B2-15 - Economic Foundation (Patreon)

15 - Economic Foundation

“Oof, remind me not to ask how the sausage is made,” Maya said as she and Tender examined the black goo manufacturing device, which was a large metal drum with a mixer within it. It slowly churned, combining the black goo with other minerals and materials that they had purchased off of Zono. 

Mana stones were the priciest of the bunch. Maya was surprised at how little of the actual stone was needed. She had imagined that it would take a rock the size of her fist to make a mana battery, but instead it was a pebble sized piece that made up the ubiquitous tool mana battery.  

Even that tiny rock required a massive set up of Tier 2 manufacturing bases. There were naturally occurring mana stones, but those were hard to find and tended to have many faults, causing them to be a tad chaotic in their energy distribution. So some untold millions of years ago, the secret to making mana stones artificially was discovered and since then they were used everywhere, even Crafted Items tended to use mana stones, since they were of better quality than found in nature. 

Requiring Tier 2 and a large industrial set up might have been cause to make mana batteries prohibitively expensive, but from what Veskari stated, they were created on a scale that dwarfed any manufacturing enterprise. Among the Nerigana, there was a whole solar system that was dedicated to creating mana batteries. Although, their concentrated mana battery production was more of a way to maintain literal and political power.

There were no naturally occurring mana stones in the rainbow sky hellscape, but there were plenty of magi-tronic junk that had been brought along and a lot of that junk had mana batteries already in them. Zono for all of his massive size and strip mining take on life, was still able to finesse the tiny mana stones from their cases and store them separately. 

They hadn’t made a dent into Zono’s inventory, it seemed he had been tearing up piles for months now and they were loaded with mana batteries. A thing Maya was realizing she should look into when she had the time. Those trash piles were a treasure trove that needed to be exploited and Zono was simply recycling everything that had value. There was no care about what the machines contained, if they were salvageable, or if they had needed components. If it could be broken down into metal parts, that’s what he did.  

Zono refused to be more gentle in his digging through the piles. He had one job and he was going to do that job, regardless of what precious machinery lay within. It was his entire reason for being created. 

“With the amount purchased from Zono and the harvested black goo, we are looking an estimate of sixteen thousand square meters of coverage. I have run the numbers and have concluded that a ten thousand square meter net is by far the most productive size we can create. It will take less time, material, and will collect more energy.” Tender walked her through the machinery. Although she was the idea behind the black goo, Tender had shown his initiative and had begun working on it before she could get her head back to the problem at hand. 

She had been for just hunting down as many rogue AIs as she could, draining them and then bringing back their corpses to be processed. It was the best method she could think of, as it provided her much needed experience points, loot, black goo, and salvageable corpses. 

Already she and Tender had managed to break down most of Big Snake. There were a lot of expensive goodies within the snake; expensive in terms of materials needed in creating, not credit value. 

Thoughts of upgrading Tender’s drones was dancing in her head. Bigger and more scanner focused rats, more destructive mechas, the sky was the limit. 

“You got the first batch good to go?” Maya asked. 

Tender handed her a vial of black goo. 

“Awesome. We created this. Oh, System. What shall we gain from this magical creation we have concocted.” 

***

“As we’re not going to Earth, you still wanna come?,” Maya asked Nan as she entered the mess hall. 

“Yes,” Nan said. “Yosi and Bell are accompanying you, therefore I might be needed.” 

“Cool the more the merrier. Just don’t wanna be around with only Zono and Vesky for company, eh?” 

“Yes.” 

“Too brutal,” Maya grinned. 

The Hanganathorie’s mess hall had a make-over in the days that Maya had been waiting for the cores to charge the two mana batteries. The mess hall was already big, but Bell’s new Ability, [Farmer], had allowed him to successfully double the size of Junior in four days. Maya hadn’t been slacking either, while spending some time with Tender to create the black goo and manufacturing duracloth tubes, Maya has settled on dismantling portions of the habitat to be rebuilt inside of the Hanganathorie. 

