Rita and Nivalis didn't play for long before the sky began to brighten. They headed out to grab breakfast, and it was on the way that Rita noticed the changes in Soul Catcher after completing the dare.
Soul Catcher (Curio): "With our ten fingers intertwined, tell : truth or dare?"
[One Answer (1/1)]: You can ask one question related to wealth or money.
[A Transaction (1/1)]: Is there anything in this world that cannot be "borrowed" with money? My answer is: nothing. Choose a target. As long as they accept all the money you currently own, you can forcibly "rent" from them one of their possessions, a skill, or even an emotion (Note 1: You must describe the item, skill, or emotion you wish to rent; if the description is vague or incorrect, the most similar item/skill/emotion will be rented instead. Note 2: The rental duration is determined by the amount of money you pay, with one natural day of rent corresponding to the wealth value of the target).
There are many restrictions, but it can be useful depending on how you use it. If used well, this skill can have powerful effects.
98% of people, including those from different races, won't refuse gold coins. Even soone as cautious as Rita would never pass up a bag of gold coins if she couldn't detect anything wrong with it using her inspection skill.
What's even more terrifying is the ability to "buy" emotions. While emotions are different from objects (they co with a ti limit), the fact that they can be bought opens up infinite possibilities: loyalty, friendship, love, guilt, gratitude, etc. Rita imdiately thought of many ways to use it.
Given the usefulness of the three skills she had acquired so far, Rita now realized that this Soul Catcher truth-or-dare ga was definitely worth continuing. Though each skill was one-ti-use, each one was more useful than the last.
While waiting for the light to turn green, Rita, after asking Nivalis for her opinion, decided to bind Soul Catcher to her soul. Even though Nivalis said she didn't need it, Rita explained that she could always find her if she wanted to use it. This way, they would share ownership of it.
Just as she was about to activate the soul-binding stone, Rita rembered the advice Holy Cup had given her: "Don't burden your soul too much."
Rita asked Nivalis, "Does Holy Cup's talent have anything to do with the soul?"
Nivalis replied, "Yes, her Divine Gift is called Stargazer, which is related to the soul."
Rita counted her currently bound equipnt and items: a pocket watch, Wrathful Moon, Fire Spirit Ring, Ember, teorite, and Water God Is My Rival. She had unknowingly bound six items. If it weren't for the cat nest needing to be close to the cats, she would've had seven items, but since the binding stone couldn't be used, she had to settle for using tattoo ink.
In the end, Rita decided not to bind Soul Catcher just yet. She would wait until the issue with the Dragon Ancestor's reversed scales was over, and then look into the equipnt binding stones. As of now, the only item that could be considered a "burden on her soul" was this one.
After sitting down in the private room, Rita contacted Shadow.Q about her trip abroad. She didn't feel the need to report where she was going or what she was doing to the Special Affairs Bureau. She wasn't planning on following the rules, either. The more you followed the rules, the more others would make them for you.
With the current shortage of military forces, the Special Affairs Bureau, in theory, couldn't possibly monitor the coastlines and borders 24/7. However, based on the frequent bulletins on their website, Rita could tell that they likely had a thod of surveillance in place.
For example, when they fought Black Jade, they used a bronze artifact with deep connections to the U.S., which had a lot of antiquities. Rita was mainly interested in testing Eclipse Vanguard with this trip — seeing how much they were willing to "indulge" her.
Since their cooperation began, she had already given them quite a few concessions, and it was ti to push further and test their boundaries. If Eclipse Vanguard was still in the habit of managing her with strict rules, she'd have to adjust her own strategy and attitude.
[Rita]: "I need to go out of the country."
[Shadow.Q]: "???"
[Shadow.Q]: "Rita, this is getting too ambiguous. You don't need to explain everything. You're a lone wolf, no need to notify about everything!"
[Rita]: "Going abroad."
[Shadow.Q]: "What's going on?! Tell more details!"
[Shadow.Q]: "When, where, and when are you coming back?"
[Shadow.Q]: "Beep! Beep beep beep!"
[Rita]: "............"
Her head hurt. If it weren't for the ga interference, Shadow.Q would probably be working as Secretary of State by now.
[Rita]: "I actually prefer the way you acted earlier — a bit cold, a bit sarcastic, and a bit indifferent."
[Rita]: "I just need to let you know that I'm going out, so you don't misunderstand anything."
[Shadow.Q]: "Do you need any help?"
[Rita]: "I don't think so." Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire
Rita's tone remained calm throughout; she was just informing them, not requesting help. A few minutes later, Shadow.Q replied.
[Shadow.Q]: "Okay, I understand. Don't worry. What you're concerned about won't happen. Let us know if you need help."
Rita closed the ga screen, feeling neither particularly happy nor sad, just tired.
For a lone wolf who had so much to gain, the attention from various factions never ca with affection. The most likely outco was that she would beco a target, and they'd eventually divide her up. Until the situation was fully clear, being too independent and too high-profile was definitely not a good thing.
Would these organizations and forces really give up on her and her dragon? Of course not.
However, with Eclipse Vanguard's response, the many calculations that surrounded her were gradually suppressed. Those seemingly useless public service ssages and declarations in the chat channels were exactly what she needed at this stage.
It was sothing she had "purchased" with repeated concessions.
She had spent very little — probably less than 10,000 gold in total — but it bought her official protection, trust, and favor from Eclipse Vanguard.
It was similar to when she had used money to create a public persona when she was a celebrity. She was simply using the sa strategy here: buying favor with small but significant offers.
And just like in the past, the sooner the money was spent, the more she saved. She could always recoup it later.
In the future, she wouldn't be able to get the sa level of trust from Eclipse Vanguard for so little. By the ti they grew stronger, the cost of gaining the sa level of trust would be astronomical.
Looking at the valuable Legion Orders and Ti Is Always Squeezable, Rita knew they would quickly depreciate by next year or the year after. Her ti was also too precious to waste on mundane errands like running errands in small towns, trading with goblins for gold. That kind of low-efficiency work was better spent researching potions for sale.
The money she had lost wasn't much, but it had solved many of her calculations — both overt and covert.
As long as she remained a lone wolf, Eclipse Vanguard would treat her cautiously, not pushing her toward any other faction.
She wasn't just refusing to cooperate with others. She was refusing to cooperate with any faction, and no one dared to move against her. She lived more freely than anyone else, and that was the true essence of being a lone wolf.
For now, she couldn't achieve absolute freedom, but one day, she would.
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