Chapter 57: Economic Factors

  Crimson continued along the street. Now that he no longer had to deal with the soul-scarring sound of his sword collection rattling in a bag, his steps were a little lighter.

  Rhea caught up to him after a minute, seeming thoughtful. She glanced at him a few times, clearly having something to say, but he didn’t prod her. It would be better to let her get her feelings together.

  They checked the last shop Crimson had any respect for while she kept her silence. There were about 8 weapon shops in Falst that he though had decent weapons at decent prices. There were a few that were more luxury focused that had earned his respect, but obviously price was an issue at locations like those.

  Someone in his home world might’ve been surprised at how many weapon shops there were, but most of them were fairly small locations. Even if all 23 of the weapon shops in Falst were combined together, they still wouldn’t be able to rival a small department store.

  Once more, they struck out as the next shop, and Crimson was left annoyed and out of options. He’d have to custom order a set of claws for Rhea. If he was already going to need to order custom, it might just be better to get something at a higher level.

  There were level restrictions on equipping gear, with the exception of Lv.5 and under, you had to have a [Class Level] that was the same level as the weapon. There were some [Skills] that changed those requirements, but they were few and far between.

  That was only on the user side though. There was a blacksmith technique called a ‘shackle’ that lowered a weapon’s stats in exchange for lowering its level requirements. The shackle could be removed later, as levels were gained. The quality of the shackle determined how many levels it could reduce the requirement by, so there was a method of putting several low-quality shackles on a weapon then removing them one by one as levels were gained.

  Crimson had been thinking of using this method himself. He’d been thinking about a Lv.15 katana with shackles on it has his first true weapon, but the price was rather high, especially if he wanted a custom job. The first one he had priced out was 15,000 Royals, and it had already been sold months ago. If he ordered custom, it could tack as much as 5,000 Royals on that eye-watering high price.

  He couldn’t go spending that much on himself, especially when he had an entire party that needed gear. His entire week hunting Mulgis had net him only 3500 Royals. It was high, sure, but not high enough for him to justify a purchase like that. He had close to 65k Royals to his name. Between the four of them, he could afford to drop 15,000 Royals each.

  He wasn’t sure what Verity’s money situation looked like, so he just assumed by default that he’d need to cover for her. He knew Fade only had living expenses, but would have to starve to afford a Lv.3 axe, to say nothing of the shield that he needed to have for his role. He was completely responsible for Rhea, so there were no questions there about needing to pay for her.

  If the Crimson of 6 months ago had been told that he’d be able to casually make 3500 Royals in a week, he’d have been ecstatic. It would have given him every cause and reason to celebrate, but now it felt like a drop in the bucket.

  Once he was done with the mapping request, he might even be able to double it…but there was a problem. The uncommon drops - the tail bones - that he got from Mulgis had an inflated price. If he flooded the market with them, that price would drop. It was technically a healthy thing, but it did mean that he would run into issues.

  The best thing he could sell would likely be [Darkvision]. That [Skill] would be worth a very pretty penny if he could sell it, but for the moment he’d rather hoard what he could for future allies.

  Scratching his head a few times in frustration, he glanced at Rhea who made eye contact with him for a moment. It seemed that little bit of eye contact was enough to give her the push she needed, because she started speaking.

  “Do you mind…if we find a private place to speak?”

  Crimson glanced around. The nearest private place would be in the Temple, in one of the counseling rooms, but he couldn’t use those outside of official business. The secret passages were off limits, so that left…

  He gestured for Rhea to follow him, and they entered a narrow alley. He glanced back at her and said, “Follow me as best you can.”

  After that, he scrambled up the wall next to him using gaps and decorations for footing and hauled himself up on to the roof. This building happened to have a very vaulted roof, so there was a natural privacy barrier created by distance.

  He glanced back over the side and was happy to see Rhea following him with almost no issues. Her physicality really was impressive. If he were a pettier man, he would’ve been jealous.

  He did offer her a hand which she accepted for the last little bit. The lip of the roof took practice to deal with.

  They settled on the center of the roof, and after catching her breath, Rhea said, “I need you to understand something about Talis.”

