Preparations

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The Guild of Gamers: The Necromancer

Chapter 05: Preparations

Coco plans to set out at midday tomorrow, so after accepting her offer for this joint quest we headed home to prepare.

The dungeon on Patch is two days away from the village, deeper on the island, so we'll be travelling for a while and will be camping during the nights.

So, I have tonight to make some final preparations before we set off.

"Do you think it'll work?" Ruby asks, visibly restraining herself and practically vibrating with excitement as I examine her massive scythe.

It's lighter than it looks, enchanted with gravity dust to make it light enough for Ruby to wield it.

Dust is interesting and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some and seeing what an Artificer can do with it.

It's rare, especially the special types of dust like gravity, because it's only found in the dungeons, which makes mining near impossible, and thus the kingdoms have to rely on adventurers to gather it.

"The enchantments are on the blade, I should be able to replace the shaft with a hollowed version," I say, looking at the new shaft I made for Ruby's beloved weapon.

Ruby's scythe is far larger than my pistol, so I had more to work with than before. Ruby's scythe will essentially be a mixture between a sniper and a rocket launcher depending on what runestones are powering it.

It's more powerful than my pistol, but it fires far slower and it's more awkward to aim since it will fire out of the end of the scythe.

"I don't want to risk dismantling your scythe without getting an expert opinion first, especially before our first quest," I say, making her pout. "Stop pouting, do you really want me to risk breaking the enchantments on your baby?" I ask playfully, making her shake her head, acknowledging my point.

If it was just a scythe I would be able to take it apart easily enough, but Qrowe had it enchanted in the Capital for Ruby.

"But it's ready to be used, right? I can just carry both Crescent Rose and the new shaft?" Ruby asks, making me pause before I nod.

"I don't see why not, the new shaft isn't that heavy," I say, offering it to her.

"How does it work?" Ruby asks, stroking the wooden shaft with a worrying amount of affection.

"Just point that side at what you want to hit, then pull the trigger. I've made a few different ammunition types. There are two different modes, based on what runestone is put into it. Sniper mode, for long-range single target attacks, and grenade mode for medium-range explosive attacks. Don't get them mixed up, grenade mode doesn't care about friendly fire," I warn, showing her the runestones I prepared.

Fire and Ice Runestones, in both ammo types. Ruby shudders as she takes one of the fire grenade stones, slotting it into the shaft and taking aim at the targets set up in the backyard.

"The sniper runestones can fire about eight times before you need to replace them, the grenade only fires around three times," I explain. They're much more energy-intensive than the ones I make for my weapon but also I can make them bigger than the smaller ones I have.

Ruby aims, pulling the trigger with no hesitation as the orb of red energy fires from the end of the… well, I suppose it's a staff right now.

Unlike physical projectiles, the energy ball doesn't have any 'bullet drop', flying through the air fairly slowly compared to my bullets, going past the target and hitting the stone wall Tai smartly set up so projectiles don't fly off into the forest.

He works fast, it's not exactly a full wall, just some large heavy rocks he found and carried back here with his insane strength. I hope it wasn't too much work…

Because Ruby just blew a rather sizable hole in it, the force of the blast sending rubble flying as it ignites the ground beneath it, quickly put out by a shot from my water-generating stones.

Yeah, figured that would happen.

I'll have to remind her not to use fire rounds in the forest itself, but the dungeon should be fine.

Ruby herself freezes, staring at the devastated stone with hungry eyes, shuddering as the weapon-obsessed girl quickly fires again and reduces the target to dust with a more accurate shot.

That runestone only lasts two shots, it's hard to make them consistent at my current skill levels, but Ruby quickly replaces it with an ice sniper stone, taking aim and hitting the second target as she starts to cackle, the straw target freezing instantly.

The clearing is full of maniacal cackling and the sound of her staff firing icy orbs at the targets, moving much faster than the grenades.

"Don't waste all the runestones, I won't have time to make more before our quest," I remind her, making her freeze as she reaches for the depleting boxes I gave her. "I think it's safe to say it works," I deadpan, looking at the scorched and frozen backyard.

