It was an exciting time. As we traveled through the dead streets, Emily walked behind me in a defensive position. Despite my stat advantage, she had faster reflexes. Just another flaw that needed training to correct.

We walked ever closer to the outer ring of the city. With ever step forward, I could feel the ghouls close our way behind. An interesting tactic, fighting a foe many times stronger with a paltry force. From what I could sense, there were less than fifty yet more than thirty. From the amount of mana their undead bodies exuded, I could tell none were above 100.

In the middle of the street a girl with ebony hair was hunched over. I could hear sobbing. Miasma filled the streets, as we drew ever closer to the girl. From what I could tell, she was no older than 18, when she was turned. The young woman had one of those petit bodies.

“Boss, should we change paths. We shouldn’t pick fights we don’t have to on the surface. That girl is putting off more ambient mana than I am. I don’t know how many people she’s killed, but I would wager they number in the hundreds.” Emily said. I rubbed her head and continued my pace. This was just getting good. I took a deep breath and drew upon the darkness these undead exuded. The shade, I consumed had digested well.

Its darkness was a part of me. It worked with my light aura. Keeping a steady balance. With this much miasma in the air, I didn’t need to fuel my darkness with mana. The miasma would supply all the energy I needed. The light I produced grew ever more potent.

We were upon the girl now. Close enough to get a description.

Ruth Yamomoto the Princess of Gluttony lv210

Once a ghoul this newly turned human hunted her way up the food chain. Men, women, or children it didn't matter she fed upon them all absorbing their lives through blood. She has taken to hunting adventurers that wonder the streets at night. She uses her army of ghouls to isolate her prey and group cast miasma to strengthen her vampiric powers.

I equipped my scythe from my inventory and felt my darkness increase in power by a factor of five. The light of my aura grew to counter my darkness expending more mana. The sobbing stopped. The vampire rose from her crouching position.

“Oh, you aren’t going to check on me. How rude, I could have been a poor little girl trapped out on the streets waiting for my prince charming to come and save me from the night. That scythe, you took it from the seventh floor. That drop is very rare.” She stood covered in a red dress. It was built to expose just enough of her breasts to entrance the senses, but not enough to expose her. She was clearly half Asian. Her skin color alone held that special lilac glow. The red dress, manicured eyebrows, and red lip stick made for an interesting show.

She was short almost childlike compared to my height and bulk. Ruth wasn’t beautiful so much as she was deadly. There was a charisma that begged me to get closer. Her voice poked at the coals of my smoldering empathy. She was a very dangerous woman.

“I’m looking for a blacksmith that does custom work. Do you know any?” I held my scythe in a reverse grip. Ruth was too dangerous to let close. If her charisma was strong enough to affect me like

this. At the edge of my verse, I could feel darkness creeping in. Her powers were attempting to manipulate my mind.

“Oh, I know of one or two. Though they are of my kind, I’m afraid you won’t want anything they could make you. Too, powerful for a mortal man. Darkness isn’t your best element. You seem to clumsily keep it contained chained by the light. That’s no way to use something as spirited as the night.” Dark power flowed through mana fibers linking them together to form chains. These chains wrapped around the scythe in my hand.

“If you do know of one, then direct us or step aside. We will find them on our own.” I said. My legs bent as I prepared for a fight.

The miasma wrapped around her fingers and formed bats. “You know nothing of the night. Mortal man, give in and bare you neck to me. I will make your end pleasurable.” I took a step forward and paused. The miasma was quickly converting into bats. These creatures were merely shapes designed to look like the little rats with wings. Ruth held out her hand and the bats fired forward arcs of lighting exploded between them. The lightning struck me in the chest and fizzled out.

I swung my scythe sending my chains flying. Like my tendrils, I could flex and control my chains. They wrapped around the vampire woman’s legs and I yanked her off her feet and placed my scythe at her throat. I flexed my mana shattered the invasive darkness Ruth was using to subvert my will.

“Go to the commercial ring and find a small shop near the graveyard. There should be a few facilities that make gear for undead still open.” I smiled for a moment, before I let her down.

“Show me where it is. If you do that then, I will consider this attack a misunderstanding.” Emily appeared to my back carrying a sack of heads.

“Where did you get the sack.” I asked her. She smiled in a cat like way.

“One of the ghouls had it. A great tool for storing heads. I think this was a great find. Gwendy said we could decorate the apartment anyway we want right. Is that your newest concubine Boss?” I shrugged.

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“If she can lead me to the blacksmith then maybe. If not, maybe we will get her stuffed.” I said. Ruth shivered through the chains.

