HP: A Sociopath Gamer In Magic World [ Chapter 88: BoatHouse! ] (Patreon)

Seeing that I wasn't going to catch him, I instead recalled it. Turning to one of the training dummies I pointed my palm at it and called forth a dozen mana strings to wrap around it.

[A Skill has been created through a special action.

[Bind] (Active) LV 1 EXP: 0.00%

A skill to tie an enemy with a string made of mana. It has physical durability and disappears after some time as mana scatters. Since it is made of mana it can even affect objects or creatures of indeterminable form.

Duration: 10 minutes.]

"That's strange," I said after reading the description.

"What is?" Hermes said, landing on my shoulder now that the threat had passed.

"I got another skill that's similar but lacks the part where I can freely control the string."

"Hmm, maybe that's because they sound similar but aren't. Bind could apply to other things like ropes or webs."

"I suppose that could be true, something to test out later," I agreed, making a mental note to try and create different magical constructions in the future, like a net or a sword. But for now, I need to practice with what I have right now.

----------

"Next roll the dice and sum up their total," I said, trying to explain the basic rules of Dungeons and Dragons to the rest of my housemates.

A comic store that I controlled had recently bought a stockpile of the starter sets and I thought it would be an interesting experiment to teach actual wizards the game. On a side note, I couldn't learn any of the spells in the book as their description was too vague to be considered actual spells. Pity.

"Can I be a dragon," Terry asked as he held up the monster book.

"For the last time, your character sheet-" I started before turning to the entrance of the common room and seeing Daphne enter.

She looked around the room before finally spotting me and calling me over with an impatient look.

Standing up I gave everyone at the table an apologetic smile, "Well looks like we'll have to put the game on hold, I better go see what the Princess wants. I suggest taking this time to read through the books I gave you."

With that I left the table and walked over to the blonde witch, "Daphne,"

"Charles. Come let's talk business," she said, gesturing to the exit.

"Lead the way," I said cheerfully, following behind her and closing the door behind us.

Entering an unused classroom, I quickly scanned it using [Observe] to make sure it wasn't a trap. Never can be too careful.

"So, what sort of business did you have in mind?" I asked to take a seat on a nearby desk.

Daphne however didn't answer as she walked towards the teacher's desk and reached undernieht to retrieve a stack of books.

"Oh, you got my books," I said in a semi-excited tone as I made my way over to them, only for Daphne to place a hand on my chest, "Hm?"

"First things first, they're not yours yet. There is the matter of payment," the smaller witch said with a smirk.

Returning her smirk, I took a step back, "Oh fine, have it your way."

"I always do," she said arrogantly.

"Well then, how much do you want for them?" I asked, ready with my own offer.

"I did a bit of digging and found the exact price for each book, this is their total," she said handing me a billing list.

Looking it over I gave her an impressed whistle, "Wow. I know you said it wouldn't be cheap, but 1200 Galleons for 8 books is something else."

"Well the 3 clans don't just sell their manuals to just anyone," Daphne said with a prideful tone.

"Just out of curiosity, what happens if I don't have enough money?" I said.

"There are other ways to pay other than gold. Labor, loyalty… other things," she said trailing off.

I gave her an eyeroll, "You really want me to work for you huh?"

"I truly believe we can do great things together," she said with a confident smile.

"That reminds me, how does the whole student store go?"

"It's going well, I've submitted the petition to the Board of Governors, and they'll be making a decision at their next meeting at the end of May. Now stop changing the subject. Do you have the amount or not?"

With a shake of my head I answered, "It looks like you finally got me. I don't have enough gold to cover it."

Daphne looked triumphant at the news.

"But," I said, cutting her excitement short, "I do have something that will."

"What?" she said, confused.

Giving her a smug look, I continued, "Meet me by the Boathouse at 10 tonight. Oh, and bring the books."

----------

Boathouse:

Using a pocket knife, I sharpened a piece of wood into the rough shape of a wand. I'd been studying the basics of wand making for a few weeks now, and felt I was almost ready to start crafting my own. I still had the Trent wood I got from the Christmas challenge in my inventory.

Hearing footsteps behind me I turned around to see nothing.

"Hello Daphne, so glad you could make it," I called out.

The air rippled as the blonde witch took off her invisibility cloak, "Who did you-"

I tapped by ear, "I recognized the sound of your footsteps."

She huffed, "Well I'm here."

"That you are," I said, putting away my tools and standing up. I stretched a bit before starting to undress, until I was only wearing my pants and white button up shirt.

"What are you doing?" Daphne asked with a hitch in her breath.

Rolling up my sleeves I gave her a confused look and pointed to the water behind me, "Well I'm going to go retrieve the item."

"It's in the lake," she said with a raised eyebrow.