[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 3 - Prime Vestige

“Sweet mother of–!” Freddy kicked the green face off his bed, and it shrieked as it flew behind his garbage can.

His legs burned, and his abs screamed in protest, but he still got up quickly, grabbed the headgear off the floor beside his bed, and got up, accidentally slamming his head into the ceiling.

The thing spoke again, “You fucking bastard child! How dare you do that to me!?”

“What the…?”

As his mind finally caught up with the reality of the situation, the headgear dropped out of his hands, and his mouth hung wide open.

“Holy…” Freddy walked forward, carefully stepping off his bed, “Holy shit!” He grabbed the garbage can, jumping back again at the sight of his bloody clothes, and as he spotted the green face on the floor, he stared at it, utterly dumbfounded.

“What are you staring at, you idiot?” The thing spoke, “If I had saliva glands, I’d spit on your feet!”

Freddy’s face gradually morphed into a shaky grin, and with a tearful laugh, he joyfully reached for the green face, lifting it into the air as if it were a holy object, “Hahaha, I can’t believe it! Holy shit I can’t believe it! It’s a prime vestige!”

He immediately slapped his mouth shut. Slithering over to his bed, he covered his head with his sheets and shushed the green ball, listening for any sounds in the hallway.

Nobody was there.

“I swear, you’re a lunatic!” The vestige spoke in a voice far louder than Freddy wanted it to, and he yet again shushed it aggressively.

“Be quiet, please! If someone finds out, they might try to steal you!”

“As if you’d care! I’m sure you watch men plow your wife's fields every day!”

“I’m not married!”

“Figures!”

Freddy took a deep breath and calmed himself. His heart roared in his chest, and he struggled to remember what to do. As far as he knew, if asked, prime vestiges had to speak if they had the answer.

So ask a question he would, “Tell me, now…” Yet he couldn’t muster the words.

This was a big deal. Depending on the answer, his entire future would change.

However, he had to ask. Rather than dwell on it, he forced himself to speak, “Tell me, vestige…”

His vision blurred, and his stomach felt like it was dropping into an endless pit, reaching deeper by the second, “... What power do you hold?”

“Super farmer!” It spat unhesitantly.

Freddy blinked, “Excuse me?”

“If you embrace me into your soul, you will become a master farmer! And all the crops you plant shall have a greater yield! With the produce, you may even buy a wife! So you can watch other men take her away from you!” It said, and then it returned to its loud yells, curses, and blabbering.

Disbelief radiated from him, “You’re kidding, right?” But before the green face could even answer, he knew the truth.

A faint tremor appeared in his hands, and a hint of tears welled up in his eyes.

‘No.’

Blinking the tears away, he nearly bit himself in anger at his stupidity. By the mere virtue of being a prime vestige, this object was worth more than all his savings and possessions combined. Even if it only held a non-combat talent.

Hiding the ball beneath his blankets as he got up, Freddy walked to his clothes basket and donned his only set of casual clothing. He was still dirty, and his clothes smelled of sweat, but this was no time to be concerned about that.

Returning to his bed, he grabbed the vestige, urging it to be quiet, but it simply refused to stop screaming.

“Alright. If that’s how you want to play.” He grabbed his sheets and wrapped the vestige until its screams were reduced to a faint whisper.

Freddy didn’t dare leave the vestige in his apartment, yet he didn’t dare take it out either.

He moved the chest that was still barricading his door, carefully cracked it open, and peered into the hallway.

Just barely in sight, the clock showed it was already early afternoon.

That was good news. It meant few people would be walking around inside the building, and the toilet was likely empty. Although his looks were the last thing on his mind, judging by how dirty he felt, he probably didn’t look all that civilized.

At the very least, he should look presentable.

The chest shot open, and Freddy threw things out until he made enough space to fit his balled-up sheets. After stuffing them inside and locking the chest, he stepped out into the hallway.

The moment he left, a woman almost bumped into him, and she violently jumped back, nearly giving him a heart attack.

