Dimension System - Chapter 94

Recovering from their momentary shock, several of the thugs tried charging in directly for an attack. Hoping to capitalize on the fact that the majority of mages preferred fighting at a distance, they struck swiftly. Before they could cross the distance, I activated my ghost dragon hand. A large ethereal dragon swept through the attackers like a ghost.

As it passed through the first wave of attackers they fell to their knees, coughing and wheezing, as the would-be attackers desperately clutched at their chests. Meanwhile, a second wave of attackers tried the same rushing tactic, only to be met with a second ghostly dragon figure. Unlike the first wave, they experienced an even worse fate.

Faltering in their steps, the second group tumbled onto the ground and then proceeded to flounder around. They were unable to get back up and appeared extremely disoriented and dizzy. Seeing both groups disabled in such rapid fashion discouraged the rest from charging in blindly. One of them finally spoke up.

“Who are ya? What have ya done to my crew?”

Before Xander could even reply to the man the distinct twang of crossbow fire was heard from the back corners of the abandoned warehouse.

*Twang*

*Twang*

Flying through the air, the bolts lashed out with kinetic energy. Ultimately, however, they found no contact, as the twin headed ghostly dragon intercepted and absorbed them. Now that their position had been exposed, the two crossbowman joined the remaining group of thugs. Visibly upset by the multiple underhanded attackers, Xander conjured two small fist-sized blue portals in front of him.

Two corresponding orange portals appeared a few inches from the crossbowman’s throats. Xander slammed his fists through and the resulting punches landed squarely. Both of the victims fell to the ground as they gargled in agony. The violent act served to further restrain the thugs, who were quickly becoming demoralized at this point.

“What exactly DID you do to those guys?”

I answered Xander’s question, as the thugs listened intently, showing a curious mix of curiosity, fear, and trepidation on their countenances.

“Oh, just testing a few things out. It’s simple really. For the first group, I removed most of the air from their lungs. As for the second, I removed the fluid in their inner ear organs, causing them to be unable to sense movement.”

Upon hearing what I’d done to their comrades, the thugs faces morphed into looks of sheer terror, as if they’d witnessed a hideous monster. After all, these men were only simple thugs, not hardened career criminals. It was at this point that they’d realized they may have potentially offended someone that they could not afford to offend.

Like a fickle wind, the thug’s attitude shifted course with remarkable speed. Realizing that they’d kicked a steel plate, they moved to adopt a different approach. The same man from earlier, apparently their leader, attempted to resume negotiating.

“Is this about the store we smashed up? We’ll pay, we’ll pay!

Taking his time, Xander smoothed out a few wrinkles on his new jacket, before addressing the now terrified thugs.

“That is exactly the reason we’re here. You stupid fucks smashed up the one store that you can’t touch. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t bring your teeth back to that mason!”

Swallowing audibly, the leader shook nervously, as he ordered his men to retrieve compensation.

“Yo-you heard ’em.. go get the valuables!”

Within minutes the remaining thugs dragged out a chest containing gold coins and stolen valuables. Shifting the contents around, Xander inspected it carefully, as he was seemingly tallying up the value of the contents. Satisfied, he closed the chest, before dragging it behind him. As we reached the ‘door’ he paused for a moment to deliver a parting comment.

“Thank you gentleman. As a piece of advice, I’d suggest you either find a safer line of work, or learn to pick your future targets much more carefully.”

Returning to Grisby’s fine pottery, Xander deposited the chest onto a smashed up counter. Inspecting the various coins, jewelry, and silver cutlery brought a pleased look to the elderly shopkeeper. He did, however, seem nervous at accepting such a sizable payment.

“This is more than enough to rebuild my store. I couldn’t possibly accept all of it.”

Xander replied to the old man and assured him that it would be alright.

“The rest is for the pain and suffering you experienced. There’s no need to feel guilty. Think of it as compensation.”

After the old man thanked us several times, we departed back to small room containing the portal to headquarters. The two guards were still there but were no longer playing cards. One of them slept comfortably on a nearby cot, while the other was reading a book. He glanced up at us as we entered.

“Back already? That was quick!”

Replying to the old man, Xander patted my back.

“What can I say? This new kid is good.”

Finally returning to headquarters, we greeted Tony, who informed us that we were all set to meet with one of the Capos for a debriefing. The procedure was very cut and dry, as we answered the routine questions about the mission. After confirming that nothing out of the ordinary occurred, we were dismissed.

