The Quantum Wanderer

Marcelo’s POV

We wake the next day normally. Of course, considering that the dwarf thing left me with a bad taste. I really wish I hadn’t needed to do what I did. But I am not thinking too much about it. And the whole incident with lady Guina is of little importance to us. If she tries something too big targeting our home, it would be akin to declaring war. And we can solve anything on the smaller side. I am not worried about the girls and me.

Right after breakfast and sending the girls to their school, I am invited to Edward’s home. There are apparently some news that would be of my interest. I go there, and I am taken again to his study.

“Good morning, friend.”

“Good morning, Edward! Did something happen?”

“Something good, actually.” He hands me a letter. “This is not the original letter, the message was passed through the guild, using the guild’s Comm Gems. So it was re-written, obviously. But the contents are the same as the original.” He is laughing.

I open the letter.

“Papal Bull – Nergal’s Oracle for Humanoid Rights

I, the Pope of the Great Church of Nergal, have been blessed by an oracle from our lord and savior, Nergal.

Even though we humans are the pinnacle of creation for being his image, Nergal’s clemency extends to even lower humanoids.

Innocent and free humanoids are not, therefore, to be held against their will in cities.

Let this be sanctum.

Constantine Third

The Pope of the most elevated church of Nergal”

I look at this, and Edward is laughing. I am laughing as well.

“Well, apparently Nergal really started caring for the other races, all of a sudden. At least the problem is solved.”

“Yes, this one is. I am already feeding this kind of information to Arthuria, so that they don’t try their luck over there. The previous information was enough, though. Specially after they confirmed it with some adventurer from the city. This spread so quick that there was no way to keep everyone silent.”

I am kind of happy with this development, it makes the whole thing worth it. Edward continues.

“What about the situation with lady Guina? What are your thoughts on it?”

“Up to now, she only trash talked. It’s not like she did anything yet. I have a very good security network around my home, and if she tries something big, like several dozen guards, that would be an attack to the empire, right? She can’t waltz in here with a platoon of soldiers.”

“Waltz in here? I liked the expression. I am going to borrow it.”

“Sure, go ahead. But like I was saying, I don’t think she has much space. As for the girls and I, we are very hard to kill by human hands right now. Other than a dragon or a bullgoose, I don’t see much being able to hurt the girls seriously. Or myself, for that matter.

“So if some attempt happens, I am just going to respond. No need to keep worrying about it. I am just going to assume that it would be my right to self defense.”

“Yes, it would. I have already spoken to Thalor about that. Specially after the show she provided to us. We are really worried about the guild in the Holy Kingdom.”

I just shrug.

“I am not too worried. I will let you know, though.”

“Thank you.”

I feel the dwarven Comm Gem trying to let me know that Dávrin is trying to reach me. I excuse myself and go home. Once I am there, I stablish connection with the dwarf.

“Hi Dávrin.”

“Hello, friend. How have you been?”

“I have been well. Have you already heard about the papal bull?”

“YES! The guild had it delivered to my home! It was absolutely delightful. The court laughed for hours! We had a tablet posted on the main square, I could hear the populace laughing from here. Some suggested dedicating a day to Nergal, perhaps a holiday. Nergal’s sphincter rupture day! What do you think?”

I laughed.

“I am happy that you are in such good mood. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“My friend, I am only saying this because you asked. I am ashamed of taking advantage of you.”

“Don’t worry about it. If I don’t feel like it, I can just say no.”

“Of course. The next city that we would like to get clean is Dún Aonghasa. I have a map here.”

“Ok, I will meet you in the room I used when I visited.”

I open a portal, and I go to the room. A minute later, Dávrin arrives there, with a couple of scrolls in his hands. He puts the scrolls down, and they have the same detailed description on how to get to that city. This is one of the cities that has the opening to the demons. The demons are going to have connections to one more dwarven city. I put the map away and look at him.

“This time, I am going to spend some days on this operation, because the focus is not just the killing. It is going to take a little longer. Once the deed is done, I will let you know, and then you can take possession.”

He gestures, as if he wanted to talk, but nothing comes out. After some time like this, he sighs.

“I don’t know what to say, friend.”

“Don’t worry about that. Sometimes I feel like I am taking advantage of you guys. Well, I will be going. Take care.”

“Sure friend. Take care.”

