Gestation by John Gold (love books to read .txt) 📗

and beautiful, and her girlish hat and staff, which I didn’t have the chance to really inspect last time, go well with her. I’m pretty sure she’s a druid, although I have no idea what they call themselves in Project Chrysalis.

“I would, Miss Hela. Is there anywhere around here where I can buy books on magic? I mean, books with spell seals for mages of all specialties and levels.”

“Well, isn’t that something! No, you couldn’t earn that much in a year.”

“I’m a hard worker. Could you just tell me where I can find them?”

“There’s a mage shop in the center next to the market stalls, and that’s the only place in the city where they sell books. Are you sure that’s what you need?”

Women really do all love to pry. They always want to know everything.

“I need spell seals and a general idea of what my enemy might use. Also, I want to learn how to quickly make them.”

“You don’t have an inscription skill, so you’ll have to make them manually. You won’t be able to make them automatically with the skill.”

“I know, Miss Hela. Okay, I’m going to take one more quest. What was the reward for that one, by the way?”

“A hundred gold. They ate a traveler, so the reward was a little higher. In those cases, there’s a mark on the announcement telling you that it’s unusually dangerous: a red check for each ordinary person killed and a circle for each hunter.”

After taking a quest for a lich and his retinue, I go looking for the bookstore. It’s easy to find. There’s an enormous sign in the shape of a book, and the picture of an eye means that they sell things there. The shop’s owner is called Gerome. My question surprises him, and it takes him ten minutes to pull out the books and agree on a price.

“With a discount for an order of this size, two hundred and thirty thousand gold.”

“Wow, I don’t have that kind of money. Could I offer you something out of the ordinary?”

The owner knew a kid wouldn’t have that kind of money, though he was bored. Not many people were dropping by.

“Offer me what?”

“What would you think about exchanging your books for some that I have?”

“That depends on what you can give me.”

“Books on mysticism and magic siege. They’re limited editions, not available for sale.”

“Are you offering me forbidden books?”

Ooh, look at his eyes light up!

“Yes. This is a caliphate, and a port city, so the laws are laxer than the ones in Ovidius. You can always find someone looking for books like these.”

Gerome bends over and continues in a whisper.

“Do you even realize the risk I would be taking by buying books like that?”

“You think I’m trying to turn you over to the guard?”

“Exactly.”

“I’ll give you one book today. You can hide it or do whatever else you want with it, and I’ll come back tomorrow. If you’re happy with everything, we’ll talk again. I’m the one with the big risk. These books are really valuable.”

Gerome straightens back up and walks around the shop before replying.

“Okay.”

You’re a trusting soul, Gerome. They use deals like that to blackmail people at the orphanage, and I still have the logs that say how I gave him the book.

I spend practically the whole night hunting monsters—undead, a giant toad, a ghost, and a black panther. None of them can sleep, apparently. Then, in real life, I grab a snooze for six hours before jumping back into the game. It’s time to pick up the money for the ship and its cargo.

Geriont is waiting for me at the auction building just as we agreed. The frigate went for sixty-four thousand gold, meaning that my share is an eye-watering forty-eight thousand. Maybe, I should be hunting pirates.

“I’m leaving in an hour, so you be careful. The pirates may try to get their revenge.”

“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

There was a reason I set up the meeting to be right next to the auction: I need a ton of blood malachite. It has some surprising qualities I’d like to exploit.

It’s used as mana storage in this world, and the fact that it’s hard to find is why it’s so valuable. Uncut malachite is cheaper, so I buy up everything that’s being sold at a decent price. As a semiprecious metal, its low durability makes it a poor option for storing mana. It’s generally used as stationary storage in cities and fortresses.

After all my purchases, I’m left with three and a half thousand gold and six kilograms of malachite. Geriont held up his end of the deal, too. I have all the strongest monsters marked on my map, along with information about a healer mage and a tattoo master. The first works at the arena; the second lives in the port district. That’s who I need right now.

Bor, the master, has his shop set up on the second floor of the port administration building.

“Good afternoon. Could I order a tattoo?”

“Certainly. What would you like? Which gang tattoo are you looking for?”

“Gang tattoo?” Where am I? “No, I need something else.”

“Oh, you aren’t local?” Bor lights up a pipe. He’s a hefty, thickset guy who looks to be from the south. “Almost all the local kids join a gang and get themselves a tattoo. Lots of the clans have their own markings, too. They give you a permanent bonus and let the clans keep track of their fighters—a mark and a clan sign, both.”

“Quite the customs around here. Hey, what does the tattoo master skill influence? It’s a craftsman skill, right?”

“Yes, I’m a craftsman. The tattoo skill lets you make bigger and more detailed drawings, and the crafting skill boosts what the ink gives you.”

“Thanks. So, I can choose my own drawing?”

“Yep.”

“And what about keeping the drawing a secret?”

The master laughs.

“Kid, I’m a master. I’ve lived this long because I can hold my tongue, and I have the highest skill in this whole caliphate. I’m fourth