"I see you don't have your bow?"
"That's because I left it in the inn like ya said genius!!"
The day has barely begun, and he already seems to be in a bad mood… looks like he does know when to listen to others though. That's good to know.
"Wow… it's so much quieter on the streets!"
Compared to during the day and night yesterday, the streets are practically empty, with only a few people in sight. Unlike before, it was perhaps, fifty or so just walking around… walking back to the inn last night had fewer people though I'm pretty sure.
"Course it is, not many are awake at five in the morning… give it another hour or two."
I do wonder how Atlas woke up on time though, I mean, I was sleeping in… he had to pick the goddamn lock just to wake me up.
"Hey uh, Atlas… how did you wake up on time?"
He looks at me… I notice the dark bags still under his eyes. Oh no.
"Easy, I didn't sleep."
"Huh… why, won't you fall asleep during this test then?"
"Sigh, I haven't slept well for the last five years… instead I would spend that time practicing my archery."
Five years… whole years! That can not be healthy, how has he managed to live like that. Well looking at him, it's quite noticeable that he's not in the greatest of shape. And, what was that other thing he said… Archery?
"Archery? What's that?"
He looks at me again.
"I might be getting used to this."
"Used to what?"
"Your stupidity."
This guy again with the insults… at least this time he didn't say that with an annoyed or disgusted expression. This time it was just his lifeless voice, he might not care anymore. That's a good sign.
"But, it's just a term used to describe the skill of using a bow and arrow."
"Ha, makes sense… does every weapon have a term?"
I would like to know if small-bladed weapons had a term, like knives and daggers, I seem to use those quite a lot… now that I think about it. What kind of weapon did Laloo use, I never saw one on him.
"Most do actually. However, some don't."
"What about small-bladed weapons like knives or daggers?"
"Hee…"
What was that, I turn and look at Atlas.
"Hey, are you okay?"
He stopped moving, and his eyes widened, as if he saw something terrifying. And his body started to tremble.
"Atlas… are you ok—"
In a matter of seconds, Atlas wraps his hands around his body gripping his shirt, he then falls to the ground letting out an incredibly loud scream.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NO! NO! STOP! PLEASE!"
"ATLAS! WHAT'S WRONG!"
All of a sudden I was overwhelmed with not one emotion but several. Terror, guilt, confusion, sadness, grief… that familiar feeling came back, it felt like my eye was going to explode. Instantly I noticed Atlas' Aura, it wasn't one colour, it looked to be a mix of black, blue, and red.
"Please! Please! Don't…"
He was shaking uncontrollably, and the few people around started to gather around us… why can't they go away... Atlas seemed to also be drenched in sweat, however… he wasn't hot, he was freezing.
"Stop…"
He wasn't screaming anymore however, that doesn't mean he's calmed down. 'Shit why does my eye work now of all times'
"Atlas!"
I don't know what to do, this situation reminds me of what happened with Laloo, but it's entirely different. To me it looks like he's crumbling, shattering into millions of pieces.
"Haa! Haa! Haa…*sniff*"
His breathing started getting faster, and tears started rushing down his face and onto the concrete street, still gripping his sides. I place my hands on his shoulders.
"Hey, it's alright, you're fine."
I try and speak in a low tone, this is different from Laloo's, I had to snap him out of something, and this time It felt like that wasn't a good idea.
"Wha…"
He looks up at me, tears still streaming, and he tries to stand up. I quickly swing his arm around my neck and helped him stand up… once we were up, he removed his arm and stood there, not moving.
…
"We… we should go."
We stood there for around a few minutes before he said that and started walking away.
"You sure you're good?"
He ignored me, looked away, wiping his face with his arm.
"Using short-bladed weapons does… doesn't have a term."
Yeah, I am no longer worried about that anymore, I'm a lot more worried about him now than needing to know weapon terms.
"I see…"
The walk back went by in a flash, now we were standing back in front of The Halls.
"You sure you're ready?"
"Yes, I'm ready dumbass!"
Even though it sounds like he's fine, I can still notice a slight shake in his hands even though they were in his pockets. Back when he started to freak out was right after I mentioned knives and daggers… I wonder… did something happen to him in the past, could it be related to that scar on his face?
"Okay, let's get this done then… alright."
I try my best to give him a smile, in hopes it somehow makes him feel even a little better.
