System Change

“Yes, we can talk.” The voice sounded out of the crystal.

Derek felt a slight tug in the back of his mind, but nothing more than that. It was so light that he barely sensed it. Stella, on the other hand, had become completely mechanical. Her eyes dimmed as she sat in the chair, staring forward.

A sigh came from the crystal. “Hop on one leg.” The sensual voice sounded out.

Again, Derek felt the tug in his mind, but nothing else.

Immediately after the command, however, Stella stood and raised one leg, then began hopping. Derek frowned as he watched the beauty bounce up and down. He was unsure what the person on the other end was planning. Overall, he was embarrassed for Stella.

“Stop.” The voice commanded and Stella stilled. “Stella. Answer me. Did Mr. Hunt hop on one leg?”

Stella leaned forward and grasped the crystal in one hand.

“Wonderful.” The voice boomed. “That’s just wonderful.” It sounded genuinely happy. “Stella, dear. Please fetch our private communication crystal and lend it to Mr. Hunt.”

Stella flicked her hand, and another crystal appeared. It was the same size and shape as the other, but it was red instead of blue. Stella walked back around her desk and placed the crystal in Derek’s hand.

Derek took the crystal and inspected it. Unlike the blue one, this crystal only had three runes drawn on it.

“Stella, you can return to a comfortable position.” The voice said. “Now, Mr. Hunt. If you would be so kind as to inject some mana into that crystal when it lights up, that would be great. I will talk with you in a moment.” With that, the blue crystal that Stella had sat back down on the desk faded.

Stella walked back around to her side of the desk and flopped down into her seat. Leaning back and placing her crossed feet on the top of her desk.

Well, she did tell her to get comfortable. Derek chuckled as he looked at the lounging figure.

Soon, the red crystal began to glow, and Derek injected some of his mana into it. ‘Hello.’ He answered like he was taking a call.

‘Ah, Mr. Hunt… Derek. So nice to meet you… Hop on one foot.’ The alluring voice invaded his mind and gave him a command.

This time, the tug in the back of his mind was much greater. So much so that Derek actually pushed his foot on the floor to stand before catching himself. Realizing what was going on, he stopped and sent a thought back. ‘I would prefer it if you wouldn’t do that.’

‘Oh! How absolutely wonderful! You 're able to handle a command issued directly into your mind via a private communication crystal. Truly astounding. Just so you know, a command through this crystal is a dozen or more times as potent as one issued out loud through the other crystal. Also, as it was a command, it is much more potent than us just chatting. You really don’t know how wonderful this is.’ The alluring voice was gushing happiness.

That would explain Stella. ‘I guess that’s a good thing?’ He answered.

‘A very good thing. I wasn’t sure you would be able to handle it, but I hoped. When Stella informed me that you did not hop on one leg, I was beyond excited. Speaking of Stella, she will be back to normal in a few minutes. She has very good willpower.’ She said.

‘That’s good. I think she’s going to be embarrassed when she’s back to normal.’ Derek sent. ‘Anyway, what can I do for you?’ He asked.

‘Ah, business…’ The voice sounded with disgust. ‘Business can wait. Do you know how often it is that I get to talk with somebody who doesn’t have to strain themselves being around me? You aren’t straining yourself, right? You don’t feel anything weird when we are just chatting? No impulses to flatter me or tell me the truth about anything?’

‘Nope. Just a force in my mind when you told me to hop on one foot. I felt like I wanted to stand, but was able to control it.’ He answered.

‘Good… very good.’ The voice paused. ‘Oh goodness! Do you know what that means? We could actually talk person to person. Without you having to spend 12 hours next to me to get your focus back, and without you having to focus your mind so much that you have to stay home sick for two days.’

‘Uh… okay…’ Derek replied.

‘Oh, sorry for the babbling. It’s just so nice to really talk to someone…’ She paused. ‘Where are my manners? I was so caught up in my excitement that I forgot to introduce myself. I am Alanah Swan, owner and operator of Crown Restaurant. And you, you are Derek Hunt. A most interesting man.’

Derek actually blushed a little at that comment. ‘Thank you… I think. I do pride myself on being… interesting. It is nice to meet you, Miss Swan.’

‘I’ll have none of that. You can call me Alanah.’

‘Fine by me. You can call me Derek if you want.’

