2 Better living through magical means

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, OoalGown, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old man of the mountain and TheDonFluffles

The Guild of Gamers: The Necromancer

Chapter 02: Better living through magical means

Waking up in a rather comfortable bed comes as a bit of a surprise considering I frankly wasn't convinced I'd be waking up at all.

As I go to sit up, I pause as I feel something keeping me down. Have I been captured and bound?

Opening my eyes in panic, I pause as I make eye contact with the gray eyes of the small dog laying on my chest, panting happily as it barks once before licking my face.

Huh, if this is a prison it's an unusual one.

The dog, whose name I can see is Zwei from his collar, sits up and moves off my chest as I rise, wincing at the pain in my side.

Touching my side tenderly, I wince at the throbbing pain. It's not that bad when I don't move fast, but it's definitely unpleasant

It also alerts me to the fact that I'm naked, making me check under the covers, happy to find my boxers in place.

Zwei happily trots off out of the room, making me look around. My bag is hanging off one of the bedposts, and my clothes are in a nice neat pile on the bedside table as I sit at the edge of the bed.

Well, I'm alive and I don't think whoever brought me here means me any harm. Perhaps that's too optimistic and they're trying to get my guard down but I likely owe them my life regardless.

"Your clothes were dirty, and the sleeve was torn," a gentle voice says, attracting my attention to the doorway where a frankly incredibly beautiful woman with black hair that fades to a dark red at the tips stands, a soft smile on her face as her silver eyes lock with mine. "I fixed and cleaned them while you were resting."

Almost instinctively I reach out with my telepathy, getting a sense of relief and happiness from her as I smile back, somewhat awkwardly as I remember my current state of undress.

"Then you have my thanks, both for allowing me to rest here and for the aid," I say, making her smile wider for a moment.

"It was nothing, I have two girls around your age and any mother with a pair of daughters as active as mine learns to get used to repairing and cleaning clothes," she says with a soft laugh. "I'm surprised you woke up so quickly after such a nasty blow but I suppose your magic helped you heal."

I can't stop the slight widening of my eyes as she mentions my magical nature, worried for a moment that I was in danger thanks to them working out I was a Necromancer.

"Perhaps, how long have I been asleep?" I ask, forcing down my worry.

"Two days. We had the village doctor take a look at you and he said you just needed rest, you had several broken ribs but your magic has been fixing them," she explains. "My husband was rather surprised to find a mage on the road to the adventurers guild building, do you remember him?"

So, my magic will heal me over time, that's good to know but it's also rather slow. It's not something I can rely on in battle.

"I believe so, the blonde man who attacked the… creature that was trying to kill me? I saw him briefly before I passed out," I agree, making her smile. "It appears I owe him my life, may I have your name?"

"Taiyang was just doing his job, it's just a part of being an adventurer. I'm Summer Rose, an adventurer myself," Summer says, making me give her a smile.

"And I am Rowan Blackwood, a pleasure to meet you Mrs Rose," I say, giving her my best attempt at a bow from my seated position with some broken ribs. "I don't suppose you could tell me where I am exactly? I was rather lost, to be perfectly honest."

"You're in the village of Patch, on the island by the same name," Summer replies easily as she enters the room, unconcerned with my near nudity.

"Ah, that… doesn't help, I'm afraid I've never heard of Patch," I admit, making her pause with furrowed brows.

I can see the question in her eyes, how did I end up on an island without even knowing it's name.

"It's a part of the Kingdom of Vale," Summer says, still seeing no recognition in my eyes.

I can't tell her I'm from another world, where magic and monsters were naught but fantasy.

"I'm sorry, I've never traveled before and geography wasn't exactly a part of my studies," I admit.

I don't like lying, especially to someone who has helped me, but sometimes the truth is more harmful than any lie.

Even if they believed me about my origin, which is laughably unlikely, I'd be seen as a freak of nature and probably end up being dissected in a laboratory.

"May I ask how you ended up on Patch? This island is rather large but it only has a small population and as far as I know there are no mages living here," Summer asks, and I can sense her growing suspicion.

Of course she would be, I'm on an island where everyone probably knows everyone.

"I'm not entirely sure to be perfectly honest, I believe this could best be described as a… magical mishap," I say, surprised to feel her suspicion start to fade as a look of understanding appears on her face.

Notice: The Guild takes lengths to ensure the Gamer's origin will not be discovered.

"Where are you from then?" Summer asks, making me hesitate.

"I don't exactly know, as embarrassing as that is to admit. I was raised away from civilisation," I lie, hoping the 'Guild' can somehow let me bullshit my way through this. "My master disliked people."

Her suspicion returns, but oddly enough it doesn't feel aimed at me this time.

"I see, you're an apprentice then?" Summer asks, making me nod. "Do you think your master will come looking for you?"

"I… no, he's not around anymore," I say, surprised at my own ability to spin a tale. "He left me a spell circle that was supposed to take me to meet someone who would take me on, but I think it sent me to the wrong place."

"Ah, I'm sorry for your loss," Summer says, giving me a small smile.

"Thank you," I say, mentally frowning. I'll make it up to her later, because lying to someone who took me in and has done nothing but help me makes me feel like shit. "But we weren't particularly close to be honest, he was my mentor and nothing more."

She goes to speak, but the sound of my stomach grumbling makes her pause, giggling.

