Chương 47: [1.47] Treats and Deets (Part 2)

[Passive Skill: Detect Falsehoods | Unlock: 7 GP | Be able to identify any sort of deception or disingenuity. Including, but not limited to, lies, disguises, illusions, and manipulative status effects. Observation potency increases with Skill Level, Lucidity, Gnostic Attunement, and Fraud Attunement. Additional Unlock Requirements: Embraced Gnostic Attunement and Embraced Fraud Attunement OR Keen Lucidity. Unlock cost is reduced by amount of Sense skills owned] Wow, wow, wow… wow. What a Skill!

She no longer felt any sort of buyer's remorse for having gotten Suspecting Skin, if nothing more than it revealed such a gem to her. Having the ability to call people on their scuff would be amazing, especially when negotiating Contracts with sketchy Summoners. It was definitely going on the lifeplan. She'd put it right after Auto-Color if she could.

While Seeking Projectile would be imperative for keeping her safe in a fight, Detect Falsehoods would hopefully minimize those sorts of situations in the first place, so she'd generally prefer it. However, there was the matter of meeting the requirements. Getting the needed Gnostic Attunement didn't sound bad at all. She should get that relatively soon just by continuing to level her sense Skills. Embraced Fraud Attunement was the bigger issue.

She couldn't see herself raising it easily, since she generally wasn't one to do many fraudulent things. For some reason, being a phone call scammer was the first method that came to mind, not that she ever would. First, it involved talking to strangers with confidence, something she wasn't good at, though was better in her Imp form for some reason, possibly the anonymity and freedom of judgment from people she knew. And second, she just couldn't stomach the idea of actually scamming people.

Her Malice was definitely not high enough for that. Thinking of all the little old ladies losing their retirement funds to her misdeeds genuinely made her want to puke. Or that could be the vast swaths of food in her gut. It was time for another dissolvement. Oh, and another thing she'd never do, but being able to delete her stomach contents certainly beat bulimia. Back to the matter, that left raising Fraud Skills as a way to raise the Attunement.

The only available one in her Weave for Purchase was Implant Thought, which had a staggering GP cost, the highest of any Skill so far, and an even higher Attunement requirement. Blessed was probably several ranks beyond Embraced. So, basically, she'd just have to train the ones she had. As a Passive Skill that was dependent on completing Summoning Contracts, Essence Tip wasn't really something she could focus on besides doing what she was already going to do. Meaning that it all came down to Transfiguration.

And that was something Angelica was happy to train. In fact, as part of treating herself, she'd had more kitty snuggle time the previous day, using up more than half her MP, but even that hadn't been enough for a level. It'd be a slow burn, but in general, she should add training Skills to raise Attunements for unlock requirements to her lifeplan.

Also as motivation for training Transfiguration, Detect Falsehoods was undoubtedly at least one, if not the main way that people were clocking her as an Imp and not a Gremlin using Identity Fraud. Since it wasn't triggering, they must think that she wasn't using the Skill. But the two Skills were natural enemies, and Identity Fraud would be a worthless skill if Detect Falsehoods was infallible. So it likely came down to which was more potent.

Since Identity Fraud was an enhancement for Transfiguration, she'd need to train that Skill as much as possible and ensure anything she transformed into was completely believable. Moving on, under Famine, she found something new connected to her Starvation purchase. [Active Skill: Instant Digestion | Unlock: 2 GP | Immediately digests food in a target's stomach, providing all nutritional benefits and detriments. Cost: Variable MP. Depending on Skill Level, Famine Attunement, volume, and digestibility] Now, that was interesting. Obviously, it'd be good for clearing her stomach of nutrients she wanted to keep, especially if something wasn't settling well, but there were more practical uses, specifically for her path of Pestilence. If combined with Poison Eater, would that let her get all the Health regeneration at once instead of it trickling upward over time? That'd be very good in a pinch.

Conversely, if she were to feed someone poisoned food, either through deception or should she purchase the Force-Feed skill, would that allow all the stacks of Toxic they would get to trigger at once until their end, basically becoming a poison bomb in their stomach? She honestly wanted to get them both and try, which made her muse briefly about what becoming a Demon was doing to her psyche. Besides, being frugal, yeah. They'd go on the plan, but near the bottom; certainly not priorities, for now.

Strangely, there was nothing new under Suffering Attunement. So far, only Multi-Bounce and the Unattuned Skills like Bind Resistance were complete dead-ends. Yet Wallop Resistance wasn't a Race-Exclusive Skill, like the superior Punching Bag Trait, so it shouldn't be completely cut off. Maybe it had more to do with the Attunement itself rather than the Skill. She had a hunch, and hopefully, the system would be cooperative. Hey, DGS, for Suffering Attunement skills, can they only be earned? [That is correct. Suffering Attunement Skills cannot be purchased with Growth Points. They can only be obtained through experiences. To continue down that path, first, you must suffer] Good to know. Not the suffering part, that sucked. But apparently, the Demon Growth System would indeed give her answers if she guessed them correctly, or was in the right area. Last but not least, there was a final Skill under Glacial Attunement. Err… sort of? Was the system glitching again? [Active Skill:??? | Unlock: 30 GP | Requires Ice Manifest,???,???, and Zealot Glacial Attunement] Hmm, probably not a glitch. Rather, it was likely the system's unsubtle way of telling her she's not worthy of it yet. Something like "Don't get a big head, Imp." Besides, it actually told her quite a bit from that lack of description. To start, it was hecking expensive. 30 GP was insane, more than she'd ever get as an Imp even if she saved every last one.