As we walk back into the building I make a quick glance over toward the message board, noticing another warning poster has been placed there, 'this is going to be rough'. Continuing back down the long entrance we arrived at the main desk.
"Ah, it's you two, right on time!"
I look over at the clock, and it read 06:00. It seems we really did make it on time. That's a relief, I was sure we might have been late, even if it was a little bit.
"Okay! If you would follow me."
We begin following the lady, and she led us down one of the many corridors branching off the sides, entering the new room there were two chairs with a table at each, as well as a massive empty translucent board on the wall, with someone standing in the corner of the room. It seems to me like he might be the one who created this board.
"Alright, please take a seat, I'm going to go over the details for this test."
Atlas and I both sit down in each of the chairs, I wonder if she's going to tell us the test in its entirety right now or just a part of it.
"Right, so as I said yesterday, there are two parts. I will only go over the first thing you'll need to complete right now."
So it seems she'll only be going over the first test.
"However, the first part consists of three separate tests, with the first being a test of your ability, in buying the correct gear that you'll need in order to survive overnight outside the town's walls. Because there are two of you, we'll give you this."
She hands me a pouch, and after I grab it I hear a familiar sound… it's the sound of coins, I look inside and notice that there are only four gold coins. Is this why we weren't allowed our own money throughout the test?
"Each person is given two gold coins for this test, it's more than enough for the things you will need."
Two gold coins huh… I'm still not that confident when it comes to money, I still don't know how much copper is in a silver, or how many silver are in a gold, hopefully, I can rely on Atlas for this.
"That's all there is to the first test, what you buy will affect how well you perform in the second part, it will not affect the next two tests however."
I'm excited to see what the second part is, she mentioned that we'll be staying overnight outside the walls, so what we buy with this is what we will be taking outside.
"What if we have some leftover?"
Atlas asked, but left over, to me this doesn't seem like a lot, I thought we might not even have enough.
"Well, you get to keep it of course! It may also affect your performance… because this is basically one big test of your resourcefulness. So all that matters is how well you prepared."
"Hmph."
I noticed that there was a slight smirk on Atlas' face, maybe he has an idea or something.
"Other than that, you're both ready to begin, last chance to back out?"
"Hell no!" | "Hell no!"
We both said at once.
"I see… you have three hours, after that, return here. spend wisely."
She then proceeded to exit the room from back the way we came, and the guy who was in the corner started mumbling something while holding one of those sticks, 'What even are those? I still haven't found out.'
"Come on… let's go."
Atlas said behind me, it seemed that I might have zoned out.
"Right!"
I stood up and we both began walking back through the long hallway until we reached the main desk once again. Someone catches my eye.
"You've got to be joking… I seriously need a group for this request?"
"Afraid so, I can, however, put you down as interested so if others take an interest, you won't need to find them on your own. Does that work?"
"You're a lifesaver, let me know when you get more kay."
"Of course."
Paying closer attention, something feels familiar about him, but what is it.
"Oh, it's that kid."
Does Atlas remember, who was it?
"Who is I—
"Oi, you two!"
He looks in our direction, and I look around… is he talking about us.
"Why are you looking around, I'm talking to you genius."
"M… me."
I say while pointing to myself.
"Yes! What don't you understand."
But why would he just come up to us, is there something he needs. As he walks closer I realize who it was… it was that person with the unique clothes, that was getting yelled at yesterday.
"Ah, I remember you, the guy with the bow right?"
Ah! He's referring to Atlas… I don't think he would recognize me as I didn't get involved. What could he want with him though, might thank him for earlier or something
"There are many guys with bows."
"Yeah, alright smart ass."
Well okay then, I guess he didn't come to thank him, but I guess that is Atlas' fault, with the way he put it… always puts it.
"Anyway, are you and your friend adventurers?"
"No not yet, matter of fact we're actually taking the test right now!"
I chime in, perhaps he wants us to join him with that request.
"Oi! Write these guys' names down for me, they'll help me with the request once they pass!"
"WAIT WHAT ARE YA SAYING!"
"YEAH, WHAT HE SAID!" Atlas and I both yell.
"There a problem?"
Of course, there's a problem what, you're trying to rope us into helping you with that request, you never even asked us let alone got our consent.
"Problem?! Course there is ya idiot!"
