Chương 117: Chapter 118: Beaded Bracelet

Sitting on the carpet of his bedroom, Evel summoned Eth, and his mysterious aura filled the room. In his hand was the long copper rod that he'd gotten from Colton. He kept his aura active for a few minutes, channelling his Energy into the rod the best he could. During the fight, he'd managed to use the copper rod against Colton by pushing some Energy into it, but now it wasn't budging. He tried for a few more minutes. Still nothing. Specific to his ability... But there has to be something I can use it for.

He swung it in the air a few times, then tried channelling his Energy, this time as fast as he could. Nothing. He sighed. Theoretically, if he waited to become a Weaver and learned how to use lightning-based powers, the rod could be usable, but as of now there was nothing he could do with it except use it as a blunt weapon. Weaver… Who knew how long that would take to reach such a stage? With this one-month ban, even longer than he initially expected. With no practical use for it, he decided to sell it.

For a weapon so destructive, it would surely yield a lot of credits. Then there was the next item: the white bracelet. He placed it on his hand and summoned Eth, channelling Energy into the beaded jewelry. Evel raised an eyebrow. Surprisingly, the bracelet wasn't glowing. He tried pushing in more Energy. Nothing. The bead remained stubbornly ineffective. He specifically recalled that when Colton had used the bracelet, the beads were shining, and when he'd run out of Energy, the bracelet went dull. Strange…

Does this require lightning abilities too? He deactivated Eth. He didn't want to push himself all the way to his limit, going against the whole 'no training' rule. He was hoping for something useful, but in the end both items would be sold for credits. At least maybe they were worth a lot. He decided to experiment a bit longer. During the fight, the bracelet was only humming once Colton activated his ability. Maybe he wasn't channeling Energy into it? So, he summoned the invisible, spectral hand once more.

This time, he didn't put any Energy into it and simply allowed it to exist. A smile grew on his face. It was shining! And not only that, he felt the load on his Core lighten! It was giving him Energy! He kept his ability on for a while longer, until the bracelet stopped working. After a few more experiments, he figured out what it did. The bracelet saved Energy he'd channelled earlier to boost his output later! No wonder Colton took so long to show up for the initial confrontation; he was charging the bracelet up!

His absurd firepower wasn't just due to his high affinity. He had help all along! Evel performed a few more experiments to figure out the bracelet's limits. He was quite satisfied. The bracelet would charge up and hold your Energy at about a 50% efficiency. That meant theoretically, he could have 150% of his total Energy reserves before going into a fight. Unfortunately, the bracelet wasn't that magical. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The Energy stored in the bracelet rapidly diminished. Every minute, small bits of it would leak out. This was a weapon primarily benefiting people with high affinities. People who could put a large part of their Energy within the bracelet, then quickly and naturally regenerate all that Energy. For Evel, whose reserves took a while to recover. He would never be able to truly get to 150%. Or even anywhere close. Yet despite that, the bracelet still helped!

Compared to someone used to an abundance of energy, Evel didn't rely on having big reserves. His combat style naturally developed to be as precise with his spending as possible, so every extra bit just gave him more options. Unless someone was willing to buy it for an amount he couldn't refuse, he planned to keep it. I need to change its design or keep it hidden, or else Colton will get traced back to me. Evel stretched his arms with a satisfied smile, then booted up the VTR. No new messages.

He scrolled through some items he could buy but found nothing that he really needed. He could always buy another weapon, but there really was no point with how versatile his cards were. He could use them for close range. Elixirs were really the only thing left to buy, but he'd recently soured on them. Ichors were still too far out of his price range to even consider. Potions… He still had his potions from earlier since he'd never used them against Colton… Evel browsed for another thirty minutes before sighing.

He'd already gone for a run in the morning when he was bored, and now had nothing to do. He considered researching Blake's background, the Zircon family, but in the end he couldn't justify spending the credits for a battle that was already behind him. The time to have bought the information was long passed. Albert would alert him should anything major come to pass. I guess I'll hit the bed early today. The next morning, Upper-Ichoris Legerdemain building.

Mateo, Clara, Toan, and Yuna all sat across from Evel with serious expressions.

"Have you told them?" He asked Yuna. She nodded, "I didn't go into the specifics, but they know the general plan. Toan has already created a mockup for a poster to advertise it."

"Good, good." Evel took a deep breath as Albert's words rang in his ears over and over like a mosquito's buzz.

"Was… there something else?" Toan asked. Evel snapped out of his daze and nodded.

"Right, yes. There's one other thing I'd like the four of you to do, but it must remain a secret between the people in this room." They shared a few glances. Evel pointed to the map of the slums on his table, tracing his finger around the part along the river.

"That's…" Toan trailed off.

"The western slums. I want you to begin spreading rumours that this portion of the western slums is safe." They paled.

"We can't…" Toan began.

"C-can we just ask the soldiers to go instead?" Clara grimaced.

"A-are you sure?" Mateo held his gaze, deep concern in his eyes. Evel shook his head. They completely misunderstood him.

"The area I have marked down near the river is fully safe. The main parts where people ought to avoid are the south-west area and the central west area." The weird teleporting door obviously didn't use that entire area, but he still wanted to keep the people far enough away. Yuna frowned.

"Is there a specific reason?"

"Every day, there are more and more people without homes, with so many migrating into the city. If things continue as they are, it will get far more dangerous for the average person. That will no doubt have negative consequences on the business." He paused.

"I can confidently say the specific area I marked is fully safe; I've checked it out myself." The four looked at the map for a while with skeptical glances.

"I think it's a great idea!" Clara cheered. With the food thing, where they live is the next biggest problem.

"Are you sure they're safe?" Toan asked skeptically. Evel nodded.

"Will the soldiers be okay with it?" Yuna asked.

"In the newspapers they advise against going into the area."

"It's the lower part they want you to avoid," Evel confirmed. Yuna's eyes remained on the map, a light frown on her lips. She clearly wanted to protest further.

"If you have concerns, please share them."

"It just seems a little risky, is all." The room went silent. Evel tapped his fingers on the table. She was right. From their eyes, it was risky and possibly sending innocents to their deaths. They didn't know about the teleportation door nor that the rumours spread were fake to keep people away. As their leader, he had the option of commanding them to do it regardless, and it would probably work out… His other option was to tell them the truth, and they'd agree…

"Alright." Evel finally sighed.

"We won't proceed until I get confirmation from Prachar or Redigo that the area is safe." The mood lightened.

"There's one other thing." They looked up from the map to face him. Evel felt his heart quicken under their gazes.

"I'm…" It felt as though their gazes intensified. He swallowed quietly. If he wanted trust, he needed to give it. But was trust even necessary? At the end of the day, they really were just his workers.

"I… I'll be back as the Oracle Hand even when we perform in the slums again." The room went silent, but only for a second.

"Cool!" Mateo cheered.

"I tried my best, but I think they could tell."

"The worst." Toan solemnly nodded. Clara giggled. Evel kept his face straight. I can always apologize and tell them the truth later. The four got up, chattering as they left the room. Evel sat alone in his chair, staring at the map on his table. After a few minutes, he pushed himself up. His performance was soon, and he needed to practice to make sure everything went right.