Chapter 39

After a grueling eight hours of work regrowing limbs at the clinic, I made my way back to the apartment. I didn’t quite have the mental fortitude to teleport there, so the trip was slower than normal.

“You have mail on the table,” Stephen said when I let myself into the apartment.

“Thanks,” I said, picking untying the twine that bound the bundle of envelopes and cards. There were more envelopes and cards in my pile than I expected, especially since the initial rush of invitations had already passed.

Hoping to find one specific invitation, I quickly sorted through the mail. My eyes immediately homed in on the blue-silver trim representing mithril, and I eagerly separated the envelope from the rest of the stack.

“Anything interesting?” Stephen asked.

“Maybe. I think this one is from the Porter Guild.”

“Looks like it,” he replied, though I was busy opening the extravagant envelope. Inside was a similarly decorated invitation.

I looked up with a grin. “It’s an invitation to join the Porter Guild. Based on your expression, I’m guessing you got one as well?”

As known teleporters, we both expected to receive an invitation to the soon-to-be established second branch of the Porter Guild.

“I did. Do you still plan to join?”

“Of course! There is no better protection for a Space Magi than joining the Porter Guild. It’ll stop most of the unwanted solicitations as well,” I said, motioning toward the unopened envelopes on the table.

“That’s good. I guess we should take care of the paperwork before we head into the dungeon in the morning.”

Before our evolution, the party had gotten into the routine of delving for about three days, taking a day off, then working with our respective guilds for the next three days before doing it all over again.

However, we’d all agreed to take a bit of a vacation from delving for a few of weeks after reaching the first major milestone. Three weeks of just lounging around whenever I wasn’t working on commissions or regrowing limbs was more than enough to have me itching to return to the dungeon, and the next delve was scheduled for the next morning.

“So, you’re definitely joining too?” I asked. He’d seemed less certain about the possibility the last time we’d discussed the topic.

“Oh, I absolutely want to join,” Stephen replied. “I just wasn’t sure I’d get an invitation. Besides, how else will I see the world? I can’t rely solely on you to take me everywhere,” he added with a grin.

I chuckled quietly before glancing around the small apartment. It had come fully furnished, just like my previous accommodations, but it was obviously several steps down in quality from what we’d both been given upon arriving in Dia.

“Do you want to hang out here for a while, or head into the sanctuary?”

“I’ll stay here,” he replied, holding up the access pad. “I started a new book earlier. I’d like to read a little more before I call it a night.”

“Okay. I’ll come back and get you in a couple of hours, then?” I asked, knowing that I’d only distract him from his story if I stuck around. Doubly so if I brought Aerie out.

She was currently in stasis since I didn’t like leaving her all alone. Though it slowed her growth a bit, I felt like it was a better option than leaving her isolated for hours while I worked.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Besides, who knew what kind of trouble she would get into if I left her in my demesne without supervision? Putting her in stasis while I was away simply made more sense.

I spent most of the next two hours playing with my small asolade companion before eventually retrieving Stephen from our Sorenguard apartment. The night passed quickly, even with my efforts to extend it through time dilation.

Having gone to see the guildhall being built, I was barely familiar enough with the area to teleport us directly outside after Stephen and I shared an early breakfast. I could have let Stephen handle his own transportation, but that seemed a little rude considering how much stronger my teleportation skill was.

It wasn’t that he didn’t use his skill as often as I did; it was simply a matter of experience and familiarity. I’d spent my entire previous life as a Space Magi, whereas he’d only just obtained the ability to teleport in the last year.

While slotting a skill made its use intuitive, experience still mattered. That was why skill evolutions varied so dramatically between individuals.

Though it was quite early, the guildhall was not empty when we arrived.