Once they provided their papers and explained what had happened to their leader, Calis dropped the air of tension she had been trying to build for the group. She turned to Jax as Nia finished the story and asked, “So, you have the dwarf’s map?”
Jax nodded, pulling it out of a pouch. “Yes, and we would like to accompany you. I’ve taken his faction title. As such, I am bound to his contract, as are the others.”
Calis nodded in understanding, then responded, “Level 1, and three Level 6s. What use would you be to us?”
Jax locked eyes with her and spoke slowly, putting weight into each word. “The use we represent is that of allies and bodies. We will not shirk our responsibilities, and we will take the fore in battle. Also, you didn’t contact Gelkrin for his battle prowess. You contacted him for the expertise of the Gongs.”
She nodded in affirmation. The Gongs were creatures of the depths, beings of darkness. It was primarily for them that she had agreed to perform this raid. Yet, she felt the young man had missed a key point. She raised her eyebrow. “Yes, that tells us why they’re important, but what about you? Why not simply kill you and take the Gongs for ourselves?” she asked inquisitively.
Jax met her gaze evenly, having pondered the same question himself. From what he knew of Gelkrin, after speaking to the others, he believed the man was a coward. Why, then, would he willingly venture out into the wild with this woman? She was a level 20 assassin. What type of coward would trust such a woman?
But Jax figured out Gelkrin’s plan—or at least, he hoped he had. He reached out and offered his hand to her, which she took with a smile. As he did, he passed her a contract. Her eyes instantly shot up in surprise as she read the prompt.
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Allied Faction Leader Jax wishes to offer a contract:
Terms:
* The successful completion of the agreed-upon raid.
* The return of Jax’s party, unharmed by your faction, to this tavern.
* All other contracts remain unaffected upon acceptance of this contract, and all loot shares remain unchanged.
Reward:
* 100,000 Experience
Accept/Deny
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It was an absurd amount of experience—enough to purchase magical items in droves. It was enough to fuel promotions for her entire warband. She looked at him with new eyes. “Why?” she asked simply.
Jax smiled at her. “I want you to understand how serious this is to us. If you killed us, you’d miss out on the experience. We both know that.”
It was a quirk of the system—when you broke an alliance with a fellow faction, there was a three-day hold on rewards for killing them. Any money in their pockets would remain there if they were killed. It meant she couldn’t simply kill them if she wanted the reward. And it was a tantalizing one.
Calis held his stare, then, after a moment of hesitation, mentally selected the “Accept” option.
Jax watched as the experience drained from his status screen, leaving him with 3/5ths of what he had remaining. It had worked. Calis stood and said, “Well, let’s be off,” but stopped as Jax raised a hand.
“About that,” he said, smiling. “You wouldn’t happen to know a decent bulk supplier in need of merchandise, would you?”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
He suppressed a laugh at the incredulous look on the woman’s face as he explained about the loot they had sitting in their wagons.
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It took two days before they managed to offload their loot and drain their experience bars. After conversing with his party members, it was decided that Jax was the one most in need of protective items. They descended into the shops with that in mind.
First, Jax topped off all three of his allies' experience bars. After selling the items, issuing the contract, and making sure all three Level 6s had the required 14,000 experience for when they completed their leveling quests, Jax was left with a bit more than 140,000 experience. With that, they entered the market stalls and looked for fitting protective gear for their leader.
Jax determined that it was best for Jerg to speak to the merchants, as he lacked the experience or the needed skills to determine exactly what was required. This had the unintended effect of making Jerg appear aloof to the merchants—like some young lord with his personal attendant. Anyone could see that the Gongs were his personal butler and merchant. Such things were unusual in the pit, but the merchants recognized a cash cow when they saw one. Invariably, whenever Jax entered the shops, they attempted to offload all manner of trinkets on his party.
Jerg, however, would not be swayed and held firm on his requests, while Jax perused the wares of the market, accompanied by a silent Durg and a flitting Nia. She explained the many items to him as they walked. Eventually, they found a cloak of particular note. She passed Jax’s request to Jerg, who procured the elegant dark purple clothing for what he swore was a meager 3,000 experience. Jax was more than excited with it, however. He smiled as he looked at it.
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The Cloak of Night
F-Rank Uncommon
When enshrouded in darkness, the wearer becomes harder to see, as the shadows actively attempt to obfuscate their form.
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Some time later, Jax found an additional item that piqued his interest, though this one left him less certain. It was a pair of dark red glasses.
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Shades of Darkness
F-Rank Rare
The wearer gains the ability to see in true darkness or blinding light. In return, you lose the ability to discern between some colors while wearing these shades.
Additional Effects:
* Immunity to the blindness spell.
* Immune to any flash-based effects.
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Nia told him to buy the ring, so Jax purchased it through Jerg for a cool 40,000 experience. It appeared that seeing in the dark and status immunity was indeed a costly skill.
Finally, Jax managed to procure one last item of note, one he believed would be vital to the party. This he didn’t find from the merchants, but from the system itself. He found it in his faction menu.
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Wetware Modification
Faction Telepathic Bond
Extend the soul connection you share with fellow spirits to the entire faction. When within 30 feet of your willing faction members, you are able to speak to them through a mental bond.
Unlocked due to your spiritual nature.
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These purchases, along with the required packs and other goods for the journey, took Jax’s remaining experience down to 2,000. As he looked at his much-changed status, he felt more ready than he had expected. His status had evolved much as he learned more, and now he could see far more than when he had started his adventure.
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Name: Jax
Level: 1
Exp: 2,000/10,000
Race: Hybrid (98% Human, 1% Spiritual Protector, 1% Suffering Voidspawn)
Class: Wraithblade (Legendary)
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Attributes:
* Strength: 11
* Agility: 5
* Dexterity: 10
* Intelligence: 7
* Constitution: 11
* Perception: 3
Resources:
* Energy: 160/1560
* Spiritual Energy: 295,132
* Void Energy: 1
Titles:
* Once Reborn
* Void Runner
* Boundless Soul
* Bound Warrior
* Slayer of Giants
Skills:
* Skill Crystal Absorption (Common)
* Limited Telepathy (Common)
* Sneak Attack (Common)
* Shades of Darkness (Common)
Faction: Jax’s Tribe
Rank: Chief
Members: 6
Allies: Calis Coven
Inventory:
* 2x Assassin’s Knives (F-Rank Common)
* 1 Ceremonial Seax (F-Rank Uncommon)
* The Cloak of Night (F-Rank Uncommon)
* Shades of Darkness (F-Rank Rare)
* Bag of Spirits (F-Rank Rare)
* Moccasins of Quiet (F-Rank Rare)