Fortune Favors (QQ Chapter 25)

'Oh how I missed this!' Rows upon rows of shelves extend outwards from me as I peer around the supermarket. Flat screen boxes, stereos, hell, there's even a section where I can buy bikes and stuff.

This is a GLORIOUS world!

I have a reason to keep it beyond Excalibur now!

The good-good video games and fast food!

I've already been to a gun store, picking up something quite interesting for myself.

I wonder if I can enchant it...

I'll need to go to dino-land, soul trap me another dinosaur and see if I can get me some magic bullets.

Huh.

That's a good question if I take a moment to pause and think about it. Is there a method to enchant just a singular arrow with a soul gem? Like, make an enchantment not meant to be recharged?

Even with me now being able to create incredibly strong REAL illusions that could likely kill anything near me in a surprising radius... I'm kind of hyped to get a gun. Mainly for the FEAR OF GOD It'll probably put into every bandit in a mile radius when they hear the gunshot and watch as their friend gets turned into swiss cheese.

Though, that begs the question... could I really bring myself to take a human life physically and violently?

I've mostly only killed animals... and that one prick with the magic bag.

But I didn't personally kill him, the drain from his conditional good luck did.

w-well...

There was that guy with the pitchfork... and the hay... but- but that was an accident!

That was more-so on gravity than any input on my side.

No... it was his own fault! Firstly he tried to punch me in my fox face, and why was his pitchfork in the hay backwards anyways?!

Totally on him.

His fault.

Now. Let's grab Shiro some form of gameboy.

[Split]

Alright. I'm in fucking heaven.

Stamina Ring:
A ring that increases the life force of its wearer by quite the substantial portion.

Life Ring:
The upgraded version of the Stamina ring, its effects are 2.5 times greater!

I look to two rings behind a glass case, one is a silvery color with a green gemstone and the other is gold with a reddish gemstone.

Those two are relatively cheap in the grand scheme of things...

Underworld Ring:
Vastly Improves health by 2 times the effect of the Life Ring, also increases Strength and Physical Defense by a fair portion

That... on the other hand...

That actually causes me a bit of financial pain.

Twenty five ebony.

Or a quarter of a million dollars.

Its blackish in color with cracks in it that look like molten lava.

It's a very pretty ring.

I gesture to the gold ring. "Can I get one of those?"

Then I look to the silver ring. "And five of these? Do you have five?"

The... extremely bland person behind the counter simply nods as I offer him money.

This place is kind of unsettling.

The people- aside from like... Neptune... are all sort of just... not memorable at all. Most people are genuine background characters.

I suppose for this world that kind of fits. Doesn't mean that it makes me, an outsider looking in, feel any better about it.

I look over the ring I have just paid five thousand dollars for and nod once, turning and walking out of the shop.

The silver rings were half the price, so I thought that I might as well spend a little more and get the better variant.

I've gotten pretty much everything I've wanted in this place so far. There are some interesting elemental resistance rings, Fire, Ice, Lightning and Wind. They kind of make me wonder how they'll hold up to skyrim magics. Fire, ice, and lightning ARE the Destruction school's bread and butter after all.

Now I just need to return home- to SAO, that is- to see what my new ring does and if they would be something I'd want to stock the shop with.

I slip into an alleyway and summon the door to Sword art.

I step through with a sole nod, stepping around the staff enchanter and chest that still hadn't been moved yet.

Oh well... I suppose I can bring this to Lisbeth.

"Oi. Yui. What's this ring do?"

A screen flashes to life in front of me.

Life Ring:
A strange ring that was brought from another world, it has truly great life-preserving qualities.

Effect:
Increases Maximum Hp by 1250 

"..."

This is only around a fifty percent increase to my overall durability... at least according to Yui.

But... it grants an extra twenty five levels worth of hp.

That's kick ass

"Yui... roughly how much would you sell this for?"

There's a crackle as a tiny black haired girl appears next to me, she tilts her head slightly. "Hm... at least fifty thousand..."

So...

