Rexxel’s Bank, Pittsburgh - 4:08 PM

After absorbing the skill book and returning Ostwriter’s Plot Armor to my inventory, I went about tidying up the vault. Many of the items within were thrown around haphazardly, which made organization a daunting task. Still, it needed to be done eventually and there was no better time than now while I was waiting for the others to show up.

Most of the prizes in the vault weren’t magical in nature, but they looked nice and that gave them value to the right people. In the early days of the second scenario, guildmasters would want to decorate their guildhalls with all sorts of lavish things. Given that most of these items were made of gold and looked expensive, they would sell rather quickly.

What I ended up doing was pushing all of the stuff only good for decorations to the sides while setting everything that would be actually useful in the open sarcophagus. There were weapons, armors, accessories, skill books, magic scrolls, and various random items. It was treasure befitting a dragon’s hoard.

It was almost too bad that I was selling the vast majority of it. I simply didn’t need much more than I already had, at least not from here. If there had been anything overwhelmingly powerful then I would have grabbed it, but there wasn’t; the quantity was there, but not so much the quality.

That was fine. What actually mattered was grabbing as many points as possible and filling up the bank account. 100,000 points was solid, but any gains now would multiply later on as interest. It was a long game, but one that I was intent on playing well.

[[Guild Notice]]

Player [Ashley Reilly] has accepted Deputy Guildmaster [Kayla Mills’] invitation and is now a member of Sol Ligatus.

The notice came just as I was finishing up, and I sat down on the sarcophagus to wait. I wasn’t idle for long.

“-aying it's stupid that I had to join the guild to get access,” Ashley complained as the elevator doors opened. She stepped inside first, and looked around with wide eyes. The other members of Sol Ligatus followed shortly after, with Corwin bounding into the room to start sniffing everything he could.

“Yes, quite stupid,” I said sarcastically. “Everyone should be able to access all of this with no security protocol whatsoever.”

I enjoyed watching everyone’s faces as they saw the dragon’s hoard. Ashley and the Mills were all goggling, and even Jamie managed a few surprised blinks before she saw me looking at her. Then, her stoic face came back.

“Looks like you were a lot busier than I was,” Jamie remarked as she pushed past the others. Her eyes took in my bloody, ragged clothes when she stopped in front of me. “And a lot less safe.”

“Safe is a relative term,” I replied with a smile. “How did the auction house go?”

The Weapon Master stood at attention as she gave her report. “Nothing I couldn't handle. I successfully liberated the Landmarks Building, which is now Hao’s Auction House,” she said. “I also successfully negotiated a contract between Hao and Sol Ligatus, allowing us first dibs on anything that’s going to hit auction. Provided we’re there to check things out before the items reach that stage, anyway.”

I nodded. VIP access at both Rexxel’s Bank and Hao’s Auction House would be a big deal. Not only were we first in line for any quests that might pop up, which were usually procuring specific items, but we got special treatment. At the bank, it was generally leveraged to get a Platinum Patron’s Package for myself while allowing the others to get higher tier player plans.

For auctions, this also meant we could describe skills we wanted to Hao and he would set items aside for us to look over first. It was a great way to get what we wanted without having to search all over the place for them. Now that I had a couple extra Blank Skill Books, I had some ideas on what to look out for.

On top of all that, once I had one back at the train, Rexxel’s ATM could also act as a go-between with any auction houses we came across. The Kobold would be able to broker any deals for us, which was incredibly useful after we left Pittsburgh. Auction houses were fairly common, but not every city would have one, and not every one was worth going to.

“Excellent work, Summers. I have a gift slash reward for your efforts,” I said, retrieving the Shield of Qer’iu from my inventory. The bronze shield was still scorched and partially melted from the Pharaoh’s lightning spell, but I smiled and offered it to her as if that weren’t a problem. “Here, this is for you.”

Jamie looked at it and then up to me. “This piece of junk? Are you serious?”

“It’s a good item, just needs a quick wash or for Ashley to take a quick crack at it,” I said. “Helped me survive a lingering electrical attack from an actual undead Dragon, so, it’s sturdy at the very least.” The Weapon Master set her jaw as she looked back down at the shield before hesitantly taking it.

While she was looking at the description, Ashley took a step forward. “You’ve already put so much on my plate, Anthony, you-“

I cut her off by grabbing the Dragon’s egg from the sarcophagus and offering it to her. “For you,” I said.

