A Simple Transaction I

Dawn and Thereafter

With his Evening Sky granted dominion over Edeldross, both the magnitude of Element he could summon and the precision of his control over it had improved immensely; so much so that the physical component of his Edeldross-boost could nearly match Aobaru's specialized Vigorflame. They sparred lightly the next morning, Hunger restraining himself to one-twentieth speed and without the aid of his Blade or blood augments. Aobaru was a sweat-drenched mess by the end of the first hour, his weavespun shirt soaked entirely through as the red light of dawn illuminated field and clouds.

"It's, okay," Aobaru heaved, one hand held up to forestall Aeira's intervention. "I, can, keep, goiumpfh-"

Hunger had struck in the interval, burying two fingers into the boy's solar plexus. He carefully laid down the staggered Elementalist and turned to Aeira and Letrizia. "That's enough out of you, let the others have a turn. All right. Who's next?"

Aeira stepped forward determinedly, cloak of shadows enfolding her like the distaff counterpart to Hunger's own. "I shall be your opponent, sir. Do not worry, Letrizia. I will tire him out so he must go easy on you!"

He could feel his attention sliding off the girl, natural instincts telling him she was no more relevant than the mists and dew of daybreak around her. But his Rank had increased immensely after felling the Rotbeast, and with a pulse of Pressure he repelled her Element's effect on his senses.

"My hero!" Letrizia cheered, "Time to earn that pay!"

"The person paying you is me," Hunger groused, raising his palms in a fighting stance. "Ready?"

"Always, sir!" Aeira bounded forward, a passing shadow the color of midnight, whipping her blades around to catch him from the side. He stepped back easily, creating distance as his Pressure ramped up - an invisible barrier pressing against everything she was, constricting all routes of action until only his victory remained. Even the flashing sharpness of her daisho seemed to flatten and dull in the wind of that all-eclipsing Pressure.

Though their speed was equalized, still the shadow-wreathed mercenary stood little chance. Her ambushes were sealed, her attacks predicted, countermeasures slotting into place before she'd even thought to attempt the act that they nullified. She swept and he ducked, firing bursts of edeldross to propel him into a spin-kick against her torso; she thrust and he deflected into a clinch, overpowering her with superior mass and reach. Retreat saw her backing into a wall of solidified Edeldross; striking out with her Element, she was countered by a perfectly-timed blast of his own.

Fighting only with finger-jabs and the fundamentally non-lethal Edeldross, Hunger was quickly able to disable her, leaving Letrizia the last opponent standing.

The young Duchess gulped as she stepped onto the proving grounds. "W-why don't I go get Verschlengorge and you can face someone your own Rank? It's fine to use equipment in battle!"

Hunger impatiently tapped his side. "You should be glad we're doing something so productive as your punishment. I had half-decided to make you do lines on a chalkboard."

Letrizia cocked her head. "Lines... on a chalkboard? People actually did that in your time?"

He shrugged. "Who cares? It looks miserable enough."

"Using your position as the Reckoner of Rotspawn to procure such ancient artifacts! This is truly abuse of power!"

So saying, she flared her own Pressure, its whipsaw force colliding with his own, blanketing the field with dust as she charged. Like her erstwhile 'classmates' Letrizia favored an offensive style, though her personal combat skills were nowhere nearly as refined as Aeira's.

Her Elemental-infused Pressure lent her an intuitive grasp of the tactical situation, but lacked the sheer power necessary to contest Hunger's own. She wielded her Rank with keenness and brilliance, but could not fend off his avalanche force.

Hunger deflected her initial forays with a wall of sheer edeldross and effortlessly outflanked her, poking her mercilessly in the side with index and middle fingers.

Letrizia yelped, spasming uncontrollably as she twisted away, but he was already on her opposite flank. A series of swift jabs had the Duchess nearly in tears; knees buckling, she stood resolutely through the assault, swiping wildly at him but catching only air.

