Chapter 1118 – Back in Black 1 – Travel Preparation


    “Little bit more... little bit more....” Gnome kept waving John along, as he carefully stepped on the gas pedal. The engine of the car purred quietly, a noticeable difference to how the original 1965 Cadillac it was inspired by would have sounded like. When a car wasn’t available for purchase and magical retrofitting, having a smith that specialized in re-making the outer appearance of vehicles was the best alternative one could go for.


    The custom-made hull stayed mostly faithful to the long and sleek design, encompassing the protruding lights and the half-covering of the back wheels. The cloth roof was currently raised, as it wasn’t the right season to drive with an open cabriolet. That it even was cloth in the first place was a surrender to the demands of the mundane world. If John had wanted to use the car only in Abyssal context, he could have used some magical means to keep the metal roof and make it foldable. The car sported the license plate ‘BRBIB’, which stood for ‘Be right back in black’. Not John’s first choice, but the one he had ended up with.


    The custom-made ‘vintage’ car stopped when Gnome raised her hand. Then the locking mechanisms of the transport trailer locked into place and John pulled the handbrake. Although the inside of the car was modern in terms of what was in it, a radio, a proper heating system, and all of that, the style of the dashboard and the seats continued to be old-timey. A bit too old-timey, perhaps, as John had insisted on wood to be used for any surface of the dashboard that would not turn into an illegal security risk. The seats were fine leather, the floor black felt carpet, and the backbench was practically an artwork worthy of a movie set.


    John undid his buckle and got out. The metal of the trailer clattered under his step as he walked around the black car for any signs of damage or lack of polish. Driving a car like this was a prestige symbol and the Gamer wanted it to gleam like Excalibur itself when he pulled up with it in front of William Brighton. If the other car on the trailer, a large jeep, got damaged, that was less important.


    A week had passed since the double date, in which nothing of note had happened. Paperwork and sex, the two constants of John’s life, had trudged on like always. He had gotten another three levels because of that, leaving him at 463.


    Because of the Elevation of Wisdom Perk, he had only had to invest 3 points per level into the Stat to keep up with elemental demands now. He went with four instead, because that was a clean half of what each level got him and because he wanted the margin to be wider to prepare for the inevitable change to Artificial Spirit. Otherwise, he was now investing in Agility. His health was covered well by his mana regeneration, so Endurance wasn’t as much of an issue and John wanted to be faster rather than stronger because avoiding attacks and aiming spells was of greater use to him than throwing stronger punches.


    Besides sex-based levelling, he had gotten nothing of note done. Magoi hadn’t been available for any grinding sessions, and even if he had been, John had so much work to do that he could have hardly taken it. The Lake Alliance was barely integrated yet and that came with its fair share of issues that had to be looked after.


    Part of John was happy that he had a fantastic excuse to delegate the majority of that work to his ministers. Paranoia left him afraid they would cock something up though or, almost worse, get taken advantage of by Emrik. He almost wanted Momo to stay because of it. If he had asked, he already knew that she wouldn’t have done it.


    Like the majority of his harem, she wanted to see the city he had grown up in. Momo had only briefly been in it and that had been in the aftermath of the fight against Thana/Eliza/Eliana. She had been in his family home before. That was about it.


    Of course, they would visit both his and Rave’s old homes. Unlike what John had told the Golden Rose, however, they had no intention of staying there. That job went to the vehicle pulling the trailer.


    The harem’s travel bus was a marvel of all kinds of engineering and more spacious than a house in the suburbs. Importantly, the bus was suited to the needs of the harem, while the house was equipped to deal with a small family. Also, they didn’t have to worry about the true forms of many of the party members.


    The bus would serve as their mobile home and the faux-Cadillac as their vehicle to move around locally. Honestly speaking, it wasn’t entirely optimal for that purpose because it could only fit five people, six if the backbench seriously squeezed themselves together.


    It was too stylish not to use it though.


    “Alright, last checks,” John said, when he was fully certain that his car was secure and in prime condition. “Anyone got anything they need to do before we leave?” He looked at the gathered haremettes. “Any last calls to make? Any rations to store?”


