Chapter 295

  Scar Tissue

  There are times when things come in bunches. Honestly, I blame myself for not seeing that these types of things come in threes.

  Yes, pregnancies, deaths, and taxes. Fortunately, when you are constantly Broke, you don’t really worry about the latter. Yeah, yeah, I likely get paid, but I don’t really bother with cash. Instead, I just focus on getting items, materials, and equipment that will help me do my next major project.

  In fact, I am pretty sure that my Simulacrums have forged my signatures on requisition forms. Well, I guess it isn’t exactly forging if it is me technically signing my own name for products that I would want to use. As such, I can’t really be too angry or upset, just accepting of the fact that I still can’t get money. Though I do have a shiny new self-cleaning Mythical level Murder Pit.

  Why do I think of money, or lack thereof at times like these? Well simple as it seems that yet someone else in my extended network of coverage is now pregnant.

  Yes, the stupid Water Pomeranian Guardian is now pregnant.

  Looking at her, I can see that golden karmic threads are holding her in place, leading me to realize that this is somehow either ordained or the children are somehow linked.

  At that realization, I mentally scan the area and see all the other children born within the past few hours. There is of course Redding Spiritlight, my first grandchild in this world. Which is sad considering I am technically 15 years old with an appearance of a 14-year-old colossal pixie. At least that is how my avatar allegedly appears to others, though I really don’t know what to make of all of that.

  All this is to say that I still have three years in-game time until I can legally date others, even though I am married. Which should be a flaw that I get compensated for.

  Golden thread.

  At the idea of me deserving to be compensated for being forced to maintain a marriage, I feel golden threads of karma flow away from me off into the ether.

  With that, I don’t know if I just cursed myself or somehow made it so I now can get rewarded for being forced into carrying on this sham marriage, but regardless I do feel the threads of fate stretching out from me and binding me to that inevitable event.

  The sad part is, I know that once something does come up, I will only have myself to blame.

  Speaking of big mistakes, I press on with my diagnosis of the clueless Pomeranian.

  With Zero gone, and or with me the entire time, I am relatively certain that these are not his illegitimate children. Which is good as this girl is not good enough for my Zero.

  That said, I do kind of feel sorry for Zero, as I have been keeping Zero so busy that he hasn’t even had the chance to mingle with the Water Pomeranian Princess, despite his clear attraction to the girl.

  Still, I do want to find out who the father is, and decide to do a deeper preliminary investigation.

  Third-Eye Scan.

  Using my third-eye I peer deeply into the inner workings of the Pomeranian princess and begin dissecting the individual strands of mana and deeper energy that make up the pups.

  Seven clusters.

  Using my Tier VII version of Angel’s Sight I see seven distinct motes.

  Looking deeper, I see the slow matriculation of energy pooling into the Guardian’s stomach, which then gest pooled together and fed distinctly to seven different clusters.

  “Seven pups,” I begin calling out my findings. I know Penelope and a few others are now gathering around to witness my diagnosis.

  The most obvious finding is that there is a mixture of energy types. Water is of course the easiest type of energy to spot, but additionally there is a lighter shade of energy that I note of as the male provider. For a moment I am confused as I see a bit of darker Air and Death energy mixing from the neutral pools of energy that are getting altered to feed and form each child.

  An obvious reason why these shades of Death and Air energies are concerning is that they are clusters that form in Zero. Though I would expect at least one to have the tell-tale purple hues of true Spirit magic, if Zero was involved.

  This is why I feel sort of reluctant to figure out who the actual father of these children is, as I can only imagine incestual dragon guardians having genetic flaws that would make my third eye look tame by comparison.

  “The seven pups show affinities to Water from the mother’s side. While the father’s side seems to exhibit signs of Death, and Air energy,” I continue listing off my findings.

  Focusing deeper, I see the conversion of seemingly clear initial energy that slowly gets converted to feed and bond with each individual pup. Looking at the energies rate of slow fusion, I mentally begin calculating backwards and somehow predict, or maybe have my Cassiopeia’s Foresight go off, showing me both the past and the inevitable future all at once.

  Seeing everything, I begin listing off my details, “date of conception was three weeks ago. Time of delivery will be in thirty-four weeks, on a Tuesday.”

  Then, my mind clears as I see the father being there for both the beginning and at the end.

  “What the DUCK!” I call out, as I suddenly feel very angry.

  I also realize why I suddenly thought of Rob during this whole fiasco.

  “Kujo!” I exclaim, then blinking my third-eye shut a few times to break my intense stare into the womb of this mother I look on and realize that I spoke that last part out loud.

  A fact that is noted by the behemoth of a mother suddenly sitting upright and seeming to glower at the world around her.

  Poof.

  Almost as if on cue, Kujo shifts his way out of this reality and proceeds to scramble away.