She gave him a strange look, and he raised an eyebrow as she quickly walked past him. Ignoring the woman, he rushed to the bathroom, which was thankfully unlocked.

Once in front of a mirror, he also suffered a jumpscare, “Jesus!”

His hair was an absolute mess, and his face still had blood splatters, although they had been reduced to brown stains.

Quickly rinsing his face and wetting his hair to comb it into shape, he made himself look at least somewhat presentable, although he still smelled like crap.

The sound of running water reminded him that he was brutally thirsty, and he leaned beneath the faucet, pouring the water straight into his mouth. Once done, he prepared to leave.

His hand firmly gripped the bathroom door handle, but he hesitated. The rancid smell of his body was apparent, even to himself, and where he was heading, it was best he avoided being thrown out for something so petty.

He swallowed his impatience and forced himself to undress and take a shower.

Once out, he didn’t even bother checking whether the towel was clean as he swiftly dried himself, put his clothes on, and rushed outside.

Back in his apartment, he unlocked the chest and picked up the pile of sheets.

There was no way to avoid looking insane carrying this around, but he’d rather be seen with trash than treasure.

Within seconds, he was out of his apartment, down the stairs, and on the streets. When he was out, he slowed down a bit but still maintained a hasty pace.

Despite his expectations, nobody even glanced at him. Fair enough, he thought. Perhaps most people just believed he was taking his sheets to the wash or something. And besides, there was no shortage of individuals carrying weird stuff around. There must have been some crazy parties last night.

The vestige could still be heard from close up, and as three young men walked past him, one of them turned around, “Yo, did y’all just hear screaming?”

Freddy maintained the same pace, and within moments, the men lost interest.

Soon enough, he stepped into the twenty-third district and marched onward. People were already gathering around, and he overheard several conversations about the break that happened yesterday.

A slight pang of anxiety struck him as he remembered the gruesome event, but it didn’t take much for him to push it down.

Something, something, life went on, something, who gave a crap about that!? He was carrying a damn prime vestige in his arms, the dream of countless people, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become an arch.

And if he did, no, rather, once he did, it likely wouldn’t be the only time he witnessed something of the sort.

As he saw the massive, colorful buildings of the twenty-fifth district appear from between the plain construction of the twenty-third, the anxious thoughts of yesterday’s event were quickly pushed aside. He kept his eyes on the prize, and after a few more minutes of walking, he appeared before the gates that led into the twenty-fifth district.

Freddy’s steps slowed, and he bit his lip, “Oh freakin…”

How had he forgotten about this!? There was no way they would let him inside!

Or… Wait. A pang of anxiety flashed in his heart. They would let him through if he showed them the vestige.

Not something he was enthusiastic about. Why did they put these damn fences up, to begin with?

Anyone who could step foot onto a rich arch’s private property without dying instantly wouldn’t be stopped by a gate like this. Hell, Freddy witnessed a man jump the fence, and the guard ignored him.

So why?

Was this just a cruel flex on us lowly mortals?

Freddy swallowed the bitter feelings and stepped up to the gatekeeper.

“Name and reason for entry, please.”

“Freddy. Freddy Stern. And I uh…” Every cell in his body protested against revealing the vestige, but he pushed through the reluctance and peeled the layers open, revealing the screaming green ball inside.

“Put me in there again, and I will skin your ass with my teeth!”

Everyone nearby instantly turned at the commotion, and the gatekeeper’s eyes shot open slightly, and he nodded, moving away so Freddy could pass.

Huh… It really was that easy. I suppose it is just to keep us in our place, after all, he thought as he wrapped the vestige into the sheets once again.

Vowing to fight injustice at some point in the future when he was unimaginably wealthy and powerful, Freddy stepped past the man and walked into the twenty-fifth district.

He was very well aware of where he needed to go, and with every step he took closer to his destination, his heartbeat sped up just a bit.

