The Guild of Gamers: The Shopkeeper
Chapter 3: A Devil Gets a New Heart and Setting Up for Consistent Income
A/N: Sooo this thing has gotten a LOT more attention than I thought it would. So I have decided to just barrel onwards! I finally bit the bullet and made a Pat...reon that isn't for paying for my writing. I promise no money being made from fictional works using copywritten material here. Same pen name as my profile on here so go check it out!
Pat...reon : Archangel_Change24
Disclaimer: I own hardly anything. The Guild of Gamers is a concept created by TheDarkWolfShiro. Go check out his stuff if you haven't as he makes great works and makes stories come to life.
{System speech}
[System screens]
"Active Thoughts/Telepathic communication"
"Speech"
"SCREAMING AND OTHER LOUD SCHIST."
"ROB's and other higher plane beings speaking."
POV: Alex Asími
I finally decided to bite the bullet and read the Alteration book from my spell books. As I absorbed the book and my mind flooded with information I would never have been able to understand on my own a PING occurred breaking me from my enjoyment of the sudden influx of knowledge.
[Spell Unlocked:
Oakflesh: Improves the caster's armor rating by 40 points for 60 seconds.]
Just reading the skill makes me feel safer. Beyond that I really need to get a training room or something so I can share skills with people. Forty points to your armor rating in Skyrim was a minor improvement but 40 points in a D&D/Pathfinder based world like Baldur's gate is an INSANE boost. It would be interesting to see how Oakflesh stacks up against something like Mage Armor. As I considered the implications of Oakflesh in Baldur's Gate 3 a PING drew me from my thoughts as five screens popped up.
[Quest: Practice Makes Perfect
Objective: Cast Oakflesh 25 times (0/25)
Bonus Objectives:
A: Cast Oakflesh 50 times (0/50)
B: Cast Oakflesh 75 times (0/75)
C: Cast Oakflesh 100 times (0/100)
Reward: Reduce cost to cast by 25 mana.
Bonus Reward:
A: Reduce cost to cast by a further 25 mana.
B:Reduce cost to cast by a further 25 mana.
C:Reduce cost to cast by a further 25 mana.]
[Quest: HIT ME!
Objective: Get hit while Oakflesh is cast 25 times (0/25)
Bonus Objectives:
A: Get hit while Oakflesh is cast 50 times (0/50)
B: Get hit while Oakflesh is cast 75 times (0/75)
C: Get hit while Oakflesh is cast 100 times (0/100)
D: Get hit while Oakflesh is cast 200 times (0/200)
E: Do all the above without armor on.
Reward: Oakflesh lasts 25% longer.
Bonus Reward:
A: Oakflesh lasts a further 25% longer.
B:Oakflesh lasts a further 25% longer.
C:Oakflesh lasts a further 25% longer.
D: Oakflesh lasts until you dispel it but drains your mana by it's cost every 60 seconds.
E: Gain the Spellbook "Stoneflesh" for free]
[Quest: Alteration Master
Objective: Learn all three Novice Alteration Spells (1/3)
Bonus Objectives:
A: Learn all two Adept Alteration Spells (0/2)
B: Learn all six Expert Alteration Spells (0/6)
C: Learn all two Master Alteration Spells (0/2)
Reward: Gain one Novice Alteration Perk.
Bonus Reward:
A: Gain one Adept Alteration Perk.
B: Gain one Expert Alteration Perk.
C: Gain one Master Alteration Perk.]
[Grand Quest: Master Mage
Objective: Learn all Novice Spells for all Schools of Magic.
Bonus Objectives:
A: Learn all Adept Spells for all Schools of Magic.
B: Learn all Expert Spells for all Schools of Magic.
C: Learn all Expert Spells for all Schools of Magic.
D: Master all Spells to completion.
Reward: Gain one Novice Perk from all Schools.
Bonus Reward:
A: Gain one Adept Perk from all Schools.
B: Gain one Expert Perk from all Schools.
C: Gain one Master Perk from all Schools.
D: Gain the ability to craft Spellbooks for all known spells.]
It hurt my eyes just reading it all but once I finished I KNEW I had to complete all of these. Just based on what I remember of Skyrim spells some of this stuff would be HUGE. I mean even not taking into account all the other stuff with mastering the spells, JUST the two Oakflesh improvement quests would mean I would be able to keep Oakflesh going FOREVER for just 3 mana a minute. Heck I could knock out the HIT ME! quest just by sparring with the members of Karlach's party in a normal shirt and pants!
