The pizza was delicious.
Some of the best I’ve ever had, honestly; only childhood memories come close to dethroning it. It’s damn hard to beat nostalgia, plus with all the security bullshit holding the delivery up for ten minutes? A fresh pepperoni, bacon, and mushroom would probably put my taste buds in a headlock and beat them senseless with flavour.
Having good company that actually wants to be around me helps, too. And each of them eats so differently that it’s almost like they’re from different species; Noland shoves it at his mouth without caring for how much sauce he gets on his face. It’s more like he’s trying to punish the food for looking so delicious instead of actually eating it. Watching it was like watching a nature documentary, or feeding time at the zoo.
Neither March nor Ursula cared. Ursula just made sure he had a ton of napkins. Speaking of, she ate so quickly I barely noticed until she’d downed half a pizza and almost a dozen wings. Somehow, not a single drop of sauce marred her clothes or face. And she wasn’t even done; the rest of the pizza and another half-dozen wings fell to her voracious appetite before the night was over, plus two more milkshakes and two cans of sparkling water.
Then there’s March. She ate like a mouse holding her plate close to her chest, ripping her food apart and eating it in tiny little chunks. It took her way longer than everyone else to finish up, but she ended up eating the second most out of everyone. Only behind Ursula.
We talked about pretty much nothing all night, just sharing stories and experiences we’d all had–magic or not–before we went our separate ways. It was… really nice. Reminded me of those few nights Jazz and I took off to order in Chinese and watch whatever movies we could find on a website for free. I’m still not really sure if they’re supposed to be my bosses, my coworkers, or an adventuring party, but at the very least I think I want to get to know them better.
“Wow. I really missed a lot.” Pearl yawns. “How about the contracts? They didn’t screw you over, right?”
I lean back in a comfortable hanging chair I put in an order for and shift so I’m half lying down. “Nope. If anything, I feel like I got the much better end of them. Noland’s skill is kind of crazy, especially if he can up the interest rate. Ursula’s is more combat useful, and March’s is kind of a mystery to me. But it looks like she’ll be able to grow the everdriftwood saplings, so it’s probably crazy in its own way.”
“Oh. Wow. Again.” Pearl giggles as she leans out of her shell to rest on my shoulder. “Everdriftwood is really annoying to grow. But I guess if she has a skill that can take the place of all our cultivation methods, then it’ll work just fine. Unless she’s going to try and research those methods?”
“Yup, she is.” I confirm. “In a month when she goes back. After she gets back we’ll actually make a greenhouse for them, and if the wood’s actually as valuable as they think it is, we’ll eventually be rolling in Worth. Or… just wood to make more things. Which is pretty good, too.”
Pearl nods in agreement and fully slips free of her shell. “More than good. Fresh everdriftwood is so magically malleable that it can do almost anything you’d need any other wood for. We could upgrade the things we made at the workshop with new wood when it’s ready for harvest, and if I can actually get the blueprints ready for some of the more complex things, we might be able to make something amazing.”
She crawls onto my chest and curls up in a little ball. Exhaustion radiates off her tiny form even though she’s been sleeping most of the way. I raise a hand to lightly pat her on the head, and she lets out a happy little sigh at the contact.
“Sorry for being so tired. Repairing your awareness is taking way more out of me than I thought it would.” She apologizes with another little yawn. “Illumisia took on way more of the strain of remaking your body than I realized. But I promise I’ll have it repaired really soon. It’s… the least I can do for you.”
“Pearl, no. You don’t have to…” I trail off as quiet, rhythmic breaths meet my ears. “Damn, you’re a good sleeper. Night, Pearl. Tomorrow we’ll see what this place has for entertainment.”
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Salty air washes through my hair as I sit comfortably on a beach chair a good bit away from the surf. Mai tai in one hand and the third installment in some random book series March recommended in the other. It’s not bad, but it’s not… to my tastes, either. Not that it’s stopped me from getting to book three, I guess. It’s been about three weeks since I got here, and after trying almost everything the resort has to offer, I’m finally starting to feel it.
Bored.
Out of my skull. Pearl, too, if her antsiness at a lack of progress is anything to go by. She’s all done with every single blueprint we’ve found, and her findings are the same for each one; we need materials. Not just shellraiser glass and everdriftwood, but a bunch of other things she can’t say without giving me a headache. Now she’s counting down the days until March goes back to the other world so we can actually start working on the greenhouse.
