Recompensa De La Rosa

John looked down at the roses he’d made, picking one up and scrutinising it. It was very obviously rushed, the folds weren’t great, and due to scaling down from the size he was used to, he had made a lot of small rips and the paper had crumpled a little. They had a vague rose shape to them but they wouldn’t look out of place amidst the waste paper bin.

’It doesn’t matter how shitty they are now, it’s for a quest and I don’t have nearly enough time to make them again,’ John thought, letting out a sigh. Seeing the counter tick down to only one minute left, he reached up and tapped Yes on the quest window.

Quest Complete!

Please select which enchantments you would like to place on each rose:

Black - Although black roses are often associated with **** and mourning, they signify peace and tranquillity. This rose when activated emanates a Soothing Aura in a two-metre radius. Intense emotions are dampened by a small degree while you are within its area of effect. To activate this rose, you must firmly set it in an upright position in a fixed location for ten minutes. The aura will last for as long as the rose is stationary.

Purple - A regal coloured rose, when invoked the user will be affected by Imposing Presence. Though you will not grow in size, others will perceive you as larger and more noticeable; your voice will travel further and will seem slightly louder; minor blunders will be ignored; and your aura will give off a more refined cadence. This rose is activated by being tapped four times in quick succession, and the effect will last an hour unless you repeat the four taps in order to end its effect early. After ten minutes the effect will be available once more.

Blue - A blue rose is extremely hard to find in nature, unless you are able to use magic. While under the effect of the Distortion Field, your presence will not be questioned and people won’t pay attention to you. Anyone who sees you will find it hard to recall your appearance afterwards. The effect of this rose is active while the rose is clutched tightly in your hand.

Green - The colour of nature and balance. The Prickle of Mutual Destruction ensures that those involved in combat with you receive equal damage. This works both ways, however: dealing damage also causes you to take damage. This effect can be active for five minutes once every hour and requires you to spill blood onto the petals.

Yellow - The sunny hue of these roses perfectly reflects the effect they hold. While out in the field, you can always be sure you will have a Warm Respite. You can think of this rose as a portable temperature-controlled tent. Once activated, the area around the rose will protect those inside from nature and the elements. The effect of this rose is activated when it is tossed onto the ground and will last for ten hours. Once the time runs out or the rose is retrieved cancelling the effect, the rose must rest a number of hours equal to how long it was active.

Peach - The colour of sincerity. Anyone in contact with this rose is affected by the Tongue of Truth: lying becomes harder, and you might find that even if you are able to, you will display a subtle but noticeable tell.

Orange - Gratitude is commonly shown with an orange rose; those around you who gain the benefits of the rose will be the ones who are thankful while being within the Rose of Protection. A spectral barrier is created in a one-metre diameter which will not allow any malice to pass in or out. While inside the barrier, anyone with mortal wounds will feel the warmth of the barrier as it slowly stabilises their condition. Holding the rose aloft will cause the barrier to form; it grows heavier and heavier until the wielder is unable to hold their arm up any longer.

Red - Passion runs deep with this rose. You will find that while in possession of this item, it will become easier to pursue your Heart’s Desire. Simply wanting something will not be enough to invoke the effects of this rose; your goal must be something you are willing to sacrifice for. You will still have to work for whatever it is that you desire, but you will find yourself more fortunate on your path towards your end goal.

Pink - This soft elegant rose is perfect for those who wish to present a dignified visage. Graceful Refinement will bring out your physical beauty. Hair, makeup and clothes will all be cleaned up and fixed and you will be left with a subtle scent of roses. You will feel a pull to correct your posture, and for a short time, grime and stains will find it hard to tarnish your freshened appearance. Waving this rose around your target will activate the effect, allowing you and your entourage to enter any party and turn heads for the right reasons.

White - The core of this rose is pure and that is reflected in its effects. Divine Purity continuously flows out of this rose. Poisons, toxins, infections, parasites and curses can be cleansed or weakened by the presence of this rose. Throwing this rose into the air will activate its second effect: turning a small area into consecrated ground for a short period.

’Well, the enchantments all look pretty good,’ he thought, looking over the window. ’The easiest solution would be to make two of each of the enchantments. It’s obvious Gaia wants me to give them to Moira though, which isn’t the worst idea, I did admit to stealing her chastity belt thing. I also still have the handcuffs they used on me; I should observe that sometime soon. Okay, so… Some of these seem like things I’d only need to get one of: White, Pink, Red, Peach, Green and Purple. That leaves fourteen roses to use four enchantments on. Since she’s like a leader or something, I feel like it’d be useful to have two blue and yellow roses. That leaves ten roses to split between two enchantments… hmmm.’

