[ NEW S.T.A.T.S — STRENGTH: MAGICAL=25 - PHYSICAL=24 — TENACITY: DEFENSE=25 - SPEED=24 — APTITUDE: MANA=25 - STAMINA=24 — TILT: CONTROL=25 - LUCK=24 ]
[ NEW COMMON CORE PASSIVE: CENTRAL HEATING — EFFECT 1: PERCEIVED AIR TEMPERATURE WILL NOT FALL BELOW PRESET (DEFAULT 70o) — EFFECT 2: ADDS CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS FOR MINIMUM TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, ETC — NOTE: THIS DOES NOT AFFECT OPPOSITIONAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE OR DEBUFFS ]
[ NEW COMMON C.R.A.F.T. AUGMENT: GUN / CUSTOM PIGMENT — EFFECT: ON CREATION, SELECT 1 COLOR PER GUN RARITY LEVEL TO RECOLOR FEATURES IN ORDER OF SURFACE AREA, DESCENDING — WARNING 1: DEFAULTS TO NORMAL APPEARANCE IF NO SELECTION IS MADE — WARNING 2: PIGMENT CANNOT BE CHANGED AFTER GUN CREATION ]
So yeah. After my goal became, given a few levels, attainable, I resolved myself to mostly just get some good quality-of-life Skills so I can afford a CRAFT Epic. Even if I’m still undecided on which ones to go for. I’ve got four Skill Points to spare at the moment, but I need another level for anything above Uncommon. Figure I’ll go ahead and burn that bridge when I come to it. I’m kinda over my CLASS though. I know I’ll respec, I’m just not sure into what. Not so into projectile weapons anymore though. But that bridge is even further off than the one I’m already procrastinating on.
As for today? I’m fresh off dealing with a particularly annoying customer. Or… Technically not, I guess. You have to buy something to count as a customer, right? Anyway, I lost the sale when I refused to haggle. They kept trying to push me lower. I kept the price the same. The posted price is the posted price. If I veer away from that now, I’ll only piss off everyone I’ve fed that same line to when they wanted a discount.
He only just walked away from me, swearing.
Good. I’ll give them away for free if I think it’s warranted. If I think they really need it. This jackass did not. Frankly, I wouldn’t have wanted to sell it to him at full price. Let alone a discount. I’d only ever give those to people who deserve it.
Which is weird because that’s exactly who’s been watching the whole interaction. What little doubt I had fades as he strolls up to me almost as soon as the last jerk leaves. It really is that same guy who took issue with my buzzwordiness in Boreas. I’ve watched him in the corner of my eye gradually going from disdainful to surprised as he listened to me interact with my last few customers.
And now he’s finally deigned to approach. “No more buzzwords?”
More relieved than anything for the cue to actually acknowledge his presence, I throw him a genuine smile. “I listened. Thank you, by the way. Don’t know how long it would’ve taken me to figure out the cultural shift from what I’m used to.”
Aaand he’s back to disgusted. “Sorry, but your homeland sounds kinda shitty.”
My smile only grows warmer. “It kinda was.”
“Oh… Well, um…”
“So you buyin’ anything, or..?”
He starts. “OH. Um… Sure, I guess I’ll take one of your water bottles.”
My expression doesn’t change. “Color?”
“I thought they were all blue..?”
I don’t say anything.
“Alright…” He folds his arms. “Emerald.”
Pointlessly turning around, I shuffle through some empty boxes while I craft one of those. Emerald is… Like forest green but shiny? Damn, I should invest in a color pallet. Or just study one… Eidetic Memory to the rescue again. Eventually. But for now…
I turn back around and present it to the guy. “How’s that?”
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Thankfully, even me having a green one seems well beyond his expectations. Which makes sense. Probably not many people bother investing in color options. But Jessie’s Layered Armor got me thinking… I always really loved the gun pigment settings in shooters. There’s just something affirming about killing shit with an assault rifle white as the driven snow.
And what better color for a freeze ray? Well, I guess cyan would’ve been more on-the-nose. But a cyan gun? That’s just one step away from pink. And no. Just… Too gaudy. Maybe black with pink and cyan accents could work. I even get three color options as long as the gun is Rare or higher.
Still, once his chromatic shock wears off, the guy just grimaces down at his specially made gun. “How much?”
Of course, I haven’t changed the price tag since I started. “$50.”
