*Thoughts*
~Sound effects~
+”Whispers”+
+++++
Most of your questions which will surely arise while reading this will be answered by the next chapter which I am going to post on Sunday, but feel free to ask them anyway :D
Chapter 40: Neuron PoV
The next day in-game time Neuron logged back in and was greeted by bright sunrays which went through the open window.
Then after he looked at the clock *Wow Midday, I surely didn´t sleep long, well I slept in game so I guess I don`t have to worry about sleep deprivation, no clue how this works anyway* he thought while shrugging his shoulders. Then he thought *Well sleeping in my own bed sure was nice anyway* while he stretched his body:”So what to do now” he asked himself. After pondering about it for awhile Neuron decided to first get himself something to eat since his satiety had fallen rather low, and after that was done he headed towards Rodbans mansion.
Before he entered the Noble district Neuron tensed up a little, but as soon as the guards saw the badge Neuron showed to them they immediately cleared the way.
*wow this really works* Neuron thought because he mistrusting the guy who gave him this badge.
Before Neuron was even able to knock on the huge door of the mansion it was already opened and the old butler stood in it motioning him to enter.
*Is this guy an Esper?* was what Neuron asked himself while the butler lead the way into a room which was filled to the brim with arrows and wooden boxes while in the middle of the room a siple table with a chair was placed and candles on the walls where illuminating it.
“If you would be so kind as to work in here” the butler said while bowing
“Sure, I don´t mind” Neuron said flabbergasted about the sheer amount of arrows which filled half of the room
“then if you may excuse me” The butler said and while bowing he continued:”If you pull on that string someone will come to attend to your needs” he said while he pointed to a woven thread which hung from a hole in the wall near the door. After saying his farewells the butler closed the door behind himself.
*good, so what is inside those boxes?* Neuron asked himself while he opened one of them. What was inside where rows and rows of flagons which had a blue glowing substance in them, of course Neuron took one of them in his hand and identified it
* Advanced Mana potion
Regenerates 8.000 Mana Points within 5 minutes
~Whistle~ “They must have cost a fortune, so what is in the other boxes” Neuron said to himself while opening them with anticipation. The next box to the one he just opened contained more Mana potions; a little bit disappointed Neuron proceeded to open the next
In that one there laid more potions but what was apparent was that there were fewer and they where cushioned by straw, if this isn`t already apparent from all those signs that the liquid those flagons contained is dangerous then its color would remove any doubt since it was of a vile green.
*So this is the poison, I better don´t spill any of it* Neuron thought while he carefully took one of those bottles in his hand to identify it.
* Explosive Poison
This liquid is highly reactive and will convert into gas as soon as it gets in contact with air. If the bottle containing the Poison shatters the heat caused by the whole liquid being converted into gas will cause it to ignite itself. Iron prevents it from turning into gas
If you inhale the gas you will feel dizzy
Poisoned weapons reduce the health of those they cut by -300Hp per minute
This poison can only be healed by magic, antidotes just reduce the effect
If the flagon is shattered the explosion causes 3000 Damage
Since you have a throwing skill its bonuses will be added to the exploding damage
“Damn how much will they cost me if I use them? Rodban will surely charge interest as well!” Neuron shouted with frustration, but it couldn`t be helped and so Neuron decided to use those potions as scarcely as he could.
Now Neuron was again waiting for his Mana to refill since he mostly used up all of his Mana Balls, only ten remained for safety purposes. After all he needed a huge amount of Mana to make as many arrows as Rodban requested since Neuron refused to stay long inside his home.
While he did so someone knocked on the door before opening it. Standing in the doorframe was the butler who said:”Sorry to interrupt your work but you are being requested to go to the Magic Tower”
*Finally I will get to know more about my Mana thread* Neuron thought rising up from his sitting position and while thanking the butler he left the mansion. At the front gate the receptionist was waiting, apparently not pleased by the assignment he had to do
After a long silent walk they arrived at the tower and as soon as Neuron entered through the door he heard the voice of the old guy:”Hello, please come into my office” strangely the voice seemed to originate from the receptionists desk but Neuron paid it no mind
“So where shall I go?” Neuron asked no one in particular but he got a response. It was from the guy who escorted him here. One of his arms was stretched out and pointed towards a circular stair.
