Back on Pioletic, Faye followed Muka out of the room. When she reached the door, she stopped for a second and cast one last glance towards the blood packs.
'Why am I so attracted to blood now?' Faye thought to herself.
She gave her head a couple of shakes, snapping herself back to her senses. She then walked out of the room.
Once she did, Muka closed the door. The door's lock re-engaged itself with an audible "chunk". The two of them walked back out of the cave. The two of them walked for a short distance, and then Muka placed the strange device on the ground.
She pressed a button on its surface, and Faye watched in amazement as the metal rectangle began to transform. Metal parts re-arranged themselves, and soon, where the black, metal rectangle the size of a laptophad sat, there now stood a full-sized, circular ring.
Electronic hums and whirs could be heard, and soon, a vortex of purple energy could be seen forming inside the ring.
Faye's eyes widened as she realized what it was.
'Is that a…Portable Portal?!' she thought in shock. It made the type of "Portable Portals" she had seen before, which were large, bulky things that needed to be kept in rucksacks, look so primitive and inefficient. 'I thought we had advanced technology. But this…this is something else entirely.'
Muka then turned to Faye.
"It's time to depart, Faye," she replied.
Faye gulped.
This portal no doubt led to this "Settlement" that Muka kept referring to. It was a total unknown. If she walked through that Portal, she might never return. And yet, somehow, deep in her heart, she knew that she had no choice. She had to walk through.
Faye hardened her resolve and walked in. As she did, her form slowly vanished inside the energy Vortex.
Muka pressed her finger against the front of the metal ball and then dropped it on the ground. Without a moment of delay, she walked through as well. As her form vanished, the metal ball began to rapidly flash red and beep, just like with the metal ball Lexi had used. Moments later, it exploded with a loud BOOM.
The explosion created a large dust cloud and sent a shock wave through the air. When the dust cloud eventually dissipated, a large scorch mark could be seen on the ground within a 2-meter radius of the teleporter, and the teleporter itself had been reduced to scrap.
***
Back in the library on Military Base 2, Tsukuru waved his arm dismissively.
"Yeah, sure," he replied, glancing away. "It's not like I can't just make more, anyway."
Quinn smiled.
"Thanks," he replied.
He lifted the chestpiece over his head. Then, he slid it on like he was putting on a shirt. He slid his arms into the sleeves, which covered his arms down to his elbows. Once the armor was firmly in place, Quinn felt a rush of Beast Energy surging through him, strengthening him.
A System message popped up in front of him.
[Intermediate-Tier Cave Spider Chestpiece equipped.
+4 Strength, +6 Defense
Strength: 15 [+4]
Defense: 6 ]
Quinn looked back at the computer monitor.
He now knew that 6,000 to 8,000 Credits was the going price for Intermediate-Tier equipment, and he remembered how Leo had said that even the cheapest Basic-Tier equipment was 2,000. With that in mind, he didn't even want to know how much a piece of Advanced-Tier equipment was.
Eventually, he let out a sigh.
Tsukuru turned to him.
Quinn retrieved the Advanced-Tier Deathbat Crystal from his Inventory.
Tsukuru's eyes widened as he saw the Beast Crystal appear in Quinn's hand in a puff of smoke. It looked like one of those "magic tricks" from the old world.
Tsukuru watched as Quinn proceeded to stare at the Crystal for another few seconds, a look of contemplation on his face.
Eventually, Quinn spoke.
"It's a shame that I only have one of these," he replied. "If I had ten, I could have made a ring in my System Shop that could protect me from the sun."
Tsukuru's eyes narrowed as he heard Quinn's words.
'That sounds more like a 'Crafting Mode'than a 'Shop',' Tsukuru thought.
"Eh, more or less," Reiju added. "As I said, your System's 'Shop' was something that I added."
A sad smile then appeared on Quinn's face.
"But, seeing as how it came from an Advanced-Tier Beast on a Red Portal Planet, I'm unlikely to find more. This thing is pretty much useless to me right now, so I guess I'll just sell it."
He dragged the cursor up the screen to the "Sell" tab, a short distance to the left of the "cart" icon. As he clicked it, he was brought to a new screen. It contained a few bars where Quinn could input information. In the bar next to the word "item", Quinn imputed "Advanced-Tier Death Bat Crystal". And in the bar next to the word "price", he imputed "12,000 Credits". Seeing as how Advanced-Tier Crystals went for around 10,000 Credits, Quinn decided to add an extra "2000 Credits" to the price tag so he'd actually get a profit.
"And, done," Quinn replied, clicking "submit" at the very bottom of the screen. "Now, all I have to do is wait for it to be sold."
Quinn then thought for a minute.
'I could always use the funds from selling it to buy the third Intermediate-Tier Crystal I need to make the gauntlets, but that 'Palewalker' Crystal can be used to create another weapon in the System's Shop,' Quinn thought. However, his gaze then drifted over towards Tsukuru. 'But…I wonder if…'
Quinn's line of thought was abruptly cut off, as an electronic "ding" was heard.
Instantly, both Quinn's and Tsukuru's heads snapped towards the screen.
"No fuckingway," Tsukuru muttered, completely stunned.
"Yeah…" Quinn agreed, equally as surprised. "That was way too fast."
***
Far away from the military base in an unknown location, a boy with black, gelled-back hair who appeared to be of a similar age to Quinn was sitting in front of a computer in a dark room.
"Damn it, what happened to that guy?" the boy muttered in an annoyed voice. "I paid him good money to get me that Crystal. I only need one more."
Currently, he was on the same site that Quinn was on. The Online Marketplace. Honestly, he didn't expect much. But every day, he would check just to make sure. His eyes were glazed over in boredom as he browsed the site. However, a moment later, something popped up on his screen.
Item: Advanced-Tier Death Bat Crystal
Price: 12,000 Credits
Seller ID: Blood Evolver
The boy's eyes widened in surprise.
"No way…" he muttered, then a widesmile crept across his face. "And only 12,000 Credits?! That's a steal! I've got to buy it right away!"
With absolutely no hesitation, the boy swiped his Credit Card across a device attached to the computer next to it. It looked like the devices used in the old world to swipe credit cards. The old type of "credit cards".
An electronic beep was heard, and a small light flashed green, confirming his purchase.
It was then that a man appeared out of the darkness in the back of the room.
"Young master, if your father finds out that you didn't get the Crystals through your own efforts, he will be furious," the man warned. "Everyone of us had to go out and hunt those Beasts ourselves during the trial."
The boy let out an amused snort.
"My father thought that he could stop me," the boy replied. "Now, with a completed ring, I can finally leave this place!" His smile widened. "Thank you, 'Blood Evolver'. If we ever meet in real life, I promise to repay this debt."
***
Back in Military Base 2, Quinn placed the Advanced-Tier Crystal in a strange box attached to the side of his computer. It sort of resembled the box to scan Beast Gear on the VR Capsules. He then pressed a button near the top, and a wall of translucent glass slid down.
Inside the box, the two boys watched as a line of green light traveled up and down the crystal. It was reminiscent of the process that Tsukuru's System used to scan Beast Gear. A small light on the side of the box flashed green, and an electronic beep was heard. A moment later, the interior of the box flashed green, similar to when Tsukuru created something with his Ability. When the light faded, the Crystal was gone.
A beep was then heard from Quinn's wristwatch.
As Quinn looked down at it, he saw that the "Credits Display" in the lower-right corner now read "12,080".