[Good morning, Lyra.] Emir said while brushing his teeth.
[Good morning, Emir.]
Came the voice of Lyra, responding shortly after.
After washing up, he chatted with Laura and then headed out to Hunters Den, wanting to buy a new augmented suit.
As he pushed open the door, the tinkling of a bell hanging above it announced his arrival.
Inside, Emir was greeted by the sight of the female hunter he had seen the day before, deep in conversation with Mariana, the shop manager.
Upon noticing him, Mariana greeted Emir warmly and asked:
"Welcome back, Hunter Emir. Were the weapons satisfactory? Evelyn here has been telling me all about what happened. She thinks you're quite cool, you know."
"Wait a minute! I didn't say that, and why didn't you tell me that you're only thirteen? I was about to go on a date with a minor. I'm not into that, okay?"
Evelyn rebuked, looking extremely embarrassed, blushing all over her face.
Emir couldn't help but laugh at her outburst.
It was clear that she was flustered, and he didn't want to make her feel any worse.
"Don't worry about it," he said with a smile.
"I'm used to it by now. And yes, the weapons were fantastic, so you can definitely expect to see me here often."
The manager joined in his laughter before turning to me.
"Perfect."
"So, what's the purpose of your visit today, Emir? Are you in the market for a new augmented suit?"
He nodded.
"Yes, actually. I earned some money on my last patrol, and I want to upgrade my gear."
"Do you have a Helix Mk IV suit in stock?"
Checking her terminal, she said:
"You are in luck, I have one of those, so there is no need to wait, give me a moment and I'll get it from the back."
Emir turned back to Evelyn.
"So is the date off?"
She blushed and shook her head.
"No, no, the offer for food still stands, Emir. But if you're looking for something more than just food, well, you might want to grow up a little first." She teased with a smile.
He rolled his eyes at her comment.
"You'll have to work a lot harder if you want to make me flustered, anyway, I'll proceed with the reservation, when are you free?"
Evelyn chuckled at his response, clearly enjoying the banter.
"I see, I'll have to step up my game then. How about tomorrow evening? I'll do a patrol request, finishing at six, so we could meet up then."
He checked his own schedule quickly in his head.
"Sounds good to me. How about we meet at the upper district in the central plaza at seven? I'll lead you to the restaurant then."
"Sure thing," she replied with a smile.
"I'll see you then."
The shop manager came up, signaling Emir to follow her, and he did.
They headed to the back of the shop as she told him to try on the Helix Mk IV suit.
Stepping into it, he could feel the familiar tingle of the augmented technology syncing with his own neural network.
The suit adjusted itself to fit him perfectly, and he felt the increased strength and agility it provided.
Like his previous one, the suit was all black, fitted with mechanical bone-like structures in his body joints and spine.
It looked polished and futuristic.
There was also a mechanical visor that was protruding out of the metallic earpiece wrapping around his ear, and the piece was connected to the neck of the suit.
"This is perfect," Emir said, looking at himself in the mirror while nodding in approval.
The shop manager smiled.
"Glad to hear it."
She then proceeded to explain its features:
"Apart from the enhanced strength and armor, this suit can also sync with your information gathering device, granting your eyes the ability to spot targets through walls more easily and many other similar functions, of course, it is only up to the range of your information gathering device. The accuracy of the data would depend on the distance and type of targets."
Although Emir already knew, he was still impressed by the suit's capabilities.
"Great, I'll take it," he said, turning to the shop manager.
"How much will it cost me?"
The shop manager consulted her terminal once more before responding.
"The Helix Mk IV augmented suit is a C-class item, which typically costs two million UC. I'll also throw in an electric knife for you, free of charge."
He winced at the high price but knew that it was more than worth it.
'Next time I come here, that amount would be nothing.' Emir snickered in his mind.
"Thanks for that, here's my hunter ID," he said, handing it over to her.
