Chapter 71- Sister Training Arc (Take 2) Part 1
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“Wake up!” Sol shouted from the bottom of the stairs.
“I’m up already!” June bellowed back. She wasn't a person unlike Summer and Sol.
“Summer!” Sol said.
“I’m coming.”
Sol made them some healthy smoothies and sandwiches to eat on the go. It was barely seven in the morning and the sun was just rising. The two sisters were excited- eager to get some real action.
Summer came down with a full face of makeup and curled hair.
“You know monsters don’t care about your looks right?” Sol joked with a smile.
“I heard you can get style kill bonuses,” Summer said.
“That’s if the kill is cool,” Sol sighed. “Not if you are. And they’re really hard.”
“Whatever,” Summer dismissed, checking herself out in the mirror.
June came downstairs with her hair in a short ponytail and no makeup- she wore no makeup anyway.
“Much better than your sister,” Sol stated.
“She wants to take photos the entire time,” June remarked, rolling her eyes.
“June!” Summer exclaimed. “I’m as serious as you are.”
June rolled her eyes again.
“C’mon you two, we’ll miss the train. Be ready in ten.”
The trio took a train to Harmon’s court. It was a fancy place, built within a giant monster's skeleton. It was the place nobles took their kids for shopping and it specialized in weapons and armour.
June and Summer were giddy as they dragged Sol around the shops like when they were younger. Sol was just happy to be spending time with them, they rarely could all go out like this together.
Sol was looking around a store that sold clothes like his shadow wolf hide outfit. His sisters were in a shop opposite. He was just browsing, trying to not be dragged into his sisters squabbling.
“Good morning, Sir. What wares are you looking for in particular?” a deer-kin woman asked him.
Sol glanced around him to check if his sisters were anywhere near.
“Something which is fashionable and offers defense.”
The woman nodded. “We actually have a whole section dedicated to that sentence. The younger generation cares more about fashion than numbers.”
“I’m glad you guys understand,” Sol said.
She took him to a portion of the shop which didn't contain price labels. It was a tactic they used to bargain for items. Something Sol should have received a class for by now.
Sol was looking for a present for June. In a way, she was more picky than Summer. She liked to wear baggy clothing and only really cared if it was comfortable. She liked dark clothing as it may her invisible to most without a discerning eye.
“This is our latest in fashion,” she said, showing Sol a hot pink tank top with purple scales. It was a strange boobed armor piece that looked like something Spike would wear on his off-days.
“I’m looking for something more casual,” Sol described. “Dark preferably.”
“Robes? Or general clothes?”
“Both, I just need something which offers protection and is comfortable to wear.”
She nodded and took him over to a new selection. However, he noticed a long coat out of the corner of his eyes; it was dark grey and filled with fur. He picked it up and identified it.
RARE- Long Hooded Phantom Coat
Made from the essence of a phantom. It offers protection and insulation from heat and cold.
+3 Intelligence
+1 Constitution
30% Resistance to cold
30% Resistance to heat
15% Chance for attacks to pass through
+2 Constitution.
Defence Rating: 64
Durability: 34/34
Affinities: Phantom, Elemental.
The stats it offered were amazing, the defence rating was high too. The durability wasn’t great but it could always be repaired if damaged. Additionally, it was perfect for June, she liked baggy clothes and it was really comfy too.
“Oh, sorry Sir. That should be in our higher end section-”
“How much?” Sol asked, not caring to act interested.
“Urm- I can quickly check with my manager if you’re ok to wait?” she replied.
Sol nodded, not looking away from the phantom coat. He quickly glanced behind him to check for his sisters. Thankfully, they were tearing each other's hair out in the other shop still.
An old male halfling waddled out from the backroom. “Name’s Jack, I’m not a friendly fella so I do apologise. This is why she works at the front. I can do you 2 gold and 3o silver for it.”
“For a rare?” Sol questioned offensively, flicking his bargaining button on.
“Again, not being rude. Let’s just cut the small talk.”
Sol smirked. “A gold.”
The halfling’s upper lip twitched. “Gold and a half.”
“Gold and thirty.”
“Fourty, that’s as low as I’ll go.”
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“Gold and thirty seven?”
The halfling chuckled. “You’re smarter than you let on. Deal, son.”
Sol smiled as he reached into his pouch for the coin. He handed the halfling the money and placed the coat where the coin once was.
“Good doing business with ya,” the halfling said.
Sol nodded and hurriedly left the store, only to bump into his sisters who were coming to find him.
“Hey, you guys already?” Sol asked.
Sol had bought a full grey cloth suit for June that boosted her intelligence, wisdom and magical power. It didn’t offer any protection but a Rune Writer would never take damage. Of course, this was on top of what he had just bought for her. For Summer, she had a mixture of hardened leather and mythril armour. It increased her constitution and strength. It was red and purple which matched her affinities.
In total, their armour cost 2 gold all together, plus another one and a bit for the phantom coat. He didn’t mind spending the money since it was to protect his sisters and that didn’t have a price.
“I’m so excited,” Summer squealed.
“You won’t be saying that for long when you’ll be covered in blood,” Sol said truthfully.
Summer looked horrified.
“He’s right, Summer,” June said. “It looks glorious but it’s truly gritty. And you’re gonna be the frontliner.”
Sol chuckled lightly, June was right. He had already planned their tactics.
“I don’t care,” Summer lied, throwing her curly hair over her shoulders.
“We’ll head to the adventure guild now,” Sol declared, changing the mood. “I’ll talk to you about how you guys are going to fight.”
“Are we not finding a team? And are you not fighting with us?” June questioned.
