Cyan took a bite of the delicious food, then took out the chess piece that Unabi had turned into and looked at the woman across from her.
"Does this restaurant allow warhorses inside?"
"…That might not be appropriate."
The woman showed an awkward but polite smile and glanced at the other customers. Letting a warhorse into the restaurant would be quite improper.
"Sorry for making such an unreasonable request."
Cyan could tell her request had put the woman in a difficult position. She put the chess piece away and pointed at the Phoenix Crystal, which had already had its head and wings eaten, leaving only half the body.
"One more Phoenix Crystal, to go."
"It's called Phoenix Crystal!"
The woman forced a smile as she corrected her.
"Why did you order another one? There's still half left." Asuka looked at Cyan with confusion, wondering why she was ordering more when she hadn't finished what was already on the table.
"It's for Unabi."
"I see. You're quite good to Unabi~!" Asuka smiled and picked up a dumpling, dipped it in soy sauce, and popped it into her mouth.
…
After the meal, Asuka leaned back in her chair and rubbed her slightly swollen stomach. Even though she was full, she didn't feel uncomfortable. Instead, she felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
Asuka sat up straight, her cheeks slightly red as she glanced at Nishi and Cyan, who was still eating. She twisted uncomfortably in her seat for a long time before finally speaking in a small voice.
"Cyan, Nishi… do you want to form a team?"
Given her personality, being able to say something like this meant she had thought about it repeatedly in her mind for a long time.
After the previous survival game, she believed Cyan was one of the few survivors she could trust. She was strong, decisive, and wouldn't betray her teammates. Most importantly — she was a girl, a girl, a girl!
"Hmph, are you trying to hug Master's thigh?"
Nishi looked at Asuka with a mischievous grin.
Of course, her mischievous expression was hidden behind the mosaic. However, Asuka could still hear the teasing intent in her words. She snorted but didn't reply.
"Forming a team…"
Cyan thought about the special mission in the next survival game to revive the black widow spider. She guessed that the difficulty of the next round might become very high because of the pet revival special mission. She didn't want to drag Asuka into it.
"After the next survival game, if you still want to team up with us, then we'll form a team."
Asuka's strength was very high, and she had skills that could unleash powerful bursts of strength. She would be a very reliable teammate. However, the special mission was her own responsibility. It was for the black widow spider who had died protecting her…
No matter how difficult the special mission was, she would complete it.
"After the next survival game?"
Asuka was a bit confused and asked, "Why?"
"Pet revival mission. It has to be completed in the next survival game."
"I see…"
Thinking of the little spider girl who had died tragically under the blue-clothed ninja's foot, Asuka understood why Cyan said that. She was becoming more and more satisfied with this teammate.
"Okay, I understand. Let's meet again after the next survival game~!"
After saying that, Asuka didn't stay at Humble Tower Residence any longer and quickly left. Then she came back again.
"Let's exchange our real-world addresses. If our survival game times don't overlap, we can only meet in reality."
"Mm, that works too."
Cyan thought for a moment, nodded, and exchanged addresses with Asuka.
"K… Cameo Coast? Isn't that where super rich people live?" Asuka was surprised when she learned where Cyan lived.
"A friend is rich. The house belongs to her." Cyan explained to avoid any misunderstanding.
"I see. Then let's meet in the real world~!"
Asuka left with a satisfied heart, a trace of anticipation in her eyes.
After paying the bill, Cyan and Nishi left Humble Tower Residence and summoned Unabi.
Unabi curiously looked around at the unfamiliar environment. With Cyan, its master, by its side, it didn't feel panicked about being in a strange place. It had an attitude of "when in Rome, do as the Romans do."
"Want to eat?"
Cyan held out the Phoenix Crystal to feed Unabi.
Unabi looked at the bird-shaped food sparkling in the sunlight and hesitated for a moment before opening its mouth to take a bite. Its already large eyes widened even further!
What is this? It's so good!
