-*Those weren't artifacts, and we are not doing that again,*- I snap at Lady Lord as I shift from my void. And into someone's tent. -*Now what?*-
"Isn't that the brat's pet?"
I turn to see another sparsely bearded old man who definitely is older than 30 or they're counting in reverse dog years, wearing dark armor with polished silvery metal links on his chest and forearms staring at me and holding a cup of something steaming. I swear to god if that's bean juice versus tea water I don't know what I'll do. Nothing probably, I've got shiver thorn. I wander towards the tent opening to leave while gagging at the thought of shiver thorn tea and get body blocked by a younger looking thinner man wearing the exact same black and silver armor. He grins as he stops me from leaving.
I'm tempted to drain this bean pole like a juice box, but I might learn something from the kid's reconnaissance, so I sit my happy ass down and wait. Bean Pole doesn't move, and Baby Grampa calls for someone to go fetch Crimson Star. I've got nothing to do but eavesdrop and groom, so I do. Bean Pole jokes about trying to feed me herbs that are great for cultivators but bad for bugs, saying, as a domesticated spirit beast, there's no way I would know not to eat it. When Baby Grampa shoots him down I want to give him credit until he suggests they feed me an energy supplement that sends bugs into heat. Assholes...
"I would appreciate if you didn't," Crimson Star says as he ducks into the tent, uninvited, and scoops me up. He makes a show of going over me and I wonder if he knows anything about how insane my physiology is, then he nods and attempts to leave.
They blocked off the tent opening with more men, Baby Grampa giving a half smile as he shuffles papers he's got on the table he sat at when they realized I wasn't gonna take out Bean Pole or make a scene. Crimson Star sighs, slowly turning his back on the people outside the tent to look at Baby Grampa with a light frown. He looks thoroughly unimpressed. And I don't see his parasol. We 'bouta fight?
"Usually when someone returns lost objects there's a reward for their honesty and efforts," Baby Grampa says smoothly, resting his hands on his desk and looking up at Crimson Star. Dramatic much?
"Sometimes a good deed is a reward in and of itself," Crimson Star force polite smiles back and they both share a laugh so fake they both deserve to be kicked in the balls. I twitch with the need to end this nonsense.
-*I was here before this tent was set down, the fact that you dropped a structure on my anchor without knowing what I'd bring back is brave,*- I scoff. What if I regained my natural size?
"It talks?" Baby Grampa looks around, body still and eyes dancing as he looks up and around.
-*I talk, and I understand, and if you fed me nonsense herbs I'd eat your stuff until I found something to fix it,*- I snark. Wasn't I going to eat some lizard dude's shop?
While I'm trying to remember where the hell Renegade Valley is, remind myself that it's in an entirely different zipcode, and wait for Lady Lord and Baby Grampa to come to an agreement on whether or not we should pay them or they should pay us, -- I forgot that I leak out my void. Should get that checked out. -- I finally remember that we were working on a time limit.
-*How long was I gone?*- I ask Lady Lord, hoping I didn't miss the event. 20 spirit stones is a small sum for me, but it's not a small sum.
"Only four hours," Lady Lord murmurs, walking me through the camp after the negotiations break down when they realize he's sponsored and has no money. "We still have the rest of the day and tomorrow to prepare before the event."
He walks further down river, getting us away from everyone as I try to think of ways to convince myself that still having a full fucking day until I get decent food is a blessing and a boon. I'm feeling less hungry, but tired from my manic food hunt. Eventually he tells me we're far enough from where people are setting up then tells me to pull us into my void space so we can talk privately. I point out that if he sends we'll be private as long as he focuses on me, and he retorts that I send out in broad messages everyone can hear.
-*And if you ask you'll be told that's impossible because of the amount of effort it would take for people who can't send,*- I point out.
When he waves to dismiss my answer I decide that he can come into my bank, but I'm going to charge him though. I turn to him, still can't think of a damn good reason for us to not be able to start immediately, and try to figure out if I can take a nibble versus a full bite. When I dumped energy for the salamander I still have to pay back, the crystal hit a hard limit and then I couldn't put in any more energy. I had the Qi to pop the crystal, but I didn't.
