I looked between Semermen and the door he’d just broken by walking through it, my mind going through the steps necessary to clean up and repair it. I did have some wood, but I’d need a drill and some screws to attach it to the metal doorframe.
“I don’t have time for this,” I grunted.
“Ah, we can pay you for the trouble.”
“You’ll pay me to look at the contract?”
Semermen suddenly looked nervous. “Of course we will not, not do that.” He blinked.
I frowned. “You will not not? So, you will.”
“Uh, I, well…”
“Are you going back on your word? Is that the kind of corporation The Corporation is?”
“Of course not!” he replied swiftly. “You will of course pay you in full for your time.”
“I will pay me in full?”
“If that is what you wish.”
“You’re a shifty negotiator.”
He giggled coyly. “You’re too kind, kind miss.”
I pressed my fingers to my eyes. I was starting to get a headache. Maybe from lack of sleep, but probably from dealing with Semermen. “You want me to look at your contract? Then I want a hundred shards.” I wasn’t really being serious, but Semermen sure took it that way.
He looked stunned, his goppy mouth hanging open in a human gesture of surprise. “Ah— ag—” he stuttered out, and I wondered if he might be having a heart attack, if that was something selvens could have.
“A hundred?” he finally got out. “That is— Wow. You are a harsh negotiator.”
I shrugged. “That’s what it takes.”
“I am not authorized to make such a significant contribution.”
“Well get authorized.”
“But that will take time.”
“Fine by me.”
He stared at me, blinking rapidly. “I could give you fifty-six shards and ten fragments, but no more.”
I frowned, something tickling my mind, something odd about the payment, but, maybe because of my tiredness, it didn’t come to me. “How long is the contract?”
“It’s the same one as previously,” he said. More quietly, he added, “With a few addendums.”
“Show me the addendums.”
He summoned a stack of documents more than twice as thick as the first.
“How are a ‘few addendums’ longer than the original?”
“I take my job seriously,” he said seriously.
I shook my head, about to turn him down, then the thing that had been bothering me clicked. When I’d asked for shards, I’d been thinking of fragments. Shards were what allowed you to make tower items, while fragments were what Fragment Masters used to make cards, and were the more common form of currency.
I wasn’t sure, but I thought fifty-six shards would be worth far more than a hundred fragments, which maybe explained Semermen’s balking.
I looked around. Still no sign of Koren and Vyrania. Fifty-six shards and ten fragments for a few minutes of skimming a contract seemed like a decent deal. And maybe it would actually be good enough that I’d accept it this time. If for nothing else than to see the look on Finnegan’s face when he discovered I now owned his hotel.
“Fine.” I grabbed the contract from the air.
It didn’t budge.
I looked at Semermen.
“Ah, of course, read away!”
The contract suddenly gained weight, jerking me to the ground face-first into the shattered glass.
I grunted as I pushed myself up.
I was uninjured, though my mild headache ticked up a notch, but that could have just been from annoyance. The glass didn’t cut my skin. I hadn’t wanted to perform another test of my Copper body, but it was good to know I suppose. That, or it was due to being in a safe zone.
I left the contract where it was, squatting and flipping through it.
“Skally Swimware, Surf&Turk, Beerhaus… I don’t see Finnegan’s.”
“Ah, he was not willing to negotiate in good faith.”
I wondered what that meant, but was too exhausted to try to get it out of Semermen.
“Well, no deal then. You were supposed to get Finnegan’s.”
“But there are three! Three is more than one. It’s better.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“It’s nonfungible. The only other business I want is his.” Though, thinking about it, having those three businesses might actually be better, since they were all adjacent to me. If nothing else they might allow me to expand my store.
Of course, none of those had a Titan-class tower growing out of them, which is what I’d be giving up ownership to.
Not that owning it had done me much good so far. And I’d still be working at it and getting a share of the profits.
“I can vomit you some bounty points.”
“Vomit?”
“Is it not poetic?” A document appeared in front of us.
I read the first line. “You have a literal poetic license?”
“It is not just a license, but a sworn duty.”
I shook my head. “Bounty points, huh? So I can advertise?”
“Of course you can!”
“That’s not what I— Never mind.”
“I never do!”
I shook my head. It wasn’t enough to get me to give up my store. And I was weirdly growing more attached to it the more he tried to get me to sell. “No thanks. I’ll stay independent.”
“But it’s such a lovely deal,” he shouted in a joyous tone.
