“Hey, Jeffrey? I don’t have anything to buy stuff with. I doubt they take dollars.”
Jeffrey looked at him in surprise.
“You never checked out your credit balance?”
“What?”
“Tap your left wrist three times and it will come up.”
Sam followed his instructions and a small screen popped up.
Credit Balance 7450
“What the hell? Where did this come from?” He said in shock.
“The System implanted it in you when you were having your core created. It allows you to collect money from certain monsters and people that you kill.”
“Is 7450 a lot or a little?”
Jeffrey shrugged.
“Back where I came from, it was nothing, but in a newly initialized universe, you could probably get some good stuff. You shouldn't have that much though, unless you were killing a lot more monsters that I saw.”
Sam thought about where the credits had come from before he realized.
“Oh, that's why. I killed this woman who had killed hundreds of people. She told me that it was just for the levels, but she was probably in it for the cash as well. I must have gained her credits when I killed her.”
“Hmm, if she was as flagrant a murderer as you said, perhaps someone placed a bounty on her?”
“Where do I find bounties?” Sam asked.
“In a town like this, they probably have a local division of the Bounty Hunter Guild. If someone left a bounty, then they will reward you for it.” They searched the town for the building and eventually found it. Tucked away in a small alleyway, the door to the Guild was ajar. They walked in and into a different world. Sunburnt men and women, wearing utilitarian clothes of a drab color, aliens with strange guns strapped to their belts, it was like a scene out of a sci-fi movie. At the very front of the building, a large hologram of a board was visible. On it, there were a list of names next to a credit number. He surveyed the top ten and found something very disturbing.
1.The Arbiter:100,000 Credits
There was a bounty on his head, and it was a lot of money. He was so glad that he had made a fake name for the leaderboards or he would probably have been dead by now. Jeffrey saw it too, but he wisely concealed his reaction. He read down the list and looked for Lena Scarlet. The other top ten people were the people on the overall power list, with the ones under it people that he had never heard of.
Lena Scarlet was in the 153rd place with a bounty of 5000 credits. Sam walked up to the board and tried to figure out how to claim the bounty. A person stood behind the desk, a green alien with prodigious tusks and an underbite. Sam immediately thought orc. When he scanned the man, however, it said that he was actually a Teruvarian. It was only a coincidence that he looked like an orc. Still, Sam decided to refer to them as orcs, it was less of a mouthful.
“Oi! What the ell’ d’you think you’re doing?” The orc called out. “Scanning me without me permission.” The orc even spoke exactly like Sam had expected. Sam winced. He had not intended to offend the orc.
“Sorry, I just wanted to know what species you were, you looked like something I've seen before.” That was the wrong response. The orc puffed up in rage and started to scream.
“FILTHY HUMAN! I'M GONNA CAVE YOUR SKULL IN! Lemme guess, all Teruvarians look alike to you? Goddamn racist!”
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‘Whoa, whoa, that’s not what I meant. Look, I’m sorry. I was just curious, that’s all.” Multiple people were staring to stare over at them by now and he could see a few people edging their way over.
“This pinky causing you trouble, Urg?” Another orc said as he walked up, glaring at Sam.
“Asshole scanned me without me telling him he could. I oughta teach him a lesson.”
“So should I, Urg, but we can’t. He's a freshie, so we’re not allowed to attack him. System rules.”
The orc sighed and stormed off. The new orc continued to glare at Sam.
“Now look what you’ve done. Gone and upset Urg, that’s what.”
Sam groaned. This was not what he had expected coming in here.
“I came here to collect a bounty. On Lena Scarlet. I killed her a day ago, but I don’t know how to claim it.” Upon hearing that he was here on business, the orc softened a bit.
“Alright. Just place your hand on this scanner and It will detect if you possess any remnants of her essence” The orc pulled out a circular metal device and placed it on the table. A hologram of Lena Scarlet appeared over it and Sam placed his hand down. The scanner beeped and went green and he received a System notification.
You have received 5000 Credits.
The orc nodded at Sam and walked off to the back of the shop. The unfriendly looks that he was getting, especially from the orcs in the area, ushered him out rapidly. He made his way over to Jeffrey, who was shivering.
“Come on. Let's get out of here.”
After they left the shop, Jeffrey let out a deep breath.
“You really have a knack for trouble, don’t you? We would both have been smears on the ground if you weren’t new to the System. Those orcs were both F Rank.”
“F Rank? Why are they here then?”
“They were part of the Bounty Hunters’ Guild. They were here as representatives. Most guilds and sects want to get a foothold in new universes, even if they are just going to be eliminated eventually by someone like Tantalos Veruvax. Also, you should look into him. I’ve never heard of the man before, but he seems to be strong. A merchant might sell some information packages if you're lucky. Look, there’s one right now!” Jeffrey pointed at a tent that was manned by a purple humanoid with four arms. They walked over and Sam began to talk.
“Hey, what are you selling? I have some credits to burn.”
The vendor snapped his fingers and a System display appeared in front of Sam.
G-Rank Healing Crystal:500 Credits
Small G-Rank Essence Crystal:750 Credits
System Guide:1000 Credits
Dodge(Common Skill):1500 Credits
Factions of the Multiverse:2500 Credits
Medium G-Rank Essence Crystal:5000 Credits
Basic Weapon Knowledge(Uncommon Skill):7500 Credits
Large G-Rank Essence Crystal:10,000 Credits
Dao Guide:50,000 Credits
Sam perused the list of wares, stopping when he saw how expensive the Dao Guide was.
“Hey, why does the Dao guide cost that much?”
“I only have a few copies of it. The System doesn't like that sort of information getting out to people who haven’t worked to get it,” the purple alien replied. “Would you be interested in my other goods though?”
“Yeah, where can I find out more about Tantalos Veruvax?”
The other man shivered at the name.
“Um, I'm not sure If I can help you there. If he somehow catches word, then I will be hunted down. Actually, I should get going now. I left the, uh, stove on back at home.” The merchant had suddenly become incredibly nervous.
“Just help me out on this one. I will pay extra if you want.”
The merchant was still reluctant, but when he heard how many credits Sam had, he became less so.
“I can add on the information to the Factions of the Multiverse guide for an additional 10,000 credits.”
“10,000? The information can’t be that dangerous. The most I’ll do is 5000, and I want you to throw in the System Guide as well.” The vendor vacillated for a moment before he sighed and acquiesced.
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
In all actuality, the man was probably getting a great deal, but Sam didn't mind that much.
You are being requested to transfer 7500 credits in exchange for “System Guide” and “Factions of the Multiverse”. Accept? Y/N
Sam hit yes and the money was sent from his credit balance and into the other man’s. Two crystals appeared in his hands and he placed them in his pocket. He was about to thank the mechant, but the purple skinned man had already packed up and left somehow.