Dragon of the Shield 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 3: Acquisition

I followed the short fatass to his place of business. It looked like one of those old time circus tents, from before the Cataclysm. Inside were a series of cages, filled with a myriad of… ah, these people must be what Corpo was referring to when he called me a demi-human. By and large, they looked like ordinary men and women, just with animal ears and tails.

“Demi-humans, I presume,” I asked the fatass as he came to a stop by a wooden table.

“You presume correctly, the ones that look more animal than human are unofficially referred to as beastmen and are typically purchased for manual labor or use as bodyguards. Standard demi-humans are more commonly sought after for more… domestic purposes,” he explained, his wide grin unmoving.

I hummed in consideration, before asking, “They have levels too?”

“Of course! If you'll look this way I have a level se…”

“Show me your level ones.”

“Oh? Starting small?”

“Better everyone on a level starting field. Jobs with one individual far above the rest only cause problems down the road.”

“Very well. You're in luck, I recently obtained several new slaves from a colleague of mine who travels quite far. Word of advice: never wager your product in a game of cards with your competitors. This way please,” Fatman gestured with his free hand as he made his way to the back of the tent.

I looked over the cages of slaves. Most looked more or less the same, just different animal features. But there were a couple that caught my attention.

The first one was a sick girl with round ears and a bushy tail, but something about her made me sure there was more to her than meets the eye. She was also the one that looked the most human. The other girl looked to be about the same age, but her skin was a light blue and she had curled horns on the side of her head along with a long, thin tail that ended with a spade tip.

"How much for these two?" I asked.

“Well, interesting choices. The raccoon girl is prone to anxiety attacks and has a frail constitution, I am doubtful she has much longer. But the other girl, I acquired her from that colleague I mentioned. I am unfamiliar with her particular species, but there's more than a few nobles who would pay…”

“How much?”

“I'm a generous man, and you will be using them to fight the Waves. Tell you what, one hundred silver for both and I'll throw in a roll in the lottery for you as well.”

"What lottery?"

Fatass explained, the local slave traders also had collections of monster eggs that they offered as part of a gambling game. The most common monsters were some sort of bird thing, but occasionally some other sort of monster egg slipped in.

It bit at me, but I dropped the coin. As I expected, there was something akin to an obedience chip that would prevent them from betraying me and disobeying my orders. However there was an… unexpected aspect.

“You need my blood.”

“How else would the seal be linked to you Sir Hero?”

“I've been altered with the blood of a poisonous dragon. I've used my blood and spit as a contact irritant before. Will that prevent the slave seal from working?”

The fatass paused as he considered what I'd just told him. Finally, after taking a minute to think about it, he answered, “I don't believe so. However, should that happen, I will refund your purchase. Which do you wish to bind first?”

“The raccoon girl.”

[hr][/hr]

[Quote] Slave added to your party[/quote]

[Quote] Slave added to your party[/quote]

[Quote] Monster Egg added to your party[/quote]

[Quote] Slave Master Shield Unlocked[/quote]

Fortunately, my blood did not cause any problems. The leftover blood and ink were absorbed by the shield and apparently made some new kind of shield available.

As the two girls recovered from the binding of the slave curse, I sat at the fatass's desk and pondered my situation. I needed more information, I didn't know enough about how this level system worked, what the shield on my arm could do, the local politics, I knew jack shit about all of it.

"Something the matter, Sir Hero?" Fatass asked as he counted his coin.

"I need more information. About everything. From what I've seen, the magic here operates under different principles than my home and the last time the local technology was commonplace was well over five hundred years ago.

"Plus with how Corpo in the castle did that sham trial, there's no way I'm going to be able to do a lot in their turf. So I need either the backing of another power or some way of avoiding the corpocops."

"I may not understand all the terms you used, but I believe I understand the point you are trying to make," he mused aloud. "If only there were…"

A silver coin flipped his way was promptly caught, and his grin gained a satisfied edge to it. Tucking the coin into a lockbox, he pulled out an amulet and handed it to me.

"If you'll follow me, Sir Patron, I'll lead you to the Black Market. Show that amulet to the merchants there and you'll be able to do business. A few of them will almost certainly have… problems that need solving," he said as he led me to a different part of the city.

Why the black market was being held in a place that looked like a run down Colosseum, instead of somewhere less conspicuous, I have no idea. Although in hindsight, if the corpos weren't in on it, I'd eat my boots.

As he led me down underneath the tribute to bloodsports, I took note of the people, easily spotting what looked like members of half a dozen different gangs or other assorted factions. The two girls I’d purchased (and holy fuck how did I miss how that’d sound until just now) followed closely behind me, Blue holding onto the egg in it’s cushioned case.

“I’d recommend you avoid the fellows with the spear heraldry, the Blood Spears have a particular hatred for anyone they believe to be associated with the Legendary Shield,” Fatass explained before handing me a piece of parchment with a map of the market area on it.

