(Book 1 Complete!) Side Quest [Isekai / LitRPG]

"You know," Mariv said, scratching his chin as Logan prepared to leave, "I completely forgot I have an active Diminishing Spell on that egg." He made a funny noise. "I've grown so used to holding it, I suppose it's become second nature."

Logan paused with one foot at the stairwell edge, glancing at the egg. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Mariv waved his hand in a casual motion and muttered a few words under his breath. The egg shimmered briefly before swelling to three times its previous size.

Logan gawked at the now much-larger egg, his arms struggling to adjust to its sudden weight increase.

"Careful," Razor growled, still seated and enjoying her tea, although her voice went terse for a moment.

Logan shifted it into the nook of his elbow. "Don't worry, it hasn't broken."

She sipped her drink with a soft smile, and Logan realized she had only been joking. "Of course it hasn't. Dragon eggs never crack." She sighed. "Not until it has the heat of a thousand firestorms and the chill of a thousand blizzards, anyway." Her gaze locked with his. "Which is why we must restore my home if it is ever to hatch."

After she gave a long slurp, Logan squirmed and addressed Mariv instead. "Um, I don't suppose you could shrink it again? This definitely is not fitting in my pocket."

Mariv chuckled. Instead of answering, he beckoned Logan to follow him to a corner of the room, where he rifled through a stack of books. "No doubt the Adventurers' Guild will give you an interdimensional storage space when you join, but why wait? You have the Void affinity now, after all. Lucky for you, I have the perfect welcome gift to our land."

Razor hummed from her seat. "Luck, he says. But it's the egg, I say."

Logan didn't know who to give his attention, but with Mariv still searching for this gift, he settled on Razor. "Why's that?"

"See the markings on the egg's base?"

Logan checked. "Yes."

"That is the dragonet's rune sign. The Rune of Radiant Fortune." She lifted her teacup to toast him. "More luck may be in store for you."

"Huh," Logan said, examining the rune sign from multiple angles. "I don't suppose that'll make me invincible in a fight?"

She snorted. "Hardly."

"Luck," said Mariv, holding up a tome in a triumphant hand, "is more about placing you in fortuitous conditions. But it alone is not enough to save you."

"And that is?"

Mariv glanced at the book. "Well, no, not this either. But it will help you." He dusted off its cover and presented it to Logan, who took it gingerly in his hands.

"This is a skill book. Using it will consume it. It's a utility skill specific to the Void Affinity, so I've never had a need for it. I'm glad I held onto it."

Logan opened it at the gnome wizard's urging. Sigils covered the pages, indecipherable to Logan. The patterns slowly began shifting, like bubbles in a bathtub as the drain opened. It dizzied him for a moment, and then the words rose off the page to circle his head. He closed the book and handed it back to Mariv, but the text continued to pour out of it like a scrolling marquee, and then all the text soared into his crown. They felt like little hooks and barbs pricking into his mind. Not painful, but not comfortable either.

Congratulations! You have learned a utility skill!
Interdimensional Storage Ripple (non-leveled)
What harm is a bit of clutter when you have a pocket dimension to store it for you?

"Thanks for the warning…" Logan said, rubbing his temple.

Mariv waved his concern away with a small laugh.

Even Razor snickered. "This coming from the boy who absorbed a monster core."

"Yeah, well, that was by accident." It wasn't like Logan knew how these things worked.

Mariv leaned in, oblivious of personal space. "Do you notice anything different?"

Logan frowned and looked at his fingers. He didn't feel different.

Then he saw it. In the top-right corner of his vision, a small blur rippled. Under Mariv's instruction, he engaged with it, intuitively and mentally tapping on it. The ripple enlarged and appeared in front of Logan.

Mariv clapped, now able to see it. "Ah, perfect. You ought to be able to place the egg inside, so you don't have to haul it around."

Logan did so. His hands crossed the threshold, which was bizarrely devoid of any sense of temperature. What looked like his hands passing through liquid quicksilver felt as if he was reaching into room temperature water. And once his hands were through the barrier, he sensed the contents—or lack thereof in this case—rather than saw it.

He practiced retrieving the egg and putting it away again.

"This," said Logan with a giddy grin, "will definitely come in handy."

