Ruthless ~ 42!

~ 42 ~

With public opinion turning against them, the Wanderer’s Guild started having a rough time. At four in the morning the day after the battle, hunting parties were sent to respawn in the woods near Towney McTownface. By seven in the morning, it was discovered that player run shops in and around Ardania had started increasing their prices for guild members, and their cost of living started to increase.

This forced the guild members to begin frequenting non-player-character shops more frequently, which sold a much smaller variety of items, and at a lower quality. In retaliation, the guild instantly announced that they had plans to create their own general goods trading firm. The decisive reaction shocked the guild, but it also lit a flame in their hearts to know that their guild had their long-term success in mind.

Just as Joe was finishing his morning coffee and puzzle cube training session, Mike appeared at his table. “Good morning, Joe!”

“Hello, Mike.” Joe muttered as he stared at the puzzle cube. He had been working on this for weeks, and it looked… it looked like he had nearly completed it. There were just a few more…

Mike cheerfully handed over a large tube. “Here is the first of the blueprints that we were able to secure. This is a Rare building, a three-story trading house with a deep basement. The basement serves as a warehouse, the ground floor is for general goods, the second floor is hard-to-obtain items, and the third floor is an auction house!”

Joe looked at the silvery blueprint in awe. “I don't think I’ve actually seen a blueprint where each level serves a different purpose like this! I mean, I’ve built large buildings and such, but there is almost always a uniform purpose to them. This should be interesting… do we have everything we are going to need to build this guy? Ouch, I just realized that we need at least a Rare Core to make this…”

“Ah.” Mike’s face fell at Joe’s words. “That could be an issue. I thought you could make things cheaper when you built them?”

Joe shook his head at Mike’s hopeful tone. “Yes, but not to the extent you are thinking. I’ve tried that before. Though I won’t need an entire Core to build the building, it needs to be the correct rarity. Cores rarity determines the density of the power they hold.”

Pulling out the perfectly square Uncommon Core he had taken from the elite Neigh-Bear, he set it next to a Common one. They were the same size, but the uncommon one was so bright that it left spots in their eyes if they stared too long. “Think of them like batteries: no matter how many watch batteries you use, you could never start a car. Conversely, if you have a car battery, even if it has a low charge, it can get the engine running.”

“Oh. Well, that actually made it pretty clear.” Mike rubbed at his bristly chin, clearly he had not had a chance to shave this morning. Joe realized that was an unexpected benefit of his Baldy title: it was easy to get going in the morning. “I’ll see what I can do, but it might be a while before we can make that happen. I don't know if you heard, but we just found out that our guild members are getting overcharged at shops. The backlash for wiping out all those players has already started.”

“Ah, that's the reason for the shop, then?”

“Exactly.” Mike sunk a little closer to Joe as he was speaking, “We were going to do this eventually anyway, since we need a place where people can buy things with guild contribution points properly. The Guild Hall really isn't set up for it. Still, this was more a… long term plan than anything else. But, if our hand is going to be forced, we are ready to make that move.”

“Gotcha. I’ll get this made into a ritual, but it’ll be a side project until you tell me that we are getting close to having everything we need. Also, if we need a merchant or anything, go to the Odds and Ends shop. My mother runs it.” Joe knew that the conversation was over, so he didn't mind it when Mike started walking away without saying another word. The next thing to do was his strength and constitution training, so Joe spent the next fifty-four minutes on the training field as vindictive trainers dumped coals on him.

When that was done, Joe returned to the mess area, already sparklingly clean thanks to his Neutrality Aura, and drank a cup of coffee provided by Mate. Joe got the attention of one of the food vendors, and asked him to make sure that Joe moved after half an hour had passed. Seeing as Joe was sitting in a prime area to get at the roasted venison, the vendor was only too happy to have an excuse to tell Joe to leave in a certain timeframe.

“Okay… gotta get a handle on this ability.” Joe took a deep breath and centered himself. “Essence Cycle!”

The world shifted into grayscale, then darkened further and further. Soon, Joe was once more mesmerized by the titanic currents of power that unknowingly surrounded all of them. His goal had been learning how to break out of the cycle on his own, but the fact of the matter was… it was too easy to get trapped. Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye for Joe, and he was soon being shaken by a man smelling of woodsmoke and meat. “‘Scuse me, sir. Ya asked me to tell you to leave?”

“Ah, sure did.” Joe stood on unsteady legs, having a difficult time adjusting back to reality. It was now about nine thirty in the morning, and Joe was absolutely starving even though he had eaten breakfast only three hours previously. “Can I say, you smell amazing? Please tell me that is from the food you serve, because I really don’t want to believe anyone smells like this naturally.”

