Thanking Softspark, who, despite their rocky relationship, has not only given her absolute best but also succeeded in selling their items for more than they expected, the group leaves the now-empty auction hall.
After a quick stop at the Supporter Hub, spending 40,000 FC to designate Menchi as his next combat Supporter for the upcoming mission, the group returns home.
Back at Alex's penthouse apartment, he goes over his gains. Though not a lot of time has passed, he has spent not only a large amount of FC, but also his precious Soul Crystals.
Yet of course, he also gained a tremendous amount of FC in the auction, along with two powerful items.
Sitting on his comfortable couch, the others lazing around in various chairs and the other couches surrounding him, Alex carefully inspects his remaining possessions, double-checking everything.
Fantasy Coins: 180,500 Soul Crystals: Small x26 Medium x9 Large: x1 Fantasy Shards: 0
"So that's what I had after we did our last count, Jewel," Alex recounts.
"Then I spent 49,000 FC, 10 Soul Crystals (Small), and four Soul Crystals (Medium) in the skill Hub."
After that, Soulmate needed to spend 17,500 FC, 2 Soul Crystals (Small), and one Soul Crystal (Medium) to upgrade Princess Jewel's skills! The easiest decision imaginable.
"Sure... then I sharded a few of my items for 30 Fantasy Shards...." Alex continues. "I then traded with Rishi and gave him the pigeon, as well as one more Soul Crystal (Medium). In return, I now have the mighty [Skullflame Shield]."
"Finally, after the auction, where I got 6,282,900 FC... I spent 850,000 and 1,650,000 FC, along with the Soul Crystal (Small)... I spent a lot, but still, that means I walked away with a profit of 3,782,900 FC."
"So, all in all, I now have... let's see..." Alex calculates.
Sweat forms on Alex's forehead.
Didn't Soulmate brag about his Quick Mafs?
"Forget the damn Quick Mafs... it's not about 2+2," Alex defends himself. "A little help, 1337...!" Alex finally asks, looking embarrassed. "Arrange my status for me properly."
[Host possesses 3,862,400 FC. Please inspect your status.]
Fantasy Coins: 3,862,400 Soul Crystals: Small x13 Medium x3 Large: x1 Fantasy Shards: 30
"Thanks, 1337," Alex says, smiling at the wealth in front of him. "Quite the number. I like it big... you know, big numbers... in any case, I was so lucky to have acquired so many Soul Crystals; I lost over half of them. I almost wanted to sell them at some point because they kept piling up, but thankfully, I didn't. People were right. While Soul Crystals weren't very useful early on, by now every single Upgrade costs a fortune."
Soulmate is correct. Princess Jewel requires a lot of them as well to further advance on her divine royal path.
"..." Menchi still looks gloomy, staring at the ground before speaking in a lifeless tone. "You overspent... All that effort, risking our lives to get these precious items, only to spend 850,000 to upgrade my rank... by a small step. It feels like such a waste."
"Child, enough of that foolishness," Benezia states. "He will invest even more in his supporters in the future, and it's mostly for his own benefit after all. Stop crying, and better make use of that new potential you acquired."
She is right... however...
"Now that you mention it...." Alex says, perking up.
"1337, use [Supporter Upgrade Token (Purple)] on Menchi!"
[Acknowledged, Host.]
Suddenly, Menchi, still lazing on the couch, looking depressed, is engulfed in a bright light, making it impossible to see more than a vague silhouette.
However, just as instantaneous as it appeared, it also disappears.
"You look..." Tereza notes, staring at her. "Pretty much the same."
"Yeah," Alex nods. "However, I see something that is clearly different, hehe."
[Menchi]
Level: 13 (25%)
Rarity: Deep Purple
Free Skill Slots 0/2
Skills: Potioneering (Advanced +), Trading (Intermediate)
Support Skills: Cooking (Expert), Dismantling (Expert -), Synthesizing (Expert -)
Weapon rank: Purple
Armor rank: Light Purple
[Benezia]
Level: 19 (50%)
Rarity: Deep Purple
Free Skill Slots 1/3
Skills: Swordsmanship (Expert +), Movement (Expert)
Support Skills: Diplomacy (Master -), Teaching (Expert +), Trading (Expert +)
Weapon rank: Deep Purple
Armor rank: Deep Purple
"In any case," Alex says. "I need a lot more shards... I need to upgrade three Gold Quality items... no, maybe even four or five?!" He exhales, his chest tightening. "Also, Benezia, not to be mean, but I'm unloading a bunch of crap on you. You can keep it for me, okay? For example, these [Superior Supporter Armor-Rank Upgrade (Deep Blue)], [Superior Supporter Weapon-Rank Upgrade (Deep Blue)]. You might want to keep them if I ever get another Supporter, or sell them if you get a good offer. I leave it up to you."
