"Was this really a good idea?" Questioned Samael. She could see the whole log of conversation, so she knew what'd actually just happened.
"Even if i am special, that matters most to someone that can use me." He muttered, sitting down and playing with the grody looking crystal. It looked a bit like a cell. "Another sorcerer who is also a natural enchanter and has deep pockets is perfect exactly because she knows what i fear from her own experience, or do you think the fairy queen is free to fly as she wishes?" He scoffed, his shade frowning even as her boss' breathing regulated itself and he yet again fell into meditation.
"I mostly get that part from our own interactions, but what the fuck do you need her for anyway?" She insisted.
"Items and info. While i'm an acetic monk in comparison to other players, that does not mean i won't carry around things that can save my life." He took out the jewel pin that'd been gifted to him. "Besides, i don't know if you noticed but i'm not exactly the most popular guy. I don't have anyone to inform me about a war happening without spending hours on end searching the city and the forums, nevermind more secluded events that may offer special circumstances."
"That's... Surprisingly insightful of you boss." She spluttered out in shock. Was this the same man that trew himself against armies without much thought?
"Just because i'm not a genius doesn't mean i can't be cunning. Now get comfy somewhere, we're spending three to four hours in here before we go do some quests, we should get the answer for each one by then." He shushed her and closed his eyes, focusing on healing himself from the previous strain.
*****
Looking up from her dust covered hands, Titania turned to her message tab. He had sent her two profiles asking wether they were fair game. It was unexpected, but men were like that. Neither should be able to capture him though, so it was acceptable.
Going back to her enchanting, she started to run her fingers through the heel of the boot, the pieces of essence in her hand slowly attaching themselves, gently fusing with the already existing pathways as they added to their effects. The small finger tips gently danced through the item, meaning being given to the forming patterns according to her whim and the natural flow of mana. She slowed down to crush another gem, one hand still following a line as she reinforced a part of the enchantment, focus unbroken even as another message reached her.
There could only be a couple of people that'd not been muted while she worked, and she felt compeled to look in case it was an emergency, but instead she sent one of her companions. They wrote something and that was that.
Air became storm. Water became wave. Earth became mountain. Like always, her instincts guided her on what was nescessary, her experience the only thing making the process even slightly lucrative considering the production cost.
When she was about to finish, another notification came. It was so very close to completion that she didn't need to say anything for someone else to see what it was about. They wrote something and that was that.
The refinement was done, her speed even improved compared to the last time she'd made something like this. If only there were more chances to practice... Yeah, she should probably check on the boy that could make that happen.
{Blessed steps of the fairies (Rank II): Created by a famous elven cobbler for her wife, a beautiful sylph that loved to run, reinforced by the Dames of the Lake Sakrint and allowed to absorb the essence of The Jealous Gnome, these boots were already powerful before being enchanted by the Fairy Queen Titania.
Attack: Extreme
Defense: Rank II
Effects: 1. Wind runner 2. Aquatic treader 3. Stout ground
Wind runner: Allows for better manipulation of the wind while in movement. When favoured by the wind, movement speed increased by 20%.
Aquatic treader: Allows for unrestrained movement in water. May condense solid platforms of any liquid whenever there is enough material in reach by consuming a charge. Maximum of five charges. One charge regenerates every hour.
Stout ground: Always have sure footing. Reinforces the path you take.}
Her part was ready. The item had originally only been legendary, so it'd been a bit hard, specially since it was something she prepare so little for, but she'd nailed way more than a dozen rushed orders through her career already. She admired her work a bit, but soon turned to her message tab to see what'd happened during the five hours she'd spent enchanting.
[Aki: NOT SPECIALLY IMPORTANT. Hey, just finished those two contracts. Are these guys ok as next? */*/*/*
Fergus: Her majesty is in the middle of an enchanting an item, so please, understand that she does not have time to personally deal with this. As for your question, the last one is not a suitable target despite not being part of any allied faction, the others are for you to decide.
Aki: Thank you sir, may i speak to you about further contracts then?]
As there was no further log of the conversation, she understood that Fergus had started a direct chat with him. He looked slightly flustered as he waited for her to go through her things however.
[Aki: MAYBE IMPORTANT? Just thought you'd like to be informed because of some previous experiences with authoritative figures i have, but i now have a bounty on my head. Still haven't even seen what the opposite of a honor kill is, but there's some guys popping on and about saying shit about me being marked for death. Though i just killed twenty from an ambush team and another ranker that started hunting me. Looked for it in the forums and apparently i killed the brother of a guild leader or something, so now there's a 250K prize tag on my neck. For some reason i also found a few more minor bounties with my name though. Maybe because i'm not famous and fight in several ways all around the city? I'm not specially worried, but i would actually like to know if there's any kind of service for collecting the stuff on the player lobbies i own, canceled my extensive trip after the ranker guy, on the train back to my base as i write this.
Amani: I'm told Fergus is already dealing with this....]
She immediately searched the forums for references, finding the referred bounties almost as fast, though the several people wanting him dead seemed to have come to an alliance and pooled their points until it reached a million points. It'd even increased as she looked at it, allowing her to be sure that they'd paid extra to allow the bounty to become public. The points spent would only amount to half of what'd be added to the bounty, but she was half sure there were plenty who would not mind this.
