"No. For the last time, I am not choosing the damn throne," John shot Galan'il an annoyed glare.
His arguments for picking it were reasonable. Since there was no mention of the Benevolent Monarch's throne being soulbound, giving it to Prince Melis'ar probably had the greatest potential advantage overall. After all, granting tens or maybe even hundreds of thousands of natives and Aerilians a small boon definitely outweighed a single epic card or an enchanted trinket.
However, John was not ashamed to admit that he was a greedy person, and giving up on one of the other options for a minor benefit to the rest of the survivors was simply not something he was willing to do.
Besides, if he kept snowballing his advantages, he might bring far more for the rest of them in the future—at least, that was how he justified it to himself.
"How about we cross off the choices we all agree on first?" Asked Dilah'ec to break the tension.
"Yeah, that's a good idea," John gave her an appreciative nod. "So, the charm… I could see its usefulness, but since the protective charms to counteract it are significantly cheaper, it would be reliable only against the monsters and I don't believe I need a gimmick like that in my arsenal."
Hearing their agreement, John nodded and moved to the other option they unanimously agreed upon.
"And the soul-mark is an obvious yes, right?"
"Absolutely!" Dilah'ec nearly yelled out.
As she previously explained, the soul-marks were offered as the highest tier reward from System trials and those trials usually served as one of the pillars of prosperity for powerful factions in the universe.
Using her empire as an example, Dilah'ec explained that the Aerilians had four such trials under their control and each served as a strategic resource and was offered only to their elites or the open slots bargained with other influential factions.
However, some marks were better than others, and as usual, the better something tended to be, the rarer it was. Apparently, the Undying Champion's wide coverage made it one of the rarer ones—something above the Aerilians' circle of influence—which was why both of them insisted on John picking it.
"Well, that leaves me with a choice between the coupon or the bracelet."
"But the… I am sorry," Galan'il sighed after getting poked in his ribs by Dilah'ec.
"With that out of the way," she spoke with an authoritative voice that made Galan'il wince, "I'd suggest the bracelet. While epic cards are more expensive, you can buy them yourself, but there are no twice-upgraded Zel'thurin's Shacks of Wondrous Items nor will there be for quite a while."
"I agree with Dilah'ec," Galan'il added after he stopped sulking. "The bracelet can act as your hidden ace. Breaking out of a powerful immobilizing ability or teleporting behind someone's back in their most inopportune moment could turn an unfavorable situation into a quick victory."
"Yeah, those were my thoughts as well. I know I'll have to shuffle my one-sided ability cards eventually, but for now, I am happy with the four minions so getting some extra mobility from elsewhere is better," John agreed with their assessment, closed his eyes, and finalized his choices.
I chose options two and four!
The moment the System screen vanished, he was hit with a deep chill and a short message.
[Excellent!
Your reward will be waiting in your deck]
"Argh," he shivered as energy rushed through him, but luckily it was over before he even read through the new screen. "It's done. I picked the bracelet and the mark. Now, I'll get my Bastion upgraded into a Citadel and we'll be ready to leave."
"Hey, show us the bracelet first," Dilah'ec pouted.
"Ah, sure," John smiled and pulled out the System storage card.
The moment it was in his hand, it ejected a foot-long silver rod with a zigzag pattern carved across its surface.
"Wasn't it supposed to be a…" he mumbled and snapped his left arm forward to catch it.
The moment his palm grasped the polished rod, it wiggled out of his grasp, bent over his wrist, and slithered up his arm. Before he gathered his wits, a silver snake with glowing sapphire eyes was coiled around his forearm.
"That shit scared the crap out of me," John cursed, prodding the rigid bracelet with his finger.
"Yeah," Galan'il agreed mid-laugh, "we've noticed."
"Mhm," Dilah'ec giggled and leaned in to get a closer look. "It looks fancy, don't you think?"
"Ehh… sure," Galan'il shrugged. "Do you want to test it out or keep it charged?"
"Let's see," John focused on the spot he felt it settled its head. At first, nothing happened, but then he felt it find purchase, and a heartbeat later he was pressing on the proverbial switch. With that came an intuitive understanding of the garden before him and after a simple flex of his will, his vision shifted.
It's even better than I expected, he cheered as he realized that he was able to choose the direction before his teleportation.
"Boo!"
He appeared behind the bench Dilah'ec was sitting on and tapped her shoulder.