The ship had ten different levels, it was a kilometer long, a hundred and fifty meters wide and tall That was a massive amount of room for an original crew of only two hundred and fifty. There were the usual large spaces given over to engineering, cargo, and life support, but the vast majority of the ship was filled with offices, research labs, computer rooms quarters and areas of recreation. 

It would have been a simple task for her to commandeer a free room and call it her own, but Maya was sick of inheriting dead people’s things. She wanted to build something that was her own. 

With her trusty cutter in one hand and a plan in the other, Maya began slicing away at the bulkheads, reshaping the walls to her liking. After a day of work she had cut into a neighboring room and used the modular panels from the Habitat to create herself a small suite.  

She deep cleaned her nest bed, cobbled together a plumbing system that tied into the Hangy’s own which emptied into their biomass tanks, to be eventually recycled into organics. Shen’s ship had a water creator, unlike the water stones that Bell had, this one took actual oxygen and hydrogen and smashed them together to create water. It was as good as the stones, only much bigger and much more mana intensive. 

All she needed was a bed, a shower, and a toilet and she would be fine. Also, hot water, shampoo, soap in general, a decent comb, a-

‘I’ve got something for you,” Bell said as he walked up to her. 

“A gift? You shouldn’t have.”

“I believe that there are two items that you can use, with your levels. As Yosi is also now apart of your House, I took the liberty of obtaining two additional items for her.” 

“Why only two?” 

“Low grade, you can only use two enchanted items at a time. Otherwise it can cause problems with mana channeling or the items themselves. At low levels one’s mana aura is not strong enough to power all the enchantments at once.” 

“So you get a nice new enchantment added for every grade you rise? Maya asked. 

“Yes. Although Yosi is still a few levels away from mid-grade, I’m sure if she hangs around for a bit, she’ll get there,” Bell said. 

“Speak of the little devil,” Maya said, accepting Bell’s offering. Yosi hurried into the mess hall, carrying large pack on her back and dressed in what Maya could only describe as a combat uniform. 

“Off to war, Yosi?” Maya asked. 

“I was in charge of House Huvano’s logistic division for a while,” Yosi panted. “We were supposed to be ready for anything.” 

Maya looked at the large pack. “Well, we’ll be staying entirely in the dimensional cage,” she said. “If we try to step out into the multiverse-at-large, we die. Got it?” 

“Yes, of course, Maya. I just thought…” 

“It’s cool. Bring what you want. It’s gonna be sixteen hours of boredom anyway. We’re not going to Earth, but Haltor’s World, to see if we can get a line on Pegarios, a shady small time criminal.” 

“I understand, Maya,” Yosi nodded her head vigorously. 

“So, Bell. What do these enchantments do?” 

Bell glanced at Yosi and then back at Maya. “One is a mana shield, a high grade one, similar to the one you used when defending against the kinetic attack, but this one can defend against kinetic, thermal, and explosive attacks. Although it is weak against mana attacks. It can fend off attacks for fifteen minutes when used, but needs a full day to recharge. The other is an Inventory Outfit Module, it comes by many different names but it allows you to create outfits to wear, so that you can quick change from combat armor to regular everyday clothing.” 

“What? That’s a thing?” Maya gasped and grinned. “How do I use it!” 

“Just sync it with your Dimensional Inventory and it’ll be ‘absorbed’. You can create a different window from which you can select certain items already in your Inventory to be worn.” 

“Hot damn!” Maya screamed in joy as she raced back to her room “Lemme get some clothes!” 

“She seems happy.” Yosi said. 

“Her moods are strange, but you did not make the wrong choice tying your destiny with hers.” 

Yosi nodded, hefted her large bag and began marching after Maya. 

***

Maya threw the Business Module Token onto the ground and cried out: “I summon you, business module token!” 

Nothing happened as the metallic disc pinged off the floor of the dimensional cage. It struck a wall and clattered to a stop. 

“Well, that’s not as cool as the Defense Token.” 