[Titania: How many honor points DO you have?]
She sent it his way, the bounty increasing again. She favorited the page and told Amani to watch the thing as she massaged her temples, turning to Fergus, who forwarded her a line of messages that made her eyes twitch as she looked at her buttler, his purple skin becoming darker with embarassment.
[Aki: 189. Now you! Seriously though, is there some kind of achievement for 1 or 10k honor kills?
Titania: No one knows. I'm pretty sure no one reached something like that. As for the lobbies, i will get one of mine to search them as long as i get to be prioritized in case i want to buy something, deal?
Aki: Deal. *]
It was a simple contract, but it basically oozed with intent even as a panel from the system. The part talking about 'good faith' and 'honesty' was his own view on the matter and she'd be unable to change that without killing him in the process. She sneered a laugh, quickly recomposing herself. The boy treated her very much like an actual fairy, though he was wise to do so. Signing the contract, she noted that he started sending the adresses.
And didn't stop until almos a hundred were clogging her message tab...
"Fergus, you failed misserably here. You're going without food for a week." She coldly said, the side eye she gave the Fae, who did not even need to eat to begin with, enough for him to understand that his punishment would be raised were he to complain.
[Aki: Say, is it a bad idea to have my shade kill the people outside my lobby or...
Titania: Bad idea. Gets too much attention and you are not ready for that.]
*****
[Aki: So, would you like to go over my murderous tendencies or just ignore it and go with our partnership?
Titania: Honestly? I've seen worse. As long as you don't cross my bottom line then go and be happy with killing those thugs.
Aki: Got it. In that case i won't question the glove and daggers.
Titania: Talk to anyone about it and i will make you beg for death.]
He nodded phisically. It'd been strange to find out that there was a legendary set of five healing knives on the house of one ranker, the thing being one of those specialised DeD items Aki didn't think he'd ever get to see out of dungeon world, but that the refined beauty wearing tasteful dresses, though they were a bit form fitting, known as the Fairy Queen would be interested in them... He did not have the qualifications to ask.
The young man could only smirk as he looked at his points after the transaction. Considering his new boots, which seemed quite happy to meet him too for whatever reason, and the several insurance items he'd shoved at Samy, he felt much like he'd just earned a power up again despite his skills and stats staying the same.
Of course, he'd kept a couple of mythical level attacks now that the ones he used before were useless in comparison. Since he only used them in emergencies anyway, he'd only ever gotten to use one for creating an opportunity. It wasn't even one of one shot items either!
While he hated using them either way, he wasn't going to just throw his life away for nothing either. Luckily he wasn't suicidal enough to be in such situations often.
The actual treasure he'd found in the player lobbies however, were the collection of books and training equipment. A mattress of complete comfort that nurtured your mental energy as you sat on it! A crystal statue that stored mana like a battery!
There was also a wip that increased concentration through pain, but he sold that one. Having such thing on him could only cause trouble even if he got to use it correctly. Plenty of people wouldn't have such reservations about their mental health though, so it was certainly something very pricy.
For now though, he had a bit over a million points to spend on whatever the fuck he wanted. Mainly, that ment batteries for his mana. Besides skill books, that's the only thing he really needed. His limbs and magic were weapons, his whole body was tougher than iron and regenerated quite quickly, his movement was guaranteed by his boots and his magic, so on, nevermind that everything he did was generally also passing through several bonuses from his skills, now his talents as well, nevermind his arcane reinforcement could safely raise over 15 points to his status whenever he put the thought behind it.
Samael could probably utilise a whole arsenal of daggers, new gloves, boots, full chest protection and maybe a mask, but her black get up looked complete on the outside. She could wear clothing that was not black, but all clothing and armor that was part of her would gain a pitch black taint.
"What?" She questioned when seeing her master staring intently at her bored face.
"Do you think a mask covering your lower face or a full mask would be better? Like, i'm thinking of getting a smiling mask for me, maybe several, mostly for vanity really, do you think you'd use one or would you prefer to keep the shadowy get up?"
"Wouldn't that restrict you from bitting into your enemies though?" She pointed out, not really having a opiniom on the matter. She'd been through plenty of cappers with several tipes of disguises and misdirections, even used some for intimidation factors, but her life was different now, right?
"Right, should probably specify one that's linked to me, maybe some kind interactive face then. By the way, since we're stuck inside, do you want to go window shopping or are you tired?" He nodded.
"How would that even work?" She questioned with a raised brown. Then suddenly she was wearing the most frilly and pink dress she'd never dared to image. Before she could scream about it being hideous though, it suddenly changed into 'jeans' with slightly torn knees, dark brown running boots and a dark green tank top that wouldn't be showing anything except maybe a bit of her midriff. Looking up again, Samael saw a full body mirror, which made her aware she was suddenly using light make up that gave her a sharp look in the eyes, cute cheeks and very kissable lips. And Aki was standing besides it while doing 'finger guns' and giving her 'the look'.
They actually spent a few thousand points on clothes so she could memorise the get ups and have a full, shadow wardrobe, which took hours upon hours of being dolled up the usual way. They only stopped because Aki suddenly fell down cold.