  Crimson perked up. His new business partner had caught his attention in several ways, and any information about him would be worth hearing.

  “He is…insane. Genuinely insane. It’s an open secret that he has a [Rizvim] that drove him crazy.”

  Crimson nodded. That would be the greed he’d seen, back when he still had [Eyes of Will].

  Rhea continued, “He’s a half, his mother is a leprechaun, and his father is a dwarf. You’ve met his father a few times at my den.”

  They had met, but Crimson never remembered being properly introduced to him.

  “I suppose the last detail that you really need to know, is that Talis is 19, and he doesn’t have a [Class].”

  Crimson froze at that, then looked at her. Sure, his racial combination made him seem really young, but he was that old? Not only that, no [Class] in three years? What was going on?

  He asked, “Why doesn’t he have a [Class] at his age?”

  Rhea sighed, then said, “Because his father forbid him from getting one. He decided it would be dangerous for Talis to get a [Class] before he got his [Rizvim] under control.”

  Of course, if Talis had truly wanted to get a [Class], there was nothing his father could do to stop him. Just a few button presses in the [Blessing]. If he still didn’t have a [Class], that meant he agreed with his father, and had been obedient. That also meant that despite his supposed madness from the [Rizvim], he was still rational. There was a logic or code that allowed him to function.

  “If he hasn’t gotten a [Class] by this point, hasn’t that established that he can control himself?”

  “Talis does well when bound by rules and authority, but in an absence of those things, he would rampage.”

  Wasn’t that most people? That didn’t seem like a problem.

  Rhea noticed his casual attitude and sighed, then said, “Look, I’m just saying to be careful. He can’t feel any emotions. Just greed.”

  Yeah, that matched up with what he’d seen in Talis’ eyes. He said, “Like Fade?”

  Rhea screwed up her expression, then said, “No, not like that guy. I’ve been watching him. He does feel other emotions, they just turn into anger or rage at some point. Talis can’t feel anything but greed.”

  “Interesting,” he said, “So I guess he’s been forbidden from getting a [Class] because its easier to control him at a low level. The damage he could do if his greed runs rampant will also be negligible.”

  “Yeah, that’s about it. Just be careful. He’ll be trying to manipulate you at every opportunity. That comment about him buying your good will? He’s already gotten a read on you and knows to be straightforward to endear himself to you.”

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  Crimson nodded in thought. Maybe…?

  —————

  Fade was sparring with a group of the [Brass Class] the day after he’d gone shopping. The teacher of the class, a tiny tigerkin woman named Lena, was using this chance to help her students practice coordinating with each other. Fade was using it as a chance to practice using [Roar]. It was an equal exchange since he couldn’t enter the dungeon.

  He wouldn’t be able to enter a dungeon until he got his [Class], but for his goals, he needed to grind - as Crimson put it - [Skill Levels] for [Roar] and [Attract], both [Skills] requiring live combat to be trained.

  They were more effective on monsters than humans, but the increased difficulty actually made humans the better choice for grinding the [Skill]. The issue was getting willing subjects to work with. He had started to reach the point of desperation before Crimson had stepped in yesterday.

  He had contacts in the guild, and had suggested to them that they could hire Fade to help with the [Brass Class] as a training dummy. It wasn’t much compared to a dungeon run, but at 7 Royals an hour, he could at least afford to help pay for the room he and Crimson were sharing.

  Being paid to grind a [Skill]? The gods would curse him again if he complained too much, so he worked as happily as he could, though that turned to rage after a bit.

  Rhea was off in another corner of the training grounds, using a sling with one hand to slam rocks into the center of a target. She never erred, so he wasn’t sure what her purpose in training the [Skill] was. She had a wooden claw weapon on her left hand, so maybe it was just to practice doing other things while wearing it?

  The claw weapon was shaped like a gauntlet with three blades mounted to the back. It wasn’t an easy weapon to set down, so her left hand was restricted entirely to using it.

  Verity was also on the training grounds. She had marked Fade with her [Healer’s Mark] and was using him to help grind it. It wasn’t a perfect [Skill], there were restrictions, but they would get better with time. The first restriction that they all wanted to fix was the one that caused the quality of the [Healing] to drop sharply with distance. Just the difference of a few feet could reduce the effectiveness of her [Skill] by 20%.

