Beneath the Dragoneye Moons

After the [Diplomat] politely told me to get lost, I wasted no time at all getting back home to Exterreri.

It was a little frightening how easy it was for me to cross over vast swathes of mortal territory. I flew high up in the sky, a bit under the clouds, dipping down occasionally when I needed more air. The major roads and cities occasionally led me astray, but it wasn’t anything simply going west for a while wouldn’t fix. At my height and speed, I was untouchable by mortals. By the time one of the few rare Classers who happened to be looking my way could spot me, then raise any sort of alarm, I was already gone, traveling faster than most news.

I wasn’t the only one who crossed the skies at high speeds. Every now and then I’d encounter someone else off in the distance, the two of us maybe occasionally trading a wave before going about our respective business.

Sky’s ancient warning, and a lifetime of fear growing up around the fearsome pterodactyls and ornithocheirus that ruled the sky did leave a bit of caution in my bones. That, and the knowledge that the Wardens would take a dim view to my presence if they discovered me kept me alert, and before long I recognized the architectural style change to that of Nippon-Koku, and later the same day reached the shores of the Sea of Stars.

I took a quick break before crossing it, hitting the Exterreri coast, then turning north before finding myself at Sanguino.

How small the world was! With my speed and skills, with my flight and ability to ignore most danger, I could just move, traveling across the world in days. The world felt a little smaller, a little less glorious with how easy and accessible it all was.

At the same time, I’d deliberately taken the slightly longer western route specifically to avoid most Immortal territories, where I couldn’t travel as easily, and there was still the entire northern continent.

I’d debated saying hi to Arachne and Night before heading home, but decided against it. I wanted to go home. I was well aware that Arachne was the leader of the Sentinels before she was somewhat a friend of mine, and while Night was off-rotation and firmly a friend, with Arachne’s threads, she’d immediately know and I’d be off reporting about my adventures, spending hours recounting it to her and whoever else needed to know.

No.

I needed some peace and quiet. I wanted to see Artemis and Julius again. I had vague hopes that Amber might be around, implausible in any other situation if her thrice-charmed lucky coin wasn’t considered.

I landed at my house, my ears suggesting nobody was around but my nose telling me there’d been a few people recently, including what was possibly the scents of Julius and Artemis. Of course they wouldn’t be hanging around at home all day every day, they were probably out and about, living their best lives.

The other smells I wasn’t so sure about, but I was confident that there was a good explanation. Friends invited over for dinner, or something similar.

One of the things I’d set up back in the day, and was finally ready for me, was a bath. A deep, glorious, luxurious bath, always full of water.

I passed by the kitchen on the way to the bath, and quickly raided it for a snack. Oranges, bananas, and the Exterreri special, cherries and blackberries. A pot of cream and a second of honey topped it off, and I sent a silent prayer of thanks to Artemis and Julius for keeping the place so beautifully maintained, perfectly ready for my return.

In the central garden, miracle of miracles, joy of joys, the mango trees I’d planted were doing beautifully. Still young, still small, scrawny little things, they had the first hint of mangos growing on their branches. Most had none, a few had one, and the largest one had two whole mangos growing. Impressive, given that the trees usually took five years or more to start producing fruit!

My discipline and good sense managed to wrestle my greed into submission. I should wait, let the fruits grow and mature, then reap the bountiful harvest.

I dove into the bath with my snacks on the edge.

Cold! Well, lukewarm.

With a frown, I carefully applied [Nova Lance] to the water, my mana dropping as I got the bath to a near-boil. Happy, I leaned back, letting myself float in the water, my hair splayed out behind me.

I floated blissfully in the warm water, occasionally heating it up a little more with a skill. I let the heat soak into my muscles, loosening them up, relieving tension in spots I didn’t know I had. Literal years of grime and muck came off me, the Legion only able to quickly bathe in the occasional river, nothing like the luxurious soak I was currently enjoying. I occasionally ate a berry dipped in cream or honey, letting my worries float away on the soft currents, trying to enjoy the peace that I abruptly found myself at.

No war. No violence. No blood and screams.