He still looks at it questioningly.
Not that I blame him. Fifty is both a bit much for impulsive spending, and a bit low to pay for anything worthwhile. But it’s his lucky day. I completed my Path Quest yesterday, so I don’t actually need the extra cash. Not yet anyway. And he did help me out with the tip. So a 90% discount it is.
Besides, at this point, it would just take up Inventory space. The customized color keeps it from being addable to any stacks I have going, so it’d just clutter up my system until someone requests another off-green one. Besides… Persnickety guy like this? Word-of-mouth from someone like him could translate to a hundred or more sales by the time I take this show to Iceberg. And I get the impression I should do as much as possible to help with sales when my quota keeps doubling.
My heckler-turned-maybe-best-customer examines it before tentatively taking a drink. His eyes widen. “Holy shit. You weren’t even exaggerating, this really is ice-cold!” He looks me in the eye. “And this is infinite?!”
I nod.
“For $50 each… You could make thirst a thing of the past for the entire Gamesphere. Or at least all of Humanity. Not all races drink water. Hell, I don’t think most of them even drink.”
I can only chuckle. “I’d honestly give the same discount to everyone if not for the Path Quest. $50 still gives me a solid profit per unit. But I’m in a bit of a hurry to progress. After that though? Who knows? I’d be perfectly happy giving these away at-cost, or even for free if I wasn’t barreling towards a deadline. For now, I just gotta keep the big picture in mind, you know?”
“I… I see… So next, you’ll be moving to…”
“Iceberg.”
He just stares at me for a second. “That’s several million square miles there, bud… Care to be more specific?”
I just look at him blankly. “The… City?”
“Maybe I wasn’t clear. You’re from Earth, right?”
I nod.
“Well, the area you’re talking about is bigger than Eurasia. Less densely populated, but actually about the same population when you account for how much more spread-out it is.”
“Pre or post Collapse?”
“What collapse?”
I mumble under my breath. “That’ll be PRE, then…” I throw him a smile. “No idea yet. Any recommendations?”
The guy just stares at me. “What a weird question. I’ve never considered what the best city in Iceberg might be.” He thinks for a moment. “No, there are simply too many choices. The Bergs don’t have a capital per se. It’s much more of a city-state setup, you know.”
“I… Don’t.”
“Oh.”
A voice I immediately recognize sounds out from behind me. “Already deciding where to go next? Without us?” Oh thank god.
I turn around and away from the conversation I was already searching for ways to extricate myself from.
There’s a warm aura about Rachel that I have to assume is part of her new Attunement. Maybe a Toggle Skill with an elemental effect?
But Ross is shivering, despite the layers. “You’re so lucky I feel bad for abandoning Jessie right before she fell in with that weird esoteric rapist.” He sniffles. “So, sooo lucky.”
Rachel seems to shiver a little herself in sympathy pain, despite the heat radiating in a bubble around her. “Any luck yet?”
I shake my head. “I checked at the resort where they were staying. Turns out, they left over a month ago. So what do you guys say? Wanna help me find them?”
And so, packing up and leaving my maybe-best-maybe-worst-customer-now standing there, we get going.
Except… “Ross, have you thought about Central Heating?”
Ross groans in a suspicious level of comprehension at my meaning. “Not when I’m staying out of this hellhole after our little trip. Why’d you have to go the ice route anyway? I get that you want to find your friends, but couldn’t you have just done water? And then, I dunno… Frozen it? With, like, a Skill or something? We all get the same Berg access no matter what Attunement we have.”
I shake my head. “If there were Skills for that, I wouldn’t have the market cornered on my little water guns. And Boreas is all about cold. Not ice. People just conflate the two because water is simple and it’s everywhere and it’s so easy to freeze. That, and cold temperatures make the moisture in Humanity’s atmosphere condense and coat everything in a layer of the stuff. But ice is no more the essence of ‘cold’ than mud is the essence of ‘outside’. No matter how hard it is to avoid while you’re there.”
“Fine, fine, ice nerd. Dropping it.”
But I’m not. “Get Central Heating, man. It’s just a Common Core thing and the cold won’t even bother you after that.”
“But I’m saving up for…” He slumps after a sudden shiver. “Fine… I can see where this is going.”
“And where is it going?”
After a moment, he straightens up, despite being far more relaxed than I’ve seen him in months.
“So how is it..?”
“Shut up.”
