16 A-Rank Hunter Jester.

In the middle of the vast wasteland, kilometres away from the old ruins. A person could be seen approaching the entrance to the city of Zalpha.

The person wore an unusual uniform. It was long and white and in perfect condition, not a speck of dirt could be seen. That was what made it unusual.

The four guards who noticed this quickly raised their guard. They pointed their firearms at the approaching person.

The person had bluish green hair above it's masked face. On the right side of the mask, place right over the eyes was the design of a spade, while on the left side there was the design of a heart. Beneath this was a black curved line representing a grin.

This appearance only made them even more suspicious.

"Who are you!?" Shouted one of the guards

The person stopped a few feet ahead of them before replying.

"Pardon me, It appears that I have worried you." Said the man as he leaned forward for a bow.

In that instant, the guard instinctively pulled the trigger in fear causing an energized .45 caliber bullet from his M4 heading straight at the intruder.

*Bang*

There was a sound, and no doubt that the bullet was released aiming straight at the person's head. And yet, right before it hit him, just inches away from his body. It disappeared.

Confused, the guard watched as the person raised the bow while holding onto a flower.

'H-Huh…? What happened to the bullet? And where did that flower come from?' The guard wondered

"Do we fire?" Asked the guard beside him.

Upon hearing this, the joker pulled out an ID card, before saying.

"I apologies in advance If I've frightened you. Worry not, I'm not anyone evil, just a traveling hunter." He said

The guards were able to quickly recognize what kind of card it was. On top of that, A golden tech card with a name and rank displayed on the front. They could tell just by looking what sort of card it was.

"A-A Hunter card…" Muttered one of the guards in disbelief.

"T-That's not just any card… That's an A-Rank card!" Said the first guard.

"Yeah, that is correct. A-Rank hunter Jester, at your service."

…

"Hm… Are you new around here?" Asked the young lady at the counter.

"Yeah." Replied Asper

She inspected his order with a smile beneath her eye patch. Her gray hair swayed from side to side as she passed it through the checkout.

"Two energized type 3 Glocks, easy to use and maintain, the cartridges are affordable. Good. Four cartridges. Four extra empty mags. A stun grenade… And last but not least, an insulating bullet-proof vest."

She went over all of the items that Asper had picked except for one.

"Also, this." Said Asper as he placed a taser on top.

"Hm~ All of this and a taser? Who're you going up against?" She asked

"Why does it matter?"

A smile was formed on her face as with a smile she replied.

"Ah right, it's personal. My bad."

Once she passed the taser through the scanner, she quickly left to the backroom to get something. Leaving Asper there alone for a moment.

"…?"

She took the vest with her, and was gone for a few minutes.

"Sorry, about that. Here, this size is better for you. The one you got didn't look like it, but it was too small. Try this on."

She then handed Asper a white insulating vest. He did as she instructed and put it on. It fit perfectly, so much that even Asper was surprised. She had actually been paying good attention to his frame.

The problem was that since he was skinny, if he put on weight it might become an issue, but this vest was only temporary anyways. How fast could he possibly gain weight?

"Comfort is important, anything too big or small could make a different. When you get fatter, come get it changed." She added before making a sneaky grin

'Business will always be business.'

"Two hundred Nova for the glocks, forty Nova for the four energized .40 caliber cartridges, twenty Nova for the four empty magazines. Ten Nova for the stun grenade, sixty Nova for the bullet proof vest and forty Nova for the taser. It's an old and cheap model so I'll give you a free cartridge with it. Either way, the total price is 370 Nova."

Asper pulled out the pouch and handed her the coins. She took them without so much as questioning where it came from. She didn't seem to doubt whether he was actually going to pay, not even once.

"Thank you for your purchase." Said the young lady with a smile.

"How much are these?" Asper asked as she handed him the holsters.

"You becoming a regular." She replied with a smile.

'Why not. Best customer service I've received so far.'

"I'm Gryselda and you?"

"Asper."

That was all he said before taking what he had purchased and leaving.

***

'Asper… At first I thought he was lost but… He seemed to really enjoy looking at the firearms displayed. His frame was quite skinny, he doesn't seem to be a hunter… I'm guessing he's starting out? Hm… A big risk to take, but depending on his luck, it might be rewarding.'

"A specialized body suit would be good for him instead of a simple vest, but I doubt he could afford it. Take care Asper, I look forward to seeing you again." Gryselda added with a smile.

***

"Finally home…" Asper muttered as he placed he placed his shopping bags down in the entrance.

Ahead of him was the main room. A small sized bed at the corner, a small fridge beside it, connected the only plug available. A table in front of the bed with a microwave on top of it. The microwave was unplugged, but whenever he would need it, he would switch it out with the fridge.

Next to the entrance, there was a door leading to another room.

It was the toilet. Asper didn't even bother to wait, before taking off his torn up clothes and grabbing one of the filled buckets of water in front of the entrance to the room.

"Time to go take a shower…" Asper muttered as he checked the temperature of the water on the bucket.

It was cold and he wasn't in the mood to waste energy on heating it. It was limited after all.