Magic Multiverse 27 (Patreon)

The drive back to Sunnydale took slightly longer than three hours, because poor Willow had been too exhausted after her punishment, comfortably sleeping in the back seat, even when he stopped by a store to pack some extra equipment.

Mostly candles, many types of incense, lots of weird crystals, inks, and a few different carving tools to be utilized. He wanted to see how much better it was after the improvement.

[+60 Tantric]

[+20 Acrobatics]

[+30 Wiccan Magic]

[Wiccan Magic Intermediate -> Advanced]

He needed to practice and analyze, but even a brief test using the sleeping Willow as a target had shown how much improvement there was. It took only half an hour to cast a healing spell on Willow back where they were still sleeping, getting rid of the aftereffects of her ‘punishment’ the last night.

Though, he suspected he was able to heal that smoothly only due to Tantric. Wiccan magic had the healing spell, but it was Tantric that taught him exactly how to channel it safely.

As he drove, he thought more about Buffy, and her nature as a Slayer. Or, the Slayer according to what Cordelia had told him after Willow collapsed and he questioned her about Sunnydale.

He didn’t like what Cordelia told, but he couldn’t dismiss them because they had matched with the book as well. Apparently, the Slayer wasn’t just the strongest person in the city or something, but a literal chosen one.

One that got chosen when the previous one died … which apparently happened often enough that the book had special notification; with an expected survival less than two years, recommending people not to be surprised to often meet different slayers.

It was tragic, especially combined with Buffy’s story with Angel. He decided to make his approach even gentler. She deserved some comfort.

As he parked his car, he couldn’t help but wonder about exactly what to do next, and for that, he pulled his System.

[Tantric - Expert 208/1000

Boxing - Expert 85/1000

Wand Magic Theory - Advanced 60/250

Soccer - Advanced 53/250 (Midfielder)

Magical Combat - Advanced 40/250

Acrobatics - Advanced 45/250

Wiccan Magic - Advanced 5/250

Chess - Intermediate 74/100

Darts - Intermediate 21/100

Bojutsu - Intermediate 6/100

Vampire Lore - Intermediate 0/100

Meditation -Intermediate 0/100

Poker - Basic 14/50]

He knew he had to get stronger. Much stronger. That rich vampire had died easily, but only because he hadn’t expected to be identified as a vampire, or the random boxer he invited to be packing multiple bottles of holy water.

That, and years he spent playing football proving useful in an unexpected way.

He could see three paths for him to improve. One was obvious. His skills. Improving Boxing was a must, but luckily, he didn’t need to have any considerations about that. He just needed to keep Buffy happy and fulfilled, which he already planned. And, if he wanted some extra boost, he could always hunt vampires using only boxing.

He suspected the random fledging vampires wouldn’t give a lot of points, but they would give some. However, they would be more valuable in improving his other skills. He should be able to push Bojutsu to Advanced with ease, maybe even aspiring for Expert.

Also, he still needed to see if he could add some ranged additions, and see if he could utilize his Darts skill in a more innovative way, or figure out how to use crossbows.

The second target aspect was his raw attributes. His speed, reflexes, and raw power as a priority. And, to a lower degree, his endurance and durability. Not because the latter two weren’t as important, but he needed to improve them a lot to change his style against the vampires.

He had already discovered a way to use Tantric to make his training incredibly effective, but that had been when comparing himself to other athletes. Against supernatural creatures, he would need more.

Much more.

Hopefully, Wiccan magic would solve that particular issue to a degree. Wiccan magic was ridiculously weak and slow compared to everything else Willow mentioned as possible in terms of rituals, and the less it was compared to Wand Magic, the better.

For its weakness, however, Wiccan magic had one benefit. It was pretty safe and malleable in terms of magical rituals, and put a lot of importance to cleansing the energies, meaning he could actually utilize it repeatedly even in Sunnydale.

All three led to one conclusion, one that he had decided on before.

He needed to stay in Sunnydale for the foreseeable future.

Meaning, he needed to purchase a residence. Luckily, he stopped by the bank while he was in Los Angeles, and the check cleared.

Willow woke up as he parked his car. The moment she looked at him, she blushed intensely. “I … thank you … see you around,” she stammered and darted out of the car, blushing terribly.

He didn’t follow her, because he could see everything they had done had hit her together. Luckily, she was beautiful enough to make such a strong mood swing merely cute rather than annoying.

He also didn’t follow her, because he had already noticed Buffy on a distant bench, with a book in hand, trying to hide her spying. It was a terrible strategy, as he couldn’t imagine Buffy sitting on a bench, reading. Not without someone forcing her.

That had been even more apparent when he stepped out of the car and walked to her. Her attention was fully on the book, and her body was still to an absurd degree. “You know your book is upside down, right?” he teased.

“I can read it that way—“ Buffy started, panicked, then she checked it. “Wait, it’s not.”

“It’s not, but you had to check it,” he responded as he sat next to her, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her closer.