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  “Kujo,” I hiss, my words laced with power and emotion. Somehow I inadvertently find myself lacing my words with Mana Pheromone Communication energy as I send my one word command through the surrounding ether and let the words pierce into and through Kujo, stopping him directly in his tracks.

  Seeing that he paused, I say those three iconic words from Mortal Kombat, “get over here!”

  While I didn’t shout the words, I found that using this newfound Mana Pheromone Communication skill, I didn’t need to yell. For all I did was let my mana speak my discontent for me.

  WHOOSH!

  My words flew out covering everyone and everything in my immediate area. Being as I was focusing my energy in a direction that pointed towards where Kujo had exited and was trying to slink away from, I saw when my words passed over the Dire Phase wolf, sending a shiver of fear down his spine.

  Only once I saw the look of fear on his fur, and the quick lowering of his head did I mentally relax. As I knew Kujo would start coming back.

  Silence.

  Everyone around me was quiet and remained completely still.

  Even Ms. Kujo seemed to hold her breath as she waited for the resonance of my words to dissipate. She of course was not alone, for all of the suckling pups seemed to stop as well.

  Fortunately, all it took to bring back the shirking of duties Mr. Kujo were those four mana infused words.

  On instinct, I found myself pointing to a spot in front of me to my right, which would be almost parallel to where the water twit of a Pomeranian Guardian was still laying down.

  For her part, the Pomeranian looked frightened to be here.

  Seeing her expression and the way the other Pomeranian Guardians were seeming to lean further away from us, I felt sorry for the girl. This wasn’t her fault and reminded me of the day when I found out my four kids would now have a new stepsibling.

  Taking a breath to calm myself, I realized that this was oddly familiar, and yet different from my own set of circumstances. Namely, my role in this other than making sure all the babies were happy and healthy, I had no claim in this scenario. Mr. Kujo, or who I was now mentally calling Rob Kujo was on his own.

  Poof.

  Finally, Mr. Kujo reappears and lowers his mighty head as he seems to all but beg for forgiveness from the spot that I indicated him to sit.

  Seeing him, the once proud stalker of these plains being brought so low, I just shake my head and speak my mind.

  “I don’t know what’s worse, the idea of little Guardians of the Inbreeding running around, or the fact that Mr. Kujo cheated on Ms. Kujo with a Pomeranian?”

  Hearing my admonishment the Water Guardian looks frightened for a moment. As she stares at me, I can almost see flashes of fear running in her eyes. No doubt she remembered when I turned her into a Pomeranian to begin with and likely set this whole chain of events rolling.

  Taking a moment to stare at the karma of the Water Guardian and myself, I see some of the last major clumps of dark karma get melted away. That’s when I realize that this event right here is all due to my own actions. Yes, had I not tried to mess with the way of the world, this Guardian would not be a base Pomeranian that can morph into a dragon. Rather she would just be a Dragon that would likely have eventually ended up with Zero.

  Now though, now it seems that at least for the time being that such a relationship was off limits. Not only was the Water Pomeranian a different base species entirely, but seeing the changes, I am pretty sure Zero could never have properly mated with this female.

  That said, I do feel now, and have always felt that the Water Pomeranian was a better match for Zero anyways. Given the recent developments, it is clear that that relationship could wield pure dragon babies.

  Seeing the complete look of fear on the Water Guardian, no doubt caused by the intense look of complete concentration I have, the Water Guardian quivers slightly, which is when I act.

  “Don’t worry, you are fine,” I calmly explain to the now frightened water Guardian. “You will be healthy in your pregnancy and deliver a healthy litter of pups.”

  Chime.

  As I say the words, I feel a deep karmic bond tie me to this Water Pomeranian and more importantly her litter. I don’t like this one bit, but I don’t believe that children should suffer due to actions taken by the parents.

  Then as I almost expected, I felt a mental quest activate within my mind.

  The quest seems oddly reminiscent of the one I mentally made to Ms. Kujo. Though there is one major difference. It takes me a moment, only to realize that it is the fact that these aren’t godpuppies. While I will be mentally and karmically connected to these pups, the quest seemed to understand that I didn’t want the same level of burden or scrutiny that I felt and still feel for the godpuppies. That is the children born of Ms. And Mr. Kujo.

  I am also slightly mad that Zero will have his little heart broken by this development.

  Shaking my head, I cast a gentle Heal over the mother Guardian, and make sure to provide enough energy to help the children grow healthily for the next little bit.

  Seeing that the new upcoming set of pups is momentarily taken care of, I look around for my own thirteenth pup. The pup that was seemingly unwanted and the runt of the litter.

  Spinning about, I quickly see my tiny void of darkness nearby.

  To my surprise, it is my Apprentice and not Penelope or Gwen who are now holding my pup. The pup that I actually truly consider my actual godpuppy. Despite the other twelve that are once again suckling from the now irate Ms. Kujo, I decide to focus on feeding my own pup.

  “You there, Apprentice Spray-Tan bring over my pup,” I state, while gesturing for my Apprentice to come forward.