“At the top” he said
*Hey, why did he sound pleased* Neuron thought while he went up the stairs. After a few stories it was apparent. Those stairs had very broad steps which were also higher than Neuron was accustomed to and so it cost him a lot of Stamina to climb them. It didn`t help that the stair was winding itself around the inner layer of the towers wall since due to that it was much longer.
Finally near the top Neuron was laying on the ground in front of a straight corridor gasping for air while a robed figure appeared in his field of vision.
“You are finally here” the old man said in his normal voice turning around and going ahead into his office
*Do you want something to drink, you look exhausted? No no, thank you I am fine* Neuron babbled in his mind
As soon as Neuron caught his breath he went down the corridor and climbed another short circular staircase and came out in the middle of a round room. While Neuron looked around he noticed that the whole walls where made out of glass and so he got an astonishing view of the whole city and even the castle, inside which he really wanted to break into just to see if it is really impossible to do like he had heard. But first he needed to scout it out and this tower would give him the perfect viewing position but sadly he couldn´t use his Hawkeyes for known reasons.
As great as the outside view was as terrible was the interior. The situation could only be described with one word; Chaos. On tables, chairs, basically everywhere books and papers were placed in complete disarray, Neuron was even able to spot remains of what could have once been lunch, or bread but he wasn’t curious to find it out
“Hello welcome, do you want something to drink?” the Head mage asked
*Now you ask!?*
“No, so what do you want to talk about?” Neuron answered since he quenched his thirst already.
“Hmm I see no respect for superiors” The head mage muttered while rubbing his chin
*Could you please learn to think without saying it out loud!* Neuron thought annoyed
After a few Moments of silence “SO WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT?” Neuron asked while emphasizing each word he said
“Hrm, ah yes I wanted to talk to you about the ball you gave me to investigate, it is made out of a substance which is called Mana”
“Yeah, and?” Neuron said tilting his head a little while sounding annoyed
“Since you don´t seem to understand let me explain you a little about the concept of Mana.”
*This is going to get boring* Neuron thought showing his boredom on his face, luckily the Head Mage was kind of scatterbrained and so he didn`t notice it.
“So” he began explaining while Neuron searched himself a place to sit on inside the chaos, in the end he just took some paper from a chair and placed it on a table:”the substance which is known as Mana can`t exist outside a vessel.”
“But I see mana each time a mage casts a spell” Neuron interrupted the head mage
“No, what you see is only its manifested form”. And because Neuron made a questioning face the mage sighted and said:”Alright let me talk a bit about Mana. Mana exists in each and every living creature be it animals, humans, gods and even spirits. But since Mana can only be used if the creature has sufficient intelligence and Wisdom something like insects can`t use it but of course for everything exceptions exist. A mage uses mana while channeling it trough his body and then he lets it out at the desired part of his body, mainly the hands but if a mage is trained enough he could cast a fireball at his elbow or knee for example but no one uses that since this was invented to be used as a diversion in a close range battle. No one would expect to get hit by a spell if the mage just passed you or he could use it to high kick and if it is blocked the spell could be casted.” The mage continued while thinking about all possibilities
“hrm, okay I get it” Neuron interrupted the head mage since he had a hunch that this sermon could continue for a while
“Okay so where was I?”
This question annoyed Neuron but he still answered:“Mages channeling Mana trough their bodies” because he listened attentively since he expected useful information for the moments he would have to battle against mages.
“Good, so they channel it trough there body and send it out but as soon as the Mana gets in contact with the air it changes into one of the elements known as Fire; Water; Earth, Wind; Holy or Dark. Of course those can be combined for example Wind and Water into Ice, some combinations are harder or nearly impossible to produce like Holy and Dark since they are like two sides of a coin.”
