I walked out with her, gazing once again at the dark, smoky fog that shrouded the sky. Despite this, the air didn’t seem to have changed much. Were the nearby chemicals less potent, perhaps?

Brenda noticed my gaze and looked up, remarking, “Oh, that. You get used to it after a while.”

“Yeah, you get comfortable with lung cancer too?” I retorted.

“Perhaps,” she replied nonchalantly.

As we strolled, I observed a group of people, including lizardmen, inhaling a blue dust called Enyuiz. It was a potent drug that induced solely pleasant hallucinations.

I asked her, “Does the government ignore all the illegal activities in this city? Are all these highly addictive drugs legal in this kingdom? That seems like a surefire way to destroy your economy.”

“Hmm. Many of my father’s friends and crew members live here. As long as the people are willing to serve the queen, they’re allowed to do as they please, provided their actions only does minor impact to those beyond the oil city.”

Oh…

We had been walking for so long that I forgot we were on our way to meet a blacksmith. Just as I was about to ask her about a taxi, we entered a street lined with tall, similar-looking black buildings. It was sparsely populated…

However, as we continued, we came across an old lady running a stall, selling accessories like hairpins, masks, scarves, and so on.

I halted Brenda and gestured towards the lady who greeted us with a smile. “Hello there! Do you like what you see?”

I responded, “Actually…yes.” My eyes were drawn to her table, overflowing with cute pearl chains and shiny earrings.

“Oh?” She picked up an emerald necklace. “This would go well with your hair!”

Easy there, granny, it’s just a necklace… I don’t see the connection, but whatever.

I asked her, “How much would it cost?”

“Just about… 150 white flat gems.”

Eh… silver pints were only 0.2x more valuable than white flat gems… But even then, paying that amount for fake emeralds seemed ridiculous.

She noticed my skeptical gaze and said with a smile, “This is from Emeraldmine.”

“Emeramyne,” I corrected her.

“Huh?”

“The nation of Punchios; they don’t appreciate when people refer to their home as Emeraldmine.”

Having interacted with a lot of Punchios back home, I had learned a bit about them. Not much, but enough to know they detested that term. Regardless, what she was about to say didn’t matter.

I pointed at the sunglasses. “How much for these?”

They were a simple pair of sunglasses, but I wanted them.

She replied, annoyed that she couldn’t trick me with the necklace. “5 grey flat gems.”

Grey flat gems were roughly equivalent to bronze pints, while black flat gems were generally around 1/10 of an onyx pint.

I handed her 5 bronze pints. She examined the small bronze rods and gave me a strange look before uttering something I couldn’t comprehend.

It reminded me of how Brenda had spoken to the guys on the bridge, except when this old lady spoke, I couldn’t understand a word.

Brenda intervened. “She isn’t from Terrafall. Although she doesn’t look like one of us, she was born here but traveled to Terrafall recently.”

The old lady shrugged. “I don’t want the money of a Guzoi.”

Did this woman just…

Brenda placed her hand on my shoulder. “I told you—”

“Shoo! Go!” the old lady said aggressively.

Tch. It was my fault anyway. I should definitely get proper local currency. I still had about 278 silver pints on me… Maybe I should exchange about a third of it into flat gems?

As we walked away, Brenda asked, “You weren’t affected by her words, right?”

“I shouldn’t have been. But being called a synonym for a rapist/pedophile/sex fiend really pissed me off. They should take that up with the kings of Terrafall instead of lumping us all together.”

“Hmm… Why did you want sunglasses anyway?” she asked.

"I would love to say it’s because they’re cool, but they would aid in keeping my identity secret. Although, it doesn’t seem like there is a need… there might be someone who cared to know how I looked and may gaze at me. At first, the black hair and scar may throw them off. But they will keep dwelling on it, thinking they recognize the look, until they connect all the dots together and realize who I am.”

“Oh… that’s fear. Well…” Brenda pulled a pair of sunglasses from her inventory.

“You can have mine,” she offered.

I looked at her in surprise. “You just had this lying around?”

“I have a lot of stuff in my inventory, too bad most aren’t useful for fighting.”

As we walked past two individuals with knives in their hands, a question was raised in my head. “By the way, isn’t she worried someone might rob her?” I asked.

