They were in one of Immersion's bigger rooms. Tiff and he had set up one room with a winter wonderland, and the other with an antique shop. The rooms weren’t cheap, but Tiff knew just what she wanted. It was hard to say no to his wife.
Their last Hallmark Roleplay had been for her birthday. It was similar, as all of their movies were, but they played it up for an entire day. Meeting here, bumping into one another there. Instead of learning about Christmas it had been about Halloween and by the end he, Tiff, and Zora were fucking in costumes. Tiff a devil, Zora an angel, and Asher in basically a lumberjack outfit. Tiff made sure all of the Hallmark Roleplays included flannel in some way.
“What is Christmas spirit?” Lyola asked again. The duo had been vague about it, but with Role Immersion it wasn’t hard for the others to get involved.
“Do you have a huge holiday on Elantontrin?” Asher asked.
“There is the annual goddess festival,” she said. “We plant trees and have a week-long celebration.”
“It’s like that,” he said. Slowly he pulled her up till she was standing. “But instead of giving to the planet, we give to our loved ones.”
“And we have an epic fight over family dinner,” Tiff said. “I’m pretty sure we missed Christmas this year,” she said with a gasp. They had their phones in Timeless rings, so their time and date functions were way off. He tried to think what date it was. They left around October 1st. His people were supposed to be in the Tutorial for about 3 months. Then they were let out about 3 weeks ago. He guessed they were close to February. His birthday was coming up.
“I think everyone missed Christmas. We will do a big one when we get home,” he promised. He picked up Atty’s clones and they headed out of the room.
Asher moved to go through the door. “Immersion, end,” Lyola said aloud. The walls, decorations, and antiques disappeared. The only thing left was Ely, still passed out on the floor and the ornate box from Lyola’s throne room.
“Let’s see what all the fuss was about,” Tiff said, opening it unceremoniously.
“You were supposed to wait for me,” Keera said walking in. “I was going to do a big reveal.”
Asher looked inside the box. There were 2 items. One was a familiar key. The other was a simple necklace. Asher used Identification.
| Emerald Key | |
| ???? | ??????????? |
| ????? | ??????????? |
| ????????? | |
| ??? | ???????? |
| ????? | ???????? |
| ???? | ???????? |
The Emerald Key, like the Amber he got from their Cultivation Master Roleplay, didn’t have any information. It glowed green and resembled the classic prison cell key from movies. The necklace had no information. It was a gold band with a gold medallion on the front. He picked it up to examine it.
“Anyone know what this is?” Asher asked. The other’s shook their heads.
“Hey!?” Eliffy yelled. Getting up from the ground she stumbled as she moved toward them. Her clothes appeared on her as she got her bearings and started walking less drunkenly. “That’s mine,” she said, going for the necklace. Asher held it back.
“It is yours, but I want to know what it does,” he said.
“That wasn’t part of the deal,” she cursed, trying to reach it. He backed up. Tossing it to Tiff they were soon playing keep away. She yelled as people threw it to to a new person when she got close. When it came back to Asher he began to grow and held it up high above her head. He was glad he got all of his clothes enchanted with Growth.
“Tell us what it is, and it’s yours,” he said. She grit her teeth and sighed staring up at it.
“It’s a Lucky Noose,” she said. “It's got a hiding enchant. You should be able to use ID on it now that you know the name.” Asher looked at it and used Identification.
| Lucky Noose | |
| Cost | ???????? |
| Enchant 1 | Hidden from Outsiders |
| Enchant 2 | Rarity Pull |
“What’s it do?” He asked.
“If you wear it, it tries to move to the rarest thing in the area,” she said. A little disappointed Asher absorbed mana as he shrunk. He handed it to her. “It belonged to my family, and Sustutna took it.” she said.
“Sorry,” Asher said. “Last time we did this was the book, and I don’t like releasing stuff that can do harm.” Eliffy nodded and slowly put the necklace on. She smiled as she poured mana into it. The golden pendant raised up and pointed at him, then it whipped around and pointed at Tiff. It started moving between them like a pendulum.
“Why are we giving your necklace an erection?” Tiff asked.
“Holy fuck,” Eliffy said as she noticed the green key in Tiff’s hands. “Is that the Emerald Key?” She rushed over. Tiff held it back.
“Hey, the necklace is yours, but everything else is ours. Per our agreement,” Tiff said confidently.
“Yeah, but, that’s a Celestial Key,” Eliffy said. “I’ve never seen one.” Her voice excited, Asher grew curious about it.
“What does it do?” He asked. He took the key from Tiff. Trying to bend it, the key didn’t budge. The smooth emerald was stronger than it appeared. The 6 inch long key felt light as a feather in his hand.
“It’s for the Celestial Gate,” she said, her eyes transfixed on it.
“Tell me what the hell that means, and you can hold it,” he offered. He moved the key from side to side and her eyes followed. Slowly he extended it to her. She took it gingerly, caressing it in her hands. He made sure to watch so she didn’t try to pull a switcheroo.
“The Celestial Gate is ancient,” she said. “In the pecking order of our universe it goes, Uninitialized Planets on the bottom, then Initialized Planets, then the Systemic League, then Primevals, then Celestials, then the System,” she explained.
“What’s a Primeval?” Atty asked from the side, she was 1 person again.
“They’re the higher ups in the Systemic League. The founders really. They went through Initialization before space travel and the League was a thing. They’re all hundreds of levels high, and outlived everyone on their planets,” she explained. “Celestials are a level above Primevals. They’re the individuals with Divinity Mana. And are basically gods,” she said. Her eyes reflected green from the key.