“What about spells with AoE Damage” Neuron asked
“After many trials and errors mages came to understand that if you use words to cast magic rather than channeling it trough their bodies the cast magic will be stronger and easier to manipulate, but it prolongs the casting time. Those spells grew more powerful and accurate until it was possible to make AoE spells everywhere near to the mage. Of course since then it was also possible to imbue mana into anything but to imbue it you must let out a continuous stream of Mana while remaining in touch with the object, for example a sword; the same applies for body strengthening techniques.”
“Yes, but what about shouts?” Neuron asked remembering that Kyle had a shouting skill.
“My theory is that the spell enhances the vocal cords making them able to achieve special frequencies which have the described effects in the brains of those who are hearing it.”
“But what about Necromancers? They just resurrect the dead, how do they use mana?” Neuron asked while the mage looked disgusted
“I will answer your question but only because you allowed me to further my studies but never ask another mage about the foul art of necromancy!” he said furiously while Neuron literally shrunk by a few centimeters:”Necromancers use their mana to give the dead a temporary soul so that they may follow every command”
“What about dungeons and undead which weren`t summoned?” Neuron asked since he deemed it interesting while it was not going against what the mage said prior
“They can only live on special ground which was soiled, high level undead soil the ground and everything around them by just being there, but enough of that disturbing topic!”
“Alright, so what does this have to do with my Mana thread?” Neuron asked
“I already told it to you at the beginning, try to think back.”
*What where did he tell it to me? I arrived, he offered me some water, then I asked him what he had to tell me and he said…..*
“You mean the thread is made from….”
“Yes pure mana, it is an affront, it defies everything I have researched so far…” the head mage said
*This doesn`t sound good* Neuron thought with worry while hearing those words
“It is AMAZING!” the head mage shouted with joy while performing a little dance.
*What the heck*
“So what now?!” Neuron asked louder than necessary to get himself noticed because the robe of the mage began to sway in a dangerous way and Neuron wasn´t eager to find out if there was something underneath covering which he didn´t want to see even if his life depended on it.
“Ahem” the head mage said looking embarrassed:”It seems that joy has taken over me, it is just that I was investigating Mana but I got stuck so this item here will surely help me out, so for how much would you sell it to me?”
“I don`t mind, so how much would you like?” Neuron asked
“The more the better” was the only reply:”So please if you could show me how you make it I would be much obliged”
*Shit I must pay attention on how I do it since he could get wrong ideas* Neuron thought but he couldn`t really refuse since he also wanted to know more about his skills.
“Sigh okay” Neuron said and then he touched a table and connected himself to it with a mana thread
“What did you do?!” The mage shouted in excitement like a child seeing something for the first time.
“I just, well, connected myself with this table and on the connection I made the thread”
“I see that the thread is coming from your stomach, may I look at it closely?” The mage asked in excitement
*Leave my navel alone you pervert!* Neuron thought while covering it
“Anyway why is it coming from my stomach” Neuron tried to change topic to something he was interested in
“Well duh, this is where your Mana pool is located, so how do you make this connection you spoke about?”
“I just picture myself and that table to be connected”
“What you don`t use any mana for it?” the head mage asked in disbelief
“None at all, only for the thread which I make above the connection”
“Hmm” the mage said deep in thought
“So how much do you want to pay for it?” Neuron asked because he noticed that Rodban was always letting him chose the initial prize which made Neuron wary
“I am able to pay you 1 gold per meter”
*Nice, so can I advance the prize?* Neuron thought and then he said:”5 gold coins”
“Deal!” the head mage shouted then Neuron thought:
*What the heck, so fast! I should have said a higher amount. I have to try that again at Rodban there has to be some trick*
“Deal” Neuron said while a plan formed itself in his mind:”And keep in mind that you said any amount will suffice”
“Yes of course” the head mage said:”Ah, by the way which hidden class can manipulate mana in such a way?”
