"Henry, sit with the driver," I commanded. "I want to be alone on the drive."

"Got it, young master," Henry closed the carriage door behind me and rounded about to sit atop the carriage.

I was finally alone and could speak with the System undisturbed on the drive over to Ebony Alley.

In the casino, my Intelligence stat had jumped up to 59. Just what else might have changed?

I pulled up my stats screen.

"Oho?" I smiled.

[ Player: Luca Frey

Age: 19

Title: Observant Ex-NPC

Round: 8

Level: 11 ]

[ Strength : 4

Dexterity : 41

Perception : 49

Intelligence : 59

Charisma : 17

Mana : 2 ]

Strength had dropped back to a measly 4, Mana and Dexterity remained at their respective numbers, but the other stats had all jumped up.

"Hey, System, Perception, and Intelligence are about to hit 50 and 60. Am I going to get new skills again? Or is that not enough? And will I run into an error like before?"

[ Hello, Luca. Yes, in the future, every 10 points after having hit the minimum of 20 in any given stat will bring about a new reward. ]

[ It might be new skills, or it might be an improvement on the skills that you currently possess. That is done at random. ]

[ As to your second question, you will be able to obtain the skills without an error message. I have turned off notification functions, except those of the highest priority, to allocate enough resources so that you will not run into an error again. ]

"Highest priority?" I frowned. "Are you talking about the Intelligence increase notifications?"

I thought back to the handful of +1 Intelligence notifications that had come up for me. Most notably, the one that popped up just as I was dying in Round 7 and had the thought that I ought to have faster and easier methods of dying in the future.

[ Indeed! It was imperative that you were notified when you made a thoughtful discovery that showcased your intellect. ]

[ I feared that had such notifications not been implemented, you might forget, and your true Intelligence would remain unchanged. ]

Tsk.

This damned thing really was making fun of me. But I did find its hints rather helpful.

"For the last Intelligence increase, I was thinking of whether others might remember the rounds and potentially influence the course of events," I said. "Was the notification a confirmation of that?"

[ Luca, as I've stated before, I cannot read your mind. This is why you must speak aloud for me to provide answers. ]

[ I can only determine the influxes and changes in the energy surrounding you and if you are on the right path and have improved. And based on that, I update your stats. ]

"Yes, yes, you've said this before. But I'm asking you now. Are there people that can remember previous rounds as I do?"

[ Your question is incomplete and could benefit from some restructuring, but I'll answer it as is. ]

Incomplete? What's it going on about?

[ In short, yes. There are people that are capable of recalling past rounds. ]

I felt like a pit opened up inside my stomach, and my mouth felt parched.

Damn it. To have the intelligence notification come up was one thing, but the System point-blank telling me that I wasn't alone in my remembrance was concerning. It meant it wasn't just my own changes I had to be worried about.

But just what does it mean that my question is incomplete?

I asked this aloud.

[ Luca…. Luca… Luca… Must I do everything for you? ]

[ I possess knowledge beyond anything you can comprehend, and you can access it by asking me the right questions. ]

[ However, to ask what you ought to ask isn't going to work. If you were to ask such a question and I thoughtfully answered it, I would have to input every single bit of information in my possession into your mind. ]

[ And unfortunately, for us both, that amount of knowledge is too much for any human being to bear. It would only render you insane and incapable of completing and beating this game. ]

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

[ Thus, my recommendation is to improve your Intelligence stat, and perhaps then you might begin to ask me the right questions. ]

I felt like cold water was splashed on my face.

The System wasn't even making fun of me. I couldn't see its expression or tone and had only the blue screens of text to rely on, but it almost felt like it was frustrated with me.

[ Perception : +1 ]

[ Perception : 50 ]

Oh, damn it.

I ran my hands through my hair.

Was that another clue? But can a non-human thing like the System experience frustration? Then again, despite it not being human, it certainly had a personality, as annoying as it was.

And I couldn't even get mad about all this because, with the increase in Perception to 50, it meant that I was about to gain a new skill or an improvement to one of my existing skills.

A win is a win.

[ Congratulations! Skill upgraded! ]

[ Character Check : Level 2 ]

[ You can now perceive a random skill or stat of another character at random twice per day. ]

"That'll come in handy." I smiled.

Albeit, the random factor was a problem. In the previous round, I had gotten quite a bit of useless tidbits about the servants working in the Frey Manor, along with random people on the street.

Hopefully, on the subsequent increase of 10 to Perception, I'll have some level of control as to what I'm able to uncover and for whom. However, having twice the opportunity of a random check at least helps improve my odds of obtaining information somewhat worthwhile.

The carriage rolled to a stop, forcing me to end my conversation with the System.

I'll have to think more thoroughly about what questions I should be asking. If I were Micah, what would I be asking?

I felt that the System would have treated my brother quite differently.

It's a shame that it wasn't him to have become a Player.

"Young master Luca, we're here." Henry opened the door for me.

I stepped out onto the sunny street. To my right and left stood impeccably constructed bright yellow-bricked buildings. However, in the center, sat before me Ebony Alley, bustling with shady-looking merchants and equally shady customers. The paint color on the buildings was the same as on all the other buildings nearby, but this alley appeared more cramped and darker than the ones nearby.

I walked forward, with Henry quickly following me behind.

