The Arcane Emperor

Chapter 81 Void-Step

Chapter 81 Void-Step

"How come you get to design the boat?" Rainer asked.

"Because I have both the money and the common sense."

"But it's my money in the first place…"

"Um, Master Nvos," Lilia quietly interrupted from the side.

"Hmm?"

"When Master Talmestues in the White Mage's Tale was thinking of designing his mage tower, he made sure to avoid designing other things to not pollute his mindset. He left the more mundane tasks to his servants, even though he knew he could do it so much better than them."

Sarah was just about to glare at Lilia before she stopped and saw Rainer thinking over the idea.

"Alright, off you go then," Rainer said, taking a seat on a bench a bit outside of the Craftsman Guild.

Sarah went, before Rainer could change his mind, with Gunthar following. As usual in public, he wore magically-made leather armor, a cloak, and a mask to hide his undead features. The party had long since decided that any time they split up to have someone with [Soul Detection] with each group.

Both Luna and Tiamat occupied Rainer's overcoat as Kara sat by his right on the wooden bench. Lilia sat a bit away to the left, now looking over yet another book he made for her, this one less from memory and more written by him.

Absentmindedly scratching Kara's ears, Rainer wondered why Lilia didn't want him to design the boat. While only Sarah showed it, he found it hard to believe Lilia was as okay with the previous week and a half trip over the sea as she seemed. He certainly wouldn't have been at her age, even when considering her above average maturity.

Perhaps she believed in the only other person who suffered during the trip to properly design the boat?

Rainer found himself agreeing with that judgment. He didn't mind the duration since he'd be spending most of his time on the boat either sleeping or controlling the flight spell. And even then, he wouldn't be paying much attention to the boat, instead going over runes and ideas as well as the numerous books memorized in [Sleep Learning].

And right now, Lilia went over a book on basic arithmetic he had written with Mana for her, in the process gaining himself the skill when he did several calculations beyond simple ones in his head thus far.

[Skill Gained: Arithmetic level 7/10]

He wasn't a human calculator by any means, but he could figure out just about anything with paper when it came to simpler things like addition or division. As most who entered college could. At least, he hoped they could. Though, he supposed it didn't matter with modern inventions. What was life without obscene advantages, especially his own.

Some basic calculus work along with trigonometry had gotten him more skills.

[Skill Gained: Trigonometry lvl 6/10]

[Skill Gained: Algebra lvl 5/10]

Lilia held a quill with ink by her side that they bought on their way here. Sarah's complaints about the price reminded Rainer just how a large benefit it was to have Luna making paper and books for him. It was easy to forget, given where he came from, but books in this time period were beyond just being considered a luxury.

Rainer himself held his own stack of paper, ink, and quill by his right, bound with a cover made from the leather of a snake-type Monster. This time none of it magically made. He could not enchant items that Luna created, and those were therefore useless in his endeavors to create a book that would magically aid in learning runes. He had soon realized that, even if he wanted to, he might not be capable of fully teaching Lilia runes the standard way. At the very least, he expected the process to take far too long, even by usual standards.

So now his thoughts went towards his original idea. The very idea that his academy depended on. A book that could teach the skill, [Faraan Runic Language], without the help of any teacher. An enchanted book - perhaps one that even utilized the Aura inscriptions of his unique Arcane Aura to accomplish what the City of Enchantments, Nalmar, could not.

A Grimoire…

Rainer mused. More than a collection of spells, but a book that could teach magic itself. Even more so, his thoughts went a degree further. Creating a book that would unlock one's Affinity. Or one that was enchanted in such a way that it could take in Mana and use spells in a reusable way, different from the weak and single use Magic Scrolls he's come across early on in this world.

That would be a true Grimoire.

Then to even drop copies of said Grimoire across worlds, and across civilizations in different times in different places. Spreading magic in a way a single Academy couldn't do. A light laugh floated across the air at that prospect.

Somehow during his ruminations, Kara ended up laying her head on his lap, rather than just sitting by his side. His hand, of course, still scratching her ear. The sun had just risen a few hours ago over the horizon and now faced them. The light peeked out past the clouds that covered it just moments ago.