Having never eaten such delicious food before, Unabi swallowed the Phoenix Crystal in just a few bites. Its eyes sparkled as it looked at Cyan, clearly wanting more.
"Nishi."
Cyan looked at Nishi. Before she could finish speaking, the other party already understood what she meant.
"Leave it to me~!"
Nishi gave an OK gesture and sprinted into Humble Tower Residence at full speed.
"Is the food at Humble Tower Residence good?"
Cyan stroked Unabi's mane and removed the helmet it wore for defense.
Unabi nodded and nuzzled Cyan's arm with its head.
A while later, Nishi came out holding two freshly made Phoenix Crystals. Unabi swallowed both of them whole.
After eating, Unabi let out a satisfied snort. Its attitude toward Nishi had become noticeably friendlier.
Cyan and Nishi arrived in front of the trading area, stored Unabi away, and walked inside.
While browsing around the trading area, Cyan found a skill book suitable for Nishi.
[Chain Rapid Thrust]
[Type: Skill Book]
[Effect: Learn the active skill Chain Rapid Thrust at LV1. Chain Rapid Thrust delivers several consecutive thrusts at extremely high speed in an instant.]
[Prerequisite: Agility 15]
[Remark: Don't blink. The show is about to begin!]
She liked it, but bargaining was still necessary.
"B-Big sis, this skill book was something I obtained through great difficulty. I really can't go any lower. 5… 5,800 and it's yours. If you're not buying, then… then don't disturb my business."
The stall owner was stuttering a little, clearly annoyed by Nishi's bargaining.
"I'll take it."
Cyan initiated a trade with the survivor and bought the skill book.
"It's a bit expensive…"
Nishi pouted and muttered quietly while holding the skill book Cyan handed her.
"This skill suits you."
Cyan felt that spending a bit more Survival Points to buy a skill book suitable for Nishi was fine. Opportunities were fleeting. Who knew when they would encounter another suitable one if they missed this chance?
"I know it suits me too…"
Nishi temporarily stopped worrying about those few hundred Survival Points and used the skill book to learn Chain Rapid Thrust.
[Chain Rapid Thrust (Active)]
[Skill Level: LV1]
[Consumes 5 Spirit. The next thrust attack within 3 seconds will strike twice. Subsequent attack damage is 90% of the first attack's damage.]
[Note: Subsequent attacks will not trigger weapon or equipment special effects.]
Nishi gripped her short blade and activated Chain Rapid Thrust. A faint glow lit up on her right hand as she thrust at the air. At the moment the blade shot forward, she felt her hand involuntarily twitch, turning into a white blur that left traces of the attack in the air. It happened at an astonishing speed, as if she had attacked twice in an instant. Even the one who used the skill could barely see it clearly.
This skill…
"Master, this skill is really strong…"
Nishi looked at her hand in shock. In that instant, it felt like the hand holding the short blade had moved on its own. She could feel the movement, but she herself couldn't replicate that kind of action.
"The second attack is very fast. After upgrading, the power of the second attack also increased. As this skill's level rises, the power of subsequent attacks might become even higher, or the number of attacks might increase."
Cyan looked at the skill information for Chain Rapid Thrust and made a guess.
Nishi hugged Cyan's arm and smiled brightly. "Hehe~! Master, you have good eyes~!"
Next, Nishi spent 2,000 Survival Points and 2 Skill Points to upgrade Extreme Speed. This was a sustained skill, and upgrading it gave her the biggest improvement, especially since her Spirit was pitifully low at only 90 points.
[Extreme Speed (Active) ]
[Skill Level: LV4]
[Consumes 5 Spirit. Increases attack speed and movement speed by 14%. Lasts 16 seconds.]
It was worth noting that the Survival Points and Skill Points required to upgrade Extreme Speed again had risen to 3,000 Survival Points and 3 Skill Points. This was likely because upgrading the skill to LV5 would bring about some kind of change, or it could simply be an increase in cost.
