Shadow Slave

The Silver Bell rang once more, and a new customer walked in. Sunny was idly wondering what they would order when he noticed who it was. A moment later, his eyes glistened with professional interest.

It was a young woman wearing light armor and a white cape… an Awakened. Her elegant beauty and golden hair were lovely, but her expression was cold and composed, creating an uninviting impression.

Sunny did not really care about what she looked like, though. The aloof Awakened was important because she was one of his clients, and had come to retrieve a Memory. More than that, she was a Legacy. Which meant a hefty commission and a great boost to the Brilliant Emporium's reputation.

Plus, she was a passing acquaintance from Sunny's former life. Even though they had only met a few times, hers was still a familiar face.

He smiled and bowed politely.

«Awakened Telle. Welcome.»

The young woman glanced at him sternly and nodded.

«Master Sunless. I'll be leaving Bastion soon, so I wanted to check on your progress. It would be convenient if you procure a suitable Memory before I depart.»

He couldn't help but widen his smile a little.

«It is good that you decided to pay the Brilliant Emporium a visit, my lady. In fact, I have just recently acquired something that might be of interest to you.»

Sunny did not make a big secret of the fact that he could craft Memories, but he was hiding the extent of his abilities. So, for the more demanding commissions, he pretended to be a mere merchant. Very few people knew what he was really capable of.

For most, it seemed like he simply possessed a network of connections that allowed him to find and purchase suitable Memories in a timely fashion.

Sunny signaled Aiko to hold down the fort and invited Awakened Telle to follow him downstairs. Passing through an ornate wooden door, they descended a set of stairs and entered the spacious basement of the Marvelous Mimic.

There, a large chamber was illuminated by the soft light of enchanted lanterns. The furnishing was luxurious, but tasteful, exuding elegance and class. Various Memories were displayed in glass cases that were attached to the walls, sharp steel glinting on dark velvet. No sound from the upper floor reached this silent place, creating a solemn atmosphere.

…In short, Sunny had nothing to do with designing how the Memory Boutique looked. It was all Aiko's work.

The petite girl possessed much more knowledge on how to actually sell Memories, both because she had been close to Stev, the caretaker of the Bright Castle's arsenal, and because she had run the actual operation of Sunny's Brilliant Emporium in the past. Plus, she was generally savvy when it came to business.

Aiko had explained her rationale well to make Sunny sign off on all these expensive furnishings.

There were much more Awakened now, but good Memories were still quite expensive. In that sense, they were much closer to luxury goods than to common tools. Therefore, a Memory shop had to cater to a luxurious clientele in order to seem reputable. The classier it looked, the more inclined affluent clients would feel about spending their coins here.

Although Aiko had complained that the Brilliant Emporium had only sold one Memory in the last two months, it was actually not that bad of a result. In fact, Sunny only had to sell a Memory once in a while to keep the business afloat… selling one every month, meanwhile, would be more than enough to turn a large profit.

Right now, the main problem he faced was not weaving Memories, but actually crafting them. Since Sunny did not want to reveal his secrets, he was reluctant to partner up with external specialists. Therefore, he did everything alone, playing the role of a blacksmith, jeweler, tanner, tailor, carpenter, and so on himself.

He was surprisingly good at it… well, actually, it was not very surprising.

Sunny had learned the basics of craftsmanship a long time ago. Every Awakened knew how to survive in the wilderness, which included maintaining their equipment, constructing shelter, sewing up wounds, and many other things. Additionally, he deepened his knowledge of all kinds of crafting while learning to weave Memories.

That knowledge was then put to the test when he lost access to the Nightmare Spell and had to survive in the remote regions of the Dream Realm alone for three years.

Most importantly, though… Sunny was a weaver. His ability to craft weaves of essence strings made all other forms of craftsmanship seem accessible. He also had a golden touch due to consuming Weaver's phalanx.

Lastly, he was a Transcendent. His dexterity, physical coordination, and precision were unrivaled, his senses were vastly superior to those of mundane humans, and his mental acumen was far beyond the norm.

In short, Sunny had put a lot of effort into mastering his trade, and was confident that he would not lose to the famed forgemasters of Clan Valor when it came to the quality of his craftsmanship.

Although… he was somewhat envious of all the tools and resources they had access to.

Awakened Telle could not see it, but there was more than one chamber in the basement of the Marvelous Mimic. Sunny also had an expansive workshop hidden behind the boutique, containing everything he used to do work, from a forge and a kiln to a pottery wheel and a sewing machine. There was also a large storage room where various materials, mostly sourced from the carcasses of Nightmare Creatures, were kept.

It had not been easy to arrange a proper workshop in the basement of the Marvelous Mimic, let alone an opulent boutique. The interior of the Shadow was somewhat of a separate dimension, after all, and although Sunny had managed to alter the weave of the original Covetous Coffer to make it capable of containing living things, it wasn't really suited for it.

Above ground, the problem was easily solved by having the Marvelous Mimic manifest windows, which could let in air and light. Below ground, though, things were a bit tricky.

In the end, Sunny had to create enchanted lanterns for illumination and heat plates for warmth. The air, meanwhile, was supplied by inferior copies of the Quintessence Pearl placed strategically here in there. The Marvelous Mimic supplied the essence needed to keep these enchanted items working itself.

That arrangement had the side effect of turning the interior of the Marvelous Mimic into an isolated environment that could sustain human life… or any kind of life, really… even if the Shadow was buried deep underground or fell to the bottom of the ocean. Even drowning in a volcano was not going to present much of a problem.

But that was beside the point. Sunny had no intentions of drowning in volcanoes any time soon. or better yet ever.

Walking to a rich mahogany display table, Sunny put on black woolen gloves and retrieved an elegant lacquered box, placing it down carefully.

Then, he opened the lid and smiled at Awakened Telle politely.

«Please, take a look.»

Inside the box was a Memory that he had recently finished crafting.