“Wait. So your Skill just makes a glowing… residue?”

“Eh,” Torra said, shrugging. “I know. They aren’t all useful. The important thing is I know how to handle myself with a blade. I might not get all fancy like Victoria, but I can wield a great sword.” He tapped the well-worn handle sticking out over his shoulder.

I looked to Jay next. He hadn’t spoken much. When he saw everyone looking at him expectantly, he ran his hand through his hair. “I’m the scout,” he said. “And I’m a decent shot with a bow.”

“And your Skill?” I prompted.

“I can turn invisible,” he said.

“What? No way! That’s got to be a top tier Skill!” Grant grimaced at my excitement, Torra suddenly pretended to be interested in the ceiling, and Victoria audibly scoffed. I looked at them. “What?” I asked Grant. “Is it not that good?”

Jay grunted. “It’s fine,” he said.

“Maybe at night,” Grant said.

Jay shook his head. “I turn into water,” he said. “In the right conditions I’m almost impossible to spot.”

“And in the wrong ones he’s actually easier to spot,” Victoria interjected. “His Skill is bad,” she said without remorse. “After how our last contract went, he needs to admit that sometimes it would be better to just use regular camouflage.”

Jay scowled at Victoria, jaw clenching. I thought for a second he might blow up at her, but instead he just got up and headed for the front door. He didn’t say a word.

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Alloha accused. “You know how sensitive he gets.”

“If he gets us spotted again it’s not going to matter how sensitive he is,” Victoria countered. “He should stop trying to use that Skill when the sun’s out. It only makes him more noticeable.”

“But turning into water sounds really useful,” I said.

“It’s not. Not really,” Grant said. “He just looks like he’s made of water. It’s neat to look at, but like Victoria said. It’s not very good when you don’t want to be seen. Water sparkles.”

“So while we wait for Jay to cool off, is there anything else we should know about you, Vince?” Grant asked. “Do you have any experience fighting monsters?”

“Not really,” I replied. “I had a run in with some harpies and a pack of pursuer beasts, but the closest thing to fighting monsters I’ve really experienced is trying to stop my cat from scratching me when I give her belly rubs.”

“I’m sorry,” Grant said, shaking his head. “Did you say you had a pet pursuer beast?”

“What? No. A cat.”

“So… a small pursuer beast?”

I wasn’t sure where he was getting pursuer beast from. “A cat is a small, furry predator with claws, a tail, whiskers and… okay. I can see the resemblance. But a cat is…” I looked around for a reference. I pointed to the lizard sunning itself on the front desk. “No bigger than Bitsy. And they don’t have long antennae-like ears. Do you guys really not have cats?”

“We got pursuer beasts,” Torra said. “Never heard of a mini version. You keep a predator as a pet? And it attacks you?”

“Only sometimes. They’re really nice if you stay away from their bellies.”

“If you say so,” Grant said. He stood up. “You should grab whatever supplies or money you think you’ll need for the contract before we go. I’ll track down Jay and have a talk with him.”

“What exactly is the contract?” I asked. “You never said.”

“We have to wipe out a nest of primeval spiders,” Grant said. “It’s a government contract, so the pay isn’t great, but venom sacks and silk are worth quite a bit and we get to keep everything we harvest on our own. It’s really rare for a spider nest to crop up so far away from the White Forest. Kalador puts up bounties when new nests are discovered, even if they’re in the middle of nowhere. This is a rare opportunity.”

“Did you say primeval spider?” I asked. “How is that different from a normal spider?”

“Normal spider?” Grant asked. “What do you mean?”

I held out my hand, with thumb and forefinger nearly touching. “You know, the normal kind. Spiders this big.”

“The babies?” Grant said.

“No,” Alloha said. “I think the babies are bigger than that.”

“Do you guys not have normal spiders?”

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘normal’ spiders. There’s only one kind of spider. They start small, and get bigger the older they get.”

“How big are we talking?” I asked.

“Depends how old they are,” Grant said.

“Okay, what’s the maximum size then?”

“I just told you. It depends on how old they are. There’s no maximum. Unless you count Sheesha.”

“Are you saying spiders die of old age where you come from?” Alloha asked.

“Doesn’t everything?”

“Not even close,” Grant said.

That got me thinking… How much MP would I absorb if I tried to suck the life out of one of these immortal creatures?