“I don`t have any class” Neuron answered
“What! You have to have a class to manipulate Mana at such a high degree!” the head mage shouted in disbelief.
“No, I am classless” Neuron said
“Sigh, let me stomach that first” the head mage said while sitting himself on a chair without bothering to clean it first while holding his head in his hands. After some time Neuron could hear some muttering and so he decided to use this time to get a closer look at the castle.
Due to the shallow angle Neuron could only see its outer walls and five towers standing. One of them was much bigger than the others and this tower was placed in the center while the other four where much smaller and placed at each corner of the square made from the outer walls.
“Isn`t the view great!” the old guy said from behind Neuron which made him turn around, after canceling his Hawkeyes of course.
“Yes it is” Neuron said
“Alright, now back to topic” the head mage said.
*Damn* Neuron thought but the mage continued:”So could you tell me how you fight at least?”
*well this question at least I can answer truthfully*
“I fight mostly with bow and arrow or with throwing weapons”
“Good, could you give me some of your arrows then?” the head mage asked
“Why do you need them?” Neuron asked suspiciously
“I just have something in mind, so please”
After Neuron gave him a bundle he took them and placed the arrows on a table while muttering some words.”
“Can I go now?!” Neuron shouted to get the attention of the head mage back.
“Ah yes of course, let me accompany you down” the head mage said while going to the circular stair located in the middle of his office stopping at the first step of the stair while muttering some words.
As soon as he finished the step began hovering and floating down the staiscase while the other tiles moved one step upwards and Neuron shouted:”What the heck!”
After this a hunch appeared in Neurons mind which he had to voice out:”Don`t tell me this goes in both ways?”
“Yes, every mage in this tower can use it, normally it is the secretaries job to accompany visitors up the stairs and the mage which was visited has the task to send them back down again, I wonder why you climbed them on foot?” the head mage said being oblivious
*You asshole!* Neuron shouted in his mind directing the insult towards the receptionist while he promised himself that his other persona would pay him a visit in due time.
“So could you again explain how this Mana connection works?” the head mage asked
*Again?* Neuron thought while asking:”Why do you ask?”
“I want to make something based on this principle” the mage explained and so Neuron explained it again while being cautious.
“I can connect myself with mostly anything I touch but the formed connection will always be with my navel so I can`t use it very efficiently” Neuron told a half-lie since it was true at the beginning when he got the skill
“So are you able to connect yourself with for example an arrow you shoot?” the head mage asked the question Neuron feared.
“Yes, but I can`t make a mana thread over it since it uses huge amounts of Mana for each meter” also true at the beginning
“And to connect yourself you just have to concentrate hard enough?”
“Basically yes” Neuron answered
Finally down in the entrance hall Neuron said his goodbyes and while glaring fiercely at the receptionist he left the tower.
*Good so 5 gold per meter means that if I make ten meter I will get 50 gold coins while using only 1.000Mp and I have 4140, so the biggest unknown is how much those Mana potions cost.* Neuron thought deep in thought on his way back to Rodbans mansion.
This time too the door got opened before Neuron could knock and the Butler accompanied him into his working room, before he excused himself Neuron asked:”Could I get a spinning wheel?”
“Of course” he answered before bowing and leaving the room.
*Wow he didn´t show any surprise at all* Neuron thought and went to make more arrows till the butler came back bringing a spinning wheel with him.
As soon as the butler left the room Neuron connected himself to the spindle of the spinning wheel, than he put his foot on the pedal and pushed it spinning the wheel, and since a transmission belt connected it to the chisel it began turning too, although much faster than the wheel while reeling the Mana thread which came out from Neurons navel constantly.
So now Neuron was chugging Mana potions while filling up the spindle with mana thread and simultaneously he was also making arrows. This required a lot of concentration since Neuron had only half the amount of mana the potion recovered and he didn´t want to waste a single mana point. To do so he first emptied his Mana bar then he gulped down a Mana potion. While his Mana bar was being refilled he winded his Mana thread on the chisel and then when his Mana bar was nearly full he made some arrows to use the mana up, and repeat.