"Eek!" She yelped, jumped over the side of the bench into a roll, and lifted her right hand in his direction before she realized what was going on. "You idiot! Don't ever do that again. By Tarasil'ab's grace, I nearly disintegrated your face off!"
"I am so sorry. I… I was testing the bracelet and… yeah, scaring you wasn't the brightest thing to do," he hung his head and stared at the paved ground with weeds pushing through the cracked tile.
"At least we know it works?" Galan'il offered.
"At least we know it works," Dilah'ec repeated with a deep sigh. "But seriously, trying to get a jump on us was a dumb idea. Please don't do something like that ever again, okay? I don't know how it used to be here before the Apocalypse, but there will be assassination attempts on all of our lives in the future and an immediate reaction could make a difference between…"
"I understand," John agreed, chastised. "It used to be a fun habit between me and my sister, but… yeah."
I wonder how you are holding up, little menace.
Stopping his mind from wandering off, he summoned his archway and walked around the gazebo.
"Let me get done with the promotion and I'll grab us lunch as an apology," he offered. "I'll be back in a minute," he added and walked through.
I am a moron, he sighed after exiting the archway. Of course, it's stupid to jump-scare someone who was trained to survive in a hostile environment for their whole life.
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Looking at his left forearm, he focused on the dark fabric under the bracelet and with a flex of his will forced it to flow over the silver material, making the valuable item disappear under his sleeve.
"Better to keep that thing out of sight," he mumbled and walked to the pillar before him.
That reminds me, I should have monsters stored in the Ethereal Arena. But that can wait for later. Now, let's see…
He pulled out the Bastion promotion card and used it with the center pillar in mind.
[Congratulations!
Your Bastion got promoted to the Citadel. 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 Territory, upgrade the Command bunker]
The color of the beam shooting high into the dark void shifted from blue into a bright yellow, announcing its sole occupant the successful advancement into the next tier.
Placing his palm over the pillar's smooth surface, John summoned the Citadel's information screen.
[Inviolable escape became a unique Citadel 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 Al'drul's Emporium, Desperate Fool's Inn, and the Astragoratius Mechatius. No new buildings are available for construction during this upgrade.
To balance the price of construction for a single individual, the upgrades are discounted by 95%.
Do you wish to view the list of available building upgrades?
Yes/No
Note: Due to the unique modification, your Citadel has no access to the Command bunker, preventing any access to all governing functions.
The positive side effect of this modification is that your Citadel is firmly outside of the world command structure and cannot be given any directives from Sanctums or higher-tiered Shelters]
This time, the promotion was even simpler than when promoting into Bastion. With the lack of new buildings, all John had to do was open up the building upgrade menu and use his three building promotion cards.
[Desperate Fool's Inn – 50 yellow ash
Al'drul's Emporium – 150 yellow ash
Astragoratius Mechatius – 200 yellow ash]
Doing a quick math, he realized that the prices for second upgrades without the ninety-five percent discount were quite ridiculous. Of course, after considering the population of a whole Territory chipping in, it became more bearable, but even then five thousand yellows for Inn and Emporium together was quite a lot.
Luckily, I don't have to care about this at all, he chuckled and spent all three of the free upgrade cards, bringing all of his buildings into the third tier.
[Warning!
Your buildings are lacking space to commence their upgrades. Move them to new locations to initiate their reconstruction]
"Ah, right."
He opened the strategic view of his Citadel and reshuffled all four of his buildings inside the enlarged area.
Let's place the inn in the corner over here, the emporium next to it in there… Hmm, I guess I could throw the arena into the opposite corner and the observatory next to the emporium. Okay, this should be… oh, the archway fits into the gap right there.
Finished, he left the strategic view and watched all buildings flash, move to their new locations, and upgrade into their new tiers. The inn changed from an L-shape into a large X with a wide terrace above the main entrance, Al'drul's Emporium climbed up with two extra floors, becoming almost twice as tall, and the Astragoratius Mechatius increased in diameter by another fifteen feet.
Leaving the emporium for later, he walked to the thick wooden door of the freshly reconstructed inn and gently pulled it open.
Of course, it is larger from the inside than the outside, he noted, letting his eyes roam over the massive central hall and four colossal wings.
The interior design kept to its rough hunting lodge style, but the side wings had three floors and formed a circular balcony around the center hall which had a gigantic skeleton of an apex predator suspended from the ceiling like a chandelier.
Another prominent feature was the familiar painting behind the bar. It grew in size to cover the entire back wall and became much more detailed. If John didn't know it was merely a…
He froze when he noticed the Patroness's eyes staring right at him.
