Chương 87: Unbotherable

Melchior's eyes widened.

"Oh. Oh!"

"Oh," I said.

"You know that kind of talk will get you killed," he said. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Yes, Melchior, I'm well aware of that. Which is why I was upset that you made me repeat myself twenty times."

"You didn't repeat anything." I wanted to slap him in his annoying face, but if I did that he might not be as willing to part with his runestones. Giving him my friendliest fake smile also wouldn't do anything, since I was wearing the mask and he couldn't see my face. My famous patience was starting to wear thin.

"Do you have the runes or not?" He nodded thoughtfully.

"I have some runestones. Which ones ya looking for?"

"I need Star and Speed, but I'll take whatever you're willing to part with. Any combinations you know of would be welcome too."

"Type of weapon?" he asked.

"Ranged." He looked me up and down, then tried to look behind me to see if I was carrying something on my back. When he couldn't find any weapons he raised an eyebrow.

"It's not for you?"

"It's for me, Melchior. What are you? The inquisition?" He frowned, but grabbed a scrap of paper from below the bar, scribbled something on it, then slid it to me. Hiellal's Bargain – WebSpeedFangsWeb 100% Chance to cast [Hiellal's Embrace] when you level up 100% Chance to cast [Hiellal's Judgement] when you die +7% Life stolen per hit +30% Enhanced Attack Speed -15% To all enemy resistances Hit blinds target Only four stones required for this one, but I still didn't have the stones required to make it.

The cost was astronomical. I wasn't sure if I was ever going to get two Web runestones if they really were as rare as they were claimed to be. It also seemed less stacked than the ones Jagoda had given me, but blinding someone with every hit might actually be super broken. If I wielded two of these bad boys I'd also be decreasing my enemies' resistances by 30%, at which point I was sure I'd be breaking all but the most dedicated immunities. I asked the System what [Hiellal's Embrace] and [Hiellal's Judgement] did.

[Hiellal's Embrace] Type: Active She judges harshly, but heals generously. Fully restores party health and removes all negative status effects. [Hiellal's Judgement] Type: Active Fire and wind answer when mercy does not. Summon a pillar of fire and wind. Scales with level and Attunement.

"Shit," I whispered.

"This is better than I thought. Minus the having to die part." If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Melchior nodded.

"One of the old gods. From before. She is gone now, as they all are, but her runewords live on."

"There are more?" I asked.

"There are always more."

"Stvora won't get mad if I use this?" He shrugged.

"Hiellal is dead. Why would he care? If Stvora did not want us to use it he would have erased it." Speaking of dying. My Attunement was pretty high, which probably meant that if someone killed me, [Hiellal's Judgement] would end them too. At least it was some form of revenge? It would be comforting to know that whoever killed me would get what they deserved. If people knew killing me would result in them dying in a pillar of flame and wind, it might also make them a bit more hesitant to kill me.

Or it could prepare them for it… in which case they wouldn't die at all. Best not to mention it then. And what if I didn't have to die for it to activate? What if I took [Stunt Double] or [Hall of Mirrors] and just sent my illusions to die for me like beautiful little suicide bombers. Would that work? It would be another very good reason among a long list of good reasons to take [Stunt Double].

"Looks like [Stunt Double] is back on the menu," I said. Melchior looked confused.

"Huh?" I waved him off.

"Don't worry about it. Back to the runestones. What I absolutely need right now are Star and Speed. Any Web, Fangs or Vortex you'd be willing to part with would also be most welcome." Melchior whistled.

"You have expensive taste." Once again I felt the sudden urge to pull him over the counter and toss him through a wall. Not that I could, with my Strength being so low. And I wouldn't even if I could, really, I wouldn't, because I was not a violent person. I just felt the urge, that's all.

"Melchior, you just told me a combination that requires two Web runes and a Fang. What do you mean I have expensive taste? You should have told me something different if you didn't have the stones." Melchior held out his hands apologetically.

"Alright, alright. No need to get worked up. You asked for a ranged weapon combination, and that's one of the best ones I know. I do have a Web and a Speed rune in the back. As you can imagine Star is pretty popular since it increases damage, so despite it being an uncommon it might as well be a rare. They go fast." For a supposedly rare runestone Web sure didn't seem that hard to find. I'd only spoken with two people since learning of its existence and both of them had one.

Perhaps Kleris really was looking out for me today, casting her lots in my favor. Perhaps I should ask for something else? See how far I could push my luck? If I did manage to get that Web and Speed I'd be one stone away from both Desecrate and Court of Flame. It would even allow me to straight up create Hiellal's Bargain in one of my revolvers, and I'd finally be able to find out if [All is One] altered the stats of my weapons somehow. I just hoped it wouldn't alter what I looked like.

On the other hand, without having something to sacrifice in order to trigger [Hiellal's Judgement] it simply wouldn't be as good as the other two combinations. And as much as I wanted to take [Stunt Double], I still had my survivability to think about, which meant I'd probably have to use at least one skill point on a disguise ability before I could even consider taking [Stunt Double]. I also wondered what else he had in the back. Was Melchior some kind of dealer in rare or forbidden items?

I was about to ask him about it when some drunk stumbled up to the bar and slammed down a couple of coppers.

"Gimmea pitcher of ale," he slurred.

"The chunky kind." The chunky kind? That was new to me. Why would anyone want "chunky" ale? Was it just unfiltered or did they put chunks of something in there? The drunk swayed on his feet, then grabbed onto the bar to steady himself. He slowly turned to face me and squinted, both eyes looking in different directions. He stared real hard. Maybe he was seeing double, trying to decide which of me to engage first.

"Youuu sure are an ugly mother," he finally said. Then he tried to spit on the floor, but it ended up on his own arm instead. He didn't notice.

"I don't have any children," I replied. He pointed next to me.

"Think you're funny? Uglyyy mother." Kasia gently grabbed my arm as if to calm me.

"Don't worry," I told her.

"I'm not going to kill him." The guy narrowed his eyes again.

"Th-thattt a threat?" I was, as always, completely unbotherable, so I decided he'd probably go away if I ignored him. I glanced at Melchior.

"Can you just give him his 'chunky ale' so we can continue our conversation?" The drunk slammed a wet fist onto the bar, or he slammed a dry fist into a wet patch. Either way some droplets landed on my tunic.

"I wass talking to you!" he slurred. Kasia put her arms around me now, almost like a hug. I wasn't really sure how to respond, so I just hugged her back. The man frowned and said, "That your daughter?"

"Sure," I replied. He stood there for a moment, swaying, apparently not sure what to say. Then Melchior finally slid a mug of what can best be described as a murky liquid with some floaty bits in it. The man turned his attention away from me to the chunky ale, grabbed it and moved away from the bar, spilling half of the thick concoction onto the floor. Kasia let go of me.

"You did good, Hecate. I'm proud of you." Suddenly I felt like the little sister. Did they really expect me to kill anyone who bothered me in some way? That wasn't who I was, was it? Surely I wasn't that murdery? I patted Kasia on the head, attempting to regain the big sister title.

"Thanks, I guess." Where were we before we rudely got interrupted? Right, Melchior had a bunch of stuff I wanted, and I was wondering if he had more stuff that I wanted.

"Do you have anything else that might be of interest to me?" I asked. Melchior grinned.

"You bet I—" Melchior froze mid-sentence as I heard the door creak open behind me.