A heavy feeling filled the room. Maya felt her hair tingle with energy and an oppressive feeling filled the room.

Maya flinched as a large window appeared before her. 

Economic Foundation

Business Module Token

Choose module.

Maya made the windows available for everyone to see. Tender, Bell, Nan, and Yosi clustered near her to read. 

As the first of your species to register a business with the System, you are awarded the one time use of a Business Token Module. This Token will provide you, Maya Sullivan, with a System Generated Economic Sector Module (SGESM)

Base Sector: Raw Resource Extraction: Farming, Fishing, Mining, etc. 

Mid Sector: Production: Manufacturing, Textile Production, Construction, etc.

High Sector: Service: Logistics, Sales, Banking, Law, etc. 

Curious, Maya selected Base Sector; the window expanded and she was provided more options to choose from, there were hundreds of them. She randomly selected Agriculture and from it sprouted more and more options, displaying scores of different methods of growing every kind of crop. But as Maya looked at the crop options, they were all human crops.  

“Why only human crops?” Maya asked. 

Maya Sullivan, Human, can only access the Pre-Integrated foodstuffs that were grown on her native planet. 

“You have everything that was grown on Earth before Integration?” Maya asked. 

All lifeforms that existed at the time of Integration were scanned and their DNA, Mana Trace, and Essence makeup were stored within System Archives. All that was destroyed is not lost. 

Maya grinned for a moment. “You have everything stored away? How can I access these Archives?” Maya asked. 

“You need to be Tier 3 or higher,” Bell replied. “The Founder of the Domakun family has access to the pre-Integration plants and species that once populated our world. They’re not as useful as you think.” 

“I could grow coffee!” Maya squealed. 

“Is that a high value crop?” Tender asked. 

“To me it is!” 

Yosi gave a squeak. “Maya, I would recommend not going the agricultural route. Although you may be wishing for pre-Integration foodstuffs, mana infused post-Integration items are far better for a SIL. At least wait until a mana based crop is found.” 

Maya nodded, tamping down her enthusiasm. She needed to be smart here. This was going to be the foundation upon which she built her Empire. 

“What are the benefits?” Maya asked the System. “What is the difference between say mining marsani or making marsani billets?” 

The System did not answer. 

“Of course. I have to choose blind, right?” Maya thought for a moment. “I don’t fully understand how the economy works in the multiverse-at-large, but back on Earth, the biggest industries were oil and gas production and retail. Manufacturing electronics followed, but that required a lot of engineering and research.” 

“I would not choose Mining,” Tender said. “We already have Zono to do that.” 

“Nor would I choose Agriculture,” Bell said after a moment. “There is nothing to grow here.”  

“I would choose Manufacturing,” Yosi said. She looked to Maya and nodded. “In the Nerigana Consortium, there was always a need for more… stuff. Weapons, tools, ships, and machinery. The largest and the richest companies were those that manufactured system tech machinery.”

“You might be right, Yosi. System Tech seems the best route to go,” Maya said. Bell let out a groan. “Although, I wonder what benefits would be gained going the retail route? I mean, we are in control of a dimensional cage that can go anywhere in the multiverse, so we don’t actually have to make anything. We can just make contacts and buy what we need. Would the System give us more money, help us out with where to buy stuff?” 

Everyone shrugged. 

Maya looked at the options. In her former life she had been a business management student. It hadn’t helped one lick in the months she had been in the rainbow sky hellscape, but times were a-changing. She wasn’t stuck on the RSH anymore, she could go places and although survival was still top priority, the future appeared to be going the retail route. The joke of being a merchant had been humorous in the beginning, providing some comfort and relief to Maria and her group, but Maya hadn’t been entirely sold on the idea. 

Building, dismantling, creating and using luck and skill were the things that had kept her alive. She was getting the hang of system tech and rogue AI tech, she could cobble together weapons, rebuild rogue AI bodies, strip down system tech machinery and rebuild them. Maya hadn’t thought about it much, but now as she looked at the options before her, she enjoyed building things. She liked working with her hands, she liked working with Tender in stripping and dismantling rogue AIs and system tech machines.  

