Chapter 14:
“Me?” Ben asked, taken aback.
He’d been watching the conversation between Shield and Katie with amusement until he’d suddenly been drawn into it. Now he couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to get drawn into. Obviously, Shield couldn’t mean she wanted to spar with him. And the other people with her were too high rank as well. This meant either they had an E-Ranker they wanted to pit against him or it would be a non-power related competition.
At least he hoped so.
“Seriously,” Katie said, putting one hand on her hip as she looked at Ben and then at Shield. “Even you aren’t as shameless as to try and challenge an E-Ranker, especially a newbie. And your friends over there are too high-rank for that too. So what exactly are you proposing?”
“Of course, I’m not considering myself or any of them,” Shield said, rolling her eyes as she gestured behind her. “Our guild has a promising new member. Despite starting at E-Rank, they are an Electricity Invoker and we have high expectations for them. It would do well for their growth to have some friendly competition with a worthy competitor. And despite your… rather frugal selections when it comes to material components, Swarm, I thought that you would have discerning taste when it came to your team members. Unless I’m incorrect and you don’t think your new friend is up to the challenge?”
That last question was said in a challenging, almost mocking tone.
Ben winced at that and at Katie’s expected reaction.
“Of course he’s up to the challenge,” Katie said imperiously. “While I may not choose my friends solely based on their merits, like some, it’s only natural that Gem can take on whoever you’ve recruited. What are your conditions then? And what are you even offering? Cause if we need to spend valuable training time helping train one of your newbies, then we’d be expecting something a little more enticing than an early Incursion slot.”
Considering that Katie had been so annoyed about having to wait four days for it, Ben thought that an early Incursion slot was already a good enough thing to bet. Then again, maybe it hadn’t actually been about the four days and had actually just been her annoyance at the guilds and their corruption shining through. With the rivalry she seemed to have going on with this guild Super, that was probably the case.
Though none of this was taking into account something Ben thought was rather important. Whether or not he wanted to actually do this.
“Um, don’t I get a say in this,” Ben interjected before Shield could respond. “Like I appreciate the confidence, but I’ve only become a Super recently. Might not be ready to do any sparring yet. Wouldn’t want to accidentally hurt someone by accident with unmastered Skills.”
Ben may have been ready to jump into danger after having only tested his abilities a little, but that was because it was for something important: Getting the cube and watching Katie’s back. A spar, or whatever this competition might be, would definitely be safer, but not necessarily something he wanted to jump into unprepared. And while he may have been exaggerating about hurting someone with one of his Skills, it was still a possibility that shouldn’t be ignored. Not when nothing was really at stake.
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Shield said with another dismissive wave. “Our new recruit has only just recently gotten their powers as well. They’ve only been training for less than two months. Also, the competition will be monster hunting instead of sparring. So no need to worry about any accidents like that. And this way, win or lose, you still get to enjoy the early Incursion slot instead of waiting four days.”
“I’m still not hearing what you want to compete over,” Katie said. “While getting to do some monster fighting earlier is nice, you said you wanted to make things interesting. Are you really all that interested in a competition between E-Rankers?“
“Oh of course I am,” Shield said with a scoff. “After all, one of those E-Rankers is a member of our guild, and we of course value our guild members highly. Though, of course, I wouldn’t be opposed to making things even more interesting. How about this, if Gemstone Legacy defeats Voltic Surge, I will give you my brand new Quantum Lab 3.”
Katie jolted a bit at that and her eyes were locked on Shield. Seeing this, Ben just sighed in resignation on the inside. Whatever this thing was, Katie was clearly super interested in it and Ben wasn’t going to get out of this. Not that he would really want to get out of it anyway. Shield Maiden clearly wanted something from Katie. So if he lost it would be her paying for it not Ben. Either way, he gets an early incursion slot for training.
Both good for training and getting some payback on some monsters.
“Of course,” Shield continued. “I know you can’t really afford anything that can match up to the QL3 with how… Frugal you are. So being generous, I will let you offer your service of equivalent exchange. If m—Voltic Surge defeats Gemstone Legacy, then you will have to work as my Tinker Assistant for six months.”
Katie froze at that and her eyes narrowed. She gave Ben a quick look, and he just shrugged at her. Then she looked back at Shield with a very false smile. “That’s acceptable. I will happily take the QL3 out of your hands. After all, premium equipment like that should be used by a skilled inventor.”
“We’ll see about that,” Shield said with a fake smile. “Though I suppose in the end you will get to use the QL3. As my subordinate and assistant, helping create some truly useful and marvelous technologies instead of little toys.”
Both girls just continued to smile at each other for a moment while lightning practically bounced between their eyes. Ben just looked on at the scene, glad that at least he didn’t really have anything on the line for this.
