"Don't forget, you owe me dinner," Nico said with a cheeky grin directed at Dove as she climbed onto the carriage following the General.
Under the General's raised eyebrow, Dove rolled her eyes at him with a faint smile playing on her lips while she got in.
"I do not-"
-Click.
The door of the carriage clicked shut before she could finish, cutting off her reply.
Nico watched the carriage roll away as its wheels crunched against the gravel path, while pointedly ignoring Peko's glare that was currently boring holes into the back of his head.
[I really did throw Peko under the bus this time… Of course she's mad.] Nico thought as he kept his eyes on the retreating vehicle. [Not to mention, she is the only one actually affected by the Blood Pact…]
Letting out a deep breath, he turned to look at their new temporary home.
His boots clicked softly against the path of gray slate stones that wound its way through the estate's front courtyard.
To his left, a traditional sand garden spread out like a frozen white ocean, while on his other hand, a small pond with a gazebo in the middle broke the stillness nearby with the lazy swim of golden koi
It was a serene, masterfully crafted landscape, a stark contrast to Peko's fiery glare following him.
They crossed the wooden veranda and stepped into the cool shade of the main hall.
And Nico didn't even make it three steps before he collapsed onto the plush velvet sofa, letting his head fall back against the cushion with a groan of exhaustion.
But he barely had a second to close his eyes before a shadow fell over him.
Peko stood directly before him with her hands clenched at her sides. "That was not discussed!"
[Here we go…]
"What I said about you was very well discussed," Nico said, opening one eye to look at the fuming Phoenix. "As for Nom-Nom, yes, I didn't discuss it with you, but you already knew her desire not to hide her identity… My fault lies in not explicitly telling you that I will reveal her identity to the General, and for using your reaction to sell my pitch. And for that, I apologize."
He opened both eyes before sitting up straight.
With a heavy sigh, Nico dipped his head in a small, sincere bow as he said, "I hadn't planned to do it… It was a spur-of-the-moment decision I made to gain his trust and sell our competence."
But Peko's glare did not soften in the slightest.
"This isn't about me!" she hissed, her voice trembling with suppressed rage. "You revealed her identity to the head of a nation's military… Who knows what they'll make her do? How can you know that she will not be treated exactly as she was by Pantheon?!"
"I know. And I will handle it… No, we will handle it," Nico replied firmly. "And I asked Nom-Nom for permission through our Familiar Bond. I told her it would make things difficult for her… And still she agreed."
Peko instantly snapped her head toward Nom-Nom in complete shock.
"You absolute moron!"
"You absolute coward!" Nom-Nom retorted instantly as she crossed her arms in front of her, "I didn't just agree to it… I wanted Master to tell them! Because I will not hide who I am in fear, unlike-"
"Enough!"
Nico stood up abruptly, cutting off the argument, and under the stunned gazes of the two Chimeras, he walked over to the table and poured himself a cup of tea.
"It's done." He added, before taking a sip, letting the bitter warmth settle his nerves, before turning toward the nearest wall with an expression of casual curiosity.
Reaching a hand out, he gave the wall a couple of firm knocks.
"The walls here are rather thin…" Nico mused, tilting his head. "I mean, even I can punch a hole through them… probably."
Nom-Nom blinked, her mouth snapping shut as she too caught the hint.
Peko's eyes widened slightly as she realized the implication: We may still be under watch.
With her fists still clenched, Peko gave both Nico and Nom-Nom a glare mixed with the anger at their recklessness and frustration at being unable to even speak freely about it, before sharply turning around and storming out of the hall without a word.
Nom-Nom watched her go, then turned her nose up with a loud 'hmph'.
"I'm going to explore the house," She announced before grabbing the bowl of sugar cubes from the tray and marching off in the opposite direction.
Watching Nom-Nom disappear deeper into the estate, Nico let out a heavy sigh before collapsing back onto the plush sofa.
