Chapter 80

    They started ordering drinks from the auction staff as item after item got brought out to the stage. They were all poor now, so watching new items come out was more a game for them than it was actual shopping. Matt hoped that this wasnt the best the auction houses had to offer, because no one but the actual factions had earned any substantial amount of points at this point.

    Besides the odd item or two, most things went to the Prince or Princess, who had access to the points generated by capturing and holding various forts and cities.

    It made the auction boring; nothing was going to the little guys.

    So, they drank.

    They were ordering Tier 6 liquor and were thoroughly tipsy by the time the auction was coming to a close. None of them had to be told to not go overboard, but they were riding the edge of feeling good, and actually getting drunk.

    Matt was trying to keep Aster out of the sour apple brandy that apparently smelled too good to resist, when an item brought on stage caught his attention.

    While a small vial was displayed on stage, Javier called out, Here, as one of our final items, we have a Tier 10 bottled Concept. Unlike most...

    Matt lost interest once he heard that it was a bottled Concept and said, Psh. Who cares? Its just a bottled Concept.

    Annie shushed him, as did her sister. Even Conor got up to watch the auctioneer, with only a slight wobble.

    Seeing that he was outvoted, Matt quieted down and listened. Even a Tier 6 can use this. Yes, truly a marvel of alchemy. This is a triple attribute Concept. Yes, Three.

    After a slight pause to accommodate the murmurs of interest, Javier raised his arm, flexing his bicep as he continued. Strength.

    He lightly rapped his knuckles against his chest and said, Durability.

    He casually reached out with an open hand, demonstrably closing his fist as he finished, And Regeneration. This is the ideal bottled Concept for anyone trying to build a more physical combat style. It can be used to bolster your defenses, or it can help you lean into the offensive a little more. Starting bid of 5000 war points!

    Matts new teammates all made sounds of disappointment when they heard the price and returned to their chairs. Matt felt Aster lurch out of his arms, but was distracted by Liz.

    She scoffed at them and said, Just make your own Concept. She burped in the middle of her sentence while still holding her beer, but continued after a moment. Its waayy better.

    Annie flicked the condensation off her glass at Liz, who spluttered at the droplets'' sneak attack. The twin said Its not that easy. You need...

    Liz threw up her hands. I can teach you!

    Matt missed what was said next as he noticed the lack of his bond in his arms. He looked around to find her muzzle deep in his once half full glass of alcohol he had placed on the table.

    He pulled her back to get a burp in the face, and a pushed thought of, Apple!

    Oh, thats not good.

    Aster went into a tirade about apple-flavored hearts and ice cream, which Matt ignored while she started kicking slower and slower as the liquor took effect. He glared at everyone who could have seen Aster going hog wild on his glass, but sighed in defeat. After all, it was his own fault in the end.

    He was brought back into the conversation by Emily, who kicked at his leg and yelled for him. Maaatt!

    What!?

    I asked if it was that easy. I want my own Concept.

    Matt thought for a moment, until the topic of conversation came back to him. Its not that hard. Do you have your...? He looked at her for a few blinks until the word came to him. Phrase! That''s the word. Do you have your phrase? Or at least an idea?

    Annie shrugged, How would we know if you already need a Concept to tell?

    Damn, thats a good point. Shit! I dont know... Matt shrugged and joined everyone as they looked at Liz, who was now sitting primly. If her cheeks werent flushed so bright red, she would almost look authoritative.

    Its easy. Im telling you. I can get you a Concept. Fifteen minutes.

    Even Matt booed her, and she corrected herself. Okay, okay fine!. Maybe not fifteen minutes, but before the war is over for sure. You guys fight well, and Im betting that if we push you really hard, you can figure it out.

    Annie called out, I want a stabby Concept!

    Everyone stopped to look at her, and she defended herself while holding her glass like a shield. What? I can already do the sneaky part. I just need to do the stabby part better.

    She mimed stabbing someone, and when she sloshed her drink over her hand, she started trying to lick the alcohol off it. Matt failed to stop himself from laughing as Conors gaze was cemented on her actions. He slowly flushed while watching her probably unintentional display.

    He made a note to tell her about it later. It was a good sign, but he was distracted by Emily loudly saying, I want a Concept of power!

    Even Conor was drawn out of his staring when she said that. He countered, Thats not a real Concept. Its too vague. You need to start with spell damage or something.

