Chapter 279: Nick of Time (1/2)
”...And so we came back here.” Mike concluded, having explained most of the situation to the rest of the party. He decided to leave out the bit about Reber being a Reincarnated person from Earth, since he wasn't quite ready to tell Lily and William just yet. He'd only known them for a short period of time, after all.
That said, he did want to speak with Morris about it, and planned to do so at the next opportunity. Unfortunately, the bard was still dealing with a number of loose ends that originated with the coalition army. From the sounds of it, he would likely be occupied for another few days at least.
”You lead an interesting life, Master Mike.” William was the first to speak up after he finished. Judging by the way the butler put it, he wasn't exactly certain if that was meant to be a compliment or a complaint.
”Sounds like this demi-realm is a bit more extensive than we originally thought. Do you have any specific plans for the extra space?” Sera asked. Mike wasn't sure, but he thought she was intentionally directing the conversation away from Reber to avoid any awkward questions, which suggested that she might have some idea of his origins.
He shrugged. ”Beyond a place to stay and somewhere to store various things, I hadn't anticipated using it for anything in particular.”
Of course, considering the sheer size of the realm, he'd already intended on bringing in the tools and equipment he'd need to start working on his various crafting skills. Initially, he'd been concerned about being forced to neglect Smithing, but this would solve it nicely.
”Cultivation, perhaps?” Tal suggested. It took Mike a second to realize that she was talking about agricultural cultivation rather than the self-improvement kind.
”That might work…” He glanced over at Reber, who was still busy enjoying the plant lifestyle. By this point, a few birds had perched themselves on his head, and even looked like they were trying to make a nest. ”Hey, do you think the demi-realm could support plant life?”
The tree man slowly held up one wooden finger. He responded in a muted whisper. ”Quietly. I don't want to scare them off just yet. To answer your question, it's possible. The soil's a bit sterile at the moment, but if we can add a bit of fertilizer and introduce some water, it should work. Sunlight is going to be a problem, though. You'll need to adjust a few settings on the control pillar to change the ambient lighting. I'm not sure, but I think that might mean taking down most of the illusions, as well.”
Mike summarized for the others.
”If we can implement all that, it would give you a means of growing your own ingredients.” Sera explained. ”We can even introduce some harmless animal life, should we feel the need to do so.”
[Come to think of it, I've never tried to use Healing Magic on plants before. I wonder what I can do with it.]
William coughed politely. ”While this has been a most fascinating conversation, I'm afraid it is nearly time for dinner. If you would be so kind as to excuse me. I still have a few preparations to make beforehand.”
”Of course.” Mike replied with a nod, quickly noting that Lily had already disappeared while they were talking. He caught sight of her walking back into the dorm, and guessed that she had some kind of project she was working on.
”Alright, since we are done here, I'm going to go back to training. I think I've just about gotten the hang of it.” Sera announced.
[I guess that brings this meeting to a conclusion.]
”Will start. Preparing.” Tal commented, indicating that she would begin working on getting the demi-realm ready for cultivation. It seemed like she was really excited about having some kind of garden to maintain. With Reber's Druidic expertise to assist her, she could probably make something pretty spectacular.
[Now that I think about it, I haven't spoken to him about his future plans, yet. He might want to go his own way.]
Nodding to his departing companions, he made his way over to the tree man, unintentionally scaring the nesting birds away.
”Aww, I was hoping they'd lay their eggs here. It would have been interesting to watch them grow up.” Reber complained when they were gone.
”You are starting to sound like an old man.”
”Ha! I am an old man. If you count my life before reincarnating, I'm probably close to two hundred years old. Anyway, what can I do for you?”
Mike scratched the back of his head. ”Well, the thing is, we're actually planning on traveling in the next few days. Heading to the Riverlands for some business. While I can probably convince the University administration to let you stay here, I was wondering if you had somewhere you'd like to go.”
Reber shot him a sidelong glance. ”Right, I didn't explain it yet. I'm actually soulbound to the demi-realm. Supposedly, it's something that Fatima managed to do in order to keep me there long term. Not too clear on the specifics, but I was told that I can't be away from it for more than a few days...probably.”
”That's rough...probably?”
He shrugged. ”I'm only relating what Fatima told me when she first put me in the Stasis Array. It's possible she was lying, but I'm not sure if I really want to test it. If she was telling the truth, it would end badly for me.”
”...You know, I might be able to fix that. Like I mentioned before, I'm something of an accomplished healer. I've reached the point I can even correct anomalies in the soul.”
”Well, aren't you fancy with your magic and whatnot? Alright, be my guest.”