Fortune Favors (QQ) Chapter 3 (Patreon)

I stand over my toilet as water rains down from above, I am holding a golden pot in between two hands, trying to wash off the sticky porridge which had clung to its sides and insides.

My additional pair of animalistic ears are flat, my hair slick to my head.

I place the pot on the floor of the room and brush my hands together, ridding them of any sticky sweetness which might have clung to them, then I run my hands through my hair, deciding to finish up my shower while I am here.

It doesn't take long, I don't exactly have any shampoo on me, but washing with warm water is probably better than around seventy percent of Gensokyo... or at least the ones who can't use magic like the people in the human village.

I scratch my chin as I let out a quiet sigh closing my eyes and allowing the water from the magical showerhead to pelt my face as if I am in the rain.

Another person died... fucking hell! I just want to help people!

I'm greedy, yes, and I absolutely will fuck you over if you give me the chance, but... nobody deserves to die.

I'm not a monster- despite my new race literally being a Japanese monster.

My hands brush through my hair as I look down to the wet, black, noodly appendage behind me. It looks genuinely sad right now, my fur clinging as close as possible to the bone, instead of the voluptuous and fluffy regular appearance, it's just... like a wet rat.

I let out a low hum. 'How... do I save people?'

That's a good question.

"Hey! Argo!" The voice of my significant other on the other side of the door behind me exclaims.

"Yeah?" I call out.

"After you're finished, I'm going to teach you how to fly." She declares.

Ah. Should probably finish up quickly, then.

**Linebreak**

I sit in a tavern, hat on my head, tail kept close to my body under a large overcoat, Tsukasa is somewhere in my shirt. She just straight up turned into smoke and flowed into my sleeve.

In fact, I can still feel her brushing across my torso every now and then... it's uncomfortable.

I cup my chin as I look around the room, in the corner a man laughs loudly, patting a large table with a grin.

It isn't fancy looking, but what causes me to double-take is its value.

What... the hell?

"Thank you for your kindly offer. It warms my heart, but no, I won't take advantage of your kindness today, no, in fact, I will repay it in kind." A man smiles. "Please, be my guests."

He looks to the table. "Table be set. Fix us a hearty, meaty, meal."

With a flash, a white tablecloth appears atop the wood as several plates sit upon its surface. atop the plates are an assortment of roasted and boiled meats, cheeses, even a few glasses of wine.

Whatthefuck?

I begin carefully looking over the table as the men let out shouts on intrigue, then eventually join the original man who owns the table.

The table has some limits, but it basically produces food for the user... with the caveat that they can't be 'modern' creations.

So, like, boiled meats and roasted vegetables instead of cheeseburgers and fries.

I wouldn't need to cook anymore... I need that table.

Of course, in addition to the 'Older Foods' limitation, there's also the issue that you can't exactly specify what you want. Like for instance, If I want something sweet, it will give me something sweet. If I want something hearty and savory, it can be either a hearty stew, or a large steak.

You can't say that you want something with rice or anything like that. But otherwise it gives you what you want.

Infinite food.

I could start a restaurant in Gensokyo with that... at least until Reimu walks over and takes it from me because she wants a method to eat without having to pay any money... maybe I don't tell anyone in Gensokyo I have that.

The enchantment is already quite impressive, I just wish I could pick out what I wanted.

I'd kill for some Italian food... oooh and a soda... but I'll take what I can get.

The main issue is that I'll just be forced to wait until these people go to sleep so I can steal the table.

I drum my fingers on the small booth table and silently wait, a ghostly, fox-shaped head made of smoke poking out of my collar, its eyes glowing a murky yellow. "Oh? We want the table? Interesting. Yes. I can see its value."

Two hours of merriment and drinking pass, the seconds feeling drawn out and sluggish, I prop my arm up with a hand as the men slowly retire for the night.

The innkeeper keeps casting gazes to myself, he looks a little nervous.

"Welcome, friend." The man smiles, it does not reach his eyes. "Today is a good day, I'll get you a room. For free."

