Fortune Favors (QQ) Chapter 19 (Patreon)

I walk through the streets of the first floor, a mission at hand. 

Thanks to around one hundred and fifty thousand more players joining our server... that has allowed Yui and Aincrad to create thirty more copies of the floor one, two, three, four, and five monster alchemy books. 

My tail swishes behind me, gaze slowly straying back and forth. An exclamation point over my head. 

Another group stops me. 

"Hello!" I smile brightly. "I-" 

I take in the group's features. 'What the fresh fuck?!' 

"-Am in need of some assistance! And you four look capable enough." 

My gaze falls upon the highest level of the quartet, a petite girl with pink hair tied into pigtails. 

She is not so subtly taking in my appearance, a lusty grin on her face. 

She wipes her mouth. "What do you need, fox guy?" 

"I am mainly in need of supplies. If you and your group can collect twenty rolls of cotton fabric for me, and ten spools of cotton thread. I will give you an extremely rare and unique book that contains all the knowledge that I've collected about the surrounding monster's in Aincrad! Such as their habits, general locations, what items you could expect to find nearby, and even how to harvest specialized alchemy ingredients from their bodies!" 

"Natsuki..." The brown haired older looking girl towards the back of the group whispers. "Couldn't we technically make copies of this with the scribe skill?" 

"I... Don't know." The girl shrugs. "Regardless, we should probably try... a rare book that allows people to collect unique alchemy ingredients from monsters they kill?! It's like a passive skill in a book!" 

She turns back to me. "We accept!" 

The group of four girls turn and begin to walk away as I turn and begin walking, watching the girls from the corner of my eye. 

Strange... 

Nasugi Lv 19 
Monique Lv 18 
Sayonaise Lv 18 
Yuri Lv 18 

Why are the girls from Doki Doki Literature Club here? 

Whatever. Not the weirdest thing I have seen. 

I continue walking, continuing my 'quest giving spiel' a few more times. 

Why am I getting cotton? 

Eh. Sort of just seemed like it'd be useful to have, honestly. 

Enough cotton to make a simple shirt would be about... five hundred and fifty cotton balls. 

SAO once more shows just how cheaty it is by having shirts be created from three spools of fabric... and one spool of thread. 

Now. 

That isn't really the cheaty part. 

That, in fact, is a bit over-priced considering how large the spools of thread and rolls of cloth look. 

You could likely create one shirt out of like... maybe one and a half rolls of fabric and half a spool of thread. 

What IS cheaty, however, is the fact that people here can turn twenty five cotton balls into a roll of fabric. 

So... each and every shirt is made of anywhere from around seventy five to eighty balls of cotton. 

This is where I step in, take the spools of thread and the cloth outside of Aincraid, the threads in question being considerably high quality despite the fact that this world has no machines to clean or refine the cotton further... then I can sell them in the outside world. 

Not touhou, as every bit of clothing there is typically made from silk, but I could likely get a reasonable price in Skyrim or something. 

It turns out, when there's a race of spider youkai who can use magic to spin a near endless amount of silk, the price of clothes would go down... who knew! 

I pause as I see something. 

'oh?' 

"Give me your items!" A taller man snarls, looming over a small girl. "Otherwise, the next time you go out of town, me and my friends will show you the true meaning of pain!" 

My eyes flick towards the small girl. 

Wait... a second. 

I walk forwards, glaring at the orange player with narrowed eyes. He pauses seeing the exclamation point over my head, but then... it disappears. 

"You. Leave this town, criminal." I growl out. 

An orange player. Level eleven. 

That means his reputation is pretty low. If I remember correctly, you become an orange player for repeatedly attacking players, heck, I think you'll even stay orange if you kill a player... at least that's what Kirito said in the anime to red haired bitch. 

We're fairly close to the entrance of the city, so it looks like he snuck inside the Town of Beginnings. 

His eyes widen as they flick up towards my level, then he turns and runs without another word. 

I hold out a hand. 

FWOOOSH 

A gout of fire rockets after him, but it stops just short of hitting him. 

Just as intended. A little kick in the ass to get him moving just a little bit faster. 

I crouch down beside the small girl. "Are you alright?" 

