Shortly after entering a nearby town I continued my recruitment efforts.
"Hey, how could you reject this handsome lord's request! you heartless woman."
"Simple, I said no. Now leave me alone."
"Oh, after you stripped me down and had your way with me, you just throw me away like a pair of old socks, how heartless can you be!" I say out loud, causing a scene in the middle of town trying to capture her attention through the power of social convention.
"Is that woman abusing that man."
"I wondered why that hottie was shirtless, how cruel."
And the evil mutterings of group mentality begin. As the surrounding pressures from the crowd will force you to at least talk this out, I'm sure I could make you submit to my rule. Is what I was thinking, but…
"YOU HEARTLESS WENCH!"
"YOU WHORE!!!"
"YOU DON'T DESERVE SUCH A MAN, YOU BITCH"
Even as a mob formed and started hurling insults and trash at her she just ignored them as she deftly dodged the garbage and continued walking down the street.
"Hey, are you hungry? They sell some decent noodles over at that restaurant."
"Then go eat on your own."
"How about that accessory store? I think these earrings would look great on you."
"Then why don't you where them yourself?"
"It's getting late. Why don't we stay at that in over there."
"Get lost."
Why the hell is this woman being so difficult? I'm running out of excuses to talk to her. If only I wasn't injured I could just force her to listen to me. Surely if I could show her my true strength, she would have no choice but to fawn over me like all the rest. Of course if that was the case I wouldn't need her help.
Suddenly she stopped in front of a certain street stall selling some weird looking artifacts that were clearly fake.
"I'd like to buy this one please. How much is it?"
*Ptooey* "Get lost you harlot!"
The shop keep had clearly heard the rumors that were spreading all over town, as he spat on her mask. I was about to intervene when suddenly.
"Hey what are yo-hah?"
Nox, clearly not in a good mood grabbed the shop keep by his neck an shoved a dark green jagged dagger into his open mouth and repeated herself in a sterner tone.
"How. Much. Is. It?"
"GUSK KAKE IK"(JUST TAKE IT)
"You sure know how to bargain." I said, while wondering if she might have been affected by my earlier performance after all.
"What is that thing anyway?" What she bought was a round ball made of wood with some lines engraved on to it.
"I don't know."
"What!? Why in the world would you buy something you don't know?"
"Because I want to know."
So, she is the curious excentric type. That gives me an idea.
"You know I just so happen to have a bunch of unknown and ancient artifacts at home if you are interested."
The moment she heard that, with a sickening crunch her head instantly snapped 180 degrees to look at me. She looked me dead in the eye, as she said.
"Keep talking."
"Before that why don't we move to somewhere more private." I said, a little concerned by her creepy reaction to my offer.
…
I finally got her to listen to me, and she followed me to the nearby inn. The various people who saw us gave her the stink eye, as we entered the private room. The room had a double bed, a pair of chairs and a small table. But before I even had time to sit down, she threw a strange contraption into the air that immediately evaporated as a strange energy covered the room.
"So, what do you want?" she immediately said while sitting down on a chair, while putting her feet up on the table.
"Fair maiden, I simply want to request you accompany me on my journey home." I said while taking a seat myself.
"And guard you from more of those douchebags."
"If there so happens to be any, then yes."
"And what do I get out of it."
"Is it not the righteous thing to do, what more could a champion of justice need."
"Cut the crap. I'm no snobby champion, nor am I a charity, so if you want to hire me then pay me." She said in an annoyed tone.
"Wow, you really don't mince words do you. Well fine, I have a number of ancient artifacts of unknown origin for you to peruse."
"What else?"
"What? Uhm… I have some samples on me if you don't believe me." I said as I activated my special storage ring and pulled out a box with various engravings on it.
"This is an unknown ancient artifact I found recently in an abandoned ruin, so If you would acco-"
"It's a sex toy."
"What!?"
She pushed down on a circular pattern on the box in my hand, causing the box to shake as its shape began to change… into a phallus. I immediately threw away the ancient sex toy out of disgust and embarrassment. When I get back I will strangle that little jester for this.
"I already looked through your belongings while treating you so there is no point in giving me what you have in that little ring of yours. But what I want to know is, how much you are willing to pay me in case these artifacts you are so proud of aren't up to snuff?"
"Ah, I see. Well, I could pay you 1000 gold teals. How does that sound."
1000 gold teals is a lot of money even for a cultivator. That much would be enough to rent a small castle for a month, surely a mortal like her would jump at the opportunity.
"No thanks, I'd rather have my payment in magic stones."
"Fine then how about 10 mid-grade magic stones then?"
Magic stones are a rare and expensive material that can be harvested from rare mineral deposits or from powerful magic beasts. They are valuable cultivation materials, but they have little use outside of a handful of magic rituals and artifacts that require them as a power source. They can be divided into three grades after their purity:
Low Mid High
In addition, they can each be divided into any of the nine elemental types:
Fire Water Wind Earth Ice Thunder Light Dark Space
For some high-ranking individuals, these materials can function as their own kind of currency. The exact conversion rate between the two varies depending on the place, time, and type, but just to have a general frame of reference: 1 low grade magic stone costs about 10 gold teals, and 1 mid-grade costs around 10 low-grade. So, 10 mid-grade magic stones is rather generous, being ten times as much as my initial offer.
"Make that in high-grade and you have a deal."
"Excuse me miss. I think I misheard you there. Could you repeat what you just said?"
"1 high-grade or I'm out."
Just 1 of those is priceless. It's so rare, nobody can figure out a consistent conversion rate from mid to high. I once heard a low-ranking country spent 1 years' worth of their national budget to buy one.
"Miss Nox, couldn't you lower the price just a bit for me? We are friends after all."
"10 high-grade or nothing."
Oh great, the price went up, just perfect. Does this woman feel nothing before my handsome figure. Maby if I turn up the charm a bit.
"You know, I live rather far away, and the nights can get so cold and lonely. I'm sure there are other ways' I could pay you." I said with a lecherous expression while I gently grabbed her chin to look her in the eyes, moving my face so close we almost kissed
"100 high-grade magic stones or I'm leaving you to seduce those miscreants outside."
"What?"
"Yeah, you were attracting a lot of attention with that little play of yours out on the street. Did you really think none of your pursuers would notice their target begging and crying in the middle of town."
"Crap, we got to go, now!"
"Relax, my barrier is keeping them out. You got at least until morning to decide what to do."
It was then that I remembered the strange contraption she activated before we started talking. It must have been a consumable artifact that functions as a portable barrier. If she has more of those barriers, or at least connect me to the one who made these wonderous magic items, then establishing good relationships with her might be worth a few high-grade magic stones. Though, 100 high-grade magic stones is still a bit steep.
"Just to make sure. This is just how much you want if I can't find something that piques your interests, and not the final asking price, right?"
"Yeah. The bar is set at 100 and goes down depending on my personal interest in what you have to offer. If there are any additional costs, I'll mention them before adding it to your tab. Also…"
In that moment, the atmosphere in the room changed as the temperature dropped, the lamplight turned blue as the lighting in the room began to dim.
"If you don't pay me what you owe, then you better hope you don't live long enough to regret it."
Those words made my spine tingle, as I couldn't help myself from smiling.
"We got a deal then. I'll pay you once we get there."
I couldn't help but wonder what I should do to this cocky little lass when I regain my strength. The very thought of this rude girl begging and crying for my forgiveness sent an indescribable pleasure throughout my body.