I'm actually quite surprised, this is the most energetic I have ever seen Atlas, I won't interrupt, seems like this is taking his mind off of what happened before.
"Oh yeah… what is it."
"The problem is ya didn't even ask us if we wanted to!"
"Fine, fine, sorry… ahem. Would you plea—
"NO!"
Haha! This is amusing to watch, Atlas seems to be getting really worked up over this while the other guy seems to be enjoying himself, just like I am.
"If it helps… I was going to suggest this request to you two if you passed."
Making her way toward us she went around the front desk. she then explains to us that it wouldn't hurt to try. I look back at Atlas, it seems he doesn't know what to say.
"We'll do it… I don't see why not."
"Yes!"
The guy said loudly but quietly while jumping on the spot.
"Ya, serious?"
"Saves us having to pick one out later."
At least we'll already have something that needs to be done in case we pass, plus the more people the easier it will be, but she did say it was a request that required a group, which could mean it's quite dangerous.
"I guess you're right…"
Atlas said with a defeated tone.
"HAHA! Well, I'll meet you two back here once you're done! Bye, bye!"
The guy yelled as he made his way out of the building… well I guess we both should get going now anyway. I looked toward the clock, and it read (07:00) seems like we still have two and half hours to go, we were only in that room for a little over thirty minutes.
"Should we go?"
"Yes let's."
I asked Atlas, so we began making our way out of the building.
"He had quite long hair for a guy."
"Heh, not as long as what mine used to be."
Atlas gave me a blank look.
"What the hell does that look mean!?"
"… anyway, he spoke pretty weirdly as well."
"Like you can talk."
He gave me another blank look.
"…"
We then made it back out onto the street, that guy not being anywhere within sight.
"Here take this… and where should we go first?"
I throw the pouch with the four gold coins at him. He seemed surprised but still caught them and looked inside, noticing the money.
"You're giving this ta me?"
"Looked like you had an idea back there, also, I don't know my way around this town, let alone what needs to be purchased."
What followed was a look of confusion on his face… not sure why, maybe this is the first time someone relied on him? A slight smirk similar to the one before appeared on his face.
"Hah… guess you're right. Well, first things first is we need weapons, ta defend ourselves of course."
Weapons, right, it is a shame that Atlas couldn't bring his bow, seems like a waste having to buy another one. I do want a dagger for myself though, I need something for protection at least, considering the situation I'm in.
"You're after something sharp right? We'll head ta the blacksmith first, follow me."
We were only walking for a few minutes until we reached the destination. The sign said 'Anything Metal' that's quite a simple name, guessing that this place is for anything that's made out of metal, quite simple… I go to walk in but notice Atlas lean against the shop's front window.
"You not coming?"
"Hm! Uh no I'm fine I'll wait."
"Okay… then, I won't be long"
That makes sense. After what happened to him with just the thought of a sharp weapon, it doesn't surprise me that he'll sit this out… I then opened the store door and stepped inside, covering the walls were many different things, from long sharp blades to short sharp blades, some even only had a small sharp thing on the end of a pole. However, one thing caught my attention, it looked like it had a blade on either end of the handle, 'definitely not going to get that'
"Something I can help you with youngster?"
The guy behind the counter was big, perhaps even the size of Laloo, no, a bit smaller maybe. However, if he were to punch me I would probably die.
"Uh… I was just looking for a dagger or knife that was cheap but reliable. What would you recommend?"
"Ah!"
His eyes lit up.
"Is this for your main weapon or just a side!"
He seems to be extremely excited.
"For my mai—
"IN THAT CASE! I highly suggest this!"
Whoa! that made me jump, it seems the thought of someone buying a small weapon as their main has him really excited… I saw him run to the back of the shop, followed by the sound of him rummaging through many weapons.
*CLANG* *CLANG*
"Found it!"
I heard him shout as he came running back to me, this time however, he was on the side of the counter I was on… 'this doesn't seem very professional'
"This is my proudest work! And I've always wished to give it to a customer who uses knives as their main!"
Upon looking at it, the first thing that caught my eye was the handle, it was pure white, similar to my hair, while the guard was a dark abyss black. Something else shocked me, something I haven't seen before. The sharp side of the blade seemed to have a slight glow to it, however, it did also look like just a shine.
