Maraci ended up helping me get dressed. I explained the situation to her, which thankfully was pretty easy as they had heard most of what was going on upstairs. As it turned out, the guards had done a half-hearted search of the rest of the house while not being observed by their employer, then the lot of them - Narani, Ryke, and Maraci, along with all the guards, had stood at the bottom of the stairs listening to what was going on with various degrees of concern and morbid fascination.
The guards apparently knew us, knew that we were thieves, and mostly didn’t care so long as we didn’t hurt anyone or rob the wrong person. Narani was somewhat famous in the area for providing free healing to anyone that needed it, along with raising most of the orphans in this part of the city for decades. Nobody local wanted anything bad to happen to her or her family. Tavi would have known all this, and likely would have reacted quite differently. I ended up having to explain my head injury and subsequent “amnesia”, which predictably got Narani upset.
I managed to calm her down by saying I was remembering stuff all the time, then used my unlimited chat logs to rattle off a few random conversation topics we’d had over what was probably a few months - I jumped to random places in the logs but tried to keep it fairly recent so they’d remember the conversations and believe I had memories from before today. Thankfully I’d already laid the groundwork for this story with Ryke and he unwittingly helped me sell it to the others.
My apparently suicidal behavior explained, everyone calmed down a bit. Strangely nobody seemed all that shocked at the things I’d said and done, just who I’d said them to. Apparently I’d nailed the character without even meaning to, and it made me wonder if I was getting some assistance from the nVR system. If so, it was possible that some of Tavi’s thought patterns were wearing off on me. I’d noticed a few things already, including the tendency to want to bite people, but how deep did it go exactly? It was something I’d need to keep an eye on. I was about ready for a break anyway so I figured once I got settled in at the jail I’d log off and get some air, then examine my time in the game with a clear head.
They were all suitably impressed when I mentioned that my tirade had unlocked a skill and given me a level in my species. Apparently that sort of thing was easier to do when you were in danger. Goblin unfortunately only got me 2 progress points per-level, so not really much to be excited about, but it was something. I hadn’t had a chance yet to look at my unlocked skills but I planned to do so when I got to the prison.
Before Narani would let the guards take me away, I was given a quick primer on what each of them thought would keep me alive for the next 8 days in jail. That was one of the things I learned, weeks here were 8 days, one for each of the prime gods. The guards and my new family all joined in, calling out tips and facts they thought I needed to know. Ryke ran upstairs and fetched the bottle of booze we’d had stashed in the floor, and we spent a solid half-hour drinking while they called out advice and I asked questions. Nobody asked me what had happened to the statuette, and I got the distinct impression everyone was very glad not to know.
Thankfully, when this started up I remembered that I had a menu item for Notes, and I opened it up to find all the written notes I’d taken in The Adversary’s notebook before character creation. I had assumed this was lost, but I guessed the devilish god had taken my suggestion to heart and added it to the game UI. I opened up a new notepad and began jotting down notes from all the suggestions I was being given on prison survival, as well as a few life tips from tipsy guards.
The most important thing I discovered was that the prison wasn’t just a place to hold criminals. It was also a dungeon in the game sense of the word. The holding cells were outside the dungeon instance, built on top of the entrance. Prisoners were expected to go into the dungeon almost every day, get as far as they could, and bring back any loot they found. Taking loot out of the dungeon wasn’t possible as you were searched each time you left the instance. However, good finds were rewarded - sometimes with time off a sentence and sometimes with better living conditions. You would also be paid a reasonable amount for your labor when you were released, provided you survived.
Narani insisted that I show the guards my soul gem, worried that if I hid it then it would be found and… extracted… during a return trip from the dungeon. I didn’t want to show it off for obvious reasons, but this made sense to me. They were all suitably impressed and horrified, and Narani took the opportunity to give me a fresh bandage. If anyone didn’t believe my amnesia claim at that point, they did then.
Another thing I learned was that the prison system, and to an extent the city guard, was run by the church of Reign, the god of blood, gold, and death. I had interviewed the deity in the Assembly of the Gods, and my notes on him were basically just a triple underlined, all caps, CRAZY. It didn’t come as a surprise to me that he was in charge of sending conscripts into danger to make money mostly for other people.
That said, I also learned that the church of The Adversary maintained the laws that the guards and prison system followed. The laws here weren’t exactly equitable, but were internally consistent and not trivial to flaunt. The sallow man, who’s name turned out to be William Strumald, was a wealthy merchant from the capital who’d recently set up a shop in this city. He’d paid for an imprisonment warrant, which basically meant that he couldn’t prove I’d done anything illegal but was willing to spend money to put me in jail anyway.
An imprisonment warrant could only last a week, and could only be issued against the same person once in a three month period. Anyone could buy one against anyone else, but the subject needed to be at least credibly accused of a crime, something that an Arbiter or Bishop of Astraea would decide when issuing the warrant. A death warrant was similar but cost far more, and came with the provision that if the accused was ever exonerated of the crime, the one who’d put the warrant out would themselves be executed. Those could only be signed off on by an Arbiter.
In Altria, the city we were in, the cost of a death warrant started at about twelve thousand gold and went down with the more people that were imprisoned. When the prison was full it could be purchased for as little as three thousand. The prison system wanted to remain near capacity in order to have a constant income from the dungeon, so death warrants weren’t encouraged but imprisonment warrants always were.
All warrants were publicly published, so it was easy to see who hated who and why. Rich people didn’t dare take out imprisonment warrants on their social equals because they in turn would find themselves imprisoned as soon as their victim was released - or sooner if the family paid for it. There was nearly nobody that couldn’t be credibly accused of some crime, if not right that moment then in the future, so simply having enough money to buy a warrant was proof against them. Obviously, we didn’t have that kind of money, even after the guards gave us back our coin stash.
It was, for lack of better words, a fucked up system. The poor were the obvious victims, able to be imprisoned or killed by anyone with enough money. I had to wonder what Astraea was thinking here - the goddess of justice seemed to have a very minor part to play in the legal system of this city, and I wondered why that was. Sure her people apparently worked as judges or something, but this was such an obviously abusable system.
Before long it was time to go. The guards couldn’t delay any further in taking me in, so I let myself be cuffed and led out the door, promising Narani at least three times that I’d be careful in the process. It was still daylight out, though the sun was on the downswing, and I got my first look at the street Tavi had lived on all her life. I marked it in my memory, then remembered I had a mental map and managed to figure out how to place a marker before we rode away. I wanted to make sure I didn’t have any trouble finding it again when I got out of jail.
Despite the shackles I found myself feeling more comfortable in my new body now than I had so far. Thanks to Maraci I was fully clothed in some of Tavi’s best “work clothes”, as the other girl put it. They consisted of the clothes I’d been trying to put on earlier, long pants made of a canvas-like material, and a simple white cotton shirt over which I’d equipped a sturdy tanned hide vest that was probably meant for a boy but which felt almost like armor compared to everything else I was wearing. I also had on a pair of tough fabric gloves made for climbing, each of which had the tip cut off the last finger allowing my longer nail on that finger to slip through. Finally I had on what might be called open-toed boots, as they were cut away at the front to let my claws hang out.
The other girl had also given me a rag to stuff in my pants, which led to an incredibly awkward conversation about menstruation. I was desperately hoping this wasn’t something I’d actually have to deal with, but until I knew for sure I had to plan for the worst. The devs of this game apparently had a hard-on for realism so I couldn’t risk ignoring it.
As it turned out, goblin girls got their period about once a week instead of once a month, and the entire cycle was sped up compared to what I was used to. According to Maraci I should be starting mine within a day or so, and it would likely be over the day after. Apparently there was a good chance I’d feel it coming on and would have some time to prepare, but often it wasn’t much. That sounded inconvenient but not too bad, and I felt like I’d gotten lucky with this one. I’d once had a girlfriend that had needed to have a hysterectomy due to endometriosis and her periods had caused her to be bedridden for about a week each month until the surgery had let her live a more normal life.
