Kaito stared at the contract window for long that the edges began to blur. The deal was to take two million dollars off the debt. This was a thing, for Kaito because two million dollars is a lot of money. It would not even make a difference in the eight hundred million dollars he owed but it was a good start. Two million dollars was money than Kaito had ever made from all the small jobs and tasks that Kaito did. Shade just kept smiling. He was very calm and patient. It was like something that happens slowly over time. You know, like when rust forms, on metal. Shade just kept on smiling, looking really calm and patient.
The broker said slowly "Time is running out". The old ruins are getting. This is happening more and more with each passing day. If we wait for a time the core of the old ruins will be gone for good.
Kaitos hand was resting above the interface. The voice in his head was not soft anymore it was like a loud roar now. It told Kaito: you already paid for one thing with blood and mud. Now the interface is paid for but it did not cost him blood it was like water the voice said about the interface. Kaito was thinking deeply about the interface. What the voice said about the interface. He thought about what the voice meant when it talked about the interface. The interface was, on his mind. The voice was still talking about the interface.
The man tapped the Accept button. He wanted to move with what he was doing so he tapped the Accept button.
I have a contract that I need to work on. The contract is called Shades Bargain. The Shades Bargain contract is what I will be focusing on.
The main thing that Shades Bargain wants to do is to get the Submerged Node Core, from the Flooded Ruins. This is what Shades Bargain is after the Submerged Node Core that is located in the Flooded Ruins.
The Flooded Ruins are east of Rusthaven.
I want to show that I really have the Submerged Node Core. To do this I need to give the Submerged Node Core to Shade or, to the nearest Node. I have to return the Submerged Node Core to either Shade or the nearest Node.
If I do this thing I will get a reward. Doing this will mean I get a reward. I am looking forward to getting my reward when I do this.
The reward for Shades Bargain is that my debt will be reduced by 2,000,000 ?. This is a deal for me because Shades Bargain is really important. When I get the reward for Shades Bargain my debt will be a lot smaller. The reward for Shades Bargain is 2,000,000 ?, off my debt.
I will also get five thousand Lira in cash.
I am going to get Shades Favor. That means I can have one future negotiation, with Shades Favor where I will get a reduced cut.
If I do not succeed the consequence will be that I will have to face a penalty. I am really worried that I will fail. I will be penalized. The thought of failing and being penalized is really scary, to me.
If I do not make good on the Shades Bargain the penalty is that my Shades Bargain debt will go up by 500,000 ?. This is because I have to pay more for the Shades Bargain if I fail to meet the terms of the Shades Bargain. The Shades Bargain debt will. I will owe more money for the Shades Bargain.
I am also going to get Shades Mark, which means I will be tracked for collection of Shades Mark. This is what will happen when I get Shades Mark.
I have to get all of this done within a time. The time is limited. I have to finish all of this. I am working on this. I have to complete it within the given time. The time is what matters here. I need to do all of this within the time.
The time limit, for Shades Bargain is 72 hours.
Shade slid a metal token across the table. The token was cold to the touch. It had a picture of a chain stamped on it. "This metal token is proof that Kaito and I have a deal" Shade said. "Kaito should not lose the metal token." Shade looked at Kaito with a glint in his eyes. "Kaito should be careful. Not get himself killed. Shade would really hate to have to get his money from someone because that would be a big problem, for Shade and the person who would have to pay him the money.
Kaito put the token in his pocket. Then he walked out of the inn. Kaito did not say anything to anyone. The door of the inn shut hard behind Kaito. It was still really early, in the morning. The sky had a color it was not sunny at all.
He used up the rest of his 1,190 gold coins wisely before he left Rusthaven. The man made sure he did not waste any of his 1,190 gold coins. He spent his 1,190 gold coins on things that were really important, to him before he said goodbye to Rusthaven.
* 400 ? on a crude iron dagger (better than fangs, at least).
* 300 ? on a waterskin and two more Ironjaw strips.
* 200 ? on a frayed rope coil (for climbing or binding).
* I used up 100 tokens to buy a crystal lantern. This crystal lantern is really nice because it gives off a glow when I shake it. I like the way the crystal lantern looks when it is glowing. The glow, from the crystal lantern is not too bright it is just right.
190 ? left. Pocket change against the abyss.
The path to the east was really tough. It was tough because the trails were all overgrown. You could not see far ahead of you on the path to the east because of the mist. The mist made it hard to see the roots sticking out of the ground on the path to the east. These roots could easily trip you up.
