Chapter 169: Negotiations
“Hey Anna. Trey, Jean,” I greet them politely.
Their faces all turn to me instantly, and I give a small smile. I must be getting better at hiding if none of them heard me come in.
[Obfuscation 7 > 8]
“Snow,” the girl breathes, putting down the knife. “You’re alive.”
I tilt my head. “Do I truly visit that little?” I ask, and the young woman blushes briefly before looking aside. Then, my eyes fall on Jean. “Hey,” I greet him.
The boy looks at me with wide eyes, his blonde hair having grown longer in the past few months. His blue eyes are still the same, though. Quiet, and too kind. For a moment, only his lips move, then he remembers to use his voice. “Hello, Snow,” he says.
“Hey Jean. Do you miss your grandmother?” I ask.
Instantly, the boy’s eyes widen even more. “Yes,” he breathes. Then, he flinches and pulls back. “Nooooo…” he tries, refusing to look at me. It’s not very convincing.
“Okay. You remember our plan about letting you heal people, yes?” I ask, and he nods. “Well, right now, we want to offer that service to get your grandma back, Jean.” As he processes, I sneakily inspect him.
[Bodymender, lv. 53]
Which confirms that there is some way to go up without reaching the right threshold. Because I can tell that Jean doesn’t have an authority, not yet. Despite the fact that he is, in so many ways, powerless, the boy just nods at me. “Okay,” he says bravely. “What do you need me to do?”
Giving him a nod of respect, I ruffle his hair. “Brave kid,” I say, and I see him light up. Then, I hold out my hand for him to take. His fingers are very small in mine. “We’ll go take you to a pretty dangerous meeting. So you’ll have to be careful, yeah?”
“I’ll be careful!” he agrees, immediately, eyes set with determination.
Humming slightly, I pull out a coat I made for him. It has a few basic enchantments, as well as an [Obfuscation] inscription he can activate with his own mana, letting him hide. With careful motions, I wrap it around him, and pull the hood over his face. Intuitively, he tests the cloak with his own mana-sense, and smiles when he notices what I’ve done.
Then, I take his hand again. “We’ll be back,” I tell Anna and Trey, who watched the exchange wordlessly. The other kid just nods, and I can tell his core is getting better, while Anna half-glares at me, seemingly unhappy about something. I can’t quite tell what.
“Be safe,” she tells me, not meeting my eyes.
“Sure,” I reply, shrugging faintly as I head outside.
Rain smacks into my face at the same time as cold air does. Jean draws his cloak a little tighter, feeding some mana into the warming enchantments I included, thanks to what I learned from Jess. When he’s ready, he squeezes my hand slightly, and I fight down the urge to pull away from the touch.
He needs it, and so I hold his hand as we walk through the city. About halfway through, I put on my mask of manifested shadow, and Yuki becomes Kuro.
- - -
PoV: Yollic Zurn - Raven
I can feel the tension in the air. The way that authorities taste each others’ boundaries. My muscles are coiled tight, and the tension pisses me off. It was supposed to be a simple ambush - lure them here, then take the healer off them.
Now? My spear is still against that damn human woman’s neck. The old woman, who the healer likes. It hums softly in my hands, and the weight of my feathery cloak is comfortable on my back. Despite that, I cannot relax.
They’re all here. Crybabies didn’t come alone. Bloodstain stands next to me, the woman seemingly so pleased at the situation. An easy smile plays on her bronze skin, and she licks her rust-red lips as she twirls a knife. An enchanted knife which she stole from one of my birdies.
Still, I can deal with that anger. What makes me nervous are the others.
Coldscar is a scithian. He’s tall and built with blue-white wings and matching hair, cut short. There’s a jagged scar across his face, and he wears an eyepatch to cover one eye. His face has that permanent scowl frozen on, and he crosses his tree-trunk arms.
