Chương 99: Chapter 96 – Amber Wixx

After training, Passion led her away from the main grounds and toward the outskirts of the town. The servicer shop sat far enough from the busy market that they did not have to pass through the crowded streets to reach it. Passion seemed relieved by that. Chelsea was starting to understand that most of the Valkyr preferred avoiding large groups of civilians whenever possible. They could face battle without hesitation, but casual social interaction was apparently not their forte.

The shop itself looked more charming than Chelsea expected. Wooden shelves displayed small golem parts, polished metal joints, carved hands, painted faces, and dozens of strange tools Chelsea could not identify. Several inactive servicer golems stood along the side wall in neat rows, each with a different build and finish. A tall, lanky man stood from a stool the moment he saw them.

"There she is!" he said while quickly approaching the duo.

"Miss Passion." He had a smooth almost middle Eastern type accent that made him say her name as Pass-e-un. Chelsea liked him immediately. She could not even explain why. Something about his smile, his confidence, and the warmth in his voice made her want to follow him around for an afternoon and listen to whatever he had to say about the world. Was this someone with a charisma skill?

"Mr. Jibjib," Passion replied in an almost polite tone.

"Oh come now," he said, splaying his hands with a massive smile.

"Jibjib is fine. Especially for my favorite customer. Is this who I think it is? She has been the talk of the town." Chelsea glanced at Passion. Passion's posture had changed. She stood straighter than usual, clearly trying to behave in a way she considered appropriate for business.

"Yes, Mr. Jibjib, this is the Valkyr of Havoc. Havoc, this is Mr. Jibjib, the owner and proprietor of the servicer golems market." Chelsea gave him a proper curtsy.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Mr. Jibjib clasped his hands together as though delighted.

"Aren't you the most precious of gems. Miss Havoc, the pleasure is all mine, I assure you. I uh... I have a question for you Miss Havoc." Chelsea looked up at Passion. Passion shrugged.

"How can I be of service?"

"Oh, I just love her enthusiasm." Chelsea couldn't help giggling at the way he said enthusiasm.

"I have heard tales far and wide of a white demon taking the merchant's guild by storm. Would you happen to be related to this demon?"

"Oh that?" Chelsea dug into her pouch, pulled out her guild card, and handed it over. Mr. Jibjib took the card with visible care. His eyes lit up as he read it.

"They say you completed the examination in an impossible time and with a perfect score too. Is this the truth?" He handed the card back.

"Oh, no sir. It was a very possible time." Mr. Jibjib's smile widened. He reached into his coat and pulled out his own guild card. His was gold, with a large S stamped prominently across the front.

"Forty-eight minutes is my best time," he said.

"I'm curious. What did you finish yours in?"

"Oh my goodness, I'm so excited. I haven't met an S-ranker yet. I finished mine in fourteen minutes then went back to check my work. Handed it in at nineteen minutes. Forty eight minutes is super super impressive. I have only heard of people who went the full four hours." Chelsea handed his card back with both hands, still smiling brightly. Mr. Jibjib did not immediately take it. His gaze remained fixed on her face. Then it dropped to the card in her hands, "Fourt... fourteen?"

Chelsea raised her eyebrows and gave a confirming nod. Mr. Jibjib slowly took his card back. He stared at the gold surface for another moment before tucking it away. His tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth, and he swallowed hard before regaining his composure. Chelsea had known the other S-rankers were slower than her but she hadn't realized they were that much slower.

"An intelligent Valkyr is a terrifying foe to be sure, of course I mean no offense Miss Passion." Passion folded her arms.

"Oh no Mr. Jibjib. Havoc is... terrifying." Mr. Jibjib's smile returned, though there was a new sharpness in his attention now. He looked Chelsea over again, not in an improper way, but in the manner of a merchant suddenly realizing an item was far more valuable than first believed.

"Well how can I help you lovely ladies today?"

"Havoc is interested in acquiring her first servicer. But she has a small request." The rows of inactive golems stood along the wall behind him. Some were broad enough that Chelsea wondered how they fit through normal doors. Others had polished faces, carved torsos, and hands shaped with careful detail. Most of them looked built to be imposing. Chelsea took one glance at Passion's frame. That made sense.

"Oh, and that is?" he asked. Chelsea shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She had thought asking would be easy before they arrived.

"Do you happen to have any female servicers?" Chelsea asked.

"It's what... I mean... that's... what I would prefer to have." She grimaced and shook her head at herself.

"Ah the heart wants what the heart wants. I must apologize though Miss Havoc. The servicer industry is completely one-sided. There never has been a market for female golems. Brothels hold the primary share on that market. Might I suggest visiting one of these establishments? I own a very nice one over in..." Mr. Jibjib had already lifted one hand in the direction of town, ready to give a full recommendation. Chelsea interrupted before he could get momentum.

