Inflame (The Completionist Chronicles Book 6) by Dakota Krout (best romantic novels in english TXT) 📕

certainly wouldn’t waste that on Common… bare minimum would be two thousand. There would be a lot that goes right down the drain because I don’t currently have a Mythical aspect jar…”

Joe grabbed his head with both hands. “I miss having spreadsheets! I never thought I’d say that. Initial investment, bare minimum, probably three thousand Mythical aspects. However… let’s say I get just one extra aspect per hour per rarity level. The maximum would be… ten per hour? Two-forty per day, twenty-four hundred in ten days. Investment returned in two weeks, then a long-term supply after that. Still… I can’t imagine the effort that would need to go into getting a Core like that. Let alone how many Mythical things I would need to reduce? Best I even have right now is Artifact, but there’s no way I have enough to convert this Core into a Jar. Not a good one, at least. Unique, it is; let’s try that with my best Core.”

Joe set the Uncommon Core into the Field Array, then began pouring out every last Unique aspect he had into it. One hundred, two, two-fifty, two-ninety… and the Jar was complete.

Natural Unique Aspect (Uncommon) Jar: 0/2,150 Unique aspects. This jar can be used to store and retrieve Unique aspects. As it is a naturally formed aspect jar, it will collect Unique aspects from its surroundings over time. Current rate of collection: 4 Unique aspects per hour.

Reductionist class experience gained: 100.

Aspects gathered

Trash: 11,967

Damaged: 11,421

Common: 9,636

Uncommon: 6,789

Rare: 1,909

Special: 100 (Zombified). 100 (Anima). 400 (Molten).

Unique: 280

Artifact: 112

Legendary: 0

Mythical: 0

Core energy: 1,755.5/1,958 (Common)

Joe stared at the jar in his hand that had just given him hundreds of experience, trying to figure out how he could make fifty more of them. He needed Cores. Lots of Cores. Pondering the data, he nodded; he was going to raid a storehouse when he got back to the city.

“I was right, at least with this one. Looks like only one additional per hour. Four per hour means almost exactly three days until I have a return on aspects.” Joe looked at his other Cores greedily, “Hello my little investments. I can’t wait to—ow!”

Health: 64/1,652

Joe yanked his hand out of the magma it had been submerged in, hissing as he cast Mend on himself. His health topped out at one hundred, and Joe glared at the molten rock that his… hand had been… submerged in.

“Mate. Hey, Mate, I need someone to talk to here. I think I may have thought of an escape plan.” All he needed to do now was wait for his mana to return to full, and he was going to make a break for it. Mate bubbled up onto his arm and gurgled cheerfully; clearly, it agreed that diving into the magma was a good idea.

Chapter Forty-Four

“A coffee elemental? Adorable.” Joe whipped around at the unexpected voice, finding that he was suddenly not alone on the tiny island. The chubbiest Elf Joe had ever seen was standing there with him, a half-mask hiding his features. “Ayy, how fun. Let’s start the process, shall we, brudda?”

Two more Elves were suddenly clamping thick manacles onto Joe’s arms, and he hadn’t even seen them approaching. The chubby Elf stepped close and touched both manacles, a spark of mana jumping into them. Right away, Joe felt his control over his mana falter and fade. The Elf kept speaking as if he were unaware of Joe’s shock and outrage. “I can’t believe them bigwigs would just send youze out here without applying prisoner cuffs. What a strange oversight.”

Joe clamped his mouth shut, worried that if he started speaking, he would never be able to stop. Something about this guy… Joe just wanted to trust him. Then there was the fact that these Elves were appearing out of nothing. He had no idea what sort of illusion he was trapped in, and there was the chance that nothing here was real.

The chubby Elf got right in Joe’s face. “So, let’s start by doing this here the polite way, yeah? Show me some face here, an’ take off your gear. Rings, armor, anything like that. Then change inta this prisoner garb, yeah?”

The compulsion to do as he was asked struck Joe, but he tamped it down as hard as he could. This Elf must have an utterly insane charisma characteristic.

“No? You don’t wanna be my friend?” There was a momentary pause, and the Elf let out what sounded like a truly saddened sigh. “You know how long it takes to get every item off someone? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry over here!”

Seeing the stricken expression on the Elven face, Joe couldn’t manage to keep his mouth closed anymore. “Why do you even need me to take the gear off?”

“Hey, look at us, building bonds of trust and stuff!” The Elf crowed, giving Joe a hearty slap on the arm. “You musta always been an upstanding member of society if you’ve never realized that someone can’t take gear off you without permission.”

Joe shook his head slightly, hating himself for speaking further. He couldn’t not speak; and he was trying everything he could think of to keep his mouth shut. Words still forced themselves out through his gritted teeth, even as he snarled at himself to stop. “I… don’t… understand. I lost a robe to a creature once, and I’ve seen tons of gear get destroyed.”

“C’mon, round-ear, do I look like a boss monster with a rare skill? You think gear-breaking skills won’t do damage to you, too? How many times wouldja pop back onto the island here before I managed ta’ bust even just those shiny shoes you got on?” The Elf shook his head. “Howzabout just taking ‘em off, yeah?”

“Bite me.”

Skill increase: Mental Manipulation Resistance (Beginner I)

“I…” This was clearly not the answer the Elf had been expecting, and he didn’t know how to handle the rejection. “I assume that was an insult, but it’s a new one for me. Let’s play it that way,