“To the rest of the nation, this place may be where most of the savages live, with few exceptions, of course, my father. Anyway, even if it doesn’t look like it, there is a form of order or controlled violence, I suppose. Want to traffic drugs? Cool. Want to create death battles for entertainment? Cool. But the people around often help each other in some kind of form, so there is always a big network. She may be connected to someone who is respected, thus someone wouldn’t try to mess with her. That’s why she is even allowed to sell anything in this street… because the most respected person here is…”

She pointed at a man with a golden beard, drinking a beer next to a group of huge dangerous-looking men. Behind them was a building with a label of a man’s hand in a pot of lava. I assumed a man’s hand because of the muscularity of it and the number of hairs.

The man she had pointed at, took another sip from his beer before looking at her, like she was a weirdo. “What the hell do you want, kid?” he asked.

The four other huge men folded their arms as they looked us up and down.

Brenda replied, “Brenda Seastar. Father’s name, well you know.”

He spat the beer out of his mouth and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “What the…”

He stopped and then stared at her. One of his men took an angry step forward, but the bald man with the beard stopped him. He pulled out glasses with a camera mounted on it from his pocket before putting it on and looking at her.

He muttered under his breath. “The face details, skull shape, skin texture, all of it matches—accommodating for the changes from growing older and living in a different climate.”

The men around him looked at him in concern and in disbelief. “You are joking right…? One of my pals said they saw two weird girls enter the boss’s house. But since they used keys, he assumed they were connected to the boss… but his daughter?”

The bald man stood up. “Yeah, pretty damn sure. Adera… How has life been to you? It’s still strange to see you without your mother or father, so forgive me if I appear a bit awkward.”

“Somewhat okay, I guess. It’s complicated… Can we talk in secret?” she asked.

“Of course.” He pointed at the building behind him. “My shop and smithy is where business is conducted.”

She then gestured at me. “She is with me. It pertains to her.”

He nodded at me. “Pleasure to meet you, miss….?”

“Aneisha,” I replied.

“I see… Well then.” He walked towards his building. “Let’s get to it.”

We followed, entering the building. The floor was composed of vanished dark wood. The walls were also wooden with a lot of different insanely expensive light and heavy armor on the left side. The right side had a ridiculous range of weapons: swords, knives, war hammers, shields, and so on. They had different colors, and designs, along with certain elemental and attributal stones, and imbued artifacts visibly embedded in them.

The blacksmith then clicked a button, which caused the door to close. He then took a seat and asked, “How can I help you? Also, please don’t try to ask for a lot… Even if we all respect your father and owe him a lot, I am still a businessman at the end of the day.”

Brenda replied, “That’s okay. We only want armor and a powerful weapon.”

I then moved my hands, pouring out a lot of Qi crystals that I didn’t break. I also sent out the wet Qi gun, the encased firestone, and the trashed armor… and a single sealed token. 

His eyes locked on everything I presented.

“A damn seal token…” he groaned. “DAMN IT!”

What the hell? I quickly looked around while getting ready for any kind of attack.

Brenda asked, “What’s it?”

He clicked his tongue and passed his hand over his face, stressed. “I am looking at these things and thinking about how badly I would want them… But Ugh!”

He stood up and said with his hands on his waist. “I will do it for free, but only this time! Tell me what you want. With all this stuff there, I could really make something special. Especially with that sealed token.”

Oh… he was just dramatic? Also, I thought we had to pay. Why did that change?

He noticed me looking at him weirdly and said, “I want to charge you all, but… I will not explain why I am choosing not to. Anyway, what kind of weapon do you want?”

“Uh…” I looked at the weapons he had displayed. I used a sword a lot of times but I didn’t really like them. 

As my eyes drifted on a Warhammer, it then laid itself on a spear. Most of its handle was just red with the steel blade part being large.

I told him, “A spear.”

He nodded. Then he looked at the sealed token and asked, “Can I check it out?”

I said, “Yes.”

He crouched low before picking it up and inspecting it. “Hm, it seems to be at 0%. It will take a long time for this to recharge…”

He then smiled. “I have an idea. What if we make an imbued weapon with this sealed token? Instead of letting it be a one-use every 16 days, it can use the attributal Qi in it for constant attacks.”

No way. “You can actually do that?” I asked, in disbelief. 

It almost sounded impossible to believe.

He rotated the sealed token in his hand and with a grin, he said, “I did it twice before. I can do it again. Is that the only weapon you want?”

“I think so. Maybe some knives too? But, I don’t want to request too much.”

“Smart kid.” 