    Emily glared at the other man and pouted into her drink when he didnt seem to notice.

    Liz added another nail in her coffin. Power isnt a Concept, thats an Aspect. I think I heard of someone using that, or at least something like it.

    She pursed her lips, and was suddenly distracted by a cheese wedge that Matt was in the middle of eating. She snatched the remaining half for herself with a devilish grin at her crestfallen partner, and added, I think they started with bodily strength, then bodily control for their Intent, and finally used bodily power to round it out. Theres nothing stopping you from going for a spell version.

    Emily wiggled in her chair with a dreamy look on her face.

    Conor shrugged and leaned back with a large sigh. No clue what I want for my Concept. First, I need a way to take hits better. Reflection does nothing to me, but my Tier 3 Talent gives me a slight bit of sustainability. Do I lean into that, or go for more tanking? Maybe I can transition into more of a hybrid like you, Matt.

    Matt tossed out, What do you see yourself doing? Do you like being on the front line?

    Conor chewed on an olive while he pondered the question. I dont know. I was given my skill by my sponsor when I joined The Path. They pretty much set me down the path towards my current build. The large man paused to think about it for another moment, before finally adding, I dont mind it. But being defensive will only take me so far on my own. Rifts are slow fights for me most of the time. I need either more damage, or someone else on my team. I''ve gotten this far by choosing the rifts that I counter, but eventually, I''ll run out of time. Its so nice to fight with all of you, where I can just keep a defensive posture.

    Annie looked like she had a brilliant idea, but she was silenced by her sister, who swiftly lunged to cover her mouth. Annie struggled for a moment before starting to lick her sister''s hand. Emily must have been used to that trick, as she maintained her muzzle on her sister and eventually persevered. Conor glanced at them with a puzzled look, but ignored their antics. He looked back to Liz, asking, How do you intend to help us with our Concepts?

    Liz looked up from the near-empty tray of snacks and shrugged as she half leaned over Matt and Aster to get at the other plate of hors d''oeuvres.

    Its not that hard. Matt and I... well really just Matt, as I have an internal Concept, can restrict you with his Concept while sparring. Its not guaranteed to work or anything, but its a good start. Youll start to resist it naturally, and that can give you a glimpse into your phrase.

    Emily, with her hands still covering her sisters mouth, called out, Yeah ok, how is that different from fighting in a rift that has monsters with Concepts?

    As if she had expected the rebuttal, Liz countered with, How often do you actually fight monsters with Concepts? At Tier 5 and 6, rifts have like, what? A three or four percent chance to have monsters with Concepts? Faster to avoid them and fight the easier ones.

    That actually made sense to Matt, who nodded his agreement. During their rapid rift-making months, they had only fought a few rifts that contained monsters with Concepts. But they didnt have that much issue with those monsters, since they had their own Concepts.

    Liz had suggested something similar when they started training Matt for his Concept, letting him feel her own more than once during their training to get a grip on his phrase. Once Connor and the twins got their phrases, it was only a matter of time until they created their images. The hard part would be the first step.

    The next area they wandered into was a casino, and Matt and the others got to watch as Liz won round after round of poker. Matt had heard how good she was, but seeing first hand was another thing altogether.

    Annie asked, How is she that good?

    Matt didn''t have an answer, but felt a little background wouldn''t be amiss. I know she beat a Tier 24 in poker a few times. Shes just good.

    Emily and Annie loudly whispered to never play Liz, then started wondering if they could bring her to an actual casino.

    The table made everyone wear an anti-AI bracelet to restrict things like card counting, but it didnt seem to slow Liz down, and she continued to win. She didnt win every hand, but if she raised the ante, she was more than likely to take it.

    Matt had heard about her skill with cards, but seeing it first hand was both amusing and terrifying.

    Sadly, they werent playing for points or mana stones, but instead various raffle prizes that she could try to win. Considering there was no buy-in, it was fair enough, but Matt wanted to see Liz at a real casino now, and wondered if the twins had the right idea.

    The others eventually left, but Matt was interested enough to stay and watch as the game progressed. He was only able to pull her away when the table bled off its remaining players, as they ran out of tickets and had to move on. No one was interested in taking their places, with Liz reigning supreme.

    Liz came up from the table with fistfuls of tickets, and she danced around to their congratulations as she cheered. Lets go see what we can get!

