BXBX NOVEL Chapter 89: Antique Shop
Chapter 89: Antique Shop
His body was slowly disappearing into thin air, as if he were slowly erased from existence.
After a short while, Koil\'s corpse finally disappeared, and in his place, several items appeared. \'After a player dies, they\'ll drop some of their items and Shinecoins...\'
In front of him, two skill scrolls, a pouch with Shinecoins, and several weapons appeared on the ground.
Adam took the skill scrolls, and after seeing them, he let out a short chuckle.
The two skill scrolls were the Ground King and Shield Charge skills.
\'Those will be useful.\' Adam stored them inside his inventory and checked out the pouch.
There were nearly six hundred Shinecoins inside.
Adam stored them inside his interface, which brought his total Shinecoin count to 594.
And lastly, he checked out the weapons Koil dropped. They were the heavy hammer and large shield.
\'Maybe I can sell those...\' Adam wondered and stored them in his inventory.
Unfortunately, he couldn\'t use them.
He didn\'t have great enough physical prowess to wield both of them effectively.
"Did you find anything decent?" Knoxx walked over to him and asked.
"Some." Adam replied and showed the weapons. "I don\'t think we have anyone that can use these."
"No." Knoxx shook his head and then dropped a sword and shield to the ground. "I found these two weapons from one of those deceased people. I saw you\'re still using those basic weapons.
"To increase our chance of survival in the raid, you should have these."
"Hmm?" Adam checked them out and whistled in a slight surprise.
The sword had a thick blade and a sturdy hilt, while the shield was a heater-shaped metal shield.
***
[Weapon: Heater Shield]
[Rank: Common]
[Durability: 87%]
[Description: A decent metal shield with a sturdy build. It is very effective against arrows and melee attacks. However, it is weak to Magick attacks]
***
[Weapon: Gladius Sword]
[Rank: Common]
[Max Damage: 50/55]
[Durability: 91%]
[Description: A short-bladed sword with great balance and sharpness. It is ideal for close combat situations and can be easily maneuvered with one hand]
***
"These will do great..."
Adam strapped the scabbard to his belt, slipped the sword inside, and then put his shield on his back while throwing his previous weapons back inside the inventory.
Knoxx turned around and then clapped his hands.
"Everyone, it is time to move out. Finish looting quickly; we don\'t have time to waste!"
Everyone nodded their heads and quickly finished looting the corpses.
They also took the items from their deceased friends, planning to give them back once they return from death.
They took a last final look at the destroyed campsite and then walked into the forest, disappearing into the shadows as if they were never there.
The final flicker in the campfire slowly died out.
...
Ivycrest, Red Thread.
Splash!
"Oh, come on!" A fedora-wearing man shouted in anger as he accidentally stepped on a puddle of sewer water.
For some odd reason, he was currently inside a sewer with a disgusting stench filling the air.
He was wearing a long trenchcoat with a fedora pulled low over his eyes and a small mask covering the lower half of his face.
He slowly navigated through the sewer until he came across a door with a tall, wide- shouldered man guarding it.
"Identification." The man asked with a cold voice.
"I-I lost my identification." The fedora-wearing man said with a nervous chuckle, "However, you should know me-it\'s me!"
He took off his fedora and the mask, showing a brown-haired man with a pleasant-looking face and hazel eyes. It wasn\'t that unique face.
"Carmine..." The man rolled his eyes and opened the door with a loud creak. "Get new identification. This is the last time..."
"R-right away, sir!" Carmine said quickly, slipped through the door and then put the fedora
and mask back on.
He let out a sigh of relief and then walked down a dimly lit hallway with trash and dust covering every inch of the wall and ceiling.
A short walk later, he reached the end of the hallway-there was another door that wasn\'t
guarded.
Carmine placed his hand on the door and slowly pushed it.
The door opened smoothly and led to a street bustling with people.
Carmine stepped through the door and immediately closed it after him.
The door was attached to a house that looked brand new, which was strange since the interior
was strangely a sewer.
Carmine looked around with a sense of wonder.
There wasn\'t a sky above, only a dark ceiling that seemed to stretch on forever.
This was Red Thread, an underground city situated under Ivycrest. It was a world of criminals and outcasts, a place where the law held no power.
While the place was underground, it wasn\'t dark, as the ceiling had lots of light streaming in from every possible crevice, creating an otherworldly glow that illuminated the entire city.
It also wasn\'t as stuffy as one might expect, due to the cleverly designed ventilation system that circulated fresh air constantly.
"Right, where was I supposed to meet him..." Carmine pulled out his badly-drawn map and scratched his ear absentmindedly, trying to remember the directions.
After somewhat remembering where to go, he hopped on a carriage that was actually pulled by a pair of humans. They looked rather rough-looking, as if they were homeless. "Go to Eight Street." Carmine ordered and then crossed his legs as he enjoyed the slow ride.
Around thirty minutes later, the ride arrived at Eight Street. It was another bustling part of Red Thread, with shops and restaurants lining the streets. However, each one of them was owned by mobsters and dangerous people.
Carmine left the carriage, tossed a pair of coins to the homeless folk, and walked over to a
small store tucked away in a corner.
Its door was closed.
Knock, knock.
After knocking on the door, it mysteriously opened, and Carmine stepped inside the antique
store.
Carmine took out his fedora and quickly fixed up his hair.
At that moment, footsteps came from the stairs at the end of the store, and from there, a wrinkly-faced old man came and got seated behind the counter.
The old man had a deep grayish eyes with black hair tied into a high bun. It was clear he wasn\'t
just any ordinary old man as he radiated an aura of wisdom and power.
Carmine stayed quiet, but a few sweatdrops trickled down the side of his face.
The old man gently put his glasses over his nose and asked, "Did you succeed?"
"Y-yes, boss!" Carmine shouted nervously.
"Show me the pictures." The old man said.
"Uhm..." Carmine scratched his hair nervously. "I actually lost the camera, but please trust
me, I still found him!"
"You lost... it?" The old man asked, his voice rising in anger. "That wasn\'t an ordinary camera,
you fool!"
Carmine flinched and bowed his head. "I-I am sorry!"
"Useless..." The old man pinched his nose and asked, "How did you lose it? Don\'t tell me you
got discovered..."
Carmine gulped and didn\'t dare to answer.
However, that was enough for the old man to know the answer.
"Hah..." The old man didn\'t know what else to say but laugh in anger. "And I assume you also
lost a fight? You look roughed up."
Carmine, ashamedly, lowered his head.
"This is bad..." The old man said, "That camera was an old antique. What a shame. I guess I
am the fool for trusting you to keep my belongings safe."
"I am sorr-"
"I don\'t want your apologies." The old man shut him down.
"Sorry..." Carmine muttered under his breath.
"I suppose Adam is just an ordinary young man." The old man interlocked his fingers. "His family is normal; he isn\'t rich or influential. Just a young man with immense talent."
"T-that means he is easy to control." Carmine said nervously.
"Yes..." The old man said, "There must be stuff that he desperately wants, such as money and power. Whoever can offer him those things can manipulate him easily."
\'I couldn\'t get a good reading of him...\' Carmine thought to himself, \'I don\'t know why, but something seems off about him.\'
"Your job\'s done here." The old man tossed him a pouch filled with money. "I cut your pay by
half for losing my camera."
"Ah, man..." Carmine didn\'t dare to argue, pocketed his money, and then left.
The old man crossed his arms and thought:
\'Adam is still young and weak. No one will be recruiting him, just yet. They\'ll wait till he has
matured enough.
\'There will be a war in the future.
\'He will be a valuable asset when that time comes.\'