Greed God chapter 5

January 4th 2010 Lord Mansion 8:00 PM EDT

I  headed back to school after my run in with Dinah. I considered texting  her to keep her thinking of me, but I decided the better move was to  wait for her to get angry with her boyfriend and text me, or at least to  give it a day or two. Haste makes waste and all that. So I contented  myself with a quick blowjob from Sarah in one of the bathrooms to take  the edge off as I planned my next move.

I  had some ideas about my future gang, and in the spirit of those ideas I  earmarked a few thousand points for future projects, deciding to use  twenty one hundred GP to make my costume as good as it could be and save  the other four thousand for a particularly interesting plan I had in  the works. I texted Riley a wish list for that, and got a response from  him within minutes that he could manage what I was asking for but it  would cost me, in either money or items. I chose items and told him I'd  send him a list and to have the goods ready, and returned to my project.

First  up, and most importantly, was the mask. My mask had to be special, the  most special item I had on me, because it was the thing that would  protect my identity. I didn't want some nosy kryptonian looking through  it or something, though hopefully I wouldn't be drawing attention from  big blue himself. maybe that sexy little cousin of his, though she  hadn't been around much.

So  I took out the materials I had on hand. I had a comedy mask from a  recent charity masquerade ball, the H rank coin from the pawn shop, a  swat helmet, and a strange idea I had based on a pop culture meme, a  literal tinfoil hat I'd made. The mask and hat were both, J rank, the  helmet I rank, and the coin H rank. I was hoping merging every step of  the way would create something legitimately useful. First up, I merged  the hat and the mask. Paying ten points for an I ranked item and then  appraising.

[Appraisal  function activated. Treasure detected. Strange Mask-I rank. An odd,  shiny mask. Created from the desperate hopes of a paranoid teen. This  mask proves some small resistance to mind reading and any sort of  extrasensory or supernatural perception. Effects vary widely based on  the power of the observer.]

I  almost cheered with joy. Granted that was complete garbage compared to  what I needed, but I had two more merges to sup up the ability, I'd just  needed the foundation. Next up I took out the swat helmet. I had been  experimenting with the system a bit during my marathon merge session the  night before and found that I could designate the primary item. Rather  than a merge I suppose it would be more accurate to say the system  allowed an item to consume another, which fit the whole Greed theme, but  merge was faster to say. I activated it again and appraised the result.

[Appraisal  function activated. Treasure detected. Mask of the Stranger-H rank.  Created from a strange mask with some small resistance to mental  intrusion or extrasensory observation, this mask is a defensive artifact  designed to keep out all but the most driven intruders to it's owner's  privacy. Durable enough to take a bullet point blank, this is an  excellent tool for anyone wishing to stay anonymous.]

I  grinned, that would be enough to keep telepaths from poking around and  Superman from seeing what was under the hood. Well from seeing my face. I  wasn't planning to burn the points to make my body x-ray proof. If  superman was enough of a perv to look through my clothes he would have  to handle the inferiority complex that would inspire. I was plenty  confident in what under my clothes. Still, it was time for the final  merge. I took out the H rank coin and absorbed it into the mask, burning  a thousand points to make it.

[Appraisal  function activated. Treasure detected. Plutonic Veil-G rank. A veil of  secrets, ones kept and uncovered. Protects the secrets of the wearer and  allows them to more easily perceive hidden or disguised treasures.]

This  time I did actually let out a whoop of excitement. THIS was what I'd  wanted. Hell this was even better than what I'd wanted. Given how strong  the H ranked version had been in terms of protection there was no way  this wasn't even better for keeping my mind and identity concealed. Not  to mention the treasure detection ability. I stared down at the new mask  with awe and expectation.

The  thing was beautiful. Still a comedy mask, it was now made of beaten  gold. The light seemed to dim around it, and as I picked it up and  slipped it on it conformed to my face perfectly. I knew without even  asking the system that this wouldn't come off unless I wanted it too. I  glanced around the room. As promised I could see a subtle glow off all  the valuable objects in the room, a glow that shifted in color based on  it's value.

J  ranked items didn't show up, being literal junk. All the I ranked  artifacts or objects I had around glowed with a red light, while I could  see an orange gleam from the H ranked training sword I had kept. I  would assume based on the functions I was seeing the treasure vision  allowed me to see the rank of things. The colors were clearly based on  the rainbow, climbing as the value did. It was perfect.

Aside from the kick ass ability a look in the mirror showed that it looked fucking awesome.  Still I was a bit unsure a G rank artifact could hold off all the  possible intrusion methods that came to mind, so I figured I'd ask. "Hey  system, how effective is this item. It's only G rank, will that be  enough?"