I rubbed my ears. “You don’t need to yell. I can hear you perfectly fine.”
“My apologies. Your heads are so weird.”
You’re one to talk, I thought but didn’t say. Instead, I said, “You owe me some shards and fragments.”
∎ ∎ ∎
After shoving Semermen away from my store—metaphorically speaking, I wasn’t about to touch him and get his caustic goo on me again—I finished moving the rest of the scooters and non-electric bikes outside, then sat myself at a table and turned my attention to going over my spoils, starting with the shards.
Each one had a power class, and the one I’d looted from the ice giant matriarch had been Goliath, which about a third of the ones Semermen gave me were.
In total, there were twenty-eight Giant, nineteen Goliath, eight Colossus, one Behemoth, and zero Titan.
The one I’d gotten from the matriarch was tied to my particular tower:
Shard (Whitehall Tower)
Power Class: Goliath
Can be used to buy Tower items, boost Tower rewards, or combined to create Tower weapons.
(Profession note: May be sold or traded via your store.)
While the ones Semermen had given me were different:
Shard (Universal)
Power Class: Goliath
Can be used to buy Tower items, boost Tower rewards, or combined to create Tower weapons.
(Profession note: May be sold or traded via your store.)
According to the system, this meant that the shards Semermen had given me could be used for any tower, which I imagined made them worth more. Though there was a downside to that generality, which I learned only after getting further nickeled and dimed for a general help powerpack that was a subscription rather than a one-off purchase.
Shards bound to a given tower can yield special abilities and enhancements tailored to that particular tower.
I inquired what power class meant, wondering if it limited how strong the weapon or reward would be, as that would likely affect their value.
Power Class determines the potential worth of each shard for purposes of purchasing Tower items and for increasing Tower rewards, and the power of Tower weapons.
I studied the message, thinking. Could I use the shards to upgrade the Wings of Salvation I’d gotten as a reward for completing the egg event?
I couldn’t summon the wings outside of the tower, but I could apply a shard to them. It even gave me an idea of what would happen if I did.
Applying [Shard] to [Wings of Salvation] will reduce mana draw and add a minor special ability.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to waste a shard on something that was only useable on the first floor of the tower.
Then again, it was a Titan-class tower, so the first floor might take a while to complete. There were only three more keys to collect, but there was also at least one Titan-class monster.
On the upside, it wasn’t being controlled by Rilen anymore.
Which made me think. Did I even want to go back into the tower? I realized that I was taking for granted the fact that I would.
Which was odd, given that I hadn’t planned on entering in the first place. Yet now it seemed like a foregone conclusion that I would go back inside.
I’d gone from wanting nothing more than to get out of the tower, to accepting that I was stuck inside and focusing on getting more powerful, to being almost eager to go back in.
My store and the town were safe zones, and maybe there was some way I could give up my prospector status so I didn’t ever have to leave, but I realized I didn’t want that.
I didn’t want to be trapped, a prisoner in my own shop in my own town due to my own weakness. Didn’t want to sit idly by while my world was changed. It was full of new dangers, and I didn’t want to be helpless against them. I wanted to grow, to get stronger, to get so strong I didn’t have to worry about Rilen or his ilk, or anyone else for that matter.
And I absolutely would need to get stronger before going back inside the tower. I didn’t know how long it would take for it to open again—a few months according to Torath—but going back in while still at Copper didn’t seem like a wise decision.
Having the wings upgraded would likely help, but it wasn’t a choice I needed to make right away, so I put off applying a shard to them for the moment.
I wondered what the shards themselves were worth. I was a merchant; it seemed like I should be able to find out. Maybe with that Corporate Network I’d unlocked by reaching Merchant Knight. It had mentioned something about cataloging items.
I brought up the interface. All that displayed was Finnegan’s hotel, like before.
I tried thinking about using it to examine one of the shards.
It worked, bringing up a new message.
Local exchange rate: Not established
Corporate exchange rate: 1 Goliath shard = 3 low-potential fragments
Good to know shards were worth more like I’d thought. This made me curious what potential the fragments I’d gotten from Semermen were, so I tried to inspect them.
You do not possess the
You are able to purchase it for 10 low-potential fragments.
Would you like to purchase the
“Oh come on,” I grumbled. “Maybe I should buy that subscription.”
A recurring payment of 1 low-potential fragment per day will be deducted from your balance. This is an amazing 50% discount on the standard price.
Subscribe to the
(Warning: this discount is only available for a limited time while your civilization is in its grace period.)