I come back home. Cecilia is going to enjoy these news. I keep thinking about the calendar, Hikari’s wedding is just around the corner. I wait for the volcanic air from the dwarves to spread out and I take a look at the position of the sun.

It is kind of early, there are some hours till the sunset, so I go to the guild. There is a lot of talk around. Most of it mocking, and people laughing.

“Lionheart! Have you heard?”

Griffin comes close, before I even get my ale and my table.

“Not yet. What’s going on?”

“You are going to love this one. Have you heard about the papal bull?”

“No, what is a papal bull?”

“It is the name the Holy Kingdom uses for an edict. This is a development on what happened to the cathedral in Esdohr. I told you that something had wiped out everything in it, right?”

“Right. But everything? Did anyone get any additional information on this after that?”

“Not really. Everything dead, curse, crows image on the altar, Nergal’s statue destroyed on the floor, ‘Free the dwarves or else’.”

…

“But now the pope of the church emitted a papal bull telling every member of the church, ‘please, please, don’t harass the dwarves’. The only question people have is whose arse is burning, if it is the pope’s or if it is Nergal’s.”

He laughed. I don’t think that the papal bull had the effect they expected. We chat a little, people are making a lot of fun of the Holy Kingdom, the church and their god. There are a couple of groups of adventurers that are not really happy with the situation, they have an angry face, but there is not much that can be done when the absolute majority is laughing. I see that they leave after a couple of minutes.

After some chatting, it is time to go back home, and portal the girls back from the schools. We wash up and get down for dinner. During dinner, the hot topic was the papal bull.

“In the knight school they were calling it the papal bullshit, my lord.” Informs Opal. Hearing her saying bullshit in a majestic way is really funny. Cecilia giggles with the information.

“I heard that they created a quest in the guild to study the curse. There are a lot of priests praying to Nergal trying to solve the issue. The cleansing spells did not work. Some other holy spells did not work either. They called several mages to investigate, but the information that is being shared is that there is no mana or miasma associated with it, so people are at a loss.”

I wonder to myself if people are going to eventually find out my secret silent death spell. But it might not be a big problem anyway. I shrug.

“Cecs, I talked to the dwarves today. I have the map for your level up.”

Her eyes shine, she stops eating.

“Really? When can we go?”

“We can start tomorrow. I don’t know how long it will be worth doing that, though. I have no idea on the number of levels that can be gained from those things. Our goal is to limit the amount of ants or termites that you are going to fight each time. I am going to have to cast the spell at the right times for it to work. I have had experience with gaining a lot of experience at once, it can be disorienting.”

“Tomorrow? Yey!”

I turn to Opal and Shandon.

“Can you mention in the school that Cecilia has a cold? That would explain her absence for a couple of days.”

“Are you going to camp there, my lord?” Asks Opal.

“No, we are going to come back for the night. We are going alone, so there is no reason to camp.”

“My lord, do you think you are going to need any help?”

“I don’t think so. If we do need it, I will get back and ask. Thank you for the the offer, Shandon.”

“You don’t have to thank me, my lord!”

“I know, but I like to do that.”

After we talk a little bit about the whole political situation, and Cecilia and Ruby in particular laugh about the papal bullshit and the dwarves’ comments, we retire for the night.

Next morning, after breakfast and portaling the girls over to school, I start looking for Dún Aonghasa. I find it rather quickly, the instructions on the map are just perfect. I portal back home, and I meet Cecilia. She is already dressed up adventurer mode. The reinforced armor, although unnecessary, can be useful to protect the dwarven charm. I give her the strategy.

“Cecs, your armor, skin and bones are the most resistant material on the planet. We want you to get experience, so I need you to do clean kills. That means close combat. Don’t phreak out, if you feel that your in danger, throw mana at your bones, that is going to speed regeneration speed by a lot. Any questions so far?”

“No.”

It is so rare to see Cecilia serious, that this is almost funny. She is looking like a small child receiving a missing right now.

“Now, a couple more of things. Due to some characteristics in your sword, the sharpen spell should hold a lot longer. I don’t know how longer. I am going to cast it as soon as we get there. In the future, I can teach it to you, but I don’t want to spend that time now.”

“Ok.”

“Remember, the sword is going to cut through the ants or termites as if they were made of water. Don’t put weight behind the blade or you are going to loose your balance. It is a different way of fighting.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Last instructions. The really important thing to reinforce with mana is the brain, and the inner side of the bones on your back. You are going to know when you hit the right spot. Time will slow down. In terms of regeneration, always focus on your skull, ok?”

