Nodding rapidly Claptrap brought out another 100 of boots and breast plates and 200 of bracers The members of the Crashing Wave Style were extremely pleased with the bracers over 60% and were very interested in obtaining more after seeing the strange Rain Engraved bonus attribute that all of the armor had begun to possess Although it only provided a negligible amount of mana and a point in focus as that process continued to be refined and focused those rewards would only grow
It also seemed to cement in the members of the Crashing Wave Style that this engraver would soon be cracked down upon by the guilds and they began offering more money As such Claptrap had profit projections that left his head spinning Even though his attitude cooled somewhat when he had been approached by various other larger Styles who seemed to somehow have caught wind of what was going on with his armor
At the moment he wasn’t sure whether to start a bidding war or to remain faithful but Claptrap knew he had to act fast But when he produced the large amount of armors the Ghosthound frowned his brow furrowed
You He said hesitation in his voice Is this not most of your supply I’m not sure where I’ll be going but if Shal considers it training
The Ghosthound hesitated there is a chance I may not come back Perhaps you should keep some
Claptrap shook his head Without you I would just go back to being a normal merchant The Engraving is the profit bringer right now No one out here cares about quality and craftsmanship only cheap results And your Engraving
Then Claptrap stopped paling realizing he had just referred to the process that undoubtedly took quite a bit of time and effort as cheap results But the Ghosthound simply chuckled and beckoned for him to continue So slowly Claptrap said
Besides maybe someone like you wouldn’t understand but there are some things you can’t just get normally For some goals you need to risk everything I have one of those goals
The Ghosthound stilled looking at the table Then he slowly moved gathering up the container holding all of the armor pieces too true
Struck by a sudden impulse Claptrap blurted out My goal is a girl I want to become the greatest merchant in the Northern Region so I can ask for her hand in marriage She is quite like you Mr Ghosthound she is the cherished heir to a powerful Style
The Ghosthound chuckled Do I seem very cherished Well anyway good luck to you If both of you feel that way I’m sure you can convince the world
Claptrap shifted uncomfortably Well we haven’t really talked much
The Ghosthound’s clear laughter surprised him You haven’t really even talked much and you already plan on marriage
Well Claptrap said feeling decidedly judged I’ve sold her armor before
This caused the Ghosthound to bend over laughing and smacking his knee which did a lot to shatter Claptrap’s impression of the Ghosthound as a tense and intimidating figure But then as his laughter subsided he turned sideways and gave him a light glance Oh there was one more detail I wanted to discuss with you
Claptrap felt abruptly submerged in ice How could he let this happen again This man was a master of using innocuous statements and questions to get his way How could he have let his guard down for even a second
Trying to keep his expression easy mimicking the Ghosthound’s manner Claptrap simply said Oh
The Ghosthound nodded What can you tell me about the history of the Spear Phantom Style
Shal looked up as his disciple walked into the room Are you prepared
His disciple nodded Of all his disciple’s faults and there were many Shal was pleased that laziness and hesitation were not among them When there was a goal to accomplish his disciple was willing to roll up his sleeves and address the problem although he had no real competency at addressing the issue They quickly went out and removed both of their Tassles
Since they were departing it was right to take them away with them This would give Divvit some manner of peace for a time at the very least Then they began quickly gliding over the boats heading for the large net of ladders that would lead to the cliffs
Another positive quality of his disciple was that he did not tire easily So even though Shal set what he thought would be a rather brutal pace for his disciple he followed without complaint keeping up with him It seemed that his physical conditioning was acceptable If only the fool knew how to use that during a fight
They were given a glance by individuals watching the chains but neither of their faces were well known enough by the wider populace to earn recognition in a place like this Although Shal’s blue tinted skin did attract a little attention
He still regretted allowing his father to convince him dyeing his skin thus was a good idea
After they reached the plateau Shal upped the pace even further and they ran for almost 8 hours until they began to approach a mountain range When they had a good view of an ugly squat castle on the largest of the mountains he stopped and turned to his disciple
ahead lies a system village At a high enough boundary they allow for the purchase of buildings that allow for time dilution At first many villages thought this curious why provide this option when dungeons were free But soon as the Calamity came and its servants many found the time dilution building incredibly useful As a punishment
His disciple didn’t seem to understand so Shal shook his head and continued In this world stats grant you a greatly extended life And power is king those with power felt they were superior to those without So when someone with middling power misbehaves abusing it the rulers were torn Physical punishment and pain was easy to ignore with high stats And they could not spare these men from their armies when the Calamity came all help was needed But also they couldn’t let it slide without action
So imprisonment His disciple said
Shal nodded Yes these time dilution locations became prisons a cooling off period to punish I could not manage to get us in the backdoor so
Drawing his spear Shal began to walk forward heading towards a series of carts on the path below them heading up towards the mountain Let us commit a crime that earns us some jail time
Chapter 149
Dehark leader of the Asura Hyena Style sneered down at the approaching duo with his bloodthirsty troop milling about behind him It was common knowledge that the short road to Tomkat over which they stood was infested with bandits worse than a mangy cat with fleas As such many groups gathered here but the Asura Hyena Style was the most powerful group present and had first dibs on any fat caravans that came past
Still it always brought Dehark some amount of amusement when more bottom feeders arrived trying to make it in life as a bandit after they had failed as a spear user Unlike them he had grown up in this life and had a vicious streak that would frighten weaker hearted children to death But these two carried themselves confidently and the taller man had a blue tint to his skin which indicated a relationship with someone powerful so Dehark stayed silent for now
The new arrivals settled down and made a fire The blue skinned one made a curt gesture to the smaller of the two and the other bobbed his head and walked over to some nearby people Dehark couldn’t hear what they were talking about but assumed they like most waifs were searching for a way to join a larger group But the people they approached were not his so he looked away bored
Inevitably his eyes drifted over to the Willow Tree Spear Style Tassle a warm yellow color which was raised over the far side of the camp The Willow Tree Spear Style was the only group in the area that could rival his Asura Hyena Style and more interestingly all of its members were women Rumor had it that they used to be a well recognized Style in an area to the west but they had lost a confrontation with another Style resulting in their strength plummeting to the level where they could only support themselves by becoming bandits
Dehark knew they were women and knew that they were currently weak his impulse to prey upon them howled within him hungering for blood and soft flesh But he didn’t become the leader of the largest bandit outfit in the area by being hasty The Willow Tree Spear Style had truly been an affluent Style they undoubtedly still had some strength even if it was greatly depleted Better to wait for them to reveal themselves then strike