Chapter 3: The Persistent Landlord.
Rather than heading toward the parts of the city were the Transverser Gates were located.
Garfield decided to make a necessary detour, turning his steps toward the familiar street that housed his family's hardware shop.
The morning air was crisp, but as he approached the storefront, his eyes narrowed at a jarring white rectangle of paper that had been crudely plastered onto the glass of the front door.
It was an eyesore against the weathered wood and dusty windows, and even from a distance, the bold, authoritative font was unmistakable.
It was none other than yet another eviction notice, stating in no uncertain terms that if the month's rent was not settled in full, the Greyfield family would be forced to vacate the premises and forfeit their livelihood.
"What a bunch of absolute nonsense," Garfield muttered, as a surge of genuine irritation bubbled up within him. Without a moment of hesitation, he reached out and tore off the document from the door.
He then crumpled the notice into a tight ball, his grip tightening until his knuckles turned white, before he shoved the ruined paper into a nearby trash bin.
To think that the landlord was actually this brazen and impatient was almost impressive in a twisted sort of way.
According to the memories of the original Garfield, they hadn't actually missed a single month's payment, yet the woman never failed to stick that piece of crap on their door every time she got the slightest chance to intimidate them.
He stood there for a moment, massaging his forehead with his fingertips to calm the pulsing rhythm of a headache that was beginning to form behind his eyes.
It wasn't that he didn't fundamentally understand the woman's motivations; he was pragmatic enough to see the cold logic of real estate.
Their shop was situated in an area of the city that was currently undergoing a massive wave of rapid development, with new high-rises and commercial hubs springing up like weeds after a rainstorm.
Naturally, the value of such a prime piece of land would skyrocket with every passing month, and these constant eviction notices were merely the landlord's desperate, clumsy way of trying to pressure them into leaving so she could flip the property for a massive profit.
Nevertheless, Garfield hadn't come here to get worked up over the greed of a local property owner, as he had far more pressing matters to attend to regarding his own survival and growth.
Using the heavy brass key he had taken from his room, he unlocked the shop and stepped into the cool, shadowed interior, the familiar scent of oil, metal, and sawdust greeting him like an old friend.
He didn't bother turning the sign at the door to signal that the shop was open for business, nor did he switch on the main overhead lights.
He had absolutely no intentions of running the register or serving customers today; since his plans had already been made.
Not standing on ceremony, he moved deeper into the aisles of the inventory, his eyes scanning the shelves for anything that could serve as a makeshift weapon or a tool for his new classes.
He found several heavy-duty hammers and a row of sharp, gleaming machetes, but after weighing them in his hands, he shook his head and placed them back on the racks. Such weapons were far too conspicuous for someone trying to keep a low profile, and they didn't fit well with the subtle, precision-based nature of his Ninja class.
Carrying a giant machete through the city would only draw unwanted attention from the authorities or other awakened individuals, and that was the last thing he needed while he was still at level zero.
"This should do just fine," he whispered, his gaze finally settling on a display of high-quality soil knives, often used for precision gardening and digging.
They were sturdy, double-edged blades with a serrated side, small enough to be concealed but sharp enough to be lethal in the hands of someone who knew how to use them.
"Best to take a few with me just in case one breaks or I need to use them as projectiles," he reasoned, gathering several of the knives and carefully sliding them into the deep pockets of the fanny pack he had brought along.
Even then, a lingering sense of caution gnawed at his gut, so he decided to grab a single, compact framing hammer as well. It was a solid piece of steel that could crush a skull if a blade proved ineffective, providing him with a blunt-force backup just in case things turned ugly.
Once he was satisfied with his haul, he stepped back out of the store and pulled the door shut, the lock clicking firmly into place.
However, he stopped dead in his tracks the moment he turned around to leave. Standing directly in front of him on the sidewalk was a woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties.
She was undeniably attractive with a well-maintained figure, wearing a stylish dress that stopped just above her knees and clutching a designer handbag at her side.
"Well, this is a surprise. I didn't think you'd come out to greet me so soon, though I have to wonder if there could be something our dear old landlord needs to tell me personally?" Garfield asked, a dry chuckle escaping his lips.