“Yes, sir!”

“I am going to be behind you, trying to manage the experience from the bugs’ deaths. Let me know if it gets too much, if you get headache. It is a symptom of getting levels too fast.”

“There isn’t this thing of getting levels too fast.” And she puts her tongue out.

“It’s a good thing you know it all…” I laugh. I open the portal, and we go through.  Cecilia, the crows and me.

“Hand me your sword.”

I put the vibrating mana inside it. It has the same mana channels as my katana, the principle is the same. I hand the sword back to her, very carefully.

“Don’t sheath it, it is going to cut your scabbard in two.”

She holds her sword, and we enter the cave. I cast a light spell, so that she can also see inside the dark cave. Munnin and Huginn are on my shoulder, they have their dwarven pendants. I have to cast an air spell on my lungs to be able to breath. I can’t believe that I have to do it because my pendant is still with that asshole. Such is life.

After some walk, a group of two termites come up. So this was the termite nest. I hadn’t asked because I kept forgetting, and it doesn’t make much difference. The monsters are very similar, have similar attacks. I reinforce my brain, and time slows down. I see Cecilia running forward, and the termite also runs toward her.

I cast the soul absorption spell, but I do it in a different format that I had trained. I have to keep connection to the mana in order to keep the spell up, but I keep just a string of mana towards me, and I keep Cecilia in the center of this buble.

She kills the monster, and the experience follows the path of least resistance, being absorbed completely by Cecilia. I can sense her level being affected.

“FUCK! THIS IS GOOD!”

Another small group of worker termites get close to her. I keep the soul absorption spell, and then I do an experiment, I kill one of the termites inside the bubble. She still gets the experience. Now this is a cheat.

I keep the bubble up, and we both kill around 20 termites, some of them soldiers. I see that her breathing start to get ragged, so I pull her from there, and run from the cave, closing it with an earth spell. I take her to the outside of the cave. She is suffering on the floor.

“FUUUUCCKKKK, THIS HURRTTSS. MOTHER FUCKER SUN OF BITCH!”

“I am going to put you to sleep.”

I put her to sleep, so that she doesn’t feel that. Her sword dropped on the floor, I remove the sharpening spell, and sheath it. I princess carry her through a portal to our room. I lay her down sitting on the floor of the showers. The amount of goo on her is… 20 termites worth.

I get out of the room, and summon Rudolph.

“Rudolph, lady Cecilia needs a cleaning, but she is passed out of exhaustion. Do you think I could ask some maids to help her?”

Yes, I realize that I could clean her myself, that it would be romantic. If I had to, I would. But since I don’t have to… I go downstairs with Rudolph, and he orders two maids to help Cecilia. I sit down on the couch, relaxing a little bit. I pity the maids. I think I am growing spoiled.

I keep looking outside the window, at the clouds, just relaxing. I wonder what level she reached. After a little bit of time, I open the portal for the girls to come back home. After coming in, Shandon is the one to ask.

“My lord, how is sister?”

 “She is alright. She is being bathed by a couple of maids right now. She got so many levels that she started to feel the pain, so I put her unconscious to sleep it off. She will be fine when she wakes up. And stronger.”

“How stronger?”

“I don’t know, but she got several levels. We can ask her when she wakes up.”

At this point, the two maids come down the stairs. They are whispering, and looking at me in a strange way. I giggle a little.

We go up, and I take a look at her. She is clean, sleeping in our bed. I remove any impediments to her waking up, but I don’t wake her up. I sense her mana pathways, and they are all already improved. Her body is a little better toned. The other girls are a little impressed. Shandon even comments.

“She is apparently a less weak ant now, my lord! Congratulations on the success.”

“She is the one to be congratulated. But it is not over yet. I want to keep this process for at least a couple more days. Let’s see where that get us.”

Ruby is looking dejected. I caress her cheek.

“Ruby, you know I love you. This does not work for you. We would need a bigger game. I promise I will try to find other ways to make you stronger besides what you already are. I hope to spend a very long time with you – we are going to have lots of opportunities to reach higher, ok?”

She hugs and kisses me. I give a kiss on each of the dragonesses. We wash up and go down for dinner. After that, we retire, taking care to not wake Cecilia up.

