Alex, Menchi, and Jewel continue to scour the market for items.
Surprisingly, they manage to gather 5 items of varying Green Quality and 9 White Quality items without any effect or use, along with 10 White Quality pieces of equipment and weapons that can be taken out of this world, sold, and, of course, be turned into valuable shards, greatly pleasing Alex.
After grabbing a few snacks from a nearby food stall, barely approved by Menchi, the sun is already nearing the horizon. The group settles at a small wooden table next to the stand, with Jewel sitting right in the middle.
"That was kinda fun," Alex says while devouring a bowl of fried rice. "It's really easy to do it with three people. Jewel, you did a great job as well. I am impressed you didn't get distracted. I guess if it counts, we can always rely on you."
❤️
Jewel, munching happily on a piece of fried chicken, begins to dance in place, happy about Alex's compliment. Alex also notices that she's playing with a few colorful, round marbles.
"Jewel... did you take those?" Alex asks.
Yes, these shiny stones shine beautifully against the light. Princess Jewel offered fair compensation, though, as she agrees with Soulmate's philosophy.
Philosophy... that's going a bit far, but hey, it looks like Jewel is building up a conscience. That's progress.
A long string of her highest-quality web.
Fair compensation, huh? In what world... aren't you just making it worse by leaving behind webs for them to clean?
Of course not, Soulmate. That should be obvious!
That's like stealing a starving man's food and then spitting in his face if he complains. Well, at least she didn't steal something valuable, and her web, at least in her mind, is quite valuable... so she had good intentions.
Alex then looks at the round marbles.
"They're just marbles... colored glass. Well, if you like them, I'll buy you a few thousand when we're back home," Alex says with a laugh.
❤️
Meanwhile, Menchi, sampling a selection of fruits bought from the neighboring stall along with a skewer of grilled meat, still looks tense. "Eat up quickly. Let's sell these before the stores close in an hour or so. Also, I have a feeling that we're being followed."
"I didn't notice a thing. I even used En a couple of times, even when not looking for items... but I guess you're right; let's hurry up," Alex replies, quickly finishing his meal.
Princess Jewel didn't notice any Peasants targeting us as well.
"Maybe... I am wrong," Menchi admits. "It's just instinct... I didn't see anyone. It's just a feeling, you know? After a long time, you develop that kind of thing. Still, let's move and be alert."
"Well... I'm not experienced enough then because I didn't sense shit," Alex admits honestly.
Princess Jewel does believe in Science and logic, not in the made-up nonsense that Peasants spread.
"..."
"..."
Menchi then leads Alex and Jewel to a nearby pawn shop. Though the name fits, it doesn't quite do justice to the sheer size of the place.
"This is the most well-known and trusted pawn shop. It has a huge selection of goods. If we're lucky, we might be able to find some items we can turn into shards or FC," she explains with a grin.
The store is massive, with half a dozen workers inside and a steady flow of customers pawning their belongings.
"This shop offers fair rates... we lose about 10–20% of the item's value, but that's practically nothing in this line of business. They also won't try to deceive us... too much," Menchi informs them.
"Nice, I guess," Alex says, nodding in approval.
Since the counters are full, Alex takes a moment to look around, taking in the inventory. He spots a wide variety of items that the system acknowledges, though none of them can be taken out of this world.
"Just things to sell... and it looks like we can't steal from inside this shop," Alex mutters in disappointment—until something catches his eye.
A slightly glittering antique knife, faintly infused with Aura.
A Knife!! With Aura!!
"Could it be?!" He wonders.
[Traditional Cooking Knife]
World: Hunter x Hunter
Quality: White
Type: Knife
Required Stats: —
Durability: 13/20
Damage: 5-6
Note: A simple, yet well-crafted Knife from an old, no longer active knife manufacturer. A popular collectible for knife enthusiasts.
Price: 30,000 Jenny.
Not quite what I was looking for... but that would have been a little too easy, right?
"Nice... not quite the knife I was hoping for, but it counts nevertheless," Alex comments. "But it has a price... we can't just take it, so we actually need some money to acquire it legally. 30,000 Jenny is a steal, though; this shop is a gold mine. Let's keep looking."
The group quickly finds four more White items and even two Green items that they can take with them to the Realm and either sell or turn into shards.
"Menchi, you're learning from Benezia. Should I haggle, or do you want to give it a shot? I guess with your Skill, you'll be more effective than me with my Basic Eloquence," Alex says.
"Leave it to me," Menchi replies with a confident smile.
After a long, drawn-out negotiation that turns outright hostile near the end, Alex not only secures the five White and two Green items, but also ends up holding 110,000 Jenny in his hand, as Menchi not only haggles up the price of their own things they want to sell, but also manages to secure a 13% discount, slightly more than what Alex would have gotten with Basic Eloquence lvl 6.
"Hehe, what a nice day! Fifteen White items! This is crazy... insane. That's 30,000 FC in shards. Not fucking Jenny, but FC! My own and Jewel's LUK is giving us such a boost. Along with the two Green items, we really lucked out," Alex says, grinning, while Menchi also looks quite satisfied. "Too bad we don't have much time... if we could spend a month like this, we'd be earning a million at this rate... with no risk!"
"We've got enough money for a hotel. Let's book one a little further south, somewhere between the hideout and the markets, okay?" Alex suggests.
