I whistled a tune and twirled my cane while strolling down the paved walk. On one shoulder, I carried a small wooden trunk, weighed down with the goods I'd acquired on the First Floor. It was a fine day. The cool, early morning air teased my skin as it blew, and the streets were nearly empty.
Grandhardt was quiet in the mornings, one of my favourite things about the place. With the population consisting heavily of Guilders, revelries usually proceeded late into the night, and the streets wouldn't start to crowd until close to noon.
I turned onto Devonshire Ave, finding it slightly more populated than the prior street. A few dozen would-be consumers gazed into the many shop windows, pointing and chatting as they browsed the wares from a distance the shopkeeps couldn't hound them.
My eyes moved away from the patrons. Glancing over the tops of the buildings at the massive wall acting as a backdrop to the beautiful morning, I shivered. Knowing what lay in wait on the other side plagued my memory, even if I hid it well.
One day. Once I'm strong enough to bear the consequences, I'll warn everyone... but what then?
Frowning, I stopped twirling my cane and allowed the butt to fall to the stone. Would knowing do anything more than cause people to anguish and brood for the rest of their lives? Would it cause chaos and have the opposite effect of what I intended?
I shook my head. There would be time to think over my options. It would likely be years before I could contend with the top Wielders, assuming I could reach those heights.
Well, it's possible. I just need to push the limits of Summoner's Blessing to see what it's truly capable of. Oh, I'm here.
15 Devonshire Ave.
Before I knew it, I stood at the bottommost steps of a white-bricked storefront. The colour of the brick was the same as the other shops lining each side of the street, each only accentuated by the different colour awnings, doorways, glass windows, or grandiloquent luminous signage that adorned the fronts.
As for this facade, the colours were maintained, but besides the plank of metal marking the address, there was no signage displaying a store name. I rummaged through one of the deeper pockets in my vest and drew a set of keys before climbing the steps to open the front door.
The keys had hardly rattled in the lock when the door was pushed gently open, and Crook poked his head out with a giant grin. I pocketed my keys and raised my cane in greeting.
"Ahh, if it isn't Mr Crook. Can't say seeing your face is the most pleasant of the morning's views."
"Oi!" he feigned offence and took a step back, clutching his chest. "I'll have you know that the ladies can't help but press themselves to the glass in a bid to get a look at me. It's a wonder I've been able to keep it clean."
He laughed raucously and stepped aside, giving me space to enter the exhibition floor. My brows shot up, and for the first time since I'd awoken in my youthful figure, I was genuinely surprised by something unrelated to my growth.
Bloody hell...
It had only been two days, yet Crook had utterly transformed the shop's interior. In my prior life, I'd had the place renovated to sell the goods I acquired on the Tenth Floor. After all, one of the perks of tutoring the up-and-coming Wielders on defeating their first Fiend was that I was entitled to a percentage of the loot week after week. Unable to use most of it for myself, as strengthening my Cards caused my old Origin Card to drain more life from me when using abilities, I hired one of Crole's nephews to sell the items here part-time.
Over the years, I'd made quite a fortune... Easily five times what Luxton was asked to offer for the estate by the mysterious buyer. Yet what good had it done me? None.
Before, I'd simply set the shop up with a few shelves to display the Cards and Relics farmed. The young man who watched the shop sat at a wooden table near the entrance, checking customers out as they came and went.
Now, however... beautiful glass displays lined the outer walls, each crafted to hold particular types of items. Each cabinet and shelf was lined with Circuits that would be powered by the shop once the hub was activated.
To the left were locked glass shelves explicitly built for flaunting Cards, while a similar set-up crossed the rightmost wall, though the stands were spaced out further, obviously meant for holding various Relics.
Two long sections meant for armour, clothing, and other assorted gear lined the centre, while a final location in the back corner opposite an ornate desk held miscellaneous material anyone would need to ascend. Packs, tents, climbing gear, and many other items were displayed neatly on brand-new shelves and tables.
"I'll withdraw my prior statement," I muttered, turning to the still-grinning merchant. "This may be the most pleasant view I've seen this morning, after all. Was all of this really in your old shop?"
"Most of it was packed away in the back," Crook stroked his chin and looked about. "That small area up front couldn't hold it. But this... This is a beauty of a location. I can already smell the Essence! What was our deal again? Forty per cent to you?"