"What is that glow?"
"Why that's Manith of course!"
"Manith?"
What is Manith, I've never heard of it before.
"Manith is a metal that is formed naturally in mana-dense areas of course! It gives any weapon the power to store magic and use it! By the way! Please tell me! What colour do you believe mana is?!"
This guy really is excited… he asked me what colour I think magic is though. Well, I originally saw it as light blue but I've also seen it as yellow… or maybe even lime green as well.
"I don't really think magic has a set colour, however, I have seen it as light blue, yellow, and lime green."
His eyes lit up even more.
"SERIOUSLY! YOU THINK THE SAME THING!"
"Whoa, hey, calm down."
"Ahem, sorry sorry. Now here, look at this!"
He pulled the rest of the blade out of its sheath and gripped the handle of the knife… the sharp side of the knife began to glow a light blue, which then changed to a darker blue, then slowly, I began to see a dark purple. The glow then returned to the slight shine it had before.
"So far I've only managed to change it between shades of blue and reaching a purple colour, but that's not enough, I want it to glow every single colour."
He seems a bit down at this thought, I wonder how long he's been trying.
"Can most people only have one colour as their glow?"
"Yes, most can't even change shades."
"Wait… then that means you're pretty impressive, being able to change shades as well as colours."
"Haha! I guess so! Yeah, you're right! I am impressive!"
Seems his spirit shot right back up.
"Anyway! Would you mind giving it a shot… changing the colour I mean."
Guess there's no harm in trying.
"Yeah, sure."
"Fantastic! Here you go!"
He hands me the knife. I grab it out of his hands from the handle and gripped it.
…
"Nothing is happening?"
"Well, that's because you actually need to transfer your magic into the knife!"
Transfer it, how can you transfer magic, I had no idea you could do that… well hopefully nothing bad happens like last time.
"Transfer… how do I do that?"
"Imagine your magic flow moving from your hand into the sharp side of the blade, AND ONLY THE SHARP SIDE! Anything more and the thing will shatter!"
Shatter! This metal blade will shatter! How is that at all safe, what if someone died from this… anyway he only said shatter, not explode, so it might just crumble away instead.
"Well, I'll give it a try."
"Great!"
He stood crouched down in front of me staring at the knife in anticipation.
I weaken my grip on the handle slightly and let out a deep breath. I then visualize the magic moving from my chest, down my arm, out my hand, and along the sharp side of the blade. I instantly notice the bright light shining out of the blade, it was light blue.
"Light blue just like me… how boring!"
Boring! I thought he was a good guy but I guess he's just an asshole… the shine then changed to a rose-red colour.
"WHAT! IT'S RED NOW!"
"IT IS!"
That's exciting, I guess I'm able to change its colour as well. The light then dimmed a bit before it brightened again, this time… it was showing a vibrant yellow, before then changing to lime green.
"WHOA! NO WAY! FOUR COLOURS!"
The light then dimmed significantly and rested at a stagnant white, the guy then grabbed the knife off me and put it back in its sheath.
"Interesting! Very interesting!"
He then glanced back toward me
"So! Do you want it!"
"I wouldn't mind it, but first, how much is it?"
"I'll give it to you for free!"
Wait huh… why would he give it to me for free, it seems like a fairly high-quality knife, I wouldn't feel right just taking it from him.
"No, I can't do that."
"Sure you can! After what you showed me! It's the least I can do!"
I guess, if he puts it that way, I have no other choice but to accept it.
"You sure it's fine?"
"Hundred percent!"
And with that, he handed me the knife along with the sheath, he also gave me what seemed to be a leather belt which I was able to place the knife into. I wrapped it around my waist.
"Looking cool there!"
The guy said to me as I left the store, where I was then greeted by what looked to be a stressed-out Atlas.
"You alright?"
"Uh…"
He noticed the knife I now have.
"How did you buy that?"
"Stuff happened and he gave it to me for free… why?"
"No, it's nothing let's continue."
With that he began walking again, 'I wonder what that was about'. I catch back up with him
"So where are we going now?"
"The Fletcher's, they're the ones that make many ranged weapons."
The Fletcher's huh, again I haven't heard of that before, there seems to be a lot of stuff I still don't know… I should probably keep my hands off of a bow though.
…
"What are all these places! Bakers, butchers, carpenters?"
