Chapter 73 – My Vitae!

I stared out the window of the train absentmindedly. Last night, I got back and absorbed the Calamity Core. It netted me a whole 40 Vitae, which was absolutely crazy considering how slow I’d been acquiring it so far. That put me at 62, which was what brought me here. I wasn’t actually looking out the window, but focused on the Basic Nyter Catalog.

| Templar Basic Immuno Mask - 50 V 

| Templar Basic Biomonitor - 250 V

| Templar Basic Myofibril Reinforcement - 150 V

| Templar Basic Osteofibril Reinforcement - 125 V

| Templar Basic Hemoweave - 75 V

| Kairos Armory Basic Subdermal Mesh - 150 V

| Kairos Armory Basic Drone Relay - 500 V

| Kairos Armory Basic  Retractable Blade - 75 V

| Kairos Armory Eye Chroma - 30 V

| WageMage Inc. Basic Anima Core - 625 V

| Next >

My eyes naturally caught on the Kairos Armory Eye Chroma for 30 Vitae.  It was expensive, just like everything else in the store. 30 Vitae… just for something that only affected eye color. How much was the Universal Chroma actually worth, then? I flicked through the pages, and spotted a Hair Chroma further in for 50 Vitae. A bit further and there was Skin Chroma for 100.

The Universal Chroma, which I pulled for just 10 Vitae, had at least 180 Vitae in value. That was totally crazy, and not even counting the value of being able to change a Nanite Strains color. I couldn’t find anything that could do that in the Basic Nyter Catalog. 

I scrolled through the list, marking down a few things here and there that might be nice to snag. Most of it was pretty basic stuff. The Myofibril and Osteofibril reinforcement strains were at the top of the list. They were a muscle and bone enhancement. Everything else was too specialized or not super helpful with my current situation.

That being said, they were expensive… but gambling wasn’t expensive. Gambling was really cheap actually. After a moment, the Basic Nyter Catalog faded and the Blackwater Anomalous one popped up. 

| + Daily Curio(15h 13m): 

Tome of Greater Pyromancy

-10,000V > 1,000V

+ Blackwater’s Choice(15h 13m):

Bloodline Awakening Pill

-500V

+ Anchor Estate Liquidation:

[Closed]

+Blind Acquisitions: 

Lost and Found - 10V

Basic Catalogs - Locked

Veil Curio - Locked

+ Blackwater Bounty:

Locked 

+ Blackwater Anomalous Relay: 185/500 |

The Bloodline Awakening Pill looked interesting, but I definitely couldn’t afford it. As for the Tome of Greater Pyromancy? Sounded like something an Arcanist would be extremely interested in. They weren’t only good at enchanting things, afterall.

Unfortunately, there were very, very few Arcanists amongst us Apexes. I couldn’t think of any, actually. That was a human field, though we had Aspects. A bulk of small, relatively weak powers kind of balanced out rare Arcanists that could cast strong magic. 

Anyway, should I just save? Or… heh, maybe a little gambling wouldn’t hurt anything. I’d only gotten good things from my one time hitting it, which was pretty good odds. Right, I’d just spent ten—no, twenty points and see what came up.

| Blind Acquisitions - 1x Lost and Found 

Rolling… |

| Congratulations! |

| 5 Vitae | 

Did I just lose? I stared at the Biosystems status screen for a long moment before checking my Vitae. I just lost five Vitae from this stupid thing. My ears flattened to the sides of my head. Gambling never paid off. What the hell was I thinking? Although… maybe I should roll it just one more time to make sure that it never paid off.

| Blind Acquisitions - 1x Lost and Found 

Rolling… |

| Congratulations! |

| A pebble |

A tiny rift opened and closed so fast I thought I was hallucinating again for a moment. A pebble dropped through it and landed on my tail. It was a totally normal, completely mundane piece of rock that looked like gravel.

Seriously? My fangs briefly flashed in an angry smile. Bitterness filled my heart as I tossed the useless pebble to the side. Heh, right. I should’ve just taken my own words and not gambled. There went 20–no, 15 Vitae just like that.

At least it wasn’t a total loss. Every bit of Vitae I spent on the store, even if it was just a donation, brought me closer to activating the relay and getting new Catalogs. Now I only needed to spend 295 more. Easy.

“Hee-hee, told you so,” my little sister sleepily mumbled. She sat just next to me on the train, and was totally passed out while using my tail as a pillow. I shifted ever so slightly to get more comfortable, but my tail had already been asleep for a long time now. I so wasn’t looking forward to the pins-and-needles feeling.

I gently ruffled her soft ears, which made her cozy up tighter to my tail with another silly laugh. The bitterness over gambling faded into a warmth that filled my chest. Moments like these… if she could dream happily, there was no cost I wouldn’t pay. Naturally, that meant—

| Blind Acquisitions - 1x Lost and Found 

Rolling… |

| Congratulations! |

| Thanks for playing! |

The Biosystems weren’t even pretending anymore. Another 10 Vitae vanished into thin air, leaving me at 37 Vitae. The warmth instantly faded into bone deep bitterness once more. I see how it is, bastard.