"Sounds like a plan," Menchi agrees.
Walking south from the center, the group takes almost an hour before reaching the abandoned industrial zone. However, they don't enter it and instead head toward an adjacent district—one that appears poor and mostly deserted, yet still somewhat functioning.
Spotting what looks like a small pension, Alex and Menchi approach it. As they walk along the street, Alex suddenly feels Jewel's sharp legs tense on his head, lightly piercing his skin.
"Ouch, what's wrong? Jewel?" Alex asks, wincing slightly.
Soulmate...!
Princess Jewel senses something... something radiating suspicious energy.
I thought you believed in science... what is that supposed to mean?
It's rolling toward us at high speed.
"What?!" Alex turns sharply to his left. A small metallic object, about the size of a large orange, is rolling straight toward them.
"The fuck? A ball? A grenade? No, it's too smooth... what is that?" Alex mutters, already stepping back.
"What is it?" Menchi asks, only now noticing the object as it comes to a halt near her.
"Back up!" Alex shouts. "NOW!"
Without just a slight buildup, dazzling light becomes visible on the surface of the round object, and Alex immediately realizes what it is.
Impossible... not in this world.
"GRENADE! COVER YOUR EYES AND EARS!" Alex yells, activating Sealion's Icewing Embrace while reinforcing himself with Ken. In one swift motion, he pulls out his newly acquired [Skullflame Shield R2], crouching behind it as he covers his eyes.
A fraction of a second later, an intense white light erupts from the metallic sphere, accompanied by a piercing, shrill sound.
You have resisted blinding
You have resisted stun
You have resisted knockout
Thanks to Alex's quick reaction, he withstands the attack without taking any real damage or being affected by a status affliction. Only a sharp ringing lingers in his ears.
Jewel has also climbed onto Alex's back, resisting the effects as well.
Still incredibly alarmed and not celebrating the small victory, Alex stares at Menchi, who was hit by the full brunt of the attack and is lying unconscious on the ground.
"Menchi!" Alex shouts, rushing toward her.
However, as he moves, his instincts alarm him.
Still maintaining Ken, he abruptly shifts direction, positioning himself in front of her. He raises his shield toward the general direction from which the object came.
Soulmate! Careful!
At the exact moment of Jewel's warning, a powerful blast of bright yellow energy slams into Alex's shield. Even so, he barely manages to hold his ground, now positioned directly above Menchi, shielding her.
Another bolt strikes his shield, nearly knocking it aside, but Alex quickly steadies himself and regains his footing.
Thanks to his powerful shield, he receives no damage, but sees that his brand-new shield has lost quite a bit of Durability.
[Skullflame Shield R2]
Durability: 201/275
My precious shield... fuck you!
Gritting his teeth, Alex looks forward, trying to identify his enemy and spots a tall man standing on a distant rooftop, holding what appears to be a long staff in his hands. Alex has no time to pay close attention; he just notices that he has dark skin, a bald head, and a shimmering mark, appearing to be golden, as the last rays of sunlight fall onto it.
"Fucker..." Alex shouts.
What now...? It's best that I...
Instead of attacking, Alex makes a split-second decision. He grabs Menchi with his free right arm and immediately runs in the opposite direction.
He slings his shield onto his back as he sprints, holding Menchi in front of him to keep her protected. Even then, a heavy impact slams into his left shoulder. His icy armor absorbs most of the damage, but the force still makes him stumble slightly, almost falling onto the ground.
You have received 31 damage
Icewing Embrace Durability -4
Darting left and right, Alex desperately evades the attacks, running behind cars, which get hit instead. A nearby truck blows up in a fiery explosion, the energy blast easily able to penetrate through the metal.
Finally, after evading multiple blasts, Alex manages to put enough distance between himself and the attacker that the blasts finally stop.
Soulmate, was it the correct decision to run?
I don't know... but with Menchi unconscious and possibly more attackers waiting to ambush us, retreating seemed like the safest option for now. Let's not engage when things start out this badly... as long as we can safely reset the battle, we would be insane to fight this to the end. Also, we know a lot more now.
But Soulmate and Princess Jewel ran... in defeat! We lost despite only facing one Peasant enemy.
Jewel, escaping with almost no damage alongside learning vital information, is a clear win. Maybe it was a trap to lure us in? Never heard of a tactical retreat? Don't be arrogant... we are not here to stroke our egos... this is strategy, and I am not kidding. We'll be the ones to win in the end, trust me, okay?
Princess Jewel trusts Soulmate....
He keeps running for another ten minutes until he reaches the central parts of the city again. Concealing his icy Conjuration with In, he finally dismisses it once he feels relatively safe and many people around him obscure his presence.
Suddenly, Menchi moves in his arms and opens her eyes, startled. "What... what happened?" she asks, rubbing her eyes. "So bright."
"Later..." Alex says, still worried.
Soon after, he enters a busy business district and steps into a random hotel, trying to secure a room, immediately approaching the clerk, who smiles at him with condescension.
"I need a room... now." Alex declares.
The clerk smiles and shrugs, "We are fully booked, but if someone cancels, I might be able to offer you a communal room for 35,000 Jenny... per person. Because of the auction, lodging prices have skyrocketed," the hotel clerk says, a greedy smile spreading across his face.
Stay calm.... I can handle this the smart way.
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