"They're what we call craftsmen, people who own permanent stores that usually make their own products."
He said they were permanent stores, what about ones that aren't, what I've noticed is that the only food ones were the bakers and butchers, where would you get other kinds of food?
"Hey, what's this?"
I pointed toward one of the buildings that looked different from the rest.
"Hm?"
Atlas turns around and follows my eyes to where I was looking.
"Oh… that's the town's Arcanist."
"Arcanist?"
"They're basically scientists, except for magic, even though magic is just another thing in our lives, It's still very mysterious. Most of them dedicate their lives ta the study of magic, constantly coming up with new creations and sometimes even discovering a new Magic Type entirely. In fact one of their most recent inventions was the wand, giving everyone the ability ta channel their mana and make it more precise… before we did have staffs and scepters however, they took someone with incredible control ta use, they were also quite expensive, especially scepters, you'll really only see nobility with them."
Scientists except for magic… I read somewhere in those books that scientists were people who tried to advance things such as technology, so does that mean arcanists are practically the same, he also mentioned nobility, what even is that.
"What actually is nobility?"
"Yeah, I'm starting ta think you actually were raised in a forest somewhere."
"Get used to it."
He really doesn't need to bring up my ignorance every time I ask a question.
"Rich people, they also have the approval of the king, ya can become a noble but not many people make that much money. The only chance you'll have is if ya reach the B Rank or A Rank as an adventurer, all B Ranks and A Ranks get granted a title except… there were, however, two people that declined, around seven years ago I believe, they passed through here on a request that came directly from the king. They were a couple, the husband being the Rank A at the time, and his wife being one of the six Rank B's at the time…"
So only a certain amount of people can be a higher rank, interesting… would that mean only a select few could even get a rank, I should probably ask when we get back to The Halls… the place we're also in has a king, I wonder how that whole system works, but if you get granted a title, why would those two decline it.
"They must have hated nobility then."
"Probably… anyway did ya want ta check inside."
Atlas said as he pointed to the store I first asked about.
"Right yeah, I almost forgot about that."
We both made our way into the store.
Looking around it was quite similar to the blacksmith I entered before however, it did look a lot bigger, it even had a second story. The first thing I saw was those stick-looking things everyone had.
"Are these the wands?"
I asked Atlas.
"Yep, did ya want to try one?"
"I can do that!"
"Yeah, you're allowed to, as long as ya don't break it."
That's amazing! I lower my hand to pick up the wand in front of me, however, the second my finger made contact.
*crack!* *crumble!*
The wand instantly shattered, into hundreds of pieces.
"What the hell did ya do."
"I don't know… it just broke."
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH MY PRECIOUS WANDS!"
A yell came from behind us, turning around I would have assumed it was the person who ran the store.
"Ahh! What is this!"
After seeing the shattered wand the guy became very distraught.
…
"Ah… I am extremely sorry about that, the second I touched it… it just shattered."
The guy looked at me with pure anger in his eyes, but then immediately lit up
"Wait, did you just say it broke upon you touching it!"
"Uh, ye—
"INCREDIBLE! Please come with me!"
He then sprinted up the stairs and around a corner, he was then out of our sight… me and Atlas look at each other.
"Should we follow him?"
I asked.
"Well, we can't exactly leave without paying, so I think we have to."
We both walk up the stairs and in the direction of where he went… we then arrive at the end of a corridor that had a door, it was slightly open. I peek inside.
*SLAM!*
"AHHH!" | "AHHH!"
Atlas and I both scream at the sudden opening of the door, which was opened by the same guy, now out of breath, he was holding something strange.
"What is that?"
"This is the crystallized form of Manith!"
So not only is there a metal form of manith, but also a crystal, that's strange.
"What does it do?"
"Depending on how bright it glows, it tells us how much magic flows through you."
So is this something that's used to measure magic perhaps.
"What do you want me to do—
Before finishing he places the white crystal into my hand, and within seconds the crystal starts evaporating, with the clouds it turned into, had begun to enter my body directly through my wrist.
"…" | "…" | "…"
There was a moment of silence, where all three of us just stared in confusion.
"YOU HAVE TO SHOW ME MORE!"
"What?"
"PLEASE! I NEED MORE DEMONSTRATIONS!"
Has this guy gone crazy, we're wasting time being here for this long.