Sometimes the ground would just give way under your feet on the path to the east. By the middle of the day it started raining on the path to the east. This time the rain was really coming down on the path to the east. The ground on the path to the east was getting all muddy and slippery from the rain. Kaitos feet were bare on the path, to the east. Kaitos feet were numb. Kaito kept moving forward on the path to the east. Kaito did not stop. The reason is that Kaito had to keep going. Kaito just had to do that. Kaito had to keep going no what.
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The Flooded Ruins were like a city that was mostly underwater with a big lake of water covering half of it.
The old towers were really falling apart they looked like fingers leaning over. They had thick vines wrapped all around the stone and old metal.
The water was moving up against the archways and some of these archways were partly underwater it was very dark and dirty the water did not reflect The Flooded Ruins or anything else.
There were flashes coming from down in the water of The Flooded Ruins these flashes could be pieces of the Node or The Node or maybe something even worse, than the Node. The Flooded Ruins were really scary. I mean The Flooded Ruins were scary to begin with.. Then you had these blue flashes in the water and that made The Flooded Ruins even spookier. The Node fragments were probably hidden somewhere in The Flooded Ruins. Maybe it was something even worse, than The Node fragments.
I am in the Flooded Ruins area it is a level 10 to 15 zone.
The water here is really bad for me. It is so corrosive. If I stand in the water up to my waist or even deeper in the water I will lose 2 health points every minute. The water is news, for me.
I need to be really careful when I'm in the Flooded Ruins. There are things in the water that can hurt me. The system is warning me about threats in the Flooded Ruins. I do not want to get hurt in the Flooded Ruins so I will be careful. The Flooded Ruins can be a dangerous place with all the things, in the water that can hurt me.
The Flooded Ruins are super scary. I have to be careful when I am walking around the Flooded Ruins. There is a lot of water in the Flooded Ruins. That means there are things in the water that can hurt me. I need to watch out for the water and the things that live in the water when I am, in the Flooded Ruins.
Kaito tied the rope around his waist like a safety line. Then he did something with the end of the rope. He looped the end of the rope to a beam that was sticking out. The beam was really big. Kaito thought the rope would be safe there. He was using the rope as a safety line. The beam was going to hold him. Kaito tied the rope to the beam so it would not come loose.
The man walked into the water. He got his feet wet, in the water. The water was very cold. The man kept walking into the water.
The water was really cold. It was so cold that it was taking his breath away. He could feel the water, on his skin. It was giving him a tingling sensation. The cold water was really making his skin feel funny. The water was cold. It was making him feel like he could not breathe for a second.
The water was already up, to his waist. It was like someone was grabbing his legs and pulling him down because the current was so strong. The water and the current were really pulling at him.
He used Basic Appraisal on the thing he saw. It was a hall that had fallen down. The hall had some stairs that went down into the dark. The stairs were pretty scary because they went down into the dark. He looked at the hall and the stairs that went down into the dark using Basic Appraisal.
【Submerged Node Chamber – Core likely at lowest level.】
【Threats: Drowned Stalkers (Lvl 12), Acid Eels (Lvl 10), Collapse risk.】
The first fight came fast. Something broke through the surface of the water. It was an Acid Eel with a serpentine shape and it had these glowing barbs all, over the Acid Eel. The Acid Eel was a thing. The Acid Eel lunged at us quickly.
Kaito swung the dagger at the thing. The thing moved out of the way, in time. Kaito jumped off the wall. The rope got really tight. Then Kaito plunged the blade into the things side. A weird liquid called ichor shot out of the thing. The ichor burned Kaitos arm. The dagger was still stuck in the things side. Kaito was fighting the thing with the dagger. Kaito kept fighting the thing. The thing was still moving around. Kaito had to be careful when he was fighting the thing with the dagger.
I took some damage. The experience points that I got are 80 experience points. I gained 80 experience points from this.
The eel was really thrashing around. It pulled him under the water. The water went over his head. He saw that he was losing health because of the water. The water was taking away 2 health points from him every second. He started to feel really scared. The eel was still pulling him down. Then he remembered something he learned from the Ironjaw. The Ironjaw taught him something. He recalled that if he could find a weakness in the eel he could use that to his advantage. So he pulled the rope hard. Slammed the eel, into the stone. The eels spine got hurt when it hit the stone. The thing cracked. The man stabbed the eel again. This time he did it deeper right into the eels body.
【Enemy Defeated: Acid Eel (Lvl 10)】
【EXP Gained: 120】
【Loot: Acid Gland x1, Eel Scale x3】
He came up for air. He was breathing really hard. His health was at 110 out of 160.
He was now at level 4. That is why his health had increased.
The thing on his body was really sore when he touched it. The thing on his body could be something that he could use to defend himself with the thing on his body.. The thing on his body could be bad for him.
He would think about the thing, on his body later.