The girl who can slip into the weaknesses in someone's soul- a misleading way of saying that she can just know what people want at any point in time- whispers into my ear. "He wishes to steal the table for himself."

'Well, I mean, clearly. I'm not blind.'

I nod once, a slight smile on my face. "I'd appreciate that. Thank you."

I silently leave the room, an ear under my hat twitching slightly as I walk up the stairs.

I stand atop the stairs and just simply wait, creeping down ever so slightly as I can see the man carefully gazing around, he then picks up the table and makes his way to the front door of the inn.

I descend the stairs and follow after him, remaining just out of sight as he walks into a nearby stable.

I crouch around the corner as the man comes back out with a table which looks almost exactly like the table he had just taken inside, I might have been fooled, but thankfully, I have the values of everything shoved into my head on an almost constant basis.

I slip into the barn after he goes back inside and look over the table, my fingertips brushing across the top of it. I can feel magic humming deep within it, just beneath the surface.

Will this even fit in the portal? It'll be close, all things considered.

Smoke billows out of my collar and reforms on the floor next to me, Tsukasa cups her chin as she looks over the table just in front of me. "I will admit. This table is indeed impressive."

I hear a certain noise, causing Tsukasa to turn into smoke, the door behind opens as I freeze.

My head slowly turns, spying the Innkeeper stood there, a look of shock on his face.

"Stealing from your customers?" I question idly. "My. My. How low."

He clenches his fists, seeming to make a split decision. "YOU GET AWAY FROM THAT YOU BASTARD-"

He swings a fist at my face, causing my eyes to widen slightly. 'that's... pretty slow...'

I step aside, avoiding the haymaker punch and sticking out a leg to trip him.

He lets out a shout as he falls forwards into a pile of hay.

I look down at my hands. 'huh. It seems like I was stronger than I gave myself credit for... with this strength and agility I should be able to easily overpower the standard man... I doubt my strength extends much further beyond that, however.'

"Jeez. How low can you go? Stealing from someone who paid for a room, assaulting the man who discovered your crime? Were you going to try and kill me? Now I don't even feel bad about this." I hum as I pick up the table.

"Argo." Tsukasa whispers in my ear.

"I mean, you really are pathetic. Genuinely sad. I believe I'll be taking this off your hands, I doubt a simple inn could find a use for infinite food. Pfft. Ridiculous. This will be much better off in my possession."

"Argo..."

"Think of this as Karma. What you did to others is now happening to you. And-"

Tsukasa forms beside me. "Argo... he's dead."

"…" I fall silent.

I slowly turn, staring at the pile of hay.

He remains face down in the pile, red slowly dripping out and staining the strands of dried grass

Four little spikes poke out of his back, his shirt stained red with his own blood.

He... had fallen on a pitchfork.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING SHITTING ME-"

**Linebreak**

I close my eyes letting out labored breathes as I float a few inches above my bed, my legs crossed.

I'm flying!

It took about a week of effort, but eventually I was able to rise from the ground.

Slight issue, though.

I'm not exactly... good... at flying.

Hell, I wouldn't even call it flying at this point. It's more like floating.

I imagine that my skill will increase with time- god it had better considering where I live and the fact that everyone and their cat can fly like its second nature- but as I am now I can barely lift myself from the ground. I can barely move an inch per minute.

In fact, this entire time I've been trying to fly upwards, but gravity is fighting me each and every step of the way.

Sweat pools at my brow as I can feel the tips of my foxlike ears brush against the ceiling.

I suppose that this much progress in a week is good enough. It won't be long before I can fly a lot faster.

Tsukasa has fucked off somewhere, but I can still vaguely 'feel' her... she's nearby. Probably in town.

The past seven days have been... interesting... to say the least.

Day one. Scammed Pinocchio, saw a little girl get dismembered, then got more or less coerced into bed by an incredibly attractive fox youkai.

Day two. The porridge incident and then I started learning 'how to be a youkai' from my hot apparent wife.