Lucky, meanwhile, seems almost pleased. The zoof sits on the edge of a roof, her wiry feet dangling in the air while her big, beady eyes scan the area and her straw-gold fur blows in the wind. She seems to be permanently smiling, not worried in the slightest, regarding things with curiosity.
And then, of course, there is Reign. The most arrogant of all the gang-leaders, sitting on a piece of rubble, with that enormous axe planted into the ground. Her golden armor catches the light, even covered by the dark cloak she wears, contrasting her steel-grey skin and eyes. Her face is entirely neutral, resting on her hand, almost bored. As if this was beneath her.
We can’t take them all.
That’s what pisses me off most. We can’t take them all. Hush, the leader of crybabies, looks pale as a sheet. He’s hunched and vulnerable, and yet, no one makes a move on him. Because we’re now here for negotiations, and my ambush is falling pointless!
“When will you show us the boy?” Coldscar demands, his voice gruff. “I was told this was important.”
Falling idiot has a shite detection skill. That’s why he doesn’t know yet. I don’t deign him with a reply, and Hush just bids him to wait a little more. The boy is so humble in his words, even when his voice is raspy and his posture so secure. He truly feels safe. I want to rip his throat out.
But I don’t, because it only takes moments for Kuro to step from the shadows.
That dark mask catches my sight instantly, and I linger on it. From below, cold pools of darkness stare at me. Eyes that wander the whole meeting, lingering on each of the bosses for a moment. Me, Bloodstain, Reign, Lucky and Coldscar. One by one, I can feel us getting dismissed.
I fucking hate that arrogant look. Somehow, that fucker is worse than Reign. And despite that, I can’t look away, because holding Kuro’s hand is the kid. That same kid that the falling fairy stole from me. The same kid whose eyes linger on my spear now, pressed against his grandma’s neck.
That makes me give a happy hum. I press the blade a little closer to the fragile human’s skin, just to remind them all who has the most leverage here. “Made us wait,” I tell Kuro, displeasure clear in my tone, rallying the others against the fucker.
In response, I just see that mask tilt to its side faintly, as if confused by my statement. Hush speaks instead. “We’re all here now,” he says with a clap of his hands. “As you all know, we Crybabies have recently found a healer.” He gestures at the boy.
Instantly, attention is on him. So, they hadn’t mentioned the healer before. “That person Raven is threatening,” Hush continues, “is the healer’s grandma.” And instantly, sentiment shifts against me. I hold back a hum of displeasure.
“You stole the healer from me,” I reply.
“Now, now,” Gem, that tall, sword-wielding fucker in a big coat says. “It doesn’t really matter who had him first. He’s with us now. And you’re threatening his family. Just as we were about to offer his services to all of ring five, too…”
Fuck.
At the statement, Coldscar tenses, and stares at me. Reign shifts, her head still resting on her hand, but the other moves to grip her axe. Even Bloodstain gives me a sideways glance. I feel frustration twist in my stomach. “You could never stop it from spreading. The guards would be on us instantly.”
“The guards,” Hush interrupts with a drawl, “are after Aviary. We have him safely hidden away. And my colleague, Titania-” he gestures at the woman who just two days ago blew a few holes in me, “has a contract skill. We can ensure silence.”
More attention on me. I clench my fists, nails digging into flexible skin. “We smuggled him in. We deserve a reward,” I say.
Hush grins, as if I’d stepped into their trap. “Of course, Raven. Your contribution to this is to be valued. If you gift the boy his family back, I’m sure he’d be willing to heal anyone from Aviary, free of charge, for… say, three months, hmm?”
I feel my muscles tightening. It’s an offer that’s brutally unfair. It was supposed to be my healer. But now it’s public - and the stares on me aren’t receding. Coldscar nods in approval at the deal, because he knows it’s fair. Lucky giggles at my misery. Just Kuro stares with that same blank, infuriating expression.