----------------------------------------
“I regret getting involved with your bet,” Ben said with a sigh as he scrolled through the catalog displayed on one of the kiosks of the Exchange Hall.
They’d finally parted ways with Shield Maiden after she and Katie exchanged more barbs along with information about their Incursion slot. Though just before they parted, they also met Voltic Surge. Seeing just who he’d be facing in a competition had turned Ben’s opinion on the bet around.
But he didn’t have too much time to dwell on that once Shield and her group left. Ben and Katie had finally been able to go to one of the kiosks. The nearby attendant had given Ben a quick rundown of how everything worked and how the catalog could be browsed.
Ben had been impressed both by the selection available at the exchange as well as how well-organized everything was. There were so many different categories of items, from monster parts to normal weapons and tactical gear, to all sorts of useful mundane or enhanced materials, to, of course, Tinker tech. These categories were then further broken down into many more subcategories.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
There was also a very well-optimized and quick search feature, as well as a featured items list and a top-sold items list. The latter two lists were what drew Ben’s attention despite already knowing what he’d like to buy. He couldn’t help but look at all the interesting, and incredibly expensive goodies available.
Some of the most eye-catching was a hovercar that could reach supersonic speeds and had weaponry on it that could harm A-Rank monsters. Another was a nanite healing solution that could allow you to survive many different kinds of normally fatal wounds. Ben’s favorite, though, out of the sheer cool factor was a full set of power armor that could apparently allow a normal person to take on an A-Ranker. Even though all of these items cost hundreds of millions of dollars or several hundreds of thousands of System Credits, and Ben doubted he’d ever be able to afford them, they were still fun to look at.
It was almost enough to distract him from thinking about his possible future humiliation.
“Oh don’t be a baby,” Katie said, standing beside Ben and watching as he browsed. “Now we don’t have to wait four days for your first real monster fight after gaining your powers. And you don’t even have anything on the line anyway.”
“Right…” Ben said sarcastically, even as he checked the description of a particularly interesting shield system. Apparently, it could tank dozens of B-Rank hits without breaking. It was something Katie should be able to make and sold for a hundred thousand dollars. “Nothing except my dignity.”
“You’re being dramatic. There's nothing wrong with losing to someone who's been a Super longer than you,” Katie said before she scoffed as she leaned down closer and saw what he was looking at. “And don’t bother looking at that garbage. That’s the Maid’s work. If you want a protective backup shield, all you have to do is ask. Not use her ridiculously overly expensive work.”
Ben gave the listing another look and realized that it was indeed made by Shield Maiden. Which… was rather amazing for the girl. Given what they said, she went to the same school as Katie and would be around the same age as them. And with the price of the shield generator and it being listed on the best seller’s list… She must have been absurdly wealthy, even for an A-Rank. And that’s not even taking into account that she was part of the Radiant Guardians.
Ben took a moment to really let that settle in before he remembered that he was still a little annoyed at Katie. And she’d completely glossed over the most important part. “If I lose, no ones going to think, ‘Oh, he just lost to someone his own rank and even more experience. Understandable.’ They're gonna think, ‘holy shit, that guy totally lost to that little kid.’”
As it turned out, despite being an E-Rank, Voltic Surge had been chosen by the System early. That normally wouldn’t have been the worst thing ever, as that would only make them two years Ben’s junior. Two years was a lot at their age, but with powers, it could be overlooked to an extent. But their actual ages weren’t the main issue.
“Now you’re just being rude. Also, it’s not like I forced you. If you didn’t want to do it you should have said so” Katie said, though he didn’t need to turn to know she had a smile on her face. “Besides, he’s two years younger than you at best. He’s just… on the shorter side. That’s no reason to call him a kid. Even with that voice…“
Ben sighed as Katie started to snicker.
He was clearly gonna get no sympathy from her. Though he supposed he was perhaps being a bit dramatic. Sure, the kid’s appearance and voice made him seem like a twelve-year-old… But it wasn’t like too many people were gonna see the competition. Just them… And probably Shield Maiden’s guildmates… And however many other people would be at that Incursion…
Shit…
“Oh come on,” Katie said, patting him on the back but still stifling a laugh. “Don’t worry about it so much. It will only be an issue if you actually lose to the kid. It’s not even a spar so it’s not like you’ll look bad if you beat him. So just do your best and just focus on leveling and getting used to your powers in a proper fight. And not on the fact that you might be getting beat by a little kid.”
“Right… Thanks. That makes me feel so much better” Ben said in a monotone. He moved away from the tantalizing and far too expensive items on the bestseller list. Instead, he went to use the search feature to find the price of quartz along with other gemstones that he might need in the future. “But don’t forget, chuckles. If I lose, you're gonna get to play assistant to your rival. That’s gonna be a lot worse than a bit of embarrassment on my part.”
