-Marcus Aurelius

The morning came bright and early for John, the light shining through his open window and striking at his **** eyelids. Wincing and regretting his choice for a day/night cycle instead of banishing the sun entirely, John slowly pushed himself off… the floorboards? John straightened his spine slowly, feeling every crack and objection from his bones as he pulled himself away from the lukewarm wooden floor.

Grumbling to himself, John glanced up and noticed the pyramid of women piled high on his comfortable but narrow bed. Maera, Mithra, Seras, and Sophia were all piled atop each other, none the wiser to his absence or his discomfort. Whether it was due to overheating or his small harem being overly possessive of pillow space, apparently John had found himself **** out at some point of the night… but exhausted as he was, he'd never awoken. That would have been oddly romantic if it wasn't for the massive pain in his neck, only fading thanks to Gamer's Body.

"Note to self… after this enchanted stone, I'm making a massive bed. Bigger than King size, more like Emperor size. God-Emperor size maybe," John grumbled as he slowly hobbled out of the bedroom, his hips, spine, and muscles all aligning at a boosted pace thanks to his supernatural recovery, but still stubbornly refusing to give up their violent protest of his sleeping arrangements.

Of course his memories of the previous night were more than enough to make up for any temporary pain, especially as his body magically worked its way through the kinks and pains of such a brutal sleeping position. John was largely pessimistic when it came to his own abilities and successes… but he couldn't ignore four of his favorite creations all uniting to give him the night of his life. Lerianna's blushing face had just been the icing on the cake.

"I wonder where Tricia's drone is hovering around today," John mused, although he already had a strong feeling as to where he could find it. More likely than not the bot was hovering somewhere around Lerianna - John hadn't actually contacted Tricia to let her know of the newest species that had appeared, but he had faith the young Gorbachev had discovered her by now.

Sure enough, Lerianna was napping in her room, completely unaware of the drone hovering over her in a near-silent scanning phase. At least Tricia had the decency to mute her drone's sound system while it was operating in the room with a sleeping creature. Although on the other hand, she apparently lacked the decency to not scan a sleeping creature in the first place…

"Lerianna? Hey, time to-"

"I'm up, I'm up," Lerianna grumbled, slowly sitting up in the bed, covers draped lazily across her, already half removed. She was entangled with them as if she were as violent and reckless a sleeper as she was a fighter, and she looked at John for a full three seconds in dead-eyed disregard before something seemed to click in her head. She snapped to attention at once, pulling the blanket frantically up, but doing so with such strength that her tangled body was pulled along with it, accidentally rolling herself over and right out of the bed, plopping with a squeal onto the floor.

"Y-you! What are you doing here?! I thought I told you not to get any ideas!" Lerianna shouted as she righted herself on the floor, frantically clawing the blanket to herself again. John had seen why when she fell - the rabbit wore little enough clothes as it were, but apparently she slept entirely in the nude.

"I was coming to see if you wanted to train, but… I guess you aren't much of a morning person?"

"Wh-what?! Why would I not be a morning person? I'm totally great at waking up early and getting stuff done!"

"I'm not sure if she's being contrarian or thinks I'm calling her lazy," John thought, letting out the mental equivalent of a sigh.

"Well, that's too bad. Everyone else around here is a morning person, I thought it would be nice to have someone else who doesn't like to run around too early."

"I guess I don't mind lying around in bed too if I wanna… all b-by myself, I mean!"

"Of course, of course," John said knowingly, nodding sagely. "Anyway, I'm going to be heading out of this place soon, going to visit some friends and train. I wanted to know if you wanted to tag along."

"Training? You mean more fighting Barrier creatures? Hell yes, I'm down. No way I'm falling behind!"

"Alright, well, we'll be leaving soon… and put some clothes on."

"Y-y-ou-"

John tried not to laugh as he turned and strode away before the rabbit could get too upset, still not sure where the line was that would let him find a muscular leg planted firmly upside his temple. He was enjoying himself, though - this was the most fun he'd had teasing one of his creations since Seras' days as a blushing bride.

"Bride, hm…"

The wording of that tickled something in John. The idea of Seras as a proper bride, a ring on her finger and a gleam in her eye as she held John's hand… John smiled with an unexpected pleasure at the thought of Seras wearing a long white dress, even if she was no longer as "innocent" as she had once been.

"Instead of a necklace, perhaps I should buy her a ring? But that would be cumbersome with such a large diamond… maybe if I got her something smaller, but then how do I make it as impressive?"

John had been so hung up on the ridiculous size of the diamond he'd seen in the shop window, he'd failed to think of how impractical it actually was. Unlike him, Seras didn't have an inventory to use for excessive jewelry... most of John's jewelry had some minor buffs on it anyway, and none was so bulky as to be distracting or actually cumbersome in physical combat. Then an idea came to John.

"She's been practicing magic… she can make Barriers now, and she even tried to keep it a secret to surprise me. Maybe if I gave her something to show I appreciated it?"

John found his way out of the house while considering what gift Seras might appreciate most. Stepping out into the open field around their house, John eyed his domain. It was all quiet and calm - most of his lovers were probably out of commission for the time being, save Lerianna, who was still recovering from her morning surprise.

