Cain stares at her in aw. 'Well, dang… that's quite a backstory. I can offer modern weapons and possibly tanks, jets, etc. Although these would be closer to vehicles, they are technically ranged weapons. That requirement is set, now it's just the name… Dang it, why do I have to come up with a name again…' "Thanks, Jessica. Could you lead me to where the bow is?"
The startled receptionist looks at Cain, attempting to read his intentions. "How do you know my name?"
"It's… on your name tag." Cain points to the metal tag pinned to her clothes, perplexed by her sudden behavior.
Jessica awkwardly leaves the confines of the desk and begins to walk towards Cain's left, with him in tow. 'Crap… I almost exposed myself… I took over this receptionist's job because we had the same name, but it almost backfired…' She mulls over her mistake as her cheeks become red with embarrassment and hastens her pace a little.
A few seconds later, Cain is led to one of the walls littered with shining, divine weapons of all sorts. From halberds, lances, swords, and shields to some bizarre equipment such as gun shields, Man Catchers, Sword Breakers, and Lantern Shields.
Slight rattles could be heard as Cain and Jessica navigated the floor, attempting to avoid all of the weapons laid out. Jessica stops overlooking a tattered bow with many cracks in it, enclosed by a glass covering. It seems as if one touch could turn the bow to dust.
"This is the bow I described previously." Jessica gestures to the batter bow.
'Dang… How come this bow looks so broken…?' Cain thought as he inspected the bow with his eyes.
"So… How does this work? Do I give her a name now then pay the fee?" Cain asked Jessica while he continued to inspect the bow.
'Her..? Why did he say that when these are just weapons…' Jessica briefly questioned herself before responding to Cain. "Once you give the weapon a name, the spirit will emerge and form a contract with you. Once that contract is completed, you have to pay for the fee.
"You're allowed to take the weapon out of the building for a week after paying 10% of the fee before forming a contract with it. This is to allow the weapons and the customers to form contracts under their ideal environment. The weapon cannot be used by anyone without a contract with the spirit, so there is no danger here.
"After one week you have to report back to this hall with the results of your contract. If you do not do so, then the imperial guards will be sent after you and you have to pay 200% of the original price and 10 extra gold coins. If the contract is a success then you will have to pay the original price, if not then you leave the weapon here and that concludes the transaction."
'10 gold coins!? The heck… it seems like it's a deterrent to stop people from stealing, but still… How much food can I buy with that...?' Cain mused to himself before speaking up. "So… does that mean I don't have to pay the 10% fee for borrowing the bow for a week? Unless copper coins are further divided…"
"No, you don't need to worry about that. Since the bow's price is 1 copper, then you don't need to pay the fee to take it for a week."
'Sweet… Hopefully she'll last long enough to form a spirit contract… I should ask the blacksmith I'm going to visit later for any information on how to repair spirit weapons. It's a long shot… but hopefully there'll at least be a sliver of info.'
Cain begins to go deep into thought. Meanwhile, Jessica carefully lifts the glass covering, setting it to her right, gently on top of some weapons. Their complaining snaps Cain out of his thoughts. He lifts his head, up staring at Jessica who is holding the bow gently, as if one mistake would shatter the bow to smithereens. Cain lays his arms in front of him, palms up, mimicking a forklift. Jessica surgically lays the bow on Cain's arm, who begins to treat it as his precious baby.
'Crap, crap, crap…. This pressure is worse than exams…' Cain is slightly flustered at the sudden development.
---Dms: Cain and Bob--- (25ms)
Bob: I can create a small dimension for the bow and store it inside so it won't break.
Cain: Really? I thought it would take some time to create any dimension; please do.
Bob: As long as it's a simple storage dimension, I can create anything up to a common mansion size instantly.
Cain: Wow… So about... 25 cubic meters?
Bob: Affirmative
--------------------------
During this brief conversation that took less than a second, the bow disappears from Cain's arms and gently lands in the newly created storage dimension. Jessica is slightly startled at the sudden disappearance but quickly regains her composure and shuffles back to her desk.
Cain begins to carefully move between the weapons laid out on the floor while calling out to Jared and Jacob.
"You done?" Jared asks while eyeing Jessica, only to be met with a stern glare.
"Yep, let's go to the inn next." Cain responds, following Jacob who took the lead once they exit the building. Certain that they can no longer hear her, Jessica beckons a minion. The minion appears from the shadows, similar to certain shinobi.
"You called, Young Miss?" The minion respectfully asks, kneeling with his head down.
"Yes… What do you think of the latest customer?" Jessica asks in a calm, almost cold tone.
"Based on the mana fluctuations he released while supposedly silencing the weapons alone, I'm afraid his only match would be the 8th circle hermit who is focused on research in the Tower." The minion swiftly gives his report.
"So… He's an 8th circle mage? At what… no more than 21? He must be from a hidden clan…" Jessica concludes while staring at the only entrance.
"Yes and no…"
"Spit it out…"
"I could not sense any mana fluctuations from the… customer. Not a single trace."
