Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1793.12.28]
========Theron Nalani PoV========
“Two spicy skewers, please!” The young woman smiled brilliantly, placing a few coins on the platter.
“Yes, ma’am!” He returned the smile, tossing two sticks loaded with meat into the air and turning around. By the time the skewers started falling, he had a plastic plate full of spicy sauce ready to receive them. After catching the two in midair, he wiped the sauce stains from the side and bottom of the plate with a towel and handed it to the girl. “Enjoy your meal!” he said, smiling jauntily.
What a disgrace…
The girl took the plate and happily skipped away to her friends, allowing the next customer to take her place.
The line before the stall was quite long at that point, as it tended to during the morning rush. Nalani cursed under his breath while preparing another plate for the ‘spectacular dish’ serving.
If he knew how busy the stall would become, he would have never taken the job. Sadly, he was more preoccupied with his true task than the means at the time, and the owner promised him a good salary on top of bonuses for his performance.
As much as he needed money right now, he just wasn’t able to split his focus enough to keep an eye on his surroundings, which hindered his real job.
Curse you and your Guild. May they all die in pain, right before your very eyes, he continued his mental tirade for the Warrior Priestess. When I find my way out of this mess, you are going to pay! He slammed the raw steak on the metal grinder plate with enough force to split it, earning himself a glare from the boss who stood before the stall, advertising the wares. He didn’t say anything, but Nalani knew his bonus pay for the day was in jeopardy.
He sighed heavily to calm down, then turned to the next client, suppressing the urge to hit something or someone.
Zora, the Warrior Priestess, was responsible for all of this. She had visited his Guild, stating in no uncertain terms that they would be made responsible for any future transgressions as a reward for his mistake. If the Temple wasn’t able to find a culprit, they could use a scapegoat.
Well, the encounter was much more eventful, but that was how his guildmate summarized her visit, and Nalani wasn’t that interested in the details either way.
What mattered the most was the response of his Guild. And it could be summarized with one word – panic. The geezers in the council didn’t want to have the most notorious Temple on their tail, so they bailed immediately.
It was a disgrace. A slap to his face. Their proud Guild, the inheritors of the elite Soul scouting techniques and true knowledge, has given up. ‘Adapted’. Deteriorated. The people he thought he knew, weak and pathetic despite their objective advantages.
Lesser Landlord Lucas wasn’t happy.
As so, they dared to use him as their own scapegoat, declaring this whole fiasco was only his responsibility. True, his machinations were detected, but it was a far cry from leaking any information. Yet, in their fear and a display of a blind abuse of power, the council decided to confiscate all his possessions as an ‘atonement’ before degrading and restricting him.
Barring the way to his soon-to-be Class specialization.
That was too much, even for him. He wouldn’t bend his knee, not for such an obvious scheme to keep control over him for longer. If they were playing dirty, so would he.
He left the Guild that raised him. His friends and family.
But he didn’t leave barehanded.
His money was, at least officially, taken to repay the funds the Guild had lost in the operation. With the help of Lesser Landlord Lucas, he was able to use that fact to his advantage. They struck a deal. Everything they have set up, the equipment and the spy network, was now under his jurisdiction and the Landlord took it upon himself to keep paying the workers.
The Guild didn’t have a choice. They couldn’t call off their planted spies without attracting attention, there were simply too many of them. The Landlord actually did them a favor by taking charge of them. The masked fury on the faces of the council was a delightful sight.
In a true Kanochi fashion, they had robbed each other as a farewell gift. He would have laughed, if not for his empty coffers.
At least he didn’t have problems with finding a new job. Besides working at the ShishWee stall in the Roaming Onsen Village to pay for food and his rent, the Lesser Landlord Lucas promised him quite a high remuneration for disrupting the Sepia Familia’s preparations for the Duels.
It would be paid after he managed to achieve anything worthwhile, though.
“One medium-medium steak please,” a worker standing before the stall said.
Nalani recognized the man. Instead of showing off fancy movements, he used Lightwave Shift Skill to examine the man’s heavy winter cloak while preparing the steak.
Sure enough, a ciphered message was written on it in invisible ink. Two VIPs? But without protection. Hmm….
The man wasn’t from his spying network but exchanging information was mutually profitable, so it happened daily even between workers of contesting factions.
No one checked on the lowest litter, after all. And the pay was most often dependent on the information gathered.
Also, he was now Guildless. That gave him a lot of freedom – a lot more than he thought possible. He managed to force a lot of lesser spies into an information debt by sharing the less-important tidbits about the Sepia Familia. He had, basically, built his own spy network on top of existing spy networks. And he didn’t pay a penny for it.
