"Sorry, I really had to go!" the harpy says, jumping over the table and landing next to Krystyna. Immediately, she hugs the giant dog and pets the small Eevee beside her.
"Sorry… now we can start," Krystyna says. "These are my pets. I'm sure you recognize at least one of them. I see the little cute spider on your head must be yours."
"A harpy is a pet? Isn't she more like a Supporter? This seems a little unfair," Alex comments.
"Monsters—or in this case, monster girls—do qualify as pets. There is a rare chance to get a Supporter that is also a pet in a traditional sense, but most of them, especially those without an identity, are treated as pets."
"Without an identity?" Menchi asks.
"Famous Supporters like you are highly prized as individuals by the system. Pets are mostly about the species itself. There are certainly unique pets available, but they are almost impossible to recruit. In fact, you need a special skill, or a unique innate skill, to tame pets. You should know that," she says, looking at Alex.
"Or…" she says, staring more intently at Jewel before shaking her head, "No, I won't speculate."
"Anyway, I've been told you are interested in pet skills?" Krystyna asks.
"Yes…" Alex replies. "What do you have in store?"
"Mostly generic and basic skills… a few rare skills. Let me be generous and share some information with you. You might be wondering, how do you obtain Pet skills?" the pet specialist asks.
"Loot them? In worlds like Pokémon?" Menchi suggests. "Even I know that one by now!"
"That is possible, but pet skills can be obtained in any world. However, to unlock that possibility, you need skills. The only other way to obtain them is to learn them via special means or simply find someone who sells skills… like—"
"Like you," Benezia says with a smile.
"Exactly," Krystyna responds. "I'll be honest, Pets are rare… and those with skills usually have the means to obtain skills themselves, making my business rather… unprofitable. However, some pets, especially the ones from Pokémon, can be obtained without any Pet skill, so my skills do have uses. Your pet seems special as well."
Good to know, I guess. I guess Pokémon would be a really profitable world.
"Well…" Alex says, staring at the three 'pets' beside her. "I can't say yours are anything but impressive as well. Please show me what you've got."
"Here you go," Krystyna says, opening a trade window and displaying a list of skills.
"[Bloody Bite], [Animal Cry]…" Alex reads, spotting a bunch of White and Green Quality skills.
"We really don't need such crappy skills… my pet has some innate skills that are superior to any of those. It would never use them. Please show me your most rare and expensive skills."
"How about these?" Krystyna asks.
[Pet-Skillbook: Pet Endurance]
Quality: Blue
Effect: Teaches the skill "Pet Endurance"
Note: This skill is similar to the Basic skill, Basic Endurance.
"I also have a few more, but not all—mostly ones focusing on physical stats," Krystyna adds, displaying [Pet-Skillbook: Pet Close Combat Prowess], [Pet-Skillbook: Pet Movement], and [Pet-Skillbook: Pet Senses].
"Interesting. These are nothing too exciting, but they're almost identical to the Basic skills of players. The basic skills might not be impressive, but they're at least useful and most of all, dependable, especially the Endurance one. Don't tell me Pet stats are also capped by those?!" Alex asks, looking worried for a second.
"Haha, don't worry. That's only the case with players," she says.
"How about those?" she finally asks, eyes on Alex. "You can't go wrong with them. They also only cost FC to learn and level—not Soul Crystals. They are a reliable and cheap investment!"
That argument kinda sold me. If she has nothing better, let's go for the Endurance one… maybe the Movement or Close Combat Prowess ones as well?
Princess Jewel is not impressed, but I guess these won't be too expensive, and Soulmate can afford to learn and unlearn them. However, Soulmate, remember what was discussed earlier? Princess Jewel needs to keep at least one skill slot open in case she can learn something through a unique opportunity. So at most, Princess Jewel should purchase two skills.
"These are nice," Alex says, not hiding his thoughts.
He looks briefly at Menchi and Benezia, both nodding in agreement. "How much for one of those?" Menchi asks with a bright smile.
"30,000 FC!" Krystyna replies, looking serious for a second, her lips slightly trembling.
Alex notices she looks a little unsure and nervous.
So there is wiggle room.
"A little expensive… considering it's an unpopular skill and fairly basic. Also, your collection seems to indicate that the demand for these skills is not quite high," Alex argues. "I would pay 20,000 FC."
"... that's low!" Krystyna responds.
"Wait, wait," Alex says, "before we haggle… is this really everything you've got? White and Green skills… these basic Blue ones. You said 'rare', didn't you?!"