Day three, got a table that makes food plus a new world was unlocked to me...

Fucking. Subnautica.

That was a big no from me, so I simply re-rolled it.

I mean, why the FUCK would I go to a planet which is predominantly flooded, has a place simply called 'the void' and from what I remember correctly a fucking glowey super plague.

Yeah. No. Fuck that. I didn't even open the door. Not wanting to test my youkai resilience against Bioluminescent black death. nor deal with the horrific gigantic beasts hidden in the depths.

After that, I was given a four day wait.

One that will be ending shortly if I remember correctly.

Those four days were pretty boring, all things considered.

I tried to look for some more stuff in the fantasy world, but there was really nothing of value in my search.

I met a cunt of a musician who strung up animals in trees because 'he didn't want to be their friend'.

I didn't feel bad about what happened after I set the wolf, fox, and rabbit free. Bastard totally deserved it.

I did get his fiddle, but that's all it was. A fiddle.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Thus, from my meddling... another human has perished.

Maybe I just have bad luck with humans?

I saved a fox, wolf, and rabbit, but they mauled the fiddler.

Another avoidable death.

Though that guy was a complete bastard, so I don't necessarily feel that bad about it. The animals just wanted to learn how to play music.

I fall downwards as I lose my concentration, bouncing on the plush bed as I let out a small sigh.

How many more humans must die by my hands before my greed is satisfied?

I shake my head slightly to rid my mind of the blood staining my hands.

Anyways, that one little excursion was basically the only thing I did the past four days, the rest of the time has been trying to understand basic levitation-slash-flight and spent pinned down with a very possessive fox on top of me.

Our current relationship is... awkward... to say the least.

Perhaps we dove right into things far too quickly, I get that we are the only two of our kind that exist in Gensokyo... as a race that literally must be in pairs to function at full capacity... but, I don't know her favorite food... her favorite color... what she likes to do in her free time.

There's just so much I don't know about her, yet we share a bed, and I have learned about each and every part of her body intimately.

It's just weird.

I get we will slowly grow closer over time, but I sort of just feel that maybe starting off like that was a bad call.

Annnyways, me getting this fiddle... has led me to a startling discovery...

I need somewhere new to live. This place CANNOT support myself, Tsukasa, and whatever stock I bring in from another world. I mean, it's already getting suffocating with merely the cloak, scrap metal- which I really need to sell-, infinity pot, and the infinity table.

Add a fiddle and its case to that and my already miniscule house is becoming borderline unlivable.

How the fuck did Tsukasa 'live' in a fucking test tube?!

I need a bigger home. If not for space to store stuff, room to stand straight up without my head touching the roof.

That's actually what she is doing right now. Going to see if she can get anything to improve my little home.

I slowly rise to my feet, nearly tripping over the newest addition to my house, the wooden fiddle case.

My eyes stray to the table sat on its side, atop the dresser which is my link to new worlds.

It is up there to save space, but eh. I'm a little hungry right now.

I reach up and sit the table upright on the floor.

"Table be set with something meaty and savory." I call out.

The table has a little more nuance that I originally realized. I thought you couldn't specify that much, sticking to descriptive words like 'hearty' or 'warm'. But you actually have a lot more control. Vegetarian, vegan, fruit, even something like 'baked'. So you can ask for something that is both sweet and baked, but you couldn't say something like 'cake'.

That being said, you do technically have the wiggle room of asking for something 'cakey' which is interesting enough.

With a flash, a white tablecloth appears atop the wood as a sole plate sits upon its surface. Upon the plate is a large turkey leg wrapped in bacon.

Ah. Decadent.

I pick it up with one hand and begin lazily eating.

I crouch down before my dresser and open it slowly gazing towards the door to another world.

'Thirty minutes, hn?' I take another bite of my food, looking over the door as I sit and wait, tail quietly lashing out behind me as I finish my meal.

I lick a finger as I rise to- almost- my full height, eyes drawn to the cast iron pot sitting nearby and the silverware kept inside of it.