She was pretty good at it and she was only getting better as she regained her levels in [Mechanic], [Technician], and [Engineer]. If she followed that route, she would find enjoyment and satisfaction in her work. 

Maya smiled for a moment, staring at the Manufacturing Option. 

If the business module was as Tender said, it was like a Foundation Skill Book that would set the stage for what she and her descendants would be involved in. Bell’s Family Founder had been an [Alchemist] and now they all were and they all would be for as long as they could be, because they had gained the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities that were originally given to their Founder.

She could make stuff, Maya knew. She could spend her days building from the endless piles of scrap everywhere. She just needed to break them down and sort them. She didn’t have to ‘manufacture’ anything, all she had to do was refurbish them. 

Maya’s hand hovered over the option once more, but then she swiped it away. She selected the High Sector, then punched in the option for Retail. There were scores of different retail options but one caught Maya’s eye. Trader: Sales & Retail. 

She smiled. She remembered a time before Integration when she had hated the idea of handling money and interacting with people. Now… Now, things were different. It didn’t mean she wanted to do it, but there was a need for it. 

Earth was being ravaged and it would only get worse. There were monsters, there was death on an unimaginable scale and Maya knew she had to do something about it. She could make things for Earth, she could sell them to Earth, and she could maybe make some profit off of that. But she had to think bigger than that. 

She would have to find things to bring back to Earth. She would have to go out in the multiverse and bring them back, or find it in the rainbow sky hellscape. She would have to venture far to make credits. Maya could feel that it was the right choice, everything was telling her to do it, but she still hesitated. 

It just wasn’t interesting. There was an option for Manufacturing: Combat Robotics for System’s Sake! Retail? What moron would choose that when they could get a foot up on the competition by getting a module that would allow them to build space ships? 

“Retail?” Bell asked. 

“You are an interdimensional garbage merchant,” Tender stated. 

“I’m totally gonna be the Wal-mart of the Multiverse,” Maya said and selected the option before she could dissuade herself. 

Economic Foundation Chosen: Trader: Sales & Retail

Congrats, you have chosen your Economic Foundation. May it be a profitable path. The Trader path is one of seeking out new places, new markets, and new wares to sell. This all requires a firm grasp of markets, prices, and a sense for profit and danger.

“That’s… interesting,” Yosi said. 

“Selling stuff is the way to go, I feel it in my bones,” Maya said. “All economies require trade and access to new markets, if we get in there, we can buy stuff and make some credits to help out the people of Earth.” 

“The Nerigana Consortium was a defense based controlled economy, there wasn’t much need or production ability for consumer goods and items. Only the wealthy got those and that was mostly from outside traders.” 

“It’s like Soviet Russia,” Maya said. “In our world, they were some tough cookies, they had nukes, they had an army, and they had the industrial base to wage war upon the world, but the one thing they lacked? Consumer goods. Every time one of their leaders would come to a capitalist country, they would return loaded with everything from televisions to demin jeans. About eighty percent of the multiverse-at-large are nothing but massive war economies that aren’t producing all the things their people want. 

“Sure, that’s all meaningless right now, but eventually it will be a thing. People like having nice stuff and things that make their life a little bit more easier. But yeah, right now. We need guns, food, water, and shelter for everyone on Earth. The only way to get those in high enough quantity and quality and speed, is by buying them.” 

Access to Local Area System Trade Network, Tier 2 access

Access to System Assisted Logistics Network, Tier 2 access

Sullivan Survival Society and subsidiary Maya’s Emporium have been granted Trade Satus II. 

System Backed Corporation Level 2

Vendor Kiosk blueprint awarded - Human Patent

Shipping Container blueprint awarded - Human Patent

Shipping Pallet blueprint awarded - Human Patent

Patenter II

Maya Sullivan, Human, is the first in her species to create a patent for a new item. In addition, as the new patent is not in the System Archives; Black Goo has achieved Level 2 status, thereby awards are doubled. Congrats. 

