10
991 Words
Right? They’ve already stood out from the general population, and those people have something pushing them forward to delve day after day for thousands of years.”
Leon looked absolutely proud of Matt as he said, “Exactly right. And most of us have oddities that put a red-hot poker under our butts, forcing us forward. That usually means we have odd personalities. As you grow old, Matt, you’ll become more of yourself. You should do things that will help you become what you believe you want to be. Mara and I want to be easygoing and casual. We enjoy playing around and goofing off. We’re the type to work for days to avoid half an hour of work.
“As we get stronger and our abilities grow, we’ve embraced our unique individuality. Everyone else might be different, but it’s a trend you’ll notice more and more as you advance. People get a little weird if they have what it takes to reach our level. It’s inevitable and more a question of finding how it manifests than if it manifests.”
Mara came in with a plate of steaming cookies and two large glasses of milk. Using the opportunity to lighten the mood, Matt asked, “Is that why you stole the planet that Liz and I had s*x on?”
Leon and Mara both had exaggerated looks of shock on their faces, and the phoenix put her hand to her throat as she said, “Oh, no! Not at all!”
Leon shook his head as his wife added, “We didn’t steal the planet because you guys had s*x. No, no, no, not at all…”
She slapped Leon’s hand that had, at some point, stuffed his face full of cookies until he looked like a chipmunk.
“We took the planet because you two committed yourselves to each other. s*x is just s*x. Who cares about that. No, we wanted to make a shrine because of your commitment. That’s beautiful, and something to be preserved.”
“Also, we absolutely didn’t steal it. We paid, fair and square.”
Matt had no idea how to respond to that, so he just took a page out of Leon’s book and shoved an entire cookie into his mouth, smiling around his bulging cheeks.
It was almost worse to have such a sentimental reason to have taken the planet, but he didn’t feel comfortable telling them off like Liz would have.
Aster followed her nose into the library and hopped up into his lap, saving him from having to answer. When he could speak, he moved the topic back to safer waters and asked Leon about what his favorite book in the library was.
He had had enough of heavy conversations for one day.
4
After a few days of downtime with her parents, Liz was itching to get out of the house. While Matt wasn’t nearly as bothered by the duo’s antics as Liz, he was still happy to look around the area and mingle.
The Tier 10 tournament was an Empire-wide affair, and even with months left before the official start, people were swarming to the capital planet in droves.
In the spatially expanded blocks set aside for the Pathers, a number of facilities had been set up beforehand, catering to the needs of the contestants.
Both the combat Pathers and their crafter counterparts were present, and both plied their wares in the open market. At a quick glance, it was easy to tell which group was which just from the goods they were selling.
Combat Pathers were mostly peddling raw materials, be they animal parts or pure metals pulled from the rifts’ grounds. Meanwhile, the crafting Pathers’ stalls were packed with finished products.
Prices were ridiculously high, and Matt expected them to only get higher until the final months of the tournament, when only the ‘big three’ events were still active.
The big three had strict rules concerning what could and could not be used during the trials, especially when it came to consumable items that weren’t self-made. However, the various other competitions had far looser restrictions on single use items.
With such amazing prizes at stake, many competitors would eagerly shell out money for any edge they could get. If a powerful consumable could push you forward even a single extra round, then it more than paid for itself. That resulted in an inflated market for products like talismans and potions. It was something that both Quill and Torch intended to exploit by hawking some of their wares to rake in some extra money. After all, their poor alter egos didn’t enjoy the same excess of funds that Matt and Liz did, and it was a normal thing for Pathers to do for when they stepped off.
As the three of them meandered through the stalls, Matt took note of the few enchanters’ booths. While they typically focused on enchanting completed weapons and armor, each one also advertised a small selection of talismans.
Most were standard shielding talismans, though the exact means used to achieve the effect varied slightly. Among them, the most common was the standard, neutral mana barrier. It was a good, versatile defense, but even that had its weaknesses, as Matt well knew. None of them seemed particularly impressive until he came upon yet another stall with the same, standard talisman. Only, this one was somehow recreated with all the basic elements instead of just neutral mana. Matt immediately stopped and started leafing through the papers.
A more thorough inspection revealed that the enchanter had used the same base enchantment he used for the standard mana shield. But, this time, he managed to incorporate the basic elements into the effect without changing the base enchantment. Matt hadn’t even known that was possible.
The stall’s owner picked up on his interest and walked over. “Howdy there. You looking for a defensive talisman?”
- Writer