I could hardly hold back a laugh at that, "That was a praise-worthy attempt, but I'm afraid not. Per our agreement, you can operate here as long as you agree to sell my wares. Fifty per cent of all sales, be they your goods or mine, go into the shop's operation. As for items provided by me, you shall be paid a twenty per cent commission on profit, while the remaining profit you will store for when I return. Your own stock will be the opposite."
"And what's to stop me from only promoting my own wares?" Crook asked.
I stared into his eyes for a moment, waiting. Threat Acuity didn't pick up any malicious intent, and it looked as if he were just curious, "You've seen the door to the hub, I assume?"
"That I have," the merchant nodded.
"Good," I pulled a hefty key from my pocket. "This opens the door. Within, you will find that this shop is equipped with circuits for defences and monitoring. I'll set the parameters based on our agreement. You'll need to move your booth to the left, where you can use the Circuits to access the shop registry."
"I see," Crook walked to the back wall and ran his hands along the etched carvings to the left of where he'd placed his chair. "If I don't store the expected amount of Essence at the allotted time, the Circuits will shut me in and alert the authorities. Clever."
He turned back to me and smirked, "There's a lot more to you than you let on, boy."
At this, I shrugged, "Standard settings for the entire street, nothing too extraordinary. This, on the other hand..."
I toted the crate to the desk and slid it to him, "Take a look."
Crook opened the top of the crate, almost bored... and then gasped when he saw the contents that lay within. He pulled stack after stack of Cards out, spreading them neatly on the counter as his eyes grew wider.
"Wilder... Did all of this come from the Skull?" he asked incredulously.
"It did," I chuckled and looked at the impressive pile. "Based on the Ranks and rarities of the Cards, there should be more than 600,000 Essence there. I'm not considering the Essence invested."
"Easily," Crook agreed. "And you want to sell all of this?"
I nodded, "Store a few of each Foundation to help secure employees in the future. Otherwise, yes. Sell them all."
"Very well," the merchant shook his head and began to neatly sort the Cards again. "With the number of Guilders passing by every day, this will go fast. You'll be hard-pressed to keep a supply with the more experienced ones snapping these up for recruits."
"It won't be so bad once I begin my ascent," though I did acknowledge his words. He was right. A couple hundred Cards was nothing for a shop. "And maybe we can hire a farming team in the future. For now, I have another issue I'd like you to look into. I need you to find your source and open an investigation."
Crook raised a brow, "I hope you aren't going to ask me to learn more about the Vladimirs. Those Recording Pearls I gave you were the best my source could find. It wasn't much... but digging more could get him in a bind."
"Actually... I haven't even had the opportunity to listen to them yet," I admitted sheepishly, thinking of the small bag Crook handed me at the station. "When I arrived at the manor, a visitor was waiting for me. They were a bit taller than you, fast, and had a relatively high Will. They were searching for something. I'd like you to see if your source can link the intruder to any known faction."
The merchant fiddled with the edge of one of the Cards, staring at it thoughtfully, "For something like that, I won't make any promises. It's too vague... but I'll ask around."
"That would be much appreciated," I inclined my head in thanks. "Now, it's a bit dark in here. Why don't we head down and take care of that so you can link your displays."
***
For the next few hours, Crook and I worked together to adjust the shelving and displays to link suitably with the shop's circuits. By the time we were done, every case and item was lit with a dim purple glow and descriptions of the items within shone in translucent gold lettering for all to see on the glass surface.
These cases would have cost a small fortune, a fact which had prompted me to inquire more about Crook's past between our usual lines of banter. It turned out the man had once owned a luxurious shop in O' Connel but had fallen on hard times when he was offered a way into the High Society.
He'd clutched at the straw, selling his shop to repay some debts but keeping most of its contents for expansion on the First Floor. Unfortunately, the wooden building on Main Street had been nothing like what was promised, so most of his belongings were placed in storage. When we'd gone to the back room, I was once again astounded by the number of crates he'd had brought up from O' Connel the days prior.
At this rate, the shop will be operational before I leave the Origin Floor... What a pleasant development.
"Crook, have you thought of a name for the place yet?" I asked curiously.