“Ha!” The man chuckled as he switched to sales mode. “Come on over and try for yourself! Best breakfast is one that started out wild!”

Joe bought a large plate of meat, then looked at his stat sheet as he munched on it.

Name: Joe ‘Tatum’s Chosen Legend’ Class: Mage (Actual: Rituarchitect)

Profession I: Tenured Scholar (Actual: Arcanologist)

Profession II: Ritualistic Alchemist

Character Level: 17 Exp: 167,220 Exp to next level: 3,780

Rituarchitect Level: 7 Exp: 25,286 Exp to next level: 2,714

Hit Points: 633/633

Mana: 1,087/1,887 (679 Reserved)

Mana regen: 39.86/sec

Stamina: 627/627

Stamina regen: 5.89/sec

Characteristic: Raw score (Modifier)

Strength: 62 (2.12)

Dexterity: 75 (2.25)

Constitution: 63 (2.13)

Intelligence: 121 (3.21)

Wisdom: 95 (2.46)

Charisma: 70 (2.2)

Perception: 73 (2.23)

Luck: 45 (1.45)

Karmic Luck: +27

Joe saw some serious improvements, but had to pause a moment when he saw the increase to his class experience. “Where did that extra fifteen hundred…? Oh! The other apartment buildings. Right… I can't build anything right now, I haven't seen Daniella in days, and the Master Enchanter is busy until next week. Jake the Alchemist?”

Leaving the mess area behind, Joe soon arrived in Ardania thanks to his fast-travel options. He walked over to the alchemist shop and waited for a short while as the customers browsed. When Jake was finally free, Joe struck up a conversation. “Hi, Jake! How are you?”

“Oh, fine. Just fine. Lots of people buying poisons for their weapons these days.” Jake looked Joe up and down. “Pretty sure that’s all thanks to you, they all seemed to have a grudge against the ‘tyrant guild’. Good money in it if you are interested in helping me make poisons that they can use against you. Thoughts?”

“I’d… rather not?” Joe held up his hand as if to say ‘duh’. “I don’t want to be responsible for my guild dying?”

“Hmm. Shame. I suppose you are here for your next training session? It's been long enough that you should have absorbed the lessons from last time, so shall we have a test before we get started?” A puff of red powder came out of a tube and settled across Joe’s face. “What was the first rule of working with poisons and powders?”

Joe screamed as his health started to plummet. His face felt like it was on fire. He had been sprayed with mace back in his army days so that he could experience it for himself, but this was a dozen times worse. His hands slapped at his face, and he just barely managed to keep from touching his skin. “Gah… pah… don’t! Don’t touch your face when working with components!”

“Close enough.” Jake sprayed something on Joe, and it foamed into a bubble around Joe’s head before vanishing entirely, along with the pain. “Always remember, you are going to get something on your hands or gloves. If you touch your face, it’ll get into your system, and you will die. This will happen to you at some point, I can almost guarantee it since you have not trained for this since you were a child. Still, at least you can come back after you mess up. It might even raise your skill level. Actually, let’s give it a-”

“I was here for something specific.” Joe spat out a mouthful of blood as he healed himself. “How did that get through my Exquisite Shell?”

“How does air get through it? Same concept.” Jake waved his hand nonchalantly. “When you have been in the alchemy business as long as I have, you have to develop a few methods for killing grumpy Mages. If you do it in a spectacular enough fashion, the others tend to leave you alone.”

“Abyss that’s dark, Jake.” Joe swallowed at the careless way Jake talked about permanently murdering someone. “I was here today because I was hoping that you could help me with something. I found a cauldron, and I can't identify it.”

“You found a cauldron?” Jake smiled faintly. “How cute. Let’s see the overexaggerated cooking pot someone tricked you into taking, then.”

Joe pulled the waist-height cauldron that he had gained in the Hallowed Lands out of his codpiece, and smiled at the burnished-gold glow it let off. Jake’s smile vanished, and he leapt over the counter to look it over more closely. The silence stretched, and Joe was starting to think that Jake didn't know what it was. “Anything?”

Jake looked over at Joe, and it was clear that he was putting away various bottles. “Joe, the only reason I haven’t killed you so that I could claim this as mine is that I know you would only come back and take revenge when I was less prepared. So… instead, I’ll buy this from you for one hundred and thirty thousand gold.”

“What?”

“Fine, fine. Two hundred thousand.”

“What?”