“So over the course of three years, you basically paid for a full Basic on, and you have to keep paying to still use a Basic on? Feels bad, right? Well, maybe three years pass, and… I could maybe update your on.” Adam spoke as though the Chief was the one buying a magical item from him. “You subscribed to this Basic on, Chief, because you couldn’t afford it. However, you spent those three years grinding hard, and now… now you’re stronger. Now, you’ve got more money.” Adam raised his brows. “Right?”

  “Right?”

  “So we have something called a trade in offer. You e back with the bde, the bde you paid, what? At least a thousand and two hundred gold? So basically, you paid off the on, but if you don’t keep paying, it just bees a mundane on. Still, a Basic o really work well for you, you need somethier. You trade in the on that you paid for, basically full price, and we give you a dist on an upgraded version of the on.”

  Iromin narrowed his eyes.

  “You upgrade from a Basic on, to a Basihanced, reat, ht? What are they, like three, four thousand gold? Well, you don’t have three or four thousand gold, but yht in the on that you don’t need, right? I mean, it’s so silly to have two magical ons you pay for. Well, that’s five hundred gold off the price. Let’s say it was four thousand inally, I think I used that before, so we’ll use four thousand for simplicity. Well, now the on is three thousand five hundred, but maybe you still ’t afford that. Well, normally, it’s two thousand and a monthly fee, but you traded in the on you don’t need, so it’s ohousand and five hundred with a monthly fee.”

  ‘…’

  “You pay ohousand and five hundred, and look at that, the monthly payment is roughly the same, just a little more. You’ve rationalised the payment before, right? Well, now it’s for something eveer, so you spare ara ten gold a month, ara one hundred or so gold a year, no problem. Plus, now you’re earning even more, so it’s teically even cheaper than before.”

  ‘How did he e up with this?’

  “So don’t you feel happy with a better on, and you even got a dist for returning the on you didn’t need any more! You leave a happy er, and we’re happy you’re happy, but we’re even more happy, because now…” Adam held up Wraith, and then began to it using his sleeve. “We’ve got the on that you paid over a thousand gold for.” Adam checked Wraith, eyeing it up. “Needs a little elbow grease, but it’ll be as good as new, and it’ll be on the shelf. Would you look at that, a new er, a brand new er, who needs a Basic on. Well, we’ve got a Basic on, and what’s that? You want a subscription? No problem. We have this on, a wonderful on, that someone is paying full price for once more. Then, maybe in ahree years, would you look at that? Someone’s e to return this on that has been bought and paid for twice.”

  ‘How terrifying!’

  “Perhaps, a noble wants a really nice on. Legendary Enhanced. Obviously, who has the…” Adam thought about the price of such a on. “Fifty thousand gold? Let’s just say that’s the price for such a on, even if it isn’t. Perhaps, instead, they afford ten thousand gold, and that’s about the price food Greater Enhanced bde, ht be expensive for that too? I don’t know. Anyway…”

  ‘How far is he willing to go?

  “That noble buys a Greater Enhanced on for ten thousand. It’s got some extra fire damage, because that’s cssic, right? Then, that noble, maybe he wants to show off to his friends. They have their own wizards with Identify, right? Well, before he lets them Identify it, he pays the ohousand gold for the month, and maybe, just maybe, there’s a Legendary bonus on the on. He pays ahousand gold? Well, maybe the extra fire damage the on does, maybe there’s a little bit more fire now.” Adam shrugged his shoulders, sipping more of his juice.

  Iromin remaiaring at Adam. “It is unreasoo assume they will pay two thousand gold a month for such extra bonuses.”

  “He might go to war to show off his on, and he doesn’t want to die, so he’ll keep paying a thousand gold each month, maybe even two thousand each month. There’s a lot of wars happening around the area. Maybe he goes out to hunt a powerful hydra? His kids will also fight in wars. His kids kids will fight in wars. Maybe it averages out to a thousand gold a year, but over the course of fifty years? A huhat’s a lot of money, Chief. Money from the Aldishmen that might find its way into the Iyr’s coffers, slowly bleeding them dry.”

  ‘…’ Iromin wasn’t even able to think. The words Adam had spoken to him, they should never have been uttered. “With such ons, they would deal great damage to we Iyrmen.”

  “Well, damn, isn’t it a shame that’s a breach of the tract they sign for the subscription, and so the on is no longer powered quite as well as it should be?” Adam shrugged his shoulders. “If they’re going to break their tract, then screw them. If someone kills the guy, and doesn’t pay the money for it, well they won’t get the extra bonuses either. They’ll o pay up to put their subscription in their name, and then they start paying for the subscription.”

  Iromin had no idea that someone could be so evil for the sake of gold. ‘Adam, have you lost that good heart of yours?’

  “Right now, I pn to keep the pnned obsolesce. I’ll make ons with charges which will eventually run out, and then ohat happens, maybe the on bees just a normal on, or if it’s Basihanced, just a Basic on. That way the Iyr won’t be in danger if the ons are used against them.”

  “You have thought that much ahead?”

  Adam ughed. “Of course! All I do is think, Chief.” Adam tio chuckle, sipping more of his juice. “You know, this reminds me about a story in my world. It’s a made up story, but often times we like to read these made up stories. Anyway, there’s this guy, right? Give him enough time to prepare, and he beat anyone, even beings that are as strong as the Divine. He’s just that smart.”

  Iromin remained silent, w what Adam was getting at.

  “Now, the differeween him and I is, I have cheats, but he’s still smart enough to kill me, given enough prep time.” Adam ughed, patting his leg. “So even if I seem dangerous, don’t worry. I’m only a Half Elf, and I’m sure that the Iyr, what with all its secrets, could easily kill me.” Adam stared into the Chief’s eyes, w if he uood what Adam had gotten at.

  Iromin slowly bowed his head, realising that it wasn’t he who was the figure that could even kill the Gods given enough time. “I will bring this matter up to the Great Elders.”

  Adam smiled. “Chief?”

  “Yes?”

  “Why didn’t you e and say hello to my precious babies on their birthday?” Adam asked.

  “I ot leave my duties so easily.”

  “If you’re pnning on killing their daddy, you should at least do that much. You should be like me, Chief, a good man with a good heart!”

  Iromin remained silent for a long moment, before bowing his head. “Adam?”

  “Yes?”

  Iromin wondered what he should say. “The tides of war are ging, and soon, Aldnd will lose.”

  “Even with the Iyr’s help?”

  “The Iyrmen had remained as a defensive force. They shall soourn, however, as the King will be forced into a peace. If the King does not wish for peace, then we will send the Iyrmen to the capital, where they will defend it to keep our promise.”

  “So he might still want to keep fighting the war even if he loses?”

  “It is unlikely, sihe King will want to press his cims to the isnds he has won, and will be uo do so if he ot access the strait. The strait will allow his various ships to access the isnds. He has access to them now, but only Duke Lio is able to send his ships. If the King allows the Duke to act first, the Duke may be able to gain more influence.”

  “Politics.”

  “Yes.”

  “I spoke to Jarot retly, and he seemed fine,” Adam said. “I swear, if he dies, I’ll bully him. He ’t go dying without saying happy birthday to his greatchildren.”

  “Perhaps we should kill you after all?”

  “You’re just joking, right, Chief?”

  “…”

  “Right?”

  “…”

  “Alright, fine, don’t reply,” Adam grumbled. “I do have a request, though.”

  “What is it?”

  Be careful of subscriptions!

  I wonder what the request is.