[Gotta do something about the whole probable surveillance thing… Something permanent, there's no guarantee we won't be watched the whole time we're here in Fugen… and I can't have that.] Nico thought as he took a sip of his tea.
[Oh, right... I got that token as a reward for that chunni oath I took... System?]
And the next second, the System's blue interface flickered into existence in front of his vision.
-Ding!
{
Oath: I, Nico, hereby solemnly swear that I forfeit the right to say to those who believe in me, that 'I don't know what to do.'
Consequence of breaking the Oath:Death.
Boon: Skill Purchase Token (Epic) ×1
Description: Authorizes the free acquisition of one System Shop's skill up to Epic grade.
Note* Token is consumed upon redemption.
}
Nico stared at the screen, tapping his finger against the teacup.
Those invisible guards had rattled him more than he let on. If the General hadn't been "friendly," the Chimeras may have been fine, but Nico's head would've rolled.
[Okay, buddy…] Nico thought, focusing his intent on the interface. [I need something that functions like a scanner… I wanna be able to see threats and hidden stuff that I won't be able to detect otherwise.]
-Ding!
The interface flickered, shifting to the Shop before filtering out millions of options down to the most relevant Epic-grade skills.
{
Thermal & Night Vision (Epic)
Description:
Enhances the Host's visual spectrum to perceive heat signatures and function in complete darkness.
Note* Ineffective against cold-blooded entities and advanced magical concealment.
MP Cost: 30 MP/s
Price: 38,000 / Epic Grade Skill Token
---------
Sonar (Epic)
Description:
Allows the Host to emit and interpret low-intensity mana and sound pulses that map surrounding terrain in three dimensions, detecting movement, obstacles, and hidden spaces regardless of visibility.
Note* Continuous use increases mental load and risks detection by sensitive entities.
MP Cost: 20 MP/s
Price: 45,000 / Epic Grade Skill Token
---------
Threat Horizon (Epic)
Description:
Grants subconscious awareness of imminent hostile intent directed toward the Host. The closer and more lethal the danger, the stronger the sensation becomes.
MP Cost: None (Passive)
Price: 75,000 / Epic Grade Skill Token
---------
Expanded Cognitive Bandwidth (Epic)
Description:
Expands the Host's mental throughput, enabling parallel thought processing, faster pattern recognition, and improved senses under stress.
Note* Increases cognitive fatigue.
MP Cost: None (Passive)
Price: 90,000 / Epic Grade Skill Token
---------
Archaic Sight (Epic)
Description:
Allows the Host to perceive lingering imprints of magic, divine interference, curses, and long-term enchantments embedded into locations, objects, or bloodlines. The newer the influence, the clearer the imprint.
MP Cost: 80 MP/s
Price: 105,000 / Epic Grade Skill Token
.
.
.
}
Nico's eyes lingered on the Expanded Cognitive Bandwidth.
[System, Mark that skill as a Suggested Reward… It won't solve my immediate problem… but I want it.]
Heightened cognition would allow him to plan much better, handle a whole lot more variables than he could right now, and maybe even figure out a way to break Peko's Blood Pact faster. Not to mention its combat potential.
-Ding!
{ The skill has been marked as Suggested Reward. }
[Okay…] Nico thought, turning his attention back to the scrolling list.
He began scrolling down the endless list of Skills the System had presented to him.
And every option looked incredibly useful; every single one felt like something he desperately needed.
The Sonar could map out entire labyrinths, but it risked detection. The Thermal Vision was great against stealth but useless against magic. Archaic Sight sounded amazing for detecting magic, but the mana cost was absurd.
As he scrolled further, Nico felt the familiar creep of decision paralysis setting in.
[Too many options… and I only have one shot at this.]
Downing the last sip of his tea, Nico placed the empty cup back on the table with a soft clink.
Deciding to cut through the paralysis, he chose to outsource the decision to the only entity that knew the shop better than he did.
[Hey, System… if you had to pick one skill from that list… Something that would solve my immediate problem and never get useless… what would it be?]