"Ah, of course. You haven't eaten in days," Summer says with a smile. "I'll stop the interrogation and whip something up for you. I've grabbed some of Tai's old clothes for you since you didn't have a change of clothes, he certainly doesn't need them anymore so help yourself," Summer says, gesturing to the small pile of clothes on the floor.

I want to refuse, I already owe these people a lot, but I'm both incredibly hungry and wearing robes all the time would make me stand out far too much.

"Thank you, Mrs Rose," I say, making her laugh.

"Call me Summer, I know I'm old enough to be your mother but Mrs Rose makes me feel old," Summer says, giving me a smile as she turns and heads downstairs.

Looking at the pile of clothes, I pick a simple pair of trousers and a shirt as I get dressed. Well, Rowan, what the fuck are you going to do with yourself now?

— Summer Rose —

"You heard all that?" Summer asked as she headed downstairs, making Qrowe scoff.

"Yup, and I don't like what I heard," Qrowe grumbled as she followed Summer into the kitchen, plopping down into a chair.

She already knew what had her old teammate on edge. It hadn't taken long to realise that one of Rowan's Grimoires was bound in leather made from human skin, Qrowe being one of the few people reckless enough to touch a mage's Grimoire.

She couldn't read it, of course, the text utterly indecipherable to them, but it didn't set a good image. Rowan seemed like a nice young man, but…

"His master?" Summer asked, making Qrowe nod.

"I don't know what went wrong for him to end up here, but I'm willing to bet money that little Rowan was supposed to end up with some of her minions," Qrowe said, scowling to herself.

"Maybe, but does Rowan know that?" Summer asked, making Qrowe shrug.

"Kid didn't even know the name of the kingdom he was in," Qrowe said with a scoff. "I'm guessing he's been taught magic and fuck all else."

"You noticed how he talks?" Summer asks as she started making some breakfast for Rowan.

"Like a noble? Yeah, I noticed. Don't recognise his accent either but he doesn't exactly sound like some country boy," Qrowe said, taking a swing of her flask. "Tch, ain't gonna work anything out like this."

"Qrowe…" Summer said warningly, making the drunkard give her a cocky smile.

"Don't worry your pretty little ass so much, I can be subtle when I want to be," Qrowe said, waving off her concerns.

Which just made her even more concerned, because Qrowe was about as subtle as a punch to the face at the best of times.

Maybe she was worrying for nothing, Qrowe was essentially a spy after all, but Summer didn't have much faith in her ability to be subtle.

"Look, let me try and do this my way first," Summer said, hearing movement upstairs, making Qrowe shrug.

"Fine, we'll do things your way for now," Qrowe scoffed, going quiet as Rowan came downstairs, being guided by Zwei.

"Sit down, Rowan. It shouldn't be long," Summer said with a warm smile.

She didn't know much about Rowan but she knew that being nice cost nothing, and if Rowan wasn't aware of his mentor's connection to Salem, or if they were completely wrong in their assumption, then they didn't want to drive him away by being paranoid.

If Rowan was aware of Salem? Well, it wouldn't be the first time they turned someone away from that path just by being kind to them.

Something the former bandit sat at the table definitely remembered as she rolled her eyes, taking another swig.

"Ah, thank you. You have a lovely home," Rowan said, taking a seat as he glanced at Qrowe who lifted her flask in a mock salute.

"Qrowe, nice to meet you Rowan," Qrowe said lazily.

"A pleasure to meet you," Rowan said with a small smile making her laugh.

"You're only saying that because you don't know her yet," Summer said teasingly, making Qrowe snort. "Or you're too nice if you think meeting this grumpy old woman is a pleasure."

"Yeah, yeah. Besides, who are you calling old? At least I'm still in shape, motherhood put a few pounds on you," Qrowe snarked back, making her smile even as she briefly glanced down at her body. "Too much time playing house made you fat."

Rowan relaxed a bit seeing them playfully poke at each other, which made her smile slightly. All according to plan.

"It did not, you drunk!" Summer said as she plated up some breakfast for Rowan. "Rowan, you don't think I'm old and fat do you?"

Caught off guard as she placed the plate in front of him, Rowan's eyes widened before his eyes briefly flickered down to her body as she pouted.

She was wearing a fairly light summer dress, nothing overly revealing but it was rather tight and she didn't miss the way his eyes lingered on her cleavage for a moment.

"Of course not, Summer," Rowan said after a moment, making her smile at him. "You certainly don't look old enough to have a child my age, and your figure could make girls half your age green with envy."

His words made her give Qrowe a triumphant smile, making the other woman roll her eyes.

"Careful with the flirting, Rowan, she's a married woman," Qrowe laughed, making Rowan turn to her. "It might be fun to talk the lonely wife out of her panties, but their husbands don't tend to like it. But hey, Tai's busy with work, and the girls are out so I won't tell him if you don't."

She thought he'd be caught off guard or embarrassed, but Rowan seemed to have already worked out what Qrowe was like.

He wasn't as socially awkward as she'd expect from someone raised in isolation.

"It's not flirting, simply a statement of truth. Summer is an incredibly beautiful woman, Taiyang must be a very lucky man," Rowan said calmly, making her giggle.

"My, my… I think I felt my heart skip a beat. I'll have to watch you around my daughters," Summer teased, placing a hand over her chest. "Ignore the old crow, she used to be part of mine and Tai's adventuring party, now we're stuck with her."

"You split up? I thought you were still an adventurer?" Rowan asked, making her smile softly, even as she felt a tinge of nostalgic longing in her chest.

Damnit Raven, why do you have to be so gods damned stubborn?

