Dao 3 Chapter 23

Somehow, after Neko and Dar’s first two times together, it was like someone had given the green light to the rest of his women. They’d immediately dashed in, wanting touches of their own after his return.

Sasha was especially eager, wanting to reaffirm her connection to Dar. The maids were more than happy to entertain Mika and Neko, while Sasha got hers.

Dar woke up from a pleasant dream with Mika and Sasha pressed up along his sides and Neko laying on top of him. He tried to figure out how he was going to disentangle himself from them.

He carefully picked himself out of the three women as his stomach rumbled. Neko had pulled him aside before dinner, and he had skipped the meal in favor of enjoying his women. But now that the fun was over, his stomach was seriously protesting.

“Morning, Milord.” Marcie said, stirring a pot on the stove. “Would you happen to need food?”

“Good girl.” Dar ran ran his fingers through her hair before kissing the side of her head.

The mousy maid melted into him. He hadn’t realized how much his women all were needing touch, and they were alone.

Reaching up under her dress, he pinched her ass.

“Thank you, Milord.” She pressed herself further into him.

Wanting to reward her, he pulled back her top, exposing her collar. He leaned forward, biting down hard enough to make a mark that would last through the day. He could feel her whimper and shiver.

His little submissive maid loved it.

“Something to tide you over.”

She carefully righted her dress. “I look forward to next time.”

“You and Amber could have joined us.” He told her.

Marcie only shook her head. “It wouldn’t be right. We are satisfied with what you’ve given us and wouldn’t dare press for more.”

Once again, Dar was forced to accept that their society had different norms. Still, he enjoyed having Marcie in a rare moment without her little mistress.

“How is everything else, Marcie? Does Amber need any particular retraining with you?” He kept it playful, since that seemed to help the shy maid open up and express her needs better.

“No, Master.” She blushed. “My Mistress takes wonderful care of me, though it is all for you. It took her many attempts to tie me up as she had before, but I don’t mind the mistakes, knowing she’s making it perfect for you.”

He kissed the side of her head and pulled her into a crushing hug. Marcie might not talk much, but that told him volumes.

“It is my job not only to punish you when you deserve it, but to reward you and keep you safe. Is there anything you need from me?” He asked.

“Maybe, next time could you bring things for piercings?” She hesitated before asking.

“I can.” He wasn’t sure what he’d bring. “Have you played with hot wax before?”

There was a thoughtful look in her eyes before she shook her head. “No, but I can see how that would be interesting. I will procure some candles. You are busy. Now, sit. Your stomach is too loud.”

His stomach had been gurgling off and on during their conversation, but Dar had ignored it in favor of discussing Marcie’s needs. At her encouragement though, his hunger won out, and he sat at the kitchen table. It didn’t take long before Marcie came up behind him with a steaming bowl full of the porridge with shaved bison meat in it.

Dar took one bite before realizing it was far creamier than before. “Goat milk?”

“Yes. I fear everything we eat will have a little goat's milk in it for the near future.” She shook her head.

“That’s probably for the best. Milk helps keep your bones and teeth healthy, along with providing a whole host of good nutrients. It’ll probably bring a noticeable improvement to the village’s health to have milk with breakfast.”

Marcie nodded along with what he was saying, but he didn’t really think she understood. “Will the others be up soon?”

Dar looked back at the door. It was slightly ajar, and he could hear the soft snoring from the pile of women. “I don’t think so. But if you could go get some warm milk and waft it near Neko’s nose, I’m sure she’ll wake up. She missed dinner as well.”

“Yes, Milord.” Marcie bowed, moving the pot off the burner before she left the mansion to retrieve milk.

For a moment, Dar was alone in the silence.

It had been a while since he had been alone. Granterra had been filled with adventures and new people at every turn. For him to sit idle in the dim light with no one around was odd, yet a relief.

His mind began to spin with thoughts and reflections on what had happened recently as he ate his porridge.

Bellhaven was under siege by an enemy it couldn’t handle. And it was possibly his fault. He had certainly riled up the hive and taken away their food source. But Bellhaven had also pushed out some of their best defenses by mistreating the demons and spirits.

