Alfonse Jeremiah: Goods and Artifact Parler - Third District
A tall glass of water strolls into the front door, hair slightly wavey. He is clad in adventuring gear and walks exuding an air of determined calmness. Although it would've pleased the workers to see the mystery customer's face, they couldn't. On the customer's face was a mask.
The customer made his way to the receptionist, asking whether a certain Mr. Alfonse Jeremiah was there. When the receptionist asked for his reason, he took out a card from his pocket. The receptionist knew what the card meant, dashing upstairs and asking the young man to wait.
Hajime could feel the gazes of workers glued to him as he stood in place, waiting to be called to Alfonse's office.
The heavens heard his plight and a moment later, Alfonse himself had come to receive Hajime.
They made way for the business owner's office, wanting to discuss things more under less open air.
As the two left, the women were left in gossip about who the man could be. The receptionist, curious yet unyielding, barked at them to return to work immediately. They complied, a group forged by gossip easily broken with one order.
In Alfonse's Office:
" Ah my saviour! What brings you to my humble Establishment?".
Hajime's expression lightened, his legs crossed as he held both hands together in a tight bond.
" Well Mr. Alfonse, I've been meaning to find some small materials and I was wondering whether you would have them in stock".
His voice was deep yet gentle, an effect of the concealment on the Mourner's Mask.
" I see, My company is one of many medium scale suppliant shops that work with the Imperial Capital's authorities. I'm sure whatever you need can be found in our vast supply of goods and novelty artifacts".
Alfonse looked pleased his face showing a bright and exuberant emotion as he spoke.
" Well then, I'll be needing around 900grams of Mithril ore and two ingots of Adamantite. Also, I'd like to know whether you had any tears of time flower petals".
Alfonse seemed deep in thought when Hajime asked of the tears of time. Alfonse confirmed that they had both the mithril ore and Adamantite in stock. However, no one has been a able to get tears of time flowers, ever since the last blossom died before it could be replanted.
" The tears of time flowers: a mythic class magical herb born after the fall of the custodian of time and the first son of the Revered One, Chronos; The Ever keeping. Possesses time related properties in terms of healing and restoration.
It is said that he was slain, far before the war, five hundred years ago. Since he died, he reminents of his magic and divine blood, fortified the soil of his final resting place, acting as a catalyst for the blossom to bloom. His final resting place was therefore named, The Meadow of Fallen Deities. This meadow was found in the waning woods and has been covered by the illusion magic the fogs of waning possess".
- City of Blossoms: Imperial Library - Mythic Class Artifacts Section -
Hajime was visibly disappointed, and simply thanked Alfonse for the information. Although the news shocked him, It did not put a dent in his plans. With the help of Alfonse's workers, Hajime got two thirds of the materials necessary to make The Necklace of Regression.
He was about to leave when Alfonse came closer to him at the door and whispered something to him. Even with the mask, you could tell the shock on Hajime's face. He thanked Alfonse and left his shop, promising to return and buy more goods in time.
Hajime contemplating his next move, wondered whether he would have to go to the waning woods. He questioned whether he could be back in three day's time. He was still in his Second day, out of the ten days until the ceremony.
He thought of what Alfonse whispered to him and decided to take him up on the offer. For now, his only goal was to head back to the inn and rest up for tomorrow's tournament. As he moved, the atmosphere seemed too surreal. No hustle and bustle, no sound of carts and merchants. He noticed something was off, although too late.
He was suddenly pulled into an alternate dimension. A dark void. From within the void, a voice called out to him.
" You're the Reaper, aren't you?".
Hajime realized that his contemplating had left him forgetting to take off the mask when he got far. He bashfully scolded himself for such a blunder. Hajime activated Fortitude, which was now at level 7. He drew out the Dark Knight's Weapon and with the spell imbuing feature, cast destruction magic, amplified ten fold by the dagger. The void imprisonment shattered instantly.
He glanced at his adversaries and was not surprised to that the Third Prince Akion, would use the Night Shade.
This confirmed why the streets were so quiet and eerie.
Dark aura oozed off Hajime's body, condensing around him as the Suppressor skill activated. The Suppressor skill was an evolved form of the Menace skill, acquired when he killed over 57 slave traders and assimilated their soul energy.
The air hung low as the sheer intensity of the dark aura alone made the Night Shade rethink their choice of attacking him.
Hajime gave them a chance to flee or die, wanting to seem generous. However, he knew that deep down, consuming another should energy would make him loose the reward for containing his starved state and even his sanity.
A Night Shade member, feeling insulted lunged at Hajime, with lips curled in anger as his dagger went straight towards Hajime's stomach. Hajime felt annoyed, grabbing the arrogant bastard by the head. With a fast and effortless push, the man's fellow assailants saw their member's head firmly planted in the cratered limestone-brick road.
Their face were now riddled with fear, a twinge of regret looming over them. Hajime turned at the remaining and threatened, his voice as menacing as ever.
" I told you to run if you'd rather not die. Now, I won't kill you, but I won't let you run either. I'll beat you all to a bloody pulp!!!".