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[Skill-Eater] Chapter 81: Mortium
🕑 Added 2024-08-15 17:01:01 +0000 UTCBy the time that Edge stepped outside, the shadows were growing long, and a cool breeze was blowing in from the east. Any second now, the town’s magtech lanterns would spring to life, lighting up the main streets like glittering strings of jewels.
Puppet Town never truly slept. But around this time, most shops closed, and people stopped working for the day. With so much foot traffic crossing the districts, cutting through the alley behind Ann’s shouldn’t raise any suspicion.
He hid behind a barrel after turning the corner, making sure that he hadn’t been followed. Then he looked up to where a man was sitting in a chair on the balcony above, seemingly fast asleep. His eyes cracked open to meet Edge’s gaze, then he nodded once and closed them again.
It was a signal that the coast was clear, so Edge walked down the set of stairs behind the building. A few seconds later, he was standing in front of a door leading to what most people assumed was the basement of Ann’s General Goods. Which it was, but that it wasn’t the reason why he was here tonight. He was heading down one more level, to a subbasement that only a handful of people knew about.
When he reached out to knock, the doorway cracked open on its own. He let himself into a small enclosure that seemed to be totally empty. “Hello?” He looked around in confusion. “This is the right place, isn’t it? I told Ann that I was coming.”
“So, you don’t know everything,” a woman’s voice replied. “That means you came across the info by chance rather than a trusted source. The question is, can I trust you, Edge? Do you know the rule?”
“Never talk about this place unless I know that the other person has mortium to spend and won’t run their mouth.”
“That is the essence of it. You haven’t told anyone else, right?” The question must have been rhetorical, because the voice didn’t wait for a reply. “Your reputation is sterling after saving Trapper, and Ann seems to like you, so I’m willing to work with you on a trial basis. But if you cause me any problems, you won’t be causing them a second time. Last step before I let you through. It’s time to prove that you have the goods and aren’t here on another agenda.”
With that, a panel opened along the far wall, exposing a complex magtech machine formed of crystals, wires, and plates. “Stick your hand on a plate. It doesn’t matter which one.”
This was starting to feel a lot more dangerous than Edge had expected. But he had the sense that if he backed out now, he’d be dead before he made it to the door. Trying to radiate sincerity all the while, he walked over to the machines, swallowed hard, then put his hand on one of the metal plates covering the exterior.
There was a combined jolt of electricity and magic, making his whole body tingle before it faded away. “You can take your hand out now. You have a mortium to spend after all. Not only that, you turned some in to the System already, so it seems like a fair wager that you’ll be able to collect more.”
He wasn’t sure how she could tell, and he was afraid that he had just revealed far more than he’d bargained for. Her next words made him feel a bit better.
“Don’t worry, Edge. I won’t pry into your secrets, if you play me straight. It’s all part of the package.” With that, a nondescript section of the floor dilated. It opened to reveal a spiraling staircase, through which he could smell the faint spice of incense.
Glad that things seemed to be going well after all, and intensely curious as to what he was walking into, Edge started heading down the stairs. All he knew was that this was a place where you could spend lifecoin for things that you couldn’t get anywhere else. That the first time you earned a mortium and entered an exchange, you would complete a hidden quest and be awarded an implant.
But that was the extent of his info. Who was running the store, and the contents of its inventory were a total mystery.
He took the last step and passed through an open doorway leading into another small room, excitement growing by the heartbeat. He had the impression that he was being scanned again, for hidden weapons or active skills this time, then the far door opened.
He stepped into an enclosure that was easily the size of Ann’s above, jaw dropping at the sight that awaited his gaze.
Every inch of the walls was covered in exotic displays. Edge ran his eyes across magtech items of every shape and size. A vast array of machines and tools stood beside racks filled with high-grade weapons and armor. Sets of gear that had to be worth several small fortunes each.
Standing in the middle of such an extensive arsenal made him shiver with greed, although he would have to restrain himself this time. No one fucked with System-linked services and lived a long and happy life.
“Most of that is way out of your price range, at least for now.” He turned his head to follow the sound. To where a woman was sitting behind a long counter, forming a shadowy parallel to the store above.
“Lillian? Is that you.” Edge was shocked to learn who was running the exchange. Lillian was Ann’s sister, or that was what they called each other at any rate. By day, she was a handywoman who took care of repairs around town. She was famously shy and didn’t have any friends.
“Surprise.” She stuck out her tongue when she caught him staring. “This is the real me. And call me Lilly when I’m down here or in the field.”
Although Edge had seen her on the feed a handful of times, this was more words than he’d heard her speak by an order of magnitude. More than that, her entire persona had changed. Tonight, Lilly was direct and fearless, the amusement in her tone suggesting a wry sense of humor.
While she had seemed uncored the other times he had seen her, now Lilly had an aura of power radiating past the boundary of her body. So intense that the air seemed to crackle around her head.