The only problem: I couldn’t read the labels. So, hoping for something like had happened with the ink earlier, I fed it into the green gem on the center of the shield. Sure enough:

[quote]Cartographer Shield unlocked[/quote]

An immediate benefit was the appearance of what looked like a miniature map of the area in the lower right corner of my peripheral vision. Much like the rest, concentrating on it made it grow bigger.

“Thanks,” I told Fatass, flipping another coin his way. Seventh rule of being a Runner: always tip the Dealer.

“Always a pleasure to do business with an agreeable customer. I wish you all the best, Sir Patron,” Fatass said with an over the top bow before he left.

“C’mon girls, let’s get you some decent clothes and weapons.”

In the end, getting both girls outfitted cost me another fifty of the silver coins, leaving me with just over seven hundred of the silver coins left. I’d also put out some feelers for possible jobs to make extra coin and build up a Network. I’d already learned from a couple of the folks I’d talked to that the knowledge that “the Shield Devil’s a damn dirty demi” was being spread across the kingdom. But, by the same token, the borders were being tightened with orders to prevent anyone or anything from leaving without proper authorization. There were always workarounds, secret smuggler routes and the like, but until I could get enough of a reputation with said smugglers and their ilk, I was basically stuck.

Well, I thought to myself as I opened an apartrift, almost stuck. Leading the girls into the apartment, I had them put the egg and the other purchases on the table before leading them to the bathroom and explaining how the shower worked. Through no fault of their own, they reeked. As they got clean, I took the rags they had at Fatass’s and chucked them in the incinerator before moving to the kitchenette. I still had some cod as well as a lemon and some biscuit dough in the fridge.

The lemon-cod paired nicely with hot fluffy biscuits, but after the girls finished eating, I put the dishes away and had the girls share the recliner as I stood in front of them.

“My name is Naofumi, but whenever we’re not here in the apartment, only ever call me Sigurd,” I began. “What are your names?”

“I’m Jester!” the blue skinned girl said as she bounced in my only chair.

“Um… Raph… Raphtalia,” the girl with the ears meekly said, before being racked with a series of coughs. Frowning, I walked back to the kitchenette. I should still have some cold and flu medicine, and some water wouldn’t be a bad thing for a sore throat.

Handing both girls a red, plastic cup filled half full with water, I placed the pills in her other hand, “Small sips, then swallow these. They should help with your cough.”

She did so, and continued to take sips from her cup as I stepped back, “Okay, while we’re outside the apartment, I’m not going to call you by your names. One of the rules of the job I was part of for years, choose an alternate name to go by when you aren’t at home. Jester, you’ll be Siniy. Can you remember that?”

“Sure!” she said before tossing back her water like it was a shot glass.

“Raphtalia, you’ll be Milashka.”

“Um… I'm sorry Master, but what's wrong with our names?” Raphtalia asked, confusion clear on her face.

“It’s something from my old job, if you went by a callsign while working, it made it harder for those that the job inevitably pissed off to track you. If you pushed too hard, too fast it didn’t matter, they’d track you down anyway, but even a little bit of protection can go a long way.

“Anyway, we’ll be heading out into the wilds to get the two of you some experience in fighting in between doing jobs for the Dealers in the Black Market. For now, we'll be going over some of the basic steps of combat."

While I couldn't wield a weapon, I think I'd found a work around, or at least I hope I had. Sure enough, the Shield let me touch Jester's axe and Raphtalia's spear so long as it was to correct their grips or stances.

Jester, it turned out, had some magic of her own. To say that I was surprised the first time she cast a spell was a gross understatement. Sure, there was magic back home, but the only thing like spells involved half a dozen people and at least an hour of chanting. And that was under optimal conditions.

When I was happy with their progress, I went back to the city to pick up a certain item before leaving.

"You got some nerve showing your face," the bald smith growled as I entered the shop.

I blinked in confusion, "I'm on time, right? You said four days for the commission."

"Not that, I'm talking about the trial."

"You mean the display so the Corpo would have an excuse to try to cut out any options I had? What about it?"

"You were accused of raping a girl and you didn't defend yourself? Paints a pretty significant picture."

"I didn't, but arguing that wouldn't have solved anything. My fate was decided before they even grabbed me off the street, the truth didn't matter. Anyway, is the knife done?"

The shopkeep gave me a considering look, before reaching under the counter and placing the finished bowie knife on top, "Go ahead, assuming the shield will let y…"

He trailed off as I picked it up and started examining it. Mostly the edge.

"How are you not getting shocked?" He asked, thoroughly confused.

I gave an embarrassed chuckle, "It's silly, but while I realize this knife design is a fierce weapon, my brain doesn't think of it as one. Growing up, I had one and if it broke it would be a good six months before I could replace it. Since it was the only knife I had, it was far more important as a cooking knife than a weapon."

"So you're saying that your mind associates it with cooking instead of fighting, and that's how you're bypassing the weapon restrictions?"

"I guess? I was just taking advantage of actually having money to get a spare kitchen knife."

For some reason, he found that hilarious. Brushing it off, I put the knife in the shield's inventory before making my way to the gates leading in and out of the city.