The woman before him was none other than the very landlord who had been haunting their dreams with legal threats, a woman known for her sharp tongue and even sharper business sense.
The woman didn't return the smile; instead, she merely scoffed, her gaze drifting toward the empty spot on the door where the warning had been posted only minutes prior.
Garfield could see her eyes twitching slightly with irritation as she realized he had actually dared to tear it off the moment he laid eyes on it. It was a small act of defiance, but in her world, it was a direct challenge to her authority.
"Just why are you being so incredibly persistent, Garfield?" she asked, her voice tight with a mixture of annoyance and genuine confusion.
"I'm sure you're already fully aware that you won't be able to win this battle in the long run. It's been ages since this shop had any real customers, and most of the other store owners in this district have already evacuated their premises to make way for the new developments. So why are you being so stubborn and clinging to a sinking ship?"
She took a step closer, her heels clicking sharply on the pavement as she searched his face for any sign of weakness. "Is it because of the money? Is that what this is about? If all you wanted was a larger payout to leave quietly, you could've just said so months ago instead of making this so difficult for everyone involved."
Garfield didn't bother to offer a verbal rebuttal, nor did he show any outward sign of being moved by her words. Instead, he simply adjusted the strap of his bag and began to walk around her, his expression bored and detached.
This woman was a distraction he simply didn't want to deal with right now, and her petty real estate squabbles weren't even a blip on his radar.
Seeing him outright ignore her as if she were a common street lamp caused her fists to clench angrily at her sides, her face flushing with a deep, indignant red.
"Are you really going to act like nothing happened?! Don't think for a second that I don't know exactly what you're planning!" she suddenly shouted after him, her voice attracting the attention of a few distant pedestrians.
"Since you failed the awakening ceremony yesterday, there's absolutely no way you can afford to keep this place running any longer without a steady income. You're broke, Garfield, and you're just delaying the inevitable!"
If it weren't for the city's notoriously complex landownership policies that protected long-term tenants, she would have kicked them out of the shop months ago.
Garfield paused in his steps, his back still turned to her for a long, silent second before he slowly rotated his head to glance at her.
He gave her an intense, piercing stare that seemed to strip away her bravado, causing her to unconsciously take a sudden step back as a chill ran down her spine. Never did she expect to see such a threatening look from someone like him.
However, she quickly regained her composure, gritting her teeth in mounting irritation at the thought of being startled by a man she considered to be beneath her social status.
"Tsk, does it even matter how I know?" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.
" All that matters is that you can't afford to keep this shop open for much longer, so why don't you simply stop all this nonsense so that we can both get on with our lives? I, for one, am getting tired of this constant back-and-forth, aren't you?"
"Is that so?" Garfield muttered, turning his full body to face her, staring at her with a strange, unreadable glint in his eyes. "Honestly, landlord, I didn't take you for the type to be into that kind of thing. If you were that lonely and desperate for my attention, you could've simply asked for a date instead of following me to the shop."
" And to think you even went as far as stalking me? Shouldn't that be grounds for a criminal charge?"
"Why you—!" She stuttered, her words dying in her throat as her face turned red from embarrassment.
Her mind raced as she tried to process the sheer audacity of his comment.
' Did this bastard just suggest I was chasing him for romantic reasons? Did he just insult me to my face?' She thought to herself, feeling a level of annoyance she hadn't experienced in years.
"Regarding the shop, I'm afraid my mind is still not going to change regardless of your threats, maybe if you were a bit more sincere, I would give it some thoughts." Garfield said, waving his hand dismissively as if he were shooing away a persistent fly.
"We have absolutely no intention of leaving, so you might as well get used to seeing us around for the foreseeable future. Trust me, it'll only do you some good to accept that reality now rather than later."
He turned his back on her once more, walking away with a steady, confident stride that didn't waver. The poor woman could do nothing but watch him leave, her body trembling with a mixture of rage and disbelief as she stood alone on the sidewalk.
She wanted to scream, to call the police, to do something to wipe that smug look off his face, but all she could do was watch as he left without another word.