to keep working here. Maura would like that as well; she said so herself. And she knows her work well… So I was thinking of-”
“Okay.” I knew what he was going to say. “Give her an offer that matches the Classy Hyena, don’t offer more.”
“Yes, master!” He cheered up.
“You don’t have to ask me about these things. You and Maura can manage the house on your own. Just don’t go overboard. As long as it’s reasonable… you know…”
“Yes, master. I understand.” He bowed. “Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Wait!” I grabbed his elbow before he could walk away. “I need your sword.”
“What?”
“The long sword. You’re not using it anymore, right.”
“Yeah… Why do you need it, master?”
“Just bring it. Bring it to the yard where Terrie usually trains.” I said as I reached a decision on the spell I wanted.
“Ah…”
“You’ll see; just bring it.”
“Yes, master.”
I chose [eww-echo-body] as soon as he left. I was torn between [eww-echo-body] and [sticky-tentacles] until the very end. Sticky tentacles are constrained by their length and the location of the magic circle, unlike the eww-echo-body, which can move around freely. And they  both drain my energy at roughly the same rate. Also, I can use the  eww-echo-body to play with Otto too. So with that done, I went to the backyard.

***

Terrie was swinging her sword and training as per usual. But when she saw me, she put her sword back in its sheath and smiled as she walked toward me.
“So after this trip, you’ll make the cure?” She said.
“Ah, yes.” I can’t put that off forever. I suppose when we return, I should make the cure. “Your father-in-law will be fine. He still has a long way to go before-” I stopped myself from saying ‘death.’ “Ah… Well,  he still has time.”
“I’ll be useful to you on the trip. I promise.” She said. “I’ll earn that potion.”
“Ah… Yeah… You just have to follow my instructions, and we’ll be fine.”
“I understand.”
She’s too stiff; it’s hard to talk to her. I scratched my head and said,  “No one else is here. Don’t they usually come here to watch you?”
“Who? The kids?” She shook her head. “They only come to watch their sister fight.”
“Oh, right.”
“Oh, and this thing is wonderful.” She taped the middle of her chest, where beneath the armour hung the imitation [Shield of Andromeda]. “My armour doesn’t get damaged when I spar anymore.”
“Yeah, it should block most attacks, but don’t get too complacent. I made it to protect you guys against curses. So a lot of skills can  either negate it or break it outright.”
“Oh, no, never.” She shook her head. “I’d never become complacent.”
“I know.” I smiled; she wasn’t the type to become complacent. Then I saw Garth approaching us with the sword, and I thought, thank god. I had no  idea how to talk to her sometimes; she was too much of a stiff.
“Master, I brought the sword like you wanted.” He held up the sword as he walked toward me.
“Good, good. Give it to me.” I grabbed it off him. It was heavy, and I almost dropped it. I was level 20 while he was only level 12, but that  was the difference between a martial and a magician. “I need to work out,” I murmured as I stabbed it into the ground to balance myself.
“Why do you need a sword, master?” He asked as I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
“Ah, you’ll see.” I smiled. “Okay, you guys stand back. I’m going to activate [eww-echo-body].”
“Echo body, isn’t that a skill that clones you?” So Terrie knew a little bit about magic, I thought.
“Yes.” I cast [eww-echo-body], and a magic circle appeared on the ground before us. The circle rose to the sky, revealing a humanoid creature  beneath it.
“Eeww.” Garth frowned. “What is that.”
A taller, hunched back, ape armed, grey version of myself stood before us. I looked her? over from head to toe. It was naked and had my voluptuous breasts, but it didn’t have any nipples. I moved closer to it and touched it between the legs. It didn’t have a pussy; I felt around, but there was nothing there. “Grrr.” It groaned. It certainly had my eyes, but the face was nothing like mine. It had a crooked nose, and its mouth hung open, showing its retarded yellowish teeth.
“That’s an echo body…” Terrie came closer to check it out.
“You want to spar with it?” I asked as I handed it Garth’s sword.
“Can I?” She was excited.
“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to test out.”
“Sure.” She unsheathed her sword.

Garth and I stepped away so they could fight.
“Okay, do your best, eww-echo-me!” I shouted. I understood a few things when I activated it. It should have the same amount of knowledge as me in swordswomanship. So I watched, waiting to see what it would do.
It held the sword with both hands and waited for her. I could feel a vague connection with its mind. While it waited, it was looking through my memories to figure out what to do. Terrie attacked first with a downward swing; it raised its sword and blocked it. It wasn’t a heavy  swing, and she quickly transitioned from the downward swing to a straight thrust by taking one step back and one step forward. It jumped  back to avoid the attack on its throat. Then as she drew her sword back to reposition herself, it jumped, and twisting its body in the air, it  attacked her head. Terrie, noticing the danger, brought her sword diagonally to her side and blocked the attack. The hard sound of metal meeting metal echoed through the air. “An imitation of the [tornado  swing].” It was using my knowledge from the game. It was the only way it’d know how to do that - I’d never attempted that move in this lifetime. It was actually putting up a good fight, and as I watched, a smile grew on my face. “Hehehe…” I couldn’t help but laugh. “This is perfect!”
“It’s losing.” Garth pointed out, raising an eyebrow, confused as to why I was so happy.
“Yeah.” It could only imitate skills, and it had the strength of a level 15 martial while Terrie was level 17, so of course, it’d lose. “But it’s putting up a good fight.” I was worried I’d have to train it, but now all those worries were gone!