The dragon's harem

As Arad walked out of Mary’s room and headed downstairs, he came in contact with one of the nuns who came to bring him in. She looked at him for a moment. “Then guards have brought some books for you. Please follow me.”

Arad followed the nun down to the main chamber, where he saw a mound of books and scrolls piled up on a wooden table. The poor little wooden creation bent in the middle like a smiling face, a single fly would crack it in half.

“Sir Arad, we’ve brought the book you asked for.” One of the three guards standing there approached Arad, saluted him, and announced. “The basics of magic, all elements, history of the world, maps, kingdom laws and politics, and some books about culture and what is considered normal and isn’t.”

Arad looked at the book and lifted a brown one. The fine leather cover was already rotting away, this thing must’ve sat in a library for years without getting touched. [The Art of Speech] This book is about conversation and its ethics.

Arad opened the book at a random page and read a single line.

“If you’re looking to pick a fight, insults are a good way to get someone riled up. First, speak politely and figure out what they hold dear, then insult that to their face. This would result in a fight in most cases.” He looked at the guards, “No wonder no one had read this book.”

“People who don’t know how to speak mostly aren’t willing to learn how to. This book shows what is wrong to stir them to do better.” The guard pointed at the line. “See this. If you’re used to getting in fights a lot, reading this might make you realize what caused that.”

Arad laid the book down and picked another. [The Basics of Elemental Magic] This one seemed to detail the very basics, a guide made to allow people who never used magic to learn and use it.

On the first page, “Mana is the energy, the force, the soul of the world itself, flowing through everything and anything with Yog’s blessing. Controlling that energy is what allows us to cast magic and get closer to our dear goddess.”

“She is the goddess of magic after all.” Arad flipped several pages until he reached an interesting chapter, “Daily Magic: Create water, fire, and warm air for your convenience.”

The nun looked at the page, “Everyone learns this, there is a teacher at the lord’s library who teaches kids how to use it.” She lifted her finger and ignited a small flame akin to a candle. From one finger, she created water, a tiny and weak stream, but clean water nonetheless.

She looked around the room and headed to the corner, crouching down, “If you wanted to wash your hands.” She put her hands together, and a small ball of water appeared one foot above her palms and poured a weak stream akin to a faucet.

Arad looked at her, “I see, you modified the spell to conjure the water above your hands instead of from your fingers.”

“Not just that.” A tiny flame appeared burning beneath the water ball as the stream was pushed to pour from its side. The flames heated the water and the nun could wash her hands with warm water.

Arad quickly realized how advanced this world was in terms of magic than his previous one. In his world, most people use spells, pre-written and standard magic, and incantations like fireball and ice spear; he was used to modifying them, but that act wasn’t common. But in this world, it’s common to modify spells, even people who aren’t that versed in magic are capable of doing it. The nun before him isn’t even a mage, but her being able to do that puts her at least at the level of a scholar in his old world.

“So this is a world full of mini-Merlins… it’s terrifying to think off.” Arad picked another book to read.

“Mini-Merlins?” The nun asked with a puzzled face.

“A wizard in my old world, we’re pretty close. She’s called Merlin and is extremely skilled with spells.” Arad replied as he opened the book and the nun gasped, “Do you mean Merlin… like Merlin Merlin?”

“What are you talking about?” Arad looked at her, he was just as confused as she was.

“The goddess is used to using the name Merlin as an example of a wizard, saying things like: Imagine a wizard called Merlin, she casts this and that but forgets to do this and this.” The nun pulled a small book encased in a fine leather pouch.

“Verse five.” She pointed, “The goddess was once asked who is this Merlin she keeps bringing out and she said he was a great wizard in another world. He served a king called Arthur.” “The Merlin I know is a woman so they aren’t the same person.” Arad replied and Yog’s voice rang in his head, [Yeah, the Merlin she speaks of is from another world. But the Merlin you know was named after him. Most kids get named in a church so I slipped the name to her parents, Merlin had a great talent for magic since she was born a high human, thought the name would be fitting.]

^Wait, you named Merlin?^ Arad gasped, [No, I just put the suggestion in her parents’ mind, they ended up picking it on their own.]

The book Arad had picked was called [The Culinary Legacy of Lisa Von Rex: Arcane Cookery] It detailed the life and recipes of a chef called Lisa Von Rex who used magic to assist in her cooking and added magical effects to the dishes.

After reading one page, Arad understood that by cooking certain ingredients with magic he can make the dishes act like potions and grant those who eat them various buffs. Lisa’s dishes focused on health-based effects like curing cold, protecting the teeth against decay, and keeping the body warm through the cold work days of the harsh winter.

Strangely, the recipe for stamina potion from his old world was labeled as a cocktail called mojito.

“Even cooking has magic here?” Arad sighed and one of the guards approached, “Look at page 81, the dish there is amazing.”

Arad quickly flipped the pages and landed in a strange chapter. [Cook’n’go: Dishes on the go, hunt small games, and reinforce yourself to withstand the harshness of the road.]

The chapter details how to cook rabbits, small monsters, and dried meats with herbs that can be picked almost anywhere on the road or in forests. The dishes mainly focused on enchanting stamina, endurance, and resistance to cold, heat, and poison. There was even a disk for horses called grass-a-la-Gora, it’s a grass salad using a certain dried herb called Gora to enchant the horses’ stamina.

The nun looked at Arad with a smile, “The world is all based on magic. Our goddess Yog created this world as a testing ground for her spells and incantations, we who live here originate from the criminals she brought to use as test subjects.”

“The sins aren’t ours, so the goddess gave us freedom to live as we please as long as we worship her.” One of the guards smiled, “We have a mural for that behind the church.”

“The goddess brought the criminals here but was surprised to find some of them pregnant or already having children.” The nun looked at Arad with a passive face. “Even though she brought the most heinous and worst evil criminals, she was certain their children were innocent so she raised them.”

“She raised them on her own, built them houses, taught them how to use magic, and then ascended back to heaven. We call that century the age of the great blessing.” The guard explained with a smile on his face.

“To every world their history.” Arad looked at the pile of books, “I don’t know much about mine though.”

“History isn’t necessarily useful when speaking on practical terms.” The nun lifted one of the books, “But it shouldn’t be forgotten, especially when speaking about major events, the gods or kingdoms and their relations.”

She handed a book to Arad called [The Art of Magical Warfare and Subterfuge] The book details some common magical methods that kingdoms use to best one another like disguise rings, artillery, remote teleport gates, spyware, and even assassination poisons.

But a clear note on the first page of the book stated that this was written based on the information of the fallen kingdom of Fortben. Most kingdoms have developed better methods and that is why this book is public, since it’s now useless.

Arad immediately realized that even if the book is useless in this world…it’ll be another story going back to his old world. He made a mental note to either memorize the book or take it

back with him.

Arad looked through the pile of books and soon froze in place, finding a strange book. [The Art of Sex] A detailed book with explanations, drawings, and even step-by-step tutorials. “Why is this here?” He looked at the guards with a puzzled face.

“Didn’t you order it?” They asked and Arad shook his face, “No, I just asked for magical and

history books, I didn’t make the list.”

The nun behind them sighed… “It was probably Mary.” She took the book from them, “Please pretend you didn’t see it.”