She crossed her arms and stuck her chin up. “Giving gifts won’t win me over, you know.”

“And yet, you’re here to get some,” I said cheekily. When her eyes narrowed, I continued. “This here is a Dragon’s egg. Now, this one is special because there are two things you can do with it. First, you could use it to turn into a Half-Dragon.”

Ashley cocked an eyebrow, looking down at the precious item I was holding. “And what makes you think I want that?”

“It’s just an option,” I replied casually. “It’s a Gold Dragon egg, obviously, so that’s what you’d become. Your red hair would turn blond, you’d have scales on some parts of your body, and you could grow wings and a tail later on. Fire breath, too, which could help you at your forge. On top of that, most living Dragons have some manner of limited shapeshifting abilities, so you could still look like your original form whenever you wanted.”

“Why did you specify living?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

Taking a step out of the way, I gestured towards the sarcophagus. “The building was based on Egyptian mythology. I guess the administrator thought that it being a bank was enough to put a Dragon at the top. But, like almost everything else here, it was undead and mummified.”

“You fought a mummified Dragon?” Jeff asked. “That sounds awesome!”

“That sounds dangerous,” Kayla corrected, looking at the state of my clothes with apparent disapproval.

“Let’s agree on it being both,” I said with a shrug.

“Let’s assume I don’t want to be a Half-Dragon right now,” Ashley said loudly, bringing my attention back to her. “You said that was just the first thing I could do with it. What’s the second?”

“Well, it’s an egg, you can hatch it,” I answered. Her eyes widened. “A little baby Dragon will pop out of it, immediately claim you as its mother, and then you have a creature attached to you. Like Corwin and Jeff. They’ll be able to breathe fire, too, which can also help you at your forge. And, since it’s a real Dragon and not a Half-Dragon, it has its own properties that’ll help you out.”

Ashley’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the egg. I recognized her thinking face, and let her go through her thoughts as I watched the Weapon Master. Jamie was pretending to look around, but I could see her gaze returning to the item I held. She had used it to become a Half-Dragon before, adding to her already monstrous strength, but I found it was a much more reliable item for the Monstersmith to have.

Corwin padded over and leaned against me. I Lifted the egg into the air, letting it hover, while I dropped to one knee and started petting the Evolution Hound’s face. “Who’s a good boy?” I asked him. “Corwin is, yes he is.” He started dancing in place, his tail waging hard enough to move his whole body.

I felt the egg leave my influence, and I looked up to see Ashley holding it. “If you’re going to treat it like that, then I suppose I don’t have a damn choice in the matter, do I?”

“The description says it bolsters any fire it’s placed in and that’s also how you hatch it,” I told her as I stood up. “So the more you work, the less time it takes before the baby arrives.”

"Shit," Ashley scoffed. “So my gift is more fuckin' work, is it?”

“Aside from fixing up the Vambrace of Wires, you get to choose what you make and when you make it,” I said. “I may have some requests, but they’re just that: requests. We’re really lucky to have you here, I know that, and I appreciate what you’ve done already. Not just repairing our gear, but helping out back with Manny and his axe. I don’t say it enough, so, thank you, Ashley.”

That made her hesitate. As much as she complained, the Monstersmith’s abrasive attitude usually softened when she was being recognized for her efforts. “Well, you’re welcome,” she said after a few seconds of silence. “I don’t suppose you have some of the parts of this mummy Dragon you fought?”

“I do,” I confirmed.

“Then I’m looking forward to working with them.”

“You’re going to do great,” I said before clapping my hands together. “Kayla, Jeff, I have some things for you as well. First, though, Ashley and Jamie, feel free to look around and figure out what you want. Everything good is in the sarcophagus, but feel free to check out the decorative items strewn around the room. Like I said in the notification I sent, you get three freebies that aren’t what I already handed you, and anything else you have to pay for.”

Jamie nodded and immediately stepped past me to get to the sarcophagus where I placed the magical items. Ashley was a little more hesitant, but did the same. I stepped away to join the Mills by the elevators, and Corwin followed.

“Expecting them to pick out some specific things?” Kayla asked quietly.

Nodding to confirm her question, I started retrieving skill books from my inventory. “First up, for the queen of Sol Ligatus.”

“I will punch you,” she casually threatened. “And it will hurt, because I’m Credible.”