With reality shining down on him, Rainer went back to the 'normal' idea of just creating a book to teach Runes in full.

Sarah had returned close to 30 minutes later and the group waited a few hours as a team of high-leveled [Carpenter]s worked on their boat.

When Rainer rounded the corner of the guild and headed inside to see the completed boat, he was a bit stunned at the 'boat' that had been made.

"A raft?"

"I just told him the general requirements," Sarah responded, "I left the interpretation up to experienced hands."

Rainer nodded as he glanced at the 'raft' that was to be their transportation. A rectangular floor board lay across the logs that made up its base. Small and thin wooden walls rose around it. In one of the corners was a blocked off rectangle for more private matters. Everywhere else was a wide-open space with the exception of a thin pole in the center leading up to the square platform. Likely, where Rainer was to be seated whenever he wrapped the thing in his flight spell.

"I assumed you'd be enchanting it, so I told them to make the wood lighter and thinner than usual," Sarah added, "and I have several cushions I bought with Gunthar and bed spreads in my ring. They are more comfortable than the ones Luna makes."

Rainer had already taken out everything from Yazir's spatial ring last night. Apart from a journal, all else was just various Mana potions. To anyone needing to practice magic, it was a treasure trove of a hundred life times. For Rainer, it merely provided for the occasional extended magic casting.

"I already paid them a tip for a job well done," Sarah mentioned, stopping Rainer who looked like he was about to take something out of his Spatial Ring.

Despite having already known what the purpose of the 'boat' was, the craftsmen appeared shocked as the party departed into the sky.

Rainer first took them to a place in the jungle while he prepared to enchant the raft away from prying eyes. While they waited, Luna helped to see if Lilia had any classes available. Given the level difference, the shared experience from partying and killing anything would be next to nothing, but Rainer thought it was a waste, just in case she gained any title or leveled any skills outside of [Sleep Learning], not to have even an average class.

Either from her [Strong Soul Affinity], her recent unlocking of Affinity with Fairy Dust, or from her learning of Gunthar's skill, Lilia had the [Soul Mage] class available. Given his plans to teach Lilia, and likely Gunthar for that matter, [Devil's Soul Language], it was only a temporary class.

And after an hour of [Sleep Learning] and another hour performing a basic strengthening enchantment on the entire raft, the party set off to the South-South-west, and the Wolf King's capital. The planned route was direct. Rainer used both a compass and a [Soul Trace] on someone in the most recently visited port town to navigate.

He guessed his original estimate of 2-3 days was a bit high, at most, it would take 1-2 simply because he didn't want to arrive out of Mana or exhausted, otherwise he could fly straight there in half a day of exhausting flying.

After nearly half a day of flying, Rainer set down the raft in calm waters, and with the exception of an undead, the group drifted off to sleep.

With Luna's sleeping spell, the entire party already headed to sleep before Rainer entered the White Void.

Moments later, he brought them all in. Lilia opted to use the unlimited resources of [Sleep Learning] to train the Soul Strengthening skill, something she couldn't do for prolonged periods of time during the day because of a lack of Mana, and Luna went about as usual with her fire.

"Kara, I was thinking we could spar today, at least for a bit," Rainer wanted to work on his [Arcane Blade] and get her opinion on the skill as well.

"Sure."

The two walked off a bit so they wouldn't bother the rest. A "So you're ignoring my request for Body Enchantments again?" resounded out from Sarah and was summarily ignored.

Rainer opted to raise stone walls around Kara and himself in case any spells went flying. An actual fight between them had an obvious conclusion: Rainer's victory. Having no defense or counter against [Void-walking], there was little Kara could do against him. Her heightened werewolf senses would at least protect her against a sneak attack with [Arcane Blade], but he needed to only wear her down with [Arcane Lance]s, or a Final Arcanum combined at the end of Void-walk.

To those who lacked the means to stop or counter his [Void-walking], Rainer held an almost absolute advantage.

It was exactly why he asked Talvara to eventually give Void Will to Kara instead of him. Having no defense against teleportation was too large of a disadvantage.

Even more so, the premise of someone simply grabbing Kara and teleporting away scared the hell out of him.

