Mathew continued to push himself further until his self imposed deadline. The thirteen days he gave Bob to not only educate him, but help him better use his body, mind, and soul was on himself as well.

However, right now, he was working on something other than himself. Mathew struck the final stake into the ground for a new building he purchased. The inventory for the two new zones was finally finished. Everything was documented, and Mathew had funds to play with.

He wasn’t the only person to be joining the world quest. Because of that, his choice in the newest addition to Blue Oaks was perfect.

Mathew activated the array, noting with his newest Beginner ranked skill how similar to a ritual it was. A two winged building slowly manifested. Supplies from a nearby pile were sucked away and turned into the items needed to erect the structure.

The building was cheaper when he supplied building materials. It was the only way he could afford it. Days spent with the Adventurers that dove into the two repeatable Dungeons, and scouted for more allowed him to hear their biggest complaint.

The Guards had their own place to train and gather. Those with medical classes had the hospital. The crafters had the new and improved Workshop. Where was their dedicated place?

Mathew, at first, thought their complaints were pointless. That was until Lindsey brought up a good point. “Adventure guilds were always a place where we could gather and have fun. Share stories, and most importantly, show off our accomplishments.”

It was hard to manage so many people. A quest board was what he needed. It took a lot of digging, and to his surprise, the shopkeeper for the magical focused shop, Ni, who had access to a building array that fit his visualization of a gathering place.

The building was a simple Gathering Hall, but it had two important things. Firstly, the structure had two side wings that could be multipurpose. One of which would be converted into a resting place.

The other would be converted into what everyone of the adventurers wanted, a Tavern. The main structure in the middle will be the actual Guild house. Where Mathew could attach pre-created quests, and even assign someone to manage the place.

Lindsey, of course, volunteered and accepted the job with excitement. Mathew saw zero reason to deny her from it. Trusting her enough to be his eyes and ears for the Adventurers.

By the end of the day, the entire place was busy with people going in and out. There were currently four quests he created that anyone could accomplish.

Public Quest: New Dungeons

Anyone who reports back the location of a new Dungeon will be rewarded with the following:

1,000 UC

The Rights to delve it first for the titles

You will fail this quest if you delve into it before reporting it.

Public Quest: Trade Routes

Anyone who reports back the location of another Safe Zone will be rewarded with the following:

500 UC

Bonus rewards for opening trade channels:

300 UC

Public Quest: The Rare and Valuable

Anyone who finds a natural treasure will be paid for its location, or the item itself.

Reward varies. Report directly to Mathew McGonald.

Public Quest: Information Gathering

For every submission of a title, and information on how to acquire it, you will be rewarded with the following:

5,000 UC

Lindsey suggested adding a ranking structure. Accomplishments or quests completed would equate to a rank within the guild. Mathew heavily enjoyed the idea. Causing others to compete and grow stronger would only help him grow stronger as well.

He left Lindsey in charge of the names for the ranks, suggesting just using the level ranks. She laughed at the idea. “No, we will use something more stereotypical. I’m thinking of either the Letter structure, or the metal structure. Starting at Iron rank, then moving all the way up to Diamond sounds nice. Letters are too bland now that I think about it.”

Mathew rolled his eyes, but he left her in charge of it. “What’s the word on the two dungeons? Anything remarkable about them?”

She shook her head, “Not at all. The rewards vary, but we are narrowing down the potential loot. It is also apparent it does not change the rewards for the party size. Six people versus fifteen still gives the same kind of reward.”

“Has anyone completed either one alone?”

“No. Luckily nobody has been that foolish. The smallest group was four. They didn’t complete it, but came out with a sizable pile of dino bodies. The Undead one is more difficult for anyone without an energy based attack.”

“So I could still be the first…technically.” Mathew stood up and stretched. “Thanks Lindsey. You are a great help. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask. I am in charge here after all.”

“Yea yea. I know. Honestly, I think you work too much. Do you even rest?”

Shrugging, “Sometimes. Mainly when I am meditating, eating, or sleeping.”

“Meditating? I didn’t take you for that kind of guy.”

“Cultivating. It’s the way to do things. You can expect a missive coming out soon on the topic. I have an easier to understand paper on the topic from things I’ve done and read. Di’s information crystals are nice, but either have a third of the information, or you have to read them multiple times to understand what is really being said.”

Mathew didn’t mention his lessons from Bob. He trusted nobody else with that information other than Dr. Gloria. Only because of the contract he had with her.