K +”Neuron!”+
N +”What, what?”+ Neuron asked completely in shock
K +”Sorry to startle you but I have to tell you something”+
*Whew, it’s only Kyle* Neuron thought while his heart hammered like crazy *What the hell happened that he is sounding so serious?*
N+”Alright go ahead”+
K+”Lucro is a fucker who isn´t even worth the paper he uses to wipe the shit off his ass”+
*Boah, I never knew that Kyle had it in him*
N+”Tell me what happened”+ Neuron said in a serious tone of voice
K+”nothing grave I just want you to place Lucro as number one in your list of enemies”+
N+”Done, what is the special occasion?”+ Neuron asked while wondering
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
K+”It is a rather long story, do you have time?”+
N+”Yes, take your time and tell me every detail”+ Neuron said and so Kyle told about Deltaios idea while Neuron thought that he had to do that too, sadly today was impossible since he had to make those arrows but he promised himself that tomorrow he would go there to fight.
Then Kyle came to the part with the children and Neuron clearly heard Kyle’s voice break when he said how the children reacted which in turn made Neuron grind his teeth out of anger
Then came the flashback of Lucro and at the end Kyle was hissing every word, after he finished the story Kyle closed the whisper immediately while Neuron laughed out loud:”What that’s it?, I expected a story with overflowing drama and then I get this?!” but then he stopped laughing because Neuron remembered how Kyle sounded when he was speaking about the children
After remembering he only said two words:”Your dead” his voice being void of any emotions which made it scarier than a loud howl. But since Neuron could do nothing for now he decided to get back to work till finally
* Arrow creation has leveled up!
You are able to add a new arrow
“Yess, finally” Neuron shouted out of joy. Afterwards he took a flagon of Poison in his hand while he laid an arrow on the table, then he unplugged the flagon and immediately after green smoke started to gush out of it. Because of that Neuron held it at an arm’s length from himself and then he poured a few drops of the liquid on the arrow, well due to him stretching his hand it weren`t only a few drops.
After Neuron realized his mistake he immediately brought the flacon back into a vertical position but it was too late. The liquid he poured immediately turned into gas after it hit the arrow and table making a small explosion which pushed Neuron back.
*This scared me* Neuron thought while laying on the ground closing the neck of the bottle with his hand.
After he rose up, his hair being charred and standing away in all directions, he looked at the damage the explosion caused. The tip of the arrow was nowhere to be seen and the shaft got a whole 20cm shorter.
*If this happens every time I am screwed. I wanted to make a hollow tip since the poison also explodes but I can scratch that. This liquid is too reactive* Neuron thought while he just stood there looking at the burned circle on the table.
“Alright on to the next try” Neuron said out aloud to encourage himself. This time he took an arrow and proceeded like he did with the healing arrow, meaning carving the arrow to let more poison stay stuck on it.
Once finished he again opened the flagon and just put the tip of the arrow inside, after he took it out Neuron examined it.
* Poisoned Arrow
Damage 15
-50 Hp per minute (effect is stackable)
Poison can only be healed by magic.
Poison resistance and antidotes are only able to reduce its effect
5% Chance of Explosion
* Do you want to add this arrow to the Arrow creation list?
“YEEEEEESSSS” Was Neurons only reaction.
*Now it would be great if I could make poisoned bodkin arrows, sadly it’s impossible, I already tried that with the healing arrow*
“Show arrow creation!”
* Arrow Creation Beginner Lv7
Possible arrows 4
You are now able to create arrows in a bulk
Current added arrows 3
Arrow Damage MaterialMana cost Bodkin10-20 (Pierce)Iron, Normal arrow50Barbed20Iron, Normal arrow70Heal+250 HpApollo’s water; Normal arrow100Poison15 (-50 Hp per min)Explosive Poison; Normal Arrow90
“I was able to add a new arrow for every two levels the skill was raised that means I am able to add one more, problem is I can`t think of anything. Well an exploding arrow like the skeleton used would be good but I don`t really need something like that since I prefer to be a precise shooter and the explosions will just hurt Kyle” Neuron thought aloud:”Well I will just leave it at that, no time thinking over something which I can do anytime I want to”
And with that thought in mind Neuron pulled on the string to call for a servant like the butler said. After one came Neuron voiced his needs and because of that he was accompanied to Rodbans office, the servant knocked on the door and as soon as the reply came he opened it letting Neuron enter.
