The feast was a rather sad affair. The king was obviously not expecting the ritual to work and didn’t prepare anything. Of course, the others didn’t know that, so I kept my mouth shut and let them enjoy exotic foods. I also ate some since I was famished. We also took the time to formally introduce each other. I got an old man joke out of Aoto for my troubles.

  The king disappeared during the event. I would only see him again in the morning and never again after that. The one time I had an opportunity to ask the others, the king never reappeared for them, either. He handed them off to trainers, who were, to give the king some credit, competent and dedicated.

  As the sun began to set, we were directed to our rooms in the VIP wing of the castle. I was given a suite which, at least for a fantasy medieval setting, was quite nice. About the size of a roadside motel room, the suite had running water, its own flushing toilet, a large bed, a sitting area and a wardrobe. There was even a small, magically driven heater in the wall.

  The one feature better than home was the bed. The mattress was the size of a monster Alaska King and firm. The bed was loaded with two dozen soft down pillows while a long pillow tube against the headboard stretched the entire length of the mattress. The bedframe was a canopy design with thick curtains which blocked out all exterior light. It was great to draw and sleep in past sunup.

  The real beauty was the bed had a magical device embedded at the foot. When activated, the occupant could go to sleep on command, have a full refreshing night’s sleep and guarantee good dreams. I loved it. Shame I only ever got to use it this one night.

  I set my beer mug down on a night stand, activated the magical lamp and sat in a chair. As exhausted as I was, I needed to stay up for a few minutes.

  I looked at the clock in the room. I always found it amazing the society here used the same 24-hour system we did. They even broke it down into a pair of 12-hour chunks. Instead of AM and PM, they used Mor and Af for morning and afternoon.

  Just before the clock hit 8Af, I got up and stood by the door. I rested my hand on the door handle and waited. When the clock struck 8, I heard a knock on the door. Opening it, I saw a lynx-clan girl in a maid outfit standing outside. She was 18 years old and had cute facial features. Her ears had tall, black hair tufts protruding out and her fur was thick. She had thick furry hands and her thick furry feet were shoved into dainty lace shoes. Her expression was worn and tired.

  A pair of door guards flanked my room, giving her space to present herself. She was surprised at how fast I opened the door. After recovering, she gave an awkward curtsey. “Good evening, hero. The king has sent me here as a welcome gift.”

  My eyes looked into hers before drifting down. Her expression indicated I was leering at her figure. I was, instead, looking at the collar around her neck. It was polished wood and had delicate engravings glowing blue. It was her slave collar.

  I moved to the side to give her space. I was trying to avoid saying anything that could be misconstrued as an order.

  After she entered, I closed and latched the door before proceeding to the wardrobe. It was empty save a few wooden hangars on a rod. I plucked one and turned. The girl had completely removed all of her clothing and was standing awkwardly next to the bed. I was never fast enough to stop it and telling her when she walked in meant the door guards overheard.

  I had to stuff down my disgust at what was happening. This was one of the few things I did on each and every time loop without fail. Well, except for the times I got killed early or was kicked out of the castle when I was in my mental break phase.

  I took the maid outfit and put it on the hangar. She looked at me with confusion. “You don’t want the chamberlain getting angry you wrinkled it,” I commented with a warm voice.

  After hanging the uniform up, I went back to the girl. “Apologies, I have to do a few things. Bear with me.” I gently touched her shoulders and arranged her facing the door. “This will be a little embarrassing. I promise I’m doing this for a reason.”

  She dutifully stood still in the spot I placed her. Her hands were folded in front of her privates, shielding the area. She was clearly scared and uncomfortable. I hated this part the most.

  I opened the door. “Excuse me? Guard?”

  One of the guards, a cougar-tribe man, stuck his head in and caught sight of the girl. He gave me a leering smile. “Are you satisfied with the king’s gift?”

  “Yes, I am quite satisfied,” I said with my happiest voice, stuffing down the disdain. “Can you ask for a plate of meats, cheeses and some fruit juice? I’m afraid I became peckish again.”

  “Certainly, my lord,” the guard replied.