Finally, information worth my time investment, he thought, handing the extra-carefully-prepared steak to the man. At least I managed to level up my Cooking to the second tier during my time here.
A few servings later, he stopped, putting away his cooking utensils. “Boss, I have good news and bad news!” he exclaimed excitedly, ignoring the next client.
================================
Zeph sat on the uncomfortable bench inside the cheap taxi carriage, facing Makani. He grimaced.
“What? Don’t tell me you forgot how uncomfortable a normal cart can be!” Makani said with an incredulous face. “The moment you forgot your roots—”
“Okay, stop right there. I know very well how to sleep on a naked stone, but that doesn’t mean I take pleasure in it.” He tried to ignore the hard surface under the thin cushioning and the perfectly straight seat back. It was, somehow, more uncomfortable than a cold stone wall, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud. Truly, a marvel of engineering, ugh… I have a feeling it’s an achievement worth of System reward.
Makani chuckled slightly seeing him fidget on his seat, then he turned his head to the window and sighed with relief. “Finally, some peace and freedom.”
“You sound like you just escaped a prison.”
He made a thoughtful face. “Actually, that’s quite close to how I feel. Not like I was in a prison before…”
“Haaah, whatever,” Zeph said, as he finally found a way to sit without being bothered by the perfect-right-angle seat – by folding his coat and placing it vertically behind his back. “So, in the Tower, you use the drawn-up depictions to teach others how to construct a Spell? You know that I wouldn’t believe that?”
“Eh, no. We do have enchantment frames that can show how to form a Spell, just like your cube but without the encasement problem. But each one of them has to be made manually by a master Manacaster that is trained in enchanting, and it’s only one rendition of a Spell, so it’s quite costly. Also, I am not sure if P’pfel told you, but enchanting fillers have a limited lifespan. Being abused by the students isn’t conducive to a long lifespan.”
“Go figure…” Zeph said, taking out the Cube from his backpack. The Heat Mana Beam enchanted inside was quite different from the standard Matrix version. The shape was malformed. That bothered him a little. “How can people even use that Spell?”
“Normal people start with manipulating parts of the Spell during Matrix construction,” Makani deadpanned. “You forgot that not everyone has your precision when it comes to Mana manipulation. That’s how we learn to construct Spells until our Willpower is high enough to actually do it.”
Zeph smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, but not sorry. So, which cantrips do you have, exactly?” He was wondering how many Beam versions Makani could show him.
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“Katreep? What’s that? Sounds tasty.”
“Ugh, sorry. I meant Tier 0 Spells.”
Makani shrugged. “The standard collection. Heat, Fog, Stiffen, Air Bubble, Scrubbing, Gas-thickening, Fluid-thickening, Gas-thinning, Fluid-thinning. Only Heat, Stiffen, Scrubbing, and Fluid-thinning are offensively usable as a module in the Beam Spell.”
Zeph’s eyebrow raised. “Fluid-thinning?”
“Yes,” Makani nodded smartly. “A small modification and a sprinkle of Organic Magicules make the mix overly reactive to blood. It causes strong internal bleeding. You probably don’t have the thinning-thickening series – the Matrices are notorious to be given only to the Mechanic-specialized Classes. You will have to learn them the hard way… Well, not-so-hard way, in your case,” he sighed. “Anyway, that Veil technique you spoke of earlier…”
“It’s nothing fancy, really.” He shrugged, concentrating on the Cube. Firing a Heat Beam inside the carriage wouldn’t be fun. “I just form a net of thin and dense Mana formed from my Veil, just like some of the enchantments in doorframes do. When I cast it away, it can at least inform me about Mana fluctuations in someone’s Veil before disconnecting entirely from me. I managed to make the lines thin enough to not be immediately noticeable, but it does better as a detector in Ambient Mana.”
Makani nodded. “As it should. There is no Will behind Ambient Mana, so the resistance is smaller. I suppose it’s a good Willpower training method, too,” he said, stroking his goatee. “By the way, are you going to get your body upgrades before the tournament?”
He looked up, frowning. “I am not sure… We don’t have much time, and the System estimated it would take three days. After the New Year, I would rather concentrate on my Spells and levels, so I would have to visit the Shrine tomorrow to start the process…”
“You still have chores to do?” he asked incuriously.