I was 20… but okay then. 

Being called a kid back on Earth around that age would have driven me nuts, but I got accustomed to it here.

He then looked me up and down, his glasses glowing a bit. He asked, “What kind of armor would you be okay with?”

“Something strong, very strong and cold resistance.”

He slowly nodded. “Something very strong, huh…”

He looked at my fingers then at the encased firestone, Qi crystals, and imbued artifacts. 

With a smile, he said, “I can do that. I will use the firestone to make it cold resistant while adding some nice features.”

This was good, but almost too good.

I asked him, “And what would we have to do for you?”

“Hm. Nothing.”

I crossed my arms. “There must be something. I don’t like feeling indebted to others, especially those in the illegal business.”

He erupted into laughter before saying, “That’s a good mindset, to be honest… Well, if you want to do something for me, I got something good back there.”

He lifted the piece of the counter up and opened the room behind to enter it. 

After a short while, he came back with a black iron box. He put it down on the counter and said, “ I want you to deliver this to a client of mine in the Jurest district.”

Upon hearing that, Brenda shook her head. “That’s the most dangerous part of this city…”

“Yeah, it is. But your friend was the one that doesn’t want to be indebted to me.”

“Something else—“

I stopped Brenda and asked, “How dangerous is it? And why entrust me with something clearly valuable?”

He smiled as he leaned on his counter. “Because you entrusted me with a sealed token. What I have in this box for my client costs less than it. In other words, unless you are the daughter of some king, there is no way in hell you would risk betraying me while leaving it here—not to mention the elemental stone. Although, they are much cheaper, so whatever.”

I guess he had a point in that regard, but there was another one.

I asked him, “But, you don’t know how strong I am or not. Not to mention, if I am some coward that would easily give the box to someone who barely threatens me.”

He tapped on his glasses. “The armor you dumped there has a level requirement of level 65. For it to be in such a condition, you must have fought someone much stronger. That's obvious since it’s damage caused by a knife, and not a monster. That along with the fact, I can see how strong your skin is, and how much light your eye can absorb. I don’t have to explain what I mean by that now, do I?”

Okay… he was good.

I shook my head. “No need to explain. But, can I ask just for one more thing?”

“Sure.”

I pointed at the Qi gun, and asked Brenda, “Put yours out too.”

She did so.

He made a whistling sound, like, ‘goddamn!’

I asked him, “Can you repair them? Also, do you know where I would be able to buy a Q2 for her?”

He sighed. “I can’t tell if you are making fun of me… but yes, I can make them.”

He blew a whistle, and a woman with an 'RT" brand on her head walked into the building. He said, “Upstairs, where the guns are, bring a Qi Rifle Q2.”

A slave…

She bowed and did so.

I asked, “You have lots of slaves?”

“Hm? Oh, I used to. But, I got married and had a kid. My wife made me free a bunch. Those have brands from old slave masters, which I bought them from and gave them a job here. So, they are more servants—employees.”

Well, I shouldn’t have been surprised even if he had slaves.

After a short while, she came with the Qi gun. 

The stalk looked normal, but just like Brenda had described, there were rectangular battery cartridges on the side of the barrel.

It was completely white, most likely to help with its overheating issue.

The man then said, “Now, I can’t give this one free, one costs about 821 steel pints after all.”

I pointed at both guns. “I will give you both for one, for Brenda.”

Brenda’s eyes shot wide open. “Wait what?”

I added, “Of course, one of them is damaged from being too long in the water, but I am sure it can be fixed, especially by someone like you.”

It honestly hurt my soul to give away both of these…

He looked me deep in my eyes. “Hm… You got more Qi crystals?” he asked.

I answered, “Yes.”

“How much?”

“Maybe over 400 pounds.”

“Quality?”

“I think… [D] rank.”

“I will take all of it, and the good gun, how about that?”

“All…? A single pound costs 5 silver pints!” I raised my voice.

“Hm, that’s fair. Okay. You keep both guns, but I will have all… And I will fix that Qi gun of yours.”

That was… damn it.

I grunted. “Deal.”

He then gestured to the servant girl who handed me the rifle. I sent it to Brenda while visually pissed off.

He then snapped his finger again and the woman brought a wheelbarrow out, which looked tech out.

He said, “You can dump them in this. By the way, I can promise you, you aren’t going to regret your decision. I am going to make the best armor for you, rest assured.”

