Count Flamewood. A profit-driven yet logical man. He was also in his own way affectionate.
People are resources and resources must be properly cared for. Tools must be kept in an optimal condition. This was the philosophy he learned to use on his family and on his territory. He was therefore very angry right now.
"You idiotic son! At first, you didn't want to leave the damn house and now you don't want to stay!? Is there something wrong with your head!?" Furiously yelled the count towards his hot-blooded son Felix.
They were currently inside of the Flamewood estate, east of Bosque's capital pith. This was the count's office located on the third floor of their large mansion.
"What the hell do you mean!? You were the one that sent me on this f*cking adventure in the first place you old coot! So what if I now want to continue huh?!" Felix shouted back.
Felix had been sitting patiently in front of his father who was standing behind the desk in anger. His patience was quickly cut short by his father's words though.
"You unbridled brat! Can't you tell I am doing this for your sake!?" His father angrily replied. Felix was looking at things from an entirely different perspective though.
"For me!?" He scoffed. That idea had never crossed his mind for one sole reason.
"I think you mean for the damn territory and f*cking family line!!" Raged Felix.
His father's face turned pale before burning red with anger. With a furious expression, he approached his son and slapped him.
Silence reigned in the office as Felix stared at his angry further without uttering a word, he was speechless.
That was right. As the only male resource capable of inheriting his father's position he was initially doted on. Things eventually changed as his father insisted more and more on teaching the proper etiquette and duties of nobility. As if he ever asked for that responsibility! Those were Felix's thoughts.
"You want to enjoy our wealth, our connections, you want to have fun?!? You want all that without any responsibilities whatsoever!?" Count Flamewood madly screamed. He could definitely read Felix's thoughts. He was hurt, as a father, he was hurt.
It was undeniably true that his main reasoning was to groom the only heir but… did his son really believe that he was an uncaring machine?
"I am very angry right now Felix. But most of all, I am disappointed." The count's tone softened and expressed great sadness. He didn't even dare look at his son anymore.
"Leave" He said pointing towards the door.
Felix, still wearing an incensed expression wanted to scream at the old man but… he couldn't. He swallowed his anger and headed towards the fancy double door that decorated the library-like office.
He swung the door open and two people were waiting on the other side. One, a woman, gasped audibly in surprise. This was Felix's mother.
"My baby what did h!"... Her words were cut off as the other person entered and closed the door.
"What is it?" The count asked as he made his way back to his comfortable chair. He rubbed his weary eyes as he looked up at his fancy ceiling. Sometimes he wondered where exactly he had gone wrong.
The man, not minding what had happened, proceeded to slowly recount his business with his aged voice.
"The Freedom Union sent a unique sample for our alchemists to analyze. Its composition was rather special, they speculated that this item was an alchemical treasure." The man said. He was around the same age as the count, they were actually raised together. He was currently referring to a jade white bone.
The Flamewood estate started off as a lumbering city but some rare herbs were found in the vicinity and alchemy boomed. They are now a major enterprise on the east side of the kingdom. They had close ties to the Freedom Union who was interlinked with the kingdom so their area of commerce would likely see future growth.
They were close enough for the Union to send them a magic device capable of teleporting items. It was one of the many things the Union had acquired from their alliance with Eon.
"The first solution they managed to concoct had bone forging effects." The man said before pausing to recollect his thoughts.
"The most amazing part however was how it facilitated mana control. The reforged bones seem to have created special magic channels." The aged man reported.
At this point, the count's eyes had widened. Did such a miraculous material actually exist?!?
"They haven't confirmed that latter aspect yet, it is mere speculation. Nonetheless, the implications are unfathomable!" The aged man said excitedly. As he had grown together with the count and was basically raised inside of the large mansion he had become quite invested into anything related to the estate.
"That's great news! We need to get more of these!" The count tossed the issue that was his son out of his mind as he enthusiastically replied.
If they obtained more of these through the Freedom Union wouldn't they start to lead the field of alchemy?!? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let his son return to do some business...
***
Soon the timer would be over but then Ed remembered to quickly check his status.
[Name: Edw#&!]
Type: Level 5 Consciousness.
Health: 600/600
Bodies: Skeleton, Orc
~Skills~
[Transmission lvl. 4] -Show info-
[Mental Fortitude lvl. 4] -Show info-
[Assessment lvl. 0] -Show info-
[Assimilation lvl. 5] -Show info-
[Thought Manifestation lvl. 1] -Show info-
[Language lvl. 1] -Show info-
[???] -Show info-
[Eloquence lvl. 2] -Show info-
[Craftsperson lvl. 0]
Limited by creativity, your hands move deftly.
His consciousness health had increased by 100 as it had always done with each subsequent level up. He thus quickly moved on to the Craftsperson skill and its description.
'Limited by creativity huh…' Did it mean that he could make something out of nothing? Definitely not.
It most likely meant that the skill dealt with all things craft related and his creativity was the only limitation to what things it might apply to.
'Well, maybe if I advance thought manifestation' Ed couldn't help but fantasize about what such a combo might create. Would he be able to spawn a gun out of thin air?
He shouldn't get his hopes up. Thought Manifestation didn't seem to have a use limit apart from concentration, being able to do such things with its aid would be beyond broken.
[Summoning Dungeon Champion]
Those ever so great words appeared in front of him following the termination of the timer. Ed felt his thoughts stop to a halt and a vacuum in space opened sucking him in. His body of light then disappeared into the said vacuum and Ed collided with something.
It was his orc body. He was still laying in bed just as before. He shook away the grogginess and laid up. He glanced around the room and managed to see some traces of moonlight through some small cracks in the wooden walls.
'It's still night time then' Ed thought pensively. He spent what felt like at least 3 or 4 hours in the crypts. All things considered, things happened rather quickly.
'I should test out the new skill later' He wanted to desperately test if his efforts bore fruits but he would have to hold off until day time came. Doing so now might interrupt the orcs going about their nightly activities. Sleeping or otherwise…
'I'll just get back to what I was doing then' Ed nodded inwardly. His body felt refreshed after 'sleeping' for a good bit. It was time to put it to work then.
He sat on his bed for nearly 10 minutes circulating mana but tonight was a night of interruption…
[A trespasser has entered your floor]
Ed shot up off his bed.
'What?!?' He planned to train for the next one or two days as he waited for this message so why did it come so soon?
'Could it be…?' Ed felt his head hurt. This was a horrible miscalculation. The previous floor led directly to this one! Luckily most, if not all, of the welcome preparations were already done.
'I guess my current status will have to do' Ed heaved a heavy sigh. Did this mean that there were more orc floors after this one? He was slightly convinced before he quickly noticed an issue.
What was the reason he believed he would be fine for a few days? Simple. There was a boss on this floor! If that wasn't the last floor of its kind than what would?
'I doubt dungeons have bosses on each floor' That would be tiring and very hard to deal with. Ed suddenly felt the urge to know more about how dungeons functioned, his assumptions were often wrong after all.
'Speaking of boss…' Ed thought back to the cavern and the knowledge carved on the boulder and then it hit him.
3 planes. Stacked one on top of the other. Then merged into one another.
Coincidence? I think not!