Chapter 10

Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

I had magic to practice.

I stood in my gray robes in my throne room. It was the largest room in my dungeon. I had gained Earth, Metal, Ice, and Light magics recently. I had used Earth and Metal during the fight, but only a few of the spells. They had some useful ones.

Granite Flesh made my skin as hard as rock. That had saved my ass. Let me take blows that would kill me. Then I could combine that with Metalcoat that gave me a suit of armor. Last, Static Aura, one of my lightning spells, added a third layer of defense around me. I could stack that up for devastating effect.

Stone Cure I had used to heal Halia, of course. Removing petrification was, hopefully, something I wouldn’t have to do that often. Strength of Mountain was one I hadn’t used, but it was a Level 1 spell that would give me more strength.

No wonder Ziamili had hit like a truck.

Rock Spike I had found to be a great offensive spell. A stalactite of rock burst out of the ground. So was Steel Batter that launched a bar of steel at someone’s head. Simple but effective as a weapon. I had used Metal Shield in the battle, which conjured a shield to block an attack. That was very useful. Fist of Earth sent pummeling stones to hit the enemy. I had a lot of spells like that. Weaken Armor was intriguing. Against the right foe, destroying their armor could be a boon.

There were also rituals. I hadn’t messed around with rituals. Sharpen could let me make any weapon permanently sharp. If I was making an army, I would get a lot of use out of it. Strengthen Stone made any stone object very hard and durable. If I was building defenses, it would be invaluable. Metal Golem had me the most intrigued.

A ritual that let me build a golem out of metal. Not a clay golem like Terra, but more like a robot. Something that could be given limited commands. Though they would expend some magic, it was the type that would regenerate. It wasn’t like the permanent drain on my mana that magical girls were.

A way to build extra defenders.

I practiced with my new spells to the use of them. I made suits of armor to then use Weaken Armor on.

“Metal rusts and weakens, let the corrosion of Lord Nabu destroy!” I chanted and thrust my hand forward, touching the armor. It fell apart in seconds.

“Shame you have to get up close to use it,” Maya said. She was watching the demonstration.

“Yes,” Hagane added. My animated statue pressed up her glasses on her nose, her coppery hair, a mass of fine wires, spilling about her face. “You have to put yourself at risk for that one.”

“Like Stunning Touch,” I muttered. “I wonder why some magic works this way and others don’t.”

“Question for Fara,” Terra said. She was lounging on my throne like Garnet would. My little sister was still giving Fara a tour of the dungeon. According to the map on the floor, they were in the entrance hall.

“Let’s see how fast you can get up Metal Shield to protect you,” Hagane said. Her arm melted into a blade with a sharp point. Then she darted at me, her hair fluttering behind her. The petite thing’s mirror-like exterior rippled.

“Strong and durable, let the strength of Lord Nabu shield!”

A shield of metal sprang up before me and then blocked her attack. The shield rang like a gong that had been struck. The sound echoed through the room. Hagane stepped back as the shield vanished out of being.

“You have fast reflexes, Leo,” Hagane said.

“Was that wise?” asked Maya. “You could have run the perv through.”

“I would have stopped,” Hagane said.

“I loved it,” said Crystal. “You got to keep the dirty boy on his toes. Can’t let him think that he can just stay relaxed. This world sounds dangerous.”

“Those dwarves,” Terra groaned.

“Yeah,” Lana Fulmine nodded. “Still, he can die, Hagane. Let’s train safely.”

Hagane shrugged. “Leo needed to know how fast he could deploy the spell. In a battle, there will be little time for thought.”

I cupped her face, feeling the smooth metal of it. “That’s just fine. You’re right. I needed to know. When Usiku trained me to fight, she didn’t hold back.”

“Yes, she did,” Lana Fulmine said. “Or you would have died. But you improved fast.”

“Maybe have Granite Flesh on before having Hagane try to skewer you,” suggested Maya. “That way, if there’s an accident.”

“I should have thought of that,” Hagane said. “Wise.”

“How fast does the Fist of Earth spell travel?” Terra asked. “It sounds cool. Fist of Earth.”

As I chanted, I punched my first forward. “Hard as rocks, let the first of Lord Abzu punch!”

A ball of rock hurtled from my fist and slammed into the wall at the far end of the throne room in a shatter that cracked some of the stones.

“About as fast as Steel Batter,” I said. “Or Dark Dagger.”

“That looks like it hurts,” Maya said.

Then there were the magics I hadn’t used. I had seen them. So when I chanted, “The sharp gleam of ice, let the icy ax of Lord Anshar fall!” I wasn’t surprised by the ax-like blade of ice that slashed across the field.

I had seen that spell kill several of my monster girls. It had almost killed me.

“Vicious,” Hagane said. “That would do great damage to any creature.”

“Yeah,” Maya said, shuddering.

“Slipper and treachery, let the slick cold of Lord Anshar coat!”

Slick made a patch of ice appear over the floor beneath Hagane’s feet. She gasped as she suddenly slipped and fell. She landed on her back, groaning. She tried to get up, but it was too slippery.

“Shit, sorry,” I winced and rushed to get to her. I hit the ice and—

I crashed down hard on my tailbone. I groaned, lying on my back on the slick patch of ice I made. Maya, of course, laughed. So did Crystal. The pair of them filled the throne room with their mirth. Terra and Lana darted to the edge of the slick.

“You okay, Leo?” Terra asked, her large, clay-like breasts jiggling.

“Fine,” I groaned.

“Dismiss the spell so you can get out of it,” said Lana Fulmine. “Hagane can’t even move.”

