< < Relics Sold > >

< Blood Elemental Core (Common) x18 >

< Slothful Heart (Common) x9 >

< Greater Slothful Heart (Uncommon) x3 >

< 14450 Points Remaining >

All the collectibles had sold for a combined 3300 Points, with the greater hearts selling for 200 each. On top of that, he'd had 6780 Points leftover from before the Stage, and then he'd gotten 4370 from Stage Three.

I feel a burning desire to spend all of these Points!

But no… I have a plan and I will stick to it.

I need to keep at least 5000 for when I unlock the Builder, and depending on how expensive it is to get the meta upgrade for making her creations permanent, I may need another 5000, or maybe more.

Getting the rings, boots, and armour from Stage Three should only set me back 2000 Points, but I'd like to get a few Defence and Health upgrades too.

If I complete Hardmode on Stage Four and get all the bonuses, it should give me over 5000 Points I think.

But I need to find a way to move my own body with my magic, otherwise I won't be able to go fast enough to get the speedrun or the secret involving the first knight. And getting the Rotmaker idol from the top of the tree would be out of the question without it, since climbing would take me too long and I don't think I can use the Slothling Spring Boots to fling myself that high.

Adam looked at Lucca's selection of Relics while Belamouranthe was talking to Weaver about another dress.

Since he'd gotten the vendors meta upgrade, the Relic shop had five options.

< < Relics For Sale > >

< Slothling Ogre Eye (Epic) — Reduces Movement Speed by 50% | Increases Player Defence by 50% >

< Slothling Fur Coat (Rare) — Increases Player Defence by 25%. Breaks after 5 hits | Increases Movement Speed by 10% >

< Relic Renewal Stone (Epic) — Relics no longer disappear or break when all uses are exhausted | Restores the use of 1 Relic of Rare or lower quality. 1-Stage cooldown >

< Slothling Claw Bracer (Uncommon) — Can be used to perform an armour-rending slash. Breaks after 2 uses >

< Scroll-Preservation Talisman (Uncommon) — When a Spell Scroll is activated this Relic is consumed instead >

Wow, two Epics, that's lucky.

The value of the talisman is actually quite high, since I was planning on also buying another Beckoning Crimson scroll. Spending 300 Points to be able to save 700 and have the ability to activate the scroll twice in a Stage is quite a good purchase.

"I will buy the coat and talisman, and then reroll."

[You are already wearing an Armour Relic. Would you like to sell Bone Armour and replace it with Slothling Fur Coat? You may also send the unequipped Relic to your Player House for storage.]

"I'll swap and sell," Adam replied.

< < Relic Sold > >

< Bone Armour (Common) >

< 14600 Points Remaining >

< < Relics Purchased > >

< Slothling Fur Coat (Rare) >

< Scroll-Preservation Talisman (Uncommon) >

< 13800 Points Remaining >

The bone vest and braces vanished and were replaced with the black fur coat, and on his belt appeared the little talisman which was a wood carving of a stylised scroll with a red string tied around it.

The black chest next to Lucca closed and popped open again, showering the inside of the stall with golden light and showing five new options.

< < Relics For Sale > >

< Paralysis Venom (Uncommon) — Paralyses target on attack. Relic disappears after attack >

< Barrage Glove (Uncommon) — All projectiles are split into 3, each dealing a 3rd of total damage >

< Blood Mage Choker (Epic) — Creates a pane of blood to protect the wearer. 120-second cooldown | Increases damage with Blood-based attacks by 25% | Reduces Player Defence by 25% >

< Blood Fist Ring (Rare) — Charge a powerful punch that shoots a blood spike through the target on impact. 45-second cooldown >

< Glutton Collar (Uncommon) — Consume two potions within 10 seconds of each other without incurring toxic backlash, but toxicity build-up is tripled >

"I'll buy the ring and reroll."

< < Relics Purchased > >

< Blood Fist Ring (Rare) >

< 13300 Points Remaining >

The chest cycled its inventory again.

