Dark Fate, Chapter 21 (Patreon)

The new character promised in the reward poll is introduced!  

Chapter 21 – New Home

Getting away from the city center wasn’t an issue, now that we had transportation. The Magic Van and my Shadowsoul Transport were both ‘hybrid’ vehicles. If you wanted max performance, you needed to use fuel (gas for the van, mana crystals for the Transport), but there was a low-power mode that allowed you to drive around only using the ambient mana. Low-power was relative, of course, because we were still able to easily kick both vehicles up to 55 MPH. We weren’t going to win any drag races like that, but we could at least cover a good deal of ground fairly quickly.

Magic Van

Type

Vehicle

Rank

Common

This panel van has been redesigned and refit to have a hybrid   drive system. While in Performance mode, the vehicle uses diesel fuel. While   in Economy mode, the vehicle does not use fuel, but has reduced speed and   cargo capacity.

Seating: 2

Performance Mode:

Max Speed: 80 MPH

Max Speed with Cargo: 65 MPH

Cargo Capacity: 4500 lbs

Economy Mode:

Max Speed: 65 MPH

Max Speed with Cargo: 55 MPH

Cargo Capacity: 3000 lbs

The Magic Van was just as the description in the System Shop suggested, a basic panel van, where I could customize the paint job when I ordered it. For simplicity, I picked a black paint job, with my symbol emblazoned in red across the sides. The van only had two seats, but there were customization packs you could buy later, apparently.

Knelfi Shadowsoul Transport

Type

Vehicle

Rank

Rare

A personal transport designed to grow with its bonded user,   Shadowsoul Transports are rarely seen outside of knelfi space. Shadowsoul   transports grow with their users, gaining new abilities every ten levels the   user has. This transport has two modes, Performance and Economy. In Performance   mode, the transport runs off mana crystals. In Economy mode, the transport is   fueled by ambient mana.

Seating: 2

Performance Mode:

Max Speed: 150 MPH

Economy Mode:

Max Speed: 75 MPH

My Shadowsoul Transport, on the other hand, was a thing of beauty. When it first came to me, it was a simple black box. The moment I bled on it, however, that changed.

The black box was now a sleek machine, a motorcycle of jet black and shining chrome. Personally, I preferred the look of choppers, but this sleek racing style bike was definitely winning me over. My symbol emblazoned itself upon the fuselage in red, and a HUD appeared on the windscreen.

At the moment, I was still just level 4, but apparently as I leveled up, it would begin to get powers, the same way my armor would. Even so, at the moment it was fairly tame, with just room for me, and another person riding behind me, and no real features. Hopefully future upgrades would give me more options.

Regardless, we made good time after leaving the System Shop, so it didn’t take us too long to make it from Lenox Square Mall to Hosag Hills, which was a high-end residential community outside the Perimeter in the Windwood area, north of the city proper. Thankfully, the HUD on my transport came equipped with what was essentially magical GPS, so navigating wasn’t too hard. Traffic was nonexistent, since the whole city seemed to be trying to figure out what was going on. Only a few cars were on the roads, not counting police or other emergency vehicles. So, it was only lunchtime when we got to the house.

I’d given Rachel and Talia time to talk while we drove, letting them take the van, while Hibari nestled herself behind me, her chest pressing against my back as she held tight while we leisurely cruised down the roads. The bike was deadly quiet, since it ran on magic, instead of having an internal combustion engine. The only sound the bike made was that of its wheels turning on the asphalt. Honestly, if it weren’t for the slight thrumming vibration when the bike was running, I would have never even known it was on.

“Oh, my! Is this where we’ll be living, Master?”

I chuckled as Hibari spoke up as I brought the bike to a stop. “Yes, Hibari. That idiot was certainly worth more to me dead than alive it would seem.”

I could definitely understand Hibari’s surprise at seeing the house. As Rachel had told me, it was a big house, with a crenelated 10-foot-high stone wall surrounding the 850 x 850-foot plot of land. So, it came to just under 16.6 acres of land, in reality. The house itself was done in a mixture of styles, designed to make the building appear like a castle. Well, a new money interpretation of a castle, focusing on looks rather than defense from invaders. But I could work with this.

Actually, Rachel undersold the house quite a bit. She said it was Eight bedrooms and four bathrooms, but it was clearly not just a simple house. I couldn’t wait to get in and get the full tour.

Thankfully, Rachel knew the code to the gate, which still had power. This was good, because it meant I didn’t need to start breaking things on my new house before we even got settled in. However, it also alerted the people in the house that there were visitors, so, by the time we cruised up to the end of the driveway to the main entrance, there were five people waiting for us.

Zarina Morillo

Beastfolk (Cat) Female

Level 1 Diviner / Scholar

Market Value: $3500

It took everything I had to keep from leering at the woman in the front of the group. Lithe and lean, she was a catgirl with calico fur over all of her exposed body, and she was dressed in a skirt, blouse, and jacket, like a professional business secretary, but her skirt was quite a bit shorter and tighter than what a typical business secretary would wear, unless she was taking more dick-tation than dictation. The baseball bat in her hand looked hilariously out of place.

