Stephen Baratheon POV
He stared at the Inventory, and the treasures he had amassed in the last 5 days.
Enough Valyrian gold coins to equal 370,000 Gold Dragons. Enough Jewellery to be worth over 1.5 million Gold dragons. And over 5 kilograms worth of Valyrian Steel in various knick knacks (excluding from the 2 Valyrian Swords he found).
During his exploration, he had discovered six Glass Candles, but unfortunately only four of them were operational as the remaining two were cracked and dysfunctional.
It had become his routine to retreat into the ID every night and resume his quest for treasure upon his return in the morning.
The only disappointing part about this entire situation was that he has failed to find any books from the Valyrian era.
Oh, he'd found some books alright. In fact, he found entire libraries of them. But those books were so old that they had either grown mould all over it, or outright decayed until nothing but dust remained in their place. Regrettably, it appeared that the knowledge of the Valyrians would perish with them.
Following several consecutive days of scouring through multiple mansions, he had stumbled upon an issue that he had not anticipated before.
He was bored out of his mind.
Even with his increased patience, and Gamer System there to help him along, he was still alone in this endeavour, and that fact had finally begun to catch up with him.
He felt bored and craved companionship - someone to converse with, to touch, to kiss, and to have sex with.
He found himself missing his waifus during these past few days. He missed Asha snarky comments, her drive to improve, her love for the sea, and her hilarious disdain for all things ladylike. He missed her soft, palm sized breasts, her shapely ass, her thin lips, her tight asshole. He missed cuddling with her as she slept soundly in his embrace.
He missed Sarella and her bookish nature. He missed her inquisitive, curious nature in regards to learning. He missed the way she behaved in the bedroom, how her stunning golden eyes would shut when she was consumed by pleasure, and the sweet gasps that escaped her lips whenever he climaxed inside her.
He even missed Tyene, and her fake bubbly personality. He missed her adventuring ways when in came to sexual actives. Her desire to pleasure him. He missed teasing her during their bouts of lovemaking, missed burying his face in her stunning golden locks, and he missed how peaceful she looked when she was sleeping in his arms.
But most of all, he missed Mel. His closest companion, who, even now, was probably working very hard to manage his growing trade empire and keep track of his various projects.
He missed her soothing, gentle voice singing lullabies to him whenever he came home, mentally tired from a day of dealing with strangers. He missed the way she read his mood, and understood what he needed by taking a simple look at him. He missed the intellectual talks he'd had with her.
His deepest yearning was for the intimate moments they shared after long and exhausting lovemaking sessions, as they held each other in a tight embrace. He longed for the way they could gaze into each other's eyes, forgetting the world around them. Even the simple act of holding her hand felt forbidden and intensely intimate.
He heaved a sigh and pondered the idea of flying back to Dragonstone, considering the possibility of spending a day or two there with Mel. It would give him the chance to rejuvenate himself mentally before embarking on the tedious task of searching for treasure in this dead and decaying city.
But… he didn't want to return to her just yet. Not when he had not even reached his ultimate destination of old Valyria. Going back to her at this stage seemed like admitting failure to him, so he decided against going to Dragonstone.
But he did longed for a woman's touch, so... where should he go?
He quickly realised that he had a few choices.
He could either head to Volantis and indulge in a night or two of debauchery with as many whores as he could find, leaving them with flushed and satisfied expressions, before returning to his treasure hunt.
He could make his way to the city of Valysar, which was located about 300 miles to the southwest of Volantis along the Rhoyne River. Valysar was a tributary city of Volantis, and it was where Daenerys was currently residing in the manse of a fanatical R'hllor magister.
Spoiler:Map of Volantis and its tributary city Valysar
Alternatively, he could journey to Astapor, where he might locate Missandei and free her from her enslavement. He envisioned bringing her back to Dragonstone to serve as Mel's secretary, providing him with a convenient opportunity to woo her and invite her into their bed. He imagined himself passionately ravishing her until she was crying out his name in ecstasy.
He sat down on a window sill and thought about the various choices he had in front of him. And the answer became clear to him almost instantly.
Engaging with prostitutes was not an activity that held much appeal for him, especially when he had women practically throwing themselves at him. While the idea of rescuing Missandei was tempting, it made more sense to wait until he returned to Westeros where he could ensure her safety. Therefore, meeting with Daenerys was the only logical and practical course of action for him.
Furthermore, even if that were not the case, Daenerys was still worth 12 points if captured. He recognised that he might not have many other opportunities to meet with her and impress her with his charming personality once he returned to Westeros.
With his choice made, he charted a course to the city of Valysar and flew in that direction at full speed.
It took him almost 3 hours to arrive in the tributary city, and by the time he did, it was already night time.