“The way I hear it, about every 100,000 years the 10 Celestial Keys are found. With them they open the Celestial Gate. Supposedly there's a dungeon on the other side, and at the end you are granted a wish,” she said.
“Sounds fun,” Asher said. He extended his hand for the key back.
She pulled it toward herself. “You don’t understand,” she said. “This is Mythic rarity. You could sell this for over a million Syscos.”
“And you want to sell it?” Asher asked.
She looked at him disgusted. “Fuck no,” she spat. “If I can find people with the other 9 I could go on the treasure hunt of a lifetime. Forget Loradmere, there are God-Tier relics you could find. We are talking an SSS ranked dungeon.” He reached further. She tried a different tactic, “This would only make you more of a target. You think the high humans wanted you bad before? They’d risk pissing off the System to get just one of these.”
“Good thing we are the only ones that know about it,” he said. He slowly grabbed it from her hand and pulled. She reluctantly let it go. “Besides, I already have another.” He pulled the Amber Key from his storage ring and put them side by side.
“What?!” She gasped, her eyes bulging as she stared at them. “Where did you get that?”
“Around,” he said.
She groaned. “No, I’m serious. Once you bring more and more together they start appearing everywhere. Everytime the Celestial Gate closes they scatter to the ends of the universe. It’s statistically impossible for someone to have 2. It’s like 1 in infinity chances.”
“Just lucky I guess,” he said as he put them both in his ring.
She ground her teeth angrily as she held back a yell. “You don’t understand. You would literally have all the bounty hunters from every sector after you if people suspected you had 1, let alone 2.”
Asher sighed. “Why do people think I don’t understand how dangerous the universe is?” He asked as he turned around. “Why do you not realize that they are safer with me than anyone else?” She was caught off guard by the statement. “I am from 1 of 3 planets that no one can go to for the next 4 or 5 years. If I keep them, no one can get to them.”
“What will you do with them when your grace period is over?” She asked.
“How about you spend that time finding the other 8? Then when we are ready we can go to the Celestial Gate to have our wishes granted,” he said with a smirk. Slowly she started thinking furiously. Her head in her hands she began to pace. He could almost see the gears in her beautiful mind moving as she thought it over.
As Eliffy quieted, Keera spoke up. “So you’re saying you all just did a role play that found 1 of 10 keys. And when you bring all 10 keys together you get a wish? Not only that, but you got something that pointed right to those keys?” She asked. Maybe not right on the wish part, but everything else sounded right. “Did you just make a Dragonball and Dragonradar?” She asked. His heart began to beat harder in excitement.
Asher began to think of what he could wish for. He already had a bunch of women, and he was strong, and lived longer than he ever wanted to. Ash couldn’t think of anything he wanted to wish for. Maybe she was wrong and it was just a dungeon with really cool loot. Eliffy continued to walk back and forth as she thought.
“Do we need to kill her?” Tiff asked. Keera and Asher were the only ones that had a surprised look from the statement. “What? She said there could be bounty hunters after us.”
“I don’t think so,” Asher said. “Ely, you good at keeping secrets?”
“The best,” she said, still not paying attention.
Asher nodded, Tiff and Lyola slapped the back of his head. “What? I’m not about to kill someone for something they might do.”
“I could imprison her,” Lyola offered.
“Or we could trust her,” Asher said. “I mean she did just join us for an orgy. On my planet that means something.” He looked to Tiff, she slowly nodded like that was good enough.
“What are you expecting to happen Dion?” Lyola asked, turning around.
The blue skinned girl was brought out of her thoughts. “What do you mean?” She asked slowly.
“Do you want to get more of these Celestial Keys?” Lyola asked.
“You guys aren’t hearing me,” Eliffy said. “These are 1 in a trillion finds. I’m not about to go out and look for them. They could literally all be hidden under a rock in your backyard, and it would still take another 10,000 years to find them all.” She sighed. “More than likely they are held by some of the strongest guilds in the League. We only know exactly where one was, Sustutna’s throne room. If I could start rumors that he had a key, maybe it could scare up some people that are looking for them.”
“How does that help us?” Asher asked.
“If you have one key, of course you will want another,” she said. “Hell, most people don’t know about it. But those in the know have their own circles and I have contacts I could reach out to. Maybe someone already started collecting a bunch, and are looking for these last 2.”
“Either way, it sounds like a lot of fun,” Asher looked around, not everyone was as excited. “What?” He asked Lyola.
“I worry, husband,” she said with a frown. “I have been raised on tales like this. A fool's errand where someone bites off more than they can chew.”
He was about to retort, but slowly he understood that he had a lot on his plate at the moment. “You’re right,” he said looking at the girls. “I was simply thinking along the lines you’ve been leading me. We talked about our future plans, and this sounded like a great way to get a leg up on others. But lets leave it up to a vote.” He looked around. “Do we want to sell these, and make a boat load of Syscos? Or do we want to risk keeping them to possibly make nothing?”
Asher didn’t like how everyone focused on the good parts when asking for a vote. Yes, there might be more gains from keeping the keys, but he wanted them to focus on the truth.
“But-but,” Eliffy said. “These could be God-Tier. I mean think of the strength.”
“I also have to think of the risk,” Asher said. “These women mean more to me than some adventure. If they vote to sell it, you can have 1. You can deal with the headache on your own.”
“They are worth a lot of Syscos,” Tiff said thinking.
“And we have trouble making them?” Asher replied. She frowned. He looked around, and most seemed ready to make a decision except Lyola. “What worries you, my princess?”
She blushed with the title, but held firm. “You are already expected to be gone for so long,” she said. “I worry you have too much. You will burn out without rest.”