"I've got a few more… but they are oddly specific and not really something most pets can use. Feel free to look."
Alex browses through the updated trade screen with interest.
[Pet-Skillbook: Superiority]
Quality: Deep Purple
World: Fantasy Realm
Type: Pet-Skillbook
Effect: Teaches the skill "Superiority"
Note: Only for superior pets.
Princess Jewel likes the sound of that!
Let's take a closer look!
[Superiority]
Requirements: 5 STR, 5 AGI, 5 PHY, 5 SNS, 5, CHA, 5 MNA, 5 INT, 5 SPR, 5 LUK + 3 per level
Quality: Deep Purple
Leveling Requirements: 2,000 Fantasy Coins + 1000 per level
Effect: Grants +1 to all stats +1 per additional level
Effect: The added stats are treated as stats gained through items or temporary buffs—they do not count as base stats.
Note: Superior pets are known for their superior stats.
Note: Any pet with this skill will have a free set of golden dragon borders placed around its portrait and nameplate. How elite!
"This is incredible," Alex comments. "Better than these basic skills…"
Princess Jewel wants to be even more superior than she already is!
Let's check what else she has to offer.
Alex sees various highly dangerous and oddly specific skillbooks. One enrages the pet, giving extra damage and immunity to certain effects, but at the cost of losing control—Jewel promptly rejects it.
Finally, Alex's attention lingers on a Deep-Blue skillbook.
[TM 10]
Quality: Deep Blue
World: Pokémon
Type: Pet-Skillbook
Requirements: None
Effect: Teaches the move "Hidden Power"
Note: This move will be modified if taught to any non-Pokémon Pet. This will replace the PP cost with a standard MP cost.
Jewel! This one might be interesting. You need a spammable ability that consumes MP.
"Can you explain [TM 10]? I've seen a few Pokémon abilities, but most can only be taught to Pokémon. This one is obviously different—I wonder why. Does this even work for any other pet?" Alex asks.
Krystyna nods, "Yes. It will choose a random damage type, all according to your pet. The actual shape and appearance of the ability will also depend on the type and your pet's uniqueness. This one is pretty popular, so I can recommend it."
"How much for [Pet-Skillbook: Superiority] and [TM 10]?" Alex asks.
"How about 300,000 FC?" Krystyna says with a smile, though her lips twitch slightly.
This bitch! No way!
Alex glances at Benezia.
"Unreasonable and outright unrealistic." Benezia begins to speak in a calculating and cold voice. "You mentioned yourself that these are highly situational skills. Hidden Power seems to be a somewhat weak skill, and any non-Pokémon pets will have to use their precious MP instead of PP. Also, Superiority has requirements that seem almost impossible to fulfill."
"Yet you want it," Krystyna interjects.
"Of course, but that doesn't change the fact that you haven't been able to sell it so far," Benezia counters. "If you do not budge on your unreasonable prices, we will both lose out. How about a little compromise?"
"I'm offering 50,000 FC for the [Pet-Skillbook: Superiority] and 15,000 FC for [TM 10], as it seems not particularly special. You even mentioned it is popular, which is the wrong expression. I think you meant to say: common!"
Alex smiles as he sees a little tear appear on Krystyna's face.
Benezia knows what she's doing! Now she just needs to pile on and annoy her.
After intense negotiations, Krystyna is willing to part with both skills for a measly 120,000 FC, only a little more than a third of her initial asking price.
Alex, in a happy mood, exchanges information with her as he finishes the trade.
"Thank you. If I need something related to pets, I'll message you! Next time, I'm even willing to pay for information as well," Alex says.
"Thank you," Krystyna replies, looking a little depressed.
❤️ Thank you, Soulmate, now Princess Jewel can attain true Superiority!
I wonder if this was a smart decision… her ego is already a little inflated.
Leaving the café, Alex and Jewel say goodbye to Menchi and Benezia.
Alex heads to the Supporter Hub and spends a cool 35,000 FC to designate Benezia as a combat Supporter for the next mission.
This is getting incredibly costly; no wonder Supporters are so strong. They require a lot of resources, and I have to pay 5,000 FC per level to let them join me? So that means at lvl 20 I would have to pay 100,000 FC just to let them accompany me for a single mission? That is insane! I guess that's the balance of the system.
He then heads to the Pet Hub. He gently places Jewel on the table along with the two skillbooks. "I want her to learn and then upgrade them!" Alex announces with a smile.
The Realm worker, a middle-aged woman he knows from his earlier visits, nods in surprise, "Of course!"
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