People were shocked to find a random screen in front of their eyes, hanging in the air, telling them about their Talent. It was absurd.
—Records of the Golden Dawn
----------------------------------------
Dogs barked.
Nick strode through a dark alley. A packet of pastry in his hand, a pleasant smile on his face. Dream Sprout floated inside his consciousness, absorbing his mana to replenish itself. To furnish that energy he’d need to kill at least three level 1 monsters.
With Dream Sprout, though, it was only a matter of time. The Windchasing Wolf might not even be his match in a head-on battle.
He was still visualizing his great future and grinning from ear to ear when he abruptly stopped. His smile receded and a grim expression replaced it. In front of him stood three people, each of them carrying a dagger. He knew them. Especially the one standing at the very front. Lucas Hornsby.
All of them were appraisers.
“What do you want?” Nick asked and activated his Talent. Lucas had a useless Talent, so he ignored him and paid attention to the other two.
One man had the Talent called Warmth, which helped him to warm his body in cold weather. Useless. And another man could increase his speed for a short time. Both were Common rank Talents.
Nick's taught nerves relaxed.
“You already know what we want,” said Lucas. “Surrender all the money you nipped from that young master.”
“I do not have money,” replied Nick coldly. He was no more afraid as he knew he could take them down with Dream Sprout. If they dared to move against him, he would let them know the pain real.
“Hehe,” chuckled Lucas. “A hard nut to crack, huh? Let's see how hard it is.”
Nick frowned. He wanted to end this charade. Just when he opened his mouth to speak a rod smashed into his head from behind, ramming him on the concrete road. The world darkened. His head was numb, body out of control, and a strange buzzing filled his ears.
A shadow rolled him with a shoe. Definitely the man who attacked him. How did I not notice him? He tried to take a look at the man, but there was only blur in front of his eyes. No matter how hard he tried. Then something warm and sticky dribbled over his cheek and neck. Blood.
“Wow, Stealth Talent is really awesome,” Nick heard Lucas exclaiming. “Boss Aiden is amazing.”
“Cut the crap,” said the authoritative voice, Aiden. “Take out all the money off his pockets.”
Then someone pounced on him, checked his clothes while frisking for hidden coins, and collecting over hundred gold coins.
“For such a meagre amount you called for me?” cursed Aiden and landed a kick on Nick with frustration before marching away. His minions on his toes.
As Nick continued to lay there his eyelids became drowsier every passing moment. And then he found himself floating in a strange space. His pain had vanished, his body was no longer out of his control. Fog. His surrounding was obscured and clouded in the fog.
“Master!”
An excited voice echoed in the murky opening. Blinking in amazement towards the outcry, he let out a surprise yelp. What is that? he thought as he eyed at the figure in the distance. A plant? No. Dream Sprout.
His first contracted beast was levitating towards him. But how the hell a plant could fly? It made no sense! And when it reached him, it transformed into a pixie. Light green illusory wings flapped behind her, purple hair dropped on her back, waving in the air as she moved. Her blue eyes glittered like an infinite starry sky, and her dress was made up of exquisite dark green leaves.
“Master!” said the pixie, as she flew around him and giggled like a child.
“You are… are you Dream Sprout?” Nick asked, eyes blinking in astonishment and curiousity.
“Yes, Master,” she replied. "With Dream's super awesome skill, Dream summoned you!”
Skill? Nick's eyes light up. “You mean, Dream World?”
“Yes!” Dream replied cheerfully and then settled on his shoulder. “Dream wanted to meet Master! Inside your consciousness is boring!”
Nick's eyes glittered and said, “So, Dream, you can summon anyone inside this…" he looked around him and continued, “... Place?”
“Of course!” Dream replied. “Leave the mark on them. Summon them in the Dream world.”
“You are smart,” Nick said, smiling as she flapped her wings and darted around him, teasing him from time to time.
Low level monsters had no intelligence. That was common knowledge. Only with continuous leveling could they awaken their wisdom. However, his first Contracted Beast had falsified that theory. It was as strange as it was absurd.
“Of course, Dream is smart!” she said. And then Nick's surroundings changed. No, he was not back in the dark alley with his broken body. He stood amidst the flower field. Roses, tulips, sunflowers, and many other kinds whose names Nick didn't know. A real fragrance wafted his nose.
“Mark the world, summon the world, create the world,” Nick muttered as he understood Dream's first skill.
“Master is smart, too!” Dream grinned and pecked on his cheek before bursting into a peal of laughter like a child.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Nick blinked. He was back, saliva dripped out of his mouth as dirt and debris found their way into his mouth.
He continued to lay there for ten more minutes. Only then his dizzy head and trembling body stabilized. The blood had formed a cake on his face and neck. He reached out to his head and felt thick sticky liquid on his hand.
Climbing on his feet, he eyed the pastry lying in the dirt, sighed, and stumbled away.
What could he do? There was no justice for poor and weak people in this world. Maybe he could file a complaint in the Police Station, but he knew nothing would happen. After all, without the support of local authorities, how could these criminals run amok?
----------------------------------------
The next day Nick arrived at the market in the afternoon. His head was swathed in bandages, concealing whatever injuries he had suffered. A few people gave him looks but no one came up to him. None of them were close to him.
Nick ignored them and limped towards his sitting place. Lucas Hornsby perching just a few meters away glanced at him with a mocking grin across his face. Nick, however, ignored him completely.
Revenge was a dish best served cold. And Nick would let Lucas, his companions, and Aiden know what it really meant.
