The Legendary Fool

159:

“So,” Aleph began, her tone dripping with curiosity. “Who was that?”

“A recruiter of the Neem Guild, I assume,” Tom replied. “A good one too, considering that he’d approached us after we were exhausted. Weary climbers probably aren’t the sort to refuse a free meal in a safe zone.”

“And how do you know this?” Zirel asked from the sofa he was seated on, his back held straight and his fingers steepled against his chin.

“Same way I figured out that the Neem Guild was trouble,” Tom nonchalantly replied, trying to downplay the value of the information he had even though he knew how pointless it was.

“That’s getting old, you know?” Zirel stated, though his tone was more amused than weary.

Tom chose not to respond to the subtle taunt.

“How do we deal with this Neem Guild then?” Aleph asked. “If we keep ignoring their requests to break bread, then they’ll figure out that we’re avoiding them for a reason.”

“About that,” Tom began, sheepishly feigning a cough into a balled fist before continuing. “Well, back in the plaza, I realized that the Nexus Quest that we accepted was still being offered to people after we had returned. Do you know what that means?”

The sound of Zirel tapping against the low table that was placed before the sofa he was sitting on sounded out for a few moments, before he replied, “Climbers can accept a quest after we have, since there’s no real way of telling how long a Nexus Quest would stay up for after being offered. At least, not one that I could find.”

“Including people hostile to us,” Aleph softly added. “Would they really be willing to attack us in the midst of a battlefield though? Is that something the system would allow?”

Zirel chuckled, a light shake of his head following before he answered, “Why wouldn’t it? The only way to ascend to the next floor is to survive deadly encounters with Nether Beasts dozens of times. The message there is blunt enough.”

“Can’t ignore them, then,” Aleph replied with a soft sigh. “Why would the first floor be designed like this? They’ve been here for years, if not decades. They know the ins and outs of the rules, while we’re… well, most of us are in the dark.”

“Cunning is a valuable strength,” Zirel replied. “One that the system might be testing. If we could cut our way through all our problems, then the Nether Beasts would be invading us with such frequency. It is astonishing just how much in the dark the surface was kept. Rifts are supposed to be ancient flaws that cannot be corrected, only maintained, yet the one that appeared near the Nexus City we were tasked to guard seemed recent.”

“I’ve had similar thoughts,” Aleph somberly admitted. “I’ve been around the Nexus Node to check on what quests were at offer over the last few weeks and not only do they keep changing, but their variety is so beyond anything we were taught that I think everything we know was only a warped fragment of the truth.”

“I don’t think the Neem Guild would deploy an overwhelming force to deal with us,” Tom jumped back into the conversation. “At least, the recruiter wasn’t there because he’d gotten a measure of our strength. We do look competent for our ages though, that was probably reason enough.”

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“You know what to do,” Zirel’s eyes narrowed on Tom, his expression intense, as if he were scouring his visage for secrets.

“I have a suggestion,” Tom corrected.

Zirel rolled his eyes while Aleph suppressed a chuckle.

“We accept the Neem Guild’s friendship,” Tom began his explanation. “If they want us to be on the lookout for certain resources or just follow some rules to keep us in their good graces, so be it. But we make it clear that we’re intent on ascending the tower, zealous even and there’s no way we’re changing our minds. The potential rewards aren’t worth the debt trap.” ȒΑŊŏꞖĚŝ

“Ambitioness rabble,” Zirel snorted in disdain.

“I would’ve thought you’d suggest taking out another guild,” Aleph quipped.

“I’m not some sort of revolutionary,” Tom dryly replied. “If the Neem Guild stays out of our way, I vote for staying out of theirs. They’re rotten, but at the same time, they’re not nearly as plain evil as the Shadow Guild was. From their perspective, they’re just looking out for their own long-term interests. Taking them out could lead to an even worse guild coming along, even if we could do that.”

“Well, that was easily resolved,” Aleph replied. “A bit underwhelming, I’d say.”

“Don’t worry Aleph,” Tom chided in good humor. “I’m sure someone will come barging through the door sooner than later. We’ve got a penchant for pissing off people.”

“Well, if we’re in the clear for now I’d like to excuse myself for a bit,” Zirel got up from the sofa. “Unless you both want to do it here.”

“Probably best not to,” Tom said, as he suddenly found the walls of Aleph’s room very interesting.

“Right then,” Zirel said, moving past them before stepping out of the door.

“See you at dinner then, Aleph,” Tom offered.

“Sure.”

Back in the comfort of his locked room, Tom was splayed across his bed as he thought back to the battle. It was paradoxical, in a sense. If he hadn’t used object permanence on his mimicked revenant claw and imbued it’s properties onto Warrior’s Shardsong, then using the attack he had against the Nether Shaman wouldn’t have been possible.

Yet at the same time, Tom couldn’t deny that he’d felt the absence of the Revenant Claw. It had been a risky gamble, but it also had been one that had paid off. That didn’t mean that he found the lack of a rare level deck holder any less inconvenient.

Two Uncommon Cards were undoubtedly valuable. But for the current Tom, the offer of a Rare Deckholder was simply too tempting to pass up on. Not to mention that if it’s properties were particularly useful, it could have a manifold effect on his strength because he could mimic the Deckholder and use object permanence to strengthen a different piece of equipment.

‘Give me the second option, system,’ Tom declared.

[Eight Nexus Points have been added to your tally. Current Total Nexus Points: 0->8]

[Please describe the type of Rare Artifact you want]

Fifteen minutes passed as Tom considered the generous opportunity the system was giving him. He considered describing the Rare Deckholder he envisioned in his mind with exacting details, but the problem there was that he had no idea what the best materials and craftsmanship style would be for a Deckholder in particular, let alone a rare one.

Finally he settled for a description that satisfied him, ‘Give me a compact deckholder that does not interfere with the current armor I have equipped on me right now.’

[Description Rejected. Please be less specific in your ask.]

‘Really, you piece of- no, best not to antagonize the second voice in my head,’ Tom thought, before sighing.

He tried again a few minutes later.

Give me a compact deckholder that comfortably fits on my left hand, He thought-asked.

[Description Accepted. Please check your inventory for the Rare Deckholder]

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