"That's why they call it a utility skill," said Razor, stating the obvious.

Logan was too enthralled by the ripple and how intuitive opening it was to entertain her comment.

"With this," said Mariv, "you don't have to worry about anybody finding the egg." He lifted a finger. "But that also means you should not use it in front of others." The brief cautionary tone that entered his voice faded as quickly as it came. "Unlike physical dimensional storage units, like bags and chests, you do not have to worry about accidentally leaving it behind."

Logan nodded, "I'll just use it for the egg for now." If he ever had to keep anything else safe and private, he felt good knowing he had this.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Wait," Logan said. "You said the Exalted Kin have rotational affinities. Will I still be able to use this if I end up switching to another affinity."

"Since this is a utility skill, I would assume so. The affinity requirement only applies to the initial skill consumption and will not consume mana later. But I'm not sure about other skills. You'll have to let me know."

Logan left Mariv's house, passed the Adventurers' Guild, and crossed the hill that then hid it from view. At the chicken yard, he nodded a hello to Liorna as she exited the coop, and she smiled and waved back.

"Oh, watch it," he said, pointing to a chicken that hopped past her and over the threshold.

"How did you get out here," she said, nudging the little bird back into the coop before it could escape.

In the town square, Logan scanned the bounty board. The apothecary's request for Luminthistle was still up, which was reassuring. He ducked into the shop to let the shopowner know he had the buds but needed to finish his guild induction before completing the transaction. There was a new bounty for gray cave moss, too, of which he already had half the required amount, so he accepted that as well.

As he approached the inn, he kept his eyes open for the woman searching for the amulet, but he didn't see her. Maybe somebody inside would know where he could find her. There had been no amulet-retrieval quests on the board, so he probably didn't have to follow the same guild channels. That was, of course, assuming she was offering a reward, anyway.

When he entered the inn, he did a quick scan for any familiar faces, and sure enough, Senna sat at a back table. She raised her glass to him, and he walked over. She was sitting with some others. He vaguely remembered them from the other night, although everything had been a little bit hazy.

Senna flagged down the serving maid for another pint of Shadowmoor Porter before Logan could refuse. "We'll just add it to your tab," she said to him with a smirk.

Logan was about to protest when a tall, strikingly beautiful blonde woman sitting across from him leaned in, her piercing blue eyes narrowing with amusement. "So," she began, her tone light but teasing, "you're the one Senna says makes those strange cat sounds in the forest when he thinks no one's looking, yes?"

Logan's face burned as blush crept up his neck. "Ah, she told you about that, did she?"

"Oh, aye, she did," chimed in a short, broad-shouldered person whose beard was so thick and long it pooled at the table's edge. Logan didn't need to Analyze to recognize him as a dwarf. His voice carried a cordial tone, tinged with curiosity. "And those gauntlets of your. You made 'em yourself, eh?"

Logan nodded, pride swelling in his chest. "I did, yeah."

The dwarf let out an approving grunt. "Clever work. Sturdy lookin'."

"One claw wobbles," Senna stated. She raised her hands defensively when Logan shot her a look. "It does."

The dwarf didn't pay her any mind. "They've seen some use, I'll wager?"

Logan shrugged, downplaying his response. "A bit. They get the job done."

Senna set her drink down and leaned in. "So, have you joined the guild yet?"

"Uh, not yet," Logan admitted. "They're actually approaching me tomorrow."

The blonde raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Approaching you? That's not something they do for just anyone. You must've made quite the impression."

Senna folded her arms, her brow furrowed with mock suspicion. "How does someone who didn't even know the Guild Code manage to grab their attention enough for them to approach him?"

Before Logan could answer, a snooty voice cut through the conversation. "Funny how quickly the guild's standards shift when they need fresh recruits."

Logan turned toward the speaker, who sat slightly away from the group. His pointy ears marked him as an elf, which a quick Analysis confirmed. And just a standard elf, unlike the wood elf from the guild. His demeanor was aloof, and his robes screamed mage. With silver-threaded hair and piercing gray eyes, he seemed like someone perpetually skeptical of everything.

Senna elbowed Logan. "That's Alden. Cheery as usual. Oh yeah, and that's Cassandra and Bromlin."

Cassandra smiled at him in a way that made the room feel a little warm, and Bromlin raised his tankard.