John scratched his head while he thought. _’Right, probably best just splitting them in half, right? But, what if I got two orange roses and kept them separate? I could give one to Ellie, and save the other for a spare just in case. I don’t want what happened with Alison to happen again and having something like that might help.

’Okay, so if with the rest I made six orange roses, keep two, then the rest could be Black, I’m sure if she’s in charge of people, it’s probably pretty stressful, so she’d be glad to have a place to go that literally calms her down…’

Hitting confirm, he noticed the roses in front of him changing. The flowers themselves shifted slightly, the rips, scrunched and wrongly folded sections all vanishing. The gold colour seemed to get shinier and brighter. Then the stems began to change, each one changing to a colour matching the enchantment they bore. The leaves melded into the wooden dowel slightly before changing into wood themselves, matching the colour of the stems.

John’s head shot up, looking around to see if anyone had noticed. That’s when he realised the classroom was empty, save for his teacher who was seemingly too busy looking at his next lesson plan to realise John was still in the classroom.

Quickly John stowed the roses into his inventory and shuffled out of the class, rushing towards Miss Addams’s room. Luckily it seemed that there were still a couple of people heading into the classroom. Upon entering he noticed Vanessa, who glared at him before going back to her phone.

As he walked towards his usual seat, he noticed someone sitting in it. Before he could question it, Miss Addams called out to him and the other students that just made it to class in time, “Nice to see you all finally make it to class. You might have noticed some seating alterations. Only John out of you who came late has been moved, though. You are seated with Vanessa. The rest of you will notice you have a new desk buddy, this is to try to help productivity in class. Those finding it a little harder to grasp the language are now paired with someone who can help them along. I’m not about to become a super strict teacher but I’d like you all to do the best you can in class and this seems like a way to help everyone.”

John nodded and walked over to Vanessa’s table and sat next to her. “Hi,” John offered flatly, smirking a little.

Vanessa clicked her tongue. “Don’t talk to me,” she growled.

“Fine,” John muttered, getting everything he needed for class out. He smirked again and turned to Vanessa. “How’s Frank?” he muttered.

Rather than answering, Vanessa just continued to ignore him. He found it amusing but he also realised it was probably best not to poke the bear. Class continued on, and while it seemed that Miss Addams’s plan was working for most, there were a few people who seemingly didn’t want to help each other or flat out refused to talk.

John noticed his teacher walking over to each pairing that didn’t want to work together. John couldn’t hear what she’d said but two of the groups began working together. The other two pairs had a single person from each stand and switch tables and the new pairings seemed to reluctantly begin working.

Finally, It was John and Vanessa’s turn. His teacher approached and leaned over the desk. “I see the two of you aren’t working together? Did your tutor session not go well?”

John thought back; the session itself had been okay, nothing ground-breaking, but it was a start. What happened after, however, made John’s trousers slightly tighter. John cleared his throat. “Uhm, it went okay. It was only one session though, so it’s not like I managed to teach her an entire language.”

Miss Addams nodded. “Good, and no, I didn’t expect Vanessa to suddenly start getting straight As in class from one tutor session. But it is slightly worrying that the two of you are refusing to even talk during class.” The teacher looked directly at Vanessa. “I wasn’t bluffing when I mentioned that I’d have to have a word about you being suspended from cheerleading.”

“Fine!” Vanessa huffed, crossing her arms to show her contempt.

“I hadn’t asked before, but did you have some kind of schedule for your tutor sessions?” their teacher enquired.

“Uh, no, we hadn’t really talked about it…” John confessed. “We basically did it the same day as our last lesson.”

Addams nodded. “That makes sense. It would probably be good to have your tutor sessions the same days as our lesson in school, that way things are fresher in your mind.”

John awkwardly scratched his neck. “Oh, uh, I, yeah?” he muttered, looking over at Vanessa.

For her part, she rolled her eyes at John. “Fine, sure. If I have to do it anyway, it might as well be the same day as this boring class.”

Their teacher smiled. “Good! Now, if you wouldn’t mind working together during class as well? This should benefit both of you.”

John nodded and Vanessa sighed. Their teacher walked away and Vanessa reluctantly began working with John, though trying to keep talking to a minimum. The class seemed to drag especially with Vanessa glaring at John the entire time, more so when he corrected her or explained anything.

Soon enough the bell rang out and Vanessa stood up gathering her things. “Don’t be late to my house after school, better to just get this shit over with.”