The guards led me down to a waiting carriage. It was basically a cage on wheels, but it looked like it could uncomfortably hold five or six full grown men, so when they loaded me into it all alone I imagined it looked pretty comical. Wernst and his buddy drove the carriage while the other guards dispersed. I was still irrationally angry at the man despite the fact that he’d apparently put his neck on the line for me by lying to the merchant, and despite his apology. It was hard to just let it go, but I could keep it bottled up at least and try to work it out later.
The jail wasn’t far. I’d been told roughly where it was in relation to Narani’s house, so I knew I had a few minutes to think things over. I started with taking a look at my unlocked skills, wanting to know what resources I had available before I ended up spending any more points.
> Devil in the Details
>
> Active Skill (Tier 10)
>
> Prerequisites: Demonologist (Level 50)
>
> Rank: 0 / 5
>
> PP: 0 / 20
>
> Activation Cost: Mana (Low) & Stamina (Low)
>
> Activation Type: Maintained
>
> Cooldown: 1 day
>
> You have been given read-only access to the divine logs, where all of history has been recorded. You may activate this skill to step inside the logs. Select any log entry as your starting point, you will relive the experiences that caused that log entry to be created, starting at the chosen entry and ending when you run out of mana or stamina. Viewing a log requires mana and stamina for every second of viewing, if you run out of mana or stamina the vision will end. You may also end it early at any time. At rank 2 and higher the following effects become available:
>
> - At rank 2 the length of your vision will double and grant context. Instead of starting with the chosen log you will now see the events leading up to it as well as the aftermath.
> - At rank 3 you will be able to relive the vision from the perspective of anyone else the selected log mentions, such as an attacker or party member.
> - At rank 4 you view the log as a disembodied ghost, able to move about and view the scene from any angle.
> - At rank 5 you gain full control of the simulation, and can pause, rewind, and use information gathering skills on things in the vision.
> Enrage
>
> Active Skill (Tier 1)
>
> Prerequisites: Achievement (Speak Truth to Power)
>
> Rank: 0 / 5
>
> PP: 0 / 2
>
> Activation Cost: Mana (Medium)
>
>
> Activation Type: Instant
>
> Cooldown: 1 minute
>
> You attempt to enrage your target, reducing their Wisdom, Charisma, and Perception by 5% per rank of this skill for one minute. Affected enemies are also much more likely to target you than other available targets.
These were both fantastic. The first one was just wild, I hadn’t even realized that skill tiers could go above 5 based on everything I’d seen so far. A tier 10 skill made me wonder if that was the cap, or if there wasn’t one. This appeared to be one of The Adversary’s unique class skills, and he knew damn well that if I spent one of my Innovator ranks on it I could pick it up without meeting the prerequisite. In fact, I had a free rank already just from getting the skill through my class, so I could unlock this immediately if I chose to. I’d just need to spend the 20 points to reach rank 1.
That skill would be invaluable for learning about Tavi’s life when combined with my unlimited logs - I could just go back and watch portions of her life, once a day, until I’d be able to fool anyone. How perfect this skill was told me once again that The Adversary was working with Valera on this. Were the two gods allies? They didn’t seem like a natural pair but maybe I was missing something. I doubted it had anything to do with me directly though, I was just in the right place at the right time.
Enrage was also amazing in its own right, but not something I felt comfortable using just yet. I wasn’t sure just how squishy I was, and until I had a better feeling for how much damage an attack would do to me I didn’t want to use a taunt skill. Still that debuff would be a 25% penalty to three stats when it was maxed out. That was nothing to laugh at.
We had another minute before we arrived at the prison, so I quickly flipped over to the Penalties tab in my skill screen. I hadn’t had a chance to look at this yet and wanted to know what the deal was before any of it got me into trouble.
> Look Ma, No Hands… or Feet!
>
> Penalty (Tier 50)
>
> Source: Valerian
>
> Rank: 1 / 1
>
> PP: 0 / 100
>
> As a Valerian your true body is a gemstone infused with a spark of divine energy. As a gemstone, you have no arms or legs, or much of a body at all really. Your natural body may not operate on its own, nor may it directly benefit from any equipment.
> Diminutive
>
> Penalty (Tier 1)
>
> Source: Goblin
>
> Rank: 3 / 5
>
> PP: 0 / 2
>
> With a short stature comes short legs. You have a 25% penalty to movement speed, which is reduced by 5% for every rank removed from this penalty.
> Nocturnal
>
> Penalty (Tier 1, Mastered)
>
> Source: Goblin
>
> Rank: 0 / 5
>
> PP: N / A
>
> You are naturally inclined to living in the darker areas and times of the world. While in direct sunlight you have a 50% penalty to perception. This decreases by 10% for every rank removed from this penalty.
>
> Note: This penalty has been mastered, removing its effects and unlocking the “Darkvision” skill.
> Expendable
>
> Penalty (Tier 5)
>
> Source: Goblin
>
> Rank: 5 / 5
>
> PP: 0 / 10
>
> In the face of harsh environments your people have evolved to be expendable and easily replaceable. Your maximum health is reduced by 50%. This amount is lessened by 10% for every rank removed from this penalty.
I finished reading these over right as we were pulling up to the jail. The building looked like someone had set down a huge block of solid stone, then carved it into the shape of a squat, three story building. There were barred windows on each floor, and through some I saw arms sticking out as prisoners rested against their cell window. I closed out of all my menus while waiting to be let out of the cage, but my mind was spinning through the implications of the penalties screen.
Penalties were literally reverse skills. I hadn’t been expecting to be able to spend progress points to remove them, but it seemed that if I did pay them off I got access to new skills based on the penalty I’d removed. Tavi had paid off Nocturnal and gotten access to Darkvision. She was apparently in the middle of paying off Diminutive as well. Far more concerning though was that I was operating under a -50% penalty to health. I’d just found out that I was deeply in progression point debt and desperately needed to pay it off.
I tried to pay attention as Wernst and his partner, Bravic, the man I’d been calling “serious guard” took me into the building. They confirmed that a warrant had been purchased for my imprisonment and that the gold had been paid. An Arbiter had been called to sign off on it, and would be here momentarily. He was apparently questioning a suspect.
We only had to wait a moment. A surprisingly young man, perhaps in his early thirties, clean shaven but with graying black hair came down the stairs from the upper floors. He wore white, but his clothes were torn and burned, and ash darked his cloak. He was also covered in fresh blood. It was sprayed along his arm and over his chest. Had they said this guy was questioning a suspect? What the fuck kind of questioning had he been doing?
“Is this the accused?” The man asked, looking at me with eyes the color of steel. He took some papers from one of the guards and read them over, then grunted. “Theft, witnessed by two off-duty guardsmen on a personal contract, yet you are unable to locate the stolen property despite a tracking spell?” He sighed. “Very well.”
The Arbiter walked over to a counter set into one of the walls. Bars covered the opening, and two guards sat inside, but there was space to write and one of the guards handed the man a quill pen to sign off on the warrant. However, the Arbiter paused before doing so, turning to me. “I am required to offer you a chance to present evidence that contradicts this warrant, or if you wish you may submit to a truth-speaking… If you want to do that it will need to wait for tomorrow as I’ve just finished administering one and it will be some time before I can do so again.”
Behind the Arbiter, Guardsman Werntz emphatically shook his head. His advice was unnecessary though. Tavi actually had committed the crime I was accused of, and while I might be able to talk around it, I wanted nothing to do with any sort of truth spell. I had way too much to hide. “Uh, thanks but I’ll pass on that.”
The Arbiter nodded, unsurprised, then signed off on the warrant. “Guardsman, I require assistance with my charge upstairs. Send for Wizard Toury if he is available, or one of his apprentices if not.” Then he slid the warrant under the bars and turned without another glance in my direction before walking back up the stairs. As soon as he was out of sight, everyone in the room seemed to let out a collective breath.
