Chapter 165: Asking A Favor
"Hey, why did the Star Breaker decide to put up a shop all of a sudden?"
After leaving the shop run by Cale, feeling satisfied with the food they had served, Cillian asked Oliver in a rather confused tone.
Cillian decided to join them for a while and lead them out of the city. The borders of the main city were just around the corner, and since he still had some time left that day, he helped them carry their baggage.
Oliver answered him.
"Their main headquarters was wrecked, and even though they received a reward of five hundred gold coins, it still wasn’t enough. Their headquarters and two guild branches were directly destroyed by the Hidden One, you see. They also have to compensate the other families because some of their members died. And we’re not talking about just one or two members."
Died...
It might not have been apparent to Cillian, who had tried his best to save everyone he knew and had fortunately succeeded, but not everyone was a winner like him. There were hundreds... no, thousands of people who had died in the recent attack, even with evacuations happening all.
Today, everyone was still working to gather their corpses throughout Viola.
"I guess you’re not going to attend the Memorial Service."
Oliver nodded.
Even though he wanted to attend the service when the time came to honor those who had died, there were already pressing matters he needed to worry about, matters that had been added after he heard Cillian’s words earlier.
"Tell Scott that I wouldn’t be able to attend. Send my regards to him."
Cillian gave a short, curt nod.
Then, as if he remembered something, he briefly looked around the area before secretly retrieving the pacifier known as Sucky from his Inventory and extending his hand.
"Thanks for this. Without you giving it to me, I wouldn’t be able to move around as I did back then. Here."
Oliver watched as Cillian handed Sucky back to him, the pacifier he had given Cillian to reduce fatigue and exhaustion whenever he grew tired from overworking his Piece. It was mainly a useful Artifact for low-sequence Ruiners.
However, Oliver didn’t need it anymore. He could use his powers effectively in any situation and knew exactly when and where to use them in a fight.
"Did you wash this Artifact?"
Oliver wanted to tease Cillian since he looked like the kind of person who could annoy the shit out of others while also getting annoyed himself pretty easily.
However, that level of ragebait wouldn’t work on Cillian, especially since he knew what Oliver was trying to do. Or was it really not working?
"I know that Sucky can passively clean itself."
’Though I can’t deny that I reacted strangely when I read its description in my Artifact. Or... did I overreact a bit?’
Cillian remembered coughing so much that Ella had handed him a glass of water as if he had just received the greatest shock of his life. Still, he had to man up and think about all the great things Sucky had given him in times of need.
He immediately shoved the memory aside, or Oliver might notice that his ragebait was actually working.
’He’s not even a little disgusted? Should I probe further? Tsk, this guy can really keep a poker face. What a bummer.’
Oliver’s excitement died down when he realized that his attempt to get back at Cillian for not seeing how great he was after such a cool introduction wasn’t working.
Aster watched the two, sensing that something was going on, but quickly disregarded it when he realized he had no idea what it was.
Then, he cut the two’s conversation by saying.
"Cillian, I’ll see you in the academy."
They had already reached their destination, and it was time to part ways.
Oliver’s plan to ragebait Cillian and Cillian’s growing irritation came to an immediate stop.
Then, Oliver said.
"You can keep Sucky."
Cillian immediately retorted.
"It’s fine. I’ll get another Artifact with the same effects."
But as if remembering something again, Cillian, still unsure what to do with the abundance of Fragmented Pieces in his stash, decided to continue the conversation.
"I have a favor to ask. Your metal bat is an Artifact, right? Is there any way you could ask some Artisans you know, especially those with a greater chance of successfully making Artifacts instead of destroying the materials, to use some of my available Fragmented Pieces?"
Turning Fragmented Pieces into an Artifact also posed some risks, since they were the main ingredients used to create one. At this point, it was almost a given that using an Artifact would eventually come with consequences, and the same applied to discovering its effects. However, before any of that, actually creating one was already difficult enough.
Artisans, from what Cillian had gathered, fell into two categories: those who used Sorcery to create Artifacts and those who used a Piece specifically aligned with creating such items.
And from what Cillian had gathered from Oliver, or rather, from something he had overheard when one of the Black Shepherds was shouting at him, his metal bat was an Artifact made by the dwarves of the Dwarven Kingdom.
Cillian wanted to find someone who could turn at least a few of his abundant Fragmented Pieces into Artifacts with only minor drawbacks while still being useful to him in various situations. That’s why the success rate of creating an Artifact is important, just as finding an Artisan who could do it.
Oliver understood where he was coming from, but he couldn’t help making a strange face as he scratched his head.
"So you know Lovely is an Artifact... well, you did hear it from those Shepherds who even knew my full name."
’Sucky, Lovely... You really gave your Artifact strange names.’
Cillian’s mouth twitched as Oliver continued, justifying why he was in such a weird position with his connections to the Dwarven Kingdom.
"Actually, I made a mess there many years ago. And Dwarves are all arrogant and stingy, so I think there’s a rift between us now. Though not that serious, really!"
Cillian was genuinely curious about what kind of mess he had made, hoping to see if he had done something fun before he screwed up by asking a useless question and making a decision. He didn’t wait for Oliver to say anything before grabbing six Fragmented Pieces from his Inventory and showing them to him.
[Inventory: [3/10]
"These are currently the things I have right now that I picked along the way. I’ll get more in the future."
’You’ll get more in the future...’
Both Aster and Oliver thought the same thing, finding that statement somehow frightening coming from someone like Cillian.
But Oliver didn’t mind and simply accepted the Fragmented Piece Cillian offered him.
’I don’t mind them breaking the Pieces as long as I can establish a connection with an Artisan. The connection is the most important part. If I can establish a connection with the Artisans Oliver knows, I’ll be able to request more of these things in the future.’
He had been looking for an Artisan for so long. He had even asked Leo about it, but his search had still been unsuccessful, eventually forcing him to put it on hold because of his busy schedule.
Though he won’t mind if all of them have turned into Artifacts.
’Ah screw destroying my Fragmented Pieces, at the very least, return one to me fully functional...! No, all of them!’
Then, his true colors showed as his greed took over. He really didn’t want all of his Fragmented Pieces to be destroyed by whoever ended up handling the task. Oliver could at least help him find a capable Artisan.
"Cillian, the bag."
Cillian shifted his attention to Aster, who was extending his hand and demanding that he hand over the bag.
"Right..."
Cillian then handed the baggage over to Aster before seeing the two of them prepare to leave Viola, after arriving here with nothing but themselves.
"See you at the Academy, Aster."
Aster gave a nod before watching Oliver use his Piece, Traveler, as he "slid" his hand through the air, causing an open "window" to appear before "dragging" Aster inside with a pull and making him completely disappear from view.
[Mimicry Activated]
"What an op ability."
Cillian sighed and shook his head in defeat.
[Mimicry Failed]
"I still can’t copy it, though."
After their fruitful meeting at the shop, Cillian looked at Sucky in his hand before secretly putting it back into his Inventory.
[Inventory: 4/10]
Then, he decided to return to the shop and get some takeout for his sister and mother to eat once he got home.