Kai stood up. “I think it's about time I get back to this dungeon.”

  “Not quite yet,” Syl said as she broke away from her hug with Alicia. “You are forgetting your storage. Come with me; I set some things up when you arrived here on Alea.”

  “You did?”

  “Why do you think you were on hold so long? This home doesn’t just happen; now both of you follow me.” Syl took off to the house, clearly expecting them both to not question her and obey.

  Kai and Alicia, of course, did just that and got up to follow.

  Syl led them through a set of sliding glass doors and into what Kai was calling the living room, though he suspected Syl might have a fancier name for it than that.

  Alicia marvelled at almost everything she saw. “This is so…“ she said, seemingly struggling to find the right words.

  “Alien, It’s modelled off Kai's home world after all. Things will undoubtedly change as we come to know Alea better. If you have any recommendations, another feminine touch in Kai’s domain is more than welcome.” She giggled, “I know I’m definitely going to expand the bedroom.” Syl stopped and spun on Alicia, her eyes wide for once.

  “Do you know what a sleepover, or maybe a slumber party, is?” she asked enthusiastically.

  “No…”

  It was then Kai realised something that should have been obvious. In over a thousand years, Alicia was the first person Syl had actually been able to interact with other than himself.

  She had met Bob, but that was under threat of reabsorption, and it didn’t seem like he could, or rather would, stick around.

  Alicia was Syl’s first real chance at making a friend other than himself. A real friend, not one like the confusing mess he had with her.

  What's more, because of the contract and his fancy new soul ring, Alicia could enter his domain. No, Alicia could enter their domain, the one place Syl could fully interact, the one place Syl could have a friend in its entirety.

  “So a pillow fight is when…” Syl said as she explained what a sleepover was.

  Syl almost overflowed with joy as Alicia listened to her intently.

  Kai had to wonder, was this also why Syl seemed to be pushing the contract? She wanted a friend? He supposed that kind of made more sense to him.

  “Kai can sleep out in the dungeon; wherever, really, I can bring you in here!”

  “You are right,” Alicia giggled. “I won't have to camp outside if I can just come in here. Please, show me the sleeping quarters!”

  The two women turned together, one set to follow the other.

  Kai coughed, “Ring. Storage. Dungeon. Then sleepover preparation.”

  Syl froze. “He’s right; I can show you around while he gets jumped on by more goblins.”

  Syl turned back and crossed the room to a new door that wasn’t there the last time he was here. It was set on the far wall between where the living room changed into an open-plan kitchen.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask: Why are the dungeon goblins green but the ones with the three scary orc women were pinkish?”

  “I was told it is because they are corrupted, feral.” Alicia said as she followed right behind Syl.

  “Dungeons typically use the more socially deplorable as monsters when they can.” Syl explained further, “You should see corrupted humans, dwarves and el’vei, all grey, with solid black eyes and a little bit veiny. I don’t know why, so don’t ask.”

  Alicia too shrugged, so he just followed them both through the new door.

  They walked down a short set of stairs and entered a massive cellar lit by dim, flickering bulbs.

  “Why light it like this?” he asked Syl.

  “It’s easier to work with what you know. I wanted to put in a vault, but we watched one too many scary movies together. This was just easier to put together on short notice.”

  Alicia was looking up at one of the bulbs. “Why not use light stones? They only flicker like this if cracked.”

  “Kai's world ran on pure technology, no mana in sight, so no light stones.” Syl said as she looked about, “I think I got it, so anything you loot should be placed and sorted in here. It’s also a separate space, so adjusting the flow of time in here shouldn't have any negative effects in the rest of the domain.”

  “Adjust time… I can do that?”

  “I don’t see why not; it is your domain. You, in theory, should be able to control everything here; it's just a matter of practice. The loop you were stuck in and your time spent getting used to the void should actually have primed your abilities to control time and space. You just need to figure out how.”

  “Neat.” Kai focused, willing time to slow in the area around him; nothing seemed to happen.

  “Not now, though; there’s a lot you need to learn about this place before you even try.” Syl said as she walked over to a large open work table and jumped up to sit on it, Alicia following to sit beside her. “Use your system. Don’t look at an inventory screen or anything like that; try and feel what you have stored.