Deeper in the place things started to change. The halls became smaller and the water level rose it was now up to his chest. The blue glow surrounding him got stronger. He finally found the core chamber it was like a room with a really high ceiling and it was completely flooded with water. The Node Core was suspended in the air held up by a lot of chains. The Node Core was pulsing like it was alive. It looked like it was dying. However there were two Drowned Stalkers standing guard the Drowned Stalkers were, like people. They were dead and they were all rusty and covered in seaweed the Drowned Stalkers had eyes that were creepy. were all cloudy and their arms and legs were long and skinny, like claws.
The people were moving together they were all splashing forward.
The water was moving because the people were splashing forward into it.
Kaito threw the crystal. It made a really bright light. This bright light distracted one of them. Kaito then ran at the one with his dagger shining in the light. The other one swiped at Kaito with its claw. The claw cut Kaitos side. The cut on Kaitos side hurt badly. The pain from the cut on Kaitos side was very bad. It felt like the pain was going to overwhelm Kaito.
Kaito thought the lantern crystal was a thing to throw because it helped Kaito get to the other one, with Kaitos dagger. The claw that cut Kaitos side was very sharp. Kaito knew the crystal helped him. It really hurt him a lot when the thing raked across the mans skin. The man felt a lot of pain when the thing raked across his skin. It was very painful, for the man when the thing raked across the mans skin.
【Damage Taken: Severe】
【HP: 68/160】
【Status: Bleeding (-3 HP every 30 sec)】
The man went through the water. Then he came up behind the stalker. He stabbed the stalker in the neck right where the metal met the stalkers skin. The stalker made a noise like the stalker was choking on something and then the stalker just fell down. The man had attacked the stalker. Now the stalker was, on the ground.
【Enemy Defeated: Drowned Stalker (Lvl 12)】
【EXP Gained: 180】
【Level Up! Level 4 → Level 5】
【HP Restored to 180/180 (Bonus)】
【New Attribute Point + Previous Unallocated: Allocate Now (Suggest: +1 Agility for dodging, +1 Strength for damage, or +1 Vitality for HP pool)】
Kaito got some new abilities really fast. He got one point of Agility and one more point of Vitality. This made Kaito feel like he could run around and do things quicker.
Kaito was a lot tougher now because of the Agility and Vitality that Kaito got.
Kaito felt faster when Kaito was moving around. Kaito felt tougher when something happened to Kaito because of the Agility and Vitality that Kaito received.
The second stalker jumped at the man. The man got out of the way, in time and water splashed everywhere.
The man used the rope to swing around a pillar. Then the man kicked off. The man stabbed the dagger into the stalkers middle.
The stalker turned into foam.
【Enemy Defeated: Drowned Stalker (Lvl 12)】
【EXP Gained: 190】
He swam to the core. His hands were shaking really badly.
The core came free with a metallic snap.
It was an orb, about the size of a fist.
The orb was making a lot of noise it was humming with a lot of power.
The power of the orb was really something
He held the orb in his hands. It was still humming with power.
The core was now gone,. The orb was still humming.
He was still holding the orb in his hands and it was still humming with power the orb was really powerful.
The old ruins made a noise as he turned around.
The chains broke all of a sudden.
Then the water came rushing in fast.
The whole old ruins thing came crashing down on him.
The old ruins were gone the water was everywhere the old ruins were destroyed.
Kaito took off fast because the rope was hurting his hands as he pulled himself up the stairs that were underwater. Things were falling down behind him. He got to the top quickly just when the big open space, in the building was collapsing and water was shooting out everywhere. The atrium was falling apart badly. Kaito was very lucky to get out of the atrium. The stairs were not moving anymore. The water was rising up higher and higher. Kaito had just made it out of the water when the atrium caved in. It sent big waves outward.
The man fell down on the shore. He was holding the core really tight, to his chest. The man was alive. The core was still held tight to his chest as the man lay there on the shore. The man was alive. The core was still clutched to his chest.
【Contract Progress: Core Acquired】
【Return to Shade for completion.】
The rain was pouring down hard. Kaito. It was a noise. He was exhausted. His voice was very hoarse but he was also extremely happy and it sounded like he had just won something huge. Kaito was feeling triumphant, about something. The laugh just burst out of Kaito.
Two million closer to freedom. Or deeper into someone else’s game.
Kaito walked slowly back to Rusthaven with the core in his pouch. When he got there Shade was waiting for him. Kaito would deal with whatever happened at Rusthaven whether it was a favor or a betrayal or a new job. He would face it standing up. Kaito was ready, for whatever came from Rusthaven.
The voice in his chest was quiet now. Almost proud.
Not such a rich boy anymore.