And the mantises had already been scavenging for food in the woods. It was only a matter of time before they would have attacked, regardless of him taking out the Mo. He’d just sped the process up a bit. And at least he’d limited their ability to reproduce quite so quickly. He worked to rationalize all of it.

The larger problem was what to do going forward. Tormac and Kindrake were going to go to war after winter thawed and the mountain passes opened back up. The Deep One was likely to come and claim Bellhaven once The White officially pulled back her protection.

Dar paused, starting to piece the various problems together. There was a chance the The Deep One would solve the insect devils in an attempt to protect the city. It would certainly be a way to win the loyalty of Bellhaven.

But it was also possible Bellhaven would fall in that time, or The Deep One would lose interest. Dar couldn’t take that chance. He needed to deal with the threat and remove it before it became too much to handle.

Things were going to become complex come spring, and Dar knew the only way to insure Hearthway would survive the turbid waters was to have power.

He sighed, smacking his spoon on the bottom of the bowl as he took his next bite. His problems had grown from lesser devils and some angry villagers to kingdoms and celestial demons. And beyond that, he’d eventually have to go after the other Mo that would be breaking out across the world.

Sasha had told him to stop pushing himself, but the more he thought about everything, the more he realized that was exactly what he needed to do. Understanding a greater dao was just the next step he needed. Dar needed to go far beyond that, and quickly, before he had larger problems to contend with.

He saw the next steps clearly. He needed to form the new greater dao he had in mind, and if he could use that to make a grand dao, then he wouldn’t wait for someone else to intervene. He’d go after the insect devils himself. And he’d feed all their corpses for the little dao tree.

There were so many of the mantis and beetle devils; he could fill his tree with powerful fruits. And with those fruits, he could empower his family and the village.

He chuckled at the thought of the hundred villagers all having the grasp of at least one greater dao.

If he could give everyone three lesser dao and push them in that direction, then come spring, it would be a disaster to Kindrake or whoever challenged them. They’d have a solid force.

The idea solidified in Dar’s mind, and he knew what he had to do.

Downing the bowl of porridge that had grown cold,, he stepped away into one of the side rooms and sat down to meditate.

Cherry and Blair were in deep meditation within his inner world, working on their own dao.

He could feel Blair glowing bright with mana; she was well on her way to forming her grand dao. He wondered if he couldn’t race her.

Sitting down next to her by the tree, he took the dao book and the three lesser dao he had picked before. Conductive, malleable and tough.

Focusing on each in turn, they all radiated from the power of earth, and he could feel the little dao tree’s support as he started to internalize them.

***

Dar wasn’t sure how long he had been meditating, but when he opened his eyes again, he had his new greater dao. A smile crossed his lips, but he wasn’t done yet. He now had the dao of iron. It was a common enough metal to make it extremely useful, and he had no doubt having control of iron would come in handy.

Though most of the tools in the village were a soft bronze, iron was expensive mostly because it was so hard to refine. Maybe with this Dar could help improve the village as a whole.

But now that he had another greater dao, it was time to make another pass at a grand dao. Some instinct inside of him said that it would work this time.

The little dao tree pulsed with excitement as he took the three greater dao and sought to find their combination.

But Dar was startled at what happened next. All it took was one pulse from the little dao tree, and two of the three greater dao locked into position. Like two tumblers of a safe hitting their pins, they clicked together. Granite and Iron locked together, with just flame still spinning.

Excitement filled Dar. This… this was incredible.

His mind was a flurry of activity as the flame dao circled and spun around the two that were fixed in place by the little dao tree’s power.

He searched, trying to find where flame fit to make the most complex character Dar had ever seen in his life.

Mana surged around Dar, but it wasn’t for him.

He could feel Blair next to him, becoming a vacuum of power as she changed. She was reaching a new level of dao comprehension, and as a result, the air filled with the complete dao. That sparked an idea in Dar.

He drew just a little on the complete dao that surrounded Blair into himself, pushing it towards his current cultivation.