The guards got moving quickly after that. All the boxes checked, all the ducks in a row. A sort of magical brand was used on my arm, leaving a symbol there in something that wasn’t ink but looked almost like a tattoo. I was told it would fade when my warrant expired, but that until then it would let them track me and know if I was alive or dead - an important tool for figuring out what happened to those that vanished in the dungeon.
You have been afflicted with Incarcerated (Tier 5 Bane).
New Required Title: “Prisoner”
“So I’m officially a prisoner now?” I asked Wernst.
“That you are. You’ll be free to go in eight days so long as no hard evidence against you turns up. Someone will be around to take you to your cell in just a moment when they finish digging that old fool Toury out of his cups.”
“Alright, I want to try something real quick, wait here a sec would you?”
Both guards watched, as I walked back to the door we came in through, stepping outside the jail. “Hey wait, Tavi, you can’t go out there!” Bravic called out behind me.
New Achievement! “The Fugitive”
Congratulations, you have received enough XP to become a Level 2 Valerian!
I immediately turned around and walked back inside. ”Chill out, I’m not going anywhere. I just wanted to check on something.”
Both guards looked at me, confused. “You’re lucky you didn’t set off the alarms. That mark on your arm will set off magical alarms if you get too far from the building. Another step and half the guards in the city would have been headed this way.” Wernst explained. “Don’t make me explain something like that to my captain please.”
About that time a new guard arrived to take me to my cell, Wernst and Bravic handed me off to the new guy and then left, Wernst muttering about having to fill out reports. The new guard led me into the prison and to my new cell. As we walked he rattled off the rules of prison, including when meals would be served, when lights out was, when I was expected to be in the dungeon, etc. I’d already heard some of this but paid attention anyway - I didn’t want to get in any more trouble if I could help it.
When the jail cell slammed closed behind me I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, alone at last, no more need to put on an act. Then I noticed that there were 4 beds in this cell, two on each wall in a bunk bed configuration. The bottom bunk on each side looked used, but nobody was currently here, and I realized that my cellmates were probably still in the dungeon.
I climbed up to a top bunk and plopped myself into it. I wanted to review a few more things and possibly assign some points, then I wanted to log out and take a break. First, I checked my notifications. I wanted to check the details of my achievements and see if there were any other messages waiting.
> New Achievement
>
> Speak Truth to Power
>
> When the choice was between death or dishonor, you chose death… and lived to tell the tale. You did not hold your tongue when it could have cost you everything, and when words were your only weapon you butchered a foe much stronger than yourself. Bravo.
>
> Rewards:
>
> Skill Unlocked (“Enrage”)
> New Achievement
>
> The Fugitive
>
> Through cunning trickery or just plain luck you’ve managed to escape from prison, becoming the first Traveler to do so. Good luck, you’ll need it.
>
> Rewards:
>
> +10pp (Universal)
> Title Unlocked (“Hunted”)
My little stunt at the entrance to the prison had been a gamble that something like this achievement existed. I knew that some achievements would be easier to get at the start of the game than they would be later on - there were lots of easy world firsts to be collected right now and I intended to grab as many of them as I could. I was also hoping I’d get another one tomorrow when I headed into the dungeon, but there was a good chance any achievements attached to it would be contingent on beating one or more of its bosses.
I knew I should probably look and see what these titles were at some point, I had a few of them now. That said, I had other things higher on my priority list. I reached into my soul-space and withdrew one of the scarab tokens. I wanted to try and use one of these while nobody else was in the room - I wasn’t sure if it was going to have a visible effect, and right now I was in a mostly empty cell block, so I probably wasn’t going to have a better opportunity.
I focused on activating the token in my hand, and it flashed in response, then several things appeared in my vision all at once.
New Achievement! “Deal with the Devil”
Congratulations, you have received enough XP to become a Level 2 Trailblazer!
> System Message
>
> Welcome to the Exchange
>
> As the owner of a Scarab Token, you may access The Equitable Exchange, a store of sorts that will trade your Scarab Tokens for powerful rewards, some of which are unique to the Exchange. However, Scarab Tokens are not the only thing required to make purchases here, as the favor of its operator, The Adversary is also valued.
>
> The Exchange is divided into three separate “shops”: “The Fair Price” offers a selection of options available to anyone with sufficient Scarab Tokens, while “The Infernal Contract” requires at least a lesser blessing from The Adversary to access. Finally “Sam’s Daily Devil Deals” offers a small selection of unique items hand-chosen by its proprietor and is constantly being updated. Entry into Sam’s requires a cover fee of one Scarab Token, which can be used as store credit if you make a purchase.
>
> Note: The Exchange exists in a separate timeline from your universe. Time will not seem to pass in this world while you are in the Exchange.
When I closed out that message, a new screen presented itself. This one looked much different than the other floating menus I’d seen so far. While those were flat and minimalist, this window looked like an unfurled scroll, and it unrolled itself into view. The scroll itself was decorated with drawings that looked like an old-fashioned advertisement, with three roughly equal areas carved out on it in triangular shapes that met up in the middle of the page. Each area had drawings and writing like you might expect to see on an advertisement, promising “the lowest prices” or “the most exclusive products.”
The bit about the Exchange being outside of time was interesting. In a multiplayer game you couldn’t pause, but nVR tech could enhance or slow the speed of your thoughts creating a time dilation effect. This was typically not used to any great extent because long term exposure to it wasn’t considered safe, so that probably meant that each of these stores would kick me out after a while if I spent too long inside.
I mentally selected “The Fair Deal”, planning to work my way through each store, and this one looked like the place to establish a baseline. As I selected it the ink on the parchment scroll in that section lit up like it was on fire, and a moment later the scroll itself began to burn away from the center outwards and the smell of sulfur filled my nose. Then I was looking through the burning hole in the air into a dimly lit room filled with glass display cases. When the fire reached the edge of the scroll it kept burning until as far as I could tell the entire universe had burned away, and I was left sitting on the floor of the room I’d just caught a glimpse of.
Someone cleared their throat behind me as I took in the scene. I looked around and found a bored looking Devilkin girl leaning over a counter, next to what looked an awful lot like a cash register. She looked nothing like Maraci, the only other Devilkin I’d seen, even though they couldn’t be far apart in age. She had light blue skin and black hair with long swept back horns that went all the way back behind her head. She’d decorated her horns with hanging jeweled bangles and silver caps on the points. She had a number of piercings as well, three in each pointed ear, one above her right eye, and another in her nose. She was wearing a black polo shirt with a name tag pinned on it that said “Hi my name is Go Fuck Yourself, ask me how I can help you today!”
“So, you just gonna sit on our floor, or are you gonna buy something?” She asked, not bothering to straighten up.
I pulled myself to my feet and looked around. The room we were in was filled with glass display cases, and each case rested on a freestanding pedestal creating a sort of checker box pattern throughout the room. I could see that each pedestal had a sign on it, presumably describing what was inside. From where I was standing I could already tell there was some wild stuff in the cases and I couldn’t wait to get a better look. Oddly, the room wasn’t lit with magical lights or anything - it had fluorescent ceiling lights like you might see in an office building or school, one of which was flickering and buzzing noticeably.
“Just looking for now, I’ll let you know if I need something.” I told the girl behind the counter, noticing that she’d already gone back to reading something that looked a lot like a magazine.
“Sure, whatever.”
I decided to do a quick walk through the isles and see what stood out. The inventory here apparently didn’t change much from the sound of it, so I was expecting to see a lot of things you might want to buy more than once. My suspicions proved correct, as I found a number of consumable items. There were a few things I might want down the line, such as a potion that claimed to be able to cure all poisons and diseases, but there were a few things that were of immediate interest.
> Vial of Experience
>
> Raw Power
>
> Drinking this potion grants you 100 bonus Universal Progression Points.
>
> Cost: 1 Scarab Token
> 10000 Gold Pieces
>
> Vast Wealth
>
> Grants you 10000gp, directly deposited into your bank account if you have one.
