Shopping

Guild City is a place obsessed with dividing people into upper and lower, ranking everything by status.

Uptown, true to its name, is the district of the high-nosed nobles and rulers who govern the city led by the Five Great Houses.

Downtown, the city’s central district and the domain of the guild bourgeoisie rising as a new power through magitech.

And lastly, the Lowlands slums where Solomon lived, the city’s bottom. It had no other name.

And even the nobodies living in those Lowlands split the Lowlands again into upper, middle, and lower, still obsessing over who is above and who is below.

A city of ascent, where everyone is crazed with clawing their way upward.

Solomon was no exception.

He was climbing upward too as he crossed the city. He cut through maze-like alleys and streets, heading for the boundary where the upper Lowlands met the edge of Downtown.

Before he knew it, the salty scent of sea wind faded, replaced by the sticky stink of machine oil.

[Following the smell of oil up the narrow slope, the murmuring sounds of a market quietly tap at your ears. It seems you have found the right place.]

A black market on the border between the Lowlands and Downtown.

A place where people with something to hide, who could not openly use Downtown’s economy, gathered like mayflies to enjoy the fruits of civilization anyway.

The place Solomon stopped was an abandoned workshop. Its chimney was silent, and all the pipes were rusted through.

“Hoo… polite words. Nice words…”

To prevent a potential disaster, he did not go in immediately. He took a moment to breathe and steady himself. Then he opened the rusted iron door without hesitation.

The door did not open properly, creaking as it let out an abrasive metallic screech like a scream.

“Oh my. Look who it is!”

The moment Solomon appeared, a voice rang out as if it had been waiting.

It belonged to a blonde woman wearing a black leather jacket and worn military pants.

[When the hog brings in work and you carry it out, the smuggler Maya and her secret black market have always been reliable allies.]

Solomon called her name without reserve, as if he had known her from the start.

“Maya.”

“Welcome, Solomon.”

Maya was the same.

“I figured you’d be coming around about now.”

“I got a fu… no, a fairly difficult request from the Cesspit Mage Tower.”

“Well, it’s about time you upgraded your gear anyway. Mind if I take a look at that request?”

Solomon showed her the request papers he got from Roach. It was the document with the test subject’s information. Sharing info with an ally would not hurt him.

“Hm. Yeah. That’s not an easy target.”

Maya nodded, then asked cautiously.

“How much do you have on hand?”

“Five million krona.”

“…That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

The way she asked made it sound like Solomon might have other assets besides this.

“Well, I know your situation. You don’t see many dutiful sons like you these days.”

[Clue Acquired! Dutiful Son]

‘…Dutiful son?’

Maya said it like it was nothing. At the unexpected words, Solomon fell silent.

“But honestly, I don’t think you can gear up with just that.”

Maya hesitated.

“Even between us, business is business, right?”

“…”

Even so, Solomon did not flinch.

───

[Negotiation] “I’m set to get fifteen hundred once the job is completed. Can’t we work something out with that?”

───

“…That’s if you succeed. What are you going to do if you fail?”

[Negotiation Failed!]

‘Bad words are about to come out.’

Solomon kept the social interaction going while cursing internally. He didn’t want to, but he kept “Intimidation” on the table as a possibility.

───

[Deception] “You’re really going to doubt something like this? The Solomon you know?”

───

“Mm, yeah…”

A brief hesitation. In that instant, Solomon did not miss the look on Maya’s face, like she was being tempted.

“Well, it’s not completely ridiculous.”

[Deception Success!]

“Alright, Mister Solomon I know. Let’s hear your demands.”

Maya giggled as she spoke. Solomon kept his composure, forcing down the feeling of his heart dropping.

‘Tch. Saved.’

[How fortunate. Hog Roach is one thing, but making slaughter hooks your topic in front of a lady is not exactly desirable….]

“…”

Solomon left the nonsense behind and continued calmly.

“An automatic crossbow I can use for a long time, the attachments, and corrosive bolts.”

“Seriously. Every time you come, it’s an insane request.”

Maya laughed like it was absurd, then shrugged.

“Wait here. I’ll go bring the gear.”

After shrugging, she headed straight for a hidden underground passage.

Solomon watched her receding back in silence. How much time passed?

“Kept you waiting?”

Maya returned from the passage like a true smuggler, carrying a load like a pack peddler.

Then she spread it out.

“A masterpiece from those Bladeforge Workshop punks! A magitech automatic crossbow, Nightfall XR-10.”

The first thing Maya showed from the bundle was the crossbow.

“From single shots to volleys of up to ten bolts. And not burst-fire—simultaneous fire, I’m telling you!”

Maya spoke proudly, like it was her own creation.

“You just adjust it by sliding the multi-shot slider next to the trigger. It’s not even hard.”

Nightfall XR-10. True to its name, it gave off a dark, eerie purple sheen.

“Each cartridge holds ten bolts, and you can mount up to three at once.”

“Hm.”

“And the bolts you load into the cartridges can be customized too—paralysis, poison, whatever you want!”

“Not bad.”

He nodded as if he understood well enough.

“There’s just one flaw. Because of a structural defect, you have to manually eject and replace the empty cartridges. It’s a bit of a hassle, and it takes longer than you’d think….”

