Limitations of the Bottom

Cough! Cough!

"You could have just woken me up normaly. Gods, what is that smell Oh ga2d it tastes disgusting...?" Alexander spewed the remnants from his mouth into a bin. The taste lingered for hours even after washing his mouth.

Alexander washed up, getting dressed for the day, feeling fresher and more energized than ever before. His overall physic was teeming with vitality, with the body of an athlete now, seemingly over night abs and muscle had developed. He attributed it to his training, diligence, and genetics but admired it all the same before heading down stairs.

The elder had come to take a look at the place and check up on Alexander and his family. As his student, Alexander was important to the elder, anyone making problems or threatening those under the protection of an elder of the Akamai clan was on a loosing up hill battle. With the elders reputation as the oceans Berserker, his temper was legendary.

Seeing his student successfully reach a milestone alone was a feat he couldn't hold his happiness from. His smile grew bigger after seeing Alexander come down. However he was slightly disappointed to see him in worn everyday clothesmfor such a big day.

"I see that you have increased your Core strength, and probably just entered D rank, eh. Yes, little one, I can tell. You don't get to be an elder by just eating all day. Ha, ha! I heard what happened last night and I've made some arrangements with the lawyers over your parent's estate. For your protection, If you accept, the Akamai clan would like to adopt you all into the clan. You can stay here as long as you want but thismplace needs some work."

"!!!!"

"And, what's the catch?" Seraphina speculated. She was always looking at the big picture.

"No catch. I swear it. It's the least I can do for a student of mine. Also, as an apology for allowing harm to come to you. I am a prideful old man, much more so now. Someone harming you is unthinkable to me, that it happened right under my nose and within my city angers me. To make up for it, I have planned a full day out, we should leave before the construction workes get here."

Seraphina eyed him for a bit, then saw the nice black suit he wore, pressed and cleand An idea/scheme slithered into her head. "And shopping too, right, Grandpa, right?"

"Of course, little rose. All the shopping you want. What about the rest? We should be gone for most of the day, so I picked My favorite place. We're headed to the Arcanum!"

Alexander was eager to go and with Max's dimension crystal, he wanted to visit one place in particular. "I'm in. Just one question, err, Grandpa. What's your credit limit?"

...

The Arcanum was a special district of the city, with its own docks and sky ports, it was a variable hub of commerce. Both commercial and private, anything you needed or wanted, you could find it there.

Two major buildings made up the bulk of business in the arcanum, the Guild, and the Hunters Association. Both buildings stood on opposite sides of the district, sharing the same street with the rest of the vendors and stores that catered to the wealthy.

As Elder Kelanis' personal Guard, geralt drove them to their destination skillfully, avoiding both traffic and check points with ease. Akamai plates get you many things in the city. They arrived and parked in the VIP section of their personal parking lot, less than two stores away from where Alexander wanted to be.

"Lets go in there. There's something I need appraised and I need some new gear."

'This is it, the Foundry. The only place on this island to purchase gear. I've heard this place only sells the best Artefacts to the wealthiest of society. And thanks to the Akamais, I'll be shoping there too.' Alexander thought with a sneaky grin that everyone saw and thought was really concerning.

"Is he always like this at home?" Kelani asked in a whisper.

"Oh, don't mind him, Grandpa. He's just at that age. Hormones are ravaging his already empty head. But we love him. Do you know what that nasty stuff he threw up was?"

"Well it's not really known, just that sometimes when you break past certain milestones, barriers of your potential, a smelly substance can excrete itself. It's rare and only with those that break past their former potential. Your brother has pushed past his F ranked potential and exceeded to D rank." Kelani explained, seeing Alexanders gentle aura flicker.

The interior of the Foundry was exquisitely and lavishly decorated with soft gold and marbled floors. An assistant immediately recognized Kelani and greeted them with refreshments.

The assistant hand a beautiful red and white day dress on, with long black hair to her waist, and brown lovely eyes, she greeted them, "Aloha, great Elder! How can we help you today. We have a large selection of those wines you ordered last time. We even have that deluxe.."

"Mahalo, young one. Oh, not this time. Today, we're here for Alexander here. He's new to the Akamai clan, so please show him anything he may require." Kelani instructed. The assistants attention went straight towards Alexander, looking at his clothes and shoes meticulously.

"Well, he is slightly ruff around the edges, but it's nothing I haven't delt with. Follow me and we'll get you dressed for the show room. We do have a dress code, as not to discomfort the other guests. That means black tie and a mask. The mask is to prevent your identity from being revealed to others and the suit always look good."

Alexander went with the assistant and was fitted for a stylish black-tie three piece suit. It fit perfectly and the tailor was adamant about him wearing the Akamai logo. Two black daggers crossed over a red moon. His mask was fitted in the style of a raven, black with red markings.

For the auction, multiple Artefacts were displayed on a list, with prices and rarity displayed underneath. Alexander was brought into a private room were a window were he could clearly see the bidding stage.

"Initial bids have already started but from this device you can bid on whatever you like. As an Akamai, you have nearly endless credit with the Foundry, within reason of course. So, please practice due diligence and bid on whatever you like."

'The auction has a great deal of rare Artefacts in the B and A rank levels. But those are way to expensive for me to be comfortable bidding on. These are the ones I want most.' Alexander thought as the assistant left and he scrolled on the display. "Ha! No ones even bidding on these! I've hit the jackpot. This one, and this one, and that one. Man I love this!"

Bidding was closed after the last high end Artefact was sold, and Alexander received his bids. He opened the door for a plethora of Artefacts were all delivered to his room. The Artefacts were all of D rank and C rank rarity, so no one bat an eye at his spending.

The items were many, too many for one person to handle. The assistant offered to have them delivered to his home, but he refused her. Pulling out his dimension crystal, the items dissapated in front of her very eyes. She was in shock at the magic, but her long years at the Foundry, seeing magnificent things had taught her to not ask too many questions.

"Will there be any thing else?" She asked a little daze.

Voom!

Alexander thanked her but noticed something off about the area around him. The luxurious colors around him had greyscaled to the point everything seemed blurry at points. His vision was remarkable since Lunaris had adjusted his eyes to see perfectly like an eagle, but now he was having trouble focusing on anything but the door out of that room.

A sense of dread weighed down on him, making his knees buckle and kneel.

The door handle turned and Alexander felt his stomach roil and tumble like a wave crashing into him.

The door opened to a half veiled dark-skinned woman, wearing hues of royal purple and gold. She chimed from the many trinkets she wore and even smiled when she stood over Alexander.

He struggled to look up at the person exuding this aura without killing him, but all he could see were her perfectly manicured feet.

"So you think I wouldn't come see you personally my dear, Alexander Mortem. When Death requires and audience, there is no escape."

A different type of message than his holographic display, popped up in front of him, making his face contort in horror and fear.

[God of Darkness A'rathèl has come for you!]

'What is this? Is that The dark mother? Oh, I'm completly and utterly boned!'