>
> Cost: 1 Scarab Token
> Potion of Understanding
>
> Unlock a Random Skill (Tier 1-5)
>
> When you drink this potion a single skill is unlocked for you. The skill is guaranteed to be one you meet the prerequisites for, but the skill will be no higher than Tier 5.
>
> Cost: 1 Scarab Token
> Potion of Deep Knowledge
>
> Unlock a Random Skill (Tier 6-9)
>
> When you drink this potion a single skill is unlocked for you. There is no guarantee you will meet any of the skills prerequisites, and the skill will be no higher than Tier 9 but no lower than Tier 6.
>
> Cost: 1 Scarab Token
> Elixir of Mastery
>
> Gain an Affinity
>
> Using this elixir grants you a bonus affinity.
>
> Cost: 1 Scarab Token
> Greater Elemental Essence
>
> Achieve oneness with nature
>
> Often used as a crafting ingredient, elemental essences can add elemental effects to anything capable of absorbing them. A creature absorbing one has a chance of becoming an Elemental Scion, while an item absorbing one typically gains an elemental damage type or other elemental property. A greater essence has an increased chance of being successfully absorbed, and typically infers more powerful effects on its subject.
>
> Cost: 1 Scarab Token
> Explorer’s Backpack
>
> Carry the world on your shoulders
>
> This pack is a larger version of a Traveler’s Pack, and like its smaller cousin it is larger on the inside than the outside. The interior of the pack can contain two cubic meters of material and is divided up into two compartments that physically conform to the exterior dimensions of the pack, but at a larger scale. It always weighs 5kg whether it is empty or full.
>
> Cost: 1 Scarab Token
I was particularly interested in finding out the conversion ratio from scarabs to gold. I already knew that I could buy a death warrant for a measly 5000g right now, so either life was cheap around here or I was astoundingly wealthy. No wonder the description said a single one of these tokens could start a war. Still, if anything this was the least interesting option. I was seriously eyeing the vial of experience as a way to help pay off my enormous progression point debt. With a couple of tokens I could pay off all my penalties.
The problem was that I’d eventually get those points on my own, sure it’d take ten levels off for every one of those vials I bought, but if I was patient there were potentially much better options. The Potion of Deep Knowledge was extremely tempting for example. For most people that potion would represent a huge gamble, though if they got something they couldn’t use they might still be able to get value out of it by teaching it to others or by working to fulfill the prerequisites over time. For me it was a guaranteed usable high tier skill - at worst I might have to spend more than one rank of Innovator on it to bypass multiple prerequisites.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
The problem here was the opposite of the first one - high tier skills were expensive, and I had so many things I needed to spend points on. Still, it was probably better if I bought one of those potions sooner than later - it had the potential to be build defining and if I was going to go for it I should do it before I started going down an incompatible path.
Finally, some things like the elemental essence stood out to me as potentially very interesting but maybe not instant buys. I didn’t know how rare some of these things were, so it was possible I could buy or find one elsewhere. All I had to go by was the amount of gold I could buy with one of these tokens, and currently I didn’t feel like I had enough info on how much gold was worth. Hell I didn’t know how much that statue I had stored in my soul-space was worth.
I walked back to the front of the building. I hadn’t really paid attention to this area except to briefly speak to the girl manning the register, but now that I was looking for an exit I saw one. It looked like an old fashioned automated door from a gas station, and I walked towards it wondering if it’d transport me back to my cell. The door slid open as I approached, but when it did I got a wave of heat in my face so strong I staggered back and fell over, feeling my skin dry out instantly. After a moment the door slid shut again and left me feeling sunburned.
I blinked rapidly, trying to moisturize my eyes and process what I’d just seen and felt. Outside this room was literal hell. In the brief moment I’d had before the heat had pushed me back I’d seen devils of all shapes and sizes moving about on a cracked and barren landscape. Some of them were literally wading through flowing lava, and in the far distance I could still see a huge muscular shape the size of a skyscraper crossing my field of vision. There was no sun, the only light came from the red glow of molten rock.
Congratulations, you have received enough XP to become a Level 3 Trailblazer!
Wait, hadn’t that just leveled up when I used the Scarab Token? What did I get XP from? My mind was reeling and trying to follow multiple trains of thought at the same time, least of all how I was supposed to get out of here.
The girl at the counter turned a page in her magazine, the soft rustle of paper breaking me out of my shock. She didn’t appear to have noticed the heat. Suddenly it occurred to me that she might not be a Devilkin after all and I used Identify on her, holding my breath as I waited to see if it would work.
> Rhelrya
>
> Level 15 Cashier (Tier 1 Devil, Lesser Succubus)
>
> Rhelrya, or Rhel as she prefers to be called, is a young devil working her first real job at the Equivalent Exchange. The pay is the only thing worse than her attitude, but she has nothing better to do with her time so she hasn’t quit yet. Her dream is to get summoned to one of the mortal realms and subjugate it under her ironclad fist, but if she can’t have that she’ll be content with a career in marketing. Her hobbies include knitting, manga, and necromancy.
She didn’t seem to notice me inspecting her, but she did notice when I got back on my feet. “Oh, yeah… You shouldn’t go out there.”
“Yeah I kinda noticed. Where are we?”
She blinked slowly at me like I was an idiot. “We’re in the Fair Deal. Did you like, get here by accident or something?”
“No, I mean out there.” I gestured at the literal gates of hell. “What’s that out there?”
“That’s Jira, duh. What did you think it was?”
Thinking back I had actually heard people say that name before but it hadn’t really registered. In fact they’d used it as a swear word. “Uh, ok… How do I get back where I came from?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, how’d you get here?”
I’d put the scarab token back into my soul-space shortly after arriving, but I took it out again now. However, activating it didn’t seem to work. Eventually I figured out that just opening my menu was all that was required - the entire menu system had been replaced with a different one that would allow me to travel to other areas within the Exchange, or exit it entirely.
Rhel had almost immediately grown bored of my predicament and returned to her magazine, but it felt awkward just vanishing without saying anything. “I’ll uh, be back later probably. Going to check out the other stores.”
She didn’t bother to acknowledge me as I left, mentally selecting Sam’s Daily Devil Deals as my next destination.
With a crack and puff of sulfurous smoke I found myself standing in a room that had been divided up with red ropes attached to free-standing poles scattered around the room. I was standing at the entrance to a veritable rope maze, and at the far end of the room a satyr stood waiting. His clothes were strangely tailored but clearly intended to resemble a tuxedo, except that the bottom was closer to a kilt than anything else, and his furry legs were quite visible under it. He wore no shoes, but even from here I could see that his hooves had been polished to a shine.
There was no one else in the room so I started making my way over, just ducking a little to go under some of the ropes. I was stopped by the sound of someone clearing their throat, and I looked up to see the satyr point to a sign on the wall near him. It said “No line cutting! Please proceed in an orderly fashion. Line cutters will be denied entry!”
“But there’s nobody else here?” I protested.
He just tapped the sign again and shook his head.
“Fine. Whatever.”
I walked up and down across the length of the room six times before I reached the satyr. He was standing at a podium much like System had been when I first started playing this game, and he had a guest book and quill pen much like the one System had used. I raised my eyebrow at the similarities and wondered if they were intentional.
“Welcome to Sam’s Daily Devil Deals, an exclusive buyers club for discerning individuals of taste and means. There is a cover charge to enter, one scarab token, which shall be credited to your account for future purchases at the club. Today we have three items on display, all of exquisite quality and value. If you would like to enter please provide me with your true name and your scarab token so I may open your account. Don’t worry, all our members are kept in the strictest confidence.”
“So if I come back another day do I need to pay another token to get in, or am I covered as long as I have a token on file?” I asked.
“You will need to pay the cover fee each visit, but of course any unspent tokens will be held in escrow until you are ready to make a purchase.”
“Why do you need my true name? I thought those were private.”
“We need a true name to ensure accounts are accurately associated with our customers. You wouldn’t want someone with the same given name to have access to your account would you? True names allow us to accurately identify you without needing to worry about confusion over less accurate methods.”
