Fortune Favors (QQ) Chapter 17 (Patreon)

I make my way down the steps into the blacksmithing room.

It's hot, a little dark, an ear-piercing clang is reverberating across the walls and causing my ears to flatten as they ring slightly.

It appears that Lisbeth is alone for now, thus I don't really need to keep up my 'fake person' routine.

I step forwards, quietly calling out to the girl. "Hey, Lisbeth."

"Hm?" She hums, looking up from her current work, it appears she's finally working on those iron bars I gave her ages ago. "Oh! Hello Argo! What can I do for you?"

"Two things, firstly, read this book to completion. It will unlock a special trait for your smithing, next, can you please contact the other Argo? I heard that she was doing some alchemy, right? I'm going to sponsor her as I am in need of someone who can use this world's cheat system to create alchemical items... oh, I'll also be giving the lesser Argo a copy of the recipe for meadow metal so using the new trait the book gives you, it'll be possible to improve a meadow blade to frankly ridiculous levels."

"Huh?"

"Oh, you'll unlock 'Prestiege'. Where you can increase the total enhancement cap back to zero after you successfully manage to enhance it to its maximum. Oh, and Yui, as a small addition, can you make it so this enhancement applies to all weapons that share the same name? Treating it as a form of 'mastery' instead of limiting it to a single sword? So, for instance, if Lisbeth here gets a Meadow Blade up to plus one hundred, she can bring all others up to an equal level without having to waste resources raising that sword's cap."

"..."

A ghostly voice echoes around me. "Confirmed..."

I snap my fingers with a small smirk then hand over the book. "Well, here you go. If what Yui told me is correct, you'll be able to enhance a meadow blade to the point where it'll deal around four hundred damage... which means it'll do around half the damage of the unenhanced floor fifty boss drop weapon. And even more importantly, you'll be given a lot more experience for enhancing the weapons in such a way."

"So, I should focus on it right away?" The girl asks.

"it'd probably help clear the game faster." I nod slowly. "I doubt you'd be able to get the weapon in question up to plus one hundred any time soon, but the main thing we are looking for is gaining skill experience."

"I see." The girl mutters. "Skill experience. Alright, I've got it. I'll read through the book and get to working right away!"

She turns away from the forge, opening the book only to pause a moment later. "Oh! Right, I need to call send a message to Argo, right?"

--Linebreak--

Pov: elsewhere.
A blonde slowly walks into a shop as she briefly scans her messages yet again.

Lisbeth said that Argo the Fox wanted to see her, so he must have some sort of unique quest.

They haven't quite made it to floor five yet, taking a brief respite to catch up on experience, money, and quests.

Being over geared has its benefits, but they are now at a point where their gear is steadily becoming less and less useful. Next floor it will be completely outclassed by Iron. Even now, some enemy drops are surpassing the Meadow Blade by a considerable portion.

Ah well, maybe the fox is up to something. That npc hasn't utterly broken the balance of anything since floor one. Maybe it's about time for him to do something else.

The blonde information specialist marches up the stairs eventually coming to the room Argo- the fox- normally resides.

She is still totally convinced that some fucking game dev was having a laugh at her. She was known as 'Argo the Rat' in the beta and is still called that to this day.

She did eventually get her little painted whiskers back from that unarmed combat teacher quest on floor two, though. So now there's Argo the Rat... and Argo the Fox.

Her hand wraps around the door handle and twists, causing the door to slowly swing open with a creak.

On the other side, a key aspect to the survival of everyone within her server sits in a chair, feet kicked up on a small stool, book in lap.

The room is fairly dark, but the lounging merchant hears the door open, his head turning towards her. His red eyes gleam in the darkness, causing her hand to twitch briefly.

"Ah! My friend!" The teen smiles brightly as he stands, with a snap of his finger, a small ball of light appears above him, causing the room to brighten up. "It is wonderful to see you again!"

"What do you need, Argo?" The girl question as she finds her eyes drawn to a strange glowing table. "Wait... What's that?"

"That? Oh, that's just an enchanting table I'm trying to figure out."

"ENCHANTING?!" The girl shouts.

"I'm trying to figure out a way for humans to use it, as, well, you humans can't use magic like youkai can." The fox lazily waves off. "But first, I actually need to learn how to enchant, and that'll probably take some time."

"So... do you need some sort of reagent to learn faster?" The girl questions, eyes wide, greed crossing her face as she practically salivates at another crafting profession, one that didn't even exist in the beta.

