Reborn as a Fire Mage!, page 28
“I had no clue that was possible. How do we turn your blueprint into an actual item? I’m sorry for the questions, but we are fairly new to the world.”
“You’re fine. I was that way once. You have to purchase a Blueprint Compiler from the store. You take the blueprint and put them into the machine. Then the item is produced, simple really. However, if you purchased a large item, you may need to move the machine outdoors.”
“Damn, we need to get one of those for sure. Can you buy blueprints online?” I asked with continued interest.
“No, everything in the store is a finished product. It wouldn’t make sense to buy a blueprint from the store then put it through your compiler. Here’s an analogy for you. You can look at blueprints like they are underground items.”
“Blueprints have a higher markup. I presume since they are rare?” I asked at a lower volume. Selene looked at me with a confused expression as to why I asked the question quietly.
“Right, I’m in charge of the pricing.”
“Sounds like your education and training from your previous world translated to your life here very well,” Boz smiled.
“It did. I have had a pretty good life so far. I wasn’t so sure when I got here, but things have been going well.”
“I’m glad to hear that. My skills on Lelara are much different than what they were on Earth, it’s ironic actually.”
“How so?” Selene asked as she tightened her crossed arms and leaned her weight to her right leg.
“As I said before, I was a firefighter on Earth, and now I was given the class of fire mage.”
Selene chuckled. “You’ve got to be kidding me? That’s hilarious.”
“It’s weird, but it has been fun so far and extremely useful since Lelara is full of flesh-eating monsters,” I held up my index finger and cast a fireball. I began spinning it like I was a Harlem Globetrotter. The spinning fire reflected off of Selene’s red glasses.
“Wow, that’s amazing. I’ve never met any type of mage before. I’d imagine a fire mage is one of the best ones to be.”
“The Celestial Architect gave me the Crafter class. Without that, I wouldn’t be as successful as I’ve been.”
Boz exhaled. “You have a class too? I don’t have one and neither do the other girls at the refuge. I wonder why you and Mason are so special?” I was taken aback by the jealousy in Boz’s voice. She sounded very much like Piper at this moment.
“Really? I thought all transients had classes. I’m sorry,” Selene replied compassionately.
“I’m sorry, that sounded a little angry. It’s certainly not yours or Mason’s fault,” Boz replied apologetically.
“Does Hestia have a class?” Boz asked.
“Yes, she has been given the class of Rogue. It’s perfect for her. She’s a cheetahkin, so she was already extremely fast, agile, and stealthy. The Rogue class makes her even more deadly. Her physical abilities are shockingly impressive. It is always entertaining to see people’s expressions when they see her in action.”
“A cheetah on Earth is the fastest land animal. They can get up to like 70-75 miles per hour...right?” I asked even though I knew that I was right.
“Yes, before she received her class, she was capable of achieving that speed.”
My jaw dropped to the floor. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me?”
Selene shook her head. “After she received her class, she had a max speed of 100 miles per hour.”
“This is on two legs or four?” I inquired.
“Two legs,” another different voice shouted from behind us. Boz and I turned to see who had to be Hestia in the flesh. She was slender and stood the same height as Boz. She was most certainly a cheetah girl. Her arms and legs were covered in short spotted fur, and her eyes were cat-like. She had tiny whiskers and lengthier incisors in her mouth. She had ears like Lola and Piper, but Hestia’s hair carried the same features as the fur on her body. It was the same color with the spotted pattern. She wore a brown leather top that looked almost identical to a sports bra but looser. Her breasts were half the size of Selene’s but still very nice. She wore brown loose fabric shorts. They were similar in size to the tiny shorts a marathon runner would wear. She wore no shoes at all. Hestia’s hands and feet were much more cat-like than Lola and Piper’s. Lola and Piper were more like domesticated cats, and Hestia was a true jungle cat.
“I present to you the other transient and topic of our conversation...the lovely Hestia,” Selene motioned like a magician at the cheetah girl.
Hestia stood beside Selene and looked us up and down. “The mayor said we had a couple of transients in town, and we should meet. I saw him on my way back to town this morning. Is that your huge steel car thing parked at the gate? It has to be. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
I nodded with a grin. “That’s ours. We’ve named it the Bulldog.”
“The name sounds appropriate,” Hestia replied with a shallow shrug.
We spent another half hour filling the cheetahkin on our backgrounds and how we arrived on Lelara. Hestia hailed from the planet Zern. She was a princess from the country of Haldalia who was poisoned at a banquet. The Celestial Architect informed her that it was Hestia’s sister that was responsible for the diabolical act. Hestia was in line to become the Queen of Haldalia as the oldest sister. Her father died in a war with the pantherkin years before, and her mother became queen. Hestia wondered if her sister would be suspected of her murder, but it was a question she would never get the answer to.
She arrived on the planet four years earlier. She said she spent the first few months in a dark depression. She thought her sister and she were close. The realization that her sister was capable of killing her almost drove her to suicide. She spent these months wandering the country. She slept in the trees and outran any enemies when she needed to. The Bureau saw her using her skills on a quest and asked her to join. She was hesitant, but she was tired of being alone, so she joined. She’d been a member ever since. That was all the information about the group that she gave us.