“Alright, one more question though. Have you had any other customers yet today?” If I was the first customer then it might be worth entering just for the chance of earning another achievement.
“We had a visitor earlier, but he chose not to pay the cover fee and so is not a customer. Of course, I cannot offer any information about our customers.”
I nodded, and proffered up a single scarab token. “My name’s Infinity, the symbol not the word.” I drew the symbol in the air as I spoke, and to my surprise it left a little trail of light for a moment though I’d not intended any such effect.
“Oh! It’s a pleasure to meet you! The Lord Adversary spoke quite highly of you I hear. Let me just jot this down and I’ll escort you to the showroom.” As he spoke he reached a hand down, I thought to shake my hand, and I raised my hand to meet his. Instead of a shake though, he raised my hand to his lips and planted a kiss on it, doing a flourishing bow and looking into my eyes as he did so. “Welcome to Sam’s.”
He released my hand, and with a few quick strokes made a note in his book and then brushed the ink dry. He closed the book and took out a long key, which he fit into a keyhole in the book's cover and twisted. Then he stepped down from behind the podium and motioned me to follow.
The showroom was a short walk away, and we were met at the door by an older but similarly dressed satyr. My guide introduced me, then withdrew. The older satyr repeated the hand-kissing gesture his subordinate had done, then introduced himself to me. “Lady Infinity, it’s a pleasure to meet you. The Lord Adversary spoke much about you when I met with him earlier for tea. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Samuel Treabrook, a collector of rare and mysterious artifacts. You have the honor of being our first patron in this new world, and I am eager to show you the wonders we have prepared for your consideration.”
As he spoke he opened the door beside him, still holding one of my hands, and I found myself gently led into a small gallery with three tables laid out in a triangular orientation. Sam held my hand until we’d entered the room, gesturing to the tables and the three satyrs standing behind them. “Here you’ll find our selection of novelties. These members of my family have each made a study of these particular treasures and can answer any questions you may have. We ask that you not touch them or use skills on them except as instructed, as some of our collection is quite volatile. If you have questions never hesitate to ask, and if you wish to make a purchase simply let me know. Also, for larger or more unstable items we have a concierge delivery service that can help you relocate the item to a location of your choice. I do hope you enjoy your visit.” Then he bowed and withdrew as well.
I had to admit, this was not what I was expecting out of a place called “Sam’s Daily Devil Deals” but I wasn’t complaining even if it was a bit odd to have people kiss my hand. Despite my headache I was eager to see what this place had to offer, so I made my way over to the first table.
The satyr behind this table was a woman, and she gave a curtsey as I approached. “Hello! My name is Veralis. Today we have the Bastion of the Dwarven Lords for your consideration. It’s a magical shield of great strength that possesses the ability to become immovable on command. As you can see, the craftsmanship of this item is without peer. It was wrought from a single piece of stone and carved to bear the likeness of a dwarven king, symbolizing the king’s duty to protect his people.” She motioned to a sign set on the table, it had the appearance of an unrolled scroll held upright. “Here’s a detailed inspection report, along with any trivia and history we’ve been able to gather about the item.”
I leaned in and read the scroll. It was basically a marketing pamphlet combined with the results of using a skill like Inspect.
> Bastion of the Dwarven Lords
>
> Tower Shield (Tier 7, Massive, Indestructible)
>
> Armor: 84 (Base 70, +20% from Massive)
>
> Quality: Masterwork
>
> This massive stone shield is the size of an entire dwarf, yet in the hands of a skilled practitioner of the martial arts it is as graceful as a feather floating in the breeze. A soul-bonded user of this shield can move it effortlessly and weightlessly, yet to all other known forces it is implacable in its immovability.
>
> Once a day the Bastion can project an unbreakable forcefield in a 3 meter radius around itself. The forcefield lasts up to ten minutes, or until canceled by the wielder. Nothing can pass through the barrier created by this effect.
>
> Sam’s Notes:
>
> This shield is famous for several reasons. The base shield was forged by a master dwarven smith for his king, and completed on the eve of battle. The king, who’s visage adorns the front of the shield, gave it to his greatest warrior, and its presence on the field of battle is said to have single handedly turned the tide of the war, as none could drive back a force lead by the shieldbearer. While the full process of its crafting is unknown, we are sure that it derives much of its power from a Greater Elemental Essence of Earth that had been combined with a fragmented splinter of reality itself, commonly referred to as a Reality Seed or Shard.
>
> The Bastion appears to have no strength requirement to use effectively, as its positioning and movement are largely determined by the wielder’s will. Wherever the wielder wants the shield to be, there it is. The reality core makes the shield’s position a fundamental law of reality, inalterable and inexorable. Only a daemon might have some success at moving the shield against the owner’s wishes, except that the shield’s runic inscriptions specifically ward against daemonic influences.
>
> The shield’s force field ability is really nothing of the sort. It does not create a barrier so much as it creates an overlapping dimension in the area of effect. The distance between the two sides of the effect are in reality, infinite, and so no effect other than dimensional travel is able to even attempt to break through. The dimension created by the shield is under the total control of the shield, so only by overpowering the reality core of the shield can one even attempt to breach the domain.
>
> Of further note, the shield appears to count as if it were bedrock for the purposes of skills and effects that require the user to be touching the ground. This has some implications for synergy with the skills of some species and classes which have not yet been fully examined, but which we believe would be efficacious.
>
> Price: 7 Scarab Tokens
Oh boy was that something. If all the stuff in here was like this I wouldn’t be able to afford it now, but would definitely be back in the future.
“I have a question about this item.” I told Veralis. “What is this Reality Seed thing the description mentions, some sort of crafting component I take it? I’ve seen the elemental essence before in one of the other Exchange stores.”
“Oh yes, Reality Seeds and Shards are both quite valuable and rare, they have other uses besides crafting but that’s what they are most commonly used for. A seed typically exemplifies some fundamental aspect of reality, such as mass, time, or weight. The fragment powering this shield appears to be related to physical location. Its effect on this item is rather unique.”
To demonstrate, Veralis lifted the massive shield with a single hand, then released it in mid-air. The shield hung unsupported in the exact position she had placed it.
“Feel free to try and move it,” she told me, motioning toward the floating shield.
I reached out and grabbed the bottom of the shield, trying to pull it down towards me. Not only did it not budge even slightly, I found myself lifting off the ground as Veralis reached out and casually pushed the shield a little higher, leaving me dangling from it until I let go.
The satyr smiled at me before returning the shield to its previous position. “It has become a universal truth that the shield is in whatever location its wielder places it, and it couldn’t possibly be anywhere else,” she said. “Many of the other properties of the shield also come from this seed, or an interaction between the seed and the earth essence, such as its ability to project a new dimension on top of our own.”
“I gather they are collectively referred to as fragments but how are shards and seeds different from each other?”
“It’s typically a matter of age. Seeds are newer fragments that haven’t yet stabilized, they can be altered and can grow into dungeons if not taken care of. Shards are stable and have come to represent some crystalized facet of reality. Shards never naturally become dungeons so are preferred as crafting material, but other than that I don’t think there’s much of a difference.”
“And that bit about daemons, why might a daemon be able to move the shield around when nobody else can?”
“Ah, well, daemons are sort of the opposite of reality, you know? They can pretty much violate any of the natural laws on a whim, unless a demonologist has told them not to at least. My understanding is that they actually eat reality fragments when they find them, and that this is sort of their natural place in the cosmos, cleaning up broken pieces of reality that would otherwise be left to drift and potentially mess things up."
A big part of the reason I’d decided to pay the fee to come in here was for the potential to gather information, and it was already working out better than I’d hoped. I hadn’t seen any Reality Seeds on sale in the Fair Deal, so apparently they were pretty rare. Perhaps it was the kind of thing I could find at the Infernal Contract since apparently that place was mostly for servants of The Adversary.