  I closed the door and went back to the girl. I gestured to the bed. I had to be careful about this since I didn’t want to give her any verbal commands to trigger the collar. She did as I instructed and lay on top of the covers. I could see tears welling up in her eyes.

  I walked back to the door and avoided looking at her any longer than necessary and waited. Five minutes passed and another knock came. I opened it and saw a deer-tribe man in a server outfit with a wooden tray. On the tray were sliced smoked meats, cheeses, a clay jug and a wooden mug.

  “Come on in,” I said and gestured inside.

  The man came in and took a long look at the girl on the bed. “Where shall I put this, my lord?”

  “Oh, on the night stand. I intend to line it up on her torso and eat my way down before readying down below. I can’t have it dry. Far too unpleasant an experience,” I told the servant.

  The servant grinned. “Understood, my lord.” He placed the tray, took one last look at the girl then hurried out of the room. After he left, I locked the door from the inside.

  I turned and gathered the girl’s underclothes. I offered them to her. “Here. The room doesn’t have anything else available to wear. I’ll try to avoid looking at you too much while you’re here.”

  Fear grew in her eyes as she sat up. “Am I unacceptable, my lord?”

  I gave her my best calming smile. “No. You’re quite lovely, in fact. If you were 10 years older and we met under pleasant circumstances, I’d be willing to ask you to have a drink to get to know each other better.”

  Her fear was replaced by a look of perplexion. I waved her underclothes for her to take. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Oliver and you’re safe. I have no intention of bedding you this evening.”

  She still didn’t take her things and I placed them on her. Her eyes widened with realization and tears began to flow. She covered herself up and stood. The sobs started coming harder.

  I approached her and gently pulled her head into my shoulder. The poor girl needed comforting after believing she was going to be used by a weird stranger summoned by the king.

  I peered down at her collar while she wept. The kingdom didn’t have permanent slavery. It was, however, a common punishment for crimes. Commit a crime, get a sentence of indentured servitude with a bureaucracy, noble household or the castle. Really, anyone who could afford to pay. The girl’s crime was shoplifting. A two-year sentence. The collar would automatically break when the sentence was up or when the contract holder released the slave.

  As her tears slowed, I guided her over to the large chair by the window. I placed the tray on the table next to it. “Please, enjoy.”

  She looked warily at the tray, thinking it was some trap.

  “It’s not a trick. You can eat and sleep for the night. You need a break,” I said. I poured a bit of the juice into my glass mug and took a drink. It was sweet and reminded me of apple.

  “Lia,” the girl said before picking up a piece of cheese and biting into it.

  “Nice to meet you, Lia,” I replied. I went over to the bed and moved all the pillows to one side. I then took the long tube and laid it down the center before adding more pillows to create a protective wall. After I was done, I kicked off my rubber shoes and slipped under the covers. The silk felt nice on my skin.

  “Why are you doing this?” I heard Lia ask.

  “You don’t deserve what you’re going through,” I replied. “Sorry to cut this short. I’ve been awake for almost two days straight and I really need some rest. After you’re done, the other side is yours.”

  I adjusted myself under the covers and willed myself to sleep. The bed’s magic took over and I was out.

  The next morning, I woke up refreshed. The refreshment was confirmed by my full green stamina bar in my vision. Lia was on the other side of my pillow wall in a fetal position facing me. Her face was serene as she slept on top of the covers. She didn’t use the covers since her thick fur kept her warm in the late spring temperatures.

  I gently took the various pillows and the long tube and strewed them around the room. It was to sell the illusion I was busy last night. The reason I did this is if I didn’t sell my total satisfaction, Lia would be punished with a two-day stint in the guard house brothel. There was one other bonus later in the day courtesy of my deception.

  After slipping my rubber clogs on, I picked up my glass mug and spent a few minutes washing, drying and polishing it. Then I stood by the door and opened it after a single knock.

  On the other side was a ram-clan woman in a maid outfit. She wasn’t wearing a slave collar, meaning she was a higher ranked staff member. She peered into the room and saw Lia out on my bed. “Did you have a good night?”