Before I answer, Reign speaks. “Take the deal, Raven,” she says, her voice like steel. “Take it before we have to cut your head off. Ring five hasn’t had a healer in years. If you falling ruin this for us…” her eyes narrow. “I’ll be displeased.”
Kuro’s eyes bore into me. Clenching my muscles tightly, I fight my anger down. Owl’s hand lands on my arm with the softness of a feather. Slowly, ever so slowly, I press down my spear from the woman’s throat.
I’m fucking pissed. Everyone else, however, seems really rather pleased. And I don’t even come away empty handed. No one died. But despite everything, I have the guards on me. I can’t even rat them out, because I’d be executed. What a falling shitshow.
Giving a great, long sigh, I watch the old lady reunite with the kid healer. The way his eyes light up and they wrap each other up in a hug. But even through it all, my eyes meet those of Kuro. And I know, then and there, that we understand each other.
That this… isn’t over.
Chapter 170: Safety
PoV: Snow Okiyama - Ion
I let out a long sigh as I guide Jean back home through the rain. The storm tears at us, and Isabelle glares at me the entire way, even as Jean happily skips through the puddles. Overall, things went remarkably well, really.
Sure, Raven wants to kill me, but what else is new? They got a guard killed before by bringing them on a field and running like a coward. They then attacked an asset of Respitia herself. So, of course, the guards are onto them.
Shame, really. Raven really isn’t that bad. They are kind of a rude jerk, but they usually don’t get into my space. But I might have to kill them soon. Shame. Well, not like I’ll feel guilty about it.
As we walk, I crack my vessel once more, suffusing it with more of my mana. By now, I’ve almost entirely remade it from those cracks, turning it more malleable. Just a few more weeks, and I’ll get more of a handle on the skills.
[Vessel Construction 8 > 9]
[Class up! Vesselsmith 6 > 7]
I am bleeding from my eyes, but with the mask Jean can’t see it.
[Level Up! 82 > 83]
The class experience finally leads to another supremacy level, and I smile faintly. There’s just a little bit of danger coming my way, when I look at my stat sheet.
Lv. 83
Heart: 62 - Perpetual Pursuit
Power: 31
Vessel: 497 - Abiding Apathy
All my stats have gone up naturally a little bit. And vessel… vessel is just a few points off of a threshold. Judging by how things changed when I crossed 250, this might shatter my vessel entirely if I’m not prepared.
I’m excited.
Isabelle looks at me, then at Jean, furrowing her brows. “I really don’t think this… Kuro is a good influence for you, Jean.”
At that, the boy just laughs. He pulls on her arm, and whispers in her ear. Instantly, conflicted emotions play across her face. She stares at me, and she clearly still hates me, but she can acknowledge that I definitely did contribute to saving both of them. Now, serving Respitia wouldn’t be the worst fate, probably, but it wouldn’t be freedom, either. Not properly.
If Jean had gone along willingly, they wouldn’t have dragged him up here like that. But no, they had to bring him here with an escort. He was, in all but name, a prisoner. Isabelle knows that. It’s why she’s so angry at me, running a hand through her greying hair. But she doesn’t say anything, in the end. She just stares at me.
And I’m not opening conversation with that grouch of a woman. Instead, I explode my own vessel one or two more times. It even reopens the wounds Sylves dealt me - ones I’ve not healed because “Yuki” needs them to stay undercover. I am able to hide my limp through; Kuro helps by bracing my leg, a bit like an exoskeleton.
Not too long later, I return Jean to Anna’s place, this time with Isabelle in tow.
“Snow,” Anna breathes quietly. “You can’t keep bringing people to my house.”
“You mind because she’s a mean-spirited old lady who looks at you like you’ve killed her family?” I ask.
The feryran stares at me. Once again, her silver face flushes slightly and she clicks her tongue, looking aside. “Yes,” she says. “That’s exactly right.”
Isabelle stares at me as I nod. “I get it,” I say. “We’re working on it, the two will be in their own building soon. Healing station. Give us a day,” I ask.
