《Gamer Reborn》Chapter 241
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Annabeth P.O.V
“I’m so proud of you. Sorry I couldn’t make it in time for your other matches.” Dad said with excitement that dropped off because of the implications.
Dad had been gone from the capital for almost two months. In fact he left about a week after Ajax’s discovery was made public. But I knew just how important this auction was. I tried hard to keep the guilt I was feeling off my face, hopefully I had gotten a better handle on it with my social skill leveling.
This had been the third auction in the last five years that had contained one of the fruits of Longevity. The fruits came in four varieties: apples, cherries, pears and coconuts. The fruits were extremely rare, as for their value it could range from priceless to less than nothing depending on who they were for. All four of the fruits did the same thing, they reduced one of the four mental stats of the person eating them in exchange for making them slightly younger.
The last two auctions had offered apples and coconuts respectively. One lowered a person's Wisdom and the other their Intellect. This latest one however announced that they would be offering not one but two cherries, the most valuable one of the four fruits seeing as it would trade Perception for youthfulness.
Dad’s representatives hadn’t managed to win either one of the fruits in the previous two auctions and I knew it was the work of one of my cousins. My being born and dad wanting to pass the family head position over to me meant that he was trying to push back the clock as far as he could and they were working against him, all because of me.
“Now, now.” he said as he placed a hand on my head and stroked me gently. “None of this is your fault. How about you tell me more about this last match of yours.”
“Lexi is the worst match-up in my entire class…” I pause for a moment at that. “ With the exception of Ajax, but he isn’t taking part in this tournament.”
The idea that someone younger than me was already so far ahead of me that he was winning the 6th year tournament without anyone to provide even a challenge was a little disheartening. Not only that but from what our people have noticed over the last year his rate of improvement seemed to match mine despite him already being so much higher. At least if the teams he was joining on his sponsored delves were any indication.
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“Focus on the match.” father gently admonished.
“Right… As I was saying she is a bad match-up.” I got back on track. “She is a mage, that already makes it harder to prepare against compared to a physical fighter, what really gets to me however is her versatility. Despite not having the same amount of power behind her spells as I can put behind my fire she knows the chants for all sorts of different elements.”
“Yes, I imagine her grandfather has been extra generous with her.” dad said, and he was right. Lexi had gone through a bit of slump shortly after the start of the year. Not enough for anyone who didn’t know her to notice but Ajax’s versatility as a spellsword had made her question her own path. Her attitude changed, back to the same mischievous one she had before, if a little more competitive, after a few extra lessons with her grandfather over the course of a month.
“She’s never shown me those shadow chains before, I couldn’t even feel them as the spell traveled.” I exclaimed a little as I thought back to how the other semi-finale ended.
“Yes, a more advanced application.” father said. “The spell actually started at her location the moment she finished her cast. Shadow magic has always been one more focused on subterfuge, as long as there are shadows connecting the start and end point of a spell feeling them travel is much harder. “Do you have a plan in mind?”
“Yes, I’ll…” I didn’t get to finish my sentence as the door opened.
“Apologies for the interruption , my lord.” My fathers head informant said as he and one of his people entered.
“What is it?” my father asked.
“We have a more detailed report on the recent change in the market for honey,” he said. “The report is extensive and the situation is both delicate and rather urgent. Not only that but our details are incomplete.”
That wasn’t a great situation, an urgent situation without complete details is a bad spot for one to be, though it isn’t something unusual for him to be informed about as the current head of the Goldmancer family.
“Go on.” Father prompted, and his head informant nodded to the other man.
“Yes.. Yes, sir.” the man faltered when he didn’t see me leave the room, he must be one of the juniors as dad has been having me attend these meeting for a while now.
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“As reported on previously almost the entire capital’s supply is coming from a single organization, one led by Judy Hearthbound.” I felt my spine straighten slightly at the mention of her last name. “Not only that but we have also confirmed that the honey they sell is in fact mana infused. A similar result to the elve’s mana rich tea leaves if not to the same extent.”
“Is a confirmation all we have after a week of investigation?” there was nothing in his voice or tone that showed any annoyance though I could tell he didn’t like being interrupted for just this.
“No, my lord.” the informant bowed. “We have also learnt that their stranglehold on the market comes from having the beehives stored in wooden crates in the middle of the farming plots. Further inquiries have confirmed that the bees were gathered from the surrounding forest and… effectively rehoused there.”