  I smiled. “Wonderful. If you can do me a favor, let what’s her name in there rest a bit longer. I wore her out last night.”

  “I will inform the chamberlain you were pleased with your gift, my lord,” the maid replied before indicating I should follow.

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  After a brief group breakfast of fresh bread and meats, we were ushered into a room with a large wooden tub at the center. In the room were the collected nobility of the kingdom and other fancy dressed people crowding around. They were here to observe the proceedings. Castle servants were also flitting among the guests.

  The tub was two meters tall and had a section of glass to view the interior. The inside of the tub was marked with depth measurements and it was filled to the topmost line with water. Before the tub was a raised stone dais with a crystal ball. Attached to the ball was a long wooden chain. Standing atop the tub on a platform was a mage in blue robes.

  I turned my gaze up and saw the ceiling. A tangle of branches grew from the walls to the roof, which was one of the tree canopies in the castle complex. The two walls to our sides had alternating wood panel decorations and stained-glass windows. The light cast a rainbow sheen into the room. A rich red carpet was under our feet leading to the tub.

  I took a deep breath. Incense burners hung from the ceiling were giving off a pleasant aroma. It reminded me of baking chocolate chip cookies made with high quality vanilla extract in the batter. One of these days, I’d try to find equivalent ingredients to make a batch.

  Standing in front of the tub was a wolf-clan man in a rich red robe. He had squinty eyes and a severe face. Nearby, inside his circle of guards, was King Ormond. The king had a fake smile plastered on his face and an air of “I had this all planned out” in his body language.

  The severe looking wolf-clan man looked over at us and spoke. “Welcome, heroes! I am Grandmaster Illian. I am the master of the Exterminator’s Guild. His majesty requested I evaluate your power to devise an appropriate training regimen.”

  Illian looked to the king, who gave a small nod. “Here is what we call an evaluation ball. Touch it and it will read your mana capacity and report back your elemental attunement along with your level. If you happen to be blessed with a special ability, it will show up written within. Afterward, we will submerge the ball and heat the water. The amount of water boiled away in 10 minutes will signify your current level of power.”

  He looked at us silently, waiting for a response. When we remained quiet, he added, “Any questions?”

  Aoto raised his hand high. “May I ask how we open our status menus?”

  Illian cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Status what?”

  “Status menus,” Aoto repeated. “So I can see how strong I am.”

  “If you want to see how strong you are, you can lift something heavy,” Illian replied, confused.

  Aoto frowned. “You don’t have a menu? I see my vitals in my vision. Why can’t I see if I have charisma of 20 or not.”

  Illian licked a lip in thought. “Your world is strange. How does one place a number on such a thing?”

  “We do not have magic where we are from,” Aoto said. “Are you sure the only way to evaluate our ability is through the ball?”

  Illian seemed to be struggling to formulate a reply. I decided to help out. “Shimizu-kun, think about this logically. What would a strength score of 20 even mean? A Tour de France cyclist and an elite rock climber have very well-developed muscles. But they would each struggle in the other’s event. A menu system with those numbers would be unwieldy if it had to cover every muscle in the body. It only gets more illogical when trying to create numeric scores for concepts like wisdom or charisma.”

  Aoto’s face fell in disappointment. I didn’t like raining on the kid’s parade, but if I didn’t, this would have gone on for a while. He sighed. “So, we don’t level up here?”

  “What is leveling up?” Illian asked.

  I decided to speed things along. “It’s like exceeding a threshold where our potentials grow and we can become stronger than before.”

  Illian’s eyes lit up. “Ah, yes. The Advancement. Yes, we do it. When you kill monsters, you absorb some of their essence. You have a second pool called an essence pool, which unfortunately we cannot detect. When this pool is filled, you will instinctively know and you can improve your potential.”

  Aoto’s eyes lit up. The other four were lost. None of them were gamers back on Earth.

  “The size of the essence pool is equal to the size of your starting mana pool. Further, as essence collects, it becomes more potent. Because of this, those born with larger mana pools will find it more difficult to Advance. However, when he does, his Advancement is significantly stronger,” Illian explained.

