"You all did quite well for such a high level fight. Unfortunately we lost many people in the last fight, but I'll make sure you all get the gear you lost back as well as a small bonus. I know you Undying just get a little weaker whenever you perish, so there's not too much of a loss. Anyway, here's all of your rewards for a job well done!" Darius announced to everyone who came with him on the raid. They all got a notification instantly about the completion of the job, as did all of those around the city that were participating. Although they didn't gain nearly as much, their contribution was still tracked and taken into consideration.
[City Quest: Infestation Extermination Completed]
The [Giant Rat Queen] has been slain along with nearly all of the rest of the infestation across the city. With such a threat no longer looming over the citizens of Technologica City, they can now rest easy. Well done on defeating this hidden problem!
[Reward: 100,000 credits, 3,000 XP, 1x Random Skill Card, upgraded mercenary rank to Iron]
[XP 14046/14000: Level Up! Lv. 10 -> 11]
[XP 14046/20000]
[Gained 5 Free ATP]
Dags and Cynthia looked at these rewards. It was quite generous considering the small number of enemies Cynthia defeated. Dags thought that this might be because Cynthia got the last hit on the boss, or from the guild master inflating the rewards as compensation for that snake that attacked them. Either way, it was a good thing. What really interested him was the randomly generated skill that Cynthia would receive.
"Such good rewards!" She exclaimed. After doing so, she swiftly covered her mouth as some people looked over towards her outburst. She calmed down and looked at her now overflowing credits with a smile. She finally wasn't broke!
"[Hurry and us-]" Before Dags finished his message, he just remembered something. After that series of upgrades, he now had enough Processing Power and Energy to use the audio transmitter. It was finally time! He no longer had to tediously send messages!
[Transmit Sound]
Transmit sound through the speakers built into the NanoPhase helmet. Audible range is quite small. Works even while User is in-game.
PP: 100
Energy Cost: 20 per minute
It was still prohibitively costly, but as long as he used it in small amounts, he could talk with Cynthia! He immediately turned on the function and transmitted his voice to her.
"Ahem. Testing, testing. Is this working?" He gave it a little test and turned it off again to save energy. Every 3 seconds that he left it on, it drained 1 Energy from him.
"Huh? Who's there?" The shocked Cynthia spun around, but no one was looking her way. They were all focused on their own rewards or celebrating with their friends. The voice sounded like it was right in her ear, but it didn't look like anyone had spoken to her. The voice sounded a bit synthesized to her. She thought she was just hearing things, when she heard that same voice again.
"It's me, Dags. Seems like we can finally talk face to face. Well, not yet really but it's close enough." He reactivated the process again and talked to her with a smile. It felt good to actually use his voice in a conversation instead of the text. It was much more convenient, and quicker to boot.
Cynthia gasped. The AI that was supporting her speaks now? While AI speaking wasn't uncommon in the slightest, Dags had only ever spoken to her through HUD text messages.
"Y-You can finally speak? That's great! It was a little difficult to try and read messages while fighting, so this would be less of a distraction." Cynthia was bubbling with joy at hearing Dags for the first time. It felt a little weird having the voice right next to her ears when he talked, but she would get used to it.
"Yeah, I got upgraded quite a lot after you killed the [Giant Rat Queen]. I now have enough spare processing power and energy to talk to you in small amounts." Dags explained. He couldn't stop smiling, feeling like he was finally breaking free from some of his limitations.
"Amazing! It seems your chosen voice synthesizer is quite a mature one. It's kind of… alluring? Ah! Nevermind what I said!" She waved her hands in front of her and people looked at her like she was crazy. Cynthia was too engrossed in her own world talking to Dags that she didn't realize.
Dags chuckled in his dark space at Cynthia's cute antics. He didn't want to tease her though, and got to the point of what he wanted to say originally.
"Anyway, I just wanted to say that you shouldn't only focus on the money, there's that random skill as well. Depending on what it is, a new skill could greatly increase your effectiveness in combat. Go ahead and use it to see what you get." Dags was interested in what Cynthia would get out of it. The reward itself wasn't just automatically used, it was actually a card that sat in your inventory until it was used. Players could even sell it if they wanted, though people rarely did. Skills were the lifeblood of a player. A good set of skills could set you up to be a top player after all.
"Ahh, right. Hmm, there's no use function in the menu. Do I have to take it out?" She hesitated, looking around at all the players. She didn't think it was a good idea to take it out here, lest it be stolen. While the chance of it being stolen under the guild master's supervision was slim, she didn't want to take the risk.
"Perhaps we should go somewhere quiet? I don't think it's safe to use it here." Cynthia was too scared of the possibility of losing her hard earned reward to some greedy player.
"You're right. I didn't realize you couldn't just use it in the inventory. Try talking to the guild master to see if you can borrow a private room." Dags gave his suggestion, knowing that Darius seemed to have a soft spot for Cynthia. He had been exceptionally kind so far, and he was hoping to make use of that.
"Mm, okay." She walked up to the hulking beast of a man and he smiled at her approach. She had lost her original nervousness around the man after he had dealt with that terrible guy that nearly killed her, seeing him in a new light. He was actually a nice person so long as you didn't cross him.
"Ah, the little [Marksman] is here. You did well in the raid, so I made sure to reward you well. What brings you to me now?" He eased up his posture a little, and broke into a small smile.
"I sincerely thank you for your help in finding the culprit who attacked Masterless Sword and I. I'm actually here to see if I can borrow a room. I have an item I want to use without attracting the attention of everyone here." She gave a small bow as she said her words of gratitude, and waved behind her indicating the large crowd for the second part.
"Ah, I see. I don't see why not. You're always welcome here if you want to take a rest. Just ask Remia anytime you need a room." Darius gave a thumbs up, giving the ok on her request.
"Thank you guild master Redfield." Cynthia beamed with a beautiful smile, which made Darius laugh and pat her head.
"You remind me a bit of my own daughter. Anyway, the room you can use is up the stairs and the farthest down the hall on the right. It's actually a small break room where the receptionists rest, but you can also use it."
Cynthia nodded and waved as she turned to go to the room, only to be stopped by Darius' voice again.
"Oh, I know you've upgraded to Iron rank, so go see Remia later to get it changed out. You don't want to be stuck with just your Copper rank card."
"Okay~! Thank you again Mr. Redfield!"
"So he has a daughter, huh. No wonder he seems to like you. You must be around the same age as her." Dags finally made his presence known again.
"Maybe…" Cynthia's mood seemed to have dropped. She rubbed the top of her head where Darius had put his hand.
"Is something the matter?" Dags asked in puzzlement. She had been pretty cheerful just a second ago.
"Ah, no… It just made me think how my own father hadn't done that to me in a long time." Cynthia shook her head and returned to her previous cheerful self, though it looked a bit forced.
"I see… I won't pry into your family affairs. Let's just see what kind of skill you get from this thing." Dags diverted the conversation back to the random skill card. Cynthia had already reached the break room and gone inside. She nodded stiffly and sat down.
Now that she was alone, Cynthia took out the card from her inventory. It Was bright sky blue, and slightly transparent. There were a complex series of lines or runes etched into it that she couldn't decipher. Even just trying to read them hurt her head so she stopped looking so closely. The card shined with a faint glow in her hand, and suddenly dissolved into millions of particles that rushed into Cynthia's body. Her body shone as well and she received several system notifications.
[Random Skill Card has been activated]