Shatter!
"Oh, no. my drink. Dear lord why have you forsaken me on this soothing evening?" The elderly man crouched to the floor then started scraping up the cracked portions of his liquor. "Dear lord. All this jelly wine has gone to waste."
"Huh, I'm so sorry!" Dam Son realized that he was the cause of the elder's wine bottle breaking. He bent over and tried to help up the elder while apologizing. "Are you okay, mister? Sorry that I bumped into you."
"Sorry?" The elder gave an austere glance at Dam Son. "Look at this, my wine has spilt all over the floor. Do you think that sorry will bring it back together? This was your fault, young man. Why don't you take responsibility for the trouble you've caused?"
"Take responsibility? How do I do that, mister?" Dam Son waited for the elder's reply.
"How do you think?" The elder raised an irate brow. "You can rectify this mess that you've caused by getting me another fresh bottle of wine."
"Really, that is all? Ok, where do they sell wine around here?" Dam Son looked around the marketplace until he located a shop close by that sells liquor. "Stay here elder. I'll be right back with your bottle of wine." Dam Son ran off in haste towards the liquor shop.
"Hmm…" The elderly man eyed him from behind with a barely visible smile forming his lips. "Damn youngster."
A couple of minutes later, Dam Son returned to where the elder was with a fresh bottle of wine in his hand. It cost him 10 Q-currency to purchase it. "Here is your replacement wine, mister."
"Huh? This brand is…" upon inspecting the bottle of wine, the elder identified that it was one of the cheapest bottles sold in the liquor shop. "Are you trying to humiliate me further brat?" He raised his voice at Dam Son while angrily tossing the cheap brew in the cart parked behind him. "This dull drink can't compare to the fine wine that you've caused to spill! Is this how you treat your elders, son? Go back in there and get me a top-notch bottle!"
"Oh, sorry! Sorry! I didn't know what type you prefer. I'll be right back." Dam Son ran into the liquor shop again. This time he purchased a bottle that cost 15 Q-currency. He brought it back to the elder who waited outside. "Is this one satisfactory?"
"You bumpkin! Want me to slap you silly? This is obviously cheap wine also." The elder was still upset at Dam Son for bringing him more dull wine. He forced him to go purchase another bottle. This process continued until Dam Son exhausted all of his Q-currency, conversely, the elder's cart was packed to the brim with bottles of cheap wine that he said were tasteless.
"Sorry, mister. I don't have any more Q-currency. Will these bottles be enough?"
"Well…"
Dam Son waited for the elder's validation. He looked as if he was going to scold him again to purchase another bottle of wine. Seeing this, Papyrus intervened and tried to stop him. "Don't listen to this old bastard, newborn. He is obviously a shabby swindler. Look at him. He said that he is dissatisfied with the bottles of wine that you've brought him and yet he is storing all of them in his cart without tossing any away. Very suspicious. You should report him to the authorities and let him refund your Q-currency. This atrocious behaviour is too blatantly ob…"
"Shut your trap paper!" Before Papyrus could finish warning Dam Son, the elder made a swift movement with his fingers that immediately shattered Papyrus into incognito mode.
"Hey, what did you do to Papyrus?" Dam Son started viewing the elder in a negative light after witnessing him destroying his first friend.
"That paper is still with you. I only compelled it to mask its presence for a while. It was getting too noisy for my old ears to listen to." The elder used his little finger's sharp nail to pick out large wax from his ear.
"Is it true that you're a swindler, mister? Did you do all this just so that I could buy you all these bottles of wine?" Dam Son started to reflect on what Papyrus was telling him before it disappeared.
"Come on now, son. You would believe a paper over this old man?" The elder tried to take advantage of Dam Son's naivety.
"I don't believe you. I should report you to the campus's authority." Dam Son shifted his eyes around, searching for any enforcers in the vicinity.
'Tsk, this damn brat isn't as foolish as I thought.' The elder's countenance became gloomy for a brief moment. He thought of a way to avoid Dam Son's suspicions of his swindling nature. His face returned to that of an amiable old man. "Ha-ha-ha! I don't blame you for being suspicious of me. After all, you did bump into me and spilt my drink. Who am I to tell you to get me a suitable replacement in return?" He tried appealing to Dam Son's guilt.
"Oh, sorry that I bump into you back there but…"
"No buts. I'll let this insult slide if you help me carry these bottles of wine. My back isn't as strong as it used to be in my prime." Without waiting for Dam Son's approval, the elder forced the overflowing cart of liquor onto him then walked away.
"Hey, ahm…" Seeing the old man getting further ahead, Dam Son was left with no other choice but to carry the cart of liquor. "I can't let it just stay here and go to waste. I spent so much Q-currency to purchase them. Hey old man! Wait up!"
Dam Son chased after the elder while carrying both the liquor cart and his sapphire suitcase. It took him quite a while before he caught up with the elder. "Mister, where are we going? Do you reside in Raixom Academy? Are you perhaps a student here also or are you a member of staff? That finger movement you did back there to shatter my Papyrus, what was that? I've never seen anything like it."
"Too many questions brat. Are you trying to puzzle this old head of mine?" The elder avoided giving any straightforward answer to Dam Son's multiple enquiries. He led Dam Son to a small temple located up a mountain pass. They had to climb a few thousand steps before they got there. Dam Son felt most of the pressure for he was carrying the heavy objects uphill.