John had a few ideas for gifts, but none presented themselves before Lerianna arrived beside him. Tricia's drones were still trailing behind her a little ways, but now that the rabbit girl was awake, they seemed content to take less direct scans of her, perhaps fearing retribution from the woman with thighs that could shatter mountains.

"W-well? You said something about training. I didn't just come out here to be around you, you know!"

The words made John think that perhaps the opposite was true, but he had no inclination to wait around himself. The sooner they left, the sooner training could begin in earnest, and the sooner they could return to his loving… well, John had been hesitant to use the word harem, but after last night it seemed rather appropriate. Yes, the sooner John joined with Kim and began their joint training… the sooner he could return to his harem. John tried to pretend the thought alone wasn't enough to arouse him.

"Once we go back," John said slowly, "we're going to head to the Order Manor, so it's still going to be a bit of waiting around. Moira doesn't think it's a very good idea for me to wander around on my own right now, and I kind of agree, so we're going to have our training partner meet us there."

"W-well, if I have to spend some time alone with you, I guess it's not the worst thing that could happen," Lerriana said, rolling her eyes as if she didn't believe her own words.

"Right… anyway, we better get going so that we can make good time and get back here soon. I wouldn't want you to have to spend too much time with me, after all."

"Y-you don't have to worry about me, I can handle you! I can take you any day!" Lerianna said. Just as the blush of what she'd said began to set in, John whisked them between worlds, his cellphone already in hand. Kim's number was dialed just in time for Lerianna to begin a stammering denial of her own words.

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to redeem myself once more, John Newman."

"This isn't about redemption, this is about training, relax," John said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. Moira was always serious too, but at least everything she said wasn't so uptight.

"Be that as it may," Kim said, shaking her head, "it is not a chance you needed to offer me."

"Don't forget you're helping me too."

"Indeed, this 'Reincarnation' of yours seems to be the only limit on your power."

John hadn't actually intended to share that detail of his abilities with Kim - he wasn't even sure how much she knew about his creations, since he'd never told her too much about them himself. But the moment he'd shown up, Kim had noticed the decrease in his aura, and instead of lying when she asked how he had learned to suppress his aura so quickly, he found it far simpler to tell her the truth. She'd also had some questions about his particularly scantily-clad companion, but he'd managed to keep her focused on his Reincarnation… so far.

"It is a bit inconvenient, but I've been growing pretty quickly, so I can't complain about a few setbacks."

"It is good to be aware of your weaknesses and to compensate, but also to not dwell on them. Very well, how much will I be able to count on your assistance in these Barriers of yours? And how powerful is your newest creation?"

"I'm plenty strong, I already helped this hopeless guy clear out whole barriers full of those big magic golems," Lerianna bragged, hands behind her head and body tilted at just the right angle to show off every bit of musculature she could.

"Okay, I know the rabbit ears gave it away, but how long have you known about my ability to create new life?" John asked, the question bursting out of him. Kim was one of the few people he couldn't remember talking about it to directly at one point or another, besides the rank and file of the Order.

"I was already suspicious when a creature with a necromantic aura was striding around unmolested within the Brighton Manor - if you make a joke about her being molested, John Newman, I will gauge your swordsmanship personally," Kim interrupted herself, glaring daggers into John's eyes as he fought back a chuckle and a joke about his time with Seras.

"I don't think anyone is safe around this pervert," Lerianna agreed, though she sounded more hopeful than she probably meant to.

"Disregarding that… the slew of people following you around and aiding you in combat, which you never seem to address but is never questioned by the Order, drew my attention. We followed up on several leads after the Cabal was disbanded and found enough details on your abilities for me to confront Moira about your powers. Be wary, John Newman. What we found is likely only the very beginning of the information now circulating. Your abilities are no longer secret."

"Fantastic…" John grunted.

"Focus on the here and now. Let your mind focus your attention where it is most useful. What kind of training will be the most efficient for us with you at your new level of power?"

"I'll start us with something small, get a completion boost to power level, and then I should be able to help," John said confidently, setting up a dungeon at level 8 to minimize the risk. Now that he had such high starting stats and a powerful blade, he was hoping that at a very minimum he wouldn't be in any life-threatening danger.

"Good. I was hoping to observe your form with that blade. Who taught you how to wield a sword?"

"Oh, uh…" John paused with his hand over the button to summon up the Barrier. "Etriyya, but… well, we didn't get a chance to finish up my instruction."

"That is unfortunate. Your style and weapon are different than those the Moon Clan are accustomed to, but perhaps I can assist you."

"Yeah, and if Gaia gives me a fucking quest about you, I'm not touching it," John thought bitterly. He kept that from his expression though, only smiling and nodding as the Barrier filled with Dark Elves materialized around them.

Watching Kim and Lerianna work through their enemies was impressive - it was downright frightening at times, honestly. Despite lacking levels compared to Moira (and himself, some of the time), Kim seemed so offense-oriented that her strength and speed put both of them to shame. Combined with her relentless, unending training and her familiarity with humanoid enemies - which was the reason John always aimed for typical D&D fodder around her instead of random beasts - this turned Kim into a human blender for Barrier enemies. Compared to her, John felt like an oaf with a stick - and judging by her many criticisms of his style and suggestions for changes to his stance, she at least partly agreed.

