The next morning I woke up, wiggled out while saying I’d be right back, took care of business, then crawled back into bed. The tournament was over, we’d been up really late. It was a good day to sleep in. Sadly it wasn’t to be. I couldn’t get back to sleep.
I gave up on sleeping and read some web novels instead. I really ought to have read something productive, but I just didn’t want to. Oh yeah, before I get too deep into that, let’s check the quest log.
---
[Quest Complete! Continue the fight!
Details: The gods have enjoyed your creative and chaotic fighting methods. Continue onward into the Higher ranks!
Rewards: Points towards the gacha for every victory! Each victory doubles points won.
Reward total: 102,300
Quest Complete!
Bonus Quest 1: Win the B-Rank Division
Reward: UR Ticket: Use to receive an UR item from gacha category of choice
Quest Failed.
Bonus Quest 2: Win the A-Rank Division
Rewards deposited in Gacha point bank]
---
Nice! I wouldn’t have to worry about points anytime soon. With that many points, I’d have to pull the 11 try gacha over a hundred times to use all the points. I’d also have to choose what category to use the ticket on. It was too bad I’d failed the second bonus quest. I’d only seen one legendary rare item, and that was the transformation potion the gods had given me.
Hmm, I gave it some thought. I’d get a really good experience stone or stat boost if I chose those categories. But if it was too powerful, I’d be unable to use it until I leveled up some more. I could get a ridiculously strong servant, both Fran and Alfred had been from SR stones, and this would be two ranks higher.
Armor was out. Mine might only be SSR, but it was still amazing. Getting a weapon was a possibility, but there was no guarantee it’d be one I could use. Also, I was playing mage more than melee fighter, so no. The item category was just too broad. I had already made my mind up to split accessories off of it when I hit level 11.
Then there were the skill sections. Physical, magical, and profession skills and items. I was doing decent at growing my magic on its own, and again I wasn’t using my physical skills as much. Professions on the other hand, I had received some materials previously, like the mithril, but I didn’t have any skills.
Wait, didn’t the deal I’d made with the gods guarantee that I’d be unharmed using any stones? Then why did the angel, warn me that the XP stone would kill me? Argh! I needed to log onto WoW and see what username he was using, it should be something pronounceable. Just calling him ‘the Angel’ all the time was getting really annoying.
I was decently strong, and I’d likely get much stronger with all the points I had. Really, I had two choices. A super Servant, or try for a high ranking profession skill. The second could backfire on me, leaving me with an UR piece of material like orichalcum or something. Well, I did have over a hundred chances to spam a category to try and get another UR, so it probably didn’t matter too much.
I decided. I was going to hope for an amazing profession skill. I’d also spend a ton of points to make sure I get one if I failed. I’d do it later today.
The women I was sleeping with me decided it was time to get up, so I joined them. It seemed we were the last to rise. Alfred served me some breakfast. While eating a discussion was being held among the leaders of the groups.
With the tournament over, they were planning out their next moves. They’d taken care of most of the business required before the tournament even began, only having a few minor deals to take care of. Jadd wanted to stick around for a bit and dive into the dungeon. There was some monsters that dropped some materials they wanted.
This is also when I learned that there was a dungeon managed by the dragonkin. Most of the dragonkin lived on a large island off the coast of Edyria. The clans were spread out across the island, each one with their own territory. They were their own small city-states. There was also one large city. The clans had a council that ran the nation as a whole from the city. It was also the only large port on the island. Much of the island was surrounded by cliffs or shoals that made large ships unable to approach the shore.
In the middle of the island there was the dungeon. It was a treasure trove of resources, but it was not anywhere as large as the dungeons on the mainland. The monsters inhabiting it were limited. This lack of diversity is why they were considering staying to collect resources from Nanris’ dungeon that were not available to them except through trade.
Some of the monsters they talked about seemed interesting. They also mentioned minotaur, saying they wanted some hides. Hmm, didn’t I have a piece of hide? I looked through my mats folder. Yep, I had a fairly large hide. Though just one piece was not what they were after. I wouldn’t use it, so I may as well see if they want it. While it might have been useful before becoming a dragonkin, I had better armor now. It was also too heavy for Fran’s catkin form. Alfred was always wearing his butler outfit. It boasted some really good protection, far beyond what you’d think it did.
I pulled out the hide and placed it on an empty spot on the table. The room went silent. Everyone was staring at me. Crap.
“Why do you have that. The minotaur are in the lower middle levels of the dungeon. You also said you’d never been in the dungeon.”
Gydrin’s voice had started slowing down towards the end of the sentence, as he realized something. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at me thoughtfully.
