"Congratulations, you're now the new owner of the Claw Card," said Quinn.
May also congratulated me cheerfully.
"Thank you." I bowed to both of them with gratitude.
I noticed that the card had gone from two stars to one, confirming my earlier suspicions about ranks resetting after gaining a new owner.
If Quinn were to reclaim this card, I'm guessing it would go back up to two stars like saved data that's exclusive to him.
"That card's a special one," he stated. "I won it a long time ago, during an event up North in the Folcan region. Take good care of it."
"I will," I assured.
"I'll go get all the equipment ready for you."
After using a stool to collect the Kenium dagger from the wall stand, and retrieving the rest of the dark leather gear set from inside a box behind the counter, I was able to finally purchase everything I needed from the Ferrum Armory.
Applying the Collector's discount, it came down to about 549 Mida, which wasn't bad at all considering I was able to obtain a free level five card.
I would also eventually obtain a free custom weapon when it was ready.
"Now, about these shackles…" Quinn said to me.
"They won't come off," I responded.
I couldn't remember a time when I didn't have these shackles on me.
"I think I have something that'll work."
Still in possession of his advanced CCU, Quinn summoned a certain card.
Using Clairvoyance, I could see that it was a level three utility class that possessed five stars. With this card, Quinn began to move much closer to me while activating its ability.
"Bind Breaker."
In an instant, some type of wave was projected from it, and I felt the grip around my wrists and ankles loosen.
What is this…? I thought, as a feeling of ecstasy started brewing inside me.
"That should do it." Quinn unsummoned his card.
I then heard a loud metallic crack! as though my shackles were splitting themselves apart simultaneously.
Then there was an even louder THUD! as they fell to the ground.
How is this possible!? I thought to myself as I moved my bare wrists toward my face, noticing the large red imprint that was left behind.
This feeling... this must've been how Snapper felt when his mask came off. This must be freedom...!
I noticed that my body felt extraordinarily light, and I moved my arms around frantically to test this.
I could move them much faster than before. I then commenced another test by repeatedly jumping on the spot.
I realized that at the highest point of my jump, my head was well above the wall-stand that I previously was unable to reach.
THIS IS INCREDIBLE!
I soon stopped jumping after realizing that everyone else remained silent.
"Hmm? What's wrong—" I turned to see their faces, but their expressions were haunted with nothing but absolute shock: eyes completely widened and mouths completely gaped.
I didn't realize it right away but they weren't even focusing on me.
"W-W-W-WHAT!?" Maybelle yelled.
Her quivering legs soon gave out, causing her to fall to the floor.
As for Quinn, I never guessed that this fearful side of him even existed until now.
Although he remained silent, his eyes seemed to be saying something like:
"What kind of monster have I unleashed into this world?"
I followed both of their gazes, which pointed to the floor beneath me.
The shackles that dropped from my body had bent and broken a few hardwood planks, leaving behind a crater-like hole in the floor.
"... Oops."
…
<
As compensation for the prank I pulled earlier against Amber, I offered to pay for this greedy woman's equipment.
I should've expected that she'd go on a complete splurge.
Lucky and I stood outside the Steel Grove Armory, waiting patiently for her to finish changing into her new outfit after taking an hour to finally decide.
"Which one looks the best, Snapper?"
"Snapper, do you think this is too expensive?"
"Mmm… I don't care, I'll just buy it anyway."
I'd rather walk through the Sun Desert of the Folcan region for forty nights without water than listen to her constant nagging for even a minute longer.
I reached into my pocket and found some lemon seeds, which I used to feed Lucky who sat on my palm.
"Who's a cute little beetle? You are… yes, you." Just as I was verbally displaying my affection towards my new pet, I noticed Amber standing in front of me, her face seeming more disgusted by me than usual.
"Umm… how long have you been standing there?"
"Way too long," she said while shaking her head at me in pure shame.
"... I'm feeling quite uncomfortable right now."
"THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MY LINE!" After yelling at me, she proceeded to clear her throat.
"Ahem… So, how do I look?" She gave a cute pose like she was modelling for a fashion show or something.
