Smiths and deal

A suffocating silence settled in the air. The campfire crackled softly, its dim light casting eerie shadows among the trees.

Frederick hadn't anticipated being detected because of the authorities he had on him. The chance of them having this kind of authority in this situation was extremely slim. In a last attempt to justify himself, he urgently said, "This is a misunderstanding… I only found those on already dead bodies. I didn't harm anyone! I promise."

There was another heavy silence.

Realizing that his lie had failed to appease them, Frederick's expression transformed from timid to cold and calculating. After careful consideration, he decided to abandon this encounter and search for alternative prey. His original plan had been to wait several days until most of the candidates had weakened due to resource scarcity and then hunt them. Frederick couldn't afford to get injured, as it would complicate his survival strategy.

Although it was a pity to give up those experience points, it was not worth the risk of fighting them at the same time, even if he was the only one with a weapon. When Frederick approached this fire, he was hoping to see someone alone, younger, or way older. He needed to remain patient to avoid making stupid mistakes.

With the same icy expression, Frederick slowly withdrew without uttering a word. Unexpectedly, the woman began to yell, "Dad! He's getting away with the authorities! I don't wanna! I have to tattoo those! Do something! That's unfair!" She exclaimed, hitting the ground and rolling around like a child. Both Frederick and the father were taken aback by this sudden move.

Frederick was surprised because she was throwing a childish tantrum in this dire situation. He observed the father, who appeared equally astonished, even slightly shocked. Frederick's mind raced with thoughts. 'He wouldn't be this surprised if it wasn't her first time doing that, right? Unless she's faking it, the only reason that can lead to this situation is... a curse.'

However, Frederick was more intrigued by what she had just said. "Did she just say tattoo authorities?" He suddenly halted his retreat and asked in a gentle voice, "How about this? I'll let you tattoo authorities, but only if you tell me what that means, okay?" It was obviously a lie, however, it seemed that it actually worked this time.

Hearing this, the woman was ecstatic and stopped her tantrum, eagerly watching Frederick. Before her father could intervene, she quickly said, "Really?! Uuhh, okay... My power lets me create tattoos using authority orbs on people so they can use their power!"

Frederick was left speechless. He had been prepared to attack them, thinking it might become a one-on-one situation. But after hearing this revelation, it would be foolish to harm her now.

A tense silence settled over the trio yet again. The woman gazed at Frederick with expectant eyes, Frederick stared at the father to find a possible weakness, and the father looked at his daughter with a shocked gaze. The campfire crackled, casting long, wavering shadows that danced eerily.

The woman continued to fix her expectant gaze on Frederick, but her father leaned in, whispering something into her ear with a noticeable frown on his face. Her eyes widened at his words, and then she abruptly scowled, mirroring her father's expression, before glaring at Frederick with a murderous gaze.

"You goddamn murderer," the woman hissed softly, her expression unchanged. Seeing that his daughter had composed herself, the man redirected his attention to Frederick and stated with a firm tone, "You are not welcome here. Go away."

Frederick remained still, silently calculating his next moves. After a brief pause, he spoke again, "Can you give me more information about those tattoos? I'm willing to trade information. I believe it will greatly aid your survi—."

"I don't want to hear anything from a trashy bastard like you!" the woman retorted with a fierce yell. "I'd rather die than waste another word on you."

Frederick wasn't discouraged at all. He felt he had finally uncovered a way to utilize the authority orbs. He then continued, "So you're ready to sacrifice your father along with you rather than exchange information with me?"

He then turned his gaze to her father and continued, "And are you willing to let your daughter meet her own doom? Let me ask both of you. Do you know how to acquire resources? Even if you do, do you think you can survive against those creatures? How do you access side stories? Without information, both of you are likely to die."

Frederick then continued, "You won't lose anything by sharing some information that will likely become common knowledge," Frederick reasoned. "While the information I'm offering may eventually be known by everyone, it is absolutely crucial for your survival at this moment."

Hearing him, their expressions began to falter, their initial anger giving way to a sense of grim realization. Frederick's words rang true; their desperate situation required every bit of information they could gather about this place. The daughter seemed to want to argue further but found herself unable to speak when her gaze fell on her father. With a conflicted expression, the father then said, "We will know if you lie. So speak, what do you know?"

Frederick silently took note of this information and blamed his luck for meeting another candidate who could detect lies before saying, "I will also eventually know if you lie so …" Frederick kept his words vague. Truth be told, even if they lied to him, Frederick wouldn't really get revenge at all. In his mind, he was only thinking about benefits and only benefits. Benefits are the first step to power. Power is happiness, so isn't benefit also the first form of happiness?

"Is that a threat?" asked the father with a grave voice as he was getting ready to fight.

"Old man, don't be foolish. Consider how these authority orbs ended up in my possession. Now think about your authorities, I truly wonder if you can call the police in this situation," said Frederick with a calm tone as he looked at them with an icy, emotionless gaze.

It was, of course, another bluff that he made. His words implied, "I've killed five people using my unknown authority. What about you? Can your lie-detection authority or your daughter's authority even fight head-on with me? Don't try to call for help; it is useless."

The man didn't seem to understand at first, and he took some time to finally understand Frederick's intentions. With a grave frown on his face, he stood silent. Seeing that, Frederick said, "Give me information first; I will then tell you how to obtain food and information about the creatures that hunt people."

"No! You tell us first; otherwise, there's no deal—" Before the daughter could even finish her sentence, her father simply answered, "Just tell him, Talia. The faster we end this, the faster he will go away," said the father with a resigned expression. Talia seemed to want to rebuke but seeing her father's expression, she just gave up.