“Don’t call her that,” Katie said with a scoff. “She’s hardly my rival. Just an annoyance that I deal with from time to time. Besides, I’m not worried. I’ve seen you fight without powers and just an axe. And your power is pretty versatile too. Without the need to hold back, I’m confident that you have a pretty good chance at winning. And if not… Well, I still get to work with the QL3, even if I have to deal with Maid’s bitchiness. So I win regardless, even if it would be nicer if you won.“
“I’m touched by your confidence,” Ben said dryly. “And I’m one hundred percent going to be calling her your rival from now on. It’s a perfect fit. You two spent that whole time butting heads, pretending to be polite but really bitc—hey!”
Ben winced as his cheek was pinched and pulled away from his friend’s evil fingers.
“Want to finish that sentence?” Katie asked, holding out two fingers threateningly.
“You two were being really catty,” Ben corrected, rubbing his cheek. When Katie finally put away her threatening fingers, he went back over to the kiosk and decided not to push his luck with her. Instead, he went about looking over the prices and making notes about what was available.
Without his old phone, he thought he’d struggle with typing it all into his flip phone, but then Katie reminded him that the System Interface had a note-taking program. After a bit of fiddling, he had a blank window off to the side of his HUD and he listed down all the prices for the different kinds of quartz, as well as all the other kinds of gems he might end up buying in the future. The exchange database could be accessed online, but it was easier to just make the list now for future reference.
When Ben was done, he concluded that despite having a power that used precious gemstones to work, he shouldn’t have too much of a problem paying for things. At least, not once he started getting paid for monster bounties and selling monster parts. Most of the gemstones were relatively affordable, even at larger sizes and clarities.
One example of this was the quartz crystal, something he was the most interested in at the moment. He could get one long enough that it couldn’t fit into his palm and was almost perfectly clear, for only twenty dollars. It also wasn’t the best quality quartz he could get either. That was certainly better than the deal he got at the New Age store, which sold him slightly opaque crystals that were half the size for the same price, with the even better quartz being even more expensive.
Not that Ben could really blame the New Age store. The reason it was so much better at the exchange was mainly because they were artificial gemstones. Not only that but they were probably produced by Tinkers who could get much better and faster results than normal lab-grown gems.
The only potential problem was if his power reacted differently to artificial gems than natural ones. Or if it reacted differently to Tinkertech-made gems. Both were possible, as some powers tended to have rather strange and often esoteric restrictions when it came to certain things.
Thankfully, though, he was at the exchange so he could figure that out rather easily. He turned to the attendant who’d been waiting just off to the side and asked to run a test on a sample of some of the quartz. Since it was a rather low-cost item, the attendant had agreed and went off to get some, along with how much Ben would want to buy if it turned out to work okay.
Left alone with Katie for a moment, Ben couldn’t help but ask about something he’d noticed when Katie and Shield Maiden had been trading barbs. “So what’s up with Shield Maiden calling you poor a bunch? Like I know she said it politely, but she kept acting like she was a rich girl while you were penniless. And after seeing what she sells here and that she’s part of the Radiant Guardians, I can understand her being a rich snob. But you’re a Tinker too and… Ugh… Well, I’m assuming that your mom’s job should pay pretty well, right? I mean… given who she works with.”
Katie crossed her arms at that and rolled her eyes. “Well, Shield Maid isn’t just rich. She’s absurdly rich. I’m pretty sure her parents run her guild, so not only are they A-Rankers but they run the Radiant Guardians. Combined with her being an A-Rank Tinker with a specialty more in demand than mine, and she’s probably in the point one percent of the one percent. In pure resources, I currently can’t compete. For now anyway.”
Ben’s eyes widened at that. That was far more wealthy than he imagined. A-Rankers could already make pretty damn good money with A-Rank Monster bounties and being able to sell A-Rank monster parts. But with her parents as A-Rankers as well, and leaders of the Radiant Guardians, then she was at a level that Ben couldn’t even really comprehend.
Still… Ben would have thought that having her mom work at the Workshop and with Quantum Circuit that Katie would be able to compete. If not just with her mom getting paid a lot, then at least with access to specialized gear or equipment.
“But couldn’t you… I don’t know, like, ask your m—”
“—Unlike some people,” Katie said, interrupting Ben before he could finish. She had a scowl on her face, though it wasn’t directed at Ben. She was just looking off into the distance. “I don’t intend to ride my parents' coattails. She can gloat all she wants about how expensive her equipment and materials are. In the end, I’ll beat her on my own merit.”
Ben opened his mouth, not sure what to say. Before he could say anything, though, the attendant came back with a metal cart. Katie went to meet them and seemed far more interested in the gems than they really warranted.
Ben frowned at that but made his way over. Obviously, this was a sore subject for Katie for some reason. He might have to try and get her to open up about it later. But for now, she clearly didn’t want to talk about it, and he had some gems to look at.