Next day, I wake up with Cecilia shaking me, yelling at me.

“LEVEL FUCKING 55! TWELVE LEVELS IN A DAY! YOU FUCKING CHEAT!”

I take a couple of seconds to understand what is going on. Then I laugh. She keeps pulling me out of bed.

“Come on! Let’s have breakfast, quick! We have to come back there!”

The dragonesses start to wake up, also slowly. Opal looks at her, then covers her head with a pillow. Ruby throws a pillow at Cecilia, that explodes, and kind of throws Cecilia against the wall. I take a look to see if she is not hurt, but the regeneration is already acting.

“Cecilia, pour mana into your skull and bones!”

After just a minute, she is back up.

“WHAT THE FUCK, RUBY!”

Ruby realizes that she placed more strength on the pillow throw than she wanted.

“I am sorry, sister. But please, let us sleep a little more! It is still dark!”

I look outside, and it is actually dark. Cecilia had done some fire light spell, so I didn’t realize at first. Specially because I would normally be asleep by now.

“Cecs, everyone is sleeping right now. We are going to be back there as many times as possible to raise your levels. Let’s get back to bed.”

I go back to bed and get spooned by the dragonesses. Cecilia sits on the bed.

Some hours later, effectively in the morning, we start to wake up. We get dressed and go down for breakfast. Cecilia’s stomach rumbles selvagely. She is tapping her fingers on the table, while the food is placed.

She ends up eating a lot. More than me, something around two people’s worth. I laugh at her, with her stomach now bulging.

“Cecs, I am going to open the portal for the girls to go back to school, we can get back to the experience farming right away!”

“First, fuck you. We can wait a couple of minutes. Second, is that what you call that? Experience farming?”

“Kind of.” I laugh.

After we finish the breakfast in a normal fashion, I portal the dragonesses to the school, and Cecilia and I get ready to go back to experience farming.

We get back to the cave, already prepared. The wall I had created with the earth magic is gone, there are only traces of it. We go deeper, and we arrive at the dwarven city. I yell, and worker termites move back while the soldiers start coming up. There are a lot of them. We let them see us, and then retreat back into the tunnel.

We wait a little, and the soldiers start reaching the tunnel. They are not good in terms of strategy, they just throw themselves on us. I manage the soul absorption spell around Cecilia, and she goes to town on the termites. Her new levels show. The spell bubble absorbing experience is as wide as the cave, and I use my rail gun with nails to finish some of them up before they get to me.

We keep killing termites over and over. This time, we kill another 60 soldiers before her breathing gets ragged. I do the same thing I did before, I run away out of the cave, and close it with a very thick wall made of earth magic.

This time she is not in as bad shape as she was before. I portal us home. She goes to the showers, and start undressing under the running water. She is still curved forward, trying to catch her breath. She sits on the floor a little bit. I smile at her.

“What level now, o great warrior?”

“65. This feels like I am cheating on the whole world. I am probably the strongest human in the world right now. Not considering heros, of course.”

“Well… If you do it right, you can be even stronger than a hero. Heros will have a tough time hurting you, with the unbreakable bones and regeneration… You could just wear the dwarven pendant and create an area with the silent death around you. It doesn’t work with everything, but it would be strategy tough to beat by a hero.”

“I noticed that the levels are harder to get. How many more will I be able to get?”

“I don’t know. But not that many. We will have to see. But you already know that weak monsters don’t provide experience.”

She makes an almost sad face. I keep going.

“You are probably going to be able to have gains for another day. I think that it is going to stagnate after that.”

I help her up, we have our showers. We go downstairs, her stomach is rumbling like crazy, and I ask Roberta to prepare some kraken meat for Cecilia. She finishes eating, and relaxes with me, on the couch. I look at her happy face.

“Do you feel any different?”

“Yes and no. It feels like the fights are way easier, but it is hard to pinpoint. You must have that sensation a lot.”

“Yes, I feel like everything kind of slows down comparatively. But I always had cheats, so it is kind of different for me.”

She lays her head on my lap, and I am relaxed, passing my hand through her hair. When I look down, she is asleep. I stay in the position to avoid waking her up.

I notice through the window that it is close to sundown, I open the portal in the living room for the other girls. They come in, I close it. They go up to our room to wash up. When they come back down to have dinner I wake Cecilia up.

We have a normal dinner. Cecilia doesn’t eat much. We retire shortly after.