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"Lock, this came for you through a messenger today." Kyrian passed over a wax sealed envelope, puasing from lifting a cup of coffee to his lips.

Speaking of, it had been a long, long time since I drank coffee. They called it something else here in MSS though, pronouncing it as Kopi. But it was definitely coffee. Bitter black nectar that sent little jolts of energy spiking through my body and brought awareness to the sleep addled mind of a mentally tired adventurer.

Yesterday's auction ended without much incident.

After speaking with Pol, I ended up having this fruitless discussion with the Auction House management. A fat dwarf and a slim human man, whose eyes were alight at the possibility of a Dwarf with smithing capabilities that could produce Doror's dagger and greaves. I'll tell you this, you haven't really learned how to negotiate or turn aside an offer until you have to shoot down a [Gold Lust] possessed dwarf's advances. In the end, I ended up clamming up until they let me return to the room with my party.

When I returned, Doror's dagger and greaves had already sold. Just short of paying for all our expenses, but we were able to scrounge what coins we had left to leave without debt. The rest, we spent on potions and other supplies we'd need on Claw's Nest. Afterwards, we returned to the manor, exhausted.

I was pretty upset I missed Doror's part of the auction. But that's the problem with being involved in shady dealings like the one I was wrapped up in. The price of being a party leader, so to speak. Sometimes, you have to miss out on the fun stuff to go talk to shady Player-Mages who starts the conversation with a lie and only tells you half-truths when you call him out on it.

The damned things I have to do.

Now, it was breakfast time. But it was only Kyrian and I. The other three left to check out the abilities of their new Cores in the underground training grounds.

I took the envelope from him, using one of the food knives near me to cut it open. Kyirna's lip curved in faint disapproval but the handsome mage didn't protest. He chose to take another sip of Coffee.

"How're you liking the kopi?"

"I've had it during my apprenticeship in the Mage Towers before," Kyrian took another sip, then brought his nose closer to the cup, closing his eyes and enjoying the scent. He was handsome enough to have been in a coffee commercial back on earth. "But never this rich."

"I thought nobles would have access to kopi." The moment the words left my mouth, I knew that I made a mistake.

Kyrian grew up as a bastard, not an official noble.

I knew that my words hurt Kyrian, but he tried not to show it. A good natured grin spread across his face, but the truth was in his eyes.

"...I don't believe people in my house were a big fan." He said.

I left it at that.

And to think, I had to talk to Zenom Saintred and Jared Akka Xalud today with these talking skills. I was doomed.

Of course, now that the Core-acquisition was out of the way; it was time for me to work on the social aspects of MSS. If this was a game-quest, it was obvious who the most important NPCs were. Zenom Saintred and Jared Akka Xalud.

MSS worked off an approval meter for the NPCs. Depending on how much approval they had for you, chances were that you could get them to do you favors.

I assume that the reality patch of MSS isn't too different.

I've identified my enemies on the island.

The question was: whom among the neutral party could I bring over to my side?

"Lock, you've been staring at that paper for awhile. What is it?"

"Cores." Being brought out of thoughts about the future I could not control yet, I turned my attention back to the paper at hand. It was the list of Cores available on the auctions all around us. Some did stick out for sure. "It's a list of Cores available for sale in the auctions in the Free Trader's League island that's all happening tonight."

I saw Kyrian stand up straighter, his eyes peering over at the note. It wasn't a big secret, so I tilted the paper for the mage.

"For you?" Kyrian asked.

"Maybe. Skaris' Core isn't out of the question. Ideally, I'd like a core for Skaris or Stole…" I shrugged, "Stole needs to go through another Soul Sanctification to make room for a Core. So it's either me or Skaris for now."

"This is… people would pay a small fortune for this." Kyrian whispered and I heard the unspoken question.

"It was a small price to pay." I muttered, not quite lying but not really telling the truth about my dealings with Pol either: the assassination of Delas and his friends.

With no idea about the extent of the [Player's Guild]'s information gathering capabilities, I needed to play some cards close to the chest.

But at some point, I needed to talk to them about Coum and Tanya. About their abilities.

"Mmm." I took a breath to calm down, feeling the shadows of nervousness creep around my thoughts.

Just thinking about another potential battle with [Players]...

"Lock?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"It's nothing." I shook my head, "Nothing you need to worry about. I'll tell you all when the time comes."

Kyrian nodded, returning to going over the list of Cores with me. He soon lost interest, returning to his cup of coffee.

We sat in silence like that. Me going over the list and Kyrian enjoying his coffee.

A couple of Cores stood out to me, but I managed to narrow it down to one.

One for me or one for Skaris.

The trouble was, that they were in different parts of the auctions.

'What do we have and what do we need. Who are our enemies and what are their weak points?'

Who to invest in?

Myself or Skaris?

…

I reached my answer pretty quickly.

"Ok, I think my mind's made up." I passed the letter to Kyrian. "I can't go to the auction with you guys tonight, but I want you to go to this one," I pointed at the Core I pointed out, "and try to get this one."

Kyrian raised an eyebrow, carefully taking the sheet I passed over to him. He made a mental note of what I wanted him to do and carefully tucked it inside his pocket. "You won't be coming with us?"

"Might not be able to."

"Hmm. We don't have any gold left."

"We will." I insisted, "I'll get us the funds."

"Are you planning to borrow it? I'm sure you know this, but the other parties are definitely doing the same things we are. Buying equipment, supplies, preparing for the last stretch of our journey." Kyirna said, worried.

I knew where Kyrian was going with this. He thought I was going to ask someone for money and that someone was in the expedition.

"No, not them." I shook my head, getting up from the breakfast table, "But I'll figure it out. I'll try to get you guys the gold."