“True,” Asher said. “But it could be centuries till we find them all.”
“Why do you want to keep them?” Lyola asked.
“Because it’s adventure,” he said without hesitation. “An honest to god treasure hunt. The kind of tale that people write stories about. And truth be told, I don’t want to regret it. I don’t want to have to watch some vid of people diving in this Celestial Gate and think we could have been there.” She smiled and slowly nodded.
“Any other holdouts?” Asher asked. “Good, let’s keep these keys for now. Maybe hide them somewhere in case there’s a double-cross,” he eyed Ely. “And if people start finding them, great. If not we will sell em and make a boat-load of Syscos.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tiff said happily as she clapped. “Now, what should we do with her?” She turned to stare at Eliffy.
“What about me?” She asked stepping back.
“You had sex with our man,” Tiff said. “You experienced our Sex Systems. Are you just going to disappear on us? Or do you want more?”
“Ha!” Eliffy said. “I grew up with Dions, that-that was nothing. A Saturday night for us,” she said backing up as Tiff walked toward her.
“Lies,” Tiff said.
Ely blushed. “It was alright,” she said. Tiff took offense to that as her hands started to glow. “More than alright.” She backed into a wall.
Tiff pushed into her. “I smell your lust, Dion,” she said. “You’ve never felt so good in your life.” She squirmed under Tiff’s stare. “I did not get my fill of you. And you have skills we could use. Would you care to join us?”
Eliffy breathed out slowly. Her eyes were locked with Tiff’s. Her body squirmed under the scrutiny. She was about to answer as Asher’s Comm started buzzing.
“Hey mom, what’s up?” Asher asked.
“Nothing much. You busy? We wanted to do a meeting with the team,” she said.
Asher looked over to Tiff and Ely. Tiff was now whispering in her ear. “No, I’m not super busy,” he said.
—-
“Boy, you invited everyone. What's the occasion?” Asher asked. Seated at the large dining table was Asher’s party and Tyranis’ family. Many were seated in the same spots they had been the first time they had dinner in the large room.
“We want to talk about steps moving forward,” Tyranis said, taking charge. “You did well in the last trial. You have quite a few sponsor options. But we worry some might have been swayed just from the instance at the League Trial.”
“Ok,” Asher said. “Is there anyone that stands out, that would be dumb to pass up?”
“No,” Tyranis admitted. “There are many good options but they are conglomerates, and may simply want to use you for your face.”
“Then let’s ignore them all. I really don’t want to decide until after the 3rd trial,” he said.
“Are you sure?” Tyranis said a little surprised. “You could gain much. Syscos, information, alliances.”
“I’m sure. If you don’t mind housing us for a little longer I’d prefer to make the decision at the end. Maybe some of the drama around us can die down by then.”
“Fair enough,” Tyranis said. “And of course you and your people are welcome to stay.” He looked to Ria, Asher’s mother. “The next question is who wants to go to the last trial?”
“We can opt not to go?” Tiff asked.
“Yes, we can disattune you to the Upgrade Orb and you will be skipped over. Unfortunately you will not be allowed to gain any more contribution points, but it would also be safer.”
“Do the contribution points actually do something?” Asher asked. He had thought they were gauges for the trials and nothing else.
“Yes, it changes a little bit, but often the higher you go the higher the rarity items the System will gift you.”
“Cool,” Tiff said.
“Does anyone wish to opt out?” Tyranis asked.
Asher looked around, he didn’t expect anyone to say they wanted to. He was shocked when his mother raised her hand. She quickly explained. “I found out that I’m pregnant,” she said to the shock of most everyone besides Tyranis and his wives.
“I had my suspicions, but Millfadona was able to confirm it with her healer. I will be stopping here,” she said.
“Oh my god! Congratulations!” Tiff said excitedly, moving to hug her. “Asher you’re gonna be a big brother.”
Asher was a little slow to respond. He thought his parents were too old for that kind of thing. Tiff slapped the back of his head from the thought.
“Sorry,” he said. “That’s uh, great news, right?”
“It is,” his father said. “We were not trying.” Abby scoffed. “But we feel blessed.”
“Dad, will you be staying here with her?” Asher asked.
“He will not,” Ria said. “We have talked about this, and one of us needs to keep an eye on you.” Asher sighed in relief. A trial without his dads heals did not sound fun. He might actually have to watch his health if the old man stayed behind.
“Ria we can do the ceremony after this,” Tyranis said. “Anyone else?” He asked.
“I will not judge anyone if you want to stay out,” Asher said. “I doubt I have a choice. But we have been fighting for so long now. I won’t hold it against anyone.” No one said anything.
“Good,” Tyranis said. “You have 6 days until the next trial. I am sure many of you would like to rest. You may do as you please until then.”
“Actually,” Asher cut in. “We have been making a list of things we need to prepare for our home. I was hoping to review certain things with people you might be able to introduce us to.”
“Such as?”
“For one power plants. Where does the energy come from? Also, I would like Lyola to be able to locate our new planet Tiint and commission a team to evaluate the resources.”
“And you expect to pay for this how?” Tyranis asked.
“We secured many funds. Mainly from foolish people off world that did not think my husband could win another Trial,” Lyola lied. “I assure you he has made more than enough for this on his own.”
Tyranis eyed her, but didn’t reject it. “I have some people you could talk with on the power generators. I am not familiar with your form of power from your planet, but it should be much the same. The other items could take time.”
“I would like to be a part of that,” Nadir said. Tyranis nodded toward him.
“That is all I had for this meeting. Is there anything else people would like to discuss?” Tyranis asked.