“Ah so what`s the matter?” Rodban said in a not so friendly tone
“I made a poisoned arrow” was the only reply Neuron gave back and of course this awakened the merchant within Rodban so he sat up straight on his chair while waving Neuron to take a seat.
Sadly this action misfired and Neuron only thought *Scary* because of his sudden mood change.
“So would you show the arrow you made to me?” Rodban asked oblivious to Neurons reaction while rubbing his hands.
Without a reply Neuron put the arrow he was still holding on the table and immediately afterwards Rodban grabbed it with his stubby fingers and began investigating it with a poker face till he said:”Please choose a prize”
But Neuron replied:”No no, this time you choose it”
“A thanks but since you made it I will let you choose it” Rodban answered with a broad grin he thought of being welcoming but with Neuron it missed its purpose since he was now sure that Rodban was using some advantage to haggle.
“No I can`t always choose the price” Neuron said while smiling
“Hmm okay” Rodban finally caved in:”So what about 1 gold for each arrow?”
*heh, so he wants them*
“Hmm, 10 gold for each”
“What do you want me to go bankrupt?! 3 and not more”
*Bankrupt, good joke since you plastered your house full with wealth*
“It is a poisoned arrow” Neuron simply replied
“Well yes but Hp drain is quite minuscule it will only increase if you shoot many arrows so that it raises” Rodban tried to reason but he knew that what he said was wrong when Neuron showed a smile
“Well yes but since it can only be healed magically it will be really effective against boss monsters in dungeons, most of them can`t heal themselves anyway. But the fight against them will be really drawn out since they have a huge amount of Hp.” After saying this Neuron stopped while hoping that Rodban would voice a question
“What do you mean with that” Rodban asked since he knew nothing about fighting and dungeons. Sadly for him he played right into Neurons hands with this question.
*Yes, I knew that he has never left Saramas, he is to fat to travel after all*
“just shoot 5 arrows and the Hp drain will become 250 per minute, so if you just shoot them at the beginning it will pay out in the long run since within four minutes it will have lost 1.000Hp” While Neuron spoke this Rodbans face grew longer and longer since he knew that he had lost this fight.
“Okay I’ll pay 10 gold for each of them” Rodban said sounding defeated. So now Neuron was back in his room making only arrows since he already filled ten spindles with his mana thread and he believed that to be enough, so he was now producing arrows like crazy while thinking about what happened. Neuron reasoned that while haggling the person which chooses a prize first is at a disadvantage. His theory goes like this:
If the one who sells the item voices the prize it can`t be too high since this would only repel the buyer without him even trying to haggle, to low isn`t good either since there is always the material cost.
If the buyer says a prize it can`t be too low since that would show that he isn’t interested in the item and so the seller would search someone else to sell it to. The buying prize also can´t be too high since this is a signal to the seller that he can make a bargain.
Neuron was working like crazy despite him being lazy because he reasoned that he had nothing to do anyway since stealing was on hold.
To be as productive as possible Neuron always had a Mana potion in one hand while he made the arrows with his other hand, once his Mana was low he would just gulp down the potion he held. So when the night fell on the city he was nearly done with the thousand arrows of every kind he could make.
Of course Neuron also made some breaks but those breaks he used to make some Mana balls for his personal use.
He worked late into the night to make some extra healing arrows, but this was only what he told to the butler which came into the room saying that it is sleeping time. Of course Neuron had another reason which was to scout out the mansion for easy ways to get in and of course out. Sadly the butler locked the door behind him since he somehow had a bad feeling; of course he brought Neuron warm blankets to sleep on before doing so.