+ Patent Law 101

+ Patents and Profit 101

+ 250,000 EXP

+ 1,000,000 credits

[Patent Holder] Level 2

House Sullivan has submitted a Patent and has been award ownership of the Patents: 

Vendor Kiosk - L1

Shipping Container - L1

Shipping Pallet - L1

Black Goo - L2

+ 2 Mental Dexterity

[Patent Creator] Level 1 

House Sullivan has created a new Patent, one not already submitted within the System Archives. 

Black Goo

+ 2 Mental Strength

Trader: Sales & Retail - this requires an upgrade to existing Abilities and Skills. 

[Buyer] Level 10

You have reached level 10 in an Ability, System attribute points bonus applied, x2 base points. 

+ 2 Mental Dexterity

[Seller] Level 10

You have reached level 10 in an Ability, System attribute points bonus applied, x2 base points. 

+ 2 Mental Recovery

[Haggler] Level 10

You have reached level 10 in an Ability, System attribute points bonus applied, x2 base points. 

+ 2 Mental Perception

[Trader] Level 10

You have reached level 10 in an Ability, System attribute points bonus applied, x2 base points. 

Tradesense I

+ 4 Mental Strength

[Purchaser] Level 1

Buy low, sell high. Make profit.

+2 Mental Dexterity

[Retailer] Level 1

Sell goods, make profit.

+ 2 Mental Recovery

[Negotiator] Level 1

Negotiate for goods, make profit. 

+ 2 Mental Perception

[Merchant] Level 5

- Synergy Achieved

Leveling: Buyer, Seller, Haggler, and Trader to level 10 has opened up Merchant - Mid grade Ability

Profitsense I

+ 4 Mental Strength

[Trade Seeker] Level 1

Seeking new avenues for trade is a risky business. 

Dangersense I

+ 2 Mental Channel

[Dimensional Walker] Level 4

Intention II

Dimensional Inventory III

Dimensional Awareness IV

Dimensional Threshold II

Level up! (Level 15)

“Ho-leeeeeee, shieeeet,” Maya muttered. 

There was a long and deep silence that filled the dimensional cage as everyone stared at the awards given to her. 

“That seems strangely unfair,” Nanaseto remarked, finally breaking the silence. “And disappointing.” 

“Our House shall be great,” Yosi breathed. 

“I feel conflicted,” Tender said. “Why was I not awarded as co-creator of the Black Goo Patent?” 

“I know right!” Maya growled. “System!” 

“Shhh! I’m still reading,” Bell muttered, his lips moving as he scanned through the messages. 

Only SIL are eligible for System Patents. 

“That’s crap,” Maya said.  

“Then I will just have to become SIL,” Tender said. 

Maya looked at him and then smiled. “If anyone can do it, you can, red.” 

Then she turned her attention to the messages. 

“I just leveled. So, I guess it’s time to distribute points…” Maya flicked her hand and her status page appeared before her. 

There was another long silence as everyone saw what was displayed and tried to look away. 

“Oh, yeah, totally forgot. Y’all don’t show this kind of stuff,” Maya said, chuckling. “Like letting someone see your browser history, mixed with telling them your social security number, and shoe size.” 

Bell frowned, the only one who hadn’t turned away. “By all that is the System, what is this!” He pointed at a number of unallocated attribute points. 

“Uh… yeah…” Maya said, staring at it. “I’m not going to say I forgot, its just… I don’t know. I was in a weird space for the last two weeks. This is the only time I’ve checked my status page since Shen.” 

“Madness,” Yosi hissed. “You are mad.” 

“I don’t know, okay. I just… I just didn’t want to look at it. I got all of this, all these experience points, everything from killing Shen’s zombies. Those poor bastards that Shen was keeping alive. I killed the thirteen that were left and then the seven in the dimensional cage. I got half of the experience points from killing those guys too.” Maya sighed. 

