Katsuya sat on the couch, eating a bowl of cereal while watching the news.
{Killer at large. 7 found dead.}
The title was surprising to him. Cases where a person had high kill counts were rare, though killers in general weren't all that uncommon. He listened closely as the reporter spoke on the the T.V
"Last night, two police officers were called to a break in. After they arrived at the scene one of them called for back-up. Other officers arrived shortly after and found the officers both headless along with three other victims. At another site nearby, two others were found headless. Police suspect that there is a killer at large. We strongly suggest that everyone stay in your houses and make sure doors and windows are locked. If you travel outside, go with at least four other people."
Katsuya couldn't help but think that maybe it wasn't a person at.
"What if it's actually a monster that is causing all the deaths?"
He shook his head, assuming that he was overthinking things. He grabbed the remote and turned off the T.V
Ever since he got a large amount of money for selling the boss orbs, he had been thinking about buying some equipment.
"Maybe, I should head out now."
Katsuya did understand that his decision was a little dumb because of what the news had just said. But, the area where all this had happened was on the other side of the city so the risk of him being attacked was low. He put on his long brown coat and grabbed his phone.
"Okay, I'm just going to get new equipment and come right back."
That was assuming he wouldn't get side tracked.
___________________
(Beast Slayer Weapon and Item shop)
There was a large variety of weapons behind thick glass cases.
There was everything from knives to guns. If you could name it, they had it.
Katsuya walked alongside the cases of glass while observing all the weapons and items. Katsuya was more of a fighting type when he went against monsters, so he wanted to find an item to improve his Atk.
There were two different pairs of gloves. One was all white, while the other was all black.
{White Combat Gloves:
Price: $250,000
All Physical attacks will do 20% more damage.
Allows you to shoot Ice magic even if you have no experience.
Durability: 30}
The price seemed somewhat reasonable but the durability did not.
"Hopefully the other pair is better."
{Black Combat Gloves:
Price: $500,000
All physical attacks will do 50% more damage.
Durability: 75}
It was a hard choice for him. The white pair costs less but allows him to use ice magic. The black pair cost quite a lot but adde alot more power to his physical Atk. After comparing the two, Katsuya made a decision.
He made eye contact with the cashier then spoke.
"I'd like to buy the black pair of combat gloves."
The cashier walked over and opened up the glass case, pulling out the gloves.
"Are you okay with spending that much money?" she asked.
"Yeah, that's fine." Katsuya replied.
"Your total will be five-hundred-thousand dollars."
He would be spending more than a quarter of his money by purchasing it but he didn't mind. The gloves would make clearing higher ranked dungeons a lot easier. Katsuya reached into his coat pocket and placed a large stack of money on the counter.
The cashier was completely surprised, she did not expect some under-aged boy to have this kind of money.
And so, she started assuming the worst.
"How...does he have this much? Could it be that he works with the mafia? Is he some high-quality drug dealer?"
The cashier was completely lost in thought.
"Aren't you going to count the money?" Katsuya asked.
"Oh...yeah. I'll start counting."
She quickly grabbed the stack of money and began counting.
Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip.Flip.Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip.
Katsuya stood in surprise as she flipped through the stack of bills at unhuman speeds.
Not even 30 seconds had gone by and she was already done counting.
"This is only two-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars."
"Is it? I'm sorry, hold on a second." Katsuya replied.
He reached into his coat pocket once more, pulling out another large stack of cash. Katsuya gracefully tossed the stack onto the counter.
Woop.
Flop.
Again, the female cashier quickly flipped through the stack of money but this time she was plenty of times faster. Almost instantly, she was done counting.
"Did I give you enough?" Katsuya asked.
"Yep. You gave me exactly five-hundred-thousand dollars. You do know you can request for us to make a custom item, right? Just saying, because it looked like you were looking for something a bit stronger." said the cashier.
Even though Katsuya was a nerd when it came to knowing about adventurer stuff, this was one thing he did not know about.
"Really? I could actually request a weapon? How does that Work?" He asked.
"Well, it works by going to our website. You can send a weapon request and when we'll have somebody see what you want. It's hard to explain the price ranges but our website explains it all. Sometimes in order to make stronger weapons, you'll have to collect items from certain monsters."