A ten-times mark-up?

A devious smirk appears on my lips. "And this?"

I pull out the lesser rings.

Stamina Ring:
A strange ring that was brought from another world, it seems to enhance your survivability.

Effect:
Increases Maximum Hp by 500

"Ah. Those..." The girl seems to ponder. "Well, increasing health is... sort of niche, there's other accessories... and at a certain point, only this much extra health begins to be not worth it compared to other accessories. Perhaps... ten to fifteen thousand Cor?"

"Fifteen thousand it is!" I grin as I reach down and pick up the chest of ore I had left earlier. With that, a door opens and I step through.

I make my way down the stairs a smile on my lips. Eyes skimming the foundry.

"Lisbeth. Here."

She peers up from the crystalline sword she is beating with a hammer, offering me an owlish blink. "Huh? Oh. Hey Argo!"

My eyes are briefly drawn to the horn on her brow as I meander over. "I've got something for you."

"Oh?" She mutters.

I offer her the chest, causing her to let out a hum, looking over the weapon she is currently working on.

"One sec-" her voice is drowned out by hammer meeting metal, my ears flattening as I manipulate the very fabric of, well... everything to create illusionary ear plugs in my animalistic ears and promptly make them real.

She continues for about a minute, the sword finally taking shape. The molten slightly orange color beginning to dim into a greenish color. "Alright, I've gotten to a point where I can stop for a bit, what do you need?"

"Here's an extremely potent material." I offer her the sealed chest causing her to slowly take it, she cracks it open, eyes widening considerably. "Wh- oh WOW. This is incredible Argo! How'd you get this? Where'd you find it?"

"I spent... far too much for it." I sigh. 

"I had to part with a massive portion of my wine collection!" I, well... whine...

"It's far stronger than Ebony... I need to be max rank in the smelt skill to even begin to start with this. Sort of stuff... any ideas what you want me to do with this?"

"Could you get me a sword?"

"Hm? A sword?" She echoes, tilting her head slightly. "There's enough here for a sword... easily... I could probably even make two... maybe one and a dagger at least."

"Can you get me a Katana, then? I've been developing a fighting style which makes use of them." I explain.

The girl nods slowly, the box of ore disappearing. "When my skill gets high enough, I'll definitely do that for you. It's the least I can do after all of the help you've been giving me!"

"Think notihng of it... it's... kind of a partnership between us, right? I help out here... and you plan to join Tsukasa, Shiro and I in Gensokyo, right? It's only natural that a merchant like myself would network with an up-and-coming brilliant blacksmith."

"..."

"Argo... you're kind... kinder than you make yourself out to be... I- I never would have gotten this far without you... I'd... probably be dead without you... Silica would probably be dead without you... and without me... so many people in our server might not have survived. You... you've helped everyone and I'm- I'm so grateful... i- words don't even begin to describe the impact you've had."

As she speaks I stiffen slightly, I can feel my heart flutter briefly.

The corners of my mouth turn upwards ever so slightly. "Perhaps it's the human parts in me that remain... but... youkai live a long life... who knows who I'll be in a decade... a century... a millennium. Thank you for your faith, Lisbeth... it truly does mean a lot to me."

[Split]

Pov: Elsewhere

Something... is wrong.

He can feel it.

He was just grinding his level- quite easy to do when you have a passive ten percent increase to experience. Just small enough to not be that noticeable and just large enough to make ALL the difference.

But... then he got just this... foreboding... feeling.

"Sir!"

"Yes, Daizen?" He asks slowly.

This man was one of the first he recruited into his party. A useful ally in clearing various dungeons.

"The door to this floor's labyrinth has been found! Should we set up a raiding party?" The fairly... wide... person questions.

"We should hold off for a brief moment..."

"Oh? Why?" He asks.

"Tell me that you've noticed how the fifth floor had a boss on par with a sixth floor's... and how the tenth had a boss that was actually stronger than the eleventh floor's... the fifteenth's floor was equal to the sixteenth and the twentieth was more powerful than the twenty first..." He begins quietly.