“You didn’t allocate them because.. . You felt bad?” Bell growled. 

“In a way, it’s blood points,” Maya said. “Not like from frighting rogue AIs, no offense Tender.” 

“None taken, boss.” 

Bell was silent for a moment. “You killed twenty of Shen’s guards, his ‘zombies’, yes?” 

“Yeah,” Maya said; she sighed knowing where it was leading. 

“Your experience score is too low to account for killing twenty-one mid grade SIL,” Bell said. 

Maya summoned a pile of crystals into her hand. They gleamed with mesmerizing light. Experience shards.  

When Maya had escaped Shen’s clutches, she had returned to the Hanganathorie to prepare for the fight against Shen. But as she touched the body of the level 48 Halvara, she discovered a shard within the zombie’s loot. 

It wasn’t hard to understand what it was, Maya had looked at it and used Evaluation upon it. 

Halvara - Level 48 - experience shard, 282 QXP. 

Two hundred and eighty-one quadrillion experience points, two percent of what was required to reach Level 48.

Another shock silence filled the room as they saw the crystals. 

Losardar - Level 44 - 18TXP

Xir Xin Xxl - Level 51 - 2.2QXP

Dosama K’van - Level 55 - 36QXP

Eina Vaun - Level 39 - 250BXP

Gavonan - Level 41 - 1.1 TXP

Ostamar Vin - Level 42 - 2.25 TXP

Shaltar So - Level 52 - 2.25 QXP

Eina Vaun - Level 39 - 250 BXP

Haidrona - Level 46 - 70 QXP

Soloni Rall - Level 48 - 282 QXP

Ter Nos - Level 49 - 565 TXP

Oniz Reiso - Level 50 - 1 QXP

Kalamoe - Level 50 - 1 QXP

Zasto Sein - Level 50 - 1 QXP

Kajakomo Qi - Level 51 - 2.2 QXP

Lasa Eroi - Level 51 - 2.2 QXP

Spiren Qon - Level 52 - 4.5 QXP

Fi Saan - Level 53 - 9 QXP

Oui Aie - Level 53 - 9Q XP

Cos Xiel - Level 55 - 36 QXP

Jwal Bvein - Level 55 - 36 QXP

“The only shard that isn’t in this pile is, Jomallava Sin Tesko - Level 39, only because she was utterly destroyed by Mana Burn, leaving nothing behind,” Maya looked at the pile and swiped them back into her Inventory.

“SIL are murdered by governments and family for that amount of experience shards,” Bell said. 

“It’s a pretty bad return on investment, don’t you think? Only two percent of the amount of experience points required for that level drops. Meanwhile I’m only getting 2200 EXP for killing a Level 42 rogue AI.” 

“This is madness,” Bell said. 

“You know what else is going to mess with your brain? As a Tier 2 being under level 100, I’m getting half off on all the experience points required to reach a level.” 

More shocked silence. 

“Why?” Bell croaked. “Why are you still holding onto those shards? Use them!”

“I agree!” Yosi almost screamed, her big eyes practically bulging from her skull. 

Maya frowned and closed her eyes. 

“The reason you are gaining so little experience points from killing higher leveled beings is because of your low level,” Nan said. 

Maya looked at the medical AI. 

“Say what now? Isn’t it supposed to be the higher the level, the more experience points, and the lower the level of the beast compared to your level, the lower the experience points?” 

“Why?” Nanaseto asked. “That’s ridiculous.” 

“That’s how it works in games. That way high level players aren’t farming low level animals for years on end.” 

“The System wants you to filter as much essence mana as possible, why would it constrict it? There are some SIL who only hunt the easiest of prey their entire lives. They still gain levels and they still are considered powerful beings, but tend to lack the variety of skills and abilities to make a good and solid leader.” Nan said. “You have been hanging onto your low levels and low attribute points, in hopes of what? That you’ll get more experience points from your fights? That is not going to happen, instead you are severely hampering yourself by not distributing your points and using those shards. At your levels and attribute points, you cannot physically absorb much of the mana that is being produced by the creatures you defeat. That is why the quests you gain are also of low quality.” 