-*It takes energy to maintain the space, more energy to keep people from dying in it, and more energy to keep the projects I have running. What can you offer me, and I'm not asking for money, to make taking you into my void not a drain?*-
"While' we're hunting, you can have my spirit beasts," he says like I've forgotten our "deal".
-*I don't know your skill,*- I snap. -*You offer me promises later for services you want now.*-
"You'll just have to trust me," he smirks, and waits.
-*One day until the event starts?*- I'm not trusting him for shit. -*Give me something of value now for what you're asking for now. You want me to dispose of the bodies later so you don't get in trouble for dishonorable sportsmanship later, and that help to you will benefit me later.
-*What can you do for me now,*- I start grooming, he's got until I finish cleaning my eyes, then I gotta go to my void, and try to repair my epic scenic void fuckup.
"Earth Hares are one-horned hares that hide in the ground, ambushing with their venomous horns before disappearing into hidden burrows. Mist Dragons create illusions, bending light around them to blend into their surroundings, and using their powerful jaws and claws to rend their prey. Their tails can break a man's spine.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"Flint Cats, Stone Lions, and Mountain Tigers are all powerful hunters with powerful claws. The tigers will come down on you from above and smite you, then drag your body back up the mountain to eat. The lions prefer to hide in caves and large dens and only roam when they've established a territory, and the cats are fast and more likely to cripple you and leave you for another predator, coming back to your corpse after other creatures have eaten their fill." He sits back after his information deluge, rapid firing information at me, but he doesn't know that I've got Silent Howl's spreadsheet like memory, as long as I have the energy to sustain it.
Fuck, something else to dump Qi into. This is good information, valuable, and will undoubtedly help me in hunting prey, but I can't help but notice he left out Silver Harts and the Heavenly Rabbit, although to be fair he'd already told me about them before his very productive four hours. I sigh, shift us into my bank, then get started on more food production.
I do feel less strained, so I was definitely the problem. He hmphs at me, glaring and wrapping his robes around his lean figure before flinging himself down onto the steps. Be petulant all you want, idiot, I almost ate you. And why didn't I? I've thought about taking the easy way out and just nomming people, but I really don't want to get in trouble for just juicing people. Sorry, correction, don't wanna get in trouble for juicing the wrong people, I conduct my thoughts with my antenna, finishing with a snort and putting on more cakes, going back to milling while they cook.
Water, paste, chopped veggies, greens, a round of dumpling soups, and back to milling. I've got a surplus of veg in the bank, and, if I'm being charged for the amount of items, then cooking will help me in the short and long run. So I cook. When I'm in the kitchen he tells me how he plans for us to win. We're gonna make nets. Apparently the nets I ate were refined versions of the net that people use on spirit beasts, and I have a brief memory of being threatened with a large leaf that took effort to eat. Silent Howl knew the nets were made from giant lily pad like leafs, their soft flesh eaten by fish, used as feed in fish farms, the leftover fibers forming a net which is then lightly infused with Qi. The normal Demon Web nets are naturally tough, all of their Qi used in developing their tough fibers, but there's nothing to drain. And we definitely robbed those people to sabotage them. Fack.
The more you know? I go to taste the dumpling soup and end up draining the entire pot. So... Good? I bank the other pots, Will more pots and get more soup going, taking off old cakes and putting new cakes on. Crimson Star casually wanders over, and grabs a cake before I can bank it, so I hit him with a straw.
[Piercing Shot Successful]
[Successful Uses 64/100]
[Qi -30]
[Karma -5]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1831774/23765719]
[Current Qi: 235752/957945100]
[Current Karma: 95062877/107275977]
[Max Will: 9,579,451]
[Mortal Wallet: 10E,27K,180P,154R,179Da,155De,105k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1199Di,126Co,10506St]
-*I'm not sure how much Qi you have, but if I were to nip you right now I'd consume 1000 from you. It is enough to kill some things,*- I turn to him and he's standing perfectly still. -*I have to consume a lot of food, which is why I'm making so much. I've already gone through the foods I made last time. I'm going to let you go, but please note that the only use I have for you is this hunt.*-
I reabsorb the strand and he gasps, clutching his hand to his chest before giving himself a quick pat down. I'm not sure what he felt, but I didn't pull anything out. I don't think. Did I? A quick check of last eaten, and, nope. No fresh Qi from Crimson Star or Lady Lord. On a whim I pull out and drink down an entire gourd of Saint Wine.