  From my own research, the advancement pool is a sphere. Imagine papering over the surface area of a sphere with essence. When it’s fully covered, the interior becomes the potential for advancement. A bigger sphere has a bigger surface area, but the volume increase is far larger. Bigger pools end up trading slower leveling for substantially stronger leveling.

  Illian gestured to the ball again. “Since we cannot measure your essence pool, we use the crystal ball to approximate your power. As you advance, so does your mana pool. The ball drains your mana, the number of layers grown on your mana pool and reads its attunement then expels it as heat into the water.”

  Aoto was barely holding in his excitement. The other four were still confused. Carolina was also still disbelieving what we were going through.

  Illian gestured to the ball. “Who would like to demonstrate?”

  Aoto stepped forward eagerly. I decided to hang back and go last. My results would overshadow the event.

  Aoto looked at Illian expectantly. Illian indicated for Aoto to grip the ball. He did so.

  The ball started to glow with a gentle amber color. “Earth aspect,” Illian announced.

  Words then began to form in the ball reading Regeneration above the number 0. The crystal ball was the only device that showed the viewer words they were literate in. At this point, I perceived the words in the local text. I reminded myself I needed to be careful to not indicate I was literate here. That created a few problems with explaining how I learned the writing system so fast.

  Illian smiled. “Ah, that sounds useful. We shall see in training what it means.”

  Illian then lifted the ball and threw it into the tub of water. “Now we wait.”

  Shortly after submerging, I could see bubbles start to form on the exterior of the crystal ball visible through the glass window on the tub. The bubbles grew in intensity as the water transitioned to a light then to a rolling boil. Illian showed surprise at how fast the boiling started.

  The tub steamed for 10 minutes as the water evaporated. Then it abruptly stopped. Illian retrieved the ball and returned it to the dais.

  The mage in blue robes standing above moved his hands over the tub and closed his eyes. He was manipulating the mana in his core in a complex pattern necessary to cast his spell. When completed, an icy mist descended from his hands and cooled the water. Illian then looked in the tank and observed the water level.

  “Impressive,” Illian announced, looking at the king. “The first hero is 210%!”

  Gasps rang out in the room. The nobles muttered amongst each other in a rising din. A few servants absconded from the room to start spreading the knowledge among the castle staff. It was a big deal because Dane, the legendary warrior from a thousand or so years ago, scored 110%. A clap from the king silenced them. “This is wonderful news! If the others have such potential, we shall sleep safe at night under their protection.”

  Aoto looked embarrassed at the attention. His right hand rubbed the back of his head as he gave a small bow to the crowd. Illian signaled a nearby attendant to remove him from the room. Aoto was going to get measured for a new set of clothing then meet his trainer who was going to develop his skills. At least until he gets arrogant and dies to a giant ladybug next week. I haven’t found out a way to save him from his fate.

  After the mage at the tub used his magic to refill the water, the process continued.

  Damu went next and received the water aspect with the ability Flow. He scored 185%.

  Next was Aurelie. She received fire along with Supercharge. She scored 193%.

  Carolina’s ball turned misty green, which was air, along with Trap Sight and 190%.

  Disha’s ball went purple, signifying shadow attunement. Her words had to be presented in white text by the ball to be legible. She received Shadow Scholar as her ability and scored 205%.

  That left me. I strolled down the rich red carpet in front of all the well-dressed nobility of the Kingdom of Vialina. Me and my rubber clogs, denim booty shorts and unbuttoned, no-sleeve red checkered shirt displaying my hairy bare chest to the world. While holding an empty glass beer mug. I was the pinnacle of fashion.

  “If the pattern holds, I suspect you will be light aspect. It is a rare aspect indeed,” Illian said as I approached.

  I already knew my result. I put my hand on the ball. I experienced a slight unpleasant feeling like the buildup of gas which then released. I saw the tiny sliver of blue in my mana bar vanish, leaving a clear space in its wake. It would regenerate back in a few minutes. The crystal ball then started to glow in a clean, clear light. A single word formed in the glow along with the number 0. Mulligan.

