Clash Outside Merchant
A blue light appeared before Seth; the man opened the digital map on his system bracelet. He found several spots, such as side quest posts and merchant locations around the hotel where Seth and Mia stayed.
"What are you doing?" asked Mia.
The girl walked out of the bathroom with her bathrobe covering most of her body –only her calves were exposed.
Mia's hair looked wet and black, the scent of bath soap filling the whole place. Seth smelled the fragrance but didn't overreact and remained focused on the two types of maps before him: conventional and digital maps.
"Our food supplies are running out; some of these merchants should have food supplies for us to buy," Seth replied.
Mia turned her head slowly, looking at her bag and Seth's. The girl had to admit something: the shape of the bags was no longer as large as before; some of the canned food had already been eaten during their trip to New York.
"You're right. I only have three cans of food for the day," Mia explained.
"I have five cans of food. It's enough if we save, but we can't take any risk," Seth said.
Seth stood up, walked over to the window, and looked out. He could see two merchants standing firmly in different places, far away from each other. The man only focused his eyes on a merchant that was right next to the hotel, with a fair amount of survivors surrounding it.
"I'll go below to buy something," Seth said.
Mia nodded, still standing before the couch Seth had been sitting on, with the world map clearly displayed on the table. The girl smiled as her eyes followed where Seth went.
"Okay. Be careful, Seth," Mia pleaded, a genuine smile painted beautifully on her pretty white face, scented with the fragrance of soap.
"I'll be back as soon as I get the food. Lock the door, don't let anyone in," Seth ordered.
"I will," Mia said.
Seth cleared his throat. He left the soapy-smelling room towards the roof of the hotel. It was impossible for him to go down the emergency exit from the 50th floor to the first floor.
Although there was no elevator in the hotel, the people on the top floor of the building were ready to climb hundreds of stairs to stay in the VIP rooms. They took advantage of the world's chaotic moment to at least have a taste of something they had never experienced; staying in a VIP room was one of them.
The roof door opened, revealing Seth's medium-sized black hoverbike parked in its original spot. The scorching sun didn't make the hoverbike's paint fade, so Seth didn't worry that the vehicle would be damaged if left in the open for a long time.
He mounted the hoverbike, turning it on by attaching the system bracelet to a small identity detection kit. The small monitor screen on the handlebar of the hoverbike lit up, displaying the words welcoming Seth on the screen.
Besides displaying the text, the small monitor also served as a digital speedometer for the hoverbike. Seth could accurately see the speed level, energy indicator, and height of the hoverbike from the ground.
He turned on the vehicle and began to fly down from the top of the building, startling the several survivors who were on the city street. They all looked up, seeing a strange object flying close to a merchant.
"Is it the Skywatcher?" asked one of the men, dressed in layers of clothing.
"I don't think so. He's a survivor just like us," said the other man.
Seth floated in the air until he stopped the black hoverbike right before the merchant. Everyone was silent, unable to do or say anything. Seth's attention wasn't only drawn to the survivors and the merchant.
"How do you get it?" asked the man, asking Seth.
"Did you steal it?" asked another man.
The atmosphere instantly became boisterous, people asking questions and wanting to know where Seth had found the hoverbike. However, Seth remained silent and didn't tell the survivors any of his valuable information.
Seth continued walking without paying attention to the people around him. His walk stopped right when he met the shopkeeper, a middle-aged man with his hair tied up in a typical man bun style.
"What do you need?" the man asked, smiling broadly as he held out both hands, showing Seth his goods.
"Do you sell rations?" asked Seth.
"Rations?" asked the man who owned the shop, appearing to walk to the back to get something.
Seth waited with his eyes fixed forward, in contrast to the survivors to the right and left of his body, who continued to stare at him endlessly. Not only staring at him, but many also chose to crowd around the hoverbike, admiring it.
One of them tried to touch the hoverbike, and suddenly, a loud alarm rang out, startling many people. Seth's hoverbike had been designed in such a way that when Seth wasn't on the wheel for five seconds, the self-defense system would immediately activate.
