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Alternatively, just search for "Writing The Symbolic Weight of Sacrifice Chapter 8" and it'll probably appear. I would link the video directly but then YouTube starts pulling out the rope, and not the fun kind either!

Chapter 8

Poking at her menu, Rosa debated the pros and cons of smashing her head into the wall, repeatedly.

There was a trait in there she had neglected to even think about, a trait that probably would have seen her plan flourish with far greater effect. A small, totally-not-helpful trait called Charisma. With Charisma, she would be able to secure better prices for things she sold, as well as better prices for buying stuff. It wasn't too late to do a few sacrifices and level her Charisma up, sure, but she regretted not even thinking about it before selling her machete and dagger.

Still, she had 30,000 Ryo, so she could start off her production with a bang. On a notepad she had bought with actual money instead of using points, since she only had 120, she had written down several numerical prices. She intended to buy a hundred kilograms of copper ore for 11,500 Ryo. Then, 10 sheets of Pigskin, and possibly more depending on how much copper metal was produced from the ore, which would only cost her 2,350 Ryo. In total, 13,850 Ryo would be spent. On top of that, she needed to find a place to stay, and so she set aside 6,000 Ryo to rent a place to stay for a week. On top of that, general purchases, buying furniture, utensils, more clothes, food, all that kind of stuff, would probably put her back another 10,000 Ryo, so basically her entire budget.

Of course, that was under the stipulation that she didn't level her Charisma up. As far as she was aware, if she leveled Charisma to E-3 or above, maybe the ore she bought would be of higher quality since she would be a 'valued customer', or perhaps she would get a discount. Plus, selling the kunai would likely go over far easier and at a higher price. It was all just up in the air though, and she would need to actually do it first.

That was why Kentaro wasn't with her, he was off out of Keishi hunting down a large beast for her to sacrifice. His doing so did bring her right back to her original reason for coming to civilization, finding acolytes. If she wanted to continue earning ritual points, she would need an acolyte, preferably more, who would be willing to go out and bring back things to sacrifice. If she had enough acolytes, she could probably do multi-sacrifices, whereby she wouldn't sacrifice just one thing, she would sacrifice a pile of things to a god, thereby inflating the sacrifice value.

She fully expected that it would be a diminishing return, so for instance, if a chunk of copper was worth a flat F-rank, two would be worth F+1, but three wouldn't be worth F+2, she would need more and more until it was more worth it to just sacrifice them individually. However, multiple single items, for instance, a rare horn, a fine animal pelt, a well-made blade, and other such items that were all individual and valuable, would immensely improve the ritual value, multiplying the value of each item when sacrificed together, since it would push the ritual grade up significantly higher than it would typically be.

It all required experimentation though, so she would need acolytes for that, and to gather up acolytes, she needed one thing...power. She had to have the power to entice acolytes under her banner, whether through sheer physical ability or through influence. Power definitely would attract a lot more acolytes, but it would also draw a hell of a lot of attention. A woman gathering up people under the guise of being able to empower them would put her as public person of interest number one, two and three for anyone and everyone.

But if she made an organization dedicated to gathering and refining resources for trade and internal use, who would even blink twice? Hence, she desperately wanted to upgrade her Charisma. It would help her maintain an organization of acolytes under the guise of normalcy, whilst also being Charismatic enough to keep them from spilling the beans when she gave them magical tools. The only thing she wasn't sure about yet was whether she could actually empower her acolytes or not.

Rosa fully expected that the quest to have three acolytes would give her a quest reward related to that, since right now, the reward was deterministic based on the value of the acolytes she collected, meaning she had no fucking idea what it'd give her. There was a chance her guess was miles off, but it was always nice to dream If she could, then great, she had a great hook to keep acolytes by her side. If she couldn't, she could work around it, since she could give them magical spells to use to fight against their enemies and protect themselves.

Scrolls were the easiest to use, but they outright required that the user come back to her for more scrolls. Tomes were more dubious, if someone could use it then they could do so without her involvement. Staffs were the worst one in that regard, because if they could find someone to recharge it, they didn't need her either, but the staff itself could be used by anyone.

Still, those were all future problems, and as such, she performed the tried and true method of forgetting about it and pretending the problem didn't exist.

When Kentaro arrived back, Rosa wasted no time in sacrificing the caravan-sized bear he brought back, taking note of the fact he'd also brought back several rabbits.