  He refocused, applying his intent to call up his inventory.

  A blue window appeared, and he instantly dismissed it, hoping Syl wouldn’t notice.

  She said nothing, but he could see her eyes narrow slightly.

  He focused again, trying to just know what he had in his ring, in his domain.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  2 assorted Goblin Wretchlings corpses, Lv. 1 (dismantable)

  Kais Greater tutorial package (compensation from Bob)

  Alicia and assorted personal equipment.

  Sylphs ring box.

  The information was there, just as Syl said it could be: no window, no reading anything; he just thought about it and knew.

  Of course the thing that caught his attention was the ring box; the moment he focused on it, it appeared in front of him.

  He grabbed it before gravity could take hold, and before he paid it too much mind, he was examining it.

  Sylphs ring box.

  This box can only be opened by the right person at the right time.

  Huh, he guessed this was the other ring in his soul rings set. That, and it was clearly meant for Syl.

  “Here, I think this is yours.” He tossed the ring box over to Syl.

  Syl caught it easily, but she didn’t look at all happy.

  She placed it on the table beside her and whispered something to Alicia.

  Now Alicia didn’t look at all happy.

  “What? It's Sylph's ring box.” He held up his left hand, showing off his own ring. “I think it is this ring pair.”

  Syl whispered something else to Alicia.

  She nodded, jumped off the table, picked up the box, and brought it back to him, and thrust the little black velvet box into his gut. “She can’t open it,” was the only thing she said before she spun on her heels and returned to Syl's side.

  Kai was confused. If she couldn’t open it, then maybe he could. He, of course, did the next obvious thing and went to open it.

  “Not the right time!” Syl cried, “Please just put it away for now. I can’t even use it; no physical body, remember. In fact, let me do it.”

  The box vanished from his grip.

  “Just get the two goblins; we will see how dismantling works.”

  With a quick thought, two little green goblins flopped to the floor just in front of Kai.

  “I think I’m getting the hang of this whole storage thing.” He said he was pleased with himself.

  “No, you are an idiot who has a lot to learn,” Alicia said, her words sharp; she was still somehow mad at him.

  “Dismantle them.” Syl said, still also clearly mad with him.

  Not actually knowing what to do, he looked down at the two corpses. “Will I not need a knife or something?”

  “Normally yes, but as this is an enchantment of your ring, it should be a bit more automatic, like how you didn't have to stuff the goblins through a hole to actually loot them.”

  “Okay then,” He focused on one of the corpses and did the first thing that came to mind: thought dismantle.

  He felt something from the ring as the goblin he applied the intent to rose slightly off the ground, several invisible blades and other tools working to dismember the green body.

  To say the sight was horrific would be an understatement, but when it was done, there were several different piles of goblin parts.

  Both Syl and Alicia were a bit paler than before; by the chill, he felt he too had changed a few shades whiter.

  “Never watching that again.” He said quietly.

  “Let's hope you can do it with items still packed away; better yet, dismantle and loot at the same time. I don’t want goblin loincloths and assorted viscera filling up the place.”

  “Actually, every part of a goblin is useful.” Alicia started, “Glue, oil, leather, fertiliser…” Alicia started.

  They both stared at Alicia.

  “It is low quality and does not sell for much… Most adventurers do not bother, as green goblins spoil too fast. But if we can keep it fresh, we can store as much as we want.” Alicia thought for a moment. “Yes, I think we can make a tidy profit selling it to an underutilised market; the cheap meat alone would be a great source of food for the destitute.”

  “Alicia.” Kai said gently.

  “Yes?”

  “Could you please explain what exactly I’m about to eat before I eat anything on Alea?”

  “I can’t even look at it; there’s a cold storage at the back,” Syl waved a hand, and the remaining goblin corpse and assorted goblin bits disappeared. “Change your rings looting to desire until we figure things out, especially time dilation.”

  He focused.

  Kais Soul Ring, looting enchantment set to desired items only.

  “Done.”

  “How about we see what’s in the tutorial package?” Syl asked as she jumped off the table and beckoned him closer. ”

  He had to resist running over to the table; he had a good idea what might be in the package Bob had clearly put together for him.