They wouldn't know until it was actually upgraded to LV5.
After upgrading their skills, Cyan and Nishi still had 30,500 Survival Points remaining.
Cyan and Nishi stayed at their stall for an hour, but the Imitation · Dragon Sword still hadn't sold. Basically, everyone who passed by would stare at the weapon for a while but had no intention of buying it. Who could blame them? The equipment requirements for this weapon were so harsh. Even at Enhancement Level 8, buying a weapon you couldn't use would be idiotic, right?
Just as the two were about to pack up, a man wearing a red training uniform walked up to the stall. He stopped and stared at the Imitation · Dragon Sword. When he saw that it was at Enhancement Level 8, a flash of excitement appeared in his eyes.
Nishi rested her chin on her hands and stared at the red-clothed man. "This weapon requires Falcon Style Swordsmanship to use. If you can't use it, don't bother looking."
"Precisely because of that, you two must have obtained this weapon from another survivor, right?"
The red-clothed man stroked the blade of the Imitation · Dragon Sword as if he were caressing his beloved. Looking at its sharp edge, his gaze grew even more heated.
"So what? What are you trying to say?" Cyan felt that this person was talking too much.
"If you're not buying, then put it down. Stop touching it nonstop!" How disgusting! Nishi looked at the red-clothed man's caressing gesture and barely managed to swallow the rest of her words.
"This weapon is useless without Falcon Style Swordsmanship. May I ask how much you two are selling it for?" A hint of pride flashed in the man's eyes. To others, this weapon was powerful but unusable trash. To him, however, it was a weapon he had been searching for.
Enhancement Level 8! This was extremely rare in the survival space! After all, enhancing from +7 to +8 had a chance of failure, and the weapon would be damaged.
No one would gamble on it. If it succeeded, great. But what if it failed? All the effort and Survival Points spent on this weapon would be wasted!
"15,000."
Cyan spoke flatly. She had asked the survival brand about equipment enhancement before. Continuing to enhance past Enhancement Level 7 carried the risk of damaging the weapon upon failure. Yet this Imitation · Dragon Sword, which she had previously looked down on, was already at Enhancement Level 8. This showed just how valuable it was. However, the extremely strict equipment requirements had greatly reduced its value.
"That's too expensive. If I buy this weapon, I can only use it as a display piece. You're asking for too much — 5,000 Survival Points." The man shook his head.
"You can use this weapon." Cyan stated with certainty. No survivor would be stupid enough to spend 5,000 Survival Points on a weapon they couldn't use.
This red-clothed man had said so much because he clearly wanted to buy this usable weapon at a low price.
5,000 Survival Points wasn't a small amount, but it also wasn't a huge amount. However, Cyan had no intention of suffering a loss. Since this person could use the weapon, she wasn't going to reduce the price by even a single Survival Point.
The man fell silent for a moment. He had thought the mosaic on her face would prevent her from noticing his obvious desire for the weapon, but she had still seen through him. Left with no choice, he took out a skill book he wasn't currently using and displayed its information.
"This skill book for 15,000 Survival Points, and you still need to give me 10,000."
[Random Summon]
[Type: Skill Book]
[Effect: Learn the active skill Random Summon at LV1. Random Summon randomly summons an unknown creature to assist in battle at the cost of Spirit upper limit. Upon dispelling the summon or when the summoned creature dies, the Spirit upper limit is restored.]
[Prerequisite: Spirit 6] [Remark: It's time to show your true luck!]
For survivors who mainly invested in Spirit, this skill book was considered a divine skill. Being able to summon creatures to assist in battle — no matter how you looked at it, it wouldn't be a loss.
Cyan looked at the skill book's information and declared, "This skill book isn't worth 25,000."
Any survivor could learn this skill book. It looked powerful, but in reality, it consumed Spirit upper limit at an unknown cost to summon an existence of unknown strength, unknown race, and unknown everything to assist in battle. It was also possible to summon creatures that would drag you down, or even creatures that couldn't distinguish between friend and foe.