“You’re mean,” she complained, but she still hug him back, her arms tight. She was clingier than he expected, which he might have found a touch off-putting, but learning about her only other relationship changed his mind.

Even without meeting the guy, Angel was icky for many reasons, but those were easy to ignore in favor of the bigger issue.

Namely, Angel losing his soul and massacring a lot of people, which Buffy clearly blamed herself. No wonder she had such low expectations from men. Though, on the positive side, he cleared those expectations by a large margin.

“You were so cute trying to look like you weren’t waiting for my return,” he teased her, and she buried her face in his chest. She was strong enough to handle angry vampires with ease, but a little teasing was too much.

“So, how was the fight? Did Willow enjoy it?”

“Actually, Willow wasn’t at the fight,” he said.

“Why? I thought that was the whole point.”

He could have argued the point was to distract her from her sadness, but he decided to use a simpler method. “I had a bad feeling about the promoter, so I asked her to stay at the hotel. Good thing I did.”

“Why?” she said, still happily burying herself in his chest.

“Well, they asked me to have a private meeting after the fight. For recruitment, they said, so I decided it was safer not to bring Willow,” he explained, fudging the timeline and the decisions somewhat. “It’s a good thing I did.”

“Why?” she repeated, but this time, her tone was sharper and alarmed, pulling back.

“Apparently, the recruitment in question was done by a rich vampire. He must have decided that a foreign boxer could disappear without too much commotion.”

“Are you alright?” she said, panicked, already patting him.

“Don’t worry. Unlike the last time you saw me against a bunch of vampires, I was prepared,” he said. He told her the full story, including the trick with the water bottles. He did exaggerate some details to make his bojutsu look better, matching what it reached after the fight rather than before.

It worked, and she focused on the most absurd detail. “You can’t be seriously saying that you used soccer to take down a vampire,” she said, giggling.

“Football,” he corrected playfully. “But yeah. He didn’t expect me to kick the bottle in his face, and the distraction had been enough to take him down. Still, it means I’m temporarily out of work. I might have to find a cheap place to rent while I search for a better job.”

She shook her head. “Good luck finding a cheap place in Los Angeles. Anything below seven hundred comes with cockroaches.”

“Actually, I was thinking of finding a place here,” he responded.

Her eyes widened. “Are you mad? This place is infested with all kind of creatures. You can’t live here.”

“You’re forgetting the perks,” he said.

“What perks—“ she started, but he cut her off with a kiss.

She whimpered beautifully while he continued to kiss her, pulling her onto his lap. “Well, I can think of one,” he whispered.

Her blush was beautiful. “I’m the perk?” she asked.

“Yes, Anne,” he whispered, throwing another little layer of confusion into the mix by reminding her that she still hadn’t told him the truth. He was not above occasional harmless manipulation to make it easier for himself. He planned to tell her about it very soon, but still, he needed her distracted about his decision to move here.

Also, for her. Having someone else killing vampires should help her just as much.

“So, is there a way to convince you to skip classes?” he said.

She gulped. “Why? Because I can’t skip class for…”

He smiled at her sudden shyness. “Actually, I need someone to guide me while I pick a nice rental; ideally a reasonable distance away from the dangerous spots, but close to the college.”

“Me?” she said.

“Well, you know the city far better than I do … and also, you’ll be spending some time there, so I want you to like it.”

That made her blush even worse.

“Fine. I can skip classes for a day,” she said. “I don’t have any classes with that ghoul, Walsh.”

“Not a real ghoul, right?” he asked teasingly, but he still relaxed when she chuckled. After vampires and werewolves, he wouldn’t be surprised if they had a ghoul for a professor.

&&&

[+25 Tantric]

[+25 Boxing]

Looking for a house had proved to be more fun than he expected, especially since Buffy was happy to help him test the acoustics of certain rooms, her hips even more enthusiastic than he expected.

She pointedly didn’t ask any questions about Willow, but she did her best to prove she was superior, riding him hard enough to threaten his hip bones. He couldn’t say he was unhappy about her methods.

At the same time, they checked multiple locations. His initial aim was to look for another studio apartment, but once he walked around, he realized that the rent was even lower than he had expected.

In London, he was paying about six hundred pounds for a studio apartment monthly, which was just below nine hundred dollars, though the location was nice. Comparatively, rent in Sunnydale was cheap enough to count as free.

Six-bedroom houses with gardens went for five hundred dollars.

It must be the constant death from vampires driving down the price.

In the end, he ended up paying eight hundred, but that was because the place was an abandoned boxing gym, with a renovated flat on the second floor. The garden needed some maintenance, but otherwise, it was perfect.

The gym had been an unexpected find, but he wanted to keep it. For one, owning a business was better than being a drifter. More respectable. He was a good enough boxer to make it credible.

Also, he could modify the boxing gym to allow some private Bojutsu training on the side, possibly expanding the available weapons and techniques as he acquired more skills. Also, posing himself as a martial arts enthusiast was a good way to conceal the extraordinary nature of his skill gains.