Silica Lv 1 

She quietly sniffles, tears in her eyes. 

"M-Mhm." She nods mutely. 

I offer her a hand which she gently takes, I gently pull her to her feet. 

"Player Silica's hunger stat is reaching the negatives. She is going to begin taking penalties for starvation... in addition, Player Silica does not have enough money to purchase food as she is terrified of leaving the beginner town." Yui's ethereal voice seems to echo out in my ear. 

"Would... you like something to eat?" I question. 

She nods once. 

"Alright, follow me, then." 

"Argo?" A voice questions towards the end of the little alley I have found myself in.  

I turn, seeing the girl who shares my name. 

"Ah! My friend. It is good to see you again." I smile as I turn and approach. "Great timing. I need you to create something really quickly that is needed for the race change potion." 

"Oh?" 

Yui has given me a slightly revised recipe. A lot of the bullshit has been cut out thanks to the Blue Spider Lily. 

I pull a vial of blood from my bag and offer it to the blonde girl. "Here. This is what you will be using to create the race change potion." 

The girl gazes down at the vial of blood. 

"This is- demon blood? It already changes races?" She whispers. 

"Come on. I'll give you the other things I collected back at the shop. You should also carefully store that. It isn't something you'd want getting on you." 

I begin to walk deeper into the alley- as- 

"Guh-" Argo is promptly body-checked by someone running past, the vial of blood flipping through the air. "You mother fucker- hrk-" 

I can barely even offer up a surprised blink as... 

It shatters over Silica's head. 

"..." 

"..." 

Red drips down over her face. 

"..." 

"Is... that bad?" The blonde girl behind me questions. 

"Very." 

The brown haired girl lets out a weak groan as she stumbles back, a hand coming up to her head. 

There's a low hiss as her skin seems to steam and smoke. 

I snap my fingers, swinging my arm downwards. 

A towering double door appears at the end of the alleyway, casting a shadow over the girl as she falls to her knees, letting out a small cry as she writhes. 

"Into the door. Now." I demand while glaring over my shoulder towards the butterfingered idiot who just ROYALLY fucked up. 

I pick up the small brown haired girl and quickly make my way inside the door, coming back to the second floor of my store. 

Argo quickly follows behind me. 

I make my way into the alchemical lab, gently placing the brown haired girl on the floor. 

I turn to the blonde. "Take these four... and this. You need to condense use the mortar to grind down the fruit into a paste. Take that paste and dilute it with water. Boil. Then you will collect the condensation into its own container. Repeat the process once more. Then. You take that blue spider lily and you are going to grind it up, using the condensed fruit of growth alongside it. 

"Player Argo's Alchemy Skill level is not high enough to create a perfected version of the medicine." 

I whisper under my breath. "Yui. Allow luck to supersede skill level. A colossal dumbass can do something even a master artisan is incapable of with enough luck." 

"That- Player Argo's Luck stat is not high enough to attempt such a thing. It is her lowest stat, sitting at just a mere seven. The chance for success is zero point two percent." 

So... a one in five hundred, huh? 

My eyes stray to the twitching brown haired girl, her nails seem to extend as she lets out a low growl. 

Long, thin, and surprisingly deep scratches are carved into the floorboards. 

"We only have a single chance at this." I begin quietly. "The chance for you successfully making such medicine at your current skill level is... laughably low. That is why we are going to try... something." 

I slowly reach into the bamboo pipe at my waist and pull out a test tube filled with an ectoplasmic-like goop. 

"What is that-" the blonde questions. 

I pull the stopper out, causing a torrent of spectral foxes to spew from the opening. 

They number in the fifties. 

"Let's see what one does." I begin as I swipe a finger downwards. 

One of the ghost foxes shoot towards Fem-Agro and sinks into her chest, she looks down in surprise as the tail disappears into her. "Huh?" 

A buff has been granted: Fox's Luck: 

Fox's Luck:  
The unbound energy of a Kuda Gitsune. They can improve the luck of a user, but the cost is typically quite substantial. 
Increases Luck Stat by 5. whenever a beneficial effect is triggered as a result of your improved luck, that you normally would not get, such as a random critical hit, or getting a rare drop, you take 1 points of damage. 