    The ticket counter was staffed by half a dozen people, but they were still swamped as they tried to process people''s purchases. In the end, Liz threw all her tickets on the lottery for what was called the Mundane Living In Rough Conditions Skillset. It had six skills in total, intended to make life easier when delving for long times or away from amenities. It had [Create Water] for its obvious usage, and [Cleanse], which would remove dirt or contaminants from something at the caster''s discretion. It didnt destroy the contaminants, just moved them away, but it was a skill that Matt still wanted. They hadnt been able to find one during their own delving.

    [Alarm] would wake the caster if anything passed over a set area. It was a niche skill with a function that could be handled by technology, but being too careful never killed anyone. Hee didnt think it was a bad skill to eventually get. [Perk Up] was a skill he had never heard of, but after reading its description, he made a note to get it. It was apparently like caffeine, but without any of the side effects. It was much cheaper than [Endurance] and could last for hours.

    [Cook] and [Chill] were a pair of food-related skills that he had heard about, but no prideful chef was allowed near them. [Cook] simply heated food until it was safe to eat for the casters biology while killing any parasites or viruses in the meat. No finesse or care for taste. [Chill] had its usage for preserving food or cooling down drinks, but most used it with [Cook], giving it a bad reputation.

    Matts cooking instructor had spent nearly an entire class lecturing why the skills were a mockery to the culinary art, and not to be used. He didnt have any use for those skills, but the rest were useful enough to warrant picking up.

    They wouldn''t know the results of the raffle until the end of the week, so they ended their walk around after finding one of the smaller auctions and sitting down to enjoy the bidding. They were selling various small arms, but Annie said that her dagger was fine for her Tier. So, they only lingered long enough to watch a few items get sold before they moved on to the nearby duel arenas. There various people fought in what appeared to be some entertaining bouts, judging by the crowd.

    It only took a quick search to see that the prize for any duel was a flat 100 war points for the winner, and 25 for the losers. Also, winners would get 30% of all points bets, while losers would get 10%. It was profitable enough. Matt looked to his teammates and asked if they wanted to try their luck.

    Emily looked interested enough, but shook her head. No. I want to keep what I can do under wraps for as long as possible. The early points are nice, Im sure. But I dont think the vassals are dumb enough not to have people watching the fights to compile builds and such.

    Conor nodded and agreed. Shame, though. I could always use more points.

    They did stay to watch a few more fights, but only one caught Matts eye. There was a massively overweight man who slung spell after spell as he gradually grew thinner and thinner. Eventually, he ended the fight with some type of AOE skill. It sent his opponent flying into a barrier that encompassed the fighting arena. The payout for his fight was massive, as he had been given horrible odds by the watching crowds. Being that overweight usually meant that they were sedentary, but it was clearly a skill or Talent. If Matt had to guess, the man stored mana as extra weight. It was interesting, and from the number of skills he used during the fight, pretty effective.

    The prize of nearly four thousand war points was almost enough to make Matt take the stage, but he kept walking with his friends as they moved to finally leave. They had wandered through most of the bubbles that they wanted to see.

    With no points to spend, and not willing to give up more information about themselves by dueling, they boarded a platform and exited the underground leisure land. As they left, there was a banner that offered special Tier 5 and Tier 6 rifts to delve for 1000 war points apiece. Matt didnt put two and two together until the banner changed, and an ad for a newly discovered Tier 7 was advertised for 4000 points a delve slot.

    He and Liz met each others gaze and smiled. They knew that the rifts they left would be of great interest, but he hadnt expected the army to camp on them and control their access. It made sense when he thought it over. A rift a Tier higher than the planet was an asset for the faster Tiering up of the world. While he wasnt upset that they were selling access, he wished he could get his hands on a list of the rewards that people got from them.

    They tried to delve the rifts a good bit, but they were nowhere close to completing a true rift drop table by the time they had left.

    Matt rode the platform back through the sea and to the city with a busy mind. After a day of sparring and high emotions followed by a long night, Matt was exhausted. By the time they arrived back home, he flopped into bed with Liz and Aster. None of them even bothered to undress, and they just fell asleep in a pile.

    He woke up the next morning with a dry mouth. Seeing that everyone else was still asleep, he started cooking. He still had some monster meat from their time spent delving, and it was going to go bad sooner rather than later, as he only had a basic mana powered fridge in his spatial bag.