“The mechanism for the container is not that complicated.” the informant continued. “We have purchased one from the same carpenter that has created all of his, much like a lot of other people, he has been making a killing selling them at almost twenty silvers each, yet none of us have had any success in getting any bees to actually stay there.”
“You are dismissed.” the head informant said and only continued once the three of us were alone. “This seems to have given House Hearthbound a monopoly on the market, our information suggests that stealing one of the hives off his land will have the bees remain regardless of their relocation, though everyone is wary of doing so.”
“Why?” I ask not seeing how all the pieces fit together.
“All information suggests that the hive must remain in an open place.” the informant continues.
“With nobody else succeeding anybody that steals it will also be essentially announcing that they are the thieves.” I cut him off as my mind worked putting the puzzle together. “A new noble house having a legitimate sustainment methold stolen from them within months of being granted the title will have everyone looking to get their two licks at punishing the thief.”
I left out that some wouldn’t be condemning the thief out of honor or duty but because they want to see what they could learn about the method by questioning the thief.
“Exactly so, my lady.” the head informant said. “That would be all sir.”
With that the informant awaited my father’s signal and took his leave with a deep bow once it was given. “Well, how would you approach this situation?” dad asked me once the door closed.
“The market for honey is too small and not profitable enough to be worth angering an entire faction.” I think aloud. There were quite a few viscounts and barons who were granted a title and almost saw their houses fall from thieves like that, not only that but they were almost exclusively granted their titles as a reward for combat making quick to violence now that they were more established and could get their hands on another thief. “The real prize is the method of enhancing the honey, if it is like the elven method and can be replicated that is the real prize. I would approach and see about trying to extract that method in exchange for protection and guarantee of leaving the honey market for them.”
“Not a bad approach.” father said. “From the reports however it seems like there are two different unknown factors at play here. One is the enhancing method and the other is the bee taming method.”
“How does that affect us?” I asked, unsure of why we would be interested in the bee taming method, it wasn’t something big enough to affect us especially once others got back into the market once the bee population recovered.
“We could approach them in regards to their bee method with a generous deal. Having them share that method with us and having us use our reach to profit outside the capital while sharing a large portion of the profits would buy us good will. Not only that but it would build a working relationship that we can use to work our way to trying to get the enhancing method.” dad explained. “Not only that but who knows, we might even be able to figure out the enhancing method just from learning about the bee method.”
DONG!
The bell from the central tower of the capital rang.
“That’s enough for today.” dad said hearing the bell. “Are you all set for tomorrow?”
“I am.” I confirmed. “I have a plan that I am 70% sure will work.”
“That is good.” he said with a smile. “Now off to bed, you need to be rested.”
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The Dungeon System is breaking. Now the mutant cores will rise. Zaria was just a normal woman, living a simple life, right up until demons burst down her door and ate her heart. Normally that would be the end of the story, but Zaria was reborn as a dungeon core. Except nothing is normal for her. Due to instability throughout the universe, Dungeon Core generation is experiencing some unique bugs and glitches. Most of these mutant cores just explode after only a few hours of life. Zaria is one of those cores. Luckily for her, there’s a way to prevent her detonation - she must find and form a bond with a human witch to create a striga. Only then will she be stable enough to survive. Normally, this would be a death sentence anyway, but Zaria’s mutation gives her an ability no other dungeon core has had before: Legs. Now a walking house, Zaria sets off to find her striga, fight demons and monsters, build up a dungeon worthy of being run by the greatest heroes in the lands…and feed the insatiable appetite of her mimic mobs. Life sure isn’t simple anymore.From the author of Dinosaur Dungeon, Factory of the Gods, and others! Plus part of the same universe as those books as well as Roots and Steel and Block Dungeon!
