CHAPTER 88

If you want to read up to 20 chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer

Discord invite: https://discord.gg/XHduApz

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Augsburg, Germany.

Of all places, the last piece of my unsolvable puzzle was here.

Heck, as soon as I had read the paper, a quest had appeared, legitimizing everything.

[Quest: The Super Soldier Serum - The Last Piece

Description: In the house of Abraham Erskine lays the last piece of the puzzle, the answer to all of your dead ends, the last ingredient to perfect your scientific conundrum.

Objectives: Enter the house of Abraham Erskine and find the hidden piece.

Rewards: The Last Piece.]

I suppose it is poetic in a peculiar sense, after all, Abraham Erskine the creator of the super-soldier serum, the scientific puzzle I was trying to solve, was born and raised here, in Augsburg, Germany.

In a way, everything started here.

"Well, time to find that last piece," I sighed, opening my map, according to the coordinates the Ancient One had given me, the last piece was on a house, quite anticlimatic if you asked me, but who was I to judge.

Closing my map with a blink, I walked towards the location setting a waypoint in my minimap.

I was close, very close, which is why I was taking the scenic route.

I had waited for so long for this last piece, for this last clue, that I wanted to take my sweet time, ironic considering how desperate I was for it before all of this began.

Eventually, without even noticing I reached the house, I suppose my own thoughts burned the purpose of the scenic route.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked at the door.

According to my minimap, there were four people inside the house.

"Was auch immer Sie verkaufen, wir wollen es nicht." [Whatever your selling, we don't want it] a man opened the door growling at me. [Lukas Müller LV 22]

So much for a first impression, "English?" I asked with a hopeful smile.

"An American?" Lukas sighed, "What do you want?" he asked in an exasperated manner.

"I want to check something inside your house, I will pay you for your time…" First there was the friendly approach, if the guy said no, well, there was the not-so-friendly approach.

"Why would I let you inside my house, with my family?" Lukas asked, glaring at me.

"My grandfather used to live here… I just wanted to see the house...," I lied with a smile, "You can follow me if you please, all I want is to connect with my roots, his roots."

Lukas raised an eyebrow at that, "What's your Opa's name?"

"Abraham Erskine," I replied without missing a beat, "He died during the war,"

"How much will you pay?" Lukas sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"How much do you want, it is your house, after all," I replied, smiling.

"5000 Deutschmarks?" Lukas answered.

"That's a lot, but I'll pay it," To be honest I had no idea how much was that, but fuck it.

"Fuck, wasn't expecting a yes on that one," Lukas chuckled, "Come in, I guess."

I smiled at him, whoever this man was, he was not a businessman, after all, you always ask for your money first.

"Thanks," I smiled at him, walking inside the house, where he proceeded to do some quick introductions. 

Lukas, the somewhat angry man was a father of two, a girl and a boy, and was angrily married? I couldn't tell.

"Take your time, I want my money before you leave!" Lukas growled as I started to tour the house.

I sighed, searching each room methodically.

Until I reached the attic and found what I was looking for in the form of a shining beacon, my minimap started to blink, and there I realized I had reached the place I had been meant to find.

Following the minimap, I reached a wall in the attic, and with a bit of magic cracked the thing open, finding a journal.

The Journal of Abraham Erskine.

[Quest COMPLETED!!!: The Super Soldier Serum - The Last Piece

Description: In the house of Abraham Erskine lays the last piece of the puzzle, the answer to all of your dead ends, the last ingredient to perfect your scientific conundrum.

Objectives: Enter the house of Abraham Erskine and find the hidden piece.

Rewards: The Last Piece.]

I had done it, finally… I had the last piece, no more dead ends, no more incertitude, in my hands I held what I needed.

"You broke my wall?!" I heard Lukas growl, but I paid him no heed.

"I will double my payment," I said, giving him the money, cash.

"What is that," Lukas asked, glaring at the journal in my hands.

I looked at Lukas noticed his eyes gleaming with greed, "It's what's left of my family," I lied.

"I want to read that," Lukas growled, he probably thought I had a treasure map on my hands, why else I was here right? His mind was racing through a million thoughts, many of them probably related to the diary and the cash I had given him.

"No," I shook my head, putting the journal under my coat, aka my inventory.

"It was in my house, it's mine," Lukas growled, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt.

"You don't want to do this," I warned him with a smile, "I paid you, you made money today, I can even give you a tip… but if you go this route, you will lose that money in hospital bills." 

Lukas scoffed, "Kid, whatever your Opa left here, it's now mine, so hand it over," his hand moved to my neck.

I sighed, "I tried to do this peacefully," disappointed with this development, I grabbed the hand holding me, "I told you," and with that, I broke his hand.

So little resistance, it was a horrible feeling, when was the last time I fought a normal human, they felt like crackers now.

"Ahhhh! Verdammter Mistkerl!" Lukas cursed, no idea what he was calling me though, my German classes didn't go so far for me to recognize insults.

"Here," I kneeled to his level, putting more money on his reach, "That should cover the arm," I winked, tapping his head, using Eldritch Magic to erase certain parts from his memory, my fake name, my fake grandfather, and why had we fought.

"Schatz?" I heard his lady wife say in a worried tone.

"He's here," I said, walking out of the attic.

The woman glared at me, which was understandable.

Sighing I approached the woman and with my Eldritch Magic did the same I had done with her husband, erasing certain parts of her memory, and then I left, for them, today was a day with a bittersweet ending, they helped a stranger, they made money, but unfortunately, as the stranger left, Mr. Lukas broke his arm on the way up to the attic, such sad turn of events.