As I turn back, I get hit with a red blur, Ruby's insane speed allowing her to close the distance before I can really react, a pair of surprisingly strong arms wrapping around my chest as she hugs me, saying 'thank you' over and over again to the point where the words are blurring together,

I think it's safe to say she likes her new weapon, and honestly, it is nice to be appreciated since I'm pretty damn proud of my creation.

Returning the hug, I can't deny Ruby is extremely cute as she blushes and cuddles against me. Breaking the hug after a few comfortable seconds, she gives me a beaming smile as she hugs the staff to her body, hesitating for a moment before she makes her move.

Hesitating, her intention is clear from the start as she rises onto her tiptoes and places a light kiss on my cheek, our lips barely touching as she turns bright red. She goes to speak, her face turning increasingly red at a wolf-whistle from Yang who was apparently watching the show, leaning against the house with a grin.

Turning to her sister, Ruby goes bright red and says something, entirely too fast for me to make out, before turning and disappearing into the building at incredible speeds, making Yang chuckle at her sister's embarrassment.

"So, hot stuff, what's a girl gotta do to get you to make her some new toys?" Yang asks, sauntering up to me with a sway to her hips. Yang is a flirt, but I'm pretty sure she's mostly just teasing.

"Ask nicely. We're party members after all. You fight with spiked gauntlets right?" I ask, making Yang nod, clearly surprised as I pull out the next thing I made. "I already made a prototype, they should fit."

– Yang Xiao Long –

She was mostly just taking an opportunity to flirt with Rowan. He was oddly serious for a guy who was frequently fucking her mom. Not that she cared. Her parent's relationship was pretty odd, but she didn't really mind as long as they were both happy.

As he held out a pair of gauntlets, similar to the pair she usually wore, she took them with no small amount of curiosity. She hadn't expected him to make her anything, but apparently he was one step ahead of her there.

The thicker metal felt heavier than her usual pair as she put them on and gave a few experimental jabs. They weren't heavy enough to really mess with her agility too much, once she got used to them.

They were actually more comfortable for her than her usual pair, being padded on the inside to make them less annoying to wear.

"So, what do these do?" Yang asked, watching him grab one of his weird stones and get closer, opening a small latch on the back of her gauntlet, suddenly the thickness made sense as he slipped the red stone into the slot.

They both watched as the gauntlets lit up, odd runes glowing on the fingers as the gauntlets started to glow, heating up, but not enough for them to hurt her. It was actually kinda toasty.

"They aren't meant for fighting at range like Ruby's staff, since from what Tai told me you like to get up close and personal," Rowan explained, making her grin.

"You know it, wanna get up close with me?" Yang teased, making him roll his eyes at her predictable response.

"So the idea is for them to channel the element of the runestone into your attacks, I kinda melted my first attempt but I believe I've stabilised it enough for them to be safe for use in combat. Essentially, punch things and you'll set them on fire," Rowan continued, making her eyebrow rise. "It's tied to the speed of your punch, the faster you punch the more powerful the elemental effect. The padding on the inside isn't just for comfort, it's enchanted to protect you from the elemental effect yourself."

Tossing a quick jab, she watched with growing excitement as the gauntlet flared up and unleashed a short burst of flames, testing out the different speeds.

"The intensity of the blast is limited, to prevent you from hurting yourself. Fortunately, this means the runestones last longer and you shouldn't have to change them out anywhere near as often as Ruby and I will," Rowan explained, gesturing to a small box of neatly sorted runestones, helpfully labelled as 'fire' and 'ice'.

"So, you decided to make me even hotter out of the kindness of your heart?" Yang asked, making him roll his eyes.

"Out of practicality. If we are going to be working together as a party, then it's only logical that I ensure everyone is properly equipped," Rowan deadpanned, making her grin. "Let me know how they perform, and if you want any modifications made to them, or if you have any ideas of your own."

"Uhuh, you know most guys give girls flowers or jewellery when they're trying to get her out of her clothes," Yang pointed out, watching him roll his eyes.

"Somehow, I don't think you're a flowers and picnic date kinda girl," Rowan replied, unbothered by her teasing.

"True, giving me the power to set monsters on fire is one hell of a way to get into my panties," Yang admitted, giving him a playful grin. Rowan was fun, but it kinda annoyed her that he didn't get flustered like all the other boys did. "But you're right, we're going to be working real close. Its nice to know I'll have you watching my ass."