But for now, he only wished to train with his [Arcane Blade], and perhaps Kara might learn something from trying to block the Divinity-cutting magic.

"Hmm, I can't recreate the enchanted blades," Kara mentioned, so Rainer did it for her, throwing them over with her easily catching them.

She held one in a reverse grip behind her and another out in front, her stance indicating she'd rush forward the moment they started.

A flash of Arcane on Rainer's hilt indicated the start of the duel.

Rainer stared at the [Aura Blade] that was leading to his neck.

One moment he had been slashing down to meet Kara's blade, that was not only blocked by her Body Enhancement but covered in an [Aura Blade] as well, and the next, the blade vanished and he felt a blunt instrument hit the back of his legs.

And before he knew it, he was lying here.

"I thought the new skill you learned was based on balance?" Kara asked.

"Yeah, and?"

"Why would you put your weight behind your swing? At that point, I may as well avoid it."

"Because there was too much Aura covering it," Rainer responded, only to realize she likely did that on purpose. He ventured it was the only way she could avoid it so fast; a plan, rather than a reaction.

"So? Instead of you pushing forward, let me cut my own blade on yours. Rainer, are you sure this is the best use of your time? Even if I could block your [Void-walking], it's better to use your efforts to back away in any case rather than try and push your blade forward. I can not see it ever to your advantage to actually fight with [Arcane Blade] as a true bladesman."

Rainer laughed as he stood up and found himself agreeing. He had made his own declaration when he first learned [Weightless Blade Mastery] months ago that he would never actually try to use it against a close-combatant that could parry his [Arcane Blade]. His fight versus the [Priest] was a rare case. And if he had been of a different mind, he'd have tried to use Arcanum Step to retreat rather than push forward. Or perhaps even have used [Arcane-Spatial Domain: Spatial Shift] to move himself back.

"There is something else I wish to try out though," Kara added. She dropped both blades and took a neutral stance with her hands in front of her, "Fire some [Arcane Bolt]s at me. Start as weak as you can."

Rainer complied, and Kara took on both bolts directly with her hands using small Body Enchantment made Aura shields. Looking at her curiously only resulted in her motioning him to continue.

She blocked bolt after bolt but didn't seem particularly happy with what she accomplished. Rainer covered his eyes with [Arcane Revelation] as he looked closer at what her shielding was doing.

Rather than just blocking, it almost looked as if the Aura undulated just before the [Arcane Bolt] hit. He understood what she was trying to achieve, and also that if it was possible it wouldn't be a quick thing.

Now arming his bolts absentmindedly and then firing at Kara, Rainer instead focused most of his attention on the Arcane Weave ritual from before but much much smaller. The small forehead ritual he often used to make people fall asleep, except he practiced it at a far larger size to accommodate his current lack of ability in [Arcane Weaving]. Now, he'd try to bring it down to its usual size.

He first drew the outline of it on his palm, before trying to manipulate the Arcane within the weave to match blood as he did last night. He decided to do it piece by piece, now focusing only on the circular outline - something most rituals circles shared.

Rainer lost track of time as [Arcane Bolt]s continued to fly at Kara. Every minute brought Rainer closer and closer to making the outer circle of the ritual as thin and resembling a blood drawn one as possible. He didn't even bother trying to create the rest yet until he could create a thin small circle that didn't cost more Arcane Power than he could ever have.

A flying bolt of Arcane whizzing past his face brought him out of his stupor.

Rainer stared at Kara dumbfoundedly as she grinned at him.

"How?" Was all he managed.

"After a few auto-pilot sessions, I started noticing something else in my enchantments. A touch of magic. And having reached level 8 with the shielding skill, I could partially control just that part. I got the idea from trying this after you told me about your fight with the [Priest]."

"Impressive. Truly. Let's show it to Gunthar when we get a chance, he might come up with more applications."

"I hope so."

"But," Rainer said with a pause. He created a [Spear of Arcane] in his hands and then threw it straight up.

"Explode," He said for effect, commanding the magic within to explode mid-air as he had in the past.

"I need to keep it hidden and avoid using except when most needed," Kara responded immediately.

"Yep, but it's not a bad trump card. Let's keep practicing."

While using a variety of armed spells to attack Kara, Rainer went back to focusing on his [Arcane Weaving].

