Kieran was still feeling sad.

Not because of his grounding, that was something he could get around and had been ongoing from birth through no fault of his own other than being born. Instead it was because he couldn't talk to the woman named Abi.

On more than one occasion he had tried. Knowing where she ate was all the information he had needed to constantly be in the right place at the right time to catch a glimpse of her before he would have to flee. She was noticing him faster and faster each time and Kieran was worried that she might grab hold him before he could stop time

He couldn't bring himself not to go though. Every time he went there was the possibility of being discovered absent by his parents. Something that hadn't happened yet. Kieran knew it wouldn't be long before it did though. He had been preparing an excuse.

Flimsy it was, he was going to tell his parents how he just so happened to see a woman being kidnapped in the alleyway directly outside their house and - knowing he was the only one who could do it, Kieran just had to stop time to fatefully trip the kidnapper. Subsequently leaving his room to do so, yes, but saving the poor woman in the process. Surely they would understand.

That said, Kieran wasn't tripping any women-kidnapping men and instead was peering the window of Ali's. It was lunchtime and Abi was inside with the trio of Dragons as her Stalker gazed longingly at her through the window. Kieran thought it was strange that she went almost everywhere with the triplets as though they were her own children, but he felt a peaceful embrace every time he saw them too so he didn't pay it much mind.

Today though, as Kieran was peering through the glass, Abi disappeared before she even looked in his direction. Before he could do anything, her hand was holding his wrist in a vice-like grip.

"Why do you keep staring at us?" She asked. Her tone was not nice and Kieran realises he didn't look like the doting watcher from afar. Instead he came across as the crazy serial killer outside.

Shit! He thought as his mouth made no attempt to fight his corner. He couldn't mister up any words of defense as he was too taken back by her beauty. It was the first time he had stuck around after she noticed him, not through choice obviously.

Seeing the teenager stutter air instead of words, Abi released his wrist.

"I'm not going to hurt you. It's just... don't you think staring at us through the window day after day is a bit creepy?" Kieran's heart dropped. He did come across as a crazy stalker. "Instead of that, why don't you just open your mouth and say 'Hi, I'm...' and introduce yourself. We don't bite except for Amber and that's only when she's hungry."

Kieran opened his mouth to speak, but still no words came out. His face flushed red and he felt his eyes glaze over. He wanted to say hi. He wanted to introduce himself. Instead, he stopped time and ran home. His power lasted the entire journey as his feelings carried the magic further than it had ever lasted before.

Through the door, up the stairs and into his room. He heard his mother say something but he was too upset to care. He dived onto his bed and sobbed quietly into the pillow. Humiliated, embarrassed, frustrated and worst of all he was infatuated. He still couldn't get Abi out of his mind. Her voice, her hair, her eyes, the little dress she wore. The way she would disappear into thin air or appear from nowhere, everything that made her the person she was.

Then a thought shot through Kieran's mind. One he hadn't considered before.

'What if she's like me? What if she died and reincarnated here? What if she's from earth? I need to ask her!' He got off his bed before stopping immediately.

'How can I ask her anything when I can't even say hello?' He grilled himself. 'Screw it. I'll do it. I'll ask her.'

Psyching himself up, Kieran was ready to try again when his mother burst through the door. "I said, where the hell did you come from and why were you outside?"

Maybe he would wait until shopping day to try again. That is if his mother didn't tie him up before she left.

Kieran Ely, Time Mage

Dungeon Stories Volume 4

Since Barry became the world's most human Golem, capable of eating, sleeping and even passing gas, things have returned to normal. Or as normal as a golem passing gas can be, which I suppose is pretty normal in my city.

The triplets resumed their training and the days passed by in an uneventful, but pleasant way. I continued to train my skills and even asked Me for advice a few times. I visited Sis and built her a massive tower using only my Creation skill. A skill that I used rarely, but should have incorporated the moment I had enough DP.

With how strong I am now, I can basically create anything in the catalog for a fraction of the price it would originally cost to place the feature. Not only that, but I can customise anything I want as it's being built.

Creation also helps if I want to customise my summons. Seven Nobles Vampires with different-coloured eyes that all make up a rainbow when stood next to each other are proof of that. The pink eyed Vampire looks a little weird, but she still has the beauty +50 factor that all Vampires seem to be summoned with so she's able to pull them off.