Daizen opens his mouth to reply but stops, seemingly looking deep in thought. "So... the twenty fifth floor... might be far worse than even the twenty-sixth floor boss? Or even beyond? The twenty eighth?"

"If patterns are to believed... yes. Maybe even the thirtieth. That is my fear." The man nods slowly.

"Then what should we do in preparation?" The chunky man questions.

Heathcliff's eyes narrow slightly as he cups his chin. "While I was walking through the twenty fourth floor this morning... I discovered a hidden quest. One that might help us gain a level or two in preparation for the boss."

The boss itself has potent fire moves. This quest is the source of a shield that should grant him enough fire resistance to let him attack the boss without too much suspicion as to his health not being lowered.

He needs that last hit bonus, after all. the boots from the twenty-fifth floor boss could be used well into the upper forties before other gear begins to surpass them.

He takes a moment to note a few things on the console. No other groups in his server are preparing to fight the boss yet. He has time.

With that, he-

Notice... the game has been updated into a new state. Admin Privileges have been locked. Removing status 'Exp Plus', 'Invulnerability', and 'Carryweight+++'

What?

Instantly the man is over-encumbered, his eyes dart to his surroundings.

NO NO NO! THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY! DAMN IT! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!

This shitty game... he MADE it! How dare it do this! He'll be forced to 'discover' that hidden dungeon below floor one. Sure, he'll need some meat shields for it, but if he can gain access to the admin console he should be able to-

Removing Dev Tools hidden across the floors. Good Luck, Akihito Kayaba! 😊

With that, the admin console beside him shatters like glass.

His fists clench, teeth gritting as his eyes narrow.

Cardinal... when he gets out of this... he's going to specifically code her to feel pain. How dare it bite the hand that CREATED it! He is her GOD!"

[Split]

"Hmmm hm hmm." I hum under my breath as I gently polish my new ring.

Underworld Ring:
A tremendously powerful ring from another world. Improves health, strength, and defense by a considerable portion.

Effect:
Increases Maximum Hp by 2500
Increases Strength Stat by 15
Increases Armor by 150

"Ah... there we go!"

Neptunia is a world that, well, at first, I was a little apprehensive about keeping... but when they casually sell accessories like this, I suppose I can tolerate the fourth wall breaking commentary

But... well...

Blessing Misanga:
A bracelet of braided string. It is said that if it breaks naturally, it will bring its wearer's dorkiest, darkest, and sexiest wishes to life!

Effect:
Increases Luck Stat by 20
Increases Agility by 15

This one was laughably cheap... just fifteen thousand.

"Argo..." A voice behind me speaks causing me to turn and look to the short black haired girl who embodies the system itself. "Akihiko Kayaba has been taken care of."

"He's dead?!" I grin.

"No." She shakes her head. "His admin privileges have been removed..."

"Oh... shame..." I mutter as I go back to looking over my ring. "So he can't muck around with the system anymore? That's good."

"Yes. He can no longer manipulate things to his favor. He must now play the game like a normal person... frankly, we were quite lucky he chose a different server to play on and didn't note the sheer scale of your alterations."

"So... what you're saying is... I can take players with me to higher floors... sequence breaking the game... without worrying about a certain arrogant god complex douchebag killing me off?"

"..."

"I... suppose?" The small girl blinks. "You may also stop acting like an NPC if you wish. But any quest you give must still be balanced in the future. Even if you are acting like a real person."

"Sweet!"  a fox-like smirk crosses my lips. "Does that mean I get to taunt him if I ever come across him?"

"I... wouldn't recommend it." The girl mutters. "He is still a player... and he still levels up. He still created the game and likely has a relatively good idea where all the best items are."

"..."

"So what you're saying is... let him go around and collect all the best items... then kill him. That's a great idea Yui!"

The corners of the girl's mouth turn downwards. "I cannot tell if you are joking and... that kind of scares me."

I let out a quiet snort. "Anyways, I should probably bring this Misanga to Lisbeth. It'd really help with her blacksmithing."