"Sorry but, how much is it to cover that wand we broke earlier?"
"I've never seen something like this before, the amount of research I can do with him is astounding."
Yeah, he has definitely lost it.
"Auric let's get the hell out of here."
Atlas said quietly as he placed one of the gold coins on the table next to us… I nod as he finishes. We quickly and quietly make our way back down the stairs, all the while we could still hear him rambling.
"What is going on up there?"
Someone said as we were about to exit the store. I turn around… it's that same girl I first met back in Betwin, as well as on that carriage as well. What's she doing here.
"I wouldn't go up there if I were ya, he's lost it."
Atlas said to her.
"Hey it's you again… wait why is your hair black, isn't it white?"
But it seemed she ignored his warning, she seems more interested in why my hair was black… I put on a fake smile.
"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about… anyway we're in the middle of something, so we need to leave."
I quickly and desperately say as I forcefully push Atlas and myself out of the store.
"Where are we going next?"
I say as I'm still pushing Atlas.
"Hey! Can you slow down! Ya pushing me the wrong way."
"Oh."
I stop walking, and I look back, noticing that we had gone quite far, maybe a little over a hundred meters.
"Why were ya in such a rush ta leave, yeah that guy was weird, but not scary."
"He was plenty scary what do you mean, it looked like he wanted to do tests on me or something."
I quickly said while grabbing onto Atlas' shoulders.
"Calm down, ya look like you're about ta cry… the next place and last place we need to visit is the market."
Huh? Isn't he going to get a weapon, what will he use to defend himself.
"What about a weapon for you?"
"Ehhh. I don't really need one for this."
Something tells me that this guy knows more than he should, seems like he already knows what the entirety of the test will be… but I guess there's not really anything I can do to convince him, if he says he doesn't need anything, then I guess he doesn't need one.
"…well, if you say so"
Bonus Segment (Laloo's Flower Request)
____________________________________
Hmmmmmm!
"Where are you hidin' little flower."
Many may give me strange looks for doing a request like this due to my Rank, but when an old lady asks me to find her a flower, why would anyone refuse.
*crunch!* *crunch*
"Ahhh. There you are little guy, found you."
What a peculiar old lady, wanting a flower like this. No wonder I wasn't able to find it… it just looks like dead sticks and flowers, she must be a collector of some sort.
*sniff*
Hmmmm, well it's got that going for it, it does smell very pleasant, it may have made me a bit drowsy.
…
HM!
What was that, something just appeared somewhere far… strange… it's a dungeon. There doesn't seem to be anyone else around, I should go check it out.
Wait, how do I do this again, boost magic was it, I forgot… well I'll try it anyway.
"Activate boost magic… enhance energy!"
Hmmmm, well it looked like it worked, I don't think that was correct but… well, whatever.
…
"Haaa!… Haaa!… well that was quite the distance."
What is this… a doorway, hm! It has a spot for a card. Let's see if placing my card in it works.
*Click!*
Well, that was simple, the door is opening now… I wonder if this is that rumored moving dungeon, Movia. Well, no harm in going in, I'll just make sure it's safe so others won't get hurt.
…
Whoa, I've never seen a dungeon like this, there seems to be a large unscalable cliff in both directions for as far as I can see… well first I'll start by heading straight ahead.
Wait a second… is it getting darker! I've never heard of a dungeon doing that, yeah some have day and night, but it doesn't change. Hmmmm, very interesting.
…
HUH! Is that a house! With its lights on! There can't be someone living in here, not a chance, isn't that impossible… well I should go make sure.
*Knock knock knock*
"Hello! Is anyone home!" …
Who am I kidding, of course there's no one here, that would just be plain crazy. I'll just let myself in.
"Pardon the intrusion!"
Hmmm… this place is everything a whole family would need in order to live… strange. I'll go check the rooms down that hallway as well.
"Guest? Like a guest room."
These two are scratched out… what about this one.
"Au…ri…c, Auric? Is that a name?"
*creak*
What was that sound… are those footsteps as well, there couldn't be someone else here.
*SIGH!*
Who is that, I should get a better look… white hair, incredibly long too.
*CREAK!*
"Huh?"
It's a child, what is he doing here.
"Wait wait, why the hell do you have an orange glow around you."
"Wha… HUH!"