Or it did exist in the beta... and it was out of their reach... thus it is a really high-level profession like Fishing.

"No. Regretfully not. The key aspect of enchanting is figuring out how to trap the souls of monsters into stones to power the magic in the items. I haven't even learned the spell to even try that yet. Then I need a fair mastery in other spells to enchant upon the weapons. If I don't know how to control magical fire, how could I ever add it to a weapon?" The black haired youkai continues. "What I want you to do... is something completely unrelated. You see, I am in great need of a master alchemist and I have heard that you are one of the more accomplished alchemists in this town."

"Why do you want a master alchemist?" The girl mutters.

"Ah, there is a small little project I am working on. A race change potion. I have the most important ingredient on hand, but I'll need to go through a lot of steps to make it happen. The fruit that I have been given from that treant was one of the ingredients, but it needs to be processed. In addition I'll need three more. But do not worry I can handle this. What I want you to focus on, would be honing your skills as an alchemist."

"That is why... I've gone out of my way to purchase some ingredients for you to make use of." Argo-the fox- gesture to the numerous boxes lining the floor. "Take those and craft. Get as much use as you can out of them. I will even let you make use of my alchemical lab... just don't break anything. The maintenance guide is sat on the table beside it."

A screen appears to the left of the girl's vision.

Alchemical Mastery:
Argo has revealed that he is in need of a master alchemist, and what better way to get a master alchemist than to sponsor a budding one! They're less likely to betray you that way!
Objective:
Raise Alchemy Skill Level to 1000: [ ]
Rewards: ?, Potential Unique one of a kind Skill. ​

Her eyes bug out at that last little bit in the rewards.

A... A one of a kind Skill?! It... surely, it'd be related to alchemy in some way, thus, by completing this quest, she'd not only become the strongest alchemist in Sword Art... but she'd also gain a skill that would ensure that she'd always be the best alchemist in SAO.

The youkai seems to have gone back to reading, so the girl quickly walks around him, looking into the boxes.

What... are these?

The girl pulls out a pretty looking flower, it is quite long, with blue veiny petals slowly spiraling down the length.

She hasn't seen anything like this before.

Deathbell:
A flower typically found within the deepest swamps of Aincrad, Some stories claim it grows where unfortunate deaths have taken place, others insist it grows first and then lures unsuspecting people and animals to their doom. ​

"Argo." The youkai behind her speaks up, causing the girl with the shared name to flinch slightly and turn to face him.

"Yeah?" It's always weird when an Npc calls their player name.

"People in this world can develop incredible abilities if they just try... but, very rarely, when someone truly masters something... far beyond anything ever done before, they develop innate talents surpassing what they had already accomplished. Swordsmanship, spearmanship, archery, martial arts, smithing, even using armor or fishing... However. You must be mindful... this world only seems to reward the first person who achieves such mastery of a skill. Anyone else who matches them at a later date... will find their skills inferior."

"People gain... special perks for maxing out skills?!" The girl whispers. "But only the first people?!"

A grin slowly crosses the girl's face, her eyes practically shining, you could almost see the image of a yen coin in them.

That is valuable information... and to an info dealer like Argo- the rat- that sort of information is making her a little bit wet.

She'll probably tell Kirito about it, as, well, frankly he's probably the strongest player in the server. This sort of information will absolutely earn her a favor and it's always good to have friends in high places!

"Oh, and before I forget... Here. The recipe for Meadow Metal." Argo-fox lazily states as he reaches behind himself and pulls out a small stack of papers. "I probably won't be making much money on it anymore, and frankly it's a bit of a hassle to produce."

"..." Girl-Argo stares blankly at Boy Argo for a long moment, then looks through the papers.

Wait... Nepenthes flower... fruit... large nepenthes digestive fluid... oh this fox is fucking EVIL. He had the method to make the bars... and basically gave out a sword for the ingredients of ten swords!

Her eyes stray to the back of his head, a small respect gleaming deep in her eyes.

Whoever coded the black-hearted merchant aspect of him really did a good job.

Damn it! Is it egotistical to be aroused by an NPC that was TOTALLY created in her own image just to mock her?

Ah well.

New husbando acquired.

We simp for fox boy in this household.

Regardless, the recipe for meadow metal is fairly useful. The meadow blades and armor are decent, but their main weakness is that they could not be upgraded as they just didn't have access to bars of metal.

But now? They can improve their swords! Getting Iron-tier weapons and armor even before floor five!

