Book 2: Chapter 51: Ungrounded Rank Up and Gilbert's Stress

Book 2: Chapter 51: Ungrounded Rank Up and Gilbert's Stress

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Pet Mastery] Has levelled up! It is now beginner Level 2. This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.

"I only just put the brush in your hair... Well, let's see how many levels a single session will get me, shall we?" Lone asked Kyuubi.

The sleepy fox yawned before replying with, "Kyuu..."

Lone chuckled then got to work taking care of his adoptive daughter-slash-pet-fox. He carefully brushed every strand of fur, properly fluffed her tail, cleaned her ears, brushed her teeth, clipped her nails, and gave her a treat for not resisting or complaining in the slightest.

Foxes were weird. Lone knew they were like a mix between a dog and a cat, sometimes exhibiting the best of both, sometimes the worst of both. Kyuubi, on the other hand, was just a lazy blob of cuteness.

'She's a lot like Soph in some ways,' he joked internally.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Pet Mastery] Has levelled up! It is now beginner Level 3.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Pet Mastery] Has levelled up! It is now beginner Level 4.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Pet Mastery] Has levelled up! It is now beginner Level 5.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Pet Mastery] Has levelled up! It is now beginner Level 6.

Lone smiled as he cuddled the chubby fox snoozing on his belly. "Hard work in this dark cell but I think I did a good job. Another day or two and it'll be intermediate rank and then you can get even more out of these little pedicures, eh?"

He heard some footsteps approaching so he quickly unsummoned Kyuubi and got comfortable in his prisoner's cot.

"Oi, who're ye talkin' tae?" the guard asked upon reaching the door of Lone's cell.

Raising his head and noticed the tray of food with a glass of water on it too, Lone smiled. "Myself. I find it easier to work through things if I vocalise them. Is that against the rules here? Sorry if it is."

"Nah, cannae say it is." The dwarf shrugged as he placed the tray on the ground just outside of Lone's room. "Reach oot if ya wan' tae get some grub or wet yer throat. Ah ken ye asked tae be starved an' deprived ah water, but we're nae lookin' tae torture ya. Eat or dinnae, the choice is yers, nae oors."

"It'd be better served going to other prisoners, really. I'm trying to up my resistances," Lone explained.

The guard shook his head. "Yers nuts. Well, ye'd 'ave tae be tae try an' learn steamforgin' as ah non-dwarf."

He then walked off, presumably back to the prison's entrance or wherever else he was currently posted for his guard duty.

Lone sighed as he stood up and stretched. He approached the bars of his cell and crouched down. Sticking his hand through it, he stored the offered food and water while leaving the tray and cup alone.

"Even if I don't consume it, it'd be dumb to just waste it. I am lacking when it comes to my provision supplies after the journey back to the krieg, after all," Lone mumbled before he made his way to the centre of his cell.

"Ungrounded," he invoked, using the Primal skill Sky had forced onto him when it made him its Avatar.

Here he was, insolated in a small room with nothing to do besides train his skills, think, or sleep. It was obvious which of his options Lone would choose to do.

Congratulations! The host's primal skill [Ungrounded] Has levelled up! It is now beginner Level 10.

Congratulations! The host's primal skill [Ungrounded] Has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 1.

Primal Skill: Ungrounded

Cost:800 SP [-200 SP] per second. Mastery:Intermediate Level 1

Gilbert shook his head as he withdrew the communication orb from his robe and poured some of his MP into it. "It is called Gravital Compression. Close enough though. Go see if you can't help your foolish uncle and that useless duke with whatever it is they are working on right now."

"The seventh attempt at making a proper ship? Sure. I'll, uh, come back in an hour?" Shana said questioningly.

Gilbert just nodded as a voice chuckled through the orb. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes, but it's not that big of a deal. I was merely teaching Shana some gravity magic. Well, specifically, about my skills in the magic. She can only take being surrounded by raw gravity magic for so long, what with her being a child at such a low rank," Gilbert answered honestly. "How about you? What are you up to these days, son? If I recall correctly, you were travelling with an untrustworthy dwarf towards a lost urd, yes?"