Eventually, the massive, pearly white building of the arch’s trading association appeared before him, and he took measured steps to get closer. A large clearing, paved in marble, spead before the building, and several inscribed golden orbs floated around ten feet or so off the ground.

A long set of stairs led up to the entrance, and the only thing stopping the many people that were walking around from forming a crowd was the sheer size of the courtyard.

Anxiously glancing at the ball of sheets, Freddy quickly realized that he better get rid of them. Nobody would dare steal inside the trade building, but he may just be thrown out if he walked inside carrying a ball of dirty sheets.

With some hesitation, he pulled the still-screaming vestige out and dropped the sheets into a nearby garbage can. It was rather sad watching them go, and he knew he would likely have to freeze tonight, but such trivial issues were currently irrelevant.

The prime vestige was still screaming its figurative lungs out, and Freddy couldn’t muster the bravery to walk into the building with something so attention-grabbing. Several people dressed in clothing that was likely worth more than his life glanced his way and he winced at their cold gazes.

He squeezed the little green ball and repeatedly yelled at it to try to calm it down, but that only seemed to worsen the situation.

Finally, Freddy snapped, “Will you just shut the fuck–?”

“Sir?”

Freddy jumped and turned around, facing a formally dressed older gentleman, “Huh? I mean, uh, hello, hi, how are you? I mean, uh, who are you? No I–”

The man chuckled and continued, “I apologize for the scare. I work with the trader’s association.” The man pulled a small glass box out of nowhere, and Freddy stared at it in consternation.

“What’s that?”

“This insulating box is used to restrain rowdy vestiges.” He said, “Civilized trade would be impossible if everyone walked around producing that much noise.”

“No offense, but…” Freddy skeptically glanced at the glass box, “How do I know that’s what you claim it is?”

“You can relax, sir.” The man pointed at a floating golden orb, hovering a little to their right, “I assure you, if anyone attempted theft on the association’s grounds, they wouldn’t even get away with their lives, let alone your possessions.”

Freddy chuckled awkwardly at the ominous assurance but gratefully grabbed the glass box, thanking the man for his help. After putting the vestige inside and closing the box, he realized he could still hear the thing screaming at nearly full volume.

Confusion set in, and the mean reached to pull a small hatch closed, which immediately cut all the sound off.

Freddy winced at his ignorance and nodded at the man in gratitude, “Thank you, kind sir.” He stood awkwardly, unaware of whether it was alright to leave, “Uh, I guess I will be on my way.”

“Please enjoy your stay, sir,” The man said with a smile, “And I hope you have a satisfactory experience.”

Freddy started walking away, but the man said, “And please, do not forget to return the box to one of our employees. That request doubles as a warning. Please, keep that in mind.”

Parting with the man after those ominous words, Freddy walked into the building, his heart beating out of his chest.

Shit, is everyone here a creepy motherfucker or what?

Not one, but two casual reminders of his mortality ironically calmed him in a weird way. At least they took customer safety seriously.

Three steps up, and his abs and legs were already reminding him of yesterday’s events. Enduring the pain, he walked up, and with every step he took, and every fancy individual he passed, he felt more shame at his ragged clothing and low-class demeanor.

Not to mention his weakness. Absolutely nobody here was struggling to walk up a flight of damn stairs. Besides Freddy, of course.

Eventually, he walked the last step, and made his way through the golden gates that led into the building.

“Wow…”

The marble highlighted the warm ambient lighting perfectly, and the dark wood subdued the environment, creating a stark yet appealing contrast between haughty opulence and humble but classy wood.

Doing his best to avoid looking like a hick, he walked forward, confidently holding the box, even proudly presenting it.

However, the moment he realized that tens of people carried packed boxes of likely considerably more valuable vestiges, among other treasures, he put the box down, holding it just a tad more casually.

As he walked forward, he slowed down around the center of the room.

‘Where the hell am I supposed to go?‘

Countless people were walking about, leaving and entering dozens of doors lining the wall on the other side of the entrance. There was nothing else anywhere to be seen.

