Quinn smiled as he looked down at the number displayed on his wristwatch. The 12,080 Credits were all his. Never in his life did he think he would be able to acquire this kind of money.
Originally, he planned to accept the Earth Ability Book from the military. He would then work hard and possibly be able to rise up to be at least a Level 3 Ability User. After that, he could join a hunting faction and become a Traveler. Slaying Basic-Tier Beasts and selling their Beast Crystals.
But even then, he would have had to kill 120 Basic-Tier Beasts to have the kind of money he had just gained.
Next, Quinn put the sixteen Basic-Tier Rattaclaw Crystals up for sale, as well. It didn't take long for them to be sold. There were always people and companies looking for Basic-Tier Crystals. In addition to being used to forge Beast Gear, Beast Crystals were also used as an energy source. So even if the Rattaclaw Crystals couldn't be used to forge a weapon or piece of armor, they still had their use.
Tsukuru watched as Quinn began to rapidly retrieve the sixteen Crystals from his System's Inventory one by one and place them in the scanner. He then pressed the button at the top once more.
Like before, the transparent door slid down, and the scanner began to scan the Beast Crystals for authenticity. Once they were verified, the green light on the machine turned on, and an electronic beep was heard. The interior of the scanner began to glow bright green, completely obscuring it from view. A moment later, the light died down, and the scanner was empty once again.
Another beep was heard on Quinn's wristwatch.
Looking down at it, Quinn saw that his number of Credits had increased from "12,080" to "13,680".
Quinn's smile widened.
Finally, he opened up his bag and reached into it. However, he wasn't retrieving anything from it. Rather, he was using the dark interior as a "shadow" to activate his Shadow Space Skill. As he thought about retrieving the "box" filled with the twenty Basic-Tier Daggers, he could feel the solid wood of the box in his grip.
Slowly, Quinn began to pull the "box"out of the Shadow Space and through the opening in his bag.
As Tsukuru watched Quinn remove the "box," he could help but crack an amused smile. The length of the box far exceeded the volume of space inside Quinn's bag, reminding him of the "hammerspace" phenomenon he had seen in old cartoons, such as one pulling a full-sized mallet out of their side pocket.
Quinn then posted the twenty daggers for sale, as well.
While Basic-Tier Weapons were the lowest rank of Beast Gear, the daggers sold quickly. There were plenty of families and factions always looking for a large surplus of weapons to arm those who worked under them.
Quinn placed each of the twenty daggers one by one in the large scanner box. It was a somewhat tight fit, but he eventually got them all in.
He then placed the button on the top, and the clear wall slid down. The scanner then scanned the daggers and teleported them away.
One last beep was heard from Quinn's watch. Looking down at it, Quinn saw the number "53,680" displayed in the lower-left corner.
Quinn's smile widened. Suddenly, that huge "8,000" price tag on the more expensive gauntlets didn't seem so big anymore.
***
Far away from Military Base 1, Sergeant Faye emerged from the strange Portal. Looking from left to right, she saw that she was now standing in a Gothic-style, medieval castle. The room that she was currently standing in appeared to be some sort of throne room. In the far back of the room, there was a throne made of some form of black metal resting on an elevated layer of the room, separated from the ground level by three layers of stairs-like ridges.
Filling the room were numerous people in Victorian-era clothing.
Instantly, they all turned to Faye.
As they did, she noticed that they all shared one trait. They all had piercing, red eyes.
Faye and the unknown individuals all stared at each other for a moment. Then, the unknown individuals took on an aggressive stance.
Instinctively, Faye's hand went to her sword.
However, it was then that a deep voice was heard behind her.
"Stand down."
At the sound of the voice, the unknown figures all froze.
Faye turned her head back to the voice and saw Muka emerging from the Portal behind her. The Portal then disappeared, collapsing in on itself.
Muka then walked up to the throne and sat down.
A moment later, the unknown individuals rushed towards the floor in front of the throne. They all knelt to the ground.
"Leader Muka!" one replied. "You've returned!"
Another member of the group, one over towards Muka's left, shot a look at Faye.
"My Lord, who is this outsider whom you have brought with you?" the individual asked.
Muka turned her gaze towards the figure, and he felt a cold sweat run down his back.
"That is not an outsider," she replied. "That is Faye, the newest member of our Family."
Hearing this, all of the unknown figures snapped their heads to look at Faye.
Faye tensed, seeing their stares.
***
Outside the castle stood the Vampire Settlement. It consisted of two large castles standing opposite each other at the far sides of the Settlement, with a row of smaller castles on eachside of them. There were six castles lining the left side of the Settlement, and seven castles along the right side of the Settlement. All in all, the arrangement made the place look like a giant clock from a bird-eye's view.
Inside the fourth castle on the left side, a group of individuals was sitting in a private room.
The blonde-haired woman from the meeting was sitting behind a desk, while the "Jill" from the meeting was sitting in a chair placed in front of the desk. Kneeling in front of Jill was Lexi Snacker. And, off by the side, a tall individual was standing in front of a large window, overlooking the settlement. As his back was facing the group, his physical appearance could be seen by them, but he was the only man in the room.
"The Ability of this boy," Jill replied with a sinister smile. "It sounds like it could be…useful to us."
Meanwhile, the shoulders of the man by the window tensed. His hands clenched into fists.
"The Ability to create anything from nothing," he growled in a low tone. "It sounds just like the power of the curseable Tenth!"
The blonde-haired woman glanced over at the man.
Jill then turned to her.
"So…what are you going to do, Cindy?" she asked, her smile widening.
The now named "Cindy" gave Jill a look. Then, she got up and walked back to another window in the back of the room.
"Nothing," Cindy said, her hands behind her back, as she overlooked the Settlement. "Let this little brat play his games while he still can. Once I am crowned Vampire Queen and take over the Settlement, I will take a little 'trip' to the Human World."
Cindy brought her hand up to her face and clenched it into a fist.
"I will track down this boy and use my Ability to erase his memories," she replied. "Then, while he is a confused, broken mess, I will appear to pick up the pieces."
Cindy turned back to Jill, a smile on her face.
"I will turn him into my own personal pawn," she replied. "Make him think that I am the one and only person he can rely on. With that power under my thumb, no one will be able to stand against me."
Cindy's gaze drifted back towards Jill.
'It's a shame that youwon't be there to see it, my dear Jill,' she thought.
***
Back in the library in Military Base 2, Quinn looked up from his wristwatch towards Tsukuru.
"Hey, Tsukuru…" Quinn started, causing Tsukuru to turn to him. "You wouldn't happen to have any more of those Intermediate-Tier Crystals, would you?"
Tsukuru raised his eyebrow in confusion at Quinn's request.
"What, you don't think the funds you've gotten will be enough?" he asked. "Or…does this have to do with your System's 'Crafting Mode'?"
Quinn gave Tsukuru a confused look.
Seeing the look, Tsukuru rolled his eyes.
"Your 'System Shop'," he clarified.