"Ugh, fine!" Talia reluctantly agreed, her annoyance evident. "Now listen, you fucker. I'm what the puppet calls an authority smith. Authority smiths play a special role in the Chronicles. We're the ones who get to 'forge' authorities for other candidates, which lets them use those authority orbs. Each authority smith falls under two categories, Item smith or Permanent smith. We forge in different ways depending on our authority. Item smiths can create a bunch of items, while permanent smiths like me create a more permanent way to forge. My method? Tattoos, if you must know."

She paused, rolling her eyes at Frederick's expectant look, then continued with a huff, "Now, there's a big difference between using an item and getting something more permanent. When you use an item, it won't show up in your status, and you're screwed if you lose it. Plus, the assimilation rate, or how much you 'sync' with the authority, is way lower. The upside? No cursed side effects, lucky you!"

Talia didn't hide her irritation as she went on, "Then there are folks like me, who directly give the authority on your status. With this method, you get a much higher assimilation rate, and it becomes a permanent part of your status. But guess what? You'll have to deal with the full curse, no matter how 'in sync' you are, and you can't just get rid of it, unlike that temporary item crap."

Frederick sought some clarifications, "What exactly are these assimilation rates?"

With a disdainful tone, she responded to Frederick's inquiry, "Assimilation rates? They're all about how much of the authority's juice you can tap into. A 1% rate? That means you're barely scratching the surface, buddy. Go for 100%, and you're at full throttle, no holds barred. As for us permanent smiths, the higher your level is, the more dexterity you need to pull it off on someone. And no, I don't know how it works for item smiths, so your fucker's brain got it?"

Frederick swiftly processed the information, mentally summarizing it. Authority smiths like Talia could forge authorities either as items with lower assimilation rates but no curses or as more permanent ones with higher assimilation rates, but you will fully suffer from the curse.

The assimilation rate determined how much of an authority's power could be harnessed, ranging from a mere fraction to the entire might. In the case of permanent authorities, the smith's dexterity stats played crucial roles since the higher the candidate's level is, the higher the stat in dexterity is needed to forge on the said candidate so it would be easier to get one earlier. This newfound knowledge opened up possibilities for Frederick, and he had to change some of his plans.

"Does your dexterity stat have any impact on the assimilation rate? And is there a maximum limit for permanent ones?" Frederick inquired, his fingers tracing the authorities fastened to his left leg with woven grass.

Talia responded briskly, "No, and no but you'll have to bear multiple curses." She displayed clear impatience, then shifted to a serious expression as she demanded, "Now, it's your turn to give us information about this place. Don't you dare lie, you fucker."

Frederick was lost in his thoughts as he was changing his plans. Only idiots would not be in this situation. He suddenly asked, "Can you forge me a permanent authority? I will add even more precious information, and I can promise you two that I won't hurt any of you."

"You fucker didn't even give us any information yet, but you want to get even more ?! Go fuck yourself! I will not forge for you even if you kill me, you fuck—" Before she could even finish her curse, her father interrupted her.

"What kind of information are you ready to offer for this service? You will have to tell everything first," the father inquired, his expression tinged with sadness, something Frederick noticed but chose not to dwell on.

"Dad?! I don't want to help this murderer! He's a fucking monster, and you want to help him? That's like helping him kill!" Talia protested.

Her father wore an apologetic expression as he replied, "I'm sorry, my dear Talia... I once promised your mother that I would always protect you no matter what, and I intend to keep that promise. I'll bear the consequences of this, but right now, you need to survive."

Talia seemed to want to argue but fell silent instead. Frederick noted her obedient nature when it comes to her father but kept it to himself, choosing to continue, "You can find food and water in crates hidden around the forest. There are monsters roaming around. They are strong enough to rip you apart easily, so you should put out the fir—"

The father's expression shifted abruptly, and he didn't wait for Frederick to finish before extinguishing the fire. As the flames died down, darkness enveloped them, and Frederick could barely discern the vague figures of Talia and her father.

The father then asked, "So what's the extra information we can get by forging for you?"

"I know of a town where you'll find many candidates who appeared together. I can tell you its location and promise not to harm you guys," Frederick offered truthfully. He had no way of knowing if there were many authority smiths around, so he planned to keep Talia alive by sending her to the town. Frederick wanted to be able to access a way to use authority orbs in the future even if he had to kidnap her father to do so. While this would also strengthen the town, it didn't matter much to Frederick, as he knew he wouldn't be able to "farm" there anyway.

He was confident that the town chief, who had tried to kill him before, would be more interested in Talia's power than in the mediocre amount of experience points he would gain by killing her, especially since her authority didn't grant any combat abilities. Even if the town already had an authority smith, the chances of them having a permanent smith were slim.

Both Talia and her father were taken aback by this newfound information, and they allowed a glimmer of hope to creep into their expressions. After a brief, awkward silence during which they exchanged meaningful glances, Talia hesitated. She found herself torn between her deep disdain for Frederick and her father's desperate plea to ensure her safety. Her brows furrowed as she observed her father's sorrowful expression.

Throughout her life, she had aspired to protect those in need, inspired by her father's career in the police. He had always been her role model, and now, witnessing her father compromise his strong moral principles for her sake, she felt a profound sense of guilt. After a moment of internal struggle, she finally relented and said, "I... I will do it, but you have to promise not to harm us."

As Talia's internal struggle played out, her father battled his own emotions. He grappled with the weight of the promise he had made to protect his daughter, a promise that now forced him to make unthinkable choices. The thought of compromising his morals for her safety gnawed at him, but he couldn't bear the idea of risking losing her

"I'm so sorry that you have to make this choice, Talia," her father said with an even more guilt-ridden expression.

Frederick's face remained impassive as he simply replied, "Deal."