I laughed. As a Double Agent, her attacks dealt extra damage based on her Credibility stat so long as the one she was striking trusted her. It was probably very high by now, and I certainly fell under the right category. Instead of rebuking her, I handed her the skill book.

“Body Double?” she asked after taking the item and flipping it open.

“Makes an illusory copy of you that acts how you want it to,” I answered. “I thought it was perfect for you.”

Kayla nodded as I spoke. “Yeah, that does make sense,” she said. “Though, this time, we aren’t just taking your gifts.”

“Oh, you aren’t?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.

“We traded the Dealer for something,” Jeff answered, grinning. “We found a lot of stuff in the library at Emory University. After we were done at the CDC, I mean. Made out with a couple Blank Skill Books and Synthesis Pages as well as quite a few regular skills and passives.”

“Wait, really?” I asked, confused. “The skill books I knew about, but there were blanks and pages there?”

“You didn’t know?” he replied, arching an eyebrow.

“I’m fairly certain I’ve cleared that place out and never found them, so, no. I didn’t know.”

“Maybe you just needed to bring a librarian with you,” Kayla said with smug satisfaction. “They were hidden behind a puzzle left at the service desk. It wasn’t immediately apparent, but I managed to figure it out after a little trial and error.”

I crossed my arms, thinking about it. While I had been certain I cleaned that library out before, the fact that there could be things I’ve missed in others was enough to make me second guess my knowledge. Had there been more to the one in the College of Etson? Or were the Medallion of Uuska and the Book of the Warmongering Mystic the real prizes there?

I noticed the Double Agent still had a smug look on her face, and I smiled. “That’s really good work, Kayla,” I praised. “Would you be willing to try it again?”

Kayla nodded. “Point me in the direction of any library you want, psychic boy. I’ll do my thing.”

“Awesome. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of stuff I was missing out on,” I said, grinning at her. “But we’re not done with this gift exchange just yet. Jeff, a couple of them for you.” Pulling out the skill books, I handed them off.

“Thanks, boss,” he said, taking them from me.

“Since you’ve already got a few debuffs in your kit, I figured you might want to double down,” I explained as he opened them up. “The first one is for Concentrated Dose, which will increase the effects of the poison from both your rapier and your jacket. The second is for a curse called Skin of Papyrus, which will hit both Dexterity and Constitution.”

Jeff quickly accepted both of them. “You just want to turn me into a walking nightmare, don’t you?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Sure, if you don’t ruin it by being overly friendly first,” I replied with a smile before retrieving the final book. “And Strong Jaw for Corwin. I had to beat up a giant bronze croc for this, but if anyone could use it then it’s the dog. Does he have room for another book yet?”

While I could have given it to Corwin directly, I handed it to his owner instead. Evolution Hounds were the ultimate designer dog, built to adapt to several new forms based on the skills and passives fed to them. This one was on the path to becoming a Cerberus, but that was still a long way off. Thanks to the Demonic Resistance book he became a Black Dog, similar to a Church Grim, and the Dealer had given a book that gave him several fire-based abilities.

Jeff shook his head. “No, not yet. We’re close, though,” he answered. “If you can confirm that he won’t get zombified out there, then we’ll work on unlocking one of the slots. It’s just killing enemies, so it should go by real quick.”

“Consider it confirmed. People can become zombies if they get bit enough no matter their Constitution, but animals and monsters can’t.”

“Alright, good. Don’t want anything happening to my precious boy,” Jeff said, squatting down to pet Corwin after tossing the skill book into his inventory. The yellow labradoodle leaned against his owner, enjoying every ounce of attention he was receiving.

“You’re giving away a lot of stuff. Seeing how big this skyscraper is, I assume you got what you needed out of it, right?” Kayla asked.

“Really just two things, aside from all the monster parts,” I answered.

The Double Agent wrinkled her nose. “Just two?”

“Let’s put this into perspective,” I said with a chuckle. “This dungeon was meant to be raided by ten guilds with a limit of five players each, with a minimum recommendation of six guilds and thirty players. I did this all by myself. Not because I’m awesome, though that is a factor, but because I knew what to do ahead of time.”

“Tooting your own horn, but please, continue.”

“It’s like I told you two back in Etson, I have to find a good balance between making myself more powerful and allowing others to have the resources they need to survive, too” I explained. “I can take all the good shit, but I’m only going to take a few things instead. It’d just be a dick move to take an entire raid party’s worth of stuff.”

“So everything we don’t want you’re putting out on auction, yeah?” Jeff asked.