  For her part, the Apprentice just stands there dumbfounded for a moment.

  “You mean me?” She asks.

  “Yeah, that is your name, right? You see any other Spray-Tans around?” I ask, partly pushing her to see how she would react and partly because I forgot the actual last name that I gave her.

  “What? No, I am Splash-Healer,” she replies back somewhat indignantly.

  “Splash?” I question, almost grimacing as I realize just how bad of a name that is.

  “Yes,” the Apprentice replied, with a bit more backbone than she showed previously, but still not as much of a backbone as I would like all things considered.

  “Hmm, very well then,” I reply, then realizing I likely need to at least try to teach this Apprentice while I can, I go through the plan of action.

  “Come here and bring me my pup,” I demand.

  By now enough time had passed that the pup was awake, and struggling within the arms of the Water Temple Priest.

  Hearing the command she almost looks relieved as she moves forward and easily hands over the little ball of wiggling fur. With the pooch in my hands I flip him over and instantly begin feeding him via my finger in its mouth as I begin administer my Spirit Sustenance directly to its body.

  The effects of my magic on his tiny frame are drastic and almost instantaneous as it begins to slow down, before going into a long slow rhythmic breathing.

  With the pup taken care of, I begin giving orders to my Apprentice.

  “Now, that you are my Apprentice, know that I am going to make it so your primary task will be on making sure that your first Patient here, Ms. Water Pomeranian herself, Nagingah, will be happy and healthy throughout her pregnancy."

  Seeing the quest, I realize that my initial assumption was correct, in that the quest would give me my Apprentice’s name again. Also, she was right, her last name was in fact Splash-Healer. Even I can realize that that is a terrible last name. Though Spray-Tan would likely be worse. Maybe I could give that name to someone who used sand magic as their primary focus? As I assume that would have a golden tan color to the flavor of magic being utilized.

  Then I realize that trying to give someone a terrible last name is just cruel.

  “Glad to see that you are still pawning your responsibilities off as ever, mother.” Gwen states acidly as she strides forward and seems to put herself directly into this conversation.

  “Do you mind, I am trying to have a moment here with my budding Apprentice,” I retort. I’m getting a little tired of Gwen’s attitude today, and worst of all I still can’t think of what she knows about that would make her this angry with me.

  “Well hopefully you won’t scar her for life, the way you have with your children,” Gwen responded, though still strong, her words did seem to lose a bit of their anger.

  While Gwen’s tone might have calmed down a bit, it was clear from the sudden stiffening of my Apprentice’s shoulders that she did not think of this as a joke.

  “Don’t worry, she is just joking. Besides, we all know the final test of womanhood is to take the lifelong scar that your parent gave you and learning to overcome or ignore it completely.”

  “It? As in just one?” Gwen asked.

  “Yeah, we all know that is the great thing about lifelong scars, they can only happen to you once,” I reply.

  With this Gwen tilted up her eyebrow in that are you serious right now way.

  Seeing that she was doing more than just her bitter B face, I felt it was close enough to spring my final response to her.

  “Besides we all know the great thing about children is that you can only permanently scar them for life one time.”

  “One time?” Gwen and Penelope both parrot back in unison.

  “Yeah, after that first scar, all you can really do as a parent is strengthen that scar tissue enough until your children,” I begin, but then quickly make sure to rope in my Apprentice to make sure she feels welcome, “or your Apprentices are tough enough to take on anything life throws their way.”

  With that, the Apprentice finally seems to come out of her shell a bit as she then quips to Gwen.

  “This is what I have to look forward to?” My Apprentice asks.

  “Sadly, this and less,” Gwen pushes, finally relaxing enough to not appear to be openly hostile towards me anymore.

  “Hey, I also offer a free four year ride to work as my unpaid intern, where you will be forced to attend classes at an unaccredited College that will hopefully be able to provide degrees that might be worth something by the time you graduate,” I add.

  “She really is a terrible saleswoman,” my Apprentice says to Gwen.

  Hearing her and seeing the way both Gwen and my Apprentice have seemed to finally thaw in their intense emotional state around me, I feel somewhat better.

  Yeah, I likely set some odd chain of events in place for when Rob comes. There is also the issue of Kujo being a serial breeder with anything with a pulse and giving credence to Bob Barker’s remarks about helping to control the pet population by having your pets spayed or neutered.

  Then I shake my head and realize that is not my lane, but Penelope’s lane. Maybe I can get her a hyphenated last name, something like the Spayed-Tailor or something. You know a surname that denotes and would help both of her Unique classes.

  Nothing.

  For a moment I am almost sad that I can’t give someone who already has a last name a new last name. But then I realize it is likely for the best, as who knows how Mallory would have taken some of the ideas for possible last name combinations.

  “You there?” Gwen asks, drawing me back to the present.

  “What, yeah, always.” I respond, though I think I might have missed something, this time.