“It’s too slippery,” gasped my animated statue.

“No, no, there’s a spell I should have cast on myself first. Sure Step.” I winced at the pain in my tailbone. “Across treacherous steps, let the confidence of Lady Kishar bless!”

Suddenly, I wasn’t slipping on the ice. I stood up, groaning, like I was on normal stone. I took two steps to Hagane and scooped her up. For a girl made of living metal, she was surprisingly light. No heavier than she would be in our world.

Interesting.

I carried her off and sat her down. “I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

A shy smile split her lips. “Would it involve you ... eating me out?”

“Yes, it will,” I said.

Frozen Fall was another spell that I had seen Led use. It created a chunk of ice above someone’s head that then fell and crushed them. It was brutal, simple, and effective. It was easy not to notice what was right above your head. If you didn’t know the spell, it could be hard to dodge.

“Reflective as a mirror, let the frozen surface of Lord Anshar blind!”

A sheet of ice appeared and reflected light that dazzled the wall. Ice Gleam would blind enemies. I had two spells like that from two different spheres of magic. Though Blind was more direct, this could affect more enemies. The spells were all so interesting.

“Not sure how useful Chill Sleep will be,” I said. “It puts me into a state of suspended animation.”

“Like you’re playing possum?” Crystal asked. “Seems like it could save your ass one day.”

“Yeah, if I’m attacked by a bear,” I muttered.

“Well, werebears exist,” Terra pointed out. “You actually could be attacked by one.”

“Huh.” She was right.

There was one more Ice spell I knew, but it was a ritual. Deep Freeze. It put an area permanently into the depths of winter. It seemed like a cruel thing to do to an area. Like a way to punish the masses if they didn’t like what I was up to. I could imagine it had been used by other dungeon builders. Make your fields always covered in snow. Starve you out until you surrendered.

Not my style.

That left Light.

“Brilliant and revealing, let the light of Lord Shamash float!” I chanted and then a ball of light appeared beside me. Illuminate would be useful invading another dungeon builder’s domain. On my own, not so much.

“Neat,” said Crystal. “You can be our flashlight, little bro.”

“Our own nightlight,” Maya suggested.

“Mmm, while I’m eating out that wet, little pussy of yours, he can stand there and shine light on us so we can see the naughty things we’re doing. He’ll get so hard. So aching. Just wanting to play with us, but we won’t let him.”

“Uh, speak for yourself, Crystal,” Maya said. “I’d be sucking his dick or something. Mmm, he’s got such a wonderful cock.”

“You’re just as dirty as him,” said Crystal.

“Yep,” I said. “Maya’s a big perv, too.”

“You corrupted me,” my best friend sighed. “What’s a girl to do when she’s in a giant perv’s harem?”

“Right?” Crystal asked.

Hagane shivered. “I ... like that you’re perverted, Leo. It makes me feel so ... so ... bad.”

I winked at my animated statue.

“Strobe is one I probably shouldn’t cast. It makes a pulsing ball of light that is very distracting. You’ll all be staring at it, just drooling. You won’t look hot at all.” I smiled. “I can’t have that. I’m a giant perv, after all.”

“The biggest,” Maya said.

“Yeah, the way he used to stare at my tits every time he came in for coffee was so sad,” Terra added. “I mean, he drooled sometimes. It was embarrassing.”

I shrugged. “Tits are worth drooling over. Especially a big pair like yours.”

“The way he would pant after Mrs. Lucina’s ass,” Maya added. “We’d walked to school, and that MILF would be working in her garden. Poor Leo, he would be hard before we got to your coffee shop, then he’d have to deal with your tits. And let’s not forget the cheerleaders we’d pass warming up. Alizee and her girls would have him melting.”

“Only for Ms. Trueno to walk in and make him explode,” Hagane added. “You used to just stare at her big boobs.”

“You going to bring Ms. Trueno to this world?” Maya asked. “She’d make a hot fire girl, right?’

My dick throbbed at a different woman being my Fire companion. “Maybe.” I shrugged. “There are four glyphs for me to get. Fire, Wind, Thunder, and ... Death.”

I knew the perfect girl for Death. Question was, did I want to get that Glyph ever?

I shook my head and went back to practice. “Woven of light and lies, let the radiance of Lady Sherida conceal!”

Light rippled around me and then the girls all gasped. Lana Fulmine’s jaw dropped. I grinned, feeling like I was the same, but they were all clearly seeing me differently. I used Disguise to change my appearance.

“Did you just become Baron Doom?” demanded Crystal.

“Mmm, do you want me to put on those booty shorts, Leo?” purred Lana Fulmine. “Do you want me to be Jane Dangerous and do some role-playing again?”

“Wait, again?” Crystal asked. “Did Leo pretend to be your arch-nemesis and then fuck you.”

Lana nodded. She was famous for playing Jane Dangerous, the video game character who plundered tombs, in the live-action version. Baron Doom was her main bad guy. “He fucked my ass. It was so hot.”

“It was before I had any other Companions,” I muttered. “So I really look like him?”

“Down to the dumb mustache,” said Maya. “Wow, that’s a great disguise. I would never tell it was you.”

I nodded and dismissed it. Dazzling Sword was an attack spell I had seen Led use. It slashed a blade of light that could leave you half-blinded and dazed by the attack even if it missed you. Like all the Glyphs, Light had a weapon associated with it. Sword. Lightning had a spear, Dark a dagger, Earth a fist, Ice an ax. What was Metal? The shield? Maybe.