I’d need to keep my eye out for them, but for now I made my excuses and went to take a look at the other items on display.
The next table had a much smaller item displayed on it. It was a fine gold necklace with a dragon shaped pendant, and it had been draped around a neck-like display model to show it off. As I approached the male satyr behind the table bowed and introduced himself. “Greetings lady, I am Rosefen, at your service. Today I have a divinely inspired creation called The Dragon’s Hoard, it is an extradimensional space without equal. Unlike a simple Traveler’s or Explorer’s pack this item can guard your possessions from would-be thieves, and weighs no more than would be expected of this sort of jewelry.”
Another informational scroll had been posted at this table as well, and as he spoke I began to read over it.
> The Dragon’s Hoard
>
> Dimensional Key (Tier 5)
>
> This dragon shaped pendant is the key to a pocket dimension roughly the size of a square three story building. A person bonded to the key can use it to open a doorway sized portal to that dimension, which opens near the top of the space. The interior of the space is malleable while holding the key, and so stairs, walkways, shelves, and other such conveniences may be added or removed at will. The only permanent fixture of the space is the gold dragon that lives within.
>
> The dragon is an artificial construct and will not leave the pocket dimension, however it is capable of breathing fire through the open portal. The flames quickly become insubstantial when they exit the space, but can still cause burns. Anyone who attempts to touch the pendant while it is bonded to another will find themselves drawn into the space and at the mercy of the construct.
>
> Sam’s Notes:
>
> This is one of the most secure personal spaces I have encountered, though it does have a few flaws. Unlike some similar items it possesses no automatic retrieval system, and it is up to the owner to devise a system of organizing the space as they see fit. The door to the space cannot be closed while the key is inside, which is both a convenient safety feature and a security hazard as a thief could sneak in while the door is open. Still, the presence of the dragon makes that somewhat less of a concern.
>
> This item is said to have been commissioned by a wealthy beastman banker, who filled it nearly to overflowing with his gold and jewels. Apparently at one point while drunk he took it into his head to try swimming in the coins. Unfortunately for him, the gold and gemstones proved much too solid to support a swan dive, and he broke his neck in the fall. A maid apparently found the body, and quite smartly decided to take the key from his corpse and claimed his entire fortune for her own.
>
> Ultimately The Dragon’s Hoard is a flawed but fascinating piece that works well for long term secure storage, but comes up short on practicality. The gold chain is mundane, but enchanted with a simple spell to increase durability, it comes complimentary with the pendant.
>
> Price: 3 Scarab Tokens
Well, this was one thing I could afford, but didn't need. A huge extradimensional space might save me some points expanding my soulspace, but as far as I could tell my soulspace was actually more secure than this was. I guess the downside was that I couldn’t go inside it… or could I? I hadn’t thought to try.
“How unusual is it to have a dimensional space be attached to a key rather than a container? I’ve only ever seen the bag versions before.” I asked the sales-satyr.
“Not uncommon, most larger spaces such as this are keyed rather than attached to a container. However, this piece is fairly unique in that the key can access the pocket dimension from anywhere. Most such keyed spaces are anchored to a specific location in the prime dimension, and the key will grant access to them. It’s not actually well understood how this particular item creates and maintains an unanchored gateway.”
I thanked him for the information, but moved on to the next table. I was pretty sure I’d be leaving without buying anything, but there was always a chance.
A female satyr stood at this table as well, and she introduced herself as Everi. “Here at Sam’s we like to offer the unique and interesting as well as the powerful, and this item is definitely one of the former. It’s presented here with a complementary solid wood hilt, but the item on sale is actually the blade. It’s called ‘Endless Horizon’ and as you can see the blade is the cutting portion of a type of polearm.”
The polearm ran lengthwise over the table, sitting elevated on two notched blocks that held it slightly off the table. There wasn’t enough room on the table for the information scroll, so it had been affixed to a larger floor stand beside the table.
> Endless Horizon
>
> Polearm (Tier 4, Versatile, Reach)
>
> Damage: 20 (Slashing)
>
> Quality: Masterwork
>
> This blade was forged by a master weaponsmith and intended to be used as part of his greatest work, unfortunately he passed away before it could be completed. The blade is capable of channeling an immense amount of mana, but has no source to draw from. The haft of the weapon was to have been the source of power, but it was never completed.
>
> The result is a masterwork blade made to channel raw power, but with no source to draw from it is little more than a well made mundane blade.
>
> Sam’s Notes:
>
> Despite the description, this blade does possess some unique properties even in its current form. In our tests we found that any mana channeled into the blade resulted in a proportional destructive cutting aura being projected from it. This is not an unusual feature of enchanted blades, though it is likely the haft would have refined and enhanced this effect, in addition to powering it.
>
> What is unusual is the blade’s facility for channeling power, which is remarkable. It is unknown exactly how it was crafted, but it has been observed to draw in ambient magic from the air when mana levels are high enough, suggesting that the haft was also intended to regulate the flow of mana into the blade as well.
>
> With the proper haft this blade could make a formidable weapon, so we believe it is best thought of as a crafting component. However we have provided a simple haft for transportation and to allow you to get a feel for the weapon.
>
> Price: 2 Scarab Tokens
Now this was interesting, useless to me, but interesting. As much as I could appreciate the trope of a small girl with a giant sword, a polearm that large was going to be completely unwieldy - it was at least three or maybe four times my height. Even if I wanted to use it, I lacked the ability to get an appropriate haft for it unless Sam would be willing to shorten this one.
My only real consideration here was that I didn’t have a weapon currently, and this was a way to get one. I also might eventually find a way to get a better haft for the weapon, but I disliked gambling on that without knowing much about how weapons in this game actually worked. Was twenty damage a lot? It didn’t sound like a lot compared to all the armor that Bastion shield granted.
Sam quietly walked up beside me while I stood there thinking. “Lady Infinity, I hope you’ve enjoyed our selection today. Normally I don’t have the time to speak individually with customers while the gallery is open, but as word of our establishment has not spread far yet in this iteration I find myself with time to converse. Would you care to join me in my study for a drink and some hors d'oeuvres?”
I couldn’t think of a reason I’d want to turn that down, getting to know the proprietor of this strange store better could only help me in the long run and some alcohol might help ease the pounding in my head a bit. I was also about to be on a prison food diet for an in-game week, so this might be my last chance for good food for a while.
“I’d love to, thanks. I do have some questions for you if you don’t mind.”
“Of course. Please, follow me.” Sam led me over to one wall of the room where one of several large tapestries hung. He pulled the fabric aside to reveal a door which opened with a quiet click when he pressed his hand against a silver panel inset into the wood. He held the door open and the tapestry away from the wall as he motioned for me to proceed him.
“Right this way.”
We entered a lamplit hallway and Sam moved up to walk beside me, giving a bit of a tour as we went. “This is my family’s personal quarters and living areas. Those of us that work the store live here with our families, but it also serves as the business office where our bookkeeping takes place. I also sometimes use it to host special guests such as yourself and arrange private deals.”
I made note of the possibility of private deals, which I was sure he hadn’t mentioned by accident. We walked all the way to a door at the end of the hallway, but on our way we walked past several other rooms and an intersecting hallway. Most of the doors were closed, but I caught a glimpse of a large living room down one of the hallways, and we passed by the open door to an empty kitchen area right as we reached the end of the hall.
Sam reached out and opened the door for me as we approached, and I saw that this room held a large solid wood desk similar to what you might expect to find in a CEO’s office, along with several comfortable looking leather chairs and even a pair of soft leather couches against opposite walls. The entire back wall of the room behind the desk was taken up by floor to ceiling bookshelves packed full of books of all shapes and sizes.
I pulled up short as I noticed another satyr in the room, apparently in the middle of dusting the bookshelf. She was brown haired and furred, and I noticed that the transition from goat to human started somewhere around her waist but wasn’t so much a gradient as it was a matter of some parts having more or less goat-like features. Their heads were the least goat-like and their legs almost entirely goat-like, but their midsection had fur in various places, particularly on their backs and even up to the tops of their arms.