“Operator, maybe today isn’t your day. Wouldn’t it be much better to save—“

”Shaddup,” I whispered to the silver wolf plushie. He sat up on the window of the train to look out the window. Unfortunately, that also gave him a good vantage point to view me with judgemental eyes. “I know what I’m doing.”

”Affirmative, Operator.” He said in his totally neutral voice. 

“I’m glad you see things my way—“

“That was sarcasm.” The stupid clanker immediately cut me off. His glowing red eyes flashed with even more judgement like I was the idiotic mutt. “Obviously.” 

“We need to work on tone,” I muttered sourly. Why’d he have to try and ruin my fun? Didn’t he have some small other helpless person he could terrorize instead? “It, posture, and expression make up conveying emotion.”

”Tone? Affirmative, this unit will look into it.” His eyes dimmed like he was focused on looking up everything Silverport had on tone. Not like he could do anything about posture and expression.

Maybe… maybe I shouldn’t have said anything? Whatever. It’d probably be fine. More importantly, I still had 37 Vitae left.

| Blind Acquisitions - 1x Lost and Found 

Rolling… |

| Psionic Technique: Binding|

Effect: Psionically create small, weak threads of psionic force. |

Oh? My tail twitched around excitedly. A Psionic Technique… I’d seen them a couple times, but this was my first time actually getting a hold of one. Sure, it didn’t seem so strong. I’d long wished I had a more powerful ability then Seek, though. Or, at least, something else I could do. Not like my nature as Psyker did anything except make my life harder.

A void once more opened up, and I hurriedly curled my jacket forward around it to keep anyone from noticing. A moment later, a small paper bound manuscript dropped into my lap. Even just being near it gave me a weird sense of connection that slowly faded. I promptly stuffed it into my pocket before anyone could notice. “I really wish they’d stop doing that.”

”I modified the cameras, Operator.” Vigil’s eyes pulsed brightly.

”Thanks.” I was tempted to pull out the manuscript and instantly start reading through it. Now wasn’t the place or time, though. ‘Sides, we were nearly—

The intercom of the train crackled to life. “Now arriving! Now arriving!”

“Mmmm.” Sylvie shifted in her seat, and hugged my tail to her chest as she rolled over. Her soft silver hair fell around it like a veil. 

“Wake up, sis.” I lightly shook her shoulder. She just mumbled softly, so I playfully poked her in the cheek. “C’mon, sleepyhead. We’re here.”

”Five minutes…” Her beautiful amber eyes cracked open blearily, and she squinted at me.

“We’ll have missed our stop by then.” I poked her cheek a few more times—

She jerked her head and tried to bite my finger. I whipped it away right before she could clamp down on it. Instead, Sylvie just stuck out her tongue at me. “Meanie.” 

“You’re awake, aren’t you?” I just laughed and stood up. My tail pulled out of her arms despite her best efforts to hold it hostage. Much better to be poked in the cheek to wake up than hit with ice water. Or the bucket.

“Are we here?” She stood up, and graciously let me off for oh so rudely waking her up. Her tail swished lightly behind her.

”Should be.” I grabbed Vigil off the window, and held him in my arms as we got off the train. My body still felt lethargic and slow from last night’s poisonous escapades, but I wouldn’t let that stop me. Not when I’d been waiting for this day all week.

A busy crowd gathered at the train’s entrance. I dove straight through the crowd with Sylvie hot on my heels. We agilely weaved through the mess of people, and worked our way down the block to our destination. Sprinkles fell from above down onto us. For once, it wasn’t storming too bad. It really was a perfect day for the circus.

Sylvie laughed and chased me across the street to the open park that the circus took up. “Slow down!

“Ah, right.” I scratched my cheek. I took all I had in me to keep from prancing ahead of her. Not for the first time, I felt like I was more excited about this than she was. That was crazy, though. 

“It’s not like it’s going anywhere.” Sylvie grabbed my hand as if to ensure I wouldn’t run off without supervision. At a much more normal pace, we approached the front booth of the circus. “You have the tickets?”

“Yeah, yeah.” I patted my pockets, and felt around for them—

“Back pocket,” Vigil helpfully informed me.

Thanks. I pulled out the VVIP tickets that Bruce had gotten me, and we approached the front gate. A familiar clown blew out a white balloon, and shaped it so quickly it was like he was some kind of Beyonder. In an instant, a white wolf was presented to us. 

The clown offered the wolf to me with a wide smile that exposed his teeth. “Welcome back! Didn’t think you’d be coming back by.”

“Heh, well… kids love the circus, right?” A touch of warmth entered my cheeks. My head ducked slightly behind Vigil as if he could save me. I maturely forced my tail to go still, though the tip still wagged around happily. “Busy day today, huh?”

The clown looked around the throngs of people at the entrance. Several other clowns were working additions. ”The weekends are always busy. A spot of joy goes a long way these days.”

”Ain’t that the truth.” I sighed softly, and shook my head. 

Sylvie accepted the white wolf balloon from the clown, and poked at its rubbery snout. “This is so cool! How did you do that?!”

”A magician—erm, clown never tells.” The clown let out a hearty laugh, and stashed the VVIP tickets in the booth. He produced a needle, and handed it to Sylvie. “If you’d do the honors?”

