Chapter 430

Once they got seated for lunch, Cain decided it was time to check out the jewels that they bought from the first pavilion.

The matched jade items give him the feeling that they belong together, so Cain is leaving them for last and instead starts with the plain black bracelets. As he suspected, they are mana storage devices and fully charged, but the inspection reveals that they are usable only by a demon. Each of them can hold ten thousand mana, an enormous amount for the average transfer. 

Honestly, it feels too good to be true, and Cain knows item descriptions can be altered, so he calls a Record Keeper into [Greater Merger]  with him. The demon has the ability to see through all sorts of enchantments, so Cain takes a closer look, using the Demons sight. 

There are two more hidden enchantments on both items. [Vitality Transfer] and [Cloaking]. The first one transfers one day of lifespan daily to the creator of the enchantment when the item is worn, and the second hides that ability from view.

It’s a rather ingenious scam. Most demons wouldn’t notice that they are aging at double speed for years or decades, and the vampire would get a constant influx of life energy, which increases their power level. 

Cain breaks the additional enchantments using the Record Keeper’s powers and places them back in his inventory with a satisfied sigh. That’s two very good finds from the bunch. 

Next up are the two plain white rings. The bonus on this pair makes Cain smile to himself, and the companions laugh quietly. 

[Ring of the Wayward Lovers] Allows the wearers to locate each other at all times. If the wearer has intimate contact with another, the third party will suffer the effect of a spell designated by the uninvolved wearer. Both rings must be equipped and unequipped at the same time.

These items did not have any additional effects on them, being exactly what they appeared. 

[You can’t curse an already cursed item] the Record Keeper informs Cain, enlightening him on the subject. That makes good sense, contradictory curses would negate each other, and the system wouldn’t want to make things that easy, since cursed items are often spawned that way as a form of balance by the system.

The last group is the four pieces of jade and ruby jewelry that reminded Cain so much of Cyrene. Just like he hoped, they are a set, with an extra bonus for wearing more of the pieces. But the set bonus is very strange. 

[Regalia Of The Beloved Leader] 

Set item: 0/4 pieces equipped. 

[1/4] Increase All Damage by 5 percent for every loyal follower that the wearer has

[3/4] Grant all followers openly wearing a Mark of their loyalty 5HP and 5MP per second Regeneration

[4/4] Increase all Stats by 1 Point for every Loyal Follower. Grants all Loyal Followers 1 point to their highest stat for every 10 points in that Stat that the leader has. 

“Since we all get a tag that we are your companions or summons, that should give all your summons increased damage and Stats plus a bit of Regeneration.” Evangeline pointed out as they looked at the set of items. 

5 percent damage per Summon isn’t bad. With a full force deployed, that will even be an increase over his current equipment. There are no extra curses on the items, so Cain decided to equip them. The earrings turn into small ruby studs, while the necklace retains the thin chain and the Serpentine body shape of the amulet. The bracelet is hidden under his sleeve, but a quick check showed Cain that it also looks like a delicate piece of white jade. 

Not exactly his style, but still a good-looking piece. Any amulet he wears is hidden under his clothing or armor anyhow, so only he knows about the odd-looking item set, but the effect it has is immediately felt all through his body. 

The actual bonuses from the scaling abilities are always hidden, a minor annoyance, but Cain can feel that he has become significantly more powerful. He didn’t have many Summons out though, so Cain suspected that the set was counting his distant Puppets towards the bonus, thanks to their loyalty. 

Cain was so used to being stared at that he didn’t even notice when the looks he was receiving changed. At first, he was a curiosity, a Mythic Demon, with a very eclectic group of friends, but with the new jewelry equipped, he gave off a natural sense of suppression. Not an actual aura effect, but the dangerous presence that makes others nervous around a predator. Despite being mostly at the awakened Mythic level themselves, the visitors couldn’t help but feel that this demon was an existence far beyond their abilities. 

The companions didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary though. After all, why would they feel threatened by Cain?

The change to Cain’s base power level wasn’t only noticed by those nearby. Meditating in the bottom of the deepest abyss on a nightmare world where even the divine beings such as the Seraphim feared to tread, an Eldritch Horror opened one curious eye, looking through the barrier between realms and across thousands of light-years in an instant. 

[We have found a survivor.] The being sent into the shared consciousness of its species. 

[We will go welcome them back.] Another stream of thought joined the conversation. 

[Not yet. That one is still on their way to recovering. But there are others, too weak to defend themselves.] The first being decides, looking more closely at the planet that has been hidden from casual observation by the Gods themselves. 

[Yes, we see. That world is not developed enough for growth, the weak ones will not survive there.] A third set of thoughts joins them.

[Then we will recover them. The wounded one will rejoin us when they are ready.] A mind with unfathomable wisdom decides, shifting between realities even as it informs the group that after Millennia they will have newcomers among them. 

“How about we go see what they have for pets at this pet store?” Cain suggested as he finished his lunch. They have already gained a lot from this stop, and a few minutes to admire small animals isn’t going to hurt anything.

