I quickly conjured an ice wall, but the expected attack didn’t come. I looked behind me only to see the ice wall I conjured. The woman with black hair was nowhere to be seen. I removed the ice from the room and did a thorough sweep of the small room I was in along with the narrow hallway that led back downstairs. Nothing was out of place.

I shut and locked the door. This had been becoming a more frequent occurrence. I wasn’t sure if it was all in my mind or if the woman was constantly following me. I checked the clock on the wall, it displayed ‘5:45’ in neon green letters. With a sigh, I turned back to the computer. I had a lot of paperwork to catch up on and only three hours left to finish up. It was best to put her out of my mind.

I had started out with mercenary work three years ago. I had been excited about the adventure, danger, and hands-on experience required. Imagine my surprise when a majority of the job ended up being paperwork, finances, and political meetings among other mercenary groups in the area. It was a tough pill to swallow.

Most of my days now mirrored those back home.

I finished filling out the tax forms required for large individual purchases and rubbed my eyes wearily. The clock now read ‘7:00’. I had a lot of paperwork left, but it could be put off until tomorrow. I submitted the purchase documents needed on my end and headed back down to the main lobby of the store.

Enibar was sitting towards the back hunched over a workbench.

“What’s that you’re working on?” I asked. Enibar always had an interesting customer request or personal project consuming most of his time.

Enibar carefully moved a large magnifying glass to the side and spun around in his chair with a large grin.

“I received a rather interesting request from a group of travelers the other day. They wished to upgrade a low-grade D core up to a mid or high grade. It should be possible in theory, but I’m unsure why they wouldn’t just buy a new core. An upgrade like this will be much more expensive.” Hearing that, I was just as perplexed.

“It must be for more sentimental reasons than practical ones. Why else would they be willing to throw money away like that?” I sat down in the single chair Enibar kept in the lobby. I pulled off my backpack and started rummaging through the contents looking for the additional item I wanted to hand over to the small shop keeper.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Enibar came up next to me chuckling. “You know, not everyone is as money-driven as you.” He then looked down to see what I was rummaging for. “You really should fix up that backpack of yours.”

This had become an almost daily conversation now. My backpack was an old military-grade backpack in a faded dark-green color. It had been to hell and back with me and it showed. Frayed edges and small holes littered the outside of the backpack. Some discoloration was visible on the bottom edge from a fight I had a few years back with a fire-breathing salamander. They were nasty creatures.

I pulled my backpack further away from Enibar’s judgmental gaze. “I’ve told you before, it still gets the job done. I’ll only consider upgrading once this falls apart in my hands.” I finally found what I was looking for at the bottom of the pack and pulled out a small wrench-like tool.

“I know you mentioned needing a new one. I hope it’s the right size.” Enibar’s face lit up as he grabbed the tool from my hand.

“This is perfect,” He said happily, rushing back over to his workbench.

“Hey!” I called out. “Don’t forget my payment.”

Enibar stopped in his tracks and chuckled. “I knew I was forgetting something.” He pulled out a laptop-like device from under the counter. A few seconds later, a ding rang out from the machine. I picked up my backpack and headed over to the counter. Enibar flipped the machine around. “I just need your confirmation for the purchase.” I nodded and placed my thumb on the large pad that consumed half of the machine where the keyboard should be. Another ding rang out confirming that the funds had been transferred. I smiled and hefted my backpack more securely against my back.

“Thanks, Enibar. I’ll probably see you tomorrow.” He nodded and placed the machine back under the counter. “Stay safe out there.”

I stepped out of the shop and started making my way to the main street. I always loved the city at night. The glow of the lamps and shop signs kept the streets well-lit as those who worked and played at night filled the sidewalks. The city population had exploded in recent years thanks to a few large companies opening headquarters in the downtown area. I found the bustling to be a welcome change from the small town I grew up in, but many long-time residents were up in arms. They were being priced out of the homes they grew up in. They also hated the industrialization of many areas that were once parks or open areas.

Speaking of, as I walked out onto the main street I was pulled into a large group of protestors moving toward city hall.

“Preserve the soul of this city!” One man cried out.

“Citizens over Corporations.” A woman then screamed to my right.

I deftly moved through the protesting crowd over to a side street and waited for them to pass. I was likely one of the people they would view as a problem in their city as I moved to the area two years ago due to the recent boom in business. Mercenaries had to follow the money and large populations of people tended to draw more monsters to the area.

I eventually made it back to the lobby of my apartment building, a four-story building in what would be considered a nice area of the city. I had a one-bedroom apartment on the first floor. Once inside my room, I tossed my backpack onto the ground next to my door, went to take a quick shower, and then fell over onto my bed. It had been a long day.