I could see all this, because the woman dusting was completely naked. While I couldn’t see much of her lower half because it was covered by fur, her chest was very human and very exposed as she turned to look at us as we entered the room.
Sam walked past me and gave the woman a kiss on the cheek as he stepped around the desk and took a seat in the chair. Facing me again, he noticed my distress and his eyebrows rose in understanding. “Ah, my apologies, Infinity this is my wife Beazi, we satyr do not share the taboo against nudity some people do and so frequently choose not to go clothed in our personal spaces.” He told me. “I should have warned you. I’m used to goblinoids being of a similar mindset, but of course you are a Traveler and wouldn’t have been raised in goblin society.”
What did that mean? I tried to cover for my embarrassment. “No no, it’s fine. I was just caught off guard is all.” I nodded to the woman, “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Infinity.”
“Please call me Bea,” the woman said, walking over to stand next to her husband. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Infinity. Please make yourself at home. You must be quite special for my husband to have taken an interest in you. He’s quite good at identifying rare and valuable things you know.” She smiled softly and placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder affectionately.
Sam placed one his hands on his wife’s and squeezed as I took my seat across from him, needing to pull myself up into the large chair. “My dear, would you be so kind as to rouse the boys and have them prepare some wine and hors d'oeuvres for our friend here. She has the attention of The Lord Adversary himself, and he spoke quite highly to me of her earlier. I’d hoped she might tell me the story of how she gained that favor but I’d not have her do so with a dry throat or empty stomach.”
“Of course dear,” She pulled her hand away and moved towards the door. “But please, Infinity, don’t let him pull that story out of you before I return. I would love to hear it.”
Sam smiled fondly as she left the room, “She won't be long I think, but perhaps I can answer your questions while we wait?”
I nodded, still a bit distracted, “I only have a few. Mainly I wanted some clarification on how your system works here. If I leave today without buying anything, is my chance to buy those items lost? Do you ever restock items that failed to sell?”
“Your membership fee covers your entry for that day, and therefore knowledge of the day’s stock, however we allow members to purchase any item they have seen in the gallery so long as it is stored in our small warehouse here on premises and has not been purchased by another customer.” He began. “Typically, items are stored here for about two Astran weeks before being returned to our long term storage facilities. During those sixteen days they may re–appear on the show floor, but always in conjunction with different items than their original arrangement.” Sam told me.
“This first lot is a bit special, we’re using it to show off a few of my favorite items from our stores, but future lots will typically feature a theme which will be advertised in the waiting room. Some of the items we feature this week will be returning later as part of themed sets, but that will be a fairly rare occurrence generally. Our back stock is offered for loan or sale to the officers of The Lord Adversary’s army at reduced prices as part of our commission, and we are only allowed to keep a small stock of items out of that pool, which I typically reserve for items I’m confident I can sell at full price. The current set of items are of that stock, so they will be making at least one additional appearance each over the course of the next year.”
That was a more complex system than what I was expecting, but I liked what I was hearing. It meant that I’d have a few days to change my mind on some of these items even if walked out of here empty handed, and it meant that if I was pretty sure I wanted to buy an item I’d already seen there was no reason for me not to take a look at the current stock the day I came back for it.
“Thanks, that answers several questions actually.“ I told him. “Maybe you can clear up some confusion I have regarding things like the armor value of that Bastion shield and the damage value of the polearm. How do those relate to each other? If I got stabbed by Endless Horizon and blocked with the Bastion, do I take no damage because the Bastion has so much more armor than the polearm’s damage?”
“Excellent question,” Sam said. “Something you will need to keep in mind when looking at System statistics is that values are always abstractions and always at least partially relative to the observer. We use our item scrolls to display information about items because they reflect the system stats you would see if you inspected the item, but at a much higher information level than most people possess the skills to acquire.”
Sam lazily twirled his perfect mustache as he continued. “Another thing you must realize is that sometimes the numbers lie, by omission or otherwise. The Bastion of the Dwarven Lords is one of the most powerful items I have ever stocked. The armor value is the Divine System’s best estimate as to how much you personally could increase your armor rating with that item. A skilled soldier used to combat with a shield might see triple what you see, all other factors excluded. We’ve never been able to find anything that can so much as scratch that shield, let alone move it. Every molecule has been locked into position by reality itself, and so it is effectively indestructible and a successful block with it will therefore always protect you. The problem is that while the shield is infallible, its wielders typically are not.”
I nodded, considering this. It wasn’t unusual for games to abstract some or all the stats to make them easier to understand. I’d already seen this going on with things like my resource pools and the costs for activated skills. This did make certain things easier, such as comparing two weapons side by side. I’d always be able to tell what was better at a glance when comparing two items since the abstracted number was based on my own ability to use the items. A higher number was always going to be better, but I’d have to re-check my numbers each time I did a comparison since they could change.
“The only other question I can think of offhand is more just curiosity. For that polearm blade you have on display - it comes with a haft but it would be much too long for me and I lack a way to shorten it myself. If I were to purchase that blade would you be willing to shorten the haft to a more appropriate size for me?”
I heard the door open behind me and Sam glanced up with a slight smile before answering me. Beazi reappeared a moment later, holding a wine bottle and three glasses, which she placed on the desk and began to pour. Sam returned his attention to me, “That seems like a reasonable request. Are you thinking of purchasing it then? The Endless Horizon has a special place in my heart as I knew the smith who crafted it before he died. The weapon was intended to be his life’s achievement, and it’s a tragedy that he was unable to complete it.”
I gratefully accepted a glass of wine from Bea, “Oh? You knew him? Who was he? It didn’t say on the sheet and I didn’t think to ask.” I took a sip of the wine, and felt better almost immediately. It was a sweet white wine and I had to resist the sudden urge to do a spit-take as Sam answered my question.
“Oh, his name was Hephaestus. I understand he was once a lesser god of some sort, but he was badly injured, crippled even, and his old wounds eventually did him in. In his final years he devoted himself to his craft and produced many wonders, several of which I was pleased to acquire. It’s not often that gods of any sort perish, but it does happen occasionally.”
So that blade had been made by the Greek god of the forge, who was apparently dead now, and they were just casually selling it for less than anything else in the room. This place was wild.
Behind me the door opened again, and was immediately followed by the wonderful smells of food. My mouth immediately began watering and I sat up in my chair, looking forward to sinking my teeth into whatever was giving off that wonderful scent. A moment later my eyes widened as I saw the food, and who was carrying it.
The food was a classic charcuterie board, full of sliced meat, cheeses, and vegetables with various dipping sauces. For a moment it consumed my attention as the man carrying it carefully deposited it on the desk. Then I realized the man who’d just delivered our meal was just as naked as Bea was, something I probably should have been expecting but somehow hadn’t considered. Beyond that, he was simply gorgeous, with chiseled abs and shoulders bigger than my head. He looked like he’d just come to life and stepped off a marble plinth.
Earlier when I’d been introduced to Bea I’d been distracted because I realized my body was not experiencing the physiological reactions I’d come to expect from seeing a naked woman. That in turn had made me think about how I’d similarly not felt any attraction when I’d been looking at my character sheet earlier in the day. That was more understandable though, sure Tavi was a girl and I like girls, but being attracted to your own reflection is just weird, plus Tavi wasn’t exactly my type. Bea on the other hand definitely was, or at least she should have been, but I’d felt nothing at all and it was a little disconcerting.
Now though, I had a completely different problem. While I’d felt nothing earlier, now I was getting signals my mind couldn’t process. For a long moment I felt like my nVR setup was malfunctioning. Then things started clicking into place. My breathing quickened, and I felt heat grow in my cheeks. I felt dizzy, and I was suddenly far too aware of my clothing for some reason. I could feel my blood pumping through my veins, and I shifted uncomfortably as my body seemed to suddenly wake up in a way it hadn’t since I’d come to occupy it.