“There is one thing I want to do before we leave,” I said.

“Just be back here in five minutes,” Grant said.

I approached Dealla’s counter, conjuring up three more potatoes as I walked.

MP: 365 >>> MP: 353

“Hey,” I said. She greeted me with a smile. “You guys have a kitchen, right?”

“We do,” Dealla confirmed.

“Would you be interested in buying some potatoes?”

“Conjured potatoes?” Dealla asked. I nodded. “You’re not the first adventurer to want to make some extra money with that Skill. Just go to the kitchen. They’ll buy everything you have. Standard price is three potatoes for a penny.” I thanked Dealla for her help and walked back to the kitchen.

A gruff rissian with hairy arms scowled at me. “What you doing back here?” he demanded. “Kitchen staff only. Talk to the barmaid if you wanna order.”

“I’m not here to order,” I said. “I had some extra potatoes to sell.”

“How many?” the gruff rissian asked.

“Not sure,” I said. “I was going to make them to order.”

“Show me potato or stop wasting time. I have work to do.”

“Fine,” I said. I dumped the potatoes from my bag onto a table next to him. All told there were sixteen.

“So many?” the cook asked. The wrinkles in his face softened a bit.

“Oh, I’m just getting started,” I said. I reach around my back and placed one hand over the warm Brand for Conjure Potato, then I reached with my other hand until I felt the Condense Water Brand. I stood there, awkwardly hugging myself. The cook gave me an odd look. “Just wait,” I said. I focused on the table between us as I started conjuring.

Three potatoes dropped out of the air.

MP: 353 >>> MP: 341

Condense Water.

MP: 341 >>> MP: 339

My hands got nice and cool. I could feel the hot Brands immediately cool off. There wasn't even any moisture. Apparently, sticking my hands on a hot surface prevented the Condense Water Brand from actually making water, but it still got cold. That was actually more convenient. The potato Brand quickly cooled off and I triggered it a few more times.

MP: 339 >>> MP: 327

Three more potatoes. Then more cooling with Condense Water.

MP: 327 >>> MP: 325

I kept going. I had mana to burn and if I didn’t spend it, I was just going to watch it slowly drain away. It was nice to confirm that the combo I’d come up with was actually working. I couldn’t believe I had briefly considered investing in a heat resistance Brand when this really cheap Brand worked even better. Sure, it wouldn’t be convenient to use in combat, but outside combat it would be fantastic. Passive Brands decreased maximum MP, which only made Condense Water more valuable, as I didn’t think I’d need to use the trick very often.

I spent the rest of my extra MP on potatoes, just saving a bit extra so I could see how long it took to degenerate. I found the cooling properties of Condense Water could offset the heat generated by three activations of another Brand.

MP: 325 >>> MP: 103

I ended with a grand total of thirty-six potatoes. I know, because the cook counted out twelve pennies for my efforts. He seemed to think I should be very pleased to earn so much. I wasn’t.

0 Crosses >>> 1 Cross, 3 pennies

One penny for three potatoes. Nine pennies for a Cross. 720 Crosses for the Brand. At that rate, it would take thousands of activations for the Brand to pay for itself. I probably didn’t have enough life left to conjure that many potatoes. Looking at the heaping pile of potatoes, I felt guilty thinking about where the MP to make them had come from. Three men’s lives. Most of the MP I’d drained from them had gone into that pile of potatoes. Thirty-six. That was twelve potatoes each. I felt like a person’s life ought to be worth more than a dozen potatoes.

I turned around after counting my money and found Victoria standing there and staring at me. Her eyes were narrowed and she had a scowl pulling up her lip. “Am I mistaken, or did you just activate a Brand two dozen times in a row?”

“It’s a cheap Brand,” I said.

“Not that cheap,” she said. “Where did you get that much MP?”

“Like I said, my Skill generates MP.”

Victoria didn’t look convinced. “It does? How exactly? Was it that weird thing you did with your arms? How does it work, exactly? That much MP should have made you unconscious.”

“You barely gave me two words on your own Skill,” I pointed out to Victoria. “I don’t see why I need to answer your questions about mine. Were you spying on me for a reason?”

“Grant is ready to go,” Victoria said. She didn’t wait to see if I was going to follow, she just turned and walked away.