Chapter 209. Timing the Integration.
“First off, I was curious if you help me with something about my home planet. I live on a mana starved world, but recently, we had over thirty dungeons suddenly open. There was no core in any of them, and they disappeared once the final boss was slain. How can something like that happen on a mana starved world?” I asked, leading off with the question that Refuge, Grimslade Group, and the government were all concerned about.
“I can’t answer specifically to your world, but I can give you some general information on how and why an event like that might occur. For that answer, given its general nature, I would just change 50 silver,” Rhett said. I gladly paid him the fee and waited for him to speak.
“There are a few reasons for the dungeon outbreak that you experienced. One reason could be that a powerful being summoned them into existence. I don’t know why they would do that, as it would be a tremendous expenditure of resources for little result. Sure, it might have expedited your planets integration into the system with all that mana being released, but is a new system integration happening a few decades earlier worth what it would cost them?
“Another explanation is that a powerful artifact has found its way to your world. The rising mana levels might have started to activate this artifact, which could be the cause of these dungeons. If this is the case, you can expect further disruptions as the artifact grows in power. This is about all I can offer based on past events from other worlds,” Rhett explained.
“You mentioned someone wanting to expedite our world’s integration, can that be done? And if it can be done, how do we estimate when the integration will happen?” I asked.
“That will be another fifty silver. No questions are free, as you know,” Rhett said. I passed him the money and Rhett looked at me for a moment, then got that glazed eye expression of someone looking at a system prompt before he replied.
“The reasons for a powerful being or organization being on the cutting edge of a newly integrated world are myriad and I couldn’t hope to give you an exhaustive list. What I can advise you of is that there is a way to monitor your world’s ambient mana.
“It’s a complicated device that works on mana but is heavily shielded against mana drain from a world such as yours. Here, this shop should have one in stock, they call them simply, a mana gauge. I warn you the cost of one may be prohibitive for someone freshly arrived at tier two of the city,” Rhett explained, passing me the name of a shop on this tier.
The shop happened to be the same as one of the stores that I had planned to visit. I would have never thought to ask for such a device, and without spending the coins with Rhett, I would have walked through the store with no idea such an item even existed.
“Thank you. Do you have any idea, for free, about how much something like this costs?” I asked, not willing to part with any additional money for something I was going to figure out on my own before too long.
“I can do that for free, but I also have a simple question in return. I’d expect Zamly, who runs the place, to charge anywhere from 75-150 gold for a mana gauge, the amount will vary based on her mood and if she decides she likes you or not. As for my question, what is the name of your world?” Rhett asked.
“Thanks, you weren’t lying about the mana gauge being expensive. As for my world, it’s called Earth. I don’t suppose you’re from there?” I asked, curious if he was a fellow earthling like the information broker Lavelle on the first tier of the city.
“Earth, that’s one I haven’t heard of much, and no, I’m not from there. I should warn you I don’t answer much about my past, and if I was to, it would be at an exorbitant rate. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?”
“Yes, I’m curious how I end my status as a summoned being, and if I do, what options are there for me to continue to grow?” I asked.
“That’s one that’s somewhat system restricted. I can dance around the edges, but it will cost you five gold for my efforts. Please understand that I’m not trying to overcharge you, I’m just engaging in potentially dangerous areas when the system restricts certain information. For the risk I will put myself in, I expect to be compensated well,” Rhett explained.
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I really wanted to know, and the information would be valuable to every summoned being back home. Maybe they could at least reimburse me in dollars for what I was spending here. Sighing in frustration at how quickly my newfound riches were bleeding off, I passed Rhett five gold.
“Great, let’s see. I can confirm that your status as a summoned being will change at a certain tier. You will be offered the option to end your contract or continue it with more favorable terms. As to what tier and rank this change will occur at, I cannot answer. It’s something that some people end up guessing on their own if they know the tiers and ranks of people in their world, and how long summoned beings have been around,” Rhett answered.
“Just to clarify, there is an exit ramp for summoned beings at a certain tier. I’m thinking that if you choose to end your career at that point, or even if you decide to go another route, you can’t return home to your mana starved world,” I said, basing my guess on the fact we didn’t have any truly high tiered people on Earth, despite having summoned beings for some time.
“You seem to have gotten it,” Rhett replied. I’d have to check the newly upgraded database back home. Now that we shared with Grimslade and the government, it should give a good idea of the tier people seem to disappear at. That would pinpoint when people could cease their summoned being career and move on to something else.
“Is there a reason nobody returns to the mana starved world after they reach that unknown tier?” I asked.
“I won’t charge you for that, because I’m not allowed to answer that question. Everyone figures it out eventually, but the system doesn’t want any spoilers out there. That’s all I can help you with today, I really do need to get on with my day once we’re done here. It may not look like it, but answering questions is rather mana intensive for me and I was planning on this to be my day off,” Rhett said.
“Thanks for your time, can I visit again when I hit rank five? Any kind of frequent customer discounts?” I asked.
“Ha, nice try, no discounts, but yes, feel free to visit again. I promise Felicity won’t pull any shenanigans next time,” Rhett said. Leaving his office, I stopped by the front desk where Felicity was still busy working on the pile of scrolls.
“It was a pleasure, Felicity, thanks for the friendly service and for trying to get your boss to stab me,” I said as I left. She merely grumbled under her breath before ignoring me once more.
It had been a productive meeting, and I knew that I needed to buy a mana gauge to take back with me. With a means of tracking our system integration, we could plan better and maybe avoid some of the chaos that I knew was coming. The price was staggering, but I had the funds, and didn’t know if any of the other summoned beings were in as good a financial position as I was.
The shop wasn’t too far from the information broker, and Rhett had given me a name to work with as well. I passed the apothecary on the way, making a quick stop to stock up on mana tabs, and a new supply of potions. Unlike the potions I’d been using up to this point, I went with ones a bit more powerful, but still not too hard on the budget.
The new healing potions would give an initial burst of healing, then continue to work on any damage at a much slower pace for the next ten seconds. The mana potions did a similar thing, giving me an initial burst of 10-15 mana, and then 1 point every second for ten seconds. I also picked up a couple of other potions, though I hadn’t had much use for anything other than the healing and mana ones so far. The new items organized easily in my linked belt.
Potions:
1. Enhanced minor healing potion (10).
2. Enhanced minor mana potion (10).
3. Oil of steel (2).
The oil of steel was my other purchase, and the only potion I could use over a distance. All I had to do was select a target and throw the potion as close to it as I could. The glass vial would shatter, and a small cloud of metallic flakes would drift over to the target and encase them in an extra layer of armor that would last for up to a minute. It would be a good way to keep my more powerful minions in the fight during a difficult encounter.
After finishing up at the apothecary, I made my way to the shop with the mana gauge. This place was a larger establishment than the others and offered the best selection of items geared toward adventurers and summoned beings. Once inside, I asked the clerk for Zamly, and mentioned that Rhett had sent me. That seemed to pull some weight, and after a few minutes, the owner, Zamly slithered her way over to me.
I’d seen a lot of things in my time as a summoned being, but the appearance of Zamly I had to admit, did shock me. She was about seven feet tall and had a humanoid upper body and serpent-like lower body. Her head was covered with a veil, but I could see glowing eyes though it as well as hair that was comprised of small snakes. The word Medusae popped into my head as I observed her.
“Who is it that thinks he can summon me in my own shop like I was a simple clerk,” Zamly said, the glow of her eyes growing brighter. I really hoped I wasn’t about to be turned to stone and used as the shop’s newest display mannequin.