"We're still adventurers," Summer confirmed. "Me and Qrowe are solo now, but I spend most of my time in Patch. Tai works for the Guild, teaching rookies and taking out any monsters that are too strong for regular adventurers, keeping Patch safe."

"Basically, Tai forgot to pull out one too many times and knocked Summer up," Qrowe snorted, making her blush as she glared at the drunk. "They caught the worst std of all, parenthood and decided to semi-retire to play house. I'm not about that life so I went solo. I'm fine being the cool aunt."

"Ah, I see," Rowan said, amused by Qrowe's blunt attitude. "Also, thank you for the food Summer."

"It's just a quick breakfast, nothing special," Summer said, waving him off. "Let me know if you need more," Summer said, putting her own plate down and taking a seat.

"Wait, where's mine?" Qrowe asked, watching as she started to eat.

"In your flask. I was going to give you this one… but then you called me fat and I need some comfort food," Summer said, taking a bite of one of the sausages.

Predictably, Qrowe immediately took offence to this as the eternal child tried to snatch the food from her plate, managing to instead knock the entire plate from the table with her usual luck.

Watching as her breakfast made a swift descent to the floor, she went to shout at Qrowe before the food and plate froze in midair, levitating back onto the table.

As they both turned to Rowan, his hand outstretched, he simply gave them a small smile as he took a bite of a piece of bacon.

Huh, that was incredibly subtle for a spell. Every mage she'd seen needed chants and gestures to cast a spell, Rowan just extended his hand.

Maybe this was his semblance, not magic?

"Damnit Qrowe, this is why I said you need to stop drinking so early," Summer grumbled, making Qrowe sit back with a lazy smirk.

"Fine, fine," Qrowe said, waving her off. "So, Rowan… what are you planning on doing?"

"To be honest, I have no idea. I don't even know what options I have yet," Rowan admitted, turning to Qrowe. "I don't know anything about Patch, or Vale for that matter."

"You think your master's friends are gonna come looking for you? They were expecting you right?" Qrowe asked, making Rowan blink. "Oh, I was listening. I have good hearing and I'm a nosy person."

"I don't think so, I have never even met them before," Rowan admitted, making her and Qrowe share a glance. That was good at least, if those friends were connected to Salem, this little mishap could help them stop Salem from getting her hands on a young mage. "Frankly, I have nothing on me but my clothes and Grimoires, even if I knew where they were I don't have the resources to reach them, and little way to earn the funds I need."

Did Rowan not know that all magic users were nobility? Magic was a gift from the Twin Gods, and all magic users were elevated to nobility regardless of their origin.

"You know you could just get a ship to Vale, head to the castle and show them your magic and they'd make you a noble by the end of the day, right?" Qrowe asked, making Rowan blink in confusion. "You definitely wouldn't have to worry about funds then."

"Why would they do that?" Rowan asked, making them share a glance. Just how isolated had Rowan been that he didn't know something so simple?

Even the simplest farmer hoped their child would be born with magic so they could be raised to a better life.

But they often hoped for naught because magic was extremely rare. There were but a small handful of magic users in the entire world and most of them were already of noble blood.

"Because you're a mage, and magic is a gift from the Twin Gods. Only the Gods Chosen can use magic," Qrowe said, seeing the shock and confusion on Rowan's face.

"…the Twin Gods?" Rowan asked, making Qrowe facepalm.

"What exactly did you study?" Summer asked, equally shocked that Rowan knew so very little.

"Magic," Rowan replied simply, patting the back he was wearing again. "My apologies for my ignorance."

"Tch, it's fine kid but you should try and play catch up, you stay this naive and people are gonna take advantage of you," Qrowe said, surprisingly kind for her.

She knew why, the only reason someone would raise Rowan to be so naive of basic common sense was so he could be manipulated more easily.

If he met Salem without ever hearing the horrid stories of the Grimm Queen's crimes, he'd be so much easier to recruit. They could convince him that whatever they wished was the truth, he'd be a blank canvas to paint as they wished.

"You know what a Grimm is, right?" Qrowe asked, watching Rowan blink again. "Of course not, you knew what adventurers were though."

"I know the general concept, adventurers take quests to kill monsters, but I'm afraid I have no idea of the specifics of your profession," Rowan admitted. "I'll endeavour to correct my ignorance."

"You better, the nobles will eat you alive if you don't know things this simple," Qrowe warned.

"Is informing the Kingdom that I am a mage legally required?" Rowan asked, making them blink.

"I don't think so, why?" Summer asked, making Rowan stroke his chin.

"Because you're right. The other nobles would eat me alive if I was to become one of them with so little knowledge of how the world works," Rowan said simply. "Besides that… I have no desire for handouts, I don't want to be handed anything because of something I had no control over."

An odd outlook for a teenager, but the look on Rowan's face told them he wouldn't budge on this.

"I'll find a place to stay and employment in Patch for now, while I educate myself on what I'm clearly missing and continue my magical studies," Rowan said, making her smile softly.

"You have a place to stay, you can use that bedroom as long as you're in Patch," Summer offered, both because she was quickly growing to like the stubborn teenager and because it meant he was safe from Salem. "In fact I insist."

"Once I have a job, I'll pay for my board," Rowan promised, making her shake her head.

"That's not really necessary," Summer said, what a responsible young man, maybe a little too responsible.

As he went to respond, Qrowe interrupted.

