Stepping into his shelter, John was welcomed by the dark nothingness, but by ignoring the endless space around him and only focusing on the pillar ahead, he was able to avoid the oppressive feelings this place invoked.
Placing his palm on the cool marble-like material of the shining pillar in the middle, a pop-up came up in front of him.
[Inviolable escape is a unique shelter modification offering some advantages and disadvantages.
Its most prominent feature, location, offers absolute safety from all outside sources but is also its biggest fault because no one except the owner can ever step inside.
Due to this change, most buildings are unavailable except for Al'drul's emporium and Desperate fool's inn. To balance the price of construction for a single individual, all buildings and their upgrades are discounted by 95%.
There are currently no available buildings for sale]
Oh, that makes sense, he nodded after reading the same information he was given before.
Hmm, and how about now, he pulled the promotion card, used it with the shelter pillar in mind, and watched it crumble into blue sparks.
Those sparks merged into the pristine white structure, turning the whole thing vivid blue, and even the beacon of light shining high up into the sky—or whatever was above his shelter—turned the same color.
[Congratulations!
Your shelter got promoted to the bastion. All previously available buildings can be upgraded a single time, and new buildings are accessible in the construction menu.
Note: To access the governing functions of your sector, build the Command bunker]
"Oh? Well, let's see what you got," he mumbled and once again placed his palm on the—now blue—pillar.
[Inviolable escape became a unique bastion modification offering mostly unchanged advantages and disadvantages.
Its most prominent feature, location, remains unchanged and offers absolute safety from all outside sources but is also its biggest fault because no one except the owner can ever step inside.
Due to this change, most buildings are unavailable except for the old Al'drul's emporium and Desperate fool's inn, and the newly available Astragoratius mechatius.
To balance the price of construction for a single individual, both the construction and the upgrades are discounted by 95%.
Do you wish to view the list of available buildings?
Yes/No
Do you wish to view the list of available building upgrades?
Yes/No
Note: Due to the unique modification, your bastion has no access to the Command bunker, preventing any access to all governing functions.
The positive side effect of this modification is that your bastion is firmly outside of the world command structure and cannot be given any directives from citadels or higher-tiered shelters]
Reading through the slightly changed description, John's face formed a relieved smile.
Thank god I don't have to govern over anything. And the positive part at the end could provide some serious benefits later.
After finishing the whole description, he focused on the new building and picked Yes.
[Astragoratius mechatius – 50 blue ash]
Selecting it, his view shifted to the eagle-eye view, giving him the task of placing the new building on the square-shaped layout of his bastion. The new building's shape was a mix between a circle and an eight-pointed star where instead of points, the middle circle was surrounded by eight small circles barely touching together.
Well, how about here… hmm, maybe there… wait, can I just…
He didn't like how his old buildings blocked the top middle of the increased area, but after messing around he figured out he could move the already-built buildings around.
The area was twice as wide and twice as broad, giving him four times the area to work with, but all he needed was to place three buildings and an arch, so he kept the three structures together, once again moved them to the top right corner, and placed the new building to the left of the Al'drul's emporium, filling up just a little over three fourths of the width.
[Warning!
You may freely move the already constructed buildings only once per promotion, are you sure you want to commence the move?
Yes/No]
Yes!
Leaving the eagle-eye view, he watched as the already-built buildings dematerialized and materialized in their new positions, and the space to their left became walled off by golden panels of light.
Continuing with the promotion, he first pulled both upgrade cards from his deck and then opened the building upgrades.
[Desperate fool's inn – 30 blue ash
Al'drul's emporium – 100 blue ash]
"Damn that is expensive," he whistled in surprise. He was having everything twenty times cheaper and even then, paying one thirty in blues was a significant amount.
Luckily, he got the one-offs, and after using them, he could select both upgrades free of charge, making him appreciate his lucky reward.
The old buildings merely flashed in golden light, but remained otherwise unchanged, prompting him to take a look inside.
John was planning to take a meal and a short rest, so he decided to visit the emporium first, and stepped through the glass door into his favorite alien merchant's store.
"Welcome back, you truly are full of surprises," greeted John the friendly voice of Al'drul. "I couldn't believe that you… Woah, are you alright?" He stopped mid-sentence and changed from happily surprised into a frown.