"Your back, and Ruby's," Rowan corrected, once again unbothered even as she got closer to him, her breasts pushing against his chest. She knew he'd have a great view of her cleavage if he looked down, but he kept eye contact with relative ease. "We're a team now, after all."

"Please, you really want to pretend to be a proper gentlemen when you've been loudly fucking my mom every night since you got here?" Yang asked, making Rowan raise an eyebrow. "We both know you won't be able to keep your eyes off my ass, don't worry, I don't mind. If you've got it, flaunt it."

"And you do enjoy flaunting it don't you, or could you not find a pair of shorts that didn't look three sizes too small?" Rowan asked, firing back as she grinned.

"I don't know what you're talking about, my clothes are a perfect fit," Yang blatantly lied, knowing her top and shorts barely covered anything. Her dad had repeatedly scolded her about it, but he couldn't talk when he frequently got in trouble for public indecency.

"Right," Rowan drawled, making her grin. She'd seen him looking when he thought no-one would notice, but she had a plan. If they were going to be travelling together, he and Ruby were almost definitely going to end up together, as Ruby was already enamoured with him (and his magical weapons).

She needed to take care of her innocent little sister, and make sure her first love went well. Rowan seemed oddly inexperienced for someone who almost immediately bent her mom over, so she was going to help subtly guide them through their relationship.

And probably fuck Rowan a few times herself. She wasn't really interested in a serious relationship with him, but she couldn't deny she liked the guy, and more importantly, how happy he had made Ruby (and her with her new toys).

"Seriously though, thanks Rowan. For my gauntlets and for helping Ruby, you've made her happier than I've ever seen her," Yang said, uncharacteristically serious. "I owe you one."

"There's no debt between party members," Rowan replied calmly, giving her a soft smile. "Now, I have some final preparations to take care of before we set off tomorrow, and I'm sure you'll want a good night's sleep before we set off."

"Heh, you aren't wrong. We'll be roughing it in tents for a few days, better enjoy the bed while I can," Yang agreed, pausing as she gave him a teasing smile. "Wanna join me? It's starting to get cold at night and I could use someone to help me keep warm."

"It is pretty cold at night, isn't it?" Rowan agreed, making her wonder if he was actually going to take her up on the offer. "Good thing I enchanted my blankets to be toasty warm," Rowan finished with a grin, making her eyes widen.

"Wait, really? Oi, magic man, answer me!"

Following Rowan back to the house, she poked him as she tried to get an answer. Winter nights got very cold on Patch, if he had magic quilts he better share them right now.

– Summer Rose –

It was good to see that Rowan was bonding with Yang and Ruby, even if she fully expected both of her daughters to come back pregnant. Maybe not from this first easy mission, but when they started to travel beyond Patch, it was basically guaranteed that they'd fall into bed with each other.

"You wanted to see me, Rowan? Hoping for one last tumble before you head out?" Summer asked, looking around the basement he had rapidly transformed into his little sanctuary. She'd gone behind his back to buy some furniture from the carpenters' guild for the basement, knowing Rowan would want to buy it himself.

He didn't protest that much, having a double-bed in his hybrid workshop/bedroom won him over, but he did promise to pay her back and even went behind her back to find out the exact prices.

She knew he was keeping a tab in one of his little books, in truth it was more of a game between them at this point, even if she was sure he truly intended to pay her back down to the last copper.

With all the junk cleared, the basement had become a large and even homey room from his modifications, well-lit by his lightstones, well furnished thanks to her, with one side dedicated to his tinkering.

She spotted her father-in-law's old brewing equipment scattered around the workshop- was Rowan using it for something? Tai said he could have it since it was damaged from years of neglect anyway but it looked like Rowan had quickly fixed it up.

They'd sold a lot of the junk that wasn't broken, her and Tai going through the stuff they'd just left down here for years, she'd even found some of her old stuff she thought she lost, the first cloak she'd ever worn when she first started adventuring, a medal their old team got from the Kingdom of Vale for their first S-ranked mission, slaying a rampaging Chimera.

There was a separate pile of damaged things Rowan believed he could fix, including her torn cloak, he'd get a cut of whatever they sold from that pile, or a small fee for anything they kept. He didn't want that, but Tai put his foot down since good work deserved good pay.