That isn't the magic pot, mind you it's the one I took from Granny's house during the... ugh... little red riding hood debacle.

That could be of some use... I might need a little more pocket change in whatever new world I go to...

And speaking of a new world, there is one thing I desperately need.

And that is the ability to use magic to hide my ears and tail.

Tsukasa can't do it, most Youkai don't put in the effort to learn it, seeing as how people here know Youkai exist and as a matter of pride, but what happens when I go to a world where Youkai AREN'T commonplace?

I grab the nonmagical cast iron pot and the silverwear inside.

I might as well go sell this at the youkai village. I might get a couple thousand yen. I doubt there are many mines in Gensokyo.

I step out of the house, pot in hand, then begin the slow walk towards the Youkai town.

As I walk, I can hear trees rustling, the wind blowing, it's peaceful.

I can hear tengu watching me from the trees, but they don't approach as I am not an outsider to the mountain.

After around thirty minutes of walking, I make it to the village, my destination is set, the same youkai which I had bought my kitchen knife from a few days earlier.

I pause in front of his little blacksmithing stall, looking over his wares.

Nothing really catches my eye, just more kitchenware, and I had bought the most expensive thing he sold last time.

"Excuse me... I have a question for you." I begin slowly, the man hammering away on the anvil, straightening a metal rod glances over, his white wolf ears twitching slightly. "Yeah?"

"Do you buy scrap metal?" I question as I sit the pot on the table. "Because I've got some cast iron here I'd like to sell, then some silver cutlery."

"How much are you looking for?" He hums.

I cast a slow glance over the metal. "Hn... fifteen thousand yen or so?"

"I can do that." He nods slowly as he looks over the bent metal rod, he briefly lays it down, reaching down to his belt, tied to his hip are several strings looped through the hole of coins.

He pulls one free and sits it on the table, then opens up a small coin pouch and lays ten five hundred yen coins on the table.

"Here you go." He states as goes back to the red hot metal.

"Thank you." I reply as I take the coins carefully in both hands and transmute them into a simple golden coin that is much easier to carry.

I nod slowly and turn away.

Ping
Congratulations! You have made a total profit of 2500 dollars! ​

I don't flinch, staring forwards as I begin my slow walk home.

You have gained a 'Skill Token (Crafting) (Novice)'. ​

As I leave the village, a question pops into my head.

'the fuck is a skill token?'

A skill token is a specialized item granted by the shop that allows the user of the Merchant system to learn a skill swiftly.
We are aware that as a merchant who must constantly peddle their goods, you may not have the ability to completely devote yourself to a sole craft or martial technique.
These tokens are a method to speed up the learning process somewhat.

You have been given a 'Craft' Skill Token of the 'Novice' mastery.
You may use it to grant yourself a mastery in any crafting skill that originates from any of your connected universes.
However, be aware that these skills will sometimes have requirements that must be met to learn them. ​

"…"

"Huh." I mutter under my breath.

Well, shit, let's get enchantment magic, then!

Requirements for Novice 'Enchantment Magic' (Touhou):
A masterful understanding of your own magical power. ​

'Uhhh... What is a masterful understanding?'

A 'Master' understanding is roughly an entire lifetime worth of study dedicated to a single subject.
Anywhere from 100,000 hours of effort to 250,000.
Of course, depending on potential, the total time required to master something can vary, potentially being far less than the listed estimate. ​

'FUCK! One hundred THOUSAND hours?!'

There's twenty four hours in a day, but it's unrealistic to be using all of them to learn, so let's cut that down to twelve.

Twelve hours a day, seven days a week, doing nothing but honing your craft. It is still slightly unrealistic, but humanly possible. Anyways twelve hours a day, seven days a week, eighty four hours in a week. Four weeks in a month so three hundred and thirty six hours of work in a month. That's just over four thousand hours a year.

One hundred thousand divided by four thousand gives me a rough estimate of twenty five years.

That. Is. Fucking. Crazy.