It had an immediate effect. The dao of flame moved faster into a particular position, although it still wasn’t connected. But that was all Dar needed. He immediately stopped rotating the dao around the other two and fixed it in place, spinning it in the same spot.

Dar felt Blair’s ascension to a grand spirit complete, the mana in the air returning to normal. He hadn’t quite found the right orientation, but he was able to hold its position, spinning until it finally clicked.

Elation ran through him; his own grand dao was completed.

He took the completed dao and spun it through his body. Instantly, power bloomed in him.

Raging power swelled from deep inside of him, coursing and filling his body until it began to spill out, threatening to tear him apart. Molten Dao came to life inside of him, his new grand dao.

Mana surged into him from the surrounding world. And with it, motes of the complete dao covered him.

Dar knew that each time he grew to a new rank, it was an opportunity like no other.

Ignoring his new grand dao for the moment, he drew upon the complete dao and pushed it inside himself.

Once again, he had the opportunity to change himself, evolve. Previously, he had made channels to carry mana through his body, and had also expanded his inner world to store more mana within himself.

But this time, he focused elsewhere. He wanted to help shape his mind, open it up, and expand his consciousness. The grand dao brought with it an opportunity to control the world around him, and he knew he needed more awareness and better ability to multitask to make the most of such a power.

He thought about Cherry, who was able to independently control eight different branches while fighting.

That was what he wanted. It was what he needed for what was to come.

So, along with flooding his body with mana, he focused on making it grow stronger, particularly focusing on all the enchantments on his body.

They had saved his life time and time again; Lilith’s enchantments had been his foundation for his strength. It was time to elevate his foundation and continue his growth.

Even with his eyes closed, a soft glow penetrated his eyelids. He was changing, growing with each second exposed to the complete dao.

He pushed, not wasting a moment of its power for as long as he could, but then it was gone.

The complete dao faded like a scent on the breeze. One moment it was there, completely surrounding him, part of his awareness, and the next second it was gone.

“I can’t believe you almost beat me.” Blair’s voice was the first thing he heard as he cracked his eyes open.

“Sorry?” He wasn’t quite sure if he should really be sorry.

“Oh, don’t be sorry. I’m just jealous. I’ve been working on this forever.” Blair sat next to him, her wide amethyst eyes staring into his. “Sasha said you weren’t even a lesser immortal a few months ago. I’m over a hundred years old, and I was born a greater spirit. Yet only now am I reaching grand.”

Dar sighed. He knew that he was progressing at unparalleled speed thanks to Lilith, but it still didn’t seem fast enough for the growing dangers. “At least you’ll grow at a remarkable rate now.” He patted the tree.

“There are better ways to increase each other’s dao.” She licked her lips suggestively.

Dar laughed, nudging her and wiggling his eyebrows. Her eyes grew larger, and Dar realized he hadn’t shut her down like so many times before.

But he realized he didn’t really want to. She’d come on strong at first when he’d barely known her, but he couldn’t say that was true anymore. He’d even trusted her enough to let her into his inner world to cultivate. She was quickly becoming a part of his life and a part of their family.

Growing more serious, Dar spoke softly. “Blair, you don’t have to hold back anymore. I want you to be all of yourself, suggestive comments included.” She started shifting forward, and he laughed, holding her shoulders. “I’m not saying we are going to take a tumble right here in the dirt, but I don’t feel like resisting this anymore. You’re amazing, and I can’t deny there’s something here between us worth exploring.”

She was nearly bouncing where she sat. “Really?”

“Yeah. But before we do anything else, I’d like to try to exercise my new dao, and I’m sure you want to use your own.”

“Careful what you ask for. In the past, I’ve barely been able to find it. I came upon it in a fluke. But now I can create it at will. Maybe I’ll cover your inner world in it and make it sparkle.” She stood up and stepped away from the tree towards the black stone keep’s outer wall, preparing to spar.

“I should be telling you to be careful.” Dar rolled to his feet. “It is about time I show you that I just might be more than you can handle.”