"I'm not going to give up so easily!" She exclaimed, fists bunched as she launched a focused shard of her Pressure directly into the swelling tide of his own, the greater density of her power forcing open a wedge through which she poured a torrential blast, equalizing their effective Rank for just an instant. This she followed-up with a proficient series of melee strikes, a swift combination of arm-bars and lashing kicks that nonetheless faltered before Hunger's vastly greater martial skill. Easily sidestepping the main line of her attack, he targeted the back of her calf with a strike, forcing her to her knees as he locked her arms behind her.

Defeated, Letrizia hung her head. All her efforts had only briefly neutralized his advantage in supernatural power, while his speed and skill both were still vastly the greater.

This surprised neither of them, but it was one thing to know a thing and another to see it so harshly demonstrated. "Okay, now I give up!"

Hunger laughed and let her go. "Don't think you three will get off so easily. Training tomorrow as well, and the day after that, until you're all up to par."

Letrizia grimaced, holding back a shiver at the thought of what Hunger's definition of 'up to par' meant. "Don't you think this is a bit over the top, Lord Hunger? We helped spread your legend! According to you that even contributed to your huge improvement in Rank."

"And you're to face that same Rank on the field of battle," he rejoined. "Fitting, isn't it?"

Aobaru staggered up to him, toweling the sweat from his face. "I'm, up for, another round, sir!"

"Not yet," Hunger said. "We need to get some calories into all of you. But only half portions, since you're still being punished. I heard the Kaguya has laid out a spread of shaved ice and sundaes..."

---

Letrizia hummed merrily, legs swinging beneath her as she dug into her ice cream sundae. Her entire body was sore, battered into submission like dough for the baking, but the prospect of delicious fare had pain and exhaustion melting away like the airy cream in her mouth.

Halfway to her mouth the spoon stopped. Eugh, what was she thinking, evaluating this moderately capable cuisine as anything near delicious?! Trapped in the Realm her standards had truly fallen. Her house chefs alone were ten times more skilled, and Lord Hunger's Fish half a step above that. Perhaps he would be more accommodating of her prank if she flattered those fishing skills of his... but Letrizia saw no such opening today.

Aobaru ate with frantic speed, peppering Lord Hunger with questions, while Aeira diligently worked on an Elementalism primer for some of their less-talented classmates. They were both such hard workers, as she'd been, once upon a time.

Uncowed by their example, she luxuriated in another bite of fluffy whipped cream and rich vanilla, sucking the flesh off a rum-dipped cherry to twirl pit and stem against her tongue. It really was best to eat cool dessert after a nice, heavy exertion in the morning. After Hunger was finished with his torments maybe she would take a dip in the hot springs.

Letrizia frowned. She couldn't help but think she was forgetting something, however...

"Ah!" She exclaimed. "Lord Hunger."

"Hm?" He turned to her swiftly, taking the offered lifeline to deflect the relentless Aobaru.

"The Decimator's Affliction." She popped the cherry pit out of her mouth and set it down. "It'll be coming back soon, right? You said you'd dealt with it for a month, and that was three weeks ago. I know you... absorbed... Verschlengorge's portion, but were you able to mitigate it any further with the opponents you've fought in the Realm? Several were extremely strong, especially in the Temple, so..."

He shook his head grimly. "Unfortunately not. It's my top priority after we're finished here. I don't believe the Decimator's Affliction is concerned solely with the strength of foes beaten. Searching for a suitable target may take weeks, so we'll be departing as soon as the political situation is stable."

"Hmph," Letrizia laid her head on an upraised palm. "They should just declare fealty to the Crown and be done with it. Or I can take them in as a fiefdom under my House Lands."

"Y, you can't just trample all over our sovereignty like that," Aobaru exclaimed. "Our ancestors came out here and braved the dangers of the Voyaging Realm precisely to escape Imperial tyranny!"

"What, 'no taxation without representation?'" Letrizia scoffed. "Might as well just defect to the Republic if you're going to pay lip service to empty ideals."

"Enough." Hunger put a slightly heavy palm down on the table. "We'll let the people of the Sovereignty make their own determination as to their political state."

He held up a forestalling hand. "...So long as it doesn't involve making me King."

Aeira giggled. "But you are considerably wiser than our current rulership, my lord. Even if that is not a very high bar to clear."

