CHAPTER 56 You Stab Things, I Light Things on Fire

Keith

Ria and Keith had decided that it might be faster for her to run and Keith to fly. While it would have been nice to take a walk through the Dark Enchanted Forest together, Keith was hoping they'd be long gone before Lady Amy woke up.

In her excitement, Henrietta probably hadn't forgotten that she'd left the elf sleeping in upstairs. And since she probably hadn't forgotten, he probably didn't need to remind her.

Honestly, his desire for some quality time with the princess might have turned him into the scheming Dark Lord his godmother envisioned. He pushed the feeling of existential moral dread aside and activated his wings.

The construct wings were not as fast as a high-level [Flight] spell, but they saved him hundreds of mana and allowed him the freedom to let his mind wander. He didn't need another spell exploding when he tried to cast it because he was too distracted by the princess … [Mana Burn] was not a joke.

It would've ruined their date.

He watched Henrietta from the sky. She ran so fast that dust flew off behind her. Creatures from all over the forest somehow felt her approach and cleared the path long before she got there. Everyone excepting a few adventurers, whom she simply ran past on her way.

Keith kept up with her and dove down to arrive just as she did.

"So this is the Hollow Gorge!" Henrietta stood with her hands on her hips. She surveyed the bustling market set up outside a giant platform with three crossed ornate trellises. While they watched, an adventuring party walked up the short stairwell to the platform, and a shimmering blue light engulfed them and portaled them away.

"I suddenly have a strong need to defeat this dungeon," she said seriously. "I've never fought a portal dungeon. This is going to be awesome."

"Would you like to solo the dungeon? Or should we do it together?" Keith asked.

"Good question." Ria smiled up at him and tentatively reached out to take his hand. "Want to do it together?"

"As you wish."

They started walking toward the registration booth when Henrietta tugged on his hand.

"Let's check out the dungeon quests!" She pointed excitedly to a large noticeboard tacked all over with posters requesting monster materials, harvest ingredients, and an assortment of dungeon loot.

Keith didn't know why she bothered; they weren't in need of money or dungeon items themselves. Well, technically, that wasn't true. Looking at the board revealed a number of his own personal requests. His powdered gem-cutter ant carapace was running low, and he needed a few phoenix feather ink brushes.

"Is there something you need from the dungeon?" Keith asked as Henrietta read the board.

She shrugged. "I was thinking it might be fun to collect some of these ourselves."

Keith hesitated. "Wouldn't a porter slow us down? I have a dimensional storage ring, but it's full of mana and health potions and snacks for the trip. I still need an Escape Scroll and a Revive potion."

"I have a Revive potion," Henrietta said. "And I don't think we'll need the Escape Scroll, do we?"

"Not technically; there are Escape portals on each floor, and one if you defeat the boss."

"That's fine, then." She smiled up at him. "My [Harvest Kill] perk comes with its own storage. Anything I help defeat can be stored."

"That is an incredible perk." Keith raised an eyebrow. He turned back to the board to give it a once over.

In the usual way of things, some quests were only allowed to adventurers, and not just any dungeon delver. A professional adventurer specialized in challenging dungeons to hunt and harvest materials, while a dungeon delver was any one time visitor.

Keith didn't worry about being denied any quest on the board; he was the Dark Lord after all. And sorting out the loot afterwards also wouldn't be too much hassle.

After exiting the dungeon, the quest materials could be sold directly to those who'd made the request or dropped off at the local guild attached to the quest board. The guild would act as the middleman and charge ten percent, but it was better than hunting down all of the buyers individually.

Ria was in high spirits and dragged Keith through the stalls to buy extra snacks for the trip. He recalled her appetite after a fight and purchased a few candied hazelnut rolls himself.

Then they were finally ready to head over to sign in at the register and get their badges.

Keith filled out the paperwork and slipped the guild attendant a gold coin with an extra order. Then they walked over to the platform.

Henrietta asked, "So, did you bring any golems with you? Aside from your epic wings?"

Keith grinned. "No, I'm going full Dark Magician today. I brushed up on my spells just for this."

What was the point of having a giant draconian library with piles of spell books if you didn't sneak around memorizing them throughout your childhood? Keith hadn't wasted the opportunity and studied hundreds of the things.

His [Quick Read] perk and Intelligence eighty-five weren't to be laughed at, and he had taken an hour to refresh his memory on the spell words and casting requirements.

The average wizard had access to the kingdom's regular library and was free to study as they would … but your average wizard was level fifteen. Even famous adventurers known throughout the continent, like Lavender the Lizard Wizard, were only in their level thirties.

Keith checked his character sheet. His experience points gained from hunting and harvesting had slowed down in recent years, as he'd focused on golemancy and tinkering and running the entire Dark Enchanted Forest.

As you do.

"I can cast whatever you like, but I'm atrocious at healing. Though I can use the perk [Quick Buff] to enhance or buff your items durability by +1? Or better yet …" Keith lifted the hand he was holding and thumbed the heirloom ring on Ria's finger.

Unlike his [Cantrip] perk, which only had five spell slots for an instant cast, the regular spells he knew were not limited to anything except his own capacity for learning. Each had complex formulae that were essential in shaping his mana into the spell diagram, and then a long verbal component he could thankfully skip with his [Quick Chant] perk.

"[Wearer's Luck]."

[You have attempted to use the Skill: Magic (Wearer's Luck). You have succeeded. 50% debuff applied to all Rogue-class Abilities attempted on this item.]

He watched his mana deplete and spent a bit more to make the basic buff last for twenty-four hours.

Henrietta looked her ring over, pleased. "Can you do my earring as well?"

"My pleasure." Keith reached out and delicately ran a finger along Ria's ear as he cast the [Wearer's Luck] spell a second time. "Should I enchant your sword as well?"

Before he could touch it, Ria jumped a bit and waved a hand over her sword protectively. "Oh no, Jacqueline doesn't like to be disturbed like that."

Keith didn't take it personally. Enchanted swords almost always came with personality. More so than his golems, even. "That's fine. So you stab things, I light things on fire, and between the two of us, we'll have a great time?"

"That sounds lovely, Keith!" Ria squared her shoulders trying to look professional, but she had a bounce in her step as they hopped onto the platform.

Ria looked out over the market while Keith distractedly checked his own equipment. As lines of blue light wove around them, he heard Ria mumble under her breath, "Oh shoot. She saw us!"