Dungeons and Dalliances
7.107 – Emporium IV

The automaton mulled the question over, metallic eyes drifting up and to the right as she came to a decision.

"Hm," she said. "I think so? It's vague. Usually our problem is that you give us something too specific, not the other way around." She bit her lip. "I … I have an idea. I think it was meant for you. This is your request?"

That obviously made Natalie furrow her brow. "It was meant for me?" she asked leadingly.

"Is that your request?" the automaton repeated, with a slight apology in her tone.

It made sense Natalie couldn't pester her for details. She hesitated over whether to blindly trust the automaton's judgment. With how perfect her weapon choice had been, she saw no reason not to. Especially with that intriguing tidbit of an item maybe 'meant for her'.

"Yes," she said confidently. She had always operated more by instinct and gut feeling than slow and careful consideration. Analytical thought was why she had Jordan … and Sofia and Ana, now. Though remembering them pained her slightly. It had only been eleven days since leaving, but she ached fiercely to see them again. Did they miss her as much?

The automaton nodded with uncharacteristic determination. "Please, wait here," she said, as if Natalie would be wandering off elsewhere.

She stewed in concerned silence for two minutes, wondering—guiltily—if she'd given the automaton too much autonomy.

That guilt tripled when she finally returned, because she'd had no reason to doubt her and yet she had, at least subconsciously.

"Here it is," her hostess said, holding a strange device, a tiny metal cradle between her thumb and pointer. "I can't imagine why we'd have this, if not for you."

Before anything, she [Inspected] it.

***

Capture Core Upgrade Frame: Level Five

Description

Upgrades a Carnal Boss Capture Core, and subsequently the existing captured Carnal Boss, to level five.

***

"I don't actually know if you need it," the automaton said, growing distressed. "Your request was vague, I just thought … is this what you wanted? It seemed like you might? I've never seen anything like it, and—" Her desire to help was almost palpable; she looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please tell me I didn't make a mistake."

Natalie was briefly stunned, but shook herself out of it.

"Who else would you have given this to?" she asked, almost incredulously.

"I'm not sure?" she said questioningly.

"It was definitely meant for me." She leaned forward, palms cupped, and the automaton placed the item in them. "Thank you. I'll buy it. Of course. How much?"

She could have said Natalie's entire remaining budget and she'd have accepted. But the Capture Core Upgrade was only as expensive as her mallet, another twenty percent of her budget. She accepted without thought, incredulous at her fortune.

The automaton's hesitance cleared away. She clearly hadn't been sure whether her decision was the right one—maybe she'd seen it as taking a gamble.

By this point, Natalie felt indebted. She idly started piling Enchanted Tokens on the table, and in the meantime, her mind was racing.

This item would reinforce Malice's core and bring her to level five. Instantly. That was higher than Natalie's own level. A three level jump. Would she be the strongest on the team? Stronger than Natalie herself?

They'd thought the Capture Core might level up naturally, but they hadn't adventured long enough to confirm that theory. Apparently, item upgrades were how Malice got stronger. Not necessarily something that surprised her—but going from two to five certainly did.

Would Malice be strongest on their team? Probably not. Natalie's class was absurdly strong. But she would be a close second. She didn't have an ego about her strength; half of it or more was thanks to divine luck, literally. Every member of her team was equally as skilled, if not more so, than her.

That said, she was only human. She liked being the star player. A level five Malice would give her tough competition. Even if the upgrade was thanks to Natalie's own efforts in the City.

She wrinkled her nose at having those thoughts. Anything that helped her teammates, she was happy to have. She handed the Tokens over to the automaton who carried them through the doorway and returned a minute later.

"My decision was to your satisfaction, then?"

"Yes. Completely. Thank you so much." She didn't even mind being dramatically earnest, reaching forward to grab the automaton's hand. She seemed surprised—then blushed, her metal cheeks coloring. The resulting happiness on the automaton's face was nearly as much of a reward as the items themselves.

Her request had been 'something that helped her team', and an empowered Malice fit that definition completely. Any experience Malice earned, she fed back to whoever summoned her. It wasn't as instant of a benefit as the experience potion, but it was equally as direct, just spread out over time. And came with tangential benefits, like having a sixth teammate ready to, for example, save someone's life, should it be necessary.

"I live to serve," the automaton said, beaming at her, and Natalie's happiness dulled slightly.

Because did she live to serve, literally? What were the automatons? She guessed she shouldn't be too upset. Even if they were repurposed human souls, like monsters, they seemed enthusiastic about their new existence. Certainly more than the average monster, not that she'd met many intelligent ones.

But were they shaped to be happy so long as they were helping people? Were they really happy then? It was a question that belonged in an ethics or philosophy course; Natalie's head started spinning. Certainly, she wasn't ready to deal with that quandary.

"Your third request?" the automaton asked.

She frowned, regathering her thoughts.

"Any piece of equipment that you think fits on me," she said. "Another mythical, hopefully?"

At this point, she was willing to give requirements as broad as possible. The automaton hadn't failed her in the slightest.

In fact, she wondered if some people made the mistake of being too specific. Clearly, the automaton had their best interests in mind, so why restrict her judgment? She knew their class, roughly, and wandered the Emporium's inventory to give them a discounted item that suited them. Natalie would honestly be surprised if the automaton came back with an unwanted, much less unusable, third item.

The automaton pursed her lip as she digested Natalie's request.

"Giving me liberty, I see," she murmured, smiling shyly. "Hm. Give me a few minutes. Let me go see what we have."

With the automaton wandering through the side door, Natalie had a brief moment of hesitation, but dispelled it.

Her faith was warranted.

When she returned, Natalie [Inspected] the item in her hands.

***

Primordia's Embrace

Mythical

Lv. 4

Effects

- Major increase to Tenacity.

- Moderate increase to physical Furor.

- Primal Allure. Nearby targets are compelled to fixate on the wearer.

- Vital Flow. Boosts all incoming healing effects by one-third.

Description

A tan band of cloth embroidered with spiraling obsidian threads imitating tribal patterns.

***