‘This is the place,’ Jake thought before pocketing his phone. Giving it a quick once-over, the name 'Arsenal Cache' was definitely accurate, with its display showing a variety of weapons, from daggers to warhammers. 

Upon entering the shop, he was met with a receptionist, clearly zoned out.

Stepping towards the desk, he silently placed all of his weapons onto the desk, leaving only his pistol on his thigh. 

Now to gain their attention.

Silently pulling off his gloves, he brought his hand to their ear before snapping his fingers, causing them to jump.

"How's it going?" Jake asked, grabbing their attention.

Almost immediately, their eyes widened in surprise before quickly shaping up.

"Hello, sir. How can I help you?" the receptionist asked, flashing him a smile. However, he knew that smile didn't reach their eyes, which had a gaze of sharp annoyance. It was well hidden, to the point that normal people wouldn’t notice.

Not like it matters to him.

"Gonna be trading in my weapons for new ones,” Jake said, tapping his finger on the table. Upon looking down at the table, he saw their eyes widen a bit in surprise. It must be rare for someone to drop off four weapons and a bag of ammo.

“Alright then. The storage is over there,” they said, pointing down the hall.

Giving the receptionist a small nod, he put on his gloves before walking down the hall. After a bit of walking, he arrived in front of a metal door. A simple one, but something about it felt familiar. That same biting cold from yesterday. 

'Eh, not like it matters,' he thought, pushing those thoughts aside.

Sliding the door open, he was met with what could only be described as an armory. Numerous tools of war both lined the walls and were put on racks, seemingly ready to be picked up by anyone and stained red. Taking a dagger off of the wall, he slid the blade out of its leather sheath, revealing gleaming steel. Swinging the blade in the air, he noted how high quality it was. Sharp gleam, mirror-like shine, a textured leather grip. 

Putting the blade back in its sheath, he strapped it onto his thigh before looking around . As he looked over the aisles of weapons, he felt a sudden tension fill the air, albeit very faint. Not only that, it seemed to be coming from two separate sources.

‘Let’s check the closer one,’ he thought as he walked over to the array of axes. As he scanned the hung up weapons, his eyes landed on a particular handaxe. It didn't have anything that immediately stood out to him in terms of looks, the closest thing being the design looking a bit more modern. However, upon looking at it, he felt a smell suddenly hit his nose.

Blood.

Taking the weapon off of the wall, he slid it onto his hip before going over to the other source. As he got closer, he felt the air suddenly get colder, unlike the ax, which gave off a slight heat. Stopping in front of a weapon rack filled to the brim with swords, his eyes landed on one specific blade. Grabbing the sword from its rack, he felt a sudden chill go through his body.

Fury.

Looking into the dark, mirror-like blade, he was met with a rather sharp gleam, belying its simple design.

Sliding the blade back into its sheath, he strapped it to the back of his waist, making sure it was secure. Once he was sure, he walked over to the array of shields before picking one out. it was a decent size, covering most of his body while still being compact.

Strapping the shield onto his non-sword arm, he walked out of the armory before going to the main door.

"Have a nice day, sir,” the receptionist said, to which Jake simply gave a slight wave. 

As he stepped out of the building, he pulled his Harcell out before checking his map. Looking up the route to Ebony Hawk, he raised an eyebrow at what he was shown.

{Shortest Route: Bus}

‘There must be a bus stop nearby,’ he thought before following the route given to him. After a bit of walking, he arrived at a stop that was decently packed. Sliding between uniform wearing Academy students and weapon wielding hunters, he slid his hands into his pockets as he waited, the sound of idle chatter serving as white noise.

He had to admit, everything about this had a sense of…normalcy. The sounds of people walking, trucks and drones flying about, everything about this just felt like he was in another city rather than an entirely different reality. Hell, even using his Harcell became as natural as breathing to him.

It was…odd, to say the least.

Hearing the bus come to a stop in front of him, he pushed his thoughts aside before climbing on and walking near the back. Grabbing the railing, he watched as others either did the same as him or sat down in available seats before the bus took off, slowly traversing the paved roads.

As he watched the scenery slowly change, he noticed a couple of conversations were happening around him.

‘Might as well listen,’ he thought, shrugging his shoulders. After all, he had nothing better to do at the moment, so it’ll be a nice time waster till he reaches his stop. Closing his eyes, he felt sounds become much more clearer.

“...this dude in my class is kinda cute…”

Unimportant.

“...I sent the schematics your way…”

Not really useful.

“...there’s this underground fight club…”

That sounds useful.

Focusing on that conversation, he made mental notes on what was being said:

1. There is a popular underground bloodsport scene in Northwater.

2. It’s accepted enough that talking about it in public isn’t frowned upon.

3. The location of the most well-known arena is within an area called ‘Little Opulenca’.

4. It’s usually active during the night.

Mentally filing the conversation under 'Investigate', he felt a sudden buzz in his pocket, catching his attention. Pulling his Harcell out of his pocket, he saw a notification saying that his stop was nearby. Shortly after reading that, he felt the bus come to a stop with a loud hiss.

Guess his stop arrived.

Climbing off of the bus, he followed the route given to him, arriving at the bar after a short bit. Upon entering the bar, he walked over to the board, a lot of the space being empty. Looking over the remaining requests, he saw one that seemed useful.

{Skaava Infestation

Rank: E

Reward: 2500 Macre}

It wasn't different from the dungeon he did yesterday, aside from one thing.

It was in the city.

Ripping the paper off of the board, he entered the address shown on it into the map.

Half an hour just by foot.

Walking out of the building, he took a quick glance at the surrounding area. It was still relatively early, with not a lot of foot traffic.

Letting out a small breath, he felt a familiar strength go through his body. However, it didn’t go into his arms, but rather, his legs.

A force that wouldn’t be stopped.

An unceasing strength.

Advance.

Leaning forward, he bolted down the road, like that of a gunshot. As he ran through the street, hopping over the occasional obstacle, he couldn’t help but feel his heart beating like a drum. A rhythmic beat going through his body, ringing through his ears.

Seeing that he was close, he started to slow down, the beat slowly dying with it.

‘Here I am,’ he thought, taking a quick glance at his H-cell. Looking at the chained cellar door, he brought out his pistol before firing a shot, shattering the lock.

Now that’s dealt with, time to go inside.