Just… contentment and warmth. Floating in the soft current, my aches melting away like soft traces of morning dew.

All good things eventually came to an end, and I heard the footsteps far before anyone came to the bath room.

My bowls were empty, and I cracked an eye open at the approaching [Servant]. She didn’t bat an eye at me, but the excessive amount of steam did give her a bit of a hard time.

Well, good. No hassle, no fuss, just a half-raised eyebrow when she saw me before she wordlessly collected my empty snack bowls and bustled them off. I suppose she survived - literally - working under Artemis, so a layer of gumption and brains were mandatory.

It did mark the end of my bath, and with some reluctance, I hauled myself out, drying myself off with a beautifully placed towel and donning a neatly folded tunic.

It was official. I was in love, and had to figure out how to keep her around when Artemis and Julius inevitably left.

I wrapped up and took a tour of my own home, trying to figure out what was new and different, and what was the same. Going from a tent to a villa in the span of a week was surreal, and I was still trying to adjust.

Adjust I did as I made it to the master bedroom, the gloriously large bed still there. I remembered one of my prior promises, and having spent more time in a sack than a mattress over the last three years, I gleefully jumped onto it, canceled my tour, and was promptly as lazy as I could be.

Home.

The only issue with my early laziness is I forgot to grab a gigantic pile of books to read in bed. Maybe Julius would be nice enough to help me out? Either way, while I was working on not moving at all, I decided I should do some prep work. I didn’t know when Iona was going to be back.

I teleported into [Vault of Ages] without moving, and still not twitching a muscle, used a combination of [Blink] and [Rapid Reshelving] to get my proposal sword out of storage, and back into the real world. More [Rapid Reshelving] hid the sword under the bed.

I figured if Iona was planning on proposing to me while I classed up, being able to say ‘look under the bed’ as a response was pretty good.

At last, I heard the wonderful sounds of Julius and Artemis coming back.

“Hey! Artemis! Back here!” I shouted through the villa, intent on being as lazy as I could be.

There was a far-off shout of excitement, followed by running sandals on the marble floors. A few shouts confirming my location were bounced back and forth, with Julius muttering something rude. The door burst open, and Artemis and Julius were there, beaming at me. Artemis slowed down, suddenly playing it cool, cracking a grin.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Heya, Healy-bug. We missed ya.”

And all was right with the world.

I’d learned the servant’s name was Titania, and she was a gem. Silent, efficient, able to anticipate what was needed and do it before I’d even formulated the thought. She was well-paid, and I increased it by 50% within a few days of meeting her.

Didn’t want Julius poaching her when they left.

Iona showed up a while later, thunderclouds across her face. I instantly ditched my self-imposed laziness and jumped up to greet her.

“What’s wrong? Is everything okay? Where’s Nina?” I asked, suddenly dreading the answer.

Iona took in a deep breath.

“Nina is fine.” She practically spat, clearly a story there. “She’s officially the Fox Valkyrie, and is off to train with the Eventide Establishment.”

Hey. No fair. We were the Eventide Eclipse. No stealing our name!

“So what’s wrong?” I coaxed my lover.

Iona sat down heavily, and gave me the full story of what happened with Nina. She was crying at the end.

“Why?” She sniffed. “Why… she was like a daughter to me.”

“To us.” I gently added. “Everyone has to leave the nest at some point. She’ll come back. I know it.” I believed every word I was saying. “Should I wait on the classup?”

The thought had been with me for ages. I could barely wait. I’d been tempted to start the process a dozen times, trying to justify it to myself that Iona would show up by the time I was done.

Iona shook her head.

“No, no, I know how much you’ve wanted to do this. Go.”

I hesitated, torn, but years upon years of anticipation finally won out.

I jumped into bed, snuggled in, made myself comfortable, then entered the world of my soul.

I was greeted with the blaring noise of a party horn going off inches from my face, confetti falling from the ceiling.

“You made it!” Librarian shouted, jumping up and down. “You’re here!”