Seth turned his body around, staring at the hoverbike with sharp eyes. Seth's expression shocked many people, who stepped away from the hoverbike.
"Don't you dare touch that!" Seth said firmly.
Everyone obeyed. Apart from feeling reluctant, they were also afraid that if they broke what Seth said, it would cause threats to them. The man who owned the shop returned with two boxes with different text.
"I only have these two rations," said the shopkeeper, showing them to Seth.
"What's the difference between the two?" asked Seth.
"Nothing, just the taste," the man replied.
"How much is the price?"
"One box costs 50gp," replied the man.
"I bought five," said Seth, pointing to the first box, a ration with chicken and some vegetables.
"Alright. I'll get more," he said, walking back inside to get another box with the same ingredients.
"Hey," someone called from behind Seth.
Seth didn't turn around and chose to ignore him. He called a second time, but Seth didn't move and focused on the food he was about to buy.
Annoyed, the man, who called Seth, pulled the man's shoulder, making Seth flinch. Seth reflexively pointed his gun at the man, right at his head.
"I've been calling you, you idiot!" complained the man, frozen with the threat of death before his head.
"Don't call me an idiot!" said Seth, threatening him.
"I want to invite you to join my party. What do you think?" the man asked.
"I'm not interested. I'm a solo survivor!" snapped Seth.
He re-holstered his pistol, ignored the man who had pulled on his clothes, and refocused on the transaction at hand. After five ration boxes were in his hands, Seth placed the system bracelet on the merchant's detector, his GP automatically decreasing after the transaction was approved.
"Wait a second," said a man, his serious face stopping Seth, who was about to leave the place.
Seth's move stopped, looking back at the men around him who seemed to be showing cynical faces, disliking Seth's attitude. One man, well-built with his hand holding a nailed mace, stood directly before Seth, trying to intimidate him.
"I don't like your manners. Are you new?" the man asked.
"I'm not obligated to answer your questions, am I?" asked Seth, smiling lightly, giving him a contemptuous look.
"You damn asshole! I'll make you pay for it!" said the man. He began to swing his cudgel at Seth.
Seth swiftly drew his handgun, aimed at the burly man's head, and pulled the trigger quickly. A blue laser shot out, aiming at the man's head, causing a round hole to be formed as a result of Seth's gunshot.
He bounced far enough to fall on several people behind him. He died in seconds with blood flowing profusely from the bullet hole wound. The people were flabbergasted, never imagining a stranger could trounce their leader.
Seth's left hand returned to pick up the other gun, aiming at both sides of his body. Realizing the man had two weapons with the same ability made the people there shudder in fear.
A man tried to fight Seth from behind the man's back. Seth managed to avoid the man's sword swing and turned against him by firing his two pistols at once, aiming at the man's abdomen.
He couldn't dodge the rapid laser attack, causing the man to fall limply with blood coming out of his mouth. He appeared to be having convulsions until he died with a pale face, out of blood.
The sight of two killings sent many people running for their lives. They avoided the merchant while ignoring the two corpses of the dead men lying on the ground right near Seth.
"Sorry about that," Seth explained to the shop owner.
"It's okay. They can't buy my stuff because of their low level anyway," the shopkeeper replied, smiling broadly as if ignorant of the killings.
Seth shot the arms where the system bracelets were attached to both men. He pressed the menu on the bracelet to make a connection to transfer their status to his own, and he did the same for the other man.
"Grow strong by killing people. You seem to know how the world actually works, Sir," said the shopkeeper, amazed by Seth's attitude.
"If you can't complete the floor mission, there's only two ways to become strong: become a consumer of side quests or become a villain," Seth said.
"Being a villain will make you hated by everyone," said the shopkeeper.
Seth shook his head; he was done with his dealings with the two corpses. It was time for him to return so Mia wouldn't worry about being left alone.
"I know what I'm doing."