"A job? Planning on washing dishes at the inn?" Qrowe asked mockingly, amused at the idea of a mage working like some peasant.

"If necessary, yes," Rowan said without hesitation.

"You aren't going to try and use your magic to make money?" Qrowe asked, making Rowan hesitate for a moment. "What schools of magic do you even have? Tai told me you killed a Direwolf, so it's gotta have some combat potential."

She could see the indecision in Rowan's eyes as he looked between them, suddenly skittish before he calmed himself and stared right at them.

"Necromancy, the magic dealing with death."

And suddenly she was even more determined to make sure Salem never got her hands on him.

— Rowan Blackwood —

It's a risk, but surely they've already seen my books.

It's interesting that all mages are nobles, though I'm guessing not all nobles are mages but my earlier decision still stands.

I don't want the silver spoon I spent so long suckling in my past life back, I'll make my own way in this world. Maybe I'm being pointlessly stubborn but what's wrong with that?

Qrowe let out a long whistle at my answer.

"Sounds pretty powerful," Qrowe said, making me relax at the lack of accusations. Is Necromancy not forbidden then? "So why aren't you using it to make money?"

"I only know a handful of spells, and I feel like I'm more likely to get lynched practising it. My only real combat spell is a draining touch that steals the target's life force to heal myself, and I don't think people would appreciate me bringing back the dead to serve as my cannon fodder," I scoff, making them stare.

"You can bring back the dead?" Summer asked, making me chuckle darkly.

"I can raise a corpse as a skeletal soldier, or maybe a mindless zombie only seeking to eat flesh," I admit, seeing the understanding in their faces. "Besides that I can deal with spirits, I can recall the spirits of the dead but can't control them."

"I don't think you realise how much money that last one would make you, do you know how many people die in this world every day?" Qrowe scoffed. "A lot of people would pay you a fortune to see their loved ones again."

"Perhaps, but you see my point. Perhaps I can work out how to raise monsters as my undead minions, but can you imagine the panic it would cause?" I ask, making Qrowe laugh.

"That's you showing your naivety again, because I know a lot of people who'd be more than happy to let undead monsters fight monsters for them," Qrowe laughed, making me narrow my eyes.

Actually, that's a good point. I'm looking at this from the perspective of a human from earth, where danger is rare.

This world seems incredibly dangerous, so would people really turn their nose up at any help they can get, even from such a grim source?

"I- I suppose you're right," I admit, making her smile smugly at me.

"So, you just got born with a single magical affinity? I understand that it might seem 'evil' to you, but you can't control what gift the Gods gave you, and only a fool would look down on you for it," Summer says gently, and despite my best efforts I react slightly to her asking about my other 'affinities'.

"Oh, you got another school?" Qrowe asked, spotting my reaction as I sigh. In for a penny.

"One more, but it's equally questionable. My other school is Eromancy, sex magic."

It didn't surprise me when Qrowe immediately burst out laughing.

"And I don't even have a Grimoire for that one, so I need to work it out myself, and you can imagine how awkward that is to practise," I said with a deadpan stare.

"I dunno, sounds pretty fun to me," Qrowe laughs, making me roll my eyes.

"But I suppose you're right, I may have been looking at my powers too harshly. Tell me, what are the requirements for becoming an adventurer?" I ask, making them raise their eyebrows before Summer smiles.

"Show up at an adventurers guild and be willing to risk your life for money," Summer replies with a dry tone. "It's not as glamorous as the stories make it out to be. Is that what you want?" she asks, making me hesitate before I nod.

"It is."

"Then I'll talk to Tai when he gets home, he mostly just teaches the newer adventurers how to fight but he can help you sign up," Summer says gently, making me smile at her.

"Thank you, both of you," I say, making Qrowe chuckle dryly.

"Save it until after you've done your first few quests, I doubt you'll still wanna thank me," Qrowe scoffs as I chuckle.

"We'll see," I say simply, picking up my empty plate and grabbing Summer's. "The food was delicious, I will clean the dishes, it's the least I can do."

It was a simple fare, but it was truly tasty. Honestly I was hungry enough that she could have put a lightly cooked shoe in front of me and I would have eaten it.

"That's not- oh, I give up. Thank you, Rowan. If only everyone was as responsible as you… Qrowe," Summer says, making Qrowe laugh.

"Not happening," Qrowe says simply as she watches me gather the dishes she used to cook and start cleaning. "I'm gonna get going, I'll probably be back later but I told Tai I'd check something out, I'll see you both later," Qrowe says, turning and walking out of the room.

It's a bit more complicated than normal given the lack of indoor plumbing which bodes ill for my comfort here, but I don't mind.

I owe Taiyang my life, and while my debt to Summer is considerably smaller I still plan to pay it back.

I don't want to owe anyone anything. To be honest, a part of it is because I'm just not a trusting person by nature, and I don't want anyone to have anything they can hold over my head, but also I just don't like the idea of not paying people back. It's a point of pride for me.

How am I going to repay Taiyang for saving my life? I haven't got a fucking clue but I'll work something out.

Still, this medieval life isn't for me and a part of my mind is already wondering if I can use magic to replicate some of the comforts of my old life.

Like indoor plumbing and heating, because while I'm not particularly afraid of hard work I would prefer my free time to be comfortable.

I hear you on that, well not so much about the hard work but relaxation time should be comfortable.

You know what, I kinda owe you anyway so consider this an apology/sign up gift.

Ahh, Kuro's still watching me apparently.

…what's he apologising for?

