Sworded Affair

Chapter 111: Unlucky Thirteen

When eyes and ears failed to locate Saint, Noah had brought out the big guns; a can of her favourite wet food laid out on the floor. Five whole minutes without a response was a conclusive result to Noah; as back home, Saint never took longer than three to pounce on a meal within range of her nose.

"I'll take that with me, for when she comes back," Emma raised her hand, absorbing the open can and proving that Eden's Echo didn't care about notions such as ownership.

[Gained Canned Cat Food (Open)]

"If I understand correctly, my storage will keep it fresh until it's needed."

"Saint does wander off sometimes," Noah agreed. "Never for too long though, I'm sure she'll be back once she gets hungry."

Taking one last look around the crystal grotto, Emma wondered briefly what possessed experts in their craft to spend time playing shopkeeper.

[It's rarely the master interacting in person. That's what servants, summons or autonomous creations are for.]

"Bots everywhere, just like on the internet," Emma laughed, turning on her heel and heading for the tunnel back to the surface.

Leaving proved far faster than the journey to the grotto, on account of having a path laid out in advance, no digging required. That made it altogether more confusing when, instead of returning to the familiar wooded clearing, Emma arrived back inside the endless fog that had brought her to the Gallery in the morning. Looking around, it didn't take long to realise she wasn't alone.

"Looks like you're done for the day as well," Elizabeth noted; the only other person visible within the fog; for a few seconds anyway, before Noah appeared to bring up the rear.

"We've still got a few errands to run," Emma protested halfheartedly, though truth be told she wouldn't mind a break, having never been a big fan of shopping.

[They'll keep. The Gallery has had enough of you all for the day, so off you go now

Debt added - 2000 Thrones to Crystal's Crystal Emporium.]

True to the System's warning, a path extended forward, cutting through the fog in a single direction only. Deciding that stepping off the route was unwise, Emma fell into step behind Elizabeth as the latter led them down a long, winding route. She would've thought they were going in circles, if not for the subtle change in the wind as they progressed. A sudden incline arrived without warning; far steeper than Emma could recall from the previous trip, such that it took no more than ten steps up the hill before she emerged back outside the Decision Tree.

It was already night-time, the stars visible high above whilst the village that was formerly Oxford cast a dark shadow; whilst candles were readily available, few went to the effort of preparing lamps outside their homes. The crack of gunfire could be heard in the distance, as the night shift manned the walls and fired upon demons spawning in no man's land, whilst Scholomance towered off in the distance.

"I should head to the office," Noah grimaced. "I'm sure everything's fine, but I want to catch up on the day's agenda."

"Make sure you're back two hours from now," Elizabeth reminded him. "No skipping dinner again."

Noah nodded, then set off at a jog towards his office, wherever that was these days.

"A workaholic as always," Elizabeth sighed. "Let's get home then, Emma; you can help with dinner once we're done unpacking, I hear you're pretty good with a blade, these days."

"With a sword," Emma demurred. "I'm not sure how transferable those skills are in the kitchen, though I'm not against trying."

---

"Catch."

Emma barely caught the parcel before it hit her in the face, barely a few steps through the front door; Elizabeth's storage item, she realised, was of the kind that possessed a need for speed.

[Objective: Acquire a set of formal attire (Eternal Britannian Empire) COMPLETE!]

"Wait, you collected it for me?" Emma blinked. "I thought I had to sign off on everything in person, even if you bought it for me."

"Only the homunculus required that, as a precaution against fraud and identity theft. These are just ordinary clothes, not expensive enough to trigger enhanced security measures, and I already knew your measurements."

Emma made to reply, her hands already searching for the seam to start unwrapping the present, but was cut off by a sudden flood of notifications.

[All Mart standard objectives completed!

Quest - All Mart (Time Limit: 5 Days) modified:

Bonus Objective: Acquire a divine artifact compatible with Saint.

Bonus Rewards: Upgrade a random Ability and/or Trait, A large sum of Imperial money, Trait - Babble Fish upgraded to include non-humans.

500 EXP gained!

Level up!

Practitioner Emma Knight - Level 13 Damned Apostle

Anima: 5000

EXP: 6310/7000

Milestone reached, Unlucky Thirteen!

Statistically, this places you within the top 3% of all System users in terms of longevity.

Skill selection modified with the following theme: Fate!

Select two of the following four options below:

1) Ability - Curse of the Broken Mirror: May you live in interesting times. Afflicts targets with a curse that turns luck against them. May be active on [Level/10] targets at a time.

2) Ability - The Promised Hour: Dulce et decorum est, Pro patria mori. Declare an hour of the day; until that hour, you cannot die. Once you reach that hour, death is certain. Once the hour is chosen, it can no longer be changed.

3) Trait - Rorschach's Blot: For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind. Attempts to observe you remotely produce inaccurate, nonsensical images to those bearing ill-intent towards you. You will be alerted when observation commences.

4) Item - Black Candle: All shall be well. When lit, this candle consumes all nearby light, leaving a bubble of impenetrable darkness.