Amazons

Chapter 8: Amazons

My party, animals and all, quickly find ourselves walking through the Grecian streets of Oceanos. During this time, while Ophelia and the rescued, naked amazons get the lion's share of the stares, I myself am frequently looked at, and I affirmatively realize that I AM in the "Strike Zone" of the women of this culture. This is not the only thing I get to learn, either.

As one of my secondary trains of thought scans the contents of the notifications that I got minutes ago, I get to read, among other things, descriptions for two new origins: "Hero" and "Warrior". These two origins are basic ones, but they are potent, and as I read their descriptions, and the descriptions of the "100 CP" perks my actions here have unlocked, I realize that even if I wasn't getting any other awards I'd be satisfied.

The notifications tells me that Sophia was a "Dimensional Traveler", and that by defeating her I've begun to journey down the path needed for me to unlock the strange powers possessed by such alien beings. I initially thought Sophia had only walked down two pathways to power, but it turns out that it was three… I can tell she was a skilled user of her abilities, she was able to redirect Atlanta's attacks more than once, even if her powers were partially corrupted. And of course that's not getting into the living clothing she was wearing which very nearly struck me.

Defeating her, or at least forcing her to flee from battle, has also granted me progress down the "Tamer" pathway to power, and as a result of it I now possess every "100 CP" perk and "Familiar Bonding", and "Veterinarian". I can sense that when I step down the path of becoming a "Style Warrior" I will be able to use the fact that I clashed with one as a way to speed my growth there as well.

It looks like fighting powerful people is a valuable way for me to amplify my own growth, like I'm in a video game. That's a solid incentive for me to mix adventuring with my other activities.

I also make choices during this time, selecting to become a master of Muay Thai for "Meaningless Talent", and for "Fantastic Career" I elect to gain a decade's worth of experience as a musician. My final perk-related choice is about the years worth of experience I'll gain as a combantant, thanks to "Beast Hunter'' and I elect to focus that on swordfighting, archery, and combat alongside large animals. When I make these choices I feel knowledge seep into me, and alter my instincts accordingly. I even feel my actual singing voice increase in quality, which amuses me endlessly.

The longest of the notifications alerts me to the reason for some of the peculiarities that I witnessed during the battle I was just in. It turns out that because I occasionally played games, "Jumpchan" must have thought I was a gamer… and because of that I have become more than just a gamer, but rather one of THE gamers.

I have a gamer's system within me, and it required me being in a battle before it began to turn on. Things like the party system that allow me to see the health of my dolls, and my ability to shrug off the effects of Atlanta's "Battlecry", are all due to my personalized system, which even now is slowly turning on.

Things like "Warrior" and "Hedge Mage" have become "Classes" of mine, and I've even gained a "Level", leaving me at "Level 2". For now it seems that leveling will take a while, but thankfully… time is something I have in abundance.

The looks I'm receiving from the people of Oceanos, not all of whom are amazonian women and a handful of whom are men, are affected by one of the new tools in my repertoire; "A Star in the Night". This "Hero" perk both subtly bolsters my appearance, and it ensures that reality goes out of its way to make me look good in a range of ways from making me look cool, to helping me seem attractive, and even making me appear more trustworthy. Its effects are not exceedingly overt, but coupling it with the potent boost to my reputation I earned, and the beautifying effects of "Nymph's Kiss"... I'm the beneficiary of a thorough appearance boost.

The streets of this city are filled with people who are now able to enjoy the peace that my companions and I helped the local military fight for. Within minutes of the fighting dying down normalcy is already returning to the streets, and I can distantly hear the calls of street vendors hawking their wares. Surprisingly, a small part of me is actually jealous of them, as I came here to hawk wares of my own and I instead found myself involved in the defense of the city.

As my companions and I walk down the streets of the city I take the time to explain what I saw and encountered during the fighting. Ophelia, the dolls, and even Atlanta and the rescued amazons listen to my remarks respectfully, and I truthfully share every detail of my experiences, from the names of Sophia and Rebeza to my encounter with my oceanic friends.