“To think, cultivation is real. Getting stronger by just absorbing cosmic energy, then pushing it through your body to amplify what you can truly do.”

“It’s interesting. I’ve made a few mistakes, but I am getting stronger. I will be Level 25 soon. Before the World Quest.”

Lindsey went to give Mathew a sideways hug. “You are the best Matty. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. You work hard for us, I see it. Others don’t.”

“Yea, I know. Hopefully in a few years, a magical wine will be created and I can enjoy something good tasting. All of mine are starting to run out.”

“You still have wine left?” Lindsey asked in shock.

With a wink, “Of course. I have two bottles left. Both red. I’ll invite you over one night if you want to finish it off with me.”

“Count me in. I would kill for some wine. I haven't had any in a month now.”

Mathew left her to finalize the guild nuances. She was a smart woman. Mathew saw no reason to leave her some elbow room. Not to mention keeping her busy. The more people were busy, the less their eyes were on him.

Today, Mathew would beforming his most expected Ritual. The Perfect Butler.

Mathew went to his own personal home. He only recently moved into it, and out of the small dormitory type living space. He was moved so the dormitory could be converted into a better living area. Adding in magic fueled appliances, and removing the old world items.

His home was still smaller than the one he had built for himself. The automated comforts were missed. A small hope that the Perfect Butler could replicate it all resided in his mind.

The home had one perk he enjoyed. It had a very large living room. He had long empted the room, in preparation for the ritual.

Bob was inside waiting on him with Agnox. His grin grew greedily at Mathew. “Perfect. Today is the day! If this doesn’t work, I have the body in the garage ready for you to get the title.”

Mathew eyed Bob for a moment, but sighed. “Fine. No reason to further delay this.”

The past week, Mathew had learned a lot on the subject of Rituals. His biggest realization is that they are not cookie cutted instructions as he originally thought. They could be modified and changed.

He had Ragnork to thank for that. His teaching method was annoying, but one Mathew respected. The Giant never told you the answer, just gave you a task to figure out the answer in a different way.

If Mathew asked what part of a ritual was tied to mana, he would point at two, or three different rituals and have him perform those.

If Mathew wanted to try and exchange materials, Ragnork would just give him what the giant thought he needed. Sometimes he gave too much, other times not enough. Yet, every time Mathew learned something.

Today was to test all the theories on Ritual magic at once. The first was the newest question he had for Ragnork.

“Is there a way to make rituals stronger or more stable by doing them with higher quality materials?”

Ragnork had smiled at that question. The counter task was what made mathew blanch. “Perform this ritual in your home. Don’t use chalk or salt.” He had pointed to the Perfect Butler ritual.

At first, Mathew started to get other drawing materials. Primarily ink. But that wouldn’t have worked. Ink runs. When it was dry, it cracked and flaked. It was a horrible ritual tool.

What was a great tool, came as a suggestion from Bob. “When a necromancer modifies an undead, we carve into their flesh to write inscriptions onto their bones. I never did it, as it’s a higher level action. I never made it above Level 20 sadly.”

Mathew planned on carving the ritual into his floor. Under the wood panels was concrete. Acquiring a hammer and chisel was easy. It was actually carving into the stone that was the hardest part.

It took Mathew a day and a half in preparation for today. He only trusted in doing it thanks to his Beginner tiered skill

Rituals | Beginner 0

Gain the ability to copy, create, read, and understand rituals. Copying a ritual has a tiny chance to add it to your list of known spells.

Utility Specialization: All Utility Rituals are stronger, and easier to create. In addition, you gain access to three Novice Tier Rituals.

All the upgrades for the skill were similar. An offensive, defensive, Enhancement, and Inhibiting were also choices. All the exact same, just a different type of ritual he could work with. Mathew almost selected Defensive. The only thing that prevented him was how slow rituals were.

He would need time to prepare. Any defensive rituals wouldn’t help him strongly in combat. No, instead he needed more things to survive inside the World Quest. His three newest rituals were all excellent. The third one he looked forward to using greatly.

Mathew placed each item for the ritual in select spots on his bare floor. The heart went into the center. Finally, Mathew pulled out the Beginner tiered Mana Core at its spot on the top side of the ritual.

It was a privacy risk. Yet Mathew wanted to try and see if he could upcast the ritual on the first try. He even modified the range for the spell. Placing a coil of golden thread three times the intended range.