    “The bus is, as always, readily stocked to sustain us for up to a month,” Aclysia informed him. She and her fellow two Artificial Spirits had caught up with John’s level just in time for this trip.


    “Fantastic,” the Gamer hummed, ready to kiss and hug her the moment they got travelling. “Anyone else remember something they need to get done?” There was universal denial, even Velka shook her head, so they got ready to board the bus and get moving. The first couple of girls were up the stairs (John waited to be the last to enter, for gazing reasons), when there was a sudden loud bang, echoing through the massive garage. ‘What now?’ the Gamer wondered. The haremettes poured back out of the bus, ready to fend off whatever had entered their car storage.


    Incessant giggling announced someone getting closer and closer to their position. Metal scraped over the raw concrete floor, a sound worthy of a horror movie.


    John was more annoyed about this development than alarmed. The lack of self-hating babbling indicated that they were dealing with a regular madman rather than some kind of Lorylim infested monstrosity. Even if there was a Lorylim coming for them right now, Nathalia was with them. The greater worry was that the car would get destroyed in any sort of meaningful fight.


    What did eventually come around a corner was a man of indiscernible age, courtesy of the scars that covered every inch of his visible skin. It looked like he had been flailed with fishing hooks and cauterized afterwards. A tattered robe, covered in burn marks, covered him halfway. With one arm, he dragged a sledgehammer after him. No doubt that had created the bang when he had used it on one of the locked side entrances. In the other, he held a pink glove.


    “Marathyu,” John greeted the unexpected visitor. The mad smith didn’t answer, only walked up to Rave and, with quivering hands, presented the glove to her. Up close, John could see numerous, thin transparent lines stretch through the fabric. They glowed in the full spectrum of light.


    “Oh noooo,” the masochistic technomancer responded with dry sarcasm. “Whatever will I fucking do.”


    Rave snapped her fingers a couple of times to make sure attention returned to her. Each snap was underlined by a bit of choir singing and light sparking. “You’ll shut up until we wrap this up, is what you’ll do. Keep going, tiger.”


    “That’s kinda boring.”


    “Everything is boring after ‘your presence changes the weather’.”


    “Just means I should get more awesome stuff!”


    John scratched his head. “Well, I guess you can use a stronger emergency burst option now that your Babel Phrase doesn’t knock you out after one usage anymore.”


    “It sounds cool, so I’ll take it.”


    John skipped over Chosen Loyalty, Swordmind and Indestructible. All of those were present on the other weapons of Illuminare’s kind.


    Rave looked down at herself, as she made the cover of her boobs thin and ultimately flow away to the sides. With a thin bit of pink separating the delightfully firm, medium-sized and now completely bare boobs, the feline Lightbearer stood in her otherwise fully intact bodysuit. Then the entire body suit disappeared in a flash, replaced by her clothing. A couple of seconds later, the bodysuit was back. Then it was gone again, not even the glove showing, leaving Rave completely naked. And then it was finally back again.


    “That’s super awesome,” she said. “I can strip instantly or I can only get my naughty bits.”


    “Honestly, with how Second Skin is worded, you wouldn’t even have to get your tits out – it would feel the same to you whether I touch your boobs with or without it. Anyway, moving on.”


    John made a bit of a sour face upon reading. Personally, he was not big on effects that raised Libido in combat. It sounded hot, but when the actual life was on the line, being distracted by a tingle downstairs was highly unwanted. That it had an emergency disable made it palatable, even if that came with a hefty restriction on its effectiveness.


    “That’s awesome!” Rave did not share his issues with practicality. Knowing his girlfriend, she was thinking something along the lines of: ‘I love getting fucked senseless after I fight!’ “I love getting fucked senseless after combat!” she declared with a smile that only grew wider when she heard John clicking his tongue. “What? Did ya guess my thoughts slightly wrong?”


    “Stop reading my thoughts, ya witch!”


    “I’ll tell ya again and again, tiger, I live rent-free in your head and I ain’t leaving.”


    “As if I would let you leave.”


    “Rrrrrr,” Rave playfully growled and made a scratching motion in his general direction. “Gimme the last one, I need to go and appease my landlord.”


    “More incentives to fuck, exactly what you needed,” John said drily.


    Then a nude girlfriend threw herself at him and they retreated into the bus.