"Actually," Chelsea interrupted him during his sales pitch.

"I have only seen Passion's servicers and well they are all massive and hulking with muscles on muscles. Do you have anything more uh... less masculine? With more delicate features?" Mr. Jibjib tapped his lower lip in thought. His gaze moved across the showroom, then toward the curtained doorway in the back.

"You know, I do. I like your problem solving. Let me bring it out." He disappeared into the back of the shop. The curtain swayed behind him. Chelsea glanced around the showroom while they waited. Several had decorative markings carved into their shoulders. One had a polished bronze chest. Another had arms so thick Chelsea could not imagine wanting it anywhere near her unless she needed someone to move the entirety of the Hall of the Valkyr.

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"You don't have to get one," Passion said.

"I'm sure the Hall will pay for you to go to brothels." Chelsea turned toward her sharply.

"No." Chelsea laughed.

"It's the lifelessness of the golem. Plus the thought of going to a uh... a uh prostitute," she whispered the word, "it weirds me out." Passion smiled slightly.

"You are too pure for me child."

"Oh… shush." Chelsea waved her away, then immediately looked toward the curtain when footsteps sounded from the back room.

"Miss Havoc," Jibjib said walking from the back.

"Please let me know if this one is to your liking." The golem that followed him was nothing like Passion's. It still had a masculine build, but it was narrower and less imposing. Its body had the lean shape of a runner rather than the heavy mass of a bodybuilder. It wore a simple burlap covering that hung from its shoulders to its knees. Its face was smooth and ambiguous, with features delicate enough that Chelsea did not immediately dislike looking at it.

It had no hair, but even that somehow made it seem less aggressively male than the others. The golem stopped a few paces in front of her. Chelsea stepped closer and studied its face. She smiled at it, then lightly poked one cheek with the tip of her finger. The surface was firmer than skin, but not stone. Or wood. Interesting. She looked back at Mr. Jibjib.

"This is the one. How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her pouch and clutching a handful of gold. Passion stopped her before she could pull anything out.

"The Hall covers the price of them for us." Chelsea looked up at Mr. Jibjib. He nodded in agreement.

"OK then," she replied.

"Do I need to do anything else to leave with him. Or… it?"

"Just tell it to follow you," Jibjib explained.

"It's all yours. I hope you and I can do business again someday, Miss Havoc." Chelsea turned to him and gave another proper curtsy.

"Thank you so much for all of your help today. I wish the very same."

"So courteous, you will do big things one day, Miss Havoc." Chelsea left the shop with the golem walking behind her. Passion seemed pleased that the errand had gone smoothly, though she glanced back at the servicer several times on the way toward the Hall. Chelsea noticed a few looks from other Valkyr once they returned. Most were quick glances, but a few lingered on the golem's smaller frame before moving on. From what Chelsea could tell, the massive hulk versions were clearly the standard. That was fine.

Hers was her favorite one she'd seen. She had plans for it. Big plans! Once they reached the room, the golem stopped a few steps inside and waited silently. Chelsea walked around it in a slow circle, studying the shape of its shoulders, the proportions of its arms, and the blank smoothness of its head. Passion stood near the door, looking far more excited about this than Chelsea expected.

"So? Are you going to use it right away?" Passion asked, excited for Chelsea.

"Sort of," Chelsea said with a happy look on her face.

"I am going to do something. Uh, do I tell it to take off its clothes?"

"Yeah. You can give it orders like you'd give any regular person." Chelsea nodded along and turned toward the golem with complete seriousness.

"Excuse me, Mr. Golem, would you please remove your clothes?" Amber Amber was awake again. She didn't know how long she'd been awake, because time was difficult to measure when the world was dark, warm, and constantly moving. She had no real sense of day or night. Her eyes existed, but they didn't give her anything useful yet. Her ears caught sound, but only as muffled vibration through her new mother's body. Even her limbs were more for show at this stage of the game. She could shift a little. And kick.

Oh, she could kick and she did often. Amber was left with one thing in this new life. Boredom. Lots and lots of boredom. She had already tried moving. She already tried catching the conversations her new mother was having. She had already tried figuring out whether the deep voice she sometimes heard belonged to her father or if she had simply decided it was a father figure because it made her feel better.

Eventually, after running out of options, she tried the one word that had been sitting in the back of her thoughts since she first conjured it. Status. Again nothing happened. How had she gotten it to show up before? She did what she thought was a fetus version of poking her temple. Still nothing. There had to be some trigger that would make it open. She tried to do all sorts of things. Character sheet? Profile? Me? Show me? Show Profile. Shit! Come on! Annoyed she attempted to just stare off into the blackness.

