Return of the Fallen Volume 2 Chapter 57
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch57
After a few hours of drinking and celebrating, one by one, people began to pass out. Kazuki as well closed his eyes, pretending to drift off to sleep. Really though he burned away the alcohol within himself using his ki. Opening his eyes he looked about the room.
Although Tsura had very little alcohol and Mei had none at all, the two still fell asleep because of the late time.
Nunully fell asleep with her back against a wall. In her lap rested Asuna, who used Nunully’s thighs as a pillow. Over in the opposite corner was Shin and Danny, the two passed out with drinks still in their hands while they hugged each other for warmth. The expressions they’d have when the two awoke would be priceless.
Kazuki did find something surprising though. Kimi and Sam were nowhere to be seen but a moment later and Kazuki knew why.
*Ahh mhm ah*
Kazuki heard a few soft but lust-filled moans coming from the other side of the wall as well as the creaking of a bed.
That wall connected to one of the rooms Kazuki had rented for the night so it was quite easy to tell who was within.
Kazuki smirked a bit before giving Sam a thumbs up within his mind before he quietly got up and walked into one of the empty spare rooms.
This room matched the others and was small just the same. Throwing a hood over his head, Kazuki opened a window just enough for him to squeeze through before jumping down into an alley.
With everyone passed out or currently occupied, now was the best time to search for a few items.
The items in question were, of course, illegal, and to acquire such items, one first had to visit a place where things usually were not on the up and up.
It was quite late at night and most foot traffic was basically non existent. This being a town bursting at the seams with people though left plenty abandoned along the roads. With no money or job, these people were homeless and many had to resort to crime in order to feed themselves. As soon as a few of them spotted Kazuki walking alone with his face hidden, they knew they had found an opportunity.
Finding that 4 men had begun to follow him, Kazuki couldn’t help but roll his eyes in annoyance. Picking up a handful of stones as he walked, without looking behind him he chucked them hard in his follower’s direction.
*Thwack thud thud thwack*
Each rock flew with impeccable accuracy and struck true, knocking the men off of their feet.
The men hadn’t seen what had happened and grew fearful. An opponent that could attack you without looking, that was already beyond them and the men turned and fled without daring to look back.
Kazuki continued forward. Although it was his first time in this small town, it wasn’t difficult to find the place he was looking for. With most of the town sleeping, Kazuki merely had to follow the sounds of celebration. Listening to the night, cheers became rowdier and rowdier in a certain direction. Following the growing cheers, a dull yellow light soon filled his vision. A stone building that was in complete disrepair sat in front of him. A sign hung crookedly above the door. No words were written, just the image of a bottle told everyone what they needed to know about this place.
Three large men stood outside of the door and stood up upon seeing Kazuki’s appearance but seeing that he was alone, they sat back down and didn’t bother him, allowing him entrance.
Walking in, right in front of him were a set of stairs which led down.
(It seems this place isn’t fond of light.)
After a minute or so, the stairs led into a large open room. The first thing that greeted Kazuki was the smell of smoke. The next was the dingy moldy mildew. This place was filled with the cheers of rowdy men and lascivious women. Thugs and rogues alike were seen in every corner. This was not a place of good men.
Standing behind a bar, a man wiped a glass cleaner with a cloth before hollering across the room.
“Oy, we don’t hide faces in my place. Lower your hood or get the fuck out.”
This yell caused everyone in the bar to stop what they were doing and look over toward Kazuki. Kazuki in return approached the bar and lowered his hood.
Seeing that Kazuki was only slightly above normal when it came to looks and appeared on the weaker side, a few men and women laughed before everyone returned to their own conversations, no longer wasting any more attention on him.
The man behind the bar had a thick handlebar mustache and bulging muscles. He slammed the cup he was just cleaning onto the bar and filled it with a dark brew before sliding it over. Kazuki picked up the glass and didn’t hesitate to chug it down before sliding a few copper pieces back across the bar. The bartender swiped the pieces up before he chuckled.
“Bwahaha that’s better. Since you’re a customer now, I guess you’ll be wanting a refill right…Right!?”
The bartender was purposefully giving Kazuki a hard time since he was clearly a stranger. In a place as shady as this, trust was hard to come by so it was only normal to mess with an outsider. Kazuki wasn’t upset by this and understood that that is just how things go in these parts. Besides, it’s not like these drinks could affect him or his pocket in any way.
With a simple nod from Kazuki, the bartender smiled and filled another mug and slid it down. Once more Kazuki picked up the drink and drained it in one shot before sliding a few more copper pieces the bartender’s way.
The bartender was just about to tease Kazuki some more and see how much he could handle when a gold coin appeared in Kazuki’s hand. Giving it a flick on the bar, the golden coin spun rapidly and reflected the nearby light around the room. This caught the attention of everyone in the bar and a few men couldn’t help but gulp seeing it’s shine. Even the bartender’s eyes shone with greed.
Walking over, the bartender slapped the coin under his palm and slowly pulled it toward himself.