Don't worry about it, I just check in every so often, I've got way too many people to do to play voyeur all the time.

Anyway, have fun!

Profession Unlocked

Artificer

[Magical Tinkering]

You have gained the power to create magi-tech by infusing items with your mana, granting a variety of effects.

[Craft Runestone]

You have learnt how to craft magical runestones. The quality of the material used affects the runestones' quality and longevity. Regular stones will have a small effect and burn out quickly while a flawless gem could last for centuries.

Runes Discovered

Fire, Earth, Water, Air

[Natural Craftsman]

As an Artificer, you have a natural affinity for non-magical crafting to help you craft the base materials needed for your inventions.

I don't know what he's apologising for, but as the new knowledge floods my mind I think it's safe to say I've forgiven him.

It's not the immediate answer to my comfort issue, but it's the means to fix the problem myself which works for me.

Looking down at the dirty plate in my hand, I pause before I shrug. The Eromancy spell is supposed to clean any mess caused by sex but it is just called 'clean', so there's no harm in trying.

The plate grows a soft pink for a brief moment as the mess simply vanishes to parts unknown, making me smile as I examine it thoroughly and put it aside.

I know quite a bit about magical theory that I definitely didn't know before my death, including the fact that magic is similar to a muscle, in that you can increase your mana pool by using magic.

Using magic for any and all reasons will only help me in the long run, because if I'm to be an adventurer I'm going to need every advantage I can get my hands on.

Speaking of muscles, I glance at my arm with a slight frown.

I'm not out of shape, but neither am I in shape. I'm incredibly average, not fat but with no real muscles either.

Another thing I'll need to improve on if I'm going to try and make a name for myself as an adventurer. I don't need to become a bodybuilder, but at the very least I need to get my stamina up.

Study magic, practise my spells, get into shape, craft runestones and learn my new 'profession', become an adventurer and build a name for myself and repay my debt.

Quite the to do list, but I can handle it.

"Well aren't you useful," Summer says as she watches me clean the plates and pots in seconds. "I might have to talk Tai into letting me keep you~"

Her tone sounds flirty as she gives me a sly smile, and I can't deny she's an attractive woman but she's also married with kids and I don't plan to piss off her powerful adventurer husband.

"As long as I'm here, I intend to pull my weight," I say simply, making her smile even as she rolls her eyes. "Admittedly this spell was made to clean things a bit more indecent than food, but it seems to work all the same."

"Ahh, it's Eromancy then? I know a fair bit about magic, even if I can't use it myself, but I've never heard of that school of magic," Summer says with a giggle. "You might be the first person to be gifted that particular magical affinity, indecent or not, I'm sure the academy of magic in Vale would love to learn about it."

"There's an academy? Is magic that common?" I ask, making her shake her head with a laugh.

"Not even slightly, honestly barely anyone at the Royal Academy can even use magic. They study and document magic, in all its forms. They'd pay just about anything for a peek at those grimoires of yours," Summer says, making me frown slightly. "I'm guessing they belonged to your master?"

"That's right," I lie, I'm pretty sure the 'Guild' has taken lengths to make sure people believe my lies about my past. "I might not have been too attached to him, but I am attached to my Grimoires."

"Understandable, don't worry most of them aren't fanatical enough to try and steal them from you. There's always going to be idiots of course but most of the academy scholars aren't stupid," Summer says soothingly. "Still, it's an option for you. The Academy would be more than happy to take you in and I guarantee they'd provide everything you need to continue your studies if that's what you wanted."

"Honestly, the idea of secluding myself away in some academy doesn't appeal to me. I want to see what this world has to offer, and becoming an adventurer seems like a good way to do it," I say, making her nod easily.

"Oh definitely, that's one advantage to being an adventurer, even if a lot of what the world has to offer adventurers is mud and things trying to kill us," Summer agrees. "I just want to make sure you know all your options, of course you're also welcome to stay here as long as you need."

The mistrusting part of me finds it suspicious how nice she is being, but she's given me little reason to doubt her. Maybe she has an ulterior motive, but until she gives me a reason to actually suspect her I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Thank you, Summer. I am going to pay for board once I have money though, I'm not willing to budge on this," I say, making her sigh even as she giggles.

"You're a stubborn man, you know that?" Summer asks, making me nod easily. "Fine, it'll be… one copper piece a week for the room and food."

"I'm going to check at the local inn to see how much a room and a meal would cost there," I say immediately, making her laugh wryly.

"I should have seen that coming," Summer says ruefully, making me smirk triumphantly. "Well, we can talk about that later. What are you planning on doing today?"

"I was thinking about taking a look around the area, you said we're in the village of Patch right?" I ask, making her nod.

"That's right, it's the only piece of civilisation on this island. Our home is on the edge of the village, just outside the walls. The island is pretty large and mostly untamed so there's a lot of monsters in the wilds, it's a common place for new adventurers in Vale to learn the ropes," Summer explains, making me nod gratefully. "Even if you explore outside of the walls, very few monsters actually come too close to us during the day."

"Good to know, thank you," I say, Summer is a source of information for all things related to adventuring as an experienced adventurer herself, I'd be a fool not to learn what I can from her. "After that? I'll probably spend some time reading my Grimoires and practising my magic."

"Oh, all your magic?" Summer asks with a teasing tone, making me pause. "And how does one practise Eromancy?"

Her tone is teasing but there's a hint of something sultry there as she gives me a playful look.

