RotDG Chapter 74: Trade Completed

“You know, master, you told me to have my fun, but I’m going to be honest, I found that whole battle to be very boring,” Vorth said as I came to a halt just a few dozen feet away from Wyll’s corpse.

I glanced back at the spirit and rolled my eyes at him. “Of course not, you won’t be having fun unless you’re on the verge of death, and I have to come in and save your life.”

“It’s the thrill of the battle, master— when your blood gets pumping and you feel the adrenaline coursing through your veins!” the spectral sentinel exclaimed. 

“You literally do not have any blood in your body, V. You’re made of metal and fire.” I gave him a flat stare.

“It’s a figure of speech.” He shrugged back at me.

I rolled my eyes at that. 

We were done here, but I didn’t take my leave just yet. After all, I had to evaluate the aftermath of it all. So I sat myself against a pile of rubble as I waved dismissively at my summon.

“Get rid of the bodies— but make sure you loot them before you burn them.”

“Yes, master.”

And Vorth got to work as I looked down at myself.

First of all, since I hadn’t partaken in much of the battle— especially against Mike, who was a Platinum Rank— I only leveled up once.

ding! 

You have reached Level 34!

+2 [Strength]

+2 [Dexterity]

+1 Free Point

Name: Nox (Eli)

Race: Human

Rank: Silver - Level 34

Class: [Soulfire Healer]

Class Skills: [Greater Holy Fireball], [Lesser Domain Of Light], [Heal], [Holy Fire], [Basic Light Magic Conjuration], [Boon Of Vitality], [Aura Armor Of Light], [Boon Of Strength], [Purifying Touch], [Lesser Poison Resistance]

Titles: [Returning Death God], [Velmond’s Blessing], [The Bloodied Blade]

Title Skills: [Remembrance Of The Fallen], [Death Magic Supremacy], [Basic Blessing Of Life], [Aura Blade]

General Skills: [Spirit Summon: Vorth the Spectral Sentinel], [Elemental Magic Proficiency], [Quick Dash]

Attributes:

[Strength: 102]

[Speed: 100]

[Magic: 616]

[Vitality: 115]

[Dexterity: 117]

Free Points: 1

Perhaps if I had been the one to deal the finishing blow on both Wyll and Luke, I would have been able to level up maybe two or three times in total. However. I wasn’t too concerned about speeding through the Ranks right now, so I wasn’t too bothered by the lack of levels I got.

Besides, there was something else I had acquired from this. Well, it was something I already had in my possession. But now, it was officially mine.

And they were the Artifacts of Death which Sonia had given me in exchange for getting all the information I could out of Wyll.

I looked down as I let my Lesser Death Dagger vanish back into my Dimensional Storage Unit. But with a flash of light, I summoned a Bag of Holding into the very same hand. I yanked it open and looked at the contents that were inside.

There were three Artifacts of Death in there. Each of them was stolen directly from the Holy Academy of the Church of Life— from Headmaster Kaelen Angelus who should have destroyed them.

If they were discovered to be in my possession, I would get in quite a lot of trouble. But I also wasn’t going to just give them up, because not only was I planning on studying them, I was also planning on using them to my advantage if the need ever arose. And they were truly going to be useful for me in those instances.

A grin spread across my face as I picked out the first of the Artifacts of Death that was inside of the Bag of Holding. It was actually not a single item. Rather, it was a pair of boots that were a pure black and looked to be made of metal.

I tried them on, before pausing as I felt a surge of power wash through me. But it wasn’t power as in a boost to my physical strength. Rather, I felt like I could move much faster than even before— and when I checked my Status, I found myself being given a +100 to my [Speed] Attribute.

That was quite literally doubling my speed. Like the effects of a Potion of Greater Speed. Except, its effects would be permanent. And with it, I was quite literally as fast as a Gold Rank [Rogue] would be.

But that was not all. If it was just a pair of boots that gave me speed, it wouldn’t be an Artifact of Death.

It would just be called Boots of Speed or whatever, rather than… well, I didn’t know what they were actually called. I was going to assume they were called something like Death Boots of Speed.

Because with it, I was also capable of using a brand new Skill that I wasn’t able to use before.

A Temporary Skill.

ding!

You have gained the Temporary Skill: [Death Defying Instincts]

Judging by its name, it’s probably a Skill that gives me momentary precognition if I am about to be struck by a fatal blow… I mused over its name as I rubbed a hand on my chin.

I was not surprised about being given a Temporary Skill. Most artifacts that were C-grade or above would actually give a Temporary Skill to the user when they were properly attuned. For example, when I actually tried to attune myself to my Lesser Death Dagger, I was capable of using [Greater Death Magic Conjuration]... although it was not a Skill I really needed to know, so I never bothered to attune myself to the artifact.

This Death Boots of Speed… they were likely a C-grade artifact as well since they weren’t exactly superior to my Lesser Death Dagger, but they were far more useful for me and my situation. 

“Alright, pretty good, but what else is there?” I wondered aloud as I removed them and placed them back into the Bag of Holding.

I produced the second Artifact of Death that was inside, and it was much smaller than the first. In fact, it could fit perfectly on the palm of my hand. Because it was a small pocket mirror.

“I guess they are called Artifacts of Death, not Weapons and Armors of Death, huh?” I muttered to myself, slightly disappointed since I expected a weapon.

I held it up to my face, hoping to see what it would do. But there was nothing there— not even my reflection. I frowned at that.

