"Hey, kid, finally decided to sell your other films?"
"Hasn't anyone sold them to another Guardian yet? I suppose humans with [Eidetic mory] are rare," Priam smiled within the ntal space surrounding his soul. Communicating with Tier 6 in this place reduced the chances of espionage to zero.
"So have already sold ideas, scripts, and even dialogues," sighed the Guardian. "But I'm a cinephile; I need to see the director's creative hand and the actor's genius."
"You're a dwarf of culture. However, luxury cos at a price," Priam winked.
The Guardian burst into laughter. "Make an offer."
"One gold coin for my entire collection. A good deal," Priam smiled, sending a list of the movies he possessed.
"Almost three thousand movies... Not bad. But so had a limited budget. Are you trying to rip off?"
"A limited budget?"
"The dialogues are terrible, and the actors don't even have clothes."
"Oh... That's on purpose. It's a type of film very popular on Earth."
"Weird. Nevertheless, it's way too expensive. Art not imbued with Concepts rarely goes beyond one silver coin. Here's my counteroffer: a hundred and twenty bronze Coins."
Priam shot a stern look at the Guardian. "That's miserable for a significant part of human culture."
"It's not like you produced these works."
"People have poured their souls into these projects."
"I understand, but I won't go any higher. It's already a generous offer from ; half of that sum cos from my own pocket."
Priam tried to bargain for a few minutes, adding the rest of the works he had seen, read, or heard. In the end, he received a hundred and thirty-two bronze coins for his trouble. Most of the other works had already been sold. Except for video gas and movies, art was easily reproducible for a human with a lot of mory.
"If it consoles you, you earned twice as much as the hoplite for almost a hundred tis fewer works."
That didn't surprise Priam. Hoplite culture was mainly limited to action movies. Keanu Reeves might have hoplite blood...
"Lets start," declared Priam, trying to forget that he had just sold human culture. "Is it possible for to present theories to you? Only stop if they're incorrect."
"It aint what you dont know that gets you into trouble. Its what you know for sure that just aint so," Mark Twain had said. If Priam managed to escape Sumstreh, it would be precisely because of that. He wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen to him.
The dwarf burst into laughter. "Of course not. You would just have to adjust your theories until I validate them. If you want answers, you'll have to pay."
Priam didn't even flinch; he expected this response.
"Too bad. First question. Can you hear a lot of things with your senses? If soone tried to buy information about , how much would it cost?"
Tier 6 had to suspect that Priam was no longer mind-controlled. If Sumstreh found out, it would be terrible.
"That one's free. I can't betray the secrets I've discovered myself as long as you welco into your territory."
"To encourage people not to get rid of you," Priam understood.
"If every Guardian were a spy ready to sell the secrets they detected, no Noble would want us on their territory," the dwarf confird. "Other Guardians are also unable to speak... unless they discover your secrets in another way. Of course, I can still sell your secrets if one of your friends sells them to ."
"Seems fair. Next, how to unlock the Auctions in the Sun Shop?"
"Twelve iron coins. To unlock the Auctions, you need infrastructure capable of hosting them, a ans of transporting goods, and a Tier 2 specialized rchant. For example, a Forum, our Secret Channel, and a Tier 2 specialized rchant."
Priam's heart rate accelerated.
"I suppose you can take care of the Secret Channel... for a fee?"
"We take a ten percent commission." The Guardian and Priam exchanged a smile.
All that was left was to select a rchant in the Sun Shop. For fifteen thousand points, the base would be connected to the outside world. Access to Auctions was a boon for exchanging information and resources without the risk of encountering hostile locals.
"When will Necromoon end?" Priam asked.
"Seven bronze coins. When Concepts push it back."
Seven bronze coins for that?
The dwarf noticed Priam's annoyed look and grimaced. "Everything related to Tier 9s is surrounded by mystery. If you're worried about the Sun Shop, the last Necro event lasted fifty thousand years. These floating islands should leave the event zone before then, but you have ti to enjoy the Shop."
Priam just stared at the dwarf, stunned. How was he supposed to react to such enormous numbers? The System woke him up.
Announcent to Wandering Islands:
Arnold NetSky shot down a Necro Envoy (Tier 3) at Tier 0.
Congratulations on this Mythic feat!
...
For several seconds, Priam reread the notification, shocked. He found it hard to accept. Even with luck and an excellent matchup, he knew he had no chance against a Tier 3.
"How?" Priam asked.
"One hundred bronze Coins. Your rival paid to protect his information."
"Forget it." It had no interest anyway. Var Elegis had won because he was stronger than Priam.
Priam reread the announcent one last ti before smiling. We both have co a long way... Probing his hearts, he was surprised to find himself excited. If Arnold could defeat a Tier 3, then anything was possible. His rival was ahead for now, but Priam intended to catch up. He would surpass him.