That's what did it before. There wasn't a trigger word. But she'd tried it a hundred times since and no luck. Focus. Focus. Fo… The screen appeared. Amber had no idea how she was looking at it. Her eyes were useless. There should have been no way for her to read anything. Yet the words were clear, crisp, and placed directly inside her awareness. They were also in English, which was such a relief. Her name was the first thing she noticed.

[Status] Name: Amber Wixx ▸ Race: Human - Einherin Class: — Profession: — Title: — Level: 1 Attributes Physical Strength: 0 Dexterity: 0 Constitution: 1 Stamina: 0 Mental Intelligence: 3 Wisdom: 1 Psyche: 1 Social Charisma: 0 Luck: 17 Abilities Passive Mana Manipulation Chain Reaction Casting Active (Racial) Berserking Rush Enhancements Reincarnated [soul-marked] Ailments N/A Amber Wixx. She stayed on that line for a while. Wixx. So that's her new family name.

Amber would have laughed if she had the coordination for it. Somehow, before Amber had even been born. She looked over the rest of her screen. She was a level one, human. Not only human. Some alternate version of human. Einherin? Why did that sound familiar? It sounded Norse. Like with valkyries and such. Next up, she had no class, no profession, no chosen title. Those all made sense. Most of her stats were zero, which kinda sucked but made sense. Then she saw Luck. Seventeen.

She didn't know what a normal fetus was supposed to have, but seventeen felt like a lot. The abilities were interesting. Mana Manipulation. Chain Reaction Casting. Berserking Rush. The last one worried her, mostly because she was still inside her new-mom and didn't want to discover what a fetal charge attack looked like. Chain Reaction Casting sounded cool, but there was not much she could do with it yet. Mana Manipulation, however, held her attention. Amber focused on it. The Eyes lvl 1 Acquired. Oh cool.

She leveled something up. What are The Eyes? Does that mean her actual eyes leveled up? Did each body part have its own experience bar or something? At first, nothing happened when she tried to focus on mana to manipulate it. She tried again, not by saying the words, but by reaching for the idea behind them. Mana existed here. Magic existed here. If she had an ability named Mana Manipulation, then there had to be something for her to feel. The darkness changed. It was not sight. Not exactly. It was something…

weird. Something that unfolded slowly through her awareness until the world around her gained shape in a way her mind couldn't understand. Her mother was the first thing she felt. She was close, immense, and constant, a living presence wrapped around Amber's entire existence. What Amber thought was mana moved with her mother's breathing like she was breathing it in but it wasn't getting absorbed into her. Then she noticed shapes beyond her new mother. They were unclear.

There were no faces, no colors, no real edges to them. Just presences moving outside her mother's body. Amorphous blobs of mana drifted through the space around them. No. That's… wrong. They were absence of mana. Holes in the mana in the world outside of her mother. Amber could not see the room, but she could feel where living things were. She could sense when one moved closer to them, when another stepped away, and when one shifted in place. One of the larger presences lingered nearby.

Amber decided that one was her father. She had no proof, but the size felt right. He seemed to be the same size as her mother where every other blob was… small. A smaller presence moved closer to their side, paused there for a while, then moved away again. Amber heard muffled sound at the same time, though the words were impossible to understand. The mana made the motion easier to follow than the sound did. Someone was talking. The blob gestured. Then it leaned in?

Amber concentrated harder, and the sense widened slightly. It was still blurry, but it was what she had. Her other senses were barely working, yet mana gave her a way to understand the world beyond this… goopy sack. She had a sixth sense before she had working eyes. New-mom shifted, and Amber lost focus for a moment as her entire world moved with her. The mana shapes blurred, then settled again once her mother stopped moving. She returned her attention to the status screen and read the name one more time.

Amber Wixx. That… wasn't it though. There was a little button showing her name could be expanded? She focused on it and nothing happened. She kept trying. The Eyes lvl 2 Acquired. She leveled again. She tried again. A super opaque screen, much smaller than the main status screen appeared. She struggled to make out what it said with the words of her main screen behind it. She felt like sleep coming for her. No. Not yet. She had to see what was in that screen. Wixx - 6 members in the Wixx family currently alive.

Matriarch - Adriane Wixx Patriarch - N/A Current Generation - Adriane, Beatrix, Dewey, Edgar Second Generation - Chelsea, Amber If her body could, she would have had chills run up her spine at see it. Che…. ls… ea… sleep took her....... Hey Guys, it's Riley again. Thanks for reading! I was wondering, since you've made it this far, would you mind terribly shooting me a rating or review? I hate to ask but trying to raise my rank. Gotta do what I gotta do.

Obviously I can't tell you how to vote but just know 5s are my favorite: D Anywho. Thanks for reading!!!