[Saint Wine Consumed]
[Qi +1,000]
[Karma +100]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1,831,774/23,765,744]
[Current Qi: 236,752/957,945,100]
[Current Karma: 95,062,977/107,275,977]
[Max Will: 9,579,451]
[Mortal Wallet: 10E,27K,180P,154R,179Da,155De,105k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1199Di,126Co,10506St]
I thought these were good for 10k Qi and 1k Karma? Or was that a fever dream? No way was Persephone sipping on 1k and regenerating. Wait. Is it because I made it? No, I'm getting little blips from the food I make and they don't give me a whole ass notification. No... Is it 1k per sip? Does it --. It's wine. It ages. Fack. I just wasted that. Holy shiz balls, if that's for real she got so much from just wetting her lips with this shit. She made these things last for months. What's the aging time on this? Or do they absorb Qi while you have them around?
I'm honestly contemplating wearing a gourd and trying to figure out the logistics of stopping people from robbing my ass when Crimson Star casually picks me up, telling me he's ready. For a beatdown? Why the fuck did he pick me up? Did broham tell me what he wants the 100 low-tier spirit coins for? Is he sacrificing himself so I can win on the basis that I fulfil a dream that I didn't pay attention to?
"Take us back to the hunting grounds," he says, not looking at me, just staring straight ahead as he gives me a quick bounce. I stare at him and he still doesn't look down at me.
-*I feed on things I'm in contact with,*- I remind him and he drops me, and takes one long step to the side, away from me. Still not looking at me.
I think I mutated to get picked up. I can't think of why people who know what I am keep picking me up. I give a quick groom of my face to make sure I'm calm first, then shift us back to the rocky shore. Seeing the shallow river I wonder if I'm allowed to fish now, or if that violates the hunt. When I ask Crimson Star he says that they're still out of the hunting grounds, but I should show him any fish I catch in case they're guardian spirit beasts hidden in the waters. I stare at him like he's insane --
[Piercing Shot x12 Successful]
[Successful Uses 76/100]
[Qi -30 x12]
[Karma -5 x12]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1831774/23765729]
[Current Qi: 236392/957945100]
[Current Karma: 95062917/107275977]
[Max Will: 9,579,451]
[Mortal Wallet: 10E,27K,180P,154R,179Da,155De,105k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1199Di,126Co,10506St]
-- and machinegun the water with piercing threads instead of just blasting silk and using anchor or binding shots to see if I can. I think it's less expensive and I try to math as I pull my catch of 3 measly fish and several stones. It's a ton of Qi but Qi is much cheaper than Condensed Qi. I can just eat for Qi, the Condensed Qi takes a lot of time and effort. Oh, riding the boat versus running down the river... Got it... No clue why the ferry was free unless it's specifically to this area. Crimson Star could have sleight of handed some payment, but lots of people just walked onto the boat and sat down.
Crimson Star dutifully goes through my catch, tossing back most of the rocks, setting one to the side saying it absorbed some Heavenly essence, most likely moon, so I should eat it, then going over the fish. One of the fish shimmers just a little more and he says it's not a spirit beast, but it does have a little bit of moon as well, then looks around, eyes narrowed, threat of wrinkles forgotten, sucking his teeth. Dunno if he's trying to figure out why there's two moon items in a shallow pond in a place that's constantly overcast or if there's any significance, but I gut the fish, try to debone them as best I can, fail to filet them properly, then just eat them raw. Part of the energy is in preparation, focusing your will and letting your surroundings influence the dish. I leak out my void, but I also pull through it, and me posting in scenic locations might be more me finding a good place to drain or dump.
Learning all about myself since eating absorbing a cultist's essence. Think I'm gonna do this from now on. Mouth watering at the thought I get pissed off all over again when I remember that I have over a full fucking day before I can hunt and eat. I'm not going to eat nets, but I'm looking forward to people picking fights.