"Hmm... Just over fifty percent left?" Daz asked himself rhetorically as he looked at what remained of Waterford.
Seeing that his clones probably wouldn't be finished until the night was over, Daz first returned to Fort Skip.
For now, he had four things that he wanted to do, three of which he would certainly do. First, he was going to deposit his remaining merit points since he had nothing that he urgently needed to spend them on for now.
Second, if possible, he wanted to talk to Big Bo and maybe play another game of golf with the massive red gorilla man.
Third, he wanted to talk to Madison about her esper power, and finally, he was going to discuss bringing back Edward's daughter with the man once he'd returned with Crusher and Dorian from the mission Rose had given them.
Stepping into the Midechhe Travelling Bank, Daz was immediately greeted by the usual four-armed blue-skinned man wearing the formal uniform of the bank.
"Sir Archreaper, how may I help you today?" he asked as he crossed his left arms over his chest and straightened his right arms horizontally before he bowed politely.
"I wanna deposit all of my merit points as well as talk to Big Bo if he's free right now," Daz stoically replied.
"Absolutely, Sir. I can store these points for you right now. As for the manager, I shall inform him that you wish to see him." The four-armed man put one of his hands to his temple as he asked, "Would you like to exchange one-hundred-million of your points for a single merit star?"
'Why's he touching his forehead? Is he talking to Big Bo and me at the same time?' Daz both wondered and confirmed via his instincts before he answered, "No. I already know that I won't get any interest if the amount is too small to create another merit star, so maybe I'll convert the currency when I have five-hundred-million merit points."
"Of course, Sir Archreaper. The manager will see you now. Do you recall the way, or shall I lead you there once again? I suspect you will have far less trouble with the master-work statues now than you did the last time you visited, but if you feel uneasy, I shall happily accompany you," the employee said with a handsome smile on his face.
All of the host's merit points have been deposited into their current account with the [Midechhe Travelling Bank].
The total merit balance of the host is now: 0 [-161,588,244].
The total balance of the host's [Midechhe Travelling Bank] current account is now: 161,588,244 merit points [+161,588,244].
Daz ignored those system-notifications as he replied, "I can go on my own, but thank you regardless."
"No, no, please, thank you for your continued patronage, Sir Archreaper. As unlikely as it seems, your base is incredibly profitable for us," the four-armed man claimed with a professional smile on his face.
Daz raised an eyebrow at that but didn't reply and simply walked past the man and went through the door that led to the long statue and painting-filled hallway.
Naturally, many of the other customers were once again shocked to see someone enter the staff-only area from out of their fellow clients. Some recognised the silhouette from the last time Daz has been guided to Big Bo's golf course, so those people were doubly shocked since that meant that he had been summoned twice, that, or the manager himself had actually answered a request to be seen. Naturally, the latter was nigh-impossible, so no one assumed that was what had happened.
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"This still feels suffocating, but I can look at about thirty-percent more of them than last time," Daz noted as he made his way down the masterwork-filled hallway.
Reika held her chin thoughtfully. 'Why? Did the blue man not say before that the pressure only lessens if you have a mastery of your own? You even had to recall the jewels since they all fell to the floor and couldn't move, so we are confused.'
Daz shrugged his shoulders. "My best bet would be my instincts since I levelled up to level-three, but they aren't reacting, so knowing or not knowing will do me no favours, meaning it doesn't really matter."
Reika pouted. 'We are still curious regardless, Insolent Fool!'
"Then think about it as much as you want. I'm not stopping you, now am I?" the reaper off-handedly replied as he opened the door to Big Bo's golf course.
For a moment, Daz thought that he'd somehow ended up in the wrong place since what was behind the door clearly wasn't a golf course. "Is this a billiards den or something?"
Daz closed the door behind him and approached the huge figure in a suit with red fur covering his body. Big Bo paused his sizing up of the pool balls in front of him and stopped leaning over the table.
The massive gorilla grinned at Daz before he pushed his glasses up his nose a bit. "I see you did well during the auction, huh?"
Daz smiled. "Yes, I did. Pheldorapod treated me kindly. I assume you did pretty well yourself?"
Big Bo scratched the back of his head and laughed. "I lost a few important bids, but I still got what I really wanted, so, yeah, I did pretty well." He then looked around the spacious room and stroked his furry chin. "Now, where did I leave my bananas? Oh, right, here," he said joyfully as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bunch of green bananas that were clearly too big to have ever fitted in there.
'He's definitely using an inventory or sub-space skill or something similar. I wonder if I can get away with identifying him now that I have a master version of the skill? Hmm? No? Ah, he'll find out, but I'll still see everything and it'll sour our relationship? Thought so. Same as with Grid Cross, I suppose,' Daz thought in silence as he found a seat and got himself comfy.
"I see that you've got those emotions of yours under control somewhat. I'm seeing that shrewd calculative nature of yours from when you first bought the bank," Big Bo noted as he perfectly popped one of the green fruits out its skin and ate the whole thing in one bite.
"From when I first... Ah, right. You did say that you can check in on bases you have a branch in. I'm surprised you were looking at mine. I was assuming your branch of the bank was in hundreds of thousands of different bases in different universes. Did you really have the time to be looking at my base and at me when I was still a nobody?" Daz asked somewhat jokingly.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Hahaha, oh, Daz, my boy, Daz... You're still a nobody," Big Bo said as he held his stomach to control his laughter. Once he'd calmed down, he asked, "Anyway, wanna play a game or two, or are you just here to chat?"