No reception desk, or anyone that appeared to be an employee, no nothing.

Subtly peeking into some of the doors, he realized that inside them, yet again, the rooms were bigger on the inside.

Rich bastards sure have a fetish for space dilation.

Casually striding closer to the doors, he realized no signs were on or above them. A big part of him wanted to walk in randomly and check what was inside, but the rest of him was worried he would accidentally walk in somewhere where he wasn’t invited.

So, he strode along the wall with all the doors, surreptitiously peeking into the rooms, and eventually made it to a marble bench.

Just as he prepared to sit on it, a woman practically materialized out of nowhere, “Sir, that is a decoration. You’re not allowed to sit there.” She declared, pointing at the sign that stated the same thing right above Freddy’s head.

His back shot upright instantly, and he apologized, “Sorry, I am so sorry, I did not see that there, oh man.”

The woman nodded at him and turned to leave, but he called after her, “Hey, uhm…”

She turned around with a blank expression, and Freddy rushed to ask, “I will be honest with you. I’m completely clueless about where to go. Do you mind pointing me in a direction?”

The woman smiled pleasantly and pointed at the wall with the doors, “The doors.” With that, she turned around and left.

…

‘…Oh, well, thanks for fucking nothing.‘

Freddy took a deep breath and decided to wing it. The first door from the left, it was. The moment he walked through, he spotted a line of over ten receptionists. The rest of the room seemed to have more doors.

‘Are all the rooms just the same thing?’

But why bother making dozens of them? However, as he looked at the receptionists, he soon realized why. The lines were short, but there were still people waiting in all of them. It was likely to make trade as snappy and convenient as possible.

No arch liked to be left waiting for long.

‘How luxurious. I have to wait for forty minutes just to get my damn money at the bank.’

Eventually, he made his way over to a male receptionist, “Hello! I am here to either sell or trade a prime vestige.”

The man pointed behind Freddy, over to the wall to his right, “Doors one to twelve.”

Freddy nodded and walked over. The doors had a light above them; some were red, and others were green. Although he immediately assumed that green meant free and red meant occupied, he still asked a random passerby to make sure.

He took a deep breath and summarily walked into the first room that had a green light above it.

The instant he opened the door, a thick cloud of cigarette smoke struck him, and he spotted a man sitting on a luxurious leather chair. The man looked relatively young but had pretty sharp features and a scruffy beard on his face.

The man took a massive Cuban cigar out of his mouth and shook the ash off into an ashtray, then he spoke in a rough, deep voice, “Sit down, kid.”

Without hesitation, Freddy walked forward and sat in the chair. It was pretty damn comfortable.

The man pointed at the glass box and gestured to Freddy to hand it over.

Rather than immediately giving him the box, Freddy clarified, “I’m here to sell or trade my vestige.”

“No shit!” The man said, “Give me the damn thing so I can see what it does!”

Freddy reluctantly gave the man the glass box, and he immediately opened it.

“You bastards can lick my crack clean!”

“Oh shut up, you whiny thing. What’s your power?” The man asked, and took a large puff of smoke while waiting for the answer.

“Farming! Best farming! Supreme farming! Your crops do better!”

The man looked at the vestige for a few seconds, then at Freddy as if waiting for something.

He seemed to realize there was nothing else to say, so he continued, “Aight.” The man scoffed as he locked the box again, then turned to Freddy, who stared at the man for a few seconds expectantly.

The man stared back and frowned at Freddy, “So which will it be? Trade or sell?”

“Uh, I… It’s whatever, no, I mean, It’s uhm...”

“Stop blabbering.”

“I–I mean, it’s not whatever, but I am looking to get another vestige regardless, so if you have any, I’d love to do that, yes.”

The man scowled at Freddy, “Cut the shit, kid. So you wanna trade?”

“Uh, yes, I do want to trade.”

“What kinda power do you want?”

“I… I didn’t think of that, but perhaps something combat-oriented, sir.”