Ehh… hi?
A throaty feminine chuckle reverberated inside his mind as Serath's reptile mouth stretched into a savage grin, yet a moment later her face shifted into its original position, breaking John out of his reverie.
"Congratulations, Sir," a cheery voice pulled his eyes away from the imposing art piece. "Your progress never ceases to amaze me. A Citadel with third-tier buildings before the second week's end… A feat worthy of ballads and songs!"
"Woah now, let's not get ahead of ourselves," John waved his hands before him. "I'd rather keep my exploits a secret, and…"
"Absolutely, Sir. Neither me nor the friends you allowed to train here would betray your trust," he reassured him. "However, if there comes a day where you would feel confident in letting some of your achievements be revealed, I'd be honored to say that it was my inn that served you during your adventuring days."
"I see… In that case, absolutely. After the situation becomes more stable and if I am still alive, we'll have a talk about it. Now, I need a great meal for myself and my companions and I am curious if you have anything new in store."
"Of course, Sir. If I may be so bold to ask, how much are you willing to spend on it?"
Huh, is it that expensive?
"Ehm, how much is the best meal you can provide?"
"The best, you say? Let's see…" Slayer of Gorax'thal mumbled as his eyes scanned an unseen screen before him. "Currently, the most expensive servings are the grilled flank of the Adamantine Stomper, an Ashen Miststalker broth, and the Ralantine Ravager's sausages with mashed potatoes. Each is for a single yellow pile of ash."
"That's… Why is it so expensive? What bonuses do they provide?"
"Well, the price is high mostly because of the rarity of the materials necessary to prepare the meals. Each of those monsters are peak C-grade beasts and while one could argue that the cooks can prepare hundreds of portions from each kill, the beasts are difficult to slay without ruining their meat and internal organs. Another reason is due to the bonuses each meal provides. The grilled flank grants a five-point increase in both Vitality and Willpower plus makes your skin more resistant to piercing and slashing attacks, the Ashen Miststalker broth offers a five-point increase in Perception and Focus plus heightens your senses, and the Ravager sausages provide a five-point increase in Strength and Dexterity plus an increase in your body's self-healing capabilities. Oh, and the bonuses last for twenty-four hours," he added after a slight pause.
"Impressive," John agreed. "Could you prepare one of each? I'd like to celebrate my victory with my companions."
"Do you want all three meals packed to go?"
"Mhm, that'd be great. Thank you for your great service," John smiled and placed his palm over the yellow crystal, sending the payment through.
Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to check how much ash I gained in the Colosseum… Hmm, a few hundred whites, one-fifty blues, thirty-two yellows, and one green. Not bad, not bad at all.
Smiling, he gave Slayer of Gorax'thal a final wave and headed out.
----------------------------------------
A few of minutes ago.
"I admit I was very skeptical about that scheme of yours, but it seems like you knew what you were doing this time," a feminine reptile spoke out to a bulky obsidian giant sitting next to her who looked like he was in a great mood.
"Indeed, the situation evolved even beyond my expectations," Al'drul nodded. "I guess that someone from the Primal Collective was also interested in the Blackstone Triumvirate's failure because there were reports of Greymane Prowler being spotted during the chaos after the successful assassination attempt. What about that Terrorclaw scion of yours?"
"Not the best. As far as I can tell, they remain hidden, but their time is slowly running out. Luckily, that tip of yours worked out and after I engineered the situation to let the information slip to the little orphan apprentice, he asked your native for help so that part might be covered."
Hearing the third participant of their meeting emit a melodic series of beeps made Serath chuckle.
"Great job Roggie," she patted his gaseous body, making the colorful lights swirl and flash in a soothing green light.
"With Blackstone uprooted from Africa and with Australia under Rog's control, we should be able to…" Suddenly all three of them froze up and scanned the System message marked as the highest priority."
"Impossible! The native just upgraded my inn into the third tier," Serath gawked, looking at Al'drul for an explanation. "Did you break our agreement with the…"
"No, no. This wasn't my doing. I had no idea he was going to kill the Hierarch so soon! As you know I was focused on the Silksong Union," Al'drul explained. "The projection of events foretold that he would secure the other town before attempting the Hierarch…"
"We need to adapt and work with what we have," Serath suggested. "Do we deny any involvement or admit that it was our native that earned the first kill?"
"No, admitting anything could put our alliance at risk. We blame the Dark Pantheon and watch as the current situation develops further."
With that decision made, they dispersed to their main domains until further notice.