The other modification was a linked part of the ritual. In it, he stole the markings from the Campfire spell that allowed ambient mana to continually charge the ritual passively. He connected it to the part that specified a mana battery.

Mathew kneeled down and placed his hands on the correct spots. This was the only ritual that required a verbal incantation to work. None of the words were in English, and Mathew’s only hope in saying them correctly was the combination of his Universtal Speech ability and Ritual skill.

Sounds came from his mouth. After the first sentence, the etched stone began to glow. Mathew put his entire focus into the ritual, letting instinct guide him. He wouldn’t let this ritual fail. Too much went into it, he wanted…needed this title.

Necromancy would keep him alive, so he would perform the dark magic. Morality be damned, he wouldn’t die because of something like that.

Words continued to flow out of his mouth as he read from the book. Mathew pushed his mana forward. A form started to take shape above where the heart was, and Mathew heard…no felt something.

A heavy *thump*. Then a few moments later, another. The thumps were several seconds apart, but after the sixth one, the form above started to take more and more shape. That’s when Mathew felt something different than every other ritual thus far, an opposing force.

Something, or rather, someone was fighting against him. Mathew narrowed his eyes, but knew he had to focus. He could deal with the specifics of what was going on afterwards.

The feeling was similar to when he competed against Morthrus for Agnox. A battle of wills. Unfortunately for whoever was fighting against Mathew, he knew how to win this. With a flex of mental energy, Mathew surged his Axiom forward, overwhelming the other being.

With that single push, the ritual was done. Floating above the ritual was a ghostly apparition of a woman. Her lower half faded into nothing. Her top half looked like a nude woman, but since she was different shades of translucent white, it was hard to see any specific details.

“Well done Mathew. Even I can tell that’s a spirit. Check your titles, see if you received it!”

Mathew grinned. He acquired more than just a title. He now had a servant. If the ritual’s details were to be trusted, this woman would tend to his household needs. He was curious as to how far the Perfect Butler, or rather in this case, Perfect Maid, could perform duties.

With a sigh the ghost spoke. “Master. What is thy bidding?”

“I want you to clean up this house. Hide the ritual by replacing the floor boards. You can find them over there.” Mathew pointed to the mentioned pile of floor boards. “After that, continue to clean this house up. How far can you go by the way?”

The ghost disappeared for a moment, before reappearing. “Approximately eighty meters. I can reach the two houses next to this one with no problems.”

Mathew’s grin faded and confusion came across his face. He opened the ritual book and started to go over his notes.

“What’s the matter boss? Not far enough for you?”

“The opposite. The base ritual is 10 meters. I thought I gave enough for 30 meters, yet she can go 80…”

Bob was examining the ghost, while Mathew went over things. “The only solution is the larger Mana Core, the fact it was etched and not drawn, or the heart itself. Not to mention I had to use my Axiom to complete it.”

Bob’s head whipped toward him. “What? Why?”

“Something was fighting against the ritual. More specifically, I think it was her.” Mathew said, pointing at the spirit. “Please tell me I didn’t just capture someone's soul to my bidding Bob.”

“No, the heart was male. Which rules out that it is his soul specifically. She also seems trained. She knows her duties, either a side effect of the ritual, or an experienced soul.”

Mathew looked at his perfect maid. “Do you know who you are, who I am, or why you are here?”

“I am sorry master, but my memories before you summoned me do not exist. I am your maid, and I am here to serve you.”

“Can you lie to me?”

The maid paused, and tried to answer something, but seemed unable to until she spoke a different answer. “No.”

Mathew nodded, pleased. “Seems she can’t. Or she is a really good actress.”

“Could be careful and have her sign a contract, Boss.” Agnox suggested.

Mathew contemplated it. “No, I think she is already under one actually.”

Both Bob and Agnox looked at Mathew then back at the ghost who started to replace the wooden floor panels. “Why do you think that?”

“The ritual. It’s a contract with mana. That’s how I am viewing it. It’s a written set of rules for what will happen. You change a part, the output changes. She can’t go against the ritual. If it was a Ritual of The Perfect Murderer, she would be trying to murder us. I am using a horrible example, but the point remains.”

“Well, what are you doing now? Did you get the title?”

Mathew glanced at his menu, eyeballing his new titles.

Title: False Life - For creating a false lifeform, you are granted this title. +5 to Vitality

Title: Willful Power- For bending the will of five beings to your own, you are granted this title. +15 to Strength. +15 to Wisdom