I turned down Xander’s offer to get something to eat since I wasn’t hungry at the time. He thanked me for the help during the mission before he left to join his friends in the dining hall. Now that I had some free time on my hands I wanted to ask Tony about the various portals that the spatial mages operated.

Making my way back to the reception desk, I asked him about the portals.

“Excuse me Tony, are there any portals to the major cities of the continent?”

Pondering for a brief moment, he gave me his recommendation.

“Hmm, you’re best bet would probably be the imperial capital Iskarii, which the continent itself is named after. It’s one of the oldest cities and is filled with a rich cultural history. The markets carry an amazing array of products and the emperor lives there too. If that’s not enough, the cuisine there is absolutely delectable!”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me. Can you arrange the portal for me?”

“Oh that’s right, you’re still new here! Let me show you how the outbound portal system works. That way you’ll be able to go to any of them next time.”

———————-

I had to admit that the bandit’s acting skills were rather admirable. They calmly approached after having dropped their weapons and patiently waited until they were within striking distance. Right on cue, one of the bandits pulled out a concealed dagger and charged in for a sneak attack.

His dagger pierced into a small blue portal that had opened up just before impact. Surprised, the bandit looked down in horror, only to discover a small orange portal in front of his chest. The business end of the dagger had been transferred, resulting in him effectively stabbing himself directly in his own heart.

Acolyte guards moved in between me and the bandits to intercept any further attacks. They pushed the unarmed bandits to the ground and proceeded to tie them up with rope. Having restrained the attackers, they turned to ask the bishop what to do with them.

“We’ve secured the bandits. Should we beat these sinners?”

Bishop Krenalis shifted the decision to me, saying that it was a test of character. Personally, I think he just wanted to avoid responsibility. Whatever the case may be, it fit my agenda perfectly. I pretended to ponder the decision for a moment.

“No, we should save these men and cleanse their sins.”

Curious, the bishop asked me how I planned to do that.

“How can we so easily alter the hearts of such wicked men? Such a change would take time, would it not?”

I instructed the acolyte guards to load the restrained bandits onto their wagon and hitch it behind the armored carriage. With the bishop’s blessing, they proceeded to pile them into the bare-bones wagon, placing one on top of the other. After the task was complete they looked over to me for the next order.

“There was a river we passed earlier, just down the road. Let’s head there so we can save these misguided bandits.”

Together, we all made our way down to the aforementioned river, while the merchant convoy followed closely in tow. Upon our arrival, the bandits were unceremoniously dumped next to the river’s edge. With that step now complete, I addressed the captive audience.

“How many of you are happy with your current lifestyle? Sleeping out in the forest every night.. fighting tooth and nail for scraps.. sleeping with one eye open because you can never trust the man next to you.. what if I told you that a better life was possible?”

Pausing for just a moment to add dramatic effect, I continued.

“What if I could offer you a fresh start? A second chance? A new life? What if I could do that right here and now? Would you trade your old life for a new one? Even if it costs you everything?”

Shining my divine dragon hand with a flash of light, I brought out the devil slave stamp. The appearance had been altered to fit this version of myself. After all, it would ruin my theme if I just whipped out a demonic looking artifact. Instead, the stamp that I brought out had the figure replaced with a beautiful glass angel that sparkled in the darkness.

One of the bandits agreed to go first. I ordered the guards to untie him and then escorted him into the shallows of the river. Instructing him to clear his mind, I branded him with the ‘holy’ artifact while he floated on the surface of the river. Once he was branded, I proceeded to give him a short ‘baptism’ in the river.

After explaining that I’d washed away his sins with the ceremony, the bandit started weeping and thanked me profusely for saving him. I wasn’t sure if it had actually helped the man, or if it was just the placebo effect. At this point it really didn’t matter. I explained further that he was now the first member of my own personal sun guard.

Once one of them had been saved several others followed suit. Before long, the majority of them had been converted and the rest fell victim to peer pressure. People had a natural inclination to stick together for safety and even the most reticent people still needed to socialize with others. With the bandits now converted into guards my plan was complete.

Bishop Krenalis started clapping after witnessing such an incredible feat.

“Now this is how we should conduct ourselves. Such compassion! Such selflessness!”

I addressed the bishop and moved quickly to build even further rapport.

“Thank you, your holiness. I think that we should escort these fine merchants so they don’t run into any more trouble along the road. What say you?”