“It’s this way.” She said. “You know all I have to do if find a golem and the two of you will be imprisoned. I have a license to hunt. By law the two of you are in the wrong for resisting.” Ruth said.

“So, what’s your story. What made you want to live in a place like twin star city?” I said.

“Is that really a question, I can hunt anyone I want legally. As a woman, I don’t pay taxes. When I arrived, I was just a ghoul. Now, I’m a vampire, I live in a lavish mansion. If I was wearing my gear you would be dead.” Ruth said. I thought about all the foes I had fought. The avatar of the goddess Tiamat was not an easy foe.

“Unlikely, if you were a credible threat, I would have killed you and tossed your body to your ghouls. The only reason your alive, is your low level.” I said.

“Oh, are you sure it isn’t these?” She grabbed ahold of her tits and presented them. “I have gotten away with more than a few kills because of these. I don’t think you would have lasted long if I were an assassin. You are a man after all.” Ruth said. I snorted and continued walking.

“We’re here.” I nodded and took the chains off.

“Just like that.” She said. I nodded and moved towards the entrance. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She walked in front of me and knocked. “If you don’t have an undead sponsoring you they will sell you faulty equipment. You will be in the field fighting some overpowered mob and then bam your armor will fry and paralyze you. Its one of the reasons there isn’t a line of people here to get gear.” She knocked on the door and they waited for an answer.

“Ruth what are you doing here. You aren’t supposed to come for gear maintenance for another month. Oh,” The guy saw Emily and me.

“Jack, he’s a friend of mine, I promised him some unregulated gear.” Ruth said. Jack nodded and opened the door.

“Just like that.” I said. Jack nodded.

“So, long as you have a sponsor, breathers are free to come and go. I already have your description saved.” We followed Jack to the back of the building and down some stairs. We entered a sweltering room filled with black smiths and leather workers. Weapons of all kinds were set on racks. Armor of all kinds were sat on manikins.

A large lich goblin sat at the desk. The lich looked me over and smiled. It looked creepy on a skeleton. The lich took a drag of a cigar the smoke flowed down into his rotting lungs and came out through various wounds.

He threw a hand up. “Put it there breather, you must be something if Ruth brought you here. The names, Rog I’m the owner of this establishment.” He looked me over. “You look tough enough, your pumping out more mana than any breather I’ve met, and hiding a massive amount of dark power. I like it, you’re just dangerous enough to be interesting, but not enough for me to kill outright. That and your Ruth’s friend. She isn’t known for trusting breathers, so you must be an upstanding fellow.” I turned my head to Ruth. She smiled with some fang in it. We were going to have fun later, I could tell.

“Rog, I need some top of the line gear. How many gold bars will it take for top of the line gear.” He took another drag, and the room cooled down considerably.

“Gold bars, few have been deep enough in the dungeon to have that type of currency. You don’t seem the type to obey the mistress.” He looked over at Emily. “You’re a solo aren’t you. The pretty face is just that, a pretty face. Yes, I can feel it the blood on your hands could fill oceans. Let me see your hands.” I held them out.

He eyed them and nodded. “Your skin is dragon scales, you’re ten feet tall, and you have enough mana to put us all to shame. You are a solo. Alright, 500 gold bars and I will give you everything you need.” The goblin smiled like he named a steep price. I opened my inventory and began placing my gold bars. Each bar weighed ten pounds. The desk began to wobble at the 200th bar. Once I finished Rog had 5000lbs of gold sitting on his demolished desk.

“Grob, take this paying customer for measurements.” Rog said. A werewolf goblin took me to a separate room had me strip and he measured me from head to toe.

When I returned, Ruth was still there, she was looking over the mass of gold bars hungrily. That was honestly all the money I had besides a few gold and silver coins. It would be a while before my mobs farmed enough gold for me to start auto making bars again.

“What do you know of Iaido or quickdraw swordsmanship?” Ruth asked. I knew nothing about the skill. That sounded like something that could sharpen my stats up quite nicely.

“If you can teach me, I would like to learn.” She nodded.

“It’s what my gear is based on. I don’t really fight seriously in the streets. My food rarely overpowers my dark spells. Iaido is where my real destructive power lies.” She turned to Rog. “I want you to make him a katana built for the quick drawing like mine. How long before his gear is prepared.” Rog consulted his ledger.

“If the materials can be obtained in a reasonable amount of time. Three months to eight give or take a few weeks. If we had the materials a month.” The goblin lich said. She nodded.

“That should be more than enough time to teach him the basics of my style.” I blinked, was this chick coming on to me.

“Boss, you do have another concubine. I thought Marris would be the only one.” Emily said.

I stared at the vampire leading me out. She fluttered her eyes and only took a second glance at the gold.