She would have been shocked about it, but she had seen some monstrously-huge animals the size of houses being methodically taken apart with very few people showing interest, further pushing her mindset and making her damn grateful she hadn't ended up in front of one of those when she started off. The ritual itself almost had become routine for her already, though she made a mental note to move the fucking circle so that when she put stuff inside the ritual pocket, it actually appeared in the middle of the circle instead of a little off to the side. She set down candles and incense, fixed any issues with the chalk left from the last ritual, then sacrificed the beast. This time, she sacrificed it to Cernunnos, a celtic god that she only knew about because of a children's book she used to enjoy re-reading constantly.

"Divine Cernunnos, God and Lord of Wild Things, I sacrifice this great beast to your venerable self in devotion and with piety." Definitely not a great incantation, but she had long-since discovered that no incantation was basically self-sabotage. If that was the case, forcing out just something, anything, even ridiculous-sounding, was better than saying nothing. She felt the eerily-familiar sense of a being far beyond her comprehension observing her before the sacrifice vanished, and she opened her eyes again.

Opening her ritual report, it was a bit of a let-down, but still reasonable.

Ritual Completed - D+3

Environment - C-2

Items - D+3

Sacrifice - C-1

Incantation - D-2

Other Effects - D+1

Thanks to the fairly awful incantation, it wasn't her first C-rated ritual, which was a shame.

Other Effects had also gone down by one, and that pricked her curiosity quite fiercely. Whether it was because she hadn't gathered it herself, or at least hadn't put much effort in, she didn't know. The ritual was still worth 1,520 ritual points though, but she would need 1,500 ritual points to raise her Charisma from F-2 to F+3, leaving her with 120 points since she was skint-broke. She'd need 840 points to raise Charisma to E-3, so with only 120 points, that'd require another D-3 or above ritual.

Still, she had the points she wanted, and so, before leaving, she buffed her Charisma all the way up to F+3. Looking at her other stats, she exited out of the ritual pocket and wheedled the rabbits out of Kentaro's possession, going on to sacrifice all four of them. The Sacrifice, Incantation and Other Effects values all were only E-rated, with the Sacrifice one being a further F+2, meaning that each ritual was only worth E+1. The Environment and Items ratings didn't change though, so those were already massively pulling their weight. Four E+1 rituals meant she got 1,740 points, more than the bear was worth, but to be fair, that was because the bear only barely missed becoming a C-3 ritual, which would have made it worth double as much.

Immediately she spent another 1,500 points buffing Crafting to F+3, leaving her with 360 points. That was enough to buy another few upgrades, but she preferred keeping some money, and so that was what she did, holding onto those points and exiting the ritual pocket to be met with a slightly creepily-intent Kentaro. "Uhh, what?" She asked, and after maybe a second, she realized that she had just buffed her Charisma from F-2 to F+3, and that was probably why he wasn't even a little hesitant to give her the four rabbits that were not part of the deal for him to hunt.

Only after she was gone did he realize it was odd how he had so willingly given up the rabbits, and cue his sudden interest. "Something about you is...different, it's weird." He said bluntly, Rosa realizing that he probably actually hadn't realized that, and instead her Charisma was fucking with his head...her Charisma...was fucking with his head. That was bad, really bad. If she raised her Charisma, would she start making people follow her orders just because she naturally compelled them or some shit? That sounded awful, she didn't want yes-men who would just nod and do her bidding, that...well, it was good, but at the same time abhorrent.

"I got some buffs again, so snap out of it, I'm still me." She muttered, poking him in the chest. That seemed to do the trick actually, well, at least to an extent. He still watched her closely, more closely than normal at least, and...it made her genuinely uncomfortable. She wasn't a moron, she understood that he was special and was far, far stronger than her, so what if her Charisma made him actively 'like' her more?

As such, she immediately did a 180 on her plans to keep buffing her Charisma, at least until she ascertained the exact level of effect it actually had. If F-2 to F+3 was enough to make Kentaro fairly fixated on her, what would E-3 do? Or D+3? Or even higher, what would those ranks do to people around her? Would SSS+3 just make everybody who ever witnessed her in any form immediately become her devoted follower, unwilling to say a word or pass a thought in her presence? It really needed serious testing before she would even dare level it up further.