Maya felt her jaw hitting the floor. “What now?” 

“Big Snake, when you defeated the rogue AI, you stated you only got 2200 EXP from it, yes? Everything has mana within it, therefore when you defeat a creature or an AI, then you can potentially gain all the mana that is within that foe,” Nan stated

“All of it?” 

“Yes. For example, if you’re level 20 and you defeated a level 5 foe, then you would gain most if not all the mana that had been in that creature,” Bell said. “The opposite occurs, if you’re level 5 and defeat a level 20 foe, then you only get a small portion of the overall mana that the foe held, the rest is either converted into loot or lost.” 

“I do have the Plunder skill,” Maya said. 

“Perhaps that is the reason why you managed to gain a Defender Token at such low levels, along with all the other loot you have been able to salvage off the defeated AIs and zombies,” Nan said. “The mana that you could have gained, if your body was strong enough, would just dissipate, momentarily boosting the ambient mana in the area.”

Maya sighed, thinking for a moment. “What about defeating SIL?” 

Bell thought for a moment. “The experience points from SIL are different. They tend to drop a standard two percent of their total experience points. I think it might be a… deterrent by the System to prevent others from hunting SIL to gain massive increases in experience points.” 

“But it happens?” 

“In… less developed and contentious places, yes.” Bell sighed. “You have to keep on your dispersion of attribute points, or you will be missing out on a lot of experience. The entire reason for attribute points is so that your Mind, Body, and Soul can take up mana and use it. If you’re not applying it, you’re losing out on the mana that would have made you stronger..” 

“So keep on top of levels and fight at your level or lower?” Maya asked. 

“Yes.” 

Maya summoned two shards before her. She lifted them up to examine them.

“People sell these?” she asked. 

Everyone was silent for a while. “Experience shards taken from SIL are… highly suspect. As it involves killing the owner. But yes, there are… some markets,” Bell said. 

“Gotcha, the kind you don’t wanna owe money to.” Maya flipped a shard in her hand and then handed one to Bell and Yosi.

“What?” they both choked. 

“Sullivans need all the levels they can get. Also Bell, if you want half of this mess. I’ll give it to you.” Maya said. “Because of what Shen did and the shit of a SIL he was.” 

“No,” Bell said. He picked up the shard he had been given. “I do not need half.” 

Cos Xiel - Level 55 - 36 QXP

Jwal Bvein - Level 55 - 36 QXP

“I didn’t know these people, but I thought this was a way to keep the memory of who they were alive.” Maya pulled another shard from her Inventory. “Want this guy? He’s the one that beat you up.” 

“No,” Bell said. 

“This is too much,” Yosi said. “You cannot give us this much experience points.” 

“Says who?” 

“Well… everyone?” 

“Think of it as an investment. I did the math, those two shards, they’ll probably get me an additional level or two, not much. But they can gain you two a lot more and with the shards I do have left, I’ll be gaining far, far more than you two.” 

Bell and Yosi looked at one another. 

“It’s yours. Do with it what you want. Keep it, use it, sell it, trade it, whatever.” Maya willed the entire batch of shards into her hands and then grinned at the look of horror Bell shot her. 

“No!” 

Maya paused. 

“Were you going to absorb all of those?” Nan demanded. 

“Uh, yeah?”

“Did you not just hear me say that your low grade status cannot absorb a lot of experience points at once?” Nan said. For once the demonic doctor looked angry. 

“Maybe…” 

“If you insist on absorbing those experience shards, then do it slowly, carefully.” 

“Also, you gain bonuses for every ten levels you gain and when you reach mid grade,” Bell said. “You don’t want to miss out on those, do you?” 

“Uh… good point, guys. I guess we take this slow and easy and… boringly.” Maya grinned. “What would I have done without ya’ll?” 

“Most likely died,” Nan said. 

“Harsh.”