He jerked his head in surprise, looking away from the Card he was adjusting on one of the many mounts, "Me? You would let me name it?"
"We're business partners, aren't we?" shrugging my shoulders and gesturing to the well-decorated interior of the store. "This is just as much your doing as it is mine at this point."
"I..." he hesitated, then looked around. "Well... my stock will only last so long, and the Cards you brought in will go quickly. What will be our main product? Just the Cards you loot as you ascend?"
I thought about that for a moment, then scrunched my eyes, "Crook, do you think you can get your hands on a Tame Creature Card?"
"That's not exactly a rare drop, you know? I actually have a few copies in the back, but why do you..." his voice trailed off, and he looked at me in confusion. "You don't plan for this to be a speciality shop, do you? I only know of three shops that sell Summons, and their expenses are phenomenal!"
"You can't have that kind of Essence," Crook shook his head. "Those proprietors pay exceptionally high bounties and have their own teams of Tamers they pay to live on and farm Floors for particular creatures. Even with five such teams per Floor, the number of Summons they can sell per month only numbers in the dozens, and they get snatched up swiftly."
I grinned, not missing the first part of his statement, "Humor me, lad. Let me have one of those Cards."
Crook scrunched up his face, sighed, and retreated through one of the back two doors. One headed to a smaller second floor, where speciality items could be displayed, and the other to a large shelved room in the back. The merchant would live on the third floor, where a suite only slightly smaller than the second floor could be found.
Ahh, I did it again, didn't I?
Crook was over twice my age... well, my physical age. Not that it would in most situations. Several men and women two or three times my mental age looked to be in their twenties, so the average person would assume that I'm a Wielder from one of the Upper Floors.
I looked at my reflection in the nearest display and chuckled, thinking of how I would react if one of the youngsters crossing the Tenth Floor spoke to me in a similar fashion. Eventually, I merely chalked it up to one more of the eccentricities I needed to work on.
Crook made his way out of the back room, and I heard him muttering something under his breath about children and their outlandish dreams. He stopped in front of me and presented me with a Card.
"Here. I traded for four of them in what I thought was a good deal nearly a decade ago, and I've only managed to sell one since," the merchant shook his head. "These Cards are nearly useless, and most folks won't waste a slot in their Deck for the abysmal chance it gives at receiving a Summon."
On the face of the Card was a young, raven-haired woman with a hand outstretched toward a small, blue slimy creature which was timidly reaching out with a drooping arm to touch her fingers. The woman was smiling brightly, and I could almost hear her laughter by simply looking at the image.
"Appraisal."
[Card Name: Tame Creature]
[Class: Summon]
[Rank: Pure]
[Level: 1]
[Essence: 0/1,000]
[Description: The Wielder attempts to cleanse a Plagued Beast of its affliction in an attempt to befriend or capture it]
[Effect 1: The Wielder casts Tame Creature before injuring the target. If successful, the target creature is cleansed of its Plague and becomes a Summon. The Summon dropped can not be of a higher Rank than the equivalent Rank of the targeted creature, but it can be lower. Chances of success follow this Effect. The probability listed is applied after the likelihood of whether or not the targeted Beast will drop a Card]
[Pure: 1%]
[Blessed: 0.1%]
[Holy: 0.001%]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]
I looked over the information for a long while. Crook was right... those stats were abysmal. And the bonus from Summoner's Blessing hardly helped, adding just 10% to the original figure. Though, the Cooldown being cut in half from the typical 24 hours was indeed worthwhile.
An eleven in... one million chance for a Pure Summon to drop from a simple Crazed Beast?!
That number was just ludicrous. Summons were rare, sure, but not that rare. I didn't even want to calculate the drop rate of a Holy Summon, seeing that it should be a chance somewhere in the tens or hundreds of billions at a glance.
Crook chuckled, likely having seen my expression, "I told you, runt. One in a hundred thousand. Not worth it. Of course, the wealthy aren't supplying their groups with Level 1 Tame Creature Cards, but even with multiple Wielders casting in each group, it isn't like the odds improve by much."