But, her plans still had to proceed, and venturing to the Commodities Exchange, she put a lot of willpower into ignoring the turned heads and stares that came her way. Before, she was easily-ignored, just another face in the crowd. Now, she felt like there was a giant flashing neon sign demanding attention right above her head. Half the people they walked past made eye contact with her at least once. It was like she naturally just attracted attention, and for a semi-introvert who was used to being ignored, it was like being put on a stage in front of a bunch of people, except it was happening constantly.

Rosa managed to make it to the Commodities Exchange only moderately freaked-out, not helped by the fact that Kentaro had opened the door and actually smiled at her. He'd smiled before, sure, but those were in amusement or whatnot, not an actual normal smile. She honestly wished there was some kind of refund option for getting traits, because with her upgraded Charisma, it was like the world had moved two steps to the side, and nothing felt right. "How may I help-oh!" The receptionist exclaimed, recognizing her if her expression was any indication. "Welcome back! Are you perhaps interested in the prices that our Azure Logistics offer? We recently had a glut of copper ore if you are still interested."

It...was worse than she thought. She highly doubted they actually had a glut of copper ore, and the receptionist was just trying to butter her up. "That sounds good to me. I need a hundred kilograms of copper ore, and if you could throw in ten standard sheets of Pigskin, I'd appreciate it. If I recall correctly, it should be about 13,850 Ryo." She stated casually, laying down her elbows on the reception desk.

"A hundred kilograms of copper ore and ten sheets of Pigskin, let me...yes, 13,850 Ryo. If you'd like, we can offer a complementary delivery service on orders at or above 14,000 Ryo." Rosa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 150 Ryo extra and it'd all be delivered, what were the chances of that? Her Charisma was honestly scary, and yes, whilst it seemed helpful, she was going to settle her butt down and scour her entire menu system until either she found a way to turn off the Charisma, or she would sacrifice her...Charisma.

That was a hell of an idea, and she instantly threw it into her notepad whilst the receptionist made some arrangements on her...computer, which Rosa couldn't see on her last visit because the screen was recessed into the desk itself, hidden from view. She hadn't noticed the keyboard, whether because she wasn't looking for it or otherwise, and since the woman had used paper for showing her the price of materials, she had naturally assumed it was pen and paper only. Kentaro had signed for her current base using pen and paper and there was no technology involved there, so she naturally had fallen, once again, into an assumption.

The technology of her current world honestly was confusing her. There were cold weapons, swords and kunai and whatnot, and no firearms to speak of, and yet, there were computers, showers, flushing toilets and technology. Being honest with herself, she needed to just take some time to explore and find out exactly what was and wasn't in existence. Maybe guns did exist, but only in the hands of the nobility? Whatever the case was, she could put that aside in favour of making some money. "And when andwhere would you like this delivered to?" Rosa told her to deliver as soon as possible, then gave the address of her little base, to which the receptionist nodded. "Alright, that will be 14,000 Ryo. Our deliveryman will be there in about an hour, and he will return with your goods should you not be there to receive him."

Rosa resisted the urge to ask how one deliveryman was going to deliver a hundred kilos of copper ore, if the receptionist said he could, then he could, and there was doubtlessly some way that he was going to do it that she didn't know of. For all she knew, Azure Logistics had trucks. Doubtful, since there were only roads and no pavements, nor any wheel marks on the roads, but she was willing to be proven wrong. Taking out fourteen Ryo notes, she laid them down, watched as the receptionist counted them and put them away, then gave her a smile. "Thanks, I'll be off now."

"Have a wonderful day, and do come back if you require more materials, Azure Logistics will be happy to provide!"

All the way back to base, Rosa mulled over the idea she had gotten.

She hadn't yet tried sacrificing a trait, and for all she knew, it couldn't work. However, she was able to sacrifice something even more abstract and non-corporeal to Chhinnamasta, so surely sacrificing some of her Charisma should be possible. But then...how would it be balanced? She doubted it would let her sacrifice her Charisma, which was only F-3, and get enough points to buy more Charisma than that, because if that was the case then she could infinitely do that and max out all her traits.

There was no real point trying to guess though, so instead, she made herself a plan for testing her Charisma. She would ask Kentaro some questions. Some would be embarrassing and way too forward for her liking, but she needed a broad spectrum of questions and answers. Once she sacrificed her Charisma, she would ask him again and see what his responses were. Depending on how different they were, they'd give her the absolute broadest possible guesstimation of the power her Charisma held.