I dismissed the quest notifications with a grin and headed downstairs. As usual for the past day or so Misty was standing at the counter selling various items to customers or sending them off to Vik. It hasn't been much since it has only been a day but we have made more than enough to cover the purchasing of our merchandise at least and for me to pay Vik and Misty for working for me. Vik apparently sold things for just barely above market value by a couple Euros to those who needed it and while that hasn't helped out money situation any getting Vik on board was NEVER about the money anyway. Having Vik meant that not only could I fix Karlach but I gained a Ripper that wouldn't betray me and that I could actually get a doctor to do an examination to figure out what the hell was going on with my body.
I managed to get him to do a checkup on me after I explained a bit about what had happened to me and how I wasn't sure I was even human anymore. It turned out that the coin and silver like patches act sort of like scales. And based on the short psychological evaluation he gave me I don't even think in fully human frames of reference anymore. Instead of thinking in months and maybe years I seem to be thinking in years and decades. Oh and my blood is apparently a pretty potent healing agent not just for myself but other people too. Vik had cut himself when cleaning up after he dropped the vial holding some of my blood. When my blood came in contact with his cuts the cuts sealed pretty rapidly. Not that I wanted to test it too much but I tried to see if I could suppress the healing enough to get some simple cybernetics like subdermal armor or bone weaves. The short answer is I can. The longer answer is that I can only suppress it while within the Operating Theater.
"Hey Alex! Looking for Vik?" Misty asked breaking me from my reverie over what I had learned about myself.
"Nah just came down to get started working. I might go out later to get more stock for the store. You need me to get you or Vik anything while I am out?" I asked with a smile. Misty had already become an invaluable asset and almost a friend in such a short span of time. I would have been more wary of trusting someone in a place like Nightcity but she was so bubbly and kind I found myself unable to help but like her. I even met Jackie for a bit briefly when he came by to pick her up!
FLASHBACK START
It was the day after we got the shop set up and a burly man of seemingly Mexican decent entered the shop. "Hello! Welcome to Silver Owl Emporium, Recently partnered with Misty's Esoterica and Vik's clinic!" I had said excited to have yet another customer. The guy had looked around a bit in shock at the "changes" to the store and had then blinked when I mentioned being partnered with Misty.
"Yeah. Uh... Is Misty in choom? I was supposed to pick her up today?" He said after a moment of confusion.
"Sure thing dude. Gotta name?" I asked in response wanting to in part make sure that this was who I thought it was and also to not seem weird by just knowing peoples names.
"Yeah. Name's Jackie Wells." He said looking around at all the stuff on display.
"HEY MISTY! GOTTA JACKIE WELLS HERE FOR YA!" I yelled out to the storage room.
"OH! I'll be right now in a moment!" She yelled back at me.
"Sooo... How long you been partnered with Misty's choom?" Jackie asked clearly trying to pump me for info.
"Not long just a day or so. Besides you ain't got nothing to worry about as far as competition for Misty choom. I already see her like that sister I never had." I said with a knowing grin.
"M-Me? Interested in Misty? N-Nonsense. I just think she could use someone looking out for her is all." He said with a slight blush on his face. In response I just smirked at him knowingly as Misty came out of the back.
"Alright Jackie I'm ready to go. What are you boys talking about?" She asked with a concerned smile.
"N-Nothing Misty. I was just asking your friend here how long you guys had been business partners was all." Jackie said nervously.
"Yeah Jackie was just looking out for you and making sure I was on the up and up. Me and him are nova Misty. Now go on and enjoy your date you two." I said with that same smirk.
"D-date? Jackie is just bringing me home is all Alex. He hasn't asked me on any dates yet." Misty said with an indignant blush on her face not realizing she said yet. Jackie on the other hand notices what she said immediately and gets even more flustered and practically drags Misty out of the store.
FLASHBACK END
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening and Tav, Karlach, Gale, and Shadowheart entering the store.
"Oh hey guys! You are finally here! I got that guy set up in the other room. Just follow me!" I said with an eager grin as I turned and beckoned them to follow me into Vik's Operating theater. Thankfully he had already finished with his last scheduled client of the day.
"Hey Vik I got that lady I told you about here to see you. This is Karlach." I said motioning to the flaming tiefling. Vik is ever the professional as only the slight widening of his eyes gives away how shocking this whole thing is.
