Vivid Stars Online

With my plans now delayed, I spent most of the next two days training. I was able to locate a shooting range with practice weapons that could be fired for a fraction of the cost compared to out in the field.

I even shelled out for an hour with a proper trainer who covered the basics that I was entirely missing in my self-taught style. While the modifications felt odd at first, they soon showed a marked improvement in my ability.

After my lesson, I spent my time training against both static and moving targets over short to medium range. When I combined this with practicing my Item Attunement whenever I had spare energy, I was able to raise the level of both it and Pistols to three by the end of the second day.

Behind just the skill levels, however, I also increased my actual shooting ability as I gradually grew more comfortable hitting what I was aiming at. While two days wasn’t enough for a complete overhaul of my combat style, it was enough to see definite improvements.

Apart from training, I also acquired a better set of clothing. While I didn’t particularly like shelling out the funds for it, I didn’t want to risk offending a noble by showing up in my outdoor gear. That would undoubtedly cost me far more than the several thousand credits I spent on fancy clothing.

Finally, I looked up the basics of how to comport myself around the local nobility. While I wasn’t about to go all out and try to act like one of them, I needed to know the basics, so I didn’t offend anyone.

Luckily, it turned out that the Altheian nobility was actually fairly relaxed compared to some, likely because they were only formed a few hundred years ago. With the basics memorized, I felt ready to face whatever would come from the meeting.

As the day of the meeting dawned, I spent the first couple of hours organizing my gear and sending off messages. If all went well, I would set off with Adam, my mercenary support, this afternoon. As such, I ensured that my gear was ready to be picked up straight after my morning meeting.

Once that was completed, I set out with nearly two hours to spare. I didn’t have any reason to wait around and I wanted to ensure that nothing could go wrong on the way. Besides this, I had a hunch that it might take considerably longer to get through security for a meeting with the Duchess than it had to sell some information.

The trip went smoothly, and I was soon standing before the grand entrance to the palace once again. Like the last time, there were four heavily armored guards, though it was impossible to tell if they were the same individuals as last time. Once again, I could detect that the guard with the most extravagant armor was another Psion, one who felt significantly more powerful than I was.

Moving past, I found myself in the grand foyer, after which I moved over to one of the reception desks.

“Hello, I have a meeting with the Duchess at 10 AM,” I said to the well-dressed woman while trying to keep the nerves out of my voice. Despite knowing that it was all just a game, I couldn’t help but worry about what might happen during the meeting.

From what I had gathered so far, the Duchess held almost complete power over the city and could make my life difficult if this went wrong. On the other hand, making a good impression here could be of significant help in achieving my goals.

I was fairly confident that it should go well given how much I’d done to help the city recently, however, despite that, I couldn’t help but imagine one worst-case scenario after another.

“Of course,” the woman responded, breaking me from my thoughts. “Jared Hope I presume?” At my responding nod, she continued, “Excellent, I have noted your arrival. If you will move to the waiting room, a small security contingent will be with you shortly.”

I thanked her and moved over to the same room I had waited in the last time. Once again, I was offered refreshments, and I accepted some water and a small plate of cakes. I deliberately avoided alcohol or caffeinated drinks, as I didn’t want to become any more jittery than I already was.

Despite my nerves, it was actually a pleasant half-hour wait. The furniture was extremely comfortable, and the cakes were delicious. I paced myself and a uniformed man marched up to me shortly after I finished the last of the refreshments.

His uniform was dripping in medals, several of which I recognized from my research. One was the Psionic cross showing that he was a member of the core psionic elite of the army, while another indicated that he was also a member of the Royal Guard.

It was a combination that marked him as the elite of the elite and I could only assume that he was very high up in the duchess’ personal guard.

“Jared Hope?” he asked upon reaching me, his tone terse but not unwelcoming.

“Yes,” I said. “Here for the 10 AM meeting.”

He nodded before gesturing for me to follow. Over the next fifteen minutes, he took me through an extensive security screening. Luckily, I’d had the forethought to leave my weapons behind, so the process went smoothly. While they clearly picked up on the fact that I was a Psion, I was interested to see that they didn’t seem worried.

I could only assume that they had countermeasures in place for that. I had half expected to be required to wear some kind of Psionic dampener or blocker, however, nothing of the sort appeared. I wasn’t sure if this meant they didn’t exist, or if Psions were so respected in their culture that we got off with a pass.

After the screening process, I was led into another, even nicer, waiting room until the appointed time. At precisely one minute to ten, a butler arrived to escort me into the next room. The unnamed member of the Royal Guard followed behind me, confirming my expectation that he was someone important.

While he had remained unarmed as far as I could tell, I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that would restrict his combat ability whatsoever. I had only scratched the surface of what Psionics were capable of and I was sure there would be far more combat-appropriate abilities than mine.

We passed the door just as a distant clock chimed the hour, revealing an elegantly appointed sitting room beyond. A woman dressed in a resplendent gown sat at a small table, a maid hovering behind her. She looked to be in her late thirties, beautiful, though not stunning, and her posture seemed to radiate a sense of casual power.