“You damn better… after getting me to overpay like this…”

He smiled. “To be honest, I am going to use a lot of those Qi crystals to make your stuff. I am just trying to cut expenses. It’s in my nature.”

“Whatever… when do you want me to bring it to your client?” I asked while looking at the box.

He checked his watch and said, “About midnight. So, in 7 hours.”

“Got,” I said with my arms folded. “One more thing, are there going to be people trying to steal it?”

“Most likely.”

“What happens if I kill them?”

He smiled. “Free exp for you?”

“Sounds good. Very good.”

I needed to get stronger to deal with the confrontation with the king. This simply provided the opportunity.

He took the box, which was small enough to fit in my hand, and handed it to me. I took it and threw it in my inventory.

I then turned towards the door to leave. But as soon as we opened the door, the man then called Brenda.

Brenda turned back towards him. “What is it?”

“I just recalled. Your father said when you come back to tell you to check the basement, there is something there for her.”

She appeared conflicted. “What is it?”

He shrugged and said, “He just told me that, and if you were in danger, alert him. You aren’t in danger, right?”

She looked at me but then turned back to him. “Actually… tell him yes.”

He then sighed. “Yeah… the thing is, I haven’t been able to make contact with him at all. I don’t know if his pyramid communicator got destroyed and he forgot I wasn’t a Vlandos or something. But the last thing I heard about him was that the Queen gave him some secret mission to deal with weird purple comets.”

Immediately, I asked, “Wait, since when?”

The man thought hard. “Well… It’s been three years.”

“He said anything else about the comets?” I asked.

“Nah. Why do you care?”

“No reason,” I replied as I left the building.

The men outside gave us a nod of respect as we walked on the sidewalk.

Brenda was behind me, so I slowed down to walk by her side. She noticed it and asked, “Imagine if what my dad left for me is another gun.”

“That would crush my soul…” I was already planning on abusing my healing powers because of those Qi crystals… Hopefully, the spear and armor would be worth it.

Brenda smiled, then looked down as she continued to walk. “I really wonder what it is…”

---

Back at Brenda’s home and having to do my best to ignore the old lady who kept shouting slurs at me, we walked down her basement via the wooden stairs.

It was so dark… I could see, but I was wondering how Brenda was doing it. Then finally, she pressed a part of the wall, which went in by an inch, and green lights from the wall illuminated the place.

Brenda turned back to me and said, “My father believed in using all your senses to navigate.”

“Oh….” Hopefully, he didn’t booty trap a lot of the house to make you, ‘never drop your guard.’ Or something.

Then finally we reached the door. She opened the door slowly, and a very old smell permeated with it.

The ground was pure concrete. But in front of us was a massive clear thick glass… and beyond that glass was a small white dragon sleeping, a small one though.

Inspect. Level: 25.

With my monster encyclopedia, I made the book find information on it.

Valron Notable information: Valrons are extremely protective of what they consider ‘theirs.’ They are the opposite of cowards and will constantly return to their marked territory.

 Height: 1 meter tall 

Weight: 138 pounds 

Family tree: Vasuan 

Type: Blessed

 Rarity: Exotic() Attributes: Light & Earth

An exotic… and a blessed type? No way… That was way too strong for her. How was she supposed to beat it to tame it?

Brenda then noticed a paper taped to the wall. “I don’t know what reason you would have come back for, but… this is my last gift to you since I wouldn’t be able to protect you all the time. On the wall is a button that should release a gas that would weaken this monster for you to easily catch it. I hope you are doing well. I really do. Even if you hate me, just know, I love you and always will. : P”

Brenda stared at it and slowly shook her head as her eyes grew wet. She tightened her fist, keeping her composure.

Then she smiled, brightly as tears ran down her face. “Thanks dad… I… I love you too.”

Then with a determined expression, she walked towards the glass door, which puzzled me.

I looked at the button that her father must have been talking about and asked, “Hey… aren’t you forgetting something?”

She ignored me, opened the door, and quickly closed it.

Wait, a second… Is she insane?!

I rushed towards the door and tried to open it, but ‌it was shut.

Brenda said, “Don’t interfere. I want to catch it on my own.”

“Are you stupid?!”

Then the dragon’s eyes shot wide open, and its wings spread wide with a wingspan of 3 meters. It stood on all fours before stretching and roaring.

The roar shook the glass itself.

Brenda pulled the white rifle out. “Hi, I am going to be your master now.”