James Bay

Human Male

Level 1 Ranger / Groundskeeper

Market Value: $2750

To her left was a man who clearly was some kind of former military. He had a scar down the right side of his face, and was dressed in a workman’s clothes. In his hand was a machete, and I could tell he knew his way around it as both a tool and a weapon.

Luna Varela

Elf Female

Level 1 House Mage / Cook

Market Value: $2000

Halfway hiding behind him was a slender elf, dressed in a short black dress, with an apron. Given the rolling pin in her hand, it didn’t take much guessing to say that she was the cook. She looked like a timid thing, but that could just be because she was out of the kitchen.

Sameera el-Niazi

Human Female

Level 1 Rogue / Maid

Market Value: $2500

To Zarina’s right was a woman with Arabic features, wearing the unusual combination of a sexy maid uniform with a hijab. Given the outfits the other women were wearing, and who owned this place before I did, it was pretty clear what was going on here. She was a maid here, but was trying to preserve at least a little of her dignity by wearing her head covering. The knife in her hand shook slightly. Nerves, perhaps?

Shiva Azari

Human Female

Level 1 Fighter / Maid

Market Value: $3000

The last member of the welcoming committee was another maid in a matching uniform and hijab. They did not look like sisters, however. This maid was not trying to hide like the cook was, however. Her hands gripped a mop handle where the mop head had been removed, holding it like a staff or spear.

Rachel stepped up to offer introductions. “Master, these are Zarina, Billy’s tutor and secretary, James, the groundskeeper, Luna, the cook, and Sameera and Shiva, the maids. They are all employed through the estate, using the funds that Billy’s parents arranged for him.”

Zarina frowned, and said, in a lovely Hispanic accent, “Master? Who is this, and where is Master William? He called and said he was going to your home last night, Miss Rachel. So, where is he? I warn you that I will call the police if you are trying to bring some hoodlums in here while the master is away.”

I stepped forward, and said, “Unfortunately for you, Billy is dead, and I am the Master here. He challenged me to a duel under the System, and lost. By the rules of the duel, I now own everything he did, and his soul is trapped in this,” I held up the soul gem containing Billy’s soul, “until I decide to free him.”

The sexretary was shocked. “You can’t do that! Do you know what his parents will do to you?”

“His parents can’t do shit. The world has changed, in case you hadn’t noticed, miss catgirl.” I looked at each of them, and said, “Things are pretty quiet right now, because everyone’s still in shock, but it won’t be long before things start breaking down. The government is not set up to deal with monsters spawning all over the place, and guns aren’t really all that effective at the moment. It won’t be long before the looting starts, even when there aren’t monsters running amok.”

I paused, to make sure I had their attention, and then continued, “I am going to turn this place into a fortress for me and mine. Because I own this property through the System, I can use parts of the System to upgrade it in ways you never would have imagined before. This is going to be the safest plot of land in the entire metro area when I’m done with it. The question is, do you want to be a part of that, or not.”

“Don’t you ignore me! That’s it, I’m calling the police, and the master’s parents! I won’t allow th-AH!” The catgirl’s interjection cut off when I grabbed her by the throat, suddenly shifting into my true form. Her hands scratched futilely at my arm as I lifted her into the air.

THAT got everyone’s eyes on me, that was for sure! “Foolish kitty! You having a choice was just because I was being nice. But I guess I’m going to need to make an example of you.”

I looked into Zarina’s fearful eyes as I took my free hand, and ripped her blouse off in a single pull, exposing her fur-covered breasts to the world. Zarina tried kicking me, but she wasn’t strong enough to break my defenses, even if she had leverage. Slowly, I reached forward with my free hand, and touched her furry belly. “[Slave Brand].”

The catgirl yowled in pain as the brand burned its way into her flesh and her soul. I was surprised to see that it didn’t just burn away her fur, but permanently colored it, as well as the flesh beneath it, so that, no matter if she had hair or shaved, the brand would be visible. When the brand was complete, I released her, allowing her to fall to my feet.

“Zarina, from now on, you are nothing but a slave. My slave. And, as my slave, I order you, strip off those clothes. From now on, you will go naked unless I command otherwise, and you will always be on all fours unless I give you leave to pretend to be human again.”

Zarina growled at me, and said, “As if I would ever do something like that! I don’t care what this stupid System says, I won’t do that!”

“Then why are you already naked?”

Zarina gasped as she realized she had pulled off what remained of her clothes, and was now on her hands and knees, naked for all to see. From her attitude, she was, no doubt, the queen bee around here when Billy was in charge. Now, she was the lowest of the low. Sucked to be her, but she shouldn’t have annoyed me.

Looking to the rest of the newcomers, who were now quite a bit more frightened than they had been, I said, “Now, I can be cruel, or I can be kind. If you wish to remain here, and in my employ, you will have the benefit of safety and security, in return for following me, and none other. What say you?”