Most importantly, the price of this skill book — 25,000 Survival Points — was severely inflated. Besides, all of her active skills required Spirit to activate.
"This skill book at 25,000 Survival Points isn't expensive. It consumes Spirit upper limit to summon cannon fodder to assist in battle. In critical moments, you can even summon cannon fodder to draw aggro. When the cannon fodder dies, your Spirit upper limit recovers, so you can summon again. If I wasn't lacking a suitable weapon, I wouldn't have taken out this skill book that I originally planned to use myself. Don't be ungrateful!"
The man explained the true use of Random Summon, then added, "There aren't many people in the survival space who have mastered Falcon Style Swordsmanship. Besides me, you might have to wait a very, very long time before you encounter another person who can use this weapon."
Since he had already been found out, he had nothing left to hide.
"Indeed."
Cyan thought about it and realized he was right. Previously, she hadn't even considered putting this weapon into her inventory and had planned to just throw it away in the Round Table Knights world. It was only because of Nishi's "what if it sells?" mindset that she had kept it.
"This weapon plus 5,000. That's the price I can accept." Cyan stated the price she had in mind. If the man didn't agree, then so be it. She didn't have high hopes for this Random Summon skill.
She had already had enough of skills that relied on luck. In the Round Table Knights world, using the Segmentation skill to cut recovery items and valuable items had all been about luck.
Compared to luck-based skills, she preferred something simple and straightforward like Demon Flame — easy to use and worry-free.
"Ah, this…"
The man hadn't expected Cyan to be even better at bargaining than he was. Looking at the sharp blade and powerful stats of the Imitation · Dragon Sword, he struggled internally for a while before finally agreeing to Cyan's price.
After the trade, Cyan held the skill book and looked at Nishi, whose luck had always been good. Her meaning was obvious without words.
Feeling Cyan's gaze, Nishi took several steps back and quickly waved her hands. "Master, don't look at me! My Spirit is only that much."
"Your luck is good."
"My luck is not good at all."
Nishi's face showed a terrified expression as she backed away. If she learned this skill, she would be half-crippled! With her tiny amount of Spirit, wouldn't it all be eaten up by this skill, leaving her with just enough to stay conscious?
At that point, forget about using Mud Throw — she wouldn't even be able to casually use Extreme Speed!
"…Fine."
Since Nishi was unwilling to learn this skill, Cyan couldn't force her. She could only use this skill book herself. At a value of 20,000 Survival Points, she couldn't exactly sell it at a low price, could she?
[Survivor #11766 has learned the active skill Random Summon through a skill book.]
[Random Summon (Active) ]
[Skill Level: LV1]
[Consumes a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 50 Spirit upper limit to randomly summon an unknown creature to assist in battle. The strength of the summoned creature is related to the amount of Spirit upper limit consumed. Upon dispelling the summon or when the summoned creature dies, the Spirit upper limit is restored. Maximum summons: 2. Cooldown: 15 minutes.]
[Note: This skill has a requirement for the Charm attribute. If Charm is below 7, Random Summon has a certain chance of failure. At Charm 10, there is a small chance of failure. At Charm 12 and above, Random Summon will not fail.]
The strength of the summoned creature is related to the amount of Spirit upper limit consumed…
Upgrading the level of Random Summon would allow consuming more Spirit upper limit to summon more powerful creatures to assist in battle.
The maximum number of summons was 2… After the skill cooldown ended, she could summon again. In total, she could summon two unknown creatures to assist in battle? That would mean consuming even more Spirit upper limit.
It consumed Spirit upper limit, not Spirit. Spirit could be recovered, but Spirit upper limit could only be restored after dispelling the summon or when the summoned creature died.
Random Summon also had a requirement for Charm. Her Charm was 15, so she could ignore that part.
Cyan actually wanted to test what kind of creatures she could summon. However, testing skills in the trading area obviously wasn't appropriate.