This action was a setback for Neuron and he really cursed the Butler who caused it in his mind but there wasn´t anything he could do against it and so Neuron just took it as a chance to learn lock picking since in some houses he was able to find a safe like contraption embedded into a wall mostly behind pictures he lifted up out of curiosity.
Seeing it and not being able to open it was driving Neuron crazy since he knew that many riches can be found inside once it is open.
Truth be told he wasn`t able to learn it anyway but a little practice wouldn`t be bad at all and so Neuron began to work on the lock with a long needle he found in his inventory.
Half an hour later Neuron was finally able to open the lock to the room but not even the notice that the skill couldn`t be learned appeared.
*What the heck is there more required than to learn it by doing?* Neuron thought but since the door was open he soon forgot about it and went to scout out the mansion.
After he came back his eyes had a dark glint in them while he thought: *I have to by more backpags*
After he entered the room Neuron closed the door and tried to lock it since he wasn`t eager to arouse suspicion. Finally he achieved his goal and a system Message appeared.
* New skill: Lock Picking!
Because you have already reached the 10 skill limitation it is impossible to learn the skill.
The skill can be learned if you repeat the action which let to its creation.
To be able to learn the skill you have to reach level 100 or choose a class
*Does this mean I have to lock a door or unlock and then lock it, or vice versa?* Neuron asked himself while he put the blankets down and went to sleep for the few hours which were left off the night
What Neuron wasn`t aware of was that normally the lock picking skill is tied to the class to which it belongs so only assassin or thief like classes have this skill in their repertoire.
It still can be learned though. For that you have to ask an instructor in a thief guild and of course you have to earn yourself some reputation first which many players refuse to do since it would destroy the image they were trying to hold up and for knights and paladins it was totally out of option. What Neuron stumbled upon although unknowingly was a new way to create the skill, well naturally you don`t use the lock picking to close a lock, what sense would that have?
The next day Neuron was woken up by the butler knocking on the door before unlocking it.”Good morning I hope you slept well.”
“Ah yes thank you” Neuron answered drowsily
“By the way the master wants to eat breakfast with you and afterwards he wants to conclude the business, I hope you are finished” the butler said
“Yes of course” Neuron answered while he rose up:”By the way what about everything I made, shall I bring it with me?” Neuron asked looking at the mess he made since he only threw the arrows he made over his shoulder.
“Don`t burden yourself with this task, I will advice some servants to bring those arrows to the office”
“And of course they will count them as well” Neuron answered because of a hunch
“Well of course” the butler replied naturally:”So would you mind following me?” he added while turning around and going on his way to the dining room.
“Morning” Rodban mumbled through a mouth filled with eggs and ham
*God damnit has nobody learned from their mother not to speak before swallowing?*
“Morning” Neuron replied while he sat himself on a chair furthest away from Rodban which was easy since the table was huge, and for a while both of them ate silently, till Rodban asked a obligatory question
“So I heard you are already finished?”
“Yes” came the only reply and the eating continued. A long time after Neuron already finished eating Rodban did so to. As soon as he put the towel he put around his neck down Neuron rose up thinking
*Yes finally finished no wonder this guy is fat, he gave the word stuffing yourself a whole new meaning* Neuron thought while shuddering a little remembering what quantities of food passed through Rodbans mouth
Once in Rodbans office Neuron saw all of the arrows he made bound in huge bundles with a letter attached which showed the number 100 and near that number the arrow type was written. Near those arrows the boxes with the potions where placed. After Rodban sat himself at his working desk he took a sheet of paper which was placed there and read it.
“Good so what do we have here? Oh I see you really did your utmost, but how come you only used one bottle of poison?”
