He falls to the ground, yelling in pain until the blood loss gets to him, I appear to have hit his heart or something vital seeing as to how quickly he bleeds out, saving me a second bullet.

Kara tosses me the rifle, walking over to check the other corpses while chatting “There you go, I don’t have a use for it. Now that you know where she is, what is your plan now?”

“The Ravine he was talking about is pretty open if you know the right spot, I killed the Goblin camp that was there before, I didn’t think someone would set up another camp that quickly but I can probably take out most of them from across the ravine and clean up the rest after,” I explain while looking over the rifle.

It’s pristine, having never seen combat in its life. No small blemishes or soot covering it, not even having a bullet in its chamber. It’s not a weapon to fight, it’s a symbol of his status, a prop. Even with it being a prop, he has a small bag with rounds for it which Kara hands me, being prepared for a fight even without any skills or intention for one.

If Morgan has her tools with her, I can easily turn the Rifle into a Magitech rifle, maybe even make a sort of infuser to strengthen rounds or make overcharged ones. If I could use glass in the bullet, I could make stronger rounds that I can charge with what is needed at the moment. Of course, the Versatility of Glass has its drawbacks like its fragility or the lesser capacity compared to the gems but I would rather keep a bag of Glass bullets and a few gem ones instead of dozens of gem ones.

If I manage to dismantle it cleanly, I could make inlays with multiple types of gem, allowing for even more complex infusions. I’d have to test it out independently from the rifle to make sure I don’t kill myself when I finally test it out.

For the second time since I got the skill, I use [Mental Schematics] to sketch out the concept before I forget about it again. It’s very good when working with dangerous concepts or when I get random ideas like this but that doesn’t happen too often.

“Oi,” Kara tactfully yells at me, tossing me one of two pouches, “Here’s your cut. I’ll buy myself some proper clothes, then we can kill them.”

"Since when did we start taking cuts?" I ask. It's not bad, just unexpected as she could have always asked me if she wanted to buy something.

Rolling her eyes, she straps a dagger to her waist as she answers "Since you can't handle money. Watching you attempt to haggle pains me."

"Hey," I protest, "Prices differ wherever I go so it's not my fault if I know exactly the fair price. The merchants need money too and I assume most of them buy their product from a supplier so they have a minimum price they offer."

She simply looks at me with a difficult expression on her face, a mix between curiosity and embarrassment. "Alright," she finally concludes, "most merchants have what we call a 'Travelers price'. It's higher than the usual price and gets shamelessly abused whenever they think they can get away with it. That's the price you've been paying instead of the regular one."

"Really?"

"Yes, merchants are conniving little bastards and will use everything they can to get more of your money," she says.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Huh, good to know."

It probably also coincides with their levelling speed, seeing as you get more experience when doing what your class wants you to do.

She stares at me blankly before turning and walking down the alley, leaving to do her shopping.

I quickly follow after her, not wanting to lose her. She should be the one taking care that we don’t get separated, her Inhibitor would leave her at the mercy of whoever passes by.

What follows is a ridiculously long shopping spree where Kara visits four different [Tailors], none of which I even knew were in this city. I’ve spent months essentially living here and didn’t even know that and I don’t know how I am supposed to feel about that.

I knew I was sheltered but having it so bluntly shown to me basically made me a lot more subdued and silent during her shopping spree.

To be honest, I am somewhat glad she wanted to go shopping, it allowed me to stop before rushing into a camp of gangsters unarmed.

Something I quickly realise is important. Although I always had a lot of free time when travelling, I kept myself occupied with whatever I could. I didn’t think much about anything, seeing as I didn’t know how long I would manage to survive.

I still don’t know how long I’ll survive but I got confident enough to plan more than a week ahead and I’ll have to think of Kara as well.

First priority would probably be to protect Morgan, get her back from the Stokes and eradicate their camp, followed by figuring out how to break the Contract on Kara. I’d also like to visit Lurn and maybe do the missions for the Dread Three.

[Vona: I’d shuffle your priorities around. Although it is nice of you to help your friends, ultimately, your mission takes precedence.]

[Grant: I am not devoting my entire life to your missions.]

Wait, do I even have to structure my thoughts into messages if you read my thoughts either way? I also thought you agreed to stay out of my thoughts.

[Siro: Structuring your thoughts saves us a bunch of mana and we aren’t made out of- Well, we aren’t made out of infinite mana.]

[Vona: We’ve given you plenty of time to recover after your last mission, I think it’s time for your next mission. I’ve done a lot of research, as much as I can in my current situation, and figured out that someone is using my weapon, having corrupted it beyond its initial use. ]

Isn’t her weapon just a scythe with a chain and a weight, I can’t really use it either way.

Do you want me to get it and cleanse it for you? I am not your errand boy, let me take care of my stuff and I’ll consider doing yours.

[Vona: This isn’t a request, it’s an order. Kill the leader of the Stokes.]

Kill Cinder?

Yeah right, how should I do that? I can’t even find her, much less fight her without proper gear or scouting.

[Vona: I didn’t tell you to kill her right this instant, just that it should be your priority, seeing as we are your patrons.]

Can you actually do anything to me or will you just bicker until I relent?

[Stan: They can not directly affect you but I can reassure you that we only have the world's best in our mind. They think they know best, having been sheltered similarly to you since their ascension.]

“Oi,” Kara tactfully yells at me, ripping me from my mental conversation. She has new clothes on, having opted for a short dress with a wide belt and two sets of tunics and pants. “I spent my money, what do you want now?”

“I’ll buy some more ammo and you’ll need a knife or something to fight. Seeing as Morgan’s Armoury is closed, I’ll have to see if I can find another shop that sells ammo relatively affordable.”