“Lovely,” The man bent over to check something in a drawer, “How ‘bout I throw a few ideas at you, and you take a look?”

“That–Uhm… That suits me just fine.”

The man nodded and twirled his hand.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a ball appeared on his palm, a grey vestige that spoke in a depressed tone, “Hello, you guys…”

“What does that one do?” Freddy asked.

“Why are you asking me?” The man said, lifting the vestige closer to Freddy, “Ask it.”

“Uh… What do you do?”

“Nothing much, really.” It answered his question, “I spend my days in boredom.”

“No, I mean, what power do you hold?”

“A rat tail. A tail, like that of a rat… I know, not really cool…”

Freddy’s stomach sank, “Uh… Sorry if this seems rude, but not even the vestige itself thinks the talent is all that good.”

“And your vestige is rather enthusiastic. Not much of an opinion, now, is it?”

“Fair enough, but this is still… If you’re planning to offer me stuff like this, I’d prefer to just keep my vestige.” Freddy looked at the man, this time with a lot less trepidation.

It was clear that this man considered him a sucker, and it wasn’t a surprise why. As soon as he calmed down and thought about it, he realized he didn’t have to rush to sell his vestige immediately.

The man made the ball vanish and summoned another, but as Freddy got off the chair and started walking out of the room, the man spoke, “Kid, wait a minute, where are you goin’? That was only the first offer.”

“I’ve…” Freddy started with a half turn, then continued, ”I will go get the vestige appraised first.”

The man blankly stared at him for a moment, and then he burst out laughing, coughing his lungs out.

Freddy was taken aback, “What’s so funny?”

“Kuh– Hahahaha, kid, do you have any damn idea how expensive proper appraisals are?” Then he suddenly turned serious, “At the lowest, you’ll pay the full value of a vestige for one, and without any power or connections, you will wait as long as six months to get it.”

Hesitating, Freddy turned around and looked at the man seriously, “I know it must be funny to you, sir, but with all due respect, I would like you to take this seriously.”

“What the hell do you mean, brat?”

That made him hesitate again, but something boiled over in Freddy as he raised his tone a bit above what he wanted to, “Rat tail!? Seriously!?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Do you take me for an idiot?”

“Yes, I do.” And then, with a smug smile, the man added, “And your idiotic behavior doesn’t convince me otherwise.”

That sent a chill down Freddy’s spine as he realized he had been yelling at an arch, “I’m–I’m sorry, sir…”

“Bah!” He frowned, “You were almost cool, kid, don’t ruin it by pussying out!”

“I’m–I’m… Sorry?”

“Sit the fuck down again.”

Despite quite a bit of hesitation, Freddy eventually forced himself to walk back to the chair, where he sat down.

The man sighed and gave Freddy a long, hard look, “Tell me, were you involved with the break yesterday?”

“...How did you know?”

“Kid, it isn’t nearly as random as you might think. Manifesting a vestige happens after intense life-or-death scenarios in the vast majority of cases. Not sure how aware of it you are, but you’re acting a bit… Uhm…” Rather than finishing the sentence, the man twirled a finger next to his head and whisled.

“...Oh.”

“Have you seen a shrink yet?”

“No, I haven’t, sir.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“What?”

“You shouldn’t do it. Deal with it yourself.”

“Well, I mean, I can’t afford one anyway… I just wonder why I shouldn’t do it.”

The man leaned over the desk, pulling the cigarette out and putting it into an ash tray, “Let me ask you something. Did you see anyone die?”

Freddy winced a bit, “... Yes, sir.”

“Funny that, innit.” He leaned back, “Didn’t you ask me for a combat-oriented power?”

“What are you trying to say?” Freddy responded with a bit more edge to his voice than he thought there would be.

The man grinned widely in turn, “It means you’re a crazy motherfucker, son. Go to a shrink, you know what they’ll tell you?” The man leaned it closer, “They’ll tell you that you should feel bad and sad and cry it out. And you’re gonna fucking believe it.” The man leaned back, “Screw that. You made the right choice. Man the fuck up and get ready to see more.”

