Chapter 25: Chapter 24 - Amount
"I get weaker when I'm exposed to the sun. Yeah, I'll write this down..." Kaito says with his right hand out of his window.
There is a small cut on the palm of his hand, created by himself, which heals more slowly. Then, when he turns his hand back inside the apartnt, the cut closes almost instantly.
"Sheshh... Lucky the portal I entered didn't take into a desert or sothing, otherwise I'd surely be dead right now." He says, throwing himself onto his bed.
As his head touches the pillow, he slowly turns to his left and his eyes coincidentally rest on the white envelope on his dresser. This effortlessly reminds him of last night, when he stopped in the alley to look at the contents of this envelope he received from a stranger.
- 10:46 PM on 6/20/2070, aka the night before. -
Kaito felt mixed emotions as he stared at the envelope in his hands, but his curiosity overca his distrust of the Alliance. So he opened the envelope and turned it upside down so the letter would fall out. However, to his surprise, it was not a letter that fell into his left palm, but a circular object, made of tal and with an inner circle made of glass. Kaito recognized this, after all, he had seen so of these before during his troubled ti in Compulsory Education.
"A holographic disk?" He asked, surprised, and placed the disc on top of a trashcan near him, which caused the video recorded on the device to start playing.
The light coming out of the glass circle ca to life and a man with gray hair and black skin appeared before Kaito. His voice proved deep and full of authority as he began to speak:
"Recently, highly elevated gamma waves of unknown origin have been detected in Safe Area Z4. The intensity of the gamma waves is an indication of great risk, so more dangerous and unstable portals will appear in the coming days. However, in addition to these waves also posing a potential risk to citizens, with the possibility of increasing the number of cases of Lethargic Encephalitis, if not properly regulated and controlled, they will be a risk to all awakened people, who may feel their powers more unstable as well." continued the man in the video.
Kaito's eyes widened and he was also certainly relieved because that seed to be more of a general warning than a specific ssage for him.
"Thus, awakened ones who do not register with a local association or governnt office and do not follow the guidelines set by the Alliance could beco a threat, both to themselves and to society. We are here to offer guidance, and support, and to ensure that your skills are used in a responsible and beneficial way. We strongly recomnd that if you are an unregistered awakened, you register as soon as possible to receive the proper training, ensure everyone's safety, and fight for your world. Together we are stronger."
At the end of the ssage, the Alliance representative emphasized that Safe Area Z4 had been identified as an area of special interest and that they will be closely monitoring any activity related to the awakened in that region for the next few weeks, including monitoring the awakened as well.
Kaito was silent at the end of the ssage, processing the information he had just received. He felt a mixture of concern and curiosity. On the one hand, he understood the importance of regulating his condition, especially if it posed a danger, but on the other, he wondered about the Alliance's real intentions and how this would affect his freedom.
The hologram concluded its ssage with a final warning. "The decision to register is free, but rember that we are here to help you ensure that your potential is used safely and effectively. We await your cooperation or your surrender."
Finally, the hologram disappeared, leaving Kaito with a whirlwind of thoughts and decisions to make. Thus, throughout the night he pondered the Alliance's words, about the risks and benefits of registering.
*
Returning to present tis, Kaito stands up after staring at the white envelope for a few seconds.
"Like it or not, they're right... And until I have a record, I won't be able to go to Celestial Abode or rise in Rank officially." Kaito says, and then looks at his weblink, which is next to the white envelope. "But first I need so money for registration and for equipnt. Ti to test that option..."
Kaito takes the weblink and fits it to his left wrist, which makes a window appear before his eyes.
[Connecting...]
[Connecting.]
"Open rchant Shop." Kaito professes as he walks through his small apartnt.
A large system window opens before Kaito, displaying two different parts of the store at the sa ti. However, Kaito is not interested in the items this ti, but rather how much money he has.
[Current amount: 700 bronze coins].
This amount was how much Kaito got after selling so items obtained from the portal that he judged would not be useful, such as monster remains, normally used only by smiths and alchemists, as well as other found resources that he had no use for. Obviously, none of these items were the rare items he obtained after defeating the Shaman Goblin.
"Open Inventory."
[Opening Inventory...]
[Kaito's Inventory:
- Shaman Goblin Prey (2x);
- Scroll of Magic Detection (1x);
- Amulet of Magic Resistance (1x);
- Lucky Stone (1x);
- Map of the Safe Area Z4 (1x);
- Magic Crystal Fragnt (1x).]
Kaito carefully examines his inventory and bitterly rembers that he lost the ridional Dagger after stabbing it into the eye of the Shaman Goblin.
"That reminds that I'm going to have to buy another weapon. That's bad, I practically lost money... Anyway, this is a handy passive skill." Claims Kaito over his inventory as he pulls the Magic Crystal Fragnt out of what appears to be a portal. "Sell."
[Do you wish to sell the item 'Magic Crystal Fragnt' to the rchant?]
Kaito imdiately clicks YES.
[You received 300 bronze coins from the rchant].
"Now I have enough money to test that other function that was ntioned in the beginner's manual." Kaito opens the rchant's Store again, but this ti he clicks on his amount.
Opening the new window, Kaito examines the options that appear.
[1 - Exchange bronze coins for silver coins.
2 - Convert coins to credits.
3 - Send feedback on the rchant Shop.]
Kaito hesitates for a mont, but even after thinking a bit about how he could spend this money, he knows that he needs to convert his coins to credits, so he will be able to buy other things in ordinary stores, not to ntion that the rchant has almost abusive prices for the ordinary things he offers. Also, if he wants to go to the Celestial Abode, he can't go with just a simple dagger as he did to enter the dungeon, he will need basic things that are not offered at the rchant's Store.
However, while Kaito lives his life normally, even after infiltrating a dungeon posing as soone else, the consequences co for soone else.
Many blocks away from Kaito's building, on the rooftop of a high-rise and security building in the center of Safe Area Z4, a fat, balding man looks very angry.
"What do you think you've done, Ishikawa!? I paid you enough for you to take my son on your first foray and yet you betrayed my trust!!!" The man hits the iron table hard, causing a loud bang.
"Calm down, Mister Willian. I am sure your son was there. In fact, he saved all of us."
"What are you talking about?" The man asks, closing his eyes angrily. "Ooh! Do you think you can fool using cheap psychology? No, Ishikawa, not today. We've been buying the items from your groups' raids for a few months now and I thought we could trust you, but it seems we were wrong. Guards! Guards! Take this man out of here and throw him among the rats in the basent."
"Wait, sir! What have I done!?"
"Don't give that clueless talk. While you're eating rat shit, give so thought to what words you will use at our next eting!"
"No, Mr. Hammond, please!"
*
[You have earned 5 evil points for slander].
"Huh?! What's that?" Kaito wonders.
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