"Howdy Karlach. Alex has told me a good bit about what is going on. We are gonna be replacing that "Infernal Engine"? With a Heal-on-Kill implant, a Blood Pump, A Biomonitor, A Second Heart system, and a set of Microrotors and Subdermal armor. Any questions?" Vik asked as he looked up at her after the rather extensive list of cybernetics. Karlach has a slightly flabbergasted look on her face.
"Um... Yeah I have one. What even is all that stuff and what does it do?" Karlach asked looking heavily confused.
"Okay so in order a "Heal-on-Kill" system will make it so when you kill an enemy the adrenaline rush will trigger the system to clot your wounds and keep you in the fight. A Blood Pump does what it says on the tin really and pumps blood where your body needs it. A Biomonitor helps the other systems trigger when they need to and how they need to to keep you as healthy as possible. The Second Heart system makes it so that if you end up on the edge of death it will flood your body with a special chemical that promotes rapid healing. Issue is if your body gets too much at once it will start to have nasty side effects. There are safeties involved due to that to prevent that. So don't go thinking you can just rush off into battle without a worry. Alex told me you are a melee fighter so any so the Microrotors increase your attack speed and the Subdermal armor should keep a lot of damage from being worse." Vik said to explain as best he could.
Karlach turned to me with a gobsmacked look on her face along with a bit of panic. "Bright Eyes what the hells? I can't afford all this! I accepted the deal to trade and all that but the thing ain't worth that much!" She said sounding a bit hysterical.
"Karlach don't worry about it okay? I am paying Vik for all the extra stuff because I want you safe. This is the best I can give you and you are gonna take it and LIKE it." I said with a warm but stern smile.
"I... Fine! But don't think for a second I ain't gonna pay you back for this Bright Eyes! I am gonna ride you so hard you'll need this guy to fix your pelvis!" Karlach said as she gave me a sultry look mixed with a bit of frustration.
"O-Okay." I said with a massive blush in response as she walked over to the chair.
"So how we doing this Doc?" Karlach asked as she laid down on the chair.
"Simple. I am gonna put you under and when you wake up you will be all fixed." Vik said as he injected her with anesthesia and put her under. "The rest of yall can go wait outside. Shouldn't take more than two or three hours." Vik said to the rest of the room prompting me and Tav's party to leave the room to wait outside for Vik to get done.
Two and a half hours later Karlach walked out of the clinic with a wide grin on her face and no longer on fire with a bronze replacement horn. Before anyone could say anything she walked right up to me and hugged me so hard my spine popped.
"Bright Eyes you have no idea how lucky you are that Vik told me no strenuous activities until my new parts settle otherwise I might have just took you right here right now~" She growled softly into my ear sending a shiver up and down my spine.
"Does that mean you can't show me to your camp so I can place a permanent door to the shop there? And take me to a market so I can work out a trade for the produce there?" I asked with a smile that wasn't wholly about the potential profit. Karlach gave a bit of a laugh and put me down.
"Nah I can do that. Just can't really fight or fuck until things have settled down." She said with an easy smile. She looked like she had had years of stress taken off her shoulders and honestly it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
"Hehe alright then. Lets go get that door set up and head for that market so we can talk about where to go from here." I said with a smile.
Tav gave Karlach a hug as I let go and headed over to the wall to grab a pistol before I headed to the door and Gale gave her a pat on the back. Shadowheart said something to her that seemed to make Karlach blush a bit and Karlach lightly slugged her in the shoulder. They then made their way over and opened the door. As I stepped out into the Owlbear cave I got a good look at Misty's wide eyed expression at the totally different location. Then the door shut behind me as I took a deep breath of the clean if dank cave air and let out a relaxed sigh.
"You know you never realize how nice NORMAL air is after smelling nothing but polluted air and air that smells like nothing for so long." I said with a wide smile. Together we set off for their camp and on the way we encountered a few goblins that were easily dispatched with a few well placed shots. I looted the goblins of what they had on them before we continued on our way. I ended up placing the door near Karlach's tent causing the others to rib her playfully about it. Despite the light blush she had she still had a million megawatt smile plastered on her face at just being able to be ribbed in the first place. There was a moment where there seemed like there would be a problem between me and Lae'zel, but nothing came of it other than some grumbling. I then headed through the new door to grab a rather large amount of food from cyberpunk to trade for the produce from The Emerald Grove. Then we were headed out once more towards The Emerald Grove.