“I have a few things I would like to say,” Lyola said. “But in a more private setting.” Tyranis looked around.
“Family stuff,” Asher assured people. A few grumbled. But then it was the Whitmore’s and Lofgren's left.
“I would like to begin my city’s transition to a new Chief,” Lyola said.
“What?” Tyranis asked, surprised.
“We have been making plans for our future. I feel it is the right decision,” Lyola said without hesitation. Asher grabbed her hand. Tiff on his other side of him, he grabbed hers too. Atty decided to head out, which he didn’t blame her for. She wasn’t too sure where she stood yet, but they would talk about it when she was ready. Tillie stood behind the trio.
“When are you expecting to relinquish your title?” Tyranis asked.
“I would like to make the transition within the next 3-4 years.”
“And your long term plans?” He asked Asher.
“We will be either starting our own guild or building on our current one. Our first goal is to unite our world. Then, we will see where it goes,” Asher said.
“This is not an easy task,” Tyranis warned. “It took our people 1,000 years to come to our first true peace. And still we fight every few centuries.”
“I understand,” Asher said. “But I want my wives and children with me. I will do whatever it takes to make sure we can all be together.”
“Mighty fine goals,” Tyranis said and exhaled loudly. “I am sorry, I always expected my daughter to stay here. But you will be her husband and I need to accept that.” He looked to Millfadona. She had tears in her eyes as she nodded. “How can we help?”
Asher looked to Lyola. “For now we have a plan and a budget to begin our goals. I would like to start planning our own alliances as well,” she said.
“Already?” Millfadona asked, surprised.
“My future husband and sister-wife are human,” she said with a slight smile. “They move very quickly. I don’t expect anything for now, but I would still like to plan.”
“Very good,” Tyranis said. A legitimate smile on his face. “I must say this is surprising, but I see your point. Who would you like to look at taking over your city?”
“I was curious if Fresneah was interested?” Lyola said to her green haired sister.
“Me?” The meek girl asked. She hadn’t spoken a word since they arrived. Asher did catch her glancing at Nadir now and then, they had locked eyes a few times as well. Which always caused her to blush and look away.
“Yes,” Lyola said. “You would have to take the Roktai challenge, but I know the people would accept you.”
Fresneah looked to her father and mother. They nodded happily. She blushed and gave a quiet acceptance. They talked about a few more minor things but were soon hugging and going separate ways.
“Son, a moment,” his mother said. Asher, Ria, and Bishop stepped into a side room with Tiff. Lyola was talking with her parents.
“How are you taking the news of being a brother?” His mother asked.
“I expected it years ago. Right now, I’m a little caught off guard,” he said. “I mean, I’m going to have a kid around the same time you will.”
“Which is why we wanted to talk,” his mother admitted. “We think you are the best son we could ever ask for.” His mother said. He felt a but coming in. “But we would also like all of you to slow down on having kids,” she said. “I know it’s none of our business.” She raised her hands defensively. “But hear us out. Millfadona admitted she may have pushed Lyola a little to try for one, but she is thousands of years old. Her mother was worried it was now or never.”
“Your mother just wants what’s best for you,” Bishop cut in. “The best kind of growth you can do together as a couple is being that, a couple, or throuple, or whatever you all are. Make your relationship stronger now. Kids only make it harder. Sleepless nights, changing diapers, feeding them every few hours. These aren’t things you can be doing while expecting to try to take over the world. I know you have money, but children shouldn’t be raised by nannies and servants, they need their parents.” Asher slowly understood what they were saying.
“What about you Tiffany?” Bishop said. “Are you ready to be puked on 3 times in a row and not get more than 4 hours of sleep a night. Or you Asher? You’ve been jumping from one fight to the next. What happens when a dungeon portal closes on you and you’re stuck a million miles away from home? Is it fair to Tiff or Lyola to leave them alone to take care of another life?”
Asher and Tiff were both quiet. “Kids complicate things,” his mother finally added. “But they also make things so much better. So don’t get us wrong. We are looking forward to seeing you with kids. But we also want you to remember to enjoy this time you have. The way they say it, we have thousands of years. There’s plenty of time to do this sort of thing.”
“What about you?” Asher asked. “Would you have had more kids if you could have afforded it back then?”
His mother smiled. “I would have had 10 of your fathers kids if we could have afforded it,” she admitted. “I don’t worry that you will be able to provide, but I fear you will miss out on your and Lyola’s child. We accept that right now you need to fight. So focus on that, and worry about more kids later. You all will do what you want, and to each their own. We just want to be the voice of reason. If you’re serious about uniting the world. You can’t be changing diapers after fighting for 24 hours straight.”
Asher slowly nodded. His parents kissed them and stepped out. Tiff blew a raspberry. “That took the wind right out of my sails,” she said, rubbing her temples.
“What? You don’t want kids now?”
“I do. Just not right now. I think I might have caught being in heat from Lyola. I said I wouldn’t want to try for another few years, for every reason they said. I just ignored it because it sounded so hot,” she admitted.
“Yes, it does sound hot. And I know you’d be beautiful with puke on you,” he said, bending down to kiss her forehead. “But we have goals. Big goals.”
“Big ball busting goals,” she agreed. “You still have my vacation home to build. And we need to get married. And go on our honeymoon with Zora.”
“Yes, all of these things…” he said with a long pause. “Can we pretend to get you pregnant? I still find it super hot.”
She rolled her eyes. “Duh. It’s like the hottest.”
“Let’s go home my love,” he said walking out with her. “You still need to play with your new toy.”
“You think she’s still there thinking?” Tiff asked.
“I know I would be if you gave me an offer like that,” he admitted.