Whenever I explain something new I get a notification asking me if I'd like for my remarks to be believed, and I always affirm that that's exactly what I'd like. It takes me a few minutes to get through my explanation, and when I do we're all silent for a few moments. Unsurprisingly, it is Ophelia who eventually breaks the silence.

"Ahh, Mateo… What a little gift you've turned out to be. Even if we had defeated Sophia and her pirates on our own, we'd have had to slay the animals and we might well have had to try and kill the amazons you rescued." Ophelia admits, speaking surprisingly humbly for someone I'm reasonably certain is a member of the city's government.

"No one in the city's military possesses the purifying magic you do. And of course, without you the… six deaths that occurred on our side would surely have been much higher in number. After all, what you did with that mass healing spell feels like… a miracle! Plus now we know about Neptunia, a spirit of the deep we can make offerings too." The priestess states, and her aura's warm glow reflects the sincere joy audible in her voice. She really and truly seems delighted to be able to add something to the pantheon of beings her people worship.

We are now approaching the city's center. Enormous buildings are closer than ever here, ones that don't seem a whole lot smaller than ones I saw back on Earth. More people also line these streets, and it seems that they never left even when the city was being attacked. I suppose amazons are built different, being warriors and all, so it makes sense that they'd trust their city guard to keep them safe.

Still… If I hadn't been here, and if I hadn't freed Rebeza, I don't know how far the pirates would have gotten into the city. The pirates would have lost, ultimately, but there'd be a lot more bloodshed there actually was. My intervention was a good thing.

Ophelia and Atlanta converse for much of the rest of our trek through the city. The two catch up, and I exchange quiet looks with my dolls and the animals I have tamed.

Partway through the trip I silently utilize "Resizing", one of my new abilities, to make the animals less noticeable. All seven of the gigantic birds become the size of ravens, and one of the things decides it'd be funny to get on my head and sit down. The wolves become the size of puppies, and even the tiger is reduced to a more reasonable size. I leave the tiger the biggest animal of them all. I only reduce the tiger, comparable in size to a large car, to the size of a panther. It also sticks by me, refusing to leave my side throughout the walk. In fact all of the animals stick close by me, and I can freely sense their attachment to me.

It takes us a few more minutes of walking before we finally reach the large, open-air temple and then descend down into the area directly underneath it. When we finally stop we're in a large shared space deep beneath the temple and we're all able to sit down on surprisingly comfortable stone chairs. We're all situated around a large table made of a curious white stone.

Clerics of all sorts, including people who, according to "Upgrade", are not wandering down the "Clergy" pathway to power, wandering about around us. They are heading to and from different rooms nearby, sometimes relaxedly and at other times quite hurriedly. The area is lit by enchanted torches that burn without consuming oxygen and provide a gentle light.

I turn my attention back to Ophelia, and when I do I feel time slow to a near crawl as a number of speech bubbles appear around her. Each of them contains different prompts, aside from one small one which is blank, and I can tell that this is one of the features of my system. The feature is one of the ones mentioned in the notification outlining what my system has granted me, and is a positively bizarre feature named "Dating Simulator". I study the options arrayed before me, and ultimately elect to go with one of the ones I can choose.

"You know… You identified me as a cleric before. Before we'd even met. I'd love to know how you did that." I ask the priestess, and when I do I see a prompt with her face on it that says that she "Liked that", even as she physically smiles at me.

A small notification appears in front of one of my lesser trains of thought that says that my "Wisdom" attribute has gone up since I elected to utilize the feature of my system. "Wisdom" as an "Attribute" is one of several "Attributes" which are quantifications of things like my physical and mental strength and the force of my personality.

The six I possess are "Strength", "Intelligence", "Dexterity", "Endurance", "Wisdom", and "Charisma", which I believe are the same ones that games like Pathfinder have. Some of my actions, such as defeating the amazons without taking a hit, have already resulted in me acquiring boosts to my attributes before this one.