< < Relics For Sale > >

< Blood Bolt Ring (Rare) — Charge a powerful blood bolt that explodes on impact. 90-second cooldown >

< Spellburn Glove (Uncommon) — Spells are infused with fire. Breaks after 4 uses >

< Mana-Fiend's Mask (Rare) — Spells cost twice as much Mana to cast but inflict Mana Leech, siphoning the cost of the spell back to you from the target's Mana >

< Slothling Spring Boots (Rare) — Charge a powerful and quick leap, accelerating Player to 3x Movement Speed. 60-second cooldown >

< Parry Bracer (Uncommon) — Can be used to parry physical attacks. Breaks after 3 uses >

Nice, that completes the set of Relics I was trying to get.

The mask is a new one for me. Not really worth getting though, at least not for Stage Four.

The mask looked absolutely terrifying though, like the demon masks used in Noh plays, but pale-white with black needle teeth and six short dark-grey horns, as well as deep-blue eyes with holes in the pupils for the wearer to see through.

"I will buy the ring and boots," Adam said.

[You are already wearing a Ring on your right hand. Would you like to sell Slime Ring and replace it with Blood Bolt Ring? You may also send the unequipped Relic to your Player House for storage.]

"I'll store the Slime Ring," he said.

Stolen novel; please report.

[Understood.]

The ring disappeared from his right hand with a golden beam from the Eye, leaving behind a small ring of exposed bone where it'd been equipped. Adam gritted his teeth against the pain as it rapidly healed back.

< < Relics Purchased > >

< Blood Bolt Ring (Rare) >

< Slothling Spring Boots (Rare) >

< 12300 Points Remaining >

"Are you rerolling again?" Lucca asked.

"No, I'm done for now," he told her.

He had replaced his silk slippers with the boots, and each of his hands had a red ring made from blood on them now. The rings seemed to interact with his sigils, which was curious. With just the slightest nudge of his control, he made the liquid rings shift around on his fingers like little slithering serpents.

Though I'm not saving a lot of Points, having 5 free rerolls from the start is pretty useful. I guess the biggest benefit is that it lets me reroll the starter weapons, but saving a couple hundred Points in the Market isn't a terrible application either.

Although, it'll take a long time before the Points I saved thanks to it will really add up to how much I spent to fully unlock the meta upgrade though…

It had cost 12500 Points to get all five tiers of the Rerolls upgrade, and since each reroll cost 100 Points it meant he'd have to do 25 loops before he broke even on the investment.

Just as he left Lucca's stall, Sylvia and Migraine sauntered into the Market. Adam still hadn't figured out why the goblin hung around the blood mage apprentice, nor why she let him.

"Hey Sylvia, I'd like to buy another one of those Beckoning Crimson scrolls," he told her after approaching the pair.

"It's a good spell, right?" she responded.

"It worked quite well," Adam agreed.

"It'll be another 1000 Points," Sylvia then told him.

"Deal."

< < Spell Scroll Purchased > >

< Beckoning Crimson >

< 11300 Points Remaining >

"Adam. Got any trophies?" Migraine asked. "Sylvia says she got a trick with hearts, but I ain't got any to give her."

"I just sold a bunch to Lucca," he told the goblin.

"Missus Legs ain't a fan of Migraine," he muttered in response.

Me neither, buddy.

After stuffing the scroll in his pocket, Adam went over to Thea's stall and paid her to repair the Damaged Crown he was still wearing. He wasn't going to benefit much from its effects, since his only summon was the imp from the Fetish of Sloth that hung from his belt next to the talisman. But he needed to have the crown repaired before Stage Four so that it would evolve when he got the eradication bonus. It was necessary to get it transformed into the True Flame's Icon, if he wanted to be able to use it in Stage Nine to trigger the Secret Boss.

The repair cost 500 Points, putting his total at 10800.

Next he went over to Karie's stall and looked at the upgrades that appeared from her cauldron.

< < Upgrades For Sale > >

< Movement (Uncommon) — Increases movement speed by 10% >

< Damage (Uncommon) — Increases all damage by 10% >

< Luck (Uncommon) — Increases luck by 2 >

< Crush (Uncommon) — Increases the impact of attacks by 10% >

< Defence (Uncommon) — Increases all defence by 10% >

"I'll buy Defence," he said.

