BXBX NOVEL Chapter 134: Only ten rounds [1/2]
The only ones who might need them were those on the front lines. However, since most of the manifested that fought did so with {Fate} weapons, it became optional.
It was a known fact that as a Reaper progressed, their manifested {Fates} would increase in strength. The point at which they could start killing corrupted undead without blessings was at level 5 or at the mid-level of Phantoms.
This meant that even if a Reaper relied heavily on Blessings, they would eventually stop doing so. And it wasn\'t like everyone was fighting corrupted undead all the time. Not to mention the high cost of a thousand souls per Blessing.
These girls who could only rely on this one skill would be like those without a steady job. If they also had to pay the tax, I originally thought that instead of enforcing a thousand souls, more of them would reduce their costs to the bare minimum just to earn enough to survive.
But when I heard how the barrel of Hephaestus threatened them, I received my answer unknowingly. It wasn\'t that they didn\'t want to. It was that they couldn\'t.
If they were able to share blessings with those who fought every night, how significant would it be? It was ironic that those who couldn\'t get it were the ones who would benefit the most.
This sick ecosystem prevented the blessings from benefiting where it mattered most. Of course, because of such a setup, I could only imagine the bullying these women received.
Their extreme need for validation and heartfelt smiles at simple praise confirmed my assumptions. In most role-playing games, holy blessings were part of a priest\'s or healer\'s skill set. Did these girls not have the skill, or were they too afraid to fight?
Unaware of my thoughts, Yvonne wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief. The other girls did the same but turned away as if they were afraid I would peek at their bodies.
Since I would be in a long-term contract with them, I decided to get to know Golden Wick better.
"Yvonne, does your guild only deal with blessings? Or do you have other skills?"
"Um, we can also do low-level {Heal}, {Cure}, or {Clean} tablets. But the soul efficiency is really low, so we rarely do it. Production Reapers like us seldom get enough souls to evolve, as we use most of them for taxes and materials," she explained.
"Hmm. So the guild does not increase your {Fates}? It seems a shame not to improve your skills, right?"
"Well, most do, but with the sheer cost of production in general, only the most talented are selected. Time moves for everyone, so the tax would eventually kill everyone else. For this reason, most just take a chance on developing a product or forming a guild."
\'Hmm. That made sense. Supply and demand, of course, drive the market.\'
If only ten out of a hundred people were supported by guilds, the ninety, no matter how good they were, would have to survive on their own.
Markets were essentially pyramids. It was impossible for everyone to become rich at the same time. Such a truth even existed in hell. Knowing that this line of questioning would lead to even darker topics, I decided to ask something else.
"Then may I ask why you all look exhausted? Most of you are sweating like you just ran a marathon," I asked nonchalantly.
"This is a side effect of the blessing that occurs when we absorb souls into our bodies and purify them. We then apply souls to an object. After each blessing, we need to rest or our bodies would break down."
"Then how long would it take before you could use Blessings again?"
Yvonne looked down in embarrassment as she answered sheepishly.
"A week."
"What? Then you can only bless 4 items in a month?"
"Yes, we can take stamina pills to regain strength quickly, but they are too expensive and hurt the body in the long run."
"Then the other seven rounds?"
"Next week. Teehee," she tried to look cute as she thumped her forehead.
"What do you mean, Teehee?"
No wonder the cost was so high, not only was it payment for a single service, but basically it took so much from a Production Saint to bless anything at all.
\'I never had problems with stamina because of {Eat} and {Rewind}. What if I could help them recover faster?\'
If their impairment for a week was included in the cost, would they drop it if I could help them regain their stamina? This was also something to look forward to in the future.
\'Also, I only own rewind. {Eat} is Aki\'s {fate} it would be better to ask her about it.\'
I didn\'t have time to deal with it right now, but in the future, I would definitely ask them if we could revise the contract.
"Hmm. I guess 10 blessed rounds is more than enough for now. Very well, then contact me the moment Golden Wick is ready to bless again. As stated in the contract, I will not ask for any other group than yours."
"Yeet! Thank you so much Limitless! We definitely will! Pleasure working with you!"
"Oh, by the way, Yvonne? How do I pay you?"
"Shit! I almost forgot!" she took out a card with a candle logo and a QR code on it.
"This is the guild\'s graveyard account. Please send the 16,000 souls here."
"16,000? But only ten rounds have been blessed?"
"Uh, I apologize, Limitless, but the guild is not doing very well financially. In fact, if we hadn\'t gotten this deal, we would have tried to apply for Administration, but I promise we\'re good for it! We will definitely complete the remaining seven blessings."