They were in one of Immersion's bigger rooms. Tiff and he had set up one room with a winter wonderland, and the other with an antique shop. The rooms weren’t cheap, but Tiff knew just what she wanted. It was hard to say no to his wife.
Their last Hallmark Roleplay had been for her birthday. It was similar, as all of their movies were, but they played it up for an entire day. Meeting here, bumping into one another there. Instead of learning about Christmas it had been about Halloween and by the end he, Tiff, and Zora were fucking in costumes. Tiff a devil, Zora an angel, and Asher in basically a lumberjack outfit. Tiff made sure all of the Hallmark Roleplays included flannel in some way.
“What is Christmas spirit?” Lyola asked again. The duo had been vague about it, but with Role Immersion it wasn’t hard for the others to get involved.
“Do you have a huge holiday on Elantontrin?” Asher asked.
“There is the annual goddess festival,” she said. “We plant trees and have a week-long celebration.”
“It’s like that,” he said. Slowly he pulled her up till she was standing. “But instead of giving to the planet, we give to our loved ones.”
“And we have an epic fight over family dinner,” Tiff said. “I’m pretty sure we missed Christmas this year,” she said with a gasp. They had their phones in Timeless rings, so their time and date functions were way off. He tried to think what date it was. They left around October 1st. His people were supposed to be in the Tutorial for about 3 months. Then they were let out about 3 weeks ago. He guessed they were close to February. His birthday was coming up.
“I think everyone missed Christmas. We will do a big one when we get home,” he promised. He picked up Atty’s clones and they headed out of the room.
Asher moved to go through the door. “Immersion, end,” Lyola said aloud. The walls, decorations, and antiques disappeared. The only thing left was Ely, still passed out on the floor and the ornate box from Lyola’s throne room.
“Let’s see what all the fuss was about,” Tiff said, opening it unceremoniously.
“You were supposed to wait for me,” Keera said walking in. “I was going to do a big reveal.”
Asher looked inside the box. There were 2 items. One was a familiar key. The other was a simple necklace. Asher used Identification.
| Emerald Key | |
| ???? | ??????????? |
| ????? | ??????????? |
| ????????? | |
| ??? | ???????? |
| ????? | ???????? |
| ???? | ???????? |
The Emerald Key, like the Amber he got from their Cultivation Master Roleplay, didn’t have any information. It glowed green and resembled the classic prison cell key from movies. The necklace had no information. It was a gold band with a gold medallion on the front. He picked it up to examine it.
“Anyone know what this is?” Asher asked. The other’s shook their heads.
“Hey!?” Eliffy yelled. Getting up from the ground she stumbled as she moved toward them. Her clothes appeared on her as she got her bearings and started walking less drunkenly. “That’s mine,” she said, going for the necklace. Asher held it back.
“It is yours, but I want to know what it does,” he said.
“That wasn’t part of the deal,” she cursed, trying to reach it. He backed up. Tossing it to Tiff they were soon playing keep away. She yelled as people threw it to to a new person when she got close. When it came back to Asher he began to grow and held it up high above her head. He was glad he got all of his clothes enchanted with Growth.
“Tell us what it is, and it’s yours,” he said. She grit her teeth and sighed staring up at it.
“It’s a Lucky Noose,” she said. “It's got a hiding enchant. You should be able to use ID on it now that you know the name.” Asher looked at it and used Identification.
| Lucky Noose | |
| Cost | ???????? |
| Enchant 1 | Hidden from Outsiders |
| Enchant 2 | Rarity Pull |
“What’s it do?” He asked.
“If you wear it, it tries to move to the rarest thing in the area,” she said. A little disappointed Asher absorbed mana as he shrunk. He handed it to her. “It belonged to my family, and Sustutna took it.” she said.
“Sorry,” Asher said. “Last time we did this was the book, and I don’t like releasing stuff that can do harm.” Eliffy nodded and slowly put the necklace on. She smiled as she poured mana into it. The golden pendant raised up and pointed at him, then it whipped around and pointed at Tiff. It started moving between them like a pendulum.
“Why are we giving your necklace an erection?” Tiff asked.
“Holy fuck,” Eliffy said as she noticed the green key in Tiff’s hands. “Is that the Emerald Key?” She rushed over. Tiff held it back.
“Hey, the necklace is yours, but everything else is ours. Per our agreement,” Tiff said confidently.
“Yeah, but, that’s a Celestial Key,” Eliffy said. “I’ve never seen one.” Her voice excited, Asher grew curious about it.
“What does it do?” He asked. He took the key from Tiff. Trying to bend it, the key didn’t budge. The smooth emerald was stronger than it appeared. The 6 inch long key felt light as a feather in his hand.
“It’s for the Celestial Gate,” she said, her eyes transfixed on it.
“Tell me what the hell that means, and you can hold it,” he offered. He moved the key from side to side and her eyes followed. Slowly he extended it to her. She took it gingerly, caressing it in her hands. He made sure to watch so she didn’t try to pull a switcheroo.
“The Celestial Gate is ancient,” she said. “In the pecking order of our universe it goes, Uninitialized Planets on the bottom, then Initialized Planets, then the Systemic League, then Primevals, then Celestials, then the System,” she explained.
“What’s a Primeval?” Atty asked from the side, she was 1 person again.
“They’re the higher ups in the Systemic League. The founders really. They went through Initialization before space travel and the League was a thing. They’re all hundreds of levels high, and outlived everyone on their planets,” she explained. “Celestials are a level above Primevals. They’re the individuals with Divinity Mana. And are basically gods,” she said. Her eyes reflected green from the key.