Argo: Level 28 
HP 1530/1530 

Status: 
STR: 10 
VIT: 16 
INT: 10  
AGI: 31 
DEX: 31 
LUK: 7 (12) 

"Wait... you can do what?!?" The girl hisses. 

With a wave of my hand, a second fox is shot at her. 

Fox's Luck: (x2)  
Increases Luck Stat by 10. whenever a beneficial effect is triggered as a result of your improved luck, that you normally would not get, such as a random critical hit, or getting a rare drop, you take 3 points of damage. 

Ah. So the damage is going to increase massively, ah? 

A third spirit increases it to fifteen and seven. 

I continue adding and adding. 

Fox's Luck: (x10)  
Increases Luck Stat by 50. whenever a beneficial effect is triggered as a result of your improved luck, that you normally would not get, such as a random critical hit, or getting a rare drop, you take 1023 points of damage. 

"The chance for this working is now roughly six point four percent." 

"The chance is too low." I growl quietly. "We've only got one shot at this, and even with all the luck I've granted you I predict you'd only have about a one in twenty chance of pulling it off... those aren't numbers I'm comfortable with. 

Silica's eyes are bloodshot. What was once a nice brown color have quickly shifted into a blood red, her pupils are slitted, her canine teeth seem to sharpen. 

"Calm." I demand, a flash of green exploding around the girl. 

I close my eyes, cupping my chin. 

The chance is so low because she is incapable of the extremely finicky alchemy required to process the materials. I sure as hell wouldn't trust myself to do this. 

My eyes snap open. 

We... just need to improve her skill level, then. 

"Wait. Use your other ingredients as practice. My spirits will sap your vitality, but I should be able to use my magic to heal you. 

"Right." The girl nods as she quickly rushes over to the items she was unable to mess with due to her skill level. The frost, void, and fire salts, the Daedric hearts and items like that. 

Silica seems to have lost consciousness. Good. I bet she is in quite a lot of pain right now and that isn't something I want to force her to live through. 

~~Linebreak~~

A sheen of sweat rests on Girl Argo's body. 

Taking more than half your health in damage over and over again is apparently a little mentally taxing. 

However, you cannot deny the results. 

She had to delve into her own supplies as well, but, finally after hours of grinding, we finally brought the percentage chance up to around twenty percent. 

That was about as high as we could get it... even with nearly tripling her alchemy stat through crafting extremely high-leveled potions.  

To be fair, I gave Argo a luck stat that wouldn't be out of place in level eighties. You would have to choose to improve solely luck for sixteen levels to come close to equaling what I gave her. 

I let out a long breath I didn't know I was holding as the liquid of swirled gold and blue disappears past the small girl's lips. 

I look up to the blonde. "If you ever handle that ingredient so recklessly again I will kick you out." 

"Y-yeah. I understand." The girl mutters. 

"I-Uh... I'm going to go sell my extra stock." 

"Wait." I hold up my hand. 

Her body seems to glow as numerous foxes float from her body and evaporate. "So you aren't killed by accidentally flipping a coin and it landing on whatever side you want I have removed my spirits." 

"T-Thanks for the help." She weakly smiles, then slinks out of the room. 

I gaze down at Silica, a frown tugging at my lips. 

That... could have gone poorly. 

I was prepared to go and beg Yuuka to get some more Blue Spider Lily had Argo failed her crafting... 

A sigh leaves my mouth. 

This... was all my fault. 

Fucking hell!  

You are LITERALLY not real! You should be affected by his blood unless you press the 'Drink' button on the item in your inventory! 

I gaze over the girl, my shoulders sagging in relief. 

One little slipup nearly cost this girl her life... that- that is... 

Horrifying. 

Fucking Kayaba. If he didn't make this shitty game, I wouldn't have kept Muzan's blood as there would be no need to... then everyone here could have just lived a normal life. 

Hell, make the game just don't lock people in it you fucking psychopath! 

I gaze over the girl as I sit beside her on the floor, running my hand across my face after a long moment. 

Haaah fuck. Let's see what's changed about her. 