"With a willing and eager partner, of course," I say simply, not letting her get to me. "I can demonstrate, if you'd like?" I say, returning her look as she laughs. I can play this game.

"I can't say I'm not curious, aside from cleaning what else can you do with it?" Summer asks.

"I know two other spells, one that causes the target to become aroused and another that heightens their libido," I admit easily.

"Oh, what's the difference?" Summer asks, I'm still sensing her emotions and she is simply genuinely curious.

"They both require me to be touching the target but Arouse isn't subtle, it simply causes instant arousal in the target. Men get hard, women get wet, it's very noticeable," I say easily. "Heighten Libido is more insidious because it's not instantaneous. It makes the target more prone to having their mind wander to dirtier places, makes them get horny faster, without ever realising that it's caused by a spell," I admit.

Honestly it feels borderline date-rapey to me. I can't say it doesn't sound tempting, but that's a dangerous road to tread.

"Magic is as weird as ever," Summer giggles before she tilts her head. "Try one on me," Summer says, making me blink as I stare at her, realising that she is completely serious.

"…why?" I ask, making her shrug.

"Because I'm curious, and it's not like it'll do any permanent harm, right?" Summer says simply, making me pause.

Oh fuck it.

Holding out my hand, I watch as she takes it.

"Which one?" I ask, making her pause in thought.

"Arouse, that one should be more noticeable," Summer says, watching as my hand briefly glows a soft pink, her cheeks growing red as her eyes widen. "Oh wow, you weren't kidding about it being noticeable," Summer says as I let go of her hand, trying to ignore the suddenly very noticeable nipples poking through her dress.

I also try not to pay attention to the way she rubs her thighs together slightly as I keep eye contact, seeing the arousal in them.

Summer is a grade A milf, drop-dead gorgeous with an amazing figure, and now she's openly horny. I'm not gonna lie, my trousers are feeling a little tighter.

"Mhmm, I might have underestimated your magic a little bit," Summer admits with a blush, fidgeting on the spot. "But oh well, I did ask for this. I'd pay to see you use this on Glynda, she's the head of the royal academy by the way, and a pretty famous adventurer as well. She's also a good friend but she's way too tightly wound up."

"I'll keep that in mind, if I ever have the pleasure of meeting her," I say, it's good to know that Summer apparently has friends in high places.

"Mhm, anyway… if you're going to explore, why don't you wait for the girls to get home? I'm sure Yang or Ruby would be happy to show you around, they've been pretty interested in you these past couple of days," Summer says, her face flushed.

"Hm, that works for me. Actually, quick question, do you know where I can find some rocks?" I ask, making her blink.

"Like, regular rocks?" Summer asks, briefly distracted from her arousal.

"Yes, though preferably they'd need to be a decent size," I say.

I need to distract myself because her being horny is making me horny. If she wasn't taken and under the effect of my magic I'd make a move but I don't think that'd end well.

And I already have an idea for my first magical comfort.

— Summer Rose —

Rowan was an odd one, she didn't know why he wanted rocks but she led him outside, knowing there were quite a few rocks that Zwei had dug up and collected.

Zwei wouldn't mind Rowan taking some of his rocks, and as Rowan looked over them, picking several, he smiled.

"These should do nicely, now…" Rowan said, the tip of his finger glowing as he placed it on the rock, seemingly drawing a symbol onto it. "I'm fairly sure this should work."

"What are you doing?" Summer asked, her voice breathy as her body protested that she wasn't touching herself.

She had been genuinely curious how Eromancy worked, but she'd underestimated just how horny it would make her.

"You'll see," Rowan said with a secretive smile as she giggled slightly.

Finishing his symbol, he quickly added a second one onto the stone, the two symbols glowing with a soft white light.

Glynda would definitely want to meet Rowan.

"Now, if I do this…" Rowan mumbled, doing something to the rock making her eyes widen as the stone started to spew water from it, seemingly boiling as steam came from it.

Rowan had clearly expected this, having aimed it into the distance.

It stopped after unleashing quite the torrent and the stone outright fell apart in his hand.

"Hm, too much heat and not enough water," Rowan muttered, trying again.

"What are you trying to achieve?" Summer asked, making him turn to her.

"Honestly, I want to be able to take a bath without needing to put so much effort in. If I can make a runestone that can produce hot water on command, it'll just be more convenient," Rowan said simply, making her blink before she giggled.

"You're an odd mage, you realise that?" Summer asked, impressed despite her words.

She'd never heard of any mage using magic for something so mundane, but she couldn't deny being able to produce hot water at will would be very useful.

It would cut down on a lot of effort for a lot of things.

"I want to be comfortable, and if I can use magic to achieve that, then I will," Rowan said bluntly, making her laugh at the seriousness in his tone. "Hm, hey can you try this?"

As he said that, he held out another 'runestone' to her.

Taking it, she looked down at it curiously.

"Just press down on the centre of the rune, I think you should be able to activate it without magic," Rowan said, making her eyes widen.

Glynda might just abduct Rowan to study his magic if she found out about what he could do.

Looking at the rune, she pressed her index finger down on the middle of it, seeing it flare.

"Wait, turn it aw-" Rowan started, her eyes widening as she remembered exactly how the last one worked.

Not fast enough to stop the rune from unleashing a torrent of hot water directly at her, making her flinch back as she quickly turned the stone away from her.

It wasn't painfully hot, it was actually rather nice but it had still been a surprise.

"Sorry, I should have-" Rowan started, before his words trailed off.