He recalled the location of the magister's manse, having visited it before meeting with Daenerys prior to departing for Valyria.
He had not anticipated that he would be returning here this quickly. But that's life for you.
In contrast to most of the locations in the city, the opulent magister's manse was illuminated by scattered torches that provided a path of light and aided the guards in their patrols. But the place was still dark enough that he could infiltrate it with ease by descending from the skies.
It took him a while to find Dany. But with his Shaper ability to sense all biology within a 10 meter range, finding her was relatively easy.
Especially since her biology 'pinged' differently to his Shaper senses, probably due to her having a magical bloodline.
He didn't care about that right now, as he sat on the window sill and knocked on the glass, making sure to do so gently enough that the guards patrolling around didn't hear him.
It took about a dozen knocks before the figure sleeping in the soft and comfy looking bed finally stirred.
Another knock and Dany instantly woke up from her bed, her eyes wide open as she stared at the window in fear.
Ah shit… he hoped that she won't think of him as an assassin and scream in fear.
Thankfully, Dany recognised him despite it being rather dark and her fearful look turned to one of confusion.
She got out of bed and slowly walked over the window, at which point he gave her a huge grin and waved at her before he gestured her to open the window.
He could've opened it on his own, thanks to his thin mana strands. But he decided against breaking into her room just yet. No, that could wait until he's better acquainted with her... and she's a bit older.
"Axel?" Dany asked, still looking half asleep as her face scrunched up in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
He observed that she made no attempt to open the window for him, which he found to be a clever move on her part. Even though that cleverness was a hindrance to him right now.
"I'm here to meet you, little princess." He told her with a wink and a roguish grin.
Dany's cheeks turned pink, but instead of opening the window, as he'd hoped, she crossed her arms and pouted at him. "Do you know what the time is?"
He looked up the sky and made a face of contemplation before he stared back at her. "It's morning?"
"It's in the middle of the night." She hissed at him as she shivered in the thin nightgown she was wearing. "Come back tomorrow morning."
But even as she said that, she made no move to go back to her bed and stayed standing in her place, waiting for him to say his piece.
Heh.
She resembled a customer who desired a luxury product and sought logical reasons to justify the purchase, despite the fact that her desire was rooted solely in her emotions.
"I'm leaving the city tomorrow morning, princess." He told her. "This night is all I have."
Dany kept her arm crossed and continued to glare at him. "I do not believe you." She said, looking mildly irritated as she held back a yawn.
Shit, his Romeo and Juliet session was not going as well as he'd hoped.
Well, there's more than one way to skin a cow. Or was it more than one way to skin a calf? A dog? Nevermind.
He made a show of reaching inside his satchel while he put his hand inside his Inventory and took out a Blood Orange. Biologically altered by him to be far more tasty than a normal Blood Orange.
He showed it to her in an enticing manner. "Want it?" He asked, trying not to feel like a sleazy old man selling candy to a little girl with the specific intention of either kidnapping or seducing her.
…wait. That's exactly what he was doing, wasn't he?
cough cough* Never mind.
Dany for her part, seemed rather interested in the fruit as she licked her lips and gulped. He knew she wanted it. She knew she wanted it. Now she just have to open the window and let him in, in exchange for the fruit.
But with sheer will of power, Dany held back her desires and glared at him. "I want more." She told him.
"You want more?"
"Um hm." She nodded, gazing at him with resolute eyes.
"Very well." He said and took out another Blood Orange from his Inventory, once again making it look like he took it out of his satchel.
He offered the two candies *ahem* oranges to the girl. "Here." He said.
The girl shook her head. "More." She said resolutely.
You greedy little bitch.
He took out another fruit, then another, and another, until the girl was finally satisfied and let him into her room in exchange for Five Blood Oranges.
"Here." He said, as he gave the fruits to Dany and she gave him a toothy smile before she took the fruits and hid them inside the drawer of her study table.
Then she turned to look at him and her smile immediately vanished, a nervous expression taking its place as she realised that she just let a relatively unknown man into her room.
He attempted not to startle her as he pretended to examine the room with amazement before settling on her bed. "Wow. This bed is so comfortable," he commented before reclining on it and feigning relaxation. "I might just take a nap."
"No. That's my bed," she declared, marching towards him and attempting to pull his legs to remove him. When this proved ineffective, she climbed onto the bed and pushed against him to make him leave.
He chuckled at her antics, and opened an eye to glance at her, a broad grin on his face. "I'm sleeping on this bed, so it's mine now."
He face scrunched up in a cute manner once again. "That's not how it works!"
"Really?" he inquired, pulling her down and holding her in place with his arms. He pinched her cheeks in the same way he did with his younger sister, Shireen. "Then how does it function?"