“Well… not really. I just need to talk with Kwan and Aisha. It would be nice to find the alchemist, but it’s not a pressing matter. Also, we decided to organize a meeting with a Scholar after the Duels. It would be simply too risky to do before that. I wanted to chat with Leilucia, but it can be done even during the New Year, so…”
Makani started massaging his temples. “Speaking about a meeting with an Onji like it was a tea party… Haah.” He shook his head. “You are busier than I have thought. You should take those upgrades, though. You should take any advantage you can before the tournament.”
“It’s not that easy,” Zeph shook his head depressingly. “If something goes wrong during the process, or the upgrade fucks up my fighting style… I thought about training with Aisha some more, instead,” he said, glancing at the standard spear he borrowed from Ghrughah. He also had a small crossbow fixed to his belt and throwing knives hidden around his body. They were going alone, so it was only natural for him to take at least that much. What concerned him the most, was the lack of armor.
“Suit yourself,” Makani visibly gave up. “So, any questions about the Spell?” He nodded at the Cube.
“A few,” Zeph grinned.
~~~
By the time they arrived at the first marketplace, Zeph was pretty sure he memorized the necessary modifications to fire a concentrated Heat Beam. It was a shame he didn’t have a chance to test it.
Their carriage was left in the nearby parking lot of a tavern as they walked the rest of the way on foot. The marketplace was lively despite the freezing temperatures. People crowded around the stalls fighting for their attention with colorful decorations. Merchants shouted loudly the contents of their wares while their workers attended to the eager customers.
The stalls and booths were set in a grid pattern, with wide avenues left between them to funnel the heavy foot traffic. The plaza itself was round, stretching for hundreds of meters in each direction.
“So, what do we do now?” Makani asked, pulling his dark-blue coat tighter. They were standing at the side of the street, away from the stream of people.
“I… didn’t think about that,” Zeph admitted, earning himself a glare. With the dark bags under his eyes, Makani looked almost comical. “We should check the information board and administration building first. Maybe they received some good news…”
They walked slowly to the center of the plaza, squeezing between people. They were both much shorter than the people around, so the trip turned out harder than it should have.
He quickly found his updated commission on the information board outside the administration building. It had both, the increased reward for information, as well as the hidden message for an interested alchemist.
“You really didn’t get any information? That pay is ridiculous,” Makani commented. He sounded half impressed, half disbelieving.
“The administration does a good job at screening people. Almost all of them are scammers. Let’s go inside.”
They quickly learned that there was no worthwhile information, predictably. Zeph inquired about a nearby information broker and Mapmakers Guild shop, but none were present in the area.
Zeph was deep in thought as they were leaving the building. “If I were a talented alchemist with a thing for Mana-related contraptions, a prideful and independent inventor, where would I hide and what would I do to earn money?” he mumbled to himself.
“Seriously, you should have thought about that much earlier,” Makani said with a grimace. “In the first place, why are you assuming they’re hiding if they are talented?”
Zeph shrugged. “Because anyone already hired would be hard to convince to change sides. And normal specialists aren’t cutting it in my opinion. Also, I refuse to believe there are no people who can’t stand your economic system. People like that tend to make their own workshops and work in hiding, to not be bothered. The only problem is – they still need money. Especially if they try to experiment…”
“Local crafters from the trade should know something, then,” Makani scratched his head. “It’s impossible they didn’t hear about your note, though.”
“Well, looking at our announcement, it does look suspicious a little…” he said, glancing at the information board. “It smells of a rich entity trying to lure out talents to trap them. We have made a mistake at the very beginning, it seems.” He sighed.
“It’s not that bad. I am more concerned the person you are looking for is either a paranoid recluse or deals with the shadier parties.”
“That doesn’t matter. Let’s do as you suggested,” Zeph decided. “We will ask some crafters in the area that can have a possible relationship with such an individual. I have some money on me, so we can try to buy some information if needed. You have to point out possible targets, though. I don’t know enough to guess who can have information like that,” he said, looking at his companion.
Makani rolled his eyes. “Yes, boss. Follow me…”
========Theron Nalani PoV========
A young girl trotted up to his carriage and opened the doors, handing him a piece of paper. He threw her a silver for her group, and it disappeared almost immediately under her mantle.
As the doors shut close, he unwrapped the message and started reading. His brows raised as he took in the information.
“Good news?” curtly asked the gentleman sitting next to him. He was wearing an expensive black military suit rimmed with purple.
“They aren’t just fishing out for a generalized alchemist. They need a full-fledged alchemist inventor, and they don’t care about their background,” Nalani said, grinning.
The man looked thoughtful for a moment, swirling his mustache. “I see. How much?”
“Depends. Do you want a fallback plan in case your freshmen fail?” he asked, glancing at the Landlord’s attendant.
