PftA Book 5 - Chapter 45 - Making Plans

“Oh my gosh, these are amazing,” Zavira gushed as she stuffed another macaron into her mouth. “I thought you didn’t like cooking.”

“I don’t mind cooking,” I replied, snagging one of the macarons for myself. “In fact, it’s pretty relaxing. What I don’t like is cleaning up afterward.”

“Just use a spell,” Zavira said with a shrug before raising a brow. “I’m not getting a notification about the effect. I thought you said you figured out how to enchant food.”

I rolled my eyes. “Obviously, these aren’t enchanted. The effect would be wasted on you, given your age and tier. Not to mention me,” I added as I took a bite of the small cookie.

I’d made sure to prepare several batches of normal treats so they could be enjoyed by anyone without worrying that a valuable effect might be squandered.

I handed Zavira a small wooden stasis storage box. It worked by expanding the available space inside instead of anchoring a dimensional space, making it safe to store inside a separate storage device.

While my demesne was a clear exception, it was dangerous to store dimensional storage devices within other dimensional storage devices. The same didn’t apply to regular expanded space storage items like bags and boxes.

“These are the enchanted ones. Don’t eat them until you start seeing the signs of aging,” I warned. “You’ll probably need to eat one per tier – so eight should be enough to restore you to your prime. They won’t cause the same resistance buildup that a normal rejuvenation spell might, but there will still be a limit to how many you can eat before they no longer work.”

“So, they bypass resistances but still stop working?” Zavira asked with clear confusion.

I held up my hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m just explaining what I saw when I Assessed them. Maybe the realm is interfering to prevent people from effectively becoming immortal? Who knows?”

Zavira tucked the box into her storage ring with a shrug. “Well, thanks for these. I wouldn’t say no to more if you get the itch to make some. I’ve got quite a few family members who could use a reset on their longevity. They are safe for everyone, right?”

“Yes. I used low-tier materials for the cookies themselves, and my enchantment will work for anyone. That’s why it takes more to affect higher tiers.”

I eyed my friend, casting a quick spell to peek at her level. Since she had an updated interface, she obviously noticed my intrusion. Her expression shifted to one of faux offense.

“Rude!”

“Hey, I was just checking to see how much progress you’ve made since I’ve been gone,” I argued. “You’ve only gained a single level. What’s up with that?”

Zavira lifted a shoulder casually. “I’ve been busy. Crafting doesn’t provide as much experience as delving does, and the few times I’ve managed to enter a rift, the experience gains weren’t all that great. Honestly, a level in twenty years isn’t all that bad at Tier Eight. Not everyone has access to level-appropriate beasts to fight at their leisure.”

“You could always go back to the dungeon,” I pointed out unsympathetically.

Zavira scoffed. “And leave my family? Not a chance. Besides, didn’t you say something about setting up a new dungeon?”

I’d mentioned it to her during the brief conversation we’d had shortly after I left the dungeon. I hadn’t gone into detail because our conversation was cut short at the time, but without the dungeon’s censorship, I was free to share the dungeon’s request with my closest friend.

Which I immediately did.

“Wow. So that’ll make you a Dungeon Administrator just like the original one, then?” she said after I explained everything. “What kinds of changes will you make to the system? You said the dungeon mentioned something about you getting to change some things.”

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “I don’t know enough about my options to make any plans right now. And I don’t think the status of a Dungeon Administrator is going to matter all that much since he made it clear I’d basically be forced to ascend immediately afterward. He did mention that Lisa could become the Dungeon Master, though.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Zavira said. “I know you were stressing about finding a way to ensure she survived your ascension. It’s good to know you found a way.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve finally come to accept that Lisa probably isn’t actually alive or sapient. She’s just the product of some really excellent programming,” I admitted, silently hoping to feel some kind of pushback from my Interface Assistant at the comment.

When nothing happened, I said, “I’m still glad that she’ll persist after I leave. And based on how Corrogo acted, I think there might even be a chance that she’ll actually become truly sapient after the transfer.”

“Is it because of how realistic the people in the simulation were? Is that why you changed your mind?”

“Pretty much,” I nodded. “I’d forgotten how realistic the NPCs in Atlas Online were, and these were much the same. They were barely distinguishable from real people, but that doesn’t mean they are alive. I just needed a reminder of that.”

We sat there in silence for a few moments as we slowly ate the unenchanted macarons piled neatly on the plate between us.

“Oh, hey, on a totally different topic,” Zavira said suddenly. “Xanin’s awakening ceremony is next month. It would be nice if you could be there.”

Xanin was Zavira’s youngest child. Though I’d set aside enough gifts for any kids that Zavira or my direct relatives might have, I had not actually been present for any of their awakenings.

In fact, Amie’s awakening ceremony was the only one I’d ever attended.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” I replied. “Raymond – Amie’s son – is also having his awakening ceremony soon, and I planned to attend. Even if they are the same day, with the time difference, I doubt the ceremonies would overlap.”