"Understood!" Karie replied excitedly.

< < General Upgrade Purchased > >

< Defence (Uncommon) >

< 10500 Points Remaining >

The holograms remaining fell down into the cauldron and it bubbled aggressively before spitting out five new ones.

< < Upgrades For Sale > >

< Damage (Rare) — Increases all damage by 15% >

< Health (Uncommon) — Increases health by 2 >

< Movement (Uncommon) — Increases movement speed by 10% >

< Crush (Uncommon) — Increases the impact of attacks by 10% >

< Dodge (Uncommon) — Grants a 10% chance to dodge a direct attack >

None of these are worth the Points, I think. Though maybe Damage? Or should I get the Speed upgrade?

No, I think I'll save my Points.

"Reroll," he said.

< < Upgrades For Sale > >

< Dodge (Uncommon) — Grants a 10% chance to dodge a direct attack >

< Health (Uncommon) — Increases health by 2 >

< Bleed (Uncommon) — Attacks inflict bleed dealing 10% weapon damage over the course of 10 seconds >

< Luck (Uncommon) — Increases luck by 2 >

< Damage (Uncommon) — Increases all damage by 10% >

I think I used up all my good fortune on the Relics…

I could get more Luck to offset it, but 25 is the next breakpoint, so I might spend upward of 2000 Points to get there, and I want to save as many Points as possible for now.

"Reroll," he said again. He had one left after this and he wanted to keep it for Stage Four, since he wanted to get the Captain's Cape. Attack Speed might benefit his spells, after all.

< < Upgrades For Sale > >

< Luck (Uncommon) — Increases luck by 2 >

< Bleed (Rare) — Attacks inflict bleed dealing 15% weapon damage over the course of 10 seconds >

< Venom (Uncommon) — Attacks inflict venom slowing target by 10% for 10 seconds >

< Force (Uncommon) — Attacks pierce armour by 10% >

< Health (Rare) — Increases health by 5 >

I was thinking of grabbing the Health, but actually, getting Bleed might work well. It won't deal a lot of damage, since my sigils' weapon damage is low, but making enemies bleed will allow me an easy way to defeat them.

I should probably try and get the Scoundrel's Glove from Stage Seven as well, since it had a powerful bleed-based affliction tied to it.

As he considered the effects of bleeding out his enemies, he had a sudden epiphany.

If I make enemies bleed and then use Beckoning Crimson while they're still alive, it might be a fast way to absorb enough of their blood to be able to control them.

I really need to learn how to cast that spell on command. I'd better save my Lucky Stone for Stage Six so I can get Alepheria's Mandate.

"I'll buy bleed."

< < General Upgrade Purchased > >

< Bleed (Rare) >

< 10200 Points Remaining >

As the selection scrambled, another Uncommon Defence appeared, which Adam bought. From the following selection came an Epic Health, which he also bought. After that he was lucky and got an Epic Bleed, but the following options were all Uncommon duds, so he gave up for now.

< < General Upgrades Purchased > >

< Defence (Uncommon) >

< Health (Epic) >

< Bleed (Epic) >

< 9300 Points Remaining >

Since he'd swapped out the Bone Armour for the Slothling Fur Coat, Adam had lost 5% Defence, but with the two Uncommon ones he'd grabbed, he was now at 55%. His Health had also gone up to 170 thanks to the two Epic upgrades he'd gotten so far.

Belamouranthe stayed in the Market to chat with Weaver about the intricacies of embroidery as Adam went to the Tavern.

"I'm not even sure there's a point for me to participate," Gladwyn grumbled when he realised he'd lost their bet. "Isn't it unfair for me to be up against two time-loopers?"

"You'll be able to get your revenge in later Stages," Adam assured him.

"Or I'll just lie about my success after the next Stage," he replied.

"We'll know," Beck said and Adam nodded.

Gladwyn sighed. "Fine… Lay it on me then, what's my punishment?"