Kazuki in return reached forward and gripped his wrist like a vise and held him in place. The bartender became panicked as he felt a sting of pain in his wrist and he couldn’t help but yelp.
“Ahh!”
A few men stood up and slowly began to approach.
“Old man, do you want to keep this piece of gold?”
The bartender got a clue and waved the other customers away.
“Young warrior, was this not a tip to your humble server?”
The bartender made a joke to try and lighten the mood.
“This can be considered a tip, that is if you point me in the right direction.”
It wasn’t long before Kazuki had entered another room further into the bar, out of sight from prying eyes. Sitting alone in a room with no windows in a dingy little shit hole, Kazuki was already feeling annoyed but if he could get the materials he needed to re-forge his Mage core, all would be worth it.
After waiting for almost 20 minutes, Kazuki felt his bladder on the edge of exploding. thinking back til now, he had over a dozen drinks back at the Half Hog Inn and then two more at the bar earlier. In that entire time, he had not once taken a piss break.
(Shit this piece of garbage should have already been here by now, what the hell’s taking so long.)
Just as Kazuki was on the verge of getting up and leaving, a barely audible knock was heard at the door.
*buh buh buh*
Even without Kazuki answering the door creaked open and a frail old woman walked inside.
She stared at Kazuki for a moment and couldn’t help but wonder if she had mistaken the wrong room. Kazuki right now appeared like he would snap at any moment frightening the old woman to some degree. In actuality, he wasn’t all that mad at her but instead, he felt something ready burst and was simply trying his best to hold it in.
The old woman questioned.
“Um, is this not the right room? Are you not the one interested in my wares?”
Kazuki as well wondered if this old frail-looking lady was the one selling the illegal goods. He wondered how she protected what was hers with such a weak-looking frame.
With his bladder about to burst though he found himself not caring about that and simply tried to do his business as fast as possible so he could do his business as fast as possible.
“That’s me, old lady. The bartender said I could count on you and that you would definitely have what I’m looking for. He should have already informed you of what I need, correct? So do you have what it is I’m looking for?”
The old woman eyed Kazuki before she nodded. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a small crystal ball, causing a bit of confusion for Kazuki.
“This is?”
“Hehe, just watch young man.”
The old lady mumbled something to herself before the crystal ball lit up with a blue light and displayed a holographic image above the crystal.
What came into view was 13 Nexar Crystals laying out neatly on a long stone table. In the center of them, there also laid a single Stazar Void Rock.
Kazuki suddenly understood. For this frail-looking woman to bring the items here would be foolish. She probably had these in a secure location and after confirming the payment would either go and get the items herself, have a third party bring the items or escort him to the location to recover the items together. Kazuki was beginning to see that this woman might actually be a little clever.
Seeing the items though one thing was clearly missing.
“I see the Nexar crystals and the Stazar Void ROck but I don’t see the tier 2 Magic Beast core. What’s going on?”
The old woman shook her head and didn’t deny it.
“That is the only thing I don’t currently have on hand. However, if you give it a few months, with the beast horde that’s spreading across Treia I’m sure I can get my hands on one for ya. The problem is the wait time is currently quite high.”
Kazuki didn’t have time to wait around for months let alone weeks. His compass was constantly leaking out an aura that could be tracked so he needed to either mask it’s aura completely or constantly be on the move. To sit around and wait was basically courting death.
“No, I can’t afford to wait around. What you have right now, I’ll purchase those items right now.”
The old lady nodded.
“Very well. First, I’ll need to see the payment, 2,000 gold Zeni.”
Kazuki felt something drop in his stomach. The price here was several-fold higher than what Lamia was going to charge him in Tresta. Out here though near the boonies, the inflation and demand of such items were understandable. Still, Kazuki didn’t like it.
Kazuki’s ring glowed with a purple dim light and stack after stack of gold Zeni fell neatly on a nearby table and piled up high until there were 50 even stacks of 40 gold Zeni.
This was literally a small fortune and Kazuki couldn’t help but wonder how many people would be able to put out such an amount.
The old woman licked her lips and reached forward but Kazuki’s ring glowed once more and the gold Zeni disappeared.
The old woman was taken aback.
“What is this?
But Kazuki simply explained.
“You think I can trust you. Take me to the items and I will gladly give you all this gold but if you try and screw me over…one more dead old bat won’t even move the needle.”
The old woman paused for a moment before she broke out into wild laughter.
“Hahahahaha, amusing, very very amusing. Fine, I’ll take you to the items, shall we head on out then.”
Kazuki nodded and the two proceeded to head out of the small room. However, only a single step forward and Kazuki’s face warped a bit.
“Ah, on second thought, I need to take a piss first.”
The old woman’s eyes widened before she once more broke out in laughter.
“Young man, hahaha, you’re a natural, I love this. Yes yes yes you go ahead and use the restroom, I’ll be having a small drink at the bar, come and get me when you’re through.”
Kazuki ran out like a nervous deer and it was now that the old woman realized why he held that odd expression. It wasn’t because he was angry or trying to intimidate but instead because he was about to burst.
*Hahahaha*
“What a funny fellow.”
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