บท 118: Loose Ends III
Standing before a mountain of corpses and carcasses of the slain monsters and witches that used to inhabit the island, Irwin could not help but savor the blood and entrails and future credits he would get from the lot.
He could see the corpses of Katja, the High Priestess of the Borrower witches and the Grand Coven, and even the fat demon that tortured him with that spiked whip atop the mountain. Unlike the mound he received from the Grand Coven, this mountain has at least three hundred corpses piled within.
'And all of it's mine.'
Iriwn entered his Trade Shop and jumped atop the peak of the mountain, not at all disgusted about sitting atop a corpse. Now that he had all the time in the world, Irwin thought it best if he could figure out how this particular sub-system worked.
Like the mound of corpses, the sub-system operates by evaluating a target trade creature to a series of standards after which it gives out its value in credits. All that minor process takes about one to two seconds each after which, the sub-system moves on to the next target creature.
The sub-system identified Monstrosities, Creatures, Infernals, and, weirdly enough, a Spirit or two in the mountain of corpses. It might have been a revenant or some kind of bizarre experimental creature created by the demons, but as long as it was worth credits, Irwin would gladly convert it along with the rest.
It was about five minutes after the initial confirmation of the trade that the sub-system gave him a window that read out a list of all the corpses and carcasses within the pile.
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All tradeable items have been scanned. Please select which item to trade:
▪︎ Teramak - Class 2 Infernal - Prowler Demon Variant: 157
▪︎ Daltenor - Class 1 Infernal - Dredge Demon Variant: 69
▪︎ Morkoth - Class 1 Infernal - Dredge Demon Variant: 67
▪︎ Ryiquana - Class 1 Infernal - Dredge Demon Variant: 71
▪︎ Shoshanna, High Priestess - Class 2 Creature - Borrower Witch Variant: 64
▪︎ Ravenna- Class 1 Creature - Borrower Witch Variant: 37
▪︎ Tokol - Class 2 Monstrosity - Elder Strigoi Variant: 99
▪︎ Olivette, High Priestess of the Grand Coven - Class 2 Creature - Natural Witch Variant: 114
▪︎ Tataka - Class 2 Infernal - Rakshasa Variant: 128
▪︎ 'Thirteen' - Class 0 Spirit - Fragmented Shadar Variant: 17
▪︎ Infernal Vessel - Class 1 Creature - Human Corpse Variant: 11
…
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Ash slowly filled Irwin's vision, crawling through the destroyed domain in a deadly deconstruction of every scrap of flesh and blood around his form. What had once been the apex predator in the island, and all around the globe, was dethroned by an invisible, unthinkable, unkillable enemy that unerringly obeys the command of one man and one man only.
There was a moment of glee when he accepted the deal and watched as his Store Credits bumped up to an even larger number. That glee turned to excitement when the number went past the eight thousand mark, sparking new ideas within him.
With that much credit, he could finally build his Garden of Eden and plant all sorts of rare flora and mycelium ingredients for spells and rituals. He could even build himself an army of witches, although he did not know whether other people could use the spell scroll spat out by the system.
Still, the enchanted armor and mystical weapons alone would be enough to form a well-equipped group of men that could hunt for him. Seeing as the plan to recruit the Special Children had partially gone up in smoke, with the competition being in full swing, he could turn his gaze towards the hunters of America.
He would have a disposable army of experienced hunters by posting bounties of monsters on Harvelle's Roadhouse, deliberately surging the prices by allowing them access to his magical wares and healing them if they were ever wounded in battle.
Of course, he would need to delegate someone to do that, preferably the owners of the said roadhouse. Which would mean that he needed to stop the demons from smiting the roadhouse, an act made easier with access to a whooping ten thousand credits.
Irwin had to jump down to the ground before his fleshy throne crumbled in on itself as its ashes joined the swarm of ash lingering around the air and forming a gray, buzzing domain around the area.