After a brief discussion with the merchant convoy, the bishop agreed to escort them, as we were headed in the same direction anyway. Having company made the journey much more pleasant. We were able to converse with the merchants during our travel. I came to discover that they were transporting beast hides and iron ore to a nearby town called Woodford.

During the journey they commented on our apparent lack of supplies, even offering to generously share some of their own with us. The bishop explained that I was a spatial mage and our supplies were simply stored away so we could travel lighter. Jokingly, the merchants commented on how much easier their job we be with such powers. In order to avoid suspicion, I explained that the magic could only handle a certain amount of volume and weight.

Traveling through the night together, we finally reached a decent camping site that was large enough to fit the entire group. I had the sun guard confirm that the campsite was free of danger, while the acolyte and remaining convoy guards stood by in case of attack. After confirming it was safe I prepared a temporary campsite.

Expanding the clearing slightly, I removed some of the nearby trees with my divine dragon hand to expand the previously simple cabin. With a little renovation it was changed into a much larger two-story lodge that could accommodate the entire group. Naturally, this came as a shock to the sun guard and the merchant convoy.

Settling down inside our temporary lodgings, I prepared a simple meal for the group. Roasted squash stuffed with garlic, juicy beef and pork sausages, and a simple coleslaw of cabbage, carrot, and corn were all within my ability. White and wheat dinner rolls with butter were also served up and I offered mayonnaise and a simple oil vinaigrette as dressing for the coleslaw.

For drinks I provided water and randomly chose the Pale ale. I wasn’t sure if it paired well with the meal but nobody complained. Everyone was blown away by the food and praised me repeatedly. With another successful dinner service completed, everyone turned in for the night. Tomorrow we would reach our destination and I could see what the town had to offer.

There were still so many ingredients that I needed to get. That night I dreamed of tomatoes, apples, and all the other things that were still missing from my spatial world.

———————-

We departed from the small fishing village the morning after our feast. The cool morning dew felt refreshing and the spray of the ocean landed gently on the galleon as we made our way toward the coral reef. Goro had confirmed that there were plenty of shipwrecks that had sunk on the reef which were ripe for the plundering.

During the trip, I took the time to question the captain of the Black Dagger pirate crew we’d captured. Having been locked in the brig overnight with the undead zombie corpses of his former crew must have affected him more than I’d estimated. His eyes were glassy and he was non-responsive when questioned.

I’d only been joking about the keelhauling after the battle last night but figured what the heck. On my orders, the crew rigged a rope across the deck and under the ship. After confirming that it circled the entire ship, they tied the former captain’s hands and feet to the rope. Dante emerged from the ship’s cabin just in time to see him being lowered overboard into the ocean below the ship.

The unexpected situation shocked him, to the point where he actually spit out the morning beer he was drinking, causing it to spray onto the deck.

“What are you doing Devil?”

Chuckling, I let him know that we were only going to wake up the captain.

“We’re just bringing him back to his senses. He seemed ta be petrified with fear and wasn’t responding.”

When the captain came back up from the other side of the ship he was much more responsive. Sure, he sputtering and coughing up a lot of water but he’d be fine after a few minutes. He was lucky that my galleon wasn’t a normal ship. With my absorption ability and my undead crew there wasn’t a chance for barnacles to build up on the bottom.

Allowing the captain a brief respite, I questioned him again after he’d calmed down some.

“Ya better cough up some useful information or you’ll be seeing a lot more of the bottom of me ship.”

Eager to avoid being keelhauled again, the former captain of the black dagger pirate crew was quick to parley. Not that he really had a choice in the matter. I couldn’t afford to be soft in my methods. For one thing, it would make me look soft in front of my crew, besides which I knew that I’d be experiencing a similar fate or worse if I’d lost the battle.

After extracting the location of their main hideout, I let him know what his fate would be.

“Since ye lost the battle, ye be serving in my crew! Either in this life.. or the next! I’m feeling generous today, so why don’t you make that choice? Yarrrharhar!”

Once I gave my mighty pirate laugh, the rest of the crew joined in as well. Desperate to stay alive, the pirate captain heeded the old adage ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.’

“I’ll serve on ya crew, just don’t kill me!”

Brandishing the devil slave stamp, I pressed the former captain into eternal service, quite literally in this case! We’d take care of the rest of the Black Dagger pirate crew soon enough. For now though, I released the newest member of my crew and instructed the others to provide food, drink, and clothing to welcome.