Silica: Level 1 
HP 430/430 

Status: 
STR: 22 
VIT: 23 
INT: 1  
AGI: 23 
DEX: 23 
LUK: 1 

"..." 

She had a mere one hundred and ten health back before she transformed... 

A second screen appears in front of me. 

Progenitor Demon. {Race} 

P-Progenitor Demon? So... 

I made her on par with Muzan? 

Benefits: 
Strength, Vitality and Agility, and Dexterity are improved by 21 each. 
You now regenerate health every second even whilst in combat. Instead of once every minute out of combat 
'Demon's Bloodletting' Lifesteal Sword Skill, Unique Special 'Blood Demon Art' skill. 
Total Health Stat is improved by a static 100% 

Detriments: 
Direct exposure to Sunlight inflicts you with an incredibly painful Damage over time Debuff that lasts as long as you are within sunlight dealing 10 damage per second of exposure. Thick clothing or some form of cloak grants you protection from the sun. 
life regeneration is halted when in the presence of Sunlight. 
Health Regeneration is no longer 1% of your max health and is instead a flat 15 Hp for every 8 levels you have. 
A 'Progenitor Demon' must kill one 'Player Character' every two months, otherwise they begin to take penalties to stats. 
A Progenitor Demon that refrains from killing a 'Player Character' for 16 months or more, dies. 

Fuck. 

She... 

She's going to be forced to kill someone... 

She also cannot enter daylight... 

But, this is... a lot better than what she'd normally have. 

The downsides of this are frankly meager in comparison to what she gains. I... I just hope her heart can handle taking another life. 

I'll try and find her a scumbag to kill. The worst of the worst. That'll make it a bit... easier... 

"Yui." 

"Yes?" 

There's a small crackle as the little black haired girl appears, she gazes down upon the unconscious brown haired girl. 

I pull out a small silvery pocket watch with a skull on its front. 

"This, is the Memento Mortem. Supposedly when you discover something dead, you can get a vision of their last moments." 

"Okay..." The ai blinks. 

"I was thinking about giving it to this girl... because while she will be forced to kill... she'll also be an incredible help in clearing the game. I mean, she has twenty eight levels worth of stats right now... plus with her regeneration, I can see her lasting a long time in combat... she might even be able to single handedly defeat bosses." 

"What does that have to do with the magic watch?" 

"Do you have records of each and every single person who has died in this game." 

"Yes." 

"Then could you allow the holder of this watch the enter an small instance dungeon that is just a single instance of frozen time... the death of a player... allowing her to walk and look around." 

"What would the point of this be?" Yui tilts her head. 

"People in this game... have already resorted to killing... I want her- or someone else- to take this watch here... and be able to view these murders... maybe even becoming some sort of 'bounty' quest." 

"The reason as to why I want this is because there are people out there who murder their companions and get no detriment. Manipulating a sleeping player to enter an 'all or nothing' duel, luring monsters, even hiring others to do dirty work for them... all of those people are still green players... and if anyone wants to take matters into their own hands... they become an orange player... for protecting themselves and others, they in-turn will become orange players themselves... I want this item to give players the ability to kill green players, but ONLY those who have in the past without a doubt have murdered someone. And the holder of the watch has confirmed it as such." 

"..." 

"I will see what I can do." Yui sighs. "This... sounds reasonable... but a quest to murder people? That is- you want to give her rewards for killing her fellow humans?" 

"Yes." I nod once. "I mean, don't people already drop their items when they die? How is her getting some EXP any different? Oh. Can you make it so she gets all the items from the criminals she kills? There's no since in letting those go to waste. I understand why you did it... to make it so less people would want to kill their allies, but all of their items disappearing really does suck. What if we lose a boss-drop... or a unique item?" 

"That is... fair." 

~~Linebreak~~

The brown haired girl lets out a weak groan as she sits up, looking around blearily. 

"Are you alright?" I question. 

"I-" she winces, bringing a hand to her head. "What happened?" 

"Your... race was changed." I admit quietly. 

"My race... changed?" She whispers.  "What- what does that mean?!" 