“The way I hear it, about every 100,000 years the 10 Celestial Keys are found. With them they open the Celestial Gate. Supposedly there's a dungeon on the other side, and at the end you are granted a wish,” she said.
“Sounds fun,” Asher said. He extended his hand for the key back.
She pulled it toward herself. “You don’t understand,” she said. “This is Mythic rarity. You could sell this for over a million Syscos.”
“And you want to sell it?” Asher asked.
She looked at him disgusted. “Fuck no,” she spat. “If I can find people with the other 9 I could go on the treasure hunt of a lifetime. Forget Loradmere, there are God-Tier relics you could find. We are talking an SSS ranked dungeon.” He reached further. She tried a different tactic, “This would only make you more of a target. You think the high humans wanted you bad before? They’d risk pissing off the System to get just one of these.”
“Good thing we are the only ones that know about it,” he said. He slowly grabbed it from her hand and pulled. She reluctantly let it go. “Besides, I already have another.” He pulled the Amber Key from his storage ring and put them side by side.
“What?!” She gasped, her eyes bulging as she stared at them. “Where did you get that?”
“Around,” he said.
She groaned. “No, I’m serious. Once you bring more and more together they start appearing everywhere. Everytime the Celestial Gate closes they scatter to the ends of the universe. It’s statistically impossible for someone to have 2. It’s like 1 in infinity chances.”
“Just lucky I guess,” he said as he put them both in his ring.
She ground her teeth angrily as she held back a yell. “You don’t understand. You would literally have all the bounty hunters from every sector after you if people suspected you had 1, let alone 2.”
Asher sighed. “Why do people think I don’t understand how dangerous the universe is?” He asked as he turned around. “Why do you not realize that they are safer with me than anyone else?” She was caught off guard by the statement. “I am from 1 of 3 planets that no one can go to for the next 4 or 5 years. If I keep them, no one can get to them.”
“What will you do with them when your grace period is over?” She asked.
“How about you spend that time finding the other 8? Then when we are ready we can go to the Celestial Gate to have our wishes granted,” he said with a smirk. Slowly she started thinking furiously. Her head in her hands she began to pace. He could almost see the gears in her beautiful mind moving as she thought it over.
As Eliffy quieted, Keera spoke up. “So you’re saying you all just did a role play that found 1 of 10 keys. And when you bring all 10 keys together you get a wish? Not only that, but you got something that pointed right to those keys?” She asked. Maybe not right on the wish part, but everything else sounded right. “Did you just make a Dragonball and Dragonradar?” She asked. His heart began to beat harder in excitement.
Asher began to think of what he could wish for. He already had a bunch of women, and he was strong, and lived longer than he ever wanted to. Ash couldn’t think of anything he wanted to wish for. Maybe she was wrong and it was just a dungeon with really cool loot. Eliffy continued to walk back and forth as she thought.
“Do we need to kill her?” Tiff asked. Keera and Asher were the only ones that had a surprised look from the statement. “What? She said there could be bounty hunters after us.”
“I don’t think so,” Asher said. “Ely, you good at keeping secrets?”
“The best,” she said, still not paying attention.
Asher nodded, Tiff and Lyola slapped the back of his head. “What? I’m not about to kill someone for something they might do.”
“I could imprison her,” Lyola offered.
“Or we could trust her,” Asher said. “I mean she did just join us for an orgy. On my planet that means something.” He looked to Tiff, she slowly nodded like that was good enough.
“What are you expecting to happen Dion?” Lyola asked, turning around.
The blue skinned girl was brought out of her thoughts. “What do you mean?” She asked slowly.
“Do you want to get more of these Celestial Keys?” Lyola asked.
“You guys aren’t hearing me,” Eliffy said. “These are 1 in a trillion finds. I’m not about to go out and look for them. They could literally all be hidden under a rock in your backyard, and it would still take another 10,000 years to find them all.” She sighed. “More than likely they are held by some of the strongest guilds in the League. We only know exactly where one was, Sustutna’s throne room. If I could start rumors that he had a key, maybe it could scare up some people that are looking for them.”
“How does that help us?” Asher asked.
“If you have one key, of course you will want another,” she said. “Hell, most people don’t know about it. But those in the know have their own circles and I have contacts I could reach out to. Maybe someone already started collecting a bunch, and are looking for these last 2.”
“Either way, it sounds like a lot of fun,” Asher looked around, not everyone was as excited. “What?” He asked Lyola.
“I worry, husband,” she said with a frown. “I have been raised on tales like this. A fool's errand where someone bites off more than they can chew.”
He was about to retort, but slowly he understood that he had a lot on his plate at the moment. “You’re right,” he said looking at the girls. “I was simply thinking along the lines you’ve been leading me. We talked about our future plans, and this sounded like a great way to get a leg up on others. But lets leave it up to a vote.” He looked around. “Do we want to sell these, and make a boat load of Syscos? Or do we want to risk keeping them to possibly make nothing?”
Asher didn’t like how everyone focused on the good parts when asking for a vote. Yes, there might be more gains from keeping the keys, but he wanted them to focus on the truth.
“But-but,” Eliffy said. “These could be God-Tier. I mean think of the strength.”
“I also have to think of the risk,” Asher said. “These women mean more to me than some adventure. If they vote to sell it, you can have 1. You can deal with the headache on your own.”
“They are worth a lot of Syscos,” Tiff said thinking.
“And we have trouble making them?” Asher replied. She frowned. He looked around, and most seemed ready to make a decision except Lyola. “What worries you, my princess?”
She blushed with the title, but held firm. “You are already expected to be gone for so long,” she said. “I worry you have too much. You will burn out without rest.”