"Oh, that! The primary goddess I worship and serve is named Aphrodite. She's a goddess of love, and while she's normally the quiet type… visions-wise, at least, she sent me a vision of you, telling me that you were a cleric." Ophelia explains, happily. As she tells me this I get a brief alert telling me that I've learned about the "Prophet" perk, and I realize that she is a prophet of her goddess.

"She's the playful type, but she's never outright lied to me. The fact that she identified you is of interest to me, but maybe she wants us to connect with the oceanic spirits off our shores?" Ophelia adds, and she smiles serenely as she thinks about the divine being she worships. I chuckle as Atlanta looks at me eagerly and asks me why I came to the city. I turn to face her and for a moment I appreciate her face even as the speech bubbles from earlier appear again.

Atlanta is a stunning beauty. It's true that she is a powerfully muscular woman, but she has a soft, warm face with dark hair and vibrant green eyes. Her long brown hair is unkempt and she has a curious look on her face as she studies me. I think about how to answer her question for a moment before electing to be… mostly honest. Thankfully that's actually one of the options embedded in one of the bubbles.

"Well, I'm actually not primarily a cleric. I am a merchant, and I inherited an estate some… dozens of miles away from here. I had only just reached the estate, days ago, for a few hours before I went to visit the coast. When I did I spotted the spirits and I gave them an offering. It turns out that they liked the offering, and they told me about your city!" I remark, which causes a notification that states that "Everyone liked that". That itself gets a mental chuckle out of me.

"I spent the next few days preparing goods to sell, until today. I had planned to come here and sell things to the people of the city. When I arrived the city was under attack, and I was guided by instinct to intervene. It turns out that I'm… I'm not bad with a sword, and I'm definitely not bad with a spell." I say, as I smile humbly at my companions. This causes them to laugh and I can sense the overall opinion of me improving.

I quickly find myself badgered with questions, ranging from what I plan to sell, to questions about my homeland. Over the course of several minutes I patiently answer many different questions from Atlanta, Ophelia, and the amazons I've rescued.

I end up spending nearly three hours at the table, accompanied by the amazons, before my dolls and I are able to politely excuse ourselves from the curious women. I deftly navigate a maze of social expectations and I am able to smoothly turn out an offer by Ophelia to stay in the temple for the night, when I explain the arcane nature of my most useful item. As much as I like the amazons, particularly Ophelia and Atlanta, I worry I might get greedy if I am around them too much. I don't want to press my luck and fuck up any chance I have of starting… something with a bevy of hot amazons.

Nonetheless the women all ask to come visit the tavern, even offering to make dinner for me and the dolls, and I can only turn down that later part of their desires without offending them. If people are gonna eat at my tavern, I'd rather they eat my cooking than cook themselves, though I do ask them to bring instruments to the tavern, particularly if they haven't been used for a long time. The amazons also promise to bring Cladora and her family, which is a curious thing to promise but as the sun is beginning to set I find myself back in my tavern in a new position, within walking distance of the grand temple the city's most pious inhabitants regularly visit.

The rest of the afternoon is a blur. I didn't count on the tavern getting guests so soon, so I work hard to make the place presentable. The dolls are deployed on various missions, from gathering decorations to placing things throughout the tavern and the sleeping area. Before I know it the sun has set and when I glance outside I see a distant, full moon high in the night's sky.

In minutes the first of the guests arrive: Cladora and her family, a young redhead, though her hair is somewhat closer to pink than red, who like the redheaded doll in my party is also named Beth, and a tall brunette woman named Alexa. All three women gasp when they enter the tavern and see the way that it's been arranged for the night.

In the middle of the tavern is my "Kitchen Space" item, and several tables are arranged around it, waited upon by my "Support Staff". Magic energy suffuses the air and a gentle glow illuminates the tavern. The atmosphere is quite romantic, and I can't help but smile internally as the women study the scene before them.