I grinned at myself, looking at what she was wearing. A tunic dyed bright red, with a simple cut but elegant golden embroidery along the edges. She was wearing a goofy party hat, jumping up and down in her enthusiasm.

The place had stabilized from the last time I’d been here. No longer was Librarian running around from disaster to disaster, trying to keep things barely together. I could see some deep cracks in the foundation, but they were already healing, coming back together.

How I could tell the stone was healing, I had no idea. Part of the mystery of the Library. I imagined it was because of the Han civil war, and the effects on my mind from that.

“I did!” I rubbed my hands with glee and anticipation, finally able to see what my options were. “Let’s go see what I’ve got!”

Librarian held up a hand.

“Trust me, let’s do this the slow way. I’ve still got some offers coming in.”

Intrigued by what Librarian was saying, interested in knowing more but trusting her judgment, we took the slow way up the stairs. We started on the first level, where I’d taken my level 8 class, then moved up to the 32 floor, before another set of stairs to the 128 level. The book display where I’d taken [Constellation of the Healer] remained empty, and I fondly patted it as I climbed another flight of stairs. The mysterious doorway I’d gone through to build [The Dawn Sentinel] was still on the fourth floor, and the two of us passed through it, briefly floating in the impossible void where I’d custom-built the class. A staircase was floating in the void, and the two of us climbed it to get to the next level.

It was more mundane than I expected. A classy room in a castle or fancy mansion, with deep chairs and a single large bookcase against the wall. A fireplace was keeping the room warm, and to my surprise, there was a pair of double doors leading to a balcony. A crisp spring day with a light breeze was going on, and I started to move towards it, curious what was going on out there.

In the world of my soul, the levels indicated the level of the class I was taking. I couldn’t go up any further - I was upgrading a 768 class, not a 1024 one - but anything on the same level was fair game.

What was through the balcony? There shouldn’t be any books there, and I’d never seen exits to the great library that housed my classes before, nor had I heard about anything like it from the School of Sorcery and Spellcraft, or anyone else.

I took a step towards it, but Librarian gently steered me to the chair in front of the grand bookcase. They were big, leatherbound affairs, without a single trace of dust on them all. Somehow, through the power of magic, the earthy, musty smell of old books permeated the air.

I took in a deep breath, enjoying the blessed perfection that was only possible in a space like this.

“Let’s leave the most interesting for last, shall we?” She suggested with a wink.

I shrugged. Sure, why not?

Nearly all the spines of the books were in black, with scattered stars across it mimicking a starfield. Only a few classes weren’t Celestial-element, and I had serious doubts that I’d take anything non-Celestial.

Hilariously, many of the titles were also in black, showing the quality of the classes, practically blending in with the cover. I was reminded of the classup with [Pyromancer] where I had a bunch of red-text titles against red covers.

Black on black was far better. I didn’t want to filter my choices too hard too early on. The bookcase wasn’t that big, and I wasn’t exactly on a massive time crunch. I was still vaguely on Operation: How Lazy Can I Be?, and spending serious time in the library of my soul was an excellent way to pass the time.

Somewhat. I still had Iona waiting for me, and a surprise I was giddy for.

I wasn’t going to read every book, only some of them. I’d read everything purple and black though, choosing to skim a few of the lower quality offerings. The first one that jumped out at me made me laugh.

[The Lusty Exterreri Maid - Celestial]the cover proclaimed in orange. I was intrigued enough to open it up and flip through it, seeing what it had to say.

[The Lusty Exterreri Maid - Celestial]: The princess and the knight. The rogue and the high priestess. The captain and the mermaid. The bard and… well, frankly anyone. The [The Lusty Exterreri Maid] is familiar with all manner of roles and playing, and is an expert at all sorts of tools and arts. Their knowledge of ropes and knots is unparalleled, along with their dress and attire. Not only is a [Maid] an expert at cleaning, they are well versed in other disciplines. A [Maid] is an expert gardener, whose fields bloom with unrivaled beauty and fragrance, drawing admiration from all who stroll by. Their expertise in handling delicate ‘petals’ and ‘stems’ is unrivaled. Yet, they are not good at only gardening! Their culinary prowess is unmatched, both in creating and eating. They have ways of whipping cream and kneading dough that can leave the observer flushed and hungry for more. +50 Dexterity, +50 vitality per level.

