Nightmare Realm Summoner

”Chin up, Finley,” Alex said, biting back a laugh at the despondent expression on the merchant’s face. It was becoming increasingly apparent that Finley was not an optimist.

Then again, being a pessimist was probably much easier way of going about life when the System had you bound down and trussed like a roast pig. Alex didn’t know the full extent of the restrictions that were placed on merchants — but Finley had mentioned he functionally immortal.

Something told him that also meant Finley wasn’t going to be able to interact with the world any more than a ghost could lift a dumbbell. The System wouldn’t give a boon like that unless it worked both ways. There was a good chance that Finley had the same level of corporealness as a ghost.

”It is exceedingly difficult to be cheerful about anything when my one and only customer is about to get himself turned inside out,” Finley said. ”You should spend everything you have now. As quickly as you can. The Credits aren’t going to do you much good when you’re dead.”

”I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

The two of them stared at each other for a moment.

”What?” Finley asked.

”Never mind,” Alex said through a sigh. He shook his head. ”I can’t expect you to be cultured. You aren’t even from Earth.”

”Count that as a good thing,” Finley said crossly. ”The average un-initiated planet is full of barbarian apes. There’s a reason Outworlders look poorly on the Nativeworlders. The majority of a planet’s natives will be slaughtered during their integration into the Infinium. It is forced evolution. That number will be even higher if the world has natives that see fit to attempt to challenge a Region Boss before they have even acquired a Domain.”

Alex cleared his throat. It seemed he’d struck a nerve. ”Can’t get anywhere sitting back and doing nothing. Now, didn’t you want me to fork over some Credits? Show me what you’ve got. The good stuff. We needed to spend at least 15 Credits to get you out of here, right? So let’s start there.”

”I have access to my family’s reserves,” Finley said. ”For your purposes, they will be more than sufficient… but it would take me a year to list everything off. I should mention that I won’t be able to get you any direct town upgrades without physically being present at your town to see what you’ve got. So, what do you want?”

”What should I want?” Alex countered. He was pretty sure the System had probably put some level of restriction in over how much advice the merchants could directly give the Nativeworlders… but it didn’t hurt to push the boundaries a little. ”I’m looking for the most prudent thing that I can buy. I’m sure you’ve got some thoughts.”

The narrowing of Finley’s eyes told Alex that the merchant was more than aware of what he was trying to do.

”Nothing is free,” Finley said. ”You want advice? Buy it.”

Okay. Maybe it isn’t the System that’s going to try to rinse me. Suppose I can’t blame Finley for that. I’d do the same in his position.

”Fair enough.” Alex scratched the back of his neck. ”Let’s talk Domains, then. I want to unlock a Partial Domain. You got anything that can help me do that?”

The merchant’s hands danced through the air as if he were typing on an invisible keyboard. Faint shimmers of light reflected within his eyes from a source that Alex couldn’t see. Finley’s gaze danced through the air, looking right through Alex, before he nodded to himself.

”Yes, that should work.” His eyes refocused. ”What specifically are you trying to improve? There are a great many things that go into domains. Some limits will help me narrow down my search.”

”Do you have Aspect Gems? Rare ones?” Alex asked. There was some part of his brain — perhaps the human part — that liked rare, shiny things. Nobody wanted a normal gem when they could have a cool, deluxe one instead… even if they did the exact same thing. It was about the spirit of things.

Unfortunately, Finley was already shaking his head by the time Alex had finished speaking. ”Aspect Gems are probably one of the most highly coveted recourses in the Infinium. That goes doubly so for any newly initiated planets. They’re literally potential made manifest. I’ve got a few, but I can honestly say none of them are rare.”

Alex pursed his lips. ”Scratch that, then. I’m not looking for anything average. Especially not when it can significantly impact my growth. Let’s see… hm. What about an instruction manual or something? I’m fed up with doing everything in the dark. If I could learn a bit more about Domains, I think it would go a really long way. Do you have something like that?”

Finley grinned. ”That’s a good one. Yes, I have what you seek, and to a great degree of variation. And I have something far better than mere manuals. How do you feel about gambling?”

Now that was one way to get his attention.

”I’ve been known to partake,” Alex said slowly. ”Are we talking some gatcha bullshit? Because I’ve wasted more than enough money on those things to know just how rolling the dice tends to play out.”

The merchant splayed his hands out. The air between them shimmered as a dozen blue crystal gems swirled into existence amidst a shower of sparks. They were translucent and rough like clusters of quartz. Each of the gems had a faint mote of light floating within its depths. Some of the lights were so weak that Alex could barely even make them out, while a few were bright enough to shine like lanterns.

”Memory Crystals,” Finley said, a note of eagerness in his voice. ”A fragment of a soul crystalized into a focused memory. They aren’t actually all that uncommon. Whenever someone’s soul takes enough damage, a few of these are occasionally to be left behind.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Alex squinted at the stones. ”They’ve got memories in them? Like someone’s whole life?”

Finley let out a burst of laughter and shook his head. ”Definitely not. That would be beyond powerful. A Memory Crystal that had the memories of someone’s entire life would probably be thousands of Credits — though that would depend on who they were. No, these contain a few seconds to a few minutes. A fragment of a memory at most… but certain memory fragments are very useful.”

Realization washed over Alex and his eyes widened. ”You’ve got memories of people activating their Domains for the first time?”

”Among other things,” Finley said. He cleared his throat and waggled a hand back and forth in the air. ”It’s worth noting that Memory Crystals are notoriously hard to examine without breaking them. They’re one-time use and divining exactly what they contain is extraordinarily difficult. It’s easy to tell if they’re from someone powerful — the light within them shows that. It’s slightly harder to tell the general topic they cover… and it’s damn near impossible to know to just what extent the memory delves.”