Plus, she just might be able to wring out a little more experience from this recipe before she moves into the things Argo-two has oh so graciously prepared for her.

--Linebreak--

Pov: returned.

So. Enchantment.

Fucking annoying.

I need to get an adept understanding of Soul Trap which means about eight hundred hours of work.

That's what I've been doing for the past couple of days. Trying to figure out the Soul Trap spell.

Argo- the girl- has been making some decent progress. It appears that some of the ingredients I bought were quite high-value. The atronach salts, dremora hearts, hagraven feathers, that sort of thing.

The College seems to be the go-to place to get Atronach salts and Dremora hearts. They had dozens on hand. Probably from failed summoning rituals.

Or... correct summoning rituals?

I assume atronach salts as pretty valuable, and if the requirements to summon them are low, I could see those being quite the money maker for the college.

Regardless, those are quite advanced crafting ingredients, ones that Argo couldn't even make use of, yet.

The first two days, the girl wanted to get some metal for Lisbeth.

Understandable, as their best weapons and armor are unenhanced.

But after that, she dove into the ingredients I have given.

According to Yui, her alchemical skill has already risen to about forty five... and Lisbeth's crafting skill has gone from the low fifties all the way to sixty in just seven days.

It was wise to give Lisbeth the Prestige perk... now her skill- and actual level- experience will never stop.

She's already risen the meadow blade's maximum cap from plus eight up to plus twelve. Meaning they'd be on par with a plus two iron sword. Argo-two has taken deep interest in this.

One issue, I will note, is that Lisbeth's luck stat isn't high enough to seriously capitalize on enhancing. Getting a sword to plus one? Sure. That's easy. The chance is basically one hundred percent for even novice level one blacksmiths.

The main issue comes from enhancing items to greater levels. If you fail an enhancement, the level of the sword drops by one, thus if you have a plus five sword and try to get it to plus six, but fail, it won't just simply stay at plus five, it'll drop all the way to plus four.

The key issue in this is that if you fail to enchant something three times in a row, the level is reset back to zero. And that can be quite costly for a blacksmith.

Luckily, my new alchemist minion is covering the cost of getting Lisbeth more meadow metal and using her profits from selling her new potions on the market to supply the girl with more materials to craft. Frankly, I might even step in and give her a few luck spirits, but Lisbeth might injure herself with them, which is why I have refrained so far.

As for Argo-with tits- she should be high enough level to make the growth liquid, but that's merely step one of several.

Heck, it isn't even used in the actual recipe. It's used to transform a plant-based field boss on the tenth floor.

Yeaaah, that'll be a bit of an issue, actually. It's supposed to be pretty strong already. I'll be forced to gather an entire raiding party. Like... even beyond the core five I'm already connected with.

I doubt that just five people would be able to take it. Even with the main character in the party.

Regardless, that requires growth liquid. Which requires four fruits of growth...

Which means I need flowers for Yuuka.

Flowers for Yuuka is a task in and of itself as I need to find unique ones.

The real question is 'what do I bring her'?

Uhhh... first and foremost, I could see about grabbing some blue spider lilies from demon slayer. Then after that I could nab some prehistoric flowers from Land Before Time.

That's a good plan.

"Well." I begin as I stand up, closing my soul trap book and startling the blonde girl using the alchemy lab behind me. "I must go. There is something I need to prepare and it's likely I won't be back for quite a while.

--Linebreak--

The paws of my fox form slam on the ground as I rush through the underbrush, my ears folded back, wind ruffling my glossy coat.

It has been a while since I've gone full fox. In a way, it feels pretty nice to be able to run this swiftly.

On the other, every time I move I just keep thinking about that one meme of the fairly athletic guy in shorts with a backpack running up some stairs on all fours.

That's sort of distracting.

Spoiler

Regardless, I've been in this world for quite a while.

Running place to place.

Dodging some annoying fucking hunters who wanted to eat me- they probably shat themselves after I proceeded to breathe a thirty foot gout of fire at them- but, luckily I have been left mostly to my own devices.

Demon slayers are looking for Demons. Not foxes.

Demons are looking for Humans. Not foxes.

That has made my search quite easy but monotonous.

Thankfully I have a sort of pseudo appraisal-like ability that lets me know what something is and roughly how valuable it is.

That is how I plan to find a Blue Spider Lily despite the fact that it is winter and they only bloom for like three days a year in the day time.

I've come across a bunch of red spider lilies and other flowers in seed form, but no blue yet which is a shame as I would like nothing more than to go back home and take a nap right about now.