If anyone asked, he could claim he was training alone in his gym.

Not a perfect cover, but it didn’t have to be. It just needed to give a degree of plausible deniability. If people could ignore the existence of vampires in Sunnydale, they could ignore his rapid improvement.

“A martial arts gym?” Buffy asked once he signed the contract, and the realtor had left. Getting the rent yearly made him not ask any pesky follow-up questions. Combined with the deposit, he paid eleven thousand dollars, which was not exactly pocket change after he lost his channel for easy money, but it was still something he could easily afford. “Really?”

“It’s a good excuse to practice, make some money on the side, and have a lot of weapons lying around without raising too much suspicion,” he said. “Not to mention, super slayer powers or not, you could use some practice, Miss Buffy Anne Summers,” he teased.

“Please don’t start—“ she started, then froze. “W-what?”

“Willow talks too much while she’s sleeping,” he said immediately, using Willow as an excuse. It was believable.

“I … but …” she started, took a step back, her gaze pinned on the floor. “Are you mad?”

He touched her chin, a gentle push making her look him in the eye. “Do I sound mad?”

“But… I lied.”

“Well, you did, and for that, you need to be punished … the fun kind,” he said, then, seeing hope bloom on her face, he kissed her.

Admittedly, his initial plan was to let her ‘lie’ about her name for a while, then confront her at an appropriate juncture where he could use it to his advantage. But, learning the true nature of Slayer and her tragic past changed his mind.

“Really?” she said. “That’s it?”

“I mean, I understand why you didn’t go around mentioning you’re a real-life superhero to a random guy you met,” he said. “Even if that guy is incredibly handsome.”

“You’re terrible,” she said, poking his side, but he could see the panic drain from her body. “Is this why you have decided to stay?”

“Well, a part of it,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind if I had competent support while I learn how to deal with vampires.”

“You don’t have to. All you have to do is leave Sunnydale—“

“I think you’re forgetting that even outside Sunnydale, I had to deal with vampires four times during the last year,” he said. Two, but he had told her that vampires were the reason he escaped London. “I mean, Sunnydale is clearly more dangerous, but I can also learn how to deal with the supernatural threats. Maybe even dabble with some magic for emergencies. It’s more promising than getting whacked after leaving a bar or something.”

She seemed hesitant, but she still nodded. He suspected she wouldn’t be this accepting without the whiplash from her ‘identity reveal’. “Fine, but no throwing yourself at vampires to prove something. You have to listen to me when we’re facing danger.”

“Yes, Commander Summers,” he teased her, then smirked. “You know I’m just as happy being under you—“

“Shut up,” she muttered, blushing as she avoided his gaze. He laughed. “Shut up,” she repeated.

“Make me—“ he said, leaning forward, making the invitation obvious. She interrupted him by kissing just as he had hoped. However, he was surprised when she grabbed his forearms and pushed them behind his body. She pulled back, smiling, but he could also see the hesitation. He realized she was showing off her Slayer strength.

At that moment, he made two judgments.

First, he understood exactly why everyone was scared of her. Reading that she was significantly stronger than an ordinary human was one thing. Actually feeling her manhandle him like a weak little boy who had just gotten out of a hospital bed was something else.

When he read significantly, he assumed she would be considerable stronger compared to her size, which would average around double his strength. That would have been impressive enough, because even Olympic lifters or professional boxers couldn’t casually double his raw strength.

What she was displaying was significantly above that, and her attitude made it clear that she wasn’t pushing herself. Just to test, he strained himself a bit, but she didn’t react. She might not have even noticed it.

The second judgment was about her fragility. He could feel that if he had decided to reject her at that moment, it would have done her some irrevocable damage.

If it hadn’t been for the nuggets he managed to learn from Cordelia, he would have assumed he was building it up in his mind, but he suspected he was not. “Sexy,” he whispered instead, and kissed her even when she kept his arms locked behind his back.

When he pulled back, she was blushing. “It’s not sexy. It’s threatening. I’m showing off my amazing Slayer strength,” she said.

“It’s threatening,” he responded. Her expression flickered. “It doesn’t mean it’s also not sexy. Kinky, even,” he teased. Her blush worsened as she let his arms go. He responded by hugging her. She seemed to be surprised that he was still willing to maintain contact. “Are you alright?”

She froze. “I’m not sure. I have a lot of baggage. I just assumed that someone normal would be scared away.”

“Well, I’m not exactly normal, am I?” he teased, still hugging her. “To be fair, not kickass supernatural hero, more like a genius martial artist that can barely deal with weak vampires, but still, it counts, doesn’t it?”

She sighed. “It does … the best way. But, if you’re determined to tangle with the vampires, I need to make sure you can survive it. Let’s see how long you can keep up with a real threat.”

He smiled. “You’re going to throw me around like a ragdoll, right?” he asked.

Her smile was even more threatening than her earlier grip … and even sexier.