“True,” Asher said. “But it could be centuries till we find them all.”
“Why do you want to keep them?” Lyola asked.
“Because it’s adventure,” he said without hesitation. “An honest to god treasure hunt. The kind of tale that people write stories about. And truth be told, I don’t want to regret it. I don’t want to have to watch some vid of people diving in this Celestial Gate and think we could have been there.” She smiled and slowly nodded.
“Any other holdouts?” Asher asked. “Good, let’s keep these keys for now. Maybe hide them somewhere in case there’s a double-cross,” he eyed Ely. “And if people start finding them, great. If not we will sell em and make a boat-load of Syscos.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tiff said happily as she clapped. “Now, what should we do with her?” She turned to stare at Eliffy.
“What about me?” She asked stepping back.
“You had sex with our man,” Tiff said. “You experienced our Sex Systems. Are you just going to disappear on us? Or do you want more?”
“Ha!” Eliffy said. “I grew up with Dions, that-that was nothing. A Saturday night for us,” she said backing up as Tiff walked toward her.
“Lies,” Tiff said.
Ely blushed. “It was alright,” she said. Tiff took offense to that as her hands started to glow. “More than alright.” She backed into a wall.
Tiff pushed into her. “I smell your lust, Dion,” she said. “You’ve never felt so good in your life.” She squirmed under Tiff’s stare. “I did not get my fill of you. And you have skills we could use. Would you care to join us?”
Eliffy breathed out slowly. Her eyes were locked with Tiff’s. Her body squirmed under the scrutiny. She was about to answer as Asher’s Comm started buzzing.
“Hey mom, what’s up?” Asher asked.
“Nothing much. You busy? We wanted to do a meeting with the team,” she said.
Asher looked over to Tiff and Ely. Tiff was now whispering in her ear. “No, I’m not super busy,” he said.
—-
“Boy, you invited everyone. What's the occasion?” Asher asked. Seated at the large dining table was Asher’s party and Tyranis’ family. Many were seated in the same spots they had been the first time they had dinner in the large room.
“We want to talk about steps moving forward,” Tyranis said, taking charge. “You did well in the last trial. You have quite a few sponsor options. But we worry some might have been swayed just from the instance at the League Trial.”
“Ok,” Asher said. “Is there anyone that stands out, that would be dumb to pass up?”
“No,” Tyranis admitted. “There are many good options but they are conglomerates, and may simply want to use you for your face.”
“Then let’s ignore them all. I really don’t want to decide until after the 3rd trial,” he said.
“Are you sure?” Tyranis said a little surprised. “You could gain much. Syscos, information, alliances.”
“I’m sure. If you don’t mind housing us for a little longer I’d prefer to make the decision at the end. Maybe some of the drama around us can die down by then.”
“Fair enough,” Tyranis said. “And of course you and your people are welcome to stay.” He looked to Ria, Asher’s mother. “The next question is who wants to go to the last trial?”
“We can opt not to go?” Tiff asked.
“Yes, we can disattune you to the Upgrade Orb and you will be skipped over. Unfortunately you will not be allowed to gain any more contribution points, but it would also be safer.”
“Do the contribution points actually do something?” Asher asked. He had thought they were gauges for the trials and nothing else.
“Yes, it changes a little bit, but often the higher you go the higher the rarity items the System will gift you.”
“Cool,” Tiff said.
“Does anyone wish to opt out?” Tyranis asked.
Asher looked around, he didn’t expect anyone to say they wanted to. He was shocked when his mother raised her hand. She quickly explained. “I found out that I’m pregnant,” she said to the shock of most everyone besides Tyranis and his wives.
“I had my suspicions, but Millfadona was able to confirm it with her healer. I will be stopping here,” she said.
“Oh my god! Congratulations!” Tiff said excitedly, moving to hug her. “Asher you’re gonna be a big brother.”
Asher was a little slow to respond. He thought his parents were too old for that kind of thing. Tiff slapped the back of his head from the thought.
“Sorry,” he said. “That’s uh, great news, right?”
“It is,” his father said. “We were not trying.” Abby scoffed. “But we feel blessed.”
“Dad, will you be staying here with her?” Asher asked.
“He will not,” Ria said. “We have talked about this, and one of us needs to keep an eye on you.” Asher sighed in relief. A trial without his dads heals did not sound fun. He might actually have to watch his health if the old man stayed behind.
“Ria we can do the ceremony after this,” Tyranis said. “Anyone else?” He asked.
“I will not judge anyone if you want to stay out,” Asher said. “I doubt I have a choice. But we have been fighting for so long now. I won’t hold it against anyone.” No one said anything.
“Good,” Tyranis said. “You have 6 days until the next trial. I am sure many of you would like to rest. You may do as you please until then.”
“Actually,” Asher cut in. “We have been making a list of things we need to prepare for our home. I was hoping to review certain things with people you might be able to introduce us to.”
“Such as?”
“For one power plants. Where does the energy come from? Also, I would like Lyola to be able to locate our new planet Tiint and commission a team to evaluate the resources.”
“And you expect to pay for this how?” Tyranis asked.
“We secured many funds. Mainly from foolish people off world that did not think my husband could win another Trial,” Lyola lied. “I assure you he has made more than enough for this on his own.”
Tyranis eyed her, but didn’t reject it. “I have some people you could talk with on the power generators. I am not familiar with your form of power from your planet, but it should be much the same. The other items could take time.”
“I would like to be a part of that,” Nadir said. Tyranis nodded toward him.
“That is all I had for this meeting. Is there anything else people would like to discuss?” Tyranis asked.