He stopped after a few hours having gained a level in the skill and realizing that there was something he couldn't, or rather shouldn't, put off any longer. That, and even after using massive amounts of Arcane Energy in forming numerous weaves he had hit a bit of a standstill in his weaving.

[Arcane Weaving has reached level 8]

"Alright Sarah," Rainer said, interrupting her practice with [Enchanted Flesh], "Time for your enchantments."

"Ah...o-okay," She responded a bit nervously. No matter how much she teased him on the subject, it wasn't as if she was actually in a rush for her brother to see her without clothes.

Sarah watched as with a wave of Rainer's hand as he constructed a wooden cabin.

"Let's get this over with."

A few hours later the pair left the wooden cabin and saw Kara waiting outside. It wasn't hard to tell that she was struggling with every bone in her body to hold in her laughter.

"We never speak of this."

"Unfortunately, we have to do it for real tomorrow."

"We never speak of this, after tomorrow," Sarah corrected.

"And then again for Void-walking."

"We never speak of this, after that time."

"And then-" Rainer stopped mid-sentence as he saw Sarah was most certainly not appreciating his corrections, "-we never speak of this again," Rainer corrected.

A creative use of clothing had kept more sensitive areas hidden and his laser-like focus to not cause pain or screw up removed a majority of any awkwardness. But as often when he used Mana, there was an unintended side-effect that thankfully wasn't as anywhere near as pronounced as it was in the past. Such as the first time he fed Luna mana after he exited the mine. But the occasional noise during the enchanting session, and his lack of skill to prevent it, was not entertaining in the least.

Leveling up the skill had given him more control, only at the end, however.

[Skill Gained: Magic-Human Body Enchantment lvl 4/10]

[Magic-Human Body Enchantment has reached level 5]

The cross-over from Fae was pretty high, Rainer had realized when he looked at Sarah with [Arcane Revelation].

Their [Sleep Learning] session came to a close as Kara chased a red-faced Sarah around asking how her 'first time' was.

On the next night, Talvara appeared after everyone else left. Rainer had already brought out the enchanted Gateway, studying the runes that made up the enchantment. Combined with [Void-walking], he finally felt he at least had a foundation to start messing around with [Arcane Awakening].

All that was left was to witness [Void-traveling] itself.

"I shall do my best to drop my skill level so that you may properly witness it," Talvara spoke as Rainer stared at her with [Arcane Revelation].

Forcibly refraining from using [Void Detection], Rainer tried to simply sense the Void around him by sinking into his Void WIll. With the [Sleep Learning] space under his control, he received an assistance in that regard.

Rainer watched as she effortlessly disappeared and reappeared in various spots in front of him. It seemed to her, even as she put it, dropped skill level that it required no more focus or attention than when one moved their arm. Getting a general gist of how Void Will was used to accomplish this, he opted to try it out on his own.

With all the Void Will he could control, Rainer forced his body into the Void and hoped he came out properly on the other side. When he lost all sensation moments later, he found himself reformed in the White Void. Further attempts showed him reaching no closer to achieving [Void-traveling].

Oddly, this gave him a different understanding of the skill. Instead, he used what [Void-traveling] was not to start and work on creating a version of it with [Arcane Awakening].

In his mind, Rainer put the skill together as Runes lit up through his pants. Runes borrowed from [Void-walking] to connect him to the Void, runes borrowed from the enchanted Gateway to propel one through the Void came together with the final addition being runes borrowed from Mind Magic.

[Void-traveling] was not something to be forced. And so he borrowed runes from a common sleeping spell he received from Maya but had not yet learned.

And with an assistance from his [Archon] class, Rainer once more stepped through the Void.

[Skill Gained: Arcane Awakening: Void-Step lvl 1/10]

The distance was short. The knowledge that you even traveled through the Void at all, completely lost. But the cost to both his mental facilities and Arcane Power itself was cheap. Casting a spell at the same time he used Void-Step may even be possible, creating a deadly combination. In fact, focusing on another task as you stepped may even be an improvement on the skill.