I don't know what I was thinking when I did that. Still, eight Noble Vampires in total isn't a bad number for their initiation into Ishda.

While I was visiting the Dragon Daycare, Rebecca was still banging away on the drums she had found on day one. It really looked like she wanted my attention too - her eyes were practically begging, so I gave it to her happily. The Rebellion Dragon's drumming skills had improved considerably and I was even enjoying the beat. For some reason, even though neither of us spoke to each other, Rebecca went into a mood. She kicked the drums over and stormed out in a huff.

I don't get that Dragon. I wish I did, but I just don't. She's almost as awkward as that kid that keeps following me. Everytime I try to talk to him, he disappears. Worse yet, no one else seems to see him. I hope he isn't some type of spirit like Anya was.

Either way, Sis was thrilled with the new tower. The goliath feature clearly signifying its location on my mountain and the home of the Dragons. I would be scared of adventurers knowing where they are if I didn't know that adventurers are actually weak. It's only the demons we have to watch out for and that's a trickier subject than others.

Theoretically, although we don't know for certain as portals to another plane are not all the rage, a regular Tironian could potentially open one if they had the right skills. That said, it doesn't mean we have to be weary of everyone. Anyone who is even slightly off on Soul Guide's colour scale though will be shipped straight off to the Towers of Torture for reformation. The last thing we need or want is someone opening a portal in the middle of my city while we were unprepared because we had become slack.

Not that I can call my family members slack. If anything it's me who takes that title and I need to redouble my efforts on that front or risk losing everything we've built here.

There is one area where I most certainly haven't been slacking though. My daily walks with the triplets have finally borne fruit and we have just arrived at the capital city of Ishda. It's taken us a while and a shitload of DP, but the days have been enjoyably pleasant.

The city guards are caught off guard that me and the triplets have just arrived on foot and I'm a little worried they will overreact and attack us on sight as we draw closer. The triplets have small horns that stick out of their forehead after all. Clearly a telltale sign that they are indeed not human and a monster of some description. Not that they know what type they are, if they did they definitely wouldn't pick a fight with three Oblivion Dragons.

The scenarios I was playing out in my head never came to fruition however. Instead, the guards relaxed the moment we drew close and we entered the city unhindered. Everyone looked that much happier that they'd seen us. I then remembered what the System told me my Dragons actually do. Even Rebecca, rebellious as she is, gives off the same calming and peaceful vibe that all my Dragons exude.

If I would have been a regular human back in that situation, it would have been a lot harder to enter the city. I would have had to explain where I had come from, what I had been doing and the purpose of my visit. As it stood, I didn't have to say a damn thing and we had just strolled through. I felt like royalty and my ego was swimming in self-infatuation. Feeling vain, I slap myself back to reality and slowly unlock what land I can as we make our way around the city. Ishda is the size of Orad and Tune combined so it will likely take me another day or two to acquire it all.

That said, I need to make my way to the Lord's Manor first and then the noble district. My vampires need somewhere to live while they're here after all and seeing how I know that Noir destroyed a large amount of their homes on his murder spree during his visit, it's the perfect place for them to stay. Noble Vampires in the Noble district seems quite fitting. The perfect place for them to guide the city in plain sight.

My family will help Lord Aldor sway his citizens over to a new way of thinking when regarding dungeons. Just like we're doing in Orad and Varona. Orad was the perfect place to trial run a new dungeon. The people who live their lives well and good. They lead good, honest, hard working lives and when given the opportunity to level up in a safer than usual environment where they get to keep anything and everything they find, they warmly welcome the idea.

Simon doesn't have many problems on a daily basis, none that Light informs me on anyway and Orad's citizens seem to be leveling at a steady pace. Their city already grants 5% more DP per day than it was doing prior to the dungeon being fitted. A goblin-only dungeon with nothing but a single Goblinator on each floor and a solo Hobgoblin as its boss. We called it the beginners dungeon and hopefully it will become the backbone of every new adventurer. A great course for anyone. Except myself that is.

I would definitely skip that course or find some way around it.

That's for sure.