Dungeons and Dalliances
7.106 – Emporium III

Her hostess disappeared, giving her time to think. Getting the best possible weapon was undisputedly within her top three priorities, so she didn't second-guess herself there. She had a budget replacement weapon for now, but it was weaker than [Valentine], and she'd felt that painfully over the past several days.

The next two options were deserving of closer consideration, though. With the automaton searching the Emporium's inventory, she had time to straighten out what her next requests would be.

Assuming she found an acceptable weapon with this request, she thought with a grimace, and didn't need to waste a second trying again.

What else did she need?

Three pieces of gear. She had the loincloth and her necklace, yes, but the necklace didn't count; she only needed it equipped when [Carnal Harvest] was relevant. Which meant when she was having sex. Though, as her encounter with Malice showed, that wasn't mutually exclusive to combat encounters. For the most part, though, she didn't go around having sex-fights with monsters. Cheri half counted.

Either way, she wanted three solid pieces of gear to wear into the typical delve, keeping her necklace on hand for the more creative encounters. She'd brought an impressive amount of Tokens, but not enough for four or more mythicals; she would need to settle for some epics. Not even accounting for how she wanted a mythical for her teammates. She was on a budget, regardless of how lucrative the past week and four days' adventures had been.

So, prioritizing. Her next requests: a mythical for herself, and a mythical for her teammates. She would buy epics—or cheap mythicals, if they appeared?—to fill out the rest of her slots.

Cheap mythicals.

'Settle for epics'.

She was becoming entitled, wasn't she?

"Excellent news," the automaton exclaimed as she returned. "I think I've found something you'll appreciate!"

The item in question dwarfed the automaton, who lugged it in with apparent ease. Natalie supposed a woman made of metal would be strong—especially dungeon assistants of unknown origin.

All of Natalie's weapons were oversized; her temporary club was on the low end. This huge, gray wooden mallet was impressive even by her standards, though. She [Inspected] it seconds after the automaton shouldered through the doorway.

***

Kinetic Catalyst Mallet

Mythical

Lv. 5

Effects

Major increase to Furor.

Minor increase to physical Prowess.

Unspent Momentum. Failed attacks generate stacks of Kineticism. Successful hits consume all charges to deal bonus damage per stack.

Description

A wide-faced war mallet carved from stormgray oak, its massive striking surface reinforced with whorled bronze bands. Hare-shaped runes glow white along the haft, brighter the more charges that accumulate.

***

The more of the item she digested, the more her eyes widened.

"It's perfect," she said dumbly.

The automaton seemed like she'd never been given a greater compliment. The expression she made was blinding. "I'm glad I chose well, Mistress!"

Of any singular piece of gear, one's weapon was arguably the most important. So Natalie had a lot of analysis to do, especially since a mythical would be outrageously expensive. Not something she purchased without thinking.

"Major increase to Furor, minor to physical Prowess," she murmured. "Fits my style, and also my new skill."

Major increase to Furor. Not physical Furor. Furor. That meant both aspects: physical and magical. Seeing how she had a class that straddled the line, paladin, it was the same as two major increases.

The benefit of a major physical Furor boost was obvious. Her typical combat style involved whirling around with a huge two-handed hammer. But a major magical Furor boost was just as useful. It boosted the effects of her spells. She used [Smite] and her other spells rarely, but when she did, they mattered.

As for the minor Prowess boost. Not as important, but still worth considering. Vanetta had brought up how finding gear with Prowess boosts might be more useful than first consideration suggested. With [Insatiable Strikes], having enough speed and dexterity to sneak in the mark was an enormous benefit. And focusing on building around one's most-recently earned skill was a valid strategy; it was usually the strongest.

But more important than a Prowess boost, with regard to facilitating her newest skill, was the weapon's design itself. Physically. Its shape and size.

"Can I feel it?"

"Absolutely." The automaton handed the huge wooden mallet over.

Its weight settled into her hands. It was heavy, of course, considering its sheer size. But lighter than [Valentine], even accounting for her level-up and stat adjustments. Wood was lighter than metal, and while the [Kinetic Catalyst Mallet] was larger than her previous warhammer, the material composition meant swinging it around would be easier.

Meaning more consistent [Insatiable Strikes] triggering.

And even if she were to ignore those two factors—the minor Prowess boost and the lightness of the weapon—there was the shape, too. The mallet was huge: a blunt, circular face with a massive surface area. She almost wondered how she could miss.

And even if she did, there was the effect. Unspent Momentum. Failed attacks generate stacks of Kineticism. Successful hits consume all charges to deal bonus damage per stack.

No doubt, she wouldn't be landing every attack, not as a slow but heavy-hitting tank. Even if she stacked every Prowess boost she could find, her class didn't provide enough natural advancement toward that stat to outperform a rogue or agility-type monster.

But she would receive a benefit from missing. Every strike that didn't land empowered the next that did.

A counter-synergy by some perspectives. She considered it insurance.

"How much?" Natalie asked.

The automaton replied cheerfully, and even though it was only twenty percent of her budget, Natalie winced.

"That's the discounted price?"

"I'm afraid so," she replied with such a worried look that Natalie couldn't help but rush to assure her.

"It's amazing. Just—of course it's expensive. You made the perfect choice. Thank you." She said it as earnestly as possible.

The automaton cheered up, which brightened Natalie's own mood. This automaton really was strangely realistic. Well, every automaton was.

As if they were real people.

Because they were real people. If monsters were, then obviously automatons were.

Her head hurt. She'd grown up thinking of the metallic humanoids as servants, because that was what she'd been taught. Actual servants, without a will of their own. But she rejected that perspective the moment she thought more about it.

"What were the other options?" Natalie asked.

Straight back to the dejected expression. "I'm afraid I can't say. This one wasn't to your satisfaction?"

Again, Natalie rushed to reassure her. It was almost unfair how obvious her expressions were, and how instinctively Natalie reacted to them. "Like I said, it's incredible. Um. I was just wondering. Never mind, though, if you can't say." After a moment's hesitation, she said, "I'll take it."

The automaton seemed more delighted than Natalie herself—and Natalie was definitely happy. A mythical two-handed oversized hammer specifically geared toward her class. That met a good chunk of her total expectations heading into the Emporium. It was an incredible starting point.

After swinging around the mallet a few times, she nodded to herself. She would have liked to sleep on such a big purchase, but that wasn't how this worked.

Leaning the huge weapon against the sofa, she pulled out a monster core with her stored Empowered Tokens. She counted out the appropriate sum, an impressive pile that made her wince to hand over.

When the transaction had finished, the automaton asked, "Your next request, Mistress?"

The automaton would try to help her the best she could, but she'd made it clear that Natalie might not be happy with what she found. And she might even have to decline the purchase, meaning one of her requests would go to waste. She needed to be thoughtful.

After thinking carefully, she said slowly, "If I wanted something to help everyone on my team, is that a general enough category? Or is it too specific?"