"I'm... I'm sorry. I did the best I could, but I was only able to slightly weaken the side effects..." I bow my head slightly. "I'm afraid that... if you are touched by sunlight now... you'll die." 

"W-WHat?!" The girl shrieks. 

"I-I-I-I Became a vampire?!" There are little stars in her eyes. 

h-huh? 

This was... certainly not the reaction I expected. 

"Not... exactly." I admit. "Similar but-" 

"OOOOH!" She gasps. "I've got something called a blood demon art?! That's awesome!" 

She leaps up, raising her hands over her head. "I'm a vampire!" 

"I'm gonna be so cool! Get a cloak. I'm going to be super mysterious and awesome!" She babbles blushing quietly wrapping her arms across her chest. "And then I'll hang upside down from the ceiling and find a boyfriend and then I'd kiss him while being upside down! While slowly but surely dragging him into the supernatural world at large and-" 

"You need to kill your fellow man to survive." I cut in. 

The girl's voice dies. 

"W-What?" 

"Every two months that you go without killing someone... you grow weaker... if you wait one year and four months... you will die." 

The girl grows pale, red eyes growing wider. "But-But surely we'd be finished with the game by then, right?!" 

"Unlikely." 

"I-I-I I won't kill anyone!" The girl shouts. 

"Not even someone who has already killed someone?" 

"H-Huh?" 

"You didn't realize? People are out there at this very moment... killing your fellow players for whatever meager items they might have... hell, maybe even for fun! You witnessed it yourself, didn't you? A player threatening you in a safe zone? Threatening to kill you the next time you were to leave town? There are even people who get away with killing unpunished... luring monsters and manipulating someone sleeping into accepting a duel with them. If they do that... they will not become an orange player." 

The girl's eyes narrow slightly as I continue. 

"You have been gifted with truly tremendous strength. I-" 

"..." 

"I just realized I could have purified you with Excalibur..." I whisper. 

I rub my temples. 'Fucking hell. I wasted SUCH an expensive ingredient on this.' 

"You have two options... the first, I purify you with Excalibur. The second, you can keep this tremendous power and use it to your own advantage. If you don't realize it yet, you have stats comparable to a level twenty eight... plus two unique skills. You could help so many people." 

"But... I'd be forced to kill once every two months to keep this strength?" She whispers, looking down at her hands. Her nails have extended into sharp little claws. 

"Is- Is there any way for you to use Excalibur on me later?" She whispers. 

"I... suppose I could." I nod slowly.  

A determined glint sits in her eye as she stands up. "I'm going to use this power for good!" 

"Alright..." I whisper. "I will support you, then." 

I pull a pocket watch from behind my back. "This... is the Memento Mortem. A magic pocket watch. What it does... is allow you to find the location of murdered players and view their last moment. Even if you don't want to kill, you should be able to use this to figure out who has killed in the past. At which point, you can inform a traveling knowledge broker that works here quite often. Her name is also Argo." 

"oh... I see!" The girl exclaims. "I'll- I'll be a vampire detective and save lives!" 

She looks at the skull pocket watch for a moment before taking it. "I-I won't let you down, Mr. Naut!" 

"Call me Argo." I frown, face flattening. 

"Okay, Mr. Argo!" 

"..." 

Normally I'd get a little mad and assume she's being a smart ass, but she's just... 

Too fucking pure. 

I rub my forehead. "Come on. Let's get you some better gear. You roughly have the physical stats of a level twenty eight, but they'll likely be able to easily defeat you thanks to the gear difference or if they specialize. I'll take you to Lisbeth... oh. And don't leave the shop for another hour. It's still day." 

"Yes! I understand!" The girl beams. 

"Oh. And don't be too obvious... or disclose your race to people. If they find out you need to kill to survive... well... nobody would want to be near you." 

"Oh..." She whispers, gazing down. 

I place a hand on her shoulder. "Not everyone will be like that, of course. But a vast majority of shallow people will. They'll be blinded by the small evil and miss out on all the good you could do." 

She looks up at me, eyes glistening slightly. Then... something seems to click. "I-I'll make you proud, Mr. Argo! I-I won't let you down!" 

"I know you won't." I whisper as I pat the top of her head.