Those words left Freddy stumped. That wasn’t why he had chosen to go with a combat oriented talent.

Thoughts whirled in his head, but before he could respond, the man pointed at the glass box holding his vestige again, “You do realize we hadn’t even asked your thing what its affinities are, right?”

“I’m sorry?” Freddy asked, “Wait, you can ask the vestige to find out!?”

The man sighed and slumped a bit, “Thought so. I was wondering why you didn’t say anything so far. You’re that clueless?”

Yet again, before Freddy could muster a response, the man grabbed the glass box out of his hands and opened it again, releasing the screaming vestige and asking it,  “What affinities do you have?”

Once it finally stopped screaming, it answered, “Earth, naturally! And water, naturally! And nature, naturally! Naturally.” Then, it promptly went back to screaming again.

The man whistled, locked the vestige back up, and sank into his chair, “Well, I’ll be damned. Three affinities. That’s a rare find.” The man said as he put the vestige back into the glass box.

Those words sounded like money to Freddy, but rather than rejoice, he was offended, “So you really were trying to scam me earlier!”

“Damn straight!” The man declared unapologetically, slamming an open palm on the table, “I’m here to earn money, boy, not do charity.” And then, with a smile, he continued, “I’ll be honest with you, kid. In this business, being the first trader people like you talk to effectively means you’re not getting shit. You can tell why, no?”

Indeed. Freddy wanted to get up and leave to get a second opinion.

“So here’s how it will be. This vestige is decent. It does come with the downside of being a non-combat vestige, which will impact the price considerably. But! Some people aren’t big on fighting, and the affinities aren’t bad.”

“And that means…?”

“If it were a combat talent, you’d be rich. But it isn’t, so you aren’t. Still, it’s rather valuable.”

“I might want to hear a second opinion on that.”

The man frowned and waved a hand, “Go then, get scammed somewhere else. You won’t get a better deal anywhere you go. How about this, I’ll give you a special offer.” The man straightened his back, shedding the snark and switching to pure business, “If, and only if, you sell me this vestige right now, I will offer you three things!”

He lifted three fingers, “First, I will give you a vestige of decent value, and I will give you the one I believe is best suited for you. Second, I will provide you with twenty-five thousand dollars in cash. And third, I will pay the consulting fee in your stead and recommend you for an immediate appointment, allowing you to skip days, or even weeks, of waiting.”

Freddy wanted to know what vestige he would be offered and what consulting meant, but there was a more important thing to discuss first, “Fifty thousand dollars.”

With a grin, the man retorted, “Twenty-six.”

“Come on, that’s too small an increase. I’m sticking with fifty.”

“Sticking it up your ass, hopefully. I ain’t taking that.”

“...Fine. You know we will meet at forty, so let's skip the crap.”

“I like how you think, but thirty is the most I can give you.”

With a somewhat fake frown, mostly there to conceal a grin, Freddy ‘reluctantly’ agreed, “Sold. Well, not on the whole deal, but I’m happy with the amount.”

The man scoffed and shook his head, “So, the vestige…”

“Can I just ask what you mean by consulting?”

“A guy will look at the vestige and advise you on handling the power or approaching your growth at first.”

“Ah… I see.”

That sounded pretty good. Freddy didn’t know whether this was a good deal, but that was precisely the point. He didn’t know. In every way, he was oblivious about ascending and what he should do. And worst of all, he had no real way to find out.

Everyone would try to scam him, just as the man had said, but at least he would get some money here, and he was quite aware of its value. And on top of that, he would get some information, which he needed more than anything.

The man twirled his hand again, making another vestige appear, this time red. This one seemed to be solemn and calm.

“Go ahead, kid. Ask it what its power is.”

Freddy gulped. He felt even more anxious about asking this time than when he asked the one he had manifested.

After a few seconds of silence, he finally asked, “Tell me vestige… What power do you hold?”