Rae woke up just before breakfast, after a much longer nap than was usual for her.
Like Karl, her growth speed was unprecedented, and the extra power that he was pouring into everyone's spaces had the comforting feeling of a warm blanket, which made it rather difficult to want to get out of bed.
It took her a while to determine what the change was that was making the power so comforting. But once she did, Rae silently celebrated.
The energy quality had changed, coming in straight at Totem Rank, though Karl hadn't actually advanced. It was simply that his mental power was so high that he didn't have to refine the energy downward to be able to store it.
So, the stored energy from the weapons was passed around, forcing everyone's level upwards as their bodies adapted, and the feeling was incredibly pleasant.
A soft bell rang at the entrance to the Tiny World, and Karl's eyes shot open.
An elderly Dwarven woman was standing at the portal, on the keg room side, waiting for someone to answer with a shocked expression. Now that the sun was coming up in the Tiny World, it was obvious how large this pocket dimension was, and she had not been prepared to see anything like it.
"Good morning. You must be the Innkeeper's little sister." Karl greeted her, and the old woman laughed.
"A natural flirt, you are. I'm his mother, and breakfast is ready, if you want to gather your ladies to eat before it gets too crowded. The overnight crowd are already up and about, but we've reserved your table for the morning."
Karl sent a System Message, and a mental note for Cara and Thor to wake everyone up to eat, then waited as the sound of movement came from the house.
"The ladies should be along shortly. Ah, there they are. We will be right up."
The Dwarf nodded and grabbed a barrel of ale. "Grab two more of those on your way up, would you? You're a strapping young lad."
"Of course. Where do you want them?"
"Behind the bar. I've already cleared the racks for them. To think that brat managed to go through three kegs in a day. How much work was he planning to make for me and his father?" She grumbled as she stomped up the stairs.
Rae transformed and straightened her black lace dress. "I have a good feeling about today. There is a freshness in the air, like everything has been reset and anything is possible."
Karl had no idea what she meant by that, but the atmosphere in the tavern when he brought the kegs up to put behind the bar was lively and hopeful. A far cry from what he was expecting of a city full of Dwarves whose city had just been crushed by a Totem Ranked Ogre spawn.
"You feel odd today. A bit more monstrous than I remember. I wonder if that change to your nameplate is more than just a cosmetic effect?" She suggested.
Karl shrugged. "I also made great progress with my meditation last night. The energy stored from the Ogres is excellent for my progress."
Ophelia tilted her head as she examined him. "Your aura has improved as well. I think that's from the gains at the Trial, though. The new skills you got. Why didn't you choose to upgrade your class? Something better than you've already got would have to be absolutely monstrous."
"I agree. But I was already given the requirements to upgrade my class to the next in the series, and I have to be Totem Ranked, with all my beast spaces filled or combined to remove the empty ones.
I didn't want to change the progression path without a good reason, so I went for the status optimization. I can't say that it was the wrong choice, I've definitely gained power. But we will still need to find a Dungeon or Trial after I advance so that I can complete the Class change." Karl informed her quietly, so he wasn't giving all the details to the whole tavern.
Dana speared a chunk of potato with her fork. "How about we travel on the ground for a while? We're headed inland anyhow, so we might as well as see if we can trigger any lucky encounters that we wouldn't have if we just flew over, looking for the big events."
Thor perked up. "That's not a bad idea. We could have a wagon. A wagon trip would make travelling much more fun."
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