Just when they get close to the tent that according to the greeter should have pets for sale, the happy animal noises are interrupted by an ear-shattering screech and a youkai man with black feathered wings came running out, holding his mangled left arm.

He only made it a few steps before collapsing, and the staff came running out behind him. One of the vampires used basic cleric magic to heal him and stop the blood loss, while the others quickly cleaned up the mess. That stabilized him, but he is still unconscious from the shock, so the cleaners carried him away to be treated out of sight of the public.

“Well, that’s not a bad omen at all.” Cain joked, making the worker who healed the man blush and stammer out her answer. 

“You see, we’ve got a juvenile Nekoma in our nursery. He tried to pet it from back to front.” She finally manages, and Nemu gives an angry glare in the direction that the man was carried away. 

You can do a lot of things to a Felian, or a Nekomata, and they will play along. But petting is strictly one-directional. That should just be common sense, especially with Mythic creatures who are fully willing and capable of eating you.

“I understand. How about we step inside and I’ll try to calm our furry friend down?” Cain asks. 

“I’m not sure that’s wise. She is pretty mad.” The worker begins, but even her vampiric speed isn’t enough to catch Cain before he is inside. 

The two-tailed cat was indeed very angry, and out of its enclosure, but Cain walked forward without hesitation, pulling a piece of smoked fish from his inventory. The Nekomata hissed at him in warning, so Cain let a bit of his Ancient aura slip, silencing every animal in the room instantly. 

After that, the cat meekly accepted Cain’s offering and allowed him to pet its head before placing the soft black animal back in the magical cage and closing the door. Cain handed over the fish and the Nekomata purred happily, nibbling bits off the end.

“How did you do that? Were you a druid subclass?” The vampire asks eagerly. Vampires can’t be druids, the class isn’t available to undead or most demons, so having one with Mythic skills available would be very helpful to them. 

“No, I’m not a druid subclass. In fact, I’m not a healing class at all. But I am pretty good with angry women.” Cain jokes, and the Companions chuckle.

In reality, that’s far from the truth, if the women get angry he either runs away, offers a bribe, or both. This time it was a bribe, and the Nekomata is easy to please. 

“I guess I can’t say that the pets here are tame, but they’re not entirely unwilling. They are all semi-intelligent species that have signed magical contracts. If you agree to their terms and agree to raise them safely to maturity, they agree to be your pet in the meantime.” The pet keeper explains.

“It’s a System contract, so don’t think it will be easy or painless to break if you do agree.”

The beasts had heard these lines many times before, and they all looked hopefully at Cain, wondering if he was here to take someone in, or just to discipline the Nekomata. 

Cain looked over at a silver forest fox who was giving him the most adorable pleading look, then reached between the bars to tickle its nose. 

The vampire gasped in horror and moved to stop him, but Cain ignored her concern and moved on to visit the others. With a confused look at the big demon, the Vampire extended a finger to touch the cage, getting a mind-numbing shock. The cages are all magically warded and electrified, but to Cain, it was only a mild tingle, so he didn’t stop playing with the pets. 

[Moana requests to join you as a companion] the system informs Cain as he walks past a clutch of eggs in an aquarium. 

That’s not how he remembers it working. Can you just request the status? Cain looks around and sees that the request came from a partially hatched egg in the aquarium. He can’t see what they are, but the eggs are fist-sized and in a variety of colors. The one that wants to join him came from a shiny black egg with white spots that remind Cain of stars in the night sky. 

“Miss, I will take the young lady who is about to hatch in the aquarium here,” Cain tells the clerk, who looks confused. 

“One of them hatched? Those eggs are decorative, I’ve had them for years already.” She explains.

[Companion Accepted] the system informs him and a small creature appears in front of Cain, swimming through the air with a tiny trident in her hand that is clearly an attack ability.

She almost looks like a mermaid, with a whale’s lower body and a humanoid upper torso, her lower body’s midnight black scales contrasted against bone-white flesh. Only where mermaids have human hair, she instead has a ridge of scales atop her head that runs down her spine and most of the way to her tail fin.

She ducks into Cain’s coat pocket and Cain turns to the vendor. “I guess I was mistaken. The black egg looked like it was hatching.”

Cain gestures for the others to leave while the vampire carefully looks over the black egg for signs of damage. None is visible as it sits, but Cain knows there is a large hole in the back that she just can’t see from where she is. 

“I’ll excuse myself now. We have a lot of traveling left to do today.” Cain informs the clerk as he leaves, and she simply waves, still wondering what Cain saw in the aquarium.

The man who sold her those said they were abandoned Leviathan eggs and would never hatch. But looking closely, the demon was right. At some point one of them did, but where did it go? As infants they’re basically whales, they should still be in the aquarium, eating everything they can. 

Outside, Cain can feel that the creature in his pocket, who called herself Moana, has been cloned, and that the two are playing rock paper scissors. 

He will greet them soon, but first, he needs to get away from prying eyes.