After Captain Shang left, I received two more people who wanted to buy cabins, but they were, again, solo travelers. I registered the two young men; one of them said he was a mercenary and asked for a lower-priced ticket. I told him that he should buy the ticket now and later we could negotiate a job for the next few months. In the end, he agreed and paid as well.
When I looked at the time, it was already close to 6:00 p.m., and neither Ted nor Omar came to me. They must have been busy on the ship. I'll stop by before I go home, but first, I need to wait a bit because of the deadline I gave Jack. So I asked the waiter to prepare 6 extra meals to go. When there were less than 10 minutes left to finish the deadline I gave, Jack came back. He sat down in front of me and handed me a black shadow bag identical to Omar's. When I touched it, the same cold feeling was felt again in my hand.
[BEEP]
[Shadow bag detected]
[Do you wish to remove the link?] (Y) (N)
The man continued to look at me under his mask. I can't see his face, but I imagine he's anxious to make sure I can do what I promised. To disguise it, I move my lips and say a few words in Latin before confirming YES in the system to break the link. A faint red light appears between my hand and the bag that is in contact. The light was small and very fast, but if I saw it, I believe Jack saw it too.
[The blood link of the previous owner has been removed]
[Do you wish to establish a new link?]
I ignore the new message, take out my dagger, and cut my finger, letting a small drop of blood fall into the black leather bag. The drop is absorbed as if the bag had drunk my blood. Soon after, I can feel a connection with a space near me that is the same size as Omar said. As if it were a small two-door closet as tall as me. I focus on the space and see many things: there are clothes, drinks, 1 gold watch, a jewelry box, 2 bags of coins, and many coppers and silvers scattered around... I even see some bread. I take everything out in front of Jack. I start counting the copper and silver and quickly open both bags to discover 20 gold coins in each one. I push 20 gold coins in Jack's direction before passing another 50 silvers and about 200 coppers as well.
Without ceremony, he takes everything and starts putting it in a cloth bag.
"And the owner of the bag?" I ask.
"A disgusting slave trader. He won't wake up for the next two or three days. I left him in his bed, they'll think he's sick."
"Good, very good! Remember the deal: 3 more bags in the next 2 days; don't take too many. After that, on Friday night, you can let loose and grab a lot at once, but that will be a one-time job. After that, I'll leave Valyria, and I recommend you do the same.
"Knock Knock!"
"Your order is ready, Sir!"
I use the bag again to put everything that was on the table, except for the coins that I store in my system.
Then the waiter comes in and leaves the 6 boxes on the table. I agreed with him about everything I consumed during the afternoon at the Sleeping Dragon and asked him to keep room 3 reserved for me every afternoon. He thanks me for my preference and leaves. I hand one of the boxes to Jack before putting the other five in my new bag. I take out the slave master's clothes, bread, and drinks and ask Jack to get rid of them.
"See you tomorrow then," Jack says goodbye.
I wave to him and leave him in the room. He's putting everything I gave him from the man in his cloth bag. When I arrive outside the tavern, I see the old coachman talking to another gentleman near other carriages. I'm sorry to make you wait so long; here's your dinner. The old man is happy and thanks me for the lunchbox and puts it in a place inside the carriage. On the way back, I stop by the blacksmith I ordered the scorpion from and ask if he plans to install any tonight, but he says no, but assures me that he will have 2 tomorrow night. Without much to worry about, I headed towards the ship. Inside the carriage, I see a new message from the system.
[Shadow bag linked]
[Do you wish to absorb the enchantments?]
I realized that even with the bag linked, the mission was not yet complete, so I could only accept and do what the system asked. As a precaution, I take out the jewelry box, the contents of which I haven't looked at yet, and leave the gold watch and the 4 remaining lunchboxes in the bag. Then, many messages appear:
[Shadow Space Enchantment has been absorbed by the system]
[System Quest Completed]
[Obtain at least 1 Shadow Storage Bag or Tree Storage Bag.]
[Experience has been gained]
[New System Function Unlocked:]
[Space Storage] +
[A personal space of the user allows you to store items in a similar way to storage bags. The size reflects that of the absorbed bags and the current system level.]
[The system has been raised to level 2]
[new functions have been unlocked]
Bloodmage System Level 2
-Storage has been improved +
[The current space has been expanded.]
-Poison Immunity (low) +
[A Blood Mage has high control over his own body; the user is now no longer affected by low-level toxins.]
-Disease Immunity (low)
[The Blood Mage's immune system is superior to that of ordinary people; minor diseases cannot infect the user.]
-Synthesis Skill (locked)
[You have not met the conditions to use this skill.]
-Alteration Skill (locked)
[You have not met the conditions to use this skill.]
I look at the new space that appears in my mind, and its size is 3 times larger than the bag I had before. The 4 lunch boxes and the gold watch are inside. I test it out and store my cloth bag with several papers and notes, and it appears inside, floating motionless. I smile in excitement, this space can help me a lot more now. Besides, the Bloodmage system has finally lived up to its name, finally giving me 4 skills at once. Although I can't use the last two and don't know what they're for, the first two make me quite satisfied, and for the first time, I feel safer in this world where there is no modern medicine.
***
Inside private room number 3, a man with violet eyes and blond hair, only 25-30 years old, is sitting, eating a lunchbox that is still warm. Next to his lunchbox is a full-face mask made of metal, and next to the mask is a face made of human skin without eyes. The face has white hair and several wrinkles, giving the appearance of a gentle and fragile gentleman. He looked at the two masks before thinking: If it weren't for these two layers of mask, I would have shown a shameful face today. I can't believe that the boy was able to break the Blood Bond…
Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to flip through some pages again that had a lot of information about Rafael. The reason why he took so long during the afternoon wasn't because the target was a hassle but because he went looking for information about Rafael after he stole the bag. He was very surprised because he thought that Rafael was working with some Blood Mage from the 40 families, but he was the Mage himself. However, there was no record of him being a Bloodmage or being an apprentice; the only suspicious thing about him would be the lack of information about his mother. This wasn't common for commoners, because even if the mothers were whores, they still had a way of knowing.
"Interesting… I don't care about his origins or intentions; I only care about money, so as long as he doesn't go back on his words, I should choose my next targets very carefully to make a greater profit. This opportunity could be my retirement, and the Order has become very aggressive recently. I will take the boy's advice and leave as soon as this job is done...