VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne-Chapter 116: Just a Hunch
Belladonna stood to the side as her transformation wore off, leaving a wave of exhaustion in its wake as her body returned to normal. She swayed slightly, but kept her head high and chest puffed out as she quickly found somewhere to lean with her arms crossed.
It was better to act nonchalant and like she owned the place, than expose her weakness to this strange man. Who knows what he would do if he knew the truth.
She was painfully aware, after all, that despite how dramatic of a display they had made with their little agreement there were some obvious loopholes. Loopholes that she had gotten used to finding out and spotting since she dealt with the very literal and mischevious Brownies all the time.
For one, it mentioned nothing of him harming her, before or after they had completed the deal. Nor did it even mention when he was supposed to give her the potions, just that he had to. If one had the right mentality, they could use this loophole to extend the terms of the deal indefinitely, constantly pushing back the timeline of their delivery.
Like that one person who always owes you money and never pays it back. You know the one, that bastard...
These were indeed glaring weaknesses, and it was a little foolish of her to not plug up those loopholes, but their existence could also be seen as a test. This man seemed smart enough as it is, so he should have noticed them. Especially with the way he knew about this kind of deal making in the first place.
He should know exactly how to twist the words to get what he wants. So she was waiting to see what he would do. Would he honour the deal in spirit and prove himself a somewhat decent person, or would he take the deal on its literal words and intentionally screw her over like the asshole she referred to him as. Only time would tell.
It wasn’t much of a loss for her if he did skip out on it anyways. The potions were great but she could research her own supplements or just learn to control her own skill. These were just an easy shortcut, nothing more.
As for the undead, it was just a sack of Exp, and at the moment she wasn’t too bothered about losing that. Fights like this proved to her that she needed a more solid foundation, like her teacher had said.
She was so busy racing to the rooftop that she was forgetting to build the house underneath first. More spells needed to be learned, more glyphs added and her Esoterica stat had to be raised until it was inline with her other main stats, and not rotting down the bottom with her other dump stats.
It was a foundational education that could start by sifting through the notes and equipment of the wizard she had robbed. He was bound to have something decent, even if it was just a simple learner spell. It was still better than nothing.
So one juicy sack of Exp wouldn’t be missed, especially if it got her some tangible benefits.
Speaking of magic, Belladonna narrowed her eyes as she watched this strange, pale faced man with a mixture of intrigue and suspicion. He quickly gathered up the dust that had been left behind by the ghosts Beans had slaughtered, and poured that dust into a glass tube with expert precision and exact measurements.
"Using those is gonna cost you extra, you know, that’s still my loot you are taking after all!" Belladonna called over to him with a smirk, causing Revenant to click his tongue in annoyance but not lift his head from his work.
"Add it to my tab then." He muttered, swirling the test tube in his grasp as he stared at it. The powder mixed with the liquid already inside of the tube, which was a solution that he had very conveniently already had on his person and was just missing this one ingredient.
He moved quickly and with practiced movements, placing the Lord’s Orchids at equilateral points in a circle around the weakened undead, joining these flowery dots with lines painted with the newly made concoction.
Runes were written, lines were drawn and eventually there was an incredibly complicated magic circle drawn around the undead. A feat he achieved without having to check his grimoire or notebook once.
Belladonna recognised some of the runes drawn, not just from her training but from when she summoned Beans.
They were runes meant for binding, which was part of the process he was trying to achieve. But there was something else in the spell, something she couldn’t quite place or understand.
She shifted her eyes, switching to her mana vision as she analysed the way his mana moved. Both of them, Revenant and the Undead, radiated a different shades of green energy that swirled in the air and clung to their bodies.
As Revenant began to cast the spell, the circle on the ground pulsed and began to glow. The Lord’s Orchids combusted and turned into free standing, pure black flames while the silver paint glowed brightly.
Revenant conducted his magic through the circle, imposing his will onto the undead. His energy engulfed its, smothering its natural away which was already weak from the beating, until there was nothing but the Revenants energy. It was a surprisingly quick and easy process, for all the preparation it took.
Once that was achieved, he withdrew his energy and the flames snuffed themselves out, leaving only a thin tether of green energy between the two parties.
The Subjugated Undead rose to his feet on weak, wobbling legs before dropping to one knees and bowing his head to his new master. Belladonna could see the creepy smirk on Revenants face at the Knight kneeling, and could almost hear the weird, self aggrandising thoughts that were going through his head.
"So, you got your new pet. Congratulations. But after all of that, I really have to wonder, how did you know?" Belladonna said with a suspicion filled death glare.
"You clearly came here on purpose and were prepared for him. You even bought out the town of Orchids to do it, but you didn’t even take the quest and yet... Here you are. Ready and waiting. So how did you know?"
Revenant chuckled dryly, glancing over his shoulder at her with a sly smirk,
"Would you believe it was just a hunch?"