"Haha, yeah, that I was. Got there, levelled up a bunch off of a horde of Balor Demon Bats then used up the Djinn's Wish you gifted Sophie and me," Lone answered.

'Of course. Never a peaceful day in this boy's life, is there?' The old White Dragonkin thought as his racial skill let him know Lone spoke the truth.

"I hope the side effects weren't too bad? I know you're a clever lad, but if you had to resort to using the wish even despite all of your unique skills, then I'm left worrying you were hardly sound of mind when you summoned the Djinn," Gilbert expressed his concern.

"Hit the nail on the head, you did. Turns out the urd was holding Darkness in it. As in, the Primal. I have no clue if the fucker was sealed or just chilling out down there. Either way, it got me good. Bastard tricked me into thinking it wanted to possess me only for it to try to possess Breena," Lone detailed.

"Breena? The Crimson Foxkin girl?" Gilbert asked as he sat down on the sandy beach.

"Yup. Anyway, I obviously wasn't going to let that happen. Sophie wanted me to kill her to stop it but I couldn't do that. I used the wish and kinda... threatened the Djinn," Lone confessed with an awkward chuckle.

"Of course you did. Let me guess, it forced Darkness into your soul," Gilbert sighed deeply.

"Bang on the money again. I mean, It's not a huge deal since the ageing means nothing to me and I got another skill out of it - one I can't use since it needs MP - but yeah, kinda sucks. I also got into a big fight with Sophie over it so she isn't talking to me anymore," the young Golden Foxkin claimed with regret and some sadness in his tone.

Gilbert smiled wryly as he shook his head. 'The struggles of the young. No one wants to deal with suddenly becoming a Primal's awakened, let alone its Avatar, but the stupid boy seems more concerned about his lover's spat than about Darkness itself. His priorities baffle me.'

"At least you're back in the krieg now, yes? More than enough time has passed. I know nothing of love having never possessed an interest in the subject, but treat her with respect and I imagine things will resolve themselves in time," Gilbert offered what little advice he felt he could, given the situation.

"Ah, well, I'm pretty confident I can patch things up myself. I do have, uh, more pressing concerns though," Lone stated vaguely.

Gilbert narrowed his eye in suspicion. "What does that mean?"

"Well... I may or may not be imprisoned for illegally learning the Steamforging skill and for stealing the steamforged artefact used to determine that I have said skill. Apparently, a 'Taker' is planned to come and deal with me? I was hoping to get your thoughts on the matter. Y'know, be my defacto lawyer or something. Soph and I can teleport out of here whenever, but I'd rather do things legally if possible since I don't want to implicate Wilbur," Lone explained, much to Gilbert's horror.

'And here I was thinking my stress levels were only just now starting to decrease... This fucking idiot of a foxkin!' Gilbert yelled internally as he responded with nothing but a massive sigh.

"Haha, yeah, it's kinda serious. Like I said though, we can bounce whenever. I did already make an enemy out of one kingdom, so, if possible, I'd rather not do the same again but with an entire species this time," Lone expressed.

Gilbert sighed again. "You may just have to."

"What? Why? There's no way around this?" Lone asked in confusion.

Gilbert put a hand to his heavily scarred face and he spoke through his fingers, "Takers are not to be treated lightly. They need only touch you and then they can strip you of every single skill you possess. It's not even a skill they use, it's an inborn talent. Like how we can breathe and talk, they can simply... take. They're so rare but I have heard the dwarves do use them when outsiders learn Steamforging."

"Oh..." was Lone's only answer.

"'Oh', indeed," Gilbert mimicked with a wry smile. 'This foolish lad. Of course the moment I start seeing some pup as a son of sorts he becomes the most annoying to handle son on the entire face of Altros...'

Still, as the boy's father figure, he needed to do something, no? "Listen up. I'll tell you everything I know as well as give you a few options. You don't necessarily need to flee immediately, but you'll need to tell me everything about your situation. Down to the last detail. You are definitely in the wrong here but the guild has its own laws. Some of which I may be able to get you to use for your own benefit without making you the most wanted man of all of the dwarven councils. It's unlikely, but it's best we at least try."