“You got it with your skill, didn’t you? Now that the tournament is over, you don’t have to worry about them as opponents. Care to tell us anything?”
Looking down, I thought for a moment, then decided. I was going to trust them.
“Okay, but can you all promise not to share my secrets without permission? And it’s not something I want to say here. We need total privacy if I’m going to spill my guts.”
“Ierva, please put…”
“No. That’s not what I meant. Magic can be broken. Come with me. Fran, Alfred, close the blinds.”
I stood up, making my way to an empty space on the floor. My companions shut all the window blinds. The room got darker. I cast my spell and the portal to the villa opened.
“Follow me if you want answers. It’s safe.”
I walked through. Fran and Alfred didn’t hesitate to follow, they’d been through before. The others were more hesitant. I opened a portal to some place without telling them anything. Of course they would be wary. The portal was also a silvery shimmer in the air, not showing what was on the other side.
I held it open, and they started coming through. I had thought that they might leave one person on the other side in case I decided to pull some trick, but they all came through. Their faces when they beheld the sight of my villa were delightful to look at. Such a variety of expressions of surprise and awe. Yes, it’s quite a nice place.
After they were all inside, I let the portal close.
“Alfred, we’ll use the back patio.”
“Understood mistress. I shall prepare tea.”
Thanking him, I started for the building, beckoning my visitors to follow. The fastest way to our destination was through, rather than around, the building. It would also give them a look at the place.
“This is my dimensional villa. It’s a space similar to the item box, but with an environment suitable to live in. I did not create it, but received it. It has many enchantments cast on it to make life pleasant. Well, not everything is good. It did come equipped with a prison and torture chamber downstairs. Those are just scary.”
We were passing through the lobby and into the grand hall beyond it. It was a large ballroom, circled by a balcony around the second floor. At the back of it was a series of glass doors opening onto a terrace overlooking the lands the dimension contained. There was a small decorative garden surrounding the terrace. To one side there was a grove of trees, and the vegetable garden was on the other side. Really, we were barely using a tiny amount of the space available.
On the terrace were a bunch of tables and chairs. I lead the way to the ones closest to the steps onto the back lawn.
“Please have a seat, Alfred will be here shortly with some tea.”
I was about to be picked up by someone, but I dodged their hands.
“Not that, not now. There’s important things to say, and that will just make it more difficult.”
I pulled up a chair and took a seat. Fran followed suit, sitting right next to me.
“Do you want me to wait for the tea to arrive, or should I begin?”
“Tea is not important. Just who are you? Why do you have something like this?”
“I know where I’d like to begin, but there’s a promise keeping me from doing so right now. I’d hoped the conditions would have been fulfilled by now, but they aren’t. Hmm, I’ll let you choose where to start, my past, or my skill.”
The others looked around at each other and voted. The merchants were really interested in my skill, but nearly everyone wanted to learn about me first.
“Hmm, okay. I was born a little over thirty-three years ago. As far as I know, I have not lied to you, but I have tried to choose my words carefully to give mistaken impressions. Previously, I’d told you this, ‘My parents, the people who raised me, were human.’ I was trying to make you believe I had two sets of parents, those who gave me life, and those who raised me. As you can infer by the lead-in, I was born to human parents. Pure, 100% human. I used to be human.”
Ierva shot to her feet. “How can that be? We’ve all seen your body. It’s definitely dragonkin! Also, you give off the scent unique to one of our young. The scent only detectable by us, and has never been reproduced.”
“I don’t know how far I’m allowed to speak, since this involves secrets greater than myself, so I’ll put it simply. I received a potion that changed my race. I chose to become dragonkin.”
Gydrin leaned forward. “Was it from your skill?”
“My receiving it was related to my skill, but not from the skill itself. It came from a bargain regarding the skill. There’s a possibility my skill might allow me to receive such things, but the chances are so low as to be nearly impossible. And, umm, there’s some more things in regards to the me before the potion that are really awkward to say.”
They looked expectantly at me. I looked away. I couldn’t look at them as I revealed what I had to say next.
“I told you before that I wasn’t a child. I lived for 33 years old as a human, so I was middle-aged. That’s why I objected so much to being treated as one. Umm, though I know I let you treat me that way to a certain point. It, umm, it made me feel good. Being treated like that. Though, it was also a little embarrassing. There’s one more big thing related to the potion though. Umm, please don’t hurt me too much, but umm, the potion, it, uh, I used to be a man, but it turned me into a girl. And, umm, I kind of like it. It feels more natural to me than being a boy.”