    Going all out, he cooked a massive breakfast and moved around the little kitchen like a man possessed, determined to wow with his breakfast feast. Annie and Emily came out of their rooms at nearly the same time, just to argue who would use the bathroom first. They ended it with a round of rock paper scissors, which left Annie bouncing from foot to foot as her sister took her time in the bathroom.

    Liz and Aster were the last to arrive, after Conor, Annie, Emily, and he had already finished their plates and then seconds.

    Now that Aster was awake, he pushed laughter at her as she was experiencing her first hangover. She was not enjoying it. She yowled at him until it exacerbated her headache, causing her to curl into a miserable ball. Picking up his bond, he fed her a pain killer and waved bacon under her nose until she ate it, before setting her down in her personal freezer bed.

    Liz wasnt in nearly as much pain since she used [Endurance], but she was eating slowly at breakfast.While she finished eating, Matt went to the gym with Conor. The two of them only lifted weights and avoided sparring. They were only there to do some strength training.

    Their rewards for the selling of Lizs potions arrived, along with Emily''s skill shard. They earned a whopping 5603 war points after the auction houses cut. Matt rubbed his hands together at the influx of points, and immediately put up a bounty for anyone with mana aspects that he didnt already have, or different variants.

    He posted it as a crafter looking to aspect rechargeable mana stones. It was true enough, even though he wanted to use his growth item instead.

    With a look at Conor, he asked, Hey, is your mana aspected?.

    Conor looked confused for a second and responded, No. Ive thought about getting mine metal or earth aspected, but I couldnt afford the potion. Why? Are you thinking about getting yours aspected?

    Matt didnt want to lie, but didnt want to give away his Talent or growth item either, so he told him part of the truth. No, I dabble in enchanting. My sword requires me to do the enchanting work myself, and for other work, the books recommend getting as many mana aspects as possible to create synergies.

    With a casual shrug, he added, The aspected mana stones cost an arm and a leg for even the common aspects. With how many millions of people are here, someone with a rarer variant has to be here, and it costs them nothing to inject a little mana for me.

    Ive been thinking about getting a gauntlet that I saw up for sale at a shop. I was wondering if you could give it a look. I dont know enough to know if its a good deal.

    Happy to help. Whats the item?

    A bracer that acts as a kinetic energy storage, which can be blasted out as a short-range attack.

    Matt was surprised and said as much. I expected you to want a longer range spell. I know I did.

    Conor shrugged the comment off. I dont see it as that important anymore. At least not for the next year. Well be fighting in teams, and while it would be nice to round out my damage in a rift, I dont see it as a good way to spend my money right now. Better to be a more capable front liner and earn my team, and therefore myself, more points.

    Matt liked the mans approach. If he still had [Copper Skin], and knew it didn''t have side effects, he wouldve given it to the man on the spot. He was right, and the better he was as a defensive shield for their mages, the more Matt could go on the attack as a melee damage dealer. Right now, he was a hybrid, which he didnt mind, but focusing on the attack would allow his abilities to shine.

    They reached the store in question, and Matt inspected the gauntlet Conor was interested in. It was made by a Tier 7 crafter who obscured his work, so while Matt wasnt able to get a perfect look at the items runes, he was able to get a feel for its general craftsmanship.

    He was honestly impressed with the item. It was good, solid work that seemed to have the runes completely integrated with the metal, but not in the way he was used to seeing.After checking the price, Matt understood why Conor was hesitating.

    At a Tier 8 mana stone for the Tier 7 item, it was expensive. Matt could only give his opinion and leave it up to the other man to decide.

    I think the price is worth it. Its well made and will last you a while. Its also a great defensive item if it does as it says, and absorbs attacks that land on your off arm. The price, though...

    Matt let himself trail off, and after another few minutes of Conor pacing, he finally bought the item.

    As they walked back to their headquarters, Conor offered an explanation. I had a lucky rift before I came here, but that was most of my liquid assets. Hard to jump off the ledge like that.

    I understand. Look at the bright side. It should last you well after this war, and with its durability and repair enchantments, it should last a good while longer with minimal spending. I think it was worth it. Oh, by the way, we should probably get the girls together and do some sparring when we get back.

    They were nearly back to their rooms when their AIs were pinged. Their party had a mission in three hours.