“Oh and make sure that scallywag takes a bath. He smells like shit!”

Another round of rousing laughter rang out from the crew, as they had a little fun at the new guy’s expense. With that taken care of we finally sailed on and eventually reached the coral reef by mid-afternoon. As the bright sun shone down onto the ocean, we could barely make out an azure coral reef that deceptively blended into water. If it weren’t for the few shipwrecks that were visible we may have crashed into it ourselves.

Ordering the crew to drop anchor, I surveyed the beautiful sight before me.

“That’s a nice reef. I’ve always wanted my own. I’ll take it!”

While the crew laughed at my boisterous statement, I brought Goro and a few dozen zombified emerald crabs out to accompany me. After confirming that the system could transfer oxygen directly to me from the spatial world, I dived into the ocean and began to absorb everything around me except the crabs.

Massive amounts of seawater were absorbed as I headed directly towards the vibrant underwater reef that was positively teeming with life. Coral reefs were often called the “rainforests of the sea” and were known to contain many different marine species. As I started to absorb the reef I was bombarded by multitudes of system notifications. I ordered the system to compile them all for review later.

Due to my limited range of absorption, it took until well into the afternoon for me to finish. Unfortunately, many of the shipwrecks turned out to be duds, or in this case just wrecks. Being fully submerged underwater had ruined the cargo. Anything made from paper or fabric was a lost cause, even with the system’s ability to manipulate matter.

All of the other cargo had suffered similar fates. The iron and steel things were rusted beyond repair and reduced to scrap. Even things like gold, jade, and stone had been weathered down by hundreds of years. A few caches of valuable jewels had been secured just enough to survive the ravages of time. Then I came upon the final shipwreck, which I’d saved for last.

The condition was remarkably better than the others, as it was seemingly crafted from much higher quality materials. Much of the cargo, however, was still ruined. However, in the captains quarters I found a single artifact that still looked brand new. A gorgeous banner that bore the logo of the Iskarii empire. I chuckled at this fortuitous boon, knowing full well that one of my other selves was poised to make excellent use of this.

With the coral reef fully absorbed into the system and all of the shipwrecks reclaimed, I returned to my ship. The entire crew had been watching me absorb everything and they cheered when I finally returned. I had to say, this little escapade had been jolly good fun! Once the coral and creatures had a chance to proliferate in the spatial world, it would be sure to generate a massive amount of dimensional points.

Our newest crew member was quite confused after seeing what had just happened. Some of the crew took the chance to tell him about the spatial world, since he was now under the same binding contract. They answered his many questions as we sailed back to the fishing village. We finally got back in the evening.

The village elder and the rest of the villagers were all packed up and ready to go. They’d reached a unanimous decision to join as traders. Saving their lives, defeating the pirates, hearing about my fishing skill, the ability to breed more fish, and the amazing food had all influenced them greatly.

I passed out citizenship contracts for everyone with the help of my crew members. After collecting and storing them all inside the spatial world, I expanded my ever-growing fleet and constructed an additional ship capable of housing all of the villagers.

The style was close to an ocean liner but it still retained several large and reinforced masts. I was even able to include a rudimentary steam engine, however, without any coal the villagers would have to burn a mock charcoal approximation made by the system from wood. The ‘black rock’ found back in the iron mine was simply a small deposit of obsidian.

Due to the large size of the second ship, it took a few hours to finish construction. By now it was late in the evening, so we decided to throw one more party before leaving. Using the wheat flour from the system, I produced some thick Udon style noodles. Several large pots with water were set atop cooking fires.

Moving around to each of the pots, I added the noodles along with several other ingredients. Before long multiple giant hot pots were finished. Each had different groups of items inside. One of them had meatballs, while another contained thinly sliced steak, and another had large lumps of fresh emerald crab meat. Some had cabbage, some had carrots, others had corn, while another had potatoes.

If you didn’t like what was in one pot, there were plenty of others to choose from! Picky eaters could snatch their favorite ingredients from several pots. Vinegar, minced garlic, and salt could be added to taste. My only regret was the lack of pepper. I’d yet to find a proper spice trader in this world. Perhaps one of my other selves would have better luck. Some fresh herbs wouldn’t hurt either. Ah well!

With everyone’s appetite sated, we broke out the alcohol and continued the celebration. I raised my glass to give a toast.

“Tomorrow we’ll be setting sail to end the Black Dagger pirates fer good! However.. tonight we drink!!”