“I only needed as much, anyway could I see that list?” Neuron asked
“Yes of course” Rodban said while smiling a little and giving the list to Neuron
*This means I have to pay I guess*
ArrowQuantityUnit PricePriceBodkin1.06450 Silver532 GoldBarbed1.12480 Silver899 Gold 20 SilverHeal1.33640 Gold53.440 GoldPoison1.17810 Gold11.780 GoldTotal66.651 Gold 20 Silver
PotionUsedUnit PricePriceMana153500 Gold76.500 GoldPoison1100 Gold100 GoldTotal76.600 Gold
* Money to pay: 9948 Gold 80 Silver
“What the heck, 500 gold for one mana potion?!” Neuron shouted
“Potions are quite expensive” Rodban said in a mocking tone, and then he continued:”if it would have been health potions the prize would be more than double the amount. So now gimme the money” Rodban said while prolonging his fat paw.
Neuron rustled a bit with his money bag and then he threw it towards Rodban who caught it with greedy eyes. “hoh, why are there 9950 gold coins in there?” he asked after on glance
After that question Neuron shrugged his shoulder and said:”I only rounded it up a bit” and after that Neuron left Rodbans office and headed towards the Magic tower to give the Mana balls to the head mage to of course receive Money while thinking
*Whew, that was close I nearly run out of money, good that I stocked up on money while stealing if not I would have made a debt with that bastard, and he surely would have charged interest even if I gave him the money back on the same day.* Neuron thought while he held up his pouch which was nearly empty.
After arriving Neuron entered the Magic tower and went to the receptionist who did the same as always, namely hiding behind a wall of books.
“Hey you, send the head mage a message that I have returned to bring him what he asked for yesterday!”
“The head mage is busy” came the only reply
*busy, I bet he is researching the Mana thread*
“I am sure he can spare me some time so tell it to him already.” Neuron demanded
The receptionist sighed and then he muttered some magic words when he finished the receptionist said into thin air:”hello head mage sorry to disturb you while you are working but there is a person who wants to talk with you”
“I am busy tell him to leave” was the only reply, after hearing this Neuron pushed all the books down to the ground while shouting:”Wait damnit! I brought you what you requested from me!”
“Ah hello, please come right up” the head mage said in a happy voice while the receptionist just looked at Neuron with hatred as reaction to all the books which were scattered around. But Neuron only had eyes for the contraption which was placed in the far end of the table. This was a brass pipe which looked a lot like those who were used by nobles to talk with their servants before telephones or intercom systems where invented. Of course since this was a magic tower there was no pipe attached to it which could convey the sound.
After hearing the answer of the head mage Neuron went to the stairs, stepped on the first step and just waited, after a while he said:”I can stay here all day” to no one in particular and after this he could hear some repressed swears and then finally the step began to move.
After he arrived in the office the head mage said without as much as a greeting:”Place the Mana balls on that table”
*Good Morning to you too* Neuron thought while he did as told but since the table the head mage pointed to was full with papers and books Neuron didn`t hesitate and swiped everything down on the ground And now ten spindles where placed neatly on that table.
Afterwards the head mage took one of them into his hands and examined it then he asked:”Do you know how long they are?”
“No, sadly I don`t know that”
“It would be a pain to unroll them only to roll them back up again once we know its Length, how about we just guess the length and I pay you accordingly?”
“Well then take your guess” Neuron said.
“Well I am not sure but I believe them to be about 100m in length, so 11.000 gold coins for all of them, how does that sound?”
“Why 11.000?” Neuron asked
“Because I included the one you gave to me as a sample. Don`t you like my estimation of the length?” the mage asked
“Not at all, it was a pleasure to do business with you” Neuron said with joy since he could refill his money bag again.
After Neuron said that the head mage wrote something on paper and then he put a stamp on it before giving it to Neuron:”here, bring that to any bank and they will give you the money” he explained and then he added:“Ah, please come back after three days or so”
“Why?” Neuron asked
“I can only say that it will hopefully be a surprise, so anyway goodbye and good luck” he said before the step began bringing Neuron back down to the earth while he thought: *What did he mean with that?*
As soon as the step stopped Neuron went out of the tower while, again, pondering what he should do.