That and the Zealot Attunement—probably a very high tier—implied that this was some sort of ultimate Glacial skill. It probably had a cool name like Ice Age, and let a Demon completely climatize a large area with ice and snow. Since Ice Manifest was a requirement, she could assume it was involved in the actual Skill somehow, making her gut feel like she wasn't that far off. As for the other two Skill requirements, she had no idea. Maybe something involving snow, for one, and… what else was cold?

Just that as a concept, or air temperature, or something? Hard to say. She definitely couldn't get it any time soon, so there was no point worrying about it. Wouldn't stop her from speculating, though. After finishing her third round of food, and coming back with a mountain of desserts, Angelica settled in for the last haul of her meal. She'd already been eating for over an hour, so she was honestly getting a bit tired of it.

Her jaw was becoming a bit exhausted from chewing, but thankfully, most of the sweets would go down easily. It kind of made her want to turn into an Imp with her massive maw and open wide, letting her shovel in food as if she were a garbage disposal. But human decency, and all that. As she tried treat after treat, she finally began thinking about the actual reason she'd come to this side of town. Going to a fancy restaurant had just been a decision tacked onto an actual errand she had to run.

Gelic pulled out the pendant she'd borrowed from Vystal. During all the hubbub, she'd forgotten to return it before the Contract was concluded. So now she was going to make sure it got back to its owner properly, not wanting to leave an impression of being a petty thief. Well… she had actually committed thievery for another Summoner, but that was at least on a grand scale. Yes, she committed grand larceny, nothing petty about it.

If it contained a Rune she was interested in, then maybe she would accidentally consider "permanently borrowing" it, but there was no need. Malignant Tracker was better than the inferior Malignant Sense. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. First, that Skill actually let her turn it off entirely, crucial to her relaxation the previous day. With Sense, it was always active.

Angelica had originally planned to wear the pendant as part of her ensemble for the meal, but keeping it equipped let her know there was a Malignant about, and that was a big bummer while trying to enjoy the buffet. Second, Tracker let her be more specific. To aid her reclusive lifestyle, she immediately put up a mental perimeter around her apartment, letting her know if a Malignant entered a few blocks' radius. She also asked the Skill to inform her of any within close proximity, just for personal safety.

When she wasn't busy, Gelic planned to increase that radius, so she'd know if any spawned that she could hunt down. She would still prefer going on solo hunts than risk being Bound. If they were mutually beneficial parties like it had ended up being with Rastille, she'd be down for that, but getting to that point was a pain. While she had no use for it, Angelica couldn't help but be enthralled by the Rune itself etched on the gemstone of the pendant. It was so intricately designed, like masterful calligraphy.

Yet it seemed… different, somehow, from language. Tongues wasn't translating it like it would other text, though now that she knew what the Rune was, it felt instinctual, like she couldn't understand it as anything else but Malignant Sense, as if she couldn't interpret it as nonsense like she could other scripts or Runes she didn't know. And Angelica now realized she'd actually seen a lot of them. Those weird patterns all over the city that she'd written off as strange graffiti, they had to be Runes.

Regrettably, she couldn't actually remember specifically where any of them were, and the personnel in charge of removing such mars were quite diligent, so they likely wouldn't be there anymore if she could recall. I wonder if… She discretely put a hand up to her mouth as if she were pondering something and pulled out a pen from Second Stomach, but then acted as if the writing utensil had always been there. She'd added a few daily essentials that were just nice to have.

A pen was always good to keep, though her actual personal reasoning would be that if she got so famous as an artist one day that someone wanted an autograph, she'd never be caught unprepared, stocking a variety of pens and permanent markers, so she'd be set regardless of material or color of what they wanted signed. Gelic had pushed her additional organ to its absolute limit, though, now at a constant state of feeling full on that end of things. Hopefully, it would level up soon to allow for more room.

[Second Stomach Lv. 2] [Vigor increased] [Famine Attunement increased] Well, damn. Apparently, it was a prayers answered kinda day, with the small act of retrieving the pen pushing the level over the edge. She really should keep a better eye on percentage of progress so she wasn't caught unaware like this, but scuff, she had so many Skills already. Right now, she only knew that Transfiguration was at 82% to next level, so another good cuddle session kind of day.

Or maybe she'd turn into a bird later and try flying, or something, as if that weren't a mind-blowing concept that she should be stoked for. With the pen in hand, Angelica grabbed a nearby napkin and began to sketch, attempting to recreate the Rune on the soft paper. Compared to others she'd seen, it definitely wasn't too complex, almost like an icon for some group or company. There wasn't a clear indicator that it had anything to do with Malignants or tracking, just sort of a mess of lines and splotches.