After all, she didn't doubt that Kentaro didn't actually want much to do with her, he was only helping her because she had literally saved his life. And yet, in just the past hour with F+3 Charisma, he seemed a lot more like a servant, or not quite a servant but much closer to a real friend than just a friend-by-circumstance. He always maintained a level of distance between himself and her, consciously making it clear he was leaving in a few days. And yet, with F+3 Charisma, that barrier had evaporated, and he acted as though he wasn't leaving.

It was all very head-fucking and upsetting, she didn't want to fuck with people's free will, not to the point that their actions and personalities warped to ingratiate themselves with her. Maybe a cheaper purchase here, a better sale there, that was fine with her, all was fair in love and business after all, but...no, it just rankled her in an incredibly deep way to be messing with the free will of other people.

If there was no way to remove her Charisma, the sacrifice for some reason not working, she was going to have to do something else, because she adamantly refused to accept it as it was now. Once they got back to base, Rosa told Kentaro that he could go sort out any affairs that he wanted or needed to deal with, and to also go find a place she could stay at for under 6,000 Ryo. He hesitated for a moment, then left, leaving her really, genuinely relieved. If he'd told her she could stay at his place, she would have definitely lost it, because that was a line too far, even further than his actions changing a bit.

That told her that he still retained a lot of his decision-making, and maybe he still intended to leave after a week had passed, she just didn't know. With Kentaro gone, she checked through her now F+3-rated Crafting menu, looking through the different options. Not only could she now make iron tools, weapon and armour, she could also make and use steel to create things, though that required coal and iron. On top of that, she could make titanium ingots. Confusingly enough, it didn't require finding different materials and getting titanium oxide out of them. Instead, it needed steel, bronze and coal to make it. Though simplified, that was still helpful to her, since making titanium equipment would doubtlessly sell very well.

After exploring her crafting menu for a while, which also now included more Mysticism-related items, a man with the same weird headband as Kentaro knocked on the open door, peering inside. "I have a delivery here for 'Rosa', I'm assuming that's you miss?" He asked politely, and upon nodding, he removed a scroll from one of the pouches adorning the vest he was wearing. "If you could please sign here." He said, offering her an actual pen and watching her sign the scroll before inspecting it for a moment then replacing it. "Here are your goods." He said casually, removing another scroll. "Where would you like these?"

Curious, she exited the building and pointed out the wall closest to the forging apparatus, watching as he unfurled the scroll and placed a hand on it. Soon after, chunks of copper ore the size of her head began to literally pour out of the scroll into a big pile. Once the copper was all out, he again did something to the scroll, to which ten sheets of pigskin came out and landed on his outstretched arm. He laid down the pigskin gently, turned to give her a bow, then walked off as if he hadn't just casually summoned a hundred kilograms of copper ore from a piece of paper.

Sure, she was capable of bullshit as well, but it was a literal piece of fucking paper! Well, she was able to make pieces of papyrus shoot out fireballs just by adding some paintable material onto it, so she supposed it was tit-for-tat. Walking over to the ore, she opened her crafting menu, getting in range of the forging apparatus and then blinking. The crafting apparatus identified the ore, and was willing to do a ten-to-one conversion. Ten kilograms of ore, one kilogram of metal. Her prediction was actually spot on, though she highly doubted that there was a full kilogram of metal contained inside of the ore she'd bought. It was much more likely that her F+3 Crafting trait was making her craft stuff better, and as such, she got more copper metal out of the ore.

With that done, she used the now-metal copper along with five sheets of pigskin to make 40 copper kunai. She then used a sheet of pigskin to make a couple of rawhide ropes, looping one through the rings of all forty kunai, then picking them all up as one and putting the whole thing into her inventory. Forty kunai. If they sold for even 1,000 Ryo each, that was 40,000 Ryo, a profit of 26,000 Ryo, all for a few seconds of work, and an hour of waiting for the ore to actually get delivered. So, all in all, a very profitable day, regardless of the final sale price of each kunai.

Meanwhile, in her mind, an angel and a devil were having a raging battle over whether to sacrifice her Charisma now...or take advantage of it to sell the kunai first.