She immediately knew why as she looked down at herself, her thin, white dress now soaked through as it clung to her body, damn near see-through as Rowan's eyes lowered to her breasts.

Her dress had always been a little tight, as it was one she'd owned for a few years, but now it was sticking to her like a second skin, her nipples clearly visible through it.

She might as well be topless, and while her lower body wasn't as exposed, the water had made her dress stick to her, putting her womanly curves on display.

"It's fine, Rowan. I just saw how it worked so it's my fault," Summer said with a giggle, seeing the lust in his normally serious gaze.

And Qrowe said she was getting old and fat, Rowan definitely didn't seem to think so as he struggled to maintain eye contact.

She didn't mind, he was a teenage boy who suddenly had a pair of rather nice breasts in his view, she'd be more insulted if he didn't enjoy the view.

"This is seriously impressive, Rowan. I didn't know you were an enchanter," Summer said, praising Rowan as he smiled awkwardly.

"I'm not very good yet, I have ideas of bigger and better things but this is all I can do for now, just another thing I need to improve on," Rowan said with a smile.

Not very good, her pert little ass. Rowan could make a fortune with this.

"But- well, your dress…" Rowan said, looking away as she laughed again.

"Yes, I should probably get changed into something dry," Summer agreed, before giving Rowan a sly smirk. "Or maybe you'd prefer if I stayed nice and wet?"

She'd always been a flirt, and seeing a young man be so obviously attracted to her made her feel young again. Tai wouldn't mind some flirting (or even a little more than flirting), she definitely didn't mind when he brought a cute young adventurer home, whether she was there to enjoy it or not.

He was Tai 'the whole damn party' Xiao Long after all. Why would she get upset about other girls when their relationship started with her being the other girl?

Harems weren't uncommon or taboo after all, though admittedly it was usually a single man with several girls.

It was a necessity born of having women outnumber men around four to one. It used to be worse, several wars back when women didn't really fight, depleting the male population.

Women becoming adventurers wasn't a new concept, but it definitely wasn't that old either. Having the male population be so thoroughly depleted did wonders for gender equality.

"I can't deny that it's an enticing sight, maybe a little too enticing," Rowan said, making her smile at him.

"Good to know I've still got it. Let's get inside, now that you've got your rocks," Summer said with a giggle, watching him stash them in his bag.

"Hey, rocks are important," Rowan said, obviously not really insulted by her giggles.

"Yes, yes… come on, I'll show you where the bathroom is," Summer said as she led Rowan to the room their bathtub was in.

Normally they'd have to gather water from the well and heat it up with a fire, which could take hours.

"Here you go, there's some towels in that cupboard," Summer said, making Rowan give her a grateful smile. "And that basket is where we put our dirty clothes."

"Thank you, I haven't bathed in a few days and it's unpleasant," Rowan said, making her smile ruefully.

He was definitely raised by a noble because most people would just bathe in the river, the idea hadn't even seemed to occur to him.

They only had a private bath because Tai insisted after some of the villagers got caught watching Yang and Ruby bathe in the river.

"Then help yourself, seriously make yourself at home Rowan, if you're going to be staying here I want you to be comfortable," Summer said, making Rowan give her a soft smile.

She wasn't lying, even if she had ulterior motives. She wasn't going to risk the Grimm Bitch getting her hands on Rowan and using his powers for her conquest.

She wanted Rowan to be happy here, and even if he eventually left she wanted him to have fond memories of them.

"Thank you, Summer," Rowan said simply. "I'll just grab something to change into first."

Heading back to the guest room, he returned quickly with a change of clothes, pulling out another of his stones and placing it in the bath as he activated it, watching as the bathtub slowly filled up with hot water.

"Enjoy your bath, Rowan, I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything," Summer said, giving him a soft smile as she left him to his business.

— Rowan Blackwood —

Yes, I could have used Clean to deal with this, but honestly I wanted a soak.

It's a good long while before I pull myself out of the bath, using Clean to handle anything I missed thanks to the lack of modern hygiene products.

Drying myself off, I make a note to make a runestone that simply warms things for toasty warm towels later, and get dressed again, heading out of the room.

I'll have to ask Summer where I need to empty the tub as I head back to the kitchen.

"Finally up and awake, huh sleeping beauty?" A teasing voice says, making me turn to the source of the voice.

The buxom blonde leaning against the table gives me a grin and a wave as I face her, lilac eyes filled with amusement looking at me.

Her outfit is pretty sexy as well, very small black shorts and a thin yellow tube top with a jacket over it. God damn though, she's younger than Summer but she's got her mother beaten in the breast department by quite a bit.

Damn, are all the women here sexy?

Well, maybe this one's single.

"Yang, play nice," another softer voice says, still sounding excited.

This one comes from a girl who couldn't be more clearly Summer's daughter, with the same silver eyes and red-black hair.

She's wearing a black top with a red corset with a matching black skirt, with a red hooded cape over it all.

"Hiya! I'm Ruby Rose, it's nice to see you awake, we were worried when you just kept sleeping," Ruby says quickly, her words rushed. "…so what's being a mage like? How did you get to Patch? Are you an adventurer? Why were you on the road to the guild?"

The barrage of questions makes me blink, before I smile. She's cute.

"Ruby, chill out. He can't answer if you keep asking more questions," Yang laughs. "Yang Xiao Long, nice to see you up and moving again, I was starting to think I'd need to try giving you true love's first kiss to wake you up. Well, maybe not true love but I'm sure I'd have woken something up," Yang says with a cocky smile, ahh she's definitely Summer's daughter as well.