"Rulership's tough," Hunger replied easily. "You're blamed for everything, but only have a finite span to redress it with. Not a job I'm looking forward to any time soon."

"Maybe you should consider it!" Letrizia said brightly. "I'd support your Imperial claim. As long as you maintain the framework of Empire, there's nothing wrong with putting someone both well-meaning and capable on the throne."

"Still able to think such kind thoughts of me," Hunger grumbled. "Either you've the patience of a saint... or I've been too easy on you in training."

Letrizia pouted. "You can't punish me for voicing my political support! Just think of the precedent that would set!"

"Maybe I'll put Gisena in charge. That would show all of you..."

"As long as she is not also in charge of cooking," Aeira said worriedly.

---

[X] Core Panoply with [X] Huntress' Moon has won. Hunger now has 6.375 Astral Rank, or 6.575 with Hero-Defeating Stance up.

What was Gisena building at the time?

[ ] Decimation Lens - A simple but powerful Artifact that halves the time needed to locate Huntress' Moon targets. Highly relevant to your immediate situation! Offers no combat utility.

*Do I really need to argue for this?

[ ] Clarion Grenade - A weapon inspired by an old friend of hers, made possibly by collaboration with Letrizia. This one-use detonating munition, currently in the form of a grenade, transmits a pulse-wave of iteratively-refined light and force that penetrates any form of physical protection, explosively pressurizing, then shredding the contents of its not-inconsiderable radius. Can be safely used by anyone with active Pressure of 3.0 or greater, or WITS of no less than ++++++++++++.

*A ranged, durability-ignoring area of effect attack could have many applications, especially with Hunger's current high-offensive arsenal limited mainly to melee...
*May unlock further developments in this tree
*Single-use items seem to provoke less scaling from the Apocryphal Curse

[ ] Firmament Reinforcement 1/5 - Gisena makes progress towards an infusion of supernal substance, reified space and time woven through the loom of the Azure to provide reinforced structure for the Evening Sky. Yields additional Protection, health, conceptual weight and regeneration to the Evening Sky when completed.

*Gisena can make more progress if given more time
*Directly enhances Hunger's combat abilities, applying multiplicatively with his other sources of superhuman durability.

Which Huntress' Moon target did Hunger catch the scent of?

[ ] The Contest of Ages - The Republic-sponsored trade city of Valenheim is hosting its biannual fishing contest. A long-time trade partner of the Sovereignty, Valenheim boasts a cosmopolitan gothic appeal and several of the most dangerous fish species known to Voyaging man.

*Huntress' Moon Target: Triumph. Hunger must achieve victory in the Biannual FIshing Contest, which attracts all and sundry from a large swathe of Voyaging Realm civilizations. Note this may entail following rules, or somehow overcoming them; short of catching the unambiguously most impressive fish, the subjective judgement of arbiters could also be a hurdle, as Hunger is not the most personable of individuals when subjected to the demands of others... to say nothing of the potential for politicking and sabotage.
*Errantry potential: Modest. May yield up to .1 Base Rank upon completing, depending on actions taken.
*Distance: Near. Estimated 7-10 days to completion.

[ ] The Opalescent Tower - Deep in the fastness of a hidden valley at the furthermost reaches of the Voyaging Realm is a kingdom whose princess was imprisoned in a tower of opalescent sky by a Tyrant of unfathomable malice. The magic of this place is the stuff of foundational myth, its lidless Arcanist's walls piercing earth, cloud, firmament and vastness to sunder its borders clear of the greater Realm. Yet to a voyaging warrior of Hunger's legend, even such obstacles as these may be overcome.

*Huntress' Moon Target: The Tower of Sky. Neither princess nor Tyrant must be slain, but the tower itself destroyed, ground into earth and rendered into ash and dust.
*Errantry potential: High. May yield up to .175 Base Rank upon completion, depending on actions taken.
*Distance: Far. Estimated 14-21 days to completion; half that with the Decimation Lens.
*May encounter additional magic systems or legendary Artifacts worthy of being wielded by one's self or one's allies.

---

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