“You know I can hear you?” Isabelle asks, annoyance clear on her old face.
I look at her, expressionless and entirely unrepentant. Inside, I even feel a touch of smugness about it. Outside, though, I just shrug. “Oops,” I say, innocently.
Anna stares at me with disbelief at my shamelessness, and I give her a small smile. She shakes her head, pinching the bridge of her nose in the way that Inu usually does. “You’re incorrigible.”
“I get that a lot,” I say. Then, I feel how the noise of the two kids - and by two kids, I mean mainly Trey - starts to rapidly be too much. “Well, I’ll be off, though.”
“Wait,” Anna says, reaching for my shoulder. I rapidly avoid her touch, but still turn to see her. She looks a little hurt at my dodge, to which I sigh, and slowly place her hand on my shoulder.
She blinks. I watch. The awkwardness hangs in the air between us for a moment, before I ask. “What is it?”
“Oh, uh, right,” she stutters, shaking her head and reaching into her cloak. Then, with a swift motion, she presses something into my hand. “Here. It’s the least I could do.”
I tilt my head at the object, then take a look. It’s a small booklet, and I flip it open, finding that it’s filled with drawings and sketches. Mana circuits. My eyes widen, faintly. I flip the page, and there’s more circuits, and words, scrawled in tiny script to save space. “Is that…?”
She nods.
Without hesitation, I smack the book closed. For a long, long moment, I stare at her. “Are you sure?” I ask, whisper-quiet.
Anna nods, again.
Then, slowly, I reach out, and ruffle her hair. “Thank you,” I say, simply. “That’s kind of you. I’ll be sure to burn it when I’m done.”
She gives an awkward smile and blushes. “C’mon, it’s not that special, they’re just-”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” I warn her quietly. “Don’t. Don’t demean yourself like that. They’re your skills. Treasure them. You don’t have to be proud, but you got them because of who you are, because of what you do. They’re yours. So, thank you for sharing. I will value them appropriately.”
For a few moments, the feryran in front of me blinks, then clicks her tongue and looks away. She can’t even meet my eyes. It’s kind of funny. How someone like her is so much more like an ordinary human than me.
Smiling bitterly, I turn around and wave. Just before I leave, I hear her whisper. “That was… almost sweet,” she says, and somehow sounds surprised.
I let her tone go without admonishing. After all, it is rare for me to be sweet, I guess.
Just as it’s rare for someone to gift me their skills’ blueprints. So, I’ll make sure to put them in the archive, and remember them properly. It’s the least I can do.
Once again, I’ve found a teacher in the most unlikely place. This world inside the Tower really is just a little wonderful.
Chapter 171: Monolith Sigil
“Thatch, please ask me for help,” I say quietly.
He looks at me. His skin has gone even paler, and sweat covers him almost constantly, now. I can see the way it hurts when he walks. How he winces, how he listlessly pokes at his food. And despite that, he slowly shakes his head. “I’ve got this,” he says.
When his emerald eyes meet mine like that, all I can do is sigh softly. He doesn’t cry, he doesn’t complain. None of us mention it too often, but we can all see it by now. Thatch is wasting away.
It’s been a week since we set up the healing hall, and we’ve been making a lot of money. People have been hearing, word has been quietly spreading. As just a rumor, but with more substantial evidence each week. And each person visiting is bound - if they tell a guard, they’ll hurt, and Sylves will know.
Until now, it’s only happened once, and we moved before the big raid happened. Twelve guards, all in their fancy armor, wielding spears and halberds, finding nothing but an empty house. They want to set up a meeting with Raven, but Aviary is ignoring them - because Raven values their life.
Tensions are higher than ever now, and despite that, I watch my friend waste away. Just because he got poisoned once. And yet, he turns me down so easily. He wants to do it all by himself, and all I can do is watch.
Watch as he lifts his brush and draws another line on the canvas.