Meanwhile, Lerianna could move with such speed and strike with such **** that the lower-leveled elves filled the air with the sound of crunching bones; more often than not she preferred to leap into clusters of enemies, where she moved with such grace between enemies it was more like watching a brutal and ragged but certainly well-rehearsed dance piece.

He'd thought the Dark Elves utilizing bows from a distance would have hindered Kim, but leave it to the supernatural Slayer to surprise him - she deflected the few arrows she was not agile enough to dodge, and she could close distance even faster than the dextrous elves could move. Thankfully, this was not another Leporidae situation - hell, Kim probably would've been a match for the speedy rabbits. The mini-boss was standing in front of them in under ten minutes, including the time that Kim and John had spent wandering through the forest between enemies, and Kim was already carving her way through it when John called out to her.

"Hang on, Kim. You mind if I finish this thing off?"

Kim stepped back from what might well have been the killing blow - the Dark Elf Officer only had a couple dozen hitpoints left after being whittled down by a fury of blows. Kim's only mark was a slowly darkening bruise from where the taller woman had managed to catch her cheek with the shaft of her bow. Even now the mini-boss had drawn a dagger from her side and tried to drive it forward, but Kim danced out of range almost effortlessly, weapon still raised.

"Is there a particular reason to delay our victory?"

"I have kind of a one-off thing I need to level up," John said, charging forward. He'd actually already gained a level since they started, and although the elf was faster than him, she wasn't stronger. The red-eyed archer had readied an arrow to strike out at the retreating Slayer, but turned it toward John now. John wished he still had the Talent points to unlock his Shadowform again, because he instead took a very painful arrow to his shoulder.

-59 HP!

The elf was fast, faster than John now that he was de-leveled, but John didn't need to catch up entirely. He just needed to be close enough to put her in the cone, and by the time she fired her arrow, it was too late for her. Lightning crackled around John's fist as he threw a wild punch forward; even without contact, when John's fist reached the end of its swing, a flurry of arcing lines of lightning flew forth.

The woman was hit by several of them, bolts tearing through her. In an instant she fell to the ground, the last of her health whittled away by the splash damage.

"I haven't seen you use that spell before," Kim noted as she strode over, eyeing the woman's body just moments before the Barrier shattered around them. Level ups dinged in the corner of John's eye as the sizeable completion bonuses resulted in him gaining several levels instantly.

"Yeah, it's kind of restricted right now. I more or less learned it under **** duress… kind if improvised it when I was **** for a heavy-hitting technique. My powers compensated by making a powerful technique, but it's… 'level zero', does that mean anything to you?"

"My childhood did not allow much time for video games, but… yes, John Newman. I am familiar with the concept."

"Me too, thanks for asking, didn't wanna be a part of the conversation anyway," Lerianna grumbled, tapping one foot impatiently.

"Well, to sum it up, it's pretty strong but it drains all of my mana. I figured since my level was reset and I was at least gonna get some tiny amounts of mana back from the stats I gain when I level, it was as good a time as any to burn through it all. Hopefully, when I get this skill leveled up, it won't be such a burden to use."

"Your abilities and vocabulary continue to surprise… and annoy me," Kim noted, sighing at the Gamer's explanations. "How much more useful will you be in future dungeons? These elves were not very difficult opponents."

"Ah…" John brought up the menu and his minimized notifications, including the level he'd gotten just from killing the elves.

John has Leveled Up!
John has reached levels 2, 3, 4
+3 to all stats

Mini-Boss defeated, Dungeon complete [Level 8]!
+1000 EXP [+50 from Perks]
+$4000 (2000 + 100% from Perks)
+7 Elven Wine
+16 Zone Customization Points

"Not that much more, but a bit," John noted. "We can definitely do something a little higher level, hopefully. You a big fan of wine?"

"Wh- no, I am not, why do you ask me such a thing?

"Well, you know how my power makes things from Barriers permanent? I kind of get some items when I finish up a dungeon, and… I got some elven wine. Not sure what it's like, to be honest; this is the first time I've ever gotten some."

"I am not a fan of wine…" Kim said slowly, her gaze passing over John hesitantly. "…but I cannot say I would not be interested in partaking in a spirit which did not exist in this world before today."

"Then I think we just found out how we're going to celebrate at the end of training today," John replied, beaming. "What about you, Lerianna? Ever had wine before?"

"No, and I have no intentions to,” Lerianna said, her eyebrows crossing in anger. “But if I did, I bet I could drink you under the table!”

"Then it's settled! Hey Kim, the hell is the drinking age in the Abyss anyway?"

"The… drinking age?" Kim sighed. "In the Abyss? You've just created a non-existent liquor and you're worried about the legality of drinking it, in a world where life is a privilege, and not a guarantee, on a day-to-day basis. The fact that you are able to do this so casually concerns me. Has anyone ever told you that your particular gift of late-blooming magic is-"

"Yeah, my powers are kind of bullshit. I get that."