I blushed with embarrassment, and focused on the terrace at my feet. I’d been intimate with all the women, from being hugged and held by them, to even bathing with them, seeing their bodies naked. I was sure I was going to be in a world of pain shortly for my actions.
I was touched, not hit, but caressed. A soft hand ran itself over my head, gently. Looking up, I saw Ierva, the woman I’d spent the most time with. The one who had the most reason to hate and punish me. She had a gentle and somewhat troubled smile on her face.
“I can understand why you are troubled. You came from a race with permanent genders, with certain morals and culture etched into your mind. But you have to remember, dragonkin are not restricted to just one gender, incompetents like Jadd being the exception.”
“Hey!”
Ierva smiled at him, as it was mostly a joke. “We are all born either male or female, but some feel uncomfortable in their own skin, and change. Or do so for another reason. I did, because I wanted to have children with Jadd. What you are feeling is not wrong. If you feel better like this, stay. I understand why you had a hard time talking to us about this, since we met only recently. But we do care for you. You might have been a human adult, but you are now in a child’s body, and of a different race. You have so much to learn, and we are glad to teach you.”
I started tearing up, and then outright sobbing, clinging to her. She picked me up and cradled me in her lap, gently stroking my hair and back, waiting for me to bring myself back under control. It took a while. A dam had burst in me, as all the thoughts, feeling, and fears I had suppressed sprang forth.
She whispered to me, telling me they were there for me, that everything would be fine. Just the way a child was reassured. The other women gathered around us, being there for me as I surrendered to my feelings, my adulthood being submerged in the flood as the scared child within me took control.
Eventually I calmed down. It took a while, as I’d had a lot pent up within. As I regained control of myself, I blushed, embarrassed at what I had just done. I wiped at my eyes, trying to recoup my composure.
“I’m sorry. I…”
“Don’t apologize. You did what anyone should, letting go of your troubles among those who care for you. There are good reasons our race’s children are not considered adults, even when they are older than most of the other races. We have strong emotions, and often have a hard time controlling them, especially in the first century of life. You are a child, even if your mind won’t completely accept it.”
I nodded, understanding what she was saying. It went back to what I’d thought many times before.
“The body influences the mind.”
“Just so.”
“I’ll try to keep it in mind. I like you, and how you treat me, but I also can’t let myself be restrained to a child’s role. There’s so much I want to do and learn.”
“Haha! You might be surprised at how we treat our children back home. We love and cherish our families, but we don’t keep our children wrapped in wool. We teach them anything they want to learn, though in ways that keep them from being seriously hurt. They grow up strong. Though, you are far stronger than others your age. I promise that you won’t regret coming home with us. If you choose to leave, I will help you.”
I nodded. “I want to. I want to see how you live. And, umm, have a place to go if I need to leave the human lands.”
“You’ll have that for sure. As long as you are not a criminal, you’ll have a place with us.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” I hugged her.
She hugged me back. “Though, If you come, you’ll have to choose who you want as your guardian. How about me? Can I adopt you?”
“Uhh…” I looked at her face to see if she was joking. She looked completely serious. “Really?”
“Yes, I’d love to have a daughter! All my children are males, and muscleheads like their father.”
“I was meaning about the guardian thing. I have to have one?”
“Oh yes, it’s the law. Just the same as the humans, but for a longer period. Don’t worry, I won’t restrict you from anything, it’s more of a formality.”
“Well, then, umm, I guess so.” Really articulate, me…
Gydrin decided it was time to move on, especially since he could see I was a little flustered
“Now that that’s decided, how about telling us more? What about your skill?”
I gratefully grabbed the escape I was offered.
“It’s a unique skill called Infinite Gacha. It’s like a game from back home where you put something in and get a random prize.”
“Hmm, back home? That’s right, you told us a little about yourself, but not your home.”
Ierva didn’t care about my skill, and directed the topic back to me. I sighed.
“I can’t say much, as it might lead to possibly revealing the secret behind my promise. Let me just say that I am from far away. Far enough, that I will likely never return home. Nor do I want to. Other than my family, there’s nothing there I’m missing here, as magic compensates for it. As far as my family is concerned, I just disappeared. I’d like to be able to tell them I am and will continue to be fine, but I can’t.”
“How did that happen?”
“Can’t say any more right now, I’ll tell you when I won’t break my promise. It may not be a binding oath, but I try to be a man, uhh, make that woman, of my word. We need to avoid that topic. I don’t think my past will have anything that would affect you in a bad way. I tried to take steps to prevent that. Ah, I need to stop. Anyway, my skill! Lets talk about that.”
They saw my extreme hesitation, and let me change the topic.