"So, you have succeeded?" Talvara asked

"For the most part. Now it's a question if I can get it to work on Kara," Rainer mumbled, mostly to himself. He took out the corpse of the demon he usually worked on and started the enchantment, leveraging the massive Mana of [Sleep Learning] to rush as many practice sessions as he could.

Even then, he'd prefer Kara, and Sarah for that matter, test out the enchantment in here, as he still wasn't sure it wouldn't end up just taking her legs through the Void rather than her.

Close to an hour passed before Rainer brought Kara out of Auto-pilot and into the White Void.

Talvara clothed herself as Kara came in, opting not to cause any issues between the two. Her goal in appearing sans-clothing had been more of an attempt to put the [Archon] off-guard at first and later on just a matter of comfort. Not to cause a fight or rift between him and his love.

"How come she's wearing clothes?" Kara asked almost as soon as she appeared, surprising the Void-being.

"I don't know. It feels weird now," Rainer responded.

"I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed at not being able to see what you've described as 'Disturbingly Perfect'."

"Disturbingly Perfect?!" The body she spent so many years crafting and used to appear to her followers had such a description as 'Disturbing'? Of course, she often wore the clothes akin to the statue of her built, but even still.

"It's a fake body, right?"

Talvara nodded to Rainer's question. After their last meeting, she wasn't particularly interested in hiding such a thing, especially since the man kept an undead as his best friend. He was hardly one to care about such issues and he seemed already sure of his guess.

"The proportions are a little too perfect."

"I don't understand…"

"Well…it seems unnatural after you really notice it. At first sure, it was effective, but once I got past you being naked, it was just…"

"Too perfect?"

"No, too symmetrical. Your face as the focus. Or rather your face is really the only problem."

"But I thought symmetry was a point of beauty?" Talvara asked.

"All things in moderation. Though I suppose if you are trying to project the image of being a goddess a bit of disturbing perfection isn't a bad idea."

"I assume you are taking this from your vast experience as a Goddess yourself?" Kara asked.

"What else? You should see these legs in a dress."

"Thank you for that. I don't think I'll be able to get rid of that thought for the rest of my life."

"I aim to please."

"Huh…would your Charisma make you look appealing in a dress?"

"From what I've gathered Charisma is like a base stat, and your appearance itself is a multiplier. So, depending on your taste, my small scar, for example, would be minus 1% or plus 1% to whatever my Charisma is."

"So, you would look better than most human women when you wear a ball gown…" Kara sighed. Rainer didn't look particularly feminine either, so it'd be a strange sight for him to be considered attractive as a crossdresser because of his obscene Charisma.

"Hmm, probably. I could likely even gain 200 pounds and you'd still find me deeply attractive."

"Don't subject me to such a confusing and terrible situation," Kara responded.

Talvara sunk into thought for a moment as Rainer and Kara went further into their own conversation, before realizing this was most certainly not what she was here for.

"Well then, shall you show me [Void-travelling] by Aura?"

At the end of the session, Rainer brought Sarah in so she could use the skill in a safe environment as well. Neither her nor Kara had issues in the matter. The next morning, Rainer spent much of the day getting Sarah set on enchantments, a thankfully less awkward procedure with his leveled skill, focusing on both the speed and Void-step enchantments, deciding to do the rest when they had more time. Next came Kara's own Void-step.

Several hours later, they reached the capital. Looking out at the horizon, they saw numerous ships docking and setting sail from the huge port. The City itself went from stilted buildings over the water all the way up the side of an oddly shaped mountain where a large palace of white stone sat.

The small mountain itself had a giant crescent hole cut out of the side of it. If the broken Souls from earlier didn't confirm the presence of Dragons here long ago, that certainly did.

They left the raft far outside the city, and then Rainer Void-walked them inside due to various issues with their party. Whether that be Kara's eyes or the fact they had two mages in a city whose leader was known for killing them. Thankfully, no one inside seemed bothered much by them, and if anything Rainer received far less reverence as a Magus here than anywhere else.

Their money was accepted just the same at the expensive Inn they found.

Rainer spent an hour in [Sleep Learning] and an hour in reality enchanting the clothes they bought for Lilia to be as strong as possible. It included pants and a shirt along with a cloak to cover her, though she insisted on still wearing the violet mage's robe Luna made for her over it. Thankfully, Luna could make it thinner than clothes could truly be, and the heat wasn't an issue.