Edge was sure in that moment that she was cored, early stage-two at the least. That she was strong enough to guard her store, and likely had other secrets too. With the salary she was paid for running the exchange, Lilly had to be one of the best geared people in town, armed with a range of powerful skills.
She had a gleaming magtech boltcaster resting on the counter, but showed no sign that she was inclined to use it. She doesn’t have a guard posted inside because she doesn’t need one.
On top of everything else, Edge was certain that she had some high-grade implants installed and other weapons within easy reach. That she could kill him twice before he could blink if she thought he would pull any shit. Note to self, never piss Lilly off.
Although they were sisters, Lilly was a study in contrast to Ann. Her hair was short and black instead of long and blond. She had dark eyes, sharp features, and was a full foot shorter than Edge, who topped off around six feet in this body. The only things that the siblings shared were a friendly smile and a perceptive gaze.
Lillian was wearing something rather different from the grease-stained overalls she wore above. A formfitting combat suit made from some manner of elastic purple material. It was probably tough enough to stop his best attack cold, all by itself.
“If you’re done staring, why don’t you let me know what can I do for you today? I’ll tell you right now that I won’t do a straight exchange for credits. You would never be able to explain where you got them, and it would draw too much attention my way.”
“No, that’s alright.” Edge shook his head to gather his focus. “I’m here to turn in the quest. But first, let me make sure that I understand what you do here. You sell magtech comparable to what wardens can get their hands on. And from what I can see, a range of other high-end gear too. I’m guessing that since you can install our first implant, you sell other, more expensive models as well. Maybe even potions or high-grade aether.”
“Most of that is right on target.” She nodded along with his words. “The gear on the walls can only be purchased for lifecoin. But I can sell you the aether to recharge your implants for credits, although it doesn’t come cheap.
“I don’t deal in potions at all. It would cause too much friction with the alchemists. You will have to visit their store if you want to buy any. I can give you more details another time since you’re going with a starter implant. If you pull up your Guide, you can complete the quest right now.”
He took Lilly’s advice and willed his menus into being. Just like she’d said, he had an update waiting.
You have met the conditions for the hidden quest, ‘First steps.’
Requirements:
1. Collect your first mortium.
2. Find an authorized mortium exchange.
Quest reward: Receive a starter implant for the discounted price of 1 mortium.
There was a list attached to the bottom, but Edge didn’t need to read it. He had memorized its contents long ago. He had already thought long and hard about which implant he wanted and narrowed it down to two options, both of which performed a similar function.
A brain-guard held an aether charge that could be expended to form a powerful shield around the brain when the implant sensed impending damage. It could take quite a few small smacks or a couple of big ones before it needed to be recharged, which Lilly had told him was relatively expensive.
The heart-guard did the same thing for his heart. Two critical organs that would drop him if they were damaged, and that regeneration couldn’t heal quickly enough to save him.
Edge asked Lilly for more information, trying to determine which would offer him the most insurance in a fight. While he considered the pros and cons, she asked him about his skillset. “If you want to make the best possible decision, I suggest that you tell me about the skills you’ve managed to obtain and the specifics of your core.”
After a moment of consideration, Edge gave her the details about everything but entangle, double strike, leap, and conceal, although he implied that shadow step was his core’s ultimate. The same lie he had told Trapper and Mel.
“A rare shadow core with an unregistered ultimate? Not to mention two fantastic, uncommon skills. You’re just full of surprises, Edge. Taking all of that into consideration, I would recommend the heart-guard. You can wear a helmet to protect your brain, but lots of beasts have armor-piercing skills that go right for the heart.”
That logic made sense to him. “I’ll take it.” When they called up their Guides to make the exchange, he tried to haggle. “Do you think that you could give me a discount, and throw in one of those mana-food containment coolers too?”
“Those cost a lot more than you think, and I’m not authorized to negotiate on the System’s behalf. I’m just a technician and the middleman. I don’t own most of what you see.” Edge’s disappointment must have been clear on his face, because Lilly laughed when his frown turned upside down when she finished her next sentence.
“I do, however, have a defective unit that I can give you. But not for free. You’ll have to owe me a favor. Its seal isn’t complete, which means that it will smell a little. It will only extend a seed’s life by a couple of weeks instead of indefinitely. It will still let you harvest mana-food to sell or use as a rapid recharge for your magicyte reservoir.”
“I’ll take it. Thanks Lilly, I really appreciate it. What do you want me to do?”
He was worried for a second, but it turned out that she was hooking him up after all. She grinned and said, “You can return the favor by not dying. Puppet Town needs all the help it can get right now, and I have a sense that you’ve haven’t even begun to realize your true potential.”
Then she pointed to the door. “Now get out of my shop and let me work. You can pick up the cooler when you come back to get your implant installed. I’ll have Ann let you know when it’s ready to go, but it will be a few days before it’s attuned to the biosignature I collected on the way in.”
Edge thanked Lillian again and then made his way outside, taking one last, wistful look at the magtech on the walls. Something to look forward to later, if I live that long.