"The guild," continued the mage, his tone flat, "can't even keep their monster alarms working properly. I'm not sure earning their interest says much about actual merit."

Okay, buddy, who put a burr in your shoes? Logan guessed the elf was part of their team with the way Senna introduced him, but his responses also reminded him of the apparent discord between the Mage's Guild and Adventurers' Guild. Could someone be in both?

He held his tongue, though, choosing instead to force a small smile. If anything, the mage's comment deflected some attention away from him, which wasn't entirely unwelcome.

"I think I heard the guild administrators mention your name, Cassandra."

Senna held her hand out and Bromlin placed a coin in it and both of them drank. Cassandra rolled her eyes at them.

"I'm sure it's nothing."

"Pah!" Bromlin slammed his tankard down. "Her father is First Reconjurant Elias Varesh." He frowned at Senna and grumbled. "If I had known that, I would never have made that bet with you, Senna. That wasn't fair. Guild can't keep her family's name out of their mouths."

Senna smirked and flipped the coin before tucking it in her pocket. "Don't worry Brummy, it just goes toward our drink funds."

She and Bromlin laughed and clinked steins.

"Well, I'm honored to meet you, Cassandra," Logan said. He couldn't look away from her eyes.

"I prefer standing on my own merit," she said flatly, "not my father's."

"Sorry, who's your father?"

She looked bemused as she opened her mouth and stuttered. Logan winked. At a loss for words, her confusion faded into a humored smile.

The conversation shifted as the serving girl returned, looking a little frazzled. "Sorry, that's the last of the porter for tonight," she said apologetically. "Some problems downstairs. We can't get into the next keg. But we've still got Gnashridge Amber and Echo Glen Wheat Ale on tap."

"Problems?" Logan asked, his brow furrowing. "What kind of problems?"

"Oh," the maid began, but Senna cut in to order the amber.

Logan didn't think Senna meant to dismiss the server, but the poor girl sounded on edge even under her cheery hospitality voice.

"What problems?" he repeated, louder this time.

The serving girl hesitated, her grimace deepening. "Dreadmaw Beetles," she admitted reluctantly. "Big ones. Up to level 18. Salt barriers don't even work on these."

The table quieted. Bromlin's face hardened as he sat up straighter, his hand instinctively brushing the handle of his axe.

"Level 18?" Logan asked.

The girl nodded, and Senna elbowed Cassandra. "This is where he does that parrot routine."

Logan ignored her and focused on the maid. "How long have they been down there?"

"Two days," the maid replied before realizing her mistake. Her eyes widened, and she looked as though she had said too much. "But they're contained," she added hastily. "They won't cause any trouble upstairs."

Cassandra leaned forward. "Why haven't you posted a quest for it?"

"We don't have the funds," the maid admitted, wringing her hands. "I was planning to talk to the guild tomorrow about an accommodation, but..."

"Tomorrow's too late," Bromlin said firmly. "We can't let level 20 pests get too comfortable. Bugs that strong could turn into a swarm if left unchecked."

Senna leaned back, a mischievous grin on her face. "Sounds like a fun warm-up. What do you say, Logan? Feel like smashing some bugs?"

Logan hesitated, glancing between the group. "Now? Without a quest?"

"Why not?" Cassandra asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "It's not like they're going anywhere. And if they're contained in the cellar, it should be easy enough to deal with."

The mage let out a sigh. "A waste of time. But I suppose it's better than listening to you all prattle on. I'll join, if only to keep you from getting yourselves killed."

"Great vote of confidence, Alden," Senna said brightly.

The dwarf grinned and thumped Logan on the back. "Well, lad? You in?"

Logan had seen a Dreadmaw Beetle back with the torch slugs. The thing was massive. A small shiver ran down his spine, but he ignored it and chuckled instead. He did a quick scan, and the others were all level 12, with Alden at 15. Having their support would surely help him gain experience more easily.

"Sure," he said. "I don't want to wake up to find beetle eggs in my bed."

The group laughed, and Senna stood. "Let's go squash some bugs."

The serving girl thanked them and led the group toward the basement stairs, asking them to keep it as quiet as they could.

Logan clenched his gauntlets, ready to carve some carapace.