The more Irwin sees his credits go up, the more open he was to the monopolization of hunters. As far as he knows, the hunters have no legitimate organization and merely operate alone, familial or friend confidantes, or through teaming-up in one hunt.
He would have to structure the bounty system in which no hunter could kill another hunter and steal their killed monster or else he would risk pandemonium and the reduction of hunters within an area. Plus, he would also risk gaining the attention of the government if a bunch of rednecks gather around one bar for days at a time.
'I don't need another fucking Waco in my hands. Wait? Did that happen already?'
That was only the problems he could think of with this idea and he was sure many more would spring up, but the concept has taken root within his mind. Not only could he offer them something that they can't physically have anywhere, the mere fact that he was doing this while taking a loss would either form a stronger connection with them or make them suspicious of his motives.
Since he couldn't access the rest of his sub-system while his Trade Store was absorbing the corpses, Irwin merely remembered and visualized the items he had seen within the categories. From consumables to mystical items, each and everything held within his sub-system was potent enough to keep them wanting.
And with Gordon Walker on his payroll–although he might have fled when he went missing–Irwin didn't even need to kill somebody to make a point or fix a problem.
"This is really coming together, huh?"
Irwin stayed silent after a while, just counting his ever-increasing store credit when Brunhilde dragged her feet towards him. Her countenance was that of extreme frustration and reluctant understanding, which Irwin knew when she plopped down next to him and wielded her sword, as if guarding him from external threats.
It would probably take a while for her to warm up to him, or, there's a real possibility, that she would forever loathe and serve him without fail. Nevertheless, Irwin had gained another powerful sword by his side. One that had knowledge stored in her centuries of existence and, although she was toying with them, could defend herself against a Prince of Hell.
He turned his attention towards the slowly-diminishing credits he was getting from the corpses as the swarms of ash began to swirl around him and form a cocoon around his body. He felt nothing from the cocoon, merely a bit of warmth and some itchy sensation that soon subsided when the ashes entered his every orifice.
There was a blue glow under his eyes, one that made nearly orgasm in delight.
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[ Trade Store ]
▪︎ Item Trade
▪︎ Store
▪︎ Trade Counter
▪︎ Store Credit: 14,278
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"I'm rich… I'm fucking rich." He muttered under his breath.
Not even forty million dollars or the almost one-hundred million dollars that he won when Italy won the World Cup last June could merit such an expression from him. Only the sight of fourteen thousand credits could do such a thing.
Brunhilde merely glared at him when he quivered in delight before returning to her post.
'I can finally search for that damn thing.'
For months now, Irwin had to physically carry and hide his items and weapons like a damn chump. He was like a caveman, unable to take care of himself. Burdening himself by doing menial labor when he could just grab a ring and store items within it.
Of course, he doesn't know if there was such an item that had a dimensional space within. He hadn't really looked as it would only cause him further pain, pain he would rather not have.
He went past the menu of the Trade Store and scoured the Mystical Items and Armor section, choosing Accessories as his first bet as to where to find it. Sure enough, after five minutes of searching, he found two items that were to his liking.
"What the hell! You know what, let me splurge a little." Just like that, his Store account went down by 1,251 credits.
A silver-rimmed, gilded bangle appeared in Irwin's hands. The bangle had an array of multi-color gems along the inside, all of which resonated with exotic magik. Irwin reckoned there was a hint of Natural Order and Celestial magik held within and even an Enochian symbol or two engraved with the gemstones.
He took his Angel Blade and Dagon's Angel Sword and tapped the tips of each weapon on the surface of the bangle before a sucking sensation filled Irwin's hands. He let go of both blades and it miniaturized and entered the dimensional space within the bangle.
Irwin chuckled as he shook his head in amusement.
"I'm done, Hilde. We'll be teleporting using the Aegis." He motioned for Brunhilde to follow along.
"We're just gonna leave this island?" She asked, and when he nodded, she had more questions. "Where are we going?"
"Home."
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