“Yeah. Points are points, right?” I replied. Pulling out the Kedjen’s Khopesh, I handed it off to them so they could see. They nodded as they read through the description before returning it.

“I can see where that can come in handy,” he said approvingly.

“Definitely handy. How impressive is the chariot?” Kayla asked.

“Pretty impressive, but not nearly as much as my new skill,” I said with a grin. “For so long, my only attack skill has been Crash Test. I have the Summon Wasps spell, sure, but it’s really just an addition to my kit to be used when the mood strikes me. Like against Manny, or invisible opponents. That really was fun, though.”

“So you picked up something you’ll use often?” she asked.

“Fairly often, yeah” I said as I activated the skill I received from the Pharaoh.

After a few seconds, Jeff raised his hand to point at my face. “Are, uh… are your cheeks supposed to glow like that?”

Instead of answering, I looked up and opened my mouth. A wide beam of vibrant golden light spilled forth at an alarming intensity. The ceiling five floors up shook violently before I closed my mouth, ending the skill. I smirked at the black spot I had left up there, knowing that it would have pierced through if I had held it much longer.

“What the fuck was that?” Ashley yelled from the sarcophagus. Both her and Jamie were now focused on me with wide eyes.

“Dragon's Breath. Nothing to worry about,” I called back before snapping open my menu to share the details with the Mills.

[[Skill]]

Dragon’s Breath

Gather energy in your mouth and open it to unleash your fury. This skill allows you to convert Mental Points into pure elemental damage based on your stat total. As a Half-Angel, your breath weapon is infused with the Holy property. You may concentrate the beam of energy or cause it to widen, altering the damage output accordingly.

Activating Dragon’s Breath takes 2 seconds and costs 180 Mental Points. Extended use of this skill drains 18 Mental Points per second.

Notice: the Heavenly Hero passive decreases the cost of this skill by 10%. This deduction has already been factored into the description.

“Boss, this is busted,” Jeff said with a strangled laugh. “And it’s based on your stat total instead of just one of them? How strong is this?”

“I could have easily blasted a hole in the ceiling,” I bragged, placing my hands on my hips. “How much damage it does isn’t really intuitive, though. Like striking someone with a melee weapon, it’s different from hitting them in the arm compared to the heart. You know, for the sake of ‘fairness’ and ‘balance.’ Can’t have players running around as powerful as actual Dragons. Regardless of its eccentricities and high cost, it's fun to play with and well worth it.”

“Speaking of high costs,” Kayla started as she swiped open her menu. “The gift we got you may just offset that.”

When she pulled out a blue skill book embossed with a person sitting cross-legged, I immediately knew what it was. “Tranquil Recovery!” I happily exclaimed. “I was going to get that eventually, so this was a really good call. You traded the Dealer for this?”

“You keep helping us out, and we wanted to get you a little something,” Kayla said, smiling at my reaction. “We asked the Dealer what a Warmind might like, he came up with this.”

I took the book when she offered it to me. There was no hesitation between receiving it and accepting the skill.

[[Skill]]

Tranquil Recovery

You must be meditating to activate this skill. While meditating, increase your recovery speed for Mental Points from 0.1% of your Wisdom stat per minute to 20% of your Wisdom stat per minute.

While Willpower dictated how big my Mental Point pool was, Wisdom set the rate at which it replenished. Recovery was very little compared to the natural hit point recovery of 1%, which made this all the greater an acquisition. With the boost to Mental Point gain to 20% of my Wisdom and Heavenly Hero constantly healing me for 50% of my Constitution per minute, I would be able to get back onto the battlefield far more often.

“This is a really good get, you guys, thank you,” I said, pulling them both in for a hug. Jeff didn’t hesitate, but Kayla gingerly returned it. When I pulled away, there were flecks of dried blood on their armor that she had to brush off. “Maybe I should go and get myself cleaned up.”

“I think that would be for the best, yes,” she agreed.

Turning around, I waved and addressed Ashley and Jamie. “I’m heading out, feel free to take as long as you need.”

“Sure thing,” the Weapon Master replied.

“Alright, back to the train for a wash, clothing repair, and a quick meditation session,” I said to the Mills. “Y’all be safe getting back to base.”

“You, too,” Jeff said, patting my arm before walking around me. Kayla nodded before doing the same.

 

Retrieving an intact doorway from my inventory, I activated Broken Boundary to return to the train and left to take care of myself.