“I told you yesterday that I use heart stones to obtain items. The way it works is I pull up my skill and insert the stone’s I’ve obtained. They have to be ones I’ve earned, or they are rejected. They disappear and are added to a point total.”
I pulled up the skill and tried to make it visible, but unlike the apps, no one else could see it. I wrote down the categories and talked a little about them.
---
[Infinite Gacha!
Points --- (I didn’t tell them how many I had)
10 Point = 1 Item
100 Point = 11 Items
Costs 10x greater for categories 2+
Categories = Skill Level:
1 - Random - Can win anything. There are some items only obtainable through random.
2 - Stat Boosters - Win stones (permanent) or potions (temporary) to increase base stats.
3 - Servants - Win stones to summon minions, familiars, slaves, etc
4 - Weapons - Win weapons
5 - Experience - Win experience stones, ranging from goblin to dragon levels
6 - Items - Win assorted items. Clothes, food, money, books, accessories (possibly magical)
7 - Magic Skills - Win Skill stones for skills like new attributes, spells, etc
8 - Physical Skills - Win skill stones for skills like weapon handling and strengthening
9 - Armor - Win armor
10 - Professions - Win skills stones and items related to crafting
11+ - Split other categories. Ex, take swords from weapons, or accessories from items. This is permanent change (Not yet obtained)
C = Green
UC = Brown
R = Copper
SR = Silver
SSR= Gold
UR = Red
LR = Blue
---
I told them out loud, but some things are more easily understood when read, so they passed the sheet around.
“How many points do the stones get you?” Count on Gydrin to look at the business side of things.
“It increases with difficulty and strength of the enemy. Dungeon monsters are the best source of points. They offer lower points than monsters outside of the dungeon, but there are more in a smaller area. A goblin outside would give at least one point outside, but inside it would give between a quarter to a half point.”
“Can you show me how it works? We can go to the dungeon if you want.”
“There’s no need. Umm, I have plenty of points. I got awarded points from the tournament.”
“Wait, but you said it took heart stones.”
“Yeah, umm, I accepted a quest related to the skill. I got points with every win in B-Rank and above. If it hadn’t been offered, I might have stopped and took the C-Rank prize. I didn’t realize I’d still get the prize money. Well, not that I need the money. Anyway, there’s nothing to see until I take the items out of the item box. They get deposited in there when I get them. I can pull the gacha without anyone knowing.”
“Is that what you’ve been doing when you are pretending to read, but aren’t.”
“Ahh, you noticed that?” They nodded. “I looked at the skill page a few times, but didn’t use it. I didn’t have enough points for much until after the tournament. The Gacha was my first Unique Skill. I got others. One of those was what I was looking at.”
“Oh, what kind of skills. We won’t force you, but I’m really curious.”
“I trust you, possibly with my life, so I’ll tell you. The first is an advanced version of appraisal. Not a category of it, like some people can learn, but the full appraisal skill. It’s part of the reason I try to not lie if I can help it. It’s called Truth Seer.”
“Whoa, that’s a rare skill. Ah, you got it from the Gacha?”
“Yeah, almost everything I have is either from the gacha or related to it in some way. You can see that I can get skills from the gacha, but the items I’ve gotten have allowed me to put in the effort to learn skills myself. My sword and shield skills are the ones least connected. I earned those with hard training, well I told you I have the Training Dummy title. That training is how I got them as high as I have.”
“What other kinds of skills did you get?”
“The first one was Swim. I still haven’t used that one yet. Next was Spacetime Magic. That one is a pain to level, I really want to get teleportation though.”
“You didn’t learn the magic skill with the item box?”
“No, Item box came without the attribute. Anyways, spacetime magic was the only one I got from a skill stone. Other than that, I started with light and earth magic in my status, the rest were obtained with effort. I intend to eventually unlock every attribute I can. As a dragonkin, I have the time.”
“You may have the time, but you can’t learn anything without an affinity for it.”
“That’s not a problem, I have affinities for everything.”
“Did you sell your soul for that or something?”
“No. I still own my soul. There is no way I will ever sell that. It’s far too important. I made a bargain to downgrade the gacha skill.”
“Huh? That’s not how it was originally? It seems insanely amazing.”
“Oh it is, but it used to be even more broken. On random it used to cost one point each, or ten for eleven. I had the chance to get amazing items from a single goblin heart stone. I’m surprised the bargain didn’t require that the cost be multiplied by 100 per.”
“How in the world did the gods let such an ability exist?! It could destroy nations and commerce as we know it.”
“I won’t answer that without permission.”
“Wait, what? What do you know?”