“Do you live in the Bureau?” I asked.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she replied with a smirk.
“We’re on a need-to-know basis. It looks like,” I replied as I looked over at Boz.
“Yes, that is an excellent way to put it,” Hestia winked.
The bell over the door rang once more, followed by footsteps inside the shop. “There you are. I was beginning to think you had left without coming to see me.”
“Ernst, it’s nice to see you again,” Boz nodded.
“We haven’t forgotten you. We’ve been getting to know our new friends,” I winked at Hestia and Selene.
“Friends? I’m not sure we’re past the acquaintance level yet, but okay,” Hestia interjected sarcastically.
“Damn, this dagger in my heart hurts,” I replied facetiously.
“I thought I would just bring the gift to you. I’ve got to make a few more stops before the day is over anyway,” Ernst held out his hand to give me something. I hesitantly extended my hand palm up, and he placed a copper key.
“A key?” I raised a brow.
“Obviously,” Hestia scoffed.
“This is a key to your new apartment across the street above Ollie’s Shop. It isn’t a palace, but it will give you a nice place to stay when you are in town. It’s been owned by the town for a long time, and it is doing nothing but collecting dust.”
“An apartment? Are you serious? For free?” I asked in disbelief.
“Of course, it would be rude to make you pay for a gift. Congratulations, and I hope that you enjoy it. Now, I must apologize, but I must be on my way. Places to go and people to see, you know,” Ernst tipped his hat and shuffled toward the door to the shop.
I looked at each lady with an expression of deep confusion. “Did that really just happen? The mayor gave us a free apartment with no strings attached?”
“Wow, you’ve made an impression,” Selene replied.
“That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one,” Hestia added as she placed her clawed hands on her hips.
Chapter Eleven
I inserted the copper key and turned it slowly. The lock was released, and I turned the doorknob. I was hit with a musty smell, but from what I was told, this apartment had been uninhabited for quite some time. As soon as I crossed the threshold, I was greeted by a notification.
You have been given this apartment by the Mayor of Festerfield, Ernst Ballard!
Do you want to designate this as a refuge?
I clicked ‘Yes’ quickly.
Would you like to name this refuge? This can be changed whenever you want.
I entered the name Festerfield Crib and selected ‘Enter.’
Welcome to Festerfield Crib! Your new terminal has been placed. You may change its position at any time!
Just like Station 15, the default spot for the terminal was a few feet beside the door. That was as good of a place as any. The living area included a sofa, recliner, and a loveseat. They had all seen better days, but at least there was a place to sit. The kitchen included a small dining table with four chairs, a refrigerator, stove, and sink. There was a long hallway with doors down each side. There were three bedrooms with no furniture and two bathrooms. One of the bathrooms was halfway down the hall. It included a toilet, tub and shower combo, and a sink. The other bathroom was in the largest bedroom. That bathroom had the same amenities as the hallway one, but the master bathroom was about 25% larger. The windows let a lot of lovely natural light into the apartment and had lovely views of the main street of Festerfield.
“This is nice. It’s much like mine,” Selene announced.
“How far is your home from here?” Boz asked with curious eyes.
“My apartment is over my shop just across the street,” she pointed at the second floor of the building across the street.
“Oh, nice. Short commute to work,” I chuckled.
Selene chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so. Sure, beats Berlin traffic.”
Hestia moved around the apartment, making next to no noise with her feet. “So, what are you going to do first?”
“Absolutely nothing. We need to get back. I’ll try to get some if not all the girls back up here soon, and I’ll let them set the place up how they want it.”
“I appreciate this place immensely, but it was extremely unexpected,” I crossed my arms and scanned the living room again.
“You should be very thankful. Property within a large town’s walls will cost you quite a bit RP. I mean, we’re talking about a 300,000 reward point gift you just got,” Hestia informed.
“300,000? Holy shit!” I shouted. “There has to be some kind of strings attached to this. There’s no way Ernst just gave me this just to be nice."
“You killed all the fiends surrounding the city, you killed a World Boss, and you’re a fire mage. I’m sure he feels you will be a great addition to the city. He may feel safer knowing a fire mage world boss killer has property inside the walls. I’m telling you, Ernst doesn’t have a mean bone in his body,” Hestia shrugged with a crooked smile.
Boz rubbed my shoulder. “Just relax, Mason. Be happy about your gift.”
“She’s right. Listen to her,” Selene said as she adjusted her red glasses.
Hestia stepped forward and crossed her arms. “This is your second refuge, correct?”
“Yup, that is correct,” I nodded.
“Selene has blueprints for a piece of equipment that you will be very interested in. Am I right?” Hestia raised a brow and the engineer.
“Are you talking about the travel gate?” Selene asked with a furrowed brow.
“Yep, tell him about it,” Hestia tilted her head toward me.
I stood at attention, but I didn’t say anything.
Selene looked like she had been put on the spot, but she got herself together quickly. “It’s something I’ve been working on a while. I’ve only installed it in one place.”
