Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I offloaded almost everything. As tempted as I was to keep the the survivability buff only kicked in when the User was in combat. If anything, as a glass cannon-less cannon, it might be more dangerous for me to use. If it was harder to tell how hurt I was, it could easily lure me into a false sense of security to the point where an eventual tactical retreatand the subsequent vanishing of the effectcould easily mean death. A situation I needed to avoid at all cost.

Still, it was somewhat painful, placing it on the table with the rest of the pile. Unloading felt like the living equivalent of a human clown car, taking item after item out of my inventory and placing them on the pile. Kinsley gave me a really? expression as I pulled out a small bounty of identical swords, only becoming interested once I withdrew the staff. I kept two of the monster-amphetamine Id scored from the flowerfangs and sold the rest, as well as all the equipment from the gnolls. The two tokens of achievement were valueless, according to Kinsley, which struck me as odd. They had to serve some purpose, but said purpose was unclear. I also kept the mask.

All the while, Kinsleys eyes kept flicking towards the back of the room behind me. I didnt turn to look, only tilted my head slightly, checking the spot with my enhanced peripheral.

Nothing.

But wasnt an all-seeing eye. Just a particularly observant one. It hadnt gone off when enemies were around, just when they were aware and actively hostile. There could be a User in that back corner with some sort of cloaking ability, watchingbut the quest hadnt changed. I was stumped.

What if it didnt change in some situations if I, personally, wasnt aware an objective had been failed? In Dungeons and Dragons, figuring something due to out-of-game cluesthat you failed a quest and finishing it was a waste of time, for instancewould be considered meta-knowledge, something your character wouldnt necessarily know and therefore shouldnt act on. If you were playing correctly, youd stumble through the rest of the quest despite knowing youd already failed, only able to act on that knowledge once your character became aware of it.

What I couldnt figure out, and now seemed like a glaring hole in my accumulated knowledge, was whether the quest system was meta or mesa. From my experiences so far, there was a wealth of conflicting signs pointing to either as a possibility.

Again, Kinsley looked to the back left corner of the room, her eyes flitting immediately back down to her hands as she began tallying up the spoils. Surprisingly decent haul. Should be able to get another level from this alone.

Puts me nine over you. The XP from the dungeon was something else. I gave her an empty smile to wash down the lie.

Kinsleys eyebrow shot up. Ten levels from a single dungeon seems ridiculous. Feels like Im the one getting the short end of the stick here.

Contracts a contract. I shrugged, waiting for it. And like clockwork, there it was, another nervous glance.

We settled up, the total with Kinseys preferred pricing coming to a whopping 29,837 Selve. I was giddy at the number, but my enthusiasm was dulled somewhat by another reality coming to bear.

If I dont get to the bottom of this, I can never come back here. Both my merchant access and immediate plans are fucked, and Selve is useless without a merchant. I can be paranoid sometimes, yes, but Im not even using and something is clearly off. Either figure it out or burn this bridge.Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

Thanks. That was enough to push me over a level. Kinsley moved everything into her inventory except for the wide-screen computer monitor, which had garnered none of the attention or questions Id expected it to. She struggled to lift the old CRT with a grunt and replaced it with the widescreen monitor from the dungeon lobby.

What was the perk? I asked.

Hm? Kinsley replied, glancing over at me. A small hand went to the back of her neck, screaming discomfort.

Do you have any non-standard ammunition? Something barbed? I asked.

No. Most of the tabs have updated inventory as Ive leveled, one at a time. Ammo hasnt been through rotation yet.

Kinsley fidgeted, reminding me that there were other concerns and that my time was limited.

I proceeded to buy in bulk, spending as much of my Selve as possible. I focused more on non-perishables, jerky, dried fruit, five bottles of cheap brandy and

Kinsley, the toothpaste is right here. Under the iodine.

The fuck? Kinsley squinted at the general goods tab. I swear I scrolled past that thirty times looking.

Well, problem solved. I added an extra tube of toothpaste to my list and bought it. As I loaded my haul into my inventory, packing whatever wouldnt fit into separate bags, I was watching the young merchant out of the corner of my eye. Her small hands were clasped together tightly, fingers turning white.

I handed her the toothpaste, still holding the same empty smile. Quest complete.

Thanks Kinsley said. She took the tube with shaking hands.

I had to admire how cold-blooded it was. Even if she was a terrible actress. Whatever fate was waiting for me when I left, she was using me to boost her trade level as much as she could before I was permanently out of her hair.

I tilted my head slightly, looking in my peripheral for something I could use. There were two parallel shelves in the corner, one significantly more rickety and degenerated than the other. Another test case. Could I use Probability Spiral on something I held in my minds eye, without focusing on it? There was probably a range limitation, but I was within twelve feet of the corner.

The inside leg of the shelf collapsed, and Kinsley startled as it tipped over, crashing.

I kicked the shotgun across the room, grabbed the crossbow off the table and spun, holding it straight out towards the fallen shelf and strafing counter-clockwise, distancing myself from the corner and cutting off the exit.

Whats in the corner, Kinsley? I asked, my voice unnaturally calm, watching for any sudden movement out of my peripheral in case she tried to go for the shotgun. She was panicking but not moving. In the meantime I searched the mess of metal and boxes filled with paper, finger on the trigger, scanning for the outline of a person.

Matt! Its nothing!

Whats in the corner? I asked again.