It was undoubtedly not something someone would scribble randomly, but that could have somehow been involved in its creation, just going off the looks. As soon as she completed the drawing, she felt a tingling drain, as if part of herself was lost. What that really meant was she'd used up a bit of MP against her will. The napkin suddenly sheened as the Rune shimmered, emanating power. [New Rune created. Fabrication, Gnostic Attunement increased] Angelica picked up the napkin, and she was hit with the familiar prick of a Malignant in the distance. [Rune: Malignant Sense Lv. 1 equipped] But it didn't last. The flimsy paper suddenly combusted, and the napkin flashed to ash in under a second, leaving nothing behind but a wisp of smoke.

Angelica quickly glanced around, to see if that had caused any sort of commotion, but no one was looking her way, and the faint smell of burning quickly wafted away and dissipated amongst the sea of delicious aromas. [Rune: Malignant Sense Lv. 1 destroyed] Yeah, that was pretty obvious, but why had it been destroyed? She grabbed another napkin, ready to draw it again, but there was another aspect to be tested first. [Reprint Lv. 3] [Creativity increased] [Fabrication Attunement increased] [Fabrication Attunement has improved from Aware to Touched] Geez, there it was. Fabrication finally caught up. And her suspicion was confirmed. Reprint could be used for Runes, rapidly increasing its viability as a Skill. And… it seemed to give a lot more experience than a regular drawing. She'd need to double-check that, but first, she stared at the napkin, waiting for it to combust again.

But a minute passed, two minutes, and nothing, so she picked it up again. [Rune: Malignant Sense Lv. 1 equipped] [Rune: Malignant Sense Lv. 1 destroyed] Angelica had her fingers ready, quickly dropping the burning paper onto a plate as soon as it ignited. So it will only get destroyed while I'm using it. Could possibly be a bit too early to make that judgment, and the paper could suddenly combust at any random time, but it felt right, based on the circumstances. Why was it so flimsy, though?

Was it because of her, because she didn't know the Skill or wasn't proficient in making Runes, or because of the medium which she'd imprinted it onto? Any help here, DGS? [Figure it out yourself] Well, I've narrowed it down to a few options, will you at least tell me which one is right? [No] So testy, damn. Well, there was nothing to do but more tests, then. She Reprinted the Rune on several more napkins, only stopping because she ran out. Each time, she watched her Manifest Points drop.

It was only using up 7 at a time, which was barely anything, at this point. A hunch told her that stronger Runes would use more, but she couldn't confirm that yet. Also, she checked Reprint's progress after each one. [Reprint Lv. 4] [Creativity increased] [Fabrication Attunement increased] Well, that sped right by. Making Runes was definitively the best method of training it. Angelica desperately wanted to do so endlessly, but she should probably move to somewhere more appropriate before going on an artistry binge.

And she was also getting bored with Malignant Sense Runes already. They were worthless to her. Even if she made one that didn't immediately destroy itself, what good would it do? One of her biggest regrets now was that she hadn't saved a picture of the Projectile Protection Rune on the Quillaced Tiara's gemstone. But hope wasn't lost, and she pulled out her phone.

As a famous piece of jewelry, it had plenty of images online that she could find, which took her no time at all to find, after dodging the many articles about its theft. Oddly, however, every picture she found was… off. The piece itself was pristine and perfect, but the gem in the center, its Rune etching, why were they all blurry? No matter the angle, no matter the camera, none even came close to the faint memory she had of the stone that had been wagged in her face. That had been so crisp and clear.

Could Runes not be photographed? Frits. To test this, Angelica took a picture of the pendant with her phone, and the jewel in the image basically became filled with fog, a cloudier version of the blobs and lines that she'd never be able to recreate. And just who the hell had come up with that idea? Was that an innate part of the mysticism of Runes, or had someone implemented it on purpose? Who knew Demons were so protective over intellectual property?

This must be where the Muse skill shined, when photos weren't an option. It definitely made her want it more, but it still wasn't a priority, at least not unless she came across a more reliable source of Runes she wanted to memorize. So Projectile Protection was a bust. Should she just scour the city and see what other Runes she could find? That sounded like a pain in the butt. Well… there was one place she knew she could find one for certain, so she added it to her errand route for the rest of the day.

One final plate of food, a healthy salad to actually leave in her stomach this time, and Angelica ended her meal at last. It still hurt her when she saw the bill. She knew she had the money, knew she could afford it well within her budget, but it still pained her to drop that much on a single meal. Because, ultimately, that's all it was, just a single meal, and she'd have to eat again later that day.

Well, since Second Stomach had gotten a bit of extra room, she had thrown another full-course meal in there, as well, but that was food in case of emergency. It could be years before it graced her bowels. It was time to head out, run her errands, and as a change of plans for the day, explore the wonderful world of Runes.