I knew what was happening of course. In some ways it wasn’t too different from what I was used to. In other ways it was definitely not. The problem was that this was not what should be triggering this sort of reaction. I was not attracted to men. I never had been. Games couldn’t just change your orientation like that. It wasn’t a thing that could happen.
The worst part was that I couldn’t seem to stop looking at him. His hair and fur were black, and he had it neatly tied back in a shoulder length ponytail. His eyes were a deep green, and his face had strong, smooth lines that managed not to be hard. When our eyes eventually met my heart skipped a beat. He looked like he belonged on the cover of a romance novel.
Belatedly, I realized that Bea had been talking for some time, and that she’d just asked me a question. I managed to pull my eyes over to her with what felt like all my willpower, and stammered out a reply. “Sorry, I was, uh, distracted.” Then seeing her small smirk I clarified, “By the food I mean.” Meanwhile I could feel my cheeks burning and I could only hope that they weren’t used to whatever goblin blushes looked like.
She winked at me, disabusing me of any hope that my condition had gone unnoticed. Fortunately the cause of my distress finished his delivery and withdrew, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It didn’t alleviate my condition immediately, but at least the urge to look at him more couldn’t be satisfied. Let alone some of the other thoughts that had been doing unhinged cartwheels through my mind.
“Don’t worry dear, he has that effect on all of us at times, it’s quite unfair if you ask me.” Bea said. Sam just raised an eyebrow and said “Ah yes, that is my nephew Javril. He’s quite the chef.”
“Would you like some meat dear?” Bea asked, “I believe goblins are mostly carnivorous, yes?”
I actually didn’t know the answer to that question, but I did know that the meat smelled delicious and my teeth were certainly made for ripping flesh. “Yes, please. A bit of cheese too.” I was pretty sure even obligate carnivores could eat dairy in moderation.
Bea brought a plate of meat and cheese over to me so I didn’t have to try and get it off the desk that was nearly as tall as I was. My mouth was watering for more than one reason now, but I focused on the food. Bea handed me a small fork and I crossed my legs and set the plate in my lap. The first bite of mystery meat was akin to the best steak I’d ever eaten in real life and I let the sensation fill me in an attempt to distract myself from the other feelings I’d been experiencing recently.
Bea gave each of our wine glasses a refill, then took a seat in the chair next to mine. “Take your time dear, but when you’re ready please do tell us what you did to earn The Lord Adversary’s favor. It’s rare that we see someone not in his employ so favored, so I simply must know the story behind it.”
I used the excuse of eating to collect myself. My mental closet labeled “Tavi Problems” was now veritably bursting at the seams, but I ruthlessly forced it shut on this latest trauma. I could deal with it later when I wasn’t with company. It had to be a bug or something, but man did I need to log out and take a break from this game.
I began telling them the story of how I’d entered the game, tricking and freezing System, finding the exploit in Limitless’ skill, and discovering the hidden choice of patron. On this last point I held back a bit, explaining that I couldn’t relate all the details as they weren’t my secrets to share. I just let them know I’d found an option that was intentionally hidden and left it at that. I wasn’t sure if it mattered if I kept this secret, but I guessed there was always a chance that if I told NPCs it could make its way to the rest of the playerbase and my class and species combo would become a lot less unique. I wanted to keep it to myself for a while, until I was able to get as many achievements and discoveries out of it as possible. Plus I didn’t want there to be a chance of Tavi’s family discovering I wasn’t her.
“Well, I can certainly see why he likes you.” Sam told me when I was done. “You validated his position and embarrassed at least one of the other gods in front of all their peers. Were I you I’d be careful around the followers of Lord Limitless, he is likely quite wroth with you.” Then he stood and raised his wine glass, “A toast to you my friend, for your health and our certain future business dealings.”
I was a bit tipsy at this point, having become something of a lightweight, but I managed to stand up on my chair and lean over to meet his and Bea’s glasses above the desk. I was emotionally drained from my experiences over the past few hours and looking forward to getting back to my cell and logging off for a while, but I couldn’t help but like the satyr couple, as weird as they were. I was just glad Sam was wearing clothes…
“I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit, Infinity, and I trust we’ll see you again soon. Before you go though, have you decided if you’ll be taking Endless Horizon with you today?” Sam asked me.
“I don’t think so. Not today at least. It’s interesting but I don’t currently have anything to do with it.”
The couple wished me well and Bea offered to escort me out, which I accepted before remembering I could exit from anywhere using my menu. Feeling it would be awkward to reverse course now, I let Bea walk me back to the public portion of the building. However, when we got to the intersecting hallway she stopped me in the middle of the intersection.
“Infinity, I have a confession to make. My husband is a consummate salesman and while I have no wish to undercut him I rather think it may be more important to our family that you be our friend than our customer, so I wish to explain to you how you were just manipulated so you can be aware of it and defend against in the future. Please understand my husband meant you no harm, he’s simply used to finding out what buttons he needs to push to make a sale.”
My eyebrows shot up, what was she talking about? I’d been manipulated? How? “What do you mean? I don’t understand…” I asked her.
“Before my husband asked you to have wine with him, he sent word to me and asked me to await him in his study. He’s done this before, and I understood that he wanted to see a guest’s reaction to walking in on me in my natural state.” She motioned at her chest. “My only surprise when you walked in was that you were a woman, usually he picks up on what a customer prefers from their interactions with the staff, but when he can’t he’ll usually default to the opposite sex since the odds are better that way. You must have thrown him off in some way to make him think that you’d prefer women.” She said.
“Anyway, the point of this is to find out what is likely to get a customer to spend more tokens with us. Even though it’s true we satyrs have no nudity taboo, we understand that sex sells. When you failed to respond to me, I fetched Javril and had him bring in the charcuterie board. It was possible you wouldn’t be affected by him either, and if so my husband would have abandoned that line of… encouragement. As is, the next time you visit, expect to see Javril and several of our other handsome young men working the gallery floor. At times we switch out the entire staff outside of the receptionist to suit each client’s individual tastes. It’s one of the reasons we only allow a single customer into the gallery at a time.”
I found myself at a loss for words. I understood what she was saying, but I already didn’t want to think about what I’d felt earlier. Rationally I realized that my mind and body were not in sync on this subject, and that was hardly my fault, but it was still extremely embarrassing. I was currently hoping that whatever was going on with me was a bug - something weird about having inherited an NPC body. Games like this didn’t mess with you the way this one was messing with me, and the more I thought about it the more I realized that this might actually be something I could report for another Scarab Token. I dreaded writing up that bug report, but at least it’d get the issue fixed.
“Thanks,” I told the satyr woman. “I appreciate you telling me that, I’ll be on the lookout for it in the future.” Her words had helped me sort out my feelings on this a bit, and I was grateful for them, even if I was a little annoyed at the manipulation. She was right though, sales and advertising was all about manipulation, and while it didn’t have to be malicious the goal of both was to get you to do something the seller wanted you to do, preferably by making you want to do it. I really needed to log out and think, I had too many things manipulating me right now and this entire game was one of them.
She smiled down at me and patted me on the head, flattening my ears a bit as she did. “Come on, let's see you out. I do hope you’ll come again soon though, feel free to ask to see me any time you drop by.”
I followed after her, lost in my own thoughts, and before long I’d been ushered back to the waiting room. “Have a good day mam.” The satyr at the podium told me as I made my way out.
I paused when approaching the doors. These weren’t automatic doors like the other shop, instead they were carved wood with wrought iron filigree, and were quite opaque. I turned back to the satyr and asked “If I walk outside here where will I be? Will opening the door incinerate me like at the other store?”
“Oh no, not at all. Placing your hand on the handle will return you to your last location on Astra, or allow you to travel to one of the other stores within the Exchange. The door only works as a door for those who enter through it, and don’t worry, for the safety of our guests and staff there’s something of an air-lock on the other side.”
“Cool. See you later!” I said, putting my hand on the handle. When prompted, I selected my last destination of the evening, the Infernal Contract.