[Quote]Razor Shield unlocked[/quote]

I was going to have to take a look at what these shields offered, though that gave me an idea. Before opening the apartrift so Milashka and Siniy could join me, I held the Shield in front of my face and exhaled.

[quote]Chlorine Shield unlocked [/quote]

[Quote]Sleep Shield unlocked [/quote]

[Quote]Magebane Shield unlocked [/quote]

Jackpot!

[Hr][/hr]

[Quote] +10 Experience

You have reached Level 4[/quote]

[tabs]

[tab=Stats]Name: Naofumi “Sigurd”

Class: Level 4 Shield Hero (122/253)

Equipment:

[list]

[*]Small Shield (Legendary Weapon)

[*]Runner's Jacket[/list]

Attack: 3

Magic: 38

Physical Defense: 240

Magical Defense: 90

Dexterity: 46

HP: 512/512

SP: 144/144
MP: 136/136

Skills:

[list]

[*]Wyrmblut Gift (Poison)

[*]Wyrm Breath (Cost: 2 SP/sec.)

[*]Wyrm Scales (Cost: 0.5 SP/sec.)

[*]Wyrm Claws (Cost: 25 SP/sec.)[/list]

Spells: None

Passives:

[list]

[*]Poison Immunity

[*]Draconian Pride

[/list]

Drawbacks:

[List]

[*]Draconian Instincts[/list][/tab]

[tab=Abilities]

[spoiler=Skills]

Wyrmblut Gift (Poison)

Blood harvested from a venomous dragon courses through your body, providing a number of different perks and abilities, but also influencing your mind to be more like a dragon.

Required for:

[List]

[*]Wyrm skill tree

[*]Swamp Dragon skill tree[/list]

Benefits (Level 4):

[List]

[*]+20 Physical Defense

[*]+30 Magical Defense

[*]+5 Intimidation[/list]

Wyrm Breath

The quintessential dragon ability, you can breathe the element that courses within you in a devastating attack. Every element also possesses a secondary effect.

Element: Poison

Secondary Effect: Special

Wyrm Breath - Special

As poisons and toxins come in a myriad of lethalities and toxicities, so too can your Wyrm Breath have a number of secondary effects. The specifics of the secondary effect depends on the type of poison currently equipped.

Available Poisons:

[list]

[*]Chlorine Poison (Damage ignores target’s Defense values)

[*]Magebane (Damage dealt to target’s MP)

[*]Sleep Gas (Damage dealt to target’s SP with a chance of applying the Sleep condition)

[/list]

Wyrm Scales

As a creature of physical and magical power, your very hide turns away spells and steel.

Effect: Your Physical Defense and Magical Defense are combined for the duration of this skill. Your total Defense value is equal to Physical Defense and Magical Defense added together.

Wyrm Claws: One arm turns into a wicked, scale covered claw. As long as this ability is active, your Attack stat is treated as ten times higher.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Spells]None[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Passives]

Poison Immunity: You are unaffected by toxins, poisons, or other such substances.

Draconian Pride: No one commands a dragon, you are immune to any and all mind based magics and powers.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Drawbacks]

Draconian Instincts: You must satisfy at least one of the following vices every three days:

[List]

[*]Pride: Assert your dominance over one that insulted you.

[*]Greed: Obtain something of significant value.

[*]Lust: Fuck one virgin or three women, achieving orgasm each time. If you fail to orgasm or there isn't a woman involved in the act, it does not count.

[/list]

[/spoiler]

[tab=Unlocked Shields]

Small Shield[list]

[*]+2 Physical Defense

[*]+2 Magical Defense[/list]

Slave Master Shield[list]

[*]+2 Physical Defense

[*]+2 Magical Defense

[*]Bonus to Slaves stats while in Party

Razor Shield [list]

[*]+1 Attack

[*]+2 Physical Defense

[*]Melee attackers receive half their Attack as damage.[/list]

Chlorine Shield[list]

[*]+1 Attack

[*]Attacks ignore target’s Defense[list]

Sleep Shield[list]

[*]+1 Physical Defense

[*]+1 Magical Defense

[*]Enemies within 15 feet of Shieldbearer have a progressively greater chance at falling asleep[list]

Magebane Shield[list]

[*]+5 Magical Defense

[*]Spells targeting Shieldbearer have 50% chance of reflecting at caster[list]

Bone Shield[list]

[*]+4 Magical Defense

[*]+2 effective Magic for Necromancy Spells

[*]Drain Life spell unlocked[/list]

Leaf Shield[list]

[*]+2 Physical Defense

[*]Bonus to Herbalism[/list]

UsaLeather Shield[list]

[*]+1 Physical Defense

[*]33% Evasion[list]

UsaMeat Shield[list]

[*]+1 Physical Defense

[*]25% Evasion

[*]Bonus to Skinning[list]

Smart Shield[list]

[*]Can access internet, record videos, everything a standard smartphone can do

[*]Allows for easier management of Legendary Shield’s inventory[list]