"Impossible… You're saying he learned some sort of concealment technique? But that would mean he could possibly be a 9th or even a 10th circle combatant… Argh, my head hurts just thinking about this… You're dismissed." Jessica rubs her temples, attempting to calm the slight migraine that formed while thinking about Cain's potential strength.
A few meters from the entrance, the group of three young boys are strolling through the streets. After leaving the weapons shop, they turned left and began their long walk through the somewhat crowded streets.
It was a few hours until dinner, so many of the restaurants were slowly filling up. Cain was eyeing every food display they walked by, reluctant to ask for anything as the group's funds were short.
'Speaking of food…' "What do you guys usually eat during adventures? I'm sure there are moments where you're forced to rely on monster meat, what happens to Victoria then? Can't she only eat D-grade monster meat?" Cain questioned Jacob, as Jared was on the lookout for a new date.
"We usually stock up on C- and D-grade meat from previous hunts. Victoria can eat C-grade meat with the help of someone regulating her mana and slow bites. Otherwise we'll stock up on food inside the military outposts stationed in the forest.
We'll eat the monster meat during long quests. Other than that... we have breakfast at the inn or the bakery, lunch while we're out hunting, and a late dinner from the adventurer's guild."
"Military outposts? Are these shelters that provide inns, food, and possibly shops?" Cain curiously asked without holding back.
"Wow… exactly all 3 of those. How did you know?" Jacob responds, clearly shocked and somewhat suspicious by Cain's accurate guess. To them, Cain is a powerful being who lived in a different continent, perhaps in a secluded environment, assuming from his reactions to people, until recently. Thus knowing these details would bring up some contradictions with the cover story provided by Cain.
This small sign of suspicion did not go unnoticed by Cain. 'That's good… I'd be more worried if they were to just believe everything I said because I had strength. I would rather be with those who are capable of suspecting me than those who cannot think for themselves.' "It was just a lucky guess… Wait crap, put these on and hide."
Cain tosses out 3 pairs of trench coats and sunglasses, handing a pair to Jacob and Jared while leading them to the entrance of a news store. To bystanders, it seems like these came out from the portal that was manifested briefly. In reality, Cain used his mana to create these items. They quickly pick up some newspapers and pretend to read.
"What's wrong?" Jared whispers, visibly confused by the sudden development.
"Shhh… the girls are over there, wait, don't look!" Cain whispers, nudging Jared at the last moment in an effort to stop him from peeking.
Jared was the closest to the girls, followed by Cain, then Jacob. Ironically, they were arranged by height, with Jacob being at the far end. Jared peeks at the ladies leaving a clothing store a few hundred meters from their current location, their arms strapped with many bags. Jared's eyes are noticed by Dresil who picks up on the familiar mana fluctuations. She stares intently in their direction, sweat begins to form on the boys' faces.
---Dms: Dresil and Cain--- (15ms)
Dresil: Master? What are you doing, hiding over there?
Cain: Ssshhh, don't tell the other two. I'll treat you to whatever you want later.
Dresil: Really? You better keep your word Master!
--------------------------
Dresil quickly looks away, pretending nothing happened. Jared turns his head to the left, followed by Cain, then Jacob. A few moments later, Jared pulls his sunglasses down, again followed by Cain, then Jacob. Cain folds the three sets of newspapers with his mana and files them away in this instance. The three stare off into the distance, unsure of their future.
"Are they gone?" Jacob asked wearily.
"Yep." Cain responds, dissolving the trench coats and sunglasses into mana.
"Phew… if they spotted us, we might've been pulled into their luggage carriers. Aw, those cool glasses are gone… Can't we keep them? They'd be great to pick up girls with…" Jared responds, expecting a bonk to appear out of nowhere. To his delight, nothing occurred.
"Nah, too much of a fuss would be created if others knew what these were and how to make them. They're similar to the glasses Madison has." Cain firmly refuses Jared's request, aware of the dangers that would occur if someone were able to find out what the glasses did, let alone what they were made of.
To his knowledge, plastic hasn't been invented in this society. If word were to get out of such a newfound material, it's not an exaggeration to say that the economy, and possibly the kingdom will be in chaos.
Jared, Cain, and Jacob begin to leave the front of the shop, before they are stopped by the owner.
"Young men. What are you doing standing in front of my shop? Are you going to purchase something?" The owner asks, eyeing Jacob's big build which could be easily misunderstood as hired muscle. Jared and Jacob become flustered, at a loss for words. Cain quickly speaks up.
"No sir. We were just trying to escape from our female companions who decided to go on a shopping spree. Unfortunately, if we are caught by them, we would become their chauffeurs. This would be extremely bad, not only for our backs, but because we also still have some errands to run." Cain elegantly explains, highlighting the despair of getting caught. The shop owner gives an understanding nod, before he flashes a thumbs up.
"Good luck, young ones."
"Thank you sir." Jacob replied with a light bow as he shuffled down the stairs leading to the entrance. The group quickly leaves in order to not disturb the owner any further. With their usual formation of Jacob slightly ahead on the left, Cain in the middle, and Jared on the right, they walk towards the inn.