I efficiently guide them to their seats, and make pleasant small talk guided by the power of the oddly named "Dating Simulator" feature. They were unable to bring any instruments to the tavern, but I quickly assuage them that that request was purely a request. When they ask about the constructs in the "Kitchen Space" I tell them that they are one of my inventions, and that answer intrigues Beth, but doesn't get a response from either of the other women.

I entertain the first of the guests for nearly half an hour before Ophelia, four out of five of the rescued amazons, and some of their family members, and when the other women, as well as a handful of human men, step into the tavern they bring with them an array of gifts. They bring me an array of instruments, all of which are in good repair. I delightedly thank her for the gift, and I ask the family members of the women I saved to place them throughout the tavern.

"I have so many ideas for these instruments!" I exclaim, genuinely overjoyed to have them. The energy of my response delights the guests, even as I take a single one of the lyres they have brought me and gingerly play the thing. My prior supernatural knowledge mixes quickly with the knowledge I accrue through psychometry, and the combined knowledge helps me play a touch more skillfully.

Thanks to my earlier choice to make "Musician" the latest career I've supernaturally accrued a decade of experience in, I am able to play the instrument quite skillfully. As I play I shut my eyelids and utilize my muscle memory alone to get really into the zone, and in doing so I begin to receive notifications alerting me that my actions are making me be more well-liked by those who are around me. I guess musicians really are popular…

For a few minutes, probably only ten, I get to play my new instrument. I only stop when Atlanta arrives, my senses alerting me to her presence from the way she smells the very instant she opens the tavern's main dual entrance/exit, and right as I open my eyes to greet her I am surprised to note that she is not alone.

A young woman the same age as me, as well as the same height and rough build as me, is behind her. I study her even as I warmly greet Atlanta.

"Hello Atlanta! You missed me playing the lyre, but I'd be happy to perform for you later." I say, even as I idly weave an enchantment I learned the instant that I supernaturally became a musician into the instrument. Doing so takes little more than an idle thought, some of arcane energy, and a few motions of my fingers.

The lyre begins to play itself, plucking its own strings, and generating a beautiful soundtrack all without me skillfully playing it. This generates a few sounds of surprise, but not nearly the same level of awe as when I was actually playing the instrument. I smirk, inwardly, and notice that my audience is slowly becoming inured to my abilities.

"Hey Mateo! This is my sister, Ari. She's a blacksmith's apprentice and she wanted to come meet you." Atlanta exclaims, smiling happily at me. Her sister waves politely, and I smile and welcome the two of them into the tavern.

I can sense that Ari has something she wants to say, but she can't bring herself to say it. She's very nervous and I wonder if she wants to say something to me for the act of rescuing her sister. Atlanta went missing either after or during her stint as a mercenary, and it seems she vanished sometime ago. But she's here now, safely back home. I can see how that she'd be emotional that her sister has been returned safely, and it's not like Atlanta was rescued by amazons, she owes her freedom to a perfect stranger.

When they step fully into the tavern they quickly join Ophelia and Alexa, and I announce that I am going to cook. This generates some excitement, as well as some worry, since none of these women or the few men here have ever tasted my cooking.

In order to address their concerns and excite the crowd just a touch, I reach into my vault and use "Fast Food" to immediately prepare some appetizers. "Fast Food" is a potent "Culinary Warrior" perk that allows me to, in mere moments, make fully prepared goods, meals, and items, so long as I have the prerequisites. It is similar to, but ever so slightly weaker than the "Crafting System", a "Feature" of the gaming system I possess that is more reliant on recipes but is able to fully incorporate the effects of my perks into the items I make, allowing me to make truly exceptional food, potions, or swords, at breakneck paces.

In moments I have created more than thirty portions of small appetizers, particularly garlic bread balls and other tasty, bite-sized foods. As the crowd of hungry amazons and their much smaller, human friends and relatives devour the food I've made I begin to get to work on doing the actual cooking I plan to do for tonight. I listen to the delighted, eager gasps of the people I've fed and I look out at them from behind the kitchen island which sits in the middle of the "Kitchen Space" in the middle of the tavern floor.