Since both Beck and Adam had travelled to Gladwyn's dimension with their Visiting Stones, the bets they could put together, and the punishments for losing, were a lot more intricate and sinister than in Adam's past loops.

This time the bet had been who'd gotten the most and rarest Relics, after they'd realised that Gladwyn wouldn't be able to keep up with Points-based bets following Stage Two. Still, he'd taken his punishment bravely: asking Lucca for a dance at the Tavern.

The most surprising thing, besides the spider's ability to carry any rhythm in her eight-legged body, was that she'd even accepted the invitation in the first place. Apparently, she'd been treating him strangely since, according to Gladwyn. For example, she kept leaving her stall when he was in the Market now.

Adam had won the Stage Three bet by getting the Nightwing Heart on top of the Blood Mage Choker and various collectibles, since neither Gladwyn nor Beck had known about the heart, though both had defeated the secret boss.

I'm still surprised by how handily Gladwyn is keeping up with us on the achievements.

I just hope he isn't taking too many risks.

Gladwyn would of course never be able to match them in his Point total without the Hardmode unlocked, but he was making a damn good effort and had even gotten the Flawless bonus in Stage Three, which Beck had failed to obtain. Granted, Beck had used the Hardmode Orb like Adam, so it was little wonder he'd gotten hit with that many enemies, since he was still just rocking the Spellcaster staff with Gram as his secondary.

"I don't like how long it's taking you to come up with something," Gladwyn remarked. "Can you at least not make me do something that'll put a further strain on my relationship to the people on the island?"

Adam grinned. "Don't worry, I was thinking something simpler this time. Seeing Lucca dance was kind of traumatising, to be honest."

Beck grunted. "She reminds me a bit of my ex-wife the way she moves."

"That woman was probably a spider in disguise," Gladwyn remarked.

"Explains her skincare routine," Beck deadpanned.

Adam called over Charlie and whispered his request into her ear, or whatever approximation of an ear that ants had.

The tavernkeeper giggled as she left.

"Okay, now I'm actually more scared than last time," Gladwyn said with a frown.

Ten minutes later, Gladwyn had a blindfold on and there were ten different condiments, spices, powders, and bottles arranged before his seat.

Beck had laughed his ass off when he realised what Adam's devious punishment was.

"I'd like to revise my earlier statement," Gladwyn said. "Which bug-lady should I take dancing next?"

"Oh, you're not getting out of this one, buddy," Beck said with a grin on his face.

Adam stood behind Gladwyn and put his hands on his shoulders, partially to stop him from fleeing and partially to help guide him towards the selection.

With the blindfold on, Gladwyn selected two of the ten items from each of the four categories. Once the selection process was complete, Adam added the eight items into a large bowl that Charlie had happily given them, stirring generously with the wooden spoon she'd also brought.

Inside it were: spicy mustard and Cholula hot sauce; cinnamon and cardamom; grape drink powder and hot chocolate powder; and finally, monster energy drink and tequila.

Adam poured the evil concoction into a glass and handed it to Gladwyn, whose blindfold prevented him from seeing what was coming.

"How bad can it be?" he muttered ignorantly as he lifted the glass to his lips and took a questing sip.

There was a long pause wherein Gladwyn clearly contemplated a lot of things.

Then he went in for another sip.

"Not bad," he said.

Adam and Beck couldn't believe what they were hearing, and Beck immediately snatched the glass from his friend's hand and took a long sip.

A second later, he was dry-heaving on the floor while Gladwyn laughed so hard that he fell off his chair.

Adam took a small sip as well and a bone-cracking shudder rolled through him at the sensory assault he'd wilfully ingested.

"How the fuck did you take two sips!?" Adam asked, impressed.

"I've got an iron stomach," he replied as he peeled off the blindfold.

Then he saw the glass that Adam was holding, the selected items, and the bowl behind him.

Gladwyn's face turned pale and he suddenly covered his mouth with his hands.

Adam doubled over laughing.

"I'll get you back for this, Adam!" Gladwyn yelled between animalistic sounds of projectile vomiting into a bucket that Charlie had helpfully provided.

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