186. Augmentation - 28

186. Augmentation - 28

The week that followed my short yet memorable trip to Oniphia was surprisingly idle. Other than a few hidden trips to Oniphia where I smuggled several more crates of weapons in order to further fuel the fears about the unchecked smuggling that triggered a witch hunt in the city. It was surprisingly trivial once I understood the design of the port wards, particularly since the wards were geared toward detecting beasts rather than men.

Other than those trips, I did little other than dungeon runs, and helping Takis test his new anti-knight and anti-castle tactics. In many ways, his approach echoed modern warfare of Earth, but with Ballistas replacing anti-air, and spells replacing various anti-armor tactics, wards functioning both as primitive radars and effective bunkers.

However, like every modern combined approach, the devil was in the detail, forcing Takis to work hard to adapt various tactics against a variety of enemies. It didn't help that a high-level warrior with a decent class wearing proper magic armor was almost as durable as an actual tank, but they were easier to conceal, and ridiculously more mobile from a tactical perspective.

I helped Takis to practice particularly challenging aspects by playing the decoy. It helped him tailor the ideal dispersion of his forces, and at the same time, it helped me to develop a better control of my Stats.

Meanwhile, Dungeon runs allowed me to collect more Experience. I leveled up thrice more, which unfortunately increased the experience required even further.

My attempts to access the System in the dungeons due to limited interference finally paid off somewhat by allowing me to adjust my main status page. Even with the sense that was blocking my reach, I was able to make very minor changes. At least, I was able to change the sequence of the stats and hide the Experience counters to hide their presence.

With numbers already in Billions, the numbers felt sufficiently annoying.

My new stat screen looked far more satisfying, though not as satisfying as my storage of unused stat points.

[Class: Hero

Level: 83

[Health (2,400/2,400)

Mana (1,500/1,500)]

[Authority: 46,327]

[STATS

Strength: 80

Agility: 80

Speed: 50

Vitality: 80

Attunement: 50

Perception: 80

Concealment: 50

Charisma: 100

Resilience: 50

Memory: 25

Intelligence: 25

I shrugged. "We all have our own areas. Did she agree to our deal about the resources on Domain?" I asked.

"Yes, but with a caveat. She will only hand them over after a successful delivery."

"Sounds fair. And, what about our side?"

"Five hundred magic swords, five thousand magic spearheads, ten thousand ballista bolts, and half a million arrowheads," he said, and my eyes widened. "Not to mention, almost ten thousand units of armor of different types."

"Isn't it a bit too much, even for the information we want?" I asked.

"Well, she still has to pay the market price with a significant premium for every item, payment in materials, skill stones, and even some trade licenses," he said with a smirk. "That's the only way we can pull a deal of this size without triggering some dangerous suspicions about the mystery deal between us and the princess."

"Makes sense. But if that's the case, the deal was even better than we expected," I admitted, which was an understatement to say the least. The marketplace for magic weapons was already excessive, as the current market was highly squeezed by both the royal powers and the churches. High-ranking blacksmiths had to pay some tithe for their patrons, which inflated the price. Then, there were the taxes the local lords exerted on some of the materials, taxes, and other charges.

Not to mention, mana stones were a significant cost as well.

Our illegal dealings already bypassed all of those costs, making our operation much cheaper. Mana stones were already in excess, and I could easily hunt more Lord Beasts. Altogether, ignoring the value of my labor, we can sell magic weapons at a tenth of the market price, and still make a healthy profit. The premium meant that we would be making a truly absurd amount of money.

Assuming we managed to get paid, of course.

There was a reason the Princess was willing to make a seemingly poor deal. She didn't need to worry about paying if she lost, which implicitly meant she would pull us tighter into her alliance.

Naturally, we were willing to do that for a very simple reason: We had no other choice. Unlike the impression we carefully cultivated with the fake smuggling operation, all of our infrastructure was there. We were even more tightly bound to the region than the princess.

Technically, I could give all those weapons for free, and still make a profit. With mines, dungeons, and casinos operating in full power, we had enough resources to supply a critical ally.

Of course, getting paid was much better.

"Just wait until she agrees to such a deal," he chuckled.

"Oh, it has to be good for you to be this entertained," I said. "Go ahead."

"She heard about our smuggling partners getting caught one after another, and she's afraid that we will change our mind."

I couldn't help but join his laughter. I didn't expect our attempt to create a fake source to pay this well. "I love it when a plan comes together."

"The first delivery is already about to leave," Zolast said.

"And, let me guess. You want me to escort it."

"Just in case."

"Do you expect danger?" I asked.

"Certainly. The delivery is supposed to be a secret, but there's no chance it'll actually stay that way," Zolast said.

I sighed. "I'm almost sure there will be a raid to prevent the military from moving to our aid, then," I said. "Actually, why don't you visit the Wall when the delivery gets on the way," I said. "A little timely help might be entertaining. Maybe I could even catch up with it to make things fun.'

"Are you sure? It'll put us in a collusion path with Somaton. We avoided that until now."

"Well, they were the ones that targeted us. Three times now, if you count the events in Town Yoentia. It's only fair to pay the Marquis back."