“I know the answer, but I’d rather not risk angering the gods. Also, I am trying to be careful so as not to destroy anything. The world is too precious to risk destroying.”
“Are you an Oracle or something?!”
“Heavens no. I believe in the gods, and am thankful to them, but I am no priest, oracle, or anything like that. Let’s move on, I don’t want to be struck down by lightning. I find I prefer to be the one doing the striking.”
They laughed at that, if somewhat nervously, glancing towards the sky.
“So my unique skills, I got Status Disguise. I’m glad I got that since it will let me hide my skills, even if I have to reveal my entire ID card. I can also make it look like I’m actually human and weaker than I am. Hasn’t been an issue yet, but it may be in the future.”
“Yeah, with your skills, that one will be very useful for you.”
“Yep! Okay, so the last one is kind of...different. It’s less a skill, and more like a very complicated magic tool. It’s easiest just to show you.”
I opened the App menu, making it visible to them. Fran decided to copy me, pulling hers up.
“Can I log in?”
“Yeah Fran, go ahead. Try out one of the other classes though, save the druid for when we play together.”
“Yay!”
She started playing WoW, on a new character. She had left her screen visible, so everyone was flabbergasted by the action taking place before them. I decided to take pity, since I could see it would be a while before they’d be able to articulate anything.
“This is the System Apps skill. It’s stuck in the unique section, but isn’t restricted to one person. It has a LOT of abilities. She’s using the media app. It allows one to view and play various things. That is a game from my home. The app also allows stuff like this.”
I pulled up one of the videos from the tournament, enlarging it, and letting it play sound. After a bit, I also showed them the book section. Finally Ierva couldn’t hold it in.
“If both of you have that, is it possible for other to get it? Please?”
“It’s very limited. Right now there are only three mortals with it. It’s actually linked to the skill and status system the gods manage. I was given a pass for just music access through the gacha, but if I’d used it, I’d have exploded or something. We got more access that wouldn’t kill us as part of my bargain. I have two more mortal passes, but only those bound to me can use them.”
“What do you mean bound to you? When I adopt you would I be able use it?”
“Uh, yeah, I didn’t explain that did I. Fran, can you find a safe place to put your character for a few minutes? I need your help.”
“Yup! I’m still in the starting zone, so nothing will attack me.”
Fran and I walked down to the lawn. I told the others to stay back. There wasn’t enough room on the patio for what I wanted to show. I had Fran release the transformation. She grew into a large and fierce looking panther. She still acted like a house cat, nuzzling up to me to pet her. The others had jumped up, reaching for weapons, most of which they didn’t have. They calmed down quickly, seeing her acting like her usual pampered self, just in a much larger and feline form.
“Fran is not actually a Catkin. This is her true form as my familiar, a Shadow Panther. You saw the summoning section on the list. She was my first summons. I have only used two stones. As you may have guessed, Alfred was my second. He is a Homunculus. Both are bound to me by magic. The system access cannot be obtained by those without this binding, at least right now. We’re kind of the beta testers, that is the ones testing if it should be released to others.”
They looked extremely disappointed at hearing that. But perked up at my next words.
“You can’t get it yourself without the god’s permission, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it. We can share access with others to a limited degree, if they are right next to us. It’s what Alfred used before he got his access pass. Thank you Fran, you can go back to playing now, but can you open another terminal so one of them can try it?”
She changed back to a catkin, and returned to the game after opening a new screen. I also tried to let them use it, and discovered that one extra terminal was the limit, well that alone was very nice. They took turns trying it out. Looking up or trying various things. Most of them wanted to try out the game.
Not wanting to create a ton of WoW addicts who would be unable to get their fix, I tried another game, Ultra Bash Sisters. It worked the way I’d hoped. With only one terminal, up to eight people could play, with transparent controllers in their hands. We tried other things after a few rounds. As long as the game allowed single or split-screen play, multiple people could play together.
We had a fun filled day, stopping only at dinnertime, with me showing them various things. If any of them guessed I was from another world...no, some of them almost definitely knew, they didn’t say anything. I hadn’t broken my promise, but I was treading a very fine line.
Among the things that happened that day, I’d logged onto WoW and found the friend request from the angel. Finally! He gave me a name to call him. Ha! It fit him so well. He was a servant of the gods, and had decided to use the name of one of their observers, Algalon. I’d call him Al from now on.
We returned from the villa and ate the dinner the inn provided. Afterwards we talked about what the group was going to do, since the topic was interrupted by me that morning. It was decided that we’d stay in the city for one more week so items could be collected from the dungeon. They did not object to us joining in the fun.