"And that's only a Pure Tame Creature Card. I've heard that Blessed versions can be found above the Fiftieth Floor, which is why Summon builds didn't even begin to be favoured until the first groups of Wielders reached the Floor a few centuries ago," the merchant continued with a smirk. "I saw one of the Blessed Cards during my time in Origin City, and even then, Level 1 is hardly an improvement, sitting at one in ten thousand for a mere Pure Summon from a Crazed Beast."
He shook his head as he fiddled with another display, "You're welcome to try your luck but don't blame me for being sceptical. Still, if you intend to bring Cards back rather than material, we can use the name of my old shop. Wielder's Wonders."
I nodded absently and pocketed the Card, "Sounds good, Crook. If you'll excuse me, I'll double-check the hub and get going. There are still a few matters I must tend to while the day is young."
"No need to hold back because of me," the merchant waved me away. "This shop can't make a shard without your ascension, so do what you must to prepare. I appreciate your assistance, and while you're down at the hub, insert the name, so folks know we're open, would ya?"
"I'll handle it," I called back, already at the door to the back room. Holding the Card firmly in my grasp, I rushed to the stairs and into the basement, where I closed and locked the door before sitting at a nearby table.
My hands moved on their own, pulling the Promotion Relic from my pocket and dumping a small pile of Essence on the table. The Relic pressed against the Tame Creature Card twice, each touch releasing a bright silver glow as the Card was promoted from Pure... all the way to Holy.
[Card Name: Tame Creature]
[Class: Summon]
[Rank: Holy]
[Level: 1]
[Essence: 0/1,000]
[Description: The Wielder attempts to cleanse a Plagued Beast of its affliction in an attempt to befriend or capture it]
[Effect 1: The Wielder casts Tame Creature before injuring the target. If successful, the target creature is cleansed of its Plague and becomes a Summon. The Summon dropped can not be of a higher Rank than the equivalent Rank of the targeted creature, but it can be lower. Chances of success follow this Effect. The probability listed is applied after the likelihood of whether or not the targeted Beast will drop a Card]
[Pure: 50%]
[Blessed: 10%]
[Holy: 1%]
[Sacred: 0.1%]
[Angelic: 0.001%]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]
Before I'd even finished reading, 1000 Essence had already found their way onto the Card. The brilliant shards turned to dark husks as the Card reached Level 2. Once again, I read over the probabilities.
[Pure: 50%]
[Blessed: 11%]
[Holy: 1.1%]
[Sacred: 0.11%]
[Angelic: 0.0011%]
[Cooldown: 23 hours]
The Cooldown dropped by an hour, and each base figure rose slightly, though it seemed 50 per cent was the limit. Without a thought for the Cards I planned to purchase over the coming days, I summoned my Origin Card and invested another 1000 Essence in bringing it to Level 2. Once again, I glanced at the stats of the Tame Creature Card, this time willing the increases from my Origin Card to show.
[Pure: 50%]
[Blessed: 16.5%]
[Holy: 1.65%]
[Sacred: 0.165%]
[Angelic: 0.00165%]
[Cooldown: 11 hours 30 minutes]
I gasped. The jump was enormous. My hands shook as I slid the Card into my Deck Box.
If I Level up this Card in conjunction with my Origin Card... And then there are the possibilities of both gaining additional or strengthened properties at Level 5...
My excitement grew. Hesitantly, I looked at the pile of shards beside the two Cards, sighed, and scooped the rest into my pouch. I couldn't continue spending so frivolously until I had the Cards I needed. What was the point in being able to successfully gain Summons if I couldn't survive long enough to kill the Beast I was attempting to Tame?
When the Essence was once more secure on my hip, and the Tame Creature Card was placed in my Deck Box, I looked over the improvements to my Origin Card. The upgrades were... nonexistent. Other than the increase in Taming probability, nothing had changed.
[Card Name: Summoner's Blessing]
[Class: Origin]
[Rank: Origin]
[Level: 2]
[Essence: 0/10,000]
[Description: The Wielder gains an increased affinity for Summoning]
[Effect 1: Summons' cooldowns are halved]
[Effect 2: Summons' durations are doubled]
[Effect 3: Requirements to use Summons are reduced by 1 Level]
[Effect 4: The Effects of Tame Creature are increased by 50%]
Well, I'll see what happens at Level 5. Oh, in all the excitement, I almost neglected to name the store. What had he said again..? Oh, right. Wielder's Wonders.
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