“I have a few things I would like to say,” Lyola said. “But in a more private setting.” Tyranis looked around.
“Family stuff,” Asher assured people. A few grumbled. But then it was the Whitmore’s and Lofgren's left.
“I would like to begin my city’s transition to a new Chief,” Lyola said.
“What?” Tyranis asked, surprised.
“We have been making plans for our future. I feel it is the right decision,” Lyola said without hesitation. Asher grabbed her hand. Tiff on his other side of him, he grabbed hers too. Atty decided to head out, which he didn’t blame her for. She wasn’t too sure where she stood yet, but they would talk about it when she was ready. Tillie stood behind the trio.
“When are you expecting to relinquish your title?” Tyranis asked.
“I would like to make the transition within the next 3-4 years.”
“And your long term plans?” He asked Asher.
“We will be either starting our own guild or building on our current one. Our first goal is to unite our world. Then, we will see where it goes,” Asher said.
“This is not an easy task,” Tyranis warned. “It took our people 1,000 years to come to our first true peace. And still we fight every few centuries.”
“I understand,” Asher said. “But I want my wives and children with me. I will do whatever it takes to make sure we can all be together.”
“Mighty fine goals,” Tyranis said and exhaled loudly. “I am sorry, I always expected my daughter to stay here. But you will be her husband and I need to accept that.” He looked to Millfadona. She had tears in her eyes as she nodded. “How can we help?”
Asher looked to Lyola. “For now we have a plan and a budget to begin our goals. I would like to start planning our own alliances as well,” she said.
“Already?” Millfadona asked, surprised.
“My future husband and sister-wife are human,” she said with a slight smile. “They move very quickly. I don’t expect anything for now, but I would still like to plan.”
“Very good,” Tyranis said. A legitimate smile on his face. “I must say this is surprising, but I see your point. Who would you like to look at taking over your city?”
“I was curious if Fresneah was interested?” Lyola said to her green haired sister.
“Me?” The meek girl asked. She hadn’t spoken a word since they arrived. Asher did catch her glancing at Nadir now and then, they had locked eyes a few times as well. Which always caused her to blush and look away.
“Yes,” Lyola said. “You would have to take the Roktai challenge, but I know the people would accept you.”
Fresneah looked to her father and mother. They nodded happily. She blushed and gave a quiet acceptance. They talked about a few more minor things but were soon hugging and going separate ways.
“Son, a moment,” his mother said. Asher, Ria, and Bishop stepped into a side room with Tiff. Lyola was talking with her parents.
“How are you taking the news of being a brother?” His mother asked.
“I expected it years ago. Right now, I’m a little caught off guard,” he said. “I mean, I’m going to have a kid around the same time you will.”
“Which is why we wanted to talk,” his mother admitted. “We think you are the best son we could ever ask for.” His mother said. He felt a but coming in. “But we would also like all of you to slow down on having kids,” she said. “I know it’s none of our business.” She raised her hands defensively. “But hear us out. Millfadona admitted she may have pushed Lyola a little to try for one, but she is thousands of years old. Her mother was worried it was now or never.”
“Your mother just wants what’s best for you,” Bishop cut in. “The best kind of growth you can do together as a couple is being that, a couple, or throuple, or whatever you all are. Make your relationship stronger now. Kids only make it harder. Sleepless nights, changing diapers, feeding them every few hours. These aren’t things you can be doing while expecting to try to take over the world. I know you have money, but children shouldn’t be raised by nannies and servants, they need their parents.” Asher slowly understood what they were saying.
“What about you Tiffany?” Bishop said. “Are you ready to be puked on 3 times in a row and not get more than 4 hours of sleep a night. Or you Asher? You’ve been jumping from one fight to the next. What happens when a dungeon portal closes on you and you’re stuck a million miles away from home? Is it fair to Tiff or Lyola to leave them alone to take care of another life?”
Asher and Tiff were both quiet. “Kids complicate things,” his mother finally added. “But they also make things so much better. So don’t get us wrong. We are looking forward to seeing you with kids. But we also want you to remember to enjoy this time you have. The way they say it, we have thousands of years. There’s plenty of time to do this sort of thing.”
“What about you?” Asher asked. “Would you have had more kids if you could have afforded it back then?”
His mother smiled. “I would have had 10 of your fathers kids if we could have afforded it,” she admitted. “I don’t worry that you will be able to provide, but I fear you will miss out on your and Lyola’s child. We accept that right now you need to fight. So focus on that, and worry about more kids later. You all will do what you want, and to each their own. We just want to be the voice of reason. If you’re serious about uniting the world. You can’t be changing diapers after fighting for 24 hours straight.”
Asher slowly nodded. His parents kissed them and stepped out. Tiff blew a raspberry. “That took the wind right out of my sails,” she said, rubbing her temples.
“What? You don’t want kids now?”
“I do. Just not right now. I think I might have caught being in heat from Lyola. I said I wouldn’t want to try for another few years, for every reason they said. I just ignored it because it sounded so hot,” she admitted.
“Yes, it does sound hot. And I know you’d be beautiful with puke on you,” he said, bending down to kiss her forehead. “But we have goals. Big goals.”
“Big ball busting goals,” she agreed. “You still have my vacation home to build. And we need to get married. And go on our honeymoon with Zora.”
“Yes, all of these things…” he said with a long pause. “Can we pretend to get you pregnant? I still find it super hot.”
She rolled her eyes. “Duh. It’s like the hottest.”
“Let’s go home my love,” he said walking out with her. “You still need to play with your new toy.”
“You think she’s still there thinking?” Tiff asked.
“I know I would be if you gave me an offer like that,” he admitted.