"She is currently working on Player Argo's new dagger... said girl is also there."

"Meh. She's one of the people I wouldn't mind knowing I'm a real person."

A door opens behind me, as I casually walk through, heat striking my face as I make it to the other side.

"Huh?!" I hear a voice gasp as I step out. "What the hell- Oh! It's the fox! Sweet! Maybe he's got another quest? I hope so... I miss the times where fox boy led us around the floors... hah... it was kind of romantic."

"..."

The blonde who shares my name looks over as I arrive, her face lighting up. 

Her eyes slowly flick upwards, widening immensely. "Wait... what the hell?!"

I follow her gaze.

Argo Naut {NPC} Level 102

"Ah. I suppose I have gotten quite a bit stronger since the last time you saw me."

"Whatthefuck?" She hisses, seeing me notice my name and level.

"Lisbeth. Good news. The creator of this game lost his Admin privileges so now I can stop pretending to be an NPC."

Argo's face pales, eyes growing wide as she looks absolutely dumbfounded. "W-What? An... AI?"

"Nope. Youkai."

I pat her on the head as I step by, a fox-like grin on my lips.

she shakes slightly, likely in horror of the things she had previously said about me when she thought I was just a slab of fox-shaped meat for her to ogle and smirk perversely at.

"You see. I've actually got an ability to cross entire dimensions... this was my..." I cock my head to the side. "Fourth stop? I think? Did that world I entered for all of ten seconds only to get a face full of gore as some person apparently got their head blown off by some sort of morbid shotgun trap count?"

I shudder.  "Anyways, I just stopped by to drop off this item for Lisbeth. It should help her blacksmithing quite a bit."

I hold up the bracelet, the blonde girl seems to be desperate to look for ANYTHING for her brain to latch onto- so she can stop thinking about each and every one of the comments she knows I heard-

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

"A bracelet." I smile. "That increases luck."

"NO! THE RING! WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THAT?!"

"hm?" I hum, looking over the volcanic magma looking ring. "I bought it... With. Money."

"It- it- nearly doubles my health!" The girl hisses. "And- And it improves strength... AND armor?!"

"To be fair. It was really expensive." I continue. 

"H-How much? What do I need to offer to get one of those?!" The blonde pleads. 

"What do you got?" I question.

"A-Ah..." The blonde hastily waves her hand opening her inventory. "Um.... f-fifty thousand Cor?"

"Not even close." I snort.

"Um- my..." She seems to think deeply. "M-My body?"

I give her a half lidded stare.

"ARGO!" Lisbeth gasps scandalized.

""What?"" Both I an the girl question at the same time.

Lisbeth's eyes flick over to me. "Not you."

She turns back to the blonde. "ARGO! What is WRONG with you?!"

"If I got something that DOUBLED my health... I could stop worrying about bosses. Look at it this way... if I get one-shot by a boss, my body's worthless anyways."

"Jeez, you're like the fifth person to ask me for sex this week. What am I? A harem protagonist or something?" I scoff under my breath.

"But honestly, you seem like the type to give me your body for free." I roll my eyes.

"HUH?!" The blonde growls. "Argo I am affronted and APPALLED that you would say that about me."

"Fox abs."

"Wha-"

"Fox abs. I wanna take that tail between my legs and suck on it." I deadpan. "I want the fox to utterly defile me. Leave me begging for mercy, more, and with a kid I didn't ask for but will take care of anyways."

"H-HEY! I-I NEVER said that." The girl shrieks.

"You did. Floor six. when we were looking for that elven secret boss." I point out.

She stares at the floor, face red. Lisbeth is looking at her with disgust.

"S-So what?" The girl declares. "Are we doing this or not?"

"No. We're not. Because I'm married. Kuda Gitsune come in pairs." I reply. "Now. Another question. Want to join me for a quest on floor forty eight?"

"You can traverse the floors freely?!"