“So… what else can we do?” Pearl leans against something in her shell and rests her cheek on her fist. “Some of these things have been fun, I guess, but I’m tired of relaxing. Can’t we… I don’t know… go train or something? Ooh, or find a workshop where I can see how machines work around here.”
I shake my head. “Remember what March said? She makes all the buildings, and everything else is imported from manufacturers that can make things that stand up to the apocalypse. So no mechanics, workshops, or anything like that.”
Pearl pouts adorably and lets herself sprawl out. “I know, but can’t we apply for some kind of permit? It’s not like my skills are going to dull with just a few weeks of not working, but… um… I’m really bored. And it’s starting to worry me.”
I get where she’s coming from. I really do. Even though I’ve been going to the gym every day for the last eighteen days, I still feel like I’m not doing enough. Both my knife and my matrix have gone completely unused since the highway ambush, and… honestly, I’ve been itching to have an excuse to use them. But I haven’t had any reason to, and I’m this close to saying to hell with it and dipping into my Worth to get some testing done.
“Let’s try something else.” I snap my book shut and down the rest of my drink. My muscles tense as I stand with a stretch and a wince, the morning’s workout finally catching up to me. “There’s something off about this beach anyway.”
“Definitely.” Pearl agrees with a look around. “Even if it’s only five out of a hundred, it’s really weird seeing all these people with masks. If it was me, I’d make it illegal to wear them in the resort, but obviously the others don’t agree.”
One woman in a skimpy bikini and a mask that covers the bottom of her face like a bandana trails me with her eyes as I start to walk away. Two more men join her after a few seconds; one as built as a competition bodybuilder and the other with the lean physique of an olympic swimmer. Both of them have half-face masks that look like half of a stylized beetle, as if one mask had been split into two and given to both of them.
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And that’s only the ones who’re being obvious enough for my awareness to notice. It wouldn’t surprise me if everyone on the beach with a mask was at least slightly paying attention to me. Then again, half of the beach watches me as I walk away. That’s the problem with being publicly announced as ‘The Gambler’; I don’t really get the luxury of anonymity. Not unless I put on my own mask.
“Am I being paranoid for thinking they’re watching us?” Pearl asks with suspicion. “Because it looks like they’re watching us.”
“It’s not paranoia if you actually know they’re watching us. Which we know they are, thanks to Noland spreading my title and face around like some kind of celebrity.” I sigh and shake my head to get my hair back into place. “So he owes me. If he won’t tell me where the three of them train their skills, I’ll just use the meeting room and put the repairs on his–”
Something smacks me on the forehead, stopping me dead in my tracks. I blink a few times to get rid of the surprise of something completely sneaking through my awareness, then look down at the ground to see what the hell managed that feat. Buried right there, halfway down in the sand from the drop, is a coin. A shining silver coin with a slight blue tint and a simple shield embossed onto it.
Who the hell flicked a coin at me? I look around for any perpetrators as I kneel down to grab the coin, which my awareness is now caressing like a small animal. If the thing was flying fast enough to get through my awareness, it definitely should’ve done some serious damage. Not the absolutely none that wiping my fingers over my forehead returns.
“Whoah. Um. Wow.” Pearl giggles nervously. “I think we just hit the jackpot.”
Jackpot? For what? I grab the coin between my fingers and brush the sand off it, raise it up to my face, and flip it around. The other side has what looks like a vault door on it. Nothing too crazy, but also nothing I’ve ever seen before. Maybe it’s a Body coin? Or a coin someone made with their skill that acts like a one-time shield.
Class Coin: Defender.
Primary Stats: Body, Soul, and Fate.
Ownership Status: Unused.
You already have a Class; as such, this cannot be used.
Oh. OH! Shit, this has to be the system thing Ursula told me about! Coins appearing out of nowhere, making a new batch of system-born to send off to the other world! Which means more people hiring them for jobs. Which also means I don’t have to be bored any more. Which also also means I’ll actually have a reason to try out my new spells in my shellraiser devices!
“Niiiice.” I say with a widening grin. “Let’s see how this puppy flips.”