  Illian’s eyes went wide. If his grey fur could have paled and gone white, it probably would have. He fell backwards on his rump, his tail splayed out to the side.

  “What’s the matter?” King Ormond said. No one else in the room understood what the color meant. I had originally gone first and thought white meant air. Light was supposed to be yellow.

  Illian swallowed. “He’s attuned to all. Just like Dane.”

  The volume in the room blew up to rival a heavy metal concert. Nobles were excitedly shouting. I saw a few servants sneak out in the pandemonium to spread the news through the rumor mill, happy they’d get to one-up the servants informing the castle about the high potential of the other heroes. The king was shouting, his voice lost in the din.

  After a few minutes, King Ormond sent a contingent of guards to get everyone’s attention. “Please! Everyone! Calm. The procedure isn’t complete. Let’s evaluate his strength.”

  Illian reverently lifted the ball and sunk it into the tub. A minute passed and nothing happened. Then two. Then the ten-minute mark hit and there wasn’t a hint of steam.

  Illian and the water mage looked puzzled. The water mage on the tank kneeled down and dipped a finger in the water. “It feels like tepid bath water.”

  The mood in the room instantly deflated. The king looked at Illian. “Was there a mistake?”

  “In all recorded history, the evaluation ball has never failed,” Illian responded. He looked at me with sadness in his eyes. “I regret to inform you that you’re a dud.”

  “The first all-attuned in a thousand years and he’s a dud,” King Ormond sighed. “It’s just our luck.”

  With that, the nobles began filing out of the room. Additional servants ran by to add to the rumor mill. A summoned hero was a dud. Weak.

  Of course, they didn’t know my little secret. The evaluation only came back as a dud because my mana channels were burned and needed to heal. It was only able to absorb a trivial amount of energy from me. This kind of mana trauma almost never happened. It wasn’t something anyone experienced even with heavy daily use. Only curses or blowback from forbidden attacks would ever result in a black mana bar. That and arriving in a new world with an atrophied mana pool.

  Illian approached and rested a hand on my shoulder. “I wish you to know that all are welcome at the Exterminator’s Guild. We’ll help you find something to do.”

  I have him a bright smile. “Thanks, bud!”

  Illian shook his head. He had assumed I was completely oblivious to what being a dud meant. They could still Advance and gain power, but their tiny mana pools ensured they would never become much in life, no matter how hard they trained or how many monsters they defeated.

  The king waved a hand indicating he wanted me to follow. “Hero, if you would follow me, please.” See? He wanted me to follow.

  Instead of going through the rear doors with the other five, the king directed me toward the front of the castle. He called the chamberlain and whispered in his ear. He then gave me a small nod and left me in the entry hall before disappearing back up the stairs. This is the point I never saw him again.

  I waited for an hour before my escort arrived. It was Willem, the mage who was part of the summoning ritual. With him was Lia. She was wearing torn grey clothing and a pair of worn sandals instead of her maid outfit.

  “We meet again,” Willem said with a false smile. He was forcing himself to be upbeat.

  “Heya, Willem,” I replied. “Did you have a good birthday?”

  “I went to my favorite tavern with my wife and kids,” Willem said. “It was a good night.”

  “Glad to hear it,” I replied with a big smile. I like Willem. He’s a standup guy. “Where did you go?”

  “This place out in one of the middle-class sectors called The Gnashing Teeth,” Willem said. “I recommend going if you get a chance.” I had already intended on heading there later.

  He directed me toward the entry where we exited onto the main carriageway. Directing us to the garden, he found a secluded spot where he extracted a scroll from his robe. He opened it and read the text aloud. “The king has decreed I give you a gift. Since you showed great interest in your partner last evening, he has granted you ownership of convict Lia’s contract. She has one year, eleven months remaining on her sentence. Further, the king has decreed you to be a free agent. The coming threat necessitates one such as yourself to operate outside the purview of formal royal training.”

  I smiled and nodded along with the speech. Willem then sighed, looked around and spoke low. “To be honest, his majesty is just trying to dispose of you.”