[The  Plutonic veil is a single focus item, allowing for increased power for  it's rank. Combined with extreme synergy with the system the Plutonic  veil is on the upper end of G rank, and should be capable of deterring  breaches of privacy from all but the most powerful observers.]

That  sounded...good? I wasn't sure where that fell in the grand scheme of  things. After my crafting spree I was down to five thousand nine hundred  and ninety points remaining, which meant nine different chances create H  ranks and nine to create I ranks. If I mixed and matched with the I  ranks I had I should be able to put together a full set of H rank gear  for myself. I decided to do a three piece suit, a tie, shoes, an  undershirt and just leave the last three hundred as walking around  points.

The suit jacket I  combined with the bomber jacket, burning the second thousand points of  the night to create a G ranked  jacket after merging the original jacket  with an I rank tactical vest. I quickly appraised the resulting  artifact, excited to see another powerful G ranked item, despite the  ache in my heart at spending another thousand points.

[Appraisal  function activated. Treasure detected. Kingly Raiment-G rank. A regal  jacket that invests the wearer with consummate protection, forming an  invisible field of defense around the body as durable as the wearers  entire outfit. Able to withstand the most brutal blows, nothing short of  an anti-material rifle will pierce this kingly garment.]

My  second success of the night, that was exactly what I needed for my  currently squishy body. I threw together an H ranked pair of pants,  shoes, shirt, undershirt, tie, gloves, and even a pair of socks, having  to create some I ranked versions to use for the merge and the gloves and  socks had to be done separately but in the end I managed to create and  entire suit. The abilities were nothing special, since I'd just merged  clothes with other sturdier clothes they were all durability based, but  with the raiment each one made me qualitatively tougher.

It  also emptied me out, bringing me down to exactly four thousand points  without the three hundred point buffer I'd wanted. If I hadn't gotten  the raiment's ability I wouldn't have bothered with socks or gloves but  with the G ranked coat buffing my entire defensive out put for each  piece of sturdy gear I couldn't resist. Still, I wasn't upset at the  outcome, the H ranked clothes were all incredibly stylish and  comfortable on top of being durable. Even the socks were silky and  padded in the most comfortable way I'd ever felt.

I  slipped into my costume and stood at the mirror, checking myself out  with relish. I looked fantastic. The raiment gave my whole outfit a  sense of regality just by it's very nature, and the jacket's cut molded  to me as if it was hand tailored by the most brilliant alterations  expert who ever lived. The pants and other items of clothing weren't  exactly up to par, but the jacket somehow elevated them by it's very  presence, like it was all part of the set with the mask and coat as the  primary centerpieces.

I  stared at myself in the mirror, trying to decide what I should call  myself in this new identity. A look this bold deserved a powerful name,  and I needed something that fit. It should have something to with greed  obviously, and treasure. Dragons would be a decent theme but that seemed  so...basic. I needed something better, something with a bit of an air  of ruthlessness. I slipped out my phone and did a search for powerful  entities associated with greed.

Hades  and Pluto were both our obviously, the Amazon's had made it clear the Greek gods existed and I didn't want to draw the attention of one of  their heaviest hitters, especially since my mask seemed to have some  relation to him already. I did end up looking into a few dragons, but  nothing jumped out at me. Midas was out because I didn't do much with  gold, Tantalus was a failure and a bit pathetic so I didn't like the  vibe. Finally I found something I liked.

Mammon,  Archdemon of greed. That was exactly the kind of weight I wanted behind  my name, and I'd never heard of demons being a real thing. I decided  that would be my new title, and it would be one I would make ring in the  ears of every hero and villain. I had my identity and my basic plan in  place. I needed to put together my gang and then we would start doing  recon on The Reach. I wanted to stick to victimizing shady aliens to  start, hoping to keep the League off my back.

I  texted Riley, offering him my training sword all the money I had for the materials necessary for my plan. Luckily he said the training weapons had been a  huge hit and he had a buyer who had instructed him to get more of them  at any cost. He also told me the supplies I needed would be ready  tomorrow, but that they were limited in quantity because of their  deficiencies and the scarcity of the original product. I told him I'd  take what he could get and stripped out of my costume, popping my muscle  pill for the day and starting my first work out.

As  I worked up a sweat I had to grin at my plan. I was going to create the  strongest gang on the city right under everyones noses and no one would  even know until it was too late. I already had ideas for exactly who I  wanted to recruit, various people I knew or had run into with skills  that I could use or exploit. As I finished my pushups and shifted to  crunches I couldn't help but be excited for tomorrow. Granted Riley was  only able to get thirty vials, but still, the stuff had possessed quite a  reputation five years ago. I was interested to see what I could make  from Kobra Venom.