I focus on myself again, on the marks inside me, the runes I am slowly carving on the inside of my flesh. Twisting and modifying them, using [Biological Restoration] to erase any mistakes and redo them. Working without my hand is odd and takes some getting used to, but I’m learning.
[Inscription 23 > 24]
[Biological Restoration 27 > 28]
Despite that, though, I’m getting tired of it. The hiding from unknown forces. It’s starting to get on my nerves. I want my token, and I want it soon. The mono is waiting.
- - -
“How are your injuries, Yuki?” Raven asks.
“Jean has been very helpful,” I reply, giving a nod that I hope is interpreted as grateful.
Raven leans back, crossing their arms. “Good, good,” they say. Somehow, their gaze lingers on my eyes for longer than usual. “So, what did you bring?”
I take out the things I made. Mostly cloaks, fancier now, with more than basic enchantments. They’re imbued with durability - something I recently figured out - handwoven by Sylves, with heating enchantments, too. They’re about the best cloaks money can buy, and I know some flobs who might kill to have one.
Raven traces the fabric approvingly, giving me a hum. “Good,” they say. “And?”
As always, they want weapons. Nodding faintly, I pull out some more standard issue things. Shields, swords, knives. Knives are the most popular, because knives are easy to hide. Again, Raven nods in approval, pleased at what they’re seeing.
“Anything special, Yuki?” they ask, tilting their head. “You owe me, after all. But you’ve been improving. Show me something fancy, so I can send you into the mono, c’mon,” they offer smugly. Always holding the bait over me.
But this time, I have something.
Gingerly, with slow motions, I take out an axe. It’s a large battleaxe, and I see Owl’s eyes widen to the side - because she knows it’s for her. After all, she seems like the nicest member of Aviary, I think. I sign as much as Raven inspects it.
“No visible runes,” the leader of the Aviary says, and I can feel everyone from within the den look over. Very slowly, Raven channels mana into the weapon, and then… golden flames.
They light up along its edge.
Raven stares. Every single person inside the den stares. Owl’s mouth drops open, even through her fuzzy fur. “No falling way,” Raven hums. I learnt a stunning amount from the spear that my favourite dead guard left me. “No falling way.”
Very slowly, I nod. “Mhm,” I say. “I watched some of the guard. One of them didn’t have hidden runes. So I remembered them,” I say, tapping the side of my head.
The way Raven looks at me changes. I was always an asset, but this… this made my value skyrocket. And my risk. They know I’m weak. I was “almost killed” by Sylves, after all. And there’s just one easy way to strengthen me. I watch as Raven realizes.
“You sneaky little bird,” they hum, sounding almost pleased. “Yes, fine. It’s worth it.”
With a quick motion, Raven snaps their long fingers, and one of the cages in the back opens up. A single raven flies forward, turning into a blur of feathers, before landing on the table in front of me, unwrapping a parcel held in its claws.
I look down, and it’s a token. A single sheet of golden metal, with white lines alloyed into it, shaping the five rings and the central spire of downpour on one side, and an image of the monolith on the other. The whole thing is shaped like a miniature shield, and I quickly curl my fingers around it.
Raven looks at me as I take it, and then nods. “Good. You need to find a group to climb with, though. You know monos will get mad if you take too few or too many, right?”
“Yeah, it was in the compendium,” I say with a nod. “Groups of three, seven, or eleven people.”
“Every second uneven number,” Raven nods with a small smile.
“How are the others gonna get tokens?” I ask.
At that, the gang boss shrugs helplessly. “That, my dear Yuki,” they hum, “is your problem, not mine.”
“Sure, Raven,” I say. “Sure.”
- - -
In the end, they give me a second sigil after negotiating. We need at least seven of them.
Six for our main group; Me, Inu, Thatch, Opal, Sylves and Richard. And then another for an open slot. Kuro counts as part of me.