His eyes focused on me and I saw understanding pass between them. "Lock…" There was a small note of warning in his voice.

"I'm going to be late. Tell the others not to wait for me."

I left the dining room.

I walked through the halls of the Akka Xalud manor, retracing my steps. The manor was huge, looking like a freakish frankenstein-ish building made out of wood, stone and bits of forestry mixed in. A lot of people don't get the scope of a manor. Think of a mansion and how big it is. Most people that are not part of the upper upper class of society never have chance to even look at a mansion (why go around looking for it), let alone set foot in it. Even back on earth, you'd have to be not just upper class, but wealthy to afford living in a mansion.

Now, imagine a mansion but bigger. A manor isn't just a building, it's a term that's relegated for estates. A mansion is the status symbol for saying 'I made it'. A manor is the symbol for saying 'I come from old money.' There's land, there's housekeepers, entire plots of land dedicated to gardens. People who live in mansions can afford to keep horses in stables.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Now, I might not be too clear on the whole 'wealth' concept of MSS.

But walking through Jared Akka Xalud's spare manor reserved for guests was enough to humble me. Here I was, struggling to get a couple of mil to afford Cores and he had dozens of these manors.

Gold isn't the de-facto measure of physical strength.

But it can definitely get you to the top pretty quickly. Especially when Cores and Gear are available by the abundance in places like this.

Thinking about that made me wonder what Jared Akka Xalud was doing here. Sure, I heard from some people that Jared Akka Xalud was interest in what was happening here in the Free Trader's League –the political side of it anyways. But was that really it?

Because all that gold is useless if you can't trade it in for something to better you.

You have to remember. This is MSS.

What's the point of buying a manor as a Noble, if an adventurer who grew up as an orphan can come and take it all through force?

Most nobles in MSS lived as adventurers are one-point in their lives. Or they have branches of families dedicated entirely to training themselves –to defend the house if necessary. Aurora and Kyrian told me that a lot of lesser houses and commoners actually try to get hired as Knights. Not only do you get [Aura], but the richer your boss, the better the Cores you might receive.

So there was only one reasonable answer.

Jared Akka Xalud was here to get his men stronger.

But to what end?

It was the gamer in me, getting interested in a plotline when I wasn't even done with my current one.

'Claw's Nest first. Figure out what to do with the [Autarch's Key] and then I can figure out what to do next.'

Zimmskar. Ragnia Mountain. Turina.

The Six Heroes.

So many places to visit and so many people to talk to.

While my thoughts ran off on a rapid tangent, I climbed the stairs and found the door I was looking for. It was all the way on the other side of the manor, and the decor had changed drastically. Scarley drapery hung from the walls with religious symbols of yellow etched into them. A brilliant flash of light, a burning flame and a stalwart shield.

Of course, Jared Akka Xalud being from Turina meant he had a religion: The Church of Light, Flame andShield.

And I was sure that the former war prince of Turina had the good sense to place the appropriate people here.

I knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Zenom Saintred sat behind a large mahogany desk, in a room larger than my own. This wasn't his sleeping quarters, not officially. But the rumpled up blankets and mussed pillows on the couch showed long days and longer night spent by a Holy Knight in this room. His desk was stacked with books and papers.

The Holy Knight Zenom Saintred…

He didn't look good.

I frequently say Kyrian is good looking but Zenom Saintred is too. It comes from being part of the Turinan nobility. But whereas Kyrian has this boyband, teenage-girl and danerous-tragic-vampire kind of good looks going on, Zenom is the opposite. I'm used to seeing with his a chiseled chin and bright eyes, that seemed to be looking straight through you.

Large dark circles hung low from his eyes and the usually neat blonde hair hung down to his shoulders. Traces of a beard were beginning to form at his chin, making him older. Tired, somehow. His baby-blue eyes were muddled with lack of sleep and focus.

"Slaveborn." He said stiffly. "I'm sorry, to show you such a state."

I took a seat across from the desk, eyes glued to his face. "I can tell you've been busy."

He idly played with a corner of the paper he was in the middle of drafting. I wasn't good enough at MSS to read it upside down, but I saw him hide the contents with his arm. More out of reflex than actual wariness.

"Yes, we've finally managed to procure a ship with significant help from War Prince Jared and the local Church. I've been trying to replace some of our healer ranks." Zenom rubbed at one eye, the other still holding onto the quill, "Many of the clerics have decided to return to Miltus."

"Mmhmm."

I didn't say much else.

He laid the quill down and looked at me.

The silence hung between us like a guillotine.

Words that I said to him on the deck of the ship returned to me. I looked into his blue eyes and I knew he was replaying them too. That moment, when I called him out. Called him a church dog. That wagged its tail for Turina.

Ironic, isn't it? The fact that I insulted a Holy Knight of the Church of Light, Flame and Shield, the defacto organization preaching human supremacy, for not defending non-human races? Hypocritical almost, how I pushed my own standards onto him. And held him to those, growing angry at him for not doing what I expected someone of honor to do –when his definition and my definition of honor was so different.

So, why had Cecilia said those words to me only two nights ago?

You see, her words from that night kept circling my mind.

Telling me of possibilities.

That perhaps my party didn't have to be alone in this fight.

'Hoooo, ok. Let's do this.'

But Zenom beat me to it.

"Mr. Lock, may I tell you a story?" When Zenom spoke, he spoke as if his mouth were heavy –that it took a lot of effort to move his lips and form the words that he wanted. Slow and careful, he deliberated before saying what he wanted next, "That is, if you are not too busy."

Investing.

Where to invest.

That was the question.

What was it that I said about comrades long ago?

I wanted people I could trust.

In the end, I hold Zenom to a standard that's not typical of a Turinan.

Why was that?

What did I want from him?

"...Ok. Tell me."

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