What the shit?! Twenty five years of doing nothing but honing a single skill?! That's stupid! What the fuck?!

I don't have time for that shit!

Wait...

Most... people in Gensokyo... live for thousands of years...

Twenty five is honestly a drop in the bucket...

Huh...

'What does 'Novice' qualify as?

Roughly eight hours of experience. ​

Damn. Alright. So not a lot at all, hn?

There's really not much I can do with such little experience... and with the limitation of crafting.

If it was just a free 'learn anything' I could realistically use it to give me a starting point to casting magic, but crafting? What can I learn where eight hours of experience is a decent 'starting point' for my efforts?

I was hoping that 'Enchanting' would have worked. Maybe teach me a little bit about how to use my mana, but it appears that dream was a bit foolhardy.

Anyways, I'm grateful that I have a method to learn things easily. The system is right in saying that most of my current time is occupied, be it in bed or slinking around looking for stuff to take.

This way I could potentially start making my own products which sounds incredible. Buuuut it doesn't look like it is meant to be.

This sort of begs the question, 'what do I pick now?'. Enchanting is out, and I don't want to waste this token on something pointless like whittling or sewing.

Hnnn... I'll continue to ponder on my way back.

**Linebreak**

I open the door and step inside my cluttered house. I really need just... like even a closet would be helpful as that would probably double the square footage of my home.

I have more or less decided what I want to use the skill token on... and by that, I mean I decided that I would wait to see what my next world is going to be and to see if any new 'crafting ideas' come to me.

Like, I'm sure Touhou has a lot of good ones like Runecrafting and stuff, but considering that this world casually holds conceptual beings... their versions of enchanting and stuff are probably a lot more powerful and thus more difficult to learn.

Nothing says I can't come back later and learn them later after I've gotten some magic from the multiverse. This is my 'home' world, after all. It's not going anywhere.

The newest world should be connected now... so why don't I take a little look?

I crouch down, opening the cabinet. 'Oh boy, let's see if I have to waste even more time!'

I gaze to the doorway out of Gensokyo and pause.

"Skyrim"

"Fuck. Alright. I mean, I can work with this... sort of wished for some sort of modern world so I could get a gun, but whatever." I mutter to myself.

I rise to my feet letting out a low hum.

'Then, let's get a novice understanding of Skyrim enchantment-'

Requirements for Novice 'Enchantment Magic' (Skyrim):
An Adept understanding of your Magika
At least 10 spells known and mastered to an Apprentice understanding
Mastery of the 'Soul Trap' spell of Adept Level or higher. ​

"…"

"Piss." I lowly curse.

It's easier than Touhou enchantment, and hell, it might even be a good stepping stone, into said touhou enchantment magic.

Well, if that isn't possible, what other things can I possibly learn with this little token.

The two remaining skyrim options are blacksmithing and alchemy, and of the two, Alchemy would probably be more useful.

Consumables!

I could sell a treatment for something instead of a cure! Like every hospital ever.

Learn Novice Alchemy? ​

Oh? So I can just learn it? No requirements?

Alright. That's good.

'Yes. Learn Novice Alchemy'

I flinch as a minor headache washes over me, like someone had given my forehead a little pinch, but in the next moment it is gone.

I let out a quiet sigh as I rub my forehead. My eyes stray the wall in front of me as I briefly skim through the knowledge I had just received.

Alchemy... is weak?

No. That's incorrect.

It would be better to say that it isn't portrayed like it is in the games... and I was given only the briefest of understandings.

I know how to make a healing poultice which improves the rate at which cuts heal when it is applied to bandages.

It improves the natural healing rate two to three times, but it's not a simple 'sip a potion and regain all of your health' like in skyrim.

Though... the fact that I now know how to make this healing salve merely shows how utterly basic it is. Garlic, and Juniper berries mashed up. It wouldn't do anything at all if I were to mash it up and turn it into a potion form.

Perhaps actual potions that function similarly to the game do exist... but I am simply too inexperienced to comprehend them.