As she processed the transaction, she remarked:
"You've already reached rank 8? That's fast."
"Yeah, because of the patrol incident yesterday, they increased my rank quite a bit."
Emir then quickly cut her off from asking further questions:
"Do you have any Type-C ammo in stock?"
The shop manager checked her inventory.
"Yes, we have a few boxes left. How many do you need?"
"I'll take four boxes, please."
Mariane nodded and added the ammo to his purchase.
After completing the transaction, she handed Emir the boxes of ammo.
"Thank you," he said, putting the boxes and his previous augmented suit into his rucksack.
"I'll see you again soon."
"Take care, Emir." She replied with a smile.
Getting out of the shop, Emir checked his meager credit balance on his terminal.
{720,000 Union Credits.}
'I am officially broke,' he thought, letting out a chuckle.
He then asked his AI companion:
[Hey Lyra, I can't buy a vehicle yet, not with my current rank or credit balance, so do I just grind out patrols for now?]
[Yes, until you reach rank 15, at least; after that, you can start accepting jobs for defending, scavenging, and rebuilding ruin outposts, it would be relatively more dangerous, but nothing that you are not used to.]
Walking through the streets, he asked another question, remembering Evelyn:
[You know of a good barber around here? I think I've kept growing my hair for too long, I want the next time that I check the system for my charm stat to be at least an A.]
[Of course, I'll lead you to the saloon after you drop off your bag.]
….
….
Entering his family's flat, Emir went to his room and quickly hung his Chrono-Sense-augmented suit in the wardrobe.
Getting out, he noticed Laura cooking in the kitchen and said:
"Hey ma, come look at my new suit."
Laura turned around from the stove and smiled at him.
"Oh wow, that looks amazing, Emir! You look like a high-ranking hunter now." She said while walking over to inspect the suit more closely.
He stood still as she examined the suit, pointing out its different features and commenting on how it must have cost quite a bit of money.
"Thanks, Mom," he said, smiling at her.
"I just bought some extra ammo too, so I'm all set for my next patrol."
Laura nodded, looking at him with her usual mama-hen mode enabled.
"Be careful out there, Emir. You know how dangerous those patrols can be, especially now that you're moving up the ranks."
"I know, I know."
"Don't forget, I've got Lyra with me, and I know what I'm doing. So, I'll be okay." He said, trying to reassure her for what seemed like the millionth time.
'A mother will always worry for her son, I guess, no matter what realm.' He thought as he suppressed a chuckle from escaping through his lips.
Laura nodded again, now sounding proud.
"Of course, my Emir is the best."
"Also, I'll go get a haircut before going on another set of patrols today," Emir said, giving her a quick hug.
Surprised, she looked straight at him.
"You haven't cut your hair no matter how much we nagged you, and now you've randomly decided to do it... You've got a date, don't you?"
He couldn't help but grin at his mother's observation.
"Maybe," he admitted, hiding his true feelings about the matter.
Laura laughed, shaking her head.
"Well, at least you're finally taking care of yourself. You're becoming a young man, Emir."
"Technically, though, it's going to be your second time becoming that, but you get the point. It's important to look presentable."
"I know, I know," he said.
"I'll make sure to keep up with it from now on, I just didn't bother with it back then because of my training."
As Emir waited for Laura to finish cooking, he casually scrolled through his terminal, searching for a patrol job that would fit his schedule.
He found one that started around 12:00 PM, which would give him enough time to get there after getting his hair cut.
Once he accepted the job request, Emir looked up to see Laura putting the finishing touches on the meal.
He walked up to the kitchen and grabbed two sets of utensils and plates before making his way back to the dining table.
After enjoying the delicious meal, he stood up and took care of the dishes.
As he washed his face and hands with water, Emir thanked Laura for the great food and grabbed his rucksack.
Walking towards the door, Emir turned his head and said:
"See you later."
As he left their apartment, he could hear Laura's voice behind him, wishing him to be careful.