And just like that, Alex knew exactly what Finley had meant when he’d asked about gambling. The corners of his lips pulled up.

”So you know these have something to do with Domains, but not if they’re actually going to be useful or if they’ll be a complete waste,” Alex concluded.

Finley nodded. ”Precisely. The choice is up to you. The weaker crystals, I’ll let go for 1 Credit. The stronger ones, 3.”

”And how do they work?”

”Shatter one to release the memory. Ensure you are not together with anyone when it happens. The remains of the soul will enter anyone in the immediate area and soak into their body until they are spent. If someone else is near you, they may get portions of the memory instead of you. You will not share.”

”I see.” Alex scratched at his chin. Gambling probably wasn’t the smartest move…

But he’d be damned if it didn’t sound a little fun. He’d promised himself that he was going to enjoy the Apocalypse. Spending a little bit of coin to potentially buy himself something really good was a justifiable risk.

”Let’s set some of those aside,” Alex said. ”I don’t want to buy them until I know how many coins I can waste. Do you also have a manual about Domains just in case the Memory Crystals end up sucking?”

”One Credit. It’ll be basic. I wouldn’t recommend it if any of the Crystals have what you need… but if you’re truly unlucky, it will work.”

”Perfect,” Alex said. ”There are two other main things I want… unless you sell buildings?”

”I am a merchant, not a miracle worker. It is not impossible for me to get supplies, should you know what you need, but entire buildings? No.”

”Figured. I’ll let Mite figure out that bit then. You have any chemical weapons?”

Finley stared at him. ”What?”

”What about bombs?”

”Are you a terrorist?”

”My answer to that depends on if you identify as a Region Boss.”

”I do not,” Finley said, pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a sigh. ”Though I must admit that would make things considerably easier. The System heavily taxes any powerful weapon sales. There is little challenge posed by porting in an immeasurably powerful artifact to simply delete your opponents from existence.”

”Figured,” Alex said. ”Didn’t hurt to ask, though. In that case… let’s talk Visualizations.”

Finley’s eyes lit up. ”A wise purchase. Though they are not cheap, I have a number of—”

Alex raised a hand. ”I don’t want any Visualization you can sell.”

”What?” Finley blinked in confusion. ”They’re perfectly workable, I assure you.”

”I’m sure they are. But if you’re selling it, then it isn’t going to be too rare. You made it clear enough you couldn’t sell the best ones when we last spoke. No, I don’t want to buy one off you. I want a way to get one. You mentioned that powerful monsters could have a Visualization, right?”

Realization lit in Finley’s eyes. A wide grin stretched across his features. ”Yes. I see where you’re going with this. You want a way to capture a Visualization from a monster.”

”Is it possible?”

”Difficult. Difficult, but possible, yes. You would need a physical connection to an entity with a sufficiently powerful Visualization — but it must be given freely. It is the main way that powerful bloodlines pass down their Visualizations. It’s possible for an outsider to get one, but if you want it from a sufficiently powerful entity, you would have to bargain.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully. ”What kind of connection are we talking about?”

”Any part of their body. The smaller it is, the more difficult. Heart blood would be the most efficient and painless way, but even a hair would work. The key is that it must be gifted. A Visualization cannot be stolen.”

Alex’s head tilted to the side. Then a slow smile started to pull at the corners of his lips. An idea was starting to form in his mind. An idea he quite liked. ”I see. What if the connection is pretty weak? Like, for example, a random drop of blood that was gifted some time ago?”

”It would be difficult. Very difficult… but possible. It has been done. A connection is a connection.”

”That’s perfect,” Alex said. ”Give me something that can do that.”

Finley’s grin grew larger than Alex’s. ”40 credits.”

Alex nearly choked on his own saliva. ”40 Credits? Holy shit! That’s half of what I’ve got! No wonder you got happy when I mentioned it.”

”Visualizations are incredibly powerful. Materials that can properly contain one for long enough for you to learn it are not cheap or easy to get. I can assure you that I am not attempting to scam you. I need your Credits as badly as you need my items.”

Gah. Fuck it. If this works out, then it’ll be worth it. I really am a bit of a gambler, though. Aaron would be proud of me.

”Fine. Give me that,” Alex said.

”What manner of connection will it be for? I have a few scroll variations that work better depending on what type of connection you have. Will it be blood? Hair? A limb?”

”Blood,” Alex said.

Finley nodded. He waved a hand and all the Memory Crystals floating in the air before him floated to the side. In their place, a silver tube tipped with black caps on either side materialized between his hands.

”This is what you seek,” Finley said. ”Once you have your ingredient, open this scroll and press your hand against it while focusing on the connection.”

”Perfect. Let’s just buy that now,” Alex said.

Finley beamed at him. ”With pleasure. Simply shake my hand and allow my ring to draw the Credits from yours.”

Alex took the merchant’s hand. The moment their palms touched, there was a faint prickle against his skin. He felt the spatial ring on his finger warm. Then Finley nodded and released him. The tube floated over to arrive before Alex.

”Thanks,” Alex said, grabbing his purchase. It was heavier than he’d expected. A part of him noted that it would probably make a pretty good club if he ever decided he wanted to repurpose it.

”Would you like a ritual dagger with it?” Finley asked. ”They’re commonly used whilst extracting blood for things like this. A surprising number of things need blood.”

”No, I think it’ll be okay,” Alex said. ”I won’t need it.”

”Are you sure? It can make it easier to extract blood from powerful beings so long as they’re willing. It may be wise.”

”I’ll be fine,” Alex replied. His grin expanded. There was a certain drop of blood that he’d gotten some time ago — and he had no reason to believe it wouldn’t work for this. ”I’ve got the blood I need.”

After all, it’s already inside me.