It was nice not having to run like a madman as I had in the previous round. The Daylan servant was nowhere in sight and I could go at a comfortable pace up the slight incline with my measly Strength of 4 legs.

"Young master, why are we going up Ebony Alley?" Henry asked as we walked into the shadows of the cramped alley. Even the temperature dropped as we entered the dark space.

His brown eyes swept over the dubious merchants and their clientele. His right hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

"I need to see a man about an egg," I replied. "And no. If you were wondering, it doesn't have anything to do with Kaiden."

I remembered this exact conversation from the last round. It was a mere thirteen days ago for me.

"Don't ask anything else," I added. "Just remain by my side and do your job."

"Got it, young master," Henry replied and continued to observe our environment.

There he is.

Like in the other rounds, the egg seller was set up in the same place as always. Except instead of an orange tent, it was an off-red, like it had been out in the sun too long.

I wasted no time and walked over to him.

"You have a phoenix egg to sell, correct?" I asked. "How much?"

I knew the price already, but it felt only right to ask.

"I do indeed." The merchant smiled and rubbed his hands together like a fly. His seedy little eyes looked me up and down, evaluating my purchasing ability.

"It'll cost you 30,000 gold Duex coins. Or thirty phoenix eyes," he replied.

"Good." I pulled out the pouch of gemstones I received at the casino and placed it before the merchant. "I have thirty phoenix eyes right here."

The merchant pulled open the pouch and wasted no time counting out the gemstones with his stubby fingers to confirm the amount.

"One moment, I'll bring it out." He hurried back inside the tent and carried over a clear crystal box with an egg enclosed inside, sitting atop a purple silk cushion.

I inspected the egg and confirmed by the golden speckles that it was indeed Leona's egg.

"Do we have a deal?" the merchant asked. His hands were already itching forward toward the pouch of gemstones.

"We have a deal," I confirmed and took the crystal box into my hands.

"Pleasure doing business with you…." he mumbled. He pocketed the pouch and quickly disappeared into his tent.

I bet he's run off like last time.

I couldn't blame him. Thirty phoenix eyes were more than enough to get killed over.

"Young man, might I also interest you in some of my wares?" a young woman to the right of the egg seller called out.

I turned towards her and noted that she had a silver patch covering her right eye. Her left eye was a bright blue. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, far younger than most of the other shady merchants selling wares.

"I might not have any phoenix eggs, but I have some goods you might be interested in." She motioned toward her table, upon which sat several gray velvet-lined trays with necklaces and rings embedded with mana stones.

Interesting. I didn't have anyone notice me the last time around. Perhaps the timing was different enough that she was too busy to catch me in Round 7?

Whether or not she thought I had been scammed, my dropping thirty phoenix eyes was an easy indication that I at least had some cash to burn, which was probably why she called out.

Not that I have anything on me at the moment.

However, I was interested in obtaining a communication mana artifact, and it was worth at least browsing for now until I got my hands on my gamble's winnings.

I walked over and inspected the gold and silver jewelry. They were well polished, and the mana stones glimmered brightly despite this alleyway's lack of proper light.

I picked up a red mana stone earring, similar to what I'd seen the guards at the royal palace use.

A blue screen appeared upon my inspection.

[ Item : Communication Mana Earring (Quality: Very Poor) ]

[ Description : Allows the user to communicate with connected communication mana artifacts within a @$^& radius. ]

[ Warning : Has the adverse effect of making the opposite ear unable to hear anything for three days after use. Hearing will return upon removing the artifact from wear. ]

Tsk.

This was the trouble with modern mana-embedded jewelry. They all had adverse effects like this. Losing hearing in one ear for three days was a pretty reasonable price compared to some of the other artifacts out there. Still, realistically, I was planning on wearing it all the time, so I would effectively forego using one ear.

Being a Player was handy in learning these sorts of things. However, the 0.4 portion meant I still needed the range.

"What radius does this work at?" I asked the woman.

"Ten blocks," she replied. "That is more than enough space for most use cases."

"And what of the adverse effects?" I asked.

I knew the answer but wanted to see how she'd answer to reckon the accuracy of her first answer.

"Well, you'd lose hearing in the opposite ear that the earring is not in for a couple of days. It'll return after taking the earring off for three days; it isn't permanent." She shrugged. "I admit the adverse effect isn't great, but I can assure you the price is."

"How much?" I asked.

She grinned, and I noticed for the first time that one of her canine upper teeth had a mana-stone implant.

"It's only four phoenix eyes." She lifted four fingers, each wearing a mana-embedded ring artifact.

I licked my lips.

Four phoenix eyes was a straight-up robbery for the pleasure of losing hearing in one ear. However, as far as mana-embedded artifacts went, it was a fair deal, given their high demand and insufficient supply.

I set the earring back down on the velvet tray.

"Oh, not interested after all?" she asked.

"Not in this, I'm not," I said. "However, I am curious if you have anything of higher quality. Perhaps something that's of an older style?"

While the earring wasn't worth it to me, the young woman appeared to be honest, at the very least, about the wares she sold. This was a rarity in itself in the artifact business.

A wide grin spread over her face. The multicolored mana stone in her mouth glistened.

"Of course," she replied. "As long as you can pay the cost, I'm sure I can supply you with whatever you need."