John didn’t respond, and even if he wanted to, Vanessa hadn’t given him the chance. John was slightly annoyed at Vanessa’s cold shoulder; he didn’t expect her to like him or anything, but it seemed that she was being extra bitchy for no reason.

He collected his things when an idea crossed his mind and he smiled. Seeing how it was lunch, John headed to the cafeteria, grabbed something to eat and quickly headed out before he had the ‘pleasure’ of bumping into Frank again.

He sat down on a bench in the hallway and began eating the mediocre sandwich he’d bought. He took his phone out and sent a text to Robin.

< J: Hey, so I’m stuck after school doing some tutoring. It should only take like a couple of hours, so we’ll meet up after. That cool with you? >

< R: Wow, didn’t take you for someone who needed tutoring :P and sure that’ll be fine, got a location in mind? >

< J: You’re hilarious. Was thinking Old Spring Forest, maybe? >

< R: Sounds good! There is a natural barrier in there we could go into >

< J: Natural barrier? Someone mentioned that before. What is that? >

< R: TL;DR something something, magical energy, something something, makes large barriers that naturally appear. >

< J: Thanks, that helps a ton ¬.¬ How about we just meet at the bus stop and then figure it out after. >

< R: Bus stop it is, got a guesstimated time? >

< J: I finish classes at 15:30, say it takes 20 minutes to get to the house, then an hour tutoring session, then a five-minute walk to the bus stop, so let's say around 17:20ish >

< R: K, I’ll see you there. >

John smiled then sent Ellie a message too.

< J: Hey beautiful, hope things are all good on your end, thinking of meeting up at around 17:20 at the bus stop in the woods xxx >

Staring at his phone for ten minutes, he felt an uneasy pit in his stomach waiting without any reply from Ellie. John quickly finished eating before trying to find a distraction by looking through the UI on his phone. Which is when he realised that he had a few items that he hadn’t looked at yet. Seeing it as a good thing to occupy his mind, he started with the handcuffs he’d been restrained with, in Moira’s barrier.

Anti-Magic Cuffs

(Naturally Enchanted)

These handcuffs are made from Mage’s Bane Alloy and are highly durable.

Mage’s Bane Alloy: This material is the work of alchemists and master metallurgists. The creation of this alloy must be done entirely by hand and without the use of any magic.

This alloy's unique property is that it converts and disperses mana. The use in these cuffs essentially renders almost all mages magicless.

He eyed the collar he’d gotten not long ago but decided to look at it last, instead tapping on the net he’d gotten while in the kobold tunnels.

Kobold Net

This net is made from a mixture of Sarak fur and metal wire making it resistant to a range of temperatures. The strength and weight of the material used has **** the creation of this net to be as light-weight as possible to ensure the Kobolds using them are able to effectively throw it.

John nodded. ’Probably best off giving this back to the kobolds, since I don’t have much use for it. Well, maybe I’ll keep hold of it just for a little while, who knows when it could come in handy.’ John thought before moving on to the thing he was most interested in. ’I should definitely have looked at this sooner.’

UI Collar

(Uniquely Enchanted)
This collar is usable only by someone able to use The Gamer’s powers.

This 50mm thick black collar has several features. To give it a touch of femininity, the collar is lined with red lace. On the front is a silver ring that could be used to attach a leash but currently holds a large 35mm bell that lets out a melodic chime when agitated. The front is comfortably padded which spreads out any pressure caused by using the comfortable handle at the back.

Usually, the collar features a snap clasp in order to fix it in place; however, if equipped directly from the inventory, the collar will feature no clasp at all.

Inventory management: While equipped with this collar, the owner is able to open the wearer’s inventory wherever they are.

Equipment Options: Change the transparency and tangibility of equipment or use Transmogrification to alter the appearance to another piece of equipment of the same type. The effects can be altered for individuals, groups or everyone.

Auditory Options: Change volume or mute either the wearer or the chime of the bell. (This can be selected for everyone, individuals or groups.)

Restraints: The collar has the ability to tighten slightly, making it very noticeable around the neck without causing issues with breathing. Using a command word, gesture or opening the settings menu, the owner can effectively place unperceivable restraints on the collar limiting movement (this can be altered to allow for restricted movement or complete restraining). The wearer is able to break the restraints with some effort and the feature will not be available for use for twenty minutes.

John sat wide-eyed at the item description. _’That’s… a lot, I don’t even-”

His thought process was interrupted as the bell rang for his next class. Shaking his head John stood and made his way over to June’s art studio.

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