Sol shook his head. “I’m a bit overleveled. You guys need the experience anyway. Don’t worry though, I’ll be on standby.”
“Why aren’t we finding a team?” Summer asked.
“Because... “ Sol didn’t have an answer. “You shouldn’t trust anyone.”
“That’s stupid,” Summer stated.
“Oh Odin, I’m agreeing with you now,” June remarked in defeat.
They took another train down to the adventurer guild hall and walked in, it was bustling with people. It was only 9 o’clock too.
“We need a healer! We’re offering double rates!”
“Berserker needed! High constitution is preferable!”
“Woah,” June said. “What’s going on.”
“There’s an event at the Wetlands today,” a random man said to her right with a smile.
June looked a little scared. “Ah, thank you, Sir.”
Sol stepped between them and waved his sisters forward- much to the annoyance of the perverted old man.
They garnered many looks from the adventures inside. Not only from their expensive armour but their looks. June and Summer were both spectacularly beautiful.
“Are you looking for a team?” a handsome adventure asked Summer.
She pushed her hair back and threw on a bright, innocent smile. “I am ac-”
“No, she’s not,” Sol interjected, pulling her away.
“Oi,” the man spat. “I was talking to her.”
Sol turned back and flared his aura while meeting his eyes, “Fuck off,” he said threateningly calmly.
The man scowled while backing off,.“Fucking high levels.”
Sol was level 43, which was considered in the top 5% of adventurers. Compared to the Unwanted, adventurers were like toddlers. Anyone could become an adventurer. Training and experience meant much more than levels did.
“Guys focus,” he said to his sisters. “We’re not here to make friends. We just need to get you registered.”
Sol stayed in between his sisters as they headed over to the front desk, it was only a short que as they had dozens of staff on.
“Hi, I’m looking to register these two,” Sol said to a woman.
“Of course, are you registered with us?”
“Yes, my name is Solomon Thorn.”
“We will need to run a few tests and a background check,” she added.
She hadn’t even looked up at him so far but when she saw the black mark on his profile, she meekly moved her head up with worry.
Sol glanced behind him to find his two sisters who were distracted. He leant slightly closer into the lady. “They don’t need tests.”
She gulped. “Of course... Sir. Did you want the- urm,” she went in close. “Mark on theirs too?”
“No,” Sol answered plainly. They would see it if they ever checked themselves.
“Y-You will just need to clarify their skills and levels. There is also a silver charge to sign up,” she said as she handed up a few pieces of paper onto the desk.
Sol placed 2 silver on the desk.
“J-Just bring it back to me and we will hand you the adventurer badges,” she explained nervously, meeting his eyes.
Sol nodded calmly and took the pieces of paper.
He put Summer down as a fire enhancer and June as an ice mage. Their skills would be available publicly and he didn’t want people pestering them for their rare skills. June was probably the most cornering, a Rune Writer was considered mythic amongst adventurers; mages even.
June was level 13 while Summer was 12. Experience was always passively gained and would increase when doing something. June read books which put her at a higher level whereas Summer was lower as she didn’t always dance. It was basically so others could benefit from the system- not only murdery individuals like himself.
Luckily, his sisters didn’t exactly realise what Sol was writing down. They just trusted him to do it for them. He handed the papers back to the sweating women and she handed him the two adventurer badges.
He managed to squirm himself and his sisters out of the horny room full of men. He almost got into another fight but they all backed down once Sol showed the difference between them. That sort of behaviour was looked down upon at base.
“Fucking adventurers,” Sol spat as they got out.
“You’re one too,” Summer said.
“I know, I just hate them. Egos are everything.”
“Sol, why are you not wearing armour?” June asked.
“I don’t think anything could pierce my skin in the Wetlands,” Sol said honestly.
“What level are you?” Summer questioned.
“You don’t need to know that,” Sol responded.
Summer rolled her eyes as she folded her arms.
“What’s this event?” June asked, changing the subject.
“They happen frequently in lower levelled hunting grounds,” Sol said. “Like the monster horde, they give more experience and better drops.”
“So we can level up more?” Summer questioned.
Sol nodded. “It’s best to work on your skills and stats before levelling up too much. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll hit a ceiling.”
“I get that,” June said. “You’re saying levels aren’t everything. Skills are far more important.”
“Exactly,” Sol said.
Summer was full to the brim with excitement. “I wonder what my adventurer name will be. What’s yours Sol?”
“Sol.”
“Ah, so boring. I’m thinking of Purple Flame Princess.”
“You’ve put a lot of thought into that,” June joked.
Summer rolled her eyes, “Yours will be... Magical Monster.”
June opened her mouth. “Take that back.”
“Stop, both of you,” Sol demanded. “This is serious now. You fuck up- you die. Ignore me- you die. Do we understand?”
That shut up both his sisters on the way to the train. When they got on it, Sol started to explain to them their fighting techniques. They listened well and recalled everything to Sol perfectly. He was shocked to see his sisters wanting to work together; they rarely did, and even more rarely in front of him. They never liked to give him that gratification.
They arrived down to the docks where Bandits Cover was in view.
“I hated that place,” Summer said with her nose turned up.
“It was all we could afford at the time,” Sol replied.
“I didn’t mind it,” June said. “The view was nice on the balcony.”
Sol laughed. “The smell- not so much.”
They rekindled some funny memories as they boarded a bus full of adventurers. People realised Sol was high level as he didn’t wear any armour and left them alone. It was common for high leveled adventurers to bring children of nobles to these areas for training. He was glad no one tried to pry his sisters off him.
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