I closely observed Amber's attire while reminding myself of how much of my money had just gone down the drain.
She was wearing grade-three Rockefenium-plated armor, built into a dress of red calf leather, and stitched with a dark stretchy fabric for the sleeves.
Her forearms were encased in gauntlets, with a single wrist-bow attached to her right arm. Not to mention the gadget belt and small quiver she wore on her waist, containing arrow heads made of Rockefenium.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the Rockefenium dagger she bought to replace her old one, and she purposely chose a chemically colored blade to fit her scarlet red aesthetic.
In total, the cost for all the equipment came down to about 1,200 Mida, and this is adding the cost reduction from the Collectors license as well as the "full set of Rockefenium" discount.
"You look… amazing," I said, trying my best to attempt a genuine smile.
"Think so, huh?" She stared at me skeptically. "Then why the hell is your face twitching so much?"
I couldn't hold back any longer. I had officially reached my breaking point with this woman.
"Maybe it's because you spent OVER A THOUSAND MIDA even though you're just an F-rank rookie!"
"SO ARE YOU!" she screamed back.
"Yeah, but my ranking as a Voltaire makes up for that," I said proudly.
"Oh, yeah? And what exactly is your ranking as a Voltaire?"
"Heh, you're currently talking to a B-rank freelancer."
"... So?"
"WHADDYA MEAN, SO?! Quit tryna act like you're not beneath me. I have more experience than you, more skills than you, more cards… I could go on forever, you know!"
"Ugh, whatever," she sighed, completely dropping this argument that she was clearly losing.
"When are they gonna finish repairing your stupid dagger anyway?"
I almost forgot I had sent my dagger in for repairs since it had been overused during these past few months.
"They said that it should be ready to collect by tomorrow."
"Hmph, I guess we'll still have to wait a while before we go dungeon hunting."
"I suppose so…"
Since I was practically weaponless, it would be too dangerous and stupid to traverse dungeons like this.
Larg and I would have to look out for these useless rookies while worrying about ourselves.
If the dungeon difficulty just so happened to be way above our league, we'd definitely have a hard time making it out alive.
"Hey, you've earned a lot of money from your job as a Voltaire, right?" Amber questioned.
"Quit pocket watching. Haven't you burnt through enough of my money already?"
"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR ONCE!?" she screamed in my face. "What I was trying to say is… you own a Pytholium serpent dagger, right?"
"Correct," I affirmed.
"It's just a grade-one dagger, isn't it?"
"It is."
"... Then why repair it when you can just sell it or buy another one…? I know you can afford it too."
I hesitated for a moment, taming my emotions before selecting my next words carefully.
"Sure, I could've done that… but then I'd be throwing away the only thing I had left of my family."
"Oh... I-I'm sorry, Snapper, I didn't know…"
I advised her not to worry. Like she said, she couldn't have possibly known anyway.
That dagger… If I had sold it off, I knew I'd come to regret it at some point.
Besides, I was still holding on to the possibility of finally returning it to its rightful owner.
One day…
"... I-I guess we should regroup with the others now," Amber said, still acting sympathetic toward me.
"You go on ahead, I wanna get some more supplies from the Elixir shop."
"You sure?"
"I won't take long. You're quite slow, so I won't be surprised if I'm able to catch up to you after I'm done."
"Hey, I can be fast when I wanna be."
"Sure you are… You should probably get going now."
"Yeah, whatever… See ya." She gave a short wave, and turned away, shrinking off into the distance without looking back.
It appears she feels bad for me…
She must think that we're the same: two people with dead families, searching for a way to desperately move on with their lives…
If only she knew the truth about me–about how well us Voltaire's are able to disguise our emotions.
Anyhow, it seems as though everything is going according to plan.
The only issue that I have at the moment is Wolf.
My instincts are telling me that he's starting to get suspicious. That needs to change... it MUST change.
No, I need to calm down. There's always a solution to every problem, Snapper. You know this.
That's right… I already have Amber's trust, so it'll only be a matter of time.
I've made it this far, haven't I?
I just hope this streak of luck will last until I can finally get to him...