  He was actually disappointed when his old backpack appeared just above the table. At least he was until it landed with an impossibly loud thud.

  “Well, go on, open it.” Syl said, taking a step behind him, pulling Alicia in with her.

  The moment he undid the strap that kept the bag closed, the top flap that was rolled over uncoiled, and the backpack spat out dozens upon dozens of items. Weapons, armour, bottles, books, and even a few other small packs flowed out onto the table and off onto the floor.

  They all had to take several steps back before everything settled and the items stopped coming.

  “Well…” Syl said, “you going to tell us what you got?”

  He just looked at the pile. “Where do you want me to start?”

  Syl smacked him on the back of his head. “I want you to start using your personal system more. Just feel what is there; this is all in your inventory. Read it all off.”

  He felt for this information, “Are you sure you want me to read it off?”

  “How else will I know you are able to do it?”

  Shrugging, Kai started listing things.

  “Three light armour sets, two medium armour sets, a chain armour set, a plate armour set, mage robes, healer robes, two rogue cloaks, two ranger cloaks, and four hooded mantles. Two hip quivers, two back quivers, six pairs of trousers, six t shirts and, oh thank Bob, 24 pairs of socks and 24 pairs of underwear.”

  He paused to summon a pack from the pile; he checked it and was pleased to find a pair of his boxers; unfortunately, they were his old size.

  Syl coughed as Alicia whispered something in her ear.

  He put the boxes away and continued.

  “Four spears, three short swords, two arming swords, two bastard swords, two long swords, a great sword, two battle axes, a two-handed war axe, a mace, a war hammer.” He sighed, realising he was only just about halfway.

  “Two short bows, two longbows, two recurve bows, two compound bows? eight hundred basic broadhead arrows, four daggers, ten throwing knives, and four throwing axes. Two bucklers, a round shield, a kite shield, a tower shield, six survival kits, six first aid kits, thirty ration packs, and thirty one-litre waterskins. Thirty basic health potions, thirty basic stamina potions, and thirty basic mana potions…”

  He paused again. “Syl, did I suggest names for skill books?”

  “Yes, you did.”

  Letting out a sigh, he continued.

  “Mana bolt for dummies, barrier for dummies, heal for dummies, survival for dummies, light armour for dummies, medium armour for dummies, heavy armour for dummies. Throwing weapons for dummies, four melee weapons dummies, shields for dummies, archery for dummies and finally the Sylphs tutorial package.”

  “You know you could have abbreviated some.” Syl said.

  “You said read it all off.” Kai said, throwing his hands up in frustration.

  “But another tutorial package for me? Odd.

  “That’s what it says.”

  “I think,” she looked at the mess in front of them, “I think I'll open that later.”

  “Syl, is this what I think it is?” Kai asked.

  “Yup. Just about every starting item from every possible class choice. Even some of the ones we snuck in, you had to specifically ask for the compound bow; it wasn't offered. You upset a lot of people when you showed up with that thing; the purists didn't care too much.”

  “Compound bow?” she asked as she snapped herself back to reality.

  “Here,” Kai reached out and grabbed the bow that appeared in front of him; passing it to Alicia, she took it from him carefully. “It’s yours; it even has all the fancy attachments. Not sure how it will match up to a magic bow. But we have two of them; maybe we can have someone reverse engineer the other one into something better.”

  Thinking for a moment, he shrugged and Archery for Dummies also appeared. “This should let you know how it works; fill in any gaps you might have.”

  Alicia's eyes went wide. “That is a skill book for archery…”

  “Your not going to the arcane archer route.” Syl asked him.

  He shrugged, not entirely surprised he had tried it before.

  “You remember all our sparring,” he said as he fingered his ring, “if I can use my ring that can never be taken away from me or ever be destroyed to summon and dismiss items at will.” He grinned. “Jack of all trades… battle mage. Alicia, what would you call someone who uses a lot of magic but fights in close quarters with almost every conceivable weapon?”

  “I don’t think that’s a thing.”

  “Syl?” Kai asked, sounding more disappointed than curious.

  “Yes, Kai?”

  “How come there are no katanas or other cool exotic weapons?”

  “Culturally specific weapons were region locked; too many wannabe samurais.” Syl said, looking a bit fed up at the memory.