Daz got up and smiled, completely unoffended by the probably true insult as far as the grand scheme of things went. "I honestly wasn't expecting you to accept my request to meet me. I just came to chat, truthfully, but sure, I've got time for a few rounds, that is, so long as you don't cheat this time."
"Sure, so long as you don't score flawlessly. I'll be blocking that internal power of yours. 'Survivor's Instinct', was it? It took some digging to find out about your world's internal powers. Some digging and a lot of money," Big Bo claimed as a second banana was sacrificed to the red gorilla man's gullet.
'Oh? It was hard to find for someone like him? Plus, he can block internal powers? Can he only do that in here, or anywhere? What does it cost him to do that?' Daz was very interested all of a sudden. "Fine by me," he replied as he grabbed a pool cue.
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"Hahaha! I win!" Big Bo laughed as he shoved two bananas in his mouth at once to celebrate.
After Daz had won the first match, the bespectacled gorilla had demanded that they play until the best of three, after which, Big Bo won both of the following two matches.
Daz shrugged as he leaned his pool cue against the table. "Your stats are way higher than mine, right? Luck and-or fate, in particular, I'm betting."
Big Bo closed his eyes and shook one of his sausage-like fingers at the reaper as he 'tut'ed. "It's bad to be a sore loser, Daz. There's no need to make excuses."
"I'm honestly not bothered. If you want to see a sore loser, why don't you let me use my instincts and then you can look in a mirror after I pocket every single ball in with a single move?" Daz asked with a smirk on his lips.
Big Bo's face flinched. "Would you look at that? I have a meeting with my boss scheduled in three days. I need to go to the local salon, buy a new suit, have a massage, you know, all of the things you need to do to meet your superior... Ahaha..."
'Liar,' Daz thought with a smile. "Well, I won't keep you. It was fun playing. I'll stop by some other time?"
"Actually, I had to move things around to make room for this meeting. I'll let Employee FGZ127 let you know when I next have time to talk or to fool around. I'm a busy gorilla, even at the best of times," Big Bo claimed with a light sigh.
Daz raised an eyebrow. "Employee FGZ127?"
"Hmm? Ah, right, Earth is a rather barbaric planet that has mostly forsaken the art of slavery, so I forgot this isn't common knowledge to you. All floor employees of the Midechhe Travelling Bank are slaves purchased from the system. They're rebranded and renamed upon acquisition. I did mention how your soul will be mine if you don't honour your side of our bargain by becoming Earth's ruler, right? Think of it like that. Employee FGZ127 was like you. He simply lost to the harshness of the Outside and ended up as our property."
"I see," Daz replied passively. "Well then, later."
Big Bo wore an intrigued smile. "Indeed. I'll see you later, Daz," he replied as another fruit found itself being consumed.
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Now sat in his and Madison's bedroom, Daz stroked his girlfriend's long blonde hair gently as she peacefully slept next to him.
"Mhmm?" Slowly raised her head, Madison looked around in a bit of a daze before she spotted a familiar face. "Daz?"
"Good morning, Maddy. Or, more like, good evening," Daz said with a short chuckle to the adorable young woman.
"Mmm, evening," she replied as she stretched and yawned. "Play?"
Daz shook his head. "No, not right now. I'd like to hear about your esper power if you don't mind. We can grab some food first if you'd like?"
Madison's eyes lit up. "Food, please."
The reaper stood up and gently smiled. "Get dressed then and we'll go see Head Chef down in the kitchen. I'm sure she can whip something up for you, huh?"
"Mmm!" Madison replied excitedly.
A few minutes later, she was all decked out in her flannel shirt and shorts along with a pair of fuzzy slippers. She grabbed Daz's hand and then pulled him out of the room and down the hallway as she practically ran to the kitchen. Mr Barrier happily floated behind the two of them, ready to deploy an unbreakable barrier whenever he felt it was necessary.
Daz matched her pace and took this time to use The Crystal Digger's Master Identification on her, but he didn't use the Secret Override ability, nor would he ever. She had given him permission to view her status, not one of her personal secrets.
Madison McArthur's Status Basic Information Name: Madison McArthur Species: Wingless Angel (final [up from beginning] stage of evolving) Age: 18 Sex: Female Class: Divine Swordsman Affinity: Lawful Neutral Description
Abused at a very young age, the traumatised girl made it her life goal to seduce the young heir of the Hamilio bloodline.
After spending most of her life with him and forcefully changing her own destiny, she fell in love with the young man known as 'Daz'.
After having reunited with her loved one, she is content and only wishes to help him survive this apocalypse however she can.
The sentient and mysterious creature, Mr Barrier, is linked with her to be a companion for life.
Energies Lifeforce: 40,000/40,000 [+36,000] Stamina: 60,000/60,000 [+54,000] Stats Strength: [Limit Reached] 1,500(1,800) [+1200] Dexterity: [Limit Reached] 2,500(2,950) [+2,200] Patience: [Limit Reached] 3,000(3,600) [+2850] Defense: [Limit Reached] 1,250 [+1,050] Dignity: 1 | Item boost: +100 [+85] Agility: [Limit Reached] 1,250 [+1,050] Regeneration: 1,000 [+980] Divine Power: 7,321 Holiness: 70 Faith: [Limit Reached] 3,500 [+ 3,100] [New!] Perception: [Limit Reached] 900 [New!] Creativity: [Limit Reached] 250 Loyalty: Incalculable
Seeing her unchanging loyalty brought a smile to Daz's face. 'There're a few things I wanna ask her about, but I guess I can wait until we're in the kitchen.'