He gestures vaguely in front of his system screen, opening a trade and accepting immediately, already trying to forget about the items.
"In return," Alex continues, "focus on buying things to improve both yourself and Menchi. Sadly, you're already close to maxed out, as obtaining items to push your Rarity or Weapon and Armor ranks into Gold seems out of our reach... for now, at least. Still, Menchi can still improve."
"So now, finally, my status is a little more cleaned up..." Alex says, staring at it. "Looking nice!"
Alex Kerber: Lvl 8
HP: 478/478, MP: 448/448 AURA: 328/328, BP: 142/142
STR: 22 (+18), AGI: 22 (+4), PHY: 22 (+11), SNS: 22 (+2), CHA: 22 (+7), MNA: 22 (+11), INT: 22, SPR: 22 (+7), LUK: 22 (+8), NEN: 22 (+2)
Available Stat Points: 3
Followers: Menchi (Deep Purple) lvl 13 (25%), Benezia (Deep Purple) lvl 19 (50%)
Pets: Jewel (Gold) lvl 8
Innate Skills: Nen Prodigy lvl 6 (Genius Conjurer lvl 6, Basic Nen lvl 6, Advanced Nen lvl 6), Statistical OCD lvl MAX
Arcane Medieval Armory: Annihilation Grenade lvl 6, Sealion's Icewing Embrace lvl 6, Mustrano's Malice Mauler lvl 6 (Claw Proficiency/Poison Resistance) / Toxic Breakthrough lvl 6, Magorian's Rage Arrow lvl 6, Thorian's Domination lvl 6, Sea King's Giant Plate Swimfin lvl 6
Free Skill Slots: 0/4, Free Basic Skill Slots: 0/8
Basic Skills: Basic Close Combat Prowess lvl 6, Basic Footwork lvl 6, Basic Endurance lvl 6, Basic Long-Range Combat Prowess lvl 6, Basic Eloquence lvl 6, Basic Concentration lvl 6, Basic Meditation lvl 6, Basic Mana Control lvl 6
Passive Skills: Alexandrian Royal Swordsmanship lvl 6, Imbuement Archery lvl 6
Active Skills: Black Magic (Fire-Blizzard-Thunder-Series) lvl 6, Sword Magic lvl 6, Kunrith's Biotics lvl 6 (Warp, Stasis, Barrier, Throw, Pull, Reave), Arts (Tear, Teara, Aqua Bleed, Frost Edge, Hydro Cannon, Crystal Flood)
Fantasy Coins: 3,862,400 Soul Crystals: Small x13 Medium x3 Large: x1 Fantasy Shards: 30
Current Weapons: Magoroth's Legacy R2 (Gold), Draining Meteor Sword (Gold), Executioner's Blade R2 (Light Gold), Skullflame Shield (Gold)
Current Equipment: Armor of Pluto (Purple), Visor of Pluto (Purple), Cuisses of Pluto (Purple), Gauntlets of Pluto (Purple), Sabatons of Pluto (Purple), Nimbus Cloak (Light Purple), Sacred Emerald Copper Earring (Purple), Noble Shirt+4 R2 (Light Purple), Drakul's Vitality R2 (Deep Gold), Skitterguard Bracers (Light Purple), Cataclysmic Frost-Fire Ring (Deep Gold), Uzin's Rage (Light Black), Savant M (Gold), Geth Waistguard (Deep Purple), Destiny Watch (Orbment) R2 (Light Gold), Shepard's Promise R2 (Light Gold)
Recovery Items:
Miscellaneous Items: Jack's Spare Silvery Mask (Light Green), Hunter License (Deep Green), Butchering Knife (Deep Blue), Quintessence of Blood (Purple), Blood Essence x7 (Green), Brawler-Pistol (Light-Purple), Colossus Armor S (Deep Purple), Logic Arrest Tool (Deep Blue), Mobile Skill Station (Purple), Contract (Unused) x3, Seastone Dagger (Deep Purple)
Marked for Trading/Selling/Gifting:
Marked for Sharding:
Special Items: Destiny Supporter Token (Purple), VIP Invitation (Deep Purple), Tsunade's Scroll (Purple), Glimmerwhisk's broken Runic Choker (locked) (Light Green), True Dream Ticket (Light Gold), Spectre License (Purple), Death Duel Voucher (Deep Gold), Scapegoat-card (Deep Purple), World Governments Invitation (Light Gold), Leylin Farlier's Bloodline Extraction Syringe (Deep Gold)
"Wait," Menchi notes. "I mean... spending even more FC on us... it's insane, but also, you learned a new Biotic ability?"