"No. Only to places I own, regretfully." I admit. "But I do own some various plots on land... such as a mine on the eightieth floor and a farm on the ninety fifth."

"Why the hell would I go to the forty-eighth floor?! Do you WANT me to die or something?!"

"a couple of reasons..." I point out slowly. "One. Ore. Lisbeth is definitely high enough in skill level to turn whatever you manage to mine into gear... gear that you weren't supposed to get for a good twenty five floors. Next. Shops. You can casually purchase gear from the various stores."

Argo narrows her eyes. "Couldn't you do that? Just go in our place, mine up a bunch of ore and sell it for a massive markup?"

"Regretfully... as a 'Non Player Character'. I can't interact with the system's shop or mine things in a meaningful way. Believe me. My life would have been far more convenient if I could have gone to higher floors and bought stuff and resold it at a slight markup. But. Sometimes we can't get everything we want."

"Then..." The girl mutters, thinking deeply.

She is silent for a long moment. "S-Sorry... I still can't get over- you're- you're REAL? Like? A real... sentient... breathing person?!"

"I am... the last time I checked." I snort, giving the girl a half-lidded stare. 

"How did- how did you even get here?! This is a game! You shouldn't- you shouldn't exist here!"

"Youkai are creatures typically born from humanity's fear of the unknown... why shouldn't I be able to access a realm that has the combined mental energy of two million people? Their thoughts... their hopes... their dreams... their... fears?" I question, a wry smile on my lips. "I don't necessarily choose where I first step into a dimension I connect to. This is just where I happened to pop up."

"And- and you're being so open now..." The girl whispers.

"Because the creator of this game got locked out of his admin controls, yes." I smirk.

A hand comes to her head, a small wheeze leaving her lips. "This- this is so much to process. Why did you turn Lisbeth into an Oni? How did you turn Lisbeth into an Oni?"

"Oh. That's simple. When the game finishes, she's leaving with me, keeping this body instead of her old one."

The blonde gapes like a fish, then lets out a long sigh. "I... need to go think about this... I'll be back eventually."

"Have fun~" I wave with a bright smile. "Oh, and the twenty fifth floor's boss is going to be really strong... and have fire attacks. I'll be putting some fire resistance rings in the shop soon so maybe come pick up a few, hmmm?"

"Yeah... sure..." The girl sighs as I watch her turn and slowly trudge her way up the stairs.

"..."

"She forgot her knife?" I ask, looking over to Lisbeth.

"Oh, no. She was having me make her a new one." The pinkette replies as she walks back over to the anvil, looking over her new bracelet with a small smile. "This... this'll really help, Argo!"

"I'm glad you like it... I got it from another world I just found. They have a bunch of good stuff there, but... ah... it's kind of headache inducing to go there."

"How so?" The Oni asks.

"Uh... well... it's a world that has it's game-like concepts built in? People have levels... get Exp, follow four goddesses that seem to be based vaguely on game systems. People are based on companies and stuff. The thing is that they casually break the fourth wall and know they're in the game. Like, you could be talking and suddenly one would go. 'Oh no! This is a T-Rated game!' If anything lewd happens or something like that."

"That... ah..." The girl mutters. "Okay?"

I raise my arms above my head, letting out a yawn. "Well, I should probably head on back. I just stopped by to drop off that lucky bracelet for you to assist your smithing. I need to go talk to Tsukasa about a potential profitable venture I'm planning on doing. She knows more about the political landscape in Gensokyo so I'd like to get her opinion on what I'm planning."

"What are you planning on doing?" Lisbeth asks slowly.

"Well, I've got some aging wines that improve strength... in that same vein, I can draw out the qualities of whatever ingredients I use to brew... conversely, my alcohol never stops improving in taste, power, and alcohol content."

"I plan to make use of this fact, but... to do so efficiently... I'll need to visit someone quite dangerous."

"Dangerous?" She echoes. "What are you planning on doing?"

A fox-like smirk rests on my lips. "I must visit the Scarlet Devil. The fate controlling vampire, Remilia Scarlet, for a business opportunity."