City of Sin (Yanyu Jiangnan)

Relaxation

Rosie gasped softly and turned to see Richard, a smile creeping up her face, “It’s been a few days… It just happened while I was working.”

She suddenly recalled something as she spoke these words, her face filling up with apprehension. Richard had once promised to give her a new meditation technique once she reached level 10.

“Not bad, come!” He walked past her, getting a handful of her rear before heading up another floor to his personal workshop.

Rosie hesitated a bit before following; numerous rare materials were stacked within, and although there weren’t any spells restricting entry she typically wouldn’t step foot in there. Still, she went up just in time to see him unlock the magical seal on one of his drawers and retrieve a scroll for it.

Richard stroked the scroll softly, a deciphering spell turning the contents from gibberish into recognisable language, “This is for you. Remember to burn it after you read the contents, and use natural flames.”

Rosie unravelled the scroll she had been given, and a single look made her cry out, “The Deepblue Fantasy!”

Richard nodded, “Yes. From today, you’re considered a mage of the Deepblue.”

Rosie gripped the scroll tightly, mixed feelings running through her head, “You… remembered.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I keep my promises.”

“But…” she lowered her head, “There’s nothing I can do to repay you.”

“Ha! Then what are all those rune cores sitting downstairs? We haven’t even settled the price of those.”

“That’s not the same! You gave me freedom, and now you’re giving me this! Money doesn’t come close!”

Richard smiled and pinched her cheeks, “Look at you, getting even better at sweet talking.”

“It’s just the truth,” Rosie smiled shyly, but her eyes made it clear that she was flirting. Somehow these two different qualities seemed to blend perfectly with her, not seeming fake in the slightest.

Richard snorted, “Alright, I don’t need you growing my ego any further.”

“What else can I help you grow, then?” Rosie’s eyes glimmered with light.

Richard grew serious for a moment, “Nothing for me. Just advance as quickly as you can, that’s the best way you can help.”

“But that’s helping myself too! Ugh, I think you’re just tired now, you should let loose.” She bit her bottom lip and suddenly pushed him, sending him stumbling back into the wall. Richard suddenly felt a sense of warmth as she stepped forward and went down to her knees.

After a few moments of fumbling around with his robe, she found her target and put it in her mouth. Richard’s entire body went rigid and he inhaled sharply before growling like a beast. He almost lost control right then and there, but managed to push her head away for a moment. “Have you been practising?” he snarled.

Forced away, Rosie just raised her head brazenly, “You don’t need any training for these things, just some dedication. Anyway, don’t think I’ll give you a break!” She then pushed his hands away before going back in, and his fortitude crumbled in an instant. He shuddered and roared, back starting to slip towards the ground. Rosie didn’t say anything, just raising one hand to signal victory with her fingers.

However, that simple action lit Richard aflame once more. The regeneration boost from the hydra egg showed itself again as blood rushed down to his limp penis and causing it to jab into the side of Rosie’s cheek. Rosie barely had the time to squeal in surprise before he pulled out and picked her up with one hand, placing her on the table nearby.

This time, the situation was reversed. Richard deftly freed her of her robes and threw them aside before penetrating her immediately. His thrusts were fast and strong, pushing her to the edge of orgasm in only a few moments. Her whimpers quickly turned into screams, and then went silent again as she entered a daze.

She didn’t get the mercy she had afforded him. Richard continued thrusting without allowing her to catch a breath, even teasing her that he would stop if she asked. And ask she did, but that only caused him to go faster as he seemed to forget the words he had uttered about keeping promises only a few minutes ago.

By this point she could barely speak, but she still mustered enough energy to reprimand him loudly. Even that did nothing, and she could only endure the next few minutes of his undivided attention. She didn’t know how many times she had climaxed during it all, but by the time he was done both their bodies were covered in sweat.

Finally laying her back on the ground, Richard fell right beside her. Both of them were panting hard, like fish that had just washed ashore.

“This… isn’t… relaxing… at all…” he huffed.

She barely even moved, just saying lazily, “It would have been… If not… for the… second… half!”

Richard snorted, but the action caused him to grab his stomach for a bit, “How… couldn’t there be… a second half?”

This evoked a sweet smile, “Then don’t blame me.”

……

It took some time longer for the two of them to recover, heading back to his residence to bathe. The sight of a freshly bathed Rosie left him aroused once more, but this time he just clothed up and had her follow him back to the laboratory building, “Alright, take a break from meditation and runecrafting for a bit, you can watch me working and take notes.”

Rosie turned extremely serious as well, “I still have a lot of runes to restore, I’ve only finished four of them.”

When they had destroyed Raymond’s army, Richard had recovered a total of 35 runes that could be restored. Twenty were grade 2, which he would need to work on himself, but the other fifteen elementary runes had been given to her.

The process of restoring a rune normally damaged its structure to an extent. Richard had his ways of ensuring no drops to the boost, sometimes even adding on some features afterwards, but this took more of his time than it was worth. He still stood to profit a little off grade 2 runes, but he would much rather work on other things like more Mana Armaments or Lifesbanes than repair the elementary ones.

Rosie dragged her tired body to help prepare the tools he was asking for. She had thought he would begin restoring the grade 2 runes they had gotten, but when she listened to the list of materials she was stumped. He started grinding the materials into ink himself before pouring it into his pen, growing stern as he entered a state of absolute focus.

“Take care of those grade 2 runes as well,” he said without raising his head.

“What?” Rosie’s heart skipped a beat, “I can’t, my success rate is barely 50%!”

“They’re just standard runes, I wouldn’t mind even if we lost them all. Consider this a test; you pass if you fix up more than half of the runes.” Richard then started working on the rune.

Rosie immediately went silent, slowing hear breathing a bit as she watched closely. She was afraid of missing even the tiniest of details.

Bright light flowed forth from Richard’s body as his mana was poured into the brush, and when the nib met hide a powerful glow burst forth. It took only a few strokes before Rosie held her breath completely; she had recognised the shape and aura of the rune.

Lifesbane! This was her first time seeing Richard craft Lifesbane, a rare opportunity for any runemaster.

……

The sun fell and the moon rose, the moon faded into the morning sun. This cycle continued for seven days before another Lifesbane rune was finished. Richard collapsed right after the final stroke, entering a deep slumber, and Rosie who had spent only an hour a day meditating so she could keep up with him soon followed.

The next morning, the two woke up and shared a massive meal. Right after, Richard began work on the second Lifesbane rune. However, things didn’t go as smoothly this time. His mana went out of control on the third day drafting the rune, forcing him to burn it and start over. However, he only frowned for a few seconds before cleaning up and beginning anew.

This time, he only made it half a day before making a fatal error. Still, he wasn’t moved too much and silently started up again. At this point, he was used to the occasional failures.

Six days later, a second Lifesbane rune was finished. Richard still felt like he had energy to spare, so he spent ten more days crafting two Savage Barrier sets.

By this point, the broodmother had finished up on the hundred mounts ordered by the royal family. Their lifespan had been increased to fifteen years as requested, with various improvements to their physique as well. They could now gallop four hours straight even with a full load, double the standard for a rune knight’s steed.

Even with the worm nest’s help, the broodmother could only produce three of these mounts in a day. The upgrades had far exceeded Emperor Philip’s requests and would easily qualify for a price of 160,000 each, but he would still sell them at the original price. Exceeding expectations was the fastest way to build a client’s trust.