Sumstreh...
To save Sphinx, Priam had to survive and progress. He turned to the Guardian, his misty eyes sparkling in the crimson night.
"Except for improving my race, how do I succeed in my next Tribulations?"
The dwarf, with a thin smile on his lips, replied.
"Eight bronze coins. You have no way to avoid your Tribulations. However, you can take advantage of the war between the Concepts and the Necromoon: Sun points and the Sun Shop are not taken into account in the calculation of Tribulations. For example, you could buy a drop of draconic blood to enhance your bloodline a second after the start of your Tribulations."
"I haven't seen that kind of item... Oh."
The Guardian had just given him a clue. So items might be revealed only under certain conditions. Priam would have liked to test his theory by comparing his list with Jasmine's, but the young woman was unreachable.
"Thanks for the info."
"I don't know what you're talking about," the dwarf replied.
"Would I survive if I triggered my six Tribulations right now?" Priam forced himself to remain calm, but failed. The answer to this question was too important.
The dwarf sighed. "One iron coin. Currently and with luck, you could resist a triple Tribulation. It's already exceptional. But I have good news for you."
"... How much does it cost?"
"That's the best part: it's free!" Sothing in the Guardian's smile made Priam suspicious. Nothing was free, especially not information. For a mont, Priam almost turned a blind eye to the gift before succumbing to curiosity.
"How is that free?" he sighed.
"It's a gift from a third party. I know you've been trying to improve your race and that you have a constitution problem. To solve it, you'd need to use a drug or a ritual to temporarily lower your attributes. You can find this kind of product at the Auctions for about two hundred and fifty thousand points."
The Guardian had just confird to Priam that Auctions allowed the purchase of items not present in the Sun Shop. Pleased to have obtained this information without paying, he replied.
"But fortunately, you have another miraculous solution," Priam predicted with all the irony he could muster.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Bingo! You just have to ask a biomancy expert to help you during the race upgrade."
"Where is this mage?"
"That information will cost you money. All I can tell you is that his na is Osiris. He's Seth's brother."
Priam narrowed his eyes.
"And who wants to see face Seth? How do they know I need this?"
"They only bought information that could be useful to you while being unfavorable to Seth. It's signed: Sincerely yours, Es. Trying to climb the social ladder?" the dwarf winked.
"I would rather bring down a god."
Around Priam, the forest was devastated but alive. Plants bent under the influence of the Necromoon. The tree trunks bowed, as if refusing to reach for the bloody celestial body. The brightness was low, barely revealing the silent crowd of corrupted haunting the undergrowth.
Log-a-rhythm will have work to do... Everywhere, flora fought against the curse. Vegetation seed less inclined to transform than animals. Perhaps its harder to instill a destructive instinct in a plant. Corrupted trees were as rare as living animals.
The eerie spectacle and lugubrious atmosphere sent shivers down Priam's spine. As he was running, a branch snapped under his foot. Two corrupted wolves lifted their heads, observing the top of the tree, a summit lost in thick fog.
A mont later, the two revenants were engulfed by the mist.
Priam moved swiftly, dragging behind him a colossal net of conquering mist. Leaping from branch to branch, he didn't hesitate to use his new ability to harvest all the corrupted within his reach.
Leaving a trail of permanent death behind him, Priam slowed upon seeing a light. He stopped to summon the undetectable mist he had used to kill the skulcs. rging with it, he continued his journey as a white ghost.
The devastated forest suddenly gave way to a magical environnt. Magnificent trees housed a bioluminescent ecosystem. Spectral white mushrooms trembled with energy. The ambient aether showed no traces of the Necromoon's influence.
A hundred ters away, a dilapidated structure lay amidst colossal trees with deep roots. Large blocks of stone, their mortar yielding, covered the ground. Small columns surviving ti and bas-reliefs covered in fractals gave Priam pause. Any civilization that survived in Elysium couldn't be simple.
I bet anything these ruins are trapped
Prudent, Priam headed towards the main entrance before stopping. Es was angry with Seth. She must have manipulated the probabilities against him.
Priam observed the sky, the earth, the stones, and the insects. Nothing seed out of the ordinary. A bee the size of his fist buzzed around a flower, and a two-headed lizard ran along a wall to hide behind so vines.
His Fire Concept detected a fire. The next second, it disappeared. There. Priam, in mist form, approached the vines. It took him only a second to find a way through.
A tunnel lay behind, leading to a partially destroyed room. In the center, a campfire burned, illuminating a little boy who stared fixedly at so kind of red vine in his hand. When the object contracted, Priam understood he was looking at a muscle.
Osiris was alone.
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