Chapter 5

The most important room for Nella was the mana room. It was the best place to recover your spent energy in a pseudo-natural way. It took time, like any other method, but it was faster than other alternatives. After a short discussion with Hull, Nella locked herself in the mana room.

Hull was left in charge to handle everything in the next twenty-four hours. He had equipment to gather and people to meet. The first order of business was a revitalizing bubble bath.

Hull had his own personal meter of good medical baths. If the scar on his chest ached it had proper potency. The scar wouldn't heal, the monster that dealt it was a mean one. He could afford to fix it, but it served as an ample reminder to keep your wits up every day. The biggest reason being he thought it looked kinda cool.

He got out of the bath and bade farewell to his stubble. Adding aftershave first, he then donned his tuxedo. He had a meeting with the owner of the hotel in twenty minutes. One satisfied look in the mirror later he was in their private elevator on his way down to meet the owner.

This hotel wasn't chosen because of its good rooms and quality service. The real reason this hotel was the one to do your business in was the owner. The owner was part of a group that called themselves the four mice. They operated on quasi-legal ground and held enough connections to operate without worries. Hence this was the one-stop shop for hard to come by equipment. Items that had some sort of restriction for buying them or were downright illegal.

With his own connections and his wife's status, Hull wouldn't find it impossible to do it himself. It was a question of convenience. Doing it above board took time they didn't have.

Hull and Nella were trusted business partners of the Four Mice and had immediate access. Hull had pressed the button labeled 'The Inverse'. If other guests entered their private elevator, the option didn't exist.

Small excitement built up. It was a while since Hull had seen the Inverse. The nature of the bottom-most floor of this hotel was quite interesting. It was interesting since it had balconies and a great view. Some would say it was a waste of magical items to make the bottom floor the top floor, but Hull appreciated the grandeur.

It took only moments for the elevator to arrive and a luxurious room opened itself in front of him. There were tapestries of great deeds, painting of great women and men alike. There were so many things to look at. Hull didn't have to wait too long before a robot arrived to welcome him.

It was a sleek robot with a round ball as means of motion. Hull thought it looked like an exclamation mark. This was the part of the bossman that Hull didn't like. He put too much trust in robots. Sure they were handy and wouldn't betray you, but they lacked a touch of sentience. It wasn't a big inconvenience so Hull let it slip out of his mind as he followed the robot into a glass room. Every wall, ceiling and floor was glass. The position of the room was some fifty meters above the hotel, with balconies on all three sides.

In the middle of the room was a desk made out of Earth wood. Behind it a man in his forties. Brown hair at the precipice of blonde. He wore a tight brown suit. There were metal arms sticking out from his sleeves. As far as Hull knew the only part of this man that wasn't robotic was his head.

The man stood up from behind the desk and stretched his hands wide open into a greeting.

"Hull, my favorite customer. What can I do you for?" Came the cheery greeting from the bossman. Hull showed a light smile and responded with as cheery a voice.

"Jarmo, my man. My favorite bossman on this planet." Hull said opening his arms in a similar stance. Jarmo had walked around the table and gave Hull a big hug. It was a standard greeting for this system. The hug that is, the cheeriness dependent on the person. After the men separated, Jarmo seated himself opposite to Hull. The exclamation robot returned holding a tray with two glasses of liquor.

They raised a silent toast and took a taste before Hull spoke. "We got ourselves a big boy problem on our hands." Hull let the words hang in the air and took a whiff of the liquor's enticing scent. "You'll give me a discount based on the information gained?" Hull said and looked at the bossman.

Jarmo gave a big smile from behind his eyeglasses and tapped on his drinking one.

"Well, that would depend on the value of the information my friend-man." Jarmo said sighing with pleasure after a big sip. Hull waited for Jarmo to sip again before continuing.

"You got a Kunaku Parasite infestation up on four, bossman" Hull said and gained the reaction he wanted. Jarmo almost spit out his drink, but forced it down and coughed up a storm. He took out a handkerchief and dabbed his mouth. Jarmo clearly rustled by the news used the same handkerchief he used to wipe his mouth with to clean his glasses. Hull surmised he was playing for time, but he wasn't under any pressure so he could let the man think.

"Well, that information is definitely worth something, friend-man." Jarmo said setting his glasses back again. He grimaced and removed the glasses to clean them again. In the end, he decided it wasn't worth the trouble and gave his glasses to the robot. The robot's stomach opened up and a row of new glasses appeared. Taking his time choosing a new pair of glasses he continued. "What can I hook you up with, friend-man?".

Hull smiled, leaned in and started listing the things he required.