Aided by my small collection of homunculi, I begin to prepare some meat heavy dishes for my new friends. As I begin to work, taking the lead on this one, I find that cooking is a bit easier for me now. My movements are smoother, and I myself feel less of a strain whenever I do something like lift a pot or pan. It takes me a moment to understand why this is happening, and when it comes to me it comes to me in a flash of insight.

"Iron Chef" is an amazing perk. Because of "Iron Chef", my time spent fighting Sophia and her forces is basically time I spent training my body to be a better chef. And in the future, if I hurl myself into cooking and honing my culinary skills for a year, I'd end that year with my "Gains" as a chef reflecting in equal measure my "Gains" as a warrior. By linking the growth of one to the growth of another I've hit on something special. As I muse on this I glance at the amazons who are eating my food and smile.

Amazons that I helped protect, and ones I saved, are here. I can see them. In the case of Atlanta and some of the amazons who arrived with Ophelia the ONLY reason they are able to eat food, in peace, with their friends and their family, is because of my direct intervention. Today could have been a day of tragedy, a day of mourning, and for some, distant citizens of this city it is such a day… But because of me, families have been reunited. Some of the amazons here brought their mothers, or their sisters, their fathers and brothers. To see families reunited after members lost contact is… it's heartwarming.

Plus I can see that they are enjoying the food they have been given. They are happily back with their loved ones, safe and sound after however many… days, weeks, maybe even months or years of being the prisoners of a strange woman who utilized stranger magic to break their minds. And now, hours after being imperiled for years, they can stuff their faces with delicious food. The fact that I am the reason why this can be done feels good.

Over the course of the next few minutes I get notifications alerting me to the fact that as a result of my actions I've gained the "Cook" and "Bard" classes, which come with "Skills" in areas that I am already interested in. They also both buff my ability to do things related to them, but only so long as I have them selected as my active classes.

I make "Cook" my active class, and I am surprised to find that not only is my cooking actively improved by this choice, it feels easier for me to cook as well. The sensations that come with the system I now possess are remarkable, and with every new feature that makes itself known to me I find myself liking it more and more.

By the time the food is ready, the amazons are looking at it ravenously. I eagerly serve the women and their friends and for a few hours we all come together, delighted to share even this singular moment of joy and comradery.

During my short time in this new world I've had many memorable moments, but none quite compare to the time I spend in my own little tavern, surrounded by friends and neighbors. I get to see the looks on their faces as they subtly feel the impact of the perks I possess washing over them. I enjoy watching new and old friends alike come together, their spirits emboldened by delicious food and drink, and see friendships be created, and renewed, and families be reunited in spirit as well as in body.

This is the first time I get to see the true power of a culinary warrior, the social and healing powers of such a curious class of being. It's all quite wonderful, and it reminds me of the potency of my nature as someone who has done what has never been done before, to my knowledge, and mastered multiple pathways to power.

The boisterous warriors don't settle down until the wee hours of the morning, and so I invite them to spend the night, free of charge. They almost all do so, and those of them that elect to stay make their way to the tavern's sleeping area. By the time my new friends settle down and are fast asleep it is nearly two in the morning and the only people left awake are my dolls and myself. Even the animals have gone to bed.

When I drag myself to my bed, my heart begins to race when I see both of the dolls who I call my companions fully undressed in front of me, laying atop the bed, smirking at me. Their warm, perfect bodies call to me, and they express their desires to thank me for the adventure I've already allowed them to go on, and the adventures we will surely embark on together in the days to come.

They also tell me that they want to feel my body, that of a warrior-chef, pressed against theirs. They want us to be intertwined and to feel each other. They assure me that they are not as soft as they appear, and challenge me to break them. I approach them, slowly and unsteadily at first, and when they call to me again I lose my hesitation and I grin as I move to close the distance between the three of us.