11 Chapter 11

I decided to go with the ego plotline. I read the responses against the decision, and they make sense. If this development ruins the story for you, then I wish you luck looking for other fanfictions to read.

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[The fusion will be just that, a fusion between the leftover ego in the body and your own. However, since you have a complete ego, it will be more like a subtle altering of your ego instead of two complete egos fusing, which will result in your ego still remaining the dominant one]

"Will the traits I inherit be random?" I asked, not wanting to get Eduan's immense lust for women instead of his battle instincts.

[Normally, they would be, but I can interfere with the process to a degree to aid in achieving a more desirable outcome]

Once again, I felt immensely grateful that I had chosen Great Sage over some other Unique Skill, "How long will the fusion take?".

[Instant]

"Okay then, I'll do it," I said, hyping myself up mentally while I ducked into a side alley so I would be in a calm environment after the merge.

[Do you want a countdown]

"No," I said quickly, not wanting to know when it was about to happen.

I cringed, expecting pain or some other sense of discomfort to come over me, but it never happened. I stood up, looking around in shock, it honestly felt like nothing had happened, but at the same time, I could feel a more instinctual change. When I began to walk, I noticed that I now didn't make any sound while moving, whereas before, I had never considered how much noise I was making. My movements seemed to be more efficient somehow, they also seemed to carry much more of my strength in them while somehow remaining normal. I noticed the biggest change as I dropped into a fighting stance and began throwing a few punches in the air.

The difference was like night and day, I went from a complete novice to greater than a MMA champion in an instant. Then I tried to get into a sword stance, but an immediate feeling of wrongness fell over me. It was like my very muscles were screaming that this wasn't the form I wanted to be performing. I quickly changed my form to that of a spearman, and immediate relief washed through my veins. I could instantly tell that this was much more comfortable than any of my previous sword forms. I wasn't done uncovering the surprises, though.

When I reached my hand up, I had the feeling that I could conjure lightning if I wished to, so I did. A small amount of magicules left my body, and I watched as they took on the form of lightning. I was soon holding a spear of lightning like those seen in Dark Souls. I quickly let the spear dissipate, but a smile bloomed across my face as I looked at the screen in front of my face. 'It seems like I now have a new Extra Skill,' I thought in excitement. After I looked away from the screen, I immediately tried to do the same with ice, but no matter how hard I tried, I was unable to create any ice.

"Great Sage, can you summarise what happened in the merge?" I asked, sitting down with my back against one of the alley walls.

[The traits you gained from Khun Eduan's ego are his hand-to-hand fighting abilities, a portion of his skill as a spear bearer and his battle instinct, and his ability to manipulate lightning which had been turned into the Extra Skill: Lightning Manipulation. Lastly, you also gained a good portion of his confidence, recklessness, lust for battle, and a large portion of his apathy]

"Hmm, interesting," I said as I inspected the list of things from the merge, "This was basically a power-up in disguise, I don't know why I was so afraid before," I muttered to myself as I left the alley and continued on my way toward Babel.

It didn't take me too long to reach the tower, I arrived just as the sun was beginning to set. The last rays of the sun shone brilliantly, catching only the upper third of Babel and nothing else in the city. I quickened my pace so that I would arrive before the shops began to close. I practically ran all the way up to the 7th floor and darted into one of the still-open shops. owned by the Heapeastus familia. There was an old dwarf manning the shop who raised an eyebrow as I rushed in.

"No need to run, son, it's not like the shop is going anywhere," He said casually.

I gave him an embarrassed grin in return, "My weapon broke in the dungeon today, and I wouldn't be comfortable spending the rest of the day without one," I said, garnering a serious look from the dwarf.

"I hope that weapon didn't come from one of our forges," The dwarf said seriously, gesturing to a banner emblazoned with the Heapeastus familia's logo hanging above his head.

"Nah, it was an old piece of steel, barely more than scrap metal by the time it found its way into my hands," I said before walking toward his rack of weapons.

I wanted to confirm something, reaching out and grasping the first sword I found. Immediately I could tell that it was wrong, it seemed to fit awkwardly into my hands. I quickly put it back and moved further along the rack until I found a spear. It was nothing too fancy, just a plain wooden pole with a feather-shaped blade at the end. I pulled it off the self and could instantly tell that this was much better than any sword would be. I moved to a more open end of the room and gave the spear a quick whirl. It blurred in my hands as I spun it around my body and got a good feel for the weapon. It was a good quality weapon, so I decided to buy it.

(Image)

Eventually, I stopped at turned to the old dwarf, "How much for the spear," I asked, walking over to him and placing the weapon on the counter before him.

"23,000 for the spear, but ill throw in some high-quality supplies for weapon maintenance for 25,000 Valis," The dwarf said.

"I'll take the weapon and the supplies," I said, reaching into my pocket and removing 25,000 Valis.

The Dwarf's eyes widened slightly as I took the money out of my pocket, "Those have to be the most soundproof pockets I have ever seen," The dwarf said as he took the money from me.

I chuckled good-naturedly before saying, "They come from a shop on the ninth floor, Fortune's Fineries," I said, shamelessly plugging Fortuna's store.

The dwarf laughed, handing me the spear and a small bag of supplies, "Could I interest you in any armor while you're here?"

I thought about it seriously for a moment. On the one hand, it could be useful to have some more just in case I get into a tough spot, but then again, I would gain much more excelia without armor. I debated for a few moments before deciding that I wouldn't need any armor for the upper floors anytime soon. Once I begin to frequent the middle floors of the dungeon, I would reconsider.

"Nah, not this time," I said, but the dwarf seemed to sense my inner struggle.

"That's a shame, I have a good deal on some armor made with materials from the middle floors, nearly 50% off," He said, clearly trying to bait me in.

I paused once more, my firm will be shaken by the offer of a nearly 50% discount, but two could play at this game, "That sounds nice," I said with a sigh, "But if it's a discount, I'm looking more in the 65-80% off range,"

It was the dwarf's turn to pause, but he grunted and waved his hands in a warding gesture, "This is a store, not a charity. My family has to eat somehow," he said with a smile.

"I understand, how about this, I'll come here next time for any repairs or new weapons I want to buy, anything but armor," I said with a laugh before leaving the store, waving goodbye to the dwarf as I did so.

Once I was out of sight, I stored my new stuff and began to walk up the final few flights of stairs to Fortuna's shop. I could see her pacing around worriedly inside the closed shop. This sight would have moved me to some sort of emotion before, but now, there was only a subdued feeling of appreciation for Fortuna. As soon as I walked toward the doors, she caught sight of me and ran to throw it open.

"The fabled son return unharmed," I said light-heartedly, causing the Goddess to give me a smile of her own.

All the worry and stress drained away from her face as she ran forward and embraced me.