Chapter 44: Master Of The Little Folk

"R- err, Mister Ren. I would like to know more about how to read the specs on weapons and gear. Could you please tell me?" Agni formed her words carefully as she struggled to control the twitching of her eyebrow.

"100 Gols." Ren said cooly as he examined his fingernails for imaginary traces of dirt.

"Mister Ren, can we perhaps come to some kind of agreement?"

"110."

Seeing that he wouldn't budge an inch, Agni decided to retreat for the moment, instead turning to Katrin for advice.

"Hmm.. You're still doing it." Katrin responded, before continuing to browse the store.

"Doing what? What am I doing!?" Agni asked aloud as she clenched her fists.

"130." Ren said.

*You're being a marshmallow, and frankly it's making my skin crawl. Just 'Whisper' him and take what you want!*

Agni stopped in her tracks as an unfamiliar female voice echoed from within her mind.

"What the hell?" She whispered, but the voice remained silent. *Did I just imagine that?*

"This is just business, it's to be expected that you gain as much as possible while giving the least. If you keep letting him boss you around he's going to continue." Katrin said as she pressed her pointer finger against her chin. Agni felt awed by Katrin's mature outlook on being swindled by a midget, yet in the same breath the advice didn't sit well AT ALL. Agni frowned a bit, prompting Katrin to continue.

"You have to assert yourself! Let him know you're not a pushover!" Katrin said, wagging her finger as she elaborated on her earlier statement.

*What the busty bimbo said!* The voice echoed in Agni's mind once more.

"Excuse you? And who the fuck are you?" Agni practically shouted. Katrin shrank back slightly, a look of confusion on her face. Agni had to correct herself and try to explain.

"That's not. I wasn't talking to you Katrin--"

"Ahem. 210." Ren said loudly, mistaking Agni's outburst for defiance.

"No! Wait, that wasn't meant for you!" Agni said, rushing to the counter and grabbing Ren by the hand.

"I'm sure we can work something out..right?" Agni said, giving her best to show some sex appeal. She opted to copy one of Bracha's moves from a couple of days ago--unfortunately it fell flat.

"230!" Ren said as she smoothly freed his hand from her grasp, a look of disdain spreading across his face.

*Oh,ho HOOOOO -- you little fucker.* Agni was practically fuming at this point.

*It's your fault for being a marshmallow. SOFT, SQUISHY, MARSHMALLOW.* The voice taunted, practically stomping on Agni's last bit of restraint.

"Tell me what I want to know, now you little shrimp! And you'll do it for free! OR else I sock you on the top of your misshapen child-like head you little numbskull!" Agni's eyes flashed ominously as she issued the command.

['Whisper' Mastery has increased to 30%. You can now attempt skill activation at will.]

"Fine." Ren relented as the skill took hold.

"Both weapons and armor will improve your performance by percentage. For example, the type of weapon you use will determine which of your stats is used to calculate the base damage. Using your halberd, or any heavy weapon as an example -- power will be used as base damage. The 'atk' attribute of the weapon then boosts your base damage by various factors -- for example, how skilled you are at handling your weapon, the chance of triggering a critical strike and also the amount of extra damage dealt when a critical blow lands."

"Armor is a little different. Armor reduces any damage you sustain overall, armor can also nullify a certain amount of incoming damage when the blow strikes the armor directly. In addition, some armors have 'Plate' which is a sort of HP for armors. Damage sustained will be absorbed in this case, and the plate of an armor piece must be depleted before HP damage can be dealt."

"Last, but not least-- both armor and weapons have what are known as Alter Functions. Armors tend to house abilities that can defend, evade or otherwise save the wearer. As you may guess, weapons focus on offensive abilities. These can be used or triggered free of mana cost, at will. Alter Functions are extremely rare and valuable so consider yourself lucky if you find such gear."

Finally, after saying a mouthful the Whisper effect ended and a mild look of confusion passed over Ren's face.

"Hmmph." Agni grunted as she turned to glance at Katrin, who was now giving a thumbs-up of approval.

-------------------------

With a bit better understanding of weapons and armor, Katrin and Agni were both able to make much better selections. Katrin chose under armour, leather bracers, leather boots and her normal Scribe's dress. Her Mag-gun remained the same as, according to Ren (who had been compelled to explain for free--yet again) :

"Mag-guns aren't traditional weapons. If you inspect this you'll see that her gun's attributes are way different."

[Mag-gun(RK) - R1

Atk - Variable

Crit Rate- Variable

Crit DMG - Variable

Weapon Skills - Mana Infuse {Infuse elemental or non elemental mana into bullet constructs}

Charges - Infinite

Desc : A finely forged mag-gun, created by Ren Kaito.]

"The ability to deal damage will depend largely on how the wielder uses the weapon. Condensed bullets are slower, but more powerful. Shaping the bullets to be more pointy will lend piercing characteristics. Elements can even be infused into the bullets. All of these factors require the user to make use of their knowledge for --"

"Okay. You're talking too much." Agni interrupted.

Agni's gear on the other hand didn't change all that much, she simply got upgraded versions with more Dampen value, the attribute which decreased damage sustained by a percentage.

"All in all that comes to 22,595 Gols. Pay up, nubs." Ren said after finally tallying their purchases.

"Wow that's super expensive!" Katrin thought to herself as she picked up a few of her pieces and proceeded to place them back on the shelf.

"Wait. Hold on Katrin." Agni said confidently as she gazed at Ren.

"Give it to us for free." She commanded.

"Don't press your luck, tit's mc-gee." Ren replied instantly.

"W-what? Okay.. seventy five percent off--"

"Nah."

"Sixty!"

"Nope."

"Fifty?"

"Get the fuck out."

Having become addicted to the sensation of imposing her will with whisper, Agni was now confronted by a new problem.

*Why is he talking back. Do what I say you little runt.* She thought to herself as her mind began to race.

*That's because you're pressing your luck. You gotta know what you can get away with." The female voice said once again. This time it was louder and more defined, it sounded like...a kid?

"Okay. And what do you propose? Miss voice who's living in my head rent free." At this point Agni had no choice but to go with it, after all this was the lesson Bracha so desperately wanted to share.

*30%.*

"But that's almost all of our money!" Agni retorted.

*Yea. But that's all you can get away with, because you're a MARSHMALLOW.*

*Why is everyone testing me lately?* Agni thought to herself before finally offering 30%.

"Done." Ren said, his eyes glazing over with pink energy as they sealed the deal.