I need more knowledge, but this is a good starting point. I was given enough knowledge to know my way around a mortar and pestle, but not much beyond that.

If I had to explain the knowledge I have received... it's like I took a week-long class at a school. Eight hours, while not truly impressive, is a decent amount of time. Enough to learn one extremely basic recipe like the healing poultice.

More than enough for my needs.

A smirk forms on my lips.

Alchemy is indeed a wondrous money making method, I just need more time and more knowledge.

That means I need books.

I stand to my full height, grabbing a baggy newsboy-like cap to place on my head to hide my additional pair of ears, then I carefully wrap my tail around my waist like I am some sort of knockoff saiyan and slip on an outer coat.

I crouch down, gently opening the door into skyrim, peering around carefully.

Red banners with the image of dragons rest outside of the alleyway I seem to have connected to, a smirk forms on my lips as I gaze around the dirty, dusty alleyway slowly. 'Wait... this is... Solitude!'

My portal seems to have imbedded itself into a staircase leading down into the sewers.

That's useful. As now it won't look like I'm just coming out of thin air to the people walking along the streets.

A plan forms in my head. Taking into account a certain institution which resides in Solitude and thinking about the... forms of entertainment they have.

I grab the fiddle case which had been sat nearby, plus all of the money I have gathered thus far, or what remains of it, roughly six hundred dollars, then I crawl through the hole and rise to my full height. Careful not to allow my tail to move underneath my coat.

The world seals up behind me as I let out a low hum. "Alright. Let's get to that bard's college and get me some money."

My plan is quite simple.

Instruments in skyrim are quite basic. Basic drums, horns, flutes, lutes.

I also assume they have harps and lyres, but want to know something I haven't seen?

Violins. Or fiddles.

I am going to go sell my fiddle for quite the pretty penny as a unique instrument.

It's quite well made, all things considered, for it and the wooden case, I would normally be expecting around three hundred dollars, but, of course, I'm going to upcharge It. I'm hoping to get possibly twice that or more.

I step out of the alley, glancing around slowly, people walk along the streets going about their daily lives.

This hustle and bustle is quite a bit different from the youkai village. It feels almost modern in a way.

I can see a few guardsmen here and there, clad in red cloth and metal armor that covers their entire bodies.

I silent walk up to one, the man looking over to me.

"Yes? What is it?" He questions with a gruff almost dismissive voice.

"Do you know the way to the bard's college?" I quietly ask, while gazing around the surroundings.

This place is... quite a bit larger than in the game.

It's sort of suffocating.

The man gestures over his shoulder with a thumb. "Follow this road, take the first right, then continue walking until you see the sign somewhere on your left. If you reach the Blue Palace you've walked too far."

"Thank you." I nod once as I turn and walk away, following his directions to a T

I weave through crowds as I turn and walk down another street, eyes slowly skimming the left side of the street.

I listen in on conversations as I walk. I do sort of need to determine where exactly I am in the timeline.

"I've heard that Ulfric Stormcloak has been trained in the way of the voice by the greybeards."

"Bah, you really believe those damned Stormcloak tall tales? They just say that to get more people to join up. Make it seem like their leader is more than just a man."

"Damn bastards all of them." A third pipes up. "If it wasn't for my injury, I'd join up with the imperial army and send them to oblivion myself."

"I also heard that Ulfric said that he plans to challenge High King Torygg to a duel." The first man states.

"Ulfric this. Ulfric that. That's all you ever talk about. Are you some sort of filthy Stormcloak sympathizer? I don’t care what he says. If that rat shows up, I can only hope that the imperials put him down like the dog he is."

Admittedly I don't remember much about skyrim lore, but I do remember the little section at the start where that general guy said he shouted the high king apart. Sooo I'm before the game officially starts and Alduin returns.

That's good.

I'm not strong enough to deal with dragons quite yet.

I spy a truly massive building, steps leading up to a fairly large courtyard, a wooden sign is impaled into the ground, the destination I have been looking for.

"Bard's College."

It's time to go make some money!