I arrived at Jaymar's house.
*Knock.*
"Jaymar, it's me."
Opening the door, I saw a guy with purple eyes with white hair wearing a hoodie. Some people's first impression when they hear 'programmer' or 'good at computers' might be someone overweight or skinny with large eye bags, but Jaymar was completely different. He's a good-looking guy. Back in high school, many girls had a crush on him, but now he's only interested in his computer.
"Oh, Crius, you're here. Come in."
After entering, I walked towards the living room sofa and sat on it. Jaymar sat in front of me.
"I saw on the news what happened to Sword Academy. Are you alright? I messaged you, but you didn't reply. What happened?" he asked with a worried expression.
"Oh, at the time, it was total chaos, but I'm alright now. I didn't reply because I was too busy with a lot of stuff."
"So, why did you visit? Do you need something?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah. I'm here to sell this ring. Here's the description." I handed him a small paper.
He reached his hand out and took the paper and the ring. After reading the paper's content, his eyes widened.
"What? Where did you get this stuff? Did you do something dangerous again? You never change; you're always like that. You never listen to me," he said.
"It's not that dangerous; it's the same guy who wanted to sell it. So, what's the price?" I asked.
"It's a D-rank item, quite rare. If you sell just one of these, you'll never need to worry about money. Let's check on the black market," he said before standing up and walking to his room. I followed him and sat on the gaming chair he gestured to.
"What drink do you want?" he asked.
"Cola is enough," I replied.
He reached into the mini-fridge beside him, tossed me a cola, and grabbed one for himself. Then, he started typing on his computer, and a lot of items appeared on the screen.
"So, it's a mana regenerative. It's going to be a hit. We should just post it on the auction like the mana stone. How many do you have?" he asked with a smirk.
"I have three of them, same quality," I replied.
"Damn. So, what did the guy say? How much is mine?" he asked with a big smile.
"At first, you were worried, and now that we're talking about money, your attitude changed fast, huh?" I teased.
"After we sold the mana stone and nothing happened, I have a feeling the guy giving you this item is not that bad. If he was, we would have die already to erased the evidence by now. So, if you trust him, then I have to trust him too, right?" he said jokingly.
"Right, right. I'll give you 5%. Is that enough?" I asked.
"That's quite a lot. It should be somewhere around 10 billion hex," he replied.
"Oh, Jaymar, I have a commission for you."
"What is it?"
"I want you to look for anything related to what happened to the sword academy, even small information. I know that you can easily hack any CCTV or account without getting caught, so please, I need information."
"So it's about that, huh? I have a lot of money because of you. I can even create my own small company. And of course, because you're my friend, I'll help you. But please don't do anything stupid. I noticed in these past few days that something had changed in you. I almost had suspicions about you, but after hearing that you need my help, I realized you changed for the better. You're not the weak, pathetic friend I once had. As I said, I'll help you. I'll just send you any info I find," he said with a reassuring smile.
"Thanks, Jaymar. But do you have any news about James?"
"Of that nerd, my last contact with him was last month. He's busy with his artifact research, after all. I'll tell him that you're looking for him if we get in contact."
"Thanks," I said.
"Oh, I remember I have something to do. Just send the money to me. I have a lot of things to do, so I have to go now," I said, walking away. "Oh, and wear this protective ring. It's free, and don't ever sell it. He gave it to you for protection," I added, tossing him a small ring.
"Sure, tell him thanks," he said with a wave.
***
Natalie's POV
District 2 Apartment owned by Bow
In a large, luxurious building that had a golden bow look, in one of the windows, you could see a long, beautiful girl with golden hair wearing sexy sleepwear, enough to show her hourglass figure. Her beautiful citrine eyes were like priceless gems. She was seated on a big sofa, watching a modern transparent TV in a luxurious living room.
SMI NEWS: "Earl Grey of Spear Clan saved many lives in the devil cultist attack. Many parents are sending him thanks for saving their sons and daughters, but we still can't contact the Spear Clan. What rea-" Before the news host could finish speaking, Natalie turned off the TV.
"What really happened inside the dungeon? How come our only team didn't encounter the devil cultists? And how is it possible that Earl, who I know is only rank D-, claimed to defeat a 6 D+ traitor senior?
"The only one I know who claims to be with Earl is Crius, the lowest on the school ranking. How is it possible? Even if the two of them were together, they can't defend against 6 D+ with 233 ogres. I've known Earl since we were kids; I know how strong he is. But the only guy I'm suspicious of is
Crius Raven. He's quite talented; he has a great slim physique, even better than the top 200. But why is he on the lowest rank? Why is he hiding his power? And I can feel like he's hiding something. If Earl is really the one who did it, he should be boasting about it on the news right now, but he's not, and he didn't even reply to my message.
What's really happening," Natalie checked her phone, but the only notification was her IG notification and other social media. She scrolled through messages and clicked on the profile name Grace._______________________
Typing…
Grace, are you free tomorrow?
Minutes passed, and Grace finally replied.
Grace: I'm free. Why?
Do you want to go shopping with me? It's almost summer; we should buy some swimsuits.
Grace: You're right. What's the time and place?
There's a new mall built close to District 2 capital. Do you want to go there?
Grace: Oh, that's great. My apartment is in District 2.
Same Sword Apartment?
Grace: Yeah.
I'll just pick you up tomorrow at 1:00, okay?
Grace: Sure.
______________________
Sigh, I need to distract my mind from overthinking. I should just ask Earl myself if I come across him. I should. I feel sleepy; I should get some sleep.