Of course, it’s possible to climb monos with a different number of people, but it’s not, at all, recommended. The monos don’t like it - usually getting a lot harder and more cruel. More… unfair. And with how many Eyes would love to see me fail right now, I don’t think I can afford to give them that opening.
[Respitia the Pure dares you to try and conquer the monolith. She vows to destroy you as soon as you show vulnerability.]
Case in point. No, we need to fill the seventh slot, the question is just who to fill it with? Jean? Anna? Zinc, maybe? I hum in thought, as the day of the climb draws nearer, when Bofoy approaches me.
The zoof comes to my table quietly, trying not to interrupt my thoughts, and only perks up when I look at them. “Yes?” I ask.
“Yuki,” they whisper conspiratorially. “I have more intel for you.”
I tilt my head. Last time, they told me that Jean was being brought up. They must have a good ear for info if they already have something else for me. “What is it?” I ask.
“Respitia is sending down a descender to comb the fifth ring for the healer.”
Gosh dang it.
“When?” I ask Bofoy.
The zoof leans in helpfully, and explains what they know - but it’s limited. The only thing they know is that the descender is strong; over level 200. They’ll be here soon, within the week, and constantly surrounded by guards.
In and of itself, it should have been easy to hide. But, apparently, this is a person with some of the best sensory skills Respitia has in employment. Delfine, the oracle. And I start to feel just a little annoyed.
Apparently, having Jean escape was enough justification for Respitia to eventually convince someone to come down here and take a look. Which is a real fricken pain, because I know that she doesn’t care about Jean that much. She’s sending Delfine in order to find me. No one else.
Which puts me on a timer. Because Delfine will find me. So, no more healing, no more experimentation with Respitia-brand skills. None of that. From now on, I must move forward as a clean shadowmancer, and maintain an impeccable cover.
… Fuck that.
“Thanks, Bofoy,” I say calmly, glancing at the zoof. “That’s good to know. Very good.”
Despite my words, they linger for a little while, fidgeting. I look at them. Bofoy looks at me. I tilt my head. The zoof gives a weak expression. “Will you be climbing the Monolith soon?” they ask.
I tilt my head even more.
“You see, I am looking for a group. Going up with someone who has a healer would be far safer, and…”
Sighing softly, I wave my hand. “I’ll see.”
With that, they already brighten up, then nod and scamper off. Somehow, they have a good gauge of my patience, despite being a little annoying. Still, the info they gave was very helpful… twice over now. So I owe them. And I’m okay with taking them along.
Which means Jean is also climbing with us, since they’re hunting him. He’ll ask to bring Isabelle. Then, I’d suggest Anna… and she’d want to take Trey along.
Putting us at eleven people. Exactly right for an expedition. Now we needed to just get the sigils, and then get the fuck out of the city and into the mono.
- - -
“Alright,” Inu agrees at my suggestion. “They seem like an alright crew.”
“You sure you trust this Bofoy-feller?” Opal asks, raising an eyebrow.
Shrugging softly, I shake my head. “Nah,” I say simply. “But I owe them.”
“We do,” Thatch nods with a rasp. “How are we getting the rest of the tokens.”
At that, Sylves chimes in. “Scamming,” she says casually. “We ask every gang for a token to help Jean climb, in exchange for free healing for a while after. He’s proven himself this last week. That’ll hopefully net us five.”
“Which puts us at seven, with the ones Snow has,” Thatch hums. “Alright. I’ll fight Bloodstain for another token. She’ll give me one if I beat her.”
Opal grins brightly. “And the other three?” I look at them and I can see it in their eyes. They’re just like me.
“We’re stealing them,” I confirm.
“Fuck yes!” they cheer happily. “Who from?”
I smile slowly. “Aviary,” I reply easily. Because I now know where Raven keeps their sigils. Foolish of them to show me; they must think their ravens are safe spots, but I’ve already figured the enchantments on those locks a long while ago. Can they see through the birds? Probably.
Will that stop me?
Not at all.
It’s time for another heist.