Alanah giggled. ‘You are extraordinary. You must have phenomenal willpower to withstand my voice. Or maybe a great amount of points invested into Wisdom. Or… do you have the Mental Resistance skill? Oh… Sorry… You don’t have to answer that.’

Derek did feel the tug on his mind again when she asked the question, but it was much less forceful than before. ‘Don’t worry. I didn’t plan on answering.’ Derek was surprised and a little disappointed. Her comment meant that the conversation was not going to affect his Magic Resistance like he had hoped. But, she was spot on about him having high Wisdom and willpower. He could not have survived so long as a tank without a ton of willpower.

‘And that… Is why this is wonderful. Oh, the things we can discuss. You can lie to me too. That is wonderful, so wonderful. Tell me, what is two plus two?’

Seeing where she was going with it, Derek answered. ‘Five.’

‘Wow!’ Alanah said in awe. ‘That is amazing. Unless you are very dumb… I don’t think you’re dumb. Nope… definitely not.’

‘That is great and all, and I would be happy to talk with you more, but I do have a lot of stuff to take care of today.’ He said. I don’t, but she doesn’t know that… I think. ‘I would like to discuss some business. I guess Stella informed you of everything?’

‘Yes, yes. Always business. Stella let me know.’ Her happy, seductive voice changed to a flat tone. Though, it was still very bewitching. ‘She told me that you brought in an interesting Void Beast. One that will give a lot of Vitality points. Now, you should definitely thank her when you get a chance, because anyone other than her… or me would have taken your ‘gift’ without saying anything because you are not a member, and you would have been none the wiser.

‘Stella is just too kind.’ Alanah said. ‘Now, she asked me if I had a recipe for such a beast and the answer is… maybe. I have methods to increase the potency in some things, and they have been known to work with some bloods, so there is a chance that the Vitality points gained from the Void Beast could be increased. Now, of course I can buy it from you if you would like. I would be willing to offer 50,000 gold coins for it, or…’ Her voice trailed off. ‘We can come to another arrangement.’

‘What arrangement would that be?’ Derek asked.

‘We split the Void Beast blood.’ Alanah answered. ‘You get half and I get half. I will have my staff use my methods on the blood, and once we figure everything out, we can split it 50/50. Now, the final result could be more than what you would get just drinking all the blood raw, or it could be less. Like I said, with this method, you would only end up with half. What would you like to do?’

At that time, Derek noticed that Stella had come to her senses. She had taken her feet off the desk and was sitting straight and professionally. The blush from her embarrassment was fading, and she was staring at Derek with wide eyes.

Derek smiled at the woman before answering Alanah. ‘Honestly, since I was going to give you the beast as a gift before, it feels awkward taking it back... ‘ Derek thought about everything for a moment. ‘Okay… I have an idea. I’ll do the 50/50 split with you on the baby Void Beast. Then, since I haven’t signed the contract for the other beast, you can have it for free. And we can discuss the price on my other Void Beast. You should find it quite interesting.’

‘Oh… That is interesting…’ Alan said with a giggle. ‘Tell me, is Stella back to her senses yet?’

‘She is.’

‘Very good. Tell her that I will contact her on the blue crystal. I will not talk, and she can just provide me with answers that I will ask for you. Is that acceptable?’

‘That’s fine by me.’ Derek answered.

He looked at Stella, the blush finally gone from her face. She seemed to come to terms with whatever she was feeling because she was looking at him in a professional manner instead of with shock in her eyes. “Alanah said to pick up the blue crystal when she contacts you. She won’t speak, but you can use it to tell her your thoughts. I’ll… translate.”

“Okay.” Stella said, and picked up the crystal off of her desk, answering it when it began glowing.

This is going to be odd. Derek did not know what to think about being the go between for the two women. Oh well, it’s about to get a lot worse. He thought as he prepared to summon the corpse of the sentient Void Beast.

‘Ready?’ Derek asked.

‘Ready.’ Alanah chimed.

“Alright.” Derek said, speaking to Stella. “Alanah wants you to examine this and give her your opinions.”

Stella nodded her head, frowning. “Okay.”

Derek summoned the gigantic Void Beast. Stella looked at it, then back to him. Dumbfounded. The room was in complete silence.

‘Well! What’s going on?’ The voice rang in Derek's head.

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