War God for Hire- Gladiator by David Burke (books under 200 pages .TXT) 📕

He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face fast enough for her not to see but he simply asked, “Why can’t I just use the raw essence from the mantle?”

“Because you haven’t synced to the mantle. You haven’t made it your own, or shaped it to your will, however you want to think of it. That essence is something you can use here. That is why you are so much more powerful here. With a simple thought, you removed your armor. You could make virtually anything here, but even the essence in your mantle is not without limit and there is no way to recharge it here in the void,” Hilde explained.

“Wait, so I could just have made a bed for us if I wanted to?”

In answer to his question, the thought caused a massive bed larger than any king-sized to appear just a few feet away. Kyle couldn’t help but laugh as he thought about how useful that would have been.

“So, to answer your earlier question, no, there is no concern, because we were not physically together. You will have to gain the skill to summon me to Verden in order for that to happen. Then we can worry about such things, or not, as you wish. Remember, my body is yours to do with as you please. I am your servant.”

“We will see about that. I’m listing our relationship status as undefined at this time. One last question, can I take any of this raw essence back with me?”

“I don’t know for sure, but remember that the mantle is being slowly drained here. You would be better served by simply returning to Verden and absorbing essence there. Hopefully, your practice and experience here will help you become more efficient at that.”

Her statement gave him an idea, and instantly he had the red and gold armor back on himself. He thought about it and changed first his attire half a dozen times, then he made some furniture for Hilde. He hoped it would persist after he was gone and at least make her stay here more comfortable.

Whatever the reason, it was incredibly easier to manipulate essence here. He tried to get accustomed to the feeling of it. Maybe that would increase his skill with manipulating essence when he returned to Verden. Speaking of which, he thought he had better do so. Even a few more minutes were costing him heavily in terms of essence.

He started to focus on leaving but then saw a momentary wistful expression pass across her face. He stepped over to her and took her in his arms before kissing her full upon her lips. She seemed shocked at first but then melted into his arms. Kyle could only hope it was because she enjoyed the kiss, and not because she was trying to be a good servant. He couldn’t help but curse to himself. This was definitely going to be complicated.

Once he arrived back in his cell, he realized that his body had been lying upon the small bed the entire time. He flexed and moved his muscles but actually felt well-rested. His physical stats hadn’t changed at all, but when he looked at his sheet, he saw that he had gained two points in Will, three in Mind, and four in Charisma.

Better yet, his current War Essence rate had gone from 1/second to 3/second. Learning how to handle essence in the mantle must have really increased how efficiently he could handle it here. He even went up to 13/50 War Essence from 12/50. His Earth Essence didn’t increase, but the conversion rate went from 1/15 seconds to 1/12 seconds. So at least a small gain there.

He didn’t feel tired, so rather than stress about having to leave Hilde behind, he sat down and started focusing on absorbing as much raw essence as he could. Hilde was asleep following their encounter, resting peacefully for the first time in three years on the massive bed that Kyle had conjured.

If she hadn’t been, she would have warned him that he was being stupid.

As he sucked in raw essence, he became a veritable whirlpool in the ocean of essence that covered every inch of Verden. Yes, he was sucking it in much faster than he had ever been able to before, but he was also causing ripples. Ripples which someone else noticed.

A few hours spent drawing in essence led to eventual boredom. Kyle was a focused guy, but even he found sitting there on the floor trying to drain the invisible energy of the universe to be anything but exciting. That led to a few hours of sleep, followed by waking up and then some light training.

The one thing that he didn’t notice throughout the day was how the manacles on his wrists and ankles now had small cracks in them.

Then on the way back to his cell. On the way back to the cell, Saber walked with him. “How are you feeling about the match tonight?”

Kyle smiled at the smaller man. “I’m taking your advice and playing to my strengths. I just need to land a solid blow. If I can do that, I think I can end it, but to get to that point, I’m likely going to have to take a good deal of hits.”

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t underestimate her. Anyone who was a direct servant of one of the gods must be more than a one trick pony. So, you may be surprised at how strong and durable she is. To me, the real question is if you can pull out any more tricks like you did with the birds or with Gilthan,” Saber said.

Kyle nodded and said, “I’m less worried about how strong she is than how durable. I don’t expect to get many chances to land a blow but also worry about hitting her too hard. I don’t want to kill her.”

“Yeah, can’t even imagine the kind of trouble that would