“Makani Borre is a problem,” he admitted. “It would be hard to keep him alive.”
Nalani nodded in understanding. They weren’t going to incur the Blackwind Tower’s wrath, which complicated things. “A few hundred gold should be enough.”
“It will be done.”
================================
It was the seventh marketplace they visited that day, a second to last. It was getting dark, and they started losing hope their inquiries would bring any results.
Thankfully, there was an information broker in the area. They decided to visit them first.
The shop was hidden behind a maze of wooden terraces, buried under the ground. Despite that, it wasn’t looking like a thieves’ burrow. Contrarily, it was elegantly classic in decorations, resembling an antique shop.
Many families with kids lived around, making the area look like a kindergarten playground. Groups of kids played with snow in the middle of the passages, and a part of the infrastructure was adapted to keep them safe and entertained.
It was probably the first time Zeph saw a public slide that took the place of stairs.
They stepped up to the counter manned by a plump man. He looked half asleep, with his head resting limply in his hands. His arms were braced on the counter’s surface, keeping his head upright.
“Um, excuse me?” Zeph said hesitantly, causing the man’s head to shoot up.
He blinked a few times, wiping the corners of his eyes, before addressing them. “My apologies. There isn’t much traffic lately… What can I help you with?” he asked, returning to a more professional attitude.
“We are looking for an unemployed, talented alchemist,” Makani started. “The person has to dabble in Mana-tech, too, and have an inventor mindset.”
“Hmmm, that’s a tall order,” the man said, scrapping his almost bald head. “People like that don’t grow on trees. Everyone I know of is already hired.”
Zeph put three gold coins on the counter but didn’t remove his hand. It was a lot, but he wanted the information and the Guild would pay him back. “We can deal with the less fortunate.”
The man glanced down with an obvious greed in his eyes, before straightening up and coughing. “Come with me,” he said, standing up.
They were led to a backroom with comfortable-looking, old-fashioned armchairs flanking a big, ornate round table. The man activated the standard set of enchantments.
That practice was so common, Zeph was becoming sure some workarounds already existed. It was a good sign, then, that their base used much more strict security.
“I will be bold,” the man said, plopping down on one of the armchairs. “I have one option for you, but it’s a risky one.”
Zeph and Makani looked at each other.
“We can pay for information about the risks, too. There is no need to restrain yourself,” Zeph said, looking back at the man and reaching for the pouch dangling from his neck.
The man raised his hand to stop him. “Sadly, it’s not how this works. I have an obligation to warn you, but I am only an intermediary in such cases. The details are for my sponsors to disclose, not me. The risks are yours to take. I won’t be dealing with any retaliation skitsnack, are we clear?”
They hesitated, even as they didn’t have any real choice. It was the first lead they have found.
“Can you at least keep quiet about us buying the information?” Makani asked.
“That can be done, but will have to pay extra,” he said, showing them four fingers.
Zeph didn’t like the situation at all, but they could visit the person after preparing better, so he wasn’t against paying.
“Tell us what you know,” he finally decided, placing six gold on the table.
The man checked them briefly before speaking up. “There is a girl at the Vermilla ports that is debt-locked by the local mercenary group. She meets your requirements, but is a headstrong idiot. It’s not even the first group that played her – she is now so deep in slime that all legal organizations have given up on getting her. She’s before her first Class sub-specialization, so she is not worth that much money and headaches. Name is Irra Turiel.”
“The risks you were talking about, it’s about those mercenaries?” Makani asked skeptically.
“Yes and no. Her situation is more complicated. But you would have to uncover that on your own, lest I will be targeted. My information isn’t even that accurate when it comes to her circumstances. All I know is that she is a rotten fruit,” his face was deadly serious when said that. “You will probably find more trouble than value in pursuing her. In case you decide to do that, though,” he slowly put the money away into his shirt’s pocket, not looking at them anymore, “she is going to be deported tomorrow morning. If you want to catch her, you need to do that today.”
Zeph frowned. That timing was really unlucky. And he wasn’t a man that believed in coincidences.
Looking at Makani’s face, he could clearly see he had similar concerns.
Turning back to their broker, he asked the most important question. “Then why are you suggesting her? There is no one else?”
“Within a large margin, no. There is no one else,” the man said solemnly. “She created a self-powered armor frame enhancing user’s movements, a set of long-range scouting devices, and a whole group of caustic mixtures able to penetrate metal armors. And those are inventions that even I know about. I don’t have information on anyone else with similar accomplishments.”
Shit… That, unfortunately, sealed the deal.