"Hm? Sure, I mean I've been better," he looked at his torn and bloodied clothes, and the halfway healed wounds on his right arm, "but coming out alive from that mess I've stepped into is more than enough."
"John, you look poisoned, are you sure you are healthy?" Al'drul pressed with clear concern in his voice.
"I… yes? I hope… ohh, you mean the dark veins?" Seeing the light nod, John continued, "I obtained an epic self-healing card as a reward for being the first to successfully kill it by myself. It's called Black heart of Sac-something."
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He watched Al'drul's eyebrows climb up in surprise as the merchant slowly digested the news.
"You… killed the Sector overlord alone… and obtained a top-tier epic body modification card as a reward?" Seeing John nod in agreement, Al'drul got even more confused. "How? That isn't something meant to be killed alone… at least not for the next couple of weeks… I…" he suddenly winced, closed his eyes, and stopped talking.
It took a couple of seconds before he shook his head and showed a sheepish smile. "My apologies John, it seems I got overexcited and overstepped my boundaries. Let's leave that topic and move to more interesting things, like this new price list. By upgrading this emporium, you now gain access to the stock of rare cards." With a snap of his fingers, a screen appeared above the counter to John's left.
[Common ability modification cards: 45 - 90 white ash
Uncommon ability modification cards: 225 - 450 white ash
Rare ability modification cards: 150 - 300 blue ash
Common body modification attribute cards: 315 white ash
Uncommon body modification attribute cards: 1800 white ash
Rare body modification attribute cards: 800 blue ash
Common body modification non-attribute cards: 90 - 225 white ash
Uncommon body modification non-attribute cards: 450 - 1350 white ash
Rare body modification non-attribute cards: 250 - 750 blue ash
Common single-use attribute boosting cards: 900 white ash
Uncommon single-use attribute boosting cards: 7200 white ash
Rare single-use attribute boosting cards: 2000 blue ash
Ability card prices are adjusted according to supply and demand.
Exchange ratios:
1 blue = 25 white ash
1 yellow = 25 blue ash
1 green = 25 yellow ash]
That was indeed interesting. Everything previously available gained a ten percent discount, and every section gained rare cards for purchase. Unfortunately, their prices were extremely high, and very much outside of his budget.
"Hmm, the discount is nice, but I can't afford anything rare right now so I'll only look around, and then visit the upgraded inn."
"Understandable, good luck… and be careful."
Nodding, he turned around and observed the changes inside. The shop was slightly larger, the shelves gained third rows, filled with hundreds of different rares, and even the Ability section gained new stock of cards from commons all the way to rares. Sadly, the VIP section with the heavily discounted cards laid empty.
Oh well, it was worth a look, he thought, and left after giving Al'drul a wave and a goodbye.
The third building was still under construction, making him gently grab the annoying wooden door and step inside the Desperate fool's inn.
He was welcomed by a sight of a significantly larger dining room than he expected. The inn still kept the hunting lodge's natural esthetics, but the size of the dining area more than quadrupled, and an entirely new section appeared to the left, where he could see a small shop with survivalist items on display. Another change was in the personel, with three new servers standing next to the youth and eagerly awaiting their new guests. Finally, above the bar…
"Woooahhh," John stared in amazement at the massive new painting filling up a significant portion of the wall.
The lizard lady from the previous painting was now standing side by side with a massive black four-armed golem with a shining golden beard. She was slouching down in tiredness, but holding a severed head of a giant raven high above her head in a clear victory pose.
It seemed so lifelike from the dark forest around them, the black sky filled with shining stars, the blood dripping from the severed head, the…
Wait, what? John looked back at the severed head and yes, the blood was dripping out and falling on the grassy ground, staining it crimson.
Confused, he looked up and saw the yellow eyes staring directly at his own. Unable to move, John felt frozen in fear from being observed by an Apex predator.
Just as the feeling of dread came, it left and the lady's sight shifted back to where it was before. Feeling the sweat roll down his neck, he was about to look away, but before he could he noticed the massive golem's golden eyes peering right at him and as he looked back, the thing gave him a wide smile and a wink.
That was when the magic broke and John only stared at a magnificent yet perfectly normal painting.
What was that… he remained standing still, lost in his wild thoughts.