It took about an half an hour of hiking to get to the gate to The Grove.
"Who goes there?!" Yelled one of the guards at the top of the wall.
"It's just us! We have someone for Zevlor to meet!" Tav yelled back with a smile. In response the guards opened the gate for us and we were quickly ushered off to see Zevlor.
I had to talk to Zevlor about my situation some. Mostly about how my shop linked itself to a bunch of places and one of them doesn't get fresh produce very often but DOES have heavily preserved food that doesn't taste like garbage. We spent a few hours and worked out an agreement for me to keep them stocked with those food items in exchange for fresh produce and meats. Given how expensive a bloody APPLE was in cyberpunk this deal was pretty heavily stilted in my favor even if I gave them more food than I took.
With that I had a pretty stable regular source of income as someone with high quality fresh for surprisingly reasonable prices. While I was there I even told Zevlor that I could provide a safe haven for the Tieflings if needed. In exchange I asked that a pair of Tieflings be sent to stand guard inside the shop to prevent theft. Zevlor was pretty cautious and a bit confused at first. It wasn't until after I made a door and took him into said shop and showed him how no harm could come to someone within my shop that he actually agreed. Now my shop was the official evacuation point for all the noncombatants in the case of the goblins attacking in force, and if needed the point for the fighters to fall to back to as well.
When Karlach heard what I had offered and done I was thanked with a rather searing kiss that made my toes curl. Now if I could just get enough points before the goblins attack I could get a field and a village set up on my island, and perhaps lure the Tieflings into working the fields for me. I was really hoping to get all of them to become part of the village and have the start of my own work force, but I am pretty positive at least half of them will desire to go to Baldur's Gate first. Thankfully that just meant I needed to stop by there after they were turned away as refugees due to the rather racist treatment of Tieflings. Part of me felt bad for taking advantage of their situation to manipulate them into becoming mine, but it was made quiet by the fact I was giving them a safe haven for them to grow in population as a people and raise their children in peace without any chance of monsters ruining their livelihoods.
I headed back to the shop after that and set up my new inventory of fresh vegetables and meat much to the shock of both Vik and Misty.
It took me a couple hours to get the fresh food set up. During the time that I was setting the produce up Misty and Vik came over.
"Kid where the hell did you get this much Fresh?!" Vik said looking rather perplexed as he looked at an entire watermelon.
"I told you didn't I? My shop connects to other worlds. And the vast majority of those worlds don't have the issues that this one does growing fresh food. Once I can get some more customers flowing and some employees we can trust to manage them I should be able to set up a bunch of fields and stuff in my Hub World. From there we won't have to rely as much on trade and from there it is only up!" I said with a wide grin.
"You're... You're joking right? Fields with fresh food? And no one else can take them away? I know corporations that would go to WAR over a watermelon with viable seeds!" Vik said as Misty snagged an apple and bit into it with a happy moan of delight.
"Vik you've GOTTA try one of these apples! These are SO much better than the ones you can buy around here!" Misty said as she held an apple out to Vik excitedly.
"Misty! Do you have any idea how expensive these things are?!" Vik said as he panicked a bit over how I would react.
"Don't worry Vik these were really simple to get for me. Besides if I have it my way we will never have to eat month old meat tubes or burritos again." I said with a happy grin as I took the apple from Misty and tossed it at Vik who caught it. Vik after a moment more of being prompted by Misty, who had already torn through her apple and was plucking out the seeds with a smile, took a large bite of the apple in his hand and looked down at it in shock.
"Misty ain't kidding kid. These are ten times as good as the Fresh Apples that the Corpos sell." Vik said with a slight smile as he took another bite of the apple this time savoring it slowly.
"Yeah I don't know how to price these but make it a fair rate. I want this store to be THE place to go for Fresh in Nightcity." I said with a smile. Then as I went to grab an apple myself a young girl with bright red hair and startling green eyes peeked into the door. The thing that stood out most though was on her forehead was a simple scar in the shape of a lightning bolt
A/N: Well this is it for this chapter guys. Next chapter our dear character interacts with an entirely new world! My pat...reon is set up under my fanfiction pen name and the name of the actual thing is Omega's Fanfiction Emporium. I will be posting all my work there as well. Any future lemons will also be posted there instead of on for those who wish to read them. I will be working on the next chapter right after posting this one so keep an eye out and as always have a wonderful day! (UPDATED to support choices made by those who pay me.)