"Iz wor beco I wa giva ta bez." She said, having trouble speaking because he was still pulling her cheeks. He guessed her words to be 'it works because I was given the bed.'
"Oh? But I was about to show you all the interesting stuff that I found in well, I guess I'll have to find someone else to show it to now." He said as he removed his arm from over her, allowing her to move once again.
She immediately sat up on her bed and glared at him. "You're lying."
"Am I?" He asked, looking at her with amusement. "About what?"
"Going to Valyria. I know that it is very far away. I'm not a child, and you can't fool me." She declared obstinately and he chuckled at her words, something that only made her even more annoyed at him.
"Well, let me show you my bounty and see if I can change your mind." He told her before he made a show of reaching inside his satchel and took out a Glass Candle from his Inventory.
To both of their surprise, the Glass Candle started glowing and he immediately buried it under the blanket, lest the guards outside notice the strange light in her room and get suspicious.
Dany stared at the glowing blanket with the wide eyes of a child who'd just seen something really cool. "What was that?" She asked in awe while he silently contemplated on the burning of the Glass Candle.
Marywn had informed him that of the various mages, warlocks, priests, and hedge witches he'd met over the years, none were capable of lighting up a glass candle without sacrificing at least some of their blood.
For Dany to light one up by merely being in its near vicinity. It made him wonder just how magically powerful she was.
Like… he could do so intentionally if he wanted to, by channeling his mana into it. But to do so by merely being near it? He wondered how much mana he'd have to release into the air in order to accomplish a feat like that.
A few mental calculations made him realise that he would have to release anywhere between 5-25 mana points per second at the very least in order to accomplish the same feat.
That was not a small figure by any means, if you realise that when he first got his Gamer System, he had a Mana Pool of 230 Points. And it took him about 100 minutes to recharge that Mana Pool. Giving him a regeneration of 2 mana points per 'minute'. Yes, per minute and not per second.
Now that he had a mana reserve in the 11K. And his Mana Regen has increased by 4 times, his Mana regeneration was about 7 mana points per second.
…meaning that Dany probably released more mana into the air, unconsciously, than his entire regeneration.
Holy Shit!
And considering how there were over 30 million seconds in a single year…
Yeah, that would definitely explain how the fuck she was able to hatch not one, not two, but three petrified dragon eggs within a single year.
Forget the red comet. Forget the sacrifice of Mirri Maz Duur. Forget the corpses of her stillborn babe as well as Drogo that she'd laid on the pyre. And forget any element of a ritual that bound the entire thing together when she walked into the fire herself.
Forget all that.
The reason Dany was able to hatch those dragon eggs was because she was just that magically powerful.
What the hell!?
How did a normal human even become that magically strong?
Was she child of destiny or some bullshit like that?
And how has no one ever found out about her?
He was sure that a group like the Warlocks of Qarth would love to get their hands on her, if only to tie her up in their basement and use her as a mana battery for the rest of her life.
Hold on. Wait a minute.
The warlocks did had the opportunity to take her. But instead of taking her, they took her three young dragons instead.
Does that mean that the dragons, even at that young an age, were more magically powerful than Dany.
Well… people did say that magic in the world died, when the Dragons perished. But he hadn't truly ever thought on what those words exactly meant.
For three small magical creatures to supply magical energy to an entire world…
The sudden revelation of just how magically powerful the dragons in this world actually were hit him life a freight train.
It made him feel like he had an Intelligence of -5 instead of the 100 that he was so fucking proud of.
"Axel… Axel." Dany's words as well as her attempt at shaking him roused him from his thoughts and he gave her a blank look, still stunned by what he'd just learned. "Are you alright?" She asked, a look of concern on her face.
"Huh… yeah." he replied, gradually recovering from the surge of information he had just received. He'd have time to contemplate on it later. For now, he needed to talk with Dany. And it obviously didn't need to be said that her seduction and Capture became even more important to him now. "Sorry, got lost in thinking about something."
Dany gave him a doubtful expression, but ultimately decided to let go of his peculiar behavior. "I was actually wondering, what was that glowing thing? I have never seen anything like it before in my life," she inquired.
"Well, it is a magical artefact known as the Glass Candle." He told her as he walked over to her window and closed the curtains. The room went pitch black until he came back and took out the Glass Candle from under the blanket. And then the strange light filled up the room once again. "It is an old Valyr-"
"Wait!" Dany said, interrupting him. "I think… I think that I see places within it." With that, she went to get a closer look at the Glass Candle but he moved it away from her. Afraid of what would happen if she dove into the Glass Candle without any preparation.
Being an astral projection was not a comfortable sensation. And you could easily get lost in the world if you don't know what you're doing.
He didn't want to put Dany through such a risk. Not when she'd suddenly become even more valuable to him.
"Hey. Let me see it!" Dany said as she reached for the Glass Candle, only for him to take it even further away from her reach.