  I shrugged. “I figured after the reaction from my testing. Let me guess, he’s going to play this as a publicity stunt. I bet he’s already circulated news about our summoning. The others will be deep in training and won’t be available to press the flesh. With me free in the city, I serve as a reminder the heroes are around. The king even graciously gave me a slave, a low value one because her virginity was taken. I’m out of his hair and he gets to look good in the process. Does that about cover it?”

  Willem’s mouth fell agape. “I’m surprised you surmised as much. Are you sure you’re not a nobleman?”

  I smiled. “No, I’m a common folk.”

  “I also need to admit and apologize,” Willem continued. “When we discovered the ritual scroll in the archives, we weren’t sure it would work. It warned us to use it in times of great peril to summon heroes. It required strange things like rare, dangerous to obtain reagents and it even required chanted words. Magic never uses words. The king didn’t want to rely on a farce if it truly became necessary so we tested it. There isn’t a great peril coming. I’m sorry to disrupt your life like this.”

  I waved off his concern. “I understand. Good engineering necessitates you test something before relying on the equipment. I don’t blame you, Willem.” If he only knew they did summon us before a major threat.

  “And, once more, I’m surprised you’re taking this so well. Is this one of your Florida Man things?” he asked.

  “You could say that,” I replied. “Nothing really bothers me. It is what it is. I find it better to focus on what I’m going to do next than worry about what already happened.”

  Willem put the scroll away and took out another one. He unrolled it and on it was a complex series of arcane symbols. At the bottom of the page were two circles. One had the royal insignia, two dragons holding hands, in it. The other was blank. “Please place your finger in the circle and will your magic into the document. This will transfer ownership of convict Lia to you.”

  I put my thumb on it and waited a second. I played dumb since I didn’t want to explain how I knew to move mana already. “How do I do it?”

  Willem smiled. “Sorry, I forget myself. You just arrived yesterday. Look inside and feel your magic. You’ll find it in a ball just below your heart. Think of taking it and drawing it through your body toward your finger and push it out.”

  I focused, putting up a show I was trying to figure it out, and did as he asked. When I released the magic from my body, the circle filled in with a red and white version of the Florida State Seal. Both seals then vanished, allowing for the next transfer to take place.

  After the process finished, Willem rolled up the scroll and handed it to me. I shoved it in my waistband because I had nowhere else to put it. I didn’t have to worry about anyone stealing it since they couldn’t change ownership without my permission. Besides, I could always summon it back to me if I forgot where it was.

  Willem peered at me with a look of dejection. “You’re a quick learner. It’s a shame your potential is so poor. With your attunement and natural talent, you would have made a formidable caster.”

  I took a look toward the exit of the castle complex. “It was nice meeting you, Willem. I hope we can catch up again later.”

  Willem gave a nod and, before I could walk away, he looked at me seriously. “Please, don’t mistreat her. She’s still young and only made a mistake.”

  I stopped, looked around and then leaned in conspiratorially. “Wanna hear a secret? She’s still a virgin.” I gave him a quick wink and a smile.

  Realization sparked in his eyes and he gave me a small nod while he struggled to repress a laugh. Not only did I solidify my good reputation with Willem, I also subtly told him I just hoodwinked a very valuable piece of property out from under the king’s nose.

  I gave Willem a wave as Lia and I made our way to the exit. As we walked, I reviewed my last few cycles. I realized I had fallen back into a depression, which is why I treated the loops as a vacation. Maybe I really needed it, but I turned into a jerk to Void the last time around.

  In reality, I had gotten tired of seeing her die. I avoided her since about a hundred cycles after I met her since I couldn’t stand watching her flesh melt from her body or get overwhelmed by shadow monsters. Seeing her again at Victory Fountain reminded me of what I needed to do. My special ability, Mulligan, was allowing me to keep trying until I got it right.

  Giving a nod to Lia, we exited the castle grounds through the gate and continued down the main boulevard leading toward the central plaza. Lia was the first piece of the puzzle. I had to form a competent party. After I took care of some business, I had two more, including Void, to recruit. Then I could start taking saving the world seriously again.