"Yes..." Alex says. "I thought it through; I was unsure if I should go for Reave or Biotic Charge. My instinct told me to go for the Charge, but if I use my [Uzin's Rage] to boost my AGI, I'm so fast, it's almost comparable to a charge anyway. So I went for the more balanced and stable Reave. I'd like to focus on defensive abilities and barriers, which are something I've already tried out in the last mission. Simply said, I can't get enough of them. So Reave will come in handy. Here, take a look."
Reave: Attacks the target's nervous system, dealing damage over time and preventing all forms of healing. Funnels some of the target's energy into the user's barrier or creates one from it. This ability causes a very large amount of pain, possibly preventing the target from taking any action.
Cost: 30 BP
Damage: Deals 10 damage every second + 2 Damage per level
Effect: Negates Healing and Regeneration, preventing any kind of HP regeneration.
Also has a chance at paralyzing, hindering the target's skills, spells, and attacks, as well as slowing the enemy based on the target's PHY. Effect increases per level.
Barrier Leech: Transfers 50% + 5% per level of damage dealt to the user as Barriers with a Duration of 10 seconds + 1 per level.
Duration: 10 seconds + 1 second per level.
Detonation: If affected by another synergistic Biotic ability, causes a Biotic explosion.
Cooldown: 20 seconds
"That sounds powerful," Tereza comments. "Though it seems a little... too balanced. Prevents Healing or any HP recovery, does damage, gives you a barrier, and it seems to be able to cause weaklings to cry out in pain and make them unable to do anything."
"Yeah... if I ever enter the world of Harry Potter again, I'll yell out 'Crucio Blue!' when I use this ability. Anyway, so much to do... I'm getting a little stressed already." Alex says, grabbing his growing somewhat unkempt hair. "I also need to get a haircut..."
"It looks like you're a little excited, Child," Benezia says toward Alex. "It's understandable. So let me summarize what you require."
"1. Fantasy Shards to upgrade your equipment."
"2. Potential upgrades for your... Supporters, meaning us. Specifically raising Menchi's Weapon and Armor Rank."
"And lastly," Benezia continues, staring at Menchi, "3. New recovery items."
"Yes," Alex nods, smiling. "Is the going rate for a shard still 2,000 FC?"
"That rate always remains more or less stable," Benezia replies. "Depending on timing and availability, it's sometimes higher and... very rarely lower."
"I need you to convert around... 3 million FC into shards. That should give me around 1,500 of them."
"Three million?!" Tereza yells. "Are you insane?!"
"It's the only way to progress... also, do you know what it costs to rank up Black Quality items?" Alex shoots back. "I also need a Light Gold Quality piece of equipment... along with 600 shards, worth 1.2 million FC, and that's just a Light Black item. Anyway, we can use any kind of equipment. It can be flawed, it can suck, whatever. Benezia, can you try to get it along with the shards?"
"I'll work hard on it," Benezia calmly replies.
"You know what? Take everything... I'll grant you access to all of my FC. Just return whatever you didn't use," Alex says, already sounding resigned to the task.
"I think we all have our tasks then. Menchi, focus on your food. Benezia works on the shards. And the players and spider laze around..." Alex says, sighing as he forces the words out.
"It seems to me that you little Players are getting carried around a lot," Benezia says, smirking as she walks away, before briefly glancing back. "Don't forget to visit your little green friend. It seems to me you have the most daunting task ahead of you, after all."
"Fuck..." Alex curses, dread in his voice. "Don't remind me."
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