Before I have a chance to try anything, my system starts screaming at me. I wince at the noise and pull it up, revealing a brand new notification on my communications tab that I instantly know is from Ursula. She must’ve just found out about the coins, too. Hell, Noland could’ve just told her about the one I’ve got between my fingers right now.
“Big news, Shelby! We’ve got reports of coins appearing all over Earth, and we’ve already got a request to oversee a sale. Plus, Noland says one happened to appear in our backyard of all places. Come to the meeting room as soon as you can. We’ve got things to do.”
“Finally, something interesting! Yay!” Pearl squeals with delight. “You’re going to take the job, right? We aren’t just going to sit around here for another six months, right?”
“God, no. I can’t sit around doing nothing all day.” I laugh and pocket the coin. “Not anymore, at least.”
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The wall opens up to a room full of excitement. Ursula and Noland are busy fiddling with a bunch of maps and chess pieces on the table while March reads off a bunch of names from a tablet she’s got pressed up against her knees.
“Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.” March says. “One bronze coin reported so far.”
Noland frowns, then swipes his hand across the map. It shifts until it shows the lower half of Canada, and he zooms in even further on where I assume Alberta is. He places a single pawn somewhere on it, then taps the top of it once. Plain white bleeds away to complete bronze and the piece melts into the map, joining a few other stains as marks on the map.
“Nothing else in Alberta?” He asks as Ursula waves me over. “No pairs, no preservation activity?”
March shakes her head. “Nothing at all.”
“Alright, then North America’s probably not the center this time. Anything else in Canada’s general vicinity?”
I step up to the table as Ursula steps slightly away. Noland and March keep on with their reports as we move to another part of the table, and when we’re far enough not to disturb them, I gesture inquisitively at Noland with two fingers.
“Why the map and not something digital?”
Ursula reaches into her pocket and holds up a chess piece for me to see. “Part of Noland’s skill. If we keep track of it this way he gets better at predicting where the coins will fall and instantly memorizes everything. I don’t pretend to understand all of it, but it’s not that much more work, so we do it for him.”
“How nice of you. Now, about that job…”
“Figured you’d be interested. Especially after you went through the post other world blues.” Ursula grins and sets her briefcase on the table. “We’ve got two jobs now–one to oversee a transaction between a rich guy from Dubai who’s buying a Scout coin, and another to find a Warrior coin for someone in Beijing without the Chinese government confiscating it. That one’s annoying since the buyer can’t leave China for some reason, so we’d have to smuggle it in.”
I lean around Ursula to look at Noland. “Couldn’t he just teleport us there?”
“Nope; China has anti-teleportation magic woven into all their borders. Even if we teleport in close, we’re crossing somewhere. With magic involved, we’re not getting through without someone questioning us. It could even be a bait request; we’ve had a few of those before, and a few of our other trusted non-Worth guys almost got executed for it.”
“Ouch. Almost makes it seem like that one’s not worth looking at.”
“On that we agree.” Ursula pops open her briefcase and pulls out her tablet. “The first one isn’t too dangerous; the buyer’s bought multiple coins before to give out to his own people. We’ll probably send some non-Worths to do that. But there’s one reason we can’t just overlook the second one.”
She flips her tablet around to show me a simple picture. A young Chinese woman in what looks like a traditional dress with her makeup done to the nines, all accentuating a warm but calculating smile. Her jet black hair is done up in a single bun in the back with two wooden chopsticks poking through. The picture alone sends a shiver down my spine. I can’t quite place why.
“There’s something… wrong about this picture.” I guess and take the tablet in my hands. An attempt to zoom out informs me that this is the entire picture. “What am I looking at here?”
“I don’t know.” Ursula taps the woman’s face twice. “The second I saw that picture I knew something was wrong with it. At first I thought it was doctored; someone fake but pleasant as a front for whoever’s actually buying the coin. But nope; that’s a real woman whose name I can’t tell you yet. She isn’t a hostage, she isn’t super rich, and she doesn’t have a history that explains why she’s the one doing this request. Or why she can’t leave China to get the coin.”
“Maybe someone’s buying it for her. And since they want to make sure she’s the one that gets the coin, they want to do the sale under their watch.” I suggest, but as it leaves my lips, something tells me it’s wrong. “Ursula, does anyone close to this woman already have a class?”
“Not in the info I’ve got. Why?”
I tap one of the woman’s earrings. “Because that looks like everdriftwood.”