Sylvie grabbed the needle, and lightly pricked the balloon. It popped, and two blank bracelets fell out covered in diamonds. I flinched at the not-so-hidden call-out to the Black Diamond organization. Was it really okay to be operating like this in broad daylight? At least Hades’ businesses mostly hid their affiliations.

Thankfully, Sylvie didn’t seem to notice the connection. “Woah! You really are a magician… The bands were probably already in the balloon, right? How’d you know what bands to give us?”

”I, Bobo the magical clown, possess the All Seeing Eye of Good Fortune!” The clown honked his nose and broke into laughter once more. “Show that to any of the attractions, and you’ll get the VVIP treatment! Thank you for your patronage!”

I grabbed one of the bands from Sylvie and slipped it on. She stared down at the popped balloon with a deeply speculative look in her eyes. “C’mon, sis. Not knowing is half the fun with magic.”

”I… you’re right. Crazy you of all people would be telling me to have fun.” Sylvie grinned broadly, exposing her cute canines. She slipped on the bracelet, and followed me through the gates of the circus. ”Um, where do you want to start?”

”Cotton candy! Definitely cotton candy!” I cheerfully led her to a cart off to the side of the entrance. A man in brightly colored clothes handed a stick covered in a fluffy cloud of sugar over to a family just in front of us.

“Two, please!” I cheerfully called out to the man. My nose twitched as I took in the scent of sugary goodness wafting out of the cotton candy machine. It spun round and round, trailing long fluffy threads of sugar.

”Just one, actually.” Sylvie shook her head. ”I don’t really like the stuff.”

”You, uh, you’ve had it before?” One of my ears flopped low, and I turned back to look at her.

”Yeah, me and Cindy came here about a year ago.” Sylvie must’ve seen my heart on my sleeve again, because her expression quickly changed. “I’m sure I’m going to have much more fun this time! I’m with my one and only beloved sister, afterall.” 

Other people can provide for her bet—I forced the thought away, and fixed up my expression. Today was supposed to be a happy day. I wouldn’t let that green-haired bitch keep me down. I bopped Vigil on the head, and tried to dredge up my playful excitement once more. Just this once, I didn’t want to ruin a fun outing because I was a little emotional.

”Here you are.” The cotton candy man handed me a stick covered in flamboyant pink clouds. “And thank you, Canary. It’s on the house!” 

Ah, my fame was catching up to me once more… I wish they never would’ve caught onto my story back then. How did they, anyway? It wasn’t like a MET expedition would’ve been easily accessible information—ah, right!

“Heheh… thank you.” I stuffed Vigil into my pocket, and accepted the glorious substance. My mouth was already watering at the scent. It was raining though, so I’d have to eat it quick or it’d melt all over me. I knew that much, at least.

We stepped away, and I pinched off a small bit of it. The instant it entered my mouth, it melted into a warm sugary taste that sent a tingle right down my tail. I offered the treat to my sister once more. “You sure you don’t want any?” 

“Yeah, it’s all yours.” Sylvie watched me with a small smile. Her tail dropped into a low rhythm that matched mine. 

I reached for another piece—

My ears perked up, and caught the voice of a kid not far behind us. My eyes snapped to the source a moment later. A kid excitedly tugged on her dad’s hand while he was in the middle of talking to a photographer. He held onto her with one hand and held up an umbrella with the other. “Papa? Papa can I have some too?”

Her dad grimaced, and smiled apologetically at the photographer. He curled slightly to face his daughter. “We don’t have—I mean, it’ll melt in the rain!”

Although he twisted her words at the last moment, the kid instantly got what he meant. She just smiled brightly at her dad with the most innocent look in her eyes. “Okay!”

The aftertastes of the cotton candy soured slightly, and I stared down at the cottony mess. After a moment, I started to walk across the gravel strip. Sylvie quickly followed after me. “Hey? Something wrong?”

“Everything’s fine.” I approached the kid and her dad, who looked up at me. I held out the sugary treat. “Here.”

The father instantly shook his head. ”Oh, I can’t accept this—“

”I can’t finish it all by myself.” I held it out to the kid instead. “It’ll disintegrate soon anyway, and I forgot an umbrella. You’ll be doing me the favor.”

”R-really?” She looked up around it, though her eyes darted back and forth several times. At my nod, she carefully took it from my hands. “Th-thank you, big sis!”

”Heh, no problem.” A smile naturally sprung to my face at the bright look in her eyes. “Enjoy that for both of us, ‘kay?”

”… thank you.” The father bowed his head deeply to me.

”Yeah…” I glanced down at her one more time, and moved away with Sylvie. I felt her eyes on my back as we walked slowly alongside the crowd. “What?”

“You didn’t have to do that, you know?” She said quietly.

“I know… it was just a bit of candy, anyway. I don’t want to get fat.” I patted my stomach, and playfully nudged her shoulder with mine.

“Like you should be concerned about that.” She rolled her eyes, and thankfully let the matter drop. My eyes caught on the hall of mirrors, and I happily pulled her hand toward it. There was so much to the circus that I couldn’t wait to do.