“Raymond’s ceremony is the week before Xanin’s,” Zavira informed me. When I gave her a questioning look, she added, “What? I was invited. You know I still keep in touch with certain members of your family. Amie is one of them. We were actually pregnant with the boys at the same time. It was a bonding experience.”

Now that she mentioned it, I did remember noting that both Amie and Zavira had been pregnant at the same time for one pair of children.

After agreeing to attend the ceremony – provided the realm allowed it – our conversation drifted to other topics. Zavira filled me in on some stuff she hadn’t felt like including in her weekly messages, and I shared as much as I could about the last two floors of the dungeon and what to expect in the next realm.

Though I suspected it was becoming less likely, I still held out hope that Zavira would eventually ascend. Even if she didn’t, the information would not be wasted. In fact, I hoped to spread the information to as many people as possible so that those ascending ‘normally’ could be better prepared.

= = =

“Lucas is going to be here in a couple of days,” Mom informed me when she got home from work a few days later.

Since she wasn’t really hurting for money, she’d put in for a leave of absence until I was forced to leave. Though it had been approved, the hospital manager had asked that she finish out the week before taking time off.

Healing everyone in the hospital had only been a temporary effort since injuries happened every day. The hospital also handled things like prenatal care and superficial alterations similar to the old world’s plastic surgery.

I hadn’t bothered with any of that when I’d healed everyone, so there was still plenty of work available for the healers capable of doing it.

“Was he able to take leave from the Space Exploration Force?” I asked before remembering he should be at the end of his contract with the SEF.

I didn’t keep in touch with Lucas as much as I did with his twin, Daniel, but the rest of the family made sure to keep me mostly updated.

Just like now.

“His contract ended three months ago,” Mom informed me. “The Asper family was kind enough to give him half a year before requiring him to begin his service to them, so nothing is binding him, currently.”

My old Space Mage tutor, Stella CaerAsper, one of the daughters of Count Asper, had sponsored Lucas when his affinity for Space magic was discovered. It wasn’t necessarily rare for noble families to sponsor promising individuals, but I suspected his relation to me had something to do with the decision.

His affinity for Space was too weak to have drawn their attention on its own. However, he also had a stronger Force affinity, which likely made up some of the difference. Coupled with his connection to me, I could see how the Aspers would have wanted to recruit him.

That wasn’t to imply that I thought myself something special. However, I was under no illusion that even my beginning affinities were normal.

Then again, neither were Lucas’s.

From what I’d learned, having closely related affinities like Force and Space was actually quite uncommon, though nobody was really sure why.

“I told him a little bit about the virtual life you experienced when I talked to him the other day,” Mom continued, “and he was interested enough to want to come talk to you about it. I think a lot of people would like to discuss your experiences, actually. How would you feel about having a little get-together to celebrate your accomplishments before you ascend?”

The question caught me by surprise, though it really shouldn’t have. Having everyone I wanted to see before leaving gather in one location made a lot more sense than trying to track down everyone individually.

“I’m okay with it,” I said slowly before looking around the apartment. “I’m not sure here would be the best place to host it, though.”

Mom waved a hand dismissively. “Of course it won’t be here, but I think somewhere on Earth would be appropriate. It is where you’re from, after all. Besides, it would be cheaper to host it here on Earth, and there would be no issues with the mana density being too much for some of the weaker attendees. Unless you want to make special amulets for most of the guests, hosting it here just makes the most sense.”

While it wouldn’t be all that difficult to craft something to mitigate the issue, Mom was right in that having the gathering on Earth would make things a lot simpler.

And like she pointed out, it would certainly be a lot cheaper than trying to hold it on Aegeas or one of the higher-tier worlds. Even Hadier would be significantly more costly than Earth, given the difference in tiers.

The money didn’t really matter all that much to me since I had more than I would ever get around to spending, but I’d been taught to be cost-conscious, and that tendency had persisted.

“Sure, that’s fine,” I said before asking, “Do you want me to help you plan things?”

“Nope. I can manage,” Mom said with a look of building excitement. “I’ll need something to do to occupy my time when you’re out and about, since I won’t be working. Planning a party will be perfect. Is a month from now too soon? Or too late? I have no idea how long you might be around before the realm forces you to leave.”

“A month should be fine. I don’t think the realm will force me to act before then,” I replied. “I’ll deposit some funds into your account so you don’t have to pay for anything out of pocket,” I added, not giving her the option of declining.

“If the party is going to be in my honor, the least I can do is pay for it,” I continued. “Besides, it’s not like I need the money. It’s just going to go into the trust when I leave, anyway.”

Mom didn’t argue the point. Instead, she started asking about what kind of party I’d like to have. I could already tell she wasn’t planning on having it be a several-hour affair. It seemed more like she was planning a week-long event.

Since I’d need more than just a few hours to catch up with (and say goodbye to) the people I hoped to see, planning a multi-day event made sense.

No matter what, I was sure it would be an event to remember for everyone who attended.