B2 Chapter 226: Payment, pt. 3
byStaring at a case of what looked to be easily over a hundred vials of materials was rather overwhelming, especially when he had no easy way to tell which one would be the material that Kaius’s sword hungered for.
If it even was just a single material—for all he knew there could be multiple. Kaius hoped so—knowing that all it would take to upgrade his blade was a few missions would take a load off his mind, and would exponentially increase his effectiveness in battle.
Using his Truesight to analyse each and every one would have taken far too long, so he decided to simply start his way from the bottom. The least expensive materials were probably the least likely to be what he needed, but he decided to work his way through them all the same.
Every bottle he picked up held something new. Pinches of electric blue dust, droplets of sparking metal, even splinters of wood that writhed and wriggled its way around the bottom of the glass.
That was just the first layer—as he picked his way through the low hanging fruit, Kaius moved his way up the container, laying his hands on samples of more expensive and rare materials.
By the third layer, things got truly strange. A flake of what looked to be gelatine, except formed from condensed fire that flickered and blazed with contained fury. A grain sized shard of a pitch black hole in the world, except when he rattled the vial it tinked of the glass like common metal.
Halfway through the third layer, he found what he was looking for.
As his fingers brushed against the lid of the next vial, he felt his sword yank on his bond—hungrily crying for whatever the bottle contained.
Kaius snatched it up out of its velvet housing, holding it up to the light to get a better look at what was held within.
“This is it.” he said confidently, staring at a small metallic bead that rolled around the base of the vial. It was small, barely half the size of a grain of rice, and a deep red colour—like clotted blood. Curiously, it seemed to be a liquid, though one of a density and cohesiveness he’d never seen. It didn’t streak, or spread, but as it rolled across the glass he watched the metal droplet deform and mold to the surface.
“That’s good.” Ro said, nearly sighing in relief. “We were worried there wouldn’t be anything. Deadacre is a bit of a backwater, and we have nowhere near a comprehensive stock—everything of real value is exchanged with other guildhalls in places where they’ll actually get used.”
Kaius nodded, before he set the vial to the side—ignoring his sword’s primitive dismay as he did so. “Just want to see if there’s anything else—I might be able to leap straight to awakening A Father’s Gift if there is.”
Rieker merely nodded, waving at him to go ahead. Thankfully, his team seemed happy to wait, both Porkchop and Ianmus more focused on fiddling with their latest artefacts than what he was doing.
Continuing his exploration of the materials, Kaius found nothing of note within the rest of the third section. Nor, much to his disappointment, did he find anything in the fourth.
There was only the top compartment of the box left—holding a bare seven vials, all of which were the most valuable of the lot. Even if he did find something here, Kaius doubted he would be able to get access to it any time soon.
After all, Rieker had said some of them were expensive to the extreme. Still, if there was, it was an option he could pursue if the opportunity arose, though he would wait until after he had updated his armour to start saving.
The topmost compartment held materials that were by far the strangest—and blazed like the sun to his mana sight. Ash that whirled in a vortex of its own creation. Grains of sand, floating in a ball in the vials centre.
A shard of bone, dripping with enough magical potency that it visibly distorted the very air around it.
Kaius nearly buckled as he picked up the vial—so strong was the desire of his blade. It hungered for the bone, needed it in a way that Kaius had no name for. A simple fact of its existence.
A bundle of unliving desire that the blade may have been, Kaius instinctively knew that this material was far better than anything else he could hope to secure otherwise. Regardless of its cost, he had to have it.
Kaius placed it on the table, his hand shaking.
“This one resonated too.” he said, looking up.
Only to be surprised to see a Rieker letting out a sympathetic wince.
“I was afraid you’d say that—it’s bloody expensive. Not the most economical thing to save for.” the guildmaster said.
“I can also tell that it’s invaluable for the development of my sword, it’d be worth the cost.”
Rieker nodded, scratching his chin in thought. “You’ll see why it’s so pricey when you analyze it. I can’t in good conscience let you funnel all of your rewards towards it—at least not until you’re in a new suit of armour.”
Kaius frowned—even if it was costly, he’d been hoping it would be an attainable goal with enough work.
“How long?” he asked.
“For the first material? Another mission would net you that, and some proper greaves to go over your boots. Another two missions would finish off the armour—you’ll be earning more with each one. By then…you should be well into Iron. If I were to guess at the growing difficulty of the missions you could take, I would say it would take…another fifteen or so before you accrued enough for that material. And that’s with us fudging the numbers on its value significantly.” Rieker replied, giving him an apologetic smile.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Kaius’s shoulder’s slumped as he realised the magnitude of work it would take to earn that final material. Fifteen missions was far too much, if he delayed acquiring other equipment for that long, he’d be vastly undergeared—especially considering the rate of their ongoing advancement.
He couldn’t be brushing up on the second tier and using uncommon equipment—it’d be suicide, especially considering the caliber of threats that they came up against.
“I see you understand the position we’re in.” Rieker said, before he leaned over and gave him an encouraging clap over the shoulder.
“Listen—there’s a chance we can make it happen. Upgrading your weapon is a worthy goal, but I’m bound by my oaths to the guild, I can’t just give it to you.” Rieker paused for a moment.
“However, extraordinary service to the guild would allow me to bend the rules. There’s nothing that would count at the moment, but with the phase shift it’s just a matter of time. If a settlement under Deadacre’s sphere of protection falls under assault, or there’s a beast wave like the old tales…well, if you’re strong enough, let’s just say it’s likely there will be plenty of opportunities to prove your value to the guild. Hells, if we didn’t have to hide your sharing of Honours and Aspects, that’d be enough right now—if you still need it by the time those are revealed, you can have it then.” the guildmaster continued, giving him an encouraging smile.
Kaius nodded, feeling somewhat mollified. Clearly, Rieker wasn’t being difficult because he wanted to, and if there were alternative ways to secure the final piece he needed for his sword, he would do so.
Besides, if worst came to worst, he would still be better off than he had been before. There was always the hope that his enhanced Guardian rewards would provide him a viable alternative when they next delved. Hells, if the final material he had picked from the guilds stores was truly that good, he could always stockpile valuables of his own to trade for it.




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