  The second restriction was that she could only place one [Healer’s Mark] at a time. That had been a source of disappointment for her when she’d first figured that out, but Crimson had viewed it positively.

  He turned his attention back to the group of four that were attempting to surround him. He let them, with instincts as good as his, that wasn’t as much of a handicap as it would be for a normal person. Being outnumbered was where he was most experienced anyway.

  The first person attacked him from behind, and he twisted casually and used his shield to knock them into the next person who charged, calling them to fall together. The third person was a girl, so he flashed her a charming grin and caused her to pause for a moment. That minuscule bit of time gave him the room he needed to knock the fourth person back with his wooden axe.

  She attacked him with daggers while he was turned away from her to deal with the fourth person, but he used his shield to knock them out of her hands before using a shield bash to knock her off her feet.

  “Fourth group out! Fifth group get ready!” Called Lena.

  Fade helped the girl to her feet with a charming smile, and said, “You did very well. Practice more and you’ll go far!”

  She blushed, bowed, and backed off. She was too young to drink, so she was too young for him to pursue, but she was quite pretty.

  He set up once more, and like last time he started the fight by using [Roar]. It was an enemy manipulation [Skill]. It made them direct attacks at the user more than others. Crimson had referred to it as an ‘aggro’ [Skill]. Short for aggravation. Fade would likely end up adopting that bit of slang too…and it would be unintentional.

  Against intelligent humans, [Roar] would just make them angry at him, but if they could overcome that, it wouldn’t be very effective. For monsters, they would exclusively target him.

  Due to his [Rizvim], Fade was particularly weak against [Skills] like this being used against him, so he needed to train more to cover that weakness. No one else in the party knew it though, so he’d need to find someone else.

  He beat down this next group just as easily. They’d seen how he turned the attacks of the previous groups against each other, and tried attacking him one at a time. That just made his job even easier, and he beat them down without any problems.

  Fade didn’t even have an advantage in stats, but his experience and his instincts made him an insurmountable foe for these guys. Crimson was the only one he could think of that would give him a challenge.

  Speaking of Crimson, he just showed up at the training grounds. Fade watched him glance around to spot the three of them before approaching Fade.

  He had a massive bag hanging from one shoulder, and there was a low clanking sound with every step. It was probably full of the swords he’d gotten repaired. Once Crimson got close, he reached into the bag and pulled out a wrapped package and chucked it at Fade, who caught it.

  Unwrapping it, he found the axe and shield he’d priced out yesterday. The axe was Lv.5 with a sturdy construction, it had been 1300 Royals. Pricy for Lv.5, but low enough that Crimson hadn’t held back on buying it. The shield had been the bigger thing he’d been picky about. Also Lv.5, this one had boosted durability as the result of specialized treatment. It was 2000 Royals.

  He felt apologetic about letting Crimson buy them for him, but comforted himself by promising to pay him back. 3300 Royals wasn’t a small amount, but he could earn that much in a month back when he’d first gotten his [Class], and considering the pace set by his new party leader, he might be able to earn that much even faster.

  He raised the axe in a grateful salute to Crimson who had already started walking away without saying anything. It went unnoticed, so he’d need to be sure to thank him later.

  Stowing his new axe and shield in his [Inventory], he turned back to keep ‘working.’ He still had a long way to go.

  —————

  Rhea glared at the target in front of her as she fumbled with her sling. Using it to hit the target was as easy as blinking with a max [Fling Skill], but the issue was loading it and getting into position with only one hand. The ends needed to be held to properly cradle the stone, so she couldn’t let go of them, but she also needed to reach the pocket that held the stone.

  Her current process involved letting the pocket rest on the lip of the pouch hanging from her waist while she transferred the the stone to it, but it wasn’t a clean process. It wouldn’t be viable in a real fight.

  Some footsteps approached her from behind, and she turned to see Crimson who was surveying her. She’d just gotten into position with the sling, so she demonstrated her accuracy for him, and hit the target in the center once more.

  He watched her throw a few more stones, then she said, “I don’t think this is going to work. I need two hands to use the sling properly, and while I could practice using it with one hand and eventually get good at it, I don’t know if it’s worth the time or effort to do so.”