A drawback. It definitely sounded like something to care about. Maya continued without concern.

“But don’t be alarmed! This is where the magic of the Quick Loader Belt shines.”

Maya set down the Nightfall XR-10 and pulled out something new. A belt with a bunch of decorations hanging off it.

“This Quick Loader Belt has telekinetic sigils engraved into it, finely calibrated through magitech.”

Solomon kept nodding like he knew what she meant.

“With one wrist snap, ta-da! It ejects all the current cartridges and swaps in fresh ones in the blink of an eye! Practically not even a second.”

“And if you do it manually, one by one?”

“Five seconds at best.”

A four-second difference. In this line of work, it was the difference between heaven and earth.

“Also, the Quick Loader Belt can hold nine more cartridges.”

Since the Nightfall XR-10 itself could hold three, add the belt’s nine for a total of twelve. In other words, it meant storing 120 bolts.

A quantity worthy of the name “Hive Maker.”

“Heh. You know what? I could’ve made it auto-eject after it emptied.”

“You chose not to.”

“Right. So I could sell the Quick Loader Belt.”

‘Polite thoughts. Nice thoughts….’

Solomon fell silent in disbelief, holding back the curses rising to his throat.

“The Nightfall crossbow, the Quick Loader Belt, and twelve cartridges. How much for all of it?”

“Thirty million krona. Oh, and the twelve cartridges are complimentary. Status-effect bolts are extra.”

“Ah, you fucking robber bastards.”

Thirty million.

The moment he heard it, he could not hold it back, and a string of curses burst out.

He had five million on hand now. Even if he cleared the Cesspit Mage Tower request, that would only be twenty million. Nowhere near enough to pay off the debt.

“Heh. That’s so you.”

Maya gave him a wry smile.

“What is?”

“That uselessly earnest look you have.”

“….”

“I guess that’s why you stay a dutiful son even in this business.”

“…Yeah.”

[Deception Success!]

Solomon did not even understand what she meant, but he went along with it. Maya smiled and continued.

“Just so you know, I’ll charge you properly later.”

Maya laughed as she said it. Solomon lowered his head, awkward.

“…Thanks.”

He had only bought a single crossbow. With that alone, both his current money and his future were mortgaged. Consumables like status-effect ammo or poison vials were beyond even dreaming about.

“This is everything I have right now.”

Solomon held out the briefcase containing his entire fortune.

“Five million with this. The moment I finish the job, I’ll pay the remaining fifteen hundred, and I’ll settle the rest of the balance without delay.”

“No need.”

Maya shook her head. Then she smiled as she spoke.

“I only deal in lump sums.”

“What?”

“So come back when you can pay it all.”

Before Solomon could respond in surprise, Maya continued.

“We’re close, aren’t we? Did you think I can’t even do that?”

Maya giggled and shrugged. “We’re close.” At those words, Solomon fell silent for a moment.

A strange world where he understood nothing. And in that strange world, someone’s kindness felt warmer than anything he had experienced in his life.

Before he could savor that first warmth in this strange world, the hunt began.

The entrance to the Lowlands underground waterways in Guild City.

He realized this was the entrance not because of the crumbling sign, but because of the smell.

Sewer stench. The reek of rotten water and mud flowing into the city’s bottom, mold blooming everywhere, and a nauseating foul odor.

Beyond these waterways was the target he had to deal with.

Darkness he could not get used to swallowed the area like a solid.

Moisture soaked everything. Mold grew, throwing his senses off.

The sound of running water, rats squeaking, unknown noises.

With no thought of hiding it, he gripped the Nightfall XR-10 automatic crossbow and set his finger on the trigger.

With his other hand, he pre-gripped the concealed blade hidden in his sleeve.

‘The illegal bio experiment failed, and the test subject fled into the sewers.’

Solomon thought as he moved carefully.

‘It’s deliberately avoiding bright places and hiding somewhere damp and gloomy. At least I won’t run into it near the entrance.’

Meaning whether he liked it or not, he had to go find it.

‘No choice but to go deeper.’

After thinking that, he glanced back.

‘…Will I even be able to make it back properly?’

Roach’s documents did include a map of the waterways’ layout, but it was not enough to trust with his life. In the process of meeting the test subject and fighting it, there was a high chance he would lose his bearings.

Above all, it was not rare for people to get lost in sewers and die choking on toxic gas.

‘Can’t be helped.’

He pulled out the concealed knife in his sleeve and carved a mark into the sewer wall.

Then he walked again, carving another sign at every intersection and fork.

Around his marks were countless similar gouges.

They looked less like knife cuts and more like frantic fingernail scratches made to survive.

How long had he walked like that?

The waterways were covered in murky, dark water.

Water pooled until it reached below his waist. The floor was tangled with unknown algae and water plants that had no business growing here. The smell grew even worse.

To make it worse, the moment he thought the water had gotten shallow, the ground would collapse into a hole deep enough to swallow him up to the throat.

Even then, he kept moving, carving marks into the walls as he went.

─ Kieeeeeeek!!

“!”

From far away, a scream that tore at his ears echoed through.

A twisted shriek that was hard to believe belonged to a creature of this world.

‘Finally.’

That horribly echoing scream felt to Solomon like the exit of a tunnel with no measurable end.