Even though it was seemingly innocuous, I could tell it was an Artifact of Death, because of the death magic it emanated. But compared to the Death Boots of Speed, it was weak. Almost like it barely did anything.

However, it had to do something— probably related to its lack of reflection. I would have to study it further, but as of right now, I set it aside as I shook my head.

“I guess not all Artifacts of Death are made equal.”

It was probably a very specialized-use artifact, so I was going to have to study it later to figure out what it did. For now, I was more interested in what the final Artifact of Death inside of the Bag of Holding was.

I reached inside of it and pulled out—

A Lesser Death Dagger.

It was almost identical to the one I already had. The only difference was that it was slightly longer than mine by about two or three inches.

Beyond that, I was certain it was an exact replica of the one I had, just based on the death magic I sensed from it. And when I held it close to my chest, attuning myself to its powers for a moment, I knew I was right.

ding!

You have gained the Temporary Skill: [Greater Death Magic Conjuration]

“Not only do the Artifacts of Death vary in quality, but there can also be duplicates. Makes sense.”

I nodded as I stored the Lesser Death Dagger back into the Bag of Holding. Just like when I removed the boots earlier, the effects of the Temporary Skill vanished, no longer usable for me now that the weapon was not equipped.

“Well, that’s about everything I wanted to do for now. There’s more to do tomorrow. But are we done here?”

I turned around, looking towards Vorth. The spectral sentinel was— lying on the ground,  curled into a ball and snoring. I sighed as I walked up to him and poked his side.

“Wake up, V.”

“Huh, what?” He sat up blearily and looked towards me. “Oh, you’re finally finished. Took you long enough, master.”

He yawned and stretched his back as I crossed my arms at him.

“You know that I know that you don’t need sleep.”

“I know, but I was so bored,” Vorth chuckled. “It’s not my fault.”

I ignored that remark and shook my head. “So the bodies are gone.”

It was less of a question, and more of a statement. I already noticed that the corpses had been disposed of— no longer littering the ground— before I even approached my summon.

Even still, he eagerly nodded back at me. “Yes, master. I did everything you asked of me.”

“And the items?” I asked, raising a brow.

He held out his giant hand, before dropping a bag that was brimming full of trinkets and coins inside of them. I nodded approvingly as I picked it up and stored it inside of my Dimensional Storage Unit.

But Vorth wasn’t finished.

“Also, this—” he said as he held out his other hand, dropping a bloodied seal onto the ground. “I found this on that whiny [Mage]’s body. I’m sure you’ll need it to prove you completed your end of the deal to your classmate.”

“Right, thanks.” I picked up the seal and eyed it, remembering my deal. “I guess I have to get that over and done with now too…”

***

Sonia Redheart had thought that it would take Eli at least a week— maybe even over a month— to uphold his end of the deal. So when he said he needed to speak with her just two days after they agreed on their trade, she didn’t expect him to tell her he was done.

In fact, she had thought he was going to ask her for any leads she could give him about Wyll. Instead—

“I found Wyll,” the boy said as he handed over a bloodied seal to her. “Got him to tell me everything he knew about your father before I did so.”

Sonia stared at the seal with wide eyes, recognizing it as belonging to Wyll. It was the very same seal he used to sign the contract of their agreement. Which meant… Eli was telling the truth.

“That’s— but how?” Sonia’s jaw hung wide open as she looked at the boy with wide eyes.

Right now, it was lunch period, and the two of them were alone in her room to discuss this. She had no roommate, so they were free to discuss this without any interruption.

Steeling herself, she met Eli’s gaze seriously. “What did you learn?”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t learn much,” the boy said apologetically. “As it turns out, Wyll isn’t a really good information broker, that’s why he was going after those… you know…”

Eli gave Sonia a knowing look, but she already knew he was referring to the Artifacts of Death, even without any other indication.

He continued as he shook his head. “Yeah, he needed those items because he was already in trouble for being a bad information broker.”

“I… see…” Sonia’s shoulders sagged when she heard that. 

Even still, she held out hope— that maybe there was something useful in what little information Wyll had given Eli.

“But Wyll did tell you something, right?” she asked, unknowingly clutching her chest.

“Just that your father is probably someone from your mother’s old team,” Eli said simply. “And that only your mother knows the answer for sure.”

“But if that’s the case, then doesn’t that mean…?” Sonia trailed off, feeling her heart sink.

All the hope she had clung onto just moments earlier suddenly vanished. A pit opened up in her stomach, and she lowered her head.

“Right, I forgot about that.” Eli scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that so casually.”

“It’s fine, it’s not your fault,” Sonia replied as she rubbed her temples “I just… I just need some time to process this. But thank you.”

And with that, she led the boy out of the room, before she collapsed back into her bed. She closed her eyes as she tried to process what she had just been told.

My father’s most likely dead… she thought as she felt her head spinning. If what Wyll said is true, then I will never be able to meet my father, no matter what.

Her mind just raced with thoughts as she tried to not think. But one thought stood out above the rest.

Is this why mother refuses to ever tell me about my father? 

If it was, then perhaps Sonia finally understood where her mother was coming from. But she didn’t even need to meet him anyway, right? She just needed to know who he was. That was the closure she was looking for, right?

…right?

Sonia didn’t know. So she just continued to lie there as her thoughts drifted, wondering if there was even a point in finding out who her father was…

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