I don't comment on the different last names, I don't know how names work here.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, I'm Rowan Blackwood, and if I'd known what I'd be missing I'd have stayed asleep a while longer," I say, making Yang laugh. "It appears I'll be staying here for a while longer, so I hope we can get along."

"So, can you show us some magic? I've never seen a mage before, but I've heard all the stories of Professor Goodwitch's time as an adventurer and-" Ruby immediately starts as she rushes forwards, staring up at me with wide eyes.

"Ruby, stop bugging Rowan. I'm sure he won't mind showing you something later, but you two know what time it is," Summer said, making them both freeze.

"Oh come on, mom. We just got back, surely it can-" Yang started, making Summer stare at them.

"You both agreed, I'd let you go on your little adventure if you both did all your chores before the end of today. It's all on the board," Summer says with no pity as they groan. "None of that, you promised."

"Come on mom, adventurers don't do chores!" Ruby said, making Summer raise an eyebrow.

"So you're saying that I, as an adventurer with much more experience than you two, shouldn't bother making dinner, cleaning the house or baking cookies for you?" Summer asks, making Ruby flinch back.

"Where is this board, exactly?" I ask, making a Summer turn to me, sighing.

"Rowan, no," Summer warned, making me smile victoriously. "I've already said you don't need to-"

"You said I should make myself at home, and if I'm to treat this like a home then I intend to pull my own weight," I say stubbornly. "Yang, Ruby. I was hoping to get your help in learning the local area, so allow me to offer my assistance."

"Wait, you want to do chores?" Yang asks, making me nod.

"I dislike being deadweight, as long as I'm here I plan to help where I can, despite your mothers attempts to stop me," I say, making Yang grin.

"He's cute, he's already housebroken, can we keep him?" Yang asks Summer, making Summer giggle.

"Oh you have no idea how useful he is, I'm already planning on convincing him to stay with us," Sumer giggles.

"But you want a guide? I can do that, now let's talk about you doing my chores," Yang says with a beaming, innocent smile.

"Helping. If you try and dump them all on him I'll put you over my knee and spank you," Summer warns.

"Hey, if he does all my chores, he can spank me," Yang counters, throwing an arm around my shoulder. "You know Rowan, I think me and you are gonna be great friends."

— Bonus Scene — Summer Rose

As Yang dragged Rowan away, Ruby following behind happily, she smiled to herself.

Another great success in her 'make Rowan like them' plan.

Maybe it was how horny she still was, but a part of her wondered whether just seducing him would be the best way to go about it.

He was obviously attracted to her, and she'd been tempted to offer to help him in the bath since he was still injured even if he was trying not to show it.

He winced occasionally when he moved in certain ways, but he tried not to react to the pain he was feeling.

She could have offered to help him, maybe share the bath with him as she took off her clothes and cleaned him, plenty of opportunities to rub her body against him.

She'd make sure to be very thorough in cleaning him, and if her hands weren't enough then her mouth would help.

Honestly, she was a nympho and Tai knew that. Ozpin claimed that all silver-eyed warriors had incredibly high libidos because the God of Light wanted them to breed, which definitely explained a few things.

Ruby didn't seem to have inherited her libido, but maybe she was just a late bloomer.

Thankfully, Tai wasn't particularly possessive and understood her nature before they were even properly together.

He wouldn't mind if she played with Rowan a bit, and as she considered things she paused.

She knew exactly how to go about this… Rowan wanted a willing and eager partner to practise his Eromancy with, and shouldn't she do Glynda a favour and help further the cause of magical research?

Rubbing her thighs together, she cackled as she schemed to make Rowan never want to leave Patch.

— Taiyang Xiao Long —

Hiding below the window, he shuddered as he heard Summer's cackle.

He loved Summer, he truly did, but she was insatiable.

When they first got together, he had Qrowe and Raven to help try and satiate her lusts.

Once his body gave up, one of them could take over and play with the horny minx to buy him time to recover for the next round.

People thought the party had been his harem, but it hadn't been. It was Summer's, he just happened to have the only dick.

Raven had left them to claim what she saw as her heritage, last he heard she was conquering the various bandit tribes under her, he'd even heard people call her the Bandit Queen.

Qrowe didn't stick around too long because her semblance drained the luck from everyone around her, and she didn't stay around long enough for it to cause any serious trouble.

Plus, Summer was… controlling in the bedroom, hell she was domineering enough to get the prideful Raven to submit and eat her out, something no-one else had managed to do.

Raven always insisted on being on top with him, if she played with Qrowe then it was Qrowe who was the sub, eating her twin sister out, but Summer? Summer made Raven her bitch and Raven didn't even seem to mind (until someone brought it up, then she'd stab them).

He'd never forget coming home to find Raven wearing nothing but a collar and leash as she ate out Summer, calling her mistress. He also wouldn't forget Raven's immediate response when she realised Tai and Qrowe were watching

He still had the scars from that one. Raven always did see violence as the solution to any problem.

He didn't know what had put Summer in such a mood, but he decided to go and patrol again. He'd had a long day, and he wasn't ready to handle Summer right now.

Last time he heard her giggle like that, he ended up with a bruised pelvis. Thank the Gods his semblance made him so damn durable, because she'd be the death of him if it didn't.

Everyone wanted a nymphomaniac girlfriend until they had a nympho girlfriend.