Hestia raised her hand. “At the Bureau, of course.”
Selene took a deep breath and relaxed. “I have designed a device that can transport someone to different parts of the world. The travel gate has to be in two different spots. For instance, if I installed a travel gate here in this apartment. You would be able to turn it on, but you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. If you take another travel gate back to your other refuge and place it, you can travel back and forth from your apartment to the refuge. The teleportation is like walking through a doorway. There is no wormhole that you’ll fly through and get sick. You just step through it. The Bureau has one in the office over there, and it teleports them to another Bureau office in another town. I won’t give the town name away.”
“You’re bullshitting me,” I replied with a brow raised.
“It’s true, 100% the truth,” Selene replied with a shrug.
“I can attest to it. I have used it many times. It works like she says it does,” Hestia interjected.
“That is definitely something we would be interested in. However, it's kind of dangerous, isn’t it? I don't want someone breaking into this apartment and walking through a gate into our refuge.”
Selene shook her head rapidly. “That’s impossible with the security features I have installed. I will program it only to work if you activate it or the people you designate.”
“So, it scans our fingerprints or retina to allow us entry? Can’t someone just cut my eye out or finger off and use it?”
“No, that will not work. The travel gate connects with your interface. You have to select it that way. No one can steal your interface and exploit it.”
“Sounds like you have all the bases covered,” Boz added with eager eyes.
“This sounds like one astronomically expensive contraption. How much?” I asked.
“That’s the beauty of being an early adopter of this new technology. I’ll install it for free. Here and your refuge,” Selene smiled.
“Free? What is it with free shit in this town?” I asked sarcastically. “Don’t I need one of those Blueprint Compilers too?”
“Yes, however, when I do the installation here. I can bring my mobile compiler since I’m just across the street. I wouldn’t worry about that right now. However, it will be a couple of weeks before I can do the installation. They’re some bugs I’m trying to work out, and your refuge is 100 miles away, so I need to make some modifications to the coding.”
“No problem, this isn’t something we gotta have right now. I’m excited about it, though. Just think, you guys can come over for slumber parties whenever you like,” I laughed, but I was the only person that did so, and my cheeks reddened. “Alrighty then.”
After an hour of chit-chat with our new pals from Festerfield, we heard screams and a loud explosion close by.
“What the fuck was that?” I darted over to the window, but the cheetah girl beat me. She got there in a split second. She was fast as hell, and I couldn’t wait to see her do this in the wild.
“Centaurs!” Hestia growled and slammed her fist on the wall beside the window. The glass rattled and came close to shattering. “How the fuck did they get in here?”
My mouth dropped as I saw two colossal part horse, part man creatures carrying long spears thunder down the main street. One of them was solid black from head to toe with red eyes, and the other was solid white from head to toe. He also had red eyes. They charged forward with their spears and impaled pedestrians that had frozen in fear. Each centaur slung the bodies off the spears launching the corpses into the walls of the buildings. Ten more of the centaurs followed the other two down the main street. This pack of monsters equipped spears and bows!
“Fuck, there’s more!” I yelled as I saw ten more charge from the other direction.
“Gods, the centaur army from the Dark Wood must have found out about what we, the Bureau, did,” Hestia growled. “I told Hector to leave it alone, but he must have done it anyway.”
“What did you guys do?” I asked.
“I didn’t do anything. I tried to stop my idiot boss from doing something. I told the bastards, if they killed the centaur king just for greed that I was done. Goddamit, Hector!”
One of the centaurs blew a horn, and more of the creatures arrived. This was a fucking nightmare. There were too many for Boz and me to take on. If we were in the Bulldog, we could do some damage, but this would be suicide. Suddenly I saw smoke billowing upward from a street over.
I directed Hestia’s attention to the smoke rising over the rooftops. “Where’s that coming from?”
“Shit, that’s the Bureau headquarters,” Hestia turned toward the door, and I grabbed her arm.
“You can’t go. There are too many! It’s suicide,” I shook my head.
“Let go of my arm if you want to keep your balls attached! I’m going for a closer look. That’s it.”
Selene put her hand on the cheetah girl's shoulder. “Mason’s right. It’s too dangerous. I don’t know what Hector and the others did, but it must be pretty bad if you said you were done.”
“It’s awful. Hector and his crew were offered a lot of money to kill the chieftain and take his amulet that’s supposed to have mystical powers.”
“The Bureau is an assassins guild or something?” I asked with my arms crossed.
“Absolutely not. Hector took over this branch a few months ago and changed things up, and not for the better. He’s a fucking drow. The council in Pratalia should have known better.”
“You need to stay put. Fuck putting your life on the line for that shit,” I barked. “They’re fucking killing everyone that is outside.”
Hestia put her hand on her forehead and shut her eyes. “They evidently succeeded in killing the chieftain for us to be rewarded with this kind of attack. The centaurs have always been an aggressive bunch, but if you left them alone, they left you alone. I’m willing to bet Hector went to get his money first and didn’t come back to the Bureau building. He wouldn’t tell me who gave him the quest, so I don’t know where they would be headed.”