The more he listened, the more he was interested in having a custom item made for himself.
"I'll check it out sometime later. Right now I'm just going to head home"
"Okay, hope to see you soon."
He grabbed the black gloves off the counter and walked out the building.
Splash.
He had stepped in a puddle of water that was right outside of the door.
It was an uncomfortable feeling as his foot was now soaked in wetness.
The soft sound of light-rain was all around. His eyes looked up at the sky, staring at the dark-grey clouds.
"I should've brought an umbrella. But again, there's no way I could've predicted that it was going to start raining."
The forecast on the news had shown that it was supposed to be sunny all week long. There was nothing else he could do to avoid getting wet, so he began walking down the sidewalk as water droplets fell from the sky.
Before he knew it, his hair was drenched with rain and so were his clothes.
"If only I had a skill to make an umbrella appear."
Step. Splash. Step. Splash.
The top of an umbrella stood over him, blocking the rain.
Katsuya turned his head and saw a familiar-looking brown haired girl, holding the umbrella.
"Jill? What are you doing here?" Katsuya asked.
"I was just out running some errands. How about you?" Jill asked.
"I went to buy a new item from the beast slayer weapon shop. Now, I'm just heading home."
Jill found herself rather curious about what he bought.
"Ooh, nice. What did you get?" She asked.
"It's really nothing special. I only bought a pair of combat gloves that increase my attack when I wear them."
After hearing his answer, Jill held a small piece of paper out to him.
Their walking came to a stop as Katsuya hesitated to grab it.
"What is that?" he asked.
"It's a party invitation."
"Why do you need to give me an invitation. I thought I already said that I would join your party."
There was confusion as he thought she meant 'party' as in a group of people.
Jill shook her head.
"No, not that kind of party. I mean a house party. There will be a lot of adventurers showing up. Even high rankers."
"So, how did you get this invitation?" Katsuya asked.
"My mom is actually good friends with Amaya, one of the high rankers. That's how I got it."
Jill patted his shoulder then began walking off as she spoke.
"I'm looking forward to seeing you there. I hope you show up."
"Don't worry, I'll be there." Katsuya replied.
He watched as she went further off into the distance while her shoes splashed in puddles of water. Once again, he felt the cold rain falling onto his hair and shoulders.
His eyes looked down at the invitation as small droplets fell onto it.
{House Party invitation.
Street: Whistirk Ave
House Number: 123
Time: 9:30 P.M
Date: 6/4/2025
Description: You are welcome to show up as long as you receive an invitation. There will be lots of adventurers showing up, as well as High rankers.}
"That's In three days. Maybe I should buy something nice to wear."
___________________
(Central square)
A giant blue dome covered an area where lots of houses stood.
Outside of the dome,stood a large group of people. In front of them was a man wearing a suit. He was a government agent that went by the name of 'Shadow'
He had spiky blue hair and purple-colored pupils.
"Alright, you have all been called out here today for a dangerous reason. We have located the killer responsible for the deaths of many citizens. We had a mage put up a barrier to stop the suspect from escaping. You will go in and find him. Bring him back dead or alive. The only details we have is that he has pale white skin and is wearing a long black coat. He is also very tall. We estimate him to be on the level of a S-ranker. So, if you wish to leave then you may do so right now. Once you go into that barrier, you will not be able to leave unless instructed, understood?"
The group consisted of 6 A-rank and Two S-rank adventurers.
All of the adventures shouted "Understood"
Shadow began explaining what they would do.
"You will be split into two different teams of three A-ranker. Each group will be led by one of the S-rankers. Who goes to what group will be decided by you guys. You may start choosing."
He watched as all the adventurers discussed who would be in what group.
After about a minute or two, they had finally decided.
One of the S-rankers stood in front of a line containing 3 of the A-rankers.
Next to them was another line, containing 3 A-rankers with one S-ranker standing in front.
"Looks like you all have decided." said Shadow.
He turned and looked at the giant blue-colored dome then spoke with a serious look in his eyes.
"Now, head in and find the killer."