"Not exactly, but you're also not entirely wrong either," Rowan admitted, making her eyebrow rise. "I wanted to both take care of something and also test another of my Eromancy creations. Strip please."

Unsure what he was planning, she easily stripped her clothes off. The room was surprisingly warm for this time of year, the source being a strange carved rock in the corner of the room, runes carved into it. She'd have to ask him about making a few more of those when it got colder, winter was about to start after all.

Glynda was definitely going to want to see Rowan when she heard about this, as she was always interested in ways to use enchanting for less violent methods.

Moving closer to look at what Rowan was fiddling with, she pressed her naked breasts against his back and peered over his shoulder, eyebrow rising at the sight of a thick purple tool made of a material she didn't recognise, but she certainly recognised the shape of the phallic toy.

"With me leaving for a few days, Tai mentioned that he'd have to take care of your needs himself again, his vacation was coming to an end so to speak," Rowan explained, a slight smirk on his lips as he guided her to the bed. "I've decided to help the poor, heavily overworked man out."

Sitting down, she gasped as Rowan pulled her legs apart, holding the sex toy in his hand as he slowly pushed it into her. It was bigger than his cock, bigger than Tai's as well, filling her in ways she hadn't felt in a long time as she let out a moan.

"You know I have some sex toys, right?" Summer asked, making him chuckle.

"Oh, I know you've got some… generic toys, but I think you'll enjoy this more," Rowan said confidently, pushing the toy into her as she gasped. "On your hands and knees please."

Obeying, she gasped as he placed a second toy into her ass, smaller thankfully, but still making her feel incredibly full from the two toys inside her.

"And what's so special about this?" Summer asked, making Rowan give her a sly smile as he let go, the toy remaining inside her.

"Firstly, it can't be removed naturally," Rowan explained, making her pause as she tried to pull it out, finding it stuck in place as Rowan picked up a small carved stone. "And secondly, it does this."

Doing something with the stone, she gasped as she felt the toys inside her start to vibrate inside her, sending waves of unbelievable pleasure through her body as she was suddenly glad she was sitting down.

"Hey, Rowan, you wanted to see me?" Tai asked, walking in and giving her an amused look.

"Ah, excellent timing. Tai, this is the control stone for Summer's new toys," Rowan explained, handing the stone over to Tai who looked at it curiously. "That button releases them, and that part there controls the intensity."

"Huh, am I reading this right or is it on the lowest setting?" Tai asked, making her pause as her eyes widened, trying to stifle a moan.

"You're reading it right, honestly I'm surprised Summer is so affected by the lowest intensity," Rowan agreed easily, Tai looking right at her, a mischievous look on his face.

Before she could say anything, Tai immediately hit whatever controlled the power of her toys, a loud scream leaving her lips as she shuddered, cumming immediately as waves of unbelievable pleasure coursed through her body.

"It's worth noting that I've placed an enchantment on the toys to increase the intensity of all sensations Summer feels by tenfold while she has them in, I wonder if having two with the same enchantment stacks multiplicatively," Rowan mused, watching as she fell off the bed, shaking as she climaxed again and again.

Tai kindly spared her the intense pleasure as he turned the toy off, but as she went to get off her feet he calmly turned it right back on, her eyes widening as a desperate moan left her lips.

"As you mentioned having trouble keeping up with her libido, I created this to help with that. My advice? Just tie her up and leave them inside her for a while when she gets in the mood and you don't want to have to deal with her," Rowan explained, making Tai nod calmly.

"I definitely see the benefit. I like sex but if Summer had her way we'd never leave the bedroom," Tai agreed, patting Rowan on the shoulder as Tai fiddled with the controls.

"I left a manual for it over there, there's a few different settings for you to play around with," Rowan said, giving her an amused look as she struggled to rise, legs shaking. "Maybe I should lessen the pleasure enhancement for the next iteration."

"Meh," Tai helpfully said, once again lowering it purely just so he could increase it again.

Her eyes promised revenge, but Tai was entirely unintimidated as she managed to move onto the bed, glaring at the pair. As the sensations came to a blissful end, she gasped and tried to catch her breath as both of them slipped out of her, Tai pressing the release button.

