They reached Sam’s house a scant ten minutes later, ready to turn in the quest items. It worked in a similar way to selling objects on the Interweb, and all that Sam had to do was place the quest commission back on the board in the Guild headquarter to initiate the transportation. Sam closed his eyes and entered the Interweb, the place instantly siphoning the mana cost off of him. Jeffrey remained behind in the real world as the man did not have access to the same spawn points as Sam.
Sam appeared outside the Guild headquarters, and walked inside., As he did so, the quiet commission started to grow warm against his skin. He pulled it out, and started walking towards the board. As he approached, the piece of paper was tugged by an invisible force, straight for the wall. Sam let it pull him over, and he placed it against the message board. The piece of paper stuck there, and it flashed a blinding green for a moment before crumbling into ashes.
Sam was transported away to a small room, where a hooded figure was waiting for him. The ghostly outline of the goods appeared in front of Sam, and he handed them over to the figure. As the outlines of the hide and the metal touched the other person’s fingers, they melted away. The figure touched Sam’s finger, transferring the credits to him. With a nod, it faded away and Sam found himself back in the headquarters. He quickly left the Interweb, with a puzzled expression on his face. Jeffrey was waiting for him there, and as soon as Sam got to his feet, the man got up too.
“Did you get the money?”
“Yeah, but the Interweb still puzzles me. How does it transport things through an intangible space like that? It doesn’t make sense.,” Sam asked, looking down and noticing that the hide and the metal was gone.
“I have no idea. That thing was set up by gods, and it has constantly been upgraded as the years go by. It is a thing beyond the ken of us mere mortals. I hate thinking like that, but in this case it really is impossible to describe.”
“Ah, alright then. But still…” Sam began, before trailing off. As long as it worked, it was an asset for his continued growth. The ability to trade with other regions of the Multiverse was invaluable, and partly thanks to Berrigious. Sam grinned as he thought about the great service that the man had, however unwittingly, done for them. His actions had led to the reconstruction of the universe, which had rewarded all the citizens with citizenship, Sam included.
Sam paced around the room for a few minutes, and then walked down the stairs and outside. The city was unusually quiet at that moment, and Sam was left with his thoughts as he wandered down the road. Jeffrey followed him out but upon seeing what Sam was doing, he let him be. He was weighing the costs and benefits of using the Interweb as a quest system. It was quite rewarding, but the time that he had spent on the quest was longer than was worth it for such a meager reward. 100,000 credits would not have seemed so small when he was starting out, but now it was like a pittance. Was it really worth going off for hours on end to fight a single monster to gain? Probably not. It was fun, sure, but not really worth it. Unless a better quest came up, Sam was better off not bothering with it.
Lost in his thoughts, Sam did not even notice the sounds of cannon fire coming from the weapon embankments in the city. Another alien army came and went, their bloodied corpses left as a testament to the might of Sam’s faction. By the time that he was paying attention, the noise was over, and he was standing near the wall. He had started to pace some time during his thoughts, and he had moved at a greater speed than a normal human running would have. It had only taken him a few minutes to reach the wall, and some of the sentries were giving him concerned looks. He supposed that they were entitled to such things, as he was standing there with a vacant expression on his face, staring at the wall. His stats made it painfully easy to lose himself in a web of his own thoughts, and Sam would have to avoid that. Perhaps that would be a blessing later on, when the weight of eons pressed down on his psyche, but for now it was useless. He needed to progress so that he could deal with all of the threats he and his faction had to deal with.
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What Sam really needed right now was a beer and a bite to eat. He had not eaten in days, and he barely felt hungry, but he knew that he would never really feel hungry again. However, food still had its benefits. Sam made his way over to a nearby bar, which doubled as a restaurant. When he entered, the two people within it looked up and quickly averted their eyes. Sam ignored them and sat down at a table on the other side of the room, picking up the menu. It was mainly filled with various Earth dishes, of all sorts of cuisines, but there were a few strange things on it as well. The restaurant served monster parts as their premier dish, boasting that they would provide temporary stat increases. As the waiter came over apprehensive, Sam finalized his order.
“What can I get for you, sir?” The waiter asked, trying to mask his nervousness by fidgeting around with his clipboard.
“Can I have the inferno boar steak, medium rare please, as well as a pint of your finest beer,” Sam said, making sure not to put the other man off.
“Certainly, faction leader. Your meal will be ready shortly.”
The waiter walked off with a curious spring in his step and Sam groaned.
“Please don’t rush the meal at my expense. I can wait,” Sam called out after the man, receiving a terse nod. Settling back into his seat, Sam looked out the window and into his city. The street could have been mistaken for any other in a city on Earth, except for the occasional sights of people with massive weapons strapped to their backs. Also, the shimmering dome in the background was not something that would have been on Old Earth. Still, it was almost perfect. Almost, but not quite. Never again would Sam have to drive out for a shift at Ron’s diner. Never again would he have to worry about not paying his rent on time. Never would he feel like a nobody again. It was also perfect, except for the existential dread that progression brought upon oneself. Still, that was just an occupational hazard. It was better than the soul crushing idea that he might well have had to work at that diner for the rest of his life.
Sam sat there for a while, looking out at the world beyond the window. It was only when he heard a light cough from beside him that he looked up and saw that the waiter was there. He nodded his thanks, and the man set down a platter in front of him. A reddish orange steak glistened in the middle of a pile of mashed potato and vegetables, with a dark sauce ladled over the top. Next to it was a pint of dark purple ale, which Sam recognized. It was the same type of beer that had been served in the arena all those weeks ago. Rubbing his hands together, Sam dug in. The flavors of the meal were even more incredible than anything he had tasted since the System came. The chef must have been quite highly leveled to produce such an effect. As soon as Sam cut a piece off the steak and popped it in his mouth, a feeling of warmth traveled down his spine.
You have ingested a G Rank inferno boar steak.
+1 to Strength for one hour
Sam raised his eyebrow. The stat boost was minuscule, but its presence indicated that higher ranked cuts of meat might improve the bonus by more. If he was able to fill up on status boosts from food like this before a battle, it very well might be the difference between victory and defeat. Sam polished off the rest of the meal, but it seemed that only the first bite imparted the stat boost. However, the rest of it was still delicious. Sam pushed the plate away when he was finished, and waited for the waiter to come over.
“How much?” Sam asked, ready to transfer the credits.
“Oh, we wouldn’t dream of charging you, faction leader.”
Sam let out a little bit of his aura.
“Oh, but I insist. How much does it normally cost?”
“It normally costs five hundred credits for that meal, sir,” the other man said, paling a little bit.
“Alright then,” Sam said, sending the credits over. There was a moment of hesitation on the waiter’s end, but he eventually accepted. Sam then sent a thousand credits over afterwards, winking at the man. Leaving the waiter spluttering behind him, Sam left the restaurant, and started down the street. Being inside the city was nice and all, but Sam was already starting to feel a tiny bit cooped up. Having great power also instilled the need to use it within a person, and it was at that moment that Sam remembered Sarge’s request for a sparring match. It was time.