Chapter 117 - Customization

Third person POV

 "Yes, you are, Russell," Ester said to him confidently.

 "But why?" asked Russell while calming down.

 "Well…you died young, and since you have an unfulfilled dream to be a bus driver like your father, I decided to put your reincarnation cycle in that category."

Russell is amazed and dumbfounded because Ester cares for his unfulfilled dream. "Woah…thanks…"

 "Yes, you're welcome, Russell," Ester responded with positivity. "By the way, do you remember our conversation in my realm when you were still a soul?"

 "Conversation?" Russell asked while raising his eyebrow for a couple of seconds.

 "Yes, our conversation in my realm."

To that, Russell began to try to remember that but couldn't.

So, he just replied, "No, not at all."

This was, actually, on purpose by Ester so Russell would not find that out.

 "Good, it seems that you have adapted to this life," Ester said to him.

Not noticing why Ester would deliberately and intentionally remove his memory of him and Ester in Ester's realm, Russell replied nicely and a bit nervously, "Yes, I did. Life is so simple and everything."

 "Okay, also…I was quite surprised that you not only did your job and occupation well, but also you used your bus more than in your job."

 "Wait…you mean you saw me ramming my enemies with it?"

 "Yes, that one. That was really radical, but if it works, it works."

 "Woah…" Russell was stunned for a bit.

 "Yes." Ester chuckled for a bit. "No wonder most people called you the Bus Driver Hero now."

Feeling appreciated, Russell replied, "Wow, thanks, uh…Elder Guardian…"

 "You don't have to call me that. My name is Ester."

 "Ah, okay, my name is Russell May. Nice to meet you."

 After some time, Ester got off while saying to Russell, "You don't have to charge me for the ride. I am okay." He then stopped walking and turned towards Russell with a positive look on his face, "Have a good day, Russell." With that, the Elder Guardian in the form of a boy turned back and walked away, before teleporting from the scene using his magic. Russell was stunned at his magic but completely accepted it as reality and resumed his 30-minute break in that secluded spot in the city.

 Halfway through his break time, the hologram screen suddenly appeared before Russell and informed him that he had earned a lot of money known as Renad Coins, and that he may buy anything in the screen's shop according to his reincarnation cycle. That amount of the exclusive currency had totaled up to 16,256. This also included rewards for his completed quests and good deeds in this life. Also, the prices will be based on a modified and set Philippine Peso exchange rate for the Renad coins. The exchange rate is 2,500 Pesos to 1 Renad Coin. Russell was stunned but thought that it was a blessing for him, so he accepted it with gratitude and started browsing in its store with enthusiasm.

 The selection was very good; it included everything from add-on parts and extra tires and spare parts for his bus to customizable additions like paint-jobs on his bus's exterior. Seeing the latter, Russell was thinking about giving his bus a nice makeover on its exterior walls, so he pressed on the Paint-job in the Customizable option. The cost for one paint-job is only 6 Renad Coins, much to his surprise. And then, the customization palette was shown alongside the entire, navigable display of his bus's exterior on the screen.

 So, Russell began to choose a new set, a new pattern, and a name for his bus. After much choosing, he chose a set of three colors dark blue, yellow, and white in a simple wavy pattern and with a name on it known as T-Express in a nice and simple font. After that, Russell pressed the Confirmation button, magically customizing and changing his bus's exterior look into his customized pattern. This subtracted 6 Renad Coins from his balance. Once that was done and happy that his bus had a new exterior look, Russell exited the Paint-job section and browsed the shop for spare parts. Eventually, he bought 3 spare tires for his bus for 2 Renad Coins each. Then, those 3 spare tires appeared before him, and Russell was happy to have them as his spare tires for his vehicle, loading them into the baggage compartments. John liked the new look on Russell's bus.

 Once that was done, he browsed the shop once and came across an aircon upgrade for 1,000 Renad Coins, much to his chagrin at its price tag. So, Russell thought about it and decided not to buy it now because he thought it was not necessary.

 After that, Russell logged off from the hologram screen, and both he and John then hopped on and continued their daily routes as usual.

turned on the engine, closed the door, and left the secluded spot to resume his job. Shortly thereafter, Russell drove from Fernlay City to Leafmight, with stopovers in Monroe Town, Kapeton Town, and Rossley. The number of passengers en route from Fernlay City to Monroe Town was 17, and that number changed from one leg to another.