"...ight? Sir… can you hear me?" The youth was talking to him from behind the counter.
"Ah, yeah. Yes, I am fine. I…" shaking his head, he decided to order some food to calm down. "Can you get me something to eat? And make it a larger portion please, I am famished."
"Certainly, what would you like to order?"
"Do you have pork, dumplings, and sauerkraut? I'd love that, and an earl grey tea."
"Of course, enjoy your meal." Pressing his hand on a crystal, he made the meal appear on the counter, perfectly cooked and ready to be eaten.
Looking at the wooden plate stacked with a double portion of a healthy meal, a big mug of steaming hot tea, and a broth soup with very aromatic spices, John licked his lips in anticipation.
"I hope you don't mind me also selecting a fitting soup to prepare your palette for the sour salty taste of sauerkraut. I believe they will complement each other very well." Smiling, John nodded, thanking him for the idea, but also noticing a slight anxiousness in the youth's behavior. Taking the plate to the nearest table, he sat down and started eating.
The meal was delicious as usual, but he had to give it to him. Eating the main course after the soup made it an even more enjoyable experience.
"Ahhh, that was truly marvelous," John patted his stomach with a lazy smile. Standing up, he felt a light bout of weakness and decided to take a rest in his room. After all, he spent the whole night killing the undead, dealing with complicated politics, and fighting for his life, and now standing here in the safety of his bastion, he felt like taking a long nap.
Heading toward the stairs, he was about to leave the main hall, but the youth caught his attention with a meek "excuse me".
"Hm? Is something wrong?"
The youth stared at the ground, avoiding eye contact, and in an even meeker voice asked, "I am sorry to ask this, but… ehmm… why are you the only one coming here to eat?"
John remembered how he promised Al'drul that he would make fun of him by pretending that no one else was interested in eating there, but before he could, the youth started apologizing.
"I am sorry for pressuring you like this. Surely there is some important reason and it is not my business to ask. I… I will return back to my duties." His shoulders were slumped in defeat, and John had to wonder why the proud slayer of Gorax'thal would be so insecure about who this inn served meals and beds.
He wanted to keep his promise and make a little fun of him, but seeing how dispirited the kid was, he just couldn't bring himself to do so.
"I… am the only one who can enter."
Seeing the youth turn and look at him with a clear confusion in his eyes, John continued to explain more about the way his unique bastion worked, and why he would be the only one to ever step inside.
"I… see," the youth said and most of the weight came off his chest. "My superiors were threatening to dock my pay for poor management, but now I have proof I am actually serving one of the unique bastions, and theoretically, as long as you are happy with our services, all one hundred percent of your shelter's occupants are satisfied. Soo… let's make sure we always keep you happy," he replied with a cheeky smile.
Chuckling, John once again reassured him about the great quality of their services and headed up the stairs and to his room.
Damn, I am glad I chose to not be an asshole here.
Knowing the reason behind the anxiety, he was aware of how close to potentially serious damages one stupid joke could have caused. If he truly replied in line of no one else being interested, well yeah. It could have been bad for the guy.
Sighing, he quickly undressed, tossed everything into the washing thingy, and jumped into the steaming bath.
"Mmmmm," he moaned in pleasure as all the blood, sweat, and dirt slowly washed away, and eventually he stumbled out and fell on top of his bed, falling asleep mere moment later.
----------------------------------------
"Was that the young man you talked about?" Serath asked the bulky obsidian form, sitting next to her.
Getting a nod, she followed up in the question that was bothering her, "Hmm, you said that he failed the first step, am I right?"
"Sadly… I had hoped he would pull through, alas it seems it wasn't meant to be. Even then, he has surprisingly high potential…" Replied Al'drul with light melancholy in his deep voice.
"Al, that kid is a bearer of a boon. I have no idea whose, because I couldn't pierce through its protection, but my instincts screamed a threat should I press further."
"He can't be… I am the second oldest among us, and I didn't get the opportunity to grant him one, and she never blessed anyone. Are you certain?" Shaking his head, he answered to himself, "Of course you are… your instincts are exceedingly well honed. Do you think she truly gave him her boon?"
Tilting her head to the side in thought, Serath's expression suddenly changed from intrigued to scared. "You know, technically you are actually the third oldest…"