She lost track of how many orgasms they'd forced on her, Rowan's evil creation allowing Tai to ruthlessly torture her for his own amusement.

"Thanks, Rowan. You could make a fortune selling these," Tai praised, making Rowan shrug.

"It might be worth looking into, but I'd like to start with adventuring before I consider going into business," Rowan explained, Tai going to respond before she cut in.

"Boys, one of you is going to fuck me right now," Summer ordered, making them share a glance. "Or both of you."

"Heh, you know I have a one dick per bedroom policy, I don't mind you fucking around but I don't like seeing any dicks that don't belong to me. Rowan, you can handle the slut," Tai said, pausing to grab the two toys from the floor with an amused look. "Thanks for the toys, now I just need to trick Qrowe into using one."

Leaving them with a lazy wave, Tai strutted back out of the room leaving her with Rowan.

Rowan went to speak, right before she grabbed him and threw him onto the bed. Good work needed a good reward after all.

– Rowan Blackwood – Next Morning

Eromancy has some surprising uses outside of sex.

Enhance Sensations

Causes the victim to experience all sensations at a greatly increased level

Create Toy

Allows the caster to conjure a non-magical sex toy, only limited by their imagination.

I can make plastic toys, as long as they are made for sexual purposes. Once spawned, I can do whatever I want with the material, turning magic into matter with a single spell.

Pushing Summer's sleeping body off me, I slowly get up with a stretch. Today is the day, we are going to be meeting Coco soon for the start of our first real quest.

Getting dressed, I go over my supplies and inventory to make sure I have everything we'll need for this quest. The Patch dungeon is about two days' travel away from the village, so even if everything goes well it will be around five to six days depending on our travel time.

Double checking my equipment, I get briefly distracted by Summer waking up before we head to the bath, also getting distracted a second time due to Summer's insatiable libido.

"Rowan! We're going to be late!" Ruby shouts, making me blink. It's still early, and the meeting point isn't that far.

"Ignore her, we don't even need to set off for another couple of hours," Yang shouts after her, and I can barely hear them squabbling downstairs as Summer gives me a pat on the shoulder.

"Good luck, Rowan. It certainly sounds like you'll need it," Summer teases, making me chuckle.

"Not going to give me a kiss for luck?" I ask, making her grin.

"Well, Yang did say we had a couple of hours. Better make sure you're very lucky for your first quest," Summer says with a lewd smile.

Well, I can't argue with that logic.

— Bonus Scene — Ozpin

Leaning back in his seat, he wondered what to think of this particular development.

Rowan's story was an interesting one, and also a worrying one as the concept of a mage blessed with death in Salem's hands sounded terrifying to consider. A twist of fate had dropped him in Patch?

That seemed too convenient, but he also didn't believe that this Rowan would be able to deceive Qrowe, Summer and Tai. All three were very experienced and Qrowe excelled at ferreting out secrets.

No, it was a blessing that Rowan's master deposited him where the right people could find him, instead of delivering him right into the hands of Salem's agents or even the Grimm Queen herself.

The fact was that Salem was winning, quite handily at that. The Kingdoms were slowly losing more and more ground to the monsters and the Grimm. He would take whatever he could get in the fight against the darkness, and depriving Salem of a tool would only help in the long run.

That said, his reports painted a concerning picture. Salem's agents were on the move, and if things didn't change, it seemed like their destination was… Patch. It made Rowan's story more believable, Salem realised something had gone wrong and had likely sent people to the home of Rowan's former master, and they'd likely worked out where Rowan had been deposited.

Rumours of a mage appearing in Patch had already reached the capital, that was simply how noteworthy a new mage was. Glynda already wanted to meet Rowan from Qrowe's report on his 'Artificing', which in addition to Death and Sex meant Rowan possessed three blessings from the Gods.

…two more than anyone else in the world.

Rowan didn't know how special he was, because never before had a mage been granted multiple schools of magic, the only exceptions being him and Salem, a secret he kept close to his chest.

He needed to make sure Rowan did not fall into Salem's hands, especially given his suspicions on Rowan's origin, and it would do well for Glynda to spend some time away from the Academy.

Yes, that would work just fine.