"No." He said and put a hand on her head to keep her away from the magical artefact. "Dany calm down."
"I wanna see it." She whine.
"Calm down Dany." He said, a bit firmly this time and Dany pouted.
"Why won't you let me see it?" She asked as she backed down and sat on the blanket, giving him a mild glare that made him think of her as a little tiger cub.
"Because getting too close to it is dangerous for someone who doesn't know how to use it." He told her and then paused, wondering if he had the time to teach her.
Well, he did have many hours before dawn will come, and giving a Glass Candle to Dany and teaching her how to use it would definitely endear her to him.
But… was she really ready for a responsibility like this?
"I'll be careful, I promise." Dany told him and he sighed.
"I don't think you understand. If you look too closely into the glass candle, then it'll suck your soul within it." He lied. It wasn't truly their souls that got sucked into the candle, but this should be enough to scare her away. "And if you don't know how to get out, then you might get stuck in there for the rest of eternity."
"Really?" Dany asked, now looking at the Glass Candle with slight wariness. "Then why do you carry it with you?"
"Because it is useful for those who know how to use it." He told her before he made a show of putting the glass candle inside his satchel and dumped it into his Inventory.
The room was instantaneously shrouded in darkness, prompting him to swiftly retrieve a candle from his Inventory and ignite it with a mana spark.
The room became visible once again and Dany's cute little face peered at him curiously. "Axel?"
"Yes?"
"Did you really go to Valyria in the last few days?" She asked, looking almost nervous at the question.
"Yes."
"But. Valyria is very far away. Isn't it?" She asked, looking very small. "And people don't return from there."
He put the candle near the head of her bed and sat beside her, pulling the little girl into a hug. "Yeah, normally. But I can do magic, so what is impossible for other people, is easy for me."
"Can you really do magic?" She asked, looking at him in wonder.
He hummed in agreement. "Would you like to see some magic?"
She nodded and he thought about what to show her for a moment before he decided to start with the very basics.
A mana ball lit up in his hands and Dany's eyes widened comically as she beheld the glowing ball of energy.
She slowly moved forward to touch it until he swatted her hand away.
"No touching." He chastised her as he brought the ball closer to her for her to get a better look.
"What is it?" She asked.
"This is a mana ball. I low-level magical spell that I use to light up a dark room. It's a useful spell to have, if you don't want to waste your money on candles."
Dany listened to his words with baited breath and watched in silence as he dispersed the mana ball and created a mana arrow instead.
"This is a mana arrow. And it is pretty damn powerful." He said. He refrained from mentioning that it had enough power to pierce through a young dragon's skin and cause harm to even larger dragons.
"It looks so beautiful." Dany said as she studied the mana arrow from all sides, her eyes wide with amazement. She reached forward to touch it, only for him to swat her hand away once gain.
"This is a Mana Shield." He told her as he dispersed the arrow and created a shield that surrounded the both of them in a sphere.
"Wow…" Dany muttered as she studied the shield.
"You can touch this one." He told her and watched with a smile as she tentatively touched the shield. First with a finger, then with all her fingers, and soon enough, she had her face pressed against the shield and a huge smile on her face.
"This is amazing." She said before she looked back at him. "You are amazing Axel."
He wondered if she'll think the same when he eventually reveals his real identity to her.
He banished those dark thoughts and put on a huge smile for her.
"I am, aren't I?" He asked with a fake cockiness and Dany childishly stuck out her tongue at him. An action he mirrored without any hesitation.
He spend the rest of the night showing her the various cool magical things he could do. He didn't show her every thing, of course. He left his ability to fly so that he could surprise her at a later date.
He even showed her the Valyrian Steel swords he found in Valyria, and gave her a Valyrian Steel dagger for her safety, with the promise that she won't show it to anyone else.
After that, they spent the rest of the night laying next to each other, sharing stories.
Dany told him about her life back in Braavos, while he told her of his life as the scion of a rich Household, never revealing his true identity to her.
But alas, all good things come to an end, and before he knew it, the eastern horizon turned red as the sun started to rise and a new day started.
He bid his farewell to Dany, and got a kiss on his cheeks for the 'wonderful night he'd shown her' (she really was too innocent) before he finally jumped out of her room and vanished into the tall hedges.
Within minutes, he was flying back to Valyria to return to his search for treasure. Glad with the choice he'd made in coming here and talking with Dany.
Though as he was flying over in the sky, a thought suddenly hit him and chilled him to the bones.
If a normal adult dragon was as powerful as he thought it to be, then how strong would the Night King be?
No wonder the Night King was able to raise and then sustain hundreds of thousands, if not millions of wights under his command.
The Long Night… it might not be as easy to deal with as he'd first thought.