Now having left the Inn they stayed at, they decided to go and visit one of the focal points of the Capital, and they had bought supplies along the way.

"I'm surprised you're so okay with this," Kara said.

Rainer shrugged, "I just really don't see any danger in it."

After learning about the dungeon that was a large part of this city's economy, both Kara and Sarah became interested in challenging it.

"I can see why he wouldn't be worried," Sarah said, thinking of Kara's strength differences when she had free to access her Demon-half.

With it being late at night, Rainer Void-walked the group multiple times until they found themselves coming out of an alley and walking towards the massive structure that housed both dungeons.

The Wolf King's Capital was partially based on the two dungeons at its center. Both were technically a part of the same building with the level 25 Tier 1 Dungeon being the first floor of a two story coliseum, and the level 10 Tier 2 Dungeon being on the second.

Apart from serving as a place for those strong enough to farm for experience and the rarely rewarded items, the boss of the first of the five stage lesser Dungeon was a popular delicacy. With its blood also commonly used for various face and skin creams among the upper-class as well as in exports.

The various other monsters were sold as regular food, making the dungeon not only a good leveling spot but a place of employment for anyone stuck at level 25 of the first tier but not yet ready to advance.

"Plus, you'll get the small party bonus," Rainer added.

With Tiamat as the familiar of Kara, they were technically a 5-man party and therefore enjoyed the bonuses for such a thing. While they wouldn't receive the first completion bonus, of course, the small party one at least partially made up for it.

Rainer had very little worry even if it was Kara taking on the entire dungeon by herself, let alone the six of them.

Even if one ignored the fact she had the racial strength and bonuses of a Demon, she also had dual classes, both rare, putting her at about the level of a Tier 2 level 5 individual with a rare class. Assuming, he used the difference between [Arcanist] and [Archon] as a base measure. Add on her inborn Demon strength, furthermore her transformation, and it perfectly illustrated why Demons weren't allowed in Natural-borne Dungeons.

"And if you're honest about it, I think it's safer in a Dungeon full of monsters than out here," Sarah said to Rainer, who had no choice but to agree. Given past events, he did actually feel it was safer in a Dungeon.

"Ah, I'll need some spending money while I'm here," Rainer said, grinning at Sarah who begrudgingly gave him half of the silver they had.

"That's for the whole time we're here," She added pointedly.

With Luna already casting the party spell on them back in the Inn, they only stopped by the Hunter's Guild to read a free primer on the Dungeon itself.

The rank 3 Dungeon, for level 25 Tier 1 and below, was divided into 5 stages of 12 waves of monsters each in an arena-style environment. Given the similarity to Roman architecture, Rainer wondered if there was any connection. Each wave took the time to slay the monsters on top of a 2-hour break between. Though one could use the pedestal in the center of the arena to call the next wave earlier.

"We'll take our time, and leave based on how it's going. I'd like to try the whole thing if possible."

"Who's in charge of guarding Lilia and Tiamat?" Rainer asked. Tiamat actually had quite a bit of natural defense if his [Arcane Revelation] eyes weren't lying.

"I shall, Sorcerer," Gunthar then added, "Apart from my lack of exhaustion, I can fly using the Fairy's Soul I possess."

"Agreed."

After several more minutes of reading over the information on the Dungeon, the party went forth, sans Rainer.

Rainer walked back from the dungeon by himself, Gunthar would let him know through their semi-familiar bond when they were done.

Walking the streets, he wondered just what he should do with his time. [Sleep Learning] wasn't an option as his only current defense was Jor, who seemed to be still working on digesting whatever it is he consumed from part of that Divinity.

Rainer walked into the first inn he saw, he figured he might as well ask around and try to find an etiquette teacher he was after. As well as some possible information on how he could meet with anyone from the royal family. He wanted to avoid the Inn they were staying at, just in case.

But Kara's golden eyes didn't really make her lineage as clear as they thought. After all, traits could skip generations and the Spatial Ring could have even been stolen by someone who failed to become an heir and set up a family elsewhere. There were too many variables. All they could do is see how they would react to someone like Kara.