This could only be Duchess Milena. Somehow she was both meeting my expectations and throwing them out the window at the same time. While she was every bit the noble I had been expecting, I never thought that the discussion would happen in such a relaxed setting.

I had been envisioning some kind of throne room or meeting hall, perhaps with dozens of other people petitioning her. Instead, I was faced with this small room containing only myself, the guard, the Duchess, and her support staff. The lack of additional guards struck me more than anything, and I could only think that she was very confident or had hidden security.

I paused, unsure of how to proceed before the butler gestured me forward. I almost stumbled on approach as my Psi Sense screamed at me. While it had been entirely undetectable from further away, now that I was close I could tell that she was the most powerful Psion I had ever encountered.

In fact, she had an energy signature more powerful than anything I had sensed, including the two Psi Rifts that I had encountered. Suddenly I wasn’t confused about the lack of guards anymore, with that kind of power she could probably destroy me with a single thought.

Somehow I recovered without embarrassing myself too much and I continued until I was next to the chair facing her across the table. I paused again, remembering from my research that I should wait to be addressed.

She finished a sip of her tea, a slight twinkle in her eyes suggesting that she had seen me stumble and knew the cause. Then she delicately placed the cup on the table and addressed me.

“Please sit, Mr. Hope, I am pleased to see you this morning.”

“Thank you, Your Grace. I am honored that you sent for me,” I responded, hoping that was the correct response. The butler drew out the chair for me and I tried to sit as gracefully as possible, something that I was only marginally successful at.

The corner of her face moved into a small smile. “I make a point of meeting all of my prominent citizens, Mr. Hope, particularly when they reach that position as swiftly as you have.”

“Few people have done as much for my city as you have over the last month, a fact that is hard to believe considering it is also the first month that you have even been a citizen of this planet. I find myself both impressed and grateful for what you have achieved in such a short time.”

I relaxed at her words, glad that the meeting was going well and not at all like my worst fears. Nodding slightly in response, I waited for her to finish.

“I find that rewarding my most industrious citizens not only incentivizes them to continue being so, but also others to work harder as well. Would you prefer a monetary reward or something more practical?”

I blinked at the sudden turn, struggling to keep up. While this was definitely a good thing, I had to decide on which would be better for me. Luckily, the Duchess leaned back and took another sip of her tea, seemingly happy to wait.

Still, I wasn’t sure how long that would last as she had to be incredibly busy, so I focused on my decision. At first, the money tempted me, it tempted me a lot. However, in the end, my goal was to get to where I was making a sustainable income over the long term.

While a payout here would be nice, I felt like anything that this powerful woman was offering as a reward would be extremely useful. It felt like a choice between something that would be nice, but temporary or something that could set me up for success in the future.

In the end, I made a snap judgment to plan for the future. “Something practical would be most welcome, Your Grace,” I said in response.

“Excellent,” she replied with a smile, seemingly happy at my choice. “Captain,” she continued, gesturing to the man who had been standing behind me.

The man slipped around me silently before placing a glowing vial on the table in front of me. I blinked in surprise at the sight, not quite sure what I was looking at.

“An Arkathian enhancement elixir,” Duchess Milena spoke, drawing me from my confusion. “One of the few ways we Psions have of enhancing ourselves given our problems with cybernetics. I am sure you will find it useful in your expeditions ahead.”

That sounded good, fantastic, in fact. If it was some kind of permanent stat-boosting potion, then I had doubtless made the correct decision. While I was excited, I pushed it aside for now until I could have time to examine the gift in private.

Instead, I focused on coming up with an appropriate response. “Thank you, Your Grace. This is beyond anything that I had expected.”

It seemed to work as she continued smiling. “It is only what you deserve for the work you have accomplished so far. Continue to serve me and this city and you will find even greater rewards coming to you. Even entry to the nobility is not out of the question.”

There it is, I thought while smiling and nodding in response. I’d had a hunch since entering the room that she wanted something from me, why go to all this effort otherwise? While her words so far hadn’t sounded untrue, I doubted she would have spared this much time just to hand out a reward.

Almost as if she could read my mind, she continued. “The Arkathian ruin in the mountains was an excellent find. There are only a few ritual chambers within my territory, and each one of them is precious. If you can locate any more, I would be most grateful.”

It almost sounded like she knew I had more information available on the subject, and it was all I could do to keep a straight face. “Of course Your Grace, I will make locating additional ruins a priority and promptly report any I find.”

That seemed to be what she was after as they soon ushered me out of the room after a few more pleasantries. I had mixed feelings as I left. On one hand, I’d gained what might be an incredible reward while on the other, I was a little concerned about how much she seemed to know.

Of course, I could be entirely off base and she was simply exhorting me to work harder, however, I didn’t think that was the case. If she knew then I was just glad that she seemed happy to leave me to do the work myself.

Whatever the case, it made finding those remaining three ruins my priority. I got the feeling that she would be a bad person to let down.