“Oh, I can handle more than you know. Just wait. You’ve made me wait long enough; I can’t wait to make you beg.” Blair’s dao activated, and Dar could feel mana drain from the world around him and cover her. Rapidly, the magical energy converted itself into physical form. A clear crystal began wrapping itself around her in a thin crystal armor.

At first he assumed it was salt, but after a second he realized with absolute shock what one of her greater dao was.

“Holy shit. Is that diamond?” Dar’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

“What’s diamond?” She asked. “All I know is I bought a bag of salt once and found these two little pebbles that weren’t salt. They were the toughest little things I had ever experienced.”

Dar shook his head. He realized they probably didn’t even know how to cut diamonds in Granterra. They might not even have the tools. “Where I come from, it is considered the hardest material in the world.”

“Oh. Oh!” She took a moment to realize what he was saying. “So, this armor should be pretty tough?”

“Extremely. And we also used to tip certain cutting tools with it so that they wouldn’t lose their points. You could make amazing weapons. And given their rarity, it makes it even more powerful in trade.” Dar almost didn’t want to fight her now that she was covered in diamonds.

Blair had no idea just how versatile and powerful her new dao would be.

“Well then, this should be more fun than I thought.” Several small spears of diamond grew in the air around her, pointing at Dar.

Dar shook his head, taking in the beauty of Blair while she stood confidently swirling diamond spears around her. It was mesmerizing.

She laughed, enjoying the attention, and Dar realized he’d been staring. He shook his head and activated his grand dao.

Molten lava burst out of the ground before him and splattered onto him. He wrapped it tightly around him, shifting it into metal and rock armor that glowed bright orange.

He was amazed at the power of a grand dao. With a lesser dao, he could only affect his body and something he touched, and greater dao allowed him to mold it into an object but still required touch. Now with a grand dao, he could create using nothing but mana.

There had been no lava in the ground, but he’d been able to call it forward.

And it wasn’t just molten granite or molten iron that he had control over. It was all types of lava and molten metals that came to mind. Although he had to admit, he had a certain affinity for iron and granite. The armor he wore now was made up of those two.

“Impressive. It is like the burning rivers I’ve heard Mika speak of in Mahaklan.” Blair stared back, looking more than eager to fight. But Dar did notice beads of sweat were already forming on her brow.

“Then let’s start.” Dar punched his molten fists together, letting some of it splash down to the ground burning patches of grass and leaving behind drips of black rock.

Blair’s diamond lances shot forward and punched into his molten armor with incredible force, but they didn’t penetrate. Instead, the semiliquid of magma absorbed the impact, and they began to burn rapidly.

“I wasn’t sure if diamond would burn. But it makes sense; it is pure carbon.” Dar brushed the remains of the lances off of himself. Diamond had caused him some concern, but he shouldn’t have been worried. Lava was incredibly powerful, and he couldn’t wait to test it out. “On second thought, I’m not going to attack.” He realized just how much heat he was putting off. Even an accidental touch would likely burn Blair.

Blair’s brow pinched down in frustration. “I thought you wanted to test yourself.” She leapt into the air, forming a large crystalline sword and swinging it down at him.

Dar blocked, feeling his enchantments flair to life as he caught her blade. Then he twisted it, throwing Blair down against the ground. “Going to have to do better than that.” He chastised her.

“You really aren’t going to hit back?”

“I think I’m a little too hot for you to handle at the moment.” He shrugged, leaning against the black stone keep’s outer wall before his eyes popped open and he realized two things in rapid succession.

First, he had failed to remember to open the Blackstone Keep when he had access to the complete dao.

Second, the black stone of the keep was made of lava rock.

He froze. Could it just be a coincidence? Dar couldn’t help but feel a small shiver at the way it felt like fate was guiding him on his path.

“What’s wrong?” Blair could tell something was amiss.

“I need to try something.” He dismissed his molten armor, letting the physical lava he had made transition back into mana.

Blair did the same, her diamond armor disappearing. “Okay, I’m all ears. What are we doing?”