8 462A Virtual Invasion
An invasion from another dimension is shut down by an Empire's traitor and the world has a scant few decades to build the strength to resist a multidimensional Empire. How will the world fair when no one even knows its doom is one barred gate away? Fortunately, the traitor has a plan. Maybe with a bit of luck and planning, he can build a force to defend the world without anyone realizing it. Author's Thoughts: What is litRPG (From wikipedia) - LitRPG, short for Literary Role Playing Game, is a literary genre combining the conventions of MMORPGs with science-fiction fantasy novels.[1] LitRPG is a literary genre where games or game-like challenges form an essential part of the story. A LitRPG work simultaneously narrates the story of characters inside and outside of the game-world. At least some of the characters in a LitRPG novel therefore understand that they are playing a game: they are 'meta-aware'. So, while Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is a fantasy novel, a book about people creating avatars and interacting in a Lord of the Rings MMORPG would be a LitRPG novel.Why do I read them? You know, I am not too sure. I love MMOs. I played them, quit them, joined up and repeated the cycle. They are fun! They are a massive waste of time but so are most games. Do I want to read about someone else playing them? Sort of?The advent of VR and the possibility of VR someday becoming so immersive that you can't tell them from reality sets the imagination on fire. What if this could be life? But most stories fall short. At the end of the day the protagonist hangs up his VR helmet and goes to have dinner with his mom and dad or other family and it becomes meaningless. It's like the story that ends because the main character woke up and nothing you read matters.There have been some books that explore the concept of the intersection of reality and total immersion VR. Enders Game is a classic. There were a few others that escape me but they exist, however, the cross between the game and reality is weak.So what if the game was real? The technology needed for total immersion VR is so advanced that by the time we reach that goal technology should have naturally evolved to include several items. You must have direct neural input. You simply can't have a total immersion (all senses and perfect presence) experience without this basic prerequisite. If you have direct neural access, you can probably do neat things like feed knowledge and skills directly to that person. You can undoubtedly do many horrible things as well. Muscles are controlled by the brain. If you control the brain why would you let the body just sit there and rot? A person that sits unmoving for 24 hours a day will have their body whither away just like a coma patient. However, if you control the brain you could control the muscles. On a basic level, this would be isometric impulses, working muscle group against muscle group to avoid atrophy. Taken to its logical conclusion you would be able to gain muscle mass and program muscle memory. The flip side is that you could remote control their body... but let's not go there. So what would people do if it were real? Well, they would probably limit and regulate it since the drawbacks are very obvious. Even if you look at the basic aspects of this you can see some negative possibilities. Look at the Sword Art Online anime. Personally, I think they missed the boat by putting a bomb in the VR helmet. Do you really need a bomb when you have direct access to the brain?So what kind of events would you need to have a situation where the obvious drawbacks haven't been explored? Maybe a society where the advancement of technology has so far outstripped the explorations of its applications that ignorance was truly bliss? Okay, so I had to put in an alien invasion to kickstart the premise, but that was just one of the possibilities.
8 126Power Fighters
The world is filled with people who have powers. They are called 'Power Fighters'. They compete with each other in friendly fights and tournaments and 'Power Fighting' has become an international sport. Join a band of power fighters as they navigate their way through the world of strong fighters to reach to the top.
8 176Modded Magic
Just another day in magic class. Sadly this isn't just some kind of class that most people would think it to be. Follow 24th Arc's and his classmates during their classes. Discover what it means to be a magic born while trying to deal with stresses of their adventure. Magic isn't what it seems to be in this new age following the fall of Polarity.
8 150STEEL ABYSS
A new era is upon Kailsh. Floating above the waves of her endless oceans, the great cityships of humanity are undergoing a revolution. Ancient flotillas and sailing boats, once the lifelines of a dying race, have been transformed into towering metropolises and mighty vessels of steel through the ancient salvage upon the sea floor. It is a time of war. From once disparate tribes are born nations, fighting over the remains of dead gods deep in the abyss. Battleships sail across elysian seas and fighter jets carve trails upon a pale blue sky: a world turning upon itself in the throes of conflict. And one Coalition Warship to save it all: the battleship Archipelago. Crewed by an emergency crew of raw cadets and an artificial mind salvaged from the ruins of ancient civilizations beneath the waves, the Archipelago will face not only the enemies of the Coalition, but of humanity’s very existence on Kailsh. For some secrets are better left undiscovered, and in the embrace of the STEEL ABYSS.
8 141anybody else | wilbur soot fanfiction
they could only ever be best friends. that is until one night they want to be pretend to be somebody else. anybody else in the whole world, and they choose lovers."do you ever just want to be somebody else for a night?" I ask him as he takes another sip of his drink. He makes a face as the alcohol slides down his throat. "All the time, why?""Right now I don't really want to be me." I sigh."Then pick someone else," he shrugs, "Anybody else in the whole world and be them tonight."
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