“Hello, Mr Nicklas.”
Nick eyed the owner of the voice and a smile emerged on his face. “Hello, Jack. Hope you are doing good.”
“I'm fine,” Jack said as he eyed him. “But what happened to you?”
“I tripped,” Nick grinned.
“You wha—” He shook his head as he realised that Nick did not want to tell him about the details. Neither were they that close to each other. It had been only two days since they met.
“I want to hire you again,” Jack said after a brief pause.
“Sure,” Nick replied with a smile. “But I want two hundred coins and an antique of my choice. What do you say?”
Jack eyed him for a moment and then nodded, “Sure.”
“Hey, how are you?!” Nick was about to follow Jack when he heard an excited and familiar voice from his right.
Veering around, he caught a lady clad in white dress, staring at him with her charming and curious blue eyes. Her brown hair flopped on her back. Her small nose appeared quite appealing on her round face.
“Madam Healer?” Nick asked in surprise.
Isabel smiled and then frowned, spotting a bandage on his head. “What happened to you now?”
“Oh, he tripped,” Jack chimed from his side, a mocking grin over his face.
Nick's face twitched.
Isabel rolled her eyes, but did not comment back. She looked at Nick and said, “Let me see.”
After removing his bandage, she summoned her beast. Jack yelped in surprise. He did not know Isabel was a beastmaster. Furthermore, she appeared to be a healer. Only a meagre amount of beastmasters Contracted healing type monsters. After all, it was hard to level up with them. Moreover, her beast was an unknown species. She’d probably never be able to go beyond level 10. What a pity.
Nick was flattered by Isable's kind gesture. How much people would pay her for healing and yet here she was doing it for free.
His eyes flashed and a screen appeared.
Name: Isabel Rylan
Talent: [Self Healing] (Common) - [Heals minor wounds]
Evolution Path: [4] (Click)
Contracted Beast: [Heartbloom】
“By the way, what are you doing here?” Nick asked her as his head injury began mending. He felt itchy in his skull. “If you don't mind telling me.”
“Here to try my luck,” she replied, grinning. “You know about antique shops, right?”
“I see, ” Nick nodded.
“What about you?” she asked.
“Oh, I'm an appraiser.” He grinned back at her, feeling his skull where only a mark of his wound remained.
“You mean…” She gasped in surprise when she saw him nodding. “You aren't a fraud, like many others, right?”
“Of course not!” Nick felt a bit offended. “I'm a real appraiser.” He eyed Jack who stood smiling on the side. “He can vouch for that if you don't believe me. He is my regular customer.”
Jack nodded. “Yes. He is certainly genuine and knows his craft well enough to be at the top.”
“Really?” She eyed them skeptically, but nodded, nonetheless.
“Since you help me twice, I'll find an artifact of your choice.” Nick said after a brief pondering. “Tell me what you want?”
Isabel gave him a strange look. She still thinks I am a fraud.’ Nick didnt know whether to laugh or cry. Though he could not blame her for that as people in this profession were really quite unethical. And who'd know better than him after yesterday's thrashing?
The trio entered the shop called Moonlight Relics. The same in which they had gone the last day. “You still didn't tell me what kind of artifact you want,” Nick asked Isabel.
Isabel was silent for a brief moment. Then, “I want something that could defend me, or attack. Any one of the two functions would do.”
Nick nodded. She was a support type beastmaster. For her, defending herself was the biggest issue. Her beast did not have any such skill, nor her Talent was related to that. Only a decent artifact could cover her weakness.
Nick eyed the items piled in the corner and arranged on the shelves. Most of them were Junk. Only a few could identify treasures from that trash.
As Nick's gaze roamed through shelves, he abruptly halted.
Name: [Pulse Amulet]
Type: [Artifact]
Rank: [Common]
Ability: [Releases shockwave that knocks back and stuns opponents]
Condition: [Only a virgin can use it]
It was a nice artifact. But the problem was that he had no idea if Isabel was a virgin. If I asked, will she misunderstand me?
“What?” said Jack when he spotted a frown across his face. “Can't find one?”
Isabel also eyed him. A slight disappointment could be seen on her beautiful face. She really hoped Nick would find her a decent artifact. She could not afford one from an artifact shop as she needed to pay her sister’s medical bills.
“It's alright—”
She’d just begun when Nick interrupted.
“Are you a virgin?” he asked with a deadpan face. However, his hands were sweating. His heart raced and he cursed himself for being tactless. He had no idea how to talk to a girl as he never had interaction with them, apart from his sister, of course.
The silence lingered between them briefly before Isabel stuttered with red and somewhat angry face, “What do—”
“Don't misunderstand me,” Niku raised his hand in defense and explained. “The artifact that I have found can only be used by a virgin. So let me ask you again. Are you a virgin?”
Isabel eyed him skeptically, but nodded, nonetheless. She could feel her face burning pink. What an embarrassment.
“Ok,” Nick said and pointed towards the pendent on the shelf. “Buy this amulet.”
Then he explained its function. Her face was filled with surprise and uncertainty. Not knowing if he told the truth. Nonetheless she bought the pendant of dirty obsidian embedded with cracked sapphire.
Artifacts were nothing but regular items of the Pre-Golden Dawn Era, turned magical, having different requirements to activate them.
And appraisers were responsible for only finding the artifacts among the pile of trash. Discovering the method or requirements to activate the artifacts was not their concern.
That's why the look in her eyes changed when Nick told her about it. If he was a fraud, he’d never make such a mistake. It was tantamount to exposing himself.