"..."

Maybe get laid.

It has been a while. Tsukasa has had her hands full with 'Parenthesis Space Space Space Space Closing Parenthesis', apparently her actual name is Shiro.

Dear god that little girl is a mess. Bursting into tears every waking moment her brother isn't there, uncontrolled muttering and shaking. She also has the general emotion of like... a wet brick... so, like, a Dandere.

The only real emotion she shows is when she's having an absolute mental breakdown at lack of comfort.

But.

Tsukasa is Tsukasa.

Tsukasa has a touhou bullshit powers, and those powers are specifically keyed towards manipulation.

In just two weeks of comforting, Tsukasa has gotten Shiro to rely on her like she did for her brother and she is enjoying each and every second of it. She seems overjoyed to have someone to dote on like a mother.

I should tell her that I'm feeling neglected.

I abruptly pause and sniff the air, my vulpine form sliding to a halt as I carve trenches in the snow.

Blood.

I change directions, zooming through the forest yet again as I run with purpose.

Don't be late.

Don't be late.

Everything will be fine as long as I'm not late again.

I pick up speed, my light body not even being enough to break through the slightly icy top layer of snow.

Then, I see it.

A while haired man with a blade of green drawn back, about to cleave the head off a small black haired girl who is crouched over a bleeding boy, a hand clutched to his chest as he breathes heavily, tears prickle at his eyes.

Magic power crackles around my form as I leap forwards.

The world slows down considerably as I reign my aura in.

My vulpine form's paws slam into the man's cheek as his head begins to slowly turn, likely hearing the sound of the snow crunch just before my leap.

His body is hurled aside, green sword flipping from his grasp as my domain expands back outwards.

I land there, gazing up at the short girl, she has fanged teeth and slitted pupils.

Spoiler

"Boy." I hiss out, causing the teen behind her to look down at me.

His injuries are quite bad. It looks like he was slashed across the torso, from stomach to shoulder.

His wound begins to knit back together as I tap into the briefest amounts of healing magic.

"What-" he whispers.

He has purplish maroon colored eyes and dark reddish hair that seems to lighten in color to the tips. His clothes are bloody, both from carrying the girl stood before him and from his injury.

Spoiler

"Boy. This man is going to kill your sister." I observe. "Are you just going to stand by and let this happen?"

"Wh-What?" He whispers. "What is going on?! Who is that? Why is a fox speaking?!"

"I said... are you going to let that happen?" I ask again, this time more forcefully.

His eyes gain clarity, his face falls into a much more serious expression.

He has shoved aside his sheer confusion for the briefest of moments, body shaking as he staggers to his feet.

A sword stabs into the snow as I stare into the boy's eyes. "Pick up that sword... and defend yourself. Defend your sister. Otherwise you will both die."

My gaze snaps to the side as a very swift hand reaches towards me.

I leap, body slipping into a pipe created by faux creation.

I bounce around the clearing at high speed, eventually pausing just above the dark haired boy.

I land on his shoulder and sit there as Tanjiro's hand clenches around the hilt of Excalibur.

He flinches at my sudden appearance but glares at the white haired man in front of him.

"Why are you doing this?! Why are you attacking us!" He shouts, pointing the blade at the man in front of us. It's clear, just from this, that he has never wielded a sword before.

"YOU PROTECT A DEMON!" The white haired man snarls. "Why shouldn't I kill you?"

Now that I look over him, I can tell... he isn't supposed to be here.

Scars crisscross his body as he stands there with his shirt opened. He has messy white hair and maddened purple eyes.

"Nezuko isn't a demon!" Tanjiro shouts.

"Calm."

A wave of calm seems to enter the white haired man's eyes as a gentle green glow surrounds his head.

"She is." I cut in. "She was infected by the person who killed your family. This man on the other hand is a demon hunter, sent to kill demons who eat humans. The fact that she hasn't broken down and sunk her teeth into your neck despite you showing your back to her is a sheer testament of her willpower."

"Regardless. This hot blooded idiot does not seem like one to listen to reason, and while I've temporarily calmed him with magic... it won't last forever. He is breaking out, startlingly quickly in fact. So, the only option here is to beat him into submission. But. You are unskilled in combat. Your body is weaker than his. I can narrow the gap, but the real question is if you have the resolve to fight for your sibling's life."

"H-How do I beat him?" The boy whispers.

"Do you remember that dance your father used to do, boy?" I question.