In truth, Rainer thought over the plans to escape as easily as possible if they claimed ownership over Kara, as royalty do for much of history, as opposed to seeing her as family. In fact, he was starting to realize that this may not be the best of ideas. He hoped he could at least convince Kara to be as cautious as possible about it.

He walked up to the bartender of what seemed to be a decently popular Inn. Being near to the Dungeon, it seemed many of its residents also participated in delving into its depths.

But Rainer paid the numerous people between level 20 and 25 no mind.

"Can I help you, Magus?"

Said Magus ignored the mocking tone and went about his questions after placing several silver coins on the counter. Said Magus also did his best not to laugh aloud at how quickly his joking tone turned to bright-eyed acceptance.

"I'm looking for an etiquette teacher. Would you know where I can better my search?"

Rainer cringed a bit as he saw the man clearly holding in the laughter of his own. But it seemed the silver won over, even if he couldn't hide the amusement in his voice.

"Etiquette...this isn't the North, Magus."

Rainer left the inn after asking all the questions he could think of that a common citizen should know. The man had nearly laughed at Rainer's question because there were no real guaranteed hereditary lords, apart from the Royal family. Even they ruled based on strength and it wouldn't be the first time a King had a race change. If any noble family produced an heir that wasn't up to proper standards, they could easily lose their lands in as little as a single generation. This meant there wasn't truly time for a proper etiquette to establish as a large portion of the nobility were often first or second generation.

If there was etiquette, it would be among the numerous viceroys and governors who did the true ruling while the stronger lords, that raked in the benefits, likely had no skills or interest in anything like that. Oftentimes these positions would be hereditary with parents training their children in governance, training that was difficult for any upstart to compete with, and proper behaviors. Whereas Lords only cared if their children would pass the second tier Trial.

Of course, that didn't mean there wasn't etiquette, simply that it didn't exist in an official sense. There wasn't a proper way to bow or to eat dinner. Rather it was purely a matter of culture, Rainer guessed. And that made it all the more difficult to learn. Precisely because there was no formal way to greet a Lord or a King in the Dragon Isles, it became a challenging matter. Bowing was a safe bet, but Rainer had no interest in appearing lesser to any Lord or King, as that would run contrary to his goal and imply he was, in fact, lesser in power.

The capital itself was a bastion of trade due to not only the influx of goods from the two Dungeons, the stronger of which had its own tradeable goods, but also because of the mountain turned crescent and its numerous and varied resources. From metal that surpassed even enchanted steel, to various fungi and herbs helpful in not only Aura training but for mages as well. Rainer guessed much of the Mana potions now in his Spatial Ring were actually made from some of the things grown here.

Though, the best of that was reserved for royalty and higher members of the military. And he doubted they'd let go of anything truly great for Mages no matter the prices offered.

Moving through the city, Rainer found himself distracted for a moment as a sound entered his ears tinged with the tiniest bit of magic. It was nowhere near what he was capable of even back when he first learned [Arcane Sound Infusion], but it intrigued him nonetheless.

Around the corner was a street performer with a minor amount of Mana.

[Wolfkin, Male, Magic Warrior lvl 11]

[Title: Sword User]

The music was great, but the method intrigued Rainer beyond anything else. Compared to when he used [Arcane Sound Infusion], this man used Mana in such a way as to work in harmony rather than amplification.

Mana influenced every single note on the man's lute-like instrument. The mana itself, however, seemed to follow a different note to the one he played. Creating an odd effect where it was as if more than one instrument played. And said odd effect created a magnificent melody.

Rainer carefully listened to every strum of a string as he watched the scene with [Arcane Revelation], paying no mind to the other listeners he frightened. Mana seemed to fill every part of the lute and made use of natural pathways of the wood.

He stayed for a few more minutes before dropping a few silvers into the hat in front of the Wolfkin. He disappeared into a Void-walk before the man even noticed who placed the coins in.

Rainer went directly into his Inn room. Playing around with a string made of [Arcane Weaving], his recent experience prompted him to start trying to make a guitar once more. In the back of his mind, he wondered over any sort of applications for the use of Mana he just witnessed.