I was blushing furiously at the end of the description, and flipped through the book, seeing what potential and futures the class could hold for me. I obviously wasn’t going to take the book, but it had some ideas for Iona and I to explore in the future…

[The Biggest Bounty - Celestial] was the next book to catch my attention. I flipped it open, curious.

[The Biggest Bounty - Celestial]From Suen to the Han Empire, from Urwa to The School of Spellcraft and Sorcery, all across the world there are bounties on your head. Dead or alive, you’re a wanted woman in large parts of the world, everyone from law enforcement to bounty hunters, adventurers to lords and the ruling nobility want to see you come to justice for your many crimes. T-

I threw the book down in disgust. The class was worthless. Yes, please, take a class that has nothing to do with healing, and… become a tastier target? Make it harder for people to catch me? I didn’t care, but I was genuinely offended that so many people put a price on my head to the point where the System was offering me a class about it.

It was extremely interesting that I was offered it though. I hadn’t known I had so many bounties on my head. Like, yeah, I knew I’d pissed off a huge number of people in the Han, some in Suen, there was the Gladiator Gauntlet, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone took offense to me there.

I was a member of the Exterreri military. I had an army at my back that I could point to if anyone tried funny business.

Most interesting was the mention of Urwa and The School. The School I was generously going to assume some of the faculty members wanted to talk with me, and had put out a bounty for delivering a letter to me so we could have various discussions. I had kinda shaken things up a bit with my announcement that I was the original author of the Medical Manuscripts, and I hadn’t been great about leaving a forwarding address or additional information.

Urwa was scarier. It was the domain of elves, the place I knew Amber sold my Immortality gems to. Bounty hunters from there could even be higher level than Night… if the price on my head was high enough to tempt someone of that level to move, and potentially cause a serious fuss.

Exterreri wouldn’t take the capture or murder of one of their Sentinels lightly. In that way, I was protected.

MOVING ON!

There was a [Witch of the Galaxy] book that briefly caught my eye, and the predicted [Legionnaire Bunny] was offered, but I was more interested in the high powered classes. The healing ones.

“Can you show me the healing related ones?” I asked Librarian. She waved, and the bookcase was replaced by nine books in a neat row. I decided to go broad, then investigate each one in-depth.

My options were potent, to say the least.

[The Arbiter of Life and Death]. [The Elaine]. [Saintess of the Dawn]. [Savior From The Stars]. [Medic of the Dread Sixth Legion]. [The First Oathbound Healer]. [The Last Sentinel of Remus]. [Healer of the Stygian Dragon, Rainbow Phoenix]. [Crow’s Acquaintance, Dove’s Nemesis].

“By the way.” Librarian mentioned with a tone that was far too casual. I knew that tone. I used it myself. Whatever Librarian was going to ‘casually’ mention was far too important, and had her all in a tizzy. “While you’re glancing at your major options, it might be worth taking a look at the balcony.”

Burning with curiosity, I got up, and made my way over to the balcony. I opened the door and stepped out, a realization hitting me.

I laughed.

“It’s a wizard’s tower!” I exclaimed, pointing up at the rest of the great library. “All the floors are stacked on each other like a wizard’s tower!”

Librarian rolled her eyes at me.

“Duh! Anyway, here’s the last serious option, but it’s not complete yet. Still getting a few offers.”

The balcony wasn’t fully enclosed, a small opening in the railing offering an exit, a way out.

It was a long way down, but the plaque and the pile of letters next to it explained everything.

It was a different offering, not quite a class, yet part of the System nonetheless. My eyes were glued to the name offered, and all the implications it had. There was no element listed, and the text was in shining gold, not one of the standard qualities offered at all. The pile of letters addressed to me had names on them, the top letter having two familiar names written on the cover.

Selene.

Lunaris.

I was entranced by the name, unable to stop staring at it.

[Angel of Mercy]

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