  He nodded, then said, “Do you have to use a sling to activate the [Skill]? Could you activate it while throwing the stones instead?”

  Rhea considered it, then scooped another stone from her pouch and focused on it. It wasn’t natural, [Fling] wasn’t meant for throwing, but after a minute of focus, she was able to force it to activate and she threw the stone. Her accuracy was terrible, but it had activated.

  She turned back to him, “I can, but it’s not very effective.”

  “Then try evolving [Fling] into a [Throw Skill] if you don’t think training with the sling is worth your time. It’s up to you.”

  He turned and left after that, but it didn’t take her long to make the decision that she’d rather have [Throw] than [Fling], so she got back to work.

  —————

  Crimson was back at Talis’ booth the next day. He’d done a good job with the weapon repairs, so he was having the shorter man repair his sword from the dungeon run he’d done yesterday after checking in on his party members.

  His other purpose was to sell some drops through him. Talis was only taking [Skill Stones] to sell since he wouldn’t be able to make any margin on common or uncommon drops. Crimson could’ve tried selling boss drops to him, but he lacked a buyer for them, so they just kept to [Skill Stones].

  Today, he had three [Weak Presence Skill Stones] to sell. It was a subtle [Skill], but a good one with room to grow, so Talis had offered to sell them for 250 Royals each. The guild had offered him 122 Royals each, so even with the 20% split they were doing, it was a great profit. Crimson would never say no to an easy 78 extra Royals.

  He’d even offered a 30% split this time. As far as he was concerned, Talis was a rogue element that needed bribing to keep in check, so he was willing to lose a bit more money to keep him honest.

  Talis had declined with the same reason.

  Crimson said, “Well, if you’re sure, then we can keep it at 20%.”

  Revealing knowledge could be dangerous, but he figured that Talis assumed he already knew, so he said, “I’m aware of your [Rizvim], and I know how hard it is to fight an emotional manipulation one like that, so let me know if you need extra to appease the feeling.”

  Talis stared him down, considering him for a long time before eventually saying, “It…doesn’t work like that. My greed makes me want to get things, get money, but once I have it I lose all interest in it. It doesn’t matter how much or how little I get, I lose interest.”

  “As far as I’m concerned,” he continued, “just selling these [Skill Stones] will scratch the itch for me. I could take a 0% split and feel just as emotionally satisfied. I won’t do that of course, emotional satisfaction doesn’t pay for guild fees, but you don’t need to worry about me turning on you like that. Maybe it would’ve been an issue a few years ago, but not anymore.”

  Crimson found himself fascinated, and asked, “Is there anything else you can tell me about how it works?”

  “Well,” Talis said while tilting his head, “It makes my [Racial Skills] stronger.”

  “Are you willing to share those with me?”

  He shrugged, “I don’t see why not. It means very little if you know. Rhea probably told you I’m a Chimera, but I’m a Favored one. I got a [Skill] from both my mom and dad. My dwarf [Skill] lets me understand the condition of objects I touch. My [Rizvim] strengthens it so that I can also get an idea of how much something is worth. It’s not perfect, but I get a general sense of what most people would be willing to spend.”

  Crimson blinked twice, then nodded. That explained why Talis was able to immediately price items he had handed over to sell. It wasn’t like there was a market price on [Skill Stones], but his ability still gave him an accurate enough sense of the price to make Crimson think there was an MSRP without questioning it.

  “For the second one,” Talis continued, “my leprechaun [Skill] is called [Avarice], and it lets me inspire greed in others. My Rizvim makes the feeling even more potent.”

  “Are you using it on me right now?”

  “Always.”

  “I don’t feel anything?”

  “Your WIL must be higher than my CHA. If it isn’t, then you’re just not very good at noticing your own feelings. Its a subtle feeling, what makes it potent is the fact that it’s hard to ignore. You’d have to be emotionally braindead to not notice, but it’s possible.”

  Crimson nodded, intrigued, then glanced up and noticed the time, “I’ve got to go, but I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  Talis nodded and waved him off. He had more grinding in the dungeon to do.