"Wh-how did you know about-"

"That dance is the last remnants of the original demon slaying sword style... Sun Breathing." I begin, only to pause. "But. Even with that... it won't be enough. You should run. Listen to me very carefully, boy."

"You are going to take Excalibur here... and cut your sister."

"Wh-" the teen begins

"Not a deep cut. Or a life-threatening cut. Just enough to draw blood." I continue. "At which point, Excalibur will remove the demonic blood that has permeated throughout her body. With it removed... she should return to being human... at which point, you are going to take her and flee. This man, while unhinged and psychopathic... is not your enemy. Who knows what hardships he has faced up to this point to make him like this."

"You should not hold his attempted murder of your sister against him, because frankly, in this situation... she is the odd one. Freshly turned demons kill without thought. Siblings kill siblings. Lovers kill lovers. And parents kill their own children."

"N-Nezuko..." Tanjiro whispers as he turns, facing the girl.

Oh my god she's drooling.

She gazes past the boy, he flinches back as I assume he realizes the same thing I am.

"Cut her." I whisper into Tanjiro's ear. "Cut her before she loses control and attacks him."

"N-Nezuko..." Tanjiro whispers. "Please bare with this! I'm sorry!"

There is a gentle swing of the sword as it glows, blood splatters across the girl's forearm.

There's a brief moment of shock that crosses her body, she stares down at her cut forearm even as blood begins to bubble out of it.

A betrayed look sits on her face as the blood begins to float upwards.

She grits her teeth, eyes bloodshot.

"Calm." I forcefully demand as my domain shrinks.

I suddenly leap as a green haze appears around the girl's head as I land atop her head.

The pommel of a katana rushes towards where I was sitting on Tanjiro's shoulder, it appears our resident demon slayer was going to knock me aside and knock Tanjiro unconscious in a single move.

The handle continues towards the side of his head, but then something strange happens.

His hands tilt back as if he was going to cut into his own skull with the blade in his grasp, but he misses, the blade of Excalibur coming to rest just off his shoulder, a bit to the left of where I was standing moments before.

The hilt of the wind Hashira's sword makes contact with the side of the blade, then he is suddenly hurled backwards with tremendous force.

The demon slayer spins through the air, his sword flying from his grasp and sinking into the trunk of a tree about ten feet off the ground.

Well.

Canon's well and truly fucked.

Should have expected that by killing what's his face and saving butterfly girl's... mom?

Sister.

It was sister.

She's not old enough to be her mother.

My eyes flick from the girl I am stood atop- most of my weight carried by my basic flying skills- then to the Wind Hashira before me.

Excalibur here seemed to take issue with the first 'righteous' person it has seen since I found it, getting injured, so it forced Tanjiro to block that blow.

My eyes slide to the blood as it stops flowing, then as it drops I trap it in a bubble and place it into corked vials.

Nazuko abruptly falls prone, like a puppet who had her strings cut as she falls limp in the snow.

My eyes stray to the girl, seeing the gentle rise and fall of her chest.

'Oh good. Didn't kill her. The chance it would wasn't large- as Excalibur is a benevolent piece of scrap and she had done nothing wrong- but it was more than zero'.

The teen in front of me breathes heavily, eyes wide as he looks to the sword.

"What- what just-"

The Hashira in front of us lets out a noise that sounds similar to a feral animal as he gets back up.

"You-"

"There are no demons here. Not anymore. Leave." I call out. "I understand you fight for a noble cause, but, If you continue to annoy me, I might get a little violent. You need to keep in mind that your actions reflect the entire demon corps. Angering me, now... is a poor decision. You already have your hands full with the likes of Muzan Kibutsuji. How would you feel if you made another enemy. A worse enemy. One who can act even in the day. One who can appear anywhere at any time. And one, who if provoked, could bring threats far surpassing anything Muzan is capable of."

"YOU FUCKING-"

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro shouts as he rushes over to the prone girl, the gash on her arm had been healed by my magic, he tosses aside Excalibur as he cradles her in his arms.

"I believe that this is where I take my exit." I state calmly. "The girl is both alive... and very human."

With a flick of my tail, Excalibur is reclaimed, then I slip into a pipe, rapidly circling the clearing.

I land atop the katana stuck in the tree. "Oh, and I believe I'll be taking this."

The sword is tugged out of the tree trunk, and as gravity begins to reclaim me, both the sword and myself disappear into another created pipe.

The pipe curves, then in the next moment I shoot off into the sky at high speeds.