"There is no need to pout, it shall be your turn next time," Gunthar spoke to Sarah as the party left the Dungeon. They had only gone up to the third stage as planned, though the time they took was far from planned. Sarah hadn't thought it possible, but she had underestimated Kara once again.

"Who's bright idea was it anyways to let Kara have the first turn?" Sarah asked. They had later agreed to work in two groups with the other recovering and protecting Lilia and Tiamat. Not that the little Dragon needed any help. Sarah, Luna, and Gunthar were in one group and Kara in the other. Though, the Half-Demon still received buffs from Luna.

"Yours. And technically, it'd still be my turn. After all, we may have left after completing the Third Stage, but I never took a break," Kara chimed in.

"No way, it's ours next."

"Luna agrees with Kara, it isn't fair to take other's turns, She-Rainer," The fairy chimed in, though currently she cast a glamour that made her appear as a red-haired warrior clad in leather armor.

"That nickname doesn't really work," She had cycled through many of them during the Dungeon, and this was sadly one of the better ones, "And you just don't want to participate."

"Luna will neither confirm nor deny."

"Your way of talking doesn't really fit your current form you know…" Sarah complained. The 30-year-old sultry looking warrior that Luna appeared as made talking to her quite strange. Her attention switched to Kara as she just remembered the Wolfkin and the Fairy had both forgotten something. But, as to not draw attention to them, she waited until they exited the small walled area around the Dungeon.

"Kara," She harshly whispered, "You forgot to cover your eyes."

Kara's eyes widened in realization before Luna moved next to her to cover them in a Glamour. The original gold turned brown.

"Do you think anyone saw?"

"If they did, they didn't act like it."

Rainer Void-walked into a nearby alley shortly after a small ping from Gunthar's familiar bond noted him of their exit.

"How'd it go?" He asked as he walked up to the group. Their clothes, lacking any ruffles, made it hard to believe they had been in a Dungeon at all. Lilia sat on the undead's shoulders reading a book and Tiamat's head now peaked out from Gunthar's neck. It made Rainer wonder if Gunthar literally protected the small dragon with his body. His brief thought of if Lilia could fit in there too was interrupted by his sister.

"Ask your selfish girlfriend," Sarah grumbled to his surprise. He certainly wouldn't use selfish to describe Kara.

"We made it up to stage 3 pretty easily, we'll try and push all the way next time and then have Sarah change classes," Kara answered.

"What'd she mean by selfish?" The idea of them safely leveling some subclasses certainly appealed to him. Especially since while [Manabourne] had nice skills from the store, its actual stats, which were just a drop of water in Sarah's already large pool, were quite poor.

"We were taking turns fighting. And it turned out easier than expected."

"So no one got a turn but you?" Rainer smiled. It seemed his estimate of Kara being able to beat it alone needed to have the word easily added to it.

"She forgot to cover her eyes in a glamour though," Sarah grumbled after seeing the wolfkin's tail sway after Rainer started scratching her ears.

Kara turned a bit red and Luna, of course, didn't pay any attention to the accusation that was partly landing on her.

"Do you think anyone saw?"

"I don't think so, the guards were pretty far, and it is decently dark. I'll make sure to remind Einstein here next time."

Rainer, enjoying Kara's blushing that didn't happen as often as it used to, opted to help his sister get a little revenge for the Wolfkin's teasing last night.

"This little fugitive also didn't bother to change her name."

"Really?"

"She also got a bounty put on her shortly after becoming the said fugitive for an unrelated reason," Not that he minded the reason for that bounty given their current status.

Sarah's giggling further sent Kara blushing much to Rainer's joy as he put an arm around the embarrassed Wolfkin.

"Come on, I'll make you guys a bath before we head to bed. It's good we got rooms on the first floor."

"Luna gets to go in first," The fairy added, hanging off to Rainer's untaken side.

Rainer noted her glamour made it feel like something large pressed into his arm. Illusion and Mind-type magics were always impressive to him. Especially the